Chapter 13: A New Mission
"For the first order of business, it has come to my attention that the home world of Sora, Riku and Kairi, the Destiny Islands, recently came under attack. If they would enlighten us on the details, it would be most helpful," said Yen Sid.
Shocked murmurs rang out through the Council. They did not expect the Keybearers to be targeted so soon.
"My goodness! Are all of you alright?" asked Grandmother Willow. "Obviously they are since their presence here indicates that they won the battle," said Absolem.
"We did win. But it wasn't easy," said Riku. "Tell us everything, dear," said the Fairy Godmother.
"Well, we were training in preparation for what Mickey told us about when they came without warning. A pack of Shadows along with a pack of Dusks," said Sora.
"Heartless and Nobodies working togeder? Such a ding has never been heard of," said Calypso.
"Not to doubt the word of a sea goddess but that is what happened. And right from the start of the battle, we knew that something wasn't normal aside from the Heartless and Nobodies working together," said Riku.
"Yes. I haven't fought many of each in the past. But according to Sora and Riku, Shadows and Dusks are among the easiest Heartless to defeat. But that wasn't the case with this bunch. They were far stronger than we realized," said Kairi.
"And the strangest thing happened shortly after Donald, Goofy, Pluto and I joined in the fight. The Heartless and Nobodies evolved," said Mickey.
"Evolved? What do you mean by that?" asked Rafiki. "He means they changed from one form to another. One minute, they were Shadows and Dusks. Next thing ya know, they were Neoshadows and Assassins," said Goofy.
"The worst part came after there was only one of each left. That was when they evolved into giants," said Donald.
"Yeah, the Darkside and the Twilight Thorn. They really wrecked our obstacle course on the islands. As Riku said, it wasn't an easy battle," said Sora.
Having now heard the details of the battle, the Council looked even more concerned. Things were far worse than they had thought.
"That is most distressing to hear. The thought of Heartless and Nobodies working together is bad enough. But hearing that they now have the power to change into more powerful forms in the middle of battle is even worse," said Merlin.
"I'm afraid I have even more bad news to share. I have looked at the paths between the worlds and what I saw was not good," said Zeus. "What did you see?" asked Kairi.
"The amount of Heartless and Nobody Gummi ships has increased in number. So much in fact, a single one of our own ships couldn't possibly get through without being destroyed. It seems that they are trying to cut off all travel between worlds," said the king of the Olympus.
This news shocked Sora to the core. "But if that happens, there's no way we can help anyone," he said worriedly.
Mickey then piped up and said, "Don't worry, Sora. We've got a way around it. My Gummi Ship engineers assure me that when they're finished with the Gummi Ship, we won't even have to fight in space. We can slip by the enemy unnoticed."
"Well that's a comfort. Now what about the Keyholes?" asked Riku. "Yeah. Mickey mentioned that something may be wrong with the Keyholes," said Sora.
"Genie, Balthazar, would you care to tell us about your investigation?" asked Yen Sid. "Certainly," said Genie. Balthazar nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Blake and I have been travelling around the worlds you have visited before such as Agrabah, Deep Jungle, Halloween Town etcetera etcetera. We've been checking up on the Keyholes you sealed and something horrible is happening! The seals are beginning to unravel!" exclaimed Genie.
"Unravel? But how?" asked Sora. "I imagine it's the same dark forces that are empowering the Heartless and the Nobodies. But from what I have observed, they do not seem interested in collecting the worlds' hearts even on those worlds which have never been sealed. While they are gathering hearts from the general populace when they can, they seem to be only concerned with occupation of the world," stated Balthazar.
"Do you have any idea who's behind this?" asked Kairi. "Sadly no, Princess of Heart. Mama Odie and I have pooled all we have to divine the source of these problems. Unfortunately, we have yet to find an answer," said Madama Leota.
Sora and his friends could not believe how bad things were. Evolving enemies, unraveling Keyholes, inaccessible pathways between worlds; it was a great deal to take in. "So what are we going to do?" asked Sora.
"We believe that the best thing you all can do is this. You must travel the worlds once again. Eliminate as much of the enemy forces as much as you can while trying to find out who or what the primary force behind these events is. In regards to the Keyholes, you must seek them out. I believe King Mickey showed you how to reinforce the Keyholes," said Yen Sid.
"Yes. It happened when we sealed the Keyhole to the Destiny Islands," said Kairi.
"A singular Keyblade can seal a world's Keyhole. But if more than one Keyblade is used in the sealing process, the Keyhole is reinforced. The more Keyblades the used, the stronger the reinforcement will be and it will be harder for the dark forces to unravel the seal. It should give us time to find out the cause and put a stop to it," said King Triton.
"Sora, once more the universe has need of you and your friends. I won't deny that this may be your hardest challenge yet. It is unfortunate that this burden falls on those who are so young. But can we count on you and your friends to do what has to be done?" asked Yen Sid.
Sora looked at the Council and then darted around the room to his friends. It was true that life hadn't been easy since the Keyblade chose him and apparently, everyone thought it was going to get harder. But then he smiled.
"Of course, you can. I have plenty of friends out there in the universe and I'm not going to let them down. It's because of them I grew strong enough to defeat my enemies. As long as Riku and Kairi can come with me this time," said Sora.
"Hey, we spent too much time apart in our last adventure. We're not letting you out of our sight," said Kairi. "Besides, you heard the Sea King. The more Keyblades, the better," said Riku.
"I'll stand with you, Sora. I kept away from you too much in our last adventure. This time we will go together," said Mickey.
"Hey! Don't forget about us!" exclaimed Donald. "Yeah. We may not have Keyblades. But we're useful in other areas," said Goofy. "I wouldn't dream of it any other way," said Sora.
Pluto began to bark. "What's that boy? You want to come with us?" asked Mickey.
"Can he? Please, Mickey?" asked Kairi. Mickey laughed and said, "Of course he can."
Pluto barked happily and gave his master a lick of thanks. He then bounded over to Kairi who gave him an affectionate pat on the head.
"Well, it seems we've got our party. All we need is a destination to start from. Where do you think we should go first?" asked Sora.
"My advice is that for the rest of the day, you should return to Disney Castle. You need to rest and train. Tomorrow, you will start on your journey. As for where to go, we shall let the forces of fate decide. Merlin?" asked Yen Sid.
Merlin then reached into his robes and took out a white heart-shaped Gummi block. He used his powers to make it float to Mickey. Mickey grabbed it in mid-air.
"That is a special navigational Gummi block designed by Cid and myself. Have the engineers install it on your Gummi Ship. When you are ready to leave, touch it with one of your Keyblades. The Gummi Ship will then travel to the place where you are currently needed the most," said Merlin.
"On behalf of all of us, I wish you all the best of luck. We will continue our investigation into this current threat and hopefully find a solution," said Yen Sid.
"Thank you all. We won't let you down and we look forward to seeing you if this Gummi block leads us to your worlds," said Sora.
"This meeting of the Council of the Watchers of the Worlds is now dismissed. You may now return to your worlds," said Yen Sid. "'Bout time. I left a tub o' gumbo cookin'!" exclaimed Mama Odie.
One by one, the Council members stood up from their chairs with the exception of Grandmother Willow. They then turned into the same balls of light that they had arrived in and flew out the door. All that were left in the Council Chamber were Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Yen Sid.
"Before you leave, there are a few more things I need to discuss with you. Also, I have some things to give you may find useful on your travels. Let us go to the top of the Tower," said Yen Sid. Then in a flash of light, everyone in the Council Chamber vanished.
Their meeting with the Council had made their mission clear to Sora and his friends. Now they had preparations to make and the great sorcerer was just the one to help them.
Author's Note: Sorry about the dialogue heaviness of this chapter. But it is a mission briefing and discussion so what did you expect? It's going to be a little slow for now at least until the journey begins. But keep reading and you will soon see a whole new world.