Into the Bunker
Jafar and Gideon stood at the ends of the forest near the Mystery Shack as few Heartless warriors approached them. They stood at attention and saluted. Gideon seemed scared, holding the lamp close to his chest. It had been several hours now and they still couldn't find any sign of the Pine's Family or the Journal needed. Worst still they have not found Riku. Jafar was getting nervous now. He needed that boy in order to complete his deal with the mysterious Zexion and break free of the laws of magic that obund his Genie power.
So much was on the line, this was his chance to prove to himself and others that he wasn't second best. That he could go on his own, no master, no allies, him alone, and allied with no one.
"Report" Jafar hissed.
The Heartless eyes began to glow bright yellow as a hissing sound echoed around the forest. Jafar face twisted and churned, until it ended in a frustrated scowl and finally a fiery rage. He slammed his snake staff into the ground unleashing a magical energy that blue them back.
"Go back into the forest and keep searching for them!"
Gideon froze, "So uh...Y-You're still gonna make Mabel my queen yes"
"Look at you little!" Jafar grabbed Gideon by the collar of his shirt before calming, "I mean...My dear Gideon...Of course, I will aid you with Mabel, when we break the laws of magic all our wishes will be granted".
"R-Right?" Gideon chuckled nervously, "I-I trust you"
Jafar let go of Gideon who landed on the ground with a thud, "Go...Now go inside, see if you can't find any research that might prove useful to me"
"O-Of course" Gideon nods frankly as he goes back inside.
Jafar took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. Now he was alone outside in the dark side. Though his thoughts were definitely quite intrusive. Already he could hear Maleficent chiding him, saying his anger was getting the better of him.
He clenched his staff.
"You may have led our army Maleficent but now look at you" Jafar hissed to the stars, "You stay trapped in a world of your own hubris. I was the one who said we should have dealt with the boy from the start, instead you strung him along thinking he would be useful to some granger cause, now your cause died, while mine is only beginning"
"This Maleficent means something to you?" Jafar turned around to see Zexion stand behind him again. The stranger did seem to have a bad habit of appearing when one wanted privacy.
Jafar sneered, "Well as you know she was my former Mas-ally...We didn't always see eye to eye on a lot of things, but she led the Heartless to ner victory. Till she let her own ego get in the way"
"I see…" Zexion tapped his chin in thought, "Yes, yes I do remember reading up on this Maleficent in the past, she does seem like quite a power house"
"She was powerful, but now I am far more powerful" Jafar looked at his own staff not trying to get annoyed by the thought.
"Yes" Zexion smired, "But only if you find me Riku"
-000-
The area around Riku started to darken now as. The Heartless must have been trapped or something for they started to ease up, and eventually vanish completely. They barely managed to escape Pacifica's mansion out alive, the attack was so quick and precise. It was now just the four of them, Riku, Max, Mabel and Pacifica, all alone in the dark, yet they could see just enough as to keep pressing forward. Whatever was keeping the Heartless away was unknown but it was good enough at the moment.
Riku took a moment to realize where they were. He could hear the sound of dripping water. Feeling his way, he felt hard rock against the palm of his glove. They were definitely underground in some sort of mine area and while the Heartless were not there he could still smell the scent of darkness.
"Phew, we made it," Mable declared her breathing heavier as she became tired.
Riku shook his head, "Not out of the woods yet"
"We are underneath a cave," Pacifica said, trying her best to keep up, "That doesn't even count as the woods.
"Don't worry, I'm sure I will be back in the woods soon" Mabel said, jumping over a rock.
"Mable?" A gruff voice came from under them.
All of them froze now as they heard the sound of footsteps approach. Riku took out his sword eater just in case it was a trick..
"G-Grunkle Stan?" Mable eyes widened recognizing that mangy old voice anywhere, "Grunke Stan, is that you!"
"Mable! Kids!" As if by a miracle Stan Pines emerged out of the shadows, Iago and Zazu was also by his side, "You're alive! Yes! Still number one guardian!"
"Grunkle Stan!" Mable clenched his leg in relief, "Your okay, I thought Jafar blasted you"
"He did, and I ended up here...Guess he just teleported me...Heh...Dumb magic doesn't work on old Stan Pines"
"Yeah, that's great and all" Max interjected now, "But we still have Heartless coming after us"
Outside they could hear screeching on what sounded like Heartless echoing around the cave. Riku could smell their stretch even from here. The horrid beast was coming and they needed to run soon if they were going to survive.
"Come on kids follow me" Stan said as he led them through the metal hinges.
"Ew," Pacifica stuck out her tongue in disgust, "You don't know where it's been"
Mable continued to hit the metal until she felt a door. Riku's eyes were starting to get better that he could see the metal as well and the door attached to it. He quickly went up to it and began to pull the door out.
"Thanks" Mable smiled.
Riku nodded as he headed in.
Inside there were mounds of equipment enough to perhaps let them stand a chance inside when trying to retake the shack. As well as a large multi-screen computer monitor though none of the screens were one. Though it was incredibly dusty and some of it needed a big pick me up. It must have been decades old, perhaps even more.
"Yeesh, this is a lot of stuff" Max said as he looked around.
Stan sighed, "Yeah, I know"
"Looks like one of those crazy apocalypse bunkers crazy people make" Pacifica commented
Mable eyes widened, "Wait a minute ...I know this place, this is Grunkle Ford's bunker"
"Who?"
"Grunkle Ford" Mable repeated, "Stan's twin, remember, he was kinda like Dipper...In a way".
Riku noticed Mable frown.
"Isn't he the hotter stan?" Pacifica replied.
"Hey!" Stan grunted, "But yeah, Ford built this place in case of the apocalypse or any of the weird stuff he was messing with came back to bite him in the kisser. Thankfully though I found myself here when I was blasted and have been holding down the fort until it all boils over"
"Knowing Jafar, it will take a while" Iago groaned, "Seriously my old boss is a stickler for stuff"
"Well it looks like things aren't that good" Stan said as he activated the screen.
Sure enough many cameras activated, showing off various places of Gravity Falls. All over Heartless were spreading. Harassing people or rounding them up for who knows what. Riku just glared at the images, knowing too well that the Heartless were probably gathering hearts to add to their ranks. He remembered how Maleficent would order them to go to worlds to increase her own army. Jafar being the most powerful dark force user probably was the centerpoint of the normally mindless drones.
"Oh no!" Mable said seeing her beloved Gravity Falls in turmoil, "Those Heartless are gonna destroy the town...again".
"Hopefully we don't have to worry about the Keyhole, if the world was restored once" Riku said, "At least I think so, to bad we don't have a Keyblade"
Max groaned, "Great, Heartless and no Keyblade...wish there more Keyblade Masters around who we could ask for help"
Riku sneered but kept to himself.
"We gotta stop them!" Mable said with determination.
"Thankfully we found each other" Zazu sighed, "Though how good that is it's up for debate"
The more Riku looked the more he realized that there were more than just weapons. There were food cans all stocked, various boxes all stacked with take the snacks and small things. This was definitely a great place to be right now, although part of him wondered if the Heartless would come and attack them at any moment. He wished he could have met this Grunkle Ford, he seemed like someone who was prepared for just about anything.
"So...Are we stuck here now?" Max asked, starting to look a little nervous as he walked around the small place.
"Hey better here then out there" Stan grunted.
"No" Riku interjected, "This is perfect, we can come up with a plan, with supplies, weapons, food, and get that lamp"
"Oh yeah, one snap of the fingers as Jafar turns it all to dust" Iago grunted, "Believe me kid, Jafar will kill yuh before you can get to him"
"We might be able to get into the Shack and make it from there," Mable suggested.
"Are you nuts honey, it's dangerous," Stan said grabbing some chips, "Wouldn't you rather eat instead?"
"No Grunkle Stan we gotta help the people okay. Besides we have Riku, he'll make sure nothing bad happens to us"
Stan eyed Riku carefully, looking unsure.
Pacifica had a look of disgust, "Great, I have to stay here, that's just great, and my mansion is probably trash…
"And your parents" Mable frowned.
"Eh, who cares".
"Pazz!"
Riku rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's get some rest, better if we attack in the morning, the darkness...The Darkness holds to many bad things"
-000-
Thankfully the Bunker was well equipped and most of the place was lit up so the electronics worked. Mable found some tea and started to heat it up. Apparently Grunkle Ford had restocked when he had returned and prior to the Heartless arrival. With things calming down Riku and the others finally sat down and just had time to talk to one another for real. Stan seemed uncomfortable among all of them but he kept to himself. Zazu and Iago flying around and muttering to one another one thing or another as they joined the rest of the crowd.
"Thanks Mabel" Riku said as she handed him his tea.
"You know, after singing that heroic song about protecting people and everything...Kinda thought we'd actually go and do some heroism" Max said, as he still stood in the middle of Pacifica's living room.
Riku rolled his eyes, "And go out into the woods were Heartless are probably all over the place, yeah, I don't think so"
"Ugh, this place is muggy" Pacifica muttered.
"Hey at least it's shelter with food" Stan muttered taking a bite of beans, "Granted my taste buds went to crud in my fifties so I guess I can't really judge the food".
"So…"Mable interjected now, "First things first, we need a plan, how do we take out a Genie"
"And just so you know I'm gonna have you three handle this" Pacifica said looking at all of them, "I'm not really the fighting type"
"Don't worry we didn't expect you to join anyway" Mable said, still smiling, "To dangerous, you could get hurt and I'd hate for that to happen because uh ...uh…" She stammered for a bit, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment "Cuz you are a dear friend and I care about your safety"
"Oh uh, thanks…" Pacifica said, seeming a bit taken aback.
Riku smirked, taking a sip of tea before speaking, "Well, the best way to defeat Jafar is to just get his lamp from that Gideon kid, once we do that, we can seal him and lock him up"
"Unless someone else finds him first" Max stated.
"We can cross that bridge when we get there"
"What! Why can't we cross it now. I mean, how do you take on a Genie? Do we charge forward, do we assault the shack, do we…. "
"Easy," Riku muttered, taking Max by the hand to calm him down, "We just got here, let's take a moment to relax.
Max seemed taken aback, looking down at Riku's hand a bit surprised for a few seconds as the words must have processed in his mind"Relax! Relax! How can I relax! I'm stuck here in this strange place, and just got attacked by an evil clone of you, and a evil Genie...Mable is like the only nice person I've met"
"Aw, thank you," Mabel said.
"Well panicking isn't going to help anyone" Riku sneered, taking his hand away and curling up again.
Riku quickly took a deep breath before getting any angrier. He straightened himself and tried to loosen up, such rash emotion wouldn't get him anywhere with these two. Max continued to seem to be in a panic, Mable though seemed to be just happy. Riku knew that this 'team' that he had agreed to help didn't have a chance in the world taking on Jafar. They were naive and quasi-stupid. Quickly he shoved those thoughts. Negative thinking of the people helping him wasn't going to help anything.
"You take out the lamp and then you control him" Riku stated, stoically,
"Easier said than done" Iago muttered, "Especially when it comes to Jafar, he might not be the most hands on, but the guy is sneaky. Used to see him always try to talk his way out of something when he and Maleficent used to strategize about how to rule the worlds".
Riku nodded, "Indeed" he was starting to lighten up to Max, he seemed to have sense.
While Riku noticed that Max was stubborn and definitely not like the older Goof he had met with Sora, Mable definitely had the wide eyed optimism of his Island friends. Though he would never admit it Riku did feel it was infectious, something to counter his own cynicism.
"I think personally going at it at night isn't the best idea" Pacifica spoke, "Night seems to be when a lot of weirdos in this town come out"
"There not weirdo's" Mable said defensively, "They are just charming unique individuals who express themselves differently"
"Aka, weirdos"
"Gotta agree with blondie here" Stan grunted, "This town is full of weirdos and chumps...most of them easy to scam"
An awkward pause as Mable just glared at both Stan and Pacifica for their behavior.
"So uh, why don't we get to know each other" Max intervened before an argument started out, "I'll start, high I'm Max, my dad's name is Goofy and I got here because of weird Star Shard thing"
"Oh sharing!" Mable perked up again, "I like the way you think Max"
"This isn't some show and tell Mable" Riku groaned.
"Ah come on Riku , share"
"I'd like to hear this" Pacifica said as she leaned back on the couch
"What's there to say?" Riku said tapping the fire, "I have parents who got divorced, step parents who don't care...Sora and Kairi were my only friends. Then I turned on them for power and darkness and now I'm here"
"Yeesh," Pacifica said, "Need to learn how to tell a story"
Mable smacked Mable on the shoulder, "Come on...That was sad, that probably caused a whole bunch of issues, mentally, maybe that's why he turned evil and all"
Riku groaned.
"I will be adding therapy sessions to your redemption chart when this all calms down" Mabel declaered now turning to Max, "Max? Story time".
Max sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Alright, well my dad is Goofy, he's the captain of the guard, he's all I have, until Sora showed up and took him. Now I don't know where he is, if he's even alive! And I don't know what I'm gonna do!" He curled into a ball and entered a panic state
Riku and Mabel looked nervously at each other. He knew all too well to have a friend very concerned with a parent. Sora would always worry about his mother. Especially after his father passed, his mother became the epicenter of his life. So if Max was anything like Sora, then Riku knew what his relationship with his father was probably like. A wave of pity came over him. He didn't know Goofy that well, or at all really, apart from a few weird things about him, being a goof and all. But he knew he was definitely loyal to Sora, and would continue to go on his journey with him. Still, it was a bit unfair that Max had to be alone like this
"Look I get it" Riku finally said taking a deep breath
"Huh?" Max lifted his head.
"Being mad at Sora, maybe even you're dad…."
"I'm not mad at my dad" Max said defensively, "I could never...he's my dad and I-"
"What kid isn't mad at their father" Riku insisted, "At least he cares, and Sora well ...Sora's not always the best when it comes to understanding social cues. But I know he cares too, believe me, you told him what you told me, he'll work every second to try and fix it".
"He said…" Max sniffed, "He said, he'd keep my dad safe"
"I'm sure he did, in fact he was" Riku said, "But he's not protecting him, they are working together as ...as a team"
Riku was starting to realize the connection Sora had with his companions now for the first time. Perhaps it was a connection he needed with these two if he was going to get out of this mess.
"Exactly" Mabel declared, "That's it, sharing, working together as a team"
"Yeah," Riku sighed, "A team"
As they slept Riku paced around, he could not rest, the thought of Heartless was too prevalent in his mind. Heartless were probably out there looking for them. Why they didn't pop up here was a mystery. Sometimes he wondered if his own internal darkness would be what lead them to his new found friends at the moment. Part of him wanted to get them moving, keep running, but he knew that would only make things worse in the long run.
Speaking of his friends Riku couldn't help but smile a bit as he watched them rest.
If they were scared and nervous they didn't show it. Mable kept close to Pacifica, making him wonder if she really did feel something deeper for her. Max on the other seemed a bit restless as he slept standing up. He definitely was not what Riku had expected from a son of Goofy. In some ways he reminded Riku a bit of Sora. Headstrong, yet good natured at heart.
Riku continued to watch until he began to hear a soft moan sound, then a groan. It was Max, he was flinching in his sleep. He looked like he was having a nightmare. His flinching continued as he began muttering something in his sleep, a bit louder.
"D-Dad...Dad!"
"Max?" Riku walked up to him, something felt off about him. "You-okay?"
Max stirred before his eyes opened up his eyes crying, "POP!".
"Hey," Riku took him by the shoulder "Are you ok
Max just nodded not even jumping at the fact Riku had joined in, "Just thinking...Bad dream"
"Been there" Riku stood next to him, "I've done a lot of thinking in my time, sadly none of it good. Or at least a lot of it recently hasn't been good".
The two just stood in silence. It was the first real time Riku ever felt a bit at peace when looking at them. Perhaps having someone to stand next to instead of being alone helped. He could tell by looking at his face that Max was troubled. The young teen having a sense of concern, of anger, and definitely of sadness. A mix of emotions that weren't good in situations like these.
Riku wondered if he should try to press the issue or not. He barely knew him, yet wouldn't that be the friendly thing to do. Knowing Sora he'd probably just jump in and start talking the poor kids ear off about whatever or whoever he was into at the time.
Max walked off into a deeper area of the bunker for a while where he could be alone. Riku slowly followed, making sure that no one would try to hurt him. Someone had to have his back, and he trusted Mable and Pacifica to look after one another.
Once thinking he was alone Max took a deep breath.
Max
Sure I spend my days
Skating around.
Head in my helmet and my feet off the ground.
But there is more to me than just my name
Give me a chance and I could change the game.
And maybe one day would say
"Congrats laddy it's your lucky day"
That's it all i always wanted.
Then I could finally say I've done it.
Let me adventure
Be a contender
And more.
(Cause your not a simple Goof)
I wish they'd see
I'm not just the goof next door
Their gotta be a better way
A way to save the ones I love
But how i can stop the end of the world
When I'm just a simple Goof
(No your not a simple Goof)
So what if I'm a Goof, it's what I wanna be.
There isn't anyone who is as goofy as me.
Skater supreme two years of the row.
I am the master of my own do-jo
And everyone here knows they can depend.
On this expert arcade player whose a trusted friend
I can...Eat a lot of icecream.
I can even play my nose like.
Let me have adventure, be a contender and more.
(Cause your not a simple Goof)
Can't they see I am not the Goof next door
(No your not a simple…)
I wish that I could turn back time.
I never thought my world would be sad.
I just wanna hang out...With my dad.
But fear I fear could drag us down.
And now there's panic that runs amok in this simple town.
(No, no no)
NO!
Just let me have adventure, be a contender and more.
(Cause your not a simple goof)
I will show I am not the goof next door!
(No your not a simple goof)
I am gonna find
A better way
A way to save the life I love
And I am gonna stop the end of the…
(NO! You are still a simple goof)
"No , I can do this, just give me a chance)
(You are still a simple goof)
"I'll...I got a team, just like Sora had with Donald and dad, maybe I could help
I just need to find my thing and once I do I'll...But if I don't find it, this goof is gonan help no matter what!
NO I'M NOT A SIMPLE GOOF!
(Let me have adventure be a contender and more)
NO I'm NOT A SIMPLE GOOF
(They will see he is not the goof next door)
YEAH!
YEAH!
YEAH!
Now at last
I have a found a way
A way to save the ones I love
I am not!
A simple
Goooooooooof!
"So-" Riku took a deep breath, "W-What were you thinking about?"
Max leaped shocked to see Riku standing there now.
"H-how long have you been standing there" Max asked cheeks turning bright red"
"Long enough" Riku shrugged, "Was that a whole musical number thing going on, I'm honestly not sure, I feel like Mable has done that a few times herself since I knew her. It's a bit weird if you asked me"
Max sighed as he let the embarrassment subside "Sorry….Guess the musical is part of the toon thing" he sat down on a nearby rock and looked up. As if trying to look up at the night sky. "You know, my dad used to say that when my mom died, she went to join the stars at that hers were the brightest up there"
"Really?" Riku said looking at the stars now, "That's uh, she must be beautiful"
"She was. You know uh, Riku um…" Max coughed as Riku sat down next to him now, "Thanks for uh, saving me back there"
"Your welcome, you uh, you seem to be a good fighter"
"Really?"
Riku shrugged, "Sure, yeah, I don't see why you wouldn't be"
"Thanks," Max sighed, "Sometimes, sometimes I wish I could have gone with my dad, maybe I could have helped"
"Maybe, or maybe not" Riku said, looking off into the distance now, avoidng Max's gaze, he felt a bit warm when looking at him for some reason, like his heart skipping a few beats each time he did. It was strange. "If your dad didn't want you to go, he was probably trying to protect you"
"I know but-"
"He's all you have." Riku finished
Max looked to Riku and nodded, They didn't have to say much but they had an understanding. For Max, his father was his rock and Riku, Sora. Both of them were fighting to return to the thing that meant most to them
"I get it, believe it or not, I do"
Silence as Riku saw Max's hand over his own before quickly retracting it.
"Sorry," Max said, cheeks turning red, "Anyway ...Never though any of this would happen, granted I didn't think anything would happen, at least not on this scale"
"Trying living on a small Island and thinking nothing would ever happen" Riku snickered, "Believe me, I've come to be open minded to a lot these days"
Max chuckled.
Riku smirked, he was starting to like Max, in some ways he reminded him a bit of Sora. The same sort of wide eyedness to him, and a sense of wanting to do the right thing and be a hero. Something Sora had quite a lot of when they were kids back home. However unlike Sora, there was a bit of an edge to him that Riku admired, not always a happy go lucky dork, but more grounded in that regard.
"Ah, look" Max pointed, seeing Mable scootch up to Pacifica closer, "Cute, wish I was still in a relationship"
"You were?"
"Yeah, girl named Roxanne ...It ...It ended mutually"
Riku nodded understanding, "Yeah, never really had an eye for anyone...Always focused on Sora"
"That's not creepy sounding"
Riku chuckled, "Not -Well, no matter ...I'm just glad he's in my life"
"It's weird, when we started dating, I sorta just...Lost interest quickly, it's really hard to explain" Max said hunching over in ansurity, "But, she was kind about it, she could tell"
"That's good"
It was getting awkward now, Riku never talked about his personal relationship issues with anyone. Though for some reason right now talking to Max seemed quite calming, almost soothing. He didn't feel judged or like he was being questioned. Perhaps it was because Max knew nothing about him except for some letters his father sent him, and even then it felt Max didn't care about what Riku had done in the past.
"What are you two love birds up too" Riku turned around to see Stan walking up towards them now, "I ain't interrupting am I"
Riku and Max cheeks both turned red, "No!"
"Eh, not that I care, I've done it with everyone and anyone, I have no preference" Stan grunted as he sat down, "Ugh, still can't believe my idiot brother is still causing my trouble, you bring him back only for the forces of darkness to take him away again. Just my luck aint it"
"I wouldn't know" Riku shrugged as he sat down with him, Max joining him shortly.
"Yeah well-" Stan grunted rubbing his head, "Look kids, like I said, I need you to watch over my family….My family, well-you know"
"I get it " Riku stated, "They are all you have right"
"Yeah"
"I get it too" Max sighed, "That's why I'm here, because of my dad, family's important".
"Yeah, especially the family you find, you don't want to lose it" Riku sighed sitting down rubbing his head.
Stan smiled, "Yeah, I get it, blood or not, you don't want to lose something that's great...Look kids, I know I can't stop Mable from joining yuh on whatever wacky plan you got. Believe me, she's too much like me in a lot of ways. Just...Just keep her safe, and Dipper, please, in case I can't"
Riku and Max looked at each other and nodded
The three of them just sit down together in silence. Riku might not have had much of a connection with his own personal family, but Sora, Kairi, they were his family. He wanted to protect them and that turned into something selfish at first. Now, he just wanted to get back to them and apologize for so long.
"Hey look-" Max pointed to a corner of the bunker and saw one of those journals that Dipper was always talking about and picked it up, "Wonder what it says, let's take a look"
Riku sat down as Max opened it, and couldn't be much harm.
The image was that of several rushed and almost manic scribbles of "Do not Trust...Trust No one…." and in the center of it all a Triangle like creature with one singular eyes, two arms, two legs and a top at on tip, written underneath was the name ...Bill Cipher
"Yeesh," Max grimace, "Whose that"
Riku shook his head, "I don't know ...Hopefully someone Sora never has to deal with"