No, I don't own anything. It all belongs to Square Enix and Disney

Chapter 2: First Fight

Leon slashed through another two Shadows in anger. Why did these things always pop up unexpectedly on his patrol? Oh well, he hadn't seen much action in a while. All around, he could see the flash from the troopers' guns, taking down Heartless with ease. Leon appreciated their help now more than ever. But little did he know help was about to come from somewhere else as well.

"Need a little help?" asked a familiar voice. Leon turned around to see Sora jumping down from a canyon above. Leon gave a little half smile and continued chopping Heartless.

Sora grinned eagerly as he was surrounded by Shadows, attracted to his Keyblade. He spun, swinging his Keyblade and taking the Heartless out. He could hear the sound of a Neoshadow jumping at him, and quickly spun around and slashed it in half. He noticed another Heartless near him explode due to the blast from a Federation troop's weapon. He looked in the direction of the trooper, who was now busily shooting Heartless in a wide spread pattern. Sora smiled at the trooper's proficiency, then returned to slaying Heartless.

By this time, Riku had reached the battle, with Kairi watching from afar; as she hadn't mastered the magic Sora had been teaching her yet. Riku fired off a few Dark Firagas, then blocked a Shadow's leaping scratch with Dark Shield. Too easy, he thought as he continued ripping Heartless to shreds.

Kairi screeched as several Neoshadows, sensing her pure heart, moved in on her. Focusing her energy on magic, she felt extreme heat, then released it into a Fire spell, just as Sora had taught her. The Neoshadows were knocked into the canyon, and quickly finished off by the troopers'. Kairi panted a little, as she hadn't built up her MP up as high as Sora's yet.

In the canyon, Sora and Leon were now back to back, taking out Heartless on either side of them. "Good to see you again, Sora," Leon said, taking out two Neoshadows in one slash.

"You too," Sora said cheerfully, using Thundaga to dispatch a few more Neoshadows. Then, he and Leon parted, each taking to a different side of the canyon.

Riku slashed through a Neoshadow that was trying to get at a trooper, then used Dark Shield to protect the troop from a Shadow's leap from behind.

Two troops had taken up position near Kairi, keeping her protected from the Heartless that approached her. After another minute, the canyon was Heartless free. Sora walked over to Leon.

"Well, Sora," the brown haired man said to the Keyblade master, "I'm surprised you've still got the moves."

"Very funny Leon," Sora said, chuckling. God, Leon had certainly changed in 11 months. Riku started over to them, but stopped in his tracks when he heard a loud roar. Everyone turned to see a giant Dark Thorn Heartless rumbling through the canyon, brushing troops aside easily.

"Stand back," Leon instructed, "Sora and I will take care of this." Everyone obliged, taking a few steps back. "Ready Sora?" Leon asked, prepping his Gunblade.

"You know it," Sora replied. "Renzokuken!" Leon and Sora shouted together. First, they're swords grew enormous, and the struck down on the Dark Thorn with Blasting Zone. Then ran to the Heartless and started performing powerful moves on it. With Rough Divide, they simultaneously cut upwards at the Heartless. Then, using Fated Circle, they spun around, unleashing shockwaves at the monster, they repeated the process many times, and then jumped back.

"Let's finish it Sora!" Leon called, "Lionheart!" Together they rushed the beast, and performed 18 slashes each to finish the beast. It stumbled back a few steps, then disappeared into Darkness.

"Oh yeah, that's how you kick butt, Leon and Sora style!" Sora called out, resting his Keyblade on his shoulder like Leon. Riku, Kairi, and the troops ran up to the pair.

"That was amazing!" Kairi exclaimed hugging Sora and causing him to blush.

"Yeah, good job you two," Riku congratulated. However, in the back of his mind, Riku was still worried about the attack. Something of that scale can't just be random Heartless behavior, He thought, someone was behind it. However, he had no proof, so he didn't voice his concerns.

"I'll have some officers secure the perimeter," said one of the troops, obviously the squad leader.

"Okay," Leon said, "I'm going to take these three back into the city." The leader nodded and turned to give orders to his squad. "Let's go!" Leon exclaimed, and he whistled for a vehicle. A trooper with a white symbol on his shoulder pad, marking him as a pilot, pulled up in a hovering vehicle with six seats in the back, plus the pilot's seat. Sora guessed that six troopers were a squad by the number of seats in the back, and the insignia on the side marking it as a military vehicle.

The quartet hopped into the back seat, and the pilot took off, sending the ship smoothly into the sky. "So, is this the aerial tour?" Sora asked, looking over the edge behind him.

"I guess," Leon said, chuckling. An unusual sound coming from his mouth if you knew him well. "Down there's the Moogle's synthesis shop. And over there's Radiant Garden's first Wal-Mart in 11 years!" Riku and Kairi didn't know Leon, so this cheeriness wasn't unusual to them. But Sora, who knew Leon well, was a bit worried about this sudden lighthearted personality. Next thing you knew, he'd be insisting you call him Squall.

After a few minutes and more of Leon's happy tour guiding, the transport landed in front of Merlin's house. It was still the same, giant wizard hat for the roof. They all exited, and Leon knocked on the door.

"Who is it?' asked a familiar high-pitched voce from inside.

"Just me," Leon said, wanting to surprise Yuffie.

"Okay," Yuffie said, opening the door, "You can… SORA!" Yuffie exclaimed, running out and hugging Sora tightly. Both Riku and Kairi looked a little jealous as the two hugged each other.

"Nice to see you too, Yuffie," Sora said meekly, as the hug had forced most of the air out of his lungs.

"You brought friends!" Yuffie exclaimed, letting go of Sora. She looked Kairi and Riku over. "Two more girls for the club!" Riku got a look of anger on his face.

"I'M A GUY!" Riku yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I know," Yuffie said playfully, "I just like tormenting people!" Riku growled angrily, but Kairi held him in place, keeping him from attacking Yuffie. "Well, c'mon inside!" They all stepped into the small house. Cid, who was still probably messing around with Ansem the Wise's computer, was absent, as well as Merlin, Aerith, and Tifa. But Sora didn't recognize the huge red jungle cat lying in the corner.

"Aerith's been going out to the Great Maw every day for an hour since Cloudy left," Yuffie explained, "Cid's banging away at Ansem's computer, and Merlin's at the itadel, picking the RGMD team members."

"What's the RGMD?" Kairi asked, curious.

"Stands for 'Radiant Garden Magic Defense'," Yuffie explained, "Merlin said we needed more wizards to properly defend ourselves."

"Where's Tifa?" Sora asked, looking around the room.

"Oh, well, she's probably doing her training at the Citadel's gym," Yuffie explained, "Wait, I almost forgot to introduce you to Red XIII. Wake up, Red!" The huge jungle cat Sora had spotted earlier simply raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Come on, you lazy kitty!" Red XIII obligingly stood, and walked over to Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

"Hello," said Red. Sora nearly fainted.

"It just talked to me!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah, he talks," Leon explained, "We're not sure why though. He knows, but he won't tell us." Red sighed, and walked back over to his corner, laying down to sleep again.

"He mostly sleeps the day away," Yuffie explained, "While we have to do all the work around here."

"Calm down Yuffie," Squall chided, "Anyway, we've been waiting for you. Ever since we got the massage from King Mickey…"

"So you got one too?" Riku asked.

"Yep," Leon explained, "He said he needed to meet with us in exactly 11 months and seven days. Tomorrow is the day he mentioned."

"Well then we'd better get ready for his arrival," Kairi said.

'Exactly," Leon said, "Let's head up to the Citadel."

---

"Are you sure about trusting something like this to that no good Bounty Hunter?" Asked Pete, huge cat-like underling of Maleficent.

"He's certainly better equipped than you," Hades, lord of the dead, muttered off to the side.

"You wanna fight?" Pete asked threateningly.

"Quiet, ya bilge rats!" Exclaimed Captain Hook, scourge of Neverland's seven seas.

"As much as I dislike agreeing with a pirate," Commented Cutler Beckett, a snooty stockholder in the East India Trading Company, "Mr. Hook is right."

"Bickering, snickering, dickory dock," Sang the Cheshire cat, "You're filling the air with your talk. But that's all it is, it' none of my biz, for I am no wiz, to remind you to watch the clock."

"This bickering is illogical," said the Corruptor, a computer virus that was showing on a nearby computer terminal.

"Working with so many non-Saurians is illogical," grumbled Lord Dragonus, last of the once great Saurian warlords. His minion Wraith stood behind him, clutching a tall wooden staff.

"These beings have powerful magic at their disposal, master," Wraith chided, "They can help us get revenge."

"Well, I only want to be empress," Yzma, evil witch and royal advisor said.

"Probably misses her days as Queen of the Dinosaurs," snickered syndrome, master of technology and really annoying wannabe.

"Why you!" Yzma seethed.

"My comrades," soothed Maleficent, evil witch, "If you would be so kind as to stop bickering. Prince John and Duke Igthorn couldn't be here today, but that doesn't mean we don't have important matters to discuss."

A menacing looking humanoid clad in olive colored body armor stepped through the doorway to the chamber. He wore a visor tinted yellow, so no one could see his true face.

"Mr. Weavel," Maleficent asked the stranger, "Are you prepared for the capture of King Mickey." The bounty hunter nodded politely.

'Nother day, 'nother chapter! See you again really soon!