Now things get more interesting as the expedition continues. Enjoy!
Also, Happy Belated 31st Birthday, Kimiko Glenn!
(Lena De Spell, Peni Parker, Chuluun)
Castle That Never Was:
In the Grey Room, Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas, Xigbar, and Vanitas observed the events play out before them. Vanitas wore his usual body suit, colored in various shades of blacks and reds rather than blacks and violets, and a distorted version of the Unversed insignia appearing on his chest.
"So how close are they to Atlantis?" asked Xigbar.
"They are nearer than they expected." replied Ansem.
"To think that they are leading us straight to the source that powers that entire world." Xemnas said with an evil grin.
"And to see the source itself is an entirely new experience for both sides." added Ansem.
"So what's the plan for when they find it?" asked Vanitas.
Xehanort chuckled. "Once the Heart of Atlantis is found, our allies shall bring it back to us in the Town That Never Was." he explained. "After that, Maleficent, Magica, and our new associates will spread it's great power amongst me and my vessels."
"Speaking of magic users." said Xigbar.
Magica entered the room.
"How are the new allies settling in?" asked Ansem.
"Delightfully." said Magica. "Though the like of Steelbeak and the rest of the Fearsome Five are giving us a bit of a headache."
"Annoying or not, they are dangerous to their homeworlds with such greed and evil in their hearts." said Xemnas.
"Didn't Bushroot say that he's misunderstood?" asked Vanitas.
"He has. But he is still greedy and ruthless." replied Ansem.
"All the same, I thought I should tell you some good news." Magica said as she smirked. "We finally tracked them down. The Three Caballeros old enemy and his descendant."
"Excellent." Xehanort grinned. "And I trust that they are normal again?"
"As normal as they can be." Magica snorted. "Long before I was sealed in that wretched dime, I helped separate their minds from that buffoon's head."
"When will we be expecting them?" asked Ansem.
"Soon." Magica replied. "In the meantime, how goes tracking down the Heart of Atlantis?"
"They're almost there, De Spell." Vanitas replied with a smirk.
Ven's dream:
Ven found himself in an odd area. It was like a desert with cliffs everywhere. The teenager was confused.
"What? Where am I?" he asked in confusion.
"Where do you think, idiot?" came a voice.
Ven turned and saw Vanitas standing behind him. He now wore his Organization cloak over his suit.
"Vanitas?!" he exclaimed in confusion. "What are you doing here?!"
Vanitas chuckled evilly.
"I'm not really here, but it should be obvious, Ventus." he replied. "I've been a part of you ever since Xehanort separated me from you. And this place was where it happened. I am your darkness after all, in case you've forgotten since our last encounter."
Ven glared.
"Even so, why are you here?" he demanded.
Vanitas just chuckled. "Just thought you should know that we have our eyes set on the heart of the world you and your idiot teammates are trying to protect." he replied. "We will get that heart."
"Why do you even want it?!" Ven demanded.
"To cast the world of Atlantis into darkness." Vanitas replied. "It holds a great power source that Master Xehanort wants for his vessels. Like what he wanted with the cells of Jenova, the Heart of Atlantis will make us impossible for you to beat. We'd be unstoppable."
"Over our dead bodies!" Ven snapped angrily, clenching his fists. "You're not getting anywhere near it!"
"You say that now Ventus. But things change whether you like it or not." Vanitas smirked before he strangely started sniffing the air. "Do you smell smoke?" he asked in confusion.
Ven was taken aback. He sniffed the air and realized that Vanitas was right.
"FIRE!"
"Whoa!" Ven exclaimed as he jumped upright, eyes wide when he heard the shout. He saw that he was in his tent, but there was a bright orange glow outside.
"Fire! Fire!" came the voice.
Ven realized it was Milo. He quickly unzipped his tent and got out, only to freeze in horror when he saw that most of the tents were on fire, said flames benign set by… strange fireflies?
"What the hell is going on here?!" Ven screamed as everyone ran out of their tents.
"I dunno, but we gotta put it out before we're engulfed!" shouted Max.
"On it" Myde shouted as he quickly summoned his sitar. "Dance water dance!" he yelled as he summoned water pillars to extinguish the fire as fast as he could.
"Good idea Myde!" said Mickey.
"Let's give him some help!" said Aqua as she summoned stormfall and began casting Wateraza spells at the fire.
Donald summoned Mage's Staff and began casting Blizzard spells.
Everyone followed suit with their signature Keyblades, cating Water and Blizzard spells on the fire.
Other people helped too by throwing buckets of water at it.
"Just so you know, I have nothing to do with this!" shouted Lea, holding out his hands while avoiding the fireflies.
"No one's blaming you Lea!" shouted Goofy.
Just then, a firefly set Donald's tailfeathers on fire.
"WAAAAK!" Donald screamed as he jumped into the air.
"I got you!" said Naminé as she used Wateraga to put Donald's tail out, making the mage sigh in relief.
"Thanks, Naminé." he said thankfully.
Naminé nodded as she fired Ice Barrage at the fire.
Just then, a semi-asleep and irritated Roukre came out of his tent and called out to Milo, "Thatch, go back to bed."
"Open your eyes Rourke!" shouted Sora as he casted Icicle Mine on some flames.
Rourke's eyes widened in utter dumbfoundment and disbelief when he saw that Sora and Milo were right.
"Get some more water on that fire!" Helga shouted to a random soldier.
"No time!" Rourke shouted while pointing into the distance where a long natural bridge led into some shadow-filled caves. "Get us into those caves! C'mon! Move it, move it!"
Everyone quickly ran for the vehicles and got inside. Riku, Terra, Ven, Aqua, and Myde jumped into the van with Vinny and Sweet. Roxas, Lea, Isa, Xion, and Naminé were in their own. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Max, Oswald, and Ortensia followed Helga into Rourke's. Cookie and Packard drove their own.
Mole took the lead in his driller as everyone followed him onto the strone bridge.
With Milos' truck already gone, he and Sora ran to another truck where Kairi and Audrey were already inside.
"Sora, Milo, jump!" Kairi screamed.
"Right now!" cried Audrey.
Sora and Milo did so, leaping into the air at the same time and landed into the back of the truck.
"That was close." Sora panted.
Then there was trouble. The fireflies surrounded one of the trucks hauling gas containers. In mere seconds, the containers exploded, destroying the truck, pieces of machinery flying everywhere. The insects suddenly set more trucks on fire. And to make matters worse, the now empty stalactite fell from the ceiling and crashed right through the bridge, and by the force of ut and the weight of all the vehicles, the part of the bridge everyone had just escaped from began to crack and crumble to everyone's horror, collapsing behind them. The weight of the drilling machine was pushing it back and forcing everything to slide back dangerously.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Mole cried out, panicking, desperately trying to push the driller forwards with the gears.
"Oh shit!" gasped Riku.
"We're too heavy!" cried Xion.
"We're going down!" screamed Sora.
"We're gonna die! I wasted my life!" Donald screamed. (1)
Everyone was now holding onto whatever for dear life as the bridge broke free.
"Hang on!" cried Aqua.
"Brace for impact!" Lea screamed.
The whole bridge descended straight down, taking all the remaining team's vehicles with it. The fire disappeared from view as the bridge fell.
But no sooner did it land, Mole's drilling machine slid down backwards, moving all the vehicles downward. Now everyone had lost control of their trucks and were slamming, banging, and colliding with each other. Everyone tried desperately hard to hold on as they slid down. All ast one, the vehicles slid off and vanished into a shadow pit below as everyone yelled in terror.
The sounds of crashing, crunching, crushing, and screaming filled the air. Then, everything went dark and silent.
Mickey laid on his stomach with his eyes closed. Then, he slowly pushed himself up, wincing as he did so. He stood up straight as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh god…" he mumbled as he looked around. "W-Where am I?" he asked in confusion.
Everywhere around him was dark and black.
"Is this the Realm of Darkness?" he asked before realizing something. "No wait. The ground doesn't feel the same."
Mickey then reached into his toonspace and pulled out a glow-stick. He bent it and it glowed a bright white.
"Thanks Webby." Mickey said in relief as he used it as a flashlight. "Is anyone there?"
"Mickey?"
Mickey gasped in delight.
"Minnie!"
Mickey turned to his right, shining the glow stick, which revealed Minnie. She was covered in soot and small bruises, but looked ok. The light also revealed that Mickey looked the same.
"Mickey!" Minnie exclaimed as he ran over and hugged her husband.
"Oh Minnie you're ok!" Mickey said happily as he hugged her.
"Thank goodness you are too!" Minnie said happily as they separated their hug.
"Gosh, I hope everyone else is too." said Mickey. He and Minnie looked around in worry as he called out, "Is everyone ok?"
To their relief, the responses the royal mice got were a few groans, some familiarity to them.
"Dang lightnin' bugs done bit me on my sit-upon! Somebody's gonna have to suck out this poison. Now don't everybody jump up at once." Cookie's voice rang out.
Mickey and even Minnie couldn't help but snort in amusement. Trust Cookie to make a comment like that. Mickey pocketed the glow stick in his pocket.
Soon, a light from a headlamp on one of the trucks turned on. Mickey and Minnie saw that their teammates and most of the crew were alive, much to their relief.
"Can someone tell me how in the hell those fireflies literally set stuff on fire?" asked Roxas, clutching his side. "Because I thought that was supposed to be their name and that they only glow at night."
"Your guess is as good as mien Roxas." grunted Lea, rubbing his head.
"Whatever they were, they sure did a number on us." said Terra as he looked around.
"Is everyone ok?" asked Minnie.
"We're ok Min." said Daisy as she rubbed her shoulder.
"Audrey, give me a damage report." called Rourke.
"Not as bad as it could've been." Audrey replied as she looked around the area with a flashlight, seeing the digger next to her before continuing, "We totaled rights two and seven, but the digger looks like it'll still run. Lucky for us we landed on something soft."
"But where exactly?" asked Xion.
Mole used his goggles to study the dirt, having a miniature claw extend out from the side to examine as speck of drt.
"Pumice ash." he said. "We are standing at the base of a dormant volcano." he said as he extended his goggles at Hegla, who pushed them back in annoyance.
"Volcano?!" Donald exclaimed in horror, screaming as he leaped into Goofy's arms, shaking.
"Oh my!" gasped Minnie.
"I don't think we're in that much danger." said Isa. "There's no lava around here."
"Or an evil lion spirit from the past." Riku quipped, making the bluehead snort in amusement.
"Still, we oughta be extra careful." said Aqua.
Helga fried her pistool and a small ball of fire went sailing up into the air.
"It just keeps going." said Helga.
"Maybe that's our way outta here." said Myde.
The ball of fire suddenly exploded when it hit the ceiling above them.
"Or not." sighed Naminé.
"What was that about Mole?" Oswald asked the digger.
"The magma had solidified in the bowels of the volcan, effectively blocking the exit!" Mole explained in amazement as he gazed at the ceiling in realization.
"Huh. That makes sense." said Ven.
"Hold on. Back up." said Sweet before asking in a worried tone, "Are you saying that this whole volcano can blow at any time?"
That question made Roxas, Naminé, Xion, Ven, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, and Daisy gulp nervously.
"No, no, no, no. That would take an explosive force of great magnitude." Mole quickly answered.
The sound of a spring popping caught everyone's attention. There stood Vinny trying to assemble and fix a timb bomb using a screwdriver. When he realized they were looking at him and quickly caught on where they were, the demolition man muttered, "Maybe I should do this later, huh?"
"Good call." said Max.
"If we could blow the top off of that thing, we'd have a straight shot to the surface." Rourke said to hegla as he gazed towards the top of the darkness-filled shaft. "Mr. Thatch, what do you think?"
But there was no answer.
"Mr. Thatch? Thatch?" Roruke called out.
"Where'd Milo go?" asked Lea.
"And where are Sora and Kairi?" asked Daisy.
Everyone flipped on flightlights and swung the beams around the cavern. But there was no sign of Sora, Kairi, or Milo anywhere.
"Sora! Kairi!" Riku called out, concerned.
"Where are they?!" cried Minnie.
"Oh no! I hope nothin' bad happened to them." Mickey gasped in worry.
"They're strong. They should be ok." said Terra.
"Yeah, they gotta be around here somewhere." said Ven.
"But where?" questioned Naminé.
Down far below, Sora, Kairi, and Milo lay unconscious after falling down the bridge. Milo was up against a hill. Sora laid flat on his back. And Kairi was face down on the ground with her arms crossed in front of her.
Sora was the first to wake up. His eyes fluttered open as he saw that he was somewhere else.
"What the heck…?" Sora mumbled as he struggled to get up. He clutched his right shoulder and saw that it was bleeding. "Oh mean…" he whispered as he looked towards where Kairi was.
"Kairi?" Sora called out.
Kairi mumbled a bit as she struggled to get up.
"Sora? Milo?" she asked before clutching her left arm, seeing that it was bleeding. "Where are we?"
"I dunno." said Sora as he laid against the wall next to Milo.
"Uh, wha… what?" Milo mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes. "Sora? Kairi? Wh-Where are we?"
"Not sure." said Sora. "But we're separated from the expedition."
"Great." grunted Milo before suddenly hissing sharp pain on the right side of his chest. Milo looked and saw that he was cut.
"Uh, guys?" Kairi mumbled scaredly.
"What?" asked Sora.
Kairi nervously pointed ahead. Sora and Milo looked and gasped.
There, standing right in front of them, were three people that wore large masks and holding weapons. They seemed to be examining the three.
"Oh god…" Sora whispered as he, Milo, and Kairi leaned against the wall in fear before wincing at their exposed cuts, clamping their hands over them while also getting blood on them.
One of the people that wore a large bluish mask, bent down to them and got closer. It then removed it's mask to look at the trio better. To the three's surprise, especially Milo's, it was a young woman who looked to be in her 20's, with white hair and dark skin. She also had a blue-colored tattoo that seemed to resemble teardrops on her left cheek. She was also wearing a blue bikini top, an aqua skirt with a pink stripe and gold outlines, gold earrings, and a black necklace with what looked like a small crystal attached to it.
'Who is that?' Sora, Kairi, and Milo thought together before seeing that she was looking at them in surprise.
She then leaned down and softly touched Milo's cut. Before the linguist could protest, she placed the crystal on it before touching it with her hand. It glowed blue, briefly showing a handprint before it faded, the cut vanishing, as well as the pain Milo felt.
Milo was amazed, as were Sora and Kairi. The woman then did the same procedure to the two islanders, healing their cuts.
"That was… light." Kairi said in amazement.
The woman smiled at the three before donning her mask again.
Suddenly, a rumbling noise was heard as suddenly, Mole's diller burst through the wall. The woman and her two allies then ran off.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sora called out in confusion.
"Hey wait!" called Milo as he, Sora, and Kairi ran after them.
"Please, tell us who you are!" Kairi called out.
The three ran across some rocky terrains as they chased after the three. But the three beings were nowhere to be found.
"Where are they?" asked Sora.
They climbed the rocks and hopped as fast as they could across them. They panted as they climbed through a gasp in the wall. Upon reaching the other side, the trio found themselves standing on a rocky cliff on the edge of an enormous underground chamber.
"Where are you?" called Kairi.
Seeing that no one else was with them, Kairi, Sora, and Milo scanned around the area. To their surprise, the space above the cavern was full of puffy, white clouds. In the distance was a gigantic plateau covered by water. Waterfalls ran off the edge of the landmass. The peak of what seemed to be some kind of mountain stuck out in the middle of the plateau. In the distance, they saw the distant ruins of an ancient city. The architecture seemed to resemble the design of the coliseum from Olympus.
"Wow!" Sora and Kairi said in awe as Milo just stared in amazement.
Then, Mole's drilling machine widened the gap in the rock behind them. As Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Lea, Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Isa, Myde, Minnie, Daisy, Max, Oswald, Ortensia, Audrey, Sweet, Vinny, Cookie, Mole, Ms. Packard, Rourke, and Helga came running up to the tro, only to stop and look on in amazement, completely speechless.
Ven, still in shock, took a picture on his Gummiphone.
"Oh my…" Minnie says in awe.
"Oh my gosh…" Mickey said, his mouth slightly open in amazement.
"My god…" gasped Terra.
"Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis!" Cookie exclaimed.
"It's Atlantis..." said Daisy.
"Wow!" gaped Xion.
"It's beautiful!" Audrey smiled.
"More beautiful than I thought." said Naminé.
"Even better than the one in our world." whispered Donald.
Sweet smiled and placed his hand on Milo's shoulder. "Milo, I gotta hand it to you. You really came through."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a number of creatures appeared behind the tram. The group spun around and to their alarm, the creatures donned masks and were pointing spears at them.
"Uh oh!" Goofy said nervously.
"Oh dear..." mumbled Ortensia.
"I take that back." said Sweet.
"Holy cats! Who're these guys?" Rourke asked in shock as he reached for his gun.
"They gotta be Atlatnians!" said Milo.
"You mean the natives?" asked Aqua.
'Yeah!" Milo nodded.
"What? That's impossible!" Helga protested.
"I seen this back in the Dakota. They can smell fear just by looking at you. So keep quiet." Cookie said worriedly.
Donald and Goofy gulped nervously. Myde slinked behind Terra. Mickey & Minnie and Oswald & Ortensia held hands with each other.
Then, one of the creatures approached a few feet before talking in an unfamiliar voice. Most of them couldn't figure out what they were saying.
"I think she's talking to you Milo." Sora said to the linguist.
"She?" Myde asked incredulously.
"She does sound like a girl." Daisy commented.
The creature spoke again.
Milo held his hands up and spoke in a similar language.
The creature removed her mask, revealing itself to be the woman that had healed Milo, Sora, and Kairi earlier. Now they could see that she also wore a gold band on her upper left arm and a couple of gold anklets on her right ankle.
Milo and the woman continued to talk in a number of different languages.
"Ita, sum amice viator." Milo said in another language.
"Dices linguam Romae." she said, this time, in Roman.
"Parlez-vous francais?" Milo asked, this time in French.
"Oui, monsieur!" the woman smiled, also speaking French, which sora, Ven, Roxas, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy caught on to science Lumière spoke in a French accent.
"They speak my language!" Mole said excitedly after hearing the exchange. He stole up to the woman and said, "Pardon mademoiselle? Ah, voulez-vous…"
But when he whispered something into her ear, she frowned and sucker-punched him in the face, making him fall to the ground.
Sora, Riku, Roxas, Lea, Myde, Donald, Goofy, Max, and even Mickey burst out laughing at the scene.
"Good shot!" chortled Lea.
Donald laughed so hard that it sounded like quacking as he fell over laughing, clutching his stomach.
Kairi, Aqua, Naminé, Xion, Minnie, Daisy, and Ortensia giggled.
"Now that was awesome." chuckled Riku.
"Oh! I like her!" Sweet clapped.
"'Bout time someone hit him. I'm just sorry it wasn't me." Audrey approves.
The other individuals removed their masks, revealing themselves to be kind, friendly people. They started speaking in a variety of different languages to everyone.
"Gawrsh, how do ya suppose they know so many languages?" Goofy asked milo.
"Their language must be based on a rotary dialect. It's just like the Tower of Babel." Milo explained to the King's Captain.
"I bet Webby would love to learn their language." said Kairi.
Naminé and Xion nodded in agreement.
"Think they speak English?" asked Myde.
"Only one way to find out." said Rourke as he addressed the people. "We are explorers from the surface world. We come in peace." he said with a friendly grin."
Something about his tone upset Sora and his team.
"Welcome to the city of Atlantis." the young woman said warmly, gesturing to the ruins before grabbing Milo's arm. "Come! You must speak with my father now!"
Rourke gave out some instructions to the soldiers before joining the two trucks that had been driven to the cliff behind Mole's driller. The woman and the Atlantians walked across a wooden bridge into the city. Vinny and Mole drove one truck with Audrey, Sweet, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Max, Oswald, Ortensia, Terra, Lea, Naminé, and Myde while Sora, Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Minnie, Aqua, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Isa, Milo, Helga, and Rourke in another.
"I'm so excited!" Mole said out loud in a tone that creeped Vinny out.
"Now, what's really amazing is that… if you deconstructed Latin, you overlaid it… with a little Sumerian… throw in a dash of Thessalonian… you'd be getting close to their basic grammatical structure. Or at least you'd be in the same ballpark…" Milo explained.
Sora and his teammates in the truck with him smiled at Milo explaining how the Atlantean language was in comparison to others. Even so, they were proud of Milo. He was the one who brought them and everyone else to Atlantis and had known it's exact location.
"I must say, this is really exciting!" said Minnie, feeling quite giddy.
"You said in Min." said Mickey.
"I knew we'd make it." said Kairi.
"Same here Kai'." said Sora with a smile.
Ven, Xion, Roxas, and even Riku and Isa all nodded in agreement while Aqua giggled. Then, the ten of them caught onto Rourke and Helga talking, the commander and lieutenant not even knowing that they were eavesdropping.
"Someone's having a good time." Helga commented to Rourke about Milo.
"Like a kid at Christmas." joked Rourke.
Helga then frowned as concern and a bit of uncertainty plastered her face. "Commander, there were not supposed to be people down here. This changes everything."
"This changes nothing." Rourke said as he frowned too.
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Mickey, and Minnie were now more suspicious than ever and a bit worried.
"What on earth are they talking about?" asked Sora.
"Nothing good, that's for sure." said Xion.
"We'd better keep an eye on them." said Isa, frowning.
"And we'd better be discreet about it too." added Kairi. "The last thing we want right now is to get caught."
"We all should be very careful." Aqua nodded in agreement, having no doubt that the other ½ of their team had the same suspicions.
"I wonder how things are going back home." Mickey wondered out loud.
Secret Forest:
Leon, Cloud, and Zack were showing Cassim some sword-fighting techniques. Cloud stepped forward and spun around with his sword before stopping and pointed it at a tree.
"Ok, now you try." said Cloud.
Cassim nodded as he gripped his sword. He stepped forward and spun his sword around before stopping and pointed it at the tree.
"How was that?" the former King of Thieves asked.
"Nicely done." said Cloud.
"Now I'll teach you how to draw back and then stick it out." said Zack.
Cassim raised an eyebrow which made Leon and Cloud chuckle.
"Sometimes it's better shown than spoken." explained Leon.
Olette was showing Aladdin and Jasmine healing spells.
"So if you ever get hurt, just hold your Keyblade up and then the spell will heal you from above." Olette explained.
"Should we hurt ourselves to demonstrate?" Jasmine questioned.
"Uh… I don't think so." said Olette, unsure.
"Maybe something like a cut will do." said Aladdin. He grabbed the Midas sagger and slowly cut his arm a little.
"Ok…" shrugged Olette. "Ok Jasmine, cure him."
Jasmine nodded as she held Three Wishes up and called, "Heal!"
Instantly, Aladdin glowed slightly and the cut on his arm vanished.
"Hey it worked!" Aladdin exclaimed.
"Good work Jasmine." Olette said proudly.
Jasmine smiled.
Hayner casted a Fira spell onto a target. He looked down to Woody and Buzz.
"Ok, that's an upgraded version of Fire." he explained. "Now you try."
"Sure thing." said Woody.
Woody gripped Favorite Deputy tightly as he casted a similar Fire spell to Hayner's onto another target.
"I think we're getting closer." said Hayner.
"It might be a bit helpful if we were bigger." said Buzz.
"Which is why I got what we need for that."
Hayner, Woody, and Buzz turned to see Pence and Scrooge walk up. Pence held two small blue discs in his grasp. They were two of Dr. Hank Pym's Particle Discs.
"Oh good, you're back." said Hayner. "Do you have them?"
"Got 'em here." Pence nodded.
"What are they?" asked Buzz.
"They're particle discs." said Pence. "Invented by a friend of ours from the MCU named Hank Pym."
"He's a scientist who worked in the science of shrinking and enlarging just about anything." added Scrooge.
"That sounds cool." said Woody.
"But how will they benefit us?" asked Buzz.
"Remember that cabana the others showed you in the backyard the other day?" asked Scrooge. At the two toys' nodding, he added "It used to be in the city of Quackmore at an institute. But after it was shut down, our friends used the chips to shrink it down and then bring it over her before regrowing it."
Woody and Buzz were amazed.
"They can actually do that?" asked Woody.
"They sure can." said Pence. "The red one shrink while the blue ones, like these, enlarge."
Pence then set one chip on Woody and Buzz each. He then pulled out a remote and they immediately grew. Now Woody and Buzz were the sizes of how they were compared to Sora and his team when they were in their world.
"Whoa!" Woody said in awe. "We're so tall!"
"This is amazing!" added Buzz. "Wait, is it permanent?"
"Not at all." said Hayner. "We'll shrink you back to your normal sizes after the war."
Woody and Buzz nodded.
"With that said, I'm gonna head back." said Scrooge, tipping his hat. "Carry on lads."
"Bye Scrooge." Hayner and Pence said as they, Woody, and Buzz waved goodbye.
Scrooge stepped through the portal and ended up in the castle lab. Then, he stopped abruptly.
"Something is terribly wrong." he said with suspicion.
He looked to his left and saw Ludwig mixing some chemicals.
"Easy does it now… steady… steady…" the scientist duck muttered as he poured a red vile into an orange one.
Suddenly, it exploded in his face.
"Oh that's right! It was supposed to be light red! Not dark!" he mused as he looked at his notes.
"No, that's not it." said Scrooge as he walked past his sister's husband, knowing that it was normal for Ludwig's experiments to have… interesting results.
Scrooge rode the elevator up to the main floor. When the doors opened, he saw Seifer, Rai, Fuu, and Vivi swinging their Struggle Bats at some glowing green, red-eyed bats. Chip, Dale, Monty, and Gadget flew around them in their plane, joined by Zipper and Foxglove as they tried to make the bats dizzy.
"Is this making the bats dizzy or us dizzy?" asked Dale.
"Just try to make them so dizzy we can knock them to the ground!" said Gadget.
"Easier said than done!" said Chip.
"How they even got into this castle is seriously confusing!" said Seifer as he swung his Struggle Bat at one.
"The Demon Bats of the Underworld. Pesky but manageable." Scrooge said as the elevator doors closed and he rode up to the floor where the main bedrooms were.
Scrooge exited the elevator and went to the room where the kids slept. When he opened it, he saw that only certain lights were on and began to hear music.
(Panda by Desiigner plays)
Scrooge then saw that Dewey had his Dewey Dew-Night set up. Then, Dewey emerged holding a giant stuffed-panda in front of a camera. He was wearing sunglasses.
Dewey: Panda! Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda!
Dewey then tossed the panda aside and began nodding at the camera like a rapper. Scrooge then saw that Huey, Louie, Webby, Lena, and Violet were wearing sunglasses too and nodding to the beat with their arms crossed with cool expressions on their faces.
Dewey: Panda! Listen! Hey!
Dewey was then seen next to several of Webby's stuffed animals.
Dewey: I got broads in Atlanta!
Twistin' dope, lean, and the Fanta!
Dewey was then seen at a small table with poker game pieces. Louie and Lena sat on either side of him as they nodded to the beat.
Dewey: Credit cards and the scammers!
Hittin' off licks in the bando!
Dewey was then seen next to some toy cars going up and down. Webby stood next to him with cool expressions at the camera.
Dewey: Black X6, Phantom
Wait and see, look like a panda
Listen! Hundred scammers
Black X6, Phantom
Wait and see, panda!
Dewey is then next to the stuffed animals again.
Dewey: Pockets swole, Danny!
He is then next to Huey and Violet by a table of candy.
Dewey: Sellin' bar, candy!
Dewey began to thrust.
Dewey: Man I'm the macho like Randy!
Scrooge just looked weirded out as he closed the door.
"I mean, this is very wrong, but it's not this either." he muttered as he walked to his room. He then closed the door as he said, "What in blazes could it be?"
"Who do you think?" came a voice.
Scrooge froze in place.
"Oh no…" he groaned as he turned around and saw who it was.
There, standing right across from him with a smug smile was a female duck with blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She had green eyes, lighter blonde streaks in her hair, a light brown button-up collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a brown vest, a necklace around her neck, tan pants, brown boots with lighter soles, a brown belt with a bluish-grey buckle, and a dark brown purse around her.
"Hello Scroogie." she said flirtily.
"Goldie O'Gilt…." Scrooge groaned. "What the devil are you doing here?"
Goldie frowned at Scrooge. "Well I never! Is that really how you talk to your old friend?" she asked.
"Cut the dramatics you swindling swindle." Scrooge huffed. "You know why I address you as such."
Goldie then smirked. "Can't deny that."
"Why are you here?" asked Scrooge. "And how did ya know I was here?"
"Well I stopped by the mansion and saw that no one was home." said Goldie as she walked around the room. "Then I figured that you were here at the castle."
"And why were ya looking for me?" demanded Scrooge. "Are you trying to steal from me… again?"
Goldie rolled her eyes with a smirk.
"Oh come off now Scroogie, that's not all that I do." she huffed before looking at him with a kind smile. "I actually missed you." she said as she held Scrooge's hands.
Scrooge couldn't help but smile at Goldie.
"You really mean it?" he asked.
"'Course I do." the female duck replied. "Come on Scrooge, I may be a con artist, the best that ever existed in this world, but that doesn't mean I don;t have a heart for those I care about."
Scrooge smiled. "Thanks Goldie." he said before turning msug. "Now put back my checkbook."
Goldie laughed as she pulled out Scrooge's checkbook from her pocket and set it back on the desk.
"Now then, it was nice seeing ya, but I'm afraid you should go before the royals get back." he said as he pointed to the window with his cane.
"Really Scrooge?" Goldie deadpanned before smirking. "Ok. Or…"
Goldie grabbed Scrooge's cna and then swung the surprised Scottish duck gasint his desk, accidentally turning on a music player. It began to play the tango.
Scrooge and Goldie smirked at one another.
"Shall we?" Scrooge asked.
"Let the lady lead." Goldie replied.
Scrooge yanked Goldie towards him with his cane and the two held hands as they danced.
"So where have you been recently?" asked Scrooge.
"Conning some thieves down in Seattle." Goldie replied. "Had some valuables that caught my eye, just like someone in this room."
Scrooge rolled his eyes as they separated before coming back.
"So you're here to steal from Mickey and Minnie I assume?" he asked.
Goldie scoffed. "Nah, they don't really have anything worth taking. Unlike you, Moneybags."
Scrooge deadpanned at her before putting her in a dip.
"Gotta say, your tango's improved dramatically." Goldie commented.
"I've been practicing in case you decided to show your devious face around these parts." Scrooge replied as he lifted her up.
"Oh how nice!" Goldie smiled before suddenly pinning Scrooge down. "Too bad it won't stop me from taking what's yours."
"That would be so…" Scrooge smirked before suddenly used his legs to flip Goldie over, making her yelp as she landed on the ground. Scrooge held her down as he grabbed a rope.
"But being sharper than the sharpies pays off when ya use it for good." he said as he began to tie her up.
"Good for you." Goldie deadpanned.
Atlantis:
When the carvans came to a stop at the vase of the mountain which was actually a pyramid, the young women led Milo, Rourke, Helga, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, Mickey, and Minnie who volunteered to go with, up the long flight of stairs amdd to a stone doorway. A pair of guards opened the doors for them, and inside was a large pool of water laid at the center of the room with spiral stones in the middle. The remains of a giant stature were located on the far side. Situated before the ruins was a colorful canopy providing shade for a stone throne with a pile of various things sitting on the left side.
And there, sitting on the throne was an eldery man who looked over a thousand years old. He was half-bald, had a tattooed face, blind eyes, tanned shin, and long white hair and beard. He wore a long, blue robe and held a long wooden walking stick.
To show their respect, Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Minnie, Riku, Aqua, and Terra bent down to their knees with their heads down, bowing to the elderly man before them as they immediately knew that he was the King of Atlantis, which quickly made Milo do the same as them and the young woman, which also showed that she was the princess.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I have brought the visitors." the woman said to the elder man in Atlantean.
While Milo understood bits of it, Sora and the others didn't.
"You know the law, Kida. No outsiders may see the city and live." the man said in Atlantean as well, showing that he wasn't happy with the visitors.
"Father." Kida said with a frown. "These people may be able to help us."
As Kida spoke, Milo took out the journal and began to write in it.
"We do not need their help." the kind said firmly.
"But father…" Kida begged.
"That is enough. We will discuss this later." the king said firmly.
"He doesn't seem happy to see us." Sora whispered to his teammates, who, along with Milo after pocketing the journal, nodded in sad agreement.
"Maybe it's because he's worried that we could do somethin' wrong to the kingdom." Mickey whispered.
"We can see where he's coming from." added Minnie.
Being king and queen themselves, they knew the responsibilities to a kingdom, just like Oswald & Ortensia, Simba & Nala, the Sultan of Agrabah, Thor, T'Challa, Valkyrie, Ramonda, the late T'Chaka, and the late Asgardian rulers, Odin and Frigga.
"And is it just me, or does he sound A LOT like Xehanort?" asked Terra.
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Mickey, and Minnie suddenly realized that Terra was right. (2)
However, Roukre hadn't noticed and thought that they were welcomed. So he spoke with respect and in a friendly tone, "Your Majesty, on behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed into your city."
"Uh, excuse? Commander?" Milo tried to say, but was ignored.
"You presume much to think you are welcome here." the Atlantean King said, shaking his head.
"Sir, we have come a long way looking for-" Rourke began.
"I know what you seek, and you will not find it here." the king interrupted as Kida's head lowered in sadness. "Your journey has been in vain."
"But we are peaceful explorers. Men of Science." Rourke reassured.
The king chuckled a little. He gazed at the gun in the side pocket attached to Rourke's belt.
"And yet, you bring weapons." he mused.
'He has a point.' Riku and Terra thought together. All the travelers still didn't trust Rourke or Helga.
"Our 'weapons' allow us to remove certain obstacles we may encounter." Rourke said, shaking his head.
That flares up more suspicion in Sora, Kairi, Riku, Aqua, Terra, Mickey, and Minnie's minds.
"Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mare show of force." the king said as he glared at everyone while standing up. "Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis at once."
Before Rourke could protest, Aqua and Terra stood up.
"Commander, the best thing to do right now is listen to him." Terra advised.
"The last thing we want to do right now is anger him." added Aqua. "He is Atlantis' king."
"Aqua and Terra are right sir." Milo nodded as he stood up. "You better do as he says."
Rourke paused for a moment. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Minnie, Aqua, and Terra were worried that he might say the wrong thing which would lead to a whole lot of trouble that none of them wanted.
"May I respectfully request that we stay one night sir? That would give us time to rest, resupply, and be ready to travel by morning?" Rourke asked, to the Keyblade Masters' shock.
The Atlantean King snorted in disapproval. But to everyone's surprise and slight relief, he accepted the request saying, "Very well. One night. That is all."
"Well, thank you Your Majesty." Roukre said as he pilotley bowed with the others.
"It was an honor to meet you King…" Sora began before trailing off.
"King Kashekim Nedakh." the king replied.
Sora and Co. nodded.
"Again, it was an honor to meet you." Sora said politely.
"And thank you for letting us spend the night." Mickey said respectfully. "We appreciate it."
"As you were." Kashekim said.
As the group turned to leave, Sora, Kairi, and Milo glanced back. Kida was watching them leave, a look of disappointment on her face. It almost seemed like she was about to cry. The guards shut the doorway behind the others as soon as the group went through the doorway.
Kida's heart sank as she watched them leave. It was upsetting that her father, the king, had refused to even als for their help to save Atalktnisd from destruction and the darkness.
"Your heart has softened, Kida." Kashekim noted as he sat down on his throne. "A thousand years ago, you would have slain them upon sight."
Kida spun around after rolling her eyes and approached her dad. "A thousand years ago, the streets were lit! There were no strange black monsters roaming our home and our people did not have to scavenge for food on the edge of a crumbling city!"
"The people are content." Kashekim replied.
"They do not know any better!" Kida nearly yelled, but quickly calmed herself. "We were once a great people, now we live in ruins!"
As then began to nurse her father with a wet cloth of cold water to bring foien the fever as the king was showing signs of weakening due to his old age.
"The kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen." she murmured.
"Kida…" the king warned.
"If these outsiders can unlock the secrets of our past… perhaps we can save our future and the light of our world." Kida continued, desperately trying to get her father to understand. "And that man with the glasses seems like one who can help. And the boy with the spiky hair, he and his team seem like the kind of people we can truly trust."
"You assume a lot, daughter." said Kashekim. "The spiky-haired teenager and his friends do have light in their hearts, especially him and the red-headed girl." He then shook his head. "But what they have to teach us, we have already learned."
"Our way of life is dying!" Kida yelled as she began to shed tears.
"Our way of life is preserved." Kashekim argued as he held his daughter's hands. "Kida, when you take the throne, you will understand."
As much as Kida loved her father, she knew he was wrong. She saw something in many of them that made her feel jope. If her father wouldn't do something, then she would herself.
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, Mickey, Minnie, Milo, Rourke, and Helga regrouped with everyone outside the palace doorway as the guards returned to their original posts.
"So how'd it go?" asked Roxas.
"Well…. not too bad I guess." Mickey replied with a shrug.
"Like how?" asked Sweet.
"Well, the King and his daughter don't exactly see eye to eye." saud Milo. "She seems to like us ok, but the King… I don't know, I think he's hiding something."
"Or maybe because he doesn't like outsiders." Kairi suggested.
"If so, I can't blame him." Aqua nodded in agreement. "Like Minnie and Mickey told us, King Kashekim could be worried about us harming the city."
"Gawrsh, that kinda sounds like what happened with Wakanda." Goofy remarked.
"Hey you're right." said Donald. "All their leaders wanted Wakanda to stay hidden because they had stuff people would try to steal."
"At least until T'Challa opened it up to the world after what went down with Killmonger." Goofy added, making the mage nod in agreement.
"I get it." said Lea. "His majesty is probably trying to protect his home. If people from the outside knew about this place, it could lead to trouble."
"Especially during a war." added Riku, remembering that the time period they were in was World War I.
"Well either way, I want to know what's going on." said Rourke.
"Someone needs to talk to that girl." Helga suggested, smirking.
"Yeah… But who?" asked Sora, crossing his arms.
"I will go!" Mole spoke up.
"Someone who already has her interest." Myde suggested.
"I will give my trust!" Mole continued.
"Someone with good people skills." added Vinny.
"I volunteer!" said Mole.
"Someone who won't make her angry." added Donald.
"I will cheer her up!" Mole continued.
"Or scare her away." added Sweet.
"I will do it!" said Mole.
"Someone who can speak the language." added Packard.
"For the good of the mission, I will go!" Mole saluted.
Everyone ignored Mole. Instead, Rourke approached Milo, who was flipping through the journal as said, patting his shoulder, "Good man, Thatch. Thanks for volunteering."
"Wait what?" Milo asked, shocked, eyes widened.
"I'll go too." said Sora. "I want to thank her for helping heal us."
"Same here." added Kairi.
"I'd be happy to come with the three of you." said Mickey.
"And I'll come as well." said Minnie. "She sounds like she could use the help."
"Then it's settled," said Rourke. "You five go talk to that girl."
Mole was devastated that he wasn't picked or even acknowledged, bursting into tears dramatically. Everyone else shook their heads, except Goofy who pulled out a hank for the digger, who cried his eyes into it.
"There the Mole. At least I heard ya volunteer." Goofy said comfortingly.
"Drama king of a digger." Isa said sarcastically.
Riku, Terra, Lea, Roxas, Ven, Max, and Myde snorted in amusement.
"Go get 'em tigers." Audrey said to Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Minnie, and Milo with a smirk.
"Thanks Audrey." said Sora with a smile.
"Have fun!" said Xion.
"And watch out for those pesky creatures!" added Ortensia.
After everyone strolled off, Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Minnie, Milo, and Milo turtnerd their esyed towards the entrance to the throne room. They ducked behind a pillar when the doors suddenly opened. They peered out from the side as they saw Kida stroll out.
Nodding, Milo turned to the four. "OK, this is what we're gonna do/. We're gonna take 'no' for an answer." he told them.
"Ok, so what are you gonna say to her?" Minnie asked, curious.
"This is what I'm gonna say." said Milo. "'Look, I have some questions from you and I am not leaving the city until they're answered'."
"Sounds good to me." said Sora.
"Might be harsh, but I think we'll manage." Kairi said in agreement.
"Alright. Let's go talk to her." said Mickey.
But as the five peered around the column, Kida wasn't there.
"Huh?" Kairi said in confusion.
"Odd. Where'd she go?" asked Mickey.
The five searched around with their eyes but no luck. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Milo from behind. Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Minnie spun around to see that Kida had snuck up on them and grabbed Milo by surprise as she gazed at all of them.
"I have some questions for you and none of you are leaving the city until they are answered." she told them.
"Uh… ok." Sora muttered, only for the princess to shush him while releasing Milo.
"Come with me." she instructed, taking the lead.
The five shrugged.
"Sure thing." said Mickey.
They followed the Altenatan princess around a corner leading away from the throne room entreancdeway and along the side of a gigantic pyramid. They passed by a few waterfalls. Beyond that, the crawl space ended and the grup clambered down a short wall of stone to the floor.
Getting his feet onto the ground, Sora looked up and saw the ceiling of the room they were standing in was a cracked, peak roof with a few gaping holes on the side. A pile of damaged stone blocks lair below indicating where they'd come from. The scent of warm, humid air was all around. A few distant bird calls could be heard in the distance. All around the room various plants and long vines could be seen.
"My, this place is really interesting." commented Minnie.
"It definitely is in your eyes," said the princess. "But there is so much to ask about your world."
She spun around to face them. "You are scholars. Are you not?" she asked before looking at Milo. "Judging by your diminished physique and very large forehead, you are suited for nothing else."
"Well, uh…" Mickey began, hesitantly.
"What is your country origin?" she asked before taking Milo's glasses and put them on... upside down. "When did the floodwaters recede? What does the outside world look like? What kind of culture do you come from?"
"Whoa, one question at a time please." said Sora, shaking his hands.
"W-Wait a minute. The five of us have questions for you." said Milo, taking his glasses back.
"I know, why don't we take turns asking questions?" suggested Mickey. "You ask one and we answer and then we ask one and you answer."
"Very well." Kida nodded. "What is your first question?"
"Well… how did Atlantis end up underground?" asked Sora.
Kida sighed deeply as she replied, "It is said that the gods became jealous of Atlantis. They sent a great cataclysm and banished us here."
Sora, Mickey, Kairi, and Minnie glanced at each other, shocked and confused. The gods jealous of Atlantis? The only gods that came to mind in that scenario would be Zeus from Ithaquack, Loki (during his time as a tyrant), Odin (when he was a war god), Hela, and Hades. Zeus from Olympus and his fellow gods didn't count as they were nice as Sora, Donald, and Goofy mentioned. From the Duck/McDuck family stories, Storkules was happy and excited, Selene was kind and playful, and Xandra was brave and adventurous. Plus, Thor was a heroic god, Loki was redeemed, Odin had given up his war days, and Firgga was nice and motherly. Maybe it was some other gods.
"All I can remember is the sky going dark, people shouting and running. Then, a bright Light - like a star - floating above the city. My father said it called my mother to it. I never saw her again." Kida continued sadly.
Sora, Mickey, Kairi, Minnie, and Milo were shocked and saddened to hear this. Kida had lost her mother and never got her back, especially during childhood. All of them knew that the worst thing of losing someone is never getting them back. Donald and Della lost their parents when they were ten. Max lost his mom when he was three.
"Gosh, that's terrible." said Mickey, knowing the feeling well. He remembered Ansem the Wise sacrificing himself to save him, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Sure he was alive, but it was still heartbreaking. "I know how you feel."
"Me too." said Minnie, remembering when she saw her friends, both old and new, turn to dust before she did as well.
"So do I. I lost my parents and grandmother when I was a little girl." Kairi said sadly.
"I lost a lot one day." Sora said gravely with a sad expression.
Kairi, Mickey, and Minnie immediately knew Sora was referring to the snap. After Thanos had wiped ½ of all life in the universe from existence, they knew it had saddened and traumatized their friends who did survive. For 5 months, he thought he would never see his friends, his family, ever again.
But what they didn't know was how bad Sora, Donald, Roxas, Aqua, and Ven had taken it before Bruce reversed the snap… especially after that nightmare Maleficent and Magica gave them…
"I know how you feel too." Milo said sympathetically. "Cause if it's any consolation, I lost my-" Milo suddenly realized something else Kda said and became dumbfounded. "Wait a minute wait a minute! Whoa! Back up! What are you telling us? You remember because you were there? No that… that's impossible, because that would make you, you know, eighty-five… eighty-eight hundred years old!
Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Minnie's eyes widened and they stared at Kida in total disbelief. Was Milo saying that she was over 8,000 years old? How could anyone live that long? Sure, Scrooge and Goldie were over 150, but that was thanks to their adventures which led to supernatural things happening to them. And they knew that their friends from the MCU like Thor and Loki were over 1,500 as they were gods. But over 8,000 for her? How could anyone live that long?
"Yes?" Kida asked with a shrug, as though not getting what the problem was.
As everyone looked at the linguist, Milo said shyly, "Well, uh… hey, looking good."
Kairi and Minnie giggled.
"So… you got a question for us?" asked Sora.
"Yes." she nodded. "How is it you found your way to this place?"
Milo reached into his brown shoulder bag and pulled out the Shepherd's Journal for the woman to see.
"Well I'll tell you, it wasn't easy. If it weren't for this book, we never would've made it."
"Milo's the only one who can read it." added Sora.
"He can speak Atlantean while the rest of us don't have a clue." added Kairi.
Kida flipped through the pages while staring in surprise disbelief. "You mean… he can understand this?" she asked.
"Yes." Milo nodded. "I'm a linguist. That's what I do - it's my job."
"Sometimes we pick it up. But, it usually takes a while, especially if it is not spoken out loud." added Mickey, thinking of the time he and his friend learned how to speak Groot. It was thanks to the Keyblade's help, and that they heard it more often.
Kida was unconvinced. She held the journal open before Milo's eyes and asked, "This - right here. You can read this?"
"Yes, I can read in Atlantean just like you." nodded Milo.
Kida turned away and continued to stare at the pages as though they were written in an unknown language. Her puzzled expression grabbed the attention of the five.
"You can't." Milo said in realization. "Can you?"
"No one can." Kida answered.
"Oh. But why is that?" asked Minnie.
"Such knowledge has been lost to us since the time of the Mehbelmok." the princess replied.
"The Mebe-what now?" asked Sora, confused.
"The Great Flood." Milo translated.
"Say uh, I've got a question for you too." sad Mickey. "Have you seen anything very unusual lately? Like say… monsters?"
Kida's eyes widened. "Yes! There are shady black creatures with yellow eyes, whiet creatures without eyes, and blue jittery things with strange red eyes!" she replied before asking, "Do you know what they are?"
"We do." said Sora. "The black creatures are the Heartless."
"The white creatures are called Nobodies." added Kairi.
"And the blue creatures are Unversed." finished Mickey.
"They are all very dangerous creatures," said Minnie. "They usually cause trouble on the surface world. We fight them whenever they're attacking the innocent."
"Really?" Kida asked in amazement. "All of you?"
"They do. I only fought the Heartless once." said Milo.
Kida nodded before saying, "I want to show you all something."
"Lead the way." said Sora.
Once again, she took the lead as Sora, Milo, Kairi, Mickey, and Minnie followed her to another place.
To be continued...
And now they've discovered Atlantis!
Plus, they've met its king and his daughter. Kida sure is an interesting character.
Goldie O'Gilt is back too. Luckily, Scrooge has her under control.
Rate and review and I'll see you all soon!
(1) 2017 DuckTales episode "The House of the Lucky Gander!"
(2) King Kashekim's voice in the original movie, the late Leonard Nimoy, was Master Xehanort's voice in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. In this story, Xehanort's current voice, Christopher Lloyd, also plays him.