~~Sora53: *evil laugh* Guess who's in this chapter?"
Riku Fangirls: Riku?
Sora53: Maybe... *counts* I think there's about 36 sentances devoted completly to the evil silver-haired freak!
Riku Fangirls: *melts*
Fans: Hey, Sora53!! Look what we have! *holds up Sora Plushie*
Sora53: *blushes* THAT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK, YOU EVIL, EVIL FANS!
Fans: Run away, laughing manically*~~
Disclaimer: I still own no part of Kingdom Hearts. *glares at the evil lawyers* BUT I OWN CORITA!!! Corita: *feels special* I'm loved!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He went that way!" Sora said, pulling himself up onto the topmost pile of wooden planks. "Hurry up, you guys!
"Wait for me!" Donald cried, stumbling along the farthest pile of wood. "It's hard to bend your knees when there isn't much to bend!"
"You could just say 'I'm short!' and be done with it." Corita said simply. Donald mumbled something behind them, but Corita couldn't understand it.
"I guess he went through here." Sora said, gesturing to a large 'doorway' on top of a platform.
"I guess, considering there isn't another door to go into." Goofy said, looking around.
The next area was full of platforms reaching up to the ceiling, and the ceiling seemed to be pulling at them. Sora and Corita's wild brown hair flew around wildly in the wind, while Donald's feathers seemed to all be yanked upward.
"You look like a giant marshmallow." Goofy observed.
"I guess we need to go up." Sora said, looking towards the top of the area.
"I guess so." Corita said, hopping onto the first platform. As if on cue, several Heartless appeared the instant she landed.
"How do they do that?" Corita asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Heartless defeated, the group continued up the platforms. The pull of the winds finally became too much, and they were all pulled upwards by the powerful winds. The winds lifted them through the air, and they flew upwards towards a hole in the ceiling.
They landed with a thump onto the floor of another area. They area appeared to be the stomach of the great whale. There was bright yellow acid flooding the floors, and many platforms attached to the walls. In front of them, Riku stood with his back to them, facing what appeared to be an unconsious Pinocchio.
"Hey! Let Pinocchio go, Riku!" Corita called out.
Riku didn't turn around. He kept his eyes on the puppet boy.
"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless...maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi!" Riku said slowly, turning towards them. "How about it, you two? Let's join forces to save Kairi. We can do it together."
Riku took a step forward towards them, but in two flashes, Sora's Keyblade and Corita's staff were ready to battle.
"What?" Riku said in disbelief. "You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"
"Heart or no heart, at least he has a conscience." Sora said softly.
It was true. At this very time, Jiminy had popped his head out of one of Corita's pockets. He looked wildly around, and gasped as he saw Pinocchio. Corita picked him up and gently put him on the ground.
"Conscience?" Riku said.
"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!" Sora cried.
"Then you leave me no choice." Riku said angrily. Meanwhile, Jiminy was running aross the floor to Pinocchio.
"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" The cricket cried.
"Jiminy...I'm not gonna make it..." Pinocchio said softly as Jiminy reached Pinocchio's side.
Suddenly, in a bright flash of light, Pinocchio's nose grew several inches just as it had when he lied to his conscience in the Accessory Shop in Traverse Town.
"Oh!" Pinocchio said happily. "I guess I'm okay!"
Jiminy was jumping up and down in happiness. Turning their heads away from the puppet and cricket, Riku and the others faced each other, prepared to fight, when suddenly the Parasite Cage that had held Pinocchio prisioner fell from the ceiling, inches from Riku. Pinocchio and Jiminy quickly ran away from the monster, and escaped down the same hole that they had come up. Readying themselves for battle, it took a minute for Sora to realize something.
"Where's Riku?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fight seemed to last no time, as the Heartless was already weakened from the previous fight. This time, instead of disappearing into the ceiling, the cage collapsed to the ground, and its stolen heart vanished into the sky. After the Heartless was defeated, however...
"Run!" Donald cried as the whale's insides began to rumble.
"Riku? Riku, where are you?" Sora cried as Corita and Goofy dragged him away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pirate ship rocked and groaned under the weight of its occupants. The old wooden ship was getting to be very worn down.
"I'll have to have that fixed later." Riku made a mental note. As soon as he gained more power, it would be the pirate's who would be listening to him. He made his way down the old hallway, closly observing for sounds of creeping Heartless. Heartless down below deck were known to attack everyone they met. Riku found the door he was looking for and pushed it open. With a groan, the door opened. "These doors need oiling, too." Riku said to himself. Bet he had more important matters to deal with than a poorly oiled door.
Turning his head towards the couch, Riku looked sadly upon the sight of his friend. Once hyper and friendly, Kairi now lay on the couch, as if sleeping. Riku heard footsteps behind him. Familiar footsteps.
"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" Riku asked sadly.
"Precisly." Maleficent said with a cold, cruel voice.
"And her heart was-" Riku began slowly, but couldn't bear to finish.
"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."
Riku had known this, of course. He had known it deep inside, but he couldn't bring himself to realize it. Now the truth was facing him, and he had to accept it.
"Tell me! What can I do?" Riku asked, whirling around to face Maleficent.
"There are at least seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the Princesses of Heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart." Maleficent said.
"At least seven?" Riku asked curiously.
"Yes. According to our research, there are at least seven Princesses of Heart. Of course, there is always the chance of another..." Meleficent said with a sly grin.
"What do you mean?" Riku asked.
"As we speak, we are seeking out those who are believed to be Princesses of Heart. I believe we had 5 last time I checked. Now, there is one girl we are keeping an eye on..."
"Wait...are you talking about Corita?" Riku asked.
"Indeed. Of course, there is no way to tell this at the time. We have not yet managed to capture her. Although, even if we did, we don't need the Key Bearer and his followers stalking us to Hollow Bastion just yet." Malificent said.
"I see..." Riku said.
" Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless." Maleficent said, raising her arms. A bright green aura appeared around Riku, entering his body. A new power seemed to flow into him, and he turned to face Kairi.
"Soon, Kairi. Soon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Goofy."
"Hey Goofy."
"Hey Goofy."
"What is it?" Goofy asked with a slight pinch of annoyance in his voice. "I'm trying to make sure Monstro doesn't catch up to us again!"
"Oh, he won't be feeling up to it, Goofy." Corita said, leaning back in her chair, re-reading 'High Jump - jump high!' "After a burp like that, he won't be munching on Gummi Ships for a week...
"You've gotta be careful about ol' Monstro." Jiminy said. "You never know with him, he's downright grumpy."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to annoy you, Goofy." Sora said sadly, sitting back in his chair. "Hey, when do I get to drive the Gummi Ship again?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Sora53: *sits in corner hugging Sora Plushie* Meep.
Fans: See, Riku Fangirls? There's always a way to calm a wild animal.
Riku Fangirls: Ooh...*takes notes*
Sora53: MY SORA PLUSHIE! GET AWAY! *throws grape lollipops at them*
Riku Fangirls: GRAPE! RIKU'S FAVORITE! *runs to eat the lollipops*
Fans: O_O'~~
Riku Fangirls: Riku?
Sora53: Maybe... *counts* I think there's about 36 sentances devoted completly to the evil silver-haired freak!
Riku Fangirls: *melts*
Fans: Hey, Sora53!! Look what we have! *holds up Sora Plushie*
Sora53: *blushes* THAT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK, YOU EVIL, EVIL FANS!
Fans: Run away, laughing manically*~~
Disclaimer: I still own no part of Kingdom Hearts. *glares at the evil lawyers* BUT I OWN CORITA!!! Corita: *feels special* I'm loved!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He went that way!" Sora said, pulling himself up onto the topmost pile of wooden planks. "Hurry up, you guys!
"Wait for me!" Donald cried, stumbling along the farthest pile of wood. "It's hard to bend your knees when there isn't much to bend!"
"You could just say 'I'm short!' and be done with it." Corita said simply. Donald mumbled something behind them, but Corita couldn't understand it.
"I guess he went through here." Sora said, gesturing to a large 'doorway' on top of a platform.
"I guess, considering there isn't another door to go into." Goofy said, looking around.
The next area was full of platforms reaching up to the ceiling, and the ceiling seemed to be pulling at them. Sora and Corita's wild brown hair flew around wildly in the wind, while Donald's feathers seemed to all be yanked upward.
"You look like a giant marshmallow." Goofy observed.
"I guess we need to go up." Sora said, looking towards the top of the area.
"I guess so." Corita said, hopping onto the first platform. As if on cue, several Heartless appeared the instant she landed.
"How do they do that?" Corita asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Heartless defeated, the group continued up the platforms. The pull of the winds finally became too much, and they were all pulled upwards by the powerful winds. The winds lifted them through the air, and they flew upwards towards a hole in the ceiling.
They landed with a thump onto the floor of another area. They area appeared to be the stomach of the great whale. There was bright yellow acid flooding the floors, and many platforms attached to the walls. In front of them, Riku stood with his back to them, facing what appeared to be an unconsious Pinocchio.
"Hey! Let Pinocchio go, Riku!" Corita called out.
Riku didn't turn around. He kept his eyes on the puppet boy.
"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless...maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi!" Riku said slowly, turning towards them. "How about it, you two? Let's join forces to save Kairi. We can do it together."
Riku took a step forward towards them, but in two flashes, Sora's Keyblade and Corita's staff were ready to battle.
"What?" Riku said in disbelief. "You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"
"Heart or no heart, at least he has a conscience." Sora said softly.
It was true. At this very time, Jiminy had popped his head out of one of Corita's pockets. He looked wildly around, and gasped as he saw Pinocchio. Corita picked him up and gently put him on the ground.
"Conscience?" Riku said.
"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!" Sora cried.
"Then you leave me no choice." Riku said angrily. Meanwhile, Jiminy was running aross the floor to Pinocchio.
"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" The cricket cried.
"Jiminy...I'm not gonna make it..." Pinocchio said softly as Jiminy reached Pinocchio's side.
Suddenly, in a bright flash of light, Pinocchio's nose grew several inches just as it had when he lied to his conscience in the Accessory Shop in Traverse Town.
"Oh!" Pinocchio said happily. "I guess I'm okay!"
Jiminy was jumping up and down in happiness. Turning their heads away from the puppet and cricket, Riku and the others faced each other, prepared to fight, when suddenly the Parasite Cage that had held Pinocchio prisioner fell from the ceiling, inches from Riku. Pinocchio and Jiminy quickly ran away from the monster, and escaped down the same hole that they had come up. Readying themselves for battle, it took a minute for Sora to realize something.
"Where's Riku?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fight seemed to last no time, as the Heartless was already weakened from the previous fight. This time, instead of disappearing into the ceiling, the cage collapsed to the ground, and its stolen heart vanished into the sky. After the Heartless was defeated, however...
"Run!" Donald cried as the whale's insides began to rumble.
"Riku? Riku, where are you?" Sora cried as Corita and Goofy dragged him away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pirate ship rocked and groaned under the weight of its occupants. The old wooden ship was getting to be very worn down.
"I'll have to have that fixed later." Riku made a mental note. As soon as he gained more power, it would be the pirate's who would be listening to him. He made his way down the old hallway, closly observing for sounds of creeping Heartless. Heartless down below deck were known to attack everyone they met. Riku found the door he was looking for and pushed it open. With a groan, the door opened. "These doors need oiling, too." Riku said to himself. Bet he had more important matters to deal with than a poorly oiled door.
Turning his head towards the couch, Riku looked sadly upon the sight of his friend. Once hyper and friendly, Kairi now lay on the couch, as if sleeping. Riku heard footsteps behind him. Familiar footsteps.
"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" Riku asked sadly.
"Precisly." Maleficent said with a cold, cruel voice.
"And her heart was-" Riku began slowly, but couldn't bear to finish.
"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."
Riku had known this, of course. He had known it deep inside, but he couldn't bring himself to realize it. Now the truth was facing him, and he had to accept it.
"Tell me! What can I do?" Riku asked, whirling around to face Maleficent.
"There are at least seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the Princesses of Heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart." Maleficent said.
"At least seven?" Riku asked curiously.
"Yes. According to our research, there are at least seven Princesses of Heart. Of course, there is always the chance of another..." Meleficent said with a sly grin.
"What do you mean?" Riku asked.
"As we speak, we are seeking out those who are believed to be Princesses of Heart. I believe we had 5 last time I checked. Now, there is one girl we are keeping an eye on..."
"Wait...are you talking about Corita?" Riku asked.
"Indeed. Of course, there is no way to tell this at the time. We have not yet managed to capture her. Although, even if we did, we don't need the Key Bearer and his followers stalking us to Hollow Bastion just yet." Malificent said.
"I see..." Riku said.
" Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless." Maleficent said, raising her arms. A bright green aura appeared around Riku, entering his body. A new power seemed to flow into him, and he turned to face Kairi.
"Soon, Kairi. Soon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Goofy."
"Hey Goofy."
"Hey Goofy."
"What is it?" Goofy asked with a slight pinch of annoyance in his voice. "I'm trying to make sure Monstro doesn't catch up to us again!"
"Oh, he won't be feeling up to it, Goofy." Corita said, leaning back in her chair, re-reading 'High Jump - jump high!' "After a burp like that, he won't be munching on Gummi Ships for a week...
"You've gotta be careful about ol' Monstro." Jiminy said. "You never know with him, he's downright grumpy."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to annoy you, Goofy." Sora said sadly, sitting back in his chair. "Hey, when do I get to drive the Gummi Ship again?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Sora53: *sits in corner hugging Sora Plushie* Meep.
Fans: See, Riku Fangirls? There's always a way to calm a wild animal.
Riku Fangirls: Ooh...*takes notes*
Sora53: MY SORA PLUSHIE! GET AWAY! *throws grape lollipops at them*
Riku Fangirls: GRAPE! RIKU'S FAVORITE! *runs to eat the lollipops*
Fans: O_O'~~