So, I had this idea a while back about incorporating the Adventures of Tintin into Kingdom Hearts. I recognize that the "Tintin and the Lake of Sharks" story is not an original Herge script, but I thought the goofiness of the story fit in quite well with KH. This takes place sometime before the events of Kingdom Hearts III. Constructive comments and suggestions are accepted. Rated K+ because I'm cautious. All content belongs either to KH or the Adventures of Tintin. (Non-Slash)
Chapter One
"I don't get it," Sora said. "That looks like a pretty peaceful world." The Keyblade Wielder and his companions Donald and Goofy were staring at a new destination on the Gummi Ship's radar screen. Unlike most of the worlds they had visited, all of which usually appeared dark and ominous, this appeared to be a quaint little town situated next to a large body of water. To Sora, it looked slightly similar to the mainland of his home world, Destiny Islands.
"Well," Goofy said, scratching his head as if the matter required more thought, "if the Keyblade is sending us here, there must be something funny going on."
"I know. It just doesn't look like a trouble spot." It did not look like Port Royal with its constant state of night and ominous full moon, nor did it appear as the former Hollow Bastion, which had originally been broken to bits. This looked to be as much a hamlet as Traverse Town, Twilight Town, and the newly restored Radiant Gardens.
"It's always the peaceful worlds that cause the most problems," Donald warbled. True, Sora thought, recalling the Heartless boss he had fought twice in Traverse Town. Then, of course, the Organization had practically dominated Twilight Town. He did not even want to get started with Radiant Gardens, where he had fought one of the Organization's members, battled a thousand Heartless, and eventually challenged Sephiroth (which was the worst mistake he had ever made in his life).
"I guess we'd better check it out then," Sora said, and the Gummi Ship began to descend into the world known as Lakeside Village.
Two children and their dog were currently holding onto three ropes tethered to an already unbalanced plane teetering on the edge of a fairly large cliff. The first of the children, a young boy named Niko, grit his teeth as he readjusted his grip. He knew that he and his sister could only hold on for so long before the plane finally fell. After all, two children could not keep a ten-ton plane from crashing to the earth. But, he said nothing of this to the girl and their beloved dog, just told them to keep pulling. There might be a slight chance after all.
The girl, Nouchka, on the other hand, was becoming desperate, especially when the creatures first began to appear.
"Niko!" she cried, resisting the urge to let go of the rope and run. A large, shadowy monster with sharp teeth and fins for feet had suddenly appeared, hovering in the air. It then began to chomp at the rope with its teeth. There were at least ten more creatures of this nature, slashing and gnawing at the ropes securing the plane.
"We've got to do something!" Niko shouted.
"We'll help!" came a voice. Niko risked a glance behind him to see an older boy in strange dress running towards them, two peculiar companions tagging along behind him. Having been taught by his parents that staring was impolite, Niko brought his attention back to the monsters, even though he was more than certain two of the strange arrivals looked much like a duck, and a dog walking on its hind legs.
"Sora, Heartless!" wailed the duck-like companion as he pointed to the monsters with a thick, twisted staff.
"They're going to break the ropes!" Nouchka cried. "And there are people inside!" A light flashed out of the corner of Niko's eye, and when he chanced another glance, the boy was holding what appeared to be a giant metal key.
"Donald, Goofy, help with the ropes. I'll take care of this!" And with that, the boy rushed towards the monsters.
By the time the monsters had all been defeated, the ropes were already fraying. Thankfully, at this time, the stranded passengers were beginning to emerge from the plane. Niko continued to order his sister, dog, and new allies to keep pulling, as his eyes widened once again. He had thought the boy with the key would be the strangest thing he would see today, but no: a rough-looking man in a sea cap emerged, followed by two well-dressed gentlemen who looked exactly alike. The only normal members of the party were the white terrier that came bolting out and the red-haired boy in the blue sweater that leaped out after him. This was moments before the ropes finally snapped from wear and tear, and the plane went careening to the rocky terrain below.
The first boy, the one with the key, ran to the edge with a newfound energy. He did not seem tired, even after fighting off an army of monsters. The second boy, the one in the blue sweater, approached slowly. Both stared at the ground below.
"Heh, heh…" the duck-like character gasped for breath. "Are they all out?"
"Undoubtedly," said one of the well-dressed gentleman, to which the second added, "Indubitably."
"That's a long way down," said both boys, who then simultaneously glanced at each other. "Who are you?" they asked, still all at once.
"How did your plane end up crashing?" asked the first boy.
"Why do you have a key?" asked the second boy.
"You first," they both said, much to the annoyance of the other.
"Calculus was right about one thing," said the man who looked like a sailor. "This place is definitely odd." He was staring at the first boy's duck companion, who began tapping his webbed feet with a heavy "Humph."
"At any rate," said the boy in the blue sweater, "you all did just save our lives." He approached the rest of the group with a slow but definite step. "My name is Tintin," he smiled. "These are my friends: Captain Haddock" – the sailor nodded – "Detectives Thompson and Thomson" – the two tried to raise their own hats, though they somehow ended up raising each other's – "and my dog Snowy." The little terrier yapped with the recognition given him.
"My name is Niko," Niko said. "This is my sister, Nouchka, and my dog Gustav." The larger dog lumbered over to Snowy and began sniffing him.
"Hello," Nouchka greeted sweetly.
"And who are your friends?" Captain Haddock asked. At this point, the first boy had run over with the same burst of energy as when he had run to the cliff.
"I'm Sora!" He grinned from ear to ear as he gestured to his companions. "This is Donald" – the duck finally smiled for the first time since his appearance – "and Goofy" – the dog chuckled and waved a gloved paw.
"We just met them too," said Niko. "Are you all visitors?"
"We are," Sora said. "We're here to stop the Heartless." When nobody responded to this claim, he explained. "Those monsters that you saw," he said, "somebody is using them to try and take control of this world."
"World?" Captain Haddock asked. "Blistering barnacles! Nothing this boy says makes sense!"
"Let's just say we're here to stop some bad guys," Goofy said with a guffaw.
"Right!" exclaimed Donald with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Bad guys," Tintin mused, restating Goofy's words. "I wonder if that's what the Professor meant."
"Professor?"
"Oh, right!" he turned to Niko. "We're looking for our friend, Professor Calculus. He's supposed to be living in a house near the Lake of Sharks."
"Lake of Sharks?!" Niko looked horrified. "Beware that place. The lake has a curse on it." At this, Sora seemed to perk up, as if curses were normal, nay, even exciting to him.
"What kind of a curse?" he asked.
"We don't really know," Niko admitted. "But, the strange monsters began appearing somewhere around the lake. It's almost as if they're coming from the lake itself."
"Sounds like a job for us!" Donald exclaimed.
"Now, just a moment," Tintin said, "the Professor might know more about this than anyone. That said, this might be more along the lines of our expertise." The statement appeared argumentative, but was spoken with an air of caution.
"Well then…" Sora thought for a moment. "Let's all go see the Professor, whoever he is. He can help you with whatever you're working on, and he might be able to help us understand why the Heartless are appearing at the lake."
"I suppose it could work," Tintin admitted. "Why not?"
"Why don't you ride with us?" Nouchka suggested. "We can take you to the Professor's house." The strange fellowship muttered in agreement then all began to pile into a large covered wagon.
Unbeknownst to the party, one man was crouched behind some large rocks at the top of a jagged ravine. This was the pilot of the plane that had crashed onto the cliff. Into a large and boxy hand radio, he muttered:
"Calling Shark King: Operation Sardine Can has failed. I repeat: Operation Sardine Can has failed. Over."