Disclaimer:

I own nothing but my OC(s). Everything else belongs to either Square Enix or Disney.

KINGDOM HEARTS I

Chapter XIII

Spooks of Halloween Town

"…I'm a wraith."

The lights were dim, the stones holding together walkways and buildings alike were dismally dark brown and hardly highlighted in what little illumination reflected. Puddles of water less than sole deep scattered in the indents of the path; water pure and mirror-like in its clarity.

Yet she could only stare at her reflection. Initially she hadn't a clue as to how much had changed. Oh, but it had. She thought Donald's mummification had been ridiculous. His scared shriek at the sight of her rendered her curious. She never should have looked down at her reflection.

"I'm a wraith." Her tone was quiet, perhaps uncertain.

Donald recovered quickly, eyeing his own reflection and coming to terms with the temporary transformation. Instead, he and Goofy were commenting about the bleak eeriness coating the world from sky to ground. They didn't have to wonder what happened to her skin tone, or how her denims and flat boots had suddenly become cloth wrapping around her and scattering as if a second skin, and moving as if a breeze was pushing the material to dance.

"Gwarsh, it sure is s-spooky," Goofy stuttered. "I'll b-bet the p-people here are spooky t-too."

"Don't worry," Donald waved his friend's worry off. "We look spooky too. If they scare us, we'll scare 'em right back!"

She could hear Sora snickering at the logic. He was lucky, she thought. He was some little…vampire. But he could still see the majority of his own face. Hers was tucked into a large hood, obscuring all but a few wild wisps of her auburn hair, and the ethereal glow to her eyes.

"D'you think so?" Goofy wondered softly. "Gwarsh…"

She blinked stupidly down at her reflection again. "…I'm a wraith…"

Sora yawned behind her. "Yeah, yeah. We heard ya already." He stretched his arms, making his way at a lazy pace up towards a town's gate. "Hm? Heeey it looks like something's going on in town!"

She squawked indignantly. "A wraith! A soul stealer. What does that say about me?!"

Donald was the one who answered her, as he approached the gate Sora was peering through. "Means you're dangerous."

'Dangerous, huh?' She still wasn't fond of the sudden change in appearance. Goofy tapped her shoulder, and though both his eyes were wide-eyed with different types of crazy, his smile was still the same. Sighing silently, she placed her own altered fingers over his, and they too joined the mummy and vampire at the town's gate.

Murmurs grew louder the deeper into town they wandered. A thick throng of a crowd was gathered in the heart of the world's town square. From ghouls to goblins, witches to swamp monsters, phantoms to vampires and so much more- the populace was definitely…colorful.

"And now- allow me to introdu-"

Muffled by the excited buzzing of the world's crowd, came an eager announcer's introduction to something or another. They'd found a place to peek in on the festivities transpiring behind an actual hanging tree- complete with skeletons swinging by nooses from their necks.

"Can anyone hear 'im?" Donald muttered, of which Ari and Sora both shushed him. Peering around the bones of their closest native, two sets of blue eyes came upon the sight of a roundly pointed little man, drawing in more excitement from the denizens crowded around a grotesque fountain statue in the center of the town. Murmurs rose and fell with the anticipation, nearly drowning out the suited little cone of a being, but still- straining her ears at the very least, Ari could very faintly make out his spieling introduction.

"-ng of nightmares, our very own Jack Skellington!"

She still wasn't prepared, and startled the moment a very tall, literally completely constructed of bare bone of a man came rising with an eloquence and grace she'd never seen before. By the jolt beside her, she assumed Sora had a similar reaction- Goofy and Donald too, if their stifled outcry from fear was any indication. However, dread drowned in her belly at the sight of movement lying beyond the crowd. Sora gasped, pointing with a shaking finger at the obscure ghostlings jerking hither and thither as the skeleton stepped from the thick water of the town square's fountain.

"H-Heartless?"

She was quick to bolt after Sora, who shoved his way through the masses. Cheering continued around them, drowning their hearing. That didn't matter, as they had a primary mission to eradicate the little monsters from the world. But then, Sora stopped abruptly, and Ari found herself skidding into his backside.

Righting herself, she gave his shoulder a hard shove. "What the hell do you think you're doi-"

He pressed a sharp finger to his lips, peeking up at her with a curious frown behind his half-mask. "Shhh." Sora pointed to the Search Ghosts. "They're…just staying put…"

She blinked at him, then eyed the Heartless warily. Indeed, he was right. Instead they were… "Are…are they bowing to him?"

Sora gave a half-shrug. Donald and Goofy bumbled up to them, finally brushing past the masses still fawning over the tall skeleton man. Who had, to their chagrin, disappeared like a soul haunting the banks.

"Dammit." Ari hissed, spinning on her heels, surveying what little of the packed town she could.

"What'sa matter?" Goofy asked of her.

"The tall skeleton…thing," Sora piped in, scratching at the back of his head. "He was just here. And what makes it stranger is he had an entire…um…what's the word?"

Ari jogged up the line of…people…who were dispersing in slow increments back to their doings, looking for any trace of this Skellington. "Entourage would be the best word," she spoke loftily, distracted. She came jogging back up the line- but no avail. She sighed, trudging back with silent steps. "Anyway, he had an entire pack of Heartless."

"WHAT?!" Donald jumped, falling onto his wrapped bottom.

Sora nodded vigorously. "Right? It's true though! But the weird thing is, they didn't go after anyone. They…they bowed instead- like some weird performance…thing."

"Gawrsh…" Goofy breathed. "That's not somethin' ya see e'ry day."

"Exactly." Ari agreed, easing shell-shocked Donald back onto his webbed feet.

"What should we do now, then?"

She paused, bringing a hand up to press against her hidden face. The Ghosts still lurked in the heart of the square, floating to and fro, but never leaving an area larger than three feet. "…We search for the skeleton."

Sora hummed thoughtfully. "Sounds good, but…where do we start?"

She frowned, though she assumed they couldn't see it beneath her shrouding hood. "Anywhere, everywhere. We'll make a run to every point in town. He can't have gone too far- he's gotta be seven feet tall or more. We'll find him."

They'd checked every eatery, graveyard, and back alley possible. From the pub to the town hall, to the bank of the swampy lake. They hadn't found him, and no one in town had, either. Not since the little display in the square.

"He's seven feet tall," Ari griped, stepping over the lower bar of a tall gate leading into the square. "How is it this hard to find him?"

Sora shrugged, hopping up behind her. "Dunno. Guess we'll just have to try elsewhere."

"Or quit," Donald grumbled, tripping over his loose wrappings.

Ari shook her head, absentmindedly tugging at a stray strand of her hair. "No, we keep going. We've only spent a couple of hours looking. We'll go for one more. If not, we'll take a break at the inn and come up with a new game plan." 'Or at least fix this one. Heartless not behaving like Heartless? I don't like this.'

Sora took the lead without a word, though he seemed to be in total agreement. 'Do you feel it too? Do you understand the severity of the abnormality?' She paused midstep, her thoughts astray until falling to one new notion. 'When…did I become this quick, this deep in understanding of the situation?' She almost wished she could speak to that voice, to hear their thoughts. But then, that would be silly. The voice brought her in deeper, she was certain…but…

"Hm? What's this?" A voice.

"Strangers from outta town I reckon." Another.

Soft chuckling, ominous, yet perhaps not malicious. "Are you searchin' for Bone Daddy?"

Ari looked to her left, eerily bright eyes taking but a moment to rest upon a gangly trio lazily leaning against the wall near the gate. In the shadows, it was difficult to see them initially. She frowned. "Who?"

"The one they call 'Jack', Bright Eyes." The largest of the three answered. Her frown deepened. 'I take it Bright Eyes is me…'

The one with the jutted jaw smiled almost shyly. "To us three, he's always been Bone Daddy." He hummed, averting his eyes and drumming dead fingers along his saxophone. "Say…you ain't from 'round here…" It wasn't a question, but neither an accusation.

Sora came up from behind, Donald and Goofy approaching, giving warmth behind her despite the constant chill this world emanated. The boy tilted his head to the statement. "Maybe not. Does it matter?"

The saxophonist grinned toothlessly. "Not at all. Strangers come and go. Keeps life, or death, interesting 'round here." His group laughed, including the head wedged inside the large bass.

Sora crossed his arms, his head tilting more. He was thinking. It took a moment, but he finally found what he wanted to say. "So…where is he? The skeleton man."

The largest cackled gleefully, bright and almost warm. "Best avoid that there town hall, 'f I was you," he wiped a dry eye. "Two-Face ain't gonna help you, and likely with the sun risin' he'll be prowling the office up there."

'I take it they mean the small, pointed man from earlier? A two faced politician…makes sense.' Though she didn't venture to her own parent from the islands. 'Not the same. He does what can for the entire island we live on, and does his part to be their voice among the other joining islands…' She shook her head.
Behind the gates leading to the outskirts of town, pale light brought a gray pallor to the stones of both building and walkway. Ari was mildly surprised, but shook it away. Instead, she peered at the musical posse with mildly curious eyes. "So then, where can we find Skellington?"

"Bone Daddy's latest escapade isn't working as he expected," the saxophonist answered her. Jutting his head, he beckoned behind the wall they reclined against. "Best check up there. That's where the Doctor lives, and where Jack concocts his ideas."

Curious, the four stepped hesitantly, sticking close together as they made their way around the stones. Indeed, something lay beyond. On the outskirts of the town's limits, a shallow hill housed a lone tower, where indeed lights shined through.

"Up there?" Sora pointed.

The saxophonist nodded. "If Bone Daddy is anywhere, he'll be up there, workin' through the night into morning. Have no doubts of that."

The doctor's tower lay behind high walls, isolating it from the prying eyes of curious neighbors. The wall's metal gate had been unlocked, and to their surprise, as the tower's floor-level entrance creaked open, so was the doctor's residence itself. Inside, the entire construction was concrete and sheets of metal, with a stairwell spiraling upwards, where voices were resonating strongest.

Step by step, they took to a silent pace, taking each stair one at a time. At the top, the conversation between the bone man and quite probably the doctor sounded so much clearer.

"-n't understand," the skeleton was murmuring. "Maybe the guidance system was damaged during the explosion yesterday morning?"

An indignant huff answered him. From the railing of the stairs, the four could make out a wheelchair, and a small, hairless man hunched over a sterile table. His frame quivering with a bout of irritation driven by too much pride.

"Bah!" he griped. "What nonsense. My devices are always perfect. We simply didn't add all of the pieces necessary."

They crept farther up, keeping to the shadows. Ari frowned from beneath her shrouding hood.

Curious, the skeleton approached the doctor, bending and peering over the small man's shoulder at whatever lay spread over the table. "Oh, of course! The Heartless need a heart! Doctor, do you suppose it would be possible to add that to the mechanism?"

The doctor huffed. "Certainly. A heart isn't all that complicated to construct."

'An…an artificial heart…?'

Artificial indeed. They'd brought in odds and ends, living creatures and objects that inflicted certain noises when underwent by strain or pressure. In one of the cages, a small frog gave a frightened croak.

The entire time during their collecting, Sora and the rest had remained unsighted from the shadows of the doctor's lab. Ari had seen the curious glimmer in Sora's eyes. He was intrigued. She couldn't blame him, so was she. But she was also wary, and Donald and Goofy were both beyond even that, occasionally shivering from nerves and possible fear.

'The type of heart they're talking about can't be artificially created. Not to balance out the Darkness of the hearts that birthed the Heartless…'

The little man rummaged inside a cabinet- bringing out a construction of metal that resembled an anatomically correct heart.

"Blast!" he swore. "We have the container, but we need the key to open the bloody damn thing first…!"

She felt Sora's shoulder shift. Her eyes snapped downwards, and she saw his fingers twitch. "No," she hissed, snapping her own hand to hold back his right wrist.

He whined in the back of his throat, ignoring the two glares and look of concern he was receiving. "Why not?"

"Because we don't need to be helping in Heartless experimentation!"

Sora pouted. "But…what if it does help with the infestations?" He bit his lip, and for a brief moment a wicked little grin spread over his pointed teeth. "Plus didn't you hear 'em earlier? Wouldn't it be fun to see them dance?"

Ari and Donald shared a look.

"Nope."

"Not really."

The doctor's chair wheeled to a screeching halt near their hideout in the shadows. "Who goes there?" he hissed at them.

"My," the skeleton peered down at them, somehow a wide and welcoming grin spreading over his old and crooked teeth. "Newcomers, hm? Well as the appointed Pumpkin King, no I am no majesty to reign over this beloved home of ours, I welcome you to Halloween Town! And…" he paused, tapping a boney phalange to his cheek. "Pardon, but…who are you?"

"Sora." The boy pointed to the duck and dog respectively. "Donald, and he's Goofy. And tha-" he made to indicate herself, but she beat him to it and cut off his introduction.

"Ari. You're Jack, right?"

"Indeed!" the skeleton laughed. "Jack Skellington, master of frights at your service."

She waved off his theatrics. "Nice to meet you." Her eyes flickered to an operation table, where a lifeless Heartless lay unresponsive. "Mind telling us why you've got a Heartless on your table…?"

Jack leaned back, laughing wholeheartedly. "Why, they're the main attraction to this year's Halloween festivities."

"What are you using them for…?" Sora approached with cautious ease.

"To dance and parade without causing harm, of course!"

Ari sighed. She could hear Donald tapping a foot behind her. "And to do that you're…"

"Building a heart," the doctor griped. "Now shoo! This doesn't concern children."

"It does when we're out here to bring the population of them under control," she snapped.

"Bah!" the little man barked a laugh. "They need only to be fine-tuned."

Sora cut in, noticing the tension in her stance. "Hey, you need to open the heart, right?"

"Sora-" her warning came too late. He'd summoned the Keyblade.

With absolute fascination, Jack watched as the boy tapped at the pumping mechanism once. A loud click echoed his action, and the container opened when the doctor pried it apart. A dark gleam resonated in the doctor's beady eyes, even from behind his glasses. On the table beside, he meticulously laid out each piece to the artificial heart.

Ari and Donald backtracked to the railing of the stairwell, watching the process tensely. When it was completed, they watched as the doctor placed his mechanism into the machine. Jack pulled Sora and Goofy away from the table. Without warning, the mad doctor flicked a switch. Power surged, and blue electricity pulsed. The Heartless gave a jolt, sitting upright for a very brief moment. But as soon as the shock of energy dissipated, it collapsed again into a heap.

"It failed!" the doctor wailed after his moment of utter shock.

Jack and Finkelstein, as he'd finally called out the doctor's name, rummaged every nook and cranny and cabinet of the laboratory. However, they found not a clue as to what could be used to possibly make their ludicrous experiment to work.

With total frustration, Finkelstein rummaged through his notes, muttering all the while. Ari was perched atop the staircase railing, Sora sitting at her feet. Goofy watched the sky light and darken from the tiny room, and Donald remained as agitated as ever. He was anxious to leave. She couldn't blame him, so was she.

"Ha," the doctor barked. "Sally!" he called. No response. "Sally!" he tried again, lifting the top of his cranium, and scratching at his pulsing brain- to their horror and disgust.

When no response was what he met, he slammed his skull shut. "Good for nothing girl!"

"Doctor-?"

He whirled around on Jack. "Bah! I thought she might know where it might be…"

"What?" Jack inquired, curiosity alight.

"Memory you fool," Finkelstein coughed. "We should try adding memory, and see if that balances out the heart. But Sally isn't here…"

His beady eyes zeroed in on Sora, flickering back to his skeleton friend. "Go find her. She'll no doubt be around the graveyard. Why I ever built her, I'll never fathom!"

"So…who's Sally?"

Jack smiled down at the girl. "An old friend of mine, and another of Finklestein's projects. She has a habit of leaving out from Dr. Finkelstein's nose, which sets his temper flaring."

"Can't tie her down?" Ari grinned at that.

Jack laughed. "No, she's a free spirit, that one. Although worries more oft than she should."

The metal gate swung shut behind them. The sound summoned a slew of residents to swarm in around the bone man, who walled the four newcomers behind himself, away from the worst of the onslaught. From the small crowd, the two-faced man came wailing. "Jack! Jack, we have a major crisis at hand!"

Jack frowned. "What's wrong, mayor?"

The stubby man pointed an equally stunted hand to the other side of town. "The Heartless! Jack, they're completely out of control!"

Jack thought it over briefly. He eyed the people around him, looking to him with fear over the situation. "Well," he began. "Don't worry. We're on a mission already to fix the situation. There's nothing to worry about!"

'Famous last words.' Ari thought bitterly. She caught Sora peering at her. She pat his head, reassuring him that the situation probably wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Shadows watched them, but otherwise kept hidden. The air was near palpable, and that only made the situation tenser. They'd passed through town without incident, but the Heartless were alive and waiting. The graveyard proved a bit different, as a pack of three Shadows and a Search Ghost swarmed around a group of headstones.

An angry bark chased the monsters, but they paid the sound no heed. They'd caught the scent of something. An invisible force making noise wasn't so interesting.

Sora was swift to pierce the blade through the Ghost. It wailed. A slew of barking, excited, followed the boy. Ari chased her friend, thrusting a hand up and then to the side. A trickle of lightning came crashing down, barring the Shadows from crawling in closer to the intended graves. Goofy followed soon after, forcing the line away with his shield. Donald checked behind the headstones as Sora cut down a second and then third Heartless, while Ari set the last to ice.

Donald startled, giving a small yelp. The barking turned to soft whimpering, and the duck fell headfirst behind the graves as a small white dog faded in and out; a translucent ghost that Jack seemed happy to see.

"Zero!" he laughed. "Here, boy!"

He yipped at the bone man, but fluttered hither and to, sniffing each newcomer with excitement. He nudged Sora playfully, but came to a floating halt before Ari. In the process, Donald righted himself and had brought forth a shy and timid ragdoll- with red yarn hair and patchwork skin to match her patchwork dress. But her demeanor was sweet, though she seemed shy and still startled from the Heartless that had given her chase.

"Sally!" Jack grinned. "There you are. Are you alright?"

She nodded timidly, clutching tighter a small bundle of…

'Forget-me-nots?' Ari wondered, scratching at Zero's small jack-o-lantern nose.

She hadn't been the only one to notice the flowers. Jack's toothy grin broadened, and it set her on edge to see such a wide splay of teeth. "Perfect! You have the exact ingredient for memory!"

"…'Memory'?" The ragdoll wondered softly.

"Don't ask," Donald grumbled, waddling off after the departing Skellington.

"Seriously," Ari agreed. "It's best not to know."

The doll jumped slightly. "O-oh! I'm so sorry. Are you…are you friends with Jack?"

The wraith chuckled softly. "More like an inadvertent acquaintance." She paused, then held out the hand that wasn't patting Zero. "I'm Ari."

Sally took the proffered hand. "Sally." The doll was shy, but she was a good soul. Ari smiled, about to turn away and follow her departing friends.

"It's for his Heartless gimmick…for Halloween this year, isn't it?"

Ari turned, watching the worried ragdoll with tired eyes. "Unfortunately."

She never had to turn around to know that Sally followed her glumly back to the heart of town.

"No." Ari had had enough.

"But Ari-"

"I said no Sora." She clenched her hands into painfully tight fists. "You can go off with Jack on his little Heartless experiment escapades. I'm done." She turned on her heel to leave.

"Ari! C'mon, wait up! I'm sure that after this, we won't have to fi-"

The glare she gave him shut him up in his tracks. Finkelstein had the brilliant idea to also pick up surprise to complete the heart. But enough was enough. It was a faulty idea, one that was wasting time. She was tired, antsy- and all she wanted was one good night's sleep without wondering if she and the rest would die the next hour, the next day.

Her footsteps echoed against the metal of the stairs. The tower's front door shut with a near slam behind her- but as she approached the gate to leave the property, slapping steps of webbed feet were approaching her from behind rapidly.

"Donald?" she peered over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

He slouched when he came to a stop, panting. "I'm following you. You're not the only one who thinks this is stupid."

That took her by surprise, that he didn't dutifully stick by Sora's side. So, she laughed. Her laughter startled the duck, which only caused her to laugh harder. It took a moment for her to calm, and when she was breathing heavy between breathy chuckles, she grinned at her…friend? "Let's go wait in town…"

He agreed with a slouched smile.

Raucous mixtures of outcries and encouraging cheering surrounded them at the game table. Ari's brow was furrowed with concentration, while Donald nearly bounced on the edges of his webbed feet. One of the witches playing her held a smug splay along the seams of her cracked lips, however the tightness of the loose skin covering her eyeballs told a differing tale; nervousness. Dice clacked over the old split wood, rolling to a stop.

"Eleven!" someone shouted.

Ari's lips quirked slightly, though hidden beneath the shadow of her large hood. With quick fingers, she deftly snatched the playing pieces, shaking them in her hand. She had a feeling Donald was rubbing his greedy, feathered hands behind her. She wasn't wrong.

With a flick of her wraith wrists, the dice clattered and tumbled. Twirling, twirling…

"Seven!" an onlooker squealed with their obnoxiously high-pitched voice.

She chuckled as both cheers and dismayed wails erupted around them, in the small local tavern-and-inn. It was funny. They'd taken the evening off. In town, it was Sally who had shown them the way…

~.:*:.~.:*:.~

Their steps halted in the middle of the square, when a small hand crawled by of its own volition. Following its trail, with reserve, they found it led them to the ragdoll herself.

"Sally?"

The doll startled, nearly dropping her loose hand…but held fast, and let out a breath she'd been holding down in her leaf-stuffed bosom. "Oh- hel-llo!"

They had watched her reattach the limb with an unexplainable curiosity. She hadn't seemed to mind. Small chatter brought up their lack of enthusiasm with Jack's grand plan. Sally nodded empathetically. Soon to follow came their need for a place to rest- if just for the night.

"Well, the inn always has vacancies…"

~.:*:.~.:*:.~

Her fingers were quick to move again, scooping up a pile of local currency, and stuffing them into the pouch Donald held tightly.

The murky swamp-woman hummed thoughtfully. Her bottom lip pouted outwards, but she displayed no displeasure for the strangers' winnings. "Hmmm…" she eyed the two witches. "Me thinks you've lost your game."

"Bah!" one of them huffed. The other's voice cracked as it rose an octave. "Foul play, I say!"

The water creature snatched the dice from the table, leaving puddles in her wake. She tossed the pieces, letting them bounce. "Three," she mused, eyeing the one and two staring her in the face. "The dice do not lie…"

Ari chuckled, leaning back into her chair. The congregation of spectators was dissipating. Her closed eyes opened, squinting to the murky windows. Pale sunlight was brushing the town. The squabbling wouldn't cease, even as she tried to block their scratching vocals from her mind.

"Ladies," she tried, peering at them with one eye. "We can settle this with a rematch…"

But the door swung open with a high pitched whine. 'Those hinges need oiling-' her thoughts broke, and she frowned thoughtfully at what greeted her. "But not today. We'll take a raincheck on your pending revenge on my luck."

With that, she pushed away from the table, rising from her chair without a sound. Donald skipped behind her, swinging their winnings in his iron grip. The clanging of metal a tune he silently shimmied to.

She stopped before the small vampire, eyeing the skeleton and Frankenstein monster accompanying him. "Sora…" she started, tasting her withheld tone on her tongue. "I take it something went wrong through the night…"

The boy's face was set grimly. "Unfortunately…"

Her eyes settled hard on Jack's eyeless sockets. "You're not hurt, right Sora?"

He chuckled tiredly. "Nah. Me and Goofy got rid of most of the Heartless running amok in town last night."

She chanced a glance at Sora, before settling her gaze to the skeleton again. The jazz musicians were playing at a quiet level in the back of the inn's populated tavern. "Then what happened?"

Sora bit his lip; fangs puncturing his own skin. He winced. "Someone…stole the heart the doctor was working on."

"What?!"

Jack brushed past the boy, stooping low. He seemed sad. She still would have liked to send his skull sailing. "Sorry to barge in…but we could use some help. Oogie Boogie's one mean bag of bugs. But with more support, we're sure to put him in place."

She scowled. Donald's clanging stopped, and he eyed her with trepidation. She shared the unease. "…Fine."

Donald quacked. But she merely shrugged at him, and crossed her arms with contempt. "My luck's running good and high. I'll take the chance. But it's your problem, Jack. You'd better be willing to pay the damn price."

'There was a crooked house…but no crooked man resides within. Only a walking burlap sack of bugs.' Across a bridge, over a chasm, stood a rickety old house not unlike the ones from old nursery tales. Ari peered over her shoulder, staring up at the bone man. 'He knows this house well…he's scowling.' Sora was more curious, and determined to snatch back at the artificial heart. Goofy and Donald shared her inner anxious nerves- but they were shaking at their kneecaps.

She turned halfway around. "We're looking for the bag of bugs, yeah?"

Jack nodded grimly.

Ari bit the inside of her cheek. "…Anyone else? Anything we need to know about?"

"…" he was hesitating. Her eyes furrowed under frowning brows. Jack sighed wearily. "Three mischievous brats- Lock, Shock, and Barrel. You'll know 'em when you see 'em. Otherwise, watch out for gimmicks. Oogie loves a good gamble. Don't take that lightly."

She was still a moment. 'Children, huh? Spectacular.' She rolled her neck, the cartilage cracking along the bones. "Easily managed. I'll wager my luck, and take a chance like I did earlier when I rolled the dice. Right, Sora?"

The boy nodded. Without reserve for the consequences, he summoned the Keyblade.

'He's angry.' She realized.

The bridge's broken planks creaked under their weight. One by one, they traipsed delicately. Step by step, plank by plank; bridge and ledge and crevice, they made their way up the stones and wood of Oogie's lopsided manor.

One last bridge lay between them and the top-most door of Oogie's manor. That being said, Sora and the rest weren't so eager to cross it. Shadows in all shapes were waiting on spires and tiers, fences and tree limbs. Not even Zero, who had joined them midway through with his ghostly silence, was making to move across the bridge.

Sora was watching the shadows move with the breeze blowing through the tree limbs.

Ari stood tense, her right foot's heel raised to bolt. She was anxious, too. "Heartless," she murmured.

Sora nodded once. "They're…just waiting."

She made a noise in the back of her throat. "We have to move. They'd have made to snatch us already. They're watching…waiting."

"Then let's get goin'," Donald shivered.

Jack pushed passed them, making the decision on a whim. The glowing yellow eyes of the shadows watched them, but never did they move. Instead, the rough panels of two thin doors opened with a whine as Jack pushed through, and they followed close behind.

The sound of metal clanging against metal met them the moment the door opened. Three children surrounded a large pipe, each startled like three baby deer in headlights. The action froze all, but only for a moment. Scowling, Ari dove after the three with a snarl, who divided and scattered. Donald and Goofy barricaded the doorway, while Sora followed after his friend.

Jack made in to scoop up the boy in red, the little devil, but swept up the rounder child instead. The little witch in lilac quivered behind the rundown couch, with its faded patchwork fabrics. Her hat gave her away, and Ari made quick work of grabbing her by the collar of her dress, and tugging her back over. The child screeched and wailed, but no luck came to her. Sora took hold of the girl, who let out a bloodcurdling screech at being handed away like a sack of potatoes.

The last child, the devil boy, she found scurrying up with struggle into the pipe in which the heart had been dumped into.

"Oh no you don't, brat!" Ari seethed, grabbing him around the waist. He let out a screech, kicking and squirming. No matter his resistance, she held firm. In the midst of his struggling, she dumped him down with his round buddy. Hurriedly, the little girl was plopped down between them.

The children timidly looked up from behind their masks…but the scowls they received scared them. With quick hands they disposed of their masks, tossing them across the room. The dim light cast shadows, painting their toy guises eerily.

Their eyes were wide and hollow, and they latched onto each other without qualm.

"We surrender!" they wailed.

The little witch, Shock- Jack had called her, sniffled. "W-we were j-just following o-orders!"

She made a show of wiping away a flood of tears. "Oogie t-told us to s-steal the h-heart…!"

The older boy, the one in red, nodded vigorously, then pointed to the smaller, chubbier boy to his right. "It was Barrel's fault!"

Zero growled. Barrel paled considerably more than his pallor already held. "What?!" he squeaked. "B-but you guys said-"

"You should be ashamed!" Shock put in with a sob.

"Enough."

Their eyes fell to Ari. Her arms were crossed, her stance tall and stiff…for as high as her stature could manage. Her blue eyes were hard and cold. The three kiddos huddled in together, quivering.

Jack frowned, crouching down to his knees and meeting them at eye level. "Doesn't matter- just tell us where Oogie is. I'll forgive you this once."

"D-d-downstairs!" wailed Barrel. "P-please…it wasn't my-"

Jack pat the poor chubby child atop his round head. Long bony fingers disappeared in his short-short hair. "Don't worry about it." He stood, and turned to leave. "Let's go, before he can actually figure out how to use the contraption."

Sora nodded, falling into step beside his skeleton friend. Donald and Goofy were less eager to follow, but stepped in behind their charge regardless a brief pause later.

"I'm taking them back into town."

Sora whirled around, surprised. "Eh?"

She shrugged. "Finkelstein wanted them. Besides, I doubt you need me this round. Jack and you have it handled, Sora."

"But," Sora fished; lost. "How will you make it there…?"

She brushed him off with a wave of her hand. "The Heartless have been hiding away. Chances are they'll be your problem. Besides…" she looked behind her, eyeing the trembling bathtub hiding behind an old, broken bureau. "I think we've got a ride."

Sora sighed, but relented when Jack gave him a reassuring grin and pat on the shoulder. They departed out the door. Donald and Goofy hesitated, with the duck ultimately hanging back with Ari to deliver the brats back to town.

The dog clumsily walked to the doorway, pushing open the double doors. He'd managed one step out the door, when she called him back.

She looked down, then up. Her eyes held a fierceness; a determined, stubborn pride. "Make sure he doesn't get too roughed up…okay?"

She was promised her friend's safe return with Goofy's bashful, happy chortle. She smiled, her eyes brightening.

The bathtub's steps were almost across the bridge, moonlight rising and sunlight vanished beyond the forest and Curly Hill, when the ground violently shook- rattling even the foundation of Oogie's property. Lock, Shock, and Barrel squealed, huddling together and quivering. Donald and Ari turned behind them, seeing a decimated version of the precarious manor- with burlap sack stretching over pieces of foundation. Heartless were fleeing around them- Gargoyles of violets and mulberry, and Gargoyles built by patchwork- all flying high and away, scattering into the night. Wight Knights were clambering down branches and stone and wood panel. Whatever it was that happened, even the Heartless were quick to scurry away.

Both hers and Donald's eyes were looking for their friends. 'They couldn't have-!'

A window stories above banged open, panel shutters splintering. The boy and dog were quick to clamber out, with Jack backing them. She might not like his eccentric ideas- but Ari had to admit, he was a damn good friend. 'Oh thank-'

Her thoughts were scattered, when globs of black, pulsing with veins of violet, were creeping through crevices and cracks along the estate. "Sora what ha-"

"Oogie Boogie happened," the boy spat, catching his breath. "He's mostly down for the count. But his…will, or something, won't let go. His Darkness is spreading."

She frowned. The foundation quaked again, and she realized the tub had entirely stopped moving; it too quivering in fear. 'Shit.'

She leapt out of the porcelain basin, and skidded behind. She was quick in sliding her foot back, and sending the sole of her boot slamming into the tub's backside. It startled, and bolted the rest of the way across the bridge. Donald yelped, and the children cried.

Ari wasn't stupid enough to stay put. She lunged as another quake racked the basin. The bridge broke from rail to rail, and pieces of plank shattered away from the pull and strain. Gasping for air, she pushed herself back up, looking behind her to where the others left behind remained. "Look…" she shouted with a gasp, "look for…heart of…leak…"

Sora was worried- Goofy and Jack, too. But they didn't have time to fret. They had a mission. It was Jack's world, his responsibility. It was Sora's duty to rid the world of the anomalies plaguing it. It was Goofy's responsibility to protect the Keybearer.

She could feel Donald's worry and guilt.

"Not your fault," she rasped quietly, grabbing the edge of the tub and pulling herself upright. "With it only being three of them, they'll move faster than if we were there too."

'Not to mention,' she thought within. 'If things go wrong, it's our responsibility to hold it off. If we were there and it fell apart, no one would be left.'

And not for the first time, she wondered when her thoughts became so analytically inclined…

Silence, known to this world with comfort, enveloped it once more. The foundation of Oogie's property finally collapsed on itself. Sora, Jack, and Goofy were safe down at the bottom of the basin, taking a well needed rest after digging round the estate.

Ari sat perched atop the cliff, watching the large moon bring light to the eerie world. 'It's not so bad here,' she decided. To her right, Donald was laying on his back; dozing no doubt. To her left, Lock, Shock, and Barrel were huddled together, napping under an old wool blanket.

A glow resonated down in the basin, catching her eyes. She looked down, finding the imprint of a keyhole glowing- but not enough to reveal itself entirely. Sora was peering at it…

'He's thinking.'

Her eyes lifted back to the moon. It took a moment, but her smile was faint. "Use the moonlight," she breathed.

She doubted he heard her, and more likely than not he was catching on to the curiosities of the Keyblade and the makeup of the worlds. His blade lifted, the tip pointing to the moon. Specs of light responded, showering down into the lock.

"How'd y'know that 'ne?" a bleary voice asked of her, once the lock clicked, and the light show ended.

She peered to her right, where Donald was looking at her through sleepy eyes. She turned away, back to the three below. 'How do I answer that?'

Ari shrugged. "Dunno…" Her answer was simple enough. And Donald was too tired to question it.

'I just…did.'

~.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.~

"I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily. None of the records even mention such a substance.

Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out! Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow.

But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place."

- Ansem's Report 7

~.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.~

Author's Note:

Finished! Longer than expected. Anyway keeping this short and sweet. Seven chapters left, plus an epilogue and something special!

As always, thank you for reading!

~ AoZ