Chapter 9: Journey in the Stars

Sora had dreams of space. It was often the subject of them. Just the fact that there was more out there intrigued him. He had been excited when Riku came up with the idea of building a raft. The opportunity to see new places was something that Sora could not have passed up, even if there was the threat of danger. He always wondered what it would look like. He pictured himself floating in space calmly with his eyes wide open, staring at the marvel that lay before him. Sora always thought that it would be the most comfortable feeling ever. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"Jeeeeeeesus!" Alex screamed at the top of his lungs as the Gummi Ship blasted off into space. He was gripping the sidebars of the seat so tightly he was afraid he would break his hands. His teeth were clenched together and rattling.

"Yee-haw!" Goofy yelled with his arms raised in the air. This experience was nothing new to him. He took great pleasure in blasting off into space. It was quite the adrenaline rush.

Sora was feeling a rush alright, but it wasn't adrenaline. More like his stomach was rushing up to meet his face. He was lying on the floor of the cockpit, gripping his mouth with his hand. He really hoped he didn't throw up in mid-flight. He looked to his side to see Jiminy Cricket gripping a spiky edge to his hair and holding on for dear life.

It seemed to take an eternity for the rush to stop, when in reality it took only a few seconds. It took Alex a few minutes to realize that they had stopped, or rather the turbulence had stopped. Donald turned to Alex with a sincere smile.

"Want to look?" Alex didn't get the question at first, but soon realized that the duck was motioning to the glass dome that was around them.

Alex got out of his seat and looked to the ceiling. Stars took over the sky and shined brightly through the infinite blackness of space. Alex had seen pictures of space before and the concept was not new to him as much as with Sora, but the fact that he was in outer space brought chills down Alex's spine. He was surprised to see the sky changing color. It started as black, but started to grow brighter until it became a bright green. Then it changed to a darker shade of blue. Alex knew that wasn't in any textbook or movie he had ever seen. Space seemed to be moving in waves of color. Alex looked to his side to see Sora standing right beside him. He looked even closer to see a little tear running down Sora's cheek.

"I just...can't believe it," Sora choked out. "We made it."

"Yeah," Alex started to tear up too. "We did make it buddy."

On any other occasion the boys would have wiped their tears away and been done with it, but this occasion wasn't like the others.

"Man hug!" Alex and Sora leaped in the air and bumped chests while throwing their arms around each other for a quick second. Donald and Goofy watched the boys as they displayed this rare case of affection. Donald had definitely been hesitant to bring the two boys on the ship and with trusting his life to theirs. But at this moment, Donald didn't regret showing them this. He felt a little joy and pity for the both of them.

"Look at that star!" Alex pointed to a shooting star that passed the Gummi Ship.

"Wow!" Sora opened his eyes wide at the sight of it.

"Get used to it boys," Donald said without looking at them.

"You mean there's more?" Sora said, eagerly awaiting the answer.

"Oh there's more where that came from," Goofy grinned at them.

"Excuse me!"

Alex and Sora turned around to see Jiminy Cricket standing on a chair looking quite irritated.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he tossed an angry look at Donald, " I am your chronicler for this journey."

"Meaning what?" Sora asked.

"Meaning, young man, that I am in charge for writing down every single detail of your journey," Jiminy explained. "This includes backstory, so tell me your side of the story from the beginning."

Alex grew a little nervous at the mention of this. According to everyone else, his back story was amnesia. He shook the nervousness away. Jiminy didn't know him. There was no way he could have know that he came from Earth.

"Alex you don't have to," Sora said. "I'll do it."

"You sure?" Alex knew that the loss of the islands and Riku and Kairi would be tough to talk about, especially for Sora. He only lived there all of his life and knew Riku and Kairi better than Alex did. Dark Alex might have raided the islands to get to Alex, but he shuddered to think of what Sora would have done if he knew what Alex did. He probably would have given Dark Alex a bigger beating than Alex himself did.

"Yeah I'm sure," Sora said. "It happened and the best way to deal with it is to start talking about it. I can't act like it didn't."

It was one of those rare moments when Alex realized that Sora was more mature than he gave him credit for.

Jiminy must have read Alex's mind. "I'm sorry for my bluntness. If you need more time, I understand. The two of you must have undergone a terrible ordeal at the hands of the Heartless to be where you are now."

Sora shook his head. "No I'm ready."

Jiminy led Sora down the ladder and back to the hallways. Sora entered a room that he had claimed his own. It had stylish, red carpeting and a purple bed. This room, like Alex's, also contained dressers for clothes and a bathroom.

"All right," Jiminy pulled out his minuscule notebook and pencil, "start from the beginning."

Sora gulped and began his tale. It was actually easier than he thought it would be. It also helped that Jiminy was a good listener and never interrupted him. Before he knew it, Sora had been talking for an entire hour.

Jiminy took a quick read of what he had written and couldn't believe it himself. "I'm sorry for your loss Sora. I really am. I know what it's like to lose your home."

"Thanks Jiminy," Sora was starting to like the cricket.

Donald had told the boys that it would be awhile before they actually got to a world. They decided to get some much needed sleep. They were out as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Alex didn't dream that night. A much needed improvement he would have thought. Sora didn't sleep as well as Alex. Part of it was because he was anxious about the different worlds they were going to see. The other part was because true to his word, Alex had scared Sora in the middle of his nap.

While the boys were sound asleep in their beds, Donald and Goofy were at work trying to contact Disney Castle.

"Goofy did you send the message?" Donald twirled in his chair to face him.

"Yep sure did. They should be responding pretty soon."

"I hope so," Donald said. "They should know that we found the Keybearer."

A red light began to light up on the dashboard of the cockpit.

"Incoming message from Disney Castle," an emotionless computer voice said.

"I can see thank you very much," Donald said. "Goofy bring the screen up."

"Aye aye sir," Goofy said and pressed a button. Immediately, the lights in the cockpit went out.

"The other button you nincompoop!!" Donald quacked loudly.

"Oops, ayuck sorry," Goofy said. He quickly turned the light back on and pressed the button right next to it.

Right in front of them, a computer screen appeared on the glass dome. The screen showed Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck in the library.

"Your Majesty," Donald said cordially.

"How are ya doin'?" Goofy tipped his hat.

"Oh my," Daisy clapped her hands together. "It is so nice to see that you are safe. I was starting to get worried."

Donald sighed. Daisy had always been a worrier.

"Everything's all right," Donald said. "Don't worry about me Daisy. You're gonna give yourself an ulcer."

"Your Majesty," Goofy took over. "We bring good news. We found the boy with the Keyblade."

"This is good news indeed," Minnie said. "Mic-I mean the King said such in his letter that whoever holds the key will be great help to us."

Goofy made a mental note to try to keep the conversation away from the King. Minnie must be going through a hard time right now.

"He sure is Your Highness," Goofy said. "He really knows how to really give it too the Heartless."

"He sure does," Donald agreed. "And that's not all."

Minnie frowned. "What is it?"

"We picked up another boy," Donald explained. "He was traveling with the Keybearer. The two of them are friends apparently."

"Another boy?" Minnie asked. "Why did you feel so compelled to bring him along?"

Goofy stepped in," With all due respect Your Highness, Alex seems like a nice kid. He isn't that bad of a fighter either."

Donald nodded in agreement, although he still was a little curious.

"All right," Minnie said. "If you trust him, then I trust him too. Please find the King. I fear he is in the worst danger."

"Never fear Your Majesty," Donald assured her. "We will find him. You can count on it."

"Thank you," Minnie said, brushing a tear away from her cheek.

"You boys be careful out there," Daisy said. "Those Heartless seem like they mean business."

"Don't worry Miss Daisy," Goofy said. "I'll bring your sweetheart back in one piece."

The transmission ended and the computer screen disappeared from the glass revealing space once again. Donald smacked Goofy over the back of his head.

Alex wasn't sure how long he had slept. It was hard to tell time in space. It was an eternal night. Despite this, Alex had gotten a good sleep. He rolled the covers away from his legs and pulled himself out of the comfortable bed. Before getting into bed, he had changed out of his clothes into some pajamas. Alex was surprised to see his jeans, shoes, shirt, and jacket all folded nicely on the bedside.

Cool, Alex thought. Room service that sneaks into your room at night. That's not creepy at all.

Alex removed his pajamas and got into his regular clothes. He went to the bathroom to wash his face to help clear his head. He took a good look at himself in the mirror. Even though his face and body hadn't changed that much, he knew he had changed on the inside. Alex didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. Scared of what was to come. Scared of the unknown. He knew that everyone was scared of what they don't understand, but this just went beyond that. This time what he didn't understand were monsters that suck out hearts, Disney characters coming to life, and most of all, the chilling last words of Dark Alex. Alex wondered if he was ready to face the unknown.

"Hey Alex," He turned to see Sora in the hallway.

"Let's go up," Sora pointed to the ladder and started to climb.

"Yeah, sure," Alex breathed deeply and climbed.

Space had changed. Now it was fully bright, only changing between blue and green. Something was different.

"What's going on?" Alex asked.

"We are coming up on our first world," Donald explained.

"Really," Sora smiled. "What is it?"

"Can't tell you right now," Goofy said. "We'll have to call in the specialists."

"Which is?" Alex said.

Goofy turned his chair and began typing a message on a computer in the back. Sora leaned his head to see what it was. He was typing a message. Goofy clicked the enter key and sent the message.

"Should be comin' up right now," Goofy gave Donald a thumbs up.

"All right," Donald said. "Goofy, I swear if you press the wrong button this time-"

"Don't worry Donald," Goofy said. "I don't make the same mistake twice." He pressed the button by the computer.

Boy if I had a nickel for every time that's happened, Donald thought.

The computer screen came back on the glass and Alex wondered who they would be talking to now. The screen stopped showing static and became clear, showing two little chipmunks that made Alex leap back in surprise.

"Boys I want to introduce you to the best pilots I know, Chip and Dale," Donald pointed to them.

"You bet your sweet bippy we are," Chip said.

"We are?" Dale scratched his head. "Oh yeah we are."

"Who're the new guys?" Chip pointed to Alex and Sora.

"A-hem," Donald cleared his throat. "This is-"

"Sora, the Keyblade master, and his friend Alex," Goofy quickly interrupted. He turned to see steam practically rising from Donald's head.

"Sora and Alex, huh?" Dale said. "Nice to meet you both."

"You guys are the best pilots around?" Sora tried to hold back his laughter. "Aren't you guys a little...well..little to be pilots."

"Wrong choice of words there pal," Alex shook his head.

"What are you suggesting there string bean?" Chip got really close to the screen which made his head seem bigger than Sora's body. "If you're sayin what I think you're sayin, why I oughta-"

"He didn't mean nothin' by it Chip," Goofy quickly tried to resolve the situation.

"He better not have," Chip said, all while giving Sora an evil look. Sora smiled nervously.

"Anyhoo," Donald got back to the point. "The reason why we called is that we need to know where we should start looking for the King."

"And for Riku and Kairi," Sora added.

"Well why didn't you just say so?" Dale said. "Let's see."

Alex saw the chipmunk dart to a big computer and begin to search for something. Chip was still giving Sora dirty looks.

"All righty," Dale hopped back. "Your best bet right now would be to go to this world. I'll pull it up on your screen."

Alex watched the screen to see a 3-D model of a world appear. The world looked like it had been twisted inside out. Many shades of red and violet appeared. On top there was a small castle and on the underside of it was a small cottage. Alex had no idea what it could possibly be.

"The name of this world is Wonderland," Dale said.

That sparked Alex's memory. He remembered it was a Disney movie.

Wait a second, Alex thought. If Disney characters are alive, does that mean that the worlds exist too?

This was something that Alex hadn't expected. It defied what Alex perceived to have been someone's imagination, but it turned out to be real. Alex suddenly began wishing that he was home. A place where things weren't so weird anymore.

"According to this chart," Chip pulled up a small slip of paper, "the Heartless aren't that strong there, but I would still be on alert. That amount can change in an instant."

"Plus according to your coordinates," Dale continued, "you guys should be about thirty minutes away from it."

Donald turned to Goofy. Goofy gave a nod.

"Well sounds like a plan to me," Alex said. "Let's get this show on the road."

"I like the way you think," Sora said.

"Then it's decided," Donald cracked his knuckles. "Wonderland it is. Goofy get us going."

"You got it," Goofy pushed some buttons and pulled a lever. Alex felt the machines in the engine room rumbling beneath him.

"Shotgun!" Alex yelled.

"Shotgun!" Sora yelled. "Dammit!"

"Ha-ha-ha!" Alex raced to his seat. Sora was not looking forward to going through another high speed blast through the universe.

"Good luck you guys!" Chip and Dale said in unison and the transmission was cut.

"Here we go!" Donald pulled the thrusters and pushed on the steering wheel. The Gummi Ship blasted forward to a world called Wonderland.

WOW! That's all I can say. I am really sorry to you guys who have been reading. My last post was in August. All I can say is two things: school and being a football manager(Takes up a whole lot more time then you think it would, believe me). I hope you understand. But your wait is over. I am back now. Football is still going on, but I'll still write. When it gets over with, I will fully get back to writing.

This chapter was mainly just a lot of talking, which I can do. I'm still trying to think of ways to keep my fight sequences from being redundant. I hope you guys like them. Any suggestions from you guys would be greatly appreciated!

Please review!