KINGDOM HEARTS 3.6 Part VII: First Encounter-Part 1.
Here is a side trivia-these are the two Theme Songs that I would choose for Kingdom Hearts overall not by Utada Hikaru:
Back to Life by Hailee Steinfeld from the film Bumblebee.
Everything I Need by Skylar Grey from the film Aquaman.
"Over here! Cricket's the name-Jiminy Cricket at your service." says Jiminy breaking the 4th Wall, as he narrates what has happened so far in the story.
"Well now, as I'm sure everyone has guessed so far: this is a true tale of love right here. After Sora disappeared following his goodbye with Kairi at the Destiny Islands, she had vowed that she would never leave him to be by himself ever again and now, has started journeying alongside both Donald and Goofy in order to find Sora. As always, everyone needs a trusty Cricket to keep tabs on their Journals so naturally, I tagged along too of course! although I have yet to make a major contribution to everything, I still intend to help all the same." says Jiminy, placing a hand on his Heart, vowing to help everyone any which way that he can no matter what.
"So far, the adventure has only just begun. Our first stop is at Radiant Garden where we had been led to due to Kairi's mysterious Connection with the World itself. We met up with our old friends from Traverse Town here and, not only that but shockingly-Namine is revealed to be here as well! with our friends' help, hopefully we will find a clue that will lead us to Sora. And now, back to our story..." says Jiminy, finishing the recap.
We return to the present time where Kairi, Donald and Goofy are seen being escorted by both Leon and Yuffie to Radiant Garden's castle, with Goofy asking them the following question: "So uh Leon, how come we hadn't heard from you and everyone in a while?" says Goofy. (Trying to explain the absence of the Final Fantasy Characters in Kingdom Hearts III. :[)
Leon replies to Goofy whilst everyone continues walking "After we finally finished restoring Radiant Garden back to the way it was before the Heartless and Maleficent ruined it, our job as the "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee" came to an end. However, that didn't mean we were going to get off scot free exactly..." says Leon, Goofy becoming confused before Yuffie states the confusion correctly "Don't mind Leon, he's just sulking. What he means is that even though we finished the initial job that we set out to do, there was still plenty of work for us left that we needed to accomplish." says Yuffie.
"We knew that there were other Worlds that were ravaged or were being ravaged by the Heartless, so with the old wizard Merlin and Uncle Scrooge's help, we were able to navigate to those Worlds and help them out." says Leon. Yuffie follows up saying "That's right! but of course, we still had to look after Radiant Garden all the same, we couldn't just leave behind our home obviously..." says Yuffie, showing a past doubt upon the expression of her face...
"...That's when "they" reappeared..." says Leon, recalling a flashback to when the apprentices of Ansem the Wise became recompleted during the events of Dream Drop Distance and how both he and the rest of the Committee proceeded to deal with them:
"...Please, let us explain-!?" says Ienzo before being interrupted by Leon pointing his Gunblade at him. Replying "And why should I? as far as I know and believe, you were and are still the enemy that plunged our World into Darkness. You helped the man claiming to be the great "Ansem the Wise" destroy Radiant Garden!" says Leon, making a valid point against Ienzo being backed up by Aeleus and Lea. Ienzo himself then replies "...It's true, we brought harm to this World of ours and countless others through the scientific researches we were working on...by all rights, we should be locked up both here and now by you-the fair people of Radiant Garden. But-!?" it's then that Ienzo is interrupted by Lea placing a hand upon the former's shoulder before having a stare off against Leon.
"Look, I think what remains the same and all that matters is that we want to atone, we did what was wrong and our Heartless and Nobodies paid the ultimate prices for that...Got it Memorized?" says Lea, recalling the painful death that his Nobody Axel experienced and feeling some sort of regret for him. Leon recognises the pain upon Lea's expression, however-"...And what? you think that makes everything right?" says Leon, refusing to circumvent the truth to the apprentices' desires.
Ienzo speaks up once more, saying "We know that we cannot take back a whole decade's worth of pain, but, at the very least, we would like-no, we WANT to atone for our mistakes during all that time. Aeleus here has taken a vow of silence until all can be amended for and I myself wish to follow in my former master's footsteps and restore this once glorious World back to the way it was. I know both Even and Dilan will agree with me once they have awoken." says Ienzo. Lea then says "At any rate, we just want to make right by you guys...and Sora." says Lea, shocking and surprising Leon and both Yuffie and Aerith who were accompanying him.
"Sora!?" says Leon. Lea replies "Yeah...after our Nobodies were destroyed mostly by him and his friend Riku, us ourselves as the "Somebodies" of those Nobodies...we sort of underwent a "purifying process" upon being recompleted. At the very least, that's what it was for these guys here." says Lea, pointing to both Ienzo and Aeleus behind him, the latter merely nodding his head. Leon then asks Lea "...And you? what's so different now?" says Leon, wanting to know the answer Lea would provide. Lea then answers "...I..." whilst recalling Axel's Memories of both Roxas and to a lesser extent, Xion.
"Please, let us atone. We believe we can help both you and Sora. We aren't just saying this to save our own skins, we mean this when we say it. Please...give us at least one chance to prove ourselves and if we fail...feel free to do away with us." says Ienzo, accepting the consequences no matter what. Aeleus agreeing in silence and Lea just waiting for Leon's response. "...Hmm..." Leon ponders on what to do with the three, however, Aerith then speaks up "...No matter how deep the Darkness-" everyone becomes shocked by her words as she finishes them, lastly saying "-A Light will always shine forth...right?" says Aerith, rephrasing the words Sora said to "Ansem" in the near ending of the original Kingdom Hearts game.
The flashback ends and Leon tells Kairi, Donald and Goofy "Thanks to Aerith, after that, we began an uneasy truce with that lot. Thanks to them, we were able to make time and travel to other Worlds to help them out. During that time, we learned that Sora was undergoing some kind of test and we wanted to help out in case of potential dangers. However, that guy, called Lea? he knew how to open a Corridor of Darkness and it was the only way quick enough to get to Sora in time. So...as a sign of both good faith and trust, we left Sora in his hands, hoping that he could be depended upon. To my personal shock but also relief, Lea proved himself when he saved Sora during that said test from the enemy and thus, that served as the lynchpin to solidify our alliance between us and those guys..." says Leon.
Goofy replies "Gawrsh, all this was happening and we didn't even know about it..." says Goofy, Donald sighing at this whilst Kairi merely replies "Lea..." showing concern of what everyone went through at the time, she clutches a fist, lastly thinking to herself "...Am I always...just going to remain a hinderance to everyone? …" thought Kairi to herself, hating the fact that she couldn't help whatsoever during the events of Dream Drop Distance...
