Takeo: A Fractured Heart (Wattys 2019)

Chapter 12: Deep Jungle

Emileigh and Takeo sat in the cockpit of their Gummi ship as they headed for a world known as Hollow Bastion. Emileigh was filling Takeo in on the events that happened while he was in a dream like state.

"You basically just started yelling and struggling right in front of Jasmine. The guards that were outside the Throne Room doors came charging in thinking that you were trying to hurt her." she explained to Takeo, who was holding his face in his hands.

"That's is so humiliating! I swear it felt like he was right there with me!" said Takeo, trying to defend himself.

"It's alright! Jasmine said she wasn't worried and that you didn't seem like the kind of person to hurt anybody." Emileigh said, trying to make Takeo feel better about the situation.

"It just felt so real..." he said, leaning back in his seat, "it was like I couldn't breathe because of those tendril things grabbed me."

"Well, you're okay now. Soon we'll know what all of this is--" Emileigh got cut off by an alarm and a flashing red light.

"Uh, what does that mean?" Takeo asked, looking at the dials and gauges that were all lighting up.

"You may want to grab onto something!" Emileigh said.

Meanwhile, behind the Gummi Ship, a Heartless ship was locking onto them with its own set of lasers, and preparing to fire on them. One shot is all it took to send the Gummi Ship crashing down to the nearest world.

The ship spun wildly out of control, with Emileigh and Takeo trying their hardest to stay in their seats. Small bolts and other pieces were flying all around the cabin, the descent seemingly going on forever.

"Look!" Emileigh yelled. Takeo looked out the main window of the ship, and saw a large river that was rapidly getting closer and closer. The Gummi Ship evened out its descent so that it wasn't spinning wildly, however they were still plummeting to the ground. Takeo looked around for ideas on what to do, and looked down at his hand.

"Emileigh, I'm going to need you to trust me!" he said, holding out his hand. Emileigh had a worried look on her face, but decided that whatever Takeo had planned couldn't be any worse than plummeting into the river and possibly drowning. She reluctantly grabbed Takeo's hand, and waited for him to start his plan.

Takeo looked out the window, and summoned his Keyblade. He looked over to Emileigh, "Hold on tight!" he said as he launched through the main window of the ship, catapulting themselves towards a large tree.

Takeo turned his back towards the tree, making it so that he would absorb the full impact of hitting the tree, and not Emileigh. His back slammed into the hard bark of the tree, and he groaned in pain. He then stuck his Keyblade into the bark of the tree, which started to slow them down as they slid down the side of the tree.

Once they reached the bottom, Takeo let go of Emileigh, and they both collapsed onto the ground. After a few moments of catching their breath, they stood up. Takeo fell back to the ground, his back injured from smacking into the tree.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Emileigh said, rushing to Takeo's side.

He stuck his hand out, "I'm fine. Just... don't touch me right now. Feeling a little sore after our landing." he said as he brought his arms around to his back.

Takeo and Emileigh looked around, trying to get a feel for where they were.

"We're... in a jungle?" Emileigh asked with a slight hint of fear in her voice. She wasn't scared of the jungle itself, but moreso of the feeling of not knowing where they are, and the feeling of being completely lost.