Chapter 53: Tublat and Tremors
A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. I do not own Tarzan or Pellucidar or John Carter, which is the property of Edgar Burrough's estate. I do not own Dresden Files, which is the property of Jim Butcher. I don't own…a lot of other stuff.
Hey everyone! I'm jumping right back into the thick of things now. Hope you all are well. I'm doing quite nicely all things considered.
A note on this chapter—apparently, I misremembered how Chief Keewazi spelled his name. It's "Keewazi," not "Kewashi."
oooo
Basuli and his father, Chief Keewazi, led Roxas, Axel and Xion through the village they called home. The village was smaller than any of the other towns they'd visited so far on their travels. The houses were made of clay, but it didn't look like they were the same sorts of bricks that made up their own house back in Twilight Town. The houses were smaller and the roofs looked like they were made of a mixture of straw and thick leaves from some of the trees—really, they looked more like huts. There were more people than it looked like the village could have held though. There were some men carrying fish and women tending fires and a bunch of small children running all around. Roxas noticed that Abby and Ian had already started to play with them.
"Usula is the eldest and wisest of all Waziri," Basuli explained. "If there is any who knows the true root of what is going on—what might have led to your arrival in the first place—it is he."
"I thought we had that figured," Axel pointed out. "The lines between life and death have crossed. That's why that giant snake showed up, even though Tarzan killed it already. We just need to find out where this is happening and smash the bad guys."
"Yes, that is true," Chief Keewazi said. "But Usula also knows this jungle better than anyone, even Tarzan. And he has had his share of experiences fighting those who align with the dark. It would be…prudent to hear what he has to say, Keybearer."
Axel closed his mouth and Roxas had to agree that that was a very good point. Even if they knew, more or less, what they were fighting, knowing who Maleficent had gotten to join her this time seemed like a good idea.
After another minute or two, Basuli stopped walking, right in front of a particularly large hut. Chief Keewazi held up a hand in front of Roxas.
"This is where Usula lives. He's ready to see you now," Chief Keewazi said. "Listen to everything he has to say."
"Yes your Majesty," Roxas nodded—Chief Keewazi's eyes widened slightly. Apparently, he wasn't used to being called that. But it made sense to Roxas—a chief was more or less a king, if on a considerably smaller scale.
Roxas crossed the threshold, Xion and Axel a step behind him. The hut was fairly barren. In the center of the room, one of the oldest men that Roxas had ever seen stood, hunched over. He had dark skin and white hair and beard, much like Keewazi, but he was nearly bald. He was very thin. Usula.
"Roxas…Xion…Lea…" The old man, Usula, said. "The Keyblade's chosen ones…"
Roxas blinked in surprise. They hadn't introduced themselves yet. Could Usula read minds? Or maybe Usula could communicate with animals like Tarzan and a bird or monkey had told him.
"Do not be so alarmed. Chowambi gave me your names when he first ran ahead of your party to let us know of your arrival," Usula said, with a chuckle. "Though I do admit, I had an inclination that Keybearers would soon be visiting us some time ago."
"Er…right," Roxas said, scratching the back of his head. "Er…well…we're here, sir."
"Yes, you are," Usula said. "And it is very good that you are here…the barriers between life and death have been torn."
"We knew that already, sir," Axel said. "That's why our master sent us here in the first place."
"Ah yes…Keybearers serve a Master. Tell me," Usula said. "I know that time passes more quickly for denizens of my world and things may be more different than I realize, but who is the Master you serve? Many years ago, when I was considerably younger than I am now, and Keewazi was but a boy a few years your junior, we met a Keybearer by the name of Eraqus. He was a Master, searching the realms for potential students to raise. It would please me very much to know that Eraqus was able to find students."
Roxas startled. Eraqus had been the name of the Master who taught—raised—Terra and Aqua and Ven. As he understood it, Eraqus had been beaten by Xehanort…and then he'd come out of Terra's heart right after Sora had beaten Xehanort once and for all. Eraqus had gotten Xehanort to give up and then they had vanished into Kingdom Hearts…but whether or not that was his place to say, he wasn't sure. Eraqus hadn't been his Master—strictly speaking, none of them had Masters unless you counted Master Yen Sid, and Roxas wasn't sure Master Yen Sid did count since he didn't use a Keyblade anymore.
"Er…Eraqus found students," Axel said, speaking before Roxas or Xion could. "And one of them is a Master in her own right now. We're not her students exactly…we're self-taught. We serve a man named Master Yen Sid. But Master Aqua's shown us a few pointers, from time to time, and we've fought together."
"So there are more Keybearers now….that is most certainly a good thing," Usula said. "I watched, over the years, as more and more stars went out. Worlds that fell to darkness….one by one…I had heard the stories of the Heartless from Master Eraqus and I feared that our world might be next."
Roxas thought about his memories, or rather, Sora's memories. He hadn't spent that much time here, compared to worlds like the Caribbean or Olympus, but Sora had fought Heartless here. And the Heartless had been led—or maybe they'd been leading—a man named…
"Clayton."
Roxas glanced at Xion, who was holding her hands tightly together. She hesitated when Usula looked at her. She swallowed hard.
"The Heartless were led by a man named Clayton…but he's gone….isn't he? If the lines between life and death crossed…could Clayton come back?"
"I do not know," Usula said. "I never knew of this Clayton. His mad quest for wealth led him to parts of the jungle where Waziri do not go. We stick to the riverside, you see. And I also know that in the last three years, when the stars started to reappear, when the worlds were restored, that the threats did not stop. There are always those who seek to spread darkness…"
Roxas and Xion ducked their heads. How much did Usula know, truly, about other worlds? Did he know about the Organization?
"I know that something happened…this would be nearly five months ago, now," Usula said. "At least by our time, I known not how long it would have been for you. Something that shook the foundation of the worlds' entire."
Roxas bit the inside of his cheek. That would have been the Keyblade War…and Sora using the Power of Waking…and fading away into nothingness.
Sora…
"And this event…whatever it was, has caused divisions between the lines of life and death," Usula sighed. "And there is one, I fear, who has taken advantage of this. An ancient evil…La."
"That's what Tarzan was saying," Axel said. "That there's someone called Queen La—who's also supposed to be dead."
"Yes…" Usula said. "Queen La of Opar…she is a most dangerous foe. She lived…more than a thousand years ago. She sought out power and magics that were best forgotten. She was willing to kill any who opposed her or displeased her. And she sought to become immortal. She even learned how to send her spirit into the bodies of others and use them to sustain her own life."
Xion made a teeny noice of distress and Roxas felt as if the air in the hut dropped twenty degrees. Queen La could put bits of herself into others…
Like Xehanort…
Roxas placed a hand to his chest. He could feel the beating of his own heart, slow and steady. And his. Completely and utterly his—his heart belonged to himself and nobody else. But what had it been like for Xion? Truly? To have a piece of Xehanort's heart piercing inside her? Directing her actions, forcing her to do horrible things against her will. Most of her sense of self had been nestled safely inside Sora, but she still had the scars. Her and Isa and Even and Terra…
Roxas grit his teeth. His own heart had once been inside Sora's, to the point where it had nearly completely merged within Sora. Sora had never meant him harm—had never meant anyone harm, but still. Roxas had flickering of his own sense of self, at times, but only flickerings…was that what it was like for someone who La took over?
Roxas couldn't imagine what Maleficent had in mind if she were recruiting Queen La…but that didn't mean a thing to him. He'd destroy La, permanently.
oooo
Tantor dipped his trunk into the river slowly. One could never be too careful. Even if the water was sanitary, there could be any number of small fishes that might be swimming about. It wouldn't do at all to accidentally drink up a fish. It could get stuck in his trunk! And that would be painful and embarrassing and painful and unsanitary in itself!
Still, there was nothing quite like nice, refreshing water. Especially after having traveled all the way to the Waziri village. Though Tantor had to admit that it was a little odd. It normally took an entire day to travel to the village from the area of the jungle he called home, but there was still plenty of daylight left.
Tantor stretched his legs. He'd had to carry an awful lot of supplies today. That wasn't new, of course. It was his job to carry things for his friends. He was the biggest and the strongest of his friends and he liked carrying things. Big things and little things and round things and square things and things in boxes. Tantor liked being useful.
And carrying things for the Professor and Missus Tarzan was how he was best useful. Everyone knew that he was no fighter at all, no sir. Fighting was something Tarzan did. And Tantor wasn't Tarzan, no sir!
Tantor turned around and saw one of the strangers looking up at him. The girl who had stumbled into the clearing during Story Time with Abby. He'd carried her to Professor Porter's camp so she could get her leg fixed up. Remarkable thing really—it had healed much more quickly than it was supposed to. She had shiny black hair—darker than a panther's—and blue eyes. She was smiling at him. Oh…that was a very nice smile. Oh, yes it was.
The girl said something, speaking in a soft voice. Tantor couldn't understand human language—Tarzan and Missus Tarzan and the Professor and even Ian and Abby all spoke Gorilla and Elephant—but if she was speaking softly, then the strange girl probably wanted this to be a secret. Well, it'd be an easy secret to keep since she didn't speak Elephant. The girl said something else and patted Tantor gently on the trunk. Her fingers were soft against his trunk. Huh? Was that her way of saying Thank you? There was no need to keep that a secret. Huh…humans could be strange sometimes.
There was a rustling in the shrubs to the side and Tantor felt his blood grow cold. A monster had followed them to the Waziri village, he knew it! It would be one of the moving shadows, right?! With big claws and beady eyes! Or something with fangs! Or something filled with poison! Oh no, oh no, oh no!
Danger! Danger, danger, danger! Beside him, Tantor saw the girl glance into the jungle. Her eyes narrowed, like Tarzan's did right before a fight. Oh no, oh no! There was going to be a fight! There was going to be a fight! The Waziri village was filled with women and children and old people who couldn't fight!
"Mister Tantor! Mister Tantor!"
Wait, that wasn't a monster! Monsters couldn't talk at all. That had to be…
"Jabari? Is that you?"
The little elephant burst through the shrubs, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. Jabari trumpeted—a teeny, tiny toot of a trumpet—and looked up at Tantor, his eyes wider than Tantor had ever seen them. Poor little guy was terrified of something.
"What is it, Jabari? What's the matter?"
"My father went mad! My father went mad!" Jabari stomped one of his little legs again. "My father's gone mad, Mister Tantor! Where's Mister Tarzan?!"
"What?!" Tantor gasped. "You don't mean to say that he's gone rogue do you?"
Bad, bad things happened when an elephant went rogue. He lost all sense of self, any sort of higher thinking. The ability to talk. To feel pain. Mabaya was the only rogue elephant Tantor had seen in ages, and he was so far gone, he could barely be considered an elephant anymore. It was really quite sad.
"No, not rogue!" Jabari shook his head really fast. "My father's gone crazy! He's all mad and shouting and he wants to find Mister Tarzan and hurt him!"
"What?" Tantor gasped, and he heard more rustling. Could Baruti be here already? "But why? Baruti would never—"
"Oh, yes he would! But we got bigger problems than just that!"
"Terk?"
Terk jumped from a branch down to the ground and looked up at Tantor. She looked frantic. Tantor hadn't seen her look this worried in ages. Not since…
"There's a monster in the jungle! More than one this time! Where's Tarzan?"
"Monster?" Tantor blurted. "What do you mean monster? One of those scary Heartless?!"
"No! Worse! The veloci-thingies from Pellucey-wherever! They're back! A whole pack of them!"
A velociraptor?! From Pellucidar?! One had been enough to prey upon leopards! What could stand up to a whole pack?! Oh, this was the very worst thing that could ever have happened! Oh, they were surely doomed now! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!
Tantor fainted. On top of the strange girl.
xxxx
"It was an accident! I'm just glad it wasn't me this time!"
"Terk."
"Hey, I'm only saying, he usually squishes me!"
Tantor awoke very slowly. Oh, he'd had the worst nightmare. That horrible snake Hista had shown up and even though Tarzan and Mister Markham had managed to kill it, they still had to leave the valley. Which meant no more Story Time with Abby and a bunch of horrible monsters. And they had gone to the Waziri village, where Terk had shown up and said that velociraptors from Pellucidar had escaped.
Now, that was a silly thing to be afraid of, now that he was awake and thinking clearly. He and Tarzan had moved an enormous boulder over the crevasse that led into Pellucidar. There weren't any dinosaurs that could move it and there was no other way into or out of that horrible place.
"And you're certain that you saw a velociraptor, Terk?"
That was Missus Tarzan's voice. She was so nice…and helpful…and she made Tarzan so, so happy. And…oh no…no, no, no….
"I've never been surer of anything, Jane! I saw what I saw when I saw it!"
"Ooooh….it wasn't a dream, was it?"
Tantor opened his eyes and stood up slowly. Tarzan and Jane and Professor and Terk were all standing around him. Beyond them, Tantor could see little Jabari and the strange girl…who he had squished. She was standing with her family—the boy with yellow hair and the man with red hair. The man especially had very strange hair—it was spikier than even a baboon's mane.
"Oh dear…did I hurt her?" Tantor asked. "She seems so nice."
"Oh, Tantor," Jane patted his leg. "You didn't hurt Xion, no need to worry."
"And Jabari?" Tantor asked. "What about him?"
"He says his father started acting very angry, all of a sudden. But he also says that he was attacked by a human boy, about the same age as Roxas and Xion…near Opar."
Opar?! That meant Queen La and her Leopard Men. Who were so dangerous, they still gave Tantor nightmares and he hadn't been there in over a year.
Tantor felt his heart pounding in his ears. Things were truly dangerous if it meant Queen La might be back. Oh, he had heard Tarzan talk about it. But to hear it from Jabari?! Oooh…he didn't feel so good.
Tantor fainted again. This time on Terk.
oooo
Baruti felt his heart pounding in his ears as he stared at the strange creature. Every smaller animal in the vicinity had fled. The creature snarled a challenge.
You cannot allow such a foul creature to best you. It is an unnatural thing.
Baruti trumpeted in rage as the strange creature lunged at him. Covered in scales, it was smaller than a crocodile and had claws that were more like a leopard's. It most closely resembled a monitor lizard, though much, much larger than any Baruti had seen before. And no matter how many times Baruti knocked it down, it got right back up again. There were six of them now…there had only been one at first, and then two more, and then three more had come from the bushes. Baruti slammed his legs down to make these creatures back off.
"Get away from me!" Baruti bellowed. "I will not allow any of you to harm any elephant in this jungle!"
The creature snarled in his face and Baruti slapped it with his trunk. He would not tolerate this. He would not, he would not, he would not. He would not be disrespected. There was nothing in the jungle that was mightier than an elephant! A single elephant was powerful enough to knock down trees and reroute rivers. He would show these creatures his power! He would not be intimidated!
"What awful animals," Jamila said, shaking her head in disgust as . "They're almost like snakes."
These creatures were like snakes. Sneaking around, striking at good, self-respecting animals. Pah! Baruti hated snakes…and leopards…and crocodiles…and anything else that had to eat meat to survive. If plants were good enough for elephants and rhinos and hippos, then by golly, it should be good enough for every other creature in the jungle.
Destroy them all…you should be the one who rules this jungle…you are the mightiest…
That was…that was right. Why shouldn't he rule? He was an elephant, wasn't he? And he came from the savannah, didn't he, where he had fought lions! Creatures three times the size of leopards who hunted in packs! He was as large—if not larger—than any of the other elephants who lived here. The only one who truly came close to him in size was Tantor, who was barely an elephant in any way that counted. Tantor was a coward and spent far too much time living with humans and apes. Elephants were greater by far than any primate. Primates were weak and had to rely on tools to complete anything—a human might take an entire day to chop down a single tree if it had an ax. An elephant could knock down a tree in a manner of minutes!
"I am an elephant! The greatest of all jungle creatures," Baruti shouted. "I will not be treated like this by…whatever it is you are!"
The smallest of the strange, scaly creatures snarled in Baruti's face again. Baruti slammed it against a tree. It howled and began to try to get away, but it couldn't. It couldn't do anything unless Baruti willed it to be so. He was the strongest! Far, far stronger than any of these strange lizards. The scaly creature kicked at him with its claws, but those were not a match for his tusks.
He dropped the scaly creature. It didn't get up. It wouldn't get up ever again. There were still five others though. He would show them. He would show them all! There was nothing mightier than an elephant, and he was the mightiest of all elephants!
"Get away, you icky…thing," Jamila swatted her trunk at another of the creatures, scolding it as if it were a misbehaving child. Like the runty little monkey that was always tagging along after Jabari—why Jabari seemed to think that thing could be his friend, Baruti had no idea. For a timid child, Jabari was far too trusting for his own good. But Baruti would set it right. Together with his wife, Jamila.
"There's something really, really wrong," One of the gorillas wailed, like an oversized child. Baruti had nearly forgotten they were there—the two cowards hadn't the sense to flee when the creatures had shown up. Stupid old monkeys."Where's Tarzan when we need him?"
"You don't need some hairless freak of nature, some human," Baruti snapped, charging towards one of the beasts. It snarled but backed away slowly. Baruti bucked his head and the creature leapt backwards. Good. It should know its place.
"We're here," Jamila said. "There's nothing stronger or smarter than an elephant, you know. You monkeys should really be following us, instead of a human. Tarzan can't do half the things that Baruti or I can."
The two cowardly gorillas looked at Baruti and Jamila and then at each other. They were thinking about their allegiances, no doubt. It looked like it was very hard work. But then, just as Baruti thought they would see sense that he should be the leader of the jungle, that he was the most superior, they turned and fled. Leaping from branch to branch, from vine to vine. Monkeys, so fixated on living in trees. Baruti turned his head just in time to catch one of the scaly beasts on one of his tusks. Blood splattered all over Baruti's trunk and face. The creature screeched as it realized it was going to die very, very soon. Jamila yanked it off of Baruti's tusk and tossed it aside. The beast fell and much like its brethren, it no longer moved.
"Rooooaaaarrrrr!"
The largest of the beasts had leapt up onto Jamila's back, tearing into her with its claws. Baruti's wife, his beloved Jamila, screamed in pain.
The creature was larger than its fellows—as big as a lion, if not larger. Baruti trumpeted in fury and yanked it off his wife, but another took its place almost immediately after. And the one Baruti was holding now, tightening his trunk against, was cleverer than the ones he and Jamila had killed. With a slash of its claws, Baruti felt fiery pain erupt in his trunk.
"Yeeeeee-aaaaahhhhh!"
He shook his head rapidly. Oh, it hurt! It burned! And the scaly creature fell from his grip, but he could hear it screeching and snarling. It wasn't dead yet. He stomped his foot and bucked his head against a tree. And there was more screeching…and screams of pain from Jamila.
"Aaaah!"
Baruti's head had started to clear. Three of the scaly creatures were attacking Jamila at the same time…one of them had bitten down onto her trunk. And she didn't have tusks to protect herself either. Another leapt onto her back, tearing into the same wounds the largest had inflicted. The third lashed out at her leg, biting at her knee, sinking its teeth into her calf.
Jamila fell. And then all four were upon her. Baruti trumpeted again and charged. He was the strongest. He was the mightiest. All must know his power…He ground one of the beasts into the ground. Its yelps of pain and distress were…almost delightful. He stomped on it again and again and again.
Show your strength…your power…you are better than any of these creatures. You are an elephant.
Baruti trumpeted in triumph. The scaly beast—whether it was monitor lizard or crocodile or something else entirely—had long since quieted its screams of protest. Even the crunching of its bones had quieted to nothing. He was truly stronger than it could ever hope to be. Baruti turned back to Jamila. She…hadn't gotten up.
Jamila lay on her side. Her legs were bent and twisted. Her trunk had been bitten off, an ear ripped nearly in half. And there were deep wounds in her back and stomach. Her eyes stared out into nothing…and her wounds grew larger as the remaining three creatures tore into her flesh. Baruti saw red and he bellowed. Louder than he ever had before.
Everything must die for this betrayal.
oooo
A gorilla…of all things a gorilla. How on earth was Pete gonna catch a gorilla and bring it to Queen La and Maleficent? Gorillas were a lot bigger—some were almost as big as he was. And they liked living in groups. Could be tricky to try and grab just one. It was always better to go for a straggler or try to divide up a herd and pick 'em off one by one. Gorillas weren't like that, really. They spent all their time together.
Pete scowled. He didn't like this at all. Not one wee bit. He wanted to help take down them Keybrats. The discord arrows Eris had shot at the elephants had been a start, but Pete hadn't gotten a chance to see what would happen. Come to think of it, what if he ran into one of the rampaging elephants? Gah! But Maleficent had said he'd be rewarded for this, so he'd do it.
He pushed a low-hanging branch out of his way. It whipped back and hit him in the face. Ye-ouch! That hurt! He'd show this stupid ol' branch a thing or two! Pete grabbed the branch and snapped it off and then stomped on it.
As he walked towards a big mountain, Pete came to an area that…was clear. And not just a bunch of grass or a waterfall or a bunch of termite mounds. This place was clear in a way that wasn't normal. It was all sandy, but this wasn't like the sand at a beach or by a river. Pete knelt down and scooped up a handful of sand. It smelled…kind of ashy. Like from a barbecue…but that was stupid. Who'd have a barbecue big enough for this place. It had to be hundreds of feet across. Ashy…and it all came from that mountain over there…hmmm…
Pete took another handful of the ashy sand. Could be useful in a way. If he caught one of the Key-brats, he'd throw the sand in their face. That'd be real funny! They'd be too busy crying and wiping at their eyes to fight him and then he could capture them and take them to Maleficent instead of a stupid gorilla. The rope he'd bought at the trading post was itching to be used, but good. Roxas and Xion. That wimpy shrimpy Sora's Nobody and…well, he wasn't sure what Xion was. A Replica, but she looked more like Sora's girlfriend Kairi. Gah, Keybearers were confusing!
Pete dug some more and…oh, something shiny! A diamond! That could be worth quite a bit of munny! And there was another diamond and another and another! Alright, now this was saying something! Nice to get something for his efforts for once! For all ol' Pete did for Maleficent, he didn't usually get anything to show for it. And this paid for his rope probably twenty or thirty times over. With a few more diamonds, he might even be able to pay for a new boat!
"Grrrrr…."
Something was growling…eh, no biggie. Pete was as big as most gorillas and he remembered from a book report his kid had done once that gorillas didn't have any predators. He wasn't sure how true that was—PJ had been a pretty lousy student even when he didn't have that Goof kid holding him back. But Pete was tougher than any lousy lion or bear or anything else that might live here. He seized a fistful of diamonds…he'd be able to buy himself a really nice boat if he kept this up.
"Grrrrrrrrrraaaaarrrrr…"
Huh…something with a big shadow was standing over him…and getting in the way of his diamonds!
"What's the big idea?" Pete snapped. "Just who do you think you…are?"
A gorilla…a really big gorilla. The biggest gorilla that Pete had ever seen! Bigger than the one back home—more years ago than Pete cared to remember, ol' Mousey had built himself a robot to fight a gorilla in a boxing match. But this one put that shrimpy monkey to shame. The gorilla was as twice as big as he was. Ugh…what the heck had happened to his eye? It was all shriveled, like someone had squeezed it shut.
And the fangs…this gorilla had the biggest fangs Pete had ever seen. Big enough to give you one heckuva nasty bite. But Pete was no coward, no sir! He wasn't the least bit afraid of some smelly gorilla. He reared back and slammed his fist into the gorilla's face. The gorilla snarled and slammed against him. Pete leapt back. The gorilla snarled again and charged towards him.
Pete was sure that it wouldn't hurt too much to take a hit, if it let him get a better angle at taking the gorilla on. He was wrong. The gorilla plowed into him like a wave…and yeee-ooocuh! That was his hand! The big, stupid gorilla was biting on his hand! Pete reached out his free hand and jabbed the gorilla in its good eye. The gorilla roared in pain and Pete used the opening to take a few big steps back.
"Ah ah," Pete said pulling out a small sphere. He crushed it in his hands and grinned as the barrier erupted between him and the gorilla. "Nice try, but ol' Pete's invincible."
The gorilla glared its good eye at Pete and then reared back and slammed into him. Yeee-owwww! Pete was knocked back, and because he was protected by his barrier sphere, he wound up bouncing around and rolling like a ball. Ugggghhh…that gorilla was gonna pay for that.
Pete took out another sphere and smashed it to make his barrier go away. The gorilla rounded on him, slamming its hands to its chest. Pete raised up his fists. If this stupid gorilla wanted a fight, then he'd give it a fight. He'd kick it to the curb and smash it to pieces. He'd rip out its good eye and chew it up and spit it back out.
The gorilla snarled at him again and Pete punched it in the face. That didn't seem to phase the gorilla much though and Pete took a step back. He had lots of magic spheres to use as weapons against this big ol' gorilla. But first…he had to make sure his diamonds didn't get messed up.
"Over here, you big fat monkey," Pete taunted as he backed away from the hole he'd been digging. "Or are you as stupid as you look?"
It probably didn' do much, yellin' at a gorilla like that. It wasn't as if it were a person. It couldn't talk. None of the animals in this world talked. It was just a big, stupid monkey with really big teeth and a bad eye…say, come to think of it…
The gorilla charged at Pete again, but he was ready with a big, heaping handful of the ashy sand. He threw it into the gorilla's face and it bellowed, pawing at its eye with a gigantic hand. Pete cackled and pulled several spheres out of his pockets. They were effectively portable Fire and Aero spells. Smash 'em together and you had yourself some real good explosives.
"Fire in the hole, Monkey Man!" Pete chuckled as he chucked the spheres towards the gorilla. It blinked stupidly just as the explosives went off. The result was a fireball twice as tall as the gorilla and it was knocked back. It didn't get up again but as Pete ran over to check to make sure the gorilla wasn't dead, he could see it was still alive. And ha! The explosion had made a bunch more diamonds get pulled up from the earth too! Pete was gonna be rich!
xxxx
Pete hated gorillas. He really, really hated gorillas. The big, fat, ugly, one-eyed gorilla was really stinkin' heavy. Lugging him around was worse than pulling up anchor by himself. Maybe when he got himself his boat with the diamonds, he'd hire a crew to work it for him. But he'd need to make sure they would do as they were told. Last time he was captaining a steamboat, that lousy little mouse had done barely any work at all.
Through the ashy sand and the jungle and some cliffs and more jungle…gah…he was getting tired. And now the stupid temple in Opar…up one stair…and then another…and then another. When he was finished with this…eh…forget steamboat, Pete was gonna get himself his own island all to himself. That little shrimp Sora lived on islands, didn't he? Or at least he did, back when he was alive…
Opar was even tougher to get around in than before, since the Phantom Blot and the Doctor XXX had started building some traps—what was that giant net for? It wouldn't do any good on a Keybrat who would just set it on fire to get out of it if they got caught. Ughh, he better make sure that the Phantom Blot hadn't taken any of his own supplies. Frankly, Pete thought the city itself was plenty confusing enough to get around and there were lots of rooms and statues to hide behind so they could sneak attack any Keybrat they needed to.
Finally, Pete managed to drag the stupid oversized gorilla into the temple where Queen La was waiting. No sign of Maleficent though. La smiled…looking a lot like a leopard. Or a wolf. Whatever. Pete was too tired and sore to care.
"Ah…the one they call Tublat," Queen La said. "You've done well…this is the largest and mightiest of all the gorillas in the jungle."
She raised her staff and glowing green light shot out of it. It went all the way around the big gorilla—Tublat? What a weird name. Tublat stood up on his back legs like a regular person. It didn't look very normal to him, but he had to admit, it wasn't as weird as that civet-thingy. Tublat blinked his good eye slowly as he woke up and looked around.
"What's going on? Where am I? A human?!"
"Yes," Queen La said. "Hello, Tublat. I am Queen La, Ruler of Opar."
"I don't care what you rule!" Tublat snarled. "I don't care that I can understand you. You're human! You're just another runt to me!"
"Another…ah, that's right," Queen La purred. "I understand that you want Tarzan's blood. I can grant you the power to do so…"
"I don't need any…wait, you want to help me get the runt?" Tublat grunted. "I do like the sound of that."
This sounded an awful lot like what they had said to Muviro to make him join up so he could get the chance to kill that Basuli guy. Come to think of it, where was that guy anyway? And that not-dead-anymore Russian Rokoff? Pete shook his head. If the the Phantom Blot was setting his traps, then that probably meant the Keybrats would be here soon…hopefully he could get a nap in before they got here.
oooo
It had not been particularly long since she had led the way out of the subterranean realm, but Maleficent had no time for rest. Nor any desire. She had left the Phantom Blot to his own devices—he sought to set snares for the Keybearers and gorillas alike. She would let him have his frivolity. It hardly hindered her and the delays in freeing one another from his traps could very well prevent the Keybearers from interfering with her plans. Such confrontation was part of their nature, but if she could ensure victory without the interference of those meddlers, she would most certainly take advantage of it.
She walked on, pausing only to turn to the side, behind a tree, and avoid detection from a very large, rampaging elephant. Ten or twelve feet tall, the elephant's red flesh contrasted sharply with a glowing green energy in its veins. Maleficent's eyes narrowed as she smiled.
As Maleficent had expected, Eris had spread discord amongst the elephants…most excellent. And with the seizure of civets and gorillas to join leopards as La's foot soldiers, to supplement the Heartless that she would summon, it meant that almost everything was in place for Maleficent. The elephant would begin to attack humans indiscriminately and with the fool Tarzan's edict that no animals be harmed in this jungle, there would be none to stop its rampage. Blood would flow and hatred and darkness would grow all the stronger. More Heartless would be attracted to this world and it would fall into her grasp.
She walked silently through the jungle. Neither blade of grass nor stone nor twig shifted under her feet. Maleficent knew her way around jungles. Forests, moors, jungles, they were all the same to her. They were the natural environment of the dark. Shadows were produced from every tree. It was curious, in a way, that Heartless were generally so rare in this world. But even in this quiet realm, darkness lurked within every heart. Maleficent walked on, pausing occasionally to change direction. It would not bode well if she were to alert her enemies to her presence, though with the monsters she'd set forth, surely they knew she was here.
Maleficent was less than a mile from her target. Already, she could see the bioluminescence…the guardian of this jungle was entirely predictable. A being that radiated light and mossed the power to heal others, the Silver Ape was possibly second only to the Princesses of Heart in terms of Light. At least among mortals. And like all who served the Light, Mangani had no sense of self-preservation. Even though he surely knew that leaving his home unprotected would leave him at his most vulnerable, he would still go out to try and heal others.
If her forces were at all competent, there would be enough injured and weakened souls so that Mangani's efforts would be stretched all the thinner. And Maleficent would take down this world…from the very core. Pellucidar and Deep Jungle…such a curious binary. Pellucidar was a realm caught in an age millennia upon millennia upon millennia gone by. Maleficent had lived in days long past, but Pellucidar was something she had never seen before, in all of her travels. The power it offered was unspeakable…
She drew closer…at last, she was here! The hollow tree where the Silver Ape lived. It was not the largest of the trees in this jungle—indeed, there was one tree in this world that was simply incredible, as it was really dozens upon dozens of trees that had grown amongst each other. But that was not her purpose…and that anomaly was mere of interest to those who had a head for botany and dendrology. Maleficent had eyes only for the tree that housed the one who could heal.
And of course, there was no sign of the Silver Ape. As she drew closer, Heartless began to emerge. Drawn by her own darkness…her steadfast soldiers. Shadows and Powerwilds and Bouncywilds. A dozen Sniperwilds came forth and took to the trees. Maleficent drew her staff and sent out green fire. Needle-thin, it began to kill all the plant life it touched as soon as it was summoned. From behind her, Maleficent heard birds begin to sound alarms, only to be silenced by her summoned Heartless.
The tree began to smoke and creak as her green fire consumed it. Maleficent grinned…she could feel the power begin to ebb away from this world. Magani would be weakened all the more. She would gain his power for her own.
The earth began to shake, pounding like thunder. All creatures feared such tremors. Even the Heartless began to duck around more cautiously, the Shadows fading into the ground. Maleficent stood, undeterred. More fire erupted from her staff and the tremors grew more powerful. Cracks began to form in the ground and trees that had stood for centuries toppled over.
Maleficent began to laugh, high and cold. She would have her way in the end. A crevasse emerged in front of her, as large and as deep as the one the fool Tarzan had thought a boulder made sufficient cover. Another gateway to Pellucidar had been formed…this one directly over a tremendous volcanic mountain. This world would be destroyed in the very near future.
The thought delighted her.
oooo
Renard Dumont checked his pocket watch for the thirty-second time in the last two hours. It was maddening, the quiet. The British vessel that had housed Doctor Doyle and Ian had departed south some time ago. There would not be an American vessel for three more days but that was not the quiet that Dumont minded. The dread growing inside his belly, despite it having only been a day,
"And what did Tarzan say when you told him about these strange poachers?" Dumont asked as he paced around his trading post. Hugo and Hooft looked at each other and then back and him and shrugged.
"Not much, this time," Hugo said. "But he thinks that those strangers might be…well…witches. He said something about Queen La?"
Dumont grimaced. Oh, yes, he remembered the stories of Queen La. Apparently, at one point, Jane had been taken over by La's spirit or soul, or something of that sort, and turned him into a monkey—er, gibbon.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Hooft said. "How much or how little can happen in a day? I remember once, in the Legion, I saved another soldier from drowning and harvested sixteen fruit trees and—"
"That wasn't you, Hooft," Hugo said, crossing his arms. "That was Tarzan. And it was last week."
"Ah, let me have my fun, Junior," Hooft argued. "It's not like it's hurting anything. Besides, you'll see—Tarzan will get this all sorted out. There's nothing to worry about. Nothin' at all, no sir!"
Bang!
What in blazes? Dumont bit the inside of his cheek. Hadn't he told his men a dozen, a hundred, a thousand times that no animals were to be harmed in the jungle? But did they listen? Gah!
"Manet!" Dumont snapped, as he stormed out of the main shop of the trading post. "What do you think you are doing?"
Manet was trembling where he stood. In front of him was a creature the likes of which Dumont had never seen before. It was about the size of a baboon, but its head was much more like a cat or a mongoose. Oh, blazes. What were those creatures called again? Cavets? No, civets…but they lived in trees and left humans almost entirely alone. And they walked on all fours besides. No reason at all to shoot one…but then again, Manet's arm was freely bleeding from a dozen scratches. Some of them were quite deep.
"Monsieur," Manet said, his voice quivering. "I haven't seen anything like that before. It attacked me, it did, for no reason."
"Well…it…never mind. Get your arm cleaned and bandaged, now. No fret, Tarzan understands that sometimes you must defend yourself," Dumont grit his teeth. "But at the same time…let's not have him see anything he doesn't have to see. Hugo, Hooft, dispose of this creature's body. Toss it into the sea—the sharks and the eels will make short work of it."
Hugo and Hooft were good friends with Tarzan and they weren't normally ones to keep things from him, unless it directly involved their efforts to get rich as quickly as possible. By having them dispose of the civet's body, Dumont could ensure their cooperation and quiet. It was a pity though…civets ate termites and millipedes and other little varmints that made keeping his trading post running difficult.
Dumont began pacing again. It was difficult beyond belief to try and keep calm. For the life of him, he didn't understand his trepidation. Tarzan had tangled with any number of aggressive beasts and more men than Dumont bothered to keep a count of. Then why was there this overwhelming tightness in his chest? Why were his palms so uncharacteristically clammy? Why did Dumont feel as though he was being watched, and not by his own men? Why did—
Slam!
Dumont hit the dock with a thump and gasped as he saw an enormous elephant slash at him with its trunk. Dumont knew of only one elephant that frequented this region—Tarzan's friend Tantor. And this most certainly was not Tantor.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Hooft shouted. "Bad elephant! Bad elephant!"
The elephant ignored him—Dumont recalled that Hooft and Hugo had some grasp of an ability to communicate with some of Tarzan's jungle friends, but that was clearly English. Dumont slowly got to his feet—Hugo darted over to help him up. Dumont took a step forward and pain shot up his leg, like a thousand needles of fire. The elephant trumpeted, so loudly, it made Dumont's head ache. And then…
Smash!
"He's destroying the trading post!" Hugo gasped. "Our home!"
The elephant used its trunk to rip open a window and then slammed the frame over and over. The wall splintered and the elephant began scraping at it with its tusks. The first wall caved in…followed almost immediately by the roof. The hut they used to dry meat and fish was destroyed.
Another of Dumont's men, Pierre, ran at the elephant, with a long pole and hook in his hands. The elephant yanked the pole away and then slammed it against Pierre's head. He fell down and didn't get back up.
"We need to get out of here!" Hugo said. "Something's very wrong!"
Hooft ran to Dumont's other side and together, the two led Dumont to his steamboat. The elephant had smashed down another beam from a building—the one that Dumont and his men used for a barracks of sorts, it hadn't been nearly comfortable enough to be considered even a dormitory. With its improvised weapon, the elephant knocked down another wall, shattering windows and tearing down walls. It bellowed its rage at any who dared defy it.
"It's gone rouge!" Hooft shouted. "Just like that Mabaya that Tarzan warned us about last year! There's no stopping it!"
Manet, his arm still bleeding freely, aimed his shotgun at the elephant. Dumont turned his head. He had no desire to see this. There was two gunshots, one right after the other, an inhuman, thundering roar, and then a blood-curling scream. And then a splash. Manet had been tossed into the ocean.
"We're nearly there, sir!" Hugo called, just as the elephant slammed against the main shop that made up the trading post. Wood splintered and bottles smashed and then lanterns began to ignite….
"We're here!" Hooft said as he and Hugo tossed Dumont onto his small steamboat. Pain shot up his leg again and Dumont swore violently in French. "Start the engine! Start the engine!"
"I'm going as fast as I can," Hugo said. "But…what about the others? Pierre and Manet? We can't just leave them…"
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Splash!
Pierre had once again tried to fight off the elephant, only to be tossed aside. This time, instead of tossing his challenger into the sea, the elephant had tossed him further down the dock, where the steamboat had been kept. And…oh! Manet was swimming towards them too…his arm red as fire, his face pale as a ghost. Hooft heaved them both onto the boat, only to be knocked down himself by the river's churning. There was a mighty thump against the bottom of their boat…Dumont prayed it wasn't a crocodile.
"Raaaaaaaaaarrrrr!"
"Hurry up, Hugo!" Hooft shouted. "Baurti's coming this way!"
The elephant trumpeted again, just as Hugo began loading coal into the furnace. Blast it…they would never make it. Unless…
"The explosives!" Dumont shouted. "I kept a box of explosives for emergencies…that confounded elephant missed them in its rampage."
His leg crying out in protest, Dumont lunged for a small box he kept on the steamboat. It contained a flare gun. He loaded it and aimed. The elephant had turned its attention back to them.
"Aw man, hurry, hurry!"
"I got it goin', I think!" Hugo said. "Ah, there we go! Hooft, take the helm! Take the helm!"
"Raaaaaaaarrrrr!"
The elephant trumpeted, so loudly, it was as if the earth was shaking. Oh, hell, tell him the earth wasn't shaking!
"Earthquake!" Hugo and Hooft shouted in unison. The elephant reared up onto its hind legs and smashed it back down. It charged towards them, its tusks dripping with…was that blood?
"Shoot!"
Dumont pulled the trigger of his flare gun. The incendiary soared overhead, right into the box of explosives that the elephant was charging by.
The resulting explosion knocked Dumont back again. He cried out in pain, but he couldn't hear himself over the booming of the explosives or the roaring of the elephant or the tremendous thundering that was the earthquake's tremors…
Finally, blissful sleep took him…blissful, wonderful sleep…he would at long last be away from troubles.
oooo
"What really gets you is that you know the trouble's coming, and that there's nothing you can do to stop it from getting here," Terk said. "I never liked waiting for stuff to happen with the Professor's experiments, but let me tell you, this is way worse."
"I'm not sure about that, Terk," Tarzan said. "I think that we should take this moment of peace for what it is. Peace."
With a small smile, Tarzan watched as Abby and Ian acted out a story to some of the youngest children in the Waziri village. The two children with Keyblades, Roxas and Xion, were sitting with them, looking as attentive as the smallest Waziri. It wasn't a story Tarzan was familiar with, about a teeny little man named Tom Thumb. But it kept them all busy. After Terk had burst through the trees, telling everyone about the dinosaurs, Tarzan had gotten Basuli to keep all of the children within sight of the village. But the risk of danger was still present…Terk was right after all. The waiting was bad.
Velociraptors…of all the things to worry about. Tarzan wasn't surprised, exactly. Not with Hista sneaking about. But the velociraptor was incredibly dangerous. Far more dangerous than a leopard. And the idea that there were more than just one this time was alarming.
"Terk," Tarzan asked. "What about the rest of the family? Are they safe?"
"I don't know," Terk admitted. "I ran here when I saw those raptors. I think Moyo went to warn Kala and the others."
"You don't need to worry. I sent them away, to the nesting grounds."
Tarzan looked up and saw Moyo climbing down a tree. He had a cut on one of his arms and looked very tired.
"Ah, see?" Terk said. "I knew Moyo would handle things! That's a good man, er, gorilla!"
"Tarzan, there's more trouble than just that," Moyo said. "I didn't get this cut from a…you said it was called a velociraptor? And I didn't get it from one of the elephants either, though that wasn't for lack of trying from them—Baruti and Jamila have gone mad. Almost like when there was that ringing."
Moyo shuddered and Terk flinched. Tarzan nodded politely. About two years ago, Dumont had built a radio tower. The tower had produced a very low frequency ringing that had driven the animals of the jungle into a frenzy. They hadn't known what was causing it or how to make it stop.
"They say that a human attacked their son," Moyo grit his teeth. "And that they want him to be held accountable. I understand that sort of anger, but it is wrong for them to direct it at you Tarzan. You are not the leader of all the humans who live in this jungle."
"Yeah, the little guy was saying the same thing," Terk said, waving her hand. "He's right over there, if you're wondering."
"Wait, so if Baruti didn't hurt your arm," Tarzan asked. "Then who did?"
"I am not sure…it was a creature I've never seen before," Moyo shook his head slowly. "It looked something like a civet, but it stood on two legs, like a man. But it definitely wasn't a human."
"Awww," Terk slapped her forehead. "For crying out loud! First it was the Heartless and Clayton, then it was Hista, then it was elephants going rogue because of some bratty kid near Opar, then it was the veloci-thingies, now you're telling me La's back too?! Are we ever gonna get any peace and quiet in this jungle, ever again?"
"La?" Moyo asked. "I do not know who that it is. But I don't think you need to worry about Kala and the others yet. I sent the family to the northern side of our nesting grounds. We haven't rested there in a few months. That should buy you some time Tarzan. Our family will be safe."
"For now…but how long are they going to remain safe?" Tarzan sighed. "Thank you, Moyo. You've been a big help."
Moyo nodded but before he could say anything else, Tarzan heard a rumbling, almost like thunder. But the sky was clear from clouds—the sky darkening was coming from the setting sun, rather than rain or wind.
"Is that a train?" Moyo asked. "The strange…boat…that moves on the metal trails?"
"That's not what those are called," Terk said. "Ah, never mind, it's close enough. But it doesn't sound like…yaaah! EARTHQUAKE!"
No sooner had she said this than the ground began to shake and bounce. Moyo and Terk began to screech in fear. Tarzan saw two Waziri children duck under a stone bench. Ian grabbed Abby's hand and led her to a door frame—they stopped to pick up a very small child as they ran by. With a mighty smash, a tree toppled down, knocking over several barrels filled with fish. The villagers were organized in their fleeing, ducking under more benches—though several braced themselves against the fallen tree. Over the pounding of the ground, Tarzan thought he could hear Tantor running around in a panic. The pounding and shaking grew louder and more violent and soon Tarzan couldn't hear Tantor any longer. It felt as if the land itself were splitting in two…and then it stopped.
"Everyone alright?"
"Xion!"
oooo
Roxas could barely breathe. Xion lay on the ground, paler than he had ever seen her, even after her fight with Sephiroth. Even after Pete and Maleficent had kidnapped her and left her to die. She hadn't looked as pale as she did now. Pinning her down was a carving of some sort…a statue? She had run into Usula's hut to make sure he was alright and it had fallen on her when the earthquake had struck. As Usula said it, Xion had pulled the statue towards herself with Magnet, saving his life.
"Really…I'm fine…" Xion lied—Roxas had never thought a leg could bend the way it was now. "Roxas…Axel…"
"Easy does it, kiddo," Axel soothed. "It's gonna be alright."
It didn't look like things were going to be alright. Roxas checked his pockets frantically…he was out of Potions. He had used the last of them after fighting that giant snake. Why the heck hadn't they stopped at Disney Castle before they got here to resupply? Roxas bit back a bad word. He didn't have what he needed to help his friend. How could he be so short-sighted. Sora would never have forgotten to make sure he had plenty of Potions. And Sora had always been quick to heal someone in the middle of a fight…wait! Back in Twilight Town, Roxas hadn't need Potions or Elixirs…he had helped Xion with healing magic. He summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion at once, ignoring the cries of surprise.
"Cur—"
"No!" Xion said sharply, her eyes frantic. "There's others who are injured, Roxas! Them first, me last!"
"But…"
"No arguing," Xion pleaded, her eyes watering. "I'm…I'm fine…it doesn't even hurt anymore…"
"Good heavens!" Professor Porter piped up. "If you're not feeling any pain—and you're being truthful about it—then that means you're likely going into shock. And that's not a good thing at all, no sir!"
"Cure!"
Roxas startled. Neither he nor Axel had cast a spell, but there was no mistaking the glowing green leaves that signified healing magic. The gash on Xion's leg closed at once, though her face was still terribly pale.
"Who…" Roxas asked, turning his head. One of the Waziri women had her hands held up. She stood on shaking legs and the warrior Basuli went to stand by her side and support her.
"I did not think that was going to work…but I am glad that it did," The woman gasped. "I'm afraid I do not know magic very well…and there are others who are badly injured…go, Keybearer."
"I…thank you," Xion summoned Kingdom Key to her side. A moment later, Axel had summoned Flame Liberator.
For the next hour, they hurried around the village, casting as many healing spells as they could. Some, like Xion, had been pinned under heavy objects. Others had injuries that looked worse than they really were. A few had broken bones. But before long, everyone had had at least a single Cure spell cast upon them and Roxas was panting from the excursion.
"Is there anything else we can do to help?" Xion asked, fighting off her own shaking. "Your Majesty?"
Chief Keewazi raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term, but Xion didn't seem to notice. He cleared his throat.
"That would be most appreciated," Chief Keewazi said. "Thank you. Our people have been healed, but we have several damaged buildings. But right now, we need to check our water supplies. That is most important."
Roxas eyed his Keyblades. He could probably cast Water spells…but he wasn't sure just how long magically produced water would last. Still, it made as much sense as anything else to go and fetch some more.
Roxas and Xion set off into the jungle, their Keyblades gripped tight. A moment later, Roxas heard the excited chatter of a small child. He looked over his shoulder. Abby had followed them, holding a very large basin in her hands.
xxxx
"Mister Roxas, Miss Xion," Abby said, shifting her legs. "Are you two angels?"
"What makes you ask a question like that?" Roxas asked. The question he didn't ask was What's an angel? He still hadn't had a chance to ask Axel that question since Vivi had asked Xion if she were an angel.
"You help people…and you can do miracles," Abby said. "And you don't have last names. So I figured you might be angels."
"Er…no, we're people," Roxas said. "We're just…kind of different. That lady who healed Xion's leg can do what we can do…do you think she's an angel?"
"That's Missus Naoh," Abby nodded. "She's Mister Basuli's wife. They got married a while ago but they don't have any children yet. But I think they'd be good parents 'cause they're very nice. And they love each other a lot, like Mister Tarzan and Missus Jane…are you two gonna get married too?"
Xion's eyebrows shot up to her head and Roxas forgot how sentences worked. Abby giggled.
"I wonder why Chief Keewazi sent us to fetch water," Xion said. "I think we could have summoned it ourselves."
"I'm not sure," Roxas said. "But I…did you hear something?"
"I didn't hear anything," Abby said, looking left and right. "Hello? Is there somebody there?"
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
"Who's there?" Roxas called. "Show yourself!"
A man stumbled out of the jungle, onto his hands and knees. He was one of the Waziri men. He was panting and breathing very hard. Blood was smeared on his chest.
"Oh my goodness!" Xion cried. "Curaga!"
The healing orbs shimmered over the man, but he didn't get back up. Roxas took a step forward. The man was still breathing really hard.
"Keybearer…I never thought I would ever see any of you…not here…"
Roxas took another step forward and the man looked up at him. He was staring with dark eyes…cold eyes…and with a flash, the man swung a fist at Roxas, connecting his fist with Roxas's jaw.
Roxas staggered. The man pulled a knife from a fold in his tunic and held it to Abby's throat. The little girl's eyes widened in fear.
"Make a move and she'll die," The man said. "Know that you face Muviro, mightiest of all warriors."
Before Roxas could say anything, do anything, another man stepped out of the shadows. He had light skin and black hair…and horrible scars on his face. He grinned wickedly when he saw Roxas and Xion.
"The Keybearers…" The man said. "Let me say that you are now in zugzwang. If you do anything, the girl will die. You must both…stop."
There was a flash of light and Roxas froze. What the…time magic?! That was supposed to be insanely hard to cast. But there was nothing he could do as the strange man walked up to Muviro.
"Lady Maleficent will be most pleased. We have secured the child."
"Help me!"
Roxas couldn't move. His arms and legs were frozen in place. He could only watch as Muviro carried Abby away. And then, the strange man following Muviro turned around.
"Do give Tarzan my regards…he will know where to find us."
A/N: Here we go, my dearest readers! A brand-new chapter for you all, and it's over 10,000 words long! You've been very good to me this year, my friends, so here you go!
I hope you all are well, my dear readers and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it. Things are heating up in the Jungle!
Thank you for reading, my dearest readers. Leave a comment if you're so inclined!
Merry Christmas! I appreciate each and every one of you!
