A short chapter but needed to set up for what comes next...

Chapter XXXIX- Traverse town (Part 8)

The town was as busy as ever as the group reentered Traverse Town.

The group went to the meeting place of Leon and the gang in the 3rd district. The Traverse town gang looked happy to see the group return and greeted them warmly.

They talked about all that's happened. Riku, Kairi, the Keyholes, Maleficent's allies, the Ansem Reports, and the many adventures they had across the worlds.

"So this Hollow Bastion place." Leon said. "You don't know how to get there right?"

"Nope, but we have a lead." Sora held up a navigation gummi. "We got this from Hook's ship, apparently Maleficent gave him the means to travel across the worlds so maybe the location of the world is in here somewhere."

"Leave it to me." Cid said taking the part. "Give me a few minutes Kid and I'll have it installed in the gummi ship." He said stepping out to get to work.

Leon looked to the other's, crossing his arms. "So Riku..."

"Yeah..."

"I hate to say it but you're gonna have to fight him to get to Kairi. Don't hold back, there's more at stake than just your friend."

The twins nodded reluctantly. He was right, if he was in the way of not only getting Kairi but also stopping the Heartless then they will have no choice.

"Leon, this isn't looking good." Aerith said, she was going through the Ansem Reports that they've collected her eyes were darting across the pages anxiously. "It says here that he created a machine to produce the Heartless."

"What?!" The group exclaimed.

"Yeah, and he says he put a symbol on the artificial ones."

"That's probably the ones with the Heartless emblem on them." Koga said. On their journey he always noticed that some types of Heartless don't have the symbol on them, they must be the natural created ones.

"Maleficent must've found it and used it to spread her army across the worlds." Yuffie said.

"This makes no sense." Aerith said. "Ansem the wise was a kind ruler, why would he create such a machine?"

"I don't know." said Leon. "But he's no longer around to ask. And we have a bigger problem."

"Maleficent."

"She's planning something big, I don't know what but we have to stop her." Koga said. "No more worlds will fall thanks to her."

"It will be dangerous." Aerith said. "But I know you can beat Maleficent and the Heartless."

"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed. "We're with you all the way."

Leon nodded silently.

Donald and Goofy laughed wrapping the boys into a group hug. "All for one and one for all remember?"

Cid walked back inside, telling them the ship is ready. He warned that there was a lot of Heartless there. Leon was watching Cid as he talked, he trying to hide it but he knows him long enough to tell that he's spooked by something. He waited for the others to leave before he pulled his old friend aside.

"Cid, what's wrong?"

The shopkeeper looked at him with furrowed eyebrows."The coordinates for Hollow Bastion, I looked at them and well I..." He blew air out his cheeks. "Never mind, I'm just imagining things."

Leon didn't seemed convinced but let it go. If he didn't know any better he would say that Leon has seen a ghost.

Sora and Koga are flying through a darkened tunnel with a light at the end. Sora and Koga looked at each other with surprise and confusion. They opened their mouths to speak but no sound came out.

Suddenly the light became even brighter. Then it faded revealing a library. Shelves of books all over. There's a stained glass window letting light stream through it onto a small table with a elderly woman sitting on a chair reading to herself.

She wore a purple dress with a white apron, a worn grey scarf around her neck.

"Hey grandma!"

The brothers turned and saw a redhead young girl of about four years run into the room. Their eyes widened recognizing immediately that this is Kairi. She looked as young as the day they first met her.

"Kairi, what are you doing here? And where's your guardsman?

"I don't know, I haven't seen any of them today. I think they had some kind of meeting with the other doctors."

"Hmm, I haven't seen Ansem at all today or his apprentices. I'm going to have to have a word with them for leaving you unattended."

Kairi wasn't really listening to her grandmother, just looking around the place until she looked at her with a childish grin."Can you tell me that story again?"

Her grandmother laughed. "Again, dear I told it to you yesterday?"

"Pleeeeeaaaase?" She begged making puppy eyes.

"Very well then." She said as she closed her book. Kairi jumped for joy as she settled on a chair next to her.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared.

But small fragments of light survived... in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return.

So listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand Kairi?" She nodded eagerly. Her grandmother smiled warmly and stroked her hair.

Suddenly there were screams crying out. All four of them looked to the source of the sound, coming from outside. They looked through the glass and saw something in the sky. It was a giant ball of darkness, horrifyingly similar to the very one that destroyed Destiny Island. Kairi's grandmother gasped putting a hand to her mouth.

They then heard Kairi scream. They turned and saw Shadow Heartless come out of the ground of the library.

"Oh my goodness, what are these creatures!" The elderly woman gasped. She put herself between them and Kairi.

Kairi whimpered, terrified of the slowly approaching monsters. Suddenly her necklace started glowing. The light started to envelop her.

"Grandma?"

She turned around surprised. "Kairi? What's happening?" She didn't noticed the Shadow prepared to pounce.

Kairi threw her hands out and screamed. "Grandma look out!" The light exploded from her and nobody could see what happened next.

"Kairi!" Sora cried.

"Kairi!" Koga cried.

"KAIRI!" The twins yelled, jumping up from their sleeping space. The two of them were clinging to each other like their lives depended on it.

"Are you two okay?" Goofy asked concerned. He was looking at them with concern, so was Donald.

The twins took a second to catch their breath before looking at each other.

"Uh, y-yeah. It was just a bad dream."

"Yep, nothing to worry about."

"Okay, we're coming up on Hollow Bastion in a couple of minutes so get ready." Donald said turning back to the cockpit.

Koga leaned into his brother's ear. "You saw the same thing right? Young Kairi, the Heartless, and that old lady?"

"Yeah." Sora whisper-shouted. "That was a dream right?"

"That didn't feel like a dream, it felt like a memory."

"Kairi's memory." Sora said.

"But why do we have her memory? Why have we been seeing her pop up from time to time, and why does she respond only when we call her?"

"I don't know but we can't let this distract us. We gotta stay focused, Hollow Bastion is here."

The group looked out the cockpit and saw their destination. The world looked heavily damaged. Nothing but ruins over large blue canyons. Strangely the water spilling from the canyons seem to be rising up instead of down. The main focus was the ominous fortress in the distance. It was huge and looked to be heavily modified, with steampunk machinery mixed with the medieval stone. A huge Heartless emblem covers the front of the castle.

This world looks like it was torn apart and put back together again.

It was strange, Sora and Koga felt like they've been here before. But that can't be, they've never seen a place like this.

"This is it, get ready guys."

HAVE FUN!