Chapter 63: choices and curiosity
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
At times like this I wish the cast of pirates of the Caribbean would crossover with one piece! And yes it's an anime and please watch the live-action show on Netflix!
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
It was late at night on the Flying Dutchman; everyone was either asleep with rum bottles in their hand or on duty, like Pufferfish, steering the ship through the treacherous sea. Bootstrap Bill marched up. "Captain says I'm to relieve you," he explained. Pufferfish eyed him suspiciously. "Don't believe me? Take it up with him." The helmsman scowled, handing the wheel over without a word and heading below deck.
As soon as he was gone, Bootstrap gave the signal. Will crept his way into the open, looking around warily for any guards, and silently entered Davy Jones' cabin. Bootstrap wished him good luck before he disappeared inside.
Upon entering the captain's cabin, Will was greeted by the sounds of silence. It looked smaller on the outside, he realized. Aquatic life forms were all over, from the floor to ceiling. At the far end was a huge organ, its pipes looking like massive tentacles clinging to the wall. In front of this organ sat Davy Jones, sound asleep.
Will carefully crept up next to him so as not to wake the octopus man, and peered into the mess of tentacles that hid the key. Using a pen and his bare hand, he slowly began pushing aside the beard. It was hard, risky, not to mention gross, but soon he came upon the iron double-pronged key. He took it and slowly pulled it out, but the tentacle that grasped it held firm, and Jones started to stir in his sleep. Will was prepared for this, however, and used the key imprinted parchment to lure the appendages away. The tentacle instinctively let go of the key and grasped the parchment. Will hoped Jones would appreciate the irony as he removed the key.
As careful as he was, unfortunately he let one stray tentacle fall on the organ keys.
The lone music note was enough to stir Jones awake and, to Will's horror, his eyes slowly fluttered open. Then something happened. Soft music began playing from a small heart-shaped locket on the organ. The tiny mechanisms within created a melody that, to Will, was beautiful yet sad at the same time. It also turned out to be his salvation as Jones, half-awake, was quickly rocked back into his slumber by the gentle tune. Will sighed in relief, silently of course and, with key in hand, quickly made to leave the cabin.
On his way out, something caught his eye. It was laying alone on the floor, a sword identical in shape to Sora's. He could feel the same otherworldly power emanating from this one as he did from Sora's weapon. Davy Jones stirred again behind him, so Will wasted no more time in getting out of there.
Below deck, Sora was getting to know the rest of the crew. One in particular. He yelped and ducked when Sa'luk's claws drove into the wood behind him. "It's your fault!" Sa'luk snarled, dislodging his weapon. "You're the reason why I'm like this!" He ripped the clamshells growing along his left arm only to have them grow back. "You and that bastard son of Cassim's!"
"No one said you had to join Davy Jones's crew!" Sora argued, rolling away from another strike. "You had a choice, didn't you?"
"Like it was a choice at all! What would you do with a choice between life and death?" Sora scowled and yet couldn't find an answer. "Exactly! You don't know! You can't know until it happens! Well, if I'm going to be here, then I can at least take it out on you!"
Sa'luk was grabbed by the shoulder and turned to face Bootstrap Bill. "Captain wants you in the cargo hold," he reported.
"Well, tell him to wait!" Sa'luk shouted back.
"You sure about that, Sa'luk? You want to face the Boson's whip again?" Sa'luk growled in frustration. "Then I suggest you get going." With a snarl Sa'luk marched off for the stairs, glaring at Sora before he went down.
"Thanks, Bootstrap," Sora sighed in relief.
Bootstrap nodded in acknowledgment. "Come on. You and Will are getting out of here."
Will was already waiting for them at one of the longboats. "So we're ready to leave?" Sora asked. "What were you doing that took so long, Will?" Will and Bootstrap shared a dubious glance.
"We were just...making up for lost time," Bootstrap answered soon enough. "Now, get in the boat. Hurry!"
"They'll know you helped us," Will whispered.
Bootstrap chuckled sadly and gestured at his deformed body. "What more can they do to me? This is my fate, William, not yours. You have to get away. You especially." Sora's confusion showed. "I don't know what it is, lad, but something about you has gotten Jones all riled up in a way I haven't seen before. There's no telling what he'll do to you if you stay here." He took from his pocket an old knife, still sharp after many years, and handed to Will.
"Take it. I meant to give it to you when you were older. Guess I'm a little late."
Will grasped the knife tightly. "I take this with a promise. I'll find a way to sever Jones' hold on you. I won't rest until this blade pierces his heart." Bootstrap stared at him like he was crazy to consider such a venture. He also knew it was useless to try and talk him out of it. So he said nothing.
Sora and Will climbed into the longboat and lowered it into the water. They cast off, each manning the oars and rowed off under the cover of night.
Bootstrap Bill waved them off and took off his hat. "Godspeed, lads."
KHKHKHKH
Pete reclined onto his beach towel and sighed contentedly, rays of sun bathing his face. "This is the life."
"Yup," Gantu agreed, going as far as wearing sunglasses and swim trunks in place of his uniform. Both of them lay across the hull of Gantu's ship which floated by itself in the middle of the sea, giving them the full benefit of the sun's rays. "If every world were like this one, I might not hate this job so much."
"If the job was more like this I might not hate my life so much."
"Ah, don't sweat it cat blubber," 625 put in when he peaked out of the cockpit. "I hate your life, too."
"Not even you can bring us down today, you walking tennis ball," Gantu chuckled heartily.
"PETE! GANTU!" The two henchmen jumped from their relaxation when a window opened in mid-air and Maleficent screamed through it. Gantu actually fell overboard.
"Jump, Free Willy! Jump!" 625 laughed at Gantu's expense.
"What are you two doing?" Maleficent growled, sizing them up with similar contempt as one might show a cockroach. "I thought I gave you orders already. And I find you both slacking off? What is the meaning of this?"
Pete struggled to recollect himself as Gantu crawled out of the sea. "W-Well, you see, Maleficent, we followed that brat Sora all the way from Radiant Garden, just like you said to, because maybe Kairi was with him!"
"She wasn't," 625 said bluntly.
"R-Right," Gantu replied, standing up. "So, we kept following him until he got captured, then with nothing else to do we decided to-"
"Captured? What are you babbling about?" Maleficent demanded in an irritated tone. "Who managed to capture that little Keyblade-wielding annoyance?"
"Some guy in a big pirate ship named Davy Jones!" Pete answered nervously. "Real ugly guy. He could give you a run for your money in creepiness factor."
"Hold on!" Maleficent was suddenly pushed aside by none other than the Horned King; he now shared the window with her. "Did you say Davy Jones?"
"Um, yeah. You know him?" The Horned King put a withered hand to his chin in thought.
"In the legends before the Keyblade War, there were mentions of a Keyblade bearer by the name of Davy Jones," he said deeply. "Unlike his fellow wielders, he did not take a place in the war. He disappeared some time before it began."
"You think these men are one in the same?" Maleficent asked him.
"It stands to reason, for it also is said that, through certain means, he was able achieve immortality." The Horned King fixed his gaze on Gantu and Pete, who stood stiff as statues in response. "You two have a new task. You will confirm if this Davy Jones truly is the Keyblade bearer from the past and, if so, find a way to bring him over to our cause. A Keyblade wielder under our control would greatly accelerate our plans to gain Kingdom Hearts."
"I agree," Maleficent concluded. "Find a way to bring this Davy Jones under our control. Do you understand?" Both henchmen nodded fearfully. With a wave of her hand she closed the window between worlds.
The Horned King rolled his eyes and marched off. "Where are you going?" Maleficent questioned.
"I wouldn't trust those idiots with my laundry," he answered condescendingly. "This matter is too important to be left in their hands. Think about it. If this is the immortal Keyblade bearer Davy Jones, nothing would be able to stop us if he worked for us. He may very well be the only being alive right now that can defeat the Chasers." Maleficent was pleased with this idea. "Precisely. We must take every step to ensure that he does not fall into someone else's clutches."
"Then, where are you going?" she asked again.
The Horned King smiled, knowingly. "To call in a favour."
KHKHKHKH
"So, you don't remember anything?" Aladdin asked cautiously.
Kairi scratched her head on account of a pounding headache, leaning against the side of the Black Pearl. "Not really. I mean, I remember being in Tortuga, but after that...it's all kind of a blur." She lifted the Oathkeeper Keyblade with confusion. "I don't even know how I got this."
"You don't remember anything...bad happening?" sonic pressed as carefully as he could.
"No. Before I knew it, I was on the ship. Why? Did something happen?" Beast, Aladdin and sonic looked at each other uncertainly.
"Nope. Nothing happened here," Beast replied with a smile.
"Just the normal boarding of a ship!" sonic declared.
"No unusual occurrences whatsoever," Aladdin assured.
"By the way," Kairi said slowly, looking to where they all stood. "Why are you guys staying so far away from me?" She had come to notice the three of them seemed to keep a good twenty feet away from her at all times.
"What?" Aladdin exclaimed innocently, with a smile to match. "We just like the view from over here! It's not like we're afraid of you or anything!" Kairi frowned uncertainly. She took one step towards them, and they all took one step back. The same thing happened when she tried it again.
"Cutler Beckett!? Yuck!" Jack Sparrow gagged as Elizabeth finished her story. "You mean to tell me that Sora and William were working for that slime ball?"
"They had no choice," Elizabeth argued. "We were going to be hanged. And all he wanted was your compass."
"If he wants the compass, then he has something to find," Gibbs muttered, then came to a realization. "The chest! Beckett wants the heart of Davy Jones!"
"If the East India Trading Company gets the heart, they'll control the sea," Jack explained dourly "A truly discomforting notion to any mother's son that calls himself pirate. You missed a spot, mate," he said as he walked past Norrington, who was grumpily scrubbing the deck as ordered. "And what did dear old Beckett offer you in return?"
"These." Elizabeth revealed several leather bound pieces of parchment. "Letters of Marque. I stole them from Beckett's office before I escaped. They amount to a full pardon..." Norrington jerked his attention their way when he overheard. "...and commission as a privateer on behalf of England and the Company."
"As if I could be bought for such a low price," Jack scoffed as he shoved the letters back at her.
"We best make haste if we're to beat Beckett there," Gibbs said sullenly. "Mister Silver!" Silver came to attention at the wheel. "Brace the foreyard! We're going to need a bit more speed!"
"And you, love," Jack said to Elizabeth. "You just continue your wanting so my compass can lead us right to the chest." He frowned. "Where is it?"
"What I want most, huh?" Jack Skellington pondered out loud, the compass held in his bony hand. He flipped it open and watched on the needle settled on Pintel and Ragetti. He mulled this over until he understood. He walked up to them, and screeched his scary face. The two pirates screamed and hugged each other, Ragetti's wooden eye popping out. "Wow! This thing is good. You two scare easily!"
"Cool! Let me try!" po cheered, snatching it from the Skellington. The compass needle spun wildly until it finally settled, on Kairi. Or more specifically her- "Whoa!" he yelped and quickly shut it close. "Uh, stupid thing must be broken! Yeah! That's it!" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and went to retrieve it.
Jack Sparrow was left alone then, about to claim more rum, when his eyes spotted Mulan. She was sitting on the bottom of the stairs, her chin resting on her hands. And she looked upset. He quickly sidled up to her.
"My intuitive sense of the female creature tells me you are troubled."
Mulan sighed tiredly. "It's nothing, just...do you ever feel like we're making a difference?" The pirate captain raised an eyebrow. "We're not any closer to stopping Maleficent and the Horned King, or the Empire. No matter how much we fight the only place it gets us is into trouble. Sora getting captured only proves it." She sighed again, as if she already sensed more misfortune ahead.
Jack sensed opportunity.
"Rum?" he offered holding his bottle to her. Mulan stared at the dark liquid that she had disapproved of ever since meeting Jack, then shrugged. She grabbed the bottle, shoved it between her lips and drank away. The fiery liquid splashed her tongue and burned her throat but damn did it feel good. She had downed half the bottle before she had to take a breath. She then noticed that the pirate was staring at her with delighted eyes.
"What?"
"Oh nothing," Jack said throwing his hands up. "It's just for a girl grieving over the loss of her own world you seem to be lacking the grieving part."
"I don't have time to grieve," Mulan replied. "Not when I have the chance to make sure other worlds don't suffer the same fate as my own."
"Yes, yes, very noble," Jack muttered standing up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mulan demanded, getting up to follow him.
"Well, if you really want to know what I think. See, what I think is despite the horrible tragedy that was befallen your world, your family, and your beloved Shink-"
"Shang!" Mulan corrected indignantly.
"Whatever. The point is, you lost it all. And yet, for some odd reason, you were able to get over it rather quickly. Because, despite all of this, somewhere, deep down, and I mean way deep, in the pit of your very soul, you were happy."
Mulan's eyes flared anger. "What?" she snarled.
"Hear me out!" Jack interjected before she could hurt him. "You're a free spirit. You yearn for something more. You want somewhere where you'll finally be able to belong. Life on your home was only slowing you down. It's one of the many qualities that has drawn you ever closer to me."
Mulan was taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"We're very alike you and I, I and you." Jack grinned saucily. "Us."
"Yeah," Mulan said rolling her eyes. "Except for the difference between right and wrong, a sense of honour and, oh, the occasional bath." Jack sniffed indignantly. He then quickly took a whiff of his armpits, recoiling in disgust.
"Little details," he assured. "But there's only one word for what you have, love." Mulan frowned uncertainly at Jack's smug look. "Curiosity. You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. You want to act on selfish impulse. That joining the army stint you pulled was only the tip of the iceberg."
Mulan staggered. "How did you know about that?"
"When you're interested in something, you do a little research," Jack replied cleverly. "When the war was over everything for you went back to normal. There was peace, prosperity and good will toward men. And it was all so...boring. Your taste for the unexpected was not yet satisfied. You were unable to bear going back to your old life. You wanted more, you needed more. And then, opportunity came a-knocking, cleverly disguising itself as tragedy. Two peas sharing a pod, we are. A Keyblade to help you get what you want, finding your place among the heroes of the world, such as yours truly. Mark my words, deary, you will come to me. It's only a matter of time." Mulan didn't know what to say to all these accusations. He couldn't be right. What he was saying couldn't be true. Could it?
Mulan looked at him again. "How come your compass doesn't work for you anymore?" This caught Jack off guard.
"Uh, it works fine for me!" he lied through his golden teeth. "Just the other day I found a contact lens. And they haven't even been invented yet!" Mulan smirked triumphantly.
"It doesn't work," Mulan went on, coming closer to him. "Because you no longer want to act on selfish impulse. You don't want to do things only for yourself any more. Because you and I are alike. And there will come a time when you'll have the chance to show it. When you have the chance to do the right thing."
"I have those moments," he replied. "But I do like waving to them as they pass by."
"You're going to have the chance to do something heroic, something courageous and, when you do, you'll discover something." Jack raised an eyebrow and she smiled. "That you're a good man."
"That so?" Jack asked.
"I have faith in you. Want to know why?"
"Do tell, love." Mulan unexpectedly sidled up to him.
"Curiosity," she whispered seductively. He looked at her nervously, then a big grin appeared on his face. "You're going to want it. The chance to be admired, to gain the rewards that follow. You're going to want to know..." She leaned in closer to his lips. "...what it tastes like."
"Oh, I...do want to know what it tastes like," Jack whispered back hungrily.
Mulan smiled, staying just out of his reach. "Of course, seeing as you're a good man, I know you will never put me in a position that would compromise my honour." She closed her eyes and waited. Eagerly, Jack moved in for the finalé. Unfortunately, at the worst possible moment, he noticed his right hand.
The Black Spot had returned.
Jack recoiled in horror and pulled away from Mulan. Mulan smiled. "I'm proud of you, Jack," she laughed. "You can resist temptation!"
"Jar of dirt," Jack whimpered, quickly hiding his hand. "I want me jar of dirt!" And he quickly ran off to find it.
"AWK! Land ho! AWK!" came the call of Cotton's parrot from the crows nest. Everyone ran to the ship's bow and saw that it was true. Not far off was an island covered in luscious tropical forests and sandy beaches, an island which hopefully hid the Dead Man's Chest.
"Hang on, Sora," Kairi said quietly. "We're on our way."
Mulan turned away from the sight to where Jack was rummaging through his things for his precious jar of dirt. The black compass happened to be sitting on the railing where Elizabeth was standing, and idly Mulan took it in her hands, flipped it open and let the magic needle determine her fate. Her eyes popped open at the result.
Much to her horror, the needle had settled directly on Captain Jack Sparrow. She snapped the compass shut and shook her head to push all thoughts of him out of her mind.
Still...he did cut a rather dashing figure when silhouetted against the clear blue sky, now, didn't he?
KHKHKHKH
"Strange to be coming upon a longboat so far out in open waters," the captain of the ship remarked to Sora and Will, now huddled up in blankets in his quarters. "How did you two come about such misfortune, I wonder?"
"We'll explain later," Sora told him hurriedly, sipping from his hot drink. "Just sail as fast as you can from the direction you picked us up."
"I see," the captain muttered. "And what exactly are we running from?" Sora and Will looked at each other awkwardly. "Very well. You've been through enough. When you're ready to explain yourself, I'll be top deck." He then left them and headed outside.
"Sora," Will said once they were alone. "About your weapon. A Keyblade, was it?"
"Yeah," Sora confirmed.
"Is it possible for someone else to have one? I know that Jack now has one, but say someone like...Davy Jones?"
"What! That's crazy!" Sora exclaimed. "There's no way someone like that would be chosen. You saw him."
"But...I could have sworn-"
"Ship off the starboard bow!" came the alarmed shout from outside. Sora and Will looked at each other in alarm. It couldn't be...
From the deck of his mighty ship, Davy Jones crumbled the parchment of the key in his hand. In the distance he spied the helpless galleon that would be the unfortunate victim of his wrath. "You think you can escape me?" he whispered coldly. "Be it a lifeboat or a broken plank, it all be part of the Flying Dutchman." He turned to Bootstrap Bill, held captive by the rest of his crew, and clasped his claw around his neck. "You will watch this!" he snarled.
He nodded to the Boson, who cracked his whip. Instantly, many crewmembers began turning the crankshaft, winding a massive hammer marked with the carving of an octopus, raising it high into the sky.
"Let no joyful voice be heard!" Davy Jones shouted.
The hammer raised higher and higher.
"Let no man look up at the sky with hope!"
Bootstrap shook his head pleadingly.
"And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake..."
The hammer reached is peak.
"The Kraken!"
"NOOO!" Bootstrap screamed.
Down fell the hammer.
The reverberations shook through the water, the ship in the distance feeling it as well. "What was that?" the captain whispered. Another tremor suddenly knocked him and every other sailor off his feet. The ship had stopped moving, held fast in the water by some unknown force. "We must have hit a reef. Free the rudder! Hard to port and than hard to starboard!" He turned back around, only to meet a huge slimy tentacle reaching up out of the water. "Mother of mercy!" was all he got to say as it grabbed him and yanked him below the waves. The crew gaped in horror as the tentacle popped out one last time, the screaming captain in its grasp, before dragging him back down to his watery grave. Then all hell broke loose.
Tentacles began slithering their way up every side of the ship. The alarm bell rang and men rushed to grab harpoons and muskets to combat the fearsome beast. But no matter how many weapons they brought to bear nothing could save them from the flailing and rushing tentacles of the Kraken. Sora and Will ran out of the captain's cabin to bear witness to a massacre. "No," Will whispered. "How could it have followed us so quickly?"
"We lead him here," Sora growled, clenching his fist. "It's our fault. Davy Jones! You can't do this!" Sora's Keyblade appeared and he rushed off to help.
"Sora! No!" Will called after him, but Sora would hear none of it. He slashed and stabbed at the appendages as they came for him, forcing them back but, every time, three more would rise to take its place. All around him chaos ensued. Men screamed as tentacles swooped in from all sides, snatching them up and crushing them to death, or dragging them off to some final watery demise. Despite Sora's best efforts, the ship was being torn apart.
"Come on, you overgrown calamari! Come get me!" he shouted, and he dove at the nearest tentacle, wrestling with it. "Whoa!" The tentacle suddenly withdrew into the water, taking Sora with it.
"SORA!" Will cried out. Wood splinters flew everywhere as the Kraken tore apart the ship. Will quickly ran to the rope ladder and climbed as quick as he could, just as the two biggest tentacles yet burst from the sea and loomed over the ship. They both came crashing down, crushing the masts like toothpicks and finally, splitting the ship in half. The masts fell precariously, but Will swung off a rope and swung clear into the water.
He sank beneath the surface, and for a brief fleeting moment he saw it in all its monumental horror: the Kraken. It was an indescribable terror to witness, its body like a massive finned worm, its tentacles too many to count, and a hideous maw that sucked everything into its inescapable belly. Unable to take anymore, Will swam to the surface and clung to the first piece of debris he could find.
"Sora!" he called out, but his friend was nowhere to be seen amongst the debris and bodies. He was gone. Will had no time to grieve and so quickly ducked under the water, just as the Flying Dutchman silently sailed in.
Davy Jones stood on deck looking out over the wake of his pet's rampage when Hammerhead approached him. "The boys aren't here," he reported. "They must have been claimed by the sea."
Davy Jones scowled. "I am the sea."
Bootstrap Bill stared in horror at the ship's remains, and the bodies that floated amongst them. "You need some time with your thoughts," Jones sneered cruelly. "Throw him in the brig!" Two crewmen dragged an unresisting Bootstrap off. "Survivors?" Several ragtag whimpering men who survived the attack had been gathered onboard and forced to kneel before the dreaded lord of the locker.
Jones spat out water. "There aren't any." He hobbled off and the crew monsters raised their swords and axes, hacking the unfortunate men to pieces. "The chest is no longer safe!" he thundered to Pufferfish. "Chart a course to Isla Cruses! Get me there first or there'll be the devil to pay!"
"First?" Pufferfish questioned.
Davy Jones seethed. "Who was it who sent those thieving charlatans onto my ship? Who was it who knew about the key?" He looked out at the sea at spat contemptuously. "Jack Sparrow!" The Flying Dutchman turned and set its heading, its seaweed sails lifted high, as it sailed off for its rendevous with destiny.
Unbeknownst to any on board Will had climbed his way up the ship's hull and settled himself inside its gaping crocodile mouth of a bow. He looked out to the destruction one last time, bidding one last silent farewell to his lost friend.
KHKHKHKH
Sora slowly came to his senses and he regained consciousness. "Ugh, for an overgrown sushi it sure hits hard," he groaned. His eyes began to focus, and he saw something was sitting on his chest, staring at him with big, black beady eyes. "Whoa!"
"Hehe! Wakey wakey!" Stitch giggled atop Sora's chest. Sora stared in disbelief, before breaking out into a wide grin.
"Stitch!" he laughed and swept the little alien into his arms. Stitch laughed and licked Sora all over his face. "Ew! Gross! Do you have to do that every time?" Once he wiped the slime off his face, Sora looked around him. They were on an island, one of many uninhabited in the Caribbean. The last he remembered was being attacked by the Kraken.
"Were you the one who saved me, Stitch?" Stitch shivered and blew raspberries. "Oh, that's right. You can't swim. Well, then who helped me?"
Behind him was a sleek black motorcycle which housed several razor sharp swords, and removing these swords one after the other was a man Sora knew quite well. "Cloud!" The blond haired warrior known as Cloud only turned when Sora addressed him, and turned back to his work. "How have you been, Cloud? It's been awhile since I last saw you!" Sora got up with Stitch clinging to his back. "What are you doing here? Taking a tropical vacation or something?"
Cloud took each sword and attached them together, forming what Sora knew to be his Buster Sword. "Two reasons," he finally said in his emotionless tone. "One of them's because of you."
"Me?" Sora questioned. Stitch nodded on his shoulder.
Cloud nodded as well. "Someone hired me to look after you, Sora," he replied, attaching another part of his sword.
"Look after me?" Sora questioned again, his confusion growing. "Who would ask you look after me? Was it Leon? Or Maybe Queen Minnie?"
"No, none of them. He never gave me his name, actually. All I know is he had a job, and munny. I met him by chance on another world but...it was almost like he was expecting me. Like he knew we would meet." Sora frowned. Who was this person?
"Still," Sora went on laughing a bit. "If he knew so much about me, he should know that I can take care of myself."
"That's what I said," Cloud replied, heaving his completed Buster Sword. "But let me tell you, Sora. Looking after you has been a full time job." Sora winced at the barb while Stitch giggled.
"Then why are you here, Stitch?" Sora asked the blue fluff ball. "Where's Lilo? Or Jumba?" Stitch bowed his head sadly.
"I ran into him at the Olympus Coliseum," Cloud explained. "Apparently he got separated from his friends there. We ran into each other and he asked if I could help him. I told him I had a job to do, and when he heard the job involved you, he wanted to help." Sora grinned thankfully at Stitch. Then suddenly a thought registered.
"Oh, right! What happened to Will? The Kraken didn't get him, did it?"
"Your friend's fine," Cloud assured. He seemed to be preparing for something. "But as for your other friends, they're about to run into some trouble with Davy Jones."
"Other friends?" Sora repeated, questioning. "You don't mean Kairi and the others, do you? I told them to stay in Radiant Garden! What are they doing here?" Cloud only shrugged. "Wait, how do you know about Davy Jones?"
"I know because my employer knows. I also know that, like you, Davy Jones wields a Keyblade." Sora's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.
"WHAT!?" he cried. "B-But that's impossible! How did - I mean, he's evil! There's no way someone like that could have a Keyblade!"
"Maybe you've heard of the Keyblade War?" Cloud asked, but that only made Sora's shock grow. "Don't look at me like that. I told you, my employer filled me in on the details." Sora's interest in Cloud's friend was growing with each of the sword wielder's explanation. So Will was right.
"I have to get back!" Sora gasped, looking around the island. "I got to get to my friends! I have to warn them about Davy Jones! Cloud, you have to take me to where they are!"
"No." Sora's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"What do you mean, no!? I have to help them!"
"My job was to protect you," Cloud answered calmly. "I'm not a taxi service. If you want to get to them you can find your own way."
"But...why?!" Sora cried helplessly. "Why won't you help me?" Cloud suddenly scowled.
"Remember when I said I was here for two reasons?" he asked, readying his sword. "Here comes reason number two."
A bright light suddenly struck the sand a few feet away from them, blinding Sora and knocking Stitch off his shoulder. Only Cloud stood undaunted in the face of it. From that light appeared a figure of great and terrible power, wielding a long deadly katana and with a large black wing protruding from his shoulder.
"Hello again, Cloud," Sephiroth whispered darkly.
"Sephiroth!" Sora shouted upon seeing who it was. Beside him, Stitch growled furiously.
"You always seem to know where to find me, don't you?" Sephiroth mused humorlessly, regarding Sora and Stitch briefly before turning back to his long time pursuer. "But I guess it's relevant. We do think the same, after all." Cloud gripped his sword tighter in anger.
"Cloud, please!" Sora pleaded to the warrior. "I need you to take me to my friends! You're the only one who can help me right now."
"Shut up!" Cloud snapped to Sora's shock. When it came to Sephiroth, everything changed.
"You're becoming more and more like me everyday," Sephiroth chuckled, a small smirk adorning his face.
"Cloud," Sora cried, "I heard what happened to you. What happened to your world was terrible, but it wasn't your fault!" Cloud growled angrily.
"Of course it was his fault," Sephiroth stated coldly. "I was created from the darkness in Cloud's heart. That darkness gave birth to destruction. If you blame me, you might as well be blaming him."
"Sephiroth, you sure talk about darkness a lot," Sora growled at the one-winged angel. "And yeah, you may be the dark part of Cloud's heart, but it seems you know next to nothing about him!" Cloud momentarily took his eyes off Sephiroth to stare at Sora in surprise. "I may not have known Cloud before you and he were separated, but I do know that Cloud would never do the things that you do. He has friends. Friends who care about him. Me, Aerith, Tifa, Leon, there are lots of people! If you're the darkness, Sephiroth, then Cloud's the light!" Sephiroth scowled darkly.
"Enough," he growled, and drew his massive sword, slipping into his fighting stance. "Cloud knows that darkness still resides within him. That's why he'll never stop fighting me. He'll never be free until he defeats me."
"Cloud," Sora pleaded again. "You'll never win against your darkness if you just keep fighting it like this. That's that what he wants! I need your help, Cloud. My friends need your help!" Stitch looked back and forth between the two and nodded eagerly at Cloud.
Cloud stood silent and motionless, his Buster Sword still gripped tightly in his hands. "Well, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked impatiently. "Is today the day we finally settle this?"
Cloud said nothing, standing in his aggressive stance, silent as and stoit as a stone, making his decision at the crossroads.
"No."
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" To his distaste Cloud lowered his blade and slung it across his back.
"I guess I'm just...not motivated today." Sora broke out into a wide grin when the blond warrior turned his back on Sephiroth and headed for his bike. Stitch stuck his tongue out at the one-winged angel before joining them. "Come on. I'll take you to your friends."
"So does this mean you are a taxi service now?" Sora asked snidely.
"Don't push it." Cloud mounted his ride and Sora climbed on behind him, Stitch clinging to his back.
"You dare to walk away from me?" Sephiroth demanded dangerously.
"Just think of it as a break," Cloud replied, then his voice grew grave. "But, mark my words, we will meet again. And next time, I won't be as merciful." Sephiroth scowled deeper.
"So how do we get off this island?" Sora asked. Cloud smirked knowingly.
"Hang on," was all he said before he revved the engine and tore through the beach, heading straight for the sea. Sora's eyes bugged out and he was about to warn Cloud, when they suddenly hit breakneck speed. They were engulfed in light, going so fast that they drove straight across the surface of the water, Sora screaming wildly and Stitch laughing excitedly until they were all but out of sight.
Sephiroth was left standing alone on the beach. "Another time, then...," he whispered, eyes narrowing. "Cloud."
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!