Chapter 1: Back and No Better Than Ever
Nothingness. All that could be heard was Roxas's voice.
"Sora? … Sora, wake up. … Come on, I didn't give up my individual being just so you could stay right there! … Guys, he's not waking up!"
A young girl's voice spoke up. "Did we do something wrong?"
"Try shaking him!" said a second voice that sounded just like Roxas's.
"Huh?" Sora was confused. He sounded much older than before.
There was quacking and another voice.
"Gawrsh Sora, ya gotta wake up some time! We gotta find out where we are!"
"Donald? Goofy? How do you guys know Jesse McCartney?" Sora's voice was finally heard.
Sora woke up in his pod to find Donald and Goofy standing there.
"Donald! Goofy!" the boy returned to his friends. "Man, what happened?"
Name: Sora
Rating: Awesome
Name: Donald
Opinion on Pancakes: Loves 'em.
Name: Goofy
Only Regret: He forgot to feed his grasshopper, Wilbur, before leaving Disney Castle.
"Gawrsh, I guess we forgot. Donald, what all happened?"
Donald started quacking in response. It was quacking that only one who had spent substantial amount of time around Donald could understand. The duck recapped their first adventure. They went and stopped Ansem and the Heartless from covering all the worlds in darkness, and then they began to search for King Mickey, as well as Sora's friend Riku.
"Well li'l buddy, that's all I know too."
"Yeah me too."
"I think I know!" Jiminy Cricket said as he leaped from inside Sora's hood.
Name: Jiminy Cricket
Relevance: Less than his journal
"My journal will tell us! Lessee… Nope! Nothin'! Well actually..."
THANK NAMINE
"Wonder what that means... Oh well!" Jiminy went back to hiding in Sora's hood.
"Well then… Let's get out of here…" said Sora, but he realized something. "Oh crap, I gotta use the bathroom!"
"… Gawrsh, me too!" Goofy realized, and Donald's frenzied quacks signaled the same message.
The trio were standing outside the mansion. Sora seemed both satisfied and confused. "Well okay, we got out… but we still don't know where we are."
Donald started quacking.
"Fine Donald, okay! Sheesh…" Sora was offended. As per Donald's advice, they decided to go look around.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy started to head around town. Their first destination was Hayner, Pence, and Olette's hangout spot. But the whole time, Sora was confused.
"Hey Donald, does this place seem kinda familiar to you?" Donald's quacking indicated that he did not find Twilight Town familiar. The friends entered the hangout spot and immediately incurred Hayner's wrath.
"How dare you monkeys enter our hangout spot! I hate you!"
"Please leave." Olette told Sora and friends. "Not because we hate you, but so Hayner doesn't humiliate himself in front of you and take it out on Pence."
"Run while you still can, hurry!" Pence ordered.
"Uhh…" Sora couldn't believe what was going on. "Right… leaving."
As Sora, Donald, and Goofy were heading past the sandlot, they passed Seifer.
"Hey stay out of the Seifmaster's domain!" yelled Seifer. Rai folded his arms and nodded.
"He'll mess you up, y'know!"
"Leave." was Fuu's only word on the matter. The Struggle announcer showed up.
"Hey Seifer! I love watching you get sweaty in the sundown and beating people with those clubs. So if you wanna beat him up, make it a Struggle!"
Seifer was completely confused by this. By the time Seifer thought it was worth it, Sora and his friends were already heading to the other areas of town.
"He got away..."
Sora and the others finally reached the train station. However, before they could get to the train, Sora and his friends were surrounded by the white monsters. Sora was confused.
"What kind of Heartless are these? I thought we stopped the Heartless!"
"… So maybe they're something else?" Goofy rhetorically suggested. "I mean c'mon Sora, use yer imagination."
"… I knew that." said Sora, defensively. They proceeded to beat up the monsters, though they would not stop coming. It was at that point that Mickey Mouse, wearing a black cloak, dropped down and killed the rest of the monsters with his own Keyblade.
Name: King Mickey Mouse
Epicness: 10/10
"Quick guys, the train knows what to do!" said Mickey.
"Um… what?"
"Don't question me, I'm Mickey Mouse!" Mickey ordered before leaving.
"Uh… So who's up for a train ride?" Sora asked sheepishly.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy boarded the train and rode it all the way into a wormhole. Goofy looked outside and saw nothingness.
"Huh. Must be one of them newfangled space trains. Max rode one once, ya know!"
Donald started quacking.
"Huh? What's wrong, Donald?" asked Sora. The boy looked out the window to find a tower on a floating island. "Whoa!"
The train stopped and everyone got outside. Sora was in awe.
"What is this place?"
"This here is Yen Sid's tower, Sora. Yen Sid is a wizard who lives here, and he used to be the king's master!"
"Oh." Sora pointed to a large, fat, black cat man standing at the door. "So is he the janitor or something?"
"Naw, that's just ol' Pete."
The gang walked up to Pete.
Name: Pete
Rumble Racing Placement: Dead Last
"Get off mah proper-tay! I'm gonna make Yen Sid a Heartless and conquer dis world! Then I can take over more worlds fer Maleficent! Then she'll give me a compliment and that'll be the first time anyone's done so! Bwahahahaha!"
Sora shook his head. "Maleficent died." he stated bluntly.
"For reals?"
"For reals."
"You jackin' ol' Pete's chain?"
"I jack you not."
"Awwwww!" Pete moaned.
"She turned into a dragon and I killed her with my Keyblade, true story." After Sora said that, Donald quacked in agreement.
"You did what? How dare you! Heartless, destroy him!"
A bunch of Shadow Heartless popped out of the ground and leaped at Sora. With one quick swing from the Kingdom Key, they were all done for. Pete couldn't believe his eyes.
"No fair! This is as bad as that time I got beat up in Agrahbah by that one kid and the other kid I suddenly don't remember! If Captain Justice were here, he'd show you! I'll be back! To the Pete Mobile!" Pete ran off and hopped onto a bicycle and slowly rode away. A turtle was moving faster than Pete.
"Ya need a push there, neighbor?" Goofy asked, prompting Pete to sigh.
"… Yes."
After assisting Pete's getaway, the trio made their way to the top of Yen Sid's tower. The eponymous wizard was playing a video game on his PSP and looked up to see whom his visitors were.
Name: Yen Sid
Pastime: Redecoration
"Not you two again…" Donald and Goofy were ashamed. "And I see you woke up at long last. You look different after ten years."
Sora was confused. "Wait, I was only gone for one year."
"Oh." Yen Sid realized. "Wrong child. So anyway I'm gonna guess that Mickey sent you all here, right?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded. "Of course he did. D*** mouse can't be bothered to do anything himself. Okay listen and listen good. Wait first, what's your name, boy?"
"I'm Sora."
"Okay Sora. If someone with strong willpower turns into a Heartless, they leave behind a white or gray monster called a Nobody. Powerful Nobodies look more or less exactly like their original form. Thirteen of these Nobodies are the members of Organization XIII. Treat Nobodies more or less like Heartless. They don't have hearts, so they can't feel emotions. Now go see the fairies in the other room, you're outgrowing your outfit."
"Um… Okay." Sora shrugged. He walked into the next room.
Goofy raised his hand, which Yen Sid noticed. "What is it, knight?"
"So, uh, why are them Heartless still runnin' around?"
"Because go follow Sora into the other room."
Goofy and Donald entered the wardrobe and found Sora wearing new clothes, which were black and much cooler.
Names: Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather
Record Time for Bingo: Twelve Minutes exactly, total
"These are special clothes." Flora said. "You can merge your power with another and be stronger."
"Here's the Star Seeker Keyblade." Fauna said, handing the Keyblade to Sora. "You can only use it in situations where you'd use two Keyblades. … Well technically you can always try that, but oh well."
"I have nothing to say." Merryweather announced.
"Um… Okay. Thanks?" Sora wondered.
"Gawrsh Sora, now you look like a bada-"
"SORA! DONALD! GOOFY! GET IN HERE!" Yen Sid's voice boomed from the other side of the door. They walked through to find that their old Gummi Ship had crashed into Yen Sid's room.
"Yes?" Sora and Goofy asked in unison. Donald did as well, but he did not sound like it.
"Take this and go to other worlds. Now. Unlock the Keyholes."
In the other room, Maleficent appeared out of nowhere.
"Suddenly Maleficent!" the good fairies announced.
Name: Maleficent
Age: (Ancient Hag)-years old
"I'm back, ***ches."
The Gummi Ship soared through the Lanes Between, the open space between worlds. In the cockpit, the friends were re-familiarizing themselves with the ship.
"Hey, there's only one other world right now." Sora commented. "I recognize a little castle there, but the rest of it... I've never seen it."
"Gawrsh Sora, I think we know that world!"
Pete was sitting in Maleficent's old castle.
"Aw tartar sauce! Now what am I gonna do?"
"Hello, Pete." Maleficent spoke with deadly precision, a certain cruelty in her emphasis.
"Huh? Oh hey Maleficent, what's up?" Pete went back to moping, but he eventually realized something. "Wait, you're Maleficent! And you're alive! It's a miracle! How can this has happened?"
"Your grammar is atrocious. Now join me, Pete. We shall embark on the real estate adventure of a lifetime! This castle is no longer to my liking."
Pete winked and clicked his tongue while giving Maleficent both pointer fingers. "You got it, toots."
"Never do that again."
"Right."
HOLLOW BASTION
Sora and the gang were walking around the city next to the castle, Hollow Bastion.
"Man, I didn't know there was a town next to the castle."
"Me neither, ahyuck!"
Donald quacked in agreement. Suddenly they were jumped by a few Nobodies. Before Sora, Donald, and Goofy could attack them, a ball of light vaporized one of them. The Dusks hissed at the loss of their comrade, but failed to notice Sora, Donald, and Goofy attacking them.
"Sharp as ever, guys!" a girl's voice said. Sora looked up to see a ninja girl on top of a roof.
Name: Yuffie
Materia Stolen (this year): 498
"Follow me to Merlin's house!"
"Huh?" Sora was confused. "Oh yeah, Leon and the others! How have they been?"
"What?" Now it was Yuffie's turn to be confused.
"You know, Squall! Except he doesn't like to be called Squall. Then there's Aerith, Cid, and presumably Merlin too, since it's his house." Sora. It dawned on the ninja girl.
"… Oh! Yeah I wasn't going to take you to the alley behind his house and steal your items, not at all! Nope! Let's go!" She ran off nervously.
"Sora, do ya think that maybe-" but Goofy was cut off.
"Come on guys!" Sora was heading off.
"… Never mind."
Name: Leon
Facepalms per Day: 8 (average)
Name: Aerith
Status: Alive
Name: Cid
Favorite Beverage: Tea
A man in black, Leon, an older man with a toothpick in his mouth, Cid, and a woman in a pink dress, Aerith, were in front of a computer. Yuffie kicked the door open, sending it off its hinges. This got everyone's attention.
"Hey kid, quit knocking down that ****in' door!" Cid yelled.
"Nuts, people are still here. Now I can't steal- I mean hey guys look who I found!" Yuffie jumped to the side to reveal Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the doorway.
Cid joked, "For the last time, we don't want yer cookies! Now, where have you all been?"
Goofy was quick to explain. "Gawrsh, we don't remember! We beat Ansem and then just suddenly woke up in pods! Ahyuck!"
Sora nodded and shrugged. "Yeah that's about right."
"Well nice of you to take time from your nap schedule to come visit us." Leon snarked. "Meanwhile we've been busting our backs trying to fix up the town."
Aerith lightly but firmly tapped Leon on the back of the head and spoke dully. "Leon, be nice." She turned her attention back to Sora and the others. "Why were you asleep?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all shrugged. At that time, an old wizard with a long beard arrived in a puff of smoke.
Name: Merlin
Last Shave: 29 years ago
"Hey Sora, good to see you, lad! Wanna re-learn magic?" Merlin offered.
"Nah I'm good."
Merlin gave Sora a cold, stern stare. Sora was nervous.
"Uh, on second thought, sure. Why not? Heheh…"
"I AM GOING TO THE BAILEY NOW. HINT-HINT." Leon shouted out of nowhere. He left the house and made a show of it, even leaving the door open. Donald's quacks expressed confusion.
"Oh he wants you to follow him." Aerith explained. "But first, you three get these." The girl gave Sora and friends each a card.
Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee
Official Janitor: Sora
Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee
Official Errand Boy: Donald Duck
Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee
Official Pimp: Goofy
"I always figgered I was a pimp." Goofy contemplated out loud while stroking his chin.
"What's with these titles?" Sora asked. "I have to clean stuff now?"
Yuffie explained it to him. "They were out of normal cards."
"SORA, GET OVER HERE ALREADY!" Leon shouted from outside.
Sora and friends approached Leon.
"So what's the deal?" Leon asked.
"Oh, well besides the Heartless, there are these white monsters called Nobodies." the Keyblade wielder explained. Goofy's eyes widened.
"Oh yeah and that there Organah-zation XIII! We can't forget them!" Goofy said.
"Indeed, Goofy." echoed a mysterious, deep voice.
"I for one thought they'd never find out. If the full moon were out right now, I'd slaughter them for keeping us waiting from making our entrance." another voice spoke to the first.
"So is this the part where each of them gets one word in, and they make brief allusions to their personalities and stuff?" Leon asked Sora, who responded with a shrug.
"… Fine if that's how you want to do it, we'll just all come out at once." the second voice said in response. The four walked over to find six figures in black cloaks watching them from high up.
Name: Organization XIII
Donations Made to Charity: None
"… Hey wait, weren't we supposed to send Dusks and stuff to destroy the gates?" a vaguely British-sounding voice asked.
"… Silence, Number Ten." the first voice spoke. Leon started counting and then shared a realization with Sora.
"Sora, I don't think that's Organization XIII. There are only six of them."
"That would be because five of us have died. Two disappeared by other means, but apparently we don't remember one of them to begin with. And another just up and quit earlier today." the first voice explained.
"Wait that adds up to fourteen." said Leon the mathematician.
"Indeed. … This is goodbye for now." The Organization members all disappeared, but one popped up right next to Sora. Donald started quacking at him.
"Dude, I think your little duck needs a rabies shot or something. Nah. Ducks having rabies? As if."
Name: Xigbar
Goldfishes Drowned: 4
"You take that back!" Sora yelled.
"Nah I'm good." Xigbar responded. This just made Sora angry. He glared at his new opponent. "Heh. He used to give me that look too. Like I just drowned his goldfish or something."
"Watch out Sora, he's tryin' to confuse ya!" Goofy warned.
"Right!"
Xigbar started taunting Sora. "When you come crawling back, get me a Happy Meal, would ya? I might talk the Superior into sparing you and letting you stick around as my chore monkey. 'Might' being the operative word."
"Excuse me?" Sora asked.
"And it'd better not have pickles on it." After that, Xigbar started laughing as he disappeared in a dark portal.
Sora and his friends were confused, but Goofy put his hand on Sora's shoulder.
"Like I said. Confusion."
"You're right." Sora nodded. "There's only one me!" He held out his card and read it aloud. "The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Official Janitor."
Then Sora's card started floating. Somehow knowing what to do, the boy pointed his Keyblade at the card and unlocked Hollow Bastion's keyhole. After the light show, his card returned to him.
Leon walked up to the group. "So was that one guy a surfer or something?" Sora grabbed Leon's shoulder.
"Leon, We have to go now. But we'll be back after a while to check up on you guys. Other worlds are calling."
"… 'Kay."
To be continued.
-If you know who Roxas was talking to at the very start (besides Sora), then you get a cookie. If you know the whole series well enough though, it shouldn't be hard.
-Seriously, that Struggle guy has issues.
