AN* Hello once again, and Happy Halloween. I'm happy to hear that so many of you loved the last chapter and thanks to all of you that took the time to review. To answer a question that so many of you asked, Naruto and Sora will not be travelling to all of the same worlds. There will be some overlap, mainly with worlds more closely involving Organization XIII, but Naruto has his own matters to attend to as well. Anyways, that's enough out of me, hope you all enjoy.
A Hero Returns
Naruto exited the virtual Twilight Town to find Xion waiting for him with a concerned look on her face.
"It's done." Naruto said as he started for the stairs "The final bits are underway and Sora will wake up on his own soon enough. We better get going."
"We aren't going to wait for them?" Xion ased as she followed after the blond.
"No." he replied as they started out of the mansion "Riku mentioned that Mickey is going to be coming by soon. I want to meet up with him and compare notes on Organization XIII, as well as discuss what we're going to do about Sora."
"Do about Sora? Is something wrong?" the young woman pressed with a concerned frown.
"He's been asleep for almost a year now. Odds are good that his skills that he honed during his last adventure have suffered atrophy. Combine that with his growth spurt while he slept and Sora isn't going to be anywhere close to his full strength. We need to decide how much information we give him until he is back to full strength." Naruto explained.
Xion accepted his answer as they were quickly walking through the mansion grounds and into the trees "So then while we wait, want some ice cream?"
Naruto only chuckled at this as they walked through the hole in the wall and into the downtown area proper. Making his way to the stand he spoke with the old woman who ran the sweet shop, handing her the Munny to get three Sea Salt ice creams, passing one to Xion as he walked. Walking up the hill he saw Pence and Olette walking down towards their usual hangout as he spotted a figure standing outside the station.
"Ah, Naruto." Mickey called out as he saw the pair walking up "And you must be Xion."
"Oh, yes." Xion smiled.
"Riku told me all about you. It's nice to finally meet you." Mickey smiled as Naruto handed him the third ice cream.
"It's nice to meet you too." Xion nodded as they walked towards the station.
"Riku said that today would be the day..." Mickey trailed off as the climbed up the clock-tower.
"It's finished. Sora should be up by now. Knowing them, they'll be on their way out of the mansion by now. Give them about thirty mintues to explore the town a bit before they eventually make their way up here." Naruto mused as he ate.
"Well I asked a few people if they had seen him, so they'll point him this way sooner or later." Mickey admitted.
"Good call. Though we need to decide how to handle things now." Naruto prompted.
"Yes. Riku said you were worried Sora wouldn't be as strong as he was before."
"He went through a bit of a growth spurt while he slept. He's taller than Goofy now." Naruto explained "That alone is enough of a problem. Throw in the time he's slept and it's safe to assume that his other skills aren't going to be as sharp as they should."
"And Sora was barely able to walk away from the trap in Castle Oblivion." Xion noted "And they wanted him alive for that."
"So we need to be careful what we tell him." Mickey nodded "Are you going to stay close then?"
"A bit yeah. Thing is that there are a few different worlds that Riku and I flagged while we were tracking Organization XIII. We didn't see any activity but there was a solid presence of Doorways of Darkness being opened, and regularly. Safe to assume that they were up to something in those worlds. I want to take a look at them myself and see what I can turn up."
"So what should we keep from Sora?" Xion asked as she finished her ice cream, noting that the stick was blank.
"The location of The World That Never Was is one for sure." Naruto said firmly "Sora isn't ready for a head on clash with them at this time, even if there is no skill drop."
"And Riku doesn't want Sora to know about what happened to him. I don't like it but I'll respect his wishes." Mickey added.
"I think we shouldn't tell him about Roxas either." Xion said, getting Naruto and Mickey to both look at her in surprise "Sora would want to do something to try and bring him back, or it might leave him open for the Organization to manipulate him."
"Probably for the best then." Naruto agreed as he frowned in thought "He'll need to know about the Biju and the Organization... And we can give him a rundown of what happened at Castle Oblivion and tell him a bit about Namine as well. Though not everything."
"That sounds good." Mickey nodded as he finished his ice cream "I won't be able to stay too close unfortunately. Organization XIII has taken an interest in me too unfortunately, and they have already sent a few different groups of Nobodies after me. I have something to give to them though, and if you are going to be traveling with them for a bit I'll be able to rest easier knowing that they'll be okay."
"Speak of the devil." Naruto smirked as he nodded down towards the ground where three familiar figures were coming up the hill. They stopped and began turning a bit as they seemed to be looking for Mickey, which was when half a dozen Dusks appeared around the trio, getting Donald and Goofy to draw their weapons as Sora stared at one of the Dusks right in front of him in confusion before seeming to snap out of it and summoning out his Keyblade, with Naruto noting that he had the Kingdom Key once again. The three didn't waste much time and the trio on top of the station watched closely as they observed the battle. Sora had indeed lost a step but not too badly as he was able to keep up up with most of the Dusks, seeming to draw on some of Roxas's knowledge as he skidded around a few of them to take their backs and confuse them. Donald and Goofy had also lost a step as they weren't moving nearly as quickly as they used to, and Donald's magic had fallen back to an almost basic level. As the fight progressed more Dusks appeared along with Creepers joining the fray now, and Sora's stamina was clearly showing signs of weakness as he was having a harder and harder time of keeping up with the relentless horde of Nobodies that were trying to overwhelm him and his friends. As the three stood back to back, Donald and Goofy fell to the ground in exhaustion as Sora tried to keep standing before collapsing in exhaustion as well as the five remaining Nobodies circled them.
"Show time." Naruto stated as he stood up, Mickey and Xion nodding their agreement. Right as the lead Dusk made to attack, with Sora trying in vain to raise a guard the three Keyblade wielders dropped down, Mickey taking the front and slashing apart the three that that were heading for Sora as Naruto landed with a spinning slash that had Kurama slashing through the Dusk with ease as Xion simply appeared behind her Dusk, slashing it apart before it knew what was happening. Sora lowered his guard in shock as he saw Mickey standing in front of him as Donald and Goofy moved forward, still kneeling on the ground and shoving Sora further down
"Your Majesty?!" Donald asked in shock.
"Shh!" Mickey hissed, his back still to them "You gotta board the train and leave town. The train knows the way." with that he handed a familiar looking pouch of Munny to Sora as he and the other two had managed to stand as Naruto and Xion cast a cautious glance around, making sure that there were no more enemies approaching. Before more could be said Mickey started off down the hill and into town proper as Naruto nodded at the sight.
"Let's go." Naruto said firmly.
"Naruto?" Sora asked in shock as he saw the blond "Was that really the king?!"
"Yes. But we don't exactly have time for twenty questions." the blond replied.
"Well now we know he's okay!" Donald smiled.
"What about Riku?" Sora pressed.
"Tick tock." Xion said as she nodded towards the station "Unless you want another horde of them showing up we need to go."
"Good point." Goofy nodded as they started towards the station proper. As they stepped into the lobby proper Naruto paused as he heard a voice calling after them.
"Wait up!" Turning the five saw Hayner, Pence and Olette running up, slowing to a stop as they reached them "Hey, Sora..."
"Yeah?"
"Nothing... but..." Hayner began, something clearly bothering him but he didn't seem to be able to put it into words.
"We came to see you off." Pence explained "It seemed like something that we ought to do."
"Oh... really? Thanks!" Sora smiled.
"Oh, hi again." Olette smiled as she saw Xion.
"Hello." The young girl smiled "Thanks again for your help the other day."
"No problem. Boys aren't much help in shopping for clothing." Olette giggled.
"I'd take offense to that if it wasn't true." Naruto sighed as the two girls just laughed while Sora went to buy the tickets, pulling out the Munny pouch and getting Olette to make a surprised sound as she saw it.
"What is it?" Donald asked, prompting Olette to take out her own pouch, revealing an identical pouch to the one that Sora now had.
"They're the same." Goofy noted.
"Yeah." she nodded getting confused looks from all but Xion and Naruto who traded a look that made them agree to not bring it up for the time being, less they accidentally start bringing up topics that they had agreed were off limits.
"Five tickets please." Sora said as he started to hand over the Munny, taking the tickets and stopping as he started towards the stairs, staring ahead for a few moments before he spoke up "I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again."
The comment caused Hayner, Pence and Olette to stop and look at him as Naruto and Xion stood at the foot of the stairs.
"Why not?" Donald pressed.
"You're thinking too much." Goofy grinned.
"A rare problem for him." Naruto chuckled.
"Like you're one to talk." Xion grinned, getting Naruto to let out a chuckle.
The group was soon walking up the stairs and towards a blue train car that Naruto knew wasn't normally visible or around in Twilight Town. Stepping towards the doors Xion smiled and said goodbye to Olette as she walked onto the train, as Naruto stood by the doors as Donald and Goofy walked on next, with Sora saying goodbye to the three Twilight Town natives.
"Hey Sora, you sure we haven't met before?" Hayner asked as he rubbed his chin in thought, prompting Sora to scratch his head in thought before he answered.
"Positive. Why do you ask?"
"I dunno." Hayner finally admitted with a grin, getting Sora to grin as a single tear fell down his cheek.
"You okay?" Olette asked in worry.
"Y-yeah. Don't know where it came from." Sora admitted as Naruto looked down to hide the sad smile at Roxas shining through Sora.
"Pull it together." Hayner grinned now.
"Right. See ya!" Sora nodded as he climbed onto the train with Naruto stepping on after him, giving a nod of farewell to the three as he followed Sora. The train was soon on it's way, leaving the station behind as Sora stood by the door for a time, while Donald and Goofy were sitting at their seats, looking out the window that was opposite the one facing the three that they had left behind while Xion sat across from them, looking out the window with a sad smile of her own as Naruto stood near Sora, who pulled out the Munny pouch, finding another item inside, a blue crystal that he held in his hand before looking through it and speaking.
"You know..." His voice prompting the other three to look at him as he lowered the crystal "I'm sad."
"We'll be back." Donald grinned.
"Yeah. We can visit Hayner and those guys again." Goofy nodded.
"Nothing is forever." Naruto said quietly as he put a hand on Sora's shoulder "Not even partings. You road will lead you back there again. But for now, we have a lot to talk about."
There was a flash of light as the train left Twilight Town behind and started towards somewhere very different as Sora walked over to sit down next to Donald as Naruto sat across from him.
"So what happened Naruto?" Sora began.
"First, what is the last thing that you remember? That will determine how much I can tell you." Naruto said firmly.
"Um, we defeated Ansem, closed Kingdom Hearts and restored balance to the worlds, you came flying out of the door just as it was closing, and we started after Pluto who had a letter from the King." Sora finished.
"That's it? Nothing else?" Naruto pressed.
"Gwarsh, nothing else happened that we can remember." Goofy replied, getting Xion and Naruto to trade looks before the blond nodded.
"It looks like it worked then. Namine did her job perfectly." Naruto sighed.
"Who's Namine?" Sora asked.
"A friend. She's the reason you're still you." Xion answered.
"Oh. Um, are you Aqua?" Sora asked, getting Xion to giggle.
"This is Xion." Naruto replied "Another friend, and someone I trust with my life."
"Oh. Then..."
"My search for my master is on hold." Naruto replied as he looked at the three sitting across from him "There's a lot to cover and not a lot of time. Shortly after we met, we walked into a trap laid by a group of beings called Organization XIII, or to be more exact a splinter cell of this group. Their goal was to tamper with your memories and make you into an obedient puppet that would obey their commands. During this we were separated, and your memories were altered heavily. Namine, the one responsible for the damage, had been forced to do this and once you saved her she began the work to restore everything back to the way it was before you walked into the trap. Because of that, the three of you have been asleep for almost a year."
"A year?!" The three exclaimed in shock.
"Yes." Naruto nodded with a sigh "During this time a group of us kept you safe while Namine worked to restore you, culminating in your awakening in the basement of the mansion back in Twilight Town. Xion was instrumental in helping to restore you and keeping you safe, as was the King and Riku."
"Riku?! He's okay!?" Sora exclaimed.
"He's alive and well. We parted ways recently. He has his own work to do right now."
"Where is he?" Sora pressed.
"When he's ready he'll come and find you." Naruto replied, getting Sora to scowl.
"Why did this Organization want to mess with our memories?" Goofy asked.
"They wanted Sora's power for their own ends." Xion answered now "The group that was running that operation was a splinter cell, traitors. Their leader wanted Sora's power for himself so he could take over the Organization for himself. In truth the leader of Organization XIII expected you to defeat them, or at least was counting on his own infiltrator to take care of the rest. If you had wound up with your memories altered and the traitors killed then he would have taken you himself and used you for his own aims."
"Who are they anyway?" Donald complained.
"That's a little complicated to explain." Naruto sighed "Do you know what the three aspects of a whole being are?" After getting heads shaking in no he continued "The three parts are the Heart, the Soul, and the Body. When a Heartless is born from the heart of a person, what is left is their Soul and Body. If the Soul has a strong enough will, it can survive, but is cast out by both the Light and the Dark. They become what's called a Nobody, those without Hearts, and the stronger the will of the person, the stronger the Nobody. The strongest of them formed Organization XIII and were able to retain human form. The creatures you were fighting back in Twilight Town, those were Nobodies. Dusks were the more humanoid ones while Creepers were the smaller ones that had a bit of shapeshifting to them."
"Nobodies..." Sora trailed off "Then are they bad guys?"
"At the very least they aren't good." Naruto shrugged "We have some suspicions about them, and what their goal is, but for the time being you don't need to worry about that."
"Why not?" Sora blinked.
"Because your primary goal needs to be getting back in fighting shape, all three of you to be fair."
"HEY! What's that supposed to mean!" Donald exclaimed.
"It means that you aren't ready to fight Organization XIII, not as you are right now." Xion explained "You've all been asleep for a long time, and the skills that you honed during your adventures have grown dull. You need to regain those skills before you face them."
"There's no way that a bunch of Dusks should have overpowered you like that." Naruto agreed "I've been fighting them for quite awhile now, and while they are stronger than your average Heartless, they aren't anywhere close to a threat if you are well trained. You've lost a step Sora, and before you take the fight to the Organization I intend to make sure that you not only pick it back up, but are a few steps further than you were before."
"Oh... But what about Kairi, and my home?"
"Safe. Riku, Xion and I have all been there to check on it at different times and there hasn't been so much as a single Heartless or Nobody there. Kairi is safe and sound for the time being and if she's waited this long she can afford to wait a bit longer if you still intend to keep the Keyblade." he said calmly, his gaze locked on Sora's who blinked at the implication.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora frowned.
"It means that if you want out, this is your chance. I know that you got dragged into your last battle mostly against your will, but out of a desire to find your friends. They are both safe now, and your islands are back. You can go home now, and not have to worry about this fight if you don't want to. But Riku, Xion, the King, and I are going to be fighting. This is your choice, and no one in this train will think any less of you for choosing to live quietly." Naruto explained.
"No way!" Sora exclaimed, not even wasting a second on thinking about it "All of the friends that we made throughout the worlds need us! Riku is still out there and I'm not going back without him!"
"Good answer." Naruto smiled "Then the first thing we'll need to do is get you back up to your previous level, and get you used to your new size."
Sora blinked as he looked down and could understand what Naruto meant. The train continued on for a few more minutes before it began to slow to a stop. Their destination was a small stretch of floating island over a sea of orange and green with a dark sky overhead. On this island was a giant tower that bent at odd angles going up, trees dotting the edges of the island here or there and at the doorway to the tower was someone peeking through. The five stepped off of the train, with Naruto and Xion both staring towards the person at the doorway to the tower as Donald and Goofy both glanced around. After they were a few steps away the train that they had used to arrive disappeared in a white light, leaving only the blue glowing tracks behind.
"There goes our ride..." Sora laughed awkwardly.
"We won't be needing it anymore hopefully." Naruto replied over his shoulder as they walked to the stairs where the person was still peering through the door. He was large, standing taller than Sora and Naruto, who were both easily the tallest of the group, and was wider than both of them put together.
"What's going on?" Donald asked as they stopped.
"I sent some of my lackeys inside, to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say." The man laughed "Word is he's a real powerful sorcerer, which would make him a perfect bodyguard for me. See, it don't matter how tough he is, once he's a Heartless he'll do as I say."
"A Heartess?!" Donald shouted, getting himself, Sora and Goofy to get ready for a fight as Naruto didn't as obviously shift his stance but had both of his hands clear as Xion tensed ever so slightly so she could start using Vanishing Point.
"That's right. 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!" At the name Maleficent, Sora, Donald and Goofy all relaxed while the larger man continued talking "And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm going around to a bunch of different worlds and building an army of Heartless, special for her. Oh, why am I talking to you pip-squeaks anyway! Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is!"
"You oughta find something nicer to do." Goofy remarked.
"Or something less likely to end in your premature death." Naruto added "I hear sticking your head in a shark's mouth is a lot better for your health then messing around with the Heartless."
"Says who?" he snapped as he turned and showed his face to them, revealing a large blubbery chin and a larger belly as his jaw dropped "AHHH! It's you!" His face going from shock to anger as he stared at Donald and Goofy.
"Pete?" the pair asked in surprise.
"What're you two nimrods doing here?" the now identified Pete demanded.
"What're YOU doing here?!" Donald demanded in turn.
"Making Heartless. I thought that was obvious." Naruto stated as Xion just rolled her eyes at his statement.
"You know him?" Sora asked, looking at Goofy.
"We sure do!" Goofy said "Pete's been causing trouble for ages. His Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped."
Pete just laughed at this, his belly shaking as he did "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 Maleficent is gonna help me conquer them."
"Maleficent huh..." Sora grinned as he traded looks with Donald and Goofy who also started chuckling.
"What're you laughing at?! Why Maleficent's power is so great that"
"She's toast." Sora smiled.
"HUH?!"
"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now." Goofy remarked.
"Whaddya mean?!" Pete demanded before he seemed to finally put two and two together "You! So you're the ones that did it!"
"Well we might have had something to do with it." Sora grinned as he held his arms behind his head.
"Can't say that I ever got to take a swing at her." Naruto remarked "Though I remember the name from a story Master Aqua told me."
Pete shook in anger and for a brief moment Naruto thought that he was about to have a seizure before he shouted "Heartless Squad! Round up!"
From all around them Shadows rose up to obey their orders as the five of them summoned their weapons. It wasn't much of a battle as between Naruto and Xion's clear superiority in skill Sora, Donald and Goofy were skilled at working together and the longer that they fought the more they seemed to dust off their old skills, getting closer to the level that Naruto remembered them being at. It didn't take long for the Heartless to all be destroyed, leaving the five of them standing there across from Pete who looked absolutely furious.
"You just wait!" he snarled "Nobody, and I do mean Nobody, messes with the mighty Pere!"
"So "mighty" Pere, who lives in this tower anyway?" Sora asked with a grin.
"Oh, ya don't know eh? Well it's old Yen Sid. Course, he's probably a Heartless by now." Pete gloated.
"Master Yen Sid lives here?!" Donald shouted as he took off at a run towards the tower.
"Yen Sid is the King's teacher." Goofy explained.
"Wow... Sounds powerful!" Sora grinned as he and Goofy took off towards the tower as well, as Xion walked towards it herself.
"Master Yen Sid isn't going to fall to your Heartless." Naruto remarked as he walked towards the tower as well "After all, he is a true Keyblade Master himself. He probably thought that they were a nuisance."
Pete stared gobsmacked at being ignored like that as Naruto shut the door behind him and saw that the others were still at the base of the stairs waiting for him.
"Come on! Let's go!" Donald shouted.
"Hold on now." Naruto smirked as he pulled the duck back a step towards Goofy "This seems like a good chance for Sora to get some much needed practice."
"What now?" Sora blinked.
"It's simple. Sora, Xion, the two of you are going to climb up the tower and destroy all of the Heartless that you encounter. Whomever defeats the most Heartless wins."
"Wins what?" Xion asked with a worried frown, having grown used to Naruto's training practices and his more mischievous moments.
"If Sora wins we'll tell him everything that we know about Riku, but if you lose Xion, you don't get anymore Sea Salt ice cream." Naruto explained as Xion's eyes widened at this before a determined frown crossed her face.
"Sorry Sora, but I won't lose." She said as she vanished from sight and reappeared halfway up the stairs towards the door.
"Hey! No fair!" Sora shouted as he chased after her.
"Shouldn't we help them?" Goofy asked as the three walked.
"Nope." Naruto chuckled "Sora needs training, and competition is one of the best ways to do it."
"Are you really going to tell Sora everything if he wins?" Donald asked with a frown.
"If he does I will, but he won't win. Xion is stronger than he was when he defeated Ansem. And with him not used to his new size, she'll win easily. The threat of losing out on the ice cream was to make sure that she didn't go easy on him." Naruto explained as they walked into the first room to see that the pair were already long gone "Sora needs a kick in the pants, and being weaker than Xion, someone who hasn't had the Keyblade as long as he has, or been trained by a Master, it will light a fire under him to make him improve."
"That's real sneaky." Goofy noted.
"It's for his own good." was all he said as they kept walking.
Xion had a fierce grin on her face as she slashed through another Soldier Heartless, destroying it as Sora entered the third landing. Up til now she had already destroyed close to thirty Heartless while Sora had managed to get ten so far and looked frustrated as Xion blinked out of sight again, entering the gray realm between worlds as she stepped back into reality and struck down a Shadow before disappearing as another Shadow tried to attack her from behind only to land on the ground, confused as she appeared to it's right and slammed her Keyblade, Void's End, into it with enough force to send it crashing into another Shadow as she disappeared and reappeared in front of them with a Thundaga spell firing at them, destroying them with ease. Glancing behind her she saw Sora taking down his own Soldier Heartless, and that it was one of the last ones in the room. With it's destruction she stopped and glanced around, knowing that by now they were almost to the top of the tower and that if this Master Yen Sid had been turned into a Heartless then it might be more than she and Sora could handle.
"Man..." Sora groaned as he looked down "I barely got thirteen Heartless."
"Sorry Sora." Xion smiled "But Sea Salt ice cream is my favorite, and I won't give it up for anything. Besides, you'll learn what's going on with Riku eventually."
"I guess." Sora said with a shake of his head as he looked at her "You're really good. Were you trained by a Keyblade Master too? And how do you keep disappearing like that?"
"It's one of my powers. I call it Vanishing Point. And I wasn't trained by a Master like Naruto, though he and Riku did help me practice a lot. I learned on my own, and from my former partner."
"Partner?"
"Matatabi." Naruto called out as he walked, getting Sora to jump "Xion had Matatabi, one of the Biju from my world. She gave her up to me when they decided that she didn't need her power anymore, and that I needed it more. It was their choice in the end, and to be fair, Xion really doesn't need Matatabi's power, though she would be even more dangerous with a Biju in her corner combined with that Vanishing Point of hers."
"So you got the Biju back then?" Sora asked.
"A few of them. Organization XIII has the others and they aren't too keen on giving them back." Naruto replied as he walked over to the door "Now then, let's go."
Nodding the group quickly entered through the door and made their way up to the top of the the tower, and Master Yen Sid.