Chapter 13
The hours passed slowly as Geni slept fitfully and Sora researched in her library. Around seven, Sora rubbed his tired eyes, unable to read anymore. The sun had set a while ago, but the lamp in the library was so bright it lit the whole room quite easily. Putting away all of the books and papers he had used, Sora decided to go and wake up Geni, since dinner would hopefully be there soon. Walking out of the library, he went next door to Geni's room. Deciding it would be more polite than just barging in, Sora knocked a few times. "Geni, are you awake yet?" Hearing nothing, he opened the door a crack and peeked in. Geni was still asleep on her bed, but it looked like she hadn't slept well. The sheets were all bunched up, and she was mumbling incoherently.
Tiptoeing over to the side of the bed, Sora slowly reached out his hand to shake her shoulders and wake her up when he heard what she was saying.
"No...stay away...I must protect...they can't know...Heartless...the Heartless!" It seemed Geni was caught in the thralls of a nightmare.
Sora tried waking her up. "Hey Geni, come on, wake up." He shook her shoulders and tried calling to her. "Hey, snap out of it!"
"No...must get...no...NO!" With a yell, Geni sat up. Her eyes were wide and unfocused as she swat away at her invisible foe, almost giving Sora a broken nose in the process. Sora tried to reason with her, eventually pinning her arms to the bed so she wouldn't hurt either of them.
"Geni, wake up!" he shouted into her ear.
Suddenly stopping, Geni's eyes cleared and she woke up fully. Realizing Sora was holding down her arms, she said, "Sora? What's going on? What are you doing?"
Embarrassed, Sora released his sister from the vice grip he had her in. "Well, you were having a nightmare or something, and you tried taking it out on me when I came to wake you up."
Doubly embarrassed, Geni turned red and faced away from her brother. "Oh, um, sorry about that. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No, I'm fine. I was just coming to wake you up because dinner will be here soon."
"It's that late? I shouldn't have slept so long..." With a snap of her fingers, the lights in her room automatically came on. "Where did you want to eat?"
"Wherever," Sora replied.
"Okay, but first..." Geni untangled herself from her sheets and carefully stood up. "I'll be right back," she said as she headed towards her bathroom in her ducky pajamas and closed the door. A moment later Sora heard running water and splashing.
Sora went and moved the chair back over to its rightful place at Geni's dressing table. I wonder what she was dreaming about; definitely the Heartless, who she probably wanted to stay away. But who can't know what Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye. He noticed that one of the boxes on the dressing table was slightly open. Torn between knowing he shouldn't pry and a teenage boy's curiosity, Sora opened the box open just enough to see what had caught his attention. A silver chain was attached to a heart shaped pendant. I wonder... Sora thought to himself. Picking up the delicate necklace, he saw that one side of the necklace had an engraving on it. This is Geni's pendant...the one she was found with at Hollow Bastion. Flipping it over, he noticed that the front was split down the middle, and on each side was a tiny keyhole. Weird; what are keyholes doing on the locket? Listening, Sora could still hear the water running in bathroom. Summoning his Keyblade out of his being, Sora tried using it to open the locket. However, nothing happened. What's going on? The Keyblade is able to lock and unlock anything. Shaking his head, he released his Keyblade and placed the necklace back into the box. He was just in time, because at that moment he heard the bathroom door open.
"Ah, much better," Geni said as she walked into the room. "Dinner here yet?"
"No, not yet," as Sora tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Okay. How did it go in the library?"
"About the same. Nothing really new that I could find. Are you feeling rested now?"
"Yes. I think catching up on my sleep today has helped. I feel like I'm ready for anything!" she said with a smile. A knock at the door interrupted her, and she walked off to the front door and opened it, revealing a kitchen worker holding a tray with a large dome on it.
"Dinner," he said pleasantly.
"Thank you, it smells delicious," Geni said. "We'll bring down the dishes ourselves." The worker nodded, and walked back down the hallway. Closing the door, Geni inhaled the aroma from the covered dish. "I wonder what tonight's dinner was?" Lifting the cover, Sora and Geni started drooling. A large, steaming, cheese and pepperoni pizza waited for them underneath.
"Alright! Pizza!" Sora shouted. Sitting on the chairs in the common room, Geni set the pizza down on the coffee table. She and Sora proceeded to eat the whole pizza hungrily – not one crumb was left. "Oh, my stomach," Sora said as he burped. "He he, excuse me."
"Go right ahead. I feel so full right now; I probably shouldn't have eaten that last piece." A tense silence filled the air. "So, you guys are leaving in the morning. Any plans on where you are going?" Geni asked, slightly apprehensive.
Sora shook his head. "Not really; we aren't sure what worlds are out there anymore besides Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, and Disney Castle. So I guess we'll just have to prepare as best we can and hope we find some friendly faces."
"Sounds like fun," Geni said. "We'll, I had better put on some real clothes and take this back to the kitchen." Geni walked towards her bedroom and closed the door. Sora could hear her opening and closing her armoire, and in a moment she was back out in the room in a simple denim skirt that reached to her knees and a light blue knit shirt with her boots from before on her feet. Also, she had tidied up her hair; after sleeping for so long she had had a bad case of bed hair. "Are you going back to your own room, considering you've been up here most of the day?"
"Well, I do need to stretch my legs. We'll see; for now I think I'll walk down to the kitchen with you. Is that okay?"
"Of course!" Geni picked up the dishes and they headed out the door and towards the stairs. Their stroll was uneventful; they made it to the kitchen without bumping into anyone, and were heading back when they met Donald and Goofy.
"Hey Geni!" Goofy yelled out to them from down the hall. "I see your up and looking well. Did you sleep the day away?"
"Almost. I woke up earlier this afternoon, but then took a nap until a little while ago. How was your day?"
"The gummi ship is now packed, updated, and ready to go! You know we're leaving tomorrow morning, right?"
"Queen Minnie already told us," Sora said.
"We'll, since Goofy and I haven't been slacking off all day like someone we know," Donald said pointedly, "We're going to bed early. We'll see you two in the morning at lift-off." Waving goodbye, Donald and Goofy headed towards their rooms in the left wing of the castle.
"I wasn't slacking off," Sora said, pretending to be put off. "I also wasn't the one sleeping all day," he said with a laugh.
"Yeah, sure," Geni replied with a forced laugh. "Hey, Sora?"
"Yes?"
"Um, never mind. I'm going for a walk so I'll see you later or tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Sure," Sora replied. "I guess I'll head back to my room and make sure I have everything I'll need. See you later." Geni nodded, and then headed off towards the northern wing of the palace.
Something is definitely up, Sora thought to himself. I wonder if I should follow her, just in case. Deciding this might help him figure out what was wrong with her, Sora crept quietly behind her, keeping out of her line of sight.
Geni walked down many hallways until she came to a door with a circular window in it. Opening it, Sora could see a large garden light with soft lights here and there. Flowers were blooming all over the place, and the night stars were twinkling high above them. Geni kept walking on the stone pathway until she turned a corner and a bush obscured her from Sora's sight. Racing to catch up with her, Sora realized that the bush was part of a huge wall running down the side of the garden. Looking all around he saw the bushes everywhere. The garden Geni had walked into was actually one of those vast hedge mazes. Oh great, now what am I going to do? Sora thought.
Geni smiled when she felt Sora's presence halt, no longer following her. She knew he had followed her ever since she had left him inside the castle. Knowing that Sora was new to the maze, while she knew it inside and out, left her hoping that she could find some time to be alone and think. Twisting and turning until anyone would have gotten dizzy and lost, Geni came upon a fountain. A winged horse with its wings stretched out stood magnificently in the center, seeming to have been trapped mid-flight in stone. A few lights in the bottom of the pool illuminated only part of the maze, but there was enough darkness to hide anyone wishing to be alone. Walking to a bench in a far corner away from the lights, Geni sat down.
What am I going to do? I can't tell Sora I don't want him to leave. He needs to continue his quest for the sake of all of the other worlds' out there. But...I don't want to be stuck here again either. The King is still missing, in a sense, and Riku... Here her train of thought stopped, and she let herself smile and be happy for a moment. Riku is doing his own thing, as usual. I know doesn't want to tell Sora anything yet, and he's probably right. He'll have to wait for the right moment for an explanation. I do miss him, though. Geni stared up at the stars, smiling and remembering the first time she had meet Riku nearly eight months ago…
Geni had finished her rotation at guard duty, and headed back to her room inside of the castle. Her days were monotonous ever since she had been deceived into the Organization: guard duty, training, eating, and sleeping. She never left the castle, and the other members barely spoke to her except to give her an order. Well, except two. Axel, the member whom Geni assumed had scorched his brain long ago, and the thirteenth member who every so often spoke to her. She had never seen him with his hood off, but he was at least polite to her. Those two made her smile on the inside, even if her outward physical reactions were controlled through the spell on her heart.
Ugh, that spell. Geni was still herself, looking from the inside out, and was able to see and hear everything her alter ego did. And did it do some awful things. Geni tried again and again to break the spell, but she was not powerful enough; her magic and other abilities had been greatly impaired and locked away when the dark half of her heart was bestowed upon her by Number One. Of course, the other her was an exact duplicate, so sometimes she could break through. However, that was less often than not.
Tonight before guard duty she had been sparring with Demyx, with his water sitar. Probably the only decent thing she got out of it was a cold shower. Entering her room, she closed and locked the door behind her. She unzipped her black Organization cloak and hung it up. Underneath all she had on were a black tank top and a pair of black pants, plus those clunky boots they all find so fascinating that are not comfortable whatsoever.
Following her same nightly ritual, she washed up and brushed her teeth then went straight to bed. Her prison cell, also known as her room, had only a bed, a cloak rack, and a sink with a mirror. Everything was grey or white, and of course that strange looking symbol for the Nobodies was everywhere. Lying down on the mattress, she tried to cover up as best as possible with the thin and too small blanket she had been given.
Sleep…it was the only time Geni could escape her daily prison and enjoy the feeling of doing what she wanted without it being for the good of the Organization. Lately, she had been finding herself on what seemed like a tropical island. It was always night time, which made sense considering she was asleep when she arrived there. She could wear her old clothes, or whatever she wanted to. Considering the island was surrounded by water, she often went swimming. Little did she know that tonight would be the night that would change her world forever.
Opening her eyes to find herself on the beach once again, Geni heaved a sigh of relief. She mentally changed her outfit from her black ensemble to a pair of red Bermuda shorts and a white tank top with a small short-sleeved bolero jacket. It was warm, but a soft breeze played with the hair around her face. Stretching, she let her gaze wander towards the twinkling night sky. "Too bad there aren't any stars where I am," Geni thought sadly. She waded out into the cold water with her bare feet and wiggled her toes in the wet sand. "I wonder if Sora ever did this back on the Destiny Islands…"
Little did Geni know she was being watched, even in her dreams. An individual in black was examining her from the protective covering of the jungle flora. Of course, all they could see was a small figure with short spiky hair – Geni's braid was over her shoulder instead of down her back and so not in their sight. "Is that…could that be Sora?" he thought to himself. Deciding the question was worth the chance that it could be a Nobody from the Organization trying to trick him, he stepped forward. Walking slowly and softly across the sand so as not to make a sound, the being crept up on Geni without her knowing. When they were only ten feet away, they ventured to speak. "Sora? Is that you?"
Geni spun around in shock to find another person in her dream sanctuary. "Who…who are you? Stay away from me!" She back up farther into the water. However, the person audaciously splashed out towards her and grabbed her shoulders forcefully.
"Sora, wait, it's me! It's Riku!" He through back his hood, revealing a young man with very dark skin with silvery-white hair, his eyes glowing a fiery orange. "I know I look different, but it's me!" he said with a deep voice.
Geni swatted his hands away and stepped even farther back. "I think you've made a grave mistake," she said, leering at him. "My name is not Sora. And I am not a boy, thank you very much." She flipped her head around so her braid came swinging around into focus.
Riku, his identity now known to a complete stranger, stepped back with caution and readied himself for battle, just in case. "Who are you? Another Nobody like Roxas? Why do you look like Sora then?"
"I should be asking you that! But wait…you said your name was…Riku? Does that mean you are from the Destiny Islands like Sora and Kairi?"
"How do you know that?" Riku said, relaxing his stance slightly.
"You and Sora both fought bravely to return Kairi's heart to her; Sora battling his way to Hollow Bastion with the Keyblade, and a person named Riku who used the power of darkness to find the seven princesses of heart to do the same. Are you him?" Geni asked, her hands on her hips.
"I am," Riku said. "Now, how do you know all that? Are you friend or foe?"
"To Sora, a friend and much more. I am Sora's twin sister and my name is Geni; nice to meet you Riku." Riku stared open-mouthed at this human shaped illusion, this thing trying to play with his mind.
"Ha, yeah right. Sora was an only child, he never had a sister. You must be a Nobody trying to trick me, as I thought." Riku materialized his Keyblade, The Way to the Dawn. "Nice try." Riku lunged forward, trying to destroy what he thought was a Nobody in a single blow.
"Hey! Stop that!" Geni shouted. She narrowly missed his first thrust, but ended up falling back into the water on her rear end. Riku saw this opening and swung around for another thrust. Geni could only try and protect herself as best she could, using her arms to shield her face and body. She waited for the final blow, her half a heart pounding rapidly, knowing now and regretting the fact that she would never be able to meet her brother face to face. Moments passed, and Geni peeked slowly through her shielded arms. Riku's Keyblade was inches from her, his attack stopped in mid-thrust.
Riku slowly lowered and brought back his Keyblade. Geni lowered her arms, still watching him with tense eyes. Suddenly, Riku diminished his Keyblade and knelt down in front of her. Before she could react, Riku reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly.
"Hey, that hurts! Let go!" Geni cried, trying to pull her hand back. Riku knelt there, his eyes closed, his body stiff. Suddenly, his body relaxed, and he let her arm go. She snapped it back to her like a rubber band, her arms instinctively crossing over her front like a shield.
Riku opened his eyes and studied what he now knew as a human girl in front of him. Same brown spiky hair, same blue eyes, same face. She couldn't be lying…could she? "I apologize," Riku said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
Geni lowered her arms, unsure of what to do. The two sat in the cold water, staring at each other for what seemed like eternity. Her wrist still hurt, and she could see a large red mark and a little bruising as well. "Sure," she said hesitantly.
Riku saw the mark, and reached into a pocket on his cloak. Geni, seeing this action and still unsure of what to do, impulsively scooted back farther in the water. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," he said with his hands raised in surrender, in one hand a piece of cloth. Slowly moving forward, he reached Geni and gently pulled her arm towards him. Her brain moving at a snail's pace, Geni allowed her arm to be taken into Riku's kind hands. He took the cloth and wrapped it around the welt on her wrist, tying it carefully after he was finished so it would not fall off. "See? I'm not one of the bad guys."
Geni withdrew her arm back, her other hand covering the small wound. "I guess not…" she said before she let out a large sneeze.
"Are you okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She shivered, her teeth chattering slightly. "Yeah, the water's just…a little colder than I remember tonight." She tried standing up, but almost immediately toppled forward. Strong arms caught her, also catching her voice as she looked up into Riku's. "Um…" she tried to articulate, her face slightly flushed.
Riku looked away, but not before Geni noticed the blush beginning to form on his own face. "You'll catch a cold out here," he mumbled. He turned towards shore, Geni following directly behind him. Walking onto the warm sand, Geni sneezed several more times. Looking up finally, something black was shoved in front of her face. "Put this on before you freeze to death, or something," Riku said as he looked toward the jungle.
Hesitantly, Geni took the cloak from his outstretched hand and put it around her. It was warm from Riku's body heat, making Geni shiver slightly from the touch before wrapping it even tighter around her shoulders. "Thanks," she said with a smile.
Riku looked at her, recognizing a smaller form of the goofy grin that usually adorned his best friend's face. "You weren't lying, were you? About being Sora's twin sister, I mean. I had to check to see if you were a Nobody, and I'm sorry if I hurt you doing it."
Geni shook her head. "It's alright. Having a heartbeat is the only thing that really separates us from those in the Organization anyway." A tense silence filled the air between them; Geni felt she could trust Riku, but a part of her warned her to stay away. "Could I...ask you a question?"
"What is it?" Riku asked, staring at her.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I thought you and Sora were the same age; why do you look so much older than he does?"
Riku's eyes became downcast as Geni finished her question. "It's...a long story. Suffice to say, to help Sora I had to assume this form; this is not what I really look like."
"Oh," Geni said. "Well, let me change so I won't be confused with Sora." Geni closed her eyes, concentrating on her wardrobe. When she opened them, she was now wearing the clothes she wore when she had left the Disney Castle.
"Nice trick," Riku said. "I suppose, considering this is your dream world, you can do whatever you want to."
Geni shook her head. "It's not just mine."
"What do you mean?"
"You're here, which means somehow my dreams are being intersected by yours. You can do just as much here as I can." Geni smiled at Riku before she sneezed once again.
"You're not getting a cold, are you? Is that possible in a dream?"
"Well, my immune system is not like that of normal people; it's been severely lessened because of..." Here, she stopped, not wanting to tell Riku everything. She turned around and faced the water. "Never mind."
Riku wondered why she had stopped; she seemed perfectly healthy to him, and even her physical heartbeat was very strong when he had felt it. He walked up behind her, and said, "What's wrong? I'm sure it's nothing terrible."
Geni continued to face away from him, pulling his cloak around her shoulders even tighter. She was trying not to cry – she promised herself she never would about this. Try as she might, one little tear crept down her cheek.
Riku saw her body go rigid and her hands tighten around the black fabric. He was about to reach out to her when he heard her mumble, "I never wanted to be this way; I never wanted to be a burden." He stretched out his hand and grabbed one of her shoulders, spinning her to face him.
"What are you talking about?" Geni looked at him with moist eyes, wanting so much to trust someone here; her isolation within her own body made her want physical contact with someone so badly.
"It's...it's nothing, never mind me." She forced herself to smile at him, hiding herself while trying to reveal herself at the same time.
"You're strange," Riku said bluntly. "You definitely weren't lying when you said you were Sora's sister."
"I am not!" she said indignantly, all thoughts lost on their previous conversation. "You are a jerk Riku, you know that?" Geni took off his cloak and threw it at him, then proceeded to stomp away. The cloak landed on Riku's head, completely obscuring his vision.
He had it coming, she giggled to herself. Even so, she and Riku had met several times a week since then and had become good friends. At first, it was strained with things waiting to be said, but once they began talking it was hard to stop. Geni told Riku all about her life at Disney Castle, her abduction into the Organization and its dull life. Riku told her about the Destiny Islands, his naiveté about the darkness, the trek through Castle Oblivion, why he looks the way he does now and its relation to walking Sora up. They were beings of light hidden away in the dark; their hearts finding each other was only a small part that they would play in the scheme of the universe.
As Geni was reminiscing, she was completely unaware that someone had followed her as was now hiding behind a bush not too far from her. The darkness hid them so well that it could not be discerned what they were wearing or whether it was a man or woman. They were kneeling, watching Geni's dimly lit face glow from the soft lights of the fountain. Standing up, they snuck around the side of the bushes until they were right behind Geni in an archway next to the bench. Creeping up slowly and silently, they snaked their arm around Geni's face before they clamped it down on her mouth.
Geni's eyes shot open and she tried to scream, however the large hand was cutting off her vocal chords. She struggled to free herself, using her hands to pry away the hand at her mouth.
"Shorty," it said in a deep voice. At once, Geni stopped, knowing who it was. She dropped her arms and quit struggling, her voice now quiet. The hand was removed, and Geni stood up and turned around quickly.
"You're here!" she whispered happily. The being walked around the bench, the darkness still obscuring their form.
"Of course – even the Cornerstone can't keep me away for long," it said. "Although, because of it, I can't stay here for very long. Lucky me you decided to take a walk far from the castle."
Geni walked up to individual and snaked her arms around them, hugging them tightly. "I missed you so much," she murmured. Large arms encircled her, returning the gesture.
"I know, I'm sorry; I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to contact you since I found out you woke at Hollow Bastion. I went there first, but you had already left with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Speaking of which, where is he?"
"Either inside the castle or wandering around here somewhere," Geni replied into their chest. "I can't sense him anywhere near here, so he must either be waiting for me back at the entrance or inside."
The person nodded, then broke the hug and sat down on the bench. Geni followed suite, and they sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "So," Geni said, the first to speak, "Have you found what you were looking for yet?"
They shook their head. "Not yet, but I feel I'm getting close. Once Sora begins traversing the worlds, whatever the Organization is planning will probably begin as well. I won't be able to help him, but I'll do what I can. You haven't told him anything, have you?"
This time Geni shook her head. "I haven't, just as you asked. But what about when he finds out the truth about what happened? I know Sora has a good heart, but..."
"We'll just have to trust him," they finished. Suddenly, the being flickered slightly. "Damn it, I guess the Cornerstone is trying to get rid of me again." They turned to Geni and grabbed her hands. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble until this is all over, okay? Stay here at the castle; don't go wandering off to other worlds, alright?"
Geni looked at him indignantly. "Don't treat me like a child," she said sullenly.
Squeezing her hands, they said, "I only want you to be safe. If...you do leave, just please, please, be careful? For me?"
Geni smiled and nodded. "Of course, but you have to promise me as well. Deal?"
"You got it, shorty," they said. Standing up, they walked toward the archway. The individual raised their hand and a dark portal appeared. "I'll be back soon," they said.
"You had better," Geni said, a lump in her throat. The taller person ruffled her hair for a moment, and then proceeded to walk through the doorway where they and it vanished moments after. Geni watched the now empty walkway for a moment, relishing the warmth the person had given her. She wondered if he knew she had needed to see him that badly, or if he had been watching her, protecting her as he always had.
Smiling, her heart feeling full of hope, Geni made her way back through the maze towards Sora. She felt him waiting at the entrance, as she had expected. Walking out from the path, she saw Sora was sitting on one of the benches, twiddling his thumbs. Hearing footsteps, he looked up to see Geni walking towards him. He was halfway standing when she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sora, there's something I need to tell you," she began. Sora sat back down, all questions lost. "You must have noticed my unhappiness, otherwise you wouldn't have followed me. I'm sad that you have to leave so soon; I wanted to spend more time with you, more time getting to know you. But I realized that your quest is more important than that, and that afterwards we would have all the time in the world for catching up. So I don't want you worrying about me. I'll be waiting here for you to return after kicking the Organization's butt, and you had better, okay?" She smiled at him, looking happier than she had been all day.
Sora grinned at her. "I don't know what changed your attitude but I'm glad for whatever did it. I was worried about leaving you here, but not anymore. I guess a walk in some fresh air was the best medicine for you after all. Although, it's getting a little chilly out here – want to head inside?"
"Yeah," Geni said as she rubbed her arms. Standing up, they walked inside. As Geni closed the door behind them, she looked out once more into the garden, sending a mental thank you to her friend. Walking through the castle, almost everyone was asleep or heading to bed. After all, it was almost ten o'clock. Reaching the grand staircase, they headed their separate ways.
"I guess I'll see you in the morning then," Sora said.
"Pleasant dreams," Geni called as they parted. And for once, both of them did.
Early the next morning, Geni, Sora, Lady Daisy, Donald, Goofy, Max, and Queen Minnie waited on the platform as the gummi ship went through its final launch sequence.
"Now be careful, all of you," Queen Minnie reminded them. "I want you reporting your progress daily to gummi control."
"We will, Queen Minnie," Goofy said.
"And Donald, don't forget about our next date! You had better not miss this one this time! And no excuses!"
"Of course Daisy," Donald said, shaking his head. "I'll try."
"You be careful too, Sora," Geni said. "Oh, and I have something for you."
"What is it?" Sora asked, always liking presents.
Geni stepped forward. "Close your eyes," she said. Sora complied, and he could feel Geni slipping something around his neck. "Look."
Sora opened his eyes, and looked down. A tiny crystal hung on a silver chain, inscribed with various symbols he didn't recognize. Lifting it up, he could see the crystal was clear, but it glowed a light purple. "It's beautiful. What is it?"
"It's a connection crystal," she said as she pulled out one she had been wearing underneath her shirt. "The people who wear them will always be connected to each other; no matter how far apart they are, as long as the crystal glows." Geni's crystal was glowing a cool blue.
"I'll take good care of it," Sora said, slipping it under his shirt as Geni had. "We'll be back soon to visit, so take care until then." Sora came forward and the twins hugged; both had grown so much in the last few days.
"I will," Geni said as they came apart. Donald and Daisy also shared a quick embrace, as well as Goofy and his son Max.
"We'll be back soon, your majesty! Take care of everyone until then!" Donald shouted as the three began to board the gummi ship. As the ship's hatch closed, the rockets began to hum loudly.
Two squeaky voices came over the hanger intercom. "Please evacuate the hanger floor! Move to the viewing platform as the gummi ship is about to fire its rockets!" Chip and Dale said. The group quickly walked over to the stairway and up one level to the viewing platform. The gummi ship had lit its preliminary rockets and was hovering over the platform. Two large gates slid aside in the wall ahead of them, illuminating the runway. The main rockets began to fire, and the gummi ship began to move toward the opening.
As the main rockets completely fired, Geni ran to the edge of the platform. "Goodbye guys! Come back and visit us soon!" she shouted as she waved towards them. She could see Sora waving back to her from the cockpit, but only momentarily, as the gummi ship blasted through to the runway and outside. The force blew a fierce wind through the hangar, ruffling hair and skirts. Watching them fade into the distance, Geni whispered, "Please be safe – all of you."