A brand new chapter. I have to say, it was fun to do another space battle. I think this one turned out way better than the one I wrote near the beginning. But, you be the judge.
Kairi: "One can only hope."
Do we really need the sarcasm?
Kairi: "You haven't let me do the disclaimer in months! I think I'm entitled."
…Oh yeah. Sorry.
Kairi: "Fine. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or whatever else he wants to use."
Chapter 69: Rescue
Bariss snuck quietly through Hamsterviel's ship. She was pleased to find that she hadn't lost her touch. Nobody had noticed her enter the ship while the exchange was being made.
She wasn't entirely sure what part of the ship this was, but she didn't think it was particularly special. She was in one of dozens of hallways running the length of the ship. There was nothing particularly special about any of them, just plain, unattractive, metal walls.
She came to a hallway that split into two directions. She listened carefully, and heard voices coming from farther down the left path. Proceeding carefully, she took that path. She slid along the wall, keeping her eyes pinned on the door at the end of the hallway.
It was slightly ajar, and when she reached it, she could identify the voices of Xaynew and Hamsterviel.
"I don't care, Hamster-wheel." Xaynew was saying. "I'm taking the Keybearers with me as soon as this rust-bucket hits hyperspace, and I want a few experiments as collateral for your assistance."
"HAMSTERVIEL! It is Hamsterviel!"
"Whatever. I want twenty experiments. Of my choice."
That was about the time that Hamsterviel went into a long tangent about how the experiments were his (his, his!). Plenty of the words were in an alien language that Bariss couldn't recognize, but they didn't sound flattering. But, he sounded so ludicrous that she found herself struggling to hold back laughter.
"Don't count on it." Xaynew responded coldly. "I'll have thirty now."
"Thirty!? What happened to twenty!?"
"Could you two possibly save the immature brawling for after we take off?" Saix interrupted. "I don't believe our pilot needs any distractions."
Bariss then heard an affirmative grunt that most likely belonged to Gantu.
"Fine, fine!" Hamsterviel said.
After they had been quiet for a few moments, she risked a peek around the side of the door. Fortunately, the room's three occupants weren't facing her. They were in a large, long room with glass walls, and a shiny tile floor. This couldn't have been the cockpit, so it must have been a meeting room. She had heard Gantu's voice over a speaker in the room.
Seconds later, the floor started vibrating gently, which meant that they were lifting off from the ground.
She'd have to hurry.
Cobra Bubbles watched Hamsterviel's ship lift off from the ground, kicking up sand, dust, and dirt from the whole area, and uprooting some of the nearest palm trees. Their clothing was whipping around them in the burst of hot air. Mickey's ears were flapping.
When it was fairly high up, Goofy licked his thumb and wiped the green mark off the King's forehead. With it gone, he summoned Kingdom Crown, destroying the binders over his hands. He then tapped Jumba's, and they simply fell off.
Jumba rubbed his sore wrists, and looked at Bubbles. "I am thinking that there is some sort of plan being involved here?"
Bubbles touched his earpiece. "Alpha team, go."
"GO!" Stitch repeated enthusiastically.
Seconds later, the large, red ship that Stitch, Lilo, and Axel were in was shooting overhead. Its engines belched white-hot flames as it rose higher and higher into the atmosphere after the larger ship.
In the observation deck of Hamsterviel's ship, there was tension in the air. They were awaiting the jump to hyperspace which would take place in just a few moments. Then they would finally be able to part company, and hopefully not work alone together ever again.
Hamsterviel's ears were twitching in anticipation, seconds before takeoff.
And then the viewport was full of ship, causing them to all leap back in surprise (or the Nobody equivalent of it). The Galactic Federation ship hovered in front of them, weapons emerging from hidden gun ports.
"Doctor Hamster-Wheel-" the Grand Councilwoman's voice rang out over the inter-ship comm speakers.
"Hamsterviel!"
"-You are outgunned, and your escape route is cut off." She went on, ignoring his outburst. "Surrender the experiments and your two Keybearer prisoners, and you will not be harmed."
Hamsterviel looked at the two Nobodies sharing the room with him. They nodded, and Saix snapped his fingers, and said, "Here's our answer."
Sora brought the Unity cruising toward Hamsterviel's ship, still invisible to the naked eye and sensors alike. The Federation ship had just exited hyperspace right into its path.
The plan seemed to be working, he could see Stitch's craft far below, approaching very quickly. Sora was returning to his usual optimistic self, when something happened that they hadn't counted on.
All around Hamsterviel's ship appeared Nobody and Heartless ships.
"Shoot." Sora muttered.
"Did you mean that literally?" Nehrut asked from the weapons station.
"Hey Bubbly," Yuffie was talking into the speaker, "Lots of enemy ships just popped up. Do we engage, or stay cloaked?"
There was a brief moment of static before Bubbles replied. "Fight them on your way to the ship, and activate the automated defenses when you dock."
"Roger!"
"Cloaking device deactivated." Nehrut said.
The effect was instant and shocking. On the outside, the big ship became visible again to everyone. A good deal of the Brotherhood ships shot toward the Unity, nearly half went toward the Federation ship, and a smaller number flew to meet the red ship approaching from 'below'.
"Fire away!" Sora exclaimed, punching the ship forward into the oncoming mass of hostiles.
"Firing!" Nehrut's fingers danced across the controls. The eight laser cannons opened up, spewing blue and green packets of concentrated energy into the enemies. The immediate vicinity was filled with small explosions, the smoke and fire soon snuffed out by the lack of serious oxygen this far above the world.
Compared to the Unity's massive cannons, the lasers that the hostile vessels were using were just downright pathetic. The lasers only dealt cosmetic damage to the outer hull, scorching the metal on impact.
Some of the hostiles tried to pull a kamikaze on them. Sora recognized the ships, they were shaped like the Nobody crest, and silver. The crest was repeated on it in black. These ships would fly directly toward the ship and trigger a self-destruct program. But Sora was used to them.
He barrel-rolled away from them, and in the process, the Unity smashed more of the tiny ships with its bulk like flies against a windshield.
Those ships alone wouldn't be much of a challenge, but now Hamsterviel's ship was firing as well. Multi-barreled cannons emerged from the hull, and opened fire, spraying green plasma at the Unity.
Sora's superior piloting skills were enough to keep them away from the blasts, but they were tracking the ship, and they weren't about to give up.
"Lock torpedoes on the weapons emplacements!" Sora ordered.
"Way ahead of you!" Nehrut had already been targeting the big guns with torpedoes. He was grateful that they had restocked on torpedoes at Disney Castle after Stitch used them all up. "Locked and loaded, and ready when you are!"
"Fire!"
Nehrut fired the torpedoes, and watched them twist and turn around the smaller ships to Hamsterviel's weapons batteries. They exploded against them, sending twisted, superheated scraps of metal wheeling through space and crashing into the Brotherhood vessels. Sora barely registered that Yuffie was starting to turn pale.
"Careful, over there flyboy!" Axel's voice came over the speaker. "We can't blow the whole thing up!"
"I am aware of that, thanks!" Nehrut was clearly not used to space combat. Sora was surprised how well he was handling it.
By now, Stitch had entered the combat, blasting with a plasma-shooting gatling gun that had emerged from the underside of his ship. Green bolts of plasma splattered into ships, sending them back to the Darkness.
The fighting went on for several minutes. At one point, Stitch passed in front of the window to the observation deck. For a brief second, he made eye contact with Hamsterviel. He stuck his tongue out, and laughed crazily.
"We can't keep wasting time out here." Sora said. He was talking to both his crew, and that of the red ship. "We have to get on that ship!"
Yuffie (still looking pale) opened up a channel to the Federation ship, which was doing its own part to destroy enemy ships, while still blocking Hamsterviel's attempts at escape. "This is the Unity. Are you receiving?"
"Unity, this is the Grand Councilwoman." A female voice answered. "We've just launched police cruisers, and they are ready to provide covering fire for your vessels."
"Glad to hear it, 'cause we're making our move now." Yuffie looked like she was about to throw up as she closed the link.
"Yuffie, are you alright?" Sora asked amid the laser blasts.
"I should tell you," She said through her closed hands, "I'm slightly prone to motion sickness."
This was coming from a ninja who prided herself on using multiple cartwheels and similarly acrobatic tricks on a daily basis. "You're joking, right?"
Yuffie's response was to silently gag, and open a nearby compartment with barf bags inside.
Sora opened throttle (praying Yuffie's stomach could hold out), and sped toward Hamsterviel's massive ship. Stitch was right on his tail. (1)
Bariss stepped into the brig, whip in hand, and ready for action.
Standing in front of her were Riku, Kairi, and 625. The experiment was undoing the binders on their wrists. When Riku's hands were finally free, he wiped the strange, green mark off his forehead. His headache vanished instantly.
"You know, I should've considered this before." 625 was saying. "Gantu and those other guys are real unfriendly."
"Thanks 625." Kairi said, wiping of her mark.
"Why do I get the feeling that I just combed a whole warship searching for two teenagers... for nothing?" Bariss was pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Was that sarcasm?" Riku asked.
"I've been hanging out with Nehrut and Axel." She waved it off. "Now, we need to find the experiments."
"You got it cupcake." 625 said. "I can take ya there, no problem."
The experiment rushed out the door Bariss had come through, just as something shook the ship.
Sora and the others had gained access to Hamsterviel's ship via an airlock at the back of the ship. Stitch and Axel had proceeded them inside, and were already facing a large number of Heartless, in a large circular room adjacent the airlock that probably had something to do with engine maintenance.
Sora wasted no time in joining them. He ran toward the Heartless, summoning Oblivion. He cut a Torchbearer in half, and then stabbed his blade into the back of a Neoshadow before anyone else noticed he was in the room.
He reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out the Summon charm from the Land of Dragons. He tossed it high into the air, and shouted, "Buzz!"
Hovering in orbit around a green and blue world, there was a space station. It was circular, in shape, like two wide 'cones' attached by the undersides. Three greenish fin-like structures were fixed to one side. On the top was a circular command bridge. The station bristled with weapons.
From out of the station came a man. He was wearing green and white armor, marked occasionally by purple. There was a jetpack strapped to his back, which spread into two wide wings. He was smiling.
Captain Buzz Lightyear of Star Command landed next to Sora, and saluted him, smiling.
"Let's go, ranger!"
Buzz touched a small button on the upper part of his right gauntlet. From somewhere around the wrist area, a narrow red beam of light shot out. The powerful laser cut through the chest of a Torchbearer, and shot out of the end to strike a Shadow in between the eyes.
Sora then rushed into the Heartless himself. He struck left to right, beheading two shadows and cutting an Armored Knight (he hadn't seen those in a while) in half. He blocked the strike from one of its fellows, and then stuck his blade through its chest. He turned around, and blocked a ball of flame that a Torchbearer fired at him.
A Shadow leapt onto Buzz's back, trying to wrap its arms around his neck. The ranger grabbed one of those scrawny arms, and flipped it over his shoulder into the ground. He turned around, and rammed his fist into the face of a Torchbearer. Then he spun right back around and delivered a kick into the neck of an Armored Knight. Then he elbowed another one in the face.
Sora ducked under a leaping Shadow and decapitated it in midair. He blocked two overhead strikes from Armored Knights, and used his other free hand to blast them with flames. As they were turning to ashes, he lept through their remains, and stabbed his blade through a Neoshadow.
Buzz blasted a Torchbearer, then a Shadow. He leapt away from an Armored Knight's blade before it was able to cut him in two. He drove his fist into its face, and then blasted through it into a Shadow.
But there were still plenty of Heartless swarming into the room through the only door.
Quickly, Buzz pressed a few buttons on his chest plate, then ran a finger across his gauntlet. At the same time, Sora held his Keyblade in the air. It started glowing with the familiar blue light he associated with locking a Keyhole.
Buzz fired rapidly at the glowing blade, boosting a few feet above the ground and staying. He flew quickly around the sides of the room, still blasting. The bolts bounced off the blade, ricocheting off of it, and all over the room.
The bolts hit several dozen Heartless, but what made this attack particularly effective was the fact that the bolts that missed them, bounced. If they struck any surface at all, they would ricochet off of it, as well. The room was filled with red bolts of energy, bouncing all over the place.
They struck every last Heartless, and it was three minutes before the bolts finally wore themselves out, and dissipated.
Sora observed the heavily scorched walls and floor with satisfaction. He turned his gaze to Buzz Lightyear, who was walking toward him with a broad smile.
"Thanks Buzz." He saluted him.
"Any time, son." He returned the salute. He pressed a circular button on his chest plate, and his jetpack activated again. He blasted toward the ceiling, and as he started to vanish back to his home world, he exclaimed, "To infinity, and beyond!"
"I never get tired of watching that." Axel said. "I have no idea what happens to us when you do that, but whatever."
Truth be told, Sora didn't know either. But now wasn't the time to think about that.
"Stitch, think you can sniff out Kairi and Riku?"
"Ih!" The small alien sniffed the air all around him for a minute. Sora knew he had super-heightened senses. He'd have the best chance of finding Riku and Kairi if Bariss hadn't already. After a moment, his ears perked up.
He rushed off out of the room on all fours, his antennae, spines, and extra arms emerging from within his body. Sora followed him, with Axel, Nehrut, and Yuffie (freshly recovered from her motion sickness) behind him.
"By the way, what did you do with Lilo?"
"Strapped her into her seat back at the ship with enough stuff to keep Hercules stuck in place."
"Remind me to never let you babysit my kids."
"Relax, I won't hurt Sora and Kairi Jr. Those kids will have enough problems with you as a dad."
Yuffie slapped him in the back of the head.
They ran through the halls of the ship, following Stitch's constant sniffing. They had taken so many left and right turns seemingly at random that Sora's sense of direction had been totally thrown off.
Finally, several bodies collided in the junction between two hallways. Ironically, Nehrut had been so focused on following Stitch he hadn't thought to try and sense them.
Stitch and 625 crashed into each other as the two groups came together, and skidded into a wall. Kairi tripped over them, and then Sora fell on top of her. Riku stumbled over them, ran a ways, and fell. Bariss began to fall, Nehrut tried to catch her, but instead they just fell together onto Sora and Kairi.
Axel and Yuffie were the only ones still on their feet, looking at the scene in amusement.
Axel said, "Yep. These are the guys we're all counting on to save the worlds... We are so screwed.
Prepare for more boss battles coming up!
(1) I still didn't know much about FFVII when I wrote the last space battle or I would have elaborated on her motion sickness sooner. It's kind of funny!
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