DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: HELLO THERE! WELCOME BACK! I BROUGHT CHAPTER 19 WITH ME!
Thank you so very much for being patient. The adjustment of taking classes, restoring my computer when it crashed two weeks ago, and the pressure of getting this Chapter done before September ends is why I haven't been posting for while.
Well, I am sure most or all of you already know about this. Square Enix recently announced "Kingdom Hearts -2.8 HD ReMIX-" for PlayStation 4. Since "Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance" will be included in HD, it's got my name on it! As for the other two parts, I'm not sure... "Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover" sounds interesting. Yet, it's "Kingdom Hearts -0.2 Birth By Sleep-" that doesn't sound as fascinating. This might be because watching Aqua in the Realm of Darkness doesn't exactly feel like a real KH story to me. It only sounds like part of one.
Other than that, I think This Chapter is pretty much self-explanatory. So much for an extensive opening sequence!
So, it's time to read on. PLEASE READ ON! PLEASE REVIEW, TOO!
CHAPTER 19
To The Court of Miracles!
The night air felt cool, which was to be expected. When Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi opened the cathedral doors, they stepped out from a shadowy interior to a dark exterior. Up above, the sky was mostly clear. A small handful of stars were twinkling in the empty abyss. The dim light of the crescent moon gave enough light to illuminate the cobblestone streets of the city. The only scent any of them could pick up was the strong smell of Darkness. The shouting and screaming had ceased, which meant everyone in town had drifted off to sleep.
Being the first through the open doorway, Sora strode out and gazed around the immediate area. The square was deserted, with the exception of some maypoles, a circular tent or two, and stacks of crates. The townhouses on the other side of the plaza rose so high, the rooftops appeared to be silhouettes in the moonlight.
"No Heartless," Sora said with a sigh of relief. He glanced back inside the cathedral. "All clear."
One by one, Donald, Goofy, Amemi, and Launchpad crept outside. Amemi looked a tab nervous. Sora knew why. Ever since the night of the terrible storm, his sister had developed a fear of being out after dark. For all he knew, her fears were true. Heartless could appear at any time, without warning… or was that the same thing?
Sora shook his head to clear it. He started to walk down the steps. He paused and glanced back at the open doorway. The others were still standing there. Phoebus was now stepping out.
"Come on," the spikey-headed young man called. "We've gotta find Esmeralda!"
Donald was shaking with a nervous look on his face. Goofy was no different. "We're just sorta… scared," the knight informed the others.
Launchpad was the only one who seemed fearless. "Heh, I've helped DW beat all sorts of guys in the darkness," he declared with pride. "Of course, we were in a city with electric lights… and cars… and people everywhere… "
The pilot looked a little anxious. Sora shook his head. This delay was getting them nowhere. How could they track down the hidden Court of Miracles if everyone else was scared beyond belief? There wasn't much time. They had to move out — now!
Phoebus started down the cathedral steps. "There is nothing to be worried about," he assured the group. He gazed at the bell towers looming overhead. "Even without him, we can still warn Esmeralda and the other gypsies before Frollo gets to the Court of Miracles."
Sora gave a nod. It was then he noticed the silhouette of a figure clambering down the outside of the building. He was about to say something when the figure hopped off the wall and landed in the middle of the group on the steps. Everyone leapt back in complete surprise.
"Phoebus!" the figure said in a soft, calm voice. "I'm coming with you."
Phoebus and the others gave sighs of relief. "I'm glad you changed your mind," the former guard said.
Quasimodo looked directly at him. "I'm not doing it for you," he stated. "I'm doing it for her."
Amemi crossed her arms. "Do you have any clue where Esmeralda might be?"
"No, but she gave me this pendant," Quasimodo replied. He reached into his shirt and held up a small, oval pendant. Sora stared at it for a moment. The object looked like a hand-woven grid with a cross-like symbol in the middle. A thin blue line seemed to circle it. To the right of the cross-like symbol was a similar, smaller symbol. "She said this would help us find her."
Phoebus grinned at the item. "Good, good, good! Ahhh. Great!" He paused for a moment, examining it. "What is it?"
Quasimodo shrugged. "I'm not sure."
Donald was puzzled. "Why not?"
Quasimodo shrugged. Phoebus started to ponder. "Hmm… must be some sort of code," the blond-haired man thought aloud. "Maybe it's Arabic. …No, no, it's not Arabic. Maybe it's Ancient Greek… "
Sora crossed his arms in thought. Something seemed off. Before he could consider what it was, Amemi leaned in close to him. "Why would Esmeralda give Quasimodo a pendant without explaining how it works?" she asked.
Sora shrugged. His sister backed away. He took note of how Donald was tapping his foot, Goofy was sitting on the steps, thinking, and Launchpad was lying on the ground with his legs crossed and arms behind his head.
Quasimodo gazed at the trinket in consideration. "'When you wear this woven band,'" he muttered out loud. "'You hold the city in your hand."
At once, the bell ringer gasped. This drew everyone else's attention to him. "It's the city!" he declared. "It's a map! See?" He pointed at larger symbol, followed by the blue line. "Here's the cathedral, and the river."
Phoebus was unconvinced. He frowned at Quasimodo. "I've never seen a map that looks like this."
"Yeah," Goofy spoke up as he wandered over. "It sure looks funny."
Quasimodo frowned at Phoebus. "I've lived up in the bell tower for twenty years. I know what this city looks like, and this is it!"
He pointed at the pendant rather forcefully. The two each took a deep breath. They remained frowning at one another. Phoebus sighed very deeply. "All right, okay," the blond-headed man finally said. "You say it's a map. Fine, it's a map."
He took a deep breath. "If we're all going to find Esmeralda, we have to work together. Truce?"
Phoebus slapped Quasimodo on the back. Quasimodo paused for a minute. He finally answered, "Well… okay."
He slapped Phoebus on the back in turn. The latter winced from the pain. "Sorry," Quasimodo apologized.
"No you're not," Phoebus groaned, clutching his left arm.
Sora had to shake his head. The two men were reacting to each other in a similar manner to how Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner had behaved. Clearly, they were also a pair of unlikely friends.
"We'll help, too," Sora called. He glanced at his teammates. "Right guys?"
Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all nodded. Sora turned back to the two men. "So… what does the little thing mean?"
Quasimodo looked back at the pendant. He grinned with delight. "It's the Court of Miracles!"
Phoebus grinned. "Well done, Quasimodo!"
"Yeah!" Sora cheered. "Nice one, Quasi!"
Quasimodo nodded. "Right. I'm going to save her."
Amemi signaled for the group to head down the street. "In that case, come on. Let's get going."
Quasimodo and Phoebus nodded before they led the way down the darkened street. Sora and his team were directly behind them. When the two men started to disagree on which route to take to their destination, Amemi strode up to her brother.
"Some 'peace treaty'," she whispered to him.
Sora gave her a simple reply. "Yeah… you're right."
Amemi smiled. "As usual."
Sora rolled his eyes and shook his head. He had often seen his sister trying to prove she was smarter than he was. Once, when she was five years old, she had borrowed some thick textbooks from the town library. She couldn't understand some of the words in them. In fact, only their dad could make sense of it all. Perhaps, it was for the best when their mom dragged her back to the library to return the books two hours later.
Another time, Amemi had slipped into the local license branch to get a boating license. She had amazingly passed the test and was given a boat. When he had seen the boat, Sora had been startled. Not only had it been pink, it was later revealed to be an old yacht with a series of tiny leaks. It didn't help when Sora had learned the boat's name was Minnow IV. The next night, a strong storm had struck the island. When he'd gone to the docks with his sister the following morning, the yacht was long gone. It had vanished under the waves during the turbulent night.
Although there were more such times when Amemi had caused some problems unintentionally, Sora decided to stop recollecting and get refocused on the task at hand. They had to get to the Court of Miracles before daybreak and Frollo and the Heartless invaded it. They just had to rescue Esmeralda — no matter what!
The deserted streets weren't so empty. As Sora led his team down the roads through the city, they had to occasionally duck behind a stack of crates, lean against the shadows on a wall, or hide behind a barrel or two whenever a soldier passed by. At one point, they saw Pete marching through down a side-street. He was grumbling to himself about this and that and Maleficent.
Before long, the group neared the edge of the town. A large gate laid across a wide plaza. Sora recognized it. On the other side was the bridge where he and Amemi had first encountered the gigantic Heartless. In the middle of the square was a small well. Above the rooftops were a few, thin pillars of smoke. A faint glow could be seen beyond the gate and the stone walls on either side of it. The brown, spikey-headed seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder knew there were still a few burning buildings in the distance. Chances were they had been caused by the Heartless as it had swooped through the city earlier that day.
It didn't matter now. Sora was already picking up strong stenches from everywhere around him. After his journey through the Realm of Sleep, he had come to know exactly what it was.
Darkness. The scent of powerful Darkness was still lingering around. Unless he and his friends hurried, this world was about to fall into Darkness. Just like his island once had. A star would stop twinkling and go out. If it happened, who could say it wouldn't happen again? Sora refused to think about it. He was not about to let another world fall to Darkness — especially when he was already in it!
Sora continued to lead the others into the plaza. Amemi suddenly stopped. Her eyes were wide with alarm. "Sora! Look!"
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Quasimodo, and Phoebus came to a halt. They turned to see what direction the sandy-haired teenager was pointing. They swung their eyes in said direction. To Sora's surprise, a set of strong vines were growing over the gate. Another set started to grow over a nearby house. A third set formed over the well in the middle of the area. A number of Heartless suddenly appeared. Sora frowned in annoyance.
These Heartless were shaped like dandelion flowers. Some were green with four yellow petals. There were a few that resembled people possessing violet-colored petals with thorns on their arms and legs.
Sora summoned his Keyblade. "Move it!" he shouted at the Heartless horde.
Nothing happened. "Gawrsh," Goofy spoke up. "Are ya sure ya didn't call 'em, Sora?"
Sora turned to glare at the knight. "Of course not!" he barked. "Why would I have anything to do with the Heartless?!"
Goofy paused for a moment. "I'm jest kinda worried… "
Sora rolled his eyes and switched his attention to Quasimodo and Phoebus. "Take cover!" he ordered.
The two men nodded and rushed to find shelter. In the meantime, Donald pulled out his wand, Goofy pulled out his large shield, and Launchpad got out his gas-gun. Amemi reached into her jacket pocket and took out her slingshot. "Let's clear the way!" Sora declared.
He rushed straight ahead, clutching his Keyblade tightly in his hands. Donald ran to the left towards some Heartless gathered at the house. Goofy was not far behind the duck. Launchpad charged to the right, where nothing was located. Amemi saw all this and sighed. She held up her slingshot and ran in the direction her brother had gone.
Sora slashed his Keyblade clear through a small group of Heartless. They shivered for a moment before vanishing into Darkness. Several more showed up to take their place. Sora snarled at the enemies as he sliced his weapon through them. Once again, more Heartless appeared to the replace the defeated ones. Sora gave a deep sigh of annoyance as he continued to fight a seemingly-endless supply of monsters. Through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Donald battling away.
With a twirl of his wand, Donald sent a ball of fire into a Heartless and incinerated it. He spun around and used a chunk of ice on another Heartless. Next, he sent a barrage of lightning to remove several other creatures. He started panting as the Heartless' numbers began doubling. He was starting to run low on magic… and energy.
SLAM! Goofy sent his shield banging straight into one of the dozens of flower-shaped Heartless. He proceeded to toss the weapon into a few more. When some additional Heartless appeared, he shouted, "Oh, boy-o!"
With his arms stretched out and legs close together, the knight spun himself in a circle. Away he went, spinning like a top. The result was a makeshift vortex that sucked several Heartless in. Nearby, Launchpad saw what Goofy was doing and shot at the enemies with his gas-gun. The creatures vanished into thin air and Darkness. Launchpad wiped his forehead. "Phew!" he muttered. "Hope that's the last of 'em… "
Several Heartless rose out of the cobblestone ground. Launchpad crossed his arms in annoyance. "Aw gee… "
Amemi raced around the area. She had to frequently use her slingshot to knock a Heartless or two back. At the moment, she was being chased to the well. She skidded to a stop before the stone spring. She turned around. A large group of Heartless were rising from the ground, surrounding her. She was trapped.
"Help" was the first thing that crossed her mind. The next thing was "I got this". She held out her slingshot and aimed it at the approaching creatures. In a loud voice, she shouted, "Time for me to 'Word up'!"
She leapt into the air and shot at each and every Heartless as she flipped around and around. The monsters were terminated one by one until there were none left — except a flower-shaped one with four petals. Amemi pointed her weapon at it and shot it into oblivion. The Heartless exploded into Darkness. At the same time, the vines clutching the well wilted and cracked apart. They vanished into Darkness.
"So that's how it's done," Amemi marveled. She spotted her brother busy slashing his Keyblade through a group of Heartless not ten feet away. He was in front of the house that was covered in the thick vines. Among the Heartless was another flower-shaped creature with four petals.
"Sora!" she called out. "I have an idea!"
She raced over to him.
Sora spun his head to the left. To his surprise, Amemi was rushing over, slingshot in hand. His first instinct was to order her to stay back. These Heartless were strong and putting up quite a fight. They were dangerous — too dangerous for his sister to deal with. He had to warn her.
"Amy!" Sora yelled at his sister. "Stay back! They're too dangerous!"
Amemi kept coming. Before Sora could speak again, he watched the sandy-haired girl leap into the air and shout a series of words he instantly recognized.
"Time for me to 'Word up'!"
He froze, wondering where he'd heard that phrase before…. In the meantime, he saw the Heartless were destroyed in no time, with the exception of a flower-shaped Heartless with four golden petals. In one swift move, he tossed his Keyblade at it. The creature was destroyed in a hurry. Moments later, the thick vines covering the house to his right withered away and crumbled into Darkness.
Sora was startled. Had his only sister discovered how to get through the Heartless horde — all by herself?! Perhaps he had been a little over-protective of her? Probably… not. He'd promised his mom nothing would happen to her — no matter what! He was going to keep that promise.
In the meantime, she had cleared the area of the constantly-appearing Heartless… she could help him clear the remaining areas, too. Through the corner of his eye, Sora saw the silhouette of a man waving "Thank You!" from an upper floor of the house. Sora showed his famous grin and waved back. He switched his attention to the last large group of Heartless. They were all gathered by the gate. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were already there and surrounded by the creatures. Amemi was charging into the fray with her slingshot in hand.
Never one to miss out on such excitement, Sora gripped his Keyblade tightly and rushed over. One of the Heartless turned its focus on the approaching spikey-haired young man and started towards him. He swung his weapon at the monster and obliterated it. Next, he sliced his Keyblade clear through three Heartless simultaneously. After that, he slashed the blade straight into seven small, bluish flower Heartless.
He started to pant. This battle was now starting to take its toll. True, he was the Keyblade's wielder… but that didn't mean he wasn't human. Let alone prone to exhaustion. He'd had an event-filled day, and now it was late at night.
Before long, Sora realized he was surrounded by a small number of Heartless. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were standing beside him, each with their weapons out. His vision started to blur. Everything started to spin. The last thing he saw before collapsing onto his back was Amemi leaping into the air….
"Amy, would you please turn it down?"
"I can't! It's the best part!"
"What?"
"She's going up against the giant robot! Go WordGirl!"
"Never mind… I'm going outside, in case Mom wants to know."
Sora's eyes fluttered open at a snail's pace. He yawned and jolted awake when something wet splashed on his face. His vision came into focus to see Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi staring down at him. Beyond them, the sky was filled with strange-looking clouds.
"Sora?" Goofy asked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Sora replied as he slowly sat up. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling a sharp pain there. "What happened?"
"You fainted," Donald explained. He pointed at the well in the middle of the plaza. "Launchpad used a bucket of water from the well."
"It really was splashy," Launchpad chuckled.
Sora gazed at his sister. "When I blacked out, you were jumping. What happened?"
"Easy," Amemi answered. "I thought about how WordGirl would respond and jumped onto each Heartless. It wasn't hard."
Goofy looked at the sandy-haired girl. "What's 'Wordy-Earl'?"
Amemi crossed her arms. She looked serious. "Her name is WordGirl," she emphasized. "She's a superheroine from the planet Lexicon. She's strong, fast, and knows every word in existence." She smiled. "I've admired her for years… "
Sora leaned in close to the knight's floppy ear. "She watches the show every time it comes on."
"A-Hyuck," Goofy remarked. "Sounds purty. Wodry-Girl must be nice."
"And she's a girl," Launchpad indicated. He paused in thought. "I wonder if she knows Fonzie… "
Amemi shook her head. She reached into one of her jacket pockets and pulled out a yellow, miniature iPad. She pressed a button and it turned on. She turned the screen toward the group. "See this? That's WordGirl and her sidekick, Captain Huggy Face."
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all stared at the screen. The image was of a girl about ten years old soaring through the sky. She had shoulder-length, dark-brown hair that curled up at the ends and bangs with a small gap in the center, light-brown skin, and a circular face. She was wearing a red suit with a red star emblazoned on a golden shield on her chest, a matching circular helmet, a golden cape, a matching belt, and dark-red boots and gloves. Hanging onto her shoulders was a short monkey wearing a blue body suit with a thunderbolt symbol on its chest, dark-red shorts, a golden belt, and a dark-red helmet with an antennae.
"Gawrsh," Goofy muttered aloud. "She looks like a superhero."
Donald rolled his eyes. "She is a superhero! Amemi said so."
"Oh yeah! A-Hyuck!"
"Looks like DW in another world," Launchpad chuckled. "Only in the daytime. Is she real?"
Amemi shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I hope she is. I've always wanted to meet her."
Sora was now on his feet. He shook his head. "And you can't," he said. "She's in a TV show. There's no way inside one of those."
Amemi crossed her arms again. She frowned at her brother. "You don't know that, Sora," she stated. "WordGirl has to be real! There's no other way she could appear on TV. Remember what Dad said?"
"What'd he say?" Donald and Goofy inquired at the same time.
Amemi smiled. "A few years ago, Dad told Sora and me how everything you see on TV is out there somewhere. Somewhere beyond our own world. Maybe in another universe."
Launchpad chuckled. "Maybe I can meet Gilligan on day."
"It's true," Amemi added. "Sora told me he'd met someone from a place called 'Cyberspace'. There's a TV show called 'CYBERCHASE'. It's about boy named Matt, two girls named Jackie and Inez, and a bird named Digit who have to save Cyberspace from a villain named Hacker."
She gazed at her brother. "I believe this proves my point. TV shows are from other universes."
Sora sighed. "Whatever. We gotta get moving."
He started for the gate, which was no longer blocked by the vines. He knew this meant his sister had terminated the Heartless controlling them. What a relief! Then again… maybe not so much. He was tired of listening to his sister giving extensive explanations of stuff. Was she really that naïve? All this stuff she talked about wasn't real… or was it? He didn't know and didn't care — at least at the moment.
"Hey," Sora said as he whirled his head back and forth. "Where's Quasi and Phoebus?"
"They went on ahead," Donald spoke up.
Sora was startled. "What?!"
"You was sleepin'," Goofy elaborated. "We was worried, so they went on ahead."
Sora sighed. "Great. Now how will we find the Court of Miracles? Quasi has the map."
"Phoebus said they were heading for a cemetery," Amemi explained. She clicked off her iPad and put it away. She pointed at the gate. "Let's go."
"Wait," Sora spoke up. "We need to stay together — no matter what."
When the others nodded, the spikey-headed youth relaxed a little. Here he'd been quite tense following the battle with the Heartless… the unexpected Heartless battle. Was Goofy correct? Had he been using the powers of Darkness? Was he really responsible for the Heartless showing up suddenly? No way! It had to be a coincidence! …Or was it?
"C'mon, let's get going," Sora told his companions. The other nodded again. They carefully opened the gate and hurried through. From there, they dashed down a long bridge over a shadow-covered river. Beyond the bridge, they crept through the town's outskirts, avoiding the remains of a couple of charred houses. The whole time, the sky seemed to be gradually growing darker and darker and darker and darker and darker and darker….
It wasn't long before Sora's team finally reached a cemetery on the edge of the town. The place was located on a gentle slope leading into the countryside. An iron fence surrounded the site. As they walked through, Sora noticed how anxious Donald and Goofy looked. Launchpad was grinning nervously and Amemi was keeping her eyes peeled from any more trouble. It didn't help when they saw many of the tombstones were positioned at odd angles. At least there weren't any bones lying around….
…Unlike Halloween Town. Sora recalled how nervous Donald and Goofy had been when the three had first arrived in the spooky town nearly two years before. Donald had indicated how they also looked scary so they could blend in with their surroundings. This had only made the brown, spikey-haired Keyblade wielder grin. He hadn't felt any fear in that place. True, there were ghosts, vampires, and zombies wandering about. But that was normal. None of them were dangerous, harmful, or threatening. In fact, they were rather nice; they just loved to scare people. An occasional scream could be heard here and there as the group had strolled through the town's square, which was to be expected. Even when Jack Skellington, the town's leader, had announced they were also going to handle Christmas, he'd been eager to find out more while Donald and Goofy were very, very, very anxious about the idea.
Even now, as Sora led his team through the cemetery, he could almost hear the muffled screams of a ghost or two. Obviously it was his imagination… or was it? It didn't matter.
At the top of the highest hill was a rather large tomb. When Sora and the others approached, they saw the flicker of a flame coming from beside it. Two figures were standing over the tomb. One was a tall, blonde-haired man holding a torch. The other was a young man who was hunched over. Sora relaxed, knowing it was only Quasimodo and Phoebus.
Phoebus noticed the group as they approached. He smiled and pointed them out to Quasimodo. "You took your time," the ex-soldier said. "It's a good thing we chose to wait."
Sora grinned with slight humiliation. "Yeah, well… we're here now."
He glanced at a symbol carved into the side of the tomb. "Hey, isn't that the symbol from Quasi's map?"
"Yes, it is," Quasimodo confirmed. "What does it mean?"
"I dunno," Goofy shrugged.
Donald gave the knight a stern look. "What do you know?"
Goofy placed his hand on his face in thought. "Hmm… Good question."
Sora rolled his eyes and turned back to the others. His eyes fell upon some words written beneath the symbol. "Huh? What's that?" he asked, pointing out the text.
Phoebus held the torch closer. "An inscription."
"What does it say?" an eager Amemi inquired.
"I'm not sure," Phoebus admitted. "It's going to take a few minutes to translate it."
Goofy leaned in closer to the tomb. Launchpad did the same. Sora to step back when the two leaned on the grave's top. Without warning, the stone lid started to move. Goofy fell into the opening as Launchpad absent-mindedly pushed it open the rest of the way. Goofy's voice started echoing as he fell. "Yeow-hoo-hoo-hoo-ee!"
The sound of the knight falling down something clunky filled the air. Sora rushed back to the open gave. To his surprise, a stone staircase led straight down into darkness. "Goofy!" he called. "You alright?"
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy's voice called back. "Boney and wet!"
Amemi, Donald, Quasimodo, and Phoebus all peered into the dark staircase. In turn, Launchpad looked down and chuckled. "I didn't know tombs had so many passages," the pilot said.
"Yes," Phoebus quickly said. "Well, or we could just go down those stairs."
Amemi was concerned. "Do you know where they lead?"
"No, but we have no other leads."
The sandy-haired girl crossed her arms. "I suppose that makes sense," she admitted. "WordGirl would have done the same thing."
"Who?" Quasimodo asked.
"Let's save that for another time," Sora rapidly stated. "We've gotta find Esmeralda."
Everyone else agreed. Sora led the way down the stairs. Donald and Launchpad each pulled out a flashlight and flipped them on. Amemi reached into her pocket and took out a headlamp. She smiled a little, recalling this was something her mom had given her for passing her scuba-diving class. She hastily put it around her head and headed down into the ground after the others.
The underground corridor was dark, damp, and cluttered — with bones. Tiny insects were crawling about, mainly spiders. The ceiling was low and crafted carefully from stone. The group started to wade through ankle-deep water as they reached Goofy. The knight was leaning on a pile of bones shaped like a chair. "A-Hyuck," he remarked when he saw them.
"Goofy," Sora spoke up. "Is there anyone down here?"
The knight gestured around. "Well, kinda. But all them guys are dead."
Through the light of Phoebus's torch and Donald and Launchpad's flashlights, Sora saw what Goofy had meant. The walls of the passage were lined with the bones of countless people. The whole display seemed extremely uninviting. Not even Jack Skellington or Sally would have come down there without feeling a little anxious. He noticed Amemi was quivering a little. He knew this only happened whenever she was uncomfortable or something straight out of a horror story or movie. Even Donald and Launchpad looked spooked. Goofy's eyes were wide and he was sweating. Sora knew someone needed to be fearless in this situation. That would probably have to be him.
He turned to Phoebus. "Where are we?"
"Is this the Court of Miracles?" Quasimodo added.
"Offhand, I'd say it's the Court of Ankle Deep Sewage," Phoebus joked. "Must be the old catacombs."
"Weird," Sora commented as he gazed around the area. All he could see in the distance was pitch-black darkness. Amazingly, there were no Heartless in sight. He wondered why this was the case. Everywhere else, Heartless had been popping out from nowhere. Now, there were none. How could this be?
The group trudged down the passage. The further down they went, the darker the tunnel seemed to get. The water was getting shallower, which was a plus. After about five minutes, Phoebus grinned. "Cheerful place," he said. "Kinda makes you wish you got out more often, eh?"
Sora rolled his eyes. Amemi shook her head. "Do I really have to answer?" she asked.
"Not me," Quasimodo declared. "I just want to warn Esmeralda and get back to the bell tower. I don't want to get in any more trouble."
Phoebus glanced around with his torch. "Speaking of trouble, we should have run in to some by now."
The group halted in their footsteps. "What do ya mean?" Goofy asked.
"You know," Phoebus replied. "A guard, a booby trap… "
Phoebus's torch suddenly went out. At the same time, Donald and Launchpad's flashlights flipped off. So did Amemi's headlamp. They could see nothing but pitch-darkness. "…or an ambush," Phoebus finished.
A series of torches lit up from above. Before anyone could react, a group of figures dressed as skeletons leaped down from above. In an instant, Sora summoned his Keyblade and hopped in front of Amemi. Donald pulled out his wand, Goofy took out his shield, and Launchpad held up his gas-gun. The four surrounded the nearly-fourteen-year-old girl. The skeleton-figures ignored the group and grabbed Phoebus and Quasimodo.
Another figure emerged from the shadows. To Sora's surprise, it was a tall, thin man with black hair and a beard. He was wearing a purple/light blue hat with a yellow feather, black gloves, a crimson mask, and clothing with indigo, yellow, and crimson colors. Sora remembered him from the festival; he'd been the one who'd declared Launchpad the winner of a certain contest.
"Well, well, well," the man said. He had a serious look in his eyes, even though he was grinning. "What have we here?"
"Trespassers!" one of the figures said.
"Spies!" a second added.
Phoebus scowled. "We're not spi—!"
A pair of gags were placed over the pair's mouths. "Don't interrupt me!" the black-headed man scolded. "You're very clever to have found our hideaway. Unfortunately, you won't live to tell the tale."
Realizing there was about to be some trouble, Sora nodded to his teammates to follow him. He swiftly led them down the side of the corridor to a side tunnel. The passage was short and probably had a dead end. From this spot, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were able to watch as the figures holding Quasimodo and Phoebus removed their masks to reveal a handful of people wearing colorful bandannas and earrings. Sora thought they resembled Esmeralda. He wondered if they were the gypsies everyone in the town had been talking about.
The flashlights in Donald and Launchpad's pockets suddenly came back on. Amemi's headlamp did the same. The latter yawned. Goofy and Launchpad did the same. Soon Donald was yawning and stretching. Sora felt a yawn coming and barely held I back. He froze. Why was everyone suddenly getting so sleepy?
He gazed towards the back of the tunnel. "Amy, point your light down there… "
Amemi turned her eyes down the dark tunnel. Less than ten feet away was a strange, purple container. A pinkish mist was flowing out of it. The mist was surrounding the group. Sora took a deep breath and nearly fainted from a dizzy spell. His eyes lit up. This mist… it was sleeping magic!
He immediately re-summoned his Keyblade and charged at the container. He sliced the blade clear through the object. It shattered and exploded. Pieces of glass flew everywhere. Sora jumped back and banged straight into Goofy. The two landed into Launchpad, followed by Donald, and finally Amemi. The group were now lying on the ground in a pile.
Sora gave a relieved sigh. "That was close."
"Where'd that thing come from?" Goofy asked.
"Who knows?" Donald said. He nudged into Launchpad's shoulder. "How about getting off?!"
"You're lucky, Donald," Amemi complained. She tried to pull herself out by clawing at the ground before her, but couldn't. "I'm stuck on the bottom!"
Sora grinned. "Oh! Sorry, guys."
He hopped onto his feet. Goofy was next, followed by Launchpad. Donald wobbled for a moment before he regained his balance. Amemi was the last one up. Sora walked over and offered her his hand. She shook her head. "I can do it by myself," she stated.
Sora looked back into the main tunnel. The gypsies were gone, along with Phoebus and Quasimodo. "Come on," he announced. "We've got to find them."
"Yeah," Donald agreed.
"They might be headin' for that there Court of Miracles place," Goofy added.
Sora marched into the main passage and hurried deeper down the tunnel. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were seconds behind. Amemi glanced back for a moment. She was still thinking about where the mysterious flask had come from. Who had put it there? She finally decided it was a topic for another day. With her headlamp working, she dashed down the tunnel after the others. The group's feet splashed loudly as they raced along the corridor.
Somewhere not far behind, a group of figures started down the passage. Among them was a large, cat-like man, a trio of hooded individuals, and a tall, older man wearing dark robes….
The catacombs were like a long, twisted maze. Every turn Sora and the others made seemed to lead straight to a dead end. Each time they turned back, there was another dark wall. After nearly three minutes, it seemed they were hopelessly lost. It did not help that there were very few landmarks. At one point, Donald's flashlight landed on a jumble of bones in the form of a skull-and-crossbones. They had now passed it about four times.
"Man," Sora sighed, knowing they were most-likely going around in circles. "This place is too huge!"
Goofy looked around. "Looks like there ain't any Heartless down here."
"There haven't been any Heartless here," Donald stated, not realizing he was repeating the knight's claim.
Launchpad swung his flashlight around. The beam almost hit Sora's eyes. "Hey!" the brown, spikey-headed young man exclaimed as he covered his eyes with his left arm. "Watch it!"
"Gee, sorry," the muscular pilot chuckled nervously. "I thought I saw someone running down the tunnel ahead."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy all stared at him. "Huh?!" they said together.
Launchpad pointed his light down a passage leading to the right. In the distance, a faint glow could be seen. It appeared to be coming through the remains of something.
Amemi was staring at it with an astonished look in her eyes. "Light… at the end of the tunnel… "
"Yeah," Sora nodded. "Sounds like Kairi's grandma's story."
Amemi looked at her brother. "What?"
Sora shook his head in a hurry. "Nothing. Let's get going."
He led the way down the corridor. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were seconds behind. Amemi remained where she stood, deep in thought. What had her brother meant? Did he really like Kairi? Up until now, it had seemed Sora refused to say anything about it. Finally, he was admitted he did like Kairi… correct? She couldn't tell.
Something dropped a few feet to the right of her eyes. Amemi swung her head that way and froze. Her headlamp shone onto a large, red-and-yellow spider was dangling from its web. The critter was staring at her. It seemed to be licking its lips with delight when a fly flew past and got tangled in the web. The spider crawled back up its thread and trapped the smaller insect.
Amemi turned and dashed down the tunnel. She screamed.
The high-pitched scream echoed about the passage. Sora and his teammates swung their heads back. There was Amemi racing down the corridor at them. She slammed straight into Sora, causing the two to land flat onto the ground. Amemi sat up quickly as Sora did the same. She ducked behind her brother. "Help me!" she panicked.
Sora glanced back. Donald pointed his flashlight down the tunnel. The beam descended upon a tiny spider in a rather large web. The duck magician started laughing. "You're afraid of a spider," he laughed aloud.
Amemi glared at him. "That's not funny!" she snarled. "It was looking right at me!"
"It couldn't hurt you," Goofy pinpointed. "It sure looks tiny and harmless."
"I don't care," Amemi rapidly added. "I hate spiders!"
"Does this 'WordGirl' hate spiders, too?" Launchpad asked.
The sandy-headed teenager paused. She blushed a little. "Well… yes."
Sora hopped to his feet. "Come on, Amy, we can't worry about that." He pointed through the remains of a large, iron gate in the tunnel's side. "Look."
Amemi looked through the opening. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad did the same. They could see a humongous chamber with towering columns rising to the ceiling. The whole room was covered in golden cobblestones. A number of canvas tents were situated throughout the area alongside several covered wagons. The entire place seemed to resemble a cluttered marketplace, similar to one Sora, Donald, and Goofy had explored back in Agrabah. The main difference was this one was underground and had a tall, wooden scaffolding on one side. Two ropes tied into nooses dangled from the scaffolding.
At the moment, the thin, dark-haired man from earlier was standing on the scaffolding overlooking a large crowd of people. "Gather around, everybody!" the man called. "There's good 'noose' tonight! It's a double header — a couple of Frollo's spies!"
The crowd booed so loudly, Sora's team had to cover their ears. When they saw two men being brought onto the scaffolding, Sora's eyes lit up. These weren't spies; it was Quasimodo and Phoebus! "Quasi!" he declared out loud. "Phoebus!"
"And not just any spies," the man went on. "His captain of the guard, and his loyal, bell ringing henchman!"
The man started to go on and on about the legal system in the place. At the same time, Sora turned to the rest of his team. "We've got to do something!"
"But what?" Donald inquired.
Sora paused in thought for a brief moment. He sighed in annoyance. "I don't know! Let's do something! C'mon!"
He ran through the opening. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all glanced at one another. They shrugged and followed suit. Still new at this whole strategy, Amemi sighed before doing the same. They hurried through the chamber, avoiding eye contact with the locals. Ironically, no one seemed to pay them any mind. Either everybody was focused on the scaffolding display or Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were blending in with the crowd.
After wandering about for a few minutes, the group came to a stop. Not two feet from them was a young woman with long wavy black hair, medium skin, and emerald eyes. She was wearing a white top with a blue midsection, a purple skirt, and a matching piece of cloth tied in her hair. She was barefoot and had a few golden pieces of jewelry on her left ear, left wrist, right hand, and right ankle. Beside her was a white goat with a gold earring.
"Esmeralda!" Sora shouted as the group rushed ahead.
Esmeralda was startled to see the five approaching her so quickly. "Sora? What are you doing here?"
"Esmeralda," Sora repeated as he caught his breath. "Quasi and Phoebus are in trouble. Look!"
He pointed at the scaffolding. Esmeralda took one look and frowned. She dashed towards the front of the crowd. Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were close behind. The dark-haired man was about to pull a lever to open the trapdoors beneath Quasimodo and Phoebus. For a moment, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Sora's feet were moving at a snail's pace. The lever was moving slightly.
"Stop!" Esmeralda yelled. She ran up onto the scaffolding. The man was startled to see her, as was the rest of the crowd. Sora's team were seconds behind. "These aren't spies," the raven-haired woman explained. "They're our friends."
The man was shocked beyond recognition. "Why didn't they say so?!"
"We did say so!" Quasimodo and Phoebus stated as Goofy and Launchpad removed their gags.
Esmeralda pointed at Phoebus. "This is the soldier that saved the miller's family," she told the crowd. She then pointed at Quasimodo. "And Quasimodo helped me escape the cathedral."
The man gestured at Sora and his team. "But who are these people?"
"Sora," Sora announced. He gestured at each of his friends. "Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi. We've been fighting Frollo and a few others with him."
"We came to warn you!" Phoebus shouted to the crowd. "Frollo's coming! He says he knows where you're hiding, and he's attacking at dawn with a thousand soldiers."
The crowd screamed in alarm. "Then let's waste no time!" Esmeralda called. "We must leave immediately!"
"Go!" Sora shouted. "Leave while you still can!"
The crowd scattered about the chamber. They rushed around, grabbing everything they could and loading it into various forms of transportation. To Sora, the sight seemed to resemble last-second evacuations when a hurricane approaches land. That, and looters rummaging through ruined buildings after an earthquake.
Silence seemed to follow for the next few minutes. Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Esmeralda returned to the floor of the room. "You took a terrible risk coming here," the raven-headed young woman told them. "It may not exactly show, but we're grateful.
Phoebus grinned. Esmeralda then turned to look at Sora. "Thank you," she said.
Sora smiled. "It's no big deal," he said. He noticed Quasimodo was looking a little depressed. He sighed. This was the same look the bell ringer had shown earlier at the bell tower.
Phoebus must have noticed it, too. He moved Quasimodo closer to Esmeralda. "Don't thank me," he said. "Thank Quasimodo. Without his help, we would never have found this place."
"Yeah," Sora acknowledged. If it hadn't been for the map the young man had shown them, they never would have found their way to this underground chamber. Now it seemed Quasimodo was smiling. This was a good sign.
"Nor would I," a deep voice shouted from above. Everyone spun their attention toward the ruined gate. Standing at the entrance was the unmistakable figure of Judge Frollo. Beside him stood Pete and the Beagle Boys. At once, numerous soldiers charged into the chamber, weapons drawn. When the people saw them, they panicked and raced for the nearest exit. Unfortunately, there were soldiers already waiting at each and every exit. The crowd of people were cornered and soon seized by the soldiers.
An entire battalion or three surrounded Sora's team, Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus. They were startled and horrified. This had all happened so suddenly, there hadn't been any time to react. In the incident, Sora's Keyblade appeared in his hand. Wondering why, he swiftly took a look around the immediate area. When he saw the glowing, yellow eyes each soldier possessed (as well as the little red logo on each of their helmets), he gasped. "These aren't soldiers," he realized. "They're Heartless!"
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad pulled out their weapons. Phoebus pulled out a sword, but it was rapidly knocked out of his hand by one of the Heartless soldiers. The Heartless grabbed him in an instant.
Sora was shocked. Here he was outnumbered a thousand to one. Last time this had happened, he'd been clobbering enemies left and right in the Great Maw's valley. Now, he wasn't sure what to do — especially with Pete, the Beagle Boys, and Frollo so close. On top of all that, the Heartless were aimed with dangerous weapons. True, he was a skilled swordsman… but that didn't mean he should always rush in, especially under these rare circumstances.
No. He was trapped… for now.
Frollo showed an eerie grin as he strolled down a short flight of steps into the chamber. "After twenty years of searching, the Court of Miracles is mine at last," he marveled. Sora glared in anger. The corrupt man seemed to be enjoying every moment of his triumph.
Frollo walked through the barricade of Heartless and approached the group before him. He neared Quasimodo and slowed his pace. "Dear Quasimodo, I always knew you would someday be of use to me."
Quasimodo was frightened and worried. To Sora, he looked like he was suffering from a mixture of emotions.
"What are you talking about?" a furious Esmeralda demanded to know.
Frollo's grinned grew. "Why, he led me right to you, my dear."
"You're a liar!" Esmeralda yelled with a snarl. One of the Heartless grabbed her from behind.
Frollo came to a halt when he saw an outraged Phoebus before him. "And look what else I've caught in my net," he scoffed. "'Captain' Phoebus — back from the dead. Another miracle, no doubt. I shall remedy that."
Sora scowled. He felt a hand slap his cheek. The force of the impact sent him onto the floor. His Keyblade landed beside him. As he shook himself clear from the shockwave his head was feeling, Sora heard a familiar, unique laugh. "Well, well, what have I got?" the voice went on. Sora whirled his eyes to the side. There stood Pete, showing his infamous grin. "An annoying, pain-in-the-neck Key-brat who's too gullible and walked right into a simple trap!"
"Don't make fun of him!" Amemi shouted as she stormed up to the villain. "You're the one who is too prideful to get away with anything by yourself and always needs help!"
Pete was shocked someone had the nerve to stand up to him. Sora saw this and tried to tell his sister to back down. She wasn't paying him any attention. Pete was so angered by the sandy-haired girl's statement, he pointed at the Beagle Boys. "You three! Mangle this yardstick!"
The Beagle Boys drew their swords and charged at Amemi. In turn, the teenager spun around and dashed away from them. She dodged a few Heartless soldiers and continued to run. "WordGirl never had to deal with this!" she panted.
When the Beagle Boys were passing by, Sora whispered to Goofy. The clumsy Captain of The Guard reached out his leg and tripped all three hooded villains. They went sliding across the floor and slammed into a column, a covered wagon, and canvas tent. The tent collapsed.
Pete was furious when he saw Amemi fleeing towards the nearest exit. He pointed at Frollo. The judge snorted his disapproval. A cloud of Darkness suddenly formed around his body. A deafening ROAR filled the tunnel. Without warning, a gigantic creature appeared. It was shaped like a flying gargoyle with gun arms. It was mostly a dark-purple color. The face was marked by a blazing yellow jaw and dark-purple cheeks. The arms were dark shades of navy-blue wrapped in magenta chains. It had a whip-like tail with fiery red and navy-blue stripes that ended in a semicircular blade. The wings resembled stained glass windows. The Heartless emblem was located on its front on some dark-purple, belt-like bands around its waist.
"Huh?!" Pete exclaimed when he saw the Heartless' color scheme. "It changed again?!"
Sora recognized the Heartless from before. It was the same one that had attacked him and Amemi on the bridge. He turned his eyes in the direction his sister had ran. "Amy! Look out!"
Amemi turned his eyes back at her brother for a moment. It was then the Heartless spun itself forward like a spinning missile. The creature slammed one of its fists straight into the sandy-haired teenager's head. She instantly fell to the floor. She was not moving. The Beagle Boys rushed over and grabbed her body.
"AMY!" Sora hollered in alarm as he jumped to his feet. "AMEMI!"
He glared darker than ever before at Pete; his Keyblade positioned for a serious fight. Pete laughed evilly for a moment. The next, he stopped laughing and was starting to back away with worry. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were doing the same. Jiminy Cricket hopped out of the brown-haired youth's pocket and landed onto his shoulder. He then leaped onto Donald's hat and then into Goofy's vest pocket. If Sora could have seen himself, he would have noticed a very thin cloud of Darkness was erupting from his upper body….
Frollo turned around in a circle to see if he had everyone's attention. Seeing he did, he declared, "There will be a bonfire in the square tomorrow, and you're all invited to attend."
He turned to Pete. "Lock them up."
Pete signaled for the Heartless to do the same. He leaned in close to Frollo and whispered something. The judge's eyes lit up and he gave a sinister grin. "Of course, we shall," he said.
Some of the Heartless snatched Sora. The Keyblader was caught off his guard so much, his Keyblade fell to the ground and vanished. He was dragged away with his arms behind his back. When they saw this happening, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad put away their weapons and held their hands up high. The Heartless grabbed each of them and carried them away to the nearest exit.
As some of the Heartless took both Esmeralda and Phoebus away, Quasimodo fell to his knees before Frollo. "No, please, Master," he begged.
Frollo gave the young man a stern look. Quasimodo's eyes widened with the realization of one thing — betrayal. He looked down in despair. "No… "
Frollo turned to Pete. "Have the Heartless take him and Sora's 'friends' back to the bell tower, and make sure they stay there."
Pete saluted with glee. "Yessiree!"
As Frollo walked away, Pete gave a sinister grin. For once, everything was going his way. Maybe now, Maleficent would see how helpful and loyal he truly was. After all, she was monitoring this whole thing. He was sure this would score him high marks and enable her to see his usefulness. So much for being a "useless imbecile"! He would now be a "useful idiot"! Wait… that didn't sound right…. What did he mean?
The stars were still shining over the lonely structure of the Mysterious Tower. Riku was leaning against the wall of the circular study. Master Yen Sid was seated at his desk. His eyes were closed and his head was bowed forward as though in meditation. Mickey was seated in a small, wooden chair beside him. A magical portal was located on the far wall near the chalkboard. Riku already knew Niccole and Kairi were somewhere inside learning how to be effective Keyblade wielders.
A flash of flickering light came from the window. Mickey and Master Yen Sid immediately turned their focus to it. Riku did the same. They stared at the display. It was a rather bright star twinkling rapidly. Or was it blinking?
"Mickey," the silver-haired young man. "What's happening?"
"A star is blinking," Mickey replied in his usual high-pitched voice. "A world's in trouble! It could blink out!"
Riku stared at the star in alarm. Now he understood what this meant. A world was on the verge of falling to Darkness. He didn't know which world it was, only it was in danger. Hopefully Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were already there. Hopefully they were doing everything they could to prevent disaster. Hopefully he was worrying something was wrong all for nothing.
That's all Riku could do… hope Sora was doing something.
The exterior of the tower was quiet. No crickets were chirping. The water from a nearby well was flowing softly. Despite all this silence, Violet was keeping herself busy. She was lying on the ground near the stone well. Her arms were tucked behind her head and she was looking straight up at the stars. Her legs were stretched out and her wings were lying flat in the soft, green grass.
Her antennae started to vibrate. The angel looked up to the northern sky. To her surprise, a rather bright star was blinking rapidly. Either that or it was twinkling very strangely. She sensed Sora's heart from somewhere close to it… or within it.
She gasped. Maybe Sora was in trouble! "Come on, Sora," she urged, hoping her heart was reaching out to the spikey-headed young man's heart. "You can succeed! I am convinced you can!"
A/N: YIKES AND CRIPES! WHAT A TERRIBLE TURN-OF-EVENTS! SORA, DONALD, GOOFY, LAUNCHPAD, AND AMEMI HAVE BEEN CAPTURED! WHAT WILL BECOME OF LE VILLE DE SONNER LES CLOCHES NOW?!
FIND OUT - IN CHAPTER 20!
So, I think I should probably go over some things. After all, This Chapter was a particularly DARK ONE!
(1.) I tried to capture the mood of the scene by including dark descriptions for things. This includes the spiders.
(2.) The Heartless in the Town are similar to the Nightmares from "Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance", the ones that attacked the same area.
(3.) The maze in the catacombs was based on the puzzling layout used for the area in "Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance".
(4.) "WordGirl" is a reference to the PBSKIDSGO! show. So is "WORD UP!"
(5.) Yes, Amemi is afraid of spiders. She is also a huge fan of the show, "WordGirl" (which might be obvious). Why hasn't she shown this before? She didn't have a reason to!
(6.) Amemi is NOT dead - she's just unconscious!
(7.) Sora's using the power of DARKNESS! YIKES!
(8.) What did Pete whisper to Frollo?
(9.) Amemi's claims about other universes was not my idea. One my friends wanted me to include it, so I did. Who knows? It might actually work for This Story!
(10.) Will the world fall to Darkness? How will we find out?
Since School has been taking up so much time, please remain patient for a little while longer. I have only Started to write Chapter 20. I don't have anything else to say since my time is precious and I have run out of things to say - for now!
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!"