"Gawrsh, we've been lookin' fer ya fer a while, actually," Goofy explained between mouthfuls of cookie. "Soon as we got yer message a couple'a days back."
"So what took you so long?" Sora asked from where he sat on the couch next to Riku.
"Goofy got us lost," Donald replied, helping himself to several more cookies that Sora's mother set out on a platter.
Goofy rolled his eyes skyward and thought very carefully. "But Donald... weren't you the one drivin'?"
"Anyway," Donald continued, ignoring the snickers of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, "the King sent us to get you guys as soon as he got your message. We're supposed to take you back to Disney Castle."
"For how long?" Sora's mother interrupted.
Startled, Sora turned to look at her; he'd totally forgotten she was in the room. As she hugged herself nervously and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, he suddenly noticed streaks of gray in her dark hair. When had those appeared? "Are you okay, Mom?"
"If you're going away again, I want to know how long you'll be gone this time." Her voice wavered slightly as she spoke, and Sora realized why she was so upset – she didn't want to lose her only son again.
Donald held up his feathered hands reassuringly. "Don't worry, ma'am. Sora just had a few questions King Mickey wants to answer for him. He'll be back in a few days, promise."
"Yeah, don't sweat it, Nana," Riku added, and he ruffled Sora's hair. "I'll look out for Sora for you."
"We'll all look out for each other," Kairi chimed in as she sat cross-legged on the floor.
Nana couldn't help but smile. "I know you will. But I still have to worry – it's what mothers do."
In one movement, Sora vaulted lightly over the couch and swept his mother up in a hug. "Tell you what, Mom," he said once he put her down. "If I don't come back in... in ten days, then you can ground me for the rest of my life. I'll stay in my room all day and do homework, except for when you want me to do chores or clean the gutters or something nasty like that, and I'll never ever complain." He flashed his trademark smile. "Sound good?"
"Hmm..." Nana appeared deep in thought for a while. She draped one arm around Sora's shoulders – it was a little harder to do now, since he'd grown taller than her – and said, "All right. You've got yourself a deal, buster." Suddenly, her friendly gesture turned into a headlock and she gave Sora a massive noogie. "Riku, Kairi," she said over Sora's yelping, still grinding her fist into his scalp, "I give you permission to beat up my son if he ever gets out of hand, okay?"
"Got it, Nana," they replied, chuckling.
Finally, Nana released her son. "Now go on," she said, patting his butt affectionately. "Get whatever you need. I'm guessing you guys will be leaving soon?"
"Soon as we can," Goofy confirmed.
"Right!" Sora ran upstairs to his room. He didn't need much – a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and that was about it. He kissed Nana goodbye, sheepishly accepted some food she'd prepared for him, and hurried out the door with the others. Riku's situation was easy enough; he went inside his house to grab some things, told Yuri he was leaving for a few days, and that was the end of it. It wasn't so easy for Kairi, who had to explain everything several times over for her parents before finally being allowed to leave.
The sun had set and the first stars were appearing when they were finally ready to leave. "Where's your ship?" Kairi asked Donald and Goofy as they walked towards the beach.
"In orbit," Goofy replied. "Chip n' Dale will bring it down when we call 'em."
As if on cue, Donald pulled out a small device that resembled a remote. He pushed a button and a red light began to flash. "They'll be here any minute," he said.
Sora, Riku, and Kairi craned their heads back in hopes of seeing the Gummi ship approach. For a while they couldn't see anything other than the stars, when suddenly Riku pointed. "Look! There they are!" Sora followed his gesture and saw what first looked like a falling star. But as he watched, the light curved towards them, growing and growing until it was nearly too bright to look at. Sora threw up his arm to shield his eyes as the Gummi ship came to a halt above them, engines thrumming and kicking up whirlwinds of sand, and hovered for a few moments before lowering to the ground.
"Wooow," Kairi breathed as she shook the sand from her hair. "Impressive." Indeed, the Gummi ship was much more extravagant than the one Sora used on his adventures. It looked more suited to space cruises than interstellar battles.
"Nothing but the best for our royal guests," Donald said, marching towards the lowering gangplank. The others fell into step behind the little duck and followed him inside the ship.
The interior was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside, and everyone got their own cabin. Sora tossed his bag on his bunk and ran to Riku's cabin. He stopped in the doorway and grinned excitedly at his friend, not saying anything.
"What's with you?" Riku asked, arching one eyebrow with amusement.
"We're finally doing it, Riku," Sora said. "We're finally going. I'm going to get some answers."
"That's the plan, anyway."
Sora turned to find Kairi's room, then stopped and poked his head back in. "And Riku?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks for coming with me."
Riku responded with a casual mock-salute. "Wouldn't miss it for all the worlds, Sora. You know that."
The trip to Disney castle took longer than most journeys Sora made on a Gummi ship, partially because the two worlds were so far apart and partially because the luxury ship wasn't built for speed like the fighters Sora usually flew. Still, the two-day journey was pleasant enough, with no Heartless or Nobodies threatening them. They spent most of the time with the ship on auto-pilot while they swapped tales of what had happened in their respective worlds since the defeat of Xemnas and the Organization. Sora was surprised to hear that inter-world travel was becoming more and more common, now that the pathways were safe and as societies discovered the technology needed. He wondered how much longer it would be until the Destiny Islands had a Gummi port and he could travel to visit all the friends he made whenever he wanted; hopefully it wouldn't be too long.
They were eating breakfast when they finally arrived. "We're entering Disney Castle airspace," Chip announced over the intercom. "And we'll be landing in about five minutes." Sora quickly shoveled the last of his egg into his mouth and bolted for the mess hall door while Riku and Kairi followed at a more leisurely pace. He ran into the cockpit and immediately pressed his face against the windshield to get a better view of the great white castle as it loomed into view.
The Gummi ship lurched abruptly to the side, throwing Sora off-balance. "Hold on," Goofy warned as he manned the ship's controls. "We're goin' in!" After a few more acrobatic maneuvers, they safely landed in the Gummi dock.
Sora halfway expected King Mickey to be waiting to meet them as soon as they got off, so he was mildly disappointed when the little mouse wasn't there. "C'mon, follow us," Donald ordered, starting up the stairs to the main floor. "The King is probably working in the the throne room."
The little entourage made its way through the castle grounds and stopped before the massive set of doors that led to the throne room. Sora smiled knowingly as Riku and Kairi stared up in awe at the giant doors. Donald cleared his throat and Goofy snapped to attention. "Welcome," Donald said with great pomp and circumstance, "to Disney Castle!" With a flourish, he opened the tiny door that was the real entrance to the throne room, and Sora chuckled at his friends' surprise.
When Sora first visited Disney Castle, the throne room was a place of bare, regal austerity. It couldn't have been more opposite now. Tables and chairs were set up all around the room, and close to a hundred people milled around, relaying messages from one table to the next, huddling around maps and charts spread out on tabletops, and occasionally running up to King Mickey, who moved from one table to the next.
The little king spotted Sora and the others and he broke out in a grin. "Sora! Riku! Kairi! Good to see ya made it!"
"What's going on, Your Majesty?" Sora asked as King Mickey walked up to them. "Who are all these people?"
"These guys?" The king waved one gloved hand around the room. "They're my assistants, advisors, and ambassadors to other worlds." He shook his head with exasperation. "Lemme tell ya, this travelin' between worlds business is a real can of worms."
Sora exchanged confused looks with Riku and Kairi. "What do you mean?"
"I'll tell ya later. First, let's go someplace quieter so we can talk." They left the chaos of the throne room behind them and started walking down the hallway towards King Mickey's library. "Ya see," Mickey explained as they walked, "before this whole business with the Heartless and the Organization, travelin' between worlds was pretty rare. In fact, this world here was about the only one that could do it."
"But," Goofy added, "we didn't travel much 'cause we didn't want to upset the world border!"
"Order!" Donald corrected.
"Right," King Mickey continued. "Introducin' Gummi technology to different worlds before they're ready is bad news. But once Xenahort's Heartless started messin' around with Kingdom Hearts, and when the Organization started causin' trouble too, we couldn't be as careful as we used to be." He opened the door to his library and stood aside so the others could enter. "Now we've got all sorts of people usin' Gummi ships, and some of 'em aren't the nicest of characters. They'd take advantage of those who don't have Gummi technology, if we weren't there to stop 'em."
The group settled themselves on various chairs and tables set up in the center of the library. "Gee, I'm sorry Your Majesty," Sora said as he sat in an overstuffed chair. The way the king described it, it seemed like it was his fault there was so much trouble.
King Mickey waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Sora." He hopped onto an ottoman and turned to look at Sora. "Now, tell me about what's been botherin' ya."
Where to begin? Sora took a deep breath, organized his thoughts as best he could, and began to speak. With Kairi occasionally adding her own information, he told about his dreams of places he knew but had never visited, faces he recognized and had never met. He spoke of the feelings inside him that weren't his, the sudden appearance of personality quirks that he'd never had before. Most of all, he talked about Axel, and how guilty he felt about the Nobody's death. He wondered aloud how it was possible for someone without a heart to act with such... such compassion, and how Axel could speak of a heart he was acutely aware he didn't have.
At times during his speech, Sora suddenly would begin to wonder if he was actually the one speaking, whether the words were his... or Roxas's. Despite the warmth in the room, Sora felt a chill go down his spine, and he shivered.