Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts Route B ❯ The Enchanted Bayou ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.

 

 

 

Chapter 1: The Enchanted Bayou

 

 

 

"Ew!" Donald pulled his webbed foot up from the green mush he had stepped into. "What is this stuff?"

Sora looked around. The dark silhouette of trees and vines surrounded them. Fireflies glittered above puddles of green water and crickets chirped into the moist air. The ground beneath them was wet with moss, and ferns. Above, there was no white ceiling, but rather, a sky with an evening star so bright, it made the millions of others around it look like mere electric lights.

"Looks like a swamp," Sora said. "How is this inside a castle?"

He looked behind them. The white door of Castle Oblivion, completely clean and glowing an eerie white, stood out of the swamp water. It was as out of place as a vegetable in a candy shop and it reminded Sora of another door, on an island where it shouldn't have been, a door that had thrown him out of his home so long ago.

Goofy spoke, bringing Sora back to the present.

"Uh, it is just me, or is the swamp movin' toward us?"

He was right, the swamp was moving, but it wasn't the water. Logs were slowly inching toward the three of them. Something yellow caught Sora's eye and he squinted hard onto the glowing dots on top of the logs.

Eyes.

The logs jumped.

"Look out!"

Sora pushed Donald and Goofy out of the way. The poor duck fell into the water, face first, his feet and tail sticking up from below the murky surface. Goofy fell on his behind while the log, crocodile, threw itself at Sora. Yelping, and with no time to get out the way, Sora summoned his keyblade and flung it at the side of the crocodile's face. The crocodile went down, sinking into the water and out of sight, but the second crocodile was on its way, creeping closer to Donald's tail.

Donald finally righted himself, shaking his head as he came out of the water. "What's the big idea?"

"Donald, look out!"

Too late. The crocodile, as well as its partner, had circled Donald, already snapping white teeth. They lunged. Donald squealed and jumped up ten feet, and just in time too. The two crocodiles crashed into each other, leaving an opening for Goofy and Sora to charge and smack them each on the head with shield and keyblade.

"Sora!"

Goofy threw out his hand, and Sora took it. He spun in a circle, looping Sora around like a windmill, allowing Sora to smack the crocodiles a whole three times before the two oversized lizards had had enough. They slithered away just as Donald had come down.

He landed on his feet, splashing the swamp water and panting. "Thanks."

"That was magnificent," a voice cried.

Still alert, the three friends raised their weapons, looking around for the owner of the voice.

"Be quiet Naveen! They could be dangerous."

"They just drove off those two crocodiles. We could use their help."

"But-"

Goofy, ever the nicest one, was the first to lower his weapon. "Is someone there?"

"Uh," the second voice, a prettier voice, blathered, "n-no one's here, just us swamp frogs."

"Swamp frogs?" Sora repeated.

Something moved in the darkness, and before Sora could react, it was on the tip of his keyblade. A frog stood up on on two legs, his perfectly white teeth glinting as he stretched his lips into a debonair smile.

"Pleased to meet you, friends. I am Prince Naveen," the frog winked.

Donald yelped. "Talking frog!"

He slapped the frog away and it slammed flat against Goofy's shield. Flipping the shield so that it was right side up, Goody stared at the poor smushed frog.

"Of Maldonia," the frog groaned.

Something else jumped on Goofy's shield. A smaller, prettier frog pointed a very sharp stick at Donald.

"You'd best stop hurting my friend if you know what's good for you," she hissed at Donald.

The glare she gave him was so fierce, it would have made even the most misbehaved child go running and Donald, shaking, had to bow his head.

"I-I'm sorry."

Ignoring him, the frog bent to pick up her friend.

"Naveen, are you all right?"

Naveen shook his head and jumped back on his feet. "These guys are strong, no?"

"I suppose."

"Come now. We need help, yes? Besides, what can we do as frogs?"

Whatever he said must have convinced the smaller frog. She sighed and stood on her two feet as well. "My name's Tiana, this is Naveen."

"Pleased to meet ya. I'm Goofy."

Sora and Donald introduced themselves as well. Jiminy decided now was the time to hop out of Sora's hood. He landed on Goofy's shield and bowed to Naveen and Tiana.

"What brings you here then, Highness, Ms. Tiana?"

Naveen shrugged with a guilty grin on his face.

"Oh no, you don't," Tiana scolded him. "You're going to tell them everything."

"Tell us what," Sora asked.

"Brave yourselves my giant friends," Naveen said, "we are not frogs, we're humans."

Donald fell over in full blown laughter, Goofy tilted his head, while Sora had to raise his fist in front of his mouth to hide his chuckle. Yet, Naveen and Tiana waited patiently.

"Wait," Sora sobered, "you're serious? What happened to you?"

"This fool," Tiana pointed to Naveen, "got us cursed. And one thing led to another and we got stuck in this bayou."

"This is a dangerous place," Naveen said, "and we are two small, helpless frogs. We could use some protection."

"I don't see any harm in helping them Sora," Jiminy said.

"Yup. Never hurts to help out a friend." Sora pointed to his shoulder. "Hop on."

"Thanks."

With Naveen and Tiana on his shoulder, and Jiminy tucked back safe in Sora's hood, the three friends ventured deeper into the swamp as Naveen and Tiana told their story.

 

 

 

Under a perfect, blue starry night, a beautiful, young girl walked out under a balcony. The moonlight cast a glow on her lovely, brown skin and sparkling, blue dress, yet the young lady's eyes were full of sadness. She looked down at a picture in her hands, a poster for a restaurant that read, "Tiana's place."

"I was almost there," Tiana sobbed, and then looked up at the brightest evening star in the sky. She looked back into the lavish, pink room she had come out of, checking to see if there was anyone there. Realizing she was alone, she looked up to the brightest star in the sky, held the paper to her chest and wished.

"Please, please, please."

When she opened her eyes, there was a frog sitting on the balcony. Tiana groaned. "Very funny." She stared at the frog. "So what now? I suppose you want a kiss?"

The frog grinned. "Kissing would be nice, yes?"

Tiana screamed and skittered backward into the pink room.

"I'm sorry!" The frog jumped up on the table near the balcony. "I didn't mean to frighten you! Please, let me introduce myself. I am Prince Naveen, of Maldonia."

"Prince?" The girl looked outside, at the star hanging bright in the sky. "But I didn't wish for a prince." She raised a book high in her hands. "Who or what are you?"

Seeing the book, the frog covered his head. "Don't squish me!" Then his eyes flashed and he pointed to the book. "Wait, I know that story!"

Turning the book over, Tiana read the title. "The Frog Prince?"

She gave Naveen the book and he flipped to a page of a princess kissing a frog. He turned the page again and, on the next page, the frog had turned back into a human.

"Yes, that's the answer! You must kiss me."

"Excuse me?"

"To change me back. Come now. Not only do all ladies enjoy the kiss, but I also come from a fabulously wealthy family. Surely there's some reward you want, yes?"

Tiana looked at the picture in her hand, her dream of opening her own restaurant had been crushed, all the money she had gathered had not been enough, but now, she had another chance. If only it wasn't so...nauseating.

"Just one kiss?"

"Just one," Naveen winked.

Tiana cringed. "I can do this, it's just a little kiss." She took a deep breath and puckered Naveen right on the lips, and then found herself on the floor in a heap of blue fabric. She looked up to see Naveen, still a frog, looking down at her from the table above with his eyes wide.

How did he get way up there? She turned around and saw herself in a hand mirror. She was a frog.

 

 

 

"And that's the story," Tiana sighed, "this never would have happened if you," she glared at Naveen, "weren't messing with the shadow man in the first place."

"If you had been a real princess, we would have turned back into humans by now."

Donald tilted his head. "Princess?"

"The only way to change the two of us back is if Naveen gets kissed by a princess."

"So, you're not really a princess, Tiana?"

"No, I was dressed for a costume party. That's why Naveen thought I was a princess."

"That's some curse," Sora said. "I'm sure we'll find a princess to change you back. I mean, we do know a few."

Donald shushed him. "Order, Sora."

"Right," Sora said guilty. "Just stick with us. We'll figure something out."

Tiana gave him the cutest frog smile. "Thank you."

Sora rewarded her with a toothy grin.

They walked on without noticing the pair of glowing, yellow eyes that trailed closely behind, hidden inches below the murky surface. With every step they took, the sound of their feet splashing water over the lily pads became louder and louder as the world around them stilled. The crickets' chirps quieted down, the fireflies retreated from the air, the wind did not soothe their skin. Sora felt goosebumps on his arms.

Jiminy spoke next to Sora's ear. "The crickets here seem mighty nervous."

And that was the only warning they got.

The world shivered and clouds of darkness popped in the air, dark creatures jumping out of the blackness. The creatures ticked as they moved, as though made from clockwork, black shadows with yellow eyes, claws, and jagged antennae. One look at the monsters surrounding them and the three friends sprang into action.

The creatures pounced, claws reaching out, ready to dog pile the three friends. Sora jumped to the side and slashed the first wave of attackers, making them explode. A wave of lightning destroyed the next round as Donald threw thunder spells left and right, while one thump of Goofy's heavy shield was enough to smash a few shadows into dark dust.

But they kept coming, and their sheer numbers overwhelmed the trio, until Sora was knocked down into the muck and barely had time to bring up his keyblade to protect himself from another shadow. With Goofy busy shielding himself from a barrage of claws and Donald out of magic and just trying to fight the monsters off with his staff, Sora sank deeper into the swamp as the creatures converged on him.

Naveen jumped up onto Sora's chest and tried to fight the creatures back by helping Sora push them back with his keyblade, but it wasn't enough. Sora's shoulders sank below the green water's surface. One more inch and he wouldn't be able to breathe. Tiana joined Naveen but her strength was no match against the swarm of monsters that had now succeeded in pushing Sora's face completely under water.

Frantic, Tiana looked around. Her eyes caught on a thick tree branch that was weighed down by a fallen log. Without looking back, she ran to the log and waved at Naveen. She caught his attention and with a nod of his head, he stuck out his long tongue and it stuck onto the log. Tiana grabbed the tip of the branch and then gave the signal to Naveen. He pulled his tongue back, the log fell off the branch, and Tiana waited for Naveen to get out of the way before she angled the thick branch just right and let go.

The branch whipped across the swamp and smacked back the swarm of dark creatures hovering over Sora, giving him enough space for him to rise up out of the muck with the loudest breath ever. Sora whipped off the mud from his chin and then charged at the swarm of monsters. He smashed one, threw a fire spell at another, rolled out of the way of an incoming attack and then crushed another enemy.

Naveen cheered from a nearby rock as Sora, Donald and Goofy regrouped, until he noticed the pair of yellow eyes creeping closer to him from under the murky water. With a scream, he jumped as high as his frog legs would allow, just out of reach from the sharp teeth that snapped mere inches below his feet.

He tried to grab a tree branch on his way back down, but his slippery, froggy fingers slid off the surface and he was plummeting down into eager mouths. Something wrapped around his wrist and Naveen jerked in the air. Tiana held onto his hand from the branch above, but her fingers were also too slippery and Naveen felt himself slowly sliding downward.

The crocodiles below snapped excitedly, licking their teeth. A flash of blue light and the crocodiles were frozen solid. Sora and Donald charged toward them, keyblade and staff ready with fire and ice spells. The crocodiles shook off the frost from their bodies, but one look at their attackers and they slithered away, disappearing into the swamp waters once again.

Naveen and Tiana slipped, and they screamed for two seconds before they landed safely in Sora's hands.

"Gotcha!"

"Ugh," Tiana stood, "why am I so green and slimy?"

"It's not slime. It's mucous," Naveen huffed. Then he smiled. "Thanks for catching me, mon cher." He kissed the back of Tiana's hand.

She pulled her hand away. "Oh no, that tomfoolery may work on some other gal, but not me."

"Then why are you smiling," Sora grinned evilly.

Donald snickered.

"I-I was not!"

Naveen chuckled.

"You stop that!"

Sensing an argument, Sora said, "You guys really saved us back there. I owe you."

"That was some good thinkin' Tiana," Donald added.

Her cheeks turned pink, but then she quickly shook her head and pointed to where the attack had happened. "What were those things?"

Goofy had taken care of the last of them and had rejoined the group.

"Heartless," Sora answered. "They're bad news."

"Wait." Naveed pressed his fist into his palm. "Of course! I've seen those creatures before!"

"Really? Where?"

"When I met with the shadow man. He said he had friends on the other side and then dark shadows appeared, changing me into," Naveen pointed to himself, "well, this."

Donald crossed his arms, his feather's ruffling. "The shadow man has connections to the heartless?"

Putting Naveen and Tiana down on a nearby branch, Sora gestured for Donald and Goofy to come closer. Once the three friends were huddled up, he whispered.

"So, there's still trouble brewing, and the worlds aren't at peace after all?"

"We can't do anything about it until we find a way out of this swamp," Donald said.

"Do ya think the shadow man and the guy in the black coat we saw, are the same person?" Goofy asked.

"If there are heartless in this world, we would need to find and seal the keyhole before they do some real damage," Jiminy said.

"You're right," Sora agreed.

The meeting was over. Sora picked up Naveen and Tiana, smirking when he noticed Naveen winking at Tiana and her giggling behind her hand in turn.

"My friend," Naveen said when he jumped on Sora's head. "You have the most unusual hair."

"Uh, thanks?"

"No, it is I that should be thanking you."

 

 

 

In the bayou, where the marsh water got deeper and the shadows of the trees were so thick they resembled hulking giants, a decrepit river boat lay half sunken in the muck. It was there that the crocodiles had returned to. They walked over the molded, creaking wood, slithering into a room that was slanted sideways. A worn out ottoman sat in the corner of the room. A woman's shoe sat on the ottoman, the heel bouncing back and forth.

"Brutus, Nero," a singsong voice called.

If anyone had heard the nauseatingly forced sweetness in that voice, they would have had their hairs stand on end, but the two crocodiles wagged their tails, teeth peeling back in a grin. They ran toward the bobbing foot.

A woman peeled away from the shadows. Sharp, wide, green eyes hidden under layers of thick, purple eyeshadow, her skin looked as though it were stretched too tight over her narrow face, and with long, thin, red lips peeled back to show a set of rather large front teeth, she could make any child cry. Yet, the crocodiles must have found her wolfish grin endearing because they got just close enough for her to hug them.

"My darling pets," the woman sang. Then she grabbed their jaws hard and squeezed. "How dare you come back here, empty handed!"

Though her arms were long and skeletal, the woman slammed the two crocodiles hard onto the creaky floor.

"I ask you two to do one simple thing! Now look at what you've reduced me to." She leaned dramatically over her couch. "How am I ever to get my diamond now, having to rely on these two idiots?"

Someone laughed. The woman rose up from her chair, grabbing a rifle that had been leaning against her couch and pointing it in the air.

"Who's there?"

"Now is that any way to treat a friend," said a deep, husky voice.

Though the interior of the room was dim, a shadow moved across the floor. It slithered to the wall where a single candle shown flickering, weak, brown light against the old wood of the room. The shadow straightened, revealing the thin silhouette of a tall man with a cane and top hat.

"I'm here to help you get what you want." The shadow stretched out its hand, and the shape of a giant gem appeared in its palm.

The woman rose to her feet. "My diamond?"

The shadow chuckled. "Yes. Follow my advice, and you'll have what you want before midnight."

The woman tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Get on with it?"

"Just follow the lead from my friends on the other side."

 

 

 

Dreams were a strange thing. Each time Sora opened his eyes, he felt as though he were forgetting something very important. Warnings and whispers from somewhere, a voice, familiar and yet mysterious all the same always spoke to him when his eyes were closed, but whenever he woke up, catching those memories was as difficult as holding onto air. Yet, there was one thing that Sora remembered when he woke up after a brief doze in the swamp: a voice he knew.

"Giving up already? Come on, Sora."

Sora opened his eyes to see Naveen and Tiana staring at him. He blinked and then swatted the two of them off his forehead.

"Ah! Don't do that!"

Tiana landed gracefully on his shoe, while Naveen flopped to the ground.

"You can really fall asleep in the strangest of places," Tiana tsked.

"You said it," Donald said.

Sora gave him an annoyed look, but it was totally wasted. Donald wasn't looking at his direction. Rather, he was throwing fireballs out over the grey lilly pads in the distance.

Something pat him on the head and a moment later, Jiminy, yawning, landed on the ground in front of Sora.

"Gosh. It's so dark here, that even I can't help falling asleep every so often. We should be more careful and set up a watch, just in case danger comes by."

Sora stood. "You're right, there's no time to rest when there's heartless around. Besides, we still have to keep an eye out for Riku and the king."

"What will you do when you find your friends?" Tiana asked.

"Go back home."

"And we need to go back to our castle with the king," Donald added.

"Still," Sora sighed, "I wish we had a clue as to where to find them."

"Don't worry, Sora. We just have to trust in our hearts and I know we will find em," Goofy said.

And with that, the three friends were back to exploring the bayou. The deep murky waters spawned countless heartless as the three friends twisted and turned each corner in search of the keyhole, Riku, and the King. They searched until their stomach's gave the loudest, deepest growl ever.

Donald and Goofy hung their heads, while Sora couldn't help grinning through a deep blush.

Tiana laughed. "When was the last time you ate?"

Donald groaned and fell flat to the floor. "I can't remember."

Tiana landed on the bayou floor and began looking around. Within minutes, she had found a pumpkin, a mushroom, and some herbs. "How about some swamp gumbo?"

Naveen leaned back against the roots of a tree trunk. "Sounds delicious, I'll start with a pre-dinner cocktail and something to nibble on while I wait."

"No, no, no." Tiana picked up a sharp rock. She walked over to Naveen, pulled him up and put the rock in his hands. "Royal Highness, you are going to mince these mushrooms."

"Sorry, do what?"

"Mince the mushrooms. Go on. And the three of you," Tiana pointed to Sora, Donald and Goofy, "are going to go out there and find me some okra, some parsley, and some spicy peppers. Bring those, and I promise you'll have the most delicious pumpkin gumbo you've ever tasted."

That was all the motivation Donald needed. He blurred back on his feet and ran ahead into the forest. Sora and Goofy bade farewell to Tiana and chased after Donald to begin the search.

"I've never actually done something like this before," Naveen said to Tiana as the three friends left. Slowly, he cut the mushroom into slices. "Back in the castle, everything was done for me."

"Oh, poor baby," Tiana said as she started a fire under the pumpkin.

"I admit it was a charmed life until my parents cut me off and then I realized," he looked at the mushroom sadly, "I don't know how to do anything."

Tiana giggled, picking up the chopped mushrooms from the rock Naveen had been cutting them on. "Well, you're pretty good at mincing. Keep at it and I just might hire you for my restaurant."

Naveen's face brightened. "Really?"

"Nope."

"Oh, that's not funny, that was hitting deep beneath the frog belt."

He continued to cut the next set of mushrooms with a smile on his face, while Tiana happily hollowed out the pumpkin.

 

 

 

It took some looking and a few more encounters with some heartless, but eventually, Sora, Donald and Goofy, each with an ingredient in hand were on their way back to Naveen and Tiana. Goofy was already licking his muzzle, and Donald looked down at the parsley in his hands dreamily, ready to bite it.

Sora poked Donald's temple.

"Oh no you don't. We have to get these ingredients to Tiana."

"Oh just one bite wouldn't hurt."

Before Sora could say no, a shrill cry shook the tree branches around them.

"HELP!"

Putting away their ingredients, the three friends followed the voice and came upon a pile of heartless. Underneath their black shadowy claws and feet was a woman and she was kicking and screaming.

Donald and Goofy charged, ramming the heartless off the woman and into the air. Sora followed up, jumping and slashing each heartless on his way down. Landing on his feet, he helped the woman up and told her to take cover while he joined Donald and Goofy in defeating the remaining heartless.

A few moments later, they stood in an empty clearing and the woman approached the three of them.

Fixing her feather boa and smoothing out her strange, red hair, the woman clapped her hands together. "Oh thank you, dears! I don't know what I would have done without you."

She leaned so close to Sora, that he couldn't help taking several steps back.

"Why are here, ma'am?"

"Ah, Medusa, Madame Medusa. I'm here looking for my deer, sweet girl! She's lost somewhere in this swamp and I came to look for her but then those creatures attacked me."

"Little girl? Why would she be out in this swamp?"

"You see, when I was a young woman, I lost a diamond in this swamp. It was my greatest treasure until my little girl came into my life. When she found out about the diamond and how much I loved it, my dear sweet thing came to this swamp to find it." Medusa put her hand on her forehead. "Oh, she came because she cares for me, but I can't imagine what would happen to her with all those creatures around! I just want her to be safe."

"Do you have any idea where she could be?"

"Yes! The underwater caves where I lost my diamond! I'm sure she's headed there. Oh what will I do if the tide comes in and washes her away!"

"We'll go look for her."

Medusa's eyes became wide. "You will? Oh thank you so much!"

"Wait, Sora," Goofy interrupted. "We can't just leave Naveen and Tiana behind. They need our help too."

"Then we'll go get them first and then we can help Madame Medusa."

"Can't you just hurry up to the caves?" Madame Medusa snapped, growling. Then her face wrinkled more as she smiled. "I am just so worried about my girl! Here."

She shoved a map into Sora's hands.

Opening it, Sora saw a picture of the bayou. The area where the swamp connected with the sea was circled in red lipstick, an arrow pointing to the location of the underwater caves.

"I will meet you at the caves. Please hurry."

She walked out of sight before Sora could stop her.

Carefully, the three friends returned to Naveen and Tiana. The scent of savory soup wafted to their noses as they got closer, all but erasing their promise to Madame Medusa.

Naveen was standing on the pumpkin with Tiana, sprinkling his minced vegetables into the soup. He winked all the while, leaning making jokes that left Tiana giggling as she cooked. Sora, Donald and Goofy gave their vegetables to Tiana and told her about their encounter with Madame Medusa while she finished cooking the gumbo.

"I see. Well, let's eat first and then head over to the caves."

With a tiny ladle made out of wood, she scooped up soup into some bowl shaped leaves and handed them out to Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy. Naveen ate out of a hollowed out acorn, and the moment he finished his meal, he asked for seconds.

"That was magnificent! You truly have a gift for cooking," he said as Tiana poured him another bowl.

She blushed. "Well, thank you. Though I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Ah well, I admit, working hard for something does make it sweeter."

Donald and Goofy, having already completely slurped up their meal, leaned closer to Naveen and Tiana. They wore the goofiest, dreamiest smiles.

Noticing her audience, Tiana went back to stirring the soup, her cheeks pink.

Sora stared at the red liquid in his leaf-bowl and then brought it up to his lips. A sour-sweet, and savory soup melted in his mouth and then he completely understood why Donald and Goofy had wolfed it down. Even he asked for seconds as soon as he was finished.

As the trio ate, Jiminy looked up from his soup. "Say, Sora, do you find it strange that there's a missing girl in this swamp?"

Swallowing a mouthful of gumbo, Sora nodded. "Now that you mention it, yeah. It is strange."

"That Madame Medusa, should we trust her? She seemed a bit suspicious to me"

"She can't be all bad. She was being attacked by heartless, and if there really is a girl in danger here, I can't just leave her."

"Right," Donald agreed, "but Jiminy has a point. We should be careful."

"I say we go look fellars. It's the right thing to do. We did say we would help."

"Okay," Sora said, "we'll go check out the caves, but keep your eyes peeled."

 

 

 

 

Jiminy's Journal

Naveen (First appeared in The Princess and The Frog, 2009): Prince of Maldonia. He's a bit of a slacker and a ladies man, but he is also easy going and loves new experiences. After getting turned into a frog, he's traveling with Tiana to find a way to become human again.

Tiana (First appeared in The Princess and The Frog, 2009): A hard working girl from New Orleans, Tiana believes that hard work is the best way to make her dreams come true. She became a frog after kissing Naveen, and she will be doing her best to change back into a human again.

Brutus and Nero (First appeared is The Rescuers, 1977): A pair of crocodiles that haunt the bayou and picked a fight with Sora, Donald and Goofy. They are vicious and love the taste of frogs.

Madam Medusa (First appeared is The Rescuers, 1977): A gaudy woman that is looking for something in the swamp. She seems a little unstable.