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A few minutes of swimming around crates and other obstacles in the water, Zack finally got a good view of what he was swimming towards. Resting with his arm around a boey of sorts, he got an eyeful of some sort of boat. It was made purely out of wooden boards but it seemed secure enough -- especially considering what his other options were.

He swam again and headed for a rope ladder that hung off the side. Perhaps someone was waiting for him? But it was probably just a coincidence. As he got closer to the top, two arms grabbed his wrists and pulled him up and over the railings.

"Whoa!"

Zack pulled his hands free and took a step back to lean into the railing. He should his head slightly to rid himself of excess water and took a look at his helper.

An old man stood with a cheeky grin on his face. "Well I'm terribly sorry to frighten you, my boy. I just thought you might like some help on that extra step!"

His demeanor softened, and a sheepish grin replaced his look of shock. I'm sorry sir, but I wasn't really expecting anyone to be aboard here. It looks old and deserted."

"Well that would be because we have been here a long time." He paused a beat before continuing. "Now come, come! We need to find you some dry clothes before you catch a cold." He extended an arm in a welcoming manner, and as Zack moved to walk past him he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Thank you so much sir, I--"

"Gepetto, please. We're all friends here. My son Pinocchio has gone for a stroll but you should get to meet him soon. What did you say your name was?"

They walked down a flight of stairs and Zachary couldn't help looking around. Everything looked old;; not as being used a lot, but almost from a previous century. Back before technology had spread across the world in a fury. Could he have gone back in time, or had this family just been here for so long that they had become outdated?

Gepetto grabbed a few logs and tossed them in a fire pit of sorts, before heading to a dresser and sorting through it for clothes for Zack to wear. "Go into that room and change, we'll hang yours up to dry then."

He changed in the bathroom, and found himself in a white button up shirt and a pair of black slacks with warm black socks. On his way out he grabbed a towel to dry his long hair-- no need to ruin these clothes as well.

It didn't take long to get everything organized, and soon his clothes were hung up on the line outside and he was sitting in a comfy chair by the fire with a blanket around his shoulders and a cup of hot cocoa in his hands.

"I can't thank you enough for all of your gratitude s-- Gepetto, but I have a final favour of you, a question... has a girl with red hair been by here at all?"

Gepetto leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as a sad smile appeared on his face. "We don't get many visitors here, Pinocchio and I, but the ones we do all seem to be searching for a lost friend. It's a shame really, that I haven't seen her..." He watched Zack's face as the last ounce of hope seemed to drain.

"But, why don't you tell me about her?"

It didn't take long, but sooner Zack's face had lit up with the mere memory of the girl. "Oh she's amazing. Can fix a car in no time flat and has the best sense of humor. She's kind and very caring of others but has no problem telling people off if they cross the line and become disrespectful. She gets a lot of that at her work, y'know, because a lot of macho guys think that a womans' place is in the kitchen and not the garage, but oh she's a force to be reckoned with. She's very smart too, and so determined. I remember when she tried to learn to skateboard because my friend Daniel started showing off;; she scraped up both her elbows and her knees, but no matter what I said I just kept trying..."

His eyes sparkled with memory, and he took sips of his drink in between sentences, he was on a roll and it looked as if Gepetto was really interested in hearing what he had to say. It was very refreshing, and took his mind off of the present situation at hand... briefly.

"But, speaking of which;; it must be late, being this dark out. I must be keeping you up."

"Oh don't you worry, my boy. It's often dark here."

That... didn't sound quite right. "Excuse me, but... where are we?"

"Why, I can't believe you don't know! We're in a whale."

Zachary's jaw dropped, and he blinked a few times, before shaking it out and chuckling softly. "Sorry sir, but... a whale? We can't possibly..."

"This is a special whale. It travels from different waters all over the world, as well as waters in other worlds apart from Earth. It's quite remarkable I'd say, but a tad inconvenient for wanting to leave. You have to make sure you are at the exact spot you left at or else you'll be left behind with no way home!... But you are right, it is getting late. Why don't I take you to a bed and we'll talk more in the morning?"

The bluenette simply nodded, and placed his empty mug on the table before standing up. Holding the blanket around his shoulders, he followed the man to a room with interesting wood carvings in them. "The washroom is just down the hall, please make yourself at home, and have a good nights' rest. Something tells me you need it."

Zack smiled politely, and thanked him before closing the door. Happy that his shoes were already off, he simply walked towards the bed and curled up in it, hoping that space-whales stayed far away from his dreams.

(Absolutely, you're more than welcome. Although, it's more of Zack joining Tymiko, rather than her keeping him company, at this point. hehe
As for which trio are there... it really depends on how easy you want it. ;p
Wakka, Tidus, and Sophie would probably be there more-- I would think, but even if Sora, Riku, Kairi aren't there now, they would probably show up eventually. ;3 )

Zack awoke by the rocking of the boat. But it wasn't so much the rocking itself, but the fact it rocked him to roll off the bed. Thunk.

"This just isn't my week." He mumbled to himself as he found his clothes laid over the chair in his room. He smiled at the generosity of Gepetto and changed.

He opened the door and walked into the main room, his arms up above his head in a stretch. Unlike when he was lying down, he was very stable while the boat rocked under his feet.

Looking around briefly he noted that Gepetto wasn't in sight and decided to head to the top. He quickly hopped up the steps and found him and another looking out front.

"Hey there," he called out. "What's going on?" He paused in step as a box slid across the floor in front of him, before continuing.

Gepetto turned and smiled "Ah, I wondered when you were going to wake, my boy. This is my son, Pinocchio!"

Zack smiled brightly in the direction of the boy. The incredibly young buy that Gepetto couldn't have fathered at this age;; especially since there were no women around. This place was getting weirder by the minute. First a huge whale, then a weird family... He quickly shook his head to clear out those thoughts. The man helped him far more than he could have, and for that he was grateful.

"Hi there Pinocchio. My name is Zachary, but you can call me Zack."

"Oh I know, father told me all about you! I was out really late last night playing in the colourful rooms, but luckily I don't need much sleep, because now I get to meet you before you leave!"

"What do you mean? I still don't know where I'm going, let alone how I'm going to get there." He sent a look of confusion in Gepetto's direction. What was Pinnochio talking about?

"Oh, but you arrived at the best time. Monstro is traveling! That is the cause of all this shifting, that means that we will be traveling, which ultimately means that we can get you out of here. It's truly a shame that you couldn't stay longer, we don't get many visitors."

"Well, hey now. If I'm going to leave here, why don't you guys come with me?" He held his arms out in welcome as to emphasize his point. This was no place to raise a child, afterall.

"Thank you for your generosity, but we will stay here until we can return to our own world." Gepetto's hand moved to rest on Pinnochio's shoulder. "We have high hopes that it will happen relatively soon. We are fine here until then."

"Ah," Zack tried not to frown at his logic. Well, if they were sure?

"So how you do intend to help me get out of here?"

"A fine question, well, since we're traveling, everything in Monstro is working according to schedule..."

A schedule Zachary was sure had been perfected by these two. This seemed like their home, what with the boy playing in.... coloured rooms!? Wait a second....

"So really, you just have to swim right under that area, and sooner or later you will be sent through the blowhole and out into another world. Hopefully one better than this, anyways."

Zachary did frown this time, taking a few steps towards the pair. "Are you sure you wont come with me? I'm a strong fighter, I can protect you guys until we can get to safety, if that's what you're concerned about. You have been so nice to me since I arrived and I'm just going to leave you here? That's not right."

Gepetto laughed. "Oh dear boy, don't worry about us! We have known how to leave for quite some time, don't you think that if we really wished it, we woud have done so?" He smiled warmly and placed a hand on Zack's shoulder. "We will be fine, just as I trust you will be. You have a good head on your shoulders and a strong heart. You need to find that lady of yours before working about an old fogey and his son."

Zack's stomach tightened at his words. A feeling of sadness washed over him as he remembered his late father, and mother... and younger sister.

He let himself be lead to the ledge of the ship.

"You need to swim just around the edge there, you see it? If you go into the middle you'll get washed up and stuck back in here. Don't worry, we'll watch to make sure you make it alright."

"I... Thank you so much Gepetto. You've done so much for me, I only wish I could repay your kindness." Gepetto had taken his arm when he needed it, had offered him clothes and a warm bed, and made sure he was well fed and nourished. He had done anything a father would have, and Zack had been a complete stranger. He was overwhelmed, but willed himself to not make a scene.

"Shh now, you owe us nothing. However," His eyes sparkled. "If you see a boy named Sora, tell him we said hello, hm?"

Zachary grinned. "Absolutely!" He hopped onto the ledge, bending down so he didn't fall off the boat with the swaying. "You guys take care now, y'hear?"

And with that, he dived into the water and used the momentum to push him farther to where he needed to be. As he surfaced, he shook his head to rid himself of excess water and rested an arm on a wooden plank to keep him afloat easier.

It seemed his timing had been perfect, for a few seconds later the water around started swirling around in front of him. He began kicking his legs, not too sure of what it would do, but he couldn't just sit there and let the current do everything.

Suddenly everything got warm, and he was snapped up by a sudden stream. He made sure to take a deep breath before his vision became assaulted by bubbles and he had to close his eyes. He was shot through the hole and out into the sky.

He could only wonder on what strange he would end up next, and hope that it was considerably much dryer than Monstro.

As he felt the water leave him, his eyes fluttered open. It seemed he wasn't soaring up anymore;; he was falling!

His limbs flailed a bit as he spun as a result from his launch. The large blue whale was in his view every few seconds, but there was this other brownish blob as well. He didn't have time to think much on it as he tried to steady himself.

A wide grin spread across his face as he got hit with an idea;; this could be the best opprotunity for the best cannonball splash in history! He curled himself into a ball which only encouraged his spinning. His head felt lightheaded at the new atmosphere, and subconsciously he wondered just how Sonic could do it all day.

And then he was wet again.

As he hit the water he paused before spreading out. Fresh water, and bubbles everywhere! Much cleaner than that murky-fish water he was in before. He kicked off the ground and began his swim towards land.

As he reached the shore he looked around. There were treehouses and bridges. He felt like groaning -- if he had entered the Lord Of The Flies, or whatever, he was just going to swim away and find another island. The sand was white, and he couldn't see anyone around.

Maybe it was the lord of the flies, and all the kids had killed each other off by now...

Or maybe he was completely exaggerating.

he shrugged his shoulders and started his trek, in sopping wet clothes, to find out where exactly he had landed.