Chapter 45: The Rescue

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, shape or form.

Hey everyone! Here's the newest chatper! Should tie up this little arc and then we'll be off again.

I hope you all enjoy!

"What have I done?" Pinocchio whispered in horror. "What have I done? Oh, what have I done?"

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Using his father's leftover Gummi pieces to build a little raft so he could get to Pleasure Island and help Roxas and Xion and Axel. Only by the time he got to Pleasure Island, they were nowhere to be seen. There was a big bunch of icky thorns, and donkeys running all over the place. One of them had jumped into the ocean and Pinocchio had only just managed to pull him up onto his little raft.

Pinocchio and his new donkey friend had floated along the edge of the coastline. There weren't many spots where they could see what was happening. But there were lots of Heartless popping up—but Roxas and Xion and Axel beat them all up. It was really neat! But then the Coachman had shown up and even though they fought him, he kept getting back up. And he looked even bigger and meaner than Pinocchio remembered.

When the Coachman began to glow really dark, like a monster, Pinocchio had grabbed the shiny orange piece he had placed up in his hat for safe-keeping. It turned out to be one of those glowy cannon thingies. And when Pinocchio fired it, it blew up the entire area they were in.

Wood and stone and bricks flew everywhere and everything caught fire. And there was smoke everywhere too. And nobody was moving…

"I've killed them," Pinocchio said, grabbing the sides of his head. His hair didn't feel like hair anymore, it felt like painted wood. "I've killed them…"

Dwwoooooooollllll

"Huh?!" Pinocchio asked. His nose…it'd grown! It was nearly three inches long now! It hadn't grown in a long, long time. And it only grew when he told lies.

"Hee-haw?"

"That doesn't make sense…I saw it happen!" Pinocchio said. "I didn't tell a lie!"

Dwwwoooooolllll

Now his nose was nearly six inches long! Oh man…wait, could that mean? Pinocchio looked again, and there were people moving! Two little people who were still bigger than him—that must be Roxas and Xion!

"They're alright!" Pinocchio shouted. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

They were alright! Roxas and Xion were getting back up! And they were helping Axel up too—that had to be the really tall, skinny guy in between them. This was wonderful!

Wait…the Coachman was getting up again too…and he was even bigger than before! And he covered in dark fire!

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Pinocchio had never felt so scared in his whole life! Not even when he'd been taken away from his father by that meany Riku. Sora had rescued him back then—Sora was always so good and brave. And now his friends were in really scary trouble…

"C'mon Donkey," Pinocchio said. "I'm not sure who you used to be, but my friends need help!"

"Hee-haw!"

oooo

The dust from the explosion settled slowly and Roxas could smell singed hair and burnt wood and scorched stones. Every inch of Roxas's body ached, from his head to his feet. And his ears were ringing.

What had happened? The Coachman had been approaching them…and then…ugh. That explosion hadn't come from him. The Coachman had been blasted back and wasn't moving. Roxas held his hands to his head. Okay…he could still move his arms—that was a good thing. He got to his feet slowly. He was sore everywhere, but there was nothing that hurt extremely badly. So things probably weren't broken…probably.

"Xion? Axel?" Roxas called out. "Are you two alright?"

"Not bad, kiddo," Axel groaned. "I hit my head on something."

"Yeah…my head!" Xion piped up. She stood up slowly, on shaky legs. "Wait, Axel, let us help you!"

She walked gingerly through the broken rubble. A moment later, Roxas was at her side, helping Axel to his feet.

"Curaga!" Xion said, holding her Keyblade up. Roxas felt the reinvigorating magic pour through his veins. His headache lightened up and his vision cleared. He felt much stronger than he had just a moment ago.

"Thank you, Xion," Roxas said. He smiled at her and Xion blushed, her cheeks reddening.

"Axel, do you still have the wand?" Xion asked. "You had it last, right?"

"Here, kiddo," Axel said. In his hand, Axel gripped the long, thin wand that belonged to the Blue Fairy. "Let's get going. We're nearly home-free!"

"You're…not…going…anywhere."

Roxas turned around. Struggling to stand, was the Coachman…and he was larger than ever before! He had to be nearly twice Axel's height. Darkness poured out from a dozen cuts on his arms and chest. And in his hands, he still held the whip in his hands.

"You have something…that belongs to me!" The Coachman shouted. "You are all going to be destroyed!"

With every step, the Coachman grew steadier on his feet. He pulled his arm back and snapped the whip. The shockwave that it produced was powerful enough to knock Roxas, Axel and Xion all backwards. The wand flew from Axel's grasp and landed twenty feet away. Xion dove for it, only to be hit in the back with the Coachman's whip.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

Xion crumpled to the ground again, whimpering. Roxas's blood turned to ice in his veins. Xion was hurt. Xion was hurt…Xion was hurt. Roxas leapt to his feet and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. With a roar of fury, Roxas charged towards the Coachman, darkness pouring out from Oblivion, light shining from Oathkeeper.

"Come to me, troublemaker," The Coachman cackled, drawing his whip back again. "Let's see how you do!"

The Coachman snapped his whip forward—it sounded louder than a dozen cannons—and Roxas only just managed to dodge it. The whip was long, at least twenty feet. It was a wonder that the Coachman didn't get it caught on anything—there was tons of rubble. If he was careful, maybe he could get the Coachman caught on something, and then he wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

"Catch me if you can!" Roxas taunted. He twisted his wrist and sent Oathkeeper flying. His Keyblade radiated light as it soared overhead. The Coachman tried to knock it out of the air with his whip, but Oathkeeper shined all the brighter and the whip was jerked back.

Roxas drew closer to the Coachman. He had to keep him away from Xion and Axel. Axel was the one who still held the Blue Fairy's wand. If they could make sure Axel could get back to their rowboat, then the fight was over, even if the Coachman was still around. They could prepare for a counterattack, if they needed to.

"You're going down!" The Coachman snarled. Roxas was too close to the Coachman for him to use his whip, so the Coachman tried to punch at him instead. Roxas dodged the first two blows, but caught the third to the side of his head.

"Gotcha!" The Coachman shouted. His grip on Roxas wasn't nearly as tight as it'd been before. The Coachman's arm was shaking, whether from anger or injury, Roxas wasn't sure. But he wasn't being choked half as badly. Roxas struggled briefly and then held out his hand to call Oathkeeper back to him. His Keyblade appeared back in his hand and Roxas struck, hitting the Coachman right on the inside of his elbow.

"Yaaaaaaah!" The Coachman bellowed in pain and flung Roxas to the ground. Roxas skid as he landed and held his Keyblades out, ready to strike again. He glanced around—none of the hooded henchmen were moving. But Pete was shuffling away to a corner. As Roxas turned to face him, Pete pulled a semi-conscious Seifer to his feet.

"This ain't going somewhere I like," Pete said. "I'm outta here!"

He held out his hand and summoned a Dark Corridor. He nodded roughly to Seifer and led him inside the Corridor. A moment later, it closed, as if neither of them had been there in the first place.

"Traitors!" The Coachman shouted. "Lily-livers, the lot of you! And my men…my men…raaaaar! Fine! I'll do it myself!"

The Coachman charged towards Roxas. Roxas readied himself for the blow, but before the Coachman

Xion was standing there, holding a replicated whip in her hand. It was nearly four times as long as she was tall. But she looked furious and ready to use it all the same.

"Get away from my friend!"

"Rar!" The Coachman snapped. "I'll have your guts for garters, little lady!"

Snap!

"Yee-owww!" The Coachman howled in pain. He looked bigger than ever, more animalistic, but he was weakening. Roxas could tell the Coachman wasn't putting all of his weight on his right leg. Something must have hurt it very badly.

"Let's finish this, once and for all!"

Xion banished the whip and summoned her Keyblade back. Roxas held out Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Together, they began to strike at the Coachman, throwing everything they had at him. Balls of fire, bolts of lightning, waves of water and ice, beams of light—Xion switched from her Keyblade to her claymore to chakrams like Axel's, and back again. The Coachman staggered with every blow, but didn't fall. Roxas grit his teeth, what was it going to take to actually finish this guy off?

"I'm not going anywhere!" The Coachman shouted. "You can't stop me! I still have the fountain! I'll kill the lot of you and then the Blue Fairy will be right back where you all started!"

The fountain…

Roxas glanced over his shoulder as Xion parried a blow from the Coachman's fist. Sure enough, a good chunk of the mordite fountain was still there. And it was spitting out more green fire. He caught Xion's eye.

"Together!" Roxas shouted. He sent out beams of light from Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Xion responded in kind with her Kingdom Key. The three beams of light connected into one giant beam of light and blasted the Coachman straight into the remnants of the fountain.

"Gahhhh!" The Coachman choked. The green fire from the fountain began to glow black and the Coachman began to shrink in stature. His hair began to thin and his muscles grew smaller.

"Nooooo!" The Coachman shouted. "You won't see the last of me! Not like this!"

Roxas stared at the Coachman. His darkness was weakening by the second. There was no way he would be able to hurt them now.

"That's enough of that," Roxas said. He nodded at Xion. "Let's get out of here."

He took her hand and they both began to run. Axel was pointing Flame Liberator at the barrier.

"It's not working…why isn't it working?" Axel asked. "You guys beat the Coachman, shouldn't his spell be broken now?"

"Maybe there's another way around," Roxas suggested. He glanced at the Coachman. He was roaring in rage, but hadn't managed to get out of the fountain yet. But with the walls caved in in so many areas, there may be another way for them to get out. Roxas walked cautiously towards the edge of a broken wall.

"Over here!"

"Did you hear something?" Xion asked, walking up to Roxas. "I don't think that barrier's going down."

"Down here! It's me!"

"Pinocchio?" Roxas looked down, over the cliff edge. There, in the ocean, floating on a little raft, was Pinocchio, and one of the donkeys Roxas had set free.

"Come on!" Pinocchio called out. "Before the Heartless come back!"

oooo

"We've made it! We've made it! We're almost home!" Pinocchio shouted in glee. "Father will be so happy! And the Blue Fairy too!"

Xion's heart soared as they drew nearer to the coastline. She could see clearly the outlines of the buildings and trees all around. Roxas leapt off the raft, into the water, before they had even brought it to shore. Axel was a step behind him. Xion lifted Pinocchio up and off of the raft and then helped the donkey that had come with them. She wasn't sure if donkeys could swim or not, and she didn't want to take any chances.

"Let's go!" Pinocchio said. "It's nearly morning…the streets are gonna…get crowded soon."

But as he started to run, he stumbled and fell. And when Pinocchio tried to get back up, his legs wouldn't move. Xion knelt down next to him. Pinocchio was whimpering.

"What's happening?!" Xion shouted. "Roxas! Axel!"

"What is it?"

"I think…the Blue Fairy's magic…is almost gone," Pinocchio said. "I think I'm about…to turn back into a puppet."

"But we have the wand!" Roxas protested. "We can fix it!"

"I'm not sure…it can be fixed…" Pinocchio said. "Go…leave me here…the monsters might follow us…oh!"

"Not happening!" Xion said, scooping Pinocchio up. He didn't weigh anything. "Axel, can you—oh!"

"No time, kiddo. Leave it to me," Axel grabbed her by the arm and began running. So quickly, Xion's boots skid across the cobblestone path. Pinocchio dangled from her other hand. Beside them, Roxas ran, with the little donkey cuddled in his arms.

Kind of like when this all started…with Vivi and Seifer. Who would have thought that all this would have happened?

It wasn't a long way to the house Pinocchip lived in with his father, but having only been to this world the one time, Axel and Roxas had to double-back.

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

"Here! Here! I recognize this sign!"

They had arrived at Geppetto's house. Roxas opened the door and Axel ran in, only stopping to set Xion and Pinocchio down, before darting over to the Blue Fairy, who was paler and fainter than ever.

"What is happening?" Geppetto said, looking up from the table. "Oh my…oh my Pinocchio!"

"Father!"

Xion bent down, picked Pinocchio up, and then carried him to Geppetto. She set the little wooden boy into his father's arms. She didn't dare meet his eye. Not Geppeto's eye, not Jiminy's eye, not even the kitty Figaro's eye.

"Father…" Pinocchio said. "I missed you."

"Oh my Pinocchio…you're turning into wood!"

"I'm not sure…how much…longer…" Pinocchio said. "But Roxas…and Xion…they brought me home."

"C'mon, c'mon!" Axel said. "Blue Fairy, your wand! It has to work! You're all better now, right?"

The Blue Fairy lay, motionless, her skin grey, her hair like straw. Axel practically forced the wand into her hands. But nothing happened.

"No…no, it can't end like this!"

Xion's face fell. After everything they'd done, it hadn't been enough…

You're surprised? Don't be. You're a pathetic excuse for a Keyblade wielder. If Roxas and Axel hadn't kept having to save you, they may have been able to save the Blue Fairy, save Pinocchio…

No…that couldn't be true…she'd done her part. Xion bit her lip so hard, she could taste blood.

You're a monster. You helped Master Xehanort kill Kairi. And that got Sora killed too. To say nothing of what happened to the Guardians of Light the first time around. And you got Pinocchio turned back into a puppet. Because you weren't good enough. You will never be good enough.

"What the?!"

The entire room had filled with light, as bright as the sun. The donkey brayed in alarm. Roxas shouted something unintelligible, Axel said a word Xion wasn't allowed to say, Geppetto gasped and even Pinocchio cooed in surprise.

A moment later, the Blue Fairy was standing. She was tall and radiant. Her hair was a soft yellow, almost like a cloud. Her wings glimmered and she was smiling. She looked like an angel.

"Dear Pinocchio…you have truly proven yourself to be brave, truthful and unselfish. Your virtue exceeds beyond what I could have ever imagined," The Blue Fairy smiled, and with a wave of her wand, Pinocchio began to change. His wooden limbs became smoother…his hair became hair. He was becoming a real boy again.

"Father!"

"Pinocchio!"

"Hee-haw!" The donkey brayed happily, squirming out of Roxas's arms and began hopping up and down.

"Noble Keybearers, you've granted me a great service," The Blue Fairy said quietly. "Gentle Xion, brave Roxas, diligent Lea…for this, I thank you."

"Please, ma'am," Xion said. "It was the right thing to do…"

"Indeed," The Blue Fairy said. "While I regret to inform you that I know not what plans are now being devised by those the Coachman aligned, nor do I know where your friend Sora is. But I want you to know…that what you've done today will have a long-lasting effect throughout this world. Even now, I can feel the Coachman's wicked magic begin to wane, and his curses are reversing as we speak."

"Hee-haww…yeah, served him right!" The donkey said. "Hey…I've got my voice back! Pinoc!"

"Why, I never…" Jiminy said. "Not in all my days…could it be?"

"Beetle! How the heck are you!" The donkey was standing upright now. "I can't believe it…I can't believe it!"

Xion couldn't believe it either. The donkey…was turning into a boy. Maybe nine or ten years old. A boy with a coat and hat and red hair and buck teeth.

"If this isn't the craziest thing we've seen…" Axel said. "It's awful close to it."

"Lampwick!" Pinocchio leapt out of his father's arms and began wringing the older boy's hand. "You're back!"

"I'm back!" The boy—er, Lampwick said. "I'm back! Oh man, just wait till I see Mama!"

"Is this real?"

"It is indeed," The Blue Fairy nodded. "All over this world, there are boys regaining their humanity. The Coachman's reign of terror is over. Lampwick, I will escort you to your mother. I believe there are many other boys who will need to be bought home."

"Home?" Lampwick whispered, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Home!" Pinocchio squealed in delight.

"Home…" Xion mustered to herself.

She felt Axel place a hand on her shoulder. She leaned against his arm. Axel…Roxas…home…

A/N: Another chapter done, my dearest readers! I acknowledge that this was much shorter than the last one, but in actuality, this was originally planned to be the last half of Chapter 44.

Like I said, I can't resist a cliffhanger. And I'm also a colossal sap.

Thank you for reading, my dearest readers! Leave a comment if you're so inclined. Please, tell me what you think! I appreciate each and every one of you!