"So, where were we going, again?" Sora asked, folding his arms.

The bus stop was packed with business people, shoppers, students and all a manner of other people with travel on their minds. Donald and Goofy were squished together on the bench in the shelter, fervently lamenting their decision to sit there. Jack Sparrow was chatting amiably with a pair of ladies, one blonde, one brunette. It thrilled him that women these days dressed less modestly than the wenches back in Tortuga.

Amanda looked up from the timetable in her hands. "Could you point out the tallest building that you can see?"

The answer was obvious; the skyscraper in question made all the other blocks look tiny compared to it. Sora pointed it out in no time.

"That's the place," Amanda answered. "The Sky Tower."

"Sky Tower," Sora repeated. "What are we doing at the Sky Tower?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "It's tall, stupid. We're going to the top."

"Why?"

"Why?" Amanda spat. "Why not? Unless you're afraid of heights."

Sora immediately countered her accusation. "Get real!"

The bus came in, and the argument came to an end. A couple of people got off, leaving the group no option but to get on or miss the bus.

Jack had to be dragged away from the bus shelter, where the two young ladies remained. They both made 'Call me!' gestures, but he frowned as if they were mad.

Amanda paid for their tickets, and they moved along. Whilst the majority of them took seats in a row in the middle, Jack remained standing.

"What are you doing?" Amanda hissed.

The bus rolled into the traffic.

"Wench-spotting," Jack replied, over the player on the game board. His dark eyes took note of every eye-magnet on the bus for future reference. Wistfully, he also watching women whisk by on the pavement, never to be appraised by his eyes again.

A passenger or two gave him a wealth of weird looks as a reward.

"Jack, seriously. Sit down," Amanda pleaded.

The pirate shook his head. "Terrible view down there, love. Up here, one can see most any notable female's goods."

Donald looked at Goofy, confused, whilst the latter remained unfazed.

"What's he talking about, Goofy?"

Goofy shrugged and stared out the window.

The would-be duck leaned over his friend to see what was outside. "Can you see 'em,Goofy?"

"What?"

"The notable female's goods!"

Goofy sat back in his seat, bored. "Go back to Disney Castle for your female 'goods', Donald. Shucks, there's no one here worth looking at."

Jack didn't think so, but he was already occupied.

The bus driver looked in his rear vision mirror and saw the pirate still standing in the aisle. Hey, buddy! Why don't you take a seat?"

Captain Jack gave the irate man a flourishing wave. "That's a kind offer, mate, but I can't very well navigate myself sitting down."

The bus came up to an intersection, and the driver put on the brakes. Jack went flying.

Grinning at him, the bus driver remarked, "That's why you sit down."

Disgruntled, the pirate took a seat.

The rest of the trip went reasonable smoothly. Apart from the couple of times that Jack pushed the button telling the driver to stop, he (the bus driver) learned to ignore him. Even Jack got bored of the game, and resorted to humming a random sea shanty which popped up in his head. The other passengers couldn't wait to get off.

When they reached the stop closest to the Sky Tower, Amanda stood up, and the others followed.

"Gawrsh, it's a lot taller up close," Goofy remarked, leaning back to see the top of the tower.

"Yeah, wow," Donald confirmed.

Sora turned to Amanda, who was staring straight ahead. "Have you been here before?"

The girl quit her gazing for a moment and shrugged nonchalantly. "Hmm, a few times."

"Have you been to the top?"

"Yup!" Amanda let a bright grin flash across her face. "C'mon, race you inside!"

Automatically, everyone in the group began to run at break-neck speed towards the entrance. Amanda had her work cut out for her, trying to keep up with them. Right before they were about to enter the Sky Tower, a portal opened and swallowed them whole before they could stop.

Sora, Donald and Goofy were a pile on the cool stone floor. Jack was in his own pile. Only Amanda had kept her footing intact when they had hurtled through the portal.

"Suzume!" A sandy-haired boy rushed toward her, making Amanda feel obliged to catch him, least she be knocked over by his enthusiasm.

Amanda was all dimples as she greeted him. "Shetu, haven't seen you in a while! Where have you been prowling, brother?"

"Closer to home, this time. In Papamoa, chasing seagulls!" The boy transformed in Amanda's arms, becoming a tawny housecat.

He began to purr.

Sora was near speechless. "What... is that?"

"My brother. Yeah, I know. He's a cat." Amanda scratched Shetu's chin affectionately before putting him down on the floor. The feline purred loudly, rubbing up against his 'sister's legs.

The pirate had bounced off of the ground when the creature had shapeshifted. He watched it now, thoughtfully. "Are all your relatives as prone to becoming members of the animal kingdom?"

"Shetu is his own kind," Amanda replied, uncharacteristically soft-spoken for a moment. Glancing at Jack, she cleared her throat and waved her hand towards Sora and the others. "C'mon. Let's go."

Sora and Donald moved to follow, but Goofy was resolutely static.

"Hold up," Goofy argued, looking suspicious. "Did no one else notice that we dived through a portal? No one?"

Jack Sparrow looked back towards the entrance, which had disappeared. "Is that what you call it, eh?"

Donald stomped on Goofy's foot, whom in response howled in pain. "Don't be a chicken, Goofy!"

"Yowowowowwwwww!" The Captain of the Royal Knights cried out, hopping on his non-stepped-on foot. "Don't do that Donald! That weren't the point. Point is that this ain't what the Sky Tower looks like from the outside."

Sora stared at Amanda, his blue eyes filled with shock. "Why?"

Amanda was immediately on the defensive. "Why are you asking me? I didn't open that thing!"

Jack was examining the antiquated structure of the room they were in. He guessed that it was some sort of hall of an old castle or mansion. It was clean, and therefore was occupied by one occupant or another. Whilst he was summing up the place, the pirate noticed a young man with virtually no hair and a short leather jacket sneaking off down the edge of the hall.

"Oi!" Jack singled out the intruder. "There's one you might consider worth interrogating with regards to our being in the wrong place."

Sora looked and nodded at Donald, whom returned the gesture. Both chased after the fugitive with a shout.

"Not again..." Goofy shook his head.

Amanda sighed and then looked up at the ceiling that was so high up. "I guess we should go make sure those two don't get into trouble."

Jack narrowed his eyes in her direction, but the remaining trio indeed also followed the hall. Their footsteps echoed ominously, replacing what would have been their voices if they were speaking. Sora and Donald had chased the stranger down a corridor on the right, hence leading the other three to change course at the intersection. The solid bullying walls that flanked them would barely accomodate a quarter of Amanda's armspan, forcing them to travel in single file, Jack in the lead. There was no source of light in the tight passage, so the further they went, the less they could see. Eventually, they found themselves in sheer darkness, guided only by the walls on either side.

The pirate slammed against something solid in his path. Goofy stumbled into him.

In the darkness, Jack snarled, "If you'd be so kind, mate..."

Without further insinuations needed regarding the inappropriateness of his position, Goofy retreated, muttering, "Well, shucks, if you didn't stop in the middle of my path-"

"What made you think that it was yours?" was the reply.

The pair heard Amanda's exasperated input. "Just shut up, the both of you!"

Silence wrote volumes about the reception.

Jack felt something furry brush up against his leg. He recoiled instinctively.

"What have you found, you little nuisance?" the pirate murmured.

Shetu began to meow, but cut himself off by reverting to his human form. "That's a door, you know."

"Isn't that peaches and cream?" Jack replied sarcastically, annoyed that his personal space had once again been breached without his permission. "But as you can sense, we are currently trying to save space."

Shetu swore at the pirate but dropped back into his smaller cat form. The feline attempted to sink his claws into Jack's seemingly unprotected leg, but the denim of his jeans didn't give access. Smiling into the darkness, the pirate ushered the animal out of the way with a sneaker.

"Come here, Shetu," he heard Amanda say. Jack imagined that she was mentally shooting him with daggers, and he didn't give a damn.

Feeling along the surface of the door, the pirate discovered the presence of a door knob. Alas, it was locked.

"I must say, I'm getting bloody sick of keyholes," Jack commented aloud, summoning Duskwake. Pointing towards the lock he had touched, he attempted to unlock the door.

"You know, I'm getting sick of you thinking that you can make broken things work!" Amanda retorted, the disdain evident in her voice.

Goofy spoke in defense of the pirate. "Gawrsh, ya just need a little practice, is all!"

"Just shut it," Jack said distractedly, not giving up.

Amanda roughly shoved Goofy to the side and slapped her palm against an irregular panel on the door. The door retreated into the ceiling, allowing bright light to flood into Jack's eyes, distorting his vision.

On the other side of the doorway, Sora and Donald were surrounded by strangers, captured. They looked Jack's way in shock.