AN: Well look at that. A week later and we are back for another chapter of one of my stories! Man, how long has it been since I've updated something this quickly? Hmm...yep, it's been too long if I have to stop and think about it for a minute. Then again, considering some of the things that are happening in this chapter, I was really excited to write it so that I could post it and show you all what would unfold here.
Ven: It actually is a pretty interesting spin on a variety of different things in comparison to the original story of the first Kingdom Hearts game. Of course, some of it has me even more excited for some of the things that will happen later on in the story, and in its sequel as well.
Riku: I'm not sure what I'm more excited for. When I get to make my big moments later on, or when we get to the sequel when we learn how I played a huge role in helping...
AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]
Riku: Whoops. [Numerous Large Body Heartless suddenly roll over him like bowling balls into bowling pins]
Sora: Ouch.
Kairi: You can say that again.
AN: Ah, he'll be fine. In the meantime, let's answer some reviews!
Donald: But there's only two reviews that we can really answer.
AN: I know, but I still wanna answer them. First off, in response to the reviewer, "Dragon Rider 66", I might have a few more of those little parodies, but you'll just have to wait and see if any of them find their way in here. Especially since some of them are for stories that I haven't written yet, and I don't want to give away any spoilers, unlike some people. [throws pointed look at Riku]
Riku: [groans in pain]
AN: As for your question regarding the additional worlds, you'll get something of a partial answer to that question in this chapter, but as for whether or not we'll see the world of Code Lyoko in this story, I'm going to have to say no. We're sticking with stuff that's strictly Disney, Disney & Pixar, or places that have been in other Kingdom Hearts games. Though I will say that we'll get something of a small look at something from the world of Code Lyoko in the sequel, but I won't say what it is. You'll just have to wait and see for now. I will say this though about the additional worlds: there are TWO other new worlds that will be appearing in this story. What they will be shall be revealed in due time. Finally, in regards to your question about Sora not using the Keychain that Tarzan gave him. My answer is simply this: just because you got a Keychain, doesn't necessarily mean you have to use it. Lots of folks do actually get through much if not all of a Kingdom Hearts game using just the default Keyblade. I myself do not usually change Keyblades in the first game until Atlantica at the earliest, and Hollow Bastion at the latest, namely the second fight against Dark Riku.
Next up is an answer to the reviewer "Luchux", who asked if Ventus ever met Terranort during the latter's time as Ansem's apprentice. I actually can't answer that just yet, mostly because answers to things like that will be revealed in Ven's Journal entries, so you'll just have to wait for the next one of those to find out for yourself.
Now, I think that answers everything we wanted to talk about before starting the show, so let's get on with the action! Donald, do NOT let Goofy pull the lever.
Goofy: Ya mean this one here? [indicates one of two levers and reaches to pull it before Donald can reach him]
Donald: No Goofy! Wait! That's the...
Goofy: [pulls the lever]
AN: [gets drenched in buckets upon buckets of sports drinks] Pah. Not even a flavor I like.
Donald:...Wrong lever.
Goofy: Sorry.
AN: [sighs] Just pull the other lever while I get cleaned off.
Goofy: Okay. [pulls the correct lever] Enjoy the show everybody!
lyokoMARVELanime does not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.
Chapter IX
Words could not describe how grateful everyone on the team was over the fact that the journey from Llama Empire back to Traverse Town was met with absolutely no trouble at all. There were no meteor storms of any kind, no Heartless waiting to ambush them, and not even any kind of disagreements or fights on the bridge that would have slowed them down in the least bit. Maybe it was because they were starting to prove that they could handle anything that the Heartless could throw at them, or maybe it was because the path they were taking was so familiar that they knew all the different routes to take so that they could avoid trouble. Whatever the case might have been, they were not complaining at all. Since everything was so peaceful for the return trip, Donald and Goofy decided to take the time to get some well deserved shut eye while Ven started teaching Sora some of the basics in piloting the Gummi Ship, much to the kid's excited pleasure. It still amazed Ventus how Sora was able to take in everything that he was teaching the kid so quickly, even when it was not related to Keyblade Wielder training, but then again, learning how to fly the ship was actually somewhat easier to learn for Sora than a few aspects that went into becoming a Keyblade Master. Then again, considering that Sora had just learned and unleashed his first Shotlock not too long ago, the kid's confidence and eagerness to learn might have had something to do with it. Either way, it did not matter, because Sora was able to get the hang of everything involved with basic Gummi Ship piloting right before they had came to a landing at the gates of Traverse Town.
When they all stepped through the gates and into the familiar surroundings of the First District, they could not help but let out tired sighs of relief, both because they had made it back in one piece, and because they were glad to see a place where they knew for a fact they would not get hounded by Heartless. A minute later, they all had to smile when they spotted Yuffie just hanging out by the steps up to the shop that Cid had been running and ran over to greet her. The self-proclaimed Great Ninja Master was ecstatic to see her friends were back again for a visit, and was more than ready to talk their ears off with whatever subject crossed her mind, but she put it on hold when Ventus jumped right down to business and asked her if she knew where Leon was at the moment. Her response was that he was down in his usual training spot with Aerith at the moment, and after thanking Yuffie for her help, they all made a beeline for that very location, with Ven leading the way, since he was the only one who actually knew where it was.
It turned out that Leon's training spot was beneath Traverse Town, in an area that was known only as the Secret Waterway, and the minute that he and Aerith saw them coming over, Leon quickly ceased the practice swings he was in the middle of doing and turned his attention to them so that he could hear what the four had to tell them. It took a little while, since the group decided it was best to tell the two about the main highlights of everything they had been through since leaving Traverse Town, but thankfully, Leon and Aerith were able to get the gist of it, including one point in particular. "So you found two of the Keyholes," Leon noted.
"Yep, and locked them both up tight. There's no way the Heartless are going to get into them any time soon," Sora confirmed with a proud grin.
Leon could not help but let a small smile creep up onto his face at Sora's enthusiasm, and was about to get into an explanation of the Keyholes for the boy's sake, as well as Donald and Goofy's, but Ven quickly stepped in and said, "I already told them everything about the Keyholes and why it was important that we seal them." Leon immediately became silent at this news, but still nodded in thanks to the blonde after a moment. It saved him some trouble down the line after all. Seeing that they had effectively dealt with that matter for the moment, Ven decided to address the matter that had brought them back in the first place, and pulled out the gummi block they had found on Deep Jungle. "Say Leon, we found this gummi block on one of the worlds we had visited, but it's different from the others that we already have and we can't figure out what it's even for. Don't suppose you have any clue, do you?"
After taking a closer look at the object in question, Leon raised a hand to his chin to think for a minute, but ultimately could not come up with an answer for the team. When she realized this, Aerith was quick to offer a suggestion to them. "Ask Cid. He should know. After all, gummi blocks are something of a specialty of his."
"Got it. Thanks you guys," Sora nodded while Ven pocketed the mystery gummi block. They were just about to leave when Leon asked them to wait for a moment.
"Ven, take this with you," Leon said as he had the blonde an odd looking, stone charm with the faded image of an animal on it. "That stone holds some mysterious power. I've been carrying it for luck. I want you to hold onto it."
"Thanks, and if you don't mind, I can tell you what I think that mysterious power might actually be," Ventus offered. When Leon nodded in response, Ventus revealed, "This is actually a summon charm, or at least, I'm fairly certain it is. Sora received one like it from a man named Cloud back at Olympus Coliseum, but both that one and this one here seem like it isn't at the usual level of strength it should be. Like I told Sora earlier, it's almost like its asleep or something."
"So that's what it was," Leon muttered to himself, but his current companion had latched on to something else that Ven had mentioned in his explanation.
"You've seen Cloud? Is he all right," Aerith asked.
That came as a surprise to the four, as evidenced by the shock in his voice when Sora asked, "Do you know him?"
Aerith immediately nodded in reply as she said, "He and I are old friends, and he's also from the same world as Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and me. None of us could ever figure out why he didn't end up here with us after our world fell, so I'm glad to hear that he's okay."
"Gawrsh, it almost sounds like he's a lot more than a friend to you," Goofy teased, while Donald let out a small laugh in agreement.
A small blush appeared on Aerith's face in response to the two's teasing, but she quickly managed to push it down as she replied, "No, Cloud and I are just good friends, but we do have something of a special connection. Though that may be due in part to the fact that his best friend was also the man I loved." Her face then fell a little bit as she quietly added, "Besides…his heart belongs to someone else."
"Wait, you mean you not only knew but also fell in love with Zack," Ventus asked, now even more surprised than before, and wondering how he had never found out about this before.
"Don't tell me you saw Zack at Olympus Coliseum too," Leon stated.
Ventus's face immediately fell a little, wondering if he should tell the two about what he had learned from Cloud in regards to his old friend. If Aerith really was as close to Zack as she claimed to be, then hearing that he was apparently dead would break her heart. Still, they had a right to know about his connection to Zack at the very least, so he took a deep breath to gather his courage and revealed, "Zack and I met years ago, back when I was on my very first journey through the worlds with my friends. When I asked Cloud about Zack, he told me that…that Zack's…"
"Dead, right," Leon asked, surprising Ven a little. What he found even more surprised was the fact that he and Aerith were both still so well composed.
"We've known about what happened to him for a while now. It may not have been all that long ago, but we still found out about it eventually from one of Cloud's other friends when she stopped by once," Aerith revealed.
"Still, I am sorry for your loss," Ventus apologized. "Part of me still can't help but wonder if there was something I could have done to help save him."
"Don't worry about it too much, Ven. Zack wouldn't have wanted you to feel depressed about what happened to him. He always preferred that his friends be happy no matter what, and he once told me that if anything ever happened to him, that he would like for his friends to remember him with a smile on their faces no matter what," Aerith informed the blonde.
Ventus smiled a bit at that, and commented, "Yeah, that does sound a lot like him." He then shook it off and said, "Well thanks again for your help, and the summon charm. We're going to head over to Cid's and ask him about the gummi block now."
"See ya later then," Leon nodded, and he immediately went right back to his training, while Aerith returned to what she had been doing before. What exactly that was, none of the four could really tell, but they figured she was mainly there to make sure that Leon did not hurt himself or something. They could see her doing that, given her very caring nature and the fact that Leon definitely seemed like the type to overdo things when it came to his training. No matter what the case was, they had more important things to worry about at the moment.
When they walked into the Accessory Shop, Sora could not help but feel a bit nostalgic and slightly depressed at the same time. This was the first place he had visited in Traverse Town after his home was lost and after he had gotten separated from his friends after all, but he knew that now was not the time to be feeling down, so he shook it off so that he could focus on the conversation with Cid. As the gruff store owner looked over the gummi block, one could not help but notice how excited he seemed to get over seeing it. That excitement quickly turned to incredulity when Goofy finally asked him what the strange gummi block was used for, much to all of their surprise. "You're kiddin' me," Cid had practically shouted. "You're flyin' a gummi ship and you don't know nothin' about navigation gummis?" When he received nothing other than blank looks in response, he went on to grumble, "Bunch of pinheads. Interspace ain't no playground."
"There's a lot we don't know. So what," Sora snapped back, but Ven was quick to wave him off in an attempt to keep him calm. The last thing they needed right now was for Cid to get offended needlessly.
"To be fair, Cid, we do need the Gummi Ship to get around to other worlds. Besides, all I ever learned about the things was how to fly them, work the weapons, and do simple repair jobs like hull breaches and such. The more technical stuff either went over my head or just weren't mentioned," Ventus pointed out to the older man.
"All right, all right. Sorry about that," Cid sighed in defeat, showing that he did not know any of this beforehand. "Well, I guess I could lend y'all a hand, then." He then cleared his throat and went into an explanation of the gummi in question. "Basically, with navigation gummis, you can go to new places. I'm sure you've noticed that some of the worlds out there aren't exactly reachable with your ship's current systems, right?"
"Yeah, actually I did," Ven nodded in confirmation along with Goofy. The latter of the two was normally manning the navigational systems so he was well aware of how there were other worlds out there that for some reason he could not set as a destination. The only reason Ventus knew about this was because he normally flew on a gummi ship that was much more advanced than the Kingdom, and because he had been to quite a few more than the ones they had already visited before, so he knew that it must have had something to do with the ship's abilities. Sora and Donald knew there were other worlds out there, but they had no idea it was not possible to reach them with their ship's current capabilities.
"Well then I'm guessing you guys will want one on your ship, right," Cid asked, gaining unanimous nods in reply. "All right. I'll install it for you, but I got this thing I gotta go deliver first."
"What is it," Sora asked.
"Just this book," Cid replied, showing said book to the four after he pulled it out from under the counter. "It's real old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically falling apart. Too beat it up to restore it to the way it was, but overall, I did a decent job puttin' it back together."
Ventus looked the book over for a few seconds before he finally said, "Hey, I've seen this book before."
"What," Sora and Cid both gasped.
"A few years ago, I saw this book on another world. It belonged to a wizard by the name of Merlin, and apparently it was able to unlock someone's hidden powers. I always kind of wondered what happened to it afterwards," Ventus admitted.
"Well in that case, would you mind delverin' it for me," Cid asked. "I can fix up your ship while your doin' that, and it'll save us all some time."
"Sure thing," Ven nodded, and he then placed the book in one of his magic pockets that somehow managed to store everything for him after accepting it from Cid.
"But where are we delivering it to," Donald asked.
"It's the old house past the Third District. Look for a big fire sign," Cid informed them. Just seconds after he said that, they all felt the ground shake beneath their feet, followed by what sounded like bells ringing. "Sounds like the bell at the gizmo shop is ringing again," Cid muttered.
"Has that been happening a lot lately," Ventus asked, not once remembering that happening from his time here before.
"Yeah actually. No one really knows what the reason is."
"Maybe we oughta check it out," Goofy suggested.
"Agreed, but it'll have to wait until after we deliver this book," Ventus insisted.
"Great. When you're done with all of that, stop by the house in the Third District. I'll be there with Leon and the others," Cid informed them. "We've kinda set it up as our new base of operations after the hotel was compromised."
"Wait, you mean that one that Yuffie was always staking out for some reason," Ventus asked.
"Yep, that's the place," Cid nodded.
"Huh. And here I thought she was seeing whether or not we could use it for some really small haunted house prank," Ven muttered to himself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing! Let's go you guys," Ven quickly said, and the four were all quickly rushed out of the shop before Cid could further question the blonde on what he had said just seconds ago.
After that little exchange, the three had found themselves racing through the Second District so that they could reach the Third District to find the wall that Cid had mentioned. They probably would have not had to search if they had actually had time to really look around the area the last time they had been there, but considering that they ended up having to fight a dangerous Heartless the last time they were in Third District, it was understandable that they did not know the area too well. Along the way though, they did still run into some Heartless, but it was only a few Soldiers and Shadows, and they were not even as powerful as the ones that they had encountered since leaving for the other worlds, so getting through them was no problem at all. As it turned out, finding the door they were looking for also proved to be little trouble. The actual hard part was getting it opened, because the door had been magically sealed by something or someone. Thankfully, Ven was able to figure out how to get it open, and swiftly cast a quick Fire spell at the door. When the large door slid upwards, Sora and the others could not help but gain neutral looks of disbelief at how simple that turned out to be, but they shook it off in favor of completing their delivery.
The location that they needed to bring it to was actually an old, run-down looking house on the middle of a small island, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy all had to wonder if anyone really did live there. Ven reminded them that appearances can be deceiving when he saw their looks of doubt on the matter, but when they saw that the front entrance was boarded up even he was starting to doubt the idea. Still, Cid said that this was the place that the book was to be delivered to, so he quickly knocked on the boarded up door, and even shouted out why they were there in case someone was inside. When they received no reply, the other three started to look around the small tower for another way in, before Ven could even turn around and tell them to do so. He was really getting annoyed with them running off on him like that, but he was not complaining about it this time, seeing as they were doing just what he was going to suggest they do anyway. Eventually, Sora found their way in, which turned out to be a hole in the wall that was covered up by a large cloth, almost as though it had been remade into a makeshift entrance, and the four slowly proceeded inside, ready for anything that might jump out at them.
They were met with mild disappointment when they found nothing but a dusty, empty room on the other side of the blanket, and while they could have just set the book down somewhere and left, Ventus cast that idea off when he pointed out how important and special the book actually was, and then lead the team in searching around for any sign of someone being there now or later on. As he was looking though, Sora was startled a bit when he heard a familiar voice speak up from behind him, mostly because it was not the voice of his teacher or two newest friends, but of one of the people he was currently searching for.
"There's something about this musty place," said the voice of Kairi as Sora turned to see the girl herself walking into the room, and then proceeding to stroll about with a fond smile on her face. "It reminds me of the secret place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?"
Sora did not need the reminder, since he was just in said location not that long ago, even if it did feel like an eternity after all that had happened to him, but he could not say any of that since he was suddenly having trouble finding his voice. You could not blame him though. Kairi was here before him once again on a different world from the last one that he had been on, only this time she was actually speaking to him in that same melodic voice he knew so well, and in the tone that he knew she would always take on when she had something very important to say or when she was remembering something that she considered important. There was no way he was just seeing things this time. After all, illusions and daydreams like that do not actually speak to you in such crystal clarity, so this had to be the real Kairi. He then slowly reached out towards her, softly calling her name as he did, only to pause when he heard Goofy calling out to him. He immediately turned around to see the other three giving him an odd look, but he paid it little mind as he turned back to his friend, only to gasp in shock when he saw that she was gone once again, like she had been nothing more than a ghost.
Concerned about what had gotten the kid so worked up, and wanting to find out why he was spacing out like this so much at last, Ventus immediately walked over and asked, "What's the matter, Sora? You've been spacing out a lot ever since we landed in Deep Jungle and first met Tarzan. Is something going on?"
Sora debated whether or not it would have been smart to tell Ventus about how he kept seeing Kairi when she apparently was not even there. Sure, on one hand, it would probably confirm that he was just getting visions that came with being a Keyblade Wielder, but on the other hand, it could also lead the others to think that he was crazy. Deciding that the risk was worth it, Sora finally said, "I could've sworn that I saw Kairi just now, and it wasn't for the first time, either. I first saw her in the tree house after we met Tarzan, and then again in Yzma's secret lab. That's how I knew to look in that cabinet, because I could've sworn that Kairi was telling me to look there, even though she wasn't saying anything, but she was definitely trying to tell me something. If anything, it seemed more like she couldn't talk to me, then."
"What about just now," Donald asked, admittedly curious about all of this, even though he was thinking that Sora might have been imagining things.
"She was definitely talking to me, saying that this place reminded her somewhere back home that we used to play together at," Sora admitted. "And I was so sure that it was her. Everything about her was just as I remember it being and more. I was sure that I wasn't dreaming until I turned away and then looked back to see she was gone again."
"But Sora, there was nobody here except us," Goofy pointed out. "Maybe you really are just tired, and miss your friends a lot more than you realize."
Ventus was not so sure that was the case. If it were anybody else, he would have agreed with Goofy, but since this was Sora, and since he knew what the boy was carrying in his heart at the moment, Ven was sure that it was something else. He had a feeling that Kairi's heart was stirring inside of Sora, and perhaps the girl was even trying to let Sora know that she was there. Even if that was not the case, if this kept up, he knew that he would not be able to keep the fact that Sora literally had Kairi's heart inside of him for much longer, so maybe it was high time that he told him what he knew, or at least suspected to be true. He was actually just about to carry out this decision when a new voice cut him off, startling all four of them when they heard it.
"Well, well. You've arrived sooner than I expected," the newcomer had commented, drawing the four's attention to the doorway they had just come through. When they did, they were greeted with the sight of a rather skinny looking man with a long white beard, and decked out in robes, a tall conical hat, and pointed slippers that were all sky blue, and circular spectacles. In one hand, he held a long, featureless brown rod that one could only assume was a wand, given the fact that his overall wardrobe made him look like a wizard, and in his other hand, he carried a large traveling bag. While Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all instantly wary of this man who had just indicated he was expecting them to show up, Ventus could only smile in both nostalgia and friendly familiarity at the sight of this particular individual.
Seeing the wariness that was forming on his friends' faces, Ventus took the initiative on casting it out and exclaimed, "Merlin! How've you been?"
"Ventus, my boy! It's good to see again after so long, and all grown up at that," Merlin replied in kind as he set his bag down and shook hands with Ven.
"Do you know him, Ven," Goofy asked.
"We met a few years back when I first visited another world with my friends. Merlin's a very powerful sorcerer, and has been around for quite some time. You can always count on him to know a thing or two about a thing or two, especially when it comes to magic," Ventus explained.
"Oh you flatter me my boy," Merlin chuckled, and he then turned his attention to the group as a whole. "I spend much of time traveling these days, but it's always good to be home. More importantly though, your king has requested my help."
"King Mickey," Goofy asked in surprise.
"Yes indeed," Merlin confirmed. "Now, as has already been proven, I know of Ventus, and I also know of Donald and Goofy, but who might you be, young man?"
"I'm Sora," the young Keyblade wielder replied, seeing that the sorcerer was referring to him.
"So what did the king ask you to do," Donald asked.
"Just a moment," Merlin requested, moving over to the raised floor that was situated in the middle of the room, and setting his bag down by the stairs leading up onto it. With a wave of his wand, and a quick magic word, the bag opened, and the four were treated to the sight of several pieces of furniture jumping up out of the bag and dancing around the room until they came into a suitable resting place. Moments later, the once bare, musty room was lit up with a much more suitable atmosphere, look, and feel that seemed like the type of thing you would expect from a wizard like Merlin.
"There now," Merlin sighed in relief once everything was done. He then cleared his throat and said, "Your king asked me to help train Sora in the art of magic. Apparently, he thinks that you could use some assistance in that department, Ventus."
If it were anyone else, or even another point in time, Ventus would probably have been a little offended by that piece of news, but since it was not that point in time, and who it was saying this, he was able to shrug it off very easily. "I could actually use some help with training Sora in getting a handle on some areas of magic," Ventus admitted. "Do you think you could also help me with teaching about Shotlocks and Command Styles, or rather, helping him getting a better handle on using them?"
"Well I don't know how much help I can be in those exact departments, but I can certainly help provide you with a place where you can practice without worry or distraction. Just ask any time you have a moment to spare," Merlin replied.
Ventus nodded in thanks for that, while Sora smiled in a similar manner, just before the blonde remembered what they were doing here in the first place. "Oh yeah, Cid asked us to bring your book over to you," Ventus informed Merlin, pulling out the mysterious book from his magic pocket.
"My book," Merlin asked, confused as to what Ven was talking about until he saw the book in question. "Oh that book! Thank you for bringing this to me, but the truth is it's not actually mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. I didn't even know it was there until after your friend, Terra found it outside my old home and then brought it to me thinking it was mine. It was such a curious book that I couldn't help but keep it for him, and that's part of the reason why I asked Cid to repair it for me."
"So that's how Terra learned about this book," Ventus muttered to himself. He then remembered something else that he had learned about this particular book. "Didn't you once say that it had a great power in it or something?"
"Yes, indeed it does, though I'm afraid after it fell into such a damaged state, it's not quite the same kind of power as it once was when you and your friends last read it, Ven," Merlin unveiled.
"What kind of power does it have then," Sora finally asked, having become even more curious about the book ever since hearing that it was not actually Merlin's.
"Well, it's hard to say exactly just what it is, but what I can tell you is that this book actually holds an entire world inside of it," Merlin replied as he opened and looked through the book. "Though after it became damaged, that world fell apart, divided into the pages that were once within it, and it would seem that some of those pages are still missing."
"Why don't we go and look for those pages that are still missing," Goofy offered.
"Now that would be just splendid, but do hurry back as soon as you find them all. I'd hate to think of what would happen to the world in this book if those pages are not returned posthaste," Merlin beamed. While the other three were happy to help, part of them could not help but internally groan over how there was now something else that they had to find on their journey. Still, they were not going to say no. Just as they were about to move on to another matter, Merlin added one last thing, "By the way, about those stones you and Sora are carrying, Ven. I think my friend over there might be able to help you out with them."
Looking to where Merlin had waved, the four saw what looked like a small carriage that was shaped like a pumpkin, only to see a faint, blue sparkling mist seep out of it, and then solidify into a woman in a sky blue robe with a long, silver wand in one hand, and a bright smile on her face. Seeing this woman startled the group of course, but Ventus's surprise was soon replaced, once again, by recognition. "You're Cinderella's Fairy Godmother," the blonde exclaimed.
"Indeed I am. It's so good to see you again, Ven," Fairy Godmother beamed in reply. "The king had asked me to help you and your friends throughout your journey as well."
"That's great," Sora beamed. "So, can you tell us anything about these stones? Ven said that he thinks they're Summon Charms."
"It would be nice to get a little confirmation, though," Ventus added on as he and Sora both pulled out the charms that they had received from Leon and Cloud so that Fairy Godmother could have a look at them.
Fairy Godmother looked over the stones for just a few seconds before she cooed, "Oh the poor things! You were right to suspect that these are Summon Charms, Ventus, but they are ones of people whose worlds have been consumed by darkness. As you know, when a world vanishes, so do its inhabitants, but these two had such strong hearts, they became summon gems instead of vanishing with their worlds."
"So is there anything we can do to return them to normal," Ventus asked.
"Yes, but only their spirits," Fairy Godmother replied. "I can restore these gems to their proper form as Summon Charms, but that will only allow the people they summon to enter a kind of limbo until you summon them. Aside from that, they will remain as spirits, and the only way to truly restore them will be to return their worlds from darkness."
Sora and Ventus exchanged a look between themselves, and they both instantly knew what the other was thinking in this regard. They then returned their gazes to Fairy Godmother and nodded in approval, showing that they wanted her to do as she had suggested, and with a wave of her wand, Fairy Godmother restored the two Summon Charms to their proper states, and full power. After the spell had been cast on the two gems, they both underwent some small changes, but they were still noticeable all the same. Both charms had instantly become much brighter, and the two Keybearers could feel a spark of life resonating from the small things, but those were the only things that were the same between the two charms. In the case of Ven's charm, his had turned a bright orange-reddish color that was almost reminiscent of a sunrise, while the image of a lion with golden fur and a red mane stood out, emblazoned on the center. Sora's on the other hand, had turned a bright red, with silver webs running all across it, and in the center, the animal symbol that was once unrecognizable was now clearly shown to be that of a black spider. Despite these differences, the two could both still feel a great deal of strength and power coming from both charms, and they could tell that they had just gained a pair of very powerful allies for the battles that were still to come.
With their Summon Charms now properly restored, Ventus then turned to Merlin and asked if he could lead them to the area where he could help teach Sora more about his magic so that they could continue the boy's training. After all, they did still have some time to kill until Cid had finished working on their ship, and since Merlin had already said that his services had been requested by the king, they might as well take advantage of this new blessing and do some training before they left. Besides, given his current progress with mastering Command Styles, and the fact that Ventus himself was not the most inept spellcaster out there, they were going to need all the help they could get in this regard.
Training with Merlin definitely proved to be a very welcome help. Between the fact that they were able to use magic furniture that was able to instantly repair itself, and the fact that they were using a special room in which they would be able to practice without worry about surroundings, they all felt that they had found a perfect place to train Sora in the future without having to worry about others. In essence, they now had another reason to come back to Traverse Town besides stocking up on potions, ethers, and other items, as well as visiting their friends. It certainly beat just practicing on whatever world they happened to come across, but Ven insisted that they would still practice things on other worlds. After all, different worlds had different effects on certain fighting abilities, and it was always better to learn things from real life experiences than just by learning in a classroom, as Ven well knew from his own experiences.
Thankfully, training with Merlin did help Sora develop his reserves of magical energy, and it also had other added benefits. Ventus was so sure that after how things had developed with his Command Style abilities, his Shotlock skills would end up following a similar path, but as it turned out, Sora proved to be even better with Shotlocks than he was with the Command Styles. The kid was able to summon forth the Shotlock he had discovered with ease on his first attempt at doing so in a situation that was not so serious that you would think he had been using Shotlocks for years. In addition to that, Sora also managed to discover that he was able to use the Ragnarok and Photon Charge Shotlocks as well, proving this to be even more of a surprise to Ventus. You see, Shotlocks require a great deal of focus in order to use them, even after discovering how to use them that first time, and Sora did not really come off as the most focused type of person, as evidenced by how he would sometimes end up napping when he was supposed to be meditating. So the fact that he managed to use an ability like this so well as opposed to the Command Styles came as quite the shock to everyone. Maybe it had something to do with how they were easier to use in comparison to the Command Styles, which utilized a certain sense of timing in order to properly use them, or maybe it was how one just needed to point the Keyblade at a target and think about it, but whatever the case was, they were all glad that something was coming so easily to Sora in his training.
After practicing for a few hours, despite how the excitement made it seemed like mere minutes, the four finally bid Merlin and Fairy Godmother goodbye and left to let Cid know that they had finished the delivery and then investigate the gizmo shop's bell. At least that was the plan, but as they were arriving back into the Third District, they found themselves getting ambushed by the Heartless. At least they would have been, had someone not jumped in and destroyed them all in one blow. Someone that Sora instantly recognized.
"There you are! What's going on," asked Sora's best friend as he waved his odd-looking sword in show. While Sora was excited, there was just something about the demonic-wing-shaped sword with a familiar-looking blue eye with a cat-like iris that made Ventus feel a little nervous.
"Riku," Sora asked as he reached up and started pulling on Riku's face, much to his surprise.
"Hey, hey, cut it out," Riku exclaimed as he pushed Sora off, but Sora was too excited to really care if he was weirding his friend out.
"I'm not dreaming this time, right," Sora asked, practically begging someone to confirm that this was actually real beyond his own tests.
"I hope not. Took forever to find you," Riku chuckled, swiping a hand through his hair to prove how exhausting it was to find Sora.
That earned a laugh from Sora in response; there was no doubting it now, because only Riku could joke around like that. Seeing his friend was so happy to see him, Riku could only smirk happily, and that prompted a small smile from Ventus, Donald, and Goofy as well. That is until Sora thought of something else important. "Wait a second, where's Kairi?"
"Isn't she with you," Riku asked. Sora bowing his head sadly served as all the answer that Riku needed, and he knew that he needed to alleviate any worries that Sora was likely starting to develop after hearing about this. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too. We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now. We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this…"
As he was talking, Riku never once noticed that another pair of Heartless was starting to manifest behind him, but he definitely noticed after hearing someone cut it down, seeing as it happened right when he was in the middle of his last sentence. What he did not expect was to turn around and see Sora and Ventus standing there, Keyblades in hand and holding stances to indicate that they had just sliced an opponent down. After standing down from their battle stances, Sora turned to his friend with a small smirk of his own, shouldered his Keyblade, and said, "Leave it to who?"
"Sora, w-what did you…?" Riku stuttered, hardly able to say anything. His best friend on the other hand still had some things to tell him.
"I've been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help," Sora revealed, indicating Donald, Goofy, and Ventus.
Riku looked the three over for a minute, and Ven could not help but think that he was looking at them with a hint of jealousy. "Who are they," Riku finally asked.
"My name is Master Ventus. I'm Sora's Keyblade Master," the blonde introduced, holding a hand out for Riku to shake. Riku seemed to study the man for a minute before finally accepting the handshake, though Ven could not help but notice how tightly the kid's grip was. "Sora's been searching for you and Kairi like crazy. It really shows that you two are definitely his best friends."
Riku nodded in response to this after relinquishing his grip on Ven's hand, and then muttered, "So you're a Keyblade Master, huh? Not quite like the last one I met."
That perked Ven's interest a bit, but before he could question Riku on it, Sora cut in once again, cutting off Donald's own introduction at the same time. "We've visited so many places and worlds, looking for you."
"Really? Well, what do you know? I never would've guessed," Riku commented.
"Oh, and guess what? Sora's the newest Keyblade Wielder, and he's really doing great under Ven's instruction, especially with things like Shotlocks," Goofy revealed.
"Who would've thought," Donald teased a little cross about Sora's interruption earlier.
"What's that mean," Sora demanded.
"So this is a Keyblade," Riku asked as he did something none of them were expecting. He actually took the Kingdom Key in his hand and held it, and not once did it even glimmer like it was going to vanish and return to Sora's hand.
While Sora quickly scrambled to take back his Keyblade, Ventus could only look on in shock. The minute that Riku had taken Kingdom Key from Sora, it should have instantly returned to the kid's hand, and yet it just remained with Riku. Even now, it was not vanishing from Riku's grasp and returning to Sora's like it should have, and it made the young master wonder just what was going on right now. Why was Kingdom Key not returning to its rightful wielder like it should have by now? Was there something going on that he might have missed, or was there just some sort of problem regarding Sora in relation to the Keyblade? Throughout his musings, he missed nearly all of Sora's struggles to take back the Keyblade, save for how Riku just casually threw it back into Sora's hand, but he most certainly did not miss the fact that another swarm of Heartless were suddenly jumping out at them now.
One would have managed to land a hit on Riku had Ventus not blasted it away with a quick Aero spell, and in that one moment, the five were once again jumping into action to fight the Heartless. Having another person fight with them had proven to be a big help in the past, but having someone like Riku definitely proved to be an even bigger help. The silver-haired kid certainly knew how to fight, and if you were to watch as he fought alongside Sora, you would see just how their bond as best friends translated into their fighting style. Sora's new skills definitely brought some improvement, but aside from that, it almost looked like they were in complete sync like they had always been. Riku's finesse dealt with enemies that Sora's brawler style missed and Sora's powerful strikes allowed him to take out stronger foes that Riku missed before they could hit him. The fact that Sora was now able to use an impressive range of magic definitely helped in their fighting style, but what came as even more of a shock was that Riku was able to cast some magic of his own. The type of magic he was using though left Ventus a little concerned though.
The minute that Riku fired off his first spell, the blonde immediately sensed the familiar taint of darkness in it that told him the boy was using dark magic. It may have been just one spell, one that he recognized as Dark Firaga, but that one was more than enough to tell him that Riku was messing with dark magic, and since he knew just how dangerous that type of magic was, he made it a point to talk with Riku about it as soon as possible. His moment of pause to make said note ended up costing him though, as a Large Body managed to body slam him from behind, knocking him off his feet and underneath a dog-pile of Shadows. Glancing around, Ven could see that Donald and Goofy were not much better off, as a squadron of Soldiers had them both backed against the wall, literally and figuratively, while Riku and Sora had ended up back-to-back in the center of a circle formed by all three types of Heartless. It was at that moment that Ven realized that they would need some extra help, and he could only think of one way to get it.
"Sora! Use the summon charm," Ventus shouted.
While Riku was confused as to what the blonde was talking about, Sora knew in an instant what he meant, and he quickly reached into his pocket to pull out the object in question, right after parrying a blow from a Soldier that had spun a kick at him. Raising the charm into the air, the object glowed brightly as Sora shouted summon, and after said glow had died down…nothing seemed to happen. There was no fancy show, no warrior or creature of any kind appearing, and not even some sort of random attack from out of nowhere. Everyone was confused about why the summon charm seemed to fail, right to the point where Riku ended up asking, "Isn't something supposed to be happening?"
"Just give it a minute or something," Ventus reassured his apprentice's best friend. "Sometimes they like to make a really dramatic entrance."
Sora would have asked how long they would have to wait, until suddenly, a Shadow that had leapt at him was suddenly snagged by what looked like a spider web. The Shadow in question was then pulled up into the air, along with a few soldiers that were also snagged by webbing, and then thrown down onto the ground by a figure who had spun through the air as he landed before Sora and Riku, destroying all of the Heartless he had captured the minute they collided with the ground. The two boys just looked on in awe, both due to how this mystery man had just saved them, and his appearance. The man in question was clad in a red and blue suit with web patterns running all across the red portions of the outfit. On the center of his chest, they could see a small, black spider emblem, and if they were able to see his back, they would have also seen a larger red spider emblem that was circular and had six legs on the sides as opposed to the four that the one on the front had. When the figure raised his head up, they were able to see that his mask covered his entire face, while the large, white eyes on it seemed to narrow a little to show that he was ready for a serious confrontation at a moment's notice. After a minute though, the eyes widened again as the man glanced stood up straight and started glancing around at his surroundings, like he was confused as to what was going on. It certainly would have made sense if that was the case, considering he had just been summoned from who-knew-where, so Ven knew they would have to be ready to quickly answer any questions this guy had for them.
"Hey, uh does someone mind telling me where the heck I am, 'cause this doesn't look like any part of New York to me," the red and blue clad stranger commented.
"You're in a place called Traverse Town," Sora immediately answered. "I summoned you here so you could help us fight these Heartless."
The man then glanced at the creatures of darkness that Sora had waved to and gasped, "Hey, those are the monsters I was fighting with some other heroes just before I blacked out! Guess they just don't know when to quit."
"You've got that right," Sora nodded. "Anyways, can you give us a hand? We're kinda getting overrun."
"You don't even have to ask. I mean, this does look like a job for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, after all," the masked man nodded, and he was soon spinning and swinging into action a second later. Everyone then watched as this Spider-Man, as he called himself wove his way across the battlefield, destroying Heartless left and right, until Ven and the others were finally freed up enough to pitch in and lend a hand. At one point, Sora even jumped in to fight side by side with Spider-Man, and they showed a fighting strength that was almost on the same level as a combined effort between Sora and Riku, or even Sora and Ventus. Eventually, Spider-Man fired off a large amount of webbing that pinned every single Heartless where they stood, giving Sora, Ven, and Riku the chance to rush in and take them all out in an instant, while Donald and Goofy helped the masked man to finish off any remaining stragglers.
With Spider-Man's help, the tide had definitely turned in the team's favor, and before they knew it, the fight was completely over. Seeing that there were no more enemies around, Spider-Man then looked to the five before him and asked, "Now can someone please tell me what is going on here? One minute I'm fighting monsters in New York along with guys like the Avengers, and the next thing I know, I'm blacking out only to wake up here in this crazy looking town fighting the same monsters, but this time, it's alongside a couple of guys with key-shaped swords, a kid with white hair and a sword shaped like a bat wing, and…" He could not help but pause when his gaze found Donald and Goofy and then whispered, "You guys see the two cartoon characters that have somehow come to life too, right?"
"Yeah. They're friends of ours," Ventus nodded.
"Nice to meet you. My name is…" Goofy started to say with a wave.
"You're Goofy and that's Donald Duck, right," Spider-Man cut in.
"Yeah, but how did you know that," Donald questioned.
"You guys are really famous where I come from," Spider-Man shrugged. "Wait, does this mean that Mickey Mouse is somewhere around here too?"
"We're actually trying to find him along with some other friends of ours," Sora explained. "My name's Sora by the way and this is my best friend Riku, and my master, Ventus."
"Call me Ven," the blonde quickly added. "So you're Spider-Man, right?"
"Yep, but you can just call me Spidey," Spider-Man nodded. Before he could say anything else, Spidey suddenly started glowing and then fading away. "Hey, what's going on?! I'm starting to see through myself like I'm some kind of ghost!"
"Sorry, but the magic we used to bring you here only works temporarily. Still, I hope we can call you again should we need the help," Ventus informed him.
"Hey, I'm always happy to help out. I'm not called your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man for nothing," Spidey nodded. "If you guys ever need anything, just give me a shout."
"You've got it Spidey," Sora grinned. "I'll make sure to summon you back again real soon. Maybe next time we can really hang out and have some fun."
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind taking some of you guys web-swinging, so until then," Spider-Man replied with a lazy salute, and with that, the marvelous hero disappeared from view.
Seeing everything that had just unfolded, Riku could not help but stare around at Sora and his new friends in surprise before he finally said, "Well, you seem to have gotten yourself mixed up into some really crazy adventures, Sora."
Sora just had to nod with a bright grin on his face, and then asked, "So, you're coming with us, right Riku? We've got this awesome rocket, and Ven can probably teach you some cool sword skills too. Wait 'til you see it!"
"No, he can't come," Donald squawked in protest.
"What?"
"Forget it!"
"Oh, come on! He's my friend!"
"I don't care," Donald huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Well you might want to start, because I think he should come with us," Ventus interrupted, earning a smile from Sora while Donald looked at him in disbelief. "Like he said, the guy's Sora's friend, and besides, I'm sure he wants to find Kairi just as much as Sora does…well, maybe not just as much as Sora does, but pretty close to it. Besides, if this was Mickey, wouldn't you rather he stick with us?"
What Ventus was not saying was that he wanted to further question Riku on where he had gotten his sword and learned dark magic from, mostly because he did not want to worry Sora. After all, he had told Sora how dangerous dark magic was, so it only made sense that the kid would be worried like crazy if he heard that his best friend was using it. He also did not want to mention the matter of Kairi's heart being inside of Sora out in the open like this, and since he knew that he had to address the matter as soon as possible, he wanted to put an end to this argument as quickly as possible so that they could get off the streets and somewhere that they could have that discussion without any prying eyes and ears learning about said information. What he did not expect was for the argument to be settled in a different way than any of them were expecting.
Goofy had been glancing between his friends as they all argued about whether or not they should bring Riku along, until he finally looked back in Riku's direction and gasped, "He's gone!"
All arguments came to a halt as they quickly started looking around for any sign of where Riku had disappeared to, only to come up empty in the end. "Nice going," Sora angrily muttered to Donald.
"Look on the bright side, Sora, at least now you know he's okay," Ventus pointed out.
"Yeah, and who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too," Sora cheered excitedly, his sour mood practically evaporating in seconds, reminding Ventus of just how much Sora was like him when he was younger, and even now at times.
Hearing Sora mention Kairi again reminded Ventus of just how important it was he tell Sora what he knew about his other friend, and that reminder almost caused him to blurt it out right then and there. Thankfully, his self control prevented that from happening, along with how the whole town seemed to shake when the gizmo shop's bell suddenly rang out again, reminding them all of the other matter that they had to take care of right now. With their goals now firmly set in their minds, the team instantly raced off to the Second District, ready to solve the mystery that lay before them.
Getting over to the gizmo shop lead the four into a few more fights with the Heartless, but thankfully, they were more than able to handle the dark creatures that got in their way, no matter how many there were against them. Sure, it got a little tough when they were faced with a large number of monsters like the Large Bodies, but those normally only appeared in groups of three at most. The real tricky part was actually getting up to the rough of the gizmo shop so that they could take a look at the bell. In order to do that, they ended up having to go through the shop itself so that they could find a way to climb up there, and that involved battling a swarm of Heartless that kept coming at them in several different waves. Most of the time they were easy to deal with, but in other instances, there were Heartless that were hard to hit without magic, and others that were just immune to magic, meaning that they were often limited in what they could do to effectively end a fight quickly.
Somehow, they finally made it up to the roof, and after a brief scuffle with some Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, Yellow Operas, and even a couple of Green Requiems, they managed to get enough peace to work bash into the boarded up bell tower of the gizmo shop. Looking around, they saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary; even the bell itself or the rope one would pull to ring it seemed completely normal. Still, there was no denying that something about this bell had been strange since sometime after they had all first left Traverse Town, so there was only one thing they could do to further investigate: ring the bell. Taking it upon himself, Sora instantly reached up and pulled on the rope, ringing the bell, while the other three kept their eyes open for anything in the area that might have changed.
In the end, it was Donald who first spotted something changing, as he shouted, "Hey, there's something going on with the fountain!"
Looking towards the object that the duck had indicated, they all just saw as a large block in the center of the fountain finished turning to show an image of various fish in the water, while some special effects in the fountain's base made it seem like a fire had been lit in the water. Interested in what had just happened, Sora pulled the rope again, and everyone watched as the fountain's incredible lights came to life in a brilliant show of colors, while the central block turned once again, showing a different picture than the last one, this one being of a pair of trees. Wanting to see what happened if he rang the bell a third time, Sora eagerly pulled the rope again, but this time, not only did something impressive happen to the fountain, namely water spouts going off, but something unexpected happened as well. When the block turned again, it not only showed an impressive picture, it also revealed something that none of them were expecting to see: the Keyhole of Traverse Town!
"We've gotta get down there and seal that Keyhole fast," Donald exclaimed. "Traverse Town can't fall to the Heartless too, not since it's become a home for so many people who've already lost their world!"
"And it won't. Not on our watch," Ventus stated in hard confidence, while an equally hardened look settled itself on his and Sora's faces.
The four then leapt down from the roof of the gizmo shop, Ventus using some wind magic to cushion their fall, and raced over to the fountain, Sora and Ventus already readying their Keyblades so that they could seal the Keyhole the minute that one of them got close enough to it. Just as they were getting close to the mystical passage to the world's heart, a massive Heartless dropped down in their path with a loud crash. Not just any Heartless though, it was none other than the Guard Armor, or rather, another version of the Guard Armor, because unlike the previous one, this one was different colors and even had a few additional colors as well. The violet sections were silver, the torso had gained red, yellow, and blue stripes, its head was now red with yellow spikes, its fingers were grey, its feet red, and the additives on its top and upper rims were now blue and yellow, respectively. Even with this color change, it was still the exact same monster that they had beaten before, and they were all sure that they could beat it again.
With that confidence in their hearts, the four charged into battle against their old, previously defeated foe. Just like last time, Donald and Goofy focused on the legs while Sora and Ventus directed their attention on the arms and torso, but this time, they would occasionally trade things around so that they were all evenly fighting each section of the massive Heartless. Of course, they were not really going all out just yet, but that was mostly because they believed that they did not really need to. Then again, there was no reason to think that they needed to since this was an opponent that they had defeated before, but Ventus knew that they could not drop their guard completely, since there was always a chance that any kind of surprise could be sprung on them at any moment. Add in the fact that they needed to seal the Keyhole as quickly as possible before this Heartless could lead others into it, and you could see why they all wanted to beat this monster as quickly as possible. Sadly, it was not quick enough to avoid any of the surprises that Ventus was worried about.
Just as they were about to deal the finishing blow, the Guard Armor suddenly froze where it stood before leaning forward. It did not stop until its hands were firmly planted flat on the ground, while the rest of it continued leaning forward until it would have been standing on its head, had its head remained where it previously was. The legs then rotated around, while the feet folded down, forming pincers and turning the legs into arms, while the head floated up to what had previously been the bottom half of the torso before opening the face mask up to reveal a pair of beady yellow eyes. Even after this transformation was complete, the various parts of the Guard Armor continued floating about in the air, still detached from each other, but now giving a much more menacing presence, especially with how what were previously the arms spun around beneath the torso. While the transformation was not that significant, there was no denying that it did not bode any good tidings for our heroes.
Ventus and Goofy were quick to take defensive positions in front of Donald and Sora, who were already preparing to use some variety of magic on this new beast, while Sora whispered a request to Jiminy about this new development with their opponent. Thankfully, the little cricket was able to provide some information easily, but he wished that he did not want to share some of it. "This fella is known as the Opposite Armor; a modified version of the Guard Armor. I know that was probably obvious from the color change, but it's not just that. The Opposite Armor is also a lot stronger than the Guard Armor, and even has a few different attacks, too. It's most dangerous attack would be when it rearranges itself so that it looks like a cannon and shoots energy blasts from its torso. Another thing you should be aware of is that it'll throw all four limbs at you at once, and that it'll use two different formations to attack us: Hammerleg-Head and Gauntlet-Torso. Both are dangerous, so watch out for them. Thankfully, you can still destroy each limbs piece by piece, just like the Guard Armor, so destroy each piece should limit what it can do afterwards."
The four nodded in response to Jiminy's information, and then prepared to engage the Heartless again. Just as Jiminy had said, the Opposite Armor did indeed throw its four limbs at them, but Donald and Ven were both able to throw up some protective spells to keep them safe. Those spells only lasted long enough to block that one attack though, and as a result, they were all quickly scrambling to avoid the energy blast that came from its torso a minute later. The Opposite Armor did not give them long to recover though, as its Gauntlets spun around in front of the torso, homing in on Sora as they did. Goofy was able to come to the rescue, blocking its attack with his shield, but sadly, the poor knight was not quite strong enough to push it back for very long. Luckily he did not have to, because Sora used the opening to unleash his Typhoon Barrage Shotlock on the Heartless, sending both the Gauntlets and the Armored Torso flying away, and crashing into the head and Hammerlegs, which were in process of attacking Ven and Donald. Ven and Donald used this chance to unleash a magic barrage of their own, but nothing they threw out seemed to do much damage, or at least not any more damage than Sora and Goofy's efforts had managed to make.
When the Opposite Armor rotated around into its cannon form again, the four scattered again, only to end up in the line of fire of its other attack formations again, only this time Ventus was on his own, while Sora was forced to fend off the Hammerleg-Head attack, while Donald and Goofy had to fend off the Gauntlet-Torso. Seeing this, Ventus knew there was only one option open to them at this point, and it was the same option that they used earlier to fend off a Heartless ambush. He was especially glad that Sora was not the only one with a Summon Charm, a fact he reminded everyone of when he pulled it out and unleashed its magic by shouting out, "Summon!"
A moment later, a faint cloud cover started to roll in around the area, and out from the center of the clouds, stepped a large lion with gold fur and a red mane, and the minute he stood directly in front of Ventus, he let out a powerful roar that echoed across the stars. The lion then glared directly at the Opposite Armor parts that were attacking Sora, and lunged forward, knocking it away from the boy. After swatting the monster aside, he then did the same to the section that was attacking Donald and Goofy, only to leave himself open to an attack from behind by the part he had just batted away. Thankfully, Ventus was able to come to the rescue, and parried the blow from the Hammerleg-Head, and when the lion turned to Ventus in shock at this, the blonde told him, "You and I should focus on one section of this thing while the others handle the rest."
Surprisingly, the lion seemed to understand him, because he nodded in reply and pounced at the Gauntlets and Armored Torso once again, with Ventus right behind him, Keyblade in hand. The other three were able to catch on easily enough, and Sora was able to take charge on their assault by unleashing the Ragnarok Shotlock on the Hammerlegs, giving Donald and Goofy cover so that they could charge in and attack it head on. Shockingly, Goofy leapt up and landed the first blow with some hard bashes and slashes of his shield, followed by Donald unleashing a barrage of Thunder and Fire spells. Sora then leapt in to slash at the legs with his Keyblade, and then glanced over to see how Ventus and his newest friend were doing. He was surprised to see that Ven was now riding on the lion's back as they charge in to attack the Gauntlets and Armored Torso. Once they were close enough, Ventus leapt up into the air and brought Guardian Wind down on the Armored Torso in a powerful slash, while the lion pounced on the Gauntlets, pinning them down as he roared loudly at them.
What came as a surprise was that the Gauntlets were actually blasted into dust by the lion's roar, destroying them in an instant, and given how the Armored Torso and Hammerlegs reverberated a bit from the echoing sound of the roar, it looked like every other part of the Opposite Armor was damaged as well. Seeing this sparked a new surge of fighting spirit in the others, and they all charged in to attack together, slashing, bashing, blasting, and roaring like crazy on the remaining pieces of the Opposite Armor, and barely giving it any time to retaliate. They did not even let it get a break to assume its cannon form again, which was especially easy with the lion backing them up, until finally, all that remained was the Armored Torso, and they were laying into it with everything they had. Ventus started things off by unleashing his Wingblade Command Style, which Donald easily followed up with a powerful storm of magic spells. Goofy then spun around several times over as he bashed his shield into the Armored Torso, and when he came to a stop, he used his shield to boost Sora into the air so that he could fire off the Photon Charge Shotlock from above the Armored Torso. The lion then pounced once again with a loud roar and with that, the last piece of the Opposite Armor was vanquished.
With their enemy now defeated, the group then gathered around the lion that Ventus had summoned, curious about the mighty creature, but also a bit nervous since there was no telling how the lion would react to them after seeing how it quickly attacked the Heartless. Ventus on the other hand was of another opinion though, as shown by how he slowly moved closer to the beast than the others did. "Can you…understand me," Ventus asked.
The lion stared at Ventus for a minute, confusion written across its face, until it did something that surprised them all and spoke, asking, "Why wouldn't I?"
"Wak! He talks," Donald exclaimed, drawing a tired sigh from Ventus. He was honestly just not going to bother anymore with pointing out the irony behind Donald getting shocked over something that did not normally talk being able to.
"Who are you people," the lion asked.
"My name's Ventus, but you can just call me Ven," the blonde replied with a smile. "This is Sora, Donald, and Goofy. So what's your name?"
"I'm Simba of the Pride Lands," the lion answered with a smile. "Though, I'm pretty sure this isn't my home."
"It's not," Ventus replied. "The truth is, you're an entire world away from home, and…I'm sorry to say that your world has likely fallen to a powerful darkness. We're doing everything we can to help both your home and the other worlds out there, but we need all the help we can get."
Simba was of course upset by the news about his home, but the minute that Ventus mentioned that he and his friends were trying to save both it and all the other worlds, he immediately perked up with a determined expression on his face and said, "Well then, if I can do anything to help, I'll gladly do it. I may not be home right now, but I'll gladly do what I can to save it, even if I can't do much."
"Thanks Simba," Ventus nodded, and the lion returned the courtesy with a nod of his own before he vanished like Spider-Man had not too long before.
The four just stood there staring at where Simba had just been before they all grinned at one another, glad to see that they had gained such powerful allies, and they then turned to the Keyhole. With a single nod exchanged between them, Ventus and Sora both raised their Keyblades, and sealed the Keyhole shut, watching as it vanished the minute that it was sealed. A minute later though, they were surprised to see another strange gummi block fall out of where it the Keyhole had previously been, and since they were already planning on going to see him, they quickly scooped it up so that they could show it to Cid the next time they saw him, and then took off for where he said they could meet him.
When they arrived at the small house, the four were surprised to see the whole gang of their Traverse Town friends had gathered in the small room, and they were all eager to share the good news with them until they realized that they all had pensive looks on their faces that bordered on being vengeful in each of their own ways. A bit disturbed by such a tense atmosphere, especially considering that even Yuffie and Aerith were adding shares to it, neither Sora nor Ventus could help but ask what was wrong. It took a moment for any of them to answer, but eventually, Cid did with a question of his own. "You guys ever hear of Maleficent?" While the other three shook their heads in the negative, Ventus stiffly nodded with an expression of grim remembrance on his face, knowing who they were talking about all too well. "I hear she's in town," the engineer finished.
"Who is she," Sora asked, wondering just why this person was putting everyone in such a foul mood, including his teacher.
"A witch, man, she's a witch," Cid replied.
"Actually, she's a fairy," Ventus corrected, drawing slightly surprised looks from the others when he did. He looked about the room for a minute as he explained, "She's an evil fairy from the world of Enchanted Domain." When he only received more odd looks in response he added, "Yeah, I had the same reaction when I first learned she was a fairy too. What I don't know is how you guys know about her."
"She's the reason this town is full of Heartless," Leon explained, surprising Ventus a little. Last he checked Maleficent was not able to command creatures like the Heartless.
"She's been using the Heartless for years," Aerith revealed, answering the blonde's unasked question.
"We lost our world, thanks to her," Leon then finished.
"One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world! I got out of that mess and came here with these guys," Cid explained.
"That was nine years ago," Leon finally finished. "Our ruler, a wise man named Ansem, had dedicated his life to studying the Heartless, so some of us can't help but think at times that maybe his research drew her and the Heartless to our world. Still, his report should also tell us how to get rid of the Heartless and take back our home."
"Wait…your ruler…are you guys saying that you're all from Radiant Garden," Ventus asked in surprise, having never once suspected that.
That drew confused looks from the defenders of Traverse Town, until Cid finally said, "We're actually from a world called Hollow Bastion, to be honest. What made you think we were from this Radiant Garden place?"
Now Ventus was lost. The last time he had checked, there was only one Ansem out in the worlds who had ruled over any world, and that was the ruler of Radiant Garden. After all, it was hard to forget about someone he and Mickey had visited so many times in the past, or even the place where he and his friends had shared so many memories, both good and bad. Still, there was also something else to consider. Radiant Garden's star had first gone dim around the same time that Leon had said that he and the others had lost their world, and Ansem the Wise had disappeared shortly before that. Was it possible that this Hollow Bastion and Radiant Garden were one and the same? Ven truly had no way of knowing until they actually traveled to that world.
"I guess now we've got even more of a reason to find those reports of Ansem's then," Sora then remarked, reminding Ventus of something that had happened before they had returned.
"Good thing I've already found at least one of them," Ventus revealed, pulling the page out so that everyone could see it. "It's not really much help though. All it mentions is some of the early research and guess work about the darkness in people's hearts. Nothing about the Heartless themselves."
"Still, it's better than nothing," Yuffie pointed out.
"And I'm sure that Maleficent's got most of the other pages," Cid added, provoking even more dismay among everyone.
Not wanting his friends to fall too far into depression like this, Ventus quickly plastered on an easy-going smile and said, "Relax guys. Even if Maleficent is in town, there's no way their getting this world to fall to darkness. Sora and I just sealed the town's Keyhole, so things should quiet down a lot more now. Besides, there's one other thing you guys should know about Maleficent."
"And what's that," Leon asked.
Ventus could not help but smirk, even as he placed his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner and said, "I beat her when I was just a kid. Even if she wasn't going at full power then, I was mostly fighting her on my own. Now that I'm a master, and now that Sora, Donald, and Goofy are likely going to be helping me, she shouldn't be any trouble at all."
What the blonde did not mention was that he had help from three good fairies when he first fought Maleficent, but they did not need to know that, especially given how most of them seemed to cheer up a little at the information he had just given them. Though most of it was probably due to learning that Traverse Town's Keyhole had been sealed, but their spirits only continued to rise when Sora added on to his teacher's words of confidence with some of his own. "Yeah, we can handle her. We're not going to go looking to fight her right now, but if or when we do, we'll be ready for anything she can throw at us."
Now Ventus was a bit worried. While he did appreciate Sora's show of confidence, if it was actually as real as it seemed, that would mean that he could end up doing something careless, and with what he was carrying, there was no way that the blonde could allow that. Before the kid did anything reckless, he had to tell him now or never. "Sora, there's something that you need to know before you go off doing anything reckless," the blonde said.
"What is it," Sora asked, easily picking up on how serious the matter was just from Ven's tone, never mind his expression.
Seeing the intrigued yet concerned expression on his apprentice's face made Ventus all the more worried and concerned about telling Sora what he was about to say, but it had to be done, so he steeled his resolve and pushed onward. "It's about your friend Kairi," Ventus started, and he immediately wished that he did not start that way, because Sora's expression quickly became panicked. "It's nothing too serious, but it's still something that you need to know, especially since it relates to the fact that you're having visions of her."
"But I thought that was just because I was tired," Sora pointed out.
"That could be, but I think that there's another, much more likely reason," Ventus revealed. "Sora, when we first met I was able to sense a powerful light within you. That's normal, seeing as you had just gained a Keyblade, but there was more to it than that. There was another light in your heart; one that was far too powerful to only be from your own, and it didn't have a trace of darkness in it. The light that can only come from the heart of a Princess of Heart."
"Are you saying that Sora has a Princess of Heart's heart inside of him," Donald asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Ventus confirmed. "I wasn't really sure who it could have been though, but after hearing about his friend from him, I figured that there was a chance that it could be Kairi. You remember what I told you about the personality qualities that all Princesses of Heart posses, right?" Sora only nodded in reply, so the blonde continued, "Would you say that Kairi's personality has those qualities?"
"Well…yeah, I guess she does," Sora nodded in thought. "What does that…?"
"Sora, it has everything to do with this," Ventus interrupted, preempting the obvious question. "And the fact that you've been having visions of her recently confirms it. Your friend Kairi is not only a Princess of Heart, she's also inside of your heart, or at least her heart is."
One could easily tell from Sora's expression that he had been shocked to his core at this news, right to the point that the boy could not even speak properly for several minutes. When he finally did find his voice again, all he could do was stutter, "Her heart…is…Kairi's inside of me? But…how…when…why?"
"I only know the answer to that first question, Sora, but only because it's the obvious one," Ventus tried to lightly joke, but his face became serious once again. "I think that, when your islands fell to darkness, her heart somehow found its way inside of you so that it could take shelter. However it was possible though, I couldn't guess. It normally would require a very powerful or special spell in order for it to happen, or maybe even something as simple as a strong bond. I'll admit that the latter clearly exists between you and Kairi, but there's just no way of really knowing for sure at this point. Either way, it just means one very important thing: you can't be too careless in this journey."
"What do you mean by that," Sora asked, practically demanding an explanation.
"Sora, do you remember what I told you about what it would mean if something bad happened to all seven Princesses of Heart," Ventus asked. When the boy said nothing in reply, but gained a thoughtful, serious expression on his face, he took that to mean that he did, he continued on with what he was saying. "What you don't know is that the worlds of four of them have all fallen to darkness now. That's four Princesses of Heart who have already been taken by darkness, and with the addition of Alice being captured by the Heartless, that makes five, which means that counting Kairi, there's only two Princesses of Heart left. If anything were to happen to the other one, that would leave Kairi's heart as the only one that was safe, so what do you think that would mean?"
Sora did not even have to think for very long. "I would have to protect her with everything I have and more."
"Exactly. More than that, we also have no idea about what would happen to her heart if you were ever beaten or overwhelmed by the Heartless, especially since we don't know where her body is," Ventus said.
"Why would that matter," Goofy asked.
"If Kairi's heart is in Sora, what do you think that means in regards to her body," Ventus asked. He did not wait for an answer this time. "Her body is out there somewhere, and from an outside perspective, one would think that she was in a sleep-like comatose state. That means she's vulnerable to anything and everything, and if we want to even attempt to restore her heart to her body, we need to find it first."
"And after we do that, we'd still need to keep her safe after putting her heart back where it belongs," Sora finished.
"Exactly," Ventus nodded. He then hesitated for a minute before saying, "There's just one problem: I actually…don't know how to put her heart back into her body."
"WHAT," the other three gasped.
"Hey, in my defense, the last time I encountered a Princess of Heart whose heart had been taken, it was easy to restore it to her body because it was just hanging out in the open, and all I had to do to was give it a little tap. This is completely different from that just by the fact that Kairi's heart is inside of another vessel," Ventus quickly defended. "I'm not saying that I don't have an idea on how to do it, but what I'm saying is that I don't know how to do it without putting Sora at risk. If we don't extract Kairi's heart from his body just right, Sora could end up losing his heart in the process."
That did not inspire a lot of confidence in everyone, but somehow, Sora managed to shrug it off and smiled as he said, "Well, we'll just cross that bridge when we get there. After all, we've got to find Kairi's body first, right? So until then, I'll keep her heart safe."
Everyone smiled in response to this, happy to see that Sora was still so confident despite knowing just how much danger he was going to be in if their enemies found out what was being kept safe inside of his heart, but they quickly became concerned when Sora suddenly jumped in shock. To be fair though, he did have a good reason, because just seconds after he said that, he heard someone speaking in his head. Namely the very same girl they were just talking about. "Thank you, Sora."
"Kairi," Sora gasped, looking around to see if he could see her somewhere in the room again.
Ventus immediately realized what was happening and brought Sora's searching to a halt by grabbing Sora's shoulders, drawing his apprentice's attention directly onto him. "Sora, Kairi's trying to communicate with you through your mind. Don't look for her; just think what you want to say to her." Sora nodded and fell silent, trying to do as Ventus said, but all he received was silence in response. When he told Ven this, the blonde was quick to come up with an answer on what the problem was. "You're only trying to think about her, but you need to connect with her through your heart. It shouldn't be too hard, and not just because her heart is inside you. She's also one of your closest friends, and someone you care a great deal about. Just open yourself up to that feeling, and focus your thoughts through that."
Sora did not entirely understand what Ventus meant by that, but he did get the basic gist of it and did as instructed. After a couple of minutes, Sora could feel a warm feeling in his chest, one that he had started having a long time ago whenever Kairi was around, and after focusing on that feeling for another minute, he thought, "Kairi, can you hear me?"
"Of course I can," Kairi immediately responded. "I'm just glad that you can finally hear me. I've been trying to reach you for what feels like ages, but I wasn't able to get through. I'm pretty sure it was something on your end though, considering what a lazy bum you are."
Sora could not stop himself from chuckling out loud in response to Kairi's teasing, but he was quick to focus on their conversation and asked, "Do you know where you are?"
"Yeah, I heard what Ven told you, but I'm having a hard time believing it. From where I'm standing, it looks like I'm on top of some strange tower with a stain glass floor. It looks like it has a picture of you sleeping with your Keyblade in one hand, while smaller images of me, Riku, and your newest friends are next to yours. It's actually really pretty, but it also feels a little strange knowing that this is the inside of your heart."
"Well, I just hope you don't mind being there for too long. After all, I'm going to do everything I can to find your body so you can get back to it," Sora reassured her.
Kairi's tone became much more gentle as she replied, "Thanks Sora, and don't worry. I don't mind being in your heart at all. I never have."
Sora suddenly started hoping that Kairi could not pick up on his blushing in response to that, but he still smiled all the same knowing that she was okay, and when he informed the others of this, they all had smiles on their faces, glad to see that their friend and the girl he cared about were going to be okay for the foreseeable future.
What none of them realized was that right at the same time they were all exchanging this information, someone was watching it all unfold from right outside the window, and despite the fact he could not hear anything, it did not stop him from drawing up conclusions. Even if most of those conclusions were being influenced by the evil fairy standing next to him as she whispered those very dark thoughts that were filtering through his mind into his ear. "You see? It's just as I told you," Maleficent commented with a barely hidden, sinister smile as she and her newest ally looked on at the group inside the small apartment. "While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you. Not only that, but he's even found someone to help him gain a strength that you could never dream of giving him. I can't say that I blame him for wanting strength, but you really must wonder if he's really gaining that strength for the right reasons. After all, he doesn't seem too concerned about you and your other friend when faced with the prospect of what he will gain from training under Ventus."
Maleficent paused in her monologue for a moment to glance over, and her smirk grew a little more when she saw how Riku's eyes narrowed into an even more intense glare than they had been before. She knew that she had him firmly baited just by that look on his face, so now, all she had to do was reel him in. "You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you are searching for."
Riku said nothing in response for a moment, opting to continue glaring through the window in both anger and a bit of hurt, most of it being directed at Sora, who appeared to be happily laughing away with his new friends as he assumed his usual relaxed pose, before he finally turned his attention to the other Keybearer that was in the room with Sora and the others. "About that other guy: Ventus. Do you think he really is a Keyblade Master," Riku finally asked after another minute of staring at the blonde.
Maleficent considered this question for a moment before she replied, "I have encountered him once before many years ago, and given the time that has passed since then, I would say that it would be safe to assume that would indeed be true. Why do you ask?"
"…No reason," Riku said, though that was mainly because he did not want to reveal his true reasons to Maleficent. He still had his doubts about the blonde's claims to being a Keyblade Master, but at the very least, if it was true, he could at least rest easier knowing that Sora would be safe with him. Even if the lazy bastard was just playing around and thinking he was too cool for him now that he had a Keyblade, it was good to know that he would be safe while Riku continued with what was now his mission and his alone. That did not mean he was not intending to make sure that Sora pay for abandoning him like this, and that he showed he was honestly grateful for what Riku was doing when he finally succeeded.
AN: Well there you have it. Ven gets the Summon Charm for Simba, we meet up with Merlin and the Fairy Godmother, learn a little about the history behind Pooh's storybook at least in relation to Merlin, Ven, and his pals, along with a few other reminders of Ven's past exploits, there was the final face-off with the Guard/Opposite Armor, reuniting with Riku, and...hm, let's see, what else was there? Oh that's right! Sora's mystery summon is none other than our web-swinging wonder of a hero who's newest movie Spider-Man: Homecoming comes out next month, the amazing, the sensational, the spectacular, friendly neighborhood SPIDER-MAN!
[audience applause...correction roaring applause while Amazing Spider-Man 2 theme music plays]
So yeah, I suppose this tells you whether or not we're going to see the Marvel universe in this story, because as was previously mentioned, most of the summon charms that Sora and his pals gain are going to be those of people who have lost their worlds to darkness. I really wanted a Marvel character to appear as a summon here, and even after considering all of the other Avengers, I just couldn't find someone who was better suited for this than Spidey. As many people have often said in the past, Spider-Man is the greatest hero there ever lived simply because he's always stayed true to who he is, and even when he goes off to fight big bads like the Phoenix, Thanos, Dormammu, and others like that, he always comes right back down to the street-level crimefighting and helping out the little guy because that's where he started and it's where he feels like he belongs. Ventus getting the Summon Charm for Simba was easy to decide. You see, I wanted to split the Summon Charms as evenly as possible between Ventus and Sora, at least in regards to the ones that we would be seeing the most of, or rather, the ones that have the most impact on the larger story. That's why the next time we see an original summon, namely the one featuring a Star Wars character, it will be called upon by Ventus.
Speaking of Simba, of course I made it so that he would be able to talk with Sora and the gang. Without the obvious reasons that you would give if this were part of the game, how else would our heroes learn his name and vice-versa?
Moving onto the topic of the Guard/Opposite Armor. If you'll notice, I gave it its Final Mix rendition this time around. That's because I wanted to really drive home the fact that this was a more powerful version of the original Guard Armor that the team had already defeated, and while the transformation into the Opposite Armor already does that quite well, giving it its color change just seemed like it would have more of an impact. I mean, it certainly works for characters in various different Transformers series, so why not here, right?
Now, the reunion with Riku. I'll admit, most of it went as it did before, but I wanted to really emphasize that something had really changed about him since he was last seen by Sora, and while I think that his reactions and interactions with Ven, Donald, and Goofy really helped drive that point in, I feel like the fight that introduced Spidey to the story as a summon really helped to drive the point home. Not only that, but it also served as a chance to give Maleficent more ammunition to use to pull Riku into her fold. After all, just hearing about how Sora's improving without him is one thing, but actually seeing it first-hand is another entirely.
Another thing I want to note is how Ventus revealed the fact that Maleficent is actually an evil fairy to everyone as opposed to a witch. I know that they're probably just saying that as an insult to her, which she would likely take as a compliment in some twisted way, but that insult has often been taken as fact as opposed to what she actually is. I mean, how often have you encountered someone who would describe Maleficent as a witch as opposed to a fairy before or even after her movie came out?
One more thing to note is how I made it so that the Shotlocks came naturally to Sora. Yes, I mentioned how they require a certain degree of focus, which Sora does not normally display, but since Command Styles have proven to involve a great deal of timing and precision, it just made sense that this ability, which is basically just a point-and-shoot-skill in this story, would come a little more easily to Sora. Besides, I do believe that I mentioned that the Shotlocks would have a larger role in this story in comparison to my last Kingdom Hearts story, and this is really just one other reason as to why that would be the case.
Finally, Sora learning that Kairi's heart is inside of him much earlier than before. I'll admit that I wanted Ventus to reveal this information to Sora by this point in the story from the start, and while I will admit that I do like how Kairi will be interacting with Sora now that he knows she's there and can form the connection, I must confess that his being able to speak with her like that at the moment was actually inspired by another story that follows a similar plot-line to this one. It's just one of those stories where Aqua somehow ends up in Sora's time around the beginning of the first Kingdom Hearts games and becomes his teacher as opposed to what I'm going for here. It's called Awaken By Time, written by "UknownHero." I recommend checking it out if you haven't already, because it is really good, even though it hasn't gotten too far into the adventure yet. So there's my little shout to ya, "UknownHero" if you're reading this.
Oh, and let's not forget about the new information that Ven's learned, namely about how his friends came from the world of Hollow Bastion when he was originally thinking they were from Radiant Garden. Really starting to help him put some pieces together in at least some regards wouldn't you say?
Sora: Hey, what about Pooh's storybook? Are we going to see any of that world?
AN: Honestly, no I don't think so. There wasn't really too much of consequence happening there aside from Sora meeting Pooh and his friends, as well as sealing that world's Keyhole. That visit and the collecting of the missing pages will be mentioned later on, but that's about as far as we'll go with things involving that world. Otherwise, we just have an unnecessary filler, and I hate writing chapters like that unless I feel its necessary for some reason.
Well that's a wrap for now, and next chapter, we're continuing on with the adventure, starting off with another round of farewells to friends in Traverse Town and then heading on to the next world of the team's adventures. Just where are they going, you might be asking? Well find out by moving Onto the Preview!...
It's back out into the worlds again after a short rest break in Traverse Town, and with the new navigation gummi installed, the team sets out for a whole new set of worlds, starting with one filled with magic, mischief, and vast deserts. In the process, they find themselves tangling with a selfish vizier while fighting to save the last remaining Princess of Heart besides Kairi. Of course, it's going to take more than just the power of a Keyblade to stop this sorcerer and his pet parrot. It's going to take a diamond in the rough. See what kind of friends will be made in the hot sun of the desert sands, next time.
Yeah, you read right. In case it wasn't already obvious, next time we will...Come on down, stop on by. Hop a carpet, and fly, to another Arabian night~!...Until then though...
Please read and review, and see ya real soon!