Heyo! I'm back after something of a short hiatus from this fic. And with finally, another start of another Disney world. I gotta say this one was a lot of fun to work on. I have to admit I'm a little less familiar with Atlantis: The Lost Empire than I am some of the other Disney worlds in this fic, but I still think this turned out really well (seriously Atlantis is basically MADE to be in a KH game and I'm baffled that it hasn't happened yet). Anyway, with all that out of the way, let's get started!


Chapter 23: The Lost Empire

They'll try to change your mind
They'll try to change your heart
But they will never understand
Who you are
And you'll still believe
And you know, you must go

It came out of nowhere; a massive explosion that overtook both the sky and sea alike. In a blinding flash, the ripple effect of the disaster was immediate as it swallowed everything in its wake. Those who had witnessed it raced to warn the great city of the coming devastation that was set to befall them, but there was no need; even as it swelled over the distant horizon, the coming cataclysm could be seen by all.

Darkness filled the sky as the citizens scrambled to find some semblance of shelter from the approaching storm, in the uncertain hope that they could somehow be saved from it. Little did they know that their very city itself was already starting to do exactly that.

Yet as it did, its heart took something from its people. It took a wife from her husband, a mother from her daughter, a queen from her people. A heavy price paid for the sake of saving them all.

And so it did. And so they were. Or so it seemed.

For in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea…


After nearly a month of relative downtime, venturing out into an entirely new world is something of a strange, yet welcome change of pace for Sora, Donald, and Goofy alike. Or rather, a return to their usual pace, one that all three of them know will take some getting used to. Still, they had each largely agreed to proceed slowly and carefully when it comes to this first venture, or at least that's what Donald and Goofy miraculously convinced Sora to do.

Yet even as the trio begins to make their way through the wide, earthen caverns they find themselves in upon arriving to this new world, Donald and Goofy can tell that much of the bravado and excitement Sora had shown on the way there has suddenly diminished. Because instead of leading the way as he usually would, instead he trails behind his companions, gripping his arms in something of a loose hug as while glancing around the dark caves apprehensively. The captain and the magician exchange a worried look after they both spare a brief glance back at Sora, their shared concern for him palpable even now. After all, even if he's mostly recovered physically from what Maleficent had done to him, that doesn't mean he's fully healed in every other regard yet. Even if both of his companions know just how much he likes to act as though he has.

"Gee, I wonder where we'll find a Key around here…" Goofy wonders aloud, trying to strike up a casual chat.

"Who knows?" Donald replies, using a flame spell cast above his scepter to light their way through the lengthy cavern. "What do you think, Sora? You are the one who brought us here, after all."

"Hm?" Sora flinches as he suddenly tunes in to the conversation, leaving his myriad of much more pressing thoughts by the wayside, at least for now. "Oh, uh, yeah… Well, I'm pretty sure there is a Key here, but as usual, I… don't really know where it is or how to get it…"

"I'm sure we'll figure it out, just like we have a bunch of times already," Goofy says with an encouraging grin.

"Besides," Donald adds. "If your Keys Instinct is picking up on a Key here, then at least that means the Organization hasn't gotten their hands on it yet."

"Gawrsh, Donald, I thought you didn't like us callin' it the Keys Instinct," Goofy notes, chuckling.

"Eh, it's growing on me."

"They may not have this world's Key," Sora interjects, his tone completely lacking the levity of his companions' as he grips his arms tighter. "But I'm sure they have a whole stash of other Keys by now. After all, they've had plenty of time to get them thanks to me…"

"Sora, how many times do we have to tell you?" Donald huffs fervently. "What happened to you wasn't your fault!"

"And neither is whatever the Organization might have done while you were down and out!" Goofy soundly agrees.

As if on instinct, Sora nearly argues against both of those claims. Because ultimately, he had been the one who had bargained his own freedom away instead of finding another solution. He had been the one who had fallen for an obvious trap in trying to escape instead of seeing it coming and outwitting it like he should have. He had been the one who had succumbed to the poison, the pain, the darkness that had strangled him, suffocated him, overwhelmed him completely instead of having the strength to fight back and resist it. And perhaps worst of all, he had been the one who had wasted an entire month on largely idle recovery instead of getting back to searching for the very Keys that could spell the difference between light prevailing or darkness enshrouding all.

And if that's indeed what ends up happening, if the Organization does end up claiming the rest of the Keys and Xehanort has his way, then Sora knows there would be no one to blame for such a horrific turn of events other than himself. That's a plain and simple fact he's known for a long time now, essentially from the moment their search for the Keys had begun, an obvious constant, an unspoken truth always hanging right over his head. A truth that nobody else seems to accept other than him, not even the pair that's tirelessly searching for those Keys alongside him. "Y-yeah… I know..." he finally concedes. He avoids their worried gaze as he does, realizing that arguing for that truth would only be a waste of time they don't really have on their side anymore.

From this reluctant, half-hearted admittance, neither Donald nor Goofy are particularly convinced. "Are you sure you're up for this?" the magician asks, stopping to turn to him as the captain does the same.

"Cause if you're not," Goofy continues. "Then you know we can always go back to Radiant Garden so you can-"

"N-no!" Sora protests without skipping a beat. "I'm fine! I'm ready for this, I know I am. We need to do this-I need to do this. I can't just sit around trying to get better forever, not when there's still so much we need to do."

"But all that stuff can afford to wait until you're feeling better," Goofy assures patiently.

"I am feeling better!" Sora reiterates, though once again, neither of his companions really buy it.

"Look, Sora," Donald begins with a sigh. "We know the poison is gone and you can use your Keyblade again, but like we've already told you who knows how many times now, you shouldn't push yourself so hard. Not after everything that happened to you."

Sora lets out something of a harsh, involuntary scoff at this, hating the mere mention of his brief, yet awful time spent in Maleficent's clutches and the equally horrendous memories that come along with it. "Y-yeah, what happened," he mutters, walking past both of them. "Which means it's over, and we don't have to talk about it because it's done."

"B-but, Sora-"

"Now, come on," he succinctly, almost coldly interrupts as he presses on ahead through the tunnel. "I-I think I saw a light up ahead."

Though the conversation is all but over, both Donald and Goofy are far from content with how it ends. Because clearly, as much as he might say or pretend otherwise, Sora is still struggling, both with his past pain and present problems alike. But any attempts they make to get him to actually talk about either of those things and his honest feelings toward them always seem to hit a dead end of dismissiveness. Dismissiveness they both know will have to come to an end sooner or later, but for now they have no other choice than to let it linger. After all, if Sora is right about one thing, it's that they still have another Key to collect.

So the trio forges on through the caverns, which are every bit mysterious as they are dense and deep. Though largely obscured by shadows, there's still scattered fragments of ruins strewn about: a battered column here, a broken statue there, though aside from those hints of faded society, there doesn't seem to be any signs of life, friendly, hostile or otherwise, anywhere in sight. That is, outside of the fairly fresh tire tracks and footprints the trio has no choice but to follow as they press ever deeper into the unknown. And in time, those trails eventually lead right to their source, and the realization that they're far from the only travelers traversing these tunnels.

Because as they emerge into another large and lofty room of the caves, the trio is met with a peculiar sight; a makeshift campsite, in the midst of being set up by a group of about 50 or so people. Said group seems to be a segmented army or some other similar sort of crew based on the rather disheveled uniforms a handful of them wear as they tend to their caravan of trucks, tanks, and even a vehicular drill. Sora, Donald, and Goofy find themselves mutually fascinated as they venture into the bustling camp, none of them even thinking about how out of place they are when compared to everyone else. That is, until someone else notices that fact instead.

"You three! Hold it right there!" A sharp shout catches the trio off guard. They turn to see a tall, blonde, authoritative woman marching swiftly toward them with a severe scowl on her face all the while.

"Oh, hi," Sora tries offering her a friendly greeting, though he's almost immediately cut off.

"What are you doing?" the woman demands harshly. "How'd you get down here? I've been keeping a careful headcount on all our men since the sub went down, and I know for a fact that none of you are part of that count."

"Uh, well…" Sora begins uncertainly as the woman skeptically glances all three of them up and down. "We came, uh, down here-wherever here is-to look for-"

"Look for what?" the woman raises an eyebrow, her hand slowly, discreetly drifting toward the pistol strapped to her hip.

"A Key!" Goofy informs obliviously.

"...Key?" the woman repeats as she pulls her hand away from her weapon. "What in the world are you-"

"Lieutenant!" The conversation is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of a man who's every bit as intimidating as his apparent lieutenant. He's a good bit older with a large, sturdy build, though surprisingly enough he seems to be much more amicable than the rather hostile woman he comes to stand alongside. "What appears to be the problem here?"

"Commander Rourke," the woman acknowledges her superior with a terse nod. "Looks like we've got three stowaways on our hands, even if it makes no sense as to how. They say they're looking for some sort of Key-"

"A Key, hm?" the commander, Rourke, muses curiously as he turns to the trio. "Who just who might you boys be, exactly?"

By now, several other members of the crew have gathered around to spectate on the encounter and try to make some sense out of this trio of newcomers. Sora addresses them all evenly as he introduces himself and his companions. "I'm Sora, and this is Donald and Goofy, and we are here to look for a Key. But first, do you mind filling us in on where we are and what's going on?"

"Are you kidding?" the lieutenant asks with an incredulous scoff. "How do you end up hundreds of leagues below the sea, make it past that leviathan monster that took most of our crew out, and trudge all the way down here without having a single clue about where you are?"

"Ease up a bit, Helga," Rourke says, crossing his arms. "It's not like we're entirely clear on where we are right now either. Well, other than underground, that is."

"A truly marvelous place to be!" another crew member, a stout, begoggled man, pipes up from the sidelines.

"Speak for yourself, Mole," the much taller, muscular, yet easy-going man standing alongside Mole remarks swiftly. "I don't know about everyone else, I'm really startin' to miss the sun. A man needs his vitamin D."

"Vitamin D? Aw, phooey!" an elderly, eccentric man huffs indignantly. "That's all that newfangled doctor talk o' yours, Sweet. Everyone knows the only vitamin anybody needs is L. For lard!"

"Pfft, maybe according to you, Cookie," a young, overall-clad woman notes dryly, hands on her hips. "But some of us actually like eating real food."

"Lard's the realest food there is, little lady!" Cookie protests brashly.

An older, rather deadpan woman among the group scoffs dryly. "It's about as real as my ex-husband's-"

"Packard!" Helga interjects just in time.

"Hey, I have a question," another member of the crew, a tall, lean, mustached man asks in a thick forign accent as he addresses the trio in particular. "How did you three get down here in the first place? 'Cause if you used dynamite, that's my department. And if you used nitroglycerin, that's also my department."

"Um… no?" Sora replies, a bit confused. "We actually got here in a-" He stops short upon catching the warning glare Donald sends his way, a silent reminder to maintain the world order. Something he's admittedly out of practice with after a month of not needing to do so. "In a… very boring way! Like, really, really uninteresting. In fact it was so boring that I'm getting tired just talking about it." As he tries to play off his rather awkward answer with a faux yawn, Goofy barely manages to stifle an amused chuckle while Donald face-palms in annoyance. At the same time, none of the crew really buy this rather lame excuse as they exchange dubious glances amongst each other.

"Yeesh, poor kid's a bit of a mess, huh?" Dr. Sweet remarks to the teen girl beside him, aside.

"Yeah," she smirks. "He's almost as bad as-"

"Incredible! Unbelievable! Outstanding!"

"Speak of the linguist…" Mole mutters as everyone eyes the one enthusiastically running to join the rest of the gathered group.

He's a fairly young man, thin and lanky and quite excitable as he rushes to meet the trio in particular. "T-this is amazing!" he adjusts his large glasses with a wide grin, looking over each of them curiously before turning back to the rest of the crew. "Don't you all know who they are?"

"Yeah," the mustoniached man says bluntly. "They just told us who they are."

"No, no, no," the linguist shakes his head. "If they're all the way down here, this close to where we're going, and they're dressed like-well, like nobody I've ever seen topside before, at least-them being able to speak English is a little unexpected, but I guess anything's possible-s-still, there's only one logical explanation: they're Atlanteans!"

A beat of skeptical silence passes amongst the crew at this, though the trio meets it with blatant confusion above all else. "We're... what?" Sora asks, puzzled.

"Atlanteans!" the linguist repeats, opening up some sort of journal filled with practically unreadable text that he presents the trio eagerly. "Y-you know, from Atlantis? Lost city, buried at the bottom of the sea for thousands of years? It is where you guys are from, right?"

"...Uh, I don't know… Is it?" Sora looks to Donald for a definitive answer, unsure of what to say to properly maintain the world order in this instance.

"No," Donald answers flatly, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Oh." Sora turns back to the linguist. "Then I guess we're not. Sorry."

"W-wha-but… how…" he trails off, frowning as he flips through several pages of his book.

"Alright, that's enough, Mr. Thatch," Rourke interjects, placing a hand on the linguist's shoulder. "I'm sure our new… friends here don't want to be bothered while in the middle of looking for… what was it again, a lock?"

"A Key, actually," Sora corrects before turning to the somewhat disappointed linguist with a smile. "And don't worry, you're not bothering us. What did you say your name was again?"

"Milo," the linguist introduces himself with a bright grin, extending a hand out in greeting. "Milo Thatch, expert linguist. And cartographer. And expedition guide-" He stops short as Rourke clears his throat. "T-though that last title is completely unofficial."

"Cool! It's nice meeting you, Milo," Sora grins, returning his handshake.

"So, what was that Atlantis place you were talking about earlier?" Goofy inquires, curious.

"You mean you haven't heard of it?" Milo asks, baffled as he looks between the trio. "S-so, let me get this straight, you guys somehow wound up all the way down here, right next to the very entrance to Atlantis-or at least it's just about the entrance according to the Shepherd's Journal here-and you don't even know what it is in the first place?!"

"Yes, we've already established that none of this makes any sort of sense, Thatch," Helga speaks up boredly as some of the group starts to disperse to get back to their prior business. "There's no need to beat a dead horse."

"Well, unless it's a piñata," the mustached man points out. "But that's not really a horse, it's a donkey. And it's not really dead either, it's paper. But you still give it a good beating either way-"

"Alright, Vinny, we get it," the teen girl cuts him off sardonically.

"W-well, anyway," Milo addresses the trio, getting the conversation back on track. "Atlantis is an ancient, powerful civilization that was destroyed centuries upon centuries ago by some huge catastrophe. Most believe it's just a myth, but this book right here, the Shepherd's Journal, has an exact map showing where it is. And even though it's taken us a lot, and I mean a lot to get here, we're almost there. Atlantis and all its secrets should be just over that bridge." He nods to the long, narrow passage that leads even further into the unknown darkness up ahead, or rather, to something else altogether.

"Whoa… that's amazing!" Sora says, both him and his companions equally fascinated by Milo's description of the mysterious city. "So what are you guys gonna do once you get there?"

"Well, we're-"

"We're gonna find a bunch of old treasure, bring it back, and get filthy rich," the teen girl pipes up plainly. Just about every member of the crew soundly agrees with her.

"Uh, yeah… well, as Audrey so… eloquently put it, they're mostly in it for the money," Milo says with a small, awkward chuckle before his previous excitement sparks back up again. "B-but what I want to see is the power source the Atlanteans used to make their civilization so advanced-my grandfather used to tell me all sorts of old legends about it when I was a kid. The journal almost starts detailing more about it, but then it just… cuts off. Almost like there's a missing page. But it still mentions something called 'the Heart of Atlantis'..."

"A Heart?" Sora exchanges an intrigued glance with Donald and Goofy at this. "You don't think…?"

"Could be…" Donald muses. After all, the heart of any given world isn't exactly an uncommon thing for them to come across at this point.

"Yeah, it could help lead us to the Key!" Goofy agrees, voicing exactly what the other two are thinking and hoping for.

"You're looking for a Key?" Now it's Milo's turn to be immensely interested (even more than he already is) as he puts the journal away and pulls out a small notepad instead. "Mind telling a bit more about it? After all, you fellas think it might be in Atlantis, then it must be something worth looking further into."

Sora's more than ready to tell Milo whatever he can on the Key, glad to have already made a fast friend in this world who's eager to aid in their search. Yet before he can even get a word out, Rourke cuts in once more. "Now, now, Mr. Thatch, let's keep our eyes on the prize here," the commander says coolly. "Especially since we're so close. You wouldn't want us to get distracted on some… wild Key hunt, would you?"

"It's not a wild Key-" Sora is cut off as Rourke puts up a hand to silence him, though Milo is ultimately the one to speak up instead.

"W-well, commander," the linguist begins, adjusting his glasses. "I just thought maybe we could benefit from-"

The entire conversation is starkly interrupted as a sudden explosion rattles the entire platform the crew's camp is set up on. As everyone rushes to retain their footing from the quake, the source of it soon becomes clear as a swell of noisy panic rises from various other members of the crew either rushing for their weapons or rushing to safety. "Monsters!" a handful of soldiers cry out as they run past the startled group.

"What in the-" Rourke doesn't get a chance to finish as Helga suddenly sweeps in front of him, her pistol drawn. She swiftly takes aim and fires at one of the sleek, white "monsters" slithering for them.

"W-what are those things?!" Milo asks, aptly alarmed as he pulls the Shepherd's Journal back out and begins frantically flipping through it.

"What, you mean that fancy book of yours doesn't have all the answers this time?" Audrey taunts as she manages to beat back one of the creatures with a stray piece of pipe.

"N-no!" Milo gasps as Dr. Sweet narrowly manages to push him out of the way of a flying monster's attack. "I've never seen or heard of monsters like these at all!"

"We have!" Sora exclaims, not wasting any time in summoning his Keyblade as Donald and Goofy bring out their own weapons.

"They're called Nobodies-" Goofy informs, deflecting an attack with his shield.

"And they're more than their fair share of trouble!" Donald huffs as he shoots down a handful of swarming Nobodies with a lightning spell.

"We can take care of these guys," Sora tightens his grip on his Keyblade, preparing to join the fray alongside his companions, though he doesn't do so immediately. "Commander, you should get your crew out of here. This could get dangerous."

"My crew can handle more than a little danger by now, son," Rourke retorts. However, he stops short upon noticing just how much more effective the trio's weapons seem to be in dealing with the rampaging Nobodies compared to the more traditional autillerary of his troops, which only really stun the creatures at most. "Then again, it never hurts to have some… insurance. If you boys think you've got this covered, then we'll leave you to it. Everyone!" he calls to the struggling crew at large. "Fall back! Let's get into the caves! Move it!"

No one argues with this command as they all rush to gather their supplies, narrowly avoiding the ever-growing horde of Nobodies as they pack whatever they can back into their vehicles. Everyone largely scatters between the noisy chaos of both the attack and the attempt to escape from it, but amidst it all, Sora, Donald, and Goofy remain together to face the threat head-on. Or rather, the latter pair faces the threat as usual, yet as they do, Sora still hesitates to take even a single swing of his Keyblade. Instead, he remains still, upholding a battle-ready stance but not making any actual advances against the crowd of Nobodies surrounding them. He almost, almost does, but every time he starts to move his Keyblade to attack, his nerves always manage to hold him back at the very last second.

And each time they do, Sora silently, yet woefully reminds himself that he had been poisoned, weakened, his strength sapped to the point that he isn't even sure if he can hold his own in a fight as simple as this anymore. True, he had participated in plenty of practice skirmishes with Leon and Axel and the others back in Radiant Garden, but an attack like this isn't just mere practice; it's the real thing. A real, tangible, dangerous threat that, if he's perfectly honest with himself, he's far out of practice when it comes to standing against. His strength has been taken from him before, but at least then he'd had the verve and the perseverance to build it back up again. But now, here he is, weak and weary as he finds himself trembling in legitimate fear before a pack of simple-minded, low-level Nobodies of all things, creatures he's torn through and taken down with ease so many times before. But now, he can't even muster the courage to raise his Keyblade against them at all. And it's at that moment that he has to face the truth: e'd lied before; he thought he could do this, he thought he was ready, but he's not, he can't do this, he isn't ready-

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy's shared cry of alarm only partially breaks him out of his spiraling internal panic. With a sharp gasp, he glances up at the pair as they finish off another round of Nobodies, though those monsters are quickly left by the wayside as they race for their frightened young companion with another warning cry. "Look out!"

Sora spins around just in time to see the large, blade-wielding Nobody towering over him from behind, its weapon held high in preparation for a brutal attack. Unable to do much else, he only has time to raise his Keyblade to block the heavy swing, which ultimately ends up knocking him back hard as it lands squarely against his weapon. The Nobody wastes no time in gearing up for a similar blow now that Sora's fallen, slightly injured, to the ground; though this time, that blow lands against Goofy's shield instead.

The next several minutes only barely register for Sora as he hardly even feels present within them. The ringing in his ears is practically deafening as his entire body continues trembling uncontrollably, his heart racing as his breathing turns short and shallow. He's only vaguely aware of the remaining Nobodies still swarming all around them, vaguely aware of the crew's vehicles roaring into motion so they can make their hasty escape, vaguely aware that his Keyblade has disappeared from his now-empty grip, vaguely aware of Goofy doing his best to defend against the largest monster among them, vaguely aware of Donald shaking him by the shoulders, asking him a barrage of frantic questions that he can't answer because he can't speak, he can't move, he can't think-

And suddenly, he's on his feet again, running, or rather, being pulled along by Donald and Goofy, who have apparently decided to leave the horde of Nobodies behind altogether. As completely detached from reality itself as he still feels, Sora is only really able to pick up on snippets of what they're saying as the run to catch up with the fleeing crew: "-what's wrong with-", "-won't answer any-", "can't get him to snap out of-", "-knew he wasn't ready!"

"I-I'm not ready!" Sora suddenly speaks up, his voice tight to the point that he feels like he's choking on it. All at once, the heavy haze he'd inexplicably fallen under abruptly lifts, dropping him right back into the present moment, as hectic and frenzied as it is. He stops short just at the start of the bridge, pulling his hands out of his companions' grip as he looks between both of them, completely distraught, "I-I'm not ready for this," he repeats, his breathing so tense and erratic to the point that he's practically hyperventilating. "I'm not-I-I can't-" His own palpable dread is forced to be put on pause the moment the bridge suddenly jolts with a sickening crack. Donald and Goofy feel it too, though no one on the caravan of trucks and tanks steadily rumbling across it seems to, even as the weight of those very vehicles wears the ancient structure's integrity down immensely.

"The bridge!" the trio exclaims in startled unison, the past few minutes completely forgotten as they all run together to warn the others. However, they don't even have time to do that as the bridge suddenly begins to crumble completely. The near end of the structure snaps from its base, its equally time-withered other end following suit immediately after, something that everyone on the bridge feels this time as it shudders violently beneath them. In an instant, the bridge itself begins to slowly collapse, the collection of vehicles on it rolling backward as the incline becomes steeper and steeper. Several of the stalled trucks collide into each other as they slip further down into the chasm, miraculously landing on solid ground as the bridge falls completely. Amidst this, Sora, Donald, and Goofy jump into one of the trucks, largely to avoid being crushed as the vehicles continue tumbling down in an unstoppable, chaotic landslide.

And yet, that landslide does eventually come to a stop, a dramatic, disastrous one as the caravan finally comes to a crashing halt at the bottom of the pitch-black ravine. In the immediate aftermath of this crash, all turns deathly silent, with everyone thrown into complete darkness as they all try to regather their lost bearings. Rourke is the first to pipe up, striking a match to shed some light on the otherwise very dark area all around them. "All right, who's not dead? Sound off."

He's met with a series of disheveled moans and mutters, but for the most part, the entire company seems to be fine, if not much worse for wear. The same can't exactly be said for their vehicles, which had been tossed and strewn about all over the bottom of the pit they now find themselves in. A cursory damage report from Audrey reveals that only two of the rigs have been absolutely totaled, but the rest will fortunately still run. Mole attributes their incredible survival to their surprisingly soft landing at the bowels of a long-dormant volcano, one that has the potential to lead to a route directly to the surface. A route that, as trapped and directionless as they all currently seem to be, the crew heavily considers taking.

Still, they aren't exactly bringing their search for the lost city to an end quite yet. Repairs to the busted vehicles are soon underway as supplies are re-accounted for and mostly minor wounds and injuries are treated. Amidst this buzz of activity, Sora, Donald, and Goofy slip away to the sidelines, mostly to recuperate from that last battle and its fallout in whatever limited way they can.

"I-I don't know what happened," Sora begins, sitting on a piece of rubble as Donald and Goofy anxiously fretted over him. "I just… froze up, and i-it was like I was in a total fog, and I… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry," Donald says with a tired, yet understanding sigh. "You said so yourself, you're weren't ready for this. And we should have thought more about that before we came all the way here."

"Maybe we left Radiant Garden too soon," Goofy adds, frowning. "Do you want to go back? I'm sure Leon, Kairi, and the others wouldn't mind if we-"

"N-no, we can't go back," Sora insists as he stands, hoping to show the pair that he has more resolve, more courage left in him than the panicked cowardice he'd shown earlier. "We still have a Key to find, and besides, if Nobodies are here, then the Organization can't be too far behind. Which means if we leave, everyone here will be in danger. We have to help them."

"But what if that happens again?" Donald asks, genuinely concerned. "We won't get very far if you keep shutting down every time we run into a bunch of Nobodies. You know that."

"I won't shut down," Sora counters firmly, trying to convince himself just as much as his companions. "I can't, not again. I may not have been ready this time, but I'll do whatever I can to be ready next time. I promise."

Despite his earnesty, Donald and Goofy still exchange a worried glance, neither of them too keen on re-experiencing what had just happened. Seeing Sora completely freeze up, his eyes glazing over into a distant, empty, terror-filled stare, his breathing short and strangled, and his words and reactions completely non-existent had shaken both the captain and the magician quite a bit. Both of them have already reached the unspoken agreement that he still needs more time to recover, if not physically, than mentally, from the torturous ordeal he'd been through. But of course, that's a sentiment that Sora doesn't seem to share in the slightest, even if he probably should.

"Sora… you know we just wanna help you, right?" Goofy asks kindly, carefully.

"That's right," Donald soundly agrees. "And we wanna do that now more than ever after what happened to-"

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to talk about that!" Sora suddenly interrupts harshly, his hands in tight fists at his sides.

"Well, maybe we should!" the magician counters just as severely, even though the captain wants to take a much calmer approach. "For all you know, talking about it instead of you just bottling it all up might actually help you!"

"H-help me?!" Sora scoffs incredulously. "How in the worlds would talking about how I was captured and poisoned and tor-" He sharply cuts himself off before the loathsome word, the horrific, yet all too true thought, can even escape him. "It wouldn't help," he finishes coldly, not knowing if anything actually can at this point.

Though Donald lets out an irritated huff at this, Goofy is quick to step in, much more rationally and even-tempered. "If you're not ready to talk about it, Sora, then you don't have to," he says, putting on a small, reassuring smile. "But we want you to know that whenever you are, Donald and I will be right here to listen."

Sora finally allows himself to ease up a bit at this, turning to meet the pair's genuine, encouraging expressions. A part of him actually wants to accept their encouragement, their solidarity, the support they're both so clearly willing to give him. And yet the thought of voicing the nightmares of the recent past, or even worse, his newfound growing fears for his future, to anyone, including two of his closest friends and companions, is more than he could really hope to bear. So once again, he doesn't. "Ok," is all he says as he starts to head back to rejoin the others.

Not knowing what else to do, Donald and Goofy follow him, though the rather forlorn trio doesn't get very far before they're pulled aside by the pair in charge of the rest of the crew. "There you boys are," Rourke greets the trio with an easy grin. "Glad to see you're all still in one piece after all that. I was just telling Lieutenant Sinclair here about how you three managed to distract those… 'Anybodies' or whatever they're called so our crew could make a clean getaway. Well, almost clean…" he says, glancing over the wreckage of vehicles behind him.

"I might have had you three pegged all wrong at first," Helga adds smoothly, yet almost insincerely. "You might be just a bit more than you're cracked up to be with impressive work like that."

"Y-yeah… impressive…" Sora says with a forced chuckle. Based on those lofty claims, they must not have gotten a good look at how absolutely unimpressive that last skirmish really was.

"All this to say that if we all are in fact heading to the same place," Rourke continues. "We'd appreciate it a great deal if you fellas came along with us for the rest of the way. Never hurts to have a bit of extra muscle on hand, especially with things like them roaming around." He nods up to where the bridge had collapsed from, where they've supposedly left the flock of attacking Nobodies behind.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Sora agrees with a small smile. "We'd be more than happy to join you guys."

"You can count on us!" Goofy chimes in brightly.

"Plus, we can look for that Key along the way," Donald reminds.

"Just like we always do," Sora smirks, finally showing a bit of levity that he'd previously lost. A small, but reassuring sign for both of his companions to say the least.

"Well, then welcome to the team," Rourke says with a satisfied nod. "I'm sure Mr. Thatch will be the first to volunteer to help you look for that Key of yours. Won't you, Thatch?" The commander pauses, only to receive no answer from Milo. Largely since Milo isn't even there to begin with. "Thatch?" By now, several of the other crew members have picked up on the linguist's alarming absence as they begin to shine their flashlights around through the darkness to try and spot him, even if by all accounts, he's nowhere to be found. "Thatch!"


Milo isn't exactly sure what had knocked him out in the first place, but he is aware of the low, whispering voices conversing somewhere near him before he even really comes to. When he finally does groggily open his eyes, he's met with a sight that shocks him stiff. A group of strange, possibly humanoid figures crowd around him, though their large, monstrous masks make what they really are rather unclear. All the same, Milo seizes up in apt terror as they draw in closer with their spear-like weapons, still muttering amongst themselves in a language he's only barely able to recognize thanks to years of careful study. He's more than ready to get up and flee from these mysterious beings, though a sharp, sudden pain lancing through his shoulders keeps him pinned to his place on the ground. One of the masked figures leans down beside him as he grips the small, but steadily bleeding wound near his collarbone, one he must have sustained during the chaotic fall from the bridge. He almost doesn't notice the figure lift its large mask either, until he finally catches a glance of the woman hidden behind it.

She's beautiful, to say the least, with warm skin, captivating features, and bright ocean-blue eyes with a distinct tattoo of the same shade resting on her cheek under one of them. Her hair is pure white and hangs long and loose and free, taking on the almost mystical azure glow under the gleaming crystal hanging around her neck puts off. She moves slowly, awe filling her expression as she leans in closer to Milo, who's every bit as stunned by her as she seems to be by him. She focuses on the cut on his shoulder however, pulling her crystal close to it for a moment before abruptly pressing her palm against it. Milo gasps in reactionary pain, yet it's very quick to fade, just as the cut itself does as the woman pulls her hand away, the glow that had surrounded it and the spot she had rested it upon disappearing without a trace just as much as the wound itself somehow has. As bewildered as Milo is by such an inexplicable miracle, when he glances up to the woman again, he catches her offering him something of a wry, almost playful smile just as she drops her mask back over her face, hiding it from view once more.

No more than a second later, a large crash rattles through the cavern, prompting the woman and her similarly-masked companions to take off running. "H-hey! Wait!" Milo calls after them as he scrambles to his feet. Somewhere behind him, the crew's drill, as well as the rest of their functional vehicles clear a rocky rise to approach him, yet the linguist pays them no mind as he hurried after the group of mysterious warriors once again. "Who… who are you!? Where are you going?! Come back!"

Milo gets no answer as he essentially bounds between stones to try (and fail) to catch up to the group. Still, he's never been one to give up so easily as he continues pursuing them over the difficult terrain, even as they slip through an opening that floods hints of light in through the edge of the otherwise shadowy cave. As soon as he emerges from that opening himself, however, he finds himself stumbling upon the very thing he's dreamed of finding for as long as he can remember.

From his spot on the edge of the grassy cliff, Milo doesn't even turn as the drill bursts through the cliffside behind him, nor does he pay any mind as the others all rush to join him, the trio leading the pack to make sure he's unharmed. Yet as they do, each of them is immediately struck by the very same sort of awe that's already hit the linguist as they take in the grand sight that lies before them. A massive plateau of crystal blue waterfalls pours down into the molten lava that flows in the chasam far below it. And, resting atop that plateau, at its very heart, is what can only be described as a towering spire of a city.

Atlantis. The lost empire itself.

"Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis!" Cookie is the first to pipe up amongst the dumbfounded group.

"It's beautiful," Audrey says with a dazzled smile.

"Golly, it sure is…" Goofy agrees, thoroughly amazed.

"Oh yeah," Sora lets out a relieved sigh, already sensing the immense, almost mythical energy emanating from this incredible place. "There's no doubt about it. There's definitely a Key here…"

"No kidding," Donald remarks, though even amidst his sarcasm he was still clearly impressed by the view.

"Milo, I gotta hand it to you," Dr. Sweet slaps a hand onto the linguist's shoulder. "You really came through." Before Milo even has a chance to respond, the celebration is swiftly cut short as the group of masked warriors from earlier returns, jumping down from their hidden perch to take up their spears against the crew with a round of rowdy war cries. "Uh… I take that back," Dr. Sweet recanted nervously.

For their part, the crew prepares their own pistols and muskets for a possible brawl, and as a precaution, Sora, Donald, and Goofy call upon their weapons and take up a defensive stance too. The warriors inch in closer, though despite brandishing their spears, they make no apparent moves to attack, though their bizarre, ceremonial masks alone give them an unsettling, unknown vibe overall.

"Holy cats, who are these guys!?" Rourke asks Milo, reaching for his pistol.

"Uh… y-you know how I was wrong earlier about Sora, Donald, and Goofy being Atlanteans?" Milo begins, nodding apprehensively to the warriors before them. "Well, I-I think these guys might actually be Atlanteans."

"What? That's impossible!" Helga protests crossly.

Before Milo can argue his case, one of the warriors, namely the woman who had healed him earlier, suddenly speaks up, her tone harsh and authoritative and in a language none of the crew can understand. Well, almost none of them. "I think it's talking to you," Mole mutters, pulling on Milo's arm.

"What's she saying?" Sora asks the linguist, aptly confused.

"I… I think she's speaking Atlantean…" Milo frowns, stepping forward carefully. While he isn't quite fluent in the long-dead language, he makes a basic attempt at communicating, hoping to at the very least tell the warriors that they mean them no harm. The woman takes pause at this, removing her mask once again to reveal her simple, mostly-blue attire as she continues speaking with the linguist. Their conversation is largely unintelligible, shifting through several different languages entirely until Milo ventures a question that the crew can actually make out. "And… what about this? Do you understand this?"

"Yes, I do!" the woman responds with a bright, excited smile. A ripple of relief washes over both groups as the other warriors remove their masks, greeting the crew amicably as they all put their weapons away.

"We are explorers from the surface world," Rourke addresses the warriors slowly with a broad, confident smile. "We come in peace."

"Then welcome," the woman says cordially, motioning to the place she calls home. "To the city of Atlantis! Come!" She runs back to Milo, grabbing him by the hand and eagerly pulling him along after her. "You must speak with my father now."

With this, the crew is on the move once more as Rourke sends half of the group back to the shaft to salvage whatever they can from the wreckage. The rest follow the Atlanteans' lead across the long, narrow bridge toward the legendary city itself. Most of them are in flux between excitement at their incredible discovery and contentedness that they're finally back in some form of structured society. However, Milo is by far the most elated on the way to the city as he spends the time enthusiastically detailing his notes both old and new to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who are quite intrigued to hear them given how fascinating and potentially helpful the information might prove to be.

"Someone's having a good time," Helga remarks to Rourke, aside as she largely tunes the linguist's ramblings out.

"Like a kid at Christmas," Rourke agrees with a dry smirk.

"...Commander," the lieutenant says after a beat of hesitation. "There were not supposed to be people down here. This changes everything."

"This changes nothing," Rourke retorts coldly. "Why else do you think I wanted some extra… 'muscle' to come along?" He sends a subtle nod back at the trio as they continue to keep pace alongside Milo.

"If push came to shove, do you really think those three would be up to it?" Helga asks, doubtful. "They all seem a bit too… wide-eyed and innocent for that, especially the kid."

"Well, if they don't have the stomachs for it, then that's hardly a problem," Rourke scowls, patting the pistol strapped to his belt. "It'll just be a matter of tying up some… loose ends. Might as well get used to the idea, lieutenant, 'cause I have a feeling we're gonna have to do a lot of that down here."

"As long as I walk out of the whole thing with my cut, then you can tie up as many loose ends as you want, commander," Helga remarks, just as nonchalant about the implied horrific act as Rourke is. An act that they both have every intention of carrying out if things go awry.

If Atlantis is impressive from a distance, it's even more incredible up close. The city is made up of towering, beautifully designed buildings and towers, with ancient monuments naturally decorated with vibrant fauna that seem to be completely unique to Atlantis itself. Despite supposedly being "lost", the city is actually well populated as Atlantean civilians pause their usual routines to watch the caravan of newfound visitors make their way through the square on their way to the palace. The woman continues to lead the group all the way to the throne room, where her father, none other than the king of Atlantis himself, sits waiting.

Though well-on in years, with his long white beard and regal, yet simple attire the king commands respect even as he reclines against his low throne. His face is adorned with same of the same sort of clean blue tattoos his daughter has, albeit more of them as one passes over one of his eyes, both of which seem to be completely blind based on how pale and empty they are. The princess greets him in Atlantean as she leads the way through his semi-submerged chamber, bowing low in reverence to him. Somewhat familiar with the city's customs, Milo also bows, encouraging everyone else to do the same. While the trio respectfully do so, Rourke and Helga remain standing throughout the entire exchange.

The king makes something of a calm, yet dismissive remark, one that his daughter tries to protest in apparent frustration. He's quick to shut her down, however, his tone alone making it quite clear that he's far from pleased by the unfolding situation. "Your majesty," Rourke speaks up evenly amidst all this. "On behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city."

"Um, e-excuse me?" Milo tries to interject, having actually largely understood the preceding conversation. "Commander?"

"You presume much to think you are welcome here," the king says with a disapproving frown.

"Oh, but sir," Rourke continues anyway. "We have come a long way looking for-"

"I know what you seek, and you will not find it here. Your journey has been in vain."

"But we are peaceful explorers. Men of science-"

The king lets out a harsh, almost disgusted chuckle at this. "Men of science," he repeats coldly. "Just the same as the last unwelcome visitor who arrived just a short time ago hailed himself to be? The same visitor who came claiming to offer his knowledge before unleashing a plague of dangerous creatures upon my people, forcing them to hide themselves away in fear? Try as you might to convince me otherwise, you and your followers are no better than that menace in the black coat."

"A black coat?!" Sora suddenly exclaims, Donald and Goofy both instantly sharing his alarm at this news. "What did this guy look like? Where is he now? Did you-"

"Er… Sora?" Milo stops him anxiously as he glances back over to the king. "Now… might not be the best time…"

"My city has already seen enough sorrow caused by outsiders like yourselves," the king rises to stand, his stance on the matter firm. "Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis at once."

"Oh, your majesty," Rourke lets out an incredulous chuckle at this. "Be reasonable. I mean, we don't even know anyone in a black-"

"Um, sir?" Milo interrupts.

"Not now, son."

"Trust me on this," the linguist pleads earnestly. "We better do as he says."

Rourke contemplates this advice for a moment before strangely seeming to comply with it. Or at the very least, tries to make a last-ditch compromise with it. "May I respectfully ask that we stay one night, sir? That would give us time to rest, resupply, and be ready to travel by morning."

"Hm…" the king muses, still clearly against the idea, though he finally concedes all the same. "Very well. One night. That is all."

"Thank you, your majesty," Rourke agrees with a small nod as the group begins to take their leave. Even as they do, however, Milo can't help but spare a glance back at the princess, who merely sees him off with a sad, almost disappointed sigh. Her disappointment only continues to linger as the doors close behind the group, leaving her alone with her father.

"Your heart has softened, Kida," the king says, lying upon his throne once more. "A thousand years ago, you would have slain them on sight."

"A thousand years ago, the streets were lit, there were no strange monsters roaming around, and our people did not have to scavenge for food at the edge of a crumbling city!" Kida protests, using her crystal to reignite the lantern above her father.

"The people are content-"

"Because they do not know any better!" the princess argues resiliently as she tends to the ailing king. "We were once a great people. Now we live in ruins. The kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen."

"Kida-"

"I know just as well as you do what the man in the black coat did," Kida huffs indignantly. "But what if these new outsiders are different than he was? What if they truly came to help? If they can help us unlock the secrets of our past… perhaps we can save our future."

"What they have to teach us," the king concludes tiredly. "We have already learned."

"Our way of life is dying," Kida implores, practically desperate at this point.

"Our way of life is preserved," the king counters, enclosing his hands around his daughter's. "Kida, when you take the throne, you will understand."

For now, the most Kida knows she can really do is accept her father's wisdom in an argument she never really wins, even if she doesn't want to simply understand. She yearns to fix what has been broken for her people for so long now, to bring them out of the darkness and back out into the light. But now, standing just outside this very room, is what could very well be the only real chance for her to do exactly that. And that isn't a chance she's about to pass up, even if she has to go over her father's head to do it.


"So… how'd it go?" Dr. Sweet asks as the small group that had ventured into the throne room rejoins the rest of the crew.

"Well…" Milo begins, recounting what he'd overheard of the royal family's conversation. "The king and his daughter don't exactly see eye to eye. She seems to like us ok, but the king… I dunno, I think he's hiding something. And then there was that whole thing about some guy in a black coat…"

"We might know something about that actually," Sora says, exchanging a knowing look with Donald and Goofy. "Whoever that guy is, he's gotta be with Organization XIII. They're the ones behind the Nobodies we saw back in the caves, which are probably the monsters the king mentioned too."

"Great, so now we've got some whole other pack of wackjobs to compete with?" Rourke asks, disgruntled.

"The Organization must be down here lookin' for that Key too," Goofy infers.

"But they won't get it if we have anything to do about it!" Donald chimes in firmly.

"No, not this time, they won't," Sora agrees, refusing to let the Organization get the better of him like they had over a month ago now. "I just wish we had more time to search the city for it. One night isn't gonna be even close to enough time to look around a place this huge!"

"Tell me about it..." Milo morosely agrees, jotting down whatever notes he can about the city before it was too late.

"You know, somebody really ought to talk to that princess," Helga speaks up with a cunning smirk.

"I will go!" Mole readily, eagerly volunteers.

"Someone with good people skills…" Vinny adds thoughtfully.

"I will do it!"

"Someone who won't scare her away," Dr. Sweet continues on the same train of thought.

"I volunteer!"

"Someone who can speak the language," Packard notes as dryly as ever.

"For the good of the mission, I will go!" Mole exclaims with a dutiful salute.

"Good man, Thatch," Rourke pulls Milo out of his notes with a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for volunteering." While Mole lets out a round of mournful sobs over missing such an opportunity, Milo is simply caught off guard by the mission he's suddenly been entrusted with out of the blue.

"Go get 'em, tiger," Audrey teases, offering the linguist a light punch on the shoulder as most of the crew files out of the palace.

"W-wait!" Milo calls after them anxiously. Even so, they leave him behind to his task all the same, with only the trio staying with him. "Oh geez, I don't know if I can do this… W-what am I supposed to even say to her?!"

"Well, you sure did seem to hit it off with her before," Goofy points out.

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to convince her to go against her father-who, might I remind you, is the king of Atlantis-just to let us stay here just a little longer?" Milo asks, clearly stressed and frazzled by the concept.

"Don't worry," Sora offers him an encouraging smile. "We'll help you talk to her."

"Yeah, since she might know something about that Key too!" Donald adds in agreement.

"Thanks, fellas," Milo lets out a relieved sigh. "So, we should-Oh my gosh, she's coming!" He lets out a startled gasp as the throne room door begins rumbling open behind them. Without warning, he pushes the trio behind a nearby pillar before joining them in taking refuge there out of sight himself. "O-Ok, we can't take no for an answer," the linguist whispers, his tone serious and bold. "How's this sound: 'I have some questions for you, and I'm not leaving this city until they're answered!'?"

"Uh… well, it's… intimidating?" Sora ventures with a small shrug.

"Good! That's good," Milo grins, steeling his confidence the best he can. "Now, we just need to wait for-" He stops short upon peering out from behind the pillar, only to find that the princess is nowhere to be found. "Huh?" he stepped out of hiding, confused. "Where'd she-"

The linguist jolts in surprise as a hand suddenly claps over his mouth, his free arm pinned tightly behind him as the princess catches both him and the trio completely off guard. "I have some questions for you, and you are not leaving this city until they are answered," she says, offering all of them a teasing, knowing smirk.

"O-oh yeah?" Milo breaks free from her hold, trying to come across as stern as possible. A front that's very quick to waver entirely. "W-well, we-I… o-okay-"

"Shh!" she covers his mouth once more as she begins to pull him away. "Come with me. All of you, quickly!"

"Where are we going?" Sora asks, curious. The princess is just as quick to quiet him too as she nervously glances back toward the throne room. After seeing they're in the clear and out of her father's notice, she motions for the entire group to follow her out of the palace entirely, though they stay close to it as she guides them through one of the city's many semi-ruined structures.

"Oh, there is so much to ask about your world!" the princess exclaims with a bright grin as soon as they're outside the palace walls. "You are a scholar, are you not?" she asks Milo in particular as she pulls him up close beside her. "Judging from your diminished physic and large forehead, you are suited for nothing else! And you!" She turns to walk backward to face the trio. "With the powerful weapons I saw you wielding earlier, you three are a band of mighty warriors, yes?"

"Gawrsh, I guess you could say that," Goofy chuckles bashfully.

"Eh, we do our best," Sora nods with a modest grin.

"Atlantis could use such noble might at a dark time like this," the princess sighs, sparing a glance at the grand view of the city from their high vantage point. "We have tried fighting those strange monsters the man in the black coat brought with him on our own, but I fear our strength may not be enough to stop them…"

"Speaking of the guy in the black coat," Sora begins, eager to know more about who they'll be dealing with this time. "Do you mind telling us a bit more about him? Your father said something about him coming here offering to help?"

"He did, and then just as quickly, he unleashed those vile creatures upon us," the princess huffs disdainfully. "No one has seen him since, but we have seen plenty of those monsters putting my people in peril in the meantime."

"Those monsters are called Nobodies-" Goofy informs.

"And the man in the black coat is from Organization XIII!" Donald adds.

"And we've been trying to stop them both for a long time now," Sora finishes, resolved. "So if they're trying to hurt your people, we'll do whatever we can to help you out."

The princess offers the trio a genuinely grateful smile at this. "Thank you. Your courage and kindness will not go unnoticed, er…" she stops short, somewhat uncertain as she looks between the group.

"Oh, that's right!" Milo says, facepalming. "We were never properly introduced. I-I'm Milo‒Milo Thatch, and this is Sora, Donald, and Goofy."

The princess nods cordially at each of these introductions before giving one of her own. "My name is Kidagakash."

"...Ki-Kidamaschnaga?" Milo attempts, exchanging a glance with the trio, who are just as baffled as he is. "Uh… you got a nickname?"

"Kida," she chuckles, amused.

"Ok, Kida," Milo smiles. "I can remember that. So, going back to those questions I-or I guess you mentioned earlier-"

"Ah, yes!" Kida grins, suddenly stealing Milo's glasses so she can try them on herself. "What is your country of origin? When did the flood waters recede? How did you-"

"Whoa, hey, wait a minute," Milo interjects, reclaiming his glasses from her. "We have a few questions for you too. So let's do this, ok? You ask one, then we'll ask one, then you, then us, then… well, you get it."

"Very well," Kida smirks. "What is your first question?"

Milo looks to the trio on this, though given his already abundant curiosity on Atlantis as a whole, they graciously allow him to go first. "Well, ok, uh… how did you get here? Well, I mean, not you personally, but your… your culture. I mean, how did all of this end up down here?"

"It is said that the gods became jealous of Atlantis," Kida begins to explain as she continues leading the group across a bridge. "They sent a great cataclysm and banished us here. All I can remember is the sky going dark and people running and shouting. Then, a bright light, like a star, floating above the city. My father said it called my mother to it…" The princess lets out a soft, wistful sigh. "I never saw her again."

The others take on a solemn, sympathetic tone at this, though Milo is ultimately the one to speak to it. "I-I'm sorry. If it's… any consolation… I know how you feel. I lost both of my-wait a minute. Wait just a minute!" The linguist shakes his head as he looks to Kida in disbelief. "Back up. W-what are you saying? That you remember because you were there?"

"Yes…?" the princess raises a confused eyebrow.

"No, that's… that's impossible," Milo counters incredulously. "Because I mean, t-that would make you… y-you know, 8,500 to 8,000 years old!"

"What?!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaim in stunned unison by such an outlandish proposition.

Yet even so, Kida confirms it like it's nothing at all. "Yes."

Though there's plenty of shared, dumbfounded shock to go around at this news, Milo does his best to play it off a bit better than the gaping trio do. "Oh, w-well, uh… you look pretty-er, pretty good for your age!" he says, forcing out a chuckle as he tries to suppress an awkward blush. "Just, uh… y-you got another question for us?"

"Yes," Kida nods, her tone turning serious as her sights settle on the trio. "You said you were familiar with the man in the black coat. Do you know what he is seeking here? I doubt that the extent of his plan is just to send his monsters out to cause simple, mindless chaos."

"You're right, it's not," Sora shakes his head. "He's here for the same reason Donald, Goofy, and I are: to look for a special Key that-"

"A Key?!" Kida gasps the moment she hears this, her eyes going wide with fascination. "What does it look like? Do you know?"

"Yeah, it should look like this," Sora summons one of the handful of Keys the trio has collected so far. "Why? Do you know anything about where we could find one here?"

At first, Kida offers no answer as she looks over the Key with wide eyes and an immensely fascinated expression. "It is real…" she whispers, awestruck.

"Kida?" Milo inquires, curious.

"My people do not remember most of the old legends and stories we once treasured before we were lost," the princess begins. "But there is one that my mother used to tell me when I was little-I-I cannot recall much of what she said, but it was something about a key that can unlock the heart of the world…"

"That's gotta be it!" Sora exclaims, knowing that a legend that rings so closely to exactly what the Keys are and what they're for can't be a mere coincidence. "Did that story say anything about how to find it?"

"N-no… I… I don't remember," Kida sighs, disappointed.

"The heart of the world…" Milo muses, flipping through his notes. "That must be the Heart of Atlantis!"

"What?" Kida asks, confused.

"The Heart of Atlantis," Milo reiterates. "Legend has it that your people possessed a power source of some kind that enabled them to become, well, basically much greater and more advanced than any other contemporary civilization. So if that Key is somehow connected to it, that means-"

"It's just like what we were talking about before!" Goofy chimes in.

"If we can find that heart-" Donald starts.

"Then we'll find that Key!" Sora finishes, already trusting such a solid lead.

"That's all I needed to hear…"

The entire group is caught completely off guard by this sudden intrusion into their conversation, one that comes from behind one of the several pillars lining the walkway they're on. The one who had been apparently eavesdropping soon steps into view, a man clad in an all-too familiar black coat that Kida is the first to recognize.

"You!" she shouts, pulling out a small, yet sharp knife as she takes up an offensive stance. "How dare you show your face again after bringing those wretched creatures here to attack my people! I command you to take them and leave Atlantis at once!"

"My apologies, your highness," the man says, offering the princess a bow of clearly fake respect. "But I simply cannot leave until I've obtained what I came here for."

"You mean that Key, right?" Sora asks distrustfully, summoning his Keyblade as Donald and Goofy take up their own weapons.

"Ah, Sora…" the Organization member's already haughty grin widens. "How… refreshing it is to see you again…"

"Again?" Sora looks to his companions in confusion, though neither of them seem to recognize this particular Organization member either. "Uh… have we met before?"

"Oh, that's right," the Organization member muses. "I've been told you wouldn't remember a thing about our first-and last-encounter, and sure enough my colleagues were correct. I'd almost be interested in looking further into the intricacies behind your surprisingly complex memory loss… if I actually had the time to care about it."

"W-what are you‒ugh, whatever," Sora scoffs dismissively, not bothering to put any weight into the Organization member's cryptic claims. "You heard what Kida said: take those Nobodies of yours and get lost!"

"Now, now, that's no way to treat one of your soon-to-be associates," the Organization member chastises. "Besides, I'd be remiss if I didn't at least re-introduce myself. I am Vexen, Organization XIII's most premiere scholarly mind."

"Another scholar?" Kida questions dubiously, glancing over to the linguist beside her.

"You sure aren't acting like one by sicking monsters on a bunch of innocent people!" Milo adds with a firm scowl.

"That was merely a tactical move," Vexen says smoothly. "One meant to remove any potential obstacles out of my path. For you see, much like you and your motley crew, I'm here solely on matters of... research. And it just so happens that we also all seem to be here seeking answers about the exact same thing: a Key."

"You won't find it before we do," Sora shoots back sternly. "And you won't be walking away with it either, not this time!"

"Oh, on the contrary, Sora," Vexen counters with an even grin. "I'd say I'm already well on my way to finding it, especially with the very helpful clue you and your friends just provided me with. The Key being tied to the heart of the world itself is hardly a novel concept; in fact, it's rather obvious, all things considered. But this so-called "Heart of Atlantis" is a promising lead, one that warrants a more thorough investigation indeed…"

Upon hearing this, Milo makes sure that the Shepherd's Journal is safely tucked away out of sight as he speaks up as unflinchingly as he can. "W-well, you won't get very far if you're looking for the Heart either. As far as any of us know, it could be just about anywhere down here."

"Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary," Vexen scoffs, unmoved. "I have a feeling I'll deduce the location of both that Heart and its Key sooner or later. Though I suppose we'll just have to wait and see just who gets their hands on the prize we're all after first. But for now, since you all appear to be in a stand-still when it comes to your own rudimentary "research", why don't I leave you something to preoccupy your time with?" With a snap of his fingers, Vexen summons both a pack of various Nobodies, along with a dark corridor for him to take his leave through. "Best of luck to you all," he turns to go, though not before offering the group one final devious smirk. "I know this goes without saying, but whoever makes it to the Heart first… wins."

With this, Vexen takes off, leaving his Nobodies behind as they swiftly lurch forward to attack. Kida leaps to meet them first, armed only with her small knife and her own agility, yet she faces the monsters bravely, even if they clearly outmatch her. Donald and Goofy prepare to join her, and this time, Sora steadies his resolve to do the same, despite the nervous dread already starting to spark up in his heart once more. Though before he can run ahead into the fray, his companions are quick to stop him in his tracks.

"Sora, take Milo and hide!" Donald shouts, firing off a water spell at the Nobodies right off the bat. "We can take care of them!"

"Y-you don't have to tell me twice!" Milo says as he scrambles to take cover behind one of the nearby pillars. Sora, on the other hand, isn't about to flee from this fight so easily.

"What? No!" he protests, upholding his steady grip on his Keyblade in the hopes that it can steady his nerves as well. "I can help this time!"

"We just don't want you freezing up again," Goofy says patiently even as he deflects a Nobody's attack using his shield. "Don't worry; like Donald said, we can handle this!"

"B-but… I…" Sora trails off, unsure of how to argue his case further as his companions essentially keep the skirmish as far away from him as possible. And while he certainly does want to rush forward, Keyblade at the ready, to join them, he complies with their wishes and falls back behind another pillar.

But even as he leans against that pillar, Sora can't help but feel largely bitter, both toward his companions and toward himself. Because even now that he's recovered, now that the poison is gone and he's actively able to use his Keyblade again, Donald and Goofy are still acting like he's every bit as incapacitated and incapable as he had been a month ago. They're acting like he's fragile, like he needs to be taken care of. Like he's weak.

And yet, that's a claim he couldn't even really argue against, especially after how he'd faltered in fear during that last battle. Even now that he feels at least a bit more prepared to face this new horde of Nobodies, there's no guarantee that he won't seize up in terror again this time, or next time, or any time after that. The truth of it is, if that does in fact happen again, it's something he has no idea how to stop or control or break out of it. But that doesn't mean he still isn't going to try.

"Ugh, that's it!" Sora huffs impatiently, wasting no time in stepping out of hiding so he can properly join the fight. "I'm helping whether you guys want me to… or… not…" He pauses, releasing his prepared grip on his Keyblade upon seeing that the skirmish is just wrapping up as Kida finishes off the last of the Nobodies while Donald and Goofy tend to their own minor injuries from the brawl.

"See?" Donald says as he and Goofy look Sora's way. "We told you we had it covered."

Sora doesn't respond to this, instead glancing away crossly, his hands in tight fists at his sides. He knows well that all Donald or Goofy want to do is help him, but lately that assistance feels as though it's coming at his own expense. Because instead of feeling like an equal member of the team alongside his companions, all he feels now is that he's far too feeble and useless to even be a member of that team at all.

"Is everyone ok?" Milo asks as he steps back into the open himself.

"Yes," Kida replies, putting her knife away with a frustrated sigh. "Despite their numbers, those creatures are weak and cowardly, much like the man who brought them here."

"Say, about that Vexen fella," Goofy says to Sora and Donald, aside. "Wasn't he the one Ienzo warned us about? What did he say his name used to be again? ...Even?"

Donald nods with a stern frown. "Looks like he went back to the Organization after all."

"Ugh, who cares about that?" Sora scowls, crossing his arms. "The only thing we need to worry about is keeping him from getting that Key."

"Gee, I guess that means we should be more careful from here on out," Goofy notes. "We don't want him overhearing any more clues we might find about it."

"I know a place we can go where he will not be able to spy on us," Kida speaks up, already taking off toward it. "Follow me."

The others don't argue as they go after her lead, keeping a close eye out for any further signs of Vexen as they travel down to one of Atlantis' lower levels. Yet as they slip away, none of them notice that they're still being watched, though not by the devious researcher. Rather, a lone figure stands upon one of the city's higher precipices, its long cape flowing gently in the wind as it keeps its sights set on a familiar presence within the group below. A presence that had stolen something from it long ago, something that it has every intention of getting back, no matter what it takes.


Kida takes the group to a place that is, by all accounts, quite secluded: a low-level cove closed off by crumbling ruins entangled in ancient greenery. As far as any of them know, they haven't been followed there, which allows their discussion of the Heart and the Key to continue as they slide down into the surprisingly open area.

"So this… 'Heart of Atlantis'," Kida begins, looking to Milo in particular for answers. "How did you come to learn about it?"

"Oh, well, I read about it in this," Milo pulls the Shepherd's Journal out, which Kida quickly takes so she can look over it for herself. "If it weren't for this book, we never would have made it down here in the first place."

Confusion and curiosity mingle in the princess's expression as she glances over the book's cryptic pages. "You… can understand this?"

"Yes, I'm a linguist," Milo points out, eager to see if she knows anything else about the Heart itself. "That's what I do, that's my job. Now, back to the matter at hand-"

"This, right here-" Kida interrupts, practically shoving the book into his face. "You can read this?!"

"Yes, yes, I can read Atlantean, just like you." Milo stops short as Kida pulls away, looking over the journal fretfully, though she doesn't seem to understand any of what it said at all. "...You can't… can you?"

"No one can," the princess informs wistfully. "Such knowledge has been lost to us since the time of the Mehbelmok."

"Oh… the Great Flood," Milo translates, largely for the sake of the confused trio beside him.

Kida pauses for a moment, glancing around the area before she suddenly grabs Milo to pull him along after her once more. "Here, let me show you something." The trio follows them as they go a bit further into the cove, where Kida points out three large shapes hidden away under an even larger sheet. She pulls that sheet away to reveal what seem to be three identical stone statues, each of them quite impressive even as they rest completely dormant alongside each other.

"Whoa…" Sora muses, fascinated as he, Donald, and Goofy steps forward to get a better look. "They kinda look like fish."

"They appear to be some sort of… vehicle," Milo adds as he gets in closer to inspect them himself.

"Yes," Kida nods. "But no matter what I try, they will not respond. Perhaps if-"

"Way ahead of you," Milo grins, leaning forward to look over the Atlantean inscription written onto one of the vehicles. "Ok, let's see what we got here… It says… 'place crystal into slot'..."

"Yes, yes, I have done that!" Kida huffs, exasperated.

"'Gently place your hand on the inscription pad'..."

"Yes!"

"Ok… did you turn the crystal one quarter turn back-"

"Yes, yes!"

"While your hand was on the inscription pad?"

"Ye-" Kida pauses her anxious pacing at this. "...No."

"Ah, see? There's your problem right there," Milo grins, standing once more. "That's an easy thing to miss. You know, you deserve credit for even getting this far." Kida offers him a dry look at this, one that the linguist responds to with an anxious chuckle as he steps back to let her take over. "Uh, w-why don't you give it a try?"

The princess does so, removing her crystal necklace and following Milo's instructions as she works with one of the vehicles. And sure enough, it works as the runes carved onto the vehicle instantly light up bright blue, it's unknown engine roaring to life as it suddenly rises to hover just above the ground entirely on its own accord.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Goofy exclaims, expressing the awe they all share at such an impressive sight.

"Can the other two do that too?" Donald asks curiously.

"Let us find out…" Kida moves to activate the pair of accompanying vehicles. Sure enough, her crystal quickly gets both of them up and running, much to the group's shared, growing excitement.

"Oh, this is great!" Milo exclaims, absolutely elated as he steps up to one of the vehicles. "With this thing, we could see the whole city in no time at all!"

"We could use them to find the Heart, and the Key!" Sora chimes in with newfound hope that this search might not be so difficult after all.

"And they could be used to track down the rest of those monsters spread throughout the city," Kida adds, resolved and eager to do what she can to protect her people. "What are we waiting for? Let us go at once!"

"Ok, then we just have to figure out how to steer them…" Milo says as he carefully climbs onto one of the vehicles. He extends a hand out to help Kida up onto it, though she's easily able to vault up onto the seat behind him, gripping his shoulders as she tries to make sense of how to control it.

"Perhaps if you tried pressing this?" she leans forward past him to place her hand against the inscription pad once more. The vehicle reacts instantly, bolting forward with the pair still on it. As Kida retracts her hand to hold onto Milo for dear life, he rushes to slow its speedy pace by throwing his hand down on the pad himself, though that only results in the vehicle taking a sharp turn upward. The pair lets out a shared cry of alarm as their vehicle rockets up out of the cove entirely, leaving a very frantic trio behind.

"Milo! Kida!" Sora shouts after them before glancing back down to the pair of remaining vehicles before them. "We've gotta follow them! C'mon!"

He runs ahead to hop onto one of the vehicles, Donald and Goofy doing the same as they share the other one. Needless to say, none of them have the faintest idea on how these strange vehicles actually work, which is why they all take off in a very similar, haphazard manner to how Milo and Kida had before them. Fortunately, they somehow manage to avoid crashing into the cove walls (despite several close calls) as they eventually break out of its upper exit at equally rapid speeds.

In the open air far above Atlantis itself, controlling the vehicles becomes much easier since there's relatively little to crash into. Milo and Kida have gained control of their own vehicle as well as it slows to a much more manageable pace, one that, with a little bit of doing, Sora, Donald, and Goofy eventually manage to catch up to.

"Hey! Are you guys ok?" Sora asks the pair over the rushing wind as he pulls his vehicle up beside theirs.

"W-well, we're not dead, so yeah, I'd say we're doing pretty good," Milo lets out something of a relieved chuckle as Kida sends a wry grin his way. He stops short, however, as he spares a glance over the edge of the vehicle, which by now is flying quite high above Atlantis itself. This high vantage point allows a full, incredible view of the ancient city and its towering, titanic spires and structures. It's a beautiful sight, to say the least, one that Milo can't help but be rather emotional about, especially considering just how much it took for him to finally get there.

"What is wrong?" Kida inquiries, leaning in closer to him as she notices the tears starting to well up in the linguist's eyes.

"Oh, i-it's nothing. I just… got something in my eye," he quickly wipes those early tears dry as he allows his content, genuine smile to take over. "You know, my grandpa used to tell me stories about this place as far back as I can remember. I just wish he could be here with me to see it now..."

"I am sure he would be proud of your perseverance," Kida assures warmly.

"Thanks," Milo returns her kind smile. He's quick to perk up once more as he looks back to the trio flying nearby. "Alright, fellas, let's find that Heart and its Key!"

"Right!" they exclaim in solid, unified agreement. Milo leads the way as he pushes his vehicle onward, allowing it to go a bit faster so they can circle the city from above. The trio follows suit not far behind him, each of them quite impressed by the wide layout of Atlantis they're getting from above. But even beyond that, the ride itself proves thrilling as their vehicles zoom easily through the sky (or at least through what counts for the sky in a place as buried below the depths as Atlantis is). It's a liberating, exciting experience for all of them, one that'll hopefully help lead them to the answers, and perhaps even the precious prize they're searching for.

And yet, even that seems too much to really hope for. The group finishes rounding another wide lap around the city, yet there's still no signs or clues pointing toward what they need to find. They're just about ready to take their search back down to the ground, when a sudden boom erupts from somewhere far below them, one that's just as easily heard by the group flying high above. However, before any of them can so much as take a glance down to see where the clamor had come from, a massive beam of blinding energy shoots up from below, directly at them. And in seconds, that beam tears through the tail of the very vehicle Sora happens to be riding on in an explosive, devastating blast.

The fallout is immediate as the immense force of the blast knocks Sora off the vehicle, which is already completely ruined as it runs out of power on the spot as it begins to fall from the sky. The next several moments that follow go by far too slowly and far too quickly all at once, and just like before in that first fight against the Nobodies, Sora hardly even feels aware for any of them. Instead, everything happens in a distant, muddled blur, from the sharp burst of pain that flashed through his body as a result of the explosion (which had only narrowly missed hitting him), to the fading sound of Donald, Goofy, Milo, and Kida alike all sending panicked, alarmed shouts after him from above. In fact, he barely even realizes he's falling at all, plummeting through the air at what should be a terrifying rate. That is, until he lands.

Fortunately, said landing happens in one of the many deep bays surrounding the city. The moment Sora splashes hard into the cool water, he instantly snaps out of his former spell of shock. The sharp sting of the sudden aquatic collision is all but forgotten as he sinks deep into the water, accidentally taking in a mouthful of it as he lets out a sharp, involuntary gasp. Choking on the lack of air, he panics and wastes no time in swimming toward the surface, realizing that he's fallen in relatively close to a stony dock of some sorts. And even better yet, as he races to break out of the water and back out into the air, he notices a hand reaching into the water, as it extends out to apparently help him.

However, as he reaches it, the hand suddenly lashes out, grabbing him by the wrist and harshly yanking him up out of the water. Sora doesn't have much of a chance to see who his supposed "rescuer" is as they roughly pull him up onto the stony ground, which he collapses against amidst coughing and choking out the water he's inadvertently swallowed. Yet even then, he has barely any time to recover, much less make sense of what just happened, as a pair of metallic feet suddenly step into his field of view.

Wearily, Sora glances up to find a sight that's just about the very last thing he'd been expecting. Because standing right before him is a sturdy, armored figure, dully shining gold and orange with a long, tan cape unfurled out behind it as it grips a powerful Keyblade in its hand. An armored figure that Sora knows he's seen before, that he's faced before in battle. And, an armored figure that's steadily moving its Keyblade into place high above his prone, defenseless form with the obvious intent to destroy.

"Finally," it speaks, hints of vengeful anger filling its otherwise hollow tone as it prepares to finish the job it started over a decade ago. "I've found you… Xehanort."


Ohohohoh man! Looks like I'm leaving you all on a cliffhanger again! And on the Lingering Will showing up no less, oh man, aren't I a stinker? ;) Anyway, this oughta shape up for something really interesting at the start of the next chapter! Along with all of the other cool things I've got planned for the second half of our Atlantis adventure! But for now, don't forget to leave your thoughts about this chapter in the REVIEWS! Stay safe out there! Until next time! :)