Chapter 1: Zombies, Why Did It Have to be Zombies?!
As our three heroes stepped into this new world, Sora, the young Keyblade wielder, took a good look at his surroundings, awaiting his comrades. "Okay, new world. I wonder who we'll meet here?" he mused to himself as he heard Donald approach him from behind.
"This place looks like a dump!" Donald bluntly stated. "Why did we land in a graveyard of all places?" His gaze turned upwards to the night sky. "Also, it's 3 O'clock in the day and yet the sky is still dark. What's up with that?"
Sora stretched his arms back casually. "Maybe this world is in a different time zone?" Sora suggested. Truth be told, he didn't know.
The group's tallest member, Goofy, joined him comrades. "I dunno fellas. Something seems awfully off about this world. Almost like it's under some sorta spell or something."
Sora and Donald stared at Goofy. At times, he was surprisingly the most intelligent of their group. Maybe he was onto something. "I agree with Goofy," came a voice from Sora's hood, as the unofficial fourth member of their group, Jiminy Cricket hopped onto Sora's shoulder. "And I'm not just saying that 'cause we're in a graveyard."
Suddenly, the sound of earth breaking was heard behind the team, and a group of Heartless appeared to battle Sora and co. Sora drew his Keyblade, ready to fight. "No surprise these guys are here," said Sora. He froze for a moment, examining the Heartless. It seemed to be decomposing in certain places, and it slumped its body to one side. Shaking the notion out of his head, Sora slashed at the Heartless, as he always did in the past.
However, unlike other times, this Heartless did not disappear in a cloud of black smoke. Instead, its head came clean off, falling to the ground, but the Heartless kept advancing on Sora, as it nothing had happened.
"What the?!" Sora asked, staring in confusion at the headless creature.
Donald struck another Heartless with Thunder magic, yielding the same result as Sora. Goofy, using his shield as a discus, threw it at another Heartless, taking its head off, but it still advanced on them.
"What are these, Zombie Heartless?" Donald asked as he swatted away another Heartless.
As if things couldn't get any worse, actual zombies now rose from the ground, shuffling towards our heroes. Attacking these zombies was more or less the same as the Heartless, take off a body part, they still advance.
"Why won't these things stay down?!" Donald asked furiously as he backed up, zapping a Heartless with Thundagra.
"Zombies are undead." Goofy informed him.
"But how do you stop something that's already dead?"
Goofy shrugged as the Heartless Donald had zapped had green energy flow through it, allowing it to continue its attack.
"That there green stuff revived it," Goofy said pointing at a green mist behind the Heartless. "What kind of magic is it, Donald?"
"Wak! Why are you asking me?"
"You're our spellcaster," Sora replied.
"I have no idea what kind of magic this is, but it's dark magic that's for sure!" Jiminy piped. Thinking for a moment, his face was filled with horror. "Necromancy! That's what this is."
"Necrowhat?" Sora asked.
"Necromancy is the magic of reanimating corpses and such," Jiminy. "It's one of the worst, playing God with the bodies of dead people."
"At least zombies are slow," Donald muttered. Then, as if to spite him, a zombie lunged towards them in a fast manner, causing the mallard to jump out of the way.
"You were saying," Goofy said, in a semi-smug voice as he held his shield to his face, while Donald curse under his breath. He turned to Sora. "Any ideas, Sora?"
"Just one," Sora said, who had turned around and was running away. "RUN AWAY!" he shrieked as he streaked across the graveyard. "No arguments there," Donald agreed. "Hey! Wait for us!" Donald and Goofy followed after Sora.
As they ran, even more zombies and Heartless. Knowing they couldn't be defeated, they all silently agreed to find somewhere to hide and formulate a new plan.
"We need somewhere to hide," Jiminy said, struggling to hold on to Sora's hood. Looking around, Goofy pointed in the direction of a shed-like building on a hill.
"How about there?" Goofy asked. "Anywhere is better than out here!" Sora said as they ran towards the wooden door on its front. Opening the door, there was a metal gate.
Drawing his Keyblade, Sora used its power to unlock the gate. Hearing a click, Sora, Donald and Goofy ran inside before locking it again. Watching fearfully through the locked gate, they watched as the zombies shuffled past, seeming to have lost their target.
"Phew, that was a close one." Sora sighed as he leaned against the wall. His comrades sighed too, thankful they'd outrun their decomposing foes. Taking a look around, Sora was wondering where they were.
"I wonder what this building is for?" Sora wondered aloud, examining the archway they were in. Walking down the stairs, they came across another gate, same as the one they saw on their way in. Using his Keyblade once more, Sora unlocked the gate, strolled into the next room.
Stepping into the room the gate had been blocking, Sora saw a most unusual sight. On the far back wall was a stained glass window, depicting a knight slaying a dragon. The face of the knight however, was unable to be seen.
In front of that was what looked like a wooden canopy, with something resembling a casket inside of it. Laying on top of the casket was a skeleton, adorned in knights armour. Its teeth were crooked, and was somehow missing its jaw.
"I think we may have stumbled into someone's burial place," Goofy said, noting the fact the skeleton had no flesh to speak of whatsoever.
Now realizing that they were desecrating someone's place of eternal rest, Sora backed up to the wall, before straightening up, and bowing in front of the skeleton. "Sorry to barge in like this, mister? Uh...what is your name?"
Jiminy hopped onto the floor, discovering a plaque affixed to the casket. "Let's see here... Ah, here it is, his name is Sir Daniel Fortesque. Says here he died nobly while defending the kingdom of Gallowmere from an evil sorcerer named Zarok 100 years ago."
"Man," Sora awed. "Died while defending his kingdom. Must've been one heck of a hero for people to bury him in a place like this."
"You'd think that, but no." Came a mysterious voice.
"Who said that?" Donald asked, looking around them, seeing nothing but the face of a stony creature hanging on the wall.
"No one else here but me, you, Goofy and Jiminy." Sora noted, leaning next to one of the creatures on the wall. It looked similar to a goblin, having long ears. On its head was a pair of horns not to similar to a goat's horns. The carving's face could only be described as having a short snout with a squashed nose and small but sharp fangs in its mouth.
"Yeah, except for these weird looking carvings."
"Hold your tongue, mallard!" came the voice again, as the stone face Sora had been leaning against came to life, its eyes glowing a soft but eerie yellow.
"Looks like we're not alone down here then," Sora said, looking at the head from all angles. "Who and what are you? Some kind of goblin or something?"
The creature narrowed its eyes at Sora, a scowl covering its face. "I am an information gargoyle. My kind has existed for centuries in this kingdom, we see all and know all. And the fact of the matter is, Fortesque is no hero!"
"That's crazy!" Jiminy said. "The plaque says-"
The gargoyle stifled a laugh. "I said my kind has existed for centuries, cricket. We were there during the Battle of Gallowmere, we know exactly happened. The plaque is nothing but lies! Sir Daniel Fortesque did take part in that battle, but die nobly he did not."
"Then what did happen?" Donald asked.
"Well, as you've no doubt seen above, the dead are rising from their graves. Dark magics, no doubt." Its eyes looked towards the skeleton. "No doubt Fortesque will be awoken."
As if by Murphy's Law, the same green mist the trio had seen in the graveyard seeped it's way down the stairs, now in the same vicinity as our heroes.
Sora was about to ask the gargoyle what he meant, but it had gone back to sleep, its once yellow eyes inactive.
They watched in both shock and terror as the mist floated towards the skeleton on the casket, lifting it into the air, causing it to shudder.
Life was returning to it.