Chapter 13: Following the leader
The League stared across the bay, watching the swarm of gummi-ships pouring through the gap in the cliffs. They were small but heavily armed and very numerous. Squadrons of grey gummi-fighters screeched over the city; the last line of defence between Cape Suzette and the pirates.
Down on the waterfront there were cries of alarm. Panic spread quickly. The wooden jetties clattered to the sound of running feet. Some people fled into buildings, bolting the doors behind them. Others turned inland, heading for higher ground. Baloo leapt out of his hammock like a scalded cat.
"Outta my way!" he yelled, barging past the League.
"Hey, wait!" Mickey called, giving chase. The rest of the League followed close behind. They caught up with Baloo as he was about to turn off the waterfront and join the stream of people heading downtown.
"Stop! Hey, listen!" Mickey cried, grabbing Baloo's arm.
"Quit it!" snapped Baloo, rounding on the League, "What do you think you're doin'? Those pirates are gonna be here any minute!"
"Please, we need your ship," said Mickey.
"What?! You're crazy," said Baloo, turning to go, "I ain't got time for this. I've gotta find Becky and Kit…"
"And then? You can't help them, Baloo" said Mickey, earnestly, "You can't fight the pirates. You sure can't fight who's comin' with them. If you wanna save your friends you have to help us escape. The pirates are after us. If we go, they'll go."
Baloo paused, frozen by indecision. Kim turned to see what was happening above the bay. Her jaw dropped. A shower of flaming blue meteors was descending from the sky. They fell among the defending gummi-ships, striking many. Pillars of steam rose from the bay as the burning wreckage plunged into the water. The surviving defenders scattered, pursued mercilessly by the pirate ships.
"Please," Mickey said to Baloo, "we've gotta go now."
Baloo sighed.
"I'm gonna regret this…" he said as he started back towards the jetty.
"Alright!" said Kim.
"Top hole, old boy," added Basil.
They stopped. A great mass of liquid-gas darkness was rising out of the ground ahead of them. It swelled, peeling back like the petals of a chrysanthemum. Pete stood before them, leering horribly.
"You're goin' nowhere," he said, cracking his knuckles.
"Out of our way, Pete," said Mickey.
"I'm sorry short-stuff but me an' Maleficent got orders," said Pete, "Y'see there's an ol' friend who wants to see you."
Mickey's brow creased into a frown.
"An old friend…?" he murmured.
"Yeah, so you jus' sit tight and…" Pete began but Mickey was not to be distracted.
"Hercules," he said.
Pete shifted his weight, ready to square up to Hercules, but he was too slow. Hercules was inside his reach before Pete knew what was happening. His fist connected with Pete's jaw with a sharp crack. Pete crumpled to the ground.
"Come on," said Baloo, hopping over the fallen Pete. The League followed a few paces then paused. Mickey had not moved.
"Your Majesty?" said Darkwing. Mickey was standing still, staring into the sky. The League followed his gaze. Storm clouds were gathering overhead but out over the bay the sky was still a clear blue.
"Too late..." Mickey said softly. His head whipped round to face the League.
"Go. Take off. Don't wait for me. I'll catch up."
"But…" Kim began.
"Don't argue. Go!"
The force behind Mickey's voice was irresistible. The League found their feet obeying despite their great reluctance.
Mickey stood motionless, staring up at the gathering clouds. The very centre, directly above his head, was growing darker and darker by the second. There was a flash of lightning, striking the ground just in front of him. Maleficent rose up, robed in tendrils of dark smoke.
"Your Majesty," she said, inclining her head very slightly.
"Maleficent," said Mickey, returning the courtesy. His keyblade appeared in his hand in a flash of light. The orb on the tip of Maleficent's staff gave off a pulse of green light in answer.
"Your staff, please," said Mickey mechanically.
"I'm afraid I must decline."
"Very well then."
A halo of white light shone around Mickey. Maleficent raised her staff, green fire flickering from the tip.
Down on the waterfront the rest of the League had reached the Sea Duck.
"What about your friend?" Baloo asked as he wrenched open the hatch.
"He take can take care of himself," said Kim testily, "Just get this thing in the air, okay?"
The interior of the Sea Duck was divided by partitions. To the rear were stores and a bunkroom. In the middle was the cargo-hold, furnished with some chairs, and ahead there was a small cockpit. Hercules, Darkwing and Tarzan took their seats in the cargo-hold while Kim and Basil joined Baloo in the cockpit.
"This is all manner of stupid: flying into the middle of a dogfight…" Baloo muttered to himself as he activated the engines.
They heard a sudden explosion behind them. Everyone in the cockpit jumped.
"The pirates?" said Basil.
"Didn't sound like a bomb to me…" said Kim.
"Maybe getting out of here isn't such a bad idea after all…" said Baloo, taking hold of the wheel.
As the Sea Duck taxied out onto the bay, Kim looked through the window and up at the skies. The blue meteors had vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. The pirate ships had dispersed to pick off the last of the defenders or to head inland in search of plunder.
"Here we go," said Baloo, pushing down on the throttle.
The Sea Duck's engines hummed gently as she gathered speed, surf churning up against her pontoons. Baloo pushed the throttle harder. The engines snarled. The hum became a roar. Twin fountains of water sprayed out behind her. Then they were up, hovering just above the surface of the watyer. Kim clung to the armrests on her chair. She had thought that the Excalibur was fast: the Sea Duck made her look like a lumbering old tub.
"Can you see what's happening behind us?" Baloo asked her, scanning the sky above in case the pirates should notice them.
Moving with great care Kim turned and slid open the window beside her. Leaning out, she looked back towards Cape Suzette.
"What's goin' on?" asked Baloo. Kim tried to reply but the words stuck in her throat. She did not know how to describe it.
The waterfront was devastated: dozens of buildings had been reduced to charred husks. For a second she thought that the pirates had attacked it as they passed overhead. Then there was a terrific flash of light, green against white, accompanied by a terrific noise. As the light died she could see that a nearby warehouse, built of stout brick, had been all but levelled. More flashes of light followed, spikes of green and white stabbing into the air. Whole streets were reduced to ruins in a matter of seconds.
The Sea Duck was nearing the far side of the bay. The cliffs were ahead but Kim was still staring back, mesmerised by the colossal forces at work in Cape Suzette. A great green light appeared, a little to her left. It was coming from a very large fire that was consuming the nearby buildings. It grew at tremendous speed, swelling until it stood tall enough to rival the downtown skyscrapers. For a moment the fire seemed to take the shape of a dragon, green as poison, with its jaws opened wide. It looked as if it wanted to swallow Cape Suzette whole. Then there was the greatest flash of light yet: a mushroom cloud of white energy that filled the horizon. Kim clapped a hand over her eyes just in time. When she looked again she saw a great tide of dark smoke rolling across the bay towards them. Cape Suzette was completely hidden.
"Faster!" she shouted back into the cockpit, "You've got to go faster!"
Baloo pushed the throttle as far as it would go. Kim clung to the window frame, her knuckles white as the Sea Duck barrelled through the gap in the cliffs. Now they were out, flying over the open sea but the wall of smoke was still coming. The cliffs proved no barrier to it. It rolled over them without losing any speed.
"Faster! Higher!" Kim shouted.
A small orb appeared, glowing with a bright light. It flew out of the smoke. It was moving incredibly fast, straight towards the Sea Duck. There was no time to dodge or weave: it was simply too fast. There was no time to even call out a warning. Kim threw herself back into the cockpit and braced herself for the impact.
A second passed, then another. Nothing had happened. Kim glanced in both the rear-view mirrors. They were starting to gain ground on the wall of smoke. There was no sign of the glowing orb. Then she heard cries of alarm from the cargo hold. Coming through the hatch, she saw that the orb had somehow phased through the hull of the Sea Duck. It had slowed considerably, gently setting down between Darkwing and Hercules. The orb faded, leaving Mickey standing on the deck. He shook his head as if to clear it. He spotted Kim, gave a small smile, and collapsed.
"Your Majesty!" Kim cried, rushing to help.
"In my… left pocket…," he murmured as Hercules lifted him up and placed him on an empty chair.
Doing as Mickey had instructed, Kim discovered a small red phial sealed with a glass stopper. Not knowing what else to do, Kim opened it and poured the contents into Mickey's mouth. The effect was instantaneous. It was as if someone had flicked a switch inside him. Mickey sat bolt upright in his chair and fixed Kim with his familiar, intense stare.
"Thanks!" he said.
"Your Majesty… what…?" Kim began.
"Your Majesty, what happened to Maleficent? Did you kill her?" Hercules asked.
"No," said Mickey, shaking his head, "but she's weakened. It should be a while before she feels strong enough to come after us again.
"Now," he said brightly, "let's see if we can't get to my castle this time, huh?"
Kim watched as Mickey crossed the cargo hold and entered the cockpit. The contents of the phial had certainly returned his strength but it felt a little like cheating. Magical strength was borrowed strength; Kim doubted it was a good substitute for real rest. She was afraid that Mickey had reached breaking point and was now determined to push himself even further.
She moved to stand in the hatchway and listen while Mickey and Baloo talked.
"So everyone's okay?" said Baloo.
"Yeah, they should be," said Mickey, "There's a whole lot of damage down on the docks but the people got out before the real fighting started. The pirates will probably do a bit of looting but they won't hurt anybody: there's no money in it for them."
"You'd better be right," said Baloo grimly.
"It would have been lot worse if we had stayed," said Mickey, laying a hand on Baloo's shoulder, "You did the right thing, pal."
"Just tell me where we're supposed to be goin'," snapped Baloo.
"Disney Castle. Your ship can refuel there and then return home, if you like," replied Mickey, "Can your ship warp that far?"
"There ain't a corner of interspace where my baby can't go," said Baloo proudly.
The Sea Duck climbed up through the atmosphere and into the starry void. Baloo leant across and examined the scanner intently.
"All clear," he said, "There are a few ships, carriers for the smaller ones I'd guess, but they're a way off yet. We're clear to jump."
While Mickey gave Baloo the co-ordinates of his castle, the rest of the League strapped themselves down. Basil took refuge in a pouch on Kim's belt.
"Everybody ready?" said Baloo, "Here we go!"
There was the familiar sensation of being both stretched and compressed at the same time. The view through the cockpit window was a swirl of streaked colour. The Sea Duck hit real-space again with a jolt. Kim could feel her stomach churn and wondered if one ever got used to warp jumps.
Baloo leant over to check the scanner. He did a little jump. He grabbed the wheel again.
"We've gotta get out of here!" he cried, swinging the Sea Duck round as fast as he could.
Kim leaned forward to get a better look at the scanner. The top right hand corner was crowded with dots, some large, some small. Through the window she could see the vast green orb that was presumably Mickey's homeworld. Between it and the Sea Duck, still some distanceaway, was floating a cloud of dark, indistinct shapes: a whole fleet of gummi-ships.
"They knew we were comin'," Mickey said softly.
"Your Majesty?" said Basil, looking up at him.
"They knew this was what I'd do," said Mickey, "They knew that I would try to get home."
"Strap yourselves back in," ordered Baloo, tapping out new co-ordinates on the navigation controls, "We're making another jump, pronto."
"No, turn around" said Mickey, "We've got to make it to the castle."
Baloo stared at him with something approaching awe.
"You really are crazy," he said.
"We've gotta try," said Mickey firmly.
"Try, in an unarmed cargo ship?! It's suicide!" cried Baloo, "Those ain't no pleasure yachts out there you know!"
"Don't you get it?" replied Mickey, "It's all or nothin' now. Either we break through here or they catch us somewhere else. Right now, my castle is the only place that's guaranteed safe in the whole universe."
"What makes you so darn sure?" demanded Baloo. Kim had been tempted to ask the same question.
"The Cornerstone of Light," said Mickey solemnly, "It's an ancient artefact that protects the castle against the Heartless. Nothing dark can enter there, so long as it is protected by the Cornerstone."
Baloo frowned and shook his head:
"Uh-uh: magic stone or no magic stone, I ain't flying into a pirate fleet. I'm getting out of here."
"I'm afraid you're too late, old boy," said Basil, who had been watching the scanner. Several streams of smaller dots were pouring from the greater cloud and approaching the Sea Duck.
"They've launched their fighters," said Baloo through gritted teeth.
"Baloo, you've got to try," said Mickey earnestly.
"They're expecting you to run," added Kim, "You turn around and blast right through them you might catch them off balance."
"Re-route all available power into the shields. It should give you a fightin' chance," advised Mickey, strapping himself in beside Baloo.
Baloo shook his head. He sighed deeply.
"Well, if I'd wanted to live forever I wouldn't have become a pilot," he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Everyone strap yourselves in!" he called over his shoulder, "We're goin' in!"
"Tellin' the truth, I have done the odd blockade run in my time," he said as he adjusted the dials on the console to channel more power to the Sea Duck's ray shields, "I know a few moves that might shake 'em up a little."
The Sea Duck came about again, this time to face the oncoming pirates. They were the same type of small craft that had attacked Cape Suzette: heavily armed and very fast. The Sea Duck chargedtowards the very centre of the group, fire streaming from her exhausts.
Bursts of cannon fire flashed in the cockpit window. Missiles with flaming tails streaked past. The ray shielding glowed green as they struck, sparkling like a giant emerald. The Sea Duck swung back and forth in little arcs, avoiding the places where the fire was thickest while aiming for patches of clear space. The cockpit window blazed brighter and brighter with gunfire as they drew closer and closer to the pirates.
Then they were past them, ray shields crackling but the ship herself undamaged. Ahead of them lay the capital ships; sleek cruisers with chrome finishes on their hulls; great galleons, square-rigged with solar sails to traverse inter-space; spiky destroyers, bristling with cannon; zeppelins, their cabins built from gummi.
The first line of ships had turned broadside on, their great guns trained on the Sea Duck. Baloo kept her low, avoiding many of the guns on the upper decks. The first volley burst around her. The ships ahead seemed to shimmer with gunfire. Something struck the Sea Duck, shaking her violently, but the shields still held. She swept beneath them and on towards the second line, turret fire blazing on all sides.
A warning light began to blink on the console before Baloo. In the rear-view mirror Kim could see a swarm of missiles had been fired from the underbelly of a nearby ship and were homing in on the Sea Duck. Baloo's arm shot out and thumped a button beside the warning light. A hatch at the rear of the Sea Duck open and a dozen flares spiralled out, drawing the missiles away.
They were now caught between the fire from both the first and second line of capital ships. The shields were taking a tremendous amount of damage. Kim was in awe of Baloo's skill, piloting so deftly while the world outside seemed one endless explosion.
The Sea Duck had just passed the second line when the shields finally collapsed. The ship began to shake as if it were being tossed about on a storm-wracked sea. In the cockpit, Baloo was wrestling vainly to keep her steady.
"We're caught… something's pullin' us in!" he yelled. The Sea Duck drifted sideways, turning slowly. The gunfire was dying down. Kim saw something like a giant metal bird's head through the cockpit window and then the ship was being drawn into a great, dark hole.
For a few seconds everything was dark. Then, with a bump, the Sea Duck landed on something. Floodlights snapped on, blinding them. Shielding her eyes from the glare Kim could see that they were in a vast metal room surrounded by a high gantry.
"Come on," said Mickey, who was already undoing his seatbelt, "We've gotta get out of here."
"And go where?" demanded Kim, "We're trapped!"
"We're gonna find another ship," said Mickey brightly as he headed through into the cargo bay.
Kim looked to Baloo, hoping that he would back her up, but to her surprise Baloo was following Mickey with a look of grim determination on his face.
"Baloo…?" she said.
"They're gonna pay for what they've done to my ship," he growled. Kim sighed and followed them into the cargo bay.
The others were all unharmed. Darkwing was standing by the hatch, peering out through the little window.
"I can see some people moving about behind the lights, Your Majesty. No-one's come forward," he said.
"I guess they're waiting to see what we do next," said Hercules.
"Darkwing, open the door," Mickey ordered, his keyblade appearing in his hand, "Hercules, Tarzan, Kim, keep back but be ready to charge on my signal. Baloo, you stay here with Basil. Don't follow until we call you, huh?"
Baloo nodded but Kim noticed that his paws were curled into fists: he was keen to exact revenge on the people who had damaged his precious Sea Duck.
Darkwing slid the hatch aside and leapt back, gas gun ready in his free hand. Mickey pressed himself up against the hull, peering round the doorframe. The others waited beside him, tense and ready to spring. Hercules drew his sword very slowly, the steel hissing softly as it left the scabbard. Kim heard her leather gloves creak as she clenched her fists.
Very slowly, the figures beyond the floodlights began to move towards the Sea Duck. Those members of the League who had been on the Isla de Engano recognised Don Karnage, now armed with a cutlass. His crew were humanoid animals; a rag-tag bunch armed with a mixture of white ray-guns and brutal hand weapons. They seemed very reluctant to approach the open hatch, despite Don Karnage's threats.
"Darkwing," whispered Mickey, gesturing to the hatchway with his keyblade. Darkwing nodded and leapt into the gap. The gas gun fired, accompanied by a puff of white smoke, spraying the deck with ball bearings. The gang of pirates swayed for a moment, arms flailing to maintain their balance, and then tumbled to the floor.
"Now!" cried Mickey. The League burst from the Sea Duck before the pirates had even regained their footing. Hercules and Tarzan went left, sending pirates flying through the air. Kim and Darkwing were on the right. One pirate slashed at Kim with an axe. She ducked and retaliated with a roundhouse kick that felled him like a tree. Coming back up, she found herself looking down the barrel of a pirate's ray gun. A moment later he was down, knocked cold by a boxing glove fired from Darkwing's gas gun.
In the centre Mickey was fighting with Don Karnage; keyblade and cutlass a whirl of parry and riposte. Don Karnage was a fair swordsman but no match for a keyblade wielder. Catching Karnage's sword in the teeth of his keyblade, Mickey disarmed him with a sudden twist of his wrist. Karnage tried to fall back but missed his footing on a cluster of ball bearings and crashed to the deck.
Their leader down, the rest of the pirates turned tail. They headed back towards the gantry, turning occasionally to fire blindly at the League with their ray guns. Kim was about to give chase when she heard something; it sounded like someone cutting through a sheet of silk with a very sharp knife. Three dark portals appeared in the air before the League. They disgorged three slender figures. Two were already familiar to her: a young man with white hair and red headed girl in a pink dress, each bearing a keyblade. The third figure was new. It was a young man in black leathers. His keyblade was almost identical to Mickey's but with a silver blade and golden guard. All three wore a round, white helmet with a dark visor.
The youngsters moved swiftly and with purpose. The man with silver hair engaged Tarzan and Hercules; the girl Kim and Darkwing; while the man in black closed with Mickey.
"Sora?!" Kim heard him cry but then the red headed girl was on her and Kim had no time to spare for anything else.
This time Kim did not underestimate the girl's speed. She came against Kim with a high stroke. Kim dropped, rolled under the blow and past the girl, leaving Darkwing with a clear shot. Another boxing glove flew from the gas gun but the girl dodged it with a neat pirouette. Kim darted forward, jabbing at the girl's stomach. The girl jumped back, out of Kim's reach. She thrust her keyblade at Kim. Kim leant to one side, retaliated with another punch which the girl ducked. She came back up with a blindingly fast uppercut which Kim was forced to dodge with a back flip. Darkwing fired his gas gun again, this time trying to trap the girl in a net, but she shredded it while it was still in mid-air.
Back in the centre of the bay Mickey was battling furiously with the young man in black leather, their keyblades flashing with every parry. Mickey was leaping high over his opponent's head, striking any times as he passed, but every blow was turned aside. The man in black never paused, not even to catch his breath. He pushed Mickey to move faster and faster. If any of the League had had the leisure to stop and watch them they would not have seen two keyblades, only a gold and silver blur moving back and forth between them.
Suddenly Mickey made a great leap away from his opponent. He paused, facing down his opponent, keyblade still pointed straight at him.
"Sora!" he cried, "What are you doing?"
The young man neither replied nor moved. He stood facing Mickey, knees bent, keyblade held out to the side.
Mickey glanced to his right. The man with the silver hair was standing over the unconscious Tarzan and Hercules. On his left, the red headed girl had her keyblade at Kim's throat. Darkwing lay unconscious beside them.
"Nice try," said a voice, "but you've lost, pal."
A dark portal opened beside the man in black leather. A figure dressed in a suit of armour, the beaked visor lowered to hide his face, stepped out into the hanger bay.
"You…" said Mickey, very softly. He did not sound surprised.
The figure reached up and removed his helmet.