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Chapter 11: Exploring a Forsaken Planet

Sora had claimed the front seat from Yoshi, and leaned back to take in the sights before him. An array of colorful buttons, switches, and nobs on the control panel blinked at him. On the left side of the panel was a monitor, which was used as a radar, and to keep in contact with the robots down below.

For a moment, Sora’s inner child wanted to fiddle around with the controls. But his rationale, older side knew that doing so would end this journey before it even started (from either crashing the ship or incurring Luigi’s wrath; that was opened to interpretation).

He then leaned forward, squeezing his hands together in anticipation. Luigi sat down in the pilot’s seat, pressed a few buttons, and started the engine, which let out a prideful roar. Sora felt his body tense in excitement as the ship hovered into the air. Soon, Luigi engaged the thrusters, and they flew into space.

Gravity pushed Sora against his seat; it felt like a giant foot was crushing his chest. At first, the feeling was uncomfortable. He thought his insides would be grinded like coffee beans. However, an exhilarating sense of speed cushioned that crushing sensation. Not even the fastest roller coaster gave him this much excitement.

But no sooner did he start enjoying the ride, the ship slowed down upon reaching the black void of space. Sora exhaled as he sat back in his seat from the trip; his body was trying to process the incredible rush it just experienced. But his mind was focused on something else:

Stars.

Everywhere he looked, stars smiled back at him with a warm glow of light. He had never felt this close to them before. As a kid he conceptualized outlandish plans to reach them – one of them involved tying a copious number of balloons around his waist and float into space. Of course, a child’s imagination was restrained by the unbreakable vines of reality. But his journey so far had burned those vines straight into debris. Here he was, flying through space, just a little bit closer to the stars.

He placed his hands against the cockpit’s window and continued staring in amazement.

“Wow,” Sora said. “This is incredible. It’s…beautiful.”

Sora felt the elated air rush out of his chest, once again left with a sad, hallow hole inside.

“Wish Riku and Kairi were here to see this…”

“You really miss them, huh?” Isabelle asked with a sympathetic look in her eyes.

Sora nodded.

“No worries,” Yoshi said. “When Sora find them, he can show them this view himself.”

“And this is our first-time traveling, too,” Isabelle said. “We’re all viewing it together.”

Sora felt a bit better from their words. “Yeah. Of course.”

The calming silence was interrupted by an ear shattering alarm. Sora, upon covering his ears, looked around in a panic.

“What’s happening!?” Sora asked.

Luigi brought up the monitor, which displayed a standard green radar. Red circles started moving across the screen from the east.

Luigi felt nervous sweat tickle his brow. “We’ve got company!”

“I take it they aren’t friendly,” Sora said.

“Let’s put it this way,” Luigi said: “Heartless aren’t limited to the ground.”

Sora gulped. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me…”

He looked out the windows to notice a most unsettling sight; various ships made from the same material were flying right towards them. And unlike the colorful design of their ship, these ones were painted with dark colors – a color scheme best suited for the denizens of darkness.

“Since when did the Heartless have a license to fly?” Sora asked in complete bafflement.

Yoshi hid behind Sora’s seat. “What we do now?”

“We take them down!” Luigi said, finding his courage. He flipped two lids off each side of his steering wheel, revealing red buttons. “This ship is equipped with the finest weaponry for dealing with airborne Heartless! But it’s gonna get rough! You guys buckle up!”

Everyone did as Luigi instructed. Isabelle was the first to strap in, and wished she had more belts to wrap around herself. Sora noticed Luigi’s hands trembling; he assumed this was his first time fighting against other ships. Sora had to help Luigi focus, or else their chances for surviving this battle would plummet into single digits.

“Hey, you can do this,” Sora said. “Don’t let the Heartless intimidate you. They’re about as bright as coconuts. You can fly circles around them!”

“O-Okay,” Luigi said. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Appreciate the encouragement. Gotta stay positive. Think of this like a video game.”

Isabelle, trying her hardest suppress a panic attack, said, “Except we have only one life.”

“And if we lose,” Yoshi said, “it game over, pal!”

Everyone glared at him for his overdramatic delivery of that statement.

“Too much, huh?” Yoshi asked.

The ship vibrated from the powerful hit of a laser. Luigi glowered at the ship responsible for the attack. Sora’s right; he wasn’t going to be outsmarted by a group of Heartless ships. His skills far exceeded them.

“Okay!” Luigi said with blazing confidence. “That’s it! You’re all history! Hang on! We’re taking a ride into the danger zone!”

Sora and Yoshi braced themselves in their seats, while Isabelle shielded her eyes, not wanting to see how they meet their gruesome end. Luigi flew the ship straight at the Heartless, destroying it with his own laser blast. As the Heartless exploded, Luigi spun the ship to the right, avoiding the aftershock. Another ship flew straight towards them. With little time to fire, Luigi leaned the ship to the left, making the Heartless fly right underneath it.

Luigi looked over his shoulder to see another one pursuing them. Ahead of them was an asteroid. Perfect, he thought. Luigi flew straight for it, making sure to decrease his speed so that the Heartless was on their tail. When they were close enough, Luigi dove the ship under the asteroid. The Heartless had no time to react as it collided with the massive, indestructible rock.

Sora continued shouting words of encouragement to keep Luigi’s confidence from meeting the same fate as that Heartless. It was good to have a wingman, Luigi thought. He felt like he wasn’t alone in this fight. Ahead of them was another Heartless. After firing its lasers, Luigi titled the ship left to dodge the attack, and countered with his own attack, hitting it dead center.

Things seemed to be going their way in this fight. For the moment, at least. They felt a Heartless ram into the ship, sending them spinning through space. Sora glanced up to notice a second ship firing from above them.

“Look out!” he cried.

Luigi spun the wheel in such a way to avoid the blast. He had to regain control if they had any hopes of staying alive. Isabelle felt like her insides were bouncing around like stones in a maraca. She couldn’t deal with the overwhelming stress any longer.

“Okay!” she shouted. “I admit it! Back in high school I had to wear a flea collar for a week! Just let me live through this!”

Isabelle opened her eyes to notice Sora and Yoshi giving her perplexed expressions, and she covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Oops, didn’t mean to say that one out loud,” she said.

After steering the wheel in every which direction, Luigi finally regained control of the ship. He fired a laser right into the ship pursuing them. Then, he rammed the ship into the other Heartless that fired at them from above earlier; it flew straight into an asteroid.

“Time to give this asteroid a new crater!” Luigi said.

He fired his laser, destroying the final ship. It seemed that the battle was over. Heartless ships had ceased their pursuit. The endless stretch of space appeared to be at peace once more. Luigi felt his emotions spin through a blender; they were mixed with pride, relief, and astonishment that they survived with their heads intact.

“Everyone okay?” Luigi asked moments later.

After a moment of stunned silence, Sora said, “That…was…awesome! You showed those guys!”

“Well, thanks,” Luigi said, blushing. “My brother’s shown me how to fly before.”

Sora leaned into him with an eager grin. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

Luigi’s moment of triumph was ruptured by a foreseeable, dreadful future of Sora placing his hands on the steering wheel.

“We’ll see,” Luigi said.

Sora moaned. “Aw, come on!”

“Look, let me drive for now,” Luigi said. He gestured towards the back. “At least until Isabelle stops having a heart attack every time we fly.”

Sora turned to see Isabelle sitting in the beetle position, swaying back and forth to lessen the shaken nerves rummaging through her fur. Her face was frozen in a picture of pure fright; if her eyes could widen anymore, they would’ve fallen out of her sockets. Yoshi gently tapped her shoulder to elicit a response.

A sense of guilt overtook his desire to fly the ship (for the moment, anyways). He didn’t want someone as kind and gentle as Isabelle to go through a constant tornado of panic.

“Deal,” Sora said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

While Sora and Yoshi helped Isabelle out of her frightened state, Luigi opened the 3DS and checked the radar for any signs of a Star Spirit. From within the dark depths of the sky, a sparkling light of good fortune rained on top of his cap.

“Hey, there’s a Star Spirit nearby!” Luigi pointed out the window. “Right on that planet!”

Everyone glanced out with him to see a giant orange planet coming into view; and as they got closer, their jaws dropped at its sheer dominating size. Seeing a world from the outside was a whole new experience for Sora. He gazed at every detail of the planet; orange and yellow spirals were imprinted on the planet’s surface.

Luigi felt somewhat uneasy about entering this world. The planet didn’t exhibit the same warm, friendly colors of Traverse Town. Or even the lush green landscapes of his kingdom. But landing on the world was not of his own volition; the 3DS confirmed that the Star Spirit was concealed somewhere within its intimidating surface. They had no choice.

“Well, let’s-a-go,” Luigi said.

The ship began its careful decent into the world’s atmosphere.

--

Planet Zebes – not just a world, but a relic lost to time. Once, it flourished. Proud, wise voices echoed throughout the various catacombs. A blanket of healthy vegetation covered the jagged surface. Mountains looked down on this prosperous world with pride. It listened to the peaceful voices echo throughout the landscapes.

But one day, those voices were silenced forever.

Now the mountains were forced to stare at a barren wasteland; acid rain slid down its formation like tears of anguish. The blanket of grass had been ripped to shreds, replaced by uneven, rocky grounds. Small strips of grass and plants peeked out from within the earth, scattered throughout the surface – no longer a dominant force that gave the planet life.

If it wasn’t for the illumination of the stars, the planet would’ve been suffocated by a thick sheet of darkness. But, for the first time in ages, the bright lights emitted from the Labo Ship brought back a sliver of life to the world.

Yoshi’s excitement withered away into the world’s quiet atmosphere. “What kind of world is this? Where people? Where houses? Most importantly, where exotic food?”

“There’s always the possibility that not all worlds are inhabitable,” Isabelle said.

“Absolutely,” Luigi said. “It’s not going to make our journey any easier, though. Let’s just be careful out there.”

Sora stood up from his seat, punching the palm of his hand in enthusiasm. Despite the eerie nature of this world, it didn’t damper his spirits. Everything was still fresh and new to him. To Sora, this was a challenge that would test his skills as an explorer. This world was an enigma; he wanted to see if he could unravel its secrets.

“Right!” Sora said. “I’m just excited to be here! Never seen a place quite like this before! Let’s go check it out!”

Sora didn’t get far, as Yoshi tackled him to the ground.

“That wasn’t necessary, Yosh,” Sora said, grunting from the pain.

Yoshi let out a nervous giggle. “Oops.”

As the two stood back up, Luigi said, “We have to check the world’s atmosphere first. It may be toxic.”

Sora rubbed his head for overlooking that detail. “Erm, good point.”

The ship was installed with a scanner that surveyed the entire area for anything harmful in the atmosphere. They waited as low beeps chattered throughout the ship; and then it was proceeded by a loud, obnoxious buzzing sound. Luigi read the results on the monitor; just from the look in his eyes, Sora could tell the results weren’t favorable.

“Yep,” Luigi said. “It’s not safe. We’re gonna need some protection for this world.”

Luigi opened a glove compartment right underneath the control panel, and pulled out a mushroom. But it wasn’t like any mushroom Sora had seen before. In fact, it appeared bigger than the average mushroom; Luigi needed both hands to hold it. It had a yellow round cap with giant white spots.

But one prominent feature twisted Sora’s stomach into a disconcerted knot. “Does anyone else notice eyes on that…mushroom?

“Yeah,” Yoshi said; he was nonchalant. “So?”

“Never mind,” Sora said, refusing to inquire further for his sanity’s sake.

“Our world contains plenty of different mushrooms,” Luigi said. “Each one grants someone a unique power when eaten. This one is called an ‘Atmo-shroom.’ For twenty-four hours, we’ll be immune to the world’s harmful atmosphere. But we have to get the job done. No fooling around!”

“Why Luigi always look at me when he say that?” Yoshi said with a defensive expression on his face.

Sora couldn’t help but find the humor in Mushroom’s properties. It reminded him of that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland book again.

“A magic mushroom, huh?” Sora grinned. “Do you have mushrooms that make you shrink and grow?”

“Sure,” Yoshi said. “They called Super Mushrooms and Mini Mushrooms.”

Sora wiped his forehead from Yoshi’s earnest response. With each passing moment, the ridiculous nature of this journey spun down a sink of insanity. Everyone, except for Isabelle, took a piece and swallowed them (Sora looked away from the mushroom as he chewed his piece; those small beady eyes stared into his soul with a sparkle of guilt).

Once swallowed, Sora felt a delicate warmth flow throughout his body like a summer’s wind. It was comforting; for a moment, he even felt relaxed. But he had to shake those droplets of serenity off his skin. If Sora was going to find Riku and Kairi, he needed to stay focused. Luigi set his watch, while Isabelle pulled out the Wii Stream, eager to start recording every single detail in her journal.

With preparations complete, Sora and his new friends disembarked the ship.

--

An enraged chill filled the tranquil air. Anyone setting foot on the planet would’ve been shaking faster than a rattlesnake’s tail. But thanks to the Atmo-shroom’s magic, the trio were immune to the bitter cold’s relentless assault. Sora continued to take in the fascinating sights this world had to offer.

“Can’t wait to see what we’ll find here,” Sora said. “Wait, what about the ship? Won’t it be unprotected?”

Luigi pulled out the 3DS and pressed a few buttons. “Not to worry. The ship has a built-in clocking device.”

Sora watched with unblinking eyes of astonishment as the ship vanished right in front of him.

“Unwelcomed guests will never even touch it,” Luigi said with pride in his eyes.

“So cool!” Sora said. A leap in logic soon landed on his head. “How come we didn’t use that against the Heartless ships?”

“Because they can still sense”—Luigi tapped his chest. “And using it while flying just wastes more energy.”

“Gotcha,” Sora said.

Using the 3DS as a guide, they walked straight ahead towards the mountains. The uneven ground forced them to be considerate of each step (Luigi did tend to trip). At some points, they had to climb up small hills, and then jump off a ledge at the top to land on the ground. While Sora was excited to explore this world, a slow feeling of apprehension intercepted his pleasant mood with a troubling thought:

Where are the Heartless?

After their battle in space, he half expected a swarm to be waiting in delight on Zebes’ dry surface. Should he be thankful, or should he be concerned? He didn’t want to think about it. His instincts told him to be prepared for the unexpected. That was only advice he could scribble onto his mind for now.

They continued walking for what seemed like eternity. The mountains grew taller at small intervals. There was no time to rest – time itself was their greatest foe. Ahead of them was a small cave resting at the base of the mountains. Luigi felt his legs tremble. He knew there was no other way around the mountains.

“Of course it’s towards a dark, spooky cave,” Luigi said in annoyance. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Before they could venture into the mountains’ maw, Luigi and Sora heard a growling sound coming from right behind them. Luigi’s anxiety was prepared to leap over the mountains.

“Like I said: wouldn’t have it any other way!” Luigi said in a panic. “Dark, spooky cave here I come!”

Sora placed his hand on Luigi’s shoulder. “Chill out. It’s just Yoshi.”

The two turned to notice Yoshi growling at a rock formation far off in the distance. His sharp, angry eyes would’ve cut the rocks in half.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked.

Yoshi pointed towards the formation. “Me thought me saw something move over there.”

Sora walked a little bit towards the formation, taking a long, hard look at it. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary; it shared the lifeless agony of the planet.

“I don’t see anything,” Sora said.

Luigi sighed in aggravation. “Just great. I needed a good warm up scare before the real scary stuff.”

“But me honestly thought something was there,” Yoshi said, defensive. “It ran behind rock.”

“Even if something’s there,” Luigi said, “we don’t have time to investigate. We’re on borrowed time, after all.”

Yoshi thought about his statement for a moment. He was adamant that he saw a someone over there, but knew Luigi was correct: for every moment they lingered, another second was shaved off their time.

Swallowing his strong feelings, Yoshi said, “Okay, Luigi. Let’s go through cave.”

Luigi turned back to the cave, remembering that they had to walk through its intimidating throat. He felt his knees buckle from the nerves.

“Ye-Yes, r-right,” Luigi said, stuttering with fear. “O-Onward to the Star Spirit!”

Luigi marched with slow and stiff leg movements towards the cave.

Sora just stared at him with a raised eyebrow of confusion. “What’s his problem? That didn’t seem like no happy jig.”

“He scared of everything. Sora get used to it.”

Sora had a strong suspicion that, given Luigi’s terrified demeanor, it would be awhile before he that happened. He and Yoshi followed Luigi into cave, staying alert for any vicious creatures that dwelled within its dark catacombs.

A mysterious figure walked out from behind the formation; he wore a familiar gray hood. His eyes were as sharp as knives, and they were pointed straight at the three explorers.

--

If Luigi’s heart was exposed, the sound of its rapid beats would reverberate throughout the cave. He felt so nervous, but had to stay focused on their mission. Hightailing it for the ship was impossible (despite every urge clamoring for him to do so). At least he had comforting in knowing the others were with him. Deciding to put his magic to good use, Sora created a small flame in the palm of his hand; it served as an excellent light source.

The only sounds heard were their own footsteps echoing throughout the chambers; and they listened carefully to make sure theirs were the only sounds heard. It wasn’t too long before the trio found the exit, and arrived in another rocky area. Luigi felt the weight in his chest lighten.

As they continued forward, Luigi pulled out the 3DS and glared at it.

“Looks like we’re on the right track,” Luigi said. “We just have to keep going—”

He ran straight into a large metal object and fell over. After sitting up, he rubbed his nose. Exasperated, he glanced up at the object he ran into.

“Some people are so inconsiderate about where they park their spaceship.” Luigi rubbed his nose again. Then, he gave the object a double look in surprise. “A spaceship!?”

Everyone glanced up to see the spaceship in question; their jaws dropped from its impressive design. It was coated with bright yellow paint, and its cockpit was concealed within a dark green window.

“Whoa!” Sora said. “Check that out! It’s even bigger than our ship!”

Luigi felt his pride get kicked straight in the shin. He lowered his cap and blushed. “Well, size isn’t everything.”

“Think someone inside?” Yoshi asked.

Sora walked over to the center of the ship, cupped both hands over his mouth, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hello! Anyone home!? We could use some directions!”

Luigi placed a finger to his mouth. “Shh! We don’t want to draw attention!”

“Why not?” Sora asked, confused. “Maybe someone knows where the Star Spirit is.”

“We can’t go about telling them about the Star Spirits, or where we’re from. It will disrupt the world order if they know a thing about us.”

Sora opened his mouth to protest, but Luigi’s tongue was quicker on the draw. “Besides, it looks like no one’s home. Let’s just keep moving. The Duel Scream will tell us where to go.”

Sora felt unsure at first. He remembered that Luigi briefed him yesterday on their involvement in other worlds. But what was the harm in asking for a bit of help? It didn’t make sense to him – frustration was pounding on his stomach like a hammer. Then again, he and his friends thought building a raft was the missing piece in the puzzle to visiting other worlds; unfortunately, that piece belonged in a different box.

Sora felt his shoulders lower in defeat. Luigi seemed much more knowledgeable on the laws of world traveling. For now, he would have to trust his judgement, no matter how much logic tried raising its hand from within the crowd of his mind.

Sora shrugged. “Okay. If you say so.”

After taking another gander at the ship in admiration, the trio continued forward, putting their faith in a small handheld device. It wasn’t long before they encountered something else that piqued their interest: a mechanical door in the shape of a hexagon. Lines divided the panel into six triangle pieces. A baby blue glow surrounded the outer layer of the door.

“Well, look at that,” Luigi said, somewhat surprised. “That door seems like its functional. Maybe there are people living behind it.”

“Think they’d be okay with us barging in like this?”

Luigi glanced back at the 3DS. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice. The signal is getting stronger.”

Yoshi approached the door, knocked on it, and, in an instant, it opened. Tension rumbled beneath their feet. They didn’t know what awaited them behind this door. Keeping a firm grip on their courage, they stepped through, beginning their decent into the planet’s innards.

Unbeknownst to them, a small, circular camera was eyeing their every move behind its lifeless lens.

---

Behind that lens – watching from a dark computer room – were a pair of menacing, calculated eyes. These eyes have seen war, destruction, and death; and they took pleasure in watching every single grotesque detail. It was none other than the leader of the Space Pirates: Ridley. He sat in his chair, watching the three intruders descend into the dangerous depths of the planet.

His sharp tail pounded the ground like a drum; he was deep in thought.

“Well, this is an interesting development,” he said. “Seems like your friends have come to save you.”

The room was faintly lit by computer monitors and flashing buttons. But in the corner of the room, light could just barley reach the corner. Huddled in that corner, locked away in a cage, was the Star Spirit Mamar. She shivered in fear – not for herself, but for Sora and his friends. They were lost rabbits wandering into the fox’s den, unaware of their inevitable fate by his sharp fangs.

“You soulless beast!” Mamar said in anger, though her voice trembled. “What are you planning to do to those young ones?”

Ridley turned to face the captive Star Sprit. His sharp teeth brightened the room with a red tint. She could feel his harsh, warm breath disperse into the vicinity.

“Why, not a thing,” he said. His grin widened. “The dangers of this filthy planet will end their meaningless existence. I will be sure to let you know when that has come fruition. Definitely won’t be long.”

Mamar felt herself sink into the cold metal floor of the cage. Being helpless was the worst form of torture; all she could do was watch, unable to make her voice heard. Her vision turned into a mesh of watercolors from the tears. She prayed to the stars above the three would be able to make it through the planet unscathed. It was the only thing that gave her assurance, and she refused to let go.

A stern beeping noise interrupted the quiet mood. Ridley’s face turned from confident to somewhat perturbed in an instant. He knew who was calling him, and he didn’t want to disappoint them. Upon taking a deep breath, he pressed a few buttons. A female voice spoke up on the other end. Something was peculiar about it: it didn’t sound natural. Instead, it sounded distorted, with mixtures of daunting hisses placed between each word.

“Ridley, what is the status of our little one?” the voice asked.

“Growing stronger with each passing moment, my lord,” Ridley said.

“And what of my secret weapon?”

“Is near completion. We still need a viable power source to get it operational.” He glanced at Mamar. “And I believe Bowser’s little gift should suffice.”

The Star Spirit pressed her back against the bars in fear.

“Ridley, these Heartless that Bowser has to graciously given to us – are they reliable as you say they are? So far they’ve been unsuccessful in disposing of our old friend.”

Ridley winced in disappointment, but regained his composure. “Patients, my lord. Our friend has yet to see how powerful these creatures are truly capable of.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” the voice said, growing irritated, but remaining firm, “and I grow tired of being reassured! Two of our top generals have already been slaughtered by that meddler! Do you think I’d be ecstatic to be defeated again!? No! It’d be demeaning! I’ve given you another chance at life – don’t make me regret my decision!”

Before Ridley could respond, the audio transmission ended. His mind was overcome with terror. He didn’t want to go back there – to be lost in the vacuum of space again, and hear your own heartbeat. But his moment of fear soon melted into a boiling pot of anger. The lid was ready to pop from the furious bubbles.

He slammed his claws onto the control panel. His mind’s eye was lost in an empty room of darkness. Suddenly, a small child appeared from within the endless void, standing in the distance. An overwhelming green glow covered the child’s eyes, and she flew straight at Ridley, snapping him out of daydream.

His thoughts ran down a spiraling trail: Why didn’t I kill her when I had the chance? She was a pathetic, helpless child. Even a rat wouldn’t hesitate to approach her. Now, she’s my shadow, and won’t disappear unless I do first.

He pressed a few buttons on the control panel to bring up an image on the screen. Those moments of dread were whisked away by a reassuring wind. On screen was the key to making this person he despised vanish forever; which ensured him his rightful place as the most feared Space Pirate in the galaxy.

His thoughts were now walking down a single calm path: Doesn’t matter. Once our secret weapon is unleashed, no one in the universe can stop us.

Ridley was watching a jellyfish-like creature float around in a giant tube; it was hungry for flesh.

And I will enjoy listening to that Galactic Federation reject’s pleas for death.

---

Behind the hexagonal door’s mouth was its esophagus – another dark cave. This one, however, descended towards the world’s stomach. At first, Sora and Luigi’s fire illuminated the dark catacombs. Then they noticed metal tubes and wires festering inside of mother nature’s design. Lights hung over their heads; they were able to relinquish their magic’s duty in keeping the cave lit.

As they descended further, they witnessed the cave’s transformation into an artificial corridor infected by various mechanical and electrical structures. Low humming noises disrupted the once peaceful silence of the catacombs. Everyone stayed alert for any signs of life; with so much artificial power flowing through the planet’s arteries, they assumed someone had to be residing within it. But there was a chance that hostile creatures also meandered throughout the tunnels

After traversing through more corridors, they arrived at a wide-opened area. Surrounding them were more hexagonal doors. Some stood on the ground level; others were on platforms high above them. And high above them were more platforms with doors.

Sora felt his stomach become as wide as the room itself. Where does one even start looking? Luigi, however, remained resolved, because the 3DS would filter out those unwanted decisions like an air purifier. Pulling out his secret weapon, Luigi noticed the signal growing stronger at the door above them. Floating platforms hovered over their heads, which made ascending the room much easier.

Upon entering the next room, they traveled down another corridor. And came across a dead end. Luigi’s once rocklike resolve was starting to get chipped away by a pickaxe of concern. They returned to the entrance, tried another door, and were met with the same results. They continued for some time until that pickaxe whittled their spirits away into tiny pebbles.

When they exited the next door, looking crestfallen, the three sat down on the platform to take a short reprieve.

“How many doors we’ve been in?” Yoshi asked.

Sora shrugged. “Dunno. I lost count after ending up at a dead end for the third time.”

“Is it just me,” Luigi said, “or did that last area look the same as the one before? The interior decorators must’ve been lazy when designing these rooms.”

Sora sighed in annoyance. “One thing’s for sure: The Dual Scream sure did a fine job showing us where to go.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Luigi said, feeling insulted. “How was I supposed to know it would lead us to a maze!?”

Yoshi did his best to channel out their arguing. Even he knew it wouldn’t do them any good. Checking each room would be more productive at least. As he scanned the area, he heard strange noises coming from a platform parallel to them. His eyes met with multicolored, plant-like creatures. They were hovering around a small metal object.

“Hey, check it out!” Yoshi said.

The two followed Yoshi’s finger to the creatures on the platform. Sora felt an excited explosion in his chest, as he recognized them.

“We find intelligent life!” Yoshi said in excitement. “Think they know a good place to eat?”

“Can you get your brain out of your stomach for one minute?” Luigi asked. “Maybe these creatures know a way through this place.”

“Actually, those are the missing Pikmin,” Sora said. “I can’t believe we found them here! What are the chances? Olimar and Louie will be thrilled.”

Sora hopped onto the platform, which startled the Pikmin in the process. They were overcome with fear as this giant person loomed over them. Sora kneeled to them, and put on a gentle smile.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sora said with a soft, comforting tone in his voice. “I’m not gonna hurt ya. You’re looking for Captain Olimar, right?”

The Pikmin’s eyes lit up upon hearing that name. In an instant, that weight of fear evaporated into a relaxed puff of steam. Growing curious about their new friend, the Pikmin walked over to him, and took at gander at his face, taking in every detail.

“Well, I’m here to take you to him,” Sora said. “He’s been awfully worried about you guys.”

Their curious expressions were overtaken by a mixture of elation and relief. A few of the Pikmin grabbed the metal object and brought it over for Sora to see. It appeared to be a metal bolt of some kind.

“Whatchya got there?” Sora asked. “Is that one of the pieces to the captain’s ship?”

The Pikmin jumped up and down in response.

Sora grinned. “I’ll assume yes. This is great! Talk about being lucky. Just stick with us. We’ll take you to him when we get a chance.”

“What do we do with them for now?” Luigi asked. “We can’t go back to the ship. Not when we’re this far in. And we don’t want them to get them in harm’s way.”

Sora crossed his arms in thought. He felt a dark cloud of uncertainty hover over his head. But that cloud soon became a source of inspiration for an idea.

“Hey, what about the floaty cloud guy?” Sora asked. “Maybe he could hold onto them.”

Luigi chuckled at the ridiculous name. “You mean Lakitu, right? That’s a good idea.”

Luigi called Lakitu down and explained the situation to him; he was more than happy to help the group out of their predicament. Sora loaded the Pikmin and the missing ship piece onto the cloud. With a nod, Lakitu flew into the sky and resumed his recording. Sora felt a sense of accomplishment brighten the dimly lit facility.

They were on the right track to helping Olimar and Louie leave Traverse Town. He couldn’t bear the thought of being too late to save them. Regret is worse than having a scar; overtime, the pain from a scar vanishes, while regret lasts forever. It’s the worst kind of feeling.

Unfortunately, Luigi didn’t share Sora’s moment of satisfaction. His brow lowered from the incredible weight of disappointment.

“This has been a productive day for Pikmin hunting,” Luigi said. “Not so much for us. We’re nowhere close to finding the Star Spirit.”

Sora smiled. “Cheer up. We’ll have to come across it eventually. Let’s just keep moving. It’s all we can do.”

“Don’t remind me,” Luigi said.

As the group prepared to continue their long, arduous journey, they saw a Shadow Heartless appear by the entrance of a door adjacent to them; it crawled into the ground and went underneath the door. Three fresh hearts were right in front of the Heartless’ face, and yet it seemed to have better things to do.

“What you think it doing?” Yoshi asked.

“Anything but bothering us,” Luigi said. “An activity I highly approve of.”

Something didn’t feel right to Sora. Didn’t Heartless only appear when a heart was nearby? Was it attracted to something behind that door? He was being pelted by an airsoft gun loaded with questions; and there was only one way he’d be able to disarm it.

“So, this is going to sound crazy,” Sora said, “but we should follow that Heartless. If they chase after hearts, maybe it’ll lead us to someone.”

“You’re right,” Luigi said; “that does sound crazy.” He sighed. “But it’s the best lead we’ve had so far. So, you two go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

Luigi was met with a double dose of scowls from his friends. Without another word, the two walked behind the plumber and pushed him towards the door.

“C’mon, don’t you know a joke when you hear one?” Luigi asked with a nervous grin.

“We’ll let you know the next time one of us actually laughs,” Sora said with deadpan seeping in his voice.

Inside the room was another dead end. But it was a large area, mixed with rock structures, small strips of grass (that were somehow still alive despite being indoors), and more metal tubes. There was an object of interest that reached its claws out and grabbed the trio’s attention. Standing tall was a giant statue of a strange creature. Although it appeared humanoid, the face resembled that of a bird.

“Birdman!” Yoshi said.

Sora walked over to the statue and inspected every detail. Rust had invaded its once perfect coat, leaving brownish patches in its wake. He assumed that it must’ve been left to its lonely fate for many years. But it did confirm that a race of bird-like people used to inhabit this world. His inquiring mind started throwing questions at a dartboard. What were these people like? How did they live? And what caused them to abandon this world?

Or, did something else happen to them?

“Neat,” Sora said. “Guess that means this world was inhabited at some point, huh?”

“Well, I’ll tell you want thing,” Luigi said, looking deflated. “Coming in here was a mistake. All that to see an old statue. By now that Heartless must be long gone.”

Sora sunk both hands into his pockets. “Guess we’re back at square one, then.”

The three turned to face the door – and were met with an unexpected, concerning sight. A fog of darkness had covered it; with each passing second, the fog grew thicker, further obstructing their view of the only accessible exit. They weren’t just back at square one; they were somehow sinking into the board itself.

“And it just gotta a whole lot worse!” Luigi said; his nerves spiked into the ceiling.

Everyone looked around to see if there was another exit. Their hopes vanished into the dark fog.

“What we now?” Yoshi asked. “Me no go touch it.”

Sora felt a familiar chill brush across his skin. “It must’ve been created by the Heartless, so maybe the Keyblade can break through it.”

“Anything’s worth a try,” Luigi said. There was a frantic tone in his voice. “But be quick! Knowing our luck, that statue will come to life and start pecking at us.”

As Sora summoned the Keyblade, he glanced at Luigi with a raised eyebrow. “I think someone has an overactive imagination.”

“Says the guy wielding a giant key.”

Sora was about to open his mouth, but he realized Luigi was right. Anything seemed possible at this point. He was traveling with a talking dinosaur, after all. His perception of logic had shattered into broken pieces of glass. Sora held the Keyblade up towards the ruthless fog. He wasn’t sure what to do next. His train of thought had stepped into a puddle of glue, unable to move, unable to think of an idea.

But the Keyblade seemed to pick up the slack, as a small light appeared on the tip. It released a small beam of energy into the fog. Sora watched in amazement as the beam chipped away at the its dark form. The door started to emerge from within its murky depths.

“It’s working!” Sora said in excitement. “Shouldn’t be much longer!”

Yoshi gave Sora a jovial pat on the back in response. They’ve managed to step over a small hurdle in their journey.

But they had yet to realize that, beyond that hurtle was a huge mountain, fraught with danger.

Heartless had surrounded the bird statue, and they merged into its metal skin, covering it in a sheet of pure blackness. Cracks formed around the statue until it can no longer sustain itself. A creature broke through the shell, scattering its pieces onto the floor. The creature looked exactly like the statue – every detail was precise. But now, it swayed back and forth, regaining movement in its body.

The creature had dark purple skin, long legs, and long arms. It flexed its razor-sharp talons at the trio. There was only one feeling circulating through its tough skin:

Hunger.

The creature’s eyes opened to examine its prey, which took on the form of two gaping yellow holes; no matter how far you gazed into them, not a sliver of emotion would crawl out of it. They were filled with a savage desire to quell its insatiable appetite. The creature moved with slow, heavy steps towards its victims. Its talons curved in eager anticipation.

Luigi felt the hairs on his back rise from a sudden cold breeze breathing on him. Spinning around, he saw the menacing creature approach them. Fear had pinned his feet into the ground like nails through wood. He had never seen a creature more horrifying. And this was from the person who had traversed a haunted mansion.

One string of courage had not been plucked from his nerves; he used it to regain movement in his feet, hurried over to Yoshi, and grabbed his attention. However, Luigi’s larynx was entangled in a web of terror, so as he flailed his arms around in a panic; no words could break free from his mouth.

Yoshi titled his head in confusion at Luigi’s nonsensical dance moves. “You so jumpy. That it – Luigi switching to decaf from now one!”

Luigi rolled his eyes, grabbed Yoshi’s face, and directed him towards the creature. The dinosaur gasped in surprise.

“Statue a real bird now!” Yoshi cried out.

Sora had just finished vanquishing the fog when he heard Yoshi’s alarming – albeit perplexing – statement. He turned around to witness the creature’s motionless eyes stab as his calm demeanor like a steak knife; shock gushed straight out of it.

“You picked a fine time to be clairvoyant!” Sora said to Luigi.

Luigi’s prediction, while correct, was also a bad omen; and that omen took on the form of two Heartless appearing behind Sora. They appeared akin to Ridley in terms of body structure: giant wings, spiked tails, and slender builds. Although they were half of Ridley’s size; but they were still an imposing threat that made even the most robust of warriors sweat profusely.

There were two major differences between them and Ridley – one had light blue skin while the other was red. Embedded on their chests was a familiar heart-shaped insignia; those who gazed upon it would be subjected to the morbid sight of their heart being snatched away like an infant from its mother.

Yoshi alerted Sora to the Heartless’ presence. He spun around to see the two unleash a fire and ice spells from their claws. Sora caught the attacks with his blade, but the impact pushed him into the others, knocking them over like dominos. Everyone wasted no time in scrambling to their feet, and picking their fights.

The bird creature gained speed and brought its giant talon down on Sora, who put his blade up to catch the strike. Due to its massive weight, Sora struggled to push it upward. Instead, he took a chance and rolled under its legs. Upon getting into a kneeled position, he tried kicking its lower leg a few times, hoping to knock it over.

It didn’t even flinch.

Sora felt like he was kicking against a wall. No amount of force could budge it. The creature turned around and prepared to swing again. Sora hurried to his feet to avoid getting sliced faster than cheese. He then tried again with a thrust to the stomach. Unfortunately, the creature titled its torso left and caught Sora’s arm, then lifting it over his head. Sora felt his arm stretch out like putty; he was afraid that any second it was going to snap off his shoulder.

Soon, the uncomfortable stretching was exchanged for a painful kick in the chest, which knocked him back a great distance. Despite feeling like his chest got hit by a bowling ball, he had to keep fighting. He leaped onto his feet and noticed the creature leaning its head back, opening its beak wide. Out came yellow orbs the size of his head; they were falling right for him.

Sora leaped back onto higher ground, just narrowly missing the orbs explode.

“Oh, so you’ve got some firepower on ya, huh?” Sora said. “Well, two can play at this game!”

Sora pointed his Keyblade straight at the creature.

“Fire!” he shouted.

A fireball emerged from the tip and flew right for the creature’s face. It spewed out another bomb to counter; when both collided, a miniature explosion blinded the creature for a moment. Sora took this chance to leap high into the air and bring his blade down again. Disappointment pressed against Sora’s shoulders as the creature puts its talons up to catch his attack. Sora pushed off the talons and flipped onto the ground.

Upon landing, Sora caught a glimpse of the creature’s chest. Compared to the rest of body, it appeared to be soft. Was that its weakness? Sora leaned back to avoid a strike from its left talon and deflected its right with his blade. Seeing an opening, he launched a fire spell right into his chest. An ear shattering screech of pain rattled Sora’s ear drums as the creature grasped at its chest from the intense burning sensation.

Before Sora could go on the offense, the creature recovered quicker than expected and rammed its head into him. He was able to put his Keyblade up to take the full force of the attack, and slid back a few feet. Sora gritted his teeth in frustration; this Heartless was resilient.

Luigi spun his hammer around to deflect incoming ice attacks from the flying blue Heartless. Taking his free hand, he launched a fire spell, but the Heartless jerk its head to dodge the attack. Then, like a bee with its stinger, the Heartless descended towards Luigi with its tail out, ready to turn him into a shish kabob.

Luigi put the handle of his hammer up to block the tip of its tail. Taking a free hand, he launched a fire spell directly in the creature’s eyes, blinding it. He then smacked the Heartless’ cheek with his hammer, followed by ramming it straight into the creature’s chest, and then swept it off its feet; the Heartless fell onto the floor.

Meanwhile, Yoshi called upon his greatest weapon – his long tongue, and wrapped it around the red Heartless’ arm. No matter how much it struggled, the tongue would not concede. But, unfortunately, the Heartless still had the use of its free hand, and it launched a fire spell. Yoshi quickly released his grip, falling onto his side. But he was not about to let the Heartless escape. He stuck out his tongue again; this time it wrapped around the Heartless’ leg.

It tried flying away, but Yoshi refused to let go. The Heartless put every ounce of strength into its wings; it thought they were going to become numb from the sheer amount of exertion. Still, Yoshi refused to loosen his slimy grip. Finally, Yoshi pulled the Heartless towards him and headbutted it in the chest; it flew straight across the room. He ran over to the Heartless, leaped into the air, and performed his butt stomp attack on its stomach, causing the once savage creature to howl in pain.

Yoshi leaped off the Heartless and devoured it in one complete gulp. Moment later, it emerged from the other end as an egg – the usual proof of Yoshi’s victory. He hopped onto the egg and crushed it beneath his red shoes. The dinosaur’s triumph was soon swept away by the sound of Sora’s agonizing shout. He jerked his heads towards the distressing sound, and saw the bird creature knock Sora onto the ground.

Soreness had covered Sora’s body from head to toe. He was able to sit up, although fatigue had clamped against his entire body, refusing to loosen its iron grip. Strains of hot sweat dripped down his forehead; Sora thought his chest was going to melt from the burning sensation he felt with each breath taken.

The creature opened its beak, preparing to launch another bomb. With no time to lose, Yoshi rolled into a ball again and, to Sora’s horror, leaped in front of the incoming bomb, taking the full force of the hit.

Sora felt time come to an abrupt halt, forcing him to watch the dreadful sight in excruciating detail. Yoshi emerged from the egg with burn marks tainting his once bright, youthful skin. Like a ragdoll, his body crashed onto the ground. Sora felt his mouth say Yoshi’s name, but he couldn’t hear the words. His mind was drowning in an ocean of distress, and it sunk deeper as he stared in disbelief at Yoshi’s motionless body.

Luigi heard the commotion and spun around to see Yoshi, too. His stomach expanded in absolute dread. He wanted run over to him, but the blue flying Heartless blocked his path. His stunned emotions soon ignited into enraged flames. No one was going to stop him from helping his best buddy. He delivered a furious swing, knocking the Heartless back, and pursued it.

Sora found a gust of strength (whether through adrenaline or ignoring the weakness in his body), stood up, and sprinted over to Yoshi. He placed a hand underneath the dinosaur’s neck, lifting it up with gentle care. Sora felt his hands tremble with a wild assortment of negative emotions; guilt was the most prominent. Someone he had barely known for a day risked his life for him.

Sora felt a small stroke of relief rub his back as Yoshi opened his dark blue eyes. He was exhausted, but still managed to brighten up the room with a small smile.

“Did…Did Yoshi do good?”

Sora managed a smile, too. “Very good.”

Yoshi fainted from the overwhelming exhaustion. Panicked, Sora checked his pulse. It was faint, but that’s all he needed to put his heart at ease. At least for the moment. Sora turned around to face the bird-like creature. It started at him with unblinking, apathetic eyes. Sora felt his emotions assemble into a seething rage. Yoshi was so young; so innocent. He didn’t deserve to have his life destroyed by this uncaring monster.

Sora rose to his feet and gripped the handle of his Keyblade in anger. The wheels in his mind sped down a single track of revenge.

“You’re going to pay for hurting my friend!” Sora shouted.

The blue Heartless escaped from Luigi’s grasp and flew right for Sora.

“Look out!” Luigi said.

With one fierce swing, Sora split the Heartless right in half, ending its existence faster than the blink of an eye. A warm sensation traveled through Sora’s arms, eventually reaching his Keyblade; it was encased in a bright orange glow. He ran straight at the creature, unleashing a flurry of powerful, unavoidable strikes. The Heartless was helpless against the unbearable pain raging through its body. But its punishment was about to reach a horrible climax.

After stabbing the creature in the chest – which induced a scream of anguish – he leaped back and defied all logic by floating into the air. He pointed the Keyblade straight at it; the tip emitted a giant orange sphere.

Upon releasing the energy like a gun, it dispersed into a spiral of magical projectiles that obliterated the Heartless.

Luigi’s felt his jaw drop from the sheer power of Sora’s attack. “How did you do that?”

“Not sure,” Sora said, taking a deep breath. “But that’s the least of our problems now.”

He gestured towards Yoshi. Worry for their friend started to rebroadcast in their heads. Luigi pressed his ear against the dinosaur’s chest. A faint heartbeat whispered to him in reassurance; but it didn’t quell his anxiety. He had no idea how much damage Yoshi had sustained. There was a chance that – and he hated letting this thought cross his mind – the heartbeat would be silenced forever unless they did something.

Luigi was overtaken by a wave of hysteria. Many of his jumbled thoughts on the situation couldn’t be contained, and he was shouting them out in rapid succession. He said things likes, “Bringing him along was a huge mistake!” or “Can we get him back to the ship in time?”

Sora’s voice broke through the wave of disorder. “Listen! I know your upset, but panicking isn’t doing him any favors right now!”

“How can I not!?” Luigi said, snapping at him. “He means the world to me! I already have to deal with the fact that my brother is missing! And now I can’t bear the thought of—”

“I know, I know,” Sora said. He placed an assuring hand on Luigi’s shoulder. “But if we act now, we can save him. I’ll do whatever I can to help. I owe him one, after all.”

Luigi stared into Sora’s determined blue eyes, and felt a sense of confidence restrain his anxious mood. Perhaps there was no reason to be too worried. He had an extra pair of hands to help him out of this predicament.

“Okay.” Luigi exhaled to regain his focus. “Thanks.”

Before a plan could be formulated, they were startled by the deafening sound of an explosion. The two noticed a huge cloud of debris had covered the exit. An uneasy chill started climbing up their spines, and it moved faster when they heard footsteps pierce through the peaceful silence.

A silhouette of a tall person appeared from within the cloud, with their sights sets on three unsuspecting targets.

Description

Chapter 11: Exploring a Forsaken Planet

Sora had claimed the front seat from Yoshi, and leaned back to take in the sights before him. An array of colorful buttons, switches, and nobs on the control panel blinked at him. On the left side of the panel was a monitor, which was used as a radar, and to keep in contact with the robots down below.

For a moment, Sora’s inner child wanted to fiddle around with the controls. But his rationale, older side knew that doing so would end this journey before it even started (from either crashing the ship or incurring Luigi’s wrath; that was opened to interpretation).

He then leaned forward, squeezing his hands together in anticipation. Luigi sat down in the pilot’s seat, pressed a few buttons, and started the engine, which let out a prideful roar. Sora felt his body tense in excitement as the ship hovered into the air. Soon, Luigi engaged the thrusters, and they flew into space.

Gravity pushed Sora against his seat; it felt like a giant foot was crushing his chest. At first, the feeling was uncomfortable. He thought his insides would be grinded like coffee beans. However, an exhilarating sense of speed cushioned that crushing sensation. Not even the fastest roller coaster gave him this much excitement.

But no sooner did he start enjoying the ride, the ship slowed down upon reaching the black void of space. Sora exhaled as he sat back in his seat from the trip; his body was trying to process the incredible rush it just experienced. But his mind was focused on something else:

Stars.

Everywhere he looked, stars smiled back at him with a warm glow of light. He had never felt this close to them before. As a kid he conceptualized outlandish plans to reach them – one of them involved tying a copious number of balloons around his waist and float into space. Of course, a child’s imagination was restrained by the unbreakable vines of reality. But his journey so far had burned those vines straight into debris. Here he was, flying through space, just a little bit closer to the stars.

He placed his hands against the cockpit’s window and continued staring in amazement.

“Wow,” Sora said. “This is incredible. It’s…beautiful.”

Sora felt the elated air rush out of his chest, once again left with a sad, hallow hole inside.

“Wish Riku and Kairi were here to see this…”

“You really miss them, huh?” Isabelle asked with a sympathetic look in her eyes.

Sora nodded.

“No worries,” Yoshi said. “When Sora find them, he can show them this view himself.”

“And this is our first-time traveling, too,” Isabelle said. “We’re all viewing it together.”

Sora felt a bit better from their words. “Yeah. Of course.”

The calming silence was interrupted by an ear shattering alarm. Sora, upon covering his ears, looked around in a panic.

“What’s happening!?” Sora asked.

Luigi brought up the monitor, which displayed a standard green radar. Red circles started moving across the screen from the east.

Luigi felt nervous sweat tickle his brow. “We’ve got company!”

“I take it they aren’t friendly,” Sora said.

“Let’s put it this way,” Luigi said: “Heartless aren’t limited to the ground.”

Sora gulped. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me…”

He looked out the windows to notice a most unsettling sight; various ships made from the same material were flying right towards them. And unlike the colorful design of their ship, these ones were painted with dark colors – a color scheme best suited for the denizens of darkness.

“Since when did the Heartless have a license to fly?” Sora asked in complete bafflement.

Yoshi hid behind Sora’s seat. “What we do now?”

“We take them down!” Luigi said, finding his courage. He flipped two lids off each side of his steering wheel, revealing red buttons. “This ship is equipped with the finest weaponry for dealing with airborne Heartless! But it’s gonna get rough! You guys buckle up!”

Everyone did as Luigi instructed. Isabelle was the first to strap in, and wished she had more belts to wrap around herself. Sora noticed Luigi’s hands trembling; he assumed this was his first time fighting against other ships. Sora had to help Luigi focus, or else their chances for surviving this battle would plummet into single digits.

“Hey, you can do this,” Sora said. “Don’t let the Heartless intimidate you. They’re about as bright as coconuts. You can fly circles around them!”

“O-Okay,” Luigi said. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Appreciate the encouragement. Gotta stay positive. Think of this like a video game.”

Isabelle, trying her hardest suppress a panic attack, said, “Except we have only one life.”

“And if we lose,” Yoshi said, “it game over, pal!”

Everyone glared at him for his overdramatic delivery of that statement.

“Too much, huh?” Yoshi asked.

The ship vibrated from the powerful hit of a laser. Luigi glowered at the ship responsible for the attack. Sora’s right; he wasn’t going to be outsmarted by a group of Heartless ships. His skills far exceeded them.

“Okay!” Luigi said with blazing confidence. “That’s it! You’re all history! Hang on! We’re taking a ride into the danger zone!”

Sora and Yoshi braced themselves in their seats, while Isabelle shielded her eyes, not wanting to see how they meet their gruesome end. Luigi flew the ship straight at the Heartless, destroying it with his own laser blast. As the Heartless exploded, Luigi spun the ship to the right, avoiding the aftershock. Another ship flew straight towards them. With little time to fire, Luigi leaned the ship to the left, making the Heartless fly right underneath it.

Luigi looked over his shoulder to see another one pursuing them. Ahead of them was an asteroid. Perfect, he thought. Luigi flew straight for it, making sure to decrease his speed so that the Heartless was on their tail. When they were close enough, Luigi dove the ship under the asteroid. The Heartless had no time to react as it collided with the massive, indestructible rock.

Sora continued shouting words of encouragement to keep Luigi’s confidence from meeting the same fate as that Heartless. It was good to have a wingman, Luigi thought. He felt like he wasn’t alone in this fight. Ahead of them was another Heartless. After firing its lasers, Luigi titled the ship left to dodge the attack, and countered with his own attack, hitting it dead center.

Things seemed to be going their way in this fight. For the moment, at least. They felt a Heartless ram into the ship, sending them spinning through space. Sora glanced up to notice a second ship firing from above them.

“Look out!” he cried.

Luigi spun the wheel in such a way to avoid the blast. He had to regain control if they had any hopes of staying alive. Isabelle felt like her insides were bouncing around like stones in a maraca. She couldn’t deal with the overwhelming stress any longer.

“Okay!” she shouted. “I admit it! Back in high school I had to wear a flea collar for a week! Just let me live through this!”

Isabelle opened her eyes to notice Sora and Yoshi giving her perplexed expressions, and she covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Oops, didn’t mean to say that one out loud,” she said.

After steering the wheel in every which direction, Luigi finally regained control of the ship. He fired a laser right into the ship pursuing them. Then, he rammed the ship into the other Heartless that fired at them from above earlier; it flew straight into an asteroid.

“Time to give this asteroid a new crater!” Luigi said.

He fired his laser, destroying the final ship. It seemed that the battle was over. Heartless ships had ceased their pursuit. The endless stretch of space appeared to be at peace once more. Luigi felt his emotions spin through a blender; they were mixed with pride, relief, and astonishment that they survived with their heads intact.

“Everyone okay?” Luigi asked moments later.

After a moment of stunned silence, Sora said, “That…was…awesome! You showed those guys!”

“Well, thanks,” Luigi said, blushing. “My brother’s shown me how to fly before.”

Sora leaned into him with an eager grin. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

Luigi’s moment of triumph was ruptured by a foreseeable, dreadful future of Sora placing his hands on the steering wheel.

“We’ll see,” Luigi said.

Sora moaned. “Aw, come on!”

“Look, let me drive for now,” Luigi said. He gestured towards the back. “At least until Isabelle stops having a heart attack every time we fly.”

Sora turned to see Isabelle sitting in the beetle position, swaying back and forth to lessen the shaken nerves rummaging through her fur. Her face was frozen in a picture of pure fright; if her eyes could widen anymore, they would’ve fallen out of her sockets. Yoshi gently tapped her shoulder to elicit a response.

A sense of guilt overtook his desire to fly the ship (for the moment, anyways). He didn’t want someone as kind and gentle as Isabelle to go through a constant tornado of panic.

“Deal,” Sora said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

While Sora and Yoshi helped Isabelle out of her frightened state, Luigi opened the 3DS and checked the radar for any signs of a Star Spirit. From within the dark depths of the sky, a sparkling light of good fortune rained on top of his cap.

“Hey, there’s a Star Spirit nearby!” Luigi pointed out the window. “Right on that planet!”

Everyone glanced out with him to see a giant orange planet coming into view; and as they got closer, their jaws dropped at its sheer dominating size. Seeing a world from the outside was a whole new experience for Sora. He gazed at every detail of the planet; orange and yellow spirals were imprinted on the planet’s surface.

Luigi felt somewhat uneasy about entering this world. The planet didn’t exhibit the same warm, friendly colors of Traverse Town. Or even the lush green landscapes of his kingdom. But landing on the world was not of his own volition; the 3DS confirmed that the Star Spirit was concealed somewhere within its intimidating surface. They had no choice.

“Well, let’s-a-go,” Luigi said.

The ship began its careful decent into the world’s atmosphere.

--

Planet Zebes – not just a world, but a relic lost to time. Once, it flourished. Proud, wise voices echoed throughout the various catacombs. A blanket of healthy vegetation covered the jagged surface. Mountains looked down on this prosperous world with pride. It listened to the peaceful voices echo throughout the landscapes.

But one day, those voices were silenced forever.

Now the mountains were forced to stare at a barren wasteland; acid rain slid down its formation like tears of anguish. The blanket of grass had been ripped to shreds, replaced by uneven, rocky grounds. Small strips of grass and plants peeked out from within the earth, scattered throughout the surface – no longer a dominant force that gave the planet life.

If it wasn’t for the illumination of the stars, the planet would’ve been suffocated by a thick sheet of darkness. But, for the first time in ages, the bright lights emitted from the Labo Ship brought back a sliver of life to the world.

Yoshi’s excitement withered away into the world’s quiet atmosphere. “What kind of world is this? Where people? Where houses? Most importantly, where exotic food?”

“There’s always the possibility that not all worlds are inhabitable,” Isabelle said.

“Absolutely,” Luigi said. “It’s not going to make our journey any easier, though. Let’s just be careful out there.”

Sora stood up from his seat, punching the palm of his hand in enthusiasm. Despite the eerie nature of this world, it didn’t damper his spirits. Everything was still fresh and new to him. To Sora, this was a challenge that would test his skills as an explorer. This world was an enigma; he wanted to see if he could unravel its secrets.

“Right!” Sora said. “I’m just excited to be here! Never seen a place quite like this before! Let’s go check it out!”

Sora didn’t get far, as Yoshi tackled him to the ground.

“That wasn’t necessary, Yosh,” Sora said, grunting from the pain.

Yoshi let out a nervous giggle. “Oops.”

As the two stood back up, Luigi said, “We have to check the world’s atmosphere first. It may be toxic.”

Sora rubbed his head for overlooking that detail. “Erm, good point.”

The ship was installed with a scanner that surveyed the entire area for anything harmful in the atmosphere. They waited as low beeps chattered throughout the ship; and then it was proceeded by a loud, obnoxious buzzing sound. Luigi read the results on the monitor; just from the look in his eyes, Sora could tell the results weren’t favorable.

“Yep,” Luigi said. “It’s not safe. We’re gonna need some protection for this world.”

Luigi opened a glove compartment right underneath the control panel, and pulled out a mushroom. But it wasn’t like any mushroom Sora had seen before. In fact, it appeared bigger than the average mushroom; Luigi needed both hands to hold it. It had a yellow round cap with giant white spots.

But one prominent feature twisted Sora’s stomach into a disconcerted knot. “Does anyone else notice eyes on that…mushroom?

“Yeah,” Yoshi said; he was nonchalant. “So?”

“Never mind,” Sora said, refusing to inquire further for his sanity’s sake.

“Our world contains plenty of different mushrooms,” Luigi said. “Each one grants someone a unique power when eaten. This one is called an ‘Atmo-shroom.’ For twenty-four hours, we’ll be immune to the world’s harmful atmosphere. But we have to get the job done. No fooling around!”

“Why Luigi always look at me when he say that?” Yoshi said with a defensive expression on his face.

Sora couldn’t help but find the humor in Mushroom’s properties. It reminded him of that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland book again.

“A magic mushroom, huh?” Sora grinned. “Do you have mushrooms that make you shrink and grow?”

“Sure,” Yoshi said. “They called Super Mushrooms and Mini Mushrooms.”

Sora wiped his forehead from Yoshi’s earnest response. With each passing moment, the ridiculous nature of this journey spun down a sink of insanity. Everyone, except for Isabelle, took a piece and swallowed them (Sora looked away from the mushroom as he chewed his piece; those small beady eyes stared into his soul with a sparkle of guilt).

Once swallowed, Sora felt a delicate warmth flow throughout his body like a summer’s wind. It was comforting; for a moment, he even felt relaxed. But he had to shake those droplets of serenity off his skin. If Sora was going to find Riku and Kairi, he needed to stay focused. Luigi set his watch, while Isabelle pulled out the Wii Stream, eager to start recording every single detail in her journal.

With preparations complete, Sora and his new friends disembarked the ship.

--

An enraged chill filled the tranquil air. Anyone setting foot on the planet would’ve been shaking faster than a rattlesnake’s tail. But thanks to the Atmo-shroom’s magic, the trio were immune to the bitter cold’s relentless assault. Sora continued to take in the fascinating sights this world had to offer.

“Can’t wait to see what we’ll find here,” Sora said. “Wait, what about the ship? Won’t it be unprotected?”

Luigi pulled out the 3DS and pressed a few buttons. “Not to worry. The ship has a built-in clocking device.”

Sora watched with unblinking eyes of astonishment as the ship vanished right in front of him.

“Unwelcomed guests will never even touch it,” Luigi said with pride in his eyes.

“So cool!” Sora said. A leap in logic soon landed on his head. “How come we didn’t use that against the Heartless ships?”

“Because they can still sense”—Luigi tapped his chest. “And using it while flying just wastes more energy.”

“Gotcha,” Sora said.

Using the 3DS as a guide, they walked straight ahead towards the mountains. The uneven ground forced them to be considerate of each step (Luigi did tend to trip). At some points, they had to climb up small hills, and then jump off a ledge at the top to land on the ground. While Sora was excited to explore this world, a slow feeling of apprehension intercepted his pleasant mood with a troubling thought:

Where are the Heartless?

After their battle in space, he half expected a swarm to be waiting in delight on Zebes’ dry surface. Should he be thankful, or should he be concerned? He didn’t want to think about it. His instincts told him to be prepared for the unexpected. That was only advice he could scribble onto his mind for now.

They continued walking for what seemed like eternity. The mountains grew taller at small intervals. There was no time to rest – time itself was their greatest foe. Ahead of them was a small cave resting at the base of the mountains. Luigi felt his legs tremble. He knew there was no other way around the mountains.

“Of course it’s towards a dark, spooky cave,” Luigi said in annoyance. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Before they could venture into the mountains’ maw, Luigi and Sora heard a growling sound coming from right behind them. Luigi’s anxiety was prepared to leap over the mountains.

“Like I said: wouldn’t have it any other way!” Luigi said in a panic. “Dark, spooky cave here I come!”

Sora placed his hand on Luigi’s shoulder. “Chill out. It’s just Yoshi.”

The two turned to notice Yoshi growling at a rock formation far off in the distance. His sharp, angry eyes would’ve cut the rocks in half.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked.

Yoshi pointed towards the formation. “Me thought me saw something move over there.”

Sora walked a little bit towards the formation, taking a long, hard look at it. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary; it shared the lifeless agony of the planet.

“I don’t see anything,” Sora said.

Luigi sighed in aggravation. “Just great. I needed a good warm up scare before the real scary stuff.”

“But me honestly thought something was there,” Yoshi said, defensive. “It ran behind rock.”

“Even if something’s there,” Luigi said, “we don’t have time to investigate. We’re on borrowed time, after all.”

Yoshi thought about his statement for a moment. He was adamant that he saw a someone over there, but knew Luigi was correct: for every moment they lingered, another second was shaved off their time.

Swallowing his strong feelings, Yoshi said, “Okay, Luigi. Let’s go through cave.”

Luigi turned back to the cave, remembering that they had to walk through its intimidating throat. He felt his knees buckle from the nerves.

“Ye-Yes, r-right,” Luigi said, stuttering with fear. “O-Onward to the Star Spirit!”

Luigi marched with slow and stiff leg movements towards the cave.

Sora just stared at him with a raised eyebrow of confusion. “What’s his problem? That didn’t seem like no happy jig.”

“He scared of everything. Sora get used to it.”

Sora had a strong suspicion that, given Luigi’s terrified demeanor, it would be awhile before he that happened. He and Yoshi followed Luigi into cave, staying alert for any vicious creatures that dwelled within its dark catacombs.

A mysterious figure walked out from behind the formation; he wore a familiar gray hood. His eyes were as sharp as knives, and they were pointed straight at the three explorers.

--

If Luigi’s heart was exposed, the sound of its rapid beats would reverberate throughout the cave. He felt so nervous, but had to stay focused on their mission. Hightailing it for the ship was impossible (despite every urge clamoring for him to do so). At least he had comforting in knowing the others were with him. Deciding to put his magic to good use, Sora created a small flame in the palm of his hand; it served as an excellent light source.

The only sounds heard were their own footsteps echoing throughout the chambers; and they listened carefully to make sure theirs were the only sounds heard. It wasn’t too long before the trio found the exit, and arrived in another rocky area. Luigi felt the weight in his chest lighten.

As they continued forward, Luigi pulled out the 3DS and glared at it.

“Looks like we’re on the right track,” Luigi said. “We just have to keep going—”

He ran straight into a large metal object and fell over. After sitting up, he rubbed his nose. Exasperated, he glanced up at the object he ran into.

“Some people are so inconsiderate about where they park their spaceship.” Luigi rubbed his nose again. Then, he gave the object a double look in surprise. “A spaceship!?”

Everyone glanced up to see the spaceship in question; their jaws dropped from its impressive design. It was coated with bright yellow paint, and its cockpit was concealed within a dark green window.

“Whoa!” Sora said. “Check that out! It’s even bigger than our ship!”

Luigi felt his pride get kicked straight in the shin. He lowered his cap and blushed. “Well, size isn’t everything.”

“Think someone inside?” Yoshi asked.

Sora walked over to the center of the ship, cupped both hands over his mouth, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hello! Anyone home!? We could use some directions!”

Luigi placed a finger to his mouth. “Shh! We don’t want to draw attention!”

“Why not?” Sora asked, confused. “Maybe someone knows where the Star Spirit is.”

“We can’t go about telling them about the Star Spirits, or where we’re from. It will disrupt the world order if they know a thing about us.”

Sora opened his mouth to protest, but Luigi’s tongue was quicker on the draw. “Besides, it looks like no one’s home. Let’s just keep moving. The Duel Scream will tell us where to go.”

Sora felt unsure at first. He remembered that Luigi briefed him yesterday on their involvement in other worlds. But what was the harm in asking for a bit of help? It didn’t make sense to him – frustration was pounding on his stomach like a hammer. Then again, he and his friends thought building a raft was the missing piece in the puzzle to visiting other worlds; unfortunately, that piece belonged in a different box.

Sora felt his shoulders lower in defeat. Luigi seemed much more knowledgeable on the laws of world traveling. For now, he would have to trust his judgement, no matter how much logic tried raising its hand from within the crowd of his mind.

Sora shrugged. “Okay. If you say so.”

After taking another gander at the ship in admiration, the trio continued forward, putting their faith in a small handheld device. It wasn’t long before they encountered something else that piqued their interest: a mechanical door in the shape of a hexagon. Lines divided the panel into six triangle pieces. A baby blue glow surrounded the outer layer of the door.

“Well, look at that,” Luigi said, somewhat surprised. “That door seems like its functional. Maybe there are people living behind it.”

“Think they’d be okay with us barging in like this?”

Luigi glanced back at the 3DS. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice. The signal is getting stronger.”

Yoshi approached the door, knocked on it, and, in an instant, it opened. Tension rumbled beneath their feet. They didn’t know what awaited them behind this door. Keeping a firm grip on their courage, they stepped through, beginning their decent into the planet’s innards.

Unbeknownst to them, a small, circular camera was eyeing their every move behind its lifeless lens.

---

Behind that lens – watching from a dark computer room – were a pair of menacing, calculated eyes. These eyes have seen war, destruction, and death; and they took pleasure in watching every single grotesque detail. It was none other than the leader of the Space Pirates: Ridley. He sat in his chair, watching the three intruders descend into the dangerous depths of the planet.

His sharp tail pounded the ground like a drum; he was deep in thought.

“Well, this is an interesting development,” he said. “Seems like your friends have come to save you.”

The room was faintly lit by computer monitors and flashing buttons. But in the corner of the room, light could just barley reach the corner. Huddled in that corner, locked away in a cage, was the Star Spirit Mamar. She shivered in fear – not for herself, but for Sora and his friends. They were lost rabbits wandering into the fox’s den, unaware of their inevitable fate by his sharp fangs.

“You soulless beast!” Mamar said in anger, though her voice trembled. “What are you planning to do to those young ones?”

Ridley turned to face the captive Star Sprit. His sharp teeth brightened the room with a red tint. She could feel his harsh, warm breath disperse into the vicinity.

“Why, not a thing,” he said. His grin widened. “The dangers of this filthy planet will end their meaningless existence. I will be sure to let you know when that has come fruition. Definitely won’t be long.”

Mamar felt herself sink into the cold metal floor of the cage. Being helpless was the worst form of torture; all she could do was watch, unable to make her voice heard. Her vision turned into a mesh of watercolors from the tears. She prayed to the stars above the three would be able to make it through the planet unscathed. It was the only thing that gave her assurance, and she refused to let go.

A stern beeping noise interrupted the quiet mood. Ridley’s face turned from confident to somewhat perturbed in an instant. He knew who was calling him, and he didn’t want to disappoint them. Upon taking a deep breath, he pressed a few buttons. A female voice spoke up on the other end. Something was peculiar about it: it didn’t sound natural. Instead, it sounded distorted, with mixtures of daunting hisses placed between each word.

“Ridley, what is the status of our little one?” the voice asked.

“Growing stronger with each passing moment, my lord,” Ridley said.

“And what of my secret weapon?”

“Is near completion. We still need a viable power source to get it operational.” He glanced at Mamar. “And I believe Bowser’s little gift should suffice.”

The Star Spirit pressed her back against the bars in fear.

“Ridley, these Heartless that Bowser has to graciously given to us – are they reliable as you say they are? So far they’ve been unsuccessful in disposing of our old friend.”

Ridley winced in disappointment, but regained his composure. “Patients, my lord. Our friend has yet to see how powerful these creatures are truly capable of.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” the voice said, growing irritated, but remaining firm, “and I grow tired of being reassured! Two of our top generals have already been slaughtered by that meddler! Do you think I’d be ecstatic to be defeated again!? No! It’d be demeaning! I’ve given you another chance at life – don’t make me regret my decision!”

Before Ridley could respond, the audio transmission ended. His mind was overcome with terror. He didn’t want to go back there – to be lost in the vacuum of space again, and hear your own heartbeat. But his moment of fear soon melted into a boiling pot of anger. The lid was ready to pop from the furious bubbles.

He slammed his claws onto the control panel. His mind’s eye was lost in an empty room of darkness. Suddenly, a small child appeared from within the endless void, standing in the distance. An overwhelming green glow covered the child’s eyes, and she flew straight at Ridley, snapping him out of daydream.

His thoughts ran down a spiraling trail: Why didn’t I kill her when I had the chance? She was a pathetic, helpless child. Even a rat wouldn’t hesitate to approach her. Now, she’s my shadow, and won’t disappear unless I do first.

He pressed a few buttons on the control panel to bring up an image on the screen. Those moments of dread were whisked away by a reassuring wind. On screen was the key to making this person he despised vanish forever; which ensured him his rightful place as the most feared Space Pirate in the galaxy.

His thoughts were now walking down a single calm path: Doesn’t matter. Once our secret weapon is unleashed, no one in the universe can stop us.

Ridley was watching a jellyfish-like creature float around in a giant tube; it was hungry for flesh.

And I will enjoy listening to that Galactic Federation reject’s pleas for death.

---

Behind the hexagonal door’s mouth was its esophagus – another dark cave. This one, however, descended towards the world’s stomach. At first, Sora and Luigi’s fire illuminated the dark catacombs. Then they noticed metal tubes and wires festering inside of mother nature’s design. Lights hung over their heads; they were able to relinquish their magic’s duty in keeping the cave lit.

As they descended further, they witnessed the cave’s transformation into an artificial corridor infected by various mechanical and electrical structures. Low humming noises disrupted the once peaceful silence of the catacombs. Everyone stayed alert for any signs of life; with so much artificial power flowing through the planet’s arteries, they assumed someone had to be residing within it. But there was a chance that hostile creatures also meandered throughout the tunnels

After traversing through more corridors, they arrived at a wide-opened area. Surrounding them were more hexagonal doors. Some stood on the ground level; others were on platforms high above them. And high above them were more platforms with doors.

Sora felt his stomach become as wide as the room itself. Where does one even start looking? Luigi, however, remained resolved, because the 3DS would filter out those unwanted decisions like an air purifier. Pulling out his secret weapon, Luigi noticed the signal growing stronger at the door above them. Floating platforms hovered over their heads, which made ascending the room much easier.

Upon entering the next room, they traveled down another corridor. And came across a dead end. Luigi’s once rocklike resolve was starting to get chipped away by a pickaxe of concern. They returned to the entrance, tried another door, and were met with the same results. They continued for some time until that pickaxe whittled their spirits away into tiny pebbles.

When they exited the next door, looking crestfallen, the three sat down on the platform to take a short reprieve.

“How many doors we’ve been in?” Yoshi asked.

Sora shrugged. “Dunno. I lost count after ending up at a dead end for the third time.”

“Is it just me,” Luigi said, “or did that last area look the same as the one before? The interior decorators must’ve been lazy when designing these rooms.”

Sora sighed in annoyance. “One thing’s for sure: The Dual Scream sure did a fine job showing us where to go.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Luigi said, feeling insulted. “How was I supposed to know it would lead us to a maze!?”

Yoshi did his best to channel out their arguing. Even he knew it wouldn’t do them any good. Checking each room would be more productive at least. As he scanned the area, he heard strange noises coming from a platform parallel to them. His eyes met with multicolored, plant-like creatures. They were hovering around a small metal object.

“Hey, check it out!” Yoshi said.

The two followed Yoshi’s finger to the creatures on the platform. Sora felt an excited explosion in his chest, as he recognized them.

“We find intelligent life!” Yoshi said in excitement. “Think they know a good place to eat?”

“Can you get your brain out of your stomach for one minute?” Luigi asked. “Maybe these creatures know a way through this place.”

“Actually, those are the missing Pikmin,” Sora said. “I can’t believe we found them here! What are the chances? Olimar and Louie will be thrilled.”

Sora hopped onto the platform, which startled the Pikmin in the process. They were overcome with fear as this giant person loomed over them. Sora kneeled to them, and put on a gentle smile.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sora said with a soft, comforting tone in his voice. “I’m not gonna hurt ya. You’re looking for Captain Olimar, right?”

The Pikmin’s eyes lit up upon hearing that name. In an instant, that weight of fear evaporated into a relaxed puff of steam. Growing curious about their new friend, the Pikmin walked over to him, and took at gander at his face, taking in every detail.

“Well, I’m here to take you to him,” Sora said. “He’s been awfully worried about you guys.”

Their curious expressions were overtaken by a mixture of elation and relief. A few of the Pikmin grabbed the metal object and brought it over for Sora to see. It appeared to be a metal bolt of some kind.

“Whatchya got there?” Sora asked. “Is that one of the pieces to the captain’s ship?”

The Pikmin jumped up and down in response.

Sora grinned. “I’ll assume yes. This is great! Talk about being lucky. Just stick with us. We’ll take you to him when we get a chance.”

“What do we do with them for now?” Luigi asked. “We can’t go back to the ship. Not when we’re this far in. And we don’t want them to get them in harm’s way.”

Sora crossed his arms in thought. He felt a dark cloud of uncertainty hover over his head. But that cloud soon became a source of inspiration for an idea.

“Hey, what about the floaty cloud guy?” Sora asked. “Maybe he could hold onto them.”

Luigi chuckled at the ridiculous name. “You mean Lakitu, right? That’s a good idea.”

Luigi called Lakitu down and explained the situation to him; he was more than happy to help the group out of their predicament. Sora loaded the Pikmin and the missing ship piece onto the cloud. With a nod, Lakitu flew into the sky and resumed his recording. Sora felt a sense of accomplishment brighten the dimly lit facility.

They were on the right track to helping Olimar and Louie leave Traverse Town. He couldn’t bear the thought of being too late to save them. Regret is worse than having a scar; overtime, the pain from a scar vanishes, while regret lasts forever. It’s the worst kind of feeling.

Unfortunately, Luigi didn’t share Sora’s moment of satisfaction. His brow lowered from the incredible weight of disappointment.

“This has been a productive day for Pikmin hunting,” Luigi said. “Not so much for us. We’re nowhere close to finding the Star Spirit.”

Sora smiled. “Cheer up. We’ll have to come across it eventually. Let’s just keep moving. It’s all we can do.”

“Don’t remind me,” Luigi said.

As the group prepared to continue their long, arduous journey, they saw a Shadow Heartless appear by the entrance of a door adjacent to them; it crawled into the ground and went underneath the door. Three fresh hearts were right in front of the Heartless’ face, and yet it seemed to have better things to do.

“What you think it doing?” Yoshi asked.

“Anything but bothering us,” Luigi said. “An activity I highly approve of.”

Something didn’t feel right to Sora. Didn’t Heartless only appear when a heart was nearby? Was it attracted to something behind that door? He was being pelted by an airsoft gun loaded with questions; and there was only one way he’d be able to disarm it.

“So, this is going to sound crazy,” Sora said, “but we should follow that Heartless. If they chase after hearts, maybe it’ll lead us to someone.”

“You’re right,” Luigi said; “that does sound crazy.” He sighed. “But it’s the best lead we’ve had so far. So, you two go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

Luigi was met with a double dose of scowls from his friends. Without another word, the two walked behind the plumber and pushed him towards the door.

“C’mon, don’t you know a joke when you hear one?” Luigi asked with a nervous grin.

“We’ll let you know the next time one of us actually laughs,” Sora said with deadpan seeping in his voice.

Inside the room was another dead end. But it was a large area, mixed with rock structures, small strips of grass (that were somehow still alive despite being indoors), and more metal tubes. There was an object of interest that reached its claws out and grabbed the trio’s attention. Standing tall was a giant statue of a strange creature. Although it appeared humanoid, the face resembled that of a bird.

“Birdman!” Yoshi said.

Sora walked over to the statue and inspected every detail. Rust had invaded its once perfect coat, leaving brownish patches in its wake. He assumed that it must’ve been left to its lonely fate for many years. But it did confirm that a race of bird-like people used to inhabit this world. His inquiring mind started throwing questions at a dartboard. What were these people like? How did they live? And what caused them to abandon this world?

Or, did something else happen to them?

“Neat,” Sora said. “Guess that means this world was inhabited at some point, huh?”

“Well, I’ll tell you want thing,” Luigi said, looking deflated. “Coming in here was a mistake. All that to see an old statue. By now that Heartless must be long gone.”

Sora sunk both hands into his pockets. “Guess we’re back at square one, then.”

The three turned to face the door – and were met with an unexpected, concerning sight. A fog of darkness had covered it; with each passing second, the fog grew thicker, further obstructing their view of the only accessible exit. They weren’t just back at square one; they were somehow sinking into the board itself.

“And it just gotta a whole lot worse!” Luigi said; his nerves spiked into the ceiling.

Everyone looked around to see if there was another exit. Their hopes vanished into the dark fog.

“What we now?” Yoshi asked. “Me no go touch it.”

Sora felt a familiar chill brush across his skin. “It must’ve been created by the Heartless, so maybe the Keyblade can break through it.”

“Anything’s worth a try,” Luigi said. There was a frantic tone in his voice. “But be quick! Knowing our luck, that statue will come to life and start pecking at us.”

As Sora summoned the Keyblade, he glanced at Luigi with a raised eyebrow. “I think someone has an overactive imagination.”

“Says the guy wielding a giant key.”

Sora was about to open his mouth, but he realized Luigi was right. Anything seemed possible at this point. He was traveling with a talking dinosaur, after all. His perception of logic had shattered into broken pieces of glass. Sora held the Keyblade up towards the ruthless fog. He wasn’t sure what to do next. His train of thought had stepped into a puddle of glue, unable to move, unable to think of an idea.

But the Keyblade seemed to pick up the slack, as a small light appeared on the tip. It released a small beam of energy into the fog. Sora watched in amazement as the beam chipped away at the its dark form. The door started to emerge from within its murky depths.

“It’s working!” Sora said in excitement. “Shouldn’t be much longer!”

Yoshi gave Sora a jovial pat on the back in response. They’ve managed to step over a small hurdle in their journey.

But they had yet to realize that, beyond that hurtle was a huge mountain, fraught with danger.

Heartless had surrounded the bird statue, and they merged into its metal skin, covering it in a sheet of pure blackness. Cracks formed around the statue until it can no longer sustain itself. A creature broke through the shell, scattering its pieces onto the floor. The creature looked exactly like the statue – every detail was precise. But now, it swayed back and forth, regaining movement in its body.

The creature had dark purple skin, long legs, and long arms. It flexed its razor-sharp talons at the trio. There was only one feeling circulating through its tough skin:

Hunger.

The creature’s eyes opened to examine its prey, which took on the form of two gaping yellow holes; no matter how far you gazed into them, not a sliver of emotion would crawl out of it. They were filled with a savage desire to quell its insatiable appetite. The creature moved with slow, heavy steps towards its victims. Its talons curved in eager anticipation.

Luigi felt the hairs on his back rise from a sudden cold breeze breathing on him. Spinning around, he saw the menacing creature approach them. Fear had pinned his feet into the ground like nails through wood. He had never seen a creature more horrifying. And this was from the person who had traversed a haunted mansion.

One string of courage had not been plucked from his nerves; he used it to regain movement in his feet, hurried over to Yoshi, and grabbed his attention. However, Luigi’s larynx was entangled in a web of terror, so as he flailed his arms around in a panic; no words could break free from his mouth.

Yoshi titled his head in confusion at Luigi’s nonsensical dance moves. “You so jumpy. That it – Luigi switching to decaf from now one!”

Luigi rolled his eyes, grabbed Yoshi’s face, and directed him towards the creature. The dinosaur gasped in surprise.

“Statue a real bird now!” Yoshi cried out.

Sora had just finished vanquishing the fog when he heard Yoshi’s alarming – albeit perplexing – statement. He turned around to witness the creature’s motionless eyes stab as his calm demeanor like a steak knife; shock gushed straight out of it.

“You picked a fine time to be clairvoyant!” Sora said to Luigi.

Luigi’s prediction, while correct, was also a bad omen; and that omen took on the form of two Heartless appearing behind Sora. They appeared akin to Ridley in terms of body structure: giant wings, spiked tails, and slender builds. Although they were half of Ridley’s size; but they were still an imposing threat that made even the most robust of warriors sweat profusely.

There were two major differences between them and Ridley – one had light blue skin while the other was red. Embedded on their chests was a familiar heart-shaped insignia; those who gazed upon it would be subjected to the morbid sight of their heart being snatched away like an infant from its mother.

Yoshi alerted Sora to the Heartless’ presence. He spun around to see the two unleash a fire and ice spells from their claws. Sora caught the attacks with his blade, but the impact pushed him into the others, knocking them over like dominos. Everyone wasted no time in scrambling to their feet, and picking their fights.

The bird creature gained speed and brought its giant talon down on Sora, who put his blade up to catch the strike. Due to its massive weight, Sora struggled to push it upward. Instead, he took a chance and rolled under its legs. Upon getting into a kneeled position, he tried kicking its lower leg a few times, hoping to knock it over.

It didn’t even flinch.

Sora felt like he was kicking against a wall. No amount of force could budge it. The creature turned around and prepared to swing again. Sora hurried to his feet to avoid getting sliced faster than cheese. He then tried again with a thrust to the stomach. Unfortunately, the creature titled its torso left and caught Sora’s arm, then lifting it over his head. Sora felt his arm stretch out like putty; he was afraid that any second it was going to snap off his shoulder.

Soon, the uncomfortable stretching was exchanged for a painful kick in the chest, which knocked him back a great distance. Despite feeling like his chest got hit by a bowling ball, he had to keep fighting. He leaped onto his feet and noticed the creature leaning its head back, opening its beak wide. Out came yellow orbs the size of his head; they were falling right for him.

Sora leaped back onto higher ground, just narrowly missing the orbs explode.

“Oh, so you’ve got some firepower on ya, huh?” Sora said. “Well, two can play at this game!”

Sora pointed his Keyblade straight at the creature.

“Fire!” he shouted.

A fireball emerged from the tip and flew right for the creature’s face. It spewed out another bomb to counter; when both collided, a miniature explosion blinded the creature for a moment. Sora took this chance to leap high into the air and bring his blade down again. Disappointment pressed against Sora’s shoulders as the creature puts its talons up to catch his attack. Sora pushed off the talons and flipped onto the ground.

Upon landing, Sora caught a glimpse of the creature’s chest. Compared to the rest of body, it appeared to be soft. Was that its weakness? Sora leaned back to avoid a strike from its left talon and deflected its right with his blade. Seeing an opening, he launched a fire spell right into his chest. An ear shattering screech of pain rattled Sora’s ear drums as the creature grasped at its chest from the intense burning sensation.

Before Sora could go on the offense, the creature recovered quicker than expected and rammed its head into him. He was able to put his Keyblade up to take the full force of the attack, and slid back a few feet. Sora gritted his teeth in frustration; this Heartless was resilient.

Luigi spun his hammer around to deflect incoming ice attacks from the flying blue Heartless. Taking his free hand, he launched a fire spell, but the Heartless jerk its head to dodge the attack. Then, like a bee with its stinger, the Heartless descended towards Luigi with its tail out, ready to turn him into a shish kabob.

Luigi put the handle of his hammer up to block the tip of its tail. Taking a free hand, he launched a fire spell directly in the creature’s eyes, blinding it. He then smacked the Heartless’ cheek with his hammer, followed by ramming it straight into the creature’s chest, and then swept it off its feet; the Heartless fell onto the floor.

Meanwhile, Yoshi called upon his greatest weapon – his long tongue, and wrapped it around the red Heartless’ arm. No matter how much it struggled, the tongue would not concede. But, unfortunately, the Heartless still had the use of its free hand, and it launched a fire spell. Yoshi quickly released his grip, falling onto his side. But he was not about to let the Heartless escape. He stuck out his tongue again; this time it wrapped around the Heartless’ leg.

It tried flying away, but Yoshi refused to let go. The Heartless put every ounce of strength into its wings; it thought they were going to become numb from the sheer amount of exertion. Still, Yoshi refused to loosen his slimy grip. Finally, Yoshi pulled the Heartless towards him and headbutted it in the chest; it flew straight across the room. He ran over to the Heartless, leaped into the air, and performed his butt stomp attack on its stomach, causing the once savage creature to howl in pain.

Yoshi leaped off the Heartless and devoured it in one complete gulp. Moment later, it emerged from the other end as an egg – the usual proof of Yoshi’s victory. He hopped onto the egg and crushed it beneath his red shoes. The dinosaur’s triumph was soon swept away by the sound of Sora’s agonizing shout. He jerked his heads towards the distressing sound, and saw the bird creature knock Sora onto the ground.

Soreness had covered Sora’s body from head to toe. He was able to sit up, although fatigue had clamped against his entire body, refusing to loosen its iron grip. Strains of hot sweat dripped down his forehead; Sora thought his chest was going to melt from the burning sensation he felt with each breath taken.

The creature opened its beak, preparing to launch another bomb. With no time to lose, Yoshi rolled into a ball again and, to Sora’s horror, leaped in front of the incoming bomb, taking the full force of the hit.

Sora felt time come to an abrupt halt, forcing him to watch the dreadful sight in excruciating detail. Yoshi emerged from the egg with burn marks tainting his once bright, youthful skin. Like a ragdoll, his body crashed onto the ground. Sora felt his mouth say Yoshi’s name, but he couldn’t hear the words. His mind was drowning in an ocean of distress, and it sunk deeper as he stared in disbelief at Yoshi’s motionless body.

Luigi heard the commotion and spun around to see Yoshi, too. His stomach expanded in absolute dread. He wanted run over to him, but the blue flying Heartless blocked his path. His stunned emotions soon ignited into enraged flames. No one was going to stop him from helping his best buddy. He delivered a furious swing, knocking the Heartless back, and pursued it.

Sora found a gust of strength (whether through adrenaline or ignoring the weakness in his body), stood up, and sprinted over to Yoshi. He placed a hand underneath the dinosaur’s neck, lifting it up with gentle care. Sora felt his hands tremble with a wild assortment of negative emotions; guilt was the most prominent. Someone he had barely known for a day risked his life for him.

Sora felt a small stroke of relief rub his back as Yoshi opened his dark blue eyes. He was exhausted, but still managed to brighten up the room with a small smile.

“Did…Did Yoshi do good?”

Sora managed a smile, too. “Very good.”

Yoshi fainted from the overwhelming exhaustion. Panicked, Sora checked his pulse. It was faint, but that’s all he needed to put his heart at ease. At least for the moment. Sora turned around to face the bird-like creature. It started at him with unblinking, apathetic eyes. Sora felt his emotions assemble into a seething rage. Yoshi was so young; so innocent. He didn’t deserve to have his life destroyed by this uncaring monster.

Sora rose to his feet and gripped the handle of his Keyblade in anger. The wheels in his mind sped down a single track of revenge.

“You’re going to pay for hurting my friend!” Sora shouted.

The blue Heartless escaped from Luigi’s grasp and flew right for Sora.

“Look out!” Luigi said.

With one fierce swing, Sora split the Heartless right in half, ending its existence faster than the blink of an eye. A warm sensation traveled through Sora’s arms, eventually reaching his Keyblade; it was encased in a bright orange glow. He ran straight at the creature, unleashing a flurry of powerful, unavoidable strikes. The Heartless was helpless against the unbearable pain raging through its body. But its punishment was about to reach a horrible climax.

After stabbing the creature in the chest – which induced a scream of anguish – he leaped back and defied all logic by floating into the air. He pointed the Keyblade straight at it; the tip emitted a giant orange sphere.

Upon releasing the energy like a gun, it dispersed into a spiral of magical projectiles that obliterated the Heartless.

Luigi’s felt his jaw drop from the sheer power of Sora’s attack. “How did you do that?”

“Not sure,” Sora said, taking a deep breath. “But that’s the least of our problems now.”

He gestured towards Yoshi. Worry for their friend started to rebroadcast in their heads. Luigi pressed his ear against the dinosaur’s chest. A faint heartbeat whispered to him in reassurance; but it didn’t quell his anxiety. He had no idea how much damage Yoshi had sustained. There was a chance that – and he hated letting this thought cross his mind – the heartbeat would be silenced forever unless they did something.

Luigi was overtaken by a wave of hysteria. Many of his jumbled thoughts on the situation couldn’t be contained, and he was shouting them out in rapid succession. He said things likes, “Bringing him along was a huge mistake!” or “Can we get him back to the ship in time?”

Sora’s voice broke through the wave of disorder. “Listen! I know your upset, but panicking isn’t doing him any favors right now!”

“How can I not!?” Luigi said, snapping at him. “He means the world to me! I already have to deal with the fact that my brother is missing! And now I can’t bear the thought of—”

“I know, I know,” Sora said. He placed an assuring hand on Luigi’s shoulder. “But if we act now, we can save him. I’ll do whatever I can to help. I owe him one, after all.”

Luigi stared into Sora’s determined blue eyes, and felt a sense of confidence restrain his anxious mood. Perhaps there was no reason to be too worried. He had an extra pair of hands to help him out of this predicament.

“Okay.” Luigi exhaled to regain his focus. “Thanks.”

Before a plan could be formulated, they were startled by the deafening sound of an explosion. The two noticed a huge cloud of debris had covered the exit. An uneasy chill started climbing up their spines, and it moved faster when they heard footsteps pierce through the peaceful silence.

A silhouette of a tall person appeared from within the cloud, with their sights sets on three unsuspecting targets.