Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.


Ch.44 Hook's Fall

I blocked yet another downwards slash from Hook, gritting my teeth as he pushed against me. Then he disengaged and jumped back, blocking a Fira spell from Donald. Goofy tried to hit him from behind with his shield, but then he avoided that and swung at Peter, who had been about to stab him with his dagger. I frowned, realizing that we may actually against a tough opponent. Hook had gotten better in the decade since I had fought him, as proven by the fact he was holding all five of us off. "I'll run you through!" he called, and stabbed at me. I shouted and was broken from my thoughts, having to duck to avoid being stabbed between the eyes. Hook pulled what looked like a present out of his pocket, and tossed it as Sora.

He saw it was coming and rolled forward. A good thing too, because the moment that present hit the deck it exploded like a grenade. "Fire, huh? Well tow can play at that game!" I said, and cast Triple Firaga. A trio of fireballs flew forward and Hook eye's widened. He blocked them with his sword but left himself open from behind, allowing Peter to hit him with Storm's Eye, which had the same effect as Aerora. Hook made a sound of surprise as he was hit with the force of punch from behind, falling forward. But when Goofy used Rocket to try and charge at him, he called "You scurvy brats!" and leaped into the air. I watch, wide-eyed, as he sailed through the air and landed on the helm, where he pointed his sword into the air.

"Take this!" he called. A trio of dark holes appeared next to him, and from them barrels began rolling down at us. I jumped and avoided a barrel which exploded when it rolled a certain distance behind me. "More explosives! Watch out!" I said. Peter nodded and simply rose into the air, while Sora and I were too focused and dodging to concentrate enough for that. One of the barrel hit Donald and burst, sending him flying. "Donald!' we all yelled. He flapped his arm as he came closer to the water, yelling "Okay, I believe now! Just don't let me get eaten!" Then, just as the crocodile reared up and opened its mouth, Donald's body began to sparkle and he rose into the air as well. He blinked, looking around. "Wow!" he said, doing a back-flip in midair.

"I can fly!" he said, laughing. I cast Thundaga Shot and destroyed all of the barrels, before looking up at him. "Splendid. Now can you take your new-found ability and help us?!" I said. "With pleasure!" Donald replied. He flew forward and shot a Blizzara spell at Hook from below, who sidestepped and jumped back down onto the deck. "Take this!" he said, and he tossed a trio of presents at me, Sora, and Goofy. Sora and I blocked while Goofy raised his shield, the present exploding against it. "Gawrsh, if you all can fly like that, then I believe I could too!" Goofy declared. As soon as he said that his body rose up, and I smiled. "Wonderful. Now that we all can fly, let's kick that codfish right into the water!" I suggested.

Everyone else nodded, and so Sora and I rose into the air. The five of us flew forward and all attacked Hook at once, whose eyes grew huge at the sight of all of us flying. Then his surprise turned to anger, and he said "That won't stop me!" and swung at Sora. He blocked but Hook moved under his guard, slashing him across the stomach. Sora fell back and I was prepared to help, when he said "Heal!" and cast Cura on himself. Donald shot another Fira spell at Hook but he swung his weapon like a baseball bat, actually knocking the spell back and hitting Donald. He was sent tumbling back through the air, and Goofy tackled Hook with his shield. Now it was Hook that fell back, but then he jumped, going over Goofy and kicking him hard in the side of head.

Goofy went off to the side and hit his head against the rail of the helm, stars dancing around a bump that quickly grew. Hook sneered, but just at that moment Peter called "Your time's up!" and cast Time Out, freezing him. Hook couldn't move and I took the chance to move behind him, calling "It's over!" and using Brutal Blast. I swung my Stormfell and hit Hook in the back hard enough to knock him into next year, but he was still frozen. After a few seconds the spell wore off though, and he shot forward like a cork out of a bottle. Hook cried out in dismay as he fell towards the water. He was unable to fly like us, and so when he hit it was with a huge splash. "You'll pay for this!" he called, gasping for air.

Then he heard a ticking sound behind him and slowly turned, seeing that the crocodile was right behind him. And looking hungry. Hook shouted and jumped out of the water, actually running on top of it as he fled from the crocodile who chased him towards the horizon.

After Hook was gone for a good moment it was decided that he wasn't coming back anytime soon, and so we relaxed. In his desk I found another page of Ansem's' report, page 9, and the Ars Arcanum ability, which I gave to Sora. He sat there though, his expression deep in thought. We were starting to get worried, and Goofy said. "Uh, Kairi couldn't wake up, so maybe she's really lost her-" "Shh!" Donald quickly said, silencing him. "Sora?" I asked. "I still... can't believe it," he said, looking down. Before I could say anything, he looked up at the sky and I saw that he was smiling. "I really flew! Wait till I tell Kairi! I wonder of she'll believe me. Probably not," he said. "You can bring her to Neverland sometime. Then she can try it herself," Peter offered.

"If you believe, you can do anything, right? I'll find Kairi. I know I will. There's so much I want to tell her-about flying, the pirates, and everything else that's happened," Sora said. I nodded. "That's the spirit," I told him. Just then Tinker Bell flew down, and stopped in front of Peter. "What's that, Tink? What about the cock tower? What's there?" he asked. She spoke to him a little more, and he looked at us. "I think you guys had better come too," he said. We all nodded, and rose into the air as we followed Tinker Bell and Peter Pan. We flew for what felt like hours, although it was probably just half of one. When we got close though, I could see that the clock tower was in the middle of a modern city, and that Wendy was standing near the edge.

I could also sense something, and now I knew off the bat what it was. "There's a Keyhole here!" I said, looking around. Sora, Donald and Goofy stopped, looking at me. "Are you sure?" Sora asked. I nodded. "Positive. I can't figure out where, but I knew there's a Keyhole nearby," I told them. Then Peter flew back at us, and said "What's the hold up?" I blinked, and hesitated before shaking my head. "Nothing to worry about. So, what's the problem?" I asked. "Well, Tink says she felt that there was something funny with the clock tower, and then she saw that one of the hand isn't at midnight. Think you guys could fix it?" he requested. I looked at Sora and the other, the pieces falling into place. We had to fix that clock, and if we did the Keyhole would appear.

"Sure," Sora said, flying towards the clock. We worked together and turned the clock's huge hands, until it struck 10:00... 11:00... midnight! When it did the clock chimed, and on the right side there was a glow, before the Keyhole of this world appeared. "Just as predicted. Now, Sora!" I said. He nodded and flew up, pointing the Pumpkinhead at the Keyhole. Stars gathered around the tip before it fired a beam of light, which hit the Keyhole. It glowed and locked with a distinct click, before fading away. A Navigation Gummi feel through the air and I caught it. "Peter, are you really going back to Neverland?" Wendy asked, her tone showing how she hope he wasn't. "Afraid so. But we can see each other any time. As long as you don't forget about Neverland, that is," he told her.

Wendy smiled and nodded, the two of them holding hands. Tinker saw this and huffed, which it turn prompted Donald to laugh. "Oh boy. She's getting steamed again. Look after her, will ya?" Peter asked, placing his hands on his hips. Tinker Bell rose in front of Sora and spun around, and he looked at Peter. "What?" he said. All of us chuckled, and Wendy even let out a small giggle. "Oh, and one more thing," Peter said, pulling out what looked like a Keychain and tossing it to us. "There, now you can do ever better in finding your friends," he said. Sora took the Keychain and un-clipped the Pumpkinhead, causing his weapon to change back to the Kingdom Key. Then he added the new one, and it morphed into... "A Fairy Harp," I said. We thanked Peter and made our last farewells, before going to the a save point and teleporting to the Gummi Ship.

In a dark room somewhere in Hallow Bastion, Riku was kneeling and trying to catch his breath. Maleficent stood in front of him, and looked down. "It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel. Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart," she scolded. Riku glared at her, but before he could say anything there heard a huge roar from behind, somewhere in the distance. "A castaway. Though his world perished, his heart did not. When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will," Maleficent said, mildly impressed. Riku looked up at her, and she said "But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."

"My power?" Riku repeated. "Yes, the untapped power that lies within you. Now, child, it's time you awakened that power and realized your full potential!" she said, raising her arms. Riku's body glowed with an evil green light and he stood, his strength returning and growing even more.


Back on the Gummi Ship Sora and Donald were talking about where to go, and they decided on going to Traverse Town so that Cid could install the new Navigation Gummi. Meanwhile I took out the latest page from Ansem's report, and read it. "I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily. None of the records even mention such a substance. Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out! Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place," the report read.

I sat back, and frowned. So my master had found Gummi blocks, and thus his eyes were the possibility of other worlds. Just like the last few times I had been reading these reports though, I was confused. My master Ansem did indeed long to see other worlds, and studying the possibilities and hearts of them. But he knew that there was no way yet to go to other worlds, and was satisfied with researching the world of Radiant Garden. If that were the case, then why would he call himself and us prisoners? It didn't add up. I put the pages away, and looked forward. At the very least, we would soon have the Gummi installed and be able to reach Radiant Garden, or rather, Hallow Bastion. Maybe then I would get the answers I seek.


Hook has been chased away and another Keyhole is sealed, but the biggest challenge yet still lie ahead! Can Sora and the others brave Hallow Bastion and stay as one?

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