The Elder Scrolls: The Quest for Kingdom Hearts
…
Chapter 9: Ever hear the Tale of Jonah?
As the Gummi Ship flew on autopilot through space, Sora and his companions spoke with their two newest additions to the crew. Christine was recovering from her time being frozen in carbonite, but she was still very weak.
"So, was what Elijah said about you being an assassin true?" Veronica looked at her estranged lover imploringly. "The Circle of Steel? Everything?" she asked.
"It was, more or less," Christine said sadly. "When word of Elijah's crimes reached the Circle, they sent me after him with clear orders to kill him on sight," she added. "I tracked Elijah to Big MT at Little Yangtze but there were… complications," she then said.
"What kind of complications?" Sora asked.
"The security robots interrupted me and Elijah. Elijah used the ghoulified Chinese prisoners as walking bombs to make his escape while I was wounded and taken to a medical facility to be processed." Christine's body then started shaking as she recalled what happened to her next. "They… did things to me… they jammed electrodes into my skull and turned my head into a flashlight." Tears began to leak from Christine's eyes. Veronica took hold of Christine's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"And then you were rescued by Ulysses," Courier said having been aware of the other Courier who been part of the reason that she became who she was.
"You know Ulysses?" Christine said in surprise.
"Yeah. I guess you can say he's the person who what made me what I am today," Courier said with a hollow laugh. "But funnily enough, I was the one who made him first… all because of a package I delivered to the Divide," she added.
"What package? The Platinum Chip?" Veronica asked.
"Nope. It was a few years before that; I delivered a package to a place known as Hopeville," Courier said as she bowed her head a little as the ghosts of her past came back to haunt her. "I didn't know what was in the package at the time, but that package is what turned Hopeville and Ashton into the Divide," she added with bitter regret.
"The Divide?" Serana repeated.
"Hell on Earth to put it lightly," Courier said bitterly. "Sandstorms and radiation that'll flay you alive, not to mention what lives there," she added.
"What lives there?" Sora asked.
"The Marked Men; soldiers from both the NCR and the Legion driven insane by the radiation and attacked anything that wasn't them," Courier replied. "Then there were the Tunnelers; some kind of mutant creatures that lived underground, then there were the Deathclaws that were meaner and tougher than the regular ones," she said.
"Who was Ulysses?" Aela then asked.
"Ulysses? He… he was the one supposed to make the delivery of the Platinum chip, but when he saw my name on the list, he said that I could take the job," Courier said sadly. "He was once a tribal whose tribe had been conquered by Caesar's Legion and he became a Frumentarii for Caesar disguised as a courier and travelled all over to places such as Zion Valley, the Big Empty, the Sierra Madre. Places I later went to," she added.
"Hold up. Ulysses was a member of Caesar's Legion?" Veronica asked and Courier nodded in response. "Why didn't you kill him?"
"When I learnt his story through the holotapes he left behind, I couldn't help but feel responsible for making him what he was and all that had happened to him," Courier said softly.
"What was Ulysses' connection to this Divide?" Jaina asked.
"Well, before that, The Divide were two cities called Hopeville and Ashton. It was a nice peaceful place that the NCR used as a supply route to the Mojave," Courier said. "In many ways, it was a bridge between the East and West, a nation where two flags could unite," she added.
"What was your role in it?" Serana asked.
"I was the only one willing to brave the seasons and storms in the Divide to deliver packages to the community within," Courier replied.
Courier then proceeded to tell the whole story of her time in shaping the Divide. There was a haunted, hollow emptiness in her eyes as she recalled her role in delivering the package that had activated the missile silos that lay beneath the Divide and turned the Divide into a hellish wasteland.
Everyone sat captivated by Courier's tale, looks of shock and incomprehension on their faces. Veronica and Christine had looks of horror and understanding on their faces. Dragonborn had a calm stoic expression on his face and Aela and Serana had deeply disturbed looks on their faces. Sora had a sad sympathetic look in his eyes and Jaina looked angry.
"So, you mean to tell us that you were responsible for destroying an entire city of people?" Jaina asked in a deadly voice when Courier finished her story.
"I didn't know what was in the package. I simply delivered it," Courier said bitterly. "If I had known what would happen when the package was delivered, what was inside it and what lay beneath the Divide, I would never have delivered it in the first place!"
"But you did, didn't you?" Serana said softly. "Maybe that's the reason you're the way you are now, because you have to live with the guilt of what you've done," she remarked.
"You want a cookie for that observation, leech?" Courier asked with a bitter laugh. She then looked at everyone coldly and said, "So what now? Are you all gonna kick me out of the group?"
"You made a terrible mistake and had to live with the consequences of it," Dragonborn said calmly. "But we all fail and make mistakes. It's what makes us human. And I see no reason why you should be cast out from this group when you have done so much to help us," he stated.
"Yeah, exactly what I was gonna say!" Sora said from his seat.
"I guess there's nothing left to do but say you're sorry and move on," Jaina said with a sigh.
"And now we come to you, Lady Jaina," Dragonborn said looking at her. "How is it you know Sora?" he asked.
"I'm his older sister," Jaina said instantly.
"And where have you been the whole time?" Veronica asked.
"I was looking for our dad, Luke Skywalker," Jaina replied.
"Did you find Dad?" Sora asked hopefully and Jaina shook her sadly and said, "No, when I followed this ship, I thought for certain Dad was here, but instead I found you."
Sora hung his head in despair and Aela put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Chin up, Sora. Obi Wan said your father is still alive out there somewhere. That means there's still hope you can find him."
"Obi Wan? Did you mean Obi Wan Kenobi?" Jaina asked in surprise.
"Yeah, his ghost showed up and told us to start looking for you and that you would lead us to Sora's father," Veronica said. "Did you know Obi Wan?" she asked.
"No, he died long before I was even born," Jaina said. "If Obi Wan says Dad is still alive, then he's still out there somewhere," she added.
"Maybe the files we took from HYDRA have some clue where to find him?" Courier suggested as she sat down at the computer console and uploaded the file to the computer. As Courier began to read the files, she spoke, "Looks like Strucker had files on everyone who's involved with Maleficent," she said as photo images showed up on screen. "Some we've already encountered like Hades, Elenwen, Father Elijah, Jafar and Maleficent herself," she added. Then the image of a dark robed and helmeted man showed on the screen.
"Hey, that's the guy who tried to read my mind back at the HYDRA base!" Sora exclaimed.
"What did he want that was inside your head?" Jaina asked her little brother.
"He thought that maybe I knew where Dad was hiding," Sora said to her.
"And of course, you wouldn't know," Jaina said two and two coming together. Looking at the image of Kylo, she pursed her lips and stated, "If I ever meet this Vader poser…" Giving a shake of her head, she asked, "What do the files say about Kylo Ren?"
"He's the supreme commander of the First Order's armed forces. Second in command to someone named General Hux and their boss is someone called Supreme Leader Snoke," Courier said as she read the information.
"Him, I've heard of," Jaina said with a nod of her head.
"What did you hear of him?" Serana asked.
"Never met or seen the guy, but I've heard rumours about him," Jaina replied. "When the Empire fell and the emperor was destroyed, they were looking for leadership. Then Snoke appeared. He was strong in the Dark Side of the Force. One rumour I heard was that he was the Emperor's mentor, but there was no evidence to confirm or deny it," she said.
"If the Empire has fallen, how did they get so many soldiers?" Aela asked.
"They kidnap children," Jaina said grimly.
"Are you serious?" Courier asked as she looked at Jaina. "They kidnap children and turn them into soldiers?" and Jaina nodded her head grimly.
"That sounds exactly like what Caesar's Legion would do!" Veronica said angrily.
Dragonborn then looked at Jaina and said to her, "Lady Jaina, I believe the best chance you and Sora have at finding your father is to come with us. We'll take down the Maleficent and her Heartless and the First Order and restore the worlds that have been lost. Are you with us?" he asked her.
"If it means I can find Dad faster and bring down the First Order, then count me in!" Jaina said as she stuck her hand out to shake and Dragonborn clasped her forearm.
"Now there comes a question," Courier said and everyone looked at her. "Where are you gonna sleep? And where's Christine gonna sleep for that matter?"
"I suppose some of us will have to share a room together," Dragonborn said wisely. "So, who wishes to share a room together?" he asked looking at everyone.
Aela and Serana glance at each other and they both quickly said, "I'll share a room with you, Dragonborn!" They both glared at each other angrily.
"Well, I don't mind sharing a room with Christine," Veronica said as her cheeks became tinged with pink. "We have a lot of catching up to do," she added her cheeks went even pinker. Christine smiled despite herself.
"I suppose Sora and I can share a room together," Jaina said casually. "What about you four?" she asked as an amused smile graced her lips as she saw Aela and Serana trying to sidle up close to Dragonborn who was looking at his two companions curiously, wondering why they were acting like this.
As Courier smirked at this spectacle, the hairs on the back of her pricked and she pulled out her pistol and looked up at the ceiling. Everyone saw this and became a little worried.
"Courier? What is it?" Veronica asked her.
Dragonborn looked at the ceiling too before he jumped up towards an air vent and wrenched it open. Falling onto the floor and landing like a proverbial cat was a woman. She had long platinum white hair and wore near impossibly skin-tight black leather spandex with white fur cuffs on the forearms and shins. She also possessed a curvy athletic figure with an ample perky looking bosom that threatened to spill out of the deep V of her catsuit and wide curvy hips that then turned into long sensuous looking legs. A black domino mask lay over a pair of piercing emerald eyes and a pair of full looking lips were curled into a shocked O.
Everyone drew their weapons and pointed at the woman who raised her hands in self-defence. "Whoa! Is this how you say hello where you're all from?" she asked.
"Who are you and how the hell did you get on this ship?" Courier asked coldly.
"Do you want the long version or the short version?" the woman said silkily.
"You got ten seconds!" Serana spat angrily.
"Long story, my name is Felicia Hardy AKA the Black Cat, super-thief extraordinaire and I found your ship in Central Park and thought I could sneak around and find something useful," the woman said rapidly.
"A thief, huh?" Aela asked as she toyed with her dagger. "How much did you hear of our conversation?"
"Oh, just something about Heartless, evil organisations and empires and the end of all worlds as we know it," Felicia said playfully. "Nothing important obviously," she added. She then looked at Dragonborn and a wicked, kittenish look sparked in her eyes as she said, "Oh, but you're a tall drink of water, aren't you? You got a name, tall, dark and handsome?"
"I don't have one. I am called the Dragonborn," Dragonborn said bluntly.
"Ooh, codenames, huh? I like you already," Black Cat purred out flirtatiously. "Call me Black Cat, or just Cat if that suits you," she offered.
"He won't, because you're not going to here long enough!" Aela growled out as she and Serana gave each other a nod and prepared to grab the thief by the arms. "Courier! Set a course back to New York!"
"Hey!" Felicia squawked in protest. "This is just a misunderstanding! And besides, I could help you guys out!" she said.
"You just admitted that you're a thief!" Serana said. "Thieves are only out for themselves!" she stated coldly.
"I'm not such a bad kitty!" Felicia pouted.
Courier sighed and prepared to disengage the autopilot and plot a course back for New York when suddenly ED-E started beeping wildly. "What is it, ED-E?" Courier asked the Eyebot who beeped and chirped alarmingly.
Courier looked at the radar and called out to everyone, "Heads up, people! We've got something on the radar! Something huge!"
"A warship?" Sora asked. Then something swam past the windows of the Gummi Ship and Veronica looked out the window.
"Oh my god! What is that thing?!" the Scribe exclaimed in surprise.
Dragonborn looked out the window and said, "It's… a whale?"
And sure enough, a large whale floated past the Gummi Ship and swam about.
"It's huge!" Sora exclaimed.
"A giant flying whale… now I've seen everything!" Courier muttered.
Jiminy hopped up onto Sora's shoulder and shouted, "It's Monstro! He comes from my world! He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides! He swallows ships whole!"
"Then we're not sticking around to find out!" Courier stated as she got into the pilot's chair and started to disengage the autopilot, but Monstro swam towards them, opening his mouth and revealing twin rows of sharp teeth.
"Too late! He's gonna swallow us!" Sora gasped.
"Brace for impact!" Jaina cried out.
Then as Monstro's jaws closed around the Gummi Ship, Sora's life flashed before his eyes.
…
Nine years ago, Sora was spending a day on the play island with Riku. Walking down the stairs, his hands folded behind his back, Sora said to his best friend, "It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Riku looked at him sceptically. "You sure you didn't just hear it this time?" he asked.
Sora shrugged in response and said, "Does it matter? There's a huge monster down there!"
"Alright, suppose there is a monster, you think we can beat it ourselves?" Riku asked and Sora nodded confidently.
"No problem! Let's do it!"
The pair then walked over to the entrance of the Secret Place. As they neared it, Sora whispered, "There it is! Can you hear it?" Riku shushed him, trying to listen over the sounds of the waterfall nearby. They crawled through the small entry point and entered a rocky passageway, the sound of the waterfall dulled by the thick rocks.
Following the passage, the two youngsters found an empty cavern where a large hole in the ceiling allowed light to fall through and air passed through making the noise. Riku turned to look at Sora, "See? Nothing there. Just the wind making the noise."
"Aw man! I wish it was a monster!" Sora groaned in disappointment. But then he suddenly noticed something over by the wall. "Hey, what's that?" he asked and looking to where Sora was looking, Riku found a wooden door, one with no handle or hinge.
Riku inspected in closely, giving it a push. "It won't open," he said faintly.
Sora looked around at the empty place in disappointment. "Is that all there is? No wonder Dad and Jaina left!" he said.
"What did you expect in a boring place like this?" Riku said to him and a sad look came over Sora's face. "Hey, cheer up. I'm sure they'll come back soon!"
"Really?" Sora asked looking at his best friend.
"Yeah! And you know what? When we're grown up, let's get off this island and go on real adventures! None of this kid stuff!" Riku stated boldly.
"Sure. But isn't there anything fun to do now?" Sora asked as he and Riku walked back up the passageway. "Hey? You know the new girl at the mayor's house? Did you hear…?"
…
"Sora? Sora, are you okay? Wake up."
Sora opened his eyes and looked to see Jaina kneeling beside him a look of concern on her face. "Easy there, you were out for a while," she said to him.
"What happened?" Sora asked groggily as he sat up.
"Monstro swallowed the Gummi Ship," Courier answered him. "We took some damage and we're doing some repairs, but we can't leave until Monstro opens his mouth again," she said. A dry huff escaped Courier as she added, "Anyone hear the tale of Jonah?"
"Who?" Dragonborn asked.
"Well, let's just say something similar happened to him," Courier said.
"Of all the things to happen, I never would've thought we'd be swallowed by a whale!" Jaina said dryly.
"Be thankful you weren't with us in Wonderland," Aela said to her before she and Serana glared at Felicia. "What do we do with you now?" she said frostily.
"We cannot take Felicia," Dragonborn began to say when said woman cut him off with an "Ahem!" Dragonborn looked at Felicia who smiled at him. "Black Cat," Dragonborn corrected himself which earned a pleased noise from Felicia and an irate glare from Aela and Serana. "Back until the repairs to the ship are complete and Monstro opens his mouth again."
"Any ideas on how to get Monstro to open his big fat mouth?" Veronica asked.
Sora opened his mouth to speak when something dropped down on his head. "Ow! Hey!"
"You okay?" Dragonborn asked and another object nearly dropped down onto Sora's when Dragonborn swatted it away with his sword. Jaina looked to where the object had fallen and shouted, "Hey! Who's there!?"
Then a familiar popped out to look at them. "It's just me!" said Pinnochio above them looking down at from a ledge.
"Oh, it's just Pinnochio," Aela said offhanded before she gave a start. "Pinnochio?!" she squawked in surprise.
Jiminy jumped up onto Sora's shoulder. "Pinnochio?!" The little wooden puppet began walking away from them, carrying a large green gummi block. "Pinnochio? Where are you going? Pinnochio!" Jiminy called out to him. "After him, everyone!"
"Wait! What about Christine?" Veronica asked. "She's still weak!" she pointed out.
"I guess you'll have to stay here with you and keep up the repairs then," Courier said to her, and Veronica nodded in understanding. With that done, everyone else began to chase after Pinnochio.
"Who's Pinnochio?" Felicia asked as she ran beside the others.
"A living wooden puppet who's trying to become a real boy," Dragonborn said quickly. "I thought he was still in Traverse town?" he wondered.
ED-E gave a beep and Courier translated, "Security footage doesn't say he snuck aboard at any stage."
"So, how did he get here?" Serana asked.
"It's obvious. Someone brought him here," Dragonborn said to her.
"Isn't anyone freaking out over a living wooden puppet?" Jaina asked.
"I'm freaking out if that helps," Felicia said in response.
"And you're both fine with a well-dressed talking cricket?" Courier deadpanned.
"Well, yeah, I know a guy who has powers like a spider," Black Cat said. "But seriously, what's that all about?" she asked.
Jiminy then handed over his journal to Felicia. "Everything that's happened thus far is all in this this book!" he told her. Felicia took the book and stowed it away in her cleavage which earned a look from everyone.
"What? My suit doesn't have pockets!"
Everyone then ignored that and focussed on catching up with Pinocchio and they soon found on the ruins of a ship with an old man. "Looks like Pinnochio didn't come here alone," Courier remarked.
"Guess this turned into a rescue mission," Jaina said as they climbed aboard the ship and they heard Pinnochio talking to the old man.
"Here, with this we can get out of here, Father!"
"You really think so?" the old man asked before he noticed the heroes making their way onto the ship.
"Oh my! The whale swallowed all of you as well!" the old man exclaimed.
"Looks like it," Sora said with a nod of his head.
"Are you Pinocchio's father?" Dragonborn asked the old man who nodded in response.
"I am. I travelled all over searching for him when we got separated. My name is Geppetto. Thank goodness we're together again!" as Geppetto spoke with the heroes, Pinocchio was distracted by something.
"I'm Sora. These are my friends, Dragonborn, Aela, Serana, Courier, Jaina, ED-E and Black Cat," Sora said making introductions.
"Our ship is mostly intact and just need some minor repairs," Jaina said to Geppetto. "If we can figure out how to get Monstro open his mouth, we can get you and your son out of here," she added.
"That's good," Geppetto said with a nod of his head and a look of relief on his aged face. "I thought my boy would have to spend the rest of his life inside the belly of a whale.
Then Pinocchio saw someone run further inside the whale as Geppetto spoke to the heroes. "So, you seem to know Pinocchio quite well. I hope he was a good boy in my absence?" he asked.
"He was, more or less," Dragonborn said in answer.
"Well, we've all had quite a journey. Right, Pinocchio?" Geppetto looked at Pinocchio only to find him gone. "Pinocchio?"
Aela soon spotted the puppet running further into Monstro. "There! He's going deeper into Monstro!" she cried.
"Oh, no! I warned him not to wander off here. He can be a naughty boy, even so, he is very precious to me!" Geppetto lamented.
"Don't worry, we'll get him back for you," Dragonborn reassured him.
"You will?" Geppetto looked at Dragonborn who nodded in response. "I can't thank you enough!"
"Let's go!" Dragonborn said to his companions, and they went after Pinocchio.
…
As the heroes made their way deeper into the whale, Courier said, "Once we find Pinocchio, we take him and Geppetto to the Gummi Ship and get out of here!"
"How are we gonna do that?" Sora asked. "As in, how are we gonna get Monstro to open his mouth?" he clarified.
"Some C4 should do the trick," Courier said casually before she looked ahead and saw Pinocchio. "There he is!" she exclaimed.
Pinocchio simply stood on the spot unmoving and Serana said to the puppet, "What are you doing here? Come on, let's go back." But Pinocchio didn't move.
"Your father is awfully worried about you, you know?" Aela said to Pinocchio who still didn't budge.
Sora lost his patience. "Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!" he said sternly before turning and began to walk away hoping that Pinocchio would follow when suddenly a familiar voice spoke to him.
"But, Sora, I thought you liked games?" Everyone turned around to see Riku standing there with a smug smirk on his face as he said, "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"
"Riku?! Wh… What are you doing here?" Sora blurted in shock.
"Just playing with Pinocchio," Riku said nonchalantly.
"You know what I mean!" Sora shouted. Jaina then stepped forward and asked, "What is this about, Riku?"
"Do I know…?" Riku began to say when his eyes widened in surprise. "Jaina?!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"You know who I am!" Jaina spat out angrily which made Riku grin and reply, "You're not still mad about that prank I played on you all those years ago, are you?"
"Tell us what you're doing here with Pinocchio and I might let it slide," Jaina growled. "Keyword: might!" she said for added effect.
Felicia looked at Sora and asked, "What did he do to piss her off?"
"Riku swapped Jaina's shampoo with purple dye," Sora explained. "It took forever for Mom to wash it out," he said.
"Oh, that is messed up!" Felicia said making an appalled face.
Courier stood in front of Jaina and said to Riku, "You better do as she says, kid, or she'll be the least of your worries!"
"What about Kairi? Did you find her?" Sora asked to which Riku smirked and replied, "Maybe? Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know." Grabbing Pinocchio by the hand, Riku ran further into the bowels of Monstro.
"Wait! Stop!" Sora shouted as he gave chase with his friends following after him.
"First Pinocchio, now Riku!" Serana lamented. "Shouldn't they still be in Traverse Town?" she asked.
"I have a couple of ideas, none of them good," Courier said grimly.
"Then we need to catch up to Riku and ask him some serious questions," Dragonborn said stoically. Then swarms of Heartless appeared in front of them.
"Here too?!" Sora said in surprise as he summoned his Keyblade to fight.
"What are these things?" Black Cat asked in alarm.
"Bad news," Dragonborn said to the platinum haired thief. "Take them down!" he ordered and the heroes quickly engaged the Heartless.
…
As Riku walked further into the depths of Monstro, a Corridor of Darkness opened behind him and stepping out from it was Maleficent. "Why do you still care about that boy?" the witch asked him. "He has all but abandoned you for the Keyblade and his new friends," she told him.
"I don't care about him!" Riku snapped as he turned to look at his benefactor. "I was just messing with him. I did it all the time to his sister back on the Islands," he said.
"Oh, really?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow. "Of course, you were." Her painted lips curled into a sinister smirk. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey on it," she said silkily.
"Mind your own business!" Riku spat as Maleficent summoned another Corridor of Darkness and disappeared through it. Staring where the Corridor had appeared for a moment, Riku continued on his way.
…
After defeating the Heartless, the heroes continued on their way. "It's a like a maze in here!" Serana exclaimed as they tried to navigate their way through the inside of Monstro. "How are we gonna find Riku and Pinocchio in all this?" the vampire asked.
"I got an idea," Courier said before she looked at ED-E. "ED-E, scan for footprints, human sized," she ordered the Eyebot who chirped in response and began to scan the ground. After a moment, ED-E gave a beep. "ED-E's found a usable trail. It's still fresh, we just need to follow it!" Courier stated as ED-E began to lead them through the insides of the whale.
"Pretty nifty that little robot of yours," Black Cat commented to Courier. "Anything he can't do?" she asked.
"Well, he can't make a decent cup of coffee, that's for sure," Courier said dryly then ED-E gave a chirping noise. "Riku's just up ahead. Be ready!" she warned as she quickly reloaded her revolver.
Soon, they came to a chamber where Riku stood waiting for them. "Riku! What's the matter with you?" Sora asked him. "What are you thinking? Don't you understand what you're doing?"
Riku narrowed his eyes at Sora and replied, "I was about to ask you the same thing! You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"
Sora had a hurt look on his face. "You know I do!" he said.
Just then, the sound of Pinocchio screaming got everyone's attention. "That was Pinocchio!" Aela cursed.
Riku ran ahead of them into the bowels of Monstro and the others quickly followed him. Entering the stomach of the Whale, they found Pinocchio trapped by the Parasite Cage Heartless. It sat in the middle of the chamber swinging its tendrils waiting for them to come closer.
Dragonborn looked at Sora and Riku and said to them, "You two can fight each other later. Right now, we have to rescue Pinocchio from that Heartless!" Looking at them sternly, he asked, "Is that understood?"
Sora nodded his head quickly while Riku rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever." He then looked at Sora and asked, "You ready for this?"
Sora went into a fighting stance and said, "let's do it!"
"Get me out of here!" Pinocchio wailed fearfully.
"Be careful not to miss!" Courier warned the group. "One wrong hit could cause Monstro spit us all out before we have a chance to get to the Gummi Ship!" she said and everyone nodded in understanding.
Sora, Riku, Jaina and Dragonborn attacked the Heartless with their respective weapons. Aela fired a steel arrow at one of the tendrils of the Heartless and Serana used her frost magic to freeze a tendril solid. Black Cat leapt and tried to get Pinocchio out of the Heartless' jaws, but the Heartless clamped its jaws tighter before the thief could pull the living puppet out of his prison. Felicia gritted her teeth in frustration as she was forced to pull back.
"Help! It's scary in here!" Pinocchio cried.
"I need you guys to hold that thing's jaws open long enough to pull Pinocchio out of there!" Black Cat said to the others.
"Consider it done!" Dragonborn said and with a roar, he charged forward and leapt onto the Heartless, using all the strength in his body to start prying open the jaws of the cage open. Jaina put away her lightsaber and extended her hand. Sora extended his hand also. Riku looked in confusion.
"What are you two doing?"
Courier fired some shots at the head of the Heartless, forcing it to loosen its jaws. With the combined efforts, the cage of the Heartless began to open. Black Cat then fired a grapnel line at Pinocchio which latched onto him and with a yank, Pinocchio was free from his confines. Courier primed a grenade and tossed it into the jaws of the Heartless. A second passed before the grenade exploded, damaging the Heartless which squealed in pain and retreated. Riku suddenly snatched Pinocchio from Black Cat and fled through a hole in the floor.
"Hey!" Sora shouted. "Why did he take Pinocchio?" he wondered.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Courier said grimly.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked Courier who replied with, "Riku brought Pinocchio here. He was his target all along, but he wanted us to know that and he wanted to rub it in your face!"
Sora had a shocked look on his face as he asked, "But… why?"
"Let's find out!" Jaina said with her eyes narrowed before she jumped down the hole in the floor. Everyone else followed after her.
…
The water level in Monstro's mouth had lowered drastically as the heroes landed on the deck of the ruined ship Geppetto had made his home on. They saw the father of Pinocchio standing on the deck calling out to someone. "Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please! Give me back my son!" he shouted imploringly.
High above on a ledge, Riku stood holding Pinocchio under one arm. "Sorry, old man. I still have unfinished business with this puppet!" he said callously.
"He's not puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!" Geppetto said desperately.
Riku appeared to consider this fact as he replied, "He is unusual. Not all puppets have hearts. I don't know for certain, but maybe this puppet can help someone who has lost theirs."
"Wait a minute! You're talking about Kairi!" Sora said in realisation and Riku glared at him spitefully.
"What do you care?"
Jaina raised her blaster and aimed it at Riku and said, "I don't know what this is about, but I suggest you put the puppet down before you get hurt!"
"No!" Sora grabbed Jaina's hand and raised it up and Riku fled down the passage.
"Jaina! He's my friend!" Sora said to his older sister angrily.
"Oh, for Pete's sake! My blaster was set to stun!" Jaina argued. "Do you really think I would kill your best friend?" she said to Sora.
"You never liked Riku," Sora said sullenly.
"Well, if you weren't gonna shoot Riku, I would've," Courier said casually and Sora glared at her.
Dragonborn then stopped everyone before it could escalate into an argument. "We can argue about this. We have to stop Riku from whatever he's planning," he said to them. Everyone nodded at this, and Felicia looked at Aela and Serana and whispered to them, "Is he always the voice of reason?" The werewolf and vampire nodded in response.
Jaina put away her blaster and spoke, "So, who's Kairi?" she asked.
Sora blushed at this and he slowly said, "She's… a friend Riku and I made… she showed up on the Islands not long after you left."
"That's not how it sounded when you told us about her," Serana said with a wicked smile and Sora blushed even harder.
Jaina put two and two together and said, "Hold on. So, while I was out looking for Dad… Sora got himself a girlfriend?" she asked herself before she started chuckling. "Guess I missed out on a bit while I was away," she added.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Sora protested.
"Ah, young love," Black Cat cooed playfully and Sora hid his face in embarrassment.
"What's going? We heard voices?" and everyone turned to see Veronica and Christine walking up to them. Christine had seemingly recovered as she was no longer being carried by anyone and could apparently see as well.
"Christine? You're up and about, I see," Courier remarked. "That's good. We could use a couple of extra guns," she said with a nod of her head.
"Anyone wanna fill us in?" Veronica asked.
"Basically, Riku brought Pinocchio here and is going to use the kid for something bad. Is that good enough for you?" Courier said to her as she passed her holorifle and microfusion cells to Christine. "Know how to use this?" she asked the former Circle of Steel assassin who confidently loaded microfusion cells into the advanced weapon and racked it.
"Let's go!"
Promising Geppetto that they'd bring Pinocchio back to him, the heroes then made their way to the upper ledge and entered the passageway Riku had fled down. On the way, ED-E suddenly beeped and floated over to a nearby chest that rattled with movement.
"Is that what I think it is?" Aela asked. Sora tapped the chest with his Keyblade which opened to reveal some of the Dalmatian puppies.
"Puppies? What are they doing here?" Black Cat asked and Christine nodded her agreement.
"Long story short, a pair of Dalmatians lost their puppies and we promised we'd find them all and bring them back to their parents," Aela said. "I'll take the puppies back to the ship. You all focus on rescuing Pinocchio and stopping Riku!" she told before she scooped up the puppies in her arms and headed for the Gummi Ship. Everyone else nodded and headed down the passage that led to the throat of Monstro.
Climbing their way up the throat, the heroes entered the stomach of Monstro. There stood Riku who set Pinocchio down on the ledges near the pools of stomach acid.
"Riku! Let Pinocchio go!" Sora demanded. Riku turned to look at them while Pinocchio sat barely moving.
"A puppet that's lost its heart to darkness. Maybe it holds the key to saving Kairi," Riku said thoughtfully before he looked at Sora. "How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her. We can do it, together," he offered, and he walked forward extending his hand out in friendship.
Sora simply went into a fighting stance and the others drew their weapons. This surprised Riku as he said, "What? You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"
"Heart or not, at least he still has a conscience!" Sora growled.
"Conscience?" Riku said mockingly. With Riku's attention firmly on the heroes, Jiminy took this opportunity to slip past him and ran over to Pinocchio while Sora spoke to Riku.
"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear! And it's telling me you're on the wrong side And Kairi would never approve of what you're doing!" the Keyblade's Chosen said angrily.
Riku gave an angry frown as he said, "Then you leave me no choice!"
"While you're feeling so chatty, maybe you could tell us why you sided with Maleficent?" Courier asked coldly.
"How did you know that?" Riku looked at the Courier in surprise.
"When we met you in Traverse Town you mentioned someone was helping you. And when we were following you earlier, you stopped for a moment and you weren't talking to Pinocchio," Courier said. "And I'm guessing you were the one who took Princess Jasmine while we were fight Jafar, right?" she added.
"Heh. Guess you're not as dumb as you look," Riku smirked dangerously. "I suppose you figured out that I brought Pinocchio here?" he asked condescendingly.
"Wasn't hard," Courier replied. "You brought Pinocchio here and knew that we'd end up here eventually so you could offer Sora a chance to join you or rub it in his face," she said coldly.
"Oh, that is seriously messed up! Even for you, Riku!" Jaina exclaimed angrily.
Sora had a shocked and saddened look on his face as he said, "Riku… Why? How could you? Even for Kairi? Don't you know what Maleficent is doing to the worlds?!"
"It would've been worth it!" Riku spat angrily. "I did this so we could explore all the worlds. But then you went and made new friends to replace us!" he said spitefully.
"Sora joined us so we could help him find you and Kairi!" Veronica snapped out.
"And I'd never replace you and Kairi!" Sora said. "But that doesn't we can't make other friends!" he declared.
Riku scoffed. "Save your excuses, I've heard enough!"
"Pinocchio? Pinocchio!" Jiminy called out to the puppet. Pinocchio weakly opened his eyes to speak to the cricket.
"Jiminy? I'm not gonna make it."
Jiminy bowed his head in despair, but suddenly there was a small flash of light causing him to look up and see Pinocchio's nose had grown longer.
"Oh! I guess I'm okay!" Pinocchio said brightly and Jiminy hopped up and down in joy and relief. Everyone looked to see this disturbance; the heroes had looks of relief on their faces whereas Riku looked slightly displeased and annoyed.
Then the Parasite Cage Heartless dropped down from the ceiling. Riku had a hasty exit through a Corridor of Darkness and Sora called out to him, "Riku?!" Without even looking behind him to spare a glance, Riku left the scene.
"Don't bother! He's long gone!" Jaina said to her brother. Courier looked at Jiminy and Pinocchio.
"Get to your father and get to the Gummi Ship! We're getting outta here!" Pinocchio and Jiminy nodded and ran from the room. Dragonborn charged towards the Heartless his sword raised high. The Heartless swatted him away before spitting some of Monstro's stomach acid at the others. Serana conjured a shield to block the corrosive liquid to defend herself, Courier, Veronica and Christine. Jaina used her Force abilities to deflect the acid away from her and Sora, sending it back onto the Heartless causing it to shriek in agony. Dragonborn had recovered and leapt onto the Parasite Cage and slashed at it with his sword.
Courier quickly fired her revolver from the hip, fanning the hammer with her off-hand. Veronica swung Oh Baby into the jaws of the Heartless causing to snap its head up. Dragonborn moved back and shouted to Serana, "Serana! Now!"
Serana's hands crackled with lightning as she drew on her magicka reserves and unleased a lightning storm at the Heartless. The creature shrieked in agony as it was flashed fried, causing it to open its jaws.
"V! Grenades!" Courier shouted to Veronica who quickly primed a pair of grenades while Courier did the same. Tossing the grenades into the maw of the Parasite Cage, a second passed before explosions tore apart the Heartless, making it fly back into the wall and shudder before a large glowing burst out from its mouth and float.
Then a loud ominous rumbling made itself known and Veronica said, "I think we just gave Monstro an upset stomach!"
"Back to the ship! Now!" Courier bellowed.
"yeah, before it leaves without us!" Black Cat stated as the group fled from Monstro's stomach.
…
Meanwhile, in another location aboard a sailing ship in the Captain's quarters, a comatose Kairi lay on the couch. Standing beside her were two Thalmor clad in Elvish armour and a third Thalmor wearing ornate robes spoke to Riku. "Do not worry, Riku. We shall take good care of your friend," Ancano said with a thin smile.
Riku nodded his thanks to the Thalmor agent and turned around to see Maleficent approach him. "So, Kairi's a lifeless puppet now?" he asked in a sad voice.
"Precisely," Maleficent confirmed. Riku stared at Kairi's almost lifeless body and he said, "And her heart…?" he tried to say when Maleficent finished for him.
"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."
With desperation in his icy blue eyes, Riku said, "Tell me, what can I do to save her?!"
"There are seven maidens of purest heart. We call them the Princesses of Heart. Gather them together and a door will open to the heart of all worlds," Maleficent told him. "Within it, lies untold wisdom. Perhaps there you may find a way to restore your friend to life," she said before she leaned forward to say to Riku, "Now I shall give you a gift; the power to the control the Heartless."
A deep fiery green glow surrounded Riku and he took it, feeling the power fuel him. Once he had fully absorbed it, he looked at the catatonic Kairi and said, "Soon, Kairi. Soon!"
…
Everyone was safely on board the Gummi Ship just as Monstro sneezed them out, disturbed by what had happened.
"Everyone okay?" Dragonborn asked.
"Yes, thanks to all of you," Geppetto replied with a nod of thanks and Pinocchio nodded his thanks too.
"Right, now we just have to set the coordinates for Traverse Town and drop Geppetto and Pinocchio off before going back to New York to drop off our stowaway," Courier said with a look at Felicia who had an offended look on her face.
"Hey! I helped out, didn't it?" the thief reminded them. "I think I've earned my spot on this team, don't you think?" she asked.
"You did help," Dragonborn confirmed. "But you did stow away in the first place," he then said.
"I dunno, maybe Felicia could help out?" Sora said thoughtfully. "I mean having someone who can sneak around would be helpful," he added.
"No way!" Serana and Aela blurted before they both blushed and glared at each other.
"Well, having someone who can pick locks would be nice to have around," Veronica said.
"We have the Keyblade to open locks for us," Aela pointed out. "And besides, Dragonborn can also pick locks," she said.
"Why don't you guys give me a trial run? I help you out on the next world you go to and if none of you feel like I helped, you can take me back to New York," Felicia offered.
Everyone looked at each other and Courier said, "Fine, but that brings up another question; where are you gonna sleep?"
"I think we might need to upgrade the Ship for something a bit roomier," Dragonborn stated.
"Yeah and there's one place to go for that," Veronica said knowingly.
"Setting a course for Traverse Town, prepare to make the jump to warp speed," Courier said as she made the necessary preparations to warp to Traverse Town.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! The ninth chapter of this is done and dusted. I apologise for taking so long as I've been pretty busy with work and real life, but now that school holidays are almost over here in Australia, things can go back to something a little quieter and slower.
Next chapter will be going back to Traverse Town where a small festival will be taking place as everyone needs a little break from all the fighting going on and I have some good ideas for some things that the heroes can do. I even plan on something a little… spicy happening *wink-wink nudge-nudge say no more say no more*.
But that chapter might be a while off yet as there are some stories that I have severely neglected in the last couple of years such as my Witcher/Elder Scrolls crossover and my Witcher/Game of Thrones crossover. I tend to get distracted by new story ideas that pop into my head and that leads to what a friend called a dispersal of focus. I will attempt to focus on those two stories and any others that need some attention. Stay tuned.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.