Author's note: Time for the team to come together, guys!
Logan nervously paced back and forth on the beach of Destiny Islands. He had been doing so for quite a while now. The young man had called some of his friends and other contacts to come and meet him and Destiny right here. Yet, no one had showed up so far.
"Where are they, where are they?" Logan mumbled to himself. "What's taking them so long?"
Destiny, meanwhile, was sitting under a palm tree, enjoying a pack of shrimps she had bought for herself whilst her boyfriend called the backup they needed. "Logan, you've been walking nonstop for a while now. You sure you don't wanna sit down and eat some shrimps with me? Plus, your ribs are still damaged."
"Don't worry about me, Destiny; the damage was superficial and has mostly been healed by now," Logan assured. "But I just can't sit down right now; nobody has arrived yet. If they arrive too late, then we won't be able to save Sora..."
"I'm sure they're gonna come. You said that Inventor guy gave you twenty-four hours to assemble your team and go to his world, right? That leaves many hours ahead; the others have plenty of time to come," Destiny attempted to ease her boyfriend's worries. "Oh, and speaking of which."
A light beam came from the skies, and two figures stepped out of it. One of them was an anthropomorphic falcon that Logan easily recognized. "Tomada!"
"Logan, buddy!" Tomada smiled and welcomed his human friend in his wings for a big hug. "It's good to see you again, man!"
"Same here, Tom. Thanks for coming," Logan gratefully said after getting released from the hug.
"Hey, you know I'm always happy to help my friends! Look, I got fully charged for the occasion!" Indeed, the falcon had red and black war paint over his face, and was dressed in a tribal battle outfit. He also came with many weapons: a crossbow and double-bladed sword strapped to his back, and a tomahawk and mace held to his hips by a belt.
"I can see that," Logan mused. "Hey, who did you bring with you?"
The other one who stepped... Well, actually, floated out of the beam was a little blue fish that Destiny quickly recognized. "Oh my gosh, Dory!"
The regal blue tang gave her a confused expression. "Huh, do I know you? Sorry if I do; I just can't remember."
"Oh, right." Destiny quickly changed from her human form back to her whale shark one. "It's me, Destiny, remember?"
"Destiny? What are you doing here? I could've sworn there was a human where you were standing, seconds ago!" Dory exclaimed.
"It was me; I can turn into a human now," Destiny mused and happily hugged her 'pipe pal'. Once it ended, she turned to Tomada. "It's funny that my boyfriend's best friend met my own best friend."
Logan chuckled and placed his hands behind his head. "Of course; Tom loves your movies as much as I do. It was only natural that he went to visit our friends at the Great Barrier Reef after coming to the Magical World, right?"
"You bet! Now that I live here, there's no way I wasn't going to meet my favorite Pixar characters!" the falcon beamed. "You and Dory are some of my favorite Disney creations ever, Destiny." He then leaned toward the whale with a shy smile. "Not to cause trouble in your couple or anything, but I kinda used to have a crush on you before."
This statement caused Destiny to blush cutely, whilst Logan just chuckled. "Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me." She then turned toward her best friend. "But was it a good idea for you to come along, Dory? We're going to fight monsters and strong bad guys; not just rescue fishes, this time."
"Don't worry about me, Destiny - Ha, ha, it rhymes!" Dory mused. "I can do magic, too. Look!" The little blue fish used her fins to shoot a bubble at a stone, making it float in the air.
Logan slapped himself on the side of the head. "That's right! I completely forgot that you have Bubble Magic, Dory!"
"She has?" Destiny questioned.
"Yes. Back when we went to save the fishes at the Marine Life Institute, we met a group of Heartless, and Dory unlocked her Bubble Magic to save Nemo," Logan explained. "I hope that you have been training and developing your talent?"
"Oh, yes, absolutely!" Dory confirmed. "One day, I was taking a little swim across the ocean, when I met that young boy, who had Water Magic and helped me with my bubbles. A real sweetheart. Can't say I remember his name, though. I think it was... Perry Pearson, or something like that."
"I also called someone I know to help us with the mission," Tomada informed. "Is that fine with you, guys?"
Logan gave a positive nod. "Absolutely; we need all the help we can get against The Inventor and his replica of Organization XIII."
"Glad to know," Tomada responded with resting against a palm tree. However, the texture felt more scaly than woody, making him turn around. To his surprise, he was not resting against a trunk, but rather against the tail of a male anthropomorphic snake, whose scales were sandy brown with darker stripes and spots, and lighter beige on the front of his humanoid torso. He also had feather-like quills on top of his head that looked like a mane. "Haaa! A snake!" Tomada exclaimed, jumping back in shock.
Logan, however, quickly recognized this reptile as more than just a snake. "Ferroth! You came!" he beamed.
Tomada gave the young man a curious gaze at this. "You invited this guy, Logan?"
With a clearly angry expression, Ferroth crossed his arms. "Are you saying he shouldn't have because I'm a snake?"
"What? No, no, no! That's not what I meant!" the falcon quickly defended himself. "I have no prejudice against reptiles of any sort. It's just that... You kinda caught me by surprise, that's all." He extended his feathered hand to shake the snake's. "Ferroth, right? I'm Tomada. You're a friend of Logan's?"
"Well, 'friend' might be a big term," Logan admitted. "Ferroth and I have only briefly interacted once; it was in the jungle of India. He helped Destiny saving me from Kaa, when she hypnotized me. Speaking of which, where's your friend, Ferroth?"
"I'm jusssst here," hissed a voice. Logan turned to see Kaa herself slithering down another palm tree and onto the sand to meet the rest of the group. "You didn't exxxpect to meet Ferroth again without me, did you?"
Logan chuckled. "Not at all; you two became very close at the end of our last encounter. How have you guys been? You've shown the Magical World that snakes can be trusted?"
"We're working toward it," Ferroth confirmed with a nod. "After our encounter in India, I started traveling across the Magical World with Kaa. People were pretty shocked to see her hanging around like this, but we didn't mind. We went to try attractions, eat all sorts of food, and I even tried to get her into arts... Tried..."
"Turns out it's pretty hard to manipulate tools with your tail," Kaa remarked in annoyance as she showed the tip of her tail.
Whilst the friends were discussing, Tomada couldn't help but give a confused stare at Kaa and Ferroth alternately. "... Huh, say, Ferroth, what are you doing with Kaa? Wasn't she a villain, in The Jungle Book?"
"Only in the past," the anthro snake replied. "She did hypnotize Logan, but that's because she felt lonely. I'm trying to help her learn the true meaning of friendship and show everybody snakes can be just as good as dogs or foxes."
"And I'm ssssure grateful for that," Kaa said with giving an affectionate lick to her partner's cheek. This last one went to put his hand on Tomada's shoulder.
"Listen... Tomada, right? Let me tell you this: be kind to others. It isn't hard, but it is very important."
With a smile, the falcon gave him a nod. "I totally agree. Sorry again for insulting you; I won't do it again."
The two snakes gave positive nods and forgiving smiles. Then, Kaa felt something shaking the tip of her tail, and turned around to see it was Dory shaking it with her fins. "Nice to meet you, Kaa. I'm Dory!" she cheerfully introduced herself.
Kaa approached her face to the blue fish and displayed a curious expression. "You're pretty small for a whale, aren't you?"
"A whale? Oh, I'm not a whale; actually, I'm a blue fish. Like, the species blue fish, not a fish that's blue - a common mistake people always make," Dory explained with a chuckle. "I wonder why..." She tapped her chin and remained silent for a few seconds, before looking back at Kaa with a smile. "Hi, I'm Dory."
The female snake blinked her eyes a few times at this. "Huh, I know; you just told me."
"I did?" Dory asked.
"Sorry about that; Dory has short-term memory loss," Destiny explained. "She forgets details after a certain amount of time, but some of them can stay marked forever. For example, she remembers the names of her friends and family."
"Oh. Sorry about that," Kaa said with an unusual tone of compassion.
Ferroth turned toward Logan. "So? You said you needed our help with a kidnapping?"
"Yes," the young Dream Keeper confirmed with a nod. "Sora, the hero of Kingdom Hearts, has been captured by a virtual bad guy called The Inventor. He took him to a replica of The World That Never Was, and intends to take his heart, so he can come and live in the Magical World. We need to stop him at all cost!"
"Kingdom Hearts is one of my most favorite video game franchises. You can count on me - On us!" Ferroth corrected, looking at Kaa, who gave him a nod.
Suddenly, a portal appeared in the skies above the group, and a ship came out of it. When it came close enough to the island, Logan was surprised to recognize a Keyblade Glider that was being driven by a little person covered in a Keyblade Armor. Another passenger on board hopped from that glider and landed on the sand near the group. She was an anthropomorphic wolfess with dark fur, wearing a black off-shoulders top that left her stomach exposed, ripped jean pants with a hole for her tail, and gothic bands on her wrists. A lightsaber was strapped to a belt around her waist.
"Are we late to the party?" that wolfess nonchalantly asked.
"Not at all, you arrived in advance," Logan said with a smile. "Guys, this is Liquorice, a young Jedi I saved on Geonosis with the help of Ezra Bridger and Kyle Katarn."
Tomada widened his eyes at this. "You're a Jedi?!"
"Actually, I'm still a Padawan, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to take care of myself," Liquorice explained with crossing her arms. "Here, I even have the lightsaber to prove it." Grabbing her trusty weapon, she pressed the button on the side to reveal a purple, glowing blade.
"Whoa! A purple lightsaber?! Those are very rare - I've only seen two characters using a purple lightsaber: Mace Windu and Darth Revan!" Tomada exclaimed. "If I remember correctly, purple is the color located between blue and red, meaning that you are located somewhere between the Light and Dark Side of the Force. Actually, you're bathing in the Dark Side's twilight, but are still firmly planted on the Light Side, that's it!"
Turning her lightsaber off, Liquorice let out an amused scoff. "Nerd... Oh, and it's amusing that you mentioned Mace Windu, because he just so happens to be my master."
"WHAT?!" Tomada yelled so loud that the others had to cover their ears. "But how's that possible? Windu got killed by Darth Sidious!"
"Have you ever heard the term 'Force Ghost', pal?" the wolfess asked with a roll of her eyes.
"By my elders, I'm actually gonna get to team up with the Padawan of one of the greatest Jedi to ever live! That's so exciting, don't you think, Ferroth?"
At this question, the anthropomorphic snake rubbed the back of his head. "Huh... I guess... Sorry, guys, but I'm not exactly on good terms with the Star Wars franchise. Don't get me wrong; I loved it ever since I was a kid. But... since they made the Sequel Trilogy, my love for everything Star Wars related has been badly damaged - maybe beyond the point of repair."
"I 100% agree," Logan said with a nod of his head. "While it did have some good elements, like the Porgs and the whole 'be with me' scene, I'd say that, overall, the Sequel Trilogy left a lot to be desired. Seriously, I'm not even sure to understand what was the point of Snoke's character." He then turned his attention to the driver of the Keyblade Glider, who jumped down and landed near them. He was pretty small and covered in a dark blue Keyblade Armor that looked like a bird. "And who are you, dude?"
In response, the little character made his armor disappear to reveal a little male Spix's macaw that some of the present members were familiar with. "Hi, Logan."
"Blu?!" Logan exclaimed in surprise, Tomada seeming just as surprised.
Indeed, the protagonist of the Rio franchise was the one hidden behind that Keyblade Armor. His appearance had changed quite a lot, since the last time Logan saw him: he had a chain around his neck similar to Sora's, with two feathers - a dark blue one and a light blue one - serving as a pendant, a metallic, dark blue Keyblade Armor pauldron on his right shoulder that extended to his wing, and a fanny pack wrapped around his waist.
"Nice to see you again, Logan. You too, Tomada. How do you find my new look?" Blu asked with taking a pose.
"Pretty cool; that's exactly how I would've pictured you, if you were a playable character in a Kingdom Hearts game," Logan admitted, rubbing his chin with a smile. "And you even got a Keyblade Armor now?"
"Sure do! Ventus crafted it for me, with help from Master Yen Sid and King Mickey, of course," the blue bird explained with showing the piece of armor on his shoulder and wing. "In fact, Ventus did a lot for me; he taught me plenty of tricks with my Keyblade and other powers I didn't even know I had."
"You're a Keyblade Wielder now?" Ferroth asked in surprise.
Blu proved his point by summoning his Keyblade in his wing. Its shaft was shaped like an R with the handle being in the middle. The blade had the appearance of a Spix's macaw wing, and the keychain was exactly like the chain that bound Blu to Jewel in his first movie. "I am! Allow me to present to you my Keyblade, Wing of Love!"
"So you finally gave a name to your Keyblade? A pretty good name," Logan agreed. "What else did you learn from Ventus?"
Blu gestured for the others to come close as he did a gesture with his wings and made a magical grid with many nodes appear before him. As the others gathered around it, Blu noticed Kaa slithering next to him, and backed off in fear a bit. "Don't be afraid, Blu; Kaa's on our side," Logan assured.
"Oh. Sorry, but all the snakes I've met before have been trying to eat me," Blu apologized to her.
"So? What's this thing, Blu?" Destiny asked.
"It appeared before me after my first mission with Ventus. Master Yen Sid explained that this is the physical manifestation of all my potential and the possibilities of my power. You see all these little nodes?" Blu asked with showing the nodes on the grid. "Some of them are either boosts of skills, like strength, speed, or magic pool, whilst others are completely new abilities that can be learned. As I progress and gain experience on my adventures, I get to make some unreachable nodes became available for me to unlock. By having the right Materia and/or other required elements, I can open a node and either get a skill boost or new ability. The only downside with this is that choosing my nodes is forcing to me to select certain paths of skill and powers. By choosing certain paths, others become closed and unavailable forever."
"I see, so it's like the Sphere Grid experience system from Final Fantasy X," Ferroth deduced.
"That's exactly what I thought, too," Logan pointed out. "Blu's strongest point has always been his intelligence and ability to improvise; it'd make sense for him to figure out his own path to follow and what skills to combine with his abilities for a better result." He then looked back at Liquorice. "But wait, I didn't know you personally knew Blu, Liquorice."
The Padawan wolfess chuckled a bit with a grin. "You were expecting me to show up with either my master or Kyle, because of my status as a Padawan, didn't you? Nope; I prefer hanging out with the cuties." She patted Blu on the head, making him blush from being called a 'cutie'.
At this moment, another beam of light came from above, announcing the arrival of two newcomers. The first one to step out was an anthropomorphic Indian peafowl with green and blue feathers. She wore a sky-blue Arabian vest with a golden-yellow tube top and sky-blue Arabian pants. In addition, she had a golden band holding her crest feathers into a ponytail, gold bracelets on her wrists and biceps, and a golden belly chain.
"Logan, I came as fast as I could," Almyra said with approaching the group.
"Thanks, Almyra. I'm sorry if I interrupted anything important, but I needed all the help available," Logan explained, exchanging a brief hug with her.
"Bah, don't worry," she assured with a wave of her wing. "Snow White's party has already passed; I could afford to close my boutique for only one day." The peafowl turned her attention to the others, noticing that Tomada and Blu were staring at her like she was an angel. "Hello, everyone!"
"Guys, I present to you Almyra, a friend I made at the Enchanted Tiki Room, near the start of my summer vacations," Logan said, putting his hand on the peafowl's shoulder. "Almyra, these are Tomada, Dory, Ferroth, Kaa, Liquorice, and Blu. You remember Destiny, my girlfriend?"
"Indeed," Almyra confirmed as she went to exchange a hug with the whale shark. "Nice to meet you all."
Tomada's eyes were rounder than plates, and he nervously waved his wing with a smile. "Y-Yeah. Nice to meet you, too..." The falcon grabbed his best owl buddy by the arm and mumbled to him: "Dude, how did you manage to befriend that girl? She's a real beauty!"
Logan just shrugged. "Destiny and I simply met her at the Enchanted Tiki Room in Adventureland. She performed a number with Nico and Pedro - and also saved my shirt from being tainted forever. Not only that, but she even tried to flirt with me - Destiny wasn't too happy about it."
With one of his eyes twitching, Tomada dropped his head. "How come you're always the one who gets the pretty ladies...?"
Kaa approached the peafowl and gave her an analyzing look. "Huh... Hi, what's up?" Almyra asked uneasily.
The snake rubbed her chin with the tip of her tail before asking: "You're a dancer, aren't you?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
With a chuckle escaping her lips, Kaa pointed the tip of her tail at Almyra's waist. "Your hips, darling. A dancer's hips can never lie. Plus, your outfit gave me a hint."
Almyra blushed a bit at this compliment. "Indeed, I'm a cloth designer, having my own boutique in Epcot, and I'm also a belly dancer. I've been practicing both arts since my youngest age."
Liquorice displayed a skeptical look and crossed her arms. "No offense, girl, but our mission is to go save a young boy by defeating an army of monsters. Not exactly the kind of mission fit for a dancer and cloth designer. So why did you accept to come?"
"I can answer that," Logan said. "Almyra possesses a special power called Dance of the Mystical Veils that allows her to channel magic power through her belly dancing to either affect the environment, people, or summon magical objects. In a sense, it's pretty much like Gabriel's Fantasia, but with dancing instead of singing. Speaking of which." Logan took out his Magical Sketchbook and used it to create a pair of lime-green, sky-blue and golden headphones. "Here, Almyra. Since you can only use your power when there's music, this can help you in battle. I made sure to upload good oriental songs in it to help."
The Indian peafowl took the headphones and pulled them around her long neck. "Thanks, Logan. It would've been hard to dance with no music. Oh, by the way, I brought a partner for this mission!"
"About time you noticed me." Everybody looked down to see a little bunny wearing a police uniform. She had her arms crossed and didn't look too happy.
"J-Judy Hopps?!" Blu exclaimed. "From Zootopia?! H-How long have you been here?"
"As long as Almyra," Judy replied with a raised eyebrow. This caused the two avians to slap themselves on the forehead, realizing they had been so distracted by Almyra that they failed to notice the hero of Zootopia.
"Sorry about that. My name's Tomada," the falcon quickly introduced himself, shaking hands/wings with Judy. "I really loved your movie, when it came out in 2016!"
"Really? What was your favorite part?" Judy asked.
Tomada chuckled a bit. "It was the part with Flash. That scene always crack me up - just the way he's laughing so slowly... Ha, ha, ha!"
Logan kneeled down to Judy's level. "You know who we're up against, Agent Hopps?"
"Yes," she responded with a nod. "Almyra told me something about a villain who captured your friend and took him to a virtual world, right?"
"Exactly. Can we count on more ZPD agents to help us?"
Judy shook her head. "Unfortunately, Zootopia is a city busy with crime; I couldn't just bring as many agents as I wanted. It's only gonna be me."
"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be enough. After seeing your movie, I know that there's nobody in the Magical World that can resist your determination," Logan assured with a confident smile. "Besides, you're not gonna be alone; I contacted another security agent to help us with this mission. Oh, and speaking of the devil..."
Everybody looked in the same direction as Logan to see a figure standing in the shadow of a corner. Stepping out, he revealed himself to be an anthropomorphic wolf with silver-gray fur, a black mane pulled into a medium length swept back hairstyle, and a black beard tied into three braids. He wore a green military camouflage vest left unzipped at the chest, camouflage pants, and black fingerless gloves. A crossbow was strapped to his back, whilst two survival knives were tied to a belt around his waist.
"Hey, everyone," he simply greeted the group.
"What were you doing in that corner?" Liquorice asked in confusion.
"I like to stand in the shadows rather than coming out into the light. That way, I can remain unseen and catch my preys by surprise even before they get the chance to react," the wolf explained in a low tone with a serious expression. When everybody looked at him with wide eyes, he suddenly broke into a fit of laughter. "You should've seen your faces! That was a joke; I just wanted to look cool."
"Yeah, great way to make a cool first impression," Liquorice sarcastically said with a roll of her eyes.
"Meet Roman Volk, everyone," Logan said. "He's a security agent of Hollywood Studios who helped me solve a thief case."
"Nice to meetcha," Roman said with a little smile. He then noticed that Tomada was looking at him with sparkles in his eyes. "Huh... Is there a problem?"
"You look like a tough guy," the falcon said. "Are you a tough guy?"
"... Huh, yeah, I guess," Roman uneasily replied. "Depends what your definition of a 'tough guy' is."
Almyra, meanwhile, was admiring the wolf's outfit. "Impressive," she mumbled. "Usually, I'm not a big fan of military attires... but this one looks pretty good on you. Especially that tactical vest. May I unzip it, please?"
"... Sure, if you want," Roman answered, feeling slightly bashful with this demand.
The peafowl grabbed the zipper and pulled it all the way down, revealing a set of solid-looking abs that even Liquorice and Judy couldn't help but stare at. "Wow! Would you look at those!" Almyra exclaimed. "Are you practicing boxing, just out of curiosity?"
"Not exactly. I only practice hunting, axe throwing, and jogging," Roman answered, zipping his vest back to its previous state.
"You're a hunter, too?" Tomada asked with even more interest than before.
Roman smiled at him. "Yes, partner; I was born and raised in the wildest parts of Russia. That's where my old man taught me to hunt and survive, even before I learned how to talk." He turned his attention back to Logan. "So? What's this emergency you needed me for?"
"You know Sora, the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts?"
"Yes?"
"Well, he got kidnapped by a villain from a Disney video game and taken to a virtual world, where an army of monsters is guarding him. We need to save him before that bad guy can take away his heart. Think you can help with that?"
"A virtual world, you say? I'm afraid that's beyond my jurisdiction." Roman then gave a grin. "Good thing the higher ups allow agents like me to take action in case of an emergency. You can count on us."
"Thanks, Roman, that's cool...? Wait a minute, did you say us?" Logan questioned.
At that moment, Logan could swear he felt a breath on his shoulder alongside a clicking noise coming from behind. He turned around and could discern a blur in the air before him. Soon, that blur started taking form, revealing an armored figure standing many feet taller than him and looking down at him from behind a mask. Caught by surprise, he took a step back.
"What the heck?! Is that a... Predator?!" Logan exclaimed, summoning his Owl Buster sword, whilst his friends either got ready to fight or backed away in fear.
"Who, whoa, easy there!" Roman exclaimed, getting between the movie monster and the group. "Lucky has no intention of hurting any of you, you have my word."
Everybody looked in confusion at the wolf. "Lucky? You know this Predator, Roman?" Tomada asked.
"I sure do. Everybody, I present to you my hunting partner, Lucky," Roman confirmed as the Predator removed its metal mask to reveal its creepy face.
"B-But I thought Predators were hostile towards living being like us, even in the Magical World," Ferroth said. "How did you manage to befriend one of them?"
The wolf looked at the extraterrestrial, placing a paw on its armored shoulder. "When I first came to the Magical World, one of my first destinations was the alien planet from the 2010 Predator movie because I wanted to hunt some wildlife. I had not expected to meet an actual Predator because they're supposed to come in batches by season... but turns out there was still one present." Lucky clicked once more at this. "We hunted each other with the intention to win at any cost - it lasted for days. But then, something unexpected happened. Turned out there was a new nest of Xenomorphs nearby that hatched, releasing waves of Aliens all over the place. Having no other solution, Lucky and I were forced to work together in order to survive. We spent hours cutting and shooting down wave after wave of Xenomorphs until they ceased to come. Once it was done, we were too tired to finish the hunt we started... And, anyway, after such an event, there was no way we still wanted to hunt each other. So, we just parted ways on good terms. After a few more hunts together, we formed a bond and became chasing partners for life."
"What a beautiful story," Almyra said with admiration. "But why do you call him 'Lucky'?"
Roman chuckled. "Do you know how many Predators there are out there? If I just called him by his species' name, I wouldn't have been able to differentiate him from the others. Plus, we were both lucky to meet each other at that moment, so 'Lucky' was a fitting name for him."
Logan approached the alien, but not too much. "Thanks for coming to help, Lucky." He looked at the young man and clicked his mandibles again.
"Look out, everyone!" This voice came from an avian figure standing on top of the island's tree house. Opening his wings, he gracefully flew down to the beach and revealed his appearance. A little owl with black feathers, who looked like a screech owl. He had white and black face paint and a black metal bat held on his back by a strap. "You've got nothing to fear anymore, because Jameson the vigilante have arrived-"
His little speech got interrupted by Almyra, who caught him in her wings for a big hug. "My, you're so adorable! A true little fluffy ball!" she beamed whilst affectionately rubbing her cheek against the owlet.
Jameson blinked his eyes, even blushing a bit at the compliment. "Aww, you ruined my cool vigilante entrance!" he childishly whined.
"Told you it would've been better to simply introduce ourselves instead of pulling a Darkwing Duck," remarked a young purple bird as she approached the group.
"Jameson! Violet! You came!" Logan beamed as he made Almyra (reluctantly) let go of the little owl before she could choke him to death.
"Sure we did! Vigilantes are supposed to help people as much as they can, right, Violet?" Jameson asked with enthusiasm, earning an amused eye roll from his purple friend.
Roman couldn't help but give a confused look at the two young birds. "Huh, excuse me, but how old are the two of you, exactly?"
"Thirteen."
"Two, with the mind of a twelve-years-old."
This statement caused everybody to look at Logan. "You invited two children to take part in a dangerous mission?" Judy asked in disbelief.
"They're not just 'children'," Logan defended as he placed a hand on both the kids' shoulder. "Violet here is an expert in everything magic-related, meaning that if we encounter a magic power we've never seen before, she could be of a great help. Not only that, but she's also a disciple of the Oracle coven from the Boiling Isles, granting her mind-based magic."
To prove Logan's point, Violet used her power to summon a mace made of purple magic in her hand. "Magic is a topic that has fascinated me since my youngest age. Jameson convinced me to help on your mission when he said we'd get to team up with a large group of people having a variety of different powers and skills."
"As for Jameson, not only is he skilled with a baseball bat, but he also happens to be a Dream Walker, meaning he can enter and exit the Dream Realm at will, and call Dream Eaters for help." Logan then leaned toward the group to mumble: "He also has one of the most broken spells in Kingdom Hearts history: Balloon."
"Yup! As Logan said, Violet and I will be of a great help!" Jameson beamed. He then noticed something. "Hey, what's that thing in the water?"
There was, indeed, a raft approaching the seashore, carrying two passengers on its board. One of them was a beautiful wolfess with fur as white as snow. She wore a knight's armor in the form of a silver chest plate designed for females, pauldrons on her shoulders, vambraces that covered her forearms, but left her biceps and paws exposed, a metal skirt that covered her thighs, and metal boots that reached her knees. A longsword was strapped to her hip. Her fur was tainted by red marking around her eyes and a red sun tattoo around her belly button.
"Here comes the one I was anticipating the most," Logan mumbled with a smile as the wolfess reached the beach and stepped down the raft to meet up with him.
"Our paths meet again, young Dream Defender," she said in a formal, yet friendly tone. "You have requested my help through the Sun Medallion I gave to you?"
"Yes, Sunny, it's for something important."
Logan gave her a quick explanation of the situation, whilst also introducing her to the rest of the group. Upon ending, Sunny rubbed her chin with interest. "This situation seems to be of the utmost importance, indeed." She looked at the entire group. "I, Sunny the Sun Knight, would be honored to help you on your quest."
Jameson suddenly ran up to her with sparkles in his eyes. "You're a knight? Like in those medieval dreams I've seen?"
"Indeed, I am, boy. A paladin, to be precise."
"Cool... What's a paladin?" Jameson asked.
"Paladins are knights of legends who saw the light of the day during the 8th century. They played a similar role to the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian stories in that they are known for their strength and their ability to make a Sacred Oath in exchange for a blessing and/or powers." Everybody stared at Violet after that little description. "What? I like studying story and mythology, too."
Tomada was fanning his face with his wings. "My gosh, my gosh, if I keep encountering beautiful girls at this rate, I'll end up with a red face for days!"
Logan then took notice of the other passenger that accompanied Sunny on the raft. A lioness standing on four paws, who Logan quickly recognized. "V-Vitani?!"
"Do I know you?" the lioness in question asked with a nonchalant tone.
"Huh, no, we never met before. But I watched all The Lion King's movies and shows; I know your story," Logan explained.
Vitani scoffed a bit at this. "Course, you do. Why wouldn't you?"
"Hey, I recognize her, too," interjected Destiny. "Wasn't she with the bad guys from the second movie?"
"Was is the key word here," Vitani pointed out. "It's true that I spent most of my life following my mother's schemes and doing everything to help her reach her goals. However, before that could happen, I made the decision to change thanks to my brother and Kiara, daughter of King Simba. I've since become leader of the Lion Guard and do everything I can to defend the Pride Lands."
"Do you think she's doing a good job?" Blu asked Logan.
"Yes. Kion trusted her enough to surrender his place as leader of the Lion Guard to her, and even to give her the Roar of the Elders. Plus, Gabriel told me that the only bad squabble they got into was a little conflict over a misunderstanding with the Dora Milaje of Wakanda. So, I guess that means she's doing things right," Logan explained. "However, I must admit I wasn't expecting to see you with a character of The Lion King, Sunny. With your love for anything medieval-related, I would've thought your partner would be someone like Captain Phoebus or Taran."
"I know it doesn't sound like me, but I am a huge fan of The Lion King, and Vitani happens to be my favorite character. While small and subtle, I always found that her turning to the good side is a great moment that isn't discussed enough among fans. I have no doubt as to the fact she will be of a great help - especially with her Roar of the Elders." Sunny exchanged a smile with Vitani.
Logan looked at everybody. "Alright, it seems everybody I've contacted has arrived. We can now get ready-"
"Not so fast, Logan," Tomada interrupted him. "We still have to wait for someone; I told you I called someone to help with the mission, remember?"
"Huh, yeah. But who's your someone?" Logan asked.
"Looks like it's time for me to make my entry."
Somebody was standing on top of a tall palm tree from where he could see the whole scene. He had been lying on his back at first, but then decided to stand up upon realizing it was time for him to introduce himself. Despite the distance, the group could distinguish his appearance. A middle-aged man with dark brown skin, neck-length hair and a beard and sideburns that covered everything along his jawline. He wore an orange cowboy hat that had the Brazilian flag on the front and a set of ropes to prevent him from losing it. Other than his hat, his dress consisted of a short-sleeved orange shirt with '66' written in blue on the front, and form-fitting cargo pants that had multiple pockets. He also had boots that were mostly hidden by his pants and brown leather gloves. Finally, he was holding a lollipop in his mouth.
This strange individual hopped from his spot, flipping from one part of the tree house to the other, hoping to make an impressive entrance. However, around mid-way through, he tripped on his feet and actually landed hard on his back. "Eita! My back!" the poor man exclaimed in pain.
An awkward silence settled as everybody looked at the man whilst blinking their eyes. "... Hum, are you okay, sir?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry; I just hurt my back." The man got back on his feet and cracked his back. "Ha! That's better! Hope I didn't embarrass you too much, Tom."
"No fair; I'm the one who's supposed to make entrances from high places like this," Jameson mumbled with a pout.
"Is that the guy you talked about, Tomada?" Destiny asked.
The falcon nodded a yes as he walked over to the man, placing a wing on his shoulder. "Guys, allow me to introduce to you "The Brazilian Bomber" RDJ, a professional bounty hunter, and the most recent friend I made here, in the Magical World."
"Enchanted to meet all of you folks," RDJ said in a somewhat politely exaggerated way as he gave a swing of his hat and bowed.
With a skeptical look, Liquorice crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "A bounty hunter? Sorry to be a joykiller, but the order I'm part of don't exactly have a good history with bounty hunters."
"Yeah, I'm aware that Jedi aren't on good terms with 'outlaws' like me. But don't worry, young girl; I'm the kind of guy who only arrests those who deserves to be - and who has no problem helping widows and orphans." RDJ turned his attention to Logan. "Tomada told me you had problems with guys from a virtual world?"
"They captured a friend of mine and intend to do something horrible to him. We need to rescue him, but he's gonna be guarded by an army of strong monsters. Are you sure you can stand up to that?" Logan asked.
"Of course, I can. You got before you the greatest ace shot in all of South America, at your service... for a price, of course," RDJ explained.
Logan gave an unsure look. "What price are we talking about, exactly?"
"Let me think..." RDJ twirled the lollipop in his mouth as he thought about the situation. "A rescue mission that requires to go up against an army of monsters - and judging by the size of your group, it must be quite a bunch of monsters. The risks are elevated, so I'd say that I could help you in exchange for... 20,000 dollars."
"WHAT?!" practically everyone exclaimed at the same time.
"20,000 dollars?! Are you crazy, I don't have such a fortune!" Logan bellowed in disbelief. "No offense to your skills as a bounty hunter, but I don't think it's worth giving away so much when I've never seen you in action."
Far from looking offended, RDJ grinned with his lollipop in the corner of his mouth. "Could I potentially change your mind with a demonstration of my skills?" He reached one hand forward. "Backup Weapon: Peashooter!" A sigil of green magic appeared before RDJ's hand, and out of it came a strange green pistol with what looked like big peas inside of it.
"How did you do that?" Ferroth asked in surprise.
"RDJ possesses a power called 'Gun Magic' that allows him to store a wide variety of long rang and close range weapons in a special dimension that only he can access," Tomada explained. "Of course, his weapons don't shoot real bullets; just magical blasts, all of them having different effects and uses."
"Gun Magic? Interesting...," Violet mumbled as she started writing in a notebook.
RDJ closed his eyes and remained still for a moment. Then, in a matter of seconds, he swiftly shot multiple times with his peashooter, taking down every coconut hanging from palm trees in the area. Opening his eyes, he grinned when seeing the looks of awe in everybody's face. "So? Is that good enough skills for you, kid?"
"What do you think, Logan?" Destiny asked her boyfriend.
The young Dream Defender rubbed his beard whilst thinking about it. "... Now that I think about it, it'd be good to have a sharpshooter in the team to face against a certain member of Organization XIII..."
"If you say so, but how do you intend on paying him?" Almyra questioned. A smile lit up Logan's face as he turned to look at her. "What?"
"You said you are a princess, right?"
"Yes, why?" Almyra asked. Logan kept smiling at her, making her understand the situation quickly. "Oh, no! No, no, no! There's no way I'm giving away so much money for one guy!"
"Come on, Almyra; it's to save Sora. Pleeeease?" Logan practically begged.
The Indian peafowl tried to keep a firm expression... only to end up sighing in defeat. "Okay, fine! But only for this time - and you're gonna have to pay me back the same amount of money before asking me anything else! Understood?"
"Yes, loud and clear!" Logan exclaimed, giving a military salute.
"Now, we're talking business!" RDJ said with a satisfied smile. "Oh, and by the way, all this money isn't gonna be just for me; I'll have to share with my partner in crime." Placing two fingers against his lips, he whistled. "Hey! You can come out now!"
From behind a palm tree walked a certain hyena that Vitani instantly recognized. "Shenzi?"
"Herself!" confirmed the former associate of Scar. To say that she looked different from usual would be an understanding: instead of standing on her four paws, she now had a humanoid appearance, with arms and legs. She wore a black sports bra and shorts that made her look like she was about to do some jogging. Pieces of armor that looked like bones covered her forearms, tibias, and shoulders, and she had a necklace of sharp animal teeth around her neck. Two daggers were tied by a rope on her hips. "It's been a while. How do you find my new look?" she asked with taking a pose.
The leader of the Lion Guard blinked her eyes with a confused expression. "I know we don't see each other that often, Shenzi, but last time I saw you, you didn't look like this at all. What happened?"
"One of my young friends, who also happens to be the Queen of the Outlands, learned a spell to take this form, like those animals from that modern city, many years ago. It looked fun, so I asked her to teach me that spell. A choice I don't regret; it does enhance my beauty, don't you think?" the hyena asked with a chuckle. "Plus, it lets me use these!" She grabbed her daggers and performed a few swings with them.
"Yup, it does make you look even more beautiful than you already were," RDJ complimented as he placed a hand on the hyena's shoulder. "Shenzi's an old friend of mine. I'd trust her with my life... and also to share a part of my bounty."
"Welcome aboard, Shenzi," Logan greeted her with a nod. He then looked at everybody present. "Well, it seems the team is now complete. At the risk of repeating myself, I'm gonna give you all a summary of our mission again, just for those I didn't contact. Sora, the Keyblade Wielder, protector of the Magical World, and a good friend of mine, has been captured by The Inventor, an artificial being ruling over the Virtual World. He hopes to claim his heart to come live in the Magical World. Our mission will, therefore, be to invade a virtual replica of The World That Never Was, fight our way through an army of Nobodies - and also replicas of Organization XIII, a group of powerful Nobodies, and rescue Sora before it's too late."
"While regular Nobodies aren't too hard to take down if you're strong enough, members of Organization XIII are a lot more dangerous - having finished Kingdom Hearts 2, I'm well-placed to know it. Once we traverse the portal leading to the Virtual World, there will be no turning back until Sora has been rescued. If any of you wants to step back, it's now or never."
Liquorice laughed a bit at this. "Kid, do you really think we would've taken the time to come all the way here, knowing what we're getting into, if it was just to leave at the last second? We're not in a movie, y'know!"
"I'm not a... Grrr!" Logan groaned with rubbing his eyes. "Great, just what I needed: another Lena... Anyway, it's time for us to take action, beat those pixelized jerks, and bring our friend back!" he beamed, earning some cheers and nods from the team. "Alright... How do we get to the Virtual World?"
Everybody either dropped comically on their head or gave a look of disbelief. Almya ran into Logan's face with a glare. "You mean you brought us all here to help you for a mission, and you don't even know how to begin it in the first place?!"
"Honestly, I was hoping one of you would know how to open the passage connecting the Magical World to the Virtual one," Logan admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "So... Does anybody know how to do it?"
The Dream Defender was met by negative responses from everybody. Before they could begin to panic on their situation, however, a new voice joined in: "Actually, I do know how." The newcomer was a tall, beige-skinned man with a bloody red eye, and the other white with a scar running through it. He wore a victorian vampire outfit consisting of a white shirt, a dark blue jacket and pants, and black leather shoes. Three belts were tied around his waist to carry his weapons: six Aston 1842 pistols, a longsword, three daggers, a chain, four knives, and a gladius sword whose blade was a crimson red and the handle a gothic black.
This man instantly caught the attention of nearly every present lady. "Wow... Who's the gothic mountain?" Liquorice asked with her eyes widened.
"Sir Darkmare? What are you doing here?" Logan and Roman asked at the same time.
Destiny looked at her boyfriend. "You know this guy, Logan?"
"Yeah; he's that dude living in a manor I told you about. The one who defeated that crazy kid with only a knife and is almost 150-years old."
"What?!" everybody exclaimed in unison.
"Yes, I know it seems impossible, but I am in fact this old, young people," Darkmare confirmed. "However, as much as I am a raconteur, this is a story that will have to wait for another time. You said you required help to access the Virtual World, Mr. Jindrak?"
"Yes, can you help with that?" Logan asked.
In response, the vampire-werewolf hybrid turned around, brandished one of his knives, and traced it downwards, like he was cutting through a cake. By doing so, he apparently tore through the fabric of space and made a portal of pixels appear before him. "Lucky for you young people, I still remember how to open portals, like how Master Yen Sid taught me. We can reach your friend now... But before we do so, I would like to introduce you to an old friend of mine who accepted to lend his help."
Darkmare pointed a finger at a figure standing on top of the island's tree house (Jameson could be heard complaining again) with the sun shining behind him. He gracefully jumped in the air, performing many flips and twirls before landing on the beach without breaking his legs somehow. This man seemed to be in his late twenties, with crimson eyes and black hair. He wore a red bandana with his fringe emerging over it, a red cloak held in place over his shoulders and lower face by several buckles, and a black leather attire with several straps and buckles underneath his cape.
Logan almost immediately recognized this character. "V-Vincent Valentine?!"
"Who?" Tomada asked.
"Vincent Valentine, from Final Fantasy VII! One of the greatest characters in the entire franchise! It's an honor," Ferroth said as he slithered over to the caped man to shake his hand.
"Have I known you were in the Magical World, I would've called you with my phone to ask for help," Logan remarked.
"... I don't really have a phone," Vincent admitted without releasing his serious pose. "Darkmare told me your friend, Sora, is in danger. While I've never met him in person, my friends, Cloud, Aerith, Tiffa, and Cid said a lot of good things about him. Noticeably that he carries a legendary weapon like yours," he said in Blu's direction, referring to his Keyblade. "It'd be sad to let someone like this die at such a young age. I will help you save him..."
"That's great! Thanks a lot!" Logan gratefully said before turning to Darkmare. "But how did you know about our situation and plan, Sir Darkmare?"
"Well, after your little 'visit' to my residence, I have been taken over by the desire to go out and spend time in the Magical World again," Darkmare explained. "During a walk in Hollywood Studios, I happened to pass by Agent Volk as he discussed the matter of the situation with you on his phone. I could not ignore the interest of seeing you taking the lead for the first time with a group of young ones I had never seen before. Plus, my brief duel with the young knight made me realize the lassitude of all this time spent in my bungalow; this will be a good opportunity to flex my muscles and avoid getting too rusty. If you accept my help, of course."
Logan placed a hand on the gentleman's shoulder. "Your help is more than welcome." He turned toward the portal. "It's time for us to go..." The young Dream Defender took the first step... Only to stop himself immediately after. He stared at the pixelized portal with a hesitant look.
"Logan? What's wrong? You're trembling," Destiny remarked, noticing her boyfriend's shaking arms and legs.
"Sorry, Destiny... It's just..." Logan's gaze fell to the floor. "... Usually, Gabriel's the one supposed to lead these kinds of missions. As a matter of fact, it's the very first time I have to take on such a massive quest without his lead nor backup from the other members of the group, like Rachel, Toren, Silver or Adam... Even when I became a Keyblade Wielder, most of the time, I had Sora or Riku to help me on my missions... I cannot deny I'm feeling quite nervous..."
Destiny placed a fin on her boyfriend's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't worry; it's gonna be fine. I, too, was scared when I had to leave the Marine Life Institute and go live in the ocean with my limited sight. But I quickly learned that nothing is impossible as long as you have your friends and family around you."
Logan stared at his girlfriend, then at the rest of the team, and back at her with a smile. "Thanks, Destiny. I needed to hear that." He took a deep breath before exhaling to relax himself, and turned to face everybody. "Alright, team, it's time to begin the mission! Let's go!"
And with that, the Owl entered the portal to the Virtual World, followed closely by his nineteen companions. The mission had officially begun...
Author's note: The longest chapter I've written so far! And a lot of things to address here. First off, I wanna wish a good welcome to our new OC, RDJ, who is a creation of RiodanJaneiro97, one of my closest friend from the Rio fandom, and also a student of some sorts. I originally intended to have only OCs met in previous chapters to form the rescue team, but in recent days, I've been playing those two games, Pixel Gun 3D and Enter The Gungeon; they both made me wanna have a character with magic based around firearms. Magic ones, of course, because this is a K+ story. His Gun Magic is inspired by the powers of Alzack Connell from Fairy Tail (one of the most underutilized characters in the manga, IMO).
I hope everybody is happy with the partners I attributed. You probably would've liked your OC to team up with Marie from The Aristocats, Tomada, but I REALLY wanted to bring back Dory and her Bubble Magic after introducing it over twenty chapters ago. Plus, it was a good chance to bring her and Destiny together again. I chose a Predator as Roman's partner because the creator, Dominic, is a fan of hunting - it'll give me the opportunity to showcase the friendly, more honorable side of the Predator species. Lana, my RL friend and creator of Darkmare Nightwish, is a big fan of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and JRPGs in general... but Vincent Valentine is her NUMBER ONE all-time favorite character. It wasn't hard to decide who to put as her OC's partner. Personally, I think the character's cool and always found it odd he never appeared in any of the Kingdom Hearts games (the guy is so over with the fans that he got his own video game... Even though it's not a great one...). Those of you who have watched Advent Children will understand the phone joke.
Blu's ability to see his potential and choose what to learn and develop is based on the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. It's a progress system I always found interesting and have been disappointed that it never got used in any other video game again. That's why I got the idea to give it to Blu so he could craft his own fighting style instead of simply copy-pasting that of another KH character. I originally intended to do this in my other story, 'Wings of the Heart', but I cancelled it. Instead of letting it go to waste, I simply brought it over to this story.
Logan "The Owl" Jindrak belongs to me
Tomada the Falcon Shaman belongs to Tomada The Falcon
Ferroth the Snake Hero belongs to Ferroth
Liquorice the Padawan Wolfess belongs to Trela1
Roman the Hunter belongs to Dominic
Darkmare Nightwish the Vampie-Werewolf Hybrid belongs to Lana
Jameson the Black Owl belongs to Jameson The Phoenix Owl
Almyra the Mystical Dancer belongs to Princess Peacock
Sunny the Sun Knight belongs to SolitaryGrayWolf
"The Brazilian Bomber" RDJ belongs to RiodanJaneiro97
Next time: The team enters the Virtual World and begin their quest!
