Kingdom Hearts
by hikaranko
Summary: This is, in all seriousness, a direct novel adaptation of the game Kingdom Hearts. "The Destiny Islands are a beautiful paradise where children's laughter abounds. Day after Day, Sora, Riku, and Kairi talk and dream of new places, new worlds, beyond their islands... Little do they know a great destiny awaits them..."
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts at all. This entire fan fic is really just the game in novel format, so credit for the existence of all of this goes to all the hard workers at Disney and Square-Enix (most especially Tetsuya Nomura). I must also thank the creators of the KH manga (from which I borrowed stuff).
Author's Note: Over 100,000 words!
Goodness, I'm working as fast as I can here. I know it really happens a lot faster in the game, but then again you're not interacting with your party. Kanben shite kure yo (Japanese for: Cut me some slack). :D I'm happy to see that people are enjoying the story. Speaking of ... I know how you feel about Hollow Bastion. I can't wait to get there either! Waaahh, I wish I could get ideas on how to fill stuff in faster! That always holds me up!
If you wanna see something interesting, go check out the Conversation of Madness up on my profile. It's this weird conversation that I had with a friend(who posts here). Take a look if you like. :D
Chapter 13
You'll Be In My Heart
Deep Jungle
By the time Sora, Tarzan, Donald and Goofy managed to reach the camp, they were already too late. The campgrounds looked as though it had been hit by a tornado. Books and papers were lying around the floor as though they had all been thrown. Shards of broken porcelain plates and bowls littered the ground, along with several broken crates and chests. Furniture had been knocked down. The entire chemistry set on the table had been smashed into pieces. Parts of the tents had collapsed. It was clear that somebody – or something – had attacked the camp.
"Where's… Where's Jane…?"
"Jane?" Tarzan called urgently, rushing forward and searching for traces of the young British woman. "Jane! JANE!"
As Tarzan set to work in search of Jane, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were dumbfounded. They stood as though rooted to the spot, taking in the damages that had been caused in silence. After a long while, they haltingly moved further into the camp, bending down to examine the debris. Sora picked up one of the pieces of a broken plate and inspected it slowly, his eyes wide. He then stood and wandered over to another set of wreckage to look at it. He then looked over at his companions.
"You think that…"
"Could it have been the Heartless?" Goofy wondered as he rose to his feet and looked around.
Donald nodded slowly, but then closed his eyes and shook his head. "It looks like it, but… It doesn't make any sense, though. Why would they attack the camp?"
The trio looked at each other in turn, as though they were each expecting one of the others to have an answer. But none of them did.
"Jane!" Tarzan cried out as he found her. "Sora! Help!"
Sora gestured to the others and immediately hurried to join Tarzan. He had found Jane laying on the ground near the tent, knocked out, a strip of canvas over her body partially concealing her from view. Sora's eyes widened at the sight of her.
"Who would do something like this?" he demanded angrily, speaking to no one in particular. "Why would they attack Jane?"
Tarzan scooped Jane up in his arms and propped her up into a sitting position against the side of the nearest crate that was in tact. He then began to shake her gently in an attempt to wake her up. Everyone crowded around her, kneeling down on the ground or standing nearby, as they waited for Jane to slowly come to her senses. Jane groaned slightly as she began to awaken, struggling to peel her eyes open.
"Jane!"
"Jane! Can you hear us? Are you okay?"
The young woman slowly opened her eyes and looked up into Tarzan's face as she waited for her vision to focus. She then leaned forward slightly, putting one hand to her forehead and groaning softly. Her eyes then shot open and she grabbed hold of Tarzan's arm.
"Tarzan!" she said to him urgently. "Oh, Tarzan, we've got to do something!"
"What happened?" Sora asked her.
"It was Clayton," Jane continued, looking over at the others, her eyes wide.
Sora's eyes widened. "Clayton?"
"There was… there was a gorilla. She came running into the tent and pushed me down to the floor. I tried to get up but she wouldn't let me, she held me down. I was so confused, and then all of a sudden, Clayton came to the tent, and…" Her voice trailed off, her grip on Tarzan's arm loosening slightly.
"And…?" Donald prompted her impatiently.
"That's… the last thing I remember," Jane said slowly. Her eyes then opened wide as she looked back up at the others. "I remember he said something about the gorillas. And he took away the one that came to the tent!"
Tarzan raised his head and began to sniff at the air. It didn't take long for him to pick up a familiar scent lingering around the campground. His eyes widened. "Terk."
Donald lifted his eyes slightly. "Isn't that what you called the gorilla we saw in the tree house?"
He nodded slowly in response. He sniffed at the air again and closed his eyes for a moment, interpreting the signatures that he was receiving. "Terk ran. Gorillas… trapped."
"We must help the gorillas!" Jane exclaimed worriedly. She then rose slowly to her feet, Tarzan moving immediately to help her.
"Don't worry," Sora told her reassuringly. "We will." He looked at the others and nodded slightly. "Come on guys."
The Key Bearer turned around and began to walk away, with Donald and Goofy following close behind him. Jane reached out and took hold of Sora's jacket sleeve. "Wait."
Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned slightly to look at Jane. The young woman freed herself from Tarzan's hold so that she could stand on her own two feet. She turned her stern gaze on Sora.
"I'm going with you."
Tarzan's eyes went wide and he stared at Jane in awe, his mouth slightly agape. Donald laughed out loud for a while, throwing his head back and clutching his sides. Sora glanced at Donald and smiled slightly before looking back at Jane. Something in Jane's eyes looked deadly serious. The duck continued to laugh for a moment before realizing that no one else was laughing with him. He looked into Jane's face and, recognizing the stern look, straightened and cleared his throat.
"Sorry, but you can't come with us," Donald said.
"He's right, Jane," Goofy agreed. "It's too dangerous."
"I've already decided," Jane said firmly as she walked over to join them. "My mind is made up."
"But Jane…"
Sora looked over at Tarzan, unsure of what he should do, pleading silently for help. He didn't get any. Tarzan moved toward Jane and straightened to his full height. She stopped in her tracks and looked up at Tarzan, slightly intimidated by his seriousness. He looked her straight in the eye for a long moment and then looked at Sora. Somehow, without saying a single word to him, Sora understood. He sighed in defeat and smiled.
"Alright," he said. "But you have to be really careful, okay?"
Donald and Goofy looked to Sora in surprise. He merely shrugged as he turned to them. He then walked over to Goofy and patted him on the shoulder. "You've got the shield," he told him. "So make sure that Jane doesn't get hurt."
Jane smiled gratefully before looking back into Tarzan's face. The jungle man pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. Her cheeks began to flush pink.
"Jane…"
"Don't worry, Tarzan," she told him. "I'll be alright. I… can take care of myself."
Jane stepped away from Tarzan slightly, dropped her gaze and turned to follow the others, tucking her hair behind one ear. She froze in place when she saw everyone. The trio stood only a few feet away, watching them with teasing smiles on their faces. Donald and Sora looked at each other and laughed slightly before looking back at Jane. Jane's face turned bright red. Tarzan turned his gaze on them and tilted his head slightly to one side.
"What?"
Sora grinned mischievously. "Nothing, nothing." He raised his arms over his head and turned. "We better get going if we wanna save the gorillas."
Tarzan wordlessly took Jane by the hand and followed Sora's lead.
The entire group of gorillas had been driven into a small area that was completely closed off by small cliffs of dirt and rock, leaving only a few ways to escape through. There were growths of ivy and other vegetation on small segments of the stone walls, and the roots of some of the larger trees could be seen protruding from within the rock and dirt. The leaves and branches of trees could still be seen from this part of the jungle, but not much light managed to reach this far to the floor. Any light that illuminated the cliff area came from the other side of one of the higher dirt walls, which was almost impossible to scale as it had no footholds or handholds. There wasn't a single growth of ivy spanning its surface; the only vegetation that was on it was several patches of green mass.
The gorillas all huddled together, shaking in anxious terror as they stared wide eyed at the stranger before them and his horde of blue and gray monkeys. Some of them had been struck by the strange creatures and ran to the company of the others in fear. They watched nervously as the Heartless hopped up and down in place, their glowing yellow eyes locked on the figures of all the gorillas. Standing not far behind them was a tall British hunter, holding his shotgun in both hands as he surveyed the work of the Heartless that were at his command. A wry smile crossed his lips and he moved forward, raising his shotgun into position and aiming carefully at the nearest gorilla; a large brown female with gentle features on her face that seemed almost motherly.
Shrieking in terror, the other gorillas fled out of the way. Kala appeared to be paralyzed, her feet rooted to the spot. Her gentle brown eyes merely grew wide, her nostrils flaring. She looked to the others out of the corners of her eyes, but couldn't even find her voice to call to the others for help. Her entire body quaked in fear as she looked on, helpless.
Kerchak moved forward quickly and roared in offended rage. Almost immediately, a group of the Heartless fell from their perches in the nearby trees and descended upon the silverback. The other gorillas began to scream and holler, pounding their massive fists on the floor and baring their teeth. The hunter squeezed one eye shut and his finger began to slowly pull the trigger.
"NO!"
Sora and the others had arrived in the nick of time. They ran into the cliff area at top speed and slid through the dirt to a stop several feet away from where Clayton stood. Clayton glanced over at them, rolling his eyes slowly to the side to look. He lowered his gun slightly before turning his neck to look at them fully. He stared at them for a long moment, unflinching.
As soon as he had disposed of all the Heartless that had attacked him, Kerchak hurried to Kala's side and examined her quickly. He looked toward the others before gesturing for her to follow him. She obeyed him almost immediately, nodding slightly. All of the gorillas then retreated into the higher reaches of the area; into the trees or to the tops of the cliffs.
For a long, silent moment, Clayton merely stared at Sora as though they had never met before, his gun still in his grip even though his target had already escaped. Tarzan moved closer to Sora, narrowing his eyes at Clayton. The Key Bearer returned the hunter's stare, confused and frustrated all at once.
"Clayton?"
Tarzan stepped back slightly, shaking his head. "Not Clayton!" he yelled firmly. His grip on his spear tightened. "Ee ooh, oo ooh ah! Not Clayton!"
Sora looked over at Tarzan, confused. There was that gorilla word again. The same word that Tarzan had said before, when he asked about Riku and Kairi. What did that mean? Donald and Goofy exchanged confused looks. Goofy tilted his head slightly to one side, as though he were asking Donald for the answer. Donald merely shrugged in response. The young British woman looked at everyone in concern before looking over at Clayton. She stared at him for long moment, confused. There was something very different about him now. No one understood what was going on. Except, perhaps, for Tarzan. All eyes became fixated on him.
"Tarzan, what are you…?"
Suddenly, a horde of the monkey Heartless rushed to Clayton's side. They immediately turned to look at the group, still hopping in place. Jane gasped, her eyes wide in a mix of fear and horror. Clayton then nodded slightly, as though giving them a signal, and they all charged at once.
As soon as they had leapt into action, all the gorillas that had remained in the area began to shriek and scream, pounding their fists excitedly against the thicker tree branches or on the ground as they watched the ensuing battle. Goofy pulled out his shield and ran in front of Jane, shielding her from the oncoming attack. He looked at Jane and smiled goofily.
"Don't worry," he told her reassuringly. "They can handle this on their own."
"What are those things?" Jane asked him, panicked. "I've never seen anything like that before!"
Goofy thought for a moment about how to explain. Eventually he changed his mind and shook his head from side to side. "I dunno what they are," he said calmly. "But Donald, Sora, and Tarzan can fight 'em off, no problem!"
Without enough time to cast a spell, Donald slid to the side in a dodge and bashed the Heartless over the head with his staff. Then, focusing, he shot out a beam of ice at the Power Wilds and spun around in place so that the beam covered a greater area.
Tarzan exploded into action, bounding forward and swinging his spear dangerously, slicing through the Heartless easily, making his way toward Clayton. Meanwhile, Sora had blocked the charge of the Heartless with the side of his Keyblade and pushed the monster away before following Tarzan's example and running headlong into battle, his weapon flashing in the dim light.
"Donald!" Sora yelled. "Cover us!"
Wordlessly, the court wizard turned his sights on whatever Heartless managed to survive Tarzan and Sora's blitz. He took in a deep breath before casting Blizzard again, freezing the Heartless in place, turning them into blocks of solid ice. He yelled out excitedly in his duck voice as he shot all of the Power Wilds in one long blast.
Goofy peered over the top of his shield to see what was happening. He smiled slightly and looked back at Jane. "I told you they'd be fine!" he said cheerily.
Tarzan jumped at a Heartless that had been creeping up behind Sora and pinned it to the floor before taking the tip of his spear and driving it into the creature's chest area. Sora glanced over his shoulder at Tarzan and grinned gratefully. Tarzan nodded in response and jumped back to his feet, putting his back against Sora's as they spun around in place, looking around carefully. The group of Heartless had most definitely shrunk in number, but there were still enough to surround them.
The gorillas continued to shriek and scream, jumping slightly in place as they watched. Kala looked out over the battlefield, her eyes wide with worry for her adopted son. But she wasn't the only one. Jane looked out toward the battle and bit down on her lower lip. She took in a deep breath, wincing as though something pained her in her chest.
"TARZAN!"
Upon hearing Jane's worried cry, Donald looked over at Sora and Tarzan. He grumbled angrily under his breath, cursing the Heartless. He then immediately cast a Thunder spell over the Heartless that were surrounding them and managed to defeat several of them. He then waddled hurriedly toward them and began to jump up and down, wailing loudly as to be heard over the screaming of the gorillas.
"Sora! Tarzan! Get Clayton!"
Both Tarzan and Sora then looked around them quickly, their eyes scanning the area for where Clayton was. Then Sora found him. Clayton was standing on one of the smaller raised cliffs, examining his shotgun calmly, only looking out over the battlefield every so often. Sora clenched his teeth together.
"Got him," he told Tarzan before breaking away from him.
Tarzan gritted his teeth and bounded forward, swinging his spear in wide arcs and moving so quickly that it became difficult to keep up with him. As soon as Clayton turned his eyes away from the battle again, Sora made his move, knocking another Heartless to the side and making his way discreetly toward him, staying close tothe high dirt and stone walls.
By then, Clayton seemed to have grown bored with watching the fight and raised his shotgun, taking aim at Donald. He gripped the gun with both hands as he aimed. Slowly, he began to pull the trigger. A low, malicious chuckle escaped from his throat. Then suddenly, Sora was right next to Clayton, his gloved hands cupped around his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He had yelled so loud into Clayton's ear that the barrel of the shotgun was raised toward the sky as Clayton jumped in alarm. His finger squeezed the trigger and the sound of the gunshot resounded in the jungle air. The gorillas howled in alarm as the loud sound echoed in the sky. The hunter then immediately spun around and aimed the gun at Sora. But Sora didn't budge an inch. They merely glared at each other for a long, drawn out moment. The sounds of the gorillas yelling and the ongoing battle could still be heard, but to Sora it felt distant. Besides, it sounded to him like Tarzan and Donald had taken control of the flow of battle.
"What are you doing?" Sora demanded angrily.
The hunter didn't answer. His eyes were hard and focused, and seemed to be void of emotion. Sora had never seen anything like it before.
"Clayton! What's wrong with you?"
As Tarzan and Donald finished off the last of the Heartless, they looked up to where Sora and Clayton were facing off. All of the gorillas turned their attention there, falling silent as they looked on worriedly. Tarzan stepped forward. Even from where he was standing, he could see every movement that Clayton made. The hunter was preparing to fire at Sora.
"Sora!"
With a loud, frustrated, incoherent yell, Donald pointed the tip of his staff at Clayton's shotgun and blasted a fireball at it. The fire struck the metal of the gun, heating it up and turning it red hot in the hunter's clutches. With a howl of pain, Clayton dropped the shotgun to the floor. Sora immediately kicked the gun away, sending it flying to the other side of the area. It tumbled to the ground and slid toward the high, steep wall, stopping right next to it. Sora stared at the gun for a while before finally turning his attention back on Clayton.
"Clayton… Come on. Enough already."
The British man glared at Sora for a moment before making a dash for his gun, jumping down from the small cliff and running toward it. Sora clenched his fists at his sides, frustrated, and followed Clayton to the lower levels. A low chanting came from the gorillas in the trees as Sora raced to catch up with the hunter. He continued to call to Clayton in an attempt to stop him without a fight. Tarzan came forward and took Sora by the shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. Sora looked up at Tarzan in shock.
"Tarzan, let me go! We gotta help Clayton! There's something wrong with him!"
"Sora stop," Tarzan said firmly. "Ee ooh, oo ooh ah… Not Clayton!"
He released Sora and put one hand over his heart, thumping his chest lightly. Sora tilted his head to one side, confused. "Ee ooh… oo ooh ah?" he repeated.
Tarzan nodded and stepped slightly away. Meanwhile, having reached his shotgun, Clayton scooped it into his grip, spun around, and aimed the barrel at Sora, preparing to fire. Upon hearing the clicking sound the gun being cocked, everyone turned around to look at Clayton. Sora took a deep breath and swallowed hard, getting into a fighting stance with the Keyblade and standing his ground. Then suddenly, Clayton raised his head slightly, then pulled the gun away and rested it on his shoulder as though he had changed his mind about his decision.
For a moment, Sora was overjoyed that Clayton had stopped. He was about to put the Keyblade away and open his mouth to speak, when the large stone wall immediately behind Clayton exploded as though dynamite had been set on the other side, large chunks of dirt and rock flying out in all directions. The entire wall was gone in a moment, save a chunk at the top that had survived, protruding precariously to a different cliff side with nothing underneath it for support.
A loud, moaning roar could be heard from within the cloud of dust, but as soon as the dust had settled, there was nothing to be seen. Only more of the jungle and Clayton could be seen standing there. Tarzan clenched his teeth together before making a vicious charge forward, running at Clayton with his spear held tightly in his hand. He was then suddenly struck by something and sent flying backwards by some invisible force. Sora gasped in shock and alarm as the man's figure flew right past him and landed in a roll a few feet behind where he stood. Tarzan growled in pain as he tried to get up.
The gorillas screamed and roared in disapproval, pounding their fists on the closest flat surface that they could, hopping around in place with their teeth bared as they howled.
"TARZAN!" Jane screamed in horror.
Jane then vainly tried to shake herself free from Goofy without much success. The guard dog held her fast by the shoulders with both hands.
"Please let me go!"
"Just believe in them, Miss Jane," Goofy told her calmly. "They'll be fine!"
Sora moved slightly toward Tarzan and was just about to help him up when he heard the clicking sound of a shotgun being reloaded, followed by the most unusual animal noise that Sora had ever heard. He stood, frozen for a moment, his mind racing. Sora then turned around slowly, part of him scared to see what Clayton was up to this time. His eyes widened in disbelief.
It seemed to him that Clayton was floating. He seemed to be straddling some kind of large, invisible creature. The monster made a strange, high pitched warbling noise as it straightened, Clayton sitting on its back with his shotgun aimed at Sora.
Sora swallowed hard, standing his ground. His eyes darted around as his mind raced to think of what to do next. And just as the hunter began to squeeze the trigger, Sora knew what to do. He threw the Keyblade at the shotgun with all his might, knocking it out of Clayton's hands. The Keyblade then turned in the air like a boomerang, flying back into Sora's right hand.
All of the gorillas cheered loudly at Sora's small victory. Tarzan looked up into the trees at the gorillas before joining Donald and staring at Sora in awe. They exchanged amazed looks. Even Goofy and Jane had been impressed, their jaws dropping open slightly.
As Sora caught his weapon he quickly turned to Donald and Tarzan.
"Donald! Help Tarzan!"
Donald nodded, opened up a new bottle of Hi-Potion and offered it to Tarzan. He shook his head slightly as the jungle man took it into his hands and began to drink it quickly. This was his last Hi-Potion. He was going to need to restock soon.
Without really knowing what he was doing, Sora charged headlong into battle and began to slash at whatever it was that Clayton was sitting on. He wasn't even sure if there was anything there at all.
"Sora!" Jane called urgently from where she was standing. "Do you see where the air is distorted? It looks like ripples in the atmosphere!"
Sora glanced back at Jane for a moment, confused, and then turned back around to look up at where Clayton was floating. He continued to charge forward and as he got closer, he was able to see what Jane had been talking about. Sora swung the Keyblade, not sure of how far away he was from whatever was there. When that attempt failed, he merely tried again, moving forward and adjusting his grip.
"Tarzan!" he called back. "See where the air looks funny?"
The jungle man bounded forward, tossing the Hi-Potion bottle to one side and taking his spear into both hands. His eyes darted around until he caught sight of what Sora was referring to.
"Yes!"
"HIT IT! I have no idea what it is, but we gotta hit it!"
As Tarzan and Sora began to swing their weapons blindly and viciously at the invisible creature, Donald pointed the tip of his staff at the distorted air right beneath Clayton's legs. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing, and then shot out a beam of ice.
"BLIZZARD!"
As soon as the beam struck, it created a patch of ice over what it had struck, making a small part of the creature visible. Donald praised himself inwardly as the gorillas cheered loudly at this small accomplishment. Sora looked up at the small patch of ice, turning it into his new target, and jumped up into the air, swinging the Keyblade so that it hit the monster.
The gorillas' cheering grew in volume and hype. A loud, angry roar resonated throughout the area as it took Sora's blow. A loud thud was heard, and Sora could only assume that it meant the monster had stumbled slightly backwards. The ground shook violently, and a small chunk of dirt and rock had fallen from above and hit Sora on the top of his head. He looked up to see where it had come from, only to find that he was standing directly under the chunk of the wall that had managed to survive the previous explosion, jutting out precariously from the side of the cliff. Sora grinned as he came up with an idea. He spun around.
"DONALD!" he yelled.
The duck shot a slightly annoyed glance in Sora's direction. "What?" he quacked.
"Keep shooting it with ice!" he ordered. Sora then turned to Tarzan. "Tarzan, I need you to hit the monster thing wherever you see frost and ice! Push it over to this wall!" Sora pointed at the wall that the large chunk of rock was clinging to.
Both Donald and Tarzan nodded as they understood what was asked of them and followed their orders. Sora then put the Keyblade away and headed for the wall. He searched the side of the wall frantically for a way up – hand holds, foot holds, vines, plants, roots, anything that he could use to pull himself up.
Tarzan, seeing that Sora was having a hard time, called up to one of the gorillas. Almost immediately, Terk herself grabbed a vine and threw one end of it down to Sora. The boy grabbed the vine and began to hurriedly scale the side of the wall like a mountain climber, pulling his weight with his arms and using his feet to "walk" up the rocks.
Goofy watched Sora intently, confused. "What's he doin'?"
A knowing smile crossed Jane's face. "Oh, I see!" she breathed excitedly. "I think I know what he has planned!"
"Really?" Goofy asked her, scratching his head. "I don't get it."
As soon as Sora reached the top of the wall, he clambered onto the rock and let out a breath. He waved back at Terk with a grateful smile on his face before returning his attention to the task he had set before him. Sora crawled over what was left of the wall until he was hanging onto the precariously hanging chunk of dirt and rock. He peered over the edge and swallowed. It was higher up than he had thought.
Meanwhile, Donald and Tarzan were pushing the monster toward where Sora had instructed. Donald was releasing flurries of Blizzard attacks, an Ether bottle in one hand as he took in large swigs of it to reenergize himself. Tarzan was an explosion of activity, swinging his spear to hit every spot that Donald froze and knocking the creature towards the corner of the wall.
It happened not long after Sora had reached the precariously hanging portion of the wall. Just moments after Sora had nervously peered over the edge the monster hit the corner of the wall. Sora yelled in alarm as the rock jolted violently, a large crack appearing across its surface.
All of the gorillas that were watching fell silent at the cracking sound of the breaking rock.
Jane drew in a sharp breath. "There… It's started to break."
Sucking in his courage, Sora slowly rose to his feet, holding his arms out to the sides to maintain his balance. Goofy, Tarzan, and Donald all gasped loudly in shock. Jane bit down on her lower lip as she watched, her heart racing.
"Sora, what're you doin'?" Donald quacked frantically.
The Key Bearer looked over at Donald and then at Goofy, a smile crossing his face. "Just trust me on this!"
Tarzan moved forward slightly, his eyes wide, before hesitantly taking another swing at the monster so that it would stay in place. Even Clayton had twisted himself around so that he could see what was going on. Sora jumped into the air and landed forcefully back onto the rock. The large crack spread from one side of the ledge to the other, the whole thing jolting violently. The gorillas watched from their positions in the trees and cliffs, their eyes wide, unsure of whether they should be howling or be silent. Jane practically jumped forward in concern.
"Sora! Be careful!"
"SORA!"
Mustering up some more courage, Sora took in another deep breath and jumped again. This time, the entire rock broke off from the wall that it had been hanging onto. The entire slab fell on top of the invisible creature, just missing Clayton who had leapt off of the monster and tumbled painfully to the dirt floor. Sora stayed on top of the slab of rock as it fell, jumping off only when he felt it land on the monster. He had leapt back toward the wall that he had scaled, grabbing hold of the vine that Terk was still hanging onto. The side of his body crashed painfully against the side of the wall. He then slowly allowed himself to slide down the vine as he watched what happened next.
What seemed like a field of electricity had appeared around the monster. Strings of energy flitted across the surface of the beast's body. An image began to flicker, the camouflage effect on the monster's skin fading. And everyone saw at last what the monster truly looked like.
It was like a giant horned chameleon. Its skin was covered in an army camouflage pattern, except for its underside which was a creamy off white color. There were small, sharp razors protruding from its backside, starting from just behind the neck and stopping as it reached the long, coiled up tail. Its eyes were like two yellow orbs protruding from the sides of its head, with small black dots in the centers. The eyes seemed independent of each other, looking in all directions. There was a large, sharp horn jutting out dangerously from the chameleon's snout. The monster stood on its hind legs, but was hunched over, making it difficult to tell how tall it was. A large symbol of a black heart with two red, jagged lines crossing over it in an "x" could be seen on the creature's chest.
Sora took in a deep breath through his nostrils when he saw the symbol. He had seen the symbol many times before, on the chests of the Soldiers and the Power Wilds.
"It's a Heartless."
The chameleon Heartless collapsed with a loud thud, the slab of rock and dirt crumbling into smaller pieces and burying the monster's upper torso. It groaned and warbled in defeat, looking up slightly at Sora and extending a hand toward him. Sora jumped away from its reach, pulling out the Keyblade just in case it was still able to stand. He then moved away from it and joined Tarzan and Donald, keeping his eyes on the chameleon.
"Stealthy, sneaky, mean Heartless… thing," he grumbled under his breath.
"Blast!"
Everyone turned around in time to see Clayton, his gun back in his grasp, with the barrel pointed straight at Sora's heart. Sora groaned, annoyed. Why was everyone always aiming for him!
A malevolent grin appeared on Clayton's face. "Goodbye, boy."
Just as Clayton was about to pull the trigger, Donald made a charge at him, knocking Clayton to the side in a ram and then striking the man's right side angrily with his staff.
"NO!" he yelled fiercely as he pushed Clayton away. "Leave him alone!"
Sora's eyes went wide in surprise. "Donald…?"
Clayton fell back, clutching his right side in pain. He winced at his injury, holding his shotgun in one hand with the barrel pointed to the floor. He glared angrily at Sora and Tarzan with his lips pressed together in a straight line, taking deep breaths through his nose. Clayton then grinned maliciously, a crazy glimmer in his eyes as he raised his gun once again and took aim.
"Mr. Clayton," Jane said softly in disbelief, covering her mouth with one hand. "What in the world happened to you?"
Donald stamped one webbed foot angrily on the floor. "This guy doesn't know when he's beat!" he roared angrily before stomping toward him. "I'll teach you to…"
Tarzan stopped Donald in his tracks, clasping one hand firmly around Donald's arm. "No!" He then gestured for Donald to look behind Clayton.
The giant chameleon could be seen behind the hunter, slowly rising to its hind legs, the dirt and rock falling off of its body. It began to shimmer and glow, strings of what looked like electricity flying over the surface of its scaly skin. The camouflage effect on its body flickered on and off; one moment it was invisible, the next it was visible once more. Its entire body was shaking violently as it tried to stand, its eyes rolling upward and looking toward the sky. Ever so slowly, Clayton dropped his shotgun and turned around to look at it.
From above, the gorillas began to chant; a series of loud, synchronized grunting noises that became faster and faster and louder and louder as they continued. All eyes were fixated on the scene laid out before them.
The Heartless chameleon dropped its gaze and stared at Clayton, its vision blurred as it took a few steps toward him. The monster groaned and warbled wearily, as its hind legs slowly gave in to its exhaustion. Clayton howled in horror as the chameleon's gargantuan body fell on top of the hunter, crushing the British man beneath it. The ground shook violently with the impact, and Sora winced slightly, as though it pained him physically to watch. He took in a deep, pained breath.
For a while, everything was still. Clayton lay underneath the body of the giant, defeated chameleon, all eyes locked on them as though expecting something to happen. Then a small part of the body of the Heartless began to glimmer with a bright light. Rays of white light pierced through the body and glowed brilliantly as a large, glowing heart emerged from within the chameleon and began to drift skyward. The chameleon's body shone brilliantly before slowly fading away, a series of small, twinkling lights winking out one by one.
The gorillas moved forward slightly, their eyes wide in awe as they looked at the small group of heroes that stood a few feet away from where the Stealth Sneak had vanished. Sora and the others looked up at them all, somewhat nervous, not knowing what to expect. Goofy and Jane moved to rejoin the others, their eyes turned upwards to look at the gorillas that had surrounded them.
For a long while, the gorillas remained silent. Then suddenly, they all burst out in a loud cheer, howls of victory and pride echoing up from within their bodies and soaring out over the jungle. They whooped and cheered and thumped their fists on the ground in explosive celebration.
An excited smile crossed Jane's face. "This is extraordinary!"
Tarzan looked over at the others, a proud smile on his face. "They say…"
"It's okay, Tarzan," Sora told him with a slight laugh. "I think I know."
Kerchak and Kala had been watching the battle from above, just like the other gorillas had been. Kala's chest swelled with pride. The other gorillas fell silent as Kerchak came toward them slowly, Kala and Terk following on either side of him. They came to a halt about a foot away from them. Kerchak then placed one of his massive hands on Sora's shoulder.
"H-Huh?" The boy's eyes went wide, his gaze going from Kerchak's hand to the silverback's face and then back to the hand. He swallowed nervously. What was going on? What was he going to do? He turned to Tarzan. "Okay, what's going on now?"
The gorilla's large fingers then closed around Sora's shoulder, and the boy was lifted off the ground. Kerchak stared into Sora's face for a moment, bringing him closer to his eyes, and then reared his arm back and tossed Sora straight into the air. Sora couldn't help but scream, not quite knowing what had just happened or why he had been thrown sky high. He felt like he was going to touch the clouds until his body slowed down and he found himself heading back to the earth. He clenched his teeth together and braced himself for a rough landing as he found himself falling head first.
He hit the ground with a loud thud, bouncing slightly, all the wind knocked out of his lungs. Sora sucked in air between his teeth as he slowly rolled onto his back. He groaned in pain. Donald and Goofy soon followed, Donald landing in the same fashion that Sora had and Goofy hitting the ground butt-first. Donald groaned and shook his head from side to side as Goofy whimpered slightly, rubbing his bottom in an attempt to ease the pain.
"Oww…"
Tarzan climbed up to where they had been tossed using the growth of vegetation on the side of the cliff and looked over at his new friends in concern. Jane backed away from Kerchak and the other gorillas quickly, her eyes turned downwards, and then buried her face in the thick green foliage on the cliff.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy moved to the edge of the small cliff and looked down at where the gorillas were. The gorillas stared up at them solemnly for a long, silent moment, Tarzan returning their stern looks. Kerchak then nodded at the other gorillas and turned, lumbering back into the forest. Slowly, the rest of them turned and followed their leader. All of them, that is, except for Terk. Terk looked up at Tarzan proudly for a long while before climbing up to join them. Tarzan extended a hand toward Jane and pulled her up to the top to rejoin the others. The young woman rose to her full height and dusted herself off.
"Well, that was exciting."
They had ended up on a plateau overlooking a wide, blue river. There was no point in swimming across it, as neither side of the river had bank to clamber up onto. It merely wound its way deeper into the jungle, with large cliffs on either side of it. There were two large, roaring waterfalls to the left, separated by a portion of protruding cliff. The tops of waterfalls were covered in rich green foliage and vines. The water turned a foamy white as it tumbled from the top of the cliff and plunged into the deep still blue of the river. There was a fine mist floating around the waterfalls until it diminished into the air.
"This is beautiful," Jane breathed as she took in the scenery.
"You can say that again," Sora agreed.
Tarzan shut his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose as he faced the area. He then glanced over at the others. "Tarzan, home."
Jane looked at Tarzan in surprise. "This is… Your home?"
The jungle man nodded firmly and then smiled. "Follow me."
He turned on his heel and led the group into a cavern tunnel that Sora had overlooked. It seemed to lead toward a place that was right behind the waterfalls. The entire right side of the cavern was slightly open, so they could peer out from within the cliff at the beautiful scenery. By the time they got to be directly behind the waterfalls, the wall was completely opened up, and the cave expanded from a narrow tunnel into a large cavern. Everything was tinted blue; the rocks, the moss, and even they had been draped in a blue tint.
The waterfalls roared in their ears as the water spilled onto the already wet cavern floor. They had to be careful where they stepped lest they slip on a patch of moss and get caught in the waterfalls themselves. There was even water gushing out from cracks in the rock walls, creating smaller, less malevolent waterfalls as they tumbled over the layers of rock. All of the water eventually spilled out into the main waterfall.
Tarzan led the way, holding Jane's hand as they climbed up the layers of rock carefully, making their way to the top. They had to jump up to reach some of the ledges, or press their backs to the wall as they slowly shuffled along a smaller ledge. They were lucky that there were several patches of ivy that they could use to climb along. The only downside to that was the fact that these growths of ivy were situated in high places with nothing soft below them.
What struck Tarzan and Sora as interesting about their climb was that most of the complaining and whining hadn't come from Jane, the only girl among them (not counting Terk). It had, in fact, come from Donald.
Once they had reached the top, Tarzan led everyone deeper into the cavern. They walked through a long, dark tunnel that had a small glimmer of light at the very end. That's where they were headed. They hurried through the darkness to reach that light. And that light was within another beautiful cavern.
This new cavern was, for the most part, a circular area. It was closed off by layer upon layer of moss grown slabs of stone. There was a large tree protruding from the side, straight ahead of them. Its surface was completely covered in moss and vines, making it seem like the tree's bark was green colored. In a spot just over the tree's roots was a bright blue light. The light seemed to be alive, glowing brilliantly for a moment and then fading ever so slightly, as though it were breathing. It was almost like it was beating, like a heart.
They entered the cavern carefully, glancing around their surroundings in awe of its simplistic, primitive beauty. What had Sora hooked, however, was the ebbing blue light on the tree. Sora stared at it, captivated, unable to explain to anyone, not even himself, why. Tarzan was staring at it as well.
"Ee ooh, oo ooh ah," he said, slowly.
Sora glanced at Tarzan. "This is your home?" he asked, confused. "But that means…"
Tarzan straightened himself slightly and raised one hand in the air, a gesture for Sora to be quiet, and then cupped one hand over his ear and slowly shut his eyes. Everyone fell silent and listened, straining their ears to hear whatever it was that Tarzan was listening to.
A faint rumbling noise could be heard, echoing through the caverns. The sound was bouncing off of the rocks and stones, whisking gently through the air until it reached someone's ears. Goofy gasped softly as he listened, surprised to hear the noise. He was even more surprised to find that he could recognize the sound.
"Huh?"
Jane smiled slightly, amazed. "The waterfalls... They're echoing all the way here."
"Ee ooh, oo ooh ah," Tarzan said again. "Friends there. See friends."
"Oh, now I've got it," Jane laughed. " 'Ee ooh, oo ooh ah' means 'heart'. Friends in our hearts…"
Tarzan glanced at Jane and then strained his throat to copy her. "Huh… Heart…"
Sora's gaze dropped sadly. A small frown had replaced his usually cheery smile.
"Oh," he murmured sadly. "So that's what it meant."
"Friends, same heart," Tarzan went on. "Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends." His voice had then fallen into just over a whisper. "No heart… no friends."
Sora took in a deep breath and raised his eyes. He had to cheer up. So he hadn't been able to find Riku or Kairi yet. It was only a matter of time, right? He glanced over at the others. Terk was saying something to Tarzan that he seemed to be listening to very carefully, while Jane watched them in silent reverie. Goofy was simply staring at the blue light, while Donald seemed to be lost in thought. Sora put one hand over his heart, shut his eyes, and let out a breath. He was sure to find his friends soon. If what Tarzan had said was true, then his friends were right there in his heart. And it was important to have friends, and to never lose their friendship or trust.
Which reminded Sora about his fight with Donald. And just as Sora turned to look at Donald, Donald turned to face him. Sora chuckled slightly.
"Sorry about what I said."
Donald nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry too."
Goofy was overjoyed. He laughed cheerfully, pulling Donald and Sora into a group hug. "Ahyuk! Yeah! All for one, huh?"
They all then looked at the pulsating blue light. Sora stepped forward, entranced once again, and as he did so, he saw what the light was made of. It was a cluster of blue butterflies, all huddled together on the tree's trunk. They all seemed to be glowing as they flapped their wings slowly, their wings touching together for just a moment before they opened again, revealing the intricate blue design on the surface. It looked like there was a pair of round eyes staring out of the butterflies' wings.
Sora approached the tree trunk, stepping closer so that he was only about two feet away. Instantly, all of the butterflies dispersed, flapping their wings and fluttering away, up through the opening at the top of the cave to their freedom. Their wings were still glowing as they flew off, some of them circling Donald and Goofy, and others encircling Jane, Tarzan, and Terk. Sora stood very still as they flew away. Something within him knew what he was looking for.
Hidden beneath the cluster of beautiful blue butterflies was a keyhole, its edges glimmering a beautiful blue color. Sora smiled slightly, willing the Keyblade forward and raising it into the air, pointing it toward the center of the keyhole. His hand was immediately steadied as the Keyblade locked into place. The tip of the key began to glow brilliantly, bright streams of energy spiraling into its epicenter and compressing into the vessel. And once it was ready, a beam of blue light shot out of the tip of the Keyblade and struck the keyhole.
Upon impact, a series of intricate patterns began to appear on the surface of the tree, glowing a light blue color as it spread out. It started from just around the keyhole and spread until it had encompassed a large portion of the tree trunk. Twinkles of blue light were magnetized immediately toward the keyhole, moving into it quickly. And as all of the blue lights began to fade, a loud clicking noise was heard, and the keyhole turned into twinkles of light and winked out.
It was only then that something fell to the floor. Donald and Goofy leaned forward to look at it. It was a small diamond shaped Gummi block, colored in shades of yellow and green. It was rounded on one side and shimmered brilliantly for just one moment. As Goofy stared at it, he realized that it looked somewhat familiar.
"A Gummi!" Donald exclaimed.
"But it's sure not the king's," Goofy said sadly.
Donald hung his head for a moment before reaching down and picking it up. He tucked the Gummi block away and sighed heavily. He hadn't noticed that Terk had made her way toward him. Donald quacked in surprise when he saw her standing right next to her. The young gorilla nudged Donald gently in the side and smiled at him. The duck was confused.
Jane laughed softly. "I think somebody has a new admirer," she said teasingly.
Donald jumped in alarm. "Huh?"
Tarzan smiled at Terk, giving her an approving nod, and laughed. Terk returned the smile at Tarzan before continuing to stare contentedly at Donald. The court wizard looked wide-eyed at Terk, then at Sora, Goofy, Tarzan, and Jane. He shook his head vigorously from side to side and waved his hands frantically in the air in front of him as a gesture of refusal.
"No, no, no, no!" he quacked in protest. "Daisy would kill me!"
Everyone burst out into laughter, Goofy releasing a few rounds of his trademark chuckle. Donald let out a long, frustrated breath before pulling his cap over his eyes. He sank to the floor and moaned.
The room was very dimly lit; the only source of light around came from a skylight in the high, arched ceiling. What little of it was cast was just enough to create outlines on the many gold and stone statues in the room. Statues of gargoyles and wild beasts could be seen in the hallway, looking as though they were standing guard, making sure that no one entered the chapel and disturbed the meeting. The emblem of the Heartless was engraved on the wall behind them, in a place that would usually contain the statue of some goddess or other sacred being.
A select few had been called to gather in the chapel around the table, their faces shrouded in shadow as they glared maliciously at the hologram before them. They stood for a long while in silence, the hologram disappearing from in front of them. Then at last, one of them spoke up, stabbing the stone floor with the tip of his long, golden staff.
"What drew the Heartless to that world?" he hissed, his attention to their leader.
Their leader stepped forward, into the dimmed circle of pale light so that she could be seen. The orb on the tip of her staff glimmered green in the half light, and her pale face lit up like the moon on a cold night. Her eyes glowed a sickly green color as she surveyed her colleagues before she even dared to answer the question.
"The hunter lured them there," she told them, her voice calm and steady. "It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good."
A mysterious, wicked smile played on her dark lips. One of her followers cackled; a maliciously cheery bubbling of laughter that could chill anyone to the bone.
"Yeah!" he said excitedly when he had finished cackling. "He got chomped instead!"
The other follower stepped forward slowly, into the dim circle of light. His long face was drawn into a look of superiority, his thinly bearded chin raised in the air. He wore on the top of his head a large black turban which had a red jewel embedded in the front, just above his forehead. From the jewel was a vertical red streak and two yellow lines that was drawn across the entire length of the turban. A red cloth protruded from the bottom of the turban and cascaded onto his shoulders, over the black tunic that was so long it reached the floor. Only his wickedly curved red shoes could be seen emerging from beneath the tunic. He had a long cape over him that was black on the outside and red on the inside. His arms were encased in baggy sleeves that had black clasps at his thin wrists.
In his left hand was a long golden staff, the top of which was shaped like the head of a cobra. He raised it slightly as he walked so that it wouldn't be dragged across the stone floor. He glared at the previous speaker, his upper lip curled in a sneer, and then looked back at their leader.
The man's entire presence was akin to that of a snake.
"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless," he said disdainfully. Then his tone became angry and firm. "But the boy is a problem. He found another one of the Keyholes."
The leader shut her eyes and took in an even breath. The smile remained on her lips.
"Fear not," she said confidently. "It will take him ages to find the rest."
She cast her eyes downward so that she was staring at the table. In a glimmer of red and green lights, another hologram appeared, this time showing the Key Bearer and his two companions sent by their king. They were doing naught else but walking through the jungle. They appeared to be in a state of contentment, at which everyone in the room snarled at.
For a moment, everyone merely glared at the hologram. Then the leader raised her eyes slightly, the disdain and annoyance washing from her expression as she came up with a comforting thought. Her wicked smile returned to her face.
"Besides," she continued, "he remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."
Someone else in the room spoke up, her voice bubbling in the confidence that she had taken comfort in from the leader. A gleeful smile played across her lips, a bubbling cackle threatening to explode from within her.
"Yes, the princesses..."
The leader's eyes grew wide in excitement. "They are falling into our hands, one by one."
She raised one hand into the air and mimed the action of pulling back a curtain. She glanced slightly over her shoulder. A young girl in a light blue dress and a white apron was magically pulled out of the shadow and into the dim light. She staggered forward, her thick blonde locks cascading over her shoulders. Her blue eyes darted around as she looked about her, frightened, clasping her hands together.
Alice.
Their evil leader smiled. "Speaking of which..."
Author's Note: Wooh... Crazy chapter that was very difficult to translate. I'm starting to figure out how to novelize the boss fights, as in, not just whackin' 'em repeatedly with their weapons. So, yay.:D Uh, had to completely recreate that first part. Deep Jungle was gettin' too long. I couldn't be bothered to include a trip to the tent, then to that place up in the trees, fight a bunch of Power Wilds and bash open the "suspicious black fruit", talk to Jane and Terk, and then go and face Clayton... That'd be like, five to ten more pages... Argh... so long already...
Please R&R:D