Post by blackhairedgirl on Oct 6, 2008 11:24:37 GMT -5
(( This is a fiction work that I have been working on for a couple of months. As of now it is in the middle-stages of development; meaning it is about to explode into utter chaos and I will have to find a way of controlling it. I think the beginning is a little slow, but I wanted it to be a crossover that everyone can read. I wanted all aspects to be thoroughly explained. This is genfic and worksafe. It was written to make people laugh and feel good- that is how I feel when I write it, anyway. Enjoy!))
Title: KINGDOM WING - Kingdom Hearts II/Gundam Wing Crossover
Author: Black-Haired Girl
Published: www.fanfiction.net/~blackhairedgirl
Chapters: 14 (IN PROGRESS)
Warnings: Some in-game SPOILERS
Characters: Heero Yuy (Main); Sora, Donald, Goofy, Misc. KHII Characters
Summary: Heero is lost in space and picked up by an unusual group of characters. will Sora and his friends be able to help Heero return to his own world?
Chapter One:
Part One: Deep, Dark Sleep
Alarms blared and beeped from every monitor face. Heero grit his teeth and pulled frantically at the unresponsive steering mechanism and stomped hard on the reverse thrust to try and correct the passenger shuttle he had commandeered, but it was no use. Half of the flight systems had been damaged and what little power he had left just wasn’t enough.
So his plan had been foiled. He thought that stealing an empty passenger shuttle and going to the Lunar Base was going to be a piece of cake. Once there he could pick up his mobile suit and continue mission 00192. However, on route to his destination, some OZ lookouts noticed his shuttle and once he failed to hail them over the radio they had successfully managed to damage the shuttle but had failed to kill him. Now, in his escape behind the moon, he was suffering from the results of their attack.
The radar screen blipped before revealing a large elliptical outline.
“A meteor…” The Japanese boy said under his breath. He flicked on an external camera and zoomed. The image of an enormous, jagged gray meteor appeared on screen. It was nearly as large as Earth’s moon and, in the condition this shuttle was in, there would be no way to maneuver around it. Heero knew the possibilities of coming out of this predicament alive were slim to none, but he wasn’t a quitter. Not by a long shot!
So he hopped up from the main control seat, pushed off the back of the counter with a foot and floated towards the main cabin of the shuttle. The damaged vessel shook and quaked as it careened through space towards its final destination.
If I can detonate the central fuel line I might be able to turn this thing around… he began calculating the possibilities. But then I would just blow myself up in the process.
“Damn…” He muttered as he picked his way through the passenger cabin towards the rear of the shuttle. “I’ll just have to evacuate…” He ripped open a narrow locker and began pulling on a large, loose-fitting space suit made specifically for shuttle evacuation. I just hope I don’t end up floating through space forever… the thought was a frightening one. He had heard of people drifting off into space. Many times before the war there were reports of colony exterior maintenance men being lost in space, only to be found years later as bags of frozen solid gray matter caught in Earth’s orbit.
I just can’t sit here and wait to die… he reflected as he pulled the helmet over his head. He turned on the attached oxygen tank and began walking towards the emergency hatch. With a rough yank he pulled the red lever up and the hatch hissed open. As it did the vacuum of space sucked him out. When he exited the ship he began to spin head over heels. The vacuum effect had given him some forward momentum and he was floating fast away from the shuttle which continued towards the meteor. As Heero spun away he caught occasional glimpses of the shuttle as it plummeted towards the giant mass of rock.
It crashed head-on into the meteor and exploded into a bright golden shower of electricity, oxygen and fuel.
Debris shot out of the explosion and began rushing towards him. He could do nothing to dodge the onslaught of warped metal as it slid past. A massive chunk of the former shuttle slid by. He reached out and grabbed it with the tips of his fingers. Then he pulled himself closer to it and began using its speed from the explosion to propel forward.
Once settled on the chunk of debris he began searching the surrounding darkness of space for anything he could approach and board. If I can find another ship, or a colony, or even a mobile suit… but he could see nothing. His previous mission had brought him far away from the main orbit of Earth. He had traveled past the moon and towards Mars. Very few ships ventured this far.
And now, to his dismay, his body was floating helplessly away from Earth.
He looked down at the shoulder of his suit. A little gauge reported that he had only 3 hours of oxygen left on the tank. He tried to flex his arms and legs but the cold of space had begun to freeze the thick padded fabric of the suit. A deep chill began to set in through the suit, causing his skin to pucker and quiver in attempt to warm his tired body.
So this is how I am supposed to die… He closed his eyes and frowned. Not in a magnificent battle. Not destroying my enemies. Just floating here… helpless. A tight knot began to form in his stomach. He restrained any feelings of panic. I have to save my strength. I have to stay calm, or my air will run out sooner. He willed himself to relax. His relaxation shifted into deep meditation and as the third hour approached he drifted into a deep, dark sleep.
Part Two:
“We found him floating out there!”
“Yeah! Isn’t that crazy?”
“We think he's alive!” Exclaimed two high-pitched squeaky voices. Heero cracked open both eyes then squinted. A bright light was shining into his face through the curve of his helmet, blinding him. He felt his body resting on its back against something. He blinked a few times and tried to make his eyes adjust. He could make out two very small blobs. They were about the size of his hands and they were twitching and moving in a strange and inhuman way.
“Look, he's awake!” Yelled a strange, garbled voice.
“Gawsh. He must be real tired, Ah-hyuck.”
“Back up, guys. Give him some room.”
As Heero’s eyes adjusted he began to make out two small faces peering through the glass of his helmet at him. Two furry little faces with small, twitching noses and buckteeth. Squirrels?
Startled, Heero sat up and batted the little creatures off of him. He ripped his helmet off, threw it at the little animals and, once on his feet began backing away from them.
“Hey! WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA!”
“Ow! My head…” The little animals were running towards him shaking their little paws angrily at him. They are talking?
Heero’s eyes widened and he began to suck in gasping breaths. His body quivered and shook. Talking… animals…
“T-talking squirrels…” Heero stammered, shocked.
“Squirrels? No! We aren’t squirrels!”
“We are Chipmunks!” The two little animals exclaimed in their high, piercing voices. Upon closer inspection Heero saw that the little chipmunks were wearing aprons and one had a pair of goggles propped up on his fuzzy head, just below his small, twitchy ears.
Heero turned and saw something even worse than the talking chipmunks. A talking duck. The duck was wearing some sort of blue outfit and was flailing a stick at him, quacking. He could barely understand what the irate bird was saying. “WhyIottayoucan’tjustcomeinandstartthrowingaroundmembersofourcrew!”
Behind the talking duck was a huge dog-thing wearing a goofy grin and a tall, green hat. It was standing upright like a human. Heero was beginning to feel faint.
“Okay, guys, please… stop yelling.” A boy came out from behind the dog thing. “Please, its okay. We aren’t going to hurt you…” The boy was saying slowly, approaching with his hands up to show he meant no harm.
It was all too much for Heero to take. With a quick and frantic gesture he pulled open the evacuation suit and retrieved a small caliber handgun from within and pointed it at the approaching boy. “Just… stop. Don’t come near me…” He began stepping backwards away from the cluster of odd creatures. “Just all of you stay away…” He pointed the gun at the dog-thing, and then the duck whose head was now turning an odd shade of red.
The boy stopped in his approach towards Heero and stared at the gun with widened, deep blue eyes. “Okay… it is okay. Please, don’t shoot us…” Heero watched as the boy took a few steps back to give him his space. “My name is Sora. This is Donald…” He pointed down at the duck, which was glaring fiercely at him. Heero returned the glare and tightened his grip on the gun’s handle. “This is Goofy,” The dog-thing gave Heero a friendly wave, “… Chip and Dale.” The boy, Sora, pointed at the chipmunks who were watching Heero closely.
“Why…” Heero raised his other hand and began rubbing at his forehead, trying to take in his situation. “Why… are those animals talking…?”
“Why wouldn’t we be able to talk?’
“Yeah, dummy. A’course we can talk!”
“Who do you think you are anyway, pointing guns at us and stuff!”
“Yeah, we saved you after all.”
The chipmunks bantered back and forth at him. Heero tried to relax and took in a deep breath. Where am I… talking animals… this must be a dream. I must have gone mad in space…
“Where am I?” Heero finally asked. He let the barrel of the gun lower to the floor but continued to hold it tightly in hand. His heart was throbbing heavily in his chest and his mind raced with various notions. I am in an alternate universe… I am dead and this is hell… this is a dream I am going to wake at any moment… I have carbon monoxide poisoning…
“You are on my ship. Chip and Dale found you floating in space. They pulled you in. We are on our way to Hollow Bastion.” Sora said. Heero’s eyes narrowed.
“Hollow… what? Where is Earth? I need to go back to Earth.” Heero blurted quickly. Sora’s eyebrows rose and he shook his head in confusion.
“Earth…? I don’t know where you mean. I've never heard of that world.”
Kingdom Wing: Ch 2
“How can we be sure he isn’t a Heartless? Or a Nobody?” Heero could hear the irritated quacks from the duck through the door. He detected a low rumbling voice speaking in return and assumed that Goofy, the dog, had responded, though he couldn’t make out his exact words.
“I think we can trust him. After all, he needs our help.” He heard Sora say.
Heero frowned deeply and looked down at the two chipmunks who now stood at his feet glaring up at him with dark, beady eyes. He shifted his weight uncomfortably before settling himself upon one of the large wooden crates in the storage compartment. After a long moment of silence his gaze began to scan his surroundings. He looked down at a large, puffy label on the box upon which he sat.
“Gummi parts?” He mumbled softly to himself as he read the strange label.
“Yeah. Gummi. That is what our ship is made of!” Dale, the chipmunk with the large red nose, explained. Heero sighed before lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck.
“Gummi… like the stuff you eat?” He still couldn’t believe he was conversing with a pair of mechanic chipmunks.
”Well, yeah. Sorta. It is made of a compound that is similar to the gummi they use to make gummi bears and stuff,” answered Chip as he bounced around happily, “we find a lot of the compound in space. It is easy to mold into any shape you want!”
“And it smells like candy!” Dale, the sillier of the two chipmunks, replied.
Heero didn’t know what to say in response. He just stared at the two chattering creatures with a blank thoughts before looking down at the gun he had still clutched tightly in hand. I can’t believe this is happening to me… he squeezed the gun’s handle; I am on a ship made of gummi, talking to two chipmunks… He clenched his teeth and sighed deeply. This situation was one that he had not been trained for. He had been so sure of himself until now. His abilities as a pilot had been superb and everything he had done thus far he had been ready mentally and physically for. But now that he was in this very awkward situation he wasn’t sure how he should act. His first reaction was a violent one. Just shoot everything on the ship and take it over, then return to Earth and complete my missions… the thought echoed over and over in the back of his mind. However, he couldn’t bring himself to strike at those who had shown no intention to cause him harm.
If this is just a dream… then I can wake at any moment… He slowly let his fingertip graze the trigger of his gun. Why fight it? If this is real… they are willing to help me return to my own world. The thoughts were absurd but he had no other options. I will let them help me, if they can. If I can find an opportunity to help myself along the way, I will take it.
He looked up from his gun to see Chip and Dale staring at him again, or rather, at his gun. The Japanese boy sucked in a deep, slow breath before sliding the gun back to its resting place within his suit. The two little creatures sighed in unison, relieved.
“What is Hollow Bastion?” Heero asked. The little animals both grinned and climbed up the side of the crate to sit on either side of him.
“Hollow Bastion is where all of our friends are. It is our headquarters.” Chip squeaked. Dale nodded in agreement. “We can ask Cid and Merlin, the wizard, if they know about this Earth place.”
Heero smirked at the mention of a wizard. I have to remember this is just a strange dream... I will try to accept it as reality. He decided resolutely. “And who is Cid? Is he an… animal, too?”
“Naw! Cid is a human like you. He is the best mechanic we know! He is an expert at gummi ships, and he knows a lot about other worlds.” Dale explained. Just then the door to the storage unit slid open and Sora hesitantly entered.
“So… Heero, was it?” Sora asked, his eyes searching the Japanese boy’s hands. He seemed to relax once he noticed that Heero was now unarmed. “We would like to help you find your world, Earth.” The boy said, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “But… in order to do that you have to make a promise to us.”
Heero quirked an eyebrow at Sora. Promises? What sort of way to make deals are promises? He waited as the blue-eyed boy seemed to be searching for the right words to say.
“You've got to promise that you will trust us.” Sora finally said. His eyes were unusually round and reflective. Heero blinked and stared into the other boy’s bright blue eyes. He could see that Sora was sincere and honest. The other boy’s emotions flashed plainly across his face. It was reminiscent of the Sandrock pilot, Quatre.
Heero sighed. He knew he could trust this other boy. He felt oddly comfortable locking eyes with him and reading his thoughts through his clear, trustworthy eyes.
“Fine.” The Japanese boy finally said. He began to relax for the first time since boarding this ship. “I trust you…” He said flatly. “I promise.” The words sounded strange clad in his own voice.
Sora smiled. His face practically glowed with happiness. “Great! I think we're going to be good friends.”
Kingdom Wing: Ch 3
“Make sure you strap in nice and tight.” Goofy said with a large grin over his shoulder at Heero, who had taken a seat in a squishy blue chair at the back of the command deck. He watched as Sora took his place at the front. Donald and Goofy settled themselves in seats flanking the boy’s central command.
Heero pulled the straps on his seat until they held him tightly in place. Then he began observing the main deck of the ship. Everything was brightly colored and seemed to be made of a hard, indestructible plastic. There wasn’t a single plate of brushed metal to be seen. He marveled at how cartoon-like everything seemed to be, and yet there was a vast amount of advanced technology as well. As Sora took his seat the platform in front of him came to life and the controls for the ship slid up from a hidden compartment in the floor. Screens and holograms came to life upon the large, curved window that looked out over the blue-black of space.
“You guys ready?” Sora asked happily. He looked back at Heero and gave him a sincere and confident smile before turning back to his controls. His hands began expertly manipulating the controls. The ship shuddered then began moving forward. It was moving very slowly. Heero had begun to wonder what this ship was meant for. Currently it was moving much like a cargo-ship in heavy, straight lines.
“Sora! Watch out!” One of the chipmunk’s voices came over a radio.
“Gotcha! Let’s get ‘em.” Sora exclaimed happily. Suddenly the ship rolled to the left. It shot forward at an amazing speed and began careening towards a cluster of meteors. Heero clutched the arms of his seat tightly. The ship shuddered.
“Behind us!” shouted a high-pitched voice. The ship spun around and began moving in reverse. Through the window Heero saw wide array of small oval-shaped blue things chasing after them. The ship began to vibrate. Balls of yellow and white light shot forward from the ship and struck the strange attacking blue things, vaporizing them instantly.
What kind of ship is this…? Heero wondered as the ship began to barrel-roll left, only to do the same back towards the right. It's fast. He tried to brace himself in his seat as the ship rolled and toppled in all directions. How can he even see what is attacking? Heero tried his best to make out the enemies appearing in the window but it all just seemed like a huge jumble of color. This ship moved like no other mobile suit or ship he had ever experienced. This gummi ship seemed to have no limitations. It responded instantly to the pilot’s command. At first the way the ship moved was unsettling, but after Heero had a few minutes to adjust the ride became exhilarating. He felt a grin creep across his face and could do little to retrain it. It was a fun ride, and he could do nothing but sit back and enjoy it.
He watched as Sora, Donald and Goofy worked as a team to avoid enemy attacks. The images on the radar soon dwindled to only a few enemies slowly floating before them. They were easily eliminated by a few shots from what Heero thought looked like lasers at the hull of the ship.
“We did it!” Squeaked Chip over an intercom system. “Hollow Bastion is just ahead!”
“Good job, guys.” Sora said in his good-natured and sweet voice. He turned in his seat and peeked back at Heero with an accomplished smile. “How was the ride?”
Heero straightened in his seat. His amused expression faded into his serious, almost blank façade. “Fine…” He mumbled, his face growing hot, slightly embarrassed that the other boy may have caught him grinning like an idiot. Sora stifled a small laugh and returned to his commands.
“Donald, set our course to dock in Hollow Bastion, and Goofy can you-“ Sora was cut off by a sudden violent shake of the ship. An alarm sounded from a blinking screen on the right of the control panel. Sora began tapping frantically at the keys. “What was that?!”
“Sora! There is something attached to the ship!” Dale’s voice exclaimed through a speaker. “It won’t break loose!”
“Goofy, pull up the starboard camera!” Sora yelled. Within moments an image popped up on the main screen. It revealed a spider-like red glowing creature with a single shimmering purple eye in the center of its body. Its eight long, metal-clad legs were wrapped tightly around the gummy ship’s side. The ship rocked and then began shaking as the spider began to stab at the side of the ship with one of its sharp legs.
“We gotta shake it off!” Goofy wailed frantically.
Heero was shocked. He wasn’t sure if it was some sort of weapon, another ship, or an actual living and breathing thing. He clutched at the arms of his chair again. I have to do something… he thought wildly. I can’t just sit here and watch it tear us apart. He frowned and began unfastening his safety belts.
“Right! Hold on everyone.” Sora slammed a fist down and then ship jumped forward, sending everyone flopping back in their seats and nearly flinging Heero out of his. The ship rolled to the right and then to the left, trying desperately to fling the creature off. However, it was no use. The spider would not budge. “I can’t shake it!” Sora exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. Heero yanked roughly on the straps on his seat until finally they broke free. Then he jumped from his seat and ran out of the command deck.
“Wait! Heero! Stop!” Heero heard Sora calling after him. He made his way down a small corridor to the cargo hold. He could hear something akin to the sound of metal banging against metal become louder as he neared. He pulled the cargo hold door open and saw a massive dent deepening on the starboard side wall. Chip and Dale were all ready there, standing atop a crate beside the dent, chittering maniacally at one another. They both fell silent when they saw Heero enter.
“We can’t stop it!” Chip wailed as he jumped up and down.
“Yeah! We don’t know what to do!” Dale exclaimed, leaping into the air as well.
Heero immediately began to search the surrounding crates for anything he could use. Many of the crates were filled with miscellaneous gummi shapes, of which were no use to him.
“Do you have a fire extinguisher?” Heero asked plainly as he began digging through a box of gummi cubes. The spider was making steady progress. The pounding sound was then replaced by a loud, wretched scraping noise. The wall began to pulse and shift beneath the spider’s attacks.
“A’course we have a fire extinguisher! But what good will that do, we aren’t on fire!” Dale wailed loudly. He jabbed a paw behind Heero towards a small, red fire extinguisher that was bolted to the wall. It almost seemed too normal to be in this strange little ship. He quickly snatched it from its holder and returned to the two chipmunks who were now screaming frantically back and forth to one another. He scooped the little animals up in his hands and began carrying them towards the door.
“Hey! What're ya doing!”
“Put us down!”
“Tell Sora to hold the ship steady and do NOT open this door.” Heero said coolly as he set the animals gently on the ground.
“Wait! Stop! What are ya gonna do?!”
“No! Don’t –“
He closed the door. The scraping noise became louder and the wall began to bend and become dangerously thin. Quickly Heero snatched up his helmet and placed it over his head. Then he found a piece of rope and tied it securely around his waist, then fastened the opposite end to a pipe against the opposite wall. He picked up the fire extinguisher and waited.
I don’t know what else to do… he frowned and readied the extinguisher. This is all I have to work with… it will have to do. The wall burst open as a long, pointed leg pushed through it. A deafeningly loud hissing noise filled the cabin as the oxygen began to suck out through the puncture into space. The boxes in the cargo hold began to slide towards the puncture as well. The spider ripped the puncture on the wall wider and soon another leg joined the first. It’s bright, glowing purple eye peered in through the hole. Heero smirked and aimed the extinguisher at it and released a thick ribbon of white into the peeking eye. The spider let forth a shrill, loud cry and retreated away from the hole. The suction of space began to pull Heero towards the ripped portion of wall but the rope held tight and kept him in place. The spider’s eye returned, this time glowing red rather than purple, and its legs began to violently tear into the ship’s side. One long, pointed leg thrust forth in attempt to jab at him. He leapt out of the way just before the pointed tip buried itself into his chest.
He shot more of the fluffy white fluid from the fire extinguisher at the eye. The spider’s cry shook the ship. It began flailing six of its eight legs wildly within the cargo hold, knocking over large crates of gummi parts and practically crushing others beneath its huge, spiny appendages. Heero dodged a leg before it smashed into the side of his head and emptied the contents of the extinguisher on the creature. Then, in a last desperate attempt, he threw the empty canister at it. It slammed into the center of the eye. The spider howled then shrunk back out of the hole. The suction took hold of it and ripped it out of the hold and into the dark, vast expanse of space.
Once the spider retreated many of the boxes began to slip through of the hole as well, disappearing out of sight almost instantly. Soon the entire cargo hold was empty of everything except him.
Heero gripped onto the pipe he had fastened the rope to and held fast to keep himself from following the departing cargo. Now how to get back inside… he wondered, eyes scanning his surroundings for anything he could use. He saw the cargo door crack open and a figure pushed through it.
It was Sora. To Heero’s surprise he wasn’t wearing a space suit. Heero opened his mouth in protest but then was silenced by the sight of what could only be described as wind flowing in an orb around the other boy. Sora approached slowly. The pull of space seemed to have no effect on the boy as he floated lazily up to Heero in the swirling bubble.
“Give me your hand!” Sora yelled over the dull roar coming from the hole in the starboard wall. Heero hesitantly reached out to the bubble. His hand pierced the twisting surface followed by the sensation of a breeze blowing strongly against his arm. Sora grasped Heero’s gloved hand and pulled him closer, tugging him inside the ball of wind. Heero felt something tug at his waist. He had forgotten about the rope. He pulled at the knot until it released. Sora smirked at him then wrapped his arm around Heero’s waist to hold him in the center of the bubble. Then, with a gesture of his hand, the bubble began to float back towards the cargo door.
They floated leisurely through the door. Heero saw Donald and Goofy standing on the opposite side of the door holding it open just enough for them to slide through. Once inside the ship’s main corridor the two creatures began straining against it to slam it closed. The bubble surrounding Heero and Sora vanished with a resounding POP leaving them hanging in the air for a moment before dropping them to the ground. Sora landed lightly on his feet. Heero managed to plant his feet on the ground and straightened to a wobbly stand.
“Are you okay?” Sora inquired, eying Heero closely for any sign of injury. Heero lifted his hands up to the helmet and slid it up and off of his head. Just as he did the grating sound of Donald’s voice met his ears.
“You lost all of our gummi parts!” Donald screamed, his voice barely coherent. “How are we supposed to repair the ship if we don’t have any parts!” Heero flinched as the duck erupted into a long string of jumbled curses.
“Gawsh, Donald. Don’t be so hard on the guy. He did save us after all…” Goofy reasoned after Donald had finished his angry rant. The irritated duck merely huffed and crossed his wings tightly over his chest.
Heero frowned and turned to look at Sora, who was still eying him curiously. “Goofy is right. Heero did save us.” Then he held a hand out at Heero. “I guess we are even.”
Heero blinked and stared down at Sora’s hand. What did he want to do with that? He lifted a dark eyebrow before hesitantly lifting his own hand. Sora immediately grabbed it and gave it a friendly shake.
What a strange kid… Heero reflected as his hand was vigorously shook.
“What… was that thing?” Heero finally asked. He had so many questions but he could only manage to blurt one at a time. Sora dropped his hand and began rubbing the back of his head with the other.
“That? I am not sure exactly what that one in particular was, but it looked like a ‘Heartless’.” Sora replied. Goofy nodded his head in agreement.
”Heartless?” Heero echoed, then narrowed his eyes. “So those weren’t ships? Those are living creatures?”
“Well… sorta.” Sora replied. His face scrunched up in confusion. “It is kind of a long story, and really hard to explain. Let’s get to Hollow Bastion first. Then I can explain everything to you.” The boy said with a confident smile. Heero frowned, skeptical.
Kingdom Wing: Ch 4
Hollow Bastion appeared to be a small planet. So small, in fact, that a massive castle erected in the center of the planet could be seen as they approached. The gummi ship came to a bumpy landing at a space dock that looked like a pier. They exited the ship. As Heero stepped out onto the wooden dock he took in a deep breath. It even smelled like the ocean here. The air was fresh and clean, and the atmosphere was like that of Earth. Do dreams have smells? Heero wondered as he gulped down the fresh ocean air.
“This way.” Sora encouraged as he turned to walk down the pier towards a cluster of buildings. Heero blinked and followed suit behind Donald and Goofy. Chip and Dale had remained on the ship to begin what little repairs they could.
They entered a village that looked like a replica of a historic European town. The houses and shops were short, squat buildings set in neat little rows. They were built almost identically. The only way to distinguish the different buildings were by flower pots on windowsills, or by carved wooden signs hanging over doorways.
Heero glanced around cautiously. The narrow streets were practically empty. Thin layers of dust covered many of the doors and shuttered windows. The town seemed all but abandoned. They came upon a flight of stone steps that led down to the village square. Heero noticed many colorful signs here, along with a clock tower at the far side.
“Hi Huey, Dewey and Louis!” Donald yelled as they entered the square. Three small white ducks padded up to them. They were identical and wore the same shirt and baseball cap. The only way to distinguish the difference between them was the color of their clothes.
“You guys want to buy anything?” The little duck in the red shirt asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Sorry, guys. We have to hurry and see Merlin.” Sora said in an apologetic voice. The little duck in the blue shirt frowned and tapped his webbed foot impatiently.
“Geez! You guys haven’t given us any business lately!” The young duck in the green shirt complained loudly. He received a rough thwap on the back of his feathered head from Donald.
“Donald… Goofy, gather some supplies. I'll be back in a bit. See ya later.” Sora said happily as made his way cross the square. They walked through another series of winding, narrow cobblestone roads until they finally came to another smaller square in the center of the cluster of houses.
“Just over there…” Sora said with a grin. He pointed to a rounded door on the opposite side of the square. “I can’t wait to introduce you to the guys.”
Inside was a large blue screen opposite to the door. It flashed with diagrams and scrolled a language that Heero had never seen before. Beneath the screen was a glowing control panel with large, raised keys. The screen flashed furiously as if waiting for input from the user. To Heero’s left was a raised circular platform with an aged wooden table and chairs. Books and a tea set were stacked haphazardly along the raised platform. Lining the walls on the left side of the house were cabinets filled with strange, dusty items. The air inside smelled of musty old books and mold. Piles of books lie in every corner. A huge hand-drawn map hung on the far wall, flanked by various framed paintings. The strangest thing of all was the tall, lanky old man that stood amongst the mess.
“Ah, Sora! What a surprise! I thought you wouldn’t be returning until you visited Hercules!” The old man exclaimed. He was standing behind the raised platform. He trotted towards them, barely tripping over the outrageously long, white beard that swung from his chin. He wore half-moon spectacles that sat dangerously close to the tip of his nose. His bony, pale knees flashed into view from beneath his long blue robe and the pointed cap on his head brushed against a low-hanging bird cage as he approached.
This must be the wizard. Heero mused.
“We had to detour. Heero, this is Merlin, the wizard. Merlin, this is Heero. We found him floating in space.” Sora said plainly, though his usual smile never left his face. Merlin paused in mid-step and nearly stumbled over his beard again.
“You found him in space? How peculiar…” The old man said. He began stroking his beard as he looked Heero over with a scrupulous eye. Heero shifted, uncomfortable under the old man’s gaze.
“Yes. He is looking for his world…. Um, what was that again, Heero?”
“Earth.” Heero said flatly. The old wizard’s eyes widened and his jaw gaped slightly.
“You… my lad, are from Earth?”
Heero’s heart began to thud violently. So the old man knew of Earth! Relief began to swim through his chest and had started to soothe his troubled mind.
“Yes. You have heard of it? How do I get back there?” Heero asked, clutching his hands into fists in anticipation. The wizard frowned. His bushy white eyebrows had crept closer together on his wrinkled forehead.
“I have been to Earth once, hundreds of years ago…” The man replied. Heero held his breath. The tone in the old man’s voice was foreboding and mysterious. “But I never felt the need to go back. Earth is a terrible place, full of violent and harmful people.” The wizard began pacing back and forth, his beard trailing behind him. “I went to visit a friend who had insisted that Earth should be saved, but it was no use- they got to him too. Next thing you know, he bought a gun and shot his neighbor! By-George it was awful news when I heard of it-“
Heero’s eyes narrowed. He reached up to finger the handle of his gun that was securely hidden in the hem of his jeans.
“-I was so devastated. My poor friend was murdered in his sleep by his sister because he didn’t get her a suitable Christmas present… after that funeral I swore never to return to that blasted place ever again-“
Heero opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by a slew of blurted words and phrases from the irritated wizard. There seemed to be no stopping the old man in mid-rant.
“-you should consider yourself lucky not to be there anymore, m’boy. You should be happy that Sora here has saved you from a fate of war and injustice, why… there is even speculation that the darkness first came from that blasted world so long ago, to infect the light of our worlds…”
Heero blinked at that. Darkness? This man in nuts. He won’t be able to help me. He glanced over at Sora. The other boy was standing beside Heero with his jaw agape. Fear and concern was flashing across his face. Heero sighed.
“-I mean, Earth? EARTH! The last I heard that place of which you speak was caught between two dimensions, light-years away from here. The last I heard…why… it was destroyed by its own hate and greed and violence! BAH!” The old man threw his hands up and spun on his heels to face the two boys. “You cannot get to Earth without a lot of magic and energy, and I do not have the means to send you back. I am sorry. But I want no part of Earth, or anyone from there. NO PART OF IT!” Merlin’s voice had risen to a practically frantic yell.
Heero was convinced the old man was insane. Sora had raised his hands up in a defensive gesture and was trying to calm the old man. “Merlin… please, Heero isn’t like that. He saved us!”
The old man was shaking his head wildly. The tip of his beard became tangled in a dead, dry plant that sat on the end of the table. “No! All Earthlings are wicked and have darkness in their hearts! Nothing, no nothing, can change that!” The old man spun around to tromp away from them. Sora turned to give Heero an apologetic look before running after the old man.
“Merlin, wait. Please… Heero isn’t like that…”
The wizard stomped in a circle before storming out the door. Sora looked over his shoulder at Heero.
“Wait here. I will be right back…” Then he vanished through the doorway after the madman.
Heero heard the old man’s hollering voice retreating away from the door. Silence soon followed. He frowned and glanced around the abandoned house. His arms trembled with anger and frustration. He knew he would get no help from the old man, and now he was being labeled evil when he had done nothing to deserve it.
Or had he? He considered what the old man said. It was true… Earth was a violent place. Was the crazy old man so wrong in thinking that Heero would be a threat? After all, he had toyed with many violent notions since arriving in this peculiar universe.
He kicked a stack of books in frustration. They flew across the room and ripped into pieces. Pages floated through the air and settled across the table and scattered along the stone floor. Despite letting his anger out through his foot he still felt no relief from the pounding frustration from within.
“How am I ever going to get home?” He grumbled angrily to himself. His eyes searched the room again. He approached a globe that sat on a pedestal beside a stuffed otter that was standing on its back feet holding a compass between its small paws. The surface of the globe was faded. Heero couldn’t make out any of the words or shapes. He wondered if it was a globe of Earth, or some other distant planet.
He wandered around the room, searching for anything that would give him information about where he was, or what the “Darkness” and “Heartless” was. Every book he fingered open revealed nothing but strange pictures or writing in characters that he gathered were alchemy runes.
As he made his way around the room he came upon a podium holding a single large hardbound book. The cover was faded and he could barely make out a picture of some yellow and pink blob on the front. He set his hand on the cover and felt its leather binding curiously. This book must be important… it is set aside from the rest. He slid a finger beneath the front cover and flipped it open.
He stared down at the first two pages. They were blank. He squinted his eyes and touched the smooth paper. Just as his finger made contact a bright white light emanated from the pages, blinding him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the intense light. When it faded away he found himself standing on a large plain of white. He spun on his feet and searched around frantically.
“Where am I?” He said aloud. His voice echoed across the vast nothingness. He took a step forward. He heard a faint rubbing noise, followed by a crunch. Surprised, he looked down and saw the white plain he was standing on was… paper? He knelt down and touched the ground. It was rough and bent when he pressed it. It was paper! He frowned when he saw a large dip not too far away. It was the center of a book where the paper was bound to the binding. He jumped across the dip and saw in the distance something colorful. It was a tree made out of paper, erected upright against the bright white horizon. He ran toward it.
Chapter 5-14 HERE- www.fanfiction.net/s/4387391/5/Kingdom_Wing
Title: KINGDOM WING - Kingdom Hearts II/Gundam Wing Crossover
Author: Black-Haired Girl
Published: www.fanfiction.net/~blackhairedgirl
Chapters: 14 (IN PROGRESS)
Warnings: Some in-game SPOILERS
Characters: Heero Yuy (Main); Sora, Donald, Goofy, Misc. KHII Characters
Summary: Heero is lost in space and picked up by an unusual group of characters. will Sora and his friends be able to help Heero return to his own world?
Chapter One:
Part One: Deep, Dark Sleep
Alarms blared and beeped from every monitor face. Heero grit his teeth and pulled frantically at the unresponsive steering mechanism and stomped hard on the reverse thrust to try and correct the passenger shuttle he had commandeered, but it was no use. Half of the flight systems had been damaged and what little power he had left just wasn’t enough.
So his plan had been foiled. He thought that stealing an empty passenger shuttle and going to the Lunar Base was going to be a piece of cake. Once there he could pick up his mobile suit and continue mission 00192. However, on route to his destination, some OZ lookouts noticed his shuttle and once he failed to hail them over the radio they had successfully managed to damage the shuttle but had failed to kill him. Now, in his escape behind the moon, he was suffering from the results of their attack.
The radar screen blipped before revealing a large elliptical outline.
“A meteor…” The Japanese boy said under his breath. He flicked on an external camera and zoomed. The image of an enormous, jagged gray meteor appeared on screen. It was nearly as large as Earth’s moon and, in the condition this shuttle was in, there would be no way to maneuver around it. Heero knew the possibilities of coming out of this predicament alive were slim to none, but he wasn’t a quitter. Not by a long shot!
So he hopped up from the main control seat, pushed off the back of the counter with a foot and floated towards the main cabin of the shuttle. The damaged vessel shook and quaked as it careened through space towards its final destination.
If I can detonate the central fuel line I might be able to turn this thing around… he began calculating the possibilities. But then I would just blow myself up in the process.
“Damn…” He muttered as he picked his way through the passenger cabin towards the rear of the shuttle. “I’ll just have to evacuate…” He ripped open a narrow locker and began pulling on a large, loose-fitting space suit made specifically for shuttle evacuation. I just hope I don’t end up floating through space forever… the thought was a frightening one. He had heard of people drifting off into space. Many times before the war there were reports of colony exterior maintenance men being lost in space, only to be found years later as bags of frozen solid gray matter caught in Earth’s orbit.
I just can’t sit here and wait to die… he reflected as he pulled the helmet over his head. He turned on the attached oxygen tank and began walking towards the emergency hatch. With a rough yank he pulled the red lever up and the hatch hissed open. As it did the vacuum of space sucked him out. When he exited the ship he began to spin head over heels. The vacuum effect had given him some forward momentum and he was floating fast away from the shuttle which continued towards the meteor. As Heero spun away he caught occasional glimpses of the shuttle as it plummeted towards the giant mass of rock.
It crashed head-on into the meteor and exploded into a bright golden shower of electricity, oxygen and fuel.
Debris shot out of the explosion and began rushing towards him. He could do nothing to dodge the onslaught of warped metal as it slid past. A massive chunk of the former shuttle slid by. He reached out and grabbed it with the tips of his fingers. Then he pulled himself closer to it and began using its speed from the explosion to propel forward.
Once settled on the chunk of debris he began searching the surrounding darkness of space for anything he could approach and board. If I can find another ship, or a colony, or even a mobile suit… but he could see nothing. His previous mission had brought him far away from the main orbit of Earth. He had traveled past the moon and towards Mars. Very few ships ventured this far.
And now, to his dismay, his body was floating helplessly away from Earth.
He looked down at the shoulder of his suit. A little gauge reported that he had only 3 hours of oxygen left on the tank. He tried to flex his arms and legs but the cold of space had begun to freeze the thick padded fabric of the suit. A deep chill began to set in through the suit, causing his skin to pucker and quiver in attempt to warm his tired body.
So this is how I am supposed to die… He closed his eyes and frowned. Not in a magnificent battle. Not destroying my enemies. Just floating here… helpless. A tight knot began to form in his stomach. He restrained any feelings of panic. I have to save my strength. I have to stay calm, or my air will run out sooner. He willed himself to relax. His relaxation shifted into deep meditation and as the third hour approached he drifted into a deep, dark sleep.
Part Two:
“We found him floating out there!”
“Yeah! Isn’t that crazy?”
“We think he's alive!” Exclaimed two high-pitched squeaky voices. Heero cracked open both eyes then squinted. A bright light was shining into his face through the curve of his helmet, blinding him. He felt his body resting on its back against something. He blinked a few times and tried to make his eyes adjust. He could make out two very small blobs. They were about the size of his hands and they were twitching and moving in a strange and inhuman way.
“Look, he's awake!” Yelled a strange, garbled voice.
“Gawsh. He must be real tired, Ah-hyuck.”
“Back up, guys. Give him some room.”
As Heero’s eyes adjusted he began to make out two small faces peering through the glass of his helmet at him. Two furry little faces with small, twitching noses and buckteeth. Squirrels?
Startled, Heero sat up and batted the little creatures off of him. He ripped his helmet off, threw it at the little animals and, once on his feet began backing away from them.
“Hey! WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA!”
“Ow! My head…” The little animals were running towards him shaking their little paws angrily at him. They are talking?
Heero’s eyes widened and he began to suck in gasping breaths. His body quivered and shook. Talking… animals…
“T-talking squirrels…” Heero stammered, shocked.
“Squirrels? No! We aren’t squirrels!”
“We are Chipmunks!” The two little animals exclaimed in their high, piercing voices. Upon closer inspection Heero saw that the little chipmunks were wearing aprons and one had a pair of goggles propped up on his fuzzy head, just below his small, twitchy ears.
Heero turned and saw something even worse than the talking chipmunks. A talking duck. The duck was wearing some sort of blue outfit and was flailing a stick at him, quacking. He could barely understand what the irate bird was saying. “WhyIottayoucan’tjustcomeinandstartthrowingaroundmembersofourcrew!”
Behind the talking duck was a huge dog-thing wearing a goofy grin and a tall, green hat. It was standing upright like a human. Heero was beginning to feel faint.
“Okay, guys, please… stop yelling.” A boy came out from behind the dog thing. “Please, its okay. We aren’t going to hurt you…” The boy was saying slowly, approaching with his hands up to show he meant no harm.
It was all too much for Heero to take. With a quick and frantic gesture he pulled open the evacuation suit and retrieved a small caliber handgun from within and pointed it at the approaching boy. “Just… stop. Don’t come near me…” He began stepping backwards away from the cluster of odd creatures. “Just all of you stay away…” He pointed the gun at the dog-thing, and then the duck whose head was now turning an odd shade of red.
The boy stopped in his approach towards Heero and stared at the gun with widened, deep blue eyes. “Okay… it is okay. Please, don’t shoot us…” Heero watched as the boy took a few steps back to give him his space. “My name is Sora. This is Donald…” He pointed down at the duck, which was glaring fiercely at him. Heero returned the glare and tightened his grip on the gun’s handle. “This is Goofy,” The dog-thing gave Heero a friendly wave, “… Chip and Dale.” The boy, Sora, pointed at the chipmunks who were watching Heero closely.
“Why…” Heero raised his other hand and began rubbing at his forehead, trying to take in his situation. “Why… are those animals talking…?”
“Why wouldn’t we be able to talk?’
“Yeah, dummy. A’course we can talk!”
“Who do you think you are anyway, pointing guns at us and stuff!”
“Yeah, we saved you after all.”
The chipmunks bantered back and forth at him. Heero tried to relax and took in a deep breath. Where am I… talking animals… this must be a dream. I must have gone mad in space…
“Where am I?” Heero finally asked. He let the barrel of the gun lower to the floor but continued to hold it tightly in hand. His heart was throbbing heavily in his chest and his mind raced with various notions. I am in an alternate universe… I am dead and this is hell… this is a dream I am going to wake at any moment… I have carbon monoxide poisoning…
“You are on my ship. Chip and Dale found you floating in space. They pulled you in. We are on our way to Hollow Bastion.” Sora said. Heero’s eyes narrowed.
“Hollow… what? Where is Earth? I need to go back to Earth.” Heero blurted quickly. Sora’s eyebrows rose and he shook his head in confusion.
“Earth…? I don’t know where you mean. I've never heard of that world.”
Kingdom Wing: Ch 2
“How can we be sure he isn’t a Heartless? Or a Nobody?” Heero could hear the irritated quacks from the duck through the door. He detected a low rumbling voice speaking in return and assumed that Goofy, the dog, had responded, though he couldn’t make out his exact words.
“I think we can trust him. After all, he needs our help.” He heard Sora say.
Heero frowned deeply and looked down at the two chipmunks who now stood at his feet glaring up at him with dark, beady eyes. He shifted his weight uncomfortably before settling himself upon one of the large wooden crates in the storage compartment. After a long moment of silence his gaze began to scan his surroundings. He looked down at a large, puffy label on the box upon which he sat.
“Gummi parts?” He mumbled softly to himself as he read the strange label.
“Yeah. Gummi. That is what our ship is made of!” Dale, the chipmunk with the large red nose, explained. Heero sighed before lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck.
“Gummi… like the stuff you eat?” He still couldn’t believe he was conversing with a pair of mechanic chipmunks.
”Well, yeah. Sorta. It is made of a compound that is similar to the gummi they use to make gummi bears and stuff,” answered Chip as he bounced around happily, “we find a lot of the compound in space. It is easy to mold into any shape you want!”
“And it smells like candy!” Dale, the sillier of the two chipmunks, replied.
Heero didn’t know what to say in response. He just stared at the two chattering creatures with a blank thoughts before looking down at the gun he had still clutched tightly in hand. I can’t believe this is happening to me… he squeezed the gun’s handle; I am on a ship made of gummi, talking to two chipmunks… He clenched his teeth and sighed deeply. This situation was one that he had not been trained for. He had been so sure of himself until now. His abilities as a pilot had been superb and everything he had done thus far he had been ready mentally and physically for. But now that he was in this very awkward situation he wasn’t sure how he should act. His first reaction was a violent one. Just shoot everything on the ship and take it over, then return to Earth and complete my missions… the thought echoed over and over in the back of his mind. However, he couldn’t bring himself to strike at those who had shown no intention to cause him harm.
If this is just a dream… then I can wake at any moment… He slowly let his fingertip graze the trigger of his gun. Why fight it? If this is real… they are willing to help me return to my own world. The thoughts were absurd but he had no other options. I will let them help me, if they can. If I can find an opportunity to help myself along the way, I will take it.
He looked up from his gun to see Chip and Dale staring at him again, or rather, at his gun. The Japanese boy sucked in a deep, slow breath before sliding the gun back to its resting place within his suit. The two little creatures sighed in unison, relieved.
“What is Hollow Bastion?” Heero asked. The little animals both grinned and climbed up the side of the crate to sit on either side of him.
“Hollow Bastion is where all of our friends are. It is our headquarters.” Chip squeaked. Dale nodded in agreement. “We can ask Cid and Merlin, the wizard, if they know about this Earth place.”
Heero smirked at the mention of a wizard. I have to remember this is just a strange dream... I will try to accept it as reality. He decided resolutely. “And who is Cid? Is he an… animal, too?”
“Naw! Cid is a human like you. He is the best mechanic we know! He is an expert at gummi ships, and he knows a lot about other worlds.” Dale explained. Just then the door to the storage unit slid open and Sora hesitantly entered.
“So… Heero, was it?” Sora asked, his eyes searching the Japanese boy’s hands. He seemed to relax once he noticed that Heero was now unarmed. “We would like to help you find your world, Earth.” The boy said, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “But… in order to do that you have to make a promise to us.”
Heero quirked an eyebrow at Sora. Promises? What sort of way to make deals are promises? He waited as the blue-eyed boy seemed to be searching for the right words to say.
“You've got to promise that you will trust us.” Sora finally said. His eyes were unusually round and reflective. Heero blinked and stared into the other boy’s bright blue eyes. He could see that Sora was sincere and honest. The other boy’s emotions flashed plainly across his face. It was reminiscent of the Sandrock pilot, Quatre.
Heero sighed. He knew he could trust this other boy. He felt oddly comfortable locking eyes with him and reading his thoughts through his clear, trustworthy eyes.
“Fine.” The Japanese boy finally said. He began to relax for the first time since boarding this ship. “I trust you…” He said flatly. “I promise.” The words sounded strange clad in his own voice.
Sora smiled. His face practically glowed with happiness. “Great! I think we're going to be good friends.”
Kingdom Wing: Ch 3
“Make sure you strap in nice and tight.” Goofy said with a large grin over his shoulder at Heero, who had taken a seat in a squishy blue chair at the back of the command deck. He watched as Sora took his place at the front. Donald and Goofy settled themselves in seats flanking the boy’s central command.
Heero pulled the straps on his seat until they held him tightly in place. Then he began observing the main deck of the ship. Everything was brightly colored and seemed to be made of a hard, indestructible plastic. There wasn’t a single plate of brushed metal to be seen. He marveled at how cartoon-like everything seemed to be, and yet there was a vast amount of advanced technology as well. As Sora took his seat the platform in front of him came to life and the controls for the ship slid up from a hidden compartment in the floor. Screens and holograms came to life upon the large, curved window that looked out over the blue-black of space.
“You guys ready?” Sora asked happily. He looked back at Heero and gave him a sincere and confident smile before turning back to his controls. His hands began expertly manipulating the controls. The ship shuddered then began moving forward. It was moving very slowly. Heero had begun to wonder what this ship was meant for. Currently it was moving much like a cargo-ship in heavy, straight lines.
“Sora! Watch out!” One of the chipmunk’s voices came over a radio.
“Gotcha! Let’s get ‘em.” Sora exclaimed happily. Suddenly the ship rolled to the left. It shot forward at an amazing speed and began careening towards a cluster of meteors. Heero clutched the arms of his seat tightly. The ship shuddered.
“Behind us!” shouted a high-pitched voice. The ship spun around and began moving in reverse. Through the window Heero saw wide array of small oval-shaped blue things chasing after them. The ship began to vibrate. Balls of yellow and white light shot forward from the ship and struck the strange attacking blue things, vaporizing them instantly.
What kind of ship is this…? Heero wondered as the ship began to barrel-roll left, only to do the same back towards the right. It's fast. He tried to brace himself in his seat as the ship rolled and toppled in all directions. How can he even see what is attacking? Heero tried his best to make out the enemies appearing in the window but it all just seemed like a huge jumble of color. This ship moved like no other mobile suit or ship he had ever experienced. This gummi ship seemed to have no limitations. It responded instantly to the pilot’s command. At first the way the ship moved was unsettling, but after Heero had a few minutes to adjust the ride became exhilarating. He felt a grin creep across his face and could do little to retrain it. It was a fun ride, and he could do nothing but sit back and enjoy it.
He watched as Sora, Donald and Goofy worked as a team to avoid enemy attacks. The images on the radar soon dwindled to only a few enemies slowly floating before them. They were easily eliminated by a few shots from what Heero thought looked like lasers at the hull of the ship.
“We did it!” Squeaked Chip over an intercom system. “Hollow Bastion is just ahead!”
“Good job, guys.” Sora said in his good-natured and sweet voice. He turned in his seat and peeked back at Heero with an accomplished smile. “How was the ride?”
Heero straightened in his seat. His amused expression faded into his serious, almost blank façade. “Fine…” He mumbled, his face growing hot, slightly embarrassed that the other boy may have caught him grinning like an idiot. Sora stifled a small laugh and returned to his commands.
“Donald, set our course to dock in Hollow Bastion, and Goofy can you-“ Sora was cut off by a sudden violent shake of the ship. An alarm sounded from a blinking screen on the right of the control panel. Sora began tapping frantically at the keys. “What was that?!”
“Sora! There is something attached to the ship!” Dale’s voice exclaimed through a speaker. “It won’t break loose!”
“Goofy, pull up the starboard camera!” Sora yelled. Within moments an image popped up on the main screen. It revealed a spider-like red glowing creature with a single shimmering purple eye in the center of its body. Its eight long, metal-clad legs were wrapped tightly around the gummy ship’s side. The ship rocked and then began shaking as the spider began to stab at the side of the ship with one of its sharp legs.
“We gotta shake it off!” Goofy wailed frantically.
Heero was shocked. He wasn’t sure if it was some sort of weapon, another ship, or an actual living and breathing thing. He clutched at the arms of his chair again. I have to do something… he thought wildly. I can’t just sit here and watch it tear us apart. He frowned and began unfastening his safety belts.
“Right! Hold on everyone.” Sora slammed a fist down and then ship jumped forward, sending everyone flopping back in their seats and nearly flinging Heero out of his. The ship rolled to the right and then to the left, trying desperately to fling the creature off. However, it was no use. The spider would not budge. “I can’t shake it!” Sora exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. Heero yanked roughly on the straps on his seat until finally they broke free. Then he jumped from his seat and ran out of the command deck.
“Wait! Heero! Stop!” Heero heard Sora calling after him. He made his way down a small corridor to the cargo hold. He could hear something akin to the sound of metal banging against metal become louder as he neared. He pulled the cargo hold door open and saw a massive dent deepening on the starboard side wall. Chip and Dale were all ready there, standing atop a crate beside the dent, chittering maniacally at one another. They both fell silent when they saw Heero enter.
“We can’t stop it!” Chip wailed as he jumped up and down.
“Yeah! We don’t know what to do!” Dale exclaimed, leaping into the air as well.
Heero immediately began to search the surrounding crates for anything he could use. Many of the crates were filled with miscellaneous gummi shapes, of which were no use to him.
“Do you have a fire extinguisher?” Heero asked plainly as he began digging through a box of gummi cubes. The spider was making steady progress. The pounding sound was then replaced by a loud, wretched scraping noise. The wall began to pulse and shift beneath the spider’s attacks.
“A’course we have a fire extinguisher! But what good will that do, we aren’t on fire!” Dale wailed loudly. He jabbed a paw behind Heero towards a small, red fire extinguisher that was bolted to the wall. It almost seemed too normal to be in this strange little ship. He quickly snatched it from its holder and returned to the two chipmunks who were now screaming frantically back and forth to one another. He scooped the little animals up in his hands and began carrying them towards the door.
“Hey! What're ya doing!”
“Put us down!”
“Tell Sora to hold the ship steady and do NOT open this door.” Heero said coolly as he set the animals gently on the ground.
“Wait! Stop! What are ya gonna do?!”
“No! Don’t –“
He closed the door. The scraping noise became louder and the wall began to bend and become dangerously thin. Quickly Heero snatched up his helmet and placed it over his head. Then he found a piece of rope and tied it securely around his waist, then fastened the opposite end to a pipe against the opposite wall. He picked up the fire extinguisher and waited.
I don’t know what else to do… he frowned and readied the extinguisher. This is all I have to work with… it will have to do. The wall burst open as a long, pointed leg pushed through it. A deafeningly loud hissing noise filled the cabin as the oxygen began to suck out through the puncture into space. The boxes in the cargo hold began to slide towards the puncture as well. The spider ripped the puncture on the wall wider and soon another leg joined the first. It’s bright, glowing purple eye peered in through the hole. Heero smirked and aimed the extinguisher at it and released a thick ribbon of white into the peeking eye. The spider let forth a shrill, loud cry and retreated away from the hole. The suction of space began to pull Heero towards the ripped portion of wall but the rope held tight and kept him in place. The spider’s eye returned, this time glowing red rather than purple, and its legs began to violently tear into the ship’s side. One long, pointed leg thrust forth in attempt to jab at him. He leapt out of the way just before the pointed tip buried itself into his chest.
He shot more of the fluffy white fluid from the fire extinguisher at the eye. The spider’s cry shook the ship. It began flailing six of its eight legs wildly within the cargo hold, knocking over large crates of gummi parts and practically crushing others beneath its huge, spiny appendages. Heero dodged a leg before it smashed into the side of his head and emptied the contents of the extinguisher on the creature. Then, in a last desperate attempt, he threw the empty canister at it. It slammed into the center of the eye. The spider howled then shrunk back out of the hole. The suction took hold of it and ripped it out of the hold and into the dark, vast expanse of space.
Once the spider retreated many of the boxes began to slip through of the hole as well, disappearing out of sight almost instantly. Soon the entire cargo hold was empty of everything except him.
Heero gripped onto the pipe he had fastened the rope to and held fast to keep himself from following the departing cargo. Now how to get back inside… he wondered, eyes scanning his surroundings for anything he could use. He saw the cargo door crack open and a figure pushed through it.
It was Sora. To Heero’s surprise he wasn’t wearing a space suit. Heero opened his mouth in protest but then was silenced by the sight of what could only be described as wind flowing in an orb around the other boy. Sora approached slowly. The pull of space seemed to have no effect on the boy as he floated lazily up to Heero in the swirling bubble.
“Give me your hand!” Sora yelled over the dull roar coming from the hole in the starboard wall. Heero hesitantly reached out to the bubble. His hand pierced the twisting surface followed by the sensation of a breeze blowing strongly against his arm. Sora grasped Heero’s gloved hand and pulled him closer, tugging him inside the ball of wind. Heero felt something tug at his waist. He had forgotten about the rope. He pulled at the knot until it released. Sora smirked at him then wrapped his arm around Heero’s waist to hold him in the center of the bubble. Then, with a gesture of his hand, the bubble began to float back towards the cargo door.
They floated leisurely through the door. Heero saw Donald and Goofy standing on the opposite side of the door holding it open just enough for them to slide through. Once inside the ship’s main corridor the two creatures began straining against it to slam it closed. The bubble surrounding Heero and Sora vanished with a resounding POP leaving them hanging in the air for a moment before dropping them to the ground. Sora landed lightly on his feet. Heero managed to plant his feet on the ground and straightened to a wobbly stand.
“Are you okay?” Sora inquired, eying Heero closely for any sign of injury. Heero lifted his hands up to the helmet and slid it up and off of his head. Just as he did the grating sound of Donald’s voice met his ears.
“You lost all of our gummi parts!” Donald screamed, his voice barely coherent. “How are we supposed to repair the ship if we don’t have any parts!” Heero flinched as the duck erupted into a long string of jumbled curses.
“Gawsh, Donald. Don’t be so hard on the guy. He did save us after all…” Goofy reasoned after Donald had finished his angry rant. The irritated duck merely huffed and crossed his wings tightly over his chest.
Heero frowned and turned to look at Sora, who was still eying him curiously. “Goofy is right. Heero did save us.” Then he held a hand out at Heero. “I guess we are even.”
Heero blinked and stared down at Sora’s hand. What did he want to do with that? He lifted a dark eyebrow before hesitantly lifting his own hand. Sora immediately grabbed it and gave it a friendly shake.
What a strange kid… Heero reflected as his hand was vigorously shook.
“What… was that thing?” Heero finally asked. He had so many questions but he could only manage to blurt one at a time. Sora dropped his hand and began rubbing the back of his head with the other.
“That? I am not sure exactly what that one in particular was, but it looked like a ‘Heartless’.” Sora replied. Goofy nodded his head in agreement.
”Heartless?” Heero echoed, then narrowed his eyes. “So those weren’t ships? Those are living creatures?”
“Well… sorta.” Sora replied. His face scrunched up in confusion. “It is kind of a long story, and really hard to explain. Let’s get to Hollow Bastion first. Then I can explain everything to you.” The boy said with a confident smile. Heero frowned, skeptical.
Kingdom Wing: Ch 4
Hollow Bastion appeared to be a small planet. So small, in fact, that a massive castle erected in the center of the planet could be seen as they approached. The gummi ship came to a bumpy landing at a space dock that looked like a pier. They exited the ship. As Heero stepped out onto the wooden dock he took in a deep breath. It even smelled like the ocean here. The air was fresh and clean, and the atmosphere was like that of Earth. Do dreams have smells? Heero wondered as he gulped down the fresh ocean air.
“This way.” Sora encouraged as he turned to walk down the pier towards a cluster of buildings. Heero blinked and followed suit behind Donald and Goofy. Chip and Dale had remained on the ship to begin what little repairs they could.
They entered a village that looked like a replica of a historic European town. The houses and shops were short, squat buildings set in neat little rows. They were built almost identically. The only way to distinguish the different buildings were by flower pots on windowsills, or by carved wooden signs hanging over doorways.
Heero glanced around cautiously. The narrow streets were practically empty. Thin layers of dust covered many of the doors and shuttered windows. The town seemed all but abandoned. They came upon a flight of stone steps that led down to the village square. Heero noticed many colorful signs here, along with a clock tower at the far side.
“Hi Huey, Dewey and Louis!” Donald yelled as they entered the square. Three small white ducks padded up to them. They were identical and wore the same shirt and baseball cap. The only way to distinguish the difference between them was the color of their clothes.
“You guys want to buy anything?” The little duck in the red shirt asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Sorry, guys. We have to hurry and see Merlin.” Sora said in an apologetic voice. The little duck in the blue shirt frowned and tapped his webbed foot impatiently.
“Geez! You guys haven’t given us any business lately!” The young duck in the green shirt complained loudly. He received a rough thwap on the back of his feathered head from Donald.
“Donald… Goofy, gather some supplies. I'll be back in a bit. See ya later.” Sora said happily as made his way cross the square. They walked through another series of winding, narrow cobblestone roads until they finally came to another smaller square in the center of the cluster of houses.
“Just over there…” Sora said with a grin. He pointed to a rounded door on the opposite side of the square. “I can’t wait to introduce you to the guys.”
Inside was a large blue screen opposite to the door. It flashed with diagrams and scrolled a language that Heero had never seen before. Beneath the screen was a glowing control panel with large, raised keys. The screen flashed furiously as if waiting for input from the user. To Heero’s left was a raised circular platform with an aged wooden table and chairs. Books and a tea set were stacked haphazardly along the raised platform. Lining the walls on the left side of the house were cabinets filled with strange, dusty items. The air inside smelled of musty old books and mold. Piles of books lie in every corner. A huge hand-drawn map hung on the far wall, flanked by various framed paintings. The strangest thing of all was the tall, lanky old man that stood amongst the mess.
“Ah, Sora! What a surprise! I thought you wouldn’t be returning until you visited Hercules!” The old man exclaimed. He was standing behind the raised platform. He trotted towards them, barely tripping over the outrageously long, white beard that swung from his chin. He wore half-moon spectacles that sat dangerously close to the tip of his nose. His bony, pale knees flashed into view from beneath his long blue robe and the pointed cap on his head brushed against a low-hanging bird cage as he approached.
This must be the wizard. Heero mused.
“We had to detour. Heero, this is Merlin, the wizard. Merlin, this is Heero. We found him floating in space.” Sora said plainly, though his usual smile never left his face. Merlin paused in mid-step and nearly stumbled over his beard again.
“You found him in space? How peculiar…” The old man said. He began stroking his beard as he looked Heero over with a scrupulous eye. Heero shifted, uncomfortable under the old man’s gaze.
“Yes. He is looking for his world…. Um, what was that again, Heero?”
“Earth.” Heero said flatly. The old wizard’s eyes widened and his jaw gaped slightly.
“You… my lad, are from Earth?”
Heero’s heart began to thud violently. So the old man knew of Earth! Relief began to swim through his chest and had started to soothe his troubled mind.
“Yes. You have heard of it? How do I get back there?” Heero asked, clutching his hands into fists in anticipation. The wizard frowned. His bushy white eyebrows had crept closer together on his wrinkled forehead.
“I have been to Earth once, hundreds of years ago…” The man replied. Heero held his breath. The tone in the old man’s voice was foreboding and mysterious. “But I never felt the need to go back. Earth is a terrible place, full of violent and harmful people.” The wizard began pacing back and forth, his beard trailing behind him. “I went to visit a friend who had insisted that Earth should be saved, but it was no use- they got to him too. Next thing you know, he bought a gun and shot his neighbor! By-George it was awful news when I heard of it-“
Heero’s eyes narrowed. He reached up to finger the handle of his gun that was securely hidden in the hem of his jeans.
“-I was so devastated. My poor friend was murdered in his sleep by his sister because he didn’t get her a suitable Christmas present… after that funeral I swore never to return to that blasted place ever again-“
Heero opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by a slew of blurted words and phrases from the irritated wizard. There seemed to be no stopping the old man in mid-rant.
“-you should consider yourself lucky not to be there anymore, m’boy. You should be happy that Sora here has saved you from a fate of war and injustice, why… there is even speculation that the darkness first came from that blasted world so long ago, to infect the light of our worlds…”
Heero blinked at that. Darkness? This man in nuts. He won’t be able to help me. He glanced over at Sora. The other boy was standing beside Heero with his jaw agape. Fear and concern was flashing across his face. Heero sighed.
“-I mean, Earth? EARTH! The last I heard that place of which you speak was caught between two dimensions, light-years away from here. The last I heard…why… it was destroyed by its own hate and greed and violence! BAH!” The old man threw his hands up and spun on his heels to face the two boys. “You cannot get to Earth without a lot of magic and energy, and I do not have the means to send you back. I am sorry. But I want no part of Earth, or anyone from there. NO PART OF IT!” Merlin’s voice had risen to a practically frantic yell.
Heero was convinced the old man was insane. Sora had raised his hands up in a defensive gesture and was trying to calm the old man. “Merlin… please, Heero isn’t like that. He saved us!”
The old man was shaking his head wildly. The tip of his beard became tangled in a dead, dry plant that sat on the end of the table. “No! All Earthlings are wicked and have darkness in their hearts! Nothing, no nothing, can change that!” The old man spun around to tromp away from them. Sora turned to give Heero an apologetic look before running after the old man.
“Merlin, wait. Please… Heero isn’t like that…”
The wizard stomped in a circle before storming out the door. Sora looked over his shoulder at Heero.
“Wait here. I will be right back…” Then he vanished through the doorway after the madman.
Heero heard the old man’s hollering voice retreating away from the door. Silence soon followed. He frowned and glanced around the abandoned house. His arms trembled with anger and frustration. He knew he would get no help from the old man, and now he was being labeled evil when he had done nothing to deserve it.
Or had he? He considered what the old man said. It was true… Earth was a violent place. Was the crazy old man so wrong in thinking that Heero would be a threat? After all, he had toyed with many violent notions since arriving in this peculiar universe.
He kicked a stack of books in frustration. They flew across the room and ripped into pieces. Pages floated through the air and settled across the table and scattered along the stone floor. Despite letting his anger out through his foot he still felt no relief from the pounding frustration from within.
“How am I ever going to get home?” He grumbled angrily to himself. His eyes searched the room again. He approached a globe that sat on a pedestal beside a stuffed otter that was standing on its back feet holding a compass between its small paws. The surface of the globe was faded. Heero couldn’t make out any of the words or shapes. He wondered if it was a globe of Earth, or some other distant planet.
He wandered around the room, searching for anything that would give him information about where he was, or what the “Darkness” and “Heartless” was. Every book he fingered open revealed nothing but strange pictures or writing in characters that he gathered were alchemy runes.
As he made his way around the room he came upon a podium holding a single large hardbound book. The cover was faded and he could barely make out a picture of some yellow and pink blob on the front. He set his hand on the cover and felt its leather binding curiously. This book must be important… it is set aside from the rest. He slid a finger beneath the front cover and flipped it open.
He stared down at the first two pages. They were blank. He squinted his eyes and touched the smooth paper. Just as his finger made contact a bright white light emanated from the pages, blinding him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the intense light. When it faded away he found himself standing on a large plain of white. He spun on his feet and searched around frantically.
“Where am I?” He said aloud. His voice echoed across the vast nothingness. He took a step forward. He heard a faint rubbing noise, followed by a crunch. Surprised, he looked down and saw the white plain he was standing on was… paper? He knelt down and touched the ground. It was rough and bent when he pressed it. It was paper! He frowned when he saw a large dip not too far away. It was the center of a book where the paper was bound to the binding. He jumped across the dip and saw in the distance something colorful. It was a tree made out of paper, erected upright against the bright white horizon. He ran toward it.
Chapter 5-14 HERE- www.fanfiction.net/s/4387391/5/Kingdom_Wing