Kingdom Hearts: Heart of Heaven
Chapter Twelve: Bad guys and Evil men
Day 5 Morning… Elsewhere
The first time Kim Possible saw Ethan, the first thing she felt about him was envy.
She was in the District Square when it happened. The lights in the square exploded and people yelled from surprise as everything was plunged into darkness.
It was dark, just like her last day in her world, then a scream echoed as a red light drew everyone's attention. And Kim spotted a man's Heart ripped out of his chest.
She was ashamed to admit she only watched in horror as the memories of the day she lost everything came flooding back. A horrible silence overtook the town for a few precious seconds as everyone witnessed the worst day of our lives repeat itself.
Then the screams erupted. People panicked as everyone began to run away, looking for any sort of shelter from the monsters emerging from the darkness.
She tried to help people. To guide them into their homes but it was mass panic. Nobody would listen to her and why would they? She was a nobody here. Just a girl who was powerless to save anyone.
Then. A warm light flew into the square, slamming into the heartless that stole the heart of the dying man. There standing in the middle of the square was a man. A man with burning red eyes, an orange beating light within his chest and held a yellow scythe made of light.
His actions gained heartless attention as everyone ran as far as they could from the danger. But she didn't, she couldn't, Kim refused to run away from danger but what she could do against the heartless?
She felt like a coward as she watched Ethan fight from the sidelines. Saving people as she once did. Even when Luz joined, she couldn't raise the courage to help no matter how much part of herself screamed to do so.
So, she was envious of him. Envious that he could do what she could not. Envious that he could save the people she couldn't. Envious that he could fight.
And She Couldn't.
Kim shook her head as she dragged her gaze away from the square where Ethan first fought. Making her way to her job while her thoughts were still plagued by the thoughts of the Light-wielding man.
She… she didn't know what to think of him anymore. She canceled this morning's practice because she needed time… not that she didn't come to enjoy those sparring sessions, It felt great to push her body to its limits again. To spar with an equal or close to it. To say Ethan was unskilled was somewhat a lie but he just couldn't compare to some of her past foes, though he could match them in terms of strength.
Ethan was… nice to be with. She enjoyed sparring with him. Enjoyed learning and experimenting with Glyphs as the two of them bounced ideas back and forth. He helped her as much as she helped him and it was nice to get that kind of support again.
But then- then she found out how he could make magic weapon. The weapon that was supposed to get her back into the fight. And… and…
She didn't know what to think anymore.
She opened the door to the R.A.S. building and taking a step inside she almost trips as something small blocks her way in.
Looking down, she sees the business's mascot and a small smile graces her lips as Kim leans down and pets the small critter's head.
"Oh hi Perry" she greets the small teal platypus as he chitters in response. "You doing okay? Get enough to eat?" Kim asks as she scratches the top of his head, the small critter leaning into the TLC.
Then as she stands back up the platypus waddles around her and out the door. The small critter making his way back to whatever home he had. "You sure he'll be alright by himself?" Kim asks out to the desk and its current occupants.
"Oh, he's a spirited little guy. He doesn't like being locked up and stretching his legs is good for him." A feminine voice responds.
"If he was g-gone for another day though, we would've put up another missing poster. It is very dangerous out there at the moment." A small but distinctly male voice said as Kim turned from the door and over to the main desk.
"Bernard, you worry too much. Perry wanders off all the time and always manages to come back safely." Bianca's voice softly rebukes as Kim walks up and looking down at the top of the desk, she smiles at the two diminutive owners of the Rescue Aid Society.
"G-good morning Kim" Bernard greets as he sets aside his tiny broom, finishing his daily cleaning of the desktop and moves over to start rolling up a poster.
"Yes, Good morning Kim. I'm surprised to see you here so early. Are you low on cash? I'm sure we can chip in a bit extra today for your work considering how much you've been helping us lately." Bianca says, as Bernard looks at his wife with a bit of worry but tellingly doesn't say anything.
"I'm doing okay on funds now Bianca, I appreciate the offer though" and she did. She knows this job isn't exactly lucrative, but it was a place that provided help to anyone and gave the tiniest bit of hope in this town. And… every now and again, when we do manage to reunite families, friends and loved ones…
Well, she felt like Kim Possible again.
Bianca nods, "If you're sure honey." She says as she pushes one of the oversized (for her) papers to the side. "Would you like to see the requests we have available?"
"Please and thank you" Kim replies as the tiny mouse walks over to a folder, struggling to open it for a moment before it reveals its contents fulll of papers. She sifts through them for a minute before stopping to stare at a singular page.
Miss Bianca blinks for a moment. "Bernard, did we receive any other requests during your turn?" she calls out to the mouse who had moved across the room while she was busy, carrying the rolled-up paper over to a small ladder next to a billboard.
"N-not today Miss Bianca." He says as he reaches the top and walks on the bottom lip of the board. "T-that's all we got." He says as he unfurls the giant (comparatively) missing person poster and using a rolling ladder, hangs it up alongside the others.
Kim could only look at it solemnly, seeing Tiana's smiling picture among the possibly deceased. The Heartless left no bodies and no evidence of the possible victims. We could only hope that something else happened to the many people that were placed there.
Mentally shaking off the depressing thoughts, Kim reached down and picked up the only request someone put in today…
"A component trade?" Kim asks as she looks at the request from the Steam and Scream shop. They were more of a Lab than a shop though as they only sold to the public to earn funds to continue their research.
Bianca nods, "Yes, with most of the District's resources going to repairs, they haven't been able to get the parts they needed for their research. This request is an open one, asking anyone for unused or broken parts that they would happily pay for."
" …I may know a few places." She idly states as she recalls the absolutely torn-up street from yesterday. There was a lot of scrap there she could collect… as long as she kept an eye out for any heartless in the dark street. "You sure there weren't any other requests today?"
The cute little mouse tilts her head, then walks over to another folder and lifts it slightly to peek in. "No, sorry Kim. The rest have been taken care of already" Then the little mouse beams at her. "But I'm not surprised considering how wonderful of a job you've been doing."
Kim rubs the back of her head. "It's no big," she says as she holds up the Steam and Scream's request again… she would have to be careful, but it could be worth it.
"Alright, I'll take the job." She says as she places the paper back on the desk. "Would the two of you happen to have a spare box. I'm probably going to be carrying a lot today."
"W-we have one in the back. You can borrow it until tomorrow." Bernard says as he slides down the ladder back to the floor. "Follow me." He states as his tiny feet carry him across the room.
And as he reached the door, he grabbed onto a string that was tied to a handle. Taking a breath, he gripped tight with both hands and jumped, dangling from the string until with a soft click, opened the door.
"You know, I could've opened it for you." Kim pointed out as the tiny mouse, took a few deep breaths.
"I-It's quite alright Miss Possible" He says as he wipes off his shirt and reaching up, he pulls on the string further opening the door. "You're a guest after all, I wouldn't want to be rude." Then he walks around the opening "Right this way." He says as he waves her in.
Kim rolls her eyes at the small mouse's quirks. They were small, but very independent and honestly some of the most reliable people… err, mice she knew. They were always up to help anyone and opened this business to continue to fulfill the oath to their fallen organization.
And after Kim picked out the biggest box she could carry, she bid the two farewell. Setting out to aid them in the quest to make life in this town just that bit easier. Even if it was just in the smallest of ways.
-HoH-
Kim sighed as she walked back into the lit street, feeling a bit of relief as she her feet led her out of the danger zone as she carried her bounty.
… Well, okay, it was a box of junk but someone had to help clean up the street from Ethan's last battle, and with the request she was currently working on, she could kill two birds with one stone.
Ethan's battle wasn't exactly clean, almost everything on the particular street was torn apart in that battle. Though she couldn't blame him for that, the Heartless seemed to gain the ability to possess anything in their environment and uses it against their target.
But they didn't hold that advantage for long. Once Ethan realised what they could do, he After that, once he knew what they could do, he continued fighting his small war against the tide tearing through the heartless with practiced ease that just made her wonder what kind of life he had up until now?
What kind of life did someone have, that let them face such monsters with a calm determination like he did?
… and her thoughts were back on Ethan. She sighed as she continued to walk down the lit path, unconsciously stepping around other pedestrians as her thoughts lingered on her conflicted feelings and the upcoming class with him.
What would she say to him? What would he say? Would he be upset with her for canceling this morning? Could she even bring herself to sit next to him? To continue as they were before? Before the revelation of what he was going to do.
She… she may have gotten attached to him too quickly. She had a few friends here, but none that really understood her. Not really. They were so focused on their own lives, that they didn't see what she saw, so focused on their own problems that they didn't see the problems around them.
This. All of this was unsustainable. We were in a declining world, where people were dwindling away bit by bit. Each new arrival was another world lost. Each new missing person's case was another bit that was withered away by the tide of the dark.
It was an apocalypse. One of the worst she has ever experienced. And nobody was trying to stop it!
Kim let out a sigh. That wasn't fair to them. They couldn't do anything just like she couldn't. without magic, no one could stop the monsters that lurked in the dark. And the chances of someone having that potential was just a mere one out of ten
Potential she did not have.
And she looked for alternatives. She looked for anything that would let her fight. But there was nothing. No magic items in this corner of Traverse Town and no way to get to the others without a poisonous deal from the 'Leader' of District Four.
And she knew a villain when she saw one… or at least she thought she did. Then she took that deal from Ethan.
He.. he was different from the rest of the residents here. And not in the fact that he could fight the heartless. No, he was different because of the look in his eyes. That determination that so many here have lost.
She shook herself out of those thoughts as she saw a familiar sign. Of the shop, she first stopped at when she was looking for answers. And opening the door, she stepped inside as the bell above announced her entry.
"Hello?" she called out to the room filled with all sorts of household appliances. Microwaves, coffee pots, refrigerators, devices of all kinds that made life a bit easier here and were probably their best sellers compared to the much stranger devices that were lined up on shelves behind the desk.
A desk that was currently empty…
"Anyone here?!" she called out louder as she walked up to the desk and sets it down on top of it. She jumped as a loud metallic crash rang out from the door behind the desk, she was about to leap over the furniture to see what was wrong when a familiar frustrated voice began to grow louder as a large figure opens the door and squeezed his way through, wafts of smoke trailing behind him.
"AhhHH! Diodes are too weak for the Molecular Assembler Ford!" he calls back into the room, as one hand waves away the smoke. Then he sighs rubbing one big hand across his face. "OH, what must a scientist do to get a decent quantum chip in this blasted town?" He mutters to himself before turning towards her and his frustrated frown grows into a smile.
"Ahh, Possible Gal! So good to see you again" the only person in this town from her home world greets Kim as he reaches over the desk to shake her hand, the wood groaning a bit as his massive size leans against the top.
"Just call me Kim, Jumba," she says with a smile as she shakes his hand, his palm encompassing the entirety of her hand. "I've told you that many times already," she says, not taking offense to her friend's choice of words.
"Ahh, you will always be the Possible girl to me. You always had the knack for making anything seem possible," he says with a smile as he lets go of her hand and looks down at the box he nearly laid atop of. "And it seems you would be our hero for the day too." He says as he begins picking through the parts she gathered.
"Yeah, I saw the request and thought I'd help out." She says as he picks up a circuit board, and pulling out a small scope closes three of his four eyes to look closely at it.
"Hmm, this is pretty good. Where did you get it?" he asks as he turns it over to look at the other side.
Kim thinks for a moment trying to recall from what particular piece of machinery she pulled that from. "I'm not sure, the street I got most of this from was pretty torn up. The machine this came from was broken into pieces."
"Hmm." He says as he sets it down. "It is, pretty good." He says as he looks back down at the box. "and you have many different parts here. Yes, I think we can pay you pretty well for all of this." He says as he picks it up and waves her forward. "Come, lets discuss payment with my partner. It's best to communicate properly between friends no?"
"Oh, is Mike back there? I wondered why he wasn't manning the front desk." She says as she hops over the desk as Jumba slowly squeezes himself back through the door, only to stop for a moment… and sighs.
"Michael has left. Found a better job apparently" Jumba says with a shrug before finishing squeezing through the door.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I know the two of you started this shop together." She says as she walks in, and sees the lab for the second time since she first discovered her distant friend from her old world.
Dr. Jumba Jookiba was an alien scientist, banished to Earth after his illegal genetic experiment escaped. The creature, designed to destroy everything it touches, gained a family and established a whole new life and Jumba became a part of that family.
Of course, they still got in trouble every now and again and one day, when the now-named Stitch was kidnapped, they called her to solve the case, and after kicking Dr. Drakkon to the curb, they stayed in contact as her go-to for any alien-related problems she ran into on her job.
And Dr. Jumba was a genius… Well, an 'Allegedly' evil one but in all the time she knew him, he never tried to take over the world, or stole from anyone, or… anything really. Just hanging out with his new family, testing and making machines with his limited resources.
'Just like he is doing here.' She thought to herself as she walked into the wide room, filled with all sorts of alien devices and machines, lighting up the space with flashing buttons and glowing panels.
"Ehh, I will miss my little one-eyed friend but I am not his warden, so I will not keep him from a better life," Jumba says with a sad smile. Then his smile turns more joyful. "Besides, he was kind enough to leave me his notes on his home's Doorway technology, so my research continues on!" he says as he sets the box of parts down on a metal table, carefully nudging some device to the side.
"Oh Ford, we have a guest, she bought us new parts for the doorway." He bellows out as he begins to pull parts out of the box and sets them in separate piles.
"Oh, did she perhaps bring us some better Diodes? We have been going through those like a gnome goes through jam." an older man's voice called out from one corner of the room, that was covered by a curtain.
Pushing it aside, a man with greying hair, five-o-clock shadow, and wide-rimmed glasses steps out, holding a clipboard full of barely organized notes.
"Hmm, based on your physique and long red hair, I reckon you are the Possible girl my new partner has told me about." He says with a smile as he walks up to her, holding out his free hand. "It is good to meet you Kim, I've heard many impressive tales about your exploits."
Kim smiles as she shakes his hand, "I'm sure Jumba exaggerated, anyone could've done what I did." Kim states as Ford's smile just grows.
"Humble too." He says as he walks over to his desk and picks up the circuit board Jumba inspected. "No Kim. If anything, Jumba might've understated your prowess. After all very few humans could fight a Lorwardian and live to tell about it"
Kim blushes in embarrassment as Jumba laughs, "Ah yes. Met one once. quite terrible manners that woman. But, Great hunters for sure. Hired them once or twice myself to get quite a nasty dna sample for my work." Jumba wipes a tear from his eyes after he finishes reminiscing before placing a big hand on Kim's shoulder. "Kim meet Stanford Pines. Scientist, Paranormal Investigator and Interworldly Outlaw."
"Outlaw?" Kim repeats quietly, subtly shifting her stance just in case this was villain plot, trying to use her friend to get the drop on her. It has happened before after all.
However, this action didn't go unnoticed by Ford. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Unfortunately." He says with a sigh as he sets down the chip. "After one of my experiments went wrong, I found myself thrown across worlds. I survived for a time, making strides in my research on a new world… Until the Heartless came."
He reached into his coat and pulled out a book with a six fingered hand imprinted on the front with a giant Four on the front. "My own studies into the myths of the creatures, quickly revealed what they were, and my warnings went unheeded. So, I was forced to steal in order to replicate a device that can break through the dimensional barriers to escape."
He flipped the book over to show a drawing of a broken five-pointed gem, energy erupting from the broken point on the right side.
"It's called the 'Star Shard' and I recreated this bad boy to escape the fall of numerous worlds." He says as he turns the book back to himself and writes something. "Unfortunately, I had to steal more than I liked to refine the prototype, only to lose it during my last jump due to some fault in the design. Then the world I was standing on fell years later and well-" He waves all around him. "Here I am"
Kim relaxed a little, a criminal out of necessity rather than ambition, that was better she supposed… right?
Well, Jumba was a criminal technically so she could give Ford a chance. "Could you make another one? Or perhaps… some other magic item?" she asked, her hope starting to build back up.
"Unfortunately not." He stated, immediately dashing her hope. "The crystals needed are not available and unfortunately, paranormal resources here are scarce." He says as he takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them. "This might change if we can reach District One and its port. Then we'd be able to study some of the products they trade with other worlds there but-"
"Yeah, I get it." Kim said more snappishly than she meant. Ford looks at her a bit confused as he puts his glasses back on but Jumba looks down at her in concern. "Sorry. My bad, it's just…"
"What is wrong?" Jumba says as he places a hand on her shoulder as she feels emptier than usual. "You seem a little, downcast more than normal." He says as he drags her a bit to the side and grabs a metal folded chair and takes a moment to set it up. "Here take a seat, tell Uncle Jumba the problem."
… he was the last friend she had from her old world, the only person left here that she trusted, so she did. She told him about Ethan. How he tore through the Heartless, how he promised a weapon that could do the same. And how exactly he was planning to do so.
"Fascinating," Ford commented as Kim realized he was still here, hearing her pour her problems out to her only friend. "A man that can manipulate Hearts, just like the Heartless can. I can see why he didn't want to tell anyone. What a frightening ability." He says as he writes something in his book.
Kim's eyes widen as she realizes what he's doing, what she was telling them. "No!" she stumbles to her feet trying to stop him from recording what Ethan can do. If anyone found out-
"Easy Kim" he says as he waves her down and she hesitatesand taking that opportunity he turns the book around to show her an empty page. "It's not so easy to pluck secrets from me," he says with a smirk as he hands Kim the book. She examines the page, so sure he wrote something in it-
"Invisible ink?" she asked as Ford's eyes glinted mischievously.
"Correct Miss Kim. All my most important research is hidden in such ways. Right in plain sight" he says as grabs a page and turns it to a random section, the words inside talking about something about elemental spirits?
Then he reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a black light and on shining it down on the page, there was additional information written in the empty spaces, talking about… Primals?
"Besides" He states as he takes the book back. "It is just plain rude to record the names of the subjects of my research, Privacy rights, and all that. Plus I wouldn't want to make it easy for rivals to steal my work after all." He says before writing down more within his book.
"Kim," Jumba's voice grabs her attention, as she turns towards the self-proclaimed 'Evil Genius' "It seems to me, that this soul item greatly upset you. Can you tell me why?" He asked, not judgingly or upset, just neutral curiosity.
…
"I… I thought he was better than that." She admitted, slumping back down on the seat as she pressed her palms against her face. "I thought he was going to help, that maybe my hopes have finally been answered. That I could-"
"Be the Possible Girl again." Jumba finished for her as she looked up to him. He smiles as he kneels in front of her. "Kim, I've seen a little earth girl, much younger than you, adopt a creature smarter than a supercomputer, lift things six thousand times its size and was designed to destroy everything it touches. And do you know what happened?"
"She… she befriended it. Made it a part of her family."
"And yours truly, the greatest genius of our galaxy," he said with a proud smirk before looking at her seriously. "Kim, you've never stopped being the Possible girl. It was never about your strength or your deeds." He presses a big finger against her chest. "But your heart. You're one of the bravest, most selfless heroes I've ever known. Heck, if I had continued my evil schemes, you'd crash in my Evvvil lab and Boom! Then I'd be screaming your name in anger as you rode away from my ruin lair."
Kim chuckled a bit before with only a second hesitation hugged the big lug. He freezes for a moment, before with an awkward pat on the back.
"Thanks Jumba" she says as she steps back, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I just… don't understand why he would do something so… evil."
"It is probably a societal issue" Both Kim and Jumba slowly turned their head towards Ford, who had his gaze locked onto his open journal.
"What do you mean?" Kim asks in confusion as Ford rubs the side of his forehead with his pen.
"Well, I've been to many different worlds. All with different societal norms and pressures." He says as he quickly jots down something in his journal. "This is just a hypothesis, but what if in his old world, soul items are common? That he's seen them in use so much that it's become the norm? That such things are treated much like electricity or batteries that we use?"
"W-what kind of place would have things like that?" she asks, the very idea horrifying but Ford just shrugs.
"Likely an unkind one. It would explain why he would be so numb to an idea. However, did he seem remorseful or guilty when you pointed it out? About the possible unethical implications of doing so?" he asks and she just numbly nods. "Then it is likely he was acting out of ignorance rather than malicious intent. He wanted to help you, and he had a way, nothing more than that."
Kim couldn't hold back a rueful smile. "He said the same thing." She said as she shook her head.
"Hey. You said you had a class with him later?" Jumba asked as she nodded. "Then talk to him then. I'm sure he will want to apologize and who knows, maybe he can figure out some other way to help."
"And be sure to invite him here sometime," Ford says as he closes his book. "I'd love to interview him. Maybe we can finally make some more advances on our project with his help." Ford says as Jumba smiles.
"Would you like to see our latest prototype, Kim? We have a good feeling about this one." Jumba says with a bit of excitement. "This one only has a thirty percent chance of spontaneous eruption."
"As much fun as that sounds. There is a very different project of yours I'd love to see." A very, very familiar voice calls out from the door. And as a pit of dread forms, Kim turns around to see a head full of long black hair, pale skin and malicious green eyes stare at the three of them with a menacing grin.
"Shego" Kim growls out as she takes a stance ready to force the fight outside if she tries anything. Kim's rival quickly turns and her eyes widen before her grin drops into a scowl, her hands starting to glow with green energy.
"Of course, Kimmy is here somehow. What did I expect?"
Kim just smirks "A job change? I would think after the world ends, you would rethink your choice in careers." She says as Shego visibly gets angrier.
"Oh no. I am not getting into this. I have a job to do and you are not stopping me Cupcake"
She pointed a glowing hand at her friend, who pulled out his alien gun and had it pointed at her but Shego didn't care as she stared him straight in the eyes.
"So, hand over the Experiment Pod and no one gets hurt."