Hey, all. I hope you're still enjoying all of this. I'm still reaching out for world plot suggestions. I'm going to start a new world pretty soon, and I have not figured out what story I will tell in it, so I'll just make an exception in my no-spoiling-what-will-show-up policy and go out and say it. It's The Land of Dragons (Mulan's world). I would very much appreciate if you could help me figure out what to do in the next couple of weeks. I would also appreciate ideas for other worlds as well. Depending on what you all say, (since thus far I have not received many suggestions for worlds I do plan to use) I might renege completely on the aforementioned policy and straight-out ask for ideas on the specific worlds that I plan on using.
Thank you.
Chapter 95
Santa's Gift
As it turned out, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy had managed to clear out the rest of the Heartless and put out the fires before too much damage could be done. There was a large amount of rubble and wreckage, but nothing that could not be repaired or replaced. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, and Jack spent the next few hours helping the elves gather up the debris. The elves directed them on where to place the debris so they could then work on repairs. Sora, Riku and Mickey helped to repair the structural damage.
When they took a break from the clean-up work, they sat down at a table in the cafeteria. In the middle of their meal, Santa joined them, carrying a tray with mugs of hot cocoa. He sat down in one of the table's remaining seats, passing the cocoa around. "Pardon me, but can you tell me what happened?" Jack turned to look at the others inquisitively, curious to hear what the deal with the Horned King was.
The party told the jolly man in red and the skeleton showman about Maleficent's cabal of villains and the search for the mysterious artifacts. Jack's expression made it clear that he was unfamiliar with the objects of their search, but he was quite intrigued. Santa, however, seemed to be trying to decide how to respond. Mickey was quick to pick up on that cue.
"So, seeing how I see you when you're sleeping and know when you're awake, you thought that I might be able to offer a few clues, am I correct?" Santa guessed. He met eyes with Sora, appearing to somehow deduce that it was Sora's idea to ask him about it. Sora nodded, confirming both guesses. "Unfortunately, there is very little that I can do to help you directly."
Riku sighed. "I figured as much," he muttered.
Santa stroked his beard. "But perhaps there is a way I can be of assistance. After lunch, come see me in my living room." With that, he stood up and, taking the tray, departed.
The party found Santa in the living room where they had first come in, holding a cherry box. A leather pouch sat on the coffee table. Santa flicked the box's lid open, revealing a rod holding a thick scroll of old parchment wrapped around it.
"What's this?" Aqua asked.
"It is my Naughty List," Santa answered. "I use it to mark those who do not deserve my gifts and should receive coal. And, with the right magic in play, it can be used to locate them." He handed the box to Sora, then reached down to grab the pouch and handed it to Mickey. "Just sprinkle some of this on and it will help you determine the present locations of the cruel people you seek to track."
Mickey nodded. "Thank you, Santa Claus," he said.
"You think we can use it to track their movements on the world map?" Donald asked.
Jack looked from the List to Santa uncertainly. "But won't you need it? Won't the elves notice it's missing?" he asked.
Santa chuckled. "I appreciate your concern, but it will be fine. No one ever goes looking to see if they're on the Naughty List," he replied. "Although, you won't be able to get any clues in regards to this 'Zeromast' character. Until recently, he has been such a reclusive hermit embroiled in his research that I have not been able to decide if he might be naughty or nice."
Riku shrugged. "We'll make do," he said.
Aqua nodded. "Thank you for having us," she said earnestly.
Santa smiled. "Of course, my dear. But there are a few things that I have for you. Follow me, Miss." He walked out the front door, and the party, with Aqua at the front, followed him outside. When they approached a fenced-off field where reindeer grazed, Santa opened the gate and turned to the group. "Wait here," he said before entering the field.
A few minutes later, they saw a red glow come into view. After that, two rows of reindeer were visible walking toward them, and they soon saw that they were pulling a large red sleigh, with Santa Claus at the reins. Everyone gaped in wonder, save for Jack, who had seen Santa's famous sleigh up close more than once.
Santa scooched to the left slightly. "Come aboard, Aqua," he said. Aqua could barely contain her excitement as she realized that Santa was offering to take her on a sleigh ride through the sky. Almost jumping with joy, she ran over and took her seat next to Santa. The jolly old man chuckled in amusement and flicked the reins. "On, Dasher. On, Dancer. On, Prancer. On, Vixen. On, Comet. On, Cupid. On, Donner. On, Blitzen. On, Rudolph."
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jack stepped out of the way as the reindeer took off running through the snow, dragging the sleigh with them. After running a few hundred feet, magic sparks shimmered around them and their feet began to lift off the ground. The reindeer continued to run as they rose up higher in the air, and the sleigh's treads lifted off of the ground as well. The party watched the sleigh ascend above the buildings and trees and circle around over the town.
Aqua looked over the side of the sleigh and laughed as she looked down at the town far below. She could see ant-sized people looking up and waving at them.
"Ho, ho, ho!" Santa belted out in a booming voice. Aqua let out a laugh and repeated after him. "Ho, ho, ho!"
The rest of the party watched them fly around the sky for a while before the sleigh finally came back down and landed on the ground. The reindeer drew the sleigh back into the field and came to a stop. Santa and Aqua stepped out of the sleigh and petted some of the reindeer.
Aqua turned to Santa and smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Claus," she said.
Santa chuckled. "You are quite welcome, my dear," he replied. He turned to the rest of the party, and noticed that most of them appeared to want to go for a ride as well. "I'm afraid that will be all for now. But you might get your chance one day."
The others nodded in understanding. They traded satisfied glances amongst each other and with Aqua. "Well, Santa, I suppose we should get going," Mickey said.
Santa nodded. "Good luck on your quest, my friends," he said. "But before you go, I have one more thing for Miss Aqua." He went into his house, and a few minutes later came out holding a gift-wrapped box. "Consider it a belated Christmas present." He handed to box to Aqua.
Aqua blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Thank you."
The group walked up the hill, waving back at Santa and the elves who came out to see them off. "So long, Sandy Claws! I'll see you next time!" Jack shouted. As they stepped far enough away that no one could make out the expression on anyone's faces, Santa groaned.
When the party returned to Halloween Town, they stopped in the laboratory to see Sally again. The lab's structure was made almost entirely of metal sheets and plates bolted together. In the middle of the room was an old metal operating table with various apparatuses hovering over and around it. On the left side, there was a set of bookshelves layered with tomes regarding scientific experiments, potion brewing, and classical literature. Opposite from the entrance was a table strewn with experimenting materials. When they got there, they met Sally's creator, Dr. Finkelstein. The mad scientist was a small, frail man in an old metal wheelchair who appeared to be made of white plastic, with a strangely-formed head that appeared to have a duck's bill partially filled with poorly-treated teeth. He wore a white lab coat, black sunglasses, black rubber gloves, and small black shoes. His scalp had a visible seam splitting it from the rest of his head, and the rim of the scalp was lined with several small bolts. Jack introduced the doctor, explaining that he created many of the contraptions which he used for frights in the Halloween festivities.
"So, you created the Soul Robber?" Mickey asked the doctor, remembering the substance that proved incredibly helpful against the Horned King and the Heartless.
Dr. Finkelstein nodded. "Yes, indeed. Though, truth be told, I'm not quite sure how it came about," he admitted. "I was attempting to research the substances and compounds which constituted the Heartless' physical makeup, and the creature materialized from some chain reaction in one of my tests and dissolved the Heartless I was using for study at a touch."
"That's really cool," Sora said.
"But I guess that means you wouldn't be able to make more to help us," Donald surmised, realizing how much of an accident the flubbery goo really was.
"I'm afraid not," Dr. Finkelstein answered, letting out a sigh.
Aqua studied a series of blueprints on the wall with interest. "Doctor, can you tell me what these are?" she asked.
The scientist pulled a lever that turned his wheelchair and craned his neck up to see the sketches. "Ah, yes. Those are the traps I had invented for the Halloween shows, and for other town-maintenance-related purposes," he explained. "Some of them are still in place, such as the guillotine in the square and the sewer acid that would blast from the grates against the walls…"
While Dr. Finkelstein told Aqua about his various inventions, the rest of the group told Sally what had happened in Christmas Town.
Sally shook her head. "It is a shame that that demon had to spoil your visit," she lamented.
"We were able to stop him before he could cause too much destruction," Riku said.
"You know, he didn't seem that scary up close," Kairi commented. "For someone who claimed to be 'Lord of Death', I would've thought he would at least have some really strong magic."
Sora nodded in agreement. "I bet Maleficent will be disappointed when she hears about this and realizes that the Horned King was such a patsy," he quipped.
"Though it sure is a shame about that little boy," Goofy added sadly. That comment brought the mood down around him.
Wanting to change the topic of conversation, Sally glanced to the box in Mickey's hands. "So, that is supposed to help you find Maleficent and her allies around the worlds?" she asked.
Mickey nodded. "Yeah. He said that it will help us follow their movements as they jump around and search the different worlds," he clarified.
"How are we going to do that, exactly?" Kairi asked.
Donald shrugged. "I guess we'll see when we set it up," he said.
Riku stretched his arms. "So, is everyone ready?" he asked.
Sora, Mickey, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy nodded. "Well, I guess this is good-bye," Sora said.
Jack nodded and grinned. "Come back anytime."
Kairi glanced around the lab. "Hey, where's Aqua?" she asked, noticing that the bluenette was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, she just went out to take a walk around town," Dr. Finkelstein said with a chuckle. "I doubt she will be too hard to find."
Mildly perplexed by the doctor's attitude, Sora shrugged and the party calmly exited the lab, followed by Jack.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped out into the square, Mickey noticed something resembling five orange circles on the ground, but he did not notice them soon enough to avoid stepping on them. As his and Sora's feet made contact with some of the discs, the circles exploded beneath them, launching them both into the air and sending Riku and Goofy falling backward.
As they shot through the air, Sora and Mickey saw a series of fan blades set up at different elevations throughout the square. The fast-spinning blades blew them through the air all over the place. They screamed in terror, having no idea what was going on. Donald and Goofy looked about, noticing the fans and the apparatus holding them aloft. They ran around to dismantle them to get their friends out of the wind trap. However, they were stopped in their tracks by white wisps that flew around them at rapid speeds. A few of them hit the ground and walls, exploding in smoky bursts. These bursts caused Riku, Kairi and Jack to stumble around, and Jack bumped backward into a cage-like structure. He turned around to examine it and saw that it contained a straw-filled burlap scarecrow. He looked around and saw that there were six more structures strewn about the square.
After a few minutes, the fans slowed down and turned off, and Sora and Mickey fell out of the air and crashed to the ground. They stood up just as square plates within the cage structures sprung upward, launching the scarecrows high into the air with a loud metallic clang. Jack could not restrain a surprised "Whoa!" as the scarecrows flew hundreds of feet in a few seconds, and his shock was shared by numerous townspeople who had come to the square to investigate the commotion. This was followed by a blinding-white fireball launching into the air and exploding into an enormous blast. When the mega-sized flare faded, the scarecrows fell back down, each one completely on fire. Everyone scattered about to avoid being hit as the flaming sacks hit the ground and exploded into flaming specks.
When everyone had reached a state of panic and confusion, a figure in shadowed armor materialized in front of Sora. The Keyblade wielder tried to retaliate as the figure thrust its hand toward him, but his weapon passed right through it as it stopped moving. While this image remained, the figure appeared behind Goofy and tapped him on the shoulder before striking a scary pose. This image remained frozen as the figure appeared next to Donald and tripped him, while at the same time the afterimage in front of Sora faded away. The figure appeared to torment Riku, the Clown-With-the-Tear-away-Face, and Jack, before it appeared ten feet above the center fountain and dropped into it, creating a huge splash.
A few moments passed to let everything calm down, before the figure rose up out of the fountain basin, the armor dripping with the green liquid. The figure stepped out and made its way toward the party, whose members were too shocked and disoriented to raise their weapons in defense. When the figure was only a few feet from Sora, it raised its hand to touch a point on the opposite arm.
Immediately after, the armor vanished in a flash of light, and all around could see that the figure was Aqua, who smirked at her friends. After a brief moment's pause, she raised her hands and leaned forward, shouting "Boo!"
It took everyone a moment to regain their composure and realize what was going on, at which point they started to laugh mirthfully. The whole scare was set up by Aqua, using various machines and her own array of spells. "That was a good one," Riku said, clearly impressed.
Jack clapped his hands, and some of the other Halloween Town residents joined in. "Marvelous! Spectacular! What a frightening display!" he commended. "Where did you find the inspiration for such a show?"
Aqua smiled at the reception of the praise. "I saw some of Dr. Finkelstein's machine schematics, and I asked him if I could use a few of the devices he had leftover," she explained. "I figured I'd make up for how poorly I reacted to everyone else's attempts at a nice little scare with a prank of my own."
Sora laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "Well, you really got us," he said. "That was pretty cool."
Aqua turned to face the townsfolk, who continued to cheer her on, then turned to Jack. "And with that, I think we're ready to go." She gave Jack a wave, and the Pumpkin King waved back. The gang said their good-byes and made their way down the street to the Safe Point at Guillotine Gate, where they beamed up to the Gummi Ship.