~A/N~
Got some news for y'all!
Next week, I'll be going on a hiatus, possibly a long one. It might just be for a few months, maybe for a year and a half. We'll see what happens! But, in that time, I won't be able to do anything with this fic. What stinks is, I'm stacked with back to back meetings and doctor appointments all this week, so updates are forever sloooooow. (; u ;)
Don't worry, though. Whenever I get back, I'll be working hard to finish this fic and all the fics that follow it!
"Whew... That's the last one." Sora wiped away at the sweat on his forehead and let out a sigh of relief. The last of the Heartless in and around the tree house were taken care of; thus, the putting a brief end to the Heartless hunt. He turned to Donald and Goofy, who were being approached by the gorilla. "Huh? Is that another one?"
The gorilla, like several of the others that they saved in the jungle, handed a dirtied cube. It had an awful smell to it, much like the first one they received, but it was what they were hoping to get.
"Another gummi block," Donald stated, dropping the block into Goofy's handy pouch of items. "But, why?"
"King Mickey must'a-"
A loud thwack to Goofy's knee made him yelp loudly. Donald growled lowly and shook his head. "The king wouldn't just give these things up!" he angrily quacked and tapped his foot. "You blockhead."
Yawning, the trio joined Tarzan outside. The man raised by apes was staring out into the darkness that loomed. Thunder rumbled in the distance, giving the signal that a dangerous storm was quickly headed their way.
"Danger... coming." The words escaped from the prison of Tarzan's lips as his blue eyes narrowed.
"There's still more gorillas needing help?" Sora wondered out loud. There was no telling where they might be with the Heartless running loose through the jungle. So far, there were very few places to hide in safety. "Think the others will be okay?"
"Yup!" Goofy nodded vigorously and confidently. "I just know Kara's taking care of things. She's a tough cookie, after all."
"Bah, don't get distracted," Donald grumbled, which was something he had been doing ever since they reunited. Although Sora was mostly over it, he couldn't help but glare back at Donald for the remark. Wasn't he worried for a good reason? The Keyblade master certainly thought so.
And, heading down through the jungle, Sora's mind only wandered back to his friends out there. Hopefully, they'd all be just fine when they got back together.
I let out a roar as I smashed my Keyblade into yet another Heartless. But, with the defeat of one, several more took its place and made an attempt at getting inside the tent. Those sneaky monkeys went noticed and were promptly taken care of. And, when things calmed down after a while, I took a moment to have a little breather.
The routine of fighting waves of Heartless had gone on for a while now, maybe over an hour. It was becoming a lot easier defeating the Powerwilds, and I barely had a scratch on me after taking them on. But, of course, I was no robot. I was aching all over.
"Phew," I sighed, and I leaned back against the giant crate behind me. The Heartless were still very near, I could feel their hideous presence. But, judging by how far off the darkness was, I was sure I had a little time to rest. It wasn't easy trying to feel at ease with the thunder rumbling overhead. Sprinkling rain and occasional flashes of lightning. To top it off, it was still dark. Only one thought bounced around in my head at that moment. "...I hate this..."
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The sound was of rustling leaves from the nearby bushes. Whatever was behind there was not careful. It alerted me, and my ears perked at the clumsy noise-making.
"Is it..." I straightened up and peered into the darkness in hopes of spotting the yellow eyes of the Heartless. There was nothing, however. The rustling eventually stopped, and I sensed no danger coming. So, maybe we were safe for the time. "Huh. I guess it was nothing."
"Ooh! Ooh! AAAAHHHH!"
The moment lightning crackled in the distance, a small creature sprung out from the bushes and made a mad dash through the camp. Its loud shrieks made me jump, and I was nearly knocked over by its shoulder. "Waah!" I yelped, diving out of the way. "A-A gorilla?!"
I got up to my knees and watched as the poor thing rushed into the tent with Jane. She screamed, too, and there was a thud. But, when I went to go and check on her, the little gorilla was trembling in her arms.
"It's alright," Jane comforted the gorilla sweetly. She looked up to me as the thunderstorm tore through camp. "Something startled it. But... what?"
"...I don't know." I shook my head, slicking my soaked hair back. A couple strands hung over my forehead when I turned around to investigate the sudden intrusion. The tent's entrance closed behind me as I stepped out into the middle of camp. "Sora?"
No answer.
"Donald?"
No answer again.
I swallowed a lump in my throat and slowly held up my Keyblade. "Goof-"
"Fool, isn't it obvious that your friends are not here?" From out of nowhere, the hunter emerged from the darkness and stood beside one of the lit torches, which was losing strength from the rain. Clayton was frowning, from what I could tell, and his eyes were coldly glaring at me. There was a glint of something in his hands- his shotgun. "Tell me, little girl, where that gorilla ran off to."
"Don't know," I lied, keeping my eyes on the gun.
"Oh?" Clayton raised a brow and took a step forward. Several pairs of yellow eyes were behind him, staring in my direction. "I suppose I might have a look around the camp myself. Ms. Potter won't mind, I'm sure."
With the nudge of his head, Clayton sent the large number of Heartless to surround me. I clenched my teeth and prepared to defend myself against them. "Foolish girl," he chuckled. "My expertise lies in hunting. I live and breathe to find the most precious beast! A child such as yourself could never keep me from them... Ah, these creatures do well in leading me to my targets, I must say."
"They aren't your tools!" I spat back at Clayton but took a step back when one of the Powerwilds lashed out at me.
He ignored me and moved to the tent where Jane and the gorilla were hiding. Casting a couple Thunder spells and swatting at the Heartless with my Keyblade, I broke out of the ring of enemies and chased after Clayton before he could get to them.
"Stop!" I shouted, but something heavy shoved me to the ground.
As I struggled under the weight pressing down on my back, I could hear Jane screaming inside the tent. Clayton stepped back out with her and the gorilla over his shoulders. "Hm, a feisty one, you are." Clayton's already narrow eyes became dark and sinister. He looked up at something- the thing weighing me down. "Listen well, beast. Hold onto that child and search for the rest of the gorillas. Tarzan and the rest of them will return soon. Might as well give them what they want. Go. Now."
My vision blurred as the monster holding me squeezed my body, but I was able to get a good look at the emblem on its chest before blacking out.
You... Heartless...
"Finally, we're back!" Sora yawned and stretched his arms. Early dawn was breaking when the group saved the gorillas from the Heartless, and they were eager to rest for some time.
They were all sluggish and exhausted from the dreadful adventure through the jungle, except for Tarzan. Much to their surprise, he was still full of energy and... sniffing around the camp like an animal. His behavior was confusing, especially when he darted for the tent in a hurry.
"What's bugging him?" Donald folded his arms and followed the others inside.
"No clue," Sora responded, entering the tent. "Huh? Jane and Kara aren't here. Tarzan? Is something wrong?"
He was antsy, Tarzan was. The ape man anxiously searched around the tent for signs of the girls' whereabouts, but he stopped abruptly and sniffed the air.
"Something coming," Tarzan said in a low voice. "Jane, danger. Jane near... Near tree house."
"We'd better get going, then!" Goofy grabbed his shield with renewed strength.
"Make it snappy," Donald exclaimed, whipping out his staff. "We have to hurry and find the king!"
"And my friends!" Sora pouted, leading the way out of the tent.
The first order of business was finding Jane and Kara around where the tree house was. There were plenty of Heartless to stand in their way, but they had a fairly easy time getting to their destination.
It was mid-morning when they arrived at the climbing trees, but the darkness was so prevalent in the area. The rain had lightened up, and the clouds were already beginning to part, so why was the area so... cold?
Perhaps, the best answer they had to this particular question was the purplish miasma spreading through the trees. The flow originated from a mysterious and large fruit protruding from a single tree in the middle of the area, and teams of Heartless spawned throughout the place.
"Tarzan!" shouted Jane, who they were relieved to see.
"Jane," Tarzan called back, spotting the woman and his gorilla friend. They were both trapped behind vines possessed by the darkness, but he was on his way to save them.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy assisted in the matter and fought hard against the Heartless. Efforts made to extinguish the threat, however, was ineffective since they continued to appear after two or three were beat.
"I'm going after the fruit!" Sora called back to the others, and he weaved through the crowd of Heartless to cut down the pear-shaped fruit. It took a fairly large number of swings to take it down. But, he managed, and it released a burst of gas as soon as it hit the ground.
Although alarming at first, the team was relieved to see the darkness receding. And so, everyone freed Jane and the gorilla from their prison.
"We're glad you're safe!" Sora told the researcher. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Still holding onto the gorilla, Jane nodded her head as her fear faded. "Clayton came to the tent, all of a sudden. And, then... Well, that's all that I seem to remember. I must have fainted," she explained. "Oh, and I bumped into this little one before then."
"Terk," Tarzan ruffled the fuzz of fur on the gorilla's head, comforting the young ape.
It was a moment of rejoicing, but Sora was quick to become concerned when he noticed the absence of one of their own. She was supposed to be there, too, he thought. His best friend was supposed to be protecting Jane, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Jane," Sora glanced around once more, just in case. "Did something happen to Kara?"
"Why... I can't seem to recall her ever being thrown in here with us," she said. "Do you think that Clayton might have...?"
"Come on, we have to go now!" Sora, fearing for the worst, turned and ran back to camp.
He had no idea where he was running to, but Tarzan acted as a guide to locate the hunter. If anyone knew where to go, it was Tarzan. While Jane and Terk returned to the camp for shelter, the rest of them made way for the gorillas nesting grounds in the cliffs. Surely that was where Clayton would be, but they were intent on stopping him before anything horrible happened.
