DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: HELLO THERE AND WELCOME BACK! YOU'RE JUST IN TIME FOR CHAPTER 4!
First off, I wanted to thank all of you who have reviewed so far. I have not yet calculated how many Chapters this story will be, but it looks like it Might be a little longer than "Kingdom Hearts - World Unto Dreams".
Also, for those of you who were looking forward to more of "Once Upon A Time ~The Darkest Age~", I'm REALLY, TRULY SORRY! I HAD To Remove It Due To Lack Of Views And Also Because The Story Suddenly Exploded Into Something Much Moe INTRICATE Than I Had Initially Imagined.
It's Going To Take Some Time, But I Hope To Bring It Back Sometime In The Future.
Seeing as this particular Chapter is EXTREMELY LONG in comparison to the previous three, I shall let you go on ahead and read.
DON'T FORGET TO PLEASE REVIEW, TOO!
CHAPTER 4
The Reconstruction Committee
Time was moving at a snail's pace. Launchpad had finally managed to get Herbie to cooperate with him at the controls, which made the ride much smoother… and duller. Donald and Goofy had switched on a movie about a mouse, duck, and dog as musketeers and were laughing away at every little thing in it. Sora had taken notice of this movie. The animated characters in it — they seemed somewhat familiar…
He shrugged it off and turned his seat to gaze out the window. A piece of paper fell from his pocket. Bending over to pick it up, he saw it was the letter fragment Master Yen Sid had given him. A feeling of curiosity crept into his mind. Who had written this letter? What did it say? He made a decision.
"There's only one way to find out," Sora muttered under his breath. He unfolded the paper and read through the surprisingly neat handwriting.
"I am not where I used to stay.
Yet, I am not where I need to be.
My current location is secret, by the way,
In a place where no one can find me."
Weird, Sora thought. This looks like a riddle… or a poem. He couldn't decide which one it was, so he ended up with both names for it.
"I can sense trouble is on the way,
Even in this world's spooky streets.
I should be safe, that much I can certainly say,
For here, the Light and Darkness peacefully meets."
"That world," Sora realized. "Could it be Twilight Town?" He chose to keep on reading. His eyes grew wide at the last few sentences.
"This land is one I'd only heard about,
One that probably shouldn't exist today.
Their memories are gone and no one stays out,
Even time itself seems to have stopped, no delay."
"What does this mean?" Sora said in a soft voice. He'd never heard of a world that wasn't supposed to exist. If what was written was true, the unknown world was a place without time and no one knew had any memories. "This's getting to be too weird."
"What is?" a quack-y voice asked.
Sora looked up. He smiled, seeing Donald and Goofy had paused their movie and were giving him puzzled looks. "It's nothing."
"Are you sure?" Goofy asked. "Maybe it's more than 'nothin'. Maybe somethin'?"
Sora sighed. He'd never been able to argue effectively against Goofy's logic. The anthropomorphic dog always seemed to make even more confusing claims in response. Not even Donald could make sense of it. Knowing not even Jiminy Cricket had been able to comprehend every little thing Goofy claimed, it was clear there was no way to avoid it.
"It's this letter Master Yen Sid gave me," Sora held up the paper for his friends to see. Jiminy hopped over from place upon Donald's hat. "It doesn't make sense."
Jiminy took a moment to examine the writing. "Hmm… it seems to me he said it was written by somebody he knows. The next question should be 'who is it?'"
"Yeah," Donald agreed. "Why else would he have given it to us?"
"Gawrsh," Goofy awed. "Maybe he's givin' us a chance to somethin' important after all."
Jiminy turned to face Sora. "Just maybe we're supposed to find the author of this letter, whoever he is."
"Except for one thing," Sora added. "It might not be a 'he'. It could be a 'her', like when Kairi wrote a letter for me and put it in a bottle in the ocean. Riku and I found it while on the beach in the Realm of Darkness. After I read it, the Door To Light opened and we stepped through. Next thing I knew, we were back on the islands and Kairi was waving for us."
Jiminy pointed at the paper's torn edge. "Well, one thing's for sure. The letter has probably been scattered. We'll have to find the other pieces before the message will make any sense."
Sora nodded. He remembered King Mickey's teacher asking the group to track down the missing pieces and put the letter back together. Perhaps there something important about this letter he didn't know — something Master Yen Sid hadn't shared with him.
Whatever it was, he hoped it was not too important.
"That letter's quite a mystery," Launchpad called from the front. He turned to face everyone in the backseat. "I've read about detectives using such letters to catch criminals. I don't know how they do it, seeing as all they've got is some ABCs."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared out the windshield. "Look out!" they screamed.
A confused Launchpad turned back to the wheel in time to see Herbie was racing into an extremely bright star. He tried to swerve, but only caused the modified car to nose-dive towards a small planet with a castle on it. Sora and his team held on as the Gummi Ship spun around and around.
Sora wobbled a little as he finally stepped out of Herbie's doorway. His feet landed onto a pile of smashed wood and some stone. Behind him, Donald and Goofy emerged with Jiminy and Launchpad.
"Nice going, ya big palooka!" Donald scolded the pilot. "You crushed a building!"
"No problem-o," was all Launchpad could say. He gave the hand sign for O.K.
Sora shook his head in amusement before he saw where they were. He stepped across the debris to a concrete sidewalk and saw several shops with lots of people milling about. Several of them had come over to Herbie in wonder as the vehicle had landed directly on top of one of the abandoned shops. Among them was a young woman Sora thought he recognized; she had long black hair, red eyes, and was wearing black clothing.
He approached a nearby railing and peered into the distance. A giant, silver castle was located at the center of a large town. Several sets of mechanical machinery were scattered about the base and beyond. Tons of constructions vehicles were busy moving supplies around where many buildings were being set up in neighborhoods. Stone walls separated each of the neighborhoods and a thick one curved around the entire area like a perimeter defense. Some of the outer walls towers had water spraying in huge fountains and ivy was growing in other spots.
As he watched a crane lifting a load of metal from the ground to the castle's upper section, Sora's eyes lit up. "Of course!" he declared. "This is Hollow Bastion!" He paused, realizing his mistake. "I mean… it's the Radiant Garden."
At that moment, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad strolled over. Jiminy was balancing himself on Donald's hat and quickly leapt into Sora's hoodie. "Well, it sure does look peaceful now," Goofy commented.
"You said it," Donald verified.
Launchpad had his eye on the market stalls. "If it's called the 'Radiant Garden', where's the garden? All I sees some radiant flea market!"
Donald rolled his eyes at the pilot's statement. Sora was about to laugh when he realized Launchpad had a point. He quickly glanced around the landscape below. Other than the ivy, some fountains, and a small flower patch near the castle's entrance, he couldn't see any other indication of foliage, let alone gardens.
That's weird, Sora thought. Where's all the flowers?
A scream filled the air. The group spun their attention toward the shops. A young woman wearing a blue dress was rushing through the area. Behind her, a handful of shadowy creatures with yellow eyes and antennae were giving chase. Several of the shop owners ducked under their stalls' tables as the monsters hurried by.
Sora could not believe his eyes. "Heartless!" he cried. His Keyblade had appeared in no time and he sped after the creatures. Donald pulled out his wand and Goofy held out his shield. The two hurried after the brown-headed Keyblader.
Behind the three, Launchpad followed. He huffed for a few seconds before stopping to catch his breath. "Where's DW when you really need him?"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy reached a spot before a larger store. The woman was backed against the wall, surrounded by Heartless. Sora rushed over and shouted, "Take cover! We'll handle this!"
The woman ducked down where she'd been. Sora and his friends started fighting. As he slashed his way through several Heartless at once, Sora saw several more appear from behind. Goofy tossed his shield like a Frisbee and terminated them. "Thanks!" Sora told the knight.
Donald sent three balls of fire magic at three separate Heartless. The creatures burst into flames, but continued to approach. He tried using ice magic, but it melted in the monster's flames. Before he could try using thunder magic, the Heartless had him cornered. "Help!" the duck screamed.
Seeing his friend was in trouble, Sora threw his Keyblade at the enemies. The weapon went spinning past Donald and wiped the Heartless out in a hurry. Sora's Keyblade returned to his hand while Donald smiled. "Thank you, Sora!"
Goofy was busy smashing Heartless with his shield while he continued to rush forward and slam several others senseless. Suddenly, a few large Heartless appeared. Goofy recognized as what Jiminy had nicknamed "Large Bodies". He gulped and spun around like a top. His shield slammed into one of the giant's stomachs and knocked the former off balance. Goofy felt dizzier and dizzier before he finally collapsed.
Seeing the tall dog was losing, Donald raised his wand at the bigger creatures. "Thunder!"
A series of lightning bolts rained down and vaporized the Heartless. Donald slid over and used a healing spell on Goofy; the latter came to and rejoined the battle.
After a couple more swings, a few more spells, and a little more slicing, Sora, Donald, and Goofy felt relieved. The Heartless were gone… or were they? They saw several more appearing from behind. They spun around, taking very deep breaths. Even worse, a little girl had been spotted by the creatures and was screaming for help; she ducked down against the wall.
"Man," Sora sighed deeply. "Where're they coming from?"
The fight had taken its toll and now it seemed endless. Just as Sora was feeling too exhausted to do anything besides throw up a white flag, the sound of gunfire filled the group's ears. Tons of bullets rained down on the Heartless and destroyed them in seconds. Before Sora could wonder what had happened, a large man marched over to the little girl.
Now Sora was sure he'd seen everything! The man was huge with lots of muscles, a thick beard, and dark skin. He was wearing a dirty brown vest, green pants, and enormous brown boots. Several bands of metal were around his waist and left arm. There was a tattoo on his left shoulder, three scars on his right cheek, and a dog-tag hanging around his neck.
Yet, what really grabbed Sora's focus was the absence of the man's right arm. In its place was a large gun with an atypical shape. He wondered why someone would have a gun for an arm.
"Marlene," the man said as he hugged the little girl. "Thank goodness you're safe. Are ya hurt?"
"No, daddy," the little girl replied. "They saved me."
"Who?" the man inquired. When the girl pointed in Sora's direction, the man stared at the group for a couple moment. "The heck are you supposed to be?"
Sora hesitated in his reply. "Umm… I'm Sora. He's Donald. That's Goofy, and Launchpad's somewhere around here."
"Hey guys!" The group turned their eyes to the pilot as he strode over. "You should see some of the stuff they've got for sale! I've never seen so many Christmas ornaments in one place!"
He held up a glass ball with a model of the castle in it. "And this's supposed to be there," he pointed at the castle.
The man snorted. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad is it? Don't trust ya."
Sora was shocked. Had this man just jumped to conclusions about him and his team? It didn't seem fair, let alone okay. "Hey!" the spikey-haired youth spoke up. "We just saved your daughter! Give us a little credit."
The man frowned at the group. Before anything could happen, a voice called from inside one of the shops. "Barret? What's going on out there?"
A young woman with long black hair stepped outside. Sora stared, remembering her from two places. First, he'd seen her rummaging through Ansem's study the last time he'd been to this world. Next, he'd watched her looking at Herbie in question. As far as he knew, she was looking for someone. He wasn't sure who it was.
That's when he recalled how she'd took on Sephiroth single-handed and avoided the villain's sword to prove how strong Light was. Sora wondered if she'd ever found who she was looking for.
"Tifa, these guys thought they could trick me," the man snorted. "Think they're so cool and better at fighting than us."
"Hey!" Donald snarled in anger. "That's not fair!"
"Yeah!" Goofy added. "You should give us a chance!"
The woman saw the group and shook her head. She gave smile, which made Sora feel less pugnacious. "It's alright. I know them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They're friends of Cloud."
The man spent the next a few seconds glancing back and forth between Sora's team and the woman. He groaned, "'Friends of Cloud', huh? Maybe I was gettin' on their case too soon."
Sora had to smile. "I'm Sora," he introduced before gesturing to each of his teammates. "That's Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. We met Cloud in another world. This guy named Hades tried to use him to kill one of our friends. He told me not to lose sight of my Light."
Sora reached into his left jacket pocket. He could feel Kairi's lucky charm exactly where he'd placed it months ago prior to his journey through the Realm of Sleep with Riku and Violet. "And I never did."
"I'm Tifa. Cloud's been my friend since we were little," the woman said. She looked in the direction of the man. "He's Barret, a good friend of me and Cloud."
"Darn right we are!" Barret approved. "Cloud's always been stickin' his spikey butt into places he shouldn't. But we're always there to pull him out. It's like I always tell him — there ain't no getting' offa this train we're on."
Sora had to shake his head. Although Barret didn't seem like the typical person to be helpful in any circumstance, it was clear his heart was in the correct place. Just like Cloud, even though the spikey-headed young man had seemingly vanished in a flash of light while battling Sephiroth. Goofy had even questioned where the two had ended up, offering the possibility they'd gone back to their home world.
Something about what the knight had said didn't make sense. If the Radiant Garden was Cloud's hometown (and Sora was sure it was), what other world could he possibly be from?
The little girl strolled out from behind Barret. Sora could now tell she had brown hair and was wearing a reddish-purple dress and black shoes. "Thank you for saving me," she said in an innocent voice. "My name is Marlene."
"Gawrsh!" Goofy chuckled, bending down to shake Marlene's hand. "It's nice ta meetcha, Marlene!"
"Excuse me," a kind voice said from behind. Sora and his team spun around to see the smiling face of the young woman they'd seen being pursued by the Heartless. She was wearing a blue dress with white sleeves, red shoes with straps, and a yellow jacket that was partly unzipped. She had blonde hair tied into a ponytail, blue eyes, and rather pale skin. "Thank you for rescuing me."
"Don't mention it," Sora answered. "There's no need to thank us."
Donald and Goofy stared at the brown, spikey-haired young man in surprise.
"Yes, there is," the woman stated. "You saved my life. I could've been badly hurt by those monsters."
Sora shrugged. "I guess that makes sense."
The woman extended her left hand. "My name's Jessica. You can call 'Jess'."
"I'm Sora," Sora introduced.
"Hi! I'm Donald!" Donald added.
"And I'm Goofy," Goofy said in turn.
Launchpad marched forwards and started shaking Jessica's hand. "The name's Launchpad McQuack," he declared loudly and proudly. "If it's got wings, I can crash it!"
Jessica smiled at the pilot. Donald rolled his eyes, thinking he saw pink and red hearts in Launchpad's eyes. This seemed to go on forever, even if was only for a few minutes.
"I've got to get going," Jessica finally said. "I'll see you around!"
"Bye!" Sora called as the young lady left.
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all waved as Jessica walked off, rounded a corner in the area, and disappeared from view. Once she was gone, Tifa stepped closer. "Um… how about something to drink? It'll be on me."
It was then Sora saw the sign above the shop they were in front of. An enormous sign was in flashing, yellow and green letters. He wondered how he had initially missed it.
THE 7TH HEAVEN
"Okay, why not?" Sora replied.
With a series of nods in return, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad followed the seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder into the shop. Tifa led the way while Barret carried Marlene inside on his shoulder.
A long counter was waiting inside the restaurant. Sora and his friends took seats at the stools while Tifa strode to the space between them and the machinery behind her. She handed out a few plastic menus and waited for answers.
Sora took his time looking at the typed choices. Everything cost Munny, even the items that were considered free on the Destiny Islands. Since this was another world, he assumed things would naturally be different — even at an economic standpoint. His eyes went from "Barley Tea" to "Mixed Super-Duper Soda" to "Limeade" to "Wild Berry Coffee". The names seemed to get stranger the further along he read.
"Gawrsh," Goofy commented out loud. "I dunno what half these things are, but they sure sound good."
Donald gave the Captain of the Disney Castle's Royal Knights an unclear look. "I don't know… "
"Say, here's something tasty," Launchpad perked up. "'Overly-Caffeinated Super-Cherry Coffee'!"
While Donald informed the pilot not to shout indoors, Sora shook his head. He'd already read that item on the menu and knew it cost 500 Munny. His mind was about to wander so his eyes started to do the same.
His eyes landed upon a group of three people at a nearby table; all three were dressed in professional black suits Sora expected to be worn by someone who worked for top-secret government stuff. One of them was a young woman sporting short blonde hair and brown eyes. Another was a tall, bald man with a small goatee and wearing a pair of dark sunglasses — even though he was inside a building.
The third member of the small group was who had seized Sora's attention. It was a young man with an awkward body posture, shabby red hair in a long ponytail, and two symmetrical red marks on his cheeks. He also had a set of goggles pushed up onto his forehead.
The three seemed to be chatting away in their own little group. Sora rose from his seat, sensing something familiar about the man with the red hair. Why did he have the feeling he'd seen him before?
As Sora approached, the man in the sunglasses saw him and pointed him out to the other two. The young woman and the other man both turned to face the spikey, brown-headed youth.
The man with the red hair had turn around to face Sora. "Well, well," he smirked. "Look who decided to drop by."
Sora froze, unsure what to say next. The man had spoken with the same pitch, tone, and accent Lea did. Could there possibly be a connection? "Uh… Hi?"
"Is something wrong?" the young woman asked in what sounded like a higher-pitched voice.
Sora stared at the man wearing the goggles. He decided to see what was going on. "Lea?" he inquired. "How'd you get here? Where've you been?"
The man shook his head. "Lea is my twin brother," he corrected. He pointed his left index finger to his head. "The name's 'Reno' — Commit it to memory!"
Sora stared in surprise. No wonder this guy had seemed so much like Lea. He was a twin. Until now, Sora had never known Lea had a twin. Of course, he also hadn't known Violet had a sister either. He had even learned his Aunt Shelly was a Keyblade wielder who gone missing, and he had even met her in person (in a matter of speaking) while exploring the dreams of the now-awakened Country of The Musketeers. What else did he not know? He needed to find out. If not now, very, very, very soon.
Reno pointed behind him to the others at his table. "That's my partner, Rude. The loud one's Elena."
"Reno!" Elena exclaimed. "Don't be so reckless!"
"Relax, Elena!" Reno quipped. "I haven't done anything stupid — lately."
Rude sighed and shook his head. Sora noticed the man was focused more on the drink in his hand than the conversation. The seventeen-year-old turned back to face Reno. "How come you're all dressed up? Do you work for the government?"
"I guess you could put it that way," Reno grinned. "We're members of a super-secret organization called 'The Underground Radiant Klass'. We also go by the 'TURK (s)'. Our mission is simple — to defend the Radiant Garden and terminate everyone who gets in our way."
"Reno!" Elena snapped. She jumped from her chair so rapidly, it fell backwards onto the floor. "You shouldn't be giving away sensitive information!"
Reno gave the young woman a stern gaze. "Give it a break! It's okay. We're off-duty."
Elena crossed her arms; her scowl was evident upon her face. "Tseng will be hearing about this."
Without another word, she stormed outside. Reno shrugged. "She'll get over it," he told Sora. "After all, it's not every day I meet a friend of my brother. Most people tend to forget him."
Sora hesitated in his response. "We're not exactly 'friends'," he explained. "More like… acquaintances."
Now Reno was the one with the startled look. "Oh, is that right? Perhaps you can fill me in one of these days. Rude and I have stuff to take care of so we're gonna be busy the next few hours."
He glanced at a clock on the shop's wall. "Our break's just about up."
Reno rose to his feet. Sora could now see the young man was wearing wrinkled clothing. He could almost picture Lea in the same outfit — it would have worked perfectly.
Rude turned towards Tifa; the latter was working behind the counter. "Put it on our tab," he called to her before following Reno towards the shop's entrance.
"Tell Lea I said 'Hi'," Sora called after them.
Reno stopped and turned to face the brown-headed youth. He gave a friendly grin. "I'll tell him when I see him," he replied. "After all, you, him, and I are friends now. Make sure it's committed to your memory."
Sora beamed. "I will, Reno. So long!"
With that, Reno and Rude walked briskly out of the shop and out of sight. Sora took a seat in the chair Reno had been in and shifted his eyes over to his teammates. Donald was relaxing over a nice cup of hot chocolate with marsh-mellows. Goofy had a plate of twenty hamburgers and two cups of water; he was scarfing it down so quickly, Sora wondered how he didn't choke.
On the floor nearby, he found Launchpad playing with Marlene and some dolls. The pilot pretended to crash a toy van until the little girl took it away from him. After she told him not to break things, Launchpad nodded and the two proceeded to play.
Sora smiled, recalling how often he'd been forced to play with Amemi per his Mom's request. He'd dreaded playing with dolls — especially whenever doll houses were involved. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to play games like "house" or "showroom stage" or "beach trip". It just felt so boring to him. He needed action — not romance.
Sora had leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. It was then he saw Barret walking quickly to where Tifa was wiping down the counter. She turned to him as he approached. "Tifa," Sora heard the man say. "We gotta close the store early. This's important business and it's happenin' at the castle."
Tifa looked concerned. "You sure? Okay, Barret, I get the message. We'll close up now."
Sora was puzzled. What was so important the two had to close up the shop earlier than they wanted? He had a feeling it had something to do with Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, Merlin, and the others involved with the reconstruction of the town.
"Excuse me," Tifa called out, ringing a little bell. "Something has come up and we're going to have to close up early. Sorry about any inconvenience."
Sora shook his head. This was no inconvenience. It was probably normal. Having noticed the amount of Heartless in the market, he wondered if perhaps the Heartless population had started to grow since the last time he'd been there. Although he'd helped Tron defeat the MCP and free the computer system, it was clear the Radiant Garden was far from peaceful.
He sighed. He had a feeling this was just the start of a long journey.
Donald and Goofy had already finished their food and Launchpad had helped Marlene clean up her dolls and their clothes and accessories. Barret picked up his daughter and strolled for the door. Tifa held the door open for him followed by Goofy, Donald, Launchpad, and finally Sora.
As Tifa shut the door and locked it, Sora turned to her. "Say, did you ever find who it was you were looking for?"
Tifa sighed. "No, not yet," she admitted. She turned to face the young man. "But it's no hurry. I know he'd closer to finding his Light — now more than ever. And part of it is thanks to you."
When he saw Tifa's smile, Sora felt dumbfounded. "Wait. When did I help you out?"
Tifa didn't answer and instead continued to smile as she and Barret headed down the street and into the distance. Sora was more confused due to the lack of an answer. He'd never helped Tifa. Well… maybe the time he'd told her he didn't know which "guy with spikey hair" she was looking for. It probably helped narrow down the possibilities… or not.
He shrugged it off. There was no sense in worrying about something he had little to no control over.
As he turned back to his friends, Sora saw a sight he didn't expect. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were chatting amongst each other while ten feet away an older man with a cane was being surrounded by Heartless made of metal (maybe tin). He stared in alarm. "C'mon," he declared, grabbing his friends' attention. "We've gotta help him!"
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were shocked at the incident taking place less than a mile from their position. The magician and knight pulled out their weapons and rushed forward. They joined Sora as the latter summoned his Keyblade.
They jumped between the man and the Heartless. "Get to safety!" Sora instructed. "We'll handle this!"
The man nodded and walked briskly away. Sora, Donald, and Goofy glared at the Heartless. One of the creatures lurched forward. Sora sliced his Keyblade through and destroyed them. Donald sent clumps of ice raining down on some other enemies and turned them into blocks of ice. Goofy smashed his shield though a handful of Heartless before crushing the ice blocks Donald had made. Before two minutes had passed, the Heartless had been eliminated.
Sora took a moment to catch his breath. He smiled, knowing the monsters he'd faced many times over were no more. He and his friends put their weapons away when the man approached them; a grateful smile on his face. He had black skin and was half bald with a greyish beard and brown eyes. He was wearing a tan shirt, matching fisherman hat, and a black coat (though without a hood). His cane turned out to be a walking stick.
"Thank you so much," the man said with a deep voice. "I wasn't expecting those critters to come running around me. I have never had so much trouble getting to and from this market."
"We're just glad you're okay," Goofy replied.
Sora smiled at the man. "Sounds like you've been through a lot today. Mind if we help you home?"
The man chuckled. "Not at all. The name's Remus, but ya'll can call me 'Uncle Remus'."
"I'm Sora," Sora said.
"Donald," Donald added. "I'm an uncle, too."
"My name's Goofy," Goofy introduced. "I've got a son named Maxie."
Launchpad smiled. "Name's Launchpad. I'm the head of His Majesty's Air Force."
Donald whispered something into the pilot's ear. "Geez," Launchpad muttered, crossing his arms. "You didn't have to be so critical about it."
While Donald gave the pilot a stern look, Remus shook his head. "You can come along if you want," he said. "But I'll tell you what. I ain't afraid of no 'Heartless'. The folks 'round here'll tell you they ain't got no hearts, but that don't scare me."
"Why?" Sora inquired. He was surprised. Why wasn't Remus afraid of the Heartless? Whatever the reason, he had to know what it was. Perhaps it was the same reason why he himself wasn't afraid of them. The same would probably be for Donald and Goofy, too.
"Why's that?" Goofy repeated for the Keyblade wielder.
Remus smiled. "Cause it's one of them 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah' Days," he informed them. "Now, that's the kind of day when you can't open your mouth without a song jumpin' right out of it."
As Remus spoke, the town's dull color suddenly jumped into a bright sunny day. Sora and his friends stared in surprise. They hadn't expected something like this to happen. Remus started walking along, so the group followed him.
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay," the older man chanted. "My, oh my, what a wonderful day. Plenty of sunshine headin' my way. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Day!"
A cheerful, bluebird wearing a top hat swooped into view. Sora thought it looked a little like a bird version of Jiminy Cricket. The bluebird landed onto Remus's right shoulder. The latter smiled at it in return.
"Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder," he said. The bluebird chirped in reply. "It's the truth, it's actual."
"What is?" Sora inquired, eager to find out.
Remus smiled brightly at the young man. "Everything is Satisfactual," he answered. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay. Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!"
"Yeah," Goofy agreed. "A-Hyuck!"
"Yessir!" Remus declared in turn. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay. My, oh my, what a wonderful day."
A group of seven butterflies flew in close. Sora took note of how each one was a different color of the rainbow. "Plenty of sunshine headin' our way," the butterflies sang together. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Day!"
Remus gestured to his shoulder. "Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder," he declared. The butterflies nodded in agreement. "It's the truth, it's actual."
Sora and his team pointed to the older man. When Remus saw they had puzzled eyes, he glanced at his shoulder and then around. The bluebird was nowhere to be found. "Why is that bluebird?" he inquired.
A loud chirping grabbed everyone's attention. Remus shook his head with a smile, seeing the bird had landed upon its perch. "Everything is Satisfactual," he continued. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay. Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!"
Remus strolled up to a colorful building with some umbrella-shaped gizmos on the roof. He opened the door and stepped inside. The bluebird fluttered in as the older man closed the door gently behind.
The colors vanished and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad now saw they were standing in the middle of a neighborhood. Taking a closer look at the building before them, Sora quickly realized it was the home of Merlin the Wizard.
"Gawrsh," Goofy remarked. "I was havin' so much fun, I didn't know we was approachin' Merlin's house."
"Yeah," Sora agreed. He glanced around, equally baffled by the sudden change of scenery. "It's like we were wandering around in a dream."
"Well, what now?" an impatient Donald asked.
Sora paused in thought. Knowing they were in the Radiant Garden, and it was the home world of Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid there, he decided to see them.
"Let's go see Leon," the spikey, brown-haired teenager suggested. "Maybe he can give us some clues to why the Heartless are back."
"But where will we find him?" Donald spoke up.
"Yeah," Goofy added. "He could be anywhere."
Launchpad looked around the immediate area. "He's not here, and this is somewhere within 'anywhere'."
Donald rolled his eyes at the pilot's comment. As the group were trying to think about where to look, they head a deep voice chanting from above. Sora listened for a moment; the voice seemed to have a Cockney accent.
"Wonder who's singin'," Goofy inquired.
"Well," Donald said. "There's only one way to find out."
Sora nodded. He led the group past a few houses. The voice got louder. Now they could make out some words, if you could call them "words".
"Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey, chim chim cher-ee! A sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be!"
They finally reached a small two-story house with a wooden ladder beside it. Gazing up at the roof, Sora's team found a young man up there hammering some shingles into place. He was slender with black hair and blue eyes. His dark clothes were worn-out and he had a black cap on his head. A red scarf was around his neck.
Sora was taken by surprise. He didn't recall this man being here the last time. Then again, he didn't remember Barret, Marlene, Reno, Rude, Elena, or Uncle Remus either. Chances were, everyone he was meeting were among the residents who'd been scattered when the world had been attacked by the Heartless long ago.
"Hey mister," Sora called up. "We're looking for somebody. Have you seen them?"
The man on the roof stopped hammering and turned around to see the group below. With a smile, he replied, "I be comin' down in a minute."
As he climbed down the ladder, the man continued to chant away. "Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey, chim chim cher-oo! Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you."
When he reached the street, the man extended his right hand. One by one, he shook Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad's hands. He waved to a young woman passing by. Sora recognized her as Jessica — the same young lady his team had rescued from the Heartless earlier.
"Or blow me a kiss," the man called. When Jessica blew a kiss in his direction, the man took a cheerful double-take. "And that's lucky too."
Sora shook his head slightly. He could this young man was a friendly, happy-go-lucky one. He reminded Sora of his sister, Amemi. He knew how much she tended to be content and lived happily one day at a time. It was a wonderful characteristic Sora wished he'd developed himself.
"'Ello, art lovers!" the man said to the group. "Why, you look like nice chaps to me. 'Ow are you? Enjoying the sights of the city?"
"Kind of," Sora replied. He pointed to himself. "I'm Sora." He gestured to the other three behind him. "He's Donald, that's Goofy, and the last one's Launchpad."
"Bert's the name," the man introduced in return. He tipped his hat at them. "I am what they call a 'jack-of-all-trades'. I 'ave been a sweep, artist, musician, carpenter, and plumber."
"That explains why he's on the roof," Donald whispered to Sora. The latter nodded in understanding.
"I 'ave been 'elping the Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee for well over two years," Bert went on. "They seem to know 'ow to solve anyone's problem."
Sora's ears perked up to the name he'd heard. "Wait," the brown-headed young man spoke up. "What's the 'Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee'?"
"Yeah," Donald stated. "We're members of something else."
Goofy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple and red card. He read the writing on it. "'Hollow Bastion Ray-store-ay-tion Honor-air-y Member'. A-Hyuck!"
Launchpad took a moment to glance over the knight's card. "I never had one of those. How do you get one?"
Donald tried to explain to the pilot how they'd already had the cards for more than a year. Sora turned to face Bert and proceeded to ask a different question.
"Is a guy named Leon a member of it?" the spikey, brown-haired seventeen-year-old asked.
"Why, yes. 'E is," Bert answered. "'E's one of the leaders. So is Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Chelsy. I 'ave been good friends with them since my world disappeared and I ended up in a place they called 'Traverse Town'. Now I 'ave been 'elping them rebuild theirs."
He looked up into the sky above with a brilliant smile. "Who knows? Maybe I will stay 'ere in the City of Light."
Sora crossed his arms, trying absorb all this information. It sounded to him like Bert was among several others helping Leon and the gang restore the city back to its original self. As far as he could tell, the organization called the 'Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee' was really the 'Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee' — just with a different name.
Sora had the feeling this was partially due to the world's true name being recollected shortly after he had helped Tron defeat the MCP. The program had presented his friends with a gift — a view of the town's early days, which helped Leon and the others remember. Sora had been taken by complete surprise when Aerith had informed him the town had once been referred to by another name. He had then realized the world had probably been renamed by Maleficent when she'd used the Heartless to take it over roughly eleven years ago. Nowadays, the town seemed to be in better shape, though the Heartless were still on the loose.
"Say Bert," Sora finally said. "Could you please lead us to where the Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee meets? I want to ask Leon some things."
"Sure thing," Bert replied. "Just follow me."
The young man picked up the ladder and the toolbox from beside the house and carried them along. He led the way down the street. As the group followed behind, Goofy asked why the seemingly-homeless man was so cheerful. Bert's response sounded a little like a chant. "Now, as the ladder of life 'as been strung, you might think a sweep's on the bottommost rung."
Sora and Donald both nodded. Back on the islands, Sora had seen a few chimney sweeps in the older buildings. No one really paid those workers any mind and they didn't seem to acknowledge the public either.
"Though I spends me time in the ashes and smoke," Bert continued. "In this 'ole wide world there's no 'appier bloke."
Now Sora was sure he understood. After seeing how free-spirited Uncle Remus and Bert were, he was certain such a quality also contained a strong Light. He smiled, knowing the two were happy the way they were. He also knew his sister was no different. Amemi had also possessed the same characteristic for years and he knew it was so.
Overall, Sora had to admit, all there of those individuals — Amemi, Bert, and Uncle Remus — were happy-go-lucky, content, and ready to face the challenges the world gave them with a smile.
As the group proceeded down the road, Bert started to skip along as he chanted. Sora smiled, knowing this was also something he sometimes saw Amemi do — at least when she was younger. Every now and then, he still caught a glimpse of her jumping rope outside in the backyard.
"Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey, chim chim cher-ee!" Bert chanted aloud. "A sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be! Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey, chim chim cher-oo! Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you!"
Before long, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were chanting along. Sora found himself joining them. "Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey! Chim chim cher-ee! A sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be! Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey! Chim chim cher-oo! Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you!"
After this continued for a few minutes, the group stopped at the edge of a dirt hill. Bert gazed to the right. Sora's team did the same. The dirt road before them led down the incline and through a plain filled with construction vehicles, workers, and various supplies. On the other side of the field was a short flight of stone steps leading up to the entrance of the castle.
Sora almost wanted to cover his ears. The moving vehicles, the hammering, the sawing, the shouts from one worker to another all created so much noise, it appeared to be nearly deafening. He decided to simply grin and bear it.
"That is the way into the castle," Bert explained, pointing at the enormous structure at the center of the town. "Watch out for construction. Those workers can be real feisty. I 'ave also 'eard sometimes 'eartless roam around there. Be careful."
Sora nodded. "Got it. Thanks, Bert!"
Bert tipped his hat towards the young man. "Don't mention it," he said with a smile. "Just willing to 'elp. G'day, guvnuh!"
After Bert left, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad headed onto the plain. They had to zigzag their way past the busy workers and moving machinery. At one point, Goofy was nearly run over by a large cement mixer; the driver yelled at him, even though there was still too much noise to understand what he'd said.
The further they went, the thicker the building crews seemed to become. By the time they were almost to the stone steps, mobile cranes were off to their right. The crews were busy building a series of houses for a neighborhood. The wooden framework for the houses was done and the walls were now being lifted into place. Hammering and sawing could be heard from that direction as the workers pieced the whole thing together.
Sora finally decided it was time to cover his ears. He had taken note of how the workers all had oversized earmuffs, which allowed them to keep working without damaging their ears. He'd seen similar things to the workmen who repaired the roads and paved streets on the Destiny Islands, except they didn't have such fancy technology at their disposal.
He stopped suddenly. A sensation of Light and Darkness mixed together filled his mind. Sora turned his eyes into the direction of the castle's foundation. All he saw were several piles of wood boards, dozens of bags of concrete, and multitudes of pipes among other things.
Weird, Sora thought to himself. What was that?
"Sora? Are ya comin'?"
Sora snapped to attention to see Goofy waving him over to the reddish stone steps. "Yeah!" he replied, quickly following his friends.
The feeling rapidly disappeared. "What was that about?" he muttered softly. No one heard him.
As Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were marching up the steps, a translucent cylinder appeared out of the middle of nowhere and startled them.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as he jumped back as the cylinder disappeared. It returned a moment later a few feet away before disappearing again. It was quickly followed by three others of the same exact design.
"Ain't that thuh town's defense system?" Goofy asked.
"Yeah," Sora verified. "I don't get it. Why's the defense system around here? I don't see any Heartless or Nobodies… "
At that moment, the brown, spikey-headed youth's eyes fell upon two figures standing by the doorway into the castle. They were both men wearing dark-grey uniforms bearing a curled heart symbol with white gloves and black boots. The two men were standing on either side of the doorway.
One of them had black hair mainly tied into a low ponytail and thick sideburns, and violet eyes. He was wielding a silver lance with a blue head, a violet handle, and a curled heart symbol in its point. The other man sported auburn hair slicked back into messy spikes, blue eyes, and small eyebrows. He had a massive axe-shaped sword in his hand.
Sora was alarmed. He had instantly recognized one of the men as a member of Organization XIII he'd defeated almost a year before while in another world. Yet, he wondered why this same man was only wielding only one lance when before he had been controlling six of them.
"Xaldin?!" he declared. His Keyblade immediately appeared in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed and he charged at the doorway.
"Sora!" Donald and Goofy both shouted. They were beyond shocked. Why was Sora going after perfect strangers?
Launchpad looked confused. "What's gotten into him? He's acting a little like D.W. when trying to beat Negaduck."
Sora didn't hear his friends. He was only focused on taking out the villain he had previously prevented from turning one of his friends into a Heartless. He raised his Keyblade and was about to strike when the two men saw him and raised their own weapons.
CLANG!
The weapons collided. "Hold on!" the man with the lance said. He was barely able to keep Sora at bay.
"The castle's only open to VIPs," the other man stated. "And medical emergencies."
Sora's eyes were filled with fury. He was about to push forwards when the man with the lance did the same. Sora wobbled back several feet and landed on his back. His Keyblade went flying and clattered onto the reddish-purple stone beside him.
Donald and Goofy rushed over, Launchpad directly behind. The former cast a recovery spell before Sora came to. Goofy and the pilot helped him to his feet. "What… happened?" the young man inquired. He looked like he was in a daze.
"Gee, Sora," Goofy said, noticing Sora's half-shut eyes. "Maybe some of Xehanort's Darkness is still in ya."
"Yeah," Donald nodded, realizing the knight had a valid point. "Perhaps you should rest for a while."
Before Sora could reply, a few dozen Heartless appeared in the plaza. The brown-haired Keyblade wielder was on his feet in seconds, Keyblade in hand. He charged into the horde of creatures and started slashing, slicing, and blocking and countering. Donald and Goofy pulled out their own weapons and joined the frenzy.
Launchpad was staring in both alarm and worry when he saw the two men from the doorway rush forward and started vanquishing the Heartless this way and that. "Radiant Garden shall not fall again to the likes of you!" the man with the spear declared.
With Sora and his friends working as a team, the Heartless were hastily thinning. When he saw the two men wiping out the monsters as well, Sora realized neither one of them were Nobodies. In fact, they both seemed to be as much in danger as he himself was. He knew this meant they both had hearts, which meant they somehow had come back — just like Lea had.
Once the Heartless were gone, Sora's team relaxed and put their weapons away. Sora turned to the man with the spear and said, "You're really good. I remember you tried to turn Beast into a Heartless, but now there's something different."
"I'm no longer with the Organization," the man informed the seventeen-year-old. "And my name's Dilan. I still have my memories of a Nobody and apologize for trying to harm your friend."
Sora placed his hands behind his head. "So, you must've appeared here, like Lea said."
"Lea, Aeleus, Even, and Ienzo," Dilan explained. "We all awakened downstairs — Even and I were among the last up. After joining forces with the Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee, Aeleus and I resumed our former posts as guards for the castle."
He snorted at a few stray Heartless in the distance. "I will not allow those Heartless to plunge this world into Darkness again."
Sora had to nod in agreement. He had learned from Lea just after the Mark of Mastery Exam how the first six ranks of the original Organization XIII had been students of the late Ansem the Wise — the real Ansem and King Mickey's friend. According to the tale, Ansem's pupils had stolen his research and banished him into the Realm of Darkness. Sometime after, Xehanort and the other five got carried away with some "unethical experiments" and transformed into Heartless. This had led to the world's attack by the Heartless and Maleficent's arrival into the ruins of the town, which she had called "Hollow Bastion".
Through it all, Sora had listened intently. Of course, he was well aware how all this had happened long ago, a little over a decade before now. He was also certain Leon and the gang were going to try extremely hard to rebuild their world and restore it back to its former self.
Sora's head whirled back. He had just about forgotten he wanted to see Leon! He turned and hurried over to his teammates. "C'mon," he said, gesturing for them to follow. "Let's go see Leon."
The other three nodded. The group dashed to the doorway. As they were about to reach it, Aeleus' weapon blocked them.
"The castle is only open to VIPs and emergency personnel," Aeleus stated in a firm voice.
Dilan glanced at his fellow guard. "Allow them to enter. They are friends of the committee's founders and current leaders."
A startled Aeleus removed his weapon. Dilan opened the door. With friendly smiles on their faces, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad strolled inside. The pilot reached behind them and closed the door. He shut it so hard, the noise echoed about and made the others jump a few inches from the floor.
"Stop causing trouble!" an annoyed Donald scolded.
Sora paid no attention to the incident. His mind was on what he was seeing. The interior of the castle's entrance looked largely the same as it had when he'd been roughly two years before. The greenish carpet was still on the second floor and the bluish tile was on the first. The fountain with the monster-looking design was still situated between the curved staircases leading to the next floor. The door to the library was still in its place, and the platform hanging above was still there. One of the exceptions was a door on the opposite side of the foyer from the library.
Sora felt curious. Where did this door lead? Why hadn't he noticed it before? His mind continued to question these things. He didn't see someone rushing towards him until a few moments before it was too late.
BAM!
Sora was on his back. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad gently helped him to his feet. He rubbed his head, relieved it wasn't bleeding. As he looked ahead, Sora was taken in with delight.
Before him was a teenage girl — the same one who had slammed into him. She had short black hair tied in the black with a green band around her forehead. Her outfit consisted of a black shirt with a yellow scarf, black shorts, and grey boots. She was rubbing her head as she sat up.
"Yuffie!" Sora declared happily.
Yuffie was bewildered for a second before her vision came into focus. Seeing Sora and the others before her she gave such a bright smile, it nearly made the sunlight useless. "Hey, you guys!" she said in her usual high-spirited style. "Good to see you again!"
"Same here," Sora approved. "Sounds like you're never gonna change."
"What did you expect?" Yuffie kidded. "Welcome back, Sora, Ronald, and Zoofy!"
"That's Donald and Goofy!" Donald insisted.
Launchpad strode forwards. "Any friend of mine's a friend of theirs," he said shaking the ninja girl's hand. "The name's Launchpad McQuack. If it's got wings, I can crash it!"
Yuffie broke free and shook her head so slightly, no one could tell she had. She turned to Sora. "What brings you back here? Is this about the trouble in town? Are the worlds having problems? How's the King doing? What've you guys been up to? Is there anything we can do to help?"
Sora cut her off by waving his hands in front of his face. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down! One question at a time, Yuffie!"
Yuffie stopped speaking and nodded. Sora started to speak. "First, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and I are looking for someone," he explained. "We have to find them before anything happens. It seems the Heartless might be up to no good again. We saw them in the market and just outside. I thought things were finally under control here."
Yuffie sighed. "Yeah, they were — for a while. Then they started reappearing in the canyon just outside of town. Now the whole area is almost filled."
She titled her head up at the ceiling. "It's getting serious."
Sora crossed his arms. He remembered having to fight his way through a thousand Heartless in a single battle somewhere outside of the town. Was the canyon Yuffie mentioned the same one he recalled? Or was there another one? If it was the same, perhaps that meant whatever was causing the Heartless problem to return was lurking someplace near that canyon.
And he needed to find out why.
Sora uncrossed his arms. He was about to speak when the door to the library burst open and a teenager a few years older than Yuffie rushed out and headed for the stairs.
Sora and his team looked at her in surprise; it was someone they hadn't met before. The young woman had golden hair that flowed gently down to her shoulders and pale skin. She was wearing a red dress with short sleeves that was decorated with lots of yellow daisies, blue boots, and had a green ribbon in her hair. She also had a shadowing on the upper part of her green eyes; it made her eyelids look a little closed.
The unknown girl rushed into the room and straight down the stairs two steps at a time. She tripped suddenly and lost her balance. In a flash, Launchpad darted over and caught her in his arms. The girl smiled at him. "Thank you," she smiled.
"No problem-o!" the pilot replied. "It was a piece o' cake!"
The girl giggled a little at Launchpad's remark. She leaned in close and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Donald and Goofy started chuckling while Sora laughed a little. Launchpad shook his head and quickly helped the girl to her feet. It was then Sora saw the girl had a couple sparkles on each of her cheeks. He initially assumed it was the sunlight playing tricks on him until he remembered there weren't any windows in the room.
"Hi," the young woman said to the group. "Nice to meet you."
"This is Myrna," Yuffie explained. "She's been a big help around here."
"I love flowers," Myrna admitted. "I also have some medical experience from my hometown. Good thing since we needed one with it in this world."
"Does that mean you're helpin' Aerith?" Goofy inquired.
Myrna nodded. "Yes," she said. "Aerith's my best friend. We're like sisters from another life."
She sighed happily. "She's the only true friend I've really had… "
Sora tried to take in everything he'd just heard. Perhaps Myrna was not just some random girl Leon and the others had taken in to help rebuild the town. It sounded like she was a loyal friend — just he was. He had learned Bert was a member of the committee as well and wondered who else there was he still didn't know. He decided to push the contemplation aside and get back to the task at hand.
"Here's the thing," Sora started. "Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and I are trying to find someone. The worlds are in trouble. Something dark's happening and we need to find out what. I thought maybe Leon could give us a hint."
"Yeah," Yuffie said in response. "Leon's been very busy trying to contact the King about what's been going on. Perhaps now something can be done."
"What is happening?" Donald inquired.
"Heartless trouble," Myrna informed the duck mage. "That's what! We thought the fortress outside of town was empty, but those monsters keep coming from it."
Yuffie turned to the young woman. "I already told them that."
"Oh! I see," a startled Myrna acknowledged. Her cheeks failed to turn pink or red, even though it was still clear to Sora she was feeling a little embarrassed. He shook his head very slightly. "Perhaps you should go see Leon. We can use all the help we can get."
Sora placed his hands behind his head and gave his famous grin. "I agree, but there's one problem."
"What?" Myrna asked. Yuffie nodded, clearly confused.
The spikey-haired young man swept his eyes around the room. "I have a feeling this place isn't like it was before. I don't know where Leon and the others are."
"No problem!" Yuffie perked up. "Myrna'll take you there!"
Myrna looked a bit stunned. "Are you sure? Why can't you lead them?"
"I have to go outside. Those Heartless are starting to fill the new gatehouse."
"Okay. Please be very cautious!"
Yuffie nodded before she rushed to the door, opened it, and hurried out. When the door closed behind her, Sora and his team turned to face the golden-haired young woman.
"Well, I suppose you've heard the news," Myrna said. Sora thought she looked a little hesitant. "I shall be your guide to the computer room."
She turned towards the doorway at the top of the stairs. "Follow me!"
As Myrna started walking, Sora followed. Donald was next, then Goofy, and finally Launchpad. When the leader picked up the pace, Sora and his friends had to do the same.
The group proceeded through a short corridor and into a large room Sora remembered from his first visit there. A series of golden, cage-like lifts were positioned throughout the building. Myrna led the group onto one of them and they descended a few floors. Gazing up, they could see the stained glass window above. Sora smiled, recalling how this very sight had given him hope — hope he would find Kairi in this very castle.
When the lift stopped, everyone stepped off and followed Myrna quickly through a darker corridor and down a short flight of stairs. A series of lights were hanging from the ceiling at regular intervals as the group proceeded down a red hallway and around a couple zig-zaggy corners.
"Gawrsh!" Goofy marveled at the layout of the underground passage. "Sure glad there ain't no Heartless down here."
Everyone halted in their tracks. Goofy covered his mouth, now realizing his voice had echoed around.
"There used to be some Heartless," Myrna told the four. "Leon, Yuffie, and the TURK(s) wiped them out during the early remodeling of this area. It isn't finished yet, but I hope it will look just like the hall up ahead."
Before Sora could question what the girl had meant, the group reached a large door. Myrna pushed it open. A bright light shone through, causing Sora and the others to shield their eyes for a couple seconds as they stepped through. On the other side, Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared in awe. They had walked along an interior passage down to the corridors leading to the wrecked study of Ansem the Wise.
"Wow!" Donald said, his voice no longer containing an echo.
"Say Myrna," Sora started to say. "Are there any other passages like that around here?"
"Yes," Myrna answered, not taking her eyes off the path they were all walking along. "Most of them we've found. I stumbled upon a trapdoor in the castle's chapel the other day and it led to the dungeon. Good thing Bert was working down there. He let me out. Aerith, Zell, and I sealed it up after that."
Sora was taken in by curiosity. He'd always wondered why the castle had contained such unusual lifts. Now there were secret passages leading this way and that. He recalled seeing a bookshelf in the library that opened to a short hallway and an elevator. He also remembered a tiny lift leading between the first and second floors of the entrance hall. Other than that, nothing else had really seemed so out of the ordinary.
Within minutes, the group reached a large door with a crown design. Myrna calmly opened it. On the other side, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were in for a surprise.
The room neat and tidy (for once). The books were back on their shelves. The broken glass had been removed. Even the abandoned spider-webs had been cleared. Sora also took note of how the portrait of Xehanort had been replaced with one of a man with long, blonde hair, a matching a mustache and beard, and blue eyes. The diagrams on the walls and floor were gone and replaced by various monitors showing information about the town, its defenses, and various other things.
A group of people were gathered in the circular study. One of them was a young man sporting long, black hair and a scar on his forehead. He was wearing a white shirt under a black jacket, long black pants with matching shoes, and three different-colored belts around his waist. Thanks to his necklace bearing a charm resembling a roaring lion, Sora knew this was his friend, Leon; he was leaning against the wall.
Seated at a computer placed on the curved desk at the center of the room was an older man with short, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a very, very thin goatee on his chin. His outfit was made of a white T-shirt, baggy blue pants with a very wide, orange waistband, grey socks, and black shoes. He had a necklace with a rectangular charm, reddish-brown goggles and matching gloves. Even if Sora hadn't missed the toothpick the man was constantly chewing on, he would still had known this was the pilot and computer expert, Cid.
Behind Cid was a young woman about twenty-four years old. She had long, brown hair styled into a braid with curls on either side of her face, and green eyes. She was wearing a pink dress, a red skirt showing underneath, a short overcoat with a faded-blue color, coiled-wire wristbands, and brown boots. There was also a pink ribbon tied in her hair. Sora smiled, knowing this was Aerith.
There was also a young man leaning against the wall opposite Leon. He was short with uniquely-styled spikey blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black vest with a red decor along the zipper, a black jacket, baggy denim shorts, and black-and-red tennis shoes. Sora was puzzled, not recognized this guy — especially not when he saw the irregularly-shaped black tattoo on the young man's left cheek.
A tall man was also standing behind the computer. He had long blonde hair with a shorter (though still long) bang on either side of his face, and bright, light-green eyes. He was wearing a long white lab coat, grey vest, white collared shirt, black pants, silver-lined boots, and a purple ascot. Sora was thinking deeply; had a tiny feeling he'd seen this man before….
"Hi, everyone!" Myrna called, trying to grab the others' attention. "Sora and his friends are here."
Leon, Aerith, Cid, and the two other men both turned to see the group gathered in the doorway. They smiled.
"Good to see you again," Aerith said.
"Well now, if it ain't Launchpad," Cid smirked, shifting his eyes to the pilot. "Heard you're the head of the Disney Royal Air Force. Not every day we meet another pilot."
"I'm glad to see my message got through," Leon said with a grin.
"Now we can kick those Heartless outta here!" the other young man with the tattoo declared. He started punching the air. "I have been waiting weeks for this!"
Sora's own smile faded. "Not exactly," he confessed. "You see, the King and his teacher wanted us to find someone. The worlds are in danger again and this angel's probably the only one who can help."
The young man stopped punching the air and sighed deeply. "Man! I was all fired up to go kick some Heartless behind!"
Leon shook his head. "It means you'll get some more time to practice, Zell."
The tall man with the blonde hair strode forwards. "You say you're looking for an angel?" he inquired.
Sora nodded. The man sounded like a curious scientist. Judging from the lab coat, Sora had a feeling that was the case.
"Yeah," the brown-haired Keyblader finally said. "Her name's Indigo. Have any of you seen her?"
When everyone in the room shook their heads. Sora nodded. "Right. I should've expected that by now."
"So sorry about this," Myrna apologized.
Aerith said. "But let us know if we can help. Okay?"
"If it's an angel you're looking for, perhaps Ienzo and I could provide some in-depth research," the blonde-haired man said. "We might uncover some clue to this peculiar creature's whereabouts."
"She's not a 'creature'!" Sora snapped in anger. "She's a person — just like us! She has a heart of her own!"
"Sorry," the man replied. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about her."
Sora was both shocked and dismayed. Not only was he not getting his point across, but now this guy assumed he liked Violet's sister. He hadn't even met her yet! How could he care about someone he didn't know other than by name? That didn't make any sense.
At that moment, a young man rushed into the room from a bluish-grey hallway. He was nearly out of breath. Sora stared at this guy for a moment, not recognizing him. Maybe it was because of his steel-blue hair that was styled into long bangs that covered the right side of his face? Or was it his white lab coat, purple ascot, black V-neck shirt, and large silver-trimmed boots? Perhaps it was the fact only one of his bright blue eyes were visible.
"Even!" he called to the tall, blonde-haired man. "Come quick! I discovered someone living inside the computer!"
Sora had to smile. "That 'someone' is Tron," he said, trying to hold back his urge to laugh. "He's a friend of me, Donald, and Goofy."
"Ienzo," Even scolded the blue-haired young man. "Have you forgotten Lord Ansem's security program?"
Ienzo seemed to blush a little. "Sorry about it," he told the others. "I guess I forgot while in the Organization."
Sora was stunned. "You were in Organization XIII?!"
Even turned to face the seventeen-year-old. "Yes, we both were," he explained. "I recall trying to warn you, Sora, about Marluxia's treachery and his plans to make you Naminé's puppet so he and Larxene could overthrow the Organization. If it wasn't for that Axel, I would've gotten through."
At that moment, a tall young man with fiery red hair that was spiked and donning the black-hooded coat of Organization XIII stepped into the room from the blue-grey corridor. "Heh! You ever seen someone run away from a computer?" he chuckled, clearly glancing at Ienzo. "Try asking this guy."
"That wasn't funny, Lea," Ienzo snorted. "Why don't you do the examining from here on out?"
"Lea!" Sora called from across the room. "Man, where've you been?"
Lea grinned at the Keyblade wielder. "I've been right here. It's not easy trying to make sense of that 'data' Riku and Violet found inside of you. Too many interrupting cartoons."
Sora shook his head. He had learned from Violet how an entire nightclub had been located inside his heart — one where King Mickey was the host, Donald was his assistant, and Goofy was the head-waiter. He had also learned Queen Minnie was the schedule-keeper, Daisy (Donald's "very special sweetheart" as Goofy had put it) was the one in charge of guest relations, and Pluto was their mascot. It sounded like everyone Sora's heart was connected with had been inside that place. If only he could've seen it for himself — especially the various cartoons his friends had witnessed.
Before anyone else could speak, a young woman walked in through the doorway and clear past Sora's team. Sora was both startled and perplexed; he hadn't seen this woman before either. He assumed it was partly due to her outfit consisting of a long, sleeveless, blue sweater, a pair of matching arm warmers, a black tank-top, a denim skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, black shorts, and a pair of silver-buckled black boots — something he'd never seen anyone else where until now. When he saw she had shoulder-length black hair, dark-brown eyes, and a necklace with a ring, Sora had a feeling this young lady resembled someone he knew.
"I am here to see Squall," the woman announced in a voice Sora thought sounded a little like Kairi's. Unless it was his imagination.
The spikey, brown-headed seventeen-year-old noticed Leon frowning at the young woman. "That's 'Leon'," he stated in a very firm voice. "You know why I changed it, Rinoa."
Rinoa seemed unamused and a little offended. "You were supposed to pick up an important delivery from Mike," she told Leon. "Because you didn't, we can't finish building the new wing's walls. This castle's not going to build itself."
"I have been too busy," Leon argued. "Perhaps you should've asked Zell to get it."
The young man with the tattoo marched over. "I've got everything taken care of!" he declared loudly and proudly. "I will be back with those supplies before you can say 'Zell, you did again' three times!"
"'Zell, you did it again'. 'Zell, you did it again'. 'Zell, you did it again'," Leon teased.
Zell stared at the young man with his mouth wide open. "Can't you give a chance?" he demanded. "I haven't left the castle yet!"
Sora shook his head. This was getting to be a problem with no solution. Then again, perhaps it was time for him to step in and resolve it. "Hey!" he blurted. "How about letting Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and I pick them up for you?"
Everyone else stared at him. It didn't make Sora feel any better when Jiminy emerged from the former's hood and whispered into his ear. "Remember to 'think before acting'! It can help in the long run."
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Sora apologized with his grin showing up again. "Guess I got a little carried away."
Aerith giggled a little. "Maybe Leon's right. We forgot who we were dealing with."
"Hey, ya big palooka," a suspicious, unimpressed Donald spoke up. "What do you mean by that?"
Myrna smiled at the duck. "Maybe you should consider it an 'Aerith remark'."
Sora looked a bit puzzled. He'd never heard of an "Aerith remark" before. Maybe a "Leon compliment", but never anything else. "Okay… "
Leon crossed his arms and shook his head. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, perhaps you four can help us here."
Sora slapped his chest with his right fist. "Like we were gonna say 'no'?"
Leon had to smile. He handed Sora a folded piece of parchment. "We have some supplies waiting at a carpentry shop on the edge of town," he explained. "The owner is Mike Millard, he's a friend of ours."
Sora unfolded the paper. It was a black-and-white drawing of the town from overhead. Just as Leon had said, a carpentry shop was labelled on the edge of the town near the outlying stone wall. "Got it," he said. "Thanks!"
"Oh!" Aerith exclaimed in surprise before Sora and his team could leave. She turned to Cid. "Are they ready?"
"Give me a chance," the pilot/computer expert complained. He pressed a few more keys. "Gotta print 'em in the next room."
Cid hopped from his workstation and darted down the blue-grey hall. He returned a few moments later with a handful of small cards. "Here ya are," he said, handing them out to Sora and his teammates. "Enough for each of ya and two extra. Without 'em, Dilan and Aeleus'll throw you out."
"Yeah," Sora acknowledged. He took a moment to glance over the red card. On one side was a picture of the castle surrounded by fountains. On the other was a line of text. He read through it aloud. "'Radiant Garden Reconstruction Committee Very Important Person Member'!"
"More membership cards!" Donald exclaimed happily.
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy chuckled, pointing at the picture of the castle. "How Pretty!"
Launchpad could not take his eyes off the card. "And now I have one of my own!"
Sora smiled at his friends. "Thanks a lot! We'll be back with those supplies. See ya!"
Leon saluted while everyone else smiled. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad rushed out of the room and down the corridor.
Sora and his friends had just reached the castle's foyer when they heard someone running up from behind. Certain this meant they had forgotten something, the group spun around. There stood Rinoa, panting to catch her breath.
"What's up?" Sora inquired.
"I had to apologize for yelling," the young woman said. "Squall — I mean Leon's been on edge since he never received a reply from the King."
"He sure was mean to ya," Goofy indicated.
"Yeah," Donald agreed. "Like Daisy's been on our last few dates."
Rinoa shook her head. Sora saw a look of concern in her eyes. "Is there something else?" he asked.
She pointed at his necklace — the one with the miniature heart. Sora glanced down and his eyes lit up. The charm had sprouted wings like Violet. He had the feeling this new necklace was magical. He smiled and nodded.
"I was wondering where you got that," Rinoa said.
"A friend of mine gave to me for my birthday," Sora admitted. "She's an angel — the kind with wings. She's also a 'True Friend'."
Rinoa crossed her arms. "It looks a lot like the one my cousin used to have."
"Gee, who's your cousin?" Goofy asked.
Rinoa sighed. "I don't remember."
Sora was more puzzled now. "You don't remember your own cousin?"
"It's been years since I last saw her," the young woman told them. "She's probably the only family I have left."
Sora crossed his arms in thought. "Perhaps I could help you find her?"
Rinoa didn't respond. Now Sora wondered who her cousin was. Could it be someone else in town? That didn't make sense as Rinoa would have found them by now. Unless her memory was almost a blank and she didn't recognize them.
He knew such a thing was possible as he lacked any memories of almost a year of his own lifetime. How was that possible? Could there be a connection between these two scenarios?
Rinoa stepped away. As she headed further into the castle, she called back, "I cannot remember who she is… I can only sense she's still alive."
Now Sora was as confused as ever. He decided to shove the coming contemplation aside for a later date and led his friends out of the castle. Just outside, they found Yuffie helping Dilan and Aeleus clearing away some Heartless. Sora's team didn't pay them any mind as they rushed through and hurried down the steps and into the construction zone beyond.
Sora had the feeling there was something about Rinoa's cousin from which he could help her find the latter.
A/N: So, how was THAT for a detailed Chapter? For those of you who remember my earlier story, "Kingdom Hearts - The Phantom Threat", you probably noticed how I brought back many of the quotations from That story for This one. These include things like Launchpad's "where's the gardens?" joke, and such.
That aside, where shall I start? Perhaps with the fact I was imagining Midgar and "Kingdom Hearts 2" while writing this Chapter. That's why it turned out so well in my opinion. After all, I wouldn't be surprise if Midgar was the original inspiration for the Radiant Garden!
Yes, yes... Tifa, Barret, Marlene, Reno, Rude, and Elena are all from "Final Fantasy VII". I certainly Hope I managed to keep them in character enough for all of you who really enjoy that series, too! I also wanted to include the TURK(s) organization, so I created an anagram for it. I think it works well, but please let me know what YOU think!
I decided to make Reno and Lea twins. Why? Simple! They are Both voiced by Quinton Flynn and have almost the exact same characterization (Lea is a little more laid-back than Reno in my opinion).
I also decided to give some of the "Final Fantasy VII" Characters who we know already from the "Kingdom Hearts" games new outfits. After all, that Is what they've done in the games, too!
Plus, Rinoa and Zell are both from "Final Fantasy VIII". I Hope they are in character enough for you. I haven't finished playing that game yet and decided to incorporate them in the way I have seen them portrayed so far. Rinoa was a much harder one to work with. Any feedback you can give me in regards to them would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I had fun including the songs "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and "Chim Chim Cheree" in there, and I Hope all of you enjoyed them, too! There are more such "Musical Segments" to come later!
Of course, I HAVE to say these:
Uncle Remus is from "Song of The South (1946)".
Bert is from "Mary Poppins (1964)".
Plus, Jessica and Myrna are My Original Characters. There are others including one who was mentioned towards the end, but I haven't revealed them Directly yet!
Continuing on, I want you to GUESS who Rinoa's cousin is! Here's a Hint - she's in This Story somewhere! Maybe she's ALREADY appeared, or maybe she is YET to appear - I won't say either way!
Furthermore, "VIP" DOES stand for "Very Important Person". I just wanted to spell it out on the membership cards.
SHEESH! THAT WAS QUITE A BIT OF DETAIL AND EXPLANATION, WASN'T IT?
I'll just say this Now, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
REMEMBER THIS - A MINIMUM OF 214 IS REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF 240 ARE POSTED, I WILL INCLUDE A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HOWEVER, THAT/THOSE GOAL(S) MUST BE MET BY THE TIME THE-SECOND-TO-LAST-CHAPTER IS POSTED! THAT WAY, I WILL HAVE TIME TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER OR NOT EITHER GOAL WAS MET!
This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus Remember To, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"