"Watch out, Your Majesty!" Sora cried to King Mickey. "He's a Nobody!"
"So?" retorted the man as he - oh no, move, Sora! Whew! Jasper was quick, but Sora was quicker; the teen tackled the adult before the latter could fire again. Nice distraction with words, Jasper, but it wasn't enough to divert the Keyblade Hero. Hero and villain tumbled onto the floor, drawing gasps and panicked fleeing from some of the guests. Sora immediately got up and swerved to one side, intent on attacking with the Keyblade while the man was down.
"Run, Your Highness!" Sora commanded. "He wants to kill you!"
But the king did not obey. Like a curious child, the mouse peeked from behind his throne; he stared ahead blankly. Kairi yelled in fright and Riku yelled something to Goofy and Donald about protecting Mickey at all costs. "The Keyblade ... ?" Mickey wondered in stupor as Minnie dragged him off to safety, to Goofy's outstretched paws.
"Come back!" raged Jasper as King Mickey was being carried away by his top knight. "Come back at once!" Immediately the man sprang up and lunged at Sora, causing the teen to involuntarily shut his eyes and swing his blade wildly. It was a feint: Sora opened his eyes to see Jasper aiming his gun at the mouse. So he cast Blizzaga as fast as he could, saving His Majesty's life once again. Then he rushed in with his weapon, smacking the gun away from Jasper's hand with the Keyblade.
"The King's not coming back," Sora cried. "You'll have to get through me first!"
"Fine," Jasper spat back, echoing recent dreams as he pulled out another gun from his coat.
Hero and villain charged at one another. The hero got in some blows with the Keyblade, but further efforts were aborted by a sudden loud noise, a gush of wind, and the appearance of two holes in his left pant leg. He nearly shot me, he realized. I could have been crippled. In shock, Sora stumbled, but righted himself before he fell. Looking up, Sora saw no one. The Nobody had retreated (or teleported) behind him, forcing Sora to turn around.
"You! I thought you existed only in my dreams!" accused the boy, point at the man with his Keyblade. His opponent sidestepped the spell.
"You thought wrong!" Sora heard him taunt as the latter turned tail and ran.
"Hey! Stop existing in real life!" cried Sora as he gave chase.
Cat and mouse chase time! Except this time, the mouse chased the cat. The mouse-brown haired boy closed in and slapped Russian-blue haired man upside the head once, twice, then leaped back to avoid death by firearm. Just in time - BANG! A pitcher of milk shattered, splattering its contents like white blood. BANG! A plate of meat loaf exploded. Still the man ran.
"Give up! His Majesty's lgone!" screamed Sora. He was quite angry at this point.
Meanwhile, Kairi stood frozen as other guests wisely left (screaming incoherently and waving their hands, but wisely nonetheless). She couldn't take her eyes off Sora or his attacker; her violet eyes darted everywhere, following their erratic movements. She knew this man! She saw him before, but in her half-frenzied mind, she couldn't remember when or where or why. She didn't like what the man was doing to Sora, enraging him to un - Soralike levels. She hardly registered Riku grabbing her wrist and telling her to run, just run, run for your life, please Kairi - wah! Isn't that the Organization logo?
"You're right. The king's long gone - GAH!!" declared Jasper as particularly forceful slash sent him reeling.
"Sora!" shouted Kairi.
The would-be assassin recovered and weaved backwards from more assaults, but like he said, it was too late. The blue-haired man looked at his assailant, at a frightened young girl standing at the table, and finally at the ruined dishes. At least he ruined a festive feast. He threw away his gun.
"Why are you here? What do you want?" demanded Sora. He wasn't fooled by the recent surrender. Chances are, the man had a third gun hidden under his suit somewhere. Jasper gazed at him levelly, but never got to answer, for Sora answered for him: "You came here to kill King Mickey. You want him dead. Why?"
"Sora!" shouted Kairi.
Jasper paused. "Organization XIII…" he began.
"I knew it! You are part of Organization XIII - huh?" Sora froze in mid-sentence. He was right about the gun. Jasper carried a third gun on his person ... and was aiming it right at Sora's heart. But Sora never saw him reach under his coat. Was that why Kairi shouted twice? Where did the gun come from? The boy prepared to strike furtively with his Keyblade -
Then Jasper pointed up and fired inches from the brunet's head, causing Sora and duck down and jam his hands in his ears, dropping his weapon. Too late, he realized it was a mistake. He felt the barrel of a revolver on the top of his head, and froze.
"Whose fault is it, that Organization XIII is dead?" whispered the gunman.
Heavy sorrow crashed over the young hero. He was going to die from a mere bullet. Countless battles with supernatural monsters and underhanded sorceresses, and he was going to die from one projectile? He deserved it too, for not being cautious enough - ... no, that was not it. For what happened to Demyx and Luxord ... for killing them before they had the chance to change back into Myde and Rould. Guilt from long ago returned as he recalled Rufaus' good - intentioned but badly executed interview. The guy only wanted to know about his mom and dad. His dad … the guy in front of me.
"I'm sorry," he found himself whispering. Whoa, what the heck?
"Sorry isn't good enough," came the answer.
Sora heard Kairi yell his name once more, more desperately this time, and waited for the end. But it never came. Sora hesitantly opened his eyes and raised his head. He found Jasper retreating at the sight of a duck bearing a staff, a dog bearing a shield, and his best friend bearing a short sword (Wait, no Way to the Dawn?). "Don't come any closer!" snarled Donald. "Drop the gun!"
The gunman obeyed, the continued to back up until his back hit the wall. The three friends crowded in closer, displaying their weapons like guard dogs bearing their teeth. "Sora, you okay?" asked Goofy as he tossed him a potion. The boy nodded.
"Sora called you a Nobody. I saw the Organization logo on your back. Are you?" questioned Riku, his blade drawn.
"Am I what?" quietly asked Jasper.
"Part of Organization XIII," said Riku, his eyes narrowing.
"Sora called him a Nobody! Of course he's from Organization XIII!" warned Donald. Riku and Goofy jumped back a bit. Nobodies were tricky beasts, they remembered.
Jasper shook his head. "No, Organization XIII is fallen. How can I work for a defunct organization?" he countered. Good point. The four warriors eyed him cautiously, nonetheless.
"If you're not working for Organization XIII, who are you working for?" questioned Riku. "Or are you working solo?"
No answer came from Jasper, so Sora answered for him: "He's working for someone else. Another Nobody. What's the name of your employer, Jasper Reddison?" Sora wondered if using the man's full name would give him power over him, as it did in the dream. Nope, hhe man stayed silent. He just stared at Riku, then at Sora, his mouth curling down slightly.
"Answer us!" demanded Donald Duck, readying his staff to - BANG! The duck squawked in pain as the Nobody suddenly fired at his hand, forcing him to drop this staff.
I thought he dropped his gun! thought Sora. But the gun was not on the floor. Was the gun ever on the floor? "Donald!" cried Goofy. He gave out another potion.
"I shall return," declared the man as he raised his hat in a mock salute. "Tell this to your king: I am not done here yet!" Then he was gone; he teleported away. He didn't teleport away like an Organization member. He teleported away like a Dusk, vanishing in a sphere of nothingness.
"He teleported," mused Goofy. "He's a Nobody, alright! But I don't get it. If he's a human-shaped Nobody, how come he's not in one of 'em black cloaks? Oh yeah." He gave Sora a kind simile. "The King's all right. He's waiting for you at the library. Said he had a question for ya."
"Okay, tell him we'll be there at once."
Gently picking up a frazzled Donald ("I'm fine! I'm not hurt anymore! I took yer medicine! Put me down, you big doof!"), the Captain of the Royal Guard exited the audience chamber, leaving behind a ruined banquet and three confused friends. "Sora ... that guy," murmured Kairi as she came to his side. The brunet relaxed at the sight of the redhead. "Who is he?" she wondered. "How did he ... I mean, how do you know his name? Jasper Reddison…"
"Reddison?" wondered Riku. He turned shocked aquamarine eyes to Sora. "Reddison? As in ... Rufaus?"
"Not really," asserted Sora. He opened Goofy's potion. "He's not Jasper Reddison. He's Jasper Reddison's Nobody. He's the guy in my dreams."
"He calls himself Jasper Reddison, but he's really the Nobody of someone named Jasper Reddison. The real Jasper was the dad of one of my classmates at school," began Sora. "He haunted my dreams for a week a while ago. I managed to force him out. I thought he was gone forever ... guess not."
"No wonder he looked familiar," realized Kairi. So, she had seen him before ... his Other's likeness, at least, on a bedside picture when she last visited Rufaus' apartment. "He looks a lot like Rufaus."
"Was he really part of Organization XIII?" pondered Donald. "I thought we've seen all thirteen members in Jiminy's journal."
"Let's see: Xemnas, Xigar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saix ... " counted Goofy, but the mage waved him off.
"Never mind," said Sora. Thinking about Organization XIII made him uncomfortable; delaying its discussion seemed ideal. Besides ... "You said you have a question for me, Your Majesty?"
"Uh huh!" nodded the small king. Mickey hopped off his comfy hair from behind the table and walked up to the brunet. "Summon the Keyblade, please," the king commanded.
"Sure." The brunet closed his eyes and concentrated on his heart. A quick flash of light, and lo! The Keyblade was in Sora's outstretched right hand, as usual.
However, King Mickey didn't seem too happy about that. "Uh oh!" he noted.
"Uh oh?" a puzzled Sora mimicked. Now he noticed that Riku didn't seem too happy either. The older teen looked worried, in fact.
"Yep. I oughta explain. Y'see…" The mouse walked around Sora, inspecting his weapon closely. "The Keyblade appears only in times of great need, to fight the Heartless. When peace is restored, it goes away to ... well, hard to really say. But if you still have the Keyblade, then that means your work as Keyblade Master's not done yet."
"Not done?!" Sora was aghast. "But I restored the worlds! I locked Kingdom Hearts! I defeated Xehanort's Heartless and Xemnas and ... oh no!" He nearly dropped the Keyblade in horrified realization. "Maleficent!"
I shall have my revenge on you yet!
"We wanted to talk to you about Maleficent earlier, your Majesty," said Riku quickly. "We didn't because we didn't want to interrupt the Anniversary Celebration. We ... we're sorry. We should have told you at once." The banquet was ruined, he thought sadly, because we waited.
"Maleficent?" inquired the King. The way he said it, one would think that he never heard of the witch before.
"Don't you remember, Your Highness?" added Kairi. "Maleficent's still alive. Last time we saw them, she and Pete were claiming Organization XIII's castle as their own." Nearby, Donald and Goofy looked at each other and nodded. They remembered her last words: Sora! "Your Majesty"! Do not forget - when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!
Mickey nodded too. "I remember, but here's the thing. Our spies got nuthin' on Maleficent or Pete at all, even up 'til now. They could be dead for all we know." The king looked at Kairi as Sora dismissed his Keyblade. "Trust us, we try our best. Our spies report nothin'. Still, you may be right."
"Right! I still have the Keyblade because I still have to take care of Maleficent!" said Sora with conviction. He looked at Donald and Goofy. "You guys ready for another adventure?"
The mage and knight were about to reply with bravado when Kairi interjected, "Whoa, what about school?"
"Oh, right." Sora was sheepish. The mage and knight deflated. Good point. Duty calls ... duty to school.
"And what if it's not Maleficent?" interjected Kairi. She opened her notebook and involuntarily added some details to a sketch. "What if ... what if it's the man from Sora's dream?"
"That man is proof that Nobodies are still out there, if the Heartless aren't," said Riku. "Maybe now Sora has to defeat the Nobodies, now that he's defeated the Heartless."
"That may just be it, Riku! Speaking of Nobodies, back to more pressing business," stated King Mickey. The King went back to his chair and from his vantage point, peered at Sora curiously. "Back to this ... Jasper Reddison. So, he's the Nobody of the dad of one of your friends, huh? Must be hard on your friend."
"Rufaus doesn't know," Sora said quietly. He admired the king right then and there. For someone who just survived an assassination attempt, Mickey was calm. Who else could be calm as he desired information about his own would-be assassination? This is why Mickey Mouse is king of Disney Castle, he supposed.
"How'd ya know he's a Nobody?" asked Mickey.
"We saw him teleport away using a dark corridor. Only Nobodies do that," said Kairi. She looked at her sketch. It was the same sketch she begun this afternoon in this same library.
"Also, the Organization emblem on his back," included Riku. "That's kinda obvious."
"I see," realized the king. "Hmmm..."
"Why would he want to kill you, Your Majesty?" asked Donald. "And do you really think he's part of Organization XIII?"
If anyone knew anything about any subject, it was King Mickey. But the king shrugged in ignorance. "I dunno ... I'm sorry fellas," he confessed. "I don't know any more about Organization XIII than you. The only person who really knew about Organization XIII would be Ansem the Wise, and he's gone." Mickey Mouse bowed his head in memory of his late philosopher friend.
"That's it!" Riku fairly shouted as he clapped his hands in enlightenment. "That's why the man tried to kill you! Jasper wants to kill you in revenge for Organization XIII!" At that, everyone looked at the silver-haired teenager.
King Mickey's eyes widened in surprise; "You really think so?"
"I don't get it," said Goofy. "King Mickey had nothing to do wit' that."
"Whoever hired Jasper, you mean," interrupted Sora.
"Huh?"
"King Mickey has nothing to do with the fall of Organization XIII. It was Ansem the Wise. The fall was his entire doing," explained the brunet in a low voice. Everyone turned their gaze on the fifteen year old as he related his theories ... in a slightly out of character manner. "Ansem is gone. Whoever wants revenge on Ansem can't reach him, he's dead. But you're alive, King Mickey. And you were his close friend. So ... you're his substitute." He recalled the gunman's words: Whose fault is it, that Organization XIII is dead?
Donald shuddered. "No way ... !"
"Whoever hired Jasper?" mimicked Mickey.
"Yeah. He said something about an employer. In my dreams, I mean," concluded Sora.
"Somebody, or some Nobody, wants revenge on King Mickey for his part in the fall of the Organization, or in lieu of Ansem of Wise. He hired another Nobody named Jasper Reddison to do the job," murmured Kairi, summarizing Sora's arguments quite well. The redhead looked at the brunet in slight worry.
Restful silence hung around for a while. Then Riku continued, "What is the connection between Jasper and Organization XIII? Was he a member?"
"Jasper isn't part of Organization XIII. Organization XIII had thirteen members. We knew them all. Jasper worked for Organization XIII. Like he's working for ... someone else now. That's different," said Sora out of the blue. In the same, earlier slightly out of character voice.
"Huh?" wondered Riku.
"Like an underling?" guessed Goofy.
"Or an independent agent," guessed Donald.
"He's right, you know," said Mickey. "You mentioned the Organization logo. But it's not specific to Organization XIII. It's the symbols for Nobodies in general. Like the Heartless emblem, kinda."
"Independent Nobodies?" wondered Kairi. Then she understood. She was one, once. Part of her. That part of her was kidnapped and forced to do an Organization member's bidding, against her will.
"Really?" asked Donald. Then he remembered. When they tried to access Ansem the Wise's computer, the white logo appeared after they searched for information on Nobodies, not Organization XIII.
"Jasper was in your dreams for a whole week?" inquired Goofy. He positioned himself behind the King's chair. "Why, Sora?"
The brunet lowered his head and noted, "He wanted revenge on me too. But I forced him out. Now he's after King Mickey instead." The others nodded in agreement; that made total sense. DiZ was the one who desired revenge on Organization XIII, but Sora was the one who executed it. After all, he felled more than half its members, including the Superior.
"My…" murmured Queen Minnie. It was the first thing the Queen said all night. She was in the library all along. She went to her king's side and held his hand.
"That's horrible!" squawked Donald as he raised his hands to his beak. "You could have died in your sleep!"
"Is that true?" gasped Kairi as she looked up from her drawing. "He tried to kill you?" Kairi gazed at the now finished sketch of the imaginary visitor in her library. It wasn't Jasper. Jasper had bluish grey hair (of a similar shade to Rufaus') and green eyes, and wore a white suit. The man in her drawing had white hair and red eyes, and wore grey robes. Could he be Jasper's employer?
Thoughts of last week's dreams, of his clothes and voice changing, made Sora uneasy. Thoughts of this morning's dream came back to him, too. Sora tried to change the subject, hugging his jacket as he said, "No, I mean ... yes. In a sense. Shouldn't we be worried about the King? Jasper's after him now! What should we do?" He concentrated on making his clothes retain their present form.
Out of nowhere, King Mickey yawned and said, "We ought to get ready for bed.
Everyone looked at him oddly. "What?" muttered Minnie.
"It's late, and we need to rest after what happened tonight. We can talk all about this tomorrow." explained the king. "How does spending the night at Disney Castle sound?"
Sora nodded eagerly; Riku nodded once; Kairi looked hesitant, then nodded gingerly and closed her notebook. Excuses for parents and friends would have to wait, when life and death matters are so prevalent right now. What excuse could clear them of two absent days? We camped in the woods for the weekend, see ...
"Okay! I'll tell the staff to prepare the guest bedrooms!" announced Donald, and the Court Wizard was off.
"But what if this Reddison guy tries to off ya in yer sleep?" asked a worried Goofy.
"Guards, of course. Your men up for an all-night shift?" answered a confident Mickey.
"'Course, Your Majesty!" announced the dog, and the Captain of the Royal Guard was off.
"Jasper might try to get you in your dreams. Watch out, Your Highness. He's a professional assassin, the best of his kind!" warned Sora.
"I'll have my guards wake me up if it looks like I'm in trouble. G'nite!" assured the King. At his side, the Queen nodded. Together, king and queen left.
Riku shook his head and murmured. "Figures. They hit the hay as soon as the sun goes down. Good thing we're putting it off until tomorrow, I'm pooped from dinner," He yawned himself, no longer worried if the king wasn't worried. "So ... revenge, huh? Against Ansem the Wise?" Riku blinked his aquamarine eyes. "Why? I thought the thing between him and the Nobodies was over."
"Ansem the Wise," murmured Kairi. "I remember him, a bit. From when I was little. At Radiant Garden."
"I miss him," said Riku.
"I hate him," said Sora.
The other two teenagers looked at him in shock. Sora, meanwhile, was looking at his tongue in shock. Did he just say that? Was it him who really said that? He hardly knew the philosopher–king! He only saw Ansem the Wise once, before the elder man sacrificed himself in a blinding explosion. How can he hate someone he just met? Yet ... the sickening hatred he felt right now was very real.
I hate you so much ...
Sora lay down limply on his four poster bed. How did I know Jasper worked for Organization XIII? How did I know Jasper was a professional assassin and not just some nut job with a gun? He just … knew. And not from his dreams, strangely enough. How could he hate Ansem the Wise so? The philosopher was a good king who helped him regain his memories. He should feel respect for the dead man! "We never got to tell King Mickey about my dreams," he lamented.
"It was as you told us, right?" came Riku's voice from a nearby bed. "He tried to kill you, but you forced him out. And you haven't dreamed of him since."
"Kill me? Not like what you think." Sora hugged a nearby pillow. "No, Jasper wasn't trying to kill me. He was … trying to turn me into Roxas."
"Twilight Town Roxas?" Riku sounded hopeful.
"No." Sora's tone was scornful. "The other Roxas." The actual Roxas, he thought, the Organization's Number Thirteen. In the darkened room, he could almost hear Riku shudder. "But I won. I didn't turn into Roxas. I told him to get lost, and he did." Will he return? He didn't return in last night's dream, so maybe not.
"Why Organization XIII Roxas?" Riku sounded worried.
"Roxas betrayed Organization XIII, remember? He leaving it kinda started the whole thing, I guess. So ... I guess whoever hired Jasper wanted revenge on Roxas first." Sora buried his head in his nearby pillow. "Since that didn't work, he switched to King Mickey." He yawned. "I wasn't completely wrong when I said Jasper's employer wanted revenge on me, I guess." After all, he and Roxas were connected.
"As well as Jasper." Riku sounded tired.
"Right. Jasper too. I think he took this job willingly." Sora closed his eyes, intent on chasing away tonight's worries - abeit temporarily - with sleep. "Man, it's going to be weird seeing Rufaus at school next week. Too bad he's my history partner." After all, his father was a Nobody gunman out for blood. "I feel sorry for him."
"Rufaus?" Riku sounded curious.
"No, Jasper."
A pause, then ... "What?"
"Sorry, I mean Rufaus." That was a lie. "He thinks his parents died, but really they became Heartless. That's worse." Sora thought back to his impromptu trip to the library last Tuesday and shivered. "And his dad, Jasper ... I mean, Jasper's Nobody, is running around and gunning for Mickey. That's downright horrible. I wonder if ... if I should tell Rufaus?"
"No, that'll just make things complicated. Protect the world order, remember?"
"Yeah. Besides, I don't think Rufaus would take it well if I tell him his dad's a ruthless hit man."
"His Nobody, you mean."
"Good point." Sora didn't like it at all when he learned that Riku joined the wrong side - Maleficent's - during the initial conflict, one year ago. But he had to know because he was the Keyblade Hero and needed to know who his enemies were. Rufaus, on the other hand, should enjoy the bliss of ignorance.
"Goodnight, Sora." Riku sounded half - asleep.
"Goodnight ... hey, Riku?"
"Yeah?"
"Guess it wasn't Maleficent after all. Maleficent wouldn't work with Nobodies, would she?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe she's Jasper's employer."
"Riku?"
"What?" Riku sounded annoyed. He highly desired to enjoy his four poster guest bed, and here his buddy kept interrupting him with questions.
"If ... if you wake up before me ... it looks like I'm in trouble, wake me up, okay?"
Strange request, but sure. "Okay."
"Thanks," mumbled Sora into his hugged pillow as he drifted off to dreamland. Fragments of today swirled about his mind, intent on becoming parts of his dreams. He hoped not. He really hoped not. How did he know Jasper was an assassin? Why was Kairi so worried during his fight with Jasper? Why did he feel hate at the mention of Ansem the Wise? So many questions ...