Author's note: Hi! I'd like to apologize to anyone who's still reading this about the long wait. I got a major writing block when it came to this story, and it only cleared up just recently. I'd also like to point out that Daisuke may be a little out-of-character. I played the What Would Daisuke Do In This Situation game for about half an hour before I decided to just make him act a bit like Sora. So, it's Daisuke and Sora smushed together. :shrug: Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Read my profile. D
The "secret place," as most of the children that frequented the island called it, wasn't actually all that secret. It was a tunnel, tucked into a corner behind a big tree, its entrance partially hidden by vines that acted as a door of sorts. Further inside, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. The walls were made of large rocks piled on top of one another and were far from smooth, and the large, twisted roots of the nearby trees wandered across the rock surfaces in some areas. The dirt floor was well-packed, showing that the cavern was visited often.
A couple years prior, before anyone had entered the cave, Daisuke and Dark decided to explore it, going off a rumor that some sort of monster lived in the cave. They were the only ones brave enough to explore it, and when they discovered that no such monster existed, they decided to claim the cave for themselves. After they claimed the cave, they began drawing on the walls. First, Satoshi was the only one to do it, often sitting by himself in the cavern for hours at a time, sketching seemingly random and disconnected pictures on the walls. Then Daisuke could be found in there as well, adding his own touch to Satoshi's drawings and creating some of his own.
Daisuke strolled through the cave, taking a bit of time to get used to the colder air and looking at the drawings. There were sketches of people, a handful of large monster-looking creatures, and even what looked like a large chicken. Dark had drawn that after a dream he had that had giant birds that people could ride from place to place, like horses.
However, the most interesting part of the cave was the door way in the back. It had been there for as long as any of the three boys knew, but no one knew what was on the other side of it, as it had no handle and pushing on it did nothing. It was a beautiful door—smooth unmarked wood with a gold frame—and it never seemed to show any natural wear or tear. It looked exactly the same, year after year. After a few seconds of staring at the mysterious door, Daisuke tore his gaze away, having spotted what he was looking for—a large mushroom growing a few feet to the right of the door. He knelt down to pick it up and paused again.
There, in front of him, was his favorite drawing in the entire cave. Two heads, one with spiky hair and the other with hair that hung down. Daisuke had drawn Satoshi and Satoshi had drawn Daisuke. Daisuke personally thought that Satoshi was a much better artist. He picked up a rock from the dirt floor, placed it on the wall, and started sketching a new part of the picture. Bits of rock crumbled to the floor as he worked, collecting on the floor.
Just then, Daisuke heard footsteps behind him. He quickly abandoned his drawing and scrambled to his feet, hastily but carefully stuffing the mushrooms into a pocket.
"Wh-Who's there?" he asked, trying to peer into the dark corner.
"I've come to see the door to this world." A deep voice answered.
The owner of the voice took a step forward, and Daisuke could finally see him properly. Or rather, he could see that the person was clothed head to toe in a hooded brown coat. The hood was up and was deep enough that Daisuke couldn't make out the person's face. It made him more than slightly nervous. Was the cloaked person here to see the door in the cave? Daisuke wanted to ask, but he could only get one word out.
"Huh?"
"This world has been connected," the cloaked figure continued, as if reciting a speech.
"Connected? To what?"
"Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed," the figure continued, oddly answering Daisuke's question and confusing him more.
"Stop freaking me out!" Daisuke nearly yelled in frustration, his fists clenched. It was then that he realized that he hadn't heard the person come in. "Wh-Where did you come from?"
"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."
Daisuke's eyes widened. Of course he didn't know what was behind it, no one did. Maybe the cloaked person was from beyond the door, or maybe from another world!
"You're not from here, are you?" he asked.
"There is so very much to learn. Youunderstand so little."
"I understand enough! I'll go out and learn what's out there!"
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
Daisuke frowned and stared down at his shoes, thinking of the cloaked figure's words. He understood plenty, but nothing outside of the islands he called home. Was that what the person meant? That made Daisuke more eager to leave, but at the same time, he had the feeling leaving wasn't such a good idea. When he looked back up, the person was gone.
"Daisuke, I caught it! Quick, get over here!"
Daisuke ran as fast as he could through the shallow water to where Riku was struggling to keep ahold of a live fish. Daisuke scooped the fish into a cloth bag, taking care not to let the other two fish escape, and pulled it out of the water. So far, he had gotten most of the items Satoshi had requested—the mushrooms had all been picked, he filled the bottle with fresh water, gathered the coconuts, and even managed to get a seagull egg successfully. Gathering the coconuts proved to be the hardest, as the fruits were tough to get by climbing the trees, so shaking or hitting them was necessary. Wakka had a good laugh watching the redhead as he shook the trees and then ran out of the way to avoid getting hit by the fruit. Once, Daisuke tripped over a coconut he had already knocked down and nearly fell into the water below, but he managed to grab onto the ledge at the last minute.
Daisuke beamed at Riku as he waded back to the shore where he had left the rest of the items.
"Thanks, Riku!"
Riku splashed up beside him, squeezing out her shorts where they had gotten wet and brushing small droplets off of her t-shirt.
"Why are you gathering all this stuff, Daisuke? Are you going somewhere?"
Daisuke's heart skipped a bit. "Ah…ah, no, not really. I'm just…Satoshi wanted me to get this stuff…I need to do that. Sorry." He gathered up his supplies in his arms, being careful not to crush anything, and hurried off.
Later...
"I got everything!"
The blue-haired boy was in the same place Daisuke had left him—lounging against the mast of the raft, reading a book. Daisuke smiled and set the pile of supplies in front of his friend, separating the bottle of water and egg and setting them on one of the logs of the raft. Satoshi's eyes flickered briefly over the objects before turning his attention back to Daisuke.
"Yes, this is everything. Thanks. Here, this is for your help." Satoshi handed Daisuke a bottle of liquid, similar to the one he had given him the day before, but this time, the liquid was blue instead of green.
"Um…thanks, Satoshi."
"Mm," the bluenette replied, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark. We should go home soon."
"Huh? Oh yeah."
Indeed, the sun was just starting to set, creating a wide band of red, orange, and pink where the sky met the ocean and tinting the water where it reflected. The two boys stared at the sunset for a bit silently, until Satoshi spoke up.
"Dark has been acting strange lately."
Daisuke frowned in slight confusion and glanced over at Satoshi. The boy was still staring at the horizon, although the sunlight glinted off his glasses and made it impossible to see his eyes, and his hands were in his pockets.
"He has?"
"You haven't noticed?"
"Mm…"
Suddenly, Satoshi tore his attention away from the sunset and over to Daisuke, taking the redhead slightly by surprise.
"Daisuke, why don't we go? Right now."
"Now? What about Dark?" Daisuke looked around him, wondering if perhaps Dark was standing somewhere nearby. He wasn't.
"Weren't you saying yesterday that you wanted to go without him?" Satoshi continued, a faint smile on his face.
"N-no! I never said that! Satoshi…."
"Lighten up, Daisuke. It was only a joke. I don't really want to leave the islands, but if we do leave, I know that I can always come back whenever I want. Isn't that right, Daisuke?"
Daisuke laughed nervously, causing his speech to stutter. "R-Right. Th-that's right."
"Great. We set sail tomorrow, then."
----------
Disney Castle
--Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one.
And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it.
There's someone with a "key"-the key to our survival.
So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction.
P.S.
Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.—
Queen Minnie set the letter down on the table, smoothing out the creases, before turning to the others gathered in the room—Donald, Goofy, and Daisy. Donald bowed his head, staring at the floor in dismay, Goofy shrugged and scratched the back of his head, and Daisy looked worried.
"Oh dear, what could this mean?"
"It means we'll just have to trust the king," Minnie reassured Daisy, moving to stand next to her.
"Gawrsh, I hope he's all right," Goofy said thoughtfully, placing one finger on his lips.
"Your Highness," Donald said, placing one hand over his heart, "don't worry. We'll find the king and this 'key'."
Minnie smiled. "Thank you." Turning to Goofy, she added, "Both of you."
Donald turned to the female duck, Daisy, next. "Daisy, can you take care of—"
"Of course," she interrupted him, nodding. "You be careful, now, both of you."
Just then, the queen remembered something and uttered a soft "Oh!" that was almost a squeak. She moved closer to the table.
"And to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." She gestured with one white-gloved hand towards the table. The court wizard peered at the table, confused, but didn't see anything but what had already been on there before, with the addition of the king's letter.
"Over here!" a tiny voice shouted.
Finally, Donald's eyes caught sight of something small jumping up and down on the tabletop. It was a cricket, a well-dressed one that stood on two legs. The insect wore what appeared to be a miniscule tuxedo jacket with a white shirt and red vest, along with a pale blue top hat and shiny black-and-white shoes. When he was noticed, the cricket tipped his hat in greeting and introduced himself.
"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service."
Minnie spoke up again. "We hope for your safe return. Please help the king."
Donald nodded and straightened into a salute, placing his hand over his heart again. Daisy and Minnie nodded at him in approval. Goofy seemed a bit confused about the whole thing, as he was standing next to Daisy, giving Donald a military salute. Donald glared at him as he stomped over to the guard captain and grabbed his arm.
"You're coming, too!" he quacked angrily, dragging Goofy from the library.
Later…
"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?"
Goofy, Donald, and Jiminy made their way down the huge spiral staircase leading to the Gummi ship hangar. Well, Goofy and Donald did; Jiminy rode on top of Goofy's hat. The ships were hardly ever used, but it was still handy to have them available in case an evacuation was required. Nobody really knew about them, except for the king, queen, and those very close to them. They were kept way below even the basement of the castle, where few could get without special permission.
"It was terrible," Jiminy continued. "We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle." He said the last part with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Goofy?" Donald asked suddenly.
"Oh, right. I gotcha," Goofy replied, remembering what the two had talked about earlier. "While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We've got to protect the world border." He was proud that he had remembered.
Donald shook his head. "'Order'."
"Right. World order." Goofy laughed.
Donald sighed and nobody said anything for a minute as they passed through a short tunnel.
"I guess we'll need new duds when we get there, huh?" Goofy asked as the trio passed through a door shaped like a crown. He was ignored.
The hangar looked less like a ship storage area and more like the inside of an enormous clock. There were gears of all sizes all over, most of them very large, with the largest one situated next to the entrance. A pair of giant white gloves glided about the area on tracks built into the ceiling, taking stuff from one place to another. A number of other devices existed that either sat stationary, or emitted steam or sounds, but few really knew exactly what these devices did, or even if they were actually necessary. The exceptions were the Gummi ships themselves, one of which was sitting right in the middle of the room.
There was a pipe in the corner of the control platform, similar in appearance to talking tubes used on sailing ships. Donald walked over to the tube and spoke into it, cupping a hand around his beak as he did so.
"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready."
Above the platform, one crewmember gave a crisp salute and he and his partner jumped into action. The chipmunk that had given the salute scampered across the control center and jumped onto a lever, causing it to lower. He then dropped to the ground and turned to the other chipmunk to make sure he had pulled the right lever.
Below, the hangar came to live. Steam began issuing from a number of pipes, and some gears began to turn rapidly. The gloves, which had been moving spare parts, glided over to Goofy and Donald and gently picked both of them up. The gloves then sped over to the Gummi ship and dropped the pair in. Just then, Pluto dashed into the room, skidded across the floor, and slid into the Gummi ship with a yelp.
A door just in front of the ship started opening, and the ship's engine started in response. As the seconds went by, the ship started vibrating, and the vibrations got stronger and stronger. The door opened all the way, revealing a runway lined with bright blue and red lights, which turned into barely visible pinpricks at the very end. The ship was slowly raised level with the runway, and down below, Daisy and the queen had appeared to see everyone off.
Donald winked gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to Daisy before pointing a finger down the runway.
"Blast off!" he yelled.
But the ship didn't. Instead, a red arrow appeared in front of the runway, pointing straight down. Somewhere, an alarm sounded and before anyone could react, the floor beneath the Gummi ship vanished. Donald and Goofy screamed as the ship immediately went into free-fall, falling through a pitch-black tunnel before the engine kicked back on. Donald regained his senses and took the controls, steering the ship out and into the unknown.
I would like to give credit to GameFAQs for the game script, which helped me write the Disney Castle part.