"This is where I have been staying," Calculus explained, "as I work on my experiments and study the creatures at the lake." Sora and company looked around. The main room, which had originally been a standard living room, was covered in all kinds of study and lab equipment.
"Cool!" Sora exclaimed, and to everyone's astonishment, he began running around and asking questions. "What's this do?" he asked, pointing to a small machine by the window. "What about this?" he asked, staring at multiple test tubes, chemicals bubbling within. "How about this?" he asked, finally ending up at a strange-looking slide projector. The Professor laughed.
"Those are all prototypes and experiments," he said, having at least understood the boy's hand gestures. "Except for that last one." Sora had pressed the button and jumped back as a giant, three-dimensional gorilla appeared before his eyes. Donald let out a wail and jumped behind Goofy, his feathers quivering in bewilderment.
"How did that happen?" Sora asked. "How did the gorilla get here?"
"It's not actually there," Tintin answered. "It's some kind of slide projector."
"Like the one Jane had in Deep Jungle!" Donald exclaimed, his fear having faded from Tintin's explanation.
"Only these photos look more real," Goofy agreed.
"Whoa!" Sora was running his hand through the gorilla's chest. "Do you have any more of these?"
"If you are interested," Professor Calculus said, not hearing Sora, but understanding his behavior and gestures, "I happen to have more." He reached into his coat pocket, shook his head, and tried the other. "Where are they? Oh my… they must have gotten scattered about the house. I really must be more careful." After a moment, he sighed. "You're welcome to look at the slides if you can find them all."
Sora decided that the search was worth it, and with Donald and Goofy by his side, he began running about the building, looking for slides. Tintin followed close behind to make sure they did not make a mess of things (or break anything). The four managed to find one inside a closet full of aging cheese, one by an old and rickety clock that appeared bolted to the wall, and one out the back on the green of a golf course. There were a few others spread about the house at random. One had been sitting on a windowsill upstairs, where the housekeeper, Madame Black had been staring out the window intently. "What are you looking at?" she demanded as Sora took the slide with caution, and the four quickly retreated out of the room.
"She's about as friendly as the Queen of Hearts," Sora muttered.
"What?" asked Tintin.
"Nothing." The four brought the slides to the projector and stared on in wonder. Nine of the ten slides in total amounted to the following images: a moon rocket, a sailing ship, a cabinet with two bottles on it – Captain Haddock was particularly intrigued by this slide – a ruby red statue with a chipped ear, a submarine, a mummy – that one caused Donald to hide behind Goofy again – a parrot on a stand, a suit of armor, and a miniature Mayan pyramid. The last of the slides featured a shark-like creature, hovering in the air, teeth gleaming, an x-ed out heart emblem on its belly.
"Heartless!" Goofy declared, brandishing his shield, forgetting for a moment that it was only a picture.
"So that's what a Heartless looks like," Tintin said.
"Maybe," Sora said. "I mean, this one is a Heartless alright: it has the insignia that marks it as one. But, not all Heartless look like that. This one kind of looks like a fish."
"It looks like a shark."
"Well, they are appearing around the Lake of Sharks," Donald warbled.
"We told you that swarms of Heartless appear in an area where someone has given their heart to darkness," Sora said. "Heartless tend to adapt their features to the areas in which they are connected. It's not an accident that they are showing up around the lake."
"But, nobody lives in the lake," Tintin said. "The only one who lives close to the lake is Professor Calculus, and I already told you that he's not bad."
"And we believe you, but didn't you say something about that pilot? Do you think he was acting alone?"
"No," Tintin said. "Usually, the people who try to hurt us are working for someone else."
"Then, who do you think he was working for?"
"The better question is: where is this mysterious boss hiding?" Just then, Madame Black rang the bell for dinner. The four joined the rest of the party in the dining room around a delicious dinner.
"I see you found the rest of the slides," Professor Calculus said. "I knew they were around here somewhere."
"Why do you have such a machine, Professor?" Tintin asked, speaking slowly and trying hard to annunciate his words. Thankfully, Professor Calculus understood this time around (of course, it also helped that he had his ear trumpet this time).
"Quite recently, artifacts have started to go missing in museums all over the world," he explained, "only to be replaced with counterfeit copies."
"I say," Captain Haddock said, "that wouldn't happen to be why you two bozos are here?" He gave a pointed look to Thompson and Thomson, who nodded simultaneously.
"At first, it was easy to tell when an artifact was stolen," Thompson said. "The forgery left in its place was subpar at best. A dud."
"Indubitably," agreed Thomson. "But, as time went on, the copies became more and more elaborate until no one could rightly tell the real from the fake and the fake from the real."
"And vice versa," Thompson said.
"And versa vice."
"That's what I said."
"Quite." The two officers clinked glasses, and Sora was left exchanging confused looks with his companions.
"But, what does that have to do with the projections?" he asked.
"It sounds like the Professor is reverse-engineering," Tintin said. "If he can find out how the more accurate copies were created, then Interpol can stop these types of robberies from happening again."
"That's clever," Goofy admitted.
"But, it is only one aspect of my project," Professor Calculus said. "As you saw before, the images looked quite real, but they could not be touched. I'm looking to create a machine that will make accurate copies of physical objects, identical in color, size, and texture."
"Let's just hope it works," Captain Haddock mumbled under his breath.
"Here's to you, Professor," Tintin said, raising his glass of water. "Let's hope for your speedy success." The company around the table toasted and finally started eating.
Madame Black, meanwhile, had made her way to the well while the Professor was distracted. With a quick glance around, she pulled on the rope until a bucket appeared. To anyone else, it would have appeared surprisingly dry. But, Madame Black had expected this. She had also expected the bucket to contain something other than water. Reaching in, she retrieved a walkie talkie. With another glance around to make sure no one was watching, she pulled the antennae out and pressed the button.
"Great Shark," she said. "Agent Ramses calling Great Shark. The Sardines are uncooked."
"I have been informed, Agent Ramses," answered a voice. "Prepare yourself for Plan B." At this, the woman gave a malicious smile.
Later that night, Tintin was on his way upstairs to bed when he heard hushed voices coming from the living room, where Sora and the others were camped out. The three had insisted on sleeping in the "Gummi Ship" (whatever that was) so the house would not be so packed. However, after discovering that this ship was miles away, back towards the direction of the plane wreck, Professor Calculus had insisted on the trio staying right where they were. As a result, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all crammed into the space that housed Calculus' experiments.
As Tintin slowly made his way down the hallway, positioning himself behind the wall so that he could listen without being seen, he managed to barely hear what his new acquaintances were saying.
"A replicator," Sora said. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"It would be a faster way to make more Heartless," Donald warbled.
"Or more Nobodies," Goofy added.
"It might even be able to replicate the number of hearts the Organization has gathered," Sora said. "Whatever Xehanort is up to, his goal of collecting hearts could be accomplished in a week, maybe even in less than that."
"What if he uses it to make more Xehanorts?" Goofy asked. Tintin could hear Donald shuddering.
"Anything but that," Donald said.
"Whatever the replicator is used for," Sora said, "we can't let the Organization get their hands on it. It would be bad news in every way."
"Are we going to help these guys then?" Goofy asked. Tintin got the feeling he had shifted the subject to him and his friends.
"What do you mean?" Donald retorted.
"Well, Tintin said that whoever crashed their plane had to be working for someone. And, Professor Calculus said that bad guys would do anything to get their hands on his machine. Sounds to me like someone is trying to get their hands on the replicator now."
"You have a point." Sora sounded contemplative. "I guess so. What bothers me is that Tintin also said that no one lives near the lake except the professor. The village that Niko and Nouchka live in is miles away. But, Professor Calculus is actually a good guy. So are the detectives, Tintin, and Captain Haddock. The only one who might be questionable is Madame Black." Tintin frowned to himself. Yes, he decided, there is something strange about her. "But, she doesn't seem bad as much as she seems grumpy. Chances are that it's not her. So… who's drawing the Heartless, and where are they?"
"There aren't mermaids in the lake, are there?" Donald asked. Mermaids? Tintin cringed. Was this a joke?
"Nah. Mermaids live in the ocean, not big and creepy lakes. You know this. We've been to Atlantica two times. Besides, mermaids are friendly. Remember Ariel and King Triton?" Once again, Tintin had no idea what they were talking about. As the three agreed to get some shuteye, he decided that there was nothing more to hear. He made his way back to the steps, feeling a bit more reassured. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were on their side, even if they were not here for the same reason as Tintin and his friends. It sounded like they planned on protecting the professor's experiment all the same. And perhaps, this Organization they had mentioned was responsible for all of the thefts and counterfeits. But if they are, Tintin reasoned, one would think they would be a bit more well-known.
Even so, Tintin thought, stifling a yawn, I still wish I understood half of the things they were saying.
Little did any of the residents know that just outside the house, a strange, shark-like creature had shimmered into existence, hovered for a moment in the shadows, and disappeared in a swirl of darkness.