"……….nnnnngh… My head," Sora gritted his teeth after having fallen. He rubbed his head as he sat up. Once he managed to ease the pain, he opened his eyes. "Where am I now….?"

He was in a blue room that had one of its walls missing. There was barely anything in there, other than a light bulb hanging overhead and two doors opposite one another.

"Uhh, Eddy?" he waited for a response. "Ed…? Grim….? Og…..?" he hung his head, knowing it was futile. "Why do I even bother?"

………

There was nothing to or no one to reply to him.

Sora picked one of the doors, turned the knob and walked in.

K-K-K-K-K-K

The room he entered the same as the last, but a light green. He stopped when he saw the door opposite him open. In walked a boy with a huge head and skinny body. He had three freckles in a triangular formation between his eyes. The blue T-shirt he wore had an upside-down smiley face in its centre. His pants were blue, and his almost-microscopic shoes were yellow. Sora recognized him from his green hair.

"Hey," the surprised by still had his hand on the door, "who're you?"

"I'm Sora," the Keyblade Master replied.

"Well, I'm Henry," the boy put a hand on his tiny chest as a gesture, "and welcome to KaBlam!; the show where cartoons and comics collide."

"Really? Can I see some of the other people who were on the cover with you?"

Henry's face saddened, "I wish you could, but you can't."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Most of the pages are missing. There are only two pages; the ones we're on right now."

'So Og was right,' Sora thought. "Wait; I'm actually in a comic book?"

Henry looked at him strangely, "Yeah… You'll get used to it."

"Anything I can do to help you get the pages back?"

"Sure. Find them. Unfortunately, I can't leave this place, but you probably can."

"Right……… How?"

"Just keep going that way," Henry pointed the way Sora came. "You'll be out in no time."

"Okay," Sora waved goodbye. "I'll be back later."

"See ya," Henry walked the other way.

K-K-K-K-K-K

Sora entered the blue room again. He went to the other door, and opened it. There was a flash of light.

"GAH!" He covered his watery eyes.

FLASH!

K-K-K-K-K-K

"……"

"Sora…."

"……"

"SORA!" a shrill whistle. "Sora!"

"Huh?" Sora sat up.

Eddy stood over him, glaring.

Sora rubbed his head. Ed gave him a hand to grab. Sora took it, and was on his feet.

"Ya gave us quite a scare," Grim said. "It took me a while to figure out that you were sucked into the comic book."

"…," then, it all came back to him. "Oh, now I remember."

"Remember what?" Og asked, standing by Grim's side.

"I met this boy named Henry. He told me to find the missing pages."

"Hmm," Grim poked his bony chin, "well, get to it, then."

"I agree; if what you said is true, then finding the pages will be helpful," Og added.

"Well, we'll be back when we find some more pages, or when we find another stone," Sora headed for the door. Ed and Eddy followed, the former waving goodbye.

K-K-K-K-K-K

"Man, we really should go back there sometime," Sora commented as the door with the fire symbol closed behind them. They walked to the centre of the Third District.

"Yeah," Ed nodded. "That skeleton guy was really cool."

"And we can get more summon gems. Heh, we have a new member of the team, sorta," he chuckled.

They stopped near the middle.

"Nice," Eddy couldn't have cared less. "Now, let's get to that house up the stairs."

And that was when a group of soldiers appeared in front of them.

Sora gasped, taken by surprise. He brought out his Keyblade, but before he could do anything, someone darted in front of them, and sliced straight through the Heartless, destroying them all in one straight line.

Sora did a double take. It couldn't have been.

"There you are," Riku stood in front of them with a smirk as he held his sword over his shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked ever so casually.

"Riku!" Sora jumped as Ed and Eddy lowered their weapons. The brown-haired teen went up to his friend and stuck his fingers in his mouth, stretching his cheeks. "Is it really you?"

"Hey, hey," Riku brushed his hand away, "hands off," he said playfully.

"I'm not dreaming this time," Sora assured himself.

"Hope not," Riku grinned. "Took forever to find you, man."

"Riku!" Sora was overjoyed. "I'm so glad you're alive!"

"Same to you, Sora," Riku sighed. "C'mere," and he wrapped his arm around Sora's neck and gave him a noogie. Both friends laughed like they were never apart.

"How come you never do that to me, Eddy?" Ed asked his short friend as they watched.

"Because you're too tall to reach," Eddy replied with a smirk and folded arms. "Besides, you probably won't feel a thing. And noogies aren't much fun," he removed his cap and rubbed his head. "I still remember my brother's noogies……. Ouch."

Then, Sora remembered after he was released, "Wait a second! Where's Kairi?.!"

Riku's eyebrows rose, "Isn't she with you?"

Sora hung his head in sadness, "Then……she's still missing."

Riku put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry; we'll find her. Chin up."

Sora nodded painfully.

"Hey, she could be searching for us right now," Riku shrugged. He had no idea that a shadow was forming from the ground behind him. "We'll all be together again soon. Leave it to me, and you'll be fine. I know this--"

Sora sprinted past him with his Keyblade ready. Riku felt the wind of his friend's rush. He looked behind him and barely saw Sora slice a shadow and make it evaporate.

"…wow…," Ed stared. "Fast."

"Tell me what happened," Eddy blurted. "I blinked and missed it."

"Leave it to who?" Sora said cockily, mimicking Riku's sword pose.

"Sora, how did you--?"

"While we were apart, I got stronger, thanks to these two," he pointed a thumb at Ed and Eddy behind him.

Ed waved.

"With their help, I've been looking for you and Kairi."

"Who are they?" Riku looked at them funnily.

"Ahem," Eddy cleared his throat as he stepped forward, "my name is--"

"We visited other worlds, looking for you and Kairi," Sora interrupted, repeating what he said.

"Really?" Riku put his fists on his hips, and leaned his head to the side. "I never would have guessed."

"And guess what," Ed put his hands on Sora's shoulders. "Sora's the Keyblade Master!"

"Who would've thought it?' Eddy simpered.

"What's that mean?.!" Sora barked at him.

"So….this is the Keyblade….?" Riku held the Keyblade at eyelevel.

"Huh?" Sora pulled away from Eddy. He looked in his hand to find them empty; Riku had taken his weapon without him knowing. "Hey," he reached for it, but his silver-haired fiend jumped back, "give it back."

"Hmm," Riku looked at the Blade's every feature. "Pretty nice piece of work. A key and a sword as one weapon. Not a single flaw or scratch." He seemed like he was done, "Catch." He threw it gently.

Sora reached for it, and caught it. He stood up straight, "So you're coming with us, right? We've got this awesome ship you should definitely see."

Eddy grabbed Sora by the arm and forced him to look at him, "No! He can't come!"

Sora was taken aback, "What?"

"You heard me!" Eddy bellowed. "Forget it!"

"Darn you, Eddy!" Sora hated his fiend's arrogance. He bent down to his level, "He's my friend!"

"Big whoop!"

"He's gone, guys," Ed neared them and pointed.

"Waddaya mean 'gone'?" Eddy fumed.

"'Gone', Eddy. As in 'went bye-bye', 'took off', or 'left the vicinity'."

"……"

"……?" Sora could have sworn he heard an eagle somewhere. He looked where he expected to see Riku, only to find no one. "Riku?" He glared at Eddy, "Huh, nice going." He sighed, "At least, he's okay. Who knows? Maybe, we'll run into Kairi soon."

"Yup," Eddy nodded. It was as if he and Sora either forgave each other for the little argument, or they simply forgot. "One down and one to go. We'll find your other friend in no time."

"Right. Let's meet Cid in that small house."

K-K-K-K-K-K

"Sora," Leon was the first to speak. He allowed his hands, which were behind his head, to fall by his sides as he stood up straight. "Glad you made it."

The single-room house was small, but homey. It had a single bed, cupboard, table, and a warm temperature.

Also present were Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid.

"You hear of Judge Doom?" Cid asked, the piece of straw dancing along his lips. "I hear he's in town."

"Never heard of him," Eddy stood with his back to the table. He rested one arm on it. Ed sat on the table.

"Who is he?" Sora inquired.

"A live action person!" Cid answered. "Only one I know…besides you."

"He's the reason this town's so full of Heartless," Leon mentioned.

"Great," Eddy rolled his eyes. "Just the person I hate most…..besides Kevin. The guy who gets a bunch of brainless slaves to run around, and bug the heck outta me!"

"He's very dangerous." Leon narrowed his eyes at Eddy, "Don't take him lightly."

"Or what?" Eddy smart-mouthed. "He'll punch me in the face with his 3-D hand?... No offence, Sora."

"Anyway, Judge Doom has been using the Heartless for years," Aerith said with her hands hanging over her middle.

"Our world was lost, thanks to him," Leon said, resuming his resting position against the wall while folding his arms in front of his chest.

"One day, a swarm of Heartless jus' came outta nowhere 'n' enveloped the world," Cid recalled.

"And that was nine years ago," Yuffie added from near Ed, with a sad expression.

"Well, that can't be good," Eddy commented.

"We managed to escape in a gummi ship." Cid smirked and pointed a thumb at himself, "Built it myself."

"Our ruler was a wise man, named 'Ansem'," Aerith stated. "He dedicated most of his time to studying the Heartless after discovering them. His report should tell us how do defeat them."

"Where can we find this report?" Sora asked.

"We don't know; its pages got scattered when our world was destroyed."

Cid huffed, "I'm sure Doom's got most o' them pages."

K-K-K-K-K-K

Outside, by the door to the Second District, Riku watched Sora and the group through the small house's window.

Judge Doom stood by his side. "You see?" he pointed his cane where they could see Sora, Ed, and Eddy talking. "It's just as I told you; while you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions."

Riku said nothing.

"Evidently, now he values them for more than he does you. You're better off without that wretched boy," he put a gloved hand on the boy's shoulder. "Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for…"

"..."

K-K-K-K-K-K

"So, did you deliver that book?" Cid asked.

They nodded.

"That navigation gummi's installed, and ready to go. I threw in a warp gummi just for the heck of it."

"Thanks!" Eddy said gratefully. "Now, if any annoying morons come after us, I'll lose 'em easy! HA!" he spread his arms out dramatically.

"Now, you can jump to worlds you've been to before."

"Sweet!"

"Well, better get back to my real job. What's my real job, you ask? You'll see. See me at the First District sometime later," he smiled cockily.

"Okay," Sora nodded.

"You know, Sora," Aerith joined the conversation, "I've been thinking about that bell in the Second District."

"The one that went 'dingdong'?" Ed asked, still sitting on the table.

She nodded her pretty head, "The very same."

"It's on top of the Gizmo Shop," Yuffie said with her hands on her hips. "There's a legend about it, you know."

"But it's all boarded up," Aerith said in slight disappointment. "No one can get to it."

"Heck, go check it out," Cid moved a hand nonchalantly. "Ring it three times and see what happens."

K-K-K-K-K-K

"DAMN, I HATE HEARTLESS!" Eddy kicked at an air soldier that was following up him a ladder he was climbing.

"Just get up here and help us with these blue guys!" he heard Sora's voice yell back amidst the sounds of fighting and spell casting.

"I CAN'T!" Eddy waved the dark fiend away. "THIS STUPID HEARTLESS WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"

He was unanswered.

"That's it!" Eddy equipped his staff and aimed at the soldier. "YAAAH!" his fire attack was missed

The soldier darted from side to side, mocking him.

"Nnngh!" Eddy cast thunder, causing the flying Heartless to summersault backwards. Eddy took this opportunity to incinerate the creature with the tip of his wand. He was victorious. "Woo," Eddy rubbed the sweat away from his forehead, "that was annoying." He climbed further. "I'm here--DAAAH!" as he reached the top, a blue rhapsody crashed into him, sending him screaming to his fall. "AAAA--AWF!"

"Sorry, Eddy!" Ed stood on the edge with a hand near his mouth. "Didn't see you there!"

"……I……hate….you…….."

Sora and Ed stood on the roof of the Gizmo Shop. There were a few boxes here and there. Near the edge, most of the district could be seen. There were four columns, each one with a picture of a bell on them, near the edge. The Keyblade Master and oaf could see the bell behind a boarded-up wall.

"Ed," Sora remembered what he saw a few minutes ago, "would you like to do the honours?"

"Sure thing, Sora," Ed nodded. He stepped with his rear facing the edge. He frowned for comic affect as his legs became a circular blur of blue and black. He ran full speed, and crashed through the wooden barricade. Once again, his traffic cone wasn't damaged. "Ready, mister!" he grinned stupidly.

The bell was attached to a rope which would obviously be what someone needed to pull to ring the large object.

"Cid said three times, right?" Sora wanted to be sure.

"Uh huh," Ed nodded. "There's one, there's two, and then there's--……….uh…."

Sora shook his head with a chuckle. He reached up, grabbed the rope, and pulled as hard as he could.

The bell rang once, causing the ground to shake.

"AAAAGH!" they heard Eddy lose his grip on the ladder and fall down again. "………..I'm okay………"

Ed stood on the edge of the Gizmo Shop, noticing that the fountain under the entrance to the First District was changing. The picture it had was actually a face of a cube. The cube rotated, displaying a deferent picture.

After hearing Eddy's comment, Sora pulled on the bell again. The ground shook with the same ring. The fountain's cube revolved again.

Sora looked in Ed's direction, hoping to be urged to pull once more. Ed had his back to him, though. Sora took a deep breath and pulled one more time.

The ground shook more now, even after the ringing stopped. The fountains spewed water onto the face of the revolving cube. The new façade was of butterflies.

"Sora, look!" Ed pointed across the district.

"I see it, Ed," the boy said. "We should go there." He ran to climb down the ladder. "Eddy, we're done here," he told the one bellow him. "Now, we have to get to the fountain."

Eddy grumbled to himself as he descended.

K-K-K-K-K-K

They walked towards the fountain. Sora was in the middle, Ed was to his right, and Eddy was to the left.

"What do you think it is?" Sora asked, not taking his eyes off the fountain.

"Beats me, kid," Eddy answered, "but it's glowing."

"Shiny," Ed's pupils glowed.

"It could be the Keyhole to this world," Sora equipped his Keyblade, just in case.

"I hope so," Eddy said.

"Me too," Ed added.

As they got closer, the cube's face began to glow more. Then, a black shape materialized in the form of a keyhole.

"You know what to do, Sora," Eddy stopped, and leaned against the stairs.

The hole glowed, sensing the presence of the Keyblade.

"………?" Ed saw something shine in his peripheral vision. He pushed his cone back, and looked up at the night sky. His eyes bugged. "SORA! LOOK OUT!"

"Hm?" Sora was about to point his Keyblade at the hole. He looked up by instinct, and his heart sank. Two different outstretched hands pulled him back, barely avoiding being squashed by falling metal.

Ed's and Eddy's arms reverted back to normal size as Sora stood up in front of them.

The pieces of metal were all too familiar. After they fused together, Guard Armour stood, just as it stood before. Its hands spun in place and its feet looked ready to run. The head rotated menacingly.

"Umm…..déjà vu," Eddy looked in horror.

"Wait a minute! I've definitely seen him before!" Ed shook a finger with a smug grin.

"No duh, Ed," Eddy rolled his eyes.

"I say we beat him again!" Sora held his Keyblade at the ready.

"Done it before; gonna do it again," Eddy's staff glowed red.

"Prepare to meet your maker!" Ed brought his shield out.

They all jumped in unison and struck the Heartless in the middle. Instantly, all of its body parts feel to the ground, some of them twitching.

"Wait! Stop!" Sora held them back. He stood near the head. "Something's not right."

"Yeah; this is too easy," Eddy said, suspiciously eyeing a hand. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You mean like when you ate that chicken in my room?" Ed asked him.

"Worse."

Then, the parts shook again.

"Stand back, boys!" Eddy yelled, running to the stairs. Sora and Ed followed suit.

Guard Armour stood again, but this time it bent forward in a handstand. Its legs moved by its side and the soles of the feet bent, like claws. Its body spun around, showing the Heartless emblem upside-down. With a small flash of light, it was now the right way. Finally, the head moved to the bottom (or top?) and its flap slid down, revealing a pair of yellow eyes surrounded by blackness. The feet--previously hands--spun under the body. The head did flips for no reason.

Sora, Ed, and Eddy exchanged confused looks.

"I think our friend just got stronger," Sora let out.

"And I thought this was gonna be an easy fight," Eddy gulped.

"It's flying, guys!"

"Stop stating the obvious, Ed!"

Opposite Armour's feet moved backwards, and then shot forward as the Heartless did one deadly back flip.

The three warriors jumped into the centre of the district, missing them.

"Get 'im!" Eddy pointed. "YAH!" he shot one blast of fire at the foot before jumping to swipe at the body.

"HA!" Sora grinned as he struck the head.

"Take me to your leader!" Ed smashed his shield into the hands.

Opposite Armour flew backwards and did the flip again.

"OWIE!" Eddy was hit this time. He flew.

The feet disappeared and reappeared behind Ed. They spun like a fan in his direction.

"!.!.!.!" Ed ducked with the shield over his head. They missed, and returned to their master.

Opposite Armour hurled its left hand at Sora.

The Keyblade Master dodge-rolled to the side. Opposite Armour repeated the attack a few more times. Sora jumped, hopped and skipped. When he thought the Heartless stopped, he spun on his heel and shot an ice blast, "Take this!"

The Heartless' parts all disappeared in irritation.

"Huh?" Sora stopped running. "Where'd they--?" the head flew straight into him. "AAGH!" he fell on his front. A foot flew at him, ready to cleave him in two.

"I'll save you, Sora!" Ed punched the hand he was fighting and ran in time to block the deadly swipe.

"Sora!" Eddy, recovered, healed his friend with a Cure spell. "Thunder!" lighting struck down on the legs, causing one of them to explode.

Opposite Armour's parts returned to the main body. The head rested on the belly, and the foot grabbed one of the hands as they all met the hourglass body. Its hole glowed and a ball of energy was expelled in Ed's direction.

The yellow boy tried to block it, but he was sent back, crashing into a wall. "Oof!" he slumped to the ground, out cold.

"Ed!" Sora gasped.

"I got this one!" Eddy jumped. "Heal--WAAAH!" he was smacked aside by a flying hand. He was alright, but pissed. "NNNNNGH! BLIZZARD!" the body shook, and its head disappeared. "Uh-oh," Eddy looked behind him. The head came spinning in his direction. Eddy was struck again, and knocked out.

Sora was by himself. Opposite Armour came at him straight with the flip. Sora easily jumped out of the way. "You're gonna pay for knocking my friends out! HII-YAHHH!" he jumped and stuck his Keyblade in one of the hands. The body part exploded, sending the Blade flying. It flew right into Sora's gloved hand. He then remembered he also had the Cure spell. "Eddy!" he chanted and brought his friend back.

"Ed!" Eddy healed the other one.

"C'mon, guys!" Sora shouted, squeezing the Keyblade's hilt tightly.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Eddy let loose fireball after fireball.

"BELEW!" Ed used Rocket to get a good hit at the head. Opposite Armour's hands moved in to snap him in half. Ed lodged his shield into one of them, preventing it from closing in on him. He gasped, and grabbed the other one, straining to keep it open. "Eddy….. help!"

"On my way!" Eddy burned the hand, causing it to explode.

Opposite Armour hovered in Sora's direction and tried to hit him with its foot. Sora blocked the attack. Instead of recoiling, the foot behaved like a hand, and wrapped its fingers (or toes) around the blade. It pulled.

"Hey!" the heels of Sora's shoes grinded into the ground as he was pulled violently. "Give it back!" he used his free hand to punch the tough metal. It was useless. He was now hanging from his Keyblade as the foot rose up. "Uh-oh….," he looked behind him in slight fear. The head was attached to the body's belly again. A ball of energy was charging ever so slowly.

Ed and Eddy looked up in fear. "Oh, man!" Eddy was hysterical. "What do we--ULP!" he was grabbed by the neck. "Ed, what are you doing?" he asked in annoyance.

Ed said nothing, but gave that serious stare he rarely gave. With his other hand, he grabbed Eddy's ankles, and stretched his short friend. He aimed his friend up like an archer.

"You….can't….be….serious….!" Eddy wheezed.

Without wasting time, Ed released the mage like a rubber band slingshot.

"He's serious!" Eddy screamed as he flew straight up.

"Not good," Sora prepared for the worst. "Huh?" he heard something.

Even Opposite Armour stopped charging to look. The result was Eddy crashing into it, sending the head and body in different directions. Ed's shield then flew like a frisbee, and sliced right through the foot holding him up, destroying it.

"Oh, no!" Sora plunged to the ground. He felt his life already gone as the ground rose to meet him.

"I got you!" Ed ran with his hands outstretched. Sora landed in his arms perfectly.

"Whoa! Thanks, Ed," Sora said, relieved.

"Guys," Eddy was suddenly back on his feet. Crudely drawn stars came out from his head and disappeared. "What are you doing?"

"……," they both noticed that Ed was carrying Sora bridal style. Ed quickly let the blushing one fall.

"Ahem," Sora tried to hide the embarrassed blush as he cleared his throat, "nothing."

Eddy laughed, "Hahahahaha! What the Hell were you two doing?.!" He pointed teasingly. "Oh my God…..," he hugged himself as he rolled on the ground laughing.

"Stop it, Eddy!" Sora's face reddened again. "Just shut up!"

"NEVER! I'M NEVER GONNA LET THIS GO! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA!" CRUSH! He was flattened under Opposite Armour.

Sora and Ed backed up.

"I thought we were forgetting something." Sora's eyes widened, "My Keyblade! Where is it?.!.?.!"

"Over there, Sora," Ed pointed. The Keyblade was located several feet away.

"Take care of him! I'll get the Keyblade!" Sora sprinted towards his weapon.

Opposite Armour formed the cannon and aimed at Sora. The Keyblade Master dodge-rolled under the deadly attack.

Ed ran and picked up his shield, which was quite close to him. He ran up the stairs, jumped, and dented a piece of the purple armour. The big Heartless brought its attention to Ed now. It soared in his direction. Ed held his shield up at the ready. Opposite Armour spun like a spinning top and grinded into the iron. Ed let go of the shield with one hand, and punched the Heartless. The effect was the dark fiend flying right into a building, and causing a crater.

"Oops," Ed let out. "Uh-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu."

Sora picked up his Keyblade. He panted, and rested on his knees as he bent over. "Heal," he healed himself just for the Hell of it.

Opposite Armour was barely keeping airborne. It had multiple dents and was shaking violently.

Sora knew he had to stick his Blade into the freak in order to stop it.

He ran to a bench. He timed. He jumped. He aimed. And he stuck the Keyblade into the Heartless.

Opposite Armour's head and torso shook erratically; like it did when it was Guard Armour. The head then fell in the torso. They glowed and released a big, blue heart. The hearts floated skyward and vanished. Opposite Armour dematerialised into nothing.

Sora stopped in front of the fountain. He aimed the Keyblade. Its tip powered up, and shot a little, blue beam into the Keyhole.

C-CLICK!

The Keyhole fell apart piece-by-piece from the butterfly picture.

"Another one for the records, huh, Sora?" Ed asked him.

"Yup," the boy nodded. "Let's go and find Eddy." He was caught off guard as a silver ball flew out of nowhere and entered his Keyblade. "What just happened?" he looked his weapon over carefully.

"It was shiny," Ed commented idiotically.

"Hey, there's another one!"

Sure enough, another glowing sphere flew towards the pancake that was Eddy. It entered his staff and was gone.

Sora used the Cure spell to heal his flattened friend. Eddy solidified, and stood upright. "Huh?" he perked up. "Do you feel that?" he asked Sora.

"Feel what?"

"Of course, you don't," he shook his head with a helpless smile. "We just got a new magical spell."

Sora's eyebrows rose in surprise and interest, "What's this one?"

"I think it's called Aero."

"Isn't that the same one Spongebob used?"

"Could be."

SCREEEEEECH!.!.!.!.!.!.!

The sound of a vehicle stopping loudly filled their ears.

"Was that a motor bike?"

"Could be."

"Will you stop saying that, Eddy?"

"Someone's coming!" Eddy jumped. "Quick! Into that fountain!" he grabbed Sora and threw him in.

SPLASH!

"Let's go, Ed! Move!"

"Um, okay," Ed got in with Sora.

Eddy jumped in as well.

"Why are we--?"

"Shut up and keep your head down!"

Someone walked down the stairs. His skin was a light grey. He wore faded blue jeans, a leather belt, and a black wife beater shirt that clung to his rippling muscles. Black and fingerless motorcycle gloves were worn on his hands. Black, striped tattoos adorned his muscular arms. His eyes were dark and shadowed, and his shaggy hair was black. He walked past the fountain in leather boots, unaware of the fact that he was being watched. He pushed the door to the alley open, and walked in.

"I don't like the looks of him," Eddy said.

"Let's follow him," Sora was already out of the fountain; wet again.

K-K-K-K-K-K

The rough-looking youth walked through the alley.

Sora, Ed, and Eddy crept behind him, not daring to make a sound. Sora and Eddy both nodded at Ed, who gently picked them both up and threw them on the balconies. Ed crouched and jumped up.

"Huh?" the grey-skinned person turned around with a raised eyebrow. When he saw nothing, he turned around and continued walking.

A robot then landed from above. It possessed pincers and a small head. Its round boy had a television screen on it, and on the screen was none other than the face of the Skeleton King.

"About time you arrived, Rancid," the image spoke unfriendly.

"Don't piss me off, bonehead," 'Rancid' seethed. "I've gone through enough crap today, then to come to this dump and talk to you!"

"Doom required my presence as well as yours," the King answered. "It is advised that you shut up and wait for him to get here."

"There is no need to wait," Judge Doom stepped out of the shadows. He leaned on his cane as he stood up as straight as possible. "I'm here and ready to speak with both of you, Skeleton King, and Johnny Rancid."

"Get this over with," 'Johnny Rancid' said with a huff as he leaned against the wall. "I have better things to do other than hang out with a three-dimensional ass like you."

The corners of Doom's lips curved upwards. "Fear not," he said calmly. "You are not wasting you time."

Johnny Rancid and the Skeleton King glanced at one another, assuming the other one would answer a question.

"Just what is it you want?"

"I'm glad you asked." Doom reached into his suit and fumbled for something, "The moment my associates get here, we can begin." He pulled out a golden pocket watch and checked the time.

"……," the Skeleton King waited.

"……," Johnny glared at nothing.

"……," Judge Doom put the watch away.

"……"

"……," Rancid scratched his nose.

"……"

"……"

"……"

"……"

"……"

"……"

"……ah, here they come," Doom heard the sound of an engine.

Rancid and the Skeleton King looked towards the sky. The latter's red eyes narrowed.

The weasels' hearse/patty wagon flew over the pile of boxes, did a spin, and came to a stop right behind Judge Doom.

"Alright, ya mugs," Smartass got out and stuck his head in the door, "fall out!"

"Did you bring what I asked, Sergeant?" the Judge asked the weasel.

"Sure we did." Smartass said, straightening his suit.

The other weasels stood by.

"Of course, you know that the Keyblade Master is off to other worlds sealing the Keyholes, right?" Doom said. "Well, that is not good. They have already sealed three of them, and now, I'm beginning to think that they might be able to seal the others."

"What do you need me for?" Rancid asked bluntly.

"I was getting to that, Johnny. I believe we can finish our plans before they get to us, but there is no guarantee that it will go as I please. So, I want you--" he pointed his cane at Rancid "--to help slow them down."

"WHAT?.!" The Skeleton King's head filled up the entire screen. "You want this blundering punk to do your dirty work while you have the Heartless at your finger tips?"

"Now, Skeleton King. He'll be keeping Sora and his blundering friends at bay while you and the others do what you need to do."

"So, what? Am I some kind of distraction?" Rancid raised an eyebrow.

"Call it what you want. You have no idea of the magnitude of this plan."

"And what do you want me to do with 'em, exactly?"

The Judge nodded at the weasels. They opened the doors to the back of the vehicle and went in to get something. They came out with two things. Wheezy and Stupid were carrying a metal, cylinder-shaped container. Greasy had a box.

"I'm sure you're both aware that the Chosen One has two cartoon friends aiding him in his quest," Doom rambled as he pulled a black rubber glove on his right hand.

"Yeah," Rancid nodded. "The moron and the bigmouth."

They're part of Sora's strength, and they must be eliminated. Obviously, toons like them cannot be killed so easily. So, you'll capture them, and bring them to me."

"Then what?"

Doom snapped his fingers.

The lid of the container was taken off with a metal sound.

Rancid craned his neck to see.

The cylinder was filled with some sort of green liquid.

"What the Hell's that?" Rancid pointed.

"Turpentine, acetone, benzene," Doom answered, reaching for the box. "Or, as I like to call it, the Dip."

He reached into the box, and pulled out a clown's shoe. The piece of footwear had eyes on either side of its body, and a mouth. It squeaked adorably.

"I want you to bring Ed and Eddy to me. Then, I'll execute them myself."

And he dipped the shoe into the 'Dip'. The shoe's squeaks may have been muffled, but Rancid and the Skeleton King knew as well as the others that it was in great pain.

"Jeeze…," Johnny looked ready to throw up.

Even the Skeleton King had to look away.

The weasels were unaffected.

Doom dipped the helpless thing further in; the Dip ate at it like acid. The shoe's eyes were wide in absolute agony as it melted away. Smoke began to emit from the container as the muffled squeaking stopped.

"As for Sora, you may simply point a gun at his head and be done with it. Do we have a deal?" Doom asked, facing the muscular youth. His glove was now stained with red ink.

"………"

"I can make it worth your while."

Rancid smirked, "Now, you're speaking my language! I'm in!"

"Excellent," Doom smiled. He removed the glove by turning it inside out. He threw it in the waterway. "Now, Skeleton King, I asked you here for you to tell me if it's alright if Mr. Rancid were to help you at Shuggazoom."

The Skeleton King's eyes moved from the Judge to Rancid. "Fine. I have the Heartless and Formless on my side; having this human won't affect me in the least."

"Then, it's settled," Doom stood up straight. "We'll meet at Shuggazoom in a few hours, and continue from there."

Rancid nodded. "Right. And you'd better not be lying about that reward."

"Young man, I always keep my word." He turned to leave, "I'll see you all there," and he disappeared into the darkness.

Without its master saying anything, the big, round robot went airborne and vanished in the night sky.

The weasels began to silently put the container of Dip into the hearse/patty wagon.

Johnny caught Greasy looking at him. "What're you looking at?" he muttered.

"Nothing," Greasy grunted, and looked away.

Rancid shoved past the green-clad weasel, and left the alley.

After the weasels' vehicle flew away, Sora, Ed, and Eddy rested their backs against the balcony wall.

"I'm scared, Eddy," Ed shivered.

"Relax, Ed," Eddy's pink face was stern. "They'll never get us."

"How can you be so sure?" Sora asked him.

"I'm not."

"……"

K-K-K-K-K-K

"Hey, guys," Tony greeted, lowering the book he was reading as a trap door slid open in the floor. Sora, Ed, and Eddy ascended, as if there were stairs below. "I hear you guys sealed a Keyhole."

"Who told you?" Eddy asked half-heartedly as he strapped himself in his seat.

"Leon happened to pass by while I was getting some air. Also, Cid came and installed the gummi piece, and fixed the thrusters. He even gave me this seat." It was just his size, and located near Sora's. "Watch this," he pressed a button, and the seat rose. "Neat, huh?"

"Cute."

"So, where to now?" the small kid asked as he, like Eddy, buckled his seatbelt.

Eddy looked at Sora and Ed. They both nodded, sharing the same thought.

"Shuggazoom."

"I've heard about that place; it's pretty nice."

"Well, we're going there."

Skskskkksksjsktkt!

"Huh?" Eddy looked at the radio. Static was being transmitted.

Skskskktkt! "How do you work this thing?" a bored voice radioed, arousing Eddy's recognition. "Can you hear me?"

Eddy reached for the receiver. "Yes, Garfield," he spoke. "What do you want?"

"I'm just calling to tell you that there's a new tournament being held at that stadium you were at before."

One of Eddy's eyebrows rose above his head, "Hey, how'd you know we were--?"

"Gotta go; Oddie's chewing on a lever again. Oddie, I told you not to--" Sskskktktkkjskks!...

"Wow, why don't you guys enter the tournament?" Tony suggested.

"Nuh-uh," Eddy shook a finger. "I'm not gonna waste any precious time!"

"Yeah," Sora nodded from his seat. "We have bigger fish to fry."

"There could be a big reward for the winner, y'know."

Eddy's eyes widened. "Sounds good enough to me!"

Sora was in a state of utter disbelief, "What did you--?.!"

"No time to waste!" Eddy pressed button after button. "Johnny Rancid isn't the only one who can get a reward! Besides, I wanna test that warp gummi." And with a grin, he set the coordinates.

Everyone was launched into their seats as the gummi ship went into hyper speed.