Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters mentioned in any of the movies and games mentioned in Kingdom Hearts.

Author's Note: I beat KH II this afternoon and just found out (spoiler). It's too late to make changes to the current chapter I'm afraid.

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Chapter 2

The New Threat

RADIANT GARDEN

Ansem and Cid worked furiously on the computer that had been placed in Merlin's house. The house was quickly filled with the sound of click and clacking as Ansem typed furiously into the computer's keyboard. A poof behind them told them that Merlin had arrived along with Yuffie, Sora, Goofy and Donald.

"I say! What are you doing?" Merlin asked. Neither Cid nor Ansem turned away from their work. Instead, Cid answered:

"Shut your mouth! The great Ansem is trying to work!"

"Such disrespect!" Merlin shouted in protest, "I can tell when I'm not wanted!" and with a poof he vanished. Ansem turned to face the remainders of the group: Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Yuffie. Outside, the sound of gummi ships taking off shook the house violently. Yuffie glanced out the window as several ships all headed off into the sky.

"What's going?" she asked, before Leon entered followed by an annoyed looking Cloud and Aerith. Cloud immediately looked out the window and muttered something to himself.

"What's his problem?" Sora asked calmly looking at Cloud who shot him an evil glare. Aerith led the group away from Cloud who had just punched the wall of the house. The house shook violently with the hit

"Cloud was in the middle of a fight with Sephiroth, and Cloud almost won except that before he could finish him off, Leon showed up and Sephiroth escaped," she whispered quietly.

"Bummer," Yuffie said. Goofy went to Cloud's side.

"Don't worry Cloud. I'm sure you'll find him again," he said comfortingly.

"Shut up!" he roared so loud that everyone in the room turned to face him. Cloud immediately stepped out of the room, and a brief moment's pause followed before Ansem continued his work on the computer.

"He'll be fine," Leon said, "we managed to get everyone off the world in a gummy ship, they're heading towards Traverse Town. Only now there's a problem."

"What's that?" Donald asked. Leon heaved a great sigh and looked out the window at the streets of Radiant Garden.

"There's only one gummy ship left, and it's yours."

"Is that all?" Sora asked, leaning against the wall, "You guys will just come with us."

"Sora, our ship can only hold three people remember," Goofy said approaching the brown haired boy. Sora hung his head at Goofy's remark.

"Then why don't you come with me?" a high-pitched voice called from the door. Everyone turned to see a three foot tall mouse in red clothes standing at the doorway.

"Your majesty," everyone said in unison, bowing to him.

"What are you doing here your majesty?" Ansem asked first. Mickey looked from him to Sora.

"Gee," he started, "well let's see. I was at the castle tending to some business, when I see a bunch of heartless running past the courtyard being followed by nobodies."

"Well, heartless and nobodies fighting is nothing new," Sora said quickly.

"But that's the thing that I didn't get," Mickey answered. They weren't fighting, if anything they looked like they were running from something; this weird metal goop that ate them up without even trying."

"You don't suppose?" Ansem said to Leon, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Suppose what?" Mickey asked the two.

"The virus," Leon said, "it looks like it found a way off the world."

"That's the other thing, a star blinked out at the same time before I came here," Mickey explained to the group, "you don't think that it was that, um…virus do you."

There was a large poof behind them, as an old man in blue robes appeared. Merlin's beard had been scuffed, and he looked exceedingly tired. He got up, and dusted himself off while coughing.

"I dare say, that awful orb seems to have found a way to my abode in Traverse Town," Merlin said to the group. Mickey and Ansem gasped simultaneously, as Merlin slowly cleaned himself, "My spells seemed to just bounce right off of him. It was very odd."

"Bounce off?" Mickey asked.

"More like, they hit it then just bounced away to another direction, but you know old boy, I just waved my wand and sent it elsewhere," Merlin said. Mickey and Ansem exchanged looks of worry.

"Looks like it can only get to the nearby worlds," Yuffie put in.

"Disney Castle and Traverse Town aren't too far from here, but then again, neither is…" Sora said. His eyes widened as he ran out the door, Goofy and Donald following after.

"Sora! Where are you going?" Leon called. Before he got an answer, a gummi ship was seen rising over the roof tops and flying away from the same direction it had come.