Chapter XIII: The Long Haul

"We've searched every village surrounding the palace and still no sign of Kuzco." Yzma steamed. The evil woman stepped out of the covered seat she had Kronk carry.

"It appears you're having a bad day." Iwa said as he appeared.

"Oh, look who finally decides to show back up." Yzma sighed. "I did as you said and unleashed those creatures upon the jungle and yet none have brought any results."

"Of course they haven't." Iwa responded. "They're merely tools for you to use. And as with any tool, the wielder needs to use it properly."

"Uh, what exactly are you getting at?" Kronk asked.

"You're saying I'm incompetent, aren't you?" Yzma grew madder. "That's it. I've haven't enough problems in these past few days and I don't need you being another. Our partnership is over."

"That's a shame." Iwa said, shaking his head. "To think I went out of my way and found a talking llama for you."

"Oh, a talking llama?" Yzma changed her tone. "Do tell."

"Unfortunately, our partnership has ended." feigned Iwa. "Though I suppose your assistant could know."

"Then why don't you tell him?" Yzma added.

"That's fine." he said as walked over to Kronk.

"I hate being in the middle." Kronk sighed.

The white haired man leaned in and whispered the info into Kronk's ear. With that out of the way, he stepped back and opened a portal.

"Consider this my parting gift." he said, stepping into the portal. Once out of earshot, he murmured one last line. "To think it was this easy to manipulate your emotions. I can tell you'll bring in quite the trouble for her."

—

Having walked for quite a while, the trio of Ushio, Pacha, and Kuzco found themselves surrounded by strange plants creatures. They bore yellow and orange petals with a green stem that ended in a blue, four legged body.

"What are these things?" Pacha asked.

"They're Heartless, very dangerous creatures for people like you." Ushio answered.

"Yeah, well, I don't care what they're called, just so long as they're gone." Kuzco added.

"That's easy enough." Ushio brought forth her Keyblade.

The Creeper Plants spat seeds at the girl as she deflected them away. Trying to get closer, vines came out of the ground and lashed at her.

"Fire!" she shouted as the ball of flame launched at the enemy. One was hit as it burst into flames. However, the foe still remained. "Hmm, thought that'd do a bit more."

With the ten enemies surrounding them, Ushio found herself protecting the other two just as much as fighting. The scuffle continued as she alternated between offense and defense. Little by little, the Plants were eventually disposed of.

"Not that hard." Ushio panted.

—

The group continued on their way until they needed to take a breather. Seeing a restaurant ahead, they decided to settle down there for now. With a sign above the door indicating 'No Llamas', Pacha whipped up a disguise for Kuzco.

Having Kuzco disguised as a woman and playing the part of his 'wife', the trio entered. Ushio took a different seat to allow the two to play up their roles more. She could hear the two laughing as they took it easy. Looking over at the meal dropped in front of the pair, Ushio looked at her server.

"I'll just have something to drink."

Seeing Kuzco walking towards the kitchen, she wondered what he could be doing. The thought passed quickly as she noted two people sitting in the booth next to Pacha. Something about the older woman in purple just didn't sit well with her. Before she could dwell on this either, a familiar sounding voice asked her a question.

"Is this seat next to you taken?"

Looking over, Ushio was shocked to see Iwa. Glaring at him, he simply sat down.

"Now, now, don't make a scene." he said.

"And why are you here?" she asked.

"Two reasons." he stated. "First off, I need to keep an eye on those the group deemed worthy of our assistance." Iwa pointed towards the same woman Ushio had spotted. "And two, I noticed you were here."

"So, you keep watching me. I'm flattered." Ushio sarcastically remarked. "Why am I so special to you?"

"The Neo Seekers seemed it so." he stated.

"You Neo Seekers don't seem to be making much sense. That Genex fellow talked out how you wanting to obtain something while that pink haired woman wanted me to succeed. On top of that, you seem to be antagonizing me. Sending these Heartless and Nobodies after me. What is it that you want?"

"In due time." Iwa calmly said. "For now, simply run about and carry on your training you've started. Your mother and father will be so proud."

"Ho-"

"Like I told you last time, I'm just reintroducing myself. For both personal reason and my group's, this will all make sense eventually."

Ushio stared at the man. While he was irritating in his vagueness and she knew he was up to no good, something inside her made him seem off. She couldn't quite place it, but a weird feeling was deep in her heart.

"Why don't you just leave?" Ushio asked.

"Fortunately for you, I've done most of what I've set out to do. Though, you might want to too." Iwa pointed at the table were her companions were. Ushio saw as Pacha grabbed Kuzco to leave as he waved her to follow suit. The girl in pink got up and left the cloaked man behind.

"What are you doing?" Kuzco asked as the three left the building.

"Yeah, what's happening?" Ushio added.

"Look, there's two people in there looking for Kuzco." Pacha explained. "A big guy and a skinny old woman."

"Wait. Was this woman scary beyond all reason?" Kuzco asked.

"You mean, those two?" Ushio questioned as she recalled the pair Iwa had pointed to.

"Oh, yeah." Pacha agreed with Kuzco.

"That's Yzma and Kronk! I'm saved!" Kuzco sighed in relief.

"Trust me, they're not here to save you." Pacha emphasized.

"Listen to him. They're up to no good." Ushio sides with him.

"They'll take me back to the palace." Kuzco ignored the pair. "Thanks for your help. You've been great. I can take it from here."

"No, no. You don't understand." Pacha attempted to dissuade him. "They're trying to kill you."

"Not just that, they're probably also the one who sent those Heartless after us." Ushio added.

"Kill me? Send Heartless after us? Their whole world revolves around me." Kuzco said, taking off.

"No. I can't let you!" Pacha tried stopping him.

"I have to agree with him. You're not going back." said Ushio.

"What? Wha…oh! Oh, I get it!" Kuzco realized. "You don't want to take me back to the palace. You want to keep me stranded out her forever. This has all been an act and I almost fell for it. And you, U-she-whatever, he had you tag along as an extra pair of eyes to keep me from wandering to far off. I bet those creatures were all a fake you planted to help sell your story."

"Will you just listen to me-" Pacha spoke up.

"No, no, you two listen to me. All you care about is your stupid hilltop." Kuzco fired back. "You don't care about me. Now, just get out of here. Go on! Get outta here!"

"Fine!" Pacha exploded. "Come on, Ushio."

The group separated as Kuzco ran off. Looking back one last time, Ushio huffed in anger as she saw the llama head away. Today just wasn't her best day.