By roxystar68
Riku needed to find Sora fast. If it really was true that the Heartless were back, he need to find Sora, his friend, and the wielder of the Keyblade. The Keyblade was a weapon of mass destruction, and it had great power. The Heartless were out of control now that Ansem was gone. Ansem had caused Riku to fight his best friend, and nearly kill him. If Sora hadn't destroyed Ansem, Riku would probably be consumed by darkness.
Meanwhile, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were trying to follow a dog by the name of Pluto who had a letter with King Mickey' s seal on it. They thought it might be a clue to where the king is.
Not long before, they had defeated Ansem, and found the door of the Kingdom Hearts. Riku, one of his best friends from Destiny Islands, and King Mickey had been on the other side of the door. They had to close it since it was the only way to stop the Heartless. They knew that there would always be a path to the light, so they were in search for it. His other best friend Kairi had returned home to the island. She had been taken captive because she was needed to open the final keyhole, but Sora got her out. Their island was destroyed by the Heartless, but when the door was closed, it recovered. Sora knew that sooner or later, he would return to his island.
They were catching up to Pluto, and finally they caught up to him. Donald opened up the letter.
" Dear Donald, Goofy, and Sora,
Don't forget that there is a path to the light. Return to our kingdom. Get the Gummi Ship and prepare for another journey. Revisit other worlds but be cautious of the Heartless because it is true that they are bigger. This time it will be dangerous. Even more than before. The worlds are no longer connected. It will be tricky like a puzzle. If you make a mistake, you won't be able to return to your original world. As for Riku, he is looking for Sora. He found a way out. He was there one morning, and gone the next. Stick with Pluto this time.
Good luck,
KING MICKEY
" Well, do you think that we'll run into Riku?" Sora wondered hopefully.
" There's no way to be sure now that the worlds are disconnected," Donald said.
Although they got really involved in their conversation, they followed Mickey's directions and ran after Pluto who had wrenched himself out of their grip. Sora suggested that they make their way up to the castle and show him around. They would give him a room where he could stay. Until the group figured out what the letter meant, they would have to stay in the kingdom. When Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto reached the castle, everyone was waiting for them. Huey, Dewey, and Louie had been safely returned from Traverse Town. Queen Minnie and Daisy were waiting to ask them about their travels. They told them in detail. Sora was the main talker.
" I used to live in Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi. We were planning to take a raft to another world, but the night before we left, the Heartless took over the island. I was taken to Traverse town where I ran into Donald and Goofy. They are a great help. Then we took the Gummi Ship to Wonderland and Alice, a young girl, disappeared during a trial. After Wonderland we were taken to a jungle where a wild man gave us assistance to fight off the Heartless. His name was Tarzan and he spoke barely any English. Meanwhile we were part of some games against the Heartless. We had to keep sealing the Keyholes in all the different worlds. We went to the Arabian town of Agrabah. A young man, Aladdin, gave us a hand. We had met a mean witch named Maleficent in Traverse Town and we encountered her again in Agrabah. She seemed to know a weird guy, Jafar. Anyway, we had to fight Jafar in the Cave of Wonders. After sealing Agrabah, we were headed to a different world when a huge whale swallowed us. Apparently, we weren't the only ones. An old man and a wooden puppet were there. I saw Riku too! We fought more enemies and left to go to another world. It was all underwater in Atlantica. Donald was an octopus, Goofy was a turtle, and I was a mer-person. A mermaid named Ariel helped us fight the Heartless. We had to fight the evil sea witch Ursula twice. We sealed the Keyhole and moved on to a creepy place called Halloweentown. There was a tall skeleton named Jack and he was trying to make the Heartless dance. We battled Oogie Boogie and his house. Then we learned how to fly and fight Captain Hook in Neverland. We went to the Hundred Acre Woods. Next came a really crucial task. The second to last world for us to tackle was Hollow Bastion. I met Riku, but he wasn't himself. He attacked me twice. I battled Maleficent and her dragon! The most recent of our tale is the End of the World. I battled many enemies and it turns out that the author of all of those Heartless reports was the person behind the Heartless. We fought him and sealed the final door. The trouble was that Mickey and Riku were in there. And that's how the story goes."
Sora finished out of breath. Everyone was staring at the wielder of the Keyblade.
Goofy added, " But don't worry, we kept the world order."
The letter from King Mickey had said to retrace their steps, but the queen and Daisy weren't prepared to let them.
" Just look at what happened before. Who knows, the Heartless may be stronger."
" That's what the letter said," Donald commented.
Seeing everyone's worried faces, Sora quickly added, " But the letter also said that we have to go to other worlds."
Goofy stated that since the letter was from the king, it would be wise to do what he said. When the residents of the kingdom didn't have anymore excuses to not let them go, Donald and Goofy showed Sora around the castle. It was a beautiful place with brightly colored hallways. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stopped at a big door that looked like the room of the King's throne. On the door was a crest shaped like Mickey' s head.
" What does the king mean when he says that it will be like a puzzle?" Donald wondered aloud.
" I think he means to go to the worlds in a specific order," Sora suggested.
After having something to eat, the group of three went to the gigantic library in the center of the castle. It was filled with books about everything! Sora and Goofy and Donald went to a section devoted to the Heartless. The odd thing was that the section about other worlds was put into the one about Heartless. The threesome had hoped to learn more about the Heartless. They had encountered one report, but now it was hard to believe because Ansem wrote it. Sora thought about the letter. Were the Heartless really bigger? He looked at a book called The Cycle of the Heartless. It said, " When the door to the light is closed for a second time, the Heartless will become stronger, but so will the wielder of the Keyblade."
Then Sora looked at another book about different worlds. A paragraph in Chapter 12 said, " Anything truly part of a world will return there even if the worlds are connected or destroyed. If the person or being has important job to do such as fighting off Heartless, they have power to visit other worlds, but only in the right order."
" Guys, I found out something really important. King Mickey' s letter now makes sense to me! The Heartless are becoming stronger, but so am I! We can visit other worlds! But just like the king said, we have to do it in the right order. Kairi returned to Destiny Islands because she was really part of it! Riku was dying to visit other worlds, and he had an important job keeping the door to Kingdom Hearts shut. But his yearning to go to other worlds kept him from staying in the room with the key! He could be anywhere now!" Sora exclaimed.
" Gawrsh, I guess that means that when the door is open, the king can come out," Goofy said.
" But then the Heartless can get out!" Donald quacked.
" It can't be that simple. I think that the first thing we have to do is find Riku, get Leon, Cloud, Yuffie, and Aerith," Sora said.
So Sora, Goofy, and Donald went and said goodbye to everyone. The residents of the kingdom gave them tons of items. They headed for the Gummi ship. On the control panel, there was a list of the previous worlds they had been to. Sora thought it would be best to go to Traverse Town first. Goofy pressed the large, round, red button labeled "Traverse Town". Sora controlled the Gummi Ship and at first it seemed very different. There were no Heartless ships around to destroy. The weirdest thing of all was that only good ships could travel through now the door was closed.
Meanwhile, an invisible force was blowing Riku away from the door. All the withered plants on the ground were swaying. Although it takes two Keyblades to close the door to the light, the simplest thing can open it. On that fateful afternoon, the door was opened yet again. And all the work Sora had done, well, it too was blown away by the invisible force.
Sora, Goofy, and Donald were thinking how great it was to be able to travel without Heartless behind them.
" Hey Goofy? What's that over there?" Sora asked.
" Looks familiar."
" Of course it's familiar! It's the Heartless!" Donald exclaimed.
" Remember the cannons!" Goofy reminded Sora.
Now everything seemed normal as if this actually was their daily schedule. With the door open would it still be like a puzzle? Hopefully this time the Heartless would have a harder time destroying worlds. The familiar look of a cozy town was ahead of them. With sparkling lights on tiny shops, Traverse Town was where they would disembark.
" Wait a second Sora. Don't you remember? Cid, Cloud, Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith are all in Hollow Bastion."
" I know. But with the Heartless back, maybe we can upgrade our magic at the Mystical House with Merlin.
We can use some of our leftover items to synthesize something at the Moogles' shop. Who knows, we might find Riku there."
Agreeing with Sora, they disembarked. They weren't the only ones. The second they got off the Gummi Ship, they saw the Heartless. Those Heartless couldn't be the ones they were seeing last month! They were oversized, but so far, they were only Shadows. Sora, Donald, and Goofy didn't bother fighting them, but they rushed into the Accessory Shop. They said hello to the familiar face behind the counter and climbed up the ladder to where the Moogles kept their shop.
" Hello kupo, what can we do for you this time?"
" We need all the stuff we can get," Sora said in a hurry.
" If you provide the munny, we'll provide extra items, kupo," one of them said.
So after taking lots of new items, plus an Ultima Weapon, they decided that their next destination would be Merlin's house. They ran over to the Third District. Sora, Goofy, and Donald went through the door marked with the flame, and glided over the platforms on the water. They went inside a vacant - looking house where an old wizard greeted them. His name was Merlin and he said to them, " What have you been up to lately."
" No time to talk about what we've been doing, the Heartless are back!" Donald exclaimed.
" Oh my! What can we do? Go tell the Fairy Godmother. Quick!" he answered.
Sora and Donald and Goofy walked over to a little pumpkin carriage and examined it. In a shower of sparkles, a lady in a blue robe appeared.
" It's nice to see you. Thank you again for saving Cinderella," The Fairy Godmother said.
" It was actually kind of cool getting to visit other worlds. I really didn't like the Heartless though," Sora replied.
" At least their gone now," the Fairy Godmother replied with all the signs of relief in her voice.
" Well the thing that we wanted to tell you was that the Heartless are back," Sora said.
The Fairy Godmother gasped and said, " Let me arm you with more magic and summon gems. The new spell I will give you is Water. It can defeat fire enemies with one blow. Your summon will help you fight. I will give you the Tramp. Now off you go, and fight those Heartless. But first I think it would be wise to visit that old book again," Fairy Godmother said.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy went inside the book. They decided that the likeliest place for Pooh to be was at his house, so they went to the tree with a sign saying Sanders above the door. Donald knocked, but there was no answer. The three went over to an old log nearby. Pooh was sometimes there thinking. This time it wasn't only Pooh, but his friends, gathered around a long, rectangular, table. There was a cake with a crossed – out Heartless insignia in the middle of it.
" Hip! Hip! Hooray!"
" Finally the Heartless are gone!"
"Finally my carrots are safe," Rabbit said.
" This is worth bouncing for!" Tigger exclaimed.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy approached the party.
" Oh look everybody, it's Sora," Piglet said.
" You came just in time for cake!"
" No thanks. I needed to tell you that the Heartless are back!" Sora exclaimed.
Everybody's reactions were just as Sora expected. There was a riot! The Heartless couldn't enter the book but even so.
Pooh presented Sora with a little charm that he had found in his house and said it was for luck.
"Do you have any idea how important this is? This will enable us to warp to the correct order of worlds without even the Gummi Ship. It won't really be like a puzzle anymore 'cause it will take us in the RIGHT order," Donald said.
"Well then, why don't we install it and get going!" Sora said.
So for a few hours, they worked on the Gummi Ship, adding pieces and taking out pieces. Finally, when they were ready, they got inside the Gummi Ship and pressed the big, red, button. They blasted off, and the tracks looked familiar and kind of like the one going to Hollow Bastion. Sure enough, after a bit of destroying Heartless ships, they reached the big castle. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran inside, and went into the library. Hollow Bastion was quite different now with lots of people. There was this one girl who looked nice. She was wearing a necklace nearly identical to Sora's (a silver crown). Her hair was brown, and she had silver pants.
" Don't you know what that necklace means? The person wearing it will become the second wielder of the Keyblade. It means that the king doesn't have the second Keyblade anymore. That girl does, and she has to join us. The king would want it," Donald said.
He suggested that Sora should introduce them.
" Hi. I'm Sora. Have you by any chance seen another big key like mine?" Sora said.
He held up his Keyblade, and the girl replied, " Yeah! I have one too. It just suddenly appeared in my hand just the other day. Please don't laugh, but my name is Phaedra."
" What is there to laugh about? I mean Sora isn't a common name is it?" Sora said.
" Thanks. Well I don't mean to invite myself, but why don't I join you. Two Keyblades, one shield, and one magical staff. We'd be invincible!"
" That's funny. We were just about to ask you to come with us," Donald said.
So they all agreed that they would explore worlds and destroy the Heartless together. Meanwhile, King Mickey was frantic. He didn't know where his Keyblade was, and was worried sick about it. What if it fell into the wrong hands? Little did he know that it was safe and sound, tucked away in the hands of an eleven- year- old girl.
Goofy asked Phaedra if she had seen Aerith, Cloud, Cid, Leon, and Yuffie around. She said yes and took Sora, Donald, and Goofy to them.
" Well if it isn't Sora, Donald, and Goofy! Welcome back!"
" I don't mean to shock you, but the Heartless are back. We need to prepare for when they attack this world!"
" I'm not worrying when you people are around, especially Cloud," Aerith said.
Yuffie whispered to Sora, " Ever since Cloud arrived, Aerith has been a little crazy."
"Hey! I heard that. Remember when I told you that I was looking for someone? Well that was Aerith, and ever since I found her, things have been just peachy," Cloud said.
" Well I'm glad. Now are you going to help us or not?" Sora said.
When everyone decided to help, the first thing Sora wanted to do was to search the world for Riku. As he was thinking about Riku, the thought of Destiny Island crossed his mind. If he had got out of there in the first place, there must be a way back in.
" What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Donald quacked.
With the touch of Pooh's charm, they were off! But where?
After a while of uncomfortable traveling (everyone was crammed into the Gummi ship), they reached Wonderland.
The same familiar faces greeted them as they disembarked. Alice was there, thanking them for saving her, and so was the Cheshire Cat, who was grinning as usual.
Sora wished that he could explore the worlds in a casual way, without fighting Heartless.
"Do you ever miss old life, without fighting?"
"We all do Sora, but we have to do the right thing," Aerith said.
"I guess you're right. But I can't stop thinking of things I used to know. I miss Kairi, always pushing me to do my best. I miss my mom, calling me down to dinner every night," Sora said.
"We push you to do your best!" Donald said, hoping to cheer up his friend and companion.
"And for now, we're your family!"
"Thanks guys".
And that was the end of that conversation!
"Join us for tea!" the Mad Hatter insisted.
Sora was hesitant on dining with a crazy rabbit, and a madman who wears hats, but he gave in.
They ate pie and drank tea, but they were given too many riddles to count! Every now and then, a Heartless would pop up, making a drink of tea very awkward!
Of course, the crew of the Gummi ship needed a name. Over tea, they decided that them and any of their allies would be called The Kingdom Crew!
After a good search it was found that Riku was not in Wonderland. The Kingdom Crew pressed the charm, but this time it took them somewhere new!
When everyone hit the ground, they opened their eyes to find themselves in a village. They could see farmers busy in a rice field and they saw the Great Wall of China in the distance. Phaedra was just about to speak when a girl bumped into her, causing both of them to fall.
"I'm so sorry. My name is Mulan and I have been in a big hurry. Wow! You are the keyblade masters aren't you? May I join you? The Heartless have invaded."
"Sure go ahead! Um…can you tell me where we are?" Sora said.
"You're not from around here are you?" a man asked.
"Oh. This is my husband, Shang. We are in China. Imperial China to be exact," Mulan said.
"Well…okay… Shall we go defeat some Heartless?" Phaedra said, eager to try out the Keyblade.
The Kingdom Crew, along with its new members, ran throughout the village. They came to a house with the Heartless in it destroying every object that came into their view. They weren't like the other Heartless. They had a gemstone on their insignia, and it was shooting off lasers that found their targets, and then they would attack.
After a long battle, the Kingdom Crew finally could move on.
Mulan and Shang took them out of the village and onto the Great Wall of China. They ran a great distance, fighting Heartless as they went. The next thing they knew, they were all in a big battlefield, fighting the Huns.
Three men approached them. One was tall and thin, one was short and squat, and the other was tall and plump. They were wearing the suits of the Imperial Army, and the tall plump man was carrying a cannon.
The battle had begun, and Sora was having a little trouble with the Huns. Well at least it was some training for Phaedra! The Kingdom Crew truely was invincible, especially with Mulan and Shang! When every Hun on the battle field was down, Mulan approached Sora.
"Sora, I want you to have this."
She handed him a comb with a lily on the side.
"Don't worry. You'll find her. With this comb, you and all of your friends will never be apart."
"Thanks. Well, we'd best get going!