Kingdom Hearts: The Next Generation
So, here's today's vanity card. I've been criticized once or twice about my tendency to use ALL CAPS whenever characters have significantly raised voices. These critics then proceed to suggest I instead use boldface, which they say is much less annoying and more professional.
Are you kidding me? Boldface is the most annoying and least professional thing ever. All caps is frickin' classy by comparison. And all italics? Way too gentle to imply someone is screaming their brains out.
To support this argument: Pick up a novel, any novel. How often do novels use all-caps? Not often, but it does happen. When do they use boldface in the middle of the text? Never ever. Ever. Under any circumstances. Ever. No matter what. Ever.
Creeping Evil
As Kevin, Carl, and Max scaled the edge of the blimp, Skye steered his his glider to a position where he could quickly come to their aid. Webby, sitting on his handlebars, had her magic crystal prepared.
Mr. Fredricksen's cute little house had detached from the dirigible, and Russell, having freed himself from his bonds, was steering it out of the way of numerous oddly-shaped beings made of Gummi.
Wally B. shoved a slip of paper in front of Skye's nose, with "Space Nobodies" clearly printed on it.
"I got there, thank you," Skye snapped, waving the bee away. "Come on, Webby, we've gotta save Russell."
"Steer us closer," Webby said coldly.
Skye swooped below the swarming figures, blasting globes of energy at them, and finally mowing them down with his glider when he came close enough. Webby complimented his path of destruction with minor magic spells.
"Thank you!" Russell called. "Come on, don't let Mr. Fredricksen fall!"
Russell brought the house around to the top of the blimp as Kevin helped Max and Mr. Fredricksen up to the semi-stable surface atop the Spirit of Adventure. Skye landed and changed his glider back into the Keyblade.
A nearby trapdoor rattled, and Dug popped out.
"Dug!" Mr. Fredricksen said, relieved. "Are you okay?"
"What happened to Alpha?" Skye said anxiously.
"He is no longer Alpha," Dug said. "By vanquishing him in single combat, I am Alpha now."
Mr. Fredricksen raised an eyebrow. "Either there's more to that story than you're saying, or—"
He was interrupted by a gunshot. Muntz was marching toward them with deadly purpose in every step, reloading his gun as he glared directly at Kevin.
"Get to the house!" Skye commanded. "We'll hold him off!"
Russell, Dug, and Kevin quickly found refuge in the drifting house; Carl stayed behind, his cane firmly in hand. All together, he, Skye, Max, and Webby charged.
Muntz tossed his sword at them, and followed it up with a gunshot. They scattered, dodging, and Muntz maneuvered through their attacks to retrieve his sword.
Max performed an overhead swing of his lance, and Muntz slammed him with the butt of his rifle before springing out of the way. He cocked his gun and shot at Skye, who actually managed to deflect the bullet with the head of his Keyblade.
"Skye," Mr. Fredricksen grunted. "Swing me!"
Skye grabbed the head of the old man's cane and swung him in an arc at Muntz's face; Mr. Fredricksen kicked the older man in the face before landing neatly on his feet, his back only a little twisted.
"Mr. Fredricksen?" Skye inquired, concerned.
"I gotcha," Carl said. "Come on!"
Shoulder-to-shoulder, they advanced on Muntz, swinging their weapons methodically. Muntz attempted to defend himself, but was entangled in the cane and Keyblade, forcing him to spring backwards more than a little dazed.
Sobered by a blow from Carl's cane, Muntz slashed powerfully at Carl and Skye with his sword. Before Muntz could prepare his gun, Skye managed a full recovery and lunged into the villain's chest.
Skye and Mr. Fredricksen were now circling and looping around each other, ripping at Muntz with the sheer force of their velocity even as he attempted to scramble out of their way.
Muntz tossed his sword again, causing both Skye and Mr. Fredricksen to gasp in pain, but they continued their attack, jumping high into the air together before blasting a great gust of wind at Muntz, knocking him to the ground and causing him to slide along the blimp's surface.
Unfortunately, he had also been brought directly within reach of his fallen sword. He picked it up and charged at Skye. Mr. Fredricksen extended his cane to its full length to reach out and block the attack.
Muntz leapt to the side and in a completely surprise maneuver pulled out a huge whip, cracking it at Skye's ankles and throwing him off balance.
"Fire!" came a tiny, peeping voice. Webby had snuck up behind Muntz, and quickly surrounded her body with a wall of fiery orbs, lunging at Muntz to burn him and running off while he was still utterly flatfooted by her surprise attack.
Seconds later, he shot at her, grazing her side. "Oh!" Webby said softly in surprise, just before she collapsed.
"Webby!" Max roared.
"I got her," Skye said. "Tinker Bell! Take care of Webby!"
The pixie was summoned immediately, and fluttered over to Webby, working her magic to stabilize Webby's condition.
Muntz was making a run for the house where the others were sheltered, but Skye caught up to him and blocked his path. Muntz attempted to chop his sword at Skye, but with a casual mutter of "Thunder", Skye caused an electrical pulse to creep along the surface under their feet, knocking Muntz backward.
With his Keyblade, he nicked Muntz in the chin. Muntz responded in kind, drawing his sword across Skye's abdomen.
Skye's retaliation was absolutely ferocious—he bashed Muntz in the face with the hilt of his key, then slashing a quick one-two-three across the old man's chest, dropping him flat on his back.
Skye took a moment to breathe and calm himself… when the adrenaline surge had passed, Skye realized how uncomfortable he was, standing atop this unmanned craft thousands of feet from the ground.
"We, um…" Skye muttered. "We should get somewhere safer… someplace we can actually maneuver ourselves."
"Yeah," Max said seriously. "How about Mr. Fredricksen gets back to his house, and we fly around, make sure no more of those little Gummi Nobodies are around."
"Sounds good," Mr. Fredricksen said.
The trio conjured up their vehicles and prepared a loop around the general area. Mr. Fredricksen returned to his house, cautiously sidestepping Muntz as he did so.
About halfway around the circuit, Skye turned his head to check on Mr. Fredricksen's progress—and discovered, to his horror, that Muntz had been faking his unconsciousness. The gun-toting old man easily overtook Mr. Fredricksen and bashed his way into the little house.
"No!" Skye cried out, swinging his Keyblade Glider around, knowing he would arrive much too late.
Mr. Fredricksen rushed to catch up to his house, but as it began to slip off the edge of the blimp, his face brightened with inspiration. "Russell!" he called. "Hang onto Kevin! Don't let go of her!"
He pulled something small and rectangular out of his pocket. "Kevin—chocolate!" he cried, waving it.
With a loud squawk, the bird burst through the front window of the house, Russell and Dug holding onto her tight as she landed on the wing of the blimp and began devouring the candy bar.
Muntz attempted to follow her, but immediately became entangled in the strings of the sinking balloons. As he struggled, the strings snapped, and Muntz's expression was one of horror as he plummeted toward the ground, which was nothing but a brownish blur thousands of feet away.
Mr. Fredricksen's house, meanwhile, sank slowly into the clouds, vanishing from sight.
"Your house!" Max said. "Want us to go get it?"
Mr. Fredricksen dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "No, it's fine. You know, it's just a house."
"I am ready to not be up high," Dug commented. Everyone broke out laughing.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
At the entrance to the labyrinth, three tiny, fuzzy baby birds awaited Kevin's return. Kevin and her companions emerged from the Spirit of Adventure—newly cleansed of marauding Nobodies—and were greeted enthusiastically by the peeping chicks.
One of them snuggled up against Skye's leg, and another allowed Russell to pick it up. "Aw, you're so soft," Russell said.
Kevin trumpeted, and her babies fell into step behind her, as they departed into the foggy labyrinth.
"So… is that it, do you think?" Skye said.
"Yeah, I'd say we got our happy ending done," Max said, nodding his head in satisfaction. "And we do have a bigger mission."
"Yup," Skye agreed. "So, will you guys be okay?"
"I think so," Mr. Fredricksen said. "Thanks. Come on, Russell. Let's go home."
Skye nodded and turned to go, but something caught his eye. Just inside the entrance to the labyrinth was something shiny and pure white. He scurried over to retrieve it, finding that it was an opaque white diamond.
"Whatcha got there?" Max asked.
"There's some kind of… spirit inside this diamond," Skye said quietly, examining the object. "The Keyblade is drawn to it… but in a friendly way." He tapped the gem with his Keyblade, producing no results. "Huh. I should hang onto this, maybe Master Sora will know what it does."
"All right," Max said cheerfully. "Let's move on."
The Keyblade Glider and the Gummi pods lifted off, and prepared to jettison off into the next world.
As they passed over Paradise Falls, they saw Mr. Fredricksen's house, perched perfectly beside it.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
In the Keyblade Graveyard, the Brotherhood watched Skye's exploits in the little round pool.
Randall smirked. "Pay up, boxy."
Grumbling, Chick passed a small, heavy bag to Randall. "I have no regrets!" he declared. "Smart munny's on the guy with the gun."
"Not against the Keyblade," Dominique Destine interjected. "It's been known to sunder entire worlds."
"It could rule them all if placed in the right hands," the Phantom Blot added. "Sadly, it never seems to be."
Dr. Facilier materialized out of a Dark Corridor at the head of the pool. "Hello again, everyone!" he said. "It's time. I'm about to introduce y'all to the people who brought this group together."
"Well, it's about time," Mother Gothel said. "I wasn't getting any younger here… that's what I do at home." She threw back her head for a bout of boisterous laughter. "Ha ha ha! Oh, sometimes I just crack me up."
Facilier chuckled. "Indeed. Anyway… meet our co-founders and co-leaders… the young maestro Xefrii and mademoiselle Ciexu."
The pair appeared on Facilier's either side, emerging from a pair of corridors. The boy immediately took to the air, flying circles around the entire group and leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He screeched to a halt just above the center of the scrying pool, dangling upside-down. Appearing to be in his late teens, he wore a snappy black suit coat, had light brown skin, blue eyes, and spiky black hair that seemed to be moving an awful lot considering there was no wind.
The girl was less noticeable. Pale-skinned and wearing a dress of white lace, she had curly steel-gray hair done up in fluffy pigtails, which reached up high to increase her height before cascading down her shoulders. Her most striking feature was her eyes: instead of pupils or irises, they consisted of nothing but solid pink orbs. She stood with her hands behind her back, appearing very reserved.
"Hi, everybody!" the boy said. "As the good doctor told you, I'm Xefrii… the lovely girl off to the side is Ciexu."
Destine sneered. "We've been brought together to work for these… these hatchlings?"
Xefrii's hair flattened down onto his head as he bobbed in the air to Destine's face.
"Well, yes, Miss Destine," he said coldly. "Do forgive us for our presumption. You see… we're just children, children who want to make our dreams come true! We asked you to join us because, well, we'll do anything to accomplish our goals. And we know that you will too. Do you understand what I'm saying, Dominique?"
Taken aback, Miss Destine smiled tightly. "…Yes. I like what I'm hearing."
"I thought you might," Xefrii said. His hair immediately began flowing loose again as he hovered, still upside-down, around the circle. "As you may have been told, we're a team here. You need anything, let one of your brothers or sisters know. A Brotherhood member asks you a favor, you fulfill it, if you can. Our preferred weapon, the darkness, gives us power… but it can do some nasty stuff to our hearts. Try to temper that by keeping us all friends here. Mkay?"
"Organization XIII," Randall said suddenly.
"Hm?" Xefrii said absently.
"Xefrii and Ciexu—fake names," Randall said. "We're working for Organization XIII. Hey Facilier, couldn't you have just told us we're working for—"
Randall stopped speaking immediately, as he had been frozen in a block of ice. A hush fell over the Brotherhood, and all eyes turned to Ciexu, who was still motionless but staring at Randall with evil intensity.
The ice block shattered quickly, but Randall continued shivering uncomfortably.
"How dare you make such a comparison," Ciexu growled.
"What she means," Xefrii said hastily, "is that Organization XIII, as if you didn't know, well, they all… died. Ciexu analyzed their history for herself, see, it's because they didn't trust each other. Didn't care about each other. Had a habit of stabbing each other in the back. Which goes against everything we, the Brotherhood, stand for." He suddenly spun to a right-side-up position, and a pair of white-and-red fireballs appeared in his hands. As he juggled them, he eyed Randall carefully. "But if you're not gonna be a team player, o learned Mr. Boggs, you're free to go."
Randall's squinty gaze darted between the fireballs and Ciexu's blank eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it," he finally said.
"If I may," the Phantom Blot offered cautiously, "how do you explain your names, then?"
Xefrii set himself into a reclined position and came to rest on Chick's hood. "We wanted to shed our identities," he said. "For, ah, personal reasons. The Organization's naming convention has fallen out of vogue, so we thought we'd bring it back. We're not Nobodies, if that's your question." He winked at the Blot. "What are you guys watching, anyway?"
"Get off my hood," Chick grumbled.
"Make me, fuzz-lip."
Chick barked a laugh. "I like your style. We were watching some twerp with a Keyblade beat up an old man."
Everyone's attention turned back to the scrying pool, which now displayed Skye, Max, and Webby, stepping out of their crafts to set foot on a barren arctic tundra.
Ciexu inhaled sharply. "It's him!"
"What's that, now?" Xefrii asked, standing up.
"That's him!" Ciexu reiterated. "Him… the Last."
Xefrii scratched his chin as he examined the image in the pool. "The blue-haired kid is the Last? I see how that's possible. But are you sure?"
Ciexu stared at him blankly.
"Right," he muttered. "Okay! Check your schedules, folks. If you're all game, the Brotherhood's top priority is now… this kid."
No one refused. It was plain that despite the words to the contrary, these leaders were not to be denied, and not to be messed with.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Sora landed his Gummi on the small island he had spent so many days on in his youth. On the horizon, he saw the main island, his hometown. As he walked down the gangplank, he was immediately waylaid by a very attractive woman with flipped hair, a yellow dress, and an oversized nunchaku.
"Welcome home, Master Sora," she said formally. "Destiny Islands honor guard captain Selphie Tilmitt reporting, sir!"
Sora looked her over with amusement. "I've asked you not to do that."
"I know," she said, giggling. "I just get super-excited. So, what's up?"
Sora began walking down the beach, Selphie a step behind him. "I've been asked by forces I must obey to check up on Kairi. So, can I go see her, or are we gonna hang around here observing protocols we don't have?"
"Of course," Selphie said. "Let's get-r-done! Have you seen Riku?"
"Yeah, just a while ago," Sora replied. "He's helping the King out with… something. I don't know, exactly. But he's in good health."
Selphie nodded sadly. "I haven't seen him since… the last time I saw him, I guess. Does he mention me often?"
"Of course he does," Sora said, tapping her on the shoulder. "I know he thinks about you all the time. You are his girl, after all, he—HEY!" He whirled around, pointing his Keyblade viciously at a huge man who was preparing to throw a large blue-and-white sphere at him. "What kind of Blitzball is that, exactly?"
Wakka examined the ball. "Ah, you know…" he said. "The adult version, ya?"
"The kind designed to break people's heads?" Sora said. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Not on my island, you don't."
"Oh, come on, Keyblade Master," Wakka taunted. "Like I could actually harm you, ya."
Sora rolled his eyes and spotted another honor guard member, leaning against a dock, his large blue sword resting across his shoulders.
"Tidus, how's it going?" Sora said jovially.
"Awesome," Tidus said. "And only getting better."
"Really?" Sora asked, concerned. "'Cause you look terrible."
"Yeah," Tidus replied dryly. "So you've told me."
"Does the city not pay you enough?" Sora continued with genuine worry. "Still can't afford a pair of pants with two legs, huh?"
"Very funny," Tidus said, self-consciously grabbing the rim of his shorter pant leg. "It's fashion! Pure fashion and I'll not have your slander, sir! Have at you!"
He jabbed his sword playfully at Sora, who gently tapped it away. "Catch you later," he said.
"Yep, I'd better be heading home," Tidus said, looking at the sun. "It's my night off and this lemon party ain't gonna throw itself. Later!" He departed, leaving his friends staring after him, baffled.
"I think he's kidding, ya?" Wakka said uneasily.
"Moving along then," Sora muttered uncomfortably, continuing his trek down the beach. "Selphie, any disturbances?"
"None at all," she replied.
"Good, good… hey, Kairi!"
He had spotted her, in her pale pink dress-suit and dark red ponytail, sitting in the crook of the paopu tree gazing at the ocean. She turned around, dropped elegantly to the sand, and rushed over to give Sora a crushing hug.
"You're back early!" she said happily, before frowning, something having just occurred to her. "Did things not go well with your new student?"
"No, no, it went great," Sora said. "I look at him, and just like that, I see myself in his eyes… But I kinda had to send him off on a mission. There are… things… cruising around the worlds causing trouble, we think. Big guys in shrouds with clawed fingers. Have you heard anything about that?"
Kairi shook her head. "No, but I don't think I would have anyway—no threat can make its way to the Islands. Our defense is exemplary." She nodded at Selphie, who beamed.
"Okay, good," Sora muttered. "Order of business number two, then, I need to check on your pupil: I need to see Oceana. Where is she?"
"I don't know for sure," Kairi admitted. "Either practicing her swordplay or working on her 'I Love Lando' scrapbook, if I had to guess. It's about fifty-fifty."
"Lando scrapbook?" Sora repeated. "I'm gonna have to make a note of that…"
"Mm-hmm, it's very sweet," Kairi said. "If he only knew about it… But tell me, is something wrong? Why do you need to see her? Is she in danger?"
"No, no big deal," Sora said hastily. "I just need to report back to King Mickey on her status. I'll find her."
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Oceana was in a cave, at the edge of a small underground pond fed by a trickle of water. Sora found her, saw that she was apparently doing nothing but staring deep into the black waters of the pond.
"Oceana," he said quietly to announce his presence.
"Hello, Master Sora," she said without looking up.
He stepped up to her, taking in her appearance, searching for some detail that would warrant a report. She had long black hair, decorated with a red flower held in place by a pin shaped like the Mark of Mastery. Her midriff-baring flowery top, shorts, and sandals were all very pale in color.
Oceana vanished suddenly, and Sora drew his blade as he tensely looked around.
The student was directly behind him, mischief in her big brown eyes. "Sorry," she said. "Need my personal space. So, what can I do for you, Master?"
Having no clues as to King Mickey's directive, Sora simply said, "Present your Keyblade to me."
She conjured it up. It was blue and white, shaped like an elegantly cresting wave, but its teeth were long and sharp. It had six gems spaced along the blade, a full rainbow of color. This was the Marine Gem, a Keyblade of legend whose story had been long-since forgotten. Just as the unassuming Kingdom Key existed in many forms, many other Keyblades went from one wielder to another as generations passed—indeed, few Keyblades came into being spontaneously; remembered or not, every form of the weapon had a history behind it.
Sora took the Marine Gem from Oceana and examined it thoroughly, noting its surface, switching erratically between smooth and rough, just like the real sea.
A second later, the most important thing to note about the blade was that Oceana was standing on it.
Sora laughed. "You're gifted," he said.
Oceana's blade vanished, and the girl dropped neatly to the ground.
"Is anything worrying you, Oceana?" Sora asked.
"Not at all," she replied, her voice high and musical. "I'm living a very full life."
"Good, good," Sora said. He paused, having no real idea where to go from here. This would have to suffice. "Well, I'll be seeing you later." He turned to go.
"Goodbye, Master Sora!" Oceana said. "Best of fortunes!"
He smiled. "You too," he said sincerely.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Endnotes
So! Took a while to update here. Had stuff to do. Anyway, so, this is Kingdom Hearts: The Next Generation, right? Totally. I've come to realize, this doesn't just refer to the fact that we have successors of Sora, Donald, and Goofy cruising around the worlds. Webby and Max are a new generation in a different way.
As we know, most of the classic Disney characters made their debut in the 20s and 30s (the frequent Kingdom Hearts journal entry claim that Goofy debuted in the 50s is inaccurate), and have been a constant presence in the world's culture ever since. In most of the world, cherished; in America, merely tolerated. At least that's the impression I've gotten. But either way, they've stood the test of generations.
Max and Webby, meanwhile, are the fond childhood memories of the 80s and 90s. Webby debuted on DuckTales in 1987. And Max, though his prototype Goofy Jr. had appeared as far back as 1951, debuted as we know him on Goof Troop in 1992—the very year that I was born. If that doesn't just warm the cockles of the heart!
Meanwhile, the Phantom Blot is, in a way, rather new himself. While he made his debut in 1939, it was in print. And again, Disney comics are celebrated throughout the world but pretty much unknown within their country of origin, so even a rabid Disney fan would be hard-pressed to identify him. The Blot's only screen appearances have been on DuckTales and House of Mouse, and if any young people have heard about him nowadays it'll be because of his spiritual successor, Epic Mickey's "Shadow Blot". The Shadow Blot, as I understand it, is a feral, snarling beast, which doesn't quite fit in with the Blot I'm trying to create here: a refined and intellectual supervillain archetype. Also, I'm predominantly going off of his House of Mouse incarnation—the DuckTales version had evil red eyes (way too obvious) and a mouth (that's just wrong). Despite this, I like Frank Welker's performance better than John O'Hurley's… So, keep that in mind. I'm very picky about my Blots.
Anyway, time for me to prepare material for the second-most-obscure world to be featured in this story. See you around!