The conclusion of the Jungle Book loop!! We'll also get a better look at the influence of Kairi's Darkness.
On a side note, notice that I changed the name from 'Bliss of Heart' to 'Kingdom Hearts: Bliss of Heart'. I'm hoping that this will make it more conspicuous and I'll receive more hits.
Chapter 10: Everyone Needs a Friend!
Somewhere...
Kairi slept contently in Kaa's coils, awaiting any commands that might come from her master. Until then, she would sleep.
"Yes," her Darkness said. "Continue to sleep until Kaa wakes you. There is no reason to wake."
Sleep was all that Kairi knew. Why did she need to learn? She was content.
"No.... there is someone I need to know..." Kairi thought. A strange image floated through her mind. A boy about her age with brown, spiky hair. "Who is that?" Kairi asked her Darkness.
"No one," the Darkness answered. "Nothing exists but you and Kaa."
"But what about you, Darkness?" Kairi asked. "Don't you exist too?"
"Yes, but I am a part of you," the Darkness explained. "So when I say you exist, I also say that I exist."
"Oh," thought Kairi. "I suppose that makes sense." She stopped. "Then who is the boy?"
"What boy?"
"The boy I just saw."
"You saw no boy," Darkness told her. "What is this 'boy'?"
"I don't know," Kairi answered. "The word just came to me. 'Boy'."
"There is no such thing as this 'boy'," Darkness said. "Only you and Kaa."
"Are you sure?" Kairi asked.
"Positive."
"I have to be sure. I'm going to wake up. Just for a second."
"What? No, Kairi. You mustn't do that."
"Why not? If I and Kaa are the only things that exist, then I should be able to open my eyes for just a moment. If the boy exists, he will be right here with us. If I don't see him, I'll go back to sleep."
"Damn!" the Darkness cried inwardly. "The fool snake's hypnosis has worn off!!"
Kairi slowly opened her eyes. The second she woke, the memories came flooding back. The world, her friends, Sora, and the snake.
But the memories of her conversation with Darkness... her hypnosis... all flew from her mind. The last thing she had seen or heard was when she was pushing that stupid snake's coils off her head.
Now she seemed to be wrapped in something. But what?
The sky was dark; it was dusk. Kairi slowly squirmed her way out of her bonds. It didn't matter what her bonds actually were. It probably had something to do with that dumb snake. Oh well.
Kairi realized that she was in a tree. She jumped to a near vine and slid down to the ground.
Kaa wouldn't even know that his quarry had escaped him until the morning. It was a good thing Maleficent didn't know that the girl cub had ever been in his coils. Otherwise, he would have been a dead snake.
Kairi continued slowly through the jungle, wondering if the others would find her. "I sure hope not," Kairi thought.
Elsewhere in the Jungle...
Mowgli had been having his own adventures all day. He had hiked from one end of the jungle to the other, climbed up a cliff, tried to find his way back to his wolf family but failed, and finally, he was there. He was standing on parched ground, scarred by what could have only been fire. He didn't know what he was doing there, only that he was there. He didn't even notice the four vultures (who looked suspiciously like the Beatles) sitting in a tree about twenty meters from him.
One of the vultures yawned before nudging one of his companions. "Ay' Flaps," he said. "What we gonna do?"
The bird, Flaps, shrugged. "I dunno. What you wanna do?"
"I've got it!" one of the other ones cried. "Let's flap over to the East side of the Jungle. They've always got a bit of action-with-a-bit-of-swingn'-scene, alright?"
"Ah, come off it," the first one said. "Things are right dead all over!"
"You mean you wish they were. Ah? Ahhh?" the third one stressed his pun.
He and the other two laughed, but the fourth just said, "Very funny."
The first one shrugged and looked to Flaps. "Alright, so what we gonna do?"
"I dunno, what you wanna do?"
The first one sighed. "Look, Flaps, first I say 'What we gonna do?'. Then you say 'I dunno, what you wanna do?'. Then I say 'What ch' wanna do?', and you say 'What ch' wanna do?'!! Come on! Let's do SOMETHING!!!"
"Okay," said Flaps. "...Uh... what ch' wanna do?"
"Blimme.... there you go again. The same notes again!"
"I've got it!" the third one cried again. "This time I've really got it!"
"Okay, you got it," the first one replied. "What we gonna do?"
"Hold it lads," the fourth one said. "Look what's coming are way..."
"Ay, what in the world is that?" Flaps cried. The four had spotted Mowgli approaching their position.
"What a crazy looken' bunch of bones!" the fourth one laughed. "And they're all walken about by themselves!" All four of them broke into fits of laughter.
"So, what we gonna do?" the first asked again.
"I dunno.... hey, now don't start that again!!"
"Ah, come on lads!" the third said. He started pushing his friends towards the edge of the branch. "Let's have a little fun with this little kid! This little chap!!"
All four of them glided to the ground and waddled towards the man cub.
Almost at the same time, Kairi walked onto the parched land scape. She saw Mowgli and the vultures and quickly hid behind a tree. But she was still close enough to hear what they were saying...
"Blimme," Flaps said. "He's got legs like a stork, he does!"
"Yeah, like a stork!" the first one laughed. "But he ain't got no feathers, he ain't!"
All four of them started laughing as Mowgli started crying. "Go ahead. Laugh," he said as he walked away from them. "I don't care."
"What's wrong with him?" the fourth asked.
"I think we over did it," Flaps answered.
"We was just having a bit of fun. That's all," the fourth added.
"Aw, just look at him," the first said. "The poor little fella. You know, he must be down on his luck."
"Yeah. Or he wouldn't be in our part of town," the fourth commented.
"Hey! New kid!" the first cried, going after Mowgli. "Wait a minute! Stop!"
"Just leave me alone," Mowgli said, looking at his feet.
The vulture jumped in front of Mowgli, stopping him. "Hey, what's wrong? You look like you haven't go a friend in the world."
"I haven't," Mowgli said. Kairi was taken aback. What had happened between that boy and Baloo?
"Haven't you got a mother or a father?" the fourth vulture asked as the rest of his group rushed over.
"No. Nobody wants me around."
"Wow," Kairi thought. "He must view going to the man village as his friends trying to get rid of him!"
"Yeah, we know how you feel kid," the first vulture said, shaking his head.
"No body wants us around either," Flaps said.
"Hey, we may look a bit shabby, but we still got Hearts!" The first smiled as he said it.
"And feelings, too," the fourth added.
"And just to prove it to ya," the first said. "We're gonna let you join our little band... er... group!"
"Kid, we'd like to make you an honorary Beatle!... no, wait.... vulture!!" Flaps cried at last.
"Thanks, but... I'd rather be on my own, alone," Mowgli said.
"You tell em' Mowgli!" Kairi thought. "They'd probably just make fun of you again!"
"Aw, now look kid... everyone has got to ave' friends!" the third told Mowgli.
The first smiled. "Hey fellas? Aren't we his friends?!?"
"We're your friends..." the vultures harmonized. "We're your friends! Your friends to the bitter end!!"
"The bitter end....." the first echoed.
"When you're alone!" Flaps sang,
"When you're alone!!" the others followed.
"Who comes around?"
"Who comes around?"
"To pluck you up....."
"When you are down......"
All four sang, "And when you're.... outside looking in, who's there to open the door?"
"Come on kid, we need a tenor!" the first said, shoving Mowgli into the group.
"That's what friend are for!!"
"He's always eager to extend a friendly..."
"Claw!!"
"That's what friend are for!!"
Mowgli smiled a bit. Kairi just watched.
"And when you're lost... in dire need! Who's at your side? At lightning speed?"
Kairi continued to watch as Mowgli started clapping to the beat. But she heard something else. She looked to the right of the happy group and saw something approaching through the brush...
"We're friends with every creature coming down the pike! In fact we never met a animal that we didn't like!!"
"You take it kid," the first said with a wink.
"Didn't li-i-ike!!" Mowgli sang, drawing out the last word.
"So you can see," sang the first.
"That we're all friends!" the fourth jumped in,
"We're friends indeed!!"
"You're a friend in need!"
"And friends in need..."
"Are friends indeed!!"
"We'll stay beside you in the jungle forever more!"
Suddenly and new, dark, evil voice joined. "That's what friends are for!!"
Kairi stifled a scream behind her hand. It was a tiger! Could it be Shere Khan? Oh-no... she was still in her human form...
The vultures ran and cowered behind Mowgli's back. The tiger started clapping with his paws. "Bravo, bravo," he applauded. "An extraordinary performance!" He took a few menacing steps closer. "And thank you for detaining my meal." He was talking to the vultures.
"Don't mention it," Flaps said worriedly. He gulped. "You're highness."
"Slippery jerks!" Kairi thought "This was all a setup!"
The tiger chuckled. "Boo."
"AAAHHHHGGGHHGGGG!!" all four vultures jumped into the air and bolted back to their tree.
"Run, friend, RUN!!" the first yelled.
"Run?" Mowgli asked. "Why should I run?"
Kairi almost smiled. Either Mowgli was one of the bravest people she had ever met, or one of the dumbest. But then she looked to the vultures. The looked genuinely scared and really concerned for Mowgli. Maybe the tiger had just gotten lucky, and it hadn't been planned.
"Why should you run?" the tiger asked. "Could it be possible that you don't know who I am?"
"I know you alright," Mowgli said. "You're Shere Khan!"
"Precisely," Shere Khan said, extending his claws. "Then you should know that everyone runs from Shere Khan."
"You don't scare me," Mowgli replied angrily. "I'm not gonna run from anyone!"
Kairi decided that Mowgli was just dumb.
"Ah! You have spirit for one so small. Such spirit is deserving of a sporting chance." The tiger stopped to think for a moment. "I know. I'll close my eyes and count to ten. It makes the chase more interesting. For me."
The vultures and Kairi watched in horror as Shere Khan closed his eyes and said "One.... Two...."
But Mowgli didn't run. He grabbed a stick. He was going to stand his ground!!
The tiger noticed the lack of hastened foot steps. "You are trying my patience. Three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten!!!!"
"RRRRROOOOOOWWWWWWRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!"
At that moment, looking death in the eye, Mowgli understood why they had tried to take him to the man village. This tiger was no mere animal; he was a monster.
"Run Mowgli, RUN!!!!"
Baloo had grabbed the tiger's tail!!
"Get off of me you big oaf!" Shere Khan yelled, taking a swipe at the bear. Now it looked like the cat was trying to catch his tail. He just barely couldn't reach Baloo.
"That bloke has got a tiger by the tail, he has!!!" the first vulture cried.
"He better hang on, too," Flaps put in.
Finally the tiger landed a blow; he bit Baloo's butt. Man, that'd hurt!
Suddenly Sora and Max were on the scene. Sora jumped in and started hitting Shere Khan with his Keyblade, and Max tried and failed to keep Mowgli away from the action.
"Let me at him!!" Mowgli ordered. He jumped right over Max and grabbed a stick that was laying on the ground, picking up with his original plan. "Take that you big bully!" Mowgli said as he whopped the tiger's head.
"Let em' have it kid! Give it to him again!!" Flaps cried happily from the tree.
Suddenly Shere Khan jumped away from the action, bringing Baloo along for the ride. "I've had quite enough of his nonsense," the tiger said. "How about we just finish this?"
Suddenly, all around Shere Khan...
"HEARTLESS!!!" Sora and Max cried in unison.
"Indeed, Heartless," Shere Khan laughed. "What a wonderful power this is: the power of Darkness!!"
"Yo, Khan, do ya think you could call of the weird monkey things? For old time's sake?" Baloo asked as he eyed the Power-wilds and Bouncy-wilds that had appeared all around him.
"Please shut up," Shere Khan said as he made a simple paw signal. The Heartless jumped onto Baloo, covering him from head to toe.
"BALOO!!!" Mowgli cried.
"Someone do something about that kid!!" Baloo cried through the Darkness. The tiger had started towards Mowgli again.
"Come on lads, they need our help!!" Flaps cried. All the vultures jumped down from the tree and swooped towards the battle.
"Split up! You two, help the bear. Flaps and me 'll get the kid!!" the third vulture said. The group split up in two directions. Two of them lifted Mowgli off the ground just before Shere Khan reached him.
Baloo threw off about ten of the Heartless only to have Shere Khan pounce on him. "You'll pay for this insolence!!"
"No! No! Baloo needs help!!" Mowgli yelled to his vulture friends. They were just about to land on the tree when...
Zap! BBBBOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
The tree was struck by lightning.
And now branches covered with fire were falling everywhere.
"Fire! That's the only thing old stripes is afraid of!!" the third vulture said.
"You get the fire, we'll do the rest!" Flaps said. The two flew over to Shere Khan, the Heartless, and Baloo.
Mowgli grabbed a huge flaming stick and charged towards Shere Khan.
Baloo fell. He was bleeding in about ten places, cuts and gashes all over his body.
"CHARGE!!!" the vultures yelled as the swooped in, taking out Heartless and clawing at Shere Khan.
Max and Sora were about to join the fray when Sora spotted something. More aptly, someone. "Kairi!!!" He and Max charged over to the tree behind which the girl was hiding.
"Sora! Don't come to close! I'm human!"
"I'll just change you back," Sora said, coming to a halt and zapping Kairi. "Hey.... sorry about what I said back there."
"It's..... I guess it's okay," Kairi replied as she changed back into a jaguar. "I... I just had dreams last night about...." she looked at Max, then looked at Sora. "It."
Sora nodded in understanding. "Kairi, I really didn't mean to-"
"No, Sora, I'm sorry. I just felt really weird." She looked down at herself. "I still feel kind of weird."
Deep inside her, the Darkness smiled.
The vultures had Shere Khan's focus, and they had eliminated the remainder of the Heartless. "Stay out of this, you feather-brained birds!!"
"Hey stripes," the fourth said. "Look behind you."
The tiger whipped around... to see a flaming stick tied to his tail.
Shere Khan let out a frightened roar and every thought of fighting was gone. He ran off into the distance, the stick pulled along behind him.
"Wait.... fire was all we needed to beat that looser?" Kairi asked.
"Aw, crap....." Sora said in cold realization. He could have just shot a few fireballs at the cat to make him run!
"Sora.... It gets worse." Max lifted a paw and pointed to something. The body of Baloo. And Mowgli was standing over it.
"Baloo?" Mowgli asked, dropping to his knees next to the bear's head. "Baloo, please get up..." The boy tugged on the bear's fur. "Oh, Baloo...."
"A tragedy..." Our three off-world-heros spun to see Bagheera.
"Where have you been?" Max asked. "You were right behind me!"
"Quicksand," Bagheera said absentmindedly. He walked over to Mowgli. "Mowgli.... try to understand."
"Bagheera, what's the matter with him?"
"Come now Mowgli, you've got to be brave. Like Baloo was," Bagheera said.
"Was?" Mowgli asked. "You don't mean.... oh-no...."
The vultures watched from a nearby tree as the scene continued to unfold. Sora, Kairi and Max just stood there, not feeling it was their place to help.
"Now, now," began Bagheera. "I know how you feel. But you must remember Mowgli, that greater love hath no one for he who lays his life down for a friend...."
Suddenly, Baloo moved. Only Sora, Kairi and Max noticed it. Sora was about to say something when Max shushed him. "Bagheera is going to give a speech about how brave and wonderful Baloo is. You really want to miss this?"
Sora looked thoughtful before saying. "Let's watch."
"I wish we had some popcorn," Kairi muttered.
"When great deeds are remembered in this jungle," Bagheera continued as he and Mowgli walked a few feet away from the 'body'. Baloo's eyes were now open. "One name will stand above all others," Bagheera paused. If he had been anyone else, it might have been for dramatic effect. "Our friend Baloo the bear."
Our heroes saw Baloo sniffle a bit, as though he was going to cry. "He's crackn' me up..."
"The memory of Baloo's bravery and sacrifice will be forever engraved on our saddened Hearts."
"Aw, yeah....." Baloo muttered. "Beautiful."
"This spot where Baloo fell shall always be a hallowed place in the jungle..." Bagheera carried on.
"You were right, this is worth watching," Sora grinned.
"... For there lies one of nature's noblest creatures."
"We need popcorn," Kairi moaned.
"I wish my mother could have heard this," Baloo sobbed.
"It's best we leave now," Bagheera said.
He and Mowgli started to walk off when they heard a voice call. "Hey, don't stop now Baggy! You're doing great!! There's more, lots more!!!"
"Well, the gig's up," Sora sighed.
"WHY, YOU BIG FAT FRAUD YOU!!!!!!" Bagheera cried.
Later, in another part of the jungle...
"Hey, baggy!" Baloo laughed as the group slowly walked in a seemingly random direction. "You should have seen how I made a sucker out of old stripe face! How I hit him with my left and swung with my right and-!"
"Hey.... what's that?" Sora asked, cutting the bear off. The group looked forward to see a bunch of man-made huts clustered together.
"Yeah, what is that?" Mowgli asked.
"The man village," Bagheera answered.
"No, no, I mean that!"
Everyone followed Mowgli's finger to see it; a girl cub walking down to the river outside of the man village to get water.
"Forget about those, they're nothing but trouble," Baloo said.
"I should know," Sora said, giving Kairi a joking look. She gave him look that said 'If I was Queen and not Princess it would be off with your head.'.
"Just give me a second," Mowgli said. "I've never seen one of those before."
"Now you've seen one," Baloo said with an urgent as his man cub friend ran off. "Let's go!"
"I'll be right back," Mowgli said as he approached the river. "I want a better look."
"Ah, young love," Max said knowingly. Sora and Kairi shot him dagger eyes.
"Mowgli, come back!" Baloo called.
"Oh, Baloo. Let him have a better look," Bagheera said cheekily.
Mowgli climbed into a tree and looked down at the girl from above. She was singing a mysterious tune that seemed to draw him in, but Sora, Kairi and Max knew what she was saying.
"Father's hunting in the forest, Mother's cooking in the home, and I must go to fetch the water, till the day that I am grown."
"Till I'm grown."
"Till I'm grown."
"I must go to fetch the water..."
"Till the day that I am grown."
She had seen Mowgli's reflection in the water. She looked up at the man cub in the tree above her.
She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes a few times.
"It's like she's trying to get him to come over!" Sora exclaimed. "Like some sort of weird enchantress..."
Suddenly the branch Mowgli was using for support snapped and Mowgli fell into the water right in front of the girl. He looked up and their eyes met. Then Mowgli scrambled out of the river and onto drier land, where he promptly hid behind some shrubs.
The girl shrugged and decided to forget about the boy.
"More like try harder to draw him in," Baloo thought.
"And I will have a handsome husband, and a daughter of my own."
"And I'll send her to fetch the water."
"I'll be cooking in the home."
Mowgli risked another peak at the girl. She saw him and giggled at his face. He was mesmerized by her.
The girl, having retrieved the water, stood and put the pot on her head. She started to walk back to the man village when the pot fell off of her head. "Oh!" Water sloshed out of it as it rolled all the way back to the river.
"She did that on purpose!!" Baloo cried.
"Clearly," Bagheera replied with a smile.
Mowgli crossed the river, still unable to look away from the girl, and picked up the dropped water pitcher. He quickly filled it with water and held it up to the girl.
She just smiled and turned back towards the man village, humming her song.
Mowgli was confused. Didn't she want her pot?
He looked to his friends.
"Come back," Baloo called quietly. "Mowgli, come back!!"
"Go on," Bagheera urged, unable to hide a smile at the fact that Mowgli was about to willingly enter the very place he had been dreading. "Go on."
"Yeah, so our job will be over," Max added. "I've just about had enough of this insane mission."
Mowgli followed the girl, pot in hand, right up to the gate of the man village.
Twinkle.
"You just saw the pot twinkle, right?" Sora asked Kairi.
"Yeah... I suppose," she answered.
In a split second Sora's Keyblade was in his mouth. The light from the girl's pot shot into the sky and revealed a gate seal.
Suddenly Sora stood in the world's core, the seal hovering overhead. A beam of light shot out of the Keyblade, unlocking the new gate.
Suddenly, Sora was back, and Mowgli was holding the pot. The man cub just shrugged and gave a weak grin before walking into the village after the girl.
"He's hooked," Baloo said, shocked.
"It was inevitable Baloo," Bagheera said, putting a paw on the bear's shoulder. "The boy couldn't help himself. It was bound to happen!"
"And it means our work is done," Max said, breathing a sigh of releaf. "I think I was about to go crazy... elephants, monkeys and tigers..."
"Oh my!" Sora cried jokingly.
"But Mowgli is where he belongs now, Baloo," Kairi told the bear.
"Yeah... yeah, I guess you're right," Baloo said. "But I still think he would have made one swell bear."
"Come on guys," Sora smiled. "Let's get back where we belong."
"See you guys some other time!" Baloo called after them.
"Stop by every now and then!" Bagheera instructed.
"Will do!" Max replied. "Near the wolf cave, alright?"
"Most definitely," Bagheera answered.
"See ya later Baggy!!" Sora called.
Bagheera waited until the three were out of sight behind the trees before he scowled and looked a Baloo. "You've gotten to him too..."
"Aw, come on Baggy!" Baloo said happily. "Let's get back where we belong!" The bear started to walk away before Baloo said, "Oh, and get with the beat."
"Eh?"
"You just gotta look for the:
"Bare Necessities, the simple Bare Necessities, forget about your worries and your strife. I mean the… Bare Necessities! Old Mother Nature's recipes! That bring the Bare Necessities to life!"
And that's that. Hope you enjoyed it.
While we will not return to this world, Kaa is yet to hypnotize his last victim. As he is a member of the Hellfire Club (Maleficent's group), we will be seeing him again.
Oh, and I don't own the girl (dubbed Shanti in The Jungle Book Two), or the vultures (or the Beatles for that matter).
When Baloo says to Shere Khan that he should call off the Heartless for 'old time's sake,' this is a reference to the fact that the two were friends when they were younger. See TV series 'Jungle Cubs'. (Which I do not own)