The Shadow Demon
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, Kingdom Hearts, or Disney's Atlantis. Alan Godfrey, Nigel, Brumby, and Lauren Calahan are my creations. I couldn't resist the cameo of four very humorous creatures for some light hearted comedy before all the serious stuff…
The movie Windtalkers inspired part of this fic. Also the movie Indiana Jones was a new addition to this fanfic.
--
"Prue's actions were foolish. You should never have allowed her to pursue Imhotep." Natalie said.
"Natalie, guide your charges how you will guide them. I shall guide them how I shall." Nigel said.
"Still you should have stepped in." Natalie said, "Andy shouldn't have been allowed to have been brought back anyway."
"I had nothing to do with that. Maleficent raised him from the dead." Nigel replied.
"Still, you should have intervened." Natalie said.
"But through Prue's admittedly failed efforts, Imhotep was stopped." Nigel replied, "So it wasn't a total loss."
"Noted." Natalie replied.
"I've encountered some rather strange creatures in my travels." Nigel said.
"That was random." Natalie began as a short, puffy creature, pink with large blue eyes standing a little over a couple feet tall appeared.
"What? Where?" Natalie said as she looked at it. As she spoke Nigel rammed earplugs into his ears.
"It was from a world unfortunately destroyed by the Heartless." Nigel replied.
"Jigglypuff, Jigglyyyy-Puff… Jigglypuff, Jigglyyyy-Puff…Jigglyyyyy…." The creature sank.
"It sings rather soothingly." Nigel began.
Natalie yawned, "I'm feeling really soothed myself…"
Natalie fell asleep on the ground. Jigglypuff looked at her for all of one second before withdrawing a marker and drawing all over Natalie's face. Nigel orbed Natalie into her bedroom, lying on her back.
Several minutes later Natalie yawned and woke up, "So odd…how did I wake up here and…"
Just then a large black ball with white eyes and a mouth with two fang-like teeth appeared directly above her. "Gaaasss…"
"AAGGGHH!!" Natalie shouted and ran out of her bedroom screaming.
A sound echoed through the hall, "Gengar…Gengar…Gengar…"
There was no way Natalie was going anywhere near where the Gengar sound was coming from.
"Gaaasss..." Gastly said as it came out of the bedroom through the closed door.
"AIEEEE!!" Natalie screamed and ran into the bathroom. The second she ran in she saw that her face had been drawn all over.
Right then and there her reflection changed to an angular, floating face with disembodied hands.
"Haunter Haunter..." The thing said.
"AIEEEE!!" Natalie screamed again. Unfortunately Haunter was blocking her path out of the bathroom.
She ran behind the shower curtain, hoping to lose the creature. She glanced around outside out of curtain, not seeing anything. She didn't notice Haunter coming out of the drain behind her.
"Phew..." Natalie said, "Whatever those strange creatures were...I'm glad that they're gone and..."
Haunter tapped her on the shoulder from behind, "Haunter Haunter..."
Natalie ran, screaming, out of the bathroom. Haunter gave a great belly laugh, "Haunt Haunt Haunt Haunt Haunt Haunt Haunt!"
Natalie ran out into the hallway just in time to see Gastly appear. "Gaas..."
"AUGGGHHH!!" Natalie screamed and ran away.
"Gaaassstly..." Gastly said as it chased Natalie.
"Haunter!" Haunter said and joined.
Natalie ran screaming out of her apartment, hearing the same thing she'd heard earlier. "Gengar. Gengar. Gengar."
Just then Natalie's shadow began to take on a life of it's own and Natalie ran, shrieking like a banshee. Just then the shadow came to life and took a form of a creature, about five feet high, with a tail, red eyes, and a mischievious grin.
"Gengar..."
"AIEEEEEEE!!" Natalie ran and started to bang on Gideon's door, "HELP!! DEMONS! HELP!!"
Gideon came to the door, bedraggled looking and saying, "Wha...Natalie? What are you doing here?"
"DEMONS IN MY APARTMENT! THREE OF THEM!!" Natalie said, obviously very freaked out.
Gideon headed for Natalie's apartment, "I'm sure there's nothing wrong. This is the Whitelighter Citadel. No demon would be foolish enough to enter this area..."
As he spoke, he turned towards Natalie and opened the door. Natalie saw Gastly floating behind Gideon.
"AAIIEEEE!!" Natalie screamed.
"What?" Gideon said.
"Look behind you…" Natalie squeaked.
Gideon turned and Gastly vanished from sight. "What?" Gideon said as they went into the apartment, with Natalie trailing terrified behind Gideon.
Gideon wrinkled his nose, "What's that smell, it's as if there were a leak in the…"
"Gaaass…" Gastly said as it appeared.
Natalie let out a scream and Gideon said, "Back away slowly…don't panic and…"
Gideon felt a persistent tapping on his shoulder. "Not now Natalie, I'm attempting to manage this precarious…"
Gideon turned just in time to see Haunter floating behind him. Haunter opened his mouth and pulled out a cherry bomb whose fuse was winding down fast.
Both Gideon and Natalie blew desperately on the fuse, trying to blow it out. The bomb exploded, knocking down Natalie and Gideon.
"Haunt. Haunt. Haunt. Haunt. Haunt." Haunter laughed.
"Gaastly…(So now what do we do?)" Gastly said.
Gengar appeared, "Gengar Gengar…(I've got this handled.)"
Haunter replied, "Haunter Haunter (It better be funny.)" Haunter replied.
"Gengar...(Don't worry...)" Gengar said.
Gideon awoke, feeling fuzzy headed, feeling a cool breeze. He looked up in horror to realize he was clad only in his white boxers with red hearts on them and lying on top of the Elders Council Table.
He was less scantily clad than Natalie who was wearing only body paint and strategically placed feathers and glitter. He tried to stand up, but realized in horror that he and Natalie were handcuffed to the table leg.
Haunter and Gastly were floating and laughing as Gengar stood poised dramatically to pull the lanyard for the large bell that would call the Whitelighter Elders to assemble.
"No! No! No! No! No!" Gideon screamed.
"Gengar! Gengar! Gengar! Gengar! Gengar!" Gengar said.
DING! DING! DING! DING!
The three ghosts vanished from sight, waiting for the scandal to see the light…
"Haw Haw Haw Haw Haw!!" Haunter said before vanishing as the door opened and the assembly of the Whitelighter leaders saw the sight before their eyes.
--
"How's Doc?" Scrappy asked.
"He's getting better. He won't need the cane in a couple more days." Lauren said.
"What about Uncle Shaggy and Uncle Scooby." Scrappy asked.
"They're fine." Lauren replied, and then she asked, "What about you? How are you holding up?"
"I don't feel too terrible about what I did, because I know I saved you. I can still kinda see the guy I killed though." Scrappy replied.
"Let me know if you need anything…" Lauren said.
"Just don't let Bugme in on this situation…" Scrappy began.
"Bugme?" Lauren replied.
"It's my latest nickname for Brumby. You know how he bugs me. Bug. Me. Bugme." Scrappy began.
"Scrappy, be nice…" Lauren replied, "You two have been on the wrong foot since you met."
"He's not exactly the nicest person alive." Scrappy replied, "Besides, why are you defending him?"
"He's not that bad of a person." Lauren said, "If you get to know him, he's actually a nice guy."
"He's a racist bastard." Scrappy said, "I mean you've heard him call Flim Flam a Jap on a couple occasions."
"Scrappy, bear in mind this is a different timeline…" Lauren said, "But I will talk to him about that."
"Thanks Lauren." Scrappy said.
Brumby came by just then, with two tin cups, "Coffee?"
"Sure." Lauren said, "You read my mind."
"No, I just figured you'd want some, after all you've been up all hours helping Doc." Brumby replied.
"Thanks." Lauren replied.
"Just a fair warning, Cookie made it, so I'm not too sure what's in it." Brumby replied.
"But you've got a cup too." Lauren observed, "You'll be drinking it alongside me."
"I'm Australian, I brew tea, not coffee." Brumby replied, "It could've been worse. Vinny could have been brewing the coffee for the morning. Knowing him, he probably added gunpowder to the coffee grounds."
"Vinny seems to be responsible for quite a few people visiting the Infirmary." Lauren remarked.
"Well, you're getting a crash course in medicine, it seems." Brumby replied.
"One thing's for sure. Life on this thing really seems to have its share of drama." Lauren replied.
"Such as?" Brumby replied.
BOOM
"Other than the occasional explosion or Vinny's inventions…" Brumby replied, "Or some combination thereof."
"Well there's always the Prue and Godfrey romance…" Lauren began.
"They're just good friends, mate." Brumby replied.
Men. Lauren thought. "You can't tell that they've got something going on between them?"
"No, not really." Brumby replied.
Lauren said, "Look harder next time, you'll see it."
"I'm paid to be a soldier luv, not a poet…" Brumby replied.
"But you do write a lot, in that notebook you carry in your map case." Lauren remarked.
"Just a journal." Brumby replied.
"I hope you'll show me what it is you write in there every night." Lauren asked.
"It'll have to be a dark night." Brumby replied and sauntered off.
Daphne walked by just then, and noticing her niece in a weird mood, asked, "What's got you perplexed?"
"Men." Lauren replied, "They can be some of the most dense people alive…"
"Are you talking about men in general or one man in particular?" Daphne said.
Lauren hesitated, "No, just men in general."
"Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Australian, would it." Daphne asked.
"No." Lauren replied, "Although he's an example about how dense men can be."
"About what?" Daphne said, with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Well you can tell that Prue and Godfrey have some kind of romantic tension between them…" Lauren replied.
"Well, yeah, it's like there's a neon sign above their heads." Daphne replied.
"Brumby couldn't see it." Lauren replied.
"Well, Lauren, not everyone is as romantically inclined as you…" Daphne replied as Shaggy walked by.
"Like, guys, have you seen my Pez dispenser. I had it last night and it went missing." Shaggy replied.
"I think it was in the infirmary…" Lauren began.
The three of them went in, and lo and behold the item in question was there. Shaggy picked it up, "You might not want to mess with it, after all, Vinny was in here after you left it behind and he might have…"
Shaggy pressed the head of the Pez dispenser and was promptly electrocuted. "ZO-YEEOOOWWWCCHH!!"
Shaggy staggered away from the dropped dispenser, his hair standing on end as Lauren finished her statement, "…experimented on it."
"I swear we need to talk to Vinny about experimenting on items." Daphne replied.
"We've been trying that since before Prue and Godfrey showed up. It hasn't worked." Doc replied.
"I'll kill him…I'll kill him…" Kolopak muttered, as he lumbered into the Infirmary, most of his hair standing on end.
"Let me guess, the electrified Pez dispenser?" Daphne asked.
"Yes." Kolopak replied.
"VINNY YOU IDIOT!!" Donald shouted as he ran by the Infirmary, all his feathers singed off, chasing the Italian inventor with a war hammer.
"Donald! Don't kill him just yet! Let me get him first!" Kolopak replied.
"What did Vinny invent this time?" Daphne asked.
"He actually was trying to do Donald a favor. He replaced the whole lighting system in Donald's magic lab. Unfortunately he accidentally wired the door into the main power grid and turned Donald into a crispy critter the second he touched the door knob." Prue began.
"What is the purpose behind Vinny inventing things other than creating chaos, insanity and madness?" Lauren asked.
"We're still trying to figure that out ourselves." Doc replied.
Just then a spring loaded mechanical kangaroo, a little taller than Scooby bounded by in the hallway. It was playing a recording of Waltzing Matilda.
"What on Earth?" Daphne said.
"Do you like it…" Vinny replied, "I believe Brumby inspired me to create this thing."
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled." Daphne said, rolling her eyes.
Donald came over to the infirmary just then, with Sora and Goofy trying desperately to restrain him from attacking Vinny.
"So what does this thing do? Electrocute people? Explode? Set things on fire?" Donald asked.
"Funny you should ask…because I don't know." Vinny replied.
"You invented something and you don't even know what it does?" Lauren asked.
"Eh, I was sleep walking when I invented it…" Vinny replied.
Just then a giant mechanical fist popped out of the kangaroo's right hand and clobbered Donald.
"Oh, now I remember, it's got a mechanical punching timer attached to it." Vinny replied.
Donald got back up and tried to use his hammer against it, only to get mechanically punched several more times.
Donald landed a blow on the top of the kangaroo and it promptly started punching Donald with a third, hidden fist.
Donald staggered around, "Wuh. Wuh. Wuh…"
FLOP. Donald hit the ground with a thud, his eyes rolling.
"I think someone should weld the door to Vinny's lab shut." Daphne remarked.
"Don't think that it'd help any." Prue replied, "At least with his lab open we can track the movements of his inventions and…"
"GAHHH!!" Kolopak could be heard screaming in the hallway as a mechanical tarantula, about the size of two human hands was clinging to his head.
"VINNY YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR YOU IDIOT!!" Kolopak shouted as he attempted to pry the thing off his head.
"Wow, it seems like someone's getting caught in the spider's web…" The voice came as two ghosts entered the room. The speaker was a tall, slender one with a long nose and five hair-like projections on his head. Beside him was a shorter, fatter ghost.
"Nice one Weerd." Said the other ghost.
"You!" Daphne shouted, spinning round and pointing an accusing finger, "Vanquish them!"
"Wait!" Prue replied, "Who are these guys?"
"Their names are Bogel and Weerd." Daphne said, "And last time we met, they were assisting the 13 Ghosts in trying to take the Chest of Demons."
"Yeah, but they're not exactly happy with us either, sister." Weerd replied.
"After all they're kinda accusing us of incompetence…And angry powerful demons aren't something you wanna mess with, even if you're already dead." Bogel replied.
"Yeah, the words 'fate worse than death' tends to pop up in conversation more than a few times." Weerd replied.
"So that begs the question, why are you two here?" Prue asked.
"Simple, really, one of the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo is on the loose." Weerd replied.
"That narrows it down to about 12 suspects." Prue replied, "Considering we've already captured Maldor."
"We know. And we want to help." Weerd replied.
"OK, you can start by telling us why the 13 Ghosts were released." Daphne added.
"Some guys in black robes wanted them to find this thing called the Heart of Darkness..." Weerd replied.
Before Prue could reply Bertha headed into the room, "This just in. US Marines on Guadalcanal encountered some horrible 'Super Heartless...'. And also an entire platoon of the US Marine Corps elite Raider Battalion was nearly obliterated."
"The Shadow Demon." Bogel replied.
"See. See, we're not lying!" Bogel and Weerd replied.
"I'll get Kolopak." Bertha replied.
Within the hour the Morrowind headed North towards the Marshall Islands. As they did, Bertha mulled the information. Almost a whole platoon of Marine Raiders, the best troops the Marine Corps had to offer, almost being completely obliterated in savage jungle fighting.
She thought of her own family. Her daughter, Lisa had married Robert Karl, a police chief in some little town in Florida a number of years ago. Lisa had four boys, the youngest, Anthony was in the Marine Raiders. The oldest, William, had been with Patrol Torpedo Squadron 3, as a Chief Torpedoman onboard PT 34 in the Philippines before it was overrun in 1941 by the Japanese and Heartless. William had not been heard from since. The last they had heard was he was at a prison camp called Cabanantuan in Luzon.
--
"Prue?" Godfrey asked as he knocked on the door.
No answer. Ever since those ghosts, Bogel and Weerd had shown up, things on the ship had been getting fairly strange.
"GAAHH!!" Donald screamed as he ran screaming out of his workshop covered in tarantulas.
"Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!!" Bogel laughed as he and Weerd watched Donald.
Godfrey hoped Prue wasn't in any danger and pushed the door open. "Prue?"
Still no answer. The bedroom door was closed and Godfrey knocked again. No answer.
Godfrey flung the door open just in time to see Prue's naked backside. He heard a sudden gasp as Prue spun around, clutching the small white towel to her as water droplets trickled down from the wet hair which clung to her face.
"Alan!" Prue yelped with surprise.
"Oh dear God, I'm terribly sorry." Godfrey replied.
"OK, what are you doing in here?" Prue asked as she wrapped the towel around herself.
"In case you haven't noticed, we've got Bogel and Weerd onboard and I don't exactly trust them. I knocked on your door to talk about this whole lot, and you didn't answer and I thought they'd gotten to you." Godfrey replied.
"Alan, I've noticed something about them. While I don't entirely trust Bogel and Weerd, they're more irritating than evil..." Prue replied, "And I know evil."
"WAAAAAKKK!!" Donald shouted, "YOU TWO GHOSTS GET BACK HERE NOW AND GET EVERY ONE OF THOSE SCORPIONS OUT OF MY BEDROOM!!"
"Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!" Bogel and Weerd laughed.
--
Godfrey sat in the Morrowind's library, reading through a volume of Edgar Allan Poe. "Hi there. Masque of the Red Death? A little grim, eh?"
Godfrey looked up in time to look up, in time to see Weerd standing in front of him, with a smile on his face.
"Circumstances are rather grim." Godfrey replied, "I figured it would fit..."
"Well you really look like you need cheering up." Weerd said, one hand behind his back.
"What do you have there?" Godfrey asked.
"Well, it was something Bogel and I swiped from Donald's magic lab..." Weerd said.
"For the love of God, you've no idea what it is, or what its intentions are." Godfrey replied.
"Well, I heard something of it being a teleportation powder and..." Weerd said.
"How does it work, exactly?" Godfrey asked, waiting to lunge and grab the jar.
"Wanna see?" Weerd said, and not waiting for the answer he launched a handful of powder into Godfrey's face.
With a loud cough and choke Godfrey felt like his stomach had turned inside out. He found himself in a room where it was oppressively hot, hotter than the hottest days in Mayapore. It was wet in the room, humid, more so than India's rainy season.
He felt himself bump into something, or rather someone, from behind. He turned around and saw a sight that was nearly out of his dreams. Nearly because the context of the dreams were a little more romantic.
He found himself looking directly at Prue's naked back side as she dried herself off with a little white towel.
Prue felt something bump into her from behind and she spun round to find herself face to face with a very wide eyed Alan Godfrey.
"ALAN!" Prue yelped with surprise as she pulled her towel around herself, "What are you doing here?"
"It's actually quite a story..." Godfrey began as he put his hand on his eyes.
"Out! Out! OUT!" Prue replied.
"Christ! Let me bloody explain!" Godfrey replied.
"You have the keys to every room as the security man..." Prue replied, "I can't believe you'd stoop to peeping Tom..."
"Two very mischievious ghosts are responsible for my being here right now." Godfrey replied.
"Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!" Bogel and Weerd could be heard laughing outside.
"Excuse me." Godfrey replied, as he ran out into the hall to chase them.
Prue stood there for a moment before continuing to dry off and get dressed. Actually, once she got over the initial surprise, she didn't really mind him seeing her like that, oddly enough.
--
"Doctor Jones?" asked the nondescript man in civilian clothes.
"Yes, that's me." Dr. Indiana Jones replied as he stared out over Ayers Rock towards the Australian Outback.
"I understand your researching aboriginal beliefs in dark gods?" the rock solid looking man said.
"Yes, I am, and who might you be?" Jones asked. He sized the man up, in case he had to fight this guy. He was rock solid looking, built like a defensive end, but on the short side.
"Major Frank Coonan, US Marine Corps. I work for the Office of Naval Intelligence."
"And why exactly would ONI be interested in me?" Jones asked.
"Well Doctor Jones, recent campaigns in the Solomon Islands have unearthed a mysterious structures of Polynesian origin, ruins of a sort on various islands." Coonan replied.
"Go on." Jones continued.
"Well, doctor, from what we've seen of the ruins there are mentions to 'Dark Ones', 'Beings Without Hearts' and things of that nature." Coonan replied, "Our translators have even detected references to the number thirteen numerous times. We could use someone of your archaeological expertise to help us with research into our latest find."
"Which would be..." Jones replied.
"On the Island of Guadalcanal." Coonan replied.
"Guadalcanal. Wait a minute, aren't there Japanese soldiers and Heartless on Guadalcanal?" Jones asked.
"Yes." Coonan replied.
"Well then, it's not the safest place to conduct research." Jones replied.
"Since when have you cared about safety, Dr. Jones." Coonan replied, "And anyway, much on the fighting on Guadalcanal appears to be dying down. And we will be accompanied by a platoon of among the Marine Corps finest troops: The Marine Raiders."
"So how are we getting there?" Jones asked.
The Morrowind flew over the horizon just then before alighting onto the desert floor. "By Independent Airship...let's not forget the crew of the Morrowind includes a Keyblade wielder for additional security." Coonan replied.
--
And when he gets to heaven.
St Peter he will tell,
"One more Marine reporting, sir
I've served my time in hell..."
- US Marine Corps Cadence, Author Unknown
Guadalcanal, 1943. With lush tropical jungles, blue Pacific seas, and clear skies, the Island, as its Marine guests called her since their arrival in the fall of 1942, would have seemed a tropical paradise from a travel brochure.
Its reality, however, could not be further from the illusion. The Island greeted its guests with fields of kunai grass, as tall as a Marine and sharp as a K-bar fighting knife, snakes of all types, large crocodiles, malarial mosquitoes and tropical storms.
As if nature's hazards weren't enough, since the Marines took the Island in 1942, the Japanese and Heartless launched numerous efforts to retake it. The main reason was Henderson Field, named for US Marine pilot killed during the Battle of Midway.
Marine manpower was too limited to maintain a constant perimeter about the island, and so mobile defenses were adopted. And so it was for the men of the Marine Raider Battalion, who landed on the Island the previous year during the amphibious assault.
All this was furthest from the mind of Corporal Joseph Enders as he defended Lunga Point from a Japanese landing. The night before, the lieutenant had bought it, his corpse still floating face up in a flooded riverbank, hunks of viscera hanging out from a bayonet wound after having been stuck time after time by Japanese bayonets.
Sergeant Jelal, the last NCO in 2nd Platoon, the others either dead, wounded, or out with malaria, hadn't lasted that much longer. A Japanese bullet had torn into his throat as he fell twenty five yards away from his lieutenant.
His men were behind him and to the right and left of him, as far as he knew as he blasted into the fog with his Thompson gun. He hoped that he hadn't just blown away some lost Marine from the other platoon.
A shriek pierced the fog, an animal cry as a Japanese soldier, chest pockmarked with .45 caliber rounds.
"Banzai!" and "Die Marine!" came from the fog as more Japanese soldiers materialized like spectres, with several Heartless rushing behind and beside them.
Enders fired into the fog, gun blazing, several Japanese and Heartless falling like cordwood before him. The glint of a bayonet was just visible out of the corner of his eye...but it wasn't meant for him. It pierced the shoulder of Tommy Kittering, Atlanta, Georgia. Kittering didn't react, at least not immediately, and then dropped heavily to his butt, screaming like a squalling infant as a Heartless dove on top of him, clawing at his face.
Enders put his weapon practically onto the Heartless' head and squeezed the trigger and blew the creature's head off in a spray of black blood and gray brain matter.
A Springfield '03 rifle cracked beside Enders' head as PFC Anthony Karl, DeLand, FL, let fly. Another Japanese soldier pitched backwards into the kunai grass, a hole blown through his head.
Another scream echoed. Pvt. Al Hasby, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, clutched a shattered forearm broken by a Heartless in a hand to hand fight. The Heartless lay with Hasby's K-bar embedded in it's eye socket, twitching on the ground. The kid looked at Enders with a pained look. Kid, just a damned kid, like so many of them, seventeen, eighteen years old.
PFC Bill Mertens, Denver, Colorado, blasted away at the Japs and Heartless, who were falling back into the fog. His eyes went wide as the weapon clicked on an empty chamber. "Runnin' outta ammo Joe! Gotta pull back!"
CRACK! Karl let fly again with his Springfield rifle. A Japanese soldier fell backward. "He's right Joe! Down to my last mag!" The Floridian sharpshooter replied.
"Karl! Get to First Platoon," Enders shouted, hoping that none of the bastards out there spoke English.
"Jesus Corporal! He's right. Look around man!" Kittering spoke as he held his damaged shoulder.
PFC Karl was long gone, running into the fog. Enders hoped to hell the kid, just turned twenty yesterday, would make it. The radio was shot to hell, along with the radioman who literally lost his head to a Bandit Heartless.
Enders gazed long at the demoralizing sight at what had become his unit. Half a dozen shit scared, tight faced kids, intermixed amongst their dead and groaning wounded buddies and even a few enemies.
"Shitcan this Joe! No one else has to die here!" Mertens said, a bit more insistently.
"Joe! I wanna go home!" Hasby added.
Enders felt his jaw muscles tense up. Who the fuck didn't want to go home. "We got orders! Hold this beach!"
"On your feet Marine!" Enders said as he bellowed, shoving his .45 pistol into Hasby's hand.
Kittering and Mertens looked shit scared as more brown uniformed figures raced from the fog. Mertens blasted away with the last four rounds in his clip, the ping of the Garand's magazine going empty and the clip springing upward.
A burst of fire from a Jap light machinegun as Mertens hit the ground clutching at his shredded belly, his guts leaking from inside. "God damn you Joe Enders!!" Mertens screamed his last words, clutching at his buddy's forearm.
Mertens let out a scream as his heart was absorbed and Heartless appeared on top of his corpse. Al Hasby screamed and blew him away.
Hasby blasted away with Enders' .45 pistol until it went empty and he literally fell apart as a Bandit Heartless cleaved him in half. Enders fired the last of his Tommy gun and blew the Bandit into a shredded wreck.
A grenade flew from the hand of a nearby Japanese soldier, which exploded from behind him.
Enders lay on his side as the Japanese and Heartless swarmed into the position. His vision was blurred by dust and injury. Screams, shouts and gunfire echoed loudly. He thought any second he'd see a Jap standing over him, rifle aimed, about to fire a round or stick him with a bayonet.
The shadow fell over him and Enders mentally steeled himself for a killing blow that never came. His vision showed Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class Walt Kowaleski kneeling over him, bandaging his wounds.
He saw PFC Karl drop to one knee, picking off a fleeing Japanese soldier. Goddamn, the kid made it…Enders thought as he lost consciousness.
--
"So what's up with this new guy?" PFC Luke Wiersbowski began as he leaned on his Browning Automatic Rifle.
"He just lost most of his unit at Lunga Point." PFC Vincent DiStephano replied as he checked his M1 Garand for the umpteenth time.
"Still fucking weird man." Pvt. Willie Shapiro began as he adjusted straps on his radio, and indicated PFC Karl with his free right hand, "Just sits there with his rifle, field strips it, checks his telescopic sight, lights a cigarette and occasionally shadow boxes..."
"Section Eight." Pvt. Scott Cooksley began.
"He's just quiet, that's all." PH3 'Doc' Kowaleski countered.
"He's still a damn Section Eight. LT should just write his ass off..." Cooksley countered.
"It's probably long term shell shock." Wiersbowski replied, "He's got it hard core."
"Section Eight." Cooksley replied.
"Hey, he just lost most of his unit, most of his buddies. Guys he went through training with, guys he fought alongside with, joked with." Kowaleski replied, "And as you know, Marine Raider training ain't the easiest on the planet."
"Even when we were in training the guy never talked to anyone outside his platoon. Fucking dickhead deserved it. Too good to talk to second platoon..." Cooksley replied.
"Cooksley, shut it." Kowaleski said, "Give him a chance..."
"If he quits just staring out at the jungle with his rifle on his lap and actually talks on down time." Cooksley replied.
"It's kinda creepy tho." DiStephano said.
"Hey Di, didn't all he say was that he'd kill me for being such a jerk..." Cooksley said, "I think it's all talk, him just talking shit and he can't back it up..."
"Dude, he just lost his whole unit." Kowalseki replied.
"You mean the loudmouth, Kittering and that whole gang." Cooksey said.
"The Japs shot up first platoon pretty bad. They lost their officer and most of their NCOs on the first day." Kowaleski added.
What an understatement. Karl thought. Most everyone in 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, Edson's Marine Raiders is either dead or wounded. Our platoon commander died that night. Most of the NCOs died that same day in various fights. Jelly was the last one we had till the Japs got him.
"What's that there?" DiStephano asked as he noticed the unusual looking aircraft landing.
"That an Army Air Corps bird?" Wiersbowski asked.
"Nah, it's an Independent Airship. But what in the hell's it doing way the fuck out here." Cooksley replied.
"LT went over that way to figure that out." Gunnery Sergeant Todd Wayland said as all six and a half feet of him lumbered into the area, "That means be sure you guys got your gear ready to go. I got a feeling we might just be getting some more tasking since LT headed over to HQ tent this morning."
Gunnery Sergeant Wayland was right, it turned out. As the Morrowind touched down, First Lieutenant Sam Task slung his M1 Tompson over his left shoulder as the landing ramp lowered.
He laid eyes on the crew as some members disembarked. Leading their group was a fellow who looked like an Indian, with a 1903 Springfield slung over his shoulder and a jade Aztec war club at his left hip. Beside him was a fellow in a British Army uniform, a man wearing brown trousers, a leather flight jacket and fedora hat with a bullwhip at his side and a .45 caliber automatic, a dark haired woman, and a short, stocky blond haired major wearing herringbone utilities with the USMC emblem and a battle helmet. In his hands was a Reising submachine gun with three magazines electrical taped together.
"Sir." Task said, without saluting due to the presence of the occasional Japanese sniper poking around the airfield perimeter, "Lieutenant Task, 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, Edson's Marine Raider Battalion."
"Major Coonan, Office of Naval Intelligence. Good afternoon, lieutenant. Your men have been tasked to provide escort for myself, Doctor Jones and some other civilians from the Independent Airship Morrowind."
"Yes sir. I'll have the men ready ASAP." Task replied.
--
"Fall in." Gunny shouted and the men of 2nd Platoon fell into ranks as Lieutenant Task, followed by a fellow in a fedora hat and an unidentified major.
"What the hell's the LT doing with the brass in tow?" DiStephano asked.
"Quiet." Cooksley replied.
"Both of you button your yaps." Gunny said in a low whisper, "Before I have both of you cleaning shitters till the war ends."
"Good afternoon men." Task said, "I'm not gonna bullshit you, but it looks like we've got ourselves a mission, a real doozy from the looks of it."
Task looked out over the men, almost all of them to a man tested veterans, save a couple newcomers to the platoon. Hirsch and Matson in 1st Squad, together with PFC Karl, the sharpshooter from 1st Platoon after that unit got shot to hell.
"We're going to escort Dr. Indiana Jones here on a fact finding mission to the ruins near Lunga Point." Task began, "You have two hours to get your gear in order, draw ammunition, I suggest as much as you can carry, Lunga is still contested."
"Lunga Point? Hey, ain't that where 1st Platoon got its ass shot to shit LT?" Pvt. Spud Udesky, Sandusky, OH, replied.
"Spud, shaddap." Gunny replied sharply.
"Joining us will be crewmembers from the Independent Airship, Morrowind." Task replied, "Questions?"
"Sir, how many Japs does Intel say are in the area?" Cooksley asked.
"Intelligence reports indicate that a sizable Japanese contingent, approximately regimental strength is in the area." Task said, "Most of it is headed inland to reinforce positions overlooking Henderson Field that are being contested."
As Task spoke, the distant rumble of artillery fire could be heard, as troops from the US Army 25th Infantry Division were doing that contesting against determined Japanese defenders.
"How many Japs," Task said, "Expect at least a battalion strength element contesting us around Lunga. Friendly forces in the area include 3rd Platoon and men from 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division covering our flanks."
Back to Lunga. Karl thought. Where Mertens, Hasby, and Kittering bought their farms. Payback.
As he stood in formation he noticed an old woman on top of the airship that the newcomers had come from. She was adjusting a communication antennae of some sort. He recognized her just then, Grandma. He'd not seen her in almost ten years.
--
Lauren watched the activity around the airfield. A mix of Army and Marine personnel busied themselves repairing and refitting aircraft on the field, pulling guard duty, or resting when they could.
Audrey was checking a fuel-line on the Morrowind, muttering something about number three engine's RPM issues.
Vinny and Mole were fixing up the electronically targeted twin .50 caliber machineguns underneath the nose.
Godfrey was talking to an unidentified American officer, a Marine from what she could tell, something about additional intelligence.
"Hey Lauren," Daphne said, "Kolopak's called a meeting."
Shortly, everyone assembled in the Morrowind's mess hall.
"Alright. We're going to split up into two groups. One group is accompanying Dr. Jones and providing all the support we can. Another group stays back and provides security here. Be ready to get in the air in a hurry."
"I'll lead the group going with Dr. Jones. Kida you're in charge here at the airfield." Kolopak began, "Going with me: Godfrey, Prue, Goofy, Sora, Donald, Daphne, Milo, Mole, D'Artagnan, Brumby, Lauren, Scrappy, and Vinny."
"Why Lauren?" Daphne asked.
"Doc's still not good to travel after being injured in New Guinea." Kolopak replied.
Daphne reluctantly conceded. Lauren had seen some action in New Guinea.
"What about Bogel and Weerd? We can't just let them roam around the ship." Godfrey replied.
"They come with us." Kolopak said, "Sora, if they get out of line, vanquish 'em..."
"Rat rabout rus?" Scooby asked.
"Scooby, you and Shaggy stay with the ship and monitor the radio. We might be calling for help in a hurry. Kida, Audrey, Cookie, Bertha, and Doc also stay with the ship. We might need you to get us out of here in a hurry." Kolopak said, "We move out in an hour..."
--
The group moved through the jungle. The Marines had two squads in front with the third and fourth squads to the rear. To the center of the formation were the Morrowinders, with Bogel and Weerd under very close watch.
DiStephano had point with Wiersbowski behind him. Wiersbowski had his Browning Automatic Rifle ready to deal with anything that would likely come creeping up on them in the jungle.
Indiana Jones and Major Coonan were in the center of the formation where the leadership of the platoon was. Gunny was riding shotgun, his M1 carbine ready.
As they moved through the jungle DiStephano raised a fist and gestured for everyone to go to ground. The Marines fanned out, weapons covering 360 degrees of cover. The Morrowind crewmembers with firearms did the same, and Donald readied his war hammer staff, Goofy held up his smasher shield and Sora summoned the Keyblade.
"Japs..." DiStephano passed silently down the column. Almost everyone could see Japanese soldiers, with at least one heavy machine gun and at least two mortar tubes, followed by several Heartless. A company sized element? How had it passed the Lunga Perimeter? Did it slip by, or worse, was the perimeter overrun.
"They're headed straight for the airfield." Gunny remarked as he headed back from DiStephano's position.
"We have to warn them..." Lauren said.
"We don't have to warn anyone. We have a mission and if we fail the mission, more Marines are gonna die." Coonan replied.
"LT." Gunny said, ignoring Coonan, "What are your orders..."
"Gunnery Sergeant, we have an assignment." Coonan said, "This is an unnecessary risk."
"Sir the lives of our fellow Marines are about to be at risk.. Our ultimate objective is to protect Henderson Field." Gunny replied.
Up and down the column the safeties on M1 Garands, BARs, M1 Carbines, Springfields and Tompson sub machineguns began to click off.
"Wait for the rear elements to pass first squad's position then hit them hard and fast." Task began.
"Lieutenant..." Coonan warned.
"This might be your mission, sir, but its my platoon." Task replied, "And I cannot in good conscience allow a large Japanese strike force near the airfield without doing something about it."
"Lieutenant, that's at least a company sized element, one hundred and fifty men, at least three times our size." Coonan replied.
"We'll hit them hard, hit them fast and disengage fast." Task replied, "Head to the first rendezvous point."
"This is an unnecessary risk." Coonan replied sourly as he disengaged the safety on his Reising sub machinegun.
"LT, first squad in position. Second and third squads moving into position." Gunny said.
"Wiersbowski, base of fire. Karl, cover him. As soon as that rear security element passes first squad's position, take out the officers. On his first shot, Wiersbowski trigger the ambush..."
Karl checked the bolts on the 10x Unertl telescopic sight almost as long as the Springfield rifle itself. He sighted in on a Japanese officer, katana dangling from his hip. He placed the crosshairs on the head of the Jap officer, aiming squarely at the man's ear canal.
Aim small, miss small, son. Thanks Dad. Karl thought.
CRACK! Karl let loose with the first round. The Japanese officer never knew what hit him as the .30-06 bullet ripped into his brain at high velocity.
Almost instantaneously Wiersbowski opened up with the BAR, mowing down a trio of Japanese soldiers with a burst of fire.
From up and down their flanks the combined Marine and Morrowinder ambush took the Japanese and Heartless almost entirely by surprise.
DiStephano and Cooksley let the Japanese soldiers with the heavy machinegun have it and D'Artagnan contributed fire with his Tompson gun.
Kolopak had taken a position beside Karl and took aim with his own Springfield. CRACK! A Japanese sergeant waving his katana got a part of his face caved in by Kolopak's shot.
"Banzai!" came a shout. The Japanese soldiers rushed towards the Marine positions, with several Heartless. Despite the withering fire the Marines were throwing their way, the Japanese had sheer numbers on their side.
"By squads! Fall back!" Task shouted. Gunny relayed his directions down the line.
Fourth squad fell back first. The Japanese assaults were becoming more coordinated, despite the Marines' deadly accurate counterfire.
The Japanese were getting closer as third squad fell back. Gunny let fly at a Heartless that got too close with his carbine, hitting the creature in the center of its stomach, the chest, and the middle of it's head.
Coonan let a charging Japanese soldier have it with a short burst from the Reising gun. Despite the withering fire the Japanese were receiving, their sheer numbers were beginning to tell. They kept pressure on the Marines as the platoon began to withdraw into the jungle.
Lauren closed her eyes as bullets flew and grenades exploded. Shaggy dragged her to her feet, "Come on, run, get out of here..."
A Japanese soldier rushed at Shaggy, about to bayonet him when Donald smashed his face in with a mighty swing of the war hammer.
"Grenade!" Gunny shouted and kicked one back at the Japanese troops.
Lauren felt more than saw or heard the blast, but felt herself being knocked off her feet. She staggered like a drunk, narrowly avoiding being skewered by a Bandit Heartless. She saw it shake like it had been electrocuted. Brumby had just blown the creature away with most of the magazine from his Owen sub machinegun.
Lauren couldn't hear but she could see Brumby's lips moving. "Grenade!" The Australian shouted and dragged both of them staggering, falling, tumbling down the hill. Trees, ground, sky all alternated in a spiraling view for Lauren before she blacked out.
--
"Hello!" Lauren shouted into the fog, "Brumby? Daphne? Anyone..."
A hand clamped over her mouth and Lauren thought the worst for about a second until she heard an Australian accented voice whispering in her ear, "Shh, you want those bloody Japs to catch you? There could be thousands of them around here, and we can't see a bloody thing."
A moan sounded just then and both of them turned. Lauren headed for the source of the moan, practically running. Lauren stopped short, lying on the ground, holding his bleeding stomach in his hands, was a Japanese soldier.
Brumby immediately raised his sub machinegun. "No!" Lauren shouted.
"I've seen them do far worse to our wounded!" Brumby protested.
"Still, he's a human being." Lauren protested, and stepping between them said, "If you want to shoot him, you'll have to kill me too."
"You weren't there on the Kokoda Track." Brumby replied, "You didn't see bodies mutilated, parts cut out of them and later found roasting on campfires. We never took any Japs prisoners there."
"Why?" Lauren said.
"It's an unwritten rule of this war. Cannibalism is an instant death sentence. Our lads always shoot Japs cannibalizing our dead or wounded." Brumby replied.
Lauren ignored Brumby's words and began treating the wounded Japanese soldier.
"We'd best get moving." Brumby replied. There was noise and movement in the fog, the occasional gun shot or the boom of artillery or mortar fire from further inland where the US Army's 23rd Infantry Division was fighting the Japanese for the inland hills in savage jungle fighting.
The fog made it impossible to see more than a few feet. "Come on, this way...we'd best head towards the airfield. It's our best bet for safety." Brumby said.
"What about the others?" Lauren asked.
"I'll drop you off at the airfield and then head off with the others." Brumby replied.
"I can't leave Aunt Daphne and..." Lauren began. A moan cut off anything else she had to say.
Brumby turned towards the source of the moan, aiming his weapon. Lauren wisely followed behind him as they headed for the source of the moan. Lying amongst the ferns and kunai grass was Scrappy. Blood covered his left rear leg and most of his left side.
"Oh my God." Lauren exclaimed as she reached for her medical bag. Brumby dropped to one knee, scanning the fog, in case any more Japanese soldiers were to appear.
The sounds of savage fighting could be heard. It was coming from the direction of Lunga Point as more Japanese units attempted to breach the Marine perimeter. Grenade explosions. Rifle shots. Automatic weapons. Screams.
"Scrappy?" Lauren said, "Can you hear me?"
"Ughh..." Scrappy said.
"What happened?" Lauren asked.
"When we were pulling back, a Japanese soldier stuck me in the leg..." Scrappy groaned.
Lauren was on her knees, treating the wound. "You're lucky, it missed any arteries or veins. But you lost a lot of blood..."
She bandaged the injury, "Try and put weight on it."
Scrappy stood, shakily, and he could limp reasonably. "That'll do." Brumby said, "We'd best get moving."
"Where to?" Scrappy said.
"Back to the airfield, get you treated." Brumby replied.
"No way! I can't leave the others behind..." Scrappy said.
"You're in no state to walk." Brumby replied.
Scrappy hobbled in the direction of the airfield.
--
The Japanese soldier collapsed as PFC Mike Barr shot him with his M1 Garand. All around him other Marines from George Company, 1st Platoon of the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division were fighting Japanese soldiers attempting to break through the perimeter at Lunga point. The rifle pinged with the tell-tale ejection of its empty clip.
Barr fished around his bandoliers, looking for another clip. Fumbling he found one and jammed it into the rifle, sending the bolt forward just as three Shadow Heartless crashed from the foliage, landing on top of Pvt. Con Adams, Omaha, NE. Barr hit two of the Heartless with his M1 before the weapon clicked on a dud round.
"Fuck!" Barr shouted.
Con was wrestling with the Shadow Heartless, reaching for his Kabar knife, raising it in the air. Splashes of black blood could be seen in the air as Adams plunged his knife into the Heartless again and again.
A burst of gunfire sounded from a Jap light machine gun and Adams twitched on the ground as if he were being electrocuted.
"Running low Sarge!" Barr shouted, "I think we should pull outta here!"
"Barr, you and Cliffton take that machine gun out! I'll cover you two." Sergeant Mayhew Harris, Crofton, MD, shouted back as he fired his Tompson gun in a burst that mowed down two Soldier Heartless trying to advance behind the cover of the Japanese machine gun.
"Sarge, could you give us a hand with that thing?" Barr asked.
"Barr, if we get out of this you are on shitter duty the rest of the damn war." Harris replied brusquely as he let fly with his Tompson gun.
Barr tossed a grenade into the machine gun position and it exploded, killing the Jap gunner and wounding the assistant. For about a second Barr saw a glowing heart shape where the wounded Japanese assistant gunner lay dying and a Heartless appeared in his place. Barr shot it with the last four rounds in his clip and the thing lay twitching two feet away. Jesus Christ the thing was still trying to attack even as he was killing it...
Harris grabbed the hand held radio and started to get on the horn, "Checkmate King this is Checkmate One, we just soaked up another attack, around two squads worth, a bit more determined than the probing assaults..."
"AAGGGGHHH!!" Barr screamed as he was dragged, screaming by his leg into the bushes.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Cliffton shouted and tossed a hand grenade into the bushes which exploded as Barr's last screams were truncated by a wet ripping sound an instant before the explosion tore into the bush.
Harris was about to tell Cliffton not to throw the grenade but realized that it was the most merciful act Cliffton could do for Barr just then. He knew the kid would suffer for killing his buddy, but the three pairs of Heartless feet he saw sticking out in the wrecked brush.
He reloaded his Tompson gun, stuffing the mostly empty magazine from the last firefight into a shirt pocket. He had no sooner had he pulled the bolt back when seven soldier Heartless charged over the logs. He let them have it with the Tompson, with Cliffton adding fire from his M1 Garand.
"Checkmate King, Checkmate One pulling back, right flank folding."
"Checkmate One, negative, hold the position. We can't let the Japs reinforce the attack on Home Plate."
"God damn it." Harris grunted, "Checkmate King, you'd better reinforce me pronto. I've lost half my Marines already trying to hold this godforsaken stretch..."
"Understanding where you're coming from, but we're just as stretched as you...we've got big probing attacks up and down our perimeter."
"Sarge, are they sending help?" Cliffton said, his narrow seventeen year old face imploring.
Harris felt like a sonofabitch when he replied, "They've got too many Japs attacking the perimeter, all over the place to reinforce us..."
"What do we do?" Cliffton asked.
"Gather all the ammo you can, all of you..." Harris said, indicating the other five surviving Marines. Seven of their twelve men lay dead around the jungle, "We've got a buzzsaw of a fight coming..."
Those Marines were realizing a lesson of the hellish jungle battles, ammunition was lifeblood and sharp bayonets and even sharper survival instincts were to keep them alive. For however long that was the case...
--
Marines and soldiers on the Henderson field perimeter were equally under strain. Gunnery Sergeant Tim Shavitz let fly with the M1937 shotgun, decapitating a Bandit Heartless, who's neck stump sprayed black blood and gray matter as it fell.
"Yes sir we definitely were close enough to use these things." Shavitz replied to Captain Jack Moscowitz, company commander of B for Baker Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Division.
"Remind me to write the weapon's platoon commander up for a medal after this is all over then..." Moscowitz said with only a hint of sarcasm.
Shavitz reloaded another two rounds into the shotgun. "First platoon's holding its positions, second's floundering but third sent two squads to reinforce them. Fourth soaked up another attack..." Shavitz reported.
"Good. Private Flynn, call another fire support mission, danger close, in front of second platoon." Moscowitz replied.
Flynn, God bless the kid, called in his fifth fire support mission for that hour. The mortars opened up, raining 60mm shells into the midst of the Heartless and Japanese troops attacking the perimeter.
Moscowitz watched with grim satisfaction as two Heartless went flying in the nearest explosion that flung their broken and burned bodies into the air.
--
"Forget the airfield..." Brumby said as the sound of explosions and fighting neared, "We'd be better off if we met up with the others and the second rendezvous point."
"Why?" Lauren asked.
A fusillade of machinegun fire and mortar explosions provided all the answers she needed. Lauren and Scrappy wisely followed Brumby's lead through the jungle, towards the ruins.
"I thought we were in friendly territory, aren't we?" Lauren asked.
"You call this friendly?" Brumby said, pointing two corpses, one was a Marine with a shattered rifle in one hand. The other was a Bandit Heartless that had been torn apart by a Tompson gun.
As they picked their way through the jungle, they saw evidence of more fighting. Corpses, Japanese, Heartless and Marine alike lay strewn about in a strange fellowship of death.
It was clear that a series of running gun battles had been fought over the routes to the airfield. The Marines had inflicted losses on the Heartless and Japanese, but had also suffered horrible losses as well.
Brumby bent down to examine the battlefield from line of fire level. It was clear that this Marine squad had fought valiantly to control this particular stretch of land, but the Japanese and Heartless had been too numerous and punched a hole into the perimeter that was being exploited.
"Grenade!" Brumby shouted and kicked it away. The weapon exploded with a bang, missing Lauren and Scrappy, but knocking both of them to the ground with the concussion wave.
Several Japanese soldiers accompanied by four Search Ghosts appeared from the brush. Brumby opened fire with his Owen gun, obliterating two of the Search Ghosts and knocking down the nearest Japanese soldier.
"Brumby! Run!" Lauren shouted.
The Australian took off running through the jungle, Search Ghosts chasing him. Lauren let out a strangled yelp of pain as a Japanese soldier grabbed her by the hair, another grabbed her by the arms and dragged her off.
"HEY!" Scrappy protested as another Japanese soldier grabbed him. Scrappy bit him on the arm and the Jap cursed violently.
"NO!" Lauren screamed as another Japanese soldier struck Scrappy with a rifle butt and was about to impale him on the bayonet when their squad leader barked a command. The Japanese soldier backed off and tied a rope around Scrappy's paws. Two of them carried him on a wooden pole.
--
From deep in enemy territory Task could hear the sound of fighting as the Japanese and Heartless attacked the Lunga Perimeter.
"Damn..." DiStephano said from the front of the line, "About twenty yards into the cave is a large locked door..."
"Sora. This looks like your specialty." Prue said, as they entered the cavern.
"It's weird." Sora remarked, "Since we passed the perimeter fighting, we've not seen a single Jap or Heartless..."
"Makes you wonder, where they're at..." Godfrey replied, "Are they lying in wait around here for us, or is there something in this cavern even they're not stupid enough to mess with."
"We still can't discount the possibility of ambush. Third and fourth squads, stay behind." Task ordered, "Gunny you're in charge of the rear guard."
"Yes sir." Gunny replied.
"The rest of us, get inside the cave." Task replied.
"So, what can we expect from this Shadow Demon?" Prue asked.
"Deceptive and cunning. It can appear out of seemingly nowhere." Daphne replied.
"So this works by us taking care of whatever Heartless or ancient badguys lurking down in that sealed door and you guys get close enough to trap him in this Chest of Demons of yours?" Task said.
"Exactly." Daphne replied.
"Right." Task said.
"I'll stay behind. Mole, go with Prue, Goofy, Sora and Donald, keep Milo and Daphne safe. D'Artagnan, Vinny, you're with me..." Kolopak began.
Meanwhile Indiana Jones and Milo were examining the strange door with Coonan standing behind them.
"How do you know this isn't gonna trigger some sort of booby trap..." Coonan asked.
"We're looking for warnings now." Milo replied, reading the language, "It's some ancient form of Ancient Polynesian I barely recognize...there's something relating about a 'key wielder' and obviously this giant Heartless emblem."
"And...what?" Coonan asked.
"Most of the stone has been eroded away by age." Milo said, "I'm seeing references to 'Great Darkness'."
"Doctors, get me as much information as you can as we travel through these caves." Coonan said.
"I think with what these warnings say we're gonna be facing something some great number of badguys." Milo said, "I don't think we can do that much information gathering..."
"First of all, Doctors, you have some of the best Marines of the Corps watching your backs. And if by some miracle any Heartless get anywhere near you two..." Coonan held up his Reising gun, "Rest assured I can take care of them."
"Sora...do your stuff..." Prue said.
Sora pointed the Keyblade at the stone door and the giant Heartless emblem split in half like a breadstick.
The group proceeded into the cavern's darkness. DiStephano held his M1 Garand at the ready. He overheard Dr. Jones and the linguist guy talking about 'Great Darkness'. What if an ungodly number of Heartless roared out of that door? One thing's for sure, the bastards might kill him, but he'd take as many of those bastards with him as possible.
The group proceeded into the caverns depths. Inside were statues of various Shadow and Neoshadow Heartless and writings on the walls.
"No shit...these guys worshiped the Heartless." Wiersbowski grumbled, "So we've got a mission into the middle of a Goddamn hornets nest..."
"Even worse. There aren't any hornets around." Cooksley replied.
Milo was writing information into his notes as fast as he could, occasionally mumbling: "A Great Darkness. A World Outside Our Own. A Great War."
"Milo, focus..." Prue said as Milo bumped into her from behind.
"I am focusing." Milo said, "It's like there's all this talk of prophesies, a great council of villains..."
"And this isn't stuff we already know?" Prue replied.
"Yes, but the idea of a World beyond our Own and a Time Beyond Our Own suggests that this war, while destructive and bloody isn't the war that these ancient carvings are talking about." Milo said.
"I dunno about you, but I'm worried about surviving this war." Wiersbowski replied.
"WAK!!" Donald shouted, "Heartless..."
Several Heartless came out of various places in the ruins right into the teeth of the Marines' gunfire.
A Bandit Heartless raised it's sword to cleave at Goofy from behind. D'Artagnan let him have it with his Tompson gun.
"ARRAGGH!" PFC Bailey screamed as a Neoshadow's claws ripped into his midsection, spilling his intestines all over the stone floors.
"Fuck you!" DiStephano said and jammed his bayonet into the creature's eye with so much force that the bayonet came out the other end of the creature's skull.
A large, round body with glowing eyes and a large mouth, with antennae and spindly arms and legs jumped from the ceiling and a glowing shape appeared from Bailey's chest, and a Heartless stood where they dying Marine had lain earlier.
Sora vanquished the new Heartless with a swing of the Keyblade and the Shadow Demon fled deeper into the cavern and started chasing Bogel and Weerd shouting, "Traitors!!"
"Now do you believe us!" Weerd shouted.
"Go!" Task shouted, "We'll keep the Heartless busy, for God's sakes vanquish the prick!"
Indiana Jones pulled his .45 automatic out and bagged another Neoshadow that tried to chase the other Morrowind crew members. His bullwhip cracked and it knocked a Bandit Heartless' sword clear.
Coonan blasted the Bandit Heartless with his Reising gun, splattering black blood into the air.
"Can you guys keep the noise down, I'm trying to think over here!" Milo said.
Coonan responded by letting another burst of gunfire go at a knot of charging Soldier Heartless. The magazine ran dry and Coonan removed the magazine and flicked his wrist, jamming the new magazine into the weapon and slamming the bolt home. He used more bursts of gunfire to shred the remaining Heartless.
Come on Morrowinders, work fast...Coonan thought. Nearby DiStephano let another Neoshadow Heartless have it with two rounds to the chest with his Garand.
"Prue! Watch out!" Godfrey called out. Behind Prue was a Neoshadow, claws ready to impale the witch.
With the life of the woman he loved at stake, Godfrey didn't hesitate. He fired seven rounds from his carbine, the bullets striking home one after the other and the Heartless telescoped to the floor, dead.
Prue, Daphne, Sora, Donald and Goofy ran in to chamber which had to have been used for sacrifice victims, if the skeletons with the burst rib cages were any indication.
Cornered, Bogel and Weerd had nowhere else to go. The Shadow Demon loomed over them.
"Thundaga!" Donald shouted and sent volts of electricity arcing into the Shadow Demon. The creature roared and blinked, appearing behind Donald and smacking him with a clawed hand.
Donald sailed through the air and hit the wall, staggering.
"Donald, with the amount of times you smash your head into walls you'd think you'd be used to it by now..." Weerd remarked.
"Wuh! Wuh! Wuh!" Donald said.
The sound of shooting and fighting outside intensified as the Marines were determined to make the Heartless pay for any inch of space they managed to claim.
Prue flung an explosive potion into the Shadow Demon's mouth. The creature seemed to burst apart, but then coalesced into its component parts again.
The creature came at Prue and Daphne attempted to open the Chest of Demons, only to have the Shadow Demon throw her against the wall with a lot of force. Thankfully she collided solidly with Donald.
"Thanks for breaking my fall." Daphne said.
"Gurrkkk..." Donald said, still dazed.
As Daphne attempted to stand she could feel the pain shooting up through her ankle. Just then Bogel and Weerd swiped the Chest of Demons.
What Daphne saw next was the last thing she would expect to see in a million years. "Hey you miserable sack of shit!" Weerd shouted, "Try this on for size...Now Bogel!"
Bogel tried to lift the Chest's lid. But he couldn't bring the lid up.
"You fool, ghosts can't open the Chest of Demons..." The Shadow Demon said, "Prepare to be devoured, and what remains of your hearts to become Heartless..."
"But witches can open the chest." Weerd replied, "Now Prue!"
"With pleasure." Prue said and used her powers to open the chest. The Shadow Demon let out a shriek as it was sucked in. The temple began to shake violently.
"It'd be best to get out of here." Weerd said, as he and Bogel helped support Daphne between them.
--
Scrappy felt like his head was going to fall off as he came too. He could see he was upside down and tied up on a pole mounted on an A-frame. Lauren was sitting on the floor, her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles were tied together. Her knees were tied uncomfortably to her chest.
"Lauren?" Scrappy said.
"Oh my God, Scrappy are you alright?" Lauren asked.
"I've felt better...ooh...my head..." Scrappy said, "What do they want with us?"
"I don't know." Lauren said, "But they want us alive, that's a good sign?"
"Do you think Bugme got away?" Scrappy replied.
"Probably." Lauren said, she didn't want to think otherwise. She wanted to believe help was on the way, that even now Marines were in the company of the at times irascible Australian about to kick the bunker's door down and get her out of here. The alternative was something she didn't even want to think of.
Two Japanese soldiers came into the bunker and then came to attention as a third, an officer walked in.
"I am Captain Jiro Morikawa, I work for Imperial Japanese Army Intelligence and who are you two?"
"L-Lauren Callahan...I'm a medical student and..."
"You are a medical student, yet you follow one of the Australian soldiers that kills my people." Morikawa said.
"He was keeping me safe..." Lauren said.
"From what, I might ask...by your Geneva conventions I am not supposed to harm you." Morikawa replied, stepping closer to Lauren and cutting the rope that bound her thighs to her torso, allowing her to stretch her legs.
He leered, close to Lauren, undisguised lust in his eyes, "So how many are there in this group of yours? Are you not part of this Morrowind group, with this witch...Or are you the witch and you are not telling me..."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a medical student...you can see my bag and..."
Morikawa slapped Lauren's face.
"You son of a bitch!" Scrappy shouted. Morikawa took a small rattan stick from under his arm and poked it into Scrappy's festering hip wound.
"AA-AAGGGHHH!!" Scrappy screamed.
"Mind your tongue...before I cut it out...Or perhaps I should let the Korean conscripts in my squad have at you. Meat has been rationed in our camp of late." Morikawa said, driving the stick deeper in.
"Stop it! Stop, you'll kill him and..." Lauren began.
Morikawa turned to Lauren and nodded to the two soldiers. They held her down and one of them began to tug at the buttons of Lauren's blouse.
Lauren let loose a near hysterical cry of terror. She knew what was coming next, what those men were going to do to her. No, it couldn't be like this, she was saving herself for someone special and now this was going to be her first...oh God no...
"Please. Please? No!"
--
"Banzai! Banzai!" Came the shout as several Japanese soldiers charged the entrance of the cave.
Gunny let the nearest Jap have it with his carbine.
CRACK! Kolopak fired a shot that drilled a Japanese officer through the throat.
Beside him was PFC Karl. The two men had perched behind some rocks with their 1903 Springfields.
Karl aimed his telescopic rifle at another Japanese with a sword and squeezed the trigger on his rifle, hitting the head of the Japanese man with the rifle.
A machine gun opened up, bullets tearing up one Marine who'd just reloaded his rifle. Kolopak bagged the gunner and Karl the assistant gunner.
Gunny threw a grenade at two more Japanese soldiers trying to get the machine gun back up.
"Ammo's running low, Gunny!" a Marine said.
"Hold the line. We've gotta keep this entranceway clear." Gunny replied, grimly. The shooting intensified, bodies of Japanese and Heartless piling up outside the cavern's entrance.
"Corpsman! Corpsman!" came the agonized scream. Lying on the ground was Shapiro. His innards were hanging out of his midsection and the Heartless that attacked him lay killed atop him, still clutching a pale coil of intestine in his hands.
CRACK! Kolopak scored again, killing a Japanese sniper aiming at PH3 Kowaleski.
"Nice shot old man." Karl said.
"I'm shooting better than you and I don't even have a scope." Kolopak remarked.
CRACK! Karl let fly with the Springfield, picking off a Bouncy Wild with a single round through the left eye.
"Keep piling 'em up boys." Gunny said as he walked the perimeter as the latest attack was broken, "When they try to press again, send 'em to hell where they belong."
"Running low Gunny..." Pvt. Young said from behind his Garand.
"Here, make these count." Gunny said, producing a bandolier from around his shoulder.
"Mama! Mama!" Shapiro screamed painfully, blood seeping around the dressing on Shapiro's stomach.
"Our Father who art in heaven..." Young began.
"Gunny, we gotta get back to the airfield." Kowaleski said, "Otherwise Shapiro's not gonna last the night..."
"We can't just cut and run. The men down below need us Kowaleski. Look, it's a shitty thing to do. But if we save Shapiro the rest of the platoon down below's fucked." Gunny replied.
"Yes Gunny." Kowaleski said, on the verge of tears.
Kowaleski opened up a syrette of morphine as he knelt beside Shapiro and stuck it into his arm, "Hang in there man, the guys downstairs will blow this shithole and we'll get you back to the world, a nice comfy hospital and maybe a hot little WAVE nurse."
"Banzai!" Came the shout, distant.
"Where the fuck are they?" Young said, nervously aiming his Garand around.
"Relax." Gunny said, "They get here, you'll know it."
Quiet again, except for Shapiro's moaning, which had died down just dropped.
"Maybe they're not coming..." Young said, more to himself than anything else.
"Banzai!" The shout again.
CRACK! Young let fly, shooting towards the shout.
"Banzai!!" the shout came again and from the jungles more Japanese and Heartless charged the Marines' positions.
CRACK! Kolopak struck a Japanese officer in mid-shout in the throat. Blood splattered onto the face of his subordinate who was also struck down when PFC Karl opened up with his own sniper rifle.
BOOM! Vinny tossed a grenade at a knot of advancing Heartless, blowing them sky high.
Young fired his Garand, taking down a charging Japanese soldier. He shifted his aim and downed a Bandit Heartless.
"I'll give you holes you slinky bastards!" Young shouted and fired at attacking Heartless and Japanese soldiers.
The fighting was quickly going to hand to hand. Rifle butts, knives, bayonets and swords were being utilized.
Gunny bashed a grappling Soldier Heartless into the side of the rocks. The creature stood up again and Gunny threw his helmet at the thing, crushing its skull. He retrieved his carbine off the ground.
BOOM! Another grenade exploded near the position, one Vinny had thrown. "Explode! Explode! Ha Ha Ha!!"
Kolopak swung his jade warclub, smashing a Power Wild's skull with a single swing. More Heartless and Japanese came charging into the fray.
--
The screams carried into the jungle and Brumby, hiding like a right prick felt rage creep into his system. Those bastards. He'd castrate before killing every last one of them. He could hear Lauren begging, screaming as the Japs were no doubt raping her and he could hear Scrappy yelling in protest and agony as some offended Jap struck him.
Brumby knew he had to act. He couldn't just walk away. After he killed the two Search Ghosts chasing him, he doubled back, following the Japanese at a distance.
He kicked a tin can which rattled. The Japanese sentry on the other side of the tree he hid behind turned to look. It was his last act as Brumby jammed his knife into the man's throat, twisting the blade and the Jap fell with a hollow rasping noise to mark his death.
The other Japanese sentry wasn't paying attention, he was looking at the bunker, no doubt waiting for one of the other soldiers to get tired so he could have some fun.
Brumby killed him just as silently, coming in from behind, grabbing the man by the mouth before stabbing the knife into the back of the skull, twisting the weapon. The Japanese soldier collapsed to the ground.
Just then one of the Koreans in Morikawa's troop walked out of the bunker to urinate and saw Brumby. He reached for his rifle, shouting as he twitched the safety.
The Australian raised his own gun and squeezed the trigger. The Owen sub machinegun's rattle echoed like several small thunderclaps.
--
From inside the bunker, Scrappy could see the Korean conscript at the entrance twitching like he was being electrocuted as bullets ripped him apart.
Morikawa was still on top of Lauren, caught with his pants literally around his ankles when Brumby threw the grenade into the room. Scrappy was far enough inside the bunker that the grenade explosion didn't affect him. Morikawa being on top of Lauren shielded her from the blast.
The other Japanese soldiers had taken some losses. The two closest to the man that had been shot were killed instantly by the grenade explosion.
Brumby burst into the room, gunning down the next Japanese soldier he saw in a hail of 9mm bullets from the Owen gun.
Morikawa attempted to reach for his pistol, wounded though he was from the grenade shrapnel. Brumby ran over to him and kicked him in the side.
He saw Lauren, blouse torn, her slacks were forced down her hips. "You bastard..." Brumby said as he kicked Morikawa again as the man reached for his gun.
Brumby stomped on the Japanese officer's hand and aimed his weapon at Morikawa's skull, "You rapist son of a bitch..."
The Australian squeezed the trigger and emptied the remaining seventeen rounds in his magazine into Morikawa's head. The Japanese officer's skull blew apart like a ripe melon, flinging brains, skull fragments and blood into the log walls of the bunker.
Lauren sat there, too horrified to speak. Conflicted. Yes, Morikawa had just raped her, but the sheer violence at which Brumby meted justice out was equally as horrible. Brumby just shot him down like an animal.
Brumby stood for a moment, reloading his magazine, looking at what he'd just done, at the impromptu paint job he'd given the bunker. He cut the ropes binding Lauren and took his shirt off, covering up Lauren's ripped apart blouse.
"We've gotta get you out of here." Brumby said as he cut Scrappy loose.
"You gave that rapist loser what he deserved..." Scrappy said as he saw Morikawa's headless corpse on the ground."
"Are you alright?" Brumby asked, What a stupid question. Of course she isn't alright! She just lost her innocence to that asshole! I don't feel one bit of guilt for turning that son of a bitch into a bloody mess...
"Come on, let's get you two back to safety." Brumby replied, stopping to remove his shirt and drape it gently over Lauren's shoulders for the sake of decency.
--
"At least two weeks of repairs before we can go anywhere." Kida said, "And that's with Audrey working night and day and everyone helping."
"You guys got help coming." Coonan said, "We've got Marine mechanics from VMF 127 willing to help your mechanic out. Consider it a reward for helping us out."
"Thank you." Kolopak said.
"No, thank you." Coonan replied, "Thanks to you a very dangerous demon was contained and information regarding the Heartless was uncovered in that cavern."
"What about your losses?" Kolopak asked Task.
"I lost six men, times two wounded." Task replied, "You should get treated..."
"My pride hurts more than anything else." Kolopak said as he pressed tighter on the wound on his forehead, "One of your men saved my life. Be sure PFC Karl gets a pat on the back for it."
"You have my word. And my thanks." Lt. Task replied.
Nearby Kolopak could see the Marines placing six rifles, bayonets first, into the ground, with dog tags on the trigger guard and helmets atop the stocks.
Task sighed inwardly. Six names. Six Marines. Six families. Shapiro. Bailey. Michaels. Scott. Clark. Mitchell. The casualties could have been far worse. The wounded had been evacuated off the island for hospitals in Australia by aircraft. According to HQ, more replacements were gonna be sent to the Marine Raiders. But no newcomers could replace the six men killed in the hearts of their surviving friends.
--
From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.
We fight our country's battles on the air, on land, and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean.
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marines.
- First verse of the Marines' Hymn
--
"Thanks for saving me back there." Prue said.
"I did what I'd do for anyone else in that situation." Godfrey replied. He turned to walk away when Prue stopped him.
"For what it's worth, I know you didn't mean to come in on me in the shower." Prue began.
"Thank you for understanding." Godfrey replied.
I should say it. Shouldn't I? I mean this war is going on, and it could be my last chance. Prue replied.
He gazed at her, looking into her eyes. It seemed like she had something more to say. Could she really feel the same way? Could it be possible.
Now or never, come on, tell him. Prue thought. She stepped closer to him, and whispered, "Remember the shower, when you got orbed in on me?"
"How can I forget? That's a sight and experience I won't forget if I live past a hundred." Godfrey replied.
"I'm glad I made that big of an impression on you." Prue replied.
"There's something I've wanted to say to you." Godfrey replied, "It's something that's been on my mind for a long time."
Prue stopped for a moment, "I also have something to say too."
"You should speak first." Godfrey replied.
"No, this could change a lot of things..." Prue replied.
"You should say it. It's best it not be left inside, whatever it is..." Godfrey replied.
"I'm in love with you..." Prue replied.
Stunned by her admission, Godfrey felt like he'd be struck in the head with a hammer. "Wartime makes all our hearts and minds rush." Godfrey said, "I've been feeling the same way about you for quite some time now."
Godfrey took hold of Prue, holding her close. He bent downward, and Prue angled her face to one side so their noses wouldn't bump. His lips made contact with hers, closing his eyes as he continued to passionately kiss her. He could feel her tongue starting to probe and he lightly moved his in. Tongues intertwining as they kissed each other, before parting for want of air.
A quick gasp from Prue began with a, "Your place or mine?"
"Mine's closer..." Godfrey replied. Kissing, fingers and hands fumbling with clothing. Prue kicked the door closed.
Prue's fingers tugged at the buttons of Godfrey's shirt. She finally gave up and just pulled it apart. Damn British Army uniforms...
Godfrey's own hands weren't idle by any stretch of the imagination. His fingers tugged Prue's blouse buttons, undoing them and then sliding the silken garment off her body. Prue wrapped her arms around Godfrey's bare chest as she kissed at his mouth and then his neck.
His fingers moved at her skirt clasp and the garment fell to the ground. He reached behind her back towards a certain closure and felt Prue's fingernails dig into his back as she felt him undo her bra. The black silk garment was slid off her arms and it fell away from her body with the gentlest touch.
Prue's fingers fumbled with Godfrey's belt and then his trousers as she slid them down his hips. They fell backward onto his bed.
Thoughts and emotions rushed through Prue's mind, she held Alan Godfrey as tightly as she could and wrapped her legs around him. Godfrey pressed against her, entering her.
Prue started to gasp as they kissed each other, and he could feel her clutching him, fingernails digging into his back some more before she finally called out his name. Afterward, they lay in bed, simply holding each other as Godfrey slid the blankets up to their chins before they fell asleep.
--
To Be Continued...Up next, the Morrowind helps the 9th Australian Division and receives a tip on Zomba, the third demon. Sorry to end this a bit too abruptly, but the next chapter will pick up right where this one left off. This was over forty pages of writing and months of hard work as it was.
Historian's note: Several Korean conscipts were part of the Japanese Army during World War II.