(10) The Chapter That Lacks an Actual Title

"Well?" Sora asked. "What's the verdict?"

Chip and Dale leaned in together and flipped through sereval pages on Dale's clipboard, tapping it here and there and going "hmmm" a lot, as if they were just now figuring everything out. Finally, they both raised their tiny heads and said, "It's definitely going to take a few days."

"A week at the most," added Chip. "See, we have to reconfigure all the data that was stored in your gummi ship's mainframe and then rewrite it all as coordinates for each and every world you've ever visited. Then we have to take coordinate data and download it into the IPS, which still needs to be built. So obviously, doing all that is going to take some time."

"Can't you just download the coordinates to their world alone, and then get the rest of it later?" asked Sora. Really, that's all they needed anyway. He knew how to get to all the other worlds without a positioning system. But they had only been to the Elrics' world once, and by accident no less, so yeah, they did need those directions. But only those.

"We could," piped Dale, "But that itself would take even longer, because then we'd hafta sort through all that data manulally and seperate it from the rest. Doing it all once saves time."

"Oh. I see." Sora glanced behind his shoulder and said, "Guess you two are stuck with us for a little bit longer. Sorry."

"That's all right," Al said hurriedly. "I mean, it's not your fault. We're the ones who snuck on your ship."

"Gee, Al, keep reminding them, while don't ya?" Ed rolled his eyes. Where on earth did his brother get his overly-good manners from? It was probably from their mother; her politeness must have rubbed off on Al. He definitely didn't get it from Ed, that's for sure.

"Where we going now?" Goofy wondered as the mismatched group made their way onto the gummi ship. Sora gave this some thought.

"I guess we could head to Twilight Town," he shrugged. "Check up on things there." And ask if anyone had seen Kairi. That's where she was last spotted. Of course, if the Organization really had kidnapped her, well...Sora wouldn't know where to look. But Twilight Town seemed almost connected to the Nobodies, so even Kairi wasn't there, he could probably find some clues, in the very least.

"Are you guys sure you want to tag along?" he the Elrics one more time. "Being with us might be...dangerous. And there's no need to get you two involved with our problems. So we won't make you come. You could probably stay here and wait, if ya want..."

Ed and Al looked at each other first, then looked at Sora and said together, "We're going!"

Yes, they had other things they needed to be doing, but given the current circumstances, there wasn't much they could do about it. If they were going to be stuck on some world other than their own, well then, they might as well take advantage of it. It's not everyday that you get to go world-hopping with a pair of talking animals and a key-wielding hero, after all.

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And so they went, everyone piling into the gummi ship and taking off for Twilight Town. Chip and Dale promised to let them know when the IPS was fully operational. Although Ed and Al were forced to sit on the floor, since the ship only had three seats, the ride was short and they made it there without being attacked by Heartless ships.

After landing and exiting the ship, the brothers examined this new world. Basked in the golden light of the slowly setting sun, Twilight Town had a sleepy and cozy feel to it. It looked much more normal compared to the castle on the previous world, and the people here were normal too. It was foreign and yet familair in its set-up, giving the Elrics something to work with.

The group had entered the part of town called the Sandlot now. It was empty but seemed only reccently so, as there was some litter on the ground and foot-steps were still freshly imprinted on the sand. A struggle match must have just ended, right before they arrived. An unerased chalkboard standing in one corner confirmed this, the standings still up and ultimately proclaiming someone named 'Seifer' as the winner.

Sora took a minute to read the chalkboard, then, using a finger, wiped off the part where Seifer's name was written and rewrote, slapdashedly, 'Sora' in its place.

"All right, now that that's taken care of, let's get down to business," he said with a grin, dusting the chalk off his hands. "I'm heading up to Hayner's and his friends' hangout to see if they're there. To say hello and ask about Kairi again."

"Well, you and Goofy can go on ahead," said Donald. "Cause me and the stow aways need to have a little talk."

"About what?" everyone else happened to ask at the exact same time. Sora and Goofy were merely curious, while the Elrics were wondering if they should be worried.

"Magic," Donald said, which was rather unexpected. Sora and Goofy figured out what he was up to though, by that. The Elric brothers, on the other hand, still looked very confused. Donald grinned, obviously smug at the notion that he knew something they didn't. Then he winked at his companions and said, "It's about time I taught them a lesson."

"You don't mean," Sora gasped, playing along, "You're going to do that?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ed, trying not to sound worried. "What's he going to do?"

Sora only shook his head. "He's going to do it. He's going to do that thing." Then he and Goofy turned and left them, without so much as a parting word, letting the suspense build up.

"What thing?" they heard Ed and his brother cry as out they disappeared around the corner.

Once they were out of sight, the two broke up into laughter.

Things were not as laidback as it seemed, however. In the shadows, someone was watching everything that had just proceeded, comitting every word and every detail into memory.

After all, nobody had to keep tabs on the Keyblade master. And nobody was always watching them...

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A/N: Okay, so the ruler button isn't working... -grumblegrumble- Moving on...sorry this chapter is so short, lacks a name, and took so long to get posted. Things have been hetic here in the real world. School's starting up again, making me realize what I've got done this summer: nothing. With barely a week until D-day, I have to go shopping, get school supplies, oh, and write a three page report on a book I haven't even read yet. Zana's my name, procrastination's my game. ;

In other news...guess what? I WON THE CONTEST! Oh, sure, only four other people got their story in on time, but still. This one was the best outta five. -cries tears of joy- I'm so happy! -sniff- Also, happy (late) birthday to Fullmetal Shinobi, who also happens to be my top reviewer and thusly gets 100 BONUS POINTS!

xD Yes, I'm slightly hyper tonight. BOO-YAA! Hyper and wiggy.

(Random Extra!)(WTF!)

Ed: Why doesn't this chapter have a title?

Zana: My brain is fried. I couldn't think of anything.

Ed: Did you even try to come up with something?

Zana: ...not..really.

Ed: Lazy ass. The chapter itself is lame too. It's way short and not very exciting...

Zana: Just like you.

Ed: -vein pops on forehead- WHAT DID YOU SAY?

Zana: Eep! -runs away-

Zana: -to sunny Mexico- Ahh...

Everyone else: Wft?

(Fin!)

Like I said...fried brain...cannot write anything deccent as of late...GAH! It's school, I tell you! Hasn't even started yet and it's already stressing me out! Well, pshaw. R&Rkaithanxbai.