1 "Wow." Stella said, looking around. "This is your home?" They had docked into the Gummi hanger of a beautiful white castle, which led into Donald and Goofy's home.
"It must be nice being back." Sora commented, looking around. Stella looked at him. It wasn't hard to tell that he was homesick, after all, he had been away form his home for over a year.
Donald and Goofy looked around. "Ya know, somethin' just don't feel quite right . . ." Goofy said, thinking.
The two chipmunks that they always saw on the Gummi screen, Chip and Dale, ran up to the launch control edge and ran to the group in a chaotic and unplanned manner.
"You're back!" Chip said hurriedly.
"Move it! Let's go!" Dale urged.
"Queen Minnie needs to see you!"
"The castle's in danger! Hurry! To the library!" They ran out of the area, the group behind them.
They ran into the courtyard, which hosted a arrangement of bushes cut into imaginative figures. The hedges were thick, but everything seemed to be in place. The only thing out of place were the Heartless that seemed to litter the area. They stopped, looked at the group, and charged. It wasn't very difficult to defeat them, for they were very weak Heartless.
"Well this is ironic." Avalon growled, shooting down another Shadow. "A castle of light being infested by Heartless."
"Maybe that's why the Queen wants to see us." Stella offered, relaxing as the last Heartless in the area was beaten. They relaxed a little, only for more Heartless to appear.
"Ok, this is definitely not normal." Avalon said, seeing the numbers increase. "Normally the amount of Heartless slows and stops, and these seem to go on forever."
"All in favor of forgetting fighting and rushing to the Queen?"
"I!" Everyone yelled, running through the courtyard and into the hallways, entering a large door that led to the Library.
"Your Majesty! Queen Minnie! We're back!" Donald called.
"You're here!" Minnie said, clapping her hands together.
"Your Royal Highness, did ya happen to summon us?" Goofy asked.
"So if Minnie is the Queen, is Mickey the king?" Stella whispered to Avalon, smiling as Sora got his ear tugged on by Donald for lack of respect.
"Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?" Avalon whispered back. "I mean, Mickey is the star character of Disney, so he would obviously play a big part."
"True . . ." Stella looked up at the Queen. "Your Majesty, what are Heartless doing in your Caslte?"
Minnie looked troubled. "Oh my . . . so those are the Heartless."
"We can take care of them." Sora said confidently.
Minnie smiled. "I know I can count on you, Sora. Now, there's something I'd like all of
you to come and see. Would you please escort me to the audience chamber?" She gasped, bringing her hands to her face. "I forgot to warn everyone else in the castle about the danger! We must be sure they're hidden somewhere safe!"
"We can take care of them." Sora said confidently.
"The whole castle?!" Donald quacked.
Stella thought for a moment, crossing her arms. "Sora, Avalon, and I will just get lost if we try, and that woudl defeat the whole purpose. So we'll escort the Queen. Which means that Donald and Goofy will just have to split up to warn the castle."
Everyone nodded, and Donald and Goofy left the Library first. Sora looked at the three girls. "We'll probably have to fight to make it to the Audience Chamber."
"Well, I can handle the front." Avalon said. "I can hit long distances, so it would help in advance."
"And I can handle the rear, you know, to make sure no Heartless sneak up on us." Stella offered.
"So I'll stay by you, your Majesty," Sora said, "in case Heartless get by the other two."
Minnie nodded, and they exited the Library. Because Minnie walked slower, it left an opening for Heartless to attack, since they simply couldn't run by them. But the plan worked out perfectly, so no Heartless could attack the Queen. Any passerby would have assumed that the three were Minnie's personal guard with years of practice and training. That is, if there even were any passerby. Besides the Heartless, there were none, showing that Donald and Goofy were accomplishing their tasks.
They arrived at the AudienceChamber, but it was locked by a magical barrier that sealed the huge door. With ease Minnie unlocked the room, and smaller doors opened within the larger ones. She turned to the three. "As soon as the trouble started, I made sure to seal this room."
They entered the room, which was completely empty. Out of nowhere a horde of large Heartless appeared, moving in toward the gang.
"Not here, too!" Minnie said, distress beginning to show in her voice.
"Sora!" Avalon called. "You guard the Queen. Stella and I will take out as many as we can."
Sora nodded. He and Minnie raced to the other end of the chamber to the throne, the Heartless refusing to give in. However, as they reached the throne, Stella and Avalon managed to defeat all of them, and joined the other two. Suddenly, more Heartless appeared.
"No disrespect meant, Your Highness," Avalon said, backing up, "but I hope you have a backup plan. I don't think we can take on these guys."
Minnie hurriedly looked around the throne, pressing a button on the bottom. Suddenly, the throne began to move.
"I think she does." Stella smiled, glancing at the Heartless. From under the throne a bright light was emitted, demolishing the Heartless. No more appeared.
Stella looked down under the throne, where there was a set of stairs. "Now that's cool." She murmured, imagining how awesome it would be to have a secret passage like that somewhere in her house.
"The room below is called the 'Hall of the Cornerstone.' Our castle has always been safe from worlds that are evil . . . thanks to the Cornerstone of Light which we keep down there."
They followed the Queen down into the Hall of the Cornerstone, which was enveloped in thorns and chaos. A room that was once light was now covered in darkness.
Minnie stood infront of a giant ball of swirling light, sighing. "This is the castle's cherished cornerstone. But look. The thorns . . . they must be the work of someone very evil. I wonder what this could mean . . ."
"Just throwing this out . . . but there's only one person this evil besides our high school principal." Avalon said. Stella suppressed a laugh. "I bet it's Maleficent."
As if on cue, a burst of green flame appeared, revealing an image of Maleficent.
"Called it." Avalon said, crossing her arms. Stella rolled her eyes.
"Well, well, well. What have we here . . ." Maleficent smiled cruelly. "If it isn't the wretched Keyblade holder, and his pitiful lackeys!"
"If I recall, it was these pitiful lackeys who kicked your butt." Stella growled, holding Donald back from leaping at her. "Why didn't you just stay dead?"
Maleficent ignored her question. "I promise you all will be able to partake of my vengeance. But you must be patient."
"Meaning she doesn't want to be defeated so soon." Avalon murmured.
"Just what are you doing here, Maleficent?!" Minnie asked.
Maleficent looked at Minnie and bowed. "Ah, Queen Minnie. Radiant, as always." She smiled. "I'm here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. However, it's a bit too "bright" for what I have in mind. I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of darkness." She moved toward the Cornerstone, but it rejected her as she touched it.
"You'd better stop right now if you know what's good for you!" Minnie threatened.
"Ooh, how frightening." Maleficent responded sarcastically. "Very well. I'll stop . . . just as soon as the castle belongs to me!" She disappeared, cackling.
"What a hag." Sora growled.
Minnie shook her head. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. I looked through all the records in the library, but I couldn't find a single clue."
"Why don't we just go ask Merlin?" Stella asked simply.
Goofy nodded. "Merlin knows a lot of things that aren't in any book!"
"We'll be right back, your Majesty!" Sora said as they rushed out of the room to the Gummi Ship.
After a quick visit to Hollow Bastion, they managed to find Merlin and explain to him the problem–just as he transported them back to the Castle.
"Now that's the way to travel." Avalon laughed.
"Perhaps I'd better just see for myself." Merlin laughed. He approached the Cornerstone, observing it closely. "This is not good." He said the Minnie and the group. "In fact, I'm afraid, it's quite serious." He coughed, waving an arm, making a doorway appear within the room.
"This is a gateway to a special world." He said. "Someone in that world is responsible for what's going on in this castle. Of that, I'm certain."
"Then let's get them!" Sora said, starting to open the door.
"Wait a moment!" Merlin called. The perpetrators must be stopped, of course. But there's something else to do first. Somewhere in that world, there should be another
door that's identical to this one. I believe our enemies are utilizing that door. As long as it remains open, the castle will be in grave danger. Listen carefully, Sora. You must find that door. And when you do---lock it with your Keyblade."
"Got it." Sora nodded.
"Now, one more thing. You're heading into a very special world. While you're there, the nature of that world may tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation at all costs!" Merlin added.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"You'll know soon enough." Merlin smiled. "I have faith in you!"
They entered the door, and were spit out into another world. Stella rubbed her head, then looked at the others.
"You guys are all . . . black and white." She said, blinking a few times. "And you look kinda different. Like an old cartoon."
"You do, too." Avalon said. She looked up. "Well, there's the Cornerstone." Turning her head, she stopped immediately. "Isn't that Pete?"
Pete seemed to notice them, too. "Hey you! Seen any bad guys around here?" He asked. The three boys pointed at him, and he jumped angrily. "Why I oughta . . . Bah!" HE shook his head. "I don't have time to waste on punks like you! So, I guess I'll go easy on ya!" He walked away down a path, following an arrow that pointed out 'Pier'.
"There's out villain." Sora said bluntly. He and the other two guys ran ahead after Pete.
"That was strange, dontcha think?" Stella asked.
"Pete was dressed weird, and he was acting strangely." Avalon nodded. "Usually he would have just attacked us."
Stella hit the bottom of her fist into her palm. "We must be in the past! So that's the past Pete, and not the bad guy we're looking for!"
Avalon nodded. "We should hurry before the guys do something stupid!" They ran toward the Pier, seeing the guys draw their weapons against the past Pete. Before they had a chance to attack, the girls grabbed them, yanking them back as hard as they could.
"We're really sorry!" Stella said, putting herself between Sora and Pete. "I don't know what our friends said, but they thought you looked like this guy who's a pain in our sides. I really hope this hasn't caused you any trouble."
Pete crossed his arms.
"Could we just ask your name?" Avalon asked. "That way we can make our stubborn friends-" to this she tugged on Sora's ear "–apologize properly."
"I'm captain Pete of the steamboat." Pete said bluntly. "So tell yer friends to stop botherin me!"
"Sorry, Pete. . ." The three guys said in unison.
"I s there anythign we can do to make it up to you?" Stella asked.
"If you're really sorry, then go find my steamboat!" Pete growled, rubbing his back. It cracked loudly.
The three walked back to Cornerstone Hill.
"I guess that wasn't the villain . . ." Sora murmured.
"Of course not." Avalon smiled. "That would just be too easy."
"How did ya know that wasn't Pete, anyway?" Goofy asked.
"Elementary, my dear Goofy." Stella said in a fake British accent. She laughed, and resumed talking with her normal voice. "He just wasn't Pete. He was too different."
"We should just look for that steamboat." Avalon grumbled.
"But we have to look for the door!" Donald protested.
"We can't do both?" Avalon stretched and yawned. "I'm sure looking for one will certainly lead to finding the other.
"What's this?" Sora asked, looking at a window that floated in midair. It was curtained, and Donald pulled a string that opened it. In it, a small video played, showing Heartless standing around four door placed around the Cornerstone of Light. The doors opened and the Heartless entered, and another door bounced in the background, revealing the gang falling out of it. It briefly showed what they had said, then ended with a flash, shutting the curtains.
"What was that?" Sora asked.
"Heartless goin' out . . ." Goofy began.
" . . . and us coming in." Donald finished.
"But what could that mean?" Sora asked.
Avalon turned, looking at the four doors surrounding the Cornerstone. "It means taht we have to go into the rooms and beat up the Heartless inside."
Everyone nodded, entering the doors without hesitation. Each door brought a new challenge, requiring them to defeat the Heartless before the places were destroyed. Every time The King, although looking different, appeared, and every time a curtained window appeared, revealing how Pete and Maleficent managed to enter this area, and how the predicament came about.
After the final battle, they exited the rooms, now understanding that they were in the past.
"Look!" Stella pointed toward the Waterway, where Pete stood and laughed. "That's the Pete we know!"
"No way!" Sora said, turning toward the Cornerstone. "It's gone!"
"We have to hurry!" Avalon said, beginning to run toward the Waterway. "The castle will be enveloped in darkness if we don't stop them!"
They ran into the Waterway, seeing Rete fighting Captain Pete. The Cornerstone of light was inside of a cage placed upon a raft attached to the boat.
"Ok, now I don't even know who's who." Avalon said, holding her head lightly.
One Pete pushed back the other, making him go flying. He jumped onto the cage, the boat beginning to move away down the river. He saluted the group and laughed.
"That's the one!" Sora said. "We have to stop him before he gets away!"
They managed to halt the boat in its tracks, and broke the cage that held the Cornerstone. Pete got out of the water and ran toward the Wharf in defeat.
"Now we'll find that doorway!" Avalon said. They rna after Pete, who was halted by Captain Pete.
The two had been fighting, but it was obvious that it was a losing battle for Captain Pete. HE fell to the floor, but it left an opening for Sora and the gang to come in and save the day.
With Pete defeated, he opened the door, running out. Sora locked it immediately, and the group smiled at eachotehr in pride.
"Who was that creep, anyways?" Captain Pete asked.
"Hello?" Sora said. "That creep was you–" Stella put her hands over Sora's mouth, muffling his last three words. He looked at her, and nodded.
"It's a secret!" Stella said, smiling as she let go of Sora.
"Secret? What kinda secret?" Captain Pete asked, then shook his head. "Oh, never mind. Sorry I put you guys through all that trouble."
As a reward for helping Captain Pete, they got to drive his steamboat, something that, ironically, Stella wasn't very good at. Instead, Sora drove the boat, and the others simply relaxed, letting the cool wind flow through their hair. When they were done, they returned the Cornerstone of Light to the hill, and entered the door that led them back to Disney Castle.
There were no longer any thorns, and the room was as bright as ever. They fell into the room, a smile on their faces.
Minnie thanked them, and they had to convince Merlin that they hadn't done anything reckless. Donald had been chewed out by his sweetheart, Daisy, who they also had to convince was helping and doing his best. Sora locked another Keyhole, which happened to be inside of the Cornerstone of light. They left, prepared for another adventure.
