"God, I hope I read that map right…" Riku thought nervously to himself, as he still was seeing nothing but assorted debris and more of that dammed blue-green space. A few times, he saw some Heartless/Nobodies flying around in packs, by which he responded by killing his engines, and hoping to God they thought his pod was another piece of debris. So far, it had worked, though there had been a time when a Nobody came closer to investigate the cockpit. He had played dead, and thankfully it had bought his ruse, and moved on. "But Jesus…" he thought "The sooner I get to the Disney Castle, the better."
He had decided on heading to the Disney Castle mostly 'cause the Gummi Pod barley had enough fuel to reach the Castle (he hoped dearly that his calculations where accurate, and cursed himself for flirting with girls all though his Algebra 2 class) and that King Mickey was his only real friend outside of the Destiny Islands. He hadn't been traveling around the worlds much (not like Sora at least), and when he had, it was in the service of Maleficent; a job not conducive to making friends. The only other place that was populated with people who could actually help him was Radiant Garden, and he didn't know the people there that well; they were more Sora's friends then his, plus the fact that the world is incredibly far away. So, his only realistic destination was- "the Disney Castle!" he exclaimed aloud as he spotted the World from far away.
Right as he said that, an explosion nearby rocked his Pod. He turned his Pod around just in time to see what he assumed to be a Gummi Warship. It was huge, and resembled a battleship, only it was wider and shorter then a water battle ship, and was obviously lacking the exposed deck. A message crackled in on the shortwave HAM radio attached to his dashboard; "Unidentified craft, state your purpose here or prepare to be fired upon." Riku recognized the voice as Chip's. He pressed down the broadcast button. "Hello? Chip? It's me, Riku. I really need you to-"
"Riku?" a voice interrupted from the background. Riku instantly recognized the voice as belonging to no one other then Donald Duck. "Riku, what are you doing all the way out here? Especially in a dinky little jalopy like that…"
"I'll explain everything once you get me to King Mickey. But first, I'll need to come aboard; you firing on me ruptured my fuel tank…" Donald laughed nervously "Sorry, Riku, how were we supposed to know that a random Gummi Pod would have you in it? Don't worry, I'll send out a retrieval team on the double. See you in the hanger." And with that, Donald ended the transmission.
"So, how have you and the gang been doing?" Donald asked as they walked away from the Gummi Pod and the retrieval Gummi Ship. "Oi, I have nothing but bad news from the Destiny Islands…"Riku said, in melancholy tone "The Islands have been swallowed in to Darkness, once aga-" "WHAAAT! HOW, WHAT, WHO-" Donald interrupted loudly. Riku went on to explain the happings of the last few months; Sora and Kairi getting whisked away by King Mickey, them telling the guys on the Island to forget the trip ever happened, Aku attacking the Island, consuming the heart of the Islands, and finally him landing that gig in LA. "Phooey. Last time I went to LA, I was swarmed by Disney fans. Bah, Walt Disney is a thief; he took all the credit for just retelling and animating me, Mickey, and Goofy's adventures. Gave us some bullshit about us 'never saying that he couldn't use the tales we told him as inspiration for cartoons!' Mickey and Goofy accepted it, but I still think the Disney Company owes us a lot more then the six-pence they paid to shut us up…" Riku nodded "Yea, and Disney's really gone downhill these days; all they really have now is tradition. They kinda phased you guys out of their line-up of shows. Hey, I'm all for giving new shows a chance to shine, but Disney channel has hardly any cartoons anymore! And the cartoons they do have…basically, if you want good 'toons nowadays, you just don't watch the Disney Channel."
As Riku said that, they arrived on the bridge of the Gummi Battleship, which Donald had informed him was called the Kingdom's Keep, after the stronghold of a Castle. Though an attempt was made to keep the colors of the Battleship uniform blue, white, and green, there were a few exceptions to the uniform. They were, however, well blended in, and often their placement looked intentional. The bridge was wide, but not high. However, the ceiling was round like a dome, adding a spacer feel to the place. The Captains' chair was raised above the semi-circle of operational computers, manned by a variety of creatures; most of them, however, where the magical brooms that King Mickey had in his service around the castle. There were quite a bit of exceptions though, making this ship seem more like it was in the service of Traverse Town, in Riku's mind. "Captain Pikley! Status report!" Donald barked at the raised Capitan's chair. The Chair swerved around, revealing a very pale yellow skinned, one-eyed alien, in full blue and gold naval brass uniform. He nervously snapped to attention, and replied "Holding course, Admiral, sir! Nothing notable, besides…well, the man beside you, sir." He stiffly nodded at Riku, still at attention. Donald grinned, and replied, "As you were, Captain." Pikley then ran up to Riku, and heartily shook his hand. "You are Riku, the Riku? Well, my gosh, it's an honor to meet you! I've heard so much about you from His Majesty and the Admiral! I'm Captain Pikley, Commander of this fine vessel before you! Yes sir, she's my pride and joy; oversaw her construction from the moment the first Gummi Brick was laid."
"He was my first choice to command this vessel, as he was the only candidate with prior naval experience." Donald remarked to Riku. "Oooh yes, and I run a tight ship here!" Pikley said, his chest swelling with pride as he spoke "Just because this is the King's first and only battleship doesn't mean that were going to act like a rabble of brigands here! Oh no, this is a proper, regal naval-PETTY OFFICER STITCH! JUST WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR UNIFORM, SAILOR? And why aren't you at your post?" Donald and Riku looked back to the entrance to the bridge, to see that little blue creature that just arrived on the bridge, his uniform disheveled and cover with stains greenish in color. Stitch replied in his cutsey alien voice, "The starboard coolant tank is still being a giant poo-face…we're'a gonna need all the help we can get." Pikley and Donald rubbed their temples in frustration. Donald spoke up "Why do a job right, when you can do it twice, no three times now…Pikley, please, take care of this faulty tank as best you can. Alert me if you have to bring her in for repairs…again." Pikley saluted Donald, then commanded most of the bridge staff to follow him.
"Wow, ya think he can handle this? He seems a bit…jumpy…" Riku commented as some other crew members trudged down the hall, complaining loudly about how many bloody times they would have to fix this damn coolant tank. "He's just an anxious person, it's his personality. But he's a careful person, and has years of naval command under his belt. Not the most creative or charismatic, but he's one thing the King's fleet needs; he's professional. Speaking of the King, we must be headed off to his majesty's on the double." Riku looked amused "'On the double'? You've really let the rank of Admiral get to you, Donald. Soon you'll be saying 'As you where' instead of good-bye, '1600' instead of '4 o'clock'-" Donald punched Riku in the arm "(sigh) and I thought having a real job would tame your smart-assery, if ever so slightly…" Riku grinned mischievously "Really, Donald. It'll take more than a summer job to tame this asshole." "Oh, you wait until you have a woman in your life, Riku, she'll straighten you out…" Donald replied as he strutted off down the hall, and headed towards the hanger.
Roxas woke up into the darkness of his room. Well, his and Namine's room, technically, he thought with a grin as he reminisced to the passionate, wild sex they'd had last night. He didn't even know how it happened: he was looking into her eyes, she into his, and…boom. The lamps dimmed, lighting the room ever so slightly. Roxas smiled and thought "Keeper, you're a good person, and I thank you for your hospitality." A breath of air swirled around the room, carrying the words "You're ever so welcome, lover boy." Roxas looked over to his companion, who was just waking from her slumber. She wrapped her arms around his bare body. "Mmmm…morning, you stallion…" he kissed her on the forehead "Morning to you too, gorgeous."
Suddenly, a purple-black orb formed in the middle of the room, scaring them half to death. Before they could react, Elenar's face materialized in the orb, her face about the size of a Big Rig wheel. "So, you two are finally up. Good, because we need you two up in the Great Hall. You know, that big door you passed on the way down there. Yea, get some clothes on and get your sorry asses down here." The orb disappeared, just as suddenly as it had appeared. Namine was a concerned, and as she was getting dressed (Caretaker anticipated Elenar, and there where clothes on the desk) she voiced this worry: "That didn't sound good. She was all serious and everything, didn't even take a crack at us in bed together." Roxas nodded as he slipped on the shorts, and said nothing, which told Namine more then what he could have said.
The two blonde Nobodies came into a large hall, decorated with very self-centered paintings, depicting the members of the League of Four battling heroically or posing of portraits of themselves. There was a semi-circular table, raised a few feet above the floor, and at it, sat the League: Braig, Rudolf, Elenar, and Marlian. Lea sat at the end of a row of three chairs set up of them. "Take your seat, we have much to discuss here." Braig coolly. Roxas and Namine obeyed, and sank into their chairs nervously. "Lea has elaborated your predicament thus far, and I speak for all of the League in saying we almost feel sorry for you."
"Maybe not the whole League, as I don't feel sorry for them very much at all." Said Marlian "Aku let them go for a reason, and the none of the possibilities are very good…"
"Still," Elenar interjected, "Aku has an interest in them for a reason. We've all noticed that Aku has been keeping to himself lately. We also know, through my work, that Aku has been venturing into the Realm of Light. The existence of these two proves that he's collecting hearts. For what reason, I don't know, but that's what he's doing. So, I elect that we keep them here, and see what Aku does…"
"What about the diplomatic path? If he does have an interest in them, we could bargain with him. He has plenty of things we want, and I'm sure he wants these two-" Elenar interrupted, haughtily rebuking Rudolf, saying that if Aku wanted them that badly, he could have just kept them. The Semi-circle broke out into one big argument over Aku's intensions, and how Roxas and Namine could be useful.
Though, Roxas had stopped listening, because he suddenly felt strange.
His hearing was fading, the voices of the League becoming nothing but murmuring. He felt something, something building inside him…energy, a screaming clump of energy, bursting out of him. Involuntarily, Roxas looked up, opened his mouth wide, and let a white-blue beacon of light burst forth. He coughed a few times, and he heard Namine doing the same. "Fuck!" was all Elenar could say before two figures apparated in front of the two blonde Nobodies.
"Well, well…" the hooded figure (who was indeed Auros)in front of Roxas said "Look who we found."
Just then, more shadows (most being the Heartless Shadows) flashed across the floor of the hall. "Yes indeed, look who we have here." Aku, the Dark Lord everyone was talking about, said as he apparated right behind Auros and Irika. He put his hands on their shoulders, in a fatherly sort of way. Auros and Irika willed their weapons into their hands, not helping Roxas' and Namine's rising sense of panic.
"Now, now, children, Daddy Aku doesn't like it when you run off and use his magic without his permission…which is exactly what you just did." Aku said, the false friendly voice he had been using falling into a menacing growl.
"Oh, I think your 'children' are the least of your problems, Aku." Marlian interjected, him and the League drawing their weapons. Not a moment later, a troop of Dusks apparated into the hall, a little less in number then the horde of Shadows that had accompanied Aku.
"Oh, it never fails. I'm up shit creek once again. Well, this ought to be at least interesting…" Lea thought bitterly. Some of the Shadows formed a semi-circle around him where he was standing by the giant doors at the entrance to the massive hall, and he willed his staff to come to him.
"I wasn't talking to you, Nobody lover. You should learn to speak to your superiors with respect." The masked man growled at the League member behind him. Elenar interjected haughtily "When I find someone who is superior to me, I'll be sure to remember that!" on the last word, she lunged at Aku. The Dark Lord caught her with his gauntlets, and all hell broke loose.
Roxas and Namine didn't waste any time; they booked it out of there as fast as they could, blasting and slicing through Nobodies and Heartless indiscriminately. They had just reached the door, when Marlian jumped in the way, his Scythe gripped tightly. "You two aren't going anywhe-"
He was interrupted by Lea blasting him out of the way with a well aimed Fire Blast. "Alright, lets blow this popsicle stand." The three of them quickly rushed out of the hall, only to have to run through a horde of Dusks and Shadows, quickly mustering at the call of their masters.