Chapter 62: Sherwood Forest
Max and Goofy stood in the middle of a dusted path as they were surrounded by forest, looking at the map that they managed to get off of Donald. The father and son had been on the world for the amount of three minutes and they were all ready arguing on which way to go, even though Max was doing most of the complaining and Goofy was trying to Max see the bright side. There was a problem with Goofy's theory, they were lost. Goofy carried on looking at the map, whether it was upside down or sideways, while Max was practising his firing on his bow.
Max had started to feel under-confident after failing in helping Riku against Link and unable to run out of the explosion when he was on the gummi. Max knew that he needed to get better in his fighting skills if he was going to be any help against the Order. After firing another arrow in the depths of the forest, Max sighed with annoyance before he faced his dad. "Dad, have you found the way to Nottingham yet?"
"Umm, not yet son." Goofy replied as he continued to look for their location on the map.
Max noticed that the map was currently upside down and knew that they were going to be stuck here for ages with Goofy reading the map. "Dad, maybe I should hold on to the map."
Max went to grab the map when Goofy stepped away from him, preventing him from getting the map, "Oh no you don't." Goofy said to his son, "You have to have a keen eye to be put in charge of the map."
"You have the map upside down."
"Because we need to follow a certain path." Goofy started to walk along one of the paths while looking at the map. "Nottingham is this way." Two seconds later, Max heard a huge crash come from ahead. Max sighed before running after his dad to see that he had collapsed in someone's camping site as Goofy had some woman's panties across his chest and a cooking pot stuck on his head. Max watched his dad crash into the washing line and run into the tree, trying to get the cooking pot off his head. Max ran over to his dad and told him to hold still while he tried to get the cooking pot off his head.
"Hey! What's going on here?" A deep voice approached them.
Max quickly let go of the cooking pot, making Goofy fall to the floor since he was pulling himself back while Max was pulling the pot off, and looked at the figure in front of him. The being was a huge bear with brown fur over his body. He was at least seven feet tall and wore a green outlaws hat with a red feature sticking out, a huge green cotton shirt and brown outlaw boots. He looked at Max with curiosity and anger. "Who are you? Why are you messing with our camp." The bear approached Max as he drew his dagger out and grabbed Max by the collar as he threaten him with the dagger. "Did the Sheriff sent you?" Before Max could answer, he heard his father's voice.
"Maxie? Maxie?" Goofy's voice echoed from the cooking pot as he pushed himself off the ground, "Maxie, where are you?" Goofy ended up running into another tree, grabbing the bear's attention. The bear withdrew his dagger from Max and headed towards Goofy.
The bear helped him up before grabbing some mud and wrapped it around the edge of the cooking pot where Goofy's neck was, "Now, hold still." The bear instructed as he placed his paws on the sides of the cooking pot before creating a 'pop' sound when Goofy's head was pulled out of the cooking pot. The bear outlaw placed the pot on the ground before looking back at Goofy. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. Thanks for the help." Goofy said cheerfully before handing out his hand, "I'm Goofy and that's there my little boy Maxie." Goofy introduced.
"DAD?"
The bear laughed at this as he took Goofy's hand and shook it, "It's a pleasure to meet ya. I'm Little John." he introduced himself.
"Little? There's nothing little about you." Max gasped. It seems that his voice was blocked out by the others. Little John questioned why they were wondering in the deep parts of Sherwood Forest when Max explained that they got lost because they couldn't read the map.
After hearing their story, Little John offered them to relax in the camp while he fixed up the place. Max pulled out his communicator and started to dial the code to contact the gummi. Max looked at the oval screen and waited for someone to answer on the other line. After going through the voice mail and re-dialling about five times, someone finally picked up, "Hey guys, It's Max."
"Max! You just left. Why are you calling?" Donald complained through the communicator. Gee Donald, you sound like you wanted to get rid of me.
"I wanted to know what we are looking for and what the rules are down here." Max explained to the duck, "Can I have them?"
"Can you have them what?" Donald waited for a specific word.
Max sighed with annoyance, "Can I have them please?" He muttered.
"That's better." Max looked on the communicator to see Donald looking for something while in the background, he could see Rinoa and Vivi feeding the baby chocobo with a blue blanket around it. The cute screen was blocked by Donald's head, "According to this list that we got off of Daniel. You have to search for the Golden Arrow that bares the Maiden's Kiss and the rule on the world is no magic but it seems that the world hasn't got any signs of misbalance." Donald explained. Max was glad that there was no Endless or Unbirths on the world but the item sounded like a complicated one, meaning that he might be here with his dad longer then he thought. "Have you reached Nottingham yet?"
"We haven't even managed to find our way out of Sherwood Forest." Max told him, "Dad managed to get us lost in the deepest part of the forest and managed to destroy someone's camp site."
"That big Palooka. He should really learn how to read a map." Donald mumbled.
"You're telling me." Max heard someone lose balance and fell to the ground. Max turned around to see Archer Heartless surrounding Little John, who was on the floor, and Goofy in front of Little John, protecting him. "I talk to you later, Donald." Max hanged up the communicator and pulled his bow out. He placed his arrows into his weapon and shoot at the Heartless in the shoulder or at the bottom of their thigh, making them disappear straight away. After a while of firing multiple arrows at high speed, Max managed to take the Heartless out.
Little John and Goofy went over to Max as he placed his bow away, not noticing the Heartless in the tree. "That was great, son." Goofy patted his son on the back to show his happiness, Max chuckled at his goofy dad.
"That was fast shooting, Max was it?" Max nodded, "I don't even think that Robin can shoot that fast." Little John. The Heartless that was in the tree behind Max began to ready it's bow and aimed at Max's back, making sure that the angle of the shot would get his heart.
"Who's Robin?" Max asked. A n arrow came shooting right past the side of Max's face before going behind him and shot the Heartless that was in the tree. Max, Goofy and Little John looked in the tree to see the Heartless drop out of the tree before it faded away. Max looked back at the direction the arrow came from to see a old blind fox, holding a wooden bow. Max was amazed and shocked at how a blind fox was able to shoot even though he was at least twenty yards away. Max could tell that the blind fox managed to hit the Heartless right in its heart as the shadows of the Heartless remains was to present.
"So John, my good man." The blind fox ripped off the cloak and the circler black glasses before revealing that he was a young fox with the same clothing sense as Little John, "Who are our lovely guests?"
Little John chuckled at his friend's sudden performance, "Robin, this is Goofy and his son, Max. There looking for a way into Nottingham."
"Well unless they want a run for their mummy then it's best to stay here." Robin laughed before walking towards Goofy and Max, "My name is Robin Hood." Robin handed his hand out, which Goofy shook gratefully. Max noticed that Robin was at the same height as they were, half the size of Little John.
Max seemed to be confused by Robin's statement so he asked, "What did you mean about getting a run for our mummy?"
"Nottingham is in control of an evil prince know as Prince John." Little John explained. "He charges high tax prices to the people of Nottingham as the people are finding it hard to live as it is."
"So me and John do our part for the community by taking from the rich and giving it back to the poor." Robin finished.
Goofy seemed to be confused, "Gawsh, isn't that robbing?"
"Rob?" Robin gasped in disbelief, "That's a naughty word. We never rob; we just sort of borrow a bit from those who can afford it." He explained.
"Borrow? Is that what we've been doing?" Little John laughed, "Boy, are we in debt."
"It's getting harder to help the poor though with those black shadow creatures." Robin sighed, "Almost had an arrow with my name on it the other day."
"Those are called Heartless." Goofy began to explain, "They're being filled with darkness in their hearts. We haven't seen them for a while, have we Maxie?"
"Just be glad that there are no Endless here." Max pointed out the bright side, "There a lot harder then Heartless."
"Hmm." Robin thought about the situation, "I guess we have to be careful, Jonny Boy. A few hours of training will do the trick."
"Yeah, I'm sure that the Sheriff would notice rattling in the trees." Little John said with sarcasm.
"Please, he be too busy collecting taxes to notice what goes on in these woods." Robin laughed.
"You seem to be mentioning the Sheriff a lot." Max butted in, "Who is he?"
"The Sheriff of Nottingham is the one that goes around collecting the taxes off the poor and the one that send those 'Heartless' as you call them." Little John answered, "Hey! Why do you want to head in Nottingham anyways?"
"We need to receive an item know as the Golden Arrow that has the kiss of this world's maiden." Max explained. Goofy released that Max let a bit slip that they're not from here.
"What do you mean-" Little John was cut off.
"Maiden? You mean Maid Marian? You hear that Jonny? Maid Marian." Robin seemed to get excited over hearing about the maiden, Max wasn't even sure if this 'Maid Marian' was the right Maiden. "We'll help you receive the item."
"Woo-Ho!" Little John pulls Robin back a bit to talk privately, "Are you sure about this? We don't even know where these guys come from." Robin and John made sure to lower their voices.
"Nonsense John, if they were working for Prince John, they would have made a move by now." Robin pointed out, "Besides, we could always use an extra hand or two to get King Richard's crown back and learn more about these 'Heartless' creatures."
"Well, if you say so Rob." Little John sighed slightly. "Maybe we can see what the kid's got."
"In which way?" Robin asked.
"He seemed pretty fast on his bow but his range and aiming was a bit off." Little John informed him.
"Then look like I have a training partner." Robin smiled at this, "While I'll train with Max, you can find out where they're from. Maybe there origin can help us give back to the poor."
"Yeah.." Little John liked the plan, "If they are working for Prince John then at least the poor will be happy." Robin nodded to the idea before him and Little John walked back to Goofy and Max. "Me and Rob have talked it over and have decided that we'll help you get the Golden Arrow."
"That's great, Ah-yuck!"
"But-" Robin added.
"But?" Max questioned.
"You have to prove that you're not working for the faulty prince." Little John explained.
"By passing three tests." Robin crossed his arms, Little John copied his actions.
Max suddenly felt nervous about these tests, "Err...What sort of tests?" Max asked. Robin and Little John smirked at each other when the question was asked.
BOWBOWBOW
"How does this prove anything?" Max questioned as he tried to balance himself.
Little John chuckled as he watched the boy try to gain his balance on the log, "Well, any of Prince John's men would have fallen off by now." Max and Little John were standing on a huge log that hovered over a stream with wooden rods in their hands while Robin and Goofy stood at the sideline. Max finally managed to gain his balance and got himself comfortable with using a pole while Little John explain the rules, "The first test is the test of strength. I'm gonna be the Sheriff asking for taxes and won't let you pass this bridge until you pay me. All you have to do is pass me."
"And the poles?" Max asked.
"To fight with silly." Little John prepared himself to fight against Max while Max's low self-esteem seem to strike at his once more.
"C'mon Maxie. You can pass him." Goofy encouraged.
"Yeah Max, Jonny Boy won't hurt you." Robin added.
Little John whined at Robin's comment before looking at him, leaning against his pole, "You're making me sound like a pushover."
Max took in all of the encouraging advice that Goofy and Robin gave him as he tried and calmed himself, he was still wondering why he had to do all of the tests and not his dad, he shrugged the thought away as he prepared himself to pass Little John. Little John was still talking to Robin so Max took the chance the strike at Little John's pole, which was balancing him.
Little John fell right into the stream and groaned from the feeling of getting wet while Robin started to laugh, "Beaten already, John? You're getting rusty for your old age, are you?" Robin went to Little John's side and helped him up.
"Well, the kid has a keen eye, that's for sure." Little John replied as he balanced himself.
Max just paced to the other side of the streamed and threw his pole to the side before laying of the ground and relaxed. Goofy quickly went over to his son, "I told you that you could do it." Goofy smiled proudly at his son.
"Thanks." Max returned with a grin of his own before his face turned to concern, "But I have a feeling that something isn't right with the others being missing. We have to get the item as quickly as we can."
"I know that your worried about Brian and Hikari but I'm sure that they will come out stronger then ever." Goofy sat by his son's side.
"But how do you know that?" Max questioned his father.
"Well..." Goofy thought about it, "I don't know for sure but I have fate in them as I have fate that Sora and Kairi are alright as well and that Riku will be alright. You just have to believe in them Maxie."
"Yeah...Like having fate in Donald when he's driving." Max joked. This lead to both of them laughing at the joke with Goofy's 'Ah-yuck' in their tune of laughter.
The two soon stopped as Robin approached the two and began to show Max how to fight close range. Max changed his bow into his two swords as Robin began to explain, "Little John mentioned that you was good with a bow but firing a bow isn't every thing. You need to be able to take enemies out from close range otherwise your long range skills will be no use if you're dead." Robin pulled out his sword before facing Max again, "Show me what you got." Max took a deep breath before charging at Robin.
BOWBOWBOW
Ven appeared through the portal with Pluto tailing him as he entered a world that was completely deserted world. Ven sighed at the familiar sight before looking at the letter that Pluto had given to him by King Mickey;
Ven,
If you are reading this then there is much to be told.
The Unbirths have been destroyed thanks to you and Aqua's efforts but I have a sense that they will return soon. At the moment, we are dealing with Heartless and Nobodies, ones that are created from the darkness in people's hearts and the shells that are left behind. There has been no sight Endless Activity so I assume that they are long gone.
Ventus chuckled at the letter before looking down at Pluto, "We can see that this letter was written nearly a year ago." He joked before looking at the letter again.
Like I said, there is so much that you need to know. I'm sadly to inform that Aqua and Terra are no longer with us. Aqua had disappeared shortly after taking you somewhere safe and Terra...well, you know what happened to Terra.
That had to be the worst bit of the letter as a tear fell down his cheek, he wondered why the king had instructed to wear his casual gear instead of his armour uniform, it would be easier to avoid getting seen if he was in his armour . Ventus shook his head before carrying on reading the letter.
Even though we are fighting a new enemy to us that are know as Organisation XIII, I have a feeling that in the near future that the Unbirth are going to come back and try and destroy the balance of Kingdom Hearts. Without the balance, Unbirth and Endless will be around all of the worlds and life would collapse. I fear that it would affect the Keyblade Master the most.
"Sora..." He muttered, he knew that everything that has happened so far has been able to connect to the young keybearer since he has the ability to connect to many hearts including- he quickly shook the thought away as he continued to read the letter.
I don't know what they want to do with Sora at this point of time and have no idea when you will receive this letter but I know that the answers that are needed start at the beginning, where the war was prevented before..
"The Keyblade Graveyard." Ven carried on reading out loud, "Maybe if you search, you will find someone to help you get in contact with Sora. You will need his help to stop the Order before the key is created once more. Signed, Mickey." Ven sighed as he placed the letter in his pocket and stoked Pluto's fur before pushing himself up from the ground and lead himself through the carven that led him to the crossroad, the Keyblade Graveyard. Hundred of keyblades stood in the ground from their former masters, telling the story of a war that once embarked for the search of the ultimate light, casting most keybladers into a world of darkness. Ven walked to the centre of the crossword with Pluto by his side, his mind flashing back to the last time he was here, the last time he was truly with Terra and Aqua for their last moments before their last battle, remembering the sight when he watched Aqua get struck to the ground while he remained frozen and worthless.
Pluto barked at Ven to make him snap out of his daydream before lifting his ear at a unusual sound. The keyblader watched in curiosity as he saw Pluto bark in a random direction and ran in that direction. "Hey boy! Wait up!" Ventus cried as he began to run after the king's dog.
FINALLY! What are the other two tests that Robin and Little will set? How long will Goofy and Max be in Sherwood Forest? What will Ven incounter? Tune in next time for Kingdom Hearts: Balance of Worlds. Man, playing 358, going to expo as Axel and working on coursework and vids can be ignoring. I've been trying to do this chap for the last two weeks but I not getting the motivation on some parts at the moment. I might skip the other tests and go straight to Robin burning stuff. Right, messeges:
Noami G: I don't think that I've had the chance to review yet. I can't remember.
Celticskyedancer: Roxas will be mentioned again when I go back to Sora's group since this bit was happening at the same time that they were at African Depths.
Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: Life is getting more complicated now with uni applications and other boring stuff that I wish I don't have to do. I just hope that I can get the story done before then.
Future Keyblader: You have to have a random ringtone.
Artism: It's your choice whether you want to post on the site or not. If people steal your characters then they are sad. The site is best to practise on writing skills so when you are ready to write a proper story then you know what to do. That's what I'm planning to do using Brian and Nikolai.
Shadow Sylph: Oops, my bad. The move that Hikari used was 'cut down' similar to when Seth uses it in LO. Need to see you again mate.
Islands-style-girl: As soon as this world is over then you will find out what happened.
As you can tell, this was set the exactly same time as the other group so no Order or Roxas bits will be mentioned. Only Ven and Flashbacks.
See ya next time
kingdommad