Disclaimer: I do not own TaleSpin


Episode Two

The Power of the Heart


The sun begin to rise over the islands where Matthew and Baloo were located. Baloo was snoring away on the bottom bunk bed in the McQueen while Matthew was hard at work on the Sea Duck's engines. Both of the nacelles of the Sea Duck were empty and their engines sat on top of a large blue tarp spread out on the ground near the plane. The entire two engines had been taken apart and just now been reassembled. Matthew had made all the necessary repairs along with a few tweaks to make the plane faster. He even added a better version of Overdrive, this one will work the same way as the old one did, but without the drawback of overheating the engines. It should still only be used for emergencies as it was still dangerous to use.

Matthew sweated as he tightened a few bolts with a wrench before wiping his forehead on his sleeve. He was tired, he had dark shadows under his eyes from the all-night repair and tune-up of Baloo's engines

"There, good as new!" Matthew declared as he stood back to admire his handy work. The engines no longer looked like used, patched-up engines, now they looked brand new and shiny. "Now then…. Hope I can do this before Baloo wakes up..."

He closed his eyes and focused. "May the Heart be with you…." he murmured, stretching out his hand towards one of the engines. After a moment, the engine gave a little wiggle. Matthew raised his hand up just a little, and the engine rose off the ground very slowly. As Matthew stretched out his hand, the engine hovered away from him. As he drew his hand back, it hovered back towards him. With his hand movements, he directed the engine to hover in front of one of the Sea Duck's nacelles.

Still holding his hand towards the engine, Matthew walked around the plane until he was directly in front of it. Then he stopped, facing the plane. With his hand, he made a little shoving motion, and the engine hovered backwards into the nacelle. When it was in far enough, Matthew made a halting sign with his hand and the Heart disconnected him from the engine.

"That's one down," Matthew said, looking even more tired than before. "One to go..." he raised his hand and repeated the process with the other engine. Once that was done, he fell to his knees in exhaustion. But the job wasn't finished yet. He took a moment to recover, then he stood up and picked up one of propeller and begin to reattach it to the engine. He then repeated this process with the other engine. Once that was done, he climbed onto the wing and walked towards one of the two nacelles, now containing an engine in each one. He connected the wires, cables and the fuel tube to the engine and then bolted the engine down within the nacelle. He then did the same with the other engine. Finally, it was ready for flight!

His job done, he closed up the nacelles and laid down on his back on top of the wing. "It's finally finished…." he then conked out, and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, back at Louie's Place…

Inside shack number twelve, Chris' bright blue eyes fluttered open and then he slowly sat up in his bed, yawning and stretching. Kit, being roused by his brother's movements, did likewise.

"You're up bright and early." Kit commented as he got out of bed.

"Heh-heh, yeah, I always wake up at sunup." said Chris, also getting out of bed and started doing some leg stretches. "No matter what time it is, as soon as the sun's up completely, I automatically wake up for some reason."

"Ah, you're just an early riser." said Kit. "So, since you've been looking for me your whole life, you and Dad must've had a lot of adventures together."

"Yeah, more than I can count, actually." said Chris..

"Tell me about some of 'em." Kit said with an air of one expecting to hear a series of thrilling tales.

"Uhhh…" Chris said, suddenly realizing that most of his adventures with his Dad had been in other worlds and he was a bit young when he had last been here to remember any adventures he might have had in this world. And he was forbidden to talk of other worlds. Then an idea came to him. He'd tell Kit one of his off-world adventure and make it sounds as if it happened in this world. But he needed time to think the story through. "I will, but first, some breakfast." he said, pushing Kit towards the door.

"Oh, okay…." Kit said, clearly disappointed. "Let's go eat….I guess."

Louie's Place was quiet at this hour of the morning. The few people that were awake at the time, all sat at their table, finishing their breakfast, wearing the glum expressions of early morning as they sipped their coffee.

Louie himself was the only one who seems truly awake. His cheerfulness as he darts here and there in the kitchen, cooking various orders was a stark contrast of his sleepyheaded customers. He was even humming jazzy and scatty tune to himself as he worked.

"Good morning, Louie." Kit said as the two cubs approach the bar and sat in the same stools as the night before.

"Good morning, cuz!" Louie said cheerfully. "Ready for da most important meal o' da day?"

"You bet!" Chris said.

"Ha-ha, alright!" Louie shouted happily. "Hey Jim!" he called to one of his little monkey minions, who was wearing a chef hat and apron and was tending to other orders. "Get the Chris-Kit order ready."

"Yes, Mr. Louie, right away!" the monkey minion said, he looked up at the clothesline, on which many orders hung. "Got it!" he said, having located the order and took it down. "Two orders of Old Fashion, with a side of pancake for each?

"That's right, now hop to it, Sonny Jim." Louie said as he started mixing drinks for another customer.

"Yes sir!" the monkey minion said as he went over to the refrigerator and got out a few eggs, bacons and some ground beef to make sausages.

"Can I have some coffee, Louie?" asked Kit.

"Sure cuz, but uh, I didn't know you drink coffee." Louie said as he poured Kit a cup and slid it across the bar towards him.

"You drink coffee?! Yuck!" Chris exclaimed with a disgusted face, his tongue sticking out on the word 'yuck'. "That's disgusting."

Kit was drinking his coffee as Chris was saying this and Chris was amazed that Kit didn't gag or even shudder at the bitter taste. He just drank it so casually, that it was as if he drank it everyday.

"That…" Kit said, setting down his half-empty cup of coffee down on the bar. "...is a matter of opinion, Chris. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others wouldn't like it either. Here, try it." he said, pushing his cup towards Chris. "I don't know how long it's been since you last tasted coffee, but your taste might have changed since then. Go on, try it."

Chris slowly and reluctantly picked up the cup and took his sweet time taking a sip. When he finally did take a proper sip, his face jerked away from the cup, as if he'd burnt his tongue. He wore a disgusted expression with his tongue hanging out in a 'yuck!' sort of way.

"BAH! Bitter!" Chris said, shoving the cup back at Kit. "That's disgusting!"

Kit shrugged. "To each his own." he said, taking another casual sip. "I like it."

"Here's yer orange juice, cuz." Louie said, setting down a tall glass of orange juice in front of Chris.

"Perfect timing!" Chris exclaimed, picking up the glass. "I need to get that taste of coffee out of my mouth!" and he drank it down halfway and then let out of big sigh of satisfaction. "Ahhh, that's good orange juice."

Kit looked at Chris and then at his cup of coffee. "It's not that bad…." he muttered.

"Ahh, brother." Chris said, putting arm around Kit. "It is as you said: 'to each his own'""

"Order up!" shouted Jim from the kitchen, and two plates with their order appeared on the kitchen windowsill, plus two more plates of pancakes.

Louie collected the orders in his long arms and set them down in front of Kit and Chris.

"Here ya are! Now eat up before it gets cold." Louie said with a smile.

Kit and Chris had never seen a more-delicious looking breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacons, sausages and biscuits covered in gravy, Everything was masterfully cooked to perfection, one could tell that the chef had really put his heart into this meal.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Kit. "This all look so good! Even better than cereal!"

Kit and Chris picked up their respective silverwares, Kit using a fork while Chris was using a spoon.

"You eat eggs with a spoon?" Kit asked after he had taken the first few bites of his scrambled eggs.

"Y-yeah," Chris said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, he chewed and swallowed before adding: "Spoon's easier for me to use than a fork with scrambled eggs."

Kit shrugged and continue eating.

"Ahh…. now that's what I call a hearty breakfast!" said Chris as he and Kit both finished their breakfast. He patted his stomach. "I may need to jog an extra lap this morning, just burn all of this off."

Louie chuckled. "Well, feel free to use my entire island as yer track 'n field."

"Okay, thanks, Louie!" Chris as he hopped down from his stool and made a run for the door. Kit jumped down too and followed him.

"So, whadda we do first?" Kit asked as they arrived at the docks. "Chris?" He looked around and saw that Chris was doing the side lunge stretch.

"First," Chris said, switching sides on his side lunge stretch. "we stretch."

"Uh, okay…" Kit said as he took the same position as Chris and started doing the side lunge stretch as well. "Um, do you and Dad do these exercises together?"

"Uh-huh," Chris said, switching sides again. "Every morning, after breakfast and before going off to search for you, we'd do all of these exercises together. We even challenge each other to a foot race. But he always win." He stood up straight and started doing the side trunk stretch. "His legs are longer, so he can run faster than me."

After they have done every stretches Chris performed every morning, which finished with a hamstring stretch, they stood up and started jogging along the island. After the first lap around the island, Kit was ready to stop, but Chris just kept on jogging, so Kit just sucked it up and continued to jog.

Finally after three laps, Chris came to a stop at the dock area where they had started. He was a little sweaty and panting a little but otherwise alright.

"Ah, what a great workout, wasn't it, Kit? ...Kit?"

Chris looked around and saw that he had left Kit behind. After a moment, Kit emerged from a few yards away, walking as if he was carrying a ton-pound weight on his shoulders. His sweatshirt, baseball cap and fur were all soaked through with sweat! And he was panting like a dog on the Dog Days of Summer.

"Kit!" Chris shouted, running over to meet him. As he got close, Kit collapsed face down in the sand.

"I can't take another step!" he gasped.

When Chris reached him, he knelt down beside him. "Are you okay, Kit?"

"Y-y-yeah, gimme a minute…." Kit said, gasping and panting for breath.

"Guess you're not used to morning jogs." Chris suggested with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, I'm used to jogging….Just not a three-mile one, through an island jungle and sand. I'm more used to the city park and the school's track field. How are you not out of breath and sweaty like me?" Kit asked, as his breathing gradually stabilized "

"Well, I….I've been jogging with Dad over countless different terrains, I guess that helps me." Chris said, smiling sheepishly. "I guess I've jogged through rougher terrains than this island."

"Yeah, I guess that explains it. So…." Kit said, looking up at Chris with a confident smirk. "Wanna race to see who's faster?"

Chris gave a smirk in response. "You're on, but the loser buys the winner a soda."

"Deal!" Kit said, and they shook hands on it.

They mark their start point and their finish point. At the start point, Kit and Chris both got ready to run their fastest.

"Ready to eat my dust?" Kit said with a confident smirk.

Chris smirked back at him. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Okay, on your mark, get set… GO!" Kit shouted.

Both bear cubs took off running at full speed. At first, Kit and Chris were shoulder to shoulder and then the next thing Chris knew, Kit was ahead of him!

"Man, he's fast!" Chris gasped in awe as he continued to run. It was clear that while Kit wasn't used to jogging through rough terrains, he was a pretty fast runner.

Kit crossed the finish line first and jumped into the air with his arms up high. "Yahoo! I won!"

Chris crossed the finish line, gasping and panting, he bent over, holding his knees while he try to catch his breath.

"You owe me a soda." Kit said happily.

"How….how did you get so fast?" Chris gasped.

"I guess I had plenty of practice from running all my life." Kit said, shrugging.

"Were you running away from things?" Chris wanted to know. "No one gets that good at running unless they've ran away from things."

"Well, yeah, out on the streets, there's plenty of things to run from and you had to be fast enough not to get caught." Kit said."Those runs did help me outrun the entire Air Pirate crew once. And now, it's making me the undefeated runner in the Cape Suzette Elementary School track and field."

"Wow, that's awesome." Chris said admiringly. Then he turned serious. "How long did you lived out in the streets?"

"Oh, um…." Kit said, suddenly uncomfortable. It was clear that he was rather reluctant to tell the tale. "From the time I escaped the orphanage to the time I ran into the Air Pir—" he stopped dead, wishing he hadn't said that last part. He hit and scolded himself mentally.

"What? You ran into the Air Pirates?" Chris said in surprise. "DId they kidnap you? How long were you their prisoner? Did Baloo rescued you from them?" with each question, Chris got up closer and closer into Kit's face, until Kit was pressed against a coconut tree with their noses touching.

"Uh, yeah… Baloo did rescued me from them…." Kit said, drawing his face back away from Chris' and preferring not to answer the other questions, but Chris was persistence.

"You're avoiding my other questions, Kit." Chris said, poking him in the chest with a finger. "Answer me, did they kidnap you?"

"No…." Kit said, not meeting Chris' eyes.

"What? You got away from them?"

Kit slid down to the ground, drew his knees up and hugged them. "No…"

There was a pause and then the realization hit Chris like a ton-pound brick. "WHAT?! You went with them willingly?!"

"Yes, Chris!" Kit yelled in anger. "I was a pirate! Ya happy now?!" He then buried his face in his arms wrapped around his knees.

Chris was stunned, shocked by Kit's outburst. "You…. you were a pirate? Kit, what were you thinking?! Pirates are criminals, robbers, thieves, plunderers... "

Kit's head jerked up from his knees and he glared at Chris, who backed away.

"You think I don't know that?" Kit said in a low, fierce voice. "I knew exactly what kinds of people I was joining."

"Then why in blue blazes did you joined them, Kit?" Chris demanded.

"I…" Kit's face filled with remorse. "I stowed away in a plane, hiding in the cargo. That plane was hit by Air Pirates, and… and they found me. Karnage said I had spunk and offered me a place in the Air Pirates."

"Please tell me you refused the offer and they took you anyway…." Chris begged him.

Kit gave a hollowed laugh. "I wish, but sadly, I joined them willingly."

"Again, what were you thinking?"

"Chris, you've lived with Dad, I didn't!" Kit said in frustration, punching the ground with his fist.. "You have no idea what it's like to live out in the streets, alone, friendless, cold and hungry. I had to pickpocket and steal food just to survive. That was my life before the Air Pirate. I was thinking about survival and the lesser evil. At least with the Pirates, I was fed, given a bed and a roof over my head. I prefered that to the cold, starving nights on the streets."

There was a long silence between them, Chris stood there, looking horrified at Kit's little speech.

"Kit…" he said in a stunned voice. "You're right, I had no idea…." Chris knelt down and hugged Kit "That sounds terrible… but how in the world did you end up being the nice person you are today? Normally a kid living through all of that turns out to be a street thug who's about as nice as a Thembrian soldier!" Although Chris did not know what Thembria was, he had heard his Dad used this expression to describe a mean and cruel person.

"Eh, Sergeant Dunder's pretty nice." Kit shrugged. "For a Thembrian anyway. And this Thembrian kid, Bobo, he was nice too!"

Chris was looking at him in a way that plainly said he knew Kit was trying to steer the topic away from his past. Kit sat down on the ground and continued his story.

"I don't know, I just knew I didn't want to be like those bozos I met in the streets. But I was like them, I hated it but I was every bit like them until I met Baloo," Kit looked up with a sad little smile on his face. "Meeting Baloo changed me and I wanted to be more like him than Karnage, especially after seeing him outfly the Pirates." he laughed nostalgically on the last line. "Baloo took me in as his navigator, and then later, Miz Cunningham took me on when she took over the business and I've been with them ever since.. Miz Cunningham even helped me so I could go to school. She gave me some jobs so I could earn some extra money."

Chris smiled sadly as his brother opened up to him, he sat down next to him and hugged him. "You're really lucky to have Baloo, I can tell that he really cares for you back in the plane." he then released Kit and looked sadly at the ground. "I'm going to be completely honest with you, since you were honest with me…. I-I know I told you that I would tell you about the adventures Dad and I had over the years trying to find you, but... I'm sorry, Kit, but I can't tell you anything."

"What?! Why not?" Kit cried in outrage. "You promised you'd tell me some of your adventures!"

"I...I know, but I was planning on mixing the stories up a little bit so I wouldn't be disobeying the rules." Chris said with remorse. "But since you opened up to me, I just couldn't do it, I don't want to lie to you."

"What rules?" Kit asked. "Chris, are you and Dad part of a cult? Are they holding you two against your will?"

"No! No, nothing like that, we're not into cults," Chris said, not meeting Kit's eye. "Let's just say we're like secret agents and leave it at that, at least for now. We've joined a certain group to improve our chances of finding you. You have no idea what information this group have access to. We wanted the information of your whereabout. And we joined willingly to get that information."

Kit raised his eyebrow skeptically. "They allowed kids to be agents?"

"Not….not exactly…." Chris said, looking uncomfortable, fearing he might be saying too much already. "Kids are trained and taught at the headquarters, and given practice missions. Look, I've probably said too much already, so don't ask me anymore. All I can say is that we've joined a secret group and this group wishes to remain a secret, Dad and I joined, hoping to find you on one of our missions, but those missions are top secret, so I can't tell you about my adventures "

"Wait… you just said that kids are not exactly allowed to be agents and can only go on practice missions…." Kit said slowly. "How are you allowed to go on real missions with Dad?"

"They tried to make me stay at the headquarters with the other kids, but all I ever wanted to do was find my brother," Chris explained, smiling sideways at Kit. "I kept sneaking away onto the plane with Dad as he was going off on one of his missions, finally Dad got tired of finding me in various compartments and knowing there was no stopping me, he talked the higher-ups into allowing me to accompany him on his missions. In the end, they agreed, as long as I didn't hinder the mission."

"So….are you on a mission now?" Kit asked.

Chris shook his head. "Not this time, we're on a brief break from missions. Whether we're on missions or on breaks, we're always going to places, always on the lookout for hints that you might've been there."

"Well, you found me, now what're you gonna do, take me back? What if I don't wanna go?"

"You… you don't wanna come back with me and Dad?" Chris asked, looking devastated and upset. "After all those crazy and dangerous missions and adventures we went on to find you?! D'you know how many times I could've been killed looking for you? Too many, that's how many!"

"Look, I'm sorry," Kit said, looking equally upset. "All my life I wanted a home, a place to belong—a family! I finally found that in Cape Suzette, at Higher for Hire. That's my home. Baloo, Rebecca, Molly, Wildcat, the Jungle Aces… they're all my family now. And I…. I can't just leave them... I left them once for fame and riches and nearly got myself killed, burnt and broken at the very least! And I would've been if Baloo haven't been there to save me. I don't want to make that mistake again. I just can't leave them after all we've been through together."

Chris look as though he might cry for a moment then he looked up at Kit, knowing all the futuristic toys and devices he'd be giving up for him. "What if….what if Dad and me move to Cape Suzette? Kit, please, we want to be a part of your family too.

"I'd like that, but I'm not moving out of Higher for Hire." Kit said. "I'm too attached to the place."

"That's okay, we can either move in and work for Miss Cunningham too, or start our own business nearby." Chris said.

Kit chuckled. "You'd better not, with that fast plane you and Dad have, you'd put us out of business before we'd even take off!"

"Eh, I don't think Dad'd be interested in hauling cargoes, he only like cargo planes because they make a good flying mobile home or a camping vehicle with wings ." Chris said, shrugging. "He'd make more money off of his mechanicing skills. It's unbelievable what Dad can fix! And he doesn't just fix things, he makes them like brand new! Like taking an old beat-up truck and turning it into a brand-new truck! That's how amazing he is at fixing things, that's how he built the McQueen!"

"Wow," Kit said in awe. "That sounds amazing, he'd be raking in the money as a general repair shop."

"Yeah, flying and cloudsurfing are his talents, but repairing things to the point of being brand new again is his best talent."

"Hey, Chris, I've been meaning to ask, what's our real last name?" Kit asked. "I only called myself Cloudkicker because that was the name in engraved on the corner of my airfoil." he drew out his airfoil and spread it out, showing Chris the name engraved on the corner. "I always thought this was Dad's and Cloudkicker might have been his nickname or something."

Chris looked at the air board in Kit's hand. "No, Kit, this is yours."

"What?"

"It's yours," Chris repeated. "Dad still has his, and I got mine…" he withdrew what looks like an airfoil just like Kit's, except when he spread it out, it was a round-shape board, like a disc rather than a boomerang-shape. "Before we were born, our family was into the air circus business, cloudsurfing was our most popular performance. Folks came from all over to see the cloud-skiing wonder—our Dad! Cloudkicker was going to be your stage name. Our grandfather started the tradition of assigning airfoils and a stage name to every kid born into our family, starting with Dad and his brother."

"His brother? We have an uncle?" Kit asked, getting a little excited, thinking there were more of his family left than he thought.

"Had an uncle," Chris said gloomily. "He died in the war."

"Oh…" Kit said, feeling the gloom himself.. "What was his name?"

"He was Uncle Mark, that's all I know, Dad don't talk about him much, it's too painful for him."

"Yeah… um, can you tell me something."

"Sure, unless it's something I can't talk about."

"If Cloudkicker was going to be my stage name for the air circus show, then why are you and Dad using it as your last name too?"

"From what Dad told me, something bad happened in our air circus deal, something that made him drop our family name forever and adopt your stage name as our last name." Chris explained. "It was around that time you disappeared and he was just coming home from the war. I guess he took on your stage name to feel closer to you."

"So what was our original last name, do you know?"

"Yes, it was Windward, but Dad legally changed our name to Cloudkicker, your stage name."

"Kit Windward…" Kit said, as if trying to taste the name's flavor on his tongue. "Kit Windward, Chris Windward, Matthew Windward…." he tilted his head to one side, a look of uncertainty on his face, as if he was trying and failing to like the name. "Yeah, I think I'll stick with Cloudkicker. So, what's your stage name, Chris?"

"I'm Skyglider, because my board is more of a glider." Chris said. "And Dad is Cloudsurfer." he added, knowing Kit was about to ask.

"Cloudkicker, Skyglider and Cloudsurfer….they all sound pretty cool!" Kit said.

Feeling he has had enough with this Q and A ping pong game, Chris stood up.

"If you have any other questions about our family, save them for Dad." Chris said as he started to make his way back to Louie's. "Let's do lunch now." he offered Kit his hand and when Kit took it, he pulled him to his feet.

"What? Already?" said Kit, checking his watch and discovering that it was noon.

"Yeah, time flies when you go out for a jog, run in a race and have a chat with your brother." Chris said. "No matter what we do, the clock is always moving forward and never stands still."

"Well… I guess we can always talk later." Kit said reluctantly, following Chris to Louie's Place.

Later….

Baloo stepped into Louie's Place just as Kit and Chris were finishing their free lunch, both having ate a hamburger and fries with a cola. Both were seated at a table.

"Hey Papa Bear, how's the Sea Duck?" Kit asked, taking a sip of cola through a straw.

"Oh-oh man! She flew like a newborn plane, Little Britches!" Baloo shouted joyously. "Matt didn't just fixed her, he made her brand new again, she even smells new! Just like the McQueen."

Chris gave Kit a 'what-did-I-tell-you' look from across the table. Then he looked up at Baloo.

"So…. where is my Dad?" he asked.

"Oh, he stayed up all night workin' on the Duck," Baloo said. "He's back in the McQueen, gettin' some well-deserved shut eyes."

"So I'm stuck here?" Chris asked, sounding a little apprehensive.

"Nah, he asked me ta fly ya back to Cape Suzette." said Baloo. "And he said not expect him ta pick you up in a few days. Says he's going house hunting."

"Yeah, I guess we do need a new home." Chris said, nodding.

"What happened to your old one?" Kit asked.

"We were gone for so long that the bank took it due to overdue payments." Chris said. "Luckily the McQueen wasn't tied in the deed with the hangar, so we've basically been living in the McQueen."

"Louie, old buddy!" Baloo called over to the bar, waving a hand. "How about some lunch over here? I'm starving.""

"Sorry cuz, no can do." Louie said. "Yer tab's too high fer me to ignore anymore. And you know what I say: When the tab gets high, kiss the scoop goodbye."

"Aw c'mon Louie. I'll pay ya as soon as I get some extra cash."

"Now where have I heard that one before?" Louie said in mocked puzzlement. "Did I hear that once or twice? Or maybe a dozen times? And don't give me that pathetic-looking mug, cuz, that ain't gonna fly this time."

"You'd send your old buddy away hungry?" Baloo said, shocked.

"Tell ya what, Baloo, pay your tab, and then you eat." Louie said firmly. "If not, well… it'd probably do you some good to lose a pound or twenty…." he laughed, although Baloo did not look amused.

"Fine," Baloo said, sounding a little irritated. "If that's the way you want it…. Kit, Chris, let's go." Baloo then marched out with two cubs in tow. "Can you believe that guy?" Baloo said as they had exited the building and were making their way to the Sea Duck at the end of the dock. "Sending an old friend away like that without a single bite ta eat."

"Well….you did ran a pretty steep tab, Baloo." Kit said in a small voice.

"Hey, whose side are you on, Kit?" Baloo snapped, and Kit meekly fell silent.

Chris however looked outraged. "WHAT?! I can't believe what I'm hearing!" he said, jabbing Baloo in the stomach with a finger. "He's on your side, but he can also see that Louie needs money to stay open, and your high tab is making it very difficult for him! So don't you go taking your anger out on Kit. It's nobody's fault but yours!" he finished with one final jab that sent Baloo falling onto his huge backside.

"Oof!" grunted Baloo, rubbing his belly. "That's quite an arm ya got there, Chris."

Kit was looking at Chris in awe, amazed at the backbone Chris displayed in his defence of Kit.

"Wow, how did you get so tough, Chris?"

"Years of adventuring with Dad." Chris said proudly, taking up a superhero pose with both fists on his hip..

"All of which you can't tell me for some reason…." Kit muttered, annoyed.

Chris looked a little upset at that. "Kit, you will hear about my adventures. Just not right now."

"Now, now, cool it, you two," Baloo said, stepping between them. "I don't wanna feel this heat all the way back ta Cape Suzette. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we still need to deliver the cargo before we head on home.""

Kit and Chris glared at each other across Baloo's big belly, and then they both smiled. It seems that they just couldn't stay mad at each other..

"There, now that's more like it," Baloo said, walking over to the Sea Duck and opening the passenger side door of the cockpit. "All aboard!"

Kit and Chris climbed into the cockpit and Baloo stepped in after then, closing the door behind him.

The first thing Kit noticed when he looked around the cockpit was that it had acquired a new smell, it was that brand new car smell that the McQueen had. And after looking around more carefully, he saw that the pilot and co-pilot seats were no longer patched, they were repaired to the point of looking brand new, The whole cockpit was shiny and sparkly. And the throttle has been modified to include the new maximum airspeed of five hundred miles per hour!

"Wow…." Kit said in awe. "This is the Sea Duck? She looks like this is her first time out of the factory!"

"If you think that's impressive, wait till ya hear the engine!" Baloo said happily, sitting himself in the pilot seat.

Chris nudged Kit with his elbow. "What did I tell ya? This is Dad's special talent, fixing and repairing things to the point of being brand new again."

"Yeah, you weren't kidding!" Kit said, opening the door to the cargo hold. Everything in here seems to be as new as the cockpit and Kit noticed an extra tow rope line at the end of the cargo hold.

Chris appeared at Kit's shoulder. "Oh good! Dad added another tow rope for us to cloudsurf together!"

"Yeah, I'd like to see how you cloudsurf on a round board." Kit chuckled.

"And I'd like to see how you cloudsurf on a boomerang-shape board." Chris said back.

"You can do that on the flight home, right now we need to deliver that cargo," Baloo said from the cockpit. "Hey, Kit, you did called Becky to let her know the cargo's running a day late, did ya?"

"Yes, Papa Bear, and she called the client to let them know too." said Kit, returning to the cockpit and taking seat.

"Nuh-huh-uh, that's the nagativator's seat." Baloo said as Kit got the map out.

"But I am the nagativator, Baloo." Kit said, looking up from his map with a look of confusion.

Baloo smiled. "Not today, yer not." he said, picking Kit up out of his seat and setting him on his lap. "Chris can handle the maps while you fly the plane."

"What? R-really?! You mean it?!" Kit squealed with delight.

"Hey-hey, we can't let your brother leave you behind in the dust, now can we?"

Kit smirked at that. "No we can't, I'm gonna show him what I'm made of"!

"If you're trying to outshine me in flying, you've already failed before you even started to take off." Chris said in a bored voice, sitting in Kit's usual seat and getting the maps all situated. "You forgot to do the pre-flight checks."

"So did you, remember?" Kit pointed out.

"Yeah, but I didn't know Dad was going to let me fly at the time."

"Well," Kit shrugged. "Better go do the pre-flight checks while I'm still thinking about it."

Kit got down from Baloo lap, walked around Chris' seat and exited through the co-pilot door. Chris spent a few minute to study the map, looking at all the different countries.

"So," Chris said, after he finished studying the map. "Where do we need to get this cargo to?"

"The cargo needs ta go ta New Fedora," Baloo replied.

"WHAT?!" cried Kit from outside and he came back into the cockpit, looking furious.

"Man, that's a good set of ears ya got there... Now, Kit, it's just a cargo run…" Baloo said, trying to calm Kit down.

"Nuh-huh, Baloo, count me out." Kit said firmly. "I'm not going!"

"Why? What's so bad about New Fedora? They got a nice-looking airfield and everything." said Chris, while reading up on New Fedora on the map..

"Yeah, the same airfield where I nearly became barbecued pancake." Kit said with his arms folded.

"How'd you barbecue a pancake?" Chris asked, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"Easy, you put the cake through a ring of fire," Kit said, illustrating the movement by moving one finger from his left hand through the hole of his thumb and index finger of his right hand, making it looks like his finger is going through a hoop. "Then you let it free-fall to the ground, and—SPLAT!" he clapped his hands together to indicate squashing something. "And you have a barbecued pancake."

Chris stared at Kit for a long moment, and then it clicked. He gasped in horror. "YOU? You were almost barbecued pancake?!"

Kit looked down at the floor. "Yeah, that's what I said…"

"Sorry, Lil' Britches, I know ya have bad memories of New Fedora, but a job's a job." Baloo said, patting Kit on the shoulder . "Besides, Becky will blow a gas leak if we don't deliver the cargo today."

"Yeah… okay…." Kit said in a resigned voice, he turned around and went into the cargo hold.

"Kit, where you're going? I thought you were gonna fly…." Baloo said.

"Not to New Fedora I'm not, I'm going to take a nap." Kit said. "Don't wake me up until we're bound for Cape Suezette." he said, slamming the cargo hold door behind him.

Chris and Baloo stared at the cargo hold door for a few moment and then Chris said: "Can I fly?"

Later when the Sea Duck was midway between Louie's and New Fedora, all was peaceful with Chris piloting the Sea Duck, seated on Baloo's big belly, until… the sound of gunfire and bullets hitting metal

Ping, ping, ping, ping!

"Pirates!" yelped Baloo, throwing Chris into the passenger seat and taking the controls.

"Oof!" Chris grunted as he landed in his seat.

"Helloooo! It is I, the fabulous plundering wonder, Don Karnage!" Karnage spoke over the radio. "You may have escaped the fearsome and noble pirate, Don Karnage yesterday, but today...! Today we will be looting you. Why don't you just surrender, Baloo? You'll make it so much easier for my wonderful self."

"Heh, that's the first time I've heard the words 'fearsome' and 'noble' in the same sentence like that," Chris chuckles. "Kick it into gear, Baloo."

"Hey, you don't have ta tell me twice." Baloo said, putting the Sea Duck into full throttle, and the Sea Duck sped up. Baloo performed a couple of loop-de-loops to shake off the Pirates.

"YAAAAHOOOO!" Chris hooted as the Pirates tried to chase them, but could not match the Sea Duck's newly increased maximum airspeed of five hundred miles per hour.

Chris then glanced out of his window, and did a double take. He saw something that made his heart stop, his eyes widening in horror.

"KIT!"

"What? Kit? Where?" yelped Baloo, looking wildly around.

"Down there, Baloo!" Chris cried, pointing out of his window.

Kit's limp form was free falling out of the sky, heading straight down to one of the islands below!

"KIT, NOOO!" cried Baloo in angrish as pointed the Sea Duck down into a nosedive, racing the falling bear cub. But the Pirates got in his way, flying around him and shooting at him, forcing Baloo to pull out of the dive and perform some evading maneuvers to avoid being shot down.

"Kit! No!" Chris cried as the rescue mission was looking more and more hopeless. Then a look of fierce determination crossed his face. "No, I will not lose my brother!" he jumped out of his seat and ran to the door to the cargo hold, pushed it open and saw that the loading bay doors at the back of the plane were wide open. He ran down the cargo hold, pulling out his round disc of an airfoil as he went.

"May the Heart be with you!" he shouted as he threw the disc ahead of him and then jumped onto it.

The moment his feet touch the board, it glowed with a blue aura and flew at high speed out of the plane. He swooped down after Kit, but he was intercepted by Dumptruck shooting at him, and he had to duck to avoid being shot.

"GRRUGH! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he roared, stretching out his hand. Out from under his sweatshirt flew something that looks like a flashlight. Chris caught it in his outstretched hand. The moment his hand closed on the handle of the flashlight-like device, it became the hilt to a blue glowing blade of laser! And in that instant, his clothes changed. Instead of his sweatshirt, Chris was now wearing something like a tan-colored karate gi.

He swooped and zigzagged through the air, all the while, swinging his blade around, which made a humming sound each and every time the blade was swung, batting away all the bullets that were being fired his way! When he was close enough to Dumptruck's plane, he sliced it in half with his laser blade.

Dumptruck gulped as he realized that he no longer have a plane holding him up. "Der, I hate when this happens…WAHAHHAHHH!" he screamed, falling out of the sky, before he pulled on the cord of his parachute.

Chris wheeled around in midair, directing his hand down at Kit, who all of a sudden, stopped falling, and hung in the air as if by invisible ropes. Chris made a beckoning motion with his hand, and Kit flew through the air towards him. He tossed his blade aside and caught Kit in his arms.

"Kit! Oh Kit!" Chris cried, hugging Kit before realizing that Kit was unconscious. But Chris didn't have time to be concerned, as another round of gunfire begin to rain down upon him! He quickly put Kit on his back, recalled his blade of laser, which flew through the air, right into Chris' hand, who grabbed it by the hilt and gave it a swing to deflect the bullets

Chris shot through the air, swinging his blade and slicing pirate planes and sending them falling to the ground or into the sea below. Finally it was just him and Karnage left. He soared through the air on his glowing airfoil towards Karnage's plane, landing on top of it. He stood there in front of Karnage, pointing the tip of the blade at Karnage's throat, who held up his hands and gulped.

"Heh-heh-heh, now, now…" Karnage said, laughing nervously. "Let us not be hasty pudding… P-perhaps we can strike a deal, yes-no?"

"Sure, we can strike a deal." Chris said, glaring down at Karnage. "The Sea Duck is off-limit. Stay away from the Sea Duck and you get to keep your head. Deal?"

Karnage was trembling with fear, he gulped again and then said. "W-w-well, you drived a hard bargain, but deal! We will no longer plunder the Sea Duck. Pirate's honor."

Chris dismissed his blade, tossing it away. The blade vanished and the hilt flew through air and straight into Chris' robe.

"Remember your vow, Karnage, or it's your plane next." Chris said, his glowing airfoil lifting off of Karnage's plane and flew toward the Sea Duck.

Karnage's face filled with rage as he watched Chris fly through the air towards the Sea Duck. "You dare humiliate ME, boy?! Me, the greatest plunderer of all time?! Take this! And that and that!" he yelled as he opened fire on Chris and Kit.

Chris heard the gun going off and whirled around, narrowly dodging a bullet or three.

"YOU IDIOT!" Chris roared in fury, and in the next moment, he was back in front of Karnage again, glowing blue blade of laser held high over his head. "I gave you a chance to walk away, and this is how you repay me?!"

Karnage let out a yell of fear and jumped out of his plane, just as Chris swung his blade, slicing the plane in two!

The two halves of the plane fell to the ground and crashed in an explosion as a sobbing Karnage parachuted to safety.

"My plane….! My beautiful, wonderful plane...!" Karnage whimpered, before crying his heart out in grief for his downed plane. "I am now a grounded pirate…! Waahh!"

"Idiot pirate," Chris muttered, dismissing his blade once again and hoisted Kit up higher on his back before flying towards the Sea Duck, flying in through the loading bay doors. The moment he was inside, his clothes changed once again, instead of his tan-colored gi, he was now wearing his Franch sky blue sweatshirt again.

Stepping off of his board, which lost its' glowing aura the moment he stepped off, he carried Kit piggybacked to the bed in the cargo hold and laid him down upon it.

"All through that, and you didn't even wake up once!" Chris said over Kit. "You can't be THAT much of a heavy sleeper…." Chris could see that Kit was breathing and there doesn't seem to be any injuries on him anywhere. He looked Kit over more thoroughly. Upon turning Kit's head from side to side, Chris discovered a dark bruise on the side of Kit's head. "Oh, that's right, he wasn't strapped down to the bed when Baloo suddenly had to do a maneuver to evade the pirates, and he must've been thrown around in the cargo hold, eventually hitting his head on something, knocking him out. No wonder he was unresponsive to the gunfire and free-falling."

"How's Kit?" Baloo asked from over Chris' shoulder. "Is he okay?"

"I think he'll be okay, but he might have a headache when he wakes up," Chris said, turning Kit's head and showing Baloo the dark bruise on his head. "He must've been bounced around in the cargo hold while you were dodging bullets and hit his head."

Baloo looked upset with himself as he fell to his knees beside Kit's bed and hugging the cub. "Oh, Lil' Britches, please be alright!" He then turned Chris. "Get the first aid kit from the cockpit, Chris."

"Yes sir!" Chris said, dashing across the cargo hold into the cockpit, and came dashing back with the first aid kit in hand. "Here you go, Baloo."

"Thanks," Baloo said, taking the first aid kit and getting to work on Kit's head. When he finished, Kit was wearing a neat turband of bandages on his head.

Chris meanwhile was moving cargo crates around, moving them back to their original positions. It was miracle the crates were still in the cargo hold at all. He then discovered Kit's baseball cap on the floor beneath a crate. He also discovered yellow patch hanging on the lever that opens the loading bay doors.

Chris then returned Kit's side and laid the cap on the bed beside Kit's pillow. He then took Kit's arm and held it up, uncovering a hole in the elbow of the sleeve where the yellow patch was.

"He must have hit the lever that opens the loading bay doors with his arm and fell out when it was open." He then removed Kit's sweatshirt, leaving him in just his white undershirt. He then took the sweatshirt and the patch back with him to the cockpit.

Baloo covered Kit in a blanket and then he strapped Kit down on the bed, making sure Kit would not be playing popcorn in the cargo hold again. And to make sure the crates would not hurt his precious Lil' Britches again, he strapped them down to the floor as well. Then he returned to Kit's side, patting the side of Kit's face lovingly, then he looked towards the cockpit, making sure Chris wasn't watching and saw that Chris was sitting in the navigator's seat, busy darning the patch back onto the sleeve of Kit's sweatshirt. Baloo then bent over Kit, and kissed him on the side of the head, before whispering:

"Get well soon, Lil' Britches."

Kit's face split into a smile as he slept on.


Author's Note:

Finally, chapter two is up! Hope you enjoyed that.

The way Chris is able to fly on his round disc of an airfoil is inspired from a superhero show, Static Shock, except Chris' using the Heart to make his airfoil fly while he's riding it.

This story will have a few Star Wars elements but none of the characters from Star Wars. To be clear, Mathew is like a Jedi and Chris is a like a Jedi student, able to use the Heart (the Force) and wield Lightsabers, all of which would be called something different. I will not say what here, you'll have stick around for the next episode to find out!