Chapter Ten

Into the Jungle

Gera was, once more, floating in darkness. He didn't set a destination for the portal, just wanted to go to a close world... Sora should still be near. And, while he searched for his friends, he will search for the reborn Mella.

For now, she should be safe. Talon doesn't even know about her being reborn.

"You're lucky, Gera. Even though you have lost your arms, you have gained more power..."

He closed his eyes, letting his body float through.

"Even though these arms... are something which I don't want... I'll use them to my advantage."

He suddenly felt himself falling, then saw some light through his eye lids... so he opened his eyes... and saw himself falling upside down into a massive jungle. He sighed, crossing his arms.

Deep Jungle

"Damn it, Voice! Will you stop leading these portals to the middle of the freaking sky!?"

He flipped his body over and began to slow down. He saw a small camp in the trees, a clearing, so he steered his body toward it. He got closer and closer. Soon, he saw two people; a woman with long hair and a muscular man in nothing but a cloth.

".............. ew............... last thing I wanna see is a guy's ass."

He chuckled, then landed near a table behind a stack of crates. He looked around at the camp, hidden from the view of the two people. He saw a grandfather clock, and a line of tents on the opposite side of the camp. There was one big tent at the end of the camp. But...

By far, this is the weirdest camp I have ever seen...

He stepped out from behind the crates, looking around... he felt the presense of Sora around. He was in a slight daze, trying to feel out where the sense was coming from, when...

"Who there!?"

Gera jumped, remembering the two people that where there.

Damn, forgot about them... who could I after JUST seeing them!?

The looked over and saw the man with a spear in his hand, glaring at him. Gera tilted his head a bit.

Where... did he get that spear...?

He turned toward the woman, then back to the man.

"Ummmm.... hi...."

He rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm Gera. Sorry, I am looking for some of my friends.... could you two help me?"

The woman looked to the man, then to Gera.

"Well-"

Suddenly, six Powerwilds appeared around Gera, leaping around him. The man stood in front of the woman... then was stopped by an invisible shield forming between him and the fight. Gera sighed, summoning his Keyblade in hand.

"Oh well... time to kill some Heartless, then."

He leaned down as a Powerwild from behind jumped over him, then sliced it in half when it was over him. He took a step forward, then turned around and slashed down at another one stupid enough to jump at him. He reached in his coat and pulled out his left pistol, hitting the third under its jaw, sending it flying into the air. He then spun around, shooting three bullets as his arm spun with him. They spun in a curved path, each one going through the three still standing, killing them. He spun his gun on his finger and placed it back in his coat, then pointed his Keyblade up. The Wildpower from before landed on it, sliding down right to the handle, then disappeared in a puff of black smoke, a heart floating away.. He turned and watched it till it disappeared.

Hmmm... that was new....

As the last Heartless died, the shield disappearing. Both the man and the woman jogged over to him, the woman talking.

"Are you alright!?"

Gera gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He lifted his hand behind him which held his Keyblade, then dismissed it. The woman sighed.

"That's good... well, Gera. I'm Jade. This here is Tarzan."

Tarzan gave a nod, seeming to trust him after killing the Heartless in front of him. Gera nodded back, turning to Jade.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Sorry if I just came out of no where-"

Which I basicly just did....

"-but I am looking for a friend of mine who I know is alright, but I just can't find him."

Jade nodded, turning to the tent.

"Well, it's best if we talk in the tent. It's safer there."

Gera shrugged a bit. he didn't see how a tent could keep them safe, but, hey, it could be different in this world. He followed her into the tent, looking around. It was just like a small house! Jade poke to him, bringing him out of his shock.

"Please, sit, Gera."

He looked over to an arm chair. Again, he shrugged and sat down, leaning back. He sighed as he began to relax. Jade poured some tea, one for herself, Tarzan, and Gera, then handed him a cup.

"Here."

Gera thanked here and took the cup, trying to be polite. He was about to drink it, then stopped, eyeing the tea cautiously. Jade had a worried look on her face.

"Is... something wrong?"

"Ah."

He turned to her awkwardly.

"S-sorry... it's just I have a bad experience with tea given to me by people I just met."

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. Never mind."

He turned to Tarzan and saw him drinking the tea. He at least knew it wasn't awful now, so he took a quiet sip. It was actually quite good, and had a hint of honey in it.

"Mm. This is very good."

"Thank you."

Jade sat down in another chair which was in front of him. She began to sip at her own tea. After about five minutes, she spoke.

"Ummm... so who are the friends you are searching for?"

Gera closed his eyes. He felt completely relaxed now, which he hadn't felt like in a while.

"I'm searching for three of my friends who... well..."

He looked away, remembering Destiny Islands.

"Our home was destroyed, and we were separated. I've heard that one of my friends, Sora, is alright. Now I just need to find him and hopefully find the other two..."

Tarzan looked up from his tea.

"Sora? Tarzan and Jade seen Sora."

Gera started, turning to him with shock on his face. He wasn't expecting finding a clue so soon on his friends! Right where he had his hopes highest, Tarzan spoke again.

"Sora left, not long ago. Said he was looking for friends, too."

He sighed, taking a sip of tea.

"Then... I just missed him..."

Jade nodded, bringing the cup to her mouth.

"They... we had another man here, Claton... they said something about his heart was gone. He even had a giant lizard with him, which was able to turn invisible. He was after the gorillas until they stopped him. We... buried him a few hours ago..."

She told him what Sora has done in that world. Gera just smiled as he listened.

Well... at least he using that Keyblade for some good...

"And, the last thing he did was seal some sort of Keyhole that was in a tree, which was covered with butterflies."
He looked up with a confused look on his face.

"A... Keyhole?"

He remembered hearing about them before... but still had no idea what a Keyhole is...

"I can fix that."

Suddenly, everything froze, with Jade putting her cup down and Tarzan shifting around in his chair. Gera stood up, looking around.

"Voice... did... did you do this?"

"That I did. It's about time you learn about Keyholes."

He sat back down in his chair, sighing.

"Alright... go ahead...."

The Voice then began to explain.

"A Keyhole is a door which leads to the heart of a world. The Heartless search for the Keyhole in each and every world, and, when they do, they steal the heart, and thus, the world is destroyed."
Gera looked up in shock.

"Was that how my new home was destroyed?"

"Correct..."

He sighed, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Then... what does sealing a Keyhole do?"

"It permanmently locks the door that leads to the heart of the world. Once locked, the Heartless has no way of getting to it, for all eternity."

He sighed again, this time in releaf.

At least there's a way to stop them...

"So, Sora's Keyblade can seal Keyholes... that's good."
"Not just his, all Keyblades can. Including your's. But, each one has a special ability, including locking Keyholes. Some can change their shape, some can boost your magical powers, and Sora's can change its form and increase its stats, giving him extra power. Your's, Gera...."

He had his head up, interested in this.

"Your's... can unlock and lock people's hearts."

"Eh?"

Gera blinked, totally confused about this.

"Unlock and lock people's hearts?"

The Voice was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"Your Keyblade can be used to unlock a heart to the darkness, or lock it from it."

"Wait!"

He stood up, his brain rushing and thinking.

"If I use my Keyblade to unlock my heart, that will mean I will gain enough power to defeat Talon!"

"..................... Perhaps..............."

"Perhaps? Is there a catch or something?"

He looked up at he ceiling of the tent, as if the Voice was coming from that.

"You... could say that....."

He sighed, plopping down on the chair.

"Alright, what is it?"
"......... It's true that you might gain enough power to defeat him, but... the darkness might over whelm you. So much darkness rushes into your heart at once. One of two things will happen. One, you will gain the power to control darkness itself and become as powerful as a god... while the other outcome..."
The Voice paused.

"You might turn into a Heartless, your heart completely gone, from it bursting from the pressure of it, and live in Oblivion forever..."

Gera closed his eyes... thinking. If he did use the Keyblade on his heart, he might become powerful... or his heart might be sent to limbo...

"Well, that other outcome sucks."

The Voice chuckled, letting Gera continue.

"I guess... I'll use the Keyblade on myself only when I don't have any other choice, as a last result."

The Voice was silent for a moment.

"I agree. I, personally, don't think that your heart is ready, after all that just happened recently."

Gera nodded, drinking the last of his tea.

"Alright... thank you for the info... so... can you unfreeze them? It's kind of hard to talk to frozen people."

The Voice gave another chuckle as Jade and Tarzan unfroze, moving as if nothing happened. Gera gave a small smirk.

Damn, I should have moved the chair from under him before he unfroze.

The Voice gave a laugh in his head, then went silent.

Outside, there was a grave, close to the exit of the camp. The soil slowly began to shift from it. Suddenly, an arm shot out from under it, the skin pale blue with some skin missing, showing muscle. It slapped down and began to pull the body up. A man with a thick chin, wearing yellow hunter clothes, rose from it, his eyes pure white. He pushed himself out of the grave, panting. He looked around and saw the tent. He gave a growl, and turned away. He held out his right hand. Bone came out of his arm and formed a pure white and yellow shot gun. He held it in his hands and began to walk out of the camp... toward the ape's home...

End of Chapter Ten...