Chapter 42: The Island
A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Company. This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way.
Hey everybody! I know the last chapter was quite a bit shorter than before, but I hope having another chapter be uploaded so soon will help to mitigate things.
So here we are, my dearest readers! Read ahead to the adventures that Roxas, Axel and Xion will have on the most tempting locale that is Pleasure Island.
Well, it wasn't a steamboat, but Pete had to admit there was something familiar in being on the Coachman's ship and then the island. It suited him a lot more than all the running around the forests and mountains. Pete appreciated boats. On a boat, every man was his own man. Every man was a king. Unless you were a cabin boy, but hey, the world needed them too. And even with the ship docked in port, Pete could see three pipsqueaks in a teeny-tiny rowboat. Only it was going much faster than any rowboat had the right to go.
"They're coming," Pete said. "They'll be here any minute."
"Blast it all!" The Coachman snapped. "The curse isn't fully-set. The Blue Fairy's weakened but we still need more time!"
Pete glanced over his shoulder at the approaching rowboat. Three pipsqueaks, one of them pretty big…yep, the Roxas kid and Axel and whatshername, Xion? Pete scowled. The Roxas kid was way tougher than he looked. And of course Xion was back—the Keybearers were like cockroaches. The harder you tried hit them, the harder they hit back.
"They're Keybearers," Pete shook his head. "They always smash the World Order into little pieces, wherever they go."
"I've never actually fought Keybearers," The Coachman said. "But I do know how to corral children."
Pete nodded slightly as he walked up the slope. It was long and windy, the kind that stood up strong against all the rain and winds. It didn't get pushed around by nothing. Pete respected that kind of sturdiness.
At the top of the slope, there was another path. Off to the side, Pete could see an entire section fenced off, where a half-dozen little donkeys were running around and crying.
"Let us go!"
"I wanna go home!"
"I want my mama!"
Huh, talking donkeys. Now there was something you didn't see every day. Even if you were in the trade.
"I told you all to shut up!" The Coachman snapped. He yanked a whip from his belt and began slashing it at the donkeys. "All of you, jackasses! You boys had your fun, now you get your due!"
"You mean to say…" Pete said. "That them donkeys is…"
"Yeah, they were boys…once!" The Coachman grinned and his face began turning red. For a moment, it looked like his eyes and ears were growing too. "But they'll never come back as boys! They'll never see their mommies and daddies ever again! They decided to be bad so I'm giving them what they deserve!"
The Coachman gave a hearty laugh and stomped away. Pete stared down at the little donkeys, who were trembling and tripping over each other.
"Youse better be quiet," Pete warned. "If ol' Ezekiel Wolf gets wind that you can talk, he'll be that much more likely to eat you up!"
That only made the donkeys cry harder and Pete shook his head. Being nice was a big fat waste of time. He looked around—there were tons of crates with little signs that said stuff like Salt Mines and Circus and Quarry. Huh, is that where other little donkeys got sent to? How long had the Coachman been doing this sort of thing?
Pete stomped his way up the slope. The Coachman owned the whole island. And right in the middle of the island, the very center, everyone else was gathered around a fountain. It was kind of like the old days, back in Hollow Bastion.
Maleficent had constructed the fountain that spat out green fire instead of water. And instead of stone or steel, the fountain was made out of that icky metal mordite. And the Blue Fairy's wand was stuck right in the middle. It was burned on one end. In a few more hours, the wand would be destroyed and every bit of the Blue Fairy's magic would be undone. But a few hours could be a long, long time. Especially with shrimpy Keybearers.
"They're coming," The Coachman spat. "My men and I can spring a trap on them, but it's gonna be chancy to get a decent one built in time. And there's three of them, to boot!"
"That will not be necessary," Maleficent said. "Our last encounter with these Keybearers resulted in a near-capture…they will be expecting a trap."
"She was too captured!" Pete whined. "I tied those knots good and tight! It's not my fault she got loose!"
Next time, if he caught that little Keybrat, he'd tie her up, gag her, and then open a Dark Corridor and toss her inside. She'd never be able to get out of that. Or give her back to Doctor XXX for his experiments. One or the other.
"Alright, forget the capture. We'll handle it with force. If I can," The Coachman said, "I'd love to turn 'em into jackasses. The big one especially would fetch a fine price in the mines."
"Leave the smaller ones to me," Seifer growled. "They're mine. I didn't get half the pound of flesh I was owed."
"Fine by me," The Coachman shrugged in a would-be casual way. Pete didn't believe it for a second. There was definitely something screwy about this one. "I've never been one to let a debt go unpaid."
Pete scowled. The Coachman was all about taking bad little boys and turning them into donkeys. If Seifer wasn't careful, he'd end up in the pen with the others and darn it if it wouldn't serve the little thug right.
"If it's a delay in time you need," Maleficent said. "Then allow me to be of assistance in this as well. Ha!"
Maleficent raised her staff and the orb glowed green fire. Thorns began sprouting up, all the way down the path.
"Huh," Pete said. "Not bad, but I think we're gonna need a bit more muscle. There's three of them, after all."
He punched his fist into his hand and then spread his arms out wide. Heartless began emerging. Drawn off the darkness. This was more like it. It was almost like the old days. He was Captain Pete, and these were his crewmen. There were some Shadows and a few Darkballs and a couple of Invisibles.
Good, but not good enough to stall three Keybearers for very long. Pete growled as he thought about them. They'd beaten him up and ruined his firecrackers and made a whole lot of trouble for him. And that brat Xion, she was gettin' awful friendly-like with the King. Grrr…he despised the King. The goody-two-shoes King and the Queen that banished him from his world for no good reason. Pete could feel the darkness building inside him.
More Heartless began to appear. Most of them weren't really much to show off of—a few of those whispy Search Ghosts and…oh, now there was something. Something new…something big! The Heartless was kind of boxy-looking, with legs that were real jointed up, like they'd been carved from wood. The legs and the body were brown-ish, with yellow hooves and a yellow tail. And it had wings, kind of bat-like. And its head and chest were red, with a white helmet-y thing. It looked like one the donkeys the Coachman had been keeping fenced in.
"Now…that's more like it, huh," Pete said. "I'll call you…Devious Donkey…now, all of you, go and get them Keybrats!"
oooo
Pinocchio felt like he was going to throw up, and he definitely didn't like that feeling at all. Not one wee little bit. He felt like crying too, but all his tears were dried up now.
Father had cried himself into a fitful sleep and from the horrible, terrible news. And the Blue Fairy was sort of sleeping, sort of not. She talked a little and cried a little, but mostly she just groaned, like she had a bad, bad headache. She looked even worse than he had, back when he and Father and Cleo and Jiminy and Sora, Donald and Goofy had all been swallowed up by Monstro. That mean boy Riku had hurt him, and Pinocchio had ached all over. He hadn't been sure that he was gonna make it. He sure hoped the Blue Fairy was gonna make it.
Pinocchio didn't understand how this could have happened. Nothing could hurt the Blue Fairy! She was the nicest, prettiest, smartest person in the whole wide world! With really nice magic—it wasn't as neat-o as that one old wizard who had lived in Traverse Town had done, but without the Blue Fairy's magic, Pinocchio would just be another toy on Father's shelf. Why would anybody want to hurt her?
She said that the Coachman had done it. That didn't make much sense. The Coachman was big and mean and scary, but why would he want to hurt the Blue Fairy? Did it matter why? Why did it matter that Stromboli had wanted to use him to make lots and lots of money? Or Foulfellow and Gideon wanting to trick him all the time? What mattered is that they had been doing bad things, and they should stop. Or if they didn't stop, then someone should stop them. That's what Roxas and Xion were doing now! Stopping the bad guys!
But what if the bad guys knew they were coming…what if they caught Roxas and Xion and Axel? What if the bad guys locked them in cages so they could chop them into firewood?! That'd be the worst thing ever!
Roxas and Xion…they had funny names but they were very nice. As soon as they realized there was trouble, they had wanted to fix it. They reminded Pinocchio a lot of Sora. Sora was the neatest person that Pinocchio had ever met! He fought all sorts of monsters and helped everyone he met and he was nice and smiling all the time. Sora had helped Pinocchio and his father so, so much…there had to be something Pinocchio could do to help Sora and his friends.
Hmmm….well, there was one thing, but it was real, real dangerous. Back in Traverse Town, Father hadn't carved many clocks or made many music boxes. There just wasn't that much wood to go around, which was pretty sad, since there were a lot of people who could have used a music box to listen to. But Father hadn't stopped building at all. Father had built things—things that were bigger than clocks or music boxes. He had built Gummi Ships.
Big ships and small ships, fast ships and slow ships. Wonderful ships that could go through the night sky, between the worlds, among the stars. And a lot of them had weapons to blow up the Heartless into a million pieces! Father hadn't needed to build Gummi Ships in a long, long time…but…
Pinocchio checked to make sure that Father was still sleeping. He still had some of his old Gummi parts down in the cellar. Pinocchio had used to help his father in the shop, building the ships. There was one that Pinocchio had actually designed all by himself. It had been shaped like a birdie. Mister Leon had said it looked like a Chocobo, which is what Pinocchio had called it. The Chocobo wasn't around anymore, but Pinocchio still remembered what it had been like building it.
He crept as quietly as he could, which wasn't easy, because his feet were made of wood. But he could still sort of tip-toe…all the way down to the cellar, where Father kept some old Gummi Blocks. The Blocks weren't much really—none of them were big enough to use on a proper Ship. But they could be used as tools, probably. There were some red ones and some yellow ones and some little white ones that had been too small to use as wings.
Pinocchio grabbed as many of the pieces of Gummi as he could carry. Bits from wings and bits from armor and…hmm…the one that went wee-woo wee-woo. He had to be very careful not to drop anything…did he have enough pieces? Maybe just a couple more…he could fit that one in his hat!
"Meow!"
Oh no! Pinocchio turned his head around—that was something that was actually kind of nice about being made of wood. Figaro was staring at him at the top of the cellar stairs.
"Shhhhhh! Be very, very quiet, Figaro," Pinocchio said. "I'm…on a super-secret mission…"
Pinocchio began walking—he had the steps memorized so even turning his head around wasn't a problem. He nodded his head at Fiagro and slowly walked outside. He knew his way to the docks from here. He could help Roxas and Xion and Axel! He'd better hurry, before it got too late!
oooo
At Jiminy's instructions, Roxas, Axel and Xion had found a little rowboat and had taken it towards an island off the coast.
"This is Pleasure Island?" Roxas asked as they reached the shoreline. "It's…different than how I expected."
Xion took an uneasy step onto the island. It was alright…it wasn't like the other island, where Doctor XXX had kept his own castle. There wasn't a bridge that fell apart as you walked across it; there was a path. A regular path, a trail really, that led up the cliffs. That didn't make her feel much safer, but at least the ground didn't tremble under her boots.
You're not in his laboratory. You're safe. And now you have to make it so that others can be safe.
Xion let go a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She could do this. Yes, she could do this. It was simple…just find the Blue Fairy's wand and fix it. Smash whatever horrible thing was hurting it. They could do this…she could do this. She had to.
"Jiminy?"
Jiminy leapt off of her shoulder and shuddered so badly, Xion could see him shaking. It almost looked like he was trying not to panic.
"I thought I would never, ever have to come back here," Jiminy said. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any good memories of this place. None at all."
There were thorns…huge, thick thorns all the way up the trail. Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, but when he sent out a beam of light, nothing happened. The thorns didn't yield. Xion frowned as she summoned Kingdom Key. Tightening her grip, she pointed her Keyblade at the thorns.
"Roxas, fall back! Fira!"
The ball of fire erupted from her Keyblade, crackling in the stillness of the night, but when it hit the thorns, it dissipated as if it had never been there at all. Xion frowned and cast another spell, but it still didn't work. What was she doing wrong?
"I recognize these," Axel muttered. "Magic's not gonna work on them, kiddo."
He summoned Flame Liberator and then twisted his wrist, to switch to his chakrams instead. Axel slashed at the thorns and began cutting them away. Slowly, the thorns began to fall away.
Roxas and Xion nodded at each other and turned their Keyblades against the thorns. It was hard, just slashing at them, but it did seem to work better than anything else. But Xion still felt more than a little afraid.
Why were the thorns here? It's gonna take forever to get rid of them all…unless…they know we're coming. They set up these thorns to slow us down on purpose! Or maybe, distract us…
Xion turned around as fast as she could and sent a beam of light from her Keyblade. It blasted two Darkballs away and struck a Neoshadow down. But there were loads more Heartless coming.
"It's a trap!"
It was twisted, in a way. By making them focus just on the thorns, it would have made it that much easier to ambush them! And there were loads of Heartless—Xion could see Shadows and Neoshadows and a couple of Invisibles with long swords…and something she had never seen before. It looked almost like a horse…and it was huge.
"Jiminy, you gotta hide!" Axel said. "Can you get behind us, under the thorns?"
"Oh my goodness! Oh my gracious! Oh me, oh my!" Jiminy scurried as quickly as he could past them, squeezing under the thorns. A couple of Heartless—Search Ghosts—tried to follow, but Roxas cut them down with Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The Heartless fell back in line. Xion grimaced. These Heartless were smarter than usual.
Roxas took a step forward and flicked his wrist, sending Oathkeeper spiraling towards the Heartless. It slashed two of the Shadows and cut down an Invisible before returning to his hand. Axel sent out a wave of fire, consuming the Darkballs and the other Invisible. Xion could feel the heat radiating from the flames.
The Heartless seemed to congregate behind the largest one—it almost looked like a horse…with bat wings. It reared up and stomped its hooves on the ground. That one might be a little tough. Xion held on tight to Kingdom Key, its familiar warmth a comfort.
"Yikes!" Jiminy said. "Get away!"
Whether they couldn't hear him or else weren't intimidated anyway, the Heartless didn't pay Jiminy any mind. The horse-like Heartless charged forward, as if it wanted to drive Xion and her friends into the thorns—she could feel a prick at her back.
"Thundara!" Xion shouted. "Get back!"
Bolts of lightning erupted from her Keyblade, zapping the last two Shadows away, but the Heartless horse didn't yield. Roxas sent out a burst of water, which mixed with one of Axel's fireballs became a current of steam, but that didn't work either.
"C'mon!" Roxas said. "You can do better than that!"
Xion grit her teeth. She was trying! She really was trying and she didn't appreciate Roxas talking to her like—oh wait, he was talking to himself, wasn't he? Roxas leapt forward and with both of his Keyblades slashed at the Heartless. It bucked up again, but that just gave Roxas an opening.
"Firaga!"
The dual-wielded fireballs merged into one massive fireball, blasting the Heartless. Xion could smell the smoldering of scorched stones and saw a pink heart float up, up, up into the sky. The Heartless had been slain, its heart freed to return to…well, actually Xion wasn't entirely sure where the hearts they had been releasing ended up. Kingdom Hearts? Or the Final World? Well…that was something she'd have to ask Master Yen Sid someday.
"Nice one, Roxas!" Axel called. "Now…about these thorns."
Axel began slashing at them again, and although he was working really hard, it really wasn't working all that well. Xion's insides squirmed. There wasn't much time left…who knew how long it might take them to cut away the rest of the thorns. And they could still be ambushed by more Heartless. Or by Pete, or Doctor XXX, or whoever else Maleficent had working for her. And even if they weren't ambushed, they'd all be really tired from chopping up the rest of the thorns by the time they got to the top of the slope. They'd be that much easier to capture.
Xion bit her lip. She had been worse than useless when she'd been captured. Tied up and punched in the face and then Seifer cut her neck to get her necklace off…Xion gripped her necklace so tightly, her knuckles turned white. Her stomach did a somersault. Jiminy leapt back onto Axel's shoulder as he cut away another vine of thorns. Leaping…wait a moment, that was it!
"Guys!" Xion said. "I've got an idea!"
She took a deep breath and charged towards the stony wall. She thought hard, back to the Graveyard, where Sora had run up and down the walls of the labyrinth. This was about the same thing as what they had all done in the Land of Dragons. To float through the air and move through the sky.
"Duh!" Roxas said. "Why didn't I think of that?"
He crouched down and pushed hard against the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Xion could see the magic radiating off of Roxas as he flowed up above the thorns. A moment later, Xion could feel herself falling…a bit too fast. Her magic was wearing off. She looked down and felt her stomach leap into her throat. She was right above a very wide stretch of thorns—thorns that looked as if they were reaching up for her. Xion screamed and pressed herself against the wall as quickly as she could. She felt more magic propel her higher into the air, but her shoulder ached from the sudden impact.
That was too close. If I had fallen…
Xion shook her head. She couldn't let herself get distracted now. She had a mission to fulfill. Save the Blue Fairy…atone for what she'd done to Sora and Kairi…and the little turtles too.
Finally, finally they were reaching the top of the slopes. The thorns were still there—if anything they were much thicker near the top than they had been at the bottom. Xion wasn't sure how they would have been able to cut through them without magic.
Xion landed as gently as she could. The ground was firmer here under her boots than it had been at the shoreline. She smiled at Roxas as he landed. Axel was right behind him and he reached out a hand to ruffle her hair.
"That was clever, kiddo," Axel said, running his fingers against Xion's scalp. "You might have just saved the day."
Xion leaned into Axel's hand. She liked it when he ruffled her hair. But…no, they had to concentrate. They still didn't really know what they were facing.
"Jiminy, where to next? Where does the Coachman stay?"
The little cricket leapt off of Axel's shoulder and began looking around. He was still very tense.
"I do believe that the Coachman is—"
"Help us!"
"Please!"
"Somebody!"
"I want my mama!"
Xion's blood turned to ice. There were more people here. Children…little kids, crying for their mothers. Oh no!
"Jiminy, we need to help them!"
"We need—oof! That's what I've been warning you about!" Jiminy said. "That's not just little boys crying for their mothers. They're little boys who've been turned into donkeys!"
In a pen at the far end of the slope, Xion could see four or five little donkeys all trying to get out, crying. Occasionally, one of them went "hee-haw," but it was mostly voices.
"There…there has to be something we can do," Xion whispered. "I'm a Keybearer. It's my job to…"
"It's your job to fix the worlds!" Jiminy said. "Now, I don't like it, not one wee little bit, mind you, but I don't think there's anything that can be done for those boys. We have our mission—we need to help the Blue Fairy, or do you want Pinocchio to be turned back into a wooden puppet for good?"
Xion bit her lip. She didn't want that. Of course she didn't want that. How could Jiminy even think that for a second?
I need to help Pinocchio. I need to make up for the evil I've done…but I can't just leave them…
"Oooh…" Xion bit her lip. Surely, it wouldn't be more than a moment's delay in getting the donkeys free. But…it wasn't the mission…and they could always come back for them. After all, a Keyblade could open any lock. Before she could stop herself, Xion raised her Keyblade and aimed it at the pen. But before she could do anything else, two beams of light soared over her head and struck the door. She turned around—Roxas was standing with Oathkeeper and Oblivion glowing in his hands. Xion felt her ears grow warm as Roxas smiled at her. The donkeys scurried out, bleating pitifully. .
"Alright then, we need to hurry! C'mon, this way," Jiminy said, running as fast as his legs could carry him. "If I'm right, the Coachman and his men are up ahead."
oooo
"My donkeys!" The Coachman shouted. "My donkeys are getting loose! Why that little! That cost me money!"
More than money—those little jackasses could still speak like little boys. If one of them were to somehow get to shore, his entire operation was sunk. The Coachman grit his teeth so hard, he could hear them chip. Oh, he would get them. He would get both of them—that little rotter with the two Keyblades and that bratty small one. The big one he would take and turn into the biggest and wildest jackass of them all. The Coachman hadn't traveled to other worlds, but he wasn't stupid. He was well aware of that dastardly Organization—all the scheming and lying and sneaking and killing. It warmed what little remained of his own heart.
"Those two lamers never did know when to quit. I keep telling Maleficent we should kill them, instead of playing cat-and-mouse. I want them to suffer. I want what's mine."
The kid, Seifer, wanted to hurt the two runts. That suited the Coachman just fine. So long as he could have first wack of them. His bullwhip hung loose at his belt. It was a tricky tool to use in a regular fight, but the Coachman was too filled with hate to care about how tricky it might be. It wasn't as if he hadn't had plenty of practice. He was going to show them, he was going to show them all.
He glanced at the fountain that the witch Maleficent had constructed for him. Green fire flowed out instead of water. It was made of a metal called mordite. The Coachman had heard the legends of it—metal that sapped life away. And it was just what he needed to put the Blue Fairy down. Oh, he hated her. Always butting in when it wasn't her business. Always trying to steer people away from what was coming to them. What was that she was always saying? You must be honest, brave and unselfish—pah!
It had been child's play, to lure the Blue Fairy into his trap. He owed Seifer one, for being able to play the part of a lost little boy who just wanted to get home. But once the bait had been set, the stupid fae had waltzed right in, her own nature being her undoing. It served her right, as far as the Coachman was concerned.
The truth of it was that people were bad. Especially little boys. They lied and cheated and stole and scammed. They talked back to their parents and didn't mind their teachers and played hooky and they drank and smoke and chewed and smashed things. Darkness was the heart's true essence—that was what that man had told the Coachman so long ago. There was darkness in every heart, even the Blue Fairy's. Them little boys were only doing what was natural.
And if the Coachman got them to go to what they were naturally inclined to do, then why shouldn't he punish 'em? No good little boys ever came to Pleasure Island and nobody ever escaped either, 'cept the one little wooden boy, Pinocchio. He remembered it well—the receipts had been off, and the names in his book were unchecked. He'd been short a donkey. Nobody ever escaped Pleasure Island except for that one blasted puppet.
How long ago had it been? A year? Year and a half, maybe? Those two tramps, Foulfellow and Gideon, had gloated about the teeny little sack of gold they'd gotten for selling a talking wooden puppet to that gypsy Stromboli. The Coachman scowled to himself—those two crooks wouldn't know a real opportunity if it bit them on the nose. Convincing them to throw their lot in with him had been child's play. He'd been at this game for longer than anyone else in the world had been alive. He had made a king's fortune ten thousand times over.
"C'mon, this way!"
They were coming…oh, yes. They were coming. And once again, the Coachman had perfect bait in his trap. The fountain of cursed metal sapping the strength of the Blue Fairy, undoing her magic, taking away her life. Really, they didn't even have to kill the Keybearers. Stalling them long enough would do the job just fine.
The Coachman snapped his fingers, and his men, his goons, his crew stepped forward. They were handpicked, across the centuries, though the Coachman had long since forgotten their names—hah, he couldn't even remember his own. But they were diligent workers to be sure, and they all had whips of their own.
"Get ready, men," The Coachman said. "We got three trespassers coming right this way."
His men, loyal to the end, nodded in sync, just as he had trained them. They had their orders: Capture the largest for, well, anything really. But a donkey that large…it'd be well suited for his own coach. It'd be perfect, really, the oldest Keybearer, the one who bore the sins from the Organization, having to live forever with the failures of leading bad little boys to their doom. Bind the smaller two, break bones if you have to—they're to be held for Maleficent and her followers to do with as they saw fit.
Seifer held his own sword out. The Coachman took a few steps to the left. The boy's fire burned as hot as Hell, but his stance was absolutely awful. The Coachman was no swordsman himself, but even he knew that a poor stance was as likely to get him or one of his men hurt than one of the Keybearers.
"They're coming," Seifer growled, sounding more like a wolf than a boy. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
The Coachman scoffed. That kid didn't know the meaning of the words "long time." How long was his grudge against the Keybearers, a year tops? He'd been nursing his own hatred since the stars separated in the sky.
oooo
Roxas had to admit, he didn't like this at all. They were walking into a trap, and knowing it was coming didn't make it feel like any less of an ambush. Frankly, it felt a lot like the stories Axel had told about the Keyblade Graveyard. Xehanort had known the Guardians had been coming to face him and had set a trap—Axel couldn't remember what had happened exactly, only that whatever went down had been really, really bad.
Roxas could still hear the braying of the little donkeys he had let loose. They hadn't just been braying. They'd been talking, like regular kids. Pinocchio had said that his friend Lampwick had been turned into a donkey…could one of those donkeys have been him? The Blue Fairy was in grave danger, with her magic reversing. But maybe, if they helped her, they might be able to reveres the curse. Putting the Coachman in his place—reversing his magic…that could help a lot of people.
As they rounded a corner, Roxas nearly stumbled. Jiminy was standing in the middle of the path, clutching his hat. Ahead of him, Roxas could see…a carousel? With a smashed up dome. And there was a Ferris Wheel too—only with most of the little carts broken. Had that been done deliberately? Or had it been from a storm?
"Pleasure Island…it's an amusement park?"
"Not just an amusement park—every sort of mischief you can think of is done here," Jiminy spluttered. "Why, there's no telling what sort of danger might be here."
Roxas frowned. Jiminy had been here before. So yeah…he would probably know best about where to go.
"But where's the Coachman? And where's the Blue Fairy's wand?"
"I'm not sure…I know that that little building there is a pool hall. Billiards and darts and all sorts of games that kids shouldn't play."
Roxas's frown deepened. He played darts with Hayner and nothing bad happened…Hayner had a bit of a temper, but it wasn't bad! Nothing like Seifer! And what was…what was billiards, anyhow?
"Now Xion," Jiminy said. "You saw some of the magic Maleficent was using before, right? Is there anything that looks familiar, even a little bit?
"I…um…I…er…I'm…I'm not sure," Xion stammered. Her face reddened. "I…I'm sorry."
You've got to stop apologizing for stuff, Xion. It isn't your fault. You're wonderful. Why can't you see how wonderful you are?
"Now, don't you go apologizing!" Jiminy said firmly. "There's no need for that sort of talk now! Chin up—you can't be crying, we'll be fighting before too long!"
"I—yes, sir."
"Sir?!" Jiminy said. "Nobody's ever called me sir, before!"
"Quiet!" Axel hissed. "I hear something—there! At the far end of the park! That big stone building with the green windows!"
"Jiminy, was that there before?"
"I…I don't think so…" Jiminy said. "I…I think that might be it."
Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. He wasn't going into a fight unprepared. Jiminy leapt up on to Xion's shoulder, and patted her cheek gently. Roxas nodded at Xion and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She smiled weakly back at him and together they began walking forward.
Roxas paused as they stepped closer. His new jacket was nicer than his Organization robes, but he felt a chill up his spine. That was…different. The closer they got, the worse the chill got. Roxas could see his own breath as they got to the building. As they walked in, Roxas could see a large, black fountain. A narrow white wand stuck out of one of the faucets. Instead of water, the fountain poured out green fire.
Roxas took another step forward when he felt something grab him from behind. A large hand tightened around his neck and he began to choke. Roxas strained to see a very large man glowering at him, with white hair and glowing green eyes.
"Hello…children."
A/N: And there we have it, my dearest readers! The adventure gets going! Thank you for reading, my dear, dear readers!
Please, leave a comment if you're so inclined! Tell me what you liked! I appreciate each and every one of you!
