When You're Strange

Chapter 7

Diplomacy

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Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, and Riku stepped out of the Gummi Ship in the docking area. It had been about two hours since they had left the Land of Dragons and about forty-five minutes since they had dropped off Cid's ship back in Radiant Garden. An excited and anxious Chip and Dale greeted them all.

"Guys! Guys!" Dale shouted, hopping up and down excitedly.

"What's wrong?" Donald asked, worried. "Did something happen?"

"Not yet, but things are staring to get tense!" answered Chip. "The guy in the cloak looks like he's losing his patience! No telling what'll happen if he loses it!"

"Gwarsh, we didn't take that long, did we?" Goofy asked aloud.

"Where is he?" Sora asked, psyching himself up for the possibility of a fight.

"Same place he's been the whole time; in the royal chamber!" Chip answered.

"Let's go!" Riku shouted, already running off in the direction of the exit. The six others followed, Chip and Dale doing all they could to keep up with their much taller counterparts. It took them only a few minutes to exit the garage, dash through the garden, and sprint down the hallway to the giant imposing doors of the royal chamber. Donald quickly opened the small hidden door and everyone entered. King Mickey was pacing back an forth in front of his seat while Queen Minnie stood not far from him, remaining still except for glancing at their unexpected guest. About twenty paces away from the two was the person in question, standing at a massive height. He would've likely dwarfed even the tall and gangly Odd by at least a foot. Unlike Odd who had a lanky figure, this person was more muscular, but not overly so. His broad shoulders gave him a dominating appearance. Goofy's description of his attire was indeed correct; the shape and color of the outfit was identical, with a few additions. A white trim ran from the bottom of his cloak about halfway up, thinning out as it went higher. An identical pattern ran from his sleeves to his shoulders. The entering group quickly dashed towards them, and all three turned their attention to the oncoming group.

"Donald! Goofy! You found them!" the king stated with joy.

The cloaked figure let out an exasperated sigh. "Finally. What was keeping you two?" The person's voice was strong and professional but held an undercurrent of frustration and annoyance. "With that ship it should have only taken you a mere fifty minutes to travel to the Destiny Islands and back. You have been absent for two and a half hours!"

"We weren't at the islands. We were in the Land of Dragons when they found us," Sora explained, not about to let his friends be scolded by some guy they didn't even know. The cloaked figure grunted, and Sora was sure he was glaring at him underneath that hood.

"Well, pardon me for expecting you to be on time."

Sora grit his teeth, this guy was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Ok, ok, calm down, " Kairi butt in. "We're not here to fight, right?"

Sora calmed down but still glared at the hooded man. The cloaked figure also assumed a more relaxed pose.

"Indeed. Despite the immensely slow pace of it, we are making progress."

"Exactly. So if you could give us that letter now-"

"Unfortunately, young lady, I'm afraid you do not quite understand. First of all I am not here to deliver this missive, I am here to read it. Secondly, as I am quite sure you have been informed of, I have been given strict orders no to read the message until all its intended recipients are present. At the current moment, there is still one missing. A certain court duchess to be exact."

"No way!" Donald quacked angrily. "There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near Daisy!"

"Then it seems our celebration of progress is premature. I will not budge from my orders."

"Can you at least give us an idea of what the message says?" the King asked politely.

"Unfortunately, your majesty, I cannot. Not only have I not gazed upon these inscriptions but I have also been instructed to reveal nothing I do know for certain."

"You're pretty shady for someone who's just trying to give us a message," Riku stated.

"Your suspicions are unfounded. I have nothing to hide."

"If that's the case, how come we don't know your name or face?" Sora asked.

There was a short pause before the man responded, where Sora was sure the man was glaring long and hard at him. After the awkward silence, the man quickly pulled back his hood. The man had a square face and was clean-shaven. His skin was well cared for and his skin color was fair, not dark but not completely pale either. His hair was a stunningly bright golden blonde and was pulled back into a small ponytail that barely met the bottom of his neck. At the peak of his forehead a few tiny strands of hair curled forward, likely they were too short to be tied back. Like Odd his irises were amber with a slight glow, erasing any doubt that this man was in someway associated with the darkness. His eyes were sharp and piercing, a stark contrast to Odd's which were wide and wild. The expression on his face matched his speaking tone, as if to say "I'm a busy man, let's get this finished."

"My name is Pietro, and I do hope that is a satisfactory answer for you will hear nothing more until I read the missive."

"Well if you're waiting for me there's no reason to wait any longer," said a female voice.

Everyone turned to see that Daisy had entered to the room. Donald sprinted over to her, panic on his face.

"Daisy! What are you doing here!? I told you it wasn't safe! We have no-!"

"Donald!" With that one worded response the court magician immediately shut his mouth. Daisy relaxed before continuing. "Thanks for looking out for me, but if he was going to do something he would've done it by now. Besides, it's rude to keep a guest waiting."

"B-But-!" Donald began to protest, but Daisy leaned in close to whisper.

"Don't worry. The sooner he finishes the sooner he leaves, right?"

Donald turned to glare at Pietro, who was completely unfazed.

"Well… I guess…"

The two walked over and joined the group.

"Am I to assume that there will be no more problems?" Pietro asked. Everyone nodded. The messenger's expression changed to a slightly more welcoming expression. "The we can begin," he said in a tone devoid of frustration. He raised his hand and a mass of darkness appeared above it. Just as quickly as it came it disappeared, replaced by a scroll. Pietro unwrapped the roll of paper, clearing his throat before starting.

"A message to King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck and Goofy of Disney Castle and to Keyblade wielders Sora and RIku as well as Princess of Heart Kairi,

As you should all know intimately the powers of Light and Darkness and those who wield them have been at war since their conception into existence. The battles waged between these two forces have been as miniscule as one person overcoming their own demons to wars that have engulfed several worlds and have attracted the attention of hundreds of others. Throughout these times those who have wielded these powers have inadvertently helped to shape how these forces have been perceived. Those who have wielded the Light have traditionally have been defenders and heroes and have shaped it into a force for good. Those who have wielded the Darkness have almost always been conquerors and bringers of despair causing the darkness to be perceived as a destructive force for evil. The polarizing nature of the actions of these beings over the eons have cemented in the minds of the people that those who use the Light can only be bring prosperity while those who embrace the Darkness can only cause destruction.

However, there are those of us who have found a middle ground between the two, and there exist entire worlds inhabited by such people."

"Say what?" Sora blurted out, completely stunned at this revelation. "Did you say 'entire worlds'?" Everyone else wore the same expression as him.

Pietro sent him a harsh look. "If I could be allowed to finish, I'm sure you're questions will be answered."

Sora quickly shut his mouth and nodded. Pietro took a deep breath before continuing.

"These people, myself included, have chosen to avoid contact with the worlds of the Realm of Light as the residents of such places would chastise us before we could even begin to come to an understanding. As such we have remained hidden from both the forces of Darkness and Light. However, recent events have given us cause to rethink our position. There are many reasons I could list here but the two main ones lie in the recently defeated Organization XIII and the tale of the warrior Riku. As you should know Organization XIII posed a threat to all worlds and people, both those of Light and Darkness, and was composed of beings not of Darkness but Nothingness. For the first time in recorded history the forces of Darkness and Light had a common enemy. More importantly was Riku, the first person known to use the power of Darkness specifically for the purpose of aiding the forces of Light.

With the traditional conceptions of the nature of Light and Darkness shattered we feel that now would be the best time to come to a historic agreement: Positive diplomatic relationships between denizens of the Realms of Light and Darkness. It is with this letter that I invite all to whom this letter is addressed to the crowning achievement of our people, a world to which it's residents have name 'Nightlife.' We plan a tour of our world as well as entertainment and events held in honor of your arrival. We do hope you will accept this invitation and I look forward to your arrival.

Sincerely,

Ruler of Nightlife Arachnus"

Everyone just stared in disbelief, not sure how to react or what to say.

"Uh… whoa." Said Kairi, breaking the silence.

Pietro smirked. "Yes, 'whoa' indeed." As he began to roll the scroll closed something on the parchment caught his eye. "Oh! I'm sorry; I seem to have missed something. 'P.S. I apologize in advance if my assistant causes you trouble. Pietro can be a bit of a stickler for punctuality…' Wait, what?"

The guys did their best to suppress their laughter while the girls giggled. Pietro's face flushed red. "Y-Yes, well, um…" he stuttered as he quickly rolled up the scroll and dispersed it into nothingness. He did the best he could to regain his composure. "Well, um, I'm afraid time is short and I will need your answer immediately."

"Our answer?" asked Goofy.

"Yes. Will you accept the invitation?"

Everyone turned to the King.

"Well gee, I dunno. This is a pretty big decision to make, even for me."

"Why doesn't Sora decide?" suggested the Queen. "After all, he is the Hero of Light."

"An excellent point, your majesty," commented Pietro. "Surely if Sora, the one destined to defeat the Darkness, agreed to this than things would progress much more smoothly. Well Sora?"

Sora unexpectedly found himself on the spot, completely unready to make such a decision. "Uh… Well…" he stammered. Thinking quickly he grabbed Riku and Kairi. "Give us a minute," he said as he pulled his friends into a huddle. "What do you guys think?"

"I really don't have a clue," Riku answered. "I never expected anything like this."

"Riku! You were in the Realm of Darkness for a whole year!"

"Yeah, well I never met anyone like this!"

Sora groaned. "What about you, Kairi? Any thoughts?"

Kairi closed her eyes and thought long and hard. "Maybe… We need to look at this a little differently."

"What do you mean?" Riku asked.

"Well, why would we say no?" she asked gazing at Riku.

"'Cause it could be a trap to get is into the realm of Darkness so they'd have better chance of killing us."

"And why would we say yes?" she asked Sora.

"'Cause if we had allies in the Realm of Darkness and the Realm of Light it'd be harder for people like Maleficent to find a safe spot where they could scheme. We could stop a lot of battles before they even started," he answered.

"Well I don't know about you two, but that sounds like it's worth the risk to me," stated.

Sora and Riku both looked to each other and nodded. The three broke the huddle and turned to face the messenger.

"Ok, we accept," said Sora.

Pietro smiled. "Excellent! I'll be delighted to deliver such news! Uh, one more issue though. You need to decide on your preferred method of transportation."

"'Transportation?'" asked Goofy. "Aren't ya gonna just tell us where you're world is so we can fly there in there in the Gummi Ship?"

"I'm afraid not. You see, despite extending a proverbial olive branch we are still taking precautions to ensure that we will still be safe from any force that would be willing to destroy us. Only after you leave will make our exact location publicly known."

"So, what are our choices?" asked Daisy.

"Well, your first option would be for us to send one of our own Gummi ships to pick you up. It will take around a day to arrive and an additional day to bring you all to your destination."

"A whole day? That's really long! Are you guys really that far away?" Donald asked, somewhat shocked.

"I'm afraid so."

"And what would be our other choice?" asked the Queen.

"Well… The Corridors of Darkness." Everyone except Riku and the King shuddered, but even they didn't look pleased. "Travel would be instantaneous, but perhaps not to your liking."

"Uh… We'd like the Gummi ship option, please," Sora answered. Everyone else nodded.

"Of course. And just one more thing, my master has requested that you show up in your best formal wear, if you please. And you may want to prepare yourselves for a three day stay."

The Disney Castle residents nodded.

"Uh, we don't really have anything like that," said Sora.

Pietro simply smirked. "You need not worry. The master has prepared some garments for you three upon your arrival. I'm sure you will find them to your liking."

Sora wasn't too sure about that, but nodded all the same.

"Well then, despite a few setbacks, I'd say this went rather well. Your ship should be arriving around this time tomorrow. I hope there will be no impediments. Good bye, and good day."

Pietro bowed before disappearing through one of the corridors of darkness, leaving the rest to ponder what the world and the people there would all be like.

"I guess we should find you three some rooms for the night," the King stated. "Donald, Goofy, do ya mind?"

"Not all, your majesty," they both replied, bowing to the King. The three Destiny Island residents quickly did the same.

"Come on you guys," said Donald. "Follow me."

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The group of eight stood in the Gummi Garage, awaiting the transport. The King, Queen and Daisy were dressed basically the same as yesterday. Donald and Goofy were also dressed there best, and Sora couldn't help but feel like he and his friends were a bit out of place.

"He's late," the King stated, looking at his watch. "He didn't seem like the kind of person to let the ship to be late."

"Maybe someone else held him up," Donald suggested.

"Guys! Guys!"

The group turned to see Chip and Dale frantically running towards them.

"What is it this time?" asked Goofy.

"Outside! In the garden!" screamed Chip.

"It's huge!" chimed in Dale.

Everyone glanced at each other and quickly dashed outside. For a moment, they wondered why it was so dark. Then they looked up and their mouths dropped open. Blocking out the sun was a massive black vehicle, resembling more of a spear than a ship.

"Gummi ship nothing," said Riku. "That's a battleship!"

"Or maybe a flying fortress!" added Kairi.

"Ahem."

Everyone turned around to see Pietro standing behind them, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Um, I see I forgot to mention the size of our ship. I do hope we haven't caused too much of a disturbance."

"Uh… No! It's fine!" Mickey insisted.

Pietro sighed in relief. He placed a finger to his and said, "We're ready." The group was enveloped by Darkness and a split second later they were all in a silver colored hall.

"What happened?" asked Kairi.

"That's just our transport system," Pietro explained. "We use it in places where the Dreadnaught is too big to land."

"'Dreadnaught?' That's this things name?" Sora asked. Pietro nodded. "Definitely suites it," he muttered.

"Ah yes, well. The men's room will be down the hall to my right and the women's will be down the hall to the left. Feel free to walk around as you like, but please refrain from going to the cockpit or any other restricted areas. If you require any food there is a transmitter in each of your rooms that you can use to order something and it will be brought to you as soon as possible."

"Question," Riku shouted. "Is there a reason we can't see outside? Are there no windows, or are we in the innermost part of the ship or something?"

"Well we are in the center of the ship. However, even tough there are windows they have all been covered. As I explained before we don't want to reveal anything that might give away our world's location until we're sure that positive relations have been established. I apologize."

Riku sent a suspicious look his way but nodded all the same.

"Well if you could all head down to your rooms, we will arrive as soon as possible. Please be patient."

With that Pietro disappeared through another corridor. A few seconds later the group could feel the ship rumble, signifying that it was taking off. The group gave each other a few glances before heading off to their rooms. Sora found his first and opened it. He was surprised to find it particularly well decorated and welcoming. After getting accustomed to his new surrounding he pressed a button on the communicator next to him and female voice responded. He asked for a can of soda an instantly it appeared next to him in a puff of dark smoke. After recovering from the initial shock he thanked the woman and chugged the soda. He lied back onto the remarkably soft bed and before he knew it he drifted off to sleep…

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"Get up, you lazy bum!"

"OW!"

Sora awoke with a start, rubbing his forehead.

"What now, Kairi?"

"We're here!"

"Wha- Really?"

Kairi nodded, an excited smile stretched across her face. "Come on! You've got to see this place!"

She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him trough the hallways. Within minutes they had caught up to Riku and the rest of the group who were all gazing out of the now uncovered windows. Sora took one glanced and was stunned. The whole world was a bustling city at night, lights of all kinds shining through the spaces in between the buildings, all fighting for attention. More than that no two spots look the same. In one spot was what looked like a sports stadium and right next to was a tower that resembled a giant mobile. As he looked carefully at each of the rotating orbs he could see windows and people inside. In one they were all gambling, in other they were all eating, in the next they were dancing. Sora almost felt overwhelmed as he gazed at all the different structures. Some were conventional with the presence of lights and signs, other were covered with giant television screens. Some were shaped and positioned in such odd ways that you would think they would fall over and other actually floated. He could right away that this world never turned off.

"Attention all passengers," said a female voice over the intercom. "We are now approaching Silk Tower. Please prepare of slight turbulence. Thank you."

Sora's gaze shifted to a massive black tower in the distance. It stood out among all the others not for a particular feature but rather for its lack of features. Aside from the fact that it dwarfed every other building as far as the and that it looked more like a spearhead jutting out of the ground there was nothing special about it. There were no massive signs, strobing lights, or intricate features. It stood almost as a pillar of tranquility.

The ship began shaking slightly as it descended towards the center of the skyscraper. After a few minutes there was a slight thud that cause a small tremor to reverberate through the ship. Sora realized that the ship had landed, despite the fact that they were level with the halfway point on the tower, putting into perspective how big the ship was.

"I hope you enjoyed the view," said Pietro appearing out of another portal just behind the group. "Follow me please. The master awaits your presence with great anticipation."

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I will be honest, I LOVED writing this chapter. It's 4 AM right now and the only thing keeping me up is the caffeine in my tea. Not much to say now but I hope you enjoy this new character and new world as well as this turn of events that I hope you didn't see coming. I hope the latter half of this wasn't moving too fast for you, but give me a break, I'm tired as hell! Anyway, I hope to get up the next chapter soon and for those of you looking for more fights, I'll tell you right now, it'll be while.

Shinigamisparda, out!