Jiminy Cricket sits atop the table in the Gummi ship's middeck common room, whistling softly along to an old tune about wishing on stars. Beside of him sits the journal he's been keeping for this trip, his quill laying across its open pages. In his hands he holds the strange note from his old journal.
"Thank Naminé," he repeats, slowly and carefully, letting every syllable of the two words roll across his tongue slowly, his mind searching for any possible meaning of the message. He's been doing pretty much this same thing for hours now, desperately wracking his brain for any hints that could lead him to the knowledge he seeks, but so far… "Nothing!"
The sudden sight of three columns of light springing up from the teleporter abates the chronicler's frustration somewhat, knowing that Sora, Azlyn, and Telary are back with exciting tales of new adventures to store in his second journal.
"Hey there, kiddos!" Jiminy greets his returning friends, placing the mysterious note in his journal and shutting the book tight. "How was the coliseum? Did ya see yer old buddies again?"
Sora nods, stepping off the teleporter platform jauntily. "Yeah," he says cheerfully. After a moment he frowns, however. "Things went kinda sideways, though."
"Oh, that's too bad, Sora," Jiminy says sympathetically. "Good thing is though, with the path open now, you can come back and check on your friends whenever you like!"
"It wasn't all bad, though," the Keybearer admits, leaning back in a chair and resting his feet on the table. "I got to fight a big monster, and it wasn't even a Heartless!"
"Cool!" Jiminy exclaims. Realizing he's only spoken to one hero, he turns back to see Azlyn and Telary standing rather awkwardly together, both intent on preventing eye contact between them. Jiminy gives the pair an odd look and asks, "What about you guys? Anything interesting happen?"
There's no response for a few seconds, then suddenly Telary flinches like he's been slapped.
"Nothing really odd, Jim," the wizard reports, speaking rapidly in a nervous tone of voice. "Isn't that right, Azlyn? Everything was normal for me and you, right?"
"Yeah," Azlyn replies, ducking her head away from her counterpart's gaze. "It was just like any other adventure. Nothing different at all, for me and Telary."
Jiminy's forehead furrows as he looks over the pair. He opens his mouth to make sure that nothing is wrong…
"I have to fly the ship!" Telary blurts suddenly, smacking himself in the forehead rather dramatically. The noise it makes is loud enough to make Jiminy wince sympathetically, though Telary doesn't seem to be discomfited. "Can't stop Organization XIII if we don't fly the ship places!" With another nervous smile, the wizard flees to the cockpit ladder.
"I gotta go to my room," Azlyn chimes in, resolutely not watching Telary go. Still frowning, she heads off to her own chambers.
After Azlyn leaves, things are silent in the common room. Jiminy sits frowning, wondering what might have caused such strange behavior in the Disney Castle duo. It's almost as great a conundrum as "Thank Naminé."
"Hey, Sora," the chronicler says to the Keybearer, who looks up from biting rather savagely at one of his nails, "did anything happen to Azlyn and Telary down there? They seemed off just now."
Sora releases the fingernail from his mouth and shrugs. "They probably feel bad about what happened at the coliseum," he says easily. "Or maybe they're jealous because I got to kill the Hydra and they hardly did anything." Suddenly, Sora seems a lot perkier. "Wanna hear how I did it?"
Ensconced in the safety of her room, Azlyn lets out a sigh and falls back onto her bed. For a long moment her mind is clear, absentmindedly gazing up at the nondescript ceiling. But, inevitably, her thoughts drift back to the odd moment after Telary had saved her.
It had hit her suddenly, the overwhelming urge to thank her friend for the rescue in a beyond-friendly manner. One moment she'd been flailing helplessly through the air, too disoriented and afraid to even have a thought, and the next she'd been safe and thinking of kissing Telary.
She'd never thought of the older boy like that before, had she? They'd always just been friends; at first bound together by the feelings of isolation and abnormality of being both orphans and the only humans in Disney Castle or Mouseburg, then later by their reckless decision to escape that world together.
That closeness had only grown as the pair shared adventure after adventure, there to help each other not only in dire combat, but through the emotional trials of the journey as well. Their friendship had deepened and expanded, but had it really changed that much? Had she changed?
The knight sits up and shakes her head to clear it, really not wanting to deal with weird emotional thoughts like this.
"Who am I, Sora?" she asks herself caustically. Deciding that contemplation isn't her strong suit and never will be, she decides that there's only one way to properly deal with this odd situation.
She goes to punch stuff.
KH-KH-KH
Up in the cockpit, Telary finds himself trapped in much the same loop of thoughts as Azlyn, considering his and the knight's relationship from every angle in his own, nervously haphazard way.
They'd grown up together, sure, but Telary had always been older, always the voice of reason and guidance to balance Azlyn's reckless nature. It had been nigh-symbiotic since he could remember; he pushed her to consider boundaries, and she pushed him to break them. Does he feel more brotherly toward her, or is that just an excuse?
There's the age difference, but really two years is nothing when you think about it, especially when two people have experienced the kinds of things they have together. Still, is it weird?
"Hey, Tel," Sora greets the wizard as he clambers into the cockpit, pulling himself up with one had while the other holds a bag of pretzels. Slaying monsters is hungry work, after all.
"Sora," Telary greets the younger boy curtly, nodding absentmindedly as he makes his way to the passenger seat.
"Where are we going?" the Keybearer asks, stuffing another handful of food in his mouth and muffling his question with chewing noises.
"Uh, we're not going anywhere, Sora," Telary admonishes his friend. "I haven't even started the ship moving yet."
Sora frowns at him, places the pretzel bag in his lap with a great rustle of plastic. "Um, yeah we are," he protests, pointing to the small radar on the navigation console. "Look, that thing says we are."
"What?" Telary swivels hurriedly in his chair, regarding the monitors skeptically. As he looks over everything, he begins to realize with a sudden sense of dread that they are indeed moving. It's just that he isn't the one directing the flight.
"If this is your way of getting out of having to teach me to fly without using my hands…"
"I promise you, Sora I have nothing to do with this," Telary snaps at his younger companion. The wizard/pilot methodically runs his gaze across every screen and dial, searching for some clue as to what is steering their ship, and where they seem to be headed. "We're just… flying."
"Y'know what it feels like," Sora says thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair as if this odd hijacking holds no terror for him at all. "Like last year when Queen Minnie did that recall thingy. Y'know, that took us from Deep Jungle back to your castle?"
Fresh recognition floods Telary, and after a moment he begins to think Sora has the right idea.
"But why would the castle want us back?" Telary wonders, his mind suddenly flooded by all manner of unpleasant reasons for recall. Biting his lip, he turns to Sora and asks, "Do you think something's happened? The Heartless?"
"No, not Heartless," Sora says with a shake of his head. "Remember, Queen Minnie showed us that Cornerstone, and said it kept Darkness from entering your world. That means no Heartless, right?"
Telary shrugs, gripping the steering yoke more out of nervous habit than any real desire to take over piloting, though he knows he can't. "In any case, our world has plenty of bad guys that have nothing to do with the Heartless, as I'm sure you remember."
Sora grimaces and nods, remembering the Fearsome Four and their attack on the castle. The fiends had been some of the most powerful bad guys he had faced, all without an ounce of Darkness power. The thought of perhaps facing those villains again fills the boy with a considerable amount of dread.
"It could turn out to not be so bad though," Sora points out, hoping to calm his friend in any small way he can. "Maybe the king came to the castle, and he wants to meet with us!"
"Maybe," Telary replies, a bit of cheer in the words. His mouth, however, remains fixed in a worried grimace, unable to shake the feeling that something is very wrong.
KH-KH-KH
Azlyn doesn't like the situation any more than Telary when the boys inform her of the group's unexpected detour. It actually proves rather useful for clearing away any more awkward thoughts of feelings from both Disney Castle residents' heads.
Sora does anything he can to try and improve the mood, but even his catching-pretzels-in-mouth routine doesn't seem to lift the cloud of concern that hovers over his friends. Then again, the Keybearer remembers what it feels like to have friends in danger, so after a bit he stops.
After hours that seem to stretch into days, the ship finally arrives at its destination, the system allowing Telary to switch back to manual for the landing. This isn't as positive as it may seem, however, since the wizard's nerves temporarily overcome his flying prowess and he manages to damage the ship's wing along one wall of the hangar.
The trio rush out as soon as the ship is powered off, Sora trailing Azlyn and Telary as they practically leap down the ladders to the cargo bay's exit ramp.
The hangar is quiet, still seemingly the same large chamber filled with all manner of technology that Sora finds alien and strange, including the giant gloved hands that hang from the ceiling.
"See, there's nobody even here," Sora says with an easy shrug as he walks down the ramp. Out on the landing platform, Azlyn and Telary look around frantically, though for what Sora cannot say.
"That just makes me more worried, idiot," Azlyn snaps at him, and Sora knows the situation is serious when Telary doesn't make her apologize for the insult. "If something really bad happened…"
"Thank goodness you're here!"
Looking up, the trio see the familiar tiny, yellow-smocked forms of Chip and Dale, Gummi engineers extraordinaire, enter the hangar from the main doorway. Leaping up, they slide down the handrail to the platform.
"The castle is in danger!" Chip, the black-nosed and more sensible brother, exclaims half-frantically.
"You've gotta get to the library!" commands Dale, the red-nosed joker of the pair. There's nothing jovial about the chipmunk now though, looking as deadly serious as his brother. "Queen Minnie's hold up in their waitin' for ya!"
Telary and Azlyn don't even reply, already making their exit. Sora, however, decides he would like a bit more of an explanation, just so he knows how to proceed. It actually feels a bit odd, being the cautious one.
"What's going on up there?" the boy asks Chip and Dale. "Are those fearsome villain guys back?"
"Oh, it's much worse than that, Sora," Dale says, shaking his head solemnly.
"Probably best you just see for yourself," Chip decides, gesturing for the Keybearer to follow him in the same direction Azlyn and Telary took off.
The chipmunk brothers lead Sora to a familiar stairway, which the boy clearly remembers leading up and into the castle's gardens. The last time he'd been there, they had been swarming with evil plant-based monstrosities created by the vile Dr. Bushroot. Recalling that, he can hardly imagine what might be worse.
The staircase exits from the painstakingly carved foliage replica of the castle itself, which lies in the exact center of the large garden. Surrounding it is a path of short grass, and the area is ringed with statues of animals in band uniforms playing instruments.
Also featured in the space is a rather large contingent of Heartless, facing off against Azlyn and Telary.
Azlyn raises her shield to block the striking claws of a Soldier, before ramming back into it with enough force to send the creature flying back. Beside her, Telary summons up a few lightning bolts to zap a force of Shadows. One gets through, but he bashes it to nonexistence with the heavy head of his staff. Still more are coming, however, narrow-mindedly focused on defeating the pair.
Summoning the Keyblade to his hand, Sora wades into the melee, cutting through three Soldiers in one swipe like they're made of paper. Hearing more scuttling behind him, he turns and takes another swing, eliminating still more Shadows. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Azlyn toss her shield at another Soldier, dealing enough damage to destroy it before her weapon bounces back into her hand.
It's the work of about thirty seconds to clear the garden. After the Heartless have gone, the trio stop for a second the catch their breath.
"This is really bad," Azlyn says, shaking her head in disgust. "I mean Heartless, in the castle? It makes me sick."
"Especially because it shouldn't be possible for them to exist here!" Telary agrees, his voice containing an anger Sora is unaccustomed to. "If they're here, that means something's happened to the Cornerstone of Light. And if that's what happened, who knows what other bad things could happen!"
"That's what the queen is tryin' to find out," Chip informs the trio. "She's been holed up in the library ever since the Heartless appeared."
"And Donald and Goofy?" Azlyn asks.
Dale shrugs. "Dunno. I haven't seen 'em in a while."
"Those guys are skilled as anybody," Sora reminds his suddenly dejected companions. "I'm sure they're both fine." He swings the Keyblade up to his shoulder, letting its shaft rest there as he strikes a confident pose, one hand on his hip. "Let's go see the queen and get her help to sort this out."
Suddenly, Chip and Dale cry out in fear. Looking down, Sora sees the pair staring into the sunny afternoon sky and pointing up. Whipping his head around to follow their fingers, Sora sees a contingent of several Air Soldiers bearing down on the garden.
"Heads up!" Azlyn calls. The trio all fling themselves to the ground, barely avoiding the swipes of the Heartless's claws as they dive past.
Rolling onto his back, Telary aims his staff and fires off a large Blizzaga blast, the icy energy reaching out to envelope the creatures' wings. Weighed down by the sudden freeze, the Air Soldiers begin to lose altitude quickly, bringing them down to within striking range. All it takes is a few quick slashes and shield-throws to eliminate the cohort.
But the battle is far from over, as suddenly Soldiers begin springing out from behind the sculpted hedges, easily two dozen.
"This is bad," Telary states rather unnecessarily, already gathering what magic power he can in preparation of the long fight. "Really bad."
"Even I'm not feeling as confident as usual," Azlyn agrees, her eyes shifting from one Heartless to the next.
"But surely you guys've taken on tougher challenges than this!" Dale says, obviously confident in the trios' abilities.
"Yeah," Chip agrees with a nod. "After all, you've got the Keyblade on your side!"
"Yeah, well," Azlyn grumbles, already tensing for the first throw. "This kinda mess, we might need two Keyblades to fix."
Suddenly, Sora flashes back to Yen Sid's tower, specifically the room where the fairies had provided him and his companions with their new clothes. Clothes that had demonstrated a very interesting power.
"Azlyn," Sora says, taking one hand off the Keyblade and extending his arm to the knight, "take my hand."
"What?" both Azlyn and Telary ask simultaneously, both a mixture of surprised and perturbed.
"Just do it, Az," Sora asks, shaking his hand urgently. "Trust me, I've got an idea."
"Okay, Sora," she relents, grabbing his hand and interlocking their fingers. Beside them, Telary looks on with a frown, and Chip and Dale seem just as confused.
Closing his eyes, Sora takes a moment to focus on the connection he and Azlyn have to each other, sifting through memory after memory of their friendship. Their ups and downs, all the things they share.
"Valor!"
Light explodes around the pair, fragments of pure energy that seem as solid as shards of glass scattering through the air.
Azlyn is gone now, but Sora's clothes have turned a bright red, fleur-de-lis appearing on his sleeves and pant legs. A second Keyblade, the Oathkeeper born of Kairi's thalassa charm, rests in his left hand, the Kingdom Key held firm in his right.
"Whoa," Sora comments, looking himself over. He feels as powerful as he can ever remember, an energy coursing through his body that he's never felt before.
"Oh, now I remember," Telary mutters to himself. Chip and Dale both just continue to look confused.
Sora charges forward into the Heartless cohort, both Keyblades swinging out, each hit hard strong enough to cleave a Soldier clean through. He cuts through a pair then, sensing new movement behind him, slams both Keyblades into the ground, sending out a straight line of pure Light that obliterates some Soldiers and scatters a few more.
Three more Air Soldiers appear and swoop down, but Sora easily dodges, leaping atop one foliage sculpture and kicking off with one leg into a backflip. Grunting, he slashes both his blades in an X-cut, carving one of the Air Soldiers into four pieces. Seamlessly turning midair, he bashes through the others.
He lands again, planting both feet on the grassy path and calling four more columns of light that burst up from the ground around him.
That seems to be it for the power stored in his red-garbed form, and with another flash of light that seems to come out of every pore, the Keybearer returns to his normal clothes.
For her part, Azlyn seems no worse for wear. In fact, she smiles at the memory of the rush she'd felt when entwined with Sora.
"Oh, note to self," she mutters lowly, grimacing. "Never use the word 'entwined' when thinking about Sora again."
"That was amazing!" Dale cries out, leaping excitedly into the air before bounding up to Sora and Azlyn. Telary and Chip walk along behind him. "What happened?"
"Magic," Sora says with a shrug, the only explanation.
"We got these clothes from Yen Sid," Telary adds with a sly smile, only serving to summon more awe from both chipmunks.
"I was wonderin' about those new duds," Chip admits. "But I never woulda guessed that…"
"Can we just get a move on?" Azlyn suggests impatiently. "The castle, our home, is still in danger from the Heartless."
The group moves on quickly, Telary leading the way to the garden's exit, a small door that leads to the bottom of an indoor staircase, carpeted completely in red. Climbing it quickly, they arrive in the midst of the castle colonnade, a long hallway that seems to run the length of the castle. To the right is the interior wall, the massive door to the audience chamber a few yards beyond the staircase, and to the left a long row of columns that afford a view into the garden.
"Huh," Telary says thoughtfully, scratching his chin and examining the audience chamber door. Something seems to hover over it, a kind of pink-tinted barrier of pure light. "Looks like some kind of spell."
"I dunno what it is either," Chip declares.
"The Cornerstone's chamber is under the thrones," Azlyn recalls thoughtfully. "The queen must have…"
There's no more time to discuss theories, as suddenly Shadows begin rising from the carpeted floor, twitching and twist as thy fix their flowing eyes on the group.
"Let's just get to the library," Dale suggests. "Queen Minnie's in there, and she's probably got it shielded. The door's at the end of the hall.
And so the heroes set forth again, cutting through the Heartless horde on their way to safety and, hopefully, an explanation from the queen.
With their combined might all working together, it's the work of less than a minute to reach the doors of the library. Sora throws them open and urges everyone inside, while Telary whips up a last barrage of lightning the cover their exit.
The library is small and square, a fireplace against the right wall and a desk near the left. Directly across from the entrance are shelves that take up the entire wall, all full of books of varying sizes and colors.
Standing before the shelves, the light from the room's skylight streaming down upon her, is Queen Minnie. She's dressed in a poofy gown of pink and white, a golden crown nestled between her round black ears.
"Oh dear," the queen says concernedly, one white-gloved hand resting against her cheek in shock. "Are you all alright?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Telary replies, holding his arms at his sides and giving his queen a stiff bow. Beside him, Azlyn curtsies cleanly.
"What the heck's going on?" Sora asks without displaying any deference whatsoever. Telary looks appalled, and Azlyn punches the Keybearer in the shoulder. "Ow! Sorry."
"Please excuse Sora, Queen Minnie," Telary apologizes on the boy's behalf. "He's just eager to find out what's happening here, and how we can help."
Minnie smiles at the trio, though it noticeably doesn't reach to her eyes. "I know. And I thank you for your willingness to help, I really do."
"So, what are the Heartless doing in your castle, Your Majesty?" Azlyn asks. "I thought that Cornerstone kept them out."
"So, those are the Heartless," Minnie says quietly to herself, nodding. She looks back up at the trio and says, "You're right, of course. The Cornerstone should be repelling the Darkness of the Heartless, but… Well, it may be best if I just showed you."
"And where are Master Donald and Captain Goofy?" Telary asks, his voice trembling slightly with nerves.
"Off defending the castle, I suppose?" Azlyn suggests.
Minnie shakes her head. "They're on special assignment from me. In the Cornerstone room."
"So, who's keeping the rest of the castle safe?" Azlyn inquires. "And don't say the Royal Guard, because honestly that's not much of a comfort."
"Oh my," the queen breathes out as her face falls, clutching her head in her hands. "You're right I completely forgot… I've just been so…"
"Oh, don't worry about it, Your Majesty," Telary says, leaning down to console the mouse queen. She looks up at him with teary eyes, and he offers a sympathetic smile in return. "All we need to do is reprogram the mop spell like we did last year. I can do it easily."
"Oh, thank you Telary," the queen says, clutching his hand in hers. "That would do a lot to put my mind at ease."
"So, as soon as we're done doing that," Sora suggests, "we can all take you to the Cornerstone chamber."
"I can handle it just fine by myself," Telary refutes determinately. "You and Azlyn get the queen to the chamber." Suddenly, a hand appears at the wizard's arm.
"I'm not letting you go alone while there's Heartless in the castle, Tel," Azlyn says, her tone leaving no room for argument. The pair share eye contact for a few seconds the same energy between them as back in Olympus flickering in the air for a moment.
"Okay," Sora agrees, mentally arranging the division of tasks. "So Azlyn and Telary take the spell, and I take the queen to the audience chamber. Okay?"
"Sounds alright to me," Azlyn says, already turning for the exit, pulling Telary along with her. "See you on the flip side."
"Be careful!" Telary cautions Sora, looking from him to the queen with concern-narrowed eyes. "Don't let anything happen to the queen, but make sure you take care of yourself too!"
With that they're gone, off into the thick of Heartless infested territory.
Noticing Sora's worried look, the queen lays a comforting hand on his forearm. When he looks down at her, she's giving him a broad smile.
"They'll be fine, Sora," she assures him.
He nods, then throws out his hand in a wide gesture at the door. "Shall we, Your Majesty?"
Minnie actually giggles, hiding her mouth daintily underneath her hand. "Yes, Sora, let's."
"We'll keep things together in here," Chip volunteers, his brother nodding along obligingly.
Though the journey down the hall to the audience chamber is short, the way is also fraught with Heartless, each and every one of them single-mindedly advancing on Queen Minnie and her sworn protector.
It takes a lot of work with Sora's Keyblade to keep Heartless off Her Majesty's back, but luckily the queen has skills of her own. Sora beats down a Soldier and then turns to see the queen, hand outstretched, flinging forth an orb of pure light. The orb flies straight and true, impacting against a Soldier hard enough to knock it aside, then swinging around to attack a pair of Shadow until they expire. It brings to mind the shield the queen had created during the Fiendish Four attack, to block Megavolt's deadly lightning.
Soon enough, they reach the door, the Heartless disappearing long enough to give the pair a moment to breathe.
"When the attack on the castle started, I made sure to seal off this room," she explains, gesturing to the still-glowing field coating the massive blue door. Raising her hand, she commands the spell to break. With a flash, the magical barrier is gone, and the tiny door set into the base of the leftmost large one pops open. Minnie easily enters, but Sora finds himself having to duck.
The audience chamber is just as massive as Sora remembers, large enough to easily play a game of blitzball in. A long red carpet start at the entrance, leading all the way down to a small raised platform upon which two thrones, one for the king and one for the queen, sit. Not far behind that is the back wall of the chamber, a huge red banner with the black symbol of King Mickey emblazoned on it.
"Your Majesty!" Goofy, captain of the Disney Castle Royal Guard and Azlyn's mentor, cries out happily upon seeing the queen. He's dressed in his usual clothes, a mismatch of armored plates and an orange jumpsuit. Smiling, he hops off the platform and makes his way down the long carpet to the monarch and her escort. "And Sora too!"
"Hi there, Captain Goofy," Sora says with a smile. "Good to see you again."
"Does this mean Azlyn and Telary are here too?" Goofy asks the queen. She nods, and his smile only grows wider.
As if on cue, Azlyn and Telary race into the audience chamber, skidding to a halt as they pass through the small door.
"Time it!" Azlyn exclaims, pumping a fist in the air triumphantly. "That's gotta be some kinda… Aaaargh!"
The knight's boasting is cut short as Goofy reaches her, wrapping the girl up in a hug that lifts her straight off of her feet.
"Oh, it's so good to see you again, Azlyn!" Goofy cries out happily, shaking his apprentice fondly.
"You too, Captain," the blonde replies with a fond eye roll. After a moment, the big man puts her back down.
"Happy to see you too, Telary," the captain says to the ginger wizard, nodding at him in a friendly manner. "And I just know Donald'll be happy too!"
"I assume Donald is still in the chamber itself?" Minnie asks the Royal Guardsman, receiving a confirming nod. With that confirmed, she quickly makes her way to the throne platform, reaching beneath the king's chair to flip the hidden switch there. With a groan, the platform moves aside to reveal the stairs down into the Cornerstone's chamber.
"So, I guess you guys had no problems at all?" Sora says to Azlyn and Telary as they follow Minnie down into the chamber.
"I wish," Azlyn sighs. "It's all in the mops' hands now. Or bristles or whatever."
Minnie leads the party down into the Cornerstone of Light's chamber, where the green orb, a bright light shining in the center of it, rings of light surrounding it like electrons whirling around an atom, hovers just above its white pedestal.
The rest of the chamber, which Sora remembers being big enough to rival the audience chamber for square-footage, is full of huge black thorns, jutting out of stalks that seem to twist around the entire perimeter of the room, leaving it feeling closed off and uncomfortable.
"Your Majesty!" Donald, the castle's royal wizard, exclaims in much the same way Goofy had upon seeing the queen. The duck is dressed in his familiar blue wizard's robe, the matching large hat that symbolizes his status perched on his head. "Nothing's changed since you last checked, my queen."
"Thank you for standing guard here, Donald," Minnie thanks the duck magician.
"Well, who else woulda done it, Your Majesty?" Donald says good-naturedly, turning to give Azlyn and Telary a beaky smile. "After all, with these two off having their little adventures, we've got quite the understaffing problem!"
"Nice to see you too, Ducky," Azlyn says with a smirk.
"Oh, dear," Queen Minnie sighs, slowly approaching the Cornerstone. It's different than Sora remembers, dimmer somehow. "Things have gotten even worse since I last checked."
"What could've happened here, Your Majesty?" Sora asks, stepping to the queen's side and ignoring the reunion between his friends and their mentors going on behind him. He's happy that Azlyn and Telary can see their friends again, but he also can't help but be jealous, still hungering for his own reunion.
Minnie sighs and shakes her head, the picture of sadness. "I truly have no idea, Sora. I looked at every book on the subject I could find in the library, but I didn't find anything to explain it."
"This can't be natural," Telary says, frowning at the still-darkening orb. "Not with all of these thorns around. But who would be powerful enough, or evil enough, to do this?"
"I'll bet it was those Organization jerks!" Azlyn suggests, scowling at the thought of the black-cloaked Nobodies causing trouble in her adopted home.
"Oh, really?"
The voice comes from nowhere, an imperious female voice that strikes a deep chord in the memories of everyone present in the chamber.
"No…" Sora whispers, his throat tightening with dread. "No, it can't be…"
Suddenly, green flames burst into life before the Cornerstone, appearing so unexpectedly and spreading so wide that they force the entire group back several steps out of sheer fright.
After their brilliant moment of life, the flames crackle to a halt, leaving behind the form of a horned, jade-skinned woman in a red and purple robe. Seeing all of her enemies assembled so neatly before her, Maleficent smiles.
"You really think those pitiful fools could have done this working?" the witch scoffs, seeming very offended that she had not been at the top of the suspect list for this disruption of castle life. "Ha! No one else but I, the mistress of all…"
"Boring, long-winded monologues," Azlyn interrupts, fixing her old adversary with a withering glare that almost matches the dark woman's own. "Seriously, I thought being dead would shut this witch up, but I guess nothing can stop that mouth!"
"Heh, pot meet kettle," Donald murmurs quietly.
"Yeah, why aren't you dead?" Sora asks the witch, one eyebrow quirked curiously. "I remember putting my Keyblade through your heart pretty well."
"That matters not, you fool!" Maleficent snaps, her calm façade slipping for a brief moment. "What matters is that I live, and this castle will be mine!"
"That isn't going to happen, Maleficent!" Minnie shouts out defiantly.
"Yeah!" Azlyn agrees, her shield arm already cocked back for a throw. Grunting, she hurls her weapon at the witch, only for the metal disc to fly straight through. It impacts against the Cornerstone's pedestal and ricochets, slamming into the knight's chest and sending her to the ground. Her arms flail out as she falls, and she ends up bringing Donald down with her.
Maleficent rolls her eyes at the whole mishap. "I see that my dear opponents haven't changed in the slightest. That's just as well, I suppose." Turning, the witch reaches for the Cornerstone, only to encounter an invisible barrier that repels her with a flash of light. As she draws her hand away, Sora notices it shaking, almost trembling.
"Ha!" the Keybearer laughs, bringing Maleficent's attention back around to him and his group. "Looks like your plan isn't as great as you thought, huh?"
"On the contrary, you simple boy," the jade-skinned woman replies, shaking her head almost disappointedly, "I will acquire this place for my own. Of course, it is a bit… bright for my tastes, I think. Seems to me that it all needs my own personal touch of Darkness!"
"You'd better stop right now, if you know what's good for you!" Minnie defiantly declares, shaking her fist at the witch.
"How frightening," she replies, sounding distinctly unimpressed. "Very well, I promise that I shall stop. As soon as this castle belongs to me!" Letting out a loud, nearly manic laugh, Maleficent once more summons her green flames, engulfing her in their fire and smoke. When they are gone, so too is Maleficent.
"What a hag!" Sora declares, spitting disrespectfully upon the spot Maleficent had just occupied. Behind him, Azlyn and Donald make noises of agreement.
"The Cornerstone will keep her at bay, right Your Majesty?" Telary nervously asks the queen.
She can only frown in response. "I honestly haven't a clue," she sighs, hanging her head, utter defeat in her voice. "No book in the entire library offered any sort of explanation, and I'm afraid I'm no expert on the Cornerstone myself. I mostly just know the lore."
"Is there anybody who might know more?" Sora asks, wracking his brain for a solution. "I mean, there's gotta be a kind of, er, expert on this thing?"
Minnie's head rises, a thoughtful expression replacing the defeated one that seemed stuck to her face. "You know, there just might be."
"Who?" Donald asks.
"Merlin," Minnie answers confidently. "Merlin knows everything there is to know about the Cornerstone, more than any book would."
"But, Your Majesty, we ain't seen Merlin in a long time," Goofy points out. "Nearly a year, in fact. We don't got a clue where he is."
"Hollow Bastion!" Telary chimes in, smiling at his revelation. "He's working with the Restoration Committee in Hollow Bastion."
"That's right!" Sora agrees, happily pointing at his older friend. "I forgot, because we didn't actually see him, but we went to his house!"
"Oh, this is wonderful news!" Minnie exclaims. "Would you three mind going to fetch him? It could really help us!"
"Sure thing, Your Majesty," Sora says, nodding his agreement to the monarch. "With our warp Gummi, we can be there and back in a flash."
"You can count on us Your Majesty," Azlyn says to Minnie, who smiles up at the knight with boundless faith.
Without wasting another second, Telary keys up the teleporter and sends the trio back to the Gummi ship.
KH-KH-KH
Sora starts moving before the teleporter's flash even has time to fade, looking around Merlin's house to see if the old wizard is home. Unfortunately, the whole place is empty.
"Crap!" Azlyn swears, scrunching up her face in anger and disappointment. "How come nobody is ever home when ya need 'em?"
"He could be anywhere, and this town is a big place," Telary sighs, turning and exiting the house. In the back of his mind, he notes with a certain strangeness that he's come to his real homeworld in an attempt to save the one that adopted him.
"Who could be anywhere?" asks a familiar voice. Looking up, the trio see Phineas and Ferb walking up the street.
The whole group starts as they see what's coming up behind the kids: a large, mechanical dog that's as big as any of the houses in the borough. It slowly follows the boys with its head down, panting as much as any real dog would.
"What is that?" Azlyn asks the boys, stepping away from the mechanical mutt.
"Oh, just something we're working on," Phineas says with a shrug. Ferb continues his trademark silent staring.
"Anyway," Telary says, tearing his eyes away from the boys' creation, "we're looking for Merlin, the wizard. Have you seen him?"
Phineas nods easily. "Yeah, I think he's at the castle. Now that the town's mostly fixed up, the committee's started looking at its renovations. Ferb and I are in charge of revamping the lift system." At that last part, the boy smiles broadly.
"Can you take us to him?" Azlyn asks, though it comes out sounding more like a command. "It's really important."
"Sure thing!" Turning to the robo-dog, Phineas lets out a loud whistle, the dog leaning down on its knees in reply. "Get on, and we'll take you!"
Any reluctance at riding on the back of a mechanical dog built by a couple of pre-teens is superseded by the urgency of the situation, and the group scrambles on with haste. As soon as all passengers are secured, the dog takes off, each stride long and bounding.
They pass through several more residential districts, passing by countless people who stop what they're doing to stare up at the odd sight.
"Hey, it's our sister!" Phineas calls out as the ride passes through another small shopping district. Smiling, the redheaded boy points down to a girl with the same hair color dressed in a red shirt and white skirt, standing before a fruit stall. "Hi Candace!"
"Phineas!" the girl shrieks in a shrill voice, turning quickly to a middle-aged woman who is obviously her mother. "Mom, mom, look, look!"
"Just a second, Candace," Linda Flynn-Fletcher sighs, inspecting an apple closely. Satisfied with her pick, she turns to see what her daughter is making such a fuss about. Looking about, all she sees is the same market street she had before. "What is it? What happened?"
Candace just sighs, pretty much used to the routine by now.
After minutes that seem far too long to the robo-dog riders, they finally arrive in an area that seems full to the brim with construction equipment, men and women in bright uniforms bustling about. It isn't long until they reach a garden at the bottom of a massive staircase, the Hollow Bastion citadel looming high above them.
The garden is obviously not finished yet, and dirt is piled high everywhere as the gardeners go about their work, either clearing away dead plants or preparing to plant new ones. There are several levels, the highest being the most well-restored, bright flowers surrounding the steel gates at the bottom of the castle stairs.
The ride doesn't pause for a moment, continuing up the stairs, headed straight for the top. After another few moments, the group arrives.
The place is massive, a large square suspended over a deep chasm, mists swirling and obscuring its depths. The square's floor is done in red brick, though as it continues on towards Hollow Bastion's main doors more and more have been pulled out, ready to be replaced by the workmen.
The arrival of a giant robot dog is nigh impossible to ignore, so by the time the group screeches to a halt in front of them, Leon and Merlin are prepared.
"Merlin, Merlin!" Azlyn cries out, sliding off the dog's back. She miscalculates the friction, however, and ends up sliding straight off to land hard on the brick ground.
"Well, if it isn't Sora, Azlyn, and Telary!" Merlin says happily, smiling beneath his long bristly beard. The wizened old magician is dressed in his usual blue robe, trademark matching conical hat drooping atop his head. "I say, I was most distressed to hear that you visited and I missed you."
"Good to see you again, Merlin," Sora greets his old acquaintance cheerily. "You too Leon. What's happening?"
"Restoration work, same as always," the dour man answers. "With most of the town in better shape, we've started really focusing on the castle area."
"It's really amazing how fast things are coming along," Sora marvels, looking up at the citadel. As he does, a slight shudder courses through him, rather unexpectedly. It seems that the dark feelings and memories of the events that occurred in this keep have yet to fade.
"Well," Leon sighs exasperatedly, "LeBlanc has this ridiculous idea to have a ball, so…"
Sora perks up at that. "A ball? You mean like a dance? That might be fun!"
Leon rolls his eyes cynically. "Says you. Personally, I think LeBlanc is just…"
"EXCUSE ME!" Azlyn yells at the top of her lungs, interrupting the idle chit chat. Everyone working on the castle courtyard stops and stares at the knight. But, she only has eyes for Merlin. "But we need Merlin's help! Disney Castle is in danger! Maleficent did something to the Cornerstone of Light!"
Merlin's bushy white eyebrows rocket upward at the mention of an endangered Cornerstone. "Is that so? Maleficent, you say?"
"Yeah, it's really bad," Azlyn continues, pausing only briefly for a breath. "Heartless are running around the halls, and there's sharp thorns all over the chamber, and…"
A puff of smoke, carefully constructed to encircle the trio and Merlin but none else, suddenly appears, obscuring visibility for a moment.
Azlyn doesn't seem to notice, just continuing on and on with her rant. "And I guess Maleficent's not dead, but there's something weird about her 'cause my shield went right through her…"
"Perhaps," Merlin interrupts with a little clearing of his throat, "I had better just see for myself, hm?"
Looking around, the trio realize that they are once again within the Cornerstone chamber. Queen Minnie turns from her position at the Cornerstone pedestal and looks at them with an acute look of shock.
"Crazy wizard magic," Azlyn mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest huffily.
Merlin steps up beside Minnie, scratching at his bearded chin as he squints through his glasses at Disney Castle's endangered artifact. Slowly, he steps around the orb, examining it from every angle. He even summons a stethoscope, placing it against the Cornerstone and frowning as he listens.
"Well, what's wrong with it?" Donald asks, already impatient from having to wait so long for the old wizard's arrival. "Does it just need new batteries, or what?"
Merlin clicks his tongue and shakes his head, obviously disheartened by what he's observed. "Oh, this is very serious, I fear. Serious indeed."
"So, you know what's going on?" Telary asks hopefully.
"Yes, I certainly do," Merlin replies, still looking upset. Reaching into his left sleeve, the old man pulls out a long, smooth wooden stick. His wand. Turning away from the group, he flicks his wrist.
There's a puff of smoke a few feet away, and when it clears away a white doorway stands revealed. Both the double doors and the arch above gleam with a silvery light.
"What's that?" Sora inquires curiously.
"That, my boy, is a door to a very special world," Merlin (kind of) explains. "I believe that the world it connects to is the source of your troubles?"
"How so?" Telary asks.
Merlin sighs, purposefully avoiding the young magician's gaze. "It's all a bit difficult to explain, but rest assured that there are actions going on within that world that are having a dire effect on this one. Of that I am certain."
"Wow," Azlyn says, nodding appreciatively. "I take back what I said about your magic, Merlin, you really delivered." Confidently, the knight strides toward the door. "I guess now all we've gotta do is…"
"Not so fast, young lady!" Merlin interrupts, drawing all eyes to him once again. "I have not yet explained the problem."
"She's sorry," Telary apologizes on his counterpart's behalf. "Sometimes she just gets excited…"
"I can apologize for myself, thanks," the knight snaps at her partner, actually getting the older boy to jump at the words and tone.
"The perpetrators doing harm in that world must be stopped, of course, but there is more," Merlin continues. "Somewhere in that world is a door identical to this one. It is by utilizing that door that your enemies are able to work their dark will, and so Sora must close it with his Keyblade."
"No problem," Sora says with a nonchalant shrug. "Closing doors is kinda my game, y'know."
"And besides, this time you'll have me and Goofy to back you kids up!" Donald declares, making his way for the door.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Donald," Merlin says. The mallard magician stops dead in his tracks, turning to look at Merlin with a crestfallen expression. "Only Sora, Azlyn, and Telary must be allowed to enter the world beyond this door. If you or Goofy were to go along, things could possibly get even worse."
"What kind of world is this anyway?" Azlyn demands, glaring at Merlin with her hands on her hips.
"A very special one, as I've said," Merlin half-answers. "A world that, by its very nature, could tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation, or…"
"Things will only get worse," Azlyn sighs, rolling her eyes at all the rules she's being made to follow on this mission.
"So, stop the bad guys, seal the door, don't get tempted," Sora lists the objectives on the fingers of one hand. He shrugs. "Easy."
"I hope so," Merlin says, his voice ominous as anything. "I truly hope so."
Please review, and shout out to Bezerker21, stardust902, Mickey12315, and BT Emmett for their wonderful feedback!
