Part 3: Gracey Manor

Chapter 5: Gates

SORA POV:

We landed the Gummi Ship on what seemed to be a trail in the middle of a murky swamp. There was no sun and no sound. The trees were dry and gray with dead, hanging branches and dead, leafy vines. The ground was covered in dead, yellowish green grass, leaves and branches. I had an eerie feeling that the place looked like this year round.

I took a look behind me to see Riku and Kairi's reaction. Riku looked emotionless, but I was sure that he was probably feeling the same creepiness that I felt. Kairi, on the other hand, had a not-so-sure face.

"Let's go find the King," I tried saying lightly to try lessening the gloomy feel.

"Do you think it's going to rain?" Kairi gestured to the sky. I looked up and saw dark gray clouds gathering above us.

"Maybe," Riku guessed, "we better find some shelter." After a few short steps, we approached a gate attached to a cinderblock wall. The gate was rusted with some dead vines hanging on. The gate had a letter "G" emblazoned on top. Behind it, we could see a grand, gray mansion covered with vines. The place was rather vine-y.

"What do you suppose 'G' stands for?" I asked, feeling dazed.

"No idea," Riku & Kairi replied in pensive voices.

"Hey! Sora, Kairi, Riku! Over here!" We all turned our heads to the direction of the familiar voice. It was King Mickey in his black cloak!

"King Mickey!" I shouted and we all ran up to meet him. We greeted him with a hug.

"How are you?" Riku asked concernedly.

"Just fine," King Mickey giggled, "That new program works well."

"What new program?" I asked kind of confused as to the new program.

"Cid and Tron created a new program for the Gummi ship. It allows you to schedule meeting places. Just enter the time and place of the meeting place. When that time comes, just enter the Gummi Ship, start it up, and it'll take you to the meeting place."

"That was a great idea," Riku commented, clearly impressed.

"You have to tell that to Cid and Tron, not me," Kin Mickey said.

"So that's why we were brought here?" I confirmed. King Mickey nodded.

"I scheduled this meeting place three days ago."

"That's the day you lift Disney Castle," I pointed out.

"Mm-hm," King Mickey nodded.

"What are we supposed to be doing here?" Kairi asked, pointing to the Manor.

"There's an old gypsy living here," King Mickey replied, "I can't imagine anyone living here; except maybe ghosts."

"Why are we seeing her today?" Kairi asked inquiringly.

"To find out who's causing the heartless and darkness to spread. Everybody I have inquired during my travels have no idea about who's causing this. The gypsy living here may be the only ones who know."

"And you need us here to find out too," I finished for him.

"Exactly," King Mickey said brightly.

"How do we get in?" Riku asked.

"That's the problem," King Mickey said, "I think the gates open from the inside." Kairi bravely walked up to the gates.

"But the lock is outside the gate," she examined, "We can try signaling someone to open the gates for us." She beckoned the three of us over.

"Already tried," King Mickey said effortlessly, "Nobody came."

KAIRI POV:

"We can try again," I replied. I was positive that the gates would open eventually. "Hello! Anyone there? We got lost and need someplace to stay for the night." Really convincing Kairi. I've never been that loud before that it felt awkward. Nobody answered.

Riku and Sora stood on either side of me. Riku supportively put his hand on my shoulder. "It was a good try."

"We will wait all day for the gate to open if we have to," Sora smiled; I returned one.

"We don't have that much time, Sora," King Mickey said regretfully.

Then, I felt a cold, wet drip on my right cheek. I felt another, shortly after, and another and more of the cold and wet drippings fell. It was raining. We rushed back to the tree where we met King Mickey. Sora crouched me beneath his jacket, showing some efforts to keep me dry.

"Sora, you don't have to do this," I said, slightly feeling bad that he was getting wet and not me.

"I'd rather be sick than see you get sick." I smiled to myself, blushing and a bit flattered. Sweet Sora.

Just before we sat on the roots of the barren tree, we heard the creaking of metal. The gates were opening.

"Let's go!" Sora shouted. We all rushed through the gates and climbed the stairs to the front step of a pair of grand doors. I got a little bit wet, seeing how it is harder to keep dry underneath someone else's jacket while rushing through rain.

I laughed at Sora, and Riku and Kign Mickey joined in the laughter. Sora was soaking wet! Sora giggled and rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly. Then I thanked him for keeping me dry by giving him a great big hug. Then I kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you," I whispered into his ear.

RIKU POV:

I laughed at Sora being so wet. It was quite funny. I cleared my voice of laughter and smiled back at Kairi and Sora. I felt somewhat happy for them that they have slowly started to show their feelings for one another. But then I would wonder what it would be like to be loved and have a girlfriend. Though I didn't really know whether Sora and Kairi were dating or not. I just pushed the thought to the back of my head and focused on the task at hand.

I took hold of one of the door knockers. They were large and shaped as the head of a gargoyle. The door knockers were also heavy metal I realized as I knocked on the door. I took a step back and watched, along with the others, as the door opened. We all entered and as I looked behind the door that opened, there was no one behind it, closing the door.

Sorry for taking a long time to type this chapter. I have been busy with moving and school work. BTW, I wrote the haunted mansion's appearance based on what I remembered so I apologize for any misconceptions of the Haunted Mansion's actual physical appearance. Also, don't criticize me for making Riku's side be so short. I at least wanted him to participate in this chapter so at least I did.

All-in-all, I hope you enjoy. I will try and have more chapters up quickly, but I can't guarantee that I will have them up very soon. Don'tforget to R&R! ^_^