"Who are you?"
The question from Sora easily stole me from the wandering thoughts of my mind. It was tossed around, pondered over for a few minutes. There were several ways in which it could be answered, but only one would be just right for knocking them off their feet. But, giving it to them was far too simple. The three of them had been asleep for a year, so they needed a little bit of a brain game to dust off some old cobwebs. If they remembered... I'd certainly feel reassured that our efforts in Twilight Town weren't for nothing. All he had to do was remember me. Although unsure about how ready Sora was for a pop quiz, I smirked at his inquiry and lifted my head to see him standing in the middle of the aisle.
Amusingly, his clothes were much too small for him. The time he spent sleeping was just enough for his growth spurt to kick in. No doubt, he was already a couple inches taller than me, and also Kairi. Sora's hair lightened, and he sounded more mature than before. Still as lanky as a monkey as ever, yet he was able to handle the Keyblade so finely during that last encounter with the Nobodies. Sora surely could make many more good impressions like that, I was sure. But, that was enough of my quiet observations. It was about time I got to know my good friends all over again.
"I thought you could tell me." I spoke softly to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. So a little bit of a trivia sounded like a fun idea. It would get them thinking and make it possible so they wouldn't just rely on someone else's word. Them figuring it out made it all the more meaningful. "Sora."
"Huh?" Sora tilted his head to the side, having been jumbled by the hinting response. He acted thrown off. Folding his arms across his chest and studying me from afar, the other Keyblade master thought deeply. He scratched his head thoughtfully. A look to Donald and Goofy for help came up with nothing. Apparently, not even they had an answer for this fantastic mystery. "Um... Could you step into the light...? Maybe just a little."
Sighing quietly, I glanced around myself and noticed the poor lighting in the train. The spacious and star-littered land we were crossing did nothing to provide any more light. Okay, I can give him that. That might have been my mistake. I took a few steps forward, this time standing well outside the veil of shadows in the back end of the train. This time, the three goofballs were able to see my full stature. "Better now?"
"Gee, you do sound like someone I know," Goofy tapped his bottom lip, squinting his eyes for a better look. It was a slight bit of progress, I supposed. Goofy always did have an idea about something, and he usually had good insight. That was just my take, though. He was still a silly knight but with a big heart.
"Just tell us!" Donald grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently. No matter how much sleep he got, the magic-wielding duck was in his usual bad mood. Or, rather, he never let go of that bad and short temper. It was hardly surprising. I didn't doubt that his heart was full of love for those two and the king.
"I've got nothing!" Sora blurted, making giggle at their attitudes.
They gave up. I hoped that it was just the effects of DiZ's work making them feel a bit hazy. Nonetheless, I extended my hand to Sora and smiled kindly. The end of my world would only come if our promise was forgotten, not because of a slight struggle like this. He just needed the right incentive to remember.
"I found my way back through the darkness," I said in a low voice. "Just like I promised."
"Oh..." Sora mumbled, dropping his arms to his sides as the realization hit after a long pause. I could have sworn that I saw a tear drip from his chin, but the light from outside was too bright for me to make it out. We were crossing over to the next world, where King Mickey said an old Master was waiting. The doors on the train opened right up for us to exit, but we were still locked in our moment. Too busy to step foot outside. When the light had dimmed, I felt a gentle grip around my thin wrist and looked down to see Sora holding onto me. "You kept your promise. Thank you."
I quietly nodded, using my other hand to lower my hood to my shoulders. But a simple handshake was not enough. I pulled Sora into a tight hug, with Donald and Goofy tearfully joining in the embrace. It was so good to see them again. A new journey was ahead of us, and we were going to go through it together again.
"Let's get out there," I patted Sora and Goofy on their backs, letting the three of them take the lead outside the train.
We were stunned to see where it was we arrived. A tall and mysterious tower with a simplistic layout. Looking around, I saw that we were standing on some kind of island in the center of a vast sea of golden clouds. The sunset at the horizon was casting a beautiful ray across the lands, which included several mountain peaks covered by green pines and other trees. Up above, there were countless stars dotting the darkening skies. This place was nothing like Twilight Town.
To our surprise, the train didn't stick around in case we needed a ride back to Twilight Town, the neighboring world. A column of light warped it away. The only thing remaining was the blue line of tracks stretching in both directions- one leading back to where we had come from and the other to some other place beyond this realm. Sora and I looked at each other; he laughed sheepishly. "There goes our ride..."
"Eh, who's that guy over there?" I asked the others after coming around the bend of the main path leading to the tower. There was someone standing in front of the doors, peeking inside. He was a bigger fellow and wore a red and blue outfit. Whoever he was, Sora and I had never seen him before.
"What's goin' on?" Donald asked the chunky man looking inside the tower, not thinking much about the odd behavior. The man chuckled and waved his hand.
"I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say," he said in a mischievous tone, forming a fist with one hand. "Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer. Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, it don't matter how tough he is- one he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!"
"A Heartless?!" Donald quacked, bringing out his staff. All four of us brought out our weapons in response to the shared scheme.
"That's right," the suspicious figure nodded his head, still not turning around. "They're those things that come outta the darkness in folks' hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything!"
"And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm goin' 'round to a bunch of different worlds and buildin' an army of Heartless, special for her. Oh... Why am I talkin' to you pipsqueaks, anyway? Go on and scram! I'm behind schedule as it is."
"You oughta find somethin' nicer to do," Goofy told him.
"Says who?" the rotund man asked, having been thoroughly annoyed. He waddled around to face us, finally, and glared coldly at our group. Strangely, he jumped in surprise upon seeing Donald and Goofy. "Wha... AAAH! It's you!"
"Pete!" Donald and Goofy blurted in unison.
"What are you two nimrods doin' here?!" Pete growled at them.
"What are YOU doing here?!" Donald threw the question right back at him but with more emphasis.
"You know him?" Sora asked, confused by the interaction.
"We sure do! Pete's been causin' trouble for ages." Goofy exclaimed. "His Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped."
Shaking mad, Pete managed a loud and obnoxious chuckle. He glared harshly and rubbed his nose confidently. "You wanna know how, eh? Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now your world- no, no, no... all the worlds- are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause, uh, Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em!"
"Maleficent, you say?" I snickered. The boys were all snorting in amusement.
"What are you losers laughing at?" Pete grumbled, stomping his large feet. "Why, Maleficent's power is so great, that-"
"She's toast," Sora cut in, waving his hand back and forth.
"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now," Goofy chimed in.
"Whaddaya mean?!" Pete yelped the question out. He growled again and pointed an accusing finger at each of us. "You! So you're the ones that did it!"
"Well..." Sora pulled his arms behind his back with a smug smile on his face. "We mighta had something to do with it. You mad?"
The angry look Pete had on his face was a memorable one. He shook with anger and waved a clench fist at us for our remarks. Although he was aware of what had happened to Maleficent, he was not going to led it slide. Pete was holding a grudge for what we had done to his boss. "Heartless Squad! Round up!"
Shadows sprouted from the ground like flowers at Pete's command. They had us surrounded, like usual, in a matter of seconds. It was only a small group of Heartless we were being faced with, meaning Pete had only a limited source of ammo. And, it also meant that we were going to have quite an easy time tossing the enemy around. We did what we usually did when faced with the bad guys. Keyblades, shield, and magic. A combined effort put away any worries of Shadows, right before Pete's eyes.
"You just wait! Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!" Angrily shouting at us after we defeated the squadron of Heartless, Pete stomped down the stairs and kicked a rock away.
"Alright, then, mighty Pete," I started, teasing his self-given nickname. "You can try us again when you've come up with a better challenge."
"Yeah," Sora agreed, stepping up beside me. "Huh. Who lives in this tower, anyway?"
"Oh, ya don't know, eh?" Pete smirked. "Well, it's old Yen Sid. 'Course, he's probably a Heartless by now!"
"Master Yen Sid lives here?!" Donald shook his head in disbelief. Running off for the tower, the magician hurried inside to inspect the damages brought on by the Heartless as we watched on.
"Yen Sid is the King's teacher!" Goofy explained.
"Wow..." Sora gawked at the peak of the tower. "Sounds powerful!"
Leaving Pete behind, we rushed into the tower after Donald and looked for the way up. A spiraling staircase led up into a green portal, which ended up taking us to a higher level. The wayward stairs were swamped with Heartless. I was disgusted to see the darkness staining various spots around the inside of the tower, but we made a clean sweep of most of it. I was determined to see to it that King Mickey's master was in no danger.
Two chambers we passed through were overrun by many Heartless. The waves were big, but we did well to see the end of them. Yet, no matter how well we did with taking care of the immediate problem of Heartless, we were taken by feelings of worry and anxiety among others. "Heartless, Heartless, Heartless! Things haven't changed one bit!"
"Then it's a good thing we came here," I said, rubbing my temples.
"So, the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora asked, staring at the next door. It was an unfortunate truth, but a lot of people were working to bring back the peace that had been around for only so long. "Then... what was the point of everything we did?"
"Once we see Master Yen Sid, we'll be able to come up with an answer for what to do," I reassured them and opened the door. "It's not like we can't handle it, right?"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked to each other. The gears were turning as they pondered over the next course of action we were to take. Master Yen Sid would surely help us with containing the reawakened threat of the Heartless, was our thought. If we spoke to him, maybe he would point us in the right direction to get it done. He was on the next floor, too, so we weren't so far off.
"C'mon, guys, we've gotta see Master Yen Sid!" Donald demanded, pointing at the door leading to the final set of stairs. No one disagreed. And when we came to the conclusion that we needed to see the sorcerer of this tower, we pushed through the door and ran up the straight staircase leading to the top of the mysterious tower.
The Heartless were on the other side, too. They were fixated on the door at the top, until we showed up. When we approached, the team of Heartless attacked at once, but they were defeated in a moment's time. It wasn't all that bad fighting through the Heartless. At most, it was a warm-up. I just hoped that King Mickey's master was doing okay.