Nixe and Riku were flying through the stars, leaving the Lantern Kingdom behind. As they flew Riku glanced at Nixe in thought.
"Nixe, can I bend your ear about something?" he asked as Nixe shrugged.
"Sure, what is it?" she asked.
"Do you know anyone named Prishe?" Riku asked, Nixe looked up slightly, the glider slowing down.
"Prishe? Wow I haven't heard that name in…well, years. Yeah I did know someone by that name." Nixe replied, reaccelerating the glider.
"I heard that name in passing recently. I was hoping you could share some information about her with me." Riku said. Nixe seemed saddened by the thought.
"Prishe was one of the founding members of the Sublime City Guardians. She was there when the First Sister betrayed my mom. It was before I came along. But I remember Prishe. She was always so nice to me, so upbeat and cheerful. One day, about eight years ago, she disappeared. Mom said that she had been captured by First and given a fate worse than death. She never said what it was and Vincent Valentine, one of the other guardians who got abducted along with her, won't say either but I think it's not hard to figure out." Nixe replied as Riku gave a sad nod.
"I see. I'm sorry. I know losing a friend is difficult. I've been there." Riku said, Nixe slowing the glider down and glancing at him over her shoulder. Her expression was unreadable due to her helmet.
"Yeah? Who'd you lose? Is it this Namine girl that Sora's looking for or someone else?" Nixe asked but Riku glanced away.
"I've lost several friends. Namine is only the most recent. But I have faith Sora will get her back." Riku said as Nixe turned back towards the front.
"You two are really close, aren't you?" she asked.
"He's my best friend. He's been like a brother to me even though I've been less than 'brotherly' to him in the past." Riku replied as Nixe sped the glider back up.
"What do you think will happen when Sora finds Namine? Will you go back with him?" she asked.
"Probably, but let's not focus on that. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Riku said but Nixe didn't respond. All the while, a world was fast approaching before them.
…
Within seconds of passing through the world barrier, the two found themselves inside of an old rundown mansion but they were immediately able to tell something had changed.
"Something's different. Why am I so close to the floor?" Nixe asked.
"And why does my head itch?" Riku asked back.
"Maybe it's your ho~ooooood…" she stammered as she saw something was indeed very different with Riku. He was standing on all fours, covered from head to toe in white and black fur, his black coat draped over him and missing its sleeves but the hood was still up and long strands of his hair could be seen dangling from the edges of the hood. More importantly, he was a dog, a Siberian husky mix of some sort more specifically.
"What? What is-…NIXE! What the heck?! You're a dog!" Riku exclaimed, as Nixe scowled.
"Well I'm so glad to know you're not following me around because of my looks." She snapped as Riku rolled his eyes.
"No, Nixe, look in the mirror!" He said, motioning towards a nearby dressing mirror. Nixe scowled and looked towards the mirror and froze in shock. She had taken the form of a German shepherd, her wolf's tail hair style had transferred to her actual tail, and her Keyblade armor guard had changed form with her, now disguised as a metal collar around her neck with a Mark of Mastery for the tag.
"W-W-W-What the-?!" she stammered as she and Riku looked at their new forms in the mirror.
"Okay, I seriously owe you an apology for the whole misunderstanding." She stammered.
"I think given the circumstances we can overlook that one. But how'd this happen?!" Riku asked, Nixe letting out a doglike whine in response. Riku's gaze immediately shifted towards her suspiciously. He saw her glancing away in an attempt to look innocent.
"Nixe, what did you do?" He asked.
"It might've been my Apprentice's Badge." She said, raising her left paw where a small black band with the Mark of Mastery insignia in purple rested.
"Your badge?" he asked.
"Mom gave it to me. She said it was enchanted but never told me why. Guess this is what she meant. But what about you? My badge shouldn't have changed the both of us." She said as Riku shrugged the best he could.
"Not sure about that myself. It might've been my coat." Riku replied.
"So why did we get turned into dogs?" Nixe asked, Riku shrugging again.
"We'll figure that out later." He replied.
"Okay. Any idea where we are?" she asked.
"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say the Haunted Mansion." he said but Nixe scoffed.
"Oh please. There's no such thing as ghosts." She said but Riku knew better.
"Clearly you've never been to Halloween Town." He replied, sniffing the air.
"What is it, what do ya smell boy?!" Nixe asked, her tail unconsciously wagging excitedly.
"Not sure, but its coming from-…hey wait a minute did you just call me boy?" he asked as Nixe grinned cheekily.
"May~be." She replied, earning a glare from Riku.
"As I was saying, the smell's coming from upstairs. Follow me." He said, turning to head up a flight of rickety old stairs but quickly spun towards Nixe, getting up close to her face, almost muzzle to muzzle.
"Sniff my butt and I'll kick yours." He warned but Nixe quickly turned it around by glaring at him just as thwartingly, catching him off guard.
"Same if you sniff mine." She warned, Riku nodding in agreement as she went ahead, catching a whiff of what Riku did and heading up the stairs, Riku following after her.
"Am I the only one who finds it convenient that we already know how to walk and run like dogs?" Riku asked as they scurried up the stairs.
"Would you rather have some kind of tutorial?" she asked.
"I wasn't complaining!" Riku quipped as they reached a door where the smell was originating from but the door was shut. Riku leapt up onto his hind legs and tried to open the door by turning the nob but it didn't budge.
"Locked. Nixe?" Riku said as Nixe stared blankly at him.
"How do I do that? I don't have any hands." She said as Riku sighed and opened his mouth slightly. Almost instantly his sword appeared clutched in his jaws, holding it by the hilt with the bladed end pointing away from him. Nixe shrugged helplessly.
"Hey, first time as a dog, remember? You, I imagine, get all sorts of experience seeing as how you are one all the time." She said as she summoned her Keyblade in her mouth, holding it by the guard and hilt and pointing the tip towards the keyhole, a purple ring of light forming around the tip before shooting a matching beam of purple light into the keyhole, unlocking the door.
"Okay, now that remark was deliberate." Riku said, dismissing his sword, as Nixe snickered in a slightly wheezy fashion. (A/N: Like Muttley from Dastardly and Muttley.)
"Couldn't pass it up!" She said as they saw the door creaking open, the two walking in and the door behind them closing magically. Inside, what they saw made their eyes widen in shock.
"Who~oa!" Nixe said in awe as they saw the entire room was littered with countless sleeping Dalmatian puppies, all of them less than a year old by the looks of things.
"There must be dozens of them!" she remarked as Riku looked the sleeping puppies over.
"This seems familiar." He said in thought.
"What do you mean?" Nixe asked.
"I remember Sora mentioning something about rescuing roughly ninety-nine Dalmatian puppies that had been scattered in treasure chests across the worlds about a year ago. I wonder-…" he said as he quietly counted the number of puppies and when as he neared the end, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"It can't be. Ninety-nine exactly!" He exclaimed, accidently waking up a few of the puppies who looked towards him and Nixe.
"Who are you?!" "Where did you come from?!" "Are you here to free us?!" "Everyone! Wake up!" some of the puppies said, the rest of the puppies waking up and gathering around the two, all clamoring for answers.
"Whoa-whoa there! I'm afraid we're kinda in the dark here. Free you from what?" Riku asked.
"From being turned into coats!" one of the puppies said, startling the two.
"Coats?! You mean like the kind you wear?" Nixe asked.
"The ones humans wear at least." One of the puppies replied.
"Who would do that? What kind of sick monster would make coats from puppies?!" Nixe asked.
"Cruella would." One of the puppies.
"Who?" Riku asked. (Music Cue: Cruella De Vil – 101 Dalmatians)
"Cruella De Vil! Cruella De Vil!
If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will!"
One of the puppies sang, the others singing harmony…
"To see her is to, take a sudden chill!
Cruella, Cruella!"
Another sang…
"She's like a spider waiting for the kill!
Look out for, Cruella De Vil."
A third sang…
"At first you think Cruella is a devil,
but after time has worn away the shock."
A fourth sang…
"You come to realize, you've seen her kind of eyes,
watching you from underneath a rock!"
A fifth sang…
"This vampire bat, this inhuman beast!
She ought to be locked up, and never released!"
A sixth sang…
The world was such a wholesome place until…
Cruella, Cruella De Vil!"
A seventh finished, leaving Riku and Nixe in stunned silence for a moment.
"Wow, she has her own evil theme song. Yep, she's bad alright." Nixe said as Riku gave a nod.
"Alright listen up! Nixe and I will help you escape! But you'll have to do exactly as we tell you to!" Riku instructed.
"But how?" "There's Cruella's two goons guarding us!" "And a third one showed up just recently!" the puppies all said.
"Leave them to us. We've got some special tricks we can use on them." Nixe said with a smirk.
…
About a minute later, Nixe poked her head through the open door, checking to make sure the coast was clear. It was. She then stepped out into the hall and gave a nod to Riku who in turn gave a nod to the other puppies who immediately started scampering out of the room, rushing down the stairs. (Battle Music Cue: Crossing to Neverland – 358/2 Days) As they did, they heard a voice downstairs.
"Gor'! Blimey! Horace! The mangy mongrels are loose!" a man's voice yelled.
"Riku! That's our cue!" Nixe yelled, she and Riku quickly rushing down the stairs with the pups.
"Hurry now! Keep going! Don't stop!" Riku ordered, summoning his sword to his teeth and Nixe summoning her Keyblade to hers. As they rounded the corner at the bottom of the landing, they saw two men in brown jackets, trousers, and caps. One was tall and lanky with a big nose and the other was short and heavy set. The tall one had a fire iron and the other had a club that was actually a broken leg off of a wooden table.
"Where did those two come from Jasper?!" the fat one asked.
"We didn't grab 'em, did we, Horace?" the tall one asked back. Riku started growling loudly, baring his teeth while Nixe raced around with the puppies towards the front doors, unlocking them with her Keyblade, the doors swinging open and allowing the puppies to escape.
"Jasper they're escaping!" Horace exclaimed, Jasper quickly raising his iron.
"Stop the mongrels!" Jasper yelled only for Riku dismiss his sword long enough to fire off a Dark Firaga with an angry bark, the fire ball flying between the two henchmen and smashing a nearby window to pieces. The two immediately let out a terrified scream as they turned and ran, Riku summoning the sword and chasing after them. Nixe was giggling from the front door as she watched the spectacle.
"Some henchmen!" She giggled before her Keyblade suddenly appeared in her mouth.
"Miss Nixe! Look out!" one of the puppies yelled. Nixe turned in time to see a short figure dressed in white fly towards her with a familiar Keyblade. She quickly turned and blocked with her Keyblade.
"Your form might've changed, but I still recognize you!" the figure said. It was the same one that had attacked her and Riku in Jungle Book, Nixe immediately recognizing his voice. She growled angrily and let out a bark, a Blizzara flying from her mouth, forcing the figure back as the puppies continued to flee across the snowy landscape of the area outside the mansion. The figure had its Keyblade ready to fight but so was Nixe. She quickly turned and ran into the mansion, the figure giving chase but her dog form gave her a speed advantage, allowing her to keep ahead of him…or so she thought. She glanced back and saw him bounding across the walls and floor, using parts as springboards to propel him further, allowing him to actually start to catch up to her. She growled at him as she ran, her collar starting to glow until suddenly she was enveloped in her armor, albeit dog shaped.
"That won't help you!" the figure said as Nixe turned to face him.
"No, but he will!" she said, the figure pausing and turning just in time to see Riku pounce at him with a loud bark. The figure was caught off guard by Riku's attack and was just as stunned when Riku leapt away from him. He quickly found out why though as Horace and Jasper came running in, slipped on some ice in the hallway, and came barreling towards him, unable to stop. The figure quickly leapt up, just in time for the two to slide beneath him and crash into the wall, the figure landing on top of them and chasing after Riku and Nixe as they ran back towards the door.
"Sorry! He got the drop on me!" Nixe said to Riku.
"Well the puppies did say that there was a third goon sniffing around here!" Riku said as he quickly glanced over his shoulder and threw up a guard wall, the figure impacting against the wall, slightly dazed before continuing the pursuit only a few feet further behind the two.
"The puppies are clear of the house!" Nixe said as they ran outside, spotting a hole in the brick wall surrounding the property racing for the hole. They could hear the figure as well as Horace and Jasper chasing after them inside the mansion but Nixe quickly turned and zapped the doors with her Keyblade, the doors slamming shut and locking in their face. (End Battle Music)
"Good thinking! Let's go!" Riku complimented as they ran for the hole but found it was too small for them to fit through.
"What do we do now?!" Nixe asked. They then heard the metal gates to the property starting to creak and groan as they opened electronically, the sound of a car motor not too far away.
"Quick! Hide!" Riku ordered as they quickly hid in some tall shrubs by the gate, watching as a long red two door car with black cowlings, and an angry looking pair of headlights drove onto the grounds, the back license plate beneath a spare tire on the back reading "De Vil." Sitting at the wheel was a thin and lanky woman wearing a fluffy fur coat over a black dress, red gloves and red heels. Her hair was black on the right side and solid white on the left. She had a long red cigarette holder clinched between her teeth. As she pulled up to the mansion, she honked her horn a couple of times, just as the doors to the mansion flew open, Horace, Jasper, and the figure all standing inside.
"Horace! Jasper!" the woman yelled.
"Oh, Ms. De Vil! How unexpected of you!" Jasper greeted with an innocent grin, removing his hat and putting it over his chest.
"Dispense with the pleasantries you fools! Is the job done?!" she asked, clearly annoyed with her henchmen by merely having to associate with them.
"Well it would be madam except that…well we've got a teensy tiny problem on our hands at the moment." Jasper replied, earning a confused look from Horace.
"And we can't find the puppies." Horace said, Jasper turning white as a sheet as he mentioned that detail, earning an absolutely furious look from Cruella.
"You lost the puppies?!" she yelled.
"It wasn't our fault! These two dogs showed up and busted them out of the kennel!" Jasper replied.
"They were no ordinary dogs either! They were humans from another world!" the unknown figure added, earning a glare from Cruella.
"Do you think I care about how they escaped?! All I want is for you to get them back, tonight!" Cruella yelled.
"But how do you want us to do that?!" Jasper asked.
"I don't care how you get the little beasts, just do the job and finish it tonight! Poison them! Drown them! Bash them on the head! Have you got any chloroform?! Do it now!" Cruella ordered as she revved her car but suddenly saw someone in white lying across the car's bonnet, admiring its finish.
"You sure you won't sell me this car?" Fifth asked, Cruella scowling at the Sister.
"You! You promised me they wouldn't escape this time! I've waited for over a year for my Dalmatian coat and the materials keep escaping! I'm beginning to reconsider our arrangement!" Cruella yelled, Fifth sighing with a roll of her eyes.
"I understand your frustration Cruella. Of course I'd like nothing more than the heart I've been denied my entire life. You hired me to make you that coat of yours. I'm only obligated to make the dress, not retrieve the materials. I'm just here to retrieve the 'help' we loaned you. He's needed elsewhere." Fifth said, looking to the figure and motioning to leave with her head. The figure gave a nod before disappearing in a Corridor of Darkness. Cruella was scowling towards Fifth.
"Tut-tut Cruella, you'll get your coat. After all, catching ninety-nine Dalmatian puppies shouldn't be too difficult. As I recall the hard part is keeping them locked up, not catching them. Just let me know once they're all recaptured and I'll work my magic, turning them from speckled rats to spotted macs. (A/N: Mac is short for mackintosh a type of British rain coat.) Cruella continued to scowl as Fifth disappeared in a Corridor of Darkness. Cruella then turned to glare at Horace and Jasper.
"Well don't just stand there you idiots! Find them!" she yelled before throwing her car in reverse, turning it around in a three-point-turn, and driving out of the grounds, Horace and Jasper quickly running towards a beat up old lorry and driving after her. Riku and Nixe, who had been hiding in the bushes the entire time watched them leave.
"You think the puppies will be alright?" Nixe asked.
"I think so. But we should probably leave before that Sister comes back." Riku said, Nixe nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, the novelty of being a dog has worn off." Nixe grumbled.
"Ditto." Riku said as Nixe's Apprentice Badge started to glow. In a flash of bright purple light, they were both back to human form.
"Well…that was convenient." Nixe said, Riku nodding in agreement.
"Yeah but why is my head still itchy?" He asked as Nixe shrugged.
"Maybe you've had those fleas all along. Be good and I'll give you a nice bath and a nice juicy bone when we get home." Nixe sniggered before Riku glared at her.
"Keep pushing it and I'll chew up your slippers." Riku deadpanned as Nixe summoned her Glider and armor.
"Joke's on you. I don't wear slippers." She replied.
"You wear socks don't you?" he said, eyeing the socks sticking up from inside her boots.
"Rats!" she grumbled as they climbed onto the glider and took to the skies. Neither of them were aware that they had been spotted but not by one of Cruella's henchmen, but by a lanky, fair-skinned teenager with scraggly ash-blond hair and lavender-colored eyes. He wore a white button-down shirt, with a fairly exposed neck and collar. He also wore dark grey pants and plain white shoes with black laces.
"Nixe? Didn't think I'd see you here. Better inform the Master." The boy said as he pulled a smartphone from his pocket. He then typed in a message which read…
"Nixe sighted in Dalmatian Plantation. Nixe departed world safely. Fifth Sister active in world. Requesting assistance – Reaper 3."
End Chapter 35
This is, of course, the 101 Dalmatians world which I refer to as Dalmatian Plantation (in reference to the closing song from the animated film). The world music I chose is "Secret of Neverland" from 358/2 Days. It just sort of had that sound that worked for a creepy rundown mansion.
Oh and this world is also the same one that Aqua and Si'Lea fought Fifth in back in chapter 23, just in case you were wondering.
The song above was "Cruella De Vil" from the animated version of 101 Dalmatians. There are numerous versions of this song, largely with the same lyrics but with the addition of others. This is the one that came straight from the 101 Dalmatians soundtrack (the animated one). I, naturally, do not own the song.
Now some of you might be crying foul, that the puppies are over a year old by this point and should be larger if not full-grown by now. (Heck if I know for sure. I'm a cat person.) So we'll say that, in the KH Universe, dogs, specifically dogs from this world, age slower than dogs from our world. Something about the flow of time between worlds being different. Kinda like how Aqua, while technically being in her late twenties/early thirties chronologically, is physically only in her late teens/early twenties due to being trapped in the Realm of Darkness for ten years (time there flowing slower than in the other worlds).
Plus, I wanted to explore how the puppies ended up in those chests in KH1 since we never see a dedicated 101 Dalmatians world in the KH series save for that house in Traverse Town.
Oh and yes, that was Joshua from "The World Ends With You" at the end there.