Phew! I finally got this chapter finished! *throws confetti* Party at Sora's house! I felt bad that it had taken me so long to update, so I made this chapter a bit longer then it originally was. hopefully that makes up for the late update? Enjoy!
Disclaimer! I do not own Kingdom Hearts, all characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.
Chapter Six:
The Path is Set
"Without what?" Donald asked.
Kairi scrolled up and down the page before shaking her head. "It doesn't say. The report just ends..."
"Why would he leave it blank like that? It's almost like he just up and left." Sora stated. "Does the entry have a date?"
Kairi looked and nodded. "The last entry was written not long ago. What are you getting at, Sora?"
The teen folded his arms in thought. "It wasn't that long ago when we were at the Organization's home world, maybe he stopped writing because he had realized something about what they were about to do. What if whatever he was about to write made him realize that he had to act on it and help us instead of sitting back and watching."
"You mean with that do-hickey he was using?" Goofy asked.
"Maybe, he did say he was wrong about the nobodies." Sora replied.
"He also said he was wrong about the measure of the heart." Kairi added.
"Right," Sora nodded, "he also apologized to Roxas, I bet whatever he had discovered had something to do with the connection between the heartless and the nobodies."
"Who knows." Said Donald. "We better let the king know about this place."
"Yeah, good idea. We still haven't searched the whole place yet, and I'm curious to see what the others might have found." Sora said as he, Donald and Goofy started to head back the way they came.
"Hold on!" Kairi called to them, causing them to stop dead in their tracks.
"There's a small file that you should look at Sora." The key bearer walked up to the screen and read the file aloud: "To Roxas."
Kairi clicked on the file and it opened what appeared to be a letter directed to the nobody.
. . .
Roxas,
I realize I was wrong to assume you were just an empty vessel with no true emotions, I treated you as nothing more than a hollow being and for that I am sorry. While I had tried to help Namine gather Sora's memories I had also tried to make you forget everything you knew, but your friend Axel proved something to me. He proved that Nobodies did indeed feel emotion. While he traveled from world to world looking for you I first assumed it was because you were an important key to Organization Thirteen's plan to unlock Kingdom Hearts, but I was wrong. Unbeknownst to me, Axel had turned his back on the Organization to look for you and while he searched he had left clues that only you would be able to find.
I realize now that he was looking for you because he truly missed your friendship. I know that my mission is to try and undo all of the damage I've caused, but I can't possibly do that while sacrificing the lives of the innocent in the process. If you are reading this, Roxas, it can only mean that Sora is truly the one searching. Brave Key Bearer, I know you've done so much to protect the many worlds and undo all the trouble I have caused, but there is one last request I'd like to ask of you. I have made a discovery while building the device I used at the top of the tower, deep within the Nobody's stronghold. This discovery led me to create that platform you see in this room. You can use it to bring back a nobody that has been lost. All you need are the clues they left behind. Find them and scan them into the machine and with it, revive them.
This is both my gift to the Keyblade's chosen one and my apology to Roxas, I hope it will make up for all of the trouble my foolish desires have caused. Sadly, I cannot tell you where these clues are located, that task is left to you. Sora, let Roxas help guide you in the right direction. And who knows, he may have been already helping you for sometime now.
Good luck,
Ansem the Wise.
. . .
As Sora finished reading the letter he turned to the others, they were all smiling.
"You were right, Sora!" Goofy shouted with a big grin.
"Once we find all the clues we can bring Axel back!" Donald shouted.
"It's pretty amazing that Ansem built that machine just for that single purpose. He must have known this would happen from the start." Kairi added.
"Well, I don't know about that, he said the machine was more of an apology. Maybe he felt bad for saying Nobodies had no real feelings." Sora replied.
"Sora! Donald, Goofy! Kairi, where are you guys?" a voice called from the doorway they had just come from.
"Looks like it's been half an hour already." Kairi said as she got up from the computer. The others followed her out of the door. Sora was psyched. Finally his path had been set and he knew what he had to do. He only hoped the flashbacks he kept getting from Roxas would keep coming.
...A few minutes later...
Sora and the others met back up with Hayner's gang back in the foyer where they had split up and revealed what they had found. Sora and Goofy had told them about the secret room and what it said.
"Wow, sounds like you had better luck then we did." Pence commented when they had finished. He stepped back as Olette showed what they had found. "We didn't find a whole lot in the library upstairs, just some old dusty volumes, but in the other room everything was so bright and drawings were scattered everywhere."
She turned the paper around and showed them the drawings one by one. "This one looks like Roxas and Axel..." She waited a moment before flipping the next page over it. "...and this one looks like Roxas running into a jagged doorway made of crystal..." Again, she waited before turning to the last page. "This one here shows Roxas standing next to you, Sora. Who do you think drew all of these?"
"It must have been Nomine." Kairi guessed.
"That's right."
Everyone turned to the entrance where the voice had come from. Riku was standing there with the king.
"You're majesty!" Both Goofy and Donald bowed in respect as the two new-comers approached.
"How do you know that Riku?" Kairi asked as the silver-haired teen approached his two best friends.
"Because I was the one who was helping her and Diz." He replied.
"Oh, I get it, when you looked like Xeanort's heartless." Sora realized.
"That musta been who Ansem was referring to in his journal." Goofy added.
"What journal?" Mickey asked.
...A few minutes later...
"I see, so you think if you can find these clues that Axel left behind then you can use the machine to restore him?" Mickey gathered.
The group nodded.
"Well, then it looks like we're both on the right track."
"Have you found any clues, your majesty?" Sora asked.
"No, but I think we discovered someone who has. Remember the one who made a mess in my library?" mickey asked.
"You mean Stitch?" Donald guessed.
"Yep, he's been goin' around looking for things that Axel left behind. Think back, there was a popsicle stick in the library, there was also one found in Ansem's office. We went to visit Scrooge to see if he knew anything and he reported seeing Stitch a few days ago."
"We think Stitch is on to something." Riku stated. "That's why we came here, it's the only other world nearby where they sell Sea Salt Ice Cream."
"Yeah, that would make sense. It seemed Axel and Roxas used to hang out here a lot." sora added.
Mickey gave him a strange look until Goofy placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "He blacked out again."
"Again?" Riku asked.
Kairi and Goofy explained what had happened. When they had finished Riku was beginning to worry a bit for his friend and as he looked down at the king it was clear that they were thinking the same thing.
"Sora," Mickey began. "I think you should be careful about trying to force those memories."
"I'm fine, don't worry about me, it only lasts for a few moments and I feel good as new." Sora replied, trying to show that he could handle it.
Riku wasn't convinced in the least.
"I know you mean well Sora, but you have to take your own health into account as well." Mickey told him. "It seems like they come at random, what if you're in the middle of a battle? You can't let them take over you like that."
"But," The spiky-haired teen protested.
"No buts Sora." Riku argued with a glare. "You've come too far to give the darkness an easy shot at you. Do you really think someone like Xeanort or Maleficent will wait until you wake up to attack? You'll be lost to the darkness and we might not be able to save you."
Sora looked down at the ground, he hated to admit it, but Riku was right, as he most often was. Kairi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"That's why we need to stick together, all of us. We'll find the clues Axel left behind and fix everything, okay?" She asked him with a gentle voice.
Sora glanced at her and nodded as he responded to her kind words with a small smile.
"Alright," Mickey announced. "Hayner, Pence, Olette, you three let us know if you find out anything about Stitch. Riku, I want you to go with Sora, Donald, Goofy and Kairi and help them."
"What about you, you're majesty?" Riku asked.
"I'll be fine. I've got some things to take care of" Mickey replied. "I think you should head for Master Yen Sid's house and see if he has any advice that might come in handy."
The group nodded and headed back to the gummi ship after saying farewell to Hayner's gang.
Far away on another world, deep within the World that Never Was, Maleficent was pacing around her new castle. Ever since Xemnas' defeat she had successfully expelled all of the pesky nobodies that had been left behind and was now walking down one of the newly decorated halls. Ahead of her was the meeting room and from the raised voices, it sounded as if the meeting had already begun without her.
She took a moment to hear what the others were so worked up over.
"D'aww how cute, the brat cares about finding a worthless nobody." Came the voice of Hades as he watched the center of the display which showed Sora's group talking to Hayner and Olette while Riku was talking to Pence as the others listened.
"Relax, Hades. The boy has no idea what dangers lie ahead of him. Rest assured, if he sets foot in my domain I shall take care of him." Came the cold, raspy voice of a horned figure in a red cloak.
"That's what we thought the first time we fought the little bilgerat. But he manages to defeat us at every turn. What makes you think you can do better?" Came the voice of Captain Hook.
The figure's hollow eyes glowed red with malice. "You failed because your plans were weak. Hook's plan had the best chance for success, had it not been for his childish fear of clocks."
Captain Hook's eye began to twitch. "What did you just say? You'll walk that plank for that!"
"Enough!" Came Maleficent's voice as she entered the room. "Sora played into our hands quite nicely when he got rid of that pesky organization's leader, but his usefulness has come to an end."
She then glanced over at the hooded creeper who kept his identity hidden in the darkness. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
Now this new guy here, he's from an old Disney movie that isn't so well-known. Major Brownie points to whoever guesses it right! This last scene was originally going to be the starting point for the next chapter, but it fits in better here. Hope you enjoyed. If all goes well the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to update. :)
