Look who's back. Boy this chapter took awhile but now it's finally here. I also made some changes to the 101 Dalmatians side quest in this chapter so I hope you enjoy it. And finally, the next chapter of Night of The Undead Critters is on Ao3. The chapter will be posted on here when I finish the whole story so I'll be able to post the last few chapters once a week. Keep your eyes open.
Chapter 7: A Much Needed Explanation
I was sleeping in Yuffie's arms as she and Leon led us to the hotel as I slept I had a dream about Riku. He woke up in a mysterious world looking for us; he was all alone except for a figure I couldn't make out. The dream ended before I could find out what happened to him. Next thing I knew, I woke up in my bedroom.
"She's gone!" Yuffie exclaimed, "What?" Leon asked, "I don't know what happened. One minute she's napping in my arms, the next poof. Disappeared into thin air." Yuffie explained, "Don't worry; she'll be back, her sleep was too deep. Dakota is back in her world now." Amy explained, "How does that work?" Tidus asked, "We'll explain later. But, first things first, we need Emily and Chloe." "I hope Aerith gets here soon," Cindy said,
Emily, Chloe, Donald, and Goofy were walking down the back alleyway, still trying to find us. "We've been walking forever, and there's still no sign of the key." Donald said, exasperated, "Yeah, and there's still no sign of Sora, Dakota, or Leon." Chloe said, "Maybe there's someone in this alleyway." Emily suggested, "Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky! Goofy said, "Aw phooey. I'm not scared." Donald said when someone tapped him on the back. He jumped onto Goofy's back. "Excuse me. Did the King send you?" Aerith asked, "Yeah, he did. Who are you, and how do you know that?" Chloe asked, "My name is Aerith. I'm friends with Leon. You're looking for Dakota and Sora, right?" She asked, "Yes, we are!" Cindy and Chloe said, "Follow me. I'll explain everything." Aerith said, leading the gang to the hotel,
"I see you found them." Leon said as Aerith and the others walked up to him, "And I see you found the rest as well." Aerith said, "Cindy, Amy! Chloe said, running to her sister. "Chloe, I'm so happy you're safe," Cindy said, hugging her sister.
"Tidus, Wakka. What are you doing out here? Don't you know it's dangerous?" Emily asked, "We're sorry we just got worried about Dakota and Sora, so we left to find them." Wakka said, "We ran into Leon and thought he was a bad guy. Not long after that, we found Dakota and Sora." Tidus explained, "You found Dakota?!" Emily and Chloe asked, "When Leon found Sora, he fought him for the Keyblade. We saw Dakota behind Cid's shop after she found us we hid behind the mailbox." Wakka explained, "After that, Yuffie and Leon found us, and here we are." Tidus said, "Gawrsh, all that's been happened while we've been looking for ya. But uh, where's Dakota?" Goofy asked, "She fell asleep in Yuffie's arm, and dream jumped." Amy explained, "Dream jumped?! Uh, what's that?" Donald asked, "We'll tell you later, but first let's get everything sorted out we have a lot to talk about." Amy said, "Amy's right Aerith. Take Donald and Goofy to the red room. "We'll be next door explaining the situation with Sora, Dakota, Emily, and the others," Leon explained,
"Great, let's go, Goofy." Donald said, "Uh, Donald, don't you think we should stay with Sora?" Goofy asked, "Aw, he's not going anywhere. Right now, we need answers." Donald said, "Uh, I guess you're right. We'll talk to you fellers later." Goofy said, entering the room with Donald and Aerith.
"Oh, my baby. I hope he's alright." Sora's mother said, "I'm really sorry, ma'am. But I couldn't let the Heartless get a hold of that key." Leon said, "Thank you for finding them, Leon, but next time try talking to him." Sora's mother said, "How long do you think Sora will be out cold like this? Can't we just start this meeting already?" Emily asked, "I told you not without Sora and Dakota. They need to know about the dangers we're in." Amy said, "I knew that much. But still, we don't have all day. The Heartless will find us sooner than later." Emily said, "She's right, Amy. We don't even know when Dakota will come back." Chloe said, just then, light shined through the room, and I was sleeping on the same bed Sora was. "Well, that answers that question," Emily said,
"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up." Kairi said Sora opened his eyes and saw who he thought was Kairi. "You okay?" She asked, "I guess..." Sora replied, "Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want because you wield the Keyblade." Kairi said, "I'm so glad that you're okay, Kairi. Dakota and I have been looking all over town for you." Sora said, "Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the great ninja Yuffie." She said, and Sora snapped out of his daze, "I think you might have over down it, Squall." Yuffie said, "That's Leon." He said, "Seems like you were dreaming about Kairi, kid." Emily said, "Hey, it's you, Dakota, and I have been looking all over for- Oh no! Where's Dakota?!" Sora asked, "Sora? Are you okay?" I asked as I was waking up, "Oh, there you are." He said, "Good, You're awake. Finally, we can start this meeting." Emily said,
Sora, it's the girls." I said, "Yep, it's us." Amy said, "Thank goodness you're safe." I said, "We're sorry for worrying you. And we're also sorry about the rough landing." Amy said, "It's okay; we're just happy you're safe." I said, "But who are you? Why did you attack Sora, and why do you want his Keyblade?" I asked,
"Right, the Keyblade…" Sora said, seeing it standing on the doorframe, "Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you." Yuffie said, "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long. Still hard to believe you of all people are the chosen one." Leon said, holding the Keyblade as it disappeared from his hand and reappeared in Sora's. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." He said, "Well, for all things considering you should be happy that Sora is chosen. Especially since Keyblade welders are becoming a dying breed." Amy said, "Wait, there are more people like Sora?' I asked, "Yes, there were. There was a time Keyblade welders were everywhere now. It's almost forgotten." Amy said, "But, there are three welders. That trained under a powerful master." Emily said,
"Well, where are they? I would love to meet them; we could also use their help." I said, getting sad looks from Emily and the others "Is it something I said?" I asked, "Unfortunately, they have been missing for over ten years. One lost his heart and is in a deep slumber. As for the other two, we don't know what became of them." Emily explained, "Which is why you and Sora are our only hope." Amy said, "Why don't you start making sense! What's going on here?" Sora asked, "We'll explain everything, but first, I think we owe you an introduction." Amy said, "My name is Amy, and this is my little sister Emily." She said, "Hi, nice to finally meet you without all those Heartless running around." Emily said, "I'm Cindy, and this is my little sister Chloe." She said, pointing to Chloe hiding behind Yuffie's leg, "She's a little shy." Cindy said, "And you already meet Squall and me." Yuffie said, "Do I have to remind you every time? It's Leon." He said, "I'm a little confused about the name here." I said, "Same here." Sora said,
"Your name is Squall Leonheart, right?" Amy asked, "That's right; I changed my name after my world was destroyed." Leon said, "So, with that out of the way. Why are you girls here?" I asked, "Oh, right, Dakota. We're your angels." Amy said, "Angels!" Everyone shouted. Meanwhile, as all of this was going down. Aerith was explaining everything to Donald and Goofy.
"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?" She asked, "Yeah." Donald said, "But, they're supposed to be a secret." Goofy said, covering his mouth with his hands. "They've been secret because they've never been connected. Until now." Aerith explained, "When the Heartless came, everything changed."
"The Heartless?" Sora asked, "The ones who attacked you, you remember?" Yuffie asked, "But, Isn't that what Emily and the others look like?" Sora asked, "Yes, pretty much." Amy said,
"Those without hearts." Leon said, "The darkness in people's hearts—that's what attracts them." Yuffie said, "And there is darkness within every heart." Leon said, "Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked, "I have. I read about him in a book." Amy said,
"Ansem?" Goofy asked, "He was studying the Heartless. He recorded all of he's findings in a very detailed report." Aerith explained, "Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked, "Its pages are scattered everywhere." Aerith said, "Scattered?" Donald asked, "Too many worlds." She said, "Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em." Goofy said, "Yes, those were my thought exactly." Aerith said, "We've got to find him quick!" Goofy said, "Wait! First, we need to find that "key"!" Donald said, "That's right. The Keyblade." Aerith said,
"So… This is the key?" Sora asked, "Exactly!" Yuffie said, "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." Leon explained,
"And, if it wasn't for the Keyblade coming to your aid back on the island. The Heartless would've made quick work of you." Emily said, "That's why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what." Leon said, "Well, I didn't ask for this." Sora said, "The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you." Yuffie said, "So tough luck." Leon said, "Gee, thanks, Leon." I said, annoyed, "How did all this happen? I remember being in my room… Huh." Sora gasped, standing up "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!" Sora shouted, "You know what? I really don't know." Leon said,
"Okay, I'm having trouble processing this. You're my angels?" I asked, pointing to Emily and the others, "Yes, we are." Amy said, "The type of angels that have feathery wings, halos, and help others learn the difference between right and wrong?" I asked, "Yep, that's us." Emily said, "But, how come you look like, Heartless?" Sora asked, "That's because three years ago, we were cursed by an evil fairy." Amy explained, "Cursed!" Sora and I exclaimed, "So, that's why you look like that." Tidus said, "Oh, you poor dears." Sora's mother said,
"Well, we're not really cursed anymore. We use this form to blend in. Angels can't sustain a physical form for too long. So, we're using this as our disguise." Amy explained, "Well, I guess that makes sense. But, What about Riku and Kairi? What happened to my island? And where did Dakota come from?" Sora asked, "To answer your first question. I'm sorry Sora but I have no idea what happened to them. Our plan was to have the four of you come here. But, the darkness came early and messed up the whole thing." Amy explained, "As for the Island, I'm sorry Sora… it's gone." She said sadly "Gone!" Everyone exclaimed, "You mean are home is lost?" Tidus asked, "I'm afraid so. We tried to prevent it, but by the time Sora and Dakota came. It was far too late. The door on the island held the Keyhole to the world. When the Heartless invaded, they got to it and lead the world into everlasting darkness. The world is gone and I don't know how to get it back." Amy said,
"As for Dakota, She doesn't come from this universe, we brought her here from another dimension. In her world this is all a video game but we knew how much she loves it here so using a special method called dream jumping. She can go from one universe to the other." Amy explained, "So, I've been dreaming this whole time?" I said, "No, this is real. But to put it simply every time you fall asleep you'll travel to this world and yours. But, don't worry, your family will never know you're gone." Amy explained, "To them you adventures here is just a dream." She said,
"So, is Dakota here to stay?' Sora asked, "Well, that's up to her. We wanted her to be our new leader. But with everything that happened so far. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to go home." Amy said, "The choice is yours, you can ether stay and fight the darkness with us or you can head home and live a normal life." Emily said, sitting on a chair with her hands behind her head "And if I refuse?" I asked, "Then you'll be sent home next time you sleep. But, this time you won't come back. So, say your good byes now while you can." Emily said,
I looked at everyone I looked at Sora and his Keyblade. I looked at the door where Aerith was still talking to Donald and Goofy. I thought about Riku and Kairi who wouldn't be able see me again if I left and it wouldn't be fair to them to leave without saying good bye. I made up my mind I was staying "There is no way I'm leaving when other worlds out there are meeting the same fate as the Islands." I said, with a big smile on my face "So, you're staying?" Sora asked, hopeful "You bet I am I'll be the best leader there is." I said, "I knew you would say that. But, before we go you need a new weapon." Amy said, "That's right, I lost mine." I said, "Here take this it's called a Rainbow wand. The Heartless hate this more than the Keyblade. This is what we use on them." Amy explained, "That's so cool. How does it work?" I asked, "It works like this." Amy said, holding up a star shaped wand.
The star was yellow, and the handle was pink. The wand lifted from Amy's hand. It then began glowing and spinning; finally, it pointed itself to my heart and landed in my hand. I looked at it for a moment, then waved it, and rainbows came out of it, "Whoa, cool." I said, "I've never seen anything like it." Tidus said, "Wield it with pride, my friend." Wakka said, "I will, and first order of business is… Huh! Guys, we still need to find Selphie." I said, "She's right; we never found her." Sora said, "If she's still outside, she's in danger. Has anyone seen her?" Amy asked, "I saw her earlier looking for you. When I didn't know who you were, she left before I could stop her." Leon explained, "We have to get out there and look for her. Maybe she found Riku and Kairi." Sora said that's when I remembered the dream I had. "Sora? I saw Riku. He's in another world." I said, "Really, where is he?" Sora asked I don't know. All I know is he woke up on a stone platform, and someone already found him. I hope he's ok." I said,
"I'm sure he is. At least we know he's alright now. Guess that leaves Kairi." Sora said, "Look. If you want to find your friends, we better leave soon." Leon said, "Why do you say that?" I asked, "Sooner or later, the Heartless will find us. You'd best prepare yourself." Leon said, "Prepare myself?" Sora asked, "To fight for your life. Are you ready?" Leon asked, "We're ready." I said, "Yuffie, let's go join Aerith, She should be done filling Donald and Goofy in by now," he said, "Hold on before we go Dakota. I have one more thing I need to give you." Amy said, "What is it, Amy." I said, "It's a winged backpack. With this, you'll be able to fly just like us." She explained, holding up a small pink backpack with fairy wings on the back "Cool." I said, putting it on "How does it look." I said, showing everyone, "It's adorable on you." Yuffie said, "And with this, I can fly." I said, running outside to test them, "Wait, I never told you how to use them." Amy said, but it was too late. I jumped off the balcony and fell on a group of Soldier Heartless, "Oh, that's gonna leave a mark." Emily said, "Good thing the Soldiers cushioned her fall." Chloe said,
"Hey, thanks for breaking my fall. But, can you help me back up?" I asked them they nodded and stacked themselves on each other and picked me up. "Leon!" Yuffie exclaimed, seeing a Soldier appear, "Yuffie, go!" Leon said, "Come on, kids, follow me." Yuffie said, taking Tidus and Wakka with her, they went into the next room where Donald, Goofy, and Aerith were, and Donald was smashed by the opening door "Yuffie." Aerith said, running after them, "Sora, let's go!" Leon said, blasting the Heartless out the window and into his buddies. They broke formation and tumbled with me still on them, but luckily I got my wings to work and gently flow down.
"Are you okay, Dakota?" Sora asked, "I'm fine; thank you." I said, "That's a lot of Heartless." Chloe said, "Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader. Let's go!" Leon said and took off. "Where should we go from here?" I asked, using my Rainbow wand for the first time. "Follow me. There's a house that's also a short cut to the second district." Emily said, "We'll regroup in the first district and come up with a plan about what to do next." Everyone ran to a blue house and went inside. And inside was an old lady with a maid outfit on dusting the furniture.
"Oh, my, I didn't see you come in. Time really flies when you're dusting." She said, "Sorry, ma'am, we didn't know someone was living here. Or we would've knocked first." Emily said, "Oh, it's no trouble, no trouble at all, after all, with the Heartless running about. You can't go anywhere." The woman said, giggling, "Come on in. The names Nanny." She said, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Dakota." I said, followed by everyone else saying their names, "Come with me, the Masters will be most pleased to meet you." Nanny said, leading us to the living room.
In the living room was a man, a woman who I thought might be his wife and two dogs "Ah, there you are, Nanny, I was just about to call you for tea." The man said, setting down his newspaper, "I see we have some guests. Sit down, everyone. Make yourselves at home." He said, "Hi, nice to meet you." I said, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Roger, and this is my lovely wife, Anita. And our dogs Pongo and Perdita, you can call her Perdy for short." Roger said, "Those are some really nice Dalmatians." Emily said, "Can I pet them?" I asked, "Of course you can. They love children. Nanny Help me with the tea I want our guests to feel comfortable." Anita said, when tea was served, we told them about our experience,
"Oh, boy, another world gone with the darkness." Roger said, "Was your world destroyed too?" I asked, "Yes, unfortunately, we lived in London with Nanny and our puppies." Anita explained, "It all happened so suddenly. First, the Heartless showed up. Then the darkness covered everything. Our Puppies were scatted across different worlds." Roger explained,
"Well, we could help you." Sora said, "You will?" They asked, "Oh, honey, we couldn't ask you to do that. It's too dangerous with the Heartless out there." Anita said, "Don't worry, we can handle them. How many Dalmatians puppies do you have? Five, ten, fifteen?" Emily asked, "Ninety-nine." They said, "N, n, n, ninety-nine!" Emily exclaimed, "That's one-hundred and one Dalmatians." Amy said, "How, did you get that many. Do you own a pet store?" Emily asked, "It was all Cruella de Vil's doing. My old school friend." Anita explained, "She hired two fiends named Horace and Jasper to steal the poor dears." Nanny explained, "But, why would she do that?" Chloe asked, "She wanted to turn them and eighty-nine more into a fur coat she could wear. She's obsessed with fur. And she would do anything to get her way even stealing." Roger explained, "One night, Pongo and Perdy ran away from home just to save their puppies and came home with more than we bargained for. And with so many puppies, we decided to live in the county side in a Dalmatian Foundation." Anita explained,
"But, the night before, we would leave the Heartless invaded, and we were separated. And we haven't seen any of the puppies since." Roger said, "Don't worry, Roger, we'll look for the puppies. But, how did you know all of this did your dog's tell you?" I asked, "Oh, heavens, no. The bubbies at Scotland Yard told us the whole story someone found Cruella, Horace, and Jasper walking in the snow with parts of Cruella's broken car, and they thought they should call for help." Roger explained. "When the police arrived and picked them up. Horace and Jasper confessed the whole thing. They will be locked away for a long time." Anita said, with the triumphant barks from Pongo and Perdita, "Well, that's quite the story, but we should be going now we have some friends we need to find. But before we go, is there anything else you need?" Emily asked, "The only thing we ask of you is to bring our puppies back safely. And please do visit us from time to time." Roger said, "We will, we can promise you that come on everyone; let's go." Emily said we said goodbye to Roger, Anita, and Nanny and left.
We ran through the second district fighting only a few Heartless. Eventually, we made it back to the first district. Where Leon and the others were Tidus, Wakka and their parents were sitting in a table, and we decided that would be a good place to talk about our next curse of action. "Selphie has to be somewhere, but we've looked everywhere." I said, "Have you tried checking the third district?" Emily asked, "Where's the third district?" Sora and I asked, "You can enter the third district through that door over there." Yuffie said, pointing to the door, "Yuffie, don't you remember the door is locked. To keep people from going in there." Leon explained,
"We have to go in, Selphie could be there." Sora said, "Or the Heartless leader. We've looked everywhere but there." Amy said, "Alright, there's another way. Go through the second district till you see a long ally way with a door. That will lead you to the third district." Leon said, "Sora and I saw that door. But, there were too many Heartless near it for us to go through." I said, "We've got no time to lose. Come on, everyone, let's go find our friends." Amy said, "Good luck, and let us know if you find Donald and Goofy." Yuffie called out, "whose Donald and Goofy?" I asked,
"Remind me to show you some old Disney movies when we got the time." Emily said, "I don't like movies." I said, "Then how about I show you some old cartoons?" Emily asked, "Deal." I said we ran through the second district with Heartless on our tails and when we got to the ally way Leon told us about. There were more Heartless then before. "Dakota was right. There are more here." Amy said, "Looks like they're guarding something." Cindy said, "Or someone, the leader must be beyond this door." Amy said, "Selphie may be there too. Come on; girls, let's do this together." I said, spinning with the Rainbow wand destroying the Heartless blocking our way. "Whoa, when did you learn that?" Emily asked, "I saw the Soldiers do it, so I wanted to try it too. I love spinning." I said, "Look at you, creating your battle style. Come on, while they're gone. Let's see what lies behind this door." Emily said, opening the door, and we walked in.