The majestic Disney Castle stood tall above a colorful village. Its blue towers pierced the sky, and the white walls contrasted with the buildings of Disney Town while still being just as lively. The walls, roofs and even the lamp posts on the streets were shaped in ways that shouldn't be physically possible, like something out of a cartoon.

The day in the castle began like any other. Trumpets rang, enchanted brooms cleaned, and the royal magician Donald Duck strode through the corridors, headed for the audience chamber to greet the King. He arrived at an enormous door. Clearing his throat, Donald knocked, and a Donald-size door inside the larger one opened, allowing him to pass.

Like everything else in the castle, the audience chamber was massive. Soaring colonnades extended across the walls, and a banner with the King's emblem — two black circles on the upper sides of a larger circle — hung from the ceiling. A long red carpet ran through the room, leading to the thrones of the King and the Queen. The thrones were guarded by two large statues, one of which depicted Donald in his mage garments.

"Good morning, Your Majesty. It's nice to see you this mo— Wak?!"

Donald yelped when he saw the thrones. Queen Minnie wasn't there yet, which was normal, but King Mickey should have been there by now. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Donald heard a woof and turned to see the King's dog Pluto, his tail wagging and his ears perked. In his mouth, there was a white envelope with the King's emblem.

"Pluto? What have you got there?" Donald picked up the envelope and opened it to find a letter in King Mickey's handwriting. Frowning, Donald read the letter, hoping it'd make sense of the King's absence.

About 20 seconds later, Donald was yelling and running out of the audience chamber in a frenzy.

In a kingdom so peaceful, the life of the captain of the guard was unusually calm. There were the usual patrols around the castle and the town and training sessions with the rookies, but overall, most days went by pretty smoothly.

But the duties of a knight were nothing compared to those of a father.

"Maxie, slow down, you're going too fast," Goofy yelled as he ran after his son Max and his friend P.J.

He had told them countless times not to ride their skateboards on the castle corridors, but the wayward teens were always doing exactly that. They ground on handrails, knocked over decorative armors and wrinkled expensive carpets. With practically all doors open, there were no obstacles to get in their way.

That is, until the two rode into a living room filled with a dozen or so enchanted brooms washing and waxing the floor. The teens' faces turned from ecstatic to fearful as soon as they realized what they'd gotten themselves into.

"Oh boy…"

The floor turned to ice under their wheels and the two completely lost control. Goofy managed to stop himself just before entering the room, but the sound of his son's panicked shouts left him no time to feel relief. He looked around in a frenzy and spotted two empty buckets lying on the floor. Without hesitation, Goofy took off his comically large shoes, hopped onto the buckets — one on each foot — and drifted through the greasy floor, jumping and dodging tables, sofas and brooms with surprising finesse.

Max and P.J. continued skidding when three brooms carrying empty buckets came into view right in front of them. Max miraculously managed to jump over them and land without falling. P.J. tried to do the same, but the tip of his skateboard bumped into one of the brooms and he toppled them over like he was a bowling ball and the brooms the pins. Goofy skated past him seconds later.

As he approached the end of the room, Max was relieved to see two brooms opening the door at the end. But his relief quickly turned to panic when he realized the door led to a tall balcony above the castle's courtyard. Max screamed and tried desperately to brake to no avail. His board hit the balcony fence and he was sent flying. Not even halfway through the fall, it became clear he would tumble on top of a castle structure in the middle of the courtyard that seemed to be a topiary, but was just covered in shrubbery and was actually made of hard stone.

"MAX!" Goofy cried as he reached the balcony.

"DAD!"

Goofy let go of his bucket-skaters, climbed and kicked the fence to gain speed. "Don't worry Max, I'm coming!"

He reached him when Max was about a meter from the castle sculpture. Goofy grabbed him tightly with one arm, and with his free hand, summoned his Knight's Shield and laid it under them. The shield hit the sculpture and the resulting impact propelled it forward. The duo sledded through the sculpture all the way to the ground and then rammed into a scattering of bushes.

Goofy immediately got back up and ran to make sure Max was alright.

"Gawrsh Maxie, are you okay?" he asked as he helped Max get back up, shook off leaves from his clothes and checked every inch of him. "Are you hurt? Bruised? In pain? Do you need a potion? Should I call Donald? Are you scared? There, there, everything's fine now."

"Dad!" Max grumbled as Goofy pulled him in a tight hug. "Dad, I'm fine."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Goofy eased off on the hug.

"Yeah, Dad. It's just a couple scrapes, I'll pull through."

"Aw, thank goodness!" Max sighed when his father pulled him into yet another hug.

Suddenly, they heard familiar screaming from inside the castle.

"GAWAAAAK! THE KING! THE KING! GOOFY!"

"Hey there, Donald. G'morning." Goofy casually greeted his friend as he hurtled into the courtyard with the King's letter in his hand.

"GOOFY, CALM DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME!" The frenzied magician stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes on Max. "Wak! What is he doing here? Go on kid, shoo! This is grown-up's talk!"

"Hey, I'm not a kid—" But Max quickly fell silent as Donald threw a fit of angry quacking and bouncing, with little cracks of lightning shooting from his fingers. Max let out a nervous laugh and skeddladed.

"What's going on, Donald—" Donald pulled his much taller friend down by the collar.

"We can't make a fuss, Goofy! We've got a serious problem!" Goofy opened his mouth, but Donald cut him again. "We can't let anyone know about this!"

"What is all the fuss about, Donald?" The magician froze as he heard a high-pitched voice behind him.

"Hello, Queen Minnie. Daisy," Goofy greeted the newcomers without a hint of worry, unlike Donald, who turned slowly and crackled nervously at the sight of the two ladies in regal clothing, one of which wore a crown.

"Y-Your Majesty! Um, I… It's just that…"

Finally calming down in the presence of the Queen and his sweetheart, Donald lowered his voice and explained what had happened. From behind a topiary, Max watched the conversation. He couldn't hear what they were saying but knew the worried faces his father, Donald, the Queen and her lady-in-waiting had couldn't be good news.

"Max, there you are!" His heart skipped a beat and he turned to see P.J. coming toward him with both their skateboars. "Man, that was scary!"

"Shhh! Keep it down!" Max hushed and pulled him behind the topiary. They watched quietly as the Queen and the others headed inside in a hurry.

"What were they talking about?" P.J. asked.

"I don't know," said Max. "It seemed important."

Dear Donald,

I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly without even saying goodbye, but trouble is brewing, and there's no time to lose.

I'm not sure why, but the stars have been blinking out, one by one. I've reached out to Master Yen Sid about this, and he confirmed what I feared: Disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all, but as a Keyblade Master, it is my duty to check into this.

As king, I have a favor to ask you and Goofy. Master Yen Sid said he has felt the presence of a new Keyblade for the first time in years. This new wielder is the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find them and stick with them. Got it?

Without that key, we're doomed. So go to a world called Traverse Town and find a man named Squall Leonhart. He'll point you in the right direction.

And… Would you apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.

M. M.

"Oh dear! What could this mean?" Daisy asked.

"It means we'll just have to trust the King," the Queen said, holding the letter left by her beloved to her chest.

"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's all right," Goofy said.

"The King is strong," Donald assured, both his friend and himself. "If we want to help him, we have to find this new Keybearer."

"A new Keybearer… But I thought they were almost all gone after…" Daisy couldn't bring herself to finish.

"If a new one has appeared, then the darkness will most certainly hunt them down," the Queen said, worried for this new wielder, whoever they were.

"Your Majesty!" Donald proclaimed. "Don't worry. We'll find this Keybearer, and then the King."

"Thank you, both of you," the Queen said, finally smiling.

"Daisy, can you take care of the Queen?"

"Of course." She went to hug Donald and give him a kiss. "You be careful out there."

"Are you absolutely sure you'll be okay?" Donald asked worriedly. "If you want we could call Master Yen Sid, or Uncle Scrooge, or—"

"Don't worry. You know me, Donald. I'm tough." She gave him a light punch on the arm before going back to the Queen's side and putting an arm around her. "Besides, Minnie and I are kind of used to taking care of the castle while the King and his two loyal companions are venturing in the outside world."

"What?!" The group turned their heads to the door as they heard an astonished voice followed by "Shhh!"

Goofy opened the door and was surprised to find Max covering a stunned P.J.'s mouth. The duo's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before breaking into wide grins.

"Heeey, Dad. What a coincidence you're here! We were just passing by."

"Were you three eavesdropping by any chance?" Donald asked with a frown.

The teens answered with a series of "Nos" and "Of course not". Donald crossed his arms and Daisy joined in with a scowl of her own, hands on her hips. The two looked down and uttered a guilty "Yeah…"

"Are you two really going to the outside world?" Max asked, and Goofy gave a sad look. Before he could say anything, Max spoke up again. "Then take me with you!"

Everyone gasped and stared surprised at the assertive teen. Goofy's mouth fell open hearing such a request. For a moment he imagined Max sitting next to him on their ship, learning the basics of adventuring, looking up to him with the same admiration he did back when he was little…

"But Max, the outside world is dangerous!" P.J. said, snapping Goofy out of his fantasy. "They say that weird things happen, and monsters appear out of nowhere and… And people can get lost… forever… You should let mister Donald and Captain Goofy handle this, they know how to get by out there."

"I know, but…" Max fell silent when Goofy put his hands on his shoulders and gave a smile that was both understanding and sad.

"Max, P.J.'s right. Donald and I already have experience going to other worlds."

"If you took me with you I could get experience too!" Max insisted. "Didn't you always say that one day I'd have my own adventure? That we'd set off together? Why not now?"

"You heard what the King said in his letter. Something very bad is happening out there. Now's not a good time to go on an adventure for the first time."

Max frowned and turned his head. Goofy held his chin and gently turned it back.

"Maxie, look at me. If you got hurt because of me or lost or…" He couldn't even finish, scared to death by the mere thought of it. "Gawrsh, I don't think I could live with myself if that happened…"

Max tried to come up with a counterargument, but couldn't think of anything else to say. So instead he sighed and hugged Goofy. Normally hugging his father in front of other people would be embarrassing, but given the situation, he couldn't care less.

"Just… Promise you'll come back safe."

"Of course," Goofy assured, hugging him back. "And when I come back, I'll tell you all about it. And then, we'll have our own adventure. I promise."

After a lengthy hug, Goofy went back to Donald's side before the Queen and Daisy, and Max stood on the corner with P.J.

"Outside this castle, you mustn't let anyone know you're from another world. Remember, the world order must be kept." Queen Minnie turned to the nosy boys. "I expect the two of you will also keep this to yourselves."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" they said, unnaturally stiff. Unbeknownst to Minnie, Daisy was glaring at the boys and making a gesture to show she'd be keeping an eye on them.

"Good." The Queen turned back to Donald and Goofy. "Your ship should be ready soon. We hope for your safe return."

The captain and the magician saluted the Queen and set out of the library.

The duo trod down a long spiral staircase beneath the castle before finally arriving at the Gummi Ship hangar. Inside, gears clanked and machines chugged the airfield at the center, big mechanical hands made the final touches on the little orange rocket ship that allowed Donald and Goofy to travel to other worlds.

"Hello up there?" Donald spoke into a big pipe. "Donald Duck to launch crew! Is she ready to go?"

His voice was carried all the way to the control room up on the top of the hangar. Hearing this, the ship designer Chip gave a salute while the mechanic Dale pulled a lever, making the whole fabric buzz with activity.

The mechanical hands picked Donald and Goofy up by the rear, granting an annoyed scowl from the former and a cheery "Hyipe!" from the latter. None of them noticed as Pluto hopped between cogs and contraptions to follow them.

The hands dropped Donald and Goofy into the cockpit. Still a bit grumpy, Donald got back up, straightened his clothes and his hat and took his place on the driver's seat, while Goofy took the seat on the right. The two eyed the empty third seat where the King used to sit.

The duo screamed in shock when suddenly, Pluto jumped into the cockpit.

"Wha— Pluto? What are you doing?!" Donald asked, but the dog simply wagged his tail.

"I guess Pluto wants to come along," Goofy said, and Pluto barked in response.

"Aw phooey." Donald sighed as the cockpit closed up with the three inside and the Gummi Ship slowly rose into launch position.

The door to the hangar opened, and Queen Minnie, Daisy and Max appeared to see them off. Goofy and Max waved each other goodbye, and Daisy blew Donald a kiss. Queen Minnie held her hands to her heart and closed her eyes.

"Please, help the king… And the worlds…"

The engine started and the whole ship shook. Donald and Goofy braced themselves as the doors in front of the Gummi Ship slowly opened.

"Blast off!" Donald proclaimed proudly, pointing to the track ahead full of determination!

A glowing arrow pointing down flashed in front of them.

"Wak?"

A trapdoor opened on the floor and sucked the Gummi Ship down. Donald and Goofy screamed and held onto their seats for dear life as the ship fell straight through Disney Castle.

Finally, the ship popped out from under the world, upside down. Donald and Pluto had fallen face down on the window, and Goofy was hanging from his seat.

"Sorry, guys," Chip's voice said from a speaker. "We forgot to let you know we made some modifications to the runway."

"Couldn't you have written it down on a sticky note…" Donald grumbled as he climbed to the control panel and flipped a switch.

The ship righted itself, and Donald, Goofy and Pluto plummeted back on the floor.

"I guess that's a lesson to always use your seatbelts, ahyu—" Goofy's signature laugh was interrupted when he suddenly covered his mouth like he was about to puke.

Donald sat back on his seat — following Goofy's advice to put his seatbelts on — and put his hat back on. "Suddenly I have a bad feeling about this…"

Goofy and Pluto also straightened themselves on their respective seats as Donald powered up the engine and turned on the navigation screen.

"Next stop, Traverse Town."