Kingdom Hearts -- Season of Light

by SoraLego278

VOL. 2-MS: The Holiday Season is underway when Sora and friends are called for another quest. Maleficent's Council is trying to destroy Christmas and rule all worlds, and only Sora himself can stop them! As his team travels the worlds, secrets are revealed and more questions are found. Can Sora's team achieve victory? Or will Maleficent & the others win? Rated T for Safety.

36. Ch36 - The Cavern OF Remembrance

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

A/N: HELLO THERE! SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS CHAPTER DONE! Things have been, well... a little hectic in my life these days.

Plus, I have been working on some Original Stories of my own. Yes, I FINALLY feel confident enough to start them! YIPPEE! YES!

Since this is an IMPORTANT Chapter, I shall not linger around up too long.

I just wanted to remind you about The POLL on my Profile Page. Please Respond To It! It May Affect The Order These Stories Are Written In!

I also wanted to point out how I agree with those of you who enjoyed seeing all the "Indiana Jones" references in Chapter 35!
Would you like me to include one (or more) of the "Indiana Jones" movies in one (or more) of my upcoming KH Stories? Please let me know!

In addition, I wanted to state how I am looking forward to seeing "Kingdom Hearts -1.5+1.5 HD Remix-" coming out in March! I wonder how much time it will take to play through all those titles?
Yes, I am planning to see Disney's "Beauty And The Beast (2017)". I am also looking forward to the second half of Season 6 of ABC's "ONCE UPON A TIME". I have the feeling that show's storyline is finally drawing to a close...

There is also another movie I am looking forward to coming out. Yet, I am not going to disclose its title, mostly for "confidential" reasons.

For the record, didn't I promise a certain "Crossover" in This Story? Let's see... which one was it?

So, how about I let you read on?
Please keep in mind: to picture some of these scenes as "Cutscenes", you may have to picture the style used in "Final Fantasy XV".
PLEASE READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW, TOO!

---

CHAPTER 36
The Cavern OF Remembrance

Sora raced into the cave. After roughly ten or fifteen yards, the passage opened into a large chamber. He came to a halt, taking in the new surroundings.

The space was so massive, it seemed to rival his school's gymnasium; that room was three stories tall and about the length of a soccer field! He noticed some oddly-shaped stalactites hanging from the ceiling. On the sides of the cavern walls was the occasional column rising into the emptiness. Due to the lack of light protruding through the chamber, he could not see much else. In fact, most of what he did see was thanks to his eyes making out some silhouettes.

The whole area was as dark as a natural cave. He looked down at the ground before him. Tire tracks. And treads, too. He had the feeling someone had once drove a truck or two through this place. There were multiple tracks, yet one of the trails was deeper than the others. He figured that one had been used the most.

Sora stopped and crossed his arms in thought. Had this been an important place at one time? It almost reminded him of a mining tunnel. He tried to picture miners down here, hacking away at the rocky walls, trying to locate certain types of ore, minerals, or any other substance with value or use to them.

Still, why was such a place located beneath the castle? For that matter, why would anyone be mining through a building's foundation? He had the feeling there was more to all this than it appeared. And he knew he needed to find out the truth.

He had just uncrossed his arms when something slammed into him from behind. It was followed by another ramming. He suddenly found himself face-down on the bluish stone of the cavern floor. A voice gasped — a girl's voice.

"Are you alright?"

Sora rose his head off the ground. He saw Indigo there, standing so tall, she seemed to be towering over him. She leaned forward and reached out to the seventeen-year-old's head. "Hey!" he declared. "Cut it out!"

Indigo jumped back. Sora wiggled his body. "Get off!" he demanded.

The two "things" slid off and landed on either side. To his surprise, Donald and Goofy had slammed into him — in the same order. He had to shake his head, knowing this was no different than the times the three had used this same technique to activate those special "Trinities".

"Heh, heh," Launchpad chuckled. He shone a bright beam into their eyes. "Usually, I am the one who makes these messes."

A stubborn Donald waved his hand at the pilot. "Aw, shuddup!"

Launchpad crossed his arms and frowned. "Yeesh! Another tough crowd!"

Sora calmly returned to his feet. Donald and Goofy did the same on either side of him. Once the brown, spikey-haired young man was back on his feet, he saw Indigo rushing back over. The angel got so close, he nearly stepped back. "Whoa! Take it easy!"

Indigo grabbed the young man's mouth and yanked it open with her hands. As she looked inside, Sora was completely startled. What was the angel doing?! Was she trying to be his doctor now? He certainly hoped not! His Dad often complained about how much their family doctor was "overcharging them" for basic appointments.

The angel released her grip on the teenager's mouth and proceeded to inspect his forehead and the sides of his cheeks. "Does anything hurt?" she enquired.

"Not really," Sora muttered, rolling his eyes.

Indigo paused when she noticed something on his head. "You have a small bruise on your forehead," she informed him. "It looks bad."

She gazed straight into his eyes. "Did you take a direct hit in the head a while back?"

Sora stopped to recollect. The only time he could think of such an event happening was when he had tumbled over back in Bueno Nacho HeadQuarters. He had fallen onto his face, slid across the floor, and slammed into the wall. He vaguely remembered the ceiling tile falling from above and crashing down upon his scalp.

He looked down. "Yeah," he sighed. "Back in Kim's world. I fell over and got hit by a tile from above."

Indigo stepped back a few feet. "Unless you get that taken care of soon, you could develop a serious concussion."

Sora now felt perplexed. "How do you know all this stuff?"

Indigo looked to her right. She rubbed her right arm with her left hand. "My Mom. She taught me everything I know."

"You mean, Violet's mom, right?"

"Yes and no," Indigo sighed and turned away. She looked up at the shadowed ceiling. Her left hand reached for her necklace. "Violet, Teal, and I were split up many years ago. We were so young, I can only remember their names. Yet, I know we were very close."

Her head fell. Her eyes closed as though trying to remember what had happened. A tear slid down her cheek. "I have not seen my sisters for more than ten years…. Until I met you, I… I only had limited contact with Violet. Sometimes, I felt her presence in my dreams. I knew she was still alive — somewhere else. That helped me feel relief, knowing I was not the only Angel of Light left in existence."

Her voice started to break. Another tear slid down her face. "Yet, Teal…. "

She fell to her knees and buried her face into her hands. Her antennae drooped low. Even her wings sagged. The loud sounds of sobbing filled the immediate area. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all fell silent.

Sora gave a deep sigh. Before his journey through the Realm Of Sleep, he had always been told angels were creatures of legend. Of mythology. Yet, he had met not one, but two angels. And "Angels of Light", nevertheless! Violet and Indigo. Sisters.

He recalled how Violet had cried when she had mentioned what could happen if everyone were to suddenly stop dreaming. Even though she had not finished her sentence, he had the feeling he knew what she was going to say. If everybody stopped dreaming, she would probably cease to exist.

Indigo, on the other hand, was struggling to recollect a memory of some kind. For the looks of it, it was an especially hurtful one. Either that, or she was just being a little too emotional. He rapidly threw that explanation out of his mind.

Remembering how Indigo had mentioned a third sister named "Teal", he started to wonder if anything had happened to this yet-to-be-met angel. Based on Indigo's reactions, something terrible had happened to "Teal". He did not know what had happened, only that something tragic must have taken place. This was not like Indigo to suddenly collapse in tears.

That was his job!

Nevertheless, he knew Violet and Indigo's sister was probably either missing-in-action, or worse…. She probably did not exist anymore. He sincerely hoped that was not the case!

With a deep sigh, Sora strolled over to Indigo. He got down on one knee and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry about your sister," he said.

The angel lowered her hands. The brown-headed youth could see the tear-trails streaking down her face. She shook her head. "It is not your fault," she replied. "I simply do not know if Teal is alright, in serious danger, or if she no longer exists…. "

"What happened to her?" Donald asked.

Indigo shut her eyes again. "I cannot remember. I can only remember the cold wind and the snowy ground…. "

"Must've been Winter," Goofy indicated.

"I also remember my Mom being there. It was the last time I was ever with Teal and Violet. I wish I knew what became of both of them."

Sora looked down. He understood how Indigo felt. He had felt just as depressed when he had learned Kairi had been kidnapped by Organization XIII. Back then, he had still not found Riku, and he had just lost all hope of asking King Mickey about the silver-haired teenager's whereabouts.

He had been so upset, he had nearly given up all hope of finding his friends, let alone protecting the worlds from the Heartless and Nobodies. Not to mention Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas. If it had not been for the encouragement Donald and Goofy had provided, he might have just retreated back home and done something terrible with his Keyblade. Or worse….

He tossed that train-of-thought of its rails.

He took a deep breath and offered his hand. "It's okay," he said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "We'll find her. Violet's waiting for us back at Master Yen Sid's tower. Maybe she knows where Teal is."

Indigo opened her eyes and turned her head to face Sora. The latter grinned so much, his teeth showed. She glanced at his hand. Then back to his head. Her eyes met his straight on. She saw a flicker of Light shining through his azure eyes. This was quite the pleasant display to see, considering all the Darkness she had sensed coming from his heart.

With a small smile, she grabbed his hand. Sora rose to his feet, helping Indigo back to hers. The angel took a deep breath and smiled. Her antennae returned to their "proper" positions. Her wings also righted themselves, allowing her appearance to return to its butterfly-like design. Her glow slowly became brighter.

There was something else, too. Sora sensed a strong Light radiating outward. It felt so warm and soothing. He imagined himself back on the beach, listening to the sounds of the distant waves. How he longed to hear them now….

"Thank you, Sora," Indigo said, shaking the spikey, brown-headed Keyblader's hand. "I am starting to feel like my old self, again."

Sora beamed with delight. He could feel some of the Light passing through their handshake. "Yeah, you know it!"

The two stopped shaking hands and let go. Sora turned to gaze to the right. "Whoa!" he exclaimed in complete astonishment.

The cavern was much brighter now. As he had predicted, the tire trails led down a tunnel to the far wall. A large, metallic doorway covered the entrance.

"How'd it get so bright?" Launchpad wondered aloud. He clicked off his flashlight.

"My glow," Indigo realized. She glanced over her hands, feet, and wings. She stared at Sora in amazement. "By helping me feel better, you caused my glow to get stronger."

She folded her arms. "Sora, you are one spectacular kid!"

Sora shrugged. "It's no big deal."

He headed for the doorway. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were moments behind. Indigo was a little startled. It seemed like the young man preferred to always be moving. Or completing some type of mission. Or both.

She shook her head. This was definitely going to take some getting used to. She calmly raced after the others. "Wait for me!" she shouted.

---

Sora was the first one to reach the far wall. He looked straight up at the door. The heavy door, it seemed. The words "CHECKPOINT 1.2" could be seen inscribed upon the side of it. He also took notice of the pair of lights above the doorframe. One was green; the other was red. He wondered what they meant.

He turned around in time to see Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Indigo catching up. "It think this door's locked," the young man admitted.

"Try usin' your Keyblade, Sora," Goofy suggested.

Sora shook his head. "There's no lock to open."

Donald crossed his arms. "Aw phooey…. "

Launchpad yawned. "Sounds like one of them new video games. I think it's called 'KH'… or something."

Sora's hands flew to the front of his face. He wanted to run off somewhere and never be heard from again. Why did this stuff keep happening to him? Every time he was trying to resolve some puzzle or problem, one of his teammates would make a silly statement — often one unrelated to what they were doing.

He just wished they would pay more attention to the current mission instead of constantly getting sidetracked. After all, he had heard it was better to say nothing and have others wonder about your intelligence than to say something stupid and leave them no doubt. As far as he was concerned, that meant anything unrelated to the current quest needed to be shoved aside — at least, for now.

"Sora?" Sora lowered his hands. Indigo was only inches from his face. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

Sora gave a quick nod. He did not want to worry the angel, let alone have her questioning him now. When he saw Indigo crossing her arms, he had the feeling his plan had failed. He had only roused her suspicion.

Indigo's antennae seemed to be pointing straight for him. "I think you are not telling me the truth, Sora."

"Of course, I am!" Sora pounded the side of his chest. He looked around the immediate area. That was when his eyes landed upon the large, metal staircase leading up the wall. "Look!" he called, pointing to the stairs.

Indigo, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all swerved their attention to the staircase. Before they could say a thing, Sora raced for it. Knowing they could not allow the young man to get away so easily, they all quickly followed.

Once again being first, Sora stopped and shifted his gaze straight up. The staircase seemed to zigzag back and forth all the way to the top of the wall. At the very top of the steps, he could make out the shape of some type of opening.

He turned to the others as they reached him. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all stopped to catch their breath. Indigo flew over, even though her feet were just a few inches off the ground. When she set down, she crossed her arms. The angel stood next to the Keyblade wielder and trained her eyesight to the top of the stairs. "This staircase is rusty," she observed. "It could collapse at any minute. It is too dangerous."

"Man," Sora shook his head. "You're starting to sound like my Mom."

He put his foot on the first step. It creaked. That was all. With his large grin forming across his face, Sora felt proud. He had the feeling Indigo had been overreacting about the stairs falling to the ground. They were as sturdy as a mineral… or rock — if you prefer.

He glanced back to his companions. "See? It's safe!"

"You haven't climbed it, yet," Donald pinpointed.

"Yeah," Goofy approved. "You gotta walk all the way to thuh top."

"It still does not look safe," an unimpressed Indigo stated.

Sora turned around. He shoved all his friends' comments aside. Why should he worry? This staircase was perfectly sturdy and safe. Nothing was going to happen when he climbed it. Besides, what other choice did he have? There was no other way through this cavern.

He marched up the first flight of steps. "Nothing to it!" he declared, rounding the first bend. He hurried up the second flight. Same thing. He stomped up two steps at a time for the third flight.

After he dashed up the fourth flight, Sora felt like Indigo had been worrying all for nothing. The staircase was still standing. It was not wobbly. It was not shaking. It was holding up nice and smooth. Clearly, he needed to tune out that Royal Court Magician, the Captain of The Royal Knights, and The Angel of Hope more often. He just needed to listen to the voice inside his head.

As he started up the fifth (and last) flight of steps, Sora noticed something different. The stairs were creaking with each step he took. The handrail seemed to be vibrating. He held onto both rails as he continued. It almost felt like the staircase was starting to wobble….

"Sora!" Indigo shouted from below. "Look out!"

Sora's eyes grew wide with alarm. He raced up the stairs. He could feel the railings shaking more and more as he hurried. He was only a few feet away from the opening. He needed to scurry before….

CRACK! Sora jumped into the air. He reached out and grabbed the bottom edge of the opening.

CRASH! The staircase — steps, handrails, and all — crumpled like twisted tin foil onto the cavern floor. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all rushed several feet away and ducked behind the knight's shield.

"Yikes!" Indigo exclaimed. She opened her wings and leapt into the air. She rose into the air, just as the debris clattered all over the spot where she had been seconds before.

Sora was appalled. Indigo had been correct the entire time. Not only had the staircase collapsed, his friends had been forced to take cover. Plus, he was dangling from the edge of the opening the stairs had once led up to.

Recalling what he had seen rock climbers do in the movies, the spikey, brown-haired youth reached his arms further into the opening. He swung his legs to the rocky wall. After getting a foothold, he clambered his wall up. Within a matter of five minutes (which it was), Sora found himself safely inside the opening. He sat down to catch his breath, the fright of what had almost happened slowly leaving his system.

A glowing shadow appeared. He looked back and relaxed. There was Indigo, hovering just beyond the opening. The angel stepped in and stopped when she was beside him. She knelt down and crossed her arms. "That was a stupid thing you did," she scolded, a scowl evident on her face.

"Come on, Indigo," Sora retaliated. "I still made it, didn't I? You have to give me credit for that!"

Indigo shook her head. "That is not the point. What you did was so stupid, you might as well have pulled the fire alarm in a non-emergency situation."

"Hey!" Sora jumped to his feet. Now, he was scowling. "Since when did you become my Mom?"

Indigo was on her feet in a flash. "I am not trying to be your mother, Sora."

Sora's scowl turned into a glare. "Then, leave me alone! I can handle myself!"

He stormed down the tunnel. He marched away so suddenly, he reached out his arms and shoved the angel aside. Indigo slammed into the wall, her head banged against the rock.

"SORA!" she shouted. Her eyes were filled with alarm. Not only had the young man gotten so flustered with her, he had talked very rudely, he had pushed her into the wall. She reached behind her head with her left hand. When she removed her hand, Indigo gasped. Her left hand was stained with something red.

She could barely speak. "He did not…. "

Indigo clutched her left fist as tightly as she could. She glared intensely into the direction Sora had gone. She reached out her hand. A spear-like weapon appeared. It was a greenish color with a dark-violet guard and matching handle. The tip of the weapon was so sharp, it could have punctured a stack of fresh bones easily.

Indigo could feel something she had never felt before. Okay, she had sensed this before. Only this time, it seemed to be coming from inside. She hopped into the air and readied her lance. Away she flew down the corridor.

---

In the midst of a ruined building, an older man was watching a projection of Indigo in the rocky tunnel. The shadows concealed most of his appearance, so only his yellow eyes and silver goatee could be seen.

He grinned when he saw the angel summon the lance. He saw the flicker of something dark in her eyes. Perfect. This was something he was hoping would happen.

"Yes," he said to himself. "She is indeed strong — just like her mother. The time has not come yet, but it is coming soon."

His grin grew all the more. "She will fulfill her role in the war — just as I envisioned."

Not wanting to miss out on an excellent opportunity, he waved his hand over the projection. Flakes of Darkness drifted into the image. They started to surround the angel before entering her. She froze for a moment before proceeding, a darker scowl on her face.

He gave a sinister chuckle. Just as he had intended….

---

Sora raced down the tunnel. He could feel his anger growing stronger. It did not matter. He needed to get away from the bossy angel. He should never have agreed to bring her back to Master Yen Sid. He remembered all those fights he and Violet had shared. Indigo was no different.

Clearly, it was impossible to genuinely get along with angels.

He reached the end of the passage. To his surprise, he was running across a long, metal catwalk. Down below, he could see a large chamber big enough to swallow a tugboat or two. It appeared to be at least thirty feet deep, at least from where he stood. Lots of machinery and crates of supplies were scattered about. If it had not been for the flashlight in his hand, Sora would have missed it all. Drills, gloves, and… a generator?

Sora raced for the staircase ahead. He made a sharp left and headed down below. Unlike the other stairs, these ones were not rusty. In fact, these ones felt much sturdier. He wondered if the catwalk had helped keep these steps in place. He decided not to think about everything so much. He had a cave to explore.

He hurried into the direction of the generator. He was only a few yards away when his foot rammed into something. Sora tumbled over and landed on his face. He rubbed his head. Not feeling anything wrong, he hopped back to his feet. He looked back. To his surprise, he had tripped over a box labelled, "Dynamite".

His eyes grew large. He recalled how Vinny had used explosives like that to do various things. His eyes swept around the area. All this equipment seemed to have a single purpose. What was it?

His eyes lit up. "Of course! This is some kinda mine!"

"Look out down there!"

Sora veered his head to the catwalk. To his astonishment, there was Indigo, swooping in from above. That was when he saw the large lance in her hands. He also noticed something else.

Her sensation of Light seemed to have… vanished?

The angel thrusted the lance forward. Sora saw she was headed directly for him. Fearing the worst, he dodge-rolled to the right. Indigo slammed her weapon into the cavern floor, a few inches from where the teenager had been standing.

Sora could not believe his eyes. Had Indigo just tried to harm him? What was this? A munity? He was the team leader!

Indigo charged at him. Sora summoned his Keyblade and blocked the attack. The angel was not backing down. In fact, Sora was having a difficult time keeping his guard up.

"Indigo, what's gotten into you?" he asked.

He looked into the angel's eyes. He froze and stared, seeing something he had not seen before. A flicker of Darkness. Not just any Darkness. Strong Darkness. Like… Xehanort-level Darkness.

He gasped. "Xehanort…. "

"You hurt me," Indigo stated, her teeth gritted against each other. "Now, you shall pay for betraying him!"

Sora shoved against the angel with all his might. Indigo went flying back. The brown-haired young man jumped back. Indigo hopped into the air and lunged at the Keyblade wielder. Sora readied his weapon and glared. "Let's do this, Indigo!" he yelled.

In no time, Sora found himself trading blows with the angel. He could feel the powerful Darkness pushing against him. He continued to fight. The more he fought, the stronger the Darkness seemed to get. He knew what this meant.

Xehanort was most-likely controlling Indigo. He knew how this setup worked. He had been forced to fight a friend on more than one occasion. The last time had been when he had faced Tron in order to rescue him from CLU's control. He had taken on the Beast to save his friend from the manipulation of a member of Organization XIII. He had even fought Riku so he could break Maleficent and Xehanort's control over the silver-headed youth.

Only this time, he was taking on an Angel of Light. That did not make a whole lot of sense to him. Since when did someone who was supposed to protect the Light have the potential of such extreme Darkness inside their hearts?

It did not matter. He needed to break the Darkness away from Indigo's heart. The way to do that was by defeating her in a heated battle. And that was what he was doing now.

---

Donald was pacing around. This way and that way. He continually looked up at the opening where Sora and Indigo had ventured. He tugged his collar, feeling the sweat dripping down his neck.

The duck looked across the immediate area. Thanks to the lantern Launchpad had brought, there was enough light to illuminate the cavern. Goofy was slouched against the door, his eyes wandering to the ceiling. His hands were tucked behind his head.

Launchpad was lying flat on the ground with his legs crossed. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be snoring.

Donald looked back up to the opening. "Where are they?" he muttered to himself. He started stomping as he paced.

"They must be busy," Goofy offered.

"Phooey!" Donald waved his hand at the knight so rapidly, it could have easily sliced through a piece of wood. At least, there was nothing except air between the two. And it was roughly five feet thick. "I'll bet the Darkness is involved."

Goofy sat up in awe, a surprised look written all over his face. "Really? Ya know, Xehanort did put something strange in Sora's heart. I still say it was that there Darkness."

Donald hated to admit it, yet it sure seemed Goofy had been right on the money all along. How could the knight have been so smart? Was he getting distracted? Or just noticing stuff the others were always missing?

Maybe he had underestimated the tall dog's knowledge…. No way! That was impossible! Goofy was as unintelligent as his name sounded. Donald was certain that was the case!

Goofy rose to his feet and started to stroll around the room. His hands remained in his pockets and his head was angled down like he was just casually walking through the rain without an umbrella. At least he was not singing.

Within a matter of seconds, Goofy was only a few steps behind Donald. The duck mage turned and scowled. "What's the big idea?!" he snapped, his hands flying to his sides. His arms appeared to be formed into perfect right angles, only slightly sideways. "Stop following me!"

Goofy's hands flew from his pockets and rose into the air as though he was shrugging. The puzzled look on his face indicated he was not sure how to respond, let alone what was going on.

An enormous CRASH made the two jump two feet into the air. They landed hard onto the ground and hastily stared in alarm.

There was Sora with his Keyblade in hand. He back-flipped into the chamber and landed a few feet in front of the pair. There was a determined glare on his face. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the knight and mage staring at him. "Guys! C'mon!" he shouted to them. "Indigo needs our help!"

"What do ya mean, Sora?" Goofy enquired.

A figure emerged from the shadows of the now-shattered doorway. There was Indigo, only without her usual indigo-colored glow. In fact, there was a strange glow in her eyes. It looked like a shade of amber. Her hands were wrapped tightly around a strange-looking lance. It was green with a dark-violet guard and matching handle.

"Waak!" Donald yelped in surprise.

"Are you looking for help?" Indigo asked. Her voice sounded more like an echo than Donald and Goofy remembered. "Get all the help you can. You shall still fail to win!"

Goofy gasped. He pointed straight at Indigo. "It's thuh power of thuh Darkness!" he exclaimed.

Donald slapped the knight's arm so hard, the latter yelped. "It's not nice to point!" he scolded. "How many times do I have to—?!"

The duck's words were cut off when Indigo jumped and angled her lance straight at him. Just as she was about to land, Donald took out his wand and rolled to once side. The angel landed just inches from where he had been. The impact resulted in a shockwave that shook the entire area.

Goofy held up his shield and deflected as much of the shockwave as he could. "Gawrsh," he muttered to himself.

Although he had been blown backward by the ground's movement, Sora flipped into the air and regained his balance. Once he was back on his feet, he shouted, "Let's do this!"

Donald and Goofy were by his sides in no time. Indigo readied her weapon and hastily lurched forward. Goofy tossed his shield at the angel and managed to slam it into the latter's right arm. Indigo leaped back.

"Thundara!" Donald called. His raised his wand into the air. A few bolts of strong lightning rained down. One struck Indigo, stunning her for a few moments. She shook it off and glared intensely at the duck.

"You cannot win!" she declared.

Sora rushed forward. When Indigo was only two feet away, he swung his Keyblade. The blade nearly hit its target. It would have, if the angel had not blocked his attack. Sora slid his feet around her and delivered a strong blow from behind.

"Ouch!" Indigo yelped as the Keyblade struck her in the back. She spun around. "You shall regret that!"

Sora signaled over to Donald and Goofy. "Power!" he called in a louder-than-normal voice. Knowing what this meant, Donald and Goofy quickly nodded. They hurried over to him.

Sora held his Keyblade high. "Trinity Limit!" he declared.

A ball of Light started to form at the tip of his Keyblade. Donald and Goofy both raised their weapons and let them touch the blade. The result was a gigantic sphere of pure Light. Sora aimed his Keyblade at Indigo. The angel had leapt back several feet, her lance ready and waiting.

"Let's go!" the brown-haired young man shouted.

He swung his Keyblade directly at where Indigo stood. The Light-filled sphere flew from his weapon and soared in a straight line over to where the angel was standing. The Light slammed directly into Indigo, exploding upon impact. Brilliant Light flooded the cavern for several, long seconds.

When it finally faded, Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked again. Indigo stood motionless for a few moments. Then, she collapsed onto the ground. Her eyes were closed and she did not appear to be breathing. Her wings were lying a little bent on the hard rock. Even her antennae was slouched. She was not moving, not even slightly.

Sora's eyes grew large. He gasped, realization filling his head. "Indigo!" he shouted in alarm.

He tossed his Keyblade to one side. The weapon vanished before it clattered onto the cavern floor two feet away. He did not notice. His mind was entirely focused on Indigo. Hopefully she was okay. At least when he had faced Tron in The Grid, he had sensed something that indicated his friend was alright. He had always figured it was the power of Light.

Yet now, he was feeling nothing. No Light. All he could detect was the strong Darkness all around. He remembered how Riku had once explained how he was able to track the scent of Darkness to a particular source. The spikey, brown-headed seventeen-year-old wondered if the same thing had happened to him, considering what Goofy had told him about the Darkness he had supposedly been displaying here and there.

He screeched to a halt beside the angel. She was still lying on the ground. Her body looked like it had been thrown from a great height and slammed onto a hard surface, except without the multitude of bumps and bruises. "Indigo!" he yelled, still frantic.

Donald and Goofy were moments behind him. "She's not moving," Donald observed.

Goofy turned to the magician. "What about tryin' your magic, Donald?"

"Okay," Donald approved. He took out his wand. That was when he froze. The realization he had just agreed to something Goofy had suggested crossed his mind every-which-way. Was he losing his touch? He hoped not!

"Cura!" Donald declared, pointing his wand straight up.

A magical, glowing flower appeared above Indigo. Just after it started to fade, the angel stirred a little. She gradually opened her eyes and groaned as she struggled to sit up.

"Ouch," she winced as a sharp pain stabbed her in the side. She flipped over onto her stomach. Her eyes rose until they were gazing upon the group. "What… took place?"

"It's kinda a long story," Sora replied. He was not sure he should tell Indigo all about her being possessed by the Darkness. If what Violet had said about the "Angels of Light" was true, he did not want to alarm his friend. The idea of someone who was supposed to be close to the Light utilizing the Darkness was not something he wanted to contemplate over.

He turned to the now-damaged doorway. There was a large gap in it, leaving enough room for the group to proceed. "It's not important," Sora told Indigo. He headed for what was left of the door. "Let's keep going."

Goofy strolled up to Indigo and held out his hand. The angel smiled and accepted it. As the knight helped her to her feet, Indigo stumbled a little before regaining her balance. "Thank you so much," she said to him. A large smile showed on her lips.

Goofy looked ready to blush. "Aw shucks…. "

Donald rolled his eyes. He found himself gazing at something against the cavern's far wall. "What about Launchpad?"

Sora stopped in his footsteps. He glanced towards the pilot. There was Launchpad, fast asleep with his legs crossed and muscular arms tucked behind his head. All the Keyblade wielder could do was sigh and shake his head. "Just get him up."

Donald marched up to the duck-pilot, rolling his sleeves up along the way. When he reached his destination, he leaned into the latter's ear. "WAKE UP!" he hollered as loudly as he could.

Launchpad jolted into the air. His head banged against the ceiling and he landed flat upon the ground. As he sat up, the pilot rubbed the side of his head. "Yeesh!" he grumbled, scowling at Donald. "Another rude awakening!"

Sora had to roll his eyes. He could tell his teammates were starting to get on each others' nerves, not to mention his own. This was slowly getting to him, just like it had back when they were in the world of Ancient Empire. He hoped nothing serious would come out of all this, recalling how Donald had once declared he was no longer going to fight alongside Goofy or Launchpad.

He shook the memories to the side of his mind. He could not allow all these problems to get in the way of them working as a team. That was the only way they would be able to finish their quest. Chances were, several worlds were still counting on them! The Heartless were not going to go easy on them. They never did.

They needed to work together, even if it was just to be cautious throughout the remainder of this journey.

"C'mon," Sora announced. "Let's keep moving."

Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all nodded. Indigo had her arms crossed. "Let's be extra careful from now on," she indicated.

"Yeah," Sora swiftly replied in agreement. He headed for the gap in the doorway. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were directly behind him.

Indigo had to shake her head. "Sora…. When shall you learn not to rush into anything?"

With a smile forming on her lips, the angel had to flutter her eyes a little. She could tell Sora's struggle with the Darkness was most-likely not as much of a threat as she had been led to believe. Although she was still uncertain as to what had provoked her to attack him, Indigo shoved it aside. She strolled quickly along after the others.

She was sure Sora's mind was still in the correct place, even if his heart was starting to slip. She also knew, even if there was a growing Darkness inside him, such immense power typically took weeks, months, maybe even years to reach a point of no return.

Chances were, by then, she would discover the best way to rid the Darkness from the spikey-haired young man's heart.

---

He scowled as the projection faded. His fist pounded the wall beside him. A small shower of dust and flakes of peeling paint landed all around. He could not believe his eyes.

The power had failed. His control over the angel was ruined. He would have to wait quite some time before he could try again.

He stood up fully, an idea coming to his mind. "Her Light shines too bright," he declared in his usual, gruff voice. "But that doesn't mean her sisters' Lights are as strong."

He turned away and headed for the nearest doorway. As he strolled away, someone peeked their head in the doorway. It was a group of three, small rats with large noses; two had red noses while the third had a black nose. One was large and reddish-orange. Another was light-grey with a slender body, and the third was also slender with darker-brown fur.

With a sharing of sneaky grins, the three rats snuck up to the magical sphere on the pedestal in the center of the room. Two of them reached up and removed the glass sphere. The third replaced it with a small, brown walnut shell.

The three rats raced out of the room. As they left, a young, brown-haired man in a black-hooded coat stepped into the room. He yelped when he saw the rats leaving. "Great," he complained aloud. "First a boulder chases me. Now, there's rats. What's next? Snakes and a bottomless pit? Don't tell me I'm being sent into the Underworld, again!"

He gave an exasperated sigh. He leaned his head forward so suddenly, his navy-blue headset nearly fell to the floor. "They really picked the wrong guy!"

---

The enormous chamber was darker than Sora recalled. Using his flashlight's beam, he led the others to the generator he had found earlier. He was careful to watch his step, just in case another crate of dynamite was lying around. When he reached the generator, the Keyblade wielder noticed a switch was flipped up. Certain this lever controlled the machine, he grabbed the handle and pulled it down.

Bright lights shone all around the area. After their eyes got adjusted to the illumination, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Indigo all saw they were in a massive chamber full of drilling machines, digging tools (including a pile of rusted shovels), and three tall stacks of crates containing dynamite. Lots of metallic walkways seemed to lead around up above, even though it was impossible to make out exactly where they went, let alone where they started from.

"Gee," Goofy murmured aloud. His voice echoed all around the open cavern. "Looks like somebody's been diggin' here."

Sora had to admit, the knight had a valid point. Not too far away from the group was the edge of a steep cliff. He led the others to the edge.

As they peered down into the darkness, Sora gulped. The drop seemed to descend for miles and miles. "This looks bottomless," he realized.

"Why would someone be digging here?" Donald inquired.

Indigo turned her head to the left. A piece of shiny metal caught her eye. Sora noticed the angel strolling away and said, "What's up?"

"Look at this over here," Indigo answered as she reached the metal plate. She stopped a few feet from it and placed her hands directly above her chest. "It looks familiar…. "

With curiosity filling his mind, Sora hurried over. He stopped beside Indigo and turned his eyes to the metal plate. To his surprise, there was a large logo on the metal. It was shaped like a diamond with a red interior. A few, white Japanese characters decorated the middle of the diamond. Below the characters was a set of black text. The writing was old and seemed to be partly rubbed off.

Shin-Ra E tric Pow omp y

Sora knelt down to get a closer look. He used his right index finger to follow the lines of text and read it aloud. "'Shin-Ra Electric Power Company'."

He froze. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded so familiar to him. Was it from a video game he had played? Or from a movie he had seen? Maybe it was… both? He was unsure.

Sora rose back onto his feet. He turned to see if he had the attention of Indigo, Launchpad, Goofy, and Donald. "C'mon," he called. "Let's keep going."

Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all nodded in agreement. Only Indigo did not nod. She folded her arms. Sora failed to notice the angel's antennae were eyeing him like a submarine's periscope watching an enemy ship.

The group proceeded through the chamber to a droplet-shaped opening on the other side. They continued through a short passage before reaching a long, metal bridge. Just as they were about to cross, the cave shuddered. Donald grabbed Goofy's neck and clung on in alarm. Indigo held out her arms to the sides and looked around. Sora found himself wobbling. He saw Launchpad was having the same kind of trouble.

"What was that?" Goofy asked. The only answer was a small cloud of dust raining down from above. Sora turned to the knight and put a finger to his mouth. Goofy covered his mouth in turn.

Sora carefully strode up to the edge of the bridge and put on foot on it. He had heard enough about underground tremors to know the sort of damage they could do. He recalled his Dad once watching a documentary about the time a major coal mine had collapsed back on the islands. Fortunately, that tragic incident had occurred many years before the spikey-haired youth had been born.

Even so, he had the feeling that last shake was not normal. He had never heard of earthquakes happening in other worlds. Yet, that did not mean they could not happen.

Sora took a moment to peer down over the railing. All he could see was pitch blackness. It even looked darker than a mass blackout in the middle of the night. Holding his breath, the young man pressed on.

He was almost to the other side when the ground began moving. "Sora!" came a shout from the other side.

Sora grabbed the handrail. He could feel the bridge shaking. "Guys!" he called. "Hurry across! This bridge won't last long!"

Donald was scurrying across the bridge in less than a second. Goofy and Launchpad hobbled their way along, using both handrails and scooting down the bouncing path. Indigo was the last one to take a step onto the bridge. The swaying structure made it difficult for the angel to maintain her steady walking pace.

Sora reached the end of the bridge. To his relief, the ground had ceased moving. He looked back to the bridge in time to see Donald and Goofy just reaching him. That was also when he saw the handrail was cracking apart.

"Look out!" he shouted.

Before Sora, Donald, or Goofy had the chance to react, the bridge snapped in half. Launchpad grabbed onto a handrail and quickly found himself swinging to the other side like a certain Wildman Sora had once known in the jungle.

Except the pilot missed his target. SPLAT! "I meant ta do that," Launchpad remarked once he had peeled his head off the wall of blue stone.

It took both Donald and Goofy to lift the pilot to the top of the cliff. Sora stared out into the now-impassable crevice. "Indigo!" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.

A few, long seconds passed. Then, a familiar, indigo-colored glow appeared from the darkness. Up swooped the angel, her glow brighter than usual. "I am alright," she announced.

Sora gave a deep sigh of relief. If anything had happened to her, Violet would NEVER have forgiven him! He knew he needed to keep Indigo safe — no matter what happened!

Indigo came in for a very smooth landing. "You should see what is down there," she told the others. "It is an interesting sight. It looks like something from an IJ movie."

"What's down there?" a curious Donald asked.

"There is a large city — or, at least, what is left of it. It looks like a giant circle with a towering building in the middle. That sign we saw, it is all over the place," the angel shuddered. "It felt very spooky."

Sora crossed his arms. Was Indigo being serious? How could a massive city be buried deep beneath the Radiant Garden? Having noticed all that equipment down here, had someone been mining for it? One thing was for sure, someone had been down here at one time or another. Maybe it was Xehanort. Or Ansem The Wise himself.

Whatever the case, he still knew this tunnel had not created itself. There was a lack of water and underground rivers for that sort of thing to happen here.

This was no cave. It was a mining tunnel.

Sora turned his focus to the path ahead. "Let's keep going."

The young man strode ahead. Donald and Goofy exchanged looks of perplexity. Why was Sora in such a rush to continue on their journey? Typically, he stopped to smell the roses. Now, he was dashing along as though he were a fairytale prince trying to rescue his pre-destined princess-to-be. The only other time they recalled him acting like this was when they had entered Organization XIII's stronghold in order to save Kairi. Of course, the King had scolded Sora for yelling in enemy territory, which could have alerted all the remaining members of the Organization of their current location.

Now, that would have proved quite the disaster!

With a shrug shared between the two, Donald and Goofy strolled along after the Keyblader. Launchpad was moments after them. Indigo slowly trailed along, her mind preoccupied about the hidden city far below.

---

The path led straight to a large chamber with some large, metal machines. This sight was not new for Sora. The equipment resembled the conveyor belts he'd seen photographs of — the ones miners once used to transport coal and other minerals to the processing station. Sometimes, the materials would get broken up along the way, making it easier to lift them out of the ground at the end of the machinery.

However, the belts before him were silent. And they were huge. Anyone could have easily driven a small, one person car down the machinery. From what he could see, the design seemed to resemble those Hi-Tech "moving sidewalks" the seventeen-year-old had seen at the mall back home on the islands. He also took note of a number of old, rusty pipes attached to the equipment. It was a good thing the machines were not running. He imagined lots of hot steam would come rushing out of the pipes. It would make quite the mess.

'Huh?' Sora paused very suddenly. 'Am I… really starting to think like Dad?'

He knew his Dad was a very practical man, spending most of his time away from home. As far as Sora knew, he had always denied the possibility of other worlds. When Sora had come home and told everyone about his adventures with Donald, Goofy, and the others, his Dad had said, "You've got quite the imagination."

The only exception was the possibility of other universes. His Dad had always stated that movies and television shows always came from other universes. It almost seemed as though he was convinced the television was like a transmitter giving broadcasts of events taking place in other lands a long distance away from their own.

Sora shook the whole contemplation aside. As far as he was concerned, it was unrelated to what was happening now. Seeing how the way to go was down the conveyor belt to a flight of stairs, the young man started across the still belts. He felt his shoes crunching against the debris that had been left behind who knows how long ago.

He glanced back. His teammates were following him step for step. Only Indigo was not walking. Her feet were a few inches off the belt and she had doubt written on her face.

Certain the angel was preparing for something to happen that was not going to happen, Sora shook his head.

The lights went out. The group froze.

"What's happening?!" Donald yelped.

Sora flipped on his flashlight. He shone it around the area. The chamber seemed as dark as the first room had felt before he had switched on the generator. "That was weird," he admitted. "Why did the generator just… shut off?"

He noticed the only other light (besides his flashlight's beam) was Indigo's glow. She illuminated the area so much, it felt like there was a decently-lit lantern in her hands. "Sora, I think the floor is moving."

"Huh?" Sora looked down. He gasped. Sure enough, the conveyor belt was moving. It had been going at such a slow pace, he had not felt anything. Chances were, no one else had felt it either. "We are moving."

"And we're pickin' up speed," Goofy indicated.

Just as the words left the knight's mouth, the belt jolted forward. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all tumbled down. Sora struggled to return to his standing position. The belt was moving twenty times faster than a typical conveyor belt at a grocery store. And it was getting even quicker.

Sora gazed up ahead. To his alarm, a rock tumbled over the end of the belt and descended into the inky blackness. After several long seconds, there was a faint clattering far, far, far, far below them.

He gasped. He knew this meant there was an immense drop just off this machine. He needed to find a way off — and now!

That was when the iron grate caught his attention. It was located a few feet away, on the right side just before the edge of the drop.

"There!" he shouted. He tried to stand again. His feet gave out and he tumbled back onto his face. The end seemed closer than ever….

There was the grate. He scooted his body two feet and flung out his arms. Just as his fingers seized the iron bars, his feet slid over the edge. Sora found himself dangling from the grate over a seemingly bottomless shaft. He looked down and watched as his flashlight descended into the darkness. The beam swung around and around as the item fell. There was a loud CLANG as the flashlight hit the bottom of the shaft. The beam faded and went out.

Sora gave a sigh of relief. "Man! That was way too close!"

He grunted as he pulled himself onto the grate. He was glad it was horizontal, allowing him to kneel on the iron bars instead having to climb up to another position.

"Help!"

Sora jerked his head up. There was Donald, sliding for the edge. "Donald!"

He watched as Donald came sliding past the grate. He reached out his hand and grabbed the duck's tail feathers. With a loud grunt, he yanked the magician into the air and set him down upon the iron bars.

"Phew," was all Donald could say. He spent the next minute or four catching his breath.

That was when Sora saw Goofy and Launchpad struggling to reach the grate. "Sora!" Goofy called.

"Hold on!" Sora replied. He spotted Indigo hovering overhead. She seemed to be in shock. Her eyes were wide and she had her mouth covered. "Indigo! Get Launchpad!"

---

Indigo swung her eyes to the Keyblade wielder. Sora pointed to the duck-pilot. Launchpad was only a few feet from the edge of the drop and well out of Sora's reach. It was only a matter of time before he would tumble over the edge and out of sight.

Indigo gasped. She gave a swift nod and swooped in low over the belt. Launchpad was frozen in place, unable to move. The end of the belt came closer and closer….

Indigo reached out her arms. She wrapped them tightly around the large duck and pulled with all her might. Her wings strained to keep the two airborne. "You are too heavy," she commented, still struggling to keep Launchpad in the air.

"I must've had too many pickled pizzas last week," Launchpad chuckled, a tad embarrassed.

Indigo shook her head. Carrying this duck-pilot was already more than she could handle. Now she had to deal with Launchpad making strange comments?

---

Sora was pulling Goofy onto the grate when he saw Indigo was barely keeping herself flying. "Oh no!" he declared, his eyes wide with concern.

Once Goofy was on the grate, Sora jumped to his feet. "Indigo! Hurry!" he hollered, cupping his hand around his mouth.

Indigo's eyes swung to the brown-headed youth. She nodded and came zooming over as swiftly as she could. Her arms started to slip. She was almost there….

Launchpad slipped from the angel's arms. "Yikes!" Indigo yelled in alarm.

Sora reached out his arms. Launchpad landed into the young man's arms with such force, the two crumpled onto the grate. "Get off," Sora moaned.

Launchpad grinned and hopped off the seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder. Sora rose to his feet and quickly brushed some flakes of stone out of his hair. "Man," he said. "That was close!"

"That was too close!" Indigo remarked as she gently landed onto the grate beside the young man. "How did this machine start up when the generator died?"

Sora shrugged. "I dunno, but whoever it was, they owe me a flashlight."

Donald scowled. "They owe me a knuckle-sandwich! I'll show them!"

He pounded his fist and winced at the pain.

"Gawrsh, Donald," Goofy muttered. "May-bee ya should wait until after we've caught 'em."

Indigo looked around. "So, where is Launchpad?" she asked.

"Hey! Look at this!"

Sora, Indigo, Goofy, and Donald all shot their gaze straight to a nearby landing a few yards up. It was a metal platform that was attached to a catwalk nearly ten feet into the air. A rusted ladder led up to the catwalk.

Standing before a special control panel was Launchpad. Wondering what the pilot had discovered, Sora led the other three up to the ladder and across the catwalk. Rather than climb, Indigo flapped her wings and soared straight over to where Launchpad was located.

When they arrived, Sora approached the pilot. "Hey, what's up?"

Launchpad pointed to the large control station before him. "Check it out! Someone's been using this!"

Sora strode up to the controls. The machine looked old, with patches of rust forming on the edges. A few buttons and some levers were positioned in the middle. Each one had a nameplate. As his eyes crossed over the various options, Sora noticed one of them was lit up. The plate above it read, "DEPOSIT BELT". The light above the plate was green. All the others were red.

Certain this was where the conveyor belt had been activated, Sora hastily grabbed the lever beside the light and pushed it forward. The light turned red, matching all the other lights on the panel. Spotting another one bearing the nameplate, "BACK-UP LIGHTS", Sora grabbed the corresponding lever and pulled it forward. The red light became green and all the lights in the area burst to life. They were so dazzling, Sora had to shield his eyes from the glare for a few moments.

"There," he nodded. He turned to the others. "Someone did use this while we were down there."

"Who?" Donald asked.

"Maybe it was those guys back in Atlantis," Launchpad blurted. Everyone else stared at him. The duck-pilot shrugged. "It's possible. If we can travel between worlds, how do we know they can't?"

Sora had to sigh. He remembered how Goofy and Launchpad and claimed to see some strange individuals in the tunnels of caverns during the journey to the city of Atlantis. At first, only the two of them had seen anything. It was not until they had finally located the city that everyone else in the expedition's crew also saw the individuals. He recalled how Kida had been one of them. Although he could see what Launchpad meant about those guys also world-hopping, he highly doubted it.

Chances were, they were still in Ancient Empire with Milo and Kida.

"Probably not," Sora finally said.

Indigo looked beyond confused. "What is he talking about?"

"It's kinda a long story."

Indigo crossed her arms. Her antennae were poised at attention. Sora knew he had to elaborate. "We went to several worlds looking for you, Indigo. One of them was Atlantis. You know, the lost city."

Indigo's eyes grew large. "Atlantis? That is a myth."

"Yeah… I used to think so, too. Anyway, that was where those guys Launchpad's talking about—"

"Yet, myths, legends, folklore, and lore all have one thing in common. There is a little truth in everything. No story is created without a reason for it to exist."

The angel gestured around the immediate space. "For all we know, we are currently being written into a story ourselves. Maybe it is being written by a fan of a video game who is loyal to one of the world's leading animation companies."

She turned around to face the others. Sora saw a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. "What if that was true? What if all lore is real and we are in a mixed-up universe?"

Sora shook his head and smiled. He placed his hands behind his head. "Yeah… no," he had to laugh. "You sound like Riku."

Indigo paused. "Who is 'Riku'?"

"My best friend. He's always talking about other worlds and… stuff. It was his idea to explore the outside world."

"Ya mean on that there raft?" Goofy asked.

"The one you lost?" Donald added.

Sora gave a nod. "Yeah, but my Mom and Kairi found it. They said it was in good shape, but the supplies were gone."

A few voices filled their ears. Sora's hands flew to his sides. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all swung their eyes further down the catwalk. Sora noted how there was a small opening in the wall at the end of the catwalk, large enough for a human to walk through. Just beyond it was a tunnel that curved to the right.

"I do not believe we are alone down here," Indigo said. She carefully stepped down the catwalk and through the opening. She rounded the corner and peered down another tunnel. She looked back. "There is someone else down here."

Sora gave a nod. "I had a feeling we weren't alone. I think someone from the Organization's in here."

"He must've messed with the controls," Launchpad indicated.

"And tried to knock us over thuh ledge," Goofy added.

Donald smacked his hands together and rolled up his sleeves. He retained his scowl. "I'll show him!"

Sora summoned his Keyblade. "Let's go!"

He marched down the catwalk. Donald took out his wand hurried along behind. Goofy held out his shield and skedaddled down the catwalk. Launchpad took out his gas-gun and followed them. Once they caught up with Indigo, the angel nodded and gave chase. The group rounded a few turns and proceeded down some long, white corridors. On the left side, some long, slowly-rising waterfalls replaced the wall. The water itself defied gravity as it rose to the ceiling and disappeared from sight.

"Sheesh," Indigo remarked. "This does not feel like an underground cavern. How did these waterfalls form way down here?"

To Sora, all this seemed familiar. It felt like he had once been there, inside some white and golden castle….

---

It took a few minutes for the group to reach the end of the passage. The further they went, the longer the corridors seemed to become. To make matters worse, several Heartless of the Defender variety appeared. They were quickly joined by some Samurai Nobodies and a few Dusk Nobodies.

"Outta the way!" Sora yelled as he slashed his weapon through another Dusk. He sliced the blade clear through a nearby Heartless, vanquishing the enemy in less than a second.

At long last, they reached the end of the corridor. The group slid to a sudden halt. Up ahead was a small set of elevator-like doors. A rack of old, worn clothing including mining helmets was located beside the doorway. A few crates of pick-axes, drills, and ear-protectors lay on the opposite side of the doorway.

What was between the two had seized the group's attention in an instant. There were three figures standing before the doorway, their backs turned to the group.

Two of the figures were green robots with black lining around their eyes. One was short and wide. The other was tall and had a long snout. Its horns occasionally buzzed with electricity.

Sora's eyes had landed onto the one in the middle. This figure was tall with alien-green skin, a long pointed chin, oval eyes containing black pupils, and a black wig. His outfit consisted of a white shirt, tiny black pants for his small feet, a purple-colored cape fastened by a black mini bowtie, and a small pocket holding three ball-point pens. A pink-furred vulture was perched on this one's shoulder.

Sora gasped in a flash. He hastily remembered seeing these three back in the Sleeping World of Traverse Town. They had tried to keep the Cybersquad from regaining access back to their own universe. "You!" he exclaimed.

The two robots turned around. They gasped when they saw Sora and the others standing there with their weapons in hand.

"Boss! Boss!" the short one declared.

"It's that kid again!" the taller one added.

"What?" the taller figure in the cape and wig spun around. For a moment, he scowled. The next, he grinned. "Well, well! If it isn't the friend of Motherboard's little helpers."

Sora's shock swiftly transitioned into a scowl. "Why are you here, Hacker?"

Hacker's brow furrowed. "That's 'The Hacker' to you!" he snarled. "Thee! Thee! Thee!"

"Gawrsh, 'Thee'," Goofy chuckled. "Ya sure got a funny name."

"Do you always hack your way through computers and walls?" Launchpad wondered aloud.

Hacker gritted his teeth. "Such insolence…. I'll teach you to make fun of 'The Hacker'!"

Goofy ducked behind his shield. Indigo turned to Sora. "How do you know them, Sora?" she inquired.

"They caused trouble when me, Riku, and Violet were in the Realm OF Sleep," Sora replied. He kept his eyes on Hacker and the pair of robots. His mind went back to how Hacker had tried using a car-like machine to trap Riku and him. Those mechanical arms… he had hated every second of it!

"Yes, indeed," Hacker gave a sinister grin. "I think the time has come for us to settle this once and for all."

Sora readied his Keyblade. "Let's do this!"

"We'll back you up!" Donald declared.

Goofy and Launchpad instantly approved the duck's decision. Indigo stepped forward and reached out her left hand. In a flash of Light, her wand appeared. "You shall not cause trouble in this or any world, Hacker!"

"That's 'The Hacker' to you!" Hacker struck back. "Prepare to be permanently deleted!"

Sora charged forwards. He swung his Keyblade at Hacker. The villain jumped back and stumbled. A squashed donut went flying as Hacker landed onto his back. "Buzz — you duncebucket! I told you to get rid of those donuts!"

Buzz (the shorter robot) gulped. "Sorry, boss."

Hacker sat up. He held the side of his head with his hand as he came into focus. By this time, Sora was only a few inches from his face. Hacker gave a sneaky grin. "Delete! Now!"

A pair of mechanical arms wrapped around Sora's torso. "Gotcha!" Delete (the taller robot) declared with a laugh.

Sora struggled to break free. A passing shield soared past his face. The weapon spun around the Keyblade wielder and smashed into Delete's head. The robot fell backward, releasing his grip on Sora. Once he was on his feet again, Sora turned and gave a grin to Goofy. The knight nodded back with a grin of his own.

Hacker gritted his teeth. He glared at the group before his eyes. "Stop them!" he ordered his pair of henchmen.

Buzz and Delete quickly charged forward. Launchpad took a step forward and shot his gas-gun at them. After a few strikes, Delete tumbled over, gasping for air.

"Thundara!" Donald called out, waving his wand into the air. A few bolts of lightning rained down onto Buzz. The robot fizzed for a moment before he, too, fell over, exhausted.

Hacker raced ahead, his arms failing as he charged. Sora raise his Keyblade, ready to strike against the villain. Just as Hacker was three feet away, Indigo landed before the Keyblade wielder. "Indigo?!" a startled Sora said.

"I shall take care of this villain," the angel announced. Indigo held her and high. "Mystical firestorm!"

At once, a barrage of flame formed at the tip of Indigo's wand. The firestorm rained out across the space. Hacker saw the flames and slid to a stop. He glared, knowing he could not get anywhere close to Sora without being set alight. "I despise flames," he stated. He pointed an accusing finger at Sora. "You may have won this round, Earthbrat, but mark my words, I'll be back and with more power than you can imagine!"

"That last line sounds like something straight from a movie," Indigo commented. She did not take her determined glare off of Hacker. "Where did you steal it?"

Hacker grunted as turned away. He marched off to the elevator. "Buzz! Delete! Scratch! We're off!"

Buzz and Delete clambered to their feet and followed Hacker to the doorway. The vulture from before — Sora remembered the animal's name was Scratch — swooped into view and dashed into the elevator. Once the four were inside, the doorway closed and the elevator light went out. Sora knew this meant Hacker, Buzz, Delete, and Scratch had departed.

"Let's get them!" Donald snapped. "He owes me a knuckle-sandwich!"

Donald, Launchpad, Indigo, and Goofy looked at Sora. The young man was shaking his head. "What about yer flashlight, Sora?" Goofy inquired.

Sora shook his head in return. "Those three will never win," he said. "Buzz and Delete aren't smart and Hacker's schemes never work."

"Heh," Launchpad blurted. "That guy's scheme was as vague as that Drakken guy's plan to take over a world."

"He didn't say anything about a 'scheme'," Donald pin-pointed. He scolded the pilot for getting distracted. Sora was not sure why, considering Launchpad had helped stop the villains from causing too much trouble in this cavern.

Indigo gave Launchpad a confused look. "What are you talking about?" she questioned.

All Sora could do was shrug. Clearly, Indigo had missed a lot, and now she wanted to be caught up on everything. That would have to wait. For now, anyway.

Donald stepped forward and scooped up a piece of torn paper from the ground. "Hey! Look at this!"

Sora turned his head to the mage. "What is it?"

"That there Hacker guy dropped it, right?" Goofy wondered.

Donald gave a nod. "Yeah!"

Sora held out his hand. "Let's see it."

Donald strolled straight past the young man and held out the paper to Indigo. The angel looked surprised. "You are giving it to me?" she asked.

Donald gave a nod. "Yeah."

Indigo looked beyond mystified. Why was Donald handing her the torn paper? It seemed like something he should have given Sora. After all, Sora was their team leader. Plus, he was a Keyblade wielder. And he had spikey, brown hair. That distinct style was unmatched (as far as she was concerned).

She wondered if this had anything to do with the Darkness Sora had been displaying as of late. There had to be a logical explanation as to why Donald seemed to be more trusting of her than Sora. She still needed to determine specifically what it was.

Shaking all this aside, Indigo took the paper from Donald and looked it over. Her eyes swept across a few lines of handwritten text. To her surprise, the writing seemed familiar….

"What does it say?" Goofy asked.

Indigo glanced at the tall dog. When she saw the curiosity in his eyes, the angel nodded in understanding. She opened her mouth and read what was written on the paper,

"Almost like he's very lonely.

The town has a sheriff, of course it would have to,

But this one is a bit strange.

When I talk with him, he seems to lack something — unlike me and you,

Sometimes I wonder what's out on his range."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora inquired out loud. As far as he could tell, this was another piece of the torn letter Master Yen Sid had asked him to recover. However, this part was the most confusing yet. It almost felt like the letter itself had been written in the form of a riddle. Or a poem. Maybe even both.

He wondered why this letter had been written in the first place. Who had wrote it? Why had it been torn apart? What was it all supposed to mean? There were so many questions and very few answers. When would they finally get to the bottom of all this? How would they do that? He really wished he knew!

All Sora got from the others was shrugs of confusion. "This whole letter-thing sounds very confusing to me, too," Indigo admitted. "I may not be a 'Riddle-Master', yet I can tell we shall have to collect the rest of the missing pieces in order to solve this mystery."

Sora gave a deep sigh. Now he wondered where the remaining pieces had ended up. He remembered the one Master Yen Sid had handed him. Cody's Mother had given him another piece. Counting the one Hacker had dropped, they were now up to three pieces. Still, he wondered how many others existed.

Goofy turned to the elevator. "Well, looks like the only way outta here is up."

Sora gave a nod of agreement. "He's right. Let's worry about this letter stuff later. We need to check on Amy."

The group headed for the elevator. Sora pressed his hand against the button pointing up. After a couple seconds, the doors opened and the five stepped on board. The doors shut behind them. In a matter of moments, they were shooting up through a dark elevator shaft. There was only two lights in the elevator. A dull, red light on the ceiling and Indigo's glow.

Deep down, Sora was wondering where they would end up.

---

The elevator's doors opened. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Indigo all stepped off. As the doors closed behind them, Sora noticed they were in a pitch-black room. The only light now came from Indigo's glow. Sora sighed, wishing he still had his flashlight. That trinket was practically brand-new….

"Where now?" Launchpad asked. "I'm a little claustrophobic in these kinda places…. "

Donald wanted to smack the duck-pilot in the face. "You're not claustrophobic!" he snapped.

Sora found himself feeling along the walls. Nothing. As he searched along the floor, Indigo strolled over. "Do you need some help?" she asked.

Sora gave a nod. "I'm looking for a lever or something to open a door," he explained.

"Why do ya think there's a door here?" Goofy questioned.

Sora did not have to look at the knight. "Elevators don't lead to dead ends," he answered. He returned his attention to Indigo. "Could you make it brighter in here?"

Indigo gave a quick nod and smiled. "Yes, I can. All angels can. Please, remember that."

Sora gave a nod. "I will."

Indigo reached out her left hand. Her wand with the star-shaped tip appeared in her hand. Just as she held it up, a bright flash of Light flooded the room. Everyone turned their heads away and shielded their eyes. When the Light faded, they looked back. To their surprise (especially Indigo's), a key-shaped weapon had replaced the wand. It was an a single indigo color with a gleaming, diamond-shaped handle. The blade was slightly curved into the form of a letter "J" with a star-shaped extrusion on the end.

"Wow!" Donald and Goofy jumped in amazement.

"Yeesh!" Launchpad remarked.

"Whoa!" Sora awed.

Indigo was beyond star-struck. Her eyes were wide in marvel and her antennae were trained onto the thing now in her hand. Her wand was gone. In its place was a weapon that seemed to resemble Sora's Keyblade. Was it possible? Could she now have… a real….

"A… Keyblade?" she asked.

"Well," Goofy observed. "It sure looks like a Keyblade."

"It is a Keyblade," Donald nodded.

Indigo had a hard time believing her eyes. She now possessed a Keyblade of her own. What a sudden turn of events! She had never foreseen something like this happening! She had a weapon she had only heard about from her Mom. The type of weapon everyone had once fought over years ago during that terrible war.

A Keyblade — and she was its chosen wielder.

Indigo lowered her new weapon. "I never thought I would get a Keyblade of my own," she said at last.

"Did you want one?" Sora asked.

Indigo shrugged. "Maybe. I am not sure. My Mom told me all about the Keyblade and that terrible war from long ago."

"The Keyblade War!" Donald looked amazed.

"Gawrsh," was all Goofy could say.

Sora had to regain his focus and stop staring at the angel. "Does this mean you were a part of that war?"

Indigo shook her head. "No," she admitted. "It was well before my time. Yet, My Mom seems to know a lot about it."

"Maybe she was a part of it?"

Indigo shrugged again. "I always wondered about that myself. It is true that angels can live for centuries, yet I have no idea how old my Mom is."

"She's still alive?" Donald inquired.

Indigo gave a nod. "Where is she?" Sora asked. "Maybe she knows what Xehanort's up to."

"Yeah," Goofy approved. "He's been in and out a lot these days. We ain't seen him since Sora 'n Riku went into thuh Sleepy Earls and met yer sister, Violet."

Donald collapsed onto the floor. Sora knew Goofy had mistaken the "Sleeping Worlds" for "Sleepy Earls".

Indigo turned away. "I do not know. My Mom is a wandering angel. She travels from world to world, fighting to keep the Light safe. I do not know where she is now."

Silence followed. Goofy turned to Donald and whispered, "May-bee Indigo's Mom is thuh angel from that there vision we saw at thuh castle?"

Donald sat up and shrugged. "Who knows?"

Sora turned back to the angel. "Anyway, can you still brighten things up in here?"

Indigo looked at her newly-acquired Keyblade. "I can try."

She held her weapon up high and closed her eyes. Sora could hear the angel gritting her teeth as she concentrated. In a matter of seconds, the weapon glowed brighter than the wand ever had. Indigo reopened her eyes, saw the light, and smiled. "It worked!" she cheered.

Sora nodded and looked around the immediate area. His eyes landed onto a small book lying on the floor. It was an orange book with a dusty cover. He walked over and picked up the tome. As he held it up, the wall beside him started to move.

"Hurry!" he told the others. "The wall's moving!"

Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all hurried over. Indigo jumped and landed beside them just as the floor beneath their feet revolved around into a large, brightly-lit room. To Sora's shock, they had set down upon a revolving wall in the castle's library.

He took a few moments to observe their new surroundings. Sora noticed the large, green tiles on the ceilings. All the leaking pipes from before had been repaired and covered. Instead, large light fixtures were positioned in the middle of tiles. Their dome shapes reminded him of images he had seen of the inside of the lost luxury liner, R.M.S. Titanic.

He looked lower. They were standing on the second floor. To the right was the staircase that curved around as it led downstairs. All the bookshelves and their corresponding books were placed neatly about the space.

Wondering if there was anyone else around, Sora headed for the stairs. He started down the stairs and heard a loud, "Yipe!"

Sora halted in his footsteps and whirled around the banister. There was Myrna, lying on the floor beside a desk. A chair lay sideways on the floor beside her. Knowing she had fallen out of her seat, the brown-haired young man hurried over.

"Are you okay?" he asked, extending his hand.

Myrna easily stood up, one leg at a time. "I'm fine. Thank you anyway, Sora."

Sora gave a nod. "Sorry if we gave you a scare."

Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad are raced down the stairs and stopped when they reached the two. Indigo flapped her way down to the first floor. She glided her way to the floor and set down so gracefully, Sora had to blink five times to ensure he was not dreaming again.

Once she was on her feet, Myrna turned to the group. "How did you all get in here?" she inquired. "I didn't hear you come through the door."

Sora relaxed and opened his mouth to speak. "Well… there's an old mine downstairs. There's lots of machines, rocks…. "

"…And them logos," Goofy finished.

"Right," Sora nodded. "We took an elevator to get up here."

Myrna looked amazed. "I knew there were lots of passages inside this castle before we renovated it," she explained. "Once, I fell into a trapdoor in the castle's chapel and…. "

"…You ended up in the dungeon," Donald completed. He crossed his arms. "You told us."

Myrna stared at the duck for a brief moment. She gave a shy smile and fluttered her eyes a little. It was not too hard for her, considering her makeup made it appear her eyes were half-shut. That was one of the things Sora had noticed stood out about the golden-haired teenager. She always seemed a little quirky….

Myrna hastily regained her composure. "Either way," she went on. "Most of the secrets in this place have not been revealed. It seems you uncovered one of them."

"Kind of," Sora admitted. "It was… more like my heart knew about that mine."

Indigo folded her arms. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Sora gave a nod. "Yeah. Why?"

Indigo did not answer. Sora noted how cryptic the angel was behaving. This type of behavior had sometimes existed in Violet's actions. He was not sure why those two acted so funny from time to time. They just did.

He shoved all the contemplation aside and turned back to Myrna. "So, how's Amy doing?"

Myrna glanced to her left. A smile formed on her face. "Why don't you ask her yourself?" she replied.

Sora shifted his gaze to his right. Seated at a desk a few yards away was the sandy-haired nearly-fourteen-year-old girl he had always known as his sister. She was pouring over a handful of large books. Each volume seemed thicker than a school textbook.

With a relieved grin, Sora raced across the room to the sandy-headed teenager. "Amy!" he called.

Amemi turned her eyes up from the books and saw her brother marching over. She jumped up and hurried for him. "Sora!"

The two collided somewhere in between. Sora rubbed his head, his famous grin still showing. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry you were worried," Amemi told him. "I know, I shouldn't have climbed into that throne. It's just… you and the others were arguing about what to do, so I…. "

Sora held up a hand, cutting his sister off mid-sentence. "It doesn't matter," he told her. "I'm just glad you're okay. I thought you were in a coma."

Amemi shook her head. She pointed to her head. "Too much knowledge can be overwhelming, right?"

Sora instantly nodded. "Yeah! That's why I hate school."

Amemi had to laugh. Sora found himself laughing in turn. He did not know why he was laughing. He just enjoyed doing it whenever someone else was already laughing. It was just his thing. And he enjoyed it.

Once the two had calmed down (a little), Sora glanced at all the books. "What were you reading?"

"It's a report about a top-secret research project," Amemi informed him. "Aerith gave it to me after I woke up. She thought I might be able to make sense of it. I assume no one else has."

Sora's curiosity started to take control. "What kind of project?" he asked.

"It's about cloning hearts," Amemi told him. She picked up a book and handed it to her brother. "Here. This one's written by somebody named 'Professor Hojo'," she giggled. "Silly name, right?"

"Y-yeah," Sora gave a quick nod. He looked down at the book now in his hands. He flipped it over to the front cover. The title clearly read, "PROJECT C — CLONING".

He stared in surprise. His mind jumped back to what the carpenter, Mike Millard, had said. Mike had said there was a rumor of a mysterious project by this name. It had been supposedly created a scientist who got banished for causing a plague when several of his experimental creatures got loose and attacked the town's citizens. He wondered if this book was all about that very project no one else had heard of.

If so, perhaps this "Professor Hojo" was the scientist who had been banished. Hojo… that name felt so… familiar. But… how could that be? He had never heard of such a name before. In fact, that name would have made him burst of laughing the instant he had heard it. Hojo — it did sound silly!

…And — somewhat — familiar….

Sora looked at his sister. "Perhaps we should go see Even and Ienzo about this," he told her.

Amemi shrugged. "If you think it's going to help."

The two headed for the door. All at once, Indigo flew over and landed before them. "Sora," she said. "Are you going to leave that lying on the floor?"

Sora looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Indigo reached down and scooped up a piece of torn paper from the floor. She held it up for the young man to see. The instant he saw the illustrations on the page, Sora had to smile. "Oops," he laughed. "I almost forgot about that."

He took the page from the angel and headed back to the desk where Myrna had been working. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all came strolling over. Indigo followed Sora and Amemi to the desk. Myrna saw everyone approaching and turned in her seat so she could face Sora. "What's going on?" she asked.

Sora held up the torn page. Myrna immediately nodded. "You should return that A.S.A.P.!" she declared, jumping from her chair. She stumbled and fell over onto the floor. The chair clattered down beside her. "Not again," she sighed deeply.

Donald and Goofy quickly hurried over to help her up. "Why do you want them to return it as stupid as possible?" Launchpad questioned.

Donald frowned at the pilot. "'As soon as possible'!"

Launchpad gave a chuckle.

Sora had to shake his head. He could tell things were still going about as they always had. Goofy and Launchpad continued to make mistakes, which tended to irritate Donald. Donald was still a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any given second. Goofy was smarter than he seemed. He was just a tad clumsy.

It was no wonder why he had been forced to deal with all the problems these three had gotten themselves into over the course of this journey so far. He remembered how Donald had strongly stated his refusal to cooperate with Goofy and Launchpad shortly before their arrival in Ancient Empire. Sora had heard plenty before he had demanded Donald and Goofy both take a sub-pod to face the Leviathan. Things had seemed to be improving following the suddenly dive over the waterfall in Jamestowne. In fact, Donald had been willing to work with Goofy to get Herbie back in working order again. Yet, he had still refused to have anything to do with Launchpad. Sora remembered how shocked Donald had been when Launchpad had been crowned "The King of Fools" at the festival in La Ville de Sonner Les Cloches. Even in Middleton, Donald had continued to get annoyed by Launchpad's mistakes. Sora had wanted to laugh when he had seen Donald's shocked reaction at how rapidly Goofy had solved a mathematics problem involving the Quadratic Formula. He recalled how concerned Donald (and Cogsworth) had been when Goofy and Launchpad had attempted to bake Christmas cookies in the kitchen of The Beast's Castle.

Despite all those mishaps, one thing had still remained unchanged. Donald was still getting annoyed by Goofy and Launchpad, even if he was a little more tolerant of their silliness.

Sora quickly found the book titled "Winnie The Pooh" lying on Myrna's desk. He turned to Amemi. They both nodded. Sora opened the cover and flipped to the next spot where the Heartless had torn out a page. He carefully reattached the one in his hand.

A brilliant flash of Light occurred. When it faded, Sora and Amemi were gone, having been magically transported into the world inside the book — The 100-Acre Wood.

---

A/N: SHEESH! That was quite the LONG Chapter! Now, wasn't it?

I do not think it is necessary to point out every last detail in there. Mostly, since some of those plot points might be cleared up in another KH Story or more.
Allow me to go over THESE ones!

(1.) Yes, Launchpad broke the Fourth Wall when he mentioned a video game called "KH".

(2.) There was A LOT of Indigo-related content in there! Looks like most of it was hinting at some type of major backstory, if you ask me!
What do YOU think this all means?

(3.) There was something interesting about that sign, now wasn't there?

(4.) Hacker, Buzz, Delete, and Scratch are all from the PBSKIDSGO! Show, "CYBERCHASE". I promised we would see some more of that Crossover, now didn't I?

(5.) Indigo Has A KEYBLADE! HIP-HIP-HOORAY! YIPPEE! Imagine how excited she must be!

Well, I think the rest is pretty much self-explanatory.

To that end, I would like to thank all of you who have continued to read and review through the production of This Story.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP AND TIME!

So Then, I'll See You Next Time!
In other words, 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, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!" In Addition, "I SHALL FLY WITH YOU ALL LATER!"