Chapter III: The Key from Beyond
The sun slowly began to make its decent upon the blue sky, falling right into the horizon. The temperature slowly began to drop, giving a cool breeze throughout the entire valley. The sky turned from a light blue into a beautiful pinkish color that filled the twilit sky. The dinosaurs knew that tomorrow would be another glorious day, but with all the worry and fear of the strange creatures known as sharpclaws, the beautiful day of morrow would be nothing but a living hell for the dinosaurs. The once peaceful valley has become a living nightmare for them.
Littlefoot's grandfather took the liberty of dropping both Ducky and Spike at their home. Ducky's mother, a tall Saurolophus with a bit more dark skin than her good-hearted offspring, was left in complete trepidation upon seeing her adoptive son scarred and mortally wounded. She took the time to lick his wounds, and placed giant leaves around him like a bandage to stop the blood from falling out. To Spike, going through the whole procedure was like hundreds of teeth being injected into his skin. It stung so much that he cried in pain. Ducky did everything she could to comfort Spike throughout his healing.
She hugged him tightly, gently swaying back and forth in order to comfort him. Tears that poured down his face from the pain dropped onto her head. Even thought it was a bit irritating, Ducky was too carrying to let something like that stop her from supporting Spike, and making him feel better.
"It will be okay, baby brother," Ducky crooned encouragingly. "Mama is going to make you all better! Oh, yes! Oh, yes!"
A giant tear then splashed onto her head again, with water exploding on her head from the strong impact. She lowered her face with a slight groan.
"Though I wish you would cry smaller tears," Ducky groaned. "I am starting to get a headache."
A little time has past since Spike and Ducky were brought back home. Ducky's mother was able to patch up all the cuts that were on Spike. There were a few resting on his hip, while some were on his side. It was a bit of a time consuming job to patch all of the cuts on him, they were almost everywhere. Littlefoot's grandfather also stayed for a few make sure one of his grandson's best friends was okay. As soon as the patching was done, Spike let out a happy grunt, indicating that he was okay. He then thanked his adoptive mother by licking her face. Then, he turned to Ducky and licked her face, knocking her over in the process.
Ducky giggled uncontrollably from the licks, "Spike! Stop that! You are welcome!"
The two grownups lightly chuckled to each other from seeing the silliness. The two adults then gave each other nervous glares. They both knew that now wasn't the time for laughter. They had to prepare themselves for the dangers that lied ahead. Spike let out a big yawn. He was simply too exhausted from today's terrible events to even eat, and eating was his favorite thing to do. He slowly walked over a small patch of dirt, which was in the shape of a circle and slowly circled around it. He then brought his stomach down onto the floor and curled his body up into a ball. He rested his head on the dirt, and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Ducky was also very weary from today and ran over to join her brother. She leaped into the hole left open in the ball of Spike and nudged her face up to her brother's face. He smiled warmly as he felt her comforting him. Spike took his tail and rested it across her body like a blanket. She then looked up and gently kissed her brother tonight, and two fell right into a pleasant sleep. Littlefoot's grandfather turned his attention back to Ducky's mother.
"Well, now that I know that Spike is alright, I can safely assure Littlefoot about how he's doing later," Littlefoot's grandfather spoke up. "Thank heavens I was able to show up within the nick of time."
"Yes, thank you for rescuing Spike," Ducky's mother replied gratefully. "Hopefully he should feel better by tomorrow when the bright circle emerges over the tall mountains."
The elder longneck nodded and looked up to glare at the sunset, "I should get going to the meeting. I'm late enough as it is."
"I'd like to come and help resolve the problem with these sharpclaws, but I can't leave the children," Ducky's mom said sadly. "I fear those sharpclaws may try to attack them again. Besides, I don't think I'm ready to bare another one of Mr. Threehorn's rants about how we do things wrongly, and should be following his methods."
Mr. Threehorn, as Ducky's mother calls him is Cera's father. He is a tough, proud, and a bit arrogant at times. It defiantly explains where Cera gets her grumpy attitude from, but he's a bit more grumpy, but of course deep down he can be nice at times, though it is rare that he shows it. He recommends to Cera that she should be making friends with her own kind at times, but Cera rejects the offer, showing that she truly cares for her friends.
Littlefoot's grandfather and Mr. Threehorn often got into disputes about courses of action that should be taken when trouble occurred in the valley. Mr. Threehorn doesn't listen to others and follows what he believes. Even when he's wrong, he still believes he is right. Sometimes he blames others for things they didn't do, and denies truths that are far beyond his reach. Once a strange blue stone appeared in the valley, and everyone believed it was magical. Right away Mr. Threehorn believed the opposite of what everyone else thought. While he can be harsh and cruel, he shows love for his daughter, and even sometimes he understands the mistakes for his actions. Still, seeing him admit a mistake was very rare.
Littlefoot's grandfather sighed with disappointment as he knew Mr. Threehorn would obviously rant about his idea, and ridicules their ideas. Rubbing if off for now, he nodded to Ducky's mother.
"He may be a bit harsh at times, but I'm sure he means well," Littlefoot's grandfather lightly chortled. "Let's not worry about it right now. I shall see you again."
Ducky's mother nodded as a way of saying good-bye, and the elder longneck left for the important meeting. About a few minutes later he arrived in a giant field green field that stood for miles around. In the distance were giant mountains that stood like tall buildings. One of the mountains most noticeable was a giant one which the face was shaped like a triceratops, but it was still very far away. Gathered at this wide opened area were many miscellaneous dinosaurs, all which were herbivores.
There were many in different shapes and sizes, big and small. They were all worryingly looking around the meeting area, wondering where the final member needed for the meeting was. Also present upon the heard was Mr. Threehorn. He was a large triceratops with dark skin and a grayish face. Obviously since he was older, his horns stuck out more unlike his daughter's. He had a displeased look on his face. One could tell immediately that he was not someone to shoot the breeze with.
He impatiently lifted his tail and slammed it on the ground. He was growing tired of waiting for the longneck to show up.
"Those longnecks!" snorted Mr. Threehorn. "They may be tall, but they are probably one of the slowest of dinosaurs in all the land! I don't even understand why we have to wait for that old slowpoke!"
An elderly pachyrinosaurus stepped forward and turned to the grumpy triceratops.
"It is imperative that we await his arrival," the pachyrinosaurus explained. "All of us need to be present, so that everyone may understand the terms of the plan of action we must take against these vile creatures. Every dinosaur must know about the threat of the sharpclaws. There are those who could not show up because they need to stay behind to watch the children, but they will be informed later. We must get the message across, so we must wait for everyone, including the longneck."
Mr. Threehorn snorted again, "Humph, for your information Mr. Thicknose, a threehorn never waits, he acts. If we just sit here like rocks and think, those sharpclaws can wipe out the entire valley faster than the strongest 'earthshakes' in all the land. If we act now, we can force them out of the valley."
"But those sharpclaws even slaughtered Mr. Clubtail," one dinosaur pointed out. "He was way bigger than them, but they tore him to shreds."
"Ha!" Mr. Threehorn scoffed. "That old fool was nothing more than a fragile creature. These sharpclaws are the size of flowers, and yet he couldn't defend himself from something as small as that. Growing up, I learnt to be tough, proud, and train to become stronger. Most of you here simply enjoying the good life and don't spend your days by toughening up."
"What?" protested another one. "We're always on our guard! While the valley is very peaceful, there are many dangers that can lurk around every corner. We defend the valley like we defend our own children!"
The other adults nodded in agreement, while Mr. Threehorn got angry at them. He didn't like the fact that everyone was siding against him, though they mostly do because he is wrong. He never believed in the word wrong. He always thought his methods were right. He was simply furious as he always was.
"All I'm trying to do is save this valley from certain doom. You're all just too ignorant to understand my plan." he protested.
Soon the other adult dinosaurs angrily argued with the threehorn. Of course, this was typical whenever Mr. Threehorn started ranting on about his way. All of a sudden, one dinosaur heard a light stomping sound and turned towards the direction it was coming from. He then saw Littlefoot's grandfather had appeared from the bushes.
"The longneck is here!" the dinosaur announced.
Everyone turned to notice Littlefoot's grandfather slowly walking up to the circle and stopping as soon as he was next to a group of dinosaurs within the circle. Mr. Threehorn wasn't too happy by the fact that he took so long to get here.
"Better late than ever, huh, longneck?" grunted the threehorn. "The entire valley is danger and here you are taking your sweet little time."
"It's not like that at all," Littlefoot's grandfather protested calmly. "I tried to get here as fast as I could! I care for this beautiful valley just like the rest of you."
"Then explain why you were late." said a stegosaurus from the crowd.
Littlefoot's grandfather hesitated at first, as he knew what he was about to say was shocking. He was also concerned with how Petrie's mother would react to hearing her child got hurt by the sharpclaws. He then realized that after he told her, he would explain that he only received very minor damage. Taking a deep breath though his nostrils, he began his explanation.
"My friends, bad times have befallen upon our valley," Littlefoot's grandfather began. "We used to roam free in our peaceful land." He then remembered all of the other incidents that occurred within the valley. "Well...almost always peaceful, but now it's hard for us to even sleep at night. These mysterious, yet malevolent creatures called sharpclaws have invaded our valley. They've already slaughtered a few of our friends, and nowསྩthey have attacked our children."
The adult dinosaurs gasped in horror. Their children were in danger of being killed by the sharpclaws. They couldn't afford to lose their young who they love and took care throughout their adulthood. They just couldn't. Littlefoot's grandfather continued.
"That's why I had to stay behind," Littlefoot's grandfather explained. "A few of our children encountered these enigmatic creatures and I had to see to it that they were out of harms way."
Mr. Threehorn already had a good idea on which "children" the longneck was referring to.
"Longneck, those children wouldn't happen to have been the ones my little girl always plays with, was it?" Mr. Threehorn asked while raising his voice. The longneck slowly nodded his head. He then shouted out, "I knew it! Why am I not surprised? That boy of your's is nothing but trouble"
"What did Littlefoot do wrong?" asked Littlefoot's grandfather, offended by the comment
"Isn't it obvious longneck?" Mr. Threehorn replied. "Every single time she plays with him, they always get involved in dangerous situations. Letting sharpteeth into the valley, running away from the herd many times, including; going to the Land of Mists, sneaking off to that Mysterious Island, climbing that dangerous Saurus Rock, going to rescue Ducky. I could keep going all day, Longneck. Your boy is a dangerous influence on my little girl."
"I agree that they do get into these terrible situations at times," Littlefoot's grandfather said, defending the statement. "But Littlefoot understands the dangers. They mostly do that to save the valley or an individual. If they didn't go to the mists, I don't think I'd be standing here right now, and if they didn't discover the giant boulders that blocked the water from the Thundering Falls, we would've died of thirst." He then shook his head. "Please, we need to get back on the subject. I'm not in the mood to argue this with you now. The valley is once again in danger, but this time from one of the greatest threats we've ever encountered."
Mr. Threehorn grumbled to himself while his tail harshly thumped the ground. He simply hated the fact that someone was telling him what to do. But he decided to comply with the elder longneck's wishesསྩfor now. A female pterodactyl with blue skin flew over to Littlefoot's grandfather. He could see that it was Petrie's mother, who had a look of dismay in her eyes. She was worried about the children, but she was most of all worried about her son Petrie.
"Are the children alright?" she asked as she flew up to the longneck's eye level.
Littlefoot's grandfather slowly hesitated, but finally spoke up. It was best that she knew about Petrie now.
"The children are fine," Littlefoot's grandfather replied. "However, the sharpclaws have managed to put a scratch in both Petrie and Spike."
The other dinosaurs murmured worryingly to each other while Petrie's mother had a blank expression her face. She thought her heart stopped for a brief moment. She was a nervous wreck from hearing her son was assaulted. She felt light headed than for a few moments as everything spun around her quickly. She then felt her eyes roll back as she fainted, plummeting straight to the ground. The other dinosaurs murmured in more exclaim as they saw this.
Littlefoot's grandfather held out his tail and caught the poor flying mother. He gently lifted her up to his eye level and spoke loudly so that maybe she could hear him from an unconscious state.
"Are you alright?" Littlefoot's grandfather asked.
It took a few minutes, but soon enough, he was able to wake Petrie's mother up. She slowly sat up and gently shook her head. She was still in shock about this and was panting heavily, despite recovering from fainting.
"Oh, no!" she shivered in fear. "My Petrie! My poor Petrie! Is he alright? Where is here?"
"It's alright," assured Littlefoot's grandfather. "Petrie only suffered very minor damageསྩcompared to Spike." Everyone gasped again. "Spike was severely injured, but when I took him and Ducky home, he seemed to be doing okay. The other children are with my mate at this moment." He gave a nod to both Petrie and Cera's parents. "You may stop by to get them later."
"What do we do?" said another dinosaur, who was on the break of panicking. "Our valley is doomed!"
"He's right!" exclaimed another one. "Those things are far too dangerous!"
The dinosaurs nodded in agreement.
"That's why we decided to have this meeting," Mr. Thicknose explained. "We must find a way to make things safer in this dark time that has struck the valley."
"Why can't we just leave the valley?" suggested a hypsilophodon. "We'd be safely away from those horrible creatures."
Mr. Threehorn roared in objection, "Leave the valley? That proves you're a coward! Did you easily forget all the lives that were lost, all the effort we put in, and all the living torture we had to endure just to find the Great Valley?"
Littlefoot's grandfather was afraid to admit it, but for once he had to agree with what Mr. Threehorn was implying. Littlefoot's grandfather was not the one to jump the gun right away. He always thought carefully about decisions that had to be made, and realize what outcomes could occur from doing so. He was even astonished that Mr. Threehorn was doing something that he normally doesn't do. Thinking things out. There were a couple of problems with the whole idea. Firstly, even if they left, there was a good chance those sharpclaws could exist beyond the great walls, and possibly ambush them.
Secondly, it would be too hard to find any other place like the valley, and agreeing to Mr. Threehorn's statement, why would they leave a utopia they worked so hard to find?
They traveled through hot deserts, walked through dangerous forests and red canyons. They battled through carnivores of all different types, from the sharptooth of the canyons to the deinosuchus of the swamp. Many of the dinosaurs died from starvation as they walked for days and days. Their corpses rotted away into the earth's soil, leaving you to wonder if you'd be next to suffer their fate. Littlefoot's grandfather trembled at remembering their darkest times. While at one point they had to leave the valley because a swarm of grass eating bugs devoured all the grass, they knew that the grass could grow back. Saying these sharpclaws would vanish from the valley if they left for a little while and returned was an understatement.
"I'm afraid that Mr. Threehorn is right," Littlefoot's grandfather confirmed. "It's pointless for us to just leave the valley after all that effort we put into getting here."
"As I said, we should just charge them when we see them," Mr. Threehorn grunted. "It would be better than listening to another one of your longneck ideas."
"But your method is just attacking without thinking things through," Littlefoot's grandfather protested. "We may easily surpass them when it comes to height, and they may look like nothing, but they truly are a threat in disguise."
"The problem is that the victims were just too feeble to even defend themselves," Mr. Threehorn proclaimed. "If they just toughen up a bit, I'm sure they "
"I don't mean to barge in on your opinion my friend, but not even your own daughter couldn't lay a horn on them," Littlefoot's grandfather pointed out. "And I'm sure you've taught her to be strong like you."
Mr. Threehorn grumbled, realizing that he walked right into that one. A few dinosaurs snickered to themselves upon hearing that. Instead of accepting the truth, Mr. Threehorn just sharply turned to the longneck and tried to come up with an excuse.
"Well, if that boy of your's and his friends weren't in the way, then surely she could've taken them." Mr. Threehorn complained.
The other dinosaurs expressed his comment through groans, sighs, and the rolling of the eyes. Not wanting to argue this till the end of time, Littlefoot's grandfather turned back to the other dinosaurs.
"I'm sure if we all work together we can over power these sharpclaws," Littlefoot's grandfather stated.
"The more of us there are the better chance we have at defeating them."
"What about the children?" another one asked.
"Well, in my humble opinion we should let the children know about these dangers," Mr. Thicknose retorted. "If they knew about these sharpclaws, they could run to come and get one of us and they wouldn't be confused on what to do."
"Yes, I don't believe we're at a point yet where we have to constantly keep an eye on the young ones," Littlefoot's grandfather stated. "They still deserve to play and frolic throughout the valley. We can't let the children grow up with a feel of anxiety that we have to watch them every single second. Of course, now and then we should check up on them, but if the threat of the sharpclaws progresses rapidly we may have to take drastic measures."
The other dinosaurs nodded in agreement, while Mr. Threehorn just growled angrily.
"See?" Mr. Threehorn sighed. "Always listen to the longneck. Do you realize what you're saying? We should be keeping eyes on our children until the bright circle descends into the mountains."
Everyone soon started arguing with Mr. Threehorn again about his opinion again. Everyone tried to explain that while this is a threat, it wasn't a very big threat at the moment. They were just taking safety precautions, so that the valley didn't reach a state of turmoil. As long as the children knew of the dangers, if they see a sharpclaw, they could come running to the parent to get help. It would not only give the children a feel of insecurity, but an anxious feeling of eyes hovering over them every few minutes. The arguing went on for about five minutes or so until Littlefoot's grandfather finally spoke up again.
"Please my friends," Littlefoot's grandfather said loudly. "Arguing will not change any of this. It's best that we prepare for what's coming."
Mr. Threehorn snorted, "I'm sick and tired of the dumb speeches you make, longneck! Everyone always listens to you because you're much taller, isn't it?"
"Haven't we not had that discussion once before?" Littlefoot's grandfather asked unsure. "You're ridiculous! I admit that I speak up a lot, but that's because I input good suggestions!"
"Well, I've had enough!" Cera's father snapped. "This is the last time I listen to one of your ideas!" He then turned to the other dinosaurs. "All of you do what you want to do, but you'll be sorry in the endསྩI assure you! I'll just nod and say, 'I told you to listen to me instead of the longneck.'"
He then stomped his way to the edge of the meeting area.
Turning back, he gave a light snort, "I'm going to go get my child and then watch over her. If you're smart, perhaps you should do the same."
Everyone watched in completely silence as Mr. Threehorn stomped off to get Cera. Not a soul said a word as he left through the trees. The only sound that was being heard was his feet, pounding like thunder booming in the distance. The stomping got softer and softer until it was no longer heard. Littlefoot's grandfather shook his head in pity at threehorn. He took things like baby sometimes. Deciding that perhaps it was best that discussion came to an end tonight, he turned back to the other dinosaurs.
"Well...erm...I suppose we might as well leave it at that," Littlefoot's grandfather. "All I say is to keep your guard up and your eyes peeled. Warn the others if you happen to see the sharpclaws. Then, we may act as fast as we can."
The next few minutes were rather quite as the dinosaurs were also discussing how to put this strategy to good use. Some debated, others agreed, and some had doubts. It wasn't long before everyone slowly started to make their way out the meeting area, and back to their resting ground. Mr. Thicknose turned to Littlefoot's grandfather with a look of discomfort.
"I hope that this plan works," Mr. Threehorn said. "Those sharpclaws are even worse than I imagined. Even I'm starting to feel like maybe Mr. Threehorn was right. These sharpclaws, from what I've heard can do something sharpteeth can't do...think! And they can move faster than lightning, too!"
Littlefoot's grandfather sighed sadly. He too wasn't even sure if this plan would work. The sharpclaws appeared to be a lot more cunning and violent than the sharpteeth. The nobodies never acted on instinct, but they were very clever. Despite the fact that they were emotionless beings of nothingness, they could formulate plans so well. Even if another dinosaur tried to warn the heard, Littlefoot's grandfather remembered that the sharpclaws moved faster than a blink of an eye. Mr. Thicknose took his leave as Littlefoot's grandfather stayed behind for the moment.
He looked up at the beautiful night sky. The stars were glimmering down on the beautiful valley's grass. The moon illuminated in the dark sky as it had reached its full moon phase. It all looked so peaceful for the moment. He remembered when they first came here, how life in the valley was beautiful. Now, all those dreams of a happy future in this land was shattered like a broken mirror. Littlefoot's grandfather knew that life in the valley was about to step into its most dreadful time yet. He was worried about his friends, and most importantly, the only two family members he had left. His beautiful mate, and his loving grandson, Littlefoot.
His own son's location at the time was unknown, but his son's mate was killed by a sharptooth who was defending her son Littlefoot's life. Even as the man and leader of his family, he displayed a small tear in his eyes for the first time. Deep down he was truly afraid of what might become of them from these horrible monsters. He was willing to do anything to protect his loved ones, even if it meant getting killed by the sharpclaws. Finally, taking a slow deep breath, he slowly turned away and left the area, with the sound of his feet trailing behind.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot's grandmother had successfully brought the other three children back to their spot. She was keeping a close eye on them as she stood not too far from them. Littlefoot, Cera, and Petrie were doing their best to forget today's horrific events, but no matter how hard they tried, the spine tingling feeling wouldn't leave. The memories of Spike all slashed up were stuck to their heads as though a magnet has clung tightly onto their minds and pulled it back in. Littlefoot was overly worried about his friend. He was one of the friends that traveled with him to the Great Valley, that supported him throughout the many adventures they had.
Despite the fact that Spike never spoke, he had a very good and understanding heart. He displayed that through his warm wet tongue which roughly pushed the skin up, but tickled anyone who came in contact with it. He was one of the friends that grew up with him, but now he was hurt and he was afraid of what may happen to him. Cera and Petrie also worried about their dear friend. Petrie suffered minor damage from the sharpclaw's brutal attack. A small cut appeared on his right hip from the strike. To make sure it healed properly and it wasn't exposed to anything, Littlefoot's grandmother took a leaf and patched it on the spot.
Petrie, however, wasn't too happy with the leaf. It felt a bit irritating as it rubbed against his skin as he hovered slowly around. He clenched his teeth from it as it became more and more irritating. Finally, Petrie wanted to take it off, so while flying he tried to use his beak to get it off. He was unaware that he was going flying straight into a tree.
"Petrie, watch out for that..." Littlefoot shouted.
Petrie turned just in time to see the brown surface of the tree impact his face. Littlefoot closed his eyes, not wanting to see the impact. Petrie landed on the ground, his back rested against tall grass. He moaned lightly from the pain in his head. Littlefoot opened his eyes and looked at Petrie.
"...tree," Littlefoot finished. Concerned, he ran over to him. "Petrie, are you okay?"
Petrie weakly opened his eyes and looked up at the young longneck.
"Me okay," Petrie responded. "But me have headache now."
"You shouldn't have tried to take that off," Littlefoot advised. "My grandma always told me that it can be annoying, but it can help heal the wound. Just let the bright circle pass over the valley and then you can take it off."
"Petrie hope Littlefoot right." Petrie nodded hopefully.
Littlefoot laid on his stomach and sighed sadly. He was still worried about Spike.
"Poor Spike," Littlefoot said sadly. "I hope he's okay. If something happens to him..I...I can never forgive myself."
Tears began to form in the longneck's eyes. He was angry, lost, and confused. How could these creatures do this to his friends? He just couldn't bare to see what he witnessed; Spike, all bloody, screaming in agonizing pain. He wanted to forget that image so badly, but it wouldn't leave. It just stayed there, haunting his mind. Petrie flew onto Littlefoot's head and sat on it. He took his wing and patted his head in hopes of comfort.
"Don't be sad, Littlefoot," Petrie comforted warmly. "It not Littlefoot's fault. We all did best to help Spike. He going to be okay. Petrie sure of it. Besides, we been in 'worser' situations than this, right? Sharpclaws can't keep Spike down. He probably all better and eating more green food, and probably eating Ducky by mistake again."
Littlefoot started to chuckle at the comment. He then knew that Spike would be okay. He always tried to look at the positive of things, but that moment with Spike, he started to have doubts. However, his positive personality kept him strong, and he looked to the future, knowing that everything would be okay. He looked up at Petrie with a smile.
"Thanks, Petrie," Littlefoot smiled in appreciation. "You're right. I'm sure Spike will feel better. He's got to. I just know it."
"Me keep claws crossed," Petrie said as he too his chicken scratch looking claws and crossed them. "Me would have beak crossed, but Petrie don't know how to."
Littlefoot smiled and rolled his eyes at Petrie's silliness. Turning away from him, he saw Cera who had her back turned from the two boys. She hasn't said a word ever since they arrived at his spot in the valley. Littlefoot thought that she giving them the silent treatment because either she too was worried about Spike, or she felt like her own pride was shattered to pieces by these sharpclaws, who she couldn't even lay a horn on.
In reality, she was afraid. She may be tough and proud, but deep down she was truly afraid of what those creatures were capable of. Of course, she was also worried about Spike, but words alone could not describe the fear she was feeling. Her heart was still beating rapidly from the encounter. In fact, it felt like her whole body beating like a hard bang from a drum. Finally, Littlefoot called out to her.
"Cera?" Littlefoot asked concerned. "Are you okay?"
She flinched in surprise upon hearing Littlefoot's voice. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed herself as she tried not to display the fear she was showing. Still, as a threehorn she was too proud to show her fear to anyone. Slowly, she turned around to face her longneck friend.
"Y-yeah of course I am," Cera stuttered a little bit. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You no say anything since we got here," Petrie replied. "You have back turned and you no talk at all."
"So, what it's to you?" Cera asked with a little spite.
"Well, we just wanted to make sure you were okay," Littlefoot said calmly. "That's all."
She then felt a little nervous as she thought they may have gotten onto her and noticed her fear. That fear all of a sudden turned into rage. All of that rage built up as she was so upset with these sharpclaws for trying to ruin their valley. She couldn't hold all that rage inside of her anymore and had to let it out somewhere. She could be bossy at times, but what the boys were about to hear stunned them.
"Look, there's nothing wrong with me!" Cera roared. "I'm perfectly fine! I'm the healthiest threehorn in all the valley, got it?"
"Jeeze, calm down, Cera," Littlefoot frowned. "I'm just asking."
Cera just shook her head and sighed, "I didn't mean to shout like that. Even I don't usually shout that loud."
"Yeah, you're bothered by something greatly," Littlefoot nodded in agreement. "Tell me, are you that upset about the sharpclaws?"
"You better believe I'm upset!" Cera said loudly. "First time I've seen them and I hate them already! They're ruining our fun! They're hurting our friends and family! I'm just so mad that I could..."
She then slid her front paw back and snorted loudly. The two boys quickly got out of the way as she charged right for the tree. She rammed her head into the tree, causing it to shake violently. A few treestars fell off the branches from the impact and slowly landed on the ground. Cera fell on her back and had her body spread out on the floor. She was finally relived to have released all of that rage.
"Ah," she sighed softly. "That's better."
She stood back up and returned to the others feeling a bit more at ease.
"Feel better?" Littlefoot asked.
"Hee, much better." Cera grinned.
"Cera right!" Petrie nodded in agreement. "Sharpclaws just big bullies that like to hurt!"
"They make Hyp and his gang look like babies." Cera added.
"That's not all," Littlefoot finally spoke up. "They're even smarter than a sharptooth. I mean, sharpteeth are the dumbest dinosaurs in all the land. They would have attacked us head on, but that sharpclaw simply dodged the attacks that Cera and Spike sent at them. They can plan a lot better than we can, and the fact that they can do so much damage for being so small shocks me greatly."
"Aw, they were lucky," Cera boasted. "I could have easily rammed my horn into them."
"They were lucky?" Littlefoot questioned. "I think you mean we were lucky. Cera, they killed Mr. Clubtail and he's bigger than you."
"So, he wasn't keeping his eyes open," Cera debated. "He was too old to even defend himself properly."
"But my grandparents are even older and they fight pretty well." Littlefoot pointed out.
"Major difference, Littlefoot," Cera counter stated. "You're grandparents are taller than trees. They could squash them without even looking..though my dad could probably do it better."
"And they move fast," Petrie added. "Not even grownups are able to keep up with them. They may not be big, but they move so fast that they attack before grownups attack."
Cera felt a little bit defeated by that comment. The sharpclaws moved so fast, that they could strike first. Trying to redeem herself with her comment, she spoke up again.
"So maybe these sharpclaws do have some skill, but that's not going to stop me. The next time I see one I'm going to catch it by surprise."
"There you go again," Littlefoot groaned. "You can be too overconfident at times, Cera."
"Are not!" Cera argued.
"Are too!" Littlefoot argued back.
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Stop!" Petrie cried. They both turned to him. "This fighting get us nowhere. We worried so much about Spike that we begin to argue with each other. We friends and friends don't fight."
Littlefoot and Cera both sadly looked at each other. All this stress over everything that has happened has made them angry. All this stress had made them become hot headed and prevented them from thinking correctly. The two then smiled to each other after taking the moment to calm down.
"Erm, sorry." Cera apologized
"Same here," Littlefoot nodded. "It's just been a bad day. But hopefully tomorrow will be better because the grownups should be able to resolve the problem."
"Me hope you right," Petrie gulped. "Littlefoot, where did sharpclaws come from?"
Littlefoot looked at Petrie with an unsure look.
"Good question," Littlefoot said. "I've never seen anything like it. They don't even look like us or sharpteeth at all. At times I feel like these creatures aren't even meant to exist."
Cera glared at Littlefoot in confusion, "How can they not exist? They were standing right in front of us. They slashed away at Spike, and you call that nonexistent?"
"To a certain degree," Littlefoot replied, unsure of himself. "It's like they're not from this world. Perhaps they come from a world beyond the Mysterious Beyond."
"Oh, no," Cera gasped in surprise. "Don't tell me you're actually going to believe what those weird rainbow faces told you? A place beyond the Mysterious Beyond? Wake up and smell the treestars Littlefoot, there is no place."
"And how would you know?" said Littlefoot with a monotonous voice and blunt look.
"Cause my daddy told me and he knows everything." Cera boasted proudly.
Littlefoot's eye started to twitch from hearing the comment. Petrie just hung his head low and sighed. All of a sudden, the flying dinosaur got a shocking revelation. He brought his head back up and began to panic. He flew frantically around the area until he landed on Cera's head.
"Wh-what if Cold Stone of Fire that hit wasn't magic, but cursed?" Petrie panicked. "And what if curse released Sharpclaws?"
"Please," Cera said in a duh tone. "There's nothing magical or cursed about that dumb old rock."
"I have to agree," Littlefoot nodded. "That stone didn't even do anything after landing. I'm sure something would have happened if your Uncle Pterano touched it, but it didn't. Also, remember that an 'earthshake' from the smoky mountains destroyed it, so it couldn't have done any damage at all."
"You got point, Littlefoot," Petrie agreed. "But then where did sharpclaws come from?"
Cera and Littlefoot shook their heads sadly. They knew that these sharpclaws meant business. Littlefoot was worried that the once beautiful Great Valley would become a barren wasteland at the hands of these beasts. When he was younger, his mother always told him about the Great Valley and its beauty. He would happily dream at night of arriving their and eating away at the countless end of treestars until his stomach exploded. It was his mother's dream to see to it that they got to the valley, and that they would be happy.
The dream of both of them going together was put to a halt when a sharptooth took his mother's life as she defended her child from the devious monster. Though she successfully sent the sharptooth crashing into the rocks below, the hard bite from the beast drained her life. That last thing he remembered of her was her gentle voice comforting him as she peacefully laid on the ground. The rain poured down heavily as it drowned out the sounds of Littlefoot's sobs.
The last thing he ever heard her say was, "Let your heart guide you. It whispers."
Those words always stayed with him ever since then, and he always followed his heart. The young longneck in the end could tell that his mother's dying wish was to see him safely in the valley and live there in peace. But that wish may never be kept if the sharpclaws continue this violent path of destruction. He didn't want to lose his friends, his family, anyone to them. He wasn't even sure how they could stop them. He didn't want the valley to be destroyed. He was lost in deep thought for a long time until Cera finally snapped him out of it.
"Hey, are you okay?" Cera asked. "Are you having one of those Awake Stories?"
Littlefoot violently shook his head to get out of his deep thoughts. He then turned to Cera.
"Yeah, just kind of thinking to myself," Littlefoot confirmed. "I just wish there was someway we could help."
"Yeah! Petrie ready and willing to help take sharpclaws down!" Petrie cried bravely.
He then began throwing punches out, trying to act tough. He then did an uppercut which ended up hitting his beak and sent him knocking back down on to Cera's head. Cera rolled her eyes with a slight giggle.
"Petrie, if you keep hitting your beak like that, it's going to fall off." Cera teased.
Petrie, taking things literally at times held his beak in fright.
"Ah!" he screamed. "Don't let it fall off."
Cera slumped her face down and groaned again, "I was kidding."
Littlefoot started laughing at that comment. Soon the excitement of laughter started to leap onto the other two dinosaurs as well. Soon they were all breaking out in laughter and merriment. It seemed laughter was the only thing that kept them going. The excitement, the energy, laughter was the cure for any problem. They then started to chase each other playfully for the next few minutes or so, until they heard a familiar gruff voice.
"Cera!" called Mr. Threehorn. "It's time to come home!"
The kids gave each other an "aw" of disappointment. They were having so much fun together, not worrying about anything. Now all of that fun was brought to a halt as Mr. Threehorn came to get his daughter. Cera just turned to her friends and smiled.
"Hey, in all seriousness," Cera began. "We're going to get through this! These stupid sharpclaws thing they can stop us, but they've got another thing coming to them. Just let me know how Spike is doing tomorrow."
"Don't worry, we will." Littlefoot promised her.
"Okay, see ya!" Cera said as she ran off towards her father.
The two stood there and watched the triceratops walk off into the darkness of the forest. They heard the rustling of the bushes as they made their way through the tall grass. Both boys prayed that they would make it home safely tonight and would be able to sleep without fear. Littlefoot's grandmother, who was watching shook her head in pity. Not even a thank you for watching your daughter? That showed that Mr. Threehorn could even be a bit uncouth at times. As soon as the two left, Petrie's mother flew in from above the trees. Upon seeing her son she flew straight down and tightly embraced him in her arms.
"Oh, Petrie!" she cried. "My little Petrie! I was so worried about you!"
She then began to rapidly kiss her son on the face. Petrie started to get disgusted and embarrassed from all the kisses.
"Aw, stop mama," Petrie whined. "This embarrassing! Petrie okay! Honest!"
Littlefoot lightly smiled, "She was worried about you, Petrie. She's a mom; she has to give you lots of hugs and kisses." He then chuckled. "Trust me, my grandma always overdoes it when she's relieved that I'm out of danger."
"Well, mama showing a bit too much love!" Petrie grunted.
"Petrie, are you okay?" Petrie's moth asked worryingly.
"Me okay," Petrie replied. "Me just have little cut."
He then initially showed her his batched up side.
"Oh, dear," she gasped in fear. "Did it hurt you badly?"
Petrie shook his head, "Aw, mama, you over worry about Petrie. No one can keep Petrie down."
"Just for tonight I'm giving you an extra treestar since you're such a brave little flyer."
"For real?" Petrie squealed in delight. He then cleared his throat and tried to speak in a low voice. He also puffed out his chest proudly. "Me mean…Petrie no surprised. Me bravest flyer in whole valley."
All of a sudden the three dinosaurs heard a rustling sound from a bush. The wind had lightly blown at it, but it caused Petrie to scream in fear from it. The flying dinosaur flew onto Littlefoot's long neck and embraced it tightly. He squeezed it so tightly that Littlefoot began to choke from the loss of air. His cheeks started to turn colors as it happened. Using whatever breath he had left, he called out to his friend to stop.
"Petrie, stop hugging my neck!" Littlefoot gagged breathlessly.
Petrie sheepishly got off of the young dinosaur's neck.
"Oh, Petrie sorry," Petrie giggled sheepishly. "Guess me don't know own strength."
Littlefoot took slow deep breaths to recover from the incident. He could feel the air circulating through his lungs as he sighed. He then looked back up at the two flyers.
"Wow, Petrie is pretty strong there." Littlefoot said jokingly.
"I'm just glad that my little Petrie is alright," Petrie's mom said. She then looked at the moon appearing in the sky. "We should probably get going."
"Yeah, just get home safely," Littlefoot nodded. "Don't let those sharpclaws try to get you."
"No worries, Littlefoot," Petrie assured him. "We flyers, remember? Sharpclaws can't fly!" He then paused and gave a look of disbelief. "At least me think so."
Petrie's mother flew over to Littlefoot's grandmother with a smile of appreciation on her face.
"I can't thank you enough for helping Petrie." she said gratefully.
"It was no trouble at all," Littlefoot's grandmother replied with a nod. "Any friend of Littlefoot's is considered a part of our family, and family always sticks together."
"I just hope these sharpclaws don't break the family apart." Petrie's mother said with a worried glare in her eyes.
Littlefoot's grandmother just silently gave an agreeing nod. She then flew over to Petrie and gestured him that it was time to leave. The two slowly spread their wings out and began to flap them lightly. Then, lifting their feet off the ground, they took off into the night sky. Petrie said by to his friend, who exchanged a farewell in return. Littlefoot watched them fly into the night's sky until there were no longer apparent in the sky. It was just him and his grandmother now, awaiting the return of the grandfather.
Littlefoot, feeling a little concerned, approached her with a bit of a brood look in his eyes.
"Grandma, will grandpa be back soon?" he asked with a small whimper.
"Of course he will, young one," Littlefoot's grandmother encouraged him. "At his age he doesn't walk as fast as he used to. I'm sure he's also keeping a sharp eye out for danger as well."
As soon as she finished, the two heard light pounding approaching them at a slow rate. The pounding became louder and louder until they saw a tall shadowy long neck dinosaur emerge from it. As he stepped out of the shadows, becoming transparent, he revealed himself to be Littlefoot's grandfather. Littlefoot excitingly ran over and stood on his hind legs, with his front paws rested on the bottom of his grandfather's giant foot.
Littlefoot's grandmother slowly stood up and walked over to him with a look of relief. Approaching him, she gently nudged her mate's head.
"Welcome home," she said softly. "How did it go?"
"Well…" he began as he pulled away from his mate. "It went alright. We've gotten into quite a dispute, but in the end I think it all went okay. Everyone is now well aware of the sharpclaws."
"Grandpa?" called a familiar voice from below. "What happened to Spike? Is he okay?"
The old dinosaur brought his head down to level with his young grandson's face. Littlefoot could notice a confident smile appear on his grandfather's face. The young dinosaur could tell that there was good news coming.
"The cuts on Spike were all patched up," Littlefoot's grandfather pronounced. "Afterward, he seemed to be doing fine. He was up and a bout, licking the faces of everyone around him."
Littlefoot couldn't help but display a cheeky grin, "He can be so lovable at times."
"I take it that maybe he'll be okay by tomorrow," Littlefoot's grandfather predicted. "Those brutal attacks the sharpclaws delivered didn't dig in deep enough, so each strike was minor damage. It was still worse than Petrie's, but Spike looked like he was in working order, so he's perfectly fine."
Littlefoot cheered in relief, "Hooray! Spike's okay!"
The continued cheering and giggling, running around in a wide circle. The two adults quietly chortled to each other, but were glad to finally put Littlefoot's worry at ease. As they slowly walked over to their grass spot by the tall mountains, the two adults gave each other a gaze of dismay. They could tell that while they may have done something to keep the valley safe, they weren't sure if it was enough.
The breeze was nice and warm tonight as it flew throughout the valley. Most of the herds have already gone to sleep. The adults kept their children close to them to protect them from the dangers of the night. Some dinosaurs that lived alone had a hard time sleeping as they still fret about the sharpclaws. They can already picture themselves being mercy of the creatures of nothingness, looming in the shadows of the trees. The sharpclaws were ready to slash away at their bones and flesh with a silent, but deadly assault.
The three long necks arrived at their own sleeping spot, where large mountains stood overhead them. Littlefoot was feeling lightheaded. His eyelids were slowly beginning to close on him. It has been a stressful day, and he deserved to fall into a peaceful sleep. He let out a big yawn, which the two adults noticed.
"I believe are young one is growing quiet tired." Littlefoot's grandmother whispered gently.
Littlefoot yawned again, "Yeah, I am getting tired."
"Perhaps we should all get some rest," Littlefoot's grandfather said. "We need to prepare ourselves for the dawn of the bright circle, and begin a new day."
Littlefoot slowly approached a small circular dirt patch that was big enough for him to sleep in. He slowly rotated his entire body around in a counterclockwise position until he was comfortable enough to lay down flat on his stomach. His two grandparents slowly got onto stomachs right next to him. Littlefoot's grandmother gently nudged her grandson's face, comforting him smoothly. He always enjoyed that. It made him feel calm and relaxed. As she moved away from him, he asked his grandparents one more thing.
"Grandma? Grandpa?" Littlefoot said drowsily.
"What is it, Littlefoot?" Littlefoot's grandfather curiously asked.
"Will the sharpclaws ever go away?" he asked sleepily
The two adults looked at each other with blank expressions on their faces. It was one of those moments where normally a child would ask a question about a scary issue, and the adult would make him or her feel better by saying yes. However, Littlefoot's grandparents were always honest and truthful with his grandson. It wasn't going to be one of those answers where someone holds their hand saying yes the mean creatures would go away. This was real life, and a smart juvenile like Littlefoot wouldn't accept an answer like that.
Littlefoot's grandfather cleared his throat and spoke up.
"To tell you the truth I'm not entirely sure," Littlefoot's grandfather answered. "These sharpclaws still aimlessly wander throughout the valley, but as long as we stay together it will be okay. I can say that we will not rest until we can vanquish these vile creatures from our valley for good."
"Just be strong, young one," Littlefoot's grandmother advised. "Use your instincts, they'll help you sense the dangers. We need to have faith, and hope that they will disappear from our valley."
Littlefoot nodded understandingly. He more than confident that they'll put an end to the sharpclaws. As long as they kept a positive view on the whole situation, they maybe able to overcome this threat. Littlefoot gave out a loud yawn again and finally rested his head on the hard, but warn ground. He closed his eyes and fell right into a deep sleep. The two grandparents also rested their heads on the ground and fell asleep. The entire valley was completely silent now, with only the sounds of crickets chirping its beautiful tune throughout the valley.
The wind lightly caused the bushes in the trees to rustle, creating a soft, gently sound. For a brief moment, Littlefoot opened his eyes again and sat up. He was looking around his home, the home he dreamed that would be the perfect paradise. He was hoping that it would continue to be one forever and ever. Before going back to sleep he took one last look back up at the moon. He was riddled with many questions. He began to wonder if what those rainbows faces said were true, that there was truly something beyond the mysterious beyond. He began to wonder if that is where the sharpclaws came from, and wondered if their was a way to lure them back.
Too tired to think now, he placed his head back on the ground and fell asleep again. His dreams tonight were pleasant, as he pictured himself and his four friends playing together without a care in the world. Escaping into his dreams was a happy time to forget about the worries and the sorrow, and enjoying a wondrous time together. If other dinosaurs saw him asleep, they would notice the smile he had from his dreams. That was how it lasted throughout the rest of the night with the voices of laughter echoing through his mind.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saix walked through the empty, pale hallways of Organization XIII. He walked slowly down a corner and approached a giant round door. Except for daily meetings, the Organization members never spoke up much. Being around the hallways you could only hear footsteps echoing throughout the lair. It has been a year ever since Xpartoohart took the rank of the new thirteen. During his time, he has gone through intense training session with the remaining members six members, excluding the Superior who was too busy preparing for the invasion in the past. Demyx was also excluding due to his poor skills in following directions and weak fighting style. Fighting each member was like fighting five thousand leaf-eaters at once. He found it hard to take them on.
Amazingly, the young sharptooth was able to hold his own. The dark robed men began to notice Xpartoohart's power and fighting style has increased in such away, it started to get them a little worried despite being nobodies. If his power to continued to grow, he may become even stronger than Xemnas. The Superior has assured them that it would not be the case. After a year of taking abuse, straining his muscles, learning how to focus his power to control time, the sharptooth became one of the strongest members.
But it wasn't enough. In order to release his true instinct, Xemnas decided that it was time for him to remember who he truly was. After many research was done, Saix was able to locate his lost memories and captured a young girl known as Namine, who had the power to rearrange the memories in creatures hearts. Though it seems she is a special girl who has control over a certain person's memories and all those who cared for him, the men were able to extract that power and use it to regain Xpartoohart's lost memories.
Saix walked by a small room and peered into the door. An strange looking Organization member was sitting in a crisscross position. He wore the same dark robe, but his claws and lizard like skin were seeable through the lower half of his body. His arms were much longer than the average T-rex. His mind was in a completely trans. His breathing was light, he sat in that position. His memories were slowly starting to peak to the surface, but it would take sometime before it was complete.
Saix turned away from the door and walked through the giant door. Inside, another member was looking out a giant window. He was starring blankly into the dark cosmos of space. Saix walked up to him and bowed before him.
"Sir, I have come bearing news." Saix said.
The man, obviously the Superior turned towards Saix.
"Well, what did you find you?" Xemnas asked with crossed arms.
Saix stood back up, "Just as we foretold, Axel has betrayed us, sir."
Xemnas said nothing for the moment. The room was in complete silence until Xemnas gave out a tiny "humph" and turned away.
"You don't seem surprised." Saix said stoically.
"Saix, we nobodies can never be friends with anybody else," Xemnas spoke up. "Axel, that arrogant fool betrayed us because he establish this friendship with Roxas. We gave him the one chance he could ever had to be come complete, but he threw it all the way. Friendship is a waste of energy. Being friends makes us weak and it knocks you off course from your true purpose."
Xemnas turned his attention back towards Saix and removed his hood. He revealed himself to be a man with long white hair, with the back going all the way down to his shoulders. His yellow eyes stared into Saix's face, who remained emotionlessly detached.
"Now, then," Xemnas began, a slight grin shown on his face. "Axel will receive the maximum punishment for his betrayal. With either the sentence to death or the banishment to the eternal darkness forever. I think he may try to lead our plans astray. Make the others aware of this and I shall reward them handsomely for his immediate capture."
"Yes, sir," Saix obeyed. He then looked down at his hand, clenching his fist tightly. "Axel, you cinder headed simpleton. You thought you were being so clever. You thought I would never notice that I was onto your little game. Well, it's going take a lot more than running from world to world to deceive me."
"Saix!" Xemnas shouted, trying to get Saix out of his deep thought.
The luna diviner looked back up to his master.
"Axel is an insect to us though," Xemnas said. "We have more important things to worry about. How much longer will it be until Xpartoohart's memories are fully reconstructed?"
"Hm, Xpartoohart's memories may take quite sometime, considering that he is a nobody," Saix said. "We had to build a machine to store the memories and shoot it into his mind. Sora's memories took about a year to regain, but his may take two years."
"We don't have enough time for that," Xemnas shook his head. "You must increase the velocity of the machine to ten times."
"Sir, do you realize what you're proposing?" Saix asked in a shock. "Doing so could cause the machine to erupt in a violent explosion. This may not only destroy Xpartoohart, but because of his unique ability to control time, it may result in a tear between the space time continuum. Time could be come dysfunctional and not even the living will no longer exist."
"Saix, it is the only option we have," Xemnas disagreed. "Building the artificial Kingdom Hearts is taking longer than expected. We need to resolve to our back up plan for now. Remember, when we uncovered Xpartoohart's shattered memories, our tests were able to determine that his other half encountered the giant source of energy we're seeking. We need him to lead us to it, so than we won't even need the Kingdom Hearts any more."
"But sir..what if he decides to use the instincts based off of his..." Saix argued.
"He won't," Xemnas interrupted calmly. "Yes, I'm aware that his strength has even surpassed that of Xaldin's, but I am far more powerful. He tries to defy me I will see to it that he doesn't." He then turned to Saix with an upset look. "Don't you dare defy me either. I may treat you a lot better than the others, but don't get the wrong impression. You still must execute my order."
Saix lightly grunted, "Of course sir. I will see to it. But tell me, what is your ultimate plan? You've been keeping it a secret for a year. Are we going to invade the past or not?"
Xemnas placed his arms behind his back and walked towards his associate.
"Yes, we must make this attack quietly," Xemnas said. "I've already sent nobodies to the past to begin killing any poor creature that tries to get in our way."
Xemnas began to go into full detail on his ingenious plan. Saix listen carefully as Xemnas explained each step they were going to take. However, unnoticed to them, a pair of two eyes were peering through a small windows. Outside of the lair, a dark, evil looking woman was listening in on the two black coated men. She wore a dark robe which was as dark as night. The inside of it was a dark purple color. Hear head wear was also black. The head wear was in the shape of horns that pointed up towards the sky.
Her face was a light green and her red ruby lips could be seen clearly. It was obvious that she was a witch of some sort. She held a long with a small green orb on top of it. Resting on the orb was a regular sized raven who also had an evil glare in its eyes. Evil couldn't even begin to describe what she truly is. She was beyond evil. She was the Mistress of all Evil. She was known as Maleficent. She traveled throughout the worlds in the sky with her own twisted, merciless agenda of torturing others. She once had control over the creatures of darkness called heartless, but the Organization has proven to be superior to that of her own power, but she is slowly starting to rebuild her army.
She has arrived at the lair in hopes of learning any secrets they may had. She continued to listen in with a dark sinister smirk appearing on her face.
"So," she said intrigued. "Those insolent fools are planning on changing history's course, are they? This could be the break I've been waiting for. If I can declare total dominance over the past before they do, I shall reign supreme. I shall rule with the power of darkness at my side, and all shall bow before my power."
The raven squawked in agreement. She continued to listen in on their plans until she could feel her body slowly sway backwards.
"Ugh!" she moaned. "You impudent oaf! What do you think you're doing?"
Maleficent was swaying back and forth because somebody else was holding her up so she could spy in on Xemnas and Saix. That person, or better yet, cat like creature was slowly getting tired as he held her feet up. He was very large and plum, perhaps roughly over two-hundreds pounds. He wore a light blue armor like clothing with a blue "X" in the middle of the chest part and a single red line that went vertically behind the "X."
He had two giant zipped up pockets in the front of his hips on each side. He also had a zipper that went straight down the lower half of his body. He also wore giant light blue gloves with yellow cufflinks on his wrists. He was known as Pete, one of her lackeys who tried to take her place when at one point she was absent for a little while. Unlike her, he lacked intellect and was a big klutz. He was sweating and panting from holding her.
"No offense, doll face," he said with a gruff voice. "But when you've been holding a person for over two hours now, you tend to get a little tired."
"Silence!" Maleficent snapped. "In order for us to regain our superiority over these fools, we must learn of their plans and succeed before they do."
"But could we've just wire tapped in on a conversation?" Pete asked nervously. "It beats actually coming to their lair. Quite frankly, I'm not in the mood for them to capture us, sister."
"Ah, do I detect the scent of a bumbling coward?" Maleficent evilly grinned.
Pete snorted in offense, "Me? The mighty Pete a coward? I ain't afraid of nothing! I can eat those little hooded runts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"
"Then prove your words," Maleficent said. "Go in there and execute your actions."
Pete gulped nervously. He knew all too well that he was no match for him. He just liked the boast about being all high and mighty. Really, he was just a fat washout who couldn't even do the simplest things right. He quickly tried to think of an excuse to get out of fighting.
"You..see...I would love to go up there and pound them into a pulp," Pete whimpered nervously. "But I have a bad case of high cholesterol, and my doctor told me to avoid getting into scuffles with anyone."
"Then may I offer a word of advise?" Maleficent said mockingly. She then said sternly, "Stop your indolent babbling and stay focused or else I'll have them take you prisoner!"
Pete began to beg and whimper, "No, not that! Anything but dat! I'll behave! I promise! Scouts honor! Cross my heart and hope to cry...or was it die."
Maleficent rolled her eyes and sighed, "Would you please shut up?"
Pete complied with Maleficent and continued to hold her up. Back in the lair, Xemnas has just finished going over his plans with Saix. However, unaware to any of the villains, someone else was also watching from another window as well. This one however was probably about three feet tall. He was shrouded in the same cloak as the Organization. It was noticed that a small tail, no bigger than a string stuck out from behind.
He had a tan nose with a black round dot on the edge of it that stuck out. Also, two big round ears were also seen pushing their way up from inside the hood. He was left speechless by what he was hearing. He has been spying on this master plan for quite sometime now, and he now grew worried as they were finally ready to pursue it.
"Gosh, so they really are going through with the plan," said the creature with a high pitched male voice. "The entire future could become a nightmare unless I don't act. We need to beat Organization XIII to that power source or else we're doomed. I need to get to Twilight Town and inform Sora."
The creature leaped down from the window and landed on his feet. He quickly glanced left and right, leaving no stone unturned. He was making sure nobody was watching him leave. He was hoping to make a swift retreat to this place called Twilight Town. Unfortunately, one of the members was out on the balcony and noticed this. Gasping in surprise, he quickly ran down the stairs and ran towards Xemnas' lair. His panting could be heard throughout the hallway. Saix and Xemnas both stopped conversing and turned to see the member enter.
"My league," Xaldin panted. "I'm sorry to intervene, but we have trouble!"
"What kind of trouble?" Xemnas asked suspiciously.
"I just saw an intruder leave the premises!" Xaldin replied.
Thinking that she was the intruder, Maleficent gritted her teeth in worry.
"Shit!" she cursed angrily. "They're onto us!"
"W-what do we do?" Pete panicked.
"Quickly, you fool!" she shouted. "We must run!"
"For once I agree with you there, toots!" Pete cried frantically. "Let's get da hell outa here!"
Pete quickly dropped Maleficent, causing her to fall and land on her behind. The giant villain quickly ran for the hills, leaving the mistress of all evil behind. She slowly stood up and brushed the dust off of her and slowly followed him.
"Ugh!" she groaned. "I don't know why I let that bumbling maroon tag along with me."
She then slowly walked down the path Pete has taken. Meanwhile, Xemnas walked over to Xaldin with an angered look.
"Who dared tried to invade our lair?" Xemnas roared angrily.
"Let me put it to you this way," Xaldin began. "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E."
Xemnas started to lightly chuckle upon hearing that.
"King Mickey Mouse," Xemnas grinned evilly. "Persistent as always."
"He must have been listening in on our plans!" Saix exclaimed.
"Quickly, stop him at all cost!" Xemnas ordered. "I want him brought back to me alive, understood?"
"Yes, sir!" they both nodded.
"You are dismissed!" Xemnas announced.
The two men nodded to him and they quickly left the room. Xemnas turned back his back away from them and silently looked at the sky again. He was not planning on a small rodent to ruin all of his plans. As he looked up at the sky, his eyes were fixed on a giant moon that was in the shape of heart. It's glowing color brightened up the entire sky which also shined in Xemnas' eyes. King Mickey was panting as he ran at full speed down a long narrow pathway that went down the castle.
He was constantly looking over his shoulder, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the members of the Organization. He was about to reach the door that would take him to the bottom floor when a dark portal appeared in front of him. Stepping out of it was a member of the Organization. The king clenched his first in frustration.
"The Organization!" King Mickey cried. "How did you find me?"
Ignoring the question, the member called forth two arrow guns which had a pinkish glow on the arrows. He spun them around and pointed them right at the king.
"Did someone call for a pest exterminator?" laughed the sharp shooter known as Xigbar. "Heard this place has a few mice crawling about. But, dude, I never thought this place was crawling with giant ones."
"You'll never get away with this!" King Mickey shouted angrily.
"Oh, on the contrary my cheese nibbling friend," Xigbar chuckled. "It is you who will not get away...from us that is!"
Xigbar released giant pink energy arrows that fired straight at the king. Mickey slowly bend over, placing one hand on the ground. He then pushed himself off the ground, just narrowly dodging the attack. He did a back flip onto a small deck on the castle. Xigbar fired more at the king, who leaped off the deck and flew in the air. Defying the laws of gravity, he began to run on the side of the wall. Xigbar, chucking arrogantly, fired more arrows at the king. The king noticed the arrows coming at him from the side of his eye.
The blasts were about to him, but he quickly rolled upward on the building. Then more came at him, and he did back flip to avoid them. As soon as he got back, more came at him, so he a small jump to narrowly jump over the attacks. He then ran at full speed until he saw a pole sticking out of the castle. He quickly leaped off the side of the wall and grabbed the pole. Gripping the pole tightly, he pushed himself upward and flipped over the pole. As he came back up, he kicked upward and did again.
He kept spinning and spinning until he turned into a black circle. He then kicked up once more and released his grip. The force sent him flying high into the sky. Xigbar just watched as the king was making his escape.
"Oh, please," Xigbar scoffed. "Do you really think I can't get you from here? Time to lock and load!"
Xigbar took his two weapons and clicked them together, forming a giant sniper like weapon. He pointed up towards where the king was. He rested his chin against the weapon and looked into the small scope that was rested on top. He increased the magnification until he was in clear view of the king. He shot began to shoot out small bullets As he was doing this, he was evilly singing to himself.
"Who's the leader of the club that's dead to you and me?" Xigbar sang. "M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E! Ha! Ha!"
He then fired a giant pink one that went along with the others. The king could hear a whistling sound coming from right behind him. Turning around, he gasped upon seeing the bullets coming right at him.
"Whoa!" he cried. "Time to get serious!"
King Mickey stuck his hand out and it began to brighten up. All of a sudden the glow became a quickly flash and a giant key like weapon appeared in his hand. It had a beautiful, golden sparkling blade that shined brightly. The handle of the blade was square shaped, with the color white. It had a silver keychain on the end of the handle that jingled as he moved. On the tip of the chain was a symbol that looked exactly like the king's head. Two small round circles and one giant one. He twirled it around and deflected every single bullet that was sent at him.
The pings and pongs could be heard as the bullets impacted his weapon, known as the keyblade. He finally knocked the last one aside. Thinking he was in the safe zone, he quickly flew back down towards another castle, unaware of the giant arrow that was coming at him. He gasped in complete shock as he finally saw it coming towards him at a fast rate. The king quickly jerked his body just in time to dodge the attack. As it came by him, he felt a small tear in his skin from the strike.
The king curled into a ball and flipped right onto one of the outside walkways. He landed perfectly on the ground with his keyblade extended all the way out. A small cut could be seen on his cheek from the blow. It felt like a knife slashed at his face. A small drip of blood poured out of it. The king took his gloved hand and wiped the blood away.
"Gosh, that was too close," he sighed with relief. "If I hadn't see that arrow sooner, I would have been Swiss cheese." He then giggled his famous giggle. "Uh-huh!"
Xigbar growled in anger, "Bummer! That's humiliating!"
King Mickey quickly made a run for it again, when another member appeared holding two giant staffs in his hands.
"Prepare to face the power of wind!" Xaldin called out.
King Mickey just sighed, "Can't take two steps without running into another one."
Xaldin a gave a hard trust at the king, who quickly sidestepped left. Xaldin quickly attacked with the other staff, but the king blocked it with his keyblade. King Mickey quickly leaped up as Xaldin took the other free staff and tried to trip him. King Mickey, while in mid-air threw an upward kick, which Xaldin dodged by arching his back. While in that position, Xaldin did a hand stand and used his foot to kick the king in the back.
As be began to go flying back, the king quickly spun around and slash Xaldin in the chest, causing him to scream in pain and fall on the floor. The king spun into a ball again and kicked against the castle walls, flying back at him. Xaldin stood up and twirled his two staffs together. The clashed with each other, causing sparks to fly from the blades. Xaldin removed one and tried to swat at the king from the left, but the king quickly dropped down to the ground and leaped up again.
Xaldin blocked the attack again and the two jumped back. Xaldin quickly flew forward and a gave a thrust again, causing the king to jerk his body left. Xaldin vertically slammed the other one, which the king also dodged. Because of his small size, the king was faster and more agile than Xaldin. The wind lancer angrily swatted him with both staff, which the king blocked back and forth using the keyblade. Xaldin angrily roared and brought both staffs inward on the mouse, but the clever king leaped over the attack and delivered a hard kick to the jaw, sending Xaldin flying into a wall at a fast rate. Dust and particles emerged from the impact, covering the area.
King Mickey ran for it again when Xigbar appeared again and fired more arrows at him. He quickly ran as fast as he could when he felt a hard gust of wind coming at his face. He quickly brought his head down just as a giant card came flying over his head. He turned to see another member holding a giant card in his hand.
He chuckled sinisterly, "Dear, King Mickey. You dare come to take a gamble with us. I never realized you always played for high stakes. But you won't have the winning hand today."
He threw another giant card at the King, who saw this moment as an advantage to escape. As the card came close, he quickly leaped onto the card and rode it like a magic carpet off of the lair and into the city of darkness.
"What? How dare he!" Luxord growled.
Xigbar fired more lasers at the king. He quickly tilted the edge of the card upward and did a loop-de-loop over the attacks. Xigbar growled as his attacks missed. Saix soon appeared next to Luxord with an idea.
"Quick, let me use a card!" Saix instructed. "I shall go after him myself!"
"Hm, clever thinking, mate," Luxord chuckled. "You just better deliver!"
Luxord drew another playing card and threw it into the air. Saix quickly leaped onto and landed perfectly on it. He kept his balance as he flew after the king into a dark city. The city gave an eerie chill as the king passed through it. Normally, a city is usually hustling and bustling. Where there would be people constantly walking throughout it. The noise of it would echo throughout the entire world. But this city was a ghost town. Not a soul was seen. While the window lights seemed to be on, meaning there had to be inhabitants, no one seem to be coming out of the building.
It was always nighttime there. The sun never shined through. The King flew into the city and arrived in center area. He used the card to gently land on top of the tallest building. This building was many stories tall. Near the top it had giant T.V. monitors that stood out. As he landed, he peered over the side to see it was a long way down. The neon billboards were the only thing that kept the world bright. The king could hear the wind howl through out the deserted metropolis.
King Mickey then sat down and sighed with relief, "Gosh, I'm glad I was able to escape."
He then stood up and looked around.
"I wonder where my ride is?" King Mickey asked himself. "I told him we'd meet right here."
"I'm afraid you won't be leaving, your majesty," called a voice. "You haven't even stayed for dessert."
King Mickey turned to see Saix floating up to him on the card. He leaped off of it and landed on the building. The two gave each other a look of hatred, showing how much they hated one another. Despite that fact that King Mickey never believed in anger and hate, the pain and suffering that the Organization has caused has simply enraged him.
"Saix," King Mickey said. "One of the lower ranks, but you appear to be the Superior's first mate. Look at you doing all of his work."
"You fool!" Saix snapped. "It is because of him that we shall finally become complete beings. You and that foolish boy can't stop our plans. Not even that strange being Diz can help you. No matter what you do, we nothings will always be superior to you weak hearted fools. Coming here was a big mistake."
"Aw, it was no mistake," King Mickey said cheerfully. "After all, you need someone to balance you out. Whenever something evil exist, there always has to be something good, too. What you're planning won't succeed. As long as there is ray of light that shines, you dark intentions will never be fulfilled. I'll see to that."
"Hm, you keyblade masters always believe in a fairytale ending, don't you?" Saix chuckled. "Well, life doesn't work like that sometimes. You're the one who will fail miserably. And to think, we the Organization came to be because of Ansem the Wise"
"For your information, Ansem the Wise was my dear friend," King Mickey snapped. "It was your master's heartless that caused this ruckus in the first place. What's worse is he had to take Ansem's name to make everyone think he was a cruel man. Ansem wished for nothing but peace, and I will finish what he started. True, that his experiments was what started it this mess, but if Xemnas' heartless just kept his hands to himself..."
Saix just started to chuckle, "Hm, look at you sticking up for your friend. It's what your heart tells you to do. If I had a heart, I'd laugh to death at how you continue to defend that pitiful old fool. I think it's time I end this little game of ours."
King Mickey held his keyblade tightly, knowing he was going to have to fight Saix. The man slowly made his way towards the king. Mickey didn't have time right now to deal with him right now, but it looked like he had no choice in the matter. Saix called forth his sword and started to make his way towards him. All of a sudden, King Mickey could hear a loud whistle coming from right over the edge of the building.
That whistle was the single that King Mickey had been waiting for.
"Right on time!" King Mickey thought with a relieved sigh. He then turned to Saix with a confident smirk. "I'd love to stay and shoot the breeze with ya Saix, but I have a date with three pals of mine. Maybe next time."
Saix grunted with a little suspicion, "What? What do you mean? There's no where for you to run...except down that is."
"Then so be it," King Mickey said, turning away from Saix. "If down is my only option, then I'll take it. See ya real soon!"
King Mickey then ran to the edge of the building and leaped off of it. Saix gasped in shock and ran over to the edge, only to have a perplexed look on his face. He was expecting to see the body shoot straight down to the bottom of building. He was expecting to hear a thud at the bottom. But instead, King Mickey had vanished from sight. The black robed man wondered if it was some sort of trick or something. He went inside the building and took an elevator down to the bottom floor.
Upon exiting the building, he looked around the area from the bottom. He stood in between to gargoyle statues that stood there sinisterly on the facade of the building. There was no sign of him anywhere. He walked down the stairs and turned to face the building. No body at all. He vanished into thin air. He cursed under his breath, knowing that the king must have escaped. Xemnas wouldn't be too pleased about it.
However, he then realized that even if the king went for reinforcements, the entire plan would be fruitless. Saix realized that the tear between times was ironically right next to their lair. They would keep their eyes open for any signs of intruders and wipe them out. So, the king's little intervention was all for nothing. Saix just made an evil grin and laughed.
"Hm, I don't even know why I stressed over it," Saix shrugged. "To get to the time hole, they'd have to go through us first. I guess the king is not as great as he is claimed to be. Victory we'll soon be ours." He then put his hands in his pockets. "Though I'm still sketchy about increasing the velocity for Xpartoohart's reconstructing memories."
He then sighed, "Perhaps...I have no choice. If it was Xemnas wants, then it shall be what he gets."
Saix created another dark portal and slowly left through it. He left unaware that a familiar dark robed mouse was watching from the shadows of a building. He then turned and began to walk towards another part of town.
"Gosh, I thought they had me this time," King Mickey said. He then stopped and turned towards a dark alleyway. "Good, now they're oblivious to our plans. We have another way of getting to the past, and as long as they don't know that, we can make our move and beat them to this power source. I'm going to Twilight Town to find Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Stay here and inform me on any new development."
It would appear strange to any one else if they saw this mouse talking to the darkness of the alleyway, but somebody else was also in on this whole operation. Who this person was is a mystery. He or she remained behind the darkness of the alleyway. The king could hear a voice whispering from the shadows, saying that he or she complied.
"Thank you," King Mickey nodded. "I knew I wouldn't be able to pull it off without your help. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"
The king heard another whisper and nodded.
"Very well," King Mickey complied. "I can't force you to do something you don't want to do. We'll meet again soon. Just take care of yourself...and don't forget to brush your teeth, come your hair, and take a shower, you really need one."
He jokingly started to giggle, with the mysterious person giving out a light laugh as well. Soon he said good-bye and left the dark city. The stranger walked out of the shadows, revealing himself to be another member of the Organization. From the look of the figure it was apparent that this person was male. Was it Axel? Nobody really knew who it was, but whoever he was, he wanted more than anything to see the downfall of Organization XIII. He slowly walked back into the alleyway and his presences vanished into the darkness of the alleyway.
Far away, beyond the stars lied another city, though not as big, but more lifelike than the dark city. It was nighttime and all of the lights on the houses were shining out through the windows. There were a few people who were walking around the streets. Most of the buildings had a tan color to it, and a rectangular top to them. Around the main part of this town was a small tram that was on a track. It slowly circled throughout town, letting people on and off of it.
In the distance, a giant clock tower could be seen with two bells attached each side of it on the roof. Below it was a train station that picked people up and dropped them off. One could hear its loud, but happy whistle echo throughout the town. The clock tower gave out a golden glow as the big hand slowly circled pass each roman numeral number. Right below the clock was a little arch that had enough room for someone to sit. As a matter of fact, somebody was sitting on that arch.
From far away, it was hard to tell who he or she was, but people always called them crazy for sitting up there. It's been sort of a hangout place for the kids of this town. Tonight, a young fifteen year old boy was sitting all alone up there. He had light-brown spiky hair and blue eyes. He wore a black jumpsuit with a black short sleeved, light jacket. Inside the jacket he wore a blue shirt with a red heart shape mark on the stomach part of his shirt. The heart's bottom and top were cut off though.
He wore a belt and three yellow straps. Two were located at the front of his waist and the other was strapped to his upper legs. The straps were to support two giant red pouches on the side of his hips. He wore black baggy pants that went down to the very end of his lower legs. For footwear, he wore two yellow shoes, the top part yellow, while the bottom part was black, that were of unusually large for a teenage boy. He also wore black, fingerless gloves.
In his hand, he held a pink star shaped pendent which had a face on it. The boy had been depressingly looking at for quite sometime. A year ago, a very special girl gave this lucky charm to him. He made a promise to her that when they'd meet again, he would return to her. A year has passed and only today was he shocked to learn that the girl was kidnaped by none other than Organization XIII. He was angered, confused, and upset. How could they have taken her away? At moments, he thought it was his own fault for her capture.
He sighed sadly, "Kairi, you came looking for me. And because you came looking for me, those hooded monsters took you hostage." He clenched the charm tightly. "This is all my fault! If only I was there sooner!"
"Sora?" called a male voice.
Sora turned to his left to hear the voice. Surprisingly, there was no one there at first, but right away Sora knew who that voiced belonged to. He lowered his head and leaned over to see a small cricket looking at up. Unlike other crickets, he stood on two feet and was able to speak proper English. He also dressed very properly. He wore a blue top hat with a yellow line that circled around the bottom of the top. His skin was a green color. He wore a black dress coat with a red buttoned down shirt. He wore tan pants, and wore white shoes and white gloves. In his hand, he held a red umbrella.
"Oh, hey, Jiminy," Sora greeted his friend. "Did notice ya there."
Jiminy Cricket was the royal chronicler of King Mickey. Once, the heartless destroyed his world, which separated him from his friends and family. He was whisked away to the Disney Castle, where King Mickey ruled over it. He was officially made the chronicler of Sora's journey due to his neatness, his intelligence, and organization. He was a very kind soul and was always will to lend a hand. A year ago, the worlds in the sky were threatened by the heartless, and Jiminy was chosen to accompany the king's royal wizard and captain of the royal guards on a quest to find the young man who may be able to stop the heartless.
Sora, a spirited youth lived on the tropical Destiny Islands with his childhood friend Riku and a girl who came to the island not too long ago named Kairi. The three friends have always played together, but have also been fascinated by traveling to other worlds. The three decided to build a raft to go seek these worlds out. One night, a violent storm invaded the island and separated the three teens from each other. Sora arrived in a strange town called as Traverse Town, where he was given a strange weapon called the keyblade.
Using it, he fights the wrath of the heartless along with the king's wizard known as Donald and the royal knight known as Goofy. It has been a year since their first journey together and now they once again team up to not only fight against the heartless, but the threat of the nobodies and Organization XIII. The trio are also in search of finding their loved one; the king, Kairi, and Riku. For sometime the king has made on and off appearance with them, but he has always ran off to take care of important business. Sora's best friend Riku's location was unknown at the time.
Recently, Kairi went to search for Sora, but one of the Organization members had captured her. Their intentions for capturing her where unknown, but when Sora heard of her kidnap, he was devastated. He felt guilt decent upon his body as though it was entirely his fault. Jiminy could notice the sorrow upon the boy's face and jumped onto his lap.
"That's alright," he chuckled. "A lot of people don't notice me."
Sora lightly chuckled at the comment, but then put his head back down.
"We were gettin' worried about," Jiminy said. "You've been up here for an hour now. Your supper is getting cold." He could hear Sora's sighing softly. He could tell what was wrong. "Ah, I see. You're still thinking about Kairi, aren't ya?"
"Yeah," Sora said depressingly. "Why would they even want to capture her?"
Jiminy rubbed his gloved hand across his chin. For a moment, he was in deep thought about the whole thing. He wasn't even sure why Organization XIII would want her. There was one fact he could go by.
"I'm not entirely sure on that," Jiminy replied. "The only reason I see it is because she is one of the princess of heart. I know she's your friend and all, but you shouldn't be coping with it this much. We'll find her."
"But if I was there sooner.." Sora protested.
"I know how you feel, but there was nothing we could do," Jiminy calmly explained. "Sure, maybe if we were given more notice we could have gotten there in time to help. That's life though, Sora. We can't go back time and alter history. Remember what Merlin the wizard told us? We can't affect times course. It has to move in a linear fashion. And you need to move on with this."
Sora slightly frowned at him, "And forget Kairi?"
"Of course not," Jiminy said warmly. He then jumped onto Sora's shoulder. "But you can't stay sad forever. That will not only distract you from what you need to do, but you feel miserable for the rest of your life. You're no fool, no sirree! You're gonna a live to be a hundred and three."
Sora started chucking at the comment.
"Heheh, thanks, Jiminy," Sora smiled. "I know Kairi and Riku are still out there, but I'll find them. I got to keep going and believe in myself, right?"
"Yep, that's all you need," Jiminy responded proudly. "Make it your weapon to find her. That confidence will make you more alive and much more stronger. Sitting around and moping won't change a thing."
Sora then stood up. Jiminy was right. He had to keep pressing on and not lose faith in himself. He made a promise to Kairi long ago, and he was not the type to break them either. He would continue to fight for her no matter what. He then stood up and confidently cried out to the sky.
"Yeah, you're right!" Sora cried. "I'm not giving up! The Organization better watch out, 'cause I'm coming to get them! Let's go get them, Jiminy!"
Jiminy started to laugh, "Hold up, Sora! I think it's too late to get them right now. But I defiantly like the attitude change. Whatdaya say we go back to the hotel and eat? A growing boy like you needs plenty of food."
Sora just grinned, "Yeah, I'm famished. I could go for a couple of hamburgers right now. And maybe after we can get some Sea Salt Ice Cream."
"What's a sea salt ice cream?" Jiminy asked curiously.
Sora gasped in surprise. He couldn't believe what he is hearing. Sea Salt Ice Cream was one of the most popular ice creams in all the town. You couldn't be caught dead without eating one.
"Excuse me?" Sora gasped in shock. "You've never had sea salt ice cream before? Well, consider the night to try it!"
"I don't know," Jiminy scratched his head unsure. "The name doesn't sound promising."
"Aw, come on," Sora whined encouragingly. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Try it, you'll like it. Even Donald said he'd try it."
Jiminy just chuckled, "Well, if Donald said he'd try it, then I have to try it."
Jiminy hopped off of Sora's shoulder and oped his umbrella. He held it in the air and it helped him float safely to the bottom of the platform. He then closed his umbrella and began to walk away.
"Come along, Sora," Jiminy said. "You don't want the food to get cold."
"Yeah, right." Sora nodded.
Sora took Kairi's star pendant and placed it in his pocket. Sora could feel his stomach growl in hunger so much that it began to hurt. He then jokingly pat it.
"Okay, okay, we're going," Sora chuckled. "I'm so hungry I could eat a herd of buffalo."
The boy made his way towards the exit when he stopped to give one last look at the beautiful stars that twinkled in the sky. It was beautiful as he looked up at it. He thought he noticed that one of the stars was in the formation of his best friends Riku and Kairi. He sighed sadly for the moment, but then tried to look back at the positive. As long as he stayed strong, he would surely find them. He then turned away and began to walk to the exit. He stopped one last time and looked back up.
"Good-night, Riku, Kairi, wherever you are..." he whispered.
Sora walked into the door and closed it. He began to make his way down the stairs and back to the hotel he was staying at. The rest of the night was peaceful as the citizens of the town were able to sleep peacefully. Everything was calm and quiet as the town completely shut down for the night. It became dark as the lights in every window turned off. This strange, yet wondrous town fell completely silent. A town that existed between night and day. A town, known as Twilight Town.
