I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Disney.

Mortem belongs to YamiChaos27

Braxton, Johri, Eini, and Grace belong to Flautist4ever.

Special thanks to Flautist4ever and YamiChaos27 for helping to edit this.


Chapter 12: Let Bayous be Bayous

CLAIR'S POV

The Mysterious Tower…

"Master Yen Sid! Master Yen Sid!" Goofy cried out as we hurried up the stairs. "It's terrible! The worst has happened!"

As he burst through the doors to the study of the sorcerer, he stood from his desk looking at us. "What has happened?"

"It was Mortem. He got one of the hearts." Riku explained as he and Jason brought in Alice's body. Eyes widening, the wizard conjured up a cot that the two of them set Alice upon. Looking at our teacher, the Keyblade Master continued, "We tried to stop him but we weren't able to protect Alice. He had powers I was not familiar with."

"He is strong in the darkness." Master Yen Sid explained as he looked over Alice. "It is clear that we are dealing with a foe who is more dangerous than Xehanort ever was."

Blinking, I asked, "Who's Xehanort?"

"Oh, that's right. You weren't here for him." Scrooge said. "My nephew and his friends used to fight him all the time."

That got my cousin's attention. "So Xehanort was a villain?"

"More than a villain." The old wizard explained, "Xehanort was a madman who sought to recreate the events of the First Keyblade War."

That sent shivers down my spine. "K-Keyblade War?"

"Yes. Long ago, in the age of what many worlds refer to as the time of fairy tales, the worlds were united as one. Everyone lived in the beauty of the light, which was shared by all. But where light shines brightest, the strongest shadows are cast. Many people began to covet the light for themselves, and from that greed darkness was born into the world.

"In this time, a weapon known as the X-Blade was forged, and was created as a means to take the light. Others forged lesser keyblades in its image, but none were near as powerful as the first. In time, there were those who realized what they were doing was wrong, and repurposed their keyblades to protect the light instead. War still became inevitable, and the forces of light and darkness clashed. In that conflict, the world was swallowed by the darkness."
Feeling a little sick, I began to sat down when a chair ran up behind me to offer a place to sit. "So everyone died?"

"No, Clair. In that darkness, seven lights survived, and together they rebuilt the world that had been taken. To prevent a cataclysm from happening again, the world was divided into the universe that exists today, each world remaining separate from each other. The X-Blade was broken into twenty fragments: seven of light, thirteen of darkness. The light faded away into the darkness, where it remained hidden as Kingdom Hearts.

"Xehanort, who was a gifted Master of the Keyblade, obsessed over the legend, and became determined to see what would happen if another Keyblade War were to be unleashed. For years he traveled the worlds bringing chaos into countless lives. He even split his heart into thirteen fragments to create the Thirteen Darknesses to capture the Hearts of Light. And he would have succeeded if it had not been for Sora and those you see before you."

During the story, my keyblade had appeared in my hand. Before I used to look at it with wonder, but now I had so much doubt and uncertainty. Was my weapon evil? Was my purpose to hurt others and bring misery into their lives? My thoughts became interrupted as Jason asked, "Do you think Mortem could be connected to Xehanort?"

"I do not believe so. Xehanort has been defeated for over a year now, and the damage he has done to the worlds is being repaired as we speak." Yen Sid answered. "Yet the fact remains that Mortem has taken one of the Hearts of Light, and will seek the others in time. We must be ready."

I don't know how, but Kairi asked a question that was in my heart. "What about Alice's family? Won't they be wondering where she is?"

"We will do what we can to keep her family from worrying for her. Which is why you must do what you can to return her heart to her."

"I don't think it'll be that easy." My cousin spoke up. "In one of the worlds we went to, someone said something that's been bothering me. They seemed to suggest that all of us have just become pawns in an elaborate game, and I have a feeling this is a game we don't want to lose."

As I wandered through the tower, I was amazed at how much space was held in these walls. It was like being at the mall even though there was no way from the outside to tell that. There were rooms for sleeping, bathing, even gardens that were so well kept the richest person alive would be jealous. I even found entire rooms filled with libraries of books that would take me eternity to read all of.

As much as I wanted to spend my time reading, I couldn't bring myself to do it. The tale I had just heard was making me question myself and the path I had chosen. Why would I have a Keyblade if I was good? It was meant to be a weapon of evil, so did that mean deep down I was evil? I didn't want to be someone like Gerald Hendricks, or Buddy Primrose. The crimes they committed in history still made my spirit shiver like someone had blown cold air on me, and I wasn't sure if I could live with myself if I was made to be a person of evil.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I looked to see Kairi was coming my way. "Clair? Are you okay?"

Shaking my head, I explained, "I've been thinking about Master Yen Sid's story. If keyblades were made to do evil, then does that mean people who use them are evil? Is it only a matter of time before-."

"I'm going to stop you there." The redhead told me as she looked at me with those blue eyes. "I have a keyblade of my own, but I also hold one of the Hearts of Light. You know what that means? That means there isn't a drop of darkness anywhere in me."
"But I don't have a heart of light."

"No, but that doesn't make you evil. My friends all made some pretty poor choices on their adventures. Some were bad, others were just dumb. But they rose above their mistakes, and both are now Keyblade Masters." Her eyes conveyed the truth of her words because I could see no deception in them. "I don't believe your keyblade is a tool of evil. It gives off a feeling of warmth and goodness, and every time I saw Xehanort or one of his vessels I always felt dread and cold from them. Don't worry. You are a good person. I know from the bottom of my heart."

Her words made me smile before I asked, "What about Mortem?"

She paused at that, and I knew she was feeling conflicted about it. "He… he seems lost. I believe there's good in him somewhere but there's a thick cloud of darkness raging in him. It's like his heart is trying to weather a storm, a hurricane, and he's looking for someone to help him."

I couldn't believe it. "Mortem needs help? He doesn't act like it."

"Maybe this isn't who he really is. Maybe if the storm clears he can be a big help for us. Hello. What's this?" Her question caught me off guard, so I turned to see what it was.

It was a plain wooden door, but I don't recall seeing it there. "Was that door behind me a few seconds ago?"

"No. It appeared when we were talking." Kairi then reached for it, and I realized she intended to open it.

"What are you doing? We don't know where that goes." I warned her.

The princess looked at me with comfort and assurance. "But it came to us. Maybe we're supposed to go through this door. Master Yen Sid said this tower had a way of helping those who needed help."


MORTEM's POV

Devil's Bayou...

"Mayday! Mayday!" I heard someone call out as Leroy and I fell through the sky. Turning, I saw a big white bird with smoking tail feathers falling our way. Wait. Were we still small? Oh, come on! Wait a minute. That could work to our advantage. That was how we were going to survive! Grabbing the little red monster, I reached out with my free hand and grabbed a hold of one of the feathers. Our fall didn't slow down because how fast this thing was going, but at least we would have a softer landing.

"What are you doing?" Leroy asked as I pulled us closer to the falling fowl.

Without looking back, I said, "Saving our skins!" Because of how fast we were going I had to squint or risk my eyes drying out. Once Leroy grabbed the bird with his claws I let go so I could hold on with both hands. I wish I had my glider with me now because I hate being in falls I cannot get out of.

Just when I thought this fall was never going to end, the bird's body jostled as it collided with something hard. We were at the ground already? This thing fell fast. I felt it skid a few times on the ground before a wave of water waved over it, knocking the two of us off and into what would've failed to classify as a puddle at our normal size, but at the one we were at it was like wading into a shallow lake.

Immediately the little red monster began splashing around. "Water? Not water! Help me! I'm drowning! I can't swim!"

Walking over to him, I folded my arms while shaking my head. "You do realize you're lying on the bottom, right? Just stand up."

"Oh." Was all he said as he got to his feet. It was just my luck. A virtually indestructible beast of destruction is afraid of water. I didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed. This could prove to be quite an inconvenience.

Turning, I got a good look at the bird we hitched a ride with. It was an albatross that had a pair of goggles and a sardine can strapped to its back. Currently it was letting out a sigh of relief as the burnt feathers were dealt with.

"Look out below!" We heard someone cry out. Turning, I saw a pair of mice floating down on an umbrella, before it broke. As they plummeted down, the albatross got out of their way as they fell into the water. As they got out from the ruined umbrella, a pair of muskrats came over to help them.

"Oh, dear. Let me help you." The obese muskrat with an apron and rolling pin said to the mouse with a purple hat and bow.

While she was being helped, another muskrat with some sort of tent-like shirt and a potbelly grabbed the other mouse and pushed a jug into his mouth. After being forced to down some of whatever was inside it, the mouse coughed out some smoke and looked as if someone had set his insides on fire. Noticing me, the muskrat moved to give me some, but I just summoned my Keyblade with the tip pointed at the vermin. "I promise you this: It won't end well if you try to give me any of that stuff."

"Okay, okay, no need to be so nasty." The animal said in a thick accent I couldn't place. "Truth is, here in Devil's Bayou you need all the help you can get."

"Devil's Bayou?" Guess it was a good a name as any for this place.

Nodding, the mouse who got the unwanted drink turned to me. "Where are you from, and how did you get here?"

"None of your business about where I'm from." I remembered that much and it was still unpleasant. "As for how I got here, I was just wandering and ended up here."

"Now stand back folks. I ain't gonna be hanging around this creepy place long. Clear the runway!" The albatross told us as he began running towards a ramp. We all got out of his way while he flapped his wings, and the last I saw of him was the bird falling into the swamp water with a splash.

Turning to the mice, I decided to get some answers. "Why are you two here? This doesn't seem like the ideal honeymoon site."
"Oh, no. We're not married." The mouse with the bow spoke in a feminine voice. "We're on a mission to rescue Penny."

"Penny? Who's Penny?"

Shaking her head, the female mouse answered, "Penny's an orphan who vanished from the orphanage. Not long ago, we found a message in a bottle from her, and the Rescue Aid Society sent Bernard and I to rescue her."

"Miss Bianca." The mouse called Bernard said to her.

"Now, Bernard. I think he can help us."

Rescue Aid Society? Orphan? I never heard of such an organization, but for some reason learning this Penny didn't have any parents of her own struck a cord within me. Maybe it had something to do with the past memories I had obtained, how when I needed help no one came to my rescue. "Do you know where she is?"

"We were following someone who she was last seen with." Bernard answered. "Someone called Madame Medusa. We think she has her, and so we followed her here to Devil's Bayou."

Frowning, the female muskrat told us, "I'd like to give her a few whacks with my rolling pin."

"We swamp folks would like to run her clean out of our bayou." The male muskrat added. "Ever since she came, more of them monsters showed up as well."

That caught my attention. "Monsters?"

"Like shadows come to life. The other day I saw one of them devils attack some folks and turn them into more of them."

Heartless? That does match what I know them to do, but what are they doing here? If they showed up with this Medusa woman, she must be doing something bad to attract them. Before I could ask any other questions, Leroy spoke up. "I hear something."

"So do I. Somebody's coming this way." The female muskrat said as she turned. As we peered through the grass a sight that made me feel smaller than I was greeted us. From the reeds and horsetails rose two alligators that looked to be as big as mountains from where I was. Both of them carried something in their mouths: a teddy bear and… that had to be Penny. The gator which held her captive held her tight by the straps of her blue overall dress.

Pushing some of her blonde hair out of her eyes, she frowned at the massive reptiles. "Why did you have to go and spoil everything? Nero, don't you dare get my teddy bear wet." Both predators just chuckled at her attitude. A kid giving a warning to two predators that could end her life with a bite or two said a lot about her heart, and it somehow made me more determined to help rescue her.

"Oh. It's that poor little young one. She's tried to run away again." The female muskrat's words snapped me out of my thoughts.

Turning to her, I asked, "Where are they taking her? Madame Medusa must have someplace she's holed up."

"Oh, yeah. That old riverboat further down the bayou." The male muskrat told me. "She and the other human have been staying there ever since they got her."

Riverboat. Further down the bayou. Personal lackey. There was something about the way this woman works that was almost amusing, but the fact that she had abducted a child and brought her to this deity-forsaken swamp just did not merit any human. Pushing my way through the foliage, I spoke my mind. "I'm going after them."

"Watch out!" Leroy's warning came too late as something hit me and made me fly backwards. As I crashed against the ground, I let out some curses while I sat up to see what had hit me. A pair of Large Bodies stood in my way, accompanied by some Air Soldiers, Soldiers, and Shadows. With a growl I got to my feet while Vengeful Chaos appeared in my hand.

"Stay back." I ordered the rodents while I readied myself to fight. The Shadows flattened themselves against the ground while the Large Bodies came charging towards me. Leaping over them, I hacked one of the Air Soldiers several times before ending it with a fatal slash. As the heart flew up into the sky I positioned my weapon so it impaled a Soldier when I landed and sent another heart flying up.

Transforming my weapon from Keyblade to scythe, I felt a strange sense of pleasure fighting the Heartless. Maybe it was just letting off steam from the anger I gained in Wonderland, or from learning about the girl's plight. Whatever. It was just fuel for my power. Channeling my rage into my weapon, I noticed a coat of energy around the blade. Rushing forward, I managed to slice through the remaining three Soldiers and two of the Shadows, sending more Hearts into the unknown.

Grinning at the pleasure of seeing things fall before my power, I turned my attention to the Large Bodies that were running towards me. Swinging my weapon at them, I managed to knock both of them backwards into some roots. I swear I saw their eyes fill with bewilderment at what happened. That was when I noticed the energy around my scythe dimming. No. I wasn't going to let up now that I felt this power.

Shifting my weapon for the final blow, I swung it with enough force to make a tree fall. From that swing came a wave of red and black energy that flew towards the Heartless with force of a natural disaster. Even though the Shadows were out of the attack's path they were still destroyed by its power. The Large Bodies didn't stand a chance as it passed through them, ending their existence while the hearts flew up into the sky.

As my scythe returned to its Keyblade form, I suddenly felt all the energy drain from my muscles. Falling onto my knees, I jammed my weapon into the ground in order to support myself. My body said it wanted to get some rest, but there was no time for that. Just when I thought the battle was over, even more Large Bodies show up. "You've… got to… be kid… kidding me…"

As the Heartless came towards me, something large appeared from behind them. A rock? Well, at this size it was like a small hill. Before the Heartless could react it was slammed down on top of them, destroying all of them while the hearts just flew up like nothing had happened. Who in the world could've lifted… Leroy? Yeah, that red thing climbed on top of the rock and smiled at me like he was the greatest being in the universe.

Shaking my head, I told him, "Thanks." Taking out an ether, I drank it down and felt my energy return. Standing up, I looked at where the rodents were coming out.

"My goodness. That was…" Bianca was at a loss for words.

Bernard's words finished the sentence. "Terrifying. You fought like you were possessed!" One look from the female mouse and I realized that was not the word she was looking for.

"It doesn't matter. The Heartless cost us precious time." I said as I turned and moved in the direction I saw the alligators go. "I don't care how you feel about me. All you need to know is I am going to rescue that girl. As long as you do nothing to hinder me you have no need to fear. The one who does need to fear me is this Madame Medusa."

"Then we need to hurry." Bianca said as she and Bernard began to follow.

"You'll need a boat. Evinrude's got the fastest one around." The female muskrat told us as she pointed to a leaf where a dragonfly… was it wearing a blue sweater? I think it was. But still, that was a boat? Man, I hate being small. "Evinrude, wake up! Start that engine!" The muskrat called out, waking the insect up. Instead of starting up the engine, which I assumed was itself, the bug shook its head, making a series of noises with its wings. "What do you mean you're scared of the monsters? This one here… what did you say your name was?"

"Call me Mortem."

"Mortem can stop those things. Now get that engine going!" That order from her made the bug change his mind. As his wings started flapping, the mice got into the leaf before Bernard realized something.

"We're not all going to fit." He told me.

Shaking my head, I told him, "I wasn't planning on getting in that leaf." Throwing my Keyblade into the air, I willed it into its Glider form. As everyone watched with wide eyes, I got on it with Leroy behind me. "I'll cover you from the air. Now let's go."

As we disappeared into the murky bayou, the muskrat called after us, "Send Evinrude back as soon as you need help. I'll round up the neighbors."


EINI'S POV

"You sure this is going to work?" Braxton was asking Johri as she showed us her finished invention. He had gathered us together when Johri said she had finished something that should allow us to reach out to the two lost students in the uncaring void of space… somehow. I still thought there was a better chance of finding a pin in a dirt mound than of finding those two.

Frowning at him, the mechanic answered, "Of course. And right now it's our best chance of finding Jason and Clair." She sounded so confident that it was going to work, despite the fact that we're shooting in the dark here. Still, it would be interesting to see whether or not it blew up in her face, and a part of me was willing to bet that it would do that literally.

As I finished applying some more makeup to my face I decided to state the obvious. "Why are we waiting to test it? I think we should hurry up and get this over with" I still didn't understand why they were so determined to find them. None of us were really friends with those two, and the only thing I found unique about Clair were her Hocamli braids.

"That's why we're here. To test it." Putting in a series of commands, the inventor fired up her new machine. Whirring to life, the top lit up and began to blink as she brought up a holographic profile of Jason. "Find Jason." She said as the number for his holo-screen appeared beside him. For a few intense minutes it felt like I had been banned from the mall. Was it not going to work? Gri, I wish I thought of placing some bets because that would've been better than sitting here waiting for the next accessory to come out. I hadn't felt this tense since that time I was going to get that… no. From how tense everyone was it looked like this had the potential to be the biggest disappointment since me!

"Hello? Who is this?" Jason's voice was full of static, and his face which appeared was blurry, but it was full of surprise when he saw us. "You guys? Braxton? Eini?"

"Don't forget me and Johri." Grace said as she ended up hitting Braxton on the side of the head with her shoulder. "Oh, sorry."

I expected a snide remark from the blockhead we had just found, but instead a smile appeared on his face. "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voices again. But how did you establish a connection?"

"Well, when you use photons and send them out to find the receptors in your holo-screen..." Johri began to explain.

"On second thought, nevermind."

Clearing his throat, our leader began, "This is a good first step. Jason, it won't be long until we figure out a way to get you and Clair back here."

"That's going to have to wait. She disappeared." Jason turned worried. "We searched the entire… we searched everywhere, but we can't find her."

I frowned at that. Searched the entire what? He's hiding something. I can tell. "How do you lose her?"

"I don't know. I was in a conversation and she vanished. Can you use your device to find her?"

Nodding, Johri said, "Of course. I'm not a prodigy for nothing." As she ended the call, Johri entered the number for Clair's holo-screen, and we waited again for the doohickey to work its magic again. When the call was answered, what greeted us was… "Gri's beak! Who are you and what did you do with Clair?"

"I am Clair." The face said, though it was clearly not human. It was a mouse, dressed in a purple shirt and red jacket vest. As I looked, I could see the braids that Clair always had, and her eyes seemed to reflect what most people saw in her. And seeing the others just stare at our former classmate with those wide eyes and open jaws… it was too hard not to laugh at them.

Probably not the best time to laugh though. Looking at Clair I asked, "Why aren't you human?" To be honest, I was just asking to make polite conversation. I wasn't interested in learning about what had happened to her, despite the fact that she looked so adorable as this… whatever she was. Oh, I need to get my holo-screen to record this image forever.

"Well, I've been turned into a mouse. Apparently Kairi and I can't be seen as humans here." She said with embarrassment, before gasping as if she said something she shouldn't have.

Blinking, Grace asked her, "Who's Kairi?"

"She's a friend, but now's not a good time. There are these large reptiles in this room, and I don't want them to hear where we are."


Yep. I'm using Devil's Bayou from The Rescuers. I have been thinking about how to have the next chapter go, and I will say even though Bianca and Bernard hide in the film I know Mortem would do no such thing. Even if Brutus and Nero are the size of Godzilla compared to him right now he will still face them. I'm just trying to figure out how that would alter things from the movie.

Thanks again for your help and feedback, YamiChaos27 and Flautist4ever. I deeply appreciate it.

Just a heads up, I might end up putting this story on the back burner so I can work on editing my book.