Cid led them out of the ship and Roxas saw that Naminé was lying on a stretcher as he came out.
"Naminé!" he shouted as he sprinted toward her. "I'm going with her!"
He ran alongside the stretcher as the medical unit took her to be treated. Everyone received greetings by someone else, Simon.
"Sire, I am glad to see you well!" he said shaking the King's hand.
"Well, I'm glad to see you well too", replied Mickey. "Sora filled me in. That must have been awful, but would you show me to Minnie?"
"Certainly, Your Majesty", said Simon. "Donald, Goofy, you both may come along too."
"Well, sounds good to me", Goofy said with a smile. "What about you, Donald? Donald, why do ya look so blue?"
"It's Daisy, she's still back there", Donald said. "I'm afraid of they'll do to her."
"Gawrsh, you're right", Goofy said.
"Donald, come with me and we'll all talk about this with everyone", said Mickey. "Sora, we'll meet up with you and everyone else a bit later, okay?"
"Take your time", Sora said with a smile. "And don't worry Donald' she'll be safe soon".
Mickey, Simon, Donald, and Goofy pranced off to the castle.
"It's best that they act with all speed", Dack said to Sora.
"Huh, why?" he asked.
"Because…" Dack hesitated. "…there could be some serious problems very soon. Who's in charge here, Cid?"
"That'd me an' the others", answered Cid. "I'll go get them."
Cid strolled into the castle, to find his companions.
"So you're the Keyblade Wielder?" Dack asked him.
"Well, yeah, except I can't use the Keyblade", admitted Sora.
"What?" Dack asked rhetorically. "You should, especially in a time of crisis."
"You seem to know a lot", inferred Sora.
"The AMU knows all about the Keyblade", Dack said. "In fact, we know more about the World than most others. I think I know the answer to the dilemma."
"What?" Sora asked, baffled. "How? Come on, please tell me."
"Before the Organization was stopped, I had managed to track you down, I followed you, secretly."
"Really? You mean that you were around all this time and you never helped?"
"I didn't have the capability. I was more concerned with what is the cause of our present situation, but I did keep an eye on you to make sure that things went well. Now I learned that you stopped the Organization and saved the World when the King returned to the castle. Since you had essentially defeated all the forces of darkness, the Master of Keyblade probably called back your weapon."
"Who is the Master of Keyblade?" asked Sora.
"He is the ruler of the Keyblades", Dack responded. "He sends them to the chosen wielders from their posts when the time is dire. That's how you got yours; I'm sure. One could say that he's the heart of every keyblade. Now when you saved the World, he must have thought that every danger was gone, so he sent the Keyblade back to its post and this is probably the case for Mickey as well."
"What do you mean 'post', Dack?" inquired Sora. "Is it where it's kept?"
"Yeah, they each have their own spot in the worlds", he said. "They can be found and used if a person is worthy for the Keyblade, but the Master of Keyblade can always call it back."
"Why doesn't he know about what's going on now?" Sora asked.
"He's not omnipotent", Dack said. "There are thousands of worlds and, right now, only one has been disturbed; that's too subtle."
"Can we go and tell him about it?" asked Sora. "He's gotta be reachable."
"That's a good idea", Dack said. "If we can find him, then we can get the Keyblades back and stop Maleficent."
Suddenly, they both flashed and the world before their eyes altered to that of a brass cage. They were on a lift stop elevator.
"Hey, guys", said Cid. "We figured it'd better if we brought ya'll in."
The trip to their destination was a long, silent one. No one really felt like talking. The three of them felt it better to save the discussion with everyone else.
The elevator came to a ledge that was high into the air. Cid led them into a doorway of the building. They preceded down a hallway with many more lift stop cables visible through the clear wall on their right side. The doorway at the end led them back outside to where there were stairs, but they were two large ones.
All three of them climbed them and got to the top. There was a walkway leading to another doorway. They stepped in and went through a hallway similar to the last. Sora knew where had been going. The next room that they entered was the Castle Chapel.
Everyone (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Simon, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Merlin) was waiting there. There was a table there, but only Merlin sat at it, even though there were chairs for everyone. The room was not as dark and dreary as Sora recalled. It looked polished and had proper lighting. It actually looked very nice to him now.
Dack and Aerith had their focus on each other.
"Dack!" she shouted as she ran to him.
Dack received her in full embrace and they hugged tightly.
"Let's talk later, okay", he told her.
Aerith nodded and Sora looked perplexed.
"Right", Merlin said. "Getting down to business, we know now that Disney Castle has been taken over by Maleficent and the King's former court official, Drazen. We also know that Mickey and Sora have lost the ability to use their Keyblades, Kairi a Princess of Heart was taken by these same enemies and her nobody is here now, Sora also has his nobody and that confirms that they have Kairi captive."
"What?" Sora interjected. "How?"
"Well, we know that Roxas was left behind with you, Sora", Merlin said. "And if Naminé was there and Kairi disappeared with the Heartless, then it would only be right to guess that they have her."
Sora looked glum. Kairi was not just gone; she was behind enemy lines. How was he going to rescue her? The thought troubled him.
"We have to go and save her!" Sora cried. "Now! We don't have time to waste!"
"Now don't be hasty, Sora", Merlin said. "We can't do anything as of this moment."
"Why not?" Sora fiercely interrogated.
"Because…" Leon began. "The point is to not just save Kairi, but the whole kingdom and Mickey already gave us his full account while you were gone and that includes the fact that Maleficent and Drazen used the King's soldiers. They have managed to control them and use them, but their still apart of the kingdom and they still need to be saved, so acting too quickly might do more harm than good."
"But…" Sora tried.
"I'm sorry, Sora, but there's nothing to be done", said Merlin.
"Moving on…" Leon said. "We need to figure out what will happen next. We know from passed experiences that Maleficent wants to conquer as many worlds as possible, but stopping her Heartless and the King's army is impossible for us alone. Since she already knows that we are here, then she will probably strike here next and soon, so we need a plan to stop her."
"Well, I have an idea", Dack said.
"Alright, Dack, what is it?" Merlin asked.
"All of the worlds have special keyholes that connect each other or are still unlocked", Dack uttered. "The one between this world and Disney Castle's is unlocked, but we can lock it back up with the Keyblade."
"That's good and all, but we don't have that anymore", Leon argued.
"Yes, but can still get them", said Dack. "If we find the Master of Keyblade, then we can get it back and seal the hole."
"Master of Keyblade?" Yuffie asked.
"He's in charge of the keyblades", Dack said.
"Well, I'll take the AMU's word for it", Merlin added. "But not even you know where to find him, do you?"
"Unfortunately, no, but there are ways of finding out", answered Dack. "The world rulers were all given scriptures hinting his whereabouts along with many other secrets to the world that would is otherwise unbeknownst to a common individual. Ansem the Wise must have had these and they may be in this castle still."
"Well, then we would probably find it in a year or two years", complained Yuffie. "This castle is huge and we still do not know how many secret places there are built in here."
"Even so, Ansem never mentions such documents in his reports", Merlin said. "With such disregard to the balance of the heart and the worlds, he would have been careless enough to mention it."
"He does imply it", Aerith inserted. "He does claim to know that hearts exist in everything of this world."
"The scriptures would have to explain hearts if the Master of Keyblade were explained and I know that for a fact", said Dack. "However, Ansem did keep much of his research private, even amongst his most loyal subjects. They would probably be hidden deep, below the castle where he did his experiments. But Ansem is history now and the only ones that could provide any hint to the whereabouts of them are deceased as well."
Sora heard someone enter. It was his best friend, Riku.
"Hey, thought I'd drop by", he said.
"Riku, you should be resting", Merlin commanded.
"No, I want to know what's going on", he contested. "Besides, there might be a way to find those scriptures."
"You heard that much?" Merlin asked.
"I heard a lot when I had to lie on the floor to catch my breath…" Riku joked. "…but getting to the point, Ansem's apprentice, Xehanort, would definitely have known where it is and Xehanort's Heartless…I still feel him in my heart. Maybe, we could draw his memories out of my heart."
"That's not possible for the time being, considering your injuries", Merlin said.
"Why not?" asked Sora.
"When you and Kairi generated that light as you were separated, Riku was hurt by it because he was using the power of darkness to fight the Heartless", Merlin explained. "Not only did it damage his body, but it fractured his heart. Before we can delve into his memories, his heart must completely heal. Now, Riku, you must return to your room right this moment!"
"No, I…" Riku began to say, but he fell to the ground.
"Riku!" Sora shouted.
He ran to Riku and helped him up.
"I'm taking him back", Sora said.
He walked off with Riku's hand over Sora's shoulder, Sora giving him support. They walked fairly far and it surprised Sora that Riku made it all the way here. He finally got Riku back to the bed in his room and Riku lay down, exhausted.
"Sora, I know that you feel bad about Kairi", he said. "I'm worried too, but they're right."
"But Riku, what if they hurt her?" Sora despaired.
"They will probably try to use her; she'll be fine", Riku said.
"Riku…I'm sorry, it's my fault you're hurt", he said.
"You just worry about getting Kairi back and helping everyone fix this so we can get home again", Riku said.
"Okay, I'll do that", assured Sora.
Riku fell asleep. He did look very tired. Sora felt bad for him, mostly because this was his fault and, even more, Riku's injuries were slowing down their only chance to stop Maleficent. Sora sighed and stepped out of the room into the hallway.
----------------------------------------------
"Well, since we have lain down what needs to be known, this meeting is dismissed", Merlin announced.
He disappeared in a poof of smoke and everyone else walked away to resume other matters, except for Dack and Aerith. They hastily approached one another.
They met in a hug and kissed amorously. They relinquished each other's lips and gazed deeply into their lover's eyes. Aerith admired his hazel glint, and short, golden hair, his masculine chin, and hint of whiskers upon his muzzle.
"Dack, I missed you", she said.