DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty Eight: Tierra De La Muerte
The gummi ship made a sharp turn as it bounced off an invisible wall.
"Hey! Watch it!" Donald held onto his seat, waving his fist at Sora.
The boy in question didn't see Donald's angry gesture. He leaned forward in the pilot's seat, squinting at the world that was floating in thew viewport before him. A barrier, with a hexagonal pattern, had flashed, briefly obscuring the rainbow colored world ahead of them.
"Master Yen Sid said that this world hasn't crashed into any others," Sora mused, "so that shiny thing must have been the world's wall."
"Gawrsh. Looks like we'll have to use Chip and Dale's upgrades after all."
Goofy and Donald left their seats. On either side of Sora, there was a pair of levers. Goofy went to the lever on the right, while Donald took the left. Holding the levers, the two friends nodded at the pilot. With his tongue between his teeth, Sora pressed a sequence of buttons before gripping the steering wheel tight with one hand. His other hand floated over a big, red button in the middle of the wheel.
"Ready."
"Okay," Goofy said. "Going to pass the world wall in three-"
Donald's grip tightened on his lever. "Two."
Sora's fingers twitched over the big, red button. "One."
He pressed the button at the same time his friends had pulled down their levers. The ship lurched forward. Donald and Goofy wailed, holding onto the levers with both hands as their feet slid off the floor. Sora was slammed back into his seat, panicking for a split second as the ship around him completely disappeared. Golden light flashed, and the ship reappeared, only for it smash against a hard surface. Sora flew out of his chair.
He bounced around on the bridge until he collided with Donald and Goofy. In the spinning vertigo, Sora reached out and accidentally pulled the lever that opens the gummi ship's glass dome. The three friends tumbled out of the rocket, their bones clamoring together as they hit the ground.
Sora eyes were rolling in their sockets like a pair of billiard balls. Donald and Goofy had collapsed on his back. Footsteps broke through Sora's dizzy spell. He squinted at the pair of well made boots that had stomped in front of his eyes. Wow, his brain really wasn't working after that crash. One of the boots were missing. Instead an ordinary foot, all Sora saw were bones.
"Dios mio! You three and that infernal machine!"
Something whacked Sora upside the head. "Ouch!"
"You nearly smashed the plaza to pieces! What do you have to say for yourselves?"
The world swirled as Sora got to his feet. He closed his eyes, rubbing the lump on his forehead. Sora's sense of touch must have been off as well, because his forehead felt oddly hard and smooth, instead of fleshy and warm.
"Sorry, ma'am," Sora began. "We lost control of our ride."
"You boys are loco if you dare to fly that contraption. Be more careful next time."
Sora grinned sheepishly. His head finally stopped spinning long enough for him to open his eyes. If the woman had thought he and his friends had been rude before, she was practically fuming when Sora opened his mouth, pointed right at her face, and screamed.
"You're a skeleton!"
Sora stared at his arm. Instead of seeing flesh, there were radius and ulna bones between his sleeve and glove. He slapped his hands on his face, feeling cheekbones instead of skin.
"I'm a skeleton!"
A pair of frantic screams exploded behind Sora. Turning, Sora gawked at his friends. Gone were the fur and feathers. Donald and Goofy were now nothing but bones. The only organs that had remained were their eyes.
Donald's beak trembled. "S-s-sora, how hard did you crash the gummi ship?"
"I didn't do anything, I swear! I just did what Chip and Dale told us to do to pass through the wall."
Goofy looked as though he were about to cry. "F-f-fellars, are we d-d-"
"Dead."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned toward the woman with the boots. Her voice was surprisingly calm. Though she stood with her arms crossed, the harsh expression on her facial bones had softened. There was a tender look in her brown eyes as she regarded the trio.
"It is a surprise when you first realize it," the skeleton woman stated. "But it happens to everyone eventually." Reaching out, she took Sora's hand in hers. "Welcome to the Land of the Dead."
Sora found himself exhaling in wonder as he looked out into the world. Buildings were stacked on top of buildings, all glowing various bright colors in the deep, dark night. There were endless plazas. Suspended trollies moved people from one section of the city to another. Sora could hear the distant strumming of guitars, the loud booms of trumpets and trombones, and the pops of fireworks.
Somewhere, from deep in Sora's memories, he remembered the stained glass from his dreams, and the cold, night air that would lull him to sleep. The Land of the Dead had the same feeling. He looked around the plaza that he had crashed landed in. Skeletons were gathered around a fountain, children were trying to break a horse piñata that was suspended from the second floor balcony of a house. A panicked skeleton, who looked a lot more beat up then the others, was running toward them.
"IMELDA!"
Hearing her name, the woman that had hit Sora with her boot, turned around. Her tone sounded tired when she greeted the shabby skeleton.
"What's this about, Héctor?"
"Miguel. He's here."
Imelda looked as though her eyeballs were two seconds away from popping out of their sockets. "He's dead?"
"No. He's alive. I can't send him home!"
Imelda put her fingers between her teeth and whistled. A roar came down from the sky. Sora would have gulped if he still had an esophagus. A massive, jaguar-like creature, with the florescent wings of a green parrot, and the horns of a ram, came plummeting down from above. The beast landed silently, even though its big paws could have wrapped about Sora's whole head.
Imelda moved toward the giant cat and stroked its muzzle.
"Take us to Miguel, Pepita."
The jaguar purred, and then lowered its head so that Imelda could climb aboard its back. Héctor, the shabbier skeleton, put a hand on his straw hat, and then grabbed a hold of the jaguar's flank. He looked absolutely panicked when the creature beat its powerful wings and flew off. Sora's eyes followed the glowing, green and yellow cat until it vanished into the rainbow city beyond.
He looked around. Behind him was a great stone gate with metal bars. Skeletons were crowded behind the bars, pushing and shoving. Sora recognized the dissonance of arguing. He could see several security guards standing between the crowd and the gates.
"Please, everyone! We are trying to solve the problem as soon as we can. Kindly return to your homes."
The crowd was not listening. After closing the gummi ship's hatch and making sure the ship was still functional, Sora, Donald, and Goofy moved toward the angry crowd.
"I demand to cross the bridge!"
Sora jumped up, trying to see over the skulls and beyond the gates. He spotted an orange bridge, made entirely out of marigold petals, leading out of the Land of the Dead.
"We cannot allow that," one of the guards shouted. "No one has returned after crossing the bridge. And the bridge should not even be here at this time of year. You all know that. There could be danger. You could fall off and be forgotten."
"I don't care if its not Dia de los Muertos! I want to see my family!"
"My friend crossed and did not come back! I have to go after him!"
The skeletons began pushing, forcing the guards backward, closer to the metal bars and gates. Sora tried to squeeze the crowd. Instead, he slipped, and landed in a heap of bones as the a loud boom shook the sky, the ground, the petals on the marigold bridge. The crowd screamed. The few skeletons that were able to stay standing watched in horror.
Beyond the metal bars, the marigold petals began to crumple, and the bridge collapsed like a sandcastle being swept away by the tide. Then, there was nothing beyond the stone gate but an empty space, and the dark sea that surrounded the Land of the Dead. A wave of panicked voices rose up.
"¿Por qué?"
"How are we going to see our living families now?"
"How will all the other skeletons comes back?"
"What if no new people can come to the Land of the Dead?"
The guards did their best to soothe the people, but it was clear by the wide eyes and clenched jaws that they were just as surprised as everyone else. Sora spotted one guard standing alone. Making his way over, Sora stood on the other side of the gate and gawked at the empty space where there had once been a glorious, golden bridge.
"Excuse me, sir?"
The guard turned around. "I'm sorry, muchacho. I don't know why the bridge collapsed."
"Has anything like this ever happened before?"
"No. Not that I know of." The guard stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down as though hoping the bridge would magically spring back up again.
"On the off chance that it has," Sora pressed, "where would we find information about it?"
The guard shrugged. "The archives in the Department of Family Reunions. If you're going there, head out soon. After this mess, the office will be overrun with angry skeletons."
The guard gave Sora directions to a place called Marigold Grand Central Station. The Department of Family Reunions was right across the metal bridge above the train tracks. By the time Sora, Donald, and Goofy had gotten there, there was already a huge crowd between them, and the department building.
Groaning, Sora leaned over the metal bridge for a moment and watched the trains moving in the terminal below. He took a few moments to calm himself, keeping his eyes on a incoming train. There was someone standing on the roof. Sora squinted. What kind of crazy skeleton would ride a train that way?
As the train got closer, Sora swore he heard a familiar voice.
"Fantastic! What a wonderful new place!"
Sora didn't have a beating heart in his new form, but if he had, he was sure it would have jumped up into his throat. He leaned so far over the railing, trying to see who was on the roof of the train. He tipped forward. Hands grabbed his pants and shirt jacket. Donald and Goofy yanked Sora back. The boy fell back on the bridge, just as the train roared by underneath.
"What are you doing?" Goofy asked. "You could have gotten hurt."
Donald waved a hand in front of Sora's eyes. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. I thought I saw...never mind. We have to get to the archives."
Since going through the font doors was a no-go, the trio looped around the Department of Family Reunions, into an alleyway. While searching for a back door, Sora heard a familiar voice coming from the window to his right.
"Mijo! What are you doing here? Did you break your promise?"
Sora pressed his face against the window. He braced himself, waiting for his nose to squish against the cold glass, but when no discomfort came, he had to spare a moment to laugh inwardly. Skeletons didn't have noses. At least it made it easier for him to see into the office beyond the window. Imelda and Héctor stood inside. Another skeleton sat behind a large desk. The words "Case Worker of the Year" were etched into a trophy on his desk.
Between Imelda and Héctor was a little boy in a red hoodie and jeans. The boy had his hood pulled over his face, his head tipped downward to look at the floor. Behind him, Héctor put his hands on the boy's shoulders. He gave Imelda a pleading look.
"Please, let's just hear what Miguel has to say before we make assumptions." Gently, Héctor nudged the boy's hood. "Go ahead, chamaco."
Imelda put her hands on her hips, making Héctor flinch.
"I don't want to hear a word out of you. For all I know, Miguel could have come back here to see you." Imelda threw up her hands. "Musicians! Always putting our family in danger. Miguel, you swore you would never play music again."
"And I haven't!" Miguel replied, pulling his hood lower over his face. "I have no idea how I came back here." His voice trembled. "It's not even Dia De Muertos. And look."
Miguel lifted his hand, wiggling the bones of his fingers.
Sora found it strange that Imelda and Héctor gasped at the sight of Miguel's hand. Wasn't everyone in the Land of the Dead a skeleton? What was so strange about Miguel's hand? He squinted through the glass. He could have sworn there was a thin outline around Miguel's hand, almost as though his fingers were in a really translucent, flesh colored glove.
Héctor held Miguel's hand. "The curse is this far along already?"
The case worker at the desk adjusted his glasses. "This is serious, Señora. It seems that Miguel has less time to get home. Normally, he would have until sunrise, but now, I'd estimate he has only half the time."
"Half the time?" Miguel began to sway.
Before he could smack his head against one of the many overfilled bookshelves in the room, Imelda and Héctor caught him. Miguel's head flopped to side. When Héctor gently lifted the boy's head so that it was straight, Miguel's hood slipped off.
At the window, Sora pointed and screamed. After seeing nothing but skeleton faces, his ribs tingled when Miguel's hood had fallen away to reveal a cute, fleshy, very-much-alive, face.
Hearing their friend's shocked reaction, Donald and Goofy pressed their faces against the glass. It wasn't long before their surprised screams joined Sora's. The noise drew the attention of Imelda, Héctor, Miguel, and the case worker. Imelda stomped toward the window, pushed it open, and pulled the trio into the office. Sora, Donald, and Goofy tumbled onto the floor. Imelda gave each of them a glower.
"You three! Explain yourselves!"
Sitting in the middle of room, and rubbing their heads, the trio could do nothing but smile apologetically at Imelda.
"Sorry, ma'am, uh, Señora. We didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just that, well, that boy is alive."
"That boy is Miguel Rivera, our great-great grandson." Imelda pointed to herself, and Héctor.
"Hola," Miguel waved awkwardly.
"And if we don't find a way to send him back to the living world soon, then he'll turn into a skeleton."
Sora swallowed hard. "You mean-"
"Yes," the case worker cut in, "he'll have to stay in the Land of the Dead forever."
Sora was on his feet in seconds. "That's awful! How do we send him back?"
"Well, normally," the case worker picked up an orange flower petal from his desk, "all Miguel would have to do is get a blessing from his family." The case worker gave the flower petal to Imelda. "Señora, if you would."
Imelda took the flower, faced Miguel, and said his name. Then she said, "I give you my blessing."
Sora held his breath, and then let it out just as quickly. Nothing had happened.
Héctor reached over and poked the petal in Imelda's fingers. "The petal didn't even glow."
The case worker shrugged. "We've been having this problem for a while. Blessings aren't working as they usually would. Perhaps we'll have to walk the boy across the bridge and try the blessing closer to the Land of the Living."
"But the bridge is gone," said Donald.
"Yeah," Goofy added, "we watched it collapse."
"What?"
Imelda didn't shriek. Rather, her statement rumbled with a low anger, the kind that only mothers and experienced criminal leaders could master. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all gulped.
"It's the truth," Sora said. "We came to the Department of Family Reunions to see if such a thing has ever happened before."
"The bridge has vanished?" The office worker collapsed into his chair. "Señora Rivera, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for Miguel."
Imelda slammed her hands on the worker's desk. "He's a living child. He can't stay in this world. I demand to speak to the man in charge!"
The case worker shrugged. "This is completely unprecedented. No one living has ever crossed into the Land of the Dead outside of Dia de los Muertos, curse or no curse."
Miguel shivered.
Héctor gently squeezed Miguel's shoulder. "It's okay, chamaco."
His words didn't stop Miguel from shaking. "So, I'm just going to say here and become a skeleton? I can never go home?"
"No way."
Everyone faced Sora. He stood with his hands on his hips, confidence practically oozing off the smile on his face.
"There has to be another way to send Miguel home. And if we can't get him out of this world, then maybe we can take him to ano-"
A pair of hands clamped down on Sora's mouth. He struggled to stay standing. Donald hung on his back, kicking his bony flippers in the air.
"Sora, you dummy! We can't!"
Goofy waved his hands at Miguel, his great-grandparents, and the case worker. "Sorry folks. Could you please excuse us?"
Goofy pushed Sora and Donald into a corner of the room. Once the three of them had huddled together, Donald finally let go of Sora's neck.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to break the world order?"
"But if Miguel really can't leave this world, then he could die." Sora thumped his fist against his chest, eyes full of steely resolve. "I won't let that happen."
Donald blinked at Sora. Slowly, the annoyance fell from his face, replaced by a sympathetic look. "I understand how you feel, but what if taking Miguel to another world makes things worse?"
"Let's not be rash," Goofy said. "We can still find a way to send Miguel home. Let's do what we do best and investigate. Maybe someone in town might know something that the Department of Family Reunions doesn't."
"Okay." Sora crossed his arms. "But if we don't find anything in time, then I say we take Miguel to Twilight Town. I'm sure Master Yen Sid wouldn't mind keeping him safe until the world crashing problem has been solved."
Donald sighed. "I sure hope Imelda and Héctor can keep a secret."
Sora tilted his head. "We're only taking Miguel. Imelda and Héctor don't have to know about the world order."
Donald narrowed his eyes. "Sora, are you really suggesting we take Miguel anywhere without his grandparents' permission?"
"Oh." A fake kidnapping with Jim was one thing, but separating Miguel from his family without telling them would be a real crime. "You're right. That's a bad idea."
Donald sighed. "You big palooka. What would you do without me?"
"So we all agree to take Miguel to another world only as a last resort," Goofy said.
Sora and Donald nodded. The team huddle ended, and the trio faced the other skeletons in the room. Sora walked over to the case worker's desk and leaned forward.
"Is it true that Miguel can't get back to the Land of the Living without his family's blessing? Is there really no other way? Even something as small as a legend or a rumor could help us."
The case worker moved toward one of the filing cabinets. "I don't know if it's related to the bridge collapsing or not." He flipped through the pages of a thick file. "But there have been reports of creatures all over the city, as well as a rumor about a some kind of monster out in the oceans. Not only that, but there is a skeleton in the plaza that claims they don't belong in this world." The case worker frowned. "Strange thing to say. All dead come here. Anyway, if what he's saying is true, whatever brought all our 'visitor' here could be the same thing that can send Miguel home."
The case worker pulled out a paper and held it out Sora. It was a map of the Land of the Dead. Three areas were circled in red marker. One of them was a plaza in the center of the city. The second circle was beyond the city's borders, in the oceans surrounding the town. There were question marks written inside the circle. The last circle was around an immaculate tower.
Héctor groaned. "Why is Ernesto de la Cruz's mansion circled?"
"There have been reports of strange noises coming from his mansion," the case worker explained.
Miguel shoved his way through his great grandparents so that he could gawk at the map.
"Señor de la Cruz lives there?"
"Who's de la Cruz?"
Miguel gave Sora an open mouthed glare.
"Only the greatest musician to ever live."
"For some people," Héctor mumbled.
"Enough," Imelda snapped. "No more talk of musicians." She took the map and rolled it up. "We're going to investigate the plaza. Thank you, Señor."
The case worker tipped his plastic visor. "Good luck."
The trio followed Miguel, Héctor, and Imelda out of the Department of Family reunions. Just a few steps away from the building, Imelda cleared her throat. She pulled Miguel to her side and glared at Héctor. Sora and Donald exchanged confused looks. Sighing, Héctor moved back.
"I will honer our bargain, but this is between me and my great great grandson."
Héctor rubbed his arm. "Of course."
"What?" Miguel shook off Imelda's arm, moving to stand closer to Héctor. "But he's family too."
Imelda gave Héctor a stern look. "He left this family, Miguel."
"So?" Miguel argued. "If it wasn't for Papá Héctor, I wouldn't have gotten home the first time I came here."
"And what about Coco and I? Why wasn't Héctor there for us?"
Miguel rubbed his arm. "Because of music. I know."
"Listen to your grandmother, Miguel." Héctor met Imelda's icy stare. "I won't come along if you don't want me to."
Without another word, Héctor turned and began to walk away. Miguel moved to chase his great great grandfather, but Imelda stopped him. Hanging his head, Miguel followed her.
"Wait. This isn't fair." Sora chased after Imelda and Miguel. "Why are you excluding Héctor? He's worried about Miguel too."
Imelda sighed. "Listen, young man. I want to thank you for the gesture, but this is a family matter. I will find a way to send Miguel home. There's no need for you to involve yourself."
"But-"
Before Sora could utter another word, the massive cat like creature that Imelda had summoned earlier, landed in front of him. Sora went down on his bony behind. The creature growled, warning Sora against making a move. Donald and Goofy moved defensively, getting in front of Sora, weapons raised. The creature bared its teeth at them.
"Easy, Pepita," Imelda called.
Instantly, the winged jaguar calmed. She turned her muzzle toward Imelda, purring as the skeleton pet her nose.
"What is that thing?"
Once the creature had heard Donald's question, it turned to glare at him. Donald swallowed.
"This is my Pepita, my spirit guide." Imelda jumped onto Pepita's broad shoulders. She leaned over, pulling Miguel up onto the spirit guide. After one final look at Sora, Imelda and Miguel were off.
Sora watched Pepita fly until she disappeared behind a tall building. Standing, he patted down his pants and turned toward his friends.
"I want to help Imelda and Miguel, but..." Sora sighed. "It's just like with the King of Atlantis. I know I should respect people when they don't want my help, but it still feels wrong."
"It's only because you're a good person that you feel that way," Goofy said. "But still, I'm proud of ya."
Sora tilted his head. "For what?"
"For telling us how you feel, and for knowing when to stop pushing people that don't want your help. You're really growing up."
Sora grinned. "Don't tell Riku."
Donald smirked. "No promises."
After sparing a moment to share a mock glare with Donald, Sora pretended to draw something in the air.
"I don't remember the map too well, but that office guy had mentioned that there's some sort of monster out in the ocean. We should take a look."
"Good call," Donald agreed. He hung his head. "Knowing our luck, though, it's probably a giant heartless."
Sora hung his head too. "I bet it's a darkside. Again."
"Cheer up, fellars. We'll get that heatless and then we can check in on Imelda, Miguel, and Héctor too."
Boosted by Goofy's optimism, Donald and Sora raised their fists, flexing their nonexistent arm muscles. "Let's go take care of business."
The Land of the Dead was one big maze. Winding roads that branched off into alleys and dead ends, an endless supply of plazas, and tall, clustered buildings, forced Sora to stop and ask for directions multiple times. After twenty minutes, the trio was completely lost, wandering through an alley that looked exactly like the ten others they had been in before. The only difference was that something was moving around in the trash.
Sora summoned his keyblade, moving toward the twitching garbage can. Instead of a heartless popping out of the trash, an odd looking dog stuck out its head. Sora rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The dog had flesh. In fact that it was all it had. There was no little to fur covering the dog's brown skin. A few odd strands appeared around the dog's whiskers and ears, but he was otherwise hairless.
Jumping out of the trashcan, the dog came forward and nuzzled Sora's legs. He sat back, and looked up at Sora with a happy but silly smile, his long tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth.
"Uh, hi?" Sora said, not exactly sure what the dog wanted.
The dog chased his own tail for a moment. Then, he began to tug on Sora's pant leg. Sora stumbled, and the dog let go. He sprinted to the mouth of the alley and pointed with his nose, as if to say, "follow me!"
The trio chased after the dog, running through more winding alleys and streets until they finally came out into the wharf. The dog sat down in front of Sora, happily wagging his tail.
"Good boy!" Sora patted the dog's head as he looked out into the sea.
The city light were reflected on the water. If he weren't in such a hurry to find and destroy whatever giant monster was out there, Sora would have spared a moment to stare at the waves.
Instead he focused on the dog. It has run to a pier, where an old skeleton was sitting with his feet dangling over the water. The skeleton turned toward the dog, and patted its head.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Miguel?"
Sora recognized the straw hat. Carefully, as to not frighten the skeleton, he stepped onto the wooden planks. Héctor turned when Sora was only a few feet away. He stood, patting down his pants and ripped vest.
"Buenas noches, muchacho. Did Dante bring you here?"
"Dante?"
Héctor pointed to the hairless dog. "Miguel's friend."
"What's he doing here? I thought only dead people could be here."
Héctor shrugged. "I suppose Dante chased after Miguel and got stuck. Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?"
Héctor's smile twitched, as though it was an effort for him to keep it on his bony face. Sora forget why he had come to the wharf. He couldn't help but ask his next question.
"Why doesn't Señora Imelda doesn't want your help? I'm sorry if I'm being nosy. It's just that, I can see how much you care about Miguel. So why?"
Héctor's took off his straw hat. He held it like a thin shield in front of his collar bones. "When Imelda and I were young, I left her and our daughter, Coco, to realize my dream of playing music for the world. Yet, a few months into my tour, I missed my family so much. I set out for home, but..." Hector grit his teeth, closing his eyes tightly. "I died before I could be reunited with Imelda and my daughter."
Donald and Goofy covered their mouths. "That's so sad."
"Imelda raised Coco all alone," Héctor continued. "I've tried to explain that I wanted to come home, but Imelda can't forgive me. Music is the reason I abandoned my family. So Imelda is against Miguel becoming a musician. A few months ago, Miguel came to the Land of the Dead by accident. I helped convince him to go home, but he had to promise Imelda that he would never play music again."
Héctor grimaced. He tumbled forward, his bones shimmering with an unnatural golden color. Sora reached out, grabbing Héctor's shoulder, pushing the older skeleton back onto the balls of his feet. Dante leaned his body against Héctor's legs. Héctor bones flashed, and for a moment, he didn't feel solid. His bones dimmed and brightened, like a star that was slowly fading away.
Sora felt fear burn through his spine. "Héctor? What's happening? Are you all right?"
Goofy pulled Héctor's arm across his shoulders, while Donald casted a healing spell.
Donald's beak tightened. "It's not working."
The golden light faded from Héctor. Though he was oddly breathless for a person without lungs, he was able to stand. Sora, Goofy, and Dante released him. After a moment to close his eyes and compose himself, Héctor let out a surprised whisper.
"I'm being forgotten. How?"
If Sora had a throat, he would have swallowed a huge lump. "Forgotten?"
Héctor swept out an arm, to the endless city behind Sora. "This place works on memories. As long as someone alive remembers us, we're here. The last person that remembers me, is my daughter Coco, Miguel's great grandmother. And when Coco dies, there will be no one left to remember me. I'll disappear from this world."
"No." Sora's hands tightened into fists. "There has to way to stop that from happening."
Héctor nodded. "There is. If Miguel can get home safety and put my picture on our family's ofrenda, then I won't be forgotten. Because I helped Miguel get home the first time, Imelda agreed to put the photo up, but with the bridge disappearing and all the strange things happening in the Land of the Dead, I'm more worried about my great great grandson getting back to the Land of the Living then being remembered."
Sora winced, not sure of what to say. He understood that no grandparent would ever want to see something happen to their grandchild, but a sense of tragedy loomed over him and his friends. To lose someone was already terrible enough, but to know that they could one day forget their memories of that person, was even more heartbreaking. Sora didn't know how, but he felt a stinging pain under his ribs, where his heart should have been. Only Dante could pull Sora out of his malaise.
The dog nudged Sora's hand.
"What is it?" Sora asked.
Dante pointed his nose out into the sea. He then howled, stomping on the pier.
"Oh, I get it." Sora flashed Héctor, Donald, and Goofy a toothy smile. "We don't have time to stand around. We have to solve the Land of the Dead's problems as soon as possible," Sora concluded. "That way we can get Miguel home and save Héctor at the same time. Maybe Imelda doesn't want your help directly, but she never said you couldn't help Miguel from the shadows."
Héctor perked up, straightening his spine. "You'll help me?"
"There's no way you can stop us," Sora replied. Behind him, Donald and Goofy winked.
"What other strange things have been happening?" Goofy asked.
Héctor shrugged. "I've been hearing talk that the skeletons are getting into all kinds of arguments. The Land of the Dead is usually quite peaceful. Yet everyday, I hear about some new fight in town."
"I wonder what the people are fighting over," Sora thought aloud.
Rather then ponder the question, the group was distracted by Dante. The dog lowered his head, ears back, hackles raised. He backed away from the pier, whining at something only he could sense. Instinct told Sora to get Héctor away from the water. The moment they stepped back onto the stone walkway beside the pier, something burst out from under the ocean waves.
A gust of wind nearly pushed Sora off his feet. Héctor swayed, and he would have collapsed if Donald, Goofy, and Dante hadn't braced him. The air stilled and Sora lowered his arm from his eyes, only to gasp at the sight of a heartless he had never seen before.
An evil sorcerer hung over them, its long sleeves fluttering like bat wings in the night sky. A sharp staff was clutched tightly in its claws. Pink veins pulsed alongside the edges of the heart shaped hole in its cauldron shaped chest.
"Is that," Héctor shivered, "a lich?"
The heartless' lifeless, yellow eyes moved down, locking onto the skeletons on the harbor below it.
Summoning his keyblade, Sora got in front of Héctor. "What's a lich?"
"A creature that haunts the dead," Héctor explained. "I thought they were a myth."
Donald pointed Héctor and Dante in the direction of the town. "Get someplace safe. We'll handle that monster."
Once Héctor and Dante vanished into the alleyway, Sora charged at the heartless. The lich simply raised its staff. The air came alive with the force of a tornado, blowing Sora, Donald, and Goofy off their feet. They flew across the wharf, backs smashing into one of the nearby buildings. The air stopped its assault and trio slid down to the ground.
The first to get back up on his feet was Donald. On instinct, he cast a healing spell, and then moved toward Sora. He raised his staff, but stopped when Sora waved his hand.
"I'm fine. Nothing hurts." Sora looked at his palms, opening and closing his fingers. "Wait, if we're dead in this world..." His jaw dropped as the realization hit. "Then how can we even get hurt?"
Goofy, standing up, tapped his temple. "Now that ya mention it, I feel fine too."
Donald jumped up and down. "Then there's nothing to be afraid of! Let's go!"
He charged toward the lich, throwing spears of ice into the air. The heartless waved its staff, sending down a massive volley of fireballs. The burning projectiles collided with each of Donald's spells, neutralizing them. The remaining fireballs bombarded Donald.
Normally, Donald would have reacted by surrounding himself with an aero spell. But since nothing could technically kill him when he was already dead, he hadn't bothered. Instead he switched tactics. Sparks buzzed at the edge of his staff, but before Donald could even throw the spell, a fireball slammed into him, making his bones crunch into the floor. The heat ripped through his body, his bones glowed. It was the same, eerie, yellow light that had flickered on Héctor moments ago. Donald collapsed.
Sora and Goofy ran to their unconscious friend. While Goofy defended from the Lich's spells, Sora knelt down and turned Donald over.
"Can you hear me?"
"Can I have more pancakes, Uncle Scrooge?" Donald slurred.
Sora lifted his keyblade. His healing spell brought Donald back to reality. Though the duck was able to stand, Goofy couldn't take anymore hits from the lich. A powerful lightning attack hit Goofy's shield, and old knight fell over. Sora wasted no more time questioning things, reverting back to the mysterious headspace he went to whenever he was in battle. He jumped in front of Goofy, protecting his friends with a quick aero spell. Once his friends were shielded, Sora's mind buzzed, searching for a counterattack.
"Cover me."
Donald and Goofy alternated between defending and attacking. Donald was able to keep the lich's attention by forcing it to counter each of his spells. It was as though the duck and the heartless were playing catch, only instead of ball, they threw lightning, shards of ice, and hot coals of fire at each other. After throwing dozens of spells, the magic had somehow collided and amalgamated into a ball of peril that both Donald and the lich were trying to force on the other.
While Goofy supported Donald with ethers, as well as protected him from any wayward spell the lich was able to cast between throws, Sora ran toward a nearby metal watchtower. He raced up the steps, stopping when he was high enough to be on the same level as the heartless. He hurled his keyblade at the lich. Direct hit.
Sora spared a moment to shout, "yes!" Then, he squinted. The keyblade bounced off the lich and began falling into the ocean below. Summoning his weapon back, Sora attacked the lich once more, this time with a series of fire spells. Each of his hits landed, but the lich didn't even twitch.
Having noticed another series of attacks, the lich turned away from Donald and Goofy. It floated toward the watchtower. Donald forced the magical ball of death on a direct course toward the lich. The combined magic slammed into the heartless, briefly obscuring it in a flash of light.
The light faded.
The lich was unharmed.
And it hadn't stopped on its course toward Sora.
"We can't hurt it but it can somehow hurt us? That's so not fair!"
Sora ducked. A blizzard spell sailed over his head, banging into the watchtower and spreading deadly, spiky frost over the metal beams. Spears of ice spread outward so fast that Sora had no choice but to jump over the side of the watchtower and climb the nearby ladder to a higher level. The lich was on him in seconds, pelting him with spell after spell. In the moments between barrages, Sora somehow made it to the top of the tower.
The lich's yellow eyes flashed. A burning, red hot missile flew from its staff. The lich watched as an explosion broke several of the watchtower's beams. There was a splash. Looking down, the lich noticed Sora resurfacing from below the ocean waves. He swam toward the harbor, not that he would get there in time.
The lich raised its staff, a massive electrical charge began to sizzle along its arm. It reared back, and-
"Hey! Over here estúpido!"
An empty soup can flew through the air and bounced off the lich's head. The lich froze. With the spell still sparking on its staff, it turned its head toward the pier. Héctor was jumping up and down, waving his hands. Dante ran around Héctor's legs, yapping.
The lich pointed its staff at the pier. The lightning flew, but it didn't hit its target. Just a millisecond before the spell went off, a keyblade came flying up from the below. It struck the heartless' staff, moving the staff and the spell off course. Black lightning exploded across the sky and though parts of the harbor. The spell hit several storage crates full of supplies.
One the crates burst, and all kinds of instruments tumbled out, creating a cacophony of sour notes as they hit the ground. A guitar string was pulled, and the tone made everyone grind their teeth. Up above, the lich raised its arms. It smacked its claws on the sides of its face, thrashing its head as though trying to shake off a splitting headache.
Héctor saw the heartless thrash. He moved to the broken crate and the instruments that had tumbled out of it. The sound of musical instruments stopped. The lich lifted its head, and spotted, Sora. The boy had reached the harbor. Donald and Goofy pulled Sora out of the water, just in time to see the lich hovering several feet right behind him.
Spears of ice appeared around the heartless' body. Rearing back, the heartless prepared to strike.
A melody began to play.
"Well everyone knows Juanita," Héctor sang.
The lich froze. The shards of ice around its body faded.
"Her eyes each a different color," Héctor continued.
The lich began to tremble. It flung its body in the air, back and forth as though it were being tossed about by invisible hands.
"Her teeth stick out and her chin goes in." Héctor's voice rose, the guitar in his deft fingers singing alongside him. "And her knuckles, they drag on the floor."
The lich barreled forward. Sora, Donald, and Goofy lunged to the side to avoid getting tackled by the heartless' body. They regrouped, lifting their weapons.
"Her hair is like a briar."
The lich began smashing its body against the concrete, over and over.
"She stands in a bowlegged stance."
"Now's our chance!"
Goofy put his shield over his head, and waved at Sora. Jumping onto the shield, Sora was launched up into the air. As he fell, one of Donald's lightning bolts struck the lich beneath him. The lich's writhing doubled, flakes of its black body crumbling off and onto the concrete. Héctor's voice was lowering, and Sora could sense the end of the song coming. By this time Sora was plummeting, gaining speed on the vulnerable heartless below. He threw his body forward, flipping in the air, gathering light around his keyblade.
"And if I weren't so ugly."
Sora slashed through the heartless' torso.
"She's possibly give me a chance."
The last notes of Héctor's song played, and Sora rolled just as he hit the ground. He flipped back on his feet, watching as the heartless thrashed on the floor. It grabbed its staff, and swung it. Wind burst upward from the ground, blowing everyone back. When the wind died down, and Sora uncovered his eyes. The heartless was gone, having fled before it could be finished for good.
Héctor ran to the group, his face creased with concern. Before he could ask anyone if they were all right, the trio gathered around him, applauding. Héctor blinked, an timid grin on his face. Rubbing the back of his neck, he took a bow.
Sora looked at the guitar in Héctor hands. "That was amazing! What a great song! You really saved us!"
"I couldn't just let you three fight that monster alone. It was lucky that that creature does not like music. So is it gone?"
Sora's good mood faded just a bit. "No. It escaped. And it did something to Donald when we were fighting it."
Donald shuddered. "I felt really weak, and for a moment, I could see through my own bones."
Héctor gave Donald a grave look. "My friend, that sounds like you were being forgotten."
Now it was Goofy's turn to shudder. "So, we can't get hurt here, but the heartless can make us be forgotten?"
Héctor turned toward the city. "The lich is still out there, isn't it? We must find it before it can hurt anyone else."
"In my experience," Sora said, "heartless tend to gather where there are a lot of people."
Héctor moved away from the wharf, hobbling toward an alleyway. "The Plaza de la Cruz is the most popular part of the city. And Miguel and Imelda were headed there."
"Then we'd better get a move on." Goofy went to stand next to Héctor's side. "If you start to feel funny, just let me know. I'll keep an eye on ya."
"Thanks amigo."
Dante, ran around the party, doing three whole laps, before running into the alley. Héctor and Goofy followed, with Donald and Sora bringing up the rear. The back alleys had distant laughter and chatter as skeletons gathered around, singing, drinking, or playing cards around big barrels. As they moved through the alleys, Donald nudged Sora.
"So heartless in this world are vulnerable to music. Just like how heartless in Roger Rabbit's world were weak to laughter."
"I wonder if this is because of the world's laws. Or it could be because of the imbalance of light and darkness messing with everything," Sora whispered back.
"We can't know for sure." Donald rubbed his arms, giving Sora an uncertain look. "But there is something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I don't know why, but I have a really funny feeling."
Donald rubbed his stomach, or rather, where his stomach should have been.
"Tummy ache?"
Donald's eyelids lowered, and he tilted his head to the side, leveling Sora with a look that was equal parts exhausted and sarcastic. "No, dummy. The atmosphere just feels, I don't know, powerful. It's a lot like the feeling I get whenever I use magic. There's a lot of energy, all around us. If I still had feathers, they'd be sticking up right now."
"Looks like we really can't let up while we're here. Dead or not."
"Right." Donald agreed.
The party eventually boarded a cable car that was suspended in the air. As they moved over the city, Héctor pointed to a massive plaza that was lit up with string lights. Colorful tissue paper, which was cut to form intricate designs, hung from strings that stretched from one end of the plaza to the other. "Papel picado," Héctor explained.
In the middle of the plaza, between two small ponds was a stage. Though the party was too high up to see who was performing, a crowd had gathered. Happy cheering, clapping, and spooky music wafted up from below.
The trolly eventually stopped a few streets down from Plaza de la Cruz. The closer the party got to the plaza, the brighter the lights became. There was a flash, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy yelp as they covered their eyes. Yet, as the light passed over Sora's bones, he a smooth, warm flutter pass though him.
Sora took a step closer to the mouth of the alley, toward the light. It caressed his bones, cocooning him in warmth and sweet silence. For a moment, Sora forgot where he was, what he was there to do. How nice would it be to just fade away, to float in the light, to-
Screams.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy jerked, shaking their heads to push away the feeling of tranquility that had muddled their minds mere seconds ago. The light at the end of the street dimmed faster then the sky after sunset. As it vanished, shouts rose up in its place. Skeletons sprinted away from the plaza. Some of them were wiping off orange goo from their skulls and collar bones.
Leaving Goofy to protect Héctor, Sora and Donald, weaved through the panicked civilians, finally entering the plaza. They searched for heartless to fight. Several skeletons were jumping and running away from orange projectiles that were flying out from the stage. From their vantage point, Sora and Donald couldn't see beyond the curtains.
One of the orange projectiles burst onto a nearby crowd of skeletons. Orange goo flew everywhere, and a bunch of it slapped Donald in the face, making him fall over. Sora tried to tell the crowd to run, but he stopped.
Laughter was mixed in with the screams.
A few of the adults were happily roaring at the top of their lungs. They peeled off the orange goo. Some even ate it. Other adults ran off in a huff, annoyed, but it was the children that Sora noticed the most. They jumped up and down, trying to catch the glowing, orange spheres. Something flew over Sora's head. He looked up. His brain identified the flying object as a pumpkin. Then, he had to grit his teeth when the pumpkin smashed into his face.
Sora licked his teeth, tasting the goo. Yup. Pumpkin. And spice. Turning, Sora finally got a full view of the wooden stage, and the performer that was on it. His jaw, quite literally, detached from the rest of his face, and hit the ground.
It shouldn't have been too surprising to see yet another skeleton on the stage. Except, unlike every other skeleton in the Land of the Dead, this one did not have eyes in his sockets. He was taller, with long, spider thin arms and legs. He wore a black, pin stripped suit with a bat serving as the tie.
Sora picked up his jaw and reattached it to his face, only so that he could say, "Jack Skellington?"
He watched Jack wow and surprise the audience. Jack was standing on one leg. Using his other leg, and both of his arms, he juggled pumpkins the size of volleyballs. When the audience least expected it, Jack threw some of the glowing pumpkins into the crowd. The pumpkins exploded, showering the audience with sweet goo.
Sora was so floored and enthralled that he didn't notice Héctor, Donald, Goofy, and Dante come to join him in the audience. After a moment of surprise, where Donald did a triple take so fast that his head actually spun around his skull, the party was quickly infected by the happy mood of the surrounding crowd.
Jack wasn't just juggling pumpkins. He spun and flipped, catching pumpkins behind his back, or throwing them back up by kicking with his free leg. Then, suddenly, Jack missed a single pumpkin.
The crowd gasped.
All of the pumpkins that Jack had been juggling, came crashing down on his head, burying him until there was only a small, orange mountain on the stage. No one moved for several seconds, waiting for something to happen.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy inched toward the stage, to check on their old friend. A few children got there first. They moved around the pumpkin pile, inspecting it. One of the kids reached out, her finger an inch away from the orange fruit.
The pumpkin pile burst, orange goop exploding outward, pelting the kids and the crowd before the stage. Jack burst up from the pile, did a triple back flip, and landed on his feet with a loud, "Ta-da!"
The kids, the audience, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Héctor all stared, stunned by the sudden surprise. Then, the children were laughing. They threw goo at each other while crowding around Jack.
After a grand bow, Jack stood and waved at the crowd. "Thank you all! You have been outstanding!"
Surprising Jack Skellington is generally a hard thing to do, but it's not impossible. As the Pumpkin King, and the spirit of Halloween, Jack's purpose was to bring chills down everyone's spine, create terror in the hearts of even the most stalwart men, and shock both children and adults with fear and delight. So when three unfamiliar skeletons tackled Jack so hard that he was knocked off the stage, Jack's mouth formed into a large "O" as a silent yelp burst from between his teeth.
"Gentleman, please!"
Jack held up his hands, trying to detangle himself from Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Lucky for him, the trio finally released him, allowing him to stand.
"Jack! You're okay! I thought I saw you earlier! When Sally said you were missing, I expected the worst!"
Jack squinted at Sora, bending down so that he was eye level with the boy. He took in the spiky brown hair on Sora's skull, and looked into those earnest blue eyes. Then he grabbed Sora and lifted him up, twirling the boy around.
"Sora! How marvelous! You're a skeleton! You look absolutely bone chilling!"
"Thank you. Your show was spectacular," Sora countered.
Jack put Sora down.
"Wait. What are you doing here?"
Donald took over the conversation.
"What are we doing here? What are you doing here? This isn't where you belong."
Jack wagged his index finger. "It is indeed not." He spread his arms. "But oh, what a spectacular world! The skeletons here have no interest in scaring. They enjoy their days spending time with their friends, visiting the Land of the Living, listening to music, watching masked wrestlers fight. Why I have never felt so inspired! I cannot wait to go back to Halloween Town and add more family friendly and musical events to next year's Halloween." Jack's exuberance faded, and he scratched his cheek, a touch of concern creeping in. "That is, if I can ever find out how to get back home."
"How did ya get here?" Goofy asked. "Sally was really worried about you, and Halloween Town was in a heap o' trouble on our last visit."
When he heard Sally's name, Jack straightened. "What kind of trouble? Are my friends all right?"
"We handled it," Sora said proudly. He explained about the fog, Santa's warning about the light, and how Riku had defeated the Sanderson sisters.
"Many thanks, friends." Jack smiled. "And to answer your question," Jack nodded at Goofy, "I was wandering the graveyards, thinking of new plans for next year's Halloween when suddenly, poof!" When Jack snapped his fingers, a small puff of smoke appeared over his hand. "I found myself here. What a discovery. To think there are many more worlds out there besides Halloween and Christmas town."
"Yeah, about that," Sora smiled sheepishly. "Mind keeping the whole, 'other world' thing to yourself? Not everyone knows that there are more worlds out there, and we don't want to cause any excess trouble."
"Of course. It is the least I can do after you saved my town. Now then, why are you three here?"
Donald sighed. "We don't have time for this. I bet Héctor is wondering where we are. And we have a heartless to chase."
Jack held up a hand. "Say no more. I will be honored to join your quest. Once we've completed our objective, will you help me get home? Sally and the others need me."
"You got it," said Sora. "Say, you've been in the Land of the Dead for a while. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Orbs."
"Orbs?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy repeated.
"Yes. There are rumors that strange orbs have been popping up here and there, all over the city. The people also say that the citizens in town are acting strangely, as though they're more irritable then usual."
How was it possible to not have any internal organs, yet still feel anxiousness bubbling in one's stomach? Sora looked up into the buildings, as through trying to spot such strange orbs in the windows, balconies, and fire escapes. He remembered the switching problem in Hollow Bastion, and the fog in Halloween Town. He shuddered to think what kind of chaos was in store. Sora only hoped that these strange orbs couldn't possibly be as bad as splitting a world down the middle.
He swallowed hard. Héctor and Miguel were on a time limit, so it made the most sense to help them first, all while finding and destroying the lich before it could hurt anyone. Dread tingled in Sora's ribs. He wished his friends had come with him to the Land of the Dead. They could have split up and covered more ground. What if the orbs and the heartless were connected? What if the people's strange behavior had to do with being cut off from the Land of the Living? What if-
"Easy, Sora."
Blinking, Sora looked up at Jack. "What?"
"I've never felt such fear from you before. You usually have such a courageous spirit."
"I'm not scared." Sora offered a smile. "Just worried. We have a lot to do."
"I see." Jack gently poked Sora's forehead. "But just to remind you: it's all right to feel afraid. It is the sign of a strong heart. Fear and doubt help people stay safe, make better choices." Jack did a little twirl. "It even makes you feel alive. It is only when you let your fears control you, that you invite the darkness."
"You're right. Thanks Ja-"
There was a cracking sound in the distance. Sora dashed around the stage. Silence had descended in the surrounding area, and if Sora hadn't been in such an adrenaline rush, he would have questioned the lack of screaming.
Bursting out from behind the stage, Sora watched as chaos raged before him. Dozens of darkball heartless had appeared. They were chasing around the frightened civilians, and every time a darkball bit or tackled an innocent skeleton, their bones began to flash with the golden glow of being forgotten. Sora spotted Héctor in the crowd. He was strumming his guitar, trying to create a melody. A darkball was flying toward his back.
Sora opened his mouth to warn Héctor. No sound came out. He grabbed his neck, his teeth opening and closing.
Silence.
The heartless were blocking out all the sound.
Jiminy's Journal:
Imelda Rivera (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): The matriarch of the Rivera family. Because Héctor left Imelda and their daughter, Coco, to play music for the world, Imelda had outlawed music in her home. Despite her strict nature, she is dedicated to her family, and will do whatever she can to make sure they are safe and provided for.
Héctor Rivera (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): Imelda's estranged husband. He died on his music tour, leaving Imelda and Coco behind. Héctor deeply cares for Coco, and wishes desperately to see her again. Even though he is being forgotten, Héctor has resolved to do whatever he can to send Miguel home, so that his great great grandson can live out his life.
Miguel Rivera (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): A living boy that loves music. Miguel's dream was to be like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz. This is his second time visiting the Land of the Dead. The first time, Imelda sent him home with the condition that he never play music again. The clock is ticking for Miguel. If he doesn't find a way to return to the Land of the Living before his entire body becomes a skeleton, then Miguel will stay in the Land of the Dead forever.
Pepita (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): Pepita is an alebrije, a spirit guide from the Land of the Dead. She's a fierce creature that guides and protects the Rivera family, though she tends to follow Imelda's commands the most.
Dante (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): A xoloitzcuintle dog from the streets of Santa Cecilia. Dante is Miguel's best friend, and he is so loyal that he followed Miguel to the Land of the Dead. Dante is a bit clumsy, but he has the uncanny ability to lead people to where they need to go.
Jack Skellington (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): As the leader of Halloween Town, and the spirit of Halloween itself, Jack loves to plan surprises and incite shrieks from even the bravest of people. Though he hails from such a spooky place, Jack is a gentleman that treats people with patience and respect. He was wandering Halloween Town when he somehow got pulled into the Land of the Dead.
