Little Wooden Head made of Pines
"Ugh, this is becoming a pattern." Sora felt his body bruise, a normal occurrence now a days, as he felt his senses start to come to him.
Again unconscious and again Sora was lying on the ground, groaning as he began to wake up and try to wake up. He felt something sticky lying beneath him as he moved up hearing nothing but the sound of water dripping all around him.
"Where am I?" He groaned as he began to stand up, "Everything feels wet and sticky".
Suddenly the smell of rotting fish filled the air, a gooey sensation tingled on his knees. Sora's eyes began to come too like they always did. This pattern of falling and waking up in the middle of nowhere was really starting to irritate him. He was surprised that he hadn't broken anything during this whole trip apart from a few bruises and cuts along the way. Blinking a few times he took a moment before he started to sit up, making sure nothing was broken before fully standing.
"What happened?" He asked himself as the strange sounds continued to echo all around him. "Donald? Goofy?"
Getting up, he saw a large chasm of red essence, no, it was a flesh red essence. Small drops of water echoed all around him, like the sound of a faucet that haven't been fully turned off. Turning around, Sora jumped back at the sight of sharp teeth patrodding in front of him, upon closer examination he realized that they weren't in any cave, but in the mouth, the mouth of the whale that had gobbled them up just a few moments prior. Then it hit him….
"Monstro." He muttered, looking around the place, shocked by the sheer size of the whales inner workings. "I must be inside him-Wait-I-I'm inside a whale's stomach!"
Jiminy got out from Sora's pocket looking a bit disheveled. "Oh my, what's going on here?"
"I think we are inside the whale."
"Monstro!" Jiminy looked panic stricken. "So he is as large as the rumors say, this is definitely going in the journal."
Turning to his side he saw Riku, Donald and Goofy still unconscious, lying down on the gums of the monstrous whale that now entrapped them. Quickly, he ran towards them making sure they were all still breathing, shaking them violently to get them to move.
"Guys! Guys! Get up!" Sora said, voice in a panic shaking Riku on the shoulder.
"W-What happened this time?" Donald muttered, shaking his feathers of water. "Ugh, what is this stuff?"
Goofy got up and looked around his eyes still rolling in sockets from the impact of the fall. "We're inside his stomach. Garsh, didn't know I was that tasty".
"Yeah, I got that idea." Sora muttered as he looked at some of the gastric intestines. "At least it's not completely stinky."
Riku groaned as he rose, stretching his back and getting all the muscles to unwind. An annoyed expression plastered on his face as he viewed his surroundings. The last thing he wanted right now was to be the lunch of some over-bloated whale.
"Riku! You ok?" Sora asked as he helped his friend get up.
"Yeah, I'm all wet though." He muttered trying to dry off his jacket. "I don't think this is just water either."
"Chip! Dale! Everything ok?!" Goofy called.
The two chipmunks got up and looked at the ship. "We'll need a few hours to make sure she's okay, but we won't be able to get out so long as the whale's mouth is closed."
Sora looked at the ship it was a bit dented, but it still seems pretty well intact, the fact that they managed to get the entire thing inside the whale was completely surprising. This whale upon closer inspection on the inside was massive. Large enough perhaps to fit in a small village or town, large wreckage of ships long gone scattered his stomach and throat. So much history packed inside one creaturer, Sora could only wonder what his origins was.
"HELLO DOWN THERE!" A familiar high pitched voice called out from the distance.
From the higher pillars, the familiar looking sight of a walking talking puppet waved at them from afar. Sora took a moment to get a better look, before realizing he was saw a pair of familiar looking big eyed brown haired twins. His eyes widened as he gave a big grin.
"Oh, it's just Pinocchio." Donald said, taking several seconds before realizing what he said. "Pinocchio!"
"Pinocchio?" Jiminy popped out of his pocket, looking shocked. "Pinoch! It is you!"
Sora waved at the two of them frantically. "Hey guys! Down here!"
"Sora?" Mabel said looking down, shocked to see her spiky haired friend waving back at her. "And Riku- hello future husband!"
"Oh great, both of them." Riku muttered under his breath.
Dipper Pines appeared along with his sister Mabel, both twins looked shocked yet happy to see Sora and company down in the Monstro;s mouth. Mabel was holding a handheld camera pointing it right at Dipper, who was speaking into it ignoring the fact that his sister was completely ignoring him at this point, focused on Riku and Sora .
"And now we find ourselves looking into debris that this enormous beast has eaten. Why did he eat it you ask? Well I have many theories on the matter stretching from its origins to it's…..Mabel, focus on me not whatever you are-"
"Dipper, Mabel, down here guys!" Sora called out, surprise getting the better of him, Dipper looked shocked. "What are you ...? Why are you ...?"
"Grunkle Stan is on the main boat!" Mabel called out, "Follow us!"
"Mabel, maybe we should explain?" Mabel put a finger over Dipper mouth.
"No time, get them to the main boat first explain later."
Mabel ran off.
"What's going on?" Goofy wondered scratching his head.
"Let's follow them." Sora replied.
Through the large wreckage of sunken ships, Sora and company managed to swim and climb their way to a large intact sail boat in the center of the wooden graveyard. Sora was amazed that a single whale could swallow such large ships whole, but remembering what he saw from the outside the more it started to make a lot more sense. As he continued to look around, Sora saw on board one of the large more intact ships the familiar wrinkled face of Grunkle Stan standing on edge with a fishing rod in hand as he sat there with an annoyed expression, holding tight onto a video camera in his right arm. Sitting next to him was another wrinkled face, this one far kinder looking than Stan's. His hair was white along with his mustache, a pair of thin veiled glasses covered his eyes, and his clothes were that of a craftsman.
"Father! Look!" Pinocchio said running up to the old man.
Jiminy popped out from Sora's pocket in surprise. "Father?" He looked at the old man in shock. "Gepetto!"
Sora turned to see a elderly looking man with white hair and mustache wearing a white shirt and long overall brown pants. He was a bit hunched over but his glasses gave him a kindly impression. Pinocchio held him by the hand as he walked him towards them.
"You know him?" Donald asked looking at Jiminy who was sitting on Sora's shoulder.
Jiminy nodded. "Gepetto is Pinocchio's father, he made him from wood a long time ago."
"Really?" Riku said giving the old man a skeptical look. "How does a puppet have a father, let alone one that's alive?"
"Well I made him, didn't I?" Gepetto said. "Carved him from the wood I found in the forest, and when the Blue Fairy gave him life, well ...He became my little wooden boy ever since."
Mabel sniffed. "It's such a beautiful story. I think I'm gonna cry...Yep, here come the water works" She let out a loud whale that drenched Dipper in her fountain of tears.
"Okay, but why are you three here?" Riku pointed to Stan, Dipper and Mabel.
Dipper looked embarrassed drying off from Mabel's flood. "Oh that...well ...See, uh…...How do I explain…."
"Stan stole something that Scrooge was going to use for some special device and Pinocchio got a hold of it, and poof….here we are!" Mabel blurted out returning to normal. "And learned the important lesson on why stealing is wrong."
"It wasn't stealing it was corporate espionage." Stan replied defensively. "Which is totally legal ...I think?"
"No it's not!" Dipper replied angrily. "Corporate espionage has no rules, that's why it's called espionage, it's secret, people aren't really supposed to be doing it!"
"It's in the constitution kid." Stan retorted.
Dipper rolled his eyes. "What constitution? We live in a town that's manifested through magic, it doesn't have a constitution...It has ...Whatever Leon says. In a way it's a one man dictatorship, which honestly isn't any better in the grand scheme of things"
"Fine, a dictatorship then, whatever!" Stan grumbled, he turned to Riku and Sora. "I'm telling you kids, everyone's against the small guy and ducks run the economy..."
"Okay, okay, none of that matters right now, just-just how-what exactly brought you here?" Sora interjected tired of Stan and Dippers back and forth.
"Thank you, Sora." Jiminy grumbled rubbing his forehead.
"This." Dipper pulled out a green block and handed it to Sora. "Do you know what it is, since Scrooge made it maybe you guys could tell us something we don't. Even though we probably shouldn't have stolen in it in the first place-STAN!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah ...The Constitution kid! The constitution!"
"We don't-" Dipper let out a loud groan before looking back at Sora and the others. "Just tell us, Sora before I scream."
"It's a Gummi." Donald took the block and examined it. "You stole Uncle Scrooge's Gummi block?!"
"Hey, if that duck is getting good merch, I wanna be ahead of the curve! It's good business, even if I don't really know what any of this does."
"Point being!" Dipper stopped him before he went into a tirade. "Pinocchio took the Gummi block -that Stan stole- it started to glow and then we ended up inside...whatever this is."
"Monstro." Gepetto corrected. "The whale."
"Wonder why?" Goofy said looking around. "Strange place to take a person."
"Well, first thing me and Pinocchio were playing with Bear-O, my adorable Puppet Bear companion."
Mabel pulled out from behind her a horrible looking stuffed bear. One of its eyes was sticking out and the left arm was about to fall off any second. Sora and the others jumped back, all disgusted by how horrible it looked. How Mabel could see anything good in the abomination of a stuffed animal was beyond anyone.
Dipper sighed trying to shove the bear away as quickly as possible. "No one likes Bear-O Mabel, everyone hates him. He's weird, he's creepy he's just ...ugh...a crime against puppets ...Put him a way."
"Pfft, please! Everyone loves Bear-O." Mabel said giving the big stuffed animal hug.
"I can think of some people who don't." Dipper grunted.
Instantly Riku raises his hand, as Sora blushes not wanting to get into the argument. Both boys hated the bear instantly.
"Anyway…." Goofy interrupted changing the subject. "Why did you end up here though?"
Pinocchio chuckled. "Well I was thinking of father when I took it, he made a lot of puppets and cool toys back home, guess I started to miss him. But I guess it worked since now here I am with you father!"
Gepetto lifted Pinocchio and put him on his knee. "You shouldn't have taken it without asking…." He scolded only to embrace him in a hug. "But I'm glad we are back together. "
Pinocchio hugged his father tightly, he was happier than he has ever been to once again be reunited with his family. Sora wanted to hold back a tear, hoping to one day do the same with his own mother, and in some cases his own father, he missed them both dearly now. Riku on the other just turned away, looking emotionally distant from the scene, arms folded, family to him was nothing more than something that got in the way and crushed dreams.
Mabel sniffed, this time wiping a small tear from her eye at the sight of a family reunited. "Again...so beautiful."
"Please no more crying" Dipper muttered holding out an umbrella for protection
"Eh, I don't know, could have used a few more dames." Stan grumbled. "And explosions, that's always makes for a good story in my book"
"Nothing like seeing a father and son reunited." Goofy said wiping his nose. "I'm gonna call Max once we are safe."
Jiminy agreed. "Yep, I most certainly agree."
"I'm glad to know Pinocchio has made good friends." Gepetto said as beamed at Sora and his friends. "He needs good influences in his life if he's going to be a real boy one day."
"Yep….He's my latest in a bunch of new friends I have." Mabel said with a cheer. "He's been so much fun to have around, we dance, sing, talk about all the fun gossip , and I've been teaching him to live life to the fullest!"
Stan nodded, "Yep, and I've been a good caretaker teaching him life lessons"
"You've mostly just taken him to help keep look out wherever you go vandalize Scrooge's…."
"Shut up boy"
"I'm sorry you are now stuck here." Gepetto sighed. "I don't know how long I've been here myself."
"You shouldn't have taken that Gummi without asking!" Dipper accused Stan, ending the moment of peace.
Stan rolled his eyes. "Whatever...Point is we are stuck here...and looks like the spiky boys are too. Personally, I say we eat the old man once we run out of food."
"We aren't resorting to cannibalism!" Dipper yelled.
"Of course we won't." Stan laughed nervously before leaning towards Mabel to speak in a hushed whisper. "We eat the boy first."
"Our ship…" Sora interrupted tired of arguing. "We can get you outta here…..Once we uh...figure out to get the whale to open his mouth."
"So we're stuck here in the meantime." Stan replied focusing back on his fishing.
As Stan fished, Sora looked around the small ship and saw just how it had been converted into what amounted to nothing more than a small cabin. A nice bed was lined against the wall, nothing too fancy, with a pillow and covers to keep warm. On one of the stools, a tiny fish bowl stood as a golden fish, female by the looks of it. It blushes and twirls it's tale fluttering its eyes a bit at him almost flirtatious like.
Despite being inside a whale, it did have a look of comfort to it, though Sora suspected that was now because of the large crowd that was gathered around them. Friends and family all together, it reminded him why he was going on this quest in the first place, to find those who mattered.
"Cleo!" Pinocchio walks up to the fish beaming. "Oh Cleo, I missed you!"
"Meow." Down behind Sora's leg, he could feel soft fur rub up against the edge of his knee. Below him, a tiny black and white cat cuddles near him, pouring as it rubs it's cheek against Sora's shoe. It was probably the most adorable thing he ever saw, he couldn't help but smile brightly.
"Figaro." Pinocchio says.
Gently, Sora picked up the cat to pet it smiling. "Hey there little guy ...You're cute...I used to have a cat just like you when I was younger."
"Yeah...Used to hate me." Riku muttered under his breath
"Wow, seems like the whole gang's all here." Jiminy said as he looked around the boat.
Sora closed his eyes and smiled as he gently pet the cat, thinking back to his younger years when he and Shiro would cuddle up together in the living room back home. The peace and calm they had together, it what he missed the most about home. Gepetto got behind him to scratch the back of Figaro's ear.
"You seem like a nice boy." Gepetto replied smiling
"Oh, thanks. I hope we can help." Sora replied.
Gepetto let out a sad sigh. "I've been here for a while now, when my home got taken by those nasty creatures, I ended down here. Lucky, I was able to survive when I did. Now that I have my son and family back, that's all that matters.."
Sora nodded, even noticing Stan give a small shift from the boats edge, perhaps a sign of the old grifters own love for his family.
"I do hope Pinocchio has been a good boy in my absence, you all seem to know him quite well."
"Oh yeah, he's great!" Mabel said in her usual peppy voice. "I've been showing him all around town, and we've played a game...danced, sing all that."
"Mabel loves the idea of talking puppets." Dipper whispered to Riku. "She had a thing once for a puppet guy, and then I became a puppet one time-It was weird, but long story short guess she never completely got over her thing for puppets."
"I can tell." Riku muttered
"Granted, it was better than that one time she fell for a merman and I'm like-"
"I get the picture!" Riku grumbled causing Dipper to go quiet, his face forming the look of. "How do you date a merman?"
Sora and the others continued talking about what was goings on and their adventures they had so far. Dipper told them about his latest ideas he had about fighting Heartless that nearly always got shot down by Leon or Yuffie. Mabel told them about the wild things they had found while exploring the town, including a large mansion filled with Dalmatian puppies, 101 Dalmation puppies to be precise. They spoke of Stan's attempts to get more into "Keyblade Merchandise" much to Sora's dismay and embarrassment, the last thing he wanted was to be considered more of a star than he already was back at Traverse Town.
"Hey, the idea for Sora pillows are great! They'll fly off the shelves, especially with the ladies." Stan said giving the kid a wink.
Sora blushed. "Well uh ...I don't think I want..."
"Ignore him." Mabel said as she sat close up to Riku. "Good to see you are doing ok!"
Sora continued to tell them what happened at Agrabah, and their first official run in with Maleficent. The twins looked shocked to hear of such an event and how the Princess was captured.
"Fascinating." Dipper muttered taking a mental note. "Wish I had my journal on hand."
"Princesses? But who are these princesses?! What if I'm a princess?!" Mabel eyes widened with excitement as she grabbed Dipper by the collar. "I could be a Princess, Dipper! I'd have servants to do my every beck and call and an army of pig warriors to conquer the world! Mabel...Princess of Pigs"
"Princess of crazy, maybe." Dipper grumbled. "Trust me Mabel, I think we'd know ...Would we?"
Sora shrugged. "So yeah-that's been what's been happening." sighing he leaning back against the boat. "And now we're here, and now we're trapped."
"Ah it's not that bad, being good at keeping the fun going with songs and dances." Mabel explained.
"More songs!" Riku groaned. "Just what I need right now."
"Ah songs….I do enjoy a good diddy…" Going into the drawer Gepetto pulled out what seems to be a mechanical music box. "This one plays a tune I created myself ...Now if you don't mind ...music professor."
He clicked the little music box as a tiny ditty began to play, Pinocchio got up and began to dance to it, joining his father in the song as he began to sing.
Little wooden head go play your part
Bring a little joy to every heart
Little do you know and yet it's true
That I'm mighty proud of you
Little wooden feet and best of all
Little wooden seat in case you fall
Pinocchio accidently fell yet got back up instantly and continued. "Oh, how graceful."
My little wooden head
The tune was incredibly enchanting to say the least, everyone with the exception of Stan and Riku seemed to be taken in by it. Mabel especially wanted to get in on the action and decided to join the with her unique dancing style, Dipper choosing to lean back and just clap along. Sora was quite enjoying the song himself, definitely a calmer to the fact they were stuck in a giant whale. Seeing everyone just being carefree, it was a nice sight.
Happy little chap with a feather in your cap
Though they made you of wood you never give a rap
Always doing good as a little puppet should
Chasing each gloomy day away
"Sora join in!" Mabel begged
"No, no I…."
Too late, Mabel pushed Sora in as the two began to dance with one another. It was cute, Pinocchio danced in the center. Just like in Wonderland, Sora was already taken in by the merriment. It was a nice distraction, not having to deal with the fact he was trapped in a whale. He joined in the dance with Mabel, clapping his hands and giving his legs a fun kick as he got into the groove.
Mabel wasn't such a bad dancer herself.
"Join us, Dipper." Mabel gave her brother no chance to respond as well as he made him join in.
" Mabel, I don't-"
"Come on, Dipper, dance!" She whined.
Dipper sighed and slowly began to dance along with the song, it took him awhile but the more he got it the more he started to enjoy himself. Only Riku sat back and rolled his eyes, clearly not interested in any of what was going on.
Now all of them were dancing around to the tune, Sora was quickly getting into the beat. Dipper on the other was stumbling a bit, yet Mabel was keeping him on his feet.
Little wooden head with eyes that shine
Little wooden head that's made of pine
In a weary world you do your share
Spreading laughter everywhere
Little wooden feet and best of all
Little wooden seat in case you fall
Never let a single tear shed
My little wooden head
As Dipper danced, he noticed Riku look around and begin to sneak out, he had a very suspicious look on his face as he climbed down the boat's ladder.
Little wooden head go play your part
Bring a little joy to every heart
Little do you know and yet it's true
That I'm mighty proud of you
Little wooden feet and best of all
Little wooden seat in case you fall
Never let a single tear shed
My little wooden head
The party went on, but as Sora and Mabel continued to dance he was unaware that both Riku and Dipper had left the boat.