Chapter 46: Lost in Space

Sora and Xion eventually shut the Highwind's door. They couldn't just sit there with it open forever, especially not when the ship was gaining speed as it entered Treasure Planet's atmosphere. Their footsteps were hollow and their voices silent as they moved through the chilly halls of the ship, but the ship itself was hardly quiet. The door to the cockpit was open, and inside a heated argument was occurring.

In the pilot's seat was, of course, Donald. Rather than Goofy in the seat beside him, however, it was Amelia instead. Beside her was Dr. Doppler, who investigated the dashboard with interest but seemed too afraid to actually touch anything. Jim stood against the wall, arms crossed, as he glared daggers at the duck pilot. And Goofy was in the back, watching the back and forth going on between Jim and Donald.

"We have to go to Traverse Town! We're outnumbered!" Donald said without looking at Jim, his hands tight on the controls.

"We can't do that!" Jim shook his head adamantly. "We have the map, and they know we have the map! They'll follow us! It will put everyone in Traverse Town—" he shook his head "—my mom will be in danger!"

Donald grew silent at that, but he remained adamant. "We have friends in Traverse Town. Leon and the gang will help us fight Silver and his crew off."

"But Pete is with 'em too, Donald, and he definitely knows better than to show up in Traverse Town," Goofy said. "We can't just let Pete go."

"Goofy…"

"I agree with Mr. Hawkins." Heads turned to Amelia, who looked down at Treasure Planet through the window. "Besides, we've come this far. We may as well see it through. It's…what Mr. Arrow would want."

Donald sighed. "Fine, I know when I'm outnumbered. We'll land on Treasure Planet." He made some adjustments, flipping some switches and pressing some buttons, then turned the ship to the world below them.

Outside the windows the sky grew lighter, the stars and nebulae fading away to be replaced by wispy clouds and a yellow sky. As they descended a thick forest came into view, but not one made up of trees. The tall brown-green stalks appeared to be mushrooms, or at least some kind of fungus. They were thin and as tall as redwoods, with caps at the top that clustered so closely together that the earth was covered in shade.

Donald landed the ship on a small clearing, the Gummi material sinking lightly into the ground. As the door opened and Xion stepped out, her boots sunk as well, with an additional squishing sound at that. "What?"

As the others came out of the ship behind her, Xion crouched down and ran a hand along the ground. Her fingers brushed against the damp, spongy material, and then she pulled away and wiped some of the lingering moss on her legs.

Dr. Doppler raised an eyebrow as he investigated the earth as well. "It's not grass. This planet's soil is coated in moss!"

Jim bounced up and down in place, the earth sinking and rising beneath him. He chuckled lightly despite the situation they were in. "Hey, cool."

While the others gathered their bearings, Xion moved ahead awkwardly on the spongy terrain. She glanced up at the yellow sky, one hand on her hip and the other keeping the sun out of her eyes, as she scanned for the RLS Legacy. Unfortunately, all she saw was one of the two bands that orbited Treasure Planet. There was no sign of the ship anywhere, but all that meant was that Silver hadn't realized they had the map yet. Once he did there was no doubt he'd chase after them.

They had time, and they needed to use it.

Xion turned back around. "Hey, let's find somewhere a bit less open." While Donald and Amelia inspected the Gummi ship, the others turned to her. Except Jim, his attention was on the map as he gently tossed it up and down in his hand. Xion continued: "I mean, when Silver eventually comes after us we're going to want to be somewhere defensive."

"A good plan." Amelia turned away from the ship and nodded. Behind her, Donald closed the door. "We shall search for a place to make our base of operations while we plan an attack against Silver and Pete."

"Can't we just use our ship?" Donald asked.

But Amelia shook her head. "The Highwind can't very well maneuver through those thick trees—er, mushrooms, rather. And as Miss Xion established, this clearing is too open and unguarded. We'll have to leave it here while we find somewhere better hidden."

Dr. Doppler frowned and nervously rubbed his forehead. "But won't the pirates see the ship and attack it? That's our only way off this world."

Donald grunted and crossed his arms. "And I'm not about to let it get destroyed even if it wasn't our only way home!"

A fair point. They couldn't put it in orbit, either; it'd just get caught by the pirates that way too. Xion frowned and examined their surroundings, searching for some kind of answer out in the fungus forest. She scanned the mossy earth, the tall mushroom stalks… No dice, though. Nothing was coming to her. A little ways behind her, Sora's face was fixed into a thoughtful frown as he crossed his arms and stared at his feet. Goofy was tapping the side of his head. Jim…was still messing with the map.

"What's the problem, Jim?" Dr. Doppler asked, noticing Jim's fascination with the orb. The boy's hands were flying over its surface as he pressed buttons and turned sections, but it wasn't coming to life as it had aboard the Legacy. Jim's face was growing increasingly concerned as the seconds ticked by.

"I don't know," he said after a few moments of trying again. "It's just…not responding. I know I'm doing it the right way, too. Something's wrong."

Sora lowered his arms and raised his head. "You don't think it was damaged in the escape, do you?"

"I dunno…" Jim growled under his breath before tossing the map on the ground. It rolled slightly before the moss brought it to a halt. Jim threw his hands up in defeat and then slammed his head against the Highwind's hull. "It's busted."

Dr. Doppler was beginning to sweat. "W-What do we do, then? Silver won't be happy when he hears that!"

"Search me, Doc."

Sora shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "Hey, come on! We'll just fight Silver and Pete off."

But Goofy frowned. "I dunno, Sora. A swarm of Heartless is one thing, but a crew of pirates? Heartless don't got workin' minds."

"Nobodies do, and we've handled them!"

"Not when we have liabilities!" Donald snapped while motioning over to Doppler and Jim. "We'd have to fight and also keep these two safe."

Amelia sighed and nodded. "Finding safety is absolutely our immediate concern. Mr. Hawkins, retrieve the map. We'll move out."

"Wait— What about the ship?!" Donald demanded, turning from agreement to anger in a heartbeat.

"We'll just have to leave it. That's the least of three evils."

"No way!"

As Donald and Amelia began to argue, Jim shrugged and stretched down to pick up the map. But as his fingers brushed against the surface of the ball, it rolled away from him and came to a stop a couple inches away. Jim's eyebrow quirked in confusion. "Did I kick it…?" he muttered, moving toward the map again. But as he took a single step onward, the ball begin rolling again; and this time, nobody was anywhere near it.

"What's going on?" Xion joined Jim a few feet away from the map, which had become idle once more. She rested her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly, investigating the ball. It wasn't completely still, it was quivering slightly. Curious, Xion took a step forward. The map responded in kind, rolling away just enough so the distance between them stayed the same. "It's like it's toying with us. But it's just a machine, isn't it?"

Jim was silent as he took a step forward himself, to which the map once again rolled away ever so slightly. "Is some bug or something underneath it?"

"Not sure…"

Jim narrowed his eyes. "I think I know what's up. Xion, circle around. We'll trap him from two sides."

Xion glanced over at him with an eyebrow raised. "'Him'?"

"I hope I'm wrong."

She figured that was the only explanation he was going to give her, at least for now. Shrugging lightly, Xion did as Jim had said and moved across the field. Her eyes were trained on the map the entire time as she circled around it, watching it quiver ever so slightly but otherwise stay still. When she came to a stop on the mossy soil she was directly across from Jim, the map between them. To one side, some distance away, was the ship and the rest of their group; and in the other direction, a large mushroom stalk.

Ah. I get it.

Jim began to approach the map, and Xion followed his unspoken plan. She moved forward herself, closing the distance between her and Jim with the map caught in the middle. It quivered, as if beginning to move away again. But when it did began to move, it only went a few feet before coming to a sudden stop as it, or whatever was controlling it, realized the situation it was in. The map was surrounded.

"Gotcha!" Jim leaped forward and grabbed the map with both hands, sliding into the mossy ground as he did so. There was no bug or critter underneath; it had been moving on its own after all. The orb struggled in Jim's grip, causing a rather comical ruckus as it tried to quite literally jump out of his hands. Jim tightened his hands on the surface, digging his fingers into the shallow grooves around the ball. And then a high-pitched noise rose up from it.

It took Xion entirely too long to realize what she was hearing, but once she did she couldn't believe she hadn't caught on to what was going on sooner. The ball was giggling.

As soon as this realization hit her, the bronze surface began to shift to a bright shade of pink. The map melted in Jim's hands, turning into translucent goop that slipped through his fingers and then coalesced in the air before him. As the goop continued to giggle, two white eyes popped up into existence and a mouth formed in the bubbling features.

"Morph!" Sora gasped from over by the ship, where he and the others had noticed the giggling. "Then where's the real map?"

Xion bit her lip and looked to Jim. Both of them were thinking the same thing, and it looked like reality was beginning to dawn on the others as well. "I said I hoped I was wrong," Jim said with a sigh as Morph circled around them, blissfully unaware.

Dr. Doppler gulped. "Then…the real map is…up there?"

"It would appear so," Amelia said with a grimace. "Morph must have turned into it when he and the map were hidden from sight for that brief moment."

"Do ya think Silver knows?" Goofy asked.

"Hm…" Amelia crossed her arms and turned her face up to the yellow sky with a thoughtful expression. "I doubt it. Look there: you can just barely make out the Legacy in orbit. If Silver knew he had the real map, I doubt they would stick around up there. They'd be on the surface and using it already."

"Then we still have time." Xion nodded to herself and stretched her arms. "We'll have to get the real one before they realize it's still on the ship."

"That would certainly solve the problem of what to do with the Highwind, since a small group could use it to get back up there…"

It was a sound plan, one that Sora looked just as ready to go with as Xion was. But Goofy wasn't so sure; he was tapping the side of his head and looking out into the mushroom forest. "I think we should find a place to hide first, though," he said at last.

"What's that mean?" Sora asked.

"Well, it's like Donald said. We can't fight all those pirates off when we got people to protect. I think we can leave the ship here for just a little while, just long enough to find somewhere where everyone else can stay safe."

"I get it…" Dr. Doppler nodded to himself, a grin forming on his face. "Then, some of you can stay behind to defend us, and the others can use your ship and retrieve the map before Silver knows what happened!"

Jim's eyes widened. "Wha— Doc! You can't seriously expect me to stay behind?!"

Dr. Doppler tugged at his collar and crossed his arms. "I will not allow you to come to harm, Jim. Your mother has put you under my care for the duration of this."

Amelia grinned and put a hand on Doppler's shoulder. "Ah, a fine suggestion, Doctor! One I absolutely agree with."

"O-Oh, I, uh—" Dr. Doppler fumbled over his own tongue at Amelia's compliments, his skin darkening a shade. "Th-Thank you, Captain."

"Gentlemen, Miss Xion, are there any objections?"

Donald looked over to the Highwind, still sitting there, and then let out a sigh. "It's the best we're going to get."

Sora pumped his fist in the air. "Okay, let's go exploring!" He spun around on his heel and turned to the nearest entrance into the fungal woods. The spongy moss pressed down as he began making his way forward, the others close behind. Xion hastened her pace to catch up to her friend, sparing only a moment to look back over her shoulder and make sure Jim was coming along. He was, but spared a minute to stare up at the sky, at the RLS Legacy barely visible in the atmosphere, before patting Morph on the head and following the rest of the group. Xion couldn't help but notice his melancholy expression, but kept her lips sealed. Jim and Silver's relationship was none of her business.

With Sora and Xion leading the way, the group delved deeper into the mushroom forest that seemed to cover the entirety of Treasure Planet. The further they went the more marsh-like their surroundings became, with the moss-covered earth growing more and more moist to the point that it was audibly squishing beneath their feet with every step, much to Donald's barefooted distress.

Xion's attention was on things other than his complaints, however, because more than just the ground had grown wetter. The air had grown incredibly humid, almost proportionally to the size of the mushroom stalks that surrounded them. And with the humidity came heat, which led to sweat. Xion wiped her forehead even as she felt new droplets take their place on her skin. Her clothes were soaked and clinging to her body and beside her Sora was faring no better. He had even taken off his black jacket, opting it to tie it around his waist as awkwardly as its short sleeves would allow. By this point there wasn't a dry person in their group. Xion envied Sora despite the situation; her jacket was sleeveless, so if she removed it there was no tying she could do.

Unfortunately, Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia didn't have the luxury with their heavier, fancier coats. They looked positively miserable in this humidity. Behind them, Goofy carried Donald on his back while Donald shook moss off of his feet. Both of their sleeves had been rolled up, and aside from his feet Donald seemed to be handling things fine. Poor Goofy, though; with his sweater there wasn't much he could do short of undressing.

Sora stopped and wiped at his forehead. "And here I thought with growing up on an island I was used to humidity."

"This is unnatural," Xion said with a nod of agreement.

"This whole place feels unnatural," Amelia chimed in. She gestured around them as she spoke. "Haven't you noticed? All this fungus and moss, and not a single animal to go with them."

Xion frowned as she sat down on a mossy dome, probably a rock though she could hardly tell with the thick green coating. Come to think of it, Amelia was right. They hadn't seen or even heard any hints of life throughout their time here. No birds in the distance, no monkeys or anything, not even a single bug crawling on the ground. And who had ever heard of a world where the grass is moss and the threes are mushrooms? Something was growing ever clearer: Treasure Planet was not a normal world.

But…what exactly was it?

"Excuse me? Um, hello?" Dr. Doppler raised one hand as the other tried desperately to loosen his coat. "Could we continue this discussion after we have found a safe place to relax? And maybe get a drink of water?"

Amelia nodded. "Doctor, you're absolutely right. We need to hurry, before Silver learns about Morph and the map."

"Or catches up to us," Donald added.

"Yes, or that. Come along, then." She waved forward and began to march anew. Xion sighed, her shoulders drooping as she stood up again. That short rest had been nice, but they had a point. While the others moved on, Xion hurried to her feet and sprinted forward—only for her foot to catch something. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Xion toppled forward and landed face-first on the moss.

"Xion, you okay?!" Sora ran back to her, holding a hand out.

"Blech…" Xion spit out green flecks and then rubbed at her mouth. Her lips smacked and she shuddered, still tasting the moss. When that was done she took Sora's outstretched arm and stood up, then turned to her feet and adjusted her boot that had twisted awkwardly in the fall.

"What happened?" Sora asked, looking over her shoulder at the ground.

"I just tripped." Sure that everything was fixed now, Xion stood up. "Come on, let's catch up to—Sora?"

Sora had moved behind Xion, an inquisitive frown painting his features. "What is this…?" He kneeled down and dug a hand through the moss, swiping the green away to reveal the dirt underneath—wait. That wasn't dirt underneath the moss. It was…what was that?

"Guys, come back here!" Sora shouted over his shoulder. As the group halted and looked back, Xion got down on her knees and helped Sora work on wiping the moss away. As her fingers grew tinted green, the earth in turn began to clear away. And as they cleared more, Xion's lips formed into a thin line, her eyes narrowing… Something was wrong. That…wasn't looking like soil that the moss had grown over. It wasn't stone, either.

Xion's fingers brushed against something small, hard, and stiff. It wasn't a pebble, because it wouldn't budge. She dug at the moss with both hands, pulling away the green, until finally she found…

"A…bolt?" It looked like a bolt, like something that would hold machinery together. Just to be sure it wasn't an oddly-shaped stone, Xion tugged on the bizarre fixture, but it didn't budge. It really was, truly, a bolt screwed into the ground.

They soon uncovered other bolts as well, and the continued digging through the moss revealed Xion's early suspicions were correct: it was neither soil nor stone. It was metal, a large hinge in fact. That's what Xion had tripped over: a hinge screwed into the very surface of Treasure Planet. But what was it a hinge for? The metal, cleared of moss, was old and heavily rusted, but it was very clearly metal nonetheless. As murmurs rose up from the group, Xion's eyes followed the metal until it was once again covered by the moss. It was near the dome she had been sitting on, the one she had thought was a rock.

"Sora."

"Yeah, I follow you." Sora held his hand out and concentrated, casting a weak Fire spell to form a ball of flame in his open palm. The fire burned away at the moss, revealing more metal creeping its way over to the dome. This hinge, it was big. Did it belong to the dome? Could the whole thing—whatever it was—swing open like a lid? Donald walked up to them and joined Sora, using a Fire spell of his own to help clear the moss. Indeed, the rusted, ancient metal was a lot more than just the hinge. The dome was made of the material after all.

The dome was attached to the hinge that Xion had tripped over, just as she thought. A large valve sat on top, having been covered by the layers of moss and gone unnoticed minutes before. It looked like it should be sitting on top of a submarine or something, like it was used to get inside of machinery. Xion eyed the valve and then marched up to it, wiping her hands together to get rid of the moss lingering on her fingers.

"The mystery deepens," Amelia commented with a hand cupping her chin.

Dr. Doppler looked around nervously. "Are you sure we should be lingering here?"

"This will only take a second." Xion turned the valve; or tried to, anyway. It wasn't budging. "Could someone give me a hand?"

"I gotcha, Xion." Goofy set Donald down on the ground, now cleared of moss, and moved over to help her with the valve. The rusted pipe creaked and Xion was worried it was going to snap clean off, but with struggling they were finally able to get the valve turning. When it could turn no more she pulled up, stumbling back at the surprising ease with which the dome opened. Across the hole, Goofy let out a loud gasp and leered deep into the opening.

Xion walked around the open lid to get a view of it for herself, gasping as Goofy had before. Sounds of surprise followed all around her as each member of the group got a good look at what was lying under their feet: the inner reaches of Treasure Planet were mechanical.

Down just a short ladder were whirring motors and beeping lights. Metal walkways were suspended above empty space, with the bottom so far down below that it wasn't visible. Robotics and mechanisms clicked together like a puzzle, doing things that Xion couldn't even begin to imagine.

"What…is this…?" Sora wondered aloud, leaning as close as he could without falling in. "Should we check it out?"

Before anyone could answer, however, a great roar echoed across the sky. Xion's eyes shot up to the yellow horizon, scanning for whatever great beast it was that had seemingly located them. Beside her, her companions—save for Doppler—got into battle poses and readied themselves. Xion's own fingers sparked with magic, but she did not summon the Keyblade quite yet.

It was no monster that was roaring. As the sound grew closer, it quickly became evident just what they were really hearing: engines. Above the group, dangerously close to noticing them, the sky skiff belonging to the RLS Legacy streaked by. No doubt Silver and Pete were among the crew. One by one, the group looked at each other.

"As much as I'd like to investigate, there's no time." Amelia stood straight and gestured back into the woods in the direction they had been going before this discovery. "Silver will be upon us soon. We need to find a defensible position right away." Without another word she marched off into the mushroom forest. The others followed, Xion and Sora stopping only long enough to close the lid on the inner workings of Treasure Planet.

If they got the chance, Xion wanted to examine it further.

x-x-x

They found respite eventually, in what could only be described as a house at the edge of the mushroom forest. It was hardly hidden, but it was definitely defensible. Hardly looked anything like a house, though; they had thought it was a cave at first, but upon closer investigation it was obviously something man-made. Though with that said, it also obviously hadn't been lived in for years. Dust and a thin layer of moss coated everything in the small room they rested in, but at least it was cool and away from the humidity inside.

As Donald got to work magicing up some water for everyone, Xion found herself exploring the dark corners of the single room alongside Jim. Morph transformed into a floating lantern and lit their way as they dug through junk and seemingly random knickknacks, including a chessboard that had been left out in the middle of a game.

Dr. Doppler looked up at the walls of the room, adjusting his glasses as he did so. Underneath the moss, dust, and rust, it was clearly metal that this building was made out of. He cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention before speaking. "Look at these markings. They're identical to the ones on the map."

Beside Xion, Jim looked to Morph. As if knowing what was going through his head, Morph transformed into the map and plopped down into Jim's waiting hand. Xion looked over his shoulder as he compared the orb and the wall, and indeed, Doppler was right: the circular patterns were exactly the same.

"So whoever made that map made this place?" Sora asked.

"Makes sense, since it was a map to get here," Donald added.

"I suspect these are the hieroglyphic remnants of an ancient culture," Dr. Doppler continued. "I can't help but wonder, to have a map of the entire universe…who were they?"

"Hello up there!"

That was Silver's voice! Xion's stomach lurched and she shot up straight as quickly as she could, summoning her Keyblade and running to the door entrance. Sora, Donald, and Goofy joined her, as well as Amelia with her pistol, and they all looked out at the open field with weapons primed.

Silver and Pete stood at the edge of the mushroom forest, the orange light of sunset illuminating them and the pirate crew behind them. The entire crew had weapons of their own out, laser guns of all shapes and sizes aimed up at their shelter. Xion tightened her grip on her Keyblade and tensed her legs, ready to jump out at a moment's notice…but then Silver did something that surprised her.

"I said, hello!" In his good hand he raised a white flag, waving it harmlessly in the air. Peace, or surrender? Either way Xion couldn't believe what she was seeing, especially not when Pete was still there right next to the pirate captain. Jim, though… "Jimbo?" Silver asked, stepping forward with the flag still raised. "If it's alright, I'd like to have a few words with ye. No tricks. I'm invokin' parley."

"Invoking what?" Sora asked.

Goofy frowned. "Barley?"

Beside them, Amelia scoffed. "Parley—a bit of 'pirate's code', as they call it. Anyone who invokes parley must not be harmed until negotiations are complete." She snarled. "They've come to bargain for the map, no doubt."

Doppler gulped. "The map that we don't have."

At that, Jim's eyes brightened and a smirk grew on his face. "Then… He thinks we still have it. They never learned it's still on the ship."

Xion glanced at him warily. "Jim…"

But before anyone could stop him, Jim dashed past everyone at the entrance to their haven and jumped out onto the field. Morph followed behind him, giggling as much as always. Xion watched with bated breath as Jim's pace slowed and he met Silver in the field, far closer to their group than to the pirates. Morph cheerfully greeted Silver with high-pitched cheer, wrapping his gelatinous body around a thick finger.

"Ah, Morphy! I wondered where ya flew off to." Silver sat down on a rock and stretched out his mechanical leg while Jim slowed to a stop. He removed his hat and wiped his brow, then grinned up at Jim like an old friend. "Oh, this old legs downright snarky since that game of tag we had on the ship."

Jim's response was silence. Silver's face fell, his gaze drifting to the ground with a sigh. "…Whatever you heard back there, Jimbo—at least the part concerning you—I didn't mean a word of it. If that bloodthirsty lot had thought I'd gone soft, they'd have gutted us all—you, me, and all your new friends."

Jim's shoulders rose defensively before Silver continued in a conspiratorial tone. "Now, listen, Jimbo. If we play our cards right, we can both walk away from this rich as kings."

Jim rubbed his chin. "Yeah?"

Silver chuckled and wrapped a hand around Jim's shoulder. "You get me that map, and an even portion of the treasure is yours." With a smile on his face, Silver leaned back and outstretched his hand to Jim.

Jim hesitated. Xion bit her lip, nervous. He…wasn't seriously going to…?

"Boy…" His shoulders drooped and he shook his head. "You are really something." Jim's fists clenched at his sides and he began to walk around Silver in a circle, directing a harsh glare at the man. "All that talk of greatness, light coming off my sails? What a joke." Silver looked up, a pained expression on his face; real pain, either that or he was a fantastic actor.

"Now see here, Jimbo—"

"I mean at least you taught me one thing. Stick to it, right? Well that's just what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make sure that you never see one munny of my treasure!"

Silver leaped onto his feet with a mighty roar. "That treasure is owed me, by thunder!"

"Well try to find it without my map!" Jim shouted back at him.

Silver's eyes narrowed into tiny slits, his robotic one glowing dangerously. "Oh, you still don't know how to pick your fights, do you, boy? Now, mark me." He placed his hat on his hand at stood at his full height as Morph looked nervously between the two. "Either I get that map by dawn tomorrow, or so help me I'll use the ship's cannons to blast ya all to kingdom come!" His voice was raised to a murderous yell as he finished his threat, then with a great huff Silver turned around and marched back off to his crew.

As Silver hobbled back to Pete and the rest of the pirates, Jim turned around and walked quietly back to the others.

x-x-x

Goofy sat on the rim of the entrance to their safe haven, now more of a prison. He glanced up at the RLS Legacy, the ship silhouetted against the green ring that orbited Treasure Planet. In the distance, at ground level, the orange glow of firelight illuminated the edge of the mushroom forest. Silver, Pete, and a handful of remaining pirates had set up camp within firing distance of them. They were trapped.

Night had fallen hours ago, and no one had any idea what to do now. The pirates were between them and the Highwind, so their former plan of going to get the real map was shot. Goofy hummed softly to himself in thought, wracking his brain for some kind of new plan. He really didn't have any, though.

He glanced back to Sora and Xion, who were resting their eyes; not quite asleep, but not really awake either. Those kids had been through so much, and Goofy didn't want to have their journey end here, so he would keep thinking of something new, something that would get them out of this situation. Because they were his friends.

In the back, Jim and Morph continued their search through the junk left behind by this place's previous owner. Goofy didn't know what he was looking for, and he wasn't sure Jim even knew. It seemed he was just antsy, working off energy, but who knows? Maybe he would find something in all of that.

Clanking and crashing caught Goofy's attention. It wasn't coming from outside, though. It was coming from Jim. As he stood up and turned to look at the light of Morph's lamp, he found that the lamp was entirely unnecessary. A pillar of light illuminated the room, catching the attention of Donald, Amelia, and Doppler, and waking up Sora and Xion. Jim raised a fist into the air in cheer as he stood atop an opening in the floor, the light pouring out of it.

"Guys! I think I found a way outta here!"

"What d'ya mean?" Goofy asked, walking over with the others to join Jim in the back of the room. However, he didn't need Jim to answer—the sight was answer enough. Machines, lights, metal walkways…it was just like the dome they had found in the mushroom forest. Gasping and falling onto his backside at the sight, Goofy looked up to see Sora and Xion standing at the edge.

"It's identical…" Xion looked up at Sora. "Do you think they're connected?"

"They must be!" Jim answered in Sora's place. "Guys, don't you get it? This is how we can sneak past Silver! We'll go through here, pop out that dome Xion found earlier, and go take your ship to get the map from the Legacy!"

Amelia frowned, but nodded. "It's a sound idea… But we shouldn't all leave, just in case the pirates decide to 'check in' on us and find it empty. If worst comes to worst, we can say the missing are in a back room."

"But who should go?" Doppler asked.

"Gawrsh, do ya really have to ask?" Goofy climbed to his feet with a laugh. Smiling, he rested a hand on Jim's shoulder. "I say the kids should go! Jim, Sora, and Xion!"

"B-But, Jim's mother trusted me—"

"Doc." Jim smiled and shook his head. "It's like I said earlier, you can't seriously expect me to stay behind. This all started with me finding the map, so I should be the one to finish it."

Sora grinned and held his hands behind his head. "And besides, he'll be safe with us! Xion and I can totally take care of ourselves." Beside him, Xion nodded.

"Yeah! The pirates are all out there, so getting onto the Legacy should be a piece of cake."

"If you're sure…" Amelia began, clearly concerned despite the reassurances. But she shook her head. "No, of course you are. Mister Hawkins, Mister Sora, Miss Xion… Good luck." She gave a salute, which Goofy followed up. Beside them, Doppler fumbled over his words and Donald crossed his arms with a smile.

"We'll hold down the fort," the duck said.

"We'll be back soon!" Sora gave them a thumbs-up and jumped into the glowing hole, followed swiftly by Jim and Xion. As the hole into the insides of Treasure Planet closed shut, the light vanished as well.

And outside, the light of the pirates' fire went out with it.

For anyone interested, last week I updated the spinoff story Imaginary Numbers for the first time since April. I'm hoping to get more of those out since they're pretty short chapters. If you'd like, give it a read. It's really not needed to understand this story though.