Chapter 8: The Disney Vault

Disney Castle

Lower Basement level 2.4

Information Classified

A much younger King Mickey lowered himself into the secret level of his castle that held the huge golden door of the recently dubbed Disney Vault. The Vault had been discovered by accident a week prior to his recent coronation, and Mickey had dedicated his free time to cracking the Vault in his three years as king of Disney Castle. He had tried everything to open it, but there seemed to be no tumblers, keyhole, or even hinges on or in the door. He had finally given up on the enigmatic golden doors. Whatever was behind them was hidden, and it would stay hidden forever without the correct combination.

The King ran his hands over the smooth, slightly dusted surface, "Well, I'm sorry to give up onya, but I don't really know any way to open ya up. Suddenly the door shuddered, and a slip of paper flew out of a slot in the door. Mickey caught it, and began to read.

To whoever has attempted to open this Vault,

Greetings. I too have tried to open this door. It took me years, but I finally succeeded. In admitting defeat I am now giving you the chance to open it up. Understand that you must not take opening the Vault lightly. If you are not pure of thought and do not imagine, opening the door could destroy the entire universe as we know it, consuming all in its darkness. I cannot tell you what awaits inside the Vault, only that it can bring about anything you can imagine.

Without further ado, I now reveal to you the combination.

How many letters are in the alphabet?

How many sentient beings exist in Disney Castle?

How many worlds exist?

Good luck,

X

END TRANSMISSION

The Villain groaned. He'd been looking for how to open the hidden Vault beneath Disney Castle for days now, with no luck. He'd hacked into the Castle records a week ago, but there was no transmission detailing what lay behind the door, or the combination. All he had found was those three stupid riddles that didn't tell squat. Nobody knew how many worlds there were, more formed every year, and who knew what year the transmission was from, let alone the message. He sighed, and turned on his favorite movie, Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp.

Time passed, and just as Mort's ex-wife came inside to find the insane Mr. Rainey, the power went out on The Villain's laptop. The Villain groaned, "Today Just keeps getting better and better." He said, looking up at the Vault door in his newly obtained castle.

---

Sora, Riku, and Kairi waved goodbye to everyone who had helped them. Donald and Goofy had already boarded the Gummi Ship that they were to leave on, and they were getting ready to make way. The door started to close, and Kronk ran in at the last minute, soaked hankie in hand.

"Kronk, what are you doing here?" Sora asked.

"I can't just let you guys wander around the universe without a chaperone, can I?" he wailed.

"Um… yeah, I think you can." Riku said, picking up the handkerchief and throwing it into the upper atmosphere, where it burned into nothing in seconds.

"Besides, I'm the one supervising them." Someone in the corner of the room said.

Sora whipped around, "Who are you?" he asked, summoning his Keyblade.

"I'm the captain of this ship. I'm an old friend of Mal's." She said, stepping into the dim light. She looked about twenty, with curly hair and a short skirt.

"I was asking what your name was, actually." Sora said.

"Saffron." She replied, leaving the room.

"She's trouble. Simple as that, what do you think, Riku?" She turned, but the older, silver-haired boy was drooling, stupefied completely. She waved her hand in front of his face, "Destiny Islands to Riku, come in, Riku, over." He didn't move.

Suddenly Riku snapped to attention, "I need the Golden Book!"

"Uhh… why?" Sora asked.

"It's the Heartless keyhole!" he yelled, suddenly panicked.

"And you know this how?" Sora asked, clenching his hands into fists.

"I tried to unlock it with my Keyblade and the heartless came." Riku replied, smiling nervously.

"You did what?" Sora asked jumping at Riku and starting to punch him repeatedly. "You. Big. Stupid. Blundering idiot." Sora said, punching Riku with each word.

"Wow, I didn't know there were more people like me!" Kronk said, rescuing Riku from Sora with a bone-crushing hug.

"Choking, not breathing." Riku wheezed out while Sora and Kairi laughed their heads off.

On the bridge

Saffron smiled to herself, "This is going to be too easy." She turned on a screen, and the masked face of The Villain appeared, "I've got them."

"Good." The Villain said. "Now get them to the net, and I'll give you your pay."

"Fair enough." She said, turning the monitor off. "Too easy." She turned on a second monitor, and the leader of Organization IV appeared. "I've got them."

"Good. Get them to the net, and the money is yours." He said, and the screen turned off.

"These kids sure have a lot of enemies." Saffron said, picturing all the things her four million munny reward could buy.