1Well kiddies what can I say? Less than one month until Kingdom hearts 2 is released this side of the world. Less than a month to find out how much of this story tuns out to be right or wrong. Less than one month to unlock the secrets of the universe...And then, on the other hand, its not quite that serious. Serious, but not that much. But definately serious. Yeah.

Anyway, I'm at my own type of crossroads right now. I definately want to complete this story, but...ok. Here's my problem, this story is almost definately not going to be finished by the time Kingdom Hearts 2 is released. Some of you might already have it, I don't. The majority of my country doesn't have it yet. (Duh...it isn't for sale yet...But I bet I could find it on Ebay. If I was desperate.)

My problem is that as the story is right now, it could take several more months to finish with all the little surprises I had had in store for you all. But, since it isn't written out, (yet) I could easily change around the outline in my head to make it substantially shorter. And frankly, I'm starting to wear down a little. I have three fics running right now. (Which was a mistake...Dumbass...Listen! Any newbies! Never have more than like 2 up at one time!) Junior year is not nearly as promising as it sounded at first and when I get actual game itself, it is only going to distract me further.

So you see my problem. The stuff that would keep the story long are mostly comprised of little filler chapters and little surprises and guest appearences that would probably make some of you smile to see, but may or may not be essential to the resolution of the story. At any rate, I'm going to let you guys have the rest of the chapter to think things over, and then tell me what you think.

-SS137

Chapter...49

The door opened into a large hallway that was lined with rows of suits of armour. The Queen was leading and Donald was right at her heels looking a little upset. Sora and Goofy brought up the rear. "Before you tell us anything else Queen Minnie, you should tell us why our home is all the way over here!"

The Queen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It was the Captain's idea." Goofy perked up. "It was?" He asked.

"Not you, Goofy." Donald and the Queen said in unison. Then, on her own, "I wasn't too fond of the idea either at first...after all, why change things that have worked for centuries? But then the Heartless started appearing."

"Heartless here! Impossible!" Donald quacked angrily. "It has to be some sort of trick! This world's heart is one of the strongest! And my spells are top-notch! I refuse to believe otherwise!"

"Yeah! Hyuck. There were no problems around when we still lived here." Goofy said (having recognized the word 'Heartless') "How much could'a happened since we left?"

"Now Donald, Goofy. I know very well that neither of you like the Captain very well..." The Queen said.

"Temporary Captain!" Said, not Donald who Sora would have expected, but Goofy. This surprised the Keyblade Master. He had rarely seen Goofy so aggrivated. 'He must care more about his job than he lets on...' Sora realized. 'I wonder if he just plays dumb for the fun of it...Ah! Maybe he's a genius in disguise!'

"Temporary Captain." Agreed the Queen, "But Captain none-the-less. He was third in your class Goofy. And his father was a musketeer. I trust his judgement in the end." Goofy frowned, which was a strange look for him.

However Sora barely noticed, he was too busy continuing the argument with himself. 'C'mon Sora! You have no evidence that he's a genius at all! You've known him for what? Three years or so now? Since when has he done anything smart ever! Sure, he might say wise things or quotable lines every now and then, but I bet you it's a fluke.'

'No, YOU c'mon. We've been taking Goofy at face value all this time! But whenever we've been in a pinch he's always helped us through. And I'm sure the Queen wouldn't send somebody with a blank slate for a brain.'

'How can you just jump to conclusions? All that we know is that he cares about his job. That doesn't make anybody a genius. In fact, it might prove even more that he is an idiot. C'mon! You couldn't pay me enough to be hunted day and night by the forces of darkness and fighting heartless and those grey things now? Please.'

'No, you know who the real idiot is?'

'Who?'

'Us. 'Cause we're doing it for FREE!'

"Sora? Is there something on your mind?" Came the Queen's voice. Sora looked up and came back from the foggy area he just was. He noticed that everyone was staring at him. "Yeah. Uhm...yeah. I'm good..." Sora mumbled.

"Good. Because we are about to enter the courtyard where the captain awaits. We will take about your upcoming job there."

The courtyard was a nice squared-off piece of the outside in the center of the castle. There was a lone tree in the center. A gigantic tree. Its branches seemed to scrape the sky and hold the sun in the palm of its...leaves...

All Sora knew is that he had an immediate urge to climb it. However the Queen was gesturing toward a small table with a checkered quilt over it, like they were going for a picnic. With a disappointed huff, Sora, Donald and Goofy took up one side of the table. The Queen sat at the head, and a large figure squeezed himself into a groaning chair at the foot.

Sora assumed that this figure was the temporary Captain. And just as he had expected, Sora didn't like him right off. He was fat, and ugly. Rolls of skin were squeezed into the red armor he wore. He also gave off a powerful smell, but Sora couldn't quite place it. However, the bit that really made Sora wary were the man's eyes. Spiteful, mean-spirited eyes like a bully who had just cornered his prey. Sora's right hand twitched, and he got the impression that the Keyblade didn't take to the man either.

The look of the man's eyes faded as he sat before the Queen, though he wasn't quite able to hide it completely. Neither were Donald and Goofy. Goofy's was a face of annoyance, though Donald's was just short of loathing.

The man gave them a passing galnce (matching them expression for expression) until his eyes finally settled on Sora. Sora could have sworn something twitched in his face, but it was too quick to tell. The man looked back at his Queen and bowed in the chair. "Your Majesty." He said in a gravely, and slightly sarcastic voice.

"Sora, this is our temporary Captain of the Royal Guard Pete Bigfellow. Captain Pete, you sit with Keyblade Master Sora." Announced the Queen.

Pete bowed again, this time to Sora and barely muttered, "Master Sora, pleased to meet you."

"And I'm positive you already know high-magician Donald and the Captain that you are filling in for." The Queen continued.

Looks of flying invisible daggers shot back and forth between the three. "Now gentle men, it is time to get back down to business." The Queen was handed a scroll by a just-appearing John Smith, who promptly sat down across form Sora and waved with a smile.

The Queen rolled the scroll out over the table and everybody inched forward to see it. It seemed to be an enchanted map of some-kind, but Sora couldn't decipher it. There were a lot of shining dots on it, and a lot of bordering darkness. Some of the glowing specs gave off a familiar resonance with Sora. Or, more specifically, the Keyblade that was always near him found them familiar.

"As you all probably know, this is the map for the galaxy in which we reside." Realization hit Sora, though he tried not to reveal the fact the he hadn't known. Even so, he felt his face begin to grow warmer.

The glowing specs were all stars and worlds. Sora, following through on a feeling he was recieving from the Keyblade passed his hand over the map and paused when his hand tingled over a star. He extended a finger and touched it, immediately allowing the star to flare and produce a hovering holographic image of Traverse Town. Sora was getting the feeling of deja-vu from certain stars because they were worlds he had visited. Worlds he had locked with the Keyblade.

"Figured out how to work it already Sora?" the Queen asked with amusement. She banished the mini Traverse Town. "Actually, Sora. We have called you here to ask for your help." Said, the Queen serious again. "Before we did anything I wanted to summon forth the Princesses of Heart. However, we are having some difficulty gathering a few of them. Belle specifically has become a problem."

"Belle?" Sora asked, however his thoughts were really on Kairi who he knew had still not shown up.

"Yes. Princess Belle has received our summons, yet has been unable to leave her residence. She instead sent na message to us, saying that she was worried about the being known as the Beast, and she requested help." Queen Minnie said, a look of concern on her face. "Right now, we just don't have people to spare for an investigation."

"So you want me to go and help her? That's why I'm here right?" Sora asked, looking at Minnie.

"At this point, we need the Princesses here to move onward. It would be wonderful if you could help, though I must warn you. The route will be dangerous. Now that the Heartless have become active once again, the world barriers have weakened considerably, and many people have found access to the stars since the attack a few years ago. So, in all likely hood, you will meet more than just Heartless on your journey."

Sora thumped his chest. "I'm not worried. I have yet to find somebody who can match the power of my Keyblade!" He said proudly.

Donald coughed. "Except Riku, Ansem, oh and Sephiroth of course..." Donald said counting on his fingers.

"Right, well except them." Sora said, glaring at Donald. The Queen and Smith laughed. Pete said nothing. "Anyway." Sora said, recovering and mentally keeping back the flush in his cheeks, "What about the rest? What else do you have planned?"

"At this point," Pete said suddenly jumping in, "We are still trying to work out the kinks in it all. By the time you return with Belle, everything should be in order."

Sora was at first going to protest at this obvious blow-off, but the Queen seemed quite content to let it stand, so Sora quickly put on a smile and said. "Sure. So, where are we headed?"

Pete reached over and prodded a star. The star flashed and showed the image of a pleasant, peaceful world not unlike the Magical Kingdom. "This is the Beast's castle, grounds, and neighboring villages. The castle is where the Beast and Belle reside. This star chart already has the route planned out. All that's left is for you to decide when you want to leave."

"We'll go straight away." Sora said immediately, startling Donald and Goofy. "Belle and the Beast are my friends. I want to know what's happening over there. Don't worry we'll handle it." Sora pushed away from the table.

"Surely you'll want to rest? Or perhaps enjoy the grounds first?" The Queen asked.

Sora firmly shook his head. "I'm not tired, and besides, we can sleep in the Gummi ship. It's a great way to pass the time on a long trip."

Donald pulled Sora down by the shirt and fiercely whispered in his ear. "You know! This is my home-world! You could have asked Goofy and I before signing us up for immediate departure! Maybe some of us had plans!"

Sora shrugged and whispered back. "Sorry Donald, but I'm getting a weird feeling right now, like we should get this over with as quickly as possible. Just trust me for once okay? Please?"

Donald released him and crossed his arms, huffing. The Queen, who had seen everything spoke up. "Are you positive?" The Queen asked. A nod from Sora. "Perhaps it is for the best. And I forgot to mention something Donald. Daisy volunteered to be our messenger. She personally went herself to summon Belle."

Instantly, Donald politely said the group's goodbye and was the first one to turn around and leave the castle. This time, Donald led them at a brisk pace through the hallways and they were soon back at their Gummi Ship, preparing for departure.

"Donald, do you feel like they were hiding something from us?"Sora asked when he had strapped himself to his seat. Donald said nothing in response as he was too busy plugging the star-chart's route and coordinates.

Goofy answered him instead. "Naw. Don't worry about that Sora. The King and Queen have always been a little mysterious when it comes to planning. But still, I don't like any plan that Pete helped cook up. Hyuck."

Sora was about to ask 'Why do you guys hate him so much?' But he felt the ship's engine vibrate with energy and saved his question for when they were safely outside of the planet's gravity.

I think this is going to be a month of super-charged updates. I',m leaving for the week-end but when I get back we're going to be rolling. See you guys soon.

Review.