DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: CHAPTER 9 HAS ARRIVED! YES! HIP-HIP-HOORAY! IT IS THE LAST CHAPTER FOR MAY, 2015! TOMORROW, JUNE STARTS - BRINGING MORE STORY AND CHAPTERS ALIKE FOR YOU ALL!
So, as I was starting to write this Chapter, I was also watching an episode of the older T.V. show, "The Rockford Files". Watching James Garner's character and hearing his voice, I can see why Disney decided to cast him as Commander Rourke for "Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)".
Anyways, I see at least one of you why I am not including "Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)". In any case, I decided to explain why I choose the twelve Disney Movies/Properties I do NOT want to include in my Kingdom Hearts Stories.
(12.) Chicken Little (2005) - It's been too long since I last saw this, and I cannot picture it being in Kingdom Hearts.
(11.) Finding Nemo (2003) - I thought this movie was a little boring, and I cannot picture it being in Kingdom Hearts.
(10.) The Tigger Movie (2000) - I have enough movies in the Winnie The Pooh franchise to use, and this movie is my Least Favorite of that franchise.
(9.) The Aristocats (1970) - I cannot picture this movie being in Kingdom Hearts. Maybe a Summon... but don't count on it!
(8.) Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - I would rather include "Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007)". I want my stories to all have Happy Endings - Not like the ending for the second POTC movie.
(7.) The Black Cauldron (1985) - I have never seen this movie.
(6.) Wreck-It Ralph (2012) - I have never seen this movie.
(5.) The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (1998) - Since I noticed the strong similarities between The Lion King and Hamlet, I have slowly started to dislike The Lion King altogether. That, and I cannot picture this movie being in Kingdom Hearts.
(4.) WALL-E (2008) - Never Seen It. I'm not sure if I'll ever want to see it.
(3.) Anything "Star Wars" - I have only seen Episode 4, and I cannot picture it being in Kingdom Hearts.
(2.) Anything "Phineas And Ferb" - I'd rather not. I'm Not a fan of Disney Channel - Especially today's Disney Channel.
(1.) Dinosaur (2000) - This movie scared me when I was younger, so I refuse to have anything to Do with it! To that end, I cannot picture it being in Kingdom Hearts.
I certainly hope This clears up everything! It's not that I don't like the second POTC movie, I just cannot find a place for it in my stories. Also, I find "Lord" Cutler Beckett's character an excellent antagonist for those movies. Why not make him a member of Maleficent's Council? Sooner or later, Sora and his friends will have to DEFEAT him! When they do, maybe Captain Jack Sparrow will be back!
By the way, 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!
Plus, I also included a reference to another Disney movie at the start of This Chapter. I am quite certain you will recognize it as you read ahead.
Seeing as I have covered everything I need to say for the third time in a row, I'll let you go now.
PLEASE ENJOY! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW AND READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT - AND PLEASE REVIEW, TWO TIMES TOO!
CHAPTER 9
Locating The Lost City of Atlantis
Sora woke with a deep yawn. He stretched his arms and sat up on his bedroll. His vision was blurry, so he rubbed his eyes. Once his eyesight had cleared, he smiled and clambered off his bedroll. He seized his jacket and put it on quickly before doing the same with his oversized shoes. He strapped them in place to keep them from sliding off accidentally. With a familiar song coming to mind, Sora reached for the tent flap and pushed it open.
He froze. "Huh?!"
The other tents had vanished. The team's vehicles that had been parked in neat rows in the distance were gone. In fact, the entire cavern had seemingly disappeared. There was no trace of the team, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, or the cave itself.
A cold wind blew. He shivered and gazed into the distance. He was staring at a wall of solid ice. To the left, a long staircase made entirely of ice lead up and curved to the left. He looked straight up and saw a gigantic chandelier crafted from crystal-clear ice hanging high overhead.
"What in the world?" Sora marveled in question. One minute, he'd been sleeping in a cavern inside the world of Ancient Empire. The next, he was somewhere in a building made of ice. How was this possible?
A sound came from the right. Sora spun around and saw a large doorway opening. Into the structure stepped two girls. He relaxed then tensed up as he observed the two closely.
One was slender, turquoise-blue eyes, rosy cheeks, long strawberry-blonde hair that was tied into two braided pigtails with bangs down her forehead, and a dusting of freckles. She was decked out in a medium-length, dark blue skirt with a black shirt-like article with gold trim, a light-blue long-sleeved blouse, and black, heeled, leather boots. A magenta bonnet with a purple lining and lavender fluff was over her head. In addition, she also was wearing a pair of blue mittens, and a magenta cape with a matching cap. Her boots had gold linings and magenta soles. She also had a platinum blonde streak on the right side of her hair.
The other was a very slender, auburn-haired young woman with pale skin and blue eyes. She was dressed in a pink jacket, golden-yellow skirt leading down to just below her knees, and red hiking boots. Her upper body was also shrouded in a long-sleeved, sky blue coat with lavender fluff. She had long, black stockings, navy-blue gloves and matching earmuffs. A hand-sized bag was strapped across her upper body and a pair of bluish-yellow sunglasses were nestled in her hair. Ironically, she also sported a pair of grey goggles covering her eyes. To Sora, she seemed to resemble an older version of Kairi — only dressed for snow and shivering violently.
Sora relaxed once more. They looked innocent to him.
The two girls strode into the room. They awed silently at the chandelier dangling far above their heads.
"Elsa?" the first girl called out. "It's me, Anna."
"Anna," a voice called out from above.
Seeing how the girls were gazing at the top of the staircase, Sora swung his attention in the same direction.
Standing at the top of the flight was a tall, slender young woman with long, platinum blonde hair that was kept in a loose French braid swept over her left shoulder and tied with a hair-band with a crystal-like snowflake on it. She also had blue eyes, a small nose, and very pale skin with a light dusting of freckles. Her outfit consisted of a crystal-blue, shoulder-less dress made out of ice with a right slit, a crystallized top and translucent, powder blue sleeves. She also had icy heels and a long, transparent floor-sweeping cape of sheer ice decorated with large snowflakes attached to the back of her dress. Furthermore, her eyelids had a dusting of lavender eye shadow and magenta lipstick.
Sora stared at her. Who was this new girl? She seemed to be made entirely from ice, only she still resembled a human being.
The first of the two girls (Sora assumed her name was Anna) smiled upward. "Elsa?" she paused. "Whoa, you look different. It's a good different."
The auburn-haired girl nodded. "This place is incredible," she marveled, gesturing around.
Sora had to agree with the latter. After all, such a building would normally be difficult to construct. Unless, this "Elsa" upstairs had some magical powers.
"Thank you," the girl upstairs said. "I never knew what I was capable of." She saw the auburn-headed young woman. "Who is that?"
Anna grabbed the girl beside her and pointed with her free hand. "This is Sandora," she introduced. "She's a friend."
Sora stared in disbelief. Sandora… he recognized that name. But from where? He couldn't recall exactly where it had been. His memories of encountering this same girl before were very fuzzy and blurry. It was almost like they were simply a dream.
He froze. He remembered how a young woman had rescued Riku and him from Hacker's battle machine in the sleeping world of Traverse Town. When he'd asked her what her names was, she'd said, "My name is Sandora Hikari."
Sora mind was spinning. Could the Sandora here be the same Sandora from there — in the dreams?
The girl above nodded. Anna smiled and started to speak. "I'm so sorry about what happened. If I'd have known… "
The door burst open. Sora and the others whirled their attention to the doorway. In stepped a tiny animal with pink ears, a magenta jumpsuit, and small black eyes. He seemed very timid.
"Piglet?" Sora realized, recognizing his friend.
A loud crash of something echoed from the left. Everyone spun around. To Sora's alarm, a tall man with a crooked back was stepping into the room from a gaping hole in the solid ice wall. He had a black-hooded coat on and his face was concealed, except for a silver goatee. His hands were behind his back and he slowly walked towards the girls.
"Oh d-d-d-dear!" Piglet hollered as he started running around in circles.
"Anna!" the girl upstairs cried. "Run! I'll hold him off!"
"No!" Anna declared. "I'm not leaving without you!"
The girl Sora remembered was "Sandora" rushed over as something magically appeared in her right hand. It was a key-shaped weapon with a red handle, a sky-blue-tinted blade, and yellow-orange flowers upon the blade.
Sora watched in alarm as the man stopped and reached out his right hand. There was a few bolts of dark electricity before a large key-shaped weapon appeared in his hand. It was a Keyblade with a spikey, black guard that resembled demonic wings, a horned, demonic head above the handle, two barbed shafts, and teeth resembling a battle axe split into three claw-like protrusions.
"Wha—?!" Now Sora was puzzled. He'd never seen a Keyblade like this one before.
The auburn-haired girl continued to charge at the man. Their weapons clashed. She pushed angrily against her opponent, but the stranger was too clever for her. He raised his left hand and struck her with a block of ice magic.
The girl upstairs glared as she reached her hands into the man's direction. Her palms glowed a bluish color before a beam of icy magic flew at the strange man. He gave what sounded like a gruff chuckle and used his Keyblade to shield himself.
"Taste defeat!" he shouted. "Fool!"
Sora could not sit in the spectator's box any longer. He summoned his own Keyblade and rushed over. He hopped into the air and swung his weapon at the strange man. The latter vanished in an instant, causing Sora to realize he'd warped away. He barely dodged a surprise attack from behind. He raised his Keyblade to block (and hopefully parry) the attack.
CRACK!
Sora flew back. Splinters of wood landed around him. He sat up from the icy floor and saw how his Keyblade had been nothing more than a wooden sword — just like the one he'd used to own. The handle was damaged and the blade had snapped clean off. He sighed deeply, knowing he was now defenseless.
The man pointed his Keyblade at the brown, spikey-headed young man. "Did you really think you could stop me?" he inquired. "A dull, ordinary boy like you can't do anything on your own. And now, you have no friends to help you out."
Sora gulped. He sighed all the more. Why hadn't he tried to prevent Donald and Goofy's so-called "argument"? What had caused him to allow his teammates to quit working together? Either way, it appeared he was now done for.
"Yaah!" a voice yelled. The auburn-haired girl jumped onto the strange man and shoved him onto the floor.
"What?!" the man exclaimed. "You foolish girl!"
The girl punched the man shadow-covered face. "You leave my dad alone!"
Sora was both shocked, speechless, and perplexed beyond understanding. He couldn't even think of anything to ask himself about what he'd just heard.
The man kicked the girl aside and pointed his Keyblade at Sora. "Feel the Darkness!" he declared.
A beam of Darkness shot out at the young man. Sora watched as the Darkness drew closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… and more closer. The whole world seemed to be frozen in time — except for the beam of Darkness. That, and a raven-haired girl in a black-hooded coat rushing over from the other side of the room.
Sora slammed his shut as the beam was only inches from his chest. He yelled in agony as the Darkness entered his body.
"AAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Sora woke with a start. He felt his cheeks, forehead, and chest. He looked around and relaxed. He was only in his tent. It was dark other than the faint, greenish glow coming from high above. He sighed with relief.
"It was only a dream," he remarked. "Violet would say it was a Nightmare's doing… "
He had to shake his head and smile. True, the angel would have said that. She was the "Angel of Dreams" after all. Violet seemed to know everything about dreams and how they worked. Sometimes, Sora had believed she knew more about stuff than he would ever know. This knowledge had proved quite helpful at times in the Realm of Sleep such as when he, Riku, and Violet had been in the world of the Symphony of Sorcery. Of course, he only remembered having to explore a few lands inside pieces of written music… or songbooks.
He tried to shake it all aside and rolled over. He was still restless. His mind was now shifting to the raven-haired girl he'd seen. Who was she? Why had he felt so heartbroken when he'd seen her? He had no recollection of seeing her before. What was going on? Was she related to somebody he knew?
His mind whirled over to Roxas. Sora had known about his Nobody's existence for about a year. Since the time Riku had first informed him about Roxas betraying Organization XIII, Sora had wanted to meet his own Nobody. Sadly, he never got the chance to. Unless… he was meeting his own Nobody in his dreams — in a different sort of way.
He rolled over a second time and shut his eyes. A loud knocking sound on the canvas tent startled him. Sora sighed and glanced at his portable alarm clock (the one his sister had given him for Christmas the year before). He'd only been asleep for ten seconds. He sat up, threw on his jacket, and crawled to the far end of the tent. He pushed the flap open. There stood Launchpad and Milo.
Sora sighed with a yawn. "What's going on? Why are you guys awake?" He pointed at his clock. "It's three o'clock in the morning."
"I know," Milo acknowledged. "But I had to tell you something."
Sora yawned and nodded. "Okay."
Milo gazed at Launchpad for a moment. "Your friend told me about what he saw in the tunnel. I don't think he was making it up."
Sora was surprised. "Really?" he asked in a soft whisper.
Milo nodded. "It's right here," he explained, holding open The Shepherd's Journal. He held a flashlight in one hand and the journal in the other. "It says, 'As you approach the eighth marker, you may encounter some strange-looking creatures. Do not fear. These are not monsters. They are 'Atlantians' patrolling the nearby caverns'."
"I told you I saw something!" Launchpad declared in a loud whisper. Milo and Sora had to cover his mouth. No one else around stirred. They relaxed.
"That redhead's got a gun," Cookie murmured in his sleep several tents away. "Careful! She's a real mean fightin' machine… "
Sora rolled his eyes. "Okay… "
The pilot shrugged and looked at the writing in the journal. "Goofy was right," he whispered. "It does look like gibberish."
Milo shook his head and turned to face Sora. "I suggest we look for these 'Atlantians'," he said. "They could lead us to the city of Atlantis."
Sora shrugged and slipped on his oversized shoes. "Why not? It beats looking around everywhere else."
"I'll help," Launchpad offered. Milo and Sora both shrugged and handed the pilot a spare flashlight.
Sora slipped his alarm clock into his pocket and grabbed his cellular phone from beside the bedroll. For years, he'd wanted to have a portable phone, but his parents had thought he was too young. Finally, he mom and dad had given him one for his seventeenth birthday. It was a navy-blue color with golden buttons. A thin, bright green antennae stuck out the top and a slot for a camera-card was located in the middle. He slipped it into his pocket, too.
The three strode away from the tents (which wasn't far as Sora's was on the edge of the campground) and switched on their flashlights. They walked slowly around the immediate area in search for anything peculiar.
Sora swung his beam around carefully. The cavern was almost pitch-dark. The only light came from the glowing green stalactite overhead. For all he knew, the Heartless were lurking in the cave close by. It almost seemed creepier than when Donald, Goofy, and him had first gone to Halloween Town on their first adventure.
"Look at this!" Milo called in a soft voice.
Sora and Launchpad spun around to see what the linguist had noticed. A series of faint footprints were gathered around the site of Milo's tent and led into the cavern. The young linguist crept up to his tent and reached into a brown satchel just outside the canvas. His eyes lit up. "It's gone."
"What is?" Sora whispered.
"My grandfather's helmet," Milo replied. "Someone's been rummaging through my things."
"Really?" Launchpad spoke up in a whisper. He pointed his flashlight at an odd angle towards the ceiling. "Who?"
Milo shrugged. "Whoever it was, they left tracks. We'll have to follow them."
"Yeah," Sora acknowledged. Deep down, he had the slightest feeling the Heartless had been there. The footprints seemed to contain the usual shape of a Shadow Heartless. Of course, it could have been something else… maybe a new type of Heartless he had never faced before.
"Whatever it is," Launchpad said. "We need to find it before it gets away." He paused. "Unless it's a helmet-hunter like on Pelican's Island."
Sora had to smile. "I think it's called 'Gilligan's Island'."
Launchpad shrugged. "Whatever it's called, those guys have to avoid lots of other guys with spears who collect helmets."
Sora shook his head. At once, he saw a tiny insect zoom by. He turned to stare at it. It was glowing an eerie, green color and resembled a firefly.
Milo and Launchpad must have seen it as they were also staring at the insect. "It's a spooky firefly," the pilot remarked. "Maybe this place's creepier than Morgana's haunted house. She's DW's special friend."
Before Sora or Milo could speak, a number of similar fireflies swooped into view and started to surround them. The insects were buzzing in their ears, zipping around their heads, and zooming past their feet. The three started to swing their arms around at the flies.
"Go away!" Sora snapped at the insects. When they continued to linger, he summoned his Keyblade and lashed it at them. The insects were flying too swiftly for him to make a single solid hit.
"Shoo flies!" Launchpad added. "Don't bother me!"
The fireflies continued to zoom around. Launchpad reached into his pocket and pulled out a furled comic book. He slapped it against a couple of the insects. A flash of flame caught the group's eyes. The comic book was on fire.
"Yeowch!" Launchpad exclaimed, dropping the book to the ground. He stomped on the flames to terminate them before scooping up what was left of his book. "Not my DuckTales Volume 3: Special Edition!"
Sora and Milo were not paying attention. The fireflies were now buzzing around the nearby tents. Some landed on the canvas and set them ablaze. The insects proceeded to fly around and set more tents on fire.
Sora, Milo, and Launchpad stared upward as an enormous flock of the insects zoomed closer. "Fire?" Milo declared.
Sora was astounded. True, he had caught fireflies at home for many years. Yet, the sight of seeing such insects actually made of fire was extremely difficult for him to accept.
The three raced past the burning tents and down the rows of the campground. The insects were directly behind, setting more tents ablaze. Over and over again, they continued to shout, "Fire!"
"Mr. Thatch!" Commander Rourke shouted from his tent. "Go back to bed!"
"We can't!" Sora yelled in return. "The whole camp's on fire!"
The three had now reached the far end of the camp. Turning back, Sora now saw the fireflies had set every single tent ablaze. The insects were still buzzing around above their heads. Dozens of people had risen from their tents and were appalled at the sight of the raging flames.
"Get some water on that fire!" Lieutenant Helga ordered to the other team members. They rushed to get to work.
Sora was nearly speechless. The whole sight was just dizzying. He saw Donald rising from his tent. The duck glared at Launchpad. "What'd you do now, ya big palooka?!"
"HELP!" Goofy rushed out of his and Launchpad's tent. Not only was the tent on fire, but the knight's vest was, too. He jumped into a barrel of water located near the team's vehicles and relaxed.
A firefly landed onto Donald's tail feathers. "YEOW!" the magician exclaimed in alarm as his rear end went up in flames. He rushed over to where Goofy was and dove into the same barrel.
Jiminy hopped out of Sora's hoodie and stared at the display in alarm. "What happened?!" he said.
Sora was too shocked to answer. How could something like this happen? He couldn't reach a possible conclusion. Unless… the insects were Heartless? That didn't exactly make sense.
"No time!" Rourke shouted to his lieutenant as she dumped a bucket of water onto a tent. He pointed into the distance where a long natural bridge led into some shadow-filled caves. "Get us into those caves. C'mon! Move it, move it!"
Jiminy leaped back into Sora's hoodie. Sora decided to trail Milo as the linguist raced over to his now-burning tent and grabbed his satchel. Sora reached his own tent and grabbed a small canteen Vinny had given him earlier. He ducked out of the burning tent just as the stick-like poles gave way and the canvas caved in.
Man! Sora realized. That could've been me!
He followed Milo as the two hurried over to the team's vehicles. The various trucks had already been started up and were driving away. Donald and Goofy had both hitched a ride on Cookie's supply wagon. Molière led the way with his drilling machine. Rourke and Helga were aboard the commander's car, Vinny and Dr. Sweet were in the doctor's medical van, and everyone else was in his/her own vehicle.
Sora and Milo dashed to the linguist's truck which had been left behind. They clambered aboard and set off. Sora helped Launchpad inside the cab as Milo desperately tried to steer the truck away from the flames and towards the bridge. Within minutes, the truck had been attacked by the firefly swarm and the engine was ablaze.
"Milo!" Audrey called from the back of a truck a few feet ahead. "Sora! Come here!"
Knowing their truck was on the verge of exploding, Sora, Launchpad, and Milo hurried out of the cab and raced over to where Audrey was. The truck suddenly exploded and pieces of machinery flew everywhere.
"Jump!" the teenage mechanic hollered. "Right now!"
Sora and Milo leaped into the air at the same time and landed into the back of the other truck. Launchpad was seconds behind and nearly struck by a burning piece of metal. "Whoa!" the pilot commented as he caught his breath with the others. "It's the Yellowstone fire all over again!"
As Sora tried to relax in the covered back of the fleeing truck, his mind went back to how close he'd been to being killed. First, his tent had collapsed moments after he'd retrieved his canteen. Next, he'd leapt to safety just as Milo's truck had blown up and the burning remains had almost hit Launchpad, the linguist, and him.
Talk about too close for comfort! Sora thought to himself.
An alarmed shout came from close by. Sora and the others gazed out the back of their truck and saw a truck driving recklessly behind them. The engine was on fire as was a number of containers on the back. The driver jumped from the cab just as the engine exploded. Just after, a second explosion occurred and destroyed the truck altogether. The man ducked down as the explosion rocked the bridge and the cavern itself. He started to get up when another speeding truck drove straight over him.
Sora and his companions turned away. When they looked again, the man was lying face-down on the bridge. He wasn't moving, even as the flames surrounded him.
"How terrible!" Audrey declared.
"This can't be happening," Sora gulped anxiously. Never before had he witnessed such a sight as someone being run over. Hopefully he would never have to see such a thing ever again.
Sora heard a loud cracking sound. He looked up and stared in alarm. The odd-looking stalactite had been shaken loose by the pair of explosions and was now dangling directly over the bridge. The stalactite fell straight down and landed onto the bridge. The vibration shook everything.
The bridge started to crack. All the trucks began rolling backward towards the cracking sounds. Sora grabbed the short, metal panel on the truck's back as the bridge broke free. The whole thing descended straight down, taking all the remaining team's vehicles with it. The flames disappeared from view as the bridge fell.
When the bridge landed down below, Molière's drilling machine slide backwards. It did so with such haste, the machine shoved all the other vehicles downward. Soon, everyone had lost control of their trucks and were slamming, banging, and colliding with each other. Sora continued to hold on as the truck he was in slid around like a marble rolling freely down a ramp.
All at once, the vehicles slid off what seemed to resemble a ski jump and vanished into a shadow pit. Sora yelled in alarm as everything went into slow-motion. The truck disappeared into the darkness. The sounds of crashing, crunching, and crushing filled the air.
Then, everything went dark and silent. The silence was total.
Donald gradually sat up. He rubbed his tail feather, which were still smoking. He looked around in the darkness. He couldn't see anything. If he hadn't heard a soft dripping sound from somewhere close by, he would have assumed he was dead or stranded in the Realm of Darkness. Then again, that Darkness had been so complete, he'd felt it while there with Sora and Goofy. It was time he'd opened a white box despite Goofy's suggestion not to and discovered a photograph of their friends from Twilight Town and an ice cream bar. He'd eaten the ice cream and realized how salty and sweet it really was.
The sound of a match being struck echoed around. "Alright," Rourke's voice called out. "Who's not dead? Sound off."
Donald felt a little relieved when he saw the commander's face illuminated by the burning match. At least he wasn't alone in this deep, dark abyss.
The groans and moans of many others filled the air. Rourke's match went out as Cookie's voice rose above them all. "Dang blasted bug went and bit me on my sit-upon! Someone's gonna have to get over here and suck out this poison."
Donald slapped his face. The pain was real, which indicated to him this was not the afterlife, nor was it a dream. He had never enjoyed a thing the chef had to say. He especially hated the greasy food he'd always made. Why Goofy and Launchpad enjoyed it, he would never understand.
A bright light suddenly shone into his eyes. Donald used his right hand to block out the glare. His eyes quickly adjusted. He now saw he was gazing straight at a headlamp from one of the team's vehicles. He looked around and could now make out the silhouettes of the other team members. He saw Goofy lying on the ground with a smashed barrel stuck on his head. A few feet away, Launchpad was lying face-down in the dirt. The knight and pilot slowly came to and groaned like everyone else.
"Audrey," Rourke called from where he'd switched on the headlamp. "Give me a damage report."
The teenage mechanic rose from the ground near where Launchpad had landed. She switched on a flashlight a swept around the immediate area. Donald spotted Molière sitting on the ground trying to analyze the dirt on the cavern floor. Lieutenant Helga was rising to her feet beside him.
"Not as bad as it could've been," Audrey announced to the commander. She gazed at Molière's drilling machine; the vehicle was sitting upright amongst the other toppled trucks, Dr. Sweet's medical van, and the large truck with the barrel-shaped compartment in the back.
"We totaled rigs two and seven," she went on. "But the Digger looks like it'll still run."
Audrey reached behind and rubbed her back. "Lucky for us, we landed in something soft."
"Pumice ash," Molière declared loud enough for everyone to hear. "We are sitting at the base of a dormant volcano."
Launchpad was now on his feet. He brushed the ash off his sleeves. "Well, 'Any crash you can walk away from is a good crash', I always say!"
Donald barely could keep his anger contained. He hated it when the pilot said such stuff. Now it was really getting to him!
He watched Helga point a large pistol upwards. The lieutenant pulled the trigger and a small ball of fire went sailing up, up, up. "It just keeps going," she said.
Vinny approached in wonder. "Maybe that's our ticket outta here."
The ball of fire suddenly exploded. "Maybe not," Helga added.
Donald sighed, knowing the top of the shaft was sealed shut.
Molière looked amazed. He stared at the distant ceiling in realization. "The magma has solidified in the bowels of the volcano! It's effectively blocking the exit!"
Donald was puzzled. What was that stupid geologist talking about? Yes, to the duck, Molière was an idiot — no different than Launchpad, his cousin Gladstone, or Goofy.
"Hold on!" Dr. Sweet spoke up as Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad approached the others. "Back up. Are you saying this whole volcano can blow at any time?"
Donald gulped until Molière shook his head. "No, no!" the geologist declared. "That would take an explosion of great magnitude."
The sound of a spring popping caught the others' attention. There stood Vinny trying to assemble a time bomb using a screwdriver. Donald nearly fainted at the sight. "Maybe I should do this later, huh?"
Rourke wasn't paying any attention to the demolition expert. "If we could blow the top off of that thing," he said aloud, gazing towards the top of the darkness-filled shaft. "We'd have a straight shot to the surface."
The commander looked at the other crew members. "Mr. Thatch, what do you think?"
There was no answer. "Mr. Thatch?" Rourke called out. "Thatch?"
Everyone flipped on their flashlights and swung the beams around the cavern. There was no sign of the young linguist.
"Say," Goofy perked up. "Where's Sora and Jiminy?"
Donald scanned the area. He, Goofy, and Launchpad started to call out Sora's name, but they received no response. "I hope they weren't taken by those guys!" Launchpad worried.
"Me, too," Goofy added. "And I don't even know them."
"Aw phooey," Donald grumbled to himself. Now what would they do — without Sora and Jiminy? The seventeen-year-old and the tiny cricket had to be somewhere around. The only question was… where?
Sora's head was pounding. He gradually opened his eyes. The world around him was blurry and seemed to be spinning. His eyesight slowly came into focus. He nearly leapt back.
Directly before him was a trio of creatures with large, strange-looking faces. They didn't exactly resemble Heartless — unless they were a new form of Heartless. In fact, the designs of their faces looked similar to how Launchpad had described the "guys" he'd seen. When he saw they were wielding spears and had human hands and feet, Sora realized they were native warriors wearing masks.
"Milo?" Sora called out. "Donald? Goofy? Launchpad?"
Through his peripheral vision, Sora saw Milo lying beside him. The young man was backing against the wall of rock where they'd landed after the horrendous crash. He looked just as alarmed as the brown, spikey-headed youth did.
Sora tried to step back so he would have enough room to summon his Keyblade. He reached out his right hand and felt a sharp pain. He grabbed his right shoulder with his other hand. The pain was strong. He realized he might have injured his right shoulder in the previous incident.
To top it off, he'd never been able to control the weapon with his left hand. The Keyblade had always automatically appeared in his right hand. He reached into his left pocket for a potion and ended up with some broken containers. He looked around the ground and noticed a several shattered bottles lying around with puddles of dark-green liquid.
He sighed deeply. Not only was he unable to use his Keyblade, but he was injured badly and couldn't do anything to heal himself. He felt his canteen, only to discover it was empty. The cap was still attached to its string. Somehow it had loosened and all the water had spilled out.
Sora eyes lit up. He was now on the verge of panic mode.
He heard a soft groan. Turning to the right, he saw Milo grabbed his own right shoulder. That's when Sora saw the small cut in the young linguist's shoulder. The blood was starting to flow out super-duper slow.
Yikes! Sora worried frantically. What now?!
One of the creatures grew closer. Sora saw it had a bluish mask. The creature lifted its mask when it saw the two. To Sora and Milo's surprise, it was a young woman with white hair and dark skin. She also had a blue-colored tattoo that seemed to resemble teardrops on her left cheek. She was wearing a blue bikini top, aqua skirt with a pink stripe and gold outlines.
At first, Sora was perplexed. Who was this girl? She didn't look like anyone he'd ever seen before. The next second, the spikey-haired seventeen-year-old saw how the young woman was staring at the two in surprise. She reached at Milo's chest, causing the linguist to leap back. She frowned for a moment before reaching for a perfectly-shaped crystal shard on a cord around her neck. She placed the crystal against the wound and then placed her hand over it. A faint glow came from the spot until she removed her hand. To Sora's amazement and Milo's relief, the cut was gone.
The young woman smiled at him before waving her crystal over Sora's right shoulder. She held onto his jacket as a faint glow came from beneath her hand. When she removed it, Sora felt his strength returning. He was taken aback. His injury had vanished — just like Milo's cut.
"Whoa," Sora marveled. He was impressed. Then his mind started to wander. What was that familiar power he'd felt when the girl had touched his shoulder? It was strong, warm, and very, very, very comfortable. In fact, it almost felt like… Light….
"Light," he muttered aloud. "The power of Light."
Sora turned to the young woman. "Just… who are you?"
The woman responded with a smile. She replaced her mask. At that moment, a loud rumbling sound filled the cavern. The woman and the other two with her fled down the tunnel to the right. Sora and Milo ran behind.
"H-hey, wait!" Milo called out.
The pursuit continued. Sora and Milo clambered up a rocky slope after the three individuals. When the three creatures jumped through a gap in the wall, Sora and Milo climbed through one-by-one. Sora had to squeeze his right foot through.
Upon reaching the other side, Sora and Milo found themselves standing on a rocky cliff on the edge of an enormous underground chamber. The three creatures were nowhere to be found. "Hey, wait a minute!" Milo called, his voice echoing about. "Who are you?"
Sora scanned his eyes around the immediate area. To his surprise, the space above the cavern was full of puffy, white clouds. In the distance was a gigantic plateau covered by water. Waterfalls ran off the edge of the landmass. The peak of what seemed to be some kind of mountain stuck out in the middle of the plateau.
Unsure what lay in the distance, Sora reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Good thing he'd remembered them. He had always wanted to use them in other worlds to look around at various things, but he hadn't had the chance to bring them along when the Destiny Islands had been attacked by the Heartless. Through the lens of the binoculars, he saw the distant ruins of an ancient city. The architecture seemed to resemble the design of the coliseum from Olympus Coliseum.
A deafening noise came from behind. Sora glanced back for a moment to see Molière's drilling machine widening the gap in the rock wall behind the pair. Coming through alongside it was Audrey, Vinny, Molière, Dr. Sweet, Ms. Packard, Cookie, Helga, Rourke, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. They all saw what Milo and Sora had and were nearly speechless.
"Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis!" Cookie exclaimed.
Audrey smiled. "It's beautiful!"
Dr. Sweet smiled and placed his hand onto Milo's shoulder. "Milo, I gotta hand it to you. You really came through."
Sora grinned when he saw the linguist's smile. He knew without a doubt the ruined city in the distance truly was Atlantis itself. Now he could tell Amemi all about this lost landmark — not to mention, take a picture with his cellular phone. He put his binoculars away and whipped out his phone. He got the distant ruins in the lens and hit the trigger. No flash went off, but he still got a photograph. Now he could also show Amemi what Atlantis really looked like.
Without warning, a number of creatures appeared behind the team. Sora and the others spun around. To their alarm, the creatures donned masks and were pointing spears at them.
"But I take that back," Sweet told Milo.
Donald ducked behind Sora in a hurry. Goofy pulled out his shield and cowered behind it with Launchpad. Rourke reached for a gun on his belt. "Holy cats!" the commander declared. "Who are these guys?"
"Heartless!" Donald declared in reply. He pulled out his wand and pointed it over Sora's shoulder. "I'll try some magic!"
He would have done so if Sora hadn't glared him silent.
Milo was enthusiastic. "T-they gotta be Atlantians!"
"What?" Helga said with a puzzled look. "That's impossible."
Cookie looked a bit worried. "I seen this back in the Dakota," the chef informed everyone. "They can smell fear just by looking at you, so keep quiet."
Goofy and Launchpad gulped simultaneously. Sora felt a few drops of sweat on his forehead and suddenly realized how humid the air was in the cavern.
One of the creatures approached a few feet. In an unfamiliar voice, it spoke to the group. Sora stared at it, unable to make out anything except various sounds and seemingly nonsense.
"I think it's talking to you," Molière whispered to Milo. Sora nodded. Jiminy hopped onto Sora's shoulder and starting writing in his journal.
The creature spoke again. Milo started to talk back to it, but no one else had any clue what he was saying. Somehow, he must have been understood by the creature as it removed its mask to reveal the same young woman Sora remembered had healed both Milo and him. He could also tell she had blue eyes, brown eyebrows, small gold triangular earrings, a gold band on her upper left arm, and a couple gold anklets on her right ankle. To Sora, she resembled a native woman.
Milo and the woman continued to converse in what sounded like a number of different languages. When the latter said something Sora recognized Lumière saying before, Molière excitedly strode up to her. "They speak my language!" he declared. He gestured to the young lady. "Come on down, Mademoiselle!"
He whispered into her ear. A second later, the woman punched Molière in the face and knocked him onto the ground. Sora nearly jumped back in surprise.
"Oh yeah!" Sweet clapped away. "I like her."
"'Bout time someone hit him," Audrey approved. "I'm just sorry it wasn't me."
Donald was laughing away. He laughed so hard, he landed onto the ground and grabbed his stomach. Molière glared at the duck as the latter started rolling around and ended up on Goofy's shoes. "Yeow!" the knight hollered as he grasped his shoe and dropped his shield. The shield landed onto Launchpad's foot. The pilot let out a yell of his own.
Sora shook his head. Talk about being ultra-clumsy — especially when it came to Donald Duck!
The other individuals removed their masks and revealed themselves to be kind, friendly people. They started speaking to everyone else in a variety of different languages. The only ones Sora recognized were English and Japanese.
"How do they know all this stuff?" Sora asked Milo.
"Their language must be based on a root dialect," the linguist explained to the young man. When Sora looked perplexed, Milo translated, "It's just like the Tower of Babel."
Sora gave a nod of understanding, though he was still quite confused about what Milo meant.
"Well," Rourke told the two. "Maybe English is in there somewhere."
The commander spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "We are explorers from the surface world," he proclaimed with a friendly grin. "We come in peace."
The young woman smiled back and gestured towards the distant ruins. "Welcome to the city of Atlantis!"
She grabbed Milo by his right arm. "Come! You must speak with my father now."
Rourke gave some last minute instructions to some of the soldiers before joining everyone else in two trucks that had been driven to the cliff behind Molière's drilling machine. It wasn't long before the young woman and the other Atlantians were escorting the caravan across a long, wooden bridge and straight to the ruined city. Vinny and Molière were gathered in one truck with Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. Sora, Milo, Rourke, and Helga were in the other. Audrey, Cookie, Ms. Packard, and a few others were seated in the backs of the trucks.
As they drove into view of the ruins, Sora noticed Milo was busy explaining how unique the Atlantian language was in comparison to all the other languages. He had to smile. After all, the linguist had actually discovered the exact location of the city and led the team directly to it.
"Someone's having a good time."
Sora spun to his left and saw Helga talking with Rourke. "Like a kid at Christmas," the commander joked to his lieutenant.
Helga's grin faded. "Commander," she said with a hint of uncertainty. "There were not supposed to be people down here. This changes everything."
Rourke's grin transitioned into a frown. "This changes nothing."
Sora felt a sudden wave of anxiety rush through him. If what he had just heard was true, it appeared the commander and his lieutenant were hiding something. He had sensed this previously upon meeting Commander Rourke just before boarding the Ulysses submarine.
Sora shifted his focus to the road ahead. In the distance was the large mountain he'd seen through his binoculars. It was covered in lush, green vegetation throughout. A number of contained flames were situated on the cliffs surrounding it.
The caravan stopped at the base of the mountain, which Sora could see was really a tall pyramid. The young woman led the team up a long flight of stairs and to a stone doorway. A pair of guards opened the door for them. Inside, Sora was amazed at what he now saw.
A large pool of water laid at the center of the room with a spiral of stones in the middle. The remains of a giant statue were located on the far side. Situated before the ruins was a colorful canopy providing shade for a stone throne. A pile of various things was to the left of the throne.
Seated in the throne was an elderly man who seemed to be well over a thousand years old. He was half-bald, had a tattooed face, blind eyes, tanned skin, and long white hair and beard. He was wearing a long, blue robe and holding a long, wooden walking stick.
Sora stared at the man for a few seconds before Donald pushed him to his knees. "Sora, I told you to show some respect!" he scolded in a loud whisper.
Sora nodded with a sigh. This was the third time in the last year he had failed to show respect to someone of authority. First, he had simply said "Hey there!" to Master Yen Sid. Next, he had not saluted to Queen Minnie with Donald and Goofy. Thank goodness he had remembered to bow before Jasmine!
Then again, he recalled shouting at Sir Ector in the dreams of Camelot, although that incident hadn't really happened in the first place. It was all a dream, thus nothing more than simple illusions.
The young woman approached the ruler and started speaking to him. To Sora's surprise, he could comprehend every word the two were saying. How was this possible? He didn't know.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I have brought the visitors."
"You know the law, Kida. No outsiders may see the city and live."
"Father… these people may be able to help us."
"We do not need their help."
"But father… "
"That is enough. We will discuss this later."
Sora gulped a little bit loud. He saw Milo putting his notebook away. For some reason, the brown-haired Keyblader had the feeling this same young woman he had seen earlier was the princess of Atlantis. The reality of the current situation suddenly struck him. He had been healed by a princess — and not one of the seven Princesses of Heart! …Or had he? Whatever the case, he didn't wish to know what Kairi would have to say about it.
"Your Majesty," Rourke spoke up. "On behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city?"
The king of Atlantis shook his head. "You presume much to think you are welcome here."
Rourke smiled as friendly as possible. "Sir, we have come a long way looking for… "
"I know what you seek," the king interrupted Rourke. The princess looked down in sadness. "And you will not find it here. Your journey has been in vain."
"But we are peaceful explorers," Rourke tried to reassure the elderly man. "Men of science."
The king chuckled a little. He gazed at the gun in the commander's side-pocket. "And yet, you bring weapons."
As if on a cue, Sora's Keyblade appeared in his hand. The young man stared at it in alarm. He noticed the king staring at it with an open mouth. He hastily hid the weapon behind his back and smiled nervously.
Rourke shook his head before turning back to the king. "Our 'weapons' allow us to remove certain obstacles we may encounter."
The elderly man shook his head once more. "Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force." He rose to his feet and seemed to glare at Rourke and the others. "Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis — at once."
Rourke gave a smirked grin. "Your Majesty, be reasonable."
Milo turned to the commander. "Sir," the linguist perked up.
Rourke gave the young man a stern look. "Not now, son."
Sora approached the two. "C'mon, let Milo speak."
Rourke sighed. "What is it?"
"Trust me on this," Milo said. "We'd better do as he says."
Rourke paused in thought. For a few seconds, Sora thought the commander was about to make the wrong decision. He didn't wish to be captured and held prisoner in a city so far away from his own home back on the islands. "May I respectfully request that we stay one night, sir? That would give us time to rest, resupply, and be ready to travel by morning."
Sora could not believe his ears. What was Rourke doing? Such a request could be denied with a snap of the king's fingers. Within seconds, countless guards could be swarming the room and he, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad would be among the hostages.
The king of Atlantis snorted his disapproval. "Very well," he sighed deeply. "One night. That is all."
Rourke bowed politely with the others. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The team turned to leave. As Sora left with his friends, he glanced back. The princess was watching them leave, a look of disappointment evident on her face. It almost seemed like she was about to shed lots of tears.
Sora turned away and followed the others out the doorway. He didn't want to watch a girl crying. If he did, he'd feel really guilty — just like if he'd let them done. It was one of his weak spots. Fortunately for him, it seemed Maleficent and Pete were yet to discover this fact.
The guards shut the doorway behind the crew members.
Kida was on the verge of tears. After watching the newcomers stroll out through the entrance, she felt so discouraged. Not only had all hope to restore the city of Atlantis seemingly vanished, but her father — the king himself — had refused to even try asking them.
"Your heart has softened, Kida," she heard her father say from behind. "A thousand years ago, you would have slain them on sight."
Kida had had enough. She spun around and frowned at her father. "A thousand years ago, the streets were lit, there were no monsters roaming about, and our people did not have to scavenge for food on the edge of a crumbling city!"
"The people are content," her father replied.
Kida was about to yell at him through her sorrow. It took everything she had to hold it back. "They do not know any better! Don't you see?! We were once a great people! Now, we live in ruins! There is no hope for us on our own!"
Her father scowled. "Kida… "
Kida's clenched fists loosened. "If these outsiders can unlock the secrets of our past, perhaps we can save our future."
Her father shook his head. He strolled up to her. "What they have to teach us, we have already learned."
Kida's tears were now starting to show. "Our way of life is dying — as is our Light!"
"Our way of life is preserved," her father countered. "So is our Light." He sighed. "Kida, when you take the throne, you will understand."
Kida crossed her arms and turned around. She heard her father's footsteps as he stepped back to the throne. She gazed at the closed doorway.
If her father wouldn't do anything, perhaps she would. Yes, she would. She would go out there, find the two young men she'd met in the cavern earlier, and ask for their help. Then, and only then, might things finally get straightened out in the kingdom. Perhaps their world's Light could still be saved….
A/N: THE END! ...FOR NOW! THAT IS, UNTIL CHAPTER 10 COMES ALONG!
I sincerely apologize for writing such an Intense Sequence earlier on in the Chapter, but I just had to go with the story's flow. That's why the firefly sequence might seem darker than in the movie (or at least it appears that way to me). The same goes for Sora's Dream/Nightmare sequence at the start of This Particular Chapter.
So, I suppose you already know, but I will say it anyway.
Anna and Elsa are from Disney's "FROZEN (2013)".
Piglet is from "Winnie The Pooh And The Blustery Day" (That WAS his first appearance in Disney!).
The Auburn-Haired Girl who attacks the man in black during Sora's dream is one of My Original Characters. She also appeared in "Kingdom Hearts - World Unto Dreams", so you can look for her there!
You are probably wondering why Sora can understand spoken Atlantian. Am I correct? Also, why did King Nedakh (Yes, that's his name. I looked it up on Disney Wikia) seem to notice Sora's Keyblade? All those answers SHOULD be revealed in the next few Chapters.
In addition, I have calculated This Story to be about 70 Chapters by the time it is completed. Now THAT is a LOT of Chapters! Isn't it? This means a Minimum of 4 Reviews posted on each Chapter will allow all of us to meet the Goal(s) for the Sequel AND The Secret Ending!
Until Then, I'll See You Next Time!
To put it in simplest [Sora's] terms, 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!"