Among the pillars and planks of broken wood that rose from the water like columns to the ceiling, an enormous boat stood near the back of Monstro's mouth, seemingly in one piece; it was a real oddity among the other completely destroyed ships, whose debris lay strewn across the whale's mouth. They followed Pinocchio towards a wooden staircase, climbing the steps as they boarded the wooden boat.
They climbed onto the deck to find it was decorated more like the inside of a cozy home rather than an actual deck of a boat; a feathery bed was set up next to a dresser overflowing with clothes, and the bedtable held a round fish bowl, with a happy goldfish swimming every which way as a small black cat with white paws eyed the fish's movements.
Pinocchio scurried over to an older looking man, excitedly presenting the treasure he had found in the chest earlier. "What have you got there, Pinocchio?" the man asked, gazing at the green block Pinocchio had set on the floor.
"With this, we can get out of here, Father!" Pinocchio responded.
"With this big block?" Pinocchio's father asked skeptically.
"It's a gummi block!" Donald exclaimed.
Pinocchio's father jumped in surprise at the unexpected visitors, adjusting his small glasses as he squinted to see them better. "Oh my!" he said, "Has the whale swallowed all of you too?"
Sora nodded. "Yeah, it looks like it."
"Well, it is a blessing that we're all safe," he said with a smile, "My name is Geppetto. I'm Pinocchio's father. When we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for him."
Out of the corner of his eye, Pinocchio noticed something shine near the back of the whale's mouth. He slowly approached the railing of the deck, squinting as he attempted to examine the mysterious figure that lurked in the shadows. The others were enjoying their chat quite a bit as Geppetto gave them the tour of his and Pinocchio's home for the time being, unaware of Pinocchio's rising interest in the chambers beyond the mouth.
"Ah, but I am so happy we are together again," Geppetto said as he dropped a few pellets into the fishbowl, "And it seems you know my son quite well! I hope that he has been a good boy in my absence."
"More or less," Donald said with a scowl as he crossed his arms. Unbeknownst to them, Pinocchio had hopped off the boat and onto the shore, chasing after the mysterious figure that vanished beyond the mouth.
"Well, we've all had quite an exhausting journey," Geppetto said with a grin, "Isn't that right, Pinocchio- hmm?"
He scanned the area, but his son was nowhere in sight. Sora approached the rails and examined the areas beyond the boat to no avail. Pinocchio had simply disappeared without a sound.
Geppetto sighed. "Oh, I warned him not to wander off here. He can be a naughty boy but even so, he is very precious to me."
Sora's allies smiled and nodded to him, echoing his feelings; Pinocchio shared a very special bond with his father, and it was only right that they find him and bring him back. Besides, they were stuck in a whale for the time being; might as well do something useful with their time. Sora smiled as he brought his fist to his chest. "Don't worry, we'll find him," he said with resolve.
Geppetto approached them with a wide and grateful smile. "Oh, thank you very much. He has been known to wander around the chambers beyond Monstro's mouth. I hope, for your sake and his, that he hasn't gone too far…"
"Hmm, would you call this the throat or the intestines?" Goofy asked as he felt the walls of the chamber. The walls were covered in a splatter of every colour of the rainbow, and they bounced back in a spring-like form as he poked at it.
"The intestines aren't directly connected to the mouth, Goofy," Donald said as he impatiently tapped his foot.
Akira held onto the wall for dear life, the splash of colours giving her enough of a headache to make her want to throw up. "Do we have to talk about bowels right now? Ugh, it smells awful in here…"
As his friends made a small commotion behind him, Sora noticed Pinocchio cowering by the entrance to the next chamber, as if he was playing a game of hide-and-seek. Sora let out a deep sigh when he laid eyes on him; he truly had no idea how dangerous the inside of a whale could possibly be. Not to mention, Heartless could be lurking nearby.
"What are you doing?" he called to the puppet, "Come on let's go back."
"Geppetto's awfully worried about you," Goofy added in an anxious tone.
Sora puffed out his chest, using a stern voice when he addressed him again. "Stop fooling around, Pinocchio. This is no time for games."
Even though he was only protecting him from any danger that could be prowling around, Sora felt a smug sense of satisfaction; it was nice to be the role model for once, rather than the kid. Maybe Pinocchio could even learn a thing or two about responsibility from him…
"But, Sora, I thought you liked games."
Sora's eyes grew wide as Akira's head jerked upwards. She suddenly didn't feel sick anymore; that nauseous feeling was replaced by shock, and even a tinge of dread.
"Or are you too cool to play them, now that you have the Keyblade?" Riku asked coolly, joining Pinocchio's side.
Sora was at a loss for words as Akira approached him, equally speechless. Their feelings ranged from one extreme to the next and they simply could not put their thoughts into words. They were ecstatic to have found him again, but there was something very off-putting about him now; it was almost as if he wanted to torment them, and have a fun time doing so. Not to mention, they hadn't the slightest clue how he managed to leave Traverse Town in the first place.
"R-Riku? What are you doing here?" Sora blurted out after a few moments.
"Just playing with Pinocchio," he responded with a grin.
"How did you get here without a ship?" Akira asked, furrowing her brows.
Riku's grin fell as he rolled his eyes. "Seriously? That's what you're going to ask me? No 'hey Riku, how've you been?' or 'How is Kairi doing?'?"
"W-wait, what?" she stammered.
"Kairi? What about Kairi? Did you find her?" Sora asked frantically.
He chuckled as he took Pinocchio's hand. This was way too easy. "Catch us, and maybe I'll tell you what I know."
He quickly pulled Pinocchio into the next chamber, laughing loudly as he pretended to be having the time of his life. In fact, he didn't have to pretend too much; making them anxiously squirm was extremely fun for him already.
"Oh, come on!" Sora yelled angrily, stamping his foot when Riku was out of view.
Donald and Goofy exchanged worried looks. This wasn't how they remembered Riku back in Traverse Town and seeing the anguish it caused Sora made their hearts feel heavy as well.
"Gawrsh, was that really Riku?" Goofy asked, putting a hand to his lips.
"That was not the Riku I remember," Akira said firmly. She could feel something was off about him; she just knew it. This boy looked like Riku, talked like Riku, laughed like Riku... but he was a far cry from the one she remembered from the islands. The one who encouraged her to seek adventure; to go wherever the wind will take her... And maybe she just wasn't ready to believe it yet. She took a deep breath and walked over to Sora, whom was still fuming over their encounter. "Come," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We have to find Pinocchio."
Sora nodded, still unable to sort out his feelings. "Yeah. No choice left but to follow them."
The Riku he remembered did have a playful side to him; he was even known to be childish and silly on the rare occasion. But Riku never tormented others for fun. He must know how much Geppetto missed his son, and he must know how hard he and Akira worked to find Kairi. His friend never found pleasure in their pain.
"Riku, what's going on?" he asked himself as they ventured deeper into Monstro.
"Why do you still care about that boy?" Maleficent asked with a wide grin, "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."
Of course she'd drop in unannounced; a witch who calls herself the Mistress of all Evil could crash any party and still be treated as an honoured guest. Riku frowned when he heard her voice; he was still irritated over their last conversation.
"I don't care about him," he said through gritted teeth, "I was just messing with him a little."
"Oh really? Of course you were," she said with a smile, "And what of the girl?"
"She can disappear for all I care," he said coolly, keeping his back turned away from her.
Maleficent chuckled as the sound of footsteps began to approach from the distance, raising her staff to summon a dark portal. She still had high hopes for him; he simply needed to overcome his teenage outburst.
"Beware the darkness in your heart," she warned as she entered her dark portal, more for herself than for him, "The Heartless prey upon it. Lest you forget Jafar's demise."
"Mind your own business!" Riku shouted angrily, realizing she had probably disappeared by the time he told her off. He allowed Pinocchio to run ahead into the next room as the footsteps grew louder, balling his hand into a fist. He was having so much fun teasing Sora; why did that awful witch have to show up and ruin everything? Besides, she's one to talk; the hypocrite wouldn't shut up about Akira's weapon since they left Agrabah.
The group burst into the room and skidded to a halt before him, bouncing softly as the ground beneath them recoiled. Sora glared at Riku, clearly angered. "Riku, what's the matter with you? What are you thinking?" he scolded, "Don't you realize what you're doing?"
He chuckled as he grinned mischievously, turning to face his old friend. "I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora. You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"
Sora's scowl fell; he couldn't possibly be insinuating that he didn't want to save their friend anymore. He was always able to take a few jabs and jokes made at his expense, but this was hitting below the belt.
"I do," he said softly.
Before he could add to it, the sound of Pinocchio's cries were heard ringing through the chamber. Riku quickly turned around, facing the chamber he had let Pinocchio escape to. This was terrible; he needed that puppet unharmed.
"Oh no, Pinocchio!" Goofy cried, covering his mouth with his hands.
"Can we discuss this later?" Akira asked exasperatedly, pointing to the source of Pinocchio's yells.
Sora and Riku almost instantly broke into a sprint towards the next chamber, not saying a word as the others followed close behind.
"Get me out of here!" Pinocchio yelled desperately, shaking the rubbery walls of the cage he was trapped in.
A Heartless had captured the young boy when he attempted to find another spot to hide in. The enemy reflected its environment, coated in neon colours with a squishy, malleable body. Its hollow stomach held rubbery strands that acted like a prison, a perfect spot to store its prey to feast on later.
They entered the bowels where the Heartless stood waiting for them, an eerie minimal smile permanently painted on its face. They readied their weapons and prepared to attack; it was much smaller than some of the Heartless they were used to facing, giving them a sense of confidence.
Riku ran his fingers through his hair as he pulled out his sword, a long, red blade that resembled the wing of a bat. He smirked at the sight of the puny Heartless. "You up for this?" he asked Sora.
His old friend nodded in return. "No problem. Let's do this."
Sora, Donald and Goofy charged into battle, directing their energy towards freeing Pinocchio from his prison as they dodged the Heartless' flailing arms. Riku began to step forward but immediately stopped; if she glared any harder, she'd burn a hole through his head.
"What's with the face?" he asked with a smirk as Akira walked over to his side.
She stayed quiet for a moment, not dropping her gaze for an instant. "I'm disappointed."
Riku couldn't contain his laughter. "Okay, Mom."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" he asked sarcastically, "Helping you?"
She gritted her teeth; she had no time to deal with him tiptoeing around the subject. "Just forget it."
He watched with a smirk as she joined her allies in combat, swinging at the Heartless' long rubbery arms as Donald and Goofy attempted to free the puppet. He almost wanted to laugh; who does she think she is?
"Maybe it's time to put them in their place," he thought to himself.
Drawing his sword, he held it firmly above his head, curling his left arm forward as he readied for battle. He took a deep breath and bolted for the Heartless' head, slamming into it with his sword. Surprised by the sudden attack, the Heartless stumbled backwards, using its arms to support itself.
Sora and his allies took this opportunity to forcefully pull the bars of the cage apart, freeing Pinocchio from its grasp. The Heartless roared as Riku unleashed a flurry of hits on its head, realizing it had lost its prey. With its arm, it slapped Riku away and brought its fist into the ground, sending shockwaves across the floor and opening a hole below its fist. The group fell over from the force of the impact. The Heartless and Pinocchio fell through the hole, leaving the rest of them dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
"Oh no! They escaped!" Goofy cried.
"We'll just have to follow them," Donald said firmly.
Before any of them were able to get to their feet, Riku had quickly stood up and sprinted towards the hole, jumping in fearlessly after the Heartless.
"Riku, wait!" Akira called as she watched him disappear into the depths below.
"Come on everyone, we have no time to lose," Jiminy said from the top of Donald's hat, "We have to save Pinocchio!"
Donald and Goofy nodded to each other, following Jiminy's advice as they took their leap of faith. Akira quickly stood up and pulled on Sora's arm, aiding him to his feet as he still recovered from his daze.
"I don't believe it…" he said under his breath as he regained his balance.
"Huh?"
"Riku… was always strong when we sparred on the islands," he said, keeping his eyes to the floor, "But now… He's gotten so strong so fast. Where did he learn to fight like that?"
Akira looked away, unable to answer his question. Something did seem different about the way he fought. It wasn't graceful or calculated like it used to be; he fought with rage, and dare she even say, agony.
"Come on," she said quietly as she guided him towards the hole their allies had jumped through, attempting to sort through the myriad of questions that now filled her mind.