Prologue
"My goodness! What's that?" Merryweather asked. At the table next to the window, a crow was there, standing on top of a black and purple gown. It cawed at the three fairies as it carried the gown closer and dropping it onto the ground before them. The crow hopped himself off of it so the three fairies would be able to see it better.
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather all looked closely at the gown. "Haven't we seen this somewhere before?" Merryweather asked the other two.
"Yes, dear." Fauna answered, "I wonder whose it was?"
Merryweather gasped as she remembered. "Oh, Malefi-" she started to say, but she covered her mouth.
"No! We mustn't remember her name!" Flora warned her, but she too knew her name, "Oh dear.."
"She was a mean ol' witch." Merryweather said, panicking as she started to remember her, "Oh, no! The memories are coming back! What'll we do?! Ooh, what'll we do?!"
Suddenly, the gown started to float slightly off the ground. To be more precise, someone was magically appearing in the gown. All three fairies gasped and spoke in horror as it was happening.
"Perhaps we should tell Master Yen Sid." Fauna suggested.
"Yes." agreed Flora, "That's what we must do. Hurry!"
As Flora and Fauna ran out the door and turned small, Merryweather watched as the figure in the black gown finally made her appearance, standing upright. "Maleficent!" she cried, her memories fully restored, following the other two and turning small.
The figure stood there in the room, feeling herself as she came back to life. The gown covered her from head to foot as she stood there. She had pale skin, black fingernails, and was carrying a long wooden rod with a lime green orb on top. The gown made fringes on her neck, and made it look like she had horns on her head. She had black pupils and yellow retinas.
She looked around the room, producing an evil grin. She then started to cackle madly, eagerly happy she was revived. Maleficent, the witch of darkness, had risen again.
Up into space, the Gummi ship was hovering close to the world where Yen Sid's tower was at. Kirito and Asuna looked up into the starry space. "If Sugu was here, she would be incredibly jealous." Kirito stated.
"Agreed. She would try to touch the moon in ALO." Asuna giggled, knowing those periods where someone would have to catch her for going too high into the sky, "Although, I don't see the moon anywhere. Is this really the same kind of space as what we're familiar with?"
"I don't think anything in this place is something we are familiar with." Kirito admitted.
Meanwhile, Yui was looking all over at the control panel. Being from inside a computer system, she found this 'outside view' on how things work very unusual, but she believed that she could handle it. Goofy and Donald was explaining to her what do each part of the panel do. "These seem simple enough." Yui understood, processing all the information, and looking at the controls.
"It is?" Goofy asked.
"You gotta be lying." Donald scoffed, "It took even the King a long time to know to work a Gummi Ship."
"While a lot of things are different, the methods are similar to what I'm familiar with in my world." Yui explained, "It's even simpler than accessing admin privileges in Aflheim Online."
"Uh… right." Sora responded, both surprised at her intellect, and trying to understand what she meant.
Just then, a video screen popped up at the front, and two chipmunks with yellow overalls could be seen inside a control system. Over the voice communicator, their two squeaky voices could be heard.
"Howdy, Sora!" said one voice. "How ya doin'?"
"Chip? Dale? Is that you?" Sora asked eagerly as he leaned into the screen.
"You betcha!" the second voice replied, "It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty: Chip..."
"...and Dale!" finished the second voice.
"Great to see ya again." Sora greeted them, "Hey, we have a couple of new friends joining with us on our adventure." He ushered Kirito, Asuna and Yui in so they could be better seen. "These are my new friends; Kirito, Asuna and Yui. Get this; both of them are Keyblade wielders! Isn't that awesome?!" The trio waved as they greeted them, extremely tempted to question about why the engineers are a pair of chipmunks.
"Oh, wow! three Keyblade wielders?" Chip asked excitedly.
"This will make the missions three times faster!" squeaked Dale, "Wait till Queen Minnie hears about this!"
"But in the mean time," said Chip, "Nice ta' meet you guys, and..."
"Happy flying!" they chimed as they jumped into the air. The screen reverted itself to a digital map of the worlds.
"Well, those guys seem cheerful." Asuna commented, a small drop of sweat coming from her forehead.
"But are those chipmunks really engineers to this ship?" Kirito asked bluntly, finding it hard to believe those guys could do such a feet, "I swear to you, this is looking more like one of the online games."
They all looked at the map on the main screen, as Sora asked, "So what worlds can we go to?" They examined and expanded the range of the map, and only saw one world that was capable of being traveled too. "Only one?" Sora complained
"That's no good!" Donald stated.
Yui, who got the hang of the control panel, started to type away at it with her little body. "It seems like the other worlds are still incapable of coming in contact with." she explained to them, "I hazard at a guess that maybe if we unlock the gate that is located in this world, that should lead us to more worlds, just like what master Yen Sid said."
"Wow, Yui!" Sora said in amazement, "You really are understanding all of that so easily."
"Well, she was previously an AI for 'Sword Art Online'." Asuna stated, rubbing the top of Yui's head with a finger, which made her giggle.
"Yeah, she was a Mental Health Counseling Program." Kirito explained, "She is very knowledgable about computers, and has helped us when we feel out of place."
"Gee, that's very handy!" Donald complimented her, "The Gummi ship runs on happy faces, so no frowning here."
"So I just got to keep people happy?" Yui asked, "Sounds simple enough, especially with all of you guys." Everyone laughed at her kindness.
"Wait!" exclaimed Goofy, "I think it's a world we know!"
"It is?" Kirito asked.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sora asked, "Lets go!"
With Goofy at the controls, he set the coordinates into the autopilot system, and the ship took them to the new world. It took a few hours, during the time, Kirito, Asuna and Yui got some shut-eye. Unlike Sora, Donald and Goofy, they didn't rest for a long time. They hadn't rested since they awoke in Twilight Town, so they thought it was best to sleep when they had the chance.
"They're sleeping like logs." Donald stated after an hour, seeing them resting next to each other.
"Well, they've sure have been through a lot today." Goofy said. Sora looked at them, thinking back on what they were like through their time.
"You know," he started, drawing Donald and Goofy's attention, "I wonder if there is anyway we can help them. Despite that they are helping us, they really want to go home, where they have friends and family." He looked down, thinking on how Kirito got angry at Yen Sid's tower, as he continued, "I understand that a bit. Kairi, Riku, all of my friends. I want more than ever to make sure that we can get together again, just like old times. That's why I'm trying hard to find Riku, so we can go back to the islands."
Donald and Goofy looked at each other, understanding Sora's words. Suddenly, Jiminy popped out of Sora's clothes. "Don't you worry about a thing." He said consolingly, "To me, I think they meant when they said they help us. Besides, I think the three of you share a lot in common."
"We do?" Sora asked Jiminy. All of them looked at the black and white sword-fighters.
"Yep. Kirito is a person who doesn't care what happens to him as long as his friends are safe," Jiminy explained, "And Asuna not only keeps Kirito in check, but aids those who are in danger. Yui explained that to me back at Twilight Town."
"They sure sounds a bit like Sora." Goofy stated. "Except they're a lot more mature than Sora." Donald added.
"Hey!" barked Sora, causing them all to laugh.
"They do seem really close to one another." Sora noted, watching as Asuna leaned her head on Kirito's shoulder.
"Well, from what I heard from Yui, Asuna is Kirito's wife in the game." Jiminy explained, looking at the journal log he made of them.
"What?!" they all cried, but covered their mouths as they saw Kirito stir a bit, but fall back to sleep.
"They're married?" Sora asked Jiminy.
"Well, not in real life." the cricket corrected, "Yui explained that in the game world they were from, there is a marriage system, where a couple can get married in the game. Kirito asked Asuna for marriage a long time ago, and she agreed."
"So, does that mean they are not married in real life?" Sora asked.
"Yui say that although they aren't actually married, they are close to one another, and have been dating for a year and a half." Jiminy explained.
"Gee, they almost sound like you and Kairi." Goofy told Sora, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
"Still, the two really do care for one another." Sora said, shaking off the embarrassment, looking at the two together, "Not only that, but they care about their family and friends well-being. They want to make sure that the people they care about won't worry about them. I just wish we could help them in someway."
They all pondered on Sora's words, before Goofy assumed, "Well, if we find this DiZ guy, he should be able to bring them back home." The other two smiled in agreement.
"Then it's settled." Sora decided, "Let's make sure we help them out with bringing them back home anyway we can." Goofy, Donald and Jiminy nodded in agreement.
They then flew in silence for a while, then the signal went off, meaning they were nearing their destination. This caused Kirito, Asuna and Yui to wake up. They stretched and yawned, and started to see the new world off in the distance.
"Is that where were gonna be landing?" Kirito asked.
"Yep." Sora answered, cheerfully looking at Kirito. They all watched as they finally made it into the atmosphere of the world. Goofy set up the transporter, and in a sparkle of lights, they all teleported away.
Meanwhile, inside a dark, circular room, Pete came to the outside door, looking around to see if anyone was there.
"Maleficent!" Pete called out with a worried expression, "Maleficent!" He stared at the circular table in the middle of the room, and entered in. "Maybe they really did finish her off." Pete suggested, looking around the room, scared, "And this castle sure ain't what I expected. No shine, nothin'. Oh, now what's gonna happen to our plan?"
Suddenly, Pete heard a rustling of wings, and he turned to the door he came in, and saw a crow on the balcony. It rustled its' feathers and cawed at him. Pete shook his head and gasped, realizing who the bird belonged too.
When the group came out of teleportation, they found themselves on a cobblestone road at the upper level of a town surrounded by stone walls. Sora, Donald and Goofy rushed over to a viewing point, where they saw a castle off in the distance that was under construction, or rather deconstruction. Yui dove into Kirito's pocket as he and Asuna walked over to the others as well.
"It's Hollow Bastion!" Sora stated.
"Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now." Goofy pointed out.
"What was it like before?" Kirito asked.
"Well for one thing, this town wasn't here." Sora explained, "There were waterfalls everywhere, and that castle."
"And I would guess the castle wasn't in the middle of construction before." Asuna guessed.
Goofy nodded as he explained, "Yep. That place was home to all the bad guys that were controllin' the Heartless before."
"But we stopped them for good!" Donald answered in a proud tone.
"Sounds like a story you should tell us at some point." Kirito said to Sora, who smiled as he wanted to tell them their adventures.
"I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay." Donald said to them. Kirito assumed that this 'Leon' must be a friend of theirs.
Just then, Goofy and Asuna turned to see a couple of Soldiers on one of the rooftops before vanishing in black orbs. "I see some Heartless are around here, too." Asuna stated, frowning at the spot they disappeared at.
"Uh oh. Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'." Goofy told the gang. Sora, Donald and Kirito looked at one another, acknowledging this fact.
They all ran down the pathway into the town square, where there were shops were all around. Some were run by humans, others were run by young ducks that were like Donald. Donald told them that they were his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Because they were triplets, Donald explained that Huey was in red, Dewey was green, and Louie was blue.
After examining the shops all around, Asuna decided that it would be best to use all the Munny they gathered to grab a few things. Not only did they grab some potions and tents, but they also got Goofy a new shield. They didn't get a new staff for Donald, but they promised the angry duck that they would get one once they save enough. Kirito and Asuna were also introduced to moogles, small, flying creatures that looked like a doll. Not only that they were intelligent, and were able to synthesize various materials to create new stuff for them. Kirito made a mental check on that, as he did get a couple of black colored shards from the Heartless.
The gang went down the stairs to the lower levels of the town. It was pretty run down, but still suitable for living. The gang went underneath a tall stone bridge and looked around the place. No one was around, or so they thought.
Just then, something white came out of nowhere, surprising them. It looked like a white orb sandwiched between two circular disks. It was definitely something digital, the evidence through their appearance was clear of that.
"Hey, what's going on?!" squawked Donald.
Yui popped out of Kirito's pocket and stared at them. "Based on the programing from what I can see, I assume they must be defense mechanisms, but I've never seen ones outside the computer program before."
"You have a sharp eye there." said a female voice above them, "That's the town's defense mechanism." All six of them looked around, finding where the voice came from, but Kirito spotted her first, on top of the stone staircase. She looked young, with black hair, and was wearing a black headband with white lining. She wore a dark grey combatant vest with a dangling black strap hanging over a navy blue tank top. She had a white wristband on one of her wrists and and a grey glove on her other hand. Her shorts were black, with another strap hanging from them. She had on black and white-striped, knee-high socks and dark tan boots.
"Yuffie!" Sora addressed her as he saw her smirking face.
She waved at them, then she noticed something behind Sora. "Look out!" she cried, and Sora pulled his Keyblade out just in time to avoid getting hit by a Dusk. More Dusks appeared all around them, and all of the team pulled out their weapons, ready for a fight.
They all took on the Nobodies individually. They all had no trouble dealing with them now, especially because there were so few of them. The defense mechanism was also helpful, as it was sending the Nobodies flying, helpless in the air. There were a few new enemies they had to deal with, and they looked like they were swordsman. However, their reaction time was slow, and they were easy to beat.
After finding a new item, for which Yui told that it was a Twilight Shard, they got together again. "Hey, you guys!" Yuffie called out, leaping from the height she was at down to them, "I see you're still in top form."
"What'd you expect?" Sora asked, thumping his chest, "Looks like you're doing okay."
"Well, what'd YOU expect?" Yuffie retorted, staring at all of them and seeing Kirito and Asuna, "You guys are really good, yourselves. What're your names?"
"Oh, this is Kirito and Asuna." Sora introduced, each of them waving at Yuffie, "Their friends of ours that are also journeying with us."
"I see…" Yuffie understood, examining the pair, "Well, you both certainly have shown how tough you are. I'm Yuffie, by the way. Great ninja thief."
"A ninja thief?" Kirito echoed. There had been plenty of people who develop a build like that in both SAO and ALO, especially in the Spriggan race, since they are treasure hunters. Somehow, he felt like she could definitely pull off the race.
"How are the others?" Donald asked Yuffie.
"Great!" she answered excitedly, immediately diverting her attention to her older friends.
"Hey, Yuffie." Sora started, "Have you seen the King and Riku, or a guy by the name of DiZ?"
"Nope..." she answered as she walked away from them. The five stared as the saw Sora drop his head. Yuffie dashed away from them and then turned around to them. "...But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again." she added.
Sora smiled as he stared at Yuffie, then he put on a serious face as he stared at his raised palm. "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other." he quoted, acting like someone else. Kirito and Asuna looked at one another, confused.
"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie asked as she grinned. Donald and Goofy chuckled as Sora rubbed his nose. Kirito guessed that he was just imitating this Leon guy.
"Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house." Yuffie explained to them, "C'mon, I'll introduce your friends to them." She then dashed away like ninja and vanished from sight. They chased after her, dealing with a few Heartless here and there as they continued on. They found a few items laying around or dropped.
They entered a large house on the corner of the street. Inside, they first saw just how cluttered it was. Next were all the books that were stacked on top of each other here and there. Finally, in the back were three people, two watching the screen of a large computer, with one tapping away at it.
"Meet the Hallow Bastion Restortation Committee!" Yuffie introduced the team to the others. The three people turned around to see them. The one at the keyboard was an older man, with blond hair, goggles and and a toothpick in his mouth He had a necklace, a white tee-shirt, baggy blue pants, a tan belly-warmer, gray socks and black shoes. He was Cid.
The second was a beautiful young lady, with long, braided, light brown hair, tied by a red ribbon. She wore a pink and white top held by a neck-string, a pink dress with horizontal white stripes underneath that, what looked like a white dress underneath that as well, and brown boots. Her name was Aerith.
The third person was a well-built man, with short, brown hair. He had a white shirt underneath black vest with white fur collar, and a silver necklace. He had black gloves and wore three brown belts on his left forearm. He had long black pants, with belts and a zipper going up each legging, and three belts that intersected around his waist. He also had on back shoes. That guy was Leon.
"We missed you!" Aerith said, indicating Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"Well, if you ain't in top shape." Cid stated.
"I knew it." Leon said monotonously.
"Knew what?" Sora asked as Yuffie led their group over to them.
"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." Leon explained. Sora, Donald and Goofy were taken aback at what he said, even Kirito and Asuna were skeptical at this. How could everyone at the same time just remember someone? Were they forgotten? If they were, then that would seriously counter the quote Sora said when imitating Leon.
"You...remembered?" Sora asked, realizing what this meant, "Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us?!"
"Thanks!" Donald growled sarcastically.
"So where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked.
"We were sleepin'." Goofy answered.
"Where? In cold storage?" Cid asked amusingly.
"Didn't look like that, but it was close." Asuna answered, drawing the attention to the newcomers.
"And these guys?" Leon asked.
"Oh, they're new friends of Sora." Yuffie answered eagerly, "There names are Kirito and Asuna."
"Hey," Kirito greeted.
Leon walked up to Kirito and stared into his eyes. Kirito looked back at him calmly, noticing he was being tested. "You seem pretty strong." Leon simply said.
"Same to you." Kirito responded in a calming manner.
"Kirito really is strong!" Yuffie said to the trio, "He and Asuna are both Keyblade wielders!" Aerith and Cid both looked at the two, surprised. Leon only raised his eyebrows.
"I see," he said, turning his back onto Kirito for a few seconds. He then spun around fast, pulling his sword out from who knows where. Kirito reactionary skill kicked in, and he summoned his Oblivion and blocking the sword with one hand. Everyone stood back in shock.
"Leon, what are you-!" Sora started, Yuffie placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. She knew what he was doing.
The two black swordsmen stared at each other, their swords bearing onto each other. Finally, Leon lowered his sword and smirked. "You don't have hesitation in your moves." He said to him, "I guess the Keyblade chose someone very prominent this time."
"Hey!" Sora barked, offended by this.
"I've had experience." Kirito said calmly, "So does Asuna." Leon absentmindedly stared at her, who responded with a nod to confirm his words.
"That's a pretty awesome sword." he followed up, looking at Leon's Gunblade, "Is it also a gun?"
"Yep. Useful for shooting magic, too." he answered.
"Right…" Kirito understood, who couldn't stop staring. Asuna rolled her eyes, knowing her boyfriend's fixation on rare and powerful swords.
"I'll leave it at that." Leon finished, raising his free hand to Kirito, "I'm Leon."
"Kirito." the black swordsman responded, and each shook hands, "Nice to meet you."
"Man, you two are scary similar." Cid responded, "I'm Cid, nice to meet ya'."
"I'm Aerith," the girl responded, "I'm glad to see you got on Leon's good side." Kirito smiled a bit at the two. Asuna waved at them. Sora, Donald and Goofy sighed in relief. They thought that Kirito and Leon were gonna go all out on each other.
"So, um," Sora said, breaking the moment, "we're trying to find Riku, the King, and a man by the name of DiZ. Have you seen 'em?" Aerith, Cid and Leon all shook their heads. "Right." Sora sighed.
"Sorry." Aerith said apologetically, "But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?"
"Okay, thanks." Sora answered.
"Don't go thankin' us just yet." Cid said abruptly, coming in closer to Sora, causing him to back off.
"Hollow Bastion's got a problem." Leon explained, "A big problem."
"You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?" Sora asked, looking over Cid's shoulder at them.
"That's right!" Yuffie answered.
"Sounds like you could use our help." Sora stated. Kirito and Asuna nodded in agreement.
"Then let's cut to the chase." Leon said to them, as all four of the Restoration Committee gathered around the five heroes, "Sora, Donald, Goofy…" He looked to Kirito and Asuna as he added, "You two, as well. We were hoping the five of you might give us a hand around here."
"Sure thing. We're willing to help." Asuna answered.
Sora thumped his chest as he answered, "Like we're gonna say no?"
"Hmph," Leon smirked at them, "I forgot who I'm dealing with."
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Donald asked shrewdly.
"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment'." Aerith said to them.
"Sounds a bit like Sinonon when dealing with you, Kirito." Asuna compared with.
"Yeah, kinda does." Kirito responded, holding back a chuckle, while Yui giggled at the statement.
Leon walked to the door and opened it. "Follow me to the bailey." he told them, "There's something you need to see." He walked out the door and left.
Just as he left, a puff of white smoke appeared, and a man that resembled a wizard like Yen Sid appeared. He too had a blue robe, but his pointy hat was crooked at the top. His beard was white and really long, and he wore thin-rimmed glasses. He was also carrying a long walking staff.
"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" He said to Sora.
"It's Merlin!" Donald exclaimed as the five walked over to him. Kirito and Asuna could tell this guy was a wizard at first sight, considering the blatantly obvious attire. But for him to be called Merlin caught them slightly off guard. He couldn't be related to a certain other wizard of a famous story in their world, could he?
"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie explained, "Not only that, but they have their new friends, Asuna and Kirito, helping out, too!"
"Splendid!" Merlin muttered, turning to the two unfamiliar faces, "Ah! I see you two also carry the powers of the Keyblade."
"You can tell?" Asuna asked.
"Well, a bit of questioning and a good eye can easily give away the answer." Merlin chuckled, pointing out Kirito's Keyblade, which he forgot to put away. They both looked at each other, slightly embarrassed, and Kirito put his weapon away. "Well, we'll count on all of you!" The wizard told the group.
"Right!" they all responded.
"Ah, yes." Merlin remembered, "Did you give them the cards, dear?"
"Oh!" Aerith gasped, then she pulled out three cards and handed them to Sora, Donald and Goofy, "Here, they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them."
Each took a card and read what it said on the back. "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" Sora read out loud. Underneath that were each their names.
"Membership cards!" Donald exclaimed.
"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked, the other two nodded in agreement.
Aerith turned to Kirito and Asuna. "We'll make some card for you too." she told them.
"Thanks, but you don't have to go out of your way." Kirito responded.
"Come on, papa!" moaned Yui, flying out and looking at Kirito, "It could be fun having one of those cards." She turned to Aerith. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Yui! It's a pleasure to meet ya'!"
"It's nice to meet you too." Aerith responded as Yui shook her finger. It was rather surprising that she didn't seem phased by her sudden appearance. Yuffie and Cid, on the other hand were surprised.
Sora was done looking all over his card. "Hey, thanks Leo..." he turned to the door and realized he wasn't there, "Huh? Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!" The four nodded in agreement as Yui flew back into Kirito's pocket.
"Just a moment, Sora." Merlin halted them, "What about your magic?"
"Huh? Oh that's right..." Sora remembered, then he thought about it. Based on his expression, it was obvious he forgot how to do them.
"Maybe you forgot it while you were asleep!" Yuffie assumed.
"Now, what am I to do with you?" moaned the wizard, "I suppose I'll have to led you a few spells. But be careful with them!"
"Thanks, Merlin!" Sora responded eagerly.
Merlin turned to Asuna and Kirito. "I guess that you two don't know any magic either." he asked the two. They shook their heads. It was only in their ALO forms could they do spells. "Well then," he summarized, "I'll just have to give you two some spells as well." He waved his staff, and three green orbs with four stars around them appeared and dove into their bodies, causing both Kirito and Asuna to be startled at what just happened.
"There," he finished, "I have just given each of you the 'Blizzard' spell. Use it wisely."
"Thanks!" they said in unison.
"To the bailey, and quickly!" Donald declared, and they dashed outside.
They ran up the stone stairs to the upper levels, and went along the terrace. They had some Heartless getting in their way. "Let me try my new spell." Asuna declared, pointing her Keyblade out in front of her.
"Just concentrate, and say the spell you want to use." Donald explained.
Asuna nodded, and aimed for one of the Soldiers. "Blizzard!" she cried, and an icicle spear shot out of her Oathkeeper and hit the Soldier head on, causing it to vanish in black smoke.
"Wow, that is pretty awesome!" Asuna exclaimed.
"And much easier to remember than ALO spells." Kirito compared. They took out the Heartless, both Asuna and Kirito getting the hang of their magic. They learn they could channel it from their Keyblades, but were also able to unleash from their palms. They gathered up the leftovers, and ran into the bailey.
The interior of the bailey was dark hallway, with a couple sunny spots where the stone balconies were at. At the furthest balcony, Leon was leaning on one of the walls, waiting for them. They walked up to them who directed their attention to the outside.
"Look at that." He told them. They all stared, shocked at what they saw. An evil-looking castle stood off in the distance, towering over a ruined town. It was surrounded by cliffs and thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Heartless, blackening the ground around the castle, their yellow eyes sparkling like stars.
"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it use to be." Leon explained to them, "Who knows-maybe even something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything, except for that..." He then pointed his hand out even further down as he finished, "...and that." They looked down and saw some Nobodies strolling towards all the Heartless.
Sora and the others leaned away from the balcony and looked at Leon.
"We'll handle 'em." Sora declared, thumping his chest.
"Reminds me of the amount I had to deal with back when I climbed the World Tree…" Kirito compared, "Only a heck of a lot more Heartless than the Guardians."
"This reminds you of it?" Asuna asked, not there at the time Kirito did the first climb to reach her, "Well, it certainly is a lot, but I think we can handle it with a good strategy."
"Well, that's good to hear." Leon replied, "So Sora, do you know what's going on, then?"
"There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless." Sora explained. "...But he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes." Kirito cut in, "The one's we need to worry about are the Nobodies."
"And the members of Organization XIII who are in charge of them." Asuna added, thinking about their group.
"You called?" said a deep, male voice. It seem to come out of nowhere. They looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from. All but Leon ran into the middle of the hallway, Donald and Goofy pulling out their weapons.
"You're doing well." the voice said again.
"Who's that?!" Sora shouted as the trio pulled their Keyblades out.
"This calls for a celebration..." said the voice.
Suddenly, Nobodies started to pop out of nowhere. As Donald and Goofy ran to the gate they came into, Sora, Kirito, Asuna and Leon were chasing down a few of the Nobodies, and cutting off their path to the gate. "We can't let them breach the gate!" Leon told them. The three Keyblade wielders nodded.
"Donald! Goofy!" Kirito called out, "Make sure that those gates are locked tight! We'll take care of these things!" Both Donald and Goofy nodded in response, and they closed the gate from the outside. All four sword fighters stared at all of the Nobodies, ready for a fight.
They were blocking the Nobodies from getting to the gate. Kirito and Leon rushed in first, they started slashing away at the monsters before them. They saw one from a distance, and as Kirito used Blizzard, Leon shot at it with his sword, and the two attacks made it disappear. "Nice." Kirito complimented, staring at Leon's sword. "That weapon is really versatile! Wish I had one like that, too!"
"I keep my options open." Leon said simply, and they continued fighting furiously.
"I'm seeing doubles!" Asuna said exasperatedly as she and Sora watched Kirito and Leon go at it.
Several Nobodies appeared before them, and they tried to bypass them in order to get to the gate. "No you don't!" they cried, swiftly defeating them one after another. They combined their attacks together as they took them out one after another. The town's defense mechanism was also working out for them, as they sent them flying helplessly into the air, making them easy targets.
As Leon shot down the smaller Nobody that Yui analyzed as a Creeper, Kirito was dealing with the same sword-fighting Nobody as before, whom Yui discovered as Samurai. The Nobody grabbed the swords on his back, but didn't pull them out. Kirito noticed this, and realized what he was doing. "So, a Duel Stance, huh?" Kirito asked, holding his position and putting his Keyblade away, "Very well then, I accept!" The two stared at each other, prepared to draw their weapons. It was as if spotlights seem to appear on them and any Nobody around them, freezing them in their spot.
"What are you doing?" Yui asked, but Kirito was way too focused to hear her. He glared at the Nobody before him, trying to detect movement. The Samurai was doing the same. There was silence for a moment, then a small gust seem to blow in between them, and they made their move.
With one swift slice, each of them crossed their paths at lightning speed slicing with their swords. They skidded to a halt, not moving in the slightest. Then in an instance, the Samurai disappeared, and not only him, but all the other Nobodies surrounding them. He turned to see how much he did, then continued to fight on. Leon eyed his battle with the Nobody. Kids got some skill. He thought as he slashed down a Creeper.
Meanwhile, Asuna and Sora were relentlessly taking down all the Nobodies that were reaching the gate. Asuna saw a couple of Dusks about to attack her, but she pulled a Reversal on them, spinning around behind them and piercing them down. Sora noticed her do this, and saw another Dusk coming at him. He did his best, and he too pulled a Reversal on it and sliced it from behind.
"Not bad." Asuna said as she became surrounded by five of them. Sora rushed to help her, but their was no need. At quick-paced speed, Asuna was darting around all of the Nobodies and striking them down before they had a chance. She turned to Sora as she flicked some hair out of her face.
"That was incredible!" Sora gasped, seeing how fast she took them out, "You took them out in a flash!"
"Well, people did refer to me as the Lightning Flash back in SAO." Asuna admitted.
"Wow!" Sora gasped, "They actually give you a nickname like that?"
"Sure," Asuna answered, starting at Kirito, who was back to back with Leon as they were surrounded by Nobodies, "Kirito has something like that."
"What's his nickname?" Sora asked eagerly, fighting alongside Asuna as more Nobodies appeared.
"Well, he has a few," she explained, "Some would call him a 'Beater', which is a cross between a Beta tester and a cheater. Some would call him the 'Black Swordsman' because of his sword and gear. However, there is one name that also works for him." She went silent as she saw the Nobodies draw in around the two men.
"Got any ideas?" Leon asked Kirito as he was wearing down and being cornered.
"One." he answered, placing his hand to his chest, "I just hope I can pull it off." He then concentrated hard, and he started to cause his clothes to glow. "Valor!" he cried, and an energy exploded from his clothes, transforming them into the red hue, and producing his second Keyblade.
"What?!" Leon said in amazement as he saw this new form.
Kirito charged at a fast pace as he started to sliced and dice furiously at all the Nobodies, who were powerless to stop him. "There it is." Asuna pointed out to Sora, "The 'Duel-Wielding Swordsman'." They watched as he was sending them flying into the air, and making leaps higher than before at them. There was no stopping him.
He finally stopped as he took out the last one and looked around to see if any of them were left. He panted as his clothes reverted back to normal. "Not bad moves there, Kirito." Leon commended him as Sora and Asuna gathered to him.
"Thanks." he replied, "I think I can produce that power a bit better now. Feels weird, but I feel like that every time I struck, I felt myself getting stronger."
"That's probably because your Valor form gets stronger the more you fight with it." Yui answered, flying out of Kirito's pocket and starting at him, "The more you attack, the stronger you get. Not only that, but in Valor form, your jump height also increases, and in time, they can even benefit your normal form."
"How do you know that?" Kirito asked, surprised at her knowledge at the form.
"I'm not really sure." She answered, "It just came to me."
"Well, we'll believe you." Asuna confirmed, "You are the more knowledgable of the group."
"Yeah, and I'll be ready to use my Valor Form too after watching you." Sora stated to Kirito, who smiled slightly in Sora's high spirit.
"By the way, what were you two talking about?" Kirito asked the pair, "You looked like you were discussing something as you fought."
"Just about our titles back in SAO." Asuna answered, "Like how you were the Black Swordsman and I was the Lightning Flash."
"Yeah, that's right…" Kirito recalled, "Though nowadays, people call you the Berserk He-."
"Kirito, don't bring that up!" Asuna exclaimed in embarrassment, "You know I hate that title!"
Kirito realized his mistake, and shut himself up as suddenly three orbs like the one that gave them the Blizzard magic appeared out of nowhere and went into each other's bodies. "Alright!" cheered Sora, "We've gained new magic!"
"I can feel it."Asuna stated, placing a hand to her chest, "It's telling me that it's a fire element."
"Then that's the Fire magic." Leon told them.
"Sounds great." Kirito said.
He glared as he turned to where the hallway leads to the outside. There was still the matter of whoever sent those Nobodies at them. "Let's go." he told the others. Sora and Asuna nodded, their faces serious, and the three Keyblade wielders headed outside, Leon stood there watching them. Reaching the open sky, with Sora in the lead, they looked all around, their Keyblades at the ready.
"The Keyblade," the voice said, "a truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more...capable hands." This was followed by a chorus of laughter.
"Show yourself!" Sora called out. Suddenly, on one of the high walls, a black oval-shaped swirl of energy appeared, and a figure in a black coat and hood appeared. He looked down at Sora, Kirito and Asuna, then looked up as he raised his hands. As Donald and Goofy came up to join them, they saw, to their astonishment, six more black gateways appeared, each producing a cloaked figure like the first. They all stood there, looking down at the group below.
"Organization XIII!" Goofy cried out. The five looked at each other and nodded in what they must do.
"Good." Sora firmly said, "Now we can settle this!"
"Let's take them out!" Kirito stated, he and Asuna standing shoulder to shoulder as they glared at them.
"What a shame," the first person said, who was the voice from before, "And her I thought we could be friends." All the people on the wall vanished into the black gateways again.
"Stop!" declared Donald, rushing towards the stairs closet to them in order to get closer, but they were already gone up above. Just as Donald reached the stairs, a black gateway appeared before him, and one of the cloaked figures stood in his way. Donald, looking surprised looked at the person before him, and up at the place where they disappeared. "What's the big idea?!" Donald squawked at the person before him, waving his staff.
"Oopsy-daisy." the man said sarcastically. It was a new voice. Sora, Goofy, Kirito and Asuna got closer in.
"Move!" Sora declared.
"Now do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" the man asked him.
"You're in our way!" Kirito shouted, raising his Keyblade at the cloaked man.
"Oh, don't be such a party pooper!" the masked man said amusingly, "Though from what I heard from the newcomer of our lovely Organization, he said that you two could be a serious problem to us." He was pointing to Kirito and Asuna, who looked at each other in surprise.
"What do you mean by that?" Asuna asked severely, "Are you saying somebody knows about us?"
"Oh sure. Won't shut up about you two since you arrived in this dimension." the cloaked man replied, "Though I should let him tell you instead. I'm too bored to play with you guys."
"Well if that's the case," Sora said abruptly, "Then get out of our way, now!"
"As if!" he snorted, "You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing."
Everyone got into battle positions as Donald jumped back to them. "Then we're gonna MAKE you move!" he declared, raising his staff.
"See, that would work, if I were just any old dude." the man told them, "'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing 'any old' about me."
"Ha!" barked Sora, "Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting!"
"Oh, dear." The man muttered, "I think you all got the wrong impression."
"You gonna cry?" Sora asked amusingly.
"As if!" the man responded, "Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"
"Remind me?" questioned Sora, looking confused, then he shook it off and looked at him angrily. The man laughed at his expression.
"That's right," he said, "he used to give me that same exact look."
"Don't listen to him, Sora." Kirito warned him, "I bet he's just saying random stuff so he can psych you out!"
"That won't work on me!" He said, though a look that crossed his face slightly showed that it did. "You think you can just try to confuse my friends and I like that?" Asuna asked the cloaked man.
"Gee," he responded raising his arms out to either side of him, looking prepared to fight, "I just don't know."
They stared at each other, looking like a battle was about to take place right here, right now. Then the cloaked man straighten himself up. "Be a good boy now!" he said to Sora as a black gateway started to envelop him.
"Wait!" Donald cried, rushing in to attack him. He leapt at him just as the cloaked man disappeared, causing Donald to fall to the ground. "Nuts!" He snorted as he raised his head, "He got away!"
"That was weird." Sora stated, "Who gave him the same look?"
"Y'now, I think he was just tryin' to confuse ya." Goofy assumed.
"That's what I said." Kirito reminded him.
"Yeah, you guys are right." Sora answered, "Only one me!"
"Though it does seem weird that he knew us." Asuna said, looking at the spot the man disappeared, "He said a 'newcomer' of the Organization told them all about us. But who would know us?" Kirito and Yui, who popped out once again, stared at Asuna, who stared back, worried about one question; could somebody else from their dimension could've possibly come to this world?
"Hey, it doesn't matter." Sora assured them, "We can take on whoever comes our way from the Organization." Sora pulled out the membership card and raised it up as the group, along with Leon, gathered around him. "The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member..." he quoted, but he was cut off as the card started to glow. He let go of it, and it hung in the air, the light shining from it. Everyone gasped in surprise. Suddenly, Sora's, Kirito's and Asuna's Keyblades all started to glow at the tips.
"What's this?" Leon asked.
"Gawrsh, ya think...?" Goofy thought. Sora looked at Kirito and Asuna, who nodded in response.
They pointed their Keyblades downward together as they and the floating membership card glowed brighter. Suddenly a crown mark appeared around them, and a strange energy surged around them as the surrounding changed into what looked like a bright sky with black clouds. The light from the card suddenly bursted into the sky, and a large keyhole appeared. The trio jumped back, flipping their Keyblades around and pointing them at the keyhole. Three beams came from their Keyblades and shot themselves at the keyhole, and a sound of a lock unlocking was produced, along with a blinding light. Suddenly everything was back to normal.
The three of them lowered their Keyblades as Sora realized, "Ohh, now I get it."
"That must've been the gate Yen Sid was talking about." Kirito recalled.
"Then that means we opened one of the gates!" Asuna said excitedly.
"Oh, boy!" Donald cheered. Kirito looked down at his Oblivion.
"This really is a key to something." Kirito said quietly, realizing its' powers.
Sora turned to Leon. "Sorry to run, Leon," he said determinately, "but other worlds are calling."
Leon nodded in acknowledgement. "Organization XIII," he said, crossing his arms across his chest, "They look tough. Be careful out there." The five of them nodded in returned.
"See you soon." Sora said to him.
"Glad I got to meet you, Leon." Kirito stated, walking forward and raising a hand out.
"Same to you, Kirito." Leon responded, taking his hand and shaking it, "You're...not bad. Maybe I can test you sometime."
"I think you have that backwards." Kirito said amusingly. The two black-clothed men looked at one another, smirking.
"Come on, Kirito!" Asuna cried to him. Kirito let go of Leon's hand and waved in goodbye as he rushed to his friends. Leon waved back at him. As they grouped together, Goofy pulled a device out of his pocket and pressed a button. Suddenly, the light of the Gummi ship's teleportation device beamed down onto them, and they disappeared into it.
When they got onto the ship, they noticed a new change to the interior; two new seats were there. "Alright!" Sora cheered, "You guys also have seats now!" Kirito and Asuna looked at the seats before them, and sat into them. They weren't fully comfortable, but they were better than lying on the wall. "Ok, gang," Sora declared, staring at the star map, for which two worlds appeared, "let's go!"
Yui popped out and went to the main controls. "I'll set the coordinates for us!" she said setting the destination for the nearest planet. Everyone was impressed she was able to do such a task now. She turned to the group, asking "You guys ready?"
"Ready!" Goofy responded.
"Then what are we for?!" squawked Donald.
"Let's head out." Kirito said calmly as Asuna smiled at him.
"Righto, papa!" she answered turning around to the control panel and pressing the final button. The ships auto pilot sent them flying to their next destination.
Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom
Land of the Dragon! Women's Honor!