Paradise Falls – Part 1
Hiya! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in ages. I'm glad that more people are favouriting my stories and I'm sorry I haven't delivered in a while. There's been a lot of personal things going that meant I haven't had the chance to write any. Also, now that I've posted this world up, you can't guess what it is anymore for the prize! Therefore, I will reward anyone who still tries to guess what 'The New World' is.
Now, some of you might not have seen this film, but I've been constantly harassed by several people into making it part of the story, so here it is. If you haven't seen this film, then it contains mega spoilers! While reading the chapter it might help to play "Up with Titles" while running around Paradise Falls, and "Memories Can Weigh you Down" while fighting the Heartless/dogs/anyone really.
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or Kingdom Hearts, savvy? On with the story!
I groan and open my eyes slowly.
My whole body aches; my wounds burn like fire. I can't think through the pain: I draw on the Chaos Energy that's been collecting in the Chaos Emerald while I was asleep. My wounds heal, I presume, and the aches and pains fade away. I groan and roll my head over.
Zira's dead.
The shock is enough to get me up on my paws. She's looks like she's sleeping, but her chest isn't moving. My stomach lurches, and I look away before I actually be sick. It's such a pity, but I don't really want to think about it. I focus on the environment instead.
I must be pretty far from the Pride Lands. I seem to be in a rainforest, but not like any rainforest I've ever seen before. All the flowers and trees are bright colours and unbelievable sizes. Half of them look dangerous. I tuck my tail in extra tight to make sure it's not bitten off.
A cacophony of sounds erupts from the shrubs behind me. I jump in fright, before charging off after them to see what's going on. It could be Heartless for all I know! I try to summon the Kingdom Key, but nothing happens! I did drop it before I Chaos Controlled away. It must back in the river. I'm gonna have a whole lot of trouble getting it back if I have to physically search the whole river for it. I just hope there's a trick behind it. If only Sora was here to tell me!
I run across a large, multicoloured bird being harassed by a pack of dogs. I back off first to make sure they're not Heartless. You can never be too sure. When I'm confident they're just dogs I burst in there. I give out the most intimidating roar I can manage, which is nothing compared to Simba, but it's enough. The dogs run off in a frenzied panic.
The bird gives me a funny look, its head turning almost upside down. I give it the same funny look, only my head won't turn that far. It's very pretty: lots of bright colours. I suppose that could be what it's thinking about me. Donald and Goofy certainly never mentioned anything like this.
Speaking of which, where are they?
Surely they should be looking for me, and knowing those two, they would walk around this place yelling my name at the tops of their voices. It's not like I'd miss them or anything. So far; nothing. Not even a whisper. Thanks for abandoning me, you guys, wherever you are.
The bird seems to smell the air and goes charging off over my head and into the bushes. So much for a thank you. Everyone else has been able to speak in the worlds I've been to, so why can't this one? I follow it, intrigued. It's standing behind a cover of bushes, occasionally poking its beak out to snap at something and then eat it. Smells like chocolate. A sensitive nose comes in handy sometimes.
It eventually lifts its head up and towers over the bushes, staring down at whatever's on the other side. It reaches down and takes a piece of chocolate out of the creatures hand and gobbles it up. I sneak forward and poke my head out between the leaves.
It's a human boy, surprisingly enough. I was expecting a lion, or some kind of African animal. He's a bit on the porky side, wearing a Cub Scout uniform or something. He's staring in disbelief at the bird and I, but not in fear. He snaps off a bit of chocolate and presents it to me to see if I'll take it. I do. Dairy Milk. Classic.
"What kind of animals are you? I never saw your pictures in the Wilderness Explorer Guidebook before."
I open my mouth to tell him that I'm a blue cheetah so back off pal, but all that comes out is a mewl. So I can't speak either. Bummer. This day just keeps getting better. The bird reaches down and tries to snap off a bit of the chocolate, this time emerging from the thicket to get a better reach. The boy backs off, hiding the chocolate bar behind his back.
"No, no, Snipe. You can't eat too much chocolate, or you'll be sick. I'm Russell! Can you understand me?"
The bird seems to, because it reaches down and wraps its head around his neck. It must like him after all the chocolate that it's been given. I emerge too, but don't go in for a hug. He's a stranger after all, though definitely not a Heartless. Russell laughs before pulling away and stroking the bird on the beak, and me on the head.
"Why don't you come back with me? I have more chocolate in my backpack for you."
The bird caws and picks the boy up by his scarf, turning him in the opposite direction and pushing him forward. I follow suit. The bird might only want food, but I want to know what's going on here. Russell awkwardly pushes through the bushes, which the bird steps over and I squeeze under. Being this small can come in handy sometimes. We eventually come across a clearing with – unexpectedly – and old man tying something to a tree, with a floating house above his head. He's turned away so he doesn't see us.
"I found the Snipe!" Russell declares with gusto.
"Oh, did you?" the old man chuckles in a condescending way.
"Are they tall?"
"Oh, yes, they're very tall."
"Do they have a lot of colours?"
"They do indeed."
"Do they like chocolate?"
"Yeah... Chocolate?"
He turns around warily, not really looking like he's going to like what he sees. He doesn't. He yelps in fear, making me worry for his weak heart. He does look about eighty.
"What is that thing?!"
"It's a Snipe!" Russell states, as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.
"That thing isn't a Snipe!" the old geezer retorts, pulling Russell away. The bird screeches before snatching the boy away and playing with him. It's definitely taken a liking to him. After all, never bite the hand that feeds you. The old guy and I watch on in worry, before he realises I'm here and leaps away from me too.
"Another one?!"
"Oh, that one followed me and Kevin back here! He likes chocolate too!"
The bird puts the boy down, screeches at the old man, and moves in to attack. I go to jump in but Russell gets there first. He moves pretty fast for someone with such short legs.
"No, Kevin! It's OK! Mr. Fredrickson is nice."
"Kevin?"
"Yeah! That's the name I just gave him."
"And what about this one? Are you going to name every single creature you come across?" he asks in disgruntlement, signalling at me.
"I don't know about this one... Well, it's a cat, so I'll call him Cat!"
I prefer Sonic so much more. 'Kevin' whacks Fredrickson on the head with his beak. The old man waves his cane at him, which the bird swallows, chokes on, and then spits back up covered in mucus. Fredrickson picks it up using the sleeve of his suit and walks off in a huff.
"Can we keep them, please? I'll walk them; I'll change their newspapers-"
"No."
"An explorer is a friend to all, be it a plant or a fish or a tiny mole!"
"That doesn't even rhyme!"
"Yeah it does! Hey, look! Kevin!"
I cast my eyes upwards. Kevin's sitting on the floating house, which I now see is flying on the weight of hundreds of balloons. What is wrong with the laws of physics in this world?! Kevin is busy eating the balloons and popping them in his neck. He comes down after a stern word from the old man and hides behind Russell's back.
"Sheesh... Can you believe this Ellie?" he asks the house. I'm not too sure what to make of that.
"Ellie...? Oh! Hey, Ellie, can I keep the bird and the cat?" Russell also asks the house. I smack my face with a paw. Everyone's gone crazy.
"She says for you to let me!"
"But I told him no! I told you no! N-O!"
I growl at him, and Kevin squawks at him. Fredrickson shrugs a backpack on with a cord leading up to the house and shoves another backpack into Russell's hands.
"Leave these two alone and let's get going! We're running out of time."
When the old man's back is turned, Russell starts breaking pieces of chocolate off and placing them on the ground. Kevin follows hungrily, snapping up the slicing as he goes along. Fredrickson and Russell pull the house around by wearing the backpacks and walking, while Russell gets us to follow him. I suppose he's going with what the house said and not the old man.
I sound so deluded.
We end up on what looks like the top of a cliffs. The land is barren and rocky and covered in a thick fog. I can smell the scent of clean running water a few miles away, in the direction we're all heading. I wonder what they're doing here. It's not every day someone takes their house for a walk in a rainforest.
We walk in silence, except for the obvious sounds of Kevin eating the chocolate. Fredrickson gives up on trying to make him go away and reluctantly tolerates his presence. I trot gently at Russell's heels. I can see that his heart is strong, and he's probably going to end up a target for the Heartless, so it's best if I stay near.
"Hey, are you OK out there?"
We freeze. Heartless don't talk.
"Uhh... Hello?" asks Fredrickson, squinting through his glasses. "Oh! Hello, sir! Thank goodness: it's nice to know someone else is up here!"
He starts walking towards a humanoid figure in the distance. I stay on my wares. I'm not wholly convinced.
"I can smell you!" a voice calls out.
"What? You can... smell us?"
"I can smell you!"
Odd for a human. As we get closer our questions are answered in part. It's only a rock structure. Not even a Heartless.
"Hey, you were talking to a rock. That one looks like a turtle! And that one looks like a dog!"
Said dog-shaped rock comes bounding forward. It actually is a dog – a golden retriever to be specific – with a collar around his neck. His tongue could rival an anteater's. It just lolls all over the place. He immediately bounds over to Russell and begs for a pat on the head.
"Hey, I like dogs!"
"We have your dog! Wonder who he belongs to...?"
Russell goes onto prove that he's fully trained by getting him to do tricks like beg and shake his hand. We get a surprise when Russell says:
"Speak!"
"Hi there!"
Oddly enough that dog just spoke. To be honest I'm getting used to all this weird stuff.
"My name is Dug. I have just met you and I love you!" he proclaims, jumping up at the old man. "My master made me this collar! He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I may talk! Squirrel! ... My master is good and smart!"
"It's not possible!"
"Oh, it is, because my master is smart!"
Russell starts mucking about with the dials on Dug's collar. I guess that's what's making him talk. He goes through several different languages with the turns of the dial. Spiffy. I should get Amy one for her birthday. Dug notices me, declares me to be a cat, and starts chasing me around barking like there's no tomorrow, and trying to convince me that he only wants to 'smell' me. Like I'm going to believe that. I jump into Russell's arms to protect myself.
"Down, boy! Don't chase Cat like that!"
"Right, because I am looking for a bird! I am a great tracker, and my pack sent me on a special mission, all by myself! Have you seen a bird? I want to find one, and I have been on his trail! I am a great tracker – did I mention that?"
Enter the bird. Kevin charges over and throws himself on Dug, who seems completely unfazed.
"Hey, that is a bird! I have never seen one up close, but this is a bird! May I take your bird back to camp as my prisoner?"
"Yeah, take it!" says Fredrickson, jumping on nay opportunity to get rid of Kevin and Dug. "And on the way learn how to bark like a real dog!"
"I can bark!" He barks. "And here's howling." He howls.
"Can we keep him?! Please, please, please?!"
"No."
"But it's a talking dog!"
"It's just a weird trick or something. We have to get to the falls!"
He drags Russell off, who is holding me, who is followed by Kevin, who is chased after by Dug, pleading with Kevin to be his prisoner. I really don't think he's gonna say yes any time soon. He starts talking weird stuff into his collar, but I ignore him. I'm too busy being carried around by Russell. I live the life of luxury. Much better than traipsing around any old world with Donald and Goofy.
Speaking of any old worlds...
I figure I'm on a different one now. It's too different from the Pride Lands to be the same place. That lead of Chaos Energy I pulled on must have come from here, which is why I had such a rough ride. There has to be a Chaos Emerald around here somewhere. Finally! I was beginning to think I'd never get them back!
There's also the conundrum of my form. I'm only like this because of Donald's magic, but he's clearly not here. With my resistance to magic and everything, you'd think I'd have turned back. I suppose the magic in this world must be supporting the spell itself. How polite of it!
We end up walking for ages. I'm surprised that old guy can walk for this long. Dug has taken to wrapping himself around Kevin's leg and being dragged along, pleading shamelessly for the bird to be his prisoner.
"Dug! Stop bothering Kevin!" Russell commands.
"That man there said I could take the bird, and I love that man there like he is my master!"
"I'm not your master!"
"I'm warning you once again bird!"
"Hey, quit it!"
"At this rate we'll never get to the falls."
What a pack. I wonder what's so special about these falls. Russell puts me down so he can try and prise Dug off Kevin, only to be pulled off my Fredrickson. The house crashes into the side of a cliff and one of the windows breaks. The old man isn't happy, to say the least.
"I am nobody's master! Got it?! Now, I don't want you here, you here or you here," he proclaims, pointing to Dug, Kevin and me in turn. "I'm stuck with you," pointing at Russell. "And if you three don't clear out of here by the time I count to three-"
"Oh, a ball! Oh boy, oh, boy, a ball!"
Dug starts getting exciting, wagging his tail at supersonic speeds. I never noticed that Fredrickson's cane has tennis balls on the end like a DIY suspension system. He takes one of the balls off and throws it into the bushes, followed closely by an overeager Dug. I give chase. Knowing him he'll probably fall off a cliff on the way back.
I find him thrashing about in the greenery, chewing on the ball and slobbering everywhere. I give him a clobber on the head with the Kingdom Key D to knock him out of it. At least one of the Keyblades is still listening to me.
"Ow, you hurt me, Cat. I'd chase you, but I have to find my master and give him his ball back so he can throw it for me again!"
With that... enlightening comment he charges off, ball in his mouth. I sniff the air, trying to pick up the humans' scents. I can smell the chocolate clearly from here. Dismissing the Keyblade so I can run faster I set off at breakneck speeds. I pass Dug on the way, still loping about like an idiot. He can take care of himself, I'm sure.
Somehow Fredrickson and Russell managed to make it to the top of hill while I was gone. They move pretty fast for humans! Of course, not nearly as fast as me. Or Kevin and Dug, for that matter, who reappear almost as soon as I get there myself. Fredrickson is not impressed, but gives up on trying to chase us off. Like we're going to miss a floating house giving away their position.
It starts raining. Heavily. I guess they don't call it a rainforest for nothing. The house makes the world's best umbrella, shielding us from the torrential downpour. I'm just glad I'm so furry, or I'd be really cold. Russell and Fredrickson tie the house down and take their backpacks off. Kevin and Dug end up curled up together. Cute.
I pick a spot right in the middle of the house, next to the fire we managed to make before the rain made it impossible. I wonder where Donald and Goofy are. I hope they find me soon. I should probably look after this lot, first, but I can't wait to get back to my normal hedgehog self.
Morning rises to a distinct lack of Kevin. Fredrickson tries to make out that nothing's amiss. Because we're really not going to notice the lack of that brightly-coloured, chocolate-eating, tropical bird. As predicted Russell awakens to a cry of:
"Where's Kevin?! He's wandered off!"
They're so predictable sometimes.
Everyone except Fredrickson gets up and start running around like headless chickens trying to find Kevin. Dug points at a bush, which is stupid, because Russell sees him on the roof of the house. He seems to be hoarding food on the roof. Strange.
"Hey! That's my food!" yell Fredrickson, as if that's going to get his food back. "Get off my roof!"
The faint sound of screeching can be heard in the distance. Kevin responds with a louder, deeper call, his tongue flapping everywhere like a wind sock.
"What's it doing?" asks the old man in a voice that sounds like he doesn't really want to know.
"The bird is calling to her babies," says Dug, as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.
"Kevin's a girl?" questions Russell, confused at how something called 'Kevin' could be anything but a boy.
"..." says I, not really having much to say on this subject.
Kevin gobbles up as much food as he... I mean she can and drops down to say goodbye. Dug says she's been collecting food for her babies. Somehow I don't think they're going to appreciate tinned soup much.
"Kevin's leaving?" Russell says. "But, you promised to protect her! Her babies need her. We have to make sure they're together!"
"Sorry, Russell, but we've lost enough time already."
He looks downhearted, watching Kevin run off towards the rocks that she was calling to. That must be where she lives. I bet the property value's below ground. Russell, wiping his face on his sleeve, bends down to my level and whispers in my ear.
"Go watch Kevin, OK, Cat? Make sure she's safe, because I can't be there instead."
I nod and stalk off into the thicket, not wanting to alert Fredrickson to the fact that Russell sent me to tail the bird he finally got rid of. I run into her, cocking her head to the side like she's listening for something. I prick my ears up too.
I can hear dogs.
We exchange looks and leg it back to the circus we've been living in for the past few days, only to find that the dogs have already overrun the place. The circle around the two humans and Dug, growling, collars on their necks similar to Dug's. A large, stoic-looking Doberman inspects the area before growling at Dug.
"Where's the bird?! You said you had the bird!" he asks, in a voice that sounds like he's been on helium. I'd laugh if I could! I need to get Shadow one of those things...
"Oh, yes, as I have said that I can see how you would think that," Dug tries to explain in a roundabout fashion.
"Well, where is it?"
"Uhh... Tomorrow. Come back tomorrow and I will again have the bird. Yes."
This isn't enough for the squeaky-voiced Doberman. He barks viciously in Dug's face. If a dog did that on my world it'd be put down for being too aggressive. Maybe I shouldn't mention that to his face.
"You lost it! Why do I not have a surprised feeling?" Do all dogs talk in such a weird manner? I prefer being a rodent. "Well, at least you have led us to the small mailman and the one who smells of prunes. Master will be most pleased that we have found them. We will ask them many questions. Walk!"
Fredrickson tries to object, but he gets pushed along by the dogs in the opposite direction of the falls, the place he's been striving so hard to reach. While they're distracted Kevin and I sneak onto the roof of the house.
I haven't seen any Heartless yet, but I'm not taking that risk.
I catch a glimpse of two figures dressed in black on top of a large rock in the distance. I almost miss them through the fog. They're watching us. I feel uncomfortable being around them, like something's... off. I shudder.
I try to avoid certain death where possible.