Kingdom Hearts: The Brightest of Hearts

by DZ the Nerd

this is the retold story of Sora and his quest to restore his home, find his friends, and stop the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness, also known as the Dark Army, from destroying more worlds like they did to his own and restore the multi-verse as the last Keyblade Wielder of Light.

4. Chapter 4: The Greed of Darkness

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Chapter 4: Greed of Darkness

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now the three were back Traverse town but even after having a good meal they did not leave the ship quite just yet.

"what's the holdup fellas?"

"Yeah, you defeated the dark conduit, liberated the world, and locked it form the darkness! that's three whole worlds saved! it's the time to celebrate!"

"that's the thing, we didn't defeat the dark conduit he defeated us, yet Sora was still able to lock the world from darkness?"

"Gosh, this sure is confusing, no way that keyblade wielder of darkness helped us. they're bad by nature!"

"Hm, well we're not gonna find answers here!" Sora then got up from his seat and exited the gummi ship.

"Sora? what are you doing, we need to figure out what happened so that we don't mess up again!"

"Yeah, but we don't have enough information, when I want to know more about something I always just asked the adults of the island. so that's what I'm gonna do now."

"You think Leon has answers?"

"if he doesn't then his master Merlin might." Donald and Goofy then got wide eyed and looked at each other in shock as Sora left the ship unaware of their shock.

"Merlin! A-hyuk! as in THE Merlin!"

"Only one way to find out!" Donald and Goofy then ran out of the ship and after Sora, into Traverse town. The three of them passed through the gates and entered the town square where Yuffie was there. she waved at them and smiled while walking over to them slowly but then she stopped and looked at them in shock. Yuffie's eyes then started tearing up and she started crying as she was now running toward the three of them. Yuffie then ran past them and hugged Cloud. Donald and Goofy backed off in shock while Sora looked surprised but also quite relived.

"I knew it! you really are a good guy despite being a keyblade wielder of darkness!"

"keyblade wielder of darkness? Sora what are you talking about, this is Cloud! he was a hero back in our world."

"Mercenary, Yuffie, anyways where is everyone?"

"hey! don't you think you need to explain yourself!"

"follow us and I'll explain everything." Donald was still furious but he huffed in annoyance and nodded. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all followed Yuffie and Cloud to Sid's shop where Aerith and Leon were as well. Sid, Aerith, and Leon all looked shocked at the sight of Cloud, Aerith quickly teared up and ran over to hug him while Sid walked over and started ruffling his hair and laughed out of joy but still shed a tear or two. Leon on the other hand just huffed and smiled at how happy they all looked and gave Sora a high five when he ran up to him.

"a-hyuk?! wait a minute how do you know this guy isn't he a keyblade wielder of darkness?"

"Yeah, this guy tried to kill us!"

"I wasn't trying to kill you I was just holding up my end of the bargain. I was enslaved by Hades when I ended up in a different world. he said if I served him, he would eventually return me to my friends. unfortunately, one of the deals he asked me was to defeat you guys, but he never said I had to kill or curse you into heartless so technically all I had to do was knock you out and I got my freedom." Yuffie then slapped Cloud on the back of the head.

"idiot! why would you work with the Dark Army?! Those guys are world destroyers!"

"take it easy Yuffie, remember we didn't even know the Dark Army existed before those bastards had Sephiroth destroy our world." Yuffie simple huffed and pouted to which Sid just sighed.

"um that reminds me, Leon when I first met you and Yuffie you said your world was destroyed a while ago, what exactly happened?" Sid, Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cloud all became silent and out of what seemed to be depression.

"uh! sorry! I uh! I was just curious! you don't need to-"

"nah its ok kid, we might as well tell ya since your probably going to have to face that bastard Sephiroth one day being a guardian of light after all. anyways here's what happened, our group here was originally a bunch of weirdos and losers all doing our own things in the world but as fate would have it when the world was about to be annihilated Cloud here found us all and united us in a fight against an evil trying to end all intelligent life on our world."

"the Dark Army?"

"No kid, the Dark Army is a threat to the multiverse yeah but there are plenty of bad guys out there that are just as bad as them. anyways that bastard Sephiroth was the master mind of setting it all off. him, a mad scientist, some mutant experiments, wild animals, and those power-hungry capitalist Shinra parasites! they all worked to get rid of us and destroy the world for their own goals but despite how different they were, it all lead back to Sephiroth. that bastard was seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once, he was always showing up when we least expect it to ruin everything. Hell, one time he nearly killed our sweet Aerith, if it wasn't for Leon she would be dead now. But eventually we did stop the bastard and killed him once and for all to keep him from using the ultimate doomsday materia.

However just when we thought we won, that's when Maleficent and the rest of the Dark Army showed up. they somehow resurrected Sephiroth and started unleashing an endless flood of Heartless. we must have destroyed thousands of them, but millions kept pouring in, not to mention those keyblade wielder of darkness. apparently, most of them are new recruits but I'll be damned if I don't say that they put one hell of a fight, nearly died several times just trying to run away from those monsters. kinda makes me jealous of you kid, anyways we quickly realized there was no way to defeat the Dark Army on our own, so we had no choice but to leave. I had to work fast to make our ship perform space travel, still can't believe it worked but it didn't go as perfectly as I hoped.

those damn heartless were relentless and tried to keep us on the world, we all would have been turned into those cursed heartless freaks if Merlin hadn't shown up and teleported us here through his magic or whatever. anyways it worked, we were instantly transported here but not all of our friends made it. thanks to those Dark Army bastards and their Heartless freaks trying to keep us to stay we lost some of our friends when Merlin tried to transport us away. according to Merlin they were lost in the darkness in-between worlds and were teleported into different worlds because of it. by the looks of things, he was right here's Cloud right now! Haha, didn't actually believe the old geezer but hey if anyone's going to make it back it would be Cloud!" Sid laughed while ruffling Clouds hair again but Cloud quickly got him to stop Yuffie then hugged him again and he sighed and let her continue.

"so your all united again?"

"well not all of us kid we still don't have Barret, Red VII, Vincent, Cait Sith, and Tifa. thought I think Cloud kinda happy about that last one get to live another day am I right?" Cloud just rolled his eyes but his face had a mixture of sadness and regret, he knew what Tifa probably would do if she saw him but he still wanted to see her non-the-less. Sora on the other hand just smiled at the sight of them all being together and happy. The sight should have made Sora jealous since he still couldn't find his own friends but he was happy instead because of how this was partly thanks to his work as a keyblade wielder of light. this was exactly why he took the job without hesitation so that he could help people and unite friends while stopping the Dark Army from hutting anyone else like they hurt him. Sora then quickly noticed that Donald still looked mad and was about to charge at Cloud but Sora quickly grabbed him and started hugging him.

"hey come on, relax. they've been apart for a long time and are finally together. "

"Whaaah! even if it was to escape the Dark Army, he still buried us in the dirt! let me at him! just one punch! let me have just one punch!" everyone in the room just laughed at Donald as he tired but failed to get out of Sora's grip while quacking angrily. Leon then taps on Sora's shoulder and signals him to come outside. Sora nods, lets go of Donald and walks out with Leon while Donald tried running at Cloud but was stopped by the end of Cloud's boot. Now outside Sora looked all around Traverse Town and felt like something was different.

"Did this town get... brighter?"

"Its thanks to you Sora, ever since you started liberating heartless more and more people have been turning back to normal and returning to their own worlds like this one. You even liberated three worlds including this one, that's good progress, even for the Dark Army, Keyblades are hard to come by. The less they have the more people are safe from being cursed. Even if you haven't saved as many as you hoped your making pretty good progress. And your just one kid yet you already liberated three whole worlds, you should be proud of yourself." Sora then looked at his hands, Leon was right regardless of how he felt he was indeed making progress against the Dark Army. If he kept this up he would not only be able to save the multiverse but Riku and Kairi as well. Sora then made a fist and raised it high in the air while smiling in determination.

"Yeah your right! I'm gonna stop the Dark Army no matter what! Those jerks will get a taste of their own medicine for trying to destroy worlds all for stupid power."

"... heh, Merlin would defiantly love to have met you."

"Oh! right speaking of Merlin I wanted to ask him, is it possible for a Keyblade wielder of Darkness to be good?"

"Uh actually Sora, Merlin just left before you guys showed up, it will probably be a while before he comes back. as for Keyblade wielders of Darkness being good... hm, I never really thought about it but it should be possible just extremely rare. Though Cloud's an exception because unlike the rest of them he just wanted to find his friends not more power. Also, he was forced into it, all the others are power hungry thieves that will do anything to get it, for one reason or anther, thought I guess its possible for someone to want power for a good reason thought that begs the question. do the ends justify the means?" Leon pondered on this question himself but then he realized Sora staring at him with a confused expression.

"Hm? oh, heh. sorry its all really complicated that you get lost in the info and start going off the rails." Sora then laughed a little because of Leon's embarrassment, then Sid walked by heading toward the Gummi ship.

"Hey Leon! get your butt over to the Gummi ship! Chip and Dale asked me to upgrade the ships armor to better withstand Heartless ship blasts, I need someone to hold the heavy metal!" Leon sighed and waved Sora goodbye while running over to help Sid, Sora smiled and waved back. Sora then looked around and liked the sight of Traverse Town being brighter now than it did when it was attacked by the heartless, Sora couldn't see anyone in the town square, but he still smiled knowing that as long as he kept working hard, he would change that.

"You seem to be having fun." Sora felt like his heart sank when he heard that voice, he then turned around and started tearing up as he saw his friend Riku.

"Wow, seriously? when did you become such a cryba- woah!"

"Riku! your safe!" Sora ran toward Riku and hugged him tightly while crying out of pure joy, he felt so overwhelmed, he thought he was going to have to save an unknown number of worlds before seeing Riku again yet here he was.

"Riku! it's you! its really you! were you here this whole time?! I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner!"

"Calm down Sora, I'm fine!" Riku forced Sora off of him, Sora just smiled at Riku as he tried to wipe away his tears, Riku just sighed and ruffled Sora's hair while smiling at him.

"I wasn't here the whole time I just got here recently, someone told me you were here, and it turned out you are."

"wha? who did- ah! never mind, is Kairi safe too?"

"... yeah, she's ok. don't worry, come with me and I can let you see her again."

"wha- really! yes! this is amazing! we're gonna be together again! I thought I would have to stop the Dark Army first but it's happening now! I can't wait to introduce you and Kairi to everyone!" Sora was holding Riku's hands out of pure joy, but Riku looked at Sora in shock, let go of his hands, and backed away.

"wha- what do you mean stop the Dark Army?"

"huh? what's wrong Riku? the Dark Army was what destroyed our world and destroyed other worlds too. that's why I'm using this keyblade to stop them once and for all!" Sora then raised his hand and his keyblade manifest right before Riku. Sora was smiling in determination thinking Riku was going to be impressed but instead he looked at him in horror.

"no... you're the champion of light!"

"Huh? champion of light?"

"Hey Sora!" Sora turned around to the Donald and Goofy walked toward him with Donald looking grumpy with a red bump on his head.

"ya about ready to go Sora? with Leon, Chip, and Dale's help, Sid should be able to get those upgrades done pretty soon. we'll need to keep liberating worlds if we want to find your friends."

"Oh yeah, but hey look guys! I don't have to worry about my friends anymore because Riku is right here! Riku this is Goofy and Do-" Sora turned around joyfully but Riku was not there, he was nowhere in sight.

"wha?! Riku? Riku?! where did you go?!"

"huh? Riku?"

"wasn't that one of your friends taken by the darkness? why would he be here?"

"I- I don't know, but he was here! I swear... he was right here." Sora couldn't help but start cry out of sadness he just had Riku here and safe but now he was gone and again, Sora was powerless to help him. Goofy then put his hand on Sora's shoulder to try to show him that they were there for him. Sora then hugged Goofy and Goofy patted his back gently to comfort him. Donald felt disappointed at first but then reminded himself that Sora was still a kid and wasn't going to be a perfect guardian of light.

"haaa, don't worry Sora once we get rid of the Dark Army your friends will be free like the rest of the multiverse. we just have to keep fighting and liberating, I know it will be hard but if we don't stop them nothing will." Sora then let go of Goofy, wiped away his tears, then made a fist of determination.

"those rotten Dark Army Jerks! I'm gonna make them sorry for hurting me and the rest of the multiverse! for Riku and Kairi!" Donald smiled and nodded his head in approval, Goofy on the other hand was still concerned after seeing Sora cry so hard.

"well then, lets go see how Sid and the others are doing, then let's pick up where we left off!" Donald then marched forward with a smile on his face while Sora followed and so did Goofy in the very back and still concerned for Sora.

"You lost the keyblade given to you by Master Ansem?! and lost that warrior under your control?!"

"Uh ok, did that happen? yes. do I need a reminder? NO!" Hades then unleashed scorching crimson flames to show his rage toward Maleficent while forcing the other four to back off due to the intense heat. Maleficent on the other hand stood her ground and unleashed her sinister green flames as she glared at Hades with anger.

"ah! Champion please! you can't just-" the both of them stopped when they heard a panicked voice form the other side of the door, then Riku forced them opened and stomped in with a panicked Keyblade wielder of darkness behind him.

"ah! Lords, Ladies, and Master Maleficent! I'm so sorry, I tried to stop him but he insisted-" Maleficent raised her hand to silence the keyblade wielder of darkness, she then waved her hand away in annoyance, the keyblade wielder of darkness quickly bowed and ran out of the room.

"Oh great, the prodigal punk returns." Maleficent quickly wacked Hades in the back of the head with her cane, to which he growled at her while rubbing the back of his head in pain. Maleficent then reverted from her towering dark form to her normal form to be at a more normal height to Riku.

"What troubles you, dear child?"

"Why didn't you tell me Sora, was the Champion of Light?!"

"Sora? the champion of light? why this is news to me. I assure you I had no idea."

"grrr, you expect me to fight Sora! I only agreed to this Dark Army crap so that I could save him! I'm not going to be your Champion of Darkness if it means hurting Sora!" Riku then walked out of the room in anger leaving Maleficent frowning in anger but then she changed the image projecting in over the cauldron.

"what about the girl then?" Riku stopped and looked back to see an image of Kairi sleeping and floating over the cauldron. Riku was shocked and was about to reach out but stopped himself and glared at Maleficent in anger while she smirked at him.

"I. am. not. hurting. Sora."

"Then don't, instead help us collect the remaining princess of light and unlock the door to kingdom hearts. there you will find the power of infinity. Infinite time, infinite power, and infinite possibilities; meaning that no matter what happens you'll get everything you want and more, you'll even get the one thing you desire more than anything."

"... I don't have to fight Sora, right? I just need to get the other princesses and in return, you'll keep Kairi safe?"

"yes, and with the power of kingdom hearts, Sora will be freed from the burden of being the Champion of Light, and Kairi will awaken from her slumber. you have my word."

"... fine I'll do it, but I'm doing this for my friends, not you!"

"why of course my dear boy, I only wish for my fellow keyblade wielders of darkness to thrive in the infinite power of Kingdom Hearts just as Xaler prophesized we would." Maleficent placed her hand on Riku's shoulder like a parent comforting their child, Riku however just looked at her with skepticism.

"oh but of course from now on, your missions are going to get more difficult so we must give you the proper tools to work." Maleficent snapped her fingers and several Heartless fused together flew out of her shadow, flew wildly in the air, then plopped itself in front of Riku. the blob of Heartless constantly changed shape until finally, the handle end of a keyblade, with a crimson ring around the handle, appeared out of the heartless blob. Riku looked at Maleficent confused, and she smiled while waving her hand to the keyblade, suggesting him to grab it. Riku then slowly walked to the handle, grabbed it and pulled out a keyblade that resembled a black spear but mostly lacked any detail almost as if it was making a statement of being soulless and evil.

"This is your keyblade. it was forged out of the recently collected power of a destroyed world, use it well." Riku looked at Maleficent in horror knowing that a world had to be destroyed for this keyblade to be made. he could feel the darkness in the keyblade talking to him, trying to convince him to fight and destroy for power. Riku just closed his eyes and tried to shut it all out of his mind. ugh this sucks, he thought, but it will all be worth it in the end, please wait a little longer Kairi I'll wake you up, and don't you worry Sora, I won't let those Guardians of Light use you as a puppet! I'll save you, I promise.

"alright it should be up and ready to go!" Sid finished the last of the the Gummi ship's armor upgrades and stood proud while Chip and Dale, who were on his shoulders, jumping and cheering.

"Hahaha, alright you rats time to get off, go save the universe." Chip and Dale started laughing, then jumped off Sid, and ran toward the Gummi ship.

"Come on Fellas! Next stop is Deep Jungle!"

"And with the new upgraded armor we won't have to worry about Sora making a mistake again!"

"Hey! I've actually been improving lately!" Sora was a little annoyed but still joined in on the laugher of Chip, Dale, Donald, and Goofy. Chip and Dale then ran into ship to get it started with Sora following after waving Sid and Leon goodbye. Donald was about to get into the ship but Goofy stopped him seemingly sad.

"Huh? What's wrong Goofy?"

"... are we doing the right thing?"

"Wah? Of course we are! if we don't stop the darkness then the multiverse will-"

"No, no. Donald. I mean... Sora's just a kid, he's not even as old as Max yet he's already having to save the multiverse." Goofy remembered his son Max and how he's just recently became old enough to join the royal guard of Disney Castle. Goofy wanted to be against it but Max proved he was capable enough and was accepted into the guard, still Goofy couldn't help but be concerned for his welfare. Now Goofy felt like the same thing was happening with Sora only now it was worse since Sora was much younger and clearly not as experienced, yet he had a much bigger responsibility of protecting the entire multiverse rather than a kingdom. Donald felt bad, he was more focused on the mission than he was on the feelings of his friends, so he didn't bother considering Goofy's or even Sora's feelings, especially with all the responsibility he has.

"*sigh* hey now, come on Goofy, Sora's not alone we got his back, right? if things ever get too hard we will always be there to help him out! so stop worrying ok?"

"hm... I don't think I'll ever stop worrying, but your right, we DO have Sora's back! and we won't let him face danger alone! a-hyuk!"

"ha! there's the happy Goofy everyone knows!" Donald then playfully punched Goofy's leg and smiled while Goofy smiled too.

"who knew having a kid would make you such a worry wart! though guess that's what you get for having them!" Donald then joyfully walked to the ship leaving Goofy with a disappointed look on his face.

"hmph! don't let Daisy hear you say that, especially when she's been waiting for you to propose." it's become a subtle joke back at Disney Castle that out of all the royal members Goofy was the only one to both have been married and had a kid while king Mickey was just married, and Donald was only dating Daisy. it's because of this joke that Daisy typically got mad at Donald for not proposing to her since they've been together for so long. because of this Donald got mad that Goofy brought it up and started attacking him by jumping on his head and started pulling on his ears. Sora noticed no one was following him to the ship so he looked back and saw everything and even started laughing at the sight.

"ahahahahaha! hey come on guys! we got a multiverse to liberate remember?!" Sora then smirked at the two while having has hands to his waist as to playfully show how disappointed he was at them for fooling around. Goofy smiled widely knowing Sora was feeling better while Donald grunted and got off of Goofy but then secretly smiled knowing that the two of them were happy again.

the Gummi ship took off to the darkness in-between worlds, after making the light tunnel Sora started dodging and shooting down heartless ships. Sora was handling the ship rather easily thanks to the new armor, it made any shot from the heartless ships feel like little bumps. Sora started relaxing since handling the Gummi ship seemed to be a lot easier with his current experience and the upgrades. however, a new heartless ship entered the light tunnel, it was larger than the others and the laser it shot packed more of a punch. thanks to the upgrades the ship didn't take in much damage but Sora, Donald, and Goofy could feel the impact from the laser blasts.

Sora was now continuously blasting at the large ship, but it was clear this one could take much more damage than the other ships. not only that but the smaller ships were still coming in and shooting at the Gummi ship making Sora have to continuously shift his focus between the ships. Finally, they made it to the other end of the light tunnel forcing the heartless ships to retreat, as the Gummi ship entered the worlds atmosphere Sora, Donald, and Goofy sighed in relief.

"Gosh, they must be getting desperate to get rid of us! Their already making new heartless ships in the Darkness in-between worlds!"

"don't relax too much Goofy, you either Sora! once were done here and move on the next world were defiantly gonna have to face that ship again and more like it." Sora couldn't help but groan in defeat, Sora was in no way a strategist and was bad at dodging. thus, even he knew that the only reason the Gummi ship was still in one peace because of the new armor. suddenly the Gummi ship was seemingly warping out strangely which scared Sora, Donald, and Goofy. then it stopped just as fast as it started.

"whah?! what was that?!"

"Sorry Fellas!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy then looked down to the control counsel where Chip and Dale came out to talk to them.

"this world is a little more advanced than the previous worlds we visited."

"As such we gotta stay incognito! what you Fellas just saw was this ship activating our new cloaking device! with it, the inhabitance of the worlds we visit won't see us and freak out, this will help us to not disturb the natural order."

"Wow! that's so cool!" Sora's eyes lit up with curiosity but then an idea popped up in his mind making him smile even brighter.

hey Chip and Dale, do you think it's possible to use this when traveling to new worlds, so we won't have to deal with those Heartless ships?"

"ah, Sorry to say Sora, but Heartless typically find people through the magic energy in their Hearts. so hiding form them is actually pointless."

"yup! the only way to deal with the Heartless is to fight or run but hiding is not an option." Sora couldn't help but be disappointed by this but he looked at his keyblade in his hand and tighten his grip on it. then I'll just fight so no one else has to run. Sora thought to himself with determination.

"Alright fellas here's the plan, you see that ship right there?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked out the front view mirror and saw a large ocean and in it a traveling sea ship. Donald and Goofy were impressed, they never saw such a large ship that wasn't powered by magic. Sora on the other hand was wide eyed with excitement.

"Woah! that ship is so big! man Kairi and Riku would have loved to see this!" Donald and Goofy got scared when Sora mentioned his friend's names thinking he was going to get upset again.

"I'm defiantly gonna show them this when I find them!" Donald and Goofy then sighed, not knowing that they were holding their breath all while Sora was still staring at the boat in excitement. Chip and Dale were confused by Donald and Goofy's reactions but quickly brushed it off.

"ahem! anyways, now that we are invisible to the inhabitance, we should be able to get on the boat undetected."

"According to our radar, the keyhole of this world can be pinpointed somewhere on the island were they boat is heading so you fellas need to blend in with them to get to the keyhole!"

"Sounds good to me!" Sora then held out his keyblade, spun it around, and finally let it rest on his shoulder to show he was ready for anything. Donald then got in front of Sora and stopped him by pointing his magic staff at him.

"We need to be careful Sora, for all we know the Dark Conduit is on this boat trying to blend in with the inhabitants of this world too. It isn't uncommon for the Dark Army to infiltrate and manipulate the inhabitants of a world to getting what they want." Sora knew and experienced how selfish and evil the Dark Army was but still couldn't help but be surprised that they would use such horrible tactics to achieve their goals. still this only hardened his resolve to stop them so he faced Donald with determination and nodded to show he understood and was ready. Chip and Dale successfully landed the ship in a place that was away form the inhabitance and hidden. the Gummi ship was still invisible but Chip and Dale knew better than to rely solely on the cloaking.

"Alright fellas, now get out there and blend in with the crew, and make sure to get with anyone who is going into that island." Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded and left the Gummi ship, and quickly found the boat buzzling with life. Sora couldn't help but look at it all in awe, people busy moving around supplies, all working while wearing clothes he didn't recognize. no one was wearing any fancy clothes, but Sora didn't care it was just so interesting to see people form another world doing their own thing. Sora didn't exactly get a good chance to observe much of Wonderland and he didn't even get to go anywhere interesting back in Greece, so this was a breath of fresh air.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy left the Gummi ship and walked into the sea ship; Sora and Donald just walked normally, while Goofy tried too hard to walk casually. some of the workers looked at them for a few seconds but then just continue going along with their work. once it was clear that they wouldn't be exposed as otherworlder's and therefore disrupting the natural order, Sora started getting a better look at everything.

Sora was amazed by his surroundings; sure, everyone was just busy doing work around the ship but that was just it, it was a sea ship! Sora had never seen a ship so big that people would just be working like this as if it was normal. that made Sora wonder, were there other ships like this? what did they have on them? was it possible to have a small town or city on a ship? are their ships bigger than this one? Sora had so many questions about this world, and as he thought of more to ask it only filled him with excitement. This was the essence of adventure, to find new things and learn from them.

"of course, we'll be safe on this expedition you have my word." Sora's attention was then pulled to a large man with a rifle talking to an old small scientist and his daughter.

"We uh, I'm actually more worried about that gun of yo-"

"With my rifle here, any predator will be scared away from just the sound."

"Uh, yes but also the gorillas that's why-"

"So, as I said you have my word that you and your daughter will be safe on this expedition. In fact, my men already put a camp on the island and all you need to do is follow me as I escort you there."

"Uh right of course..." Donald noticed Sora staring at the three and listened in as well, he couldn't help but quack when he heard the subject of the matter.

"Expedition! that means their heading to the island, we need to convince them to let us come with them."

"I hear ya, Donald, but how do we-"

"hey can we come with you guys?" Donald and Goofy went speechless as they stared at Sora in shock, they new Sora was young and naive but to be this upfront and foolish was still surprising.

"What? no! this is not a field trip young man go back to your father right this instant!"

"but we need to get to that island to uh... ah! to protect you from the Heartless!" Donald and Goofy were now speechless no one was supposed to know about the Heartless yet Sora was just talking about it so casually.

"Heartless? this is no time for made up stories' boy!"

"but its not made up, their real creatures, their uh... their very dangerous and typically roam around these parts of the world." Goofy's ears raised up for he finally caught up on what Sora was trying to do so he walked up to stand beside Sora and put his hand on his shoulder.

"that's right, we're professionals at hunting them down!" Clayton still looked at them in skeptisim and anger but Professor Porter quickly jumped in the conversation.

"uh might I ask what exactly do you use to hunt these Heartless because if its rifles-" Sora quickly pulled out his keyblade and Goofy his shield, though thanks to the Gummi ship to them it looked like a regular but shining sword and shield. Clayton looked at the weapons for a short time before laughing at them, he was about to reject them but Porter quickly started shaking Goofy's hand.

"Wonderful! wonderful! nothing too noisy and nothing too violent! true I don't condone you giving your son the sword, but he is your son not mine! very well then let us head off!" Porter and his daughter Jane then headed for the boat, Sora and Goofy smiled at one another for managing to get access to the island with no issues. However, before they could Clayton lowered his rifle in front of them to stop them. he then leaned in closer in a threatening manner.

"Listen here, I don't know why you hunt but for me its profit, which is why I'm telling you now. stay out of my way and keep your mouths shut during this expedition! and maybe in return I'll see to it your payment is, let's say, extended."

"but we-" Before Goofy could respond Clayton quickly leaned closer to his face to show his anger.

"BUT! for any reason you decide to make things worse for me, then I'm afraid I can't guarantee your safety or that of your boys, especially the younger one back there. it would be a shame if, oh I don't know, he encountered a hungry leopard. we wouldn't want that would we." Goofy shook his head and Clayton smiled mockingly while patting his shoulder. Clayton then walked away, leaving Sora and Goofy to look at one another in confusion.

"Gosh, he was a rude fella."

"You don't think he's the keyblade wielder of darkness, do you?"

"Probably not, but that doesn't make him less dangerous, be careful around him Sora."

"why me..." Sora and Goofy turned around to see an increasingly angrier Donald.

"why... why... why am I always seen as a kid! I'm a grown man for crying out loud!"

"But then why are you so short?" Donald glared at Sora then walked to the boat while smacking Sora on the back of the head with his wand to show his annoyance toward him. Sora looked at Goofy in confusion, but Goofy just raised his arms and shock his head, showing he also had no answer.

the expedition was not going as well as anyone had hopped, they had been wandering for a few hours and every so often Clayton would just shoot at whatever was moving. not only was the noise driving away any animals but also it caused ringing in Sora's ears. Goofy eventually noticed this and walked to Clayton to stop him.

"uh Mr. Clayton sir, could you uh, not shoot your rifle anymore." Clayton then grabbed Goofy by the neck and pulled him closer.

"I thought I told you not to get in my way..."

"but- but! A-hyuk! but your shooting is making Sora's ear's hurt!" Clayton then let go of Goofy and looked back at Sora, who was still covering his ears.

"hmph, a rifle is a symbol of a man's strength and determination, if your boy has a problem then it's not my fault but his, or perhaps it might be yours. I wouldn't put it past you since you gave him such a feminine name like Sora. boys are meant to grow into strong men, not fragile women." Goofy couldn't help but be shocked by how blatantly Clayton was willing to blame Sora for his own ringing ears and then make fun of his name. Goofy didn't know what else to do so he just shook his head at Clayton's rudeness but as he did, he caught a man in a black cloak wandering the woods.

Goofy quickly ran back to Donald and Sora but made sure to cover their mouths. Goofy then quickly pointed to Sora's keyblade, then used his ears to mimic wearing a hood, finally he pointed to where he saw the black cloaked man was wandering. Sora and Donald looked at each other in confusion, then they both realized that Goofy was talking about a keyblade wielder of darkness. but just then Clayton fired again causing Sora to cover his ears again, this caused Jane and Professor Porter to ask him to stop in vain.

Goofy and Donald used this opportunity to get out of sight and escort Sora since his head was hurting due to the noise. once they were a good distance away Sora's ears finally stopped ringing.

"ah... man that thing was so loud!"

"hm? Sora do you not know what a gun is?"

"Goofy! what kind of question is that?! Sora's like 10! of course he wouldn't know what a gun is!"

"I'm actually 12."

"oh... well still that's too young to be handling a gun!"

"RAAAH! THAT LOIN CLOTH FREAK!" the three of them then raised their heads to see a keyblade wielder of darkness; in other words, the Dark Conduit leading the Heartless into this world. Donald quickly signaled to Goofy and Sora to stay low so that they could sneak up on him.

"I can't believe he managed to kill my adorable pet! all I needed was to find Sabor a mate and his children would have enacted enough chaos throughout this entire island to begin the invasion! but instead that ruffian killed him off before I could enact even little bit of chaos! damn it!" suddenly Sora jumped out of the bushes and confronted the Dark Conduit with his own keyblade drawn. The Dark Conduit turned behind to see Goofy with his shield and Donald with his wand both leaving the bushes as well, the three of them were now surrounding him.

"and the good news just keeps rolling in!" The Dark Conduit then unleashed his keyblade it was silver and blue, seeming to be crafted elegantly except for the bit part of the key being a large spear like spike resembling ice.

"Thought now that I think about it, it's more like a blessing in disguise. Once I kill you all I might finally be recognized for my talents via promotion to lordship!"

"Ha! except there's three of us and one of you!" Donald stood proud but was confused when Goofy facepalmed and Sora looked at him in confusion.

"Stupid duck, the darkness never wanders alone!" Just then a banana peel fell from to the ground, out of caution Donald, Goofy, and Sora slowly looked up to see what dropped it and saw several monkey looking heartless hanging form the vines and tree branches above them.

"Powerwilds! Destroy them!" the Powerwilds started yelling like monkeys and jumped down to attack Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Sora panicked and started swinging his keyblade at the Powerwilds as they instantly surrounded him. Goofy was having a hard time as the Powerwilds surrounding him attacked both his shield and his back practically pushing him around. Donald on the other hand managed to hurt the Powerwilds quickly by casting a lighting spell electrocuting the ones surrounding him. Sora saw this and smiled in pride, Sora activated his own thunder spell to shock the Powerwilds surrounding him.

"Goofy watch out!" Goofy understood and quickly jumped out of the group of Powerwilds surrounding him and not only raised his shield but enhanced it with magic making a large forcefield in front of him. Sora and Donald then cast lighting at the remaining Powerwilds knocking them all out and on the ground. since they were emblem heartless the only thing left to do was liberate the hearts and stop the keyblade wielder of darkness.

"hmph, you really are quite powerful despite being a novice. it's no wonder even Lea lost to you, which is why I realized the best way to combat strength is to tire it out!" the keyblade wielder of darkness raised his arms to show that there were even more Powerwild heartless hanging form the trees. Sora was shocked at how many there were, but he smiled knowing that magic could hurt them but before he could cast another lightning spell the keyblade wielder of darkness cast an ice spell covering his keyblade in ice.

"ha! lightning is powerful but it's not a good matchup for ice, especially when its controlled by a powerful modifier like me!" once again the keyblade wielder of darkness raised his hands and ice grew all around him. the ice was so cold it made the air around Sora, Donald, and Goofy fell super cold. Sora had never felt such intense cold before, it made him want to go back to the beach on his island he remembered how much fun he, Riku, and Kairi had together during those days. suddenly while remembering his happy memories everything got warmer, Sora then looked at his keyblade and it was turning red with heat while the ice was melting off.

"whoa! what how?!"

"Sora that's fire magic!"

"it is?!" soon all the ice melted and Sora's keyblade was covered in fire, Sora was scared at first, but the fire didn't burn his skin. he was even able to touch it and hold a flame in his hand, Sora laughed at how cool this was. Sora then looked at the Dark Conduit, who was backing off in fear, and smiled. Sora then pointed his keyblade at the keyblade wilder of darkness and his Powerwilds and shot several blasts of fire balls. the jungle surrounding the Dark Conduit was instantly engulfed in flames burning the Powerwilds and the Dark Conduit.

The Dark Conduit screamed but not in pain, he screamed in unstable rage. he covered his black robes in ice and glared at Sora in pure anger. Sora was shocked at first to see how unscathed and angry he was, but Sora calmed down and smiled knowing he had both lighting and fire magic and the keyblade wielder of darkness only had ice. Sora, by only thinking about it, ignited his keyblade and charged, they keyblade wilder of darkness growled in anger and raised his keyblade ready to strike back in defense.

When their keyblades clashed it released an explosion of energy that instantly changed the temperature of the air. Everyone was hit with a quick wind blast of both hot and cold air. It was enough to knock both the keyblade wielder of darkness, Sora, and Goofy on their backs while it made Donald fall on his head. Thankfully it was also enough to put out the fire and destroy the already weakened Powerwilds thus releasing the Hearts within. Sora was thankfully not hurt by the blast and was able to get back up quickly; however, once Sora was up, he saw the Dark Conduit being helped up by the Powerwilds.

"ah! grrrh! I don't need help you worthless monkeys!" The Dark Conduit then slashed the heartless thus releasing the hearts trapped within while also pathetically almost losing his balance and falling. Sora was kinda glad the stupid Dark Conduit made his job easier but was also very shocked to see him so easily annihilate the heartless he used as allies.

"ah... hm, you dark army jerks really don't have any real friends do you?"

"ugh... eh? friends? how old are you?"

"I'm 12."

"ha! you really are a pathetic little child! a stupid little brat that daydreams about friendship and rainbows! well guess what, you dirt stain! the only way to get anything you want in life is power! and I will get plenty of it as long as I am with the dark army! And Lady-! ahem! I mean Master Maleficent! will reward me plenty once I give her your keyblade and your heart."

"... but can you? you're the one struggling." Goofy and Donald both covered their mouths to hold back the laughter, while the Dark Conduit's shock quickly turned into seething anger.

"I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!" The Dark Conduit then practically slammed his keyblade on the ground, unleashing a barrage of growing ice right toward Sora. Sora tired activating a combo of fire and lightning magic to combat it but overestimated his ability to control magic and wasn't able to conjure a powerful enough counter. Thankfully Donald jumped in front of Sora and unleashed his own barrage of powerful flames completely canceling out the ice, evaporating it out entirely.

this pushed the Dark Conduit back once again, he quickly got back up and ran into the forest as quickly as he could. the remaining Powerwilds stood in front of his path to hold back Sora, Donald, and Goofy but since they were injured it didn't take much for the three to finish them off. They quickly chased after the Dark Conduit, but he managed to outrun them, and it wasn't long before they couldn't find any trace of him.

"he's gone! dang it! if we got him then all we would have to worry about left would be to find the world's keyhole and lock it."

"don't worry Donald that Dark Conduit wasn't much of a fighter anyways, thanks for the save by the way."

"Your welcome Sora, though it seems you won't need it soon. your showing great talent for multiple magic types. with proper training you might soon be able to properly call yourself a Head Wizard." Sora smiled because of Donald's praise but then he started hearing singing as well what sounded like wood smashing and glass breaking. Goofy heard it too and since it was the sound of destruction Sora and Goofy knew it meant that it was the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. Sora smiled and readied his keyblade, Donald looked confused but Goofy signaled him to be quiet, allowing him to realize what was going on.

Sora walked through the large leaves and bushes as Goofy got his shield and Donald got his Wand and followed him. sure enough as they got closer both the singing and the smashing was getting louder and louder.

"hm, these Dark army jerk sure are weird. why would they be singing while destroying stuff?"

"um Sora, there's no singing."

"wha- but can't you hear all that weird singing and that instrument playing. I think that's what my dad called a trumpet."

"I just hear gorillas making noises and an elephant too."

"Gorillas and elephant noises... that can't be right? all I hear is *gasp* wait what if that jerk is turning innocent animals into Heartless!" Sora quickly jumped over the bushes with his keyblade ready to strike but was instead surprised to see a bunch of gorillas singing while breaking plates, glass, and furniture.

"what? the Gorillas are the ones singing?" quickly Donald and Goofy followed Sora, but Donald was shocked to see all the Gorillas.

"wah! Sora, we need to get out of here! These Gorillas are clearly berserk smashing and yelling all over the place! if they see us, they could kill us!"

"They're not Berserk, they're just singing. can't you hear it?"

"wah? no. Sora they can't even speak English."

"English? aren't we speaking Japanese?" Donald looked at Sora in shock, Sora was confused by this but quickly his attention was shifted back to the Gorillas when they stopped making noise. Sora then noticed all the Gorillas were staring at Jane and Tarzan, Sora was confused when he saw Tarzan, he looked like a regular person but the fact that he was wearing a loincloth said otherwise.

"she- she looks like you."

"I know, I think I finally found another of my species." Sora was shocked, Sora was no scholar, but he understood now, Tarzan was a human of this island but never met other humans and to him these Gorillas are his family. before Sora could ponder more Kerchak showed up right behind Jane and was quite angry to see her.

"what is this thing? why is it here?"

"uh, she's a human, like us!" Sora walked over to Kerchak carefully hoping to deescalate the situation. Kerchak however just looked at him in a mixture of anger and confusion.

"wha- what? how can you... things speak our language?"

"what? but aren't you-"

"Enough! Everyone to me! We're leaving! as for you creature! if you can really understand me then understand this! stay away from us! I don't want conflict, but I will do what is necessary to protect my family. Tarzan! Trek! Everyone! Away! Now!" Tarzan and the Gorillas all started fleeing as quickly as they could while Trek had to take Tarzan's hand and force him away. Sora just watched, he wanted to explain that he was here to help them, but Kerchak seemed ready to fight and the only one Sora wanted to fight the Dark Conduit.

"incredible! uh, Sora was it? did you actually understand those Gorillas?"

"huh? well yeah, they were speaking Japanese like we all are."

"wha- what? Japanese? I can't speak Japanese."

"uh. Sora, we've all been speaking English this entire time." Sora looked at both Jane and Goofy in confusion wondering what was going on. Donald looked at him a little with great curiosity, he had heard of people being able to speak to animals, people, and beings of other languages but thought that such a feat was actually impossible. in fact, as far as Donald knew, the princesses of light were the only ones who could do such a thing, but they have been extinct since the Dark Army's rise to power. before Donald could ponder any more Jane's Dad and Clayton showed up.

"ah! Jane you're alright! thank goodness! oh! I see Mr. Goofy and his boys were the ones to find you! well done men!" Professor Porter quickly hugged Jane, then Jane started explaining everything that happened to her with great detail. Clayton, the Professor, Donald, and Goofy all looked at her in confusion while Sora had to cover his mouth to hide the laughter. Then she started talking about Tarzan which quickly caught Sora's attention.

"So that was his name, Tarzan."

"Hm? who Sora?"

"That guy in the loincloth! he was talking to the gorillas and telling them he found more of his kind."

"You could really understand him?"

"What did he say?" Donald wanted to know how Sora could understand the Gorillas too but knew it would take extreme focus and now was not the time. hence why Donald interrupted Goofy and chose to focus on anything that would help them on the current mission.

"He was talking as if he never met another human before. I think he's lived on this island all his life without knowing anything about the outside world... kinda like me. uh maybe we could-" Donald quickly placed his staff in front of Sora to stop him front talking.

"Sora, we can't interfere too much into the natural order of a world. If this Tarzan guy was raised as the only human in an island of animals, then that's his fate. We need to respect that." Sora nodded to show he understood but he still grunted in knowing that his fate was changed for the worst, and he didn't get a say. it just felt so unfair to be unable to help more than just stop the Dark army from destroying worlds.

"A-hyuk! I'm still quite surprised that you could talk to animals Sora."

"... well, I mean I can talk to you guys." Goofy and Donalds went wide eyed at Sora's statement. Goofy then looked at Sora and disappointment, while Donald started growling and steaming red with anger. Donald then harshly hit Sora on the head with his Wand and walked off, Goofy walked with Donald away from Sora.

"Ow! What?! What did I say?!"

After cleaning and fixing up the camp, Jane started telling her father about Tarzan and how he moved around like a gorilla. Sora was listening as well joyfully, he thought Tarzan was actually kinda cool, a man that lived in the jungle like he was a gorilla. It was strange but Sora admired how strong it seemed to make him. Sora wanted to know more about Tarzan, what kind of life did he live, what adventures did he have, did he really not know about humans other than himself.

Sora was watching Jane as she was sketching Tarzan and even started giggling when Jane was trying to show how Tarzan moved around and her father was trying to mimic her. Goofy covered his mouth while laughing too while Donald looked at them with concern. Donalds attention was grabed by Clayton when he stabbed the large knife he was using to shave onto the table next to him.

"hmph, take a good look lad, that's what happens when you let women have their way in life." Donald was now looking at Clayton in concern wondering where this negativity toward women was coming from.

"oh its so amazing Daddy! imagine what we can learn from him!"

"yes indeed Jane! a man who's lived the life and spoken the language of the ape! truly the discovery of the century!"

"oh that does it!" Donald actually jumped in fear when Clayton yelled in anger and started stomping toward Jane and Professor Porter.

"Professor your here to find the Gorillas, not to indulge some girlish fantasy!"

"wha-! fantasy?! Tarzan is real! Mr. Goofy! and his sons Sora and Donald can attest to it! you all saw it didn't you!" Sora and Goofy were confused by the family dynamic everyone kept assuming they were in, but both just nodded to Jane's question. All while Donald fumed in anger at being called Goofy's son again.

"Ugh, trust me when I say Professor, they are not reliable sources." now Goofy was grunting in annoyance at Claytons constant hostility and rudeness. Sora however was not going to stand for it.

"But we did see him! he was right there with Jane just as she told you!"

"Oh really? then by your account, what did he look like?"

"well-" just then Tarzan jumped in right between Clayton and Jane.

"... uh, well he looked exactly like that."

"Gah! everyone get back!" Clayton was quick to grab his gun and aim it at Tarzan but thankfully Jane pushed the gun away making him fire into the air. The noise hurt both Jane and Sora's ears but strangely after that what caught everyone's attention was Tarzan talking.

"Clayton! Clayton! that sound! Clayton!" Sora was now shocked as well as confused, when he said Clayton, it was like he was struggling to speak but when he said anything else it sounded like natural.

"Uh have we met?"

"He thinks it's the sound of the gun Mr. Clayton."

"Clayton! the loud scary noise! that's what it's called right!" Sora smiled and was about to tell Tarzan what the sound actually was, but Tarzan was quick to rush toward Jane. he seemed to brush her hair and brush his hand on her cheek very softly which made Jane blush but also made her uncomfortable with how close he was. Tarzan then looked at everyone else and his eyes lit up with excitement. he went to Professor Porter and was quick to pull on his mustache, the professor was obviously in pain but more excited to see Tarzan. Tarzan then went to Goofy, in his eyes Goofy's ears were his hair so he pulled on it so hard that once he let go it slapped Goofy in the face making him dizzy and almost knocking him out. Donald tried to run away but Tarzan instead stole his hat and tried to wear it, Donald angrily tried to get it back but Tarzan kept quickly out maneuvering him. eventually Donald on the ground face first while groaning in disappointment. Tarzan then looked at Sora and dropped the hat on Donalds butt, Sora laughed but stopped when Tarzan got close to his face and looked at his hair.

"wow... so much fur... so spikey." Tarzan then playfully ruffled Sora's hair which made Sora laugh because of it.

"hahaha! hey! knock it off! it's my hair, not fur!" Tarzan quickly backed off and looked at Sora in shock.

"you- you can understand me!" Sora smiled brightly and nodded, all while Professor Porter was laughing with excitement.

"hahaha! he's amazing! he could even be the missing link!"

"... or maybe our link to the gorillas!" Clayton then walked over to Tarzan and pushed Sora away, making Sora glare at him in annoyance.

"where are the Gorillas?" Tarzan looked at Clayton with disinterest and then focused his attention back to Sora. but Clayton quickly grabbed him by the chin and made Tarzan face him.

"GO-RI-LLAS?!" Tarzan then smiled and grabbed Clayton by the chin as well thinking it was a game.

"GO-RI-LLAS!" Sora covered his mouth but still laughed quite loudly due to the funny scene. Clayton glared back at him, but Sora just continued to smile while he looked the other way.

"Mr. Clayton, he doesn't understand English."

"Hmph! then I'll make him understand, he may be a savage but he's also clearly a man, and everyone knows English is the most universal language of man." everyone except Tarzan looked at Clayton in confusion because they were sure that wasn't true. Clayton then started drawing on the chalkboard a very basic picture of a gorilla that it looked like a six-year-old drew it.

"This is a Gorilla." Tarzan looked at the picture then looked at the chalk piece and grabbed it to look at it closer.

"Gorilla... the white powder stick!" everyone else seemed to think Tarzan somewhat understood but since Sora could understand him he knew better.

"Um, I don't think he understands you."

"Quite boy, he needs to focus if he is to take us to the gorillas." Clayton just smirked thinking he got Tarzan to understand but his jaw dropped when he saw Tarzan just scribbling all over the chalkboard. Clayton looked back at Sora to see him crossing his arms and looking at Clayton in disappointment. Clayton was now fuming with anger and quickly took the chalk away trying to scold Tarzan. Tarzan thought it was another game and started mimicking Clayton which only annoyed him but also made Sora, Donald, and Goofy laugh at Clayton. after a while of what looked like goofing off Jane took the chalk and declared that she would be the one to teach Tarzan from now on.

now everyone was in a tent, getting ready for Tarzan's first lesion, while the others weren't looking Sora explained to Tarzan that they were going to teach him about normal human life.

"Yeah Jane, The Professor, and Clayton want to explore this island, but they need to understand you first. So, they're going to try to teach you all they can so that you all can understand each other."

"Wow... so uh, what are they going to teach me?"

"I don't know... language, books, grown-up stuff. I'm not too sure. I grew up kinda similar to you. I was on an island where there wasn't much for me to do but my parents always told me when we were old enough, we could leave and learn about the outside world. So, if I'm being honest, I'm kinda excited too."

"Sora! is Tarzan ready?!" upon hearing Janes voice, Tarzan rushed into the tent and was quickly mesmerized by the flame on a table. However, Tarzan's curiosity was quickly squashed with excitement when he saw that the flame was just used for lighting a device to show an enlarged image of a gorilla. Jane then changed the image every so often to show something new.

Tarzan was obviously excited to see every new image but so was Sora. jungles, cities, castles, people with strange but cool clothes and inventions. It was all so overwhelming but also so amazing, this was exactly what he, Riku, and Kairi wanted. they wanted to explore the world and see all it had to offer. it made Sora sad knowing that he was the only one to be learning, if only Kairi and Riku- no! Sora thought, I should learn all I can and so that I can tell them when I find them.

Sora smiled as he made sure to pay attention to every detail, he could. soon Professor Porter and Jane started teaching him so much more and so many other things about the outside world and how to read books as well. Sora only ever heard fantasy stories form Riku or his parents but these books had knowledge about this world so he read as many as he could. Some were boring but others were very interesting, so he just read more and more. Both Tarzan and Sora eventually became study partners over it all, they both knew so little about this world so wanting to know more was something they had in common.

Donald was annoyed to know that Sora was slaking off on the mission but Goofy didn't let him interfere with their learning. Goofy couldn't help but smile seeing Sora laughing and learning with Tarzan about this world and all it had to offer. Goofy still felt bad that Sora had to be the one to bear the burden of champion of light at such a young age so at times like this when he could smile and be happy assured Goofy it was all going to be ok.

As the days went on Donald and Clayton got more annoyed but for different reasons. try as he may Clayton could never get Tarzan to focus on showing him where the gorillas were. Donald, on the other hand, was angry that they weren't making progress on the mission.

"I mean the longer we delay the closer this world is to collapse!"

"Gosh, Donald look around. there haven't been any heartless attacks lately and I'm guessing its because the Dark Conduit knows he can't take us."

"All the more reason to go looking for him! you know as well as I do the Dark Army is like mold! if you leave it alone it might look insignificant now, but it will grow and soon become so large of a problem, nothing can stop it!" Donald was now so frustrated with waiting that he was red and his head was steaming. Though he stopped when Goofy started calmly patting his head, Donald then looked at Goofy with confusion.

"don't go loosin your head Donald, A-hyuk! it's not like we're going anywhere." then suddenly several men showed up and started taking furniture and packing everything else up. Goofy was looking at the men taking everything dumbfounded only to look back at Donald who was glaring at him in disappointment.

"You were saying?"

"Guys!" Sora then came running for Donald and Goofy.

"Professor Porter said their leaving tomorrow! Once they do, they'll never come back! none of us will!"

"Hm, we're under the guises of being their bodyguard escorts so in order to not arouse suspicion we have to leave with them. meaning we need to find that Dark Conduit now!" Sora knew this was true but still couldn't help but feel bad about the situation for another reason. he looked back at Tarzan who was trying to ask Jane to stay and her who was sadly refusing him. Sora then looked back at Goofy and Donald wondering how they would even find the Dark Conduit since he hasn't shown himself in days.

Then like a silently granted wish, Sora saw the Dark Conduit at the edge of the jungle staring at them with icy fog surrounding him. The Dark Conduit turned around and walked into the jungle and out of sight, Sora then summoned his keyblade and ran after him.

"Donald! Goofy! I found him follow me!" Donald and Goofy were confused and as such stumbled around until Donald tripped and headbutted Goofy in the stomach. Goofy then landed on Donald and crushed him but didn't notice and as such quickly got up and ran after Sora. Donald just groaned in anger and cast a cure spell on himself, thought he actually cast it on the ground around him making flowers grow but leaving him still hurt, thus making him more annoyed.

Sora continued to run after the Dark Conduit deeper and deeper into the forest with a dazed Goofy and an annoyed and hurt Donald followed him. finally in an open area lit entirely by the sun but there were monkeys, birds, snakes, and other animals around the area all looking at the Dark Conduit standing there surrounding himself with cold air and fog. Sora knew if he was to defeat the Dark Conduit, he would need to use fire and if he did that some of these animals might get hurt.

"Everyone! Please evacuate at once! If you don't you will get hurt!" Some of the animals were now looking at Sora in confusion wondering how they could understand him. thankfully understood him nonetheless and started leaving. Soon all the animals were gone, and Sora got into his fighting stance to face the Dark Conduit now that no one else was in danger.

"Interesting, you are able to speak to animals? Each animal has a different language and thus it's almost impossible to speak to all of them with such ease, yet you pulled it off. the only ones who could do such a thing were the princesses of light but their... well we don't need to worry about them. For now, let's focus on you, when I turn you into a heartless will you still be able to do that? and if so what kind of boss class heartless could I make with that kind of power? It's bound to be grand, especially when you already know what I can make with regular Heartless!" as on command Powerwild Heartless jumped out of the bushes as well as a new variant similar to Powerwilds. They were so similar to one another, but Sora could tell they were different especially with these new ones holding slingshots.

when Sora looked to his left some of them shot pebbles at him from the right, thankfully Goofy showed up just in time to protect Sora with his shield. Then Donald came to Sora's right and shot several of the Powerwilds with lighting.

"Sora! we got the Heartless, deal with the Dark Conduit!"

"Heh, round two twerp, and your stupid duck is too busy to save you this time." Sora glared at the Dark Conduit with both determination and annoyance.

"Unlike you I don't slap away a helping hand just to prove how cool I am."

"so much like a kid, thinking friendship matters more than pride."

"I am a kid! what's your excuse?!" Sora then charged at the Dark Conduit, quickly he felt the cold air being emitted from him. Since sora already knew that the Dark Conduit could control ice so being cold would be a disadvantage. Sora quickly jumped up and smiled at the Dark Conduit as he ignited his keyblade with fire magic and pointed it at the Dark Conduit shooting out a fireball. the Dark conduit made an ice shield rise up from the ground only for it to melt once his by the fireball, though it did also cancel out of the fireball. what the Dark Conduit did not expect however was for Sora to follow up with a lightning bolt blast to follow up.

Sora landed on the ground and slashed the Dark Conduit making him shatter into ice and his keyblade disappear. Sora was confused by this since this was not how Dark Conduits were normally defeated. However, Sora's attention was taken by the fact that the World's keyhole appeared on a tree in front of him.

"Sora! we the Heartless are retreating did you... oh! you did it! you got him!"

"a-hyuk! you found the world's keyhole as well!"

"yeah... it was... almost too easy..."

"no such thing in our line of work! c'mon Sora! go ahead and lock it." Sora felt uneasy since his past fights were never that easy but still the Worlds keyhole was right Infront of him. Sora then concluded that even if there was more to the Dark Army's plan then they wouldn't be able to achieve it without the World's keyhole, so Sora quickly put his keyblade in and locked it. then just like Traverse Town and Greece a shot of blue light shot into the air and made a forcefield over the sky surrounding the world. once the forcefield lost visibility Donald patted Sora on the back for a good job while Goofy playfully ruffled his hair and Sora playfully pushed him back. However, the moment was ruined when they heard another gunshot deep in the forest.

Tarzan told Sora, Donald, and Goofy how he let Jane, the Professor, and Clayton find the gorillas and Kerchak didn't take that lightly. Kerchak gave him an ultimatum either abandon the humans or abandon the gorillas. Tarzan is going to make his choice tomorrow morning after his mother shows him something she told him she should have shown him years ago. Sora felt sad about the choices that Tarzan was put through he could either stay with the gorillas that became his family or go with his people who he barely knows but desperately wants to. Sora's heart strings tugged at that because it was the similar to how he felt when he, Riku, and Kairi were asking themselves when they wanted to leave the island. Sure, they would no longer have to wait for the amazing things that their parents told them they would only get to see when they were old enough. But if they did go through with it, they would probably get lost and never get to see their parents again. Donald and Goofy didn't understand but still felt bad for him none-the-less, Sora then walked up to Tarzan and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"... May your heart be the guiding key." Donald and Goofy both looked at Sora in shock then at each other, wonder if they both heard that correctly. Tarzan nodded to show he understood and patted Sora's shoulder back and smiled to show his thanks for being a friend. Tarzan then went to see what his mother had to show him waving the three of them goodbye for possibly the last time. Sora then walked back to the camp site with Donald and Goofy following him.

"Sora where did you hear that phrase from?"

"Huh? oh it's just something Kairi used to say, she uh. I think she learned it form her grandmother... why?"

"hm... well it's just... that's something the original guardians of light used to say... right before they were destroyed by the Dark Army." Sora paused when he heard that, Sora knew absolutely nothing about the guardians of light or the Dark Army. yet he knew a phrase commonly used during their time, or to be précised Kairi knew that phrase and it she learned it form her grandmother, in fact that was why she wanted to leave the island. Kairi sometimes remembered things about her grandmother yet on the island she had no grandmother, according to her parents she died before Kairi was born. Kairi insisted she had a grandmother and believed that she was somewhere beyond the island and as such that was her reason for wanting to go with Sora and Riku.

Now Sora had learned that something peculiar relating to both Kairi's grandmother and the guardians of light. Sora, Kairi, and Riku who had nothing to do with any of it were dragged into the conflict relating to the Guardians of Light and the Dark Army based on pure coincidence. However now with the revelation of Sora's discovery, it didn't seem like a coincidence anymore.

"Sora? are you ok?"

"I... I think Kairi's grandmother was a-" suddenly Sora was grabbed and pulled into the bushes, Donald and Goofy quickly turned around only to see Sora gone.

"wha! Sora! Sora where are you?!"

"Sora! What happened?! What-" just then Goofy was hit on the head with a rock and Donald was stuffed into a bag before he could get his wand.

Sora woke up with Donald and Goofy both tied up beside him, just as he woke up Clayton threw an injured Tarzan into the large storage room, they were in.

"hehe, oh your awake! hello there Mr. Goofy! I must apologize, I did promise your original payment would be increased had you listen to be but well... I got a better deal from someone who wants you and your boys out of the picture. " Clayton then stepped aside and showed his hand to a dark hooded figure revealing themselves in the sunlight. It was the Dark Conduit, the same one of ice, Sora could tell because he was holding the same Keyblade.

"wha! he's alive!"

"but how?!"

"you stupid child! that was an ice dummy you crushed and that little keyhole you locked was just an advanced illusion I made with illusion magic! and now you fell right into my trap!"

"haha! yes quite magnificent, isn't he? you know when he first told me he could cast magic I called him loony but sure enough he proved me wrong when he created the Heartless! now correct me if I'm wrong that's what you and your boys were trained to hunt, right Mr. Goofy?" Goofy and Donald glared at Clayton in anger while Sora stomped his foot on the ground hard to express his frustration with being trapped by the Dark Conduit.

"So of course, we both had a problem I needed to get the gorillas and have nothing in my way and this man wanted you gone so I helped him and now he will help me!"

"And of course, after we get to gorillas, we will go to this London, right?"

"of course! and there we'll all receive good coin from the gorillas, and you'll get your own cut with that interesting magic of yours."

"Yes... I'll get something out of it all right."

"Clayton, you can't trust him! he's trying to destroy the world!"

"bah! nonsense boy! why would someone want to destroy the world they live on? the only way that would make sense if he had another world to escape to and spaceships don't exist. it's time to stop daydreaming and grow up boy." Clayton then left while his henchmen closed the door, the last think any of them saw was the Dark Conduit grinning at them. Sora just banged his head at the steel wall behind him, it hurt but he didn't care, he was so mad that despite everything the Dark Conduit won and if nothing was done soon this world would be destroyed.

Tarzan quickly got out of the ropes that tied him and quickly started ramming himself to the walls in hopes of getting out. it was clearly hurting him more than it was providing results, but Tarzan didn't care, even when Jane pleaded with him to stop. Tarzan eventually did stop but only to collapse and start blaming himself for leading clayton and the hunters to his family. Sora even started silently crying getting the attention of both Goofy and Donald.

"This is all my fault... I wanted to learn so much about this world... but now it's gonna be destroyed because I fooled around and took an easy win... this world will be destroyed just like my home was destroyed... I'm sorry Donald, I should have listened to you..." Sora kept crying while Goofy hugged him, trying his best to comfort him. Donald now understood what Goofy kept talking about, Sora was still a kid and despite that he still was given the responsibility of Champion of Light and even took it wholeheartedly. Yet now he was about to experience lose and was falling apart. a battle-hardened warrior would take this lose and either find a way to fix it or except defeat but this was too much for Sora. Donald felt ashamed for not realizing it sooner, he thought him and Goofy being there for Sora would be enough but clearly it wasn't.

"oh! those poor wonderful beasts, shivering in those horrible cages. Clayton that horrible bast-" suddenly the boat started shaking left and right so suddenly nearly making everyone pile on each other.

"What was that?!" suddenly an elephant busted through the roof door of the room making everyone scream in terror, but Tarzan was instead filled with joy!

"Tantor!"

"ha! Tarzan, we found you!" Tantor then used his snout to help Tarzan out, then he did the same for the others with Sora, Donald, and Goofy being the last. everyone looked around to see Claytons goons all beaten up and knocked out.

"Wow... Tantor right? your awesome." Tantor laughed seeming proud of himself form Sora's compliment but before the conversation could continue Tarzan ran off the boat and into the water to swim back to the island.

"Ah! Come on we have to help him!" Sora was the first to run off with Goofy and Donald quickly summoning their weapons and running after them. Jane was surprised to see Sora, the boy she thought only loved reading and learning with Tarzan, run so fearlessly into battle. But her shock was quickly overshadowed when her father climbed onto Tantor with pure determination.

"Well come on Jane! we need to save those gorillas!"

Clayton's men just started surrounding and capturing the gorillas, but they were proving to be difficult with Kurchak and other gorillas trying to defend the pack. however not only did the weapons Clayton's henchmen proved to be too powerful for them but the Dark Conduit surrounded them with ice and used his Powerwild heartless to threaten the safety of the other gorillas and gorilla's children.

"My word... ha, you will the life of the party my good sir, stick with me and I could even arrange you a meeting with Queen Victoria!" the Dark Conduit merely huffed in pride knowing that Clayton was going to lead him to every major civilization in the world thus making conquest so much easier especially since the Champion of Light brat still didn't know where they world's keyhole was. Just when the Dark Conduit was about to respond Kurchak showed up and tried to crush the Dark Conduit. However, with his keyblade alone the Dark Conduit was able to halt Kurchak's attack. Clayton and Kurchak were shocked at the clear display of the Dark Conduit's keybalde while he himself just scoffed in delight.

"hm? oh! I remember you, your little brat proved to be a nice little snack for my adorable Sabor." Kurchaks shock only increased but it slowly turned into anger, he roared at the Dark Conduit, slapped his keyblade away and punched the Dark Conduit in the chest with all his might. Had Kurchak punched a normal human all their bones would be broken but the Dark Conduit was just standing there as if nothing had happened. the Dark Conduit smiled as he saw the fear in Kurchak's eyes, the Dark Conduit then grabbed Kurchak's large fist and started slowly crushing it.

"Then that freak Tarzan killed my adorable Sabor. All so he could make you proud. but its ok, because just like everything that gets in my way... he will be destroyed." the Dark Conduit then punched the side waist of Kurchak, thus launching him toward the other gorillas and allowing the hunters to wrap him in nets. The Dark Conduit continued to smile feeling proud of his display of overwhelming power completely unaware of Clayton shivering behind him. I knew this strange brat was powerful, Clayton thought but I didn't think he could reach the point of ridiculousness that only exists in fairy tales! Clayton then tried to bring back his composure while loading up his gun and pointed it at Kurchak, I at least can't let this brat forget who's in charge he thought.

"I think this one is better off stuffed." Clayton smiled with pride again at Kurchak glared at him in anger and frustration. However, before he could pull the trigger everyone stopped when they heard Tarzan's cry throughout the jungle. then suddenly Tarzan came swinging in and kicked Clayton into a ditch while a hoard of elephants, rhinos, and hippos came running in attacking the henchmen and powerwilds. The Dark Conduit started yelling in anger he then tried to freeze the first rhino he saw but Goofy quickly jumped in front and used his shield to deflect the ice blast. The Dark Conduit grunted but quickly turned and created an ice spear to stab an elephant, but Donald quickly jumped in front and used a fire spell to melt the spear and save the elephant. before the Dark Conduit could do anything, else Sora showed up by swinging on a vine and did a jump kick to the Dark Conduit. As Sora landed, he summoned his keyblade and stood ready to fight with Donald and Goofy quickly running to his side.

"It's over Dark Conduit! you're not destroying this world!"

"Ugh! ok first of all, I have a name! second of all-!" Sora then blasted the Dark Conduit with a fireball making him fall deeper into the Jungle. Donald and Goofy couldn't help but laugh at the sight, Sora laughed a little too but then waved his hand to them so they would follow him to go after the Dark Conduit. As they ran through the Jungle, they saw Tarzan and the gorillas with the other animals fighting back against the hunters and henchmen. The sight made Sora smile proudly as he ran toward the Dark Conduit, the Dark Conduit got up in anger and shot a barrage of ice toward Sora. Sora managed to jump up in the air fast enough thought he soared in the air higher than he thought he would. Sora didn't mind though, instead he readied another fireball and shot it at the Dark Conduit.

The Dark Conduit laughed as he quickly made an ice shield which countered the fire ball but also melted right away. despite the ice shield melting the Dark Conduit still laughed but quickly stopped when both Sora and Donald cast a lighting blast at him. With the Dark Conduit dazed Goofy powered up his shield and bashed into the Dark Conduit. His body was now glitching to show that he was close to defeat, the Dark Conduit then screamed in anger and fear as his shadow grew and Soldier heartless jumped out. Goofy was quickly to use his shield to bash them while Donald used his ice magic to stop them.

Sora smiled knowing how easy it was to deal with these kinds of Heartless, Sora quickly slashed through the three standing before him as he rushed past them. Sora then readied another fireball and shot it behind him toward the injured Soldier Heartless, blowing them up and releasing the cursed hearts within. Sora then went straight for the Dark Conduit to secure the kill, but he managed to recover and block the strike with his own keyblade.

The Dark Conduit smiled as he covered his hands with ice that quickly grew into a wall separating him from Sora. Sora grunted in frustration and shot the wall with a fireball melting the wall instantly. However, this turned out to be what the Dark Conduit wanted as he charged past his own melted wall and raised his keyblade to strike Sora. Sora managed to use his own keyblade to block in time but was now being pushed back by the Dark Conduit.

At the same time the both of them noticed leaves falling from the above and noticed that Clayton and Tarzan were fighting in the trees. Sora was relived at first but quickly noticed that Tarzan was injured and seemed to be losing to Clayton; the Dark Conduit started laughing as Clayton was gaining the upper hand.

"hahaha, that meat head is arrogant for a reason I suppose. Once, I've delt with you and he gets rid of Tarzan all I need to do is help him get the gorillas and he'll lead me to London, there I'll use the denizens to create an army of Heartless and fill this world with so much darkness and chaos no one can stop me!" Sora grunted in anger and pushed the Dark Conduit back; Sora then raised his keyblade ready to strike back. The Dark Conduit scoffed in amusement and managed to block the first strike; however, he stopped smiling when he felt the amount of force that was behind the strike. Sora then strike'd again and again, each time the Dark Conduit blocked but was pushed back further.

Donald joined in on the fight by hitting his back with a lightning bolt. The Dark Conduit yelled in pain and anger while trying to hit Donald with an ice blast but Goofy quickly bashed him with his shield launching him toward a tree. With the Dark Conduit now severely weakened and injured he was no longer able to move allowing Donald and Sora to both cast fireball and shoot it at the Dark Conduit, finally defeating him one and for all.

Sora cheered in triumph as he raised his keyblade as they finally managed to defeat the Dark Conduit forcing the remaining Heartless to retreat. Just then Tarzan fell form the trees seeming hurt but mostly ok, Sora ran to him to tell him the good news but then he saw Clayton's handing body. it was a dead body; Sora never saw one before and it wasn't a pleasant sight, Sora felt his heart sink as everything around him started spinning. Sora could barely comprehend what was going on around him, all he could hear was Goofy and Donald talking to him, but he couldn't process their words. Sora quickly lost his balance as he passed out.

Death... such a burden of all beings of light... regardless of whether they are good or evil... this will be your fate... your constant... BURDEN... Death will follow you everywhere and never leave you alone... this is the fate of you will be cursed with should you stay with the light... but the darkness can set you free... after all... all light fades eventually... but darkness... darkness is ETERNAL!

"STOP!" Sora woke up in a tent with his eyes filled with tears he still couldn't get the sight of Clayton's dead body out of his head. It reminded him of all the past Keyblade wielders of darkness he defeated, did he kill them too? they didn't leave a body behind but there was no proof they were still alive. Sora like thinking that he could be a murderer he tried to shake the thought out of his head by running out of the tent and focusing on something else.

Sora then noticed a large blue butterfly land on his head. Sora wanted to focus on something else, so he tried to wave the butterfly away, but it was persistent on sticking with him. Sora wondered what was up with the butterfly but now that it had his attention it started flying away. Sora smiled only a little, following a butterfly was childish but maybe that's just what he needed right now. Sora followed the butterfly now realizing he was on top of a treehouse, thankfully the butterfly showed him the safest way down. once finally on the ground Sora noticed the butterfly flying into the tree. Sora was confused but when he followed the butterfly into the tree, he saw more blue butterflies surrounding the world's keyhole.

Sora smiled in delight knowing the last part of his mission was complete he then finally wiped away his tears and held out his hand for the blue butterfly that led him here. he waited for it to come and when it did it stayed on his hand for a little while then flew to his nose which made him laugh at how ticklish it was. Sora then summon his keyblade and walked to the keyhole while the butterfly flew to a side of the tree's wall to watch him from a distance.

"Thank you, my friend." Sora wasn't sure but it seemed like the butterfly nodded and then flew away. Sora smiled as he watched the butterfly fly away, he then put his keyblade in the keyhole and locked it, making the tree grow. The tree seemed to be absorbing energy and once it had enough it fused it into the keyhole and then the energy blasted into the air to make the magic shield over the entire world. Sora smiled for a moment but now that this world was saved, he realized he was going to have to go to another world and do the same thing again.

Sora wasn't sure if he could do this again now knowing the potential loss of life from it. However, before Sora could think about it any further Goofy showed up and hugged him while Donald did the same with his legs.

"Sora thank goodness! you're ok!"

"And you found the world's keyhole and locked it! god job Sora!"

"uh yeah, but wait where's Tarzan and the others?"

"they're all right! Jane and her dad decided to stay here and live with Tarzan now that he's the pack leader of the gorillas."

"The treehouse you were in is where they'll be living! they wanted to let you rest there for helping them defend the gorillas form the darkness." Sora was happy to hear that Jane and Tarzan would be together but Tarzan being the leader seemed strange to Sora.

"wait what? but I thought Kurchak was the leader?" Donald and Goofy looked at each other with concern then looked back to Sora with sadness.

"Sora, Kurchak is gone." Sora knew what Donald meant by then and it made him tremble in regret.

"His dying wish was for Tarzan to become the new leader and protect the gorilla family."

"And with you locking the world's keyhole he won't have to worry about the Dark Army anymore!"

"... yeah..." Sora had his keyblade to the ground with both his hands on the handle and his head down with his while body trembling in frustration. Goofy was the first to noticed but Donald ended up being the first to speak up.

"Sora? what's wrong? we did good!"

"I know that I just... I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this... I know I told you guys I could do this until I got my friends back but... I want to see my friends now... I want to see my mom and dad... I want to see Riku and Kairi... I want to see everyone from Destiny Islands... I want to go home..." Sora was only trembling a little but he was also silently crying out of grief and loneliness. Goofy felt great shame knowing this would come eventually, no matter how strong his determination was Sora was still a kid and the weight of the multiverse was too much for anyone especially a single kid. However, before Goofy could offer any words of comfort, once again Donald was the first to step forward.

"Sora, I know it's hard, but try to hold it in for now. The only way to find your friends is to stop the Dark Army. you can't give up now. if you want to see your friends again you have to push forward." what Donald said wasn't wrong but Goofy still couldn't believe he said it, it wasn't the words of encouragement Sora needed but instead just saying suck it up and move on in a gentle tone. Sora wiped his tears and sighed tiredly, he then stood up straight and nodded to Donald though the sadness was still clear on his face.

"... I'll try."

"that's all anyone asks. Now come on, Chip and Dale managed to park the Gummi ship at the edge of the island but their waiting for us to get back to them so we can leave." Sora nodded again and heading to the direction of the ship, Donald was about to follow but Goofy stopped him with er stern look on his face.

"Donald how could you say that to Sora! he's not used to this like you and me! he comforts or else he'll start to become distant and depressed!"

"I just said the truth Goofy; we need him to be ready to fight the Darkness. I know he's a kid, but we can't wait for him to grow up. There are no more keyblade wielders of light remember? if Sora can't do it, then who will?" Goofy was now silent, it was true, all the original keyblade wielders of light were wiped out by the resurgence of the Dark Army. Sora is the multiverses last hope, if he gives up then it's all over. Goofy couldn't deny this thought he still felt guild that it had to be Sora to bear the burden.

"Now come on Goofy. we were entrusted by the king to protect Sora so at least he's not alone when fighting the darkness, as long as he has us he'll be ok." Goofy still thought Donald was being too harsh but knew he wasn't wrong, so he nodded and followed Donald and Sora to the Gummi ship.

the butterfly few quite a distance and landed on the hand of Riku who was standing on a large tree branch with a Keyblade wielder of darkness standing behind him. Riku was glaring angrily glaring at Donald and Goofy as they were following Sora back to the Gummi ship.

"Maleficent ain't gonna be happy you helped the Champion of Light, Lad."

"Pfft, how's she gonna find out?"

"She has her ways, she's an overconfident witch for a reason, Lad. you're on her good side now, best ya make sure you stay there."

"Stop worrying, Doxcrum. besides can't a guy help his friend out?"

"Sorry to break it to Ya lad, but the Champions of Darkness and Light ain't supposed to be friends."

"I know that! grrr... but that will change once we open the doors to kingdom hearts... Sora won't have to put up with this nonsense anymore and... he, me, and Kairi can be together again."

"hm... Kairi, Sora, and Riku... kinda like aqua, ventus, and terra"

"Who?"

"Ah... Don't- Don't worry about it, Lad. Now come on, we're behind schedule to get the next princess."