Paradise Falls – Part 2
I really hope this works.
I actually published this chapter a few weeks ago, and I was wondering why I got no reviews. Turns out stupid hadn't put it up! RAWR All my time and effort wasted. Well, you better all review this time around. I was getting worried that it was so awful you didn't bother! And I'm sorry that it took so long in the first place. I lost my DVD of the movie *cries*
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or Kingdom Hearts, savvy? On with the story!
I settle down and feel the wind through my fur as the house gets dragged along. I can tell it's starting to sink even lower to the ground. It's a pity we're going in the wrong direction. Then again, when you're surrounded by a pack of mad dogs, there's not much you can do but obey them.
So, Kevin and I sit tight on the roof of the house while Fredrickson and Russell get steered through the environment. They don't know we're here. Maybe that's for the best – that means the dogs don't know we're here either. You'd have thought they'd smell us, but they're obviously too focused on herding the humans around to have a sniff. Dogs are so dumb sometimes. I like cats better. Good thing I look like this then.
We eventually come to a massive black hole in the side of the gorge. I have no idea what it is, but it doesn't look very inviting. We slowly slide to a halt. I peek over the edge of the roof to see more dogs emerging from the shadows and stalking towards the humans. I will fight them if necessary, but somehow I don't think it'll come to that.
A voice orders the dogs to stop.
They all do instantly, and back off a little. There's my sixth sense kicking in again. A silhouette is vaguely visible from in the shadows. I back up a little in case he sees me.
"You came here... in that?" questions to unknown voice.
I can hardly believe it myself.
"Uhh... yeah?" notes Fredrickson, not sounding too sure.
"In a house? A floating house?!"
He sounds more amused than dangerous to me. He starts laughing madly. I guess it is kinda funny. An old guy and a boy scout coming all the way to South America in a flying house. That's one to tell the guys back home.
"That's the darnedest thing I've ever seen! You're not after my bird, are ya? Wahahah!"
He's laughing while he says it, so I guess he doesn't mean it. Still, 'his bird' happens to be sitting on said floating house. I don't think he'd find that as amusing. All the dogs start laughing, even though they clearly have no idea what they're laughing about. They must figure that if their master – as I presume this guy is – finds it funny, then it must be. Besides, a happy master means more treats! Let's laugh too and keep him happy so he will play with us and rub our bellies.
The stranger pulls himself from the shadows. Strangely enough, he's also an old man. Where do they all keep coming from?! He's in worse shape than my old man, though, because he has a walking stick. I hardly see Fredrickson using his, except when he's been walking for a long time or up a steep slope.
"Wait. Are you... Charles Muntz?" says Fredrickson.
"Eh, well, yes," replies the eponymous old man.
"The Charles Muntz?!"
Great, now he's deaf as well as cranky. He flies into a whirl of energy, shaking Muntz's hand as hard as he can manage, and rambling on about being 'his biggest fan'. He's a bit old to be saying those kinds of things. Muntz, delighted at the worship, declares that Fredrickson and Russell are now their guests, so they dogs jump on them and lick them all over. Talk about split personalities.
The house starts moving again, a little faster this time. The meeting with his idol has given Fredrickson a slight spring in his step. As we get closer, it is revealed that there's a massive blimp inside the darkness. How we missed it, I have no idea. It has the words 'Spirit of Adventure' painted onto the side, though it's peeling a bit. What a cool name. I have to tell Tails all about this when I get back! Oh, Donald and Goofy too.
Fredrickson ties the house to one of the weights on the blimp using the harnesses. The inside opens up to reveal a bright light and a large ramp. Must be like walking into heaven, and I bet it's just as luxurious inside. And here's me, stuck outside with a giant bird on the roof of a floating house. Typical.
The dogs pounce on poor Dug, who tries to follow his friends inside the airship. They put him in the 'cone of shame', which is one of those cones they put on dogs to stop them pulling stitches out. No, I can't imagine he likes it much. The dogs follow that Doberman with the squeaky voice inside, Dug trailing along forlornly. I want to hop down and show that he's not alone in all of this, but I think I'll stay hidden for now.
I'm not a complete idiot.
I cast a glance at Kevin. She's sitting sadly in the nook between two sections of the roof, her head resting on her legs. I sidle closer and rub her head with mine, to reassure her. She gives me a look that says 'yeah, right' and gazes off into the distance. She must be missing her babies. I miss my friends, too.
There's a faint call in the distance. Kevin perks up immediately, looking around in all directions on that pivoting head of hers, as if trying to decide if it's real or not. The call sounds again. This time she answers. Loudly. I smack my face with a paw. Way to give away our position. I see a flicker of movement in a porthole on the side of the blimp. Muntz is pressed to the glass in admiration, then anger. He turns away sharply.
Fredrickson and Russell must've made a break for it.
That's my cue! I leap down from the roof just in time to see said humans legging it as fast as their old and/or stubby legs can carry them. I charge past them at a reasonable speed so I don't take their skin off and summon the Kingdom Key D. I've been itching for a fight all day!
The dogs follow in hot pursuit of the escaping humans, but stop when they see me. My bright colours and bristling fur startle them. Hooray for odd transformations. A few take blind leaps at me, but I swiftly knock them away. I don't want to attack anything that isn't a Heartless, but I don't have much of a choice.
After seeing I'm aggressive, some back off and others coming running. I fight as well as I can on four legs with my weapon in my mouth, which isn't too bad, actually. Good thing I had all that practise in the Pride Lands. I can hear a lot more dogs coming from behind. I'd manage them if I had a dog and a duck helping me, but on my own, I'm doomed.
Then Dug does something helpful, surprisingly.
He yells at us and points out an escape route, if you can call it that. I give a random dog one last bonk on the head and then break free of the fight. Fredrickson and Russell have already reached Dug and floated down a pit onto safe land. I just jump. Unfortunately, two humans carrying a house can't outrun a pack of angry dogs.
And that's Kevin's cue.
She jumps down and pulls both humans onto her back, sprinting away into the light of the open air. I follow easily. They're not going as fast as they think they are. Not by my standards anyway. The balloons carrying the house begin to burst against the ceiling, and it sinks even lower. Hopefully it'll land on some of the dogs. Seriously, how many did that guy take with him?!
Kevin begins to struggle with the weight, and Russell gets throw off. He's dragged along the ground by his harness, kicking his feet at any dogs that get close enough to be in range. I charge in to pick him up, but a sudden rock slide cuts me off. I have to take a detour. I see Dug standing bravely, the cause of the rock slide that hindered the oncoming pack. I send him a silent thank you. I need to get him a bone for that.
I leap suddenly into bright light, but I resist the urge to shut my eyes. I really don't think watching where I'm going is gonna help any. Kevin makes a sharp turn to avoid the cliff side, sending Russell swinging off the edge. I growl loudly and anxiously, before leaping down a few ledges to his level. He's lucky he has that backpack to shield him from the rocky outskirts that could easily shear off skin. Kevin leaps across boulders to avoid certain death, leaving Russell swinging dangerously between the gaps.
I summon the Kingdom Key D again, take carefully aim, and throw it. The edge of the blade cuts straight through the rope. Russell hangs in midair for a moment like he's grown wings, before falling fast. Luckily, I'm much faster. I move underneath him and catch him on my back. My God, he weighs a ton! I take a few moments to get my momentum back while Russell grabs onto the fur around my neck. I dismiss the Keyblade in midair. Wow, I didn't know I could do that. Adrenaline sure brings out the best in me.
I speed up, drawing closer to Kevin and Fredrickson, who holds out a hand for Russell to grab. He gets a firm grip and pulls the boy onto the bird, holding the cat in his arms, while the dog follows, chased by other dogs. This makes no sense at all. Kevin screeches to a halt at the edge of a cliff.
There's nowhere to run.
I turn and growl, ready to fight to the death if it saves my friends, but it isn't necessary. We might have stopped, but the house hasn't. It carries on across the chasm, dragging us all with it. Luckily, we're all holding on. Even Dug, who's holding onto me. With his teeth. As we soar through the air, a dog makes a desperate leap to please his master and bites Kevin's leg hard. She cries loudly and kicks it off into the river below. More dogs follow, either not seeing the edge, or not bothering to jump. I feel bad. I just hope they can all swim.
We land harshly on the other edge of the pit, falling face first in the dirt. I pull myself together quickly. My pulse is still racing from that run! I wanna go for more! My enthusiasm drops quickly when I see Kevin. The poor girl's leg is bleeding from the bite, and she can't walk. Russell drops everything, literally, and pulls out bandages from his mountainous backpack. He wraps them around Kevin's leg. Pretty resourceful for a kid. I'd heal her myself, but magic doesn't exist here. Stupid laws of physics.
Kevin's babies start crying again, but louder and more desperately. They must be hungry, and cold, and tired, and scared. Kevin drags herself up and tries to get closer. She falls instantly. It's heart-wrenching, and there's nothing I can do to help. The look in Kevin's eyes is awful.
"She's hurt real bad," states Russell in that way where he points out the obvious, but now no one has enough gall to chide him for it in this sad moment. "Can't we help her get home?"
Fredrickson looks at the mountains in the distance, then at the fading balloons on his house. He takes a deep breath and agrees. Russell's face lights up so much we won't even need to sun to see where we're going. We all work together to pull Kevin onto the deck of the house, where she sits dejectedly. If she was human, she'd be crying, I'm sure.
The weight of the house and the giant tropical bird is too much for two humans, so Russell ties a bit of his harness around my waist so I can help pull. Dug sniffs the air tentatively and points in the direction he thinks we should go, which is the opposite way to where we ought to go. Well, at least he's trying.
Together we pull until night begins to fall, shrouding the forest in an eerie black cloak. Dug become our eyes, running ahead and sniffing for any signs of the dogs tracking us down. He confirms that they're leaving us alone, for now at least. I like him better when he's being helpful that when he's trying to tell us jokes that don't make any sense. Cats really are smarter than dogs. What do you know?
The trees are really close together as we get further into the forest. We try and keep the house banging off the trunks, but it's difficult, especially when you're my size. Russell looks really downhearted at the way events have turned. He lets go of the rope and walks along, barely pulling the weight of the house behind him.
"You know what, Mr. Fredrickson?" he asked. "The wilderness isn't quite what I expected."
"Yeah? How so?"
He's obviously just humouring the boy, but at least the conversation breaks the unsettling silence that had fallen over us.
"It's kinda... wild. I mean, it's not how they made it sound in my book."
Fredrickson snorts.
"Get used to that, kid."
"My dad made it sounds so easy." I prick my ears up. He's never mentioned his family before. "He's really good at camping and how to make fire from rocks and stuff. He used to come to all my sweat lodge meetings, and afterwards we'd go get ice cream at Fetton's."
He starts to ramble on about what ice cream they got, and something about counting cars. He suddenly looks pained when his story ends. It makes me wonder what actually happened with his dad.
"It may seem boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most."
There's an oddly tense moment when Russell stops speaking. I don't really understand. My memories are filled with exciting moments, like breaking the speed barrier, bringing Eggman crashing down, and sparring with whomever I could annoy enough to want to fight me. I guess we just have different lifestyles. Very different.
The cries of Kevin's babies are getting much louder. Russell pulls back the foliage to reveal the craggy rocks right in front of our noses. We're finally here! Everyone shrugs their harnesses off so Fredrickson can attached them to a tree and keep the house from escaping, while Russell helps Kevin off the porch. Dug and I sniff and scout out the area for any signs of enemies. The area seems to be clear, thankfully.
Kevin's leg seems to have gotten a little better, as she can walk better now, with a little help. Dug gets excited and starts bounding around ecstatically, his energy infecting everyone in the group. Even Fredrickson – who didn't want to be here in the first place – looks pleased as Kevin slowly makes her way up the slope. She even breaks off into a run completely unaided. I turn to see Russell and Fredrickson praising her and pushing her on with their encouragement.
I also see the blimp rising up behind them.
I stop running, staring in a mix of awe and fear. A bright spotlight shines down suddenly from the airship, illuminating Kevin in all her colourful glory. As the blimp gets lower it starts kicking up loads of air; everyone stops and braces themselves so we don't go flying. A net is fired from an unseen cannon, heading straight for Kevin.
I jump in and shove her out of the way. The net catches me in its woven strands and binds me tightly. I'd try and gnaw my way out but I can't move my head enough to get a good shot at it. Another one is fired, capturing Kevin while she's down. And here I was hoping she'd get away in time.
She manages to get to her feet, dragging her off, but gets the net struck on at outcropping rock. Fredrickson and Russell leap into action to try and free the two of us, but I refuse any help. Kevin has children, and is therefore more important than me.
"Get away from my bird!"
Muntz appears from inside the blimp with his pack of mongrel hounds. He smashes a lantern underneath the house, setting it ablaze. I'm hit with a sudden surge of heat from the fire, but the house will undoubtedly be worse off. The balloons very quickly start popping from the intense heat.
Fredrickson abandons the attempt to free Kevin and tries to get the flames under control instead. What the hell is he thinking?! It's just a house! In the confusion, Muntz orders his dog to pick up the bird. Some get confused and drag me on board too, even though I'm not necessarily what he wants. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him stuff and mount me, or worse, put me in a zoo. They don't call me the 'blue blur' because I pace around in a cage all day!
I turn my head just in time to see Fredrickson dragging the house out of the reach of the flames. Russell and Dug just watch in shock and horror as we're hauled off like baggage. The ramp starts to close as Muntz makes his way up to view his prizes. He grins in satisfaction at Kevin, but frowns at me.
"I didn't ask for this one."
"But, master!" one dog says. "It's such a pretty colour!"
He surveys me for a moment, casting his criticising eye over my ensnared state. I growl at him, baring my teeth. He shrugs nonchalantly.
"Well, the more the better. Lock them up in different cages."
He leaves, probably to go have some tea and scones. A dog reaches up onto a tray and takes a syringe from it, holding it in its drooling jaws. It jabs the tip into Kevin's thighs, making her screech in pain. Her struggling gets less and less until she finally falls still, though her chest still rises and falls, thankfully.
The same dog approaches me with a different needle. I try and kick up a fuss, but a dog wraps its jowls around my neck and tightens. I yelp and stop moving around. Being tranquilised is better than having my neck snapped. The dog rams the needle into my flanks, sending shooting pains up both legs on that side. The dog holding my neck lets go, so I immediately start thrashing around again.
My limbs start to feel heavy and my vision goes blurry. I figure I know there's no point in struggling, and getting my heart beating so fast will only make it happen faster, so I lie still and let the anaesthetic take hold. I yawn and shut my eyes slowly.
Just a long blink...