A/N: Alright, looking at the general plot, I'm not sure if I can get everyone's requests in this story *Aww!* But I am considering a small series of adventures with the Helper in different story settings with different Disney Characters. It would focus on one specific adventure/character. It depends if you readers want one or not. ;)

Chapter 5: The Gateway

As Max and Goofy started setting up the fruit stand again, Oswald and the Helper continued down the street. She was no longer interested in the bright lights or bustling crowds; she was too focused on her new name, new friends, and the new life that awaited her. She was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning, maybe even happier! All symptoms of weariness and pain seamed to vanish as they reached the square at the end of the street.

"Alright," Oswald started as they approached the train station, "to get to my place, we need to leave the Lands and head to D.C.A. through the Gateway. I can't wait to see what the kids think of ya. Maybe—"

He stopped, noticing that the Helper was staring at the gigantic building in front of her. The train station stood on a raised platform with a grand staircase leading up to it. The main rectangular building was a gentile peach color with a light blue roof, intricate wrought iron and four small, rounded windows. To the left on the roof was a stout, circular tower with eight sides (including the side connected to the main building). Each light pink side held a rectangular window placed underneath a triangular red roof panel, which all met at a much smaller circle of windows topped with a matching red spire. The right side also had a tower of similar height, but this one it closely resembled a simple glass greenhouse trimmed with a different style of wrought iron. In the center rose a dusty-red brick section trimmed with white. Above the large window was a glowing, golden clock and a tall pyramidal roof of grey-gold. Like the rest of the street, it was illuminated in the soft golden lights and the faint silver of the half moon in the cloudless night sky.

Oswald stood and let her look at the station for a while longer. After several minutes of gaping, she whispered so quietly that even Oswald's large ears barely picked it up.

"It's…lovely."

"Yeah…" Oswald also started admiring the fine details when his eyes landed on the clock face. "Shoot! It's already 3:30? Come on, we gotta go before were late!"

He hurried off to one of the passageways beneath the train tracks with the Helper close on his heels. It was surprisingly dark in the short tunnel and once they emerged on the other side, the golden lights and general buzz of the crowd disappeared, replaced with the silence of the silver moonlight. They walked through a wide courtyard with average brown buildings on both ends. Behind them stood the train station (the only thing illuminated in gold lighting) and the expanse of garden in front of it. There were several bright flowers aligned to form swirling patterns around a face that looked similar to Oswald, except that the ears were round. After pausing a moment to examine the flowers, she called to Oswald.

"Whoever planted these flowers messed up your ears." She said matter-of-fact-ly

"Oh…" Oswald replied somewhat awkwardly "um…yeah, well…ya see, that's, uh… that's not me."

"Then who is it?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"It's…uh…well, he's kind of…an adopted brother…of mine." Oswald shifted uncomfortably, as he always did when referring to his former enemy as a brother. He added quickly "it's complicated."

Seeing her friend's discomfort, she dropped the subject for now and followed him to the green gates opposite the station. She peered behind the turnstiles and saw nothing; there was just fog so thick that you would get lost in one step. It was spooky. She quickly retreated to Oswald's side again. In the center of the row of turnstiles, there was an especially large black gate. It stood about ten feet tall with black iron bars that reached the top of the arched entrance. Behind this gate was not mysterious fog, but the blackness of a deep cave. In the center of the bars was a large round plate made of the same black metal. On the plate was a simple castle engraved in silver placed in the center. Just under the castle were the letters D.L. and a small horizontal slit.

They reached the gate and Oswald pulled out a shining golden card that was the size of a regular credit card. It was vertical and had a black silhouette of Oswald posed on the front. The silhouette was above the letters DC and (in a smaller print) his name. On the back in the upper right corner was a picture of him from the chest up. The very bottom was taken up by a series of interlocking black bars like a barcode, except if you looked at them long enough you would notice that the bars were constantly shifting ("To stop anyone from copying it" Oswald explained later). The rest of the card was taken up with personal facts.

Birthday: Sep. 5 1927 / Feb. 15 2006 (Two birthdays? She thought)

Original Designers: Ub Iwerks / Walt Disney

Voice Partner: Frank Welker

Oswald took the card so that it faced up and slid it into the slot beneath the castle. After a few moments, the letters shimmered and changed from silver to a mixture of light blues and the castle was colored in blue-grays and pinks. As he removed the card, a voice seemed to come from the panel itself. All it said was "Welcome" but that was all it took for the Helper to recognize it. The gates opened and Oswald stepped through and waited for her to follow.

"That voice…" she started trembling again.

"Yeah, what about it?" Oswald asked, very confused at her reaction.

"It…it was t-the one from…from my vision…when I was asleep" she explained.

"Those are called dreams…or nightmares if they were bad. Why are you so upset? Did you have a nightmare?"

"I don't think so…it scared me, but in a good way."

"Huh…well…" Oswald had no way to respond to such an odd statement, so he changed the subject. "We'll figure it out later; right now we gotta get home before it gets too late out"

She nodded and cautiously crept forward into the dark.

It was so cold in there, she wondered if this place had ever seen sunlight. It seemed that only after the clank of the gates closing behind them was heard, that a faint light lit up ahead. After a bit more walking, the two toons entered one of the most magical places in the entire Kingdom. It was a grand circular courtyard with the velvet black sky and mysterious, far-off stars spread out above them. The light-grey stone walls were about two feet thick between each of the grand gates and were covered in an ivy plant speckled with tiny, white flowers that smelled faintly of jasmine. All of the gates were identical to the one they entered, except for the black panel, which had a unique symbol and set of letters for each one.

The ground was shiny and black, like obsidian, and reflected the sky so that it looked like you were walking amongst the stars. On the ground in the center of this huge area was a large circle, surrounded with smaller circles that were the same size as the gate plates. In the center of the larger circle was a star with four large points, and four smaller points in-between, like a compass rose. However these were not the most astounding, magical things by a long shot. Hovering twenty feet in the air was a real star, bright blue-white light reaching out from it in all directions.

Oswald ignored the light and walked along the gates, looking for a specific plate. In a daze, the Helper walked slowly up to the light. It was like a snowflake, never the same pattern twice; or a crystal, so beautiful and fragile looking, yet so powerful at the same time; perhaps it was more like the sun, so bright and full of life. It was all these things at once, a million times over, a million times better. Yet the instinctive greed that everyone would get when faced with such a wonder never came. Instead she was overcome with ideas and plans of every kind. One such idea was what this thing actually was. A Star? A Jewel?—

"Inspiration" Oswald said, suddenly behind her "that's pure inspiration. It's everywhere here, and since this is where the entire Kingdom connects, this is where it's strongest."

"Wow…" she whispered in wonder.

"Now," Oswald clapped his hands together, breaking the mood "let's see here…"

He looked at the ground, inspecting the small black and silver panels. The Helper looked down at the one in front of her feet, which was exactly the same as the panel on the first gate (except for the card slit). She followed Oswald's lead slowly and closely examined each panel in turn. She saw a water tower with round ears, partnered with a pointed hat (with similar ears) with the letter D.H.S., a golf ball looking icon with E., and the outline of Oswald's 'brother's' head in front of three wavy lines with initials D.C.L..

"Found it!" Oswald exclaimed, pointing at a different panel. It was next to D.H.S. and a new panel, which had a bear-shaped mountain and the initials D.C.A. It was strange though, because the panel Oswald was pointing to had the same letters, except that they were thicker, rounder and tilted at slight angles. The icon was once again Oswald's brother, but this one had pointed spokes coming from behind it. Oswald spun on his heels, marched up to the panel's matching gate, and slid his card in. The letters shimmered and turned a yellow color, and the face lit up in black and white with the spokes turning a golden color, like that of the sun.

"After this tunnel, we'll practically be in the house!" Oswald said cheerily.

She looked at the Inspiration again, trying to keep its beauty in her mind's eye. She knew it was useless; nothing can imitate a fraction of the phenomenon held in this courtyard. She rushed after Oswald and once again, they set off down the dark tunnel. After a moment, she asked something that's been nagging in her mind for a while.

"O-Oswald, What is your adopted brother's name?"

He sighed, knowing that this question would pop up sooner or later. He also knew what questions were to follow…'What's he like?'…'When can I meet him?'…'Where is he?'…his ears drooped at the last question. I wish I knew…

"Mickey. His name's Mickey Mouse."

"Ah, Thank you" she said politely, dropping the subject due to Oswald's reaction.

When they exited the tunnel, the Helper did a double take. It seemed as though they went through a time machine, not a tunnel. The Street in front of them was like a picture taken out of the 1920's. There was a small square with young trees, brickwork on the ground and a large flagpole right in the middle. The buildings were all colored light tan and trimmed in brown, as well as the occasional teals and silvers. There was a wire above the middle of the street (for the Red Trolley Cars she learned later on) and a bridge farther on. At the end she could make out a tall church-like movie theater. The entire street was lined with lamps, benches and fenced trees.

The street was not as busy as Main Street had been, but weather that was because Main Street was more popular, or because of the late hour, she couldn't tell. A young man with a monkey on his back (literally) was walking out of the candy store; the monkey's cheeks were suspiciously large and lumpy. At the open fruit market to the right, a tall mouse (he looked more like a rat in her opinion) who had a noticeable black eye was quickly closing up shop. To the left was a car service station, in front of which stood a cat with a frilly pink skirt and hat, who was shaking her fist at the large mouse across the street.

"…And I'd better not catch your big nose around here again, do you hear me? I—Oswald!" her attention was quickly redirected at the sight of her husband. She skipped over to greet him "Where have you been! I was getting worried. Not to mention you missed the bedtime stories for the kids."

"Sorry, I was…ya know…looking." Oswald replied, crestfallen.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up for this. We'll find him. Perhaps we just need a little help." The cat responded with a smile.

"Hay! That reminds me. I found someone in the castle, Ortensia! Allow me to introduce—Huh?" Oswald looked around, finding that his new friend had vanished. "I swear she was just here. She had a skirt and little black wings-"

"Black wings, Huh?" Ortensia asked skeptically. She looked like she was about to question him further, when she glanced over his shoulder and frowned "Uh-oh, I think found her."

She was pointing towards the bridge. Underneath the bridge was a small shop called Julius Kats and Sons, the 'owner' is Julius the cat who moved in once the shop was completed (but no one knows if the humans know about this yet, or not). He was in a series of cartoons called the Alice Comedies before Oswald's series existed. He was forgotten about quickly, but most toons can handle that. What separates him from the other toons (besides the fact that he still doesn't have a voice) is the fact that his best friend and coworker, 'Alice', was a human. When the series stopped, he no longer got to see Alice, and didn't even get a chance to say good bye before she grew up and away.

He was busy sweeping in front of the shop when the Helper skipped over to see him. She saw that he was different right away. Sure he was a toon, but why is a toon cat calmly sweeping a store, especially without any antics or slip-ups? Up close, she could see old age behind the young looking face, and sadness buried within the large, happy toon eyes.

"Hello, sir." The Helper said, performing a gracious bow "How are you this evening?"

Startled at the sudden guest, Julius liked around then pointed to himself. Who, me? The Helper replied with a nod, catching on quickly. Yes, I mean you. The cat put his hand to his chin and looked up, thinking. He looked at her and smiled, giving her a thumb up. I'm good. That's when Oswald came up to the two.

"Hay, Julius. She isn't bothering ya, is she? It's just that she's new around here" Oswald explained.

The cat responded in a series of motions and moved his mouth in silent speech. While he spoke, Oswald changed. His feet, fingers and ears became boxier, his navy blue shouts lost their color, and he became…rounder in all. Curious as that was, when Julius was done talking, Oswald responded in the same silent speech. They went back and forth in this small conversation peacefully, until Oswald pointed at Helper and then to Ortensia. Julius nodded, waved at Helper, and then shook hands with Oswald, who waved good night.

As Julius went inside, Oswald changed back to his blue shorted self. He took Helper's hand and walked back to Ortensia.

"Ohh…How'd it go?" She asked nervously

"He said he's better," Oswald said, using his voice again "but he still seamed sad ta me…but, he did like this little one" he smiled and jabbed thumb towards Helper.

"Oh, She so cute" Ortensia squealed happily. Before anyone could object, she picked up the child and hugged her gently "Why, you poor thing! Your just skin and bone! Don't worry; I'll have you all better in no time."

With that she marched into their shop, the Helper still softly, but firmly, within the motherly grasp. At the back of the shop was a door marked 'Cast Members Only', which opened up into a small living room. From here, the Helper could see a small (and terribly messy) kitchen. In no time at all, Ortensia had made fresh soup for the weary travelers. With the fresh scent of food, a few kids woke up and snuck downstairs. After a bit of spying, they made themselves known. They leapt over the couch and tackled the newcomer.

"Hay, who are you?"

"Are you new?"

"Will you play with us?"

"Wanna read a bedtime story?"

Question after question after question, until Ortensia finally noticed the intruders and tried to send them to bed, which only awoke more of the little rascals. The Helper just laughed and answered as many questions as she could. Once Oswald caught sight of the special, he laughed.

"I guess you're a part of the family now" he laughed, before he too was attacked.

With a story or two and a dozen good night kisses, the little bunnies finally fell asleep in their beds. Ortensia got a spare pillow and blanket and intended to sleep on the couch. The Helper insisted on sleeping there instead, and after a brief debate, Ortensia gave in. they all said goodnight and the Helper settled into bed for the best sleep she has ever had in her life.

A/N: if you didn't catch the reference…

-The base of the train station is from the Magic Kingdom in Florida.

-The left tower is inspired by the Disneyland hotel in France (which is where the train station relative to the other parks)

-The right tower is to represent the roof over Main Street in Tokyo (also over the train station)

-Center tower represents the Original Disneyland and Hong Kong

The plates…

-D.L. The Disney Lands (all combined in the one park)

-D.H.S Disney Hollywood Studios (Walt Disney Studios in France and Hollywood Studios in Florida)

-E. Epcot in Florida

-D.C.L. Disney Cruise Line (a port that leads to all ships)

-D.C.A. Disney's California Adventure

-The young man and his monkey were Aladdin and Abu.

-The rat…Ahem…mouse was Mortimer Mouse, Mickey's ravel who goes after everyone's gal

-Ortensia is Oswald's wife (Sadie is her real name, but nowadays, she uses her 'stage name' Ortensia)