LOST WORLDS
Chapter 3: The Etherium
Written by: Lynx and Rebmakash and hosted through the generosity of Organization VI
Rating: G (K)
Summary: After the battle against the thousand Heartless at Hollow Bastion, a whole new ring of worlds appears for Sora, Donald and Goofy to explore.
Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the Disney movies used in this fanfic; they belong exclusively to Disney and Square. See the first chapter for full disclaimer.
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Interspace was always an odd thing. It wasn't the black sky decorated with stars that Sora had always seen from his islands. Like any scenery, it changed. He had seen it full of swirling colors, bright nebulas and swirling nexuses.
The autopilot hummed softly as Donald and Goofy slept. It had been a long trip, anyway.
This new path seemed different to Sora. It was common for scenery to change, but this was by far the most beautiful he had ever seen. This Interspace varied, and the brightness of stars; worlds, rather, nearby determined the colors. Some areas seemed as blue as day, spattered with glistening stars and what looked like fluffy purple clouds swirling through an imitation of normal atmosphere. Others were as dark as night, lit by a passing form that looked like a comet.
"But shooting stars are walls being broken down," Sora thought aloud quietly, "right?" And he wondered if that chunk of ice held a gummi piece inside. "But we haven't even reached a world yet... How far out are the walls?" He shrugged, and wondered if Xehanort had written about it.
"Why aren't you gettin' some sleep?" came a voice from his pocket.
Sora recognized the voice. "Oh, I can't sleep. Why aren't you, Jiminy? For once you have a quiet place to sleep,"
"Just because you're not moving around doesn't mean I can sleep either," he replied.
"Why not?" Sora laid back as Jiminy stepped onto his knee.
"Well, somehow I can't find my journal!" The little cricket fretted, removing his tiny top hat.
"What? Really?"
"I can't find it anywhere. I wish I knew where it could have gone to."
Sora stretched out, sticking his hand in is pocket. "...Hey, I think I found something!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, what about..." He glanced at the tiny item between his fingertips. "Oh...your umbrella."
Jiminy sighed, shaking his head. "Well, I appreciate you looking. I guess in the meantime I'll use my empty journal."
"Oh, sure. That makes sense—"
The Keyblade master was cut short when the whole ship reeled from a massive blow.
Donald let forth a loud quack. "What's the big idea?!"
"Gawrsh, did we crash?" Goofy shouted, jolted awake.
"We're under attack!" Sora grabbed hold of the controls as sirens blared in the cockpit.
Two tiny voices came over the speakers. "Sora, this place is dangerous!" said Chip.
Dale added in, "Check the radar, Nobodies have found us!"
A single glance told Sora just how many.
"Goofy, help me with the cannons! Sora, get us outta here!" Donald commanded.
"But—"
"We can't fight this many, we gotta get away!"
The magician was right. Enemy fire was heavy, and the ship was becoming harder and harder to control as their Aero gummis were eaten away. With every jolt of the ship the controls became stiffer in Sora's hands.
"...You got it! Hold on guys, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Sora exclaimed.
The nebula ahead looked able to provide some refuge, though the area was full of scattered debris from something Sora couldn't identify. Its golden clouds could become a haven.
That is, if they reached it. Despite the engines being at full, an odd pull from behind kept them from reaching maximum speed. Indeed, like strings of cotton, parts of the nebula were drawn backward.
Sora was almost thrown out of his seat at a direct hit, his face temporarily plastered on the window.
"We lost the third vernier and the booster!" Chip exclaimed. "Your speed's dropped by--"
"A lot!" Sora interrupted as the ships began to bear down on them. "Why are we being pulled backwards?!" Phoenix and Bomber Nobodies skimmed by, peppering them with lasers.
"Where did they all come from?!" Donald yelled.
Goofy asked a better question. "Better yet, where do we go?! Whatever's pulling us is through the nebula behind us!"
However, bright light shone through that nebula with intensity, and the thrusters pulled them forward with a massive lurch. A second later a shockwave rattled the cockpit. Whatever was drawing them back had released its pull. Clutching the controls for dear life, Sora pushed them forward with all his strength to maximize what speed they had.
Sirens blared through the cockpit, emergency lighting bathing them all in crimson. A formation turned towards them, and Sora braced himself. "...Not yet!"
Sora was deafened by a massive explosion.
...Yet the ship didn't move at all.
Opening his eyes, he discovered the Nobody ships had been utterly destroyed; bits of gummi pieces sparkling in Interspace. "Woah..."
Another swarm of Speeders swung around, but what could only be best described to Sora as a Graviga cannon blast literally wiped them away. After a brief hesitation, the other ships surrounding them broke formation, vanishing into darkness.
And emerging from the nebula behind them sailed a beautiful ship quite unlike the Heartless ship he had seen before on the way to the Olympus Coliseum.
Its sails rippled with light.
------
People appeared on the deck, and Sora marveled at how they could possibly breathe in Interspace. He pressed his face against the glass as he looked on, confused.
"I'm bringing her closer. Obviously we don't have anything to fear from these guys," Donald quacked.
"Okay..." Sora said, barely paying attention. "...A sailing ship? In the middle of Interspace? How?"
They pulled up alongside the deck, and some being that appeared to be the captain looked at them curiously amongst a crowd of other odd and uniquely different people.
"How can they breathe?" Sora asked aloud.
It was Chip who answered over the intercom. "Maybe it's the nebulas there, but there's certainly breathable air. Sensors say there's oxygen."
"But it looks just like Interspace!" Donald returned.
"I think it is Interspace." Goofy scratched his head. "Just a different kind, I guess..."
"Then let's get some fresh air!" With irrepressible enthusiasm Sora punched a few buttons and the cockpit began to depressurize and open.
"Sora! Just because there's oxygen doesn't mean there aren't poisonous gasses!" Donald leapt onto Sora, grabbing him by the collar.
Stumbling to keep his balance, he shrugged, taking in a deep breath. "...They said it was breathable." Pausing a moment, Donald let go and dropped to his feet, mumbling something incomprehensible.
Smiling, the Keyblade master turned again to the people on the deck. "Ahoy!"
There were several replies, one of which, to Sora's surprise and amusement, seemed composed of rather rude noises.
"You there! Come aboard!"
"Aye-aye!" Sora saluted the captain, jumping onto the deck, immediately followed by Goofy and a rather feather-ruffled Donald.
"Well, first a brush with the star Pelusa, and now rescuing a peculiar band of spacers from those marauding reprobates." The slim captain held herself with a formal dignity, emphasized all the better by her prim feline features. "I'm Captain Amelia, and this is the RLS Legacy, host to a large parcel of escapades, but we can save that banter for after the trip to the galley tomorrow morning."
"I'm Sora, uh...Pilot of the Highwind. And these are my friends, Donald and Goofy."
"Nice ta meet'cha Captain Amelia, we—"
The captain cut Goofy off. "As delightful as it is to meet you, we need to get back underway. You are permitted to dock via the hold hatches below. There should be room enough for your little ship there."
Before Sora could make any retort in response to that, Amelia continued, "Excellent, Mr. Silver, the lifelines were in good hands, thanks to your cabin boy."
Following her eyeline, Sora saw what appeared to be a fatherly-looking cyborg and a young man his age, chuckling and pushing each other jokingly. He blinked. It had been a little while since he had been back to Twilight Town with all the problems Hollow Bastion was having, and seeing someone his age was a relief, if nothing else.
"Now that all that tumult is finally settled," Amelia began, "all hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?"
The silence that ensued tied Sora's stomach in knot. Something was not right.
"Mr. Arrow?"
The crowd cleared the way for a man that looked more like a spider or a crab than any man Sora was used to. Sora looked down at Donald, and he could tell his feathers were standing on end.
Bowing his head a moment so that white ropes of greasy hair hung in his face, he said, "I'm sad to report Mr. Arrow has been lost. His lifeline was not secured."
All eyes fell to the cabin boy.
"No, I checked them all!" His eyes widening, he ran down to the main deck where the lifeline ropes had been carefully knotted on every peg.
Save one.
"I—I did. I checked all of them!" he said in disbelief. "They were secure..." The youth turned back, his eyes pleading for affirmation. "I swear."
The captain looked very disappointed in him, a look that Sora remembered from his own mother. She held her dignity without a hint of crying, yet Sora knew from the look in her eyes, somewhere her heart ached terribly. A moment of silence ensued. Though he had never met the officer, he felt the emotion of the silence. "Mr. Arrow was a..." The catlike woman cleared her throat. "Fine spacer. Finer than most of us could ever hope to be. But he knew the risks. We all do." She turned to go up the stairs. "Resume your posts. We carry on."
Bowing their heads, Goofy, Donald and Sora turned back to their ship.
"You three."
"Us, ma'am?" Goofy looked back at Amelia.
"...Dock your ship and meet me in the stateroom. If you are going to join us while you repair your ship, you have some catching up to do."
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"What did you want to see us about, Captain?" The Key-bearer could hardly keep his eyes on her. Not only did the stateroom have its various trinkets and wonders, but a canine-like man sporting glasses and a book stood behind her.
"Mr. Sora..."
"Uh, just Sora, ma'am." He rested his hands on the Keyblade, which he had used to close the hatch before Goofy pointed out there was a switch.
Amelia looked at him quizzically, before continuing. "You are free to make use of the crew quarters while you stay here. Since we are on course and I have been informed we are close to our destination, it seems you will be accompanying us for the remainder of the voyage."
"So where are we going?" Sora grinned. "I've never been on a ship full of aliens!"
The captain gave him a look only a cat could give, a look of surprise, extreme annoyance and curiosity all in one. Meanwhile, the man behind her just looked blatantly amazed.
Sora heard Donald comment to Goofy. "What does that make us to him?"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Cut the blather. There are more important matters at hand." She stepped back, motioning to the man behind her. "This is Doctor Doppler—"
"--The noted astrophysicist. Nice to meet you three." Pushing up his glasses, he extended his arm for a handshake from them each. "But as for that Keyblade..."
"Y-you know about this?"
"Of course. You don't study where all the worlds are without their legends. And I might say, that's quite a legend."
Sora paused. "Yeah..."
"What concerns me most is if any of the crew sees it or discovers what it is."
"Why?" Goofy scratched his head.
"I can't say if you noticed, since you only just now disembarked," Amelia began, "but thanks to the doctor's lapse in acumen, the crew he's chosen seems to be composed of nothing more but scalawags."
"Hey!"
"So what does that have to do with this? Do..." He looked over to a locked cabinet behind Doppler. "Oh. There's something important in there or something, isn't there?"
"If they get hold of that—"
"Oh, don't worry, Doctor. Try to take it from me." With that, Sora held out the Keyblade.
Slowly, the academic took hold of the weapon with his paw-like hands. "...And?" Still, he examined the blade with intense interest.
Of course, that interest turned to surprise quickly. The Keyblade faded into golden light before reappearing in Sora's hand. "Whoo! What just happened?"
"Sora can summon the Keyblade back with his heart," Donald piped up.
"...That'll do, but be careful." Amelia still looked cautious.
"What's so important anyway?" The court magician folded his arms. "You act like there's treasure in there or something."
"There isn't," Amelia answered, but Doppler paused notably.
"Oooooh-kay. Then what's in there? If we've gotten pulled into the middle of this, it'd be nice to know what's goin' on," Sora insisted.
"I think we outta know if there's a chance we can help out." Goofy scratched his nose.
Placing her hands behind her back, Amelia began to explain. "Our cabin boy is Jim Hawkins, a rather rebellious youth, and the boy who found the map."
"The map to what?" Again, the knight scratched his nose. "To treasure?"
"More than that. To Treasure Planet itself."
The blank look from the trio made Amelia sigh. "What kind of childhoods did you have not to hear that anecdote?"
"Oh, well...we heard it; it's just been so long ago. Could you, um, refresh our memories?" Sora had never been the best of liars, but Doppler went ahead and told them.
"A pirate by the name of Captain Nathaniel Flint was notorious for his plunders; a ruthless heart who ravaged ship after ship, and could vanish without a trace. Legend has it that he hid his treasure somewhere. Treasure Planet: the loot of a thousand worlds."
"And you have the map to it!" Donald observed.
The two nodded.
"...And we have to make sure they don't find out you have the map to Treasure Planet?"
"Yes, Sora," Doppler said. "Though chances are they already know."
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