Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.
Chapter 20: Homecoming
The Heart of Gold arrived at Bonkers' and Miranda's world in a fraction of a second, thanks to the Infinite Improbability Drive. Unfortunately for the crew, the proofing screens have failed once again. The whole inside of the cabin was transformed into a large cabaña hut with potted palm trees spread across the room. In the back of the cabin were doors leading into separate changing rooms, and all of chairs were replaced with fold-up loungers.
Miranda was wearing a blue one-piece bathing suit, dark sunglasses, and a sun hat. "God, I hate the Improbability Drive," she rubbed her temples.
Trevor found himself relaxing on a lounge chair with a tropical drink in hand. He had on red shorts and a red Hawaiian t-shirt and was near a small reflecting pool. "Eddie, I thought you were going to fix the proofing screens!" he yelled.
"Sorry about that gang," the computer chimed in. "But we have arrived at your destination." A fifty inch flat screen television slowly descended from the ceiling of the cabin and displayed a picture of the world.
"There it is," Miranda said proudly. "The Downtown Beat." The whole world was covered was buildings, but not in the way The City of Lost Angels or Retro City was. The world had a much more urban feel to it, although there are certain areas on the world that are clearly for the rich.
"It's not much, but we call it home," Bonkers said also on a lounge chair, wearing nothing but Bermuda shorts and sandals.
"Well, let's go," the keyblader said as he stood up. He then looked at the way everyone was dressed and decided they shouldn't be so hasty. "First we change, then we go."
KH-KH-KH
When the trio landed on the world, they found it in disarray. The streets were completely overrun with Nobodies. Dusks, Samurais, Dancers, Berserkers; you name it, it was there.
"We leave the world for a couple of weeks and look what happens," Bonkers commented as the Nobodies drew closer.
"How are we going to fight them all," Miranda said taking out her katana. "There's too many of them."
"How far is it from the police station?" Trevor inquired.
"About a couple of blocks from here, why?"
"We don't have to fight them all," the keyblader said. "We'll just run pass them…"
"I could have thought of that," the cartoon bobcat huffed.
"Enough talk, do you want to save your world or not?" His two friends nodded and together they dashed along the street, avoiding every attack that came their way.
Maneuvering through the streets filled with Nobodies was like running in an obstacle course. The trio dodged, rolled, climbed, and somersaulted toward the police station. Each passing yard became more difficult than the last. The group finally made it to the step of the station and was greeted by a peculiar sight. Coming out of the police station was a policeman that wasn't bothered by the Nobodies, but seemed to have his mind on other things.
"It's a madhouse!" he said to no one in particular. "A complete madhouse! Someone should do something about it!"
"Chief?" Miranda and Bonkers said simultaneously.
The Chief of Police looked up and smiled at the two officers. "Officer Wright, Officer Bobcat," he greeted them. The Chief looked like a kindly old man who's balding, but still have patches of gray hair left. He had a certain look about him, like he was lost, but didn't really care. "What are you doing here? I thought Sgt. Grating sent you two on a special assignment."
"We were…I mean, we still are," Miranda began, "We came back to save the city."
"Who's that?" Trevor whispered to Bonkers and pointed at the Chief.
"That's Chief Leonard Kanifky," the bobcat whispered back. "He's loads of fun."
"Save the city?" Chief Kanifky eyed Miranda strangely. "The problem isn't that serious."
"What are you talking about sir!" the blonde cop yelled. "There are creatures of darkness overrunning the city!"
"There are?" the chief looked shook. For the first time, the chief took a good look around him and saw the damage the invaders were causing. "My word! Someone should call the police!"
"We are the police!"
"Good, that takes care of one problem," Chief Kanifky nodded as if the actual problem was solved. "Miranda, Bonkers, you guys take care of this 'Nobody' situation while I handle something more important. And trust me; it's complete madness."
"What's that, Chief?" Bonkers inquired.
"The break room is out of coffee!" the Chief said like it's the end of the world. Everyone looked at the old man like he lost his mind. "And furthermore, everyone expects me to get more! I hate running errands; I just hate it!" The group watched as Chief Kanifky got into his car, mumbling to himself, and drove off.
"I take it, the Chief is a burger short of a happy meal," Trevor said completely dumbfounded.
"Well…, he's….overly-eccentric," Miranda candy-coated it. "But we can't worry about that now. We have to save Sgt. Grating." The keyblader and the bobcat nodded and they went into the building with Miranda.
The first observation they made when they entered police headquarters was how empty it was. There were no cops, Heartless, or Nobodies; just an eerie calm as if the whole building let out a long sigh some time ago.
"Where is anybody?" Miranda said looking around.
Trevor was thinking the worse; that Jessica had killed them all. However, he didn't voice this out loud for the sake of his two friends.
The trio traveled upstairs, went into the situation room, and saw Sgt. Grating handcuffed and gagged. He was shaking his head rapidly as if he was trying to tell them something. The group ignored this, un-cuff him, and removed the gag.
"It's a trap, you idiots!" the sergeant yelled.
Immediately, several Heartless appeared. The creatures resembled Pirate Heartless, except they wore a purple mask, a black and white striped shirt, and carried a large burlap sack with them.
"Great," Trevor sarcastically spat as he summoned his keyblade. "This day keeps getting better and better."
One of the Heartless lunged at Trevor and he knocked the creature across the room. Miranda was struggling with two Heartless at once. The Heartless tried to flank her, but she sidestepped the attack and destroyed them both with one slice.
Bonkers wasn't so lucky; the last Heartless snuck up behind him and knocked him out. The Heartless quickly tossed the toon in its burlap sack and made a run for it.
"Oh no you don't," Trevor quickly cast Thunder on the Heartless, destroying it, and Bonkers fell out of the sack unceremoniously.
With all the Heartless gone, everyone relax a little; with the exception of Sgt. Grating. "Stupid, lousily toons," he cursed. "Stupid, lousily, good-for-nothing toons!" he added for good measure.
"Sergeant, what happened here?" Miranda asked. "What happen to all of the police?"
"I tell you what happened," the sergeant yelled. "That toon, Jessica, came in and just overtook us. Her and those white things, Nobodies I think she called them, just caught us completely off guard. She made us all look like phobies! All of the other policemen are all over the city trying to neutralize this outbreak."
"But what did she want?" Trevor asked. "Why attack the police station?"
It was the first time the sergeant noticed Trevor. "You are one of the keybladers, eh? One of the 'oh-so-precious-few' who were chosen to wield the key. Well, if that's the case then we're all screwed!" The sergeant threw his hands in the air and then slapped his forehead. "She only did it so you and Bonkers could come here. It was all a trap."
"Well, it worked," Trevor simply stated. "But the question is, why set a trap here?"
Just then a dagger crash through a nearby window and got stuck on the wall. After the initial shock, the group carefully when over to the knife, and saw that a note was attached to it. Trevor took the note off and read it out loud. "Dear Bonkers, now that you are here in this world, I think it's time we have our little chat. Meet me in the warehouse district in one hour and come alone. If the cops or your friends get involved, then I afraid I will have to hurt them and you don't want that, do you? XOXO, Jessica Rabbit."
"Definitely a trap," Miranda said. "But what are we going to do about it?"
"We set a trap of our own," Trevor gave a wry smile.
KH-KH-KH
A half an hour later, Bonkers wandered through the warehouse distract alone. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was sweating buckets; literally. The bobcat found the warehouse he was suppose to meet Jessica and cautiously entered it. The warehouse was dimly light and the only source of light was a single lamp hanging from the middle of the ceiling. The storehouse was full of crates, barrels, and lockers. Upon closer inspection, Bonkers realized that the crates and other storage units contained props from various movies and cartoons.
He was about to pick up a stray mallet when he heard a voice from behind him. "I'm glad you could make it, Bonkers." The cartoon bobcat turned around and a figure stepped into the small circle of light that was in the middle of the warehouse.
One could tell the figure was a woman, from the shape and the voice. However, the figure was completely covered up by her blue clock and the only distinguishing feature one could make out was a few stray strains of red hair. The woman lift up her hood and her beautiful face appeared. The female cartoon had long flowing red hair which covered the right side of her face and was wearing pink eye shadow with the deepest red lipstick on her lips. "We should get down to business, shall we?" Jessica said as removed her cloak completely and let it drop to the floor. Bonkers' jaw hit the floor and his eyes turned into hearts when he saw how beautiful the female cartoon was. Jessica had a perfect hourglass figure and was wearing a red, sparkling, sequin dress and a pair of long, elbow-length, purple gloves.
"Come here little doggy," Jessica bent down gestured the bobcat to come over.
Bonkers got on all fours, wagged his tail excitedly, and howled like a wolf. He scampered over to the female toon who scoped him up and cradled him like a mother does to an infant child.
"That's a good boy," Jessica cooed. "Now, did your friends follow you here?"
"Yes, they're right over there," the bobcat pointed to a secluded spot completely mesmerized by Jessica's beauty.
"BONKERS!" both Trevor and Miranda yelled from their hiding spots.
"Vincent!" Jessica yelled. Vincent Valentine came out of the shadows and fired round after round at the keyblader's and cop's hiding place.
Both Trevor and Miranda rolled out of the way and tried to flank the gunman from both sides. Vincent was too quick for them however and jump in the air to unleash a rain of bullets on the two. Trevor cast Protect to protect him and Miranda from the bullets until the attack was over. Vincent landed on the ground, spun around, took out his shotgun, and shot at the barrier. The magical barrier shattered into tiny pieces and Trevor made the poor decision to charge at Vincent head on. Before Vincent could fire his gun or Trevor could slice with his keyblade, a magic barrier formed between them.
"That's quite enough of that," said an overly confident voice.
Trevor looked at the direction the voice was coming from and saw a man with broad shoulders adjusting his glasses. He instantly knew who it was. "Zackary," he spat. "I didn't expect to see you so soon."
"That's no way to talk to your older brother," Zackary scolded and stood right beside Jessica. It was then that Trevor noticed that Jessica was no longer cradling Bonkers like before, but now was holding him by the neck. The poor bobcat struggled to get away, but Jessica used her left hand to hold his neck and her right to bind his hands.
"So, what do you want?" Trevor questioned suspiciously.
"What do I want?" Zackary laughed a little as he repeated his brother's question. "I want what I always want; for you to join the Forsaken."
"NEVER!"
"You were always so impulsive," Zackary rubbed his temples. "Just hear me out and maybe you could see why me and the other members are doing the things we do."
Trevor looked at Miranda, who looked like she didn't know what to think. The keyblader then lowered his keyblade and dismiss his weapon.
The older brother nodded his head and began his tale, "As you know, little over a year and few months ago, the Heartless breakout caused many worlds to fall into the darkness. However, when Sora defeated Xehanort's Heartless and locked Kingdom Hearts, with the help of King Mickey, the worlds were able to return. And yet, some of those worlds that returned were altered greatly.
"Me and my colleagues found this out the hard way. When we return to our home worlds, at first we all thought that we made a mistake; that we were on the wrong world. But after further investigations, we sadly found out the truth; that ours worlds have been replaced by another world. Or rather, our worlds' heart and memories were altered causing it to change.
"We were strangers in our own worlds and we banded together under one cause; to bring back our original world. After much planning, we discovered that there was only one way to back our worlds. Keep in mind that we are not happy about this discovery, but it's a necessary evil. If we manage to steal the heart of the hero of the world and fused his heart with the heart of the world, then the world's true memories will be restored and the world will return to normal."
"The hero of the world?" Trevor questioned. "What does that suppose to mean?"
"Every world among the stars has three types of people," Jessica answered still holding Bonkers so he wouldn't escape. "The hero, the love interest/confidant, and the villain. The villain's job is to provide strike and conflict, the hero's job is to resolve the conflict, and the love interest's or confidant's job is to make sure the hero doesn't lose hope. Every generation has to face this, an unending cycle of battles between heroes and villains."
"Between Darkness and Light," Zackary added. "This eternal battle between the forces of good and evil, of destruction and rebirth, of Darkness and Light is what keeps the universe going and life beginning anew. For Darkness cannot exist without Light and Light cannot exist without Darkness."
"And Bonkers is the hero of this world?" Miranda asked looking for an opening to attack.
"That is correct," Jessica cooed. "Only the heart of the hero will do, for it contains the true memories of the old world. You see, Bonkers' heart is, in fact, the heart of my husband, Roger Rabbit."
"When the worlds were altered, some people were altered as well," Zackary explained coolly. "Bonkers is, in fact, a distorted Roger Rabbit, same way as Lazlo was a distorted Rocko and so on. It also explains why the Baloo, Louie, and Shere Khan you met in Cape Suzette wasn't the same animals we have met in the Ivory Jungle."
"Also, there are people like us," Jessica explained further. "People who are forced to share their hearts with another; with a false being."
"You guys are crazy!" Trevor protested. "Do you expect us to believe that?"
"You honestly think we're crazy?" Zackary scoffed. "Then tell me, do you know of a man named Kyle Birch?"
Trevor opened his mouth to retort, but then quickly shut it. He was beginning to remember something and a shadowy image appeared in his mind. The image was a young man with sandy blond hair. He knew that this young man was the same one he sees in his nightmares. He never truly thought about it before, but the young man looked exactly like him.
"I can tell by your facial expressions, you know what I am talking about," Zackary mocked. "Kyle and you share the same heart, same way other members of the Forsaken share their hearts with someone else."
"I'm forced to share my heart with a cartoon called Fawn Deer," Jessica said with disdain. "I will be glad when she disappears."
"You are talking about killing innocent people!" Trevor yelled; he couldn't believe the madness he was hearing. "And I won't let you harm Bonkers, Miranda, or anyone else in this world!"
His older brother sighed and readjusted his glasses. "Your amnesia has made you naïve. As keybladers, it is our duty to protect the worlds and that is what I am trying to do. We are protectors and warriors, Trevor. If some blood must be spilled then so be it."
"But-"
"But, nothing! Besides, you have nothing to worry about. All of your friends won't truly die, but be reborn as the people they were meant to be."
"He's right," Jessica smiled. "Bonkers will be reborn as my husband Roger, and Miranda will too be transformed. I'm not sure, but I think that she has the heart of a woman named Dolores."
"Still, what right do you have saying these people shouldn't exist?" Trevor challenged. "These people have a right to exist!"
"So you say," Zackary sighed. "But, I'm more worried about the existence of people that actually matter. Jessica, do it."
Jessica nodded and plunged one of her hands deep within Bonkers' chest. Miranda and Trevor watched in horror as Jessica pulled out the bobcat's heart. The two tried to save him, but Zackary raised his hand and unleashed a spell that summoned magic chains to bind them.
The female cartoon tossed away Bonkers' body unceremoniously and marveled at his heart. "Look how bright it is," she said in awe. "Finally, I will be able to bring my world back!"
"YOU MONSTERS!" Miranda yelled in anguish. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?"
"Of course we do," Zackary said coldly, his mind on other matters. "What I want to know is why Bonkers' body didn't fade away yet?" Sure enough, the bobcat's body didn't fade away or became a Nobody.
"That's because a cartoon's body is different from a human's body," Jessica explained. "We cartoons are practically immortal, leaving only several methods to kill a toon. But as long as a cartoon is remembered, it could never truly die or fade away. I imagine that there are people in this world who remember this bobcat's cartoons and the joy of those memories are what's keeping his body bound to the Light Realm. When those memories of him fade, so will his body."
"Very well," Zackary shook it off. "I trust you can handle your mission without further help from me or Vincent."
Jessica just walked away with Bonkers' heart in hand. "Don't patronize me. Everything's in the bag."
"Good. Vincent, come, we have other work to do," Zackary said as he opened a corridor of darkness. "It's a shame that you refuse to work with us Trevor. You could have been a real asset."
"Shut the hell up!" Trevor yelled struggling to free himself from the magic chains. "Just shut up and fight me!"
"Now why would I do that?" his older brother smirked. "Think over what I said, little brother. When you regain your senses, join us." Both Zackary and Vincent stepped into the portal and disappeared.
When Zackary was gone, his spell dispersed and Trevor and Miranda were free to move again. Miranda immediately rushed over to Bonkers' body seeing if there was anything she could do to help. Trevor circled the perimeter for signs of Jessica, but she was long gone.
"Trevor!" Miranda called out. "Is there anything that we can do?"
The keyblader ran over to her and inspect the bobcat's empty body. Every so often dark swirls of smoke started to emanate from the body. Trevor shook his head, "There's nothing I can do. It's amazing that his body has stayed in the Light Realm for so long, but he doesn't have much long. I say he has a couple of hours before he…he…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"That can't be it," the blonde cop protested. "Use your keyblade, your magic, or something to bring his heart back!"
"It doesn't work like that, but we will find a way."
"How?"
"For Jessica's plan to work, she needs to fuse Bonkers' heart with the heart of the world. All we need to do is find the keyhole of the world before she does and she when she shows up we take back the heart. Now, can you think where the keyhole of your world might be?"
Miranda tried to think, but she was too tired, angry, and worried to think properly. "Uh…, for what we saw in our travels, the keyhole will be located in the most important spot of the world."
"And that would be?"
"I don't know! It could be anywhere; we have to look all over town. It could be Bonkers' house or maybe…" Miranda mind connected the dots. "That sneaky &*%$!"
"What is it?" Trevor said somewhat surprised that Miranda would use such language.
She grabbed Bonkers' body and headed outside. "It's back at the police station!"
"What?" Trevor ran after her. "She attacked the station a few moments ago."
"Exactly, it the only place no one would look for her," Miranda got in her police car and picked up her radio. "Calling all units, there's going to be another attack on the police station. I repeat, another attack on the police station!" Trevor got in the vehicle and Miranda drove off like a bat out of hell. "Also," Miranda said to the keyblader, "All of the police are out destroying Nobodies."
"Or out looking for coffee," Trevor said under his breath remembering Chief Kanifky.
KH-KH-KH
Jessica was in front of the police station, ready to unleash her final move. She held out her left hand and emitted a beam of light. The light seemed to hit an invisible wall and the keyhole of the world slowly manifested.
"Checkmate," the cartoon woman smiled triumphantly.
Suddenly, tons of police sirens seem to go off at once and dozens of police cars swarm in front of the station. "Put your hands in the air!" one cop shouted.
The buxom cartoon turned around, not believing what she was seeing. 'How did they get here so fast?' she thought. 'I was so careful!'
"JESSICA!" The toon looked over and saw Miranda and Trevor heading for her; both carrying Bonkers' body with them.
"You're too late," Jessica hissed. "Soon this twisted world will fade away and the true world will be reawakened!"
"Over our dead bodies!" Trevor yelled as he and Miranda charged.
"That can be arranged," Jessica said as she took out a pistol and shot at them.
The duo easily dodged the shots and continued to charge. Before their attacks could connect, Jessica somersaulted out of the way and fired off more rounds. When their attacks didn't work, they decided to change their tactics. Trevor fired a series of Fira spells while Miranda used her Zeninage technique. Jessica managed to dodged most of the fire spells, but the moment the Zeninage technique hit her, she flinched and the remaining fire spells made contact. The female cartoon recomposed herself and was about to fire her pistol when something hit her on the back of the head. Jessica looked down and saw and saw that it was a detached arm. A rabbit, covered in bandages, picked up the arm and reattached it to his body.
"Give back my friend's heart, you bad woman," the rabbit said trying his best to sound authoritative.
"That's right," said a female deer standing next to the rabbit. "You have no right stealing other people's hearts." A very nervous cartoon dog to the right of her just silently nodded his head.
"Who are they?" Trevor questioned Miranda.
"They are Bonkers' cartoon friends: Fall-Apart Rabbit, Fawn Deer, and Jitters A. Dog," the cop enlightened the keyblader.
"I have no right to steal the bobcat's heart, you say?" Jessica sneered at Fawn Deer. "But you're wrong; I have every right!" The cartoon woman unleashed a power wave that cause everyone to fall down (expect Fall-Apart Rabbit, who's body fell apart into pieces).
Trevor quickly got back up and tried to rush her, but Jessica blocked the attack. "You give back his heart!" he shouted.
"Make me," she hissed as she backed away. "Why risk your life for some washed-up out of work toon actor? What makes him so special?"
"Because he is our friend," Miranda answered. "And because of that, we will always fight for him."
"That's right," Fall-Apart Rabbit said putting himself together with the help of Jitters. "We will stand by his side no matter what!"
Bonkers' heart in Jessica's hand began to fluctuate, and she tried to maintain her hold on it. "No, I won't lose!" She tried to hold on, but the heart floated away. "NO!" she screamed as it fluttered back to its owner.
The heart went inside the cartoon bobcat's body and Bonkers yawned like he woken up from a nice nap. "*yawn* Happy birthday! … Wait a minute, why did I say that? It's not even my catchphrase."
"BONKERS!" everyone yelled in jubilation and dog-piled on the bobcat. "We thought we lost you," Miranda said hugging Bonkers tightly.
"Miranda…I can't breathe…," Bonkers choked as he struggled for air.
The cop released her bear hug, a bit embarrassed, but happy to see her partner all right.
"How can this be?" Jessica yelled. "How is this possible?"
Trevor didn't understand it himself, but he had a theory. "Our friendship with Bonkers brought his heart back to his body. That's the one thing I have learned on this journey; if you have friends that care for you, nothing is impossible."
"How touching…," Jessica sneered with great abhorrence. "Well then,… I guess it's time for Plan B." She drove into the keyhole disappearing from sight.
"Miranda, we have to go after her!" Trevor yelled as he raced for the keyhole.
The blonde nodded then turned to Fawn Deer. "Watch over Bonkers, okay?" The cartoon deer nodded and Miranda entered the keyhole along with Trevor.
Entering the keyhole of the world was the strangest sensation that Trevor and Miranda has ever felt. It was the feeling of freefall with millions of millions of beams of light coming from all directions. The strangest part was, you had no sense of direction and couldn't tell if you were falling down, up, or sideways. But at last, they landed on what seems to be ground. It was impossible to tell where the ground began and where the sky started. Their whole surroundings were filled with gradients of various colors, melting and bending in with one another.
A few feet in font of them (or what they perceive as being only a few feet) they saw Jessica and the heart of the world. The heart was the size of a two-story building and glow with a bright pink light. It did not move, but the light it emitted seems to pulsate.
"Beautiful…," Jessica said staring at the heart with awe. "Simply beautiful…"
"Stay away from it!" Miranda yelled as she and Trevor raced toward her. She and Trevor quickly discovered that what they thought was only a few feet away, was actually several yards away.
"I couldn't get my husband's heart…," the female cartoon began, not talking to anyone specific. "But maybe my heart and memories are enough…to bring back my world." She held both hands over her heart and reached deep inside her chest. She pulled out her own heart and offered it to the world like it was a sacrifice.
"Don't do it!" Trevor yelled, but it was too late.
"Bring back my world…," Jessica softly spoke with a tear running down her cheek. Her heart merged with the heart of the world and their surroundings shook violently.
Trevor saw the colors that surrounded them were faded into shades of gray, black, and white. The heart of the world itself seem to pulsate more violently and its color darken to a shade of a rich, deep gray with swirls of black smoke encircling it. Jessica's body faded away and all that was left of her was her blue cloak.
"Trevor!" Miranda screamed in horror. The keyblader turned to the cop's direction and saw that she fading away.
Trevor tried to scream her name, but no sound came out. An eerie, dark silence had befallen upon them and it was deafening. The monotone colors rush by them at blazing speed. The keyblader blinked once and Miranda was gone, he blinked a second time and was surrounded by never-ending white. The third time he blinked, he was in total darkness.
KH-KH-KH
Trevor awoke lying next to a gutter, drenching wet. Heavy rain was falling out of the sky and he had a terrible headache. He looked around him and saw he wasn't in the Downtown Beat anymore, but some other world. The keyblader was in the middle of an empty city made of buildings that looked old and lifeless. There were no modern buildings such as skyscrapers and everything looked dull and gray. There was color to the city, but it was like the world was covered by a gray hue blanket.
The keyblader staggered to his feet and for the first time he notice he wasn't in his regular clothes. He had on a gray zoot suit with a gold watch chain and a large brim hat on. Trevor slowly remembered what happened and it seemed like those memories were from ages ago. "What happened here?" he thought out loud. "Did Jessica succeed?"
It would seem so; there was no trace of Bonkers' world. Trevor looked around and saw that Miranda was no longer with him. He quickly remembered that she vanished before his eyes after Jessica merged her heart with the heart of the world. "I guess, I'm alone now."
As the keyblader walk the streets of the unnamed city, the rain let up and he noticed how odd his surroundings were. Some of the buildings were incomplete, as if the construction workers gave up on finishing their project. For some buildings some parts of the second story was gone, others the left side of the apartment wasn't there. Then there was some building that had a second and third story, but the first floor was missing leaving the top of the building to float in midair.
This was all very strange, but the eeriest part was that the city was empty; not a soul in sight. Trevor was about to give up on all hope, but then he saw someone. Leaning on a lamppost on the corner of the intersecting streets of Hollywood and Vine was a cartoon wolf wearing a tuxedo.
"Hey, mister," Trevor called out. "Can you tell me where I am?"
The wolf glanced at the keyblader for a split second and then turned away. "You're at Hollywood and Vine, kid," he answered. "Now beat it."
"No I mean what city I'm in."
"How should I know, I'm just a memory."
"A memory?"
The wolf look really annoyed now. "Look kid, all I know is that this world is made up of incomplete memories. If you want answers, try the Ink and Paint Club down the street there. Wheezy there might be able to help you."
The keyblader thanked the wolf and headed down the street. The Ink and Paint Club was a large white (or at least, it looked white) building. Trevor cautiously entered the building saw that it was an empty nightclub. The only person in there was a blue cartoon weasel drinking whisky at the bar.
"Are you Wheezy?" Trevor asked as he approached the weasel.
The blue weasel looked up at the keyblader. The cartoon was wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest and tie along with a whitish mashed bowler hat. He was smoking a cigarette and was apparently a chain smoker since the ashtray near him was full of recently smoked cigarette buds. "Who wants to know?" he said warily.
"Uh, I'm Trevor," the keyblader began, but before he could continue Wheezy stopped him.
"So you're the keyblader, huh?" Wheezy turned his attention back to his drink. "I guess you survive then."
"Survive what?"
"Survive the process of the world turning back to normal."
"So this world is Jessica's world? What The Downtown Beat used to be?"
Wheezy nodded. "This world is called Big City Noir, however it's still incomplete."
"What you mean incomplete? I thought this is what Jessica wanted."
"Not exactly… She used her heart and not the heart of the hero. Because of that this world is fragmented. Only the heart of the hero can fully restore this world."
"A while ago, I was talking to a wolf who said he was a memory."
"Because the world is incomplete, anyone you run into this world is a memory," Wheezy explained. "Everything here is made up of Jessica's memory of her world including the people. Her memories weren't powerful enough to bring back all of the lost souls that belong to this world, so the world just populate itself with shadows. So you see, none of us (with the exception of you) are real."
Trevor was lost in thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to bring back Bonkers' world. "Do you think if I separate Jessica's heart with the heart of the world, things will turn back to normal?"
The weasel shrugged. "Could be, but how should I know? I'm just a memory."
"Memory or not, you have to tell me where the heart of the world might be located."
Wheezy thought for a moment, "Hmm, it might be in at Eddie Valiant's office."
"Eddie Valiant?"
"He runs a detective agency that caters to us toons. It's in the tall apartment building a few blocks from here, you can't miss it."
"Thanks," Trevor said gratefully and went on his way.
The keyblader got lost on his way twice, but he finally found the building. Huge chunks of the building were missing and it looked like a death trap. Nevertheless, Trevor worked up his courage and entered the building. He climbed a flight of stairs and almost fell off because there was no railing, but finally he made it to the second floor. Trevor approached the office of Eddie Valiant and opened the door. Instead of finding an office he found an unending white void. He stepped into the empty space and had a look around. For a couple of minutes of wandering, he found the heart of the world along with somebody else.
"So, who are you," the mysterious figure asked. It wore a black Organization XIII coat and its hood was up so you couldn't see its face.
"I could ask you the same thing," Trevor responded. "How did you find your way here?"
The figure did not answer his question. "You're Trevor, is that correct?" The person removed the hood and Trevor was shocked to see who it was.
"You…you're Jessica!"
"I remember that name," the figure said. "But if I recall correctly she gave up her heart, which means I'm her Nobody. So referring me as Jessica is not quite accurate."
"Whatever, why are you here?"
"That's a good question…," the Nobody said lost in thought. "I suppose it's because this world is still incomplete. Maybe your heart can complete this world."
"That's crazy!" Trevor yelled as he summoned his keyblade. "It will never work!"
"I will find a way to make to work!" Jessica's Nobody summoned two pistols and fired them at the keyblader. Trevor dodged out of the way and cast Thundara and it was a direct hit. The Nobody shook off the pain and rushed at Trevor with guns a blazing. Unfortunately, Trevor took several hits and had to cast Cura on himself, but he was back in the game. He tried to close the distance between them with a series of swift attacks, but she evaded every one of them. The Nobody then fired off several huge bolts of light which the keyblader block by casting Shell.
"Give up keyblader," the Nobody mocked. "Jessica particularly succeeded, so what's the point of fighting?"
"Because I will never give up on my friends," Trevor responded. "I will bring them and their world back!"
"Open your eyes," the Nobody ridiculed. "This is the true world, it's just incomplete. But I will fix that. Everyone that has been lost in the darkness I will bring them back!" She started to power up for a final attack; swirls of dark energy twisting around her.
Trevor also prepared for his final attack; gather up all of the light in heart and concentrate it in his keyblade. "You will not succeed: FAITH!" Trevor levitated in the air and emitted a white light. Several beams of light descend from the sky and struck Jessica's Nobody. The Nobody collapsed in a heap and Trevor ran over to the heart of the world.
The keyblader raised his weapon and fired a beam of light at the heart. The heart started to pulsate and produced Jessica's heart. The heart floated back to the Nobody and Jessica became whole again.
"Curses," the toon said in a low quiet voice as she started to fade away. "I was so close… But I guess you were simply better than me."
"It's not about who is better, it's about doing what is right," Trevor knelt besides her.
"I just wanted to see my husband again…," she sighed as body was almost completely gone. "Take care of Bonkers for me; I hate for anything to happen to my husband's heart." Trevor nodded. "Don't look at me like that… I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way." With her final words, Jessica faded from existence.
Trevor's surroundings started to change; everything was shifting into darkness. The keyblader tried to fight it, but it was like his body was caught in the wind. As he was rushed forward, he saw a faint light up ahead. The light grew bigger and bigger until he could make out the shape; it was keyhole. He passed through the keyhole and landed in front of the police station on the world The Downtown Beat. He was wearing he normal clothes again and Miranda and Bonkers were there to greet him.
"Trevor!" the blonde cop said shocked. "What happened? One minute I was with you in the keyhole and the next I'm here with Bonkers."
"I will explain later," Trevor said as he turned around and locked the keyhole. "There, now no one could mess with your world again."
"So, what happened in there?" Bonkers inquired.
Before Trevor could answer, Chief Kanifky came up. "Guys, I got the coffee!" he exclaimed. "And it's not decaf!"
"Wonderful… I'm so thrilled," Trevor said mildly.
KH-KH-KH
Back in the Heart of Gold, Trevor was explaining everything that happened to him when Jessica temporarily changed the world. They declined Chief Kanifky's offer to give them medals and a parade in their honor, but they said that they were in a hurry. They desperately wanted to travel to the world, The Big Apple, so they could have another chance to stop the Forsaken. When Trevor finished telling his story, Miranda sighed.
"So there was some truth to what the Forsaken had been saying all this time," she said quietly as she sat down. "But that means, me and Bonkers…everyone in our world is not suppose to exist."
"That's not true," Trevor rebutted. "Every life is important. There is a reason why you and Bonkers exist!"
"But what about Roger and Jessica?" Bonkers asked in a surprisingly serious tone. "When Jessica stole my heart, for a split second I had access to memories that wasn't mine. And from them, it appears that Jessica was right; I am just a distorted version of a cartoon called Roger Rabbit. Maybe it would have been better if Jessica had succeeded…"
"Don't say that! We will find a way for shadow worlds and their original worlds to coexist."
"How?" Miranda said feeling extremely tired. "How are we supposed to do that?"
"By going to Kingdom Hearts," the keyblader said. Miranda and Bonkers ears prick up and stared at Trevor dumbfounded. "The way I see it, that Kingdom Hearts is the Heart of all worlds, right? Maybe we can find a way to alter that Heart so everyone can coexist. So, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I don't know what to say…," Miranda said thinking it over. "I don't think the other keybladers are going to like your plan."
"So what? It's not about them liking it; it's about doing what's right."
"True," Bonkers nodded. "But how are we going to access Kingdom Hearts?"
"That I haven't figured it out," Trevor admitted. "But most likely we will be using the Infinite Improbability Drive."
"Ugh," Miranda grunted as her heart dropped. "I hate using that thing."
"Yeah," Trevor said in agreement. "But first thing's first. We have to stop Naraku and the Forsaken, and only after that we look for a way to get into Kingdom Hearts. Deal?" The keyblader stretched out his hand. Miranda and Bonkers smiled at one another and piled their hands on top of Trevor's.
"Deal," they said in agreement.
Next Chapter: Trevor's Mark of Mastery
Miranda's Log Updated!
New Characters:
Jessica Rabbit: Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988) Although, technically she first appeared in the novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" in 1981
Jessica's Nobody(OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom
Chief Kanifky: Bonkers(1993)
Fall-Apart Rabbit: Bonkers(1993)
Fawn Deer: Bonkers(1993)
Jitters A. Dog: Bonkers(1993)
The Wolf: Many Tex Avery Cartoons
Wheezy: Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Author's Notes: Before you say anything, I know that Fall-Apart Rabbit doesn't appear in the Miranda episodes of Bonkers. I just really want him to make a cameo appearance in the fanfiction. Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will come out soon, so stay tuned.