Ok, folks, since I’ve taken so long to update, I’m gonna give you a portion of Chapter 5 that I have done already. I even ended it on a cliffy for ya. The rest of the Sora half of the chapter SHOULD be done by tomorrow, if all goes well, so hold on, please. XD

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

Chapter 5: Monochrome world Part 1

Flashback

“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 Flashback

It figured that some chaotic explosion would occur after a cat fight like the one Sora and Donald had experienced earlier. The funny thing, though, was how they were quarreling over something as trivial as being pilot on the Gummi. One could really sympathize with Goofy, who, at that time, had simply been trying to calm his two friends down, only to end up dodging random objects being knocked around. Plus, there was that roaring siren trying to signal that the ship was in critical condition. Obviously, had the two not been bickering, the Gummi wouldn’t have gone out with a bang.

By now, the trio was beginning to come to their senses. Upon opening their eyes, they were greeted by a peculiar site. Surrounding Sora, Donald, and Goofy was a world of black and white. Everything from the hills in the distance to the sky up above was filled with bland tones. Sounds of merriment could be heard, in the distance, however, so maybe this place wasn’t so bad. The only problem was: where WERE they, actually? And for that matter, how would they get out?

Quietly, Sora stood up to look around. What he didn’t expect, though, was the fact that he and his friends had changed. Instead of wearing his new clothes, the Keybearer found himself in his old duds, but, strangely enough, they actually fit him. But, that wasn’t the strangest part. No, what REALLY was odd was the fact that Sora now had noodle-like limbs, and a very abstract figure. Plus, like the rest of this world, he was in shades of grey. Looking over to his two companions, he found that Donald too had the strange noodle-like limbs, plus a longer beak and different attire. Goofy, like the others, had those odd arms and legs, plus a strange lack of pants and a stuffy tail. All in all, this strange world had really altered the spiky haired hero and his associates.

“Guys… is it me, or does this place oddly remind you of one of those 1930’s cartoons?” Sora pondered, still getting used to his new appearance.

Both the easily angered poultry mage and his dopey canine companion took a moment to think of what Sora had said. Their heads turned in several directions, and soon the two oversized animals were looking each other over as well. Upon seeing their own strange coloration and abstract proportions, both the court magician and the knight went into a sort of shock. To Donald and Goofy, there was something so strange, yet so familiar about… wherever it is they had ended up.

“Gawrsh…” moaned Goofy, scratching his shin. “Where do ya think we are?”

For a few quiet moments, the three pondered among themselves. All the while, confusion erupted through their minds. Somehow the three would need to get out of here so they could continue their journey, but without a Gummi, the task would be difficult. …Or would it? Suddenly the feathered magician known only as Donald was struck by the most blatantly obvious idea that he felt incredibly stupid for not thinking of it earlier.

“C’mon!” squawked the large fowl. “We can’t just sit here. Maybe someone here knows a way back to the castle!”

Donald was clearly correct. Dawdling in one spot would lead to nothing but more opportunity for the Organization and the likes to work on their scheming. Plus, there was absolutely no way that the trio would be leaving any time soon if they just kept asking questions amongst each other. No, it took action to get to the solution! Because of that, the white feathered duck began to tread off down the only visible path. Things were quite plain along this road. ‘Twas a simple dirt path surrounded by short-cut grass. At the far end of the road was a small wooden gate painted nicely. Wherever it lead was of no importance to Donald, really. He just was getting tired of being in one blasted spot!

How typical of the duck to be short of patience. The same thing happened on the last mission when it came to finding the King. It was always as if, to Sora, at least, Mickey was more important than Riku and Kairi. Nowadays, however, the Keybearer knew that sometimes one had to be patient to get what they desire, which is, in his case, his two closest friends. In the present time, Kairi was safe anyway, and Riku was SURE to be with Mickey. But anyway, while Donald was eagerly heading down the path, Sora and Goofy felt as if they had been left in the dust.

“H-Hey!” they both shouted, waving their arms. “Wait for us!”

And with that, the two found themselves jolting behind their feathered friend, trying to catch up as soon as possible. Little did they know, though, as they went about in their rushing, an all-too-familiar darkness was creeping into this world. Not too far off from Sora and the gang, heartless were beginning to gain entry into this black and white nostalgic place. As you may or may not have guessed, Timeless River, as the land of black and white was called, was being invaded by the heartless simply because of the gaping hole the Gummi explosion had fashioned.

A problematic situation this was. For, you see, being a world of the past, if Timeless River were to be swallowed by the heartless, it would cause a great shift in time. Who knows WHAT would happen if the ground in which Disney Castle was built upon were destroyed? Such an alteration of reality could totally ruin the present worlds, and therefore, this was a huge threat.

Pant. Pant. Donald just HAD to run like the dickens, didn’t he? For such a squatty looking fellow, the oversized bird really knew how to jolt. By now, he was standing by the gate, tapping his webbed foot while wearing a bored expression. As for Sora and Goofy, well, they were making their way towards the magical fowl, though with not much enthusiasm. After all, at the rate Donald had been running, keeping up with him had used a lot of energy. That, and there was the fact that the path wasn’t as short as it had appeared.

When the Keybearer and the somewhat clumsy canine finally reached their feathered comrade, they nearly collapsed. At least Donald had slowed down once he reached the end of the path, though, so there WAS a bit of a plus side. All that Sora and Goofy really needed now was a quick chance to take a little breather after all that running. However, Donald’s nature would probably compel them to move once again, so it was best to just go on with things.

“So, I guess we should get going, huh?” sighed Sora, leaning towards the gate.

“Yep!” snapped the arrogant bag of feathers known only as Donald Duck. “We can’t take any risks, though. The Organization could have followed us here, so BE CAREFUL.”

Ok, Donald was being a little bit paranoid, at least on Sora’s standards. How would Organization XIII even follow a Gummi Explosion, anyway? For that matter, was doing so even possible? Eh, it was a fat chance, but Donald DID bring up a good point nonetheless. Timeless River was a strange world, after all, and who knew what could jump out of practically nowhere? Sure, the world looked friendly and all, but if bright and cheery places like Atlantica had heartless, then what was stopping this black and white world from being the same?

Slowly, Donald reached for the gate, giving it a nice push. Clearly he was being utmost alert, though it looked kind of ridiculous. He stuck his head beyond the gate and gave a quick look around. What he saw was interesting, and it indeed proved that his alertness was for the best. For, what lied passed the gate was a little dock in the distance where a steamboat sat, but that wasn’t the dangerous part. No, what REALLY caught Donald’s attention was the swarm of heartless that appeared to be popping out of nowhere and chasing around some fat… dog thing with a captain’s hat. Now, these heartless were different than the usual types. Instead of being mere shadows and soldiers, they were shaped like automobiles with sharp, grinding teeth. Joining them were a few pilot-like heartless each riding in airplanes that were small in proportion to their bodies and oversized heads. Either way, they were a threat, and one that would need to be dealt with.

“HEARTLESS!” quacked the duck, who quickly pulled away from the door.

Within an instant, Sora and Goofy became alert. If heartless were around, that meant danger, for sure. Innocent people could very well be losing their own hearts to the darkness if the trio did not act fast. Each of the heroes were quick to draw their weapons. As usual, Donald whipped out his mage’s staff, while Goofy carried the King’s shield, and Sora summoned his Keyblade. Sure, it was predictable, but hey, it worked.

“Come on!” Sora shouted, running in the direction of the dock. “We can’t just sit here!”

With that said and done, Donald and Goofy were quick to follow, charging towards the group of odd looking heartless in the distance. For whatever reason, the heartless could sense their enemies approaching and swiftly turned in the opposite direction. Seeing the heartless rushing their way, Sora and his friends drew their weapons and increased their pace, preparing to make contact with their foes.

Without hesitation, the hot rod heartless rocketed forward, attempting to gnash at the Keybearer, while the aeroplanes shot their missiles at Donald and Goofy, who ended up darting this way and that. Each second, though, the hot rod neared its target, who was too busy charging to dodge the assault. WHAM! Sora was sent flying backwards, due to the sudden speed burst from the hot rod. With Sora on the ground, the heartless prepared to make another charge at him. Luckily, Donald was there to ‘save the day’. Seeing Sora about to be mauled by the car-like heartless, the poultry mage quickly lifted his staff and prepared to cast a spell to assist his friend.

“THUNDER!”

Suddenly, a bolt of electricity shot down from the sky, not only causing the heartless an immense amount of pain, but also stunning the creature long enough for Sora to get back to his feet. Once the Keybearer was up and about, he gave a quick lunge at the odd heartless, who was still stunned momentarily. There were no second thoughts about lashing back at this heartless in Sora’s mind. He didn’t even take a moment to catch his breath before bolting at the hot rod and cutting through it with his blade.

Right as the hit rod vanished, two aeroplanes arrived on the scene, shooting their missiles without any thought. The bombardment of missiles blasted around the scene, which meant that Sora and co had to be swift on their feet if they were to avoid being harmed. While the Keybearer darted from place to place, he kept his eyes on the remaining hot rod heartless, preparing to lash at them once he got close enough. All the while, Donald and Goofy decided to handle the aeroplanes. While Keyblade met with the front ends of the car-shaped heartless, the aeroplanes were countered by the strong shield of Goofy paired with the thunder magic of Donald. To put it bluntly, the poultry mage cast thunder on his foes, causing them to fall to the ground, while Goofy delivered the finishing blows.

Soon all of the heartless were gone. Each one had been either thwarted by the wrath of Sora, or fallen due to the tactics of Donald and Goofy. Now, an utter silence filled the area as the trio found themselves alone, spare the strange steamboat captain. Speaking of which, the odd looking canine had finally noticed the three strangers. His brow furrowed slightly, and he adjusted his hat before addressing the trio. “So, who are ya, and what brings ya here?” he demanded, looking not very amused.

“Uh…. We just sorta, came here,” Sora muttered, slightly taken aback by this arrogant captain. Whoever this guy was, he definitely looked like a dangerous force packed with brute strength. His overall body shape was hefty, but at the same time, muscle was visible beneath his black fur. His jaw too looked like it could do some damage, though it was doubtful that the guy would be barbaric enough to gnaw someone to pieces.

Adjusting his hat for the second time, the captain responded by saying, “Well, you shouldn’t just mosey on down here like that. Last time strangers were about, my steamboat was snatched!” He paused for a moment and made a snatching motion with his arms before continuing, “But, you handled those creeps pretty well, so maybe you’re not so bad after all…” For a moment, the captain scratched his chin as if trapped in deep thought. “The name’s Pete, by the way.”

Pete… that name was eerily familiar to both Donald and Goofy. Back at the castle, King Mickey had a follower named Pete who proved most loyal at one point. Supposedly the two were friends for quite some time. However, this did not last long, as soon Pete found himself being tempted by the darkness. With each passing day, he would be more and more drawn towards the shadows until eventually; he took sides with Maleficent and betrayed the kingdom. Luckily for Mickey and the others, Pete wasn’t exactly the brightest fellow, making him easy to confront and capture. As soon has he was in the king’s clutches once again, the pudgy moron was chucked into a prison in the darkness. But, if this was the same Pete, how could he be here?

Both Donald and Goofy shared uncomfortable glances. Something wasn’t right about this place. If this was THE Pete, why was he being so friendly? There had to be a catch. Plus, this world did NOT look like a prison between light and darkness. The only thing to do was interrogate Pete furtively. Donald quietly leaned forward, an odd glint in his eye. “So… ‘Pete’… tell me, have you heard of the great Disney castle?” questioned the large fowl.

Quietly, Pete scratched his chin, most likely pondering about Donald’s little question. He blinked several times and adjusted his position ever so slightly. For a few moments, everything remained calm and quiet, as Donald waited for a response. Finally, Pete opened his mouth and replied, “No, I’ve never heard of any castle ‘round these parts.” Pete paused for a second and then added, “But, I think they’re planning on building a castle or somethin’ near the cornerstone.”

Instantly, Donald and Goofy’s eyes lit up in surprise. A castle being built around a cornerstone sounded VERY familiar! Such a place HAD to be Disney Castle, but… if it was only in the planning stages that had to mean that the Gummi blast had… sent them into the past. Things were now beginning to make sense. Everyone, including Sora, had their old clothes because they had been sent back in time via Gummi Explosion. This wasn’t good… not good at all.

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

AN: So, here ya go. Sorry for the wait. The GOOD news is, it shouldn’t take me long to finish the chapter, and then I can do the Roxas part. Chapter 6 is being worked on at school as well, so updates should come a bit quicker. Please, leave a review as usual, since I LOVE to hear opinions!