CHAPTER XLI
THE INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
The Fenrir 2 landed at Disney Castle nearly two hours before the Barrett. As Sora, Kairi, Goofy, Donald and Eddy left the ship, they entered the square and were amazed at how far it had come. Now, instead of just rudimentary shops all over the courtyard, there were actually buildings, some of which had two or more stories. There was a hotel and several residential buildings, and Disney Castle looked even more like 'home' than ever.
But it wasn't the Destiny Islands…Sora shook his head as the thought escaped from it. There was no use feeling sorry for things he couldn't help…
Sora caught Cloud's eye and they met each other by the Moogle synthesis workshop. They gave each other a hearty handshake and smiled.
"Glad to see you're alright," Cloud said.
"You too. And I bet Cid's glad you didn't blow up the Fenrir 2…" they laughed for a moment, enjoying the downtime.
A massive speaker on a flagpole near the center of town hissed with static as Cid's voice rang through it. "Crews of the Barrett and the Fenrir 2, meet up in the Hall of the Cornerstone as soon as you've settled…" he said, and Sora and his friends headed straight for the hall.
The Cornerstone of Light was still there, but it was now encased in a large, metallic archway. The archway had chambers of glass in three places that pulsed with the same greenish energy that the cornerstone shone with. It seemed to make the cornerstone pulse more rapidly. Other than the pulsing archway, the only other difference was the large rectangular table behind the cornerstone. It had twenty comfortable looking chairs around it, and a replica of King Mickey's throne at the head of the table. King Mickey was already sitting in his throne, talking to Cid, who sat next to him. His open laptop on the table was the topic of their discussion, but as they noticed Sora, Cloud and the others start to trickle in, they motioned for them to sit at the table.
After only five minutes, the table was full – at the head sat King Mickey, and on his left and right were Cid and Merlin. Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud and Sora sat towards the middle as Kairi, Goofy and Donald sat at the end. Sora and Kairi explained most of what had happened since the last time they talked to everyone in the room. Eddy flew around near the door to Timeless River contentedly as Cid shut his laptop.
"Hey King Mickey…where's Riku?" Sora asked. "How did the testing go?"
"Hold on, kiddo. Mickey's got a lot of news to get through, and Riku's just a part of it. King Mickey, whenever you're ready…" Cid said, pressing a button on his laptop that made a large projector screen lower from the ceiling. He connected a wire to his computer, and the screen showed a large blueprint of a circular spaceship with arms jutting out from it.
"The Nexus Machine," Mickey said somberly. "I'm sure you guys know of it…it's the ship you were held captive on right before you made it to Emptiness Crossing."
Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Sora nodded.
"Cid's been hard at work trying to uncover any information about the Legion's plans from the computers we've found. By creating a direct link, Cid can now access the Legion computers from his…but there's a whole bunch of passwords that keep holding us up. Luckily, we have managed to hack past a few and find out a great deal about the Legion."
Mickey rose from his chair as he paced around the room.
"The first and foremost thing about the Legion is that they're after Riku. Oh, that reminds me…" he said, dashing up the stairs to the Castle's library.
Sora looked at Kairi in disbelief. "Gee, you think? We knew that when that Smiling Man came through the portal and kidnapped him…" he said, sarcastically.
"Shh! Don't you think Mickey and Cid know what they're talking about?" she snapped under her breath. "Just be patient!"
King Mickey came back down the stairs, followed by Riku. He looked pretty much the same as always, though there were bandages all over his arms where Merlin and Cid had drawn blood for the tests.
"Good as new," Riku said, smiling at Sora and Kairi. They contained themselves as Riku sat across the table from them, his full attention on Mickey.
"Now, as I was saying…the Legion's after Riku…they have him marked in their database as 'The Dark One'," Mickey explained.
Sora thought back to what the Smiling Man had said to him back on the Nexus Machine. "The leader said something about Riku having not defeated the darkness in his heart…but he's crazy…we know Riku has…" he said, trailing off as Riku interrupted.
"He was right, Sora. I haven't defeated it…" he said, staring at the table. "I've just managed to control it. The darkness is still there…I know it."
Sora's mouth hung open in awe. "But…Riku, we watched you change back from Ansem's form to your old self!"
Riku got angry. "And did you actually see my heart become whole? Did you see the darkness leave my body, Sora? Did you? All you saw was my body change back to normal…that's nothing. My heart was changed very little when DiZ sacrificed himself…"
Mickey cleared his throat loudly. "Calm down, you two…I'm trying to explain, and we'll be here all day if you keep interrupting."
Sora and Riku sat back in their chairs, paying full attention to Mickey as he sat back down next to Cid. The image of the Nexus Machine's blueprints changed into a screen with a full body picture of The Smiling Man in his Legion outfit. Next to him was a large readout that stated 'LEVEL 5'.
"The Smiling Man. He's the only Level 5, so we've gotta assume he's the leader. We believe this to be Maximilian. His axe-swords are almost identical to those that Maximilian used when Merlin met him before the keyholes were opened," Mickey said. The image changed again to a man in a suit similar to the Smiling Man's, though the face bore a set of bright red lips and his eyes were nothing more than slits.
"The Strange Man, according to the computer. We have no idea who this could be…though he seems to be Maximilian's right hand man. He's a level four." The screen changed again to reveal Maleficent, in her Legion robes.
"We all know Maleficent…" Mickey said bitterly. "Seems she's allied herself with the Legion…I guess after her spat with the Organization, she wants to be on the inside this time around… She's another level four."
The image changed again, as Cid lit a cigarette. Merlin shook his wand at the cigarette as it promptly exploded in Cid's face, leaving a large black smudge. Cid angrily crossed his arms and stared at the computer screen, biting his lip. Two members of the Legion showed up on the screen – the Silent Man and a female in a Legion outfit.
"This is Tifa and Leon…we had to fight them in the asteroid base. They're really strong, even though they're only level threes. These two are also level threes…I believe you ran into these guys on the Nexus Machine, Sora…" he said, as the screen blinked and showed Jafar in his Frowning Mask. Next to show up was the pudgy Ember, still hiding behind his Unsmiling Mask.
The next picture showed a large 'LEVEL 2' next to a heavier man in a black toga. "The Burning Man, as you can tell by his mask. I'll bet anything that its Hades…he's always got to be right in the middle of any kind of trouble…" Mickey trailed off as the next picture showed a man with blood red tribal markings and a mask that had two fangs coming from the mouth.
"Vincent…" Kairi said, staring at the image.
"Or the Fanged Man, as he's known in the Legion. He's also a level two…but it shows he was recently demoted for 'incompetence'," Mickey said.
Kairi thought about how he had saved them all on the Nexus Machine and she smiled. The final image to pop up on the screen was that of Pete, wearing a Legion outfit that was too small around his stomach. His belly-button poked out as if gasping for air. Next to him in large letters was written 'LEVEL 1'.
"That's a surprise…" Goofy said. Donald and Yuffie chuckled.
