[IC] Kingdom Hearts: Darkness Origins

[Renose]

Ace and Spade Go to Disneyland Castle

"Its Donald, Donald Duck. Not just duck" stated the royal mage in an angered tone of his highly annoying voice. After that, glad that Ace accepted the quest, and assuming that Spade would do the same, he raises one of his hands towards the sky. In one moment, the three of them would be engulfed in beams of light, and in the next the three of them would be in the seats of what appeared to be a ship of some sort, Donald in the front seat and Ace and Spade in the back two seats.

The Duck started to type in some keys on the keyboard that was the ship's controls, the image of a gigantic, white castle appearing on one section of the glass dome that gave them a view of not only their entire world, but also a view of the void of space around them. "Everyone make sure your buckled up" reminded the duck, before he hit a large green button, a steering wheel popping up from the ship's control board, which he grabbed. Pushing the wheel forward, the ship began to zoom forward through the vast reaches of space, passing various worlds on its way.

Soon enough, the ship would arrive at a different world. Instead of them being transported right out of the ship though, Donald quickly flew into this world, the ship in a matter of minutes arriving in what appeared to be a hangar, as several other similar looking ships were docked here, the ships looking as though they were made out of blocks of various color and shape. A door in the side of the cockpit opened, allowing the three of them to step out, Donald stepping out first before looking back at the two of them. Hurry up, you shouldn't keep the King waiting".

With that, the Duck guided them out of the hangar and quickly to the throne room. The castle was vast, its halls probably fit for a giant. Not only that, it was mostly white and had brooms walking around in it. Yes, the workers were brooms who were walking around, some holding buckets and others sweeping the floor as they walked. They all had arms for some reason, one would say it was quite the strange spectacle, had Ace and Spade not been from Wonderland, where everything was a strange spectacle. So for them, it could probably just be called a spectacle.

Donald walked them right up to what appeared to be a door fit for a person at least fifty feet tall, then proceeded to push on one part of it, a small part at the bottom opening up like a regular sized door. The throne room was gigantic and... sort of empty, except one thing. A regular sized throne with what appeared to be a mouse sitting on it. Mickey noticed the two new arrivals and stood up from his throne, Donald giving a bow when Mickey had gotten close to them.

Mickey smiled at the two. "So, you must be Spade and Prince Ace. The name's Mickey, its a pleasure to meet ya". The King seemed... rather informal and very, very friendly. In fact, he stuck out his hand for a friendly handshake for the two of them, should they choose to accept it. Once the greeting was out of the way, Mickey spoke once again. "Seeing that your here, I assume this means you are accepting the request. I can answer any questions you have for now, while we wait for the others to hopefully arrive or at least acquire the news of their refusal".

Goofy

"Im glad ya liked it. The King wanted to make sure that he was being as polite as possible, so he worked real hard on it" Goofy did indeed seem... just perpetually happy. He always looked like he was smiling, as if that was his natural expression. It would probably be a bit of a surprise to see him frown.

Unfortunately though, Goofy had no idea that Gabe couldn't read, so he assumed that Gabe had read through the contents of the letter. "So do you accept the King's request to help investigate the anomaly? We aren't gonna force ya or nothin', but we could really use your help with this mission". Goofy sheepishly scratched the back of his head. He was trying his best to not sound forceful, which he was doing a really good job with how friendly he sounded and looked, plus his drawl like voice made him sound even friendlier.

[Ogo]

«Gabe»

"Im glad ya liked it. The King wanted to make sure that he was being as polite as possible, so he worked real hard on it. So do you accept the King's request to help investigate the anomaly? We aren't gonna force ya or nothin', but we could really use your help with this mission".

Anomaly? Gabe was all kinds of lost. But he did catch one word a couple times. Help. Apparently this King needed Gabe’s help. Why? Gabe couldn’t even begin to guess. What he did know, was that he didn’t want to let the goofy Goofy down. He gave Gabe a letter, so it would only be fair for Gabe to help him out. Right? Besides, the lug seemed so very happy. Gabe would feel waaaay too bad if he made the dogman sad, if that was even possible.

Gabe nodded eagerly.

“I can try to help out for a bit. It’s the least I can do.”

Whoever King was, Gabe was hoping he’d get to meet the fella. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to meet his Majesty as well. He assumed that the Majesty could be the King’s. Unless Goofy was all mixed up, that is.

Gabe folded up the letter and stuck it into a pocket. He looked back at Goofy and tilted his head. Alright, he agreed to help out and all but...what would that mean? He wasn't going to back out, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

“So uh...what do I need to do?”

[Renose]

Differing Views

(LetterBee and Renose Collab)

Suddenly, the communications room of Disney Castle will light up with a notification of a message, a message coming from the edge of the known universe. Should someone click to open it, one of the screens would show Lacrima Monti, who would then say:

"Is this thing on? Anyway, get your King on the line, pronto. I may have something that would interest him..."

Currently it was Chip and Dale who were monitoring the computer room. When the face of someone all too familiar to anyone who worked at Disney Castle appeared, the two chipmunks were immediately alarmed.

"Go get the king right away!" stated Chip in his very high pitched voice.

Dale, with all of the incredible speed a tiny little chipmunk could muster, bounded out of the computer room. Right after Mickey had just greeted Spade and Ace, suddenly a tiny chipmunk would bound into the room, it beginning to actually speak in a voice that could be considered somewhat annoying as well, an obvious drawl to it.

"Your Majesty, come quick. That Monti guy is on the line!"

"Lacrima Monti?" questioned the king, only to get a nod from the chipmunk. Mickey just gave a nod. "Alright, I am on my way". He gave an apologetic look towards Spade, Ace, and Donald.

"I'm sorry bout this fellas. Ill get back to you shortly. For now, Donald, could you answer any questions that these two have?"

Donald, eager to help out his friend and King, gave a nod. "Of course your majesty!"

Mickey gave an appreciative nod before running out of the room, following Dale to the computer room that was in the library, which was much bigger than it used to be so there was a chance that either Oz would see Mickey running by, or miss him. When the two arrived, Mickey walked up to the computer screen, looking at the screen. "Lacrima... what do you want?" asked the King, not too happy to see him since the last time they met was three years ago, when things left off on a sour note.

"What I always want; a Universe where the advancements of one are shared with another, where prosperity isn't confined to just one world or a small group. A Universe united for better or for worse, the people together facing whatever threat looms over them. But...at present, it's not about what I want, but rather about what you would want, Your Majesty." He was a little mocking with the last two words, and it showed.

Mickey had remembered explaining why they couldn't interfere in the worlds. It would throw out of order a world's balance if they just came and started to interfere. While sure, it could solve immediate problems, in the long run it would lead to much conflict if they tried to interfere in every single world.

"I have told you before Lacrima. There are countless worlds out there, trying to interfere in them would throw the balance of things into chaos, but no matter what... you still refuse to listen to my words..." Mickey heaved a sad sigh. In truth, he was mad at Lacrima, but also sad for him, as he knew the hardships that Apocolyptia had faced before.

"You see, the members of my order have seen the light of a new Keyblader on my world, a new Keyblader who could make a fine addition to my ranks...or yours. Normally, I would keep this knowledge from you, and even now I'm in a position to impede you from recruiting him, but...I thought that I can get something else."

When this was brought to Mickey's attention, the King looked at Lacrima, raising an eyebrow. Well, he really could use the extra help right now, with most, if not all, of the World Defense Committee busy with maintaining and expanding the reach of the World Defense System. So any extra hands would be appreciated. "Alright, what would you like for not interfering with me coming out there to see this new Keyblader". While Mickey figured he could easily outfight any traps or enemies Lacrima threw his way, since he figured he would just go himself, he didn't want to fight him at the moment and create more conflict, so just going with his demands for now was a better idea.

"Tell me, do you know of a world called Terminus*?" Lacrima said, crossing his fingers like a Mafia Don. "Basically, there are two groups there, The Foundation and the Second Foundation, each supposed to combine together into a Second Galactic Empire - their first one fell to the forces of decline. The First Foundation is built on the principles of Science, the Second on Psychology, and there is another world, Gaia, which is irrelevant to this discussion. Point is, the First Foundation has the ability to create Personal Shields powered by nuclear reactors as small as a nut; I would like a sample of one. In exchange for this, you get another student to indoctrinate," Lacrima almost said 'brainwash', "and everyone is happy."

Mickey just listened to the man's demands. So he wanted to amass more technology for war? Mickey just sighed softly. "Always the same, aren't you Lacrima? You claim to desire peace, yet it was your group who attacked the WDC first and here you are, demanding more technology for war". The King just shook his head for a moment. He understood perfectly why Lacrima fought, but it wasn't a reason why anyone should fight.

"This is exactly why the worlds are not ready to interfere with one another. The very thing I warned you about. The technology and magic of the various worlds will interact and create chaos if used improperly. The worlds that are ruled by those with evil in their hearts will use their world's power to take over the more primitive or non-magical worlds and there are some worlds where such magics or technology would just throw them into chaos naturally". The King's words were full of the wisdom of many years of experience and lessons. "Its not just a Keyblade War I am worried about... it is regular war I am worried about as well".

The King just looked at Lacrima now. [color=lightcoral]"I shall send Sorami to get the item you want and she will bring it to you when she can". Mickey needed all of the help he could get for this mission, so he was willing to give in to these demands for now. "For now I will go see this Keyblader myself and ask him for his help".

"Thank you." Lacrima felt a genuine pang of guilt at forcing the King to agree to this bargain, but hid it from view. "Sometimes...I wish that things would be different, believe me, I want things to be different. However..." his voice became firm, "I cannot just stand by while slavery, torture, degradation and constant death are a fact of life in my world. What is broken must be fixed." After a few seconds, not letting King Mickey say anything, Lac continued:

"However, I will say this. If you are gathering your champtions not against me, but against another threat entirely, then call me. Despite our different views, we both don't want our Universe to be destroyed." And with that, the screen blinked out as the Renegade Keyblader's message ceased.

Mickey agreed with Lacrima's view on what is there must be fixed. After all, Sora did the same on his journey, fixing many worls' problems in his own special way. But he also thought that Lacrima's plans for unifying the worlds was all wrong, as was stealing technology or magic from the other worlds. After the call ended, Mickey looked towards the two chipmunks. "Prepare my Gummi Ship please, I need to go see this new Keyblader. Set it on a course for Apocolyptia".

The two chipmunks just nodded as Mickey walked out. Hopefully he would be able to find the Keyblader without the aid of the WDS. Well... the system there was damaged, not inoperable. So he figured he could use the Gummi ship's computer to locate a general position of the Keyblader using the damaged WDS system there and search with that. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

*The Foundation Trilogy.

Recruiting Henry

Mickey soon enough arrived in Apocolyptia via a beam of light teleporting him to the ground in Henry's general location. Granted the beam of light was something no one could see as Mickey made sure to appear far from any people, so he was a bit outside of the search radius, but still. Mickey knew what kind of world this was, so he pulled out his Keyblade. He agreed with Lacrima's reasoning for his actions in terms of fixing this world...now was not the time for those thoughts though. He had more pressing matters at hand, namely finding and requesting a Keyblader's help, moving very quickly.

With the WDS being down, unfortunately Heartless still appeared in this world. So as Henry sat there, smoking, suddenly Heartless would appear around him. Several Shadows and a couple of Soldiers. There were a couple behind him, unfortunately, but before those behind him could be attacked, they were vanquished. What appeared to be a mouse wielding a sword that was shaped similar to his own, but its design was different. Before Henry could barely react, the rest of the Heartless were vanquished in a few quick movements and swings of the mouse's blade, this creature very skilled with his sword and probably quite powerful as he took them out as if it was nothing.

After that, the sword just vanished in a small flash of light as Mickey turned to look up at Henry. "Glad I found ya when I did pal" he stated, a small smile upon his face. Judging by his garb, and the fact that he was a talking mouse, he was obviously not from here.

"I don't have much time, so ill make it quick. My name's Mickey, and I came here to ask for your help. I know that you wield a weapon called the Keyblade" to further his point, Mickey materlized his own once again, keeping it out as he watched the area to make sure that more Heartless wouldn't show up. "It is the best weapon for fighting those dark creatures you saw called Heartless. In truth, the Heartless have been plaguing many worlds, not just this one. Which is why we created a system to help deal with them, but recently it spotted something strange". He was obviously giving Henry the heavily condensed version of his speech, as he paused to quickly deal with another Shadow that appeared, doing so in just a single swift movement. "The point is, I would like your help as a Keyblader to investigate it. Naturally you will be going with a team of other Keybladers since I wouldn't want you going in there alone". Mickey turned to face Henry, holding out his hand for a handshake. "So what-do-ya say, will you help me? You don't have to, but I could really use your help".

[Renose]

Goofy

Goofy nodded, happy that Gabe accepted the request. "Well for now, just come with me and ill take ya to see the King". With that, Goofy pointed towards the sky, and suddenly the two of them were encompassed in beams of light in one moment, and in the next in the cockpit of the gummiship, which gave them a view of Traverse Town and the void of space around them.

Goofy pressed a few buttons in the controls before grabbing the wheel. "Make sure ya buckle up a-hyuk". He turned around to look at Gabe as he gave this advice as well as a friendly grin. "As safey is very important". With that, once Gabe was strapped in, Goofy drove the ship to Disney Castle, passing many other worlds along the way to their destination, passing them all in the mere blink of an eye.

Soon enough they had parked in the hangar and Goofy guided Gabe to the throne room, passing by several walking brooms performing various tasks along the way. When they arrived at the giant door, Mickey opened the smaller door that was in the bottom of the giant door, which opened up to a titanic room that only had a throne in it, as well as Donald, Ace, and Spade. Goofy walked over to Donald.

"Where's the King?" he asked the duck.

"Not here, he had to go talk with that Monti guy".

"Lacrima Monty?"

The duck just gave a nod, before noticing the black mage behind Goofy. "Who's that?"

"This is Gabe, he's the Keyblader the WDS found in Traverse Town, and I see ya managed to recruit the ones from Wonderland as well a-hyuk".

Donald just gave a nod. "Yea, but their soldiers were as big of jerks as ever". Donald crossed his arms in dissatisfaction at having to deal with those soldiers, wasting his precious time.

Goofy turned to face Gabe. "Sorry Gabe, but the King's not here right now, but me and Donald can answer any questions ya got for now". Goofy just scratched the back of his head, his usual grin on his face. Then the captain turned to face Ace. "Also, its nice to meet'cha your highness, the name's Goofy" Goofy now stuck his hand out for Ace to shake, this person being much friendlier than Donald was.

[The Whacko]

For a brief moment, Henry thought that maybe he'd caved at some point to preasure in the last few hour's and was high on Jet, if the talking, four foot tall mouse with a sword kind'vd like his way anything to go by. Only after the display of badassery he'd just witnessed, and the fact he could feel the...he guessed magic...in the air, like radiation, he was willing to believe it was real. He stared at the offered hand for a moment as he listened, before he slowly shook it with his own big, calloused and dirty paw.

"Well, good to meetcha, sir, an' thanks for the rescue. Guess I owe you enough to see what this is about. Would like some answers." He paused, trying not to stare at the mouse for too long. "Uh...pardon, sir, jus'...always thought aliens were supposed to be lil' green men, abducted folk an' brahmin for God knows what. Henry Sullivan, by the way."

There was a long pause as Henry tried to look a bit less awkward with the Keyblade, wondering where he was supposed to stow it away. Finally he spoke.

"So...where to, then?"

[Double]

In the Library, Oswald had found a series of very helpful journals. They more or less chronicled every single major event that happened concerning the Heartless and those Nobody things. They were penned by one Jiminy Cricket, and while Oswald had no idea who that was, he silently thanked them in his mind for writing these journals, otherwise trying to read up on what's been happening would have taken a lot longer.

He was about halfway into one of the Journals when he heard voices enter the Library. One was the King, and the other was a high-pitched voice that could only belong to one of the Chipmunks, Dale in this case. Oswald peaked from behind a book shelf to watch them approach a computer. The rabbit silently approached but said nothing, instead he remained hidden and listened to what was being said. After the conversation, Oswald quickly made his way back to the journals, bookmarked where he left off and closed the book. Once the King was gone, Oswald followed suit and exited the library into the Colonade. Out there, he spotted two familiar faces and one he didn't know.

"Donald! Goofy!" he exclaimed with a wave before running up to them. According to those journals he looked at, the two of them have been very busy, playing really important roles along side that Sora person, "I can't believe it. You two went and became big time heroes while I wasn't looking. I guess I've got some catching up to do, huh?"

[Renose]

Welcome to Disneyworld Castle, a Nicer World than Yours

"Nice to meet ya Henry. Anyway, for now we will go back to my ship, where I will take you to my castle where you will meet your teammates". With that, Mickey pointed his hand towards the sky. In one moment, both he and Henry were engulfed in beams of light, and in the next they were in the cockpit of the Gummi Ship, the glass dome over it giving them a view of the void of space around them and a view of Apocolyptia below. "There are countless other worlds out there, that one right there being yours, and the place we are heading will be my world".

With that, Mickey put the ship on a full speed course for Disney Castle, the ride being both quick, but surprisingly comfortable. When it was over, they would appear to be inside a hangar of some sorts as there were more of the very colorful, blocky ships here, Mickey getting out first before waiting for Henry to do so.

When the two reached the throne room, or rather the entrance of it where everyone was standing, they were treated to a reunion between Oz, Donald, and Goofy.

"Oz!" stated Goofy and Donald at the same time, both he and Donald happy to see him to the point where Goofy, with his large amounts of strength, picked up the two of them for a big, friendly hug, before setting them both down.

When Oz spoke about them becoming heroes, Donald had a confident smirk upon his face. "That's right, we are real heroes now~" he stated, annoying voice full of confidence.

This was when Goofy sort of half whispered "But we were Junior Heroes for a while though". This statement made Donald's expression turn a bit grumpy and made Goofy chuckle.

Now Mickey and Henry both would walk up, Donald and Goofy turning to immediately stand at attention. "Your Majesty, welcome back".

To this Mickey nodded. "Yes, I am back, with the newest addition to this team. And now that most of us are here... I can begin to answer any questions while we wait for Sorami to return, plus we can also take a bit for everyone to get aquainted".

[Ogo]

«Gabe»

"Well for now, just come with me and I’ll take ya to see the King."

Well that was convenient. One of Gabe’s many questions would simply sort itself o- Wait. Why was Goofy pointing up. Gabe followed the dogman’s finger and gazed at a seemingly empty sky. Then things got bright. Very bright.

Gabe covered his eyes.

He felt a swift whoosh. It was as if he had been plucked from the ground and flicked away by some giant malevolent, uncaring creature.

Gabe finally moved his hands away from his eyes to see that he was...was…Huh. He had no idea. Everything looked very metallic. Except for the glass dome, that is. Outside the glass was nothingness, spreading out in all directions forever. There also a very, very large round object.

“Make sure ya buckle up a-hyuk. As safety is very important.”

Buckle up? Whatever did tha-

The ground moved. The walls moved. EVERYTHING moved. Grab grabbed tight hold of his seat, but quickly found the ‘buckle’ Goofy was referring to. He grabbed it and stretched it across his body into the small square receiver. Suddenly, he didn’t feel as if he would be ripped from his seat. Wherever they were going, they were going fast. Lights broke past the small flying room more quickly than Gabe could even hope to notice.

Eventually, the moving stopped. Goofy brought the room to an end, got up, and left. Gabe unbuckled after a few unfortunate moments of battling a pesky, determined latch. He then followed suit.

Sort of.

The black mage found his legs trying to give out on him. He was stumbling every which was. That was a hell of a ride. Not in Gabe’s taste at all. He didn’t like going quickly. And vehicles were torture. In any case, he more than once himself almost becoming incredibly intimate with the floor. Left foot and right foot had left the building, goodbye folks.

Gabe did manage to gain his balance and followed Goofy. They entered a small set of doors within a larger chair. Another of those cultural differences it would seem. Inside was looked like a human boy, a human girl, and...? Gabe was floored. Sure, the castle was absolutely magnificent full of impossible things, but this? This took the cake.

This was the largest duck that Gabe had ever seen. And the angriest. He must have zoned out slightly though, for the next thing he caught as Goofy introducing him as ‘the Keyblader the WDS found in Traverse Town. And great, there was that Key word again. What was a Keyblader?

“Donald! Goofy!”

Well that was a new voice. Gabe turned in time to see a rabbit looking person approaching Goofy and the giant duck.

”Oz!”

Apparently they all knew each other, because Goofy lifted the two smaller people into the air in some sort of hug. Or Goofy just liked hugging strangers. Huh. Before Gabe could really put much thought into it, he noticed Donald and Goofy standing tall. Gabe silently turned to rest his eyes on...was that a mouse? Most likely. He seemed about as happy as Goofy but...also intelligent. That was scary, at least, until it spoke.

"Yes, I am back, with the newest addition to this team. And now that most of us are here... I can begin to answer any questions while we wait for Sorami to return, plus we can also take a bit for everyone to get acquainted.”

Gabe waited a beat or two, then looked around. Nobody had said anything. Odd. Well, there were a few things about not sitting the pot that could be said here.. but, well, He had to know. Gabe rose his head, volunteering to ask the first question. He waited for another half a beat before speaking.

“Uhm...what’s a keyblader? And if you’re the Majesty, where can I find the king? Also, what is a majesty or a king?”

Gabe spoke clearly, but ended with a fake cough and unconsciously straightened his hat. The worlds might very well end if that hat wasn’t aligned. He wasn’t so much uncomfortable in asking questions as much as he was unsure about asking in front of so many. People didn’t like being asked questions they had already answered. But it couldn’t be helped. Not unless someone wrote down a cheat shee- wait, no reading? Well...problem.

[The Whacko]

Henry was swearing and chain-smoking through most of the trip, his Keyblbade...Atom...was rattling as it rested between his legs in the gummi ship.

"Wait...how the hell do I know this thing's name?" he only had a few moments to ponder the question as the ship began to slow, aproaching what had to be the fanciest joint he'd ever seen in his life. Not that there was much to compete with it back home. It was even bigger than any of the casinos in New Reno, and he was sure it was bigger even than the Lucky 38 in New Vegas. He couldn't help but gawk like a country bumpkin at the sight of it all.

"Sonuvabitch...never seen a place that was...all in tact before." He mused as he flicked his fourth cigarette in half an hour aside into the grass. Actual, honest to the Good Lord above green grass. He felt bad for having sullied it now with the butt of his smoke, and knelt down to pick it up before he saw another group of aliens. They were just as weird as Mickey was. The first looked like a giant, walking, talking dog that sounded like he was a heavy user of mentats. Then there was a rabbit about the same size as Mickey, along with some sort of weird, white bird that also seemed as sentient as him.

And then there was the man in the blue cloak and hat. He looked a whole lot like the shadowy bastards, Heartless, that he'd fought earlier, if the black face and golden eyes were anything to go by. But he wasn't attacking them, and Mickey didn't seem bothered with him, so he figured that he might as well assume the best of this one. Slowly, he approached the Heartless-looking guy with one hand extended, Atom at rest and pointed firmly away from anyone else with the other.

"So...guessin' you're 'bout as clueless to this as I am. Glad I ain't alone there. Henry Sullivan, some folk jus' call me Big Hank." Polite, friendly, the usual with strangers in a non-threatening situation. Best way to do things. "Curious myself as to what these things are."

[Amaya Tamashii]

"We should trust her the letter has the seal and the seal looks like something of royalty or royal bloodline. Also, my gut is telling me to give this woman a chance."she replied" plus not very many know of our blades or who wields them so how could this king Mickey or this woman know of us by name if this wasn't true?"asked Amaya. Maybe she was too trusting but something inside was telling her this woman was one they could trust. " Please Joshua..for me?"she asked gently giving him her puppy dog eyes trying to get him to trust her decision.

[Amaya Tamashii]

"We should trust her the letter has the seal and the seal looks like something of royalty or royal bloodline. Also, my gut is telling me to give this woman a chance."she replied" plus not very many know of our blades or who wields them so how could this king Mickey or this woman know of us by name if this wasn't true?"asked Amaya. Maybe she was too trusting but something inside was telling her this woman was one they could trust. " Please Joshua..for me?"she asked gently giving him her puppy dog eyes trying to get him to trust her decision.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Joshua had to admit, that the sudden transportation to a ship in the middle of space overlooking his home world, caught him by surprise. He took a second to feel the controls, noting that they were completely solid. No illusion magic that he knew of was capable of making an illusion solid, especially an impromptu illusion. He had to admit, Sorami had him well and truly cornered. No way he could deny this evidence.

He turned back to Amaya just as she gave him the big puppy eyes, causing him to sigh.
"Alright, alright, we'll go." He said, scratching the back of his head. Not like he could say no the moment Amaya gave him that look. The only times he had denied her something when she gave him puppy eyes was when he had other plans that were either safer or would make her happier, depending on the situation." The only thing we should do is pack a bit and say good-bye to Rose and Elyse. You know how Elyse will get if we just up and vanish for a long period of time."

[Renose]

Disney Castle

"This is the King" spoke up Donald as he walked over to Gabe, pointing to Mickey as he spoke. "That's his majesty, King Mickey".

Mickey gave a nod as he walked over to Gabe, offering a handshake. "The name's Mickey, nice to meet ya". Once that very friendly introduction was done, Mickey addressed Gabe's next question. "Sorry if I didn't make it clear enough in my letter, but a Keyblader is a person who wields a weapon called the Keyblade".

To emphasize his point, Mickey materialized his own Keyblade in his hand in a small flash of light. He let Gabe get a look at it before he made it vanish. "The Keyblade is a weapon that has the power to permanently subdue creatures known as the Heartless, which are made from the darkness in people's hearts".

Of course, while Mickey was telling this to Gabe, he was also speaking to Henry, Spade, and Ace; in case they didn't know what the Keyblade was exactly.

Sorami

Sorami beamed all three of them back down into Rose's house so that the two of them would have their time to say their goodbyes. She was glad that she didn't have to use up more time flying them to Disney Castle and them flying them back. Once they all said their goodbyes, it was back to the Gummi Ship they went. Of course, before they beamed back up Sorami made sure they were back in Rose's house so that they couldn't be seen by other prying eyes.

Now back in those seats once again, Sorami took the controls and looked back at the two of them. "Alright, make sure you're buckled up, as I am going to have to go pretty fast". With that, she took a grip of the wheel and in the next moment they were off once everyone was buckled up. Now the ship was zooming through the cosmos. On their way to their destination they would pass a good number of worlds along the way, since Rune Factory was not too far from the edge of the WDS' reach.

Soon enough they flew into the world of their destination and after that were parked inside of a hangar, where several other ships of a similar design were parked. They looked as though they were made from a multitude of various colored blocks of different shapes and sizes, rather than actual metal. Despite their... simple looks, they seemed quite dependable judging by how fast they were able to fly just then. Whether or not they had weaponry, however; was something that couldn't be discerned.

The Gang's All Here

Three other humans would soon enough come walking up to the group right after Mickey finished his explanation on the Keyblade. Oz would recognize one of them as having a somewhat surprising resemblance to Sora in both appearance and clothing since he did alot of reading up on the guy. "Your Majesty, I came back with the two final additions to our team".

With this, Mickey turned from the group to face the three newest arrivals. "Sorami, you're back. Alright, with this that means the entire team is assembled". Mickey was quite happy that everyone seemed to accept his request. He wasn't quite sure that everyone would, but now that they did seemed to put him in good spirits. "I want to thank everyone for coming here and accepting this very important mission".

"If everyone will follow me, I will explain what needs to be done". With this, the mouse king began to walk into the throne room; Donald, Goofy, and Sorami all following Mickey into what appeared to be a throne room fit for a giant. All this giant, mostly white room had in it though was just a throne meant for a regular sized person near the back of it. Once they got near the throne, Mickey took out his Keyblade in a flash of light and pointed it at the throne.

A beam of light would shoot from its tip, hitting the throne. After a few loud clicks like the turning of locks would be heard, the elevated part of the floor the room was on began to slowly slide to the side, revealing a large staircase beneath the throne. Soon enough, after a bit more walking through what appeared to be a maze, shortened down because the maze allowed those deemed friendly take its shortcuts, they would soon arrive in the Hall of the Cornerstone, which Mickey showed to Oz earlier.

Glowing with immense light in the center of the hall was indeed the Cornerstone of Light, various wires connected to the pedestal it rested upon. "This is the Cornerstone of Light, which powers the World Defense System, the system that was recently made to protect the worlds from the Heartless". After that, Mickey beckoned them over to a large computer, which Sorami proceeded to sit at and type a few things into a keyboard. Soon enough, some data as well as the picture of a world would appear on the screen.

Sorami, after entering this all into the computer, then turned her chair to face the group, speaking to them now.

"We recently spotted a strange, abnormal signature in this world. The World Defense System, or WDS for short, is designed to not only protect worlds from the Heartless and Nobodies by defeating them, but monitor for stronger Heartless and Nobodies that would be better dealt with personally". She stopped to type in a few more things, before suddenly a section of the wall to the left of the computer opened up, a shelf sliding out.

Upon the shelf were an amount of small bracelets meant for each of them. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey walked to the shelf and gave each of the Keybladers there, excluding Mickey and Sorami, a bracelet.

"These bracelets are mini computers that can connect you back to us and let you connect to the WDS systems, these being tuned to also serve as a radar to locate the strange signature we spotted". Sorami demonstrated as she held up a bracelet of her own. She took a few moments to explain its various functions. Its radar for locating the signature, its transmitter for contacting them, the recording functions that automatically took note of any enemies they faced or people they met, and its 'inventory' function for holding a small number of items, currently 3 Potions and 2 Ethers stored inside. All of these could either be accessed via buttons, or via voice commands.

Sorami made sure to try and make the explanation easy to understand, showing them both where the buttons were and the voice commands needed for using it. Once everyone had their bracelets on and knew the basics of how to use them, Mickey spoke up.

"Your mission is not a combative one. Your goal is to investigate the signature, your bracelets will automatically record any data that you find and send us a report. Hopefully... its just a glitch or something minor. Regardless of what it is though, please be careful".

After that, Mickey just gave a smile to the group, now ready to address any questions that they may have had. "Are there any questions?" As much as they were pressed for time, Mickey wanted to make sure that they had all of the information they needed, since he wasn't about to send any of them into potential danger without knowing what they were getting into.

[Double]

Oswald stayed silent, choosing to commit the mission briefing to memory instead of introducing himself. He could do introductions a little later, after he fully understood his next mission. Though speaking of the mission, something about the briefing was contradicting the facts. The King had insisted that the he mission was a non-combative one, but Oswald found that hard to believe. Firstly, if this mission was non-combat, then why send seven, count 'em, seven wielders of the Keyblade to take part in it? If the mission was really just a simple investigation of something that amounted to a glorified glitch, then Oswald could have easily done it without the need to whisk away other people from their homes to accompany him. Secondly, why supply said Keyblade Wielders with healing potions and other first aid items if the King didn't expect them to be needed? Oswald began to suspect that this was not a "non-combat" mission at all, and that the King was suspecting the same thing. Of course, he never spoke a word of these thoughts, but just listened intently.

Then the King asked if anyone had any questions. Oswald could have brought up the things he had thought of. He didn't, though, instead choosing to once again remain silent for the time being. He'd already asked plenty of questions since waking up and didn't want to be the one holding up the mission by asking dozens more. Besides, if he really wanted to know something, he could probably consult those Journals he found and get an answer that way.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Joshua was quick to pack a few things he thought would be needed, mostly potions. His world didn't have eithers, as food restored all their energy for magic and daily chores and activities. He said his good-byes to Elyse and Rose, the former being rather upset to see her Uncle Joshie and Sissie Amaya going away. Joshua reassured her they would be back soon before leaving with Amaya and Sorami.

When they arrived at Disney Castle, Joshua took time to admire the place, the Gummi Block ships, though he had absolutely no idea what they were, and he couldn't help but stare at the broomstick servants. What kind of magic was that? He had never seen anything like it before. He also noted the distinct lack of runeys in the area. Something told him there was going to be a lot of going on. He was going to miss the spirits of the earth.

When they arrived at where King Mickey was along with several other people, Joshua kept his mouth shut as he observed them all, trying to get a gauge on them as he followed and listened to King Mickey as he explained the mission. One of them seemed very similar to Mickey but looked more like a rabbit then a mouse. Another wore way too much white for his liking. Seriously, the guy needed to wear something darker somewhere, otherwise the only way he could hide himself was if it was pitch black. The guy in dark leather armor provided a nice contract though, but Joshua didn't feel comfortable around him. There was a girl who apparently had a love for playing card who seemed to be sticking close to a man with red hair. There were one or two other people in the group, but Joshua didn't have the time to study them as Mickey made a comment about this being a non-combative mission. This got a dry laugh out of him.
"Non-combative mission. Yeah right. You got, what, a small army here? Unless about four or five of these people are politicians and scientist, I think you might want to check up the definition of non-combative. Cause if everyone here is a warrior in some sense of the word, you're getting ready for a war." He said to Mickey. King or not, Joshua treated everyone, with the exception of Amaya, Rose, and Elyse, the same. He told them how he saw it." So do me a favor and tell it to me straight. What is it you're so scared of? What is it you're truly worried this so called glitch might be? I hate being told bull and I want to know what Amaya and I are really getting into."

[Renose]

The Truth

"Hey, how dare you talk to the King li--" Donald was about to speak up, his feathers flaring up a bit as it was clear he didn't like the tone that Joshua was speaking to the King with. Fortunately, Mickey gently stuck his arm out in front of Donald, shaking his head at his friend to calm him down. In response to this gesture, Donald did indeed back down; albeit begrudgingly so.

"You are right Joshua, please forgive me for not being straight with you". The King had an apologetic tone to his voice as he heaved a small sigh.

"The thing is... we don't think it is a glitch, that is what we are hoping it will be, but are preparing for the worst nonetheless". Sorami spoke up now, typing a few things into a computer, bringing up a new image on the screen. It was a Heartless, more accurately a Shadow, located in a swamp somewhere. It had a faint blue aura surrounding it and appeared to be somewhat sluggish in its movements.

"This is what a Heartless affected by the WDS looks like. The WDS uses the power of the Cornerstone of Light to weaken and drain the strength of Heartless away until they disappear". Within about thirty seconds, the shadow seemed to just vanish, disappearing completely. "This is footage from a regularly scheduled scan on Far Far Away about a week ago".

Now she typed in something else, pressing the enter key once again to bring up a different bit of footage this time. Multiple shadows, about six of them, only half of the small group having the blue aura about them. "This was taken not too long after the anomaly was spotted, about three hours ago to be precise, when the abnormal signature was spotted. Some of the Heartless are being affected by the WDS, while others are not. We have run tests and scans again and again, but all things seem normal. The Heartless there haven't gotten any stronger, nor have any powerful Heartless appeared".

"We believe this strange signature is the cause for whatever is making some Heartless not affected by the WDS on this world, and whatever it is isn't in the system". Mickey spoke up now.

"Which is where you all come in". Sorami spoke up now. "We would normally have a team on this... but all of the other committee members are on other assignments and in truth, the Keyblade is the best weapon for dealing with the Heartless. Which is why having a team of Keybladers investigating this world for the signature is the best course of action, and you seven, aside from King Mickey and myself, are the only other Keybladers out there that we have found". After that, she pointed to the bracelets they had just received and possibly put on, unless some of them decided to wait.

"We need you to use the new radars in those bracelets to locate this signature. If its some kind of unidentifiable glitch, despite not having been seen in any scans, we can fix it. If its some unique power that is in that world, then we can deal with it".

"The main thing that we are afraid of", Mickey speaking up to address one of Joshua's spoken concerns, "is that whatever this is could potentially spread to different worlds, making Heartless elsewhere unaffected by the WDS. With your Keyblades, we can make sure that any unaffected Heartless don't go to other worlds if this can be spread through them and with you all as a team, we can hopefully nip this in the bud here".

[King Kindred]

Ace had been relatively quiet ever since he arrived at the castle. He was taking all of this in. This was his first time out in a different world. He knew there were other worlds out there, but this was his first time out of Wonderland. Even for a Wonderland Prince it was a lot to take in. He met the King and shook his hand, but he left just as quickly as he arrived. After the King left he started thinking about what it would be like to have those broom servants in Wonderland. It'd definitely put a lot of people out of a job. More people started to arrive and they looked weirder than the one that came before them. That was until the last few people arrived. They looked relatively normal.

He followed the King and the others down through a maze and then into the Hall of the Cornerstone where they were introduced to the Cornerstone of Life. This was the very thing that powered the World Defense Systems. They were then handed some wicked cool bracelets that would help them out on this mission. He placed his on immediately after getting it. This was going to be an adventure fit for a Prince. He listened to the explanation given to them by Sorami and nodded when she finished.

Then came the boring question portion of the meeting. That is, it would have been boring if one of the normal looking ones didn't speak up and call the King out. If he had talked to royalty like this in Wonderland he would have been without a head in an instant. Things were very different here in this castle. The outburst gave everyone the desired effect. They were told the truth and not the kiddy version that could potentially get them all killed.

When that was done Ace looked at his bracelet and then at his right hand before saying, "Don't worry about it." His Lucky Ace keyblade manifested in the palm of his hand. "Whatever the problem is with these heartless or whatever actually might be causing this anomaly I'll handle it. You'll see that you were worried for nothing because Ace the Prince of Hearts is here to help." He had a smirk on his face that had a good representation of the confidence he invested in his words. He wasn't worried about these heartless. He'd make sure that they wouldn't spread and take over his home. There was no way he was going to let that happen. This was his time. His time to show his potential.

[The Whacko]

Henry nodded slowly as he listened intently to Mickey's speech, his keyblade at rest at his side. He'd have to learn that trick for making it vanish soon, if only to keep from looking like an idiot. One of the kids beat him to his question, and he listened again to Mickey's response as he told them the whole story. Not that he'd back off either way, but he appreciated the honesty.

It wouldn't be the first time he'd done dangerous work, nor would it be the first time he' done it for the greater good. If those suckers were as dangerous as they said, he was all on board. Then the redheaded kid spoke up, and the big man shook his head.

"Kid, this is serious. Seen a whole Lotta cocky folk like you back home. Think they're the badesst son'bitch God put on on Earth. They get messed up bad or they get dead. Rather I didn't see another corpse if I don't gotta." His deep baritone was intimidating enough, even when he wasn't trying. And right Noe he figured a point needed to get made. He turned back to Mickey.

"No questions from me right now, sir. Sounds like some right needs doin', ain't never backed off from doin' that right before."

[Amaya Tamashii]

Amaya elbowed his side roughly as she gave Joshua a quick scolding" Be nice we are representing our home world...You are making our people look like complete jerks Joshua...He is a king, ROYALTY. He deserves some respect even from you Mr. ' I-think-I-am-better-than-everyone-else!'." She said more or less chewing him out in front of every one as she leaned forward putting her hands on her hips. " Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" she soon noticed she wasn't acting any better then him as she scolded him in front of the king and supposedly a prince from a place called wonderland. She bowed and apologized for her actions to both before she examined the watch curious.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Joshua sighed as Amaya chewed him out, taking her berating with a calm face. Once she calmed down he looked over at everyone gathered.
"Please give us a minute, okay." He said before placing an arm around Amaya's shoulder and leading her away from everyone. Once they were out of earshot, he turned her around and placed his hands on her shoulder, gently enough to not hurt her but firm enough to keep her in place." Listen, I'm going to be honest with you here. I'm scared right now. We're going to places we have no idea about, with people we don't know we can trust, and to fight a threat you and I know nothing about. To say I wasn't scared would make me the biggest fool in this world or any other.

I didn't like that we were being lied to. If I'm going to take this mission, I want to know what we're up against. That was, I can protect you from whatever we may come across. My main concern right now if your safety understand. I'm going to get you back home safe and sound, no matter what.

Now tell we, what's going on with you? You don't normally act like this. You haven't acted like this since Lucus was abusing you and Rose. Tell me what's on your mind Amaya. You know you can tell me anything. Don't you?"