DISCLAIMER: The only thing I own are my own copies of Kingdom Hearts I and II. I don't own anything else in this fic.
Past
Previous parts in chapter or another voice
Thoughts
The two men from behind Sora charged at the Keyblade master. Using his senses, Sora made a jumping spin kick, effectively knocking out his assailants. Next, the two men in front of Sora charged with their stun rods. Once again, using his senses, Sora performed a roundhouse kick to knock the assailants' weapons our of their hands, leaving the men to hold their hands in pain. Last, Sora concentrated on his senses and used one last kick to knock another man's stun rod out of his hand. The men could only hold their hands in pain, and the rest attempting to help their unconcious teammates.
"Whoa, nice one, Sora," complimented Riku.
"All right, that's enough." Sora and his friends turned their attention to the doorway, where they saw a red-haired man, wearing goggles on his head and a suit--albeit in an unkempt way--enter the balcony. "Smooth moves, kid."
"Who are you?" Sora questioned.
"Normally, we never attack unarmed combatants." Behind the red-haired man, three more people entered. One was a bald-man, another had long black hair, and there was a female blonde. "But then again, we need to do necessary things to get what we're after..."
"Who are you guys?" Donald interrogated.
"We're the Turks," the black-haired man introduced, "These are my associates: Reno, Rude, and Elena."
"The Turks?" Riku pondered.
Elena, the blonde Turk, brought out a remote control and displayed a computer screen, showing what appears to be chemical formulas of some kind. "We analyzed the chocobo feeds that were brought in recently," explained Elena, "And we found these in the vegetables. A highly-potent sleeping drug."
"This sleeping drug only lasts for about 12 hours," added Tseng.
"The people who received the shipment of chocobo feed hadn't noticed anything unusual until now," said Selphie.
"These chocobo feed were drugged last night, just in time for the chocobo qualifying race to begin," explained Rude.
Chapter 38: Tricks and Traps
Not only were the Turks and Selphie on alert, but Sora was also on the lookout for any suspicious activity. If this saboteur was after the Heart Fragment as well, then anything could happen to the race, not to mention to the other jockeys. All Sora had to do was keep racing with his friends, and try to win Kairi's Heart Fragment, while keeping his eyes out for anything suspicious.
As the race went off, numerous jockeys had already made it towards the first checkpoint, especially Sora's new friends, Max, who was assisted by his very own chocobo, Swift.
Look at that, ladies and gentlemen! Our jockeys have made it towards the Gongaga area, and have received their first badge! This is getting exciting folks!
From above, Elena, Selphie, and Pluto continued to watch from above, via a Turk chopper, not only for any signs of trouble, but also because Selphie seems to be concentrating on Kairi herself. No one could blame Selphie. After all, Selphie has been cheering for Kairi ever since she first laid eyes on the Princess.
Sora, Kairi, and Goofy had arrived just in time for the first checkpoint. All the trio had to do was to have their chocobos leap into the air and grab a badge that floated in mid-air, thanks to the balloon with a string tied to them. However, as soon as the trio were about to close in, the sudden appearance of dark figures appeared before them, from thin air. Sora, Kairi, and Goofy were shocked to see what stood before them.
"It's the Heartless!" exclaimed the alert Goofy.
"They're here, too!?" Sora couldn't believe it. Are the Heartless involved in this? Are they the ones trying to sabotage the race? The Heartless took the form of what seemed to be chocobos. These dark chocobos began to run towards the trio, determined to slow them down. "Princess, stay behind me!"
"O-okay," replied the frightened Kairi. Kairi commanded her chocobo to trail behind Sora, leaving her between Sora and Goofy's chocobos.
Sora wasn't sure what to do. He can't just slow down and fight off the Heartless. That will only slow him and his friends down, and they will never have the chance to retrieve the Heart Fragment. But then again, the Heartless are coming after them, and at full speed. What was he supposed to do? Should he risk getting off and fighting off the Heartless, or should he just charge on through? Soon, his thoughts were diminished when a flying disc came out of nowhere and ran right through the Heartless stampede. Sora and Kairi followed where the flying disc was going until they traced it back to none other than Goofy.
"Amazing," said the astonished Kairi.
"Thanks, Goofy!" Mog cheered happily on Kairi's shoulder.
However, they had no time to be relieved. Another group of Heartless appeared before them, attempting of finish where the other group failed. Seeing no other choice, Goofy pulled his reins to stop his green chocobo in his tracks. Goofy then hopped off of his chocobo, equipping his shield and tending to his green chocobo. "Find a safe place to hide, Spring," Goofy advised his green chocobo. The green chocobo ran off to hide in a nearby forest to await Goofy's return.
Sora and Kairi stopped in their tracks to see Goofy about to face off against the group of Heartless alone. "Goofy!" Mog yelled.
"Don't you worry about me!" Goofy called out, as he began repelling the Heartless, "I'll keep these Heartless busy! You gotta finish the race!"
"Goofy..." Kairi was touched by Goofy's self-sacrifice.
"Goofy, are you sure you got this?" asked the worried Sora.
Goofy gave Sora and Kairi his signature thumbs-up in confirmation. "You can count on me, Sora. You just worry about helping the Princess get her Fragment back." Goofy continued repelling more and more Heartless that came towards his way.
As much as Sora wanted to help Goofy, he knew he was right. They still need to get the Heart Fragment. Aside from that, Goofy can take care of himself. "Okay, we'll finish this race for you, Goofy," vowed Sora.
"Goofy, thank you," said the touched Kairi.
Sora and Kairi used proper leg pressure once again to get their chocobos on the move once again. Sora and Kairi were now near the first checkpoint. Sora then commanded his black chocobo to leap into the air. As soon as Sora was near a ballon, Sora immediately grabbed a hanging badge, releasing the balloon while he was at it. Kairi followed the example. However, as soon as she was high enough, Kairi failed in retrieving badge, as her fingertips merely tapped the edge of the badge. Kairi was distressed when she realized she was about to be disqualified. However, her distress quickly disappeared when Mog quickly climbed up Kairi's hand and grabbed a badge and released the balloon from it.
"Mog got on, kupo!" Mog cheered.
"Oh, thank you, Mog!" Kairi smiled gave Mog a 'thank you' hug, much to the moogle's joy.
Now that Sora and Kairi have received their first badge, all that was left now was the next two checkpoints.
Selphie and Elena watched Goofy fight off against the Heartless group. In doing so, other jockeys have used it to their advantage and dashed right past Goofy and the Heartless, while others were too afraid to get close to the dangerous and unpredictable Heartless.
Look at that, folks! I don't know what those things are, but it looks like our competitor Goofy has officially dropped out of the race! Now, he's holding those creatures at bay and giving the other jockeys the chance to get ahead. Talk about heroism, ladies and gentlemen!
Pluto began barking wildly at the sight of the Heartless. From what Selphie and Elena noticed, this wasn't the first time Pluto had seen the Heartless.
"Just what are those things?" Elena wondered.
"I don't know, but it looks like Kairi and her friends have encountered these things before..." realized Selphie. Sora...Kairi...please be careful...
Donald continued on ahead of the race, making his way to a canyon, surrounded by trees. As Donald raced through the track on his blue chocobo, a few jockeys have managed to dash past Donald.
Our next part of the race takes place in Cosmo Canyon!
Donald then used proper leg pressure to get his chocobo to run as quick as it can, determined to win the race. Riku, who had been watching Donald from far away, couldn't help but be amused to Donald's determination to win the race.
"He's really getting into it," mused Riku. Sora and Kairi had finally managed to catch up to Riku, just in time to see Donald speed off. "I heard about Goofy. Tough break."
"Someone is probably controlling the Heartless to sabotage the entire race," theorized Sora.
"There's bound to be more of them out here," thought Riku, "We'd better our eyes peeled from now on." Sora and Kairi nodded in agreement and remained vigilant for any more Heartless that may appear. Sora was just about ready to draw his Keyblade at the first sign of a Heartless.
The trio continued racing towards Cosmo Canyon, just in time to see Donald speed off with more jockeys and find more badges hanging on balloons for the jockeys to grab on. Donald commanded his blue chocobo, Mother Goose, to leap into the air, just high enough for Donald to grab a badge from one of the balloons. Now, Donald only needed one more to win the race.
Sora, Kairi, and Riku used proper leg pressure to command their chocobos to speed up towards the second checkpoint. Unfortunately, midway, their chocobos came to a complete halt paced around wildly as the group encountered another batch of unexpected enemies: Heartless!
"Here, too!" yelled Kairi in panic.
"They're blocking our way!" exclaimed Sora.
"Well, looks like this is my stop." Riku calmly jumped off of his chocobo, drawing his sword. Riku then patted his chocobo, calming it down, before moving close to the side of the big bird's head. "Blur, I need you to hide somewhere, safe, okay?" requested caring Riku. The white chocobo ran off to hide somewhere safe, while Riku had his sword ready at the hand to defeat the group of Heartless. "You two go on ahead."
"But, Riku..." Mog was worried about Riku's safety, especially since the silver-haired teenager was withdrawing from the race.
"Don't worry about me," assured Riku, "I'll hold off these guys. Sora, Princess Kairi, I'll see you guys at the award cermony." Riku gave a small salute to two young teenagers, as a sign of trust.
Kairi was once again touched by another one of her friends' loyalty and self-sacrifice. They're all doing so much for me... "Riku, thank you," said the touched Kairi.
"We'll see you later, Riku," vowed Sora, "Let's go, Princess."
"Yes," nodded Kairi.
With Riku watching their backs, Sora and Kairi sped off with their chocobos. Following Donald's example, Sora and Kairi leaped into the air grabbing their own badges from one of the balloons.
While Riku fought off against the Heartless, many other racers left sped past warring group.
Blur has forfeited the race. Riku is officially out of the race. But most shocking of all, folks, these dark creatures have appeared once again! This is so unbelievable, folks!
Now that Sora and Kairi were out of the Cosmo Canyon course, all that awaits them ahead is the third checkpoint. However, they know, as well as their friends, that there was bound to be more Heartless swarming around the next checkpoint, just waiting for Sora and Kairi to appear.
"I'm going to go on ahead," informed Sora.
"Please be careful, Sora," Kairi cautioned her friend.
Receiving Kairi's go-ahead, Sora, with the help of his black chocobo, Black Knight, sped right across the other jockeys, who, in turn, were surprised and caught off-guard when they saw Sora zip right passed them.
Wow! Look at that, folks! Sora and his chocobo, Black Knight, have managed to dash right passed our other jockeys! This is so exciting, folks! Our very own Sora is about to come across the Mount Nibelheim course.
The next part of the course, Sora came across a mountain course. It was most likely that the third and final checkpoint is sitting right on top of this mountainous region. Donald should be just ahead of the course, considering that the magician was trying so hard to win the race, not just to retrieve Kairi's Heart Fragment, but also for the sake of pride. As he was racing up on the mountain tracks, he managed to catch up to someone he had met at the banquet. A familiar teenager that he had just made friends with, while in this world.
"Glad you could make it," Max waved to Sora, "What do you say the two of us race across these mountains?"
"Sure," nodded Sora.
"Think you can keep up?" Max challenged Sora in a friendly manner.
As Max began to increase his speed, Sora began to follow the example. Though this race was important to Sora and his friends, Sora saw no reason to also have some fun with his new friend while he was at it.
The two friends ran and ran around the dangerous track of Mt. Nibelheim. The tracks got narrow on some parts, making it even difficult for other racers to overtake each other. However, despite the natural obstacles the mountains posed, Sora had still managed to catch up with him, even going so far as to ride side-by-side with him.
The race was going on smoothly. Unfortunately, the arrival of a few unexpected figures had put a complete stop to them. Sora and Max had no time to react as a group of dark figures jumped them from above.
"H-hey!" Max and his chocobo struggled to get the Heartless, that grabbed onto them, off. "Let go of me!" Soon, Max's chocobo ran and kicked its legs out of control, as they both struggled to get the Heartless off of their backs.
Meanwhile, a group of Heartless seemed to have stopped Sora completely, as they completely engulfed Sora. Fortunately, Sora drew his Keyblade to break up the group of Heartless that engulfed him. As Sora continued to ride the course, Sora used his Keyblade to knock away any Heartless that tried to ambush him. As Sora was fighting off the Heartless using hit-and-run tactics, he noticed Max and his chocobo having problems with the Heartless. But what he also noticed was that Max and his Heartless here heading straight towards the edge of a cliff, and off the mountain.
"I said let go!" Max demanded the Heartless.
"Max, look out!" yelled Sora.
The Heartless finally jumped off of Max and his chocobo, just in time for the young chocobo jockey to see where he was heading. "Whoa, boy!" Max tugged on his reins, trying desperately to make his chocobo stop in its tracks. But it was too late. Max and his chocobo had already slid off completely off of the cliff. Max screamed as he found himself falling down towards his demise.
"Black Knight, let's go!" Sora ordered his chocobo. Using proper leg pressure and whipping his reins down, the black chocobo picked up its speed, racing towards Max and his chocobo. Sora used his Keyblade to knock away and cut down any Heartless that stood in his way.
Sora then bravely had his chocobo leap off of the cliff towards Max and his chocobo. "Sora, what are you doing!?" demanded Max, "Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"
However, that was not the case. Although Sora knew of the risks he was taking, he wasn't about to lose a new friend in the race, especially if it meant that he was officially withdrawing from the race. Sora had his chocobo make a leap of faith, shocking all the spectators.
Oh my, folks!! Sora and the Black Knight have just jumped off a cliff!!
Donald, while riding along the mountain of Mt. Nibelheim, looked back as he heard the announcement. He what!?
Riku and Goofy were just as shocked to hear what the announcer had just reported, while they fought off the Heartless.
From the chopper, hovering above the racing course, Elena and Selphie were shocked as well, as they had witnessed Sora making his leap of faith off of the cliff, after his friend. Pluto, who was watching the race with them, covered his eyes with his ears, not wanting to see what will happen next...
"What's he doing?" asked the shocked Selphie.
"Forget what he's doing," said Elena, "What's he thinking!?"
Kairi and Mog were of no exception. Hearing her friend's action had caused her heart to fill with distress. Sora was about to lose his life.
"Sora!!" Kairi yelled in distress.
Now that Sora and his black chocobo are falling off the cliff, along with Max and his chocobo, Sora leaped off of his chocobo, with his Keyblade in hand.
"Just sit tight, Max!" Sora advised. Using his Keyblade, Sora began to produce a magical element from his weapon, surprising Max. Thanks to the magic training that Sora had received from Donald, Sora produced a wind-elemental magic, which began to blow around Sora, Max, and their chocobos. Thanks to the wind, Sora, Max, and their chocobos had gently descended to the lower grounds, but completely out of the race track, thus barring these two young teenagers from the race. Thankfully, despite the fact that they were disqualified, the two young teenagers had not suffered any injuries, nor their own demise.
"Man, that was a close one," Max sighed in relief, "Thanks, Sora. I owe you one."
"Sorry you got disqualified, though," Sora apologized, feeling a little guilty.
"What are you apologizing for, Sora?" asked the puzzled Max, "You shouldn't say sorry just for saving my life. If I were in your position, I would have done the same thing, no questions asked." Sora couldn't help but smile in agreement. It seems that Max has not taken the entire fact that he was now disqualified offensively. Thankfully, thanks to Sora's wind magic, their chocobos had also managed to make it down to the lower levels safely.
After word of Sora and Max's accident had occurred, Kairi had commanded her pink chocobo to pick up its speed and rush to where Sora and Max are at Mt. Nibelheim. Worry took over Kairi as she raced to help her friend. For all she knew, Sora could have been injured, po ssibly a lot worst than he ever was when they were at other worlds.
Just as Kairi entered Mt. Nibelheim, Kairi frantically searched for her missing friend, as she continued racing the course. Sora, please be safe! Please tell me you're okay! The Princess continued running and running. Not only was Kairi searching for Sora and Max, but assisting her was Mog, who looked left and right, while standing on her head. As soon as Kairi reached midway of Mt. Nibelheim, Mog found something.
"Kairi, Mog found Sora, kupo!" Mog informed Kairi.
"Where is he?" asked the worried Princess.
"He's down below." Mog pointed downwards, off of the cliff.
Kairi pulled on her reins, ordering her pink chocobo to come to a complete stop, just in time to see Sora and Max checking up on their chocobos for any injuries. "Sora, are you okay?" Kairi yelled at a distance.
Sora and Max looked up to see Kairi looking down upon them, while riding on her pink chocobo. "We're fine, Princess!" replied Sora, "Go on ahead!"
"But--" Even though her Heart Fragment was at stake in this race, she didn't want to leave Sora behind, especially at where he was at.
"It's okay," Sora assured bravely, "You can still win this. I believe in you, Princess."
Sora's words did not betray Kairi, not even the eyes that believed in the Princess had failed to show how much faith he has in the Princess. "Okay, Sora," Kairi nodded in affirmation, "I'll see you at the ceremonies."
Mog received a message in his comlink from Pluto. "Kairi, Pluto said that Selphie and Elena are on their way to pick up Sora and Max, kupo," Mog notified.
"I see," said Kairi, "Thanks for letting me know, Mog. Sora, I'll see you soon. Rose, let's go." Kairi used proper leg pressure, once again, commanding her pink chocobo to start running. Waving to her friend, Kairi rode off towards the peak of Mt. Nibelheim, with Sora and Max seeing her off.
After seeing Kairi ride off into the race, Sora and Max felt powerful winds blowing at them. Upon looking up to see where the wind was coming from, Sora and Max found a chopper hovering above them, with Selphie waving at them and Pluto by her side. "Heeeeey!!" Selphie waved at the two young teenagers. Pluto nudged off a rope ladder for the two to grab on. "Climb aboard, you two!"
"What about Black Knight and Swift?" asked the concerned Max.
"Don't worry, we've sent in a retrieval unit to pick them up," Elena responded, via the chopper's intercom, "Just climb in."
Seeing no other choice, Max reluctantly took hold of the rope ladder and began climbing up into the chopper. Sora stayed behind to cover Max's back, and to be there in case Max slipped on the rope ladder. Max had managed to climb up, just enough to have Selphie and Pluto help him in. Sora followed after Max, and earned the same help Max was offered upon reaching the entrance of the chopper.
"Elena, can you take us to where Princess Kairi is?" requested Sora.
"Hang on." Elena made an about-face with the chopper and began to hover towards the location of Kairi and her chocobo. "Tseng, Reno, Rude, we've extracted Sora and Max, and we're heading to where Sora's friends are. How are things on your end?" Elena spoke through her comlink.
"We just got silver-head and the dog-guy out," Reno reported through her comlink, "The rest of the jockeys backed out and just headed back to Gold Saucer."
"We're heading back there now so these two can receive medical inspection," said Rude.
"Elena, continued monitoring the race and be on the lookout for anything suspicious," Tseng directed the blonde Turk.
"Understood," responded Elena.
"Sora, those black...things...just what were those things?" Selphie questioned.
"...Heartless..." Sora had found it strange. What are the Heartless doing here?
The Chocobo Race was still under way. With Sora, Goofy, and Riku out of the race, it was now up to Donald and Kairi. Donald was still leading the race, with Kairi doing her best to catch up to the magician.
The only question was: who will reach the goal first?
To be continued…
A/N: Just so no one gets confused about this chapter, chapter 37 was just revised for better understanding. I hope this doesn't complicate things. As usual, enjoy!
A/N 2: Sorry about the delay, viewers. Math class is a pain.