Sora53: Yes?
Corita: I've decided...to give up baking!
Everyone: -wild cheers-
Joe: -sob-
Sora53: What's the catch, Corita?
Corita: There isn't one! I'm just bored of baking.
Joe: NOOOO! SAY IT ISN'T SO!
Fans: X-x throw him out of here!
Security Guard: Come on, Joe, back to the clinic...
Joe: NUUUUU!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Corita :P (boring disclaimer)
When they entered Yen Sid's room, they saw that he was now standing near one of the moon-shaped windows. They walked towards him, and he turned his head away from the window to look at them. He gave a gentle smile when he saw Sora and Corita's new clothes. Donald peeked out the window, and gave a yell of excitement.
"Hey! It's the Gummi Ship!" He cried with glee.
The four friends dashed to the other side of Yen Sid to look out the window. It was true; their Gummi Ship was waiting for them in all it's brightly colored glory.
"So you guys ready to go?" Sora asked. His 3 friends nodded. They looked away from the window and lept into a straight line before the wizard.
"Now, now, just a moment." Yen Sid, holding up his hand. Sora, Corita, Donald and Goofy gave a soft yet dissappointed sigh, and relaxed their shoulders a bit.
"Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared." Yen Sid told them.
They sighed once again. "How do we get around?" Donald asked.
"Do not fear. If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know... However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide."
"Up to you, then, Sora!" Goofy chuckled.
Yen Sid nodded. "When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."
"Our hearts are connected." Sora whispered.
"That is correct. But be warned. As you proceed... The Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds."
"Man...that's not fair..." Corita sighed.
Yen Sid smiled and observed them all. "Now then, that is all the information I can give to you. Go forth, Sora, Corita, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone is waiting."
"Okay, let's get going!" Sora said to his friends cheerfully. They nodded, and turned back to Yen Sid once more, standing straight up.
"Master Yen Sid!" Donald squawked.
"Thank you for all of your help!" Corita finished. They each saluted the old sorcerer, then ran off to board the Gummi Ship.
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"Look at this place!" Corita said, excited. The Gummi Ship had many new additions to it. There were still 2 seats for pilot and co-pilot and 2 for that trips' passengers, but there was a new radar system installed for them to scope out worlds, as well as a brand new copy of their favorite book, 'Gummi Ships for Boneheads'. Over the intercom, 2 cheerful voices hailed them.
"Howdy, guys! How ya doin'?"
"It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty: Chip and Dale!"
"Happy flying!" The chipmunks squeaked together.
"Thanks, guys!" Goofy said back. He was examining the ship's new radar system. "Lookie here, everyone! This here gizmo shows us worlds nearby!"
The radar beeped red, indicating their current position, which was hovering over a mini version of Twilight Town. A small path of blinking blue lights created a path leading to another mini world.
"Only one?" Sora cried.
"That's no good!" Donald sighed.
"Wait! I think it's a world we know!" Goofy announced, peering closer at the radar.
"I wanna be pilot!" Sora cheered, throwing himself into the captain's chair.
"Then I want-" Donald started, but Corita interrupted him.
"I call co-pilot!" She said quickly, throwing herself into the chair before Donald could say another word. "Why don't you go back their and re-read 'Gummi Ships for Boneheads'?"
Donald grumbled and flopped into one of the back seats.
Sora squealed, excited. Corita gave him a strange look. "You had to wait until you got away from Yen Sid to squeak like that, huh?"
"Well...gotta make a good impression." Sora told her, pressing various buttons. The Gummi Ship lurched forward, then stopped.
"SORA!" Donald roared.
"Sorry!" He said, pressing other buttons.
"Press the green one!"
"This one?"
"NO! THE OTHER GREEN ONE!"
"Well, make up your mind!" Sora cried, jamming the green button. The Gummi Ship began to move forward smoothly.
Corita rolled her eyes. "I hate it when Donald's right."
Donald snickered and Goofy chortled. Since the team wasn't passing through one of the gates Yen Sid had mentioned, the trip was relatively quick and easy. They did meet a few Heartless ships, but Corita was more than happy to blow them up with one press of the 'DON'T PRESS UNLESS HEARTLESS SHIPS ARE ATTEMPTING TO SHOOT YOU OUT OF THE SKY!" button. Donald sighed as Sora and Corita cheered with glee when the ships fell out of the sky and blew up.
"It's not THAT exciting!" Donald roared.
"It's like we're starting a whole new journey! Remember the first time we rode in the Gummi Ship?" Corita said.
"That was awesome." Sora said, nodding. Goofy continued to chortle.
Finally, the next world came into view. Sora, Corita, Donald and Goofy gasped as they saw that Hollow Bastion hovered before them. It appeared somehow different than before, though. Sora quickly prepared to land the Gummi Ship.
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They had arrived in Hollow Bastion, but it did indeed appear VERY different. They'd arrived in what appeared to be a small town; there were shops set up around a large plaza, where people were walking around. Many were talking, some were shopping, some were watching moogles fly overhead. In various areas, construction was underway, and people were repairing crumbling buildings. The four friends walked through the town in awe.
"Is this really Hollow Bastion?" Corita wondered.
"Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now." Goofy said.
"I hope Leon and the others are doing okay." Sora said.
"Hey, that's right!" Corita realized. "Where do you think they are?"
"Dunno." Sora said. "Let's keep going."
They walked past many shops, each selling different items. Corita's eyes shone with desire, but Sora and Donald pulled her along.
"We're broke, remember?" Donald hissed.
"No, we're not!" Corita grunted, staring longingly at the shops. "What about the extra money the king gave us?"
"Oh...that." Sora said, sighing. "We'll go shopping later! Right now we have to find Leon!"
Corita, realizing defeat, sighed and continued to walk along with her friends. They left the town, and make their way into an area that was clearly still under construction. They stopped, however, when they saw strange light pedestals coming about 4 feet off of the ground, moving around as if scanning for something, then vanishing back into the ground.
"What's going on?" Donald cried, leaping away from one.
"That's the town's defense mechanism!" Called a bright voice. Spinning around, the team saw that Yuffie was behind them, on top of a tall building.
"Yuffie!" Sora called cheerfully. Yuffie waved at them, then stopped. A worried look crossed her face, then she pointed to the team.
"Look out!" She cried. The team spun around to find that Dusk Nobodies were ambling towards them. They quickly readied their weapons and lept into battle. They were quickly disposed of; the town's defence mechanism kept shooting out of the ground, damaging the Nobodies. Yuffie had lept down from the building and was headed towards them by the time the Dusks had been defeated.
"Hey, you guys! I see you're still in top form." Yuffie complimented.
"What'd you expect?" Sora asked jokingly, slinging the Keyblade over his shoulder.
"How are the others?" Corita asked.
"Oh, they're doing great!" Yuffie said. "You know, I had a feeling I'd see you guys again."
Sora stifled a laugh, and a serious look came over his face. "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."
"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie asked, giggling. Corita, Goofy and Donald had broken into gales of laughter. "Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!"
Yuffie ran ahead of them, around a sharp corner. Sora, Corita, Donald and Goofy followed her, and headed towards a small house hidden among the rubble. It, unlike a lot of the buildings in the town, was still in relatively good shape. Following Yuffie, they entered the house.
The interior of the house was a decent size, though the lighting was rather dim. There was a large table in the center of the room, and a small bed off to one side. Directly ahead of them was a large computer, filling up a large chunk of wall. The sound of clicking computer keys filled the air, and they saw that Cid was seated at the computer, typing. Aerith and Leon were gathered around him, watching the computer screen carefully.
"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie said cheerfully, gesturing to the group at the computer. The sound of clicking keys stopped instantly, and the three gathered at the computer turned to face them. Aerith's face was filled with a bright smile.
"Welcome back!" She said brightly.
"Well, if you ain't in top shape." Cid grunted in greeting.
Even Leon's usually stoic nature allowed a small smile. "I knew it." He said softly.
"Knew what?" Sora asked.
Leon stepped forward towards them "A while back," he said as he approached them, "everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time."
"You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us?" Corita cried.
"Thanks." Donald growled, annoyed.
"So...where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked, changing the subject quickly.
"We were sleepin'." Goofy replied.
"Where? In cold storage?" Cid said in his rough voice. Sora and Corita exchanged nervous looks.
"It doesn't matter." Aerith said. "This is great! Everyone's together again!"
"So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Sora asked.
Leon, Yuffie, Cid and Aerith shook their heads.
"Oh...okay." Sora said sadly.
"Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?" Aerith told them.
"Right. Thanks." Corita said, nodding her head.
Cid stood up and leaned in close to Sora and Corita. The twins backed away nervously.
"Don't go thankin' us just yet." He growled.
Leon watched the four carefully. "Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." He told them.
"You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?" Sora asked, peeking out from behind Cid.
"That's right!" Yuffie said brightly, as if it was hardly a problem at all.
"Then let's cut to the chase. Sora. Corita. Donald. Goofy. We were hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here."
"Hmph. Like we're gonna say no?" Sora replied boldly.
Leon smiled again. "I forgot who I'm dealing with. Follow me to the bailey---there's something you need to see."
Leon walked past them, and opened the door to the house. He left it open and walked out. After Leon left, a puff of blue smoke appeared in the corner near the door, and Merlin appeared out of it. He smiled brightly the moment he saw the group.
"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" Merlin said merrily.
"Merlin!" Corita said joyfully. Merlin wore light blue robes with a matching hat, and a long light beard. He must've relocated to Hollow Bastion from Traverse Town along with the rest of the group. He had helped Corita discover her gift as a Healer, as well as given her and Sora advice on magic.
"They said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie told the wizard. Merlin smiled again. "Splendid! We'll count on you!"
"Right!" Sora said cheerfully.
"Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?" Merlin asked, looking at Aerith. Aerith reached into her pocket and pulled something out.
"Here...they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them." She said as she handed one to Sora, Corita, Donald and Goofy.
"Membership cards!" Donald squawked, excited.
Sora flipped his over to read the back. "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!"
"They even have our names on them!" Corita said, looking at hers closely.
"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy chortled.
"Leon thought right, then." Merlin chuckled.
"Leon...Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!" Sora cried, looking up.
"Just a moment, now. What about your magic?" Merlin asked sternly. Sora and Corita looked at each other nervously.
"Corita seemed like she was a little rusty." Donald said.
"Was not." Corita growled, looking at him.
Sora crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "Hmm...well, we haven't had a chance to use it in a while..."
"While you were in cold storage?" Cid asked gruffly. Sora and Corita laughed nervously.
Merlin grinned. "Now, what am I to do with you?"
"Sorry, Merlin." Corita said. "We'll work on it."
Merlin nodded. "Now, to the bailey, and fast!" he told them, stepping aside so they could get past. The four friends dashed out of the house; they didn't want to keep Leon waiting.
Sora53: -yawn- Hmm...I need a new witty idea for these opening and closing statements.
Fans: Why? No one reads these anyway...
Sora53: -le gasp- that is not true!
Roxas: -yawn- -falls asleep- -eats ice cream-
Corita: O-o THAT'S IT! I CAN INVENT A NEW ICE CREAM!
Sora: ROXAS! WHY?
Roxas: -wakes up- Huh?
Corita: Muahahaha! -breaks into a random kitchen and starts preparing random stuff-