Chapter 9
Monstro
Sora, Donald, and Goofy flew through space in the Gummi Ship. They would soon come up to the next world.
"Hey, Donald," Sora waved Donald over. "What's this?" Sora pointed to the radar screen in front of him. There was a large object approaching.
"Something I don't think we want to face," Donald said. "Goofy, see if you can maneuver us away from it."
"Gotcha Donald," Goofy said as he started to steer the ship away from the large object but when they turned the object followed them. A large figure suddenly flew over them and shook the ship.
"What was that?" Sora asked. The figure made another pass and it turned out to be an incredibly large whale!
"It's a whale!" Goofy shouted.
"That's Monstro!" Jiminy jumped up to them. "He's a whale of a whale!" As Jiminy said this Monstro made another pass and swallowed the Gummi Ship whole.
"Knock it off!" Sora heard Donald yell as he shook himself awake. Sora stood and saw Donald and Goofy both under Goofy's shield. A large item fell from above and smacked into the shield.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"It's raining Gummi Blocks," Goofy laughed.
"Who's doing that?" Donald yelled up. A small figure appeared from one of the large wooden platforms that surrounded the inside of the whale.
"Hey guys," the figure said.
"Oh it's just Pinocchio," Donald said. "Pinocchio?" As Donald said this Pinocchio jumped down with a Gummi Block in his hands.
"I found the whale!" Pinocchio said in excitement.
"Looks like we did too," Sora looked around. How did wooden platforms set up inside of a whale?
"Guess who else I found?" Pinocchio jumped around. "I found my dad!"
"Geppetto's here?" Jiminy suddenly jumped on to Sora's shoulder.
"Yeah, he's right over here. Come on!" Pinocchio jumped down from his platform to the one below it and jumped across them until he got to a large ship.
"Ah, Pinocchio. You're back," Geppetto said. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Sora and this is Donald and Goofy," Sora introduced to the old man.
"You must have gotten swallowed by this whale as well," Geppetto said. "How did this happen to you? And how do you know Pinocchio?"
"Well, it's quite a story so far," Sora sat down and started to explain.
"Don't you fool around," Maleficent told Riku in the darkened room where she observed everything. "Not like last time."
"I got the princess didn't I?" Riku asked before he went to set off.
"Just remember that the Keybearer is now your sworn enemy," Maleficent put her arm around Riku but he shrugged it off.
"I deserve the Keyblade," Riku said with determination. "I will stop at nothing to retrieve it. I will be the Keybearer."
"You know what?" Maleficent asked. "There are two legends. One says the Keybearer will be a great hero and save the many worlds and the other says that the Keybearer shall bring chaos and destruction. Which will you choose?"
"Whatever is necessary," Riku said. "I'm going." Riku turned from her and started walking away. He would be at Monstro soon. He would confront Sora. His eyes were set on the ultimate prize. The Keyblade.
"Oh, Riku," Maleficent stopped him. "I found something for you." Maleficent said. She waved her hand and an image of Kairi appeared. She appeared lifeless almost like a Heartless had attacked her and won.
"Kairi!" Riku shouted. "Where is she?"
"You can go to her when you return," Maleficent said.
"Fine!" Riku screamed at her and stormed out.
"I see," Geppetto said as Sora finished the story. "I do hope Pinocchio has been a good boy." Pinocchio grinned but soon grew bored as the older people talked. He turned to see a figure run deeper into Monstro. He smiled and followed.
"Hey, where's Pinocchio?" Goofy asked as he realized the puppet was gone.
"Pinocchio!" Geppetto jumped. "Where are you?"
"Don't worry. We'll find him," Sora said as he set off with Donald and Goofy. Jiminy followed.
"Pinocchio!" Sora shouted the puppet's name. "Come on Pinocchio, where'd you go?" He continued to yell.
"I'm right here!" Pinocchio jumped into view.
"Well come on, this is no time for games," Sora said as he turned to get back to Geppetto when a familiar voice filled his ears.
"But Sora, I thought you like games," Riku laughed.
"Riku? How did you get here? Did you find Kairi?" Sora started asking questions.
"Maybe. Find us, and maybe I'll tell you," Riku grabbed Pinocchio's hand and ran even deeper into the giant whale.
"Riku!" Sora yelled.
"Something's wrong with this picture," Donald said as they started to run after him. A punch suddenly knocked Sora back into Donald and Goofy. They looked up to see what appeared to be a ghost.
"A Search Ghost," Sora scanned this new type of Heartless. Sora summoned the Three Wishes and swiped at the Search Ghost but as it hit, it never sharpened! Sora stared at the blade as Goofy jumped into attack. Just before Goofy hit it the Ghost disappeared and Goofy ran into the wall.
Sora continued to stare at the Keyblade. He focused on the tip and watched as it sharpened. He stopped focusing and it when down again. That was it. He could now control when to sharpen the Keyblade! He sharpened the Three Wishes and twirled around as the Search Ghost reappeared and sliced right through it.
Several Shadows and two more Search Ghosts appeared. Sora, Donald, and Goofy got into a battle stance.
Out of the five villains that stood in Maleficent's dark room before, three remained. Hades was currently in his world, thinking of ideas and Jafar had been the first to fall to the Keybearer.
"Let that remind everyone," Maleficent walked up to them. "The Keybearer is very dangerous and Jafar did not believe this. See the results?"
"Of course," One of the figures laughed. "He's dead."
"Yes. Do you know why?" Maleficent slammed her hand on the image of Donald and Goofy on a nearby table. "His friends!" She slammed her hands on images of Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid. "His fellow warriors!" She slammed her hand on the final image of Cloud. "And that fool Cloud Strife!"
"Don't worry," a cold voice came from the back of the room. "I told you I would take Strife out of the equation." Sephiroth stepped up to them. "Then I shall take care of the Keybearer as well."
"What makes you think you're strong enough?" one of the figures asked and the others nodded in agreement. Sephiroth smiled with one of his creepy smiles and held up his hand. Each of the three suddenly dropped to their knees and held their throats as if someone was chocking them.
"That does," Sephiroth chuckled and released them. "Soon Strife and the Keybearer will realize that I am the most powerful warrior to ever live." Sephiroth turned and walked out of the door and walked away. Behind the door another form sat undetected by anyone in the room.
"We'll see Sephiroth," Cloud said as he walked away from the room and used his power to open a portal to Traverse Town.
Sora and the others continued through Monstro until they finally met up with Riku and Pinocchio.
"No more games Riku," Sora said.
"What are you doing this for Sora?" Riku asked. "We could work together! Together we could do anything!"
"I said no mo…" a crash filled their ears as a large creature landed in front of them. It opened up its mouth and pulled Pinocchio in.
"No!" Riku yelled as he pulled out the sword he had used at Traverse Town. It was called the Soul Eater.
"The Parasite Cage," Sora said. The Parasite Cage was mostly a large purple head with a big mouth and a smaller head on top of that. Two tentacles came from its sides.
"You ready Sora?" Riku asked.
"Let's do it," Sora looked back to him. Sora and Riku ran at the Parasite Cage and nodded at each other. They split and each took a side. Donald and Goofy took the front and the back and they soon had the cage surrounded on all sides. A tentacle shot out and pinned Sora to the wall. Another went for Riku but Riku flipped out of the way and stabbed the tentacle as it passed.
"Fira!" Donald launched the second level spell at the smaller head of the Cage and watch as the Cage was knocked back and let Sora go. As the Cage was falling back Goofy jumped up and slammed his shield into the back of its head. The mouth of the Cage opened and Pinocchio jumped out into Goofy's arms.
Sora quickly leveled his Three Wishes at the Cage and magic swirled around him as he called on one of his summons.
"Summon!" Sora jumped into the air as blasts of blue magic came from the tip of the Three Wishes. "Genie!" The familiar call of Genie filled their ears as he came into view. Genie powered up a large blast.
"This may leave a mark!" Genie shouted and fired the blast. The Cage was shot back as Genie hit it with dead aim. Quickly realizing it was outmatched with all four warriors the Parasite Cage disappeared by a newly formed hole on the floor.
"Watch out!" Riku yelled as one of the tentacles jumped out of the hole and grabbed Pinocchio from Goofy's arms. Riku jumped after them. After Genie went back into the Three Wishes the others followed.
Cloud walked through Traverse Town and many people stopped and pointed at him and whispered things. He walked up to Cid's shop and opened the doors. Inside were Leon, Yuffie, and Cid.
"Cloud!" Cid jumped up and his cigarette he had fell from his mouth. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What about the others? Barret? Vincent? Red XIII? Tifa? Cait Sith?" Cid asked the names of their many friends.
"No. Sorry," Cloud shook his head. "Is Aerith here?"
"Not right now," Yuffie said. "But I could go get her."
"No," Cloud stopped her. "Perhaps it's best she's not here."
"I feel out of the loop here," Leon said.
"It's a long story," Yuffie said. "I'll tell you some other time."
"I came here to ask you something Leon," Cloud said. "I want you to fight me."
"Fight you?" Leon asked. "What for?"
"I just need to see something. Let's go," Cloud said and Leon followed. They both stood out in front of the shop where Leon had battled Sora. Cloud leaped forward and pulled out the Buster Sword in one quick motion. Leon pulled out the Gunblade and blocked the strike with one hand. Cloud smiled at this.
"Surprised?" Leon asked.
"Actually yes," Cloud laughed. "But this means I get to use more of my true strength!" Cloud pushed the Buster Sword forward and almost made it through to Leon but Leon jumped back and ran forward with his own attack. Cloud blocked his strike and spun around to try and catch him on his unprotected side.
"Don't think so!" Leon was able to block this quickly. He fired a blast of magic but Cloud deflected it. Leon and Cloud crossed swords again and started pushing against each other. Cloud was the first to break away and shot some lightning at Leon, forcing him to move to the left. Cloud leaped at him.
Cloud swiped with the Buster Sword but Leon rolled underneath and was quickly back on his feet. Both of them put a great deal of strength into their next blow and they were knocked hard backwards. The large black wing extended from Cloud's back and he flew into the air. Leon watched for a second but then made a great leap onto the roof of Cid's Shop and then to a higher roof nearby.
Cloud was surprised by Leon's agility and was unable to block Leon's quick strike to his stomach. Cloud healed himself and flew at Leon as fast as he could. Cloud gathered as much strength possible and then swung the Buster Sword. Leon brought up the Gunblade to block. Cloud's strike, however, was much too strong. The force of the attack sent Leon off the roof and he slammed hard onto the ground three stories below.
"That would be it then," Cloud floated down and let the wing go back inside him. He turned his back and his eyes shot open wide as the Gunblade was shoved through his side with great force. Cloud hit the ground and turned to see Leon with the bloody Gunblade in his right hand and his left arm hanging limply at his side.
"Squall!" Yuffie shouted and ran to Leon's side. She helped him up a little and used a healing spell on him. Leon muttered a thank you but was still feeling the after effects of the fight.
"Congratulations," Cloud chuckled as he stood up. "You have exceeded all of my expectations." He put his hand on his side and healed himself.
"What was all this about?" Cid walked up to them. "I won't get any business if you morons don't stop scaring them away!" Cloud had to laugh. Same old Cid.
"I need to ask you two a favor," Cloud gestured to Leon and Yuffie. "I was hoping you would fight Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the next Coliseum tournament. It would be good if we could see just how strong they've grown so far."
"Oh, I get it," Leon nodded. "You want to make sure that they're strong enough to face what is ahead of them."
"Yes. We'll talk further after the tournament," Then, without another word, Cloud was gone.
"Pinocchio!" Geppetto yelled as Sora, Donald, and Goofy landed after coming through the hole. Sora looked up to see Riku on one of the platforms with an unconscious Pinocchio in his arms.
"What are you doing Riku?" Sora shouted.
"Please let my Pinocchio go! He's my special boy!" Geppetto pleaded.
"A puppet who has a heart is rather special," Riku said. "Maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs."
"Riku. Do you mean…" Sora started.
"Don't worry about this Sora!" Riku screamed at him. "If you want this little puppet so bad then come and get him!" Riku ran off into Monstro.
"Riku," Sora shook his head. "I'll get you!" Sora ran off after his old friend and Donald and Goofy tried to keep up.
Sora caught up with Riku and Pinocchio in an upper area of Monstro. Donald and Goofy ran up behind him with weapons drawn.
"Let Pinocchio go Riku!" Sora yelled.
"I'll ask you one more time Sora, join me," Riku held out his hand.
"No."
"So this little puppet means more to you then your friends."
"You're not the Riku I used to know. At least Pinocchio has something you don't, a conscience. You may not hear it now but it's loud and clear," as Sora said this Jiminy ran up to Pinocchio who was lying on the ground.
"You okay kid?" Jiminy asked.
"Jiminy, I'm not going to make it," Pinocchio groaned. He nose suddenly grew. "Oh! I guess I'm okay!" A crash disrupted them as the Parasite Cage suddenly reappeared in front of them. Jiminy and Pinocchio ran back to Gepetto and Riku shook his head as he left. Now Sora, Donald, and Goofy were left.
"Let's do it!" Sora yelled as he felt energized as the anger of Riku's betrayal starting flowing through him. Sora ran forward and sharpened the Three Wishes as he slashed up at the Parasite Cage. The Cage used one of its tentacles to knock Sora away from it. Sora slowly got back up as he started to loose the adrenaline rush.
"Thunder!" Donald yelled and watched as the electric energy coursed through the Cage. The Cage quickly shook it off and slammed a tentacle into Donald. Goofy ran forward and slammed into the Cage with his shield.
"Tornado!" Goofy spun around many times and caught the Cage each time. Sora came back into the fray and sliced into one of the tentacles. The Cage screamed in anger and with new vigor smashed Sora into the wall of Monstro with pure force. When Sora fell he landed in a pool of water and when the water that splashed up hit the Cage it screamed in pain and wrenched back.
"Water hurts it?" Sora asked in disbelief. "I don't have a water spell!" As Sora said this he saw a small stone in the water. It was blue and had a water symbol in the middle. It was a Summon Gem!
"Blizzara!" Donald fired the second level spell and froze one of the tentacles. Goofy came in as if from nowhere and crashed through it, sending pieces of the tentacle all over the place.
"Summon!" they heard Sora yell. "Dumbo!" A small elephant about the size of Sora appeared. It had amazing large ears and a circus type hat. Sora smiled and jumped on Dumbo. Dumbo aimed his trunk at the Cage. "Splash!" Sora shouted and a large gush of water came forth. The Parasite Cage reeled back in response and its mouth was left open for attack.
"Rocket!" Goofy yelled as he magic launched him straight into the mouth of the Cage and the creature was dead. Monstro started rumbling as the whale had finally had enough of what was going on inside of him. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran back to the Gummi Ship and strapped themselves in. Monstro finally coughed them up and started floating back into space.
"I hope Pinocchio and Geppetto are okay," Goofy said.
"Don't worry, they're fine," Jiminy's voice cut in. They all jumped as the cricket joined them. "I got on the ship while Pinocchio and Geppetto escaped. I think they were headed for Traverse Town."
"We should go check real quick," Sora said. Donald nodded and set the course. Still fresh in Sora's mind was something he never thought would happen. His best friend had betrayed him. Riku had betrayed him.
Riku ended up back in Maleficent's room with the other villains. Maleficent seemed rather mad at him.
"You let him escape!" Maleficent yelled. "Do you still want to help the boy? Are to soft about him to finish the job!"
"I don't care about him anymore!" Riku yelled. "I care about three things! Kairi, the Keyblade, and myself! You said I could go to Kairi when I returned!"
"Of course. I shall keep to my agreement. Hook, take him," Maleficent said. One of the figures in the room stepped into the light. It was the evil of Neverland, Captain Hook himself.
"I warn you, this will be no pleasure cruise!" Hook said. He motioned for Riku to follow him and they set off for Neverland.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked into Traverse Town. As they started toward the Third District, seeing as Sora wanted to speak with Merlin, Sora noticed a new shop near Cid's with a sign that said "Geppetto's Puppets." They ran up to the building and knocked on the door.
"Welcome!" Pinocchio said as he opened the door. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Pinocchio yelled and he motioned for them to come in.
"Well hello my friends," Geppetto said as he stood up from the table where he was working on a new puppet.
"It's good to see you guys are okay," Donald said.
"Yes, and I want all three of you to know that you are welcome anytime!" Geppetto told them.
"Thanks Geppetto," Goofy laughed.
"Well, we have to get going," Sora said. The said their goodbyes and left to get to Merlin's.
"Come in," Sora heard Merlin say before he even had a chance to knock on the door. Merlin and the Fairy Godmother were sitting at the table drinking tea. "You wish to know about your magic don't you?"
"Yes," Sora said as he walked up to them. "I was wondering about this second level of magic. What is it exactly?"
"Well, every type of spell has a stronger level beyond that. It is just the way magic works and it was very rare to happen to you at such a young age," Merlin said. "In fact, I want to give you something. I would have given it to you last time but it completely slipped my mind."
"Slipped your mind?" Goofy asked. "How does anything slip your mind?"
"I am not as young as I used to be," Merlin said with a smile. "Ah! Here it is." Merlin put something in Sora's hand. A Keychain. Sora took of the Three Wishes and attached the new one. It was a dark blue color and the key part was three circles that floated an inch from the top of the blade like magic. Sora suddenly felt his magic strengthen by the new Keyblade form.
"I'll call it the Spellbinder," Sora said as he slipped the Three Wishes into his pocket with his other two.
"Well move along now," Fairy Godmother said. "You still have much to do!"
"Right!" All three of them said.
After a long rest the three of them got back into the Gummi Ship and got ready to go to the next world when Phil's voice came in.
"You there guys?" Phil asked.
"Yeah, we're here," Sora said.
"There's a new tournament going on. It's called the Pegasus Tournament. You guys can make it, right?"
"Of course!" Goofy said.
"Great! See you in a few!" Phil said and they charted a course for the Coliseum.