DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twelve: The Swarm
"Oliver!"
Leaping out of Goofy's hands, Oliver landed in Jenny's arms. The kitten purred into his owner's shoulder, rubbing his nose into her blue shirt. Jenny swayed side to side, happy to be reunited with her cat. Her tearful smile made Sora, Donald and Goofy give each other ridiculously sweet, congratulatory smiles. Next to Zidane, Vivi jumped up and down in response to Jenny's relief.
Jenny reached out, extending her pinky to Sora. Promise kept. Sora lifted his pinky as well.
"Thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done if Oliver was hurt."
"You're welcome. Oh! Just a second." Sora turned and grabbed Vivi's hand, pulling the boy forward until he was standing awkwardly in front of Jenny. "You should also thank Vivi here. He's the one that really found Oliver."
With Oliver resting on her shoulder, Jenny pitched forward and wrapped her arms around Vivi's shoulders. The shorter boy froze, blinking his oval, yellow eyes when Jenny pulled away.
"Thank you, Vivi."
Ducking his head, fidgeting with his fingers, Vivi let out a tiny, "s-sure."
"Say, Ms. Jenny," said Goofy, waving to get the little girl's attention. "Do you think you can do us a little favor?"
"Of course."
"Well, Ms. Tiana told us that you saw a funny old man pull all kinds o' stuff from his bag. Can you tell us about that?"
Jenny snapped her fingers. "Oh! I know who you're talking about! I was having dinner with Winston a few weeks ago and there was this old man on the table next to us. He was having tea until a pretty lady with a black umbrella came to speak to him."
Oliver let out a sad meow when Jenny stopped absentmindedly petting him in favor of gesturing wildly. "He had a purple hinge bag," Jenny explained, holding up her hand as though she were holding an invisible briefcase. "It was like magic! He pulled out a map that was way too big. Bigger then the bag!"
Donald leaned forward, his fists clenched excitedly in front of his beak. "What did he look like?"
"He had a white beard that almost reached the floor, glasses, and a pointy blue hat, I think. Oh! And a wand."
Vivi tilted his head, making the long, dangling, pointy part of his hat swing back and forth. "Are you talking about Merlin?"
Donald, Goofy, and Sora turned to stare at Vivi, with wide, unblinking eyes. The boy shrank away from the sudden attention, unconsciously going to stand at Zidane's side.
"W-what?"
Donald tapped his foot. "You know Merlin?"
"Y-yes. He was in the underground concourse. My delivery was for him."
"And why didn't you say so earlier?"
Zidane stepped protectively in front of Vivi. "Come on. Relax. We didn't know you three and Merlin knew each other. Keep yelling like that and you'll start molting."
Sora pressed his lips together, but wasn't able to stop the slight chuckle that escaped his mouth.
"What?" Donald barked.
"Just imagining you without feathers."
Jenny and Goofy giggled.
Donald's face reddened. Sora picked up the duck just as steam began to waft off his feathered head. He walked away from the outdoor seating area of Tiana's restaurant, holding a struggling duck in his arms. Just before they rounded a corner, Sora called back to Jenny.
"Thanks for your help!"
Jenny held Oliver's paw, making the kitten wave. "Bye! I hope you find the magic man!"
Several blocks away from the restaurant, Donald's anger finally ran dry, allowing Sora to put him back down. With a destination in mind, the trio followed Zidane and Vivi into the tunnels that led underground. Stepping into the orange tunnel, Sora felt a chill as the summer air was swept away to be replaced by the cool, underground breeze. The moist smell of brick and concrete met his nose.
Vivi led the way, pointing up to the built in lights in the ceiling.
"See? It's really bright in here. That's what makes my delivery so weird. Merlin wanted me to bring him an oil lamp. But why would he need an old lamp when there's already lots of light?"
"Say, Vivi," said Goofy, "how do ya know Merlin exactly?"
"We talk magic when he comes to the town for tea."
"And always with a weird request," added Zidane. "Last time he was here, he made me run around searching for his books."
Vivi laughed. "We found them all over the place. In a tree, on a park bench, under a rock. One flew down from the sky and nearly hit Zidane on the head."
"Ahyuck, that sure sounds like Merlin."
Donald hung his head. "But why is he down here?"
"I'm more curious about why he needs an old oil lamp and-whoa!"
Sora ducked as a flying teapot nearly smashed into his face. It crashed into wall right behind him, bursting into pieces. Something white, thin and sharp flew through the air, and Zidane cartwheeled to the side before a tea saucer nearly cut his cheek. Then heavy pots and pans, soared through the tunnels. Donald and Vivi hit the deck. Goody covered his head with his shield. Zidane easily sidestepped the flying kitchenware while Sora jumped and dodged, until a literal kitchen sink came flying his way.
Yelping, Sora smashed his keyblade against the sink, sending it flying into the wall, where it cracked the tile and burrowed into the earth.
"Oh hang it all!" A voice shouted from further into the tunnels. "Infernal creature! When I get my hands on you!"
Donald jumped back to his feet. "It is Merlin!"
Ignoring the smashed pieces of china and the flying silverware, the party ran down the tunnel, coming out into an open space. In the center of the room, an old man was leaning forward, hands on his knees. A purple hinge bag sat on the floor next to his feet. It was open, and all sorts of house-ware was being stuffed back into it. Floating around Merlin were plates, books, chairs, tables, armoires, all shrinking down and being stuffed into his magical bag. Merlin waved his wand, spurring the kitchenware to enter the bag faster.
"Hockety, pockety, wockety, wack, so much to pack!"
The hairs in Merlin's floor length beard stuck out at odd angles, his mustache bristling, his half-circle spectacles fogging up as he chanted his magic. His head perked up at the sound of the party's footsteps. Straightening, he pulled out a round, golden watch from the pocket of his blue robes.
"Ah, Sora. You're quite late, you know. I was expecting you five minutes earlier."
The last of the furniture entered Merlin's bag. The only thing that remained was a single, old, rusty lantern, resting by Merlin's foot.
"Late? You knew we were coming?"
"Of course." Merlin sat down, using his hinge bag like a stool. "I left plenty of clues around town."
Donald waved his fists. "What's the big idea sending all that kitchen stuff flying?"
"Well, I needed something to distract that heartless swarm while I gathered magic."
Zidane stepped forward. "A swarm? You saw it? It was here?"
"Did you say heartless swarm?" Goofy asked. "That's sounds awful."
"Yes." Merlin waved his wand in frustration. His long beard got caught, twisting around the wand. Huffing as he separated his facial hair from his hand, Merlin said, "Confounded creature! It jumps around more then a squirrel. I finally lured it down here, only for you three to come late. Now we have to track it down again."
"Okay, hold on." Sora waved his hands. "Let me get this straight. There is a heartless swarm in this town somewhere?"
Zidane leaned against a wall, crossing his arms. "I was ambushed by a bunch of monsters on Sunset Hill. Kairi, Max, and I fought hundreds of those things before they gathered into a swarm. If flew off before we could defeat it."
Sora turned toward Donald and Goofy. "Well then let's go find that heartless swarm and beat the snot out of it. Easy-peasy, especially with Zidane and Vivi along."
"Silly boy."
Merlin whacked Sora upside the head with his wand.
"Ow!"
"All muscle and no mentality. Why, if it were that easy, we would have already solved the problem. How do you expect to defeat a creature that runs away the moment it is attacked?"
Sora, still rubbing his crown, said, "Then what do we do?"
"I'm not going to give you the answer this time, lad. Use your mind. Here." Picking up the old oil lamp on the floor, Merlin practically shoved the thing into Sora's hands. "I've enchanted it. It should have enough magic to lure out that creature one more time. Make sure to plan for the fight accordingly, because if you lose your chance, you'll be running around town blinder then a bird in a lightning storm."
"Mog? Are you here? Please come out."
Riku and Mickey followed Eiko through the forests outside of town. After searching through the train station, the underground tunnels, the alleys, Eiko had led them to the wall that bordered the town. There was a hole in the wall. As soon as Riku passed under the broken bricks, he smelled the crisp, forest air around him. He hoped that they found the moogles soon, not just so that he could resume his search for Master Yen Sid, but also because Eiko was getting more and more impatient.
Riku could feel her light dimming every time she felt disappointment at not finding her friends. He knew exactly how she felt, and he also knew that it was not fun to hide all those emotions, but every time he asked her about it, Eiko had blown up at him as though he had insulted her favorite thing. Only Mickey's oddly patient words seemed to calm her down.
"You sound like your enjoying this," Riku huffed after Eiko had yelled at him for the umpteenth time.
"Not all at," chuckled Mickey. "It just reminds me of the past."
"The past?"
"She reminds me of you. Putting up a strong front, having a lot to prove."
"Yeah, but I wasn't nearly this bossy."
Mickey's aura flared and Riku squinted at his friend.
"Was I?"
"Well, you did refuse to be taken care of and demanded to take part in fighting. Eiko is like that too."
Riku let out a chuckle. "You really can see right through me, can't you, Mickey?"
"On most things." Mickey looked around some bushes, searching for moogles. No luck. "But I feel like I have to remind you: it's okay to talk to your friends when something bothers you."
"What makes you think something is bothering me?"
"I can see right through you, remember?"
Riku bit his lip before he blurted out things that Eiko shouldn't know about. Alice's disappearance concerned him the most, as did all the other events happening around them. But there was something else, something he wasn't quite ready to acknowledge yet. And this was one thing King Mickey couldn't understand. King Mickey, who had a queen waiting for him back at home, two other friends that will always be there for him. This was something he couldn't even tell Sora and Kairi, because they were the ones that...
Riku pressed his hands on his temples. Those thoughts were not something he needed to worry about. He had to help Eiko. Focusing, extending his senses, he tried to feel around for any moogles hiding in the surrounding forest. There were some birds in the tree above his head, a few squirrels ran over the mossy floors, and beams of sunlight warmed his skin from between the branches above. But there were no moogles. Again.
"Eiko, I don't think they're here."
The little girl came to stand next to him. Holding her hands behind her back, she swayed back and forth.
"But this is the last place we've looked. They can't have just disappeared." She looked up at Riku. "Are you sure?"
Pointing to his temple, Riku said, "Positive. I don't sense any in my range."
Eiko sat down on the floor, letting out a morose little sob.
"But we haven't searched the whole forest," Riku said quickly. "So we can't give up just yet. I'm sure they're around here somewhere."
Eiko nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Riku, getting an idea, grinned. "But if you want to give up, I totally understand."
Eiko's face snapped up to him, fire creeping into her somber aura. "What did you say?"
"I mean, if they were my friends, I would swim through the endless darkness just to find them. But, you know, you're not me, so..."
Eiko flashed to her feet. She pulled back her leg, and kick Riku in the shin. Though he could have easily dodged, Riku took the hit. Yowling, he jumped up and down while Eiko snapped at him.
"I'll never give up! You big meanie! Come on!" She turned her heel, running into the forest, shouting. "Mog! Mocha! Momatose! Where are you?"
Riku, though still wincing from the throbbing in his leg, smiled after Eiko. He was only able to put his leg down when Mickey came to cast a quick cure spell.
"You'd make a good dad one day," chuckled Mickey.
"More like a babysitter. Between watching out for Sora and Kairi, taking care of Slighty and Cubby, and now Eiko, I'm up to my ears in kids."
Mickey put his hand in his chin. "I don't know. I think you're still a kid yourself. I think you still have just a little bit of growing to do before you're an actual adult."
Amused, Riku tsked. "I am so confused right now. First the Lost Boys tell me to be a kid, and now you're telling me to grow up."
"I'm not saying that." Mickey waved his hands. "I just think that everyone has their own path, that even grownups need to remember what it's like to be a child, every once in a while. I was saying that, your journey isn't over yet, that you're almost there, to being a fully realized version of yourself."
Riku smiled for a moment, but then he quickly turned away as another thought crept into his mind. "That's good to hear."
"You don't sound too happy."
"I just-"
If Mickey hadn't had a set of overly sensitive mouse ears, he wouldn't have heard what Riku said next. The boy had lowered his voice to a whisper so low, one wouldn't have known he had spoken unless they had seen his mouth move.
"Is it worth it? If I get to where I need to be, but I'm all alone?"
Mickey shuffled closer. Riku could sense that he was about to say something, but then, the same time that Mickey's hand had touched Riku's leg, the air around them thinned. Needles of ice tingled in Riku's arms. He summoned his soul eater, and Mickey, trusting his friend's instincts, lowered his stance, ready for attack. There were shockwaves of pressure pounding deep beneath Riku's feet, moving toward...
He sprinted forward, plucking Eiko off the floor and rolling away just as a spout of darkness burst from the ground where she had been standing only seconds before. Hundreds of wiggling bodies melted together in the fountain of darkness that was gushing upward from the ground. They flew up into the trees.
The swarm turned in the air, rushing toward Riku and Eiko. The attack was so fast that Riku barely had time to duck. Wriggling her arm free, still in Riku's hold, Eiko shouted.
"Protect!"
Energy lit up Riku's skin. Though not as powerful as the giddy, electric rush of Alice's light, Eiko's magic gave him a burst of strength, one that made it easy for him to withstand the hit that the heartless swarm got on his hip when it rushed by. The swarm made a u-turn when its entire length had passed Riku. Before it could rush the boy, Mickey jumped in the swarm's way, shouting.
"Thundaga!"
The lightning charged through the incoming swarm. Riku felt the sparks traveling through the bodies, felt the magic banging through the heartless and barely missing a speck of light that-
"Kupo!"
Riku shouted. "Mickey! Don't attack it with magic!"
The King jumped back before the heartless could smash him against a tree. He didn't ask Riku why he shouldn't use magic. He simply began slashing at the swarm. Meanwhile, Riku rolled as the swarm's tail dove toward him.
"Hold on tight," he told Eiko when he was back right side up.
"Okay."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. With one hand under her knees, and his soul eater clutched tight in his other hand, Riku stabbed the swarm. He managed to pop a few heartless, but the swarm quickly reared back from his attack. It bent and looped around the trees, forcing the Riku and Mickey to curve and swerve as they tried to chase and attack it.
Riku couldn't vanish and move through the darkness to attack, not with Eiko on his arm. Even if he could teleport, he couldn't afford hitting the swarm when he reappeared. If he attacked in the wrong place, he could harm the lights he felt inside it.
The swarm rushed Mickey. The King shielded himself with a reflect spell, but was thrown up into the air like a ball. In midair, King Mickey popped his reflect spell and began diving back toward the swarm, his keyblade held out before him. The swarm wriggled out of the way, easily avoiding Mickey's attack, but when Mickey landed, his back was hit by the swarm's thick tail. It slammed him to the ground, and head of the swarm was already turning around, rushing toward Mickey, who was strangely not getting back up.
Jumping in front of the king, Riku threw out his soul eater before him. He felt the swarm part, like a river separating into two streams. Heartless clawed and bit as they flew past. Riku wobbled as a claw sank into his leg. A haze swept over his thoughts, and he nearly buckled, his eyes fluttering closed, his mind inches from sleep.
Eiko pressed her palm into Riku's shoulder, shouting. "Esuna!"
It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. Riku was shocked awake just in time to feel Eiko hop off his arm. She ran to Mickey and put her hand on the mouse's head.
"Esuna!"
Mickey shook his head, standing.
"Are you okay?"
The king tilted his head at Eiko. "What? I feel asleep?"
Still defending Mickey, Riku felt the swarm press against his soul eater. His arm was barely able to withstand the constant pressure of thousands of shadows grinding against his blade. Mickey stood, summoning a reflect spell around them, protecting his team from the heartless. The swarm flew by, and somewhere in the dark cloud of heartless, Riku felt three, soft, fuzzy lights. He tried to reach out, to grab them, but the swarm flew up above the trees, vanishing in the direction that led back to town.
There was silence for a few seconds while everyone caught their breaths. Turning around, Riku gave Eiko a round of applause.
"Nice magic. Thanks for the assist. You okay?"
"A million bucks. You?"
"I'm good."
"Gosh, Ms. Eiko, if it weren't for you, Riku and I would have happily stayed asleep. Then who knows what the heartless would have done."
Riku ran his hand over his face. "A heartless swarm that can force people to fall asleep. What next? Weird creatures that eat your nightmares? We really do owe you, Eiko."
There was a smug, little laugh. "What would you do without me? Still, you do have some fancy moves. Thanks for protecting me. Maybe you're good for something after all."
Riku snorted. "Give me more credit. I know where your moogles are now."
Eiko grabbed his pant leg, tugging hard. "Where?"
"They're trapped in that swarm."
Eiko jumped, stomping the ground when she landed. "Let's get back to town and find my friends. We're going to squash that swarm!"
"Everyone ready?"
Sora set down the lantern down in the middle of the sewers. It took some searching, but they finally found an area in the underground concourse that was just big enough for a fight, but had few exit points for escape. Donald and Vivi stood on two sides of the square room, in the tall, wide archways that led out of the space.
"I'm not so sure this is the best plan, Sora," said Jiminy, sitting on the boy's shoulder.
"Why not? Donald and Vivi can block the exits with magic, while Zidane, Goofy and I fight the heartless in the center."
"It sounds like a good idea, on paper," Jiminy agreed. "But we don't know what this heartless is capable of, and if it could elude Merlin..."
"Come on. We've taken on hoards of heartless before. Taking down a swarm should be easy. I mean, it's only one target now."
Jiminy jumped back into Sora's hood. "I'll be taking notes, just in case."
Zidane walked around the room with his hands behind his head, eyes roaming the brick walls, his monkey tail tapping the floor in anticipation. "We'll have to do this quick. Vivi and Donald can't provide cover forever."
Sora pressed his thumb to his chest. "Leave it to me. I'm all charged up and ready to go."
Goofy stretched. "Looks like I'm bringing my A-game too!"
Zidane pulled out a pair of daggers from the sheaths at his hips. Holding the two blades backhanded, he lowered his stance, getting ready for battle. "I've been looking for an excuse to strut my stuff."
Sora waved to Donald and Vivi. "Ready?"
Vivi raised an oak staff, his yellow eyes closing. A wall of ice shot up behind him, blocking off the exit point. Donald did the same, though, as soon as his ice wall was in place, he tapped his foot impatiently
"Get a move on!"
Sora pointed his keyblade against Merlin's lantern, mumbling a small fire spell. The lantern came to life with a bright, orange light. It gleamed like a beacon in the middle of the room. Slowly, Zidane, Sora and Goofy walked away from it. The ground rumbled, and then a geyser of heartless burst up from underneath the lantern.
The swarm splattered against the ceiling, spreading out. Heartless crawled along the walls like a million spiders. Donald and Vivi deflected heartless from the exit points, throwing them back with thunder magic. With nowhere to go, the swarm recombined. It thrashed about the room like a thick tentacle, smacking the walls, the floor, the ceiling, all in an attempt to find a way out. The swarm's attack worked as a stupidly good defense, as both Sora and Goofy had to dodge and duck to avoid getting smashed, like flies avoiding a flyswatter.
Zidane front flipped over an incoming heartless tube. He charged toward a nearby wall and bounced off it with a well timed kick, using his momentum to zip toward the thrashing swarm, succeeding in slicing it in half. Zidane rolled along the floor when he landed, but when he stood back on his feet, he squinted back at the swarm, eyes scanning it for something no one else could see. It wasn't long before he had to focus on avoiding getting squished himself, as the swarm turned its attention on him.
With Zidane distracting the swarm, Sora and Goofy employed an alternating sword and shield strategy. Goofy stuck close to the boy's back, deflecting attacks while Sora swung his keyblade, cleaving through layers of heartless. He was about to swing his weapon again, when the swarm suddenly shifted, and something white, cute, and fluffy appeared before his eyes.
Sora's keyblade stopped in midair as he started into the frightened eyes of a moogle. Before he could react, the moogle was once again swallowed up by the swarm, and it wasn't long before he paid dearly for his hesitation. Behind him, Goofy grunted as he tried to push back the swarm's thick trunk. Because Sora had stopped his attack midway through, his feet had lost his balance, so when Goofy was quickly overpowered, Sora could not brace his friend. The two of them crashed into the swarm. The tube bucked beneath them, sending them flying toward the ceiling.
Instinct kicking in, Sora shouted an aero spell before he and Goofy could be smashed against the bricks. Down below, the swarm spread out like a trampoline, ready to swallow them up as soon as they fell. As Sora came down, he spotted three, cream colored, fluffy faces struggling in the swarm. But he couldn't focus on the three moogles for long, as he quickly inching toward a blanket of heartless. Lucky for him, a pair of daggers tore through the center of the swarm, creating a hole big enough for Sora and Goofy to fall through. Landing on the floor next to Zidane, Sora looked back up, trying to spot the three moogles he had just seen.
The swarm didn't give him the chance. It condensed into a ball, bouncing around the room so fast, that none of the fighters could even think about attacking as they ran around in a panic, trying not to get pummeled. The ball of heartless smashed against Vivi and Donald's ice walls. With both mages too busy running for their lives, they couldn't stop the swarm from breaking through the ice barrier and slithering away, out of the tunnel.
The team raced after the heartless. Running out of the tunnel they found themselves on Sunset Hill, with no heartless in sight, through there were a few frightened and surprised expressions on the townspeople nearby.
It was Donald that spoke first. "Now what do we do? We used up all of Merlin's magic."
"Can't we just go back to plan A? Finding and defeating it?"
Jiminy hopped back onto Sora's shoulder. "Not with it constantly slithering away whenever we get near it. We can't chase after it forever. There has to be another way to trap it."
Sora shoved his hands into his pockets. "It thrashes around so much, I wish we had a giant bag to hold it-hey!"
"Got an idea?" asked Zidane.
"You bet. Come on."
A few minutes later, Sora's team had reunited with Kairi and Max in front of the train station. Sora explained his plan, and was met with a mixed response. Some asked if the plan would work, others rolled their eyes at Sora because of course he would come up with such a silly plan.
Kairi tapped her fingers to her lips, thinking. "I mean, it is possible, but I wouldn't be able to do it alone. At least, not for too long."
"Then we'll ask for King Mickey's help. Oh! And Donald, and Vivi too."
Zidane smirked. "If you need someone to keep your stamina up, I know just the sassy, white mage to help."
"Really? Who?" asked Sora.
"My friend. Eiko. Her light magic has a real kick to it."
Just then, a voice shrieked, coming from street that led further into town.
"ZIDANE! Where the heck are you?"
The boy in question shrugged his shoulders, grining at Vivi.
"Talk about lucky. Looks like we don't have to track down Eiko after all."
"She sounds awful mad," Vivi giggled.
Riku, King Mickey, and a little girl with short, blue hair and yellow overalls, came into the square in front of the station. The girl ran up to Zidane, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"Where have you been all day?" She grabbed his tail and began pulling. "Oh whatever, just come with me. We have a swarm to squish."
"So you know about it."
"Of course I know about it!" Eiko stopped yanking on Zidane's tail, turning to glare at him. "Wait. How do you know about it?"
"We've been trying to catch and defeat it," Vivi explained.
Eiko looked from Vivi's face and then to Sora, Kairi, and the rest of the group. Each member of the party were staring at her curiously, except Kairi who was squinting intently at Eiko's forehead. Before anyone could say anything, Kairi walked forward.
"Is that real?"
She reached down and pinched the little horn growing out of Eiko's forehead.
"No way! It is real! Sora! Look! She has a horn!"
"Cool!"
Eiko shook her head, freeing her horn from Kairi's grip. "Hey! Watch it!"
"Sorry," Kairi giggled. "I've just never seen a little girl with a horn before."
"And I've never met a girl your age without manners."
Every boy in the group held their breaths as Kairi, hands on her hips, bent at the waist, so that she could glare into Eiko's narrowed eyes.
"Hey, I apologized didn't I?"
"You didn't say it right. The proper way to apologize to your rival is to say, 'I'm sorry, Lady Eiko. Please forgive me.'"
"What? Rival?"
"We're two, pretty girls with magic power. That makes us rivals."
"How do you know I have magic power?"
Eiko pointed to her horn. "I have a sense for these things."
"Okay." Kairi clasped her hands in front of her face. "Oh Lady Eiko, I'm so not sorry." She grinned. "I'd do it again if given the chance. I'm just that curious."
The boys tensed as the two girls glared at each other. Then, each pointing at the other they said, "Oh, I like her."
There was a breath of relief, followed by a round of nervous laughter that was only broken when Mickey cleared his throat. Seriousness settled over the group again as everyone explained what they knew regarding the heartless swarm. Once they were all up to speed, Sora explained his plan.
Riku rubbed a hand on his forehead. "Of course you would come up with such a crazy idea. You do realize that we'll be trapped as well, if it works."
"Hey." Sora punched his friend lightly on the shoulder. "It'll work! Besides, we've done crazier."
"You know, he's not wrong," said Kairi.
"We've got five mages to trap it, and five fighters to take it down from inside the trap."
"You mean six fighters," said Eiko. "I'm going in with you."
"I'm not sure-"
Zidane and Riku thrust out their hands. "Sora, don't-"
Too late. Eiko's nostrils flared as she took in a breathe through clenched teeth. "I am a master of light magic! That swarm is going to wear you down fast, and unless you know anyone else that can cast one healing spell after another without getting tired, then there's no way you're stopping me from fighting."
Sora leaned backward, staring at the girl as though she could explode any second.
Zidane put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "I tried to warn you." Then, winking at Eiko he said, "Keep us safe."
"You got it."
Shrugging in defeat, Sora looked at his teammates. "Everyone know the plan?"
The team nodded.
"Let's go trap a swarm."
Kairi and Eiko walked around the underground concourse listening to their voices echo through the tunnels as they spoke in the loudest, most annoying tone.
"Oh no! We're just two girls out for a stroll, full of light, all alone, with absolutely no one to protect us."
Eiko put her fists on her cheeks, her eyes as big and shiny as a puppy's. "Look at what a cute little girl I am. It would be just terrible if a big, ugly monster decided to gobble me up."
Kairi pressed the back of her hand on her forehead, like a victorian noblewoman about the faint. "And I am a princess of heart. I don't even have a weapon, magic, or a keyblade master to protect me. Oh my, whatever will I do if I'm kidnapped again?"
The ground rumbled. Eiko and Kairi held each other's hands. "Oh no! Is it a big, ugly monster, come to catch us delicate maidens?"
The words seemed to summon the heartless. They burst out of the walls, wriggling toward Kairi and Eiko, outstretching thousands of tiny arms at their seemingly weak prey.
"Finally," Kairi and Eiko whispered. Then, louder, raising their voices to a shrill pitch, they pointed and screamed. "OH NO! IT'S A BIG, UGLY, MONSTER! RUN!"
The girls bolted out of the underground concourse, listening to the heartless slam against the walls as its long, thrashing body chased after them.
"Do you think the boys heard us?" Eiko asked as she chased after Kairi.
"They better have! Because our exit is coming up!"
Kairi and Eiko rushed toward the light in the mouth of the tunnel, running out of the underground concourse. The heartless swarm followed its easy targets but, just as it exited out into the alley, Kairi, Eiko, Vivi, Zidane, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Max, Riku, and Mickey leapt onto its body. The heartless, once it realized that it had passengers, thrashed upward into the sky, trying to buck off its attackers.
Kairi, Donald, Mickey, and Vivi were the first to let go, but not because the heartless had succeeded in throwing them off. Kairi flew above the heartless, Mickey below, and Vivi and Donald on either side of it.
"Reflectga!" Mickey and Kairi shouted.
A giant ball of glass surrounded the entire swarm. Mickey and Kairi grabbed on to the magic glass, powering it. From in front of and behind the heartless, Donald and Vivi raised their staffs.
"Aeroga!"
A wind sphere formed itself inside Kairi and Mickey's reflect spell, providing a barrier between the spell-casters and the swarm. If the swarm tried to thrash against Kairi and Mickey's spell, it would only rub up against the sharp wind sphere that Donald and Vivi were powering.
The giant, magic sphere fell, crashing onto one of Twilight Town's roofs. The ball of glass rolled and the mages inside it grit their teeth, keeping the reflect and aero spells in place.
Donald shouted to the fighters.
"Your turn! Hurry it up!"
Eiko sat on Riko's shoulders. The two of them charged the swarm. Rather then raise his soul eater, Riku gathered up darkness in his hand. A ball of vicious, icy energy flew out from between his fingers. In midair the dark firaga spell burst apart, the smaller projectiles hitting the swarm on different parts of its body. The swarm turned toward Riku, rushing him.
Eiko pressed her hands on top of Riku's head. "Protect!"
A golden aura settled over Riku and Eiko's bodies. When the swarm came at them, they didn't run or block. Rather, Riku and Eiko dove in. There were bursts of white, green, and golden light as Eiko alternated between protection and healing spells, supporting Riku as he worked through the swarm like a deadly virus.
Finally, Eiko and Riku burst out of the swarm. Eiko was holding a tiny moogle in her arms, while Riku held on to the other two. They landed next to Goofy, who raised his shield to protect the moogles.
Zidane, Max and Sora, who had been hanging back, waiting for the rescue mission to be completed, leapt into action. The boys flew toward the swarm, slashing it from different angles as they bounced around the sphere, cutting up the swarm into pieces.
Now that the moogles were safe, Eiko and Riku rejoined the battle. Riku, burned the swarm pieces Sora and Zidane had cut off, while Eiko raised her arm, pointing first at Zidane and then at Sora and Max, shouting, "might!"
A red aura lit up around Zidane and Sora. When the boys' next attack hit, the heartless swarm shuddered, its pieces disintegrating as Eiko's spell increased its enemies' attack power.
The heartless swarm shrank as its pieces were picked off one by one. More room opened up in the sphere, and Eiko and Goofy worked together to heal Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Vivi, both with ethers, and with magic.
Soon, only one section of the heartless swarm remained. Max, Sora, Riku, and Zidane lined up side by side. The small ball of heartless rolled toward them. Max and Zidane charged, scissoring through the heartless at the edges of the sphere. Standing side by side, Sora and Riku put their blades together. Sonic and dark energy gathered around their weapons. They charged at the same time, cleaving through every heartless that remained.
Only one shadow managed to survive, but it was squashed a moment later when Goofy pounced on it with his shield. Kairi, Mickey, Vivi, and Donald dropped their protective spells. Because of Eiko's constant healing magic, the mages weren't tired when they landed on the roof. But they were loud. Whooping, jumping, and high-fiving took over everyone in the party. Even the moogles, happy to finally be free, flew around the group before landing near Eiko, hugging her tight.
Eiko grabbed the smallest Moogle. "Mog! I've missed you so much!"
The moogle lovingly responded, tears forming in her eyes as she nuzzled Eiko back.
"Mocha, Momatose! I'm so glad you're okay."
The moogle named Momatone ducked his head. "We're sorry. We couldn't make our delivery, kupo."
The other moogle, Mocha, sniffled. "That big monster ate us up when we went to get the supplies, kupo!"
Eiko patted the head of each moogle. "Who cares? So the delivery to Master Yen Sid will be a little late. Big deal. I'm just glad you are okay."
"Did you just say Master Yen Sid?" Sora repeated incredulously.
Eiko raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Our delivery was for him."
Sora leaned forward and gawked at Eiko. "Where's the delivery going?"
Eiko blinked, realizing that she was surrounded by an audience that was staring at her with overeager expressions. For the first time, she looked slightly nervous. Slowly, as though she were addressing an angry mob that could riot at any second, she spoke.
"The delivery will be made to the train that goes to Yen Sid's home, which will arrive at the station, at seven o'clock, on the dot."
Goofy put his hand over his eyes, looking over Twilight Town's rooftops to the clock tower at the train station.
"Seven o'clock is only twenty minutes away."
"We have to get that delivery ready. And fast. We have to catch that train." Turning to Eiko, Sora said, "What do we need to get?"
Tantalus Delivery knew the ins and outs of Twilight Town best. Zidane joined Sora's group, Vivi teamed up with Max and Kairi, while Eiko and the moogles helped Riku and King Mickey. Everyone ran around town, gathering up parchment paper, ink, quills, ethers, and some strange, luminescent gem the moogles found called an orichalcum plus. Gasping, sweating, everyone made it back to the station square with five minutes to spare.
Waiting by the train platform, Sora looked over all the materials they had gathered. He watched as Zidane and Vivi stacked three perfectly wrapped boxes into a neat little tower.
"I wonder what Master Yen Sid needs all this stuff for," Max said.
"Maybe he's thinking about writin' some more letters," Goofy offered.
"I don't know," said Mickey. "I get the feeling it's more complicated then that."
Donald stared at the glittering, blue-green gem in Kairi's hands, his eyes wide.
"Don't even think about it," laughed Sora. "That orichalcum is for the master."
"What?" asked Donald innocently. "I wasn't going to take it. I'm passed all that now."
While Goofy and Mickey gave Donald a dubious look, which prompted the duck to angrily demand what the big idea was. While the King and Goofy playfully teased Donald, Kairi grabbed Sora's hand. She placed her lucky charm in his palm.
Sora wrapped his fingers around the star, holding it to his chest. "Thanks for getting it back, but are you sure I still need to hold on to this?"
Kairi squinted one eye. "What do you mean?"
Sora scratched the back of his head. "I mean, you've changed so much since the you gave this to me back in Traverse Town. I'm sorry I said you'd be in my way back then."
Kairi looked down at the floor. "Well, back then, you were right. I wasn't much of a fighter."
Max glared at Sora, giving him a look that said, "Really?"
Backpedalling, Sora quickly said, "But that's not true anymore. You've gotten so strong that we can travel together, which makes me so much happier then just having you wait around for me. What I'm asking is, now that we're on a mission together, do I still need this?"
A rosy color spread over Kairi's cheeks. Her eyes didn't lift from the floor. "I like knowing that you have something of mine, so that we'll keep finding each other, even if we have to split up again."
Now it was Sora's turn to stare at his shoes. "Oh. Okay. Then I'll be sure to keep this safe then."
Across from Sora and Kairi, Zidane sighed. "Man, I'm envious."
Vivi, who had been standing next to Zidane, tilted his head. "Of what?"
Zidane shrugged. "Never had a relationship like theirs. They're lucky."
Sora opened his mouth, but Kairi stopped him by raising her hand.
Facing Zidane, she said, "You know, if you drop the flirty attitude and just be yourself, I'm sure you'd find a nice girl that appreciates who you are one day."
Zidane tried to shrug nonchalantly, but the nervous twitch of his lips and the hopeful look in his eyes gave him away.
Max patted the delivery boy's shoulder. "I would take her advice if I were you. She's got a pretty good track record so far."
Zidane put up his hands in a gesture of defeat. "All right. All right."
The chuckles that followed took up everyone's attention. No one noticed that Riku stepped away from the group, walking off to lean on one of the station walls, alone. He stood there, eyes closed and jaw tight, until Mickey and Eiko came to stand before him.
"Something wrong?" asked Mickey.
Riku twitched, blinking. "Huh? Oh. It's nothing. Just a little tired."
Eiko raised a brow, looking at Riku, and then back at Sora, Kairi, and the others. They stood at the train platform, joking around. The thing about most little girls is that, compared to most boys, they're much more interested in romance. Eiko didn't miss how Sora and Kairi sometimes brushed their shoulders against each other, or looked up whenever one of them laughed.
"I won't ask what's bothering you," Mickey said to Riku. "I just hope that, whenever you're ready, you'll tell me."
Eiko groaned. "Oh brother! It's SO obvious, Your Majesty."
Mickey cast a confused look at the little girl, but she didn't share his gaze. Her eyes were fixed on Riku.
"I know exactly what's going through your mind."
Riku gave her a skeptical look. "Really?"
"Yes. I'm not going to spill the beans, but I will tell you that it's stupid."
"How could you know what I'm thinking?"
"Please," Eiko crossed her arms, tapping her finger on her forearm. "I know what it's like to feel lonely."
"Lonely? Like what you said in the forest?" Mickey tilted his head at Riku. "But, Riku, aren't we pals?"
Smiling slightly, Riku patted Mickey's head. "Of course."
"It's not about not having friends," said Eiko. "He's worried about something else."
"Okay, so how do we help him?"
Eiko shook her head. "Let him think about it. Like you said, he'll probably tell you when he's ready."
Riku snorted. "Why am I always learning from people younger then me?"
King Mickey extended his hand to Eiko. "You know, you're the smartest little girl I've ever met."
Eiko grinned, shaking the King's hand. She looked up at Riku, about to say something, but then a screeching noise made her turn. A train had entered the station. It was a blue car that was decorated with yellow accents and stars.
"Master Yen Sid's ride is here," said Eiko.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, and Max said their goodbyes to Zidane and Vivi. Each member of the Sora's team picked up one delivery package and entered the car. Kairi picked up two heavy books. Tucking them them under her arm, she stepped onto the train. When everyone was aboard, Sora popped his head out of a window and waved at Riku and Mickey.
"Hey you two! Better hop on or we'll leave you behind!"
"That's our cue," said Mickey. "Goodbye Eiko."
Mickey ran up to the train, hopping on after giving Zidane and Vivi a quick thanks. Before Riku could follow him, he felt Eiko tug on his pants.
"Thanks for helping me find Mog and the others. You really are dependable." Her voice was quiet, and there was a twinge of sadness in it. "Can you do me one more favor?" Eiko let go of Riku's pant leg. "Don't choose to be alone."
"I won't," Riku promised. He patted Eiko's head, not seeing the worried look she gave him. "See you round, Eiko."
She watched Riku enter the train, and waved goodbye to him and the others when they leaned out of the windows to scream their farewells. When the train rolled out of the station, Eiko, Zidane, and Vivi saluted each other for a job well done. They left the train station. To celebrate their delivery, recovering the moogles, and defeating the heartless swarm, the three friends happily talked about having dinner at Tiana's resturant. Not once did any of them look up. If they had, they would have seen the suit of armor standing high above them, right in front of Twilight Town's clock tower.
Jiminy's Journal
Merlin (First Appeared in The Sword And The Stone, 1963): Merlin may be clumsy, and a bit strict, but have no doubt, he is a wise, seasoned wizard that knows much more about the world then he lets on. In the past, he helped Sora hone his magical skills. Merlin greatly encourages education and brains over brawn, reminding Sora to flex his mental muscles instead of his physical ones.
Moogles (First Appeared in Final Fantasy III, 1990): Mocha, Mog, and Momatose are three of Eiko's best friends. They help her make deliveries around town. Mog is the same age as Eiko, and the two are almost inseparable.
