Grov. light: Because this series of chapters all have musical titles, for reasons that will be clear this chapter.
Chapter 26: Overture Above the Clouds
Footsteps left empty echoes in the vast Great Hall of Hollow Bastion. Black boots tapped against the floor as Braig walked by the long-empty containers that had once held six of the seven Princesses of Heart, abandoned after Sora returned their light to them by destroying the Keyblade of People's Hearts. While Braig had not been witness to the events that had transpired at Hollow Bastion back then, he knew that it was because of that day that all of this had happened. If Sora hadn't stabbed himself and created Roxas, then the chain of events following that would never have happened. And while Braig didn't claim to know everything, he was pretty certain that if things had transpired differently then Xemnas would never have died.
So, I guess I owe the kid some thanks, he thought with a smug smile.
From an outsider's perspective, one might think that Braig had planned everything from the beginning since the day that Xehanort lost his memories. That couldn't be farther from the truth; Braig simply knew how to adapt, that was all. Xehanort's amnesia, the discovery of the Heartless, and Xehanort splitting up into a Heartless and Nobody—none of that was expected and Braig had to learn to roll with the punches. He had become extremely good at that over the last twelve years.
But finally, after so many years, they were nearly back on track now that Xemnas had faded away into darkness. All that was left to do was to kill Xehanort's Heartless and strengthen Poppet so she could forge the χ-blade—or tear Ven's heart from her chest and force the fusion with Vanitas, whatever worked. Braig had initially planned on finding Ven's sleeping body—he knew that it was in Castle Oblivion but had never been able to find it—but why bother now when Xion was a perfectly good vessel?
Braig moved up the stairs as he schemed, adjusting his purple scarf absent-mindedly. The Final Keyhole that Maleficent and 'Ansem' had been attempting to create lay in ruins; the heart-shaped outline collapsed a long time ago and it was now just a pile of scrap metal. Maleficent… Braig sat down on an old pipe as the evil fairy witch entered his thoughts. She had been a wonderful pawn in Ansem's game and contributed much to Braig's cause, but it was high time she disappeared. She was causing too much trouble, especially with that massive Heartless attack a few days ago. Braig knew now that it had been a distraction, after seeing the shattered window in the library, but he still had no idea what book Maleficent had gotten her hands on or what she wanted.
It didn't matter, though; all Braig had to do to make Maleficent cease to be a threat was to take the Heartless from her. The Heartless obey whoever it is that's stronger, and hearts are power—so he just needed to gather up a bunch of hearts and they'd join his side in a heartbeat. No pun intended. Vanitas was already on the job, his Keyblade made it easy.
Vwoosh.
"Speak of the devil." Braig leaned back in his seat but glanced up at the floor before the ruined Final Keyhole, watching as a corridor of darkness took shape. But he wasn't expecting what came out of the black hole. Oh, it was Vanitas alright, but not as Braig had last seen him. He stumbled forward, landing on his hands and knees on the red floor. He was panting heavily, his leather outfit torn apart and darkness bleeding out of scars on his body. His mask was shattered on one side, exposing one of his eyes and several strands of his hair.
"What happened to you?" Braig asked, jumping up to his feet. He didn't make a move to help Vanitas up. The boy struggled to his feet, stumbling backwards slightly and resting against one of the dusty pipes. "All I did was send you to gather up hearts, don't tell me you went to a world those kids were on?"
"No, not the brats," Vanitas said softly, with barely constrained anger. "I ran into Riku while letting the Unversed feed on a world. It's my own damn fault. I shouldn't have wasted any time; I should have just unlocked the Keyhole and move on."
"Riku?" What little of Vanitas's face Braig could see grew strained. If Braig had to guess, the kid was grinding his teeth.
"I didn't expect him there, but I took the opportunity. I taunted Ansem—or rather, the part of Terra left in Ansem. He got angry. He took control." Braig raised an eyebrow. Wasn't that what they wanted? But Vanitas groaned and his shoulders drooped. "Somehow, Riku was able to contain Ansem. I was so close, too. I almost finished him off."
Braig clicked his tongue in annoyance. This was a setback, but he would adapt; that's what he had done for the last twelve years, after all. If they couldn't get Ansem to die while controlling Riku, then they'd purge Ansem from Riku's heart. Still, there were other things Vanitas had said that caught Braig's attention.
"So you strengthened your Unversed," he said, sitting back down on the ruined Final Keyhole.
Vanitas eyed him warily. "I did."
"Right, mission accomplished there. And did you unlock that world's Keyhole?"
Vanitas's shoulders tensed up for a moment before falling back down again. "…No," he admitted through clenched teeth. "I unlocked other worlds—Meridian, Wonderland, Atlantis, and Deep Jungle, to name a few—but I had to flee Wasteland before I got theirs."
Braig shrugged. "That's fine. Losing one world's fine." Vanitas grumbled an objection, but Braig let it pass without comment. It really didn't matter; there were tons of worlds out there. In fact…
"Follow me." Braig turned around and opened a corridor of darkness, stepping through as soon as it formed. The portal brought the two of them to Hollow Bastion's highest tower. It was currently the dead of night, and high up above the stars were twinkling—what few remained, anyway. Suddenly, a star flashed brightly and then vanished, leaving yet another section of the dark blue sky empty of any light. Vanitas's eyes narrowed and Braig grinned. If he wasn't mistaken, that world was Monstropolis, wasn't it? Or maybe the Pride Lands. Regardless, it was a world where the Keyhole had been locked a long time ago by ancient Keybearers.
Maleficent had been busy sending the Heartless to take worlds and empower them for the war against the Nobodies, but soon enough that would change. She didn't have a Keyblade on her side, she couldn't get to the hearts of locked worlds—and there were a lot of those, for Keybearers had been traveling the cosmos for generations. But with Vanitas's Keyblade, those locked hearts were ripe for the taking. The Heartless would come to the winning side soon enough.
Braig turned to leave, but Vanitas's voice made him pause. "By the way, Maleficent is still in control of the Castle That Never Was."
Braig shook his head and chuckled. That old place? Please, who needed it? It was falling apart anyway. "Let her have it. We'll throw the old witch a bone, right?"
But first thing's first: they had to deal with Ansem once and for all.
x-x-x
When they had first come down from the clock tower, Xion had been worried about getting into the train station. They couldn't very well just walk on in without buying any train tickets, and the train they were boarding probably didn't have any tickets. Somehow she doubted that a magical floating island above a sea of orange clouds was a common destination for Twilight Town's residents.
Luckily, though, that hadn't been an issue; after the group reached the bottom of the stairs leading up the tower, they found the ticket counter kept busy with a familiar sight. Xion had to bite her tongue to keep herself from greeting Gabbiani; it's not like he would have known her, anyway. But with Setzer came a legion of fans, which formed a crowd around the counter thick enough for Xion and her friends to slip by unseen.
The blue and gold train was sitting at a platform way in the back of the station, away from curious stares. Xion wasn't sure why people didn't seem to notice the wizard hat smokestack or star-shaped decorations and windows, but maybe that was just part of Yen Sid's magic. It also helped that the train was just one card rather than a, well, train of cars; being smaller allowed one to hide more easily, and that probably applied to trains too.
"Hm…" Goofy walked up close to the train, leaning up against the windows to look inside and investigating the paintjob on the outside. He pulled his left glove off and pressed the exposed hand to the train with an intent stare before grinning and chuckling. "Hey fellers, I think this train might be made outta Gummi blocks!"
Donald didn't take as easily, though. He marched up to the train while shaking his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Goofy. This town shouldn't know about Gummi travel." To emphasize his point, Donald poked at the train, and promptly jumped back surprise as the seemingly solid-wall seemed to contort ever so slightly, dipping in with his finger almost like gelatin. "Wak!"
"That's gotta be because of Yen Sid," Xion said, just as surprised as Donald was. She had never noticed that it was made of Gummi blocks before, but it made sense; if the train traveled between worlds, then it would need to be built out of a material that could handle moving through the Gates that Yen Sid was capable of opening.
"Come on, let's hop aboard," Kairi said. She gripped at the handle of the door and pulled, sliding it open. Inside, the floor of the car was decorated with a carpet colored a deep shade of orange, while the seats along the walls were a shade of purple only slightly darker than the walls. Kairi walked inside without hesitating, Sora and Goofy only a second behind her.
Donald glanced up at Xion. "After you," he said with a dramatic bow, waving his arms toward the train.
A feigned look of hurt came to Xion's face. "Donald, don't tell me you don't trust me? It's just a magical train going to a wizard's tower on an island floating above the earth." She chuckled and shook her head. "Perfectly safe, right?"
"Well who's ever seen a Gummi train before?" Donald asked. "And besides, ladies first!"
Xion rolled her eyes and shrugged. "King Mickey even rode it. But alright, have it your way… We'll just tell Riku you didn't think finding him was worth riding a train while we leave you all alone in Twilight Town." With a wave, Xion turned around to make her way inside. She heard a concerned groan and then Donald bolted past her, running inside. Xion chuckled. "Come on Donald, you know we weren't really going to leave you behind."
Donald grumbled something under his breath before sinking down into his seat. Sora, Kairi, and Goofy had all settled into the train as well, so Xion climbed aboard. The moment her boots sunk into the orange carpet the door slammed shut behind her. Xion spun around and looked out the window to see the walls of the train station already moving by.
"Gawrsh, I guess we're not waitin' for any other passengers," Goofy said. He turned around in his seat and got up on his knees to glance out the window as the walls of the tower gave way to a panorama of Twilight Town. Xion stood on the tips of her toes to look over his shoulder. They were riding along one of the elevated tracks—naturally, since there weren't any at ground level—and moving towards Sunset Terrace. Over in the distance was the sandlot, and tiny figures barely visible from this high up seemed to be practicing their Struggle skills.
"Who's even driving this?" Donald asked.
Kairi chuckled. "Well, if this Yen Sid guy is a wizard, I'd say magic is."
Leaning against the door, Xion closed her eyes and listened to the steady, familiar rhythm of the train running along the tracks. They were probably passing over the Usual Spot right now; could those three hear the train? Probably not. Winter vacation was over, so it was back to digging through homework for normal kids.
Xion always hated homework. That was probably the one thing she didn't miss from the other Twilight Town. But while she wouldn't miss the work itself—wouldn't miss the stern, disappointed look on her math teacher's face when she handed in a blank or half-assed sheet—there was one thing she figured she would always miss: doing it with friends. Roxas—the 'real' Roxas—had spoken to her once during their time in Organization XIII about homework, after Axel had explained it to him. They help each other finish it, he had said. That was what Xion would miss—sitting next to Roxas on the couch in the Usual Spot, trying to figure out SOHCAHTOA while Hayner and Olette argued about minor details and Pence sat on his phone.
Who knows, though? Maybe once all this was over she could try her hand at school on the Destiny Islands. They'd have to come up with a good excuse, though; more than just 'Sora's cousin from the next island over who you never heard of before.' Xion smiled at the ridiculousness; that would be a bridge to cross when they reached it. Maybe Riku could come up with a better lie.
"So, who is this Yen Sid guy?"
Sora's questions pulled Xion back to reality. She opened her eyes and moved away from the door, sitting down next to Donald on one of the comfortable purple seats. Sora and Kairi now stood by the other door, looking out the window. Xion could see they were already at Sunset Terrace, moving past the individual houses of the city's suburbs. They would be approaching Sunset Hill soon.
"Yen Sid is the King's teacher," Goofy said with a grin. "He taught him everything he knows about magic and the Keyblade."
"Wow, sounds powerful!" Sora said. He sat down on the edge of the seat nearest to the door. "What's he like? Is he as nice as King Mickey?"
"Hmm…" Goofy scratched the side of his head as he dug through decade-old memories. "I'd say he's actually kinda scary. He's always got this stern glare, even when he's in a good mood. And his voice is deep and growly."
"He's good at magic though," Donald chimed in. "Really good. And he used to be a Keyblade Master! The King is the only other Master still—" Donald paused and sighed, looking down at the floor. "…Still around today."
"A Keyblade Master, huh?" Sora smiled. "Wow, I can't wait to meet him!"
Kairi turned from the window and leaned her against the door with her hands crossed behind her back. "Xion, you said you've met him. What was that like?"
Xion glanced up at Kairi in surprise; she hadn't expected to be asked. "Well…" What could she say about Yen Sid that Donald and Goofy hadn't already? "Intimidating, I guess. He's stern and has a freaky glare, like Goofy said. When I was explaining my story to him I got the feeling that he didn't exactly like me." She shrugged helplessly. "After I was done he asked me to wait in another room while he spoke to King Mickey. I didn't hear a lot but they were talking about the Organization. I don't think he's the biggest fan of Nobodies."
"Well Ansem the Wise wasn't either, and he changed in the end," Sora reminded her.
"I guess…"
The train had continued down the tracks at a constant pace and was now coming up to Sunset Hill. From what Xion understood, this park, with its spiraling hill, was the sight of a lot of strange activity and ghost stories. Rumor had it that if you came to the park alone at night you could see a pale ghost girl sitting on the benches and drawing. These rumors were here, in this Twilight Town; Xion had overheard them while in Organization XIII. In her version they seemed to mostly be supplanted by the rumors about Vanitas and the old mansion. Xion knew now that it had to be Naminé, and the rumors must have started when she had been staying in the mansion.
There was another story, too. This one was about a ghost train that passed through the tunnel under Sunset Hill with no passengers, no conductor, and no return. Legend had it that after it rounded the corner around Sunset Hill and turned toward the ocean, it would vanish right before peoples' eyes. Xion had the feeling she just figured out what that truth was.
A bright light came from outside, breaking through the train's windows like the sun breaking through the clouds. Kairi turned back around to look out the window on the door she was leaning against, and Sora joined her. Donald and Goofy opted to look out the star-shaped windows above the seats. As for Xion, she climbed to her feet and moved to the other door.
The source of the light was a large golden keyhole floating just above the tracks ahead of them: a Gate. As the train approached the Gate the light grew brighter and brighter, until it was too much and Xion had tom turn away from the window. For a brief moment the entire car turned a bright, blinding white, and when it had faded they definitely weren't in Twilight Town anymore.
The train was now traveling on a magical set of floating train tracks, made of something a bit more supernatural than metal. Green peaks rose out of the sea of orange clouds below them that extended out as far as the eye could see, and up above the sky twisted with an aurora of purples and blues. The train came to a stop, and through Kairi and Sora's window Xion could see the familiar crooked tower sitting on its small floating island.
The door slid open of its own accord, surprising Kairi and Sora as they almost stumbled out. Xion walked up to the two of them and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "You two ready to meet the King's teacher?"
"Is this island flying?" Sora asked. There was disbelief in his voice, which Xion found kind of silly. After everything they had seen and done, a flying island was too much?
"Don't worry, it's safe. I was concerned too at first." She squeezed between the two of them and left the train, taking a deliberate step onto the earth to emphasize her point. "See? Everything's fine."
Kairi and Sora exchanged wary looks with each other before hesitantly following Xion out of the train, with Donald and Goofy close behind them. As soon as everyone was on solid ground—or as solid as it could get with only two or three yards of earth beneath them—the train began to shimmer and fade. In a few moments it was as if the car had never been there, and soon after even the glowing tracks vanished. The Gate in the distance closed tight.
Xion looked up to the tower sitting on the other end of the island, with its unforgettable twisted shape and smaller towers coming out at an angle. Taking a deep breath, she took a few more steps forward and then looked back over her shoulder.
"Well, you coming?"
The heavy doors at the base of the tower were pushed open with some effort on Xion's part, leading into the surprisingly high-ceiling room at the tower's entrance. The staircase still spiraled partway up the wall, coming to a stop with a wooden door at the end leading to nowhere. As the others came in behind her, Xion heard an impressed whistle.
"This place is a lot bigger on the inside," Sora said, craning his neck to look up. "But I don't see anything else. Is it all just this tall room? Where's Yen Sid?"
Donald cleared his throat and marched over to the stairs. "It's magic. Master Yen Sid's magic is so powerful that all the rooms are like smaller worlds inside of this one." He came to a stop in front of the wooden door, patting a hand against the star shape on its face.
Xion joined Donald at the stairs. "Last time I was here, the King explained to me that this door leads to one of those pocket worlds. You normally have to go through a few of them to reach his study at the top, but the King knew a spell to have this door lead directly there." She glanced down at the duck. "You wouldn't happen to know the spell too, would you?"
"Well…" Donald laughed awkwardly. "King Mickey taught me it once, but…I forgot it."
Xion stared at him, shocked. "You forgot it?"
"Well I haven't been here in twelve years, and never without the King coming with me! What am I supposed to do, write it down?" Donald crossed his arms and huffed. "We can just go through all the rooms anyway. There's only three or four."
"Say, uh, fellers—" Goofy began. Donald and Xion gave him a look as Kairi let out a quiet gasp of surprise. Goofy was pointing at the door, which Xion and Donald turned around to look at again. The star symbol was changing, shifting fluidly until it had completely transformed into a glowing arrow pointing upwards. Goofy laughed. "I guess Master Yen Sid heard us talkin'."
Donald raised an eyebrow and hesitantly pushed the door open. While all logic dictated that it should have led to a drop off the spiraling staircase, the other side instead opened up to a green room with a large wooden table as a desk in the middle. Book cases, chests, and other assorted furnishings sparsely decorated the room, including a familiar painting of a map that hung on the back wall next to the star and moon-shaped windows. Wasteland looked even brighter than when Xion had last seen it, at least from outside.
"I must say, I was not expecting visitors." A familiar deep voice, strong despite the age behind it, came from the corner of the room as everyone moved inside. Master Yen Sid emerged from the large green doors leading to the back room where Xion had first found the Wasteland map, a small smile on his face as he stroked his grey beard. His blue robes ran along the floor with every step.
Donald and Goofy both moved up in front of the group and bowed deeply before standing at attention. "Master Yen Sid, sir, it's an honor to see you again," they said together.
Yen Sid smiled and sat down in the tall chair behind his desk. "At ease, you two. We are not on official business today, are we?" Donald and Goofy relaxed visibly, smiles coming to their faces. With a wave of his hand several smaller chairs manifested in flashes of light and puffs of smoke. "Please, sit."
Donald, Goofy, and Xion complied, but Xion glanced behind her at Sora and Kairi, who were standing around nervously. Yen Sid turned his admittedly eerie, wide-eyed gaze to the two of them. "So, I presume I am speaking to Sora and Princess Kairi."
Kairi's face reddened. "I-I'm not a princess…"
"Not of blood, perhaps, but certainly of heart. Still, if it makes you uncomfortable, I will not call you that again. Mickey never minded that I do not add his title." Yen Sid waved a hand out toward their chairs. "Please, sit."
When Sora and Kairi did so, Yen Sid laid his hands on the wooden table and turned his gaze to Xion. She fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze before he spoke. "Mickey has recently informed me of all that transpired since last we met. I am glad to see that his trust in you was not misplaced, Xion."
Xion's eyes widened slightly. "O-Oh." She felt some color come to her face and she looked down with a bashful smile. "I'm glad, too. There were some rough spots but it all worked out in the end."
"Of course. Now…" He turned his head, looking at each of them in turn. "Why is it you have all come here today?"
Goofy straightened up. "Well, Master, we came here to ask if you knew anything about where their pal Riku is!"
"Riku?" Yen Sid breathed in deeply and shut his eyes. His hands came together and a circle of light formed in the center of the table, along with a miniature image of Riku wearing the Organization's coat and a blindfold over his eyes. Sora and Kairi's expressions brightened up at this and they leaned in closer, but Yen Sid shook his head. "I cannot say if I have found Riku or not, I am afraid."
"I see…" Sora said softly, his hair practically drooping as his face fell. "Sorry we wasted your time."
Yen Sid held up a hand. "Now hold on a moment, young man. I said that I could not say if I had found him, not that I hadn't. There may still be hope to find your friend."
"What do you mean?" Donald asked.
Yen Sid pushed his chair back and stood up. With his hands behind his back, he moved over to the moon-shaped window against the back wall and looked out at the night sky. Three stars in a triangle formation shined softly.
He began with another deep breath. "Like you five and the King, I have been keeping track of the forces of darkness, and other foes to the light, as they make their way throughout the wider World. Braig, Vanitas, and Maleficent have been chief among their number, but there is another as well." Casting one last glance to that trio of stars, Yen Sid turned to face the group. "Ansem, Xehanort's Heartless."
Sora stood up so quickly that he almost knocked his chair over. "You know where he is?!"
Yen Sid closed his eyes and shook his head. "If I knew, you can rest assured that I would have informed Mickey and that he would have informed you. No, I knew where Ansem was until merely two nights ago; since then, who can say?"
"What happened two nights ago?" Kairi asked.
"At that time, I sensed Ansem's presence in a world very close to this one." Yen Sid's head turned to the map hanging on the wall, and now it was Xion's turn to stand up; and this time, a chair did fall over.
"Is Oswald okay?!" she asked, leaning over Yen Sid's desk. Her friends looked at her in surprise; none of them knew about Wasteland.
Yen Sid held his hands out in front of him in a calming gesture. "As far as I am able to tell from outside, he and Wasteland are unharmed." Xion felt relief flood over her and her tensed body relaxed. She picked the fallen chair up form behind her and sat back down, nodding for Yen Sid to continue. "Two nights ago, a dark presence arrived in Wasteland—Vanitas. Soon after, Ansem did as well. The two came in contact, they fought…and then all traces of Ansem vanished."
The room exploded with gasps and shouts. Over the chaos, Xion heard her own voice demanding "You mean Vanitas killed Ansem?!"
"Calm down, everyone." Yen Sid moved back to his chair. "I cannot say for sure what happened to Ansem; whether he yet lives, I'm afraid I do not know. But with him gone, or at least hidden, I set out to find any trace of him I could among all the stars in the sky."
"Gawrsh, did ya find him?" Goofy asked with a nervous hand brought up to his face.
Yen Sid sighed deeply. "No. But in my searches, I found something…unexpected. It is a heart unlike any I have ever seen before, one that holds light and darkness in perfect balance."
"Riku?" Sora and Kairi asked together.
Yen Sid shook his head. "I truthfully do not know. Perhaps. And if not, then perhaps it belongs to a future ally…or a future foe. Either way, I believe it is a trail worth investigating."
Xion found herself nodding as Yen Sid spoke. If this person, whoever he or she was, was able to handle both light and darkness together…that was huge. It was a game changer. And they needed to find him or her before Braig or Maleficent did. If it was Riku, then that was all the better; they wouldn't be on the clock in that situation, since he'd never ally with the villains again.
"I agree," Sora said, speaking for everyone. "What world is this guy on?"
Yen Sid smiled. "Right under our noses." Smoke and light flew off of the table again, and a new image appeared: the Mysterious Tower and its island floating above a sea of clouds. Yen Sid waved his hands over the image and the clouds moved with him, revealing a landscape that rested far beneath their feat. Miniature forests and fields with crystal clear rivers snaking through them. At the center of the map stood a tall black mountain with a little village at the base. Something about that peak looked familiar…
Donald looked from the image to Yen Sid. "You mean there's a whole world underneath us?"
Yen Sid chuckled. "Of course. You did not think this island was all there was, did you?" He once again waved his hand over the image, in the opposite direction this time, and it vanished without a trace. "It is my home world; I lived on the surface before obtaining the powers of the Keyblade, and after retiring from Mastery I moved back to this world and built this tower. It is an out of the way world on the edge of the Realm Between; perfect to observe light and darkness without being observed yourself." He chuckled again before once again turning into the stern old Keyblade Master. "Now then, the quickest way to the surface is an ancient road between the heavens and the earth. You can find an entrance on my island, all you need to do is simply look for the rainbow."
Xion looked around. Her friends were beginning to stand up, so she joined them. "Thank you so much for the help, Master," Goofy said while once again standing at attention. Donald followed in turn, and the two of them saluted. "We'll be back from the world below soon!"
"There is no need to return, friends," Yen Sid said. "As I keep my vigil over the worlds, I will see where your hearts take you. When you have found the stranger, move on to the next world."
"Gawrsh, if you say so…"
"Don't worry, we shall meet again in the future. Of this I am sure." Yen Sid nodded farewell and the turned to leave through the magic doorway, but at the last moment a look flashed across his face—like something he had forgotten suddenly returned to him. "One last thing. Sora."
Sora paused halfway through the door. He raised an eyebrow and turned to face Yen Sid. "Yes, sir?"
"I feel that some day very soon what I am about to tell you will come in handy, so remember it well." Yen Sid stood tall and placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. He locked gazes with his large, intimidating eyes…and then smiled gently. "Chosen wielder of the Keyblade. You are the key who will open the Door to Light."
Sora's own face changed to one of recognition, like he had heard those very words before; and he had, Xion knew. She had his memories, she remembered that dream he had before all of this began. That's what the voice had said then, almost word for word. The Door to Light... Yen Sid thought they would need that soon? But why?
Yen Sid's hand fell from Sora's shoulder, but his smile did not falter. "Now go, brave guardians of the light. You have a wonderful adventure in store for you all in the Symphony of Sorcery."