Chapter 20: A New World

The HMS Sora zipped through the air, but it stopped eventually. Sora looked around the massive bridge of the ship. "What happened?" he asked Chip and Dale.

"We're not moving… something about this world's stopping us from landing." Dale explained.

"Alright… I'll form a scouting party. Myde, Ranger, Skye and J.D come with me, the rest of you stay here and await further orders." Sora commanded.

"Sora, something's headed this way!" Chip warned.

There was a crackling noise and the door burst in. A woman in an Organization XIII cloak stood there, her entire body crackling with electricity. "Hey, Roxas!" Larxene chirped.

"L-Larxene?" Demyx asked before cowering behind Sora.

"Demyx. Or is it Myde now?" Larxene asked before turning to Sora, "Hello. Long time no see." She said to the confused hero.

"I've seen you before… yeah, you're Larxene! Your heart must be on this world!" Sora said.

"Figure that out all on your own, did you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hey! I'm the captain here, and I say we get down there, get your heart and leave, okay?" Sora yelled.

"Not a problem." Larxene replied, shrugging.

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Aqua glanced around the room she was being kept in. A length of chain bound her to the wall, grinding across her metal armor with a loud screech whenever she moved. To make things worse, an ioun field was constantly projected through the room, preventing her from summoning her Keyblades. She bit her lip as another ioun wave rippled through the room, causing her body to convulse wildly in massive spasms, only to be slammed back into the wall by the chain. She heard the door open and looked up. "You." She snarled.

A.K stepped into the room, "Hey, Aqua. It's been a while."

"Go to hell, A.K." she hissed.

"That's not very nice. I actually came here to free you, but if you're really that bitter about what happened between us… I can leave you here." He turned towards the door when Aqua spoke up.

"You'd really… do that… for me?" she asked.

"I'm not a Nobody, Aqua. I have feelings. Ever since I rejoined all I've felt has been guilt… for everything I've done." He confessed, sighing.

"You rejoined? You worthless, lying pile of shit! You're the one who betrayed us!" she yelled.

"Took you that long, huh?" he asked before walking out of the room.

Aqua stared at the floor and a single tear fell, sliding across the waterproof tiles and draining into a small grate. "Ven, Where are you?" she quietly moaned.

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A Day earlier, on the HMS Sora

"Alex, stowing away on a ship is easy! We just find somewhere they won't look, get inside, and then get out once we're in the air!" Eric explained to Alex as they stood at the door between the Postern and the Bailey, staring at the ship below as Sora climbed aboard.

"Fine, Eric. But if they find us, it's your fault, and your fault only, okay?" she replied.

Eric saluted, "Yes, captain!" he glanced around, and then motioned for Alex to follow him. The two made their way to the ship and snuck inside as the door closed.

"Now what, genius?" Alex asked sarcastically.

Eric looked around, sizing up the hold. His gaze finally settled on an older model of a scouting ship parked next to a bigger, newer model. "We'll stay in the trunk of that ship. No one would look for us there." He assured her.

"You'd better be right about this." She warned him as the two climbed into the trunk and closed the door.

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The current day

Sora turned the key in the larger scouting ship several times, but nothing happened. "Man! Come on, you stupid hunk of metal!" he pounded the dashboard and the nose of the ship exploded. There was a long, uncomfortable silence as everyone stared at him, then his right eye twitch and he yelled out "Damn it!"

"It's okay, Sora. We'll just take the older ship." Skye reassured him.

"I guess you're right." Sora sighed. "C'mon, you guys." With that he opened the cockpit and walked over to the other scouting ship.

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Eric awoke to the sound of motors whirring. "Wha?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. He snapped to full attention as the ship zipped forward. To his dismay, Alex also woke up.

"What did you do now?" she asked.

"I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed, looking for a latch to get out of the trunk. He soon found one. "Here we go!" he exclaimed before opening it. He realized he was thousands of feet in the air only before he fell towards the forest below.

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"Myde, the trunk's open. Go back and check it." Sora ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Myde replied, saluting. He crawled back through the ship and opened the trunk from the inside. He saw a young woman perched over the open trunk, her shouts drowned out by the rushing wind.

Suddenly the ship moaned and the rushing air tore the loose metal plating apart, sending the occupants falling rapidly.

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Sora came to slowly, the green forest around him slowly fading in as his eyes opened wider. He heard the sound of birds chirping in the distance, and there was water running nearby. It was strange, but he could almost smell the water, and the scent of everything around him was more vivid and fresh, which made the pile of dung he'd fallen in smell even worse. He tried to raise himself to his feet, but he found it extremely difficult. I must've hurt my back or something. He thought, I'll get to the water and see if it's bleeding.

He made his way quickly to the water. For the few seconds of crawling, he almost felt as though he was a lion again, heading towards the Oasis to meet Simba He looked into the water and saw a cat face looking up at him. He scrambled backwards on his paws. I have paws! This isn't the Pride Lands… where am I?

A/N: Hey, folks! My reviews, as you have seen, are going to come around a little less frequently. The reason is none of your concern; just know that I'm still here and… yeah…

A cookie to anyone who can figure out what world they're on. Here's a hint: It comes from a popular book series and features cats as the main characters.

May your swords stay sharp!