I don't own Kingdom Hearts
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Chapter Seven
Twilight Town- Secrets and Struggles
Sora sat in the driver's seat of the Gummi Ship, space floating past the windows. He spun the wheel to avoid Heartless ships and found himself steering towards another world. Lights flickered from the building windows and the signs flashed their neon letters against the dark space. He smiled to himself.
"Prepare to land in Twilight Town!" he called to the others.
Donald, Goofy, Zelda, Riku and Kairi came up to the cockpit and watched as Twilight Town came closer.
"Seems kinda random, which worlds we're going to, don't you think?" Riku asked sceptically.
"Master Yen Sid may have an idea about who the Prince of Heart could be." Goofy said thoughtfully.
Sora smiled.
"Yeah, he knows everything that goes on, maybe he can give us a clue," he agreed. As he landed the ship he continued. "Plus it'll be a chance to catch up with Hayner and everyone, we haven't seen them since the World That Never Was."
Riku nodded his head to the outside.
"It sounds like you're good friends, I'd like to meet them," he said. "We should split up, Donald and Goofy can go see Yen Sid while we catch up with your friends."
The plan was agreed and the group split up.
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Donald and Goofy took the train to Yen Sid's tower and saw the outside to be swarming with Dusks, they slunk around on the ground and were continually trying to get through the tower doors, but they couldn't break through. Quickly Donald pulled out his staff and cast a quick Firaga on the swarm to get their attention, destroying one of them as he did so.
It quickly broke out into a fight, Dusks surrounding the pair only to be destroyed moments later by Donald's spells and Goofy charging with his shield. The duck had to cast Cure a few times but nothing more than that. Soon enough all the Dusks were eliminated and the duo ran through the doors and up the excessive staircase.
Within a matter of moments they burst through the doors to the room at the tower's peak, meeting the gaze of Yen Sid as he sat at his desk, book pages slowly turning with a wave of his hand. The wizard looked up from his reading and glanced at the two animals.
"Donald, Goofy, I've been expecting you. I take the others are out in Twilight Town?" he greeted.
Donald nodded his head.
"They said they were going to see some friends. But that's not why we're here, we want to know..."
"About the Prince of Heart." Yen Sid finished for him, opening another book. "What would you like to know?"
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Sora led the way to the Hangout, Kairi, Zelda and Riku following close behind him; they went down the Back Alley leading to the Sandlot then ducked into a small alcove with metal fencing at the entrance. The Keyblader called out into the Usual Spot.
"Hayner! Pence! Olette! Anyone here?"
A trio of footsteps closed in behind the four friends. They turned around and saw Hayner, Pence and Olette. The three of them were dressed in Twilight Town's high school uniform consisting of white short-sleeved shirts, black trousers and shoes for the boys and a red plaid skirt for Olette, and a red ties around their necks.
"Sora, you're back!" Olette cried.
"Hey guys." Sora greeted. "Back at school then?"
Hayner ran a hand through his dark blond hair.
"Just got out for the day, I could seriously do with some sea-salt ice cream right now," he groaned. "Anyway, it looks like you found Kairi."
The group then went into further introductions between the trio, Riku and Zelda. Riku glanced around, his brow knitted together, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
"Have you seen anything strange going on around town?" he asked. "Any Heartless or Nobodies skulking around?"
Pence glanced around and took a seat on the couch.
"They've been hanging around the Sandlot by the look of it, there's meant to be a Struggle tournament tonight, but a lot more of them seem to be coming from the Mansion," he replied, his fingers tightening his bandana.
"Struggle Tournament?" Zelda asked.
"Wasn't there one before you guys went back to school?" Kairi asked.
Hayner waved his hand and slouched onto the couch beside Pence, his school bag thrown carelessly to the other side of the room.
"The summer one is the main tournament, but there are mini ones all year round, it gives everyone the chance to practice their skills and improve for the big one next year. But with all those Heartless and Nobodies running around, it looks like there are less people entering than usual," he explained. "But I think the person who's making them all appear is meant to be at the tournament, maybe you can get it to calm down by stopping them?"
Riku arched his eyebrows.
"Why don't any of you guys enter? You all know what to do," he asked.
Pence sighed heavily.
"We can't... The Heartless are the opponents and we can't fight against them. Also none of you have actually played a Struggle match, except..."
Their gazes all turned to Sora, he was the obvious candidate for the job, he and his Nobody knew the rules of the game and he had the weapon that could destroy the Heartless. Under their intense stares he raised his hands in defeat.
"Okay, okay, I'll enter. But you guys need to check out the Mansion as well, see if there are any clues about who we're dealing with."
"Me and Riku will go and check it out, Kairi can stay with you and cheer you on." Zelda teased.
They nodded their heads, a blush on Sora's face as Kairi laced her hand through his.
"So we'll meet up at the Sandlot once we're done, good luck Sora." Riku said.
He and Zelda then began to make their way through the forest to the Mansion.
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Yen Sid stood up and brought out a book, then placed it on a pedestal upon an open page, writing spreading across the paper like wildfire. Donald and Goofy looked at the pages in awe, waiting patiently for him to begin speaking. The moment he did, the room filled with an ominous silence.
"The Prince of Heart was born in a world that was first consumed by the Darkness fifteen years ago, so lost in time no one can recall its name. He is believed to be able to wield the most powerful Keyblade in existence, with impossible power at his fingertips. Destined to lead the Princesses of Heart and end the Darkness once and for all. When his world was consumed by Darkness he ended up going to another world in order to stay safe," he explained. "I cannot tell you much more than that, although I do know the enemy you'll be facing. It is an opponent you have faced in the past, a handful of members from the Organisation that you thought had been destroyed. The one leading the whole thing, the one who is after him, is the same person who destroyed the Prince's world in the beginning."
The two companions looked at him in confusion.
"Is there any way we can find him?" Goofy asked.
Yen Sid sighed.
"I'm afraid not. All I can say for now is to contact the Princesses of Heart and get them to help," he said. He paused for a moment before continuing. "As for the Prince, do not worry, he will reveal himself to you. And he may be closer than you think."
Donald and Goofy began to make their way out the room.
"Thanks for your help, Master Yen Sid," the duck thanked.
They then disappeared out the door.
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Zelda and Riku stood outside the gates of the Mansion, the boy rubbed the back of his head and stared at the giant lock that adorned it. She looked at her companion out the corner of her eye and flushed silently.
"Something wrong, Riku?" she asked.
He shook his head, an embarrassed smile on his lips.
"This place brings back memories, both good and bad..." he explained before falling silent.
"Wanna talk about it? It's usually good to get stuff off your chest before it hurts you." Zelda said, touching his hand with hers.
Riku sighed heavily, looking into her sapphire eyes; they pierced him, begged him for the truth, he couldn't refuse her wish.
"I always wanted to see other worlds. The first time the three of us experienced problems with the worlds, I didn't listen to Sora when the Heartless first destroyed Destiny Islands. It didn't take a genius to see something was wrong, but I could see Sora was seriously affected by the whole thing. I hurt him and Kairi and ended up being consumed by darkness..." he explained, clenching his fist. "Even after everything I did to him, Sora fought to save me, losing his memories in the process. It took a year for it to be put back together again, and I could only watch as he slept. I don't know how he could still be himself after all that, he matured and grew stronger, but he always stayed the same old Sora."
Zelda smiled up at him.
"He sounds like a good person, I'm surprised that he even had a Heartless. You two must be very close."
"Yeah, always been that way...and hopefully always will be." Riku responded softly.
They let go of each other's hands and Riku pulled out his Keyblade to unlock the padlock. Zelda pried open the gates, using her sword as a lever. They then went inside.
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Kairi sat on one of the benches in the Sandlot, watching Sora practice swinging his Struggle bat before his fight. Lots of people had gathered and were waiting for the matches to begin.
A quartet of kids stood nearby, all of them surrounding a tall boy with a black beanie on his head. She couldn't help but glare at him from the looks he gave Sora, it angered her beyond belief, more than anything did she want to whip out her Keyblade and smack him across the Sandlot. But she held her temper firmly by its constraints.
If he does anything, I'll beat him up later. Kairi concluded to herself, smirking at the thought of making blood come out of his nose.
Her gaze then flicked back to Sora, who had finished his practice and was now wiping the sweat from his brow.
Sora glanced around at the other competitors, seeing the Heartless bob and slither around in the shadows and wait for their moment to strike. He spotted Seifer and his gang amongst the crowd of people, his lips became a scowl.
Waiting for the announcer to start the tournament he walked to Kairi's side and let her hold his hand in silence, her eyes conveying her wishes of good luck to him with a smile on her face. Sora nodded his head and squeezed her shoulder in assurance, he could clearly see that she was worried.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've been in a Struggle with Seifer before, so it won't be that bad," he reassured.
Kairi then did something unexpected. She kissed him on the cheek.
"I know, but still, be careful," she pleaded.
He placed a kiss to her forehead and looked at her over his shoulder as he made his way onto the battleground, a smile on his face.
"I will, I promise."
Sora got into a battle stance and watched as the Heartless gathered on the field, his eyes piercing jewels as they intensified and focused on his opponents, a faint crack entered the air.
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Riku and Zelda managed to make their way to the Mansion's Basement, the room silent and void of movement, only the sound of their joined footsteps echoing against the walls. The boy walked over to the computer system and typed in the password; he glanced at Zelda behind him, who was wearing a curious expression on her face.
Riku found himself mesmerised by her small pouting lips and wide sapphire eyes, her brown hair had become slightly dishevelled and had come loose from her ponytail during their excursion down through the many halls and corridors, but it only made her more beautiful. A blush formed on his cheeks when he realised he was staring, so he quickly turned back to the monitor when it sparked to life.
Zelda tilted her head in confusion.
"What are you looking for?" she asked.
"Any information Ansem may have found on this new enemy, if we've faced them before, they may be in one of his files." Riku replied.
"Sora and I fought a woman called Larxene, try searching her and let's see if we can get any links to her superiors and associates." Zelda ordered.
He obliged to her wishes and typed in the search, the two of them waiting in anticipation for the results. Her hands rested on his shoulders and her cheek pressed against his.
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Sora took a quick swing at the Heartless attacking him, he dodged under one of their slashes and lashed out with his feet, knocking them to the ground. The crowd cheered around him as he quickly took care of his opponents, all of them disappearing in a wisp of black smoke.
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Kairi standing in the stands watching him, she returned it and he continued to battle through the swarms of Heartless and Nobodies coming at him.
In the one moment that he had seized his victory Sora spotted two black hooded figures in the crowd, one immediately disappeared into a corridor of Darkness while the other stepped forward, a smirk evident even in the shadows of their face. Their laughter rung in the air as everyone around him stood still, frozen in time. Sora summoned his Keyblade when the figure began to approach him.
"Are you Larxene, or someone else in HIS group?" he demanded.
Kairi was quick to come to his side and summoned her own Keyblade. The hooded figure stepped forward and threw their hood back, revealing their blonde hair and antennae-like bangs.
"Aww, you ruin all the fun, Sora!" she whined.
Kairi let out a growl and stepped between them, sapphire eyes blazing like flames in the light.
"Why are you here?" she demanded.
The woman couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face.
"Why, we've got some use for your boyfriend, you royal brat. So why don't you step out the way and let me do my job?" she mocked.
The two teenagers turned red at her statement, glancing at each other out of the corners of their eyes before diverting their attention back to their opponent. Kairi let out a fierce shout and slashed at Larxene.
"Like hell I'm going to let you take him!"
Larxene laughed at her fury.
"Temper, temper. What language from a Princess of Heart!" she sniggered. "Oh well! You've just made my job more fun!"
She pulled out her knives and struck, lightning sparking the ground between them.
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Alarm bells going off, screens screaming at them, Zelda and Riku leapt back from the computers when they finally found what they were looking for.
"What the hell is going on?" Zelda shouted over the noise.
"It's the alarm system, it goes off when the people on screen are serious trouble. We better get this stuff back to the others." Riku explained as he shut off the alarm.
Zelda nodded her head and the two of them walked out the Mansion.
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Sora leapt out of the way of a lightning attack, then performed a Strike Raid straight at Larxene's back. It hit its mark and she staggered, allowing Kairi to cast a Blizzard spell into her stomach and send her crashing against a nearby wall.
Larxene's knives disappeared as she clambered to her feet, her body a galore of blood and cuts; she sneered at the pair, a Corridor of Darkness appearing behind her.
"Not bad, not bad at all, though not enough to take me out. Until next time, kiddies!"
She then disappeared and time unfroze.
The moment she faded into the darkness, Riku and Zelda came running from one entrance to the Sandlot while Donald and Goofy entered through the other. They saw Sora and Kairi in the centre of the Struggle field with the crowd cheering around them.
Sora and Kairi leapt off the platform and dashed over to their friends. Riku eyed them worriedly and spotted several small cuts and scratches.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Sora quickly cast a Cure on him and Kairi and nervously rubbed the back of his head.
"Larxene made an appearance again, along with a companion, but they didn't stick around for the fight. She froze everyone so we could fight," he explained.
Zelda touched her stomach, remembering what that mad woman had done to her; it was still tender, but thanks to Riku's care, it was healing well.
"Was she after the same thing as last time?" she asked.
Sora only nodded his head, a frown on his face.
He then moved onto a different matter.
"So, did you guys find anything?" he asked.
Donald stepped up and explained what he and Goofy had found out from Yen Sid.
"...so basically we have to round up the Princesses of Heart and get them to help find him."
Sora nodded his head and smiled.
"We can take them to Disney Castle, they'll be safe there while we try to find the Prince."
With their plan decided the group said farewell to their friends and made their way back to the Gummi Ship, ready to begin the next step on their journey.
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