DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: I'M HERE! AND IN TIME TO SAY, "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!"
To Celebrate, here is CHAPTER 21! YIPPEE!
So, before I let you go on to read it, I wanted to say how I'm SURPRISED AT THE RECENT DECLINE IN REVIEWS! PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING! I understand it
isn't easy saying something about a Chapter. I sometimes wonder what to say when I read someone else's story.
It doesn't have to be a fancy, well-written review. Even a simple one will do!
For the record, I went to see "The Good Dinosaur (2015)" yesterday, so I can already picture "Kingdom Hearts" with it! Of course, as for MY stories, it might only be a Summon...
On the positive side, I also got "Inside Out (2015)" on DVD and I've been watching it multiple times! It's interesting to have a Blu-ray Disc in 3D!
Plus, I haven't been having a good last few weeks. Maybe it's time for a temporary break...
Well... don't worry about THAT! It's time...
...TIME TO READ ON! THIS CHAPTER REVEALS THE NEXT DISNEY-BASED WORLD IN THIS STORY! PLEASE READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! AND PLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSSSEEEE REVIEW, TOO!
CHAPTER 21
A Teenage Heroine In Middleton
Herbie continued to soar rapidly through space. The stars outside were twinkling ever so slightly. The serene view was before Sora's eyes as he sat in the front seat of the Gummi Ship. He would have been awestruck at the very sight of all these stars, just like he'd been nearly two years ago.
He would have… if it wasn't for the loud theme music playing throughout the vehicle.
"WORD UP! IT'S WORDGIRL!"
He covered his ears with his hands.
"WORD UP! IT'S WORDGIRL!"
He slammed his eyes shut and tried to keep the noise out. He could still make out the song's lyrics.
"FLYING AT THE SPEED OF SOUND! VOCABULARY THAT ASTOUNDS! FROM THE PLANET LEXICON!"
"WATCH OUT VILLAINS! HERE SHE COMES!"
Sora gave a deep sigh. Ever since he'd returned to the Gummi Ship with Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi, the last two anthropomorphic characters had begged his sister to share everything she knew about the fictional superheroine, WordGirl. Goofy was really impressed, saying things along the lines of, "A-Hyuck! She sounds sweet… and purty!"
"She's my kinda girl!" Launchpad had declared. "And I haven't even seen her in person."
Only Donald had rolled his eyes when Amemi had searched through a list of shows and movies in Herbie's database. Unfortunately for Sora, she had found the first six seasons of the show and an hour-long movie. Per Goofy's recommendation, they were now watching some of Amemi's favorite episodes, which could've been all of them.
In fact, they'd been watching the show nonstop since leaving La Ville De Sonner Les Cloches. It was now starting to really annoy Sora. Through the corner of his eye, Sora saw Launchpad had a pair of headphones on and a CD player in his lap. He started to envy him; at least the pilot did not have to go through this annoying, deafening theme song on a daily basis!
"FACED WITH A CATASTROPHE, WE NEED THE LIVING DICTIONARY! HER SUPERIOR INTELLECT KEEPS THE CRIME WORLD IN CHECK! GO GIRL!"
Sora glanced back. He noticed Amemi's face with filled with excitement. Goofy was cheering and singing along with the theme music. It did not take long for the brown-haired young man to know why. The video displayed on the screen before the two was automatically subtitled.
"HUGGY FACE IS BY HER SIDE! VOCABULARY A MILE WIDE! SHE'LL MAKE SURE THAT CRIME WON'T PAY, THEN THROW SOME MIGHTY WORDS YOUR WAY!"
Sora's eyes landed onto Donald. The duck was ferociously trying to block out the blasting music by stuffing his ears with pieces of torn paper from a book in his lap. Sora had to smile when he saw the book's title.
"THE VERY BIG BOOK OF MANNERS"
"…Very stupidly," was all that could understood from Donald's constant, soft, illegible garble.
"WORD UP! IT'S WORDGIRL! WORD UP! FROM THE PLANET LEXICON! WATCH OUT VILLAINS! HERE… SHE… COMES!"
Sora could finally uncover his ears. He noticed Donald was removing the crumpled paper. The show's volume level was much softer now; Goofy had turned it down. He glanced behind his seat to see Amemi and Goofy eagerly awaiting the episode as the title faded into the opening scene. "Hey, could you keep that softer?" he asked.
"Sorry," Goofy apologized as he pushed a button on the screen. The volume became softer.
Amemi shook her head. "I can't hear it now."
"It was too loud," Sora informed her.
"Now it is too soft."
"So? You've seen every show."
Amemi hit the "Pause" button and folded her arms. "Not all of them. You know they're still making it."
Sora sighed. He was not getting through to his sister. "Look, could you keep it down? Some of us don't care for that show."
"Yeah," Donald spoke up in agreement. "It's very, very exasperating to watch."
"I like it," Goofy perked up.
Donald snorted. "You like anything."
"No I don't," the knight countered with a smile. "I don't like that there show about them weary-wolves."
He shivered, a little. "Too scary… "
Sora stared at the anthropomorphic dog. "Okay," was all the former could think of saying. He turned back to Amemi. "Just please make it a little softer."
Amemi looked away. After a minute or three, she took a deep breath. "I guess."
Sora turned back towards the front of the ship. He peered out the windshield into the distance. He grinned, feeling confident he had resolved another situation without having to resort to using his Keyblade. Hopefully, this time, his sister would do what he asked.
A small star up ahead started to get larger. Within seconds, Herbie soared up to a large ball of glowing Light. Sora was surprised by what he saw through a number of openings in the clouds. An entire city could be seen somewhere in the middle of an enormous continent. A few smaller towns were also visible. He could also make out lots of ocean and mountains.
"This must be it," he muttered to himself.
Sora gazed back to see Amemi and Goofy watching the show, again. He spoke loud enough to be heard over it. "Guys, we're here."
"Already?" Amemi asked as she stopped the episode she and Goofy had been watching.
"Aw shucks," Goofy sighed. "We was gettin' to thuh best part, too."
"C'mon," Donald spoke up. "Let's go!"
Launchpad turned around in his seat. "Looks like a water-land below," he chuckled, keeping his eyes on the ocean. "Maybe we can go to the beach?"
"We've got a job to do," Sora reminded the pilot. "Let's teleport down."
Launchpad saluted. "Sure thing, lil' buddy!"
The pilot looked at the dashboard. He froze and scratched his head. "Except, I can't remember which is the 'teleport down' button."
He pointed at the buttons one at a time. "Was it this one? Or this one? Maybe it was the bright red one… or the dark-blue one. Or the orange one…. "
Sora rolled his eyes and slammed his fist onto a huge, golden-yellow button.
The next thing he knew, Sora was standing in the middle of a long, white sidewalk. Behind him, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were looking around every-which-way. Up above, they saw a massive, blue sky partly filled with clouds. Down below, they could see various houses and street signs, and even a car or two. The area was so peaceful, they could only hear the sounds of birds tweeting in some nearby trees.
The scent of something strong flowed into Sora's noise, followed by his companions. They quickly held their noses.
"What is that?" Sora inquired.
"It's terrible!" Donald complained.
"Reminds me of a barbecue gone bad," Launchpad stated.
"Me, too," Goofy added before he covered his mouth.
Amemi covered her mouth and tried to shove whatever the smell was aside with her free hand. "Whatever it is, it smells awful! Just… horrible!"
Launchpad looked around. "Is that a school?" he asked aloud. "It kinda looks like a 'school', with a brick building and windows, and it has a sign."
Sora and the others swerved their eyes to the side. Before them was a huge, stone building with at least two levels. There was a parking lot with a road that led up to the main entrance, which was partly covered by a study, metal awning. A tall flagpole was located out front, and there was a large sign near where the street led to the entrance. A capital letter "M" was on the sign as well as a message that read,
"ARE U READY FOR THE BIG DANCE?"
Sora sighed deeply. If this really was what Launchpad thought it was (and it sure looked like it was), they were standing outside a school. The very sight made the brown-haired seventeen-year-old wish he was back home on the Destiny Islands. He didn't want to think about school during his Winter Break. Hopefully they could avoid this place at all costs.
Then again, the stench was getting much, much stronger by the minute. He wondered… could it be coming from inside this school?
"It's a school," Donald said.
Amemi shook her head. "Of course it is!"
Goofy looked around. "Where's all them kids?"
Before Sora or the others could say anything to answer Goofy's question, a series of shouts and screams filled the air. They swung their eyes at a nearby doorway, which happened to be open. Sora's eyes lit up; he could tell the foul smell was coming from inside that doorway.
"This way!" he called to the other four.
Before Donald, Goofy, Amemi, or Launchpad had a chance to react, Sora raced into the school. Certain this meant there was trouble afoot, they followed him. Still, neither Sora nor his teammates realized they were now in the world of Middleton.
Just inside the school, Sora came to a halt. He was inside a gymnasium, only without exercise equipment. Instead, both sides of the room contained wooden bleachers and the layout in the middle strongly resembled a basketball court. A series of banners hung from the ceiling. One of them read "Middleton Mad Dogs".
What had seized Sora's attention when he entered the room was not just the extremely terrible smell he had picked up from outside, but a group of cheerleaders grouped together in the middle of the room. He saw they were surrounded by a small group of creatures with black bodies, antennae, and claws — not to mention, glowing, yellow eyes.
"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed in alarm. He summoned his Keyblade in an instant. He charged into the horde of enemies.
In was then, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all reached the doorway and stepped inside. Their eyes all lit up with they saw the creatures in the middle of the gymnasium.
"More Heartless?!" Donald exclaimed in shock. He pulled out his wand and hastily went after some of the monsters. Goofy held out his enormous shield and rushed into the horde.
"C'mon!" the knight yelled as he squashed some Heartless aside.
Launchpad pulled out his gas-gun and started shooting some of the Heartless. "Here I come, heh, heh!"
Amemi took out her slingshot and rushed at some of the Heartless. She tried to imagine being WordGirl, but was unable to do so since she didn't have the chance. These Heartless were relentless! Every time she tried to aim at one, another would rush at her and try to attack. One of them got its claw caught on her skirt, so Amemi had to kick it out of the way before she shot it out of existence. When she turned her focus back to the battle, Amemi's heart sank.
Her brother was on the other side of the room, completely surrounded by Heartless. Donald was being chased away by some other Heartless. Goofy and Launchpad were stuck, back-to-back with Heartless slowly approaching them from all angles. It was also clear that some of the Heartless were larger than the other ones. …How was that possible?!
"Sora!" she shouted. "Donald! Goofy! Launchpad!"
A Heartless reached at her arm. Amemi was about to jump away and strike the monster down when a young woman with thick, red hair and green eyes suddenly leaped over and kicked the Heartless away into Darkness. Amemi was surprised, realizing the young woman was one of the cheerleaders, mainly since the latter was sporting a violet uniform with red and yellow stripes on the bottom of the skirt.
Amemi watched as Sora suddenly transformed his Keyblade into a pair of pistols, one yellow and one silver. He started to shoot the Heartless out of the way. Donald was running so fast, he suddenly slipped and slid into Goofy and Launchpad. The three of them went spinning away on Goofy's shield, wiping out every Heartless in their way.
Before Amemi could count to twenty, all the Heartless were gone. The red-haired cheerleader now stood proudly before Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi.
"Thanks for helping," Sora told her with a large smile. It was clear he wasn't used to thanking girls for providing assistance in battles involving Heartless.
"No big," the cheerleader replied. "It's not like it was a life-or-death thing."
Sora's grin faded. "It was… something like that."
He shook his head. "I'm Sora. This is Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and…. "
Amemi felt like introducing herself, for once. "I'm Amemi," she said. "Sora's my brother."
"I'm Kim Possible," the cheerleader introduced. "Are you new at Middleton High?"
Sora and the other paused, unsure how to respond. They couldn't just tell Kim they were from another world. That could disrupt the Word Order, something that couldn't happen — ever.
"Well… why're you here?" Sora asked. "Those Heartless were after you."
"I'm used to it," Kim answered. "Being a world-famous teen hero has its pluses."
Sora wanted to stare at her. "You're a hero?!"
"And a famous one!" Donald exclaimed.
Goofy chuckled. "Gawrsh!" He pulled out a small book with a blue cover and a pen. "Uh… could I have your aut-y-graph?"
"Me, too," Launchpad approved, holding out a notebook and pencil of his own.
Kim shook her head a little before smiling. "Okay," she agreed. She took Goofy's book and pen and signed the page where the latter had the book open. She did the same for Launchpad.
Amemi noticed how Sora had placed his hands behind his head and was rocking back and forth at a slow pace. He had his signature grin on his face. "Sora?" she asked. "Why don't you ask Kim where the Heartless came from?"
Sora turned his head toward his sister. His grin faded for a moment. "Oh yeah!"
The seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder switched his attention to Kim. "Have you see any other Heartless around here?"
Kim looked confused. "What are 'Heartless'?"
Through the corner of his eye, Sora saw Donald giving him a stern scowl. He tried to relax, although he was well aware how he had accidentally started to break the World Order. He rapidly decided Kim would probably know what they were without him saying much else.
"They're monsters with yellow eyes and claws," he explained. "They attacked you and your friends."
Donald slapped his own face in shock. It was clear Sora had told someone else about the Heartless — something that should've never been done.
Deep, deep down, Sora was already questioning whether or not Maleficent or Pete was already lurking in this world.
"I don't know," Kim replied. "They only came in the last few days. I had Wade scan one, but he's as confused as I am."
"Who's Wade?" Amemi inquired.
"A ten-year-old super-genius," Kim told her. "I've only seen him in person once, but he's very helpful during rescue missions."
Sora nodded. "Kind of like how helpful Donald and Goofy are when I'm out fighting Heartless."
Kim smiled. "Something like that."
Sora thought he caught a glimpse of Donald and Goofy chuckling behind covered mouths. He shook his head slightly. This was not an uncommon sight for him to see. Those two tended to tease him for just about anything — especially his extra-close friendship with Kairi. Even now, days after his birthday, they were still teasing him for the fact Kairi had given him a kiss on the cheek. That was something he wanted to forget!
"Kim! What're you doing talking to those losers?"
Kim, Sora, and the others spun around. One of the other cheerleaders was marching up to them. She was slender like the other girls and wore the same uniform, but her tan skin, teal eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair with some spikes on the ends made her stand out like a sour thumb.
"Bonnie," Kim sighed with a frown. "What now?"
"Hey," Bonnie scoffed. "If you want to hang around with a bunch of losers, do it somewhere else. Maybe one of them can be your date."
"Date?" Donald asked.
"What's a 'date'?" Sora questioned.
Amemi shook her head at her brother's question. "It's… complex," she tried to say. "I can't explain it, Sora."
Sora grinned. "It's no big deal."
"Yeah," Kim approved.
"Yes, it is," Bonnie scolded.
Kim turned her eyes back to the other cheerleader. "What's this all about?"
"The Christmas Prom."
"What's a 'prom'?" Donald blurted.
"It's like a dance," Amemi informed him.
"I'm all about Brick Flagg — quarterback, hottie, top of the food chain," Bonnie stated. She gestured to the other cheerleaders. "Tara's with Jason Morgan, the basketball team's star forward. Jessica's with Steve Foley, the baseball captain. Soccer, track and field, lacrosse, ice-hockey… "
"You have ice-hockey?!" Sora exclaimed. Being from an island, he wasn't fully aware of how that sport worked. Still, he did know it was played in an arena with an ice cover. The only time he'd ever seen ice himself was around Christmastime, which happened to be now.
Goofy walked up to a nearby window and peered out. "There ain't any snow outside," the knight indicated.
"What's a 'Christmas Prom' with no snow?" Launchpad added. "If it's winter, there should be snow. Unless we're in the middle of a rainy-forest."
"It doesn't snow," Kim replied. "At least not for a few weeks." She turned back to Bonnie with a scowl. "It's just another dance!"
"Try the dance," Bonnie counter-argued. "Who you go with is, like, crucial. Face facts, Kim. All the remotely acceptable guys are taken. You're looking at captain of the chess team or worse."
Kim looked down at the floor. Sora saw her eyes were downcast and her lip seemed to quiver a little. He was about to say something when the doors to the gymnasium burst open. In ran a young man sporting blonde hair, fair skin, brown eyes, and light freckles. He was wearing a red shirt with white lining over a navy-blue shirt, khaki pants… or shorts, and white shoes.
"Hey, KP!" he hollered with excitement. "Do we have a date with Bueno Nacho or what?"
Kim, Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all turned to stare at him. "Ron," Kim sighed a little. "What're you doing?"
"It's Nacho Night!" Ron declared with lots of enthusiasm. The instant he took note of the other five around the red-haired girl, he froze. "W-who are you?"
"I'm Sora," Sora introduced. He gestured to the others. "These are my friends, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad, and that's my sister, Amy."
"Amemi," Amemi corrected. "He calls me 'Amy' for short."
"I see," Ron said, rubbing his chin in thought. He brightly beamed a moment later. "So who's up for some chow?"
"Yeah!" Goofy chuckled. "Muh stomach's growlin'!"
At that moment, a small, pink animal crawled out of a pocket in Ron's pants… or shorts. The creature looked around and frowned at Donald.
"Who's this little guy?" Launchpad inquired, pointing at the animal.
"That's Rufus," Ron replied. "He's a naked mole-rat."
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy declared. "Cute!"
"We're just wasting time," Donald complained. "There's Heartless out there, and we're in here!"
"Okay," Sora announced. "Let's get going."
The group headed for the exit. Along the way, Sora turned to Kim. "We'll be fine."
"Yes, we will," Kim answered.
It was not long before Sora's team, Kim, and Ron were all gathered at a local restaurant. The shape of the building was identical to a Mexican sombrero, only with lots of windows and a few doors. A giant sign outside held an enormous taco. The place had a drive-thru, even though no one was in it.
The moment everyone had walked up to the restaurant, Goofy's mouth had started to water.
Inside, the restaurant looked really nice, at least to Sora's eyes. He'd never seen such a cozy fast-food place before. It reminded him of a Taco Bell restaurant he once went to back home. The notable difference was the menu, which contained mainly burritos, soft-shell tacos, and nachos… whatever those were. There were seats with tables laid out around the inside of the building's perimeter. The counter and cash register were located on the opposite side of the restaurant from the front entrance. Some soft music was playing in the background.
Just after Sora and his friends got seated at a few tables close together, Kim waved down a young woman with dark skin and long, curly, black hair. "Hey, Monique!" Kim called.
After talking a little with the young woman, Sora had the feeling Monique was someone who loved to express who she was — no matter what anyone else said. After Ron went to the counter with Rufus, Goofy, and Launchpad, Kim filled Monique in on the whole dilemma with Bonnie.
"Girl, that is flawed," was Monique's reaction.
"You're not kidding," Amemi added. The sandy-haired girl had already taken a side, and Sora was well aware of which one it was, even though the conversation was something he did not really care about.
"I know," Kim sighed. "But what if Bonnie has, in her own stupid way, a point?"
"What?" Amemi was startled. "That's stupid!"
Sora yawned. He was rapidly losing interest in this conversation. He saw Donald had slipped under the table and was making his way to the line at the counter. Ron, Rufus, Goofy, and Launchpad were now second in line.
"I mean, what if there is something wrong with me?" Kim said.
"Cause you're not dating a quarterback?" Monique inquired.
"What difference does that make?" Amemi asked.
Kim looked distressed. "I'm weirding guys out! They see me on T.V., round-housing some goon out of a window. It's a vivid image."
"Kim," Monique stated. "You are a strong, independent woman. Anybody afraid of that is not worthy of your time."
"Yeah, maybe, but what if she's right?"
"You're letting this get carried away," Amemi stated. "None of this stuff really matters where I come from."
None of the others really heard here, except for Sora, that is. The young man finally decided to get up and walk around. "Is there anything sadder than going to the prom with your 'just a friend'?" he heard Kim ask.
With a shake of his head, Sora walked up to his friends. They were now at the counter. The cashier Ron was talking to was a young man with short, brown hair, blue eyes, and circular eyeglasses. "Four Nachos, three quesoritos, and a tortada salad," Ron ordered. "Extra cheese on that."
Goofy licked his lips as he rubbed his stomach. Sora had to smile at the sight. He could tell the knight was getting really hungry, a sight he expected to see from Winnie The Pooh. Then again, this place didn't seem to have any honey lying around, which made sense. Goofy was just being Goofy.
The cashier rang up the total. "That'll be $7.52," he told Ron.
"Check your math, Ned," Ron returned. "This is my standard Nacho Night order. Always comes to $4.98."
"I'm sorry," Ned said. "The Nacho Night promotion has been cancelled."
Ron was startled. Goofy and Launchpad's ears perked up to the word "cancelled". Rufus was speechless. Donald gave a sneaky laugh. Sora was perplexed.
"Y-You cancelled Nacho Night?" Ron barely said the words.
Ned didn't smile. "I don't have that kind of power. New management."
"What's that mean?" Goofy questioned.
"Somebody bought the whole enchilada," Ned revealed.
"I know who did," Launchpad spoke up. "Mister McDee! He's going to expand into this city, too! Wonder if he'd give me a discount at this place?"
Sora rolled his eyes while Donald fainted onto the floor. The pilot had just said something really random — and in a completely different restaurant in another world! Sora felt like fainting himself. Still, his mind told him to stay focused and know who had bought out Ron's favorite restaurant chain.
"Who's the new owner?" the spikey-headed young man asked.
"I can't give you that," Ned answered. "I'm not sure myself. It happened a few days ago. I can give you the 800 number if you'd like to express a comment or concern."
Ron looked serious. "Oh, yeah. I got some concerns."
He turned to Goofy. "Have any extra change?"
Goofy reached into his pants pockets. Then he checked his vests. Next, he looked inside his hat. Last, he took off his gigantic shoes and shook them out. Only a few pieces of dirt and rock were found on the floor. A half-crumpled piece of blank paper was in his vest pocket. A broken pencil was under his hat, and about seven or eight bottles of green liquid were in his pants pockets. "Nope. Sorry. All I've got are these here potions."
Launchpad checked in all the pockets he had, only to find a few paperclips. "Heh, heh, I wondered where I put those."
Donald refused to look for any money until Sora crossed his arms and frowned. The duck magician hastily searched all his pockets and under his hat. He found a total of five dollars, twenty cents, a torn sheet of stamps, and a leaky ink pen. He handed them to Sora, who gave them to Ron and Rufus.
After paying for the meal, Ron grabbed the tray with Rufus on it and headed for the table. Goofy, Launchpad, and Donald were directly behind him. Sora turned to Ned. "So, did anything strange happen when this place was sold?"
"Yeah, there was something strange," Ned responded. "Those weird-looking monsters started appearing in the streets."
Sora was a little shocked. Perhaps there was a connection between the Heartless being in town and the fact this restaurant chain had recently been purchased. Had it happened on the same day? Who had bought out the franchise? What did this mean? Was the new owner of the restaurant connected to Maleficent's Council?! For all he knew, the answer was directly in front of his face and he couldn't see it very well.
"Thanks," was all the Keyblader could say. He was still trying to piece together any other clues he had found. Sadly, there weren't very many. Since the Heartless had tried to attack Kim at the school, maybe the one behind them was one of the villains she'd brought to justice in the past? What he really needed was a list of the enemies Kim had faced. Surely, at least one of them was linked to the Heartless.
By the time Sora returned to the table, Amemi, Kim, and Monique had already stopped talking. Ron, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were already there. "KP," Ron sighed. "Life as we know it has changed forever. Nacho Night is no more."
"Sorry," Goofy apologized.
"At least we got something to eat," Launchpad grinned. Sora could tell the pilot was trying to stay positive.
At that moment, a beeping sound came from Kim's pocket. She pulled out a small, blue device that seemed to resemble a miniature computer-phone. Sora noticed a ten-year-old boy on the screen; he was dark with black hair, freckles, and wearing a light-blue shirt. He was sitting in a dark room.
"What up, Wade?" Kim inquired.
"Drakken's been spotted," the boy on the screen told her. "The Bermuda Triangle."
Kim thanked the boy and clicked the device off. As she put it away, Sora asked, "Who's 'Drakken'?"
"My arch-nemesis," Kim explained. "He's a 'mad-scientist' who's intent on taking over the world."
She waved her hand to the side. "No big."
Sora crossed his arms and paused in contemplation. The name of Kim's enemy did sound a lot like someone Maleficent or Pete would manipulate to help them take over a world. Maybe this villain was responsible for the Heartless roaming the streets. Could he have also taken over the restaurant? Or was that just a coincidence? Whatever the case, Sora couldn't just let anyone get away with using the Heartless — even if he hadn't seen them before now.
"Let's go," Kim said as she rose from the table.
"And my friends and I will be there," Sora announced. He punched his right fist against his chest. "Sounds like you guys need some help with the Heartless."
"Sure," Kim nodded. "Even if Ron and I can handle this by ourselves. You can come."
Ron (who had just took a seat to eat) threw his head on the table. "Aww… now? Can't we eat first?"
"Yeah," Goofy said. He was in the middle of his third Nacho. Plus, he was the only one who had eaten anything so far. "I was just about to order some more."
Amemi was on her feet now. "How about we take it to go?"
Goofy and Ron exchanged glances. Launchpad shrugged. "Sure thing, Miss Hikari!" the pilot proudly agreed.
Amemi shook her head. "You can just call me 'Amemi'. Remember?"
Launchpad saluted. He hopped out of his seat and raced for the door with Amemi trailing behind. Goofy grabbed a bag from the counter and dumped everything still on the tray into it. He handed the drinks to Ron before taking off for the entrance doorway. Launchpad was moments behind. Ron sighed deeply and headed for the exit with Rufus on his shoulder.
Still at the table, Sora and Kim headed for the exit. Monique stayed behind, looking calmly out the window.
Just before they stepped through the exit, Sora turned to Kim and asked, "So, where's this 'Bermuda Triangle'?"
"It's a casino just outside of town," Kim replied. "We'll need to go in undercover. Drakken knows me anywhere."
"What about me?" Sora asked. "And my friends?"
"No big," Kim assured him. "We'll just stop at Club Banana on the way."
The Bermuda Triangle was a fancy resort located on the far side of the city. It was not a very friendly place and known for its casinos, shows, and criminal gangs who considered it to be their meeting place. It was a humongous building with fourteen floors and three wings. One wing held all the casinos. Another housed the showrooms, and the third was all hotel rooms and suites. The place was situated on the edge of a large lake; within, lots of booby traps were set waiting for any intruder who might come along. The giant, light-green, triangular neon sign pasted on the roof flashed every now and then, showing a ship sailing across the waves before stopping and then sinking.
It was just outside this place where Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, Kim, and Ron all stood. Their eyes gazed at the fancy building. Just as Kim had suggested, everyone was wearing disguises. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were decked out in clean, black suits. Goofy had a monocle in his left eye. Amemi, Kim, Ron, Donald, and Sora stared at him.
"Makes me think of Colonel Klink!" Goofy chuckled. "A-Hyuck!"
"You mean 'Klink — the Stinky Fink'!" Launchpad declared.
Donald slapped his face and let his hand slide down his bill. "Phooey!" the duck grumbled.
Sora shook his head. He looked down at his navy-blue tuxedo. The sight made him feel a little uncomfortable. For all he knew, if he ever got married to Kairi, he might be wearing this same outfit. Hopefully, that wouldn't be the case. His imagination was going wild… again.
When he saw Amemi dressed in a glittery, yellow dress, Sora had to shake his head and smile. She looked so excited. Even though he knew his sister didn't know how to dance properly (which probably was because her favorite animated character, WordGirl, couldn't either), he knew the dress was her favorite color. To him, it seemed to blend well with her sandy hair and blue eyes.
Kim was wearing a long, dark-blue dress and had a short, black wig. Other than her green eyes, Sora could not really tell this was the same red-haired cheerleader he'd met earlier.
When Ron showed a minute later in a fancy, light-sky-blue suit, everyone stared at him with their mouths open. "What?" Ron asked. "It was my dad's, he bought it for his prom. Never been worn."
Kim frowned and looked away. Amemi and Donald did the same. "A-Hyuck!" Goofy remarked. "Nice!"
"Very nice," Launchpad agreed. "Like a prince wears to ball! …Though I don't know why he'd wanna go round and round."
"Okay," was Sora's reaction. He turned to Kim. "So, where's Drakken?"
Kim looked around. She stared at the front entrance. "There he is!"
Everyone swung their eyes to the resort's main entrance. They spotted a group of four individuals at the entrance. Sora immediately recognized one of them as Pete, only wearing a top hat and black bowtie. One of the other three was a slender man with a long black ponytail, scar under his left eye, and a thick unibrow. He was dressed in what seemed to be a blue-colored lab-coat with a black belt and matching collar, black boots, and black gloves. His hands were small and he had pale, light-blue skin.
The second was a slender, anthropomorphic red wolf possessing a cream muzzle, bushy tail, both black nose and claws, sharp white fangs, ochre circles surrounding his eyes, and thick black eyebrows. His left ear was damaged and he was wearing a blue Napoleon-style coat with a gold lining on its high collar, white pants, a crimson sash, black boots, and a large true-pirate-styled sword. He had a blue bowtie around his neck.
The last one was a woman with long, green-black hair, pale-green skin, piercing green eyes, and black lips. She was wearing a black-and-green dress with matching gloves and heels. One look at her, and Sora sensed a strong Darkness.
Still, having recognized Pete with these others, Sora knew Maleficent was definitely involved with the goings-on in this particular world. He needed to take action and learn just what the witch and her council members were up to. He was not about to let them take over a single world — especially not with Christmas just around the corner.
The doorman held the blue-skinned man back. The latter turned to the woman and said, "Shego, tip the man."
The doorman placed a black necktie around the blue man's neck. The group walked into the building.
"Pete?!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed at once.
Sora had seen enough. "We've gotta stop 'em!" he shouted.
Kim grabbed his arm. "We can't barge in. We'll raise suspicion."
Sora sighed. "Then, what can we do?"
"I know what to do," Amemi announced. She calmly strode up to the main doorway. She smiled at the large, nicely-dressed doorman. "Hi," she said to the man. "Can my friends and I come on in?"
The man stepped to one side and extended his arm in a polite gesture. "Thank you," Amemi said with a bit of a nervous smile.
Sora shrugged and walked up from behind. He was followed by Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Kim, and Ron. Once everyone was inside the building, Kim turned to the group and recommended they all split up to find Drakken. When Donald asked how they would find him, Ron said, "Blue skin, weird smile, scar on his face. How could you miss him?"
"Okay," Sora replied with a nod. He grabbed Amemi's hand and dragged her into a large showroom. Ron started down a corridor in the direction of the casinos. Goofy and Launchpad followed him. When Kim headed towards the hotel rooms, Donald shrugged and trailed Kim with his magical wand in hand.
Elsewhere in the resort, Drakken was heading into the upper floors with his sidekick, Shego — the woman Sora and the others had seen. Since Maleficent had placed him in charge of accomplishing a mission, he had sent Pete and Don Karnage to patrol the rest of the place with the Heartless. The very idea of being in control of creatures as strong and scary as the Heartless made him feel much more confident than usual.
"All right, Shego," he said. "I'm off to grill this common criminal. What's his name again?"
"Big Daddy Brotherson," Shego replied. "But you should know… "
"Please!" Drakken interrupted. He threw a hand between himself and his sidekick. "I am a super-genius. I think I can handle Big Daddy."
Shego stopped and crossed her arms. "If you say so."
"That's better," Drakken said. He always felt annoyed when someone tried to tell him what to do. Every time he had tried to take charge, someone always wanted to give him commands. Most of the time, they had been bullying demands. This time, he wanted to everything his way — without any help.
Shego rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Maybe I'll go watch the show downstairs."
Drakken didn't pay his sidekick any mind. He proceeded into the next room. He slammed the door shut behind. Instead of leaving, Shego counted to five before the door flew back open. Drakken came flying out and landed on his back. Shego peered down at him, her hands on her hips. "Didn't have the password?"
"You might have mentioned the password!" an outraged Drakken snapped.
"Thought a genius like you would figure it out."
"Shego, I am not a particularly patient man."
Shego rolled her eyes. "Okay. The password is 'Nee-naa'."
Drakken was instantly on his feet. "What?! What kind of password is that?!"
"I didn't choose it," Shego pinpointed.
With clenched teeth and a snarl, Drakken turned around and marched back to the doorway. He hated this!
Once on the other side, Drakken told the password to the guard, who was a large man in a black suit. He was then allowed to come face to face with a rather large man in a green shirt, tan business suit, and nice, clean shoes. Other notable features about this man were his receding hairline and very large nose.
Drakken sat down on a bean-bag chair and fell over backwards. The man gave a grin and watched as a furious Drakken returned to his seat. "Big Daddy? Dr. Drakken. I understand you have information regarding top-secret codes and related things."
"Ah, yes," the man said. "For a fair price, I can trade you one very secret code. It will allow you to hack into all the computers at the Pentagon."
Drakken grinned. "Alright! I have the cash right here."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money. The other man pulled out a slip of paper. Both held their hands above a small table between them.
"Put the money on the table," the man ordered.
Drakken refused to let this man tell him what to do. "Put the information on the table."
"You go first."
Drakken jumped to his feet. This was too much for him to handle. He snarled. "Look, I don't have time for silly games!"
The man looked shocked at Drakken statement. He glared and snapped his finger. The guard at the door marched over and picked up Drakken with his arms and threw him at the doorway. The villain flew through the open doorway and landed onto the floor — hard. When Drakken looked up again, there was Shego, looking down at him.
"He likes to play 'silly games', FYI," she informed him.
Drakken was beyond outraged. All he wanted was information regarding robotics, and he was getting nothing. He stormed back into the next room. At the same time, Shego turned and headed downstairs.
After giving the password a second time, Drakken finally put his money down on the table. The man put the paper on the table. The two glared at one another for several seconds. Drakken could tell this man was as ruthless about criminal activity as Maleficent was in getting revenge.
He reached out and snatched the information off the table in a hurry. "Ah-ha!" he declare as he unfolded the paper. "Now, with this top-secret code… "
He froze, unable to make sense of what was written on the paper. "'Milk… bread… eggs'?"
He gazed at the large man. "What kind of code is that?"
The man chuckled. "My grocery list. You, my friend, are quite poor at the trading game. Very well. I've had my fun."
Drakken was ready to blow his stack. "Well! I'm glad you've had your fun. Now, where can I find the cybertronic technology I need?!"
"Ah, cybertronics," the man said, pondering aloud. "Some of the most brilliant minds on the planet struggle with its challenges."
"Surely someone has cracked it?"
"Indeed, one genius has done just that. His name is, Doctor James Timothy Possible."
Drakken was taken by surprise. James Possible! He knew that man. Not only was he the father of his teenage nemesis, Kim Possible, he was also an old college buddy. What a coincidence! "Ooh, irony!" he declared with excitement. "And it's in my favor this time!"
The showroom was packed. It was so full, Sora and Amemi got the last table available, in a corner close to the stage. Someone was on the stage playing the piano while a woman in a sparkly blue dress sat upon the instrument and sang into a microphone.
Sora shook his head. Seeing a show like this one reminded him of the time he, Donald, and Goofy had been part of an undersea musical in Atlantica. The main difference was this was on dry land and Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder were absent.
No sooner had the two taken their seats than an anthropomorphic red wolf strolled by. Sora was startled, recognizing him as the same red wolf from the main entrance. The individual stopped at their table and looked at them. "So, my friends," he said in a mixed-accent. "Have you seen a large cat-man who goes by the name of 'Pete'?"
Sora rapidly shook his head. "No," he hastily replied. "Sorry."
Amemi shrugged with a hint of anxiety. "Maybe he's on the other side of the room?"
The wolf paused in thought. "Perhaps… "
He started for the nearest exit to the room. As he left, he was busy muttering about this and that. Once he was gone, Sora commented, "I wonder what that was about."
"What do you mean?" Amemi asked.
"He was outside with Pete and that Drakken guy," Sora clarified. "Why didn't he notice me?"
"He did," the sandy-headed girl returned. "He probably doesn't know it was you. Maybe Pete hasn't told him."
"Yeah! I guess…. "
At that moment, the doorway on the far side of the room opened. Sora and Amemi looked up and saw Kim walking down the short flight of stairs leading from the second floor. She was still in disguise, so it took a moment for them to realize it was her.
As Kim slowly made her way down the steps, Sora heard a beeping sound. He saw Kim reach into the purse on her arm and pull out her little device. Amemi suddenly grabbed his arm and pointed at the upper floor. Sora looked in the direction his sister was pointing. To his surprise, there was the same black-haired woman he'd seen with Pete and the others at the entrance. She suddenly rushed at Kim, causing the latter to whirl around and leap out of the way — just in time.
Sora was startled. This strange woman, whoever she was, had glowing green hands that seemed to resemble balls of fire. She rushed at Kim again, but the teenager was already jumping to one side. The two started to attack and defend on another for a moment. That's when Kim hopped into a chandelier up above and the woman jumped at her. Kim leaped away, just as the chandelier fell from the ceiling.
Realizing the light fixture was headed straight for them, Sora yelled, "Look out!"
He and Amemi raced out of their seats seconds before the chandelier crashed onto their table. Shouts and screams came from the nearby spectators, who fled at the sight. When Sora saw creatures as black as night itself rising from the floor to surround him and Amemi, he glared. "Heartless!"
In the time it takes one to blink their eyes, Sora had his Keyblade in hand. He slashed the weapon clear through the Heartless over and over and over. Once he had made a path, he dragged his sister away from the monsters and demanded she find somewhere safe to hide.
"No!" Amemi stated in a firm voice. She pulled out her slingshot. "I'm going to help you!"
Sora sighed, knowing he could not force his sister to listen to him, even if it meant putting her in danger — again. Instead, he charged at the woman attacking Kim. He sliced his Keyblade at her, only to have her notice his assault, evade it, and punch him in the face. The brown-haired youth went flying back onto the stage. Amemi rushed over to him.
"Sora!" she cried. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora replied. "C'mon! Let's get her!"
Amemi nodded. She turned away and fired her slingshot at the unknown assailant. The woman tried to dodge it, but Amemi's aim was too accurate. One of the fourteen-year-old's shots struck the enemy in the cheekbone, knocking her back long enough for Kim to kick her into a nearby food cart. The cart rolled back and smashed straight into the stage.
Sora was already on his feet and immediately pointed his Keyblade at the mysterious woman. "Alright! Who are you?" he demanded.
Kim and Amemi where at the stage in seconds. Kim grabbed the woman by the latter's collar. "Shego," she stated. "Where's Drakken and what's he up to?"
"Yeah, as if I can understand his whacked plans," the woman whose name Sora assumed was "Shego" answered. "Please!"
Amemi crossed her arms. "You're such a rude woman!"
"She's Drakken's sidekick," Kim informed the sandy-haired girl.
Sora moved the blade of his Keyblade closer to Shego's neck. "You're not telling us everything!" he said in a firm voice.
"Maybe," Shego returned. Her hands started to glow and she knocked everyone back. "That's because I won't!"
Within seconds, Kim and Shego were at it again. Sora and Amemi watched them for a few minutes, shocked at how neither one of them were able to really injured the other. The fight went on and on and on.
"Man," Sora remarked at the display. "How can they just keep going?"
"They're probably used to it," Amemi said.
Without another word, the two joined the battle.
Donald was lost. This place was huge! Every corner he went around seemed to lead to a dead end. There seemed to be no exit, only more hallways and corners. Every corridor looked the same, with the same cream walls and blue doors. Some of the doors had "Do Not Disturb" signs on their handles.
True… Donald had known he was inside a hotel. However, he had gone into this place with Kim, only to get lost in this maze. Where had that red-haired girl gone?
He finally found himself approaching a large, brown doorway. He opened it to find himself on the second floor of a large showroom. To his shock, there were Sora and Amemi and Kim in the middle of a heated battle with a black-haired woman. Just one look at the scene was enough to make him faint backwards onto the floor.
Ron, Goofy, and Launchpad were strolling down an extensive corridor, unsure where they were. The hall was a strange shade of blue. There was a lot of noise. Cheers and shouts echoed down the hallway. To Goofy, it reminded him of a gambling casino he'd once been to many, many, many years ago.
They stopped at a small doorway. Ron pushed it open. To the group's surprise, there was a few people gathered around a table. A small spotlight shone down, revealing who they were. One was dressed like a cowboy. Another had an eyepatch. A third seemed to be from a foreign country, although Ron, Goofy, and Launchpad couldn't tell which one. The last one was a large cat-man in a nice suit and top hat.
"Huh?" the cat-man said. "Are youse the kid?"
Ron paused for a minute. "Yes," he finally said. "Yes, I am."
Goofy and Launchpad looked at one another. What was Ron doing?
Ron took a seat at the table. Goofy and Launchpad plopped themselves down in some empty chairs, too. The cowboy-man slid over a mountain of colored playing chips to each of them. "There you go. Five million fresh cow chips for each of you."
Ron stared at the chip in question. "These are mine?"
The other men stared at him. Goofy gulped. Ron shook his head for a moment. "I mean, yes. Good. Yes, my money," he said with a smile. He grabbed a small handful of chips and pretended they were gold coins. "Miss me, boys?"
One of the men passed out five cards to everyone. They all picked them up. Goofy stared at his cards. He could already tell Launchpad, Ron, and himself had gotten mixed up in a poker game. Last time he'd played this game, he'd been gone for twelve hours. If he hadn't won out, his wife would've smacked him silly.
Launchpad was feeling anxious. He hadn't really played poker much and wasn't really sure how it worked, completely.
The men started to toss chips into a pile in the middle of the table. After Goofy and Launchpad placed two or two into the middle, Ron did the same. Before long, Ron scooped up a few handfuls and calmly threw every last chip he had into the middle.
Everyone was staring at him in alarm. Goofy and Launchpad were astounded. If this truly was a gambling casino, then Ron had pretty much bet everything he had.
"Well," the cowboy-man said. "That's a bold move."
"Was it?" Ron asked.
"Ya good for this?" the cat-man inquired.
"Am I?"
"Can't ya tell when someone's lyin'?"
Goofy and Launchpad exchanged puzzled looks.
"Like when they ain't gonna look ya in the eye?" the cat-man continued. "Or theys touch their face? How 'bout they're breathing gettin' shallow and weak?"
The cat-man placed and hand of cards onto the table. "Three winners," he declared.
"Um… Go Fish?" Ron sputtered.
The cat-man gave a laugh. "I won!"
Before anyone could move, the doorway burst open. Two people came flying onto the table. Game pieces flew everywhere. Everyone jumped to their feet. Most of the men fled through the doorway, leaving Goofy, Launchpad, Ron, and the large cat-man.
"KP!" Ron exclaimed, recognizing his friend as one of the two people on the table.
"Ron?" Kim said, despite being under a lot of pressure. She shoved her opponent into the wall. The other person (who Goofy and Launchpad realized was the same woman from the entrance) landed onto the floor before leaping back onto her feet. She charged at Kim a second time and the two continued to fight.
It was then Sora and Amemi raced into the room, weapons in hand. "Goofy! Launchpad!" Sora declared when he spotted the two.
"Sora!" the knight and pilot returned.
Donald was moments behind. The duck gawked at the sight of Goofy and Launchpad in a gambling casino.
"Who's the crazy woman?" Launchpad questioned.
"Her name's Shego," Amemi replied. "She's Drakken's sidekick."
"What's a 'side-kick'?" Goofy asked.
"It's like a henchman. WordGirl's sidekick is 'Captain Huggy Face'."
"Oh, yeah! A-Hyuck! Now I remember!"
"Worry about that later!" Sora told his teammates. He was gazing at Shego and Kim. "We've got a job to do!"
"What're youse doin' here?!"
The group whirled their eyes to the large cat-man. He looked extremely angry.
"Pete!" Sora and Amemi declared at once.
"You brats ruined the game!" Pete snarled. "I'll teach ya a lesson ya won't soon forget!"
Sora and his friends readied their weapons for whatever Pete was about to send their way. The villain blew a whistle. A dark portal suddenly appeared. Out of it came a large, blue fish-shaped creature. It had yellow eyes, red teeth, and an orange tail and fins. The creature also had the Heartless emblem on its forehead.
"Get 'em!" Pete ordered.
The Heartless raced at Sora and the others. Kim saw the monster heading through the air and gave it a fierce punch. She then did the same for Shego, who tried to counterattack and got her flaming fist trapped in the table.
Without the supervillainess to worry about for now, Sora's team and Kim led the fish-shaped Heartless back to the main showroom. Once in there, they turned their undivided attention to the creature. Amemi shot at it while Sora slashed his Keyblade through it repeatedly. The Heartless countered with a barrage of super-charged bubbles. The bubbles short-circuited the nearby electronic equipment and caused it to go up in flames. It wasn't long before the building's fire alarm was going off.
Donald hastily used his magic to douse the flames. Next, he and Goofy simultaneously attacked the gigantic Heartless. Launchpad stood at one side, trying to avoid the enemy's attacks. One such attack was a line of fire, which nearly set the pilot on fire. Donald's tail feathers got hit and he ran around in a panic. "Yeow!"
Sora saw this display and instantly used a Blizzard magic spell to put out the flames on Donald's tail. He noticed Kim was constantly jumping at the Heartless before she either kicked or punched it in the head.
All of a sudden, Shego jumped into the middle of the room and caught Sora's eye. She was glaring and her hands were glowing. Before he could turn his full attention to her, Launchpad pointed his gas-gun at the villainess and fired it repeatedly. The dust sent off by the weapon made Shego cough and finally collapse onto the floor.
With Shego dealt with for now, Sora and Launchpad returned to the main fight. Sora delivered a slicing blow onto the Heartless's tail. The creature shivered for a moment before it imploded and released a giant captive heart. Once the heart faded out of sight, the Heartless vanished into Darkness.
Sora wiped some sweat off his forehead. Despite the annoying fire alarm in the background, everything seemed to going well. He then spotted Pete and the anthropomorphic red wolf from before. They were helping Shego up.
"Hey!" Sora shouted. This drew the focus of Donald, Goofy, Amemi, Launchpad, and Kim.
"I bet you're all with Maleficent!" Donald snapped.
"KP!" There was Ron, running into the room from the second floor. He suddenly tripped and bounced down the steps. He slammed straight into Pete, who banged into the other two beside him. Sora and his friends rushed over and helped the young man to his feet.
"You okay?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ron answered. Rufus was in his suit pocket, trying to catch his breath.
A deafening CRASH came from above. To Sora and his friends astonishment, there was Drakken himself. He was hanging onto a rope ladder attached to a helicopter hovering over a gaping hole in the roof.
"Shego, Pete, Don Karnage," Drakken ordered the three down below. "Time to fly."
Shego, Pete, and the red wolf, who Sora now knew was named "Don Karnage", jumped and grabbed the rope ladder. "Next time, Princess," Shego told Kim.
"He who runs away lives to steal another day," Karnage quipped.
"This ain't over!" Pete called out.
As the helicopter flew off, Drakken shouted back down, "Kim Possible and key-brat! You think you're all that? But you're not even close!"
There they were, standing around in a group gazing up at a hole in the ceiling. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi all sighed in disappointment. They had hoped to bring this villain and his companions to justice. Now it seemed that was going to take quite a while.
"Don't worry, Sora," a king, little voice said. Sora whirled his head to his left shoulder. He relaxed, noticing it was only Jiminy Cricket. "I'm sure we'll catch them, sooner or later."
Sora nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
Kim didn't seem so sure. "This is so annoying," was her response to watching the evildoers escape.
Sometime later, Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Kim were walking down the streets of the city. They'd just dropped off Ron and Rufus at their house before heading away.
Kim led the group to a nearby neighborhood and finally stopped before a large house. "Here it is," she announced.
Sora and his team were amazed. The house was unusually shaped with black, slanted roofs and brown walls. It had a stone chimney, an outdoor deck on the second floor, lots of large windows including a distinct circular one near the middle, a red door, and a large garage. The site was on the top of a smooth incline and surrounded by what seemed to be lemon trees.
"Whoa!" was Sora's reaction.
"Wow!" Donald and Goofy remarked.
"Nice and big!" Launchpad said.
"It looks cozy," Amemi said with a smile.
"Yeah, it's nice," Kim agreed. "And it's my home."
She strode up to the main entrance. Sora and the others were not far behind. Before she opened the front door, Kim turned to the others. "I should warn you, my family's a little, well… "
"Relax," Sora reassured her. "I'm sure they're nice, just like you."
Kim had to smile. She opened the door and walked in. "Mom! Dad! I'm home."
"We're in the kitchen, hon!" came a reply.
Kim led the way to the other side of the house. Amemi was the last one in and carefully closed the door. They all strolled into a nice, clean room with yellow and white walls. When he saw Goofy and Launchpad start to step toward the refrigerator, he shook his head, knowing this was the kitchen.
Two people were already there. One was a man with brown-turning-gray hair, brown eyes, and Caucasian. He was wearing a white shirt, dark-gray tie, dark-gray pants, a brown belt, and brown shoes. He was seated at a table that seemed to resemble a restaurant booth. In his hand was what appeared to be an electronic drawing pad.
The other was a slender woman with fair skin, blue eyes, pink undertones, and lighter red hair compared to Kim's. She was wearing a white doctor's uniform. She was standing by the table when Kim and the other stepped into the room.
"Kimmy," the woman said. "Who are your friends?"
"I'm Sora," Sora said.
"Donald," Donald announced.
"I'm Goofy," Goofy grinned.
"I'm Amemi," Amemi added.
"The name's Launchpad McQuack," Launchpad declared. "If it's got wings, I can crash it!"
"Nice to meet you," the woman said. "I'm Kimberly's mom, Dr. Ann Possible."
The man at the table waved to the group. "And I'm her father, Dr. James Possible."
"Nice to meet you," Amemi smiled. She took a seat at the table. Goofy and Launchpad were seconds behind. Sora shook his head when he saw there wasn't enough room at the table for Donald and him.
Amemi noticed Kim's dad was busy doing something on the electronic device placed before him on the table. "What's that?" she asked.
"A top-secret project," Kim's dad replied. "It will revolutionize the world of robotics."
"Really?" Donald asked.
"Do you wish to delete File Hephaestus?" the device said in a monotone voice.
"Yes," Kim's dad confirmed for the group.
"Dr. Possible voice print acknowledged," the device said. "Deleting file now."
Kim's dad's eyes lit up and gasped in shock. "No, no, no! Undo! Undo!"
"File delete aborted," the device said a moment later.
Kim's dad gave a sigh of relief. "No worries," he told everyone around him. He pointed to his head. "I got it all up here."
"Wow," Donald remarked.
"You must be really smart," Sora added as he placed his hands behind his head.
"I am a rocket scientist," Kim's dad informed them. "I'm down to the wire on the Hephaestus Project. Three years, three billion dollars. Boy, I hope this works."
Sora gave a nod, even though he had absolutely no idea what the man was talking about. This wasn't abnormal for him. He usually didn't know most of what others were talking about. Unless, of course, they spoke to him in simple terms. Whatever project Kim's dad was working on, he had no clue what it was about or how it operated.
Kim's mom placed a few plates on the table. "I'll bet you're hungry," she told everyone. "Here is some leftover spaghetti."
"Thanks!" Goofy said before he dug into a plateful of food. Launchpad did the same. Amemi winced at the sight of the two slurping noodles into their mouths. It would have appeared the two hadn't eaten in days if not weeks.
Donald turned green and looked away. Amemi slid under the table and crawled out from under it. She accidentally bumped her head while climbing out and carefully rubbed it.
At that precise instant, a small robotic rocket swooped into the room. Sora jumped and then ducked to avoid it. Donald ducked down like a sailor hitting the deck. Kim grabbed a frying pan and smashed the rocket on its front.
"Good move!" Sora congratulated.
"Not yet!" Kim shouted.
A moment later, a second, identical rocket came soaring into the kitchen. Sora summoned his Keyblade and crushed it with on hit. The rocket fell to the floor beside the first one.
"Tweebs!" Kim yelled.
Two boys appeared in the doorway leading to the rest of the house. They were clearly twins, both possessing fair skin, messy brown hair, and blue eyes. They're clothes seemed to match, except for their shirts. One had a green shirt and the other had a red shirt. These were Kim's twin brothers, Jim and Tim.
"Mom!" Jim declared.
"Dad!" Tim added.
"Did you see our… "
They paused, spotting the two broken rockets lying on the floor. They also saw a scowling Kim, Sora, Donald, and their parents with frowns. They scowled straight at Kim. "You did this," Tim accused.
"Why don't you play a video game?" Sora demanded. He picked up one of the smashed rockets. "These things are dangerous."
"We do," Jim informed him with a smile.
"We use them for parts," Tim added with a matching smile.
"It's true," Kim's dad confirmed.
Kim's mom looked straight at the two boys. "No missiles in the house, boys."
The twins sighed. "Fine," they said together before leaving the room.
Kim shook her head. "This is what happens when a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon reproduce."
Sora's reaction to Kim's statement was a simple, "Okay… "
"They remind me of Huey, Dewey, and Louie," Launchpad remarked. "Those three could really get on you."
"Yeah," Donald grumbled in agreement. "And they're my nephews."
"Muh son, Maxie, never was so much work," Goofy spoke up.
"And I have a sister," Sora sighed, gesturing at Amemi.
"I see it," Kim's mom said.
"See what?" Sora and Amemi said in unison.
"The resemblance. You two look very similar."
"No, they don't," Donald stated. "His eyes are a different color and she's got different hair."
Not wanting to mess with such randomized conversations, Sora turned to Kim. "So, what're you gonna do now?"
"I have school tomorrow," Kim replied. "What about you?"
"We have to stay until we stop Pete and Drakken," Sora explained. "If they're using the Heartless, you'll need some help."
"There's nothing she can't handle," Kim's dad broke in. "Anything's possible for a Possible."
"Okay," Kim said. "I can use some more help."
"Great!" Sora declared with a proud grin. "It's settled! While you're at school, we'll look around for Drakken, Pete, or anyone else using the Heartless."
"You can spend the night in the living room," Kim's dad said. "It'll be nice and quiet in there."
"Thanks," Sora approved. He was sure nothing could make this night better than having a place to sleep. Tomorrow, he and the others would go out and track down Pete… wherever he was.
This city did seem rather huge….
Somewhere miles away from the city of Middleton, there was a tropical island. It mainly consisted of a tall mountain. Local legend went around about this island, claiming it was supposed to be haunted. To makes matters worse, there were dozens of warning signs located along its base. Heartless were patrolling all side of the mountain, in case anyone dared to ignore the warnings.
At the peak of the mount was a large building crafted from metal beams and stone walls. The structure seemed to have been built inside a huge cavern. It consisted of many rooms and a few enormous chambers. Every one of them was well-lit.
It was in one of these large chambers that Pete was gathered with Drakken and Don Karnage. Pete was lounging calmly in a large, cushioned chair and staring at a blank television set. He could see Karnage standing on the far end of the room with his arms crossed. Drakken was somewhere in between, pacing back and forth while pondering. He had a sinister grin.
The silence was unbearable. Pete had started to doze off several times. If it wasn't for a strange smell, a few spiders and their webs on the ceiling, and a weird-looking contraption or two in the lair, he would have fallen into a deep, sound sleep.
"What's taking youse so long?" Pete finally complained. "We need to take over this here world quickly, or Maleficent's gonna have our heads!"
"Don't worry about a thing," Drakken stated in a rather calm voice. He stopped pacing. "I have everything taken care of."
To Pete, the self-proclaimed "mad-scientist" was standing tall and proud.
"In that case," Karnage spoke up. "Where's your girlfriend? We need her to have the meeting, no?"
"Not necessarily," Drakken said. "I have something else in mind. Listen closely… "
Pete rose from the chair and approached the other two. He took a deep breath and tried his best to remain calm. Hopefully he would not be in the doghouse this time.
He knew he could not fail Maleficent — again.
A/N: AND... THERE YOU ARE! WELCOME TO MIDDLETON!
In case you haven't really noticed, MIDDLETON is based on the Disney TV Series, "Kim Possible". Yet, for the purposes of This Story, it is mainly based on one of that franchise's two movies - "Kim Possible: So The Drama (2005)". This does not mean there won't be anything based on the other parts of said show. You'll just have to keep your eyes open and watch and learn!
So, I want to say I had a difficult time trying to write This Chapter. It wasn't easy with lots of interruptions and annoying classwork getting in the way. It became a little difficult to imagine the characters saying their lines - especially in the first two scenes I wrote in This Chapter.
I just Hope I was able to keep Don Karnage in character enough for you.
Yes, yes! Launchpad and Goofy's comment about "Colonel Klink" is a reference to the Classic show, "Hogan's Heroes". It's one of my favorite shows, so I might include more references to it throughout This Story and its Sequel - given the next story is unlocked because this story receives at least 214 reviews!
By the way, can you picture Goofy and Launchpad chowing down on lots and lots of nachos? I can!
Now, Try imagining Goofy, Launchpad, and Ron in an eating contest. Things like THIS helped me picture some of the scenes I have in This Chapter (and one that was removed)!
Plus, the scene with Donald wasn't in the "Storyline Summary" I wrote for This Story. The same goes for Drakken's scenes in The Bermuda Triangle. I was startled to see I had somehow forgotten them, so I had to create them as best I could.
I can't think of anything else to say at this time. I HOPE you're looking forward to Chapter 22!
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!"