DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: ALOHA! AND WELCOME TO CHAPTER 43!
Okay, so I admit it. I have never actually been to the Hawaiian Islands, let alone anywhere outside of North America. Yet, I do want to visit every state and territory of The United States of America someday, in addition to Japan and a few other places.
Still, that does not mean I cannot enjoy introducing This Chapter, now does it? Let's pretend we are all on a flight headed for the Pacific Ocean!
Before we take off, I would like to point out some "Safety Regulations".
To start off, I want to thank all of you who reviewed Chapter 41 and Chapter 42! I had a LOT of fun telling Chapter 42 in particular. Can you tell how?
Even so, I also wanted to mention how at least one Reviewer accidentally posted their reviews on Chapter 1. If you wish to know why I know about this, thank Goofy for pointing it out to me.
In any case, here are some things you might have been wondering about the Main Characters' Battle Styles! Why am I telling you this? Why not? Besides, it might make some of the battles easier to follow - especially for anyone who finds the battles a little hard to follow at times. I usually write them with the flow of the story, adding in some special moves here and there to liven it up instead of a simply "block-and-counter" fight.
SORA SKY HIKARI - With his Keyblade in hand, Sora can easily slice and slash his weapon through any enemy, unless his opponent has a defense cutting in the way, or is good at evading attacks. If he moves fast enough through an enemy, he can either immobilize them, or terminate them instantly. This depends on whether or not he is facing a Heartless or a villain/villainess.
Sometimes, he will simply throw his Keyblade at an enemy. The weapon always comes back to him, similar to that of a boomerang.
DONALD DUCK - As The Royal Court Magician, Donald's wand is well-equipped with magic. Yet, in This Story, only the basic four Magic Attacks are used - Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, and Cure. A fifth one might come into play, yet that is yet to be seen. These spells are best used against Heartless and Nobodies.
Currently, he can use Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, and Cura. By the end of the story, he might use Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and Curaga. For the final battles, it is possible we might see him using Firza, Blizza, Thundza, and Curza (The Ultimate of these magic spells!).
GOOFY - As The Captain of The Royal Knights, Goofy's shield is armed with defense and attack capabilities. His dislike of weapons allows for him to use his shield to charge straight ahead, spin around, and bang his weapon into enemies. This is his best method for destroying Heartless's defenses. He is also helpful with defending his friends from enemy attacks.
Keep in mind, whenever he charges straight ahead, Goofy's face tends to be in front of his shield.
LAUNCHPAD MCQUACK - Being The Head of The Disney Royal Air Force and Darkwing Duck's (former) sidekick, Launchpad utilizes a gas-gun like his (former) ally/friend/roommates once did. This weapon is capable of shooting various things, in addition to gas. It is particularly useful with dealing Negative Status Effects to the Heartless; for instance, Confusion & Poison & Bind.
Yet, the Negative Status Effects are yet to be seen directly in This Story; they may have been indirectly shown. There is still time for them...
AMEMI HIKARI - Armed with a slingshot, Amemi attacks from a distance. She is especially good at taking out and/or stunning flying enemies. Air Soldiers and Flying Squirrel Heartless are particularly vulnerable to her attacks. Nevertheless, her defense is rather low, making her vulnerable to large enemies on the ground.
Whenever she is being protected by Goofy's shield, Amemi still has the ability to shoot down flying enemies from over the top of the shield.
INDIGO ~THE ANGEL OF HOPE~ - Indigo's weapon of choice has always been her Mystical Wand (it was not really her choice, though). She can use it to summon Spirits in The Realm of Sleep, yet that is not shown in This Story. Instead, she tends to use specialized magical attacks. The wand is also useful as a club. Her flying skills are helpful whenever she needs to swoop in for a surprise attack and clobber a Heartless or more into the Darkness.
She has also earned a Keyblade of her own. Yet, for some yet unknown reason, her Keyblade seems to have vanished. She has no clue if she will ever see it again.
With all that aside, I believe the time has come to reveal the next Disney-based World in This Story!
Naturally, the actual identity shall not be revealed until the END of This Chapter!
It Is Time To Take Flight!
Therefore, PLEASE READ ON TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! AND PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW, TOO!
HERE'S A CHALLENGE: TRY TO REVIEW ALL FOUR CHAPTERS OF THIS WORLD AND ALL FOUR CHAPTERS OF THE NEXT WORLD, TOO! IF 3 TO 4 OF YOU DO THIS, I BELIEVE THERE SHALL BE SOMETHING "'SPECIAL'" AT THE END OF THIS STORY FOR ALL OF YOU!
CHAPTER 43
Another Tropical Island
Herbie rattled a little as he soared through the emptiness of the Other Sky. Launchpad was slowly licking his beak as he focused on trying to steer the Gummi Ship. The modified racecar continued to fight back. Every time the pilot thought he had finally regained control, the steering wheel jerked the other way.
In the backseats, Donald and Goofy seemed like they were going to start bouncing about, having not strapped in tightly. Amemi did not notice, having used both straps and buckled in. Plus, her attention was on the monitor back there. She had flipped on another episode of Scholastic's "'WordGirl'" and was focused completely on it.
Since it was a little loud, Donald had placed earmuffs over his ears. Goofy had blindfolded himself and his hands were tucked behind his head. Here and there, he snored a little.
Sora and Indigo were in the front. Indigo had decided to sit in the front for a change, eager to gaze out the windshield. At the moment, she was marveling at the view. Sora sat to her right next to the passenger door. He glanced out the window.
A small shooting star caught his eye. The extraterrestrial object zoomed through space and then, suddenly, it vanished. Not a trace. He figured such an occurrence meant the star had either turned direction and could no longer be seen, or it had burned out when it entered the atmosphere of a distant world.
He turned to Indigo. The angel had a pair of headphones strapped over her head and a small, square-shaped iPod in her right hand. She was adjusted the volume of the tiny, silver gadget. She looked relaxed and was smiling as she looked out the front window of the ship.
Sora began wondering what she was listening to. He tapped her on the shoulder. Indigo turned to him. She paused her iPod and said, "Is there something incorrect, Sora?"
Sora shook his head. "Nah, I was just wondering what you were listening to."
Indigo had to smile. "You want to hear this song? It is from a movie my Mom grew up watching."
Sora shrugged. He was not sure what age Indigo's mother was. Then again, the angel herself could have been anywhere between seventeen and twenty-four. That was what he had presumed, given her rather mature appearance. Violet had seemed to be slightly older, mainly thanks to her so-called "manners" and what his Mom sometimes called, "etiquette".
"Why not?" he said after a moment or four.
Indigo removed her headphones and stuck them onto Sora's head. His spikey hair got pushed down a little when the angel slid them into place over his ears. The form-like cushions of the headphones seemed to tickle his earlobes. He chose not to say anything. After all, the angel had offered this opportunity to him.
"Ready?" he heard a now-muffled Indigo ask.
Sora gave a thumbs-up. The angel smiled some more. She hit the RESTART button on the device. A pleasant, peaceful song started to play in the background. It started instrumental. At first, Sora wondered if he had once heard it a long time ago. It felt a tad familiar. He just could not place it.
That was when the lyrics began. "Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight, someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight!"
He paused. Hadn't he heard this in an old, animated movie? It sounded like something from that one movie about a mouse. Or was it a rat? If he had seen it before, it would have been too long ago to know for sure.
"Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer," the song continued. "That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there!"
Sora started to doze. The song was so calm and peaceful, it made him want to relax. "And even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star! And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby, it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!"
The volume grew. Sora came back to attention. He thought he saw Indigo hiding a laugh through the corner of his eye. "Somewhere out there if love can see us through, then we'll be together somewhere out there… out where dreams come true!"
The song drifted into a long period of instrumental music. Through it all, Sora could hear the melody being repeatedly faintly in the background. For a moment, he almost felt like a tear was going to slide down his cheek.
Then, one did. The song was starting to get to him. Or, so it seemed. Having never been one to listen to music much in the past, Sora was not sure why this was happening now. Even if the song was about being separated and longing to be reunited. Just like he had come to believe Roxas had felt following their encounter in that dream.
'Sora… I wish I could've met you outside of the dreams…. '
Sora nearly jumped. Not only had the song's volume increased dramatically, but… had he heard his Nobody speaking to him, again? He decided he needed to respond, even if only through his heart.
'Roxas,' he thought. 'What is it?'
'I am not 'Roxas'. My name is Ventus, but you can call me 'Ven'. I need you, Sora. We need you.'
Sora nearly hit the roof in shock. Ventus?! Who was that? He had never heard such a name before. Was it someone related to Roxas? Or just somebody else who was connected to him? How would he learn the truth? Whatever the case, Sora decided not to let it trouble him too much more.
"And even though I know how very far apart we are," the song continued. "It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star! And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby, it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!"
Sora stared straight ahead. He was deeply wondering just what was going on here. The song was now starting to end. "Somewhere out there if love can see us through! Then we'll be together somewhere out there! Out where dreams come true!"
"Sora?"
Sora turned to his left. Indigo was looking at him, an expression of concern on her face. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Sora carefully removed the headphones and handed them back to the angel. He smiled. "That's a nice song."
Indigo had to shake her head a little. She retained her smile. "Yes, it is. It is called, 'Somewhere Out There'. My Mom told me it is from a movie about a mouse who gets separated from his family when they move to the United States of America from Russia. The song is supposed to be about the mouse wishing to be reunited with his family, and his sister still believes he is still alive, wherever he is."
She sighed. Her gaze returned to the stars shining in the distance. "It is a song about Hope. Listening to it helps me keep believing she is still somewhere out there, someplace in all those twinkling stars."
Indigo's antennae fell and she looked down. Her smile faded. "I am not going to stop Hoping. I am sure Teal is still around, somewhere out there."
Sora had to admit, he could tell how sad Indigo was feeling. All she wanted to do was find and be reunited with her sister. If anything, he had the feeling Teal was indeed around still. Perhaps they just needed to reach the world where she was at.
Herbie suddenly jerked to the side. Donald and Goofy tumbled out of their seats when their straps did not hold enough. The pair banged into Amemi, who braced for the impact. Sora found himself staying in place. Thank goodness Jiminy and Donald had insisted he strap in all the way!
He turned to Indigo. The angel was also strapped in nice and snug. Launchpad was gripping the steering wheel. He turned it very hard to the left. The modified racecar flipped over a few times. Donald and Goofy both bounced around the cabin.
At one point, Goofy's armored shoe nearly clobbered Indigo in the head, so she ducked. Instead, the knight's foot banged into the snack dispenser. It shook for several seconds before a barrage of chocolate-covered peanuts came flying out at Launchpad, Indigo, and Sora.
"Waak!" Donald screamed.
"Hel-p!" Goofy yelped.
The Gummi Ship zigzagged for several minutes. The view outside gradually transitioned from the colorful blue, yellow, and green of The Other Sky into the inky blackness of outer space. The stars continued to sky, despite the change in colors.
Sora stared straight ahead. A large thing was coming into view. It was a grayish color with bluish lights illuminating the front. It had a pair of fins on the bottom, similar to a submarine, only with engines on them like a jet airliner.
Sora nearly gawked at the sight. It was a giant spaceship. And it was headed straight for them! "Look out!" he yelled.
Launchpad yanked back on the control stick. Instead of flying up and then over the other ship, Herbie dived straight down and continued to spin around and around. All the candies from the dispenser clattered about the cabin. Donald and Goofy grabbed their seats and hastily strapped themselves in place.
One of the knight's shoes had fallen off in the chaos and it banged into Donald's head, followed by Sora's shoulder, and then Amemi's side. It continued to bounce around, so everyone ducked as low as they could in each of their seats.
A small, blue planet came into view. Not too far from it was an enormous, yellow star. A warning, red light began flashing on the dashboard. "YOU ARE OUT-OF-CONTROL! YOU ARE OUT-OF-CONTROL! YOU ARE OUT-OF-CONTROL! YOU ARE OUT-OF-CONTROL! YOU ARE OUT-OF-CONTROL!"
Sora was not sure what was worse. The concept of crashing into the planet up ahead, or the annoying alarm repeating itself on a nonstop cycle. In fact, the voice sounded just like that of Chip and Dale, only merged into one and a thousand times louder. It felt no different than the shrillness of the fire alarm in the school back home.
"Looks like we're in for a crash-landing in this ocean," Launchpad declared. He grabbed a red lever. "Hold on to your hats, hair, antennae, shoes, and anything else you have!"
Everyone held on as Herbie nose-dived straight towards the planet below. As they drew closer, a tiny line of something green could be seen. Launchpad chuckled. "Guess there's some islands down there…. "
Herbie continued to descend. The ship spun round and round as it headed for the islands. The nose of the vehicle was now aiming straight for an area full of trees on one of the smaller islands.
"Watch out!" Amemi yelled.
Launchpad shoved the steering wheel forward. Herbie righted and a large air-bag-like bag inflated underneath the vehicle. The Gummi Ship landed onto the ground and bounced a few times before coming to a stop. The bag deflated and put itself away. The wings, engines, and other features of the spaceship put themselves away as Launchpad flipped the red lever.
"Landing gear down," he grumbled. He threw his face forward and pounded the dashboard with his fist. "Aw gee…. My second chance to crash on purpose, and I blew it again."
A peanut shot out of the candy dispenser and banged into the duck-pilot's head. Judging from the honking sounds Herbie was making, Sora had the feeling the modified racecar was laughing.
Sora shook his head and unstrapped and unbuckled himself. He opened the door to his left. "Let's see where we are," he told the others.
He turned and hopped out of the cabin. Indigo was directly behind him. The angel folded her headphones and stuffed them into a side pocket with her iPod. Donald fell out of the vehicle. Goofy struggled to put his shoe back on and tumbled out of Herbie, only to land on top of Amemi. The two quickly got onto their feet.
Launchpad carefully closed the driver's door before he looked around. His hands landed on his fists. "Is this supposed to be The Dancing Islands?" he inquired. "Or is it Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang?"
As Donald marched over and scolded the pilot, Sora took a look around. The sky was dark and there were lots of stars shining down. Even a growing, crescent moon could be seen over the treetops. Speaking of the trees, every plant resembled the ones back home on the Destiny Islands. Palm trees, enormous ferns, even the thick underbrush.
Apparently, they had landed on a tropical island. Maybe this was the island from that classic show. The one about those seven people were got shipwrecked on that deserted island for years and years. Yes — Gilligan's Island!
"Gawrsh," Goofy remarked. "I sure wonder where we are?"
"I hope we don't run into Gilligan," Donald muttered. "It's back enough having two palookas around!"
Sora wanted to shake his head. Here he had been just thinking about that show. Then, Donald mentions it, too. Talk about an ironic coincidence!
Goofy's stomach growled. He rubbed it and licked his lips. When the taller dog sniffed the air, Sora knew what was going on. "Hey! You guys smell somethin' good?"
Donald looked beyond exasperated. "How can you think of food at a time like this?!"
"Well," Launchpad sniffed the air next. "It does smell nice."
Amemi shrugged. "Come to think of it, we haven't eaten something decent for a long time."
Indigo took a second to sweep her eyes around the immediate area. She stopped and pointed straight ahead. "Look over there!"
Sora and the others swung their heads around. A long, paved road led through the jungle and past a manmade structure. The building was made of wooden poles and had leaf-like roofs. Sora took a deep, long sniff. The image of a baked, pumpkin and herring potpie came to his mind.
He had missed being able to eat that for a long time…. Maybe this was a restaurant. Perhaps they could get something to eat! His stomach started to growl next. "Let's go check it out," he decided, even though he was letting his stomach do the talking; just like his friend, Winnie-The-Pooh.
He hurried down the road. Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were directly behind him. Donald reached after them. "Wait!" he called.
Indigo took off after the others. Donald was all alone beside Herbie. The duck slammed his door shut. He plopped his hands into the side pockets on his uniform. "I can't believe this!" he grumbled with a scowl.
He marched off after everyone else. He continued to mutter long lists of illegible garble as he stomped along.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, and Indigo had reached Deep Space—Hawaii.
Just as Sora and his teammates were at the building, a shadowy creature emerged from the ground. He slid to a stop, resulting in everybody else ramming into the young man from behind. First Goofy. Then Launchpad. Next was Amemi. Indigo leapt into the air to avoid them. Donald marched up and absent-mindedly kicked his foot into Launchpad's leg.
Down they went, crashing into a large pile on the ground. The instant Donald saw the four lying around, he gave a small grin. "Sorry, Sora…. "
Sora sighed. He shook the other three of his back and rose to his feet. Several more Shadows were rising from the ground. Another creature appeared; it was shaped like a snake, only with legs and a spikey tongue and bore red, black, and yellow stripes all the way down the length of its body. One look at the logo on the creature's body and Sora knew what it was.
"Heartless!" he declared. His Keyblade instantly came to his hand. He charged ahead, ready to deliver a devastating blow. The Shadow Heartless shrank back into the ground. The Striking Cobra Heartless shot out its glowing tongue and clobbered the Keyblader in the chest.
Sora fell backward. His Keyblade landed beside him. Donald raised his wand. "Cura!" he shouted.
A glowing flower appeared above Sora's head. It caused the young man to give a noticeable, greenish glow for a short minute. Once the flower and glow disappeared, Sora grabbed his Keyblade and was back on his feet.
"Sora, are you okay?" Goofy wondered. He looked worried.
Sora held up a hand. "Yeah!" he turned his focus to the Heartless and scowled. His Keyblade was in his battling position in a flash. "C'mon! Let's get rid of these Heartless!"
He charged again. This time, Donald and Goofy were by his sides. Amemi ran ahead, pausing here and there to shoot at a Heartless or three with her slingshot. Launchpad took out his gas-gun and rushed about, blasting the weapon's attacks at the Heartless. A few of the creatures started to doze off, allowing Sora the chance to slash his way through them.
Indigo took to the air and reached out her hand. Her wand appeared. She sighed, still wondering why her recently-acquired Keyblade had not appeared. She shoved the thought aside and concentrated on the skirmish below her. Every now and then, she swooped in low and slammed her weapon onto a Heartless's head like a club, eliminating the monster in the process.
It took only a few minutes before all the Heartless had been terminated. Sora paused for a few seconds to catch his breath and wipe some sweat off his forehead and cheeks. It had been a while since he had last needed to face Heartless in such a warm climate.
He turned to his friends. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were standing in a straight line before him from left to right. Indigo was on the far end, hovering about five inches off the ground. Sora nodded to each of them.
He turned around and faced the wooden structure. "C'mon," he told them. "Let's go inside."
The others followed the brown, spikey-haired youth through the open doorway. Well… it was not much of a doorway. There was no door. Just an opening. A sign above the entrance indicated the place was a "Tiki-Luau".
Sora and his team looked around once they were inside the building. They saw it was an outdoor place, with lots of tables around and flaming torches to illuminate the area. Each table had a colorful umbrella. People were sitting all around, eating something or other.
The group knew they had come across a restaurant. A waitress passed them. Sora noted her medium-length, wavy black hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. She was wearing a sea-green, Hawaiian outfit which reminded Sora of what someone wore when practicing the hula dance back home.
He knew that dance — somewhat. Amemi had once taken part in a class to learn how to do it. She had done rather well, considering how demanding the class had been at the time.
"Can I help you?" the waitress asked.
"We need a table," Donald said.
"Right," Sora agreed. "Do you have one?"
The waitress nodded. She gestured for the group to follow. Sora and his teammates made eye contact. He shrugged and started after the waitress. His companions were directly behind. As they passed the other tables, Sora heard a voice say, "This is you. This is your badness level. It's unusually high for someone your size. We have to fix that."
Sora turned his head to see where the voice had come from. Two figures were seated at a small table nearby. One of them was a small girl with the same olive skin as the waitress, in addition to long, shiny, black hair and brown eyes. He wondered if there was a connection between the girl and the waitress.
The other was a small, blue creature that resembled a koala. Its eyes were large and turquoise, although they appeared to be black. A tuft of hair was on its head, and it had a short tail. There were indigo-designed spots on both the back and the back of the head. The creature also had two arms and two feet, each with sharp, indigo claws. Its teeth were stubby and white.
When the creature glanced at him, Sora could see the former also sported large, blue, bat-like ears, an indigo nose, a long, pink tongue, and circles around the eyes.
Sora came to a halt. "Huh?" he had the strangest feeling he had seen this creature before. When had that been? He could not it exactly.
Donald and Goofy both stopped and turned to see what had distracted the Keyblade wielder. "Hey, isn't that thuh blue guy who helped us in that there Heartless fight?" the knight asked.
"Yeah," Donald approved.
The waitress stopped when she saw the table. "Ay-yi-yi, Lilo!" she said in a hushed voice. "Your dog cannot sit at the table."
The girl looked up at the waitress. "Stitch is troubled," she said, glancing at the blue creature beside her. "He needs desserts."
"'Stitch'?" Goofy thought aloud. His eyes widened and he grinned. "A-Hyuck!"
The knight nudged Sora in the elbow. "Look," he pointed to the bluish creature. "It's Stitch!"
Sora was puzzled. "Who?"
"Ya know! That there fella who fought beside us in the battle of a thousand Heartless."
Sora's eyes grew larger than ever. He felt like slapping himself in the face. Why had it never occurred to him who this was? It was a familiar face! The little alien who had helped them in their showdown against Maleficent's Heartless forces when she had invaded the town of Hollow Bastion.
Now, he was wondering how "Stitch" had ended up here, in this far-off world. It was a long distance away from the Radiant Garden. Had he used a Corridor of Darkness to get here? No, that did not sound correct in this situation.
The waitress sighed before she left the table. Sora strode forward to the girl. "Can we join you?" he asked.
The girl nodded. "Sure!" she turned to the bluish creature. "I'm Lilo. This is my dog, Stitch."
Goofy and Launchpad raced around for a couple minutes. They returned with a handful of chairs, enough for Sora, Donald, Amemi, Indigo, and themselves to sit with Lilo and Stitch. At once, a few people fell to the ground, their chairs having been pulled out from underneath them. This sight made Amemi shake her head. It seemed too comical to be considered real.
And yet, it had happened.
Everyone took a seat at the table and the small one next to it. Sora was glad to at least know someone else in this world, given he had never been here before. Then again, that was the case with most of the worlds he had visited on this quest. The only exception was when he and the others had paid the Beast and Belle a visit at the Beast's Castle.
Even so, he had made lots of new friends along the way. Milo Thatch and Princess — Queen Kida, Pocahontas and John Smith, Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus, Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and Rufus, Bernard, Bianca, and Jake (sort of), Nora, Pete, and Lampie. And those were the ones he recalled at the top of his head.
Now, here he was, reunited with Stitch. And he had also met a little girl named Lilo. Who knew who else he would come across on this journey to save the worlds from the Heartless? It was now a little less than a week before Christmas. At least, that was what his cellular phone read. Of course, the device only calculated the date according to the calendar back home on the islands. It never stated what time of year it was in other worlds.
"YEAH!"
The shout drew his focus away from the table. Same with Indigo, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi. On a stage across the area was a tall, slender man sporting brown eyes, black hair, and tanned skin. He had a simple necklace around his neck and a round tattoo on his left arm. He was yelling in a foreign language as he twirled a pair of flaming torches.
"Wow!" Donald and Goofy awed.
Launchpad yawned. He leaned against the table, his chin leaning against his hand. His eyes were half-closed. "This is too much like the Hawaiian movies Huey, Dewey, and Louie are always watching…. "
"I think it looks fun," Amemi admitted from the next table. She had chosen to sit at the other table with Sora and Indigo. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad had already filled with the one where Lilo and Stitch were seated.
Indigo leaned back in her chair and calmly placed her feet on the tabletop, much to Sora's surprise. She folded her arms and shook her head. "I do not think it is enjoyable," she stated. "It looks way too dangerous."
The man tossed one torch into the air. He gulped down a drink of water. He held the second torch in his hand and blew a gust of air at it. The flames raged for a few moments. The spectators all around applauded and cheered. Even Donald and Goofy were cheering and clapping.
"Yay!" Donald cheered.
"Yeah!" Goofy clapped with his huge hands.
The man took a bow. As he stood up again, the other torch crashed onto the stage behind him. The flames swiftly took hold of the wooden platform, forcing the man to jump over and over as the fire burned.
Sora's smile faded. He turned to Indigo. The angel was shaking her head. "Like I said, it is way too dangerous," she stated. "You shall never see me doing anything like that."
Amemi turned to her. "Are you sure?"
Indigo gave a nod. "I am sure."
"Really?"
Indigo turned to the sandy-haired girl. She sat up and put her feet back on the ground. She pounded her fist on the table. "Yes."
Amemi shook her head. "I'm not convinced."
"Why are you not sure?"
"I'm just not."
"Are you sure?"
Amemi turned around. She did not dignify the angel's query with a response. Indigo frowned and looked away. She leaned back and plopped her feet onto the table. Her indigo shoes' pointed toes were angled at the umbrella above.
This sight made Sora sigh. He had not expected witnessing an argument between his sister and the angel. The two had always appeared to be rather close, all things considered. Yet, they had just had an open disagreement and it seemed to have ended in complete silence for both of them.
The man from the stage strolled by. His entire torso and part of his face was slightly blackened from soot. "David!" Lilo called from the next table. "I got a new dog."
The man, who Sora know knew was "David", turned to Goofy. "Auwe!" he winced. "You sure it's a dog? He's looks more like a dog-man."
Donald shoved his way forward, pushing Goofy's face into a bowl of something black and gloopy on the table. He waved over and over to get David's attention. "Not him," he pointed to Stitch. "Him!"
David switched his eyes over to Stitch. He winced again. "Auwe!"
"He used to be a collie before he got ran over," Lilo explained.
Goofy sat up from the bowl and licked the globs of black substance off his face with his tongue. "A-Hyuck!" he declared with a satisfied smile. "Puddin'!"
The waitress came by again and delivered cups of water for Sora, Amemi, and Indigo. Sora took a large gulp, relieved to finally drink something other than recycled water and warm soda from Herbie's hidden compartment, the one Amemi had accidentally found in the backseat while playing UNO. Donald had been upset when he had discovered the space was not refrigerated. Sora had sighed deeply when Goofy had mentioned how the cooling system of the machine had been broken for a while and Chip and Dale had been working on fixing it day and night for two weeks straight.
For some reason, Sora was now starting to wonder why he was even thinking about such a thing in the first place.
After giving Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad each some drinks, and delivering two slices of cake for Lilo and Stitch alike, the waitress turned to leave. She stopped when she saw the fire performer standing there. "Howzit, Nani?" he asked.
The waitress was a bit startled. "Did you catch fire again?"
"Nah, just the stage. Listen, I was wondering if you're not doing anything this…. "
Nani sighed, which caught Sora's eye. "David, I told you, I can't. I," she paused and glanced at Lilo. The girl was showing an anger level drawing for Donald, which was filled nearly to the maximum in red crayon. "I got a lot to deal with right now."
David sighed. "I know. I just figured you might need some time…. "
Nani sniffed the air. She winced. "You smell like a lawn mower. Look, I got to go. Maybe some other time, okay?"
Nani walked away. David started to sigh again. "Don't worry," Lilo spoke up. "She likes your butt and fancy hair. I know. I read her diary."
Sora noticed she was busy coloring the rest of Donald's body. The duck magician, on the other hand, was turning red with anger. Still, he was tapping his fingers on the table and had one hand on side of his head and leaned on it.
David grinned. "She thinks it's fancy?"
Stitch wandered away from the table. Sora was about to speak up about it when Amemi nudged him. "You haven't been reading my diary, have you?"
Sora hastily stared at the fourteen-year-old girl. "No way! Why would I do that?!"
Amemi crossed her arms. "You can't. I don't have one."
Indigo's antennae jerked upward and she sat up. "You do not have a 'diary'?"
The sandy-haired girl shook her head. "No, I have a journal. And it's locked with a special key," she reached for something in her greenish purse and pulled out a silver chain with a tiny key on the end. "See?"
"A Keyblade could unlock it easily," Indigo remarked. She looked at Sora. "It is no surprise she became a little suspicious of you, Sora."
Sora stared at her. "What?"
Indigo cleared her throat and stood up in her chair. The seat began rocking a bit, but it did not topple over. "Temptation is not easy to overcome."
Sora summoned his Keyblade. He banged the blade of the weapon against the chair. It fell onto its side. Indigo crashed onto the ground, landing on her right side. She rose to her knees and scowled at a laughing Sora. She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Cut it out, Sora!" she stated in a firm voice. "I could have been hurt!"
Amemi snatched the brown-haired youth by the ear and dragged him closer to her. "That wasn't funny," she scolded. "Didn't you hear what Indigo just said about temptation?!"
Jiminy hopped into view and landed onto the table. She scowled at Sora in turn. "They're right," he reprimanded. "The world is full of temptations. At least Pinocchio's starting to learn his lesson."
Sora fell back in his seat. The chair toppled backward, sending the young man tumbling onto the ground below. Nani was just passing by and nearly tripped over him. "Hey!" she shouted.
Sora quickly sat up. He clambered to his feet and returned to the table without a word. He righted the chair and sat back down. He sighed deeply, especially when he saw the heated looks on the faces of Amemi, Jiminy, and Indigo.
Why wouldn't they let him just be himself? He hoped this had nothing to do with the Darkness Goofy had claimed was rising in his heart. First, there was the battle against those Heartless on the way to the castle at the Radiant Garden. Next, he had shoved Frollo off the rooftop of Notré Dame. Then, he had attacked Mortimer Mouse full force at Crocodile Falls. Later, he had clashed with Indigo, who had apparently been under the control of the Darkness. Now, he had knocked Indigo onto the ground and everyone was upset with him.
Why were all these things happening to him?! Was Goofy's presumption accurate? Was he starting to utilize the Darkness?
"Aha!" a deep voice shouted from not too far away. "Look what I find! Get restraints!"
Another shout followed a few seconds after. Sora, Indigo, and Amemi all swung their attention to the table beyond where Lilo, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were seated.
Two individuals were seated at the table. One was quite large and had indigo skin, three hairs on their head, two pairs of eyes, a pink face covered by a fake pair of glasses with a matching nose, and four fingers on each of their hands. The other was a tall, slender… woman? They seemed to have lime-green skin as well as just one eye and an antenna on their head, along with black hair.
Sora wanted to jump back in complete surprise. The two looked more like aliens from a science-fiction movie. Yet, here they were, dressed like everyone else around them.
Furthermore, Stitch was chomping down on the one with the single eye. The latter was screaming as Stitch growled intensely. Nani suddenly raced over and dumped a pitcher of water onto Stitch's face. The bluish creature bit down on his prey's head — hard! Sora ran over and grabbed Stitch by wrapping his arms around the latter's torso.
"Cut it out, Stitch!" he demanded. Stitch opened his mouth. Sora found himself thrown back a few steps. Stitch continued to growl. The lime-green figure coughed for several, long seconds.
Goofy came over and slapped Sora against the back. "Way ta go, Sora!" he congratulated.
Sora recoiled at the impact. He turned his head and grinned in his famous way.
"Hey, Nani!" A large man with a stern look on his face came marching over to the group. Sora turned his focus to see him. He stared, unable to respond. The man looked ready to pick a fight, although the nametag on his reddish-orange shirt indicated he was the owner of the establishment.
He put his arms at his sides. "Is that your dog?"
"Uh," Nani hesitated, unsure how to explain to her boss what had happened and why it had taken place.
"All is well," the lime-green figure said. Their single eye winked a few times. "Please, go about your business. I'm okay."
Nani grimaced at the sight. "Oh, your head looks swollen."
"Actually," the larger figure said. "She's just ugly."
All of a sudden, Donald burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, he fell over and grabbed his stomach. His legs flailed about as he continued to laugh. He rolled over and pounded the ground with his fists.
Sora and Goofy shook their heads. They had no clue what was so funny. This looked more serious than silly anyway.
The owner frowned at Nani. "Uh, this is not working out."
Nani seemed startled. "Uh, b-but…. "
The man crossed his arms. Nani scowled. She turned and started to walk away. "Yeah? Well, who wants to work at this stupid… fakey luau anyway."
"A 'luau'?" Launchpad blurted. He rose from his seat. "I thought we were on Pellican's Island!"
Donald was too busy laughing to slap the duck-pilot in the face. Goofy and Amemi helped the mage to his feet and carefully led him away. Stitch started to squirm in Sora's arms, so the seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder set him free. Jiminy hopped back into his place in Sora's hood. Launchpad and Indigo followed them as Sora led the way to the exit.
Nani was not too far behind. "Come on, Lilo," she said to her little sister. Lilo grabbed her coloring book and her crayons. She followed the others to the exit.
As they strode through the doorway, Launchpad turned to Indigo and loudly whispered, "That blue dog looks more alien than dog to me."
Indigo ignored the pilot and continued on her way after Sora. As Nani was about to step outside, Sora grabbed her arm. "Are you sure it's safe?" he asked. "There're Heartless roaming out there."
"There are what?" Nani inquired.
Lilo tilted her head. "What are… 'Heartless'?"
Sora held up his hands and grinned. "Long story, but they'll steal your hearts unless you've got a way to defend yourself."
Donald continued to laugh as he marched up to Sora and grabbed the young man by his necklace, pulling him down. He slapped his hand against the latter's face before letting go.
Sora was perplexed. What had gotten into Donald?
He shrugged it aside and turned back to the two girls. "We can escort you home."
"Yes," Amemi approved. "Unless you believe you're going to be safe with Heartless around."
Lilo and Nani looked at one another. They smiled. "Ih," stated Stitch.
That was all Sora needed to hear. True, he was not sure what his friend meant. Just that it sounded a little like "Yes".
The moon was rising over the island by the time Nani parked her car at the top of a gentle rise. A decent-sized house was located in the middle of the lush, tropical rainforest. It was a split-level home on stilts. A wing to the left on the second-floor looked almost exactly like a perfect cube, only with a peaked roof. The outside walls were yellow and the peaked roofs were a clear red color. The windows' frames were blue, which made Sora wonder if the design was intended to resemble the main three primary colors. To the right of the building was a cliff; at the base was a long, gently-moving stream.
Lilo, Stitch, and Sora's team followed her up a series of teal steps to the front door. Sora felt so exhausted, he was struggling to clamber up the wooden stairs. He stopped at one point and clung to the handrails. He looked back. Donald and Goofy were also dragging their feet, the latter doing it in the literal form of the word. Launchpad was slowly moving along the stairs, probably worn out from his constant fights with Herbie over who was in control of the vehicle. The pilot's speed made Amemi slow-down, which did not help, considering she was one of the few who were still full of energy. The other was Indigo, who had simply flown up to the front door and was awaiting the others' arrival.
Sora was now wishing he had rode in Herbie with his sister. Launchpad had drove the car away from the restaurant as soon as Nani had driven away in her own car. The only other ones in the car at the time were Amemi and Indigo. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had been forced to chase the speeding cars down the road a long way before they caught up.
Then, there was the Heartless skirmishes. Every other mile, a swarm of Heartless had crossed their paths. If only the brown, spikey-headed youth had not been busy fighting and running to keep up with the others. Just like Donald and Goofy. The three had been forced to do most of the fighting. No wonder they were having such a difficult time scaling these stairs.
Goofy's tongue was dangling as he panted, almost as though he were a dog instead of the Captain of the Royal Knights. Donald was using his hands and wobbly, webbed feet to climbed each step, one-by-one. All around them, crickets chirped. An owl hooted from somewhere in the distance.
"Did you lose your job because of Stitch and me?" Lilo asked her sister.
Nani gave a kind smile. "Nah," she replied. "The manager's a vampire and he wanted me to join his legion of the undead."
Lilo stared straight ahead. "I knew it," she muttered softly to herself.
Sora was puzzled. "Gawrsh," he heard Goofy say. "Now there's vamp-pliers?"
"Who knows?" Donald answered. "And it's 'vampires'!"
Sora had to shake his head when he heard this. Once again, Goofy had mispronounced a word. And it seemed this one was a little goofier than the last time. Come to think of it, he could not recall the last time. It had been too long ago.
Too much had happened since then… whenever "then" was.
Nani unlocked the front door. As she opened it and flipped on the light, the illumination from inside the house made Sora, Donald, and Goofy have to shield their eyes for a couple seconds. Sora had never imagined he would see such a bright light so suddenly like this.
After all, he was used to seeing rather dim lights at night. Back home on the islands, the towns' energy levels always seemed to drop when the Sun started to set. True, it was partly due to the shift from the solar panels to the storage batteries for the night.
Even so, those lights were never this bright during the nighttime hours! He felt a hand grab his arm and pull him into the hours. He felt himself plopping down on a cushioned surface. Once his eyes adjusted, Sora looked again.
He was seated on a large futon with greenish cushions and matching pillows. Indigo was seated beside him. "Are you alright?" she asked him.
Sora rubbed his eyes. He swept his eyes around the room. A bookshelf beside the front door caught his eye. There was an older television located in the far corner of the room, complete with antennae. A record player was situated in the middle of the floor, along with a handful of record discs.
Stitch crawled into room as Lilo and Nani stepped in through the door. "This is a great home," Lilo said to the bluish creature. "You'll like it a lot."
Stitch hissed in reply. Goofy and Launchpad strolled in through the front door. As if on cue, the two headed into a side room to the left of the doorway. The scent of something sweeter than sweet could be detected from it. Sora figured that was the kitchen.
Donald came inside and wobbled his way to a sea-green chair. When he arrived, he clambered onto the seat and sat down. He suddenly drifted off into a deep, sound sleep. Amemi was the last into the house. She looked around, taking in a 360-degree view of the living room.
"Sora," she said with excitement. "This is just like a home away from home!"
Sora had to smile at his sister's statement. True, some of the house's outer detail and its light-blue walls resembled their own home. Yet, their living room's ceiling was flat, not peaked. Plus, the technology was a little more upgraded in comparison to this one. Either this world was set in a different time-period, or the technology on this island just was not as hi-tech in comparison.
Lilo walked up to the futon and pulled off a pillow. She held it up for Stitch to get a better look. "See? Comfy."
"Uh, Lilo," Nani tried to say.
Stitch growled and grunted. He seized the pillow and charged for the chair where Donald was. He slammed the pillow hard against the duck's head, knocking the latter onto the floor and startling him awake. Donald was so heated about being pushed away, he got back on his feet and waved his fists in anger. "I'll show you!" he snarled, rolling his sleeves.
Before Sora, Lilo, or anyone else could count to two, Stitch raced around the room, the pillow in his mouth. Donald gave chase. The two ran circles around the room. In the process, Stitch hurled the pillow. The piece of cushioning stuck Amemi in the face, knocking her onto the chair. The chair fell back with a loud CRASH. Goofy came marching into the room. In his hands was a bowl of batter. He was stirring it at a speedy rate. "Gee, what's goin' on?" he wondered aloud.
Launchpad was directly behind him. He gawked when he saw the sight of Donald and Stitch chasing one another around and around. "I've heard of running in circles, but never did I think it was taken so literal!" he remarked.
Stitch hurried past the knight and duck-pilot. He bumped into the former, sending the bowl of batter flying through the air. It landed on Donald's head, upside-down. The batter splashed all over the place. "Muh Christmas cookies!" Goofy yelped in alarm.
Stitch neared the wall and started climbing it like a spider fleeing from someone's flyswatter. Now covered in cookie batter, Donald's face turned redder than ever. He yelled in complete anger and raced after the bluish creature with all his might. He tried to run up the wall, only to slide back down and land onto the bookshelf. The shelf toppled over, knocking several books all over the floor. One of them bonked onto Lilo's head. "Hey!" she grumbled, rubbing the spot where the tome had made its impact.
"Ha, ha!" Stitch chuckled. He hopped down from the large ceiling fan on the ceiling and landed onto the wooden table in the middle of the room. He hopped off it and shoved Goofy and Launchpad aside before reaching the wall. With sharp claws, Stitch scraped them against the bluish wallpaper. Several areas were torn up, along with some of the dry wall underneath.
"Hey!" Sora shouted. He leapt to his feet and charged to where Stitch was chuckling loudly. He could not believe all this chaos. True, Donald was most-likely seeking revenge for Stitch causing trouble in Ansem's computer room. Yet, still….
Nani ran over to where Stitch was continuing to claw up the wall. "Hey! What is the matter with you?!" she stated.
The two did not see each other until after they had collided, bumping heads. "Ow," was all Nani said.
"Ouch," Sora muttered.
Nani and Sora both grabbed Stitch at the same time. "Be careful of the little angel!" Lilo insisted.
Indigo hopped off the futon. "He is not an angel!" she scolded.
"And don't think he's a dog, either," Sora stated.
"We just have to take him back," Nani struck back. Once she had Stitch in her arms, she headed for the door. She grabbed the doorknob.
Lilo ran after her. "He's just cranky because it's his bedtime."
"Look at him, Lilo," Nani turned the doorknob as she nodded to the bluish creature tucked in her arm. "He's obviously mutated from something else."
Sora's eyes drifted to Amemi. The two made eye contact. They were most-likely thinking the same thing. Mutated? That could explain why Stitch was behaving so violently. Of course, the young man had never seen his friend act like this before. Then again, Stitch had simply been fighting Heartless the last time the two had seen each other. And that had been in the Great Maw of the world once known as "Hollow Bastion" — the Radiant Garden. He could still picture Stitch shooting the Heartless with his blasters.
Maybe he was still in that same state of mind now?
"He was an orphan and we adopted him!" Lilo argued to her sister. "What about 'O'hana'?"
"He hasn't been here that long," Nani counter-argued. She opened the door.
"Neither have I. Dad said O'hana means family."
Nani stopped the instant she heard the words. Even Sora was shaken when they entered his mind. For some reason, he felt he had heard them someplace else. Where had that been? A television show? An animated movie in the theater? Maybe it had been both of them? How would he ever know for sure?
"Huh?" Stitch questioned, seemingly reading the Keyblader's mind and heart.
"O'hana means family," Lilo continued. "Family means…. "
"Nobody gets left behind," Nani nodded in comprehension.
Lilo crossed her arms. "Or?"
"Or forgotten," Nani sighed and closed the door. "I know. I know. I hate it when you use O'hana against me."
The two sisters stuck their tongues out at one another. To Sora, it resembled the type of behavior he expected between Donald and Amemi. Or maybe Amemi and himself. Or perhaps himself and Donald. Were there any other combinations?
Nani lowered Stitch to the floor and released her grip on him. The bluish creature crawled away with haste. He trailed Lilo down a short hallway and up a flight of steps. "Don't worry," the little girl told Stitch. "You can sleep right next to me."
The two headed through a doorway at the top of the stairs and out of view. Nani turned to Sora and the others. "I, I'm sorry you had to see all that," she apologized.
"It's no big deal," Sora replied. He glanced at his sister. Amemi had risen from the floor behind the chair and was in the process of righting it. "Amy and I've had our own share of fights."
Nani wanted to laugh. "I've been wanting to ask you something."
"Yeah?"
"How do you know Stitch? Lilo and I just adopted him from the animal shelter this morning."
Sora felt a tad uneasy. How could he explain to Nani the truth without revealing he was from another world? Of course, he could outright spill the cookies. But then he might have to endure the wrath of Donald. And, chances were, it was going to be a lot worse than anything the duck had tried to do to Stitch. Perhaps being pressed to death, beheaded by a wooden guillotine, or some other form of tortured death sentence.
"It's a long story," he said at last. He yawned and stretched. "Man, I'm beat. Do you know if there's any hotels around?"
"'Hotels'?!" Donald popped his head out of the pile of fallen books. He clambered out of the mess, a scowl evident on his face. "Hey! What do you mean by that?"
"You don't need to go to any hotels tonight," Nani said with a kind smile. "You can stay here. I'll get some blankets and pillows, and you can sleep right here in the living room."
"Really?" Amemi asked. She came out of the kitchen with Goofy. A cold ice pack was strapped to the side of her head. Sora knew this meant his sister had banged her head into the wall after the chair had fallen over. "You won't mind?"
Nani waved her hand. "Nah! You can stay."
Indigo smiled and curtseyed, clutching the edges of her skirt as she did so. "Thank you so very much!" she said.
A few crashing sounds came from upstairs. It was immediately followed by a few shouts. It all ceased after a few minutes. "I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that," Nani muttered.
She headed down the hall to a closet. She returned a couple moments later with her arms full of seven, thin blankets and six, fluffy pillows. As she rounded the corner, two of the pillows landed on the floor. Launchpad and Goofy hurried over to help her. Goofy scooped up a pillow and then (absent-mindedly) stepped on another pillow and slid across the floor. He smacked, face-first, into the wall. The pillow in his arms exploded, sending feathers flying all over the room.
"Aye-yi-yi!" Nani exclaimed, shocked at the sight of the flying feathers.
Sora had to grin and give a small laugh. Even though he knew the Heartless were still on the loose, it was nice to see silly, comical stuff like this. And the slapstick had started shortly after they had first entered this house. First, it was Donald chasing Stitch around and around this very room. Now, Goofy had burst a pillow after slipping on another one. At least there wasn't anything sticky lying around. Being tarred and feathered was not something he wanted to witness first-hand.
Now that would have been torture!
"A-Hyuck! Ticklish and feathery!" Goofy chuckled aloud. This made Donald faint and fall back onto the pile of books.
Nani sighed and left to get another pillow or three. While she was away, Sora turned to his teammates. Goofy and Launchpad were seated on the couch, their eyes focused on the television. The device had been turned on. At this time, a rather dark, black-and-white movie was playing. Screams could be heard as a giant tarantula was attacking a large town in the older horror film.
"There sure were a lot of Heartless here," the spikey, brown-headed young man stated. "We need to find out where they're coming from."
Donald shook a book off his left foot. "What about the strange man and woman from the restaurant?"
Amemi gave a nod. "That's a good point. I thought one of them only had one eye. We should interrogate them."
"Yes," Indigo approved. She pounded her left fist into her open, right hand. "My antennae sensed some Darkness coming from the table Stitch attacked."
Sora gave a nod. He had the feeling those two, suspicious characters were the ones they needed to investigate if they ever hoped to get to the bottom of whatever was going on in this world. Could they be some of Maleficent's gang? Were they actually Heartless in disguise? He would not be surprised if the Heartless attempted to make themselves appear as humans or some other individual to fool others around them.
A series of yawns escaped through his lips. Sora found himself getting dizzier and wobblier as each yawn got out. "We should worry about this tomorrow," he decided.
As if on cue, Goofy and Launchpad slumped on the couch, closed their eyes, and folded their hands. Snores were not far behind. "Some more '"Hi Dad!" Soup', please?" Goofy grinned in the midst of his slumber.
"Okay," was all Sora could say in reaction. He eyed the spilled bowl of batter on the floor. Amemi sped over to the spot and used some paper towels she had grabbed from the kitchen to clean up the mess.
Donald was at the bookshelf with Indigo. The two were carefully righting the case. Once it was upright, they started inserting books into what they presumed were they proper places. Donald then grabbed a pillow from the table and laid down with it to the left of the couch.
After Amemi was done cleaning, she threw away the used paper towels and grabbed one of the blankets. She clambered onto the floor with a pillow and drifted off to sleep. Indigo turned to Sora. "Where are you going to sleep?" she asked.
Sora shrugged. "I dunno. I usually sleep in my bed back home. But," his eyes landed onto the chair across the room. The same chair Amemi had been thrown into by Stitch. A yawn entered his voice as he spoke. "I think I'm gonna be in that chair."
He grabbed a pillow and two blankets. The young man climbed into the chair, curled up, and quickly fell into a deep slumber. One of the blankets slid off his body and landed onto the floor. Indigo shook her head and marched over. She grabbed the blanket and carefully folded it. The folds were not perfect, being off at several spots.
That did not bother her. She was terrible at folding, no matter how carefully she tried to do it.
She placed the blanket onto the table and headed to the window. She looked out into the distance. The stars were shining down even brighter here than back at the lighthouse. She was not sure why that was the case, unless it was because this was a tropical island and not the coast of the state of Maine. Many of the recognizable constellations from before could be seen. Yet, some of them had changed a little.
She was not sure how to explain that phenomenon!
She continued to gaze out the window. She could hear the distant waves faintly from the shoreline, even though this house was clearly a few miles away from the coast. She reached into her pocket and took out her iPod. She unfolded her headphones and placed them over her head. The design of the headphones was a little loose, which was good considering her antennae. She looked down and switched her iPod on.
The last song on it was still selected. She switched to another song and found herself listening to the lyrics as she continued to look out at the stars. "I am not a child now. I can take care of myself. I mustn't let them down now. Mustn't let them see me cry. I'm fine. I'm fine."
She leaned against the windowsill. The stars seemed to be moving in an extremely gradual spin. "I'm too tired to listen. I'm too old to believe… all those childish stories. There is no such thing as Faith… and Trust… and Pixie Dust."
Her eyes started to drift off as her wings slowed. "I try, but it's so hard to believe. I try, but I can't see what you see. I try…. I try…. I try."
"Teal," Indigo said at last. "Please keep believing. I am sure I shall find you, someday soon."
She was about to doze off when a door opened from upstairs. The angel sat up and turned around. There was Stitch, crawling down the stairs with a book in his mouth. He crawled over to Indigo and stopped. He took the tome out of his mouth and held it up for her to see.
Indigo stared at the item in the creature's claws. It was large, red book with the picture of a yellow duckling on the cover. "It is a picture of a duckling," she told him.
Stitch shook his head. "Naga," he said. He opened the book and flipped to a particular page. He turned it around. He pointed to the page on the left. "Ih!"
Indigo took several seconds to observe the drawings on the pages. The one on the left showed a small duckling in the middle of what appeared to be a forest. He was crying, tears dripping out his eyes. A speech bubble read, "I'm Lost!". The next page showed an illustration of the same duckling, only he was happy.
A larger duck was holding him up in her arms. A few other ducklings were cheering and flapping their wings about.
"I know this story," the angel realized. She pointed to the left page. Stitch whirled around the book to see what she was referring to. "This is the Ugly Duckling. He is sad because he is all alone and nobody wants him."
"Hmm?" Stitch wondered in sound.
Indigo proceeded to the next page. "Over here, his family has heard him crying and they find him. Afterwards, the Ugly Duckling is happy because he now knows where he belongs."
"Hmm," Stitch eyed the pages closely. "Nah-nah."
Without another word or sound, the bluish creature headed back down the corridor. That was when Nani came strolling into the living room with another pillow and the telephone. The instant she saw Stitch crawl down the hallway, she gasped and dropped both items onto the floor.
"Hello?" a male voice said over the telephone. "Nani?"
Indigo decided to shrug the whole incident aside. She pressed the button on her iPod to resume the song. As it continued, another thought crossed her mind. Maybe there was something significant about that fairy-tale story of "'The Ugly Duckling'" and Stitch himself.
Yet, that was a question for another time.
"Sora! Hurry up!"
"Sora? You're gonna miss yer breakfast!"
Sora yawned and stretched. He rolled over and felt a little colder suddenly. As he opened his eyes, the young man came to realize he was the only one still in the living room. Or so it seemed. He sat up in the chair and saw his blanket now lying on the floor. He shook his head and hopped onto his feet.
He started across the room. He stopped when he saw someone else was in the immediate space. There was Indigo, lying on the floor, her head against a large pillow. Her wings were tucked around her body, acting like a makeshift blanket. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling. Her antennae also looked relaxed, being curled over as though they were about to fold up themselves. Her glow was still quite bright, illuminating roughly half of the space around her.
This sight made Sora smile in turn. He had never seen the angel sleeping before. Every other time he had seen her, Indigo had been wide awake and full of energy. Even in the middle of the night. Either she had stayed up too late, or this was during that time of day when she needed to get an hour or two of sleep.
Sora yawned again and stretched as he proceeded across the room and into the kitchen. He found Amemi, Donald, and Launchpad seated around a small, blue table with matching chairs. At the stove across the room, Goofy was using a frying pan to make something or other.
"Hey there," Sora said as he strolled into view.
"Well, well, well," Donald said. "Look who's finally awake."
"This is normal," Amemi smiled. "He'll sleep in until two o'clock in the afternoon if we'd let him."
Sora took a seat and leaned back in it. He placed his hands against the back of his head and grinned. "Oh, thanks, Amy! You just spoiled my sleeping reputation!"
The two sibling and Donald burst out laughing. Launchpad shook his head and chuckled a little. "I don't get the big deal about a-reputations. Seems like the only one that matters is how often you crash, not how long you sleep."
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy pointed at the ceiling. "Sticky!"
Sora, Amemi, Donald, and Launchpad all swung their attention to the ceiling. A pancake was stuck to the paint. It started to peel off as Indigo came into the room. "Good morning," she said, feeling rather wide awake. "It is time to rise and shine!"
Sora knew that line. He had once heard Violet using it. Of course, that had been way back in the Sleeping World of Corona. The angel had seemingly been trying to awaken him and Riku. He still was not sure why, considering she was the Angel of Dreams. Unless… could it be an "Angel Thing"?
As the angel approached the stove, she paused. Her antennae pointed straight at the ceiling. She looked up. There was the pancake, now slipping free. "Yikes," she murmured.
SPLAT! The pancake landed onto the angel's head. Indigo used both hands to yank the piece of…. "Rubber?!" she declared in astonishment. "This pancake is made of rubber!"
Goofy spun around. "Huh?"
The knight had spun around so fast, he had forgotten all about the stack of pancakes still on the plate in his hand. The circular pieces of food went flying into the air. Sora and the others ducked as pancakes rained down onto the table. SPLAT! SPLAT! SP-SPLAT! SPLAT-LAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!
In just a matter of three seconds, the table was covered in rubber pancakes. Two of them had smacked Sora's shoulder. Another had bounced off Amemi's face. A third had banged into Launchpad's bill. And three of them had splattered onto Donald.
And I mean splattered! Pieces of food covered the duck's clothing. Either Goofy had not cooked those ones as long, or… maybe they had been actual pancakes. To make matters worse, some of the batter had splashed onto Amemi and Launchpad. Amemi stood up, her jacket partly covered in pancake batter. "I hope this comes out!" she groaned, gesturing to the mess.
Donald clutched the sides of his blue clothing. "This is very exasperating!" he scowled.
The sight of seeing Donald and Amemi covered in pancakes made Sora want to laugh. As much as he tried to hold it back, it was impossible. The Keyblade wielder exploded into laughter.
Amemi frowned and crossed her arms. "What's so funny?"
Sora pointed at his younger sister. "Your face!"
Donald jumped onto the table and rolled up his sleeve. He turned his hand into a fist and aimed it at the young man. "Oh, yeah?"
"Well," Goofy spoke up, seizing everyone's attention. "We still got thuh hard-boiled eggs."
Donald hopped off the table and over to the stove. He took one sniff at the cooking pot and held his nose. "Eww," he grumbled. "Those eggs are rotten."
Indigo grabbed her antennae with one hand and held her nose with the other. "Yucky," she remarked. "It smells like sulfur."
At that moment, Lilo and Stitch came stepping into the room. Lilo had her record player in tow. "Hey," she said, looking around. "What happened in here?"
"Goofy's makin' breakfast," Launchpad blurted.
"But I ain't that much of a cook," Goofy sighed in admittance. He smiled a moment later. "A-Hyuck! I ain't got muh Goof family recipe book! That's why I can't do no cookin'!"
Sora could not believe his own ears. If what the knight had just claimed was true, then all this trouble was the result of Goofy's lack of having his family's cookbook with him. Those burned cookies and ruined ovens back at The Beast's Castle. The ruined pancakes and spoiled eggs here in this house.
Yup! Goofy was just being goofy alright!
"Hey, what's up?" Sora finally asked Lilo.
Lilo opened her record player's case and turned it on. "Look," she said. She placed Stitch's claw onto the spinning record and opened his mouth.
"We can't go on together," came the song's lyrics out of the bluish creature's mouth. "With Suspicious minds!"
Knowing Stitch's mouth could be used as a speaker for the record player, Amemi found herself giggling. Sora laughed in turn. Why had they been upset before when Goofy had messed up their breakfast? Everyone made mistakes.
Just let bygones be bygones, correct?
There was a loud pounding on the door. Nani raced over to answer it. Sora and Donald rushed over in turn. Lilo's older sister was the first one there. She flung it open and gasped. Sora and Donald could not believe their own eyes.
Standing in the middle of the open doorway was a large, bald man in a black tuxedo and sunglasses. He was very muscular, almost like he had once been a member of a top-secret organization; Sora's mind immediately thought of Maxwell Smart from that classic show, "'Get Smart'", only not as silly. And one of his ears was pierced.
"Heard you lost your job," the man told Nani.
Nani hesitated in her response. "Well, uh, actually, I just quit that job because, you know, the hours are just not conductive to the challenges of raising a child…. "
"Who are you?" Sora inquired. He failed to notice Goofy, Launchpad, Amemi, and Indigo stepping into the room, wondering what was taking place.
"That's Cobra Bubbles," Lilo said as she and Stitch came into the room. "He's a social worker."
"'Social worker'?" Donald repeated.
"Gawrsh," Goofy observed. "He sure don't look like a social worker, no sir!"
"I'm a special classification," Cobra said. He did not smile, which made Amemi feel a little uncomfortable.
"Did you ever kill someone?" the sandy-haired girl questioned, feeling a little tense. Her hands were grabbing her elbows and her legs were leaning towards each other, causing her knees to touch. To Sora, this pose looked as uncomfortable as it probably felt.
Cobra frowned even more. "We're getting off the subject. Who are you?"
Before anyone else could speak, Stitch grabbed a small, blue book and threw it at the man. The tome bounced off Cobra's face, knocking his sunglasses aside. "Hey!" the man grunted.
Nani gasped. "I am so sorry about that."
Cobra scowled at Stitch. "What is that thing?"
Lilo smiled. "That's my puppy."
"And we're his friends," Sora quickly added. Out the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Donald slapping his hand against his face in disbelief. Well… at least he had not lied. True, they were from other worlds. Yet, their goal was specifically to help anyone who needed it — especially if the Heartless were involved.
"Really?" Cobra looked as hard to convince as a politician on a good day. Okay, so government was not Sora's best subject. He still could not understand the political party concept, let alone the idea of what a "government" was. All he did understand was Keyblade, Heartless, Nobody, and Friendship. Most other things were a complete mystery to him.
Cobra cracked his neck about, trying to adjust to having the book hit him in the face. He reached onto the wooden porch out front and scooped up his glasses. "This far," he told Nani. "You have been adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience, but I cannot ignore you being jobless. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly," Nani replied.
Cobra turned to Lilo next. "And next time I see this dog, I expect it to be a model citizen. Capisce?"
"Uh," Lilo paused for a second. "Yes?"
Cobra gestured to the two sisters. "New job. Model citizen," he then turned to Sora. "Behave yourselves."
Sora tugged at his collar. "Uh, sure."
Cobra placed his sunglasses on his face. The right lens popped out of its socket and clattered onto the porch. "Good day."
He turned and headed for a rather, nice, black car in the driveway. As he drove away, Sora turned to Nani. "If you're looking for a job, my friends and I can help."
"We can?" Amemi shook her head. "Sora…. "
"Okay," Nani agreed. "Thanks for helping."
Sora pounded his chest with delight. "Not at all! 'Helping others' is my middle name!"
Amemi had to smile. "No, Sora. It's 'Sky'."
Sora whirled around. "Hey! C'mon, Amy!"
By this point in time, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were roaring with laughter. Even Stitch was lying around, laughing. Sora covered his face with his hands. He felt like his face was going to start turning red. It had been a while since this had last taken place.
From the middle of the living room, Indigo was shaking her head. She smiled, knowing Sora's middle name actually made sense. His name was supposedly the Japanese word for "Sky". Maybe his parents had done that intentionally?
Same for his sister. Indigo's Japanese was a little rusty now, yet she recalled how "Ame" meant "Rain" and "Mi" was "Beautiful". Therefore, Amemi's name apparently meant "Beautiful Rain". It would be far from astounding to her if that was true. After all, it meant both siblings' names had something to do with the sky.
Just like how her name and Violet's name were colors of the rainbow. This made Indigo wonder what other patterns existed in names. Donald and Goofy did not seem to have anything in common in terms of names. Neither did Goofy and Launchpad. Nor Launchpad and Donald.
She continued to contemplate over this as she joined Sora and the others inside Herbie and the former racecar followed Nani, Lilo, and Stitch's car down the road and into the town beyond.
A/N: SHEESH! A LOT JUST TOOK PLACE IN THERE! And it seems we are about to land on the island of Kaua'i now.
Oh, yeah! I need to reveal the world at this point, now don't I?
The world of DEEP SPACE—HAWAII is based on Disney's "'LILO AND STITCH (2002)'"!
Yes, I know a LOT of KH Fans out there REALLY want to see that movie included in "'KINGDOM HEARTS 3'"! I could take or leave it for that game, personally. Yet, I felt it worked well with what I have in mind for This Story.
Yes, I know the world's name is not as original as some of the other world names I came up with before. Yet, considering the world's name was "DEEP SPACE" in "'Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep'" and the movie's main setting was never shown, I decided to expand on that. After all, Kaua'i, Hawaii IS the main setting from the movie!
SO, DEEP SPACE—HAWAII IT IS!
Before we start our descent, I have a few more "'Safety Regulations'" to remind you about.
(1.) The song Indigo let Sora listen to on her iPod was "'Somewhere Out There'". For those of you who either did not know or forgot, that is one of the songs from the animated Universal movie, "'An American Tail (1986)'". In this case, it was the end credits version.
(2.) It was a little tricky describing everything going on at the restaurant. My first attempts sounded a little too complex to use or a little too Un-Disney-Like. I ended up with what you see now. I HOPE it turned out well enough for you!
(3.) Yes, Dr. Jumba Jookiba and Pleakley did make a small appearance in there, just like they do in that scene of the movie. This for those of you who were wondering or a little confused why Sora has not really noticed them. He has not met them yet, now has he?
(4.) I honestly am wondering if Stitch's character was partially inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tale story, "'The Ugly Duckling'".
(5.) The other song Indigo was listening to on her iPod was "'I'll Try!'" from Disney's "'Peter Pan 2: Return To Never Land (2002)'".
(6.) In case anybody forgot, yes. Donald Duck DID get his feathers ruffled by Stitch in "'Kingdom Hearts 2'"! No wonder he wants revenge!
(7.) I had a LOT of fun writing This Chapter! The whole Disney's "'Lilo And Stitch'" Series is DEFINITELY Silly, Too! I Hope you liked all that!
The Slapstick Comedy is my favorite part(s) of This Chapter!
Yes, I know there is not too much time left until we land, and the next Disney-based world's announcement for "'KINGDOM HEARTS 3'".
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!
ALSO - IF 3 TO 4 REVIEWS ARE POSTED ON THE FOUR CHAPTERS FOR THIS WORLD AND THE FOUR CHAPTERS FOR THE NEXT WORLD, I SHALL INCLUDE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR ALL OF YOU AT THE END OF THIS STORY!
This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!" In Addition, "Fly With You All Later!"