A/N: I was meant to update this earlier, but it's been busy for an entire week plus the weekend so I only managed to have today/yesterday off in order to write this. So without further ado, let's continue on! Oh, and by the way, the beginning of this chapter is kind of dark so...brace yourselves, guys.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.
Chapter 9: Trusting issues.
Sora had no idea where he was or what was happening. He wasn't even certain how he got here to begin with. All he knew was that he was standing on a tall stone platform that towered over a huge desolate land of thousands of rusty fallen Keyblades. The sky was dark, and he wasn't sure if it was darkness covering up the land or if it was just night time.
"Where am I?" The spiky haired teen asked.
While his question wasn't answered, what he saw suddenly appear above him made his heart frozen and his blood run cold. The sudden figures of eight familiar bodies and two unfamiliar ones floated skyward in lying down positions, but something was wrong. Their bodies were blue and almost invisible, and hearts hovered above them.
Sora's eyes widened as he let out a horrified gasp, immediately screaming out to those of his friends that he knew. "Riku! Donald! Goofy! King Mickey! Roxas! Axel! Xion! Ventus!"
The other two he didn't recognize; one was a young woman with blue hair, and another...he was a brown haired man whom Sora was quickly certain was Terra. Before Sora could reach them, thirteen black cloaked figures appeared as did a Heartless, what that had a scythe. He quickly summoned his Keyblade to attack, but just as he was about to rush over, one of the figures suddenly vanished from the group and reappeared in front of him, stopping Sora from going any further.
"Out of my way!" Sora shouted, only to quickly block a dark Keyblade that appeared that appeared in the figure's hand and who had attempted to strike him. As Sora struggled against the dark Keyblade, his eyes trailed up to what was happening behind the figure and could only watch in horror as the Heartless then made a swiping motion, the bodies of five of his friends, his Nobody and the girl all vanish before their hearts were chained up and then absorbed into the Heartless who then vanished.
"No!" Sora screamed out in aguish, horror and devastation, only for the entire area and the other figures to vanish. Sora soon found himself on the ground surrounded by the Keyblades. "What?"
Light then shone down onto him and as Sora looked up, a familiar red haired girl, Kairi, the same as the last time he saw her, stood there looking around in growing fear until she noticed him and smiled in relief. He smiled back, but both smiles faded as the ground shook and a huge black figure emerged from the ground behind her. Kairi tried to run as soon as she saw the figure and Sora tried to reach her, but the figure grasped her almost in an instant and Sora found himself quickly sinking into a corridor of darkness underneath him.
"Kairi!" Sora cried out, trying to reach her. But he was rapidly sinking further down and was already halfway into becoming lost.
"Sora!" Kairi screamed, trying to reach out to him, but she was drawn back towards the giant shadow figure who gazed at her with evil eyes, and she was screaming as she began to glow in pink and soon beginning to disappear.
"KAIRI!" Sora shouted in distraught before his head almost disappeared into darkness and soon his right hand, trying to reach out to her in futile, soon followed and his world went black...
"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he jolted upright into a sitting position, panting as he awoke from a nightmare. He looked around just as Donald and Goofy yelped in fright as they were rudely awoken from their friend's scream. He blinked in disorientation, slightly covered in cold sweat as he slowly began to return to reality, realizing he was still in the same world he fallen asleep in, in the jungle. Though both Kuzco and Pacha were noticably absent.
"Sora!" Donald cried out as he and Goofy immediately hurried over when they saw him like this.
"Are you okay?" Goofy asked, worriedly.
"D-Donald. Goofy..." Sora panted, feeling almost overwhelmingly relieved to see them, solid, their hearts intact and safe. He felt a bit dizzy over this and sighed shakily. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just...Just had a nightmare."
Though it felt worse than a nightmare. It was...his greatest fears of losing everyone he cared about. All of his friends...especially Kairi. Nothing haunted Sora more than losing his friends, and losing Kairi would shatter his heart and his resolve. He just knew it.
"Oh...You really haven't been yourself lately, Sora." Donald stated worriedly.
"What? Whaddya mean I haven't been myself? How can I be any different? I told you, I'm fine." Sora responded incredulously. "Okay, so I'm seeing Roxas's memories and even both Ventus and Terra, but...I'm still me."
He couldn't help but feel shocked by his own words, though. Had he...really been becoming different due to this? And the nightmare didn't help. Maybe Donald was right. Maybe Sora wasn't being himself lately. Still...he couldn't let anyone worry about him over this. He was needed, and, as soon as he realized it, he had to do everything he could to keep them safe. But first, he had to find the other six pieces of Light to find the Key to Return Hearts and save Aqua, Ventus, Terra, Roxas, Namine and Xion.
Before Donald and Goofy could even continue, the bushes rustled a bit as both Pacha and Kuzco approached in a bit of a hurry.
"Sora, are you alright?" Pacha asked, concerned.
"You nearly gave people a heart attack." Kuzco commented, looking a bit rattled and annoyed.
"Oh, sorry." Sora sheepishly scratched the back of his head, before standing up and explained. "I'm fine. Just had a nightmare."
"This wouldn't happen to be this Kairi person, right?" Kuzco asked, skeptically.
"Uh...Yeah. She's one of my best friends and um...I don't really want to talk about it." Sora replied awkwardly, while Donald gave the llama emperor a suspicious glare.
"Uh-huh." Kuzco deadpanned. "You sure have a lot of nightmares, Sora."
"No, I don't." Sora shook his head as he stood up. "It's complicated."
"Well, maybe a tour around the Kingdom will help get your mind off of the nightmares." The Emperor suggested, which had Sora, Donald and Goofy look at him in surprise, confusion and no small amount of suspicion. "What? I just told Pacha I'm building my Summer home somewhere else after thinking about it last night, okay?"
"Really? That was fast." Sora commented, folding his arms in even more suspicion, and Donald shared that look while Goofy tapped the side of his head, not sure if Kuzco was lying or not.
"He really means it." Pacha assured the trio. "We even shook hands on it. So we're about to head back to the Palace to get him back to normal." Kuzco nodded quickly to confirm it.
A slight pause.
"Um, can you excuse us for a minute?" Sora requested, before he, Donald and Goofy turned around to whisper to themselves about this.
"So...what do you guys think?" The teenage wielder whispered, making sure that Kuzco and Pacha didn't hear.
"There's something screwy about this. I don't trust that llama emperor." Donald whispered back distrustingly.
"But Kuzco and Pacha did shake hands in agreement. So maybe he's tellin' the truth." Goofy softly pointed out. "But with the Heartless around, it'll be too dangerous anyway."
Sora felt uneasy. There was something wrong the way how Kuzco mentioned this and he couldn't shake it off, but at the same time couldn't figure out why he was feeling uncertain. Maybe he's being paranoid. Then again, this isn't the first time someone lied to other people as Sora thought back to the other worlds he visited of similar situations. According to Princess Jasmine and Aladdin in Agrabah, Jafar always lied just to try and become Sultan. Then there was Frollo having lied to Quasimodo back in the Realm of Sleep and even beforehand since the Sleeping Worlds had been trapped in repeating history through dreams and nightmares.
But as Goofy said, Kuzco and Pacha did shake hands. Not to mention the Heartless situation and since the first piece of Light guided Sora and his friends here, they couldn't leave until both the situation is sorted out and they locate the second piece in order to find the Key to Return Hearts to save Aqua, Ventus, Terra, and somehow find a way to save Roxas, Namine and learn more about Xion in order to save her too.
In the end, Sora realized that the only way to find out for sure is to see it for themselves. So he sighed and said to his companions, "Guess we should stick around for a little while longer, just in case."
While Goofy nodded in agreement, Donald gave a mental hopeless sigh while he looked skyward, mentally asking. 'Why me?' But he knew it was a losing battle. So he grudgingly nodded in agreement before the trio turned back to the duo who were waiting, though Kuzco looked impatient.
"Well, I guess we're in. Plus with the monsters around, it'll be safer in numbers anyway." Sora declared, and Goofy nodded while Donald tried not to show off his distrustful expression.
"Wow, really?" Kuzco asked, surprised.
"Yeah. We help other people." Sora nodded with a friendly smile.
"Alright. Let's go." Pacha smiled in return, before saying to Kuzco. "Oh, by the way, thanks."
Pacha then began to lead the way out of the jungle, with Sora, Donald and Goofy following. Kuzco on the other hand stayed behind a bit as he held a smug smirk. Things couldn't get any better than this, as his secret plan was already working.
"No...Thank you." He muttered to himself, then followed the group to return home and become human again.
But just as they were only about five minutes of walking, they came to a complete stop as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a bunch of Heartless which had them quickly on alert. While Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly summoned their weapons, Kuzco lets out a girlish scream and surprisingly leaped up so high that he somehow went up to a tree branch above him and held on, holding on for dear life as he quivered in fear.
"These things aren't normal Jaguars! They're Ghost-Monsters!" Kuzco wailed, before pausing as he asked uncertainly and in confusion. "Or is it Monster-Ghosts?"
He then broke the fourth wall and asked to the Author(me), "Can I get a little help on what these things are?"
Nope. Sora and the others will tell you after they beaten them. I'm staying out of this one.
"Well, you're no help." Kuzco grumbled, glaring in irritation. He then looked down and continued to quiver in fear.
"Pacha, you stay with Kuzco! We'll take care of these things!" Sora told the villager firmly. Pacha nodded and stood by the tree to make sure the terrified Emperor remained safe while Sora and his friends quickly blocked one fairly large Jaguar Heartless from getting to the two. The trio succesfully managed to push it back after hard struggling before Sora tossed his Keyblade at it's head and Donald chanted Thunderaga to zap it into oblivion. Goofy spun around and around to knock away two more Heartless, but some managed to dodge and made their way to attack again.
Sora dodge-rolled before deciding try out the magic of his new clothes. He focused on his power before his clothes changed to a more patterned red and did more faster combos against the Heartless despite no longer being able to wield two Keyblades like he did before Xehanort almost turned him into a vessel. He sensed movement behind him and quickly slashed one of the Jaguar-Heartless that attempted to pounce on him, but never got the chance.
It wasn't long before the trio dispatched the last of the Heartless and sighed in relief, while Pacha, who had to knock away some with a piece of wood that he found close by to protect Kuzco and himself, sighed in relief. The llama emperor on the other hand, found himself a bit stuck, but was a bit too distracted by the fight to even notice at the moment.
"Oookay...that was the craziest thing I've ever seen." The muttered to himself, torn between being amazed and freaked out. That thought was quickly forgotten as he and the others who rejoined underneath him heard a cracking noise and when Kuzco looked to see where it was coming from, his eyes widened in horror as the branch he was on was starting to break due to him being a bit too heavy.
"Uh-oh." He squeaked softly. A micro second later or two...maybe three, the branch broke and he fell screaming.
"Incoming!" Pacha cried out as he, Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly held up their arms to try and catch the falling and screaming Emperor...who ended up falling right on top of them and they all cried out in alarm and pain while all ending up piled up on the ground.
"Ouch!" Donald yelled.
Dazed and a bit surprised to have a soft landing, Kuzco shook his head before standing up and then looked down to see he was on top of the other four who were groaning. He was even more surprised that they had even saved him again.
"Oh." Kuzco muttered, before shrugging. "Thanks for breaking my fall, guys."
"You're welcome." Sora and Pacha both chorused, while Goofy gave Kuzco a thumbs up and his usual chuckle, "Ah-yhuck."
Poor Donald on the other hand, as the others slowly got off from the ground, ended up right underneath all of them and was flat like a pancake with a shocked and comical expression. He then reshaped himself and grumbled in sheer annoyance, tapping the ground with his fingers while his other hand was under his chin as he looked at his friends, Pacha and Kuzco.
"Oh. Sorry, Donald." Sora apologized sheepishly after he and the others realized what just happened. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head while Goofy shrugged and Pacha mouthed 'sorry' as well and even Kuzco cringed.
About an hour or two later, Pacha, Kuzco, Sora, Donald and Goofy finally emerged from the jungle and out into the open where there was a ravine which the two sides were connected to an old, wooden and thin rope bridge which were covered in vines. On the other side seen in the distance was what Sora, Donald and Goofy correctly assumed was the Palace...which was shaped as a young man's head which they also assumed was what Kuzco really looked like as a human, and the building itself was made out of gold.
"Whoa! It's huge!" Sora exclaimed in awe at the sight of it.
"Gawrsh, I've never seen a palace like that before." Goofy remarked.
"It's different anyway." Donald muttered, admittedly amazed as well.
"Okay. Once we cross this bridge, it's only an hour to the palace." Pacha informed the group with a smile.
"Good, because believe it or not, I think I need a bath." Kuzco replied, with a slight pouting look.
Sora was about to step onto the bridge himself when it gave off an omnious creak that made him freeze in his tracks. He softly gasped and dared to look onto the wood and his eyes widened in shock and growing horror at how old it looked. Apparently both Goofy and Donald realized the same way because they looked at each other worriedly before the trio looked up at the retreating duo.
"Um, are ya' sure this bridge is-"
Goofy didn't get the chance to finish his question when the wooden board underneath Pacha suddenly gave way and snapped. He tumble and fell through the newly made hole as he cried out in alarm, much to the surprise and shock of the others.
"Pacha!" Sora cried out worriedly while Donald yelped and Goofy gasped.
Fortunately Pacha's saving grace were the ropes that came undone when the wood snapped and was now dangling below the bridge and over the impending doom of the ravine below.
"...Safe?" Goofy finished his question, wincing in both worry and horror, half-convinced he somehow jinxed it.
"Kuzco! Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Pacha called up. "Quick, help me up!"
Kuzco just stood there for a moment with his hoove under his chin and smiled.
"We're on our way!" Sora called out, and despite the bridge being far too dangerous and old, he and the others had to risk it in helping Kuzco to get Pacha back up. But as he, Donald and Goofy were about to cross the bridge, a blade suddenly appeared and landed in front of the trio that forced them to stop and stumble back a bit, which also made Kuzco jump and looked back to see what was going on now.
"Still eager to help and trust others, aren't we, Sora?" A chilling familiar voice remarked behind Sora, Donald and Goofy who spun around and their eyes widened as they saw a Corridor of Darkness appear and the one who spoke emerged, revealing a familiar white-haired young man with golden eyes and in a black coat; Xehanort from the past, one that Sora first encountered during the Mark of Mastery.
"You!" Sora snarled angrily, quickly summoning his Keyblade while both Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons once more. "You're one of the Xehanorts from the past!"
"I'm honored that you still remember me." Young Xehanort replied, smirking coldly. "Yet it is intriguing that you never trusted me, but you and that villager trust that arragont Emperor who is just as gulliable as both of you."
Pacha could hear what was going on, and then called up to Kuzco once more. "Help me up! We have to help Sora, Donald and Goofy!"
To his, Sora, Donald and Goofy's shock, Kuzco just hopped over the hole and told Pacha smugly. "No, I don't think I will."
"What?!" Sora exclaimed, shocked before realizing that he and his two friends had been right. 'Ugh! That selfish emperor!' He thought angrily, but tried to hold it in.
"Are you just going to leave me here and the others to handle that strange man?" Pacha asked incredulously at the sudden betrayal.
"Well, I was going to have you imprisoned for life, but I kind of like this better." Kuzco admitted.
"I knew he was no good!" Donald grumbled, while still facing Young Xehanort who's own smirk grew wider and colder.
"I thought you were a changed man!" Pacha growled angrily.
Kuzco shrugged, "Oh, come on, I had to say something to get you to take me back to the city."
"So all of it was a lie!?"
"Well, yeah. Uh, no wait." Kuzco paused, pretending thinking for a moment as he paused, then said smugly. "Oh yeah, yeah. It was all a lie. Toodles!"
He then turned away and was about to began walking down the bridge again when he stopped at Pacha's voice.
"WE SHOOK HANDS ON IT!" Pacha yelled furiously.
"See? All of you are gullible and naive." Young Xehanort declared to the trio who turned to glare at him once more.
"Enough!" Sora snapped. "What would you know about this anyway?"
"Ignorance can lead to ultimate betrayal, especially among friends and supposedly trust-worthy advisors." Young Xehanort said nonchalantly.
Sora growled, while behind him he heard Kuzco point out Pacha, "You know, the funny thing about shaking hands is...you need hands."
The emperor then laughed and then said to Sora's group, "Oh and good luck handling that weird yellow-eyed guy, guys. You're gonna need it. Okay. Buh-bye!"
But as Kuzco was about to leave again, the wood underneath him snapped away and he ended up falling through himself, screaming for a short moment before ending up in the same situation as Pacha, facing upward and vines around his mouth as well. He held a dumbfounded and shell-shocked expression at what just happened.
"Are you okay? You all right?" Pacha asked, concerned.
"Yeah." Kuzco said, awkwardly. "Yeah, I think I'm all right."
"Good!" Pacha snapped, before punching Kuzco so hard the latter spun around until the vines were all over him except his mouth. "That's for going back on your promise!"
Kuzco responded by kicking him in the stomach while hanging onto the vines and moved back and forth as though he was on a swing. "Yeah? well that's for kidnapping me and taking me to your village-which I'm still gonna destroy, by the way." He laughed before he stopped as he then frowned in worry. "No touchy."
Pacha came back and head-butted Kuzco in the stomach so hard that the latter ended up crashing into the opposite wall and cringed, while the former swung back to the other side, glaring angrily at him. Sora, Donald and Goofy stared in shock and bewilderment, while Young Xehanort watched in amusement.
"I don't think Pacha was meant to do that." Sora muttered worriedly.
"Me neither." Goofy muttered.
"Well, it's all Kuzco's fault." Donald grumbled under his breath.
"It seems the darkness is getting to both of them." Young Xehanort remarked, summoning his Keyblade and made to attack. But Sora and the others quickly blocked it, but were struggling due to him being rather stronger than all three of them together.
"Why are you doing this!?" Sora demanded.
"I'll tell you why; There is a darkness in one of the worlds we must reclaim. This world holds a clue in locating it. It is in a place where no one, not even that Emperor knows about. I wonder how long it will take before you all learn to accept the real truth of one's heart." Young Xehanort explained.
"Why did I risk my life for a selfish brat like you?" Pacha asked both Kuzco and himself in anger. "I was always taught that there's some good in everyone, but oh, you proved me wrong."
Kuzco faked sympathy and guilt as he mocked. "Oh, boo-hoo! Now I feel really bad. Bad llama."
"I could've let you die out there in that jungle, and then all my problems would be over."
"Well, that makes you ugly and stupid."
"Let's end this." Pacha growled.
"Ladies first." Kuzco challenged.
Both Pacha and Kuzco threw themselves and swung straight towards each other in while their arms and legs frailed. Colliding into each other in the middle, they slugged it out with punches and kicks, occasional bites and pokes in the face and pulling ears, followed by a head-butted went flying. Sora and Goofy both watched in horror as they and Donald who looked bemused continued to try and hold Young Xehanort back while the said enemy quirked an eyebrow at the display, admittedly a bit dumbfounded himself.
All fighting suddenly ceased when the six of them heard a cracking sound. Kuzco and Pacha looked up while Sora, Donald and Goofy looked behind them and Young Xehanort looked ahead, all their gaze onto the bridge which all of the sudden splintered and coming apart, the ropes and pieces of wood flying and falling everywhere until the entire bridge was nothing more than pieces of wood and vines and fell away.
Pacha and Kuzco remained in the air long enough to share a glance of sudden shock and horror before they ended up falling and screamed as they went.
"Kuzco! Pacha!" Sora cried out, as he and his friends tried to push Young Xehanort back further.
"Why don't you go join them? See how your trust leads you to your downfall." The silver-haired man mocked, and shoved the trio back so hard that Sora, Donald and Goofy fell backwards and into the ravine themselves before he vanished into another Corridor of Darkness.
The trio fell screaming, Donald and Goofy in panic and Sora trying to scan for away out of this mess, quickly noticing a tree branch with rope on it and from the remains of the bridge. Sora grabbed hold of the rope with one hand, and used the other to grab Goofy's hand. Goofy, seeing this quickly grabbed hold of one of Donald's legs and the trio ended up hanging there in the sudden Trinity Ladder.
Kuzco and Pacha in the meantime tumbled against the cliff walls before the back of their heads were smacked into each other as they grunted, "Ow! Ow!"
They then caught the walls with their feet and skid to a stop, briefly stuck and hanging between the walls, and the ravine just below them since the cliffs broke apart underneath. They leaned against each other's backs, lucky enough to not have fallen into the river, but a pack of crocodiles, seeing this as an easy meal for them today, swum over and floated just beneath the duo, ready to take a bite or two out of them and three others.
"Uh-oh." Sora muttered, fearfully. They had to find a way out of this or all five of them(six if you're including Jiminy) were crocodile chow.
"Gawrsh!" Goofy trembled in fear.
"What are we gonna do!?" Donald screamed, panicking hysterically.
Sora grunted, saying, "Well, if Kuzco and Pacha can somehow climb up to us, I think I can pull us all up to safety." gazing at the rope in his hand he was holding onto while silently praying that the rope and/or the tree branch didn't break on him. 'Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break...!'
"What are we gonna do? Ah!" Kuzco wailed in fear, not wanting to get eaten by the reptiles below. "What are we gonna do? We're gonna die! We're gonna die! That's it for me!"
Pacha looked up as he tried to figure out a way out and saw Sora holding onto both his friends and the rope and realized what has to be done. "No, we're not. Calm down. I have an idea."
He mounted his feet onto the wall firmly, before linking both his arms with Kuzco's and having the younger man in llama form mount his feet onto the wall as well and he hoisted both of them up.
"When I say go, push against my back, and we'll walk up the hill. Ready?" Pacha explained, and when Kuzco shook his head, he continued. "Go."
He pushed back, but accidentally shoved Kuzco into the wall, causing the latter to whine, "Ow! You did that on purpose" and shoved Pacha into the opposite wall.
"No, I didn't!" Pacha grunted. "Now, we're gonna have to work together to get out of this. See those guys up there? Sora's holding the rope. That's our way outta here, but they need us to reach them. So follow my lead." He shoved back until they were both back in centre. "Ready? Right foot."
"Whose right?" Kuzco asked while putting into his work. "Y-Your right, or mine?"
"I don't care. Mine." Pacha answered.
"Oh, why yours?" The emperor whined.
Pacha resisted the urge to roll his eyes and responded in grudging defeat. "Okay, your right."
"Okay, got it." Kuzco replied, satisfied.
"Okay. Right, left, right." Pacha directed, making sure both their steps were in line as they began to make their way up.
"Hey, they're walkin' up the hill!" Goofy cried out in relief, while Donald blinked in surprise.
"All right! Nice work, guys!" Sora cheered, grinning and while he was still angry with Kuzco, Sora himself wasn't heartless. Not like Xehanort who was willing to destroy any and all lives just to get what he wants. Okay, so Kuzco was a bit like that, but still...
"Look, we're movin'!" Kuzco said in relief, only to look down and saw the crocodiles who roared, still waiting for all of them to fall down. The young emperor screamed in terror.
"Don't look down!" Pacha told him to calm him down. "Now stay with me, stay with me." and they both continued upward. "Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right...!"
Right up until they realized they couldn't move any longer after extending themselves as far as they could with their arms still linked, and were straining while trying not to let go or fall down. Sora, Donald and Goofy winched at this and shared a worried look.
"Now what, genius?" Kuzco snarked while trying not to let go to avoid in falling and becoming lunch.
"Working on it." Pacha replied, then seeing how Donald was just above them thought up another risky plan. "Okay, here's the deal. Stretch out your neck and I'll grab hold of Donald's hands..."
Kuzco's eyes widened before he asked suspiciously, "How do I know you won't let me fall after you grab the duck?"
"You're just gonna have to trust me!" Pacha groaned in exasperation.
"Stop arguing and just do it!" Sora snapped impatiently.
Kuzco mentally groaned in taking orders, but decided that there wasn't much choice if he wanted to survive this. So he pushed Pacha up first with his hooves, then with his head behind the older man's back while stretching out his long neck to push him up further, straining as he went.
"You know, it's a good thing you're not a big, fat guy, or this would be really difficult." Kuzco remarked sarcastically as he struggled to push Pacha up while the latter swung his arm out to Donald who tried to do the same, and both Goofy and Sora strained in holding their positions without letting go despite the sudden realization of the extra weight. But it was the only chance they had.
The others ignored him and after a final stretch, Donald and Pacha's hands grasped. The group sighed in relief, before Sora went to the next phase and tugged the rope to begin the next difficult part in climbing to safety...only to notice another problem. No matter how hard he pulled, the rope wouldn't budge from the branch.
"Oh, great." He groaned, continuing to try and pull the rope free while the leaves were shaken off at the same time...along with something else he didn't even realize. "The rope's stuck." He called down to the others.
"Take your time, Sora." Kuzco strained sarcastically. "No hurry here."
He then felt something land on his neck, something moving. When Kuzco looked, his eyes widened at the sight of a few orange scorpions with sharp jaws, claws and stingers crawling up towards his face, much to his horror.
"Scorpions! Aah ha ha!" He screamed and jumped, only to lose his position and began to fall, much to the horror of the others.
"Kuzco!" Pacha cried out, quickly grabbing Kuzco's legs to save him just in time despite what the latter intending on doing. Kuzco yelled in alarm as he swung unexpectedly towards the wall and ended up getting his mouth stuck into the small hole.
"What was he screaming about?" Donald asked, just as Sora grunted as the branch snapped forward and touched him by the back.
It wasn't until Sora felt several creepy crawlies on his neck and trail down into his clothes, and some fell onto Goofy, Donald and Pacha that all four of them saw what Kuzco was screaming about. Seeing the Scorpions now on their bodies, their eyes widened and their pupiles shrank in pure horror before they all screamed, not wanting to be stung by the insects.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Sora screamed, "Get 'em off! Get 'em off!"
Without much choice, Sora and Pacha both smacked themselves into the wall behind them to squish the insects while Goofy and Donald tried to shake the Scorpions off of them. While this was going on, the banging and noise shook the wall and while Kuzco could see both inside and a bit of outside of the hole, his eyes widened when he saw red eyes suddenly appear which was then he realized that it was a bunch of bats. The noise had woken them up and, disturbed, began to fly towards him.
Kuzco screamed as due to blocking the exit, the bats flew into his mouth before he was pushed back, letting the bats fly free and swooped right underneath him. The bats carried Kuzco, Pacha, Donald, Goofy and Sora up into the air while the latter let go of the rope and they were all flying flying and somersaulting. They cried out in alarm before the next thing they knew, they landed perfectly back on the side where they came from before having crossed the bridge as though the entire incident never even happened.
Everyone glanced at each other in surprise, especially since the bats had unexpectedly helped them get back to soild ground and to safety.
"...Okay." Sora muttered blankly, then sheepishly chuckled. "Not what I had in mind, but...Oh well."
"Phew...Safe at last." Donald sighed in relief.
"That was close." Goofy wiped non-existant sweat from his forehead while both Kuzco and Pacha chuckled nervously at the unexpected safe, just before all five of them felt the earth shake once more and looked down to see, to their horror, the canyon wall crumble underneath Pacha who stumbled.
"Look out!" Kuzco cried out and quickly grabbed him by the poncho and pulled him back away from the edge and into Sora's group just as the fallen pieces of earth fell into the ravine. The emperor then cheered victoriously, "Whoo! Yeah! Oh, look at me and my bad self. I snatched you right out of the air."
He then mocked the cliff, "'Oh, I'm a crumbling canyon wall and I'm taking you with me'." before saying smugly with a smirk, "Well, not today, pal! Uh-huh! Uh-huh, uh-huh!"
While Kuzco strutted proudly, Pacha, Sora, Donald and Goofy stared at him in shock and disbelief before Sora smiled a small smirk while Donald blinked in shock and Goofy smiled a little as well, knowing that Kuzco wasn't anywhere near close to Xehanort after all.
"You just saved my life." Pacha muttered in surprise.
"Huh?" Kuzco muttered, before realizing what the villager said and said blankly. "So?"
"I knew it." Pacha said with a smirk.
"Knew what?" Kuzco asked.
"That there is some good in you after all."
"Oh, no!"
"Admit it!"
"Wrong!"
"Yes, there is."
"Nuh-uh!"
"I think there is."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Hey, you could've let me fall."
"Come on, what's the big deal? Nobody's that heartless!" Kuzco cried out before gasping and shut his mouth, realizing that was the exact same thing Pacha said to Sora, Donald and Goofy the previous night, but by their smug looks, it was already too late to take back his words.
"Well, I knew there was good in you too. You just had to prove it, which you did." Sora chuckled, placing his hands behind his head, while Goofy and even Donald chuckled.
"Don't read too much into it." Kuzco insisted with his usual expression. "It was a one-time thing."
"Right, sure." Pacha shrugged, not buying the words. He then informed the group. "Well, we better get going. With that bridge out, it's a four-day walk to the palace." He then began to walk back into the jungle with Sora, Donald and Goofy nodding and began to follow.
"What?" Kuzco asked, surprised which made them stop and turn back to him as he continued incredulously, given what he attempted to do to them. "You mean you're still taking me back?"
"I shook on it, didn't I?" Pacha replied with another shrug.
"And there's no way we're leaving yet either." Sora added, with his friends nodding in agreement. "Besides, I am looking forward to that tour and there's no point in not helping you to get back home, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I hope you guys realize that doesn't change a thing. I'm still building Kuzcotopia when I get back." Kuzco, while taken aback, stated to the four of them.
"Four days is a long time." Donald pointed out, still hesitant in helping the Emperor despite that the latter had saved Pacha's life.
"He's right." Pacha said in agreement. "Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind."
"Uh-huh." Kuzco said sarcastically while rolling his eyes as he followed the group to another path to return home. "Four days...what are the chances of either of you carrying me?"
"Not good." Pacha sighed in slight exasperation.
'This is gonna be four, long days.' Sora sighed, but he still smiled a little proudly at Kuzco. While what Young Xehanort said did borther him, he decided to not let it get to him. Especially since the Emperor did prove to have some bit of light within his heart. On the other hand, the other thing that the past self of the man who caused the entire mess to begin had said did get to him a little.
"Yet it is intriguing that you never trusted me, but you and that villager trust that arragont Emperor who is just as gulliable as both of you. Ignorance can lead to ultimate betrayal, especially among friends and supposedly trust-worthy advisors."
'Betrayal of...trust worthy advisors?' Sora thought to himself as he walked. He thought back of what Kuzco told him and the others last night, about his former advisor named Yzma who apparently has this Secret Lab with stuff, and suddenly he came to a shocking thought that he quickly hoped was wrong, but at the same time wasn't that far-fetched.
'Could this Yzma person be behind Kuzco's sudden transformation into a llama?' Sora hoped that he was wrong.
But he couldn't think of another reason that made sense. Though that left the question of...why. If Yzma was the culprit, why did she turn Kuzco into a llama and dump him into the jungle?
Unless doing so wasn't the plan at all if she wanted to get rid of him for some reason, or just for evil purposes. The memories of Jafar trying to overthrow the Sultan and Jasmine in Agrabah came back to Sora, and this seemed a bit similar to that time all of the sudden.
Meanwhile, back in the Timeless Realm, Kairi and Lea had practiced a bit more before meeting up with Merlin who was informing them of what the next part of their training would be, under request by Master Yen Sid. The two new Keyblade Wielders had been admittedly anxious on what their next task would be and why it would help them to further complete it.
What they were hearing was nothing what the two had been expecting.
"Huh?" Kairi asked, bemused while Lea's widened in disbelief. "Travel to other worlds in this world?"
"Indeed. Master Yen Sid had requested that as part of your training in order to fully become true Keyblade Wielders, one must also know how to understand the responsibility and for the World Order's safety. The worlds you will be visiting will be illusions real enough for you two to mistake them as real worlds and people. But the Order must still be kept, so you can't tell them where you are from or that there are other worlds." The Wizard explained.
"Whoa, there. Are you sayin' that this place has illusion worlds? Kinda like...worlds based on memories in Castle Oblivion?" Lea rephrased. "I didn't know there were illusion worlds here."
"Actually, some worlds are based on a few memories or more." Merlin admitted sheepishly. "I forgot to tell you that. Sorry."
Both Kairi and Lea shared a bit of a nervous and uncertain glance, then turned back to their tutor as the former asked gently, "Merlin, what will we be doing in these worlds?"
"Quite simple, my dear." Merlin began. "You will be fighting the illusions of heartless and make sure the darkness doesn't cause harm to anyone. Also trust in each other and work together as friends and allies. You both had done a remarkable job so far, but the real test is working together in future trails as well as the upcoming battle ahead of you and your friends."
"Annnnd, how do we pass?" Lea asked, skeptically.
Merlin thought a moment, before answering. "Well, you have to find these Keyholes to continue on once the problems in each world you will visit are solved. There are seven you must find. Once you do that, your training will be complete. And if there are any problems, I will be right there to help you in a tight spot."
Despite that it sounded a bit easy, both Kairi and Lea knew that it was going to be harder than that. The latter felt like this was similar to Sora and Riku's task in awakening seven Sleeping Worlds for the Mark of Mastery exam. In fact, the more simple it sounded, the more Lea thought of how Xehanort and his true Organization XIII hijacked the exam to try and make either Sora or Riku their final vessel for Xehanort's heart, and the redhead couldn't help but worry that if they knew about this, then they would no doubt try and get to either him or Kairi...
Especially Kairi considering she's now not only a Princess of Heart, but a Keyblade Wielder. Which meant that double risked her safety if Xehanort would get to her in order to forge the X-Blade. The thought of her being captured made Lea feel extremely uneasy. And who's to say that Lea himself could not be targeted himself and being forced to join their ranks like Isa ended up being? Still, they couldn't back out from this now. Not with the Keyblade War coming up, and with Sora, Donald and Goofy busy finding the Key to Return Hearts while Riku and King Mickey were looking for the corrupted Aqua to try and turn her back to normal.
Kairi felt the similar unease, and was thinking along the same lines. Plus she had a bit of a bad night's sleep since what she saw earlier before she tried on her new clothes and just after Lea requested her to call him Axel had began to haunt her in her dreams. The lights which included her own and Sora would dim and/or scatter which made her a bit scared. But she knew that she had to be ready. Kairi didn't want to be the damsel in distress anymore, and she wanted to help other people, and protect her friends. No matter what.
In the end, the two nodded firmly after sharing a look of determination.
"Now then, are you two ready?" The Wizard questioned.
"Yes." Kairi nodded.
"Yeah. Let's jump right in." Lea added.
"Splendid. Now, the entry point is in the forest below where you usually look out during your resting times. Once you find that, hold out your Keyblades and it will take your to your first destination. Once you find all of the Keyholes, you will return here and then your training will be complete. Be careful and good luck to both of you." Merlin advised.
"Thank you, Merlin." Kairi replied as she and Lea both bowed, then nodded.
"Alright, let's get goin'." The red haired man declared.
"Yeah." Kairi replied, as she followed him down the path from their resting town while Merlin then poofed away to report to Master Yen Sid that the latest part of the two's training was underway.
Fully unaware that as Merlin appeared back in the Realm of Light at the entry point of the Timeless Realm, that the same ragged figure that spied on both Riku and Mickey had seen this and once the wizard had walked off to enter Radiant Garden, the figure silently cackled to herself.
"So, that's what Merlin has been up to. I do wonder where that leads. Ooh, this will be fun." The ragged person smirked to herself, sounding like an old hag-woman, before she disappeared into a cloud of dark dust.
Which meant that both Kairi and Lea's training was already about to get hijacked. This time not by Organization XIII.
A/N: Hope I did okay with this chapter. The much more devastating parts from the real KH3 game will be in form of nightmares in this story, because, well...you'll see. Just have to work on which Disney worlds Kairi and Lea will be visiting in the Timeless Realm as well as which worlds Riku and Mickey will be going to after Sora, Donald and Goofy's adventures in Kuzco's Empire.
(Kuzco suddenly appears next to me)
A/N: AHHH! (Angrily to Kuzco) KUZCO!
Kuzco: (Sheepishly) Uh, heh heh. Hi. Excuse me. Two seconds here. Um, I'm the one turned into a llama. Remember? This world's story is about me. Okay. You got it? All right. We're gonna move ahead. Sorry to slow you down.
(Kuzco then leaves, then reappears and holds up a picture of Yzma and draws a red mustache with a super long beard down to the ground and half-way from her, plus a cane and a cowboy's hat)
A/N: (Sternly) Ahem...!
(Kuzco looks, then smiles nervously)
Kuzco: (Chuckling nervously) Heh heh heh.
(He then disappears)
A/N: *Sighs* Sorry about that. Not that I don't blame him for drawing over Yzma's picture, but still...Anyway, see you in the next chapter!