Recent Content by Negative

I'm planning on rewriting the first few chapters soon and a thought occurred to me that I should edit several spots in the Disney chapters so that it's not so much the movie's plot with three random characters added in and actually make it part of the story, kind of like how the Disney worlds went in KH1. If anyone has any advice or ideas on how to do this, please don't hesitate to tell me. Also, if anyone has an idea on how to describe the Heartless better so I don't keep saying "the large Heartless", or whatever, also don't hesitate to tell.


Chapter 23: Discovered

Seika ran through the grounds, looking around each brightly colored tent for his friends. Cheers rang around as arrows flew through the air at the targets. He walked closer towards the center of the grounds and watched as the large wolf shot an arrow in red ring around the center of the target. Seika smirked as Robin raised his bow and shot his arrow. It hit the target perfectly.

"Alright!" Seika muttered excitedly.

A crocodile in a red cape approached the target and pulled the two arrows out. "Attention everyone," he said. "The final contestants are the honorable Sheriff of Nottingham," Several boos came from the viewers all around the grounds as the large wolf bowed. The crocodile continued, "and the spindle-legged stork from Devonshire." Robin bowed and waved at the crowd cheering for him and turned around to wave at Maid Marian, who quickly waved back.

"For the final showdown," the crocodile spoke. "move the target back thirty paces." A vulture ran under the target, but before he ran thirty paces back, the sheriff raised a hand to cover his mouth and whispered something for only the vulture to hear. With that, the target moved back.

Seika began to walk around to get a better view of the target as the Sheriff of Nottingham shot his arrow. The target jumped into the air and into sight, allowing the arrow to hit right in the center.

'He's cheating,' Seika thought. He began quickening his pace as Robin stepped up to shoot his arrow. BAM! Seika fell backward as he ran into a large body.

"Seika!" A voice shouted. Seika looked up to see Max. In front of him was PJ, who was on the ground as well. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

Seika stood up. "Sorry, guys. There was someone running around, I had to see what they were up too. I think he's with Maleficent. He led me out of the grounds and attacked me with a group of Heartless."

"Where you able to catch him?" Max asked.

Seika shook his head. "He vanished after he summoned them." He quickly changed the subject. "What have you two been up too?"

Max and PJ looked at each other and grinned. "That snake was up to no good," Max said. "He was about to give away Robin's disguise. But thanks to Friar Tuck, we were able to take him out."

"Yeah," PJ said, snorting out a laugh. "See that," he pointed to a wooden barrel of ale. "we stuck him in there. He can't do anything now." The three began to laugh. PJ quickly jumped and pointed to the sky. "Look!" he said. An arrow flew straight up. Robin's arrow. Another arrow was shot up behind it to knock it back down at the target. It landed right in the center of the bull's eye, splitting the Sheriff's arrow in half.

Everyone cheered and whistled. A wide smile grew on Seika's face. "He did it," he said softly. "Alright!" But his attention was quickly changed when he noticed Prince John gesturing at the crocodile. The crocodile gave a nod and turned to one of the rhino guards. Seika nudged PJ in the stomach with his elbow. "They're up to something," he said, pointing at the crocodile.

Robin approached Prince John and Maid Marian with a cocky smile. The guards surrounded him as Prince John began speaking. "Archer, I commend you, and because of your superior skill, I shall give what is coming to you. Our royal congratulations."

Robin began shaking Prince John's hand vigorously. "Thank ya kindly, Your Highness. Meetin' you face-ta-face your 'igh and mighty is a real treat-"

"Release the royal fingers!" Prince John said pulling his hand back. One of the guards approached him with a cushion with a sword lying on top of it. He took it and placed it on Robin's shoulder with a devilish grin. Robin bowed down as he was knighted. "And now I name you the winner." Robin bowed lower. "Or more appropriately," Prince John slid the sword through the back of the shirt and cut off the disguise. "the loser." Everyone around gasped. "Seize him!"

The rhino guards lunged at him to tie him down and pointed the ends of their axes at him in case of attempting to escape. "I sentence you to sudden, instant, and even immediate death!" Prince John said. "Traitors of the crown must die-"

"Traitors of the crown?" Robin asked. "That crown belongs to King Richard! Long live King Richard!"

"Long live King Richard!" shouted voices of the viewers.

"Enough!" Prince John shouted, jumping up from his throne. "I am the king! King! Off with his head!"

"Oh no," Seika muttered as drums began to roll and a large rhino wearing a black mask and carrying a large axe marched towards Robin. He looked at Max and PJ. "We need to help him." They gave a nod and the three ran on to the field, with their weapons in hand. They stopped in the large rhino's path, ready to stop them.

"Who dares interrupt this execution?" Prince John shouted, but he paused and looked at Seika, and a grin grew on his face. "Oh? Are you the boy Maleficent was talking about? Yes, the Keybearer." He waved his hands at the guards. "Leave this boy, I have special plans for him. I'll kill them all at once."

With a snap of his fingers, the large, golden Heartless from before appeared. It's emerald cape swung behind it as it raised its two sword-like arms. The rhinos began to run away.

Seika looked at the tied up Robin and ran to his side, slashing the ropes off. A sword flew from beside the throne from Little John, who was still in disguise. Robin hopped up to catch it as he, Seika, PJ, and Max prepared to battle the Heartless.

Two more Heartless appeared at the corners of the field, both resembling music notes and air horns. They began trumpeting an odd melody.

"Attack!" Prince John yelled.

Without any hesitation, the giant Heartless swung one of its sword-like arms at Seika, but he raised the Keyblade to block. The Heartless jumped backwards and swung its cape, producing several balls of fire. The fireballs shot around simultaneously.

PJ slammed his fists together to create his barrier. "Get back," he shouted. Seika, Max, and Robin dodged the fireballs and quickly got behind PJ as the rest of the bombardment hit the glassy barrier.

Seika flinched as he noticed the barrier beginning to crack. 'Oh no, just like from Ramsley. It's not going to take much more.'

"When need to distract it," Robin said. "I'll go." Before anyone could say anything, he ran from behind the barrier and got the large Heartless's attention. It turned to face him and began to march in his direction.

"Let's go," Max said, and the three of them ran as the barrier shattered.

PJ lifted his hands and created several small bombs and tossed them in front of the Heartless. They quickly exploded and sent surges of electricity at it. But nothing happened. "What?" he said, confused to why his bombs didn't harm the Heartless.

Max didn't respond and charged at it. He swung his sword in attempt to slash it, but nothing happened. Suddenly, he was sent back several feet by some invisible force.

"What's going on?" Seika asked.

"None of our attacks are working," Max said as he got back to his feet. "Something's knocking them back."

Seika watched the Heartless as it chased after Robin. "I have to do something," he muttered. He raised the Keyblade and shot a blast of fire, but before it was a foot away, the musical Heartless began playing a quick melody, and the flame vanished. He looked back at one of them. "It's them!" he shouted. "They're blocking our attacks!"

"Destroy it quickly!" Robin yelled as he ran.

Seika nodded and ran towards the melodic Heartless. It began playing a faster melody and a burst of wind blew from its horn causing Seika to fly backwards. Landing on his feet, Seika ran back at the Heartless without hesitation, but again, it played the same song, causing him to fly backwards again. 'Darn it!' he thought. 'There's got to be another way.' He watched the Heartless for a moment, then noticed whenever it finished a song, it paused for a breath. 'There! An opening!'

Seika took this chance to run at it again, but instead of attacking head on, he lunged at it and grabbed the end of its horn with both hands, squeezing it as tightly as he could. A weak sound blew out of the horn and then the horn-like Heartless exploded, releasing its captive heart.

"Good plan," Robin said with a grin.

The large Heartless quickly turned its attention towards Seika and launched into the air.

"Watch out!" he shouted.

Seika looked up as the Heartless dropped down near him. He ran out of the way, but when the Heartless landed, a shock wave flowed from under its feet and collided with Seika, causing him to fly forward.

Seika pulled himself up and quickly readied himself as the Heartless swung its sword-arm at him. A bomb rolled past and exploded. The Heartless's legs became frozen to the ground.

Seika turned around and saw PJ giving him a thumbs up. Seika thanked him with a wave and charged at the Heartless, but before he slash it, a force pushed him back. Another trumpeting melody began to play. He looked behind him to see another horn-like Heartless hopping around.

"I got this one," PJ said waving his hand. He held up his hands and a surge of electricity surrounded him. He charged at the Heartless and before it could react, PJ smashed it with his large body.

When the musical Heartless was destroyed, the large, golden Heartless began to shine, and its color changed from gold to green. He looked at itself, surprised at the change. It looked over to Seika and charged.

Taking a step back, Seika raised the Keyblade and shot a blast of fire at the Heartless, but it didn't seem to harm it much.

It continued to charge towards him into its was a few feet away, then it raised its arms and its upper body began spinning, first clockwise, then quickly switching to counter clockwise.

Seika raised the Keyblade to block the slashes, but after the first few, the Keyblade was knocked away. He jumped out of the way as the blades slashed down towards him and in a burst of light, the Keyblade returned to his hand.

"Are you okay?" Max called to him.

"Yeah," Seika responded.

The Heartless stared down at him, its blade-arms beginning to spin. It raised its two blades and crossed them into an X, creating a surge electricity around its body. It raised one arm above its head and the blade began to glow. Blasts of lightning shot from the end of the blade.

Surprised, Seika jumped out of the way and began to run, struggling to dodge each strike of lightning that shot from the blade, until he felt himself trip.

Lowering its arm, the Heartless launched into the air again, and landed closer to Seika, who quickly struggled back onto his feet. The Heartless raised one of its long legs and kicked him in the chest.

As the Heartless raised its other leg to kick again, Robin ran towards the Heartless and slashed it with his sword. It collapsed to the ground, but caught itself with its blades.

Seika pulled himself back up and forced himself to run, and attacked the Heartless with one final slash.

The Heartless fell completely. A heart burst out from under its cape and floated into the sky as the body vanished into darkness.

"You destroyed my Heartless?" Prince John shouted angerily. The four turned to face him. He was standing with his hands on the railings around his throne with a look of great anger. "Kill them!" he shouted to the guards. "Don't stand there, kill them!"

The rhinos jumped at the command and began to charge.

Chapter 22: An Archery Tournament

Seika sat by a tree, watching Robin stir the soup for over thirty minutes at their camp. His stomach began roaring with hunger.

Little John's voice quickly broke his concentration. "So, Seika, tell us a bit about yourself," he said without taking his eyes away from the laundry he was hanging. "Where're you from? Obviously you three are not from around here."

Seika looked at his friends, who gave slow nods. He took a quick breath. "I'm from a place kind of far away," he said swiftly.

Little John gave a bursting laugh. "I get that. I mean something more about you. Like do you have anyone with 'long eyelashes'? You know, a girl?"

Seika gave a jerk at his last words. He gave a tug on his bracelet and blushed lightly.

"So you have a girl? Tell me somethin' about her?"

With a gulp, Seika began searching for the words to say. Before he could say anything, Max and PJ broke in. "Her names Hana."

"Seika said he knew her for a while now. Since they were kids."

"Since they were kids, you say?" Little John gave a laugh again. "Sounds a lot like Rob here and his beloved Maid Marian." They looked at Robin, who was humming while drifting off in his own fantasy. "See what I mean? He can't keep his mind off of her."

Seika gave a small smile, but it quickly vanished as his stomach gave another hungry roar.

"Hey, lover boy," Little John said to Robin, who was still in a daze. "How's that grub comin', man? We're starvin'." There was no answer. "Rob?" Still no answer. "Robin?" He looked behind from a shirt and jumped. "Hey!"

Robin finally snapped out of it. "Hey, what? What do you say?"

"Ah, forget about it," Little John said as he dug back into the basket of clothes. "You mind's not on food. You're thinking of Maid Marian. We were just talkin' about her. Turns out Seika here has a girl of his own."

"Does he now?" Robin said slyly, grinning at Seika. "What's her name?"

"Her name's Hana," Seika said softly. He gave another tug at his bracelet.

"And they knew each other since they were kids," Little John chuckled lightly. He sniffed the air and began coughing from the smoke fuming from the boiling soup.

Robin jumped to his feet. "It's boiling over!"

Little John ran to the cauldron and pulled it off from the fire and began waving the smoke away with a shirt. "You're burnin' the chow!"

Robin gave a sigh. "Sorry Johnny. I was thinking of her. I can't help it. I love her, Johnny."

"Look, why don't you just stop moonin' and mopin' around?" Little John said, pouring some water into the soup. "Just marry the girl."

"Marry her?" Robin asked. "You don't just walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say, 'Hey, remember me? We were kids together. Will you marry me?' No, it just isn't done that way."

"Come on, Robbie," Little John said, chuckling. "Climb the castles walls. Sweep her off her feet. Carry her in style."

'Just like in those stories,' Seika thought, remembering the books he read at school.

Robin sighed. "It's no use, Johnny. I've thought it all out and it just wouldn't work. Besides, what do I have to offer her?"

"Well, for one thing, you can't cook," Little John chuckled.

"I'm serious, Johnny. She's a highborn lady of quality."

"So she's got class. So what?"

"I'm an outlaw, that's what," Robin said. "That's no life for a lovely lady. Always on the run. What kind of future is that?"

A voice bursted from behind them. "Oh, for Heaven's sake, son. You're no outlaw." The voice came from a large badger dressed in a brown robe. "Why, someday you'll be called a great hero."

"A hero?" Robin chuckled. "Did you hear that? We've been pardoned."

"That's a gas," Little John said. "We ain't even been arrested yet."

"Alright. Laugh, you rogues," the badger said. He made his way to the cauldron of soup and began helping himself. "But there's gonna be a big to-do in Nottingham. Ol' Prince John's having a championship archery tournament tomorrow."

"An archery tournament?" Little John asked. "Old Rob can win that standin' on his head."

"Thank you, Little John," Robin said, taking his hat off and giving a low bow. "But I'm sure we're not invited."

"No," the badger said, taking another sip of the soup. "But there's somebody who'll be very disappointed if you don't come."

"Yeah, old bushel britches," Little John said mockingly. "the Honorable Sheriff of Nottingham."

"No. Maid Marian."

"Maid Marian?" Robin gasped.

"Yeah. She's gonna give a kiss to the winner."

"A kiss to the winner!" Robin smiled widely and jumped into the air. "Oo-de-lally! Come one, guys! What are we waiting for?"

"Wait a minute, Rob," Little John said. "That place will be crawlin' with soldiers, and not to mention those Heartless will be about."

Seika stood up. "We can take care of them," he said eagerly. "We can keep a watch out for any and be sure they don't get in the way."

"And remember," Robin said, strapping his quiver around his torso and grabbing his bow. "Faint hearts never won fair ladies." He shot an arrow and tossed his hat in the air. The arrow ricocheted off of a hanging pan and shot through the hat, and it dropped back on his head. "Fear not, my friends. This will be my greatest performance."

* * *

Prince John chuckled as he watched his soldiers march through the tournament grounds. His councilor, Hiss, sat coiled on a chair beside his throne. "Hiss, this is a red letter day. A coup d' etat, to coin a Norman phrase."

"Yes indeed, sire," Hiss agreed happily. "Your plan to capture Robin Hood in public is sheer genius."

Prince John gave the snake a glare. "Hiss, no one sits higher than the king." He grabbed the him and pulled him down until his head was on the chair. "Must I remind you?"

"Forgive me, sire. I-I didn't mean to."

Prince John ignored the apology. "My trap is baited and set, and then revenge. Revenge!"

"Not so loud, sire," Hiss said using his tail to make a gesture. He wrapped around the king to his ear and whispered, "Remember, only you and I know, and your secret is my secret-"

Prince John burst into laughter. "Stop hissing in my ear," he said, then quickly changed his tone. "Secret? What secret?"

"Why, the capture of Robin Hood, sire."

"That insolent blackguard," he growled. "I'll show him who wears the crown!"

* * *

"There she is," Robin whispered as he and Little John put on their disguises of a stork and a duke. "Isn't she beautiful?" He began to take a step towards her.

"Cool it, lover boy," Little John said, pulling Robin back into their hiding place behind the bushes. "Your heart's runnin' away with your head."

"Oh, stop worrying," he said, fixing his hat and tying a cloth around his head. "This disguise would fool my own mother."

"Yeah, but your mom ain't here," Little John said. He pointed towards the large wolf dressed in royal clothing that was approaching. The Sheriff of Nottingham. "You gotta fool old bushel britches."

Robin gave a grin and nudged Little John on the arm and stumbled out towards the sheriff.

* * *

Seika looked from tent to tent as he, Max, and PJ walked around the tournament grounds. "There," Max said and pointed at the stork shaking hands with a large wolf dressed in a red tunic. Robin had said he and Little John would wear disguises, him a stork and Little John a duke.

Robin followed the wolf to the line of archers. The three turned their attention to Little John as he made his way towards Prince John.

"They aren't bad at pretending, huh," PJ said with a slight grin.

"Yeah," Seika muttered. His eyes never left Robin as he moved towards the vixen that sat beside the prince. 'That must be Maid Marian,' he thought. He felt a tug on his shoulder.

"Check that out," Max said. He pointed to the snake that slithered away from where Prince John sat. "He almost looks like Kaa, doesn't he?"

Seika gave a shutter at the thought. "I hope he can't hypnotize like Kaa," he muttered softly.

With a chuckle, Max said, "C'mon, let's try and get a better view." He and PJ began to run through the several paths in the tents.

Seika followed behind them, but stopped. Taking a step back, he looked behind one of the tents. A figure cloaked in black was running down the path and turned a corner. He looked back to the way he was going to see that his friends were gone. 'Who was that?' he thought. He shook his head and ran after the figure. After running towards the opposite end of the grounds, Seika stopped to catch his breath. He looked around again. 'There,' he said as he saw the figure run past a stone tower. 'He's going towards the woods.' Seika took a deep breath and continued running after him.

After several more minutes of chasing, the figure was caught at a dead end of trees. They were far enough for the tournament grounds to be barely seen through the trees. Seika studied the figure closely as it swung around. A large black cloak surrounded most of the body, except the feet and a large hood, two or three times larger than a normal head covered the face with darkness.

"Who are you?" Seika said. "Are you with Strider or Maleficent?"

There was a moment of silence before the figure bursted into laughter. "Maybe." It managed to say, and continued to laugh, with one hand on its stomach.

"Answer me!" Seika yelled. He held his hand out and the Keyblade appeared. 'I need to know where they are...' he thought.

The figure calmed itself. It raised a finger and began wagging it. It snapped two fingers and several Heartless appeared around them. With a wave, the cloaked figure vanished into the trees.

"Wait!" Seika yelled, but quickly gave up as the Heartless moved closer to him.

The Heartless were small and had large, egg-like heads. Hanging from the top were short fuses that began burning instantly.

Seika readied the Keyblade as one charged towards him. He sidestepped to dodge and destroyed it with a single slash. Another one began charging toward him, and again, he stepped out of the way and destroyed it.

Several more appeared and lunged at him. Before he could dodge, one exploded behind him. And then another in front of him. And another. One at a time, each of the Heartles jumped at him and exploded. And for each that exploded, several more of the Heartless appeared.

Each explosion felt as if he were being punched. The Keyblade flew out of Seika's hands as he collapsed. The Heartless continued to appear until he was completely surrounded.

Seika closed his eyes. 'Max. PJ. Where are you guys? I need your help.' His eyes burst open as a power flowed through him. 'That's right.' He put a hand in his and felt the stone. 'Mike and Sully.' Using the Keyblade as a crutch to stand up and let the power flow through him until he had the strength to pick the Keyblade back up. The light shot from the end and the two monsters burst out of the door that was created.

"You needed are help so soon?" Mike asked. He and Sully looked around at the Heartless that surrounded them. "Leave this to us, kid. It's the least we can do for letting us out." He looked up at the large, blue monster. "Ready you big fur ball?"

"Ready," Sully said. He grabbed Mike by the top of his head and took a step back. He threw Mike at the Heartless and quickly the green monster threw himself at the next, then back.

Seika used all his strength to help and began to destroy what was left of the Heartless. Soon they were gone. Seika let the Keyblade vanish from his hand and gave a sigh of relief.

Sully gave a stretch. "It sure is good to be back out," he said with a forced yawn. He and Mike began to glow. "Remember, if you need us again, you know what to do."

"Just don't need us too soon," Mike said. He patted Seika on the back. With a wave for goodbye, the two vanished.

Seika smiled as he looked at where they stood. As he turned to go back to the tournament grounds, he noticed all his wounds had vanished. With a quick stretch, he ran as fast as he could to find Max and PJ.

Okay.

Chapter 21: Two Thieves in Green

After almost an hour of flying through space, Seika, Max, and PJ arrived to their next world. A third of the world was a forest while the rest was a small town and a large castle. PJ pressed a button and in a flash of light, the three were beamed down.

They appeared in the forest area of the world. They looked around for a few minutes, until PJ held up a thick arm to bring Seika and Max to a stop. "Do you hear that?"

They stood still and listened. "Ooh de lally!" a voice yelled. "Ooh de lally!" and drowned out behind it was, "After them, you fools!" That shouting came closer.

"Hide!" Max said, and the three scrambled to find a place to hide. Seika peeked behind a shrub as two figures ran past. With a slight gulp, he dropped back down. "Animals?" Seika muttered to his friends. "They're both animals."

"What do you mean?" PJ asked. He and Max peeked over the bushes and quickly dropped back down. The two figures were animals. One was a fox and the other was a bear, and both were wearing green tunics and hats with red feathers sticking from the side. They were both holding bags of gold and were covered in jewelry.

The two figures ran passed quickly. Behind them were several Heartless, each having dark skin and had large, metal helmets on their heads.

Seika, Max, and PJ looked at each other and with a nod, they jumped from behind the bushes and brought out their weapons. The flash of the Keyblade drew the attention of the Heartless.

One by one, the Heartless lunged at them and were quickly destroyed by a swing of the Keyblade or Max's sword, or from one of PJ bombs. Soon they were all destroyed. With a sigh of relief, Seika dismissed the Keyblade.

"Good show," a voice said. The three spun around and were face to face with the two figures from before, the fox and the bear dressed in green. It was the fox that was speaking. "Prince John's been sending those dreadful monsters after us for some time now."

"He sure has," the bear said with a nod. "If you guys didn't show up, they'd catch us for sure this time."

Seika looked at the two, then down to the treasure they were carrying. "Did you steal that from him?"

The fox laughed, then clicked his tongue and said, "Steal? That's a naughty word. We merely steal from the rich to give to the poor." There was a short pause. "Who might the three of you be?"

A grin appeared on Seika's face as a feeling of adventure flowed through him. He remembered reading stories from when he was younger about people like that and always dreaming of doing something similar. He held out a hand. "I'm Seika."

He gave a grunt as Max and PJ pushed down on his shoulders and said their names.

"Max."

"PJ."

The fox laughed again. "I am Robin Hood, but you may call me Robin, for short." He pulled his hat off and gave a bow.

"And the names John, Little John," the bear said with a large smile.

There was a loud thump from nearby. The five looked in the direction. Robin's eyes widened. "Hide!" he shouted. "Quick, up the tree!"

They each climbed up the tallest tree they could find and climbed to the center. Robin put a finger to his mouth, and he and Little John looked down.

"Is it that same one again, Rob?" Little John whispered.

Robin didn't say anything. Clanking footsteps thumped down the path, and in moments, a large Heartless appeared. It had a golden body with the Heartless emblem in the center, and long, slender legs. Its boot-like feet curled upward for a few inches. Its two arms broke into the shape of a hilt and formed into blades. A round, white head sat on the shoulders with a golden crown covering the top and several spikes pointing down on the chin. An emerald cape with black stripes hung down its back.

Its head spun around to check the area, its beady yellow eyes then it continued marching down the path.

"Let's return to the camp, Rob," Little John said. "It'll be safer there."

"Right," Robin agreed, and the five slid down the tree and made their way deeper into the forest.

Chapter 20: The Odd Stone

Several hours had passed while Seika told Max and PJ about what had happened when he touched the crystal as they walked. He told them everything except of what Kenzo had said. By the time the story was finished, the large wall that surrounded the city was in sight.

Seika stopped and looked to the distance. "There's something coming," he said and he pointed at a figure in the distance was approaching them at great speed.

PJ looked too. "He's right! Something's running at us!"

They three readied their weapons to be ready if the running figure was an enemy. As the figure came closer, more color came into it. It had a yellow head, blue torso and legs, and a tail swinging behind it.

Seika lowered the Keyblade. "It's.....Zidane?" he said. Max and PJ lowered their weapons too as Zidane came within a few feet of them.

Zidane bent forward with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. "Finally found you," he said between breaths. He took one last long breath and stood back up. He looked at the three weapons. "Why do you have you weapons? Did you think I was a Heartless or something?"

Seika, Max, and PJ looked at each other, then put their weapons away, each with embarrassed expressions on their faces.

Seika broke the awkwardness. "How did you find us?"

"Merlin said the you might be somewhere outside of the castle," Zidane said. "I voluntarily went out to find you. And here you are. What are you doing outside of the city, anyway?"

PJ looked down at his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I chose the wrong spot before we were beamed down. I was looking for the castle and-"

"You were beamed near the other castle?" Zidane asked. "Merlin and the King will really want to hear this." He took a few steps forward. "C'mon, let's go." And he began running.

Seika, Max, and PJ looked at each other again, and with a shrug, began chasing after him.

The large golden gates to the city were closer than they appeared. As Seika, Max, PJ, and Zidane approached them, there was a shout from above. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Zidane!" Zidane shouted back. "I'm back with the three Merlin wanted me to bring back!"

After a series of shouts from above, the gate began to open and the three walked into the city.

Seika looked around as he saw the city itself instead of from above. Waterfalls fell from the giant wall that surrounded the city and flowed through aqueducts to several reservoirs around it. Like during Seika's first visit to Radiant Gardens, the streets were packed with people.

"Stay close," Zidane said. "It's easy to get lost down in this level of the city."

They began walking up a large set of steps to the second level of the city. Time flew by quickly when they finally arrived to Merlin's house. Seika gave a sigh of disappointment, wishing to see the rest of the city.

Before Zidane could knock on the door, it flew open, and the four walked in.

"It's good to see you're back," Merlin said as they entered. He was sitting at his desk, reading on of the many books the covered it. He put it down. "The King is not here at the moment, he left a few hours ago to find something at the castle, but he should be back in a minute or two." He waved his hand and a teapot rose into the air, followed by four teacups. The teapot began to pour tea into each of the cups. "Do you care for a cup of tea?" he asked. Seika, Max, and PJ accepted the cups and sat at the table.

With a shake of his head, Zidane declined. "Sorry, but I have to run," he said, and he ran back out the door and back into the city.

"What's he in a rush for?" Seika asked.

"I'm not quite surer," Merlin said. He took a quick sip of the tea. "He's always running around."

Seika took a sip of his tea as well. His head perked up as he remembered about the stone Master Gracey had given him at the mansion. He quickly pulled the blue and green stone from his pocket and held it to Merlin. "Do you know what this is?"

Merlin took it and looked at it carefully. "Oh my, what a rare sight!" he said. "A rare sight indeed, though it's not wonder, with what's happening now a days, but I haven't seen one of these stones in, well, since Sora was chosen by the Keyblade. This, my boy, is a Summon Gem. It's a stone that is created when one is turned to Darkness, but the Light in their heart survives. It usually happens when the one's world is turned to Darkness. But what is interesting about this stone is it feels like there are two hearts inside." He stood up and walked to a triangle-shaped rug. "Step on this rug, my boy."

Seika stood from the chair and stood on the carpet, with Max and PJ not far behind. Merlin waved his hands and the carpet began to rise up into the attic of the house, which looked like it were bigger than the room below it.

"Now, release the power inside that stone," Merlin said.

Seika looked back at him, with an eyebrow raised. "How do I do that?"

"Being the wielder of the Keyblade, you should be able to feel the presence of the hearts inside the stone. Once you do, just try pulling it out with your mind, then release it with the Keyblade."

Seika nodded. "Alright, I'll give it a shot." He summoned the Keyblade to his hand and took a deep breath. He tightened his grip on the stone and closed his eyes. He could feel a dim light that felt like it was getting brighter. He could hear the two voices again, both getting louder and louder. Seika took another deep breath as he felt the Keyblade shake. He opened his eyes and held the Keyblade up.

A beam of light shot out of the end of the Keyblade and began creating a rectangle shape. The shape burst into a purple door. Seika walked to it mechanically and turned the knob, and in a burst of light, the door swung open and two monsters jumped out.

The first was small and green with one large eye that took up most of his face and a small mouth underneath. The second was large and covered in blue fur with purple spots. Purple spikes ran down his spine and to his tail.

The green monster stretched his long arms. It's about time you freed us. We've been stuck in there for who knows how long." He looked at Seika. "The names Mike," he said raising his hand.

The large blue one did the same. "Sully."

Seika looked at the two monsters curiously, then raised both his hands to shake theirs. "I'm Seika." He crossed his arms over each other to shake their hands and gave a large grin as they shook. Seika turned his head to see Max and PJ. They weren't there.

"Don't worry, my boy," Merlin said. "It takes three to use the Summon Gems. While you extracted the Light from the stones, your friends used their hearts to make them whole. It will take only a few minutes before the power in the gem runs out and these two return. Then your friends will return as if nothing had happened."

With a sigh of relief, Seika turned back to the two monsters.

"He's right," Sully said. "The power is almost out now."

"But don't worry about it, kid," Mike said. "We'll just be in your pocket. Just do what you did and we'll be back."

The two waved and vanished in a burst of light. Max and PJ reappeared next Merlin, both with blank expressions on their faces. Each blinked before coming to. "What happened?" Max asked, putting a hand on his head.

Before either Seika or Merlin could answer, there was a shout from below. "Merlin? Where are you?"

Merlin gestured for Seika to get back onto the rug. Seika stuffed the Summon Gem into his jacket pocket and ran to the triangle-shaped rug. Merlin stamped his foot once, and the rug dropped back down.

Mickey stood waiting by the door with Zidane beside him. The King grinned when he saw Seika, Max, and PJ. "Zidane told me you were back," he said. "How has traveling to different worlds been, Seika?"

"It's been great," Seika replied. "Making new friends, seeing new places, it makes me happy that the Keyblade chose me." Max nudged Seika in the ribs. He remembered about the other castle. Seika cleared his throat. "Your majesty, do you know anything about the castle outside of the city?"

Mickey gave a quick look at Merlin, who gave a nod. With a sigh, the King said, "That castle was created by the witch Maleficent a while ago. Over the years, parts of it were formed from her memories, especially of the castle when this world was taken by the Darkness and had become Hollow Bastion. I've only been in there once."

"When we went, part of the ground was covered with crystals that surrounded most of it. When I stepped on it, everything froze, except for a few things inside the castle. When I went in, there were so many strange things, like a room with waterfalls that flowed up, and a staircase that curved around the room. And the walls looked just like the sky outside. It was so bazaar. And then, when I went up one of the towers, I saw one of my friends from the Falcon Plains. But when we were back in that strange room with the waterfalls, he began attacking me. I ended up hitting him in the head with the Keyblade, and a mask flew off his face."

Mickey thought for a moment. "That mask that fell off, where you able to see what it looked like?"

Seika shrugged. "It was black, sort of like ink. And his eyes changed to gold when it fell off."

Mickey put a hand on his chin. "You don't think it could of been Gekko, do you?"

"I doubt it," Seika said, shaking his head. "He would want to make it more obvious that it was him."

"I'll try and find out who it could of been while you're off at the next world," Mickey said. "But before you go, there's one thing I need you to do."

"What?"

"Smile," Mickey said, giving a large smile.

"He's right," Max said. "It's like my dad had always told me, no frowning, no sad faces."

"Yeah," PJ said. "You to be happy, like us."

Seika gave a sigh and looked down at his feet. "How can I smile at a time like this? My friends could be anywhere, and I can't do anything to help them and my world's gone. And it was all my fault."

Zidane grinned and grabbed Max and PJ by the shoulder and pulled them away. He began whispering them, giving several gestures toward Seika. Max and PJ grinned when he finished.

Seika looked up. "What are you guys doing?" he asked slowly as the three approached him.

"Grab him!" Zidane yelled, and the three lunged. After a quick struggle, Zidane grabbed Seika's head and held him still, as Max and PJ held his arms down and put one finger into the corners of his lips, pulling them into a smiling shape.

As they got of him, Seika broke into a laugh.

"See, it's not that hard," Zidane said. "Just keep smiling and everything will be better."

Seika's smiled softened. "Thanks, guys. I'll remember that."

"We should get going," Max said.

"Right," Mickey said. "While your at your next world, I'll try to find out more about that castle."

Seika, Max, and PJ gave a nod, and with a quick gesture from PJ, they were absorbed in the Gummi Ship's light.

Took a while, but I finally finished Chapter 19.

Chapter 19: The Other Side

Seika looked around when he, Max, and PJ were beamed down to Radiant Gardens from the Gummi Ship. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing at all.

"Are you sure you beamed us in the right place?" Max asked PJ.

"I thought so," PJ responded. "Maybe something in the ship just messed up or something."

Seika studied the surroundings as Max and PJ argued. They were in a canyon with the same purple and blue stones from in the city surrounded them. He saw something in the distance. "Hey, guys," he said. "There was a castle in the city, wasn't there?"

"Yeah," Max replied. "That huge one in the center."

Seika pointed to the distance. "I see a castle over there. Could it be the same one?"

Max and PJ both looked to where he was pointing. "No, that can't be it," Max said. "There were more parts to it, weren't there?" PJ shrugged.

Seika began walking in the direction towards it. 'Is something pulling me to it?' he asked himself. 'I feel kind of strange.' "I think we should check it out," he said, partially to himself. Before either of his friends could respond, he began to run. The two looked at each other and ran after him.

Time past quickly when the made it out of the canyon and onto a large cliff. Seika stood in awe when the castle sat only a few miles ahead of them. Max and PJ caught up to him and tried to catch their breath.

It wasn't the castle from the city. It was much bigger. Golden pipe-like towers stuck up into the air from the center, the largest and tallest from the middle of them. Surrounding the castle was a moat of crystal that reflected the light of the peach-colored sky. But what was most peculiar about the castle was the large emblem of the Heartless sitting in center of the wall.

PJ gulped. "Let's go back," he said quickly. "This is something we need to report to the King.

Seika had a vacant look on his face. "No," he muttered, putting a hand on his chest. He came to and turned around. "There's something in there calling me."

"What if it's Gekko?" Max asked. "Or Strider, or Maleficent. We can't risk it, Seika. We need to tell the King about this place. He'll take care of it."

Seika ignored him and began to hop down the purple and blue stones until he reached the bottom of the cliff. He approached the crystal moat and looked down at it. His reflection stared back at him.

He took a step onto the crystal. Everything around him froze. The last thing he heard were the voices of Max and PJ shouting out his name. He watched as the world turned upside down with only him and the crystal staying in place. He turned to look at Max and PJ, who remained on the cliff, frozen in their last positions as if statues. Seika ran to them. "Max. PJ." He raised a hand to touch Max's shoulder. He felt the air pulse, and, as if hit by a blast of energy, Seika flew back several feet and slammed back onto the crystal ground. He rolled onto his stomach and looked down at the castle that was now below him. He stood to his feet and approached the gates that stood before him.

The first room was large. Two sets of stairs circled the room and ran to an upper level of the castle. Above them was a balcony that over looked the room. On the ground was a large rug with the Heartless emblem in the center. Though it looked dark, there were no shadows on the ground.

Seika's heart began to beat. 'I'm in the enemy's castle.' he thought to himself. He shuttered and made his way up the carpeted stairs. The next room was a long hallway. Torches hung from the walls, their flames danced slowly and dully. As he walked down the hallway, he heard the first sound since he touched the crystal. "I-it sounds," he muttered to himself. "It sounds like water."

A light shined as he entered the next room. He shielded them with his hand. As his eyes became use to the light, he noticed where the sounds were coming from. Waterfalls surrounded the room. But the water wasn't falling, it was rising. Seika looked around. He felt as if he were back outside. The walls and ceiling looked like the orange and pink skies of Radiant Gardens. Clouds drifted around. Another staircase wrapped around the walls, giving the look of it going to the heavens.

A walkway ran around the sides of the room and rusted rails stood on its outside, blocking off the center where the water was. Seika ran to the the rail and stared down. It dropped down for what looked like a mile. He took small steps towards the stairs, without taking his eyes away from the water.

When he made it to the stairs, there was a screeching sound, and four red dragon-like creatures appeared, each bearing the Heatless emblem on their chests. Seika looked at each of them nervously. In a burst of light, the Keyblade appeared in his hand.

One flew at him with its jaws opened wide. Seika jumped out of the way and slashed at it with his Keyblade. It faded back into darkness, releasing its captive heart. He readied himself for the next three. The next two flew at him and began to kick at him with their large claws. He raised the Keyblade to block one of them, but the other knocked him down. The Keyblade flew out of his hands and slid across the floor.

Seika rolled out of the way as the third Heartless flew at him and struggled to get towards the Keyblade. He grabbed it and destroyed another just as it began to fly towards him. And then next was destroyed, leaving only one.

The last flew around the room, keeping its distance away from the Keybearer. Seika took a deep breath and raised the Key, aiming at the flying Heartless. "Fire!" he yelled. Nothing happened. He shook the Keyblade and yelled it again. "Fire! Fire!" Still nothing. "Blizzard!" He stared at the end of it. "My magic isn't working?" he muttered, his voice shaken. The Heartless gave another screech as it closed in on him and rammed into his chest.

Seika slammed into the wall and dropped to his knees. He tightened his grip on the Keyblade and slashed at the Heartless, destroying it once and for all. He rubbed the wound on his chest as the Keyblade vanished. With one last look around the large room, he made his way up the stairs, and all was silent again.

The stairs led to a stone spiral stairway. Seika guessed that he was in one of the towers now. He stayed close to the wall, not daring to look to see how high he was. A chill ran down his spine as he made it to the top. Stain-glassed windows covered the room's walls, reflecting their colors onto the stone tiled floors.

Seika's head began to pulse, and he dropped to his knees with a hand on the side of his head. Images of the stain-glass pillars flashed through his mind. The images of them. The three people on the first pillar and the three behind them. The three knights. Then, the white haired boy. Seika gritted his teeth as his head throbbed. Then-

"Seika?" a voice asked. Seika looked up, and a jolt of shock jumped into him. It was Kenzo.

"Kenzo? Is it really you?" he asked.

"Of course it's me," he said. "Who else would it be?"

Seika stood up and grabbed his friend's shoulders. "It is you!" he said. A large smile grew on his face. "I've been looking for you!"

"Why?" he asked. "You didn't have to."

"I know, but-" Before Seika could finish, a group of Heartless appeared. They had dark blue skin and a large helmet covered most of their heads, except for the face. Red claws stuck out from their hands.

"Heartless," Kenzo said. "Let me take care of them."

Seika grinned and summoned the Keyblade. Kenzo stared at it with great interest. "I can handle them," he said.

As the Heartless leapt, Seika slashed at them, destroying each one quickly until only one was left. It jumped at Kenzo with its red claws out. Kenzo grinned and dodged quickly. With one quick punch, the Heartless was destroyed.

Kenzo turned and looked at the Keyblade. "So," he began. "What is that weapon you got there?"

"Uh...It's called the Keyblade," he said.

Kenzo snagged it from his hands, and began to study it. "Crazy, and what does it do?"

In a flash of light, the Keyblade vanished from Kenzo's hands and returned to Seika. "I still don't understand it myself," he said. An idea sparked into Seika's head, and he quickly changed the subject. "You can come with us!"

Kenzo's head perked up. "What?"

"See, I met these two guys, Max and PJ. We've been going around worlds and sealing them from the Darkness. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you came along too."

Kenzo didn't say anything.

Seika laughed. "Right, I forgot. We need to find a way out of this castle first." He began to make his way back down the stairs with Kenzo slowly following behind.

When he made it back to the room with the rising falls, Kenzo froze and began to shake.

Seika turned and ran to his friend's side. "Kenzo, are you alright?"

Kenzo raised a hand to his mouth and coughed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"C'mon, then," Seika said. "We're almost there." He turned back to the doorway to the hall, but stopped as a barrier appeared, blocking his way out.

"Those two friends," Kenzo began. "You made new friends? You were trying to replace us?"

Seika turned back to him. "What?" he cried, his voice echoed throughout the room. "Why would you say that. Of course I'm not trying to replace you. They were helping me look for you!"

"Liar!" Kenzo shouted. "You wanted to replace us. You gave up hope for us! For me! For Hana! You just assumed that we all just faded away with the darkness of our world!"

"No," Seika muttered. He looked down. "It's not true. I would never do that!"

"Your words mean nothing! You wouldn't of cared, Seika! You should just go back to your little friends outside. You can just go back to your little journey traveling the worlds. Leave me and the rest of us out of it. I'll take care of Hana."

Seika's hands rolled into fists. "Do you even remember the past ten years? We were best friends. You were the first friend I had! Don't you remember? The summers we spent together? Going to school together? Any of that?"

Kenzo's expression stayed the same. He held out a hand, and a ball of energy appeared. "I'm telling you one last time, Seika. Get out here!"

The Keyblade appeared in Seika's hand. "I'm not quitting until you, Olivia, Hana, and I are back in the Falcon Plains!"

Kenzo shot the ball of energy at Seika. He blocked the attack and reflected it back at him. Kenzo dodged it and fired more. Seika dodged each one and ran at Kenzo.

Kenzo dodged each of Seika's slashes. He jumped out of the way and held up both hands. A dark aura surrounded his hands, and in a flash, a sword formed. He lunged at Seika

Seika held up the Keyblade and blocked the attack. "Kenzo, why are you doing this?" he asked.

Kenzo jumped back. "Because I'm sick of you!" He charged back at him and slashed rapidly. Seika slid across the ground, one hand on his stomach where he was slashed.

He used the Keyblade as a crutch to help him back to his feet.

Why do you keep trying?" Kenzo said. "Just stay down!"

"Because," Seika said. "You're my friend!" He pulled the Keyblade back up and ran at Kenzo. Their two weapons slammed into each other. The sound of the two weapons colliding echoed around the room. With all of his strength, Seika knocked Kenzo's weapon in the air, and slammed the Keyblade into the side for his head.

Kenzo dropped the ground. He began wheezing and gasping for air. Something began crumbling from his face. Seika ran to him and crouched down. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, but Kenzo slapped it away.

A dark mask broke off his face, and with a gasp, Kenzo covered it with his arm. Seika was able to notice his eyes changing to a golden color, but before he could see what else was changing, Kenzo stood up and began to run. The wall opened, creating a new path, and quickly closed when he ran through.

"Kenzo!" Seika yelled, but it was too late. Seika let the Keyblade drop from his hand and vanish. A tear began to slide down his cheek. 'What happened to him?' he asked himself. 'What's going on?'

He began to slowly make his way back to the entrance. As he stepped out of the castle, he stared at the frozen Max and PJ. More tears dripped down his face. He sat down onto the cold crystal and let the tears drip. He pulled his bracelet off his wrist and gripped it tightly. "Hana, don't give up hope. I will find you."

There was a burst of light, and the world began to turn back around. Seika's eyes blinked quickly, and Max and PJ were standing in front of him. He realized that he wasn't sitting like he though, but lying on his back.

"What happened?" Seika mumbled as he sat up.

"We have no idea," PJ said. "When you stepped on the crystal, you collapsed and just now woke up."

"How long was I out?" Seika asked.

"About ten minutes," Max replied.

Seika put a hand on his aching head. He looked up at the castle. "What is that place?" Seika muttered.

"Don't worry about it," Max said. "C'mon, we still need to go see the King."

"Right," Seika said, and he jumped to his feet. The three began to make their way back up the cliffs and to the city of Radiant Gardens.

* * *

The man stood against the wall, his hand supported him up. His breathing grew heavy. Sweat dripped from his tanned face.

Gekko appeared from the shadows of the room. "Well, well. Back so soon?"

The man turned to him, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I'm fearing that my time here is running short. Not even this realm that's so close to the Darkness can keep me around." He coughed. "Did you find the world of the Hearteaters?"

Gekko grinned and leaned against the wall. "I found it, but it's almost impossible to get through. There's some sort of barrier surrounding it. It looked just like a big cloud."

The man thought for a moment. "Could it be possible that Strider is using the Forgotten Worlds as a defense?" he muttered.

Gekko's head perked up with interest. "The Forgotten Worlds, you say?"

"Yes," the man said. "Four worlds that were turned to Darkness so many years ago, and can now never be turned back."

Uh....sure, why not.

Hey. What's up?

Yeah, I have xP. What's up?

Chapter 18: 1000 Ghosts

"Okay, we have the key," Jim said, holding the key up to Madame Leota. Seika, Max, and PJ watched from behind him. "Now where's the way out of here?"

"First you must find the trunk," she responded.

"Trunk? Not door?" Jim said. "The key is the answer to all, remember?"

"Look, I don't make the rules, okay," she said to him. "I just work here."

"Okay, that's it," Jim said angrily. He tucked the key back into his pocket and picked up the crystal ball.

"What are you doing?" she screamed as they left the room. "This is bad luck! Very bad luck!"

They made their way back up to the attic and began to search for the chest. "Is that it?" Max asked, pointing to a large black chest.

"That's it," Madame Leota replied.

The four approached it. Jim handed the crystal ball to Seika as he pulled the key out from his pocket and slid it into the lock. With a click, the chest popped open. Jim began searching through. "How do I know what to look for? This thing is full of junk."

"Find the thing that must be read," the gypsy said.

Jim continued to look until he found a red envelope. "Hey, there's a letter here." He quickly opened it and pulled out a small piece of parchment. "Yes my dear-heart, I will marry you," he read. "I will love you for all eternity, and tonight, at last, we will be together. I do. Forever yours, Elizabeth."

"She didn't kill herself," the maid said as she appeared behind them.

The servant appeared next to her. "She wanted to be with him."

"Then someone must of given him a different letter," Seika said.

"Yes," everyone spun around. Ramsley stood in the shadows at the end of the room. "Well done. I must say I'm impressed."

"You did it?" Jim said. "You've got to be kidding me."

Ramsley ignored him and glared at the servant and maid. "I'll deal with you two later." With a gasp, the two vanished into a puff of smoke.

"Why'd you kill her?" Jim asked.

"My master did not listen to reason," Ramsley said darkly. "He had everything in the world and he was willing to throw it all away for love. I did tell him that it would end badly."

"We won't let you get away for that," Seika shouted. He felt the flame burn inside him again. "You killed the one he loved most. We'll tell your master what really happened."

"That master must never know," Ramsley continued. "Edward and his love will be reunited and this curse will be broken."

"But that's not her," Jim said. "That's my wife!"

"And what she sees in you, I'll never know. But that is of little importance, now. What I do know is that the master's pain will end. And it will end tonight. The curse will be broken, and we can all finally move on."

"She can't be married to him," Jim said. "He's dead and she's not."

"That can be easily corrected," Ramsley said with a smirk. "Life, I'm afraid, is such a delicate state."

"Look, if you put one finger on my wife, I swear, I will kill you!" Jim said, and he threw a punch at Ramsley's head, but flew through him.

"How wonderful," he laughed. "You're going to kill a ghost."

"Leave him alone," Seika said. He, Max, and PJ readied their weapons.

Ramsley laughed again. "I was given strict orders from Maleficent herself to destroy the three of you."

"Maleficent?" Max said. "You're following Maleficent."

Seika gave a shout of anger. "Where is she? Tell me!"

"I'm afraid she's no longer here. She is off to another world, the ruins of her old castle of Hollow Bastion."

Seika tightened his grip on the Keyblade and slashed at him. The Keyblade only went through him.

"I'm afraid to say that you are wasting your time. Not only are going to loose your wife, Mr. Evers, but your children as well."

"My kids?" Jim said. "Where are they?"

They are waiting for you in the basement. But they aren't in the best of situations. Now I must be off or I might be late for the wedding. I bid you good day, gentlemen." With one last smirk, Ramsley vanished.

Jim punched the wooden floor. "What are we going to do?" PJ asked.

Taking a deep breath, Jim said, "First we are going to save my kids. Then we're going to stop the wedding and finish Ramsley once and for all. Then, we get out of here."

* * *

Sara slowly walked down the aisle towards the stairs, where Edward Gracey was waiting. She was wearing a white wedding dress that Ramsley forced her into. Tears were dripping down her face. Ramsley was close behind behind his master.

"Don't worry, sir," he said. There was a smirk on his face. "Tears of joy." With a nervous nod, Gracey went to Sara and stood by her side as the wedding began. "Dearly beloved. We are gathered together here to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony."

* * *

Seika, Jim, Max, and PJ ran through the halls until they were in the main entrance of the mansion. A large chest hung from the ceiling. Screams from Michael and Megan came from inside. "Dad! Dad!"

Before the four started for them, the suits of armor that stood against the walls of the hall jerked awake. The visors on their helms slid open, revealing black faces and glowing yellow eyes. They began to step closer.

PJ created a bomb and tossed it at three of the suits. With that chance, Seika, Max, and Jim ran at them and slashed at them. The armor collapsed and black wisps of smoke escaped from inside. They turned their attention to the other three. Seika raised the Keyblade and shot a burst of fire at one while Max charged at it, swinging his sword wildly. PJ tossed another bomb at the other two as Jim lunged at them and stabbed them with his rapier. The last of the armor collapsed and three more black wisps flew out, leaving the armor empty.

Jim ran to the hanging chest. "Don't worry, kids," he said searching around in hope for an easier way to get it down. "I'll get you out."

PJ ran over to him and grabbed the chain. He gave a strained grunt and tore the chain apart. He gently lowered the chest and ripped the top off, freeing the children.

Seika and Max joined them, and the six looked towards the door to the dining room, where they could hear the voice of Ramsley.

* * *

"From this day forward," Ramsley said. He began to pour a powder into a goblet of wine. "You will be joined as one for all eternity, until the very end of time." He handed it to Sara, who looked at it nervously. She accepted it and slowly raised it to her lips. "If anyone has any objections-"

The door burst open and Jim, Seika, Max, PJ, and the two kids ran in. "Yeah, I got a few objections!" Jim yelled.

Sara dropped the goblet and ran to her husband. The two grabbed each other in a hug.

"Get away from her," Gracey growled. He stepped down the stairs. "I lost her once, I won't let it happen again."

"This is not Elizabeth," Jim said. "Ramsley, tell him the truth!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ramsley said, not moving from his spot.

"So now you have amnesia, huh?" Jim responded. "Elizabeth didn't kill herself. He did! He's been lying to you all along."

Gracey continued to approach him. "I'm warning you, sir." He drew out a rapier of his own. "Get away! My patience is wearing thin. Elizabeth, please. Come on."

"I'm not Elizabeth," Sara said, her face still red with tears.

"Her name is Sara," Jim said.

"Ramsley wants you to think it's Elizabeth so your curse is lifted," Seika added. "He wants the curse to be lifted so he can be one with the Darkness. He's been working for the witch Maleficent the whole time."

"If you want to kill me, then kill me," Jim said. "But before you go stabbing anyone, you better read this." He pulled out the letter from the trunk. "This is Elizabeth's letter. The real letter, the one Ramsley stole. You never saw it."

Gracey snatched the letter from Jim's hand and began reading. He gasped. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked Ramsley. "It's written in her hand!"

"Yeah," Jim said. "Explain that, Ramsley!"

Ramsley looked around nervously. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Your union was unacceptable. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen."

"So you killed her," Gracey said.

"I told you it would be a mistake to be with that girl."

"But I loved her! Was love my mistake?"

"Yes!" Ramsley yelled. "I tried to protect you. All this years I sacrificed for you. But what would you understand of sacrifice, duty, or honor? You loved her? Curse. Curse you all!"

Lightning flashed. All a flames vanished on the candles. The windows burst open and in flew hundreds of dark wisps of smoke that began to surround Ramsley. Dark spirits. Screams filled the room.

Seika's grip tightened, and he, Max, and PJ ran in front of Gracey with their weapons ready. Jim joined them. He turned his head to Gracey and said, "Get my wife and kids out of here. We can take care of him."

Gracey nodded and did what Jim said, but the door out wouldn't open. A barrier surrounded Seika, Max, PJ, and Jim, trapping them with Ramsley.

Ramsley gave a laugh. "You fools." He raised his hand and shot a ball of black fire at them. The four of them jumped out of the way as it crashed next to them. He turned his attention to Jim and began to fire a barrage of black fire at him.

Seika dodged one of the dark spirits and watched Ramsley. He moved his foot back and threw the Keyblade at him. Ramsley vanished in a puff of smoke as it flew through him.

"Missed," he reappeared behind Seika and raised a hand. Three more dark spirits flew at him. He dodged the first two, but the third slammed him in the chest. Ramsley grinned and began to close in on him. He began to raise a hand. The black fire began to surround it.

There was an explosion, and Ramsley flew in to the air. PJ ran to Seika's aide and helped him up.

With a nod of thanks, Seika began to slash at Ramsley as he dropped back down.

Again, Ramsley vanished and reappeared in front of Seika. Grabbing him by the throat, Ramsley began to rise from the ground until he was at least thirty feet from the ground. Seika struggled to free himself, but the grip was too tight. "Goodbye," he said darkly, and he dropped Seika.

He slammed onto his back with a thud. Pain ran through his body, but quickly vanished as Max tossed a green orb to him. He jumped back to his feet and looked around for Ramsley. He was firing more of the black fire at PJ and Jim.

PJ's eyes flashed. He grabbed Jim's shoulder and pulled him behind. PJ clapped his hands together and a barrier appeared around the two, reflecting the attack into multiple directions.

"Seika," Max said. "Now's out chance!" Seika and Max charged at Ramsley and slashed at him again.

Ramsley gave a roar of anger and began to rise back into the air. A black aura surrounded him. He raised his hands high and released several spirits. The spirits shrieked and flew around the room, then aimed for PJ. The barrier shattered, causing PJ to fly back and slam onto the ground unconscious.

Seika stared at his fallen friend, then turned his attention to Ramsley. The chill ran down his back, and energy burst into him. He used it to his advantage. He raised the Keyblade at Ramsley and yelled. "Freeze!" A shard of ice shot from the end and flew at him. It exploded at contact, and Ramsley dropped to the ground. 'Time to finish this,' Seika thought. He ran at the butler and jumped in the air. He dropped down and slashed Ramsley.

Ramsley gave a shout of pain and jumped into the air. His eyes went pale as he used his power to summon more of the dark spirits. A flame burst into the fireplace and the floor split open. The flame grew until it was in the form of a snake and moved around the room. A tongue slid out of its mouth and wrapped around Ramsley, who began to scream as he was pulled down towards the fireplace.

He grabbed Jim's leg and began to drag him down, but Jim grabbed the edge of the tile.

Seika ran to him and grabbed his hand. Max woke PJ up and the two ran to their friend and grabbed him as well.

Ramsley finally released Jim as he was pulled down below the ground. Jim flew out and landed beside the three who helped him.

He quickly stood up and dusted off his suit. He looked up and gasped as his wife collapsed. "Sara!" he said and he ran to her with Seika, Max, and PJ not far behind. "Sara, wake up!" he said. He held her in his arms. "Open your eyes." There was no response.

A blue wisp dropped down from the ceiling and made its way towards them.

"Hey!" Jim said at it. "Leave us alone!"

Megan looked at it carefully. "It's alright, dad."

The wisp continued to get closer until it reached Sara. It went inside her and the body rose several feet and stood straight. She gave a smile. A light burst from above into a single column.

"Elizabeth, is that you?" Gracey said, walking closer.

"Yes, my love," she said. "The truth had to be known for me to be released. They saved me." She nodded at Jim, Seika, Max, and PJ.

Gracey smiled and said, "Oh, Elizabeth. I've waited so long for this moment."

"And now only Heaven awaits," she said. She dropped to the ground slowly and walked to her husband and Jim.

"Sara?" Jim said. With one last smile, Sara's body dropped into Jim's arms. Her eyes slowly began to open. Jim gave a sigh of relief and the two hugged. When they released, Jim turned to Gracey.

"Could you ever forgive me?" he asked.

Jim grinned. "What's there to forgive?" he asked. "You loved her."

Gracey smiled again and in a puff of smoke, several papers appeared in his hand. He handed them over to Jim.

"What's this?" he asked.

"The deed to the house," Gracey replied. "It's yours. Do with it what you will. Sell it, keep it. Do whatever keeps you and your family happy." He turned to Seika and handed him a blue stone. Green blotches lay around it. "I have had this for many years. I don't know quite what it is, but I have a feeling it belongs with you, Keybearer. If it doesn't become any use to you, I'm sure you can sell it for a fortune." He walked over to the column of light, where the spirit of Elizabeth stood waiting. He took her hand. "Thank you," he said as they began to rise in the light. "Thank you all so much." Then, they were gone.

"Wait for us!" The maid came running through the doors with the servant not far behind, carrying several handbags.They ran into the light and began to rise as well. "Goodbye!" they yelled as they rose. "Thanks for everything!"

The Evers family waved as they vanished into the light. Seika stared at the light until the Keyblade reappeared into his hand. It shook violently, then a beam shot out and struck the column. The black Keyhole appeared, then with a click, it vanished, along with the column of light.

"What was that?" Jim asked.

"The world's Keyhole," Seika replied. "This world is now free of Heartless for good."

"So, I guess you all will be leaving then?" he asked. Seika, Max, and PJ nodded. "Then I guess you should take this. You know, as a memory." He pulled the key from the tomb from his coat pocket and gave it to Seika. "Good luck," he said.

Seika, Max, and PJ waved goodbye to the family as they were taken by the Gummi Ship's light. And again, an image shot through their mind.

* * *

The boy with the black hair was still on the swing, but he looked about a year older. He was staring down at his hands shyly. An older boy approached him. He, too, was dressed in their school uniform. He had dark brown hair that was neatly combed behind his ears and down his neck. A large crowd of children were following behind him.

"You that new kid, aren't you?" he asked.

The black haired boy trembled a bit. "Y-yes," he said weakly. He was afraid.

"I heard that you've been getting the highest grades in your class," the older boy said, crossing his arms. "Is that true?"

The black haired boy nodded weakly.

With a grin, the older boy grabbed the black haired boy's collar and held him up against the swings' bar. "No one takes my spotlight. Got it, punk?" He spat underneath him. The black haired boy kicked wildly, in attempt to be freed. "And just so you learn," he raised a fist, but before he released a punch, a marble flew and hit the older boy in the back of the head.

Another boy approached him. His image was blurred. "Leave him alone," he said. "He did nothing to you, what is the point in hurting him?"

The older boy gritted his teeth. The first word he said was silent. "-you want to defend this kid?"

The other boy didn't answer.

With a grunt, the older boy let go and dropped the black haired boy onto the gravel. "Fine," he said. "But now you are one of him, and will never be one of us."

"Whatever," the other boy said.

With one last glare, the older boy turned around and began to walk away. The was a burst of light, and the image faded away.

* * *

Seika put a hand to his head. A pain burned through. 'Why am I remembering these things?' he roared in his mind. 'Why? Why? Why?' He pounded the armrest on his seat.

Max and PJ looked from him, to each other, then back again. "Seika, are you alright?"

Seika realized what he was doing and opened an eye. "Yeah," he said softly. "I'm fine."

He felt a surge of energy flow through his body as if something in his pocket shocked him. He jumped and stuck a hand into his jacket pocket. All that was in there was the blue stone. Again, he jumped.

'Seika!' he heard two voices yell. 'Seika!'

He dropped it back into his pocket. "Maybe we should go to Radiant Gardens. Merlin might know what this thing is, right?"

"That's right," PJ said. "Merlin knows everything."

With a nod in agreement, the three began to fly back to the city.

* * *

Maleficent sat in her throne. She and her three followers watched as the image in the center of the room burst into flames, then vanish, bringing darkness back into the room.

Pete stood at her side. He gave an echoing laugh. "Well that showed him. That stupid butler didn't last long at all against the Keybearer."

A grin appeared on Maleficent's face. "Indeed. Though his mind was in the darkness, his heart was very confused on what to do. Turn to darkness, or stay with his master."

The throne where Ramsley sat burst into a green flame. As the flames vanished, a new throne appeared in its place. Another appeared beside the woman with the large, fur coat.

"New guests?" she asked.

"In a manor of speaking," Maleficent replied. Footsteps echoed into the room and a bipedal lion appeared.

He wore a large red robe with large, white puffs surrounding his wrist cuffs and the edges. A large, golden crown sat on his head and was supported by his ears. "John, the King of England, at your service, milady," he said, and he took a deep bow.

Chapter 17: Shadows of the Night

The wall of the mansion burst open as a carriage drawn by a skeleton of a horse flew out and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"Are you sure you should of left your kids in that mansion?" Max asked. "I mean, with Ramsley and the Heartless and all."

"They'll be fine," Mr. Evers said. "Megan can watch out for the both of them, and I doubt Ramsley would try to do anything to them for now. As long as they stay hidden."

They soon entered the large cemetery behind the mansion. Several ghosts stood, doing what they would of been if they were still alive.

"Why are these ghosts still here?" Seika asked the old servant.

"They couldn't find the Light," the maid responded.

"So now they're doomed to walk the Earth for al eternity," the servant said.

Seika slumped back down and looked back out at the ghosts.

The carriage soon came to a stop and the four hopped out. For several minutes they wondered through the graveyard, searching for the tomb. "Great," Mr. Evers said, looking around.

"I think the gypsy said to go left out of nowhere," Max said.

"I glad she was so specific," Mr. Evers said sarcastically. He stopped for a moment and listened. "Do you hear that?"

There was singing coming from the distance. "Yeah, I hear it," Seika said. The made their way towards the singing. Four busts of men sat on four pillars, singing to themselves.

"Excuse me," Mr. Evers said. "Do you know where the mausoleum is?" The busts ignored him and continued to their singing. "Look, you guys sound really nice, but I'm trying to save my wife-" They cut him off with another song. He gave a sigh. "Great," he said.

There was a howl, and from behind the tombstones came a large creature. It resembled a large wolf with bright yellow eyes and a hunched back, and a long tongue hung from its mouth. Across its chest were two stitches. It gave another howl.

"A Hearteater!" Seika said. "Just like that one at the port!"

Each of them pulled out their weapons as the creature ran at them with great speed. Seika blocked the attack with the Keyblade.

PJ tossed a bomb toward the wolf-like creature and exploded with a burst of fire. The creature gave a howl as it flew into the air. It flipped itself and began to spin, letting a dark aura cover it in a spiral shape. It flew towards PJ and rammed into his stomach.

Max pulled out a green capsule and tossed it to PJ, who's wounds were quickly healed when it made contact.

The Ghost turned its attention to Max, its yellow glowing eyes stared at him for a moment. It began to run at him and swiped him with its large claws.

"Max!" Seika yelled.

"I'm fine," he responded with a grunt. His grip tightened on his sword and began to thrash at the creature.

Mr. Evers watched the three as the fought the creature. He looked down at the rapier in his hand and nodded to himself. He lunged at the Ghost and stabbed at it several times, missing a few and piercing through the creature's chest twice.

Giving a growl, the creature lunged into the air and was covered in the black aura. It began to spin again, this time towards Mr. Evers.

Thinking quickly, Seika loosened his grip on the Keyblade, moved his foot back, and threw it at the Ghost, knocking it away. He caught it as it returned.

The creature began to stand back up, but stopped. Its yellow eyes widened and it gave a piercing howl. The stitches on its chest began to open up. As its body began to collapse, a golden heart rose out and vanished. Its now limp body was lying spread on the ground like a sheet.

"Is it dead?" Mr. Evers asked, poking body with the rapier.

"Yeah," Seika said.

"Hey, look," PJ said. "There's the mausoleum." He ran towards a stone building. Seika, Max, and Mr. Evers followed. As they walked up the steps, flames rose from two torches that sat beside the door. Mr. Evers studied the large, stone door and pulled it open and took one of the torches. He led the way down the steps that went deep into the darkness below.

"The gypsy said to look for a crypt with no name," Max said. "A black crypt."

"There," Seika said when the reached the bottom of the stairs. Across a bridge was an ebony black coffin. The four ran across the bridge and Seika and Max pushed the lid off, giving an echoing crash as it fell to the ground. Inside was a skeleton holding a small key.

Mr. Evers looked at the dead body with disgust. Turning his head away, he reached in and pulled the key out from the bone hands. After wiping his hands on his suit, he said, "That was easy."

As they turned to leave, there was another loud crash. The four turned around to see a giant, black spider. On its large abdomen was the emblem of the Heartless. Raising its small head up, it gave an echoing hiss. The coffins all around the room began to creek open, and hopping out came several of the bandaged-covered Heartless.

"Not another one," Mr. Evers said, tucking the key into his pocket.

Seika gulped as he stared at the Heartless. The Keyblade appeared into his hand. "Why a spider?" he muttered. 'I hate spiders!'

Several of the bandaged Heartless lunged at them, but were quickly destroyed by one of PJ's bombs. "We'll take these guys," he said. "Seika, Mr. Evers, you two take the spider."

Seika tightened his grip on the Keyblade. The fiery feeling came back to him. 'Nows the time to over come this fear,' he thought to himself. He raised the Keyblade and aim at the spider. "Fire!" he yelled. the blast of fire shot from the end at struck the spider. It gave a roar of pain.

"Nice one," Mr. Evers said.

Seika grinned, then he and Mr. Evers ran at the spider, slashing at it with their weapons.

The spider hissed and shot a thick string from its mouth. Seika dodged and threw his Keyblade at it and let it spin back to him. The spider roared at him. "Mr. Evers, the torch!"

Mr. Evers looked down at the torch and grinned. "Take this!" he yelled, and he threw the torch at the giant Heartless.

The Heartless roared in pain as it began to burn. As it collapsed, its captive heart rose from its body.

"Alright!" Seika said. He looked around, noticing all the other Heartless were destroyed. "Do you still have the key, Mr. Evers?"

Mr. Evers pulled the key from his pocket and grinned. "The name's Jim."

Chapter 16: The Curse of the Mansion

The Heartless lunged at Seika and Mr. Evers with their arms stretched out. Seika knocked one away and blocked another that attempted to claw at him. Another jumped at him and began to swing its arms wildly, cutting into Seika's back.

The Heartless was quickly destroyed as Mr. Evers swung the rapier. "You can thank me later," he said.

Seika thought for a moment as another of the Heartless began to spin its arms. "I have an idea," he said. He used the Keyblade to block the attack and as the Heartless's arms rose up from rebound, Seika grabbed them and began to spin. He let go and let it fly across the hall, slamming into two others.

"Nice one, kid," Mr. Evers said. The two focused on the last two Heartless.

"There's something else that I want to try," Seika said. He remembered the spell he used in the Tiger Jungles, against Shere Khan. He closed his eyes, but instead of feeling heat, he felt a cold breeze blow through him. He felt as if he were covered with goosebumps. He opened his eyes and forced all his power into his Keyblade. A burst of ice shot from the end. The Heartless flew to the ground as the the bits of ice exploded on contact and they faded into darkness, releasing the captive hearts.

Mr. Evers gave a sigh and lowered the weapon, panting a bit. "What where those things?" he asked.

"They're called Heartless," Seika responded. "They're created from the darkness in one's heart, and once their destroyed, they release their captive heart."

"Crazy," Mr. Evers said. "It sounds like something from some kind of horror movie."

Seika gave a laugh. "That's what I thought at first too."

"Well, let's look for away out of here. I need to find my kids and my wife."

Seika nodded. "Yeah. I really don't like the feeling of this place."

* * *

Max, PJ, Megan, and Michael continued to follow the spirit until they reached the mansion's attic. The spirit stopped at a large portrait of a woman. "Mom?" Megan said.

"What are you doing here? You're not suppose to be up here," a man said behind them. The four swung around to see an old servant. "This is unspeakable! You have to leave!"

"Who is that?" Megan asked, gesturing to the painting.

That's none of your business, that's who," the man said. "Now get out of here, it's way passed your bed time."

"Her name was Elizabeth," a woman said quickly. From behind the man, a maid came, holding a tray of cookies. "Are any of you kids hungry? Does anybody want a cookie?" Each of them took one from the tray.

"Cookies?" the man said angrily. "They're trespassers! Trespassers don't get cookies! This is none of their concern!"

"It is their concern," the woman said. "They're involved!" The two froze and looked around the room. "Hide," she whispered. She pulled the four behind a large wardrobe, then spun around.

Out from the shadows came the old butler, Ramsley. "The children, nor that fool king's guards, are in their rooms. Have you seen them?"

"Children?" the maid asked. "What children?"

"What children?" Ramsley repeated. He looked down at the tray of cookies that was set on the table. Four were missing. "Her children. The children she wasn't suppose to bring. Along with the brainless husband of hers. If I had to listen to another word from that insufferable fool, I think I would of burst. Did I not tell her to come alone?" He turned to leave. "If you find them, bring them to me. The final arrangements have been made. Nothing further will interfere with the master's plan." He vanished into the shadows.

* * *

Mr. Evers opened a green door and he and Seika quickly entered, hoping to leave the dark halls behind.

"Dad!" a girl shouted. Megan and Michael were standing on the top of the steps.

"Michael! Megan!" he said. He ran frantically up the stairs. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine," Megan responded.

"C'mon, get your things," Mr. Evers said. "Let's get out of here!"

"But dad, we have a problem," Michael said.

"It's okay, we're just going to get a little wet. Let's just find you mom and go."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the man said. "She can't leave."

"And why not," Mr. Evers said impatiently.

The man vanished and reappeared behind him. "Because she can't. If I could tell you I would, but I can't so I won't. Okay?"

Mr. Evers was speechless. He turned his attention back to his kids. "Daddy's having hallucinations. Let's go right now."

"They're ghosts, dad," Michael said.

"They're not ghosts. We're just having hallucinations from that dinner that we ate. It didn't taste right." Seika nodded in agreement.

"Hey!" the maid screamed. She vanished and reappeared in front of him. "It wasn't the dinner!"

"All right, all right, it wasn't the dinner," Mr. Evers said. "But we're still getting out of here."

"But dad we have to help them!" Megan said.

"No we can't," Mr. Evers said. "The dead are beyond help, that's the nature of being dead."

"That man's talking sense," the old servant said. "Everyone should just keep their noses in their own business."

"But dad," Megan said. "We have to help them break the curse."

"Curse? What curse?" Mr. Evers said.

Seika jumped when we remembered the woman in the crystal ball. "The curse! The one that woman said. Madame Leota."

"He knows the gypsy!" the maid said. "We've got to go back to see her!"

Everyone began to rush out of the room. Max and PJ came running down the stairs to greet their friend.

"I'm not going back down there," Mr. Evers said. "Those crazy Heartless creatures were crawling around everywhere."

"But mom's in trouble," Megan said.

Mr. Evers froze. "What kind of trouble?"

Megan pulled her dad back up the stairs and showed him the portrait of the woman, Elizabeth. He stared at it, studying every detail of the woman who looked just like his wife.

* * *

Ramsley approached a large mirror that stood in the center of the dark room. A green flame burst onto it and from it appeared a woman draped in a black robe. Maleficent.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "The boy is nowhere to be found. I sent a group of Heartless after him, but they were all destroyed."

"I was expecting as much from the new Keybearer," she said. "Does he know of the Keyhole?"

"No would suspect not," Ramsley responded.

"I see," Maleficent said. Her raven flew into view and landed on the green stone at the end of her staff. She stroked it's back as it cawed. "How much longer will it take you until you rid that mansion of your master?"

"I seem to have a few obstacles in the way, but it will be soon," Ramsley said. There was a howl from outside the mansion. "And we seem to have another guest trespassing on our mansion. A spy of Strider, it seems."

"Get rid of it," Maleficent said. "I don't want any interruptions in this process."

A smile appeared on Ramsley's face. "Maybe that boy could be of some use for us after all," he said. From the shadows behind him came a large spider. On its abdomen was the black heart with a red X symbol of the Heartless. Giving a hisss, the spider vanished back into the darkness. Ramsley turned to leave.

Maleficent gave a slight laugh. "Don't let yourself stay in the shadows for too long, or else you will be destroyed much like another of my followers."

"No need for you to worry about me, my dear," Ramsley said. "I'm dead, after all."

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Mr. Evers said to Madame Leota. "The guy is dead and is trying to get with my wife?"

"Pretty much," the servant said.

"Oh, Madame Leota," the maid said. "Is it her? Is she truly our dear departed Elizabeth come back to us?"

"It is true," the gypsy said. "She walks these halls. But do not be deceived. Not all things are as they appear. For the curse to be lifted, the truth must be known. And for the truth to be known, you must find the key in the tomb under the great dead oak and travel down deep into the ground and find the black crypt that bares no name, or soon your fate will be the same."

"Okay," Max said. "But couldn't the Keyblade be used instead?"

"The key that is needed is protected by dark magic," Madame Leota said. "A spell is cast on it and the lock. Only that key can open the lock."

Seika put a hand in the pocket of his jacket and felt the small pot given to him by Mowgli. 'It's like a keychain. I just attach it to its chain and it will change.'

"So what you're saying is if we find this key," Mr. Evers began. "We can just walk out of here like nothing ever happened?"

"The key is the answer to all," the gypsy said.

"Okay, but how do we get out of here?" PJ asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Yeah, how do we get out of here?" Mr. Evers said.

"Well," the old servant said dramatically. There was a large grin on his face. "There's always my way."

Chapter 15: The Gypsy in the Ball

Seika walked down the dark hallway. He held his kemp bracelet tightly in his hand. Thoughts flowed through his mind of Kenzo and Olivia. And thoughts of Hana. His grip tightened on the bracelet until the four black beads were squeezed in between his fingers. 'Why did this have to happen to me?' he thought. 'Out of anyone. Anyone! Why me?' He pulled the bracelet back on his wrist.

From the corner of his eye, he saw something moving. He turned around and saw a maid walk down the hallway at a quick pace. He began to walk after her. "Excuse me," he said.

The maid froze and quickly looked over her shoulder, then began to run.

Seika began to run too. "Excuse me, I have something to ask you-?" A door under him dropped open, and he began to fall down a chute, before slamming onto his back on the floor.

* * *

Mr. Evers walked around the library, admiring its beauty and elegance. He sat at the desk and looked at the objects that were on it. He knocked the small glass on the floor. He bent over to try to clean it up, and as he raised himself back up, he hit the small bust on the desk, bending it's head over.

A bookcase began to slide, revealing a hidden staircase. "Interesting," he said to himself. Curious, he made his way to the staircase. As he walked up the steps, the bookcase slammed closed. "Hey! Hey!" he yelled, slamming his hands on the wood. "Open this back up! Ramsley! Open up!"

There was no response.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. PJ quickly answered it, hoping that it was Seika, but it wasn't. The girl, Megan, stood there. "Mr. Gracey said that you were sent here by a king?"

Max approached the door. "Yeah, we're two of his guards."

She studied the two of them. "Well, there's something I think you should come see."

The two looked at each other and followed her to her room.

Her brother, Michael, stood behind the bed, staring a glowing ball of light that floated in the center of the room. At his sister's arrival, he ran to hide behind her.

"Woah," Max said. "What do you suppose it is?"

"A Heartless?" PJ whispered so only Max could hear.

"No, I don't think so. I think it might be some sort of spirit."

"It's a ghost ball?" Michael asked.

The light began to move towards the door.

"I think it wants us to follow it," Megan said.

Michael grabbed her arm. "I think you're crazy."

She shook him off and made her way to the door. Max and PJ followed. Michael looked around the room uneasily and grabbed his backpack from the bed and ran after them. "Megan, wait up!"

* * *

Seika rubbed the back of his head as he studied the new surroundings. He was in another hallway. A green light glowed from the end, and a chanting echoed all around. He slowly walked to the light. "E-excuse me," he said nervously. "I-I fell down here from the top floor, and now I have no idea where I am. I-I just wanted to ask for some help or directions-"

"I'm am Madame Leota," the voice cut him off when he entered the room. In the center of the room was a table with a crystal sitting on top. A woman's face turned around to face him. "Seer of All, Hoist to the Spirits. Whom do you seek?"

A chair flew behind him and knocked him on top. It pushed Seika close to the table so he couldn't get out. "Hey!" he yelled. "Let me go!"

"Silence!" the face yelled. "Whom do you seek?"

"I want to get out of here!" Seika yelled. "I want to get out of this room! I want to get out of this mansion! I just want to be back home!"

"There is great evil in this house," she said. "A devil's curse. It wishes to destroy you. It can sense the light that is in your heart, Keybearer. The butler sides with the Darkness. But there is another one. A creature lurks outside the mansion that wishes to devour your heart."

Seika's heart leapt. 'A Ghost? A Hearteater?'

The woman closed her eyes and began to chant. "Dark spirits from the grave, come forth. Lift us from the black, and show us. Show us our way back. Lift us! Lift us, up to the light! And lead us through this stormy night!" All the objects in the room began to rise and spin around the table. The woman continued to chant as several instruments began to play around them. "Your life is in stake, Keybearer! Your friends are in stake! Go! Save us from this evil! Release us! Release us all!" The woman began to laugh maniacally as Seika and the table dropped to the ground.

Seika jumped to his feet and began to run out of the room as fast as he could, with the possessed instruments chasing after him. He turned down several hallways until he was convinced he escaped from them. Their sounds still echoed through the halls. He continued to run, until he slammed into Mr. Jim Evers, knocking both of them down.

Jim stood up and dusted his suit. He looked down at Seika. "Hey kid, why don't you watch where you're going."

Seika pulled himself up. "I'm sorry. I got lost and took a wrong turn. It will never happen again."

"Be sure it won't," Jim said.

"I'm Seika," he said. He held out his hand.

Jim looked down at it with dissatisfaction. "Mr. Evers," he said dryly. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Somewhere under the mansion is my guess," Seika said. He began to walk down the hall, with Mr. Evers close behind him. He stopped for a moment and looked around. "Look out!" he yelled, and he pulled him out of the way as a ball of blue fire flew past and exploded.

"What was that?" Mr. Evers shouted. His voice was shaken.

Seika looked around again. Six creatures began to move towards them from the shadows. They had long arms and legs with long nails to match. Bandages covered their bodies, except for one eye and their torso. On the center of their torso was a black heart with a red X through it.

"Heartless?" Seika said. He swung his hand out and in a burst of light, the Keyblade appeared.

Mr. Evers looked around. "A weapon! I need a weapon!"

Seika looked around the walls and noticed a coat of arms hanging with two rapiers behind it. "There!" he said.

Mr. Evers pulled out a rapier and swung it around before readying himself to fight.

Seika looked at him, then nodded, and the two prepared to fight the ambush of Heartless.

I'm sorry I couldn't get it up by Halloween. They never played it again on tv. I finally was able to get it off iTunes and I was able to get two chapters off it, including being able to do some minor adjustments to the last chapter.

Chapter 14: The Evers Family

Seika looked around the dark halls as the followed the old butler. Several coats of armor stood near the walls with shields and weapons behind them. The soon approached a large door at the end of the hall, that slowly opened to their arrival, revealing a large dining room.

At the long table in the center of the room was a family of people, a man, a woman, and two children, a boy and a girl. Each stared at the three with odd expressions.

Seika, Max, and PJ approached the table and sat down on the opposite side from the family. Ramsley walked to one end. "The master will be with you shortly," he said darkly, and he walked away.

The three sat awkwardly at the table with the family still watching them. Breaking the silence, the woman said, "Have you ever seen a fireplace that amazing?" She made a gesture to the fireplace behind them. "This place is incredible. I've never seen any place like it."

Lightning flashed. "Haven't you," said a man standing by the window. "My grandfather spared no expense when he built this mansion."

The man that sat opposite of Seika stood up and fixed his grey suit. "Well your grandfather had really good taste," he said, with a smile on his face. He held out a hand. "I'm Jim Evers of Evers and Evers Real Estate, glad to make your acquaintance, sir."

The man nodded. "Very good. I'm Mr. Gracey."

Jim chuckled, his hand still extended, but Gracey only nodded again. He looked over his shoulder nervously. "This is my wife, Sara," he said. The woman stood and approached them.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Gracey," she said. The man nodded again, this time more slowly. "This is our daughter, Megan, and our son Michael." Jim gave a gesture to the two children at the table. The two jumped up and walked to them.

"You have very beautiful children, Ms. Evers," Gracey said. He glanced over to the table and at Seika, Max, and PJ. "You three must of been sent by his Majesty, I presume. I've been longing to meet a master of the Keyblade."

Max and PJ jumped to their feet and raised their hands in a salute. Seika jumped up and did the same a moment later, not realizing what was happening.

Before any of the three could state their names, Ramsley reappeared. "You may take your seats now," he said. He pulled out the chairs for each of them once again.

As Mr. Gracey took his seat, he said, "How do you think of the house, Ms. Evers?"

"I think it's absolutely incredible," she responded as a maid began to pour a ladle of soup into her bowl. "You never see houses like this, at least I don't."

Mr. Gracey smiled widely. "Great care and love went into building this mansion."

Jim looked from his wife to Mr. Gracey awkwardly.

"This house is my inheritance," Mr. Grace said. "But lately, it's become too much to bare." He looked up at Jim, then to Seika, Max, and PJ, who were eating hungrily. "Tell me, Mr. Evers, do you believe in ghosts?"

"Ghosts?" he said. "Sure I believe in ghosts."

Mr. Gracey turned to Seika. "And you?"

Seika looked down at his hands, then quickly to the bracelet on his wrist. "I used to, but I stopped a few years ago."

"The storm has swollen the river," Ramsley said, staring out the window into the dark night.

"What's that?" Jim asked.

"The storm has flooded the road. I'm afraid there will be no leaving the mansion tonight."

Megan and Michael looked at each other, then to their parents. "What?" Megan asked.

"Of course, you are all more than welcome to spend the night here," Mr. Gracey said as Ramsley walked to his side. He stood up and made his way for the stairs. "Ramsley will show you to your rooms."

Ramsley gave a dark look to his master and took branched candlestick from the table and followed his master up the stairs into the dark hallways above. He stopped at the first door and opened it. "I believe the children will be comfortable in this room." He let the children say their goodnights to their parents before closing the door and continuing down the hallway. He stopped at the next door. "I hope you and the madam will find this room to your liking," he said as he opened the door for the couple.

"Yeah, it's great," Jim said. "It'll be like spending the night in a fine hotel."

Ramsley closed the door and continued his way down the hallway to the last room. The last room room was smaller than the other two. There was only one bed, and on the floor was a mattress and against the wall was an old couch. "This belonged to one of the servants several years ago," he said. Without saying anything else, he shut the door.

Seika looked at the old bed. "I guys we'll be here for a while until it's safe to get back to the ship, so I guess we should just make the best of it. I'll take the mattress on the floor," he said. "You guys can have the other two."

"No, Seika," PJ said. "You should take the bed."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "You deserve it more."

"No, I'm fine with sleeping on the floor," Seika said. "Really."

The two shrugged. "Fine, suit yourself," Max said. Another flash of lightning struck outside.

Rubbing his left wrist, Seika said, "I'm going to take a look around."

"You sure?" Max said. "This place really gives me the creeps, and I really don't trust the Ramsley guy."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Seika said. "I just need to walk somethings off, you know?"

Max nodded. "Okay, but if something happens, give us some kind of signal."

Seika nodded and walked out of the room, letting the door creak closed behind him.

* * *

"You just had to come," Sara Evers said angrily to her husband.

"Excuse me," Jim said. "This is a big opportunity for all of us."

"Not for us, for you. The only thing you seem to care about anymore is work."

"But it doesn't matter if I work hard like this as long as I bring you expensive gifts like this, right?" he said sarcastically, pointing to the pearl bracelet on her wrist.

Sara shook her head and pulled the bracelet off and walked away, tossing it onto a desk.

Jim began to walk after her. "Sara. I didn't mean to say that, c'mon. Sara?" The door closed in front of him. "I'm sorry about that, open up, please?" He gave a sigh and began to turn around, but jumped back when he was face to face with Ramsley. "Woah! You scared me."

"The master was wondering if he might have a word with you in the library?"

"A word?" Jim asked. "Sure, I'll have a word."

"Yes," Ramsley said. He turned around and began to walk to the door. "If you will follow me."

Jim turned around and said, "Hey, Sara? I'm going to go have a word with Mr. Gracey. I'll be back in a minute." The door closed behind him.

Moments later, they entered the large room that was the library. Ramsley walked ahead. "Would you care for a drink, sir, while you're waiting?"

"Don't mind if I do," Jim said. "Thank you, Ramsley." He studied the room, until a large portrait of Mr. Gracey caught his eye. "Wow! Now that's class. That's what I need to do over at my place, get a big picture of myself to put on the living room wall. It puts a touch of elegance to the room."

"Yes, sir," Ramsley responded. "Very elegant." He handed Jim a small glass.

He took a sip. "So, Ramsley. How long have you been a butler?"

"A long time," Ramsley said darkly. "Mr. Evers, may I confide in you?"

"Please do."

"The master is not well. He must leave this house, Mr. Evers, he must move on. It is of the gravest importance, I assure you, for I fear the very worst."