Donald slowed the ship to a halt from the captain's seat, making a disgusted face when the next world came into view. It seemed to be a massive lush jungle with towering trees and raging waterfalls with what appeared to be a central camp amidst a clearing within a bamboo forest.
"Maybe the King's down there!" Goofy said excitedly.
Donald frowned. "In that backwater place? No way! We're moving on."
Sora slammed his fist on his bench. "Hold on. Riku and Kairi might be down there! Let's at least check it out!"
Donald grimaced. "Forget it, we're on an important mission!"
"What? You can't do that! At least let us take five minutes to check!" Akira pleaded.
"Yeah, our friends are important to us! Just land!" Sora fumed.
"No!"
Sora sighed impatiently as he grabbed the controls. "We're landing!"
Donald fought back in an attempt to take back control of the ship. "No, we're not!"
"Guys?" Akira asked nervously as the ship began to shake and descend. Her please were ignored, and the arguing friends were unable to feel the ship wobble around them in the midst of their argument.
"No! Don't touch that!" Donald screeched when Sora angrily shook the steering mechanism.
The gummi ship took an immediate nosedive and was sent hurtling through the sky, making for the jungle at an incredible speed while its passengers within held on for dear life, shrieking at the top of their lungs.
Sora and Akira came crashing through the roof of a wooden tree house before landing forcefully on the cracked wooden floor, their heads spinning as pain engulfed their limbs.
"Did you have to do that?" Akira asked irritably as she rubbed her head, feeling the pain from the impact.
"What was I supposed to do? Not land here? What if Riku and Kairi are here?" he fired back while also rubbing the bump on his head he received from the crash.
"You didn't have to send us flying to our deaths," she said as she sat up.
He looked away angrily, raising his nose to the air. "So, you're taking his side in this?"
She sighed impatiently. "I'm not on anyone's side. But thanks to the both of you, we have no ship, no comrades, and we're completely lost."
Sora grumbled and crossed his arms when a low growl was suddenly heard close by. The friends steadily averted their gaze towards the angry leopard that had entered the treehouse, watching in fear as it licked its lips. It looked vicious, as well as very hungry.
"And we're completely in danger," she finished with a whisper.
The angry leopard looked just about ready to pounce when a sudden figure rushed into the room through the hole in the ceiling, spinning across the rafters before leaping between the teens and the predator, spear in hand. The leopard lunged at the man, wrapping its sharp teeth around his spear. He used this as an opportunity to slam his spear into the ground, effectively shaking off the leopard and sending it flying towards the wall, smashing a few barrels in the process. The leopard gingerly rose from the ground as it eyed the man, whom snarled angrily as if warning the beast to not come any closer. The leopard let out an angry roar and jumped through a window, escaping amidst countless shards of broken glass.
The man that had saved them seemed to have animal-like tendencies. His hair looked like it hadn't been washed in ages, and he was completely uncovered save for a fabric loincloth. He turned to face them and examined them, using his knuckles to prop himself up, almost like a monkey or a gorilla.
"Sabor… danger…" he spoke in a gruff voice.
Sora and Akira exchanged frightened and confused looks. They had never met a man like this before...
"Um… thank you," Sora said, at a loss for words.
"Thank you," the man repeated, copying Sora's mannerism.
He slowly approached the teens with curiosity filling his eyes, examining them every which way from a distance some would consider an invasion of personal space. Sora gulped, attempting to find some way to back himself away from him. "Um, what is this place?"
"This place, this place," the man repeated.
Akira shook her head. It was no use; this man didn't seem to be very well versed in their language. "I don't think he'll help us find our friends," she said, wincing as the man took a bunch of her hair in his hands, examining its colour.
"Friends!" he said suddenly as he let go of her hair.
Sora's eyes widened with excitement. Maybe he knew what that word meant! "Yes, our friends! Riku and Kairi! Have you seen them?"
Akira furrowed her brows. Surely, he must have meant Donald and Goofy? Perhaps he was still angry after their argument earlier. Although she couldn't help but feel excited at the idea of their friends actually being here.
"Riku, friends. Kairi, friends," the man repeated.
She quickly nodded her head. "Yes! Are they here?"
The man paused for a moment. "Friends. Here."
The two friends exchanged excited glances. "Really?" they said in unison.
The man spoke in a language foreign to them, but they were too excited to try and decipher it. Sora spoke immediately after he had finished. "Take us to them!" he pleaded.
The man pointed to his chest as if to introduce himself. "Tarzan."
"I'm Sora."
"Sora," Tarzan repeated.
"I'm Akira," she said with excitement.
Tarzan nodded. "Sora."
Sora couldn't contain his laughter as Akira's expression fell. "Close enough," she said, defeated.
"Tarzan, go," Tarzan said, motioning towards the jungle beyond the tree house.
Sora nodded. "Tarzan, go. Sora, go go."
"Nice going," Akira said to him with an irritated gaze, mocking his attempt at communication.
"Gee, thanks Sora," he responded with a grin.
She shook her head as she followed Tarzan towards the jungle, the large treetops filled with an immense amount of green leaves covering the view of the lush grove below.
"Gawrsh where are we?" Goofy asked solemnly as he raised his eyes to the sky.
Donald and Goofy had found themselves in the middle of a thicket filled with yellow bamboo. The bamboo had grown so close together that merely traversing through it seemed like a daunting task. They found themselves sitting back to back on a small mound amidst a clearing, their hope waning.
"I hope the others are okay…"
"Bah, who needs them!" Donald shrilled, crossing his arms, "We can find the King without the 'key'."
The sound of rustling interrupted his train of thought. He looked to the ground before him and almost jumped from surprise. A bright reddish-orange gummi block, like the kind they use on their ship, had rolled at his feet. He eyed it hungrily as he jumped off the mound to pick it up. Gummi materials like this particular one were crafted on their world, and finding one here can only mean one thing: their King may have passed through.
Before he was able to put it away in his pocket, he was knocked back in surprise by a small gorilla that had carefully approached him to sniff his head. Their eyes meeting startled the young gorilla, sending it running for safety as Goofy held up the shocked duck.
"I think ya scared it," Goofy said softly.
"Aw, phooey!"
Little did they know that something more dangerous and sinister had approached them for examination. When Donald and Goofy peered at the stranger, his rifle firmly in his grasp, they almost wished the peaceful gorilla would come back instead…
Tarzan had guided the two teens through groves of trees and vines as he directed them towards a large camp in the middle of the jungle. Several tents were pitched around the camp, and the centre of the clearing was cluttered with various things such as science sets, opened boxes, tea sets, old clocks, and even a laundry line. It almost seemed as if humans such as themselves lived here.
Tarzan led them through the entrance of the largest tent, where a young brown-haired woman wearing a white tank top and long auburn skirt fiddled with a projector.
"Jane!" Tarzan called.
"Oh, Tarzan!" the woman named Jane said as she turned around to greet him. She was taken aback to see he had brought guests of his own, guests that looked nothing like him at all. "And who might you be?"
"I'm Sora, and this is Akira," Sora said, gesturing to himself while Akira nodded beside him.
Jane clapped her hands. "Oh, you speak English! So then, obviously, you're not related to Tarzan…"
The teens quickly shook their heads. They weren't even from this world…
"Are you here to study the gorillas?" she asked them.
"Highly doubtful."
They were greeted by a hunter suddenly entering the tent, a grizzled old man wearing a hunting uniform and carrying an intimidating rifle. He looked annoyed and uninterested, followed closely behind some very colourful and very familiar faces.
"Sora! Akira!" Goofy exclaimed.
"You guys are okay!" Akira said excitedly.
Sora and Donald had started excitedly reaching out to each other but quickly remembered their earlier argument. They scowled at each other and crossed their arms, turning their backs to each other.
"I'm glad to see you're okay, Akira," Donald said spitefully.
"Yeah, I'm glad you're not hurt, Goofy," Sora said with just as much poison.
Akira brought her face to her palms as Goofy watched the argument unfold before them. "You've got to be kidding me…" she said with an exasperated sigh.
The hunter scoffed at their interaction. "A circus of clowns, no less. Not much use for hunting gorillas."
"Mr. Clayton, we are studying them, not hunting them! This is research!" Jane called after him as he exited the tent, completely ignoring her.
Donald let out an annoyed quack. "Well, I'm staying!"
Sora and Akira stared at him in confusion. Wasn't he extremely adamant about not landing in this 'backwater' place just a few moments before? Goofy chuckled, noticing their confusion. "Guys, look what we found."
Donald reached into his pocket and pulled out a reddish object, presenting it proudly to the teens. They had never seen anything like it before, though the strange plastic-like material did seem oddly familiar.
"It's a gummi block," Goofy explained, "It's the same stuff used to build our ship."
Sora's eyes widened as he came to understand their reasoning. "So that means…"
"The King could be here!" Donald said, "So we've gotta work together to look for him. For now."
"Sora wrinkled his nose. "Fine, I'll let you tag along. For now."
Akira sighed and brought her face to her palm once more as Goofy placed a sympathizing hand on her shoulder. Feeling the tension in the air, Jane cleared her throat. "So, you said you were looking for your friends?" she asked in an attempt to change the conversation.
Sora nodded. "He said Riku and Kairi are here. And one word I couldn't understand."
Jane had a sudden idea and motioned to the projector. "Why don't we try this? We'll show Tarzan some slides and see if any match that word!"
Tarzan approached the projector as Jane loaded in a set of slides. They were fairly simple; there were pictures of circuses, posh men and women in fancy attire, cars and bicycles, and an oddly out-of-place photo of a grand castle amidst a forest of trees. This image in particular roused Sora's interest, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.
"This place... It just looks so familiar. But how? I've never been off my island," he thought.
"Well, Tarzan?" Jane asked once they had flipped through all the slides.
Tarzan solemnly shook his head.
Sora was confused. "Huh? But I thought-"
"That leaves just one place," Clayton said as he entered the tent after taking a moment to cool off outside while the rest of them were occupied, "Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I'd wager they're with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them."
Jane seemed exasperated. "Really, Mr. Clayton, Tarzan would never hide-"
"Then take us there!" he interrupted, "Take us to the gorillas."
Tarzan seemed to understand Clayton's words. After some moments of reflection, he faced the rest of them and nodded in agreement.
"Tarzan, are you sure?" Jane asked reluctantly. She was well aware of the gorillas' fear of humans and did not want to tread too close uninvited.
"Tarzan go see Kerchak," Tarzan said with resolve.
"Excellent, he must be the leader," Clayton said with a smile, clapping his hands together, "Perfect. I'll go along as an escort. The jungle is a dangerous place, after all."
Tarzan and Clayton proceeded to leave the tent. Jane sent her well wishes to the four friends before seeing them off as well. Yet something didn't feel quite right amongst them, and they all knew the exact cause of their discomfort.
"I don't like that guy…" Donald said once they were out of Jane's earshot, echoing that sinking feeling of distrust they all felt.
Amidst the awful humidity and plethora of hungry insects that stung them at every occasion, the jungle was truly a sight to behold. As Tarzan guided them through his home, he brought them to a lagoon with massive and gentle pink hippos, he took them swinging through treetops on thick, mossy vines, and even pointed out some interesting dark petaled flowers that happened to be a favourite of his. For the four of them, it was truly an experience to travel with Tarzan through his home and learn about his way of life; but Clayton remained uninterested throughout the entire journey, his rifle in hand and alert to the first signs of trouble.
Tarzan finally came to a halt before a large gathering of mossy tree barks and roots. They were fairly well hidden, but a watchful eye would be able to perceive two large gorillas perched at the top of these trees, the male gorilla looking down at Tarzan with an angry glare. Tarzan began speaking with the gorillas in the same foreign language he had used before, but the others weren't able to understand at all.
As they sat patiently through the conversation, Akira rested her chin on her knuckles, deep in thought. Something just didn't feel right. It was almost as if things were too quiet in this world.
"Something's missing," she said quietly for her comrades to hear.
Donald nodded. "I noticed it too."
"What is it?" Sora asked.
Donald and Akira spoke together. "There aren't any Heartless here."
Sora's eyes widened. How could he not notice such an obvious thing? "But, that doesn't make sense. Didn't Leon say they'll follow the Keyblade?"
"But he also said they're attracted to the darkness in people's hearts," Akira added.
"So, does that mean that nobody's heart in this world is so full of darkness to attract the Heartless?" Goofy asked.
The group was completely perplexed by the situation, but their attention was shifted towards Tarzan and the gorillas, who seemed to sense something in the direction of the treehouse. They decided to follow them at a safe enough distance so as not to lose them while also not spooking the gorillas. So enraptured by the thought of not seeing a single Heartless since the moment they landed, the team was too distracted to notice that Clayton was nowhere to be seen…
They followed Tarzan and the gorillas back to the treehouse where Sora and Akira had fallen through the roof. The holes they had made were still there, allowing an unusual amount of light into the building. Among the rubble and debris, a young gorilla was frolicking amidst the junk, finding odd treasures such as globes and old suitcases to play with. Little did it know about the fully loaded and armed rifle aimed directly at it, held by a hunter plotting something sinister and vile.
Before Clayton was able to pull the trigger on the innocent gorilla, Donald had scurried through the entrance and let out the loudest quack he could muster. The immediate sound startled the hunter, causing him to lose his aim and shoot for the rafters in the ceiling, breaking off a chunk of wood in the process.
"What's the big idea?" Donald asked angrily as the rest of them hurried to join him.
The gorilla Tarzan had been speaking with witnessed the entire scene and glared at Tarzan with a low growl as the young gorilla scurried to his side in fear. They turned to walk away, leaving Tarzan in a desperate state.
"Wait, Kerchak, please!" he called in vain.
"What was that all about?" Sora asked through gritted teeth as Tarzan scowled at Clayton.
Clayton grew increasingly nervous. "You don't understand. I was only trying to... Ah! A snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life!"
"A likely story!" Donald quacked angrily.
Clayton raised his hands as if to surrender, but the group wasn't having it.
"We'll see what Jane has to say about this," Sora concluded, much to Clayton's dismay.
"How could you do such a thing?" Jane shrieked, causing a few nearby birds to flutter away in fear.
The group had returned to the camp with Clayton in tow, keeping a close eye on him to discourage any more of his sneaky behavior.
"Now, Miss Porter, as I told you: I was not aiming for the gorilla," he said nervously.
"You are not to go near the gorillas again!" she ordered.
Clayton softly shook his head, smirking innocently. "All because of one mishap? Come now…"
But they simply were not having it. Each one of them, Donald and Goofy included, glared at Clayton, clearly not swayed by his honeyed words. He dropped his smirk and exited the tent, clearly unwelcome.
Once he stepped outside and was out of view, he pulled out his rifle, glaring angrily. "What am I doing with these imbeciles?"
He began to walk towards the thicket of bamboo, trying desperately to convince himself that his actions were innocent, and Miss Jane was simply overreacting.
"Blasted gorillas," he growled, "I'll hunt down every last one of them! I'll track them down somehow… In fact, I'll stake my life on it."
As Clayton casually took out his pipe, he was blissfully unaware of the impact his words had on his surroundings and on his heart. The pact was made, the covenant was sealed, and he was the catalyst for it all.
He instantly dropped his pipe when he heard a loud rustling coming from the bamboo trees. He readied his rifle, aiming it towards the trees, but unfortunately, he found nothing. Yet he could still feel as if he was being watched from every direction. He took a step back as he carefully scanned his surroundings, his legs shaking with fear.
Whatever attacked him had done it in an instant. All he was able to take away from it was the piercing gaze of a pair of deep yellow eyes.