Chapter 8 (SORA): The Bear, the Panther, and the Runaway Man-Cub

Chapter 8 (SORA): The Bear, the Panther, and the Runaway Man-Cub

        The beam of light that had appeared in Beast's Castle also appeared in the center of Fantasy Land.  As the beam landed in the center of the village, Mickey, Belle, Sora and the others emerged.  Belle was fascinated by the surroundings of her new world.  "So, this is where all of the Princesses are being taken?"

      Mickey nodded.  "Uh-huh!  We're working on bringing them all here.  Snow White and Alice should be in the library helping Queen Minnie."

     "Will they need my help?"

     "I'm sure they'd welcome it" Mickey answered.  "Donald?  Goofy?  Take Belle to go see the other Princesses."  Donald and Goofy walked off, leading Belle towards Sleeping Beauty Castle.  They turned and waved one last time to Sora before departing back inside.  Mickey returned his attention to Sora.  "Good job, Sora.  Thanks to you guys, we should have the Princesses of Heart here in no time."

     Sora nodded.  "Thanks, Mickey.  So, did you want me to start looking for another Princess?  Like Jasmine or Cinderella?"

     Mickey shook his head.  "Nope.  We'll let you know when you can get to Agrabah to go see Jasmine, and we also have Kairi going to get Cinderella.  I want you to go find Riku."

     Sora raised an eyebrow.  "Riku?  Is he in trouble?"

      Mickey shook his head.  "No, but he said that he needed to talk to you about something.  I think he went to Adventure Land.  To one of those Jungle worlds."  

       Sora nodded.  "Okay.  I'll go talk to him."  Without waiting a second, Sora took off away from Fantasy Land and hurried over the mysterious jungles of Adventure Land.  

       Sora passed through New Orleans Square and even got a glimpse of Frontier Land as he scurried down the paths that marked to Adventure Land.  The wooden drawbridges and exotic statues and trees made Sora understand that he was entering a world entirely different from the fantasy worlds he had traveled to previously.  Sora made note of the any attractions and rides he passed as he looked for a "jungle" attraction.  A few of the rides gave Sora fond memories of worlds he'd explored on previous adventures.  "The Flying Carpets of Aladdin" drew many memories for Sora, who had teamed up with the hero of the same name to stop the evil Jafar from conquering the ancient desert city.  "Timon and Pumbaa's Safari" was also one that brought back good times for the young hero, as he remembered helping Simba thwart the schemes of his evil Uncle and restore peace to the Pridelands.  

      But the only ride that seemed to emulate a jungle was a boat ride called: "The Jungle Cruise".  With not much else to describe it, Sora shrugged.  Riku's gotta be in there.  It can't hurt to look.  Sora walked around the roped lines and hopped into one of the cruise boats.  As he made himself comfortable on one of the seats, a voice on a loudspeaker began speaking to him.  

       "Please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the boat at all times" it warned.  "Do not feed any animals you may find on your journey.  Thank you, and please enjoy your stay in the Jungle."  As the boat rocked and left the dock, Sora admired all of the effort Mr. Disney had placed into each of these rides.  The flora and fauna surrounding the boat made Sora start to think he was indeed entering a jungle.  

       The unique music and scents of Disneyland were being quickly replaced with the screeching of monkeys and birds, the trumpeting of elephants and the roars of a tiger.  The sweet aroma of local plants intoxicated Sora as he ventured beyond the theme park and into another world.  When the boat stopped in a small waterway, he hopped ashore and began to inspect his new territory.  

       The instant his boat fell out of sight, Sora found himself surrounded by a group of Heartless.  Sora laughed.  "And here I thought this world was going to be difficult!"  Sora drew his Keyblade and lunged forward.  

Defeat All of the Heartless!

        Sora lowered his weapon as the remaining Heartless dissipated into the shadows.  As he prepared to begin looking for Riku, he heard a few voices arguing quietly in the distance.  Sora slowly made his way through thick bushes and past gnarled tree branches to see what was going on.  He peered around the corner to see two animals, a huge bear and a panther, arguing over something.  He leaned forward to listen in.

        "Can't a guy make one mistake?" the bear asked nonchalantly.

        "Not in the jungle, Baloo!" the panther sternly argued.  As Baloo the bear scratched his back on a nearby tree, the panther rolled his eyes.  "When will you take this responsibility seriously?  Mowgli is in danger so long as he's here in the Jungle!"

        "Mowgli is safe so long as he's with me, Bagheera!" the bear argued.  

        "Oh really?  Can you protect him from Shere Khan?"

        Baloo's eyes widened.  "The tiger?  What's he got against the kid?"

        Bagheera shook his head.  "He hates man with a vengeance, you know that!"

        "Shere Khan?" Sora asked as he came out of the bushes. 

         Bagheera eyed Sora and cried out.  "Oh no!  Not another Man-Cub!"   

        "My name is Sora" Sora explained.  "I'm looking for a friend of mine.  Riku.  Have you seen him?"

         Baloo shook his head.  "Haven't seen Riku in a while." Baloo explained.  

        Bagheera followed in suit.  "That Riku boy took off after some being of the dark.  If only he had stayed.  Perhaps he could have told Mowgli about the dangers of the Jungle.  He's experienced them first hand."

        "What's so dangerous about this Mowgli staying in the jungle?" Sora asked Bagheera."

        "Because Mowgli is a man-cub and Shere Khan the tiger has vowed to kill him."

        "Why doesn't anyone stand up to him?"

        "Shere Khan is a vicious man-eater, Sora" Bagheera continued.  "You'd do well to steer clear of him.  As should we.  The sheer potential of Mowgli wielding the Red Flower is enough to put a death sentence on his head."

         "Mowgli doesn't have any of that!" Baloo argued.  "He doesn't have a gun or fire!"

         "Shere Khan won't wait until he does!" Bagheera snapped.  "He'll want Mowgli while he's young and helpless.  Just one swipe and he's a dead boy!"  

         "Then you take him back!" Baloo growled.  "I promised him he could stay in the jungle with me!  And I don't intend to break that promise anytime soon."

         "That's just the point!  As long as he remains with you, he's in danger.  So it's up to you to convince him!"  

         "Why me?"

         "Because he won't listen to me!"  

         Baloo looked off into the distance, where Mowgli was slowly waking up.  "Well, I love that kid.  I love him like he was my own cub!"  

         "Baloo" Sora reasoned, "that's why you should think of what's best for him and not yourself.  You two may be close, but wouldn't you rather keep him safe instead of in danger?"

          Baloo gulped.  "Well can't I wait until--"

         "Baloo!" Bagheera snapped again.  

          Baloo sighed, slowly scratched his arm and walked over to Mowgli.  Bagheera shook his head and returned his attention to Sora.  "Thank you.  Someone with sense!  Riku was all for letting them remain together."

         "I don't want to see friendships split up" Sora sighed, "but if Mowgli really is in danger, than Baloo should be thinking about keeping him safe more than keeping them together.  If any of my friends were in danger, I'd want to make sure they were safe more than anything."

         "Then you and Riku must truly have a strong friendship" Bagheera commented.  

         "Thank you" Sora replied.  "So, do you know which way Riku went?" 

         Bagheera shook his head.  "No, but I would look over by the waterfalls.  You could see a good portion of the jungle from there."

         "Thanks, Bagheera.  Let me know if Mowgli--"

         "Mowgli, wait a minute!" Baloo screamed.  "Wait!"  

         Bagheera and Sora looked over where Baloo was.  Baloo hurried over to the other two.  "What;s happened now?" Bagheera asked impatiently.  

         "Look" Baloo grunted.  "I used the exact same words you did and he ran out on me!  He's gone!"  

          Bagheera gasped.  "Then don't just stand there!  We have got to find him before Khan does!"  Bagheera bounded off into the distance.  

         Baloo gulped nervously.  "If anything happened to that little guy I'd never forgive myself."  Baloo looked down to Sora.  "Please, help me look for little britches?"

         Sora nodded.  "Can do!  I'll look by the waterfalls!"  Sora took off in the distance to begin looking for Mowgli.  

         After spending over an hour looking for Mowgli, Sora finally came up to the waterfall that Bagheera had mentioned.  If he didn't find Mowgli there, maybe he could at least find Riku.  Sora hurried up the path to see for himself.  

        Sure enough, as he made his way up the cliff to the waterfall, Sora saw a tall white haired boy dressed similarly to him staring down in some distance.  The warrior put his own Keyblade away, seeming to have just completed a difficult battle.  

        "Riku!" Sora called, hurrying up to his friend's side.  Sora was about to tell him about the world's he'd visited, but he could see that something was off about Riku.  He could tell Riku was studying him, seemingly waiting for something Sora would say.  Tired of waiting around, Sora decided to address the matter.  "What is it?"

        Riku shook his head.  "Nothing.  Did you bring Belle to the castle?"

       "Yup" he proclaimed.  "She's with Alice and Snow White in the castle.  How have you been doing?"

       Riku looked away into the distance.  "I've been managing.  The darkness is growing stronger, Sora.  We  best be prepared for what it has to offer."

       "Alright, I'll stay here and help out as I can."  Sora turned to leave but felt Riku grab his arm.  Sora eyed his friend curiously.  "Riku?"

       Riku seemed ready to say something, but whatever it was quickly left his mind.  Thinking quickly, Riku retook the command of the situation.  "Sora, have you been feeling anything different about yourself?  Are you losing your temper?  Are you more prone to anger?"

       Sora laughed.  "Of course not!  What, do you think I'd steal your thunder?"

       Riku laughed as well.  "I guess that was a stupid question.  But I'm pretty sure the situation is under control here.  Why don't you go and check out some other worlds?  We don't know where Xehanort or Maleficent will strike next."

       Sora shook his head.  "I can't.  Mowgli's gone missing and I promised I'd help Baloo and Bagheera find him."

       Sora felt as though Riku knew what Mowgli could do.  "That kid can be a handful, but it's not important, Sora.  I really think you ought to go back and begin looking into other worlds.  Don't forget that we have a mission to protect the Princesses of Heart and the worlds from Xehanort."  Riku pushed past Sora and began his way down the mountain.  But before he could return to looking for Mowgli, Riku looked back.  "One more thing.  I want you to take Kairi with you to your next world."

      Sora turned red.  "Kairi?  Are you sure?"

      Riku snickered.  "I need to make sure you two lovebirds can focus on a mission" he replied.  Before Sora could make a comment, Riku darted back into the jungle.  Sora shook his head.  "Lovebirds?  Who does Riku think he is?"  Sora looked around the waterfall, but could find no trace of Mowgl.  Sora sighed.  "Well, I guess I'm gonna be scouring the rest of the jungle until I find this kid."

Forged a D-Link with Riku