Author's Note: Um.....read, review, please don't flame, I don't know, enjoy?
If it gets confusing, don't worry because it all begins to make sense
later. Have fun! And please don't forget to review!
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 12: Coming Winters
While Pocahontas' face grew darker and Smith grew more worried, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora together explained who the Nobodies were. Then Sora, Donald, and Goofy explained who the Heartless were as well.
"Why are they here?" Smith asked, mystified by these two groups of enemies that fought them and each other.
Sora gave a shrug and Aozora picked up the cue. "The Heartless follow those who seem heartless-" Sora began to cough and, strangely enough it sounded like 'Ratcliffe!' "- and the Nobodies are attracted to those who have no souls for the other people, in this case, Pocahontas' people. This Ratcliffe digging up her lands and shooting at her people-and us- shows the factors most desirable to both the Heartless and the Nobodies."
"Lovely," Grandmother Willow said cheerfully. "Ah, how the winds of winter blow!"
That statement was followed by an awkward silence, which was broken when Pocahontas said, "Um...Grandmother Willow? Its not winter yet."
"Ah child but it is," the willow tree said. Before anybody could ask her any more questions she said, "Evil tidings are known as winters for they bring death and destruction wherever they go."
Only Aozora nodded to this; the others were lost beyond confusion.
It was only then that Sora became aware of footsteps in the distance. " Someone's coming."
"Some people are coming," Grandmother Willow corrected and suddenly a mass of her branches shifted to block the little gathering at the foot of her trunk from view. Pocahontas and Smith peered through the swaying leaves; Sora and the others peeped from behind Grandmother Willow's trunk.
Ben and Lon, two of Smith's friends and shipmates, were charging towards the willow tree and the glade it guarded, with Ben shouting, "Smith! Where are you mate?"
"This place gives me the creeps," Lon added as he looked about him fearfully. "Who knows when those white things will pop up?!"
Aozora started at his statement but Sora gripped his shoulder to keep him from moving. Aozora glared at him to 'let go or die' but Sora ignored that dangerous look and kept Aozora in one place.
Lon and Ben drew nearer yet they had not noticed the odd way the lone willow tree in the clearing they had run into was built. Their eyes were continuing to rove around.
"Think we should say hi?" Goofy whispered.
"You are all allied against one," Grandmother Willow answered quietly.
Sora nodded, let go of Aozora's shoulder-to his immense relief-, and stepped in front of Smith's shipmates with a cheerful grin on his face. As they came to a startled stop, he waved and said, "Hi!"
"Holy smokes!" Lon shouted and scrambled backwards into Ben.
"Hey, fellows, don't panic; he won't bite," Smith called out as he 'materialized' besides Sora.
"Smith, mate, where were ya?" Lon said with enormous relief. "Ratcliffe's been looking for ya. Them savages are getting on his nerves."
While Smith winced at the use of words, Ben added, "And there's these really weird white creatures. You have to stick a whole bunch of bullets in them-who are they?"
Pocahontas, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora appeared as well.
"Smith, why is she here?" Lon asked nervously, for Pocahontas was one of the people Ratcliffe wanted dead.
"She is the princess of the 'savages' you mentioned earlier," Smith answered pleasantly. "She's here to help us. Not only is there no gold here but plenty of golden corn, she knows these white creatures which Aozora here-" gestured to the blond kid "-has fought will hurt all of us unless we do something."
Pocahontas had the 'I know that?" look on her face. Lon and Ben looked at her suspiciously but Sora knew it was true.
"And we are after the white thingies, too!" Goofy explained. "We're all in this together. We gotta stop them."
"So," Sora stated. "Can we talk to this Ratcliffe of yours about this serious situation that can possibly destroy all of us and leave the universe to its doom?"
The look Smith, Lon, and Ben gave him spoke more than enough that Sora would be slaughtered if he tried.
"And the princess would be dead within ten feet of camp," Lon added, gesturing to Pocahontas.
"My name is Pocahontas," she corrected. "Do not call me princess."
"Well, yeah," Lon shrugged it aside. "We've got bigger issues to deal with-"
"Shhh!" Aozora hissed suddenly. "Listen!"
They all fell silent, only to hear drums beating in slow rhythm in the distance and shouts and gunfire in another direction.
"The drums," Pocahontas sighed. "Something has happened back home."
"The gunfire," Lon, Ben, and Smith looked at each other seriously. "The camp!"
"Okay, it looks like we need to split," Sora announced. "Donald and I will go with Pocahontas. Aozora and Goofy will go with Smith, Lon, and Ben. It looks like the Nobodies are really here."
Aozora was about to protest against being ordered to do this or that but Goofy grabbed his arm and dragged him off.
"Drums mean that everyone in my father's village must come," Pocahontas explained as they skimmed through the forest. "It means to get within the walls, there's a serious tribal meeting inside, there's a war, or there's danger for everyone out in the forest."
"You think the drums are for the last one?" Sora yelled breathlessly.
"And the first!" Donald quacked; he was far back because he's not very accustomed to running.
"What do we do if the Nobodies had attacked?" Sora demanded.
Pocahontas slowed momentarily. "Then we will see what had happened and will search out the Nobodies. Then we shall see."
As they drew closer to Pocahontas' village, Sora could see smoke drifting into the air.
"There's a fire," Sora announced ominously, gesturing to the sky.
"The cornfields!" Pocahontas shouted and dashed to the left.
They stumbled upon a clearing, with burning stalks of green emitting smoke into the sky. They could hear screams and shouts, followed by clashes of weaponry and many running feet.
"Nakoma!" Pocahontas screamed. Then she pointed at the burning stalks. " May the rain come to my aid!"
With that, she opened her hand and water materialized from the palm of her hand; the liquid gushed forth as though it came from a hose and doused the flames, ridding the air of smoke. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Sora and Donald gaping at her.
A flabbergasted Donald finally yelped, "You use magic?!"
Pocahontas nodded, gestured in the direction of drumbeats, and shouted, " This way!"
They followed her to a war scene. Men of her people were throwing spears at the swarms of Nobodies at the foot of tall palisade walls from their position at the top. The occasional Nobody that reached the top of the wall was suddenly repelled and thrown back; Pocahontas said, "The power of the few is very strong. Come, we must help them."
With that, she held her right hand forward and commanded, "My the powers of the wind come to my aid!"
With that, a translucent swirl of wind surrounded her and she strode towards the Nobodies. Donald looked to Sora, who had called out his Keyblade to his hands.
"Maybe we should've asked her if she wanted to dance," Sora said thoughtfully as they followed her at a rapid pace.
"If she considered fighting Nobodies a dance," Donald snorted. "Aeroga!"
With that, he cast the protective spell on both of them and they rushed forward as Pocahontas reached the outskirts of the battle scene and cried out, "Power of the sun, come to my aid!"
Fire rained down on the Nobodies; they whirled around to the new threat at the rear as the warriors on top of the palisade walls shouted and new warriors came forward with bows and arrows readied to fire on the Nobodies.
"Dang, she's good," Sora commented before High Jumping into the melee, swinging his Keyblade about.
"Blizzaga!" the force of snow and wind blasted some Nobodies to infinity and beyond as Donald added his powers to Pocahontas.
With bolts of arrows raining down on the Nobodies from the front and a dangerous force pounding into them from the back, the white creatures lost it and scattered.
"Well!" Sora muttered as he sliced at a Nobody and beheaded it. "It's a lot easier than back at Twilight Town!"
He kicked at another Nobody and was about to hit it with a downward swing when something flew past him by the merest of inches and, with a sickly thud, dug itself into the Nobody's head. It was an axe. It was then he became aware of the group of warriors surrounding him, their spears and axes leaning in his direction.
"This is not good," Sora deciphered the situation.
"Gwaahhhh!" Donald tumbled to his feet as more warriors appeared, creating a tight ring around them. Rising above the warriors was a tall man with a fierce, hawk-like face, red paint lathered around his eyes. He wore a band of feathers on his head, wore a cloak with raccoon tails, and held a long staff with two eagle feathers tied onto it.
Pocahontas was at his side, pleading insistently. "Father, please, they were only helping us!"
"Father?" Sora stared as the man looked down on them.
"They come from the outside world; they can be no help to us," he spoke in a deadly tone, rich and commanding. "They can be a diversion or a small force sent here to trick us into helping them. No, they are dangerous."
"Dangerous?!" Donald squawked. "We helped defend your village!"
"We can take no chances," he answered. "How do I know you didn't arrive with the white men at the shore?"
Sora and Donald had no comeback to that statement. The man looked to his warriors.
"Take them to the enclosure they made," he spoke. "They will not be able to escape. After we rid our home of the white men and the white creatures, we will deal with them."
"What?" Sora yelled as the warriors stepped forward, their spears leveled at his head. "You can't do that! We can help you; we've fought those creatures before!"
The warriors were hesitant and looked to who was apparently their leader. He shook his head; the warriors grabbed them by the arm, and dragged them off, with Donald squalling the whole way. Sora took to glaring at the leader; he could not understand who the guy was.
Pocahontas looked to Chief Powhatan pleadingly. "They know the creatures, Father! Why lock them up? They can help us!"
"Can they?" he rumbled an answer. "I've learned from the others further south; all strangers are not welcome. Come, we must rid our home of the white settlers and the white creatures."
Aozora was rather ruffled by Goofy dragging him as they followed Smith, Long, and Ben, who were all moving at an extremely rapid pace. As Aozora gained his stride and managed to get Goofy to let him go, Smith warned them, "Whatever you do, not make Ratcliffe mad. He can have you shot on the spot or throw you into the bottom of the ship until all this is over."
"You might die of starvation before it's over, actually," Lon added. " Ratcliffe doesn't give a rat's-"
"Lon, that you?" a voice shouted out as everyone became aware of nearing gunfire.
"Thomas!" Lon yelled back. "We've got Smith and some others!"
"What others?" Thomas shouted through the bushy undergrowth of the forest.
"How do I explain-" Lon looked to Aozora and Goofy. Goofy was adjusting the straps on his shield as they ran and white and black powers glowed in Aozora's hands when Pocahontas suddenly burst onto the scene.
"Pocahontas!" Smith exclaimed with surprise; she had a harried look on her face.
"My father...has taken...Sora and Donald!" she gasped for a breath. "He doesn't know...that they...can help us..."
"What? I'm going!" Aozora started to march off in the direction that Pocahontas came from but a knife suddenly flew past his face and stuck itself into a tree trunk behind him.
"Pocahontas," a calm-yet-urgent voice spoke as everyone froze. "Get away from them. They're dangerous."
Hateful fire raged in her eyes as she stood ramrod straight and turned in the direction from whence she came.
"This is not for you to butt into, Kocoum," she snapped. "Why did you follow me?"
A rather handsome warrior of her people appeared before them all, a dagger clenched in his hand. He glared at Smith, Lon, Ben, Aozora, and Goofy before looking to Pocahontas and stating calmly, "Go. You must have no further contact with these people."
Ben looked at Goofy. "He ain't a 'people'. Does he count?"
"You're all outsiders and you are no longer welcome!" Kocoum, the warrior, snapped, then grabbed Pocahontas by the arm. "Come; we must go. Your father is angry with you for collaborating with 'them'."
"Let me go!" Pocahontas hissed and tried to pull away.
"Stop it!" Kocoum jerked her arm. "This is not time for child's play!"
"Let her go!" Smith said protectively as he stepped forward. "She knows we are all in this together against the white creatures. She is trying to help us. Her decision you can't change. Let her go."
"How do I know your people aren't surrounding us with your fire-sticks, ready to kill us?" Kocoum snapped at him.
Smith gripped the arm that held Pocahontas. "Let her go. We are not surrounding you; they are back at the beach, fighting the white creatures apparently you've been fighting, too."
Kocoum stared at him for a few seconds. Suddenly, Smith jerked back as Kocoum let Pocahontas go and jumped at him, the dagger poised and ready to dig itself into Smith.
"John!" Ben ran forward but Aozora stopped him. "There is nothing you can do! It is their battle. Let them fight it out."
Ben and Lon stared at him as though he had gone mad. Goofy looked at him nervously but made no attempt to stop Smith and Kocoum as they fought for control over the dagger.
"Smith? Ben? Lon?" a tentative and fearful voice spoke as a man with a cap over his red hair appeared from the direction of Smith's camp. Aozora swore inwardly; the man was holding a 'fire-stick'.
Smith, spotting the man, shouted, "Thomas!"
He meant it to mean, "Get out of here", but Thomas apparently interpreted it as a cry for help. He stared at Kocoum trying to drive the knife into Smith, fumbled with the 'fire-stick' and Aozora was heard cursing loudly as it discharged.
"No!" Pocahontas screamed.
"Apply justice to a battle between two men over choices and decisions and everything falls into ruin," Aozora kicked himself. "I am so going to kill my mentor for this! A victim of war, damn it all, and he didn't even need to die!"
As the smoke from the musket drifted away, everyone stared in horror at the body draped over a positively frightened Smith.
"Kocoum," Pocahontas sighed regretfully. "It wasn't supposed to be this way."
War whoops echoed in the distance; Pocahontas looked at everyone. "We must get out of here! My father will kill us all if we remain!"
By the time Chief Powhatan and his warriors appeared to the horrifying scene, Smith, Pocahontas, Goofy, Aozora, Lon, Ben, and Thomas had made it to the outskirts of the camp.
"I don't' believe this!" Sora banged against the double walls of the enclosure he and Donald were thrown into. "What did they do? Even the Keyblade can't open it!"
Donald sat glumly against the wall opposite of the one with the door; Sora glared at him. "Got any ideas on how to get out of here?"
Donald shook his head. "They've put really strong magic here. The only magic I know that's more powerful is King Mickey's magic."
Sora sighed and dropped to his knees before the door. He leaned his head against it. "This sucks. They lock us here because they 'think' we're the enemy? They're out of their minds!"
He yelled at the top of his lungs during the last sentence and the answer he received was, "Quiet! No noise-making!"
"Oh wonderful!" Sora glowered. "They've posted guards!"
Donald looked at his critically. "Since when were you sarcastic?"
Sora glared at him. "None of your business!"
But Donald caught the look of pain in his eyes before the fifteen-year-old teenager turned away.
Just one year magnifies the pain within, Donald thought. Which makes him all the more sarcastic and ready to kill himself! That answers those 'thrill issues' of his!
"Hey, where'd that dog come from?" one of the guards was heard wondering.
"He doesn't look like any of our dogs," the other noted worriedly.
Sora perked up, and stuck his head against the door, his ear pressed into the wood.
"We don't' have any yellow dogs around here, that's for sure," the first guard noted.
Donald jumped to his feet. "Plu-"
"Shh!" Sora hissed at him quickly and Donald fell silent.
"Look at his tail!" the second guard noted. "All black and whippy. And his nose is so big! This isn't any of our dogs. I've never seen a dog like this before, actually."
Sora peeped through a crack in the door. He'd done it before but hadn't seen anything. Now he could see the dog the guars commented. It definitely was Pluto.
'Its Pluto,' Sora mouthed to Donald. About time he showed up. But there's no letter in his mouth. Where'd it go?
"Shoo, doggy!" the first guard snapped. "Go away!"
His field of vision was suddenly blocked and Sora drew away from the door.
"Arf!" was the reply.
"Go away, dog!" the second guard commanded.
There was a sudden scuffle and Sora peeped again through the crack in the door, his whole body leaning against it. He saw nothing but smoke.
"Can't see anything," Sora struggled to make something out of the smoke when the door suddenly swung open and he fell on his face.
Looking up, he saw Pluto. Wagging his tail happily, the whippy black cord thumped on the ground.
"Pluto, where've you been?" Donald exclaimed as he ran over Sora and to Pluto.
But the yellow dog slipped away into the smoke.
"That's weird," Donald noted as Sora got up. "He's never done that before."
Sora rubbed his back. "Donald, I think you've broken my back."
Donald paid no attention and stared at the two guards, completely knocked out. "How'd Pluto do this?"
The sound of gunfire interrupted Donald's thoughts. Sora grabbed the wizard by the back of his collar and dragged him off, saying, "There's trouble thataway!"
Aozora swung the Starlight and the Oblivion about menacingly, keeping some of the settlers from the Susan Constant and England away from Pocahontas while Goofy, Smith, Lon, Ben, and Thomas helped the others fight off the Nobodies. Their problems were compounded when Chief Powhatan and his men appeared from the forest with war whoops and somehow ignored the Nobodies as they went to fight the settlers that had killed Kocoum.
"Oh no, my father's here," Pocahontas moaned before throwing a bolt of fire at a Nobody that had strayed too close to Aozora and her predicament. "Everything's gone totally wrong."
"Not if I can help it!" Aozora cast Aeroga on the both of them, scattered the settlers surrounding them with a few well placed thwacks on some heads, and dragged her to the battle scene that was about to become disastrous.
"Pocahontas!" Powhatan cried out in surprise as he saw Aozora drag Pocahontas towards them. "Get away from that boy!"
"Boy?" Aozora muttered. "He should've said ' teenager'!"
He knocked out some settlers that were moving towards them menacingly with the Aeroga spell, dashed past the settlers, and screeched to a stop as a rather enormous man adorned in black armor and a red cloak loomed before them. He had a disgustingly snobbish look on his face, a strange purplish hat, and two pigtails tied at the end with red ribbons. Aozora wrinkled his nose at this; this man had no dress sense at all.
"And where are you two going?" the man demanded smugly. The voice was not at all friendly.
"Step away from my daughter!" Powhatan thundered across the battlefield. His voice somehow rose up against the melee that stood in between him and his daughter.
"You heard the man," Aozora spat at him; he could tell this was Ratcliffe. "Step away."
"What?" Ratcliffe gasped with mock astonishment. "And lose a chance at some diplomacy. I'll bet that savage chief will do anything if I had my hands on his daughter."
Pocahontas shrank away from the vile words and Aozora decided he had enough.
"Get out of my way, you ugly man!" he snapped, swung his Starlight, and shoved the man aside with the Keyblade. He continued to drag Pocahontas through the battle scene, fighting off the Nobodies, which were rapidly dwindling in number.
"Shoot them!" Ratcliffe yelled as he struggled to his feet, fighting against his armor.
Most of the settlers immediately aimed for the blond-haired teenager and his luggage as the two people made their way towards Chief Powhatan and his men.
"Don't shoot!" Smith shouted. "You'll make real enemies out of them!"
"Savages already are the enemy!" Ratcliffe countered. "Don't disobey me; shoot those two!"
"No!" Smith yelled back. Half of the men faltered; they admired, respected, and leaned more towards Smith rather than Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe gnashed his teeth angrily as he watched the two nearing the chief and the warriors, most who were cocking arrows at his men from the top of the rock face they were on. Noting the danger, for the white creatures were starting to scatter, he shouted, "Shoot those savages!"
The guns pointed at them willingly.
"No!" Smith scrambled up the rock face Powhatan and the others were standing on.
As they neared the top, Pocahontas slipped and nearly fell back down.
"We're almost there!" Aozora pulled her back up as they neared the top.
Suddenly, Meeko and Flit came out of nowhere, followed by a white pug, which happened to be Ratcliffe's dog, Percy. Meeko carried something golden in his paws/hands.
"Wha-Meeko, Flit! What are you doing here?" Pocahontas exclaimed. "Get out of here; it's too dangerous!"
Meeko simply blocked their path. Trying to move around him, they were hindered by Flit and Percy kept them from moving another way around.
"Meeko? Please, get out of here; this place is too dangerous," Pocahontas pleaded as gunfire erupted and the twang of bowstrings being released followed.
Meeko stood firm in front of them; he held out a golden disk.
"A compass..." Aozora wondered quizzically as Pocahontas took it. "Why a compass? What did Grandmother Willow say about a compass?"
As Flit twittered to him, Pocahontas stared at the face of the compass. The arrow was spinning...
"Like in my dream," she whispered breathlessly. The arrow was spinning and, incredulously, stopped in the direction between her father and Smith, pointing into the forest. "What?"
Sora and Donald burst out at that moment in time and screeched to a stop as they stared at the scenario.
Chief Powhatan directing his archers as they fired down on the group of settlers firing up at them, Ratcliffe wrestling with Thomas over his musket, Smith scrambling up the rock face and in the most dangerous spot: in between the archers and the settlers, Goofy scrambling after Aozora, and Pocahontas staring at something in her hand and then looking at them.
"Give. Me. The. Musket," Ratcliffe growled as he tugged the musket out of a reluctant Thomas' hand. He aimed at Chief Powhatan, unaware of the danger.
Suddenly, the arrow on the compass began to spin again. Pocahontas stared at it as Aozora gaped at the spinning arrow. The arrow of a compass does not spin again once it stops. What magic does it possess?
Pocahontas stared as the arrow pointed in the direction of the settlers. She peered cautiously down at them...and saw Ratcliffe taking dead aim at her father, with Thomas at his feet, staring up at Ratcliffe with horror.
"Father!" she screamed as she heard the gun discharge.
"Oh my god!" Sora and Donald ran forward, only to see Smith throw himself upward over the ledge, run forward, and push Chief Powhatan aside. He was suddenly thrown back, by the power of the bullet that bore into his side. The angry cries of the settlers began to rise and, as the two watched, they surrounded a stunned Ratcliffe, chained him, and half of the group bore him away towards the anchored ship, while Thomas ran towards the rock face. The archers and the other warriors, who were making ready for a hand-to-hand combat with the settlers once the archers ran out of bolts, were helping Chief Powhatan, who received minor bruises, and John Smith, who had nearly killed himself saving the chief. Pocahontas and Aozora dashed forward, followed by Goofy, Meeko, Flit, and Percy.
They were all unified by the single act of sacrifice Smith had done. Thankfully, he would survive.
"Thank you," Chief Powhatan told Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aozora, Smith, and the others as the former settlers received gifts of food and clothing from his people as they made ready to set sail back to England, with Ratcliffe storming in the bottom of the Susan Constant. "I was wrong to think you will harm us. I am sorry."
"No need to," Smith waved it aside from the makeshift stretcher he was on. "I was glad to help."
"Same here," Sora and the others tipped their heads at the chief.
Pocahontas stepped forward from her father's side, her face aglow. "Are we protected from the Nobodies from now on?"
Sora nodded and looked to Aozora, who spoke, "Sometimes, the only way to lock out Nobodies is a single act of sacrifice or near-sacrifice, which proves the worth of one's soul. No Heartless appear where Nobodies once were. Except for Twilight Town maybe. But you are safe from harm from now on."
Pocahontas smiled. "Thank you. For helping all of us open our eyes to the wider world."
Sora smiled in return. "Well, we'll be headed back to our...um...shooting star of a ship now."
He had seen a look that Pocahontas and Smith shared. Very fleeting but it was there.
"We shall leave you to your diplomatic duties," Aozora bowed with a grin and they headed into the forest.
"You know I won't help you," Grandmother Willow spat at the two hooded being adorned in long black coats. "I've left your kind a long time ago, seeing your corrupt ways."
"And you will have to pay dearly unless you pay up," one of them shot back. "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing that should worry you," Grandmother Willow snapped.
"You've been collaborating with the King, the Phoenix," the other spoke coolly. "He has told you much about everything around here. What did he tell you? Tell us and we'll leave you alone."
"I'd rather be burned alive than say anything," Grandmother Willow snapped. "My form as a tree may be vulnerable but my mind is not! You cannot make me say anything!"
"Very well!" the first spoke and stabbed into her with its left arm.
Life drained from Grandmother Willow and the two laughed.
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 12: Coming Winters
While Pocahontas' face grew darker and Smith grew more worried, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora together explained who the Nobodies were. Then Sora, Donald, and Goofy explained who the Heartless were as well.
"Why are they here?" Smith asked, mystified by these two groups of enemies that fought them and each other.
Sora gave a shrug and Aozora picked up the cue. "The Heartless follow those who seem heartless-" Sora began to cough and, strangely enough it sounded like 'Ratcliffe!' "- and the Nobodies are attracted to those who have no souls for the other people, in this case, Pocahontas' people. This Ratcliffe digging up her lands and shooting at her people-and us- shows the factors most desirable to both the Heartless and the Nobodies."
"Lovely," Grandmother Willow said cheerfully. "Ah, how the winds of winter blow!"
That statement was followed by an awkward silence, which was broken when Pocahontas said, "Um...Grandmother Willow? Its not winter yet."
"Ah child but it is," the willow tree said. Before anybody could ask her any more questions she said, "Evil tidings are known as winters for they bring death and destruction wherever they go."
Only Aozora nodded to this; the others were lost beyond confusion.
It was only then that Sora became aware of footsteps in the distance. " Someone's coming."
"Some people are coming," Grandmother Willow corrected and suddenly a mass of her branches shifted to block the little gathering at the foot of her trunk from view. Pocahontas and Smith peered through the swaying leaves; Sora and the others peeped from behind Grandmother Willow's trunk.
Ben and Lon, two of Smith's friends and shipmates, were charging towards the willow tree and the glade it guarded, with Ben shouting, "Smith! Where are you mate?"
"This place gives me the creeps," Lon added as he looked about him fearfully. "Who knows when those white things will pop up?!"
Aozora started at his statement but Sora gripped his shoulder to keep him from moving. Aozora glared at him to 'let go or die' but Sora ignored that dangerous look and kept Aozora in one place.
Lon and Ben drew nearer yet they had not noticed the odd way the lone willow tree in the clearing they had run into was built. Their eyes were continuing to rove around.
"Think we should say hi?" Goofy whispered.
"You are all allied against one," Grandmother Willow answered quietly.
Sora nodded, let go of Aozora's shoulder-to his immense relief-, and stepped in front of Smith's shipmates with a cheerful grin on his face. As they came to a startled stop, he waved and said, "Hi!"
"Holy smokes!" Lon shouted and scrambled backwards into Ben.
"Hey, fellows, don't panic; he won't bite," Smith called out as he 'materialized' besides Sora.
"Smith, mate, where were ya?" Lon said with enormous relief. "Ratcliffe's been looking for ya. Them savages are getting on his nerves."
While Smith winced at the use of words, Ben added, "And there's these really weird white creatures. You have to stick a whole bunch of bullets in them-who are they?"
Pocahontas, Donald, Goofy, and Aozora appeared as well.
"Smith, why is she here?" Lon asked nervously, for Pocahontas was one of the people Ratcliffe wanted dead.
"She is the princess of the 'savages' you mentioned earlier," Smith answered pleasantly. "She's here to help us. Not only is there no gold here but plenty of golden corn, she knows these white creatures which Aozora here-" gestured to the blond kid "-has fought will hurt all of us unless we do something."
Pocahontas had the 'I know that?" look on her face. Lon and Ben looked at her suspiciously but Sora knew it was true.
"And we are after the white thingies, too!" Goofy explained. "We're all in this together. We gotta stop them."
"So," Sora stated. "Can we talk to this Ratcliffe of yours about this serious situation that can possibly destroy all of us and leave the universe to its doom?"
The look Smith, Lon, and Ben gave him spoke more than enough that Sora would be slaughtered if he tried.
"And the princess would be dead within ten feet of camp," Lon added, gesturing to Pocahontas.
"My name is Pocahontas," she corrected. "Do not call me princess."
"Well, yeah," Lon shrugged it aside. "We've got bigger issues to deal with-"
"Shhh!" Aozora hissed suddenly. "Listen!"
They all fell silent, only to hear drums beating in slow rhythm in the distance and shouts and gunfire in another direction.
"The drums," Pocahontas sighed. "Something has happened back home."
"The gunfire," Lon, Ben, and Smith looked at each other seriously. "The camp!"
"Okay, it looks like we need to split," Sora announced. "Donald and I will go with Pocahontas. Aozora and Goofy will go with Smith, Lon, and Ben. It looks like the Nobodies are really here."
Aozora was about to protest against being ordered to do this or that but Goofy grabbed his arm and dragged him off.
"Drums mean that everyone in my father's village must come," Pocahontas explained as they skimmed through the forest. "It means to get within the walls, there's a serious tribal meeting inside, there's a war, or there's danger for everyone out in the forest."
"You think the drums are for the last one?" Sora yelled breathlessly.
"And the first!" Donald quacked; he was far back because he's not very accustomed to running.
"What do we do if the Nobodies had attacked?" Sora demanded.
Pocahontas slowed momentarily. "Then we will see what had happened and will search out the Nobodies. Then we shall see."
As they drew closer to Pocahontas' village, Sora could see smoke drifting into the air.
"There's a fire," Sora announced ominously, gesturing to the sky.
"The cornfields!" Pocahontas shouted and dashed to the left.
They stumbled upon a clearing, with burning stalks of green emitting smoke into the sky. They could hear screams and shouts, followed by clashes of weaponry and many running feet.
"Nakoma!" Pocahontas screamed. Then she pointed at the burning stalks. " May the rain come to my aid!"
With that, she opened her hand and water materialized from the palm of her hand; the liquid gushed forth as though it came from a hose and doused the flames, ridding the air of smoke. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Sora and Donald gaping at her.
A flabbergasted Donald finally yelped, "You use magic?!"
Pocahontas nodded, gestured in the direction of drumbeats, and shouted, " This way!"
They followed her to a war scene. Men of her people were throwing spears at the swarms of Nobodies at the foot of tall palisade walls from their position at the top. The occasional Nobody that reached the top of the wall was suddenly repelled and thrown back; Pocahontas said, "The power of the few is very strong. Come, we must help them."
With that, she held her right hand forward and commanded, "My the powers of the wind come to my aid!"
With that, a translucent swirl of wind surrounded her and she strode towards the Nobodies. Donald looked to Sora, who had called out his Keyblade to his hands.
"Maybe we should've asked her if she wanted to dance," Sora said thoughtfully as they followed her at a rapid pace.
"If she considered fighting Nobodies a dance," Donald snorted. "Aeroga!"
With that, he cast the protective spell on both of them and they rushed forward as Pocahontas reached the outskirts of the battle scene and cried out, "Power of the sun, come to my aid!"
Fire rained down on the Nobodies; they whirled around to the new threat at the rear as the warriors on top of the palisade walls shouted and new warriors came forward with bows and arrows readied to fire on the Nobodies.
"Dang, she's good," Sora commented before High Jumping into the melee, swinging his Keyblade about.
"Blizzaga!" the force of snow and wind blasted some Nobodies to infinity and beyond as Donald added his powers to Pocahontas.
With bolts of arrows raining down on the Nobodies from the front and a dangerous force pounding into them from the back, the white creatures lost it and scattered.
"Well!" Sora muttered as he sliced at a Nobody and beheaded it. "It's a lot easier than back at Twilight Town!"
He kicked at another Nobody and was about to hit it with a downward swing when something flew past him by the merest of inches and, with a sickly thud, dug itself into the Nobody's head. It was an axe. It was then he became aware of the group of warriors surrounding him, their spears and axes leaning in his direction.
"This is not good," Sora deciphered the situation.
"Gwaahhhh!" Donald tumbled to his feet as more warriors appeared, creating a tight ring around them. Rising above the warriors was a tall man with a fierce, hawk-like face, red paint lathered around his eyes. He wore a band of feathers on his head, wore a cloak with raccoon tails, and held a long staff with two eagle feathers tied onto it.
Pocahontas was at his side, pleading insistently. "Father, please, they were only helping us!"
"Father?" Sora stared as the man looked down on them.
"They come from the outside world; they can be no help to us," he spoke in a deadly tone, rich and commanding. "They can be a diversion or a small force sent here to trick us into helping them. No, they are dangerous."
"Dangerous?!" Donald squawked. "We helped defend your village!"
"We can take no chances," he answered. "How do I know you didn't arrive with the white men at the shore?"
Sora and Donald had no comeback to that statement. The man looked to his warriors.
"Take them to the enclosure they made," he spoke. "They will not be able to escape. After we rid our home of the white men and the white creatures, we will deal with them."
"What?" Sora yelled as the warriors stepped forward, their spears leveled at his head. "You can't do that! We can help you; we've fought those creatures before!"
The warriors were hesitant and looked to who was apparently their leader. He shook his head; the warriors grabbed them by the arm, and dragged them off, with Donald squalling the whole way. Sora took to glaring at the leader; he could not understand who the guy was.
Pocahontas looked to Chief Powhatan pleadingly. "They know the creatures, Father! Why lock them up? They can help us!"
"Can they?" he rumbled an answer. "I've learned from the others further south; all strangers are not welcome. Come, we must rid our home of the white settlers and the white creatures."
Aozora was rather ruffled by Goofy dragging him as they followed Smith, Long, and Ben, who were all moving at an extremely rapid pace. As Aozora gained his stride and managed to get Goofy to let him go, Smith warned them, "Whatever you do, not make Ratcliffe mad. He can have you shot on the spot or throw you into the bottom of the ship until all this is over."
"You might die of starvation before it's over, actually," Lon added. " Ratcliffe doesn't give a rat's-"
"Lon, that you?" a voice shouted out as everyone became aware of nearing gunfire.
"Thomas!" Lon yelled back. "We've got Smith and some others!"
"What others?" Thomas shouted through the bushy undergrowth of the forest.
"How do I explain-" Lon looked to Aozora and Goofy. Goofy was adjusting the straps on his shield as they ran and white and black powers glowed in Aozora's hands when Pocahontas suddenly burst onto the scene.
"Pocahontas!" Smith exclaimed with surprise; she had a harried look on her face.
"My father...has taken...Sora and Donald!" she gasped for a breath. "He doesn't know...that they...can help us..."
"What? I'm going!" Aozora started to march off in the direction that Pocahontas came from but a knife suddenly flew past his face and stuck itself into a tree trunk behind him.
"Pocahontas," a calm-yet-urgent voice spoke as everyone froze. "Get away from them. They're dangerous."
Hateful fire raged in her eyes as she stood ramrod straight and turned in the direction from whence she came.
"This is not for you to butt into, Kocoum," she snapped. "Why did you follow me?"
A rather handsome warrior of her people appeared before them all, a dagger clenched in his hand. He glared at Smith, Lon, Ben, Aozora, and Goofy before looking to Pocahontas and stating calmly, "Go. You must have no further contact with these people."
Ben looked at Goofy. "He ain't a 'people'. Does he count?"
"You're all outsiders and you are no longer welcome!" Kocoum, the warrior, snapped, then grabbed Pocahontas by the arm. "Come; we must go. Your father is angry with you for collaborating with 'them'."
"Let me go!" Pocahontas hissed and tried to pull away.
"Stop it!" Kocoum jerked her arm. "This is not time for child's play!"
"Let her go!" Smith said protectively as he stepped forward. "She knows we are all in this together against the white creatures. She is trying to help us. Her decision you can't change. Let her go."
"How do I know your people aren't surrounding us with your fire-sticks, ready to kill us?" Kocoum snapped at him.
Smith gripped the arm that held Pocahontas. "Let her go. We are not surrounding you; they are back at the beach, fighting the white creatures apparently you've been fighting, too."
Kocoum stared at him for a few seconds. Suddenly, Smith jerked back as Kocoum let Pocahontas go and jumped at him, the dagger poised and ready to dig itself into Smith.
"John!" Ben ran forward but Aozora stopped him. "There is nothing you can do! It is their battle. Let them fight it out."
Ben and Lon stared at him as though he had gone mad. Goofy looked at him nervously but made no attempt to stop Smith and Kocoum as they fought for control over the dagger.
"Smith? Ben? Lon?" a tentative and fearful voice spoke as a man with a cap over his red hair appeared from the direction of Smith's camp. Aozora swore inwardly; the man was holding a 'fire-stick'.
Smith, spotting the man, shouted, "Thomas!"
He meant it to mean, "Get out of here", but Thomas apparently interpreted it as a cry for help. He stared at Kocoum trying to drive the knife into Smith, fumbled with the 'fire-stick' and Aozora was heard cursing loudly as it discharged.
"No!" Pocahontas screamed.
"Apply justice to a battle between two men over choices and decisions and everything falls into ruin," Aozora kicked himself. "I am so going to kill my mentor for this! A victim of war, damn it all, and he didn't even need to die!"
As the smoke from the musket drifted away, everyone stared in horror at the body draped over a positively frightened Smith.
"Kocoum," Pocahontas sighed regretfully. "It wasn't supposed to be this way."
War whoops echoed in the distance; Pocahontas looked at everyone. "We must get out of here! My father will kill us all if we remain!"
By the time Chief Powhatan and his warriors appeared to the horrifying scene, Smith, Pocahontas, Goofy, Aozora, Lon, Ben, and Thomas had made it to the outskirts of the camp.
"I don't' believe this!" Sora banged against the double walls of the enclosure he and Donald were thrown into. "What did they do? Even the Keyblade can't open it!"
Donald sat glumly against the wall opposite of the one with the door; Sora glared at him. "Got any ideas on how to get out of here?"
Donald shook his head. "They've put really strong magic here. The only magic I know that's more powerful is King Mickey's magic."
Sora sighed and dropped to his knees before the door. He leaned his head against it. "This sucks. They lock us here because they 'think' we're the enemy? They're out of their minds!"
He yelled at the top of his lungs during the last sentence and the answer he received was, "Quiet! No noise-making!"
"Oh wonderful!" Sora glowered. "They've posted guards!"
Donald looked at his critically. "Since when were you sarcastic?"
Sora glared at him. "None of your business!"
But Donald caught the look of pain in his eyes before the fifteen-year-old teenager turned away.
Just one year magnifies the pain within, Donald thought. Which makes him all the more sarcastic and ready to kill himself! That answers those 'thrill issues' of his!
"Hey, where'd that dog come from?" one of the guards was heard wondering.
"He doesn't look like any of our dogs," the other noted worriedly.
Sora perked up, and stuck his head against the door, his ear pressed into the wood.
"We don't' have any yellow dogs around here, that's for sure," the first guard noted.
Donald jumped to his feet. "Plu-"
"Shh!" Sora hissed at him quickly and Donald fell silent.
"Look at his tail!" the second guard noted. "All black and whippy. And his nose is so big! This isn't any of our dogs. I've never seen a dog like this before, actually."
Sora peeped through a crack in the door. He'd done it before but hadn't seen anything. Now he could see the dog the guars commented. It definitely was Pluto.
'Its Pluto,' Sora mouthed to Donald. About time he showed up. But there's no letter in his mouth. Where'd it go?
"Shoo, doggy!" the first guard snapped. "Go away!"
His field of vision was suddenly blocked and Sora drew away from the door.
"Arf!" was the reply.
"Go away, dog!" the second guard commanded.
There was a sudden scuffle and Sora peeped again through the crack in the door, his whole body leaning against it. He saw nothing but smoke.
"Can't see anything," Sora struggled to make something out of the smoke when the door suddenly swung open and he fell on his face.
Looking up, he saw Pluto. Wagging his tail happily, the whippy black cord thumped on the ground.
"Pluto, where've you been?" Donald exclaimed as he ran over Sora and to Pluto.
But the yellow dog slipped away into the smoke.
"That's weird," Donald noted as Sora got up. "He's never done that before."
Sora rubbed his back. "Donald, I think you've broken my back."
Donald paid no attention and stared at the two guards, completely knocked out. "How'd Pluto do this?"
The sound of gunfire interrupted Donald's thoughts. Sora grabbed the wizard by the back of his collar and dragged him off, saying, "There's trouble thataway!"
Aozora swung the Starlight and the Oblivion about menacingly, keeping some of the settlers from the Susan Constant and England away from Pocahontas while Goofy, Smith, Lon, Ben, and Thomas helped the others fight off the Nobodies. Their problems were compounded when Chief Powhatan and his men appeared from the forest with war whoops and somehow ignored the Nobodies as they went to fight the settlers that had killed Kocoum.
"Oh no, my father's here," Pocahontas moaned before throwing a bolt of fire at a Nobody that had strayed too close to Aozora and her predicament. "Everything's gone totally wrong."
"Not if I can help it!" Aozora cast Aeroga on the both of them, scattered the settlers surrounding them with a few well placed thwacks on some heads, and dragged her to the battle scene that was about to become disastrous.
"Pocahontas!" Powhatan cried out in surprise as he saw Aozora drag Pocahontas towards them. "Get away from that boy!"
"Boy?" Aozora muttered. "He should've said ' teenager'!"
He knocked out some settlers that were moving towards them menacingly with the Aeroga spell, dashed past the settlers, and screeched to a stop as a rather enormous man adorned in black armor and a red cloak loomed before them. He had a disgustingly snobbish look on his face, a strange purplish hat, and two pigtails tied at the end with red ribbons. Aozora wrinkled his nose at this; this man had no dress sense at all.
"And where are you two going?" the man demanded smugly. The voice was not at all friendly.
"Step away from my daughter!" Powhatan thundered across the battlefield. His voice somehow rose up against the melee that stood in between him and his daughter.
"You heard the man," Aozora spat at him; he could tell this was Ratcliffe. "Step away."
"What?" Ratcliffe gasped with mock astonishment. "And lose a chance at some diplomacy. I'll bet that savage chief will do anything if I had my hands on his daughter."
Pocahontas shrank away from the vile words and Aozora decided he had enough.
"Get out of my way, you ugly man!" he snapped, swung his Starlight, and shoved the man aside with the Keyblade. He continued to drag Pocahontas through the battle scene, fighting off the Nobodies, which were rapidly dwindling in number.
"Shoot them!" Ratcliffe yelled as he struggled to his feet, fighting against his armor.
Most of the settlers immediately aimed for the blond-haired teenager and his luggage as the two people made their way towards Chief Powhatan and his men.
"Don't shoot!" Smith shouted. "You'll make real enemies out of them!"
"Savages already are the enemy!" Ratcliffe countered. "Don't disobey me; shoot those two!"
"No!" Smith yelled back. Half of the men faltered; they admired, respected, and leaned more towards Smith rather than Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe gnashed his teeth angrily as he watched the two nearing the chief and the warriors, most who were cocking arrows at his men from the top of the rock face they were on. Noting the danger, for the white creatures were starting to scatter, he shouted, "Shoot those savages!"
The guns pointed at them willingly.
"No!" Smith scrambled up the rock face Powhatan and the others were standing on.
As they neared the top, Pocahontas slipped and nearly fell back down.
"We're almost there!" Aozora pulled her back up as they neared the top.
Suddenly, Meeko and Flit came out of nowhere, followed by a white pug, which happened to be Ratcliffe's dog, Percy. Meeko carried something golden in his paws/hands.
"Wha-Meeko, Flit! What are you doing here?" Pocahontas exclaimed. "Get out of here; it's too dangerous!"
Meeko simply blocked their path. Trying to move around him, they were hindered by Flit and Percy kept them from moving another way around.
"Meeko? Please, get out of here; this place is too dangerous," Pocahontas pleaded as gunfire erupted and the twang of bowstrings being released followed.
Meeko stood firm in front of them; he held out a golden disk.
"A compass..." Aozora wondered quizzically as Pocahontas took it. "Why a compass? What did Grandmother Willow say about a compass?"
As Flit twittered to him, Pocahontas stared at the face of the compass. The arrow was spinning...
"Like in my dream," she whispered breathlessly. The arrow was spinning and, incredulously, stopped in the direction between her father and Smith, pointing into the forest. "What?"
Sora and Donald burst out at that moment in time and screeched to a stop as they stared at the scenario.
Chief Powhatan directing his archers as they fired down on the group of settlers firing up at them, Ratcliffe wrestling with Thomas over his musket, Smith scrambling up the rock face and in the most dangerous spot: in between the archers and the settlers, Goofy scrambling after Aozora, and Pocahontas staring at something in her hand and then looking at them.
"Give. Me. The. Musket," Ratcliffe growled as he tugged the musket out of a reluctant Thomas' hand. He aimed at Chief Powhatan, unaware of the danger.
Suddenly, the arrow on the compass began to spin again. Pocahontas stared at it as Aozora gaped at the spinning arrow. The arrow of a compass does not spin again once it stops. What magic does it possess?
Pocahontas stared as the arrow pointed in the direction of the settlers. She peered cautiously down at them...and saw Ratcliffe taking dead aim at her father, with Thomas at his feet, staring up at Ratcliffe with horror.
"Father!" she screamed as she heard the gun discharge.
"Oh my god!" Sora and Donald ran forward, only to see Smith throw himself upward over the ledge, run forward, and push Chief Powhatan aside. He was suddenly thrown back, by the power of the bullet that bore into his side. The angry cries of the settlers began to rise and, as the two watched, they surrounded a stunned Ratcliffe, chained him, and half of the group bore him away towards the anchored ship, while Thomas ran towards the rock face. The archers and the other warriors, who were making ready for a hand-to-hand combat with the settlers once the archers ran out of bolts, were helping Chief Powhatan, who received minor bruises, and John Smith, who had nearly killed himself saving the chief. Pocahontas and Aozora dashed forward, followed by Goofy, Meeko, Flit, and Percy.
They were all unified by the single act of sacrifice Smith had done. Thankfully, he would survive.
"Thank you," Chief Powhatan told Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aozora, Smith, and the others as the former settlers received gifts of food and clothing from his people as they made ready to set sail back to England, with Ratcliffe storming in the bottom of the Susan Constant. "I was wrong to think you will harm us. I am sorry."
"No need to," Smith waved it aside from the makeshift stretcher he was on. "I was glad to help."
"Same here," Sora and the others tipped their heads at the chief.
Pocahontas stepped forward from her father's side, her face aglow. "Are we protected from the Nobodies from now on?"
Sora nodded and looked to Aozora, who spoke, "Sometimes, the only way to lock out Nobodies is a single act of sacrifice or near-sacrifice, which proves the worth of one's soul. No Heartless appear where Nobodies once were. Except for Twilight Town maybe. But you are safe from harm from now on."
Pocahontas smiled. "Thank you. For helping all of us open our eyes to the wider world."
Sora smiled in return. "Well, we'll be headed back to our...um...shooting star of a ship now."
He had seen a look that Pocahontas and Smith shared. Very fleeting but it was there.
"We shall leave you to your diplomatic duties," Aozora bowed with a grin and they headed into the forest.
"You know I won't help you," Grandmother Willow spat at the two hooded being adorned in long black coats. "I've left your kind a long time ago, seeing your corrupt ways."
"And you will have to pay dearly unless you pay up," one of them shot back. "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing that should worry you," Grandmother Willow snapped.
"You've been collaborating with the King, the Phoenix," the other spoke coolly. "He has told you much about everything around here. What did he tell you? Tell us and we'll leave you alone."
"I'd rather be burned alive than say anything," Grandmother Willow snapped. "My form as a tree may be vulnerable but my mind is not! You cannot make me say anything!"
"Very well!" the first spoke and stabbed into her with its left arm.
Life drained from Grandmother Willow and the two laughed.