Chapter 20: Christmas Town
A/N: Hey everyone! I am so sorry about the super long wait. I was bombarded with so many papers for one of my classes that it took up most of my time. But on the upside, I'm done for the semester so that means I have a month off before I go back to school. That means more chapter updates! And since it's almost the Holidays, I thought this would be the perfect time for Hikari to head on over to Christmas Town.
I've also decided to focus more on Hikari's team rather than switch it between her and Sora for the time being. Mainly because I want to focus on Hikari and Riku's relationship and her learning more about Laguna. We'll still see Sora, Ankoku and Tsukiko still goofing off every now and then for a laugh. I hope you guys don't mind. Maybe I'll do a side story where it's just on Sora's team.
Just what has Santa been up to since we last saw him?
I don't own anyone except my oc's.
Happy Holidays!
Enjoy!
/
While Sora's team was being preoccupied with Oogie Boogie, Jack was taking Hikari and her group to visit Santa. With Halloween Town being protected by Sora, they needed to make sure Christmas Town was alright as well.
"Do you think Sora will be alright by himself?" Goofy asked.
"He'll be fine. Sora's always been able to look out for himself" Riku said.
Hikari nodded but didn't say much. She was a little too freaked out by the fact that they had to cross through a dark, creepy forest to reach the door to Christmas Town. It didn't matter how many times she came to this world, it still freaked her out. Anything that associated with the dark freaked her out big time.
Riku and Leon of coursed were able to pick that up and stayed close to her in case she freaked out. They would secretly glare at each other as if daring the other to act up so they would get Hikari's attention.
Jack of course was oblivious to all of this and kept talking about Santa and Christmas Town.
"I hope Sandy Claws is alright" he said.
"I would never forgive myself if he got hurt because of Oogie Boogie"
"I'm sure he'll be ok" Hikari said nervously.
She kept jumping whenever she heard an owl chirping or feel a bat fly over her head.
"Santa's tough. If he could handle you trying to take over Christmas, he could handle whatever Oogie has in mind for him"
Angelo kept his nose close to the ground as he searched for clues. It was cute to watch his little pumpkin nose glow against the ground and act like a search light for the group.
"So Santa actually exists?" Leon asked skeptically.
"Of course he does, Ni-san" Hikari said.
"Sora and I saw him when we were last here. He said you and I were on his nice list while Sora was questionable"
Leon raised an eyebrow. He found it hard to believe that someone as innocent as Sora wouldn't be on the nice list.
"What did he do to deserve that?"
Hikari giggled and looked at Riku.
"Riku mentioned once when we were kids that Santa didn't existed and Sora believed in him"
Riku blushed and cleared his throat, remembering that incident and how he acted like an idiot when he saw Hikari get upset over it.
"I was only six, give me a break" he muttered.
Hikari and Goofy laughed at Riku and found it to be cute.
"I bet he just said that because Santa didn't get him what he wanted for Christmas" Goofy teased.
Riku's face went a little redder and his wolf ears went down.
Hikari just laughed some more at the sight.
"Is that true, Riku?" she asked.
Riku shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Maybe" he mumbled.
"What was it?" Goofy asked.
Riku's face went ever redder and he quickened his pace.
"None of your business" he said.
Leon narrowed his gaze, at him having a feeling it had something to do with Hikari.
They continued further down into the forest where the holiday worlds of old stood. As they grew closer to the doors, Angelo picked up a scent that he didn't like at all. Pressing his ears back, he locked onto the scent and picked up the pace.
"Did you find something, Angelo?" Hikari asked.
The German Sheppard continued searching until he found the source of the scent. Growling menacingly, he faced at the door leading to Christmas Town.
"Well, it looks like we know where the trouble is" Leon said.
Hikari opened the door and looked through the opening.
"I don't see anything. Maybe something's happening on the other side?"
She peered in further, only to have Leon pull her back.
"Hang on there. I don't know how these doors work so I'll go first"
Hikari huffed and crossed her arms.
"I've gone through this once before, Ni-san. I know what to do" she argued.
Leon shook his head.
"Doesn't matter, if Akumuko or Ultimecia are on the other side, then you know something bad is waiting for us. I'll go first"
Hikari pouted like a little child. Why did her brother have to treat her like a baby sometimes?
Riku went up to the door as well and gave Leon a look.
"I'll go too" he said.
"Besides, that's what a proper knight and boyfriend would do"
Leon glared at him and balled his hand into a fist.
"Watch it you little punk" he growled.
The two of them glared before they shoved each other to get through the door first.
"They seem to be getting along" Goofy said.
Hikari sighed.
"If only" she said sadly.
"We better jump in. I don't want them fighting when Santa's around"
They jumped into the opening and traveled into the wondrous world that was Christmas Town.
/
When they reached to the other side, they all landed into a giant dog pile.
Hikari managed to be on top and was able to look around the area.
"That was a fun ride" Goofy said as he laughed.
"Oh yeah, it was fun" Riku grunted as he struggled to get out of the pile.
"Oh! Sorry, Riku" Hikari said.
She looked around for her brother but couldn't find him.
"Where's Ni-san?"
The sound of a muffled voice alerted them and revealed that he was at the bottom of the pile and that his face was covered with snow.
Hikari quickly got off and helped Riku and her brother get up.
"Sorry, Ni-san. Are you ok?" she asked.
Leon spit out a mouthful of snow and gave her a dull look.
"Oh I'm super" he said sarcastically.
Riku snickered at his frost bitten face and couldn't help but feel like it was karma.
"That's actually a good look for you" he said.
Leon growled at him wiped his face of snow.
"If you like it so much I would be more than happy to do the same for your face" he threatened.
Riku was about to give a nasty retort when Jack broke in.
"Hurry! We have to save Sandy" he said.
He rushed ahead of them, leaving them behind.
"We better hurry too" Goofy said.
"We don't want anything bad to happen to Santa or Christmas"
Hikari slowly walked ahead, knowing her boots didn't work well with the thick snow on the ground.
"He's right. We need to hurry"
She took a few careful steps before she slipped and fell into the snow.
"I knew these boots wouldn't work well here" she groaned.
Riku went over to her and picked her up.
"Jump on my back, I'll carry you down to where Santa is" he said.
Hikari blushed and got on his back.
"Thank you"
Riku just smirked at her and held her tightly.
"Anything for you" he said.
Hikari smiled and nuzzled her face into his hair, enjoying the smell of it.
Riku wore a proud smirk on his face, knowing he scored a few boyfriend points for giving Hikari a piggy back ride. But that was ruined when Leon threw a snowball at his face and gave him a murderous look.
"Get moving you slow pokes" he said, although he directing it to Riku.
Riku growled like a wolf and had his dog ears back. If only he had the fangs of a wolf, then he would have bitten the gunblade master already.
They went down the path that Jack went and hurried to help the Pumpkin King rescue Santa.
/
It was obvious that something bad happened in Christmas Town. Smoke was coming out of the factories while the Christmas trees were caught on fire. Everywhere they looked, something was destroyed or demolished.
"This is horrible" Hikari said.
"Who could ever do such a thing?"
"Akumuko and Ultimecia" Leon said.
Jack was upset seeing Christmas Town in the state that it was in. It used to be a beautiful magical place but now it was destroyed.
"This isn't the Christmas Town that I know and love" he said.
"Do ya think Santa's ok?" Goofy asked.
Riku frowned.
"With the way things look, I wouldn't say so" he said.
Jack didn't like this and rushed into the town square. The sight that they say was so horrific that not even the residents of Halloween Town would do.
Dangling up from the town's water tower was none other than Santa Clause. The jolly old man was tied by the end of a rope that was suspended over a large target painted on the ground.
"Let me go!" Santa cried.
"Sandy!" Jack shouted.
Hikari gasped in horror at the sight of seeing Santa dangling dangerously above the ground.
"Mr. Clause" she called out.
She ran to go rescue him but someone got in her way. A set of knives flew at her and caused her to jump back so she wouldn't get hit. Akumuko cackled wickedly as she appeared from behind a building with a knife held between her fingers.
"Not so fast, girly" she teased.
"You wouldn't want to ruin my fun now would you?"
Hikari glared at the heartless and activated her blaster edge.
"What are doing to Santa Clause?" she asked.
Akumuko shrugged her shoulders as is she didn't care.
"Oh, not thing big" she said.
"Just have him fall and burst like a piñata. I've always wondered if the fat man was filled with something or was simply tubby"
Hikari growled and aimed her weapon at Akumuko.
"Release Santa now or you'll be sorry" she threatened.
Akumuko held her hands up in mock fright.
"Or what? You'll throw that little toy at me? Don't act to rationally. You see that rope that's wrapped around the fat man?"
Hikari slowly nodded her head.
"Well that rope is wrapped around the base of that water tower. If I were to let one of my knives slip and cut the rope, Mr. Rolly Polly will become a big Christmas mess all over the snow. Now do you want that to happen?"
Hikari pulled back on her weapon and ready to set it off.
"Do you honestly think that you would have the chance when you're too distracted with fighting me?" she asked.
Akumuko raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps" she admitted.
"But there's always plan B"
She snapped her fingers and out of nowhere, a deformed looking train came down a set of toy tracks. It looked like one of the toys Jack created when he was trying to take over Christmas with a snapping mouth that looked like it could cut through anything.
"First rule about being a sorceress: always have a backup plan" Akumuko teased.
Hikari fired off her blaster edge and went to attack her. Akumuko simply laughed as she flung her knives at her.
Riku and Leon went to help her but Jack stopped them.
"We need to save Sandy" he said.
"If that train cuts the rope, he's done for"
Riku studied the tracks to see that they could be changed around. If he could change the course the train went, then it wouldn't cut the rope.
"I have a plan" he said.
"I'll try to redirect the train so it won't reach the rope. Goofy, I need you to try to stop the train as best as you can. Do whatever it takes to make sure that train doesn't move. Jack, if any of those skeletons appear you try to keep them at bay. And Leon, I need you to climb the water tower and set Santa free in case we can't stop the train"
Leon wore a sour look.
"Why do I have to rescue him?"
Riku pointed to his gunblade.
"You're the only one in the group that has some type of knife" he reasoned.
"So hop to it"
Leon spun on his heel and stomped to the tower while grumbling.
"I'll be sure to cut you after this" he grumbled.
/
Fighting Akumuko alone was probably stupid on Hikari's part. She wasn't nearly as skilled as the heartless was when it came to fighting and she couldn't use her keyblade in this fight. Akumuko cackled every time she dodged Hikari's attacks, finding it hilarious that the young girl was even trying to fight.
"It's so pathetic to see you fighting that it's laughable" she cackled.
"What do you honestly hope to accomplish with fighting me on your own?"
Hikari gripped her blaster edge tightly to calm down her nerves. What did she hope to accomplish? She knew the real enemy she had to fight was Ultimecia. Akumuko was simply a henchman for her, even if she defeated her, it wouldn't matter because Ultimecia would still try to control time and bring chaos to the worlds. Her main focus shouldn't be on this witch.
Yet at the same time, her heart was telling her that she had to fight her, that she had to treat her the same way as she was with Ultimecia. Akukumo was dangerous and if she got away, she would cause more harm to others. She couldn't let her get away.
"I really don't know" she admitted.
"But…I do know one thing"
She summoned her keyblade and held her weapons with both hands.
"You're a very dangerous person. If I let you get away just because you're stronger than me, then you'll harm others. I can't let that happen. Harming others just for the fun of it is wrong. As long as I wield the keyblade, I will make it my personal mission to rid the worlds people like you"
She merged her weapons to create her ultimate weapon and aimed an arrow at her.
"As long as I'm a sorceress of light, I will always fight you"
Akukumo laughed and held up her blades.
"So be it" she said.
"But you'll never be able to withstand my powers. I'm known as the nightmare's child for a reason"
Her hand glowed red as she gathered her magic.
"Let's just see what a little sorceress of light is afraid of"
The area suddenly grew dark as darkness surrounded them. Everywhere Hikari looked she could see darkness. She couldn't even her friends, let alone her own hands. Her fears of the dark slowly crawled its way into her mind. She had been working so hard at trying to overcome her fears, but it wouldn't work. Every time she looked into the dark, she could see the heartless pouring out of it. She would remember when she separated by her family and when Xehanort tried to remove her heart.
She could see a hand coming out of the darkness and reaching out to her. She backed away, knowing that whoever it was, was not good.
"No!" she cried.
She tried backing away, but it was no good. The darkness was closing in on her, suffocating her with its evil powers.
She felt a sharp sting in her hand, which woke her from her trace and brought her back into Christmas Town. Two small bite marks were on her hand as if something bit her. Hikari jolted when she heard barking and felt Angelo nudging his nose into her side.
It seemed her faithful companion freed her from Akumuko's grasp.
"Good boy" Hikari said.
Akukumo scowled in disgust.
"Stupid mutt" she spat.
Hikari patted Angelo and notched her arrow again.
"And now it's your turn"
Aukumuko flung her knives at her and dodged Hikari's arrows. Hikari jumped out of the way as the knives flew past her and cast a few spells while she was readying another arrow.
It was really difficult trying to land a hit on the witch. She was fast on her feet but even faster when she threw her blades. Hikari almost felt like she fought someone who used knives before, but she couldn't remember who or when that happened. What she did remember was when she fought that person, she tackled the person to the ground so they couldn't throw their knives anymore.
It probably a stupid idea to do that to Akumuko, but she had a feeling that it might work. Dismissing her weapons, she lunged forward and tackled Akumuko to the ground. The two of them thrashed around in the snow, trying to throw each other off.
"Get off of me, you little brat!" Akumuko snarled.
Hikari wouldn't let go and tried ripping the knives out of her hands. She wouldn't be able to defeat her if she had her weapons on her, but she was sure she had a fair chance when it came to magic.
"I won't let go, even if it kills me!" she said.
Akumuko smirked darkly as if she thought of something.
"That can be arranged"
She kicked Hikari off of her and had her land on the train tracks that were wrapped around the water tower. Hikari tried to get up but couldn't because her dress was caught in the tracks.
"Oh dear, this is quite a troubling scene" Akumuko said.
"It looks like you can't get up. Whatever will you do when the train comes?"
To further her point, the train seemed to pick up speed once it was within sight of Hikari.
"Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone-literally" Akumuko said.
"I can get rid of you and the fat man at the same time. And just think of the bloody mess you'll make when that train runs you over? Oh I can't wait to see it"
Hikari panicked and tried to pull her dress out of the tracks, but it was wedged in tightly. She couldn't pull it any further without the fear of ripping her dress up and making her look indecent. She was in trouble and she knew it.
"Help!" she cried.
Riku heard her first as he was trying to change the direction of the train. He paled when he said Hikari stuck in the middle of the tracks with the train heading right towards her.
"Hikari!"
He ran over to her and skid in the snow when he reached her. He tried helping her get her dress out but not even he could pull it free. He remembered that Leon was supposed to cut Santa free and that he had his sharp gunblade.
"Leon, we need your help!" he called out.
Leon was in the middle of cutting Santa free with an annoyed look on his face.
"I'm a little busy at the moment" he snapped.
"Ni-san, help!" Hikari cried.
Leon finally looked at what was going on and panicked as well.
"Hang on, I'm coming"
He set Santa free and helped him towards the water tower before he climbed down to rescue his sister.
Hikari kept tugging on her dress and started to panic.
"Tugging won't do you any good, brat" Akumuko said.
"Unless you feel like ripping that dress off you completely, you're not going anywhere"
Riku glared at her with annoyance.
"Stay out of this"
Akumuko held her hands.
"Oh please. And miss the chance to see both get run over? I wouldn't want to ruin a good show"
Riku tried pulling but it just made the fabric stick to the tracks. He looked for Goofy, wondering where he was when he was supposed to stop the train. He found the knight in the middle of helping Jack get rid of the skeletons that kept popping up.
"Riku, the train is getting closer" Hikari whimpered.
Riku could see the train closing in on them. Its snapping jaws glistened in the light as if saying that it would rip them to shreds in a matter of seconds. If Goofy couldn't stop the train, then he would have to. Summoning his gun and keyblade, he clashed them together to create his ultimate weapon. The end result was a gunblade that looked like his keyblade.
Leon, who managed to get down from the tower, saw this and was livid.
"Oh hell no" he said.
Riku went into action and slammed his gunblade into the ground, creating a shockwave that threw the train off its tracks and into a pile of snow. The train stopped moving when it was off the tracks and moved no more. When the danger was gone, Riku went back to helping Hikari. The young sorceress was amazed with Riku's new weapon.
"Riku, that was amazing" she said.
Riku didn't really seemed to care and focused on helping his girlfriend get free.
"I wouldn't say so. I was just making sure nothing happened to my girlfriend"
Hikari blushed and smiled in gratitude. For some reason she felt a lot safer with Riku now that she knew he could create a gunblade.
Leon ran over to them, looking very annoyed.
"You ok, Hikari?"
Hikari nodded and pointed to Riku's gunblade.
"Look, Ni-san! Riku has a gunblade too! Now you have something in common"
"We do not!" Riku and Leon snapped at the same time.
They looked at each other and growled in annoyance. Leon was annoyed because he wasn't the only gunblade wielder of the group anymore and Riku was annoyed because his ultimate weapon had to resemble Leon's. Things just went from bad to worse in regards of them ever getting along.
Jack and Goofy came over with Santa in tow. Santa appeared to be fine with just a bump here and there.
"Is everything alright?" Goofy asked.
"Not really" Hikari said.
"My dress is caught in the tracks and I can't pull it out without ripping my dress"
"You're gonna have to cut a huge chunk out of it or else you'll be stuck there" Leon said.
"I can't set you free without taking a bit of it off"
Hikari pouted and crossed her arms.
"Fine, but don't make it short and skimpy. I have a reputation to keep up"
"I don't see how you can when you're dating some loser" Leon muttered.
Riku heard this and growled in annoyance. He just save Hikari and this was the thanks he got?
Leon carefully cut his sister away from the tracks while making sure her dress still looked modest. He didn't want any of the guys to see extra leg from his sister. When he felt that Hikari was good to go, he helped her up and made sure her dress was still at a good length that didn't show anything.
Hikari sighed with relief.
"Thanks better. I honestly thought it was going to get run over by that train"
"Oh, I can change that" Akumuko said.
Everyone forgot that she was still there since they were too focused on helping Hikari. The sorceress twirled her knives in her hand, looking annoyed that neither Santa or Hikari were dead.
"If you want something done, you just have to do it yourself" she spat.
Hikari quickly summoned her bow and fired off a few arrows. The arrows pinned AKumuko to a wall that was closest to her and prevented her from moving.
"Let's see you try getting out of that" Hikari said.
Akumuko growled as she tried to pull free.
"You're going to pay for this!" she yelled.
Everyone used this time to get away before Akumuko could get free. Santa came along since it was dangerous to stay in Christmas Town at the moment.
Akumuko tried to pull free from the arrows, murder written on her face.
"She won't get away with this" she hissed.
"That will be enough, Akumuko"
The witch froze when Ultimecia appeared before her. The sorceress of time did not look happy at all. It was obvious to tell that she was unhappy, even though her face was covered. Akumuko actually looked afraid when she felt the dark magic that was radiating off of Ultimecia.
The sorceress looked at the damage that her subordinate created.
"It looks like you created quite a mess while I was away" she said.
"And yet you couldn't handle Hikari"
Akumuko flinched at being scolded.
"It's not my fault! I almost had her trapped with my magic but that stupid mutt that she calls a pet broke her free from it!"
"No excuses!" Ultimecia snapped.
Akumuko flinched again.
Ultimecia sighed. Her delicate lips pulled into a frown.
"This certainly puts us back with our plans. Without Hikari we have no way of reaching our goal" she said.
"Why don't we just kill her?" Akumuko suggested.
"We just need the body after all"
Ultimecia shook her head.
"I need her alive in order for everything to work. I can't use her powers when she's dead. I'll just have to stop her before she reaches her friends"
Akumuko scoffed. If Hikari was able to stop her, then what chance did her mistress have of doing so?
"How are you going to accomplish that? That boy and her brother aren't really pushovers"
Ulitmecia laughed darkly.
"Hikari isn't the only one who has a pet"
/
Everyone made it to the door that would lead them back to Halloween Town. Since Christmas Town was dangerous at the moment, they had to take him where he would be safe.
"You'll be safe in Halloween Town, Mr. Claws" Jack said.
"And I promise not to take over Christmas while you're here"
Hikari and Goofy sighed, knowing about Jack's obsession with Christmas.
"It's not me that I'm worried about" Santa said.
"I'm worried about you children. That witch is very dangerous"
"We know and that's why we're keeping you safe. She won't harm you as long as we're here" Hikari said.
Santa shook his head frantically.
"That's not what I meant! She brought something horrible with her when she invaded Christmas Town" he said.
Hikari paled. What did Akumuko bring with her?
"What was it?"
Riku opened the door to find that they weren't alone. On other side of the door, was Ultimecia's pet, Griever. The deformed lion roared and raises its massive paw. Riku quickly closed the door and held it closed as the animal tried to rip it open.
"We have company" he said.
Griever kept bashing its claws against the door, ripping away their only source of protection. It took everything in Riku and Leon to keep the door closed.
"That's the thing that witch brought with her!" Santa cried.
"Looks like Akumuko had this planned in case we got away from her" Leon said.
"What do we do?" Goofy asked.
"We can't go out there or else that thing will eat us"
"And we can't go back to Christmas Town since Akumuko is still there" Hikari added.
"Which way to we go?"
Riku tried to figure out a plan while he struggled keeping the door shut. They had to go forward in order to reach Sora and his group but they couldn't when a rapid lion was trying to eat them. If only he could distract it long enough for the others to get away without Griever noticing.
"Come on Riku think! Cats are very smart, so I can't of something stupid. What would distract a massive lion long enough for me to get the others to safety?"
That's when he came up with an idea. Looking at Jack, he saw that he still had the Soul Robber wrapped around his wrist. Whenever it stretched out, it almost looked like it was string-something that cats like to play with.
"Jack, I need to borrow that Soul Robber" he said.
Jack looked confused but handed it over.
"Are you going to use it against that thing?" he asked.
Riku had the Soul Robber wrap around his wrist securely.
"Sort of. I'm going to distract it while you guys make it to the Town Square"
"But that's dangerous, Riku" Hikari reasoned.
Riku gave her a weak smile and gripped her shoulder.
"True, but if we stay here either Griever or Akumuko will get us. We need to move" he said.
"Just wait for me to get Griever away from the door then head for the town. Got it?"
Hikari gulped but nodded.
"Ok. Just stay here. Everything will be aright" Riku said.
Steadying his breath, he carefully wedged himself out of the door and pressed his back against it to keep it closed. Griever was snarling when it saw Riku and dug its paw into the ground. Riku kept calm and gripped the Soul Robber.
"Easy big guy, I'm sure you don't want to eat me" he said.
Griever just roared and snarled.
"Ok, maybe you do" Riku said.
"But wouldn't you rather play?"
He unwound the Soul Robber and let it dangle from his hand. That caught Griever's attention and suddenly he wasn't growling anymore.
"I thought you might like this" Riku said.
While Griever's attention was on the Soul Robber, everyone snuck out of the Christmas door and weaved their way through the trees so they wouldn't be spotted. Goofy kept his eyes glued on Griever that he didn't see a root that was sticking up and tripped over it. The sound caused Griever to look over and see everyone trying to get away. Growling low in its throat, Griever lunged for the group.
Riku acted quickly and flung the Soul Robber, having it wrap around Griever's legs and tripping it.
"Run!" Riku cried.
He summoned his keyblade and faced against Griever. If he could stall the beast for just a little bit, then that's all he needed. He needed to have the others get to safety more than anything else.
Griever growled and snapped its jaws at Riku. Riku backed up a bit but kept his eyes on the lion. He needed to see what the beast was thinking if he wanted to win against this thing. He swiped his keyblade at it and dodged when it swung its paw at him. He managed to get a few hit in here and there, but they seemed to bounce off the animals thick fur.
At one point, Griever got the best of Riku and pinned him to a tree, preventing him from moving. Riku tried to reach for his gun, but his hand couldn't reach the weapon. Griever pressed harder and harder into Riku, making it hard for the boy to breath.
"I can't let it end like this" he thought.
"I have to keep Hikari safe"
Griever raised its other paw to land the finishing blow. Then out of nowhere, something ran into it and threw it out of the way, freeing Riku in the process. The keyblade wielder coughed as he tried to regain his breath and looked at whoever saved him.
He was stunned to see that it was Angelo who saved him and that he was facing off against Griever. The German Sheppard snarled and snapped his teeth at Griever, showing he wasn't a happy dog. Griever growled as well, digging its paws into the ground.
Hikari panicked and went to go help her dog, but Leon held her back.
"It's too dangerous" he said.
Hikari had tears in her eyes when she looked at her brother.
"But he's my dog!" she said.
"I can't let him get hurt"
Leon shook his head sadly, showing that he wasn't giving in.
"It's either you or the dog and I'm afraid that I don't want to see my sister get hurt"
Hikari sobbed a little and looked at her dog facing off against Griever.
"Angelo"
Angelo snarled as he kept Griever away from Riku and the others. He sensed that this creature wanted to hurt his master and he wasn't going to let that fly. Griever started advancing forward, but Angelo sent him back by shooting lighting out of his mouth. He was a magical dog after all and he was going to use his powers. He fired spell after spell, sending the lion further back. He wasn't going to let this massive lion get in the way and he was going to show its place.
Griever got annoyed at one point and swung its paw at the dog. Angelo latched onto it with his teeth dug them deep into its flesh, making sure to break the skin. Griever howled in pain and tried swatting the dog off its paw, but the dog wouldn't let go. No matter how hard the lion shook, the dog kept a vice grip on its paw. Griever swung really hard when it got annoyed and had Angelo flying into one of the trees. The dog yelped in pain, but managed to pick himself up and block the lion from getting any closer to his friends.
Gathering all of the magic he had in his being, he formed a great big ball of energy in his mouth and blasted it at the lion. Griever slammed into a large tree and was left in a daze.
Seeing that he won this battle, Angelo barked in victory, showing that he was the boss.
"Angelo!" Hikari cried.
She ran over to her dog and hugged him tightly, glad that he was alright.
"Thank goodness you're alright. I was so scared"
Angelo wagged his tail and licked his owner's face, showing that he was alright. Riku went up to them and gave the dog a grateful smile.
"You saved my life back there" he said.
"Thank you"
Angelo licked his hand, and barked a bit.
Griever came back to its senses and shook his head to clear the haze. It growled when it looked at the group and went to attack them again.
"Run!" Leon yelled.
They ran as fast as they could back into the town, where surely Sora and the other would help them.
/
Sora wore a grim look on his face when he saw Ankoku hog tie Lock, Shock and Barrel. After they got out of Oogie Boogie's lair, she gave them a serious beat down to the point that they were knocked out.
"I think you over did it a little, Ankoku" he said.
Ankoku scoffed and sat on the ground.
"What are you talking about? I went easy on them" she said.
"They're lucky to be even alive"
Tsukiko shook her head as she stroked the Moomba's head.
"You are a very, very strange person Ankoku"
Ankoku gave her a mock salute.
"So where the hell is Hikari and the others? I thought they would be here by now"
Right on cue, Hikari and everyone else ran as fast as they could into the square. They looked like they were running for their lives with the fear that was on their faces.
"Help!" Hikari cried.
Ankoku raised an eyebrow.
"What's bothering you?" she asked.
Griever charged into the square, roaring loudly.
"That's what's bothering us" Leon said.
Sora and Donald yelped but summoned their weapons.
Ankoku was annoyed that she had to get involved with another fight so suddenly, but went into action. Looking around the square she spotted a guillotine that went down whenever someone went under it. Smirking darkly, she came up with a plan.
"Don't worry, I got this" she said.
She walked over to the guillotine and caught Griever's attention.
"Hey ugly, over here!" she called.
Griever turned around to see Ankoku giving rude gestures and making silly faces.
"You can't get me!" she taunted.
Griever growled and lunged for Ankoku, who jumped out of the way at the last second. The blade of the guillotine went down with a 'thwack' and made everyone cringe. Hikari was afraid to see the lion be cut in half but she willed herself to see the damage. Instead of being cut in half, Griever had its tail chopped off.
The lion whimpered in pain and looked at its tail which was lifeless on the ground.
Ankoku laughed and pointed at it.
"What's the matter? You gonna run away with your tail tucked between your legs? Oh wait! You can't!"
Griever whimpered and ran back towards the woods where Ultimecia and Akumuko would be at.
"Yeah, that's right. Run back to your momma like a little baby, you bitch!" Ankoku called out.
When the danger was gone, Hikari sighed and slumped to the ground.
"That was insane" she said.
"I think it's safe to say that Halloween Town won't be having any problems for a while" Sora said.
Santa sighed. All the events that had happened at the same time were taking a toll on him.
"Are you going to be alright, Mr. Claws?" Jack asked.
Santa nodded.
"I will be. Thank you for saving my life back there. I don't know what that witch would have done to me if you hadn't shown up" he said.
"Why did Akumuko try to do that to you in the first place?" Hikari asked.
Santa shook his head.
"I haven't the slightest idea. She claimed that she was trying to search for something and thought it would be in my workshop, but when she found out that it wasn't there, she got angry and thought it was hiding it, so she tied me up to that water tower, thinking that I would tell her then"
Sora scratched his chin.
"Yen Sid did mention that they were trying to look for something in this timeline, but we still don't know what it could be"
"Well, if they didn't find it on this world, then it's safe to say that they won't be staying in Halloween Town for very long" Leon said.
"They can't stay in this timeline for too long otherwise it'll distort time itself. Things that don't belong in a certain time messes things up"
"Then we should better hurry" Goofy said.
"I don't want things to get messed up"
Sora looked at Jack.
"Do you think you can handle keeping this world safe?"
Jack smiled and nodded.
"Of course. I'm the Pumpkin King and it's my duty to keep Halloween Town safe. And since you took care of Oogie Boogie , things should be alright"
Sora nodded.
"Alright then, we'll come back later to see how things are"
"Do be safe with your travels, children" Santa warned.
"I don't know who that witch is, but I do know she's very troublesome"
They didn't need to be told twice. With the way things were, they wouldn't be surprised if Akumuko appeared right then and now.
"We should get going while things have died down. Don't want to attract any unwanted attention" Riku said.
Tsukiko stroked the Moomba's head and held him close.
"Ready when you are"
Hikari tilted her head at the sight of the animal.
"You're keeping him?" she asked.
Tsukiko nodded and stoked the animal's fur.
"Yeah. The doctor didn't want him and he's just so cute that I can't leave him behind. I think I'll make him my new pet"
Hikari looked at Angelo.
"Hear that, Angelo? You have a new friend"
Angelo looked at the Moomba and tilted his head this way and that. The Moomba jumped out of Tsukiko's arms and crawled over to the dog. The two of them sniffed each other, trying to see if there was anything wrong with the other. When they didn't find anything, Angelo licked the Moomba. The Moomba in turn jumped on Angelo's back and sat on him like a horse.
"Aww, they like each other" Hikari cooed.
Ankoku rolled her eyes at her other half's mushy moment and looked at Tsukiko.
"So what are you going to name him?"
Tsukiko had a gentle smile on her face, already knowing what to name her new pet.
/
"Hey Axel, what does your name mean?"
Axel looked at Tsukiko strangely.
"What brought this up?"
Tsukiko just shrugged as she propped herself up on the bed.
"I just wondered if your name meant anything" she said.
"Mine means 'moon child' and Ankoku means 'darkness'. I was wondering if you name had a meaning"
Axel just looked at the ceiling, lost in thought. It had been such a long time since he used his original name that he almost forgot about it. Just like everything else about his past.
Tsukiko stroked his arm idly.
"I never knew what 'Axel' stood for, but I figured it stood for something that represented you like fire or something"
Axel cracked a smirk at her logic.
"Close but no cigar" he said.
"It actually doesn't mean anything. It's just an anagram"
Tsukiko raised an eyebrow.
"You mean like a codename?"
Axel nodded and sat up.
"Whenever someone joins the Organization, they have an 'X' added to their name and have it mixed around. It's a way that makes us forget our past lives from when we had hearts"
Tsukiko sat up and draped her arms around him.
"That's pretty stupid. What's wrong with having your old names?"
Axel shrugged and looked out the window.
"Beats me"
Tsukiko pressed her face into his back.
"So who were you before you were Axel?" she asked.
Axel didn't say anything for a moment. It was weird that someone wanted to know who he was before he became a Nobody. No one in the Organization knew each other's original name. Aside from Saix, no one knew his real name. Not even Roxas or Ankoku. He felt like no one deserved or was trustworthy of seeing into his past.
Yet, when he looked at Tsukiko, he sensed he could trust her. She never barged into his personal life and never asked every little detail about it. She respected his space and felt everyone was allowed to hide a few secrets. He admired that trait about her, but he didn't want to keep any secrets from her.
"Lea" was all he said.
Tsukiko looked confused at the sudden outburst.
"Huh?"
Axel covered her hand that was still draped over his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"My name. It's Lea" he said.
Tsukiko let this sink into her head and let it register with the man she loved most.
"Lea" she repeated.
"I like it. It has a nice ring and it fits you perfectly"
Axel cracked a grin.
"You're the only person who knows my real name" he said.
"No one in the Organization save for Saix knows it"
Tsukiko looked shocked.
"Not even Roxas or Ankoku?" she asked.
Axel shook his head.
"B-but why would you tell me and no one else?"
Axel turned around and cupped her face with his hand. A rare gentle smile appeared was on his face. One that only Tsukiko was allowed to see.
"Because you're the only one I can trust in this whole world"
/
"Lea" Tsukiko said.
"That's his name"
Ankoku raised an eyebrow.
"Lea? Where did you come up with that?"
Tsukiko wore a sad smile on her face as she looked at her necklace.
"It…holds a special meaning to me" she said.
"It's the name of someone who was very precious to me"
Hikari knew exactly who she was talking about and thought this was a perfect way to pay homage to Axel.
"I hope you realize how lucky you were to have someone like Tsukiko, Axel" she thought.
Many strange things had happen in Halloween Town. Tsukiko getting a new friend, Riku being able to create a Gunblade and most of all, Ultimecia and Akumuko were looking for something.
Things were starting to get very strange for our heroes and it was just going to get worse.
/
A/N:Man what was a long chapter, but it makes up for me being absent for so long.
Is it bad that I found it funny to the way how Leon reacted to Riku being able to create a Gunblade? I think this just made him hate Riku even more.
And Tsukiko made a new friend! I thought Lea would be very fitting since it kind of looks like Axel with the hairdo and because he was so important to her.
Next chapter we get to see more of Laguna and Taiyouko's past together! That should be interesting.
Please review and tell me what you think!
Ja ne!