Here's the legal stuff again. It's pointless and has no real weight, but it's here anyway.
All characters and locations are the properties of their respective copyright holders.

Anyway…

Kingdom Hearts: Blank Slate

Part 4

World: Outlaw's Forest

The world ahead was covered in a jungle. Or possibly a forest, it was impossible to tell. A castle loomed out of it, the only point of interest anywhere. The Gummi ship skimmed the treetops, before settling down gently in a clearing and turning invisible again.

Stepping off the ship, it became apparent that everyone had changed, at least visually, into a group of anthropomorphic animals. Sora and Kairi were foxes, Riku was a wolf and Jon had become a dog. In addition, everyone's clothing had turned more or less the same shade of dark green. That said; everyone still had some of their more distinctive features, such as Sora's hair, apparent even in animal form.

"OK. All we need to do is to find and seal the keyhole before the Heartless get to it. Sounds simple enough."
Sora's optimism would have been justified had an arrow come zooming out from the tree line, followed by a fox and a bear, both clothed in green, and a group of wolves, in uniforms in various shades of purple, carrying longbows.
"What was that all about?" Donald was the first to get back up off the ground.
"No idea. But I say we find out." Sora jumped up and ran for the trees in pursuit of the other group. Riku rolled his eyes then took off after him, and soon the entire party was running through the forest after the strange group.

Eventually, they came upon the Wolves in another clearing, who were looking around in confusion, at least until the party arrived, at which point they levelled their bows at them.
"OK, that's uncalled for." Jon was surprised.
As if to prove they were serious, one of them loosed off an arrow which thudded into a tree-trunk.
"Okay…" He trailed off, before grabbing the Beam Sword from his belt and igniting it. Everyone else followed suit, producing weapons from no-where. Even Kairi, who didn't seem like a fighter at first glance, had pulled out a Keyblade from thin air. Hers was bronze, with a floral design on the head and an ocean design on the hilt. However, realising this was a fight they could not win, the wolves broke and ran.

At once, the fox dropped from the branches, safe now that the danger had passed. Everyone stowed their weapons, guessing that a fight was not likely. Sora spoke up.
"Hey. What's going on?"
"Not much…" The fox began, but trailed off as a hoard of Shadows rose up out of the ground. Everyone immediately grabbed their weapons, the fox pulling a sword that was tucked into his belt, before the Heartless charged. The fight was short, but effective, and resulted in the Heartless fleeing to the tree line and off into the wood.
"So anyway, what's going on?" Sora asked the fox again.
In the distance, the sound of a trumpet could be heard over the trees, along with the heavy footfalls of a marching column. The bear then dropped out of the tree carrying a purple bundle.
"Come on, 'else we're gonna miss it."
"Right. Why don't you guys get up there and watch this." The fox indicated the tree they had just dropped out of. Most of the group climbed up, but Jon simply put his hand (paw?) against the trunk, finding it somehow familiar. Sora stuck his head out of the canopy.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing. I just keep feeling like I've been here before." He then took hold of a low hanging branch and swung himself up into the treetops. Below them, they could see a convoy moving along a dirt road, full of various animals. The two most striking features were the Gold coach, and the four Rhinos carrying a locked chest. By the roadside, what appeared to be two beggars flagged the convoy to a stop, and proceeded to sneak several items out of it, including the coach's hubcaps and the contents of the chest. However, as they attempted to sneak away from the convoy, two things went wrong. First, the convoy took off towards them at speed, only to be halted when the wheels fell off the coach, and second, they were waylaid at the tree line by a group of Shadows and Soldier Heartless. Sort-of knowing what they had to do, the party leapt from the tree, weapons drawn, ready to fight. This fight was a bit more brutal, with blows being traded by either side. However, in the end, all that remained was a few wisps of black smoke, the only clue that the Heartless had ever been there at all.

Deep within the forest, a large clearing stood, broken only by the massive oak tree at its centre. In the shade of its boughs, the group stopped to rest. By now, the strange pair had discarded their disguises, and the loot had been placed into a number of sacks.
"So, who are you then?" Sora asked the strange fox.
"I thought you'd know that."
"We're new round here."
"I see. I'm Robin. Robin Hood. And he," he indicated the bear "He's Little John."
At this point, Jon's face appeared to light up as he realised why he found the place familiar, if just that bit different. He had been here before, just in a different time and a different world.

Later, the group was in a different clearing, where something was on the boil over a fire and various bits of clothing were hanging on a line between two trees. Robin was discussing something with a badger in a monk's habit, whilst the rest of the party was sat to one side. At least most of them were. Jon was sat a bit further off, staring at the sky and listening to the wind running through the trees.
"Hey. What's up?" Jon looked round to see Sora crouched behind him.
"Oh, nothing; It's just I finally realised why I thought I recognised this place."
"Why's that?"
"Because it existed in my world as well, just not like this; Sherwood Forest, supposed home of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood, who is said to have robbed from the rich to give to the poor."
In the background, the badger could be heard choking on something briefly, before Robin came over.
"Right; I've got plans to enter a little archery competition, but I'll need to do it in disguise. So I need you to cover for me in case anything goes wrong."
"Expecting trouble?"
"No, it's just that with the Prince there everyone's going to be that bit more alert. So you just need to keep an eye out for anyone getting too curious. Or if those strange creatures show up again."
"Right, let's do it."

A few days later, the tournament field was set for the competition. Tents of every shape, size and colour littered the field, and a set of targets was in place. The competition itself was already underway, with archers from far and wide showing off their skill to the assembled crowd. Round behind the tents, something stirred. A single shadow popped out of the ground, before being rather swiftly run through by a Keyblade. However, more and more of them started to appear, and it was obvious they needed to be contained before they caused a panic. The party, their faces hidden by brown cloaks, split up to try to stop them spreading into the open areas. By now, the tournament was drawing to a close, and the winner, a stork by the looks of things, approached the royal pavilion to claim his prize. Jon was watching from by a large red and yellow tent. At the pavilion, he could see a vixen, a lion and (presumably) Little John in disguise. The lion wore a crown, meaning that was most likely Prince John, the tyrannical ruler of England in the legend, and usurper of the throne. The prince drew a sword, and laid it across the back of the stork.
"And so do I declare you the winner. Or rather…" And at this point he placed the sword in the gap that had appeared between the back of the jacket and his neck, and then pulled it upward, tearing off the jacket. "…The Loser."
The Stork was Robin's disguise.
"Guards! Seize him!"

Within seconds Robin was bound in ropes and chains before the prince. Behind him, the party formed a line a bit further back, still disguised, and waited.
"And so do I sentence you to sudden, instant, and even immediate death! Bring in the executioner!"
A drum beat signaled the arrival of the black-garbed rhino carrying a large axe. It was obvious that everyone was scared. The shocked faces in the crowd were a testament to that.
"Execution? On what grounds?" Robin was defiant as ever.
"Traitors to the Crown must die!"
"Traitors to the crown? That crown belongs to King Richard. Long live King Richard!"
That one line seemed to inspire the crowd, who all began chanting "Long Live King Richard!" at the top of their lungs. This seemed to drive the prince over the edge.
"Enough! I am King! King! King! Off with his head!"

However, at that moment the group flung off their cloaks and drew weapons. Seizing the initiative, Sora rolled under the closing guards and slashed through the ropes binding Robin with his Keyblade, freeing him. Unfortunately, this action tripped off a severe melee as the party and the guards started fighting, turning the arena into a veritable war-zone. At one point, bizarrely, some of the guards got caught up in one of the tents and started charging it around like a train, and one of the civilians started attacking the guards as if it were all a football game. Somewhere in the middle, Riku and Sora got backed against each other, still fighting.
"Still sure this was a good idea?"
"Of course I do."
By now, almost everyone had escaped to the safety of the forest, leaving only the party on the field and a few guards in various states of unconsciousness.
"I think now would be a good time to get out of here…"

That night, in the clearing with the great Oak tree, everyone was celebrating. Well, almost everyone. Sora was sat to one side, staring at the moon. It was at that point that the Keyblade appeared in his hand and started to glow. Following its directions led him to the back of the tree, where, in the light emanating from the Keyblade's tip, a small shape in the trunk; the shape of a Keyhole. He swung the blade over his shoulder, a movement he had performed so many times it was almost a reflex action, sending a thin string of light into the tree, making the keyhole glow, before the sound of the lock closing could be heard. Slowly and silently, the party slipped back into the forest and left the world behind.

As the celebration of this one moment of liberty continued around him, Robin looked to the sky. Just for a moment, he thought he saw something moving out of the forest, before it shot off with a flash.

A/N: So, there we are then, the first "proper" chapter so far. For those of you playing along on TV Tropes, or for those who just don't know, this world was based on Disney's 1973 animated version of the Robin Hood legend.

While I'm at it, I might as well make a plug, for Kestrel Harper's Kingdom Hearts fic Exodus from Oblivion. Possibly one of the most original Self-Insert fictions I've read, it's probably what inspired me to start writing this in the first place.