Chapter 18.9 Interlude
Donald Duck arrived in a jungle world via his own Gummi Ship. Yes, the duck owned a private Gummi Ship decorated with nautical symbols. Some time ago, he and his friends arrived at Disney Castle. Goofy, Von Drake and Emily went to report what has happened at Destiny Islands to King Mickey. But Donald slipped away into the Gummi Garage and asked Chip and Dale to grant him access to his ship.
As Donald rode it into space, he carefully and gently pressed down on the buttons to reach the coordinates of his destination. Some time later, he would arrive in a jungle themed world. This peculiar world had its own Cornerstone of light, pushing away the darkness from touching said world. It's Keyhole was sealed years ago by Sora himself, who traveled to this world once.
Donald landed the ship in the jungle clearing and went straight to a huge hut in the middle of the jungle. It was made of thick straw and wooden sticks. This reminded Donald of the annoying pig brothers back at Disney Town. They were known for their infamous Big Bad Wolf song and Donald caught himself humming that tune. He knocked on the door and it slowly opened. Donald went inside to see one of his friends sitting by the fire, smoking a large cigar.
"Smoking is bad for you." said Donald with a smile.
The green parrot sitting on the chair got up and hugged Donald. "What's cooking Donald!" cried Jose Carioca, one of his loyal friends.
"I need your help." said Donald with a somber tone in his voice.
"Jeez you look like you're feeling blue. Something happened?" asked Jose.
"The Heartless have attacked Destiny Islands. Sky has left home and is on a journey to find Axel." said Donald.
"You let the boy go? Well that's a first." said Jose.
"It wasn't my decision. Goofy was there and you know how much of a softie that guy is." said Donald.
"Sure sure. So did you go and report all that to Mickey?" asked Jose.
"I snuck away to find you. And Panchito. Where is he by the way?" asked Donald.
"He's off fishing." said Jose.
"Good. We need to team up." said Donald.
"You mean as the Three Caballeros again? Brilliant!" cried Jose.
"But we need to be careful. I don't want King Mickey to know what we are up to." said Donald.
"Oh, so we are going rogue eh? Why is that?" asked Jose.
"We need to find Max." said Donald.
Jose's face darkened quickly. "W-what the what?" he asked.
"You heard me. We need to find Max and stop him." said Donald.
"But Max is gone! He's far from here I'm sure." said Jose.
"He needs to be stopped. If not, Goofy's heart will break." said Donald worriedly.
Jose studied Donald's face and put his hand on his shoulder. "Is there something I ought to know?" asked Jose.
"Goofy is getting tired. I know him. He's usually cheerful and full of energy. But lately, he's been getting slower. I saw how he fought back at the islands. He was this close to losing." said Donald.
"Of course he's slow. Goofy is not a fighter. A hero yes, but not a fighter." said Jose.
"You weren't there when we fought the army of Heartless in Hollow Bastion. He fought like there was no tomorrow. Then he fought bravely against Ansem and Xemnas." said Donald.
"But that was years ago Donald." said Jose.
"Exactly. Years. Goofy is getting old and so am I. But I can't shake the bad feeling." said Donald.
"What bad feeling?" asked Jose.
"Max, Vanitas, Axel and Maleficent. They are connected somehow." said Donald.
Jose shook his head. "Are they in a team or something?" asked Jose.
"As far as we know, Vanitas has Axel and Maleficent is trying to recruit him." said Donald.
"Donald, my friend. This will require more than just the three of us. You will probably need more people to fight against these foes." said Jose.
"I didn't mean we go after Vanitas or Maleficent. Those losers have other people watching them. We need to find Max and stop him before he dreams of joining them." said Donald.
"How do you know Max will be interested in joining those creepy villains?" asked Jose.
"Buddy, you haven't seen Max when he loses his temper," said Donald.
Jose scoffed. "Says the professional," he said.
Donald chuckled. "Are you in?" he asked.
Jose hesitated a bit and nodded. "If it's to save the worlds, count me in."
Goofy and Emily were walking in the great hallways of Disney Castle, hoping to talk to Mickey. But he was away. The only one there to greet them was Queen Minnie herself, who was walking beside them.
"You worry too much, Goofy. Please take some time off and relax. Go to the gardens and read a book." said Minnie to her friend.
"But your majesty, Roxanne and Red aren't ready to face dangerous enemies." said Goofy.
Minnie turned to see Goofy with a smile. "I understand how you feel, but you need to put your trust in them. Have faith."
"It's like the old saying, faith, trust and pixie dust." said Emily.
Goofy laughed lightly. "The old saying."
"I should have been the one to go with Sky and the others." said Emily.
"Gwarsh, now who's the one getting worried?" asked Goofy.
Emily smiled. "I'm just as anxious as you I guess." said Emily.
"Where is Donald?" asked Minnie.
"I think he snuck off and went to the Gummi Garage. Says he's got to talk with Chip and Dale." said Emily.
Meanwhile, back in the jungle, Panchito met with Donald and Jose. After they briefed him, Panchito stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Donald, you are doing something very dangerous!" He said at first.
" I'm in." he suddenly said with a huge smile on his face.
"Yes! I knew you'd be on board." said Donald shaking his hand with glee.
Just then, the Gummi Phone began to ring. Donald looked to see who it was and he gasped. "I gotta take this one." he said. He left Jose and Panchito to pack their things while Donald went to the backyard of the hut. There, the Aracuan Bird, or Ari as he is known, was mowing the grass while singing a tune. "Bada ba bum. Bada ba bum." he kept saying.
"Ari…. QUIET!" cried Donald. Ari looked at Donald and smiled as he turned off his machine and danced around whispering to himself. Donald shook his head and answered the Gummi Phone.
"Where did you go?" Goofy was saying on the other line.
"I had business to attend to." said Donald.
"You suddenly up and vanished. I thought you were still in the castle." said Goofy.
"Listen, I'm doing something very private. Okay?" said Donald.
"Well why didn't you say so?" he said.
"I did say so!" cried Donald.
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent sat on her throne, stroking her beloved pet raven, Diablo. Before her was the newly made Vanitas with his glorious wings and the shadow of Axel in chains. Magica De Spell was there too, by Vanitas's side. And that was not all. No. They were not alone. Sitting by Maleficent's throne was the evil Scar from the Pride Lands, in the position of a royal pet. Captain Hook, Hades, Oogie Boogie, Ursula, Prince John, Gaston, Jafar, Clayton, Shan-Yu, Madame Mim, Cruella De-Vil, Mother Gothel, Yzma, Kronk and the Bowler Hat man were there as well. They were standing there like some sort of evil cult, worshipping the horned Maleficent as she rose like a Queen before them.
"I'm so glad you all made it this far for the new order. Many of us have perished in our respective worlds. And yes, I did toy with the foundation of life and death to bring some of you from Death's door. But see this as a new opportunity to try something new. For you see, we are declaring war on the light and on the worlds at large." said Maleficent.
Captain Hook scoffed. "Where did we hear that one before?"
"With all due respect Maleficent, we tried and we lost before. What guarantee do we have that we won't fail this time?" asked Jafar.
Gaston turned to see the skinny wizard. "Wait a minute. You mean you all were a team before? And you didn't invite Gaston to the party?"
Kronk chuckled. "I wasn't there too, so don't feel bad buddy." he said patting Gaston's shoulder.
Yzma rolled her eyes. The woman was living proof that dinosaurs roamed the Earth. "He's new." she said.
"What do you have planned for us dearie?" asked Ursula to Maleficent.
"We have a Keybalde Wielder in our allegiance." said Maleficent.
Vanitas turned around to meet the other villains and summoned his brand new Keyblade. It was a twisted dark version of the Ultima Weapon, sporting the red, blue and black colors of the Heartless.
"What a wonderful weapon! Surely we won't fail!" said Clayton.
"Don't be too sure. This boy here is simply a mere boy. The only thing that makes him special is the wings and the horns. In other words, she's Maleficent's spawn." said Cruella.
The Bowler Hat man smiled as he touched his moustache. "Why Maleficent. Who was the lucky wizard?"
Maleficent ignored the comment and spoke. "I turned Vanitas into a Dark Fey. A dangerous fairy species from this world that has been wiped out to extinction. With the powerful Vanitas by our side, we are unstoppable!" cried Maleficent.
"Is he going to make us money?" asked Prince John as he was stroking his chin.
Scar rose up. "Money? Really now. It's not gold or diamonds we are after. It is power and control!" said Scar.
Just then, another came to the party of villains and everyone turned to see the Cheshire Cat, smiling wickedly and following behind was Frollo and the Evil Emperor Zurg.
"I see you rose from Hell as well." said Shan Yu to Frollo.
"I see this revival as a second chance. A second chance to bring ruin to those who destroyed me." said Frollo clenching his fists.
"You mean, kill the woman you rejected you?" said Shan-Yu with a smirk.
"Oooh! BURN!" cried Gaston.
Zurg shook his head and floated towards the group, slowly as if he were flying. "This allegiance better be worth it." he said.
"Oh handsome, we are much better than the Organization Thirteen." said Madam Mim.
"You mean those prima donnas with the fancy hair?" asked Oogie Boogie.
The villains all laughed, well some of them at least and Maleficent heard a roar of thunder from the sky. Everyone fell silent.
Hades rolled his eyes. He could not believe he actually rose those deadbeats from the Underworld to be impressed with a little lightning.
"Did you bring me the other soul?" asked Maleficent.
"I did. I'm not sure why you wanted him here, but your wish was granted." said Hades.
A dark and red shadow appeared and standing in the doorway of the throne room was a tall, dark and skeletal faced man.
"Jack Skellington? No!" cried Oogie Boogie.
"This isn't your happy, dancing skeleton boy. This is….." Gaston was saying.
"The Horned King." said Frollo with his eyes widened.
The Horned King walked slowly towards the other villains and they all stood their ground, looking at him as he walked slowly.
"This is the army of evil that you spoke of Hades? I see nothing but misshapen individuals with nothing but weak bones." said the Horned King.
"You dare challenge us?" asked Shan-Yu.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps not." replied the Horned King, moving his hand up and down.
"What makes this guy so special?" asked Prince John.
"The Horned King was a mighty warlord in his world. He brought many a kingdom to its knees. He will be the ideal leader of the army of Heartless we are currently growing in the Forbidden Mountain." said Maleficent.
"I will make this clear to everyone. We are at war with the light. If any of you dare desert our cause, or even fail, you will perish and return to Hades!" said the Horned King.
"Finally someone who respects me." said Hades.
The Villains all cheered as the Horned King raised his arms up in the air and even Maleficent applauded.
From the shadows of the door leading to the throne room, Pete was watching, and he was not amused. In fact, he was worried. Next to him was an armored young man, wearing black armor.
"Go warn PJ." he whispered.
The black armored young man nodded and quickly ran into the shadows as Pete watched in horror a fire burst from the ground. Chernabog, the evil creature from Bald Mountain was rising up in smoke. The dark illusion of Chernabog moved his fingers slightly and there where the fire was, a cauldron was formed. A Black Cauldron.