CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
A group of Floods flew out of 626's room and slammed into the wall in a big, dark pile of fading flames. I sprinted out of the room and made a harsh turn down the hallway and back to the transporter. When I entered the room, I saw Aqua finishing off her own ambush of Unversed. She spotted something on the ground and picked it up.
"What'd you find?" I said as I walked up to her.
"Hi, Hallie." Aqua said. "Look."
She opened her hands and showed me a strange, multi-colored object shaped like a star, constructed out of junk and rods. A small, yellow, star token rested in the center of the stars.
"It's a Wayfinder." I said.
"But how did it get here?" Aqua said.
A flash of blue snatched up the Wayfinder from Aqua, and she jumped back in surprise. She immediately summoned Rainfell and turned to Experiment 626, who growled at her and gripped the junky star.
"626!" I said. I stepped between the two and turned to Aqua. "Wait a minute, Aqua. He's my friend."
"Really...?" Aqua said, dispelling her Keyblade.
I turned to 626 and smiled. "Did you make that?"
626 stopped growling and twitched his ears at me. "Haa...lee..."
"Come out, you little trog!" A familiar, deep voice bellowed from the hallway. 626 leaped up to the ceiling and crawled into the vents.
"Wait!" Aqua called.
"You there." Aqua and I turned and faced the giant, elephant-size alien. He looked around the room, his hand hovering closely to his gun holster. "Has Experiment 626 passed through this area?"
"Experiment what?"
"Don't be dense. Dr. Jumba Jookiba's genetic abomination- 626! Small? Blue? Vicious?"
"I wouldn't say vicious..." I mumbled, but it carried into the ears of the elephant.
"Ah, so you have seen him!"
"He disappeared in the ventilation system." Aqua said.
"Blast! He got away again."
We went our separate ways across the room, listening to the alien's rumbling footsteps. Suddenly, they stopped and turned back to us.
"Hold it right there. Why don't I know you? What section are you from?" He said, as if noticing us for the first time.
"Section?" I said.
"Aha!" The elephant-alien pulled out his gun and pointed it at us. "Trying to stow away, are you? You're coming with me! Move it!"
I sighed as Aqua and I turned and walked down the hallway with the alien right behind us.
The alien led us past the helm of the space ship, which was blazing with flashing lights and beeping buttons.
"What is the meaning of this?" We looked inside the control room to see the green, petite alien, the Grand Councilwoman. "Captain Gantu, did I not order you to apprehend the fugitives immediately?"
Wow. Even his name is fitting.
"Yes- and I will have them in custody soon. They'd be locked up already if those wretched monsters would just-" Gantu mumbled, but he stopped himself. "I mean, if I hadn't uncovered these potential stowaways."
"We weren't trying to sneak on board." Aqua said as we walked up to the Grand Councilwoman. "My name is Aqua."
"And I'm Hallie. Now would you tell Mr. Elephant here to stop pointing his gun at us?" I said, ignoring the laser-beam glare from Gantu's beady blue eyes.
"Please, let us handle this threat. We know of the monsters here, and we know how to stop them. Just give us a chance." Aqua said. "The weapons we carry are the only ones that can stop them."
"Our weapons are of no use against them?" the Grand Councilwoman said. She narrowed her eyes at Gantu. "Is this true?!"
"Well, we haven't explored all our options-" Gantu said.
"Nor do we have time to. We are fortunate you are here, Aqua and Hallie. Your assistance would be most welcome."
"But Grand Councilwoman, you can't honestly believe what these stowaways say?"
"I think you'll find I can. We have a crisis. Jumba and 626 remain at large, and these monsters are obstructing attempts to apprehend them. Or, did I mishear your latest excuse as to why you've again failed to carry out your duties, Captain? Aqua, Hallie, will you help us?"
"Of course." Aqua said. "Defeating them is our job. It's what we do best, ma'am."
"Then might I make one other request?"
"Fire away." I said, hoping Gantu wouldn't take that literally.
"Should you happen upon our fugitives..." The giant screen at the end of the room lit up, showing a picture of Experiment 626 and Jumba. "Please do whatever you can to apprehend them intact."
"You want us to capture Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626?" Aqua said.
"But you can't just- That's my job!" Gantu protested.
"You had your chance, Captain Gantu. Now you will stand and await orders." Grand Councilwoman said. Gantu growled viciously. "We will monitor the location of the monsters and keep you apprised. Thank you, Aqua and Hallie, for your help."
We nodded and walked past a pouting Gantu and into the hallway.
As we searched the ship, the only thing we came across were Unversed; no Jumba or Experiment 626. But when we entered the cell bay, there we saw him, looking and crawling around frantically. As he crawled towards the door, a group of Floods appeared.
"Look out!" Aqua cried as the Floods lunged towards the alien. We lunged at them with our Keyblades and cut them down. "You must be Experiment 626. We have orders to take you in."
"Terra!" 626 said. Aqua gasped as the alien turned around and crawled the other way.
"Did he just say..." Aqua said, glancing at me. "We need to have a talk!"
More Unversed appeared around us. Aqua sighed in frustration as we summoned our Keyblades.
"626, you know how to destroy things, right?" I said. "Well, let's take care of these guys together!"
626 giggled maniacally and lunged at a Flood. As its buddies rushed to help it, 626 turned on them and fired mini blasters at them, destroying them immediately. He jumped into the air, using the face of the Flood he tackled, to launch himself into the face of a Tank Toppler. I gulped nervously. Hopefully he wouldn't ever turn on us like that.
"Thanks, we owe you." Aqua said, but 626 resumed his search. "What is it you're looking for?"
"Teh...rra..." 626 said. He jumped onto one of the beams and climbed up it.
"Wait!" Aqua called, but he continued climbing. "He knew Terra?"
I nodded, then I had an epiphany.
"His Wayfinder!" I cried.
"Do you think he lost it?" Aqua said. "Maybe if we find it for him, he'll let us talk."
We walked out of the cell bay, and I heard Aqua gasp.
"The window! Look!" she said. We ran to the window and looked outside into the voids of space. Unversed raced past the window. "They're everywhere!"
"You know what we need to do." I said, and Aqua nodded.
We headed to the roof of the ship, activating our Keyblade Armor and climbing onto our gliders. Unversed circled around us like race cars. Aqua transformed her glider into a bow and shot energy arrows at the Unversed, which I crashed right through them. As we cruised in space, a colorful object slowly floated towards us. I reached out and grabbed 626's Wayfinder.
"Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626 have been sighted." Grand Councilwoman said to us back in the control room. "At that time, the two of them were wandering around the launch deck. Would you see that they're secured?"
"Is Experiment 626... really that dangerous of a creature?" Aqua said.
"We must assume so."
"But what if your assumptions are wrong?" I said, and Aqua elbowed my arm to hush me.
"We'll head over there now." she said, and she lead me out of the control room.
"I don't understand." I said quietly. "Maybe what Jumba said was right. They're afraid of him because he's different."
"Is time to give up." Jumba said as Aqua and I entered the launch deck from a lifted platform. "Then I will fix abnormality, and ridiculous behavior stops."
Experiment 626 snarled at Jumba in an unknown language, and Jumba deepened his scowl.
"Hold it right there!" Aqua cried as she jumped down from the platform. "Dr. Jumba, Experiment 626... I have been authorized to take you into custody."
"Aqua, stop!" I said. I jumped down from the platform and looked at 626. I pulled his Wayfinder out of my pocket. "Here. We found this outside. It's yours, right?"
626's ears perked at the sight of the junky star. "Haa-lee! Terra!" He cried as he lunged at me. I cried out as he tackled me to the ground. I laid on my back and he sat on my stomach, gently cradling his Wayfinder.
"So it really does belong to you." Aqua said. "But... where have you seen that shape?"
"Is copy he made of good luck charm Terra and Hallie show to him." Jumba said. "Terra said friend gave him charm, was very protective of it."
"He... really said that?"
"Yeah." I said, sitting up and shifting 626 into my lap, looking like a child hugging their favorite stuff animal. Aqua smiled at the thought.
"And now, because of your little baubles, my genius creation is hesitating in his genetically programmed destructive instincts." Jumba said. "Just look at him!"
"I think it's really sweet." I said, hugging 626 tightly. "Treasuring the ones dearest to your heart."
A blast of blue, hot energy zipped past my head and landed in front of me. I gasped as 626 and I scrambled to our feet and we turned around to see Gantu with his gun aimed right at us.
"What are you doing?! Our orders are to capture them alive!" Aqua said.
"I've decided to take a new approach. All right, you two..." Gantu said, shifting the hole of his gun to Jumba and 626. "Any last words before I blast you into a million pieces?"
"La-la pa-too-kie!" 626 cried, making a "neener-neener" face at Gantu.
"I am just big-boned!" Gantu cried. He jumped down and chased after 626. "Freeze!"
Cornering Experiment 626 in a corner, Gantu raised his gun at him.
"Stop it!" Aqua cried as she and I charged at him with our Keyblades.
"I warned you. Stay out of it!" Gantu said.
"Sorry, but we don't have to follow your orders." I said.
Gantu growled and fired gooey blobs of energy at us. I cast Barrier and sent the energy back at him. Aqua summoned purple balls of light and fired them at him by striking them with her Keyblade.
"Haa-lee!" Experiment 626 cried, hopping up and down excitedly.
"Okay, help us out!" I said. 626 jumped to me and curled up into a ball. I grabbed him and chucked him at Gantu. He landed on his face.
"Get off me! Get off!" Gantu cried as 626 scratched at his face. As the elephant-alien scrambled around the room, Aqua and I reached our feet out when he ran past. His feet snagged on ours and we went tumbling to the ground. I couldn't hold in my giggles as his body crashed to the ground and caused the room to rumble. 626 and Aqua joined in.
"I... am not finished with you yet!" Gantu growled as he climbed back to his feet. He pointed his gun at us.
"Enough!" Grand Councilwoman stomped into the room. "I observed everything on the monitor."
"I... I can explain..." Gantu stuttered, but Grand Councilwoman walked right up to me and Aqua.
"Aqua, Hallie, you've been of great service. Thank you." she said. "Captain Gantu. Escort 626 to the asteroid to which he's been banished. When you return, you're back on patrol."
"Not patrol!" Gantu groaned.
"Wait!" I cried as the aliens made their way out of the launch deck. "Please, Grand Councilwoman, let 626 go! He's not bad at all!"
"You want me to spare him? He's an extremely dangerous creature. I cannot release such a menace." Grand Councilwoman said.
"But you're wrong about him! He's not dangerous! He just... he just wants to make some friends. You're only afraid of him because he's different!"
Grand Councilwoman stared at me for a few moments, and I worried that she would exile me to an asteroid as well. "Never have I heard someone speak to me this way... It is clear you care very much for Experiment 626. Very well, Hallie. If he behaves himself, I will consider shortening his exile."
"Really?" I grinned. "Thank you, ma'am!"
Aqua and I walked over to 626 and knelt to his level. Aqua reached out and touched his Wayfinder. He purred at us curiously.
"I like the charm you made." Aqua said. "Do you think maybe my circle of friends could become part of yours? My name is Aqua. My friends are Terra, Hallie, and Ventus."
I smiled and touched the Wayfinder, too. "Mine, too."
"Ah-koo, wah, fren..." 626 said. "Haa-lee... Terra... Ven."
We stood up and watched Experiment 626 walk away with Jumba and Grand Councilwoman.
