Sahxyel: Need to finish this before the year is up, so I'll be trying to update it as much as possible!
Danny: Right. Well, let's see how long THIS resolution will last, shall we?
Disclaimer Guy: Borrowing elements that you recognize, but owns the plot idea. Unfortunately, no one can truly own a plot. So, Sahxyel technically doesn't own at all.
Chapter 29: Just a Minor Setback
After regaining their bearings, and their breath, Team Phantom glanced around in the in-between place. On the far end was a black portal, swirling enticingly. The portal they emerged from popped out of existence, leaving only one way out.
"Come on…" Danny said, turning and walking towards the other portal. Cujo decided to walk next to the halfa, looking innocently at the Fenton Thermos Danny clutched in his hand. Jazz looked back at where the portal was, frowning slightly. She wondered for a moment whether the red and blonde haired Nobodies would be okay or not. Slowly, she turned and followed her younger brother, still lost in thought.
Sam and Tucker followed Danny. Tucker seemed to think that something felt wrong about his beret and pulled it off his head. A thin cut was in the beret, where the whizzing sensation had passed when they all jumped though the portal. Grimacing, Tucker put the beret back on; somehow having the feeling that he had narrowly missed something VERY painful.
"Do you think this'll take us back to Destiny Islands?" Danny asked, looking at the large portal.
"Axel made it for us to go back…I guess it would." Sam said, but she sounded unsure of herself. Tucker slowly approached the portal, studying it with a scrutinizing gaze.
Jazz made her way towards the others, still thinking about what had happened. She swore she saw a thin sparkle of metal before they had jumped into the portal. She shivered, trying to push out the thought that maybe it was the one-winged man's sword that had narrowly missed hitting them all. She stood by Danny, thoughts still far away.
Cujo stepped forward, sniffing the portal cautiously. The puppy lifted its paw, and trotted inside the portal. The four waited, staring at the portal for a long time.
RIIING! RIIING!
Reaching into his pocket, Tucker withdrew the mini-communicator, answering it. "Hello?"
The screen flicked on, revealing a very livid Vexen. Tucker almost dropped the device, startled. He smiled sheepishly at the screen, "For guys that have no hearts, you can REALLY pull off the emotion-thing." He complemented.
"Where's Axel?" Vexen asked, still very livid apparently. "He needs to return all of you here NOW."
"Why?"
Vexen scowled, "Number Ten informed me that he currently is in possession of a dangerous artifact that should not have been removed from THIS universe." The Chilly Academic looked left and right, like he was scanning the area. An eyebrow rose, "Where is he?"
"Uhm…" Tucker glanced at his friends for help. Sam and Danny were shaking their heads profusely, while Jazz nodded to him. "Uhh-"
"WELL"
"Heisn'there-!" Tucker yelped, almost dropping the communicator. Danny slapped his forehead, and Sam sighed loudly in exasperation. Jazz, reasonably, was pleased.
"WHAT?!"
Immediately, the screen blacked out. A small stream of smoke billowed out from a speaker, wafting into the air. Tucker looked astonished, checking the device before looking at the others. "He made is short-circuit!"
They all blinked at the now-useless communicator. With a sigh, Tucker pocketed it and looked at the swirling portal. Danny glanced at it also; it seemed to be losing its luster…
"Let's go." Danny sighed finally, walking through the portal. Tucker followed, with Sam trailing behind, apparently deep in thought. Jazz stayed behind for a moment, thinking of what Axel could have possibly done after they had left both he and Roxas in the room along with Cloud, Leon, and Sephiroth.
"Maybe they got away in the chaos…" She murmured, walking into the portal. The swirl of it vanished a moment later.
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Duck, swerve, duck again, launch flames, dodge, make a run for the door…
SWISH!
Axel felt something catch him, swinging his body quite hard into the wall. The clang of metal rang out in the already cramped room as three expert swordsmen, and two members of the Organization dueled each other, not any of them completely sure who the real enemy was-
SLASH!
Although the guy with the sword that could almost reach the other side of the room was getting to the point of 'common enemy'.
Roxas blocked Sephiroth's deadly Masamune with his Oathkeeper, while parrying Leon with the Oblivion. Axel supposed he was battling with Cloud, but Sephiroth and Leon seemed to throw in a good few slashes to his personal being too.
Not exactly a very good fight for the Flurry of Dancing Flames to be in. A majority of the people occupying the room WERE fire resistant (actually, he thought that Sephiroth actually ENJOYED the flames) and almost could catch him with powerful blows that Axel could not block with his chakrams. The door was almost impossible to reach, considering that in the proverbial cobra's nest was filled with a bunch of cobras…
With of course Axel and Roxas being the unlucky ones trapped within. Already the two had tried using a portal to escape, but were stopped by some strange magical aura that saturated the room.
Roxas pushed Leon's Gunblade away with all his might, swinging around with his now-free Oblivion to strike the One-Winged Angel. The silver-haired incarnation of darkness saw the blade coming…
And vanished in a plume of blue feathers.
"What-?" The Key of Destiny gaped. The other two swordsmen in the room also paused, noting the absence of one certain One-Winged Angel.
A brief pause in activity was all Axel needed. The red-head sped to the door, throwing it open-
SHINK!
"NO, AXEL!"
Axel stopped immediately, gagging somewhat. An INSANE amount of pain coursed through him, the pain originating from his chest. Reluctant, he looked down. Something shiny, thin, and silvery was sticking straight out of his chest. He blinked in astonishment at the blade, mouth hanging slightly open.
"AXEL!"
The blade withdrew slowly, allowing the Flurry of Dancing Flames to collapse onto the floor. He coughed weakly, feeling an oddly freeing sensation overtake his body. He could hear the clanging of metal ringing somewhere behind him, but he really didn't care. His attention was mostly directed to the black particles floating away from his body.
A roar of angst came somewhere from the interior of the room, followed by a blinding light…
And Axel remembered no more. To all present within the room, the red haired Nobody had vanished within the mass of black particles, leaving nothing behind.
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Danny flew from the portal, like it had spat him out, landing upon white sand headfirst. He groaned and began to sit up, only to be knocked back down by three more bodies that were also ejected from the swirling black portal.
"Oww…" Tucker groaned, rolling off of the pile and onto the sand. His beret was askew, glasses also sitting crookedly on his nose. Jazz also got up, not with complaint, but rather an annoyed expression.
"Not fun." Sam admonished, slowly getting up and looking down to see what she had landed on. Danny lied face down in the sand, sprawled out like a rug that Skulker had always threatened to turn the halfa into. "Danny?"
"Yeah?" A muffled reply came from him, he wasn't really moving much.
"Are you okay?"
"Just fine." Still muffled.
"…Gonna get up anytime soon?"
Danny sighed and rolled over in the sand, sitting up. He shook his head profusely to rid the sand that compiled on his forehead before standing. "Finally back, now to just go back into the portal, get the Organization out of my house, and switch the portal back to Ghost Zone settings before Mom and Dad get back." His voice was oddly optimistic despite the situation. "Great."
"Woof!" A chipper bark came from further up the beach. Cujo wagged his tail, appearing in front of something the Fenton crew knew was VERY familiar.
The object Cujo was near was haphazardly parked upon the sand, barely on the entire sandbank. The waves of the sparkling blue water lapped the side the supporting landing gear that it had. Mainly, the object was large, orange and yellow, and even worse, had no one inside.
Danny blanched, "That's not good…"
Without any indication, the four including the ghost dog ran to the Secret Place. Danny lead the pack, eyes set and determined. It would have figured that the other Keybladers would come…he didn't have any doubt in his mind that they had made Nexaild tell them everything before he had been yanked into the room himself. And if so, then they would know exactly where the portal back to FentonWorks was…
And judging that the Keybladers and the Organization members had a feud between them, the chances of the Keybladers trying to lock the portal seemed very high.
As soon as Danny squeezed through the hole that lead to the interior of the cave, voices reached his ears.
"So this is it." A voice said, sounding quiet and thoughtful. The voice sounded like the Keybearer; it rang familiar in Danny's head anyway.
"Yep. That MUST be where the Organization is now, waiting on the other side." A high-pitched voice said firmly. Danny connected the voice to 'King Mickey' and started to creep forward.
"Do you think that the Keyblades will lock it, your Majesty?" A squawky voice asked. 'Donald', no doubt.
"It is an entrance from one place to another…much like a door." The King replied, "I suppose the Keyblade would be able to shut it."
Danny listened intently to the conversation, gripping the battered Fenton thermos tightly. Did all of them agree to locking the portal, leaving Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and himself stuck in the bulky universe?! His eyes flashed green angrily, wondering why they thought their opinion mattered over anyone else's.
Unbeknownst to Danny, an invisible puppy trotted past him and into the interior of the cave.
"It's so unnerving knowing that they're all right behind that…" A feminine voice said softly, allowing Danny to connect it to 'Kairi'.
"In three seconds they won't be behind anything." Another voice said, making Danny scowl. 'Riku' was really starting to tick him off.
"WOOF!"
"GAH!"
Danny snapped out of him immobilization, realizing the bark instantly. He turned his head to see that Sam and Tucker had sneaked in as well, their eyes almost as wide as his.
"It's Cujo!" Kairi's voice echoed, seemingly surprised.
"But how did he get here if we left him behind at Radiant Garden?" A slower voice asked, 'Goofy' Danny had to suspect.
"You don't think…" Sora's voice trailed off.
A swishing sound came, "Darn dog. GET. OFF!" The swishing sound increased, and a whimper of pain came from the room, like someone had injured Cujo. Danny snuck forward a few more inches and peered in.
Cujo sat upon the sandy floor, eyes wide and sad, looking at Riku in a hurt expression. The said silver-haired Keybearer seemed apologetic to the pup, Keyblade lowered.
"Riku, why'd you shake him off?" Kairi asked, looking at Riku in a reprimanding glare. He shook his head quickly.
"I only shook him off, I didn't mean to-"
Danny saw it happening a second before anyone else did. The puppy no longer seemed upset, but rather angry. Its fur stretched as it began to morph into a rabid dog, growing larger and more feral. Cujo's smashed snout and muzzle had a line of spittle, which hung down in intimidation. The normally leather collar was now metallic, with spikes that jutted from it. The flame tail swished through the air, red eyes set upon all who were present in the room.
Everyone present in the room had their jaws immediately drop at the now large and imposing Cujo, who which was standing between them and the portal in the small, cramped space.
"RUFFFF!" Cujo's bellowing roar shook the cave. Without hesitating, everyone raced for the nearest exit. Danny turned, grabbing Sam's wrist. Sam seemed to read Danny's mind, grabbing Tucker's wrist with her free hand. Turning quickly intangible, the three raced out of the Secret Place before the other group saw them.
Jazz looked to them, for once confused. "What's-"
"No time, we need to get out of here, NOW." Danny interrupted, already heading for Jazz to turn her intangible too.
"YOU!"
The Keybladers had reached outside a moment too soon for Danny. He spun around, freezing at the glares they were casting at him. Regaining tangibility, he grimaced somewhat and released Sam's wrist. "Hi?"
"How'd you get back here?!"
"WOOF!"
A rumbling thud of paws reached everyone's ears. Danny didn't even think twice. He dropped the thermos to the sand, already familiar white rings appearing around his waist. He ran, then flew, as quickly as he could, tackling the Keybladers into the pond adjacent to the Secret Place.
BLAM!
Cujo burst from the hole in the wall, enlarging it to accommodate his size. The ghost dog's massive and clawed paws came down right on the spot where the Keybladers were a moment ago. Danny didn't check to see if they were okay, quickly jumping at Cujo and landing right on the ghost dog's back.
Danny immediately held onto the collar, feeling the dog twist and snap underneath him. He wasn't paying much attention to anything else, trying to hold onto the collar for dear life. "No-Cujo-STOP! SIT!"
The dog bucked, sending Danny flying straight into the sand.
"Ungh-" Danny turned over, just in time to see the enraged ghost dog's jaws mere inches away from him. "Gah-!"
A flash of silver and the dog was thrown away from Danny, crashing into the wet sand near the water. Sora stood next to Danny, shouldering his Keyblade while frowning at the ghost dog. Danny tried not to slap his own forehead. "If you attack him, it'll only make him angrier-!"
Cujo roared, jumping back on his paws and racing at the spiky-haired Keyblade Wielder. Green mist surrounded Cujo's massive paws, burning the sand underneath him to charcoal black. Sora tensed and readied his Keyblade, meeting the ghost dog halfway and jamming his Keyblade into Cujo's opened jaws. The ghost dog tried turning intangible, but to no avail. The Keyblade stayed situated in the open muzzle.
"ARROO!" Cujo thrashed, knocking Sora into the sand right next to Danny. The green dog bucked and howled, shaking his head, before finally falling down onto the sand in a massive 'THUMP'.
Sora rose his arm, staring at the ghost dog intensely, and concentrated. A flash of white light appeared in his hand, solidifying into the Keyblade that was supposed, to by all laws of physics and science, to be still inside Cujo's mouth. Sora grimaced, upon seeing that his Keyblade now was coated by a clear green substance. "Ick, drool…"
"Ghost dog drool." Danny supplied, standing up and reverting to his original form. He blinked, "Man, I missed being able to do that!"
Unbeknownst to the two, Cujo rolled over slightly, his heavy paw thudding onto the sand, where a silver thermos lied. On the thermos, the green button depressed, too close to being finally pressed all the way down. The giving sand was the only thing keeping the button from being pushed all the way down.
"Now, about you guys trying to close our Portal-"
Sora interrupted him before Danny could continue. "The Organization is dangerous, we can't let them come back here!"
Danny flared up, "Well, why can't we go back home before you shut the portal?!"
"Because they would have come racing in as soon as you guys walk right through it!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
Jazz, Sam, Tucker, Riku, and Kairi all watched and sighed simultaneously. Kairi glanced at Sam, "Is he as thick-headed?"
Sam nodded, watching. "Yeah."
Jazz rolled her eyes. "How long will this go on?"
Tucker shrugged, watching them also. "I think we'll probably be here for a while." He noted, as both teenage boys tried to out-shout the other. Riku sighed and flicked a silver strand of hair away from his face. Jazz looked to the older teen, studying him for a moment.
"You mind if WE talk about the problems in a mature manner?" She asked, shocking both Sam and Tucker. "I don't think we'll know what to do if we just do THIS all the time." She pointed to Sora and Danny, both who's voices were growing hoarse by the shouting match. Riku looked from them to her, the shrugged.
"Whatever. Do you want to go first, or should I?"
While both groups used their own way of communicating with one another, Cujo moved his paw. The green button finally depressed all the way, and the words 'Release' appeared upon the faded green screen on the side of the cylindrical container.
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Me: Did I just do what I think I just did?
Danny: You made Axel fade and cut off right when Dan was being released from the thermos.
Random Moogle: Eeevvvilll…
Me: So? Thirty is a much more rounded chapter than 29 to introduce him anyway! Onto Replies!
Replies to Reviews:
I AM the Random Idiot: I suck at Grammar. And I can JUST imagine your reaction to this one…
Cold-heart Angel23: There's your answer! Nice, isn't it?
Nobody Famous: Due to the surprising 'lack-of-Sephiroth' I was planning originally, I decided for the silver haired megalomaniac do ONE deed of pure unadulterated evil in his cameo.
Silvia: Not exactly, they got beaten to the portal unfortunately. But, what can ya do? Maybe Danny'll 'accidentally' discover the Fenton Portal's extra addition after his parents come home…a nice tropical beachside from your own basement! XP
And THANK YOUS go out to: Twilight101, fire hedgehog, Yuleen75, Writing Ninja, anomiss, Lt. Commander Richie, best with breadsticks, Sweeteen19, Anonymous Shadow, LKani-X, Kitty29, Rambie, and Iaveina. All of you ROXAS-MY-SOXAS!
Roxas: What-?
Me: THANK YOU ALL! Review and stuff and…yeah. Peace out till next time! XD
