Chapter 20
Artemis' Adventure: The Monster Animal Kingdom
"You thieving cat!" shouted a chef.
Artemis jumped clear and ran for his life, as the cook raced after him. Finally, he raced out of the restaurant as fast as his little legs could carry him, until he reached Usagi's house, and collapsed on the bed next to Luna, while Sora just stood silently to one side, shaking his head in disappointment.
"I thought he was gonna kill me," wheezed the white cat.
"You push things too far, Artemis," remarked Luna.
"Come on Luna, cut me some slack. I was trying to find the enemy's hideout," protested Artemis.
"Then why'd think of searching through restaurants, even though you found a portal to the Dark Kingdom's fortress, D-Point?" asked Sora.
"You sure you're not just trying to get some free food?" Luna asked as well.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Artemis, you really need to learn to pull your own weight, otherwise Usagi and everyone else will think you've started freeloading, as well as act like an alleycat. Just like another cat who was called Thomas O'Malley, an alley cat from another world, who we helped guide Duchess and her three kittens, Berlioz, Marie, and Toulouse back to Madame's hous, and stopped that her overly greed butler, Edgar Balthazar from sending them away to another place, called Timbuktu, in another country called Turkey," explained Sora.
This made Artemis so mad, that he jumped off the bed, and ran off as Chibiusa was carrying the laundry to Usagi's bedroom, only to have the door slam right into his face.
"That's gonna leave a mark," muttered the brunette Keyblader.
A few minutes later, Chbiiusa had carefully scooped the white cat into her arms and placed her on the bed next to Luna and Usagi, who had also walked in.
"I'm really sorry, Artemis," she said.
"By the way, how's your injury?" asked Riku, who had been helping Chibiusa with the laundry.
"Does it hurt when we touch it?" Chibiusa asked as well, making the white cat yowl.
"That thing looks as round as the moon," said the young girl, making everyone laugh their heads off.
"That's a good one, Chibiusa," guffawed Luna, which made Artemis growl angrily at her.
"WOULD YOU ALL GET SERIOUS FOR JUST A FEW SECONDS!?" yelled Sora, which frightened everyone around him.
"Whoa, Sora?" Chibiusa asked, looking shocked at this sudden change in Sora's attitude.
"Hey, we're sorry, Sora, we were only having some fun," countered Usagi.
But Artemis just leaped off the bed and stormed off in a huff.
"It's okay, he's just mad, because he didn't get much done lately," Luna assured them.
"Hey Luna, I heard that!" snapped Artemis.
"Ohh, Luna, why'd you have to go and say that!?" groaned Sora, only for Usagi to gently place her hand on Sora's shoulder.
"Hey, come on, Sora. I know you care about Artemis just as we do, but you don't need to be harsh on Luna," Usagi assured him.
"Right, I'm sorry," he said somberly.
But Usagi gently wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.
"You don't have to apologize for Luna's sake. But, you're right about how we should be more considerate of Artemis's feelings. So there's no reason for you to get angry about it whatsoever," she said comfortingly.
Sora nodded slowly, then he hugged Usagi back.
"Usagi's right, Sora. Anger and hate lead to darkness, and that in turn makes Vanitas stronger. So trust me when I say that Both your friends, as well as Usagi's friends will always be in your heart, no matter what," agreed Chibiusa.
"Thank you, Chibiusa. But I'm sure Usagi would feel the same way about how we'll always be in her heart as well," Sora replied, feeling more calm and relaxed thanks to the hug.
Some time later, after Artemis had left the house, Usagi, Luna, and Sora were now looking around for him.
"Maybe you should have gone a little easier on him, Luna," Usagi said to the dark colored cat.
"You think so?" Luna asked, feeling ashamed.
"Of course we do, Luna. I mean, sure Artemis may tend to do things that most cats would like explore their surroundings, ask for pets, and everything else that they do, but I promise you this, as both your friend, as well as Artemis' friend, everything's gonna be okay once you patch things up a bit with each other," Sora assured her.
Luna looked up at Sora then nodded her understanding towards him.
"Thank you so much, Sora," she said, with a content smile.
Meanwhile, Minako was practicing her knitting when Roxas walked into her room and noticed Artemis sitting on the bed.
"Hey Artemis, what seems to be the matter?" he asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Minako asked as well.
"I'm a proud cat, and I refuse to be insulted!" Artemis said indignantly.
"I know what you mean, but did you and Luna have a bit of a disagreement?" asked Roxas.
"You know, there's this old saying that says, 'Fortune favors the old,'" added Minako.
"Don't you mean, 'Fortune favors the bold,' Minako?" Roxas asked his friend.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, thanks Roxas," mused Artemis.
"Uh, well some say it that way. Anyway, it means you can't expect to accomplish anything unless you're willing to get out there, put yourself on the line, and take a real risk," continued Minako.
Despite their encouragement, Artemis was still adamant about how he could prove himself, by showing Luna and everyone else around him what he was made of, and ran out of Minako's bedroom.
"Hey, what's up? Where are you running off to?" Minako asked worriedly.
"We'd better go after him," said Roxas, and they rushed out of the house.
"So Luna, you think Artemis is back at Minako's place?" Usagi asked as she and the dark colored cat hurried down the road with Sora.
Before Luna could answer, Usagi accidentally stepped on Artemis' head making him yowl in pain.
"You're so clumsy," laughed Luna.
"Don't call me clumsy again," grumbled the white cat.
"Come on, Artemis, let's just all just a moment to calm down and talk about why you're acting like this," said Sora.
"Yeah, I'm with Sora. You'll feel better after you talk to us about why you're acting like this," agreed Usagi.
"Well first, could you get off my head?" Artemis asked furiously.
"Oh, sorry," replied Usagi.
But when she did, and they saw the mark of Usagi's shoe on his forehead, they all started laughing except for Sora, which made him turn and storm off in disgust.
"Oh, way to go, you guys. You just made Artemis walk away because you laughed at him," grumbled Sora, as he folded his arms over his chest.
"What are you talking about, Sora?" demanded Usagi.
"Yeah, this isn't like you, why are you acting like a jerk?" asked Luna.
But what they didn't know was that Artemis had found a box with small kittens and went to see them. He didn't have long though, as a man in a car came by, picked up the kittens, placed them into his car, and soon roared away.
"Where is he taking those cats?" he asked himself.
Believing this to be his moment to take action, Artemis ran after the car, his tiny legs moving as fast as he could let them. Quickly hiding from the man, he watched as he fed a dog treats, becoming even more suspicious.
"I see, he's kidnapping animals," the white cat said quietly, so as not to draw suspicion.
Just as the car roared away, Esmeraude was now walking down another part of the city, when her earring began to vibrate, making her believe that the Great Animal Kingdom would make a fine place for her dark henge to be placed at.
"It looks like our negative point is hidden somewhere inside those gates," she said.
"I couldn't agree more, Esmeraude," chuckled Hyena R. Droid, who emerged beside her with his hood raised to conceal his face, even as several people laughed amongst themselves as they walked by.
"Being as beautiful as I am is such a curse," sighed the evil woman, until she suddenly began to feel something wet against one of her feet like water pouring from a bottle.
She glanced down and saw that a dog had done it's business upon her left shoe.
"YOU STUPID MUTT! I AM NOT A FIRE HYDRANT!" Esmeraude seethed with fury.
"How amusing, a small pup believing that Esmeraude's something any dog would leave it's mark upon," snickered Hyena, as he watched the wicked woman chase after the dog, right in front of Ami, Aqua, Terra, and Makoto who were walking by the entrance, followed by the car Artemis had stowed away on.
He soon vanished into the corridor of darkness, so as not to be detected easily.
"You guys, wasn't that Artemis going by in that car?" asked the brunette girl.
"I wasn't looking, I was memorizing my one-hundredth english vocabulary word," replied Ami.
"Well, it's okay to learn one hundred english words a day. Ami. But, at the same time, Mako's right about Artemis stowing away in that car," said Terra.
"Maybe we should see what's up for now," suggested Aqua.
The three of them nodded and went through the gates. To their surprise they saw many animals in the park, birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, rats, almost any animal you could think of, but none of them knew that Artemis was curious about the Great Animal Kingdom. Inside the clinic, the man soon approached a woman who was looking at the animals he had found.
"...So, I think all these animals could use a check up," he said.
"Why sure, all of you were so lucky to be picked up by this nice gentleman," the woman said to the kitten she picked up.
But they were soon rendered unconscious by Esmeraude and Hyena who used their mastery of the power of darkness.
"The negative point is right here," she chuckled.
"Then let's summon forth the dark henge," replied Hyena.
"With pleasure," Esmeraude said with a smirk.
Instantly the dark henge embedded itself on the floor, and Esmeraude summoned her newest droid, Dogbar to her side, who then assumed the identity of the woman who was about to take care of the animals, and infused them with darkness making them obedient to her, as Hyena chuckled menacingly. Then with a click of her fingers, the animals began to walk on their front legs, which suddenly amazed them, but made Hyena all the more amused.
"Oh my, bravo Dogbar," Esmeraude said, howling with sadistic laughter, which made the animals fall to the ground.
"Esmeraude, perhaps it would be best if you kept the sound level to a minimum," suggested Hyena.
"I'm afraid I agree with Master Hyena on this, Dogbar," added Dogbar.
"My bad," Esmeaude replied, looking embarrassed.
"Good girl, but don't forget about what might happen if I politely asked Sephiroth to kill you," sneered Hyena.
"Yes sir," whimpered Esmeraude.
Back in Usagi's house, Luna was shocked by what she heard from her allies who were having a meeting.
"What!? Artemis went to the great animal kingdom?" she asked.
"Why in the world would he go there?" wondered Usagi.
"I don't know," replied Sora who was relaxing on the bed.
"So what kind of place is that exactly?" mused the dark colored cat.
"It turns out it's a shelter that houses and takes care of animals that have been abandoned," explained Makoto.
"And when people are looking to get a new pet, they can go visit there and adopt one," added Ami.
"That's right, if Sora saw someone abandoning Ruby and Yang's dog Zwei, he'd be very upset about it," said Xion.
"Yeah, it definitely would," murmured Sora, who was saddened about the people choosing to forsake their pets.
"Well now I'm sure, he ran away," said Usagi.
"Ran away?" everyone asked.
"Artemis is always getting teased by Luna, so he must have finally had it and decided to give up on living with us, and he's run away to the Great Animal Kingdom," explained Usagi.
"That's ridiculous, Usagi! There's no way Artemis would never choose to forsake all of us, and live in this Great Animal Kingdom after all the harsh treatment he's endured!" argued Sora.
"I agree, Sora," said Luna.
"And there's only one of us who can get Artemis to come back," continued Usagi.
Everyone watched tensely for a few seconds, until Usagi pointed towards her feline companion.
"Luna, it's up to you," she declared.
"It's not my job to fetch him, you're completely overreacting," huffed Luna.
"Maybe not, but still, if you don't apologize to Artemis for all the way you and Usagi teased him, then you truly are a heartless creature," warned Riku.
"Riku's right Luna, you've gotta help him, he's your friend," agreed Usagi.
"You were being pretty rough on him Luna, Sora told us about how you hurt Artemis' feelings," added Rei.
"You know, the Great Animal Kingdom doesn't just have cats and dogs, it has alligators, and giant hungry snakes. It's even got tigers," piped in Minako.
"And if Artemis really did die, then his ghost would be haunting you for the rest of your nine lives, if you didn't apologize for the way you treated him," Roxas added with a bit of a threatening tone.
"Whoa, hold your horse, Roxas. You don't need to go overboard with the threats, especially if the kid's around," said Axel.
"Axel's right, Roxas, I'll apologize to Artemis for how mistreated him," agreed Luna.
"Wait, did I hear that you're all going to the zoo?" Chibiusa asked.
"Uh, not exactly Chibiusa," replied Sora.
"But if it makes you feel any happier, we can still visit the Great Animal Kingdom, little sister. That way you won't tell Mamoru about how your cruel cousin denied your request," added Riku, making the pinkett hug him with a happy smile.
"Thanks, Big Brother Riku," she replied..
"Aw, why'd you have to go and say that Riku?" moaned Usagi.
"Ouch," said Rei.
"You said it," agreed Ami.
"Don't worry Luna, I know Artemis is being very careful to avoid running into any predators in the Great Animal Kingdom. So trust me when I say that we've got your back," Sora assured the dark colored cat, who nodded with a content smile.
"Yeah, we'll be rooting for you Luna," agreed Minako.
Moments later, they all set off for the Great Animal Kingdom, where Artemis saw the dog and the kittens walking across the path.
"Guess I was worried over nothing. I'll head home," he said.
But before he did, he was shocked to see the dog and the kittens performing some tricks in front of several people, as well as a woman who announced that the animals would perform more tricks for the people, who were amazed to see them form a pyramid. One of the children was about to ask his father for the white kitten to jump on top, when the animals attacked them, making them run for their lives. The animal keeper, who was really Dogbar sneered with delight, while Artemis realized that something terrible had happened, and quickly fled from a hungry dog, by jumping over a fallen garbage can so that he could lose it.
"Artemis," called a voice, making him turn towards the garbage can.
"Luna, why are you here?" he asked.
"I'll explain later, get in here," said Luna.
Artemis nodded and hid in the trash can, just in time.
"That was a close one," he sighed, once the dog was out of sight.
He turned to Luna.
"Well, explain yourself," demanded the white cat.
"I came here to take…" Luna tried to say.
But she turned sharply away from him.
"Oh, I was just passing by when I saw you and thought I'd say hi, but enough about me. Artemis, what are you doing here in this place?" Luna said quickly.
"What do you mean?" wondered Artemis.
"Did you mess something up again?" she asked.
Artemis growled and stormed off.
"No, but I'm very busy. I'll see you," he said.
But at the same time, his thoughts were set on why the Black Moon Clan's influence on the animals in the shelter, but he glanced back at Luna and tried to tell her to stop following her.
"What's with the attitude? I came here because I want to look out for a good friend," said Luna.
Artemis was surprised, until he heard the dark colored cat declaring her intention to go back home, which made him surprised and a bit remorseful of his actions. He was about to prove himself once again, when suddenly he slipped on a stray can and collapsed to the ground, much to Luna's disappointment. The people tried to contact the police, but a clever squirrel chewed through the wire, as Dogbar approached them, revealing her true form, and attacked them with her electro whip, while Esmeraude watched the dark henge growing more powerful with each passing moment, her eyes wild and bright with joy. At the same time, Sora, Usagi, Minako, and Roxas had arrived, and were wondering why Luna was taking so long to find Artemis, until they saw the people rushing out of the park.
"Something bad's happening in there," said Minako.
"All right. Usagi, Minako, it's time for Sailors Moon and Venus to step up," replied Sora.
The two girls nodded as Sora and Roxas readied their keyblades, and became Sailors Moon and Venus in a blinding flash of light. As they did so, Dogbar continued her vicious onslaught until everyone was knocked out, just as Artemis peered out from behind the bushes. He was furious to see the people lying beaten on the ground, then with a great leap tried to strike her, only for the brainwashed cats to attack him and knock him out.
"Don't do this, come to your senses!" he called out to the cats.
Dogbar marched towards him and struck at him with her whip, causing him to roll towards and lay sprawled on the ground, but he still got up and saw that he was surrounded by every animal around him as far as the eye could see. Using whatever strength he had left, Artemis marched bravely towards Dogbar, only to be pulled down to the ground by a monkey with a rope in it's paws so that Dogbar could finish him off, but Luna rushed to the rescue and stood beside him.
"She's too strong. You can't handle this droid on your own Artemis, we need to get help," she said.
"You're wrong! I'm going to prove to everyone that I'm not clumsy and beat our enemy alone," protested Artemis.
"Please stop! You'll get hurt!" cried Luna.
Not wanting for this to continue any longer, Dogbar struck at Luna and left her battered and beaten on the ground. Artemis tried hard to protect her, despite her pleas, just as Dogbar tried to strike them down with her whip, only for a beam of light to surge towards her, making her jump back in shock.
"Hands of my friends!" a young man's voice said from behind the dust cloud.
Dogbar was about to strike down Roxas, when her whip was intercepted by Sailor Venus' love me chain, granting the two cats a chance to escape.
"You have done the unthinkable! You have changed the hearts of kind animals into evil!" Sailor Moon said furiously.
"Perhaps God and Buddha might forgive you," added Sailor Venus.
"But as for us, not a chance!" they said along with Sora.
"I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and for justice! I am Sailor Moon!" Sailor Moon said.
"And I am Sailor Venus!" cried Sailor Venus.
"And now, on behalf of the moon, we're punishing you!" finished Sailor Moon.
"That's right, dark beastmaster," said Roxas.
Dogbar was furious.
"Most of these innocent creatures await the arrival of a new owner. But you've twisted their hearts and minds, and made them hurt people," he continued.
Enraged at Roxas' adage, Dogbar ordered them to attack, but Roxas stood his ground, and fought them all off with his keyblades, dodging and striking at them with careful coordination. One of the dogs lunged at him, but Roxas backflipped away from it, then leaped into the air and fought them all off. Tossing Oathkeeper away from him, the Keyblade spun and forced the other animals back. He caught it in his hand, then jumped clear, making Sailors Moon, Venus, and Sora both surprised and impressed.
"I have to help!" Artemis said furiously.
"No don't!" protested Luna.
"But we have to help out!" argued Artemis.
Before he could get that chance, the other Sailor Guardians and the rest of Sora's friends had come to the rescue, forcing the animals back, giving Sailor Mercury the opportunity to slow them down with an ice barrier from her Shine Aqua Illusion attack.
"All right, now try behaving yourselves," she said.
"Guess we owe you one, now," said Sora, giving Sailor Mercury a thumbs up, which made her blush.
"Oh, they may, Sailor Mercury, but the Heartless won't," cackled Hyena, who clicked his fingers.
Soon several Heartless charged towards them, and pinned them all down to the ground, while Dogbar flung several rings of darkness that latched onto their necks, so that she pulled them all down to the ground now that their guard was down. Despite Luna's pleas, an enraged Artemis attacked Dogbar with his claws, allowing Sailor Moon and Sora to pull off the collars around their necks, until the droid threw Artemis to the ground.
"ENOUGH!" they said furiously.
But this time Sora's darkness slowly took control of him.
"Now you shall become your demise, Dogbar!" he said in an unhinged tone, after transforming himself into Vanitas.
Dogbar lunged at Vanitas and forced him back, but he turned to Sailors Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury who were still in chains. With a dark chuckle he sent a burst of fire at the droid, which caused it immense pain, then fired three more at her knocking her to the ground.
"Sora! No!" cried Sailor Moon, as she watched Vanitas stalk towards Dogbar, who was now battered and beaten.
"Sora, you can't simply defeat an enemy who uses the power of darkness like Vanitas. Take control! Don't let Vanitas rule you! You must rule Vanitas! Please! Sora!" called Sailor Venus.
"That's right, I warned my friends about Vanitas, and both Artemis and Minako said that they'd always help me stay true to the light," Sora said, as he gained control of himself.
He soon reverted to normal, and gave Sailor Moon the signal to unleash her ultimate attack.
"Moon Princess Halation!" called Sailor Moon.
"And now, PHOENIX FLAME!" cried Sora.
Both attacks surged towards Dogbar instantly destroying her, and even shattered the dark henge to nothing, infuriating Esmeraude, who stormed off, but also sensed Sora's transformation into Vanitas. She stalked out and saw that everyone was standing outside after being freed from the darkness.
"So Sora and Vanitas both share the same body!" Esmeraude cackled with malicious joy despite her failure.
But once again, another dog had done it's business on her boot, making her disappear in a blind rage.
"They're so cute," Sailor Moon said as she held the cats.
"It's hard to believe they were attacking us," added Sailor Venus.
Everyone else was petting and admiring the different animals in the Great Animal Kingdom, but with different points of view, especially Sora who was happily petting some of the other animals.
"Sorry Artemis, but I have to say you're still clumsy, but I guess you deserve the credit for saving everyone today," said Luna.
"Because of my keen investigation, the enemy's plan never even had a chance," replied Artemis who was lying down.
"More like you were able to find it quite by accident, which in turn led to us coming to your rescue," smirked Axel.
"Oh give me a break Axel," sighed Luna.
"HEY! WHY DID YOU ALL LEAVE ME BEHIND!? I WANTED TO SEE THE ANIMALS TOO!" shouted Chibiusa who arrived.
But she accidentally sent her backpack flying towards Artemis, who yowled when it hit him.
"Silly Artemis," everyone said.
"Oh, give me a break you guys," groaned Artemis.