Chapter Text
The Gummiship was soaring through the emptiness of space as it closed in on another new world. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked towards the new world with excitement and anticipation.
“We’re nearly there fellas!” Goofy shouted as they drifted closer to the mysterious world.
“What kind of a world do you think this is, Sora?” Donald asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope it’s a very lively place!” Sora said, practically shaking.
Donald took note of Sora’s more-than-average excitement and was shocked. “Why are you so excited to visit this world?”
“All of the Guardians of Light have been working hard to revive worlds that have fallen into both the Realm of Darkness and the Sleeping Realm.” Sora explained. “This’ll be the first new world we visit since we stopped Xehanort!”
“Gawrsh, it really HAS been that long since we visited a world together! We better make up for lost time in this world then, fellas!” Goofy declared.
The Gummiship then entered the world’s sky. The only thing that was visible was an enormous skeleton within an endless ocean. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared at the skeleton with both amazement and confusion.
“It reminds me of Destiny Island and The Final World, but… somehow even more hopeless...” Sora said defeatedly.
“What’s with this giant skeleton? I thought this world was saved from the Realm of Darkness.” Donald said frustratedly.
“Do ya really think this is even a world?” Goofy wondered. “It looks like it’s just floating around here in space.”
“What about Monstro?” Donald pointed out.
“At least Monstro was still alive, but this... this isn’t like any of the worlds we’ve visited or any world the Guardians of Light have visited.” Sora said with a depressed tone.
“Why don’t we take a closer look then?” Goofy suggested. “Maybe we can find out more about this world from this skeleton.”
Sora, Donald, and Goofy all nodded and brought the Gummiship closer. Upon closer inspection of the skeleton, there were many signs of life on it: forests, mountains, lakes, but most importantly of all: buildings. Sora, Donald, and Goofy quickly noticed the buildings and their hopes were raised instantly.
“Look over there, fellas! Buildings! And lots of them, too!” Goofy said pointing towards the rib cage.
“Maybe this skeleton really IS its own world!” Donald said with hope.
“C’mon, let's find a place to land the Gummiship and take a closer look!” Sora exclaimed, back to his regular cheerful self.
They began looking for a safe place to land the Gummiship without the fear of it being discovered and ruining the World Order. They passed around the island and found a large cliff, which looked like the perfect place to land. Just before they landed, they noticed there was a single building on the cliff.
“Uh… do ya really think this is a good place to land? What if someone there finds the Gummiship?” Goofy worried.
“You worry too much, Goofy. The building is all by itself; I doubt anyone goes there anymore.” Donald noticed.
“I’m sure it’ll be safe to land here. Let’s just be careful about keeping it hidden.” Sora reassured.
The Gummiship landed in a small forest nearby, just deep enough and well-hidden enough so they didn’t forget where they landed. The trees were spread out enough to land, making it look like nothing happened to the surroundings. They left the Gummiship and immediately noticed the smell of the land. The smell wasn’t as disgusting as it was when inside Monstro, but it certainly wasn’t as pleasant as every other world they have visited. Sora, Donald, and Goofy left the Gummiship covering their noses, but after a few minutes, they became accustomed to the odd stench of the land and stopped covering their noses. They did some stretches after being inside the Gummiship for so long and started walking towards that old building they saw when landing. They were hoping that the building was abandoned and could find information about this world.
After walking through the woods for a few minutes, they made it to the side of the house. There were two sections to the building: the first section was a simultaneously worn-down but maintained house. The stone and tiles that made up the house were old and damaged, and yet there were multiple stained-glass windows, including a giant one that looked like an eye at the front of the house, and the doors were made of sturdy wood. The second section of the building was the remnant of a tower. The tower was heavily damaged; multiple stone pieces were missing, it was slowly being covered in moss, and it looked like it could collapse at any moment.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked down a set of stairs and made their way to the front of the house. As they approached the front door, they noticed that there was a strange owl-like decoration with a blank expression on it.
“Wow… this building is much bigger now that we’re so close to it.” Sora stared in amazement.
“Do ya really think this place is abandoned?” Goofy asked cautiously.
“It’s fine, Goofy. Let’s just get inside and find out where we are.” Donald said as he approached the front door. Donald confidently grabbed the handle and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. Donald was shocked, so he pushed the handle. Again, the door didn’t budge. He continued to both push and pull the door multiple times with both hands, getting more and more aggressive each time. Still, the door didn’t budge. Eventually, he jumped onto the door and pulled against the handle with all of his strength, but he lost his grip and fell on his back. After all that effort, the door hadn’t budged.
“Aww… the door won’t move at all…” Donald sulked.
“Hey Sora, why don’t you use the Keyblade to just unlock the door?” Goofy suggested.
“Good idea, Goofy!” Sora said as he walked towards the center of the door.
Donald shot back onto his feet. “WHY DIDN’T WE START WITH THAT?!” He shouted angrily.
Sora summoned his Kingdom Key and pointed it at the handle of the door. The Keyblade started to glow white as its power began to grow. However, just as the Keyblade was at its brightest, the glow started to fade away until the Keyblade was back to normal. Everyone looked at the Keyblade in confusion; the only other time the Keyblade failed to unlock something was the incomplete Keyhole in Hollow Bastion. Sora aimed at the handle and tried to unlock it again, but the same exact thing happened. Sora unsummoned his Keyblade in disbelief. Why isn’t this working, they all thought. Sora went to get a closer look at the door, and found the problem almost immediately.
“Look closely at the handle.” Sora gestured. “The Keyblade can’t unlock the door because there’s no keyhole for it to unlock.”
“Gawrsh, that’s a bit odd. I’ve never seen a door without a keyhole before.” Goofy noted.
“Forget it, let’s just leave this place and find somewhere else to go!” Donald said, already on his way down the main road in front of the house.
“Let’s go check out the town then! Surely we can find information there.” Goofy said as he followed behind Donald.
“Yeah! I can’t wait to see what kind of a town it is!” Sora cheerfully said as he tried to catch up with Donald and Goofy. Before Sora caught up with them, he was stopped when he heard a strange noise. It sounded like an owl hooting, but almost as if it was laughing at them. Sora looked back at the house to see what caused the noise, but didn’t see either an owl or another person. Confused, Sora turned back around and ran to meet up with Donald and Goofy, and together the three of them went down the main road.
“Are you sure this is the right way towards the town?” Donald double checked.
“I’m pretty sure it is. Why else would there be a road here?” Goofy pointed out.
“Looks like the road goes on for quite a while…” Sora said squinting at the horizon. “We'd better move quickly if we want to get there anytime soon.”
They started to run across the hilly plains, following the road to hopefully reach the town. They saw many strange creatures that inhabited the plains, but thankfully they were never attacked by any creatures, and thankfully no Heartless. After running for quite a while, they spotted the buildings at the top of a hill. When they saw it, they were more excited than ever and ran even faster towards it. Finally, they reached the edge of town and entered.
They noticed immediately that the people inside the town were just as strange as the animals outside of town. Some had multiple arms and legs, some had extra eyes, some had viscous teeth, and some were the exact opposite.
“This might sound weird, but are you sure that we didn’t land by that monster factory again?” Sora asked as he stared at the monsters in confusion.
“You saw how we got to this world; you know this isn’t the same world!” Donald said, annoyed that Sora would even ask an obvious question.
“Besides, if we were in that monster world, we would look like monsters too because of the World Order.” Goofy pointed out. They all shuddered after remembering what they each looked like back in Monstropolis.
“But wait, why didn’t the World Order change us to fit this world? We don’t blend in at all!” Sora said as he looked down at his body, which he was still wearing his plaid outfit.
“Speak for yourself, Goofy, and I look just fine!” Donald said with a wide smirk.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Sora. There’s probably a good reason the World Order didn’t do anything to disguise us.” Goofy said confidently.
The trio made their way deeper into town to take in their surroundings. Whenever they passed someone, they always gave a confused and disgusted look at Sora. It made Sora feel really uncomfortable and subconscious about being out of place without the World Order giving him a disguise. He had never been looked at with hatred from so many people that he didn’t know how to react or even make them like him. To make himself feel better, he put up his hood to try and hide from the attention. Donald and Goofy noticed how uncomfortable Sora was here, so they each put a hand on Sora’s shoulder to help cheer him up. The support from his friends helped Sora relax a little, and gave a faint smile to Donald and Goofy.
They came across countless shops, each selling very different items. There were book shops, potion stores, pottery stores, blacksmiths, food vendors, and many more. There was one shop in particular that caused the trio to stop. It was unattended and full of strange items that they recognized from previous worlds they’ve visited, but what really got their attention was the sign. Written in large, red letters, it said, “HUMAN COLLECTIBLES”. The trio stared in confusion.
“Hey, where’s the store owner?” Goofy said looking around the unguarded merchandise.
“Maybe they’re collecting more human things now.” Donald said as he tried to peek between the gap in the tent flaps.
“But if they are, then where’s all this stuff coming from?” Sora asked as he took off his hood.
“Finally, you’re back.” A mysterious voice said from inside the tent. The trio quickly went back over to the front of the shop before someone came out.
Suddenly, the tent flaps opened up, and an old woman holding a wooden staff walked through. She was wearing a red dress with a gold brooch on it. She had two gold earrings and a green-and-yellow polka dotted headband on, as well as had a golden fang. Her hair was grey and massive, covering up most of her back. Immediately behind her was an owl carrying a bag. The owl dropped the bag at the front of the store and the strange lady rubbed her hand together in anticipation. However, she was too distracted to notice the trio standing in front of her shop.
“Now let’s see what we’ve got here.” She said with excitement. The owl opened up the bag and stood on top of the staff. The lady grabbed the head of the owl and spun it around the staff, and in doing so, the owl lost all signs of life and became part of the staff. The trio stared in fascination at the staff, and only then did the lady notice that they were there.
“Ah, potential customers!” She exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air. “You’ve got guts coming hereー mostly because it’s illegalー to learn about the mysteries, tragedies, and fascinations of the human world! Let me tell you, I have traveled there many times to learn about their bizarre history and brought back many relics about their strange way-of-life. You’ve come here to seek out my wisdom about this other world and the chance to obtain one of these artifacts for yourself, am I right?” She asked the trio with great confidence.
The trio was completely taken back by her enthusiasm and knowledge of another world existing. They tried to give a reply. “Uhh…” was the only thing they could nervously come up with.
“Great!” The lady cut them off. “You three are in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Once I restock with this latest haul, you’ll seeー and hopefully purchaseー some of the most terrifying and mind-blowing treasures from the human world!” She began to rummage through the bag, looking for items she believed were valuable. Sora began to sweat, as he was afraid that the lady would find out he was human.
The first item the lady pulled out of the bag was a weird screen that looked similar to the Gummiphone. Sora looked at the screen with fascination and wanted to compare it with his Gummiphone, but before he could ask about it, the lady shouted “Garbage!” and threw it away. The next item the lady pulled out of the bag was a ring with a giant diamond. Goofy thought it might have been a crystal that could be used to synthesize a new weapon, but before he could get a closer look at the crystal, the lady once again shouted “Garbage!” and threw it away as well. The next item the lady pulled out of the bag was a cup made completely out of gold. Donald’s eyes widened as he saw how shiny the cup was and wanted it for its worth, but before he could take it for himself, the lady once again shouted “Garbage!” and threw it away as well.
At this point, the trio shared glances of concern between each other. They were starting to doubt if this lady really knew anything about this other world and what was really valuable. They were about to speak up when she suddenly gasped, startling the trio.
“Now this…” The lady said as she dug deep into the bag. She pulled out a pair of glasses with eyes on them and put them on. Suddenly, the eyes popped out and bounced up and down because they were attached by springs. “This will make me rich!” The lady declared. The trio quietly laughed with each other at the sight of the eyes continuing to bounce. The lady noticed their laughter and leaned in closer to them.
“I see I’ve already caught your attention!” The lady said with a wide grin. “You see, humans have found a way to detach their eyes in order to see further ahead and even to prevent anything from seeking up on them. But just you three wait, you haven’t seen anything yet!” She reached back into the bag to see what else she could present (and possibly sell) to the trio.
The lady then pulled out a purple book with a picture taking up most of the cover with the title “The Good Witch Azura.”
“This…” The lady said as she closely studied the book. “Well, this’ll make good kindling.” She moved the book over a candle and started to burn the book. The trio stared, baffled by the lady’s choices. Why would she burn a book, they all thought. What if it had history about this other world? Why destroy it at all?
Before they could ask why the lady was burning the book, a young girl jumped out from the tent. She was wearing a purple-and-white hoodie, jean shorts, and leggings. She had short brown hair and had a shoulder bag with her.
“Excuse me, sorry, that’s mine, thank you!” She frantically shouted as she quickly snatched the book from the lady’s hand and shoved it into her bag. Then just as quickly as she came out of the tent, she ran back inside. The lady was just as shocked as the trio to see someone else come out of the tent. The lady gave chase after the young girl, but the trio stayed at the front of the store. They were able to share their thoughts now that they were alone.
“Should we really trust what this lady is saying?” Donald said skeptically as he looked at the pile of “garbage” she threw away earlier.
“I am so confused about this world…” Sora said as he held his head in his hand.
“Well, at least she never noticed that you’re also a human.” Goofy said as he put his hand on Sora’s shoulder.
“But why would she know about there being other worlds? That shouldn’t be possible, right?” Sora asked.
“Well, the people who were in Radiant Garden and Traverse Town know about other worlds because they were used as refugee worlds for those who lost their own world.” Donald recalled.
“Yeah! Maybe when this world fell to the Realm of Darkness, she found a similar world to stay in until we rescued this world.” Goofy suggested.
Their conversation was cut short when the lady came back to the tent. She was grabbing onto the young girl by her shoulder and pushed her into a stool in front of the counter. The young girl brought her knees up to her chest as she stared in fear at the old lady.
“I’m so sorry, I just wanted my book! If you’re going to eat my skin, just make it quick! Just do it now!” The young girl begged. The trio saw how terrified the young girl was and all stood in their fighting stance, but did not summon their weapons yet. They were ready to defend the young girl from any danger that could happen. The old lady didn’t even notice the trio’s defensive stance as she was completely focused on the young girl.
“Eat you? Why would I eat… a potential customer?!” The old lady said, completely changing her tone. Everyone looked at the old lady like she was insane, and rightfully so. The old lady finally noticed the trio’s defensive stance. “You three can knock off that tough act of yours; I’m not going to hurt anyone here. Besides, if I did want to hurt someone here, there’s no way you three would be able to match my power!” She laughed. The trio went back to standing normally, possibly more confused than ever, while the young girl looked at her with curiosity.
“But enough with the theatrics: it’s time for the merchandise!” The old lady said as she ducked behind the counter. First, she brought up a yellow shoe with many holes. “Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes?” She placed it on the counter and ducked underneath it again. Next, she pulled up a red-and-white tube with something green coming out of the top. “Maybe a bar of green human candy?” She placed it on the counter as well and ducked underneath it again. Now, she pulled up a white square with a black screen. “Oh, how about a black shadow box that reflects only sadness?”
The trio continued to stare in confusion, but the young girl only laughed. “That’s not all it can do. Here, let me see it.” She said as she took it from the old woman and began tinkering with it. The trio got a closer look at the shadow box and noticed the reflective black screen.
“Hey Sora, doesn’t that shadow box kind of look like the Gummiphone when it’s turned on?” Donald pointed out.
Sora pulled out his Gummiphone and looked at its screen, then the screen of the shadow box. “You’re right, it does look pretty similar to the Gummiphone!” He then turned on the Gummiphone, and the black reflective surface disappeared in exchange for the homepage.
“Say, do ya think this shadow box thing can turn on as well?” Goofy asked.
“Wow, I’m actually pretty surprised you three knew how this worked and not her!” The young lady said as she placed two cylinders inside the white box. The old lady exchanged a glare of anger towards the trio, and they could only give a nervous smile as a response. “And it’s not some sort of ‘shadow box’, it’s called a T.V.” She said as she turned it on. Suddenly, the black reflective surface as well, and what came on was a person on a stage with odd colored lines behind them. “Here, see for yourselves!”
All of a sudden, many monsters were surrounding the stand, all fascinated by the T.V. The trio and young girl got behind the counter as the monsters started waving money around and asking to buy it.
“What did you say your name was?” The old lady asked with a devious grin. The trio wanted to ask the same thing.
“I’m Luz! Luz Noceda.” The young girl answered in delight.
“Well Luz, that was pretty clever… for a human.” The old lady said as she started taking the monster’s money.
“Yeah Luz, that was really impressive!” Donald said, captivated.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Luz.” Goofy said, giving a little bow.
“Do they have more of these things where you’re from?” Sora asked with a giddy tone.
“That’s very kind of you two to say,” Luz said as she addressed Donald and Goofy, “but those are some weird things for other humans to say…” Luz as she addressed Sora and the old lady.
“I’m… uh…” Sora struggled to create an excuse. Thankfully, the old lady was the perfect distraction.
“Oh dear child…” she said as she removed her headband, revealing two pointed ears, “I’m not like you!” Luz and the trio stared at her pointed ears. The old lady jumped on top of the counter and began shouting. “I’m Eda the Owl Lady, THE most powerful witch on The Boiling Isles!”
“A witch!” Luz’s eyes began to sparkle at the sight of a magic user.
“Eda the Owl Lady.” Goofy said as he wondered how she got that name.
“The most powerful witch!” Donald said as he began fantasizing all the possible new spells he could learn.
“The Boiling Isles…” Sora said as he looked towards the sky and recalled how all worlds are connected.
“I am a respected, feared, …” Eda continued to go on about her power. Suddenly, three guards wearing black uniforms, white capes, and grey pointed masks pushed their way to the front of the crowd.
“Busted!” They shouted as one of the guards destroyed the T.V. The crowd dispersed in fear, leaving only Eda, Luz, and the trio. Eda jumped off of the counter and faced the guards.
“Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors!” The first guard said as he unrolled a piece of paper in his hand, revealing a wanted poster about Eda with a number so high that no one in the trio knew how to count.
“Whoa, witch criminal!” Luz gasped and stared in amazement, which the trio continued to look confused.
“You are hereby ordered to come with us to the Conformitorium!” The second guard demanded as he grabbed Eda’s wrist.
“Would you guys quit following me around?! I haven’t done squat!” Eda demanded as she pulled her wrist free.
“You four are coming too, for fraternizing with a criminal!” The third guard said as he grabbed Luz by her hood.
“Wh-what?! That’s not cool! I didn’t know she was a criminal!” Luz shouted as she tried to break free from the guard’s grasp, dropping her book in the process.
“Let her go!” Sora demanded as the trio got into their fighting stances, but kept their weapons unsummoned. “She hasn’t done anything wrong and doesn’t deserve to be taken away from here!”
“All right, all right, you win.” Eda said as she brought her hands up. “There’s no need for any violence here; I’ll go with you. Just let me get my stuff…” she said, ducking underneath the counter.
Suddenly, Eda grabbed her staff and struck the first guard across the face, knocking him on the ground. The third guard let go of Luz, as the remaining two guards each drew a white circle with their fingers, causing glowing white ropes to surround everyone individually. Eda reacted and drew a yellow circle, which caused a yellow, bubble-like barrier to form around her. The ropes were too sudden and fast for the trio to respond and ended up ensnared the trio and Luz, but Eda’s bubble stopped her from being ensnared. The first guard got back up and drew a circle with his finger as well, which created more ropes around Eda and tightened the grip on her bubble-like barrier.
Sora struggled greatly against the ropes to try and break free, but eventually stopped. He calmed down, closed his eyes, and summoned his Keyblade. Sora and his Keyblade began to glow with light as he continued concentrating. The three guards turned towards Sora to see what he was planning to do. Suddenly, Sora opened his eyes and the air around him began to get distorted, almost reflective.
“Try this!” Sora shouted. The distorted air shattered like glass as he broke free from the magical ropes. Sora stopped glowing to reveal his clothes had changed into a more comfortable, belt-clad outfit. Sora had entered Second Form. The guards were shocked, Eda and Luz stared in fascination, and Donald and Goofy nodded with approval.
The three guards got closer and tried to draw another circle with their fingers, but they were too slow. Sora twirled his Keyblade in front of him a few times before ending with both of his hands above his head. “Stun Impact!” He shouted as he threw his hands downwards, causing a field of electricity to surround him. The three guards were inside the field, and they all got struck by a strange lightning. All three guards became completely dazed and fell onto the ground, causing all the ropes to disappear. Luz went to pick up her book and Donald and Goofy ran over to Sora, but all Eda did was stare suspiciously at him.
“Good thinking Sora!” Goofy complimented. “That was pretty close.”
“Now let’s get out of here before more of them show up!” Donald said.
“Yeah, but… where exactly do we go?” Sora asked as his clothes reverted back to his plaid outfit.
Eda slammed her staff on the ground, causing everything at the shop to levitate. “Oops, can’t forget this.” She said as she reached into her hair and pulled out a key with a yellow eye in the center. She pressed the key, which presumably did something inside the tent. She then gathered everything into a green bag, tied it up, and stuck it onto the end of her staff. “Follow me, human!” She shouted as she began running. Luz frantically got up and followed Eda.
“Hey, why don’t we follow Miss Eda out of here?” Goofy suggested.
“Yeah! If she really is a criminal, then she’ll know a way out of here!” Donald pointed out.
“Alright, let’s follow them. I don’t want to wait around for more of those guards to show up…” Sora said. The trio began running after Eda and Luz to hopefully find a way out of the city.
“This is crazy! If I die here, my mom’s gonna kill me!” Luz began to panic.
“I won’t let them hurt you!” Eda laughed. “A human like you is much more valuable to me alive than dead.”
“Wait, what’s that supposed to-” Luz began to say, but was cut off. Eda grabbed Luz’s wrist and cheered as the owl’s wings on the staff opened up. Eda and Luz sat on the staff and they began flying away at a very fast speed, leaving the trio behind. They continued to chase after them, but they began to get farther and farther away.
“Gawrsh, not what do we do?!” Goofy asked.
“We’ll lose sight of them before we leave the city!” Donald said nervously.
“It’s not over yet, guys!” Sora said confidently. He extended his left arm behind him. “Ready for some Flowmotion?” They all nodded as Donald grabbed Sora’s hand and Goofy grabbed Donald’s other hand.
Together, they jumped onto the rooftops of the stands. Sora cast Blizzard, leaving a trail of ice for them to grind on with Flowmotion, which allowed them to move faster and close the gap between them and the flying witch. Sora continually cast Blizzard at an upward angle to gain vertical height. They were getting very close to Eda and Luz, but when Sora tried to cast Blizzard again, nothing happened. He looked back at Goofy and they both nodded. Goofy summoned his shield and threw it far forward. Then, Goofy got on Donald’s back, and Donald got on Sora’s back, and they let go of each other’s hands. Donald summoned his staff and cast Aero on Goofy’s shield, creating a strong gust of wind on it. When the ice trail reached its end, Sora jumped off the ice trail and landed on Goofy’s shield, which thanks to Aero, he was able to jump off of for one final push to reach the staff. As they were in the air, they got off of each other’s backs, unsummoned their weapons, and grabbed each other’s hands again. When they began falling, they were close enough to reach the staff, but chose not to land directly on it. Instead, Sora used the top of his Keyblade to hook onto the top of the staff, allowing the trio to hang onto the staff from underneath, swaying back and forth. However, the impact of the Keyblade hooking onto the staff caused it to dip downwards and descend at a rapid speed. Eda, unaware that the trio was hitching a ride, pulled up on the staff to try and gain more height. They almost ran into a building, but were able to dodge it at the last second as the staff gained just enough height to clear it. Finally, they exited the city and flew up high enough to prevent the guards from attacking them or running into something. The entire time they were escaping, Luz was screaming, completely terrified, as she held onto the staff like her life depended on it.
“What happened?! What’s going on?! Did we die?!” Luz panicked as tears began to appear in her eyes.
“Calm down human, everything’s fine!” Eda said, trying to calm her down. “We just escaped the city. We’ll be fine now.”
“What was that weird dip all of a sudden?! I thought we were going to crash and die…” Luz said, still crying.
“The guards must’ve tried and pulled us back down to the ground, but they obviously failed because they were up against me!” Eda said, boasting. She then saw how scared Luz was and felt bad about bragging. “Hey, it’s okay.” She said in a comforting tone. “You can open your eyes now, human.”
Luz began to stop crying and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw the ground soaring beneath her, she got scared again. She closed her eyes and accidentally began rotating around the staff. She quickly grabbed back on, now upside-down. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the trio hanging onto the staff from beneath. “You three again?! I thought you got left behind in that town!” She exclaimed with both confusion about how they’re here and comfort knowing they safely got away from the guards.
“What are you talking about, human?” Eda said annoyed, thinking she was still panicking. She was going to grab Luz to put back on top of the staff, but stopped when she noticed the Keyblade hooked onto the staff. “What the…” She mumbled. She looked underneath her staff to follow the Keyblade and found the trio hanging on underneath. They gave a nervous smile. “How did you three manage to get onto the staff?! Why are you three even following me in the first place?!” She shouted, completely shocked.
“It’s a bit of a long story…” Donald began, but got cut off.
“Well, if you’re not going to tell me, then there’s no point in you three staying here.” Eda said as she began to reach for the Keyblade to unhook it from her staff.
“No, stop! You can’t just drop them from this high up!” Luz pleaded.
“And why should I care about them?” Eda asked, annoyed.
“They helped save our lives from those guards!” Luz stated.
“So what? I was just about to take care of them by myself.” Eda said, rolling her eyes.
“We know this is very sudden, but we could really use your help, Miss Eda.” Goofy said politely.
“We’re running from those guards, but we have no idea where we are or even what to do.” Sora said. “We followed you because we were hoping you could help give us information about this place.”
“Wait, you three really don’t know about this place?” Luz asked, puzzled. “I thought you three lived here.”
“Look, that’s very nice and all, but I don’t really care that much about helping you three.” Eda said.
“Please, don’t get rid of them. These three NEED help! They need OUR help! We can’t just leave them behind!” Luz begged, staring deep into Eda’s eyes.
Eda looked back at Luz, and she began to look saddened. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “Okay, fine… these three can stick around.” Eda’s attitude quickly changed from regret to anger as she looked at the trio. “But you three have a lot of answering to do when we land, got it?!” The trio nodded. “Good.” Eda looked up and began to smile again.
Luz smiled at the trio, but it faded away as soon as she focused on the ground. She remembered why she was freaking out in the first place. “Flying staffs! Crazy monsters! You’re a witch! What is this place?!” Luz asked frantically. Eda grabbed Luz’s back and pulled her back to the top of the staff.
“This is The Boiling Isles: every myth you humans have is caused by a little of our world leaking into yours.” Eda explained as a giant bird-like creature flew alongside them.
“A Griffin!” Luz shouted as her eyes sparkled with unexplainable joy being able to see it in person. The Griffin began to throw up spiders, but it only made her smile more. “I know it!!”
“Yep! Griffins, Vampires, Giraffes, you name it.” Eda listed.
“Wait, Giraffes?” Luz asked, greatly confused.
“Oh yeah, we banished those guys! Buncha freaks…” Eda mumbled.
“Do you know what she’s talking about, Sora?” Donald and Goofy asked.
“I’ve never heard of any of those things before…” Sora said, still confused.
The staff began to get closer to the ground as they were about to land. When they were a safe distance from the ground, the trio let go of each other’s hands, landed on the ground, and walked over to the staff, which had now stopped moving and only hovered slightly above the ground. Eda had already gotten off of the staff and Luz was still sitting on it. Suddenly, Luz screamed and jumped off of the staff out of fear. The trio ran over to help her up.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” They asked her.
“Oops, that happens sometimes.” Eda walked over to her staff and took something off of it. It turned out to be her hand, completely severed from her body. She put it on her arm and screwed it into place and grabbed her staff, as if nothing happened to her hand in the first place. The trio’s only response was to stare in confusion.
“Well, I’ve had enough adventure for today!” Luz said, trying to act confident. “This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about. So… can you help me get back home?” She asked desperately. Eda waved her staff in front of Luz.
“Only if you help me first!” Eda laughed as she levitated her bag behind her. “Now come along, human. You three as well.” She beckoned them as she walked away. Luz and the trio followed shortly behind her. They walked for a short while before coming across a house in the middle of nowhere.
“Whoa…” Luz gasped as she saw the house. However, the trio had a look of terror when they approached it. It was the same house that they tried to enter before! It wasn’t an abandoned house, and they landed very close to it!
“Isn’t this the same building we tried to get into earlier today?!” Donald asked, worried.
“Do ya think Miss Eda will know we tried to get in here?” Goofy pointed out.
“We never actually ENTERED the house, so I think we’ll be fine! … right?” Sora tried to sound confident, but failed greatly.
“Hey, you three!” Eda shouted from the front door. “We don’t have all day to appreciate my house! Hurry it up!” The trio ran up to catch up with Eda and Luz.
“Aren’t you worried about those guards finding us?” Luz asked as she turned around and saw the open road behind them.
“Nope! My house has a state-of-the-art defense system!” Eda boasted as she turned to face the front door. The trio paid close attention to what Eda was about to do so they would know why they couldn’t enter the house before.
Suddenly, the strange owl-like doorplate began to talk! “Hoot hoot! Password please.” It said. The trio was completely shocked since it never talked when they first showed up. Eda rolled her eyes and poked the doorplate in both of its eyes.
“We got no time for this Hooty! Let us in.” Eda said, irritated.
“All right, all right! Geez! You never wanna have any fun! Ow! Hoot!” Hooty complained but ultimately complied to Eda. Hooty opened his mouth so wide that it fit the entire door frame. Eda and Luz walked inside, but before the trio could walk in, Hooty closed his mouth. “Oh, hey! It’s you three again!” Hooty exclaimed. “So how are you doing since the last time I saw you?” The door began to bang from the other side, so Hooty opened his mouth again and Eda and Luz walked back outside.
“What are you doing Hooty?! Let these three in already!” Eda demanded, thoroughly annoyed.
“Eda, these three tried to enter your house a couple of hours ago! It was so much fun watching them try!” Hooty reported, laughing. Luz was very surprised, but Eda gave a glare that could cut through anything.
“You three did WHAT?!” Eda shouted, enraged.
“We’re really sorry Miss Eda!” Goofy apologized. “We just thought this place was abandoned and hoped we could learn more about where we are!”
“Yeah, they tried to bash me down and everything, but of course they failed. Aren’t you proud of me Eda?” Hooty asked.
“How were we supposed to know the door came to life?! It didn’t when we first showed up!” Donald said, trying to defend himself.
“Eda, please calm down. They really didn’t mean to cause any trouble in your house!” Luz begged.
“Alright, fine, it was an honest mistake, I get it.” Eda said as she began to calm down. “Looks like I have even MORE questions to ask you three now…”
“We really are sorry that we tried to enter your house.” Sora said. “We promise we’ll answer your questions when we’re inside.”
“Yeah, you better.” Eda said, rubbing the side of her head. “Alright Hooty, let us all inside.”
“Of course! Anything for you and my new best friends!” Hooty said with joy. Then, Hooty stretched his mouth out to the door frame again and everyone walked inside. Hooty closed his mouth once everyone entered.
“Welcome to… The Owl House!” Eda exclaimed as she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the house became very lively as candles lit up, appliances began to move on their own, and the ceiling began to light up. Luz and the trio stared in amazement as they could clearly see the house. The trio felt even worse about trying to enter the house earlier after seeing how nice it really is. “This is where I hide away from the pressure of modern life. Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends.” Eda laughed as she began to reminisce.
“This place is beautiful!” Luz said as she began wandering around the house. “Do you live here all alone?” Suddenly, the ceiling began to shake and footsteps could be heard. Everyone looked up in shock, except Eda, who rolled her eyes.
“Actually, I have a roommate…” Eda sighed. The footsteps grew more powerful as a looming shadow appeared in a nearby door frame. Luz turned towards the door frame in curiosity, but the trio got into their fighting stances, but kept their weapons unsummoned. Eda raised an eyebrow, as this was the third time in a short time period she saw the trio act defensively.
“Who dares disturb I, the King of Demons?!” The ominous shadow demanded. The shadow continued to grow as the monster got closer to the door. When the monster revealed itself, it was nothing like its menacing shadow. It was a small creature with black fur and a collar on. Its eyes were yellow and purple, and most of its face was just its skull. It was wearing two towels, one on its head and one on its body, and it was holding a rubber duck. Luz gasped in amazement after seeing the creature, but the trio was still confused.
“Will you three stop acting so defensive every five minutes?! This is getting annoying.” Eda said, staring at the trio.
“Oh, sorry. We’re still a little on-edge since we first arrived here…” Sora said, embarrassed.
“Yeah, you’re a lot more on-edge than just ‘a little’.” Eda said, making quotation marks with her fingers.
“So wait, this little monster is your roommate?” Donald asked.
“I know, right? What a handful he is…” Eda sighed.
“Really? He doesn’t look like that much of a handful.” Goofy pointed out.
“Oh trust me, you’ll see soon enough.” Eda said, reassuringly.
Luz couldn’t take much more of the monster and squealed out of happiness. “¡Ay, que lindo!” Luz shouted as she ran up to the monster, hugging it. “Eda, he’s so cute!!” She exclaimed as she nuzzled her face against his. “Who’s a widdle guy? Who’s a widdle guy?! Is it you? Is it you?!” She teased in a playful tone.
“No! I don’t know who the little guy is! Eda, who is this monster?!” The monster panicked as he tried to escape Luz’s grasp.
“Oh, this is Luz, the human.” Eda said as she pulled Luz away from the monster, but Luz was still trying to grab hold of the monster.
“Then who are those three monsters?!” The monster referred to the trio, still panicking. “Don’t come anywhere near me!” He shouted as he covered his face.
“These three are… uh…” Eda hesitated, realizing she never cared about their names until now. The trio stepped forward and introduced themselves to everyone.
“My name’s Sora!” He said with a wide smile.
“I’m Donald!” He said, giving a confident pose.
“And I’m Goofy! Pleasure to meet you all!” He said, giving a little wave.
Everyone took their introduction differently. Luz smiled and waved at everyone, Eda rolled her eyes, and the monster began to calm down.
“Okay, but, why are they all here?” The monster asked, confused since she hardly brought home anyone, let alone this many suspicious people.
“Well, these three have come questions to answer,” Eda said as she glared angrily at the trio, “but the human girl’s here to help us with our little… situation.” She said as she let go of Luz.
“Oh, hooray!” The monster said as he threw his hands into the air.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Luz said as she backed away from Eda. “I don’t like the sound of this ‘situation’.”
“Did something awful happen to you and your friend?” Goofy asked, concerned.
“If you’re ‘the most powerful witch on The Boiling Isle’, then why do you need Luz’s help?” Donald asked, suspicious.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Sora asked, always ready to help someone in need.
“Just… let me explain.” Eda backed away from everyone and used her hands to draw a massive circle. Then, the inside of the circle continuously showed what Eda was telling in her story. “King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and became… this.” She said in a disappointed tone.
“You mean this little bundle of joy?” Luz said as she began to hug King again. Eda ignored Luz and continued her story.
“The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through - a human like you!” Eda’s circle disappeared. “If you help us retrieve his crown, we’ll send you back to your world. So whaddya say?” She took King out of Luz’s hands. “Plus, who could say no to this cute face?”
“No! Please don’t encourage her!” King begged. The trio quietly laughed among each other.
“I mean, we’re kinda your only way home.” Eda said as she dropped King onto the floor.
“So… I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Luz asked in a defeated tone.
“Nope! And we don’t have much time to lose!” Eda said with a mischievous grin.
“Where exactly will we be going?” Luz asked.
“Somewhere super fun: The Conformitorium, a place for those considered unsuitable for society.” Eda answered in a sarcastic tone. The trio looked among each other and nodded.
“We’re going with you!” The trio declared.
“No, you’re not!” Eda shoved her hand in front of the trio.
“Why not Eda? You saw how powerful they were fighting off those guards and getting onto the staff.” Luz pointed out. “We could use all the help we can get.” She tried to guilt trip Eda into letting the trio join. It worked, and Eda started to get less serious.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Eda admitted. “But not until you finally answer my questions, got it?!” The trio nodded and prepared themselves for whatever question they would be asked. “Good. Now, first question: what are you three?”
The trio were shocked from being asked an obvious question, but they answered honestly anyway.
“Well, I’m a duck.” Donald stated.
“And I’m a dog.” Goofy said.
“Yeah, and I’m a human.” Sora said, smiling.
Eda burst out laughing. “You?! A human?!” She continued to laugh, making everyone in the house uncomfortable. Eda eventually composed herself and got serious again. “Wanna try giving me an actual answer this time?”
“But I wasn’t lying, I really AM a human!” Sora tried to defend himself.
“Stop trying to fool me kid, it ain’t gonna work!” Eda said, getting in Sora’s face.
“Eda, stop! We don’t have to fight over this!” Luz said as she separated Sora and Eda.
“Yes they do! Bloodshed! Bloodshed!” King chanted as he got comfy on the couch.
“I don’t get it Eda, why don’t you believe him?” Luz questioned.
“Look, I thought he was a human when I first met him, and I still do.” Eda said, calming down. “He clearly doesn’t know anything about The Boiling Isles and has the same rounded ears that you humans have… somewhere in there.” She said as she examined Sora’s long and spiky hair. “But the longer he stayed, the more suspicious he became. Firstly, he didn’t know how that ‘T.V.’ thing worked. If he was from your world, he obviously would’ve recognized it. Secondly, he actually has a magic staff. Granted, it’s the weirdest magic staff I’ve ever seen, but I could feel a great power coming from it when you lodged it into mine. Finally, you actually cast magic! It’s physically impossible for humans to cast magic, and yet he cast an incredibly powerful spell I’ve never seen before on those guards like it was nothing! He’s clearly not like you Luz, so I’ll ask this again: what are you?” She said as she turned back towards Sora.
Sora was conflicted about telling the truth. He was silent for a moment, but finally began to talk. “The thing is… I’m-” Sora was cut off when Donald grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.
“Can you excuse us for a minute? We need to have a thorough talk.” Donald said as he and Goofy brought Sora over to the other side of the room. They began whispering with each other.
“Sora, you can’t tell them the truth!” Donald demanded.
“Why not? There’s no point trying to lie to them.” Sora said.
“But what about protecting the World Order?” Goofy pointed out.
“Forget the World Order, it’s already broken! They already know other worlds exist! Why bother trying to hide it if they already know?” Sora exclaimed.
“Well, you do have a good point.” Goofy admitted.
“But that doesn’t mean you can just reveal every world and their inhabitants to them!” Donald argued.
Sora thought to himself, then had an idea. “What if we were vague about the worlds we’ve visited?” Sora said, acting like he had a breakthrough. “We can say we’ve been to other worlds, but not give any details about them. We’ll only mention the Guardians of Light and very deserted worlds, like Destiny Island.”
“Say, that’s a great idea!” Goofy exclaimed. “What do you think Donald?”
Donald was hesitant, but knew he couldn’t win. “Alright, we can be vague about the other worlds. But if you don’t follow your idea, I’m never healing you again, got it?!” Donald threatened. Sora nodded and they walked back over to Eda, Luz, and King.
“Okay… the truth is, I’m a human. I’m just not from the same world that Luz is from.” Sora confessed. Eda, Luz, and King were all shocked by this statement.
“Humans are from more places than just Earth?!” Luz exclaimed.
“Yes! More worlds for me to conquer!” King said happily.
“So if you’re not from Luz’s human world, then what human world are you from?” Eda questioned.
“It’s a world called Destiny Island: a small island surrounded by an endless sea and sky.” Sora stated.
“Wow… that sounds like a beautiful place to stay.” Luz said as her eyes sparkled with delight.
“Eh, sounds like a pretty boring place to stay.” King said, uninterested.
“King’s right. It’s not a great place to stay.” Sora admitted. “It’s boring and even depressing to stay, almost like it’s a prison…”
“If it’s basically a prison, then how did you escape from it?” Eda asked.
“Well, that’s the thing: I didn’t.” Sora admitted. “My world fell into darkness and was destroyed. When I woke up, I was in a completely different world, alone and scared. That’s when I met Donald and Goofy. We became best friends and together we traveled to many different worlds to prevent other worlds from falling into darkness.”
“Fell into darkness?!” Eda, Luz, and King all shouted.
“Wow! Your home being destroyed and wanting to protect others is just like what Azura did!” Luz said, holding her book close to her.
“Aww… why wasn’t I there when the world fell to darkness? I could’ve ruled over it!” King pouted.
“How do you three travel between all of these worlds?” Eda questioned.
“This’ll sound crazy, but we have a spaceship.” Sora said. “It’s called the Gummiship. We use it to travel across the empty space between each world. When we landed in this world, we accidentally landed really close to your house and tried to enter your house. Again, sorry.”
“So that’s why Hooty recognized you three when we got here!” Luz realized.
“Wait, you three were the ones banging on the door today?!” King asked angrily. “You woke me up from my nap!”
“So that explains why the first thing you tried to do was break into my house, but how exactly did you prevent other worlds from falling into darkness?” Eda questioned.
“We had to fight the Heartless.” Sora stated. “They are monsters that are born from the darkness within someone’s heart. When someone falls into darkness, their hearts are removed and the darkness takes over their hearts, creating the Heartless. They seek to eradicate all light, and can’t be reasoned with. A world falls into darkness when the Heartless find the world’s keyhole and use it to reach the heart of the world, corrupting it and making it fall into darkness. Worlds can be brought back, but it’s an incredibly difficult process.”
“That sounds very terrifying…” Luz said sadly.
“Darkness, huh? Maybe I’m a Heartless!” King exclaimed happily. Donald and Goofy shook their heads at King, and he sighed.
“So I’m guessing you use that weird staff of yours to get that done?” Eda asked.
“Yes; the Keyblade is what allows the hearts to be freed from the darkness.” Sora said as he summoned his Keyblade. “They’re the strength of one’s heart, and are the light through the darkness. They also have the power to lock and unlock any keyhole, even the keyholes that lead to the heart of worlds.”
“Oh, it’s like a skeleton key! A really metaphorical skeleton key!” Luz recalled.
“So do your friends have one as well?” King asked.
“No, but we still fight for light.” Donald said as he summoned his magic staff.
“We weren’t chosen by a Keyblade or trained to wield one, but we still fight against the darkness.” Goofy said as he summoned his shield.
“So it’s not you that’s casting magic, but your weapon?” Eda questioned.
“Well, sort of.” Sora admitted. “I didn’t know any magic before I had the Keyblade, but since then, the Keyblade has mostly become an extension of myself. Sure, I’ve learned some basic magic spells thanks to Donald and Goofy, but the more complicated magic I’ve learned comes from my own heart. The spell I used on the guards was used from gathering energy and releasing it as electricity through the Keyblade, and the magic I used to reach your staff, Flowmotion, was caused from using my Keyblade to tap into the heart of the world.”
“Wow, you must have an incredible heart to be able to do all of that!” Luz said in amazement. “Do you think I’ll be able to learn magic like that?! I've always wanted to learn magic!”
“Maybe you’ll be able to.” Sora said, smiling. “It all depends on you and your heart.”
“That’s cool and all, but I don’t care about using light.” King yawned. “I’m the King of Demons, I prefer to use darkness!”
“Well, darkness can still be used to help those in need.” Sora said with a nervous smile. “Just be careful about how you use your darkness, okay?” King rolled his eyes.
“Okay, I think I’m finally satisfied with your answers.” Eda admitted. “Look, I’m sorry for acting so rude when we first met. I get it now: you three arrived in an unfamiliar world and were afraid that we were the monsters that destroyed worlds, that’s why you kept acting so defensive. You three tried to break into my house because you wanted information about the new world. I acted harshly when you three needed help, and I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay, we understand why you acted so harshly towards us.” Donald said.
“Yeah! You had good reason to be suspicious of us in the first place.” Goofy pointed out.
“We forgive you Eda. Hopefully we can be friends!” Sora said as his eyes sparkled.
“Don’t push you luck, kid!” Eda said as she gave a cocky smirk.
“This is amazing…” Luz whispered, tearing up. “The power of friendship really can overcome anything…”
Eda became uncomfortable after hearing what Luz said. “Okay, that’s enough of that! Come on Luz, it’s time we go and get King’s crown back from the Warden.”
“Mind if we join you?” Donald asked.
“Wait, you three still want to come with us? Even after how I treated you three?” Eda asked, completely surprised.
“Well, yeah! The more the merrier, right?” Goofy said.
“B-but… you three realize that there’s literally nothing in it for you, right?!” Eda asked, perplexed by their offer.
“We know, and we’re still going to help you out. That’s what friends do for each other, right?” Sora asked.
Eda gave a little smirk. “You three really are the strangest creatures I’ve ever met. Well, if there’s no talking you three out of it, then let’s get going.”
Hooty opened his mouth so Luz, Eda, King, and the trio could begin their journey to the Conformitorium to regain King’s crown. Eda set her staff parallel to the ground, the owl at the end of the staff opened up, and it began to float. Luz sat at the front of the staff, Eda sat at the end of the staff, and King sat between them. The trio stood next to the staff. Sora took out his Keyblade and hooked it onto the staff so they would be hanging on from upside-down like last time. Sora then grabbed Donald’s hand, then Goofy grabbed Donald’s other hand. Everyone nodded their head, and the staff began flying. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were ready to begin their new journey in The Boiling Isles with their new friends Luz, Eda, and King.