Hey there guys! Welcome back to New Orleans! Thanks again for all the support and I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this story. I still own nothing other than the plot and my OCs. Kingdom Hearts and all its properties belong to Disney and Square Enix. Also I have an Instagram account now so if you get a chance follow me there ;)
Chapter 71: Evangeline
Thanks to Ray and Kyra's guidance, the team found themselves on the right path to get to Mama Odie's. To be honest, Roxas could understand why Louis was confused; all the different areas of the bayou looked extremely similar to one another. It was a wonder their two guides knew where they were going. They had run into a few more heartless along the way but it was nothing the team couldn't handle. Tiana even tried fighting a few of the heartless herself and was doing very well. She even managed to pick up cure, blizzard and water magic fairly quickly.
"Now we just gonna keep-a goin' down this-a way." Ray spoke to the group. "We should reach Mama Odie by nightfall but looks like this little firefly not gonna make it home for dinner. Shoulda maybe told grandma and Fifi."
"That your girl?" Tiana asked from her position on Kyra's shoulder.
Ray shook his head. "Oh no no. My girl, that's Evangeline." He sighed with a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Evangeline?" Naminé asked. "That's a pretty name."
"Oh she's the prettiest firefly that ever did glow." Ray blushed. "Ya know I talk to Evangeline most every night. She kinda shy; don't say much. And I know in my heart we gonna be together forever."
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Tiana praised with a smile on her face. But that smile quickly vanished the moment Naveen opened his mouth.
"Ah, yes very sweet." Yawned Naveen from his position on Myde's head. "Just do not settle down to quickly my friend. There are plenty of fireflies."
Tiana immediately groaned, crossed her arms and glared at Naveen. The frog prince turned around to look at his traveling companions and noticed they were all looking at him with questionable looks in her eyes.
"What? What did I say?" He asked.
"Uh, Naveen, do you even realize what you just said?" Xion asked.
Dragon nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I mean that was pretty insensitive to Ray."
"Oh, he doesn't care." Tiana rolled her eyes. "He's just a spoiled little rich boy"
"You know, waitress. I think I have finally learned what your problem is." Naveen smirked.
Kyra raised an eyebrow. "Oh, have you?"
"She does not know how to have fun. There. I said it." Naveen said.
Tiana glared at him. "Is that so? Well, I found out what is wrong with you."
"I am too wonderful?" Naveen inquired.
"No." Tiana retorted. "You're a lazy bump on a log."
"Killjoy." Muttered Naveen.
"What was that?" Tiana asked.
"Nothing... Stick in the mud."
That was it for Tiana. She jumped right from Kyra's shoulder to Myde's head and got straight into Naveen's face. "Listen here. This 'stick in the mud' has had to work two jobs her entire life while you've been sucking on a silver spoon and chasing chambermaids around your ivory tower!"
"Yeah, Naveen." Said Kyra. "You know you could stand to be a little more sensitive. Tiana really is a hard worker."
"You could be a bit nicer to her since you dragged her into being a frog." Said Roxas.
Naveen stayed quiet for a few moments, then spoke up again, "...actually it's polished marble."
The entire group facepalmed. Clearly, Naveen hadn't been listening at all. But just then, a giant army of heartless appeared before them. Neoshadows, Gator Chompers and Search Ghosts surrounded them.
"Agh! It's those monsters again!" Louis shouted in fear. He panicked and looked around before jumping head first into a pricker bush. But then screamed in pain from the prickers. Ray, Naminé and Oswald quickly moved to help the friendly alligator out of the bush and heal the fresh wounds he gained.
Roxas and the rest of the team summoned their own weapons, ready for a fight.
"We're not going anywhere with these heartless in the way." Kyra growled as she readied her bow. "Let's make this quick."
"Yeah!" Agreed Tiana as she jumped down from Kyra's shoulder. "No one's gettin' in the way of me bein' human again!"
"Uh, yes just keep them away from me..." Naveen muttered as he jumped up on Roxas's shoulder and shuddered nervously.
Roxas rolled his eyes as he held Two Become One. "Don't worry, 'your highness'. We'll protect you." With that, the battle started.
A Neoshadow jumped up to grab Naveen off Roxas's shoulder but it was quickly knicked back by a quick strike from his keyblade. Xion jumped in next and finished the Neoshadow off with a powerful blow from Lost Memory. Another Neoshadow jumped up behind Roxas and tried to grab Naveen, but was blasted away by a water attack from Myde, then Lydia finished it off with a strong hit from her tambourine.
Kyra found herself locked in combat against a group Gator Chomper but they were causing a lot of damage. She barely had time to ready another arrow before the heartless attacked her again. Luckily, Dragon and Rusty came to her rescue just in time to help her finish off the Gator Chompers and heal her.
Tiana soon found herself up against three Search Ghosts and was doing well against them on her own. She couldn't cause a ton of damage thanks to her size, but she could move quickly to dodge attacks and unleash fast attacks. She had just finished dealing with the Search Ghosts when she saw one of the Neoshadows grab Naveen of Roxas's shoulder and started running away with him.
Naveen screamed for help but the team of world travellers were too busy dealing with the heartless themselves. Knowing, she had to do something, Tiana rushed towards the Neoshadow, ready to strike.
"I'm almost there!" Tiana exclaimed as she jumped up into the air and struck the heartless down with a powerful kick from her froggy legs. The blow caused the heartless to drop Naveen and fall to the bayou ground. Tiana then moved to attack the Neoshadow with fast strikes from her legs, fist and even toungue. She jumped and hopped around so quickly that the heartless couldn't keep up and couldn't catch her.
"Ain't that swell!?" Tiana exclaimed as she stopped in front of the heartless and hopped on its head, dealing the final blow with a strong attack from her legs. (1)
The two frogs were quickly surrounded again by Neoshadows
By that time, Roxas and the rest of his team had dealt with the remaining heartless and Naminé, Oswald and Ray had succeeded in pulling Louis out of the pricker bush. The alligator had a few prickers stuck to his belly and he looked like he was in a lot of pain.
"Well, that wasn't too bad." Dragon said as he sheathed Steel Slayer. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."
"You are getting better." Complimented Roxas. "We are all working well together."
Xion nodded in agreement. "It's thanks to all the battles we're doing together. After each world I can feel us all growing closer."
Kyra couldn't help but smile at the progress she and the rest of the team were making. But then, she realized Tiana and Naveen were much further away from the battlefield than when they first started. And surprisingly, they seemed to be laughing together as they made their way back to the group.
"The way you kicked that monster! Ashidanza! That was amazing!" Praised Naveen as he and Tiana moved closer to the team of world travellers.
"Well you weren't so bad yourself." Smiled Tiana. "Still think I'm a stick in the mud?"
Naveen laughed and shook his head. "Okay, fine maybe you are not a stick... That deep in the mud."
"Good enough for me." Tiana laughed.
At that moment, Louis released a scream as Ray pulled a pricker off his stomach. Roxas and his team visibly cringed at the sounds of Louis's pain.
"Oh. Ouch." Cringed Myde. "That's gotta hurt."
"Are you okay Louis?" Asked Lydia. "Those scales must be pretty sensitive if you were screaming that much."
Louis shook his head as he turned around, revealing his entire butt was covered in prickers. "I really hate pricker bushes. Do ya mind, pee-wee?" Louis whimpered in pain. Ray released a groan at the sight before moving to remove the prickers.
"I know you guys wanna get to mama Odie lickety split but this particular problem may take a little time." Ray sighed as he started pulling off some prickers off Louis's butt, causing the alligator to scream in pain and collapse into the dirt.
"Oh, poor Louis." Tiana said as she gently patted Louis's nose.
Naminé bent down to Louis's eye level. "Don't worry, I'll help heal you." She said soothingly as she summoned her keyblade.
"Much ablidged, Blondie." Louis thanked her while Naminé cast cure as Ray removed the prickers.
As Ray and Naminé worked to heal Louis, the rest of the team had a chance to rest. Roxas moved to sit beside Naveen and Tiana. Kyra and Rusty positioned themselves beside Tiana, who hopped on the back and red-haired girl's shoulder.
"You know, I've never had to fend for myself before." Naveen said suddenly, causing the entire group to look at him.
"No, really?" Kyra asked sarcastically
Naveen released a small chuckle. "Alright, alright. But when you live in a castle everything is done for you. They feed you, dress you, drive you. They brush your teeth."
"Dude." Said Myde. "That sounds like a life I can get behind."
Oswald raised an eyebrow. "Really? You want someone brushing your teeth for you?"
"Hey. Everything else would be getting done for me. I could live with that." Replied Myde.
"Yes, I admit it was a charmed life until the day my parents cut me off. Then I realized..." Naveen sighed. "...I don't know how to do anything."
Something about Naveen's story pulled at the team's hearts, especially Tiana. She had been so hard on him before and in the end, he really had no idea about the outside world. Slowly, Tiana moved off Kyra's shoulder and walked to the frog prince.
"Well, look at it this way." Tiana said as she stood by Naveen's side. "You make for a decent fighting partner. I liked knowing I could depend on you back there."
"That's right." Kyra nodded in agreement. "You actually weren't bad."
"You mean it?" Naveen asked, perking up slightly.
Tiana nodded and smiled. "Keep it up and I just might hire you at my restaurant. I might even teach you how to cook."
"Really?"
"No." Laughed Tiana.
"Oh come on! That was way bellow the froggy belt!" Pouted Naveen.
"Your restaurant?" Asked Kyra with a smile. "So you're still working towards that dream. I'm impressed."
Tiana nodded. "Of course I am. I promised my daddy I'd make it big, after all."
Kyra couldn't help but crack a smile. "That's good to hear. Once you open I know me and Rusty are going to want a plate of your beignets!" Rusty nodded his head and licked his lips.
"I like the sound of that!" Exclaimed Roxas. "You've got to let us try your food when you open!"
"Yeah!" Agreed Oswald. "You better get a table ready for all of us!"
"And I will play jazz with Louis and Myde so the music pours out every window!" Naveen exclaimed excitedly.
"Oh I'm deffinately up for that!" Agreed Myde.
Tiana blushed and laughed with embarassment. "Okay, okay. I'll keep all of that in mind."
By that time, Ray had finished pulling all the prickers out of Louis's butt and Naminé had finished healing him. The sky had turned dark and Stars had started to appear one after another.
"Thanks a bunch, Blondie and Pee Wee." Louis smiled and sighed in relief. "That feels so much better."
"You're welcome, Louis." Naminé said. "I'm just glad you're not hurting anymore."
Ray looked up at the starry sky and released a gasp as a smile spread across his face.
"Oh there she is! The prettiest firefly that ever did glow!" He gasped in astonishment as he started flying towards the sky. Immediately, the entire group snapped at attention.
"Evangeline?" Xion asked curiously.
Louis looked around the bayou with an excited look on his face. "I wanna meet this girl! Where's she at?!"
"How can you not see her? She's glowin' right up there!" Ray smiled as he pointed up towards the sky right at the brightest star in the sky. "Ain't she beautiful?" He blushed.
"Wait, a star? How can you be in love with a-" Questioned Lydia, but then realeased a gasp as she realized what it meant. "Oh... Oh no... Poor Ray..."
"Hey that's not a firefly you stupid-" Myde started to say before Lydia leaned over and roughly covered his mouth.
The gypsy glared darkly at him. "Ruin this for him and I will shave your head." She growled. Myde nodded his head in fear as he moved away from Lydia in order to move closer to Xion and Oswald instead.
As time slowly passed, Louis started playing his trumpet. The soft music seemed to soothe the the entire group. For awhile, it felt like they were finally getting a break from Xehanort and the heartless. For a moment, everything seemed to be peaceful.
The starry night sky turned the bayou into a romantic setting as lilies lay atop the water. Before long, Naveen had reach end out to Tiana to try dancing with her to the soft music of Louis's trumpet. But, she shook her head.
"No, I don't dance." Tiana said. "I've never danced."
Naveen shook his head and took her hand. "If you can teach me how to pull my own weight, then I can teach you how to dance."
She was reluctant at first, but Naveen gave her a confident smile. Somehow, his smile made Tiana feel a little more confident as she reached out and took his hand. Soon, they started dancing to the romantic music that poured out of Louis's trumpet.
Kyra and Dragon had ended up sitting next to each other with Rusty watching Ray fly around the sky happily. Kyra was watching Tiana and Naveen dance and couldn't help but feel happy for her friend. Dragon couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach as he sat close to Kyra. Taking a deep breath, he mustered up his courage and took her hand in his. As soon as Kyra felt him take her hand, she felt warm inside. A small blush spread to her cheeks and she made no attempt to pull away. She couldn't deny she loved the warm feeling.
"The night sky's so beautiful." Naminé sighed as Roxas moved closer to her. "Now I really wish I hadn't left my sketchbook on the Gummi ship."
"It's not as beautiful as you." Roxas murmured under his breath as he found himself reaching out towards Naminé and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. However, what he didn't know was that Naminé had heard what he said as a blush spread to her cheeks and snuggled into him.
Myde looked over to Xion, who was watching Roxas and Naminé with a smile on her face. Myde looked at her with a confused expression as he moved beside her.
"Everything okay?" He asked the black-haired nobody.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Xion smiled.
Myde looked at her curiously. "You're not jealous? Of Roxas being with Naminé I mean."
"No. Why?" Xion shook her head.
"Well, back in the organization you and Roxas were really close." Myde said. "I always thought you saw Roxas as more than just a friend. And I always thought you guys would end up together..."
Xion shook her head again. "No, me and Roxas always saw each other as friends. And the moment we got hearts of our own, I knew he had powerful feelings for Naminé. I really think they belong together. And even if he does care for Naminé in a way that's stronger than friendship I believe we'll always still be friends. I support them no matter what."
"That's good to know." Myde smiled at her. "So, you and Roxas always just saw each other as best friends huh?"
Xion released a sigh. "With Roxas, yes. But I still would like to find someone special someday... I'd like to find someone who looks at me the same way Roxas looks at Naminé..."
By that time, Tiana and Naveen had finished their dance and had appeared to grow closer than ever. Louis hand finished playing the tune on his horn and Ray had finished his talk with Evangeline. Kyra and Rusty watched intently as their green cheeks turned slightly pink and their faces inched closer and closer together. However, before the two frogs could kiss, they separated and chuckled in embarassment.
"Uh, well... Looks like Lottie's gettin' herself one heck of a dance partner." Tiana murmured as she pulled away from Naveen and hoped over to where Kyra, Roxas and the rest of the team were. She left Naveen standing alone on a lily pad.
"What's going on?" Lydia asked as Tiana approached the team. "It looked like you guys were getting really close!"
"Yeah! That was a really sweet moment! Why'd you pull away?" Naminé questioned.
Tiana shook her head. "He's going to marry my best friend; I don't want to get in the middle of that. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone."
"That make sense Cher. Not a good idea to hurt a friend like that." Said Ray.
"Still though." Xion stated in a whisper. "If that wasn't the case I think you and Naveen would be cute together..."
But then, just at that moment a loud scream rang throughout the entire bayou. The group spun around to find that Naveen had been grabbed by dark, shadowy flat figures with yellow eyes. These heartless were known as the Shadow Ghosts. One of the heartless held Naveen tightly in its grip so he could barely move as Neoshadows appeared alongside them.
"Naveen!" Tiana screamed in horror at what they saw.
The heartless wasted no time in rushing away from the heroes with the captive frog prince. They weren't looking for a fight or looking to consume their hearts. All they were interested in was grabbing their target and leaving; which meant someone was controlling their actions.
"Oh no you don't you stupid heartless!" Oswald exclaimed as he summoned Wasted Past.
"Give us back our friend!" Myde shouted while he and the rest of the team went running after Naveen and the heartless. Unfortunately, the heartless were annoyingly fast and were not stopping. In fact, the more the group pursued these heartless, the faster they seemed to get. They even seemed to be skillfully dodging the attacks the team had been throwing at them.
"We're never going to catch them this way!" Roxas exclaimed as they kept running after Naveen and the heartless.
"You're right! We're going to need some major help right now!" Dragon agreed.
Just as he said that, several blasts of light magic raised down upon the heartless, destroying all the heartless at once and causing Naveen to be dropped into the water.
Lydia's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?!"
"Ha! Ha! Not bad for a one-hundred and seventy-year-old blind lady!" A voice laughed as a figure appeared out of the bayou's fog. She was short with wrinkled dark skin, dressed in white robes, gold jewlery and dark sunglasses. She held a decorative maracas that shone with the same golden energy that had previously destroyed the heartless.
"Mama Odie!" Kyra exclaimed. "Is that you?!"
"That you, Kyra?" The old woman asked excitedly as she approached the group. "My my sounds like you've grown. And is that cute little Rusty I hear? And sounds like you brought some friends with ya'll includin' Ray. Sounds like a party! Now, which of you naughty children been messin' with the shadow man?"
Everyone immediately pointed at Naveen.
And so we've reached the end of part 2 of the final Disney World! Next chapter we'll finish things up here and go face to face with Dr. Faciler! And I've got a new poll up on my profile asking what you guys want to see in the next update of Tales of Reconnection so be sure to vote on that :) also, MysteryGirl7Freak (Kyra and Rusty's creator) has written a few oneshots about the Reconnected universe so check those out and be sure to leave her some reviews!
(1): Tiana's limit; Leapfrog