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Riku's Report #5: Interceptors
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Riku woke with a start at the feel of a shadowy brush on his arm. He blinked, trying to wake up enough to make sense of what was happening.
Kairi hadn't moved from where Riku had placed her, her slight body looking amazingly fragile, all the more so for her lack of motion. Come on, Kairi... give me some sign you're alive...
-She is neither living nor dead.-
"What?" Riku shot to his feet, casting about himself. "What do you mean? Show yourself!"
There was a vague hiss, as of a soft sigh.
"God damn you," Riku muttered. "Why don't you ever say anything useful? So far, all you've been good for is leading me around in circles."
At a knock on the door, Riku started, then snorted irritably. "What is it?"
-The living cannot without hearts... and the dead...-
Riku opened the door. "Will you shut up? Repeat that."
Looking past Riku, and knowing Riku's solitary habits, Cecco could easily tell that he was alone. Apart, of course, from the corpse he insisted on keeping by him at all times... so who was he talking to? The seaman shuffled nervously from one foot to the other, seeing as Riku had apparently decided to become schizophrenic. "Are ya feelin' ill, sir?"
Riku looked back to Kairi, then gave a rueful half-smile. "Never been better. Now repeat what you just said."
The Irish looked much more uncomfortable than before. Cabin fever? "I... I said, are ya feelin' under th-"
Were Riku Maleficent, Cecco would have suffered a worse fate than a groan of annoyed frustration and an overdramatic gesture. "No! What you said before that, idiot!"
"Oh." He looked a little comforted, seeing things returning to their natural order, a little. "Whale pacing us, sir. Hook wants yer opin'n."
A whale? Riku let Cecco lead the way for a while before shouldering past him onto the deck.
In the sea, there are definite dimensions. Up is a vast expanse of white-flecked blue, or grey, and below is an everflowing expanse of blue-green, or grey-blue... The sea and sky were always linked together, wind and waves bound together far more tightly than either was with the earth. On the waters, there is left, and right, forward and back. Up is sky, down is a blue abyss.
But in this shadow, all direction was lost, save for those imposed with the mind. They sailed in any direction; navigation was shot, and the crew was nervous. The only guide they had in this infinite black, the only one accustomed to it, was Riku, though many a question had been stifled, wisely or no, for fear of rousing his wrath.
In the sea, one would note a whale by the telltale arc of mist, blown high into the air. One may see one by a grey shape looming, sliding back under and out of sight. One even may see one by its breaching.
In the shadow...
Riku instantly caught sight of the great cetacean pacing them. He'd seen whales before, the great creatures breaching far on the horizon, past the reef... and he'd seen dolphins, who occasionally came into the cove.
But to watch the gigantic creature undulate beside them, its flippers held out at angles to steady it, great flukes beating strongly against a nonexistent current was breathtaking. It was larger than the ship, its great head vaguely rectangular, with scars crisscrossing its immense body. Riku stared as it swam through the shadow, unafraid and alone. No shadow, no phantasmal barrier hindered its majestic passing, and it occurred to Riku that the creature did not even know the meaning of the word 'fear'.
An ocean king without a kingdom... and you are a king, aren't you? Riku asked it, silently. Your world must have been lost. Keep searching... you'll find somewhere.
As if in answer, it let out a long, low note, holding it for a while before gliding smoothly up the scale. The pirates about him had worriedly resumed their duties, and Riku moved aside as someone - Jenkins? - rushed past him, shouting something. The tension was so great it could be cut with Hook's hand - shadow-whales large enough to swallow the ship weren't commonplace. However, the whale kept swimming, oblivious to their presence. "It's no threat to us," Riku called over, giving one of the pirates that insisted on being glued, trembling, to the rail a disgusted look. "Carry on."
"In my cabin, boy," Hook's voice muttered behind him. Riku turned, but the captain was already striding away, leaving Riku no choice but to follow, with a backwards glance to the leviathan.
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"That thing's been following us," Hook started, "and I want to know why. You're the navigator, child, you tell me what that is."
"It's a whale..." Riku's voice was somewhat distracted.
Hook did not look mollified. "You think I don't know that, you malingering maggot? Of course it's a whale! But what else...?"
Riku stared evenly into the man's eyes, not flinching as Hook slashed the air with his deadly prosthetic. "Just a whale. It's not a Heartless."
"Then what," Hook demanded, "is it doing here?"
Good question. But he expected an answer, and Riku's shrug didn't seem to suffice. Once more taking up the mantle of 'apprentice', he narrowed his eyes, acting as he was expected. "Its world was lost. That's all. It doesn't really have anywhere to go." He then sighed, running a hand through his hair as he lowered his gaze. "Tell the men to keep it broadside while I'm gone."
As expected, Hook reacted with barely-contained outrage. "And I expect you'll be jumping ship while you can, then? I'll not tolerate you to perform such an act of cowardice-"
"No," Riku replied evenly. "You're worried about the whale, so I'll check it out. I'll find out why it's here."
'Nothing happens without reason. Never forget that anything that comes, comes with expectations. A chance encounter is never truly by chance, and never without meaning... but what meaning will it bring, I wonder?' Maleficent's parting words rang in his head, and Riku lifted his chin defiantly. He was beginning to suspect... "Unless of course you want it to follow us back to port."
Just what do you have planned?
He watched as the captain tilted his head up, considering. "The girl stays here," he finished. "I need some assurance you'll not jump ship."
"And my word is not enough?"
"I know better than to take the words of that witch or her lackeys at face value. The girl stays."
Riku shrugged. "I wasn't intending to bring her with me. She's safest here."Twirling his whisker with the shining hook, the captain replied, "I'll see to it she is not disturbed while you're gone."
Riku nodded, and stepped back, letting the darkness envelop him. He did not break eye contact until Hook had completely melted away, replaced by the velveteen shadow. Heh. Thanks, but I doubt that anyone would go in there even if you ordered them to, he mused to himself in silent reply to Hook's words. They're afraid of me, more than they are of you. All you can do is kill them...
He let himself trail through the darkness, not lingering on the following question - what all could Riku do?
He wasn't sure that even he wanted to know.
Once in the darkness, Riku lingered. "I know you're there," he said, his voice distorted and softened into a whispering echo by the cloak of darkness. "What were you saying about Kairi?"
The voice, though Riku could feel its owner's presence lingering about him, said nothing. He got the distinct feeling of annoyance.
'Will you shut up? Repeat that'...
Oh. Right.
"She is neither living nor dead. The living cannot what?" Riku asked aloud, looking behind him to the vast expanse of nothingness that spread in the opposite direction, as opposed to the vast expanse he was facing.
-Without a heart,- the voice finally whispered, a tendril of shadow trailing about Riku's cheek, -how can one live? But with a soul... how can one die...?-
With that, a flash of light erupted, causing Riku to give a startled cry. He could feel the shadow against him as it nudged him back out into reality, causing him to fall on hands and knees, gasping for breath. "Guess that's all you're gonna tell me," he muttered. But... without a heart?
So she IS alive! But...
Without a heart, how can one live?
The rainbow spilled out before him. It looked as if someone had taken paint and splattered it everywhere... only in odd squares.
Riku stood, warily taking in his surroundings. The air was incredibly moist, and stunk of decay - it took him a while to recover from the stench alone. The walls - were moving?
Sure enough, the walls, and very floor, of the curiously spongy chamber he was in pulsed with a very real rhythm... almost like that of a heartbeat. Every step he took had a slight squelch to it, and when he touched the wall, it was coated in a slight slime. Despite the presence of his hand, the heartbeat continued through the pulsating wall, strong and firm. Veins coursed through the membranes.
Though the light was dim, it was not pitch black, as he would have expected. Glancing up, Riku could even see the vague outlines of a ribcage - so... he must be in the belly of the great whale.
"Sorry, but I'm not here to be digested," he told the 'wall', giving it a soft thump. Glancing about him, Riku could make out the masted outlines of other ships, lying breached in great pools of stomach acid, or water... or both. "And you keep that up, you'll get indigestion, anyway."
He leapt down, keeping out of the liquid, and made his way down across a large vein and into a smaller chamber. He was still wandering when a small voice said, "Hello. Who are you?"
Startled, Riku turned around, a blade formed of shadow materializing in his hand before he relaxed... vaguely. What looked to be a walking, talking, and very much alive puppet was staring at him, head cocked vaguely to the side.
"Uh, I'm Riku. What are you?"
"I'm Pinocchio!" the marionette replied, leaping across the gap to join Riku. For his part, Riku couldn't help but stare at the puppet. Is this for real? "And I'm gonna be a real boy someday. Just wait and see!"
"...Good luck with that," Riku replied, not able to tear his eyes away from this... thing. Slowly he let his blade evaporate, after deciding that Pinocchio wasn't a threat.
"So did the whale swallow you, too?" Pinocchio asked, craning its head to look up at Riku. The boy crouched down to Pinocchio's level, squatting on one knee and peering closely at him. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Riku replied hurriedly, straightening up.
"Oh." Pinocchio shrugged, moving off to inspect something that had caught its eye. Riku narrowed his eyes in thought.
No chance encounter is ever truly by chance.Without a heart, how can one live?
She is neither living nor dead...
One by one, the pieces clicked into place. Then...
One ceased to live, and another began...
Is this the key?The moment he glanced up again, Pinocchio was gone. "Great," Riku muttered. "So it's hide and seek now?"
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Everywhere Riku went looked just the same. I can't even tell if I am going in circles... this is insane. For a moment he paused, thinking... then...
"With this, we can get out of here, Father!"
The cavernous expanse within the whale's gut provided marvelous acoustics. That was undeniably Pinocchio -
Riku followed the sound, winding up at an opening high above.
"Really? With this big block?" 'Father' asked, leaning over. He looked just like he sounded - a kindly old soul. "You think so?"
"It's true."
No... can it be...?
Apparently, it could. "So... how did you end up here, Pinocchio?" Sora, together with his new friends, pulled himself up onto the ship the puppet and his 'father' shared.He knows him?!
"Oh, my, so the whale swallowed all of you, too?" Pinocchio's 'father' asked, walking over to them. "My goodness!"
"Yeah," Sora shrugged, "Looks like it."
"My name is Geppetto," the old man told them. "I'm Pinocchio's father. When we got separated, I traveled all over looking for him..."
Pinocchio suddenly turned, catching sight of Riku. Caught by an inexplicable panic, Riku held one finger to his lips, shook his head, and ran off.
Once out of sight, he sank against a pulsing wall, leaning on it for support. Just when he thought he had the answer, something else had to come in. But why was Sora here? Of all the places for a reunion...
"Leave it to you to get trapped in here," he muttered.
"Leave it to who?"
Riku nearly jumped out of his skin. He masked it well - by whirling around and taking a defensive stance. Perfectly masked. There was no way to tell he had been startled...
Pinocchio laughed. "Hehe, did I scare you?"
"Yeah, I'm terrified." Actually, you do creep me out. "Why did you follow me?"
"I got bored."
Figures.
"Wanna play something?"
The question took Riku by surprise at first. This puppet really was like a little kid... "Uh... I guess." Before thinking he had answered. Wonderful. Well, there was no backing out once he'd agreed...
"Kay. So what do you want to play?"
"What? How would I know? You were the one who suggested it."
"Oh yeah. Um... this place is great for hide-and-seek..."
"Are you kidding? I'd never find you!" What the hell am I doing?
But what was he supposed to do, anyway? He'd been led here, to find something that made his skin crawl, be further reminded that his best friend willingly ditched him, and, for all he could see, for no real reason.
No, that wasn't right. There was a reason. But... what was he supposed to do with this.. thing?
While he was thinking, the marionette was, too. Suddenly it leapt forward, shrieked "Tag!" and dashed away.
"Hey!" Riku took chase.
They ran through great chambers, long tunnels, slick with mucus, and past half-decaying things. Something pale and tentacled caught Riku's eye for a moment, but Pinocchio kept running.
Pinocchio turned a corner, and suddenly Riku stopped, seeing Pinocchio's reaction.
"What are you doing?" Sora demanded, stepping into view.
"You know, Geppetto's awrfully worried about you," the dog-thing added.
Pinocchio edged closer to Riku, grinning.
"Pinocchio, stop fooling around," Sora told him, sounding annoyed. "This is no time for games."
The marionette still didn't budge, and to Riku's amazement, the trio turned around to leave.
Oh, no you don't.
"But Sora, I thought you liked games," Riku called, moving into view. Sora whirled as Riku continued, placing his hands on his hips. "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the keyblade?"
"Riku?" Sora took a step forward. "Wh- what are you doing here?"
Good question. "Just playing with Pinocchio."
"You know what I mean," Sora told him, stamping his foot with a 'mush'. "What about Kairi? Did you find her?"
What, it's my job to find her? While you have all the fun, I get all the work... how typical. Bet you'll take the credit, too. "Maybe," Riku replied, then suddenly grinned. "Catch us, and maybe I'll tell you what I know!"
Sora slashed at the air, lowering his stance. "Come on!"
In reply, Riku crouched, taking hold of Pinocchio's wrist, and dashed away. He released the puppet's hand a moment later, in order to run, and Pinocchio darted off in the opposite direction.
"Split up! Can't chase us both!" the puppet called as he vanished into the distance.
Riku was about to follow him when a familiar voice lilted, "Why do you still care about that boy?"
I knew it. So you WERE behind this!
Maleficent glided forward, darkly elegant even in the clashing kaleidoscope of the whale's gut. "He has all but deserted you for the keyblade and his new companions, after all."
"I don't care about him," Riku replied, turning to face Maleficent. "I was just messing with him a little."
Evidently, Maleficent believed Riku about as much as Riku believed himself. "Oh really?" she inquired, sounding none too convinced. "Of course you were." She started towards Riku, gliding smoothly past him as she continued. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The heartless prey upon it."
"Mind your own business!" Riku snapped as Maleficent stepped into a forming portal and vanished. For a moment further he seethed inwardly, then took off to find Pinocchio. Odds were, where he found that puppet, he'd find Sora...
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Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, it wouldn't have Pinocchio in it.
Due to the length, I'm breaking it here. I need to update, this is what I have. More is on the way, and hey - I even have a nice little rant planned out for Monstro, Part II. Sadly, I can't do both at once, which is why Monstro, true to form, gets two chapters, primarily because it's so large.
And yes, Myowln, the chapters are named after Coliseum Seeds. I'm seriously impressed you got that.
Normally, this is where I would rant endlessly about something or other, and yes, I intend to. But while it would normally be about Peter Pan, and trust me, I who grew up on Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, hated the Disney version, and while it would normally be on things maritime, which was ingrained so deeply into my being at a young age that I cannot help but look upon it fondly... I'll have to save it for later, again. Already that rant was postponed once before, and I figure I can either postpone it, or combine it with this one. For yes, while I hated Disney's Peter Pan...
...I also hated Pinocchio.
The first part of the movie was okay. How on earth Geppetto thought any schoolteacher would willingly let a possessed marionette into his/her classroom is beyond me, but in any case, the daft old man sends out a clueless, and I mean clueless construct into the world. He's never been outside before, mind you, and you think he'll find the school? I'm amazed he got as far as he did. Oh sure, a little bug tells you to go somewhere, but hey, crickets talk to me all the time and I've yet to make any sense of them, let alone heed them. (They also make a mass migration into schools and office buildings in summer-fall here in the southern stretch of the US, for some inexplicable reason, but I digress.)
So Pinoch goes out, and lo and behold, is met by a singing pair of furres - um, I mean... 'bad guys'. He goes with them, they take him to the boss, Pinocchio becomes a star for a bit, and his nose becomes unhappy with its length and decides to alter it. Okay, so it was when he lied, but bah. Still strange if you ask me.
Monstro, a whale that somehow got a name somewhere along the way, decides to swallow Geppetto. I think Monstro is a sperm whale, but he looks like some bizarre mix of blue and sperm. I still hold to sperm, however, seeing that a blue is among the baleen whales, and Monstro has teeth.
This is when it really gets freaky.
So Pinocchio finds this eternal fairground, and has the time of his life - sex, drugs and alcohol (okay, two out of three isn't bad) abound. And because it makes so much sense, everyone starts turning into donkeys, even the wooden puppet.
After escaping, the fur- um... well, the half-furre leaves with Jimminy, whereupon he chances upon a dove with a note telling him of the fate of his 'father'.
Note - in the original story, Monstro was a shark. A big shark. A Terrible Shark, to be exact, and one without a name. Why it got converted to a cetacean, I don't know, but it seemed appropriate to throw that last book in, considering both Hook's Ahabian obsession with a certain flying twelve-year-old and Monstro... being Monstro.
Pinocchio and Geppetto escape in the way that DOESN'T work in the original story, and Monstro gets angry and gives chase. Pinocchio drowns - yes. Drowns. I swear to whatever's out there, be it only my imagination or some higher power, that's what happened. A possessed marionette with ears and a tail drowns.
What. The. Fuck.
Geppetto and Jimminy are oh so sad, and so are Cleo and Figaro, the fish and the cat. The Blue Fairy descends, gives a brief monologue about pure hearts and all that good stuff, and revives Pinocchio, making him a real boy.
But how do you drown a wooden figure? I mean, think about it. Wood doesn't drown. If that were the case, God help anyone who ever put a BOAT out to shore.
I know, I know... 'Kal, it's just a story. Stop using a fanfic as a personal blog and just get on with the fic already.'
But sometimes, you have to wonder.
It always made me wonder, too, just how Riku came into the picture there. I can get Sora being in Monstro, but Riku's showing up there is just a tad surreal. That is, a tad more surreal than it already was. Sure, he had a reason, or they manufactured one - Pinocch had a heart, Kairi didn't. But do you really think you can transfer the heart of one into another and think it'll be the same person? Surely Riku's not that dumb. So what was he going to use him for, research? That's Vexen's job, dear.
I mean, it's a bit contrived.
Maleficent: Your friend was eaten by a whale. Incidentally, the self same whale has also swallowed another being, a wooden puppet with a heart. Who knows...? The puppet may provide some answers to helping Kairi...
Ever since I first saw Riku in Monstro, I wanted to see that scene play out. Of course, any time Maleficent gets scripted, I reread her lines in Sleeping Beauty (not trusting to Kingdom Hearts' version of her in order to get back into character...)
Oh, didn't you know? Whenever I script in anyone, and I mean anyone, I read as much as I can, in order to keep to character. Thanks to the fact KH draws off Disney, I have quite a bit of material. And thanks to the fact that Riku's elusive, I can skip so much. Really, I'm not complaining because I get Peter Pan and Pinocchio. Really. I know it could be worse.
...actually, not really. I wouldn't mind any other of the levels in there as much as these ones. Why do I get stuck with the things that make me cringe when I think Disney? I love Lion King. Beauty and the Beast rocked, too, which is cool, because I get to play with Beast a bit. And I'm THRILLED I get Maleficent... which is probably more than a little obvious.
But do I really, really have to deal with Chucky's cousin and the kid from Hell? Peter's an annoying bastard. And Pinocchio freaks me out.