Kingdom Hearts: The Next Generation

Waiting for that gosh-darned North American release, yeah? Bada-boom! Read the end credits, though. Near the end of the cast list was the name Julius, and I'm thinking, who the heck is Julius? But I found out. Boy, did I find out. I watched Runaway Brain, hot damn… no wonder it's a cult classic. Finishing that boss fight will be immensely satisfying… to somebody. Me, I've never defeated a KH secret boss in my life. Still awesome.

More importantly, during the credits characters interact with little floating English letters. One letter at a time, they spell out "This leads to KINGDOM HEARTS"… and then there are a few shots of three people standing together. Are they trying to make our heads explode with ecstasy or something? Awesome!

I admit this chapter's not very good. Could be more exciting. I'm just going through the motions trying to fight through this depression that sometimes gets me. I'll make it good later.

Let It All Out

The group trekked through the forest, the house sinking more and more with every passing minute. Kevin rested on the porch, while Dug scouted ahead and Skye, Max, and Webby guarded the group's back.

Wally B. provided them with rough sketches providing details on the abilities of the various kinds of Nobodies, particularly those that had already been seen to be under Muntz's control—Dusks, Berserkers, and Snipers.

"We've got to be on our guard," Skye said. "If we're gonna be traveling the worlds like this… I mean, we've been having fun, but this can get serious real quick."

Leaving the forest, they saw the mouth of a misty maze of rocks. From within came the chirping call of Kevin's babies, and Kevin herself hopped to the ground and eagerly hobbled toward the entrance.

"Yay!" Russell said. "Go, Kevin, go!"

A net sailed out from the forest and entangled Kevin, pinning her to the ground. Before anyone there could react, hordes of Nobodies appeared, surrounding Kevin as well as her chief protectors, Skye and his friends.

"Kevin!" Russell yelled.

A huge light appeared in the sky, and the Spirit of Adventure blimp loomed over them, dwarfing Carl's house.

"Come on, we've got to get to her!" Skye said frantically, slashing at the Berserkers forming a ring around him. Muntz came down the ramp, followed by Alpha. Skye could barely see around the looming Berserkers, but it seemed that a group of Dusks were dragging the trapped Kevin past him.

"Easy, don't hurt her now," Muntz warned them. "We want her in good shape for my return!"

Carl downed a Sniper with his cane, and charged at the Nobodies gathered around the net. Muntz watched Mr. Fredricksen's attempts by the light of a lantern, then tossed the lantern at Carl's house, setting it ablaze.

"No!" Carl yelled. He turned on his heel and took off his coat, trying to beat the fire out.

"Come back here with Kevin!" Russell cried out.

The gangplank was already being raised. Muntz and Alpha had departed with the bird, leaving plenty of Nobodies behind.

Skye sliced through them in his fury, Max and Webby behind him aiding in the destruction. Sweating and panting, they mindlessly hacked at every last one while Carl finished putting out the fire on his house.

When it was quiet, Russell gaped at shock at Mr. Fredricksen. "They took Kevin," Russell said. "And you let them. You just… let them."

"This is none of my concern," Fredricksen muttered, then spun on the whole group angrily. "I DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS!"

Dug stepped forward. "Don't worry, Master. It'll be okay."

"I am not your master!" Mr. Fredricksen snapped. "And if you hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened! You're a bad dog! Bad dog!"

Dug hung his head and slunk away.

"Now, whether you assist me or not," Mr. Fredricksen growled, replacing his harness, "I am going to Paradise Falls if it kills me!"

He began stalking away, Russell following him sadly. Skye stopped, turning to consult Max and Webby.

"What should we do?" he asked.

"We have to go save Kevin!" Webby exclaimed.

"I don't know," Max said. "Isn't there a rule about not interfering with other worlds?"

"Eh, not really," Skye said. "Master Sora kind of shot that rule in the face years ago, so I heard…"

"Besides," Webby said, "Muntz controls Nobodies, and that's part of our business!"

"Yeah, that's true," Max said. "Like the bee said, Nobodies are bad news…"

"But, still…" Skye muttered. "We'd be mounting this rescue all on our own. I think it's best to stay on the path that the Keyblade guided us to, and that means sticking with Mr. Fredricksen's house. It can't be chance, it has to lead to… something."

Max shrugged. "It's your call, buddy. You're the guy with the gigantic, absurdly sharp key."

"Okay," Skye said. "Well, then, let's move on and see where fate takes us."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The house scraped to a stop, the balloons no longer able to keep it airborne.

They had arrived at the falls. Being right next to it wasn't nearly as impressive as viewing it from a distance, but Mr. Fredricksen seemed satisfied, breathing a deep sigh.

"Here," Russell said, flinging his sash to the ground. "I don't want this anymore." He stomped away.

Ignoring him, Mr. Fredricksen walked up the steps into his house. He righted a pair of comfortable armchairs and sat down in one, listening to the distant sound of the falls.

"Is this it?" Max said. "Is this the end of the story? It can't be…"

Skye gazed sadly at Wide Open Space. "I guess we can't make everyone happy," he said. "Call your pods, guys. We're moving on."

Max produced a key ring and pushed a button, to activate the Gummi pods and call them to their current location. The trio stood and waited.

Nearly a minute passed before the vehicles arrived. Mr. Fredricksen exited the house, carrying a thick, leather-bound book. "Russell?" he called.

Russell appeared atop the house. He had tied a few dozen balloons to himself, and was armed with a leafblower. Firing up its engine, he blasted into the air.

"I'm going to help Kevin!" he declared. "Even if you won't!"

"No!" Mr. Fredricksen cried frantically. But Russell had already vanished into the mist.

"Russell!" Skye cried out, conjuring his Keyblade Glider as Max and Webby hopped into their pods.

"Skye, wait!" Mr. Fredricksen said. The three turned back to him disdainfully.

"Help me lighten up my house!"

He tossed a chair onto the dusty ground, shattering it. Skye, Max, and Webby lit up. They hopped out of their vehicles and rushed back to the house.

"What changed your mind?" Skye asked.

Mr. Fredricksen held up the book, opening it to the final page. There was a faded photograph of Mr. Fredricksen and a woman, side-by-side on two armchairs.

Written in an elegant script was a message: Thanks for the adventure… Now go have a new one! Love, Ellie.

Skye inhaled sharply, and a single tear flowed down his cheek. "See?" he said. "That's why we always gotta keep going."

"Let's do this thing," Max said solemnly.

The four of them entered the house, indiscriminately gathering up all of Mr. Fredricksen's personal possessions and hurling them out willy-nilly. Minutes later, when the house was almost stripped bare, it lifted off.

"YES!" Mr. Fredricksen roared.

"WHOO!" Max yelled. "We're off!"

Carl headed into the living room, where the mechanism for steering the house was set up.

"Muntz will be heading north," he said determinedly, unfurling the sails set up on the house's sides. "Keep an eye out for trouble, kids…"

There was a knock on the door.

"What the hey?" Skye blurted.

"Russell?" Carl said hopefully, running at his hobbling top speed to answer. "Dug!" he exclaimed in delight.

Dug, sitting on the porch, hung his head. "I was hiding under your porch because I love you," he said apologetically. "Can I stay?"

"Can you stay?" Mr. Fredricksen roared. "Well, you're my dog, aren't you? Good boy, Dug. You're a good boy!"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Master," said Alpha's deep, menacing voice. "The small mailman has returned."

"What?" Muntz muttered. He followed Alpha to the blimp's hangar, where the Dusks had tied Russell to a chair.

"Where's your elderly friend?" Muntz said coolly.

"He's not my friend anymore," Russell retorted.

Muntz ignored him. "Alpha, keep the bird guarded. If you see the old man, you know what to do."

A Dusk made some hissing and clicking noises.

"Drop him," Muntz replied simply.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The house swooped in on the dirigible. The exit ramp was being lowered, and Russell on his chair was slowly slipping toward the end.

"Catch him!" Mr. Fredricksen called out.

Skye bolted out the front door on his glider, picking up Russell by the ropes and swinging back around to the house, setting him down in the living room.

"Don't untie him!" Carl said. "We're getting Kevin. You are staying here!"

"But I wanna help!" Russell protested.

"I don't want your help!" Carl snapped. "I want you safe."

Skye, Webby, Max, Carl, and Dug jumped from the house to the ramp, and entered the blimp. Russell began struggling against his bonds.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The five of them moved stealthily through the dirigible's ventilation systems. Finally, they came just above a room where Kevin was trapped in a tall cage, with Alpha and a group of Berserkers and Snipers gathered around her.

"Guard well that bird, my minions," Alpha rumbled. "Allow no one to be entering through these doors."

Alpha departed.

"How are we gonna get past these Nobodies?" Mr. Fredricksen whispered.

Skye pointed his Keyblade at the enemy group, blasting them with a jet of light. "That's how," he said.

Dozens of faceless visages turned up toward them. Max was first to take action, dropping to the ground and cleanly spearing a Berserker. Webby followed suit, releasing a pulse of electricity all through the floor of the room, zapping a majority of the guards.

Skye helped Mr. Fredricksen drop down to the ground, shielding him from a barrage of missiles from a Sniper.

"Much appreciated," Carl said. "Take this, you puppets!" He jabbed the offending Nobody in the chest with his cane. It held up its arms in attempted defense, but was quickly vanquished.

A Berserker swung its jagged weapon at Webby, but Max brought the tip of his lance up just in time to halt the attack, leading the Berserker to turn to him.

Max spun his lance around, tapping the back of Skye's heel. Skye nodded and jumped into the air, and Max whacked him like a baseball, driving him clear through the Berserker's body.

With the room almost cleared, Mr. Fredricksen pulled open the cage. "Come on," he said. "I'm so sorry, Kevin…"

The massive bird stepped out of the cage and kept close to Carl.

"All right, let's go," Skye said.

Dug joined them, and they all wandered purposefully back into the blimp's halls, passing into Muntz's trophy room, packed full of odd skeletons and artifacts.

A crowd of Dusks materialized and faced off with the group, but were promptly destroyed—crushed underfoot by a simply colossal Heartless, six-legged and tortoise-like, its yellow eyes gazing down a stern, hooked beak.

"Oh, boy," Mr. Fredricksen said dryly.

"No kidding," Max said.

The Heartless opened its mouth and unleashed a jet of thick, green fire. Skye evaded, but his three companions weren't so lucky, and were left coughing and staggering in the wake of the breath weapon.

Skye stabbed at one of its front legs, and it growled and shook him off as nothing but an annoyance. Skye didn't relent, grasping at its knee. Ignoring him, it stopped struggling and turned its head to Skye's companions. Skye got to his feet on the top of its curved shell.

He lifted his blade and stabbed the Heartless' shell, only for it to bounce back. Shocked and off-balance, Skye slipped and fell. The creature shook vigorously, trying to throw him off. Skye slid down the shell and found himself at the base of its neck. On instinct, he swung the blade in a wide downward arc, successfully cutting a wound in the lime-green flesh.

"Perfect," he muttered. Lunging forward, he stabbed it in the top of its head, and it bellowed and swung its head violently, knocking him to the ground.

The Heartless glared down at Skye and stretched its neck out to bite him, but was repelled by a lance being tossed and embedded in its face.

Skye turned his head. Max had executed his timely rescue before he had even regained the strength to stand up.

"Thanks, bro!" Skye called out.

"Any time," Max replied.

"Aero!" Webby shouted.

A huge gust of wind magic turned the gigantic Heartless onto its back. Its smooth, featureless underbelly seemed to be inviting attack. Skye hopped up onto its belly, flanked by Max and Mr. Fredricksen. They all shoved their weapons deep into its body, and its body disappeared from under their feet, causing them to drop to the ground.

They had no time to catch their breath. A door to the trophy room burst open, and Muntz emerged with a sword and a rifle.

"I'm taking that bird!" he snarled.

Dug attacked Muntz, but was intercepted by Alpha, who dragged Dug through the door and slammed it behind them.

When Muntz lunged at Kevin, the blimp tilted sideways. Everything and everyone in the room skidded toward the open windows on the side.

Skye tumbled out into the open air. While plummeting, he conjured his glider and boarded it. Seeing Webby falling alongside him, he caught her in one hand and banked in the air. Webby nodded her thanks and hopped onto the glider's handlebars.

The blimp was righting itself; Mr. Fredricksen had prevented himself and the others from falling, and had noticed the ladders running along the dirigible's outside.

"Kevin, go," Carl urged. "Max, you too."

Kevin started up the ladder, using her beak and feet. Max followed directly behind her, and Mr. Fredricksen a single step after.

"Ooh, this is not gonna end well," Max said with dread.