Chapter 6

Traverse Town Keyhole

Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked into Traverse Town to search for Leon. Donald had the two Gummis in his pocket.

"Sora!" a voice came from behind them. The three turned to see Yuffie coming up behind them. They waved as she came closer.

"Hey Yuffie. Could you tell us where Leon is?" Sora asked.

"Training of course," she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Where is that?" Goofy asked.

"You go into the alley and there should be a tunnel at the end," Yuffie told them. They thanked her and walked off.

The three had found the tunnel and found themselves in a cave with one half filled with water and the other side dry land. Leon was on the dry land training with his sword. He used quick and powerful strikes Sora had not seen him use before. Leon had been holding back in their fight before.

"Hey Leon!" Donald yelled out as he climbed out of the water they had to swim through and onto dry land. Aerith was also with him and stood watching. Leon stopped his training and stared at the three coming his way.

"Hey you guys," Leon said as he wiped some sweat away and sat down. "How's it been going for you?"

"Pretty good," Sora said. "We found these things like keyholes and I'm not really sure what those are."

"You found the Keyholes?" Leon asked and Sora nodded. "I probably should have mentioned this earlier but that is what makes the Keyblade so important."

"What?"

"Every world has a Keyhole and that is how the Heartless get into the world. After you lock a world with the Keyblade, they can no longer enter."

"I wish you would have told me that before," Sora summoned the Keyblade and stared at it like he had done before so many times.

"Anyway," Donald interrupted. "We also found these." He pulled out the two Gummis. "Do you know what they are for?"

"Not really," Leon said as he examined them.

"You should ask Cid," Aerith broke in. "He's an expert on Gummis."

"One more thing," Leon said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a green and brown gem and handed it to Sora. "I've been keeping this for a while and it sort of brought me luck. It's called the Earthshine." Leon placed it into Sora's hand.

"What's it for?" Sora asked.

"Once again, I'm not really sure," Leon said as he went back to training. Sora and the others headed for Cid's shop.

"Well look who it is!" Cid yelled as the trio walked in. "What can I do for you today?" He asked.

"What are these?" Donald asked as he laid the Gummis on the counter.

"Oh, those are called Navigational Gummis or Navi Gummis for short. They always come in pairs but they allow you to find more worlds out there."

"Wow. That's what they're for?" Goofy asked.

"Yup. I can't believe you guys are flying around in a Gummi Ship and don't even know about Navis. You're hopeless!"

"Hey! We're still kinda new at this!" Sora argued with him.

"Well, I can install them for you but I need you to do me a favor in return."

"What kind of favor?" Donald asked.

"This book," Cid brought out a book that wasn't in very good shape with pages torn and hanging out and the cover missing a piece in the corner. "I know it doesn't look like anything special but an old man brought it in even worse one day and asked me to fix it. You should find him behind a door with a fire symbol on it in the Third District."

"All right," Sora said as he grabbed the book and headed toward the Third District with Donald and Goofy in tow.

"Oh and one more thing," Cid stopped them. "When you're done, come find me at the small house in the Third District."

"Open up!" Donald yelled as he continued to pound on the door. The door was large and made of some very sturdy wood with a fire symbol on it.

"It's not opening!" Sora told him. "We've been trying for at least 20 minutes!"

"Well then I'll burn it down!" Donald said as he used a Fire spell. Sora expected the door to catch fire and burn down but instead the fire symbol brightened and the door slowly slid open.

"Let's go," Goofy said as he took the lead. Inside was like a small lake and in the center was a small island with a house on it. Several stones were set up that they could jump to get across. When they got to the house the door was locked.

"Over here!" Sora shouted and pointed to a hole in the wall big enough for them to walk through. They got in and saw nothing special. The house was round and in the middle was a large platform that could be reached by a small set of stairs.

"It reminds me of something," Sora whipped around at the sound of a familiar voice. There stood Kairi. "Like the Secret Place back home."

"Kairi?" he asked.

"Sora?" Goofy's voice interrupted. Sora shook his head a bit and the image of Kairi was gone.

"Well hello," an elderly voice said. Sora turned toward the door and a man stepped through. He had on blue robes and had a long white beard. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Sora, and this is Donald and Goofy," Sora said.

"I see," the man said. "My name is Merlin and the King has asked me to help you along on your journey."

"The King?!" Goofy yelled out.

"Do you know where he is?" Donald asked.

"Sadly, no," Merlin spoke in his wise voice. "The King has set out on his own journey but do not fear for him for he is wiser than even I."

"You're right," Goofy said and Donald sighed.

"Um... We have something for you," Sora said as he pulled out the old book. Merlin glanced at it and nodded.

"Ah, yes. One moment please," Merlin said as he stepped onto the platform in the middle of the room. He pulled a wand from his robes and tapped the bag with it. The bag opened and objects of all kinds flew from it. Large and small things and things that should never fit in the bag. When it was over the room was filled with furniture and other things.

"Wow," Goofy knocked on one of the tables that had come from the bag.

"As for the book," Merlin said, "Set it over there." He pointed to a small table near the entrance. "I found the book long ago and something told me to get it repaired. I carried it with me for so long and one day I ended up here and gave the book to Cid. You may look at it if you like."

"Maybe later," Sora said as he placed the book down and finally read the title. The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. There was a small yellow bear under the title with a pot of honey on his head.

"As for that stone in your pocket," Merlin said. Sora looked up at him. He hadn't told him of the Earthshine, how did he know? "You might want to speak to her." He pointed to a pumpkin on the far side of the room. Smoke swirled around it and an old woman in a blue dress replaced it.

"Greetings. I am the Fairy Godmother," she said. "Come now, let me see that stone of yours."

"Here you go," Sora handed her the Earthshine.

"Poor thing. He has been turned into a Summon Gem," she shook her head.

"Summon Gem?" Goofy asked.

"This gem used to be a living person or animal who has had their world destroyed but their will to live was so strong that they were turned into these stones that allow them to be summoned into battle by the Keybearer," she explained.

"How does it work?" Sora asked.

"Quite easy. Call on the Keyblade," Fairy Godmother said and she placed the stone against the blade. The stone seemed to melt into the Jungle King. "Now all you must do is focus and you will know."

"Now," Merlin said, "I have much to catch up on so will leave other matters to other days. I will see you again."

"Okay," Sora said as he took the hint and left the house with Donald and Goofy behind him.

"That was weird," Donald said as the Fire Door closed behind them. Two Soldiers appeared before them and Sora summoned the Jungle King. Before he could attack another blade cut through it. Sora looked up and was shocked at who he saw.

"Riku!" he said with wide eyes.

"Hey, how you doing?" Riku asked. Sora stared at him with wide eyes and walked up to him. Sora grabbed the side of Riku's mouth and stretched them out. "Stop that!"

"It's really you!" Sora shouted.

"Last time I checked," Riku laughed. He looked at Donald and Goofy as if just noticing the. "Who are they?" He asked. Donald cleared his throat.

"My name is…"

"We visited so many different worlds looking for you guys!" Sora cut him off.

"Really?" Riku asked. "So, where's Kairi?"

"She isn't with you?" Sora asked.

"No," he sighed. "Oh well. We're bound to find here at some point." As Riku spoke another Shadow rose up from the ground behind him. "We're finally free. Just leave everything to me, I know this…" The sound of blade meeting flesh sounded and Riku turned to see Sora with the Jungle King in his hand.

"Leave it to who?" Sora smiled as he placed the Jungle King on his shoulder.

"What the?"

"Sora here is the Keyblade Master!" Goofy said. "Who would have thought?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora turned to him.

"So, this is a Keyblade?" he heard Riku. Sora turned and saw Riku holding the Keyblade but it had reverted back to the Kingdom Key when Riku touched it.

"Hey! Give it back!" Sora told him. Riku looked the Keyblade over once again and tossed it to Sora. The instant he caught the Keyblade it once again changed to the Jungle King. But how was Riku able to hold the Keyblade anyway?

"What do we do now?" Riku asked.

"You can come with us!" Sora said. "We have this awesome rocket!"

"No!" Donald cut in. "He can't come!"

"What? Why not?" Sora bent down to be face to face with Donald.

"I said no!" Donald told him again.

"Um...guys," Goofy caught their attention. "He's gone."

"What?" Sora looked around to see that Riku was indeed gone. "See what you did?!"

"Who cares?" Donald yelled. "Let's just go meet Cid!"

The three heroes walked into the small house at the top of the stares in the Third District. In the house was a bed and bunch of boxes all over the place. Cid was there but so were Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie.

"Hey guys!" Sora said as he shut the door.

"How's the ship Cid?" Donald asked, getting right to business.

"It's ready. You can leave whenever you want," he told them.

"Before you do, I have a question," Yuffie came up to them. "Have you ever heard of someone named Maleficent?"

"Maleficent? Who's that?" Goofy asked.

"A witch man!" Cid cut in. "She's the one that controls the Heartless!"

"She destroyed our world," Leon said. "We originally all came from different worlds and when they were destroyed we all went to Hallow Bastion. Then Hallow Bastion was destroyed and we came here."

"Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem," Aerith said. "He wrote a report on the Heartless but when Hallow Bastion was destroyed the report was scattered."

"I'll keep an eye out for it," Sora told them.

"One more thing," Leon said. "Every world has a Keyhole, even here. We need you to find the Keyhole and lock this world so the Heartless can no longer enter."

"Do you see now," the voice of Maleficent said. She stood right outside of the house Sora was in and next to her stood Riku. "He has abandoned you for some new friends. He no longer cares."

"No. I don't believe that," Riku shook his head.

"But it is true," Maleficent bent down and stood face to face with Riku. "Now forget about him and come with me. I will help you find what you are looking for." She smiled.

"Kairi."

"So I guess we start looking for the Keyhole now," Sora said as he headed for the door of the small house.

"Good luck kid!" Cid laughed to him as he remembered the first day the two had met.

"I'll try gramps!" Sora joked back. The three heroes ran from the house and into the Second District.

"Looky there!" Goofy shouted as he pointed toward a painting on the wall behind the fountain and a Keyhole was seen. Sora smiled and walked up to it.

"Well, that was easy," Sora said as he raised his Jungle King and pointed it at the Keyhole. A large figure suddenly landed in between them and the Keyhole.

"The Guard Armor!" Donald shouted as the old enemy appeared. The three of them had grown stronger since their first encounter with this Heartless and felt confident. The Guard Armor let one of his fists fly at Sora but Sora jumped into the air and easily dodged it. This would be easy.

"Thunder!" Donald yelled and the lightning struck the Guard Armor and the Heartless was thrown off of its feet.

"Well, that was easy," Sora said again. Suddenly the Guard Armor jumped up and changed. The feet switched places with the hands and the body flipped upside down.

"Will you stop saying that?" Donald yelled to him.

"It's the Opposite Armor!" Sora told them. The Opposite Armor shot its fist forward so quick it almost couldn't be seen as it hit Goofy hard across the face. Sora ran forward and raised the Jungle King in an attack run. Sora leaped at the Opposite Armor but was caught off guard as one of its feet zoomed up toward him and cracked him in the chin.

"Fire!" Donald shot off several Fire spells in quick succession but the Opposite Armor moved the different parts of its body and avoided them. The Opposite ran forward and slammed a fist into Donald, sending him into one of the walls that surrounded the District.

"Charge!" Goofy's voice rang out as he landed a strike on the Opposite Armor. Goofy had knocked away one of the feet so Sora ran forward and slid under the Opposite Armor. While he was directly under the Opposite Armor he slammed the Jungle King into the under part of the body. The Opposite Armor howled out in pain and punched at Sora. The foot Goofy had knocked away returned to the Opposite Armor and it was complete.

Donald had gotten up and stood near Sora. They stared at each other and then crossed their weapons. Magic energy swelled around them for an instant.

"Fire!" They shouted out and a large fireball shot from the point where their weapons met. The Opposite Armor went to dodge but the fireball was too big and it was struck. Goofy took the opportunity and slammed into the same foot again. Goofy pulled his shield up and hit the foot again and again. With one more great heave of strength the foot was destroyed. Goofy immediately whipped around and slammed his shield into the Opposite Armor's other foot and destroyed that one as well.

"Look out!" Sora shouted as the Opposite Armor raised one of its fists in rage and knocked it into Goofy with incredible force. Goofy hit the ground and bounced a few times before finally coming to a stop.

"Goofy!" Donald yelled and ran for the fallen Knight. Sora stared at the Opposite Armor and prepared to attack. The Opposite Armor took charge and changed. The body went horizontal with the under side facing them. The arms folded up and stuck to the sides of the body. A large ball of magic energy formed in front of the Opposite Armor. Sora got ready for the attack but he wasn't whom it was directed to.

"Get out of the way!" Sora shouted to Donald and Goofy but it was to late as the attack struck and a great explosion sounded out through all of Traverse Town. Sora stared at the place his friends had been a moment earlier. Smoke still blinded the spot but nothing could have survived that.

Rage took over grief as Sora turned back to the Opposite Armor who seemed to not care about anything that had just happened.

"Monster!" Sora shouted as both he and the Jungle King glowed with an aura of gold around him. "Summon!" Sora yelled into the sky. Inside the Jungle King the Earthshine gem reacted and took a different shape. Sora pointed the Jungle King forward and a gold beam fired from the tip. The roar of a lion filled his ears as a figure appeared. It was a lion and he had a majestic air to him. "Simba!" Sora yelled and pointed toward the Opposite Armor.

Simba ran forward and used his amazingly sharp claws to dig into the Heartless. The Opposite Armor charged up and fired another powerful blast of energy but Simba was as quick as he was powerful and he dodged.

"Simba, Proud Roar!" Sora ordered with rage shaking his voice. Simba nodded and stopped. The lion started to glow with golden energy and with a loud roar the energy was released. The Opposite Armor tried to get away but the blast connected and the Heartless was wiped out. Simba turned to Sora and nodded before disappearing back into the Jungle King.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora shouted as he dropped to his knees out of grief and being amazingly tired after summoning Simba.

"What Sora?" a familiar voice said. Sora looked up to see Donald and Goofy in front of him. Goofy still knocked out.

"How?" Sora asked. Then he noticed that there was a barrier of air swirling around the two of them. A wind shield.

"Aero. New spell," Donald said. "Cure!" Donald said as the green light washed over him and Goofy and the two were healed. Sora did the same to himself. The Keyhole seemed to call out to him and Sora walked over to it. He held up the Jungle King and the familiar thin beam locked Traverse Town for good.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stepped into Cid's shop to find nobody there. They had expected that but stopped by just in case. A small noise caught their attention and as they turned they saw a small wooden boy crouched on the ground with a Gummi Block in his hands.

"Pinocchio!" Jiminy Cricket suddenly jumped up. Sora was surprised seeing as Jiminy usually stayed on the Gummi Ship. "What are you doing here?"

"Jiminy?" Pinocchio said as he stared at the cricket. "Jiminy! It really is you!"

"What happened? Where's Gepetto?"

"We were close to going away with the world but at the last second a huge whale jumped out of the sea and swallowed us! It was both good and bad seeing as the whale survived the world's destruction."

"Don't worry, we'll help you out!"

"We will?" Sora asked as he stared at Jiminy.

"Of course! We'll find Gepetto inside this whale! It shouldn't be to hard!" Jiminy smiled at the in a pleading manner.

"Yeah, of course," Sora smiled as he stared back at Donald and Goofy. Goofy shrugged and Donald rolled his eyes. The three and Jiminy headed for the Gummi Ship. They would rest on the way to the next world.