Okay, I guess to some I didn't make myself entirely clear to some people but Ash is adopted as his world is currently somewhere in the darkness and so are his real parents, not that he remembers them anyway. (No, Sora didn't release it in KH 1, there is a special place for this world which is a huge part of future plot lines, more specific the sequel but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.)
To Aoi Hyoudou... I can't believe you reviewed my work and liked it! I've loved your KH crossover series. You are wrong about Sir Aaron but this AU's Pokemon world is slightly different from its normal interpretation. Oh and with the new worlds, I am adding two non Square/Disney worlds in but I am changing the second visit to some of the canon worlds. The events of Aladdin 3 will play in the second visit to Agrabah, Atlantica is going to be totally changed with actual heartless, but some singing will be involved and the second Pirates of the Caribbean Movie will be the second visit to Port Royal's plot. Stuff like that. Also, Chapter 2 is soon, right now actually, but chapter three will be a while yet. Only 1000 or so words in at the group have only just introduced themselves.
Anyway, if anyone is in the shipping business and would like to name the Donald Duck X Gummi Ship shipping from the last chapter then I am up for ideas, unless it already exists in that case please tell me, I'd love to know.
The flight to Hallow Bastion, the only world on the map as of current of Master Yen Sid's gifted Gummi Ship, was quite uneventful. Sora complained about that slightly, whilst Donald complained about Sora's complaining. Goofy, however, decided to use the time wisely to tell Ash about their original adventures.
"Wow," the raven haired boy mumbled, gazing out of the Gummi ship's window, a small smile forming on his face. "You guys have been through a lot. I feel like I'm intruding…"
"Gawrsh, Ash. Don't think that at all!" Goofy said in shock. "We've known you longer than we have Sora."
"But the friendship between you three is so special. The ties between your hearts are so strong, they could stand though anything," the teen sighed loudly before resting his head on his left hand. "I wish I could have a friendship like that."
"What about the people from Disney Town?" Sora asked curiously, obviously having finished complaining.
"Ever since I turned five, the way I was treated by the townspeople changed because my uncle named me the Prince of Disney Town. They would treat me with respect, nothing like they did when I was four. It was so fun back then…" Ash shook his head and gave the others a doubtful look. "I guess, I was going to believe that you three would act the same when I joined your group. I mean, Donald and Goofy were the only exceptions but it has been a while..." He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see a grinning Sora.
"We're friends. You're gonna have to get used to that over this journey."
"Yeah!" Donald quacked from the driver's seat, not turning his head and keeping full attention on the space ahead.
"Count on it!" Goofy added, also grinning madly.
"You guys…" Ash felt tears prick his eyes, which he managed to blink away. Instantly he could tell that the bonds between their hearts had strengthened. A smile, a proper one, formed on his face as he stood up and jumped on the back of the driver's seat, causing Donald to jump. "So, Captain? Where we be off to?" Ignoring the sniggers from Sora and Goofy, Donald looked at the map and smiled.
"Hollow Bastion."
~0~o~0~
It was immediately known to Ash that the others had been to Hollow Bastion before, so the world they remembered was very much different from the one they were on now, but to him it was a whole new experience. Hollow Bastion was very different from the colourful Disney Town he had been raised in and the clean tidiness that was Master Yen Sid's Tower. The world was a bundle of stone walls, houses with broken roofs; peeling paint and wooden boards plastered everywhere and building materials. Obviously it was a 'work in progress'. The main focal point of the world was a huge limestone pillared structure covered in metallic construction machines. He had never seen anything like it before, and no book could bring out the true emotions one would feel when entering a new location. Goofy's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Uh-oh. Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'." It took a second to realise why. Up on a roof nearby, he felt a dim, lingering feeling of darkness.
"Well, why don't we look around the place?" Sora suggested. "Knowing our luck, we might just run into some Heartless along the way."
"Our? Are you thinking that I have the same unlucky lucky qualities as you guys?" Ash questioned teasingly.
"You have a heart full of light, course you do!" Donald snorted as he headed down the stone stairs to the market area.
"He has a point there." Goofy chuckled, following after.
"What has my heart gotta do with anything?!" The younger teen pouted, running after the duck and dog.
"EVERYTHING!" Donald yelled back. Sora put his hands behind his head and chuckled. This adventure may be even more spectacular than the last one, and that one was awesome… minus the whole becoming a Heartless part.
~0~o~0~
The two humans had only realised that the others had stopped walking when they saw a figure ahead, one that was causing Donald to look very surprised. The figure was an anthropomorphised duck with white plumage, four-fingered hands, light blue eyes, yellow-orange feet, and a bill of the same colour. He had a thick, half-ring of ruffled feathers going around the back of his head, creating the image of an old, balding man. He wore a blue jacket with a folded-down, red collar, red cuffs, and a yellow button near the neck. He kept the jacket shut with a red belt. A black top hat with a red band near the brim sat on his head, and he wore pince-nez glasses along with red spats on his feet. He was also holding a brown cane with a gold tip.
"Uncle Scrooge?!" Donald yelled, causing Sora to frown in confusion.
"Err… who?" He asked, looking towards the other two members of the group. Ash just shrugged his shoulders whilst Goofy smiled in knowledge.
"He's Donald's uncle… a business typhoon!" He explained. "Before the Heartless showed up, he travelled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King! He was helpin' to set up a traffic system." Donald yelled "A transit system!" causing Goofy to smile apologetically to the younger duck.
"I had no idea that my uncle travelled with a friend," Ash muttered, folding his arms over his chest in thought. "He never told me that."
"What's with all that racket?" Scrooge asked, turning around properly to face the group, only for his face to light up dramatically. "Why, if it isn't Donald! And Goofy, hello lads! Aye, you all look hale and hearty. So, who are the two young'uns that are standing behind you?"
"That's Sora, and that's Ash." Donald introduced, pointing to each boy in turn.
"Ash? As in Mickey's adopted kid? I've always wanted to meet you!" Scrooge seemed to forget all about personal space, getting right in front of the thirteen year old.
"Well… umm… It's very nice to meet you too, Mr Scrooge." Ash said politely, nervously stuttering at the sudden lack of personal space.
"No need for formalities lad, It's just Scrooge."
"So, Uncle Scrooge, what are you up to?" Donald's question caused a face of joy to turn sour.
"Trying to recreate the flavour of my all-time favourite ice cream. But I canna do it! I'd make million's if I got it right!" He licked the ice cream in his hand, pulling a face after a few licks. "Terrible!" With that, he wondered off somewhere with the ice cream lolly still in hand, mumbling about maybe adding to much salt to sugar, or something along those lines. He also mentioned something about someone named Leon who was in Merlin's house with a group of other people. This piqued Sora, Donald and Goofy's interests. They rushed on down another set of stairs.
"Hey, guys! Wait for me!" Ash yelled, running after the trio, wondering why they were in such a hurry all of the time in this world. By the time Ash had caught up with the others, they had stopped, confused by a bunch of white circular flashes and scans.
"Hey! What's going on?" Donald asked in shock, not aiming the question at anyone, however someone answered.
"That's the town's defence mechanism!" The voice sounded energetic and feminine. Sora, Donald and Goofy began looking around frantically whilst Ash just looked up at the roof of the house next to them. Standing upon it, was a female. She had short, black hair, her eyes were a deep dark shade of violet. Through her hair, one could see a regular black headband with white lining. She wore an unzipped, dark grey combat vest with a black strap dangling from the right pocket overtop a navy blue tank top with white floral designs. She wore a white wristband on her right wrist and a grey, fingerless glove on her left arm. Her shorts were slightly darker and had another black strap dangling from the left side. She also wore black, knee-high socks with white stripes at the top underneath dark tan boots that were slightly shorter than her socks.
"Yuffie!" Sora grinned as he finally saw the female, obviously knowing her from somewhere before. She saluted the group, eyes closed in happiness. Yuffie's smile suddenly vanished and she opened her eyes wide in shock.
"Look out!" She yelled.
A Nobody jumped at Sora, only to narrowly avoid a Keyblade slash to the face as it swivelled backwards. It had a large, cylindrical head with a flat top that was emblazoned with the Nobody symbol. Its body seemed to be covered in a light grey jumpsuit, and its 'mouth' was actually a zipper that undid itself to reveal its actual, grey, sharp-toothed mouth underneath. It appeared to be fairly muscular, though its arms and legs were very thin. The sides of its body were lined by a black line, which pulsed weakly with light. Its feet and hands were pointed and lack digits, and its hands each sported two black bands around them.
It was a Dusk. Four more Dusks formed a circle around the four, swaying from side to side, ready to attack. However, their prey was faster and more alert. Sora cast a Fire spell whilst the others quickly formed their weapons and joined the fight. It didn't take too long to take down the Dusks, especially since they were so weak. All five were defeated in quick succession of each other. Yuffie waved happily from her place on the roof.
"Hey you guys!" She jumped down from the roof in front of them, eyes darting between them in glee until she reached the raven haired newbie. "Who's the cutie?"
"Watch your tone! He's a prince!" Donald scolded. The female ninja's eyes widened, only for her to laugh when Ash used his staff to hit Donald over the head before dispersing it back into necklace form.
"Donald, just shut up about that," he sighed. "Ignore the grumpy nut. The name's Ash, nice to meet ya!"
"Nice to meet ya too!" Yuffie chuckled, saluting for a second. "I see you're still in top form." She addressed the original trio.
"What'd you expect?" Sora grinned, bumping his fist against his chest. "Looks like you're doing okay."
"Well, what did YOU except?!" She joked back.
"How are the others?" Donald asked curiously.
"Great!" Yuffie said enthusiastically. Goofy chuckled as he caught sight of Ash's confused face. Whilst the younger male had been given an outline of the original adventure, he still didn't know the full details. Sora's happy expression suddenly turned serious.
"Hey Yuffie, have you seen the King and Riku?" He asked, piquing everyone's, minus Yuffie's interest.
"Nope!" Yuffie replied cheerily, walking towards an alleyway. Sora slumped in depression, only for Donald and Goofy to pat him on the back in reassurance. Something clenched in Ash's heart. The first maybe lead on his uncle's whereabouts was dead and cold within seconds, and Riku was someone who Sora held dearly to his heart. He felt as if he understood the brunette's pain. Yuffie stopped and turned around, putting her hands to her mouth. "But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again!" Sora straightened up and smiled before adopting a stern look and looking at his hand.
"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."
"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie inquired with a smug grin. The Keyblade wielder rubbed a finger under his nose whilst Donald and Goofy sniggered into their hands. Ash simply rolled his eyes, smiling none the less. Even though he had no idea who this Leon guy was or was supposed to act like but, by the sounds of it, Sora had given a good impersonation of him. "Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!" With that, she ran off presumably towards this house she mentioned.
"She couldn't mean that Merlin… could she?"
"Yes, she does Ash."
"Wait, you know Merlin?" Sora asked in shock.
"What, you're telling me you thought Donald and Master Yen Sid taught me how to use magic?" The prince chuckled, shaking his head. "The two of them were normally very busy so Merlin taught me a few things. Who knew he lived in Hallow Bastion?"
"Let's go then, can't keep Leon and the others waitin'!" Goofy said which was met by nods of agreement from the others, then they followed the path Yuffie took to a house with a gigantic wooden door.
~0~o~0~
When the gang first entered, the first thing they noticed was three people standing around a computer, one of them typing code furiously.
The first was male and was sporting long, brown hair with bangs swept to the left side of his face. He wore black gloves, black, zipper-lined shoes, a silver Griever necklace, a white undershirt and a short, black jacket which had a fur collar, bears red wings on the back and had a red Griever symbol on each shoulder. He wore three brown belts on his left forearm and had three buckles on his right thigh. His black trousers also sported a vertical zipper going down the side of each leg. He wore two brown belts and two black ones around his hips, all of which were quite loose except for one, a black one worn properly around his waist. His eyes were blue and he bore a very distinctive scar, which ran diagonally across the bridge of his nose.
The other male, the one working on the computer, wore goggles on his head and had a necklace with a rectangular charm. His short marigold hair was stilled upwards. His eyes were dark blue and he had some stubble on his chin. He had a toothpick in his mouth, which he may have chewed on from time to time. He wore a white T-shirt with two buttons descending from the neck. His baggy trousers were blue and had a very wide, orange waistband with thin, vertical stripes on it. They were worn rather high, with the waistband coming up to just under his ribcage
The last member was a female. Her eyes were a leafy green and her hair was an auburn brown colour that was long and styled into a braid down her back tied up with a dark pink ribbon, with curls on either side of her face. She wore a carmine pink and white top held up by a string that wraps around her neck. Underneath this top, she wore a pink dress with a horizontal white stripe near the bottom. She wore yet another dress underneath the first one, this dress being white and was slightly longer than the first.
Yuffie appeared out of nowhere and grinned at the four newcomers.
"Meet the Hallow Bastion Restoration Committee!" She announced loudly and proudly, obviously a member herself. The three others turned around and smiled in recognition.
"We missed you!" The female said, clapping her hands together.
"Well, if you ain't in top shape!" The blonde haired male smirked, wiping a thumb against his chin.
"I knew it." The last man stated confidently, arms folded with a slight smile of confidence evident on his face.
"Knew what?" Sora asked in confusion as Yuffie lead the group closer to the computer machine.
"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys… all at the same time." He explained, tone of voice not changing one bit. Donald, Goofy and Sora looked shocked, taking a step backwards slightly.
"You… remembered…? Wait… does that mean you forgot about us?!"
"Thanks!" Donald yelled sarcastically.
"I didn't," a quiet voice piped up. Everyone turned to see the serious face that was plastered onto Ash's face. He looked up from the floor and frowned. "Well, I didn't know Sora at the time but I knew Donald and Goofy quite well. Everyone seemed to forget about them all the time, if it wasn't for a few days ago then…" Tears threatened to form at his eyes. "… I can't even think about it. Everyone thought I was insane to begin with but if it wasn't for my aunt and Daisy, I would have started to believe I was as well." Silence reigned for a while before the blondie asked a very serious question.
"Who are you kiddo?" A couple of face palms decided to play a game of see how many humans could attempt to do one in a few seconds, near enough eight of them cooperated.
"Cid, that was quite rude of you." The brown haired female frowned and scolded the older male.
"No need to be alarmed, Yuffie will come to the rescue," the said ninja beamed, referring to herself in the third person. "This is Ash, a prince!"
"YUFFIE!" Ash groaned, placing his hand to his forehead, ignoring the looks he was being given by the three in front of the computer. "Urgh… I don't want to be known by my title, just by who I am. Geez, trust Donald to open his big beak up. "
"Hey!" Merlin's house was filled with laughter whilst Donald sulked like a baby.
"So, where have you guys, devoid of spikey and royal over there, been all this time?" Yuffie asked curiously.
"We've been sleepin'." Goofy answered honestly.
"Wait… what?" the young teen's jaw widened along with shocked eyes.
"Where? In cold storage?" Cid questioned, sighing before turning to one side.
"You… were sleeping?!" Ash said, volume increasing in his voice, along with a rise of octave. "How… what… who… I'm so confused." He slid to his knees, holding his head. "You three aren't bears! I've never heard of three people sleeping for a year without food, water or piss breaks and having not woken up once!" Sora, along with Yuffie, the brown haired man and Cid, chuckled at the looks of pure horror that Donald and Goofy were giving the prince.
"Piss breaks? Where did you hear that?" Donald inquired in disbelief.
"Daisy," it was Ash's turn to chuckle. "I know you, you can't tell her off. She'll kill you if you do."
"It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again and we have a new friend," the older female said with excitement. "My name is Aerith. It's an honour to meet you."
"I'm Leon." The brown haired man added.
"So… um… we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Sora asked, trying to hold back the hope that was rising in his heart. His answer was three sakes of the head. "Right." He mumbled, looking down at the floor.
"Sorry. But let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Okay?" Aerith said apologetically.
"Okay, thanks!" Cid suddenly stood up stomping forwards, causing Sora to step backwards in shock.
"Don't go thankin' us just yet." He scowled warningly as Leon internally sighed at Cid's actions but kept a stern look on his face.
"Hallow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." Leon explained emotionlessly.
"You mean like those Dusk things and the Heartless." Ash guessed, arms crossed in thought.
"That's right! You're a smart cookie, aren't cha!" Yuffie grinned.
"Sounds like you could use our help!" Donald interjected, puffing his chest out proudly. Leon rolled his eyes.
"Then let's cut to the chase," surprisingly, he moved from his corner. "Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the three of you might be able to give us a hand around here."
"Like we're gonna say no?" Sora grinned teasingly, putting his hands on his hips. Leon hmph-ed and crossed his arms with a smirk.
"I forgot who I'm dealing with."
"And you don't know who you're dealing with," Ash spoke up. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Course!" Goofy nodded. "He's a strong magician!"
"Technologies' better." Cid muttered. "If only I could get into that data sample we found at the last Heartless sighting…" Ash rolled his eyes and walked up to the computer, pressing keys with razor fast speed and precision. Seconds later, a ding was heard and boxes of code formed on the screen.
"There you go, all done!" The young teen grinned innocently.
"Wow!" Yuffie yelled. "It took Cid two months to get to the stage he was at, and he's a professional at that geeky stuff. How did you do that?"
"Knowledge, even a castle has a book on computers, and oddly enough, hacking into encrypted data." Was her honest reply as seriously his uncle Mickey really did have a book on hacking into encrypted data. Why that was there, he had no idea, but read it anyway to keep amused through the lonely wet days inside the castle. Cid smirked and leant in towards Leon.
"I like the new kid. Looks like he has a lot of promise!" Leon nodded but walked silently towards the house's door and opened it.
"Follow me to the bailey… there's something you lot need to see." With that, he left, only for a puff of smoke to rise a few feet from where Leon was. The smoke disappeared to reveal an elderly man with pale skin and thin arms and legs. His nose was a bit large and his black eyes were rather small and close-set. He wore spectacles with circular lenses. He seemed to be balding and had short, white hair on the sides and back of his head. He also had bushy eyebrows, a walrus moustache, and a long, floor-length beard, all of which were white. The man dressed in a sky blue cloak that stopped just above his ankles and had large, hanging sleeves. He wore pointed slippers and a tall, floppy, conical hat, both of which were the same sky blue colour as his cloak. In his hand was a very long, featureless, brown rod with a small bump on one end.
"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" The old wizard said with slight relief.
"It's Merlin!" Goofy observed as the group walked over to him. Merlin looked at them with a smile only to be shocked to see the last and youngest member of the gang.
"Your Highness! What are you doing out of Disney Town?! Does Queen Minnie know about this?!" He stopped his worrying session when Ash began laughing.
"Aunt Minnie knows Merlin. It's actually my uncle I'm looking for. It's been a long time, how are you?"
"As good as I can be, thank you." Merlin replied honestly with slight joy. Yuffie coughed, gaining the attention of the elderly wizard.
"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" She announced happily.
"Splendid!" Merlin cheered, running a hand through his long beard. "We'll count on you!" With a quick resounding 'Right!' from the group, Merlin turned to Aerith. "Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?"
"Oh!" Aerith gasped, pulling out three purple cards from a pocket in one of her dresses. She handed them to Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Here… they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them." The three looked at them, before finding the writing on the back.
"Hallow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" Sora read.
"Membership cards!" Donald said with glee.
"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked the other two, gaining rather excited nods. Merlin chuckled and walked forwards, one extra card in his hand.
"Hey, Merlin. Who's that for?" Yuffie asked.
"Can't you tell?" He asked back before giving the card to a surprised Ash. "I know your strengths and can tell that your power, your true power, will help us greatly. Welcome to the committee my boy!"
"Merlin… thank you for putting your faith in me!" Ash grinned. "I promise I won't let you down." Merlin nodded before Sora cried suddenly before running out saying something about a bailey, Donald and Goofy in hot pursuit.
"Are they always like that?" Aerith asked innocently.
"Ever since we landed on Hallow Bastion, yes." The prince sighed.
"Before you go, can you give this to Sora?" Merlin asked, holding out an icy blue orb with stars protruding off of it. "It seems that he forgot all but one of his magic spells whilst he was sleeping, may you give him this Blizzard orb whilst you're at it?"
"Sure Merlin. Thank you for everything." He bowed to the remaining members of the committee and dashed out of the door, hoping that Sora hadn't got stuck in some sort of trouble along the way.
Wait, who was he kidding?
Sora was always in some kind of trouble.
~0~o~0~
When Ash caught up with the others, he saw them in a huge fight with a bunch of Heartless, Shadows and Soldiers. Without hesitation, he summoned his staff and rushed forwards, attacking back.
"Sora! Catch!" He yelled, throwing the orb towards the said male, who caught it easily with ease.
"What's this for?" Sora asked back, raising his volume to be heard over the noise.
"The baby version of this. BLIZZAGA!" A large ice shard flew from the tip of his staff and hit a Shadow that was just about to leap at Goofy.
"Just how much training have you had?"
"Less talking, more Heartless slaying." The younger said with a jokingly stern tone as he cut down a few Heartless with his staff. It didn't take long before all the Heartless were gone, leaving the quartet alone on the walls.
"I wouldn't want to be on the opposite side to yours." Sora grinned, placing his hands behind his head.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Ash smiled back. "But shouldn't we be somewhere right now?"
"Yeah, guys. The bailey, to meet Leon, remember?" Goofy added with a nod.
"Oh right! Let's go!"
The group walked into the bailey, finding Leon looking out over an abandoned area. He briefly acknowledged their existence.
"Look at that." He said emotionlessly. Donald had to jump up to see over the edge but, in the end, everyone got the same view. A decrepit metallic castle like structure loomed ahead in the distance surrounded by cliffs of blue mixed with a slight purple. The castle was surrounded by a moat of black and orange that was constantly moving.
"Woah…" Sora muttered, only to be drawn out of it when he heard a pained yelp. His eyes crossed to the raven haired boy, who was shaking like mad whilst he fell to his knees. "Are you okay?!"
"Darkness…" Ash mumbled, teeth chattering furiously. "that… that place… is full of… darkness…" Leon frowned for a minute before returning his full concentration onto the structure.
"We want to restore Hallow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows… maybe something better," he explained. "There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything. Except… for that." He looked downwards and pointed. "And that." Sora, Donald and Goofy watched as two dusks were slinking their way towards the structure, swaying from side to side like a dancer would.
"We'll handle them." Sora said with confidence.
"That's good to hear. I'm sure your friend might not agree to that though." Leon muttered out loud, eyes looking in a certain direction.
"No, I'm fine, really," Ash mumbled, turning away from the tower. "It just was too much for a second." Leon raised an eyebrow with a sceptical approach.
"So… Sora, do you know what's going on then?" He asked, glancing back at the metal castle far away.
"There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless…"
"PETE?!" The two turned to see the loose jaw the was almost hitting the floor. "As in, pudgy Pete… the one that my uncle knows, Pete?"
"Yep!" Goofy chuckled. "I guess we forgot to tell you about him, a-yuck!"
"But, how did he escape the Realm of Darkness which my aunt banished him to?" Ash asked no one the question, directing it towards the heavens, which might have had a better idea. "I mean, he's too stupid to work out escape plans like that on his own. He can't even tie his own shoes without messing up the first step."
"The one's we need to worry about are the Nobodies." Sora added, trying to hide a laugh that was building up inside his mouth.
"And those Organisation XIII guys in charge, too!" Goofy said with worry. A frown formed on the prince's face and before he could ask about that Goofy was talking about, a taunting voice echoed into their heads.
"You called?" Everyone jumped, taking defensive positions whilst looking around for the source of the sound. Sora, Donald and Goofy moved from the outlook area into the main ground of the bailey, trying to cover more area to find the voice. "You're doing well…" The voice spoke again.
"Who's that?!" Sora demanded, forming his Keyblade in his hand. Donald and Goofy forming their weapons also.
"This calls for a celebration…" Nobodies began forming, appearing tauntingly in front of the trio. Donald and Goofy rushed off to take some of them on, Sora following only to notice two more dusks twirling off into the bailey past Leon.
"Come on!" He yelled to the other two humans, who followed him towards the gate, the sole object of the Nobodies' path. Ash quickly formed his staff and swung at the dusks, causing them to try and evade the weapon. All three humans formed a protective barrier between the Nobodies and the gate, making it perfectly clear who the opposition had to go through first.
~0~o~0~
"The Keyblade… a truly marvellous weapon," the voice seemingly roared through Sora's head as he ran out of the bailey, anger flashing through him as he ignored the shouts of the younger teen who was trying to catch up to him. His anger flared more as the voice continued to talk. "Were only it in more… capable hands…" A bunch of voices began laughing as he scowled.
"Show yourselves you cowards!" Sora shouted, not noticing that the others, namely Donald, Goofy and Ash, had joined him, watching as a person in a black robe formed on the roof of the building opposite them. They raised their hands and more black robed people appeared from darkness.
"Organisation XIII!" Goofy yelled in shock. So this was Organisation XIII. Without even trying, Ash could tell that these people were nobodies, heartless but still in control in a psychical form. He felt emotionlessness dripping off of the robed people, their lack of heart paining him slightly to feel. The original three of the group gave each other confirming looks.
"Good. Now we can settle this!" Sora said, determination firing up in his eyes like flames to a fire.
"What a shame…" The main robed member spoke in a masculine voice. "And here I thought we could be friends." Ash shivered as he felt a piercing glare being cast upon him. "And you've even brought a new friend to show us." All the members began laughing evilly as the darkness rose around them and they vanished from sight.
"Stop!" Donald yelled, running to the stairs, only to be stopped by a member forming in front of him. He looked over at the roof to find it empty. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"
"Oopsy-daisy!" The robed figure, another man, said sarcastically with overdramatical movements.
"Move!" Sora growled.
"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" The man asked only to point in their direction. "Haven't you learnt a few manners from that little prince, over there?"
"You… you know about me?" Ash gasped in shock, still confused as to what was going on. The robed man let out a short 'Ha!' sound before speaking up once again.
"The unexpected eighth keeper of light, the only Prince of Heart and… the one with the power to… no, you don't need to know the true power of your own heart yet." He then turned to the Keyblade wielder, leaving Ash behind in confusion.
"I said get outta the way!" Sora snarled, much out of character for his usual bubbly self.
"As if! You can talk all you want but that won't change anything!" The robed man said cockily.
"Then we're gonna MAKE you move!" Donald threatened, waving his staff around angrily.
"See, that would work, if I was any old dude. 'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organisation, nothing anything old about me."
"Ha!" The older teen of the group scoffed. "Tough talk for someone who stood on the side lines whilst his Nobody flunkies did all the fighting!"
"Oh, dear." The robed man groaned. "I think you've got the wrong impression."
"You gonna cry?"
"As if! Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"
"R-remind me?" Sora stuttered with confusion for a second, before pulling a furious look, one of which resembled a lion.
"HA!" The cloaked member of the organisation laughed before pointing to the Keyblade wielder. "That's RIGHT; he used to give me that exact same look."
"I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff!"
"Gee…" The man pulled a thinking pose before lowering into an attacking bow. "I just don't know…"
The two sides went into a stalemate, neither attacking but at the same time, both waiting for the other to make the slightest move. Nobody moved or even made a sound, not even the world around them cut through the silence that engulfed them like a thick and heavy fog. Suddenly, the cloaked figure straightened up and waved mockingly to Sora.
"Be a good boy now!" As he spoke, he was surrounded by darkness, signifying that he was about to vanish.
"WAIT!" Donald yelled, jumping at the figure, only to end up beak down on the ground. "Nuts, he got away!"
Sora pulled himself out of a defensive stance and stared at the ground. "That was weird. Who gave him the same look?"
"Y'know. I think he was just tryin' to confuse ya." Goofy said, trying to, in a way, comfort the sixteen year old.
"Well, he defiantly confused me," Ash muttered, gaining the looks of the other three. "From what he was saying, the organisation knows about me and, well, that's never a good thing." Donald and Goofy nodded, remembering that event with the giant piranha plant and that awful magician.
"Yeah, you're right Goofy." A small smile appeared on Sora's face. "Only one me, right?"
"If you're talking about this universe, then yes. If you're talking about this universe and parallel ones, then no… there would be an infinite number of you, and Donald and Goofy… and even me!" The thirteen year old prince could help but laugh at the shocked look that the Keyblade wielder had adopted, ignoring Donald's angry glare. Leon walked over at that point, simply shaking his head.
"How can someone like you know something like that?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from Sora's amusing expression.
"Hang around Master Yen Sid for eight years, you'd get how then." Ash replied with a simple shrug, watching as Sora took his membership card out of his pocket and held it up in the air. The card began sparkling, emitting a pure white light, rising straight up into the air out of his hand. The tip of the Keyblade sparkled and shone alongside the card, both looking exactly alike.
"What's this?" Leon inquired, only showing a slight hint of bewilderment in his tone of voice.
"Gawrsh, ya think…?" Goofy spoke towards Sora, who was staring at the tip of his Keyblade before gasping the handle with both hands.
The card continued to rise up into the air, sparkles of light circling around it, a similar occurrence appearing on the Keyblade's tip before making a three pointed crown on the ground, light blues and whites swirling around inside its boundaries. Both light and air rose up as a vortex of blue surrounded Sora, before turning the area around him into a dark clouded scene with streaks of orange and white visible between them. From the card, a beam of pinkish white burst upwards, forming a keyhole with the same swirling pattern as the crown beneath the Keyblade wielder's feet.
After jumping backwards and swinging the Keyblade until it was aimed at the keyhole, a beam of blue light burst from Sora's Keyblade's tip, piercing the middle of the hole's shape, effectively locking it with a large flash of whiteness following. He remained in position for a while afterwards, aware of everyone watching as he made a realisation.
"Oh! Now I get it…" He smiled, looking up at the sky. "That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about."
"Oh boy!" Donald cheered, jumping up and down happily. Whilst he was slightly confused about what was being talked about, Ash realised it was simply Keyblade stuff, things that shouldn't really concern him but at the same time did. After all, he was on this journey with Sora; stuff like this would be happening all the time.
"Sorry to run, Leon. But other worlds are calling!" The Keyblade wielder turned back to the aforementioned man, who nodded slightly with something that could have been called a smile.
"Organisation XIII, They look tough," Leon folded his arms, one on top of the other, before looking back up at the group of four. "Be careful out there." They nodded back in reply.
"See you soon." Sora responded, Leon actually smiling back before doing a version of a one handed salute wave, as the foursome ran off to find the Gummi Ship.
~0~o~0~
"Organisation XIII? Huh?" Ash leant back in his seat and looked up as Donald steered the ship towards the next world. "A group of powerful Nobodies that retain a human form. I've heard of Nobodies from Master Yen Sid but never believed something like this was happening."
"What, them forming together or that they act as if they have a heart?" Sora asked; only to receive a shrug of the shoulders.
"A bit of both, but there's so much more about them that, to be honest, I don't get," the prince sighed, crossing his legs on his seat whilst he rested his head on his hands, elbows on his short-covered thighs. "You didn't feel the darkness they possess, and a powerful amount of it at that. They aren't like other Nobodies… they are special, in their own way. Plus some of them… no. Never mind."
"Never mind what?" Goofy inquired.
"It's nothing. Just… me overthinking things." Even though Ash sent him a smile, Goofy wasn't reassured, there was something on his mind but, asking further would probably just make matters worse.
"You know you can tell us anything." Sora said, trying to make his new friend feel a little more comfortable.
A knowing look filled the younger teen's face; he had heard that sentence many times before. "Yeah, I know. Friends can tell each other anything. It's just something I imagined, I think."
"Well, if you're sure. Just tell us if it happens again, okay?" At that moment, they decided to drop the conversation as most of them almost lost their stomach contents out of their mouths. Donald had steered the Gummi Ship out of the way of an asteroid, forcing it into a barrel roll/aileron roll mix which made its passengers extremely sick. "What the heck Donald?!"
"Sorry," the duck apologised, well he didn't actually apologise as he actually sounded extremely sarcastic. "Asteroid field. We're almost there though."
"Where are we headin' to next?" Goofy asked his fellow animal friend, looking up ahead through the windscreen of the ship towards the direction which they were heading to.
"The Land of Dragons."
~0~o~0~
In a white circular room, with thirteen seats of individual heights, all of which were extremely high above the ground, a meeting was about to take place. In one vacant seat, darkness formed, spreading until a figure replaced it, dressed in black robes. They looked at the others before speaking.
"Do my eyes deceive me? Does he really have the power to wield the Keyblade?" He spoke, sounding quite unamused about his findings, arms crossed in front of him adding to that fact. "He is nothing but a mere boy!"
Another chuckled before responding. "Give him a chance. It means he's straight as an arrow. He's pure of heart, unlike all of us here."
"He'd better be, or else he's worthless," a different member said, legs crossed, right on top of the left, with both hands placed on the upper knee.
"That and the eighth pure light is with him," a member responded, flicking a hand of cards out. "Maybe a card may decide their fates. Either way, keeping an eye on them is the best option."
"Ah, the eighth light," another member spoke with interest. "Let me guess, he still knows nothing of the power inside of him."
"No." The sixth member to speak replied, remembering encountering the four earlier. "He has no idea. I highly doubt that he will know the true power he has until much later on down the line. Yet I have a sneaking feeling that it's already awakening."
"That means we have to act fast," the first acknowledged, putting a hand to his chin. "That boy can't find out his true power until it is ultimately necessary. For now, we need to keep distant."
"As long as it works in our favour, we can let them do their own thing right now, then jump in when needed." A seventh speaker spoke up, acting slightly shyly in their seat.
"Those are bold words coming from you," the second to speak taunted. "Are you saying you'll volunteer to take care of it when things go wrong, eh?"
"What?! Me?!" The seventh leant backwards, shaking his hands. "No, you have the wrong guy! I'm not comfortable with that."
"You act as though you have a conscience," the third speaker stated sultrily. "When was the last time any one of us felt anything, hmm?"
"Truer words were never spoken," the member with the cards impressively agreed with the other member who had spoken before him. "Well, I suppose the fun will have to wait… for now."
"Gentlemen," a voice boomed out from the highest seat amongst them, all attention resting on him. "The hero of the Keyblade has embarked on a new adventure, with the Prince of Hearts alongside him. Make sure it is one that they both will remember. Now GO!" The last sentence boomed around the room, with all of the other members disappearing with a small vortex of darkness, leaving him alone on his high chair as the plan began to fall into place.
Mulan and Mushu are up next with the Beast afterwards, That's just the order of this series... sorry about that.
Thanks for reading!