Journey of Hearts
Chapter 2:
King meets the King
"So do we have any clues as to his whereabouts?" Charexl asked cheerfully. Tifa had finally calmed down, but still seemed a bit annoyed that Jason, Yuffie, and Rikku had snuck on board. Charexl insisted on letting Jason stay, however, and he insisted on his 2 best friends staying. She honestly didn't mind Yuffie and Rikku. They were a bit of trouble sometimes with their thievary, but they were nice and didn't do it excessively. She DID have something against that sexist Jason, tho'. Thinking lesser of her cause she was a girl...It still made her angry!
"I figured we'd visit the King and see what he could tell us..." Tifa said. She stood behind Charexl with her arms crossed in front of her. Jason, Yuffie, and Rikku were in the back trying to make room for all of them in the only free room on the ship. Alexi was keeping a close look out for Heartless and Nobody ships.
"King Mickey?" Charexl asked, "Ok, let's see..." She pulled out a thick book and began flipping through the pages. "Ah! Found the coordinates! Full speed ahead to Disney Castle!" She shouted with a smile. She gripped the wheel and pressed down hard on the acceleration. The Gummi Ship Premium Heart suddenly sped forward, causing Tifa to gasp in surprise and grab Charexl's chair to prevent her from flying back.
"You really need to install more chairs in this thing..." Tifa said.
"Well, I'm sure the King can hook us up with some parts," Charexl replied, "I can also install a room for Jasie and his friends." They suddenly heard laser fire. They looked up at Alexi, who was rapidly pressing buttons.
"It's alright, just a few Heartless..." She said with a smirk, "Nothing I can't take care of..."
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"Incoming Gummi Ship!" Dale the chipmunk yelled. His brother, Chip, pressed a few buttons on a console and the big, metal doors on the far end of the room slowly opened. The Premium Heart slowly flew in and landed perfectly on the track. There were some minor damages, but otherwise it seemed fine. Tifa exitted the ship, nodded the Chip and Dale with a smile and walked out of the room. Charexl and Alexi got out next. Charexl ran over to Chip.
"Are you two Gummi Ship mechanics?" She asked excitedly.
"Yep! You bet!" They replied. She quickly fell into conversation with them about improving the Premium Heart. Alexi looked through the heaps of Gummi Parts the chipmunks had presumably collected, looked for some decent Weapon Gummies she might try and persuade them to let her have. Jason, Yuffie, and Rikku got out last.
"Let's check this place out, then go see the King, ok?" Jason suggested, looking back at his two companions. They both nodded in agreement and the three walked up the 2 small sets of stairs, then thro' the 3 pointed crown shaped exitway.
Their vision was suddenly filled with light. To their amazement, they were standing in a courtyard with great bush sculptures in each corner. Rikku flitted around looking at the bush art in amazement. A cow playing cymbals, a pig blowing a horn, a dog playing a trumbone, and another pig playing a tuba. Jason looked behind them and say the doorway leading back to the Hangar was a bush version of the castle itself with a lush, green, slightly winding path leading out. Around the path and castle were small, yellow flowers. Yuffie and Jason walked down the short path under a bush arch spotted with blue and yellow flowers and what appeared to be stars. They looked around for a short while, after all, none of them had ever seen anything so lush in Radiant Garden, despite it's name. They were still owrking on rebuilding it, but Jason already wanted to see Radiant Garden as lush and beautiful as this. All 3 headed for the door out of the Courtyard.
They entered the castle and walked down the soft carpeted stone hallway. The ceiling was so high, they couldn't even see it! They could see the courtyard on the left as the hallway was sort of like a balconey on that side. All the stone was white or pale blue and was covered with intriquite designs. They stopped in front of what could only be the doors to the throne room. They were several times taller than Jason, he had to look almost straight up to see the top, and pale purple. They had a small blue insignia of the Disney Kingdom on each massive door, a simplified mouse head. Jason couldn't reach the gold, vertical handles on the door without jumping, so he just knocked. They waited for a short while then to all of their surprise a normal door-sized part of the left door opened up.
"...This is one kooky place..." Jason said, slowly walking in. Yuffie agreed with a simple yeah and followed behind him. The floor and many thick columns lining the walls were pale blue, the bottom part of the walls was pale purple, and the top part, which once more seemed to go on ad infinitum. However, there was a thick path of bright light coming in from the center of the ceiling going along the same path as the red carpet leading to the throne. Standing on the blue platform was Tifa and a mouse wearing red, gold, and black. Above them was a red banner with the Disney Kingdom insignia on it in black. Behind the golden throne there was a marble statue of an armored dog with a sheilf and a duck dressed like a wizard. Tifa and the mouse looked toward the three theives as they entered.
"Oh uh...They're with me..." Tifa said to the mouse. He nodded and beckoned for them.
"Is the that the King?" Jason asked.
"Yep, King Mickey." Yuffie said, smiling as always.
"He's so cute!" Rikku chimed in. They walked, or flew in Rikku's case, down the carpet to where Mickey and Tifa stood.
"I remember Yuffie, but I don't believe we've met" Mickey said to Jason and Rikku.
"Name's Rikku!" Rikku responded, doing a back flip in the air.
"I'm Jason." Jason said goodheartedly. Mickey held out his hand.
"Mickey Mouse." He said in his high pitched voice. Jason took his hand and shook it. Mickey eyes him for a second after they shook.
"You too, then?" He asked.
"Uh...What do you mean?" Jason asked, looking down at the royal mouse.
"Nevermind..." Mickey waved off his earlier comment, then turned back to Tifa. "As for Cloud, I don't really know...We can look for him, if you want. I have several wizards who may be able to track him, as long as his light is bright enough."
"I'm afraid it may be pretty dim..." Tifa sighed. She put her elbow in one hand and rested her chin on the back of her other hand, thinking. "I don't know where to start..."
"Try going to Master Yen Sid. He may know something," Mickey offered, "He was my master, after all. He's close to Twilight Town, his tower's hard to miss." Tifa nodded, going back to a relaxed stance.
"Alright, I'll stop by and ask," She said cheerfully, "Thank you, King Mickey."
"Sure thing!" Mickey waved to them as she and the other three turned and started leaving. He sat back on his chair as they left through the smaller door and pondered.
"That boy..." His voice echoed off the walls of the empty throne room.
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"...I'm sorry that we stowed away..." Jason said to Tifa's back as they walked. She was a little ahead of Jason and the girls.
"...I'm sorry I overreacted before..." Tifa responded, "Just please don't do anything to hinder my search...And I'd really prefer it if you helped..." Yuffie and Rikku looked at each other, woncering is Jason knew about Tifa's feelings for Cloud. They were beginning to think this was a bad idea. They didn't want to see their close friend get hurt...
"He's your boyfriend, right?" Jason said, cheerfully enough. Yuffie and Rikku both looked surprised. So did Tifa, as she whirled around. Her cheeks had a pink tint.
"Er...Uh..." She stammered "He's not...Really my boyfriend..." She scratched the back of her head nervously. Jason just smiled.
"I understand..." He said, " Shy...It's ok, I'll help you find him" After how he had talked about Tifa with Rikku and Yuffie, they were surprised he wasn't immediately trying to derail her search. He wanted to HELP the girl of his dreams find another man?
"...Thank you, Jason..." Tifa said, "...I always thought of you as a jerk and a real sexist...Let's see if you hold onto that promise...And remember, I'm not some weak girl like you seem to think I am! I could tie you into a knot if I wanted!"
"Believe me, I know..." Jason chuckled. Tifa looked at him strangely, as if she had been expecting a different response.
"Yes...Well...Let's hurry..." She said, walking faster toward the exit. Once she was gone, Rikku turned to Jason.
"Jason...You DO realize she...Likes him, right?" She said, concerned.
"Yeah...If she finds him, no offense, but you won't have a chance with her..." Yuffie added, also concerned. Jason walked to the edge of the balconey and leaned over, putting his arms on the railing. He stared down at Tifa as she walked the path. A smile crossed his lips.
"I'm going to help her find him..." He said softly, "Because I love her..." Rikku floated beside him, with a confused look on her face.
"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked from behind him.
"...If you love someone...You want them to be happy..." He answered, "I want Tifa to be happy more than anything...I want any and all of her suffering to end...If Cloud is who will make her happy and wash those sorrows away...I want her to be with him more than anybody..." He was smiling, but Rikku could see a bit of sadness behind it. It was obvious he wished he was the one who could do that for her.
"No matter, we better hurry or they'll leave without us!" Jason suddenly said and lept over the edge of the balcony, langing amidst the bushs. Yuffie and Rikku stared at him.
"He's a lot more deep than I realized..." Yuffie almost whispered.
"He's really in love..." Rikku responded, "...I don't want to see him in pain tho'...He's our friend..."
"I don't think there's anything we can do..." Yuffie then jumped as well. Rikku floated behind.
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When they got back to the Premium Heart, Charexl was just finishing up some additions to the ship. Also it appeared Alexi had found some weapons she liked, as there were now 2 more guns and what appeared to be a saw attached to the ship. They walked in and Tifa was relieved to see 3 new chairs installed in the main room. Also it appeared there was now a room for Jason and a room for Yuffie.
"I added a space in Jason's room for Rikku instead of wasting Gummi Blocks on another room since she's so small..." Charexl said after they check it out. Rikku settled in the Cabinet sized dent in the wall. There was a cute little bed just right for her size in there. Jason and Yuffie had the same kinds of beds, tho' made for their sizes.
"Now go get your weapons from the storage room and store them in your rooms, please..." Charexl said, "Almost cut myself trying to get supplies out of there..." They both nodded and walked to the storage room. Jason's twin scimitars leaned against the wall. They had a long chain connecting the bottoms of their hilts, which were wrapped in soft leather strips, with a large ring in the center. The hand guards were gold and the blades themselves were polished steel. Yuffie's own giant Shuriken sat in the corner. They each grabbed their weapons and walked back. They both tucked their weapons under their beds and, along with Rikku, went back to the main room. Tifa sat in the center chair, Jason and Yuffie sat in the two behind it. They all strapped in and Rikku flew into Jason's coat pocket, settling nicely.
"Our next destination is Yen Sid's Tower, near Twilight Town." Tifa said to Charexl. Charexl nodded and punched in the coordinates. The ship rumbled and slowly raised.
"Le'sBOOGIE!" Alexi yelled cheerfully as one word right before the Premium Heart shot out like a bullet.