"And what do we do when we're scared of the thunder?" Goofy asked the young boy in his lap as the rain beat down on the window outside. Thunder clapped in the distance.
Max thought for moment, "We yell like this! 'Rawwrr! I'm not scared of you!'" He shouted at the window.
That was a long time ago. Max stared at his ceiling as he recalled the memory. Rain softly patting on the window. He smiled reminiscing about the times when he was younger, and his father was still doting over him. When he was younger, Goofy's overprotectiveness drove Max crazy. Things only got worse after Max's mother passed. Now Max was finding himself missing his dad, but his dad was off on an adventure to protect the realm like the amazing knight he is.
Max sat up in his bed and reached over to touch the keepsakes his father left him, one of Goofy's first shields. A smile crept on his face. Soon he'd be a great knight, just like his dad.
As he thought about days passed, a strange glow caught his attention outside his window.
His heart dropped as he noticed a pair of golden glowing eyes staring back at him.
A heartless, they infiltrated the castle, which meant…
The Queen is in danger.
Opening a portal to Disney Castle was a lot easier than it should have been. In the years the Organization has been active, one of the few worlds they were barred from visiting was Disney Castle. The world was so full of light that the heartless never appeared there, so there was no reason to patrol it. Another reason they were never allowed to visit was due to who ruled over the world, King Mickey and Queen Minnie. The pair excelled at light magic and with Yen Sid as their ally, the young Organization had no chance to present themselves as a threat.
Axel, for some reason, decided the best thing for the mission was for him to do recon solo. Much to the dismay of Roxas and Xion, but he assured them his appearance would make navigating the world much harder for them.
'Trust me, this world is just better suited for you two kids. I don't think the world's censors will appreciate having me here. Think of it as one more of the many skills you have to relearn.' He told them before leaving them to their own devices. They knew he'd be back for them; they had no idea what he would be doing in the meantime.
For the two rouge members, it was their first time in the Disney realm. Much like how Radiant Garden once was, the world was warm and bright. The Light was strong here, but even that was wavering. The world was under attack, but by who? Some of the nearby flora had been trampled and ruined, all signs of a struggle. But from where? There was a sound of a battle nearby. The duo ducked through the ruined shrubbery and inched towards the battle in hoped to find Sora.
But what they found was not Sora, but two young knights engaged in battle with a couple of heartless.
The two knights were back-to-back as the heartless surrounded them.
"Max! There's too many of them, we can't take them all!" The rounder one cried out as he positioned his shield closer to him.
Something about the other knight caught Roxas's eye, Max as the other boy called him looked so familiar.
Max's face faltered as the circle of heartless tightened around them. He shook his head and kept his sword aimed outwards while keeping his shield ready to protect his friend, "We can't give up PJ! We have to keep them away from the Queen!" Yet the cracks in his voice gave away his own uncertainty.
Max steadied the grip on his sword. A heartless stepped out of the circle and jumped at him. Max slashed it in half with his sword. It was a short-lived victory as another heartless took its place. This was bad. The movement from the heartless became more erratic,
Max's eyes widened, "PJ! Shield up!"
Max and PJ couched and lifted their shields over their heads in a desperate attempt to protect themselves. Max shut his eyes tight as he prepared for the worst.
There was the sound of metal, he felt a strong gust of air around him along the now familiar poof noise of the heartless disappearing.
"Are you alright?" Said a voice.
"Are you hurt?" Said another, this time a girl.
Max and PJ cautiously opened their eyes, breath still heavy from their battle. In front of them stood two strangers in black coats, they clearly weren't from this world. Max looked at them up and down, they couldn't have been any older than he was. His first instinct was to distrust them, but… he looked back at PJ who was still catching his breath, they did just save them.
The boy extended his hands towards them, Max looked it over but took it anyways.
"Thanks, for helping us out with those… things. My name's Max, and this is my friend PJ." He took a moment to let PJ wave at their new companions, "So… you two aren't from here?"
The mysterious pair looked at each other before the boy spoke. "We're here to help fight the heartless and look after a friend of ours. Master Yen Sid sent us."
PJ's eyes light up, "Master Yen Sid?! The YEN SID?!"
The girl looked confused, "You know Master Yen Sid?" She sounded genuine.
Max scoffed sarcastically, "Oh you know, it's not like he's one the most powerful wizards in existence. Not like he trained the Royal Court like the King and Queen, my Uncle Donald the Royal Magician or anything like that. But if he sent you, then it whatever's going on must be serious." He turned to PJ for help.
PJ looked down at his shoes, "Maybe we should take them to your step-mom, I bet she'd know what to do." He whispered.
Max froze at the mention of his stepmother. Quickly he changed the subject. "So," he said to the other pair, "I believe you two have yet to introduce yourselves."
"I'm Xion."/"Roxas, did you say Donald's your uncle?"
Max laughed a bit, "Well more like honorary uncle. Come on, let's go inside the castle and I'll tell you along the way."
-x-
The way into the castle was a goldmine of information for Roxas and Xion. They learned so much about Max and Goofy, their relationship as father and son. They learned what it was like for Max to grow up in the castle.
"After my dad became the Royal Guard for the King, well… things changed. He still did everything he could to be there for me, but I was young and didn't see just how much everything he did was for me. And now the worlds are in danger, and I haven't seen him in a while… I miss him. So now PJ and I are training to become knights just like my dad!" he explained on the way to the library.
Xion smiled, "How sweet, I never knew Goofy was a dad. But looking back on it, I guess it was obvious."
There was a faint memory of Sora's own father that resonated with Roxas. It was Sora's dad taking Riku and Sora to the smaller islands to play when the boys were little. From what little Roxas remembered, Sora's dad was a fisherman, he spent a lot of time out at sea. So whatever time Sora got to spend with his dad was always a special moment. He smiled at the memories, this time there was no bitterness at the fact that Sora had something he didn't. He did, however, notice the look in PJ's face. He seemed sad.
They continued walking until Max stopped at a grand pair of doors. He gulped, he seemed nervous for some reason. "Well… here we are, the library. We should get some direction as to what's going on."
Xion looked at Max with confusion. The young knight looked terrified as he opened the door.
"MAXIMILLIAN GOOF!" A voice echoed through the room. Roxas and Xion looked to the source of the sound. An angry looking woman stormed down towards them. Roxas, Xion and PJ stepped away from Max.
Max chuckled nervously, "Hehe.. Hey Sylv."
The woman threw her arms around Max, much to the surprise of the Nobodies. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? How many times have I told you not to go out on your own?" She fretted over him, looking him over for any injuries as she scolded him. "It's dangerous out there now, and you're not an official knight. You put yourself in danger, you put PJ in danger." Her voice softened as she held Max close, "Please be more careful Max."
They stood in that position for a few moments before PJ let out an awkward cough.
The woman blinked a few times and straightened herself out. "Well hello, who may you two be?"
Max motioned over at the Nobodies, "They're Roxas and Xion. They said Yen Sid sent them to help. Roxas, Xion, this is my stepmom Sylvia, she's the acting Court Mage while Donald is away."
Sylvia perked up. "Master Yen Sid? I thought the Queen said Sora was already taking care of the Cornerstone."
PJ jumped in surprise. "The Cornerstone? Miss, Sylvia, can you please explain to us what's going on?"
Sylvia looked at PJ softly and nodded. "Of course, roughly about an hour or so we were alerted by Yen Sid that Darkness had found its way into the World. Before long, the heartless began to pop up. Queen Minnie sent most of our knights to protect the residents over in DisneyTown. The rest of them are our Knights-in-Training, they're suppose to be staying back in the barracks where it's safe." She pointed the last comment at the two boys trying to hide behind the Nobodies. "Before we knew it, the Castle was overrun, most of the Castle residents were evacuated. Chip and Dale sent out an S.O.S. signal to Sora. Last I heard was that Sora, Donald and Goofy had arrived to protect the Cornerstone."
Max's eyes widened, "Da-dad, he's here?!" Everyone turned to look at him, Max could feel himself get worked up. "We can go help, with Roxas and Xion here that makes five of us that can go help Dad. Sylv, please."
The Acting Court Mage sighed and held her head high, "I'm sorry Max, but you and PJ will be returning with the rest of the Knight in training to wait out the battle and provide the residents of DisneyTown assistance if needed."
"But-"
"Sora, Donald and Goofy are fighting off the Darkness in the Cornerstone, if they need help I'll be sure to send Roxas and Xion."
"Sylv, please it's my dad. Don't you want to see him, too?" Max pleaded.
But Sylvia refused. "More than anything in the world, but we're at war, Max. Those can fight, are fighting, and the rest are to help in anyway they can. And for us that's keeping the Heartless out of our world."
"But-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A separate shouted broke out.
All eyes turned to PJ, his fist clenched tightly at his side trembling with anger. "Why can't you ever just do what you're told Max!"
Roxas and Xion took a step back from the growing tensions, they recognized when it was best to just stay quiet. Even Sylvia backed away from Max and PJ as the two boys began to argue.
"PJ, what are you talking about?"
PJ shook his head, "What are you talking about, do you even hear yourself? Your dad is the King's Knight, we're no were near his level and you want to join his fight? I get you want to see your dad, I wanna see Goofy too-"
Something ugly in Max snapped, "What would you know? You haven't seen your dad since he was banished!" Max's hands flew over his mouth in shock and in horror.
PJ's eyes watered…
Then PJ ran.
Max reached out to where PJ once was, "Wait! PJ! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" But PJ was already gone, "I'm didn't mean it…"
The young nobodies looked on in shock.
"What just happened." Xion muttered.
Roxas looked over at Sylvia who had a grim look on her face, "What did he mean by banished?"
PJ ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his heart tore at every word Max said to him. Of course the logical side of PJ knew Max didn't mean it. But there was a little part of him that was terrified a the possibility that maybe… just maybe Max meant it. Perhaps PJ was destined to become like the absent father he's always heard negative things about. Perhaps he wasn't meant to be a great Knight. His thoughts clouded his mind until his body screamed for him to stop and take a breath.
Only when he did, did he realize just how far he ran. He somehow made it to the other side of the castle. As he took in his surrounding, he noticed how desolate this part of the castle was. There was nobody around, no one to help him should he need aid. The idea scared him.
"Well don't you look, familiar."
PJ whipped his head around to see a tall, green woman staring back at him with greedy eyes. "W-who are you?! Stay back!"
She laughed at him, "Who am I, my child the more pressing question is who are you."
PJ flinched at the tone of her voice. All around them Heartless began to merge from the ground. PJ tried to back away but ended with his back against the wall.
"I said stay back! You- you aren't welcome here!" PJ tried to strong, but he was scared. He looked at the woman, stature toward over him.
"You're a coward," She sneered, "Just like your father, perhaps you too can be useful to me as well."
PJ's eyes opened in horror as the heartless began to descend upon him. He was trapped.
Yen Sid gazed upon the stars, it was almost time for Roxas and Xion to take their fates into their own hands. But with that possibility, it left a strange question to be answered. If the two Nobodies were now capable of producing their own Light, did that mean that they could also produce their own Darkness? And perhaps the biggest questions, did were they now able to create their own heart independent of Sora. There was still much to learn…
A knock at the door drew his attention away from the sky. "Come in."
The door opened slightly, "Master Yen Sid?" Namine called out to him, "Axel is here."
Yen Sid motioned for them to come in. In walked the Nobodies plus Riku. "Welcome, I'm sure you all have question as to why I summoned you all together. But first, Axel, how are Roxas and Xion progressing? You have seen the two at their strongest. As their guardian, do you feel like they are ready to untether themselves from Sora."
Axel looked away bashfully, "I mean, yeah, Roxas is getting stronger by the day and Xion finally is comfortable enough wielding the keyblade again. But guardian or not, ultimately the decision is theirs, not mine."
Yen Sid nodded, "Is that so? In that case," all eyes turned to the retired Master, "I believe it is in the best interest of all partied involved for Sora to finally be aware of the existence of his Nobody and his Replica."
Everyone's eyes widened. Yen Sid motioned them to pause, "Of course, it would be up to Roxas and Xion whether or not they want to reveal themselves to him this soon. My suggestion is this," He turned to Riku, "Namine, explained to me the events of Castle Oblivion. Despite being the main driving force behind those events, due to the Organization's exploitation of Namine's abilities, Sora Donald and Goofy have no knowledge of the existence of Replicas. In Sora's eyes, Nobodies are villains. I fear this information, while vital, may be too much to take in at once."
He turned to Namine. "Namine, I ask you remain in the tower with me and the three Good Fairies. You are free to traverse the world with Riku if you wish to do so, I do not wish to make you feel like a prisoner once more. But for the time being please stay in the Tower where it's safe. At least, until we gain more ground against the Organization and we figure out the whereabouts of DiZ."
Namine nodded at him, "I understand, Master Yen Sid."
Yen Sid returned to addressing the group as a whole once more, "Riku told me about the incident in the Underworld, we do not yet know what caused this reaction from Sora. But until we find out, please use the utmost caution around this matter, I do not want to think what might happen should that form have to clash with his equals. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Master Yen Sid!"
A/N: Did the 20th anniversary remind me that I have a bunch of fanfic that I haven't updated? Maybe, what's it to ya. Happy 20th anniversary to the game that has had a massive impact on my personal life. I have made so many friends and connections thanks to Kingdom Hearts. Can't wait to see if "Missing Link" is an mmo like Union Cross was, it'd be great to play with my old party members again.