Chapter 5: Enchanted Dominion:

The Lanes Between - Sora, Donald, and Goofy's Gummi Ship

I'll be back soon, Kairi, Sora thought to himself while he gazed back at the Mysterious Tower as it receded into the distance through the Gummi Ship's cockpit dome. Turning his attention back to the main control panel, he activated the ship's navigation menus, bringing up a map of the known worlds. The menus were a recent upgrade to their Gummi Ship, courtesy of Chip and Dale, that displayed the locations of every world within the ship's vicinity, ensuring that the trio did not have to blindly travel the Lanes Between until they found the world they were looking for.

"Don't worry, Sora," Goofy spoke up from the copilot's seat. "You'll be back with Kairi before you know it." Having known the boy for so long, he, Donald, and Jiminy could practically read Sora like a book. They were perfectly aware that Sora was head over heels in love with the Princess of Heart.

"Don't try to deny it, Sora," Donald added before the boy could protest. "You couldn't be more obvious with your feelings than if you painted "I love you, Kairi" across your face." The anthropomorphic duck and dog chuckled when Sora's face turned as red as Lea's hair.

"Do you guys really have to tease me about it though?" he asked as he input the navigation data Yen Sid had given them for the worlds inhabited by Princesses of Heart that they had not been to yet. A flash of light from the navigation menus distracted him from his embarrassment, and he looked at the menus to find a new world appearing on the holographic display. "Hey guys," he shouted to interrupt the duo's laughter. "According to the navigation menus, one of the Princesses' worlds is nearby."

"Oh, all right," Donald replied with a chuckle as he angled the control yoke in the direction of the nearest World that Sora pointed out on the map. As they approached the world, they each went down to the lower deck to pack their equipment for this world, and to prepare extra bunk beds for the other princesses. Gawrsh, Goofy thought as he stuffed one last potion into his pocket. I just hope we're not too late.


Enchanted Dominion – Bridge

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around at the forest that surrounded the bridge before gazing up at the magnificent castle that loomed before them. Sora was curious as to which Princesss lived here. They'd only been to a few of the Princesses' worlds, so this world was most likely the home of either Aurora, Cinderella, or Snow White. When he looked over at Donald, and Goofy, he could tell they'd reached the same conclusion that he had. Goofy finally voiced what they were all thinking.

"So which princess do you think lives here?" he asked aloud.

"Why don't we go to that castle and ask them ourselves?" Sora suggested as he started walking in that direction. He was anxious to find whichever princess lived here and get her back to the Tower as fast as possible. Xehanort was already one step ahead of them, and he was anxious to catch up and take the lead. A quick glance behind him confirmed that Donald and Goofy were following to the castle. They'd been together so long that when they were out in the field that very little communication was required between them to know what each was doing and where they were going.


When they arrived in what looked like the castle's throne room, the trio couldn't help but stare in awe at the magnificent tapestries hanging from the ceiling. Donald and Goofy continued to gaze in wonder at the fancy decorations, while Sora looked around and realized that they appeared to have walked in on an important meeting of some kind. Men and women dressed in elegant robes and dresses were gathered around a table that had been placed before the throne. A cool breeze from the open door alerted the assembled men and women, who, if Sora were to hazard a guess, were probably lords and ladies of this apparently medieval world, from their meeting, directing all eyes in the room at the three interplanetary interlopers. One of the lords stepped forward and started yelling at the trio.

"Who are you?" he began. Before the trio could speak, he continued unprompted. "This is a closed meeting. We're in the middle of a crisis, and judging by your attire you're probably spies for the demons. GUARDS! SIEZE THEM!"

"We're not spies," Sora replied as he, Donald, and Goofy readied their weapons to defend themselves while palace knights dressed in chain mail and armor surrounded them. What demons is he talking about? he thought as he slid into his battle stance. Is he talking about the Heartless? Have they started popping up again with one of the Princesses gone? Before either side could attack, a woman's voice spoke up. Sora hadn't heard it in almost three years, but he recognized it nonetheless.

"Stop!" she shouted. "Let them come forward." The guards stood down as the crowd parted to clear the three a path as they walked towards the throne, ignoring the confused, angry, and suspicious glares the nobility were giving them on the way. As they walked towards the throne, Sora recognized the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, in the back of the crowd, confirming his suspicions of whose world they were on. Considering they keep in constant contact with Merlin and Master Yen Sid, they probably knew we were coming, he thought to himself as he turned back towards the throne.

On one throne sat a man with wavy brown hair and such extravagant attire that he could only be the king of this world. The king gave Sora a look of confused recognition. Since Sora was still holding his Keyblade, he suspected the king had seen one before. On the other throne sat a blonde-haired woman the three of them recognized immediately. The queen greeted them with a warm smile that proved that she remembered them too.

"Hi, Aurora," Goofy said first, ignoring the shocked gasps of the assembled noblemen and women that someone would dare to be so informal with the queen. They gasped even louder when Queen Aurora stood up from her seat and wrapped the three intruders in a large hug.

"It's good to see you three again," she told them before letting go and turning to address the assembled lords and ladies of the royal court.

"I'd like to introduce you all to my good friends, Sora, Donald and Goofy. Three courageous knights who rescued me and other kidnapped princesses when I was abducted three years ago. They are friends of the crown and are to be treated with the utmost respect." This seemed to calm most of them down, though Sora noticed a few still sent accusatory glares their way. Ignoring the suspicion of the court, the trio turned back to the queen as she introduced them to her husband, King Phillip.

"So you're the Keyblade Master my wife has been telling me about," Phillip said as he stood up to shake Sora's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"So what brings you all here?" Aurora asked as Phillip gestured for one of the servants to bring over some chairs for their guests.

"Do you remember Ansem?" Sora asked as he, Donald, and Goofy sat down.

"Yes," the queen answered as she reached out and took Phillip's hand, her expression saying she knew what Sora was going to say, but was desperately praying he wouldn't. "But you defeated him years ago."

"It turns out his real name is Xehanort," he began. "But more importantly, he's back, and he's going after the Seven again."


A short while later, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Phillip, Aurora, and the three fairies solemnly filed into the chamber at the top of the castle. Since only a select few in the kingdom knew the full truth of Aurora's abduction by Maleficent, King Phillip had adjourned the court meeting early so that the eight of them could discuss matters pertaining to Xehanort and the Heartless in private. After the door had been closed and Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather cast spells on the tower to make certain they would not be heard, Aurora finally spoke.

"I felt it too," she told the visitors, knowing that no further explanation was required. "The Heartless began appearing more and more these past few weeks," she continued. "So at first I thought maybe that's the reason that one of the others went missing, but now that Ansem – sorry, Xehanort – has returned, I know better. But he already used us to open the Door, so I want to know why he's going after us this time." Sora took a deep breath before speaking, knowing that he would have to explain a lot.

One truncated explanation of the Keyblade War, the X – Blade, and Master Xehanort's intentions later, Aurora had to sit down from the shock. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she spoke.

"If Xehanort is going after the Princesses of Heart," she asked, "what are you planning to do to protect us?"

"Well," Donald began, "an ally of ours, a retired Keyblade Master named Yen Sid, has offered the use of his home as a safe house for the Princesses of Heart until Xehanort has been defeated once and for all. Kairi's been staying there for the past few months, and Master Yen Sid has place powerful enchantments around his Tower to ensure that Xehanort and his allies cannot set foot on the world."

Aurora pulled her husband into a corner to discuss the matter in hushed whispers, no doubt arguing over the merits of her safety if she were to leave the world. I can't say I blame them for being wary of her leaving, Donald thought, it may only be for a little while, but Phillip probably feels worried that he should be the one protecting her. His thoughts on the matter were interrupted when the couple walked back over to the group.

"Phillip and I have agreed that it's safer for me to come with you." She said. "Phillip and I are going to pack a few bags." When she noticed the sun beginning to dip below the horizon, in addition to the dark bags under her three friends' sleep deprived eyes, she told them that they would leave in the morning. "It's getting late and you three look like you haven't slept in days," she told them. "If you're going to be body guards for the Princesses of Heart, you'll need to get your sleep." None of the travelers had slept since the night before Sora's arrival at the Tower, and despite the gravity of the situation, the jetlag from the time differences between worlds was exhausting. So despite their reservations about letting their guard down, Sora, Donald, and Goofy reluctantly agreed to get some rest, knowing that Aurora was right. To ensure that they could still protect Aurora at a moment's notice, Aurora had instructed the servants to prepare beds in the rooms immediately adjacent to the royal bed chambers. After a long, dreary night, everyone fell asleep, ready to bring Aurora back to the Mysterious Tower in the morning.


The Next Morning…

Before teleporting onto the castle bridge, Donald had set the Gummi Ship's autopilot to land itself in the nearby forest to ensure the ship stayed concealed. The teleportation mechanism only worked when the ship was in orbit, and Donald didn't want to risk the ship getting blown up while they were down here. So, at dawn, the three visitors, Queen Aurora, and King Phillip rode out on horseback from the royal palace in secret, with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather following behind in the air. Until tonight, only a select few would know of the Queen's departure. As they rode off the bridge and into the forest, Sora was worried by the lack of opposition on the way. Not that I'm complaining, he thought to himself, but given what Aurora told me about this world's Heartless problem, I thought they would be coming after us like bees going to a flower. This is too easy.

Almost as soon as the thought entered his mind, he felt a dark presence off to the side. He looked to the left just in time to see an armada of Heartless headed their way. In the middle of the mob he could make out Neoshadows, a few Crimson Jazz, some Wyverns, and small fast moving green heartless that from Roxas' memories he knew the Organization called Deserters. The large mass was moving with frightening speed, and there was no doubt in the teen's mind what their target was.

"HERE THEY COME!" He shouted to the rest of the group as they pushed the horses to go faster. When they reached the forest they split up. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aurora followed the homing beacon that Chip and Dale had installed on the ship to find where it was parked. Meanwhile, Phillip rode his horse in the opposite direction with the three fairies right behind him, hoping they might be able to throw the dark horde off the groups trail and divide the mob.

They were wrong.


I figured that, while the Princesses of Heart would only share the details of their captivity in Hollow Bastion before/during the first Kingdom Hearts game with a select few, they'd at least tell the public a watered down version of the stories to pacify those curious about their Princesses' disappearances. So in this world, the only person who knows about Xehanort, Princesses of Heart, the Heartless and all that stuff from KH1 besides Aurora, Maleficent, and the 3 fairies is Phillip. The reason I have left out Aurora and Phillips parents is because I figured that, while most of the inhabitants of the world were kept in stasis until it was restored, I figured Maleficent probably killed a few people when she captured Aurora after Birth By Sleep, making Aurora and Phillip the only royalty left when the world is restored after KH1.

Since the only time we actually see Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter a world in the series (as far as I can remember, correct me if I'm wrong and no, I'm not counting the rabbit hole in Wonderland for KH1 because we didn't see how they got in there) was Pride Lands in KH2, where they teleported into the Gorge. So it makes sense to me that the Gummi ship would have an autopilot and a teleportation mechanism for discreet arrivals, and a homing beacon so that they can find the ship when they're ready to leave. Before anyone asks, the reason they're all on horseback is that everyone agreed that it would be quicker than walking/running the entire way to where the ship was.