Blossom Hearts- Chapter Five
The Gummi Ship ride was long and boring when there was nothing to do. Aerith sat, watching as Sora and Kairi communicated through the headphones, pressing various Technicolor buttons and steering. The steering part- what Kairi was doing- looked easy.
"May I try steering?" Aerith asked politely.
Kairi didn't look back as she talked. "This is a bit of a difficult stretch. Maybe later, okay?" A world approached from the side. Aerith plastered herself against the window, looking at the foreign place.
"Kairi, Sora, let's land!" Aerith exclaimed. Kairi looked over warily, only slowing down slightly.
"King Riku might be down there, Kai," Sora said thoughtfully.
"And Cloud and Tifa," Aerith added.
"It just seems like an unnecessary stop for the King…" Kairi murmured. "I think we should move on." Aerith frowned.
"I need to find my friends too, you know," she grumbled.
Kairi flushed and looked away. "Okay then, we can land-"
The minute the words left her lips, Aerith reached over and pressed a yellow button that said LAND in bold letters on it.
"Aerith, you're not supposed to press that yet!"
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She crashed through a roof and landed on a hard floor, narrowly missing a broken globe. "Oh my head," Aerith moaned. She stood slowly, brushing herself off. "Sora?" she called. "Kairi?"
Suddenly, she was flung against a wall as a roar filled her ears. Before Aerith had even known what was going on, she summoned the Bloomstaff and faced her enemy. It was a leopard, growling and pacing in front of her, eyeing the flower girl as though she were his next meal. "I don't taste very good," Aerith said, twirling her staff. She struck the giant cat swiftly before the animal knew what was coming.
Or at least, that was what she had planned on doing. As she swung, the leopard jumped her, and, slashing, tried to rip her to shreds. Aerith barely blocked it with the Bloomstaff, and was pushed back again into the center of the house's floor. The leopard leapt again, and Aerith covered her eyes.
The only thing she heard was a yelping noise, and a grunt, and then the patter of paws against wood. She lowered her arm to seea man. He had long hair and wore nothing more than a brown loincloth. It was kind of odd. But he had saved her.
"Sabor, danger," the man grunted. He walked in a circle on his fists, like a gorilla would. Aerith rose from the ground.
"Um…thank you," she said, bewildered by the ape-man.
"Thank you," the man repeated, testing the words on his tongue.
Aerith cocked her head in confusion. "Huh?" The ape-man just stared at her. Aerith began to pace around, looking out the windows to see a vast porch, and beyond that, trees. "Uh, what is this place?" she inquired awkwardly.
"This place, this place," the odd man answered.
"Okay…" Aerith replied. Vague answer. "Where did the others go?" A blank stare. "I got separated from my friends. Have you seen them?" she pleaded. Please understand…
"Hmm."
"Friends?"
"Friends!" the ape-man finally said.
Aerith grinned and let out an excited noise. "Right, my friends! There are two of them. The pretty redhead is Kairi, and the loud one is So-" She paused. Those two only wanted to look for their King. But she was looking for two other friends. "I'm looking for my friends," she repeated, "Cloud and Tifa."
"Look for Cloud, friends?" the man repeated.
"Right!" Aerith was getting excited.
"Tifa, friends?"
Aerith was about to exclaim again when she looked beyond where the man was hunched. Standing in a ray of sunshine was Cloud. He looked at her with that small grin on his face, peaceful. Aerith's emerald eyes widened and she stepped past the man, walking very slowly towards Cloud. But he simply swung his sword at empty air, tilted his head at her, and walked away. And disappeared. He was only a brief hallucination.
The man scampered in front of Aerith again. "Friends here," he said.
"Really!" Aerith yelled, jumping. "Take me to them, please!"
The ape-man looked at her and made odd noises, like those of an ape. "Ooh-ee-oo-oo-ah."
Aerith stared blankly.
"Ooh-ee-oo-oo-ah. Friends here," the man said, as though it explained everything.
"Not sure I understand," Aerith replied, "But just take me to Cloud and Tifa!"
"Tarzan go," the man said, pointing at himself.
"And I'm Aerith!" the flower girl replied cheerfully. "Tarzan go, Aerith…go go?"
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"Kairi, do you think Aerith's okay?" asked Sora, running to catch up to the redhead.
Kairi shook her head. "I don't know," she said. She looked up at him. "Sora, I shouldn't have called this an unnecessary stop…do you think she's mad at me?"
Sora gave her an affectionate rub on the head, causing Kairi to grin up at him. He looked past her and his eyes widened. "Look!"
A gorilla was watching them. When the two noticed it, the young animal scurried away, leaving behind something in the grass. Sora ran forward and picked it up.
"Look, Kai," he breathed. In his hand was a key chain, shaped like a crown. It was similar to the one around Sora's neck, except that this one was gold. It glittered promisingly in the sun.
"He was here!" Kairi exclaimed.
There suddenly was a sound of something marching through the tall brush towards them. Sora took out his Keyblade and stood in front of Kairi, as the redhead took out her own blade as well, when a hunter came out. He was dressed in yellow from head to toe, and wore a classic safari hat. The gun he carried was pointed at them. He lowered it slowly.
"Well," the hunter drawled, "What have we here?"
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They had come to a small camp, filled with crates and unfinished experiments scattered across tables. Aerith followed Tarzan to a big yellow tent in the center, walking into the cooler shade.
There was a young woman bustling about inside, recording in a notebook and flitting back and forth, brown hair pulled back in a messy bun. She wore a white tank top and a burgundy colored skirt. When she noticed them entering the tent, her face brightened.
"Jane!" Tarzan said.
"Hello," Jane said to Aerith, in a British accent. "Tarzan, who is this?"
"Hi!" Aerith said. "I'm-"
"Oh, so you speak English," Jane interrupted. "Then you obviously aren't a relation to Tarzan…Are you here to study the gorillas too?" Before Aerith had a chance to answer, a new voice entered the tent.
"Highly doubtful," came a haughty voice. The hunter entered the tent with Sora and Kairi behind him.
"Sora!" Aerith rushed over to them. "Kairi!" She took both their arms, laughing, until she saw the nervous expression on Kairi's face. Aerith let her hands drop. "I'm sorry I crashed the Gummi ship, Kai," she said candidly.
"And I'm sorry for not thinking of your friends in our search," Kairi whispered in reply.
Aerith gave a breezy smile, feeling a little bad that she had been angry at them earlier. "Lighten up- you guys do have your own friend to find. And he's royalty."
"Trust me," Sora interjected, "He acts nothing like it. Slouches terribly, ya know."
"A circus of clowns," the hunter drawled from behind them. " Not much use for hunting gorillas." Primates seemed to be the only thing on his mind.
Jane sighed and waved a hand at him. " Mr. Clayton, we're studying them, not hunting. This is research!"
Clayton gave a small sneer and exited the tent. Jane turned back to them, dismissing Clayton's departure from her mind. She smiled kindly.
"The more the merrier," she said, "Make yourselves at home."
Sora turned to Aerith and held out the pendant. "Look, Aerith," he said. "This is Riku's. He might be here!"
"That's great!" Aerith jumped up and down with Sora. "And Tarzan said he knew my friends too…Tarzan?"
The man was looking curiously at them both.
"And what did Tarzan say?" asked Jane.
"He said Cloud, and Tifa, and one word I couldn't understand," Aerith replied.
"Well, Tarzan?"
But Tarzan just looked at them blankly. "Maybe if we saw some slides," Jane suggested.
Aerith settled down beside the slide projector in the middle of the tent and watched as several drawings were shown- men and women dancing, people riding old-fashioned bikes, bouquets of flowers. There was another of a castle that Aerith swore looked familiar to her, but she shrugged it off. The last photo, though, left her wondering.
It was a heart, covered in vines and flowers all over. The heart was the center of an even larger photo of a flower that was so intricate in detail and design Aerith gasped.
Blossom heart…"Aerith, you okay?" asked Sora, who seemed unfazed by the picture in front of him. Kairi was admiring it, but it didn't have quite the effect on her either. Aerith cleared her head and smiled serenely.
"I'm fine," she said. "So where are my friends, Tarzan?" she asked, turning to the crouching man. "Did this help you?"
Tarzan pointed to the flowery picture and repeated the unknown phrase. The smile on Aerith's face faded. How was that picture going to help her find them? "But I thought-"
"That just leaves one place!" Clayton interrupted, entering the tent once more. He leered down at Tarzan. "Young man, we've been in this place for some time now and have yet to encounter any of your gorilla friends." Then Clayton turned to Aerith. "As for you, young lady, I'd wager your friends are with the gorillas we haven't seen. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them!"
Jane reached for the hunter's shoulder. "Really, Mr. Clayton, Tarzan wouldn't hide-"
"Then take us there!" Clayton interrupted again. He pointed his finger at Tarzan. "Take us to the gorillas. GORILLAS!"
Tarzan scowled at Clayton and glanced over towards Aerith, Sora, and Kairi. He nodded his head.
"Are you sure?" Jane asked gently.
"Tarzan go see Kerchak."
"Kerchak?" Jane pondered.
"He must be their leader," Clayton said with a wicked grin on his face. "Perfect…I'll go along as an escort. After all, the jungle is a dangerous place." He exited the tent with a small chuckle that made Aerith anxious. She turned back to look at Jane, who simply smiled in return, and then the group left the tent.
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Sora gritted his teeth and swiped again at the pesky leopard. "This Sabor character is really bugging me," he muttered to Kairi. "I'd rather fight Thorns." Kairi nodded in return, keeping her eyes on the large cat.
Aerith and Tarzan were on either side of the animal and both attacked at the same time, causing it to run off.
Kairi made an annoyed 'psh' noise. "Scaredy cat."
Tarzan ran towards the jungle. "Follow," he said.
They arrived at a lagoon, filled with all sorts of vines and foliage. There were several hippos relaxing in the small body of water, much to Sora's amusement. He started hopping on their backs, chuckling to himself, letting out an excited yell when he found a treasure chest on the far side. Aerith shook her head at him and turned to see Tarzan already beginning to climb a large vine.
"Come on, Sora," Kairi called. "He belongs in a jungle," she muttered to Aerith, who giggled in return.
"Maybe the castle doesn't quite do it for him," she teased back.
Kairi became a bit wistful as she climbed. "No, the castle is beautiful," she answered.
They clumsily made it to the treetops, completely opposite of Tarzan's branch surfing. When they had finally hoisted themselves up onto the leafy ground, he stared at their lack of ability. And then he turned, and behind him the trio saw a group of gorillas, the largest one staring them down proudly.
"Kerchak, listen to me," Tarzan pleaded. "I know the nesting grounds are secret, but I trust them," he said.
Aerith opened her mouth to ask a question-What on earth were they saying? Where were Cloud and Tifa? -but was silenced by a look from Kairi. Tarzan continued his request.
"You see, I want to help them because…they need us."
But the gorilla, now known as Kerchak, said nothing, standing silent and austere.
"I'm not understanding what they're saying," Sora whispered to the two girls. They nodded in agreement.
"Kerchak," Tarzan appealed. The gorilla looked away into the distance, distracted. "Kerchak…" The gorillas walked away and Tarzan fell silent.
"He seemed distracted," Sora said thoughtfully.
"Was he looking towards the tree house?" Kairi pondered aloud.
Suddenly Tarzan took off running in the same direction that Kerchak had looked to. Aerith gave a start and stumbled after him, Sora and Kairi behind her.
They ran through various trees, clumsily surfing vines, until finally they were out of the jungle woods, on a path leading to the tree house that Aerith had crashed through earlier that day. It seemed like ages ago that it had happened. The four of them approached the tree house.
As they winded around the extensive porch, Kairi saw Clayton, sitting still and aiming a rifle. Through a broken window she saw the gorilla from earlier, spinning a globe, unaware. She ran forward and let loose an ear piercing shriek.
Clayton's shot missed and he cursed, slamming a fist against the ground. The gorilla scampered off.
"What's the big idea?" Kairi glared at him, violet eyes burning. She turned and saw the gorillas watching her from a window on the second floor. Tarzan leapt forward.
"Kerchak," he cried, "Please!" But his plea was unheard, and the gorillas left in silence. With them gone, Tarzan turned back to Clayton, who sat on the hard wood floor with a nervous look in his face, similar to that of a captured criminal.
"You don't understand," he stammered. "I was only trying to-ah- a snake slithered by, you see, and…"
The excuse fell on deaf ears.
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"How could you do such a thing!" Jane's arms swung in finite points and jabs, displaying her anger. Clayton winced, scowling at her.
"Now as I told you, Miss Porter," he replied smoothly, "I was not aiming for the gorilla."
The excuse yet again was unheard and ignored. Jane stuck her chin out and placed her hands on her hips. "You are not to go near the gorillas again!"
"All because of one mishap?" Clayton demanded. His question was met with five pairs of furious eyes. The hunter's face flushed and he turned angrily to walk out of the tent.
"Blasted gorillas," he snarled. "I'll hunt down every last one of them! I'll track them down somehow, mark my words." He fumbled for his pipe, frustration etched in every movement. When it was finally brought to his mouth, a rustling noise made the hunter pause and look around warily.
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The gunshot was muffled for the people inside the tent, but they could tell that it was close by. Aerith was the first to jump up and run outside the tent. Dancing around the campsite were very familiar looking monsters.
"Thorns!" They pranced around a helpless gorilla. Sora and Kairi summoned their keyblades as the Bloomstaff came to Aerith's hand. The three charged with Tarzan.
Kairi shot several groups of blizzard at the Thorns, distracting them while Sora and Aerith ran forward. Aerith clicked the sharp points on her staff out and spun it in a wide circle as Sora defended the gorilla. Tarzan stabbed several with his spear as Kairi defeated the final Thorn with a sharp slash from her keyblade. After the battle several other gorillas emerged from the bamboo stalks.
Aerith stepped forward slowly, letting her staff rest against the ground, clicking the spikes back in. One of the gorillas stepped forward and presented a small gift- a bangle. Aerith placed it on her wrist and immediately felt a little bit more protected. She nodded her head in thanks.
The four continued through the jungle world, battling many Thorns and saving even more gorillas until finally, they had gone full circle and arrived back at the campsite, where Jane awaited their return.
Aerith and Sora flopped onto the chair, fighting for space. Kairi perched on a small stool in the corner and let out a breath. Tarzan ran forward to greet Jane.
"Whew," Aerith said, between Sora's poking, "That was a ton of Thorns."
"And there are probably even more out there too," Kairi added.
"I do hope Mr. Clayton is alright…" Jane sighed.
The conversation was interrupted by a sharp and loud gunshot that made Sora jump two feet into the air. Aerith and Kairi ran forward out of the tent, Tarzan close on their heels and Sora right behind.
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The group ran quickly towards the noise, which had come from the direction of the bamboo thicket. There were no Thorns around and the place was eerily silent.
Sora ran towards the center where, on a large rock, laid Clayton's pipe.
"Clayton?" Aerith called out anxiously. Tarzan remained silent and wary.
Kairi walked forward, turning in a circle to look all about. "I don't know about this…"
Sora turned around to reassure her when Sabor leapt out of the brush and tackled him to the ground.
"Hey!" Aerith summoned the Bloomstaff and leapt into the air, slashing her weapon against the side of the leopard. With a sharp yelp Sabor relinquished his prize.
"Are you alright?" yelled Kairi. Sora grimaced, rubbing a shoulder, but he clenched his fist and his keyblade appeared quickly. Kairi ran forward, performing a series of complex flips, and swiped at Sabor.
The leopard was speedy and all Kairi connected with was the hard ground. Tarzan charged, spinning his spear through the air, but also missed his target. Aerith had been knocked back by a back swung paw and was brushing herself off hastily, looking for a potion to give to Sora.
The leopard charged towards the spikey brunette and Sora steadied himself, jumping out of the way at the last moment and slashing Sabor across the back. The large cat yowled in pain, and Kairi took the opportunity to cast a fire spell on the leopard. Aerith, after giving Sora a potion, ran forward and hit Sabor solidly between the ears, ending the fight.
The leopard swayed, and fell. As the trio cheered, Tarzan gazed back in the direction of the campsite, not quite at ease.
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Jane looked up, startled, as the gorilla burst into the tent and tackled her, shaking with fear. A shadow darkened the tent and Jane looked up with terror in her eyes. She held the gorilla closer and hoped that someone would save them.
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Sora and Kairi looked all around the tent as Tarzan sniffed around, making Sora laugh behind his hand.
"Aerith," Kairi called back, "Do you see Jane around the campsite at all? She shouldn't be outside with the Thorns running around."
Aerith entered the tent and noticed first Tarzan's dark look. "What's wrong, Tarzan? And no, Jane's not out there."
"Something coming," Tarzan said in his broken speech. " Jane, danger. Jane near…near tree house."
"Let's go then," Kairi replied.
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They climbed in the direction of the tree house, finally coming to a dark area where many flowers grew and branches hung all around. The ground was carpeted with leaves and vines. The four heard a yell.
"Tarzan!"
Jane and a small gorilla were trapped in a prison of vines, huddled together. She pointed to a big, black fruit that had attached itself to the trunk of a tree. "Destroy it!" Jane yelled.
In no time Aerith had the Bloomstaff out and was pounding away at the odd fruit. Thorns immediately started to appear and Sora and Kairi protected her as she concentrated on annihilating it. Tarzan was trying in vain to break the vines that held in Jane and the gorilla.
"Tarzan, that's protecting them for now!" cried Kairi. She was cornered against a thick patch of branches, fighting off three particularly annoying Thorns. Tarzan stopped and charged over, defeating the three Thorns with one sharp spin of his spear.
Meanwhile, Aerith had burst the fruit in several places, but was beginning to get outnumbered by the Thorns trying to stop her. Sora, thinking quickly, cast a massive fire spell, destroying both the fruit and several of the pesky creatures.
The vines holding Jane captive dissolved in a puff of dark purple smoke and she smiled, letting the gorilla loosen from her hold. "Thank you all," she said gratefully. Sora gave her a thumbs up, grinning.
"Jane, do you remember what happened?" asked Aerith, leaning down.
"Not much," Jane admitted. "I remember Clayton coming to the tent and…that's all."
"Clayton?" Kairi repeated.
"Gorillas trapped," Tarzan said. "Terk ran." He pointed to the small gorilla looking up at Sora.
"Uh, hello Terk," Sora said cautiously.
"We must help the gorillas," Jane said passionately. Aerith nodded and led her group away, back towards where they had fought Sabor.
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The open spot among the bamboo was oddly empty of any Thorns, and the four crossed it cautiously. They passed through and came to the Cliffs, where all the Thorns had gathered…and Clayton with them, surrounding the gorillas.
"No!" cried Aerith, stopping the hunter momentarily. There was something off about Clayton's gaze and Aerith quickly summoned her Bloomstaff.
"Not Clayton!" Tarzan exclaimed with much alarm. He repeated the odd word he had spoken when Aerith first met him. "Not Clayton!"
Sora and Kairi ran forward first, taking out some weaker Thorns. Clayton shot at them with his rifle, grazing Kairi's cheek with a bullet. Sora threw his keyblade back at the hunter, knocking him off his feet.
Aerith took the opportunity to charge and slash at Clayton while Tarzan led the gorillas away. The odds were very much against Clayton, and the three fighters easily defeated him.
Clayton backed away, holding a hurt shoulder. Aerith lowered her staff, thinking the fight was over, when suddenly he started to float upwards.
Sora exclaimed with surprise as an invisible being swatted him a few feet away onto his rear. Tarzan tried a more direct approach, charging straight at whatever it was, but he was thrown back several feet behind Aerith.
If she squinted hard, Aerith could see the warped transparency around the invisible thing. She clicked the spikes on her staff out and swung, connecting with the thing's foot. Kairi blasted magic at the creature, tossing a potion to Sora as Aerith paused to cast healing magic on Tarzan.
After endless pounding, and much dodging of Clayton's rifle, the invisibility wore off to reveal a gigantic iguana-like Thorn. Aerith slashed it across the heart and leapt away, avoiding its fall.
Clayton was not s fortunate. With a well-aimed kick, Sora had knocked the hunter to the ground…right beneath the falling Thorn monster. They watched as a transparent blossom floated up and away from the defeated ones.
Tarzan turned as the pack of gorillas walked forward. Without saying a word, Kerchak nodded and picked up Sora, launching him onto a small platform behind a waterfall. The gorilla did the same with Aerith and Kairi, and Tarzan climbed up to follow, leading Jane as well.
Aerith entered the cavern behind the waterfall and gasped. The sound of the waterfall echoed behind her as she looked at the old tree in the back of the small room. The lighting was a soft and glowing blue.
Tarzan looked at Aerith. "Ooh-ee-oo-oo-ah."
"This is your home?" Aerith asked, perplexed. She looked around. "But that means…"
Jane entered behind her, marveling. "This place it beautiful!" she gushed.
Tarzan repeated the phrase to Aerith. "Friends there. See friends."
"Ah!" Jane snapped her fingers. "I've got it. It must mean heart. Friends in our hearts…"
"In the bloom in our heart?" Kairi murmured.
"Heart," Tarzan repeated awkwardly.
"Oh," Aerith said sadly. "So that's what he meant…"
"Friends same heart," Tarzan continued. " Clayton lose heart. No heart, no see friends."
Aerith nodded, looking at the ground. An ethereal blue butterfly, glowing slightly, danced in front of her vision. The Bloomstaff appeared in her hand and Aerith held it out.
Petals surrounded the butterfly that perched on the tree and the familiar beam of light entered, sealing the world. As the magic faded away, Kairi found a small Gummi piece on the floor. "It's not Riku's," she said, picking it up, " But it'll come in handy. Let's go see Cid."
"Time to go then," said Aerith, turning back to Sora and Kairi. "Thank you, Tarzan and Jane."
The gorilla Terk looked up at Sora with an odd look. "I think someone has a new admirer," Jane quipped, laughing.
"Oh no," Sora said. "I'm taken." Kairi blushed and turned to leave, Aerith and Sora following behind.
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"What drew the Heartless to that world," drawled a voice. Maleficent stepped forward, her staff clacking against the stone ground. She waved a hand dismissively.
"The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it was a bit too tasty for his own good, I suppose." She chuckled softly and coldly.
A laugh echoed from the back. "The 'yellow canary' was chomped instead."
"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless." The voice came out of the shadows, revealing its owner to be Jafar. " But the girl is a problem," he said, addressing Maleficent. " She's sealed a bloom."
"Fear not," Maleficent replied coolly. "It will take her ages to find the rest. And she remains blissfully unaware of our other plan…" The witch waved a hand in front of her, making a sphere project onto the stone table the villains were gathered around.
"Yes, the Princes."
Inside the glowing sphere, and image of Squall appeared. The Squall slashed at invisible enemies with his gun blade as Maleficent chuckled. The picture changed into Hercules, punching at an unseen barrier. Maleficent's chuckle became a laugh. "Valiant efforts…but they'll be getting nowhere. The other Princes will soon fall too, one by one…"
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Wow, long chapter. It took awhile to update too- not much really happens in Tarzan's world. That plus end of the year stuff, and this great fic by furriusmurrius that I read in all my spare time…oh well. Next update is whenever. :)