The Sleeping Pod started to budge. Riku looked up to see the layers of it shifting, moving away to reveal Sora. The boy was floating gently within it's magic, his eyes opened and looking about blearily. The silver-haired teen couldn't help but chuckle at how ridiculously small Sora's clothes were on him now, considering how much he'd grown in one year. The brunette's sapphire eyes slowly adjusted to the bright white and light in the room he was stationed in. He raised his arms above his head and stretched, yawning loudly. He blinked a few times, before daring to look out to see what was before him.
"Sora!"
That…that voice…is it…him?
Silver hair. Sea-green eyes. That cocky smile.
Riku.
Sora smiled widely.
"Riku!" He shouted, jumping down from the Pod he was in. He would've fallen over from lack of balance if Riku hadn't run up to him and steadied him. Once regaining his balance, Sora threw his arms around Riku's neck in a hug.
"Riku! I'm so glad your ok!" He exclaimed happily. He truly was happy to see him alive and well. The last time he'd seen him was when they were closing the door to Kingdom Hearts, with Riku being trapped on the inside. Faint tears stung his eyes, but he quickly shoved them back. But his friend already noticed before he could.
"Come on, Sora, you gotta pull it together. I'm glad to see you too." Riku replied, gently pulling away from their slightly awkward hug. He smiled at his friend. "You haven't changed at all." Sora crossed his arms.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" he said in mock anger, smiling. Riku chuckled. Sora was still the same Sora that he had known.
Sora smiled wider. Riku was still the same Riku that he had known.
"Sora!"
Sora and Riku looked over to where two excited voices had called for Sora. A duck clad in blue and a tall dog clad in green and yellow came running over to them.
"Donald! Goofy!" Sora shouted running over to his two friends. Immediately, they all grasped each other's hands in excitement, and started to jump around in a circle, laughing and grinning like idiots. But they didn't mind. They were just so happy to see each other!
"I see you two haven't changed either." Riku said, smiling over at Donald and Goofy. They all stopped jumping around as Donald and Goofy stared at Riku, who'd they'd just noticed was there.
"Riku! You're not trapped in the realm of Darkness anymore!" Donald quacked. Goofy smiled.
"Ahyuck! You haven't changed either!" he said. Riku smiled sadly.
If you only knew…
"I'm glad to see everyone's doing well."
Everyone turned to see a blonde haired blue-eyed girl in white walk into the room, smiling softly.
"Who are you?" Donald asked.
"I'm Namine." She replied. Goofy nodded his head and smiled.
"We're—"
"Donald, Goofy, and Sora." She finished for him. The three stared at her.
"How did you know our names?" Donald asked. Namine only smiled at her secret. Sora struck a thoughtful pose.
"Namine…have…have we met before?" he asked, crossing his arms. Namine looked over at him.
"Why do you ask?"
"I dunno…" Sora said, looking at her. "It just feels like…we've met before." Namine shook her head, chuckling softly.
"Nope. Never met before. And I know your names because Riku told me."
"Ohhh…" the three chorused, nodding.
Sora brought up his hands and laced him behind his head. "Well, I'm glad everything's all done, then. I can't wait to head back to Kairi." He grinned fondly, thinking of the redhead who was still waiting for them on their island. She was probably annoyed they had taken so long, but she'd be happy nonetheless.
"You can't, Sora." Namine said, gently but firmly. The happiness in the boy's eyes faded.
"What? Why?"
"You have been asleep for a long time. There are many new dangers within the worlds, and the worlds still need you. They need a hero."
Riku looked away.
"Just how long have we been asleep?" The duck inquired.
"One year."
All of their eyes widened as their mouths dropped open in surprise. "A year?!?"
"Garwsh! That's a long time!" Goofy exclaimed, very much surprised.
Riku spoke up quietly. "You need to catch up on what's been going on. As the King has put it: 'More trouble has been brewin' up in the worlds, and we need to help out.'"
Donald jumped up and down, excitedly. "The King is here?!"
"Yes."
"Master Yen Sid will help you know what you need to know." Namine chimed in.
"Master Yen Sid!!!" The Disney animals exclaimed, in shock. Sora only scratched his head.
"Who?"
Goofy gasped. "Only the most powerful wizard ever! He taught King Mickey all he knew!
"Well, let's get going guys!" Donald chirped, impatiently.
"Yeah, we're gonna need to know a lot so we can help out in the worlds." Goofy said. Sora nodded.
"Okay then, let's go!" Riku walked up to the three of them.
"Here." He said, handing them a small pouch. "There's enough Munny in it for you three to take the train out of here. And, if you see anything, like Heartless or whatever, ignore and avoid them." Goofy cocked his head.
"What for?" he questioned.
Riku shook his head. "Just do it." Sora nodded.
"Riku…" Sora looked to his friend. "Will we be seeing you soon?"
The silver haired teen nodded. "Yeah. I'll come find you guys."
The brunette grinned and nodded, running after his companions who had already gone out the door.
"I need to take care of things." Riku said, once the trio was out of sight. The blonde nodded in understanding, and watched as the boy walked out by himself.
With everyone gone, Namine stood there quietly; looking down, wondering what she would do next, now. She supposed she should join with her other, but...no, she couldn't. Not quite. She walked over to her chair slowly, and looked down to the pale sketchbook before her. On the page facing up towards open eyes was a drawing of Sora and another tanned boy with spiky blonde hair and a black cloak. The two were holding hands.
The girl narrowed her periwinkle eyes, confusion and disappointment dripping from her face.
000
Under a dark, star encrusted sky, high above the clouds, resided a grand tower that radiated pure magic and wonder on a small patch of land. Inside lived Master Yen Sid, a great sorcerer, powerful beyond belief and even wiser. No one dared to venture here, in fear of what he would do to trespassers. For surely, a man with such great stature such as he would have the trees and wind on his side, and word would certainly get to him of intruders.
At the moment, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were standing in front of the wizard's desk, listening attentively as the old man explained the current status of the worlds as they were now.
And outside that window, well hidden by the shadows and darkness that lurked about the tower, was a thin, cloaked man, watching with piercing emerald eyes, burning quietly, like dying embers. His cherry red hair was spiked back, free from the confines of his cloaked hood, for now. He watched with dedication, the purpose in his eyes difficult to decipher.
A swirling portal of black and purple opened up, and another man walked out, this one with long black hair, streaked with grey, with one good, golden eye. The other eye was concealed with a black eye patch, and a nasty scar ran down the side of one of his cheeks. Yet, despite his physical appearance, something humorous and warm radiated from within.
"I knew I'd find you here." The older man chuckled.
"What do you want?" The younger man asked, not snappishly, but with a little impatience.
He ignored his question. "Axel. You need to let it go."
The redhead closed his eyes, furrowing his brows. "It's not him…but it feels like it."
The one eyed man sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't seek a faded soul."
Silence.
"….I can try."
"And you'll fail. Sorry, dude, but you can't get him back. He's gone…he's a part of Sora."
And with that, the man disappeared into the swirling dark mass behind him.
Axel shook his head a little. It wasn't over…it couldn't be. It just wasn't.
He's not the type to give in so easily…
The man looked up, and watched as Sora and company walked out, to continue their journey. The redhead lingered a little, before looking away.
He then disappeared into the darkness.
000000
All done :) A bit of a boring chapter, but important, nonetheless.
