Greg: Oh my! I'm soooo sorry for the late update! It's been over a month!!
Brandon: Yeah, you should be sorry. I had to wait a month to get in!
Greg: Okay, well here's chapter 6!
Chapter 6: Fighting With the Wind
"G---! Come here!" shouted a man, who was sitting in one of the chairs in the room. The room was filled with pictures of the man's family, but mostly with pictures of two boys and a girl.
The man had medium length black hair, and a goatee. He was the casual clothes; a pair of pants and a button up shirt.
A small boy, no older than six, came running into the room. He wore a red shirt with blue shorts and black shoes, along with short, black hair.
"Yes Dad?" the small boy asked. In the boy's hand was a wooden sword, which he held on to tightly.
"Where is your sister?" the man asked.
"Uh, well… She's in her room, with mom, I think." The boy answered.
"I see. And where is your little brother?"
"He's outside, waiting for me. We were sword fighting." The boy replied.
"Sword fighting, eh?" he man chuckled, and stood from his seat. "Why don't you let your old man show you two how it's done?"
"Really dad?!" the boy asked, as he jumped up and down. The man nodded, and smiled at the boy before him, his son.
"Yes, G---" the man replied, as he picked up his son and left the room. The scenery began to blur and fade into darkness.
That was when Greg's eyes flew open. He leaned off of the bed and wiped the cold sweat drops from his forehead. "It was only a dream." He told himself. "But it seemed so familiar… Like déjà vu." He muttered, as he looked out the window.
Destiny Islands…
Since Greg and the others were on different planets, the days went by faster on Destiny Islands. Nearly a week has passed since Sora, Riku, Greg and Tami had left the islands. Everyone was still trying to adjust to the drastic change. Unfortunately, Brandon wasn't making any progress. He wanted so badly to go and help the others, and he was becoming rather angry that he was stuck on this 'prison surrounded by water'.
He sat on the far side of the island, alone. He didn't want to speak or see anyone at the moment. He just sat there in the sand, staring off into the distance, as if he was in a trance. He couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't belong here, or at least he didn't belong here at the moment. He believed that he needed to go out and help the others. It wasn't his thing to just sit here and doing nothing, it would be boring. Greg had followed his heart. Sora, Riku and Tami did the same, but he pushed his heart away when they had listen to theirs.
But who's to say that Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka didn't push their hearts away as well? They seemed bother about the others leaving also, but Brandon seemed the most bothered by it. He should have listened to his heart and went with the others.
"Brandon!!" shouted an all too familiar voice, forcing Brandon out of his thoughts. On instinct, he turned to see who was calling him. In the distance, running down the shoreline, was an all too familiar girl, Selphie. She gave a wave of her hand when she noticed she had gotten his attention.
"What's up?" Brandon asked when Selphie was just feet away from him. Why was she so obsessed with him? Ever since the others had left on their little adventure, she had been hanging out with him. Brandon just thought it was because Kairi wasn't around, and neither was Tami.
"Nothing much! Just wanted to hang with you for awhile!" she muttered in her usual cheery tone and sat down beside him. She gave him a smile, in which he tried to return, but it came out more like a 'What are you doing?' facial expression.
"So, what's new?" Brandon asked, trying to get a conversation started before she started rambling about hair products and other girl stuff.
"Uh, well." She put a finger on her chin, obviously trying to think. "Well, there's a little party going on tonight."
Brandon knew she wanted him to go with her, basically being her date. "Cool, where's it being held?"
"A friend of mine is throwing it." Selphie answered. She began fiddling with her hair. "So, would you like to come with me? Tidus and Wakka are too wrapped up in their blitzball practice." She glanced nervously over to Brandon.
"Yeah. I'll go out with you." Brandon muttered, not realizing what he had said. Unfortunately, Selphie began giggling, which made him think of reasons of why she was doing that. He then re-thought what he had said. "Uh, no!! I meant I would come with you to the party!! I don't like you like that!! Wait, I mean, I do, and well…" he began rambling.
Selphie shushed him before he could continue. "It's okay." She tried to keep herself from giggling. "I know what you meant." She then stood up and brushed herself off. "Now, come on. We should get there early."
Brandon got to his feet and brushed himself off as well. "Okay, let's go." Selphie nodded, and began walking off. She was walking rather slowly, as if she wanted to take it slow. Brandon caught on to what she was trying to do. He figured she just wanted to be with him for today. Besides, she did say the party was tonight, and it was clearly around 2 o'clock in the evening. "This is going to be a long walk." He uttered to himself as he walked up beside her.
Riku and Mickey…
"Darn it!" Riku growled, blocking the attack of one of the many Heartless. He ducked down and tripped several of the Heartless, then struck them down with his Soul Eater. But as soon as they vanished, more Heartless appeared. "They just keep coming!" Riku yelled out to Mickey, who was only feet away from him.
"I know, Riku, but we have to keep fighting until we reach the portal!" Mickey called back, as he swiped his Keyblade through several Heartless, causing them to diminish into the air. Mickey jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the attacks of a Heartless. While in the air, he flung his Keyblade at the Heartless. The Keyblade spun through the air, just like a boomerang. Before he called it back, it had already cut through six or seven Heartless. "Riku, let's keep moving!" Mickey called out, as he landed on the ground. "If you waste your time with these Shadow Heartless, then you won't have enough strength to take on the more powerful ones!"
Riku's jaw nearly fell to the ground when he heard the words 'the more powerful ones', but instead, he sneezed and gave the mouse a nod. With that, Riku made his way through the weaker Heartless and over to Mickey. "Okay, where are the stronger Heartless at?" Riku asked, while slashing at the Shadow Heartless.
"Over near the portal." Mickey replied, as he swiped another Shadow away. Riku turned his head, only for a moment, to get a glimpse of what Mickey was talking about. Near the portal were three types of Heartless he hadn't seen before. One wore a silver helmet and made a 'clanking' noise when they moved. Another type had wings and wore a pair of goggles, which is attached to a flying cap. The last type seemed the most interesting. It was large and round, and looked down right dumb.
"Are they really Heartless?" Riku asked, evading the attacks of the lesser Heartless.
"Yes. The ones in the helmet are known as Soldiers, the flying ones is an Air Soldiers, and the large ones are known as Large Bodies." Mickey stepped back, avoiding more of the fidgeting claws. "We have to get to that portal." With that, Mickey rushed off toward the portal.
"Hey! Wait for-" Riku was unable to finish his sentence because he sneezed instead. Riku shook off the weird feeling of sneezing, and dashed off after Mickey.
Mickey wasted no time and started attacking the stronger Heartless, slowly making his way toward the portal. Riku watched, in amazement, as Mickey defeated the Heartless, without much of a fight. "Riku, let's get a move on." Mickey murmured, as the lesser Heartless began to make a move on him. Riku nodded and hurried to the mouse.
Riku took one more glance back at the Heartless infested city. He turned back to Mickey. They were right before the portal. "Okay, Riku, let's go." Mickey took a hold of Riku's hand and led him into the portal. Riku got one more glance of the city, before everything went dark.
Cloud, Kairi, and Aerith…
Cloud's Buster Blade sliced through the crowd of Heartless, cutting down any that stood in its way. Aerith stayed close to the blonde, casting Curaga to keep him energized. Though she didn't miss the opportunities to throw some spells, like Firaga and Blizzaga, at the Heartless. While Cloud and Aerith made their way slowly through the crowds of black, Kairi hung onto the blonde's back with all of her might.
"Cloud, we can't fight them all! There are too many!" Aerith called out, as she fired a few rounds out of the pistol.
Cloud growled and pushed back some of the Heartless. He turned his head slightly, to look at Kairi. "Hold on, kid." He uttered. Kairi nodded in response, and Cloud rushed forward, leaping into the air. He came down, slamming his Buster Blade onto the earth. As a result, a shockwave of energy, that looked like energy waves eating up the ground, soared into the Heartless horde, ripping through the darkness.
Cloud looked back at Aerith. "C'mon, I've stunned them temporarily. Now's our chance to run." Aerith gave a nod and followed Cloud down the path he had just created. But soon, the Heartless recovered and surrounded the three once again.
- - -
Leon muttered some incoherent words of anger and slashed away a few Heartless. Out the corner of his eye, he witnessed Cloud's attack. Turning to Yuffie and Tifa, he shouted, "Cloud's finally out of the base!!
Tifa looked around, watching the Heartless battle with some of the soldiers. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the blonde, along with Aerith and a young girl. "There's someone else with him!" Tifa implied, as she swung an attacking Heartless in a soldier. "Should we help?"
"Vincent is over there somewhere, he can help!" Yuffie replied, as she leapt into the air and caught her large shuriken. Before landing back on the ground, she flung the shuriken back into the crowd of Heartless. "Besides, we have our hands full right now!" Yuffie shouted.
Tifa didn't like the thought of living Cloud to defend two people. Sure, Cloud could handle himself quite well, but when defending more than one person, he had a little trouble. But, as long as Vincent was near them, he'd be all right. Still, she didn't like the idea of living him to defend others.
Tifa decided that Vincent would be able to help them out. She turned and smacked a couple of Heartless around before glancing back at the blonde once again. They were slowly making an advance toward the edge of the Courtyard.
- - -
Cloud brought his Buster Blade downward, crushing the Heartless that were in its path. He then, spun on his heels, cutting down more Heartless. Just as the Heartless diminished, more appeared in their spots. It was beginning to become quite annoying for him.
"Cloud!" Aerith's voice rang in Cloud's ears. He spun around quickly, nearly forgetting about Kairi, who was still holding on for dear life. Time seemed to slow down, as Cloud watched a horde of Heartless prepare to lunge onto Aerith. He called out her name, but his voice was silent. Kairi watched in horror, as the Heartless grew closer and closer to the young women.
Just before the Heartless were on her, several bullets pierced through the creatures of darkness, causing them to diminish. Cloud quickly ran over to Aerith, making sure she was all right.
"Are you okay?" he asked, as he watched the Heartless stand down for some reason.
"Yes." Aerith replied. Her eyes traveled up to the sky. "Thank you, Vincent."
Vincent landed before the trio, with his pistol at his side. "Anytime." He replied, as he looked at the Heartless. The creatures of darkness began to approach them again. "Come, we have to go." With that, Vincent began making his way toward the edge of the Courtyard. Cloud gave him a nod and hurried behind him, with Aerith not far behind.
The four of them made their way through the hordes of Heartless. It had taken half an hour before they had reached Tifa and the others, and they looked as if they hadn't moved from their positions since they had arrived.
"Finally." Said Tifa, as she gave a sigh of relief. "Now that everyone's here, lets get going."
"Agreed." Leon took one more glance around. "Most of the Heartless are heading toward the soldiers. We should be able to make it out of here without too much trouble."
"Right." Tifa nodded, and began running toward the edge of the courtyard. Without warning, more Heartless popped up. But these Heartless were different, they were stronger. "Looks like we're going to fight to get out!" Tifa called back.
"It looks that way…" Cloud implied, walked up beside Tifa, and followed by Aerith. "We'll just have to cut them down." He uttered.
"As long as more don't show up, we should be able to get out pretty fast." Leon drew his Gunblade. "But just to make sure, let's give it our all."
"Of course! Nothing but the best from Yuffie!" Yuffie shouted, as she flung her large shuriken into the Heartless. With that, everyone charged in, weapons drawn.
Sora and Ravu…
"Sora, come on! I know you can do better than that! How are you ever going to save Kairi?" Ravu smirked, as she watched Sora stagger off of the ground. "At a boy."
"She's toying with me!" Sora glared at the girl before him, and gripped his Keyblade tightly. Why wasn't he able to keep up with her? He was stronger than her; therefore he should be able to beat her, or so he thought. Ravu wasn't like the girls back on the island. She had speed, accuracy, she was able to defend herself easily, and she swung that Keyblade like a grown man. At this point, Sora knew she was able to best his friend, Riku.
"Are you just going to sit there, and stare at me all day?" Ravu grinned, and got in an offensive position. "Or are you going to show me what you can do with that blade of yours?"
Sora growled and lunged forward, trying to swing his blade with as much force as he could. Ravu continuously grinned, and evaded the attack easily. She then shifted her body to the right and pounded her Keyblade into Sora's side. Sora stumbled back, but caught himself before he fell.
"Don't put so much power into one swing. It'll take time to recover if you do, leaving yourself wide-open for an attack." Ravu implied, as she rushed the spiky haired teen. Instead of swinging the blade, Ravu used a thrust move, a move she had yet to use on Sora. Sora dodged rolled to the side, narrowly missing the blade by an inch. As he recovered, Ravu used the same move again. This time, Sora curved his body to the right and evaded the attack.
"I wouldn't keep using that move if I were you. You're completely missing." Sora chuckled, as he jumped back.
Ravu sighed, as Sora had learned nothing. She placed her Keyblade over her shoulder. "Sora, that move is very important."
Sora gave a confused looked and asked, "How so?"
"Well, the Thrust techniques require a lot of speed and a great deal of accuracy. Using the attack causes sharp air currents around the blade, which cause damage, even if the attack misses." Ravu points a finger at Sora's left side. Sora looked down and stared at the rip in his clothing. He lifted his shirt to see a shallow cut, about the size of a paper clip.
"What the…?" he muttered, and looked back at Ravu.
"That was one of the weaker thrust moves. If I would have went full force on you, you would have suffered a severe injury." She implied. Sora gulped and looked at the shallow wound again. This chick was definitely better than Riku.
Sora took a firm grip around the Kingdom Key, and charged the girl. He shifted his position and used a quick thrust move. Unfortunately, Ravu used her Keyblade to push the attack away from her. She jumped forward and forced her foot into Sora's chest, causing the to fly backwards onto the ground.
"Darn it…" he muttered under his breath, as he got back to his feet. He rushed forward, and used the thrust move a second time. Ravu didn't bother blocking it, instead, she moved aside. The thrust wasn't strong enough to cause any sort of damage to her.
"More power, Sora. Use more strength, and you'll get it." Ravu said. Sora growled and lunged at her again, using another thrust move, but it was slowly than the other attempts. "Too slow and weak, Sora." Ravu grinned, as she moved to the side to dodge it. Sora grinned and swung the Keyblade, with all of his might, into Ravu's side. Ravu, wide-eyed, soared through the air, about several feet, and landed on the ground. Her Keyblade landed a little ways away from her.
"You should really pay attention more, Ravu. My last thrust was rather slow, which meant I had another plan in mind." Sora smirked.
Ravu shook her head, trying to focus on the battle and not the pain in her side, and stood up. "Bravo, Sora. That was a nice move you pulled there." She brushed herself off and summoned her Keyblade back to her hand. "I see now that I've been going too soft on you." She grinned, as she charged the boy.
Without a word of response, Sora charged Ravu as well. Their blades clashed, creating sparks. The force behind the collision pushed the two of them back. Sora was the first to recover, and rushed Ravu again. Using her speed, Ravu dodged all of Sora's incoming attacks. During Sora's rampage, she deflected the attack, knocking Sora off balance. She then slammed her Keyblade into his stomach, forcing him back. Sora caught himself before he hit the ground.
"Play time is over, Sora." She chuckled, as pointed the tip of her Keyblade at the boy.
Greg and the others…
"So, your King has gone missing?" Greg asked, as he followed Donald and Goofy through the destroyed gate. Tami and Rebecca followed close behind the Keybearer, while Jason kept his distance.
"That's right. The only thing he left was a letter that stated that he was going to find 'those who wield the Keys'" Donald replied.
"We believe he meant you." Goofy added, as he glanced back at the brown-eyed teen.
"For me?" Greg thought back to what Donald had just said. The King was looking for the ones whom wielded the Keyblades. Surely enough, this King was looking for him. There was no doubt about that. But, that also meant that the King was looking for Sora and Riku also.
"Yeah, for you. But the King's words in the letter stated that there was more than just one who wielded Keyblades." Donald stopped where he was and looked back at Greg. "Do you know of any others who have the power of a Keyblade?" His eyes went back and forth between Greg and the others.
"We do, but…" Tami looked down at the ground. "We don't know where they are now."
"What?!" Donald shouted, as if someone had just died. "What do you mean 'you don't know where they are now'?" he asked.
"She means exactly what she said." Greg said, stepped forward. "And that's why we're here; to find our friends."
Donald started to ask Greg what happen before, but Jason intervened. "Look, we don't have time for story time. We're expected inside." He muttered, as he walked into the castle.
"He's right. Let's hurry to the meeting room." Donald quacked, as he ran into the castle.
"Ya better hurry!" Goofy shouted, as he followed his feathery companion.
"Wait up!" Rebecca shouted, as she grabbed Greg and Tami's hands, pulling them with her into the castle.
Inside, the castle seemed extremely larger than what they had seen outside. The clean white walls were decorated with pictures of two mice, a King and Queen, seemingly belonging to royalty. A red carpet, which was decorated with a symbol of the royal mouse King, covered the floor. Unfortunately, the floor was also crowded. Weird, inanimate objects scurried down the halls. Walking brooms, that seemed to be maids of some sort, trudged down one hall, carrying buckets of water along with them. Also, well-dressed animals were mixed in with the brooms. There were cows, chickens, dogs, ducks, mice, and horses, which were all dressed like humans.
"Uh…" was all that came out of Greg's mouth when he saw the crowds of animals and brooms covering the halls. His jaw literally fell open at the sight.
"Yes, weird, isn't it?" Jason joked, as he continued moving forward.
"Wow, your kingdom is run by animals?" Tami asked, turning to Rebecca for an answer.
"Sure is!" Rebecca smiled proudly. "But don't get it wrong, our King, and the animals in the castle, are far from what you think. They even talk!" Rebecca giggled, but she was sure that they already knew that, because Donald and Goofy were talking to them.
"That's right. King Mickey is a great king. He's always looking out for the kingdom." Donald implied.
"I hope so. Besides, isn't that what a King's supposed to do?" Greg asked. He had got over his little shock after he had took it all in. A kingdom ruled by a mouse? Weird… "Anyway," Greg began, not giving Donald time to respond. "Let's not keep the Queen waiting. She's probably got a bad temper." Greg laughed and walked forward.
"Oh no, it's not the Queen with the temper. Is the lady in waiting who needs anger management." Rebecca laughed.
"What!?!?" Donald shouted in anger, after realizing what Rebecca had just said. "How dare you talk about Daisy that way!?" he shouted, as he ran after the young girl. Before he caught her, he tripped over his feet and fell to the ground.
Rebecca just laughed and ran off into the crowd, along with Greg and Tami, who laughed in Donald's face after he had fell on his face. But, Greg's karma just had to suck, because moments after he laughed at Donald, he himself fell flat onto his face.
"Serves you right!" Donald pouted, as he continued his way down the hall. This time, he was much more careful and tried to keep his eyes on his webbed feet.
"Serves you right." Greg mimicked the duck in an irritating voice. "Why I outta-" but he was cut off before he could continue.
"Will you just come on!" Tami growled at him, as she grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall.
Moments later, they arrived on the second floor. Seeing as Goofy had disappeared moments ago, they saw him standing beside one of the doors. He caught a glimpse of the others and waved them over.
"Would ya hurry up? The Queen's waitin' for ya." He muttered. "She's right in here." He pointed his thumb at the door behind him.
Jason walked up to the door and walked inside, followed by Greg and the others. In the room were four animals. One, a female mouse that resembled one from the portraits on the first floor, wore a bright red dress and sat at the far end of the table. Next to her was a female duck, wearing a turquoise dress. The last two animals were two small chipmunks, which stood on the table wearing small engineering clothing.
"Your Majesty, we've brought them like you asked." Donald bowed his head.
The mouse at the far end of the table stared at the humans near the doorway. "Thank you Donald." The mouse smiled gently. "Now, which one of you is the Keyblade Bearer?" she asked, looking at each of the humans, until Greg stepped forward.
"I am, Your Majesty." Greg spoke up, sounding a bit nervous in the presence of the Queen. "I am the Bearer of the Keyblade."
"I see. What are your names?" the Queen asked.
"My name is Greg Thomas." Greg introduced himself.
"I'm Tami Bridges." Tami added.
"You already know us, Queen Minnie." Rebecca gave the Queen a smile.
"Yes. That I do, Rebecca." Minnie giggled. "I am Queen Minnie." She turned to the others beside her. "This here is Daisy, my lady in waiting." She introduced the duck. Daisy gave a small wave of her hand, but said nothing to interrupt the Queen. "These two here are Chip and Dale. They are the Gummi engineers here in the castle."
"How ya doing?" Chip greeted them.
"Nice to meet you all." Dale added.
"It's nice to meet you too." Tami smiled, thinking the two small creatures were cute.
"So, where are the other Keybearers, Donald?" the Queen asked, after she noticed that there was only one in the small party.
"There are no others present, my Queen. Greg is the only one we could locate." Donald implied.
Minnie turned her gaze to Greg. "Tell me, do you know the others? The other Keyblade Wielders is what I mean."
"Yes, I know them. Their friends of ours." He pointed his thumb between himself and Tami. "We came here looking for them. But so far, we haven't seen hide nor hair of them."
"How did you all get separated?"
"Well." Greg thought back to the night when everything seemed to go wrong. "Well, there was this strange group of figures that kidnapped one of our friends, her name is Kairi. We tried to stop them, but they had us outnumbered." Greg's eyes traveled to the ground. "Unfortunately, they managed to escape with Kairi. Sora and Riku gave chase to them, and so did we, but we lost them once we entered the portal."
"Sora and Riku?"
"Yeah. They're the other two Keyblade Wielders you're looking for."
"I see. I'm sorry to hear that you've lost the three of them. Do you know who the figures were who kidnapped you friend, Kairi was it?"
"No, we don't know who they were." Greg kept his eyes on the ground.
"Greg, didn't that man with the red hair, from that night, wear the same clothes as the bald guy you just fought?" Tami asked, jumping into the conversation.
Greg thought for a moment. They did wear the same uniform, which means they were part of the figures that kidnapped Kairi. "You're right, Tami. They did wear the same uniform."
"Well, if you're talking about Lieutenant Colonel Ganboia, then you're referring to the Rambosan Empire." Jason muttered, as he made his appearance known.
"The Rambosan Empire?" the Queen repeated. Minnie had heard of the group from some point, or time, but that was years ago. Back when it was just some small organization, making trouble for one world or another.
"Yes, the Rambosan Empire. An Empire seeking to control all worlds, and they won't stop until they have achieved their goal." Jason implied. "They're going about the worlds, using their army of soldiers to wreck havoc on the worlds. But their plans have been foiled once, by the Heartless."
"Heartless?" Tami couldn't resist the urge to ask. "What are Heartless?"
"They are creatures who reside from the darkness in people's hearts." He looked at everyone in the room with a stern face. "And there is darkness in every heart."
"So how did the Heartless stop the Empire?" Greg asked.
"Well, since the Empire has evil intentions, mostly everyone's heart within the Empire is shrouded in darkness, attracting the Heartless to them. So, where ever the Empire went, the Heartless were sure to follow."
"What's stopping the Heartless from interfering with the Empire's plans this time?"
"A Keyblade Wielder."
"A Keyblade Wielder? You mean Sora and Riku are helping them out?!" Greg exclaimed.
"No, no. I'll explain the Keyblade Wielder later, let me explain things about the Keyblade first." Jason took a deep breath. "Whenever the Keyblade chooses its wielder, the Heartless seek out that wielder. Since the Keyblade is a weapon that can destroy Heartless, the Heartless seek it out to destroy it. Since more than just one Keyblade Wielder has made their appearances, you all are attracting the Heartless' attention away from the Empire."
"So, we're basically saving the Empire's butt?" Greg asked, crossing his arms. "That sucks."
"You could put it that way." Jason spoke again. Everyone gave him a curious look, as to what he was talking about. "You're just drawing the attention of the Heartless. But the Empire has a little Keyblade Bearer, who goes around sealing off the Keyholes of the Worlds, which is your job."
"Sealing Keyholes? That's the job of a Keyblade Wielder." Greg shook his head from side to side. "That sucks even more."
"Just listen." Jason demanded. "The only way to stop the Heartless is to seal, or lock, the Keyholes of each world, that's what the Keyblades are used for, locking the Keyholes. Unfortunately, a man named Ansem opened the Keyholes years ago, which led to the Heartless popping up in every world."
"So, who's this Ansem guy, and where is he now?" Tami asked.
"Well, Ansem was the ruler of a world known as Radiant Gardens. His people loved him, as he loved them. But he became fascinated with the darkness in people's hearts, and began experimenting with it, resulting in the creation of the Heartless."
"So this whack job, Ansem, created the Heartless?" Greg replied.
"Was he consumed by the darkness?" Tami asked, in which Jason returned the question with a shrug.
"We don't know." Donald implied, answering both questions. "He just disappeared one day, and nobody has ever seen him since." Donald quacked, as he drew Tami's attention. "The Keyblade Wielder, who is helping the Empire, is rumored to be the apprentice of Ansem. But that's only a rumor."
"That's right." Jason turned back to Greg and the others. "Some people believe that Ansem had an apprentice, but he actually had seven. Six of them were swallow by the darkness and no one knows where they are now. The Empire found the seventh one, the Keyblade Wielder."
"So, what are the Empire's real plans?" the young Keybearer asked.
"That, we don't know." Jason replied, and turned to the Queen. "What shall we do, Your Majesty? We've only gotten one Keyblade Wielder with us."
Queen Minnie thought for a moment, or two, before giving Jason the answer. "I… I don't know. King Mickey is out searching for the Keyblade Wielders, and the other Keyblade Wielders are their friends." The Queen seemed to stop and think again. "Give them a Gummi Ship. Let them search for their friends. I'm sure that they'll find King Mickey also. Once they've done that, they can ask the King what they should do."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Jason bowed his head.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Tami added, bowing her head also. Rebecca and Greg followed their actions.
"Donald, Goofy." The Queen spoke, drawing the attention of the two individuals. "I want you two to take a Gummi Ship of your own and search planets also. That way, you can cover more ground that way."
"Yes Ma'am." Donald bowed.
Chip and Dale gave a jump of joy and leapt off of the table. They scurried over to Greg and Tami. The blonde girl kneeled down, coming face to face with the two chipmunks. "Yes?"
"We'll have your ship ready in a jiffy!" Chip shouted with joy.
"That's right!" Dale turned to Chip. "Let's get a move on." Chip nodded and scurried off out the door, with Dale right behind him.
"Uh…" Greg began to speak. He placed a hand on his stomach and smiled. "May we have something to eat?" He asked, trying to be polite.
"Certainly! Goofy, show our guests to the dining hall." Minnie requested.
"Yes, yer Majesty." Goofy bowed. "C'mon, I'll show ya the way." He chuckled, as he headed out the door. Greg and the others followed him out.
The Queen watched them carefully, as they exited the room. She was positive that those kids weren't ready for what was sure to happen. But she placed her faith in her husband, King Mickey.
"Oh, King Mickey, what are we going to do?" she sighed, as she rested her head on her hands.
"Don't worry, Queen Minnie. King Mickey has the utmost faith in the ones who wield the Keyblades." Daisy muttered, as she patted the Queen on the back.
"I know, Daisy. I know…" Minnie murmured.
Inside the Section 18 Rambosan Base…
Olivia stared out the window, glaring into the Heartless below. She despised those Heartless creatures with all of her heart. They destroyed her home when she was young, and took her younger sister away from her. She wanted so much to kill them, but running into battle would be idiotic.
"Colonel Bridges! We've retrieved Colonel Mandero from the battlefield. He's in pretty bad condition, ma'am." An officer, who had entered the room moments ago, reported to her.
Olivia closed her eyes, trying to lock her hatred of the Heartless away. "Where is he?" she asked, as she opened her eyes and looked back at the soldier.
"Well, he's in the infirmary, ma'am."
Olivia sighed and walked toward the door. "I'm going to go see him. I need you to send a report to General Blake, telling her that the rebels have kidnapped the little princess." She exited the room before the soldier could reply.
She walked down the hall rather quickly. Shortly she arrived at the infirmary, and was quick to enter. There, lying down on his back, in a bed was James.
"James, what the hell happened out there?" Olivia asked, as she approached the bed.
"So-sorry Olivia… They were…on a different level…" James managed to say. Olivia sighed. She couldn't put all the blame on him. If she would have went out there, she might have ended up in the same position.
"It's not your fault, James." She murmured, as she knelt over onto the bed. "I shouldn't have sent you out there like that. I knew they were completely on a Brigadier General level."
"Makes me think…what are we really fighting for…" James muttered, as he stared up at the ceiling.
"Yeah…" Olivia responded, as she stood back up. "Well, I better break the news to General Blake." She muttered, completely forgetting about her orders to the soldier. With that, she exited the room.
Brandon and Selphie…
Brandon's eyes were focused on Selphie, who was chatting with one of her friends. Brandon just stood there, leaning against a light post and staring at the brunette before him. For a brief moment, he only had her on his mind, but only for a brief moment. He looked down at the ground, trying to question why that had just occurred, those thoughts he just had. But he got no answer in return.
He chuckled to himself after he had come to his conclusion that no one was going to answer his questions for him. Greg had always told him that he'd have trouble with girls, and of course, Greg was right.
"Yeah, so it's a beach party right?" Selphie asked, as she started walking back toward Brandon. Her friend replied with a 'yes'. "Okay, we'll be there!" she called back, before turning to Brandon. Brandon didn't seem to notice her return, as he was staring at, or into, the ground. "Uh, did I take too long?" she asked.
"No, not at all." Brandon lied, as he looked up at her. "So, it's a beach party?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's what she told me. But, for right now, what should we do to pass the time?" she asked.
Brandon lowered his head again, and began thinking. There wasn't much to do. He hadn't really explored the island since Greg and the others left, so he didn't know what else you could do around except hang out.
"I don't know." Brandon replied. "We can do anything you want to…"
"Hmmm. Well, let's just walk and talk. That usually passes the time quickly." Selphie smiled, as she started walking down the sidewalk. Brandon shrugged and followed behind her.
"What are we going to talk about?" Brandon asked, placing his hands in his pockets. Selphie didn't really know herself. She just wanted to be near Brandon for some reason, or another.
"Well, now that I think about it, there isn't really much to talk about." She replied, as she looked down at the ground. "Oh! I know!" she turned on her heels to look at Brandon. "How about I show you around? You haven't really seen the islands like I have."
"Sure, why not? It isn't like I have somewhere to be." Brandon muttered.
"Great! Let's go!" she giggled, as she wrapped her arm into his and pulled him down the sidewalk.
Sora and Ravu…
Sora slid back across the grass field, ripping of flowers as he did. He forced the Kingdom Key into the ground, causing him to stop. He glanced up at Ravu, looking a bit weary.
"Are you okay, Sora? Are you ready to call it quits?" Ravu asked, as she toyed with her Keyblade. She looked over at the boy, with a smirk plastered on her face.
Sora gritted his teeth, and released the Keyblade from the ground. "I'm just fine!" he shouted. "If I don't come up with something quick, she's going to win… I need to use something she's not expecting."
"It's no use trying to think. There's nothing you can do to best me." Ravu implied, placing the Keyblade over her shoulder.
"Maybe I can use one of those abilities…" Sora gripped the Keyblade with both hands and charged at Ravu. Ravu sighed, knowing the outcome of his next attack. Sora began to speed up, trying his best to call forth the spell attack.
"Come on! Think 'Fire'!" he kept thinking. As he drew closer and closer to Ravu, the Keyblade began to grow warm in Sora's hands. "This is it! This is the ability!"
When he finally reached Ravu, which seemed to take an eternity, he swung the Keyblade with all of his might. Ravu simply jumped back, into the air. It was then that Sora pointed the Keyblade at her. "Fire!" he called out. At the sound of his voice, a fireball, about the size of a basketball, was released from the tip of the Keyblade.
Wide-eyed, and in shock, Ravu was hit directly in the chest, sending her soaring farther into the air. Within moments, Ravu came flying back down and landed on her back.
"Yes! I did it! I used one of my Keyblades abilities!" Sora cheered, as he danced around in a circle.
Ravu leaned up, rubbing her chest. "Well, you've learned your first spell at least." She murmured, as she got to her feet. "But that's not one of your Keyblade's abilities."
Sora stopped dancing, and looked back at Ravu. "Are you serious!?! That wasn't one of my Keyblade's abilities?" Ravu replied with the shake of her head. Sora dropped down onto the ground. "Aww man. And I was hoping you'd teach me something…"
"Well, you did beat me. But technically, you didn't. You were too busy dancing around. If this would have been a serious battle, you would have been killed." Ravu allowed her Keyblade to diminish, and folded her arms. "But… since you learned a spell, on your own, I might as well teach you a little something."
"Really?" Sora's face lit up with happiness. He jumped to his feet. "What are you going to teach me? Huh?"
"…Well, since your name means 'sky', let's focus on wind abilities. They're quite strong, and are the easiest to learn." Ravu implied. Sora smiled, and nodded his head. "And how about I teach you a wind spell too. I'm sure it'll come in handy in the near future."
At that, Sora nearly rushed to hug Ravu, but contained himself by nodding his head. Ravu giggled and then spoke. "The move I'm going to teach you is called the Wind Slash."
"The Wind Slash?"
"Yes, the Wind Slash. It generates air currents around the Keyblade's blade, which you then fire off as an invisible force." Ravu explained. Sora blinked, and scratched his head. He obviously didn't know what she was talking about. "Let me show you."
Ravu Keyblade appeared in her hand. "Alright, you see that tree over there." Ravu pointed out.
"Yeah…?" Sora replied, as he looked at the tree, and then at Ravu.
"Watch closely." She murmured, as she closed her eyes. Sora could feel the wind draw toward Ravu, and circle around her Keyblade. He could actually see the wind spiraling around the blade itself, but only faintly.
Ravu reopened her eyes and looked over at Sora. "Now do you see?" she asked. Sora nodded, and waited for her next movement. "Now, for that tree." With that said, Ravu swung the Keyblade out in front of her, as if attacking something. The tree was almost fifty feet away, and Sora had no clue what was about to happen.
Sora stared down at the tree. He could see something approach it, but it was barely visible. Suddenly, the tree was sliced in half, and fell to the ground. Sora stared, in awe, as he watched the tree hit the ground.
"And that, my friend, is the Wind Slash." Ravu implied proudly. She turned to Sora. "Pretty impressive, huh?" Sora nodded, but that was all he did. "But that is only the first level, and that is the only level I have mastered." She allowed her Keyblade to diminish into the air again. "I leave it to you to master this technique. Besides, I have my own techniques to master."
"You're teaching me that?" Sora asked, still staring at the tree down field.
"Yep… unless you don't want to learn it…" Ravu muttered.
"No, no! I want to learn that move! Teach me the Wind Slash!" He shouted.
"Okay, okay." She chuckled. "Let's move over there, to that tree." She walked off toward the implied tree, and Sora followed behind, ever so eager to learn the technique. They stopped about twenty feet away from the tree.
"Now, the first thing you do is concentrate on drawing strength from the wind itself. Bring your Keyblade up and concentrate."
As told, Sora brought his Keyblade before him and gripped the handle with both hands. He closed his eyes and thought of the wind. "Alright, time to show her what I can really do!"
Ravu watched as she felt the wind faintly draw towards Sora's Keyblade. She was quite surprised that he was able to gather the wind with one try.
"Okay, Sora." She said.
Sora opened his eyes and stared at the Keyblade. He could feel the wind circle around the blade, but he couldn't see it, not even faintly. With all of his might, he swung the Keyblade through the air at the tree. They waited, and waited, for the attack at hit the tree. Within a matter of seconds, the Wind Slash made contact with it's designated target. Unfortunately, the result wasn't what either of them was expecting.
Sora's Wind Slash made a small gash on the trunk of the tree, but didn't dare to cut through it. Sora stared at the cut, wide-eyed, and Ravu could barely contain her giggling.
"Darn it! What went wrong?" Sora asked.
"Well…" Ravu asked, trying to hide her laughing. "You just didn't call forth enough power of the wind."
Sora sighed, and prepared to try the attack again. "I'll get it this time." He muttered, as he closed his eyes.
"This is going to be a long day…" Ravu thought, as she watched Sora make the same mark again.
"Ahhh! Come on!!" he shouted, as he closed his eyes again.
"You'll get it, Sora. Just relax." Ravu told him.
"Yeah, yeah."
Cloud and the others…
Yuffie rushed forward and collapsed on the ground. "That… was a little… too much…" she groaned, as she pushed herself up.
"I think you're right, Yuffie." Tifa added, as he leaned against the wall.
They had finally managed to make it back into the town of Hollow Bastion. The Heartless didn't care to follow, so they continued to raid the Rambosan Base.
Leon sighed, as he sat down on one of the benches in the area. "Well, at least we got what we came for." He looked up at Aerith, and then at Kairi. "And a little something extra?"
"Uh…Cloud, was it? I think I can walk now." Kairi stated. Cloud nodded, and knelt down, allowing Kairi to hop off of his back.
"Who's the kid?" Vincent asked, as he strapped his pistol onto his side.
"This is Kairi, she was kidnapped by the Rambosan Army." Aerith implied, as she patted Kairi on the head.
Cloud sat down on the bench, next to Leon. "How, exactly, did you get kidnapped, kid?" he asked.
"Well-" Kairi began to tell the story of how she was kidnapped.
She told them how she was taken from her friend's house a few nights ago. She mentioned that her friends had attempted to rescue her, but failed. She mentioned the fact that she didn't even know they were alive. She even mentioned the strange 'key-shaped' weapon her friend used.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Kairi." Tifa implied, as she walked over to the girl. "I'm sure your friends followed you, but got lost on the way. They're still alive, trust me."
"You mentioned a 'key-shaped' weapon, right?" Leon asked, thinking back to the story.
"Yeah. My friend, Sora, was holding it the whole time." Kairi told him.
"So, the Keyblade has chosen one." Cloud muttered, as he glanced down at the ground. "That means that trouble is brewing somewhere."
"But why'd it choose a kid? Of all people, it chose a kid." Leon uttered, folding his arms. "I suppose beggars can't be choosers."
"I wonder what the Empire wants with Kairi." Tifa muttered.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Leon added.
"How about we talk this over at Merlin's?" Yuffie implied, as she stood up.
"Yeah. If we stay here too long, the Heartless are bound to find us." Aerith added.
"Follow me!" Yuffie shouted, as she marched down the street.
"Yuffie… you're going the wrong way…" Leon muttered, as he sighed. Yuffie turned around and smile.
"No I'm not, silly!" she giggled, and continued to march.
"Well, why she's heading back to the Rambosan Base, let's head to Merlin's." Tifa implied, as she walked off in the opposite direction. Everyone followed, leaving Yuffie alone.
"Uh, guys! Wait!!" Yuffie shouted, as she ran after them, followed by several Heartless. "Seriously, wait for me!" she called out.
Greg and the others…
Jason frowned, and placed a hand over his face. He watched as Greg ate his fill, along with Tami and Rebecca. To his surprise, Greg ate more than three times as many plates as Tami and Rebecca combined.
Greg sighed, and a smile graced his lips. "That was delicious!" he chuckled, as he rubbed his stomach.
"Wow, Greg… Thirty-seven plates all together…" Tami muttered, as she finished her fourth plate.
"Yep! You gotta eat to keep up your strength, you know?!" Greg chuckled again.
Rebecca finished her fifth plate, and leaned back in the chair. "That was the best!" she giggled.
"You said it!" Greg added, as the two of them issued high-fives to each other.
Jason sighed, and got up from his seat. He then walked out of the room, leaving the others.
"Where's he going?" Greg asked, feeling curious.
"Well, he usually goes to train. So, I think he's going to the training arena." Rebecca replied, as she hopped from her seat and ran after her brother.
"Maybe you should go to the training arena, and do some training. It would be the perfect time to work on your skills with your Keyblade." Tami implied, as she stood from her seat. "Besides, I need to find me something to use in battle. I'm not the swordsman type, you know." She giggled.
"Yeah, I should get some training in. Let's hurry and catch up." Greg jumped from his seat and rushed out the room, followed by Tami.
Riku and Mickey…
Riku tightened his grip around, what felt like, hot grains of sand. He could feel the heat rising off of the ground and warming his skin. He new this feeling all to well, but where was the sound of the waves? Was he home, and everything he went through just a dream?
The young white-haired teen opened his eyes, to the sight of sand before him. Using his arms, he pushed himself up and got a good look around. Sand. Sand, as far as his eyes could see. And not a cloud in the sky from stopping the bright sun from beaming down on him. Now he knew he wasn't dreaming, and that he wasn't even home. He was somewhere totally different.
"Mi-Mickey, where are we?" he asked. But there came no answer. Riku shook the grains of sand from his face, and stood up. He looked around, but Mickey wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Mickey? Mickey!" he called out, but no one answered. "We must've gotten split up after entering that portal." He thought back to the night he jumped into that portal after Sora and Kairi. "These portals just randomly throw you out to different places." He muttered, as he sneezed. He was still sick from running around in the rain.
Suddenly, a weird noise came out of nowhere. It sounded like someone was calling his name, but his or her mouth was too full to understand.
Riku looked around, but saw nothing. The voice called out again, and Riku was sure that it was near. He gave another sneeze, and looked down to see a skinny black strand of, what he thought was hair, wagging back and forth. Riku knelt down and pulled on it. The voice called out again, as he continued to pull on it.
"What the heck is this thing!" Riku asked, as he pulled the wagging hair with all of his might. In a sudden rush, something arose from the sand, causing Riku to fly back and land on his back. He couldn't tell what it was, but something flew over his head and landed behind him.
Riku leaned up and looked back to where the 'thing' had landed. There, he saw two big round ears wiggle, and a familiar face turned to look at him.
"I thought I was a goner, thanks Riku." Mickey chuckled, as he shook the sand from his body. "But you didn't have to pull my tail so hard."
"Mi-Mickey!?!" Riku shouted, as he jumped to his feet and ran over to the mouse. "I thought we were split up when we entered the portal!"
"Nope. As long as I was holding on to you, we weren't going to split up." Mickey hopped to his feet and shook his body once again, making sure all the sand was off of his body. "Now, where are we?" he asked, as he looked around.
"I don't know. I was going to ask you the same thing." Riku replied, as he wiped the sweat beads from his forehead.
"Well, there seems to be no civilization in sight." Mickey said, as he took another look around.
"Then we're stuck here?" Riku asked, as another sneeze came out.
"Yes, until we can find away out of this desert." Mickey replied. It was then, that a flying carpet soared over there heads.
"What was that?" Mickey asked, turning toward the direction it was speeding in.
"It looked like a flying carpet." Riku muttered, rubbing his nose.
"If that was a flying carpet, then I know exactly where we are." Mickey implied, as he walked toward the direction of the carpet.
"And where are we, exactly?" Riku asked, as he followed behind the mouse.
"We're near the royal city of Agrabah." He replied.
"Royal city of Agrabah?" Riku repeated, as he followed the mouse. "I hope we're going in the right direction."
Greg and the others…
Greg and Tami had finally made it to the training arena, after almost thirty minutes of searching for it. Tami sighed and leaned against the wall.
"Wow, that was a workout! Who knew this castle was so big?" she muttered.
"At least we finally made it here. And there's Jason!" Greg pointed.
In the distance, Jason was sparring against one of the knights of the castle. It was obvious that he was winning, because his opponent was completely on the defensive.
"Okay, okay, Sir Jason! I give up!" the knight shouted, as he backed away from Jason. Jason sighed, and forced his Buster Sword into the ground.
"You're giving up? Just like that?" Jason asked, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. The Knight nodded, and withdrew his sword. "Fine, get out of my sight!" Jason shouted, motioning for the Knight to leave. The Knight nodded, and headed off in the opposite direction.
"Yeesh Jason, you don't have to be so rude." Greg uttered, as he and Tami walked up behind him.
"Hm?" Jason turned to the others. "I'm rude when I have to be. What swordsman gives up in the middle of battle?" he asked. Greg shrugged. "Anyway, what are you two doing here?"
"Well, I wanted to start training with the Keyblade, so that I know how to use it properly." Greg implied. "Tami's here to find a weapon of her own."
"I see. Well, if you're looking for some training, how about you go up against me?" Jason asked, leaning against his over-sized sword.
"Uh…well, you're more experienced than me. I was thinking I-" Greg was cut off.
"So, in other words, you're scared?" Jason grinned.
"Well…not really…" Greg replied. The Amulet of Promise appeared in his hand. "But I'll fight you anyway, just take it easy." He chuckled.
Jason sighed and brought up his Buster Sword. He turned to Tami. "You better get out of the way." Tami nodded and retreated to the sidelines.
"You ready?" Greg asked.
"I'll let you make the first move." Jason smirked, gripping the handle of the Buster Sword tightly. With that, Greg charged at the large-sword wielding teen before him.
Greg: Well, that's it for chapter 6. I kinda had trouble writing this one. I hope nothing like this happens again in the near future, I have big plans for this story.
Brandon: Oh, and big plans for me!
Greg: Yep, I do! Something no one will suspect! Anyway, thanks for reading. And just so everyone knows, this story is going to be divided in Arcs from now on.
