Chapter 2: Zeros & Ones
{October 3rd 2013: The King's Study: 11:00am}
King Mickey Mouse watched as Chip and Dale set up the devices that the chipmunks had gotten from a contact in another world. They were strange white objects with what looked like a visor that went over the eyes, and rested around the head. Chip had explained what the device was, and what it did, but he honestly had never seen anything like it before, and was both curious and concerned. The mouse King looked at the five objects settled on the table, and Dale explained a bit more about how it worked to the King to assure him it was safe, but they would need to keep the five Keyblade wielders within the same room, and watch them carefully to be safe seeing as they weren't sure what these devices could truthfully do.
"Oh…are you sure?" the two chipmunks nodded.
"You can trust these two who gave us these devices. They're experts, and are heroes in their world for stopping two people who trapped a lot of people in a virtual reality. We know what to do if something happens, and we've been asked to contact them if something goes awry, or if we're not sure if something is supposed to happen," Dale explained.
"Yep! We trust them fully!" the King nodded.
"Very well. I suppose that…"
Before he could speak any further, the five Keyblade wielders walked into the room looking a little out of breath – whether from Donald casting a Thunder spell on them or the brooms, the King wasn't sure – however, he now had new concerns cast upon him as he looked at the teens. Sora he wasn't entirely concerned about, but he did wonder what the boy would face once inside the journal's digitized reality, and then his thoughts drifted to Riku, who was another concern: they would see his former darkness, and it would be a potential reopening of old wounds. His mind then went to Kairi, who had no memory of Sora's adventure as they were about to see it, and then his mind went to the two newest additions, and what this could potentially do to them. Roxas and Namine had never been on any adventures before, and it did stand to cause a reason for caution. This wasn't a fun field trip like the one they'd just gotten back from, but a full-scale battle within the digital world – Sora had walked in the digital world before alongside Tron, but that wasn't the same – nonetheless, they were out of options, and the mouse King was concerned they would be out of time soon as well.
"You're here," said King Mickey.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Donald and Goofy said you needed to see us?" Dark eyes looked into sky-blue, and the King smiled.
"I have a new mission for you," the King stated.
"What do I need to do?" the others looked a little surprised as they listened.
"Well, this isn't like other adventures you've been on, Sora, but you're not going alone," King Mickey explained.
"Let me guess: Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Namine are tagging along as well?" Sora didn't sound even the slightest concerned – in fact, he sounded rather excited.
"Yes, but this is something all five of you need to be briefed on first. I can't let you just jump headlong into this without a word of warning," the King informed them. This caught their attention: if the King was worried, they needed to tread lightly.
"What's wrong? Is Xehanort involved in this?" Sora's tone became cold as he said the name of the person Roxas and Namine had only briefly heard of.
"Xehanort? As in Xehanort Erebus?" asked Namine.
"Yes, but I don't believe he's involved in this – at least, we haven't been given reason to think so as of yet – but this is dangerous, and something we haven't done before." The five teens looked at the table where the chipmunks were working.
"Chip and Dale? What are they doing here?" asked Kairi as she looked at them working.
"They're here to monitor the situation. Jiminy came to me earlier today expressing concern because he noted that the journal recounting more of Sora's first adventure had lost all of its writings, except for one page: the page about your awakening from the stasis you were in, Sora." the two blondes looked shocked by the statement.
"You were in stasis?" asked Roxas.
"Well…I lost all my memories, so this guy – DiZ – he restored them, but I had to be asleep in order for him to do that. I was gone for a year…so Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy came to get me." The two blondes eyed him.
"You were asleep for a year?" inquired Namine.
"Yep….I'm not that bad off, though. I have my moments, but none of it is from him restoring my memories." Riku cleared his throat.
"Minus you dream walking," Riku stated.
"Oh yea…there is that…" King Mickey laughed a little.
"That's some pretty strong magic, but we're off topic. Jiminy was reading through the first of the journals and ended up in a bit of a problem: the second journal with the single page pulsed, and a new entry was added," King Mickey told them.
"Whoa, back up! Did you seriously just say that a new entry was added to a journal that only had a page filled in it by a pulse of energy?" Sora looked at Roxas.
"This shouldn't surprise you," he stated.
"I know; you'd think after having a fish tail, flying, jumping through worlds, fighting heart-eating plushies, wielding a Keyblade, and joining a battle against the darkness, I would be more immune to these things…" Namine nodded.
"Agreed…" she muttered.
"It takes time to get used to all these forms of crazy." The King cleared his throat.
"Anyways, we've been trying analyze this journal, and have decided we have no choice but to send in some help via the digital world," King Mickey stated.
"How so?" the King looked at the table where Chip and Dale stood.
"Those devices will hook the five of you up to the computer and allow your minds to travel into the virtual world," he stated.
"Oh, that's not too bad…." Sora looked to Roxas.
"Wait…." Namine glanced to Kairi and Riku.
"WE'RE DOING WHAT?!" five of them yelled in what King Mickey could only account as disbelief; Sora, on the other hand, appeared rather calm about the situation.
"You're going directly into the computer."
"And…we're dead, we're dead, we're dead…" Roxas started mumbling this as he tried to rationalize the situation, but found it impossible.
"We have no choice, we have to send in the five of you to help one of the people that are already inside the journal in clearing the worlds and fixing the problems. Otherwise, all the data will be lost forever," King Mickey clarified.
"Great, I'm going to become a digital code now…" Roxas looked rather displeased by the notion, but Sora merely laughed.
"This isn't anything! Trust me! The digital world can be kind of fun," Sora stated as he looked at them.
"Define your version of fun?" the chestnut-haired teen rolled his eyes.
"You'll be fine, and besides, Tron might be in there running around – he doesn't just sit inside the Hollow Bastion computer doing nothing – he tends to jump from computer to computer," he mentioned off handedly.
"Okay…who's Tron?" the teen jumped to face the others.
"Tron is a friend, a program created by Ansem the Wise to help Hollow Bastion, and to keep his research safe. All the same, if Tron is anywhere in the mainframe, he can get to us and help as well," Sora concluded.
"That may not be a bad idea to seek him out whilst in there, Sora. Anyways, I want to get the five of you set up and prepared to go into the computer."
"Wait…who are we meeting? And where?" asked Roxas.
"We'll know when you get inside, and we'll be able to watch you through the monitors, and with you all physically here, we'll be able to keep an eye on your bodies, in case something were to happen." The blonde paled.
"I feel as if a few years have been shaved off my life span," he muttered.
"Na, life expectancy isn't a common denominator in the virtual world!" Sora draped an arm around his shoulders with a smile.
"Why do I feel like Tron is as much of a troll as you are?" Roxas inquired.
"Because he has a funny side, but he fairly practical most of the time." Riku looked at his childhood friend.
"And this is where I would normally bow out to avoid being dragged into hijinks, but I seem to be out of stage exits," he said.
"You'll live. Now, we need you to get these on, and we'll need you to lay down, and be prepared to be in there for a while." The five of them nodded just as Donald and Goofy came in.
"Ah, Donald, can you summon something for them to lay on other than the floor?" asked King Mickey.
"Of course, Your Majesty!"
Donald waved his staff, and the five of them watched as a series of what almost appeared to be clouds of some kind appeared. Namine looked at them, and then with a smile, jumped up onto the object with a happy giggle as she landed in the soft, comfy plush that had appeared. Roxas eyed it, before looking at the others as Kairi, Sora, and Riku followed Namine's example, finding themselves fairly comfortable – but floating a bit off the ground – as they looked at Donald, who beamed at his summoning of the objects, while Roxas eased his way into the cloud and sat there as well.
"What are these?" asked Kairi.
"They're a type of summon. It's an air-based magic, but they do come in handy. They'll keep you five safe and comfortable, so you aren't forced awake by the floor being so hard. You'll need to focus, so being more comfortable should help." The King nodded in agreement, and Sora stretched a bit as he looked to Roxas, who appeared a bit unsure of the situation.
"Why are you so timid?" Sora questioned with a deadpan expression.
"Excuse me for being cautious, I've had enough insane things already try to eat me since coming here." The chestnut-haired teen laughed and fell back against the cloud a bit.
"You do know there are rules with being a Keyblade wielder, right?" Roxas looked at the other.
"Like what? Don't get eaten by plushies?" the others laughed a bit, and Sora shook his head.
"No! One of the biggest rules I can think of is one of the smaller ones: face your fears." Roxas stared at Sora for a moment.
"Face my fears? Why? What does that have to do with this mess we're about to get into?" he asked. King Mickey looked at the others – telling them not to say anything – and watched Sora's reaction.
"Well, Keyblades are fickle, and they don't like people with weak hearts. If you're strong of heart, and tackle your obstacles and fears head-on – then the Keyblades will become easier for you to wield." Roxas looked at his hands.
"Okay…I get what you mean there..." Chip, and Dale came to the King.
"Your Majesty! Everything is ready!" Dale stated.
"Alright, put your visors on." The five Keyblade wielders took the visor objects and fitted them over their heads to where the visor area was over their eyes, before looking to the others.
"Now, lay back, and we'll get you patched into the system. In just a moment, you'll be inside the system, and once there, you'll start out at the beginning of the journal's original first entry," Chip said. Sora paused.
"The Stations of Awakening…" King Mickey looked at the boy.
"That's where all this started?" he inquired.
"In my dreams…" the King nodded.
"Then that's where you'll all begin: at the Station of Awakening where Sora began his adventure," he said.
"Alright, see you guys back in reality," Riku said. With that, the five of them laid back, and closed their eyes, prepared for whatever would end up rearing its head, now that they were heading into another world. Chip pressed in what looked like seven codes of some kind, and the button to his left lit up green.
"We're in business! That last series of codes took care of rewriting Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Namine, and the person that will meet them at the Station of Awakening," Chip stated.
"Rewriting?" Chip looked to Donald, who appeared concerned.
"Yep! We rigged it so that they can use their Keyblades," Dale said. As soon as the words left him, an alarm blared, startling everyone, and causing the five Keyblade wielders to jump a bit.
"Are they okay?" the two chipmunks nodded.
"It's fine. A binary code probably got distorted because of the hacks we used. We'll go check it out, and be right back!" with that, the two chipmunks took off.
{Fifteen Minutes Later…}
Chip and Dale hopped back onto the desk, and King Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy looked at them as they held up a small book, and typed in a few codes while the alarm finally ended. King Mickey glanced at the others, who were still unmoving from where they had been once they'd been hooked into the system. Chip typed in another code, and frowned as he typed in a few more codes, and a beep sounded as the button flashed red.
"We need their names, and the names of their Keyblades," Dale stated.
"Okay, Riku Hirigaya, Way to the Dawn." Chip typed in the following, and a small icon of a black heart with a red outlining appeared on the screen.
"Each of these icons are going to represent our Keyblade wielders, but we will get to see them on the main monitor. With each icon, we have a meter that tells us if they're experiencing any problems, and will also track their current health, and their health after they've gotten somewhere. We've set it up like a game, so that in certain areas, they can be healed, if needs be," Dale informed them.
"That's probably a good idea…"
"We need the next set of names," Chip clarified.
"Namine Olamayne, the White Kingdom Key." Chip typed it in, and nodded.
"Roxas Lyster, The Bronze Kingdom Key," King Mickey stated. After typing in the words, the chipmunk looked at the King.
"Okay, who's next?" Goofy looked to the Keyblade wielders.
"Kairi Misaki, Destiny's Embrace," he said. King Mickey smiled, and then glanced at Sora.
"Alright, now all we have left is one more, and we'll be set."
"Sora Seiren…."
"I better give them a little extra fire power. Sora and the others are strong, but we don't know what they'll face…"King Mickey thought.
"Your Majesty?" asked Chip.
"Oathkeeper and Oblivion." The three who knew the names of those Keyblades gave the King a stunned look as Chip typed in the names.
"Alright, in just a moment, they'll be loaded into the system, and we'll see them appear on the monitor," stated Dale.
The group looked to the screen on the left, where a series of icons appeared beside a small photo of each person. The top was a picture of Riku from the shoulders up in different attire with what looked like a piece of Keyblade armor on his right arm, next to him was a black heart with red outlining it. His name, and the name of his Keyblade, appeared under his photo, and next to him was a meter of some sorts that was green, and formed a loop, followed by a line that was smaller, and blue on the line of green that went out a bit further. The next picture was of Namine, done the same way, but wearing a white shirt with a blue ribbon on it that was held together with a blue lotus flower that held the ribbon together in an X-shape at her chest, with a piece of Keyblade armor on her left arm, a pale-blue lotus icon appeared next to her, while the rest followed the same scheme of Riku's.
"There's Riku and Namine," said Goofy.
"Where's the others?"
"Oh, there they are," stated Chip.
A green X-shape that favored Roxas's pendant appeared, with a picture identical to Riku and Namine's in length appeared just below Namine's own, with the gage beside it. His attire looked a bit different, as they also took note of the orange-toned Keyblade armor piece on his right arm. After his appeared, Kairi's showed up. Her attire had also changed, a piece of Keyblade armor on her left arm in purple visible, as a pink star appeared beside her image. Once her gage loaded, the others sighed in relief, and then Sora's image appeared, and a white crown appeared next to his image as his name was written in, and under it, the names of his Keyblades. Once more, Sora's attire appeared changed, and a blue piece of Keyblade armor appeared on his right arm. The people watching the monitor looked them over, and Chip smiled.
"They're all in, and we should see them appear on the main screen soon," the chipmunk stated.
"Good…"
"So, uh, your Majesty….what is it we're doing exactly?" asked Goofy.
"Oh! Somebody wrote a strange message in Jiminy's journal. And the only way to find out who is by analyzing the book."
"What does the message say?" asked Donald.
"Their hurting will be mended when you…."
"Look! Here they come!" Jiminy alerted the group as they turned their attention to the screen.
"Here we go," said King Mickey as he watched the five Keyblade wielders touch down on Snow White's Station of Awakening.
They looked at the differences of the group as they stood there, eyes closed, awaiting the full link-up with the system to reach them as they prepared for the next journey. King Mickey eyed the clothing that the system had given them, and looked at their symbols. Riku's attire had stayed similar, but had gained a few details, such as a band of pale yellow at his waist, held on with a belt, and his black-and-red heart icon, and his shirt and vest had been inverted, while his pants had turned black. On his right upper arm at the shoulder was a piece of Keyblade armor, accented in yellow with touches of black. They looked to Namine next, who wore a pair of white and pale blue boots that stopped at her ankles, a pair of pale yellow shorts, a white tank-top with a pale blue trim, and a deep blue ribbon held in place with a pale blue lotus flower at her chest. She wore matching deep-blue wrist bands, and Keyblade armor on her right arm in yellow, white, and blue.
The next change they were drawn to was Roxas: most of his normal attire hadn't changed, except now, the white parts, except for his jacket were dark red, his shirt was strapped like Namine's with dark blue, and his pendant holding it together, while his under shirt was black with a red line going sideways through it. His sneaker straps were dark blue, and no longer red; and on his right upper arm was Keyblade armor in orange, silver, and gold. Then, there was Kairi and Sora's changes. Kairi was in knee-high pink, black, and white-lined sneaker-boots, pink shorts under a black skirt with deep purple armor, an open-from-over shirt of the same colors as her boots, a black tank-top, a yellow band on her upper right arm, a white one on her wrist on the same arm, and on her left, a pink sleeve with purple and silver Keyblade armor. Her shirt was crossed with purple ribbon, and held together with a pink star mark.
"Well, those are most certainly not what I expected," muttered Dale.
"True, but, the program doesn't know what they're currently dressed in, so it gave them new appearances."
"Hmm…interesting that it gave them Keyblade armor," stated King Mickey with a faint hum of thought.
He eyed Sora's appearance that favored his typical attire. The pants were black, touches of blue at the sides, and lined in white, armor of blue and silver at the hip area, with red straps at the same area, a black undershirt with white lining and blue pieces on it, with a black jacket, lined in white with a hood. Red straps crossed at the front, and was held in place with his crown pendant. His gloves remained the same, and his shoes were black, white-lined with red at the toes and running up the sides with dark blue X-shaped straps with yellow rims at the tops. The Keyblade armor, worn on the right arm, favored Riku's and Roxas's, but was blue, silver, and gold. The five teenagers opened their eyes and looked around, not moving yet while they tried to see what their surroundings held.
"We can speak with them and direct them, but now, we have to wait and see who will be their next partner," Chip stated.
"Yea, and I think I know just the guy."
{…..}
And the walls kept tumbling down, In the city that we love…
{…}
Author's Note: yep, I did change their attire, and though the changes may not seem all that significant to be spoken about, I think knowing what they look like and what they're wearing is important so you know if something changes. Sora and the others are meeting their new party member, and will begin this adventure.
I won't blab, but I look forward to seeing what you guys have to say.
Preview:
"We're dead…"
"Would you shut up?"
"Why?"
"Because, someone's here!"
Chapter 3: Database