Chapter 10: Of Chasms and Crystals

Some time had passed and the group decided that they should set up camp for the night. But some issues were…clearly present.

"For the last time, that was not a kiss." Pacha said as he tried lighting a fire.

"Yeah, well, whatever you call it…" Kuzco said, spitting and accidentally putting out the flame, "It was DI-SGUSTING."

"Wait, you've got those super magnet powers, right?" Sakuzy asked Joyex as they set up a hammock.

"Yeah, and if there was any metal around, that'd mean something." Joyex said, "Unless it's metal (or a Heartless), my Gather ability means SQUAT."

Becca walked over to Pacha and used a fire spell to restart the fire, "Here. Let me help."

"And, to think, if you'd just followed my orders and taken me back to the palace in the first place, we all coulda been spared your little kiss of life." Kuzco said, shaking his fur…

The resulting shower causing the fire to extinguish again. Lucy glared at the talking llama as she placed some huge leaves on the ground, making herself a makeshift bed.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to at least help set up camp." She said, clearly agitated.

Becca lightly glared at Kuzco, barely keeping her composure, "How about not shaking yourself dry near the fire?"

Kuzco, completely ignoring this, walked off to the side and began stacking rocks.

"But, now that we're all here, you can take me back to the palace, these guys can fight off those things, I'll have Yzma change me back, then I'll start construction on Kuzcotopia!" Kuzco said, putting a twig in it, "Oh yeah!"

"Okay, we seem to be missing some context here." Sakuzy said, "What's a Kuzcotopia?"

"His summer house…which he'd make by destroying my village." Pacha said as he tried restarting the fire again.

"Complete with water slide." Kuzco added.

"Look, Kuz? Can I call you 'Kuz'? Kuz…maybe you could try building this thing somewhere else?" Sakuzy asked as Kuzco began toweling off…using Pacha's poncho.

"And why would I do that?" he asked, tossing the poncho onto the log and killing the fire…again.

"Because…well, seems kind of…like a jerk move to force an entire village out of their homes just for you." Sakuzy said, trying to figure out how to explain the blatantly obvious.

"And that's…bad?" Kuzco asked.

"Okay, seriously?" Joyex asked, "I'm a Nobody, but even I'm not that heartless."

"Yeah, you've got that much right, Ponytail—you're a nobody." Kuzco said.

Joyex stammered in indignation before sighing in concession, "Okay, walked right into that one."

"Going out on a limb here and say he's never heard the word 'no' before." Becca said, moving the poncho and restarting the fire again. Lucy sighed and laid down on her leaf bed, trying to stay warm by the fire.

"I'm with you there." she said.

"Mmm…" Kuzco said, noncommittally before saying, "Now take me back."

"How can you be this way?" Pacha asked, "All you care about is your summer home and filling it up with stuff for you!"

"Uh-huh, oh yeah, me." Kuzco said, "Everyone else in the kingdom gets it. The rest o' you seem to be missing the program."

"You know, if you keep on this path, one day the darkness in your heart will take over." Becca said, ominously, "And then, you'll end up alone."

Kuzco simply responded with, "Thanks for that, I'll log that away. Now, for the final time, I order you to bring me back to the palace."

Becca sighed, rubbing her forehead. She thought at least THAT would get through to him. Lucy sat up and looked over at the others. Her look said what they were all thinking—they were in a severe conundrum.

"I say we sleep on it." Sakuzy murmured.

"Yeah, I was NOT ready for today." Joyex nodded, slinging his whip over a branch and lying on his hammock.

"He's not gonna change his mind." Pacha murmured as he began lighting the fire again.

Lucy frowned and warmed up by the fire, rubbing her arms with her gloved hands, "He has to at some point…like you said, nobody's that heartless."

"Agreed, but years of getting what he wants might have frozen his heart." Becca said.

"If that's the case, we gotta make sure those monsters don't get him!" Lucy said, determined, "I'm scared to think that if he turns, that's on us…"

Becca smiled hearing the girl's answer and looked at the sky and hummed a tune to herself.

Lucy kicked back and looked up at the sky with Becca, "Hey Becca, what's that song you're humming? It sounds nice."

"I'm not sure. I remember someone humming it, but I can't remember the words" Becca said.

"Huh, wonder what that's like…" Sakuzy said…before humming a tune to himself as well. But it seemed to follow a different tune.

Dunh, dah-dunh, dah-dunh, dah dah, dunh, dah-dunh, dah-dunh, dah dah…

"There's your answer there, Kuzie." Joyex said, "And I'm referring to the GOOD one."

"Yeah…guess we have that in common." Sakuzy said to Becca.

"I guess we do." Becca smiled as she laid against a tree with a large leaf blanket over her.

Lucy smiled and yawned cutely, stretching her arms and covering her mouth.

"Okay guys, let's get some sleep. We've got a long trip tomorrow." she said as she curled up onto her leaf bed and quietly fell asleep.

Yozora sat himself away from the others as their conversation ensued, quietly rotating his dripping wet jacket over a small fire he'd managed to light. He gazed into the campfire, as if trying to read it for answers. But fire didn't talk, right? He didn't even know. After all, he fought walking talking rock people not too long ago.

"Not really a people person, are you?" Becca said to Yozora.

"I'm kinda trying to wrap my head around a lot right now. The llama isn't good company when you want a moment of quiet reflection." Yozora shrugged, rubbing his hands together. He then turned and sheepishly smiled, "Sorry if I came off a little cold. Just…y'know, don't really know you guys. Or myself for that matter. Named myself after a VIDEO GAME."

"It's okay, I get it. I'm a little worried, myself. It's scary, not remembering anything." Becca said, taking out her Wayfinder.

Yozora's gaze flickered towards the Wayfinder. And, for a second, it remained GLUED to the item, not wanting to break contact, "That's a nice charm there…for good luck?"

"I think so…I just remember someone gave it to me when I left home. Someone said that, as long as I had it, I'd have a connection to them." Becca said before looking down sadly, "Didn't really work that well…"

"Well, you remember them saying that to you." Yozora offered as encouragingly as he could, "That's definitely SOMETHING. You can chalk that up as a sign it actually does work."

"You're right…thanks." Becca said, smiling as she handed him one of the leaf blankets, "Here. Just in case."

"So, Yozora?" Sakuzy asked from his hammock, "What caused you to drop in…no pun intended?"

"I'm a bit curious about that, myself." Becca said.

"Would you believe 'color-coded rock guys'?" Yozora asked with an amused snort, "'Cause that's honestly the only way I CAN explain it. Sliced their ship in two by…accident, admittedly. Hence the…'drop in' part."

"Okay, you think they could've landed here?" Becca asked.

"Color-coded rock guys?" Sakuzy asked.

"I know, it sounds bizarre." Yozora admitted, rubbing his head with a sheepish laugh, "But I swear it's true. There was a green one, an orange one, and then this blue guy showed up."

"Who'd those be?" Sakuzy asked.

"Ah, who cares?" Joyex asked, "If they were in the thing that ka-boomed Yozora here, they've either been to dust or tossed somewhere in space."

POHPOHPOHPOHPOHPOH

Somewhere else, the two color-coded rock guys were slowly regaining their bearings. Battered, bruised, and in the middle of the jungle.

"Ow, ow, that hurt…" Amber groaned, rubbing her head.

"That's it. We're dusted. We're so, SO dusted," Emerald panicked, pacing back and forth in the crater they had landed in, "We're dust, kaput, finito, soon as Sapphy realizes we let him get away AGAIN, we're doomed!"

"Emmy, calm down! We're still good! He probably landed here, too, so we can grab him before Sapphy realizes we screwed up! Again." Amber said. She snapped her fingers. With some heavy thuds, orange transparent crystals landed before shifting into their bestial forms. Amber then took out a piece of Yozora's clothes and held it out to them, letting them sniff it.

"Go find him, babies. Let me know when you do!" Amber said as the Beasts took off.

"Seriously? You were stripping him?" Emerald asked with mock-disgust, raising an incredulous brow.

"Hey, the fact you didn't says you were positive that he wouldn't escape. And that says a lot about you." Amber smirked.

"Yeah. It says I'm not a weirdo," Emerald retorted, flicking her forehead. "Some things never change."

"Jerk." Amber said, playfully.

POHPOHPOHPOHPOHPOH

In the palace, Yzma was enjoying the high life as imperial ruler as she lounged on a couch while having a snack, "Kronk, darling, I must admit you had me worried when you mixed up those poisons. But now that Kuzco's dead, all is forgiven."

Kronk looked nervous hearing Yzma say that as he placed an oven mitt on a cooker. It quickly caught fire. He cleared his throat, trying to sound confident.

"Oh yeah, yeah! He's dead, alright!" Kronk said, tossing the mitt on the floor as it began to ignite. Quickly, he stomped on it, putting it out, "I mean, you can't much deader than the dead he is right now. Unless we killed him again!"

"I suppose…" Yzma said, suspiciously. She stood and walked over to Kronk, grabbing his cheeks, "Kronk, Kuzco IS dead, right? Tell me Kuzco's dead, I NEED to hear those words."

"D-do you need to hear all those words, exactly?" Kronk said, nervously.

…

"HE'S STILL ALIVE?!" Yzma half-screeched through clenched teeth.

"Well, he's…not as dead as we would've hoped." Kronk said.

"KRONK…" Yzma hissed.

"Just thought I'd give you a heads'-up…in case Kuzco ever comes back." Kronk said.

"He can't come back…" Yzma growled.

"Yeah, would be kind of awkward. Especially after that lovely eulogy." Kronk said.

"YOU THINK?!" Yzma shouted before grabbing him, "We're going to go find him! If he talks, we are THROUGH! Now, let's MOVE."

POHPOHPOHPOHPOHPOH

The next day, Sakuzy groaned as he stretched. His sleep wasn't as peaceful as he hoped. Maybe it was the hammock or Yozora's story, but he couldn't find much sleep. He saw Joyex already turning something on the fire. Was probably some sort of rodent once, but it was thoroughly burned.

"Hey, thought I'd surprise you with breakfast! Couldn't find much. But hey, burned on the outside, but raw on the inside, so it balances out, right?" Joyex asked with a laugh, "Oh, come on, that was funny."

"Or maybe THAT'S why I couldn't sleep…" Sakuzy thought to himself.

Becca came out, holding some fruit.

Lucy sat up and yawned, stretching and shaking her head. She stood and walked to the others, "Morning…"

An aromatic scent slowly wafted across the campsite. The smell of grilled, smoke fish. And…seasoned at that? Sakuzy felt his stomach grumble as he immediately bolted for the source.

"Sure, don't try sparing my feelings. See if I care." Joyex said. The truth was, he didn't have feelings and he certainly did NOT care.

Yozora wiped the sweat from his brow as the flames underneath his rotisserie of fish continued to smoke and crackle. He threw a few more small seeds he found onto the wood, causing the flames to briefly flicker, and the smoke's aroma to intensify with a nuttiness.

"That should just about do it…" he murmured, slowly pulling the skewer away from the improvised cooker, sliding the fish onto a wooden plank as he dripped with sauce.

"I have come up with a new recipeh…" he quipped to himself with an exaggerated English accent before he burst into a fit of childish snickers. But…why did he find THAT so funny?

"You made this, yourself?" Becca asked.

"Huh?" Yozora looked up, just as he was about to help himself to his breakfast, "Oh, hey guys. Didn't realise you woke up."

"Joyex burned something. That's not easy to miss." Sakuzy said, "Smells good. What is it?"

"Well, smoked and lightly charred, light drizzle of passion fruit and a dash of chili to add a sorta sweet-and-spicy flavor to the mix, and I roasted some seeds, nuts and peppers in the flame to enrich the fish's flavor more with the smoke." Yozora explained, picking up one of his fish and taking a bite straight into it…

And grinned goofily in delight, "And it seems to have worked! Fish is still moist, sweet AND spicy!"

"Um, can we join you…?" Lucy asked, looking over the food.

Becca looked at the food and her stomach growled a bit.

"So, you can cook. There's something to build on." Sakuzy said, "And Joyex can't. There's another thing we can work on."

"I'm not the cook! I'm the driver…and music guy!" Joyex shouted in mock indignation.

"Yeah, I'm with Lucy on this—mind if we join you?" Sakuzy asked.

"Sure! Help yourselves guys," Yozora offered with a cheerful tone and a casual shrug.

Sakuzy sat down and tried some of the dish, "WOW! This is great!"

Becca ate hers and immediately smiled, "You're great at cooking!"

Lucy took a bite and immediately let out a cry of delight.

"So, where do we go from here?" Sakuzy asked.

"You're leader, Kuzie. That's your call." Joyex said.

"Well, we still need to find the Keyhole. My guess is it may be at the palace." Becca said.

"But if we get llama lord back there…" Sakuzy said.

"Bad things happen, yeah." Joyex nodded, "See, this guy's the reason why revolutions happen. Think there's a few worlds where the word 'guillotine' would feature prominently in his future."

"At the same time, though, we promised we'd take him back." Sakuzy said, "What're your thoughts, guys? Well…two girls and a guy. Joyex already made it clear."

"Ditch the llama and do a heist." Joyex said, flatly, "If he dies, nothing of value's lost."

"I know he's a brat, but that doesn't mean we should leave him in the middle of nowhere." Becca said, "Plus I wonder about this Yzma person he mentioned…and her secret lab."

"Hold up, secret labs, wha—bear in mind, I got dropped outta the sky in the middle of all of this." Yozora pointed out, bewildered, "Who has a secret lab?"

"This Yzma person." Sakuzy said, "Guess she's someone who works for Kuzco."

"And we're trying to get her to help us!" Lucy said, "She's the only one who can change Kuzco back."

"But MUST we?" Joyex asked, "What about him says we should help him at all?"

"I think the llama thing might not have been her intention…" Becca said, "Also I don't think Kuzco could last the day without us."

Lucy glanced over at Joyex, "I think so. It would be pretty harsh to just leave him out here."

"What about you, Yoze?" Sakuzy asked.

"…Right now, he's the best shot we've got at getting anywhere." Yozora admitted slowly, "Besides, annoying or not, there's gotta be a SMIDGE of good in there. Maybe the journey will help him?"

"Well, the ayes have it." Sakuzy said, standing up, "We're taking a shot at helping the llama."

"I do this under protest." Joyex said.

"Hey…how about you come with us for now, Yozora?" Sakuzy asked, "We're in the same boat, after all. When we find this Keyhole, we'll take you right back to Traverse Town. You didn't want any part in this, so…"

"Not like I really have much choice. It's you guys or more stumbling around blind through a jungle," Yozora pointed out with a casual shrug, but his tone, nonetheless, sounded breezy and relaxed.

"Sounds like it's all settled then!" Lucy said, clapping her hands together happily.

"Great! Now, let's get moving." Sakuzy said, marching ahead.

"Still don't like this." Joyex murmured as he and the others followed after them.

After some time passed, they were walking along with Kuzco and Pacha as they came to another chasm with only a rope bridge separating them from a large, golden palace.

"So, after this, we just have a short walk to the palace?" Sakuzy asked.

"Yeah, just across this bridge." Pacha nodded.

"Good, 'cuz I really need a bath." Kuzco murmured.

"Oh, I can tell." Pacha said, teasingly.

"What?" Kuzco asked.

"Nothing." Pacha shrugged.

"After falling from space, I dunno, this looks like a piece of cake." Yozora remarked with his arms folded, peering down.

SNAP!

SNAP!

...

"Okay, that part might be a little worrisome."

Lucy slowly glanced down and saw some of the boards on the bridge were breaking away.

"O-okay, try not to panic everyone! Everything's gonna be okay!" She said.

"Yeah, just don't look down." Joyex said, "One little baby step at a time."

"I swear, Joyex, if you start rocking it to spook someone to the other side, there will be blood." Sakuzy said.

"Do I HAVE blood?" Joyex asked, pondering the nature of his…quasi-existence.

SNAP!

Pacha yelled as he fell through, held up by some vines.

"PACHA!" Sakuzy said, taking a hasty step and falling through the bridge, too, "Guys! Little help here!"

"Okay, okay! Working on it!" Lucy said quickly as she got on her knees. She gripped a vine that Pacha and Sakuzy were tied up in only to suddenly fall down and dangle next to them.

Becca grabbed one of the vines and began to pull only to fall herself. Joyex peered down the bridge at them with an unimpressed look.

"Okay, SERIOUSLY? Never mind, lemme try helping out…"Joyex said, taking out his whip, "Lemme see…how do I use this in a way that won't cut the vines…Hey, Yozora? You have that warp thing, right? Can ya use it to try getting them out?"

"Um, maybe?" Yozora conjured his fishing pole and took aim at the party, throwing it forward.

Blue sparks fizzled out around him.

"Aw man, really? NOW? You choose not to work NOW?!" he shouted in disbelief. The fishing pole reappeared in his hand in a flash…and he held it out to Joyex. "Hey, uh, maybe this'll help?"

"Right. " Joyex said, taking the fishing pole and holding it out, "Just try grabbing onto this, guys!"

"Kuzco!" Pacha called, the llama on the other side of the bridge, "Help me out!"

"No, I don't think I will." Kuzco said, smugly.

"You're gonna leave me here?" Pacha asked.

"Well, I was gonna have you imprisoned for life, but I kinda like this better."

"I thought you were a changed man!"

"Hey, had to say SOMETHING to get you to take me back to the city."

"So all of it was a LIE?!" Pacha shouted.

"Yeah-no wait…" Kuzco said, thinking it over, "Yeah. Yeah, it all was a lie. TOODLES!"

"Okay, Yozora? Take this back." Joyex said, shoving the pole back to Yozora, "This llama's got a LONG overdue-"

The moment the Nobody took a step, he fell right into the vines that entangled Becca, "GAH! DOES KARMA JUST HATE ME?!"

Becca looked at Joyex, who was on top of her, their faces inches apart. She turned a bit red in the face, "Um, I don't know if I should be mad at the llama for ditching us or embarrassed that you're this close."

"A. You pick option A." Joyex said, flatly.

"That's it. Scrap the deal. That llama's gonna get what's what…" Sakuzy growled.

"WE SHOOK HANDS ON IT!" Pacha shouted.

Kuzco looked through the hole and just said, "Y'know, the funny thing about shaking hands is…YA NEED HANDS!"

"Hey! And what about us?!" Sakuzy growled as he struggled, "Your little…entourage!"

"Yeah, nice knowin' you and all, but services? No longer required." Kuzco said.

"You know, the way you're going, I think Karma is going to come collecting!" Becca shouted.

"Kuzco! You get your furry butt back here!" Lucy said as she struggled to find a footing in the mess of vines.

"I wouldn't take that step if I were you!" Yozora called out, a devilish grin on his face.

"Yeah, thing is, I don't care." Kuzco said, "Uh-bye-bye."

As Yozora predicted, the moment Kuzco took a step, he fell through the bridge, too.

"Are you okay?" Pacha asked.

"Yeah…yeah, I think I'm alright." Kuzco said, shocked.

"Good!"

POW!

Pacha punched him, sending the llama spinning on the vines.

"That's for going back on your promise." Pacha growled…right before Kuzco kicked him.

"Yeah, that's for kidnapping me and taking me to your village…which I'm still gonna destroy, by the way." Kuzco chuckled before saying, timidly, "No touchy."

WHAM!

Pacha headbutted Kuzco to the opposite side of the canyon.

"I know we should break this up, but I'm just hoping Pacha goes for the face." Sakuzy said.

"Yeah, this is oddly satisfying to watch." Becca said.

"Catharsis is a wonderful thing." Joyex nodded.

"Let's end this." Pacha growled.

"Ladies first." Kuzco said before the two lunged at each other and began grappling.

"Hey, Yoze? Think you can fish us outta this?" Sakuzy asked.

"Guys! Miiiight wanna stop then!" Yozora called out. "The bridge!"

"Why? What's the worst that-"

CRACK!

The bridge then gave way, sending everyone tumbling down. Sakuzy summoned his Keyblade and caught onto the side. Joyex caught a bit of rock jutting out with his whip chain. Pacha and Kuzco fell until the two were pressed against each other in a very narrow spot of the canyon.

Becca also summoned her Keyblade, doing the same as Sakuzy. Quickly, she grabbed Lucy by the back of her dress. Lucy yelled as she dangled, giving Becca a grateful look.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about!" Yozora groaned in exasperation. "Okay, uh…"

He glanced around, beads of sweat running down his brow. The bridge was totaled. But maybe…

He ran towards the rope, grabbing onto it, and began to cut it frantically. He had an idea. It was crazy…but, nonetheless, an idea.

Lucy glanced down at a body of water that was sitting beneath the group, and it just so happens hungry looking crocodiles were looking up at them!

"Don't worry, I got you!" Becca said.

"Okay…okay…" Joyex said, looking around, "What do I have to-"

"Joyex!" Sakuzy shouted, "Get up to Yozora! Whatever he's doing, try to help!"

"You got it." Joyex said, pulling himself up with his whip as he began to climb up.

"Okay…" Sakuzy said as he looked out at the canyon, seeing Becca and Lucy's predicament, "Okay…there's a lot going on. And I wanna get everyone out of it…BECCA! TOSS LUCY MY WAY! THEN TRY CLEARING THE CANYON WALL!"

"Nonono! Stay down there!" Yozora called out and threw the rope-extended line of his newly elongated fishing pole down to Joyex. "Tie the chain to the rope!"

"Got it!" Joyex said, grabbing onto a ledge and tying his chain to the end of the rope, "Swing it 'round!"

"Alright, so if this ring can shoot magical blasts, then maybe…" Yozora pulled the newly elongated line back and sucked in a deep breath.

And proceeded to—

"Ten o'clock, two o'clock, quarter to three-" he chanted to himself, swinging the line back and forth, "tour jeté, twist, pas de deux,-" He proceeded to spin himself around, all the while singing, "I'm a little teapot~"

Becca looked at the Yozora like he was going nuts. All the while, she struggled to keep her grip on Lucy.

"Then the windup…" Yozora pulled back with one arm, but kept his other hand aimed forward, sucking in a deep breath, "AND YOU LET 'ER FLYYYYYYYYYY!"

He hurled the line straight down, watching as it zipped and raced…straight for Sakuzy, managing to snag onto the back of his cape.

Sakuzy yelled as he swung around, but caught onto Becca and Lucy as he swung upward.

"See? He's a hero already, flying with a cape and everything." Joyex smirked.

"Come on ring, come on ring, do your thing, do your thing-" Yozora hastily murmured before punching the air, "ABRAKDABRA!"

Nothing.

"SHAZAM!"

Again, nothing.

"FLY!"

Beat.

"UP, UP AND AWAY!"

"GO!"

"GO!"

"GO MAGIC GO!"

"If you see little, blue bubbles lying around? That'll help." Joyex said, "That or spend enough time hitting bad guys. Either way tends to work."

Yozora's face fell flat, and he just groaned in exasperation, arm flailing through the air.

FWOOOOOOOOOOM!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And a massive blast of brilliant light exploded from Yozora's ring, the sheer force propelling him backwards. He gripped on the rod as tightly as he could, the force of his blast dragging the line up with it.

Becca held on to Lucy and Sakuzy as the line started to pull them up.

"Just go slow, okay!" Becca called to Yozora.

"Yes, please!" Lucy said as she clung to Becca!

As Sakuzy propelled upward, he saw Pacha and Kuzco, still stuck between the two cliffs.

"Becca, Lucy? Think you can grab Pacha and the jerk?" Sakuzy asked as they passed by.

"I think so I'll have to keep my self-control from dropping the idiot!" Becca said referring to Kuzco.

"THEN GRAB!" Sakuzy shouted.

Becca nodded going to grabbed the two. With a sudden yell, they were dragged upward.

The five then swung all the way up to a ledge, Sakuzy landing with one hand on the ground in a crouched position as Pacha and Kuzco landed on their feet.

"See? Superhero landing and everything." Joyex said as he cleared the wall and untied his whip.

Yozora lay flat on his back, panting heavily, staring up at the sky.

Lucy had a really spaced out look and her small haircut was visibly messy, "What a rush…"

The group then heard a very ominous cracking noise. Sakuzy grabbed Yozora and pulled him back…just as Kuzco pulled Pacha away from the ledge. With an almighty CRACK, the ledge broke off and tumbled down the side of the canyon.

"OOH YEAH! Look at me and my bad self! I snatched ya right outta the air!" Kuzco whooped, "Ooh, I'm a crumbly canyon wall and I'm takin' ya with me, but not today pal! Uh-huh! Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!"

Pacha just looked shocked as he slowly pointed out, "You…just saved my life. "

Kuzco stopped his impromptu dancing and looked back at the ledge before back at Pacha, "It was a one-time thing. Don't dig too deep into it."

"You coulda just let me fall." Pacha shrugged.

"What's the big deal? No one's THAT heartless." Kuzco snapped, defensively, "Wait, no, forget that. I'm still building Kuzcotopia when I get back."

"Uh-huh, sure." Pacha smiled, "Well, with the bridge out, it's a three day walk to the palace."

"What? You're still taking me back?" Kuzco asked.

"Well, three days is a long time." Pacha shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind."

"And you'd still need guys to deal with…whatever's out there." Sakuzy said, setting Yozora on his feet, "You good, Yoze?"

"I'm okay. I'll live…whew…" Yozora murmured, shaking his head, "So, three days, huh? Well…what're we doing, burning sunlight for?"

"Agreed, let's get going." Becca said.

"Yeah, we've got places to go." Sakuzy said, helping Lucy along, "Come on, let's be going."

POHPOHPOHPOHPOHPOH

"We've searched every village surrounding the palace and still no sign of Kuzco! Where IS HE?!" Yzma snarled before shouting into a megaphone, "KRONK!"

"Kronk here." Kronk said, talking into another part of the megaphone.

"I'm getting tired! PULL OVER!"

"Sure thing. Kronk out." He said.

Kronk was currently running through the jungle with some sort of tent on his back. He then came to a halt and knelt, sitting on his hands and knees. Yzma stormed out, stepping on Kronk's back, neck, and hands respectively…shortly before her feet got caught in the muck.

"Oh, perfect." She snarled, pulling her feet free from the mud, "There are my BEST SHOES! I HATE this jungle!"

…

Immediately afterward, she was attacked by a swarm of bees.

Kronk on the other hand wasn't paying attention. He spotted a bird on a branch before taking out a notepad marking it.

"Oh look! A golden throated small-winged warbler! Just one more for exotic bird bingo, I am loving this!" He said.

Yzma then tripped in the mud and landed right at the feet of…two people in robes. One in all green, the other in all orange.

"Huh. Y'know, some people would pay for a genuine mud mask." Amber said.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Yzma shrieked.

Amber jumped into Emerald's arms with a surprised yell. This sudden action almost knocked her cohort off of her feet.

"Wha-WHOA-!" Emerald yelped, "Sheeeeeesh grandma, you trying to see which one of us gets the heart attack first?!"

"I don't care. Just stay out of my way." Yzma murmured, wiping muck off her face.

Kronk stood next to the two Crystalli, just watching this unfold. Amber hopped out of Emerald's arms with an annoyed snort, "Jeez. What a rude lady."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Kronk said.

"So, who spat in her corn flakes?" Emerald asked, glancing towards Kronk, lifting an eyebrow.

"It's not you guys. She's not the easiest person to get close to. There's a wall there. Trust me." Kronk said in solidarity.

Emerald just 'ahhhh'ed with a sagely nod, "I know a couple dudes like that. You're not alone, big guy. One of 'em's totally gonna kill me if we don't find the runaway, as a matter of fact."

"Yeah, we're having a bit of a day." Amber said

"Kronk, we need to move out, so these…people will have to be left behind! We need to find…" Yzma caught herself, "A talking llama. We've got to find a talking llama!"

…

"Legend has it there's a kingdom beyond the stars ruled by a talking mouse," Emerald shrugged casually. "So, hey, talking llamas, why not?"

Just them one of Amber's Beasts came back, marching over to Amber, letting out some growls.

"Oh there you are, baby! What do you have?" Amber said, talking to the Beast like it was her dog.

"Huh, he says they got in a fight about who would come back." Kronk said.

"Yeah, they tend to do that." Amber said, "Wait, you understand my babies?"

"I was a Junior Chipmunk! I had to be versed in all woodland creatures. Please continue…" Kronk said as the Beast continued growling.

"So, what'd it get? Found our runaway?" Emerald asked hopefully. "Are we gonna NOT get shattered?"

"Ugh, why me?" Yzma asked, wandering off, "Why me…?"

"Hey, it isn't all about you. These guys had it rough. Apparently, they lost someone and he's with some talking llama." Kronk said.

THAT got Yzma's attention. She immediately ran back and eagerly asked, "Oh, you found my llama? DO TELL…"

"Oh, NOW you wanna be nice to us?" Emerald scoffed, folding his arms, "But how about that? The talking llama and our stowaway end up travelling together. Almost like we were meant to team up or somethi-NO, nonono, absolutely not, NO EMERALD, stop that train of thought NOW."

The Beast growled, seeing Amber also looking upset with the woman.

"They…don't really want to talk to you." Kronk said as Amber pet her Beast to calm it down.

"Oh, well…" Yzma said, giving them about three feet of space.

"Little bit more." Amber said, sourly.

Yzma growled before walking a good ten feet away and calling, "HOW'S THIS?"

"Hmm, what do you think Emmy" Amber said to Emerald

"I mean, I think I saw a cliff edge not too far from here…" Emerald murmured.

"JUST ASK IT WHERE THE TALKING LLAMA WENT!" Yzma shouted.

Kronk sighed before turning to Amber's Beast, "Uh, grunt, grrr, rawr, grr, grr?"

Just then the Beast pointed the way like a hunting dog. Amber clapped her hands together, "Looks like we're back in business!"

"Now, Kronk! Let's move out!" Yzma cackled.

"Right, gotcha!" Kronk said.

"Hold on there, lady! OUR Beast. WE go with you, since we're going the same way!" Amber said.

"Must I?" Yzma asked, flatly. Amber took out her spear, "Very well, come on."

"W-wait, I didn't agree to this-!" Emerald protested hastily.

"We need to do this or do you want to be shattered?" Amber said.

POHPOHPOHPOHPOHPOH

Hitchhiker Entries:

Yzma:

Emperor Kuzco's (former) advisor. Living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the earth and mad scientist. Heavy emphasis on "mad". She's the reason for Kuzco's current change of species and wants to…tie up any loose ends. But given her previous employer, can you blame her? She brought her madness to life in The Emperor's New Groove (2000).

Kronk:

Yzma's right-hand man. Every decade or so, she gets a new one. This current one is about as malevolent as a small puffy puppy dog and has the IQ of a typical Earth fence post. If it wasn't for him, Yzma's plan probably would have been more effective. He stole the hearts of movie-goers in The Emperor's New Groove (2000).