Well, here’s Chapter 4… finally. Sorry about the long wait, but I was having a bit of Writer’s block. Anyway, in this Chapter, we have both Sora AND Roxas stuff, but it switches every few paragraphs/pages. Now, for the Roxas in the Underworld, my friend planned the scenario, and I just wrote it out. Basically, Hades tries to use him, but he refuses, and what happens after that will be in Chapter 5. Also, the scene with Demyx and the weird beast nobody does NOT occur in the Underworld, but in the place where Roxas fights Twilight Thorn in the actual KH2. As for my random nobody beast’s name… maybe I’ll call it Leviathan. Anywho, not my best chap, but at the same time, not my worst. It's the least like anything in the actual KH2, though, which is GOOD, since I want this to stand out a little. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the main plot idea, and the Leviathan nobody.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: Chain Reaction

By now the Gummi Ship was far from Twilight Town and Yen Sid’s castle. Instead, said vehicle was now blasting through space. From outside the windows, the light from many stars could be seen as well as distant worlds. Meanwhile, on the inside of the ship, Sora was continuing to pilot it, while Donald and Goofy simply sat in the two seats next to him, keeping an eye out for any nearby worlds.

“So, how long do you think it will take us to find Hollow Bastion?” groaned Sora, still pondering about his dream. “I want to stop there as soon as possible, since Leon and the gang might know more about Roxas.”

Great, there he went again, rambling about this Roxas. Both the duck magician and his dopey dog partner simply shrugged. They had promised Sora that they’d stick with him when it came to this dream, but, did he have to talk about it constantly? Then again, the two had never experienced any weird, vivid dreams like his, so who was to blame the spiky haired teen?

“Gee, Sora, maybe we shouldn’t rush things,” said Goofy, scratching his head.

“Goofy’s right,” agreed the magical fowl known as Donald. “We should focus on defeating the heartless and that Organization Yen Sid mentioned.”

With a shrug, Sora decided that his friends were right. Besides, he would get to Hollow Bastion eventually, right? That and his dream wasn’t necessarily a priority one deal. From Yen Sid’s description, the Organization seemed to be the major problem. Whoever they were, one thing was certain, and that was: Sora didn’t like the looks of them.

For the rest of the ride, Sora did not say a thing. To him, it was best to keep any dream thoughts to himself until he and his pals reached Hollow Bastion. THEN maybe he could get some answers besides a “you have to uncover this on your own”, or whatever. Anyway, no worlds seemed to be coming into view quiet yet, which left things rather desolate for a while, spare a few asteroids and stars in the distance.

It seemed that any hopes of finding a nearby world were lost, ya? Perhaps Yen Sid was wrong about them all still being connected to each other. At this rate, that actually made sense. But then, when hope was beginning to grow thin in the minds of Sora and his two cartoony pals, something new showed up on the Gummi Ship’s radar. Could it have been… a world? At the site of this foreign object, Sora immediately took a look outside the window and there he saw… something weird floating in the distance.

“Hey, what’s that?” questioned the Keybearer in utmost curiosity. “It looks like… a castle… but not like the one we were just in. This one looks kinda white.”

From the moment Sora had uttered “This one looks kinda white,” the poultry mage and his canine partner knew exactly where the Gummi was headed. Just to be sure, though, the two also took a peek at the cockpit window, and not too surprisingly, they saw a large, white castle surrounded by a courtyard covered in vibrant green grass and nicely cut hedges. Now, this was indeed a new world, but not just any. This was Disney Castle, the home world for Donald and Goofy, along with King Mickey! There was only one problem… some weird portal thing was blocking the world entrance.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxx

Somewhere…

Darkness seemed to flood in all directions. There was not a single glimmer of light… well, wherever Roxas had found himself. Not even a single whisper or breeze could be heard in this strange place, and the only company the nobody could find was the darkness itself. But, the question was: Where was he? The last thing that he remembered was leaving Hollow Bastion, yet, he was now in some empty dark place?

Click. Click.

Scattering to his feet, Roxas gave a pause. Maybe he WASN’T alone after all. But, as he looked around, he still found nothing. Because of this, the former member of Organization XIII simply assumed that his mind had been playing tricks on him. Never the less, the fifteen year old would need to find a way out of here.

Click. Click. Click!

There was that clicking sound again. Now Roxas was certain that there was… something else in the darkness. Whatever it was, it definitely didn’t seem all too friendly either, since it still hadn’t shown itself. In all this darkness, it was very likely that a heartless or something would hide. The mindless creatures DID fit into the darkness very well, due to their blackened exteriors. But, then again, it could very well be, and was more likely, something else.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Clickity. Click!

Great, there was that blasted clicking sound again, only… this time, it sounded much, much closer. Was Roxas being followed? Just the thought of that made the nobody feel a bit uneasy. Here, in the dark, he was the perfect target, since the only thing he could use to defend himself was his keyblade. There was nothing to hide behind, no objects to use as a shield. Just… infinite blackness.

Click. Click. Click.

At last, the clicking had stopped. Once again, the dark abyss was silent. Giving a quiet sigh, Roxas paced around, just to see if anything had changed. The only problem was, it was too dark to see anything. Still, the blondey gave a nice attempt to find the source of the racket, but he sure was clueless to the dork standing beside him.

“I found yoooooou, traitor!” squeaked the voice of someone who didn’t even seem much older than Roxas himself.

Ok, so Roxas was indeed being followed. But, by the sound of his pursuer’s voice, they sure didn’t sound very threatening. Heck, whoever this person was, their attempt at sounding scary had only made them appear wimpy. Yet, there was something about that voice that rang a bell in Roxas’ mind.

“Who’s there?” questioned the nobody of Sora.

“Yoooooou don’t remember?” cooed the mysterious, though dork-like, voice. “Well, do the words ‘Organization XIII’ ring any bells?”

Of course! Now things were starting to make sense. This weirdo was a member of the Organization. No wonder he had called Roxas a traitor. With that little bit of info in mind, the dual wielding Keybearer began to head in the direction of the voice. The voice itself belonged to probably the most despised member in the whole Organization: Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne. It made sense that they’d send Demyx, though, since he didn’t mean much to the other members. If he were to be destroyed, it was no skin off their backs, for sure.

“You know,” groaned Roxas, still making his way towards Demyx, “you’re not very impressive.”

“Yeah, well, at least I’m not a traitor!” gawked the music obsessed nobody in response. “Besides, everyone loves me!”

Roxas didn’t respond that time. It was clear that Demyx was, well, to moronic to see that the Org actually despised his very existence. Why else would they have sent him to deal with one of the most powerful members? Anyway, Roxas did not have to walk very far until he bumped RIGHT into Demyx’s gut. The stupid darkness had made it impossible to see, so who was to blame him?

“Gah…” growled the not so intimidating Org member. “I knew that this darkness was pointless!”

Quickly, the music head gave Roxas a shove backwards. After that was taken care of, he reached his arm into the hair. Of course, Roxas was unable to see any of that, due to the darkness, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, with a quick snap of his fingers, the darkness began to wear away, revealing a large platform that seemed to be made of glass. Surrounding said platform was just more blackness in the distance, but at least it was possible to see now.

Roxas quickly got back to his feet, now that he could actually see his surroundings. Somehow, this floating platform in the darkness seemed eerie, but familiar. Out of curiosity, he looked down, only to find that the platform was decorated with images of Sora and his friends. Something wasn’t right about this place. It almost was like… something from Sora’s memories. As Roxas continued to examine this weird area, Demyx seemed to be growing rather impatient. Here he had been sent to have some ‘fun’ with the traitor, but said nobody was too busy examining a platform made of stained glass.

“Can you hurry up already?” groaned the not-so-popular member of the Org. “I’m kinda supposed to… have ‘fun’ with you.”

When Roxas turned his attention back to Demyx, he noticed that he was holding his sitar at the ready. The mullet headed dork said that he was supposed to have ‘fun’ with him, but that obviously meant fighting. Great… just what Roxas needed: more fighting. He already had taken on a small swarm of heartless back in Hollow Bastion, and now he’d have to fight one of his former acquaintances? Even though that wasn’t necessarily what he was looking forward to, Roxas summoned his two keyblades and prepared for whatever Demyx was about to dish up.

The expression on Demyx’s face immediately changed into a playful smirk. Finally his adversary was ready for some action. Of course, being a bit of a coward, he wouldn’t be the one to take on Roxas. Instead, the Melodious Nocturne had something DIFFERENT prepared. Slowly, Demyx played a haunting melody on his sitar, and the ground began to shake. Instantly, two large, clawed hands gripped at the edge of the platform. A large head then became visible, baring large fangs and empty, emotionless eyes. An emblem could be seen on the beast’s forehead that looked like a splintered heart. As the beast dragged the rest of its body onto the platform, more details became visible, such as a large fin-like spike on the creature’s back, and two hind legs. Whatever this strange nobody was, it sure didn’t look pleasant.

“I sure am looking forward to this!” Demyx snickered, backing away from Roxas. “Xemnas may have sent me to deal with you, but that doesn’t mean I have to do any of the actual fighting!”

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxx

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared at the large swirling vortex blocking entry into the castle. From the look of the portal, it didn’t seem necessarily DANGEROUS, but looks could always end up being deceiving. Either way, the going through the portal was beginning to seem like the only way to enter Disney Castle at this point. Whatever was inside the vortex didn’t matter at this rate.

Sora’s arm was already reaching for the controls. He really was going to enter the glowing blue mass of swirling energy. Both of his partners were also preparing to take on whatever lied beyond the strange gateway. All in all, the trio knew what was coming next. BEEP. The necessary buttons had been pressed, and levers pulled, and now the Gummi was charging towards the strange portal. Whatever lied waiting on the inside would have to be dealt with no matter what. And so, the Keybearing hero and his two pals entered this gateway.

At first, things seemed rather empty; spare an assortment of swirling colors. No heartless ships or anything showed up, at least not until the ship had made it deeper inside the gate. Once the Gummi had passed all the bright colors, things changed. Instead of an empty void, strange objects and ships could be seen in the distance. Immediately, Sora began to fire at the enemy ships, blasting them out of the way, while steering through a few ring-like structures. As the ship progressed forward, even more enemy ships appeared, this time firing more powerful attacks.

CHINK! The Gummi was hit by a missile from one of the heartless ships, but it wasn’t down quite yet. Instead, the vehicle was maneuvered around the little pests and simply fired back a few times. Once those enemy ships were taken care of, the Gummi took a nose dive through yet another ring and ended up on what appeared to be similar to a road of sorts. There some car-like ships were found dropping some bombs. To avoid being blown up, Sora and his pals had to pilot the ship with haste while shooting and dodging attacks.

Bomb after bomb exploded, each one nearly denting the Gummi, if not anything worse. Luckily, Sora had some experience when it came to piloting the ship, or he’d be TOAST! The road behind the ship had already been blasted into bits, after all. Ahead of the road, there wasn’t much. Disney Castle was already showing up in the distance. The only thing blocking the castle itself was another small assortment of heartless ships. It wasn’t like they were any stronger than the rest of the enemies, though.

VOOM! The small little ships tried to fire rapidly at the Gummi, but only a few attempts at attacks actually hit. However, the small bits of damage weren’t anything to complain about, since this ship was far more powerful than the one used on the previous mission. All that it took to wipe out the last little pests was a nice big blast, and then, the pathway was clear. Because of this, the pace of the Gummi declined as it was readied for a landing in Disney Castle.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxx

The Large nobody that stood before Roxas appeared incredibly vicious and dangerous. It stood at a height just barely smaller than a behemoth heartless, and its build had nearly as much muscle. Its feet were clawed, but at the same time they had a somewhat webbed look to them. On the beast’s back was a large spike that resembled that of a shark fin, and inside its mouth were several knife-like teeth. All in all, this wasn’t your simple dusk.

Just looking at this monstrosity made Roxas second guess his fighting strategy. He had expected to fight Demyx, not some hideous lizard/shark/demonic thing! Sure, Sora had fought much worse beasts than this, but his nobody wasn’t as used to these situations. Then again, if he could fend of dusks without remembering how to use the keyblade, maybe the same thing could be said when it came to going up against… well, whatever the heck this nobody was.

While Roxas just stood there, the beast-like nobody was beginning to movie out of its idle position. With each step the creature took, the ground rumbled vigorously. Its mouth was now open, revealing even more incredibly sharp teeth ready to gnash at its foe. Claws scrapped against the stained glass floor. Even the mighty fiend’s whip-like tail showed that this creature was preparing to strike. If Roxas were to just stand there, he’d surely become victim to a painful onslaught of attacks.

Roxas quickly thought over a method for fighting this cretin. Simply charging head on would probably lead to a mauling of sorts, so that wasn’t a good approach. The beast didn’t appear to be very fast, so there was a speed advantage, but its size and strength could be problematic for him. As far as intelligence went, this thing didn’t look very bright, so maybe confusing it would be a nice trick. After all, dusks were easily confused as well. With that thought in mind, the blondey quickly began to dart around the monstrous being.

As he ran, the fiendish creature tried to lash out with its claws. It actually had managed to hit Roxas in the leg, making him hit the ground. Luckily, before the beast could sink its teeth into his gut, the dual wielding Keybearer managed to roll out of reach and get back to his feet. Without looking back, he managed to circle around the large nobody a few times, causing it to twist up into an odd shape, due to confusion. Now was the time for Roxas to strike! WHAM! Both Oblivion and Oathkeeper hit smack dab on the face of the beast a few times, causing it to roar in pain. After about five hits, Roxas backed off, in order to avoid a mauling and started his tactic all over again.

This time, however, the large nobody began to attack in a different way than it had earlier. Instead of taking a physical approach, it shot strange bubbles out of its mouth. Because he hadn’t expected this, the Roxas was hit by each of the bubbles, causing him to fall over once again, due to the pressure of the attack. With Roxas down, the fiend gave a giant leap into the air, pounding the ground with all its strength. The whole platform shook as an enormous shock wave was carried across the surface. Pain surged through the fifteen year old’s body, thanks to the beast’s assaults. The pain didn’t stop him from fighting, though.

Once the pain had died down enough, Roxas hopped back to his feet and continued to circle his enemy. Whenever it tried to shoot more bubbles, he would simply dodge roll to get out of range. After the beast was confused once more, Roxas gave another dive towards the head and began whacking it like crazy once more. It was plain to see that the weird beast was beginning to weaken. From the looks of things, one more set of attacks would finish the thing off.

Even in its attack style, weakness was showing in the oversized nobody. Its pace was now much slower, and it had stopped shooting those exploding bubbles. Still, the stubborn beast wouldn’t give up the slashing with its claws, and now it was beginning to spin in circles in an attempt to trip Roxas with its tail. Unfortunately for the fiendish nobody, Roxas was smart enough to dodge the tail and continue his confusion tactic at the same time. For the third and final time, the fiend would become confused.

KAWHAM! Using both keyblades, Roxas gave the creature the final blow! Instantly, it let out a final roar before its very body began to deteriorate into water itself, leaving a massive puddle on the glass platform. With the fiendish nobody out of the way, Roxas had half expected to see Demyx, but the Melodious Nocturne was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he had fled during the little rumble. That wasn’t the only thing that had vanished, though. Along with Demyx, the stained glass floor had disappeared too, and Roxas found himself standing in the abyss with only a strange door in sight.

Unlike earlier, the abyss wasn’t pitch black, but there was still an eerie darkness everywhere, spare the door and Roxas himself. There wasn’t really anywhere else to go besides the door, and it’s not like it would lead to anywhere dangerous, right? That logic was the reason why Roxas was heading towards the door, unaware of what lurked inside.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxx

By now the Gummi ship had safely landed in the hanger at Disney castle. Chip and Dale, the Gummi engineer chipmunks, were busy fixing any damage on the ship, while Sora, Donald, and Goofy were now heading out to the courtyard. The courtyard itself was a calm and pleasant place. From the cool, green grass to the nicely trimmed hedges, everything looked as if it were just… perfect for such a peaceful place.

While Donald and Goofy were perfectly used to their home world, Sora was amazed by the sights and sounds that surrounded him. Yes, Disney Castle was a marvelous place, but the courtyard was nothing compared to what was inside.

“So, this is your home?” asked Sora, still staring wide-eyed at the courtyard.

“Ah ha,” replied Donald with a friendly nod.

It wasn’t really surprising that Donald and Goofy lived in such a magnificent place. After all, they were servants for a king, and king’s usually lived in pleasant places, unless they were the dark types. Plus, Queen Minnie and Daisy were always sure to keep the outdoor gardens in the courtyard nice and clean.

After a short walk, the trio finally reached the castle gates. For a moment, Sora stood still, while his two companions headed inside first. Once he got the all clear, though, the Keybearer was allowed entry into the Colonnade. This room had a nice, long ruby colored carpet lining the floor, while the walls were made of a light colored stone. Both the poultry mage and the canine defender were simply heading towards the door at the far side of the hall, just relieved to be home. As for Sora, well, he was trotting along behind them, but he still wanted to glance about the place.

“Alright,” announced Donald, waving his staff with each step he took. “Queen Minnie is probably in the library. It’s just at the end of the hall.”

For a moment the duck paused in order to point Sora in the right direction. Quickly, the fifteen year old turned his head away from a large door planted upon on of the walls and towards the end of the hall, where the library entrance could be found. From the looks of it, the library was only a few yards away now. So, deciding that he had done enough ‘observing’ for now, the spiky haired hero sped up his pace.

Upon entering the library, Donald’s suspicions were proved true. There, in the center of the glorious room lined with books and paintings stood a female mouse dressed in a very fancy gown and tiara. Said mouse was indeed the queen of Disney Castle. When she saw Donald and Goofy enter the room, her eyes suddenly burst with joy. Immediately, the two found themselves being glomped by the mouse queen. Still, the duo was filled with pure delight to see their queen, thus they greatly accepted the tight embrace of sorts. In order to get through without disturbing his friends and the queen, Sora had to carefully edge his way around the three oversized animals. As usual, he wore that cocky grin of his, as he watched his two pals being squeezed by the large mouse.

“So, you’re Queen Minnie.” pondered the Keybearer.

At the sound of Sora’s voice, the female mouse curiously turned in the opposite direction. A gentle and sweet smile could be seen on her visage as she examined the teen. One of the first things she noticed about Sora was the fact that his clothes were incredibly tight, which made him look… well, somewhat like a dork.

“Why yes,” said Minnie, keeping her pleasant smile. “And you must be Sora. It’s great to finally meet you.”

So it seemed that Minnie had already heard of the Keybearer. Then again, he HAD saved several worlds, so a good reputation was certain. Quietly, Donald and Goofy ambled over to their friend in outgrown clothes and gave a nice little bow. Such behavior was simple a custom when it came to royalty. Seeing that his friends were being polite, Sora himself quickly got to his knees as well. The response to the respectful behavior was nothing short of a squeaky giggle from the queen.

“You boys don’t have to be so formal,” exclaimed the mouse queen, still keeping her pleasant expression. “Anyway, what brings you three here? Shouldn’t you be out adventuring?”

“Actually, your majesty,” replied Sora, scratching his head, “we came to see if any heartless or nobodies were attacking, but I guess you’re fine.”

Yes, the whole castle seemed calm and quiet at this rate. From the moment the trio had left the Gummi ship, not one sign of Organization XIII or the heartless could be found. Perhaps there wasn’t any real need to stop at the castle after all, spare nostalgic feelings for Donald and Goofy. However, Minnie thought differently. It was clear to her that Sora, Donald, and Goofy would need supplies and, in Sora’s case, new clothes if they were going to make it on their journey.

“We may be fine, Sora,” sighed the queen, “but I think you, Donald, and Goofy should take a moment to get some supplies. Also, you may want to put something on that’s… more fitting. Just follow me, and I’ll see that you’re taken care of.”

Motioning Sora to follow her, Minnie quietly exited the room with the Keybearer following slowly behind her. This left Donald and Goofy alone in the library. Of course, they were supposed to be gathering supplies for the voyage throughout the world, and staying in the library sure wouldn’t help! So, quickly the duo scuttled out of the library as well.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxx

The Underworl d

The door had opened to reveal a dark corridor. Darkness loomed in this eerie cavern and a strange, deal feeling swept through the Wherever Roxas had ended up this time, it sure wasn’t pretty. In this weird cavern, he could spy two doors and a large staircase leading to high ground, presumably. For minutes, it seemed, Roxas just stood in one place trying to figure out where exactly he was. Though he was physically there, in the Underworld, it seemed that his mind was in a pool of deep thought.

Little did Roxas know, he was being watched by eager eyes. Looming in the darkness of the Underworld was Hades, lord of the dead. Now, the reason why Hades was so interested in the Blondey was because he had just appeared out of nowhere and appeared to be young and innocent. Clearly he would be the perfect ‘sucker’ to lure into a simple scheme of sorts. After all, how tough would it be to trick a kid, when Hades had once tricked Cloud Strife?

Quietly, the lord of the Underworld made his way towards Roxas, with a maniacal grin on his face. Now was the time to lure another ‘sucker’ into a nice little deal. And who knows, maybe the ‘kid’ would be able to slaughter Hercules. All would unfold in due time. Anyway, Hades himself lowered a cold, lifeless hand onto Roxas’ shoulder. From the moment the god of the Underworld touched him, the teenager knew something wasn’t right.

“You know,” whispered Hades, “a squirt like you shouldn’t be… moseying around in a place like this.”

That voice was oddly familiar to Roxas… thanks to him sharing memories with Sora. The cocky tone and everything could only belong to one being. Someone who had once been an enemy to the Keybearer himself. In other words, Roxas knew that the voice belonged to the one and only Hades. But, what did that flame headed creep want? Whatever it was, it sure didn’t seem pleasant.

“Uh… what do you want?” stuttered Roxas, debating whether or not to whip out his Keyblades at that moment.

Hmm. It appeared to Hades that this kid wasn’t intimidated by his antics. The same thing could be said for Cloud, and Sora… not to mention Hercules himself. Maybe this kid WOULD prove useful after all. All he needed was a bit of, conforming, and then he’d be just as big of a sucker as anyone else used in soul-sealed deals. Thoughts were now forming in the evil Underworld Lord’s mind. Even the flames atop his head were beginning to heat up.

“What do I want?” teased the lord of the dead. “Listen up, short stuff. I have come to make an offer that you cannot refuse, capiche?”

“Try me,” scoffed Roxas, still not amused by Hades’ little antics.

Right at that moment, Hades gripped Roxas tighter than before, pulling the teen close enough that he could smell the putrid stench emitting from the god’s mouth. The Underworld Lord’s eyes now burned with an ambition that covered his entire visage. He WOULD use Roxas. And, if he refused, there was always the option of locking him in the deepest chambers of the underworld until he gave in.

“Alright, kid, here’s the deal,” hissed the undead master. “You help me handle Jerkules, and I’ll give you whatever little prissy thing your heart desires. But, if that’s not good enough for a spoiled brat like you, I guess I could always… give you a ‘time out’, but you wouldn’t like that, would ya?”

Plainly, Hades was interested in Roxas, mostly due to his lack of fear for the Underworld and anyone in it, not to mention that his sudden appearance was rather strange. After all, it’s not every day that someone pops up in the land of the dead who isn’t… well, dead. Roxas, on the other hand, wasn’t as amused. After Hades’ little threat, he simply pulled away from the fiery creep’s grip and crossed his arms.

“I’m sorry,” mocked the blondey, not looking one bit frightened, “but I’m… ‘Not interested’.”

Almost instantly, Hades lit up in a fit of rage. His blue skin, along with the flames atop his head changed into a bright, furious red. Here he had made an offer, just to get told off my some bratty kid! Why, this twerp was almost as bad as... well, Sora. In fact, Hades noticed quite a bit of similarities between the two, but had dismissed them as mere coincidence, due to the fact that anger was clouding his mind. This ‘kid’s’ behavior just wouldn’t be tolerated, and because of that, the lord of the dead grasped Roxas’ arm and began dragging him deep into the chambers of this eerie place.

Oddly enough, the blondey didn’t really struggle… much. Wherever Hades was planning on taking him, it wouldn’t be pretty, but was that really a big deal? After all, Roxas WAS Sora’s nobody, and was equally capable of handling whatever the undead lord tossed at him. Even if being dragged along wasn’t very comforting, it was better for him to just wait and see what would happen next.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxx

DisneyCastl e

Back at the castle, all was well. The necessary provisions had been gathered and packed into the Gummi ship, while the Gummi itself had been fine tuned, so to speak. Chip and Dale, the crazy chipmunks, had added a few new Gummi blocks here and also fixed any damages done during the trip. Meanwhile, Minnie had taken Sora to get new clothes. Instead of the red shorts, white hooded jacket, and huge yellow shoes that the fifteen year old had blatantly outgrown, the Sora now wore a black get up , which still consisted of baggy shorts and a jacket, but this time, there were more details, such as shoulder pads, and two large pockets on the shorts. The Yellow shoes were now replaced with new ones that were a mix of black and that familiar yellow from before. Yes, Sora had been set up with the goods.

At the moment, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were bidding farewell to Queen Minnie and the others. Happy smiles were passed from one another along with any final words. A certain female duck stuck out in the crowd bidding ado in the court yard. Her name was Daisy, and she was Donald’s ‘special sweet heart’. Currently, she was crushing-er, hugging her boyfriend with immense pressure, refusing to let go. The firmness of the grip was making it quite difficult for Donald to breathe, and all this hugging was serving as a distraction on its own.

“D-Daisy!” coughed the mallard, trying to keep a firm grip on his staff. “We have to go! I promise we can have our date when we get back! Just, let go!”

With a sad expression planted on her face, Daisy decided to release her boyfriend from her clutches. Despite how much joy had filled her being upon seeing her dear Donald, she knew that he had to protect the worlds outside the boundaries of the castle. Instantly, the magical fowl scurried to his feet before making his way back towards Sora and Goofy. Even though he truly cared for Daisy, the duck was quite relieved to be free from the choking grip. Since the poultry mage was free to move about without being glomped, he and his two pals trekked off in the direction of the lone Gummi Hanger to prepare to embark.

Upon entering the ship, Donald took the driver’s seat. A flurry of feathers flung about as the oversized bird tried to get in a comforting position. Once he was satisfied, the duck began to start the engines. Little did the magical fowl know, a certain Keybearer wasn’t near as content as he. Yes, Sora seemed rather annoyed at his friend’s sudden decision to take the wheel from him. After all, what if Donald didn’t want to visit Hollow Bastion until the ‘important matters’ were taken care of? The same thing had happened on the previous adventure, when Sora had longed to find Riku and Kairi, but Donald was busy searching for King Mickey. This is what had propelled Sora to dive towards his duck ally and attempt to shove the large fowl out of the Driver’s seat.

Sora’s sudden action came to surprise Donald, who was simply beginning to pilot the Gummi. Never once since he sat down had he expected to be nearly mauled by the spiky haired Keybearer. As he was being shoved out of the way, said fowl tried his best to fight his way back towards the seat. Each time Donald made an attempt, though, he found himself pushed down as Sora attempted to plant his butt down. Whenever Sora gripped onto Donald’s shoulders, he would find the duck kicking his gut with those large, webbed feet of his. Each attempt Donald made to claim his seat led to the Keybearer squeezing his way back. All in all, this wasn’t a pretty site, and neither of the two were even paying attention to the Gummi Ship.

“Waaaaaaaaah!” Donald gawked, as he found himself flung towards the ground. “Just what’s the big idea!”

The response the little poultry mage got was nothing short of a sneer from Sora, who then replied by saying “You’re the one who took MY spot!”

All this manic mayhem was leading nowhere. The whole inside of the ship seemed to be covered in feathers, while the sounds of yelling, screaming, and other unpleasant noises filled the cockpit. Meanwhile, poor Goofy was left to handle the ship the best he could, while his pals continued their quarrel. Constantly, the large canine would have to duck to avoid being pit in the head by countless objects being knocked around as Sora and Donald jumped from place to place, simply trying to get in control of the vehicle. Things definitely weren’t going well. Sadly, there was nothing Goofy could do at the moment, so he just gave a sigh and turned back towards the controls, only to be greeted by a “DANGER! CRITICAL MALFUNCTION! ABORT IMMEDIATELY!” warning on the radar screen.

During this entire ruckus, nobody had been steering the ship, since Goofy was preoccupied with other functions, not to mention dodging flying feathers and provisions. Who was to blame the poor dog for this problematic consequence? If anything, it was the fault of Sora and Donald getting into one of their hissy fits that had caused the ship to start screwing up. The only thing Goofy could do right now was warn his two friends about what danger was about to ensue.

“Uh… guys!” stuttered the canine knight in a worried tone.

Sadly, there was no response, and Sora and Donald continued to shove each other around. Goofy’s failed attempt to get the attention of the two wouldn’t cut it at all. Surely the violent fussing would only cause more damage to the ship. Heck, if this maniacal mess continued, the Gummi could easily explode! If that happened, then it would be Deep Jungle all over again, or worse. Just the thought of that propelled Goofy to make yet another attempt to warn his friends, but this time, he wouldn’t fail.

“Gawrsh, guys! THE SHIP IS MALFUNCTIONING! QUIT YOUR FIGHTING AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!” yelled Goofy, determined to end this mayhem.

Luckily, Goofy had actually made his voice loud enough that, even through the sounds of quarreling, Sora and Donald could hear him. Sweat dripped down both of their faces, and hair and feathers were out of place, but that didn’t matter at the moment. What was important was the fact that the ship was beginning to screw up. Already the lights had begun to flash red, and the engine was beginning to make a long, screeching sound. The only reason why the two hadn’t noticed this before was because they were too busy struggling to get control of the vehicle.

Both Sora and Donald quietly turned their heads towards the radar screen, which still flashed the same error message that Goofy had eyed just moments before. However, right as they were reading said message, the screen blacked out, and the flashing lights and screeching sounds came to a halt. For several seconds, the Gummi Ship was silent, and all seemed well, but that was just a short-lived deal. After around thirty seconds of silence, the Gummi began to shake vigorously, and the screech from the engine became much, much louder. Five seconds after THAT, the ship seemed to go pitch black, and then…

KABOOM

End of Chapter

End of Chapter

-------------------------------------------------

AN: I do realize that the part at Disney Castle was cut short, but it wasn’t an important scene. Same can be said about Sora’s clothes, really, and I just wanted to keep the main plot moving. The Gummi Ship flight scene, not that I look back, wasn’t my best work, and I don’t think I’ll feature any Gummi scenes before the worlds. Maybe I’ll pull scene switches at that point. -sigh- Now, for da preview!

Next time, we find Sora, Donald, and Goofy stranded in Timeless River. What a predicament! If only the poultry mage and the Keybearer hadn’t struggled for control. Now, as they find themselves lost in this strange place, they must not only escape, but prevent the heartless from screwing things up. Meanwhile, Roxas has a run in with a very angsty puppy… er, Cerberus.