Chapter 9

The first thing I noticed was the smell. The second thing I noticed was how wet it was.

I looked around us, staring curiously at the pink walls and floor. Riku let go of my hand and stepped forward, his shoes squelching as he walked.

"Where are we?" I asked, following him. The sound my shoes made on the floor sent chills up my spine.

"I don't know. Are those... teeth?" Riku pointed to an off-white mass that was jutting from the floor. I looked towards it, then noticed another right next to it. It did look similar to a tooth - if teeth were the size of people. I looked around us and saw huge piles of wooden planks, stacked into towers, in what looked like a pond. But the teeth curved around the pond, and we were standing on a squishy pink substance, with a gaping hole behind us, and something hanging down from the top...

"Oh my - I think we're inside a mouth of something. This is... so gross." I focused my energy and levitated off the floor, thoroughly disgusted by the thought. "This is so awful. Why would anything be in here? Is this a whale?"

"Hush, I think someone's coming!" Riku said, pushing me backwards to hide behind the nearest pile of planks. He jumped onto a plank to avoid the water and pulled me beside him, pressing me into the wood. I thought water was seeping into my shirt and shivered - if we were really in a mouth, then this definitely wasn't just water. My stomach roiled, and I fought the urge to throw up.

A loud clunk-clunk-clunk neared us, and a small boy in wooden shoes skipped past us and landed on the squishy pink surface. He continued on into the hole in the wall, and I thought I heard a voice yelling after him "No, don't run off!"

Riku leaned forward, staring after the boy. "Let's follow him. I think that's the puppet Maleficent was talking about." He released me and hopped onto the pink surface, then ran after the boy. I shivered and reluctantly followed him, mainly because I didn't want to be left alone.

The boy had halted near a few wooden barrels. He pulled himself on top of one and looked around, at which point he noticed us. As we got closer, I realized Riku was right - the boy wasn't a boy at all, but actually a wooden puppet. The puppet's eyes widened and his mouth fell open when he saw us.

"Whoa, did Monstro swallow you, too?" He hopped down and ran up to us.

"Monstro?" Riku questioned. The puppet nodded.

"Yeah! The giant whale!"

I fought the urge to throw up again.

"Will you play with me? It's just me and my dad here, and it's reeeeaaally boring!" The puppet hopped excitedly. Riku, strangely, smiled at him.

"Sure, kid. What's your name?"

"I'm Pinocchio!" He hopped up onto a ledge and began running through another opening in the wall. "Come on, let's explore!"

"Oh, ew, can we please not," I muttered, hovering after him. The use of magic was starting to get to me, but I refused to get whale spit all over my clothes.

"We need to figure out how he has a heart," Riku replied, stepping forward. "Maybe he can help Kairi."

Pinocchio was waiting for us in the next chamber. "I think that one over there leads to the stomach, but I don't know how to get there," he said, pointing to an opening far above us.

"Well, let's find out," Riku said. He beckoned for Pinocchio to follow him into another chamber. His footsteps echoed strangely. Is someone else here? Or is that his dad? Wait, maker? Ugh.

Pinocchio jumped ahead, leaping over the barrels quickly. Just before I could make my way over them, a voice called out that wasn't Riku.

"What are you doing? Come on, let's go back!"

I crouched beside the barrels, careful not to touch the floor or them, and peeked over. Sora and his two companions were standing not too far from Pinocchio, who stood near the center of the chamber. I saw Riku not too far off, but he was hidden from Sora's sight.

The taller companion spoke. "You know, Gepetto's awfully worried about you."

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around," Sora called sternly, his hand on his hip. "This is no time for games!"

The puppet looked sheepish, but Riku took that moment to step out.

"But, Sora, I thought you liked games. Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

His dramatic entrance seemed to have the desired effect. Sora's eyes went wide. "Riku! Wh-what are you doing here?"

He shrugged, ignoring the glares from Sora's short duck friend. "Just playing with Pinocchio."

"You know what I mean!" Sora snapped. "What about Kairi? Did you find her?" I thought he sounded worried.

"Maybe. Catch us, and maybe I'll tell you what I know." He moved closer to Pinocchio, reaching to take the puppet by the hand.

"Come on!" Sora yelled, frustrated. Riku pulled Pinocchio after him and jumped over the barrels I was hiding behind, beckoning me to follow. I stole another glance back at Sora and followed him reluctantly. We ran through chambers, me floating along quickly, until we came to a dead end. Riku looked around and saw an opening far above us, but no way to get to it. He let go of Pinocchio, who fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"Riku, don't push him so hard," I said quietly. He didn't respond, but instead started pacing. I reached out to him, but was interrupted by Maleficent's flashy entrance. Pinocchio gasped and ran behind me, holding onto my leg tightly. Riku didn't even seem to notice she was there.

"Riku, child," she said sweetly, "why do you still care about that boy? He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all." I bristled at her tone, but kept quiet. I rested a hand on Pinocchio's head to calm him down.

Riku stopped pacing. "I don't care about him," he said coldly. "I was just messing with him a little."

Maleficent smiled as if she found that funny. "Oh, really? Of course you were." She paused and stared at him. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it." And without another word, she left in the same manner she arrived. Riku glared into the remnants of the flames.

"Mind your own business."

"Riku, what does she mean?" I asked, moving forward. Pinocchio stumbled along with me. "Darkness in your heart?"

"Nothing," he snapped, turning away. A rumble in the whale shook some wooden debris away from the wall, revealing another opening in the wall. Pinocchio seemed to lose his nerve then, and he let go of me and sprinted towards the opening.

Sora and his friends walked in at that moment, just in time to see Pinocchio run into the other chamber. I quickly let myself down onto the floor before someone noticed me floating, and cringed when my feet met the squishy surface.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?" Again, I thought he sounded worried. Riku turned to face him, scorn blatant on his face.

"I was about to as you the same thing, Sora. You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"

"I do," Sora said, defensive. Before anyone else could speak, a scream sounded from the chamber next to us. Without thinking, I sprinted towards it, and I heard that Riku and the others had followed me.

I skidded to a halt at the edge of the pink surface, trying not to fall into the green liquid within. A huge purple mass sat in the middle of the room, with long blue arms tipped with spikes. Long teeth interlocked like a cage, and within sat Pinocchio, cowering near the back. The lighter purple head looked on smugly, and two pairs of bright yellow eyes stared at us.

Riku and Sora stopped on either side of me, and Sora's two friends stood behind us. Sora's Keyblade glinted in the dim light, and beside me, Riku held his sword out in front of him. I called my staff and prepped my magic, but was afraid of hurting Pinocchio.

"You up for this?" Riku said to no one in particular. I heard Sora move beside me.

"No problem. Let's do it!"

Pinocchio screamed again and clasped his hands around the teeth of the cage. "Get me out of here!"

The monster - I realized with a start that the emblem on its face marked it as a Heartless - left us no more time to talk. The long blue arms lashed out at us, and Sora and Riku jumped separate ways to avoid it. My reaction time was too slow, though, and the spiked end hit me in the stomach, sending me flying into the wall. Sora's two friends also got hit, but the taller one threw up a shield in time and deflected it. The duck held a small staff up and sent a small icicle flying towards the smaller head, hitting it dead in the face.

I saw Riku attacking the Heartless from the back, trying to distract it. The arms flailed around the back, trying to hit him, but he parried and jumped out of their range.

Sora was taking a more direct route, jumping up to attack the teeth in an attempt to break Pinocchio free. I focused my magic and sent a bolt of lightning towards the smaller head - at the same time, the duck sent a fireball at it. The head snapped back from the impact, and the arms slumped beside it as it stood there, dazed. Riku and Sora took that chance to attack what they deemed as weak spots; the taller of Sora's friends charged forward, spinning his shield around him. When he hit the teeth of the Heartless, it shuddered, then jumped back to life. It reached its arms up and grabbed the ceiling, swinging slightly.

It stayed attached to the ceiling for a moment. Another rumble sounded through the whale, and the floor in the center of the chamber opened up, draining all the green fluid. The Heartless opened its mouth and spit out Pinocchio, sending him tumbling down the hole. Riku jumped in after him, and I followed, more worried about the puppet than Sora.

The hole led back to what seemed to be the mouth of the whale. Pinocchio had landed on top of a pile of planks. I fell over when I landed beside him, then picked myself up and tried to pick the splinters out of my hands. I made a mental note to find a pair of gloves to wear out. My staff vanished in a flash of light on the planks in front of me.

Riku held Pinocchio under his arm, and we watched as Sora and his friends landed on the deck of a mostly whole ship nearby. An old man met them and pointed up at us, staring at Riku.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" He called, his voice raw with emotion. "Please! Give me back my son!"

Oh, his son. Oh no.

"Sorry, old man," Riku called back, "I have some unfinished business with this puppet." I reached out to him to try to get him to stop talking, but he ignored me.

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!"

Guilt flooded me as Riku continued talking. "He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs." He turned away and began walking towards the back of the whale. I bit my lip and looked back at Sora.

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?"

"What do you care about her?"

He ran off, forcing me to either stay behind or follow him. I chose to follow, though it sent more guilt through me. We passed into a chamber that I assumed was the throat, and some sticky liquid dripped from the ceiling onto my shoulder. I suppressed a squeak and pressed forward to get away from it.

Riku halted when we entered what I assumed was the stomach. A hole in the ceiling was the only other entrance I could see, and there was no debris along the walls. Pools of green liquid - probably stomach acid - dotted the room. He carefully set Pinocchio down against the wall, away from any acid. I stared at him and wondered why he hadn't said anything.

"I think that Heartless stole his heart," Riku said quietly, not looking at me. My stomach dropped. I was spared saying anything by the sound of Sora and his friends approaching from behind.

"Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku," he called, his voice serious. Riku turned around slowly, not really seeing anything.

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless... Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi. How about it, Sora?" He stepped forward, his eyes bright. "Let's join forces to save her. We can do it, together." His voice sounded strange to me - almost as if two people were speaking at once, both with his voice. He stepped closer to Sora, who called his Keyblade in response.

Riku halted. "What? You'd rather right me? Over a puppet that has no heart?" His voice was flat.

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience!" Sora's friends took up their arms, too.

"Conscience?" Riku scoffed. I noticed movement on Sora's shoulder. A small green object hopped down - a cricket! It ran past us and stood by Pinocchio's foot, nudging him with a tiny umbrella.

"You might not hear it," Sora continued, "but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

It's telling me that, too. Oh, what do I do?

"Then you leave me no choice," Riku said, shifting his weight forward in preparation for a fight. I focused my magic, prepared to throw up a barrier between the two people who used to be friends. The cricket kept calling Pinocchio's name, sounding sad.

Then the puppet spoke up. "Jiminy... I'm not gonna make it," he said weakly. Then he paused, and in a much brighter voice, said "Oh! I guess I'm okay!" I turned to glance at him and noticed that his nose seemed longer. The cricket looked happy to see him, jumping up and down in his joy.

The whale rumbled again, and the same Heartless from before fell down suddenly from the ceiling, catching everyone's attention. Sora and his friends immediately went on the defensive. When I moved forward to help, Riku grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Let's go," he said quietly, holding the pendant up to where I could see. It glowed dully, and the light expanded until it swallowed us. The sounds of fighting got quieter until they were gone completely, and we were surrounded by darkness.

Riku let go of me before my eyes could adjust to the dimness of the room. The pendant had brought us into the hold of the ship - piles of boxes surrounded us, pressing in. Riku started towards the nearest ladder, apparently anxious to get away.

"Riku, wait!" I called, following him. He ignored me and grabbed a rung on the ladder. I caught up to him and took his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "You quit running away from me!"

"Running away?" he snapped, letting go of the ladder to face me. He yanked his arm free. "What makes you think I'm running away?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about every time I try to talk to you, you leave?" For some reason, I was boiling with anger. "I mean, just listen to yourself for a minute! Don't you think something is wrong here?"

"Nothing is wrong!"

"Something is definitely wrong! I mean, you helped kidnap a KID, and then a harmless puppet! What did these people ever do to you?" I stepped forward, pointing my finger at him in emphasis. "And what about that weirdo that attacked me a few days ago? You still haven't completely told me what's going on, and I'm worried! Something is up, Riku, and you better tell me what!"

"I don't have to tell you anything!" he retorted. "The only thing that matters right now is Kairi! I don't care what I have to do to help her!"

His words cut through me like ice. I stepped back, at a loss for words.

"And what makes you think you deserve to know every little thing I do and why I do it? He only went after you because he thought he could use you, but he can't, because you're not strong enough for it!" He jumped onto the ladder and scaled it quickly, leaving me behind. "Don't ask me about it again, Iva. I don't need you anymore," he said in closing, slamming the trapdoor shut behind him.

I stood still for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts. For some reason, one sentence kept repeating in my head, blocking out everything else.

"The only thing that matters is Kairi!"

I felt tears come unbidden to my eyes. Why did those words hurt me so much? I should have known that Kairi was his driving force.

Maybe it hurt so much because I had nothing else. I leaned heavily on a stack of boxes, tears falling freely down my face. Should I have been sobbing? The tears were silent, if constant. Why was I crying, anyway? Did I really think that I was important to Riku? He had friends. He knew they were okay. Why would he have needed me?

I cursed myself for letting myself become dependent on him. My mind went to Dylan, and I stood up straighter and wiped my tears away. He wouldn't want me crying over something I couldn't change. I took a few minutes to collect myself, and then made my way up the ladder. As I neared the trap door, I could hear voices.

'Am I below the captain's cabin?'

Riku's voice met my ears. "So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" he asked. I forced my breath quieter so I could hear.

"Precisely," Maleficent's voice cooed. There was a pause, and then Riku spoke again.

"And her heart was..."

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."

There was a rustle. "Tell me!" Riku said, desperation in his voice. "What can I do?"

Maleficent's heels clicked over the trap door, making me flinch. "There are seven maidens of the purest heart," she said. "We call them the princesses of heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds." She paused, as if for emphasis. "Within lies untold wisdom. There, you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart." She sounded too sure of herself.

"Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift," she finished. A surge of power emanated from above, making me cringe. "The power to control the Heartless!"

'No! Riku, don't take it!'

The power swelled, then crashed. Another rustle, and then a quiet, "Soon, Kairi. Soon."

Dread filled me. Even if Riku didn't want my help, I knew I had to stop him from falling into the darkness. I knew that Sora wouldn't want that - and if Kairi were anything like them, she wouldn't want it, either.

I descended the ladder carefully and searched for another way out - a second ladder at the other end of the hold brought me up into a hallway. I found my cabin not too long after that. Chester once again seemed happy to see me; he practically leapt into my arms when I walked in. I laughed and cuddled him, moving to sit carefully on the hammock.

"Chester, you will not believe what I've been through today," I told him, just as a knock sounded on my door. I jerked, startled, earning a disgruntled look from Chester. "Uh, come in."

To my surprise, Smee opened the door. He waddled in, holding a basket with a red cloth inside. "I-I brought you some f-food! A-and I prepared a b-bath for you, in another cabin, I heard that you g-got swallowed by the whale..."

I set Chester down beside me and stood to take the basket from him. I gave him my most winning smile. "Thank you so much. I'll go take a bath soon. I feel gross."

His face flushed, and he excused himself, stuttering the whole way. I turned my attention to the basket, turning the cloth aside to reveal two sandwiches and an apple nestled gently in the fabric. Confident that a few minutes wouldn't ruin them, I folded the cloth back over and set the basket gently on the floor.

"I'm going to go bathe, Chester. Want to come find it with me?" He hopped off the hammock excitedly and crawled up my leg, ending up on my shoulder. I left the room to search for the cabin that Smee spoke of. When I turned down the next hallway, I nearly ran into Riku, causing Chester to fall off my shoulder.

Riku stared at Chester, but didn't even look at me. He seemed to be thinking about something. When I opened my mouth to speak, though, Riku turned around and walked away. I thought about chasing him, but then the tears came back, and I thought better of it. I forced the tears away and resumed my search for the bath, finding it quickly in my anger. Chester managed to get through the door just before I shut it.

The room was steamy from the tub of hot water. I locked the door behind me and untied my jacket from my waist, which was slightly sticky in places. I dropped it on the floor, grossed out. The bag around my thigh came off next, and I set it carefully in a corner. I wasn't sure how the leather would react to soap and water, and I didn't want to ruin my spellbook inside.

I piled the rest of my clothes on the floor next to my jacket. The tank top proved difficult to remove - the liquid that dripped on me in Monstro had seeped into the fabric, and it was practically glued to my skin. I fought the urge to throw up as I forced it off and over my head, the smell strong in my nose. Chester sniffed at the pile and recoiled, scratching at it in distaste.

"Don't you rip up my clothes," I scolded him, stepping into the hot tub gingerly. "I'll wash them in a minute, don't worry."

I spent much longer than usual cleaning myself off - I felt as if I couldn't properly get clean in the tub. I kept my hair out of the water, deciding instead to wait until we got back to Hollow Bastion, or until I had fresh water.

I talked to Chester while I bathed, partially to keep myself from thinking about Riku. I told him how gross it was to be inside a whale. I told him about little Pinocchio, who just wanted to play, and his father who seemed to love him so much.

"You know, I bet my dad wouldn't care like he did," I mused. I thought about it a little more. "Although... I miss them," I confessed, setting my chin on the side of the tub to look at Chester. He sat with his head cocked to the side like a dog.

"I mean, it's not like he ever showed emotions near me," I continued, "but he's still my dad, you know? And what about my mom? I wonder what happened to them. Am I really all alone?"

I sighed and closed my eyes, my mind conjuring up an image of Kara. "I miss her the most..."

Chester's sharp claws on my arm interrupted my reverie. I opened my eyes to see him propped up on the tub, staring at me. I smiled and patted his head.

"No, I'm not alone, not as long as I have you, huh?"

I scratched his head for a few moments, then pulled myself out of the tub. I recalled the spell to heat the air around something - I used that to dry myself off, and then set about cleaning my clothes.

The shirt came first, being the dirtiest of the group. It felt like sludge in my hands when I submerged it, causing me to gag. After what felt like hours, it was clean, and I set it aside to clean the rest of the clothes. The jacket was the second-dirtiest, but the denim seemed to repel most of the goo and cleaned fairly easily.

I dried my clothes with the spell and put everything back on, looking forward to returning to Hollow Bastion to get a fresh set of clothes. I decided to pay the good captain a visit to ask just how long it would take us to get there. I finished strapping on my bag and tied my jacket around my waist, then beckoned Chester to get on my shoulder. When he was settled, I left the room and made my way to the captain's cabin.

Captain Hook, however, was nowhere to be found. His cabin was empty, save for an empty lantern that glowed even without a candle. I stepped closer to get a better look, and nearly screamed when the lantern shook.

A small golden thing was hovering inside the lantern. As I looked closer, I realized that the gold light was actually a glow, and that it was coming from a very tiny girl in a green dress and dainty wings.

"Are you a fairy?" I asked it. The lantern shook vigorously, and the thing inside looked angry. I felt bad for it. "Did Hook put you in there? Here, I'll let you out." I held the lantern still with one hand and popped the latch with the other. The fairy barreled out of the lantern, then hovered near my face with her arms crossed. I let the lantern hang and looked at her. "Well, what are you hanging around for? If he catches you, he'll just lock you back up. Go on, go!" I waved my hand at her, and she fluttered off through an open window.

When she was gone, I resumed my search for Captain Hook. Considering his absence here, I assumed he was on deck, steering the ship. I made my way outside, pausing to admire stardust before I made the ascent to the wheel.

Hook stood by the wheel, humming to himself happily. He scowled when I approached.

"What do ye want, brat?"

I thought of something I could say, but held my tongue. "I just wanted to know about how long it'll take to get back to Hollow Bastion."

"We'll get there when we get there!" He waved his hook at me threateningly. "Now get out of me sight, and don't ask again!"

I suppressed a frown and turned back, descending the stairs quickly. Chester dug his claws into my shoulder to prevent him falling off. When I was safely inside the ship again, I let go.

"Can you believe him? Jeez, would it kill him to be polite for once? I mean, really, Chester. Why is he so rude? It's not like I've helped him this whole time or anything -" I was cut off when Riku turned the corner. My words caught in my throat - I realized that what I had been saying about Hook could have been said about him.

Chester's claws tightened on my shoulder at the sudden tension in the air. Riku turned around and walked back the way he came. I frowned at him, thinking that he was really good at running away from his problems.

My mood soured yet again, I made my way back to my cabin. The basket of food sat beside the hammock, which I had forgotten about.

"Oh, are you hungry, Chester? Here, I'll share a sandwich with you." I pulled him off of my shoulder, finally noticing that his most recent clawing had managed to draw blood. I sighed and wiped it off with the blanket - I figured that the blankets were dirty enough that a little blood wouldn't hurt. I sat carefully in the hammock and pulled out the sandwiches, sharing them slowly with Chester. They were simple, but filling, and the apple made the amount of food just right.

I stretched out in the hammock and laid my hand on Chester's head, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think.