Silver Linings
Chapter 13: "A New Road Has Opened."
A/N: It's a bit late. I spent the weekend visiting back home, and got my thoughts together with my brother and a few regular reviewers. There are three worlds with unresolved problems left over from Days: Halloween Town (the Leechgrave has been munching Heartless), Wonderland (Crimson Prankster...and Hazama! Stay tuned!), and Beast's Castle (this chapter). Riku and Lambda will deal with those worlds before Sora reaches them on his own quest. Which means Beast's Castle has to happen now, while Sora is one world away in Hollow Bastion.
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Beast's Castle...
Riku and Lambda stepped out of the Dark Corridor into a familiar gloomy setting. Lambda wondered, "Beast's Castle? Why are we back here?"
Riku replied, "We're looking for trouble. I sent us to the closest, largest Heartless I could sense."
The distinctive sound of another Dark Corridor heralded the arrival of another man in a Black Coat. The hood obscured his face, but he held himself differently from all the other Organization members the travelers had seen so far. He scoffed, "The impostors? I don't have time to play with children right now. Run along before I impale you."
"Oh? I thought we were 'kill on sight,'" Lambda shot back. "What's so much more important, you... Which one are you?"
"...Xaldin, Number III. If you truly must know, my mission today is to eliminate the massive Heartless here. It's scheduled to arrive in three."
"Three whats?" Riku asked.
"Two... One..."
*BANG!* A sound like a cannon discharging came from the bridge to the south, and a mass of brown fur, fangs, and muscle flew over the high wall separating the two areas. The creature fell between the interlopers in an ungraceful heap.
Riku blanched. "A Heartless that can beat the Beast?"
"Ah, perfect," Xaldin mused with a pleased tone. "Here's my ultimatum. You're most likely here to fight that Heartless. I will allow you to do so and take my leave. Best case, the Infernal Engine will destroy you, and I will come in after to clean up. Worst case, you might defeat the Heartless, which would complete my mission here."
"What about the Beast?" Lambda pressed.
"For our plans to succeed, I need that insufferable creature alive...for now. You have my word that no harm will befall him today. Don't you have a beast of your own to slay?" Xaldin paced backwards through a Dark Corridor without waiting for another reply.
*RUMBLE...* The ground began to shake as the massive Heartless advanced towards the castle.
"I don't like it, but we have to take Xaldin's word for it," Riku decided. "He probably wants to manipulate the Beast later, but there won't be a 'later' if we let that thing destroy the castle!" Lambda nodded her understanding, and the two of them dashed through the gate to the bridge.
The Infernal Engine could best be described as a giant box of death. It trundled forward on caterpillar treads, showing off a large cannon in its jagged mouth. On top of the boss, three smaller knight-like Heartless aimed bows at the heroes. The Heartless was just as wide as the bridge, leaving no room to get behind it. It was already halfway to the gate when Riku and Lambda arrived, and sent an opening volley in the form of a massive fireball from its cannon.
Riku raised a Dark Shield, bouncing the cannonball back in an arc. It struck one of the smaller Heartless on top of the machine, destroying it, but the other two minions retaliated with arrows. Riku and Lambda dashed forward to get out of the place the arrows would land. Lambda used Act Parcer to close in and attack the Infernal Engine, but her Petals didn't do much damage. She switched to shooting summoned swords at the little rascals that were re-aiming their bows at her, only to have them replaced. "A little help here, Riku?"
"I'm working on it!" Riku flashed into melee range and tried his own combos, but they didn't do much more than Lambda's. "We're hurting it a little, but not enough..." The whole time, the Infernal Engine continued to advance, and by now they had only a quarter of the bridge open to dodge. Apparently deeming itself in range to assault the gate, the massive Heartless opened its jaws wide to reveal a huge battering ram that began to glow as it gathered power.
"That can't be good." Lambda hammered the ram with a few summoned swords and Crescent Saber, which caused the Heartless to react more than the previous hits. It even slid backwards several meters before shutting its jaw and trying to advance again. "It was trying to ram the gate with its weak point? Well, there's our strategy." Lambda repelled another cannonball into the archers, who just kept respawning.
"Let's chip it down to size until it opens up again, then. Forget the archers and get in as much damage as possible." Riku held Soul Eater in front of himself, then summoned a second Soul Eater in his other hand. The two blades connected by lengthening their handles, and Riku used the new double-headed naginata to perform a spinning attack. "Dark Maelstrom!" Even with its weak point protected, the Infernal Engine was driven back by the assault. Riku finished the move with an uppercut accompanied by a pillar of dark flames.
"That was so cool, and that's coming from me. I summon way more swords all the time, like this-Legacy Edge! And that was still so cool!" Lambda paused mid-squee to open a wormhole and launch forty daggers at the Infernal Engine, temporarily popping the archers and driving it back to the opposite end of the bridge.
"I guess it was," Riku agreed. "Swords are pretty much the coolest thing ever. But while dark powers look cool, that's part of the trap..." He continued striking the Heartless with an aerial combo, using the Darkness to hold himself aloft longer and get in a few (dozen) extra sweeping hits. Something exploded inside the giant box of death, and smoke rose from somewhere in the back of the Heartless. All the minions simultaneously popped, and lines of energy jetted out of cracks in the beast's armor. "Get back, Lambda!" Riku grabbed the Prime Field Device and flashed back to the courtyard as the Infernal Engine exploded, launching bits of armor all over the bridge. The hearts that had been held captive in the boss scattered across the sky, and hopefully would reform into smaller Heartless instead of that tank.
"Mission accomplished...for Xaldin." Lambda scowled at the spot where the Beast had fallen. He wasn't there now, but the disturbed dust around that spot showed that Xaldin had dragged him into a Dark Corridor that used to be a few feet away. "Was he taken off-world?"
Riku shook his head. "No, he's still here. His scent is pretty distinctive; it's a mix of Darkness, wet dog, and roses. He's just been moved back to his chamber."
"Should we leave him to deal with Xaldin?"
"No, we'll leave Sora to deal with Xaldin. He's got a better chance of getting through to the Beast if Xaldin works him into a rage. Sora's just a hop away, in cosmological scale. We'd better move on before he gets here."
The sound of a portal opening cut off Lambda's reply, but something was off about it compared to the usual Corridors of Darkness. Near the castle's front door, a black hold did open in the air, but the aged man who stepped out of it wasn't wearing a Black Coat.
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The World Map...
Sora, Donald, and Goofy gazed at the display of the World Map on Goofy's console. What was left of it, anyway. There was only one open Gummi Route leading away from Twilight Town, one that was strangely empty compared to the old paths littered with raw Gummi Blocks. Goofy looked closer at the symbol on the map, and said, "Hey, I think it's a world we know!" The Highwind got them to their destination in a matter of minutes; there was no need to take it slow to dodge debris or Heartless this time.
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Hollow Bastion: Marketplace...
"It's Hollow Bastion!" Sora exclaimed as the three friends landed in the town's dedicated spaceport. "It looks like they're fixing the town here. We should see if we can help out."
"You betcha!" Goofy loped ahead and bonked right into a tall man with blond, spiky hair. "Uh, sorry, sir... Wait a minute...!"
"Watch where you're going." The man continued walking.
"Hey, it's Cloud! Did you find what you were looking for?" Sora asked.
"Oh, it's you three. Not yet, but I'll get him. This time, we'll settle it." Cloud started mumbling to himself.
"Who?" Donald asked.
"Me, and the one who embodies all the Darkness in me. His name's Sephiroth. Long silver hair, carries a long sword."
"A sword you consider long?" Sora gasped. "What is it, ten feet long?"
"Yeah," Cloud grumbled. "A katana that thin shouldn't be able to hold off my Buster Sword the way he did, but I've gotten better... I hope." Cloud patted the absolutely enormous sword on his back, still bandaged together after it had been shattered in some conflict from the blond's mysterious past. "If you see Sephiroth, let me know. Be careful, though. He messes with your head, tries to make you think Darkness is the only way," he warned Sora.
"Don't worry," Sora assured. "I'll be safe. Do you know anywhere I can help out around here in the meantime?"
Cloud stalked away, but called over his shoulder. "Leon's group could always use a new member or three. They're just up ahead."
"Why don't you join?" Donald yelled after the SOLDIER.
His response was a flat, "Not interested."
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Beast's Castle meets Castle Alucard...
"Ah, these tea leaves are exquisite! I must remember to bake a batch of scones for Torakaka in thanks for finding such excellent fare for Madam Rachel..." The newcomer couldn't look more like a high-class butler if he tried, but Lambda knew he was far from a simple domestic servant.
"Scanning... Target is a male beastkin, approximately 110 years old. Referencing... Target identified as Valkenhayn R. Hellsing. Member of the Six Heroes. Affiliated with the Alucard vampire clan. Threat level: SS."
"Wha-?" Valkenhayn's exclamation was half yelp, half growl. "Where the devil is this? And speaking of the devil, what is a Murakumo Unit doing here?" The butler assumed an aggressive stance, but didn't draw any weapons.
"I'm not here to fight you, I swear!" Lambda hurriedly dismissed Murakumo. The mental strain of keeping it active tended to stack up over time, which was why she usually dismissed it after every battle, but she'd forgotten to do so after being yanked out of their previous foe's blast radius. "I'm not looking for trouble from the Azure Timeline! Speaking of which, you just opened another Time Break."
"Pardon?" Valkenhayn relaxed, which for him meant returning from combat readiness to his stiff and proper butler posture. "What on earth is a Time Break?"
"It's right behind you," Lambda pointed at the distortion where Valkenhayn's teleportation spell had vanished. "I'm traveling with Riku here and working with Kokonoe to close them, and buy us time to find a way to keep them shut, since they keep popping up."
Valkenhayn turned to the Time Break, and his jaw fell open. He took a second to collect himself before responding. "...It was enough of a stain on my honor to mistake this place for Madam Rachel's manor. To think that such a simple mistake could destroy timelines...!"
"Indeed." A young girl's voice echoed through the area, and Rachel Alucard appeared in a swirl of darkness (not the Heart Timeline's Darkness) and rose petals. "I hardly see how this dreary architecture could be confused for my own abode." Her voice spoke of centuries of refined culture, but she still looked like a child not even ten years old. Her Gothic dress, the bunny ear-like ribbons holding her long, blonde pigtails together, and her extremely high platform boots didn't seem suitable for combat, but Riku could feel the magic rolling off this girl. He tried not to look like a villain, despite wearing a villain's face under his anonymous black hood.
Valkenhayn bowed low before his mistress, which only brought his head level with Rachel's eyes. "My deepest apologies, Madam Rachel. I will make any reparations you require."
Riku shuddered, gave in to a silent struggle, and covered his nose. "...Ugh! Tone down the rose perfume!"
"You cur!" Valkenhayn was instantly between Riku and the vampire, growling deep in his throat. Riku was reminded of a dog raising its hackles at an intruder. "I will not tolerate insults to Madam Rachel!"
Riku uncovered his nose and tried to breathe through his mouth. "I can't help it. I use smell to sense Darkness, and my nose is pretty sensitive. Roses smell nice, but too much of a good thing..."
Rachel giggled. "How delightfully common of you. You remind me of a certain mutt I know, one with none of the refinement Valkenhayn displays. I will admit you have an advantage in politeness over Ragna's constant swearing, but the sentiment is the same. You're lucky I go easy on your type, young one."
"Madam Rachel, shall I remove this impertinent boy's entrails for you?" Valkenhayn proposed in a respectfully calm tone, as though asking whether Rachel would prefer jasmine tea or Torakaka's special Kagutsuchi tea with today's scones.
"No, Valkenhayn. I shall handle his reprimand personally. Return to the manor-correctly this time, if you please-and prepare the tea for my arrival. I shan't be more than a minute, which works out to about half an hour in the Azure Timeline as of right now. Use the extra time to locate the Red Devil and inform him of the Time Break here."
"As you command, Madam Rachel." Valkenhayn turned and walked back through the Time Break, presumably to try again at the teleportation spell.
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Back at Hollow Bastion...
"Ah, this is terrible!" A heavily accented voice carried down the stairs as Sora and friends moved on. "I canna seem to create my old favorite!"
"Uncle Scrooge?" Donald yelped, running up the stairs with Sora and Goofy trailing behind him.
"Ah, Donald! Could you help an old man out with a small dilemma?"
"Sure, what do you need?" Sora asked.
"I'm trying to recreate a great ice cream flavor I tasted when I was a lad. I'd make millions if I got it right... What do you think of this one?" Scrooge handed Sora a purple and brown ice cream bar.
Sora probably should have known better than to try it. "Ack, that burns! What kind of ice cream burns your tongue?"
Scrooge sighed. "That's liver-pepper ice cream. Definitely not it."
"Why would you even try to make liver-pepper into an ice cream flavor?" Donald griped as he grabbed the bar and threw it in a nearby trash bin.
"Because I'd make millions!" Scrooge replied as though it was obvious.
"Scrooge McDuck is the richest man...er, duck...in Disney Town," Goofy stage-whispered to Sora loudly enough to be heard down the stairs. "He has so much munny that no one can count it all, but he never spends any if he can help it."
"Yep, my last accountant gave up somewhere in the 'impossibadillions', but I can always make more munny!" Cue the collective sighs from Sora, Donald, Goofy, and even Huey, Dewey, and Louie, who ran the adventuring shops in the plaza downstairs.
"Well, we've got to get going, but if we find a good idea for ice cream in our travels, we'll tell you about it when we come back to visit!" Sora waved to Scrooge and ran back to Louie's shop to purchase a few extra Potions and Ethers. Until the party found some substitute for their old Cure magic, they'd need a lot of healing items. They then moved into a residential district that was still partially under construction.
"Hey, you guys!" A perky female voice called from above them as they passed under an arch.
Sora looked up and spotted the speaker waving at them. "Yuffie!"
"I was hoping I'd... Watch out!" Yuffie pointed behind Sora, and he turned to see some Nobodies appear. Barriers rose around the alley to block Yuffie out and Sora's party in.
Sora cut the first few Dusks apart with the Kingdom Key, but they were replaced by a set of stronger Nobodies. Samurai, whispered the unsettling voice in Sora's head as he took in the new creatures and their pairs of katanas. Sora was immediately forced to block a swing from one, and the Nobody slid backward into a ready stance. Instinctively, Sora matched the stance. Everything else seemed to slow down for a moment as Sora and the Samurai watched each other for an opening. The instant Sora saw it, he dashed forward and cut through the Samurai, ending the duel in one blow. As an added bonus, defeating the Samurai this way released a white shockwave through the air that destroyed its two fellows. The barrier fell.
"It looks like you're still in top form!" Yuffie called as she jumped from the ledge to stand next to the party.
"Well, what did you expect?" Sora laughed, despite knowing that he was far from being in top form right now. Still, at this rate, he'd get back up to snuff in time to actually need it. "It looks like you're doing okay." Yuffie had changed her clothes to a slightly less revealing black outfit at some point, but Sora was referring to the fact that she had no visible injuries.
"Well, what did you expect? I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, after all! Anyway, come this way! Leon's been waiting for you!"
"What does that mean?" Sora wondered.
"You'll see. We're hanging out at Merlin's house, just down the street. I had a feeling I'd see you guys again, so we're all together for the welcome-back party!"
Sora jumped on an opportunity to goof around. "'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.'" Sora pointed a finger while doing his best impression of Leon's cool voice.
"Was that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie giggled. "Eh, whatever! I'll meet you there!" The Great Ninja vanished in a puff of smoke.
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Riku versus Rachel! Rebel 1. Action!
"Is there any reason you want to deal with us alone?" Riku asked Rachel.
"There's something I need to confirm, is all. Furthermore, I rarely get a chance to act directly like this in the Azure Timeline. I plan to meddle much more after this, until the timelines can be properly separated again. It is truly a shame that our worlds cannot coexist as they are now."
"So combat it is, then." Riku took up his combat stance. "Lambda, are you in?"
"Of course, Riku. Summoning Lux Sanctus. IDEA Engine linked. Murakumo, activate!" Lambda re-armed herself and took up position slightly behind Riku. "Scanning... Target identified as the Sankishin Tsukiyomi Unit. Threat level: maximum. Anti-Sankishin protocols online."
Riku blanched. "Not another one! How many Sankishin will we have to fight?" He rushed in to keep the heat off Lambda. "Rachel, I'm going to have to keep this brief. Lambda's programming will end up with either you or her dead if this drags on."
Rachel swiftly floated out of reach, completely dodging Riku's slash. "That answers one of my questions. How much of her actions are forfeit to her programming in the absence of gods, I wonder? Still, such a trial could only kill her, not me. At any rate... Nago, Gii, to me." A black something and a red something flew out of the Time Break, causing the rift to grow about two feet larger in diameter. The black something twisted into the shape of a cat at Rachel's feet, while the red something turned out to be a fat, bat-like creature that hovered next to Rachel on tiny red wings.
"Oh, he's a pretty one, Princess! I think I'll take him home and bat him around!" The cat spoke as it twisted again into a parasol for Rachel to hold.
"Princess, what did this guy do to get punished by you?" The bat bounced up and down as it squeaked out the question.
Rachel's first action now that she was armed was to whack the bat with the parasol. "Nago, I do the thinking in my household. Gii, it is not your place to question me."
"My apologies, Princess..." Nago yelped as he made contact.
"Ouch! Sorry, Princess!" Gii bounced off the floor and right back to his hover, with the addition of a white bandage over the new lump on his head.
"Indeed you should be. Impish Gysophilia." Rachel waved an arm and summoned a small jack-o-lantern with wings. "Silpheed." A strong wind blew from behind Rachel, sending the pumpkin darting straight at Riku. Riku blocked, but the pumpkin struck with far more force than he expected, and he was blown backwards with the wind.
"Sickle Storm." Lambda summoned a spinning saw that held in place for a moment, then rushed at Rachel. Rachel merely jumped left, landing gracefully on one foot and dodging the attack completely.
"That attack was far too slow. Show me your determination, young ones. If you hold back, you'll never be more than a lost lamb adrift in the wrong world." Rachel gave an infuriating giggle.
"...If that was a pun on my name..." Lambda began to say.
"...What would you do about it?" Rachel goaded, holding Nago in front of her as a closed parasol like a fencer.
"Restriction 13 released. Darkness output maximized. Overdrive Code: Elysium engaged." Lambda pulled out all the stops, beginning to glow with a purple aura and green holograms from the IDEA Engine. "Terra Stinger! Act Parcer: Zwei: Blade! Spike Chaser! Legacy Edge!" Lambda flicked her wrist, but nothing seemed to happen. Then she teleported into melee range, catching Rachel's attempt to twirl aside with a low sweep of her Petals. Rachel was instead spun backwards onto the trap Lambda set in the first move, which speared her from below and followed with four summoned swords from above. Lambda pressed the advantage by summoning a line of rising swords from the ground, and before Rachel could stop tumbling through the air, opened a wormhole to release forty smaller daggers, pinning the vampire against the wall of the castle. Rachel slid down the wall to the ground, apparently motionless. Additionally, part of the wall slid aside, revealing a secret entrance.
Riku stood stock still for a beat, still trying to process the massive beat-down his girlfriend had just dished out. "Yikes, Lambda! I get that the pun was bad, but was it that bad?"
Lambda stopped glowing as she reinstated her limiters. "Did I actually beat her?" she huffed, staring at the pile of petticoats that was Rachel Alucard.
"No, but you did pass the test," Rachel replied as she simply floated onto her feet and dusted herself off, apparently uninjured. "Your willpower is certainly impressive, at least when properly provoked. I actually felt some of those. Congratulations on surpassing every attempt Ragna has ever made to do the same. I will take my leave now. Rest assured that the Red Devil will be along shortly to close this Time Break, loathe though I am to contact Kokonoe in any capacity. I do hope you continue to hone that will of yours until the time comes when you'll have to use it." Rachel passed through the Time Break with dainty steps, boots clicking on the granite walkway. Almost immediately, Mickey arrived from the sky, claiming to have received a call from Tager.
Riku moved over next to Lambda as she dismissed Murakumo. "Wow, when Rachel says 'shortly,' she really means it!"
"Tager said something about teleportation, and Kokonoe was ranting about rabbits," Mickey commented as he helped close the Time Break. "You'd better get over to Halloween Town; there's been a weird drop in Heartless sightings over there, but they're all being replaced by the same kind of Heartless. What if they're evolving? I've got to get to the next Time Break; if you find one where you're going, let us know!" Mickey blasted off into the sky again, and Lambda and Riku ventured through another Dark Corridor to the next world.
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Hollow Bastion: Merlin's House...
Sora's group fought through some relatively weak Soldier Heartless to reach Merlin's house. Goofy commented, "I see why we couldn't miss it! Why is it the only house with a door?"
"Yeah, you'd think it would be the only house with no door, since Merlin can teleport," Sora replied. "I guess the other people still need to move in. Good to know we're in the right place, though!"
They opened the simple wooden door and were greeted by Yuffie's perpetually-smiling face. "Hi, guys! Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" She waved the three adventurers inside and pointed out Aerith and Leon standing off to the left, as well as Cid typing at a massive computer terminal that looked completely at odds with Merlin's other furniture. Leon and Cid were wearing outfits just like the ones Sora remembered from the last adventure, but Aerith was wearing a new dress with some white highlights and ribbons under an overdress in her usual pink.
Cid stopped typing and turned around. "Well, whaddya know. It's Sora, Donald, and Goofy! How you been?"
"It's been...weird," Sora replied.
Leon cut in, "I knew it."
"What did you know?" Sora asked incredulously. Leon had a tendency to state his conclusions without showing his work when it came to important events.
Leon explained with his usual serious expression. "A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time."
"Well, that's odd..." Sora mulled it over, then... "Wait a minute! Does that mean you forgot about us?"
"Thanks a lot!" Donald grumbled.
"Yeah, I thought you said we'd never forget each other," Goofy mumbled.
"It wasn't our fault," Aerith jumped in.
"Yeah!" Yuffie added. "It wasn't like you'd never existed, either. It was like...something on the tip of your tongue. We knew it was something important that we needed to remember, but we couldn't."
"Until suddenly... We did." Aerith closed her eyes and reminisced.
"I seem to recall everyone blurted out, 'Sora!' right at the exact same time," Yuffie giggled.
"Even Leon?" Sora wondered. It didn't seem like the gunblade-wielder's style.
"...You're tough. We needed you around." Leon looked away.
"Well, I'm glad to see I mean so much around here," Sora sarcastically thanked him.
Aerith giggled. "Just think of it as a... Leon compliment."
"Anyway, where were you kids?" Cid griped. "Things have been looking up, but we could've used your help a month ago."
"We were sleepin'," Goofy sheepishly admitted.
"Where, in cold storage?" Cid wasn't actually far off in his guess, which left Sora and Co. standing around awkwardly.
"It doesn't matter. This is great! Everyone's together again!" Aerith beamed.
"Yeah. After you're done catching up here, Sora, come meet me at the Bailey. It's up the stairs on your right when you leave. There's something I need to show you." Leon gave a two-finger salute and walked out the door.
"What's all the excitement?" Merlin's slightly wheezy voice heralded his arrival in a puff of magic sparkles. "Oh, Sora, it's you! Yuffie, dear, did you give them the cards?"
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Yuffie handed Sora three purple rectangles of laminated plastic.
"They're gifts from us," Aerith explained.
Sora looked them over. On one side, a yellow crown was stamped on the purple background, with the words, "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee -Honorary Member-" in white. On the backs of the cards, there was a white space with the names of the party written. It all looked surprisingly official for a group that sounded like something Yuffie made up. Sora handed the "Donald Duck" card to Donald and the "Goofy" card to Goofy, keeping the "Sora" card for himself.
"Membership cards!" Donald cheered.
"It's kinda cool, huh?" Goofy held his up to the light.
"It's not much, but we wanted you to know you can always come back here." Aerith smiled at the group and walked out the door.
"Hey, weren't you going to go meet Leon?" Yuffie wondered aloud.
"Oh, shoot! We're supposed to be at the Bailey!" Sora almost panicked. Leon had once whipped out his gunblade against the boy just for not being the highly-trained Keyblade Master Leon was expecting to find. Hopefully he wouldn't challenge Sora to a duel for being late.
"Hold on a moment, Sora, Donald. What happened to your magic?"
"I dunno. It just didn't work when I woke up," Sora mumbled, scratching his head.
"Maybe you forgot it while you were asleep?" Yuffie wondered.
"It's more likely you were in stasis, or otherwise indisposed, while the World was restructured after your last journey. When the worlds were reborn, the World's mana shifted slightly. Yen Sid told you about the new potential pathways between worlds, correct? A side effect is that spells work differently now. I can compensate easily because I was there when it happened, and I am of course a much higher-level wizard than yourselves." Donald grumbled at that, "Your case is uncommon, but I do have a solution. You may borrow this Blizzard Element for now." Merlin rummaged through his Bag of Holding and tossed Sora a small, green crystal orb. Sora managed to catch the trinket, and was instantly enlightened with how he could cast Blizzard now. "Let Donald hold that charm for a moment, then keep it with you. You may find more in your travels; seek them out. Now, get going before Leon grows impatient." Merlin shooed Sora and friends out the door; they went. "And you!" the wizard turned to Cid, "You can 'log out' any time now. I'm still quite nettled that you stole this entire corner of my house for your computer."
"Ah, shove it, ya loon." Cid continued typing.
"Loon, you say?!" And thus began an epic, but mostly one-sided rivalry between Gramps (Cid Highwind) and Great-Gramps (Merlin the Wizard) over the proper use of the back-right corner of Merlin's house.
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Hollow Bastion: Bailey...
The Bailey was a stone corridor with a balcony overlooking a vast plain made of blue and violet crystals. Leon stood by the railing and waved the heroes over. "C'mere. There's something you need to see."
Sora leaned over the railing and saw a large castle in the distance. It wasn't the same castle he'd visited on his last journey-there were no mechanical parts sticking out, but the Heartless emblem on the highest tower was better preserved. "Whoa! Where'd that castle come from?"
Leon growled. "We didn't build it. Ansem's castle is the other way. My best guess would be Maleficent, but you beat her months ago. But I'm a bit more concerned about the view lower down."
Sora looked lower, and saw that the whole plain between the town and the ominous castle was teeming with Heartless. "What...? I thought there would at least be fewer of them!"
Leon grimaced. "I don't know how there are so many there, but they're a problem. A big problem. We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows, maybe even something better. We've got a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything. Except...for that..." Leon then pointed farther down, closer to the town gates. "...And that." Dusks stalked toward the town in small groups. The Heartless were just milling about in all directions, at least for now, but the Nobodies were clearly invading.
Sora gave Leon a confident grin. "We can handle 'em!"
"That's good to hear." Leon gave Sora a thumbs up. "Do you know what's going on, then?"
Sora scratched his chin, since he was barely any better informed. "Well... I know part of it. There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless. He supposedly works for Maleficent, but he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies."
"And those Organization XIII guys in charge, too..." Goofy added.
"You called...?" An ominous voice of a man echoed from all around the area.
"You're doing well." A second man's voice joined in.
"This calls for a celebration." The first voice suggested, and several antagonistic laughs joined his. At that point, several Dusks and Samurai appeared down the hall, and all the Nobodies began to advance toward the town.
Leon didn't waste any time. He pushed a button attached to his belt, and a pair of iron gates at the end of the hall swung shut. A barrier formed over the sealed exit to prevent the Dusks from slipping through the bars. "That barrier won't hold if they break the gates! Sora, let's go!" Leon drew his gunblade, and Sora summoned the Kingdom Key. Sora took up position by the gates to take out any Nobodies that slipped past Leon's assault.
"This really takes me back. The last time we fought together was in Traverse Town. After you beat me up the first time we met, of course." Sora chattered as he smacked down some rogue Dusks. "Why did you do that, anyway?"
"Probably for the same reason these Nobodies aren't just flying out the window and over the walls: to test you. I recall you got me pretty good in that fight, too." Leon did a spinning slash to knock away a group of Samurai surrounding him.
"Yeah, and that was after fighting Heartless all over town. It was still pretty embarrassing to fall over from exhaustion when I had you on the ropes..." Sora stabbed a Creeper, then swung horizontally from that position to disrupt another unruly Dusk's assault on the gates.
"As fun as this conversation is, I could use some help here!" Leon was surrounded by twice as many Samurai as before, and this time one of them parried his spin attack. This caused the Samurai in question to stop moving for a moment, like any other Nobody whose attack collided with another weapon, but it also let the other Samurai attack Leon.
"Time to try this! Freeze!" Sora shot a small chunk of ice forward like a bullet. The Blizzard Spell knocked down all the Samurai, who were more or less lined up behind Leon, but didn't touch the gunblade wielder at all. Then Sora ran forward and engaged a duel with the Samurai that blocked Leon earlier. In one cut, Sora destroyed all the remaining Nobodies.
"Sora! Sorry we're late!" Donald yelled up some stairs leading to Ansem's old castle.
"Where were you guys, anyway?" Sora wondered, but the ominous voice cut off any reply.
"The Keyblade... A truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more...capable hands..." Assorted disembodied laughter accompanied the jab at Sora's skills.
"Come on out! Show yourselves!" Sora called toward the ceiling.
"As you wish." The second voice affirmed, and a swirl of Darkness rose up on a rooftop beside the open stairs, revealing its location with the distinctive rushing sound of Darkness in action. A person in a Black Coat was revealed as the shell of Darkness opened up. The whole process took about two seconds. The person standing there raised his arms over his head, and six more teleports brought in more members of Organization XIII.
"Organization XIII!" Goofy called out.
"Thank you, Royal Captain Obvious!" Donald muttered. Goofy either didn't hear it, or ignored him.
"I kind of expected there to be, well, thirteen of them, not seven. Whatever! Now we can settle this!" Sora readied his Keyblade.
The first Nobody shook his hooded head. "What a shame... And here I thought we could be friends." All of the Organization members laughed again, and all of them teleported away.
"Where'd they go?" Sora ran down the stairs to try and look for some kind of clue, however unlikely it might be, but one of the Organization members teleported right into his path.
"Move!" Donald yelled.
"Oopsy-daisy!" The hooded man sarcastically apologized with sweeping gestures, but didn't comply with the command.
"We said, get out of the way!" Sora yelled.
"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" More exaggerated gestures, more fake-upset attitude. For a guy with no heart, he sure knew how to be annoying.
"You gonna cry?" Sora bit back. This wasn't something Sora usually did, but he'd been dealing with Nobodies all day, and they were already more annoying than the Heartless. In a different way, of course.
"As if! What'll you do if I say no?"
"Then we're gonna make you move!" Donald readied his staff to cast Blizzard, and Sora and Goofy followed suit.
"Oh, so this kiddo thinks he's a full-fledged Keyblade wielder? You've certainly got the angry look down. Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"
"Remind me?" Sora was confused for a second, then redoubled his "angry look." This only made the Black Coated man laugh so hard his shoulders shook.
"That's right! He used to give me that same exact look! Well, if you really have to know, my name's Xigbar. I'm Number II in the Organization. See you later, if you're worth keeping around. You be a good boy now!" Xigbar waved as he started to teleport again.
"Wait!" Donald charged forward, apparently trying to tackle Xigbar, but the Organization member vanished entirely before Donald could even jump at him. Donald still jumped, though, and landed face down on the stone floor with a huge armful of thin air. "Drat! He got away!"
Leon spoke up. "So those were them?"
"Yeah," Sora said. "I don't get it, though. Who gave him the same look?"
"I think he was just trying to confuse ya!" Goofy decided.
Sora agreed. "Well, it's not like anything else he said made sense." Sora turned to address Leon. "Well, I don't know who these Organization people are or what they're planning, but with you guys, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and the King with me, I'm sure I can take 'em!" Sora pulled out his snazzy membership card. "After all, I'm a Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!"
"Does that last part have anything to do with anything?" Leon wondered, just as the card began to shine. "Guess so, huh?"
Sora's Keyblade suddenly appeared unbidden and forced Sora to hold it in front of him. Light gathered at its tip, and collected on the ground in a crown-shaped, glowing mark. The Membership Card, meanwhile, floated into the air and shot a beam of Light up and away from Sora. The beam struck thin air, revealing a Keyhole. Sora was very familiar with this next part. He swung the Keyblade in several different directions, spun it around his hand, and pointed it at the Keyhole. The Light gathered at the tip of the Keyblade shot out as a white beam, and the sound of a lock clicking was heard as all the flashy lights faded. "Oh... Now I get it. That must have been the gate Yen Sid talked about."
Leon finally found his voice. "Okay, what in the worlds was that all about?"
Sora nodded to himself and turned to Leon. "Sorry to run, Leon, but other worlds are calling! That Keyhole just opened a new Gummi Route. I'll get stronger out there, and when I come back, I'll wipe those Heartless out!"
"You've got time, don't worry. But, Organization XIII... They look tough. Be careful out there." Leon warned.
"No worries!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy went back to the Marketplace to board the Gummi Ship, and waved at their friends from Hollow Bastion as they blasted off.
Goofy spoke up a few minutes before they reached any dangerous parts of the Gummi Route. "Hey, Sora? I've got a question."
"Okay, shoot."
"Why did you spin the Keyblade around so much before unlocking the Keyhole?" Donald started guffawing into his hand.
"Actually, I just felt like it. Didn't it look cooler than just pointing and shooting?" Sora asked Donald specifically.
"Well... Yeah, yeah it did." Donald conceded.
A beeping sound drew Goofy's attention back to his console. "We've got a big ol' warp gate up ahead! I think we'll need to be ready to fight!"
"Alright, let's go!" Sora hit the accelerator and blasted off into the combat zone.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
A/N: Sorry this chapter's so late. FierceDeityMask, you can call off the Assassins now! Axel wants his servants back, anyway.
I put in a few more explanations for things canon explains only shakily, if at all, like why Sora's magic skills would be "forgotten" and then come back totally different. As for Rachel, most of you probably wanted her to somehow kick Lambda's can, but there's two reasons why she didn't. First, I have no idea how to play as Rachel, and most of her attacks don't really seem like they could kick anybody's can. That fork doesn't look very sharp. Second, she was just testing Lambda's willpower and how much damage she could dish out when properly motivated, not actually trying to fry Lambda with lightning. She's secure enough in her immortality to go easy on most people, since Izayoi is the only weapon we know that would definitely work. Rachel will probably be back later on. Halloween Town, perhaps? Give your comments and support in reviews!