Hey everyone,
I LOVE THIS STORY! I mean it, I don't want this story to end. The whole first week of this month, all I could think of was future chapters, things I want to do both in the Haven and in the English magical country. I was thinking of what to do about Minerva meeting certain parents – Arthur to be specific – Hermione bringing up the problem with Muggleborn parents and revealing a little problem of her own, Riku accepting Lea into the Pride, etc.
As you can see, my mind has been going mad and I have come up with all kinds of stuff. And to be honest, I am quite relieved about that as, sometimes, I just write stories without really having a future in mind. So to have my mind going crazy with plans for future chapters – which will be updated around July to later – is very satisfying, but now, the present.
Also, I am aware that Article 13 has been accepted by the European Parliament - or whatever - but I do not care, at least not yet. This whole act is not going to count for us for another two years, so until then I am going to continue posting updates every month. At least until as many of these stories are completed. Though I am hesitant to start new stories because of this as well, sorry.
Hope you understand.
Venquine1990
Shout-Outs To:
Captain James H00k
Chapter 50
A Living World
31st of January 1996
Destiny's Haven
Jessica's POV
"Well, that was fun, but I think it's time I head off again." Axel says, standing up and stretching, but then I remember something and a smirk grows on my face. "Actually Axel, I might have a request for you, if you're interested?" The slightly older teen smirks at me and says: "A request from the girl who can see that many differences between me and my Somebody? Yeah, I'm game."
"Okay, before I tell you my request, I have two questions. One, do you have anyone in your life? Two, does that person know about your test set to you by Lady Destiny?" The teen smirks and says: "I do, two of them even and yes, they are aware." This knowledge shocks me, but I decide to just leave it for now and smirk again as I say: "Good, then listen up. Here's my idea."
A few minutes later
Quarters, Hogwarts
Axel's POV
"Nice rooms." I state out loud after Lady Destiny helps me phase over to my Somebody, who seems only temporarily shocked to see me. "Wow, are you two twins or something?""Nobody and Somebody, to be precise. Story for another time. Here for an update from the other side, Axel?" Lea asks, but I smirk and shake my head, actually feeling gleeful over his mate's idea.
"Nah, I'm here on the request of your mate. And I have to say this, Lea. If I had met her as Harry, I might have –." But instantly I get further proof that Lady Destiny had nothing to worry about as the teen phases over to me, summoning his Keyblade as he does and pressing the tip of it in my throat, the look on his face making me gulp and mutter: "N-never mind."
Her father then laughs and says: "Well, well, well, looks like that bond between them is evolving nice and quickly. Wouldn't surprise me if Jessie starts to sprout her tails soon." I nod at this, or at least try to, and say: "Yeah, Lady Destiny heard Sirius talk to Jessica about that, so she asked me to go and test Jessica. See how well she knew Lea, but seeing if she could keep us apart."
"That must have taken her some time, I presume." Lily mumbles, but I shake my head and say: "Not even. She was onto me the minute she spotted me. Even named a list of differences I didn't even notice. Like the fact that I am, apparently, two inches taller than you and that my voice is a few octaves lower than yours." Lea tilts his head at this and James looks between us both before he says: "Sorry, the only difference I see is those marks under your eyes."
"And I had those hidden with Lady Destiny's magic when I came to the Haven." I think, still feeling greatly impressed with the young girl and then I turn from him to Lily and say: "Anyway, I'm here on a request and it concerns you and Jessie's female friends. It's something about a song that Jessie promised the others in the haven when watching Sora entering the Coliseum."
The woman actually laughs at this and says: "She told me and Angelina about this when we last met. I guess she wants us to train on the background chorus for when we get to come to her next?" I nod, still feeling quite intrigued and say: "Yeah, and for some reason, she wants me as a part too. At least for the first bit, or so she said." And this seems to intrigue Lea.
"I guess that makes sense. Sit down, Lea, Axel, and let me explain. In Hercules – or the Disney movie version, that is – Meg gets this really bad backstory. She fell for someone, who was about to die, so she sold her soul to Hades in return for his survival. Except the guy turned out to be a jerk who ran off with some babe and leaving Meg heart-broken. After this, she shunned love and men.
However, in the movie, she slowly does start to fall for Hercules, only – when she realizes this, she tries to unsuccessfully deny it to herself – and that's where the song comes in. It's even called I won't say I'm in love." By now Lea is smirking and says:
"Ah, now I get it." He then turns to me and says: "My Firefly wants you to be that jerk.""More like, she probably wants Axel to show himself off as basically every dude who is ever popular and likes going after pretty women, which we all know Jessie is turning into. Did she say for how long she wants your help? And don't worry, Lea, in the end of the song, Meg caves and admits."
Lea smiles at this and I shrug and say: "Somewhere halfway through. She said you'd know up to what point." The woman nods at this and says: "I do. Care to help us practice? If Lea and James are okay with it, I'll take Jessie's place as the lead singer, so that the other girls can practice their parts. And really Axel, all you'll probably have to do is phase over and stand at certain points here and there, nothing more.""Sounds good to me, I'm game." And both Lea and James nod in agreement.
At the same time
Destiny's Haven
Jessica's POV
"What was with that smirk, sis?" My brother asks and I giggle as I say: "The song I promised you guys? It's Meg trying to deny that she's in love with Hercules, because the last guy she was in love with was a real jerk who only cared for babes, not actual relationships. I just thought it'd be funny to have Axel play that role when Lea and the others come in next time."
The others look at me perplexed and dad says: "And now your inner Marauder is coming out." At which I smirk and say: "It's been known to show its face from time to time." Making him smirk in pride before I go back to my seat and say: "Let's go back to the movie. I want to know what Sora meant when he said that the next world isn't a world anymore."
Dad nods at this and my family retakes their seats as the movie restarts itself. "If I may, I think we should watch the next four worlds, this one included, and then leave the next two for tomorrow." Riku says, my brother nodding in agreement, yet I still look at them as my brother says: "The last two worlds – are basically this movie's finale." I nod at him and say: "Like the last two chapters of my first book." My brother is, this time, the one to nod.
I then notice that the movie has already continued playing and that Sora and the others have departed from Agrabah, obviously with the intent to get to the next world. Yet then suddenly something about their surroundings in the vast amounts of space seems to change and to my absolute do I suddenly spot something appearing in the far back of the screen.
The camera reverts back to showing off the small monitor that is obviously inside the Gummi ship and a picture of Donald is shown as he asks: "What is that?""Wow, it's huge!" Sora states in awe and while I still have trouble making it out, do I have to agree with him. The object then actually suddenly starts to move and a wailing sound comes off of it as it dives down and then actually flies over them. And as it does, do I recognize it, which instantly makes me understand my brother's words.
"Pinocchio's world must have been restored, so Monstro probably returned to his own home at the depths of the ocean." I think to myself as dad asks: "Wait, was that – a whale?" My brother nods as Goofy is shown on the screen and says: "It's a giant whale." To which Jiminy replies: "It's Monstro! He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides."
The movie then shows Monstro actually swimming back onto the screen, his movement making it look as if my brother is riding a submarine through the ocean instead of a spaceship in-between worlds. And as this happens, do my eyes widen as Donald yells: "Whoa! Sora, get us out of here!" Yet Sora yells back: "Too late! He's going to swallow us!" And the movie fades to black exactly as this happens, making my worries spike once again.
Yet the next scene instantly negates this and has me replace my concerns with confusion as it shows the Destiny Islands, the small hut at the top of one of the trees in the center of the island and also shows a younger Sora and Riku, who are obviously around the ages between four and six, walking down from there, Sora once more having his hands behind his head.
The same lettering as the one shown when Sora first gained the Keyblade appears, yet this time it's obviously not some ominous voice, but Sora talking as it reads It's true! I saw it with my own eyes! The sunlight brightens the screen for a bit and then shows Sora and Riku, but while they are still on the platform, does it show them from the front instead of from the back.
You sure you didn't just hear it this time? Riku asks and Sora replies What difference does it make? Making his mate smirk at my brother in amusement and making my brother shrug. There's a huge monster in there, I tell you! This worries and confuses me, but Riku shakes his head at me, calming me down. All right. Suppose there really is a monster … Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?
This question also worries me and Sora actually strongly stating No problem! Let's do it! Makes me think: "He's a Gryffindor like me alright." Yet also increases my worries for him yet again, Riku nodding at him as they stand in front of the entrance to the Secret Place once again. Listen! There! Can you here it growling? Sora asks, but I already heard the sound and this takes away my fear.
I sigh in relief and smile as Riku hisses Shh, quiet. We've gotta to be careful. Yet while the background music has stopped, did I easily recognize the sound that was heard through the track. The movie turns dark and then refocuses, showing a hole in the roof of the Secret Place from which the wind I heard earlier is blowing. See that? It was just the wind making that noise. Riku says, making Sora pout and put his hands in his neck again.
Aw, man. I wish it was a monster! Hold on! What's that over there? And the camera pans out, turning from the two young boys to the wooden door with golden line in its frame that is at the back of the cave. Riku moves over to it, while Sora seems to examine the rest of the cave and the first boy says A window, or maybe a door? It won't open. The boy seems to search for a while, but then gives up and goes back to Sora, who says Geez, is that really all that's in here?
"It was your first time exploring that cave, wasn't it?" I ask my brother, actually finding his younger self, while a little too adventurous, also quite endearing. My brother nods as Riku says What do you expect in a boring place like this? He then makes Sora turn to him and determinedly says When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!
"I really had no idea what I'd be getting myself into when I said that." My brother's mate groans and I giggle: "Neither did I when I first stepped onto the Hogwarts express." Making him smile at me as the two youngsters leave the cave, Sora asking Sure. But isn't there anything fun to do now? Making giggle again and shake my head, yet again thinking: "A Gryffindor to the core."
The two leave the cave, just as Riku asks Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? Did you hear? And as he asks this does the camera light up again, indicating the end of the little memory reel. "That was interesting. definitely a nice way for the movie to give me a chance of learning what my son was like when he was growing up." Dad then hums and I giggle as my brother turns a little red.
Yet the next scene actually shows Sora lying unconscious and to my shock, do Donald and Goofy not seem to care at all as they are standing a few feet away from him, Donald tapping his foot in impatience and Goofy, for some reason, holding his shield above his head. "Knock it off!" Donald shouts, looking up for some strange reason, and Sora wakes up as he does so.
"Hey, Sora. Are you okay?" Goofy asks, but Sora doesn't seem to care for the fact that he just fainted as he asks: "What are you guys doing? Where are we, anyway?" And to my shock does some kind of item fall from the point that Donald is still staring at, Sora having to jump away to avoid it hitting him on the knees or one of his feet.
"Uh, ya know, I think that big ol' whale Monstro just swallowed us. And for today's weather: expect showers." This confuses me, until another object actually hits him on the shield, causing for his own hand to hit him up the head before he moans: "Heavy showers." Making me wince and feel for the guy a little. "Hey! Who's there?" Donald then screams up and the answer astounds me.
The camera moves up and shows Pinocchio rummaging through a treasure chest before he looks up and says: "It's me." To which Donald replies: "Oh, it's just Pinocchio." As if talking about the weather before he quacks: "Pinocchio!?" And while Jiminy jumps up onto Sora's shoulder and starts shouting out to the wooden puppet, does it leave its platform, some weird object in his hands.
"Pinocchio? Pinocch, where are you going? Pinocch! Come on, everybody! After him! Quick!" But while dad asks: "How are they supposed to get up there?" As Pinocchio was on a platform several stories above where Sora was standing, does Sora prove that he has other plans. Yet these plans make me shiver in disgust as he, Donald and Goofy jump into the water next to where they are standing.
And while they swim after the wooden puppet, do I ask: "You do realize you were probably swimming in whale saliva, right?" To which my brother shudders in disgust and says: "Thanks, sis. Until now, I just thought that to be sea water or something." Making me grin at him as the movie shows half of Geppetto's boat pushed against one side of Monstro's mouth. "What have you got there, Pinocchio?" The voice of an old man, that I recognize as Geppetto, then asks.
"With this, we can get out of here, Father." The wooden boy answers the man and yet this makes dad look weird. "First of, you grow up in a world of magic, so shut it. Second, Geppetto is a woodshop owner who made all kinds of marvelous things out of wood, including various marionettes. He wished for one to be a real boy and the Blue Fairy granted his wish, thus Pinocchio was born."
I tell my dad, who playfully reprimands me for my cheek before Geppetto asks: "Really? With this big block? You think so?" And the camera turns itself so that it shows Geppetto and Pinocchio from the spot on the floor behind the block, which is bright green with a few spots here and there that are other shades of green. "It's true." Sora says, drawing the attention of the two and the camera.
"So, how did you end up here, Pinocchio?""Especially considering the fact that Jiminy told him to stay where he was. Guess Pinocchio is as good at listening to orders as you are, sweetie." Dad jokes at me and I roll my eyes as I say: "I don't follow orders when I know it could endanger others, especially the ones I care about." Making the man stop laughing and sigh in reluctant pride.
"Oh, my. So the whale swallowed all of you, too? My goodness." Geppetto says as the three of them climb on board and Sora replies: "Yeah, looks like it." The man then introduces himself and says: "My name is Geppetto. I'm Pinocchio's father. When we got separated, I travelled all over, looking for him. Thank goodness we're together again."
Yet while Geppetto says all this, does the camera focus on Pinocchio, who turns around and seems to spot something. He walks to the edge of the boat and the camera focuses on where he's looking, which looks to be the hole leading to the whale's throat or something. And to my shock, do I spot Riku vanishing within this hole. "Wait, what are you doing there?" I ask, completely confused.
"Remember what Hook said? About his trip not being a pleasure cruise? This was him testing to see if I was, as he called it, worthy of being part of his crew. We were both on route to where Maleficent had found Kairi, but Hook wouldn't let me travel there by his ship, so I took Monstro instead. To be honest, I was just hoping to find help for Kairi, which is why I did what I did. You'll see."
And the way that he says this really worries me, making me turn back to the movie that continues to play. The movie focuses on Geppetto, who, despite his obviously old age and frail body, lifts up the heavy block and moves it into his boat as he says: "So, you seem to know Pinocchio quite well. I hope he was a good boy in my absence." At which Donald and Goofy share an uncomfortable look.
Geppetto puts the block down next to his bed, the camera showing a goldfish swimming in a small bowl that is stood on the nightstand next to his bed as he says: "Well, we've all had quite a journey. Right, Pinocchio? Pinocchio?" Yet then the camera shows Pinocchio strolling into the same hole we saw Riku disappear into earlier, making dad groan and mutter: "Too curious for his own good."
Instantly Sora, Donald and Goofy jump off the boat and swim for shore, heading through the hole themselves. And the room they come into next astounds me. Mostly purple, but with different colored spots all over the floor, ceiling and walls and with even a raised dais and several more holes that obviously lead to other rooms – or other parts of Monstro's internal body.
Yet this is a thought I decide to ignore as Sora moves over to the hole right in front of him, where Pinocchio seems to be waiting for him. "What are you doing? Come on, let's go back." Sora reprimands the puppet and Goofy goes on: "You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you." And Sora goes on: "Pinocchio, stop fooling around. This is no time for games!"
To this my brother smiles at me and says: "You know I would have said the same thing to you had you been in Pinocchio's place." Making me smile even as dad mutters: "I'd rather neither of you be in there, but I do agree." And just when Sora turns around, does Riku's voice sound again. "But, Sora, I thought you liked games." Sora turns around and spots Riku standing next to Pinocchio.
"Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?" And while I have no doubt that my brother is, again, enjoying how the camera first focuses on Riku's torso and then moves up to his face, do I not really get why the boy would be saying such a thing, but then think: "Must be Maleficent. She tried to break those two apart earlier as well. This must be more of her work."
This thought angers me and I watch on with a frown. "Riku! Wh-what are you doing here?""Just playing with Pinocchio.""You know what I mean. What about Kairi? Did you find her?" Sora asks desperately and Riku coolly replies: "Maybe. Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know." And while Sora shouts: "Come on!" Does the boy runs into the hole, dragging the puppet along.
I want to shake my head at this and Riku groans in annoyance with himself, but then dad snickers and says: "I don't like the fact that you are using a living being for this, but – I am so seeing Frank in you right now." We all turn to him and Riku asks: "What – what do you mean?" The man motions for the screen with his head, a smirk of good humor on his face and he says:
"Frank used to do the same thing back in the day, at least at first. He would take this one thing he knew Alice really liked – or in some cases needed – like a library book for her homework and would take it to someplace he could be alone with her. Augusta never really liked it, but the rest of us loved it. James called it the levity to fight the darkness. Because of the war that we were in and all."
At this Riku smiles at the man and dad says: "You may not like what you did here – and in a small way, I don't entirely approve either – but you really proved to be your father's son in that moment. I think Augusta will be happy to hear that." At this I think: "Wonder when Neville is going to tell his grandmother that his brother is back." Only to suddenly realize something.
"So that's why." I whisper to myself and the others turn to me. "Neville's abuse. That's why his grandmother is abusing him like that. Like we read in my first book. Why he's forced to use his dad's wand, why he thinks so low of himself, why his family was allowed to get away with those stupid ways to bring his magic out. It's because she knows he's not the Primary Heir. That's Riku."
This makes the boy in question frown in anger and dad sighs as he says: "I wish I could say that you're looking too deeply into this, sweetie, but – I can't. I know Augusta well enough to know that this is, more than likely, exactly the case." And then suddenly the voice of Lady Destiny speaks up and says: "And this will be something you will be able to take care of, tomorrow."
This intrigues me, but dad smiles and says: "She probably means that you'll be reaching that stage tomorrow, sweetie. Meaning that Lea, who is also hired as our delivery boy, will be here tomorrow. We'll be able to tell him and he'll be able to do something about it once you're through that stage." At this I nod, but then I remember something and say:
"We forgot! We sent Lea out for all of the problems we spotted after Halloween and all, but not anymore after that. I mean, we didn't really need it up till the Christmas chapter, because we had the Order join us through that transparent wall and they did read along with us in the Forbidden Forest chapter, but there was plenty we found out in between that we forgot to tell Lea." At this my brother shrugs and says: "Guess that just means we'll have more to talk about tomorrow."
I nod at him and notice that, while we were talking, Sora is trying to chase Riku through various rooms, that all have the same crazy color pattern, have various levels of platforms and even have a couple of barrels that turn into Barrell Spider Heartless upon Sora trying to strike them with the Keyblade, some of them even exploding upon contact. Then, after exiting another room and entering the next, does the video return to Riku once again.
The boy is just walking through one of the rooms, yet it's not his voice that is heard. "Why do you still care about that boy?" Maleficent asks, making Riku halt in his tracks and turn to her as she continues: "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all." To which Riku, to my interest, answers: "I don't care about him. I was just messing with him a little."
And when Maleficent says: "Oh really? Of course you were." Do I say: "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Maleficent here, Riku. You were fooling no one with that statement of yours." The boy smiles and says: "I was actually trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince her. Guess I failed on both counts." And we snicker before we watch the movie continue.
"Beware the Darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it." Yet while this worries me, does Riku spat at her: "Mind your own business!" And as he snarls this at her, does the witch vanish in another portal of darkness. The camera turns dark as it zooms in on the boy's angry face before returning to another part of the room where we see Pinocchio running past the boy.
Sora and the others run after him and stop in front of Riku, Sora calling out his name as the boy watches Pinocchio run past before Sora asks: "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?" And while I silently think: "This almost sounds like their first lover's spat." Do I try not to giggle, which Riku in the movie makes a lot easier as he says:
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora. You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days." And somehow, as if called, does the Keyblade actually appear in Sora's hand as Riku says this, Sora himself looking down at it. "Do you even want to save Kairi?" Riku asks and to my confusion, does Sora sound hesitant as he says: "I do."
But before anything else can be said, does the voice of Pinocchio suddenly sound, screaming in fear, making Sora look up and making Riku turn around. The four of them run through the door that Pinocchio passed earlier and enter a whole new room; one that is circular and has a hole in the floor as well as one in the ceiling and that actually has a Heartless in the center of the room.
Yet it's not the Heartless that worries me, it's the fact that he actually has Pinocchio trapped in his stomach, which looks to be his mouth with every other tooth missing on both the top and bottom jaw, causing for the mouth to look more like a cage than a mouth. The being also has a second head on top of this and long arms that are stretching and twitching every which way.
"You up for this?" Riku asks and Sora instantly takes his fighting stance and says: "No problem. Let's do it!" And the fact that Riku huffs in disbelief makes me giggle as I ask: "You were hoping he'd ask for your help, weren't you?" The older teen nods and says: "I don't know why, but I was still so determined to – sorry, Sora – have Sora submit to me, like he did when we first came here."
My brother pouts at his mate for this, but dad smirks and says: "I can explain that one." And while the fight against the Heartless is shown on screen, do we turn to the man who says: "Remember how I told you guys that both James and I were, respectively, in the belief that our crush was only one-sided and that we were totally blind to the fact that the other loved us back?" We nod and dad says:
"Well, while James was pregnant of Sora, did we start to wonder. If Sora would be a Veela, would he be Submissive or Dominant. James himself joked about this and said if he becomes Submissive like me, just you wait, love, he's going to be just as oblivious to it all as we were. But his mate, Siri, oh, his mate. He will notice it, probably even years before our little boy will be mature enough to have his inheritance come out.
Good Merlin, I can only imagine the power struggles that will come from that, especially if his mate falls for him before he learns that our Sora is a Veela by nature. Heh, I just remembered, that was how we got to your name, kiddo. We were already debating for a few months and then it suddenly just popped out of your mother's mouth and we loved it." We look at the man in intrigued amazement and then the man sighs and says:
"To be honest, I'm quite glad that this is indeed happening, Riku. Especially if this confrontation between you two continues to grow. I'll explain later, look." And as I turn back to the screen, do my eyes widen as suddenly the Heartless spits out Pinocchio, who falls through the open hole in the floor and Riku jumps through it, the others following him after they quickly healed each other.
The movie returns to the first part of the whale, the mouth and for some reason does a lot of the spit water seem to seep out of the mouth, causing for a few more platforms to reveal themselves, including one that has a blue trinity on it. The movie then shows Sora, Donald and Goofy somehow ending up above the boat and landing on it after they jumped through the hole.
Sora moves over to Geppetto, who is standing on the far edge and is shouting: "Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please! Give me back my son!" But while Riku is standing on a platform much higher and has Pinocchio's unconscious form held in one of his arms, does he say: "Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet." To which Geppetto argues:
"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy." And to this Riku replies: "He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs." To which Sora instantly responds: "Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?" But Riku only coldly retorts: "What do you care about her?" Before he walks away, the camera turning dark.
"I don't like saying it, Riku, but that's just like your grandmother. You're just as passive aggressive to Sora as she is to Neville. Though you do obviously care more about Sora than she does about Neville." I tell my brother's mate, who smiles at me as we watch Sora suddenly finding another treasure chest next to the nightstand that the gold fish is on. Sora opens it and pulls out a set of vitamins and a couple of papers. He reads them through and says:
"Wow, these vitamins will give a boost to our legs, allowing us to jump even higher than we currently are able to. Though we do need to instantly start practicing after we take them or they could cause our leg muscles to cramp up.""Then it's a good thing that, when we were falling down, I spotted both a green trinity and a treasure chest on the roof. We can use that to practice our new ability."
Sora nods and Donald says: "Come on, give them already! We need to save Pinocchio!" Sora hands the two a set each and the three gulp down the vitamins. Instantly I can see some strange magic taking affect in their legs and Sora jumps up, easily reaching and climbing on top of the roof. His friends do the same and the three make a few more high jumps to get their bodies used to the new strength.
"Alright, I think that does it. Now let's get – wait, is that a blue trinity over there? We need to get that one too.""Why?" Donald shrieks and Goofy asks: "Yeah, what about Pinocchio?" To which Sora says: "I know we have to save him, but what if we do so and then have Monstro spit us out? Who's to say we'll be able to come back here?" And I silently give my brother right.
"Well, what about the safe point? You stood on it, right Sora?" Goofy asks and Sora says: "Oh, right. I – I guess that's our guarantee for a return visit. Alright, let's leave the blue trinity, do this one and then go save Pinocchio." His two friends nod and after activating the Trinity, which is actually the three of them climbing on each other's shoulders and Donald grabbing the chest, do they open it. And from it, does Sora gain a blue colored gem that is shaped like a water drop.
"A Summoning gem!""Now we really need to go save Pinocchio. So we can take him back to Traverse Town and then visit the Blue Fairy about this gem." Donald and Goofy say and Sora nods before the two rush and jump over to the platform that Riku was on earlier. This allows them to reach a hole in the whale's body that is stationed above the one they entered earlier.
The room they enter is huge and very high with the ceiling being miles and miles above them and able to be reached through several platforms that are shaped like bowls with a top on them and with another blue trinity on the bottom floor. The three quickly get in formation and jump, causing for quite a bit of money and another strange bit of stone to fall from the sky.
The three of them then jump from platform to platform, using Aero to keep the appearing Heartless at bay and beating a few of the winged ones with fire attacks before jumping through the gaping hole in the ceiling that sucks them up. And the room they enter next makes me glad that we ate some time ago as it looks utterly nauseous and makes me think: "And they reached the stomach."
And Monstro's stomach looks horrible. There is one pathway leading to the center that is purple as well as several pink platforms that look similar to the ones Sora just jumped. The walls is circular and also purple with lines and bits of black and blue here and there all over the wall pattern. Yet every bit of the floor that isn't the one path is covered in a river of bright green acid.
Riku is standing on one of the platforms in the back left of the room, Pinocchio leaning against the wall in front of him with his eyes closed. "Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku!" Sora demands of the older boy, but Riku only calmly states: "A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless …. Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi." The boy then stretches his arm out to Sora and says: "How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her. We can do it, together."
But while I really don't like it and while the boy starts to approach Sora, does the younger boy summon his Keyblade once again. "What? You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?" Yet to this Sora coldly retorts: "Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience?" Riku questions this and the camera shows Jiminy running for Pinocchio while Sora angrily goes on:
"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!" And as he says this, is there no mistaking how angry and hurt the boy feels over having to tell his best friend this. My brother's mate also notices this and pulls my brother closer, whispering a silent: "I'm so sorry for hurting you like that." In my brother's hair.
"Then you leave me no choice." Yet to his dad whispers: "Please don't fight him. Not yet. Please don't try to make him submit to you through battle." We all turn to him and he says: "It's not that I don't want Sora and Riku to replicate that fight – or initiate it – it's that I don't want them to do it yet. The situation, as it is, would just cause trouble." This worries me and the elder teen says:
"Don't worry, I didn't get a chance to. I got distracted and then – you'll see." Dad nods and I notice the movie focusing again on Jiminy running for Pinocchio, calling out to him this time, to which the puppet moans tiredly: "Jiminy … I'm not going to make it." Which worries me, but then I feel shocked relief enter my heart as Pinocchio's nose starts to grow again and he says:
"Ohh! I guess I'm okay!" And the cricket happily starts to jump up and down in front of the puppet, obviously not even caring for the fact that he just lied. Riku watches this happen and looks down before suddenly looking up, the camera turning with him and showing the same Heartless as before jumping down, landing in between Sora and Riku. This, to my shock, makes Riku actually summon a dark portal of his own through which the teen disappears while Pinocchio and Jiminy run for it.
Sora, Donald and Goofy then start to fight the Heartless, but it's obvious that they have a lot of trouble as the beast throws mouths full of acid at them and tries to constantly slam them into the acid river, which obviously hurts them as they land in it. They try everything to stay on either the pathway or the platforms and yet it takes them a lot longer to fight and beat the Heartless than it did to beat Jafar.
Donald and Goofy even faint a few times, sometimes to hits from the Heartless' arms and a few times to landing in the acid, but while Donald manages to heal Goofy back up, do Sora and Goofy throw each other potions and does Goofy, who is often standing between the boy and the duck throw potions from one to the other, allowing Donald to keep his own health.
And while I really hate to see these two get beaten so hard when they obviously have more experience fighting than Sora does, do I also take a great sense of relief out of the fact that the three are working so well together and able to rely on each other to keep themselves and the others healthy. Then finally, after several more strikes and all three of them casting a strong fire spell, does the Heartless fall.
A crystal heart escapes the beast that first almost falls backwards, but then tries to turn around and fall forwards in an attempt to crush my brother, yet it seems that the fight – and even Sora somehow learning a new move while continuously casting Aero spells in order to protect himself – has caused for the stomach to get upset as small explosions are seen all over the area, the acid bubbling up.
"Run!" Donald shouts, he and Goofy running back to where they came in, but Sora returns to where he fought the Heartless and shouts: "Riku! Riku, where are you?" And to my great concern as I silently think: "He's safe, Sora, now get out of there!" Does the camera actually turn dark as Sora shouts this. And when it refocuses is the movie very obviously at a different point as it shows Riku, the boy inside the room that is aboard some kind of ship, looking down at a girl with a purple skirt.
"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" The boy asks, clearly devastated by the knowledge and Maleficent, who is behind him, says: "Precisely." Actually smirking as she says this, though Riku can't see this. "And her heart was …." Riku doesn't finish this, just fisting one of his hands in angered pain as Maleficent speaks for him: "Taken by the Heartless, no doubt." Riku turns around to face the witch and desperately asks: "Tell me! What can I do?" Which makes me cringe.
"There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There, you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart." And while I really don't like the way that the witch speaks the girl's name, does she go on, startling Riku and say:
"Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless." The camera turns dark for just a few seconds before showing Maleficent lowering her arms and an aura of sick green magic covering Riku. And as it merges into his skin, does he turn to Kairi and promise her: "Soon, Kairi. Soon." And the camera turns dark yet again as the boy says this.
"Do I want to know what you meant with that?" My brother asks his mate, his voice proving how he is trying to cover up the slight jealousy he seems to be feeling over this, but his mate just smirks at him and says: "Soon, I'll have your heart back, return you to your home, to the world you were born and have Sora all to myself. Soon. That's what I was thinking when I said that."
Which makes dad and I snicker and my brother turn red as he mutters: "Why didn't I realize that myself?" Yet then the movie shows me something shocking as it actually starts outside Monstro, the whale sniffing and sneezing and actually sneezing the Gummi ship and the boat out before swimming out of view. And to my utter relief does the camera turn back into the board computer yet again.
The camera shows a picture of Goofy, who says: "I sure hope Pinocchio and Geppetto are okay." To which Donald replies: "Yeah, hopefully they landed somewhere safe." Yet when Sora's picture shows, does it only say one word: "Riku…" And the other two friends easily pick up on their third friend's concern and decide to change his mind. "Hey Sora, did you notice?" Goofy asks him.
Sora asks: "Huh?""When we were running out of the stomach and through the throat, there were Heartless that tried to stop us. But then you aimed your Keyblade at them and yelled at them to stop. And they did! You learned a new spell, Sora." And the look that comes over the boy's face speaks volumes, making me burst out laughing as the movie finally goes to pause.
"You – you – you were – you were actually – you were actually planning to – Good grief, Sora!" And my brother yells: "How did you know what I was thinking?" And dad laughs and says: "Please, that look on your face made your intentions crystal clear.""You were planning to use time magic on me?" His mate asks and Sora mumbles: "I – I just didn't want you running away from me anymore."
At which his mate pulls him close against his form and whispers: "Never again, Sora. You are stuck with me and I will make sure, at an acceptable rate, that you know it." This intrigues me and the boy turns to me as he says: "No offense, Jessie, but I'd rather make full use of our time here to grow this new bond I have with my mate. I got to start it on the day we arrived and I want to reach the final stage on the day before we leave."
At this I smile at the boy and dad sighs and says: "I don't blame you, Riku, and neither do I blame Jess for going much quicker than she probably normally would have, at least if she was raised by James and myself. But she was raised quite unloved and, if I know you, sweetie, part of you is probably afraid that you might lose it once you get out of here. So if, by the end of all this, you end up having made love with Lea at least once, I really wouldn't blame you."
This makes me turn horribly red, my face heating up as if Sora cast a fire spell on my face and I whimper: "Dad, seriously!" But while the man just smirks at me, do I still spot the look of loving understanding in the man's eyes. And while I try not to show it, can I not help myself as my mind actually starts to imagine exactly that happening. And I work my hardest not to sigh in delight.
Oh-ho-ho-ho, Jessie!
And just for the record NO! Even once I get to the seventh book, I will NOT describe such nights happening between Lea and Jessica. I risked it to the best of my ability with Larxene and Marluxia in The Moving Of The Light and I don't feel like doing that with this one, though that is partially because this is still my favorite of all of my stories.
Also, I AM working hard on editing both To Read Into The Universe as well as Reading For Life. I also plan to have both Reading For Life and the sequel to Fate's Finale for this year's Christmas gift. And because I actually have more weeks off this year, do I have more confidence that I will be able to get all of this done, along with all of the other editing.
So expect the following stories to be edited this year:
Destiny's Saying
Fate's Finale
To Read Into The Universe
Family And Friends
And perhaps others. Also I was kind of planning something completely different for the whole thing with Neville and the neglect he receives from Augusta. My original plan was for Xion to hear it all from Riku, then relay the info to Lily and James and then have Lily take Neville and Xion to visit Augusta about this before the four of them are taken to the Haven.
I was also planning to then have Sora and Riku wake up Alice and Frank, but I decided to leave this for after the first KH movie be over. So yeah, like I said at the start of this chapter, this story is NOT going to end with the whole scene of Sora, Donald and Goofy chasing after Pluto. I have PLENTY enough plans for what will happen after that, especially in England.
Excited yet,
Venquine1990
PS. It is SUPER hard to not just focus on this one story (you're welcome).
