Eureka! We've done it!
Today is the 2 year anniversary of this story! *cue streamers and party favors now*
Thank you all so much for sticking with me! As of now, this story has over 40,500 views, 75 favorites, 59 followers, and almost 250 reviews!
You guys are AMAZING!
However, this story won't make it to 3 year anniversary since we're coming into the final stretch, but I hope you'll all stick around for the sequel!
Let's get to it, then!
I own nothing!
Chapter 35: Disney Town
Mickey stared into space as the Gummi Ship rocketed back to his home.
"Mickey," he turned to see Riku there, "everything's gonna be ok. We'll stop Maleficent."
The mouse nodded. "I know… but last time she kidnapped Minnie. Who knows what she'll do this time."
"Don't worry. We'll stop her!"
The group landed and came out in the gummi hanger. "Ya know, I would've thought Queen Minnie would be here to greet us…"
"You think she's all right?"
They all quickly moved out of the hanger, into the castle courtyard. "Oh…" Minnie was walking towards them, talking.
"Minnie!" The King rushed forward, catching his wife in his arms. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
"Why wouldn't I be?" She hugged him back, though her eyes filled with a worried curiosity.
"Maleficent said she was coming back here. I… I thought you…"
The Queen kissed his cheek. "I'm perfectly fine, and thank you for being so concerned for me." Her eyes drifted over to the group behind the King. "Oh, it's so wonderful to see so many friendly faces." Coming over to them, she laughed, "I remember you: Terra, Aqua, Ventus. Sora and Riku, you are always welcome here. And, you, Lea, the one who helped rescue me from Maleficent. Who are the rest of you?"
"This is Roxas, Xion, Naminé, and Kairi." Mickey pointed to each person as he named them.
Minnie nodded in welcome to them before her face fell. "Oh dear… If Maleficent is coming back here, then our guests might be in trouble."
"Guests? What guests?"
"Guests from Wasteland!"
Sora leaned over to Goofy, "What's Wasteland?"
"Wasteland is kinda our sister-world."
At the name Wasteland, Mickey tensed. "They're here! Right now!"
Riku cocked his head. "Who are you talking about, Mickey?"
Before the mouse could reply a blur of black, blue, and teal bowled him over. The group tensed, but relaxed when they heard laughing. "Mickey! Oh! It's been forever! How ya been? Saving the worlds got your schedule filled up?"
"Get off me and I'll tell you!"
The two separated, revealing that the one who jumped the King was a rabbit. He looked strangely similar to Mickey and wore an almost identical outfit to Mickey's, except his was blue, white, and teal.
Mickey stood before hugging the rabbit. "Oswald! It's great to see you!"
"It has been far too long, brother."
"BROTHER!?" The Keybearers stared at the two in shock.
Donald nodded. "That's Oswald, King of Wasteland and the King's half-brother."
"Oswald," Mickey led him towards the group, "These are the people I've been telling you about."
The rabbit looked the group over. "Well, it looks like the worlds are in good hands. Mickey's told me all about you guys."
"Why hasn't he told us about you then?" All eyes looked to the mouse.
"I just… we were busy saving the worlds…" Mickey smiled sheepishly.
Oswald glared at his half-brother playfully before speaking. "Well, its nice meeting you guys."
"Hey Oswald," Goofy cut in, "Is Ortensia here too?"
"Nope," the rabbit shook his head, "She couldn't make it this time… she's pregnant."
"Again!?"
"How many kids do ya'll have now?"
Oswald scratched his chin before answering, "Not counting the litter on the way, we're at 150."
The Keybearer's jaws dropped. "150! How many kids do you want?"
"We're thinking about stopping when we hit somewhere between 400 and 500. Oh, Mickey, I'll be right back, there's someone else who you'll want to see." He zipped off, back into the castle.
Sora looked, wide-eyed at his friends. "Between 400 and 500… what the heck!"
"I don't know how he'll handle that?"
Lea shook his head, "I know rabbits are good at procreating, but wow…"
Mickey and Minnie laughed at their reactions. "Oswald may be a little, different, but he's a wonderful friend, a great King, and a loyal brother." Mickey looked to Minnie before asking, "Did Amelia and Mandie come too?"
"Yes! Along with Della and Gaffy." Donald and Goofy's faces lit up at this news.
"Ok…" Lea raised an eyebrow, "Who are Amelia, Mandie, Della, and Gaffy?"
"You'll see!"
Out of the castle came Oswald with Daisy and four others. Two were female mice, one of which was taller than the other. The taller one had black hair hanging down to her shoulders, and wore a yellow and red dress. The other wore a turquoise dress with a matching bow between her ears. One other was a duck with short blonde hair, in a magenta dress. With the last being a dog in red and blue.
Daisy and the other duck smiled and exclaimed, at the same moment, "Donald!" The newcomer, however, ran over and tackled him in a hug. "Don it's been forever, how've you been?"
"Della… can't… breathe…" The other duck let him go. "It's good to see you too, sis!"
"Hey there Goof!" the other dog came over and the two hugged. "Heard you've been saving the worlds."
"Yup! You heard right! You been keeping Oswald safe?"
"Ain't no Blot or Heartless gonna get past me!"
The two mice came over to Mickey and Minnie, both hugging the King. "Mickey, how've you been? I haven't seen you in so long."
"Sorry Amelia, I've been kinda busy lately." He smiled, hugging the taller mouse back.
"I understand…"
Mickey looked at the other mouse, who put her hands on her hips. "I'm glad you've been taking good care of my sister."
"I wouldn't think of doing anything other than that."
"Good! Now, who are these others, who apparently have no idea who we are?"
Mickey looked back at the Keybearers, who stood there with shocked expressions, gaping mouths, and altogether, confused by the exchanges they had just seen. "Oops… sorry… guys, this is my younger sister Amelia, Minnie's older sister, Mandie, Donald's twin sister Della, and Goofy's younger brother Gaffy."
"Hi!"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Sora, and this is Riku, Kairi, Lea, Terra, Aqua, Ven, Roxas, Xion, and Naminé."
The Wastelanders smiled, "Glad to meet you too."
Amelia noticed her brother's fallen face. "Mickey, is there something wrong?"
"I… I'm glad you're here and all, but… now, more people I care about are in danger." The guests all looked at him in shock. "Maleficent has threatened this world and she will be coming soon."
Oswald sighed, "Well, that does put a damper on our visit… but we can handle ourselves. I didn't bring my court for nothing."
"Your court?"
"That's right! Gaffy's my Captain of the Guard, Mandie's my head magician, Amelia's my chronicler, and Della's my royal pilot." The rabbit grinned, "And, though I may not be a Keyblade wielder, I am well trained in magic and swordsmanship."
Mickey nodded. "I worry too much… so, we don't know what Maleficent is up to, where she'll appear, but I know what she wants." He gestured for them all to follow.
As they walked, Della grinned, "Well, this is going to be one adventurous vacation. Not that I mind, though; I'm always up for a little adventure." Donald shook his head at his twin's behavior.
Going into the library, Mickey pressed a button on the bottom of his desk, causing a large computer to rise up from the floor. "Before the Mark of Mastery exam, we were trying to discover why a mysterious message appeared in one of Jiminy's journals."
"There already was one message," the cricket jumped onto the desk and opened the book. Everyone saw the words 'Thank Naminé'.
All eyes turned to the blonde girl, who smiled shyly. "That's right. You wrote that so that when you lost your memories of Castle Oblivion, you could would know to thank me."
"So that was it…" Jiminy smiled thoughtfully before turning to the back of the book. "But, the message we were figure out was this one." 'Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it'. "We digitized the journal and tried to look through the contents to discover the meaning of it. However, through a strange turn of events, we ended up digitized inside the journal along with Maleficent and Pete. After we got out, Maleficent believed the journal's data to be the data of the worlds and wants to use it to her advantage."
Riku sighed, "So, she is trying to get the data. What is the importance of it?"
"It is Jiminy's records, for one thing. However, the other use has really outlived itself. When I was inside, a digital version of Naminé showed me whom we needed to find and save: Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Roxas, Lea, Xion, and the real Naminé. Now, the data only holds significance as a historical record."
Oswald looked to his brother, "Why not let her have it then?"
"I've thought about it," Mickey admitted, "but, I believe there are more secrets in that journal, some that could be dangerous." He smiled. "It's better to be safe than sorry. Anyways, there are some friends inside the journal who can keep Maleficent out if need be."
"Who?"
Donald and Goofy chuckled. "The digital copies of Sora and Riku."
The two boys looked at each other, then back at the mouse. "Digital copies of us…"
"Yep!" Mickey pushed a button and the screen came to life, revealing the fourteen-year-old face of Sora and the fifteen-year-old face of Riku.
"Oh my gosh, you weren't kidding…"
The mouse King turned to the group. "We need to find Maleficent before she attacks; I propose we split up around the town and castle, so we can keep an eye out for her."
"That's a good plan, but how will we keep in contact?"
Gaffy grinned and reached into his pockets. "We might have something that can help." He held out a box. "Our friend Gus and the other Gremlins back home made us these comlinks so we can communicate. I've got a large set here; we could probably do one per group."
Aqua and Riku conferred quietly before looking to the others. "We've got an idea. Since Terra, Aqua, and Ven know the town, they will take some out there to scout it out. Donald, Goofy, and those from Wasteland will stay nearby and provide cover for Mickey and the computer, should she attack. The rest of us will patrol the castle itself."
"Hang on," Sora cut in, "Someone should be guarding the Cornerstone of Light too."
"We'll take care of that." Della wrapped a wing about her twin's neck.
"Looks like we're good to go, then."
Terra walked across the town silently, the other two with him, just chatted like he couldn't believe. "Hey, Terra." Roxas came up to him. "So, you've been here before?'
"Yea, a long time ago."
"What's wrong?" Xion asked him.
The older boy shook his head. "Nothing… I guess I'm still recovering slightly." He sighed and changed the subject. "So, when this is over with, what will you guys do?"
Both former Nobodies stopped. They hadn't thought about that before. "Well… honestly… we don't know… we don't have homes like the rest of you do."
"Sure you do," Terra looked back at them, "They say, home is where the heart is, just find that place and then you're home."
"What about you?"
"I'm just gonna go back to Land of Departure with Aqua and Ven."
Xion trotted forward to match Terra's pace. "So, you've lived in that castle there your whole life?"
"Not my whole life…"
"Oh," Roxas sighed, "So, I'm guessing you have family somewhere?"
"Not really…"
"Not really? You either have a family or you don't."
Terra stopped, taking a deep breath. He understood these two came from different circumstances and still didn't know too much about the world, so he gave them some grace. "It's not that simple… Yes, I have a family. I have a mother, a 'father', a step-mother, and a step-sister." He looked at the two, who didn't really get it. "My 'father' Archer, divorced my mother when I was little and remarried another woman. Archer didn't really like me; he wasn't a true father… not to me at least. He liked my step-sister though… guess you could say my life has been rough on all fronts…"
Without another word, the three walked on. The younger two, milling over the new information in their minds.
Aqua liked talking with Kairi and Lea: Kairi was like a younger her and Lea knew how to make anyone laugh. The older girl let the two surrogate siblings chat away about old times.
Lea asked Kairi about her family on the Destiny Islands and listened intently as she told about her parents and even her pet Great Dane. The two older ones smiled at the fact that, despite her hard past in Radiant Garden, the Princess had a wonderful life on the islands.
"So, your dog bit Sora's dad in the butt!?" Lea laughed, "That's awesome!"
Kairi got up on the tips of her toes and smacked the pyro on the back of the head. "That wasn't awesome! It hurt him really bad!"
"Ok, ok," he rubbed the back of his head, where she hit him. "My bad…"
Ven held Naminé's hand as they went through the square; Riku walked behind, just letting those two have their moment.
"How're you feeling?"
"I… I'm doing pretty well," the girl looked down at her feet. "It's not going to be easy to get back out of my… you know…"
Ven grasped her hand a little harder. "Don't worry…I'll be right here to help."
"Hey, I hate to break this up, but I think we found our target."
They saw a human dressed in black, the same one that was with Maleficent before. Riku tapped the comlink. "We found one of Maleficent's lackeys in the town square."
'Gotcha Riku!'
'On our way!'
The young Keyblade Master smiled, "I like these things…" He and the other two ran after the man. "Hey!"
The black-clad man stopped, turning about to face them. "So… there you are. My Lady was wondering when you would arrive."
"Who are you?"
The man bowed, "Diaval…" Heartless appeared around him, much to the surprise of the heroes. "And now, your opponent."
"Heartless! How?"
"You shall find out soon enough," Diaval grinned. A burst of green magic surrounded him, turning him into a raven… Maleficent's raven.
As he tried to fly away, a Blizardza spell cut off his escape. "You're not going anywhere!" Aqua and her group stood in the way.
Diaval charged, trying to pass them, but with the arrival of Terra, Roxas, and Xion, he halted. Ven jumped up and grabbed the bird, pinning his wings to his sides. "Not so tough now, Diaval."
"Good catch, Ven!" Terra looked at the thrashing bird.
"What can we do with the bird?"
Riku looked to Aqua, "He was a man a moment ago; do you think you could cast a spell to turn him back? We need some answers."
The girl concentrated before sending the spell. The raven thrashed as the magic engulfed him; Ven dropped him and allowed Riku and Terra to grab the man.
Getting a good look at him, Diaval, was very pale, wearing nothing but black; his inky black hair was slicked back and strange scars showed on his chest and some on his face. "That's better…"
"We should get him back to the castle; he can tell us what Maleficent is planning and how he summoned Heartless here."
"I will never betray my Mistress to you!" The man struggled against his bonds as Riku, Terra, and Oswald continued to question him.
"He's not cracking…"
Riku and Terra narrowed their eyes at Diaval; they sensed a very strong darkness coming from him. The older boy knelt down, "How many worlds did Maleficent visit?" Diaval kept silent but he grinned.
Suddenly, a group of Soldier Heartless appeared around them. "What the?"
"Heartless!" Oswald pulled out a remote, adjusted a dial, and pressed the big red button on the device. The remote antenna glowed before straightening out and elongating into a sword. "How'd they get in?"
Terra struck down a Soldier and glared at the prisoner. "I have an idea." After destroying the monsters, the older boy approached Diaval; pulling the man up by his shirt, he reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out and orb of pure darkness. "This is how he did it."
"It's the dark essence that Maleficent's been gathering. Such pure darkness… it must be overpowering the power of the Cornerstone of Light, at least in in a small area." Riku took the orb in his hands and went into the library. "Mickey!"
The King turned and, seeing the orb, jumped. "What is that?"
"This is how Maleficent plans on getting the Heartless into the castle." He tossed the orb to Mickey. "From what we saw, I'm guessing she was absorbing the darkness from inside the hearts of the different villains across the worlds. Darkness like that, in its purist form, could overpower the Cornerstone of Light."
The mouse looked at the orb. "If Maleficent has enough of these, she could easily invade the castle. Call Kairi; her pure light should be enough to destroy this orb here. We can't keep it around just in case its very presence here would allow Heartless to appear."
As Riku left to find the Princess, Mickey looked at the dark orb. "Maleficent… all this for some insignificant data… why do I feel like this move, will be your last…?"
Xion, Naminé, and Mandie stood, taking their turn to guard Diaval. The man cocked his head at the trio of female guards. "Why should maidens like yourselves be given such a tedious task such as guarding one such as myself?"
"Uh, remember, you serve a woman," Xion rolled her eyes. She hated small talk.
The blonde girl looked at him. "You hardly talked to any of the other guards, why speak to us?"
"I just enjoy the company of such lovely young ladies…"
Mandie turned around sharply and unleashed a thunder spell near the prisoner. "Well, I would enjoy you shutting up!"
The grin on Diaval's face remained. He suddenly leapt up in a flurry of darkness, grabbing Mandie around the throat before flinging her across the room. He dodged the blades of both Keybearers before grabbing the girls' wrists, pulling them to him before bashing their heads together, rendering them unconscious.
"Xion… Xion report." Gaffy listened for the girl's reply on the comlinks. "She's not answering. Something's not right…"
Roxas and Lea were already out the door and heading for where the girls would be. As they opened the door… "Xion!"
"Oh my gosh!" Lea cast Curza on the three girls who lay sprawled upon the floor. The three awoke with groans. "What happened?"
"Diaval… he escaped and attacked us." She touched her ear. "And he took my comlink…"
Lea reached up to his com, "Everyone! Diaval's escaped and he's taken a comlink."
'Gotcha… everyone, keep radio silence from this point forward. We can't have Diaval know where we are.' He heard Oswald say over the com.
"Come on girls, and Roxas, let's go find our missing man."
They scoured the castle and couldn't find a trace of Diaval. "Where could he be?"
"You think he just took a dark corridor outta here?"
Riku shook his head. "I've got a sneaking suspicious that he wanted to get caught. I don't think he left the castle. Sora's protecting the Cornerstone of Light with Roxas and Ven; I don't think he'll try there."
"And no one's gone near the data except for me." Mickey said thoughtfully.
Everyone jumped as Soldier, Bolt Tower, and Tornado Step Heartless appeared around them. "How'd they get in here?"
The entire group battled the monsters; Riku froze, he knew what happened! Closing his eyes, he felt for a specific darkness. He jumped over a Soldier and reached behind the grandfather clock in the library. "Kairi!" Riku pulled out another dark orb.
"Got it!" The Princess came over, taking the orb in her hands, and dissipated it with her light.
After destroying the Heartless, the group gathered around. "So, that what he was doing…"
"Diaval put that orb in here, just to allow the Heartless to get in. He's probably placed them all over the place."
'Hey! Does anybody read?'
Oswald jumped at the comlink transmission. "What's up Sora?"
'We've got Heartless in the Cornerstone room, but the Cornerstone itself is still here and just fine.'
"Well… we've got a problem." The group moved towards the Hall of the Cornerstone, with Heartless stopping them at every turn.
"Diaval must've put one of those orbs everywhere!"
Finally, they reached the Hall of the Cornerstone. Sora stood beside Ven, Roxas, Donald, and Della, fighting off a horde of Heartless. "Great! Backup!"
It took them no time to destroy their enemies and for Kairi to destroy the three dark orbs in the room.
"We've gotta stop Maleficent! Only then can we focus on getting rid of those stupid orbs and the Heartless."
"When I see that shape-shifting bird again, I'm gonna tear out his feathers, or hair, if he's human!"
Minnie attempted to calm her sister. "Mandie, calm down. We'll stop them both; there is no need for excessive violence."
The silence that reigned was broken by Aqua's voice. "One of us should head back to the computer… we can't leave it."
"She can't get the data from there." Mickey held up a disk. "I've transferred it onto here."
"So, that's where it is." Everyone turned around to see Maleficent, Diaval, Pete, and a large group of Heartless. "You've done well, so far… but that ends here!" The evil queen held out her hand, "Give me the data!"
"Not gonna happen!" All stood, weapons brandished, with Amelia and Minnie behind them, before the Cornerstone, a shield around them and the precious stone of light.
"You cannot win!"
With a wave of her hand. Diaval transformed into a large dragon; Maleficent went into her own dragon form.
"Uh oh…"
"I thought one dragon would be trouble…"
The two beasts lunged, their large feet threatening to squish the heroes.
Kairi took a deep breath before charging; suddenly, a purple glow surrounded her and Xion. A dark purple substance engulfed the Princess; when it faded, Kairi stood, dressed in and Organization XIII coat with the front unzipped. Underneath that, she wore a purple cat-suit and black boots. In her hand, she held two blades of pure light.
She charged at Maleficent, the blades of her Memory Form, driving into the witch's back.
All of the heroes fended off the dragons, having to dodge flames of sinister green and burning orange. "Is it just me," Lea panted, "or is her main goal not to get the data, but to kill us?"
"It's not just you," Gaffy admitted as he ducked another fireball.
Diaval swung his tail, knocking Terra, Ventus, Xion, Mickey, Kairi, and Riku into a wall before pinning them down. They all struggled as a deep orange formed in his throat.
Just before the flame shot out, dark chains wrapped around the dragon's neck, constricting the fire in his throat. A large burst of darkness knocked Maleficent into a wall. "What the…?"
"Now that's going a bit too far. We want some of them dead, but not all of them." All eyes turned to see Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, and Eraqus standing on a high up landing. "If you get in the way, Miss. Maleficent, we'll have no choice but to end you."
The dragons both roared before breathing fire at the four uninvited guests. The Xehanort clones leapt out of the way before Yazoo smirked. "We tried to warn you…"
"You didn't listen."
Kadaj's eyes glowed a sinister gold before he formed a blade of pure darkness and launched it at the two dragons. Maleficent knocked Diaval back with her tail, transforming him back into a human, just as the blade ran her through.
"MALEFICENT!" The man jumped to his feet, eyes wide.
Riku's eyes widened; Maleficent protected Diaval… there was a little light in her heart after all.
When Maleficent's robe, all that was left of her, fell to the ground, Diaval ran over and carefully folded it. "Pete! Let's go!" The two disappeared through the dark corridor.
"Hmph… should've stopped." Kadaj grinned wickedly. "Well, now that we've gotten that fly out of the way, we can get back to business." He knelt down, looking at the assembled below. "Ooo… so many options…"
Riku growled, "What are you going on about?"
"Well, we are short 3 members at the moment; we need some new hands. Oh, King Oswald of Wasteland, you'd make an excellent vessel."
Mickey jumped in front of his half-brother. "Keep away from my family and friends!"
"Hmph," Kadaj rolled his eyes and looked around, his eyes settling on Terra, Aqua, and Ventus who stared silently and longingly at the silent Eraqus. "I'd settle for just the three of you, except the master says that Ventus is too weak."
"Come brother," Yazoo said coolly, "I think we've seen all we need to. The master just wants to know the options he has."
They turned to go, but a beam of light blocked the four. "You're not going anywhere!" All eyes looked at Sora. "Not until you release Terra, Aqua, and Ven's master!"
"And what makes you think you can stop us?"
"Even if I can't, I've gotta try!"
Loz laughed, "Hey Eraqus teach him a lesson…"
The Keyblade Master leapt down, unleashing a flurry of dark chains at Sora. All the Keybearers, plus Donald and Goofy, gathered around Sora. "MASTER ERAQUS!" Sora shouted at the top of his lungs; a bright light surrounded him, spreading to those around him: Riku, Kairi, Lea, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Mickey, Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Donald, and Goofy. The light filled the room.
"NO! THIS CANNOT HAPPEN!" The three remnants summoned darkness around them but it made no dent in the brilliant light. The three had no choice but to retreat through a dark corridor, leaving their companion behind.
Eraqus stood, bathed in the light of the group, with darkness streaming off him. His eyes closed and he collapsed.
The light subsided, leaving the group stunned. "What. The. Heck. Did we just do…?"
"I have no idea…"
"Master!"
Aqua ran forward to the prostrate form of Eraqus with Ven and Terra following. The others gathered around as well, staring in awe at the unconscious man.
The trademark pointed ears and black coat of Xehanort's men were gone. He wore a white and red haori with a hood on it, a navy shirt, and somewhat short hakama pants, however his armor was missing.
"Master…"
The man groaned slightly but did not awaken. "Riku, help me!" Terra knelt down, grabbing one of his master's arms to lift him up. Riku came and grabbed the other arm.
"Quickly! Let's get him to the infirmary!"
Aqua sat on the infirmary bed, watching the older man. He hadn't moved once in the two hours he lay on the bed; all the others stood out in the hall talking and trying to figure out what happened.
"Uh…" Master Eraqus groaned and his eyes slowly opened. The girl drew in a sharp breath; his eyes were the same deep gray she remembered. "Aqua…"
The girl jumped to her feet and opened the door to the room. "Terra! Ven! Everyone! Master Eraqus's awake!" Quickly she moved back to the bed, taking the man's hand in hers. "Master… it's me…"
"Aqua…" A small smile crossed his face and it only grew wider as the faces of his two other students appeared in the doorway.
Terra came forward slowly, kneeling before the bed. "Master Eraqus."
"Terra…" Ven hung back; his last meeting with his master had not been a happy one. The older man noticed the boy standing back. "Ventus… come here, please…"
He stepped timidly forward. "Master." The boy looked at his master's eyes and, to his shock, he saw tears.
"Ventus… I am so, so sorry. I have wronged you in more ways than you know, all of you. I know no apology can atone for the wrongs I have done against the three of you: my deceit and my actions of aggression towards you. I understand if the three of you hate me now, for I failed all of you…" Eraqus closed his eyes shamefully.
"No…" He opened his eyes to see the trio crying.
He grunted as all three hugged him. "Oh Master, we could never hate you. You're the only family we have left and like a father to us. We love you and nothing will change that."
"Terra, Aqua, Ventus…" weakly lifting his arms, he attempted to embrace his beloved students.
Silence filled the room, save the light sobbing of the four inside. When they finally broke apart, Terra turned to see the large group gathered about the door; the students helped Eraqus sit up in the bed and he noticed their audience. "Oh…"
"We've got some friends we want you to meet, Master." Ven smiled.
Mickey came in first, "We've never officially met before, but I'm King Mickey."
"I've heard of you; Yen Sid spoke highly of you."
"Gosh," the mouse smiled, "he spoke highly of you too."
"Master," Aqua stood, "this is Keyblade Master Riku."
The boy bowed courteously, "It's an honor to finally meet you, Master Eraqus."
The older man nodded and smiled. "Master? Who was your teacher?"
"I'm self-taught;" he smiled lightly, "Master Yen Sid gave me my exam. The majority of us are self-taught actually."
Eraqus looked at him, and then observed the ones at the door. "There are a lot of you then?"
The rest of the group filed in slowly, with the master's eyes steadily widening as the number increased. "Yea… there's a lot…"
"Master," Terra smiled, "meet Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, Naminé, and Lea. They're all Keybearers. And, these two are Donald and Goofy: Mickey's head magician and captain of the guard."
Eraqus gave a gentle and weary smile. "I know your faces…"
"So, you remember?"
"I do… I may not like it, but I do remember. I must apologize for my actions; I regret everything I did under Xehanort's control."
"It wasn't your fault, but you're forgiven."
A smile crossed Eraqus's face. "Thank you…"
The group remained in Disney Castle for three days, allowing Master Eraqus to get back on his feet; unlike Terra, Eraqus had been dead for many years and was only brought back to be enslaved by Xehanort. This caused him to be very weak and unfamiliar with control of his own body. The Keybearers helped him, though he was still weak when they left.
The older master took this opportunity to get to know those who fought alongside his students:
The kind-hearted King who helped all those who needed it.
The short-tempered pyrokenetic who cared deeply for his friends and those close to him.
The former replica who was sweet and playful.
The ex-Nobody who resembled his youngest student and treasured his friendships more than anything else.
The memory 'witch' with a gentleness beyond measure.
The loud magician who would stick by his friends through thick and thin.
The captain of the guard with a huge heart.
The Keyblade Master with a strong spirit and a thirst for right.
The Princess of Heart who loved her friends and made even stern old men smile.
And then there was the boy with an open heart who made all this possible.
He liked them all and heard their stories. The connections between them and his students and Sora, Riku, and Kairi surprised him but he accepted everything in stride.
He heard of Sora's failed Mark of Mastery Exam and it got him thinking. The day before they left, he spoke to Aqua and Riku, who both readily agreed with his idea.
The gummi ship blasted off from Disney Town, now with one more passenger. Lea activated the autopilot and turned around to the group. "So, where to now? Off to another world?"
"Hold on Lea," Riku cut in, "Master Eraqus has something he'd like to say."
The ship grew quiet; over the last few days, all their respect and admiration for the stern yet kind Keyblade master had grown.
Eraqus stood up, leaning on the wall. "Over the last few days I have come to know each of you and I am sure of what I have decided." He looked over at Aqua, allowing the younger master to continue.
"Master Eraqus has seen each of you wield a Keyblade during the training times I asked for and has decided that, before we combat Xehanort, we must do something."
Riku picked up where she left off. "We will go to Radiant Garden and conduct a redo Mark of Mastery exam for both Terra and Sora."
The two mentioned stared in awe. "What?"
"You heard me," Riku smirked.
"I, Master Aqua, and Master Riku will officiate the exam. If we are to beat Xehanort and all his forces, we must have every resource at our disposal and adding two more masters to the fold would be a powerful advantage on our part."
Sora grinned widely, "Thank you Master Eraqus!"
"We'll do our best."
The older man nodded, "I know you will; the rest of you should be ready to take your exam soon as well." All smiled at Eraqus. "Now, you two should rest before your exam."
"Kairi," Riku went over to her, "think you can ask your Great Uncle if he has a place where we can give the exam?"
"Of course!"
"Good…"
Sora tossed in his bed; he was so excited for the exam that he couldn't sleep… or was he just nervous. Finally, he got up and headed to the training room. Before he left, he took Dawn's Might off its place and strapped it to his waist.
Going into the training room, he pulled out the katana and slashed the air a few times.
"That's a nice blade." Sora jumped at the voice, but saw it was only Eraqus. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you."
Sheathing the blade, the boy answered, "It's all right."
The man stood up and came over to him. "May I?" Sora took out the sword and handed it to the master. "This blade is well made… light and perfectly balanced. Only a true swordsman would carry a blade such as this… it suits you."
"It was a gift." Sora took back Dawn's Might and sheathed it. "I thought I might wear it during the exam and I just wanted to know how it felt to fight with it."
"Is there a reason why you wish to carry it with you?"
The boy blushed. "It… I… well…"
"I see…" Master Eraqus sat down, "It has something to do with the Princess of Heart, am I right?" Sora nodded slowly; Eraqus nodded back and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Riku told me what transpired during your last exam. You should not worry; this exam will not entail a journey or such dangers as you faced last time. It will be the traditional exam, like the one Terra and Aqua took before."
The boy nodded, "I understand, but… a test is still a test."
Placing a hand on Sora's shoulder, Eraqus stood and smiled, "From what I have seen and heard of you, I have no doubt that you and Terra will both do well." He turned and strode towards the exit, "I would not train long, for the exam may easier but, it's as you said, it is still a test."
Sora bowed courteously. "Thank you, Master Eraqus."
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
We're winding down on this story. We've got the Mark of Mastery exam next chapter, which I might combine with the chapter I planned after that, so we might just have 1 more chapter before the real deal battle for Kingdom Hearts begins.
Please Review
Next time… With the imminent battle approaching, Master Eraqus conducts a Mark of Mastery exam. Can Terra and Sora pass? In…
Radiant Garden visit 4 (possibly part 1)
Christmas Story
It's the Christmas season! Since it's just that time of year, we should take the time to look back on the real reason for the season!
Luke 2 (NIV) The Birth of Jesus
"2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
Jesus' birth is why we celebrate. Many of you have more than likely heard this story before… but there is another version of this story. This other version tells the spiritual side; the heavenly side of the story:
Revelation 12 (NIV) The Woman and the Dragon
"12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who "will rule all the nations with an iron scepter."[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."
Remember! Take the time, amid the presents, family, and festivities to look at the true reason why we celebrate!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!