Hush Souls
Hi everyone! Well here it is! Chapter 22! The title is meant to sound like sort of a whisper chant. But, I'll try and put in as much effort into this chapter to try and make it perfect. Maybe there will be some romance, FINALLY. I think I should take a break from all the guts and gore and start to focus on couples now. Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Only the unknown. The rest are property of Square Enix and Disney.
Donald and Goofy were beyond worried. It was already Mardi Gras and Sora, Riku, and Kailee still hadn't returned to New Orleans. Donald had immediately looked through the convenient spell book that he carried around with him, just in case if he would ever need it. He had also shrunk it to travel-size so he wouldn't be seen carrying around a giant spell book on his arm. He had scoured through every single page, looking twice through portal spells, but he came up with nothing. It either needed a sample of DNA from the victim or from the captor.
Now, they were left to wait. Donald had almost gone to the brink of tears but Goofy had managed to cheer him up and drag him out of it. Tiana, Naveen, and Louis had been in their own self-depression. They had made it to Mama Odie but not before encountering some unfriendly shadows that Mama Odie quickly disposed of. She had promised to show them how to turn back into humans even if she wasn't the best in seeing correctly. Turned out that Naveen had to kiss a real princess if he wanted to turn back into a human being. It would turn Tiana back, too. The only known princess in New Orleans was expediently Charlotte because her father had been crowned king of the Mardi Gras parade. They just had to arrive in time to Mardi Gras and have Naveen kiss her before midnight or they would remain frogs, forever. Donald and Goofy had asked if she would know anything about the whereabouts of Kailee, Sora, and Riku but she just informed them that, in time, they would come.
Since then, they had hitched a ride on a ferryboat on its way to Mardi Gras. Louis had ventured off with a jazz band who had mistaken him for a guy dressed in an alligator costume. He was too giddy and joyful to actually take note of the rest of them. Tiana and Naveen had gone up top, leaving Donald and Goofy on a bench, facing the city. Donald and Goofy had lamented over King Mickey and, of course, the three keyblade wielders. Goofy kept pointing out buildings and cars; things that were not very familiar to them since they hadn't been introduced to them yet in Disney Castle. He took note of suggesting them later on to King Mickey. It seemed strange that Donald was the one that was missing them the most. After all, he had admitted that Sora was a nuisance the first time they had met. But then, once they actually trusted each other and became friends, it seemed to affect him more.
After sailing for an hour, they had finally arrived to Mardi Gras. Tiana had gone looking for Naveen since he mysteriously disappeared after they had spent the time talking about her restaurant. Donald and Goofy had received some weird glances by some bystanders but then were brushed off, as if they were part of the Mardi Gras display. Now, they were mixed into the crowd, right in front of the street where the anticipated parade was about to begin.
"I hope they'll be here soon," Donald said, worried.
"Aw, don't worry Donald. I'm sure that Riku, Sora and Kailee have already escaped and are headed our way now," Goofy said, reassuring Donald.
"Are you sure we should listen to Mama Odie?"
"Well, she's been around for a very long time. So I think she has known what to do for a while now."
"I hope you're right Goofy," Donald turned his attention back towards the parade.
Just as the pair finished their short conversation, elsewhere, as in the graveyard, a black hole was emerging from one of the larger gravestones. It became bigger with time. Just as it covered the entire grave, it spit out three bodies onto the concrete floor. It then closed dramatically, leaving behind a horde of enraged Shadow Crossers, Heartless, Nobodies and other forms of darkness behind. Coincidentally, Kailee was the first to stand. She swayed a bit but then recovered after realizing where she was.
We actually landed in New Orleans? I thought it was a trap made from Xylen. Guess I have to trust my instincts less.
She had received a few minor scratches and bruises when the portal ever so rudely deposited her onto the concrete floor. She drew her attention back to the boys. A few groans escaped their mouths as they tried to get up. Kailee realized why they couldn't and called up her keyblade. She carefully placed Sora's left hand and Riku's right onto the handle of the keyblade. She mustered up some of her magic and cast the healing spell. In an instant, the bloody flesh on Riku's and Sora's hands and legs were turning into pink, perfectly straight scars. Kailee looped her arms through both of them and hoisted them up.
"Are you guys okay?" she asked, concerned.
"I think we can manage," Riku brushed himself off.
"Besides, you cast that healing spell on us. So, I think we should be fine for now," Sora replied cheerfully.
"All right, then," Kailee crossed her arms over her chest. "I still don't understand what they wanted me for."
"Maybe they wanted to use your power for darkness instead of light," Riku stated.
"Or they were going to torture you for the whereabouts of Donald, Goofy or King Mickey?" Sora implied.
"I think both of you are right," Kailee agreed. "Xylen was going to do something with me, that's for sure. But then, he would need for others to keep their mouths shut so they wouldn't go talking about what happened with me. It must've been why they tied you guys down with flesh eating worms so they could torture you to death."
Sora shivered. "It would've been awful if you hadn't been so quick on your feet, Kailee."
"Thanks. It wasn't really all my doing. You, Donald, Goofy, and Riku all taught me different spells. I'm glad that you guys did," Kailee smiled. "Now, where are we?"
Riku panned over the sight before him. "It looks like we're in a graveyard. I can hear music and it doesn't seem so far away."
"It must be Mardi Gras!" Kailee ran up ahead, stopping to look back at both boys. "Come on, you guys! We can't miss it! Donald, Goofy, Tiana, Naveen and Louis might be there!"
Sora and Riku just exchanged glances before following Kailee through the maze of graves towards Mardi Gras. It took them a total of 20 minutes to reach the parade. Thankfully, it was just beginning and the first two floats were already coming out with people throwing out beaded necklaces on them. Kailee nearly tripped over a few hidden necklaces because of the crowd that had bunched up near the entrance of the graveyard. Sora and Riku had to drag Kailee to the front because they were the ones who were most able to swiftly pass through the people while apologizing correctly. Somehow, they made it to the front without anybody complaining. All they had to do now was look for Donald and Goofy.
At first, it was pretty difficult. Since the trio was half-starved and thirsty, concentrating was a bit hard considering the fact that the lights shone too brightly and the noise was unbearable. But, after asking around, they finally came across Donald and Goofy who were across the street from them. Sora called out to them first, which put wide grins on both of their faces. Sora, Riku and Kailee ran to them, barely avoiding the parade float that almost ran the over. Donald and Goofy gave them giant hugs and cries of joy and excitement. They told them of meeting Mama Odie and what had happened before. Turned out that Donald shouldn't have doubted her because, in the end, she was right.
"How did you get here?" Goofy asked. "Weren't you guys captured by those Shadow Crossers?"
"Yes. Well, it's kind of a long story," Sora informed them. "But we were put in this prison where they were going to torture us to death and use Kailee to their advantage. But, in the end, Kailee managed to save us."
"But how did you get here? They must've had Heartless, Nobodies, or Shadow Crossers lurking around," Donald put in.
"That's the thing. They didn't," Riku answered. " We had luck on our side and got through to the exit. There, we found a portal that conveniently brought us back here to New Orleans. The only part where they came in was right when we were about to jump through."
"Wow that sounded scary. But me and Donald are glad you're okay," Goofy said, cheerfully.
"And we're glad that you guys got here unharmed," Kailee looked around. "Where are Tiana, Naveen and Louis?"
"Tiana went to go look for Naveen because he somehow made it to Mardi Gras before we did," Goofy said. "Louis joined a band that was going to play here because they mistook him for a guy dressed up in an alligator costume."
"Well, good for them, I think," Kailee clutched at her stomach. "Is there any real food or water that we could eat or drink right now? Because I think that I'm not the only one that's starving and thirsty."
Goofy, because he was really tall, spotted out a concession stand that was selling at large due to the over excessive crowd begging for something in their bellies whilst enjoying the parade. Donald secretly cast a money making spell in which money practically spit out from his staff. The group grabbed what they could and headed on over to the concession stand. After about 9 hot dogs and 3 water bottles. Sora, Riku and Kailee felt satisfactory as they finally felt full in what seemed like a week. Even though they were full, they decided to climb up to the roof of an apartment to watch the parade. Donald and Goofy sat beside Riku while Sora sat right next to Kailee. The view was amazing. Not only were there many multicolored parade floats glimmering in the night, many dancers were also rousing the crowd by infecting them with dancing fever. Questionably, a giant wedding cake float was making its way past them with Charlotte on top with a handsome stranger.
I wonder if it's Naveen. It could also mean that Tiana would be human as well. But shouldn't she be there with them? After all, Donald and Goofy had told me that Tiana had a sort of thing for Naveen now. So why is he getting married to Charlotte? And why so soon?
Kailee brushed these questions off, seemingly aware that she was supposed to enjoy herself now that she didn't have to worry about dark creatures, Xylen or Eliza for now. Only then, did she notice how close she was actually sitting to Sora. He had been so generous and sweet to her even in the most dangerous of situations. He also had had a deep concern for the well being of her family since she had completely and disrespectfully ignored them when she was escaping from that prison. She felt strange warmth in the pit of her stomach whenever he was around. He seemed to always be in a good mood, which was the complete opposite of her. She had always been a pretty serious person around people. Even when she had her friends with her they would always shy away from her if she were trying to stare them down.
She dared to look over at Sora. His face was gentle, no more worry lines were on his forehead nor were his eyebrows knit together in anger or thought. He looked to be enjoying the parade but at the same time his mind was elsewhere due to his eyes' expression. His crystal blue sapphire eyes were clouded over with what seemed to be melancholy even though he was smiling. He felt someone's eyes on him and turned towards Kailee who quickly looked away, blushing and peering down.
"What's wrong?" Sora asked, scooting closer to her, their hands almost touching.
Kailee shook her head. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"Why?"
"Well, it's just that I could see in your eyes that you looked kind of sad," Kailee implied.
"Oh, I was just thinking."
Kailee crossed her legs. "I hope you don't mind my asking but about what?"
Sora closed his eyes, drifting in between his thoughts and reality. "Just about my island. I never really get any downtime anymore ever since I was pronounced a keyblade wielder."
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault, Kailee. I guess it was always meant to be like this for me," Sora sighed.
"But it always looks like you're having a lot of fun with Donald and Goofy. More so since Riku came to fight with you guys."
"Yeah but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I never get to be a normal guy. It's finding keyholes or destroying Heartless, Nobodies and Shadow Crossers," Sora groaned.
"Well, I don't think you're the only one, Sora. We all have the same fate of you," Kailee giggled. "Well, you're lucky. You at least have a home to get back to."
Sora reached for Kailee's hand, looking deeply into her eyes. "Yeah but we'll get your home back, too. I'll make sure of it."
Kailee nodded her understanding and quickly drew her attention back to the parade before anything became a bit too awkward. Sora still hadn't let go of her hand and she was somehow fine with that. A comfortable silence followed after. The parade went on for a couple more hours before the last float went by, which conveniently contained Louis who was playing his trumpet, and the first shower of fireworks were being fired into the sky. Brilliant blues, dazzling purples, and fierce oranges were thrown up into the air. A lot of "oohs" and "ahhs" were heard from down below in the crowd. After the last of them had been fired, the multitudes began to disperse back into their homes. Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy set off to look for Tiana, Naveen and Louis since they hadn't been completely there for the entire Mardi Gras.
They finally found Tiana, Naveen, and Charlotte by the church. Charlotte was in a pink wedding gown and she looked pretty distressed and disappointed as though her groom had dumped her. Tiana and Naveen were on the floor, holding hands, still as frogs.
"Hi ya'll! Did you enjoy Mardi Gras?" Tiana asked them, taking her "hands" out of Naveen's.
"We sure did!" Sora responded, gleefully. "The fireworks were amazing!"
"I'm glad you liked it. We're sorry for not being there. We had some things we had to take care of," Tiana said.
"But I saw Naveen at Mardi Gras about to get married to Charlotte. Was that really him or…" Kailee questioned, confused.
"No it wasn't me. It was an imposter. It was actually my butler, Lawrence, bent on taking revenge over me because of all the years that I spent pushing him around," Naveen explained.
"Oh. Well then why are you still frogs?" Sora said.
"I didn't kiss him before midnight and it turned out bad. Don't worry they explained everything to me," Charlotte answered. "I can't believe that I actually believed Lawrence to be Prince Naveen and almost marry him! Yuck!"
"But we're sticking together because we really do love each other," Tiana gazed lovingly at Naveen. "And even if it means being frogs forever, we'll still be loyal to each other."
Aw. Now that's true love.
"Well looks like you won't be needing us after all," Riku stated.
"Don't be so harsh on yourselves. You can come and visit us anytime you want. We'll be living in the bayou, of course," Tiana implied. "It would really make me happy if you visited."
"Don't worry, Tiana. This isn't goodbye! I promise you that we'll see other again!" Sora said, grinning from war to ear while placing his hands behind his head.
"Thank you. Thank you all, so much. If it wasn't for you guys then I probably wouldn't have had so much fun," Tiana said. " Be back soon."
"We will be. See you later!" Kailee said, waving as she walked back.
"See you!" Everyone else said in unison. With a few last waves, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kailee headed off towards Tiana's future restaurant.
"Aren't we supposed to lock the keyhole first before we leave?" Riku asked.
"Oh, right!" Kailee responded. "Where do you think it'd be?"
"Over there!" Sora exclaimed, already running to where he was pointing.
It was an old trolley. One that looked to have been abandoned for years. Conveniently, placed on the side, was an ad for a silversmith with a keyhole on it. Once the three keyblade wielders arrived, their keyblades automatically flashed into their hands. Doing some sort of complicated moves that Kailee only had heard about, Riku and Sora connected their keys to the keyhole, which emanated a rainbow crystalline light. They looked back at Kailee as if to say that it wasn't complete without her. She hesitated and then sullenly walked forward, a bit embarrassed to not have done any sort of fancy moves. In any case, her keyblade made contact and emanated a sort of clash between a dark purple and a sunny yellow. The keyhole flared up with a bright golden light and then they heard as if something had been locked.
Sora pumped his fist in the air. "Two down!"
"Who knows how many there are left?" Riku sighed. "Come on. Let's get to the gummi ship before Xylen, Eliza, and that other man come and get us."
"Wait fellas!"
Mickey popped out of nowhere as he approached the surprised group. "I have to talk to you guys at once!"
"King Mickey!" The group said in unison.
"And me," said Lea, rounding a corner.
"Axel?" Sora asked, confused. "But I thought you had faded into darkness?"
"Axel? I think you've mistaken me for my nobody. I'm Lea," Lea introduced. "Got it memorized?"
"Alright, Lea. I'm Sora and this is Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kailee," Sora answered.
"I know who you all are. King Mickey explained on the way," Lea informed them. "I think he has a lot of explaining to do for you guys."
"Is this true, King Mickey?" Riku asked.
"Yep, but I think we should board the gummi ship first. I don't trust that we're not alone," King Mickey almost whispered. The group nodded and they all went to the gummi ship where a lot of things would finally be cleared up.
So, how's my story going? I encourage reviews and constructive criticism. Pass the story on and all that other crap that I forgot to mention. Anywho, what shall I write next? ;) Sorry this chapter was so short. I tried to make it as PERFECT as possible, so don't judge me!