Sunset
The sound of a gunshot made everyone tense up. When the shock was gone everyone went running out of the tent to look around.
Tarzan was ahead of them, looking around before taking off in the direction of the bamboo thicket.
"Tarzan!"
"Jane, stay!" He called behind him as Izuku, Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed after.
"We'll go check on him," Izuku said. "Just have first aid ready!"
Jane and the Professor stood still before hurriedly getting to work and looking for their first aid kits.
"Do ya think he's okay? Goofy asked.
Before Donald could grumble something, Sora answered. "I know we don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean we should want him to get hurt. Right?"
The others nodded in agreement as they followed Tarzan through the cam and down the path that led to the bamboo thicket. The further they went, the more they expected to hear some shouting, or screaming. Some kind of struggle.
Instead when they reached the clearing, there wasn't anything there. It was silent, not even the wind dared to blow through the area. As they looked around, Sora gasped and ran forward. On the rock in the middle of the clearing there was a smoking pipe.
He picked it up and looked at the others. They all shared an uncomfortable look.
"This is…"
"There's no blood." Izuku said, and began to walk around. "So, it wasn't an animal that attacked him."
"Do ya think it was a Heartless?" Goofy asked.
"Probably." Donald huffed.
"But the Heartless attacking now? All of a sudden? That doesn't make sense. Why now?"
"Maybe they found something they wanted?"
"Like what? I don't think they found the K-"
Izuku was cut off by a loud, trumpeting noise. Everyone looked toward the source of the noise, further in the thicket there was a loud stomping, and panicked screeches.
Tarzan tensed up, and stood at the ready, which prompted the others to do the same. The boys summoned their Keyblades while Donald, Goofy, and Tarzan brought their weapons up. Despite being at the ready, they still scrambled to get out of the way when an elephant came running through the clearing.
"Tantor!"
On his back were two gorillas, seemingly urging him on to keep running. It didn't take long to see why, when a large horde of Heartless, that looked like small monkeys came running after them.
Tarzan said something to Tantor that the others couldn't understand, but it seemed to be enough to calm the frantic elephant and his two passengers.
The small Heartless were still jumping and running around, excitedly seeking their victims.
"Thunder!"
A few scattered sparks came down and struck the energetic group, making them stop for a moment. While they recovered from the surprise, they saw their assailants.
Izuku stepped back and watched the Heartless drive themselves into another frenzy.
"They look pretty mad."
"That was the point."
One of the Heartless hissed as it threw itself at them. Goofy brought up his shield and took the hit, and began to fight with one.
"Split up, scatter around but don't go too far." Izuku said. "They'll split off too. Just yell if you need help!"
Sora looked up. "Huh? But-"
Before anyone else could express their concern, Izuku was already gone. He casted another spell, a wave of fire to draw some of the other Heartless towards him. Quite a few went after him, but then Sora was left to deal with his own group of Heartless.
A few Heartless came jumping at him, and quickly swatted them away. The minute they hit the ground, they scrambled to recover to charge at him again. It was one thing to deal with the regular shadow Heartless, but it was another to deal with ones that seemed more coordinated than usual.
Goofy shouted as he managed to throw off the small Heartless, and it disappeared.
"Fire!" Sora sent a small fireball forward and caught one or two of the small monkeys. While a few were distracted he rushed forward and brought his Keyblade down on the ones that rushed to meet him.
He managed to make a few disappear before having to back off once again. As he was trying to manage the group when someone bumped into him. He was about to apologize when he saw it was Donald.
"Watch where you're going!" Donald began shouting the minute he saw him.
"Are you kidding me? Why are you yelling at me when you bumped into me?"
"You're the one who bumped into me! You have no situational awareness, and now it's affecting everyone! What if you backed up into another Heartless?"
"Then I would have dealt with it. And a lot easier than you would be able to, since I'm the one who can actually get rid of them for good!"
"Why you-"
Donald was cut off when a shield came spinning their way and knocked a Heartless off course, and a flurry of ice crashed into some other Heartless.
"You two can argue later!" Izuku looked at them. "Focus on the fight!"
"But he-" They both began simultaneously.
"Focus!" Izuku snapped.
Izuu scolding them took them aback, but they nodded and hurried off in their separate ways. If nothing else, then to just keep the peace.
While they fought, Tarzan helped as best as he could. Knocking some of the Heartless aside and managing to take a few out himself. He kept looking over his shoulder to make sure Tantor and the other gorillas were safe. When any Heartless got too close, he was quick to close in on them and force them back.
Izuku tried to move between each monkey Heartless quickly, getting a few quick hits in before backing away and moving onto another one. He wasn't taking any of them out, but he was wearing them down.
When he was sure he had worn the group down enough, he dashed away to give himself proper distance. He turned around to see the Heartless chasing after him, that was fine, it was exactly what he needed.
He raised his Keyblade and gathered his magic.
"Thundara!"
Scattered bolts of lightning struck down on the group of Heartless, and destroyed the ones that were weakened. Only a few were left, but they would be made quick work of.
One of them was destroyed when Goofy came up and bashed one with his shield, and Izuku finished the other ones off quickly as well.
Goofy panted and looked up, and saw Sora and Donald were finishing up their own groups.
"Come on, let's go help the others. Then maybe we can figure out what's goin' on." He was about to take off when he saw Izuku leaning over and trying to catch his breath. He was about to ask if he was alright, until Izuku stood up and rushed past him.
He quickly went to Donald's aid, who was being chased again and struggling to put some distance so he wouldn't be overwhelmed.
Goofy hurried over to Sora, who was doing relatively well. He was able to use brute force to smack the Heartless away and for a few it was enough to destroy them. Goofy helped take care of whatever was left in Sora's group, and Tarzan took care of any stragglers in the area.
When all the Heartless were gone they remained alert and waited for another wave.
It was quiet again, but it wasn't the uneasy silence they had initially been met with. The wind began gently blowing again, and they could hear chirping in the distance. They only relaxed when Tantor and the other gorillas were no longer distressed.
-.-
"Tantor!" Tarzan went over when everything was calm again. "What happened?"
"Oh Tarzan, it was horrible! Awful!"
"You're still hanging around those strangers Tarzan?" One of the gorillas asked.
"It figures as much."
Tarzan huffed and looked up at them. "Tell me what happened. Did those creatures attack all of a sudden, or did you all get too close to them?"
"No!" Tantor shook his head. "They just started comin' Tarzan! They went after everyone, we were lucky to get away when we did, but everyone is scattered now!"
"Where is Terk?"
"I'm not sure. We were all scattered." One of the gorillas said. "But knowing her, she probably managed to get out of there."
"But you're not sure?"
"No."
"What about Kerchak? And…"
The gorillas looked at each other with a frown. "The last time we saw Kerchak he was fighting with a bunch of those things. Kala was trying to help the others get out. We haven't seen her since."
He shifted with unease. He looked between Tantor and the gorillas, and the new strangers he just met. After a moment he shook his head.
"Are those creatures in the nesting grounds?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Doubt it."
"Tarzan…"
He nodded at them. "Go to the nesting grounds and stay there. I'll take these strangers and go look for everyone and tell them to head the same way."
"Are you kidding me?" One of them raised their voice. "You're going with those strangers again? How do you know they can be trusted. Especially after one of them tried to-"
"Clayton is gone." Tarzan said. "We think the creatures took him."
"Good riddance!"
"But these strangers, they can fight those creatures. I trust them. They've done nothing but help since they've been here. I won't bring them to the nesting grounds, I'll just guide them around the jungle while we look for the others."
Tantor looked between Tarzan and the gorillas before shrugging. "I mean, it sounds reasonable to me. We oughta get out of here before those things come back."
"Fine. Whatever."
The other gorilla nodded and Tantor began to make his way out of the bamboo thicket.
-.-
"Uh, whatcha think he's sayin'?" Goofy asked.
"No idea."
Once Tantor and the other gorillas were gone Tarzan turned around to look at them.
"Family…in trouble."
"The gorillas?"
He nodded. "Monsters, chasing them."
"Well then we can help out!" Sora insisted. "We can deal with those monsters no problem."
"Don't just go volunteering us!" Donald shouted.
"No problem." Sora insisted.
Before Donald could say anything Goofty pat his back and shook his head. This wasn't the time for it.
Tarzan looked between the group before nodding and turning around to run off. He motioned for them to follow and they went running after him.
They went sprinting through the thicket and went through the camp. As they ran through Jane and the Professor tried to come up to them, only to hurry to the side to avoid bumping into the group.
"Wait!" Jane called. "Where is Mr. Clayton?"
Sora stopped for a moment and looked at her.
"We couldn't find him. I'm sorry. The monsters probably got ot him, and now they're after the gorillas."
"What?"
"Oh dear."
"We're gonna go help them. We'll be back!" He turned away and began running before Jane or the Professor could respond. She gave Tarzan a worried look before he began running to lead the others into the jungle.
When they entered the jungle, it felt darker than it had been last time. Before, there had been plenty of sunlight streaming through the canopy of the trees. Yet now, it was like a dark miasma had settled in the air. Making everyone feel apprehensive and paranoid.
"Ok, so where do we start?" Sora asked. "Tarzan?"
The man grunted and continued to run forward. He looked upwards every now and again, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of the monsters or the gorillas. Even just hoping to hear them.
"They're probably near where we saw them last time. If they were overwhelmed by Heartless, it's unlikely they got far." Izuku muttered. He kept glancing up every now and again as well. But he wasn't looking for the gorillas, he was looking for the Heartless.
They were active now, that meant they weren't afraid to jump out and attack anymore.
"That's a good point. We oughta look there, right?"
Tarzan suddenly skidded to the stop and looked up. They stopped with him and watched him look around. They were about to ask him what he saw when they heard it.
Loud and panicked screeching in the distance, and skittering all around them. They could hear them, and the Heartless were all around them.
"Go." Tarzan pointed up at a tree. "Climb!"
He went ahead of them and quickly scaled the tree while the others were behind him, and climbed as fast as they could. The higher they got, the louder the screeches came.
When they reached the top, they had to duck down. Birds rushed past them, trying to escape whatever danger was there. When they could look up again they saw Heartless in the trees around them. Hanging from vines and peeking out of the shadows of the trees, they all watched the group. Hungry for their next meal.
They could still hear the gorillas in the distance, further away and higher up. They were somewhere in the canopy. While they were still below, surrounded in an environment they were at a disadvantage in.
"Run." Izuku said. "Run!"
Tarzan took off, leaping from vine to vine as the Heartless descended upon them. Sora and Goofy hurriedly made the jump, while a gust of wind had to push Donald forward. He grabbed a vine and tried his best to follow the others.
Izuku stood behind them, watching them go ahead. He panted and looked around, the Heartless were closing in and could move around the trees easier than they could. He hadn't moved yet, which was fine.
He panted as he gathered magic energy together, wind whipped around him as he glared at the Heartless. He pointed his Keyblade toward the vines, higher up where most the Heartless were coming from.
"Aerora!"
A harsh gust of wind cut through the air as it went through the vines. There were cries from ahead, he was sure Donald yelled at him. He stopped through when a bunch of Heartless fell from the trees and to the ground below.
"Izuku, ya gotta get goin'!" Jiminy tapped his shoulder repeatedly with his umbrella.
Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw what caused the alarm. Another wave of Power Wilds were on their way. He grit his teeth and unleashed another wave of wind magic to push them back.
One or two managed to avoid the spell and jumped at him. One jumped on him and began to claw at him, and before the other could reach him another Keyblade tore through it and landed in the tree bark.
Izuku eyed the weapon before managing to throw the Heartless off of him.
"Fire."
The magic ate through the Heartless and Izuku turned to the vines. He was about to make the jump to the first of the vines when he caught sight of the ground far below.
"Do everyone a favor. Find the highest place you can, and take a-"
"Izuku!" Sora's shout brought him back to reality and he made the first jump. He forced himself to keep his gave ahead of him as he made his way over. He always kept his grip tight, a warning in the back of his mind. Reminding him just how far the ground was.
When he got to the next cluster of branches he didn't get a chance to rest, it was an immediate dash to the next set of trees. Still trying to get closer to where the gorillas were.
They didn't allow Izuku to lag behind, instead pushing him forward to make sure he didn't fall behind and get attacked again. He was sure there was a question or two directed towards him, but he wasn't paying too much attention. He just focused on running, jumping forward using vines, and following Tarzan.
At some point the screeching grew louder and unbearable. The Heartless joined in on the assault to his ears by hissing angrily every time they missed an attack.
He nearly ran into Tazan when the man stopped to point upwards. Another tree to climb. The jungle had gotten denser, it had gotten darker, more suffocating. It seemed like there were more Heartless than before.
"Climb!"
They all began to make their way further up. The branches began to come together the higher they went. Intertwining and binding together into another layer of the jungle. The noise grew even louder as they reached the canopy. The chaos was enough to make the branches tremble.
Izuku scrambled to get out of the way so everyone else could get up to the new section. He got to his feet and turned around to see what was happening. There were so many gorillas in the area, all of them screeching and pounding against the hardened black vines that caged them in.
There were some Power WIlds in the higher branches that teased and lashed out at the trapped gorillas. They hissed and chirped in amusement as the gorillas either tried to fight back or cowered before them. The dark vines were all intertwined but seemed to come together at a certain point. Originating from thick vines connected to some strange, black fruit attached to a large tree trunk in the center of the canopy. It pulsed softly, as if mimicking a heartbeat.
"What is that?"
"Did they catch all of 'em?" Goofy looked worried.
Tarzan was looking around and calling out to all of them. Whatever he was saying, they could only assume he was trying to reassure them.
"Okay, where do we start?" Sora looked to his fellow Keyblade wielder. "Izuku, any ideas?"
Sora watched him with bated breath. There was something wrong with him, he knew it but he wasn't sure how to name it. His friend was there, but at the same time wasn't. Izuku just stared at the area around them, he wasn't sure if he had even heard him.
The Heartless had taken notice of the intruders, and began to screech angrily and summon more of their comrades.
"Izuku?" Sora asked.
"We'll just deal with the Heartless!" Donald shouted. "He's not gonna answer. We just take care of the Heartless first and then deal with the gorillas!"
Sora frowned at him before huffing and summoning his Keyblade. Izuku summoned his own as well, he looked focused enough to fight what was in front of him.
"Family. They need help." Tarzan insisted.
"We'll help them when these monsters are gone." Izuku finally spoke. "If we free them now, they may end up getting hurt or caught again."
There was no more room for argument as the Heartless came down on them. Some jumped down and began to leap and scratch at them wherever they could, while others threw things at them. Goofy brought up his shield to deflect and bat away the ones that wanted to reach him.
"Thunder!" Donald sent scattered sparks around the area and knocked some of the Power Wilds down out of the branches above.
While they came falling down, Sora threw his Keyblade forward and tore through a few before it came back to him. Once his Keyblade was back in his hand he rushed forward and began to swipe at the Heartless.
They weren't necessarily tough, it's more that there were so many and they kept moving around. It was hard to tell which ones were worn down over the ones that were still in a frenzy.
"Blizzard!" Izuku sent out a quick flurry of ice that struck part of the excitable group. Before they could turn to their assailant Goofy threw his shield forward. It banged against the Heartless and caused a few to disappear before striking against branches and bouncing around. While the shield struck the branches and the occasional Heartless that was unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire, it eventually struck the strange black fruit attached to the tree trunk.
As soon as the fruit had been hit the Heartless all stopped, before turning to the knight.
The black fruit trembled and pulsed, and the Power Wilds all began to get riled up again. They screeched and hissed as they turned all their anger towards Goofy.
"Goofy!"
The knight tried to scramble away from the horde of Heartless. Before they could descend upon him, a shield formed around him and deflected all of the Heartless.
Izuku slammed his Keyblade down and the shield exploded outwards. Before the Heartless could recover, Goofy's shield was thrown back towards him.
The knight caught his shield and brought it up to block an incoming hit.
Sora panted as he looked at the fruit, then to Goofy, before raising his Keyblade and striking the black fruit as hard as he could. Almost immediately all the Heartless turned towards him and began to give chase.
He shuddered before running away from the horde of Heartless.
"It's like a hivemind." Izuku said. "They're around to keep that thing safe."
"So what?" Donald asked.
"Just keep hitting it and confuse them. Until we can finally get rid of it!" Sora shouted as he jumped to a higher branch and batted away some of the Heartless.
"Thunder!" A small, concentrated bolt struck the fruit, and the Heartless turned toward the offender. Until another spell was hurled at it, and they saw the new immediate threat.
Tarzan seemed to catch on and threw his spear, and struck the infectious fruit. However he had climbed higher up and was harder to reach. The Heartless couldn't even begin the climb to reach him before Sora's Keyblade struck it.
All of the Heartless began to grow confused as each intruder took turns striking the thing that they were meant to defend. Once they had a target it suddenly changed to someone else.
While it seemed like they were making good progress, a dark aura surrounded the fruit and all the vines connected to it. All the Heartless had gone still, listening to the silent orders.
Donald was about to cast another spell when he felt something twist around his ankle. He looked down in confusion and let out a loud squawk when he saw a small black vine splitting off from one of the larger ones.
He jumped away and began to swat at the vine that kept reaching towards him.
The others looked at the magician to see what was happening, and saw the black vine's new behavior. Before they could question it, they realized nearby vines began to reach towards them as well.
Sora swatted away another Power Wild and went to swing again, only for something to grab onto his wrist. He shouted in surprise and struggled to pull himself away as more of the Heartless crawled up toward him.
"Sora!" Goofy went to run over, only to trip over the vines that eagerly grabbed at his legs.
"Goofy!" Izuku managed to yank his leg out of the vine's grasp and ran over to the knight to try and pull them off of him.
Donald kept smacking a vine away from him, unaware of another reaching toward him and the Heartless eyeing him. Before he could get grabbed again, Tarzan rushed over and grabbed the back of his shirt to put him on a higher branch.
The Heartless seemed to regain their confidence as their targets were now distracted and stuck, going after them with new vigor.
A few tried to jump at Izuku and Goofy, until a shield was formed around them. It looked relatively weak, a few sections of it flickered and struggled to stay strong.
"Izuku, ya gotta be running out of magic. Ya-"
"I'm fine!" He cut Goofy off and pulled some of the vines off. Now that they lost their initial target they began to wrap around his arms.
Sora was still trying to break himself free and fight off the Heartless, but having one of his arms restrained made him struggle to keep them away. "H-Hey, guys? Guys!"
He looked around for support, and saw Izuku struggling after freeing Goofy. Even worse, the shield he had put up was starting to waver with all the Heartless beating on it. Tarzan was off to the side, dodging vines and Heartless, then trying to strike the fruit when he was able to.
The vine painfully tightened its grip on its arm and he shouted, and tried harder to pull away from it. All the while he resorted to kicking away the Heartless that tried to overtake him.
He was about to call for help again, until he felt an intense heat and a fireball whizzed past him. It struck the vine on the wall, and he cringed as it hissed in pain and shriveled up, before dissolving and freeing him.
"Use fire magic!" Donald shouted from a different branch, his was clear of the black vines. "They hate it!"
Sora was about to thank him for the save, before remembering he's supposed to be mad at the magician. He bit back a response and only nodded.
He wasn't very good at magic, he knew that. And quite frankly, Sora was annoyed he couldn't grasp it that easily. He was more nervous about having a misfire and hurting someone.
Don't have much of a choice now do I? Just hope I don't screw it up.
Sora knocked down more of the Heartless before turning his attention to the vines and fruit. He tried to trace the main one that connected to Izuku. If he could cut it off, Izuku and Goofy would be back up.
"Okay, focus." He sighed and focused on his magic. He gathered his energy together, and focused on the heat of a fire. It began to build, little by little like adding small sticks to a weak flame.
When a small fire began to gather at the tip of his Keyblade, he pointed at the section of vines he had traced and braced himself.
"Fire!" He poured a little more magic into the spell before sending it off. The fireball went flying and struck the vines. Even from his position, he could still hear the pained hissing as they faded away.
Izuku's vines dissolved and he was freed. He looked up and Sora gave him a thumbs up.
Now freed, Izuku reached for his backpack and grabbed an Ether. Once he had it down he summoned his Keyblade and forced the shield that surrounded them to explode outwards. He got to his feet and began conjuring up a fire spell.
Goofy got back up as well and kept the Heartless around Izuku at bay, while Donald kept firing off spells at the fruit. Sora leapt down from the branch he was on and began to cut through the Heartless. Tarzan came down and helped him. The man used his spear to destroy a few Heartless and knock the more aggressive ones further back.
Once Sora felt he was in the clear he began to focus on the spell again. He needed to make the spell stronger, he needed to deal some real damage. He eyed Izuku before looking at his Keyblade and focusing on gathering his magic. He just hoped his magic wouldn't go wild.
The two Keyblade wielders and the magician were each casting their own fire spells, pouring as much energy into it as they could while the Heartless grew more frenzied.
The area began to heat up as their spells grew in intensity.
"Fira!"
Three large fireballs were cast towards the black fruit, all of them converging and intensifying just before they collided with their target.
The loud, agonized hissing pierced the air and made everyone cringe or cover their ears. The black fruit was aflame, and it quickly spread to the rest of the vines. Slowly burning them away and turning them into dissipating dark mist.
The Power Wilds screeched in time, and writhed as their leader was eaten away by the flames.
The gorillas backed away as far as they could from the vines trapping them. As they began to dissolve they stepped out and saw the rest of the vines and monsters disappearing. The pained screeching only stopped when the fruit and vines were completely burned through
The area grew brighter, as though a dark cloud had been lifted.
All the gorillas eagerly left the spaces that served as their cages and hurriedly climbed down. Tarzan went over to them and began to hurriedly speak with them.
-.-
"Are you all okay?"
Some of the gorillas turned to Tarzan and nodded in relief. Others were still catching their breath and trying to settle themselves from the whole situation.
"We're alright, but those things just came out of nowhere!"
"It happened so fast, we have no idea just…how."
"Have you seen any of the others? I know some got away but…"
Tarzan nodded. "A few got away, Tantor is with them and they're heading to the nesting grounds. From the looks of it, the creatures aren't around that area."
"The nesting grounds!" One of the gorillas looked nervously at the outsiders that were standing off to the side and recovering. One of the gorillas further off to the side looked over them nervously.
"I have no intention to bring them there. We're just trying to round everyone up and get them somewhere safe." He looked around. "Where is…"
"Who? Terk? We haven't seen her. We thought she'd be with you."
"No, I haven't found her yet."
"Yeah well, knowing her she probably got away and is hiding right now. Or looking for you."
"She'd better be alright." Another gorilla said.
"What about Kerchak? And my mother?"
A collective shudder went through the whole group.
"Tarzan…" One of them started.
"Kala was trying to get us all away, but then something came by. Something big." He looked haunted as he spoke to Tarzan. "That outsider, the one with the loud thing and something else. We couldn't see it, but it was about to get her, and then Kerchak started going after it."
"Clayton? He's alive? Wait, and he had one of those creatures with him?"
"He couldn't see it, so I don't think he did much to scare it off. Kala tried to leave, but then it started chasing her and Kerchak went after that thing and the outsider."
Tarzan stiffened up. "Which direction did they go?"
"Tarzan."
"Tell me!"
"You seriously want to try and take that thing on?"
He nodded. "The others, they'll help."
"Who's to say they aren't as bad as that other outsider? How do you know they're really trustworthy?"
"They helped you all just now didn't they? Without them nobody here would be free."
"Yeah but-"
"I trust them. They're helping our family when they don't have to. They're kinder than you think they are…" He thought of the other outsider, the one that hurt one of his new friends. "Most of them."
The gorillas looked between each other nervously and then between Tarzan and the small group. Those outsiders looked more concerned and confused than outright hostile.
One of them sighed and shook his head. "We're pretty sure they went in the direction of the treehouse. If you hurry they may still be there."
The treehouse, again. Tarzan let out a shuddering sigh. That place seemed to be the home of the best and worst moments of his life it seemed. And once again it was calling him back.
"Alright, we'll start heading over there. Go to the nesting grounds, and if you see anybody else tell them to do the same. And be careful."
"We will, now get out of here Tarzan. Hurry up and deal with that other outsider, and whatever weird monster he's got with him."
Tarzan nodded, and the gorillas began to hurry off. Leaving Tarzan and the others alone.
-.-
Izuku panted as he leaned over. He was starting to feel sick, and a hand rubbing his back at least eased the nausea.
"Looks like I'm pretty good at magic after all."
"Who would have thought, especially considering you don't practice."
Sora shot Donald a look. "Are you just allergic to positivity or something?"
"I'm plenty positive!"
"You sure have a funny way of showing it."
"Fellas…" Goofy frowned.
"Fine, you want some positivity? I'm positive you could be better at magic if you practice…but, where you are right now is pretty decent." Donald crossed his arms with a huff.
Sora was quiet before shaking his head and crossing his arms as well. "Well…A for effort."
Donald squawked loudly and continued when he saw Sora's smirk.
Goofy sighed, at least it wasn't a full blown argument. It looked like those two were finally cooling down, which was better than nothing.
"Izuku, are ya sure yer feelin' okay?"
"I'm fine." He muttered. "Just…used a lot of magic."
"Well take a breather, and an Ether. We ain't done yet, but we got a minute to rest." He paused, and Izuku made no movement, either to grab his bag or give some kind of response. Goofy looked over at Sora and Donald, and leaned closer to Izuku and dropped his voice to a whisper.
"Is what that Bakugo fella said still botherin' ya? Izuku, what he said-"
"I'm fine!" Izuku stood up straight. He took another deep breath and grabbed his bag. He refused to look at Goofy as he rummaged through his backpack. He grabbed a few Ethers and put the backpack back on.
Goofy didn't get the chance to speak before he approached Sora and Donald.
"Yeah, well-"
"Here." Izuku interrupted the conversation. He held out Ethers to the two of them. Donald took one immediately and Sora took another hesitantly.
"Take it, you used magic and you may not feel it yet, but it's exhausting. You need to keep your magic energy up." Izuku said, then bit down on one.
Sora eyed the blue stone before taking a bite. He expected it to be sweet, like a potion. Instead…
"Agh! So bitter!"
"It's not that bad." Donald rolled his eyes.
Sora coughed and stared at the magic item in disdain, then looked at Izuku. "It's so gross, and you just down these like it's nothing?"
"Yup."
Sora shuddered. "You have no soul if you enjoy something this bitter."
"I don't enjoy it, it's just the way it is."
"Who decided Ethers should be bitter?"
"How the ingredients mix?"
"You think someone would try to put flavoring in them."
"I don't think that'd really help."
Sora eyed the Ether. "I beg to differ."
"Then beg." Donald said.
Sora cringed then finished the Ether. He's confident the feeling of his energy replenishing wasn't worth how gross it tasted.
Once he finally had it down the gorillas began to leave and Tarzan came back to them in a hurry.
"Kerchak and…" he struggled to find the correct word. "Mother. Danger."
That made them all stop and look up at him.
"What?"
"Danger. Clayton."
"What? He's still around?" Sora asked.
"But we thought…" Goofy trailed off.
"Where is he supposed to be?"
Tarzan grunted for a moment. "Treehouse. Where Tarzan found Sora."
Sora didn't wait for input from anyone else before nodding. "Alright then, let's go!"
"Sora!"
"Come on!"
Tarzan took off and Sora followed after. Donald chased after him. Goofy didn't move until Izuku did, and stayed behind the group to make sure he wouldn't fall behind.
-HoL-
The group went running through the jungle, still jumping from branch to branch with the help of vines. The further they went the thicker the branches grew, and the fewer vines appeared, so they didn't have to swing from one point to another.
However, as they ran they began to notice darkness that began settling over the area. It seemed like a dark miasma had covered the trees, it hung heavy in the air. It sucked out any warmth in the air and left nothing but cold and dread. None of this was helped by the fact that the sun would set soon.
The closer they got to the treehouse, the more it seemed like the leaves and vines were blackening. The darkness was practically infecting them and rotting them away.
They could hear roaring and crashing from afar. Kerchak was still there, still fighting.
They could see the treehouse ahead, the darkness seemed worse further up. As if it were trying to make a cage around the treehouse.
A gunshot pierced through the air and made them all flinch. Sora nearly stumbled when the sound startled him, but managed to stay on his feet and kept going.
Tarzan raced ahead of them, and bolted up the large branch and into the treehouse. When he stepped inside, it was like the world became muted. He looked around and saw long scratches along the wall, crates had been smashed and thrown around. The already broken railing on the 2nd floor was now nonexistent.
His eyes continued to dart around until he saw one of the people he was looking for.
The air was eerily still as Tarzan approached Kerchak. The large gorilla was on the ground, wounded but alive.
"Kerchak!" Tarzan looked him over. "Are you alright? Where is-"
The gorilla huffed, and struggled to get up. "It's still here. The outsider, and one of those creatures. It's still here."
The man looked around but saw no sign of anything. Still, he wasn't about to call Kerchak a liar. Before he could respond something grabbed him and flung him across the room.
"Tarzan!" Sora shouted as he saw his new friend get thrown into a wall, hard enough to make the wood crack.
Whatever had grabbed Tarzan grabbed him next and threw him to the side. Before he could recover he heard shouts of surprise and pain as more wood was broken beneath the weight of bodies.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." A voice spoke up. "Of course it comes down to you lot, running about and ruining things."
Sora groaned and struggled to get back on his feet. He looked up as he heard heavy footsteps from above. Clayton came into view, looking down on them from the second floor.
"One would have hoped that you would have had the common sense to stay away. What happens in this jungle is not of concern to you at all. And now look, I'll have to make a bigger mess of things."
"Clayton?" Sora asked.
"What's the big idea!" Donald shouted.
Tarzan stared up at the man before slowly shaking his head. "No. Not Clayton!"
"What?"
Clayton snapped his fingers and a strange trilling sound filled the air. Fast, heavy stomps began to approach them. None of them could tell where it was coming from.
Izuku looked around and saw a weird shift in the air. It was quick despite its size. He brought up his Keyblade and pointed it at Tarzan, forming a barrier just in time for the creature to slam into it. Tarzan flinched and looked around, watching the barrier shimmer as it was struck again and again.
"Thunder!"
Donald raised his staff and scattered sparks rained down on the invisible mass. It barely flinched, yet backed away. They could only hear its footsteps and teasing trills as it walked around the room. Above, Clayton continued to watch intently, tracking the movement easily, as if he could see it while the others could not.
The barrier around Tarzan dropped and the man quickly made his way over to the group. They all had their backs to each other, standing in the circle to try and spot the threat they couldn't see. The footsteps had stopped, and they didn't know where the Heartless was.
"We need to make this thing show itself. We can't fight what we can't see." Sora said.
"Well how do you suggest we do that?"
"I dunno! You can come up with an idea too, you know! Why is it always on me or Izuku?"
"We should probably try to get that Kerchak fella outta here. What if the Heartless or Clayton try to hurt him next?"
Tarzan looked up at that and eyed Kerchak. The gorilla was still getting his second wind.
Before they could come up with any kind of plan, a gunshot rang out and the wood at their feet splintered. The group quickly jumped back and ducked for cover as another gunshot rang out.
Izuku and Sora ducked behind a few crates while Donald, Goofy, and Tarzan ran to the other side of the room.
Sora panted as he looked around, the heavy footsteps were back.
"Izuku? Izuku, listen, any plan would probably be good by now. Y-You're usually really good at that. And we kinda need that right now."
The green haired boy didn't respond, he gripped his Keyblade tightly while his other hand shook. He looked around, eyeing the floorboards and looking for something.
"Izuku, please! Please focus. You've been off since we dealt with that Katsuki guy!" He flinched as another gunshot rang out, splintering the crate just above their heads. They ducked down lower. "Listen, what that jerk said to you sucked. And he had no right to say that, a-and I-" another gunshot and they heard a startled squawk.
"I wish he didn't. I dunno what you're thinking right now, but whatever it is, can it change to how we're gonna win this? We can talk about it later, but I don't think we can do that if-" Another gunshot. More splintered wood. "If we get…shot. Or if the Heartless gets us so-"
He gasped as a trilling noise came from above. They looked up and saw two eyes shimmering. They lunged toward the pair, and Sora brought up his Keyblade to block it.
Instead of a painful blow he was expecting, an intense heat gathered and exploded out.
Sora flinched as the Heartless let out a painful mix of a trill and screech. He looked up to see the form of what looked like a green chameleon with black markings flicker in and out of sight. They caught sight of the Heartless emblem. It stumbled back and scratched at its face were small embers of fire magic lingered.
When it regained its senses it angrily screeched and lunged toward the boys again, only to slam into another clear barrier Izuku put up around them.
"I'm sorry," Izuku began, "I haven't been paying attention and I'm sorry. You're right. I've got my own feelings about Katsuki, and there's no room for that right now. I'm here now, and I'll get us out of this."
Sora stared at him and released a shuddering breath. He was back. He was back, and now they had a fighting chance again. He quickly shoved his worry down and smiled getting to his feet as the Heartless angrily banged on the shield, causing cracks to form.
"That Heartless is after us, and we need to make it visible. That should be easy enough. I doubt it can make anything on its skin invisible. Then we need to take care of Clayton and his gun. Until we get rid of it you need to stay next to me."
"Your barrier."
"Exactly."
Sora nodded and looked at the cracks in the shield. "If you make the Heartless visible I can deal with it. And you can take care of Clayton with your magic."
"Yes." Izuku shrugged his backpack off and pulled out a few Ethers before pocketing them. He needed to be able to move fast.
"Ok. I'm dropping it."
After the Heartless struck the barrier again, Izuku made it shatter, and he and Sora dashed off to the side.
"Showing yourselves now?'
"Boys!" Donald shouted.
Izuku put up a half barrier to block the bullet, before whirling around.
"Watera!" He swung his Keyblade in a wide arc, sending out a wave of water where they had been a moment ago. Most of the water fell to the ground or splashed against the wall. But part of the spell hit an invisible form.
Found you!
"Blizzara!" Izuku focused his spell and threw forward the flurry of ice magic. He grinned as he heard a screech and the ice stuck to the water, and began to properly freeze.
There was now a floating outline of the Heartless, thanks to the ice and frost.
"We can see it!" Sora said.
Before he could charge forward, a shield went spinning and hit the Heartless, and a concentrated bolt of thunder struck the Heartless.
Clayton pointed the gun at the magician and knight. Goofy had retrieved his shield and put it up, deflecting a bullet. Clayton growled and took aim again, still aiming for Donald and Goofy. While he was distracted, Tarzan took off.
He stayed low to the ground and darted over in Clayton's direction. Another gunshot went off and he pressed himself against the wall. While the man reloaded his gun, Tarzan climbed up to the second floor. Just as Clayton finished reloading, Tarzan threw himself forward and grabbed the gun.
Clayton shouted and held on to the gun tightly.
"Let go! Let go you good for nothing-" In his struggle he pressed the trigger, and a shout of surprise from below.
Tarzan looked down, and was almost shoved away. He continued to wrestle with Clayton, trying to turn the gun away from his friends. As they fought, they kept shoving each other, getting closer to the railing..
From below, Izuku saw the two fighting. Sora was behind him, attacking the Heartless and jumping away when Donald and Goofy rushed in.
He gathered more magic energy and pointed it at Clayton. Ice gathered around his weapon, but before he could fire it off, the Heartless let out an angry trill and spun around as it swatted at the group.
Donald and Goofy went flying and Sora was knocked back and into Izuku, who fell over and sent the spell flying toward the second floor. The spell slammed into the floor and caused more wood to splinter.
In their struggle Tarzan and Clayton stepped on the weakened section of the floor, and both shouted in surprise as it collapsed beneath them.
The Heartless rushed forward, and swiped at Tarzan as he fell, knocking him into the wall. Then caught Clayton.
The poacher recovered and quickly sat up, realizing he was on the back of the beast. He grinned and took aim at them again.
Sora looked up and gasped.
"Izuku!"
He put up a barrier and instinctively ducked his head down, listening to the bullet bounce off the magic construct.
Clayton growled as he looked at the strangers, unaware of Kerchak getting up behind him.
Tarzan recovered as well and looked over to see Kerchak glaring at Clayton and the beast he was riding. He rushed over and tried to push the gorilla back before he could charge the two.
Clayton heard the growls and the noises Tarzan made to try and push the gorilla away from the fight. He looked over his shoulder and grinned, then clicked his tongue. The beast he was given listened, and whirled around. It trilled in time with his laughter as he took aim.
"Izuku!" Sora looked over. His friend only put down the shield, but couldn't conjure up another. Not yet. He was panting and reaching for an Ether he pocketed.
Donald shouted as he pointed his staff in their direction, forming a half barrier around Tarzan and Kerchak, causing another bullet to be deflected.
"Sora!" Goofy called and held up his shield.
The Keyblade wielder nodded and raised his Keyblade before throwing it forward, as hard as he could. Goofy threw his shield at the same time.
Clayton was about to attempt firing again when a shield banged against the back of his head and a giant key smacked into the head of the Heartless, forcing it to stumble.
Clayton looked at them angrily, then back at Tarzan who seemed to be succeeding in getting the gorilla to leave. That blasted duck was keeping the shield around the two strong. After a moment the large gorilla stared at Tarzan, then huffed at Clayton and his monster. Then took off toward the exit.
The Heartless screeched and tried to chase after Kerchak.
Izuku got up and swung his Keyblade in a wide arc. "Watera!" Water spilled out onto the floor.
Donald seemed to get an idea and pointed his staff at the ground as the Heartless charged forward. "Blizzara!"
The water was frozen, and the Heartless had been caught in the trap. Its feet were frozen to the floor and it fell forward.
Clayton shouted as Kerchak ran out of sight. Far away from them, and back to the family that needed him.
"You all certainly have a penchant for meddling when you're not meant to, don't you?" Clayton hissed. None of them missed the dark aura that began to form around him. "Protecting the gorillas, acting as if you all have any reason to condemn me. They are wild beasts, that would no sooner tear you apart. They have no value other than to be hunted!"
"Are you hearing yourself?" Donald shouted. "We have plenty of reason to give you what for!"
"The gorillas didn't do anything to you." Sora glared at him. "And you're trying to hurt them for no reason. You're even shooting at random people you've never met before! You expect us to just not fight back?"
"Ya sided with the Heartless, who knows who else ya plan on hurtin'!"
"We won't let you hurt Tarzan's family."
Clayton and the Chameleon shouted in time, and the Heartless reared up before slamming its fists into the frozen flooring, causing the ground beneath them all to shatter and splinter apart.
Everyone cried out in surprise, expecting to fall down into the jungle below. Only to be caught by a net beneath the treehouse.
Izuku looked around and gasped as he struggled to roll out of the way from a swipe of the Heartless.
"Guys?" Izuku started. "The sun, it's setting!"
Darkness was beginning to close in on them. The nighttime would only promise more peril for them.
They barely had any time to think before another gunshot rang out. Tarzan cried out as a bullet grazed his arm.
"Tarzan!"
They all struggled to get steady footing on the net, thankfully it seemed the Heartless was struggling too.
"We need to get to stable ground." Izuku grunted as he tried to drag himself to the edge of the net, where branches of great trees were below. It wouldn't be an easy landing, but anything was better than their current situation.
"Easier said than done!" Donald shouted, then yelled louder before Goofy managed to lunge forward with his shield as another gunshot rang out.
They all desperately crawled toward the edge of the net, barely avoiding the Heartless's attacks and Clayton's gunshots.
Izuku felt himself running out of magic, he could only imagine how Donald was feeling too. And he left his backpack inside the treehouse, he only had what was in his pocket. His mind raced for any solution. Whether to aid in their retreat or to finish off the Heartless then and there.
All he could think was to get out of there, to get away. But he wasn't sure how.
How do I get us out of this? How do I fix this?
Izuku rolled to the side to avoid the Heartless lunging at him, and struggled to back up.
Sora scrambled beside him and managed to get to the edge of the net. He peered over and paled at the long drop below. It was one thing to take that plunge in the day, when the sun was fully out and he could see. It would be another in the dark where Heartless are inevitably lurking.
"W-We can get down from here!" Sora shouted. "Tarzan, can you-"
The man understood immediately and climbed to the edge of the net before leaping off and to a branch below. The others understood, and pulled themselves over the edge, hoping they'd be able to catch one of the branches below. Another near miss sent Izuku nearly pushing Sora off the edge before hauling himself over as well.
The few moments they were in free fall were enough to make their hearts leap to their throats.
Sora managed to land beside Tarzan, and nearly fell but was steadied by the man. Who then caught Izuku to make sure he wouldn't fall below.
"Look out!"
Goofy shouted as he fell from above holding up his shield with one arm and holding Donald under the other.
The three quickly scrambled to a branch below as the two made the landing. Goofy wobbled a bit before maintaining his balance.
"Put me down, put me down!"
Goofy obliged and they heard a manic laugh from above, matched by an excited trill.
The pair practically threw themselves off the branch and onto another one below. Sora and Izuku helped them get down as Tarzan leapt across to another, larger, winding limb.
"Come on!" He shouted.
The others were about to follow when Clayton fired off another shot, and the wood beside Tarzan was struck.
The tree the four were on shook with a sudden added weight from above. They looked up to see Clayton and the Heartless looking down at them.
"Go!" Goofy put his shield up as the Heartless tried to strike at them.
"Oh no you-"
Clayton was cut off with a jolt of thunder that made him stiffen up, and struggle to move.
"Boys, go!"
Izuku took the jump first, stumbling before turning around to make sure Sora got over okay. He looked past him and saw Donald make the jump next. Goofy was still trying to fend off the Heartless as Clayton recovered.
"Goofy!" Sora shouted. "Come on!"
Izuku raised his Keyblade, his hand shaking. "Fire!"
They all flinched as the Heartless hissed and cried out as it clawed at its face where it had once again been struck by fire magic.
"Goofy, come on!"
The knight got a running start, and the three were quick to catch and help him over to more steady ground.
"Go!" Tarzan led them down the limb, sliding down ahead and knocking down branches and foliage that would scratch them up. They followed without question and slid down the tree.
There was a loud thud behind them, and shouting that was quickly fading. They were gaining ground, getting some distance so they could think.
They passed through blurs of green, even that was getting hard to see with daylight fading. The further they went down the more the canopy covered what little light was left.
It felt like forever until they finally stopped sliding, reaching a less sloped section of whatever tree they were on. They all skidded to a stop, their weapons helping them slow down.
The group panted as they looked around, looking for any sign of the Heartless, or Clayton and his new beast. As they looked around they noticed a dark miasma covering some trees and plants around them. The darkness was spreading.
"D-Do ya think we lost 'im?" Goofy tried to catch his breath.
"Maybe." Sora said. "I-I mean, we slid down pretty far. I don't think his Heartless is that fast."
"It better not be." Donald wheezed.
Izuku shook his head and looked around. It was quiet, the silence was deafening. There was no buzz of insects or lingering chirps of birds before they settled in. Everything had cleared out.
"So, any ideas on how we're gonna take care of this?" Sora asked.
"We still need to find more stable ground." Izuku shook his head. "I don't like our chances fighting up here."
"Yeah…"
From afar, they heard something snap, and it sent the group huddling closer together. They looked around frantically, searching for the source.
There was more rustling, but they couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Another snap only made them more paranoid.
"You think it's Clayton," Sora whispered, "or the Heartless?"
"Neither options are very good right now."
Before Sora could respond to Donald, they all heard the all too familiar sound of a gun cocking.
"Get down!"
Before anyone could put a barrier up, a bullet whizzed by and Sora cried out. Izuku whirled around to see the boy holding his face where the bullet grazed him.
None of them got the chance to retaliate when the chameleon Heartless made itself visible and jumped forward. The Heartless slammed into them, and sent them plummeting to the ground. The Heartless didn't give them any reprieve as it followed them down.
Falling felt like it took a lifetime, yet ended in a blink at the same time.
All five crashed to the ground, only cushioned by whatever foliage was below.
All of them were in a daze, barely registering the loud thud and the ground shaking as the Heartless landed on the ground. Both it, and Clayton unaffected by the fall.
Izuku was the first to open his eyes. Looking up through blurry vision and seeing Clayton's lips moving as he waved his gun around. He looked at all of them with a smug grin.
This is bad…
He looked to the side to see Sora was barely clinging to consciousness. Donald and Goofy weren't quite out yet, they were recovering from the fall. Tarzan was struggling to get up, the only one fully awake.
Izuku groaned as he brought his hands beneath him, and slowly pushed himself up. He was faintly aware of someone telling him to stop moving, that he was hurt. He ignored it, and used his Keyblade to slowly stand up.
I said I'd get us out of this, but how am I going to do that? Come on, think!
"Still on your feet boy? You're truly as stubborn as they come, aren't you?"
I need to end this, and soon. Or at the very least, slow him down.
He looked down at his Keyblade and stared at it. After a moment he grabbed the last Ether in his pocket and ate it.
Clayton was still ranting, but Izuku had already tuned him out.
You don't get to panic. Focus!
Izuku reached for his magic. He could only hope he had enough. He frowned at the man as he held up his Keyblade, and Clayton pointed his gun at him in turn. Just as he began to pull the trigger, Izuku called out.
"Thundara!"
A harsh beam of lightning struck the poacher and the Heartless head on. Izuku forced his legs to move as he stumbled to the side and took aim again.
"Thunder!"
Scattered sparks that forced the two to writhe from the electric magic. The Heartless seemed to tolerate it better, as it stiffly tracked his movements. It made a move to hit him, but couldn't strike as fast as it wanted to.
Izuku closed in, already winded and trying to blink away the spots in his vision. He raised his Keyblade and brought it down as hard as he could. It wasn't very effective, but he kept trying to push them back. To distract them.
He stepped back and sent another Thunder spell flying, striking the Heartless directly in the face. Before he could feel any triumph the Heartless blindly swung out and struck Izuku hard enough to punch the air out of his lungs, and threw him to the ground, back where he initially landed. He heard two voices call out his name.
He coughed as he landed on the ground, trying to drag air back into his lungs. It was hard, much harder than it should have been. Still, his body moved automatically and struggled to get up despite the pain.
I can't feel the magic building up. Not like back then, wasn't I doing it right? I was using the same kind of spell!
While he tried to come up with another plan, another way out, he didn't hear Clayton's frustrated shouts.
"Izuku?" Sora was up again.
He didn't hear the gun cocking, but his friend did.
His legs wouldn't move, so all he could use was his voice.
"Izuku, move!"
He looked down at Sora, then whirled around to block the incoming bullet.
Only for it to tear clean through his chest.
The world deafened around him, and he tried to gasp as he fell to the ground. He could only taste copper. He was pretty sure he heard someone screaming.
"Worthless Deku!"
"Izuku! Izuku no! No! No, no, no! Please!"
"You're gonna fucking die out there Deku."
Oh…
Sora was above him, frantically crying and begging him to stay. It made his heart ache, more so when he thought of Eri.
He promised he'd be back, that he'd fix everything. That he'd find Master Aqua and bring her home.
I'm supposed to always keep my promises…
He was unaware of the shimmer around his Keyblade as he struggled to breathe.
I need to keep my promises…
He gripped his Keyblade as tightly as he could, with whatever strength he had left.
I need…
-HoL-
A big thank you to KeeperofHounds for beta-reading this for me!