"Whoa...This is so cool! It's just like something out of the X-Ray comics!" Jaune exclaimed as he excitedly checked out the cockpit of the colorful, blocky ship. Pyrrha couldn't help giggling at Jaune's enthusiasm.
A sentiment Weiss of course didn't share, as she muttered, "As if Ruby and Sora weren't insufferable enough..." Not to say she was ungrateful, of course. She was in fact, rather happy to see another schoolmate from Beacon survived the destruction of their world.
The instant they embarked, Jaune and Pyrrha looked out the window to see Olympus Coliseum. Expressions of fascination upon both their faces. "Is that what all these worlds looks like from the outside?" Pyrrha wondered. "Wow, they're a lot bigger on the inside." Jaune commented.
Ruby couldn't help smiling as she looked toward the pair. Not only had she found Weiss, but she even found two members of Team JNPR. While she was still worried for everyone else, she at least had a much more prominent spark of hope that they were alright. Faint as it still may be, it was more than enough for her.
"So where exactly are we going now?" Pyrrha asked, shifting to the front of the cockpit, which was starting to get rather crowded.
"I guess we could go back to Traverse Town for now." Goofy suggested as they drifted about. His suggestion drew a confused look to the faces of Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha.
Noticing this, Ruby quickly elaborated. "Oh yeah, you guys haven't been to it yet. Traverse town is where I met Sora, Donald, and Goofy. It's a really cool place. Kinda lonely, but nice to walk around...well, when there aren't a bunch of Heartless, of course."
A statement to which Weiss rolled her eyes and said, "More of those Heartless? Well isn't that just a ringing endorsement for this 'Traverse Town.'" sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"They show up wherever we go." Donald said in an annoyed tone, steering the ship through the starry void. "Fortunately not nearly as many appear in Traverse Town. We recently dealt with a bigger, more dangerous one there when we first met, so it might have caused the rest to scatter."
"I hope so," Ruby said with a sad little sigh as her eyes shifted to her feet. "I can't imagine not being there for people when they need help."
Sora's eyes shifted to the normally bright and cheery huntress. This was the first time he had seen such a morose side to Ruby. Something about her concern over others and her clear desire to help people seemed to strike a chord with him. With a smile, he stood up and lay a hand on her shoulder, drawing her gaze to him. "We'll do what we can. We may not be superheroes who can save everyone but we'll save as many people as we're able to."
Within seconds, Ruby smiled right back and nodded. Everyone else couldn't help noting that the two youngsters seemed to have quite a bit in common. Even Weiss of all people couldn't help smiling. Despite the myriad of things about Ruby that annoyed her to no end, she'd be lying if she didn't admire her leader's determination to be there for others and her desire to make the world a better place.
Donald however shifted his focus back to the void they drifted through, looked ahead with Goofy. Both of them narrowed their eyes when suddenly, they saw something dead ahead. It was a lush green world with several tall trees that had long winding branches, a massive waterfall and a large house built into a tree that included a pulley system for a boat. "Hey, Donald, maybe King Mickey is down there?" Goofy said hopefully.
The duck stopped the ship and peered intently at the world in question. Just looking at it made Donald more than a little skeptical as he replied, "In a backwater place like that? No way! Let's move on."
Just as he was about to take off again, Sora ran to the side with his hands to the upon of the glass of the cockpit. "Hold on. Riku and Kairi might be down there. Let's just check it out."
"Forget it!" Donald said with apathy and impatience, looking at Sora with a narrow-eyed frown. "We're on an important mission!"
"But what if they are down there?" Ruby interjected earnestly. "What if some of OUR own friends are down there? We have to at least check it out, don't we?" Ruby said, agreeing with Sora. Even if the chances were nearly impossible in a place like this, they'd found Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha on other worlds. Another of her friends, or even Sora's friends could be down there.
"Ruby, are you dense?! There is no way any of them could possibly be in a place like that. Just look at it!" Weiss exclaimed, pointing to the fertile, jungle-like world.
"Uhm, Ruby...normally I'd agree, but are you sure we should be going into other worlds so much? I don't know if that's a good idea." Pyrrha's tentative interjection shocked Ruby. She'd have thought the Mistral huntress of all people would agree with her.
"I have to agree with Pyrrha and Weiss." Jaune interjected as well. "I know you're worried about Blake and Yang. Trust me, we're worried about Ren and Nora too. But I don't know if showing up at these worlds unannounced is a good idea. We're practically alien invaders."
Weiss's brow rose at the blonde's analogy. "Not the way I would put it, but finally something Jaune and I agree on. Donald's right. We should keep moving." she said, putting her hands on her hips.
Hearing the practically unanimous vote to not go there left Ruby disheartened. "But...But..." Her voice trailed off as she looked back at the jungle world as they began to veer away from it.
Seeing Ruby's downcast face and hearing those who were meant to be her friends shut her down like this, Sora had quite enough. Even if they were simply being cautious, he had to at least try, for the sake of Riku and Kairi, and Ruby's remaining friends. He wasn't going to let some stubborn duck throw that chance away. "Just land!" he yelled at Donald, who yelled back an adamant "No!" By now, Sora's irritation had reached its peak with the stingy duck. "Come on!" he yelled, roughly shoving Donald off the front seat.
As Donald recovered, his eyes widened as he saw Sora stealing his seat. "Aw phooey!"
The tussle made everyone snap to attention, shocked expressions pasting upon their faces as Sora was suddenly piloting.
"What do you think you're doing, you spiky haired dunce!?" Weiss objected in horror as Sora began to veer the Gummi Ship in a wild, unfocused, and downright dangerous manner The youngest man in the group and the Royal Court Wizard pushed each other back as Pyrrha nervously tried to speak up and get them to stop fighting. It only got worse as Sora and Donald continued, making the shakes and veers the of the ship more erratic while trying to get the other off of them. With both of them grabbing the steering wheel, there was no clear trajectory anymore.
"You guys! Knock it o-OFF!" Jaune exclaimed, only to fall flat on his stomach, with Pyrrha stumbling backwards, landing right on his spine. The impact of which caused him to gasp like a squeak toy that ran out of air.
"Oh gosh! I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized, flying to her feet as she looked to her prone partner.
"Not your fault..." Jaune said with a strained voice, only for him to suddenly log roll from the next sharp veer of the ship.
"U-Uhh, Sora?! Donald?! Please stop fighting! You're rocking the ship!" Ruby called out, clinging to her seat with the desperation of a roller coaster rider. She had been able to hold onto her seat so far, but Weiss, who had attempted to forcefully pry Sora away, ended up stumbling backwards, knocking Ruby off with a mutual yell of shock from both of them. "Ruby, do something! Stop that idiot friend of yours before-WHOA!" "GAAAH!" And by then, BOTH of them were rolling about as well.
Sora looked at the control panel. From the other times they came to a world, he recalled Donald pushing one button at the corner and reached for the biggest one. "We're landing!" he said sternly.
"Don't touch that! Nooo" Donald exclaimed in worry. It was too late as Sora already pressed the button. The ship's lights and sounds it normally produced started shutting down as it stopped floating. Everyone let out yells and cries of shock and fear as they fell toward the jungle world.
Sora crashed through a surface of solid wood, his fall broken by a slightly more solid wooden floor. He groaned in pain, rubbing where he took the most brunt of damage from his fall. "Oh... my head."
When things settled and he could perceive where he was, Sora realized he was inside a house of some kind. It was completely dilapidated and overrun with foliage, as if nobody had lived in it for years. Maybe decades. But that wasn't the main concern on his mind. "Donald? Goofy?" Sora said as he slowly got up and brushed the debris of the broken roof off. "Ruby? Weiss?" He walked around slowly, looking around for any sign of his friends. "Jaune? Pyrrha? Is there anyone here at all?"
Unfortunately for Sora, the only being that heard his calls was one that was far from friendly. Creeping along the balcony of the upper floor of the treehouse, the creature peered down at the unaware boy.
And just as Sora turned to look behind and above him, he gasped and turned to see, pouncing down from above him with a savage, feline roar, was a ravenous leopard. He raised the Keyblade in an attempt to protect himself, but as the leopard landed, it showed no hesitation as it lunged at him and slammed him into the wall. Sora grunted with pain from the impact as the stronger animal stalked toward him. Desperately, Sora swung the Keyblade with everything he could, and managed to strike the leopard right in the face. The yellow, spotted wildcat lurched from the strike, falling onto the ground, motionless. Sora panted as he stood up, wondering if he just killed an animal and not a Heartless of some kind. It didn't look like a Heartless, and didn't sound like one...not that he was an expert on what Heartless sounded like.
But that aside, he cautiously stepped toward the leopard, Keyblade still drawn...Only to fall backwards in shock as the leopard shot up with a roar, showing that it was indeed still alive. Now with its prey stunned and helpless, the leopard pounced toward Sora, forcing the boy to helplessly raise the Keyblade in a vain attempt to defend himself from the jaws of this ravenous beast.
But the bite never came. Sora's eyes widened with surprise as they opened to see...a tall, lanky yet well muscled man in a brown loincloth with long, very wild and unkempt brown hair and teal eyes, holding the leopard back with the wooden shaft of a spear. As the leopard struggled against the newcomer, teeth chewing fruitlessly on the shaft, another, more feminine figure suddenly swung in from above and with a small but sharp yell, kicked the leopard away from the man. The leopard snarled at the two interlopers, realizing it was outmatched, before dashing away and shattering a window as it fled.
The other of Sora's savior was a fair skinned young adult girl with spine length black hair and bright amber yellow eyes. The most distinctive feature was the big, black, lacy bow she wore atp her head. The pair came to Sora's side, with the woman asking, "Are you okay?" as she reached down to help him up.
"Sabor. Danger." the man said as Sora stood up, considerably more calm after nearly being eaten by that leopard. "Thank you." he said to the mysterious pair.
"Thank... you..." the man repeated, as if uncertain about the words being spoken.
"Huh?" Sora said in confusion. While he was curious why this man seemed to repeat what he said, there were more important things to think. So he asked, "Uh, what is this place?"
"This place. This place." was the man's only response, yet again, simply repeating what Sora said.
More confused, Sora wondered about the man's behavior. "Okaaay... Where did the others go?"
The man only stared blankly, Sora unsure why their communication wasn't going well until the girl said, "He...doesn't speak or understand language the same as you and me."
"Really?" Sora asked, looking to the man again. He had to try approaching this another way. "Look, I got separated from my friends. Have-you-seen-them?" he asked, adding emphasis to every word, hoping the enunciation would help...but nothing seemed to change. The man only tilted his head, sounding as confused as his expression dictated. "Friends."
Before Sora could feel annoyed at the lack of understanding, the man sudden repeated the word with greater certainty. "Friends..."
He sounded like he understood more and that gave Sora delighted relief. "Right, my friends! There's six of them! The loud one is Dona-!" Before he finished saying the name of the duck in question, Sora paused with uncertainty.
Seeing his sudden change of mood, the pair both grew even more curious. "You okay?" Sora wondered if Donald was his friend at all, now. He was more interested in his mission than Sora's concern for those he cared about. If they were friends then surely Donald would have helped him out when he requested instead of being selfish. "You know what? Never mind." he sighed, looking to them again. "I'm looking for my friends, Riku and Kairi."
The girl hummed in thought, only to shake her head in response. "Sorry. I can't recall if I've seen anybody with those names."
Just as Sora began lowering his head hopelessly, the man suddenly said, "Look for Riku, friends?"
Immediately, Sora's head rose back up and a brighter expression touched his face. "Right." Sora nodded. He perked up in surprise when looking behind at the other end of the room. It was... Kairi?
"Kairi. Friends?" the man's question nearly went over Sora's head. He was too distracted by the fact that Kairi was right there behind this wild man!
"Uhh...yeah..." Sora said, awkwardly looking at the man, before looking back at Kairi...who just smiled at him and casually strolled away!
The black bow wearing girl's brow shifted with confusion before she followed Sora's gaze, only to become more confused. What was he looking at? Either way, Blake turned back to Sora and said, "Sorry, I haven't met anyone like that either."
Sora looked at the girl with an expression of befuddlement. But, Kairi was right there!...Wasn't she? Wait...where did she walk off to?
"Friends, here."
The man's next broken words caught Sora's attention immediately. Did he just say his friends actually were here!? "Really!?" What the wild man said next however...
"Ee-ooh-oo-oo-ah."
"...Huh?" Sora's response spoke volumes of his confusion toward the man's...phrase. What did he just say?
"Ee-ooh-oo-oo-ah. Friends here."
The girl looked at him, touching her chin curiously at his 'speech'. It sounded almost like he was imitating an ape, but it wasn't the sound itself that caught her attention, but what he said along with it. "Huh. He made that same sound when I asked him about my own friends. I wonder what it means."
Sora was, of course, utterly confused. "Not sure I understand, buy show me! Take me to Riku and Kairi" he said excitedly.
The girl couldn't help but look at the boy with half scrutinizing, half curious expression. She wasn't sure what to make of this boy, but he seemed like he meant well. "Well if you're sure, I guess I'll go with you. Just be more careful from here on, okay?"
"Tarzan," the man said with a smile, holding his curled in hands to his chest. "Tarzan go."
At first Sora had no idea what he meant but picked it up quickly. His name was Tarzan! Mimicking his gesture, the boy smiled back and said, "And I'm Sora. Tarzan go, Sora go go!"
The girl gave a small laugh in response to Sora's action and words. "Blake Belladonna." she introduced at last before walking toward the doorway of the treehouse. "I've been in this jungle for a while. Come on, I'll follow you guys." she said as they all walked onto the outer porch of the treehouse.
Sora realized just how high above the ground they were with nothing but the top foliage of trees below them, which were also high enough on their own. One stumble would probably lead to crashing on the ground and either being in immense pain or worse. That made Sora shake a little in worry, but he managed to brush it off as he looked for a way down.
A way which revealed itself as Tarzan suddenly jumped onto one of the long, winding trees and began SURFING down it! Sora couldn't believe what he was seeing, but with a small pat on the back and an encouraging, "Come on." he shook off his surprise and followed after Blake with a nod. Having encountered Heartless before, surfing down a tree was far from the most harrowing thing he'd done so far. So what was another to add to the list?
He just hoped that Riku and Kairi were actually here. And that Ruby was having as much luck as he was within this deep jungle.
