Gummi Ship
The five heroes have just left Agrabah, and were back in the Gummi ship. They were about to choose a destination when Chip and Dale appeared on the monitor. "Looky there! Twilight Town!" squeaked Chip.
"Yep, I can see it! It's back again!" Dale stated.
"All right, we can go back again!" Sora cheered.
"We can go see Hayner and the others again!" Goofy stated.
"Hang on," Kirito said, "We should take care of the worlds around us before going back to Twilight Town. Let's not waste a trip here."
"Kirito's right." Asuna agreed, "Let's take the other path to the next world."
"Ok." moaned Sora, who did seem anxious to see Twilight Town again.
Donald allowed Kirito to drive all the way to the special gate, just to get the feel of the Gummi ship. Once they entered the gate, Donald took over, and they were in a place much like the Radical Highway, only this one had broken paths. It was fast and exciting, though, and they eventually made it through without a problem. When they arrived at the other side, they found themselves circling a world that looked like one giant jack-o-lantern.
"W-What is that?" Asuna asked frightfully.
"Hey, that Halloween Town, right?" Sora asked, looking down at the new world.
"Yeah, it sure is!" Donald answered. Kirito looked intrigued. Asuna, on the other hand, looked nervous. She remembered Sora explaining to them about the place, and it was suppose to be full of ghosts, ghouls and other creepy things.
"What are we waiting for?" Goofy asked excitedly. He, Sora, Kirito and Donald walked up onto the transporter as Yui set up the coordinates.
"Come on, Asuna!" Sora said to her, who didn't move from her spot.
She then turned to them and tried her best to stay calm as she said, "You know, maybe I can take care of the ship while you're there. I'm sure you don't need me as much in this world..." Kirito walked down, and grabbed Asuna by the arm, and lifted her off her seat. "H-Hey! Kirito!" Asuna cried out.
"Asuna, come on." Kirito told her, dragging her to the transporter, "It may not be as bad as you think."
"Gee, Asuna, are you scared of goin'?" Goofy asked her.
"O-of course not!" she stammered, "I just don't think that..."
"Then there's nothing to worry about." Sora said abruptly, "Is it ready to go, Yui."
"Ready!" Yui answered, flying over to them. The last thing on Asuna's face was a sign of absolute panic before she and everyone else teleported away.
The moment they arrived, they looked all around. There were gravestones, leafless trees, it was dark with a full moon, and a scary scarecrow with a pumpkin head on top, with a sign that said 'Halloween Town' on it. Kirito and a scared Asuna looked all around, then they noticed that everyones clothes had changed. Sora looked like he dressed up as a vampire. Donald turned into a mummy, with a gap in his body. Goofy could be Frankenstein's monster. Kirito clothes made him look like Gleam Eyes from back in SAO. Asuna turned into a witch with purple clothing. Yui's dress became blue and flame like, making her a will-o-the-wisp.
"Wha-what just happened?" Kirito asked, looking down at his clothes, then touching his large horns on his head.
"This is just another world rule." Yui answered, seeing her new look, "This world makes us dressed up for Halloween."
"Well, at least mine isn't as scary." Asuna said, looking at her uniform, "I don't have warts or a long pointy nose, so maybe this isn't as bad. But still..." She looked at the atmosphere around her, "I wish it wasn't so...gloomy."
"Hey, Sora. I like your new look!" Kirito complimented him, ignoring Asuna's words. Sora turned and smiled, displaying his vampire fangs.
"So is this Halloween Town?" Kirito asked.
"Well, it sure does look like Hallowee...Wha?" Donald started, but he was cut off as he saw the pathway ahead of them. Everyone turned and saw something that seemed out of place; sparkling lights on the walls on either side of the path.
"Are those...suppose to be there?" Kirito asked, "They don't look like Halloween decorations." Sora looked somewhat confused at the sight as well.
Suddenly, something cold came from behind Asuna, and as it past in front of her, she freaked. "GHOOOOOOOST!" she screamed, leaping into Kirito's hands as what looked like a ghost dog with a shining red nose past by them. Asuna's scream startled Sora, Donald and Goofy, then they saw who it was.
"Hey, it's Zero!" Sora said, seeing the dog circle around him, "How've you been, boy?"
"You're friends with a ghost?" Kirito asked, still holding up Asuna, who acted like a certain dog in a cartoon he watched when he was little. Zero flew off along the pathway, beckoning them to move forward. "Uh, Asuna? The ghost dog is gone." Kirito told her, who had her eye's shut.
Asuna opened them to see where she was at, and that the others were looking at her. She shoved herself off of Kirito's hands and got to her feet. "D-Don't worry about me." She stammered, "It just...surprised me. Yeah, that's it. I just didn't realized there would be g-ghosts around here." She walked along the pathway, her head held up with dignity, and with Sora, Donald and Goofy following her.
As Kirito started to walk, Yui flew right next to him. "Is mama gonna be ok?" she asked him.
"I think so." Kirito responded, seeing Asuna promptly walk ahead of them, "You and I both know she won't reveal her fears to the others. She has too much pride." As he walked, one of the stone pillars fell down near the other four, frightening Asuna a bit. "Still..." Kirito continued, "This world might make things difficult for her." Yui looked worryingly at Asuna as they caught up with the crew.
The pathway was a bit short, but they made it into town, and saw the town square. There was a fountain with a scary figure-head that poured green water, a guillotine, dark lamp posts, and several things that made the place look more like a Halloween town. The houses were black from afar with lights through the windows. There was also a make-shift platform with a ramp and some stairs that led up to it. There were more sparkling lights around the square. those two things seemed out of place compared to everything else. Asuna couldn't help but tremble a bit as she looked around.
Kirito and Sora looked at the ramp. "What's that for?" Sora asked.
"I was gonna ask you that question." Kirito said. They looked at it for a while, then they heard something, and it too was out of place; sleigh-bells. The crew looked around, wondering where it was coming from.
"Look!" Yui cried, pointing at the sky.
"It's Jack!" squawked Donald, looking at the direction Yui was pointing at. Everybody looked up and saw what it was. Kirito looked skeptically as what looked like three skeletal reindeer were flying in the air, carrying a sleigh, who's body was a coffin. There was also a metal barrel attached to the back of the sleigh, and a tall bald man was sitting in the seat of the coffin. The group watched, with Asuna clinging onto Kirito from behind, as the sleigh twisted its' way down onto the ramp, the reindeer's hooves clattering as they landed. It came to a stop in front of the group, and Kirito, Asuna and Yui now met the man, or what looked like a man, in front of them.
He was an extremely thin, yet tall, skeleton man. His legs were twice as long as his torso. He had no hair, no eyes in his sockets, not even nostrils. His mouth was thin and wide. His uniform was a macabre black suit with white pinstripes, long, spiky frills around his long neck, and knee-long coattails. His pants matched his suit, and he had polished black shoes. This man was Jack Skellington.
He dropped the reigns and stood up, demonstrating his height. He saw the group and waved at them. "Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" he addressed happily, "Welcome back, and Merry Christmas!" Kirito looked confused at these words, whereas Asuna shrunk behind him as Jack walked down the stairs.
"Merry Christmas?" questioned Sora, "Don't you mean 'Happy Halloween'?"
"Of course." Jack replied, seeing Sora, then seeing Kirito, Asuna and Yui, "Halloween greetings from Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King." He then turned his head back to them, then made a scary face at the trio of newcomers. Yui wasn't fazed by this. Kirito flinched a bit. Asuna down-right freaked out, screaming as she started rolling backwards into the wall and flattening herself against it. "Ooh, that's good frightened face!" Jack pointed out, seeing Asuna's expression, "And that scream was the best I've heard in ages!"
"Wh-wh-who said anything about being afraid?!" she stammered, "I just, uh... thought you were gonna attack us. Right, that's it."
"Me? Attack you?" Jack asked, confused, "Don't worry, I won't attack a dear lady like you..."
"That's good to hear." Asuna sighed
"...I'll just frighten you!" Jack ended making another scary face, scaring Asuna silly.
Jack turned to Kirito and Yui. "You three seem to be new around here. What are your names?"
"I'm Kirito." Kirito said, raising his hand to Jack, "That's Asuna back there, and this is Yui." Yui bowed deeply to Jack in a sign of greeting. Asuna was getting to her feet, shivering, and waved a hand at Jack.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet the three of you." Jack said, shaking Kirito's hand, "Forgive me if I can't frighten you more. I'm in a Christmas mood. You see, I'm running the show again this year..." Asuna didn't mind not being frightened more, however Kirito was questionable.
"What show?" Kirito asked.
"Why the Halloween show, of course!" Jack replied, "The show that brings fear and joy to all the people and children around here." Kirito felt Asuna's hands gripping his shoulder pads, and guessed that maybe he got the fear part down right.
"But first," Jack continued, "I need Sandy Claws' blessing, so I'm off to Christmas Town."
The five heroes and Yui huddled together. "Sandy Claws?" questioned Sora.
"I think he means Santa Claus." Goofy guessed.
"You mean Santa Claus is here in this world, too?" Kirito asked, "Well, there goes that disbelief."
"I-I wouldn't mind going to that town right now." Asuna said hurriedly, "It would be nice for a change of scenery."
Jack ran to the fountain, and hopped onto the edge of it, circling around to them. "Aren't these decorations wonderful?" he asked, waving his hands around the town square, "This year, Halloween Town's going to handle Christmas too! But first..." He walked up to the crew again, "We have to visit Sally. She's working on something no self-respecting Santa Claus can do without. Come along- I'll show you!" He waved his hand to the others as he walked off.
"A Halloween Town Christmas..." Sora said, Donald and Goofy puzzled at the concept. The gang looked at all of the features around the town, from the guillotine, to the freaky toys, to the skeletal reindeer who turned to them and laughed eerily. Donald and Goofy joined Asuna in being frightened at this. Sora, Kirito and Yui weren't frightened by it.
"Wanna go check it out?" Kirito asked the group.
"Sure, why not?" Sora replied. Donald and Goofy sighed, unable to persuade them.
"Hurry, come on!" Jack shouted. Sora, Donald and Goofy walked off. Kirito looked to Asuna, who was still behind him, her eyes shut, gripping to his shoulders.
"Hey, Asuna, are you gonna admit it to them or not?" Kirito asked.
"Admit what?" Asuna asked, opening her eyes at him.
"Asuna..." Kirito said in a stern tone, "We have been together for three years. I know you." Asuna looked somewhat ashamed at her attitude. "If you tell them that you are afraid, I'm sure they'll understand."
"I can't..." Asuna muttered, letting go of Kirito's shoulders.
"Why not?" Kirito asked.
"If you know me well, you know why." she answered, and with that she walked off towards the others. Yui flew onto Asuna's shoulder, trying to make her feel better. Kirito watched her walk off, sighed deeply, then followed her.
They walked to a tower-like structure and opened the metal door. In there, they saw gizmos, books, a table full of machine parts, and a bald man in a lab coat and wheelchair looking at a large book. From this, they gathered that they were inside a scientist's lab. There were also three kids in masks and Halloween costumes and masks gathered around another machine part, trying to pick it up.
The grouped walked to the doctor as he lifted the top of of his head like a lid, and started to scratch his brain. This made Asuna shudder, and Kirito seemed a bit repulsed. "Hello, Doctor!" greeted Jack, "Where's Sally?"
"Can't you see that I'm in the middle of an experiment?" he asked angrily, flipping the lid of his head shut. He then moved his wheelchair with the controls on it over to the table with all the machine parts. Sora, Kirito and the gang watched as they saw the kid moved their machine part over to the table.
Asuna and Kirito heard a door open, and they looked up to see a women standing there. Asuna squeaked as she hid behind Kirito again, for she wasn't normal. Her skin was pale blue, and she had stitches all over her body, which made them think she was once dead, then reanimated. She had long, brown hair. Her dress was sewn together with different patterned cloths, and her shoes were black with white and black-striped socks.
She too watched as the kids stopped while carrying the machine part. "Hey, this is way too heavy!" stated the devil-dressed boy.
"Then let's toss it!" suggested the witch-dressed girl. The trio nodded in agreement.
"You do and you'll be sorry!" warned the scientist, "Now bring it over here."
The kids either didn't listen or didn't care, cause with a cry of "Heave ho!", they threw the machine part over onto the table. It landed hard, and it started to spark like crazy, then it exploded, surprising everyone and petrifying the scientist. The woman at the door sighed in despair. The three kids laughed at what they did, and took off to the door.
"Imbeciles!" shouted the scientist, "Now my experiment is ruined!"
The women came down the small stairs as the kids ran passed her and out the door. Jack walked up to the woman. "Sally! Did you finish it?" Jack asked her, "I want to show my good friends."
"I'm sorry, Jack. I-I need a little more time." Sally responded apologetically, looking down.
"Oh..." Jack said, then he bended down to pat her shoulder, "Well, that's all right. Just as long as it's ready for Christmas!"
Jack stood up and walked to the doors as Sally muttered, "But...Jack..."
Jack turned to the five heroes. "I'd best be off." Jack said to them, "I've got to go get Sandy Claws, right away! Wonderful to see you again. Goodbye for now."
See with what? Kirito asked as Jack opened the door, He doesn't have any eyes.
"Go get Santa Claus...?" Sora echoed, his mind going off there again.
"Please, Sora." pleaded Sally, "I'm afraid something terrible will happen if Jack goes through with this."
"You can say that again!" Donald agreed.
"Sora?" Goofy asked, seeing Sora looking up, apparently in lala-land as he thought about Santa. Kirito walked up to him and waved his hand in front of Sora's face. When he got no response, he punched him on the shoulder, bringing back to reality again.
"Ouch!" Sora yelped.
"You can count on us to stop Jack from doing anything crazy." Kirito said as he turned to Sally while Sora rubbed his shoulder, "We haven't fully introduced ourselves yet; I'm Kirito. That's Asuna and the one one her shoulder is Yui." he waved to Asuna, who stood in her spot, slightly nerved from seeing a woman too patched up to be alive.
"Nice to meet you." Sally responded, and she and Kirito shook hands. Then Sally's hand came off her body, still holding onto Kirito. Asuna screamed in fright and ran off to the other side of the room, with Yui flying off her shoulder.
"Uh...Ok, this is new." Kirito said, handing back the hand to Sally, who took it and placed back to normal.
Just then, Jack came back in, drawing the group's attention. "Are those strange-looking fellows in the town square with you?"
"Huh? What 'fellows'?" questioned Sora.
"You know, the ones who wanted to spoil Halloween AND Christmas?" Jack described, "What are they called again... Heartless?"
"They're definitely not with us." Sora denied, "But Donald, Goofy, Kirito, Asuna and I can get rid of them for you. And then we can go see Santa!"
"Ahem!" coughed Kirito. Sora turned to him as he saw Donald, Goofy and him looking at Sora sternly.
"But first, the Heartless!" he declared in defense, seeing their faces.
Kirito turned to Asuna, who was still at the other side of the room. "Come on, Asuna." he said, waving to her, "Let's deal with the Heartless, ok?" Asuna nodded, and walked shakily passed Sally as she walked with the others to the door.
When they walked outside, they saw tons of mummy-like Heartless, which Yui described later as Wight Knights. Zero was flying all around, and a man with a hat as tall as his body, and he had two faces on his head. "Now hear this, you-you things!" he shouted through a speaker, "Leave Halloween Town at once, by order of the mayor!" The Heartless gave no response to him. "Jack? Where are you?" the mayor shouted, "I'm only an elected official- I can't handle this by myself." Jack walked up to him, with Zero at his side. The mayor turned his head around in a full 180 to him. "Jack!" he shouted.
"We're on it!" Sora stated as he and everyone else pulled out their weapons. The group charged in at the Heartless, all except for Asuna, who was scared of the new mummy Heartless. However, she did bring backup by firing Blizzard and Thunder attacks from her Keyblade.
Kirito, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jack all dealt with the Heartless. Jack was well experienced as a fighter. He was quite a magic user like Asuna, and does pretty much the same Blizzard and Thunder attacks, only his Fire attack involves three flaming pumpkins as he charges at the Heartless. Their environment worked to the heroes' advantage, from gates that swung open to hurt the Heartless, to the guillotine, to the fountain spewing out hot water at the Heartless, and other such things. Even Zero entered the battle by going right through the Heartless and freezing them. They eventually defeated all the Heartless.
When they were done fighting, they grouped up together. "How is Sandy Claws supposed to relax with all this going on?" Jack asked, looking off into the distance. He turned to the group, and idea coming to mind. "That's it, fellows!" he said, "Sandy Claws needs bodyguards. Are you up to the task?"
"Us?" Donald squawked.
"Yeah!" cheered Sora, only excited to see Santa. Kirito and Donald looked at him, frowning at his behavior.
"If it means getting away from here, then I'm in." Asuna stated. Kirito looked to Asuna, now sighing at her behavior.
"All right, bodyguards!" Jack declared, "Christmas Town is this way! The doorway is in the woods just past the graveyard!" The gang charged out of the town square and out of town, through the graveyard, where they dealt with more Wight Knights and new Heartless called Driller Moles, which had wheels instead of legs and a drill for a nose. The gang dealt with them and ran into the woods. It took them a while, but they made it to an open area, where they saw doors on trees all around them, each with different looking doors on them, depending on what holiday town they led to. In the center of it was a door that looked like a decorated Christmas tree.
"Here it is! The door to Christmas Town." Jack said, waving to the door, "The spooks of Halloween can get so tiresome year after year. I wanted something new, and I found this!" Sora bent over to get a closer look at the door. Asuna and Kirito were also interested in this. "Beyond this door is a world filled with wonders the likes of which you've never seen! At first I couldn't believe my eyes! Everything was so fresh and exciting!"
"C'mon! Just open it!" Sora said longingly.
Jack grabbed the ornament on the door that was the knob, and opened up the door. He waved them in, and Sora and Asuna ran in first and jumped into it. Kirito, Donald and Goofy ran after them, looking down the deep hole, looked at one another, then jumped in after them, with Jack far behind them. They begun spinning within the swirling mist of snowflakes and such as they dove down the portal.
There was a bright light, and Asuna and Sora flew out of a pumpkin head's mouth into some snow. They started to raise their head, but they were toppled upon by Donald, Goofy and Kirito. Sora and Asuna shoved them off of them and looked around.
"Cool!" Sora gasped. Asuna was also baffled. They were surrounded by glittering hills of snow, and there was a path that led to a glowing village down below, with a big red building that stuck out from their view. The sky was clear with some aurora lights, and there were pine trees scattered about.
The group got up, and they looked at one another, realizing that their clothes had changed. Sora's clothes made him look like Santa with black clothes. Donald looked like a snowman. Goofy gained the appearance of a reindeer. Kirito was made to look somewhat like a Jack Frost figure. Asuna became a female Santa with blue clothes. Yui became somewhat of a snowflake.
"Guess our clothes change depending on what town were in." Kirito assumed, seeing his body and feeling his crystalized hair.
"It seems loads cheerier than in Halloween Town." Asuna sighed in relief, not caring about her uniform as much as the environment.
"So where's Santa?" Donald asked as Jack came out of the pumpkin door.
"In his workshop." Jack answered, pointing to the large red building, then walking forward, "Shall we?"
"We shall." Asuna answered, walking ahead of the group, with the others following behind.
"Notice how Asuna's behavior changed once we left Halloween Town." Kirito whispered to Yui, "You think after SAO, she'd grow a backbone to those kinds of things. Not to mention what we have faced so far in this adventure so far."
"True..." Yui agreed, "Mama doesn't seem to like that place. I just hope she gets use to it before it's too late." Kirito nodded in agreement as they walked through the snow.
The grouped walked down the snowy path to Christmas Town. They arrived an looked around. The town was basically white, green and red, with candy cane as pillars and posts, sparkling lights, and a merry-go-round in the middle of the place. They paused for a second, then Heartless appeared in front of them, including a large, jack-in-a-box like one called Graveyard which could turn into a Toy Soldier, depending who popped out.
"Here, too?!" Sora exclaimed as they pulled out their weapons.
"Even Christmas isn't safe from these things!" Kirito said exasperatedly.
"En garde, loyal bodyguards!" Jack said to them, and the group charged at the Heartless. The big Heartless was very troublesome, since as Toy Soldier, it handled long range, and as Graveyard, it could deal with close range. Asuna had no choice but to deal with them in her Wisdom Form, dodging from side to side as she dealt with them. It took a while, but they were finally able to defeat all of them.
"Christmas is in big trouble!" Donald stated.
"You can say that again." Kirito agreed, drinking a potion, for he got hit hard out there.
"Gawrsh, we can't let anything bad happen to Christmas." Goofy said to them, who nodded in response.
Jack walked up to the group, and pointed to the red building, saying, "That's where Sandy Claws lives."
"Then let's get going!" Sora said eagerly, and ran to the entrance, the others following behind.
When they entered inside, they walked through the entrance, rounded the corner, and there he was. Santa Claus was sitting in a green and red-lined chair, reading a long list. The room looked like it could be the living room, with elves walking in and out the place. All were amazed to see Santa, especially Kirito and Asuna.
"Well, hello everyone." Santa said, looking up to see them, "Did you come to see if you're on my 'nice' list?" Kirito doubted he was actually on the list, regardless if he was naughty or nice. Being from a different dimension, he assumed that he and Asuna wouldn't be on the list.
Sora, Donald and Goofy walked up to him. "You name?" Santa asked, addressing Sora.
"Um, Sora, sir." he responded.
Santa then mumbled a bit as he looked down his list, then he looked up, finding his name. "Well, according to my list, Sora, seven years ago you told everyone you did not believe in Santa Claus. Oh, that is unfortunate." Sora looked shameful at what he did.
"Then count me on that list, too." Kirito mumbled, remembering how much he didn't believe in Santa Claus either, and even told his sister so. He turned to Asuna and asked, "did you believe in Santa?"
"Actually, I did." Asuna responded giggly, surprising Kirito, "Hey, blame my grandparents. They got me to believe in him. Besides, if SAO and ALO exist, along with finding out about different dimensions and worlds, Santa doesn't sound too far-fetched." Kirito couldn't deny her logic on that.
"How about Donald and Goofy?" Donald asked. Santa looked down his list, searching for there names. He then looked up at them, smiled and nodded. "Oh, boy!" cheered Donald, leaping into the air. Kirito smiled at them, then he realized something; if Santa knew about Sora, Donald and Goofy, who were all from different worlds, then he must know about other worlds then.
Kirito saw Sora still depressed as Jack stepped forward. "Am I on you list too, by any chance?" he asked, "It's me, Jack!"
"Jack Skellington?!" Santa said, his voice seemingly shocked.
Suddenly, there was a crashing coming from a door near them, drawing all of their attention. Santa hopped off his chair, and walked to the door. "What sort of trouble did you bring this time?" he asked Jack, frowning at him as he opened the door.
"This time?" Kirito asked Jack.
"It's a long story!" Jack responded. Asuna shook Sora out of his depressed state, and the grouped walked through the door.
They entered to discover the toy factory of the place. The walls and floors seem to be made out of bricks. The group looked around the place, searching for the location of the noise. Suddenly, they heard voices. "Why do we have to hide?" a boy's voice asked.
"Silence!" responded a woman's voice, one for which the five heroes knew, "Well, this is a surprise. That fool Jack brought Sora and the others with him. Now we can deal with all of them at once!"
Maleficent! Kirito and Asuna thought in unison, pulling their Keyblades out.
"What do you want us to do?" asked a girl's voice.
The group were able to tell that the voices were coming from above them. "Who's there?!" shouted Santa.
"Busted!" chimed the three kid's voices. The group looked just in time to see Maleficent disappear in green flames as the three kids in Halloween Town ran to one window, broke it open, and flew out of it.
"It's Lock, Shock and Barrel!" Jack said, not amused to see them.
"Not those three..." moaned Santa.
"And Maleficent was with them." Kirito growled, putting his Keyblade away.
"I assure you, they're not with us." Jack told Santa.
"Well, whatever the case, they've been quite naughty." Santa replied, "Catch them and bring them back here. They're going to get a lecture."
He started walking downstairs as Jack approached him once more. "Uh, Mr. Claws?" he asked hesitantly, "I want to talk to you about Christmas first."
"It'll have to wait." Santa snapped, "I need to see how things are progressing in my workshop." He walked away from Jack and everyone as he walked throughout the factory.
"And I thought Santa was suppose to be jolly..." Asuna said, seeing him checking on things.
"C'mon Jack!" shouted Sora, "Let's catch those little pranksters."
"And while were at it, let's deliver Maleficent a hard message!" Kirito added.
"Oh, all right, then." Jack answered as Sora and the others took off, with him following them.
They left Santa's workshop and entered outside. From there, Kirito noticed something on the ground. "Footprints!" he said, looking down as strange footprints, and looking to where the path they've taken, "Hmm, by the look of things, I'd say they are heading..."
"Oh, please don't say it." Asuna pleaded.
"...You got it." Kirito replied, "Back to Halloween Town." Asuna moaned and groaned, not wanting to head back there again. Kirito led the group along the trail of footprints. They eventually arrived to the tree with the Halloween Town portal. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jack all leapt into it.
"You know, maybe somebody should protect Christmas Town." Asuna suggested hesitantly, "After all, whose to say Maleficent or some other villain would come here." Kirito rolled his eyes as he and Yui came from behind, and started pushing her to the portal. She kept complaining and tried to struggle free, but Kirito sent her into the portal, then he and Yui jumped in after her.
Asuna, Kirito and Yui came out of the door to Christmas Town, back in their Halloween uniforms. Sora and the others were waiting for them. Asuna got to her feet, saw they were back in the scary woods, then angrily looked at Kirito. "Why'd you do that?!" she demanded.
"You needed a little push there." Kirito responded, frowning at her stubborn pride, "There's a lot more on the line here than just dealing with ghosts, Asuna. You need to stop making excuses for running away. We have a mission to do here." With that, he left her alone.
Sora, Jack, Donald, and Goofy followed Kirito, leaving Asuna behind. She hadn't seen Kirito look so mad at her for a while. She was wondering that because of her fears, she was being a hinderance to the crew. She didn't want to admit it to the crew, but she did want to say something about her fears. Kirito and Yui know about it, but the others are either too oblivious or they didn't say anything. Asuna looked down, slightly worried of what she should do, but decided to deal with it later. She noticed the others were far ahead, and she ran to catch up.
The group charged through the graveyard, dealing with a few Heartless here and there, following the path of footprints that led to gates that were now open to them, the group charged along the path to the silhouette of a hill that curled inward at the tip. Upon arrival, they saw the three troublesome kids standing underneath a new Heartless, one that looked big and ghostly, with a steel cage hanging beneath him.
"There they are!" Sora declared.
"Is that a Heartless with them?" Kirito asked.
"Yeah!" Yui answered, "That's the Prison Keeper!" Asuna saw it, and she was afraid. It looked to her like a large, stitched-up ghost Heartless.
The three kids hopped into the cage of the Heartless, and shut the door to it. "Stop them!" Shock shouted.
"Tie 'em down!" Lock called out.
"Get 'em!" yelled Barrel. Everyone prepared their weapons for battle. The Prison Keeper lifted the cage attached to his body, and shook it over his mouth until Lock came flying out into it Heartless' belly. It glowed flames before transforming, his body a slightly different hue.
"What did he do?!" Sora asked as the group charged in.
"He is able to gain powers depending on which of those kids he eats." Yui explained.
"Then we need to take it out before it digests them." Kirito said, leaping at the Heartless. Asuna looked afraid of dealing with the monster, but she had to do something, so she started to fire off Blizzard and Thunder attacks with Donald. Sora, Kirito and Goofy were smacking it around while Jack unleashed his flaming pumpkins at it. The Prison Keeper retaliated by firing fireballs from his mouth and hands, blasting away at Kirito and Goofy. Sora used Reflect, and knocked back the fireballs at the monster again. Asuna and Donald healed up the two boys so they could get back in the fray.
They were dealing enough damage to knock Lock out of the Heartless and back into the cage. The Prison Keeper took this moment to eat another one of the kids, this time it was Shock. His arms grew yellow, and he started spinning around with his arms out, whacking Jack and Sora back with the cage. Donald and Asuna were running low on magic power, so Donald charged in while Asuna fumbled for an ether and digested it, returning her power back to normal. She was not gonna come in close at the monster. The Prison Keeper was much more dangerous now, for not only was he spinning, but he was firing lasers, keeping the group at bay, and damaging Asuna and Donald from a distance. Those who got in close, however, were taking it down easily. Asuna and Donald got back to their feet, and while Donald charged in again. Kirito backed away, and saw Asuna's body shaking in fear. While he was still upset she wasn't able to fight like normal, he still had to take care of the Heartless. He undergone his Valor Form, and charged at the Heartless, laying it to waste.
He knocked Shock out of the Heartless, and after swiping Kirito away, he swallowed the last of the kids; Barrel. His arms turned green, and he started slashing madly at the group. It got too close to Asuna, who leapt back fearfully, and fell onto her butt. The Prison Keeper saw this chance and came at her, it's jaws opened wide. Asuna screamed as she saw it come her way. Jack came flying in with his fiery pumpkins and countered the monster's attack. Sora, Kirito, Donald and Goofy all charged at it at once, smacking it back.
As the four dealt with the Heartless, Jack turned to Asuna, who shivered as she sat there. "Are you ok, Asuna?" he asked, reaching his hand down to her. Asuna saw Jack's skeletal hand, and squeaked as she recoiled, shivering in fear. "What's wrong?" Jack asked, confused by her reaction, "You don't have to be afraid, right now. It's fine."
Jack wasn't understanding Asuna, who had her eyes shut, her whole body vibrating. She couldn't contain it anymore. Her whole body was already displaying her feelings. "I-I...I'm...sc..sc..." Asuna was stammering, having a hard time speaking. Finally, unable to contain it, she screamed the words Kirito was waiting to hear her confess.
"I'M SCAAAAAARED!"
The shout draw everyones attention. It even made the Heartless pause for a second. Jack was completely surprised at her reaction. "You're scared?" he asked her considerately, "Scared of what?"
"Everything!" Asuna replied loudly, "I'm scared of this town! I'm scared of all the creepy things here! Even the Heartless are scarier here! And the people! Zero, Sally, even you Jack! I'm scared of it all!" She sat there, squeezing her eyes shut, releasing tear drops. Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at her, worried about her.
The Prison Keeper snapped out of it, and charged at the trio, but Kirito repelled it with his Keyblade. "Guys! We can deal with Asuna later!" he shouted to them, "Let's just deal with this Heartless!" The three looked at him, and nodded in unison.
While the four guys were taking on the Heartless, Jack looked down at Asuna, who got to her knees and braced herself with her hands. Jack looked at her with a consoling face, then he smiled. "You don't have to be afraid." he told her, "Halloween Town is a frightful place, but we don't scare to hurt you." Asuna opened her eyes and looked up at Jack. "Our town's job is to set the stage for Halloween spooks and scares, but we are not mean. In fact, we want you to be filled with joyful scares!"
"Joyful...scares?" echoed Asuna.
"Right!" Jack answered, "There might be things that will scare you crazy, but we want you to laugh after being scared silly! We don't do it to traumatize you or scare you out of being friends with us. And I want the two of us to get along swimmingly." Asuna looked up at Jack, scared at his appearance, but feeling the honesty in his words.
Suddenly, they heard screams, and they saw Sora, Donald, Goofy and Kirito fly over their heads, landing on the ground hard. Jack and Asuna saw their flight, then turned to see the Prison Keeper floating there, it's eyes shining and glowing in green flames. They also noticed that the three kids weren't in their cage anymore. They came to the frightening conclusion, that the monster ate all three of them, possessing all their powers.
"This is not good!" Asuna stammered, frightened by its' appearance.
"Agreed." Jack said, "But we need to stand our ground. If we don't, then all of us will be done for!"
Asuna gasped, turning to the four on the ground, who weren't getting up anytime soon. She then saw the horrible Heartless coming there way. She looked back and forth, wondering. Finally, she shakily stood up to her feet, pulling out her Oathkeeper again. "I-I maybe afraid of this Heartless..." she stammered, looking down a bit, then she raised her head, "...but I'm even more afraid of losing people I care for!" Asuna made a charge at the Heartless. It shot lasers at her, but she dodged from side to side, then leapt up at it. She then started doing rapid-fire jabs at it, ending with a heavy jab. She then leapt back, and started shooting Blizzard attacks at the monster, knocking it back even more. It fired fireballs at her, but she blocked them with her Keyblade reflecting them back at the Heartless, making it flinch.
She then turned to Jack, her face set. "Jack!" she hollered, "Let's take this thing out with a Limit Break!" Jack nodded in response, and the two started to make their move. Jack started to spin Asuna around, and then he started to spin in the air above her. They started to dance around, conjuring a glowing pumpkin that released ghosts, damaging the Heartless. Although they were surrounded by ghosts, Asuna had her eyes shut, having her ears and Jack guide her to where the Heartless was at. Finally, they finished by Jack flinging Asuna into the air while a flurry of ghosts and bats flew around them, targeting the Prison Keeper. Asuna flipped in the air and landed in front of Jack, striking a pose with him as an explosions shot from the ground around them, releasing the final blow onto the Heartless. Asuna opened her eyes to see the monster flail in the air a bit, then it disintegrated, dropping the three kids and releasing a large heart, which floated into the air and disappeared.
"Asuna, Jack, you did it!" cheered Sora. The two turned to see the four boys rushing to them, now recovered from their attack.
"Way to go!" Donald shouted.
"That was swell!" Goofy commented.
"Glad you conquered your fear, Asuna." Kirito said as Yui flew onto her shoulder. Asuna smiled kindly at Kirito, glad he wasn't mad at him. She then turned to Jack, who looked down at her. Asuna was still a bit afraid of Jack, but she was now able to consider him a friend. She was able to finally smile at Jack.
Suddenly, they heard one of the kids laugh, and they turned to see them standing there. "That was fun!" Lock said.
"Let's go see if Mr. Oogie's ready!" Shock suggested, and the trio left in a hurry.
"Oogie?!" repeated Jack, Asuna seeing the shocked look on his face, along with Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"Who's Oogie?" questioned Kirito.
"He's one of the villains that was controlling the Heartless in the past." Sora explained to him, "I think he was the one who tried to take over Halloween Town before."
"I got the picture." Kirito summed up, "So basically, he's not a nice dude."
"Everyone, I hope you're ready for trouble..." Jack warned them.
"Don't we have enough trouble already?" Goofy asked, with Asuna nodding in agreement.
The group started to walk to the gates back to the graveyard. Kirito was about to walk with them when Asuna grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Kirito..." she muttered, looking down slightly to shadow her eyes, "Everyone..." The group turned to her as she bowed to them, "I'm sorry. I was holding back the crew, wasn't I? All because of my stupid fears."
"Why didn't to tell us?" Donald asked.
"Her pride told her not to." Kirito answered for her.
"Oooh..." Sora, Donald and Goofy said in unison.
"Still, I should've told you when I needed to." Asuna said, looking up at them, her eyes showing some sadness, "I just... I felt it was silly, to fear ghost and creepy things. I even was pushing Jack away, too. I... I really am..." She was about to finish her sentence when Sora spoke up abruptly.
"It's ok." he replied, "If you must know, I was a bit scared the first time I came here. But after I got to know Jack and the others, I realized that what I was feeling was complete nonsense."
"Gawrsh, were still afraid of things here and there." Goofy told her, "But afterwards, we enjoy all of it."
"I think they're trying to say is give it time." Kirito told her, "I'm sure you'll get use to it." Asuna looked at everyone, then smacked her face, getting ahold of herself, then she nodded to the crew that she was ready for anything.
The six heroes walked along the path to the graveyard gates. When they got there, they saw Sally rushing towards them, with a worried look on her face. "What's wrong, Sally?" Jack asked as she got near them.
"Jack! Oogie's kidnapped Santa Claus!" Sally warned them.
Everyone was startled at the news. "Oh, no!" Jack cried.
"And he's headed for Christmas Town!" Sally added.
"I bet he's trying to destroy Christmas!" Asuna gasped.
"C'mon, Jack, let's hurry!" Sora declared.
The group charged through the graveyard and through the woods. They found the door to Christmas Town, and they all leapt into it, one after another. They arrived out the other end, Sora, Kirito and the gang now having their Christmas costumes. The group gathered together, with Sally bringing up the rear, to see smoke coming from one of the buildings in Christmas Town.
"That's Santa's house!" Donald squawked.
"Come on, everyone!" Kirito declared, and he led the group down to Santa's workshop. The group dashed through the town, passing by several Heartless, then into Santa's house, through the living room and into the workshop. The gang all produced their weapons and looked around. The place changed since they last saw it. The delivering machine had been redecorated, made to be more ominous and still stylish, with a black, red, purple and yellow combo to it. It wasn't a Christmas look, but more a Halloween look. The group paused for a second, then they heard a maniacal laugh and they all turned to look up and see, to Kirito and Asuna point of view, a fat, walking, human-like bag, complete with head, feet and arms. Kirito didn't know whether to fear it or just plain laugh at the stupidity of the figure. He turned to Asuna, and saw that she wasn't afraid of it in the least.
The animated bag hopped off to their level just as Sally came walking in, and elbowed her off to the ground floor as he jumped up onto a part of the machine away from them, and turned his head to the group. "Jack Skellington!" he addressed Jack.
"Oogie!" growled Jack, prepared for fighting.
"That's Oogie?" Kirito asked, "You think he would be more of a threat."
"Don't underestimate him." Sora warned him as Oogie started to laugh.
"You and I have a score to settle, Jack!" Oogie told the Pumpkin King, "Same goes for your little sidekicks!" Asuna looked down below to see Sally leaning against one of the machines, hopping on one leg, for the other one broke off.
"What are you planning to do to Sandy Claws?" Jack asked him in a demanding tone.
"Who? Sandy Claws?" questioned Oogie, looking somewhat confused, "I don't know what you're talking about!" He hopped off the machine and onto the conveyor belt, revealing Santa Claus tied up onto his back, struggling to break free. "And why is this roly-poly red guy here?" Oogie asked, "Time to go, grandpa!"
Not the sharpest bag in the shed, is he? thought Kirito, though realizing they needed to act. Oogie hoisted Santa to his feet, and was about to throw him into the machine. Sally threw her leg out in front of him, attempting to distract Oogie. It worked, for as he reached down to pick it up, Santa hopped off the belt and ran towards Sally, who was waving him in. Oogie was angry for getting tricked, and tried to pursue them. However, he was stopped by the six heroes, all raising their weapon.
"Why, you..." Oogie sneered. He turned around and went along the central conveyor belt. He ran through the hole on the other end of the conveyor belt and disappeared. Next second, a glass platform lowered itself from the ceiling, with him at the controls.
"No way you're getting away from me!" Kirito declared, leaping onto the conveyor belt and charging at Oogie. He leapt up to attack, but he raised himself even higher, out of Kirito's reach. Kirito landed back down as the rest of the crew got onto the belt as well. Oogie chuckled at the sight of them, then he pressed the button. Suddenly, three things happened; the conveyor belt started to move, barriers appeared on either side of the three conveyor belts, blocking them from getting to the ground again, and spiked walls appeared from the back of each conveyor belt, forcing the group to keep moving.
"Stop!" Donald shouted, passing by Kirito as he dove into one of the holes. Kirito noticed the three holes had neon lighting around them; two blue and one red. One of the blue ones was in front of them. Donald rushed into the hole, and the next moment, he found himself coming out onto the other conveyor belt with the blue hole. Confused, Donald looked around, then he turned around and went back into the hole, only to find himself back at the previous conveyor belt.
"What's going on?" Donald asked.
"I think the holes don't go to him, but instead take you to the other hole with the same neon lighting." Asuna assumed, "We need to take out this boisterous windbag so we can get off this crazy machine!" Asuna leapt up and fired a Blizzard attack at Oogie's platform, but she then found out he was surrounded by a barrier too.
"Nice view from up here!" Oogie taunted at them. He started to press buttons, and out came presents from the hole in front of him. This gave Sora an idea.
"Use the presents!" Sora said to them, charging at one of them, and whacked it upward like a golfer at Oogie's platform. It fell into it, and Kirito started to notice a crack in the platform.
"I get it." he realized, "If we use the weight of the presents, that should drop Oogie down to our level." The gang nodded in response to what has to be done, and they charged in.
Whenever a present came down, Kirito, Sora or Asuna would come in and whack it upwards at Oogie's platform, causing the platform to start breaking. As easy as this would be, Oogie wasn't gonna let it be so. He summoned out a large boxing glove, slamming it down the platform, which produced problems and damage to the crew. They also had to avoid all the large exploding dice that Oogie threw down onto them. Asuna was obviously the fastest and most evasive of the crew, and she was dodging his attacks effortlessly, along with Sora. The others were trying their hardest not to get skewered from the spiked walls behind them.
Finally, Sora knocked one more present up onto the floor above, and suddenly the platform broke, and Oogie fell to meet them. "Sora!" Asuna shouted, signalling that she and him should do a Limit Break. Sora nodded and they activated the 'Light Splash'. They took turns doing the Starburst and Flash Blade combo, slashing and jabbing wildly while firing light spears. Finally, the two finished the Limit Break with their Starry Maelstrom, blasting at Oogie from above.
Sora wasn't lying when he said that Oogie was resiliant, because he wasn't down from this. He scurried back up the hole, and back to the lift. Asuna and Sora tried to pursue him, but instead they found themselves on another conveyor belt, which was moving at a much faster pace as Oogie came down on another platform. It took all the team had to run like hell so as not to his the spikes from behind.
They had to undergo the same thing again, only this time Kirito, Donald, Goofy and Jack were separated from Asuna and Sora. Oogie decided to target them instead of the other two. He started attacking them with more punches, explosions, and now a new trick; bags with Heartless in them. While Donald, Goofy and Jack dealt with the Heartless, Kirito did all he could to charge in and rapidly hit presents up into Oogie's platform again.
The hole wasn't lighting up at Asuna and Sora's position, so they had to keep running as the platform moved beneath them. A light shined at their position, and they took no time to stop and think as they dove in. When they came out, they found themselves on the opposite side of the room. "Well, isn't any better." Asuna groaned. "But it looks like Kirito got him!" Sora noticed, seeing Oogie's platform crack up all over, then he fell down to them once again.
Kirito turned to Donald. "Donald, time for the Fantasia!" Kirito declared
"Let's go!" Donald said, readying his staff. The two went into a Limit Break. Like with Asuna before in Timeless River, Donald started shooting a flurry of magical energy at Oogie, only Kirito wasn't holding back on his slices. He was going all out at him, slicing and dicing as Oogie flew into the air. Finally, after a furious combo of physical and magical attacks, Donald slammed his staff downward, and a ring of energy sparked around Kirito, for which he used in his assault to do heavy damage to Oogie in midair.
Oogie fell to the ground, but he got back up again. He dashed back into the hole, and Kirito and Jack went in to follow him. Sora and Asuna both made to follow as well, but the conveyor belt started to move faster, and Asuna didn't make it in time. Both teams swapped places, so Kirito, Asuna and Jack were on one end, while Sora, Donald and Goofy were in the center lane. The belt slowed down as Oogie was on the third platform, and he moved it over to Asuna, Kirito and Jack's side. He then started to shoot lightning from his machine down at them, and the lightning took either the center of the belt or either side. The trio were able to avoid the lightning, and all his other tricks as the Keyblade wielders started swinging at more presents, sending them at Oogie.
After realizing his tricks weren't working on them, he shifted lanes, going to Sora, Donald and Goofy's spot now. He tried the same tricks on them, but they were smarter than that, and were able to avoid his attacks and take out the special delivery of Heartless he sent to them. Sora sent one present after another at Oogie, making the platform crack and ready to shatter. Kirito, Asuna and Jack all looked at the hole ahead, and saw it light up, along with the hole on Sora's belt, bridging the two places. The trio jumped in just as Oogie fell for the third time. The trio came out and unleashed three heavy attacks, sending him flying over to Sora, Donald and Goofy.
Sora turned to his two friends. "Donald! Goofy! Let's use Trinity!" Sora shouted, and the two cheered in response. The three crossed their weapons together, and they started to light up as a team.
"What's going on?!" Kirito asked, seeing the three light up.
Suddenly the trio started to float, and they went into action. Sora started by leading the group into a flurry of slashes and slams at Oogie. Goofy followed next by combining his power with the others to release of barrage of Drive Orbs at him. Donald came right after by being enveloped by his friends' powers to unleash a burst of his magical energy, sending Oogie high into the sky. Finally, the three gathered in a triangle formation, put their weapons together, and created a swirling field of magical energy. Oogie got swallowed into the burst of energy, taking heavy damage from it. His yells of pain from the attack echoed throughout the room as the other three watched in amazement.
"I've never seen this form of a Limit Break before." Kirito gasped, blinded by the attack.
"It truly displays their power of friendship." Asuna stated, shielding her eyes.
The trio ended their assault onto Oogie, allowing him to fall to the ground. As he got up, a patch in his bag-like body opened up, and a part of his insides started pouring out. He saw it, and attempted to plug it up. When he stopped the flow, he sighed in relief, and started laugh, only to have another seam come undone on the opposite side. He saw his insides come pouring out from there, and he was unable to plug both holes up at the same time. He cried as he started to collapse, all that filled him come pouring out like a faucet. When he was flattened, the last thing to come out of him was a small bug, which attempted to crawl away. Donald slammed his foot on top of it, squishing the bug. Sora, Kirito and Asuna sighed in relief. It was all over for Oogie Boogie.
The crew walked out of the workshop, where they were reunited with Sally and Santa again. Kirito actually grabbed Sally's foot during the battle, and he handed it back to her again. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kirito and Asuna all stepped outside, looking at the town.
"All right, Christmas is safe again!" Sora stated.
"Perfect!" Jack said as he came out of Santa's house, "I'd better get down to business!" All of the group looked at each other open-mouthed. He still wanted to take over Christmas.
"Oh, no you don't!" Asuna stated, walking in front of Jack and looking up at him with her hands on her hips, "You leave that to Santa! You need to stick to your specialty, which is Halloween and all that creepy stuff!" Everyone looked shocked at her sudden scolding at Jack. She saw their expressions. "What?" she asked them, confused by their expression.
"Well...you don't seem to be afraid of Jack what so ever." Kirito noticed.
Asuna blinked, then realized that he was right. She then looked up at Jack and simply answered, "Well, what should I be afraid of? I mean fearfully be afraid of?" Jack smiled at her, realizing that she was finally accepting him. She raised her hand up to him, and Jack shook it in response. She flinched a bit at the feel of his boney hands, but she decided to ignore it.
"Jack?" Sally's voice said softly. The group turned to see Sally come out, her leg attached once again, carrying a set of clothes in her hand to Jack.
"Here, it's done." She said, holding the clothes out to Jack.
"Wonderful! Why, I love it!" exclaimed Jack, "Thank you, Sally!" He took the clothes from Sally, and started to make a quick change. Asuna turned to give him his privacy, despite the fact that he was all bone.
"Jack..." muttered Sally, "Do you really have to do this?"
"But I make a splendid Sandy Claws!" Jack responded, getting the uniform on.
"Listen here, Jack Skellington." Santa stated, coming out of his house to the group, "You saved me, and Christmas as well. And for that, I'm very grateful. But please promise you won't cause any more trouble! And about that suit..." Kirito tapped Asuna's shoulder, signaling her to turn and see Jack fully dressed in a Santa uniform, complete with hat and long white beard. "Don't even think about taking over for me again!" Santa warned Jack.
"I just thought you could use a little help this year, Mr. Claws." Jack responded considerately, "You must be exhausted from all the preparations. And...I wouldn't mind a second chance to get this Christmas thing right."
"Yes, being Santa Claus can be tiring." sighed Santa, "But let me tell you something, Jack. Seeing the happy faces of little children when they discover the presents I've brought them makes it all worthwhile, year after year after year. And you, Jack, you love to make them gasp and see them shiver with fright. What if someone tried to take all of that away from you?" Jack looked down a bit, finding Santa's words a fair point.
"We both have very important jobs to do, Jack." Santa continued, "Mine is to take care of Christmas, and yours is to take care of Halloween. So we each have to do the very best we can. After all, you're the face of Halloween, Mr. Jack Skellington! The Pumpkin King! The Knight of Nightmares!" Jack looked up, realizing on how important his job is.
"And even though you're fascinated with Christmas, Jack, Halloween is your true specialty." Santa told him, "Don't you see? Children rely on both of us to do our jobs. Halloween needs your attention, and I know Christmas needs mine, urgently." He turned around to go back into the house.
"You're right!" Jack said, "I am the master of terror! And if Halloween has become too routine, all I have to do is think of something new that'll really make them scream!" Asuna giggled nervously at these words. Although she does accept him as a friend, that doesn't mean she'll enjoy Halloween Town anytime soon.
"Jack! Oh, Jack!" cried a voice. Everyone turned to see the Mayor come running towards Jack. "I've been looking for you everywhere! We must go over the plans for next Halloween! I can't do a thing without your approval!"
"So true." agreed Jack, leading the Mayor back along the path through town, back to the portal to Halloween Town.
"Say Asuna?" Kirito asked, "I think you might have gotten a little braver in this world."
"You really think so?" Asuna asked him.
"Absolutely." Kirito responded happily, Yui flying out of Kirito's pocket and onto his shoulder, "And...sorry for getting angry at you before."
"It's ok." Asuna replied, "I understand you were trying to help me conquer my fears. Still...there should have been a better approach you should've taken, so you will be only getting half the amount for lunch today."
"Ah, come on!" Kirito said exasperatedly, looking at Asuna, who turned her head back from him. She then looked at him again, and smiled.
"Fooled ya!" she said, sticking her tongue out. Kirito moaned at being tricked as Yui giggled at him.
"Good luck, Jack Skellington." Santa called out to Jack as he walked away. The group watched him leave town.
"Well, there he goes." said Sora.
"Yes, and I've got lots of names to check and preparations to finish!" Santa stated.
As the crew watched Jack and the Mayor leave, Jack's uniform started to shine brightly. "Jack, this is no time for joking!" the Mayor snapped, frightened by this.
"What's this?" Jack asked, looking at his uniform, "Perhaps a bit too festive for our Halloween needs." Sora joined up with Kirito and Asuna, and the trio summoned their Keyblades.
They pointed their Keyblades downward together as they and Jack's clothes glowed brighter. Suddenly a crown mark appeared around them, and a strange energy surged around them as the surrounding changed into a bright sky with black clouds. The light from Jack's clothes suddenly bursted into the sky, and a large keyhole appeared. The trio jumped back, flipping their Keyblades around and pointing them at the keyhole. Three beams came from their Keyblades and shot themselves at the keyhole, and a sound of a lock unlocking was produced, along with a blinding light. Suddenly everything was back to normal.
After they unlocked the key, three more Magic Orbs came down from the sky, drawing near them. "That's the Magnet Element." Yui explained, "It will give you the Magnet spell, which will draw in Heartless."
"Making them easy targets." Kirito assumed as he and the others took the orbs, "Sounds like a spell I might wanna start using."
The five heroes looked at one another, then turned to Santa and Sally. "We better get going." Sora stated.
"We have a bunch more worlds to save, anyway." Asuna added.
"Before you do, Sora," Santa started, "I believe there's a friend of yours who, if I recall correctly, was the one who told you there's no such thing as Santa Claus?"
Kirito and Asuna looked at him, somewhat confused. "Oh yeah..." Sora realized, "He did say that."
"Be sure to give him my very best wishes." Santa told him.
"I will but..." Sora muttered, "Do you know where I can find Riku?"
"No...but don't give up!" Santa encouraged him, "Remember, if you believe in Riku, you will find him. Just as you found me."
"Right!" Sora responded, and he led the crew away.
"You know..." Kirito started, "I might need to start believing in Santa Claus for now on. You may never know." Asuna smiled back at him, and the crew went back to the Gummi ship, ready for their next adventure.