Seuss Landing
Author's Note/Disclaimer: Same as before. I figured a lighter hearted break from the action of the first couple chapters was in order. This chapter was based off of the Seuss Landing island in Islands of Adventure.
For those of you not familiar with it, the Coyote is one of three Coyotes who are the Guardians of Chaos in my fic Coming of the Foe. Red Witch is the creator of the silver coyote, the most insane character of any ficverse yet devised.
Samantha: After the incident with two dragons, dueling gods, who knows how many Heartless and let's not forget Miseria, I could use a break…
---
"Well done, well done…" Cole Turner said, clapping his hands.
"With everything we just went through, we could use more than some applause." Samantha began.
"Maybe a stiff drink…" Mr. Hyde remarked.
Samantha glared at him. "Wot…" Hyde replied.
"I could go for a cold beer right about now." Bryce remarked.
Samantha said, "For once you two agree on something."
"So where are we going next?" Bryce asked.
"On an island of children's dreams, a being of mischief crosses the line to becoming a being of evil…" Scheherazade began.
"Time to get moving, again." Bryce began.
"As long as it doesn't involve flying lizards…" Samantha began.
"Dragons." Bryce corrected.
"…dueling gods, or sorceress ladies or heights." Samantha replied.
"Just take things in baby steps." Bryce joked.
"I'm sure I've heard that somewhere." Samantha replied.
"What about Bob?" Bryce remarked.
"Who's Bob?" Samantha began, and then laughed lightly, "Oh, that Bill Murray movie."
"You know it." Bryce replied.
"I don't think that 'baby steps in the dragon's talons' or 'baby steps through the temple of dueling gods trying to kill each other' was what Bill Murray had in mind." Samantha joked, as they stepped onto the boat that they had used to find the Lost Continent, which they were just leaving.
As the boat continued through the water, Bryce kept a watch on both the horizon, and at least the corner of one eye on Mr. Hyde. The latter was currently slumbering on the back bench of the boat.
"Personally I don't trust him." Bryce began.
"He's saved your life." Samantha interjected.
"Don't be naïve, for all you know he could be planning something, and this could be an ulterior motive." Bryce replied.
"I can't believe you'd say something like this." Samantha replied.
"True, but you've heard the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Who knows how long the Jekyll side of his personality is going to hold out." Bryce replied.
"Well you're not helping it by assigning ulterior motives to his behavior." Samantha argued.
"I'm being pragmatic, Samantha." Bryce replied, "If Mr. Hyde is anything like the book version…"
"So your judging him based on what was written about him on our world. I don't know, maybe he's nothing like the novel version." Samantha replied.
"He did have a history of violence." Bryce replied.
"I'm being open minded here, Bryce. He's saved both of our lives…" Samantha replied.
"I don't know, but I'm keeping an eye on him." Bryce replied.
Little did either of them know that Hyde had overheard this entire exchange. I don't own either of these people anything. I'll simply kill Bryce and let Samantha live…But wait. I can't just kill Bryce. Samantha would never forgive me…This puzzle does have a complex solution.
---
"Phoebe, this had better be good!" Piper Halliwell snapped.
"Woo woo woo woo woo woo woo!" Klondike could be heard from somewhere upstairs.
"Piper, I think we have an innocent in trouble." Phoebe Halliwell began.
"That's just great. First I've got to deal with a gray furred, wooing menace. Second of all Paige and Ted have just disappeared…" Piper began.
"Oh no…" Phoebe said, "One of my co-workers just disappeared, vanished into thin air. I can't even get Samantha on the phone."
"Who?" Piper asked.
"Samantha Grayson, she just got hired recently by the Bay Mirror." Phoebe replied, "Just graduated from college recently. Anyway, I tried to call her cell. I can't even get her voicemail."
"Phoebe, don't you think you're overreacting, I mean not all disappearances are demon based." Piper asked.
"I don't usually get premonitions off of non-demon disappearances." Phoebe replied.
"What did you see?" Piper asked.
"I saw her being carried off by some weird creature in a torn suit with a dirty top hat." Phoebe replied.
"Get the Book of Shadows; I'll deal with Klondike and…" Piper said, "AIEEE!!! NOT THE REFRIGERATOR!!! KLONDIKE!!!!!!"
"Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!" The Siberian Husky replied, carrying a large salami in his mouth with Piper chasing him with a broom.
---
"Are you alright?" Bryce asked Samantha, she was sitting as close to the center of the boat as possible.
"I'm OK, I just don't like water all that much?" Samantha asked.
"Really? Why's that?" Bryce asked.
"I can't swim." Samantha replied.
"Don't worry about it. The water's calm and there should be a life preserver somewhere on the boat." Bryce replied, rooting around through an equipment trunk in front of the steering console, breaking out a life jacket, "Ah, speak of the devil."
He handed Samantha the life jacket, who put it on and said, "I'm sure it's not the fashion statement of the year."
"Hopefully you won't need to be floating around in the water." Bryce replied.
"So why us?" Samantha asked.
"What do you mean?" Bryce asked.
"Why did Cole pick us?" Samantha asked, "I mean a journalist fresh out of college and a soldier-for-hire…"
"Well, your guess is as good as mine." Bryce replied.
"I'd like to hear it." Samantha replied.
"Well, if we're here to uncover truth, who better than a reporter and a soldier." Bryce replied.
"What did you do in the Army, by the way?" Samantha asked.
"Infantry." Bryce replied.
"That's the foot soldier branch, right?" Samantha asked.
Bryce nodded, "Any nasty, difficult, tough tasks the Army always assigned us to take care of it. What about you? Why become a reporter, since we're swapping stories?"
"I guess I always wanted to seek the truth, to tell the story that certain people in the world didn't want to be told." Samantha replied.
"Sometimes stories shouldn't be told." Bryce replied.
"You sound like some of those corrupt politicians…" Samantha replied.
"Sometimes things have to remain secrets, like clandestine operations." Bryce replied, "But there are stories that should be told. Honestly who cares about what celebrities do what, when men and women are risking their lives out there and get only a little blurb or two on CNN…"
"But there are some things that the public should know about." Samantha replied, "I mean, take the CIA. There seemed to be a lot of issues in the Agency before 9/11…"
"That was because the politicians in DC crippled the CIA, and then they blamed it for everything." Bryce replied.
"See, there's my point. If the press…" Samantha began.
"If the press would dig their heads out of their asses and quit focusing so much on juicy scandals, and more on important issues…" Bryce began.
"Not all reporters have our 'heads in our asses' Bryce." Samantha began.
"I wasn't talking about you, personally, I was talking about some of the others in the business." Bryce replied, "Its more TV news that I was referring to than anything else."
"Try not to generalize about people next time." Samantha began, sounding somewhat hurt.
"Hey," Bryce began, "I'm sorry. It's just that I've had some issues with some elements of the press."
"I can tell." Samantha said.
"Look, I can tell you really care about your profession, and to make sure the truth is known at any price." Bryce replied, and smiled at her, "Don't lose that for some promotion or for some choice assignment…"
Samantha couldn't help but smile back, "I won't…"
Hyde watched the whole exchange, feeling jealousy build up inside him. Cruel logic began to tell. What do you think a woman like her would see in a man, if you can even be considered one anymore, like you? You're more beast than human…
I'll dismember Bryce. Samantha wouldn't like it. I hate him. I hate him…Hyde thought.
---
Tucker Robertson took one look at Falcon and said, "You're not reassuring me. You're telling me you lost a team without a trace? And still have no idea how they disappeared."
"That's correct. We're scratching our heads over that disappearance right now." Falcon replied, "I assure you, my best sources are working on it."
"So you're saying whatever took your team is probably what took Bryce?" Tucker asked.
"Exactly. So unfortunately we are going to have to wait for that solution…" Falcon replied.
Tucker looked somewhat annoyed, but knowing the G.I. Joe team's reputation for getting things done, despite rather unorthodox methods.
The way things were developing here in Mexico, it seemed like unorthodox methods were needed. Half and full Heartless were becoming more and more common in remote areas all the time. Patrols were running across increasingly better armed Cartel members and even COBRA regulars on occasion. Just last week Major Bludd had been spotted in the area.
---
"Where's Samantha?" Tyler McManaway asked, as Amanda and Lauren showed up in the rental car.
"I don't know." Amanda said.
Lauren added, "We thought she'd pick us up at the airport, but she never showed. We tried her apartment, and we didn't find her. And then we tried her cell, we couldn't even get that…"
"You know Samantha, if she's got a story she can get one track minded." Amanda began, "But you'd think she'd have her phone on..."
"Did you try her at work?" Tyler asked.
"We can drive over there, I think the Bay Mirror is on the way." Amanda replied.
The trio drove down towards the Bay Mirror and entered a scene of chaos…
"Please tell me I'm not seeing a silver furred coyote in a German peasant dress?" Amanda blinked.
Indeed, a large silver furred coyote was dancing around the Bay Mirror, dancing around a large fat man with gray hair and blue eyes. Several Bay Mirror employees were clustered around the main room, watching the Coyote's antics.
"Ist das nicht ein Spencer's gut…" The Coyote sang, pointing at Spencer Ricks' tremendous gut.
"Ja das nicht ein Spencer's gut…" The Coyote echoed.
"Ist das nicht ein Spencer's butt." The Coyote sang, "Ja das nicht ein Spencer's butt."
"Spencer's gut. Spencer's butt. Oh du schone, oh du schone, oh du schone Schnitzelbank!" The Coyote sang.
"Please tell me I'm seeing things?" Tyler asked, "Please tell me I'm the only one seeing a dancing, singing coyote in drag?"
"No, you're not seeing things." Lauren blinked.
"Ist das nicht ein college jock." The Coyote sang, pointing at Tyler, "Ja das nicht ein college jock."
"Ist das nicht ein lead filled sock!" The Coyote sang at Tyler, "Ja das nicht ein lead filled sock."
"College jock. Lead filled sock. Spencer's gut. Spencer's butt. Oh du schoene, oh du schoene, oh du schoene, Schnitzelbank!" The Coyote sang out and swung the lead sock, clocking Spencer Ricks upside the head and then bashing Tyler in the stomach.
"Ow…" Tyler groaned.
"Oh dear…" Lauren said, helping the quarterback to a seated position.
"Ist das nicht ein rocket chair!" The Coyote said, wheeling an office chair covered with a wide assortment of gunpowder rockets duct taped to it. "Ja das nicht ein office chair."
"Is das nicht ein open air!" The Coyote sang, pointing at the window, "Ja das nicht ein open air."
"Rocket chair. Open air. College jock. Lead filled sock. Spencer's gut. Spencer's butt. Oh du schoene, oh du schoene, oh du schoene Schnitzelbank!" The Coyote sang, hitting Spencer with the lead filled sock and then duct taping him to the rocket covered chair.
"Oh no…" Phoebe groaned as she came into the Bay Mirror. The Coyote was already causing more than his fair share of havoc in the place.
"Ist das nicht ein lighter this…" The Coyote sang, holding a lighter in his hand.
"No, that's not a lighter this!" Spencer said desperately.
"Ist das nicht ein wick shall his…" The Coyote sang lighting the fuses.
Vainly Spencer tried to blow out the fuses, "No that wick should not be lit!"
"Lighter this. Wick will hiss. Rocket Chair. Open air. College jock. Lead filled sock. Spencer's gut. Spencer's butt. Oh du schoene. Oh du schoene. Oh du schoene. Schnitzelbank!" The Coyote sang.
Spencer was sweating desperately, trying to blow out the fuse. Meanwhile Amanda saw a dark haired young woman and a swarthy fellow with close cropped black hair wearing the olive drab fatigues of the Israeli military brandishing a rifle in his hands.
The Israeli soldier aimed the rifle at the Coyote and squeezed the trigger and Amanda heard the hiss of gas released. Tranquilizer gun. Amanda thought.
The dart flew through the air and whacked Elise Rothman in the butt, and the editor of the Bay Mirror promptly telescoped to the ground, hitting the water cooler, splashing water on herself when sedated.
"Aren't you a marksman, Ted?" Paige asked.
"Paige, it isn't easy hitting a Coyote with Quicksilver's powers." The Israeli snapped back.
Quicksilver? Amanda thought. Oh one of those nutbag mutants on TV.
Ted fired off another tranquilizer round; this one went wide and embedded itself solidly in the door, narrowly missing Lauren.
"Watch it with that thing, will you!" Lauren yelped. Normally Lauren was the quiet sort, but the quick Irish temper that was part of her heritage could flare up occasionally.
"Oh du schoene! Oh du schoene! Oh du schoene! Schnitzelbank!" The Coyote continued to sing, dancing out of the way of another dart.
"Don't let it get away!" Ted shouted.
"Auf Wiedersen Bay Mirror…" The Coyote declared.
"And…I've…Got you!" Tyler shouted, and executed a near perfect football tackle. Tyler wound up tackling air and banging his head into the wall.
"Ow…" Tyler moaned.
Lauren and Amanda rushed over to Tyler's side and leaned him against the wall. Meanwhile the Coyote escaped.
"Not again…" Paige groaned.
"What the hell was that?" Amanda asked.
"That's classified, ma'am." Ted replied.
"Wait. They trust Israeli soldiers with this information but they don't trust American citizens?" Amanda asked.
"Trust me, the less you know about this whole Coyote business, or the Misfits, the better." Ted replied.
"Samantha's lucky she missed all this." Lauren said.
"What, you mean her workplace torn apart by an insane silver coyote?" Amanda asked, "Or her boyfriend giving himself another concussion before football season even started?"
"I hate coyotes…" Tyler moaned.
---
"You've got to be kidding me." Bryce remarked as they tied the boat off to a dock on the island.
"I've heard about the inner child, but this is ridiculous…" Samantha observed.
The dock was painted in cheerful pastel colors, the paint somewhat fresh. "It's vile." Hyde remarked.
The trio continued further inland, when Bryce raised a hand, indicating they should stop. "What?" Samantha asked.
In front of them was a statue, smashed and defaced. It was of an anthropomorphic black cat with a white belly, with a red bow tie and a red and white striped top hat. There was a line attached to the wrist of the statue, indicating it had been pulled down.
The pedestal of the statue was still up, cratered in places, with slanderous remarks scrawled with spray paint on it.
"What's next, the Grinch?" Bryce remarked.
"Did you have to ask?" Samantha replied, indicating a memorial, recently built, of a humanoid with green fur, a bulbous stomach, long fingers, and large, sinister black eyebrows.
"Can this day not get any stranger?" Bryce asked.
"It can, and it will, Mr. Lightfoot." DiZ said.
"You again." Bryce demanded.
"What's going on here?" Samantha replied.
"Ah, I thought you'd never ask, my dear girl." DiZ replied, "Organization XIII is indeed active here. Thanks to a certain petty sadist, and several Nobodies, the Grinch was able to take control of this island."
"It used to be that only on the blowing of a foul, odd wind would draw the Grinch from his lair and cause more than his mischief. It is called Grinch Night, and those on this island know better than to venture out. But now, it is an island of a perpetual Grinch Night…" DiZ replied.
"Grinch Night?" Bryce asked.
"I believe I can answer that question more thoroughly." A voice echoed.
The same anthropomorphic cat, whose statue the three of them had seen earlier, showed up. "Cat in the Hat," the being said, shaking hands with a bewildered looking Hyde and Bryce and giving Samantha a peck on the cheek.
DiZ vanished into thin air just then. "Great, Cryptic man chooses to disappear on us yet again." Bryce observed.
"I'm still here, a firsthand guide without peer." The Cat said.
"What exactly happened?" Samantha asked.
"The Grinch has always been unhappy with my governing of this island." The Cat replied, "He'll scheme, and cause trouble, but we always gain the upper hand."
"But he found some new friends, I see." Bryce replied.
"Yes." The Cat replied, "Since he fell in with Organzation XIII, his advantage has become considerably keen."
"Not to mention he's always been mean." Samantha replied.
Bryce looked at her with a furrowed brow. "What?" Samantha replied.
"If I can swallow dueling gods, fire and ice belching dragons, and a white Sinbad I can definitely swallow the Cat in the Hat alive and in the flesh." Bryce replied.
"And now the Grinch is hunting me down." The Cat replied, "With strange gray contortionists and his own horrific monsters he terrorizes the Whos of the town."
"So how do we stop the Grinch?" Samantha asked
"We're not here to stop the Grinch, Samantha. Remember Cole said we're here to get those Ansem reports. Somebody else is going to have to do something about this Grinch character." Bryce replied.
"We can't just let them be ground down by the Grinch. And besides you know how to fight. Maybe you could train the Whos to fight the Grinch…" Samantha replied.
"An unsupported and unarmed populace against a foe like we've seen? That's ticket to a massacre." Bryce replied.
"We have to do something." Samantha asked.
"We have to carry out our task, get back to our world, and…" Bryce began.
"I can't just turn around and let the Grinch keep terrorizing the Whos. Please, help them?" Samantha began.
"What can we do?" Bryce asked.
"They say that a boy Who, with sight lacking is key to send the Grinch packing." The Cat replied.
"Then we've got to find the whelp." Hyde replied.
"Let me go get a lay of the land." Bryce replied.
"We have a guide." Samantha replied, indicating the Cat.
"I know, but somebody has to go check on enemy positions." Bryce replied, "See the exact disposition of their forces, draw out a route to the town…"
"Why do that?" Samantha replied.
"So we don't blunder into enemy forces…and to make sure I keep the destruction to a minimum." Bryce replied.
"Be careful." Samantha replied.
"Relax, they'll never even know I'm there." Bryce replied.
"Are you sure?" Samantha asked.
"Hey, I'm half Arapaho, Indians are naturally stealthy." Bryce replied, with an ironic grin, disappearing into the brush.
---
"Find that pesky child and that Cat, they are the only ones who holds the key to defeating me." The Grinch commanded of half a dozen Shadow Heartless.
"Be careful not to rely too heavily on the Heartless…" Larxene began, "The Heartless consume the careless."
"Yes, I've heard the lecture." The Grinch replied peevishly.
"Then you know that a nosy reporter, a beast, and a CIA paramilitary on this island." Larxene replied.
"Pagh, I can handle them." The Grinch replied.
---
Eukariah Who ran, chasing him was a greenish creature, standing seven feet tall, with a short squat head and body, with long limbs. Its eyes were simply empty sockets and it chased after the bespectacled eight year old with long strides.
"Look out!" came a shout. Eukariah looked up in time to see a swarthy man with a mop of black hair and a rifle in his hands.
Bryce took aim and fired at the creature, hitting it with several rounds from his AK, causing greenish blood to splatter.
Just then several Nobodies appeared, coming out of the wounds that Bryce had inflicted on the creature. "Oh shit…" Bryce groaned.
"Mister, please don't swear." Eukariah said, "It isn't proper, don't you care?"
"Kid, this is serious! RUN!" Bryce shouted, shooting at the Nobodies till his AK ran dry. He reloaded as he ran, lifting Eukariah under his left arm as he ran through the woods.
Two more of the greenish creatures loomed before them. Bryce gunned one of them down and promptly seven Dusks came out of the seven wounds Bryce's gunfire had inflicted on the monster.
"Damn it!" Bryce grunted.
"Mister, it isn't right to swear!"
"Kid! Spare me!" Bryce shouted as he tossed a hand grenade behind him, blowing up a couple of pursuing Nobodies.
---
"Are you alright?" The Cat asked Samantha.
"It's just I'm worried about some things in my world." Samantha replied, "Right now my roommates and my boyfriend probably just arrived in San Francisco and I'm not there to see them…I haven't seen any of them in months. I know it sounds kinda silly. I mean we've got the Organization to worry about and…"
"Affairs of the heart are never silly. If you don't address them your life goes willy-nilly." The Cat replied.
"They're probably worried why they haven't found me right now." Samantha replied, "Especially Tyler…"
"Ah, your boyfriend?" The Cat replied.
"Yeah." Samantha replied, "I'm setting up the lease in San Francisco, while he finishes his senior year at North Western and…"
Just then they heard the sound of gunfire and an explosion. Sometime later Bryce came storming out of the woods. "Run!" Bryce shouted.
"What happened to 'They'll never know I'm there'?" Samantha asked.
"Change of plans! I found the kid, but half the Grinch's army is right behind me!" Bryce shouted, nearly out of breath, with Eukariah half dragged behind him.
"Some Indian you are." Hyde observed.
"Racist!" Bryce shouted, still legging it as several Nobodies and tall green monsters came after them.
"You might not want to shoot the green ones, Mr. Bryce. Wounding those creatures causes Nobodies to emerge from their wounds, sage advice." The Cat began.
"You might have told me this sooner!" Bryce shouted as the group ran until the Cat was able to find them someplace to hide.
---
"Are you sure they're not going to find us down here?" Bryce replied.
"Yes, I'm sure." The Cat replied, "There are plenty of places to hide here in the sewer."
"Ugh…" Samantha replied.
"We've got to deal with those green monsters if we hope to try and stop the Grinch." Bryce replied before accidentally bumping his head on a pipe.
"Eureka! I've got an idea." Bryce said, and turned to the Cat, "Do you have any whiskey?"
"Bryce, this is hardly a time to be looking for a drink." Samantha replied.
"I could go for some fire water right now." Hyde replied.
"No, I'm not going to drink it." Bryce replied, "I'm going to burn our pursuers with a Molotov cocktail. If any of those bastards decide to breed Nobodies, they'll come out cloaked in fire."
"Bryce," Samantha began, "First of all, brilliant idea, second of all, watch your language, there's a kid here."
"I told him to watch his tongue around my young ears…" Eukariah replied.
"Oh for crying out loud." Bryce grumbled.
"No, I don't have any alcohol in bottle or tankard," The Cat replied, "I'm a kid friendly animal, not some backwoods drunkard."
"Are you sure it's going to work?" Samantha asked.
"It's about the only idea I have." Bryce replied, "I hope to God it does."
"Thanks for saving me, mister." Eukariah said.
"Don't mention it, kid." Bryce replied.
"Eukariah, you're the one who can defeat the Grinch." The Cat in the Hat began.
"Spring it on the kid suddenly, why don't you." Samantha replied.
"Look, we don't have that much time." Bryce replied.
"Bryce, that has to be a lot for one kid to swallow." Samantha replied.
"We don't 'ave time to argue this." Hyde added, "Either the kid 'elps defeat this Grinch, or we go collect that Ansem Report and get the 'ell off this island and let the Whos deal with this wanker on their own…"
Eukariah had never been more terrified in his life. I'm the one who can beat the Grinch? Why me? I'm only ten years old…
The three adults were arguing about something in the corner. I can't do this. I can't… Eukariah thought, and ran out of the tunnel.
"I hate to break up your parliament. But Eukariah has gone missing…Later you three can vent." The Cat said.
Bryce unslung his AK and was about to venture into the tunnels to search for Eukariah. "Bryce, no, you don't want to do it." Samantha replied.
"I guess a Redman with a gun is the last person the kid needs to see." Bryce replied.
"Please, let me take care of it." Samantha replied.
"We'll follow behind." Bryce began, "I'm not about to split us up down here, and let you get hurt, or worse…"
"OK, but if we find him, let me handle him." Samantha replied. Bryce nodded.
---
Eukariah sat with his knees drawn to his chest, his face in his hands. He was entirely ashamed for crying. He was ten years old, boys didn't cry. Only little girls did.
"Hey, can I sit down?" a female voice said. It was the woman from those three strange people with the Cat.
"Sure." Eukariah said, sniffling.
Samantha took a seat beside Eukariah, "Are you OK?"
"No…" Eukariah said in a small voice. Samantha gently wiped a tear from his cheek, "I'm scared…"
Eukariah inwardly tensed, expecting a 'don't be a baby' lecture. It never arrived, Samantha simply turned towards him and said, "So am I, I mean this guy chants something in Latin and the next thing I know I'm in some world I don't really understand…"
She regarded him with those eyes of hers. They were intelligent and sharp eyes, yet also gentle and warm and dark brown, like the best chocolate. She smiled and said, "So we're both scared."
She's so nice, and she's so pretty. No wonder Bryce likes her…Eukariah thought. He was more than a little afraid of Mr. Hyde, such a brutally muscled and powerful man who looked like he could bend Eukariah's spine with his pinkies. Bryce was OK, but still intimidated him a bit, he was a bit gruff at times but he wasn't too bad.
"But you've got Bryce, and even Hyde to help." Eukariah replied.
"Yeah, but I still am scared. Especially of…" Samantha began.
"Thank you for making this so easy for me." Larxene replied, "I've found the whelp…"
"Eukariah run!" Samantha shouted, practically shoving him out of the alcove.
Bryce and Hyde suddenly burst into the room in a cone of bright light. Bryce had his small, very bright, tactical flashlight in his left hand and his Glock 17 in the other. He fired several rounds at Larxene.
"Your weapons don't harm me, human." Larxene said, snidely, "Now if you wish to see your lovely friend again, you will bring Eukariah to us…"
Larxene made a gesture, "Oh what the hell, I'll kill you two anyway and have my minions take the child."
Larxene disappeared with Samantha and several Nobodies came into the room. Bryce fired three rounds into the first of them, downing it with his Glock 17. Hyde grabbed one of them and smashed its head through the nearest brick wall.
"ARRAAGGGHHH!!!!!!" Hyde roared angrily and literally disarmed another Dusk, using the severed limb as a club as Bryce gunned down Hyde's original victim with several 9mm rounds. Bryce kept moving, switching out magazines and shooting steadily. Between Hyde's ferocity and Bryce's marksmanship the two men found themselves standing in a room full of dead Nobodies.
"Now what?" Hyde asked.
"We go find the Grinch, find Samantha and get the hell out of here." Bryce replied.
---
"Ah, nothing is more beautiful than a young woman in love." Larxene said, fingering a lock of Samantha's hair.
Samantha didn't say anything, she couldn't force that hand away, tied tightly to the chair that she was. Her wrists were tied tightly behind her back, her elbows forced close together, tied with a length of rope. More rope pinned her arms to her side, wound under and over her breasts, pinning her to the back of the chair. Another length bound her waist to the back of the chair, and more rope bound her ankles, above and below her knees, and higher up on her thighs. She couldn't move an inch.
"I know all about you, Samantha Grayson…" Larxene said, "And don't ask how. I have my sources."
Larxene made a knife appear between two fingers, and Samantha saw the reflection of her face in the polished surface of the blade, saw the fear in her own eyes. Larxene held the blade on Samantha's throat.
"Oh dear, if Bryce and Hyde don't bring the child to me…I'm afraid I may have to ruin this lovely white blouse of yours with the stain of blood." Larxene said.
Bryce please think of something, fast…Samantha thought.
"But enough of threatening, let's talk about you some more." Larxene continued, "You, Samantha Julia Grayson, have always wanted to be a journalist your whole life. You got into Northwestern University to study journalism. And it was there where you met the love of your life, Tyler McManaway your sophomore year. He was a freshman quarterback, and he asked you out, you said yes and you've been happily together for three years…In fact you set up that nice apartment in San Francisco for both of you to live in when he graduates later this year."
Larxene paused and then continued with a predatory smile, "And I can't blame you. He's young, athletic and handsome, a perfect all-American man for you. He's every college girl's dream guy, and women on campus think so much of him…I really can't blame him for taking advantage."
"That's not true!" Samantha snapped back.
Larxene's snidely replied, "Think about it. You've graduated, you're hundreds of miles away in San Francisco. A man can get lonely, and with all those gorgeous girls throwing themselves at him…"
"Tyler loves me!" Samantha replied.
"Are you sure..." Larxene said as she left the room leaving it slightly ajar.
The room was dark and cold and hardly even the size of a closet. She saw the Grinch and a medium sized brown dog with rumpled fur.
"Max you stupid mutt!" The Grinch bellowed, "Can't you do anything right."
The dog whined as the Grinch gave it a devastating kick. "Where do think you're going, I'm not through with you yet."
"You wish you were somewhere else, don't you? You wish you were at your Auntie's being fed with a silver spoon, with pats on the head and affection to go around…" The Grinch said, and belly laughed loudly, "Well too bad…"
The dog looked absolutely miserable. When I was a little girl, I felt so sorry for Max. I always wondered why he stayed with that mean old Grinch. Samantha thought.
The big eyed dog headed over towards the closet door when the Grinch left. He nosed his way in and Samantha winced at how much the minimal artificial light in the hall hurt her eyes after being cooped up in that dark room for so long.
Samantha saw an opportunity then. She started whistling a little. The dog looked at her at first, afraid to draw near, but eventually something gave and it approached her. The dog circled her at first and started to sniff her. Samantha waved her tied hands as much as she could and began to pat the animal.
"Can you untie me boy?" Samantha whispered as she pat and scratched Max behind the ears. The dog made a couple contented sounds, licking her hands.
The dog whined. Max really didn't want the Grinch to kick or berate him, but knowing his master, the Grinch would find something to yell at him for anyway.
Max tugged at the knots binding Samantha's wrists until the rope slid away. Samantha rubbed her sore wrists and began the long, laborious process of untying herself.
---
Bryce pushed the manhole cover into the Grinch's lair aside, his Glock out as he climbed up the ladder, presenting a very small target profile. He scanned the room before climbing out, waiting for Hyde, Eukariah and the Cat in the Hat to climb inside.
Bryce tucked the Glock back into its holster and raised his AK up, he aimed the formidable Russian assault rifle around before gesturing for the group to move forward through the Grinch's lair.
Bryce said, "I'll draw them away and try and find Samantha…"
"Bollocks, mate, I'm going to look for her too." Hyde replied.
"Someone needs to keep Eukariah and the Cat safe." Bryce replied.
"In that case we'll go after the Grinch, and find Samantha later." Hyde replied.
As they made their way through the halls, facing surprisingly light opposition. Most of the Grinch's forces were terrorizing the Whos elsewhere on the Island. Throughout all this, Bryce was waiting for a surprise of some kind, a surprise of the unpleasant variety.
Bryce kicked down a door, a large pair of double doors, the ones that were definitely the Grinch's antechamber.
As Bryce entered the room, scanning with his rifle's muzzle he heard the sound of laughter. Standing on a dais was the Grinch himself.
"Ah you've brought me the child." The Grinch said, "This should be a simple fight."
"You're taking the kid over my dead body." Bryce replied.
"And mine…" Hyde added.
"That will be a simple matter." The Grinch said and clapped his hands.
Several Heartless, Nobodies, and monstrosities of the Grinch's creation flooded into the room. Bryce immediately started shooting, short controlled bursts from the AK followed by accurate and rapid shots from the Glock, shooting a thread of fire at the attacking bad guys.
"RRRAAARRRRRGGHHH!!!" Hyde let out a loud, vicious roar, grabbing a Neoshadow by the ankles and smashing it head first against a stone wall, spilling thick black blood and gray brain matter. He used the corpse as a club, whacking down a trio of Shadow Heartless.
A Soldier Heartless leapt onto the Cat in the Hat and Bryce promptly gunned it down with a trio of 9mm rounds from his Glock 17.
Eukariah ducked as a Bandit Heartless swung its scimitar at him. Bryce spun around and fired a short burst from his AK-47, killing the creature immediately. Eukariah crawled, ducked, and moved around the battle.
He didn't know what it was, but some unknown force was leading him straight to the Grinch. He had to stop this. Mr. Hyde and Bryce were probably going to die if he didn't. And Miss Samantha would be a captive of that loathsome Grinch and the sociopath blonde lady.
He couldn't let that happen, he was going to stop that Grinch if it killed him. That much he knew.
Bryce reached for his Glock again when a trio of Neoshadows leapt onto him, intent on taking his heart. One of them promptly was dropkicked in the head by Mr. Hyde. Hyde grabbed the second Neoshadow and threw it into the crowd of attackers and literally disarmed the third, pulling the Neoshadow's arms out of their sockets with a savage roar.
"Grinch! I'm not afraid of you!" Eukariah shouted.
"Oh," The Grinch said, "You are a most foolish boy…I will make you quake in fear!!!"
The Grinch gestured and several obscene spirits and monstrous beasts appeared surrounding Eukariah.
"I'm not afraid…" Eukariah said.
"You will be!!!" The Grinch said, "You will be!!!"
Several Nobodies were throwing Eukariah back and forth between them with long arms. They tossed him about like some human beach ball. Several of them opened their large, zipper like maws, hoping to swallow the child.
Meanwhile Samantha heard the sound of fighting. With Max in tow she practically ran down the stairs and saw all hell break loose. Hyde was holding two Nobodies by their necks, but being swarmed by several more. Bryce was fighting hand to hand with another, hitting it with the stock of his AK before he was tackled by another three Dusks.
Larxene saw Samantha at the same time Samantha saw the Organization XIII member. "YOU!" Larxene said obscenely and lobbed a knife towards Samantha's heart.
Max saw the blade flipping end over end through the air. He couldn't let the blade hurt such a kind and caring woman. He leapt into the air and the knife burrowed itself into his side.
"YOU BITCH!" The Grinch shouted, "NOBODY HARMS MY DOG AND LIVES!"
The Grinch gestured with his hands and his minions began attacking the Heartless and Nobodies as he hurled himself bodily at the Organization XIII sociopath. The Nobodies surrounding Eukariah were drawn into the battle and Samantha ran towards him, taking his hand and running. Bryce, Hyde, and the Cat in the Hat joined her flight out of the Grinch's lair.
Sometime later: "Do you think the Grinch survived?" Samantha asked.
"If he's anything like pond scum, he'll resurface." Bryce remarked.
"We didn't get the Ansem report though…" Hyde growled.
"I wouldn't go that far." Samantha replied, holding up a report.
"Let's see it then…" Bryce replied.
Samantha opened the report and the group read it…
---
I have made a grave mistake.
My study of the "darkness of the heart" began with a simple psychological test and quickly snowballed.
Spurred on by my youngest apprentice Ienzo, I constructed a massive laboratory in the basement of my castle.
Unbeknownst to me, my six apprentices then began collecting a large number of subjects on which to perform dangerous experiments into the "darkness of the heart."
As soon as I found out, I called my apprentices together and ordered them not only to cease their studies, but to destroy the results of their research thus far.
What on earth was happening within the hearts of my six beloved apprentices? While pursuing the mystery of the darkness of the heart, could they themselves have strayed into its depths?
Yet I remain the most foolish of all, for having begun these experiments.
We are not meant to interfere in the depths of another's heart, no matter what our reasons for doing so…
And my error plunged me into despair.
A visitor from another world soothed my dejected soul.
A tiny king named Mickey came wielding a legendary key—the infamous "Keyblade," said to bring both chaos and prosperity to the world.
He was very knowledgeable on many topics, and we deepened our friendship as we conversed companionably.
Upon his advice, I decided to review the data obtained at my basement lab.
That is when I discovered the "Ansem Reports."
Though they bore my name, the only one I had written was number 0.
Apparently he had gone on to pen numbers 1 through 8 himself.
Yes—the first subject in my foolish experiments.
---
TBC