DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: HERE IS CHAPTER 8! HALLELUJAH! HIP-HIP-HOORAY! YES!
So, THIS Chapter is actually the Second Chapter for the story of the first Disney-based world. To that end, I would like provide a little piece of TRIVIA to go along with it.
DID YOU KNOW? The chef's character, "Cookie" was played the comedy-actor, Jim Varney? Varney was known for his role as Ernest P. Worrell and Slinky in "Toy Story (1995)". "Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)" was his lost role ever. He died during production, so the movie is actually dedicated to him. Nevertheless, Jim Varney still did his personal best with the role, knowing he would not live long enough to see the movie be released.
Now that you know a small tidbit you might not have before, I just wanted to saw how happy I am to see how much everyone is enjoying the story. Whenever I read over the detailed "Storyline 'Summary'" I created for "Kingdom Hearts - Season of Light", I find myself enjoying it, too. The story WILL be getting MUCH MORE INTERESTING that further in we go.
I see at least one of you are confused about why I included Lord Cutler Beckett on Maleficent's Council when I stated on my Profile Page how I would NOT be including "Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)". That wasn't the ONLY Disney movie that villain appeared in, now was it? Either I will be including the world of Port Royal in This or Another story (most-likely the Sequel), or Lord Beckett will be one of the villains who "temporarily" appears with the other villains.
Plus, I Hope you are all enjoying This Story! I spent MONTHS to plan it out! Let me know which parts YOU LIKE THE BEST and what YOU WOULD LIKE to see happen up ahead and in the REST OF THE STORY!
Since I have covered everything I need to say this time as well, I'll let you go.
PLEASE ENJOY! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW AND READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT - AND PLEASE REVIEW, TOO!
CHAPTER 8
Into The Lair of The Leviathan
It had only been ten minutes after the Ulysses had been launched when the sunlight shining from above had dispersed into complete, inky blackness. The cockpit was full of hustle and bustle as Sora desperately swept his eyes this way and that. From his shoulder, Jiminy Cricket did the same. The young man peeked around a wooden crate on the deck. He sighed. "Not here either."
Sora couldn't believe his luck. Shortly after the submarine had been launched, Milo had headed for a narrow hallway leading out of the chamber. It was at that precise moment Sora had taken notice of the absence of Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. Now he was searching every nook and cranny in the room — with no success so far.
As Sora carefully moved what could have been the fiftieth wooden crate from a pile of wooden crates, the sound of obnoxious laughter filled his ears. "What was that?" he wondered aloud.
Jiminy listened for a moment as he tried to pinpoint the source of the noise. He finally spotted a narrow doorway located roughly six feet from them that led deeper into the submarine. "Hmm… it seems to be coming from down there," the cricket concluded.
Jiminy hopped from the crate he had just been standing on and landed onto Sora's shoulder. The latter set down the crate he had been holding before approaching the doorway. "Then that's where we'll search next," he decided.
"Take it away," Jiminy stated as Sora stepped into the corridor beyond. The hallway was painted in a dark, brownish color while the lights of the room were a dim, white color and encased in small, iron cage-like covers.
Curious to know if there was anything on the other side, Sora knocked on the wall. A faint echo could be heard. "Sounds metallic," he assumed.
He noticed light shining through a doorway further down the corridor. The sounds of laughter and slurping grew louder as Sora cautiously snuck up to the wide doorway. He peeked through and could not believe his own eyes. Jiminy peered inside, only to softly exclaim, "Well, I'll be… "
Inside the large, wide room, Launchpad and Goofy were sitting at one of many picnic-shaped tables. They were accompanied by a large group of sailors, engineers, and soldiers.
For a moment, Sora was puzzled. Since when did soldiers sign on for an expedition to a mythical destination? The question rapidly left as he heard Goofy said, "Gawrsh, tell 'em about thuh time you crashed into Scrooge McDuck's new bank."
"Gee, I recall getting fired by Mister McDee for that," Launchpad chuckled. "Come to think of it, I became the wandering hero and must've passed out millions of calling cards to the people of Duckburg. Guess I should've given one to you."
"Well, I dunno know," Goofy pondered out loud. "I never got one."
This brought out a loud burst of laughter from the other people gathered around.
Sora sighed as he strode up to his friends. The crowd stepped aside to make way for the teenager as he reached Goofy and Launchpad. The pilot said, "Hey Sora! How's it going?"
"Look everyone," Goofy declared, gesturing at Sora. "It's the heroic, Sora!"
The crowd gasped in amazement for a brief second. When that second was up, they all cheered and gave a round of applause. Just trying to play along, Sora bowed for them. "Yeah," he admitted. "I'm a hero."
One of the sailors in the crowd said, "You must have been at least a little nervous having to battle those monsters."
Sora's eyes grew wide when he heard this. All he could say was, "Well… maybe a little. It's not that overwhelming."
One of the crowd marched straight up to Sora. It was a slender girl who appeared to be slightly shorter than the spikey-haired Keyblader. She had black, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and wearing blue overalls, a white shirt, an aqua-colored hat, and tan gloves. "Oh really?" she quizzed
"Yeah," Sora answered. "It's a piece of cake!"
"Yeesh," the girl muttered aloud. "I would rather take lunch money from guys like him."
The comment caused the entire crowd to burst out laughing. The girl marched closer to Sora and raised her fist as though she was going to punch his shoulder. Jiminy hopped back into Sora's hoodie as the latter recoiled. "Two for flinching!" the girl stated.
Sora winced as the girl's fists struck his shoulder. As she walked away, he said, "Just… who are you?"
"Name's Audrey," the girl responded. "Chief mechanic."
She casually strolled out of the room and disappeared into the corridor. Sora was about to say something when a Western-accented voice called out, "Come and get it!"
Sora watched as the same elderly man he had caught a glimpse of earlier came into the room through a doorway. He was pushing a cart carrying a pot and banging a metal ladle against the pot's side. The noise was loud enough to make Sora cover his ears. He saw everyone standing in the room dart out as fast as they could. Only Launchpad, Goofy, and Sora remained. The man glanced around in wonder. "Was it something I said?" he inquired, a puzzled look on his face.
Sora shook his head. Whoever this man was, he had just spoken in the direction of an empty room. He had to smile a little. This was what he often thought of as "Fourth-Wall-Joke-Style". "Who are you?" the seventeen-year-old said at last.
"Jebidiah Farnsworth," the man replied. "But you guys can just call me 'Cookie'. I'm the chief cook around these parts."
Sora stepped up to the pot, took a deep sniff, and rapidly held his nose. With the sound of a stuffed nose, he inquired, "What is that?! It smells horrible!"
"Just a little bacon grease left over from the baked beans I prepared for tonight's suppa," Cookie answered. He leaned in close to Sora's ear and whispered, "It's supposed to be the appetizer before the main course."
From his seat, Goofy asked Cookie, "Could I try some?"
"Can you make it two?" Launchpad added.
"Comin' right up," Cookie affirmed as he rolled the pot over to the table and placed two trays in front of Goofy and Launchpad. The cook whipped out his ladle and dipped it into the pot before dumping the contents onto Goofy's tray. He did the same for Launchpad, except some of the grease splattered onto the table.
Sora had to cover his mouth. A few small flies were buzzing around the grease mounds. He started to turn a slight tint of green.
"Sora! There you are!" Donald shouted as he rushed into the room. He said, "C'mon! We're supposed to report to the bridge!"
As soon as the magician saw the mounds of bacon grease piled up onto the trays, he covered his bill with both his hands and his face turned green. He zoomed out the door and further down the corridor. Sora shrugged at this. "C'mon," he said, not glancing back at Goofy or Launchpad. "Let's head for the bridge."
A few minutes later, Sora, Goofy, and Launchpad finally caught up with Donald just outside a tiny restroom. They proceeded toward the cockpit of the submarine.
Upon arrival in the gigantic spherical room, the group looked around. To Goofy and Launchpad's dismay, there appeared to be hundreds of catwalks leading this way and that. "Gawrsh," Goofy said. "Where do we go?"
"This could take hours!" Launchpad stated, indicating the large amount of staircases and platforms connected by the catwalks. "These all look like bridges to me! Is one of them London bridge?"
"Yeah!" Goofy added in turn. "Maybe it's been fallin' down. A-Hyuck!"
"Ya big palookas," Donald snarled. "The bridge is the control center for the ship!" He paused. "…I mean 'submarine'!"
"Hey! Cut it out, you guys!" Sora yelled at them, even though it was clear he specifically meant Donald.
The other three stared at him in shock. Not a single one of them had foreseen Sora lashing out his frustration on others. To them, the teenager tended to be more carefree. It would appear that someone had switched their friend for an inversed counterpart — whatever that meant! There was total silence until a series of voices snatched their attention.
"Alright! Let's have a look around."
"Aye sir! Setting course for two—four—zero!"
"Up there!" Launchpad pointed as his finger indicated one of the largest platforms in the cockpit. It coincidentally happened to be at the top of short flight of steps directly before the group. In reply, Sora and Goofy nodded while Donald rolled his eyes. The whole group quickly marched up the stairs to the platform.
As they set foot on the next level, Commander Rourke approached them. "Welcome to the bridge," he greeted. "Please stand with the others."
As Sora looked around the sub's bridge, he spotted a group of people standing against a railing while facing a whiteboard and slide projector. It only took one look for the brown, spikey-headed young man to recognize the majority of the people there — the demolition expert, Vinny; the mechanic, Audrey; the lieutenant, Helga; the eccentric, dirt-loving Molière (whose profession Sora was yet to discover); and the young linguist, Milo Thatch. The rest of crowd was made up of sailors and a few soldiers.
Still bewildered at the sight of soldiers being on an expedition, Sora had to push the thought aside once again.
"Okay, everybody," Rourke declared. "I want you to give Mr. Thatch your undivided attention."
As he took his place in the group of spectators, Sora noticed that Donald and Goofy were standing on different sides of him while Launchpad was standing on the other side of Goofy. He sighed again and looked over to the whiteboard as Milo timidly approached it and turned to face everyone. The linguist gulped before speaking.
"Good afternoon," Milo said anxiously as he started to fidget with his shirt collar. "C-can everyone hear me okay?"
The eerie quiet that followed apparently answered his question. Milo hesitated for a brief moment. "H-how about some slides?"
From the corner of his eye, Sora thought he saw Vinny and Audrey glancing at one another. Milo flipped on the slide projector and pulled out a single slide from a box sitting beside it. "T-the first slide is a depiction of a creature," he continued. "A creature so frightening that sailors were said to be driven mad by the mere sight of it!"
Sora was starting to feel slightly uneasy when Milo inserted the slide into the projector. To Sora's astonishment and sudden amusement, the slide contained a black-and-white snapshot of Milo in a swimsuit on the beach. He was covered in a variety of inflatable water toys, a fishing pole, and water wings. Beside him was a cat reaching for the sky with its front legs crossed and its mouth wide open in a friendly snarl.
Sora barely managed to conceal his urge to snicker as almost everyone else in the group burst out laughing. The image reminded him of how he'd once been while on the beach one summer. Yukima, the family cat, had jumped onto his inflatable raft and sent it flying across the water. It had taken two lifeguards, his Mom, and Riku's older brother to get him back to shore safely.
Even Goofy was laughing along. "A-Hyuck!" the knight proclaimed. "That there picture sure is funny!"
"You said it!" Launchpad agreed, much to Donald's displeasure. All the latter did was utter a series of illegible, garbled words — ending with, "…Aw phooey!"
All Sora did was shake his head and smile as Milo rapidly removed the slide. "Sorry," the latter shyly reflected. "That's… wrong."
Sora crossed his arms patiently. A moment later, Milo placed another slide into the projector. It was a drawing of an enormous lobster-shaped creature attacking a ship. The image made Sora feel a little nervous, though he wasn't going to show it.
"Okay," Milo explained. "Now this is an illustration of the Leviathan — the creature said to be guarding the entrance to Atlantis."
"With something like that, I would have white wine — I think," Vinny softly teased. Donald rolled his eyes at this "random statement" before turning back to Milo. To the magician, the demolition expert was behaving just like Goofy.
"It's a mythical sea serpent," Milo continued. "He's described in the Book of Job. T-the Bible says, 'Out of his mouth go burning lights — sparks of fire shoot out' — but more than likely, it's a carving, or a-a sculpture to frighten the superstitious."
"So, we find this 'masterpiece'," Rourke acknowledged.
Uncrossing his arms, Sora finally asked what everyone else probably had been wondering. "Then, what's next?"
"When do we dig?" Molière blurted out in an excited manner.
Milo flipped off the slide projector and picked up a marker from the whiteboard. "Actually, we don't have to dig," he informed everyone, drawing on the board. "You see, according to the journal, the path to Atlantis will take us down a tunnel at the bottom of the ocean."
He drew a bubble-shaped object on the board and pointed at it. "And we'll curve into an air pocket — right here. There, we'll find the remnants of an ancient highway that will lead us to Atlantis. Kind of like the grease trap in your sink."
Milo finished drawing what turned out to be a sketched map of the path he had just been discussing. Sora carefully studied the chart, wondering if there were any major obstacles that could hinder the team's progress. As much as he could tell, there didn't appear to be any indication of Heartless.
Still, Sora didn't think it would be a good decision to just leave the world. The mentioning of a powerful creature like the Leviathan and the sighting of soldiers being among the expedition's crew was troubling for the Keyblader; it made him wonder if the goal of the expedition really was ethical. Then there were Commander Rourke and Lieutenant Helga Sinclair. The two of them seemed to be concealing hidden agendas. This also gave Sora a sense of doubt. Whatever was going on, he hoped it had nothing to do with the threat of Darkness he had been told about by Master Yen Sid.
His train of thought was cut short as a voice said, "Captain? You'd better come look at this."
Everyone turned their focus over to a sailor at the steering mechanism for the submarine. Rourke called out, "Okay! Class dismissed!"
While everyone else left, Sora quickly followed Milo as the linguist was already following Helga and Rourke up to the railing near the sailor. Donald approached him, only to step back when Launchpad and Goofy peered over the railing into the deep, darkness of the ocean beyond the windows. "Give the exterior lights," Rourke ordered.
As Sora watched with the others, a pair of searchlights flipped on and started revealing a landscape of towering rock formations resembling columns reaching for a ceiling to steady. The pillars of rock were within what would have been perceived as a narrow canyon with steep walls. Yet, it wasn't the rocks themselves that had instantly grabbed the group's attention, but what was scattered all around the rocks. The entire seafloor was covered by countless broken pieces of wood and metal of what appeared to be countless sunken ships. Sora himself was astounded. "There must be millions!" he exclaimed in a soft voice. He didn't want the words to echo about.
The cockpit was almost dead silent, even as Helga looked around and declared, "Look at that!"
Milo readjusted his eyeglasses before he added, "There're ships here from every era!"
In a speedy reaction, Donald gulped. "Where are we?!"
Milo reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a book with a brown cover. Sora stared at it, recalling this was The Shepherd's Journal. The linguist flipped to a particular page and started to read, "'Pre-desh-tem… loe-ta-nug… na-gehpt… '"
"What?!" Donald exclaimed in a state of total confusion. His voice echoed about the room so loudly, all the other crew members stared at him for a couple seconds. They shrugged and resumed whatever they'd been doing.
Sora spoke for the magician. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Milo pointed at the page. "'Enter the lair of the Leviathan,' he translated. "'There you will find the path to the gateway'."
Goofy took a closer look at the page. "Gawrsh!" he murmured. "It looks an awful lot like gibberish to me."
Donald rolled his eyes at Goofy's comment. "Everything looks like 'gibberish' to you!"
Sora sighed even deeper than before. It was clear Donald was starting to get especially irritated by Goofy. All at once, a voice called out, "Commander, I think you should hear this."
The group all looked over another railing toward the source of the voice and spotted a large table with a wireless communication system. Sitting at it was an older woman wearing an olive overcoat and helmet and a headset over her head. She also had a cigarette in her mouth. Rourke sighed, "Yes, Ms. Packard. What is it?"
"I'm picking up something on the hydro-phone I think you should hear," Ms. Packard responded.
"Put it on speakers."
With a flip of a switch, the entire cockpit became almost complete with silence. The only exception was the loud, water-infested roar coming through the speakers all around the room. Sora froze immediately as the sound filled his ears. He started to listen as carefully as he could, trying to make out whatever the source of the noise might be. He wasn't sure if it was some random sea creature or a gigantic Heartless.
The spikey-haired youth watched as Rourke and Helga approached the wireless-communication station. "What is it?" the commander asked. "A pod of whales?"
"Nuh-uh," Ms. Packard shook her head. "Bigger."
"It sounds metallic," Helga commented. She reached for the dials on the communication device. "Could be an echo off one of the wrecks."
Ms. Packard slapped the lieutenant's hand. "You want to do my job?"
"Is it just me, or is that getting louder?" Milo blurted out.
This brought out three minutes of silence from everyone. Launchpad held both his hands to each of his ears as he listened intently. He finally muttered, "I haven't the foggiest idea."
Donald slapped his hand upon his face in apparent humility. He removed it just in time to notice, along with everyone else, that the deep, moaning noise had ceased to echo.
"Well, whatever it was," Helga remarked. "It's gone now."
Sora let out a sigh of relief. "At least it wasn't a Heartless," he concluded with a small grin. Deep down, he had feeling something tragic was about to take place.
Rourke turned his focus to the sailor at the steering mechanism. "Helmsman," he instructed. "Bring us about. Tighten our search pattern and slow us—"
A violent movement suddenly threw everyone off their feet. Upon landing on the platform, Sora flipped back onto his feet and exclaimed, "Whoa! What was that?!"
From where they had been holding onto the railing, Goofy and Launchpad clambered onto their feet. Donald swiftly stood up with everyone else. The duck-wizard glared at the other two. "What did you do now?!" he snarled.
Goofy looked out the window. His eyes grew wide with complete terror and he gasped. He pointed out the window. "It's the 'Lie-via-time'!"
Donald glared all the more. "You big, fat palooka! It's called 'the Leviathan'!"
Launchpad pointed out the window as well. The pilot appeared to be in a state of shock. "Whatever it is," he barely managed to say. "It's right there!"
Donald looked out the window and gasped at what he saw. , "What'll we do?!" he exclaimed in fright.
Sora and the others below immediately stared out the window. They could all see a giant creature swimming in the deep sea a short distance away. It was a huge, metallic-looking lobster with glowing, dark-red eyes. Sora's lit up, realizing what it was. He exclaimed, "It is the Leviathan!"
Rourke turned to Helga and gestured at the not-too-distant creature. "Tell Cookie to melt the butter and bring out the bibs," he demanded. "I want this lobster served up on a silver platter!"
Helga relayed the message onward, "Load the torpedo bases! Sub-pod crews — battle stations!"
Another violent tremor struck the room. As Sora clambered to his feet, he turned to Donald. The duck was clinging to the railing like his life depended on it. "Donald!" the spikey, brown-headed seventeen-year-old yelled. "Go with Goofy and take one of those sub-pods!"
"No way," Donald retaliated. "I'd rather eat bacon grease!"
"Gee Donald, I didn't know you liked the stuff," Launchpad broke in. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a jar filled to the top with all his leftover grease. "I was going to save it for later, but you can have it!"
As soon as he got a mere glimpse of the jar, Donald felt a tad sea-sick. "Never mind. Let's go, Goofy!"
The duck-mage hurried off with Goofy alongside several other pairs of people. Among the others were Vinny and Molière. They quickly reached a long, narrow room on one side of the submarine. Everyone leaped into the two seats in each pod. The hatches closed shut and the sailors, soldiers, etc. inside each pod grasped the controls.
Being the last to arrive, Donald and Goofy jumped into the seats of one of the pods on the far left end. To Donald's surprise, he had landed in the gunner's seat and Goofy was in the pilot's seat. As the hatch came down, Goofy placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. The knight started to snore. Donald slapped his hand onto his face with a sigh. "Oh no!"
It had been less than five minutes since Donald and Goofy had left for the sub-pods when the Leviathan reached out and grabbed the submarine with its left claw. The creature violently yanked the vehicle toward its face. This movement shook the bridge like a minor earthquake and caused Milo and Sora to be thrown from the platforms and onto one of the cockpit's orange windows. Although they were mildly stunned, Sora and Milo quickly got onto their knees. As he looked down, Sora was so speechless by what he saw below them, he thought he would never be able to get the view out of his head. Directly through the window was one of the Leviathan's glaring, red eyes. Seeing it at such a close distance, Sora's heart began to race. He heard Milo exclaim, "Jiminy Christmas! It's a machine!"
As his heart continued to race away, Sora started to feel the power of Darkness radiating off the creature. He then had a short recollection of the last time he was in Halloween Town. Dr. Finklestein had created a moving puppet that lacked a heart. As a result, it had ran away and stolen presents while searching for a heart of its own. As he recalled that the puppet had been an artificial Heartless, Sora gasped from shock.
He exclaimed aloud, "Yikes! It's a Heartless!"
The two dashed back to the bridge. Sora summoned his Keyblade and glared with determination. He was ready to fight the Leviathan. He saw Launchpad clinging to the railing on the wrong side. He shook his head, knowing the pilot had grabbed the handrail when the submarine had shaken.
At the same time, Sora heard Rourke shout out, "Launch sub-pods!"
The sub-pod flew swiftly away from the Ulysses. Goofy opened his eyes, yawned, and looked around in confusion. "Pay attention!" Donald snapped at him. "You're driving this thing!"
Goofy snapped into attention as he placed his hands onto the controls. He smiled. "A-Hyuck! I knew that."
Goofy steered the little vehicle alongside the rest of the pods. The two now saw the Leviathan just up ahead with the main sub trapped in its left claw. A voice shouted through the pod's radio system; "Fire!"
Goofy looked around wildly. "Where's the fire?"
Donald started to turn red. "That's my job!" he snapped. "We're supposed to be shooting at the Leviathan!"
"Oh yeah! A-Hyuck!"
Donald rolled his eyes and grabbed the firing controls. He pressed a button and an underwater missile flew from the side of their pod and headed straight for the creature. The other sub-pods did the same. All of the missiles struck the Leviathan in the face. The now-stunned monster released its grip on the Ulysses.
Goofy waved his arms in the air and cheered. "We did it! Yahoo!"
Donald didn't cheer as he was focused on the Leviathan. "Look out, ya big palooka!"
Goofy turned his focus back to the controls and barely managed to dodge the Leviathan's enormous claws as it struck two other sub-pods and crushed them. Donald glared at him. "Get outta here! It's not safe!"
Goofy speedily guided the pod away from the creature and into the open seawater. As he did, the Ulysses fired a wealth of torpedoes from its roof. The weapons struck the Leviathan's side and distracted it long enough for the rest of the sub-pods to catch up with Donald and Goofy's pod. The two watched out their viewport as the angry Leviathan glared directly at the Ulysses and fired a laser-like line of flame from its mouth. The laser flew in a straight line past the sub-pods and struck the Ulysses's side. To make matters worse, the laser continued through the submarine and struck a rock formation beyond.
Seeing this terrible event occur, Donald and Goofy both exclaimed, "Sora!"
Through the cockpit of the Ulysses, Sora was cheering. Not only had the Leviathan been driven away by the sub-pods, but the torpedoes Rourke had ordered moments ago had struck the creature as well. At the moment, the main submarine was free from the monster's gripping claws and fleeing from the Leviathan. In addition, the sub-pods were soaring away, too. Sora smiled, knowing Donald and Goofy were okay.
He was suddenly thrown off his feet as a tremendous vibration shook the room. He grabbed the railing as an alarm started blaring. Next to him, Launchpad had just finished clambering back onto the platform from the other side of the railing. "What a crash!" the pilot exclaimed.
"But what caused it?" Sora wondered aloud.
His question was answered much faster than he had pictured. Ms. Packard turned to Rourke from her station and said, "Sir, it's Engineering on Four."
As Rourke flipped the switch for the Line Four phone, a voice frantically shouted on the other end. "Rourke!" it declared. "We just took a big hit down here, and we're taking on water — fast! I don't want to be around when it hits the boilers!"
Sora was totally dumbstruck, suddenly realizing that the Ulysses had been badly damaged. Rourke asked back, "So how much time do we have?"
The voice answered, "Ten — if the bulkhead holds. You'd better aim for five."
Rourke turned to the others. "You all heard the lady," he shouted out. "Let's move!"
Sora, Launchpad, and Milo were swept away with the mobs of people rapidly hurrying out of the room. In the ensuing chaos, Milo exclaimed, "Move where?!"
"Yeah," Launchpad agreed. "Where are we going?!"
"Forget it!" Sora shouted back in reply, "Let's just follow the crowd!"
As everyone dashed out of the cockpit, the crowd soon got scattered through the submarine's many passageways. Sora led Launchpad as they followed Milo. The young linguist was trailing Helga and Rourke. An emergency siren blared in their ears and a flashing red light shone in their eyes. Jiminy Cricket peeked out of Sora's hoodie and glanced around. "Sora, what's happening?!"
Sora answered, "I really wish I knew!"
At once, a voice on the sub's intercom system called out, "Attention! All hands, abandon ship."
Hearing this, Jiminy hid back into the hood's fabric as Sora and the others picked up speed. They reached a catwalk running through the tail of the submarine. As he rushed across, Sora could feel the bridge shaking like it was in the middle of a violent earth tremor. It almost seemed to be swaying. Sora's concern rose, realizing the entire submarine was probably vibrating as it descended to the ocean floor.
In the next chamber, Sora, Milo, and Launchpad found Dr. Sweet, Audrey, and a few others being led by Rourke to a nearby submarine. As they all hurried into the hatch, Helga shouted, "Move it, people! Sometime today would be nice!"
Being the second to last one inside, Sora climbed into a seat between Milo and Launchpad. As he buckled up with the straps on the seat, Sora overheard Rourke shouting to Helga. "Lieutenant! Get us out of here!"
Helga sealed up the hatch and jumped into the pilot's seat. She kicked a control lever, but nothing happened. She kicked it harder and harder. "Lieutenant!" an impatient Rourke shouted.
"I'm working on it!" Helga yelled back.
Sora started to feel more concerned than ever before — except for the times when he'd been searching for Kairi. He heard Launchpad knocking on the smaller vehicle's wall. "What kinda submarine is this one?" he inquired.
"An 'Aqua-Evac'," Milo informed them. "Mr. Whitmore told me the Ulysses was equipped with four of them."
A violent tremor shook the room. Helga took advantage of this to kick the control lever with all her might. The lever moved and the exit hatch before them blew off. As she steered the Aqua-Evac out of the hatch, Helga called out, "Hang on!"
Goofy was slowly zigzagging the sub-pod in the direction of the Ulysses as it was started to nose-dive to the seabed. Donald kept on yelling at him. "Faster! We've got to save Sora!"
Goofy started to ignore him as they grew closer to their target. Without any foreseen warning, a second laser flew from the Leviathan's mouth and straight through the tail of the main submarine. "NO!" Donald screamed in fright.
He turned to Goofy. "Faster!"
Goofy looked up and pointed out the viewport. "Gawrsh! Look at that!"
Donald gazed in the direction Goofy was pointing and watched in amazement as four submarines drove out of the Ulysses's tail. Three of them zoomed away as quickly as they could. Goofy continued to watch them leave when Donald pointed at the main submarine. "Look!" he shouted.
The two stared out the viewport as the lights on the Ulysses flickered and went out. The iconic, spherical-shaped cockpit was now in complete darkness. Suddenly, the submarine snapped in two approximately where the first laser had struck. Less than a second later, the two sections of the Ulysses shattered into a cloud of smoky water and metallic debris. The fourth of the submarines that had left the main sub's tail was hit by the resulting explosions and exploded in turn.
Donald and Goofy were so horrified, they yelled at the top of their lungs. "SORA!"
Donald turned to Goofy; his face turned as red as an exploding time bomb. "This is all your fault, ya stupid palooka! Launchpad, Sora, and Jiminy are lost — and it's all your fault!"
Donald had yelled so loudly Goofy had covered his ears. A piece of debris flew straight past the pod and clanged into an underwater rock formation. When he saw this, Donald screamed. "Get us out of here! The Leviathan is after us!"
Goofy put his hands back onto the controls and hastily flew the sub-pod away from the rest of the debris. Looking up ahead, he spotted all the other sub-pods and the bigger vehicles as they headed toward the seafloor. Without a word, he steered towards the rest of the surviving submarines.
Still on board the Aqua-Evac, Sora started to wonder if Donald and Goofy were alright. The Ulysses had exploded, yet he was okay and sitting between Milo and Launchpad. Without warning, a loud CLANG echoed through their ears as a piece of metal from the wreckage bounced off the roof. Immediately afterwards, Rourke turned to Milo, "Where to, Mr. Thatch?" he inquired.
Milo was clinging to the journal in his hands. "We're looking for a big 'crevice' of some kind."
Everyone looked out the window to search. As a deep trench in the ocean floor came into view, Sora pointed it out with a shout of, "There! It's just up ahead."
Helga called into a specialized phone next to her, "All crafts! Make your mark twenty degrees down-angle!"
Through the radio-communication lines came the confirmation of the other escape submarines and sub-pods. Helga was about to dive the Aqua-Evac into the trench when the Leviathan swam over and began snapping its claws at them. As a few sub-pods and an Aqua-Evac got smashed into dust, Launchpad unbuckled his seat-belt and swiped the controls from Helga. The lieutenant was appalled. "Sir! Return to your seat!"
"Only if you want to be that monster's canned dinner," Launchpad argued. "It's time for me to take over!"
Donald and Goofy had both heard the transmission. "They must've found that there 'crevice' Milo was talking about!" Goofy realized.
Donald hated to admit it, but he had a feeling Goofy was straight on the money. As they continued to follow the rest of the submarines, the Leviathan swooped in from behind and started swiping at the survivors. Donald gasped as several of the sub-pods and one of the larger subs were smashed, blown-up, and destroyed. Shouts and screams filled the radio.
"Sacré Bleu!"
"We're getting killed out here!"
Turning to Goofy, Donald had a frantic look in his eyes. "The Leviathan is still after us! Get into that crevice — now!"
Fortunately, Goofy had already been diving downwards and was now heading straight down a massive trench alongside the other subs. The Leviathan was unable to get inside and started shooting its laser at the submarines. A few more sub-pods were destroyed. One of the laser beams struck a larger submarine and crippled it. The larger vehicle nearly collided with Donald and Goofy's sub-pod before crashing into the side of the trench and exploding into shattered pieces of metal.
"Waak!" Donald screeched in a state of total panic.
It took all of Goofy's dodging skills to keep the laser away from Donald and him. Up ahead, the two saw the last of the larger submarines swooping around wildly. Amazingly, not only did the vehicle dodge the Leviathan's laser, it also avoided the rocky walls of the tunnel.
"Say," Goofy declared. "That must be Launchpad. He's the only one I know who flies like that."
Donald realized the knight might be correct. If Launchpad truly was okay, then maybe Sora and Jiminy were, too. He felt slightly relieved. It was then the viewport gave a small crack on Goofy's side. When he saw this, Donald shouted, "We're doomed!"
Just as Donald finished his sentence, the trench curved around and headed up and well out of the Leviathan's reach. The two continued to follow the other remaining submarines to the surface of the water directly ahead.
When their sub-pod broke through the water's surface, Donald and Goofy climbed up to the hatch and Donald unlocked it before pushing it open. He was about to climb out for a view when Goofy beat him to it. Donald sighed in anger and rapidly followed. The two looked around the area that they were now at. From one of the larger submarines, a group of people climbed out and turned on an exterior searchlight. They shined it around what turned out to be a gigantic rock cavern.
Donald softly said, "We must be in that 'air pocket' Milo talked about."
As the searchlight hit the other side of the cavern, Goofy stared at it. "Gawrsh!" he gulped. "That there sure looks creepy!"
From where he stood on the deck of the Aqua-Evac, Sora watched in awe as Helga turned the exterior searchlight around the empty cavern. The walls were made of solid rock and held up a ceiling nearly two thousand feet above. Helga turned the light toward the front of the sub. Sora was shocked and amazed.
Directly in front of the Aqua-Evac and sub-pods were the ruins of a large building that resembled a giant fish. He could see nothing but darkness through its open mouth was. Although he didn't say it loud enough for everyone to hear, Sora said, "Wow!"
Milo was busy holding a flashlight in his mouth while flipping through the journal. He suddenly stopped and took the flashlight out of his mouth. "This must be the ancient highway to the lost continent of Atlantis!" he declared.
Now realizing where he was, Sora was amazed. Everything Milo had said was proving to be accurate. Chances were, the city of Atlantis itself was real, too.
A little while later, all of the team's surviving vehicles had been unloaded from the two smaller submarines and were now parked along the road that led into the fish's mouth. However, no one was smiling or enjoying themselves. Instead, all of the survivors gathered by the pool of water. Donald and Goofy were still standing on each side of Sora, while Launchpad was standing beside Goofy and Jiminy was standing on Sora's right shoulder; Goofy and Jiminy had taken off their hats and Launchpad had removed his flight-cap. As the rest of the crew took off their hats, Goofy and Donald looked at one another. Donald quickly turned away.
Dr. Sweet turned his hat upside down, placed a small candle into it, and solemnly placed the hat into the water. There was total silence as the candle started to float away. As the flickering light drifted into the distance, Rourke gave a very short and very, very deep sigh. "Seven hours ago," the commander said in a somber voice. "We started this expedition with two hundred of the finest men and women I've ever known. We're all that's left."
Sora sighed deeply as he realized that many lives had been lost in such a short amount of time. Only a large handful of people had survived the wrath of the Leviathan — among them were Audrey, Dr. Sweet, Molière, Vinny, Ms. Packard, Cookie, Rourke, Helga, Milo, a few sailors, and a small group of soldiers. Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy all looked down. Launchpad gave a tear.
Everyone else looked down as Rourke continued. "I won't sugar-coat it, gentlemen. We have a crisis on our hands. But we've been up this particular creek before. We've always come through — paddle or no paddle. I see no reason to change that policy now."
He glanced at everyone. "From here on end, everyone pulls double-duty. Everyone drives, everyone works."
Rourke walked up the steps from the waterfront to the road and turned back. He looked at Milo. "Looks like all our chances for survival rest with you, Mr. Thatch — you and that little book."
Ms. Packard threw her cigarette onto the ground with a sigh. "We're all gonna die… "
"Cheery thought," Sora murmured to himself. He took a look down the road ahead. All he could see was dark shadows. He knew that somewhere down that passage most-likely was the true city of Atlantis. Maybe he could take a picture and show his Mom and sister what the ruined city actually looked like. Amemi would be thrilled seeing as Atlantis was a place she'd always wanted to go to let alone see.
He sighed, remembering how his sister had ran off in tears just before he'd left with the others aboard Herbie. Maybe he should have let her come along….
Rourke turned to team members and called out, "Okay people, saddle up."
He turned to Helga. "Lieutenant, I want this convoy moving five minutes ago."
Helga nodded and started giving orders to the rest of the crew. Audrey went around starting up the various trucks.
"Molière, you're on point!"
"No Vinny! Audrey's taking the oiler! You know the rules! I want you fifty yards behind that truck at all times!"
"Packard, put out that cigarette."
HONK!
Sora spun his eyes toward the source of the noise. He found Milo, Goofy, and Launchpad beside one of the trucks with a canvas covering the back. The linguist was fiddling with the horn while Launchpad and Goofy were snickering with him. Sora sighed as he stepped up to his friends and took note of the quickly-approaching Commander Rourke. The commander appeared to be as irritated as Donald had been earlier. Rourke single-handedly snatched the horn off the truck, grabbing the disappointment of Goofy and Launchpad. The commander asked them, "Are you sure you're checked out on this class of vehicle?"
When Milo hesitated, Sora felt the same reaction he got whenever Violet had said similar phrases. Rourke pointed at the vehicle. "Can you drive a truck?"
Donald came strolling up at that precise moment. He stared at the display in disbelief. Milo gave a nervous smile. "Course I can drive a truck," he answered.
He climbed into the driver's seat and began fiddling with the equipment around the dashboard. "Sure," he continued. "You've got your steering, and your gas, and your brake, and this metal-looking… thing."
When Rourke's face indicated seriousness, Milo clarified for everyone. "Okay, so it was a bumper car at Coney Island. But it's the same, basic principle."
Rourke sighed deeply just before strolling away. Donald slapped his hand onto his face and let it slide down and slip off his bill. To the magician, Milo's behavior seemed to almost mirror Goofy and Launchpad. Sora was about to speak when Launchpad spoke up, "Let me give it a shot!"
Milo moved over to let Launchpad take the driver's seat, much to Donald's annoyance. Sora shrugged in response to the duck-mage's complaints. Instead, the brown-haired Keyblade wielder climbed into the row of seats behind the driver's seat. Goofy and Donald quickly followed — on opposite sides of the young man. Sora sighed once more. He was suddenly jerked forward and then back multiple times. He sighed in disbelief as horns began to honk from behind. Launchpad was driving the truck like it was a bumper car.
"Come on, civilian!" someone shouted from one of the vehicles behind them.
It was no surprise. After only a few minutes, the truck had been tied to the back of Molière's humungous drilling machine and towed along. "Geez," Launchpad grumbled to himself. "Tough crowd!"
All Sora could do was shake his head and smile. He knew for sure the pilot's frequent goof-ups were not hiding his heart from the power of the Light.
All Sora could do was drink… drink… drink… and more drink. After the major set-back on the Ulysses a few hours before, it felt good to get a refreshing drink of fresh water from the stack of canteens on the back of Vinny's truck. The demolition expert was currently nowhere in sight, allowing the teenager to join Milo for a quick drink of the hidden stash. As they finished, a voice exclaimed, "You didn't just drink that, did you?!"
Sora nearly jumped out of his skin when Vinny came marching back with Donald to see what was going on. Milo nodded as he swallowed the last of the canteen. "That's not good," Vinny declared in response. "That's nitroglycerin!"
Realizing that they might have just drunk poisonous liquids, Sora and Milo froze in place. Vinny added, "Don't move! Don't breathe! Don't do anything — except pray, maybe… "
A sudden touch and shout made both Milo and Sora jump. Sora spun around and summoned his Keyblade. To his shock — and Milo's relief — it was just Molière trying to strike fear into their hearts. Sora's Keyblade disappeared from his hands when a surge of discomfort struck. He shook his fists at both Vinny and Molière as the two marched off — laughing uncontrollably.
Sora was about to yell his disapproval at them when Donald shook him ferociously. "Sora!" the duck magician said.
Sora whirled his focus over to his friend with the disgust from within exploding outward. "Not now!" he hollered. "Can't you see I'm preoccupied?!"
The startled expression on Donald's face forced Sora to snap back into reality. "Sorry about that," he muttered with a slight hint of embarrassment. He began rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't know it was you."
Donald rolled his eyes as Jiminy Cricket hopped out of Sora's pocket. Jiminy inquired, "Something tells me this is about Goofy and Launchpad."
When Donald nodded, Sora sighed deeply. It felt like all the pilot and knight were doing was getting into mischief. Less than an hour ago, the expedition had hit a fork in the road and Milo had to choose which one the team was supposed to follow. Goofy had suggested going to the left while Launchpad had insisted on heading right. At first, Milo took Goofy's recommendation based on the journal. However, when the caravan of vehicles had attempted to head down the road, a giant millipede had appeared — forcing them to back-track. Milo had double-checked the journal, only to discover Launchpad had been correct; the linguist had been reading the page upside-down. When the mistake had been realized, everyone (especially Donald) had glared at both Milo and Goofy. As all this replayed inside his head, the Keyblade wielder finally said, "What is it this time?"
"Launchpad claimed he saw something weird," Donald explained. "Goofy thinks it was a Heartless or a Nobody, but only Launchpad saw it."
Sora was now starting to ponder deeply. After the encounter with the Leviathan, he knew the Heartless were in this world. The next question was, who or what was controlling them? It was highly unusual for them to be roaming aimlessly without at least one leader. Before the fall of the original Organization XIII, the Heartless had tended to wander around according to their own instincts. Whatever might be drawing them in was probably not too far off.
Sora turned to Donald. "I think I'd better ask them myself."
Donald looked hesitant as he directed Sora over to where Launchpad and Goofy were at. To his surprise, the two were scanning their eyes across the cavern walls. As he approached, Sora asked, "Hey, what's up?"
Goofy turned around. "We're looking for that there thing Launchpad saw. It was right up there."
As the knight pointed to the wall, Launchpad squinted his eyes. The latter said, "I could've sworn there was something up there."
"Well there's nothing now," Donald scolded impatiently. "The caravan is about to move on!"
"What's a 'care-uh-vain'?" Goofy asked.
"Sounds like half a car and half a van stuck together with glue," Launchpad surmised.
Donald slapped his hand upon his face in an instant. Sora shook his head before hearing a voice call out, "All right! Break time's over!"
As the vehicles started up their engines, Jiminy concluded, "Looks like we'd better get back."
Sora nodded in confirmation and paused to allow Jiminy to hop back into his hoodie before sprinting off to Milo's truck. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were only seconds behind.
It was a little more than two hours before the caravan stopped at the edge of a crevice where two enormous stone columns rose high into the air. By this point, the team had gone so far underground that the only lighting available was being emitted through the headlights of the expedition's vehicles. At the first sight of the columns, Sora was awestruck. It didn't feel possible for such gigantic architecture to have been man-made.
When he saw it, Milo exclaimed, "Good night! Look at the size of this! It's got to be half a mile high — at least!"
"Maybe more!" Sora added. If the column was as massive as it looked, then chances were good that it was over two miles tall. He glanced over at Milo who had just been dragged aside by Vinny. He followed suit.
The linguist was still very excited. "It must have taken hundreds — thousands of years to carve this thing!"
A moment later, a shockwave struck the ground as the dynamite Vinny had placed around the column's base exploded and threw it off balance. The structure tipped towards the crevice before landing upon the opposite side. Nearby, Launchpad exclaimed, "Nice crash!"
Sora shook his head as he and Milo approached what was left of the stone structure. Vinny stepped up from behind. "Hey look, I made a bridge," the demolition expert proclaimed. "And it only took me like what — ten seconds. Eleven tops."
As the caravan of vehicles proceeded across the makeshift bridge, Launchpad suddenly jolted into complete focus as he spun his eyes toward a nearby cavern wall. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "What's he doing there?"
Donald ignored the pilot while Goofy turned his eyes toward the same wall. The latter stared at it for a moment before declaring, "Look! There it is!"
Sora instantly snapped back into reality. He had started to doze off during the lengthy ride as the team's vehicles felt like they were crossing the column at a snail's pace. He whirled his focus around. "Huh?" he blurted aloud. "What's going on?"
Goofy indicated the distant wall. "Up there! It's watchin' us… "
Sora turned his head so he was facing the wall, too. As he looked upon the rocky wall of the tunnel-like cavern, the brown, spikey-headed youth kept his eyes peeled for any indication of something suspicious. He searched the entire length of the wall only to find nothing out of the ordinary.
It was approximately thirty minutes after the expedition had crossed the makeshift bridge before the entire procession came to a halt. To the semi-dozing Sora, it had felt like thirty hours. When the truck had come to a stop, he had been shaken awake by who turned out to be Donald. The latter appeared to be on the verge of total panic mode. Noticing this, Sora once again let out a deep sigh before questioning, "What happened now?"
"The road is blocked," the mage explained in a form of jumbled speech. "That stupid dirt-lover tried to dig through it, but his vehicle stopped working. Audrey is trying to fix it, but Goofy and Launchpad are trying to do it for her. You have to stop them or they'll break it! We'll be stranded forever! Waak!"
As Donald hysterically ran around in circles, Sora climbed out of his seat and looked ahead. Just like Donald had said, the road ahead was blocked by a humungous wall of stone that had apparently fallen from the ruins of a gigantic building. The drilling machine was at a complete stop with its nose currently stuck into the stone. Sora stepped towards the vehicle, only to stumble upon both Goofy and Launchpad observing the machinery within the engine on the rear. Milo strode up to the two moments before Sora could. The former said, "Can I—?"
"Nope," Goofy interrupted. "Audrey said she'd be right back."
"Yeah," Launchpad affirmed. "Besides, I think I know how to get this oversized dentist tool running again."
"Uh, Launchpad… " Sora started to say.
His words went unnoticed when Launchpad reached his hands into the engine and turned two wheel-shaped knobs at the same time until the sound of steam escaping filled the air. The pilot grabbed a monkey-wrench that had been left lying around before slamming it onto the engine with a great thrust of his arm. A moment later, the engine jolted back into life. As clouds of exhaust flew from the vehicle's pipe-shaped chimneys, Launchpad stated, "Now that's a living machine!"
From the cockpit, the voice of who Sora could only assume was Molière cheered loudly. "She lives!"
Sora smirked a small grin, knowing the truth. Launchpad was almost exactly like Goofy, only slightly clumsier. He was about to speak when a voice shouted, "Hey! What'd you do?"
Everyone turned their attention away from the vehicle to spot Audrey. In reply to her question, Launchpad explained, "I let out the steam before slapping the motor. Even engines need to sleep, but this one tried to take an early nap."
"Yeah, yeah! Thank you very much! Shut-up!" Audrey mocked as she strode up to the vehicle, closed the engine hatch, and secured it. When the mechanic turned to Launchpad, he instinctively avoided her. Noticing this, Audrey finished, "Two for flinching!"
With that, she socked Launchpad's left shoulder before strolling back to her truck. As the girl left, Launchpad rubbed his arm. "Yeesh!" he muttered. "Strange way of showing gratitude."
Sora shook his head as he led the way back to Milo's truck and the impatiently-waiting Donald Duck.
As the caravan reached the other end of the tunnel Molière's drilling machine had created, Milo clambered out of the truck's cab and pulled the journal out of his shoulder bag. Sora followed him as the linguist took a look at the surrounding cavern. The only landmarks he noticed were a bridge that stretched out towards a cave on the opposite side, a chasm under the bridge which appeared to lead into engulfing darkness, and a cone-shaped stalactite that hung from the ceiling. The stalactite, however, was what stole his attention almost immediately. Not only was it oddly shaped with gaping holes, but it gave an unusual green glow.
Milo finally stopped reading and glanced up to the ceiling. He said, "This is it — it's got to be."
"What is it?" Sora questioned. Milo pointed at a page in the journal. Despite having the inability to comprehend the strange symbols of the writing in the book, Sora could still make out a rough sketch of the same stalactite that was hanging from above.
From where the rest of the team stood, Rourke called out, "All right! We'll make camp here!"
Donald and Goofy clambered out of Milo's truck with Launchpad directly behind. Well, Launchpad didn't exactly "follow". Rather, he got his left foot caught on the seatbelt on the passenger side. This resulted in the pilot stumbling moments before simply falling onto the hard rock of the cavern floor. At the first sight of this, Donald snapped, "That's why you always wear your seatbelt, ya big palooka!"
As Goofy got Launchpad's foot untangled, the latter looked up at the stalactite. "What's with the glowing night-light?" the pilot questioned.
Donald smacked his face in disbelief when Molière walked over. "Perhaps it is a natural force," he suggested.
Close by, Vinny pointed his finger straight at the stalactite. "That thing is going to keep me up all night," the demolition expert accused. "I know it."
Even though he had heard all this discussion about the awkward rock formation, Sora simply let the issue pass and did whatever he could to keep himself preoccupied for the next couple hours. He helped unload what felt like two hundred tons of camping supplies, assisted Cookie in preparing food for dinner, and quizzed Milo over what information was kept within The Shepherd's Journal. The stalactite's glow grew more ominous as his eyes gradually became adjusted with the dark depths of the cavern. It seemed to be watching the team….
Much later, Cookie's voice called out, "Come and get it!"
Sora turned his eyes in the direction of the nearby campfire to see how the meal he had helped prepare had turned out. He found himself watching Cookie hand each member of the team a tray, reach into his portable cooking pot with a ladle, and scoop out what looked exactly like the bacon grease he had served both Launchpad and Goofy back on the Ulysses submarine.
The elderly chef was announcing each individual item he had thrown into the meal. "For appetizer," Cookie declared, "Ceaser Salad, Escargot, and… "
Sora covered his mouth and turned his face away before he could watch Cookie serve the food to Launchpad and Goofy. He caught a glimpse of Donald running past and into the shadows. The sound of liquid splattering on the cave floor made Sora stand up and shut his eyes as tight as he could before taking a slow, deep breath of air.
He opened his eyelids just in time to see Cookie hand Milo and him each a tray. The chef dipped his ladle into the pot and emptied its contents onto the tray in Milo's hands. "Here you go, Milo," he said. "Put some meat on them bones."
Milo's face gave a look that appeared to say "YUCK!" All the young linguist said was, "Thanks Cookie, it looks… greaser than usual."
"I thought I helped you make something delicious," Sora spoke up.
"Ya sure did," Cookie replied. "And as the assistant to the head chef… "
In one quick motion, the remainder of the pot's contents had landed upon Sora's tray. "…You get to have more!" Cookie finished.
As Cookie wheeled his cart back to his makeshift kitchen, Sora took a small whiff of the food, only to instantly notice it was not even close to what Cookie had him prepare. The Keyblade wielder whispered, "Yuck!" as he dumped the sloppy mess of greasy "food" off the tray and onto the cavern floor. Why he had even bothered to help the chef create such a mass of slop was one of the first things that passed through young man's mind.
His thoughts were suddenly erased when Audrey called out, "Hey you two, why don't you sit with us?"
Both Sora and Milo turned their eyes to see Audrey waving them over. Milo picked up the journal as a small smile formed upon his face. "Really?" the linguist asked, "You don't mind?"
"Are you sure?" Sora applied in wonder. It seemed unusual for the rest of the team to let either him or Milo have anything to do with them. This was downright perplexing.
"Nah," Audrey replied. "Park it over here."
"Come and eat with us, Sora!" Goofy called out with a wave.
Sora and Milo both gave a glance at each other, shrugged, and quickly stood up. They walked over to the group of team members and Sora took an empty seat on a rock next to Launchpad. Milo took a spot beside the teenager. The sound of air releasing from a balloon echoed in their ears. It was followed by a burst of laughter, which Sora could only guess was Molière. His assumption was proven correct when the rest of the team glared at the dirt-loving man Sora had recently learned was a geologist.
"Mole!" Everyone else snapped.
Molière finally managed to catch his breath. "Ah, forgive me," he gasped between escaping giggles. "I could not resist!"
Sora shook his head when spotted Milo still reading the journal. He said, "Milo, why are you still reading?"
Audrey asked, "Don't you ever close that book?"
"Yeah," Dr. Sweet added, "You must've read it a dozen times by now."
Milo nodded before explaining, "I know, but this — this doesn't make any sense."
"Gawrsh," Goofy commented. "I thought nothin' made sense."
"You don't make sense!" Donald snapped in retaliation.
Despite this, Milo pointed at a particular page. "In this passage here, the Shepherd seems to be leading up to something he calls 'The Heart of Atlantis'," he read. "It could be the power source the legend is referring to."
Sora paused as he began to ponder over what type of power source an item called "The Heart of Atlantis" could be. For all he knew, it was the actual heart of the world they were in. To actually get a look at the real heart of a world would be an unforgettable experience.
Milo flipped the page. "But then it just — it just cuts off," he finished. "It's almost like there's a missing page."
Jiminy hopped out of Sora's pocket long enough to whisper into the latter's left ear. "Hope that's not what happened to my journal!"
Sora nodded, understanding what the cricket meant as Jiminy hopped back into the former's pocket. Last he recalled, Jiminy's Journal was blank except for a message that read, "Thank Naminé!" Yet not him, Donald, Goofy, nor even Jiminy could remember anyone with that name. If this "Naminé" had torn out every single page of the journal, why did he or she want to be thanked? All that had initially caused was complete confusion. They still had the memories of what Jiminy had originally reported. If this stranger was pulling a practical joke on the four, it wasn't very funny. He couldn't even recall anyone who would have wished to do something so awful — except maybe Pete or Maleficent. Whoever it was, Sora knew this wasn't very funny.
Sora was so deep in thought, he almost missed Vinny say, "Kid, relax! We don't get paid overtime."
"I know what you mean," Launchpad smirked. "Mister McDee only paid me thirty cents per hour."
"Lying palooka," Donald snapped at the pilot. "He pays me thirty cents an hour! You got paid two cents for flying and half-a-penny for crashing!"
"Gee, Donald," Goofy summarized. "Sounds like your uncle's a 'cheat-steak'!"
"That's 'cheapskate'!" Donald struck back. He glared at Sora when the latter started in laugh along.
Sora shook his head. "You'll never learn."
"WHAT?!" Donald exclaimed in exasperation as his face turned red. He jumped into the air and began screaming as loudly as his temper had grown to. The rest of the team stared for a quick second until the duck stormed off into the shadows for a chance to calm down.
While he was gone, Sora said, "Sorry about that! Donald has a short fuse."
Everyone shrugged while both Goofy and Launchpad nodded in agreement. In the following silence, Milo spoke up, "But that's what this whole expedition is all about, right? I mean, discovery… teamwork… adventure!"
After applying emphasis on the term "adventure", Milo paused. "Unless… maybe… you're just in it for the money?"
Sora crossed his arms when the rest of the team all gave the same response; money. He watched as Milo gave a small smirk. He began to rub his neck. "Is there something wrong with your neck?" Dr. Sweet inquired.
"Yeah," Milo affirmed. "I guess I hurt it when—"
Sweet didn't give the young linguist a chance to talk before he placed his hands upon the latter's neck and jerked it to the right, then the left. The doctor then asked, "Better?"
Milo felt his neck before saying, "Yeah!"
Sora was astounded. He asked, "Hey, where'd you learn to do that?"
"A Navajo medicine man," Sweet answered.
This seemed to surprise Sora. "Really?" Launchpad questioned for the seventeen-year-old Keyblader.
"Born and raised with him," Sweet explained. "My father was an army medic. He settled down in the Kansas Territory after he met my mother."
"Gawrsh," Goofy commented. "Are you sure?"
"Yup!" Sweet admitted. "Halfway through medical school, I was drafted. One minute, I'm studying gross and anatomy in the classroom. The next, I'm one of them Rough Riders soarin' on San-Juan Hill!"
Sora was listening intently when he heard Cookie shout out, "Main Course!"
All this brought was a sudden wave of shock from the group, which quickly became a range of excuses and sarcasm. In return Cookie marched off, saying, "Aw, that's alright! It'll just keep and keep and keep."
Sora sighed as he shook his head. "At least I won't have to help him cook again."
The next thing the Keyblade wielder knew, the rest of the team members had dumped everything on their trays onto the campfire pit. The flames went out as quickly as a flickering candle. Sora yawned, knowing it was probably time to get ready for bed.
What a day it had been for everyone. That morning, he'd gone to classes and completed his final exams. Later, he'd celebrated his seventeenth birthday and his friends and family had given him a surprise party. He nearly blushed, recalling how Kairi had given him a tiny peck on his cheek. Not long after, King Mickey had him join the others on an unexpected trip to Master Yen Sid's study at the Mysterious Tower. From there, he had learned about the growing threat of Darkness and agreed to track down Violet's sister, Indigo.
Next, Sora recalled climbing aboard Herbie with Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. Together, they had travelled to the Radiant Garden. While there, they had met some new friends and got updated on the Heartless situation. Sora smiled, remembering the conversation he'd had with Phoebe — the girl with conservatory. He also wanted to laugh when he remembered how he'd been chosen as the new leader of the "Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee". He wanted to smile more and more.
Now, Sora and his friends were exploring the world of Ancient Empire and helping an entire expedition in search of the city of Atlantis. Despite being attacked by the Leviathan and having to deal with the unfriendliness of the other team members, Sora having a good time. At least he would be if Donald wasn't in such a terrible mood.
He caught a glimpse of Donald's silhouette marching back over. The magician swept his eyes around, only to inquire, "Wha… where is everybody?"
All Sora could do was shake his head, knowing he would have to tell Donald about the whole conversation.
A little while later, everybody was setting up their tents. A few long rows of tents were positioned along the cavern floor rather evenly.
Sora carefully placed a wooden stick in the ground and unrolled the canvas before throwing it over the top. He smiled, pleased with how the tent looked. The next moment, he sighed. It looked more like a tepee than a tent.
"Gawrsh," Goofy said, wandering over from Launchpad and his tent. "Looks like you need some help, Sora."
When the brown-haired young man nodded, the knight grabbed a second stick from the ground and placed it on the other side. The tent canvas went up with it. Next, he tied a piece of string along the sticks and tied them onto wooden stakes in the ground. "A-Hyuck!" he said after finishing. "All done."
Sora was amazed. The tent was well made. Goofy had done such a professional-looking job, he wasn't sure how it was possible. "Goofy," he started to say. "How'd you do that?"
"I had lots of practice," Goofy admitted. "Muh dad and I went on lots of fishin' trips to Lake Destiny, Idaho. I even know the perfect cast."
Sora was puzzled. "The perfect what?"
"The perfect cast," Goofy explained. "Muh dad taught it to me. Said it's been handed down for about twelve or thirteen Goof generations."
Sora crossed his arms. Even though he was from an island, Sora was startled when Goofy had claimed to know how to make the perfect cast for catching fish. The knight's clumsiness probably got in the way and caused such a thing to happen. Then again, maybe there was another reason why it had happened?
"Could you teach me?" the seventeen-year-old inquired.
"Sure," Goofy nodded. He picked up a leftover stick and grabbed some string. He rapidly tied the string onto the stick to create a basic fishing pole. "It goes somethin' like this."
He relaxed his shoulders and made sure his feet were spaced apart. "You gotta be loose. Relax, with your feet apart. Then… "
He swung the stick around. His body assumed odd standing positions. "Ten o'clock, two o'clock, quarter ta three, tour jete, twist, over, pas de deux, I'm a little teapot, and the wind-up!"
Goofy leaned back as far as he could. For a moment, Sora thought the knight would stumble over. Goofy jerked forwards a second later. "And let 'er fly!" he declared.
The string flew into the shadows. Goofy grinned at Sora. "The perfect cast."
Sora was amazed. How had Goofy remembered all that? True, the body postures were rather strange and very unsteady. If his Mom had done them, she probably would've lost her balance. Amemi would have stumbled around. His Dad would've forgotten some of moves shortly after Goofy had shown them.
He shook his head. Such behaviors were to be expected from the knight. After all, it was the "Goofy way" of doing things.
"Ouch!" a very distinct voice yelled. Sora and Goofy swung their focus into the nearby shadows. There was Donald trying to pitch his own tent away from the others. He was rubbing his tail feathers. Sora stifled a snicker, knowing the string from Goofy's stick had struck the duck's tail like a whip.
Donald glared at the pair. "What's the big idea?!"
"Sorry, Donald," Goofy apologized. "I was just showin' Sora the perfect cast. You know, the one Maxie used to catch thuh lady with the 'eye thing'."
Donald's annoyance remained evident on his face. "And you caught Bigfoot with it! During our last camping trip, you had to show off to the King!"
"Gee," Goofy remarked. "I don't remember anything like that ever happening."
Sora shook his head while Donald slapped his forehead and marched back into the shadows to finish setting up his tent. The brown, spikey-headed Keyblader proceeded to unroll his bedroll underneath his tent's canvas. He saw Milo setting up another tent across the way.
"Aren't you gonna pitch up your tent?" Vinny inquired from behind the linguist.
"I did," Milo explained.
Sora caught one glimpse of the tent and wanted to smile. The canvas was wrinkled, the poles were leaning at odd angles, and the string had too much slack. It reminded him of how his own tent had looked just before Goofy had fixed it up.
Vinny strode up to the canvas and straightened it out for the young man. "I guess I'm still a little rusty at this," Milo apologized as he watched. "I haven't gone camping since… well, since the last time my grandfather took me."
Sora nodded. "I know what you mean," he said. "I haven't been camping in years, too. I remember Riku, Kairi, and I would hang on the beach every summer and, when it didn't rain, we would sleep under the stars. It was fun."
"Really?" Milo grinned. "Sounds like you grew up along the shores of Southern California or Florida."
Sora shook his head. "No," he admitted. "It was an island. My hometown."
He sighed a little, recalling how badly he had wanted to get back to the Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi on his previous quests. He could have gone back with Kairi, but he had made a promise to find Riku and bring him home as well. He had known the islands would be restored once Donald, Goofy, and him had defeated Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness. Still, he had wanted to be there with all of his friends — not just a few of them. He also wanted Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey to visit now and again. Since the defeat of Xemnas, they could come and go freely — as long as they took a Gummi Ship into a certain region of space that allowed access between many worlds.
"And I'm gonna be there for Christmas," Sora finished.
"That shouldn't be too hard," Dr. Sweet called from a nearby tent. "Christmas is months away. It's only September."
Sora smiled. Clearly, this world didn't celebrate the Holiday Season when his world did. Most-likely, every world celebrated different holidays. The ones they all celebrated were probably on different dates. Either that, or the calendars varied.
Audrey smiled and turned to face Milo. "I never got to meet your grandfather," she said. "What was he like?"
Milo had to grin at her. "Where do you start? H-he was like a father to me — really. My parents died when I was a little kid and he took me in."
Sora was surprised to hear this. "That's too bad," he commented. "Losing someone you care about is bad, but not as bad as never getting them back."
"He's right," Launchpad agreed. Sore noticed the pilot was leaning against a smooth rock beside his and Goofy's tent. "I almost lost Mister McDee when we crashed in the desert once. It was our hundredth crash together and could've been our last. When all that dynamite started going off, we could've been toastier than a marshmallow!"
Audrey and Milo both laughed a little. Sora shook his head.
"Sounds like my kinda work," Vinny complimented. He laid out on his bedroll and stretched. "I like blowing things up."
Dr. Sweet marched over to the demolition expert and crossed his arms. "C'mon, Vinny. Tell the kids the truth."
Vinny sighed. "My family owned a flower shop," he confessed.
"Really?" Sora questioned. "How does a florist become dynamite-man?"
"Gawrsh," Goofy remarked. "May-bee he sold lots of bouquets. Could I buy one for muh friend, Sylvia?"
"We would sell roses," Vinny told the others. "Carnations, corsages, you name it."
"Say, that sounds like my kinda place!" Launchpad commented. "Mister McDee and DW always want to get more flowers!"
Sora shook his head at the pilot's comment.
"One day," Vinny went on. "I'm making three dozen corsages for this prom — you know, the kind they put on the wrist. And everybody, they come. 'Where is it?' 'When is it?' 'Does it match my dress?' It's a nightmare!"
The demolition expert slapped his hand over his eyes. Sora understood what this meant. Vinny was having a terrible memory.
"Anyway," Vinny added. "I guess there was this leak next door of gas or what. BOOM! No more Chinese laundry… "
Now Sora was puzzled. Was the place next door to his family's flower shop a laundromat? Whatever it was, it sounded like neither business existed anymore.
"Blew me right through the front window," Vinny continued. "It was like a sign from above. I found myself — that boom."
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy chuckled. "Sounds like somethin' I woulda done."
Sora decided to turn his attention toward Audrey. The teenage mechanic was setting up her bedroll. For some reason, he had felt a connection to her — just like when he'd first met Milo. Of course, the spikey-haired youth had already assumed it was because of the short distance in their ages.
"Say, Audrey," Sora started to say. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up on this team?"
"I took this job when my dad retired," Audrey replied. "Yet, the funny thing was, he always wanted sons, right? One to run his machine shop and the other to be middle-weight boxing champion. But he got my sister and me instead."
Sora nodded. "Yeah, I know how it is. I have a sister." He held his hands as though indicating a tiny sum. "A little one."
Audrey had to smile. Sora did the same. "So, whatever happened to your sister?" Sora inquired.
"She's twenty-four," Audrey answered. "And has, you know, a shot at the title next month. Anyway, I'm saving up so my pappi and I open another shop."
Sora nodded in acknowledgment. He had to admit, he had the other team members figured wrong. At first, they had been quite mean to him and Milo. Now, he could tell they were very kind, considerate people. He could even relate to some of them — in a way.
"So Sora," Dr. Sweet called from his tent. "What's your story?"
Sora seemed a little hesitant at first. And why not? He had been told repeatedly by Donald, King Mickey, and Master Yen Sid not to tell anyone how there were other worlds. He had tried really hard to accomplish this rather not-so-simple task.
Of course, there had been a few slips of the tongue here and there. First, he had accidentally told Aladdin how Jasmine had been taken to another world while urging the young man to leave the Cave of Wonders aboard Magic Carpet. [1.1] Next, he had somehow informed Ariel about how he was from another world, even if it was probably through some hints. Sometime much later, he had gotten Captain Jack Sparrow curious after informing the pirate captain how he, Donald, and Goofy were trying to destroy Organization XIII. Fortunately, Jack had seemed to think the whole explanation was just another one of the sea's many tales.
"Well," Sora said, trying to decide where to start. "Let's just say… I'm from an island somewhere very far away. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad are my friends — so is Jiminy. I have my Mom, my Dad, and my sister; her name is Amemi. I'm not good at Math and don't understand the English language too well. I like surfing, have a pet goldfish and cat — and I don't have a girlfriend."
"Are you sure?" Sweet inquired. "Seems to me you do have someone you like a lot."
Sora looked nervous. "Well… it's kind of hard to say. Kairi is nice and she's my friend and she is a girl. But we're not, well… dating or anything."
"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy perked up. "I thought she kissed ya on your burth-day. A-Hyuck!"
"Goofy!" Sora exclaimed.
The other team members snickered, giggled, and laughed away. Sora covered his face with his hands. Goofy looked perplexed. "What'd I say?" he asked.
"That's nice," Vinny said with a grin. "Maybe you and this 'Kairi' girl ought to get some flowers. My cousin still owns shop in New York."
Sora sighed miserably. Why did Goofy have to say that? It was strictly confidential — and totally classified — information. He sighed again and rolled over. A few specks of dirt came flying through the air onto him. Sora sat up and saw Moliére digging a large hole into the ground close by. He switched off his headlamp. Within seconds, soft snoring could be heard from the hole.
"Say," Goofy said, gesturing in the direction of Moliére's hole. "What's his story?"
"Trust me," Sweet asserted. "You don't wanna know."
The doctor pointed at Audrey like an accusing lawyer. "Audrey, don't tell him," he said. "You shouldn't have told me, but you did."
Sweet turned back to Goofy. "That's why I'm tellin' you, 'you don't wanna know'."
Goofy nodded. "A-Hyuck! Gotcha."
Sora shook his head. He had heard enough "Goofy-Logic" for one day. As Sweet blew out the lantern, the spikey, brown-haired seventeen-year-old laid down on his bedroll and closed his eyes. His thoughts started to focus on Kairi, so he shoved them aside and started dreaming about the sunshine back home. His smile came to him. The sound of the waves seemed to fill his ears.
It wasn't long before Sora was sound asleep.
A/N: SHEESH! NOW [THAT] WAS SUSPENSEFUL!
All that action... and in just ONE Chapter! Just goes to show how much work those Disney Digital Storytellers and Animators put into making "Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)". They did an EXCELLENT job!
For those of you who remember my earlier, deleted story, "Kingdom Hearts - The Phantom Threat", you probably recognized much of this from before. I decided to make This Story a revival of that "Late" one. So, you might see more similarities coming up. Fortunately, those will NOT last long! Even the last segment of this Chapter was NOT in the original story's Chapters as it had been cancelled BEFORE then.
Also, the "Aqua-Evac" is the name for the emergency submarines. According to Disney Wikia, here's the explanation of what those submarines are - word-for-word.
"The Aqua-Evac is an underwater vehicle used to transport passengers should the Ulysses be compromised. It is big enough to transport several vehicles, a hefty amount of supplies, and up to roughly one hundred people."
You probably already saw how I made the Leviathan a robotic Heartless. "Why?" you ask? Just read the next few Chapters and the answers SHOULD be revealed.
Yes, I Did intentionally reference "A Goofy Movie (1995)". The "Perfect Cast" segment is one of my favorite parts of the movie. It's also when Goofy and Max first see Bigfoot and Goofy looks at the animal through his camera lens. That's when Goofy says, "Could ya back up a bit Mister Foot? Uh... you're outta focus."
So Then, I'll See You Next Time!
In other words, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
REMEMBER THIS - A MINIMUM OF 214 IS REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF 240 ARE POSTED, I WILL INCLUDE A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HOWEVER, THAT/THOSE GOAL(S) MUST BE MET BY THE TIME THE-SECOND-TO-LAST-CHAPTER IS POSTED! THAT WAY, I WILL HAVE TIME TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER OR NOT EITHER GOAL WAS MET!
This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"
**[1.1]** This is a reference to "Kingdom Hearts 1 Manga: Volume 2".