DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

A/N: HEY THERE! HI THERE! HO THERE! YOU'RE AS WELCOME AS CAN BE! K-I-N-G-D-O-M H-E-A-R-T-S!

HELLO THERE! WELCOME TO CHAPTER 32 OF "KINGDOM HEARTS - SEASON OF LIGHT"!
Since this is a particularly LONG Chapter, I am going to let you go ahead and read - IN A SECOND!

First, I wanted to share with you a piece of TRIVIA!
DID YOU KNOW? The Voice-Actor for Bernard in Disney's "The Rescuers (1977)" and Disney's "The Rescuer's Down Under (1990)" was Bob Newhart.
Yes! THE Bob Newhart from the Classic Show, "The Bob Newhart Show". In case you did not know, Bob Newhart is friends with Don Rickles - the actor who voices Mr. Potato Head in the Disney-Pixar "Toy Story" Series.

So, with THAT piece of information aside... I actually have nothing else really to say, today.
IT IS TIME TO READ! PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW, TOO! YET, PLEASE READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT!

CHAPTER 32
The Golden Feather

"…Those particular areas. In other news, authorities in Mugwomp Flats have called off the search for the missing boy."

McLeach leaned in a little close to the speaker. His radio was crafted out of an old turtle shell. He wanted to hear what the announcer had to say. After all, it was about the search for the boy he, Cruella, and Mortimer had abducted.

"His backpack was found near Crocodile Falls, and local rangers believe he was yet another victim of crocodile attack. Authorities once again warn residents to use extreme caution when they are…. "

"Ha, heh!" McLeach gave a sinister chuckle as he scooped up the radio in one hand. "Think you're pretty smart, don't you, eh?" he said to the device. "Who outsmarted who? Who? Who outsmarted who?"

"Ah, shuddup!" Mortimer complained.

McLeach shifted his gaze across the room. Mortimer was sitting on a wooden crate. The tall mouse's eyes were on the gadget in his hands. Sound effects were coming from the gizmo. It looked a little like a telephone, only without a cord and no obvious buttons. Plus, it resembled a black box.

He looked to the left. There was Cruella, slouched on the couch. A long, thin item was in her hand. She casually held it up to her mouth, breathed in a little, and then lowered it again. A puff of smoke exited her mouth and nostrils.

McLeach shook his head. For experienced members of Maleficent's team, they were very lazy. Maybe they were just impatient? Maleficent did want them to conquer this world as soon as possible. Still, in order to get anywhere close to doing so would require them to first take care of that pesky boy.

McLeach grunted. There had to be a way to trick the boy into revealing the whereabouts of the eagle he was hiding. "We still gotta get that boy to talking, huh?" he muttered to himself.

A completely unrelated thought struck his mind. He sat up straight in his chair. He stood up and turned to the other two. "How about some lunch?"

Mortimer looked up from his game. "What?"

Cruella rose from the couch. "We're supposed to be catching an eagle and taking over this world — not chowing down to waste time."

McLeach headed for his refrigerator. "Can't think on an empty stomach," he stated.

Mortimer switched off the gizmo in his hands. He stood up as straight as he could. "Yeah, I'll go along with that."

McLeach paused for a moment at the refrigerator door. "Gotta have protein… gotta have… eggs."

At the mentioning of the word "eggs", Joanna scrambled over to the kitchen.

Mortimer marched over to the kitchen and opened a cupboard. He took out a few bowls and some rusty silverware. He snorted at the condition of the utensils. Had these been left here by the old mining company?

McLeach carried an old toolbox to the counter. He set it down and opened the cover. Inside were a bunch of eggs. He dragged over a small, metal device, and something that reminded Mortimer of a sprinkler, only with a fiery touch to it.

Cruella strode over to the other two. "Why is this golden bird so important?" she questioned. "If you're not going to turn it into a fur coat, what good is it?"

McLeach gave a sinister grin. "It's the rarest bird in the world. It's worth a fortune. Anybody would buy it off the black market, once I have it."

Mortimer elbowed the poacher. "Ya mean, 'Once we have it'."

McLeach chuckled. "Yes," he frowned again. "We won't find her unless we get that boy talkin'."

Mortimer grabbed some potatoes and a knife. "Ha cha cha!" he said, peeling away two potatoes at once. "Why don't ya just find his 'weak spot'? Then we can finish our job here."

McLeach paused in thought. "Good point. Everyone's got his price. All I gotta do is offer him whatever he wants… and then not give it to him."

"False promises," Cruella grinned. "You would have done well in politics, or so I hear. I like it."

McLeach took a minute to think aloud. "Let's see ummm… the boy's got the eagle… I want the eagle… the boy won't give me the eagle… if I could just find the boy's weak spot, I could get him to tell me where the eagle is. But the boy's only got one weak spot, and that is the eagle."

He stopped there. "Or is it?"

Mortimer rolled his eyes. Was this what the poacher did when nobody was around? Talk to himself? The tall mouse would never be caught dead doing something like that! Of course, he would also have been with Queen Minnie if she had fallen for him — instead of that stupid King Mouse!

"Why don't ya trick him into telling ya where that bird is?" the mouse complained.

McLeach was still deep in pondering. "Maybe if I stuck him in a giant anthill, that would loosen his tongue and then…. "

The sound of a toolbox lid being opened seized the three's attention. McLeach hastily slammed the lid shut. "I got it!" he declared.

Joanna yelped from beside the counter. The salamander clutched her arm tightly.

McLeach laughed. "Got your hand caught in the cookie jar, didn't ya? Eh?" he glowered at Joanna. "These are not Joanna's eggs! Who do you think you're messin' with, you dumb animal? My mental facilities are twice what yours are, you peabrain!"

Joanna scampered off in a hurry. McLeach opened the toolbox. His mouth fell open. Mortimer turned his eyes to the container. It was empty.

All eyes whirled to Joanna. The animal was trying to hide behind the couch. McLeach stormed over to the couch and grabbed it with one hand. The piece of furniture flipped over and crashed onto the floor. Joanna yelped in alarm. "Joanna," the villain stated in a significantly serious tone of voice. "I give you platypus eggs. I give you snake eggs. Why, I'll even give you eagle eggs, but I want you to stay away from my… !"

He stopped suddenly. His face lit up with a rather dark shade. "The eagle's eggs! That's it! That's the boy's weak spot!"

Mortimer and Cruella exchanged looks of puzzlement. What did the poacher have in mind now? They silently decided (amongst themselves) to just play along with it. Humor him. Then, sooner or later, McLeach would give up on this whole "golden eagle" business and they could all use the Heartless to conquer this world.

The desert sands seemed endless. The sun was bearing down. The wind was swirling gracefully across the landscape. If there had been an ocean, you might have surmised this was somewhere on the beach. Otherwise, you could have gotten away with stating this was the Egyptian desert, only without pyramids.

Noise was in the air. "Yah!" Sora shouted as he slashed his Keyblade through a large Shadow Heartless. The creature hastily exploded and vanished into Darkness.

Donald sent a few chunks of ice flying at a flying Air Soldier Heartless. "Take that!"

"Let's go!" Goofy called as he threw his shield at a giant snake-like Heartless. The creature possessed red eyes, blue scales, and an orange rattle. The creature also had sharp fangs and was zipping through the sands at lightning speed.

It was moving so quickly, Amemi and Launchpad had to be careful which way they aimed. Indigo was up in the air, using her mystical wand to clobber a few Air Soldier Heartless aside. Jake had lassoed the Heartless and was using his rope to keep the creature's fangs at bay. Bernard and Bianca had ducked down to avoid getting hit.

Sora gave a deep groan. After dealing with an enormous water snake earlier, he had been certain he would not have to deal with another such creature again. Boy! Was he wrong!

After Jake had led the water snake across the river, the group had disembarked and let the animal go about its merry way. Next, they had hitched a ride aboard some fireflies and flown some ways through the oasis; Sora and Amemi had ridden together, and Indigo had soared using her own wing power. Once they had reached the other side of the oasis, the group had finally reached the desert.

Over the last few hours, they had travelled through the sand, following a set of tire tracks Jake had identified as belonging to a truck. Some Heartless had shown up along the way at regular intervals. That was expected. Heartless tended to show up in miscellaneous points in the worlds. One minute, you would feel fine and see your destination just up ahead. The next, a monster or two or three or four or more has crossed your path and you are forced to take them out before they do the same to you.

Just as the wind had started to pick up, a gigantic snake-shaped Heartless had appeared from the ground. That was what Sora and his team had been doing for the last several minutes.

Sora sliced his way through the Heartless's tail. The creature swung its rattle at him. The force of the swing was plenty to shove the Keyblade wielder back. Donald rushed over to him and tossed a potion. Sora quickly drank it and returned to his feet.

He looked up. Indigo was swooping low to attack the main Heartless. The sheer determination in her eyes made him smile. He had seen this same look in Violet's eyes back in the Sleeping Worlds. Both angels seemed to have the same strong Light, and they were equally determined to eliminate whatever threatened the safety of the worlds, as well as the Light in general.

He wondered if they were two of the so-called "Angels of Light" Violet had told him about.

"Sora!" Amemi called. Sora swung his eyes to his sister. She pointed at the Heartless. The monster was stunned. Sora looked up and stared in surprise. Indigo had somehow made the creature unable to move.

"You need to hurry," the angel called from above. "This spell is very short-lived."

Sora gave a nod. He knew what he needed to do. Clutching his Keyblade tightly, he raced up to the enemy. He jumped into the air. With a yell of determination, he slashed his weapon clear through the Heartless. He landed onto the sand before the creature. In a flash of Darkness, the Heartless shriveled and collapsed. A large, captive heart emerged from its head and drifted away. The creature then disappeared into Darkness.

Sora turned around to see Jake rounding his rope and putting it away. He smiled, knowing the Heartless was no more. The other crowded around him. Donald and Goofy jumped onto his shoulders. Their embrace nearly knocked the seventeen-year-old over.

"You did it!" Goofy cheered.

"Hooray!" Donald congratulated.

Launchpad approached the three and threw his muscular arms around them all. "Way to go, buddy!"

Sora tried to squirm around, but his friends' grips were too tight. He gasped for air. "Guys," he tried to say. "You're squeezing me too much!"

In a heartbeat, the pilot, knight, and magician released their arms. Sora fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He thought he saw a tiny scorpion pass by. He rose to his feet and allowed his Keyblade to disappear. He wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Good job!" Amemi declared. She threw herself around her brother's torso so suddenly, the two were knocked onto the ground.

Sora gave a deep sigh. As the sandy-haired girl let go of him and scrambled to her feet, she held out her hand. Sora nodded and took it. Amemi helped him to his feet.

Indigo stepped over. Recalling what had just happened in the last few moments, Sora braced for another embraced. With a large smile, Indigo held out her left hand. "You are a swell soldier, Sora," she told him.

Sora was a bit surprised. The angel did not want to hug him like the others had? That was when he remembered how many times Violet had reminded him not to hug her. He wondered if Indigo did not like hugs, either. He shrugged it all aside and shook the angel's hand.

"Yeah," he nodded to her. "But, I wouldn't call it a 'soldier'."

Indigo seemed a little confused. "How would you describe yourself, Sora?"

Sora pounded his right fist against the side of his chest. "I am a Keyblade wielder!"

Indigo's hands flew to just above her chest. She positioned them in a triangle-like shape and held it over her face. She peered through the opening. "No," she shook her head. "You look like a 'Keyblader' to me."

Sora paused in thought. Indigo had a point. He had been referred to by various titles over his adventures. "Chosen Wielder of the Keyblade" was what Master Yen Sid had named him. King Triton had referred to him as "The Keybearer". Leon and Yuffie had called him the "Keyblade's Chosen One", even though they should have been telling that to Riku. The Keyblade had only stayed with Sora ever since that incident in Hollow Bastion. After Donald and Goofy had decided to stick by the spikey-haired youth, Sora had regained the Keyblade. He still had it because of the countless connections he had with others. Well… that was the way Xigbar had made it seem.

Sometimes, it just felt as though the whole universe was dependent upon him — and him alone. Having such an important job to do was something he tended to dread. Yet, here he was, saving the worlds once again. It often appeared the problems in this universe were endless.

He wondered if there were as many problems happening in other universes, given they really did exist. Well… maybe one existed — Cyberspace. Then again, all those characters he had encountered in the Sleeping Traverse Town could have just been part of the dreams. Although, Violet had initially shown up there, too. Maybe… it was not a dream?

His concentration got interrupted when a sharp static sound filled the air. All eyes turned to Jake. The mouse held up a finger. "Hold a moment," he told them.

He reached into her belt a took out a miniature radio. He listened to it for a few minutes. For Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad, it seemed more like a few days. Amemi and Indigo both waited as patiently until Jake lowered his radio and put it away. "That was the ranger station," Jake explained.

Bianca and Bernard approached the group. "What did they want?" the former asked.

"They gave up the search for the missin' boy. Word has it, they found his pack in a croc's mouth."

"What?!" Donald exclaimed.

Amemi covered her mouth. Sora gave a deep sigh. "Are you saying, we went all this way for nothing?" he groaned.

"This can't be right," Bianca pinpointed.

"She's right," Bernard approved. "He's still out there."

Indigo's removed her headband. Her antennae started to wobble again. "He is out there," she confirmed. "I can sense his Light. He is surrounded by three very strong Darknesses."

"Well, that means we've gotta find him," Sora concluded. "He might be danger."

"Or worse," Launchpad added. Amemi felt a twitch of concern. If this boy really was in terrible trouble, they needed to find him — and fast!

Sora turned into the distance. "C'mon! We're wasting time standing here."

The group headed further into the desert. As the sun continued to beat down, Sora reached for the canteen around his shoulders. He remembered how Milo and the others had let the group keep their gear from the expedition to Atlantis. As he drank some of the water inside, he was grateful he still had it — especially after Kida had poured some out while examining it.

Before long, the team found themselves strolling through a rather flat plain with an occasional hill or two. On either side of them were dozens of odd-shaped openings. To Sora, they seemed haunted. Well, not as much as Jack Skellington, Zero, and Sally's hometown.

Goofy pointed to one of them. "What're those things?"

Donald smacked the knight's arm. "I told you! It's not nice to point!"

Goofy was puzzled. "But I wasn't pointin' at nobody."

Donald smacked himself in the face. This sight made Amemi cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Indigo did the same, except she used both hands.

"Abandoned opal mines, mate," Jake explained. "The miners left this region decades ago. There ain't anything valuable left in there."

Launchpad gulped at the sight of the ominous-looking entrances. "Yeesh! They seem really creepy."

Amemi shuddered at the thought of a ghost emerged from the mines to strike them. Then again, maybe all those underground tunnels were flooded to the ceilings with Heartless. The very idea of going into such a place made her uncomfortable.

Sora glanced at Indigo. The angel's antennae were still wobbling around. Judging from the alert eyes and zig-zaggish mouth, he concluded the angel was also a little nervous. He shrugged all this aside and led the way with Jake, Bernard, and Bianca. A boy's life was at stake, and they needed to find and rescue him from whoever had abducted him and then pretended he had been killed by crocodiles.

Chances were, if the kidnapper(s) had gone as far as to fake his death in such a tragic way, they were also armed with Heartless. It was possible one of them might even be linked with Maleficent and her Council.

"…Very stupidly…. "

Sora looked to his left. Donald was muttering lots of hushed garble in a very soft voice. He wondered if this had anything to do with the duck losing too many card games in a row. The mage had yelled in anger each time he had lost a game during the snake ride.

The tire tracks came to an end. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Amemi, Indigo, Jake, Bernard, and Bianca all came to a halt and shifted their eyes upward. Towering before them was a massive doorway crafted from various pieces of metal and wood. At one spot was a door, although it was fused completely into the doorway. Above the entrance was more rock.

As Sora looked higher and higher, he realized they had arrived at the base of a humungous rocky tower. Yet, this particular spot was covered by something man-made.

Launchpad kept marching up to the doorway. Before anyone could speak, the pilot slammed straight into the doorway. "Yeow!" he yelped, rubbing his beak. He glowered up at the door. "Who put that there?!"

Sora shrugged. "Maybe, this is the place?"

Indigo strode closer. She leaned against the door. "I can hear something from the other side," she revealed. "Four voices."

Bianca looked worried. "This is no time to waste. We must try to get in."

Bernard handed everyone some small sticks. "Here, here everyone. Start digging."

As he held the stick in his hand, Sora noticed it was about the size of the shovel his dad kept in their garage. He shrugged and started to dig. On either side of him, the others did the same. Donald stood beside Goofy. The latter was next to Launchpad. Amemi separated Donald from Sora. To his right, the Keyblade wielder saw Indigo, followed by Bernard, Jake, and Bianca.

Sora gave a short nod and began digging into the sand. The sound of something rising from the ground caught his attention. Sora swung his head back. A Neoshadow Heartless had risen from the ground. It was a large one, about five times his height. It was quickly joined by a few others.

Sora stared at them in surprise. "Uh, guys? I think we have a problem."

The others stopped digging. As they looked back to see the enemies, everyone froze. "These monsters are Titanic-sized!" Amemi declared.

"We need to get inside — now!" Donald stated.

"But… this here job'll take hours," Goofy indicated.

Launchpad yawned and leaned against his stick. There was a snap, and the pilot landed into the dusty sand. "Aw gee…. Can't we just say, 'Open Sesame'?"

All eyes whirled to the pilot. Sora found himself staring in complete bewilderment. Indigo seemed equally astounded. Jake grinned. Bernard and Bianca gave one another looks of "Huh?!". Goofy and Amemi both shrugged.

"Are you kidding?" an impatient Donald scolded. "That never works!"

The ground started to vibrate. In a matter of seconds, the Heartless were stepping back a few paces. The doorway jerked loose from the ground. As it opened like a garage door on a hinge, Sora's team, Jake, Bernard, and Bianca all grabbed ahold of the edge. They clung on as it rose high into the air.

All of a sudden, Donald's hands slipped. He started to fall. Indigo let go of the door and swooped low to catch the falling duck. The Royal Court Magician landed in the angel's open arms. Indigo gave him a serious smile. "Did I hear you say ''Open Sesame' never works'?"

Instead of answering, Donald gave a large grin. Sora shook his head at this display. Well… at least the duck's cheeks had not turned red!

The door came to a stop. After a few more vibrations, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi all clambered on top. Indigo flew over the edge and set Donald down. She landed on the door so gracefully, it looked unreal to Sora.

"Wow," Donald marveled.

"Not even a mistake," Goofy remarked.

Indigo had to smile. "It is something I always do without trying. You can call it 'Angel Instinct', if you want."

Sora gave a nod. He was not sure what "Instinct" meant, yet he would probably use that term the way Indigo had just used it.

"Get out of here! Go on! Git!"

The stern voice drew the group's attention. They peered over the edge and saw a few figures emerging from the interior of the rocky structure. One was a young boy, about age eight sporting messy, blonde hair. He was wearing a red shirt, brown shorts, a brown belt, white socks, and brown hiking boots.

Bianca gasped. "Look, Bernard! It's the boy!"

Another figure came into view. It was an older man with a careworn face, brown hair, black eyes, and brown eyebrows. He was wearing a gray riding jacket, dark gray bandanna facing backwards, cream long-sleeved shirt with two buttons running vertically to his neckline, a brown vest, brown boots, and dark-grey pants with brown suspenders attached. He had an Indiana Jones-like hat with a dark brown band around on its brim and white teeth on the front. A golden feather was stuck into it's brim.

Jake scowled. "And McLeach."

Sora's eyes widened. Here was the boy they had been looking for. And he was in the hands of the poacher Jake had told them about. He found himself frowning, knowing this villain was a wanted criminal and probably using the Heartless.

Two others stepped into view. One of them was a tall, slender mouse wearing an orange, long-sleeved shirt in a similar design to Jiminy Cricket's jacket, a cream-colored shirt showing through the collar, very dark-tan trousers, and huge, flat-like dark-grey shoes. He had white gloves and black, round ears. His snout was very long and large.

Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad's eyes nearly fell out. "Mortimer Mouse!" they declared in unison.

"Who?" Amemi asked.

"He's thuh King's rival," Goofy replied.

"He's a no-good too-timer," Donald added.

"He tried to overthrow His Majesty a long time ago," Launchpad elaborated. "And kidnap the Queen for himself."

"Yup," Goofy affirmed. "If thuh King hadn't finished his trainin' we'd be under Mortimer's rule."

"And I wouldn't be with Daisy," Donald blurted. He speedily held his bill closed. Sora found himself fighting back the urge to laugh.

Amemi smiled brightly. "Is 'Daisy' your girlfriend, Donald?"

Donald did not respond. "Daisy is Donald's very special sweetheart," Goofy explained.

Donald glared at the knight. Amemi giggled. Sora laughed. This made the duck start to blush (at last).

Indigo's eyes were on the last person. It was a slender woman with fair skin, red-polished fingernails, huge eyes that appeared to be bulging, and hair that was black on her right and white on the left. She was decked out in a short tank dress, red gloves, and a giant cream-colored fur coat with a red interior. Her appearance was similar to that of a skeleton.

"Cruella De Vil?" she exclaimed.

The city was a loud, wet place. If it had not been raining, a decent-sized mist would have shrouded the entire place. As she strolled down the street, Indigo held the umbrella as steadily as she could. Since she was in a world she was not as familiar with, she had magically put her wings away.

As she stepped down the sidewalk, she glanced into the front windows of stores. In the distance, she could see a gigantic clock-tower rising above the rest of the city. People were walking about this way and that. They passed by, having nothing to say. It did not matter. Indigo wanted to remain as inconspicuous as she could. …Or at least she thought that was the appropriate way to use the word "inconspicuous". She was not sure. The last person who had used that word was her mother.

To put it simple, she just wanted to avoid drawing others' attention to herself. She was an angel. She did not want anyone noticing this and then doing strange stuff. It was a challenge being a mystical creature….

She stopped in her tracks. Her eyes were focused on a single storefront window. A dummy was situated in sight. It was decked out in a shiny, silver dress with a large, matching hat. One look at the outfit and Indigo felt amazed. And curious. She began wondering who designed such clothes. Her mind quickly grew more curious and more curious for the answer. This was not unusual. She tended to linger on one question for a while at a time.

She approached the store's doorway and marched up to the revolving door. After she pushed her way inside, Indigo closed her umbrella. She looked up in awe. The room was massive and contained a luxurious stairwell. The railings were a bright shade of brown. The steps were also brown, with red carpet lining the middle. Marble pillars supporting the ceiling, each done in an Ionic design. The tiled floor was also made of marble with marble lines forming designs on each tile. The walls were pure white, giving the sense of purity.

Indigo nearly froze on the spot. This place looked more like a mansion than a store. Yet, people milled about all around. Hundreds of conversations flooded the air. Employees were stationed at the numerous tables about the space. People were lined up, packages in hand.

Indigo strolled around. She nearly ran into a man carrying a stack of boxes as he trailed his wife around. The angel looked this way and that. Everything just felt so… busy and cluttered.

"What a strange place," she told herself.

She looked up at the staircase and came to a screeching halt in her tracks. Stepping down the flight one step at a time was a young woman whose appearance resembled a skeleton. She was slender with fair skin, red-polished fingernails, huge eyes, and white hair. Her outfit consisted of a short tank dress under a giant cream-colored fur coat with a red interior, red gloves, and a feathered purse.

As this woman drew closer, Indigo thought she heard a song playing over the store's speakers.

"Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil…. If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will. To see her is to take a sudden chill. Cruella, Cruella De Vil!"

For the first time she could remember, Indigo felt so nervous, she wanted to unleash her wings and fly away. Instead, she remained where she was and took some steps back. She turned around and raced out the door.

She failed to notice the woman had seen her leave.

Indigo's eyes remained fixated on the former fashion designer. "How? How did she get here?"

Sora and the others whirled their eyes to the angel. "How do you know her?" Sora asked.

"It was years ago," Indigo explained. She looked up into the sky like she was recalling what had happened. "Cruella was a the owner of a company that made clothes. One day, I stopped in, and…. "

Her voice trailed off. Sora gave the angel a curious look. He had the feeling there was a lot more to this story than what Indigo had said so far. Just like when she had told them the story about those three train engines.

From their vantage point up above, the group could see everything taking place down below. McLeach took out a pocketknife-like item and held it over the boy like he was going to stab him to death. At the last second, he threw it down into the sand. The boy looked completely surprised.

"It's all over, boy," the poacher stated. "Your bird's dead."

The boy seized his pocketknife. A large, blue Spencer's goanna rushed over and growled at the boy. The animal's yellow eyeballs looked uninviting, as did their orange irises. The creature sent its snake-like tongue aimed at the boy's face. The boy nearly jumped back. He scooted back a little when the Neoshadow Heartless (from earlier) rose back up from the ground and surrounded him on three sides in a semi-circle.

"Someone shot her," McLeach went on. "Shot her… right outta the sky — BANG!"

"No!" the boy declared, not willing to accept this was true.

McLeach's scowl grew darker. "Whaddya mean 'no'? You callin' me a liar? I heard it on the radio this morning," he waved his right fist. "And she could have been mine if it weren't for you."

He pointed into the distance. "Now you better git outta here, before I change my mind. Go on, git!"

The boy rose to his feet. He took one look at the Heartless and turned away. He started into the desert. It would be a long, long journey home….

As he watched from above, Sora was perplexed. What was going on here? What did that poacher have in mind by letting the boy go? It did not make any sense. There had to be something else afoot. He knew for sure from encountering lots of evildoers on his past quests; any villain would never do something like this without having a motive. That's just the way things were done.

"Gawrsh," Goofy spoke up. "Why's he lettin' him go?"

Sora nearly stared at the knight. It felt like Goofy had just read his mind.

Jake continued to scowl at McLeach. "It's gotta be a trick."

Indigo gave a nod. "His Darkness is too great to not have something hidden up his sleeve."

"But he doesn't really have sleeves," Launchpad pointed out.

Donald shoved the pilot's scarf into his mouth. Launchpad groaned, but it was muffled. The group continued to listen.

McLeach glanced at Mortimer and Cruella. He knew the boy was within hearing distance. Now was their chance. "Too bad about those eggs, eh?" he said in a loud voice. "They'll never survive without their mother."

"Yeah," Mortimer agreed, just playing along with the poacher. He was still not sure what the villain had in mind. Whatever the case, he was still going to humor him.

Cruella gave a nod. "Yes," she said in rather dismayed tone of voice. She slouched backwards and placed one hand on her forehead. It was the sort of pose you might see an actress do to symbolize they're in a state of shock and depression. "Too bad!"

McLeach shrugged. "Oh well! Survival of the fittest, I guess."

The three watched as the boy took one last look back. After a few seconds, he continued through the sand in a right hurry. McLeach's grin grew even darker. All was going according to plan. "Bingo!" he chuckled in his sinister style.

Joanna laughed from beside the poacher. The group of villains strode back into the garage. Joanna followed them.

Sora was more confused than ever before. What had McLeach, Mortimer, and Cruella meant? Did the boy have a pet eagle who had been killed? What "eggs" had they been talking about? None of this made any sense. It felt completely unrelated.

The villains he had dealt with in the past had all possessed easy-to-understand motives and plots. This one was different. It did not involve using the Heartless to take over the world. It was something that would have shocked Dr. Drakken. Judge Frollo would never have approved of such! Those two had both been linked to Maleficent as it is.

He wondered if Mortimer, Cruella, and McLeach were on their own. Or were they also part of Maleficent's Council?

"Bird?" Bianca asked aloud.

"Eggs?" Bernard added in turn.

"Sounds like a recipe for an uncooked omelet," Launchpad remarked, having gotten the scarf out of his mouth.

Jake held up his hand. "Shh! Listen."

Sora and the others peered down over the edge. An enormous vehicle rode into view from inside the rocky tower. The seventeen-year-old could not believe his eyes. It was an old Bushwhacker truck. It was equipped with a giant cage, grill, and a crane. There were only two tires, located beneath the cab. Caterpillar treads were positioned onto the back. The cage was on the back, with the crane dangling above it.

Sora was taken by surprise. He had never seen such a strange-looking contraption. Then again, he had been travelling around in a racecar that had been converted into a spaceship. He had also seen various trucks aboard a ship before the group had joined the expedition to Atlantis. He had even witnessed — well… not exactly "witnessed", more like "rode" — a motorized scooter outrun some gigantic robots.

From inside the cab of the truck, McLeach, Mortimer, and Cruella sat in the seats. McLeach was the only one buckled in, mainly since it was his truck and the driver's seat was the only one equipped with a working seatbelt. Joanna squeezed in between the three.

McLeach gave a sinister grin as he raised a pair of binoculars up to his eyes. He peered into the distance. Spotting the boy up ahead, he gave an evil laugh. "I didn't make it all the way through Third Grade for nothing!"

Cruella crossed her arms. "Yes," she commented, rolling her eyes. "And I'd like a nice, golden coat." The former fashion designer pointed up ahead. "Now, get going, you fool!"

Mortimer found himself snickering. "Ha cha cha!" he declared. He elbowed McLeach. "She got you there!"

McLeach's grin faded. He grumbled to himself as he put the vehicle into gear. It was not long before they were on their way. Joanna watched with delight as the group headed into the distance.

As the immense truck drove out from below, Sora's mind raced. They had to keep track of these guys. Whatever dastardly deeds they had up their sleeves (…he changed his mind about this word choice later)… or rather, whatever they were planning.

"I don't know where he's going," Jake called out. "But we can't let him get away."

Sora gave a quick nod. "C'mon! We gotta stop them!"

The two hopped down from the door and landed onto the crane's arm. Sora gazed back up. "You can do it!" he called.

Donald and Goofy were next in line. They landed a few inches from the other two. Launchpad grabbed Amemi and jumped. The two missed the crane and bounced against the cage. Sora watched in alarm as they fell to the moving treads down below. Bernard and Bianca also jumped, only to have the same thing happen to them. Indigo leapt into the air and zoomed down low.

Sora was appalled. His sister, Launchpad, and Bernard and Bianca had all jumped too late. For all he knew, they were in quite the pickle. …Even though there were no pickles in sight.

Great! Now he was thinking like Launchpad!

"Bernard!" Jake yelled. "Bianca!"

There was no answer. The mouse took out his rope and swung it around and around. "Here! Catch!"

The rope flew down below the group's eyes. It suddenly became taunt. Jake pulled his rope in. To everyone's relief, Bernard and Bianca were on it.

Everyone's relief, except Sora's. He continued to peer down, wondering what had become of Amemi, Launchpad, and Indigo. Had they been crushed? Or worse?

He saw a flicker of Light. Sora stared in astonishment. There was Indigo, soaring into view. In her arms was Launchpad; the pilot was still clutching Amemi in his arms. From the look on Indigo's face, she was struggling to fly. Apparently, Launchpad and Amemi were a little too heavy for her.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and waved it around. "Over here, Indigo!"

Indigo saw the young man and nodded. She flew over and set down upon the crane. Launchpad and Amemi hopped down. In a flash, Amemi threw her arms around Sora, catching the young man by surprise.

"That was sooo scary!" she told him. Sora could tell his sister was scared. She was shaking violently. After several moments, she broke free and turned to Indigo. With a few tears in her eyes (and a massive smile), she ran up to the angel and threw her arms around the latter.

Indigo was so startled, she nearly stumbled back and fell over the edge of the crane's arm. "What are you—?!"

"Thank you!" the sandy-haired girl said. "I thought I was going to be killed."

Launchpad shrugged and gave a shy grin. "Heh, heh," he chuckled nervously. "It was all an accident."

Donald tapped his foot with his arms crossed. He glowered at the duck-pilot. "What's wrong you, ya big, fat palooka?!" he shouted. "You almost killed Sora's sister!"

Launchpad folded his arms. "I was just trying to get us on this monster truck. Yeesh! Talk about no gratitude!"

Sora shook his head and looked up into the sky. He knew one thing for certain. Wherever McLeach and the others were heading, he and his team would be there to stop them. They needed to warn the boy of the villains' plot… whatever it was.

For some reason, he had the feeling it was not world-domination (for a change).

The truck came to a stop. Sora and the others looked around. To their surprise, the vehicle had come to a halt at the edge of a cliff. Jake lassoed his rope to a nearby bolt and dropped it like a line. He slid down the rope to the ground. Sora was next in line. He was followed by Goofy, Launchpad, Bianca, Amemi, Donald, and Bernard. Indigo calmly floated down, using her wings to slow her descent into a graceful fall and smooth landing.

Sora was a bit surprised. So, that was how she did it? The graceful landing? All Indigo had to do was tilt her wings slightly? He wondered if this was same trick Violet used. After all, they were sisters. Recalling what Indigo had claimed about a third angel named "Teal", he wondered if she used the same technique.

Jake headed to the edge. He looked over the cliff and signaled the others over. "He's going down the cliff!" he informed them. "C'mon, we gotta warn him!"

Sora's team, Bernard, and Bianca all hurried to the cliff's edge. They stopped short, noticing the size of the canyon stretched out before them.

"Whoa!" Sora awed in complete marvel. The canyon was so deep, it seemed to rival that of the Grand Canyon. It was not as well, however, and there was a waterfall on the other side. The size did appear to be larger than the gorge back at the Radiant Garden — the one just outside of town.

"Wow!" Donald declared.

"Gee," Goofy muttered out loud. His voice echoed about the walls of solid rock.

"I ain't seen nothin' like this," Launchpad remarked. "It's gotta be two thousand miles deep!"

Indigo stepped up to the edge and continued as though she were walking on air. Sora knew she wasn't. He could see her fan-shaped wings flapping. She was simply hovering over the chasm.

Amemi nudged the spikey-haired youth. "What do you think Indigo sees down there?"

Sora shrugged. "Who knows?"

The angel suddenly gasped and spun around to face the group. "I see him," Indigo called. "He is nearing a ledge about halfway down the side of this cliff."

"We must go quickly," Bianca announced. "There is no time to lose."

Sora gave a nod. He, Jake, and Bianca led the way over the cliff's edge. Down, down, down they went into the canyon. As he looked around, Sora felt relieved. There were no Heartless in sight. Back in the desert, there had been tons of them. He wondered if those Heartless had included the ones from this area.

Well… at least there was no bird-like creature to knock them down from the side of this cliff face. He remembered what that one dinosaur-shaped Nightmare had done to Riku back in the then-sleeping Traverse Town. He had clambered on up the side of the resort hotel, only to get knocked aside by the monster. It was a good thing Violet had been to catch him.

"Help!"

Sora whirled his head around. To his alarm, Goofy had lost his grip and was sliding down the cliff face. As the knight fell, Launchpad reached out and grabbed his arm.

"A-Hyuck!" Goofy said.

Sora had to shake his head. He turned his eyes to his sister. Amemi was carefully clambering down the cliff. Over and over, she was telling herself not to look down. He knew why. The nearly fourteen-year-old girl had once tried to climb the side of the tall hills on the Children's Play Island back home. She had slipped and almost fallen to the ground. Good thing their Mom had been there to catch her! Sora remembered that event so well, even though he was only about seven or eight at the time.

One thing was for certain — Amemi had always had a slight fear of heights ever since that day.

Amemi's foot slipped. Sora stared in alarm, again. His sister tried to regain her footing, but there was nowhere to put her feet. She started to dangle over the chasm. Her hands began sliding free. "HELP!" she screamed loudly.

Sora knew he had to do something! He carefully found himself climbing in the direction of his sister. Just as he grew close, Amemi turned her head to him. "Sora!" she declared.

Sora reached out his arm. "Amy! Take my hand!"

Amemi looked more frightened than ever. "I… I can't!"

"You have to! I can't reach you if you don't!"

Amemi looked away. "But… !"

Sora took a deep breath. "Look, I know you're scared! But, there's no other way!"

Amemi turned back to her brother. Seeing the determination in his eyes, she noticed something else. Light…. Could it be? The 'Kindness To Aid Friends'? 'The Shield To Repel All'?

She looked at his open, gloved hand. She gave a nod and released her grip. In a flash, she started to fall. She screamed as she dropped a few inches within a second.

Sora reached out his arm as much as he could. He grasped his sister's right wrist. He looked straight down. There was Amemi, dangling below. She looked up at him. As he looked directly into her bright, blue eyes, Sora found himself smiling.

When she saw her brother smiling, Amemi again looked into his azure eyes. There it was. Light. And… some type of reddish shield with a Hidden Mickey on it. She gave deep smile of her own. "Thank you, Sora."

Sora had to smile. "Not at all! You're my sister, Amy."

Indigo came swooping into view. The two turned their eyes to her. When the angel saw Amemi dangling from Sora's hand, her hands flew to her face and covered her mouth. "Yikes!" she declared. "What took place?!"

Sora grunted as he helped his sister back up to the wall. "It's a long story," he admitted, turning to see the angel.

Indigo's hands flew from her face. Her arms ended up at her sides. She was not smiling. Sora had the feeling he had only made the angel more curious and determined to know what had happened just moments before. "Whatever took place, it is too dangerous for your sister to climb down this cliff."

"Hey!" Sora was startled. Had Indigo just acted like his Mom? She had used the same strict tone of voice Star did. And she had made a statement the way his Mom would. He hoped Indigo was not going to start treating him like a little boy now.

Indigo flew closer. She wrapped her arms around Amemi's torso until she had a tight grip. "You can let go now, Amemi."

Amemi looked at the angel. Then down at the ground far below. She gasped and released her grip. Indigo struggled for a moment to hover before starting a slow descent down the cliff face.

Sora had to sigh. He felt he had just been blamed for his sister's accident. This was usually something that happened back at home, and his Mom was the one who accused him. Even if it was not his fault, he often got punished for something that he had not done.

He continued to clamber down the cliff in silence.

It felt like hours had passed. At last, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Jake, Bernard, and Bianca found themselves setting foot onto a ledge about halfway down the cliff. It was sheltered spot, with a slight overhang. The view was breathtaking, considering the wide river down below looked like a tiny creek.

Yet, what had actually seized Sora's attention was what was situated on the ledge. A massive bird's nest. It was a dark-gray color for the most part. Most of the twigs were old, dead plants. Sora thought it was pretty solid would easily hold any weight.

The group looked around the nest. Sora's eyes landed upon Amemi and Indigo. The two were standing were they had landed, about three feet away (that's in small size, in case you were wondering!). The group hurried over to them.

"Have you seen him?" Bianca asked. "His name is Cody."

"'Cody'?" Amemi inquired in turn. "That's his name?"

Bianca nodded. Sora was a bit perplexed. How did the mouse know the boy's name? They had not even met him yet. He wondered if the world had somehow told her for them. Well, at least they did not have to introduce everyone now!

The group started into the nest. When a few, small Shadow Heartless showed up, Sora summoned his Keyblade and speedily eliminated them. As shards of Darkness faded away from the blade of his Keyblade, Sora turned to the others. "Where is he?"

Amemi and Bianca both pointed ahead. Sora spun around. There was the boy — Cody — in the middle of the nest. He was standing beside a three, large eggs. One look at the size of the eggs, and Sora realized they were more-than-likely an eagle's eggs. He wondered if these were the eggs McLeach had been referring to.

Cody looked sad. He gazed at the eggs with a look that seemed to be full of mourning. As far as he knew, his eagle-friend was gone and never coming back. Sora knew one thing — there was nothing worse about losing a friend than never getting them back. He had been there multiple times.

The latest time had been when he'd been forced to fight Tron in The Grid back in The Realm of Sleep.

Cody leaned against the eggs and tilted his head like he was listening. He gave a sigh and scooped up a handful of grass and twigs from the nest. He gave a hint of a smile as he placed them upon the three eggs. He glanced around and noticed something shining in the sunlight. He reached into the nest and picked up a golden feather. He gently slid in against his hand; he could almost feel his friend's warmth, kindness, and Light. He knew he would never see his friend again. Yet, this feather still contained their heart's Light.

Before the eyes of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, and Indigo, Cody placed the feather upon the eggs. A gust of wind suddenly picked up. The wind snatched the feather. Cody reached for it, but the wind was too swift. Away the feather flew, twirling around and around as it drifted into the sky. Cody stared at it; shock and disbelief were inscribed across his face.

Sora instantly comprehended. He reached into his pocket and took out something. He held his palm open. There was the lucky charm Kairi had made from seashells; she had called them "thalassic shells". As he looked at it, he thought about how he might have felt if he had lost this item during his previous quests.

He put the charm away and turned to face his teammates. They all gazed at him. "That eagle was his Light," he realized. He turned his head back to see Cody. "Now he has no Hope."

Amemi looked down. "You make it sound so sad."

Indigo strode forward. "Since I am the Angel of Hope, maybe I can change all that."

Sora looked confused. "How?"

The angel held out her hands. A tiny snowflake appeared just above her palms. It slowly drifted up until it was floating in midair. She looked at Sora; he was awestruck. "All angels can use magic," she explained. "Yet, each of our spells are specially-chosen based on our title."

Sora felt like shaking his head inside and out. There was too much information coming in all at once. He noticed Bernard, Bianca, and Jake were heading for Cody. He signaled for the others to follow. "Let's go."

Even though they were all a bit bewildered, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, and Indigo all gave nods in return. They trailed the spikey-haired youth after the three mice.

As they drew closer, Bianca called out, "Cody!"

Cody's ears seemed to flutter the moment the name entered them. He looked down in surprise. Bianca, Bernard, and Jake were directly beside him. Sora and his team were along moments after. Taking a short glance over them all, the blonde-headed boy gave a puzzled look. "Huh?" he asked. "Who are you?"

Launchpad took a step forward and stood as proud as he could. "The name's Launchpad McQuack! If it's got wings, I can cras—!"

He was cut off the instant Donald grabbed a few twigs and stuffed them into the pilot's mouth.

"Oh, there is no time to explain," Bianca continued. "You're in great danger."

Cody seemed rather quiet and calm given what Bianca had stated. Sora wondered if he was no longer concerned about what happened to him now that his friend was gone.

A loud SCREECH filled the air. As it echoed through the canyon, all eyes turned into the direction it had come from. Sora and Amemi both saw Cody's eyes light up. His mouth fell open.

"Marahute?!" he declared. "It can't be!"

Sora and his sister exchanged looks of "Huh?!". Donald and Goofy did the same. Launchpad gazed at Indigo; the pilot was still trying to remove the twigs from his large bill.

In a flash, Cody raced away through the nest. He stopped when he reached the edge of the ledge. Bianca, Bernard, and Jake rushed after him. "Oh Cody!" she yelled. "Cody wait!"

"C'mon!" Sora told his teammates. "Let's go after him."

Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all nodded. Amemi smiled. "Correct," Indigo confirmed.

The group charged through the nest to the edge of the ledge. Well… it was not that fast. They had to pick their way through the twigs and blades of grass. At one point, Goofy tripped over a twig and banged straight into Amemi. The two tumbled around, knocking both Donald and Indigo off their feet. After helping get the two untangled, Sora led them the rest of the way to Cody.

When they got there, Sora and his friends peered over the ledge's edge. Further down below, a small river could be seen. Sora had the feeling this "small river" was a lot larger and wider than it seemed.

"Hey!" Goofy declared. He pointed to a spot of the rock wall near the nest. An enormous eagle was soaring through the canyon, not too far from the wall. The animal's head was covered by white feathers, and the rest of the feathers were a bright golden color. The tips of the creature's tail were brown. Its feet were brown with sharp, black claws.

"Wow!" Donald marveled.

"That eagle is huge!" Amemi declared.

Indigo felt her antennae wobbling a lot less. "She has a lot of Light inside," she announced.

Sora gave a nod. He could feel that same Light radiating out in all directions. No wonder McLeach was after this bird. Its Light was especially strong — even compared to the Light he'd felt back in Jamestowne.

"She's alive!" Cody realized. He looked both relieved and astounded.

"Cody, please!" Bianca was starting to plead as she seized his attention. "You must listen!"

"That's right," Bernard agreed, stepping closer. "Mc… McLeach is on the cliff."

"So are Mortimer," Donald added.

"And Cruella," Amemi finished.

"You've gotta take cover!" Sora stated. He had the feeling Heartless were about to descend the cliff-side at any second. Remembering how massive the Neoshadow Heartless had been back at McLeach's hideout, he had the feeling any additional Heartless were going to be just as challenging.

Cody gazed up at the top of the cliff. There was the Bushwhacker, parked backwards against the edge. At the moment, a missile was pointing down into the canyon. As he looked up, Sora saw the weapon was aimed straight at the eagle. As he looked closer, he realized Mortimer was at the missile's controls.

Cody swung his focus to the eagle. "Marahute, NO!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "Turn back! Stay away! It's a trap!"

The missile flew through the air. Sora's heart raced. He had the feeling the weapon had shifted direction. It was heading straight for the ledge. "Look out!" he hollered.

He ducked down. Amemi grabbed him. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad crowded around the two. Indigo leapt into the air and stared at the projectile in alarm.

Sora looked up. When he saw the angel hovering in the air, he grabbed her arm and yanked her down. "Take cover!" he demanded.

"I know!" Indigo replied. She ducked down and wrapped herself up in her wings.

Sora kept his eyes on the missile. It grew closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… closer… and more closer.

There was a deafening explosion. When Sora and the others looked again, they saw the missile had shattered. In its place was an immense, brown canvas. In the blink of an eye, the canvas wrapped itself around the eagle and sealed shut. The canvas bag was then slowly lifted back towards the truck up above.

Sora was startled. The missile had been concealing a canvas trap the whole time? And here he had assumed Mortimer was trying to kill him and his friends. Of course, he had never known any villain or villainess who would go as far as to kill him — except for Frollo. That judge had tried burn him to death.

Cody was struck with alarm and determination. "NO!" he hollered. He jumped onto the ropes holding the canvas in place.

"Let's go!" Amemi announced.

As if on cue, Jake lassoed his rope and swung it at the boy. His rope caught Cody's boot and became tight. He tossed his rope back for everyone to grab. "Hold tight, everyone," Jake instructed the others. "We're going for a ride!"

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi held on as tightly as they could. In the amount of time he blinked his eye, Sora watched the group get dragged into the air by the single rope. At the same time, he felt a sharp burning against his hands. He looked down and gasped. The rope had slipped through his fingers.

He looked up. "Guys!" he shouted.

Just above his head, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were getting carried away, along with Bianca and Jake. Sora was startled. Not only had he missed the rope, now his teammates were practically dangling in midair. Another thought crossed his mind.

Where was Indigo?

He noticed Bernard reaching after Bianca. "Bianca!" he cried.

Bianca looked back down. "Bernard!"

Before Sora could react, something else caught his eye. A brilliant patch of sunlight flashed from the canvas. When he looked at it, he realized Cody had taken out his knife and was cutting the ropes holding the canvas in place.

McLeach could not believe his luck. His plan had worked. That boy had led him straight to the eagle's nest. His theory had been correct; the boy had a weak spot other than the eagle itself.

The eagle's eggs.

Now, the immense bird was ensnared in his trap and slowly being lifted to his waiting truck. It was only a matter of time before he got his hands on that amazing animal. A million thoughts crossed his mind. What should he do with the creature? He could sell many golden purses from its hide. He and Cruella could produce lots of coats from its feathers. The claws could be useful for sharpening his knives and other tools. The possibilities seemed endless.

"I got her!" he declared in a very loud voice. "I got her! Did you see that?" he gave a sinister cackle. "Perfect shot! Per-fect shot! She's mine! All mine!"

As he continued to cackle away, Mortimer gazed down at him from the crane's controls. He frowned and crossed his arms. He looked at Cruella. The former fashion designer was standing beside the truck, not too far from the cage. The pair's eyes met. "What does he mean by 'he' got her?" the anthropomorphic mouse questioned aloud.

Cruella gave a slight shrug. "As long as I get myself a coat from those feathers, I could care less what becomes of that animal."

Mortimer had to admit, Cruella had a point. This eagle would be best left in the hands of a professional poacher. Or hunter, whichever one McLeach preferred to be called.

The two returned their gaze to McLeach. The villain was scowling now. From where he sat on the crane, Mortimer could see what the poacher had seen. There was the boy, desperately trying to cut the ropes keeping the canvas ensnared.

"Meddlin' brat," McLeach muttered under his breath. "Gonna get rid of him for good."

He gave Mortimer the signal for "shake it up". Knowing they could not waste any more time trying to catch this eagle, Mortimer gladly shook the controls as much as he could. He saw the boy lose his grip on the canvas and tumble over until he was dangling from the ropes.

"Oh no!" Sora declared. Not only had the villains up above captured the eagle, but now Cody was dangling from the canvas. To make matters worse, his sister, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were also on it. Bianca and Jake seemed to be doing their best to keep everyone from falling. Just as it appeared Cody was going to fall to his death, Jake lassoed his rope and wrapped it around the former's boot.

When he saw Amemi starting to slide, Sora wanted to rush up there and help her. Yet, he knew that was impossible. He could not fly; he was not a fairy, let alone had Pixie Dust. He swept his eyes around the nest. Now, even Bernard was out of sight. "Where are you, Indigo?" the young man told himself.

He gazed back up. To his surprise, Launchpad was swinging down on a piece of stray rope. Just as Amemi was about to fall off the canvas altogether, the duck-pilot swooped in and caught her. Sora gave a sigh of relief. This incident reminded him of how Launchpad had swung down from the rooftop of Notre Dame to help Quasimodo save Esmeralda and the brown-haired Keyblade wielder.

The canvas finally reached the top of the cliff. Using the crane, Mortimer carried it over to the cage. McLeach climbed to the top of his truck and slid the cage door open and grabbed the canvas. He shook it violently. The boy fell from the ropes and landed onto the wooden floor inside.

McLeach lowered the wrapped canvas into the cage. As he did so, the canvas started to open. A loud SCREECH filled the air as the eagle broke free. Not wishing to allow the animal to escape, the villain kicked the door with his foot. There was a loud slam, sealing the cage altogether. McLeach gave a dark cackle and knelt to observe his prey.

Mortimer hopped down from the crane's controls and approached the poacher. When he saw the eagle inside, he gave a sinister grin of his own. Finally! They had captured the eagle. Now, they could turn all their time to conquering this world with the Heartless. "Ha cha cha!" the tall mouse laughed.

Cruella climbed to the top of the cage and peered down into it. Something caught her eye. Two ducks, a dog, two mice, and a sandy-haired… girl? They seemed to resemble the group Maleficent and Pete had claimed to have encountered. Yet, they were much smaller than she had expected.

She brushed the whole thing aside. Even if these tiny "people" were the Keyblade wielder's friends, there was no sign of him around. That meant, they could still get away…. Unless he was not in this world. Chances were, she had been imagining things.

McLeach grinned even more. "There she is," he told the others. Joanna clambered onto the roof of the cage and stopped beside him. "Look at her. Look at the size of her…. The rarest bird in the world."

Cruella gave a dark grin at the animal's golden feathers. "How wonderful! There's enough feathers for a hundred coats!"

"That bird's gonna make me rich," McLeach added. "Filthy rich." With a loud laugh, he rose to his feet. "I got what I want."

"Good," Mortimer said. "Now, let's use these Heartless and take over this place before Maleficent gets wise."

McLeach gave a nod. He turned to Cruella and nodded to her next. Cruella gave him a dark smile. She looked down at the ground. In a matter of moments, several Neoshadow Heartless had risen from the ground. The creatures headed for the cliff's edge before they descended into the canyon.

"Now, this bird will stay rare," McLeach gave a darker grin. A thin cloud of Darkness surrounded his body for a second or three. Cruella did not notice. Mortimer, on the other hand, felt a little insecure standing beside the poacher.

"NO! PLEASE!" the boy pleaded from inside the cage.

Sora was appalled. Not only had McLeach, Mortimer, and Cruella gotten their hands on the eagle, they had also taken Cody, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Bianca, and Jake. The thought of his friends being in the hands of such villains was almost too much for him to handle. To top it off, Heartless were heading down the cliffs — heading straight for the nest.

"Oh no!" he declared in a loud voice.

He summoned his Keyblade. He found his eyes drifting over to the weapon. The blade was reflecting against the late-afternoon Sun. He had the feeling it was going to take more than his Keyblade to eliminate such gigantic Heartless.

He swept his eyes around the ledge. There was still no sign of Indigo or Bernard. Where had those two gone? He sighed. The last time he'd lost track of a team member (that he could recollect) was when Goofy had wandered off in Pocahontas's village. When he'd finally located the knight, the latter had been relaxing against a cornstalk, eating a corn-on-the-cob.

Still, he doubted Indigo and Bernard were off somewhere eating corn. Chances were, they had hidden when they saw the Heartless coming. Or, maybe they had tried to go after the others? Indigo had carried Amemi all the way down the canyon to the ledge after that near slip-and-fall incident. She probably could have lifted Bernard back to the top of the cliff.

Or… maybe they were playing hide-and-seek? This was no time for games!

The first Neoshadow Heartless set foot onto the ledge. Sora gazed up at it and froze. This creature was almost ten times his height. How would ever defeat such a monstrosity? Not to mention, he would be facing it alone.

He immediately jumped into his typical fighting stance. He glowered at the Heartless. Just as he was about to rush forward and deliver an attack, a swiftly-moving object caught his eye. Swinging his head to the left, Sora's eyes lit up. "Indigo!"

There she was, the Angel of Hope. Indigo swooped in close to the Heartless and took out her wand. With a shout of, "STOPRA!", the Heartless stopped moving. The angel lowered herself down to the ledge. Sora grinned when he saw her.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up," he admitted. "These guys are huge!"

Indigo's hands flew to just above her chest. To Sora, it appeared she was slightly fidgeting. "Bernard and I needed to take care of something else first," she explained. "So sorry I was late."

Sora shook his head. He recalled how often Donald and Goofy had been running behind in the many battles they'd been in during their first quest. Sometimes, he had felt like he was the only one of the group who fought the Heartless on a regular basis.

In a way, he was.

Indigo spun around to face the Heartless before them. "I put a spell on this Heartless," she informed the seventeen-year-old Keyblader. "It shall stay this way for nearly ten more seconds."

Sora gave a nod. Now was his chance. With Keyblade in hand, he charged ahead. As he drew close, he leapt into the air and unleashed a loud yell as he plunged his weapon into the monster. In less than a second, he had travelled clear through the creature and out the other side. Sora stayed where he was and watched as time started to resume on the Neoshadow Heartless. In a flash of Darkness, the creature exploded and vanished out of existence.

Sora beamed at Indigo. The angel gave him a Thumbs-Up in return, using her left hand. Sora strode back over to her. "Well, that's that!"

Indigo's antennae started to wobble. She looked back up at the cliff. "It is not over yet."

"Huh?" Sora was puzzled. Had the angel sensed something else. He gazed up at the cliff. To his alarm, several more Neoshadow Heartless were about to jump down to the ledge. To make matters worse, these creatures were just as enormous as the one the two had already destroyed.

Sora readied his Keyblade. Just as he was sure the Heartless were going to descend onto the nest, a blur of something white came rushing through the canyon and smashed into them.

Sora and Indigo both froze in surprise. What was this? Had something just happened to appear and take out all those Heartless for them? Or had the world's Light come to their aid?

A rustle in the nest caught Sora's attention. He and Indigo both looked back. There was Bernard, poking his head out of the twigs and grass. The mouse looked around and smiled. "Looks like the coast is clear," he told the two.

Indigo nodded. Sora took a quick sweep of the area and noticed something seemed off. "Where's the eggs?"

"We hid them," Indigo replied. She pointed down into the nest where Bernard had emerged. "They are straight down through there."

Sora saw the small hole in the middle of the twigs and other things. Bernard pushed several of them aside, revealing the three eggs. One look, and Sora knew why Indigo and Bernard had seemingly disappeared. They had seen the Heartless coming and rapidly covered the eggs, just to be safe. He nodded, knowing they had done the correct thing.

All at once, a vibration shook the nest. Sora nearly lost his balance, so Indigo grabbed him and helped him stay upright. The spikey-haired youth was relieved. It seemed the angel had exceptional balance, just like what Violet had seemed to have.

When the angel and Keyblader turned their eyes back at the middle of the nest, they saw something else they hadn't expected. A giant bird was standing off to the side, near the edge. He had white feather and was a little overweight. A black helmet with goggles was on his head. He had an aqua scarf around his neck.

"Girls?" The bird called out. "Girls, I'm here!" he laughed. "Where are you, you little chickees you?"

Bernard stared at the bird in astonishment. "Wilbur?" he asked softly.

Sora was puzzled. Did Bernard really know who this was? How? This bird had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere. He had even landed with such force, the entire nest and ledge had violently shaken.

Bernard spoke again. This time, much louder. "Wilbur!"

"Hey!" Sora said in turn, noticing Wilbur was not paying Bernard any attention.

Indigo flapped her wings and took flight. She zipped around to the bird's face. "Are you 'Wilbur'?" she asked.

The bird gawked when he saw the angel hovering in front of his face. He lost his balance and tumbled over the edge of the ledge. A loud scream echoed through the canyon. Indigo landed between Sora and Bernard; the two stared at her with looks that seemed to read "Why'd you do that?". All she could do was smile and shrug.

Wilbur emerged from the canyon and clambered back onto the ledge. "Don't ever do that to me again!" he snapped, glaring at Indigo.

Indigo's hands flew to just above her chest. "So sorry," she apologized. "I was not trying to startle you."

Wilbur panted until he finally had both his feet on solid rock. He glanced back at his tail. "Oh… boy… I lost a lot of feathers on that one."

"Wilbur," Bernard said. "Am I glad to see you."

Sora's mind was reeling. A lot was happening in a short time. Maybe he should introduce himself. "How do you know Bernard, Wilbur?" he asked.

"Long story," Wilbur answered the brown-haired youth. "I'll tell you about it some other time, kid," he panted Sora on the head. "Yeow," he declared, jerking his wing back. "Your feathers are sharp, kid!"

"My name is Sora," Sora stated. He pointed at his spikey hair. "I've always had it this way. I don't know why. I just do."

Indigo started to giggle. Was Sora serious? He had always had spikey hair his whole life? How old was he? As far as she could tell, he was probably about sixteen or eighteen years old. Maybe… seventeen? She was terrible at determining ages based on someone's appearance.

Wilbur turned to Bernard. "Wait a minute," he said, eyeing the mouse closely. "What the heck are you doing up here anyway?"

"The kidnappers took the boy, and Jake," Bernard took a deep breath. "And Miss Bianca."

Wilbur seemed alarmed, even more than Sora had felt when he'd first learned Kairi had been abducted by Organization XIII. "Miss Bianca? Miss Bianca's in trouble?!" he exclaimed. "Woah! Geez! That's terrible! We gotta do something!"

"Yeah," Sora approved. It was a long shot, yet maybe they could convince Wilbur to help them. "My sister, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad have always been taken."

Indigo stepped forward and knelt down. "Can you please help us?" she pleaded, folding her hands and looking straight up at the bird's face.

Sora had to shake his head. He had never pictured Indigo would literally beg for help. Then again, she had pretty much the exact opposite personality of Violet. No wonder these two were sisters! There were a perfect pair. Just like him and Riku. Not to mention, Cogsworth and Lumiére, and Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. Laurel and Hardy. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. There were a lot of such teams out there.

Even Curious George and Ted/The Man In The Yellow Hat!

Wilbur stood up straight and tall. "Yes, I will," he saluted. "You three should start searchin' the desert for her, and… I'll scan the coastline!"

He turned to take flight. "That's what I'll do… I'll ask the chicks on the beach."

"Wilbur!" Bernard called out.

It was too late. Wilbur had taken flight and was soaring away into the sky. Bernard looked down and sighed. Sora and Indigo turned to him. "I was going to ask Wilbur to give us a ride back up the cliff," he explained.

Sora shifted his eyes back to the cliff. The wall of rock looked much taller now than it had during the descent into the canyon. It would take a lot of time to get out of there, especially given the three's small size.

Indigo hopped into the air. She started to hover just above the nest. "I can give one of you a ride at a time," she announced.

Sora's eyes lit up. He felt like slapping himself in the face. He had completely forgotten that Indigo could carry each of them to the top of the cliff. Recalling how quickly she had transported Amemi downwards, he had the feeling she could do it just as fast back up.

Sora gave a nod. "Okay. It's worth a try. Let's go!"

Indigo extended a hand for the brown-haired young man.

The desert seemed endless. And flat. Well… mostly flat. A few rough spots here and there. That was all. Even with the Sun beating down from above, the wind felt rather cool. It might have been the Bushwhacker's open windows. Or the speed at which McLeach was driving the truck.

In the cab, McLeach was beaming with delight. Not only had he gotten his hands on the golden eagle, he had also eliminated its eggs. The less eagles there were, the more valuable this eagle would be. It was definitely a supply-and-demand situation.

He turned to Mortimer, Cruella, and Joanna (his salamander). "Well, it looks like Lady Luck has finally decided to smile on us," he said with pride. "Everything's going our way."

"Now, I can start a new fashion line of lovely golden coats," Cruella smiled. She leaned back in her seat, dreaming of what types of designs she could make with the large, golden feathers. She could make a fortune just selling a few outfits.

Mortimer grinned. "And this world will be ours before the week is up," he chimed in. He felt confident, knowing they were on the verge of accomplishing all their goals here.

"You can't do this!" a voice shouted from the cage behind them. "You're gonna get in big trouble! I'll tell the rangers where you are!"

Mortimer glanced back. "Ah, shuddup!" He slammed the rearview window shut.

McLeach groaned. He had completely forgotten about the boy. That meddling brat could still ruin everything. He needed to be silenced — for good. "I almost forgot," he said, gazing for a moment at the others in the cab. "We got a 'loose end' to tie up."

Mortimer and Cruella both gave nods of acknowledgement. Deep, deep down, they were both questioning what the poacher had in mind. Either way, they could not disappoint Maleficent.

Mortimer, in particular, still considered himself better than Pete. If Pete had messed up many times, he could succeed without really trying.

The cage fell silent. As the truck continued on, Cody fell into a slump. Noticing this, Bianca and Amemi approached him. Behind them, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were in the middle of a card game. When Jake had seen them playing, he had insisted he join in.

As Amemi looked up at Cody, she saw the sorrow written on his face. This look reminded her of how she'd felt after she'd awakened in a strange world. That had been just after the Destiny Islands had been lost to the Darkness. She had felt so alone….

Until she had met "him". That dragon-friend of hers….

"Now, now, Cody," Bianca consoled the boy. "We mustn't lose hope. Bernard is still out there."

"So are Sora and Indigo," Amemi added with a nod. "The first one is my brother."

As if on cue, Jake jumped from the card game and landed between the two girls. "That's right! If anyone can get us out of this scrape, it's ol' Berno and Sora!"

A smile started to form on Cody's face. He switched his gaze to the eagle. The great animal returned the smile. One look at this, and Amemi knew the two believed there was still hope.

Jake leaned in close to Bianca and Amemi. "Nice bluff, ye two."

"I wasn't bluffing," Bianca said, keeping her cool.

Amemi crossed her arms. "Neither was I. You don't know my brother. He's strong, kind, and helpful," she paused for a minute. "…Mostly."

"Yeah," Goofy blurted as he and the other two picked up their cards. Donald looked red from losing yet another game. "Sora was so eager ta find Kairi, he went from world to world lookin' fer her."

"And she's his girlfriend," Donald indicated. He nudged Goofy. The two grinned, knowing Sora was nowhere in earshot to get angry at them. Even so, without him there, the teasing did not feel the same. Not at all. Not even in the least, little bit.

Launchpad finished picking up the cards. "At least, we know Donald can't win at Old Maid, Uno, War, or Poker."

Donald scowled at the duck-pilot. "Hey!"

"They are right," Bianca added, ignoring the scolding Donald was giving Launchpad. "You don't know Bernard like I do," she leaned against the back of the cage and peered into the distance. "He'll never give up."

Amemi gazed down the desert road behind the truck. In the distance, the Sun was setting. She felt a little cold, mainly since a cool breeze was blowing throughout the vehicle. Deep down, she hoped Sora, Indigo, and Bernard were on their way. It would only be a matter of time before they were rescued.

At least,… she hoped so!

The Sun was setting. A gentle breeze was rolling along the sands. Long shadows grew and grew, providing additional temperature loss.

Sora, Indigo, and Bernard did not really notice. Their eyes were trained straight ahead. The Bushwhacker had left a deep trail. Sora presumed it was thanks to the vehicle's deep caterpillar treads and monster-truck wheels.

Sora's heart was in complete control. With Keyblade in hand, he led the other two down the trail. He heart was telling him which way to go. He needed to find Amemi. He had made a promise to his Mom; a promise that he would keep her safe. He was NOT about to break that promise!

He also needed to help Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. The thought of his friends being in the hands of a poacher like McLeach, King Mickey's rival, and a dangerous fashion designer like Cruella was too much to bear. He had to do something!

As they passed around a curve in the trail, the group came to a halt. To their dismay, the tracks led down a steep incline and zigzagged all the way down to the bottom of a cliff-face.

"Oh my gosh!" Bernard realized when he saw the trail ahead.

Sora took a moment to catch his breath. When his heart was controlling him, it often took his breath away. He glanced at Indigo. The angel looked exhausted. After all, she had been fluttering along a few inches off the ground.

Now, she had set down. The instant her feet touched the ground, she tumbled over and somersaulted (accidentally) onto her back. There she lay, still trying to catch her breath. "This heat wave… is affecting… my flying," she barely could say the words.

Sora strode up to the angel. He reached for the canteen around his shoulders. He took it off and opened it. He tilted it at an angle. Some of the water spilled out and splashed Indigo in the face.

Indigo sat upright in a flash. She frowned at the brown, spikey haired youth. "Why did you do that?"

Sora grinned. "You collapsed. I thought you were dehydrating."

Indigo shook her arms. They were dripping water. She smiled. "I guess this means, you do not know. Angels cannot become dehydrated. We also cannot catch hypothermia, chicken pox, frostbite, or any other major sickness you could name."

Sora was a bit surprised. "So, you can't get sick?"

Much to his additional surprise, Indigo shook her head. "We have a separate set of sickness we can catch. Some of them can be deadly, too."

"How come?"

"I have no clue. That is just the way it is."

"How do you know all this?"

Indigo paused for a moment. "My Mom told me."

Sora put his canteen away. He crossed his arms. Who was this "Mom" Indigo was referring to? Up until recently, he had assumed all angels were heavenly beings, which would explain their hearts of Light. This meant, they should have just come to exist, unlike people.

Still, Indigo's claim seemed to change all that. She had claimed to have a "Mom". Did this mean she was referring to Violet's "Mom", too? Most-likely. After, the two were sisters. It only made sense they had the same parents. Well… at least as long as one of their parents was the same!

"I didn't know you had a 'Mom'," Sora told Indigo.

Indigo crossed her arms. "How do you think Violet and I came to be?"

"I always thought angels just appeared out of thin air. Like magic. I never thought you guys were born."

Indigo shrugged. "I suppose there are lots of myths about angels. Most of them are not true."

She extended her arm. "Would you please help me out of here?"

Sora gave a nod. He reached down and pulled the angel to her feet. The two smiled for a moment. Indigo's arms flew around the young man's torso. Sora froze for a moment; this reaction felt the same as the time Kairi had rushed up to him for a hug.

"Thank you for understanding," she said.

After she let go, Indigo whirled her eyes to Bernard. Sora did the same. The mouse was approaching a silhouetted shape. That was when Sora noticed something else. The shape was a gigantic animal; they were lying on the ground, dozing. It was a razorback, which, to Sora, resembled Simba's friend, Pumbaa.

"Ahem… ahem… ah… excuse me," Bernard said as he stepped closer.

The razorback rose to its feet and saw Bernard, Sora, and Indigo. In an instant, the animal grunted at them. Sora readied his Keyblade, just to be safe. At once, Bernard scowled and grabbed the razorback by its snout; he knocked the animal onto the ground, startling the latter.

"Now look!" he stated in a very assertive tone of voice. "We've got a long way to go! You're going to take us there, and you're not going to give us any trouble about it. Right?"

The razorback whimpered and shook its head. Sora was caught completely by surprise. He had not foreseen Bernard being so courageous. Then again, he just had to conclude that everyone had their moments.

Bernard climbed onto the animal's back. "Good," he stated in a firm voice. He signaled for the others to follow. Sora and Indigo exchanged looks of astonishment. Smiling at one another, the two headed for the razorback. Sora clambered on up while Indigo flew over.

Once the group was situated on the animal's back, Bernard down the road ahead. "Now git," he instructed.

In a heartbeat, the razorback was racing down the trail left behind by McLeach's truck. As they rode along, Sora began wondering how his sister and friends were doing. Had McLeach, Mortimer, and Cruella done terrible things to them? For all he knew, they had been crushed by some humungous Heartless.

Hopefully, that was not the case. In fact, it couldn't be the case. Amemi was too tough to go down so easily. Goofy was too strong. Donald's magic was too powerful. As for Launchpad, well… he was just too easily-distracted to be defeated.

He just hoped Indigo, Bernard, and himself would make it to wherever the evildoers were now before it was too late to save Cody and the eagle. Hopefully, HOPE was on their side!

A/N: KEEP GOING SORA! DO NOT GIVE UP! THERE'S STILL TIME! THERE HAS TO BE ENOUGH TIME!
Oh! You're still here. So sorry. I was REALLY getting into this last scene.

So, how about I go over a few things. Sound okay to you?
(1.) Yes, I added Wilbur in there. He doesn't have much of a role in This Story. Sorry about that for those of you who wanted to see more of him. Then again... there IS at least one more Chapter for This World. He MIGHT show up then! You never know!
(2.) To be honest, I am not quite sure if Cruella De Vil really was a fashion designer. That is just the way she seems to be portrayed in all the Disney Canon, in my opinion, anyway.
(3.) YEAH! Sora is a HERO! He saved his sister from a certain death! HIP-HIP-HOORAY! HIP-HIP-HOORAY! HIP-HIP-HOORAY FOR SORA! - AND PIGLET, TOO!
(4.) Yes, I did modify some parts of the movie's story. I only did it to make sure This World would blend well with this Story. It is not always easy doing such...
(5.) Yes, Daisy IS Donald's girlfriend! In a Disney graphic novel I read a while back, Donald had a nightmare where he and Daisy got married. When he laughed about later, Daisy got offended.
(6.) In case you didn't take note, Indigo mentioned something about her "Mom". What could THIS mean?
(7.) ...I am not sure why this point is here. I have run out of things I REALLY wanted to point out.
(8.) ...Why is THIS point here?
(9.) Okay! OKay! Enough IS ENOUGH!

Oh yeah! I wanted to tell you all that the POLL on my Profile Page shall be closing upon Chapter 35's Posting. It will then be replaced by another one.
In other words,... If You REALLY want to answer the POLL, NOW IS YOUR LAST CHANCE(S)!

*******OH! And one more thing. CRUELLA'S REMARK ABOUT "'POLITICS'" IS STRICTLY HER CHARACTER'S OPINION! IT IS NOT THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY, NOR THE OPINION OF DISNEY AND/OR SQUARE ENIX!*******

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!"