Going for help
I don't think I dreamed. If I did, I don't remember it. After I laid down to sleep, it only felt like minutes before I was being softly shaken by my shoulder and being pulled away from the peaceful grasp of sleep. In response to the notion, all I did was grumble and turn onto my other side, slipping back into unconscious instantly. However, to my dismay, the shaking continued. More frantic this time. I just kept grumbling unintelligible words and pushing away what/whoever was causing said shaking.
An irritated sigh sounded close to my ear. "Come on, Sam," Roxas groaned impatiently. "You have to get up. We're landing at Disney Castle now."
"One more hour," I moaned as I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over my head.
"I give up!" I heard him say as light footsteps started to retreat out the door. "I'll send in Kaity. Maybe she could-"
THUMP!
Roxas turned on his heels and looked back to me as I laid half on the bed and half on the ground. Twisting around, I tried to untangle myself from the sheets. The cold floor touched my exposed arms and goose bumps covered them. Muttering curses, I untangled myself from my cotton confines and pulled myself back onto the bed in a sitting position.
"I'm up, I'm up," I grumbled sleepily as I vainly pulled my fingers through the knots in my hair. I slipped on my shoes and stood up while still running my fingers through my tousled hair. I got a few of the knots out, but I really wish I had a brush. I was still muttering illegibly as I groggily slipped on my jacket. When I looked up, Roxas was leaning against the doorway with a smirk and an amused gleam in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him as he grinned at my irritated expression.
"And what, may I ask, is so amusing to you?" I said accusingly as I straightened my clothes so that I didn't really look like I had slept in them. It was a futile attempt.
"Nothing," He replied clearly trying not to laugh. "It's just funny how when I mentioned having Kaity come get you up, that you suddenly decided to listen and get up."
"That, my friend," I began with straight tone, "is because if I had allowed you to go to Kaity and request for her to come and awaken me, I would have been sat on and poked to near death."
Roxas burst out laughing and walked out of the room and toward the control room. His laugh faded as he got further away and reigned in his amusement.
I yawned and followed him out of the room, walking with my eyes downcast to the steel ground. My head hurt from exhaustion and my muscles ached from not enough rest. Jeez, what the heck happened to me in that ocean? Does it really hurt this much when you travel across worlds without transportation? I mean, I don't know-
Thump!
"Oh!" I exclaimed surprised. I backed up holding my nose. I looked up at Roxas as he glanced over his shoulder. He had stopped moving at the end of the hall and I hadn't noticed. Crap.
"Sorry," I muttered while rubbing my nose. Yeah, just run straight into the guy, why don't 'cha? I thought sarcastically.
He turned back away from me with a shrug and a "It's alright" before following the rest of the gang to the exit. I sweat dropped and slipped around him to go stand next to Kaity.
She looked me up and down. "It looks like you fell out of bed," She stated.
"How did you know?" I said sarcasm coating my words.
She laughed as Riku opened the Gummi ship hatch and walked through the dimly lit opening. The rest of us followed him out. I stayed behind Kaity, bringing up the rear. Stepping into the dim lighting, I looked around at my surroundings when I was clear of the ship. A dark steel platform was under the Gummi ship and from looking around, it seemed like we were in the Gummi ship hanger under the gardens at Disney Castle. Then I kicked myself mentally. Of course we're in the Gummi ship hanger. We arrived here in the Gummi ship.
The five of us all stayed silent as we exited the hanger and started up the ridiculously long winding staircase to the surface. I was still behind Kaity. But let me tell you, it was a long freakin' climb to the exit. And when that bright open exit showed up, I almost fell to my knees to thank God. Almost. One by one, each of us walked through the bright doorway and into the beautiful castle gardens.
I walked through last and blinked rapidly at the sudden light and extremely bright colors. When my eyes adjusted, I saw all the familiar Gardens of Melody. With its high hedges and leafy hedge statues of old time black and white Disney cartoon characters and high castle walls that surrounded the gardens. I was dazed by it. I looked around and around at the beautiful courtyard. But as I looked around...
...I saw that I was completely alone.
Crap. That's just wonderful. It's a good thing I know my way around here.
I found the small door in the castle wall on a path that branched off from the circle. I pushed as hard as I could on the ridiculously heavy door and entered the dim corridor. Voices wafted to me as I closed the three ton door behind me. I walked forward up the small staircase and turned the corner. I spotted my oblivious group standing outside a huge light purple door. They didn't even noticed that I had disappeared. So much for world hero's.
I walked up to Kaity's side and crossed my arms.
"Finally decided to show up, have you?" She said just loud enough for me to hear.
"I got a little distracted," I shot back just as quiet.
She laughed quietly. "You always get distracted by the smallest things."
I wacked her over the head and came to attention when Sora turned to look back at Riku and Roxas.
"Um," He said nervously as he peered at the door. "Should we knock?"
"I don't know." Roxas replied bewildered.
Oh, come on. They were so worried about not going to see the king fast enough and now they're not sure if they should knock or not? Please, just please, shoot me now. I groaned annoyed and pressed my hand to my forehead as Kaity looked at them dumbfounded.
"Really?" She said impatiently. Sighing in frustration at them, she started toward the door. "The king invited you, didn't he? Then he should be expecting you."
"Yeah, but-"
Kaity ignored them and bluntly walked into the room. Roxas and Sora exchanged a glance before following her. I ran after her with Riku following behind me.
I slowed to a walk as I entered the throne room, staring all around. The room was huge! Even larger than I expected it to be. The room was probably about as long as a football field. Thick white columns stood along the side white walls, towering over us up to the ceiling. Behind the single golden throne was a huge banner with the Mickey Mouse symbol on it and statues of Donald and Goofy on either side of it. A long red carpet led up to the low platform that the throne was settled on. Sitting in the throne was a small mouse with two round black ears on its head. Another mouse stood next to the golden throne.
King Mickey and Queen Minnie looked a bit startled by Kaity's unannounced entrance, but when the rest of us filed in after her, they seemed to relax and waited patiently for us to walk up to them. And what a walk it was! Jeez! They need to install some kind of golf cart transport or something.
By the time we got up to the platform, my feet were about to fall off. With the never ending, winding stairs and this horribly long trek, I'm not sure I can make it. It's so stupid that there this long to begin with. If I wanted to walk this much, I could have just stayed home and joined one of those outreach fundraisers where everyone walks, like, eight miles or something. Yes, I'm complaining. Bite me.
While we were walking, Kaity had fallen back to stay in step with me. We both hung back at the rear. Sora and Riku easily approached the king and queen and bowed respectfully. Roxas looked a bit uncertain and nervous as he bowed out of respect. Oh, that's right. This is the first time Roxas has ever met the king. Well, not exactly ever. Because I'm sure Roxas was inside of Sora when Sora met the king. Speaking of which, why is Roxas out of Sora? And Namine out of Kairi? Aren't they supposed to have been fused together permanently? And why did it take me this long to realize this and ask myself about it?
Kaity and I just kind of hung in the back behind the group awkwardly. Hey, this is the first time we've actually ever met a real king. And this one's a mouse. It's kind of unnerving and intimidating at the same time.
"Your majesty," Sora said all professionally, standing up straight. "We came as soon as we could."
"We would have come sooner," Riku added on, "but we had a few of setbacks." He glanced at us and Sora.
"That's alright," The kind said dismissively. "You are here now, so we can move on. But first..."
The king peered around the guys over at Kaity and me. Ah, crap. A small knot of fear tightened in my stomach. What if he sees through our lie's? I took a deep breath to calm myself. We need his help. We have no choice.
Making sure that my face remained impassive, I started to walk foreword with Kaity just a step ahead of me. Taking two extra strides, she stepped a foot in front of me. I sighed inwardly at the silent gesture. Thank goodness, she's taking control of the situation. She probably thought I couldn't handle it. I didn't think I could handle it ether, so it was okay. She stopped at the foot of the platform, next to Sora and bowed respectfully. I copied her.
The king tilted his head to the side slightly before saying, "And who might you two be?"
I stayed silent, waiting for Kaity to speak. She's better at handling situations like this. Me? I'd say something stupid and get us killed. Well, I doubt I'll get us killed, but you get my drift. And as I had assumed, Kaity stepped forward and took control.
"My name is Kaity," She said gesturing to herself, "and this is Sam." She waved over to me behind herself, glancing back to my perfectly calm facade. She looked back to the king and stood straight. "We need your help," She went on bold as always.
The king sat forward in his chair, curiosity played in his black eyes. "What for?"
This time I gathered my courage and stepped forward beside Kaity. I met his eyes and stared unblinking into them. "We have somehow been forcibly transported from our world and placed into another. Kidnapped or hijacked, would be a better word."
"We don't think it's been destroyed by heartless," Kaity pitched in. "There wasn't that many there." It would make sense that we knew about the heartless, so it was safe to mention them. There are heartless in almost every world.
"And why," the king said after a moment, "do you think that you were kidnapped from your world?"
"We don't know." I admitted truthfully.
"But we want to find out." Kaity added on, determination in her voice.
"That's why we need to return to our world. So that we can figure out why or what made us leave," I said finally. "Or only just to return home." A note of sadness touched my voice, but I think I was the only one who noticed.
The king smiled at us. "I can help you. However, I must also brief the keyblade masters of what has happened." Huh? What has happened? Kaity and I glanced at each other with a concerned look. That doesn't sound too good. I wonder if it's possible for us to listen in on their little meeting...
"Well, uh, you could help us after you're done." Kaity suggested, thinking along the same lines as me.
"No," The king said directly, "the sooner you can find your world and return to it, the better. The safety of other worlds is not a burden of yours." Um, was there a undertone of distrust in his voice? The king turned to look at Queen Minnie, who had been silent this whole time. "Minnie, could you show these two girls to the world archives?"
The queen looked to him. "Of course." She stood and silently walked down the red carpet towards the door. Kaity turned on her heal and followed after her. I gave the king a wary look and followed after Kaity and the queen across the room and out the door.
"Well, now," The queen said as we walked slowly down the hall. "I'm Queen Minnie. Don't mind Mickey's strange behavior. He has become wary of all strangers lately."
Really? Why would he be acting like that? It would probably be best to get as much information we can. "Would you know why he's acting like this?" I asked curious.
"...Some of the reasons, but not all." She said sadly. "However, it's best if you two don't get caught up in all of this. Especially if you are to be returning to your own world soon. It would complicate the world order."
"Yeah..." I mumbled glancing back at the door. Somehow, I get the feeling that we were already "caught up" in whatever "this" is. The three of us walked into the library. It was a small room with a medium sized fire place and a writing desk with a high backed red chair. Pictures of the king in various time era's were hung on the walls. The three of us crossed the room to the bookshelves that covered the back wall.
"So, where exactly are these "world archives"? Kaity asked when we stopped a few feet away from the bookcase's.
Minnie walked up to the rounded bookcase in the middle of the wall and touched just the tip of her finger to a old leather-bound book. A strange white light came from her finger and was absorbed into the book. The white light stretched out and echoed through all the books on all the shelves in that bookcase. The center bookcase suddenly jerked forward and slowly swung forward. Opening up like a door.
Dazed, I walked toward the opening and peered inside. As my eyes registered the inside of the strange opening, my jaw dropped to my feet (figuratively, of course). Kaity walked up behind me and stood next to me to get a look inside the gap also.
"Whoa..."
In front of us was a huge room that stretched far up above our heads into darkness and stretched as far forward as it did up. It was never ending! But the most astounding thing of all was all the rows, upon rows, upon rows of bookcase's that seemed to stretch as far as the room. Books seemed to levitate as they moved and zoomed between and around the cases and shelves. There were ladders that went up as far as the eyes could see and some that stayed down low. There were also glass display cases on the shelves that had objects inside them.
After the shock subsided enough for me to close my mouth, I slowly walked in and stood in the center of the semi-circle that the shelves made in the room. It gave you a nice view of the cases that stood before you. The shelves seemed to twist and curve, making it impossible to tell exactly how far they went on. There were so many books, though. So many worlds.
"And Sora has to lock all of these worlds' keyholes?" I muttered in disbelief.
Kaity shuffled up to me, slumped over and groaning.
"What?" I said looking at her drained expression.
"This is going to take forever!" She exclaimed. "Just look at all these worlds!" She said waving at them defeated.
Suddenly a small circle of the floor opened up and an electronically computer type thing came up out of the ground. It rose up and stopped, standing on a small platform with enough space for one person to stand on.
"This is a virtual index of all the worlds in this room." The queen explained coming up to us. "All you have to do is type in the name of the world you are looking for and it will show you what you want on the monitor. Or you can request the book to come to you."
Huh. "Well, that's covenant." I mumbled as I walked up to the computer and stepped up onto the circular platform it was on. When I did, the machine blinked to life and popped out a keyboard and mouse. A white rectangular box appeared on the neon green screen asking for my search.
"I shall leave you to your research, then." Said the queen dismissively.
"Okay," Kaity said after her, "thanks!" Then she walked up to me to see what I was doing.
I had already tried looking up any world with the name Castaway Cay and, surprisingly, actually got something. Hm, interesting. I clicked on the link out of curiosity. Turns out that there was a world based on the Disney Cruise island.
"That's kind of creepy." Kaity mumbled peering around my arm to look at the screen.
"Just a bit." I said while scrolling down the page of info about the world. I stopped to look at its current statues. 'Terminated' was stamped in big red letters. "Well, it's been destroyed, probably by the heartless, so there's nothing we can do." I went back to the search page and typed in 'Earth'. I tensely hit the search button and waited for the results.
A few seconds later, one search result came up. It said 'Earth' and even had a small picture icon of it beside the link. I clicked on it. At once a green page popped up and words started to type out with info about the world. But...something was wrong. The words didn't stop so that I could read them. They just started to type out faster and faster until it all become a blur of green and black lines.
"What the heck?" I muttered, pulling my hands away from the keyboard and mouse.
"What did you do?" Kaity exclaimed.
"Nothing!" I went to go close the search, but it suddenly just stopped. Frozen.
What? I thought completely shocked as I read the last few sentences on the monitor were it froze. What does that even mean? Then the whole screen went black with a pop and sizzle. I stared at my shocked reflection on the black screen. What just happened?
There was another 'pop!' and a small rectangular white box appeared in the center of the screen. Above it in red lettering it said: 'This world file is restricted. Password?'
"Restricted?" muttered Kaity incredulously.
"A password?" I nearly yelled, totally stumped. "Why the hell would you need a password to access the world file on-" I stopped mid-sentence as a sudden thought came across my mind. You see, I have this really bad habit of talking aloud to someone about something while my mind is on some completely different matter. I had been thinking about the last few sentences I had read on the Earth file, and a thought struck me as I was running my mouth.
"Uh, Sam?" Kaity said looking at my frozen expression of shock with my mouth still open. "Hello? We have a crisis here and you're spacing out now?" she said in amazement.
I wasn't really spacing out though. I was physically frozen, but my mind was reeling at a thousand miles a minute. Why would the Earth file be restricted? It was just any other world, right? But, then if it was, we would have access to it. At least, I would think so. But... that last line... what did it mean? Could it be that...No... No, it couldn't. But maybe it was... It would explain a lot about why this universe has only Disney worlds in it. In this universe...there is no Earth. How could there be? Earth isn't a Disney world...
It's the world were all the Disney world's come from.
So, if Earth is the world where all of the Disney world's come from, you can't have all the characters of those worlds coming and going to Earth all the time. Or appearing there to refuge if there world us destroyed. So to prevent that from happening...
But why would they do that? Maybe I've got this all wrong. There could be a thousand different meanings behind that word. But even so... where would they banish it to? How could Kaity and I have been transported here and still be alive if it is in another universe? For us to survive, we would have had to pass through a wormhole or something. But this universe... it doesn't have wormholes. Could it be that... instead we passed through a veil of light? No... not a veil of light... only things made of pure light can be transported by pure light. And every being has darkness in it...
A veil of light... and darkness...
No freakin' way.
"The other side. If that's... it would have to be on the other side." I whispered.
"What?" Kaity asked confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Earth!" I exclaimed turning to her. She stepped back startled at my sudden outburst. "It's not here. It's on the other side!"
"The other side?" Kaity almost yelled back. "What other side? The dark side?" She half joked.
"Yes," I said closing my eyes and crossing my arms. That has to explain the need to intertwine the darkness with the light... "No wonder the space outside our world is so dark and the space here is so light."
"Sam, you're not making any sense and you're starting to scare me." Kaity said, trying to get me to look at her.
"Maybe that's somehow related to the reason why we're here." I mumbled opening my eyes and staring at the ground. But what does that have to do with us?
"Sam!" Kaity said grabbing and shaking my shoulders. "Tell me what the hell is going through that skull of yours before I go insane!"
I looked up to meet her eyes. "I know where Earth is..."
"What? Where?"
"It's on the other side of the Kingdom Hearts universe." I stated. "It's on the dark side of Kingdom Hearts."
Exactly how its related to this universe and how it ended up there, I have no clue.
But I think I know how to find out...