"Here guys, I bought us some treats" says Olette, revealing four Sea Salt Ice cream bars from her pouch.
"Alright" says Hayner, taking his bar into his hand. "Always looking out for us. That's our Olette." The rare compliment from Hayner made her blush a little.
"You seem to be in a good mood today, Hayner" notes Olette, not that she was complaining about it.
"Why wouldn't he be?" asked Pence as he removed the protective plastic from the bar. "After all, Roxas has finally come back home."
Olette turns to looking at Roxas who was sitting next to her and says "I'm glad you came back, Roxas."
"We all are" says Hayner. "Look man, sorry about what happened before at the beach when that giant whatever appeared."
"Don't worry about it" says Roxas. "I'm just glad you guys want to be friends with me again."
"Always" says Pence.
"So Roxas, wanna tell us where you've been for the last few months?" asked Olette.
"Well, it's a long story but I...OWW" says Roxas, feeling something pointy poking his forehead despite being anything there to do the poking with. And it was getting faster.
"Wakey, wakey, little runt" comes a familiar voice, waking Roxas from his dream. Groaning, he opens his eyes and finds Xigbar standing by his bed and leaning over him with his bow gun weapon dangling right above his head, the pointed end being used on his forehead.
"What's up?" he says sleepily. "I thought we had the day off today?"
Xigbar grins and says "Yeah, no missions today for anyone other than what the boss himself is doing. But he did ask that you and Xion spend time with the members of the Organization to better create a...what did he call it? Oh yeah, a better synergy to make working together more effective."
Roxas sits up and says "OK, I understand. I guess that makes sense. So, who do I start off..." His words are cut off as Xigbar bring the point of his weapon to rest right between Roxas eyes.
"With me, duh. Get up and get dressed" says Xigbar, pulling away. We're going over to my tower and have ourselves a little practice battle. Heh, hope you're good at dodging high speed energy arrows."
Roxas gulped, thinking he was in for a long and painful day.
Real Hearts
chpt. 17: The Connections We Make
The sunlight barely managed to pass through the curtain though this failed to wake the owner of the room who was snoring rather loudly. And then the alarm rang, a rather loud alarm with a female voice mixed in that was saying "Good morning, good morning" over and over again.
For a moment, it doesn't appear to have any effect on the sleeping figure. But then there's signs of movement as the figure tries to cover his head with his pillow while fumbling in vain to find the alarm clock and turn it off. But his search kept missing the mark and the noise was starting to irritate him.
Finally, the covers go flying as the occupant in the bed, a white feathered duck yells in annoyance as his body seems to leap into the air before he grabs the alarm and sends it flying into the wall, smashing it up really good. He then takes a moment to breathe in some air to help cool himself down, the blush's in embarrassment when he realizes he had just destroyed his girlfriends gift to him...again, for the 28th time this month to say nothing for the total number of times this year.
Luckily, his magic could repair it like it always did.
Rubbing his eyes, Donald Duck looks around his room and shakes his head at the sight. It was a real mess and he once again told himself he needed to stop being such a slob. After all, he was the court wizard to Disney Castle and the king and queen were counting on him to be the best he could be.
Speaking of which...
"Oh no, I'm running late" quacks out Donald, remembering why he had set his alarm to wake him earlier than normal today. He had to deliver a special report to Mickey ASAP seeing as there hadn't been time to do so last night. Jumping from his bed, he rush's into the bathe room to take a shower so he could then head out and deliver his report. And as for his messy room?
Well, he'd just make the broom servants clean up for him today...which is what he did everyday.
(Roxas)
The shot had come within an inch of hitting Roxas right between the eyes. If not for some fast reflexes and him turning his body, he would likely have a scar on his face now too. Turning his body again, he glares at Xigbar who returns his glare with a highly amused grin.
"You know, runt. That look on your face reminds me of a look 'he' use to give when he was getting frustrated" says Xigbar before warping to another vantage point which only took Roxas a moment to locate.
"And just who is this 'he' person? And what's the point in all of this anyways? You told me you wanted to do some light combat training, but this is more like a boot camp from hell where the instructor is intentionally out to kill the cadet" returned Roxas.
"Hm, I wonder?" says Xigbar in response to his first question. "And as for the point, haven't you figured it out yet?" Xigbar then fires off a few rounds before warping to various points throughout the room, allowing himself to fire another couple of rounds before warping again.
Roxas jumped, dodged, and ducked under the various bolts coming at him, wondering what all this was meant to do. True, he was getting better at avoidance, but something told him that there was more to this than that. And then, he felt something warn him to watch his back, making him spin around on reflex.
And a good thing to as Xigbar had made a trick image of himself and had warped in behind Roxas, firing a single shot that would have sent him flying. Instead, Roxas had turned in time and brought his Keyblade up in time, blocking the attack.
"Now you're starting to get it" says Xigbar, warping down to stand before him.
"What, you mean that I can deflect yours energy bolts with my Keyblade?" asked Roxas.
"Say what? No...well, there's that too, but I meant your instincts when it comes to feeling an attack is coming from your blind spots" says Xigbar. "That's what I'm wanting to train you with, to help you learn to sense when an attack is coming when your eyes aren't on the enemy that's attacking so you can respond on instinct to defend yourself."
Roxas thinks about it and realizes he was starting to sense when an unseen attack was coming. "Also, making your response time faster and more accurate is also in my plan book for our hour or what's left of that hour" adds Xigbar.
"Now I get it" says Roxas before jumping back, tightening his grip on his Keyblade. "Then lets keep going then. I want to get better."
"Now that's what I want to hear" says Xigbar before warping to another terrace here in his towers battle arena, ready to really give Roxas a run for his munny.
(Donald)
Donald walked down the hall of Disney Castle, whistling the Mickey Mouse theme happily to himself as he passed by a group of broom servants who were caring buckets of water, likely for the gardens. He felt energized and ready to face any unexpected challenges the day brought forth.
Coming to a stop outside a super large set of double doors, Donald takes a moment to wonder why they needed doors this big with smaller doors that were more their size built into the bigger. Did they really expect to have company THAT big stopping by?
Donald couldn't help but recall how it all began for him; for them. Way back when, Mickey had been working on a steam boat alongside Pete till business became scarce. Then Mickey had met both Donald and Goofy and his faithful dog Pluto, forming a never ending friendship that lasted to this day. After many crazy adventures, they learned of a chance for them to become Musketeer's and they decided to try out, learning that Mickey's old captain Pete had somehow become the leader of the Musketeer's.
Of course, Pete had gone troublesome since the loss of his beloved steam boat and he had tried to usurp the throne by kidnapping princess Minnie, but Mickey and the rest had stopped him and Minnie had fallen for Mickey in the process. Several other adventures came about after that, including Mickey becoming the apprentice to the legendary Sorcerer, Yin Sid, where he first discovered the special power he had. After a certain incident, Mickey had returned home and had been allowed to marry Minnie and her father had given them the beautiful Disney Valley and the surrounding area's as the center of their new kingdom; the Kingdom of Disney.
Shaking his head, Donald chastises himself for getting distracted. There was plenty of time to reminisces about the past later. Right now, he needed to focus on giving Mickey the report had had been unable to give him yesterday as the king had been busy with another, unknown matter.
Clearing his throat, Donald opens the door and steps into the throne room while saying "Good morning, your majesty. It's so very nice to see..." his words stop dead as his eyes fall on the near empty throne room.
Inside the massive chamber, the only sign of life he could see was Pluto, who was laying next to the throne. The dog lifts his head up and shows he was happy to finally see someone. For Donald, he was puzzled. Was Mickey in the library or somewhere else in the castle? If so, then why was Pluto here and not with him. Then Donald notices something laying in Mickey's throne; a letter.
Walking up to it, he picks up the letter and opens it, reading the contents carefully. A second later, Donald goes racing from the throne room, making the loudest racket from his sudden panic as he zips around the castle, looking for Goofy. It takes his mind a moment to realize he knew exactly where to look for the captain of the King's Guard.
Goofy was snoring loudly, a large bubble growing and shrinking from his nose as he lay beneath the large statue of Mickey holding the Star Seeker Keyblade up towards the sky; oblivious to everything else in the world around him.
And then Donald came rushing onto the scene, his voice being enough to wake the dead, yet not Goofy for some reason. The court wizard duck comes to a screeching halt before the dog captain, obviously out of breath though he didn't let that stop him from speaking.
"Wake up, Goofy, wake up. We have an emergency" says Donald, still sounding a little panicked.
It takes a moment, but Goofy finally does open his eyes and yawns before sitting up. "Oh, good morning, Donald. Boy, it sure feels nice out here today, huh?"
"Never mind that now, Goofy. We have a big problem and you can't tell anyone about it" says Donald.
"Queen Minnie?" says Goofy.
Donald shakes his head, saying "Not even the queen can know yet."
"Daisy..." says Goofy, not realizing Donald was unaware of their arrival in the garden court yard.
"NO" squawks Donald, jumping into the air. "It has to be a secret, Goofy."
"Oh, good morning, ladies" says Goofy, either ignoring or not hearing Donald's last set of words. Or maybe this was his way of telling Donald that they were very much in the know. The duck wizard laughs nervously as he looks back, seeing Minnie and Daisy with their eyes locked onto him and Daisy had her hands pressed firmly upon her hips.
"And just what has to be a secret, Donald?" asked Daisy, sounding rather cross.
"Has something happened, Donald?" asked Minnie, sounding more calm and serene.
Donald laughs nervously, knowing that while he may have been a duck, he was likely now going to be thrown into the dog house...
(Roxas)
Roxas cries out as he is sent flying back by a powerful blast of wind that slams him into a wall. This stuns him for a second, but he is able to recover in time to move clear of the lance that was sent after him, coming very close to being impaled by the weapon.
"Roxas, you aren't moving as fast as you can be" says Xaldin as he calls his wind lance back to him. "Remember what this training is meant for."
"Yeah, I know that" says Roxas, recalling what Xaldin had told him when he had arrived at his tower.
"Roxas, we'll be doing training here much like you just did with Xigbar. But where as he was teaching you about sensing when an attack was coming from an enemy unseen, I want to train you on how to turn the wind to your advantage; to use it to make you even faster."
"But how can I make the wind my own when it keeps changing suddenly and in random ways?" asked Roxas who was still impressed that Xaldin had converted this whole arena into a giant wind tunnel of a sort.
"You must learn to feel these things, Roxas. Become the wind, BE THE WIND. Master the wind and you will always breeze through to a victory. Now, lets try this again. And remember, become the wind" says Xaldin as the training continued.
(Disney Castle)
Donald
Sorry for all the trouble but something important
has come up and I had to leave immediately.
There's something I need for you and Goofy to do
for me though. Head to Traverse Town and ask Leon
and his friends for assistance while you await the
arrival of the one who holds the "key" to our future.
I know this is much to go on but I hope it can still be
enough. I promise to explain everything when we see each
other again. Thanks pal...
"So what should we do, queen Minnie" asked Donald.
"There' not much else we can do but do what Mickey asked of you and head to Traverse Town" says Minnie, trusting Mickey's judgment.
"But how are we suppose to know what it is we're waiting for?" asked Goofy.
"I have an idea" says Daisy, getting their attentions. "Why not contact master Yen Sid and seek his counsel. Maybe he can help us through his extensive knowledge."
"That's a good idea, Daisy" says Donald.
Minnie nods in agreement before turning to look at the mirror hanging on the wall. "Magic mirror on the wall, awaken now and heed my call."
The mirror glows and a pale green colored face appears upon the glass. Once, this mirror had belonged to an evil queen from another world who's vanity and arrogance had brought her to an untimely end and the mirror had used its power to seek out a new, kinder master, for it to serve and had ended up in the ownership of Minnie.
"What need you have for me, my queen?" asked Mirror.
"Could you establish a connection with master Yen Sid at his tower for me, please" asked Minnie.
"Of course, my queen" says the Mirror as ripples began to move across the glass. "Forgive me, but this may take a few minutes. For some reason, there is much interference within the Lanes Between."
"That's fine. Just let me know when the link has been made" says Minnie before walking over to a phone like device and picking it up. "Gummi Hanger, please" she says into the phone.
After a second, a voice speaks up. "Gummi Hanger, Chip speaking."
"Chip, this is Minnie. I was wondering if you and your crew down there could prep a Gummi ship for take off. Mickey has requested Donald and Goofy be sent on an important mission."
"Normally, we'd get right on that, but..." says Chip before his voice is replaced by another voice.
"We don't have any Gummi ships left to send out" comes the voice of Dale.
"What do you mean?" asked Minnie.
"Well, Gummi 1 was taken by the king earlier this morning. Gummi 2 was taken by master Scrooge the day before, running some sort of errand" says Chip.
Dale continues and says "Gummi 3 was taken without our knowledge and was found missing this morning and Gummi 4 is still in the having that navigation problem so we can't allow that to be taken out."
"What about the new Gummi 5?" asked Daisy. "Shouldn't it be ready for service by now?"
A new, female voice comes onto the line which Minnie and the others recognize as Gadget's, the chief designer of the Gummi Ships. "This is Gadget speaking. Sorry, your majesty, but Gummi 5 is nowhere near ready for duty. When I made her, I designed this new engine that would allow her to fly circles around the others not to mention leave them behind in the dust. Problem is she's to fast and it causes the Gummi blocks to destabilize and fall apart. Until we can solve this problem, I can't allow Gummi 5 to be used under any circumstance."
In the back ground, they could hear Monterey Jack yelling something followed by a booming sound and Gadget adding "I...I better go."
"Sorry, your majesty. We'll see if we can get Gummi 4 flight worthy. I'll give you an update when we have one" comes Chip before the line goes dead.
"Well now what do we do?" asked Donald.
"I have made the connection" comes Mirror suddenly. Their attentions return to the mirror as his face fades and is replaced by the face of the great and aged master of magic; Yen Sid.
(Roxas)
Roxas wasn't sure what he was going to be exposed to when he came to Lexaeus's tower, but it certaintly wasn't what he was expecting following the previous activities with Xigbar and Xaldin. He was sitting on a matt, opposite Lexaeus, and both had their legs crossed and hands brought together and resting on their laps with their eyes closed and heads tilted downward slightly.
And Roxas didn't know what it was they were supposie to be doing. Chalk it up to the silence Lexaeus had given him upon his arrival, apart from "Sit here. Do as I do. Silence." And this had been going on for more than fifteen minutes and Roxas was wanting some answers.
"Um, I know I'm not suppose to talk. But would you mind telling me what this whole thing is about?"
Lexaeus opens his eyes and says "Meditation training, obviously."
"I don't understand?" says Roxas.
"Calm your mind, quiet your mind. Remove all distractions from both without and within and find your center; achieve a state of zen. In this, you can connect with the world around you in ways you never imagined. And in this connection, you will see, hear, and feel things in ways you never knew was possible."
Roxas was impressed; this being do to the fact he had never heard Lexaeus speak so much before. Knowing that wasn't what he needed to be thinking about, Roxas allows himself to think instead of what he had been told. About this meditation training to achieve zen and connect with the world.
"But I still don't understand how to do it or how to know if I have achieved it" he says.
"Like I said, just push all distractions both outside and inside away, become a blank slate. You will know when you have achieved it" says Lexaeus.
"I hope you're right" says Roxas as he closes his eyes again, now working to obtain this zen state.
(later)
"So, how did your time with the others go, Roxas?" asked Zexion, looking away from the book he had been reading when Roxas had entered his tower.
"Well, Xigbar taught me about learning to sense an incoming attack from my blind spots. Xaldin taught me how to use the wind to my advantage and, I assume, the other elements as well though that will be up to me to figure out. Lexaeus was all about meditation and achieving zen" says Roxas.
"And Vexen?" asked Zexion, currious as to what his fellow academic would pass onto the young lad.
Roxas laughs a little, saying "Oh, I learned a lot from him, like how to be an under appreciated lab assistant for an hour, being made to run around, grabbing this and that, and being asked to mix various chemicals together he wasn't sure would be safe to do."
Zexion laughs a little, saying "That explains the frazzled hair and weird coloring on your face and clothes. Hope they aren't permenant."
Roxas shakes his head, saying "On my skin and hair, no thankfully. But I may need a new set of clothes though. Anyways, what will we be doing?"
Zexion's responce is to reach out and grab a book from the table which he then tosses to Roxas. "Take a seat and start reading. If you have any questions, just ask."
Roxas nods as he walks over and takes a seat in a chair close to where Zexion was sitting while the silver haired youth had returned to reading his own book. "Can I ask what it is I'm reading here?"
"Just read and you'll find out" says Zexion who then looks away from his book to look at Roxas. "I'm not sure what you did with your spare time before joining us...or what you do with it now that you're with us, but you should never shy away from reading a book as they have so much to teach us."
Roxas nods as he realizes that as he had made his way to this room, he had seen that Zexion's tower was different than what he had expected. "I was wondering, you're a scientist like Xemnas and Vexen, right?"
"Yeah, I am. Why do you ask?" asked Zexion.
"Well, I noticed coming up that your towers layout seemed far more like a multi-level library than a research lab like I saw Vexen's tower being" says Roxas.
"Oh, that" says Zexion. "Well, I'm not as obsessive as Vexen when it comes to having multiple labs for every little thing that could come up. For me, I only need one lab that can cater to anything. Besides, I love books the most, more so than having many a lab to work with. Also, all the books here in my tower came from my home world; as many as I was able to salvage and save from the destruction."
"Wow, you are dedicated. There must be thousands of books here" says Roxas.
"Over fifty thousand to be exact. And if something is important to you, then of course you'd be dedicated to it. Also, there's a secret message in that book you're reading. I wonder if you can find it and understand the secret?"
Roxas grins, saying "Challenge accepted."
Zexion chuckles as they both begin reading and, at the end of their hour, Zexion allowed Roxas to borrow the book so he could keep reading it and uncover the hidden message within its pages.
(Disney Castle)
"I've been expecting a call from you, young Minnie" says Yen Sid, giving her a warm smile.
"You've been...you mean you knew about the situation we're facing, master?" asked an astonished Minnie.
Yen Sid nods, then says "Mickey came to see me earlier, seeking my counsel on the matter at hand, as well as to request a certain item in my pocession as well."
"Is his magest there now?" asked Donald.
Yen Sid shakes his head, saying "No, he departed just before you made contact. But he did ask me to explain in better detail what is going on to you all as he realized his letter was rather vague and cryptic when he wrote it."
"So what is going on, master?" asked Minnie.
"It all began last night. Mickey was having an uneasy feeling he couldn't shake; a sense of impending desaster. To calm his mind, he went into the Chamber of the Cornerstone."
"So that's were his magesty dissapeared to" says Goofy, knowing the king often went to be in the precense of the Cornerstone of Light as it soothed his mind and gave him needed comfort and peace.
"He told me that while in its precense, he was struck by a series of visions and a need compelled him to take off on a journey, though he wasn't sure about there destination or purpose. So, he said to me, he left early in the morning after making the note in his Gummi ship to seek my cousel on this matter."
"And what has that counsel led to, master?" asked Minnie.
"After much deliberation, we both concluded that one of the visions contained a vital clue that would allow us to finally locate Master Aqua, who'm we know was pulled into the Realm of Darkness following her failed attempt at stopping Xehanort though we couldn't pinpoint her actual location."
"He went to save Aqua" says Daisy, now understanding why Mickey would leave as he did.
"What about his instructions to us, master Yen Sid?" asked Donald.
"I believe this 'key' he saw may represent a Keybearer who will find his or her way to Traverse Town soon, though we can't be sure as to the when and assuming this Keybearer isn't there already."
"I agree" says Minnie, knowing that the explanation did make the most sense. "So should we proceed as Mickey wanted us to?"
"Yes, we should. Donald, Goofy, go to Traverse Town as Mickey asked you to do and await the arrival of this Keybearer. Once you have found him or her, come see me at my tower so we may figure out what to do next."
"A-hyuk, there's just one little problem, master Yen Sid sir" says Goofy. "We don't have any working Gummi ships right now to take us anywhere."
"That won't be a problem as I can use my magic to send the Gummi ship Mickey came here in back to the castle" says Yen Sid as he gets up from his chair.
"Wait, isn't the king using it now?" asked Donald.
Yen Sid shakes his head, then says "Where he needs to go, the Gummi ship would be useless so he asked me if he could borrow the Star Fragment again."
"Was that a wise idea, master?" asked Minnie. "I mean, the last time he had it, he wasn't able to control its power properly and it sent him to random locations."
"That was then and this is now and Mickey has sense learned how to use it properly which is why I allowed him to borrow it. Believe in him, my friends." Yen Sid then turns his attention away from them and looks out the window, mumbling a few chants as his fingers begin to spark with magic which is then released towards the Gummi ship, making it glow then vanish from sight.
"The ship should be back at the castle shortly" he says as he sits back down. "Now then, prepare for the journey ahead and I'll see you upon your arrival." And with that, Yen Sid's face fades from the mirror.
"Will there be anything else, my queen?" asked Mirror.
Minnie shakes her head and says "No, that will be it for now. Thank you, Mirror." Mirror nods before his own face fades, leaving the glass to reflect like any normal mirror would. At that moment, the phone rings and Minnie picks up the receiver.
"Your majesty, you won't believe this" comes the paniced voice of Chip. "But Gummi 1 just appeared inside her own hanger.
"Yeah, it was a bit like magic or something" adds Dale, making Minnie chuckle a little.
"Actually, it was magic. Currtisy of master Yen Sid" says Minnie, getting an "Oh" in responce from the two chipmunks. "So, how soon will Gummi 1 be ready for launch?"
"We need to do the usual matience check on her before she can depart, so one hour maybe unless we find something that needs fixing" says Chip.
"One hour then" says Minnie before hanging up and looking at the boys. "Donald, Goofy, you have one hour to prepare for the trip. Assume you'll be gone for a good while and pack accordingly. Also, contact me once you arrive at master Yen Sid's place for an update."
Both Donald and Goofy give her a salute stance, saying "Yes, your majesty" in unison.
"You boys should also wear a different set of clothes. Something that will be more comfortable while on this mission" adds Daisy.
"That's a good idea" agreed Minnie.
Donald and Goofy nod in agreement as well, then they take their leave to start getting ready for the mission. Once they were alone, Daisy turns to Minnie and says "I can't help but worry about them though. Maybe we should send someone along to back them up. Not that I'm saying I don't have faith in them, mind you. But with Donal's quick temper issues and Goofy's laid back personality..."
Minnie raises a hand to halt her speech, then says "I know you have faith in them both. But I also feel another going along would be a good idea. Someone who can keep a record of everything that happens while they are away; a journal if you will. And I know just the right person for the job."
(Roxas)
"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" asked Saix, gazing out the massive windows in his tower.
Roxas looks out as well, seeing no moon which makes him confused. The layout of Saix's tower was also confusing as it was a lot of observations areas and plenty of big windows; almost like it was a tower filled with lounges. "Um, I don't see a moon..."
"I meant Kingdom Hearts which is the closest thing we have to a moon here in Never Was" explained Saix, looking at Roxas with a slight bemused expression on his face.
"Oh, I get it" says Roxas looking back out again, this time up at the glowing heart that was THEIR Kingdom Hearts. It was indeed beautiful to look at and now that he thought about it, it did seem like a moon for this world of twilight.
"Roxas, have you ever taken the time to look around and smell the flowers? Or take in the scenery of the world around you and let it fill your mind, body, and solu with new ideas and experiences?"
"Sometimes, though not as much as I probably should" admits Roxas.
"Then you should more often. You'd be surprised the things you learn and discover when you do this. You may even find the answer to the very questions that haunt you."
"Yeah, I will" says Roxas.
"Then how about a test then" says Saix. "We'll go for a walk and we'll see how observant you are. You up for the challenge?"
"Oh yeah, bring it on" says Roxas as they head off into the other areas of Saix's tower.
(later)
"I admit I wasn't sure what to expect when I came here to your tower, Luxord. But I have to admit, I never thought I'd end up playing a game of cards with you" says Roxas, sitting opposite the platinum blonde haired man.
"Learn about the luck of the draw. Sometime we win some and sometimes we lose. It's much like time in a way" says Luxord. "You see, Roxas. Time is both our greatest alley and worst enemy and she is never on our side but always against us. But learn how to work with her and time itself will always have your back."
"Um...OK...I guess" says Roxas, feeling totally confused by what he had just been told. And how did playing a game of cards have anything to do with that whole time thing anyways?
Luxord laughs, then says "Confused you have I? That's natural and expected. I could explain but maybe it would be better if you figure this one out yourself. Besides, we have a game to play here and I have no plans on losing to you. Besides, we don't have a lot of time to play either..."
(later still)
Roxas took a moment to smell the fragrance of the roses before turning his attention to Marluxia.
"So your whole tower is like one gigantic green house then? Boy, Larxene told me you were a plant lover, but I never knew you had such a green thumb about you."
"Flowers are the greatest expressions of life, or so I believe" says Marluxia, gently carressing a bud with his fingers. "The smell can reinvigorate the soul and make one feel alive and free. Here in this place, one can know true beauty, serenity, and peace. Don't you agree?"
"Yeah, I can agree about the sense of peace and serenity" admits Roxas.
"So, would you like to help me care for my babies here and maybe, if you do a good enough job, I'll give you some seeds so you can bring life into your tower which must be rather dull and plane for both you and Xion to endure."
"OK, sure, why not. Where do I start?" asked Roxas.
(Disney Castle)
The Gummi hanger was abuze with much activity as final adjustments were being made to Gummi 1, preparing it for lift off. Down below it was Daisy, who was pacing back and forth,and Minnie, who was standing still in calm serenity.
"Sorry if we're late" comes Donald as he and Goofy finally arrive in the hanger, walking down the stairs that led into Gummi 1's hanger.
"What took you so long?" asked Daisy, feeling irritated at their lateness. They were suppose to be here forty minutes ago.
"Now, now, it's quite all right. It took the crew longer to prep Gummi 1 for the mission anyways so no harm done" says Minnie, wanting to quell her best friends annoyance.
"Fine" says Daisy, deciding it was best to let it go. "So, you boys have everything you need?"
"Yup, we're packed and ready to go" says Goofy confidently.
"So, anything you want us to do while we're gone, queen Minnie?" asked Donald.
"Just follow Mickey's request of you, nothing more" says Minnie. "Oh, but there is one thing though. I want someone to accompany you while on this mission to chronicle the journey ahead as I'm sure Mickey will want to read about your adventures when you find him as will I as well."
"And who will be coming with us, queen Minnie?" asked Goofy.
They saw a figure hop out from behind Minnie, a figure small enough to hold in ones hands. He was dressed in a fine upper body suit and he tips his top hat at Donald and Goofy. "Greetings friends. Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service."
"Garwsh, its nice to meet you Jiminy. I'm Goofy."
"And I'm Donald Duck. Are you ready to leave?"
Jiminy nods, saying "Yep, as ready as I'll ever be."
The threesome then turn to Minnie, giving her a proper salute which she nods at. They then board the Gummi ship and after a few moments waiting, they recieve the signal that they were clear to leave. "Good luck out there" yells Daisy.
Donald takes ahold of the steering wheel as the ship lifts off from the launch pad. "OK then, here we go" says Donald as he goes to press a button to open the hanger doors.
"Um...Donald, I think that button opens the..." Goofy tries to say but Donald presses the button before his brain registers the words of warning.
The hanger door opens, but not the one Donald had wanted but the emergency exit hanger directly below them. For just a second, the Gummi ship just hangs in the air before dropping like a rock into the emergency hanger; the sound of Donald and Goofy crying out in surprise rings out across the hanger.
Minnie looks at Daisy who says "Why do I have a bad feeling forming in my gut now?"
"It'll be alright" says Minnie reassuringly. "They may have a habit of getting into trouble, but they always pull through in the end."
After a quick fall, the Gummi ship finds itself afloat in the Lanes Between, awaiting the orders of the pilot on where it was to go. "Ah, I think I'm gonna be sick" says Donald.
"Well I did try to warn you, Ah-hyuk" says Goofy.
Donald waves him off, saying "Never mind that right now. We have a mission to go on. Next stop, Traverse Town." Donald then grips the wheel hard as he hits the accelerator, blasting the Gummin ship on its way.
"Um, Donald. Isn't Traverse Town in that direction?" asked Goofy, pointing to his left.
"Who's the pilot here, me or you?" asked Donald. "I know where I'm going."
Over in his chair, specially placed into the ship for him before lift off, Jiminy sighs a little. Something told him it was going to be a long trip to Traverse Town and a boring one at that.
(Roxas)
Roxas, Axel, and Xion sat on the edge of the clock tower in the fake Twilight Town within Memory Skyscraper, eating Sea Salt Ice Cream and enjoying the artificial sun set before them.
"So Roxas, how did you enjoy hanging out with the others today?" asked Axel.
"It was...educational. I learned a lot of interesting things, things that I hope to put to use in bettering my skills and abilities in the future. Well, execpt for when I was with Vexen that is. I think I'll forget about that hour to be honest."
"Heh, I wonder what happened...wait, never mind. I have a good idea knowing what I know about him" says Axel.
"Roxas, will you tell me what you learned from the others? Maybe I can use it to" asked Xion.
"Sure, I don't mind. But first tell us what it was you did today? I don't recall seeing you at all till we met up here" said Roxas.
"Now that he mentions it, Roxas is right. I didn't see you till now today either. But then again, the same is true for Roxas as well" admits Axel.
"I spent the whole day with master Xemnas; engaging in sparring matches with him and doing some weird test he says are ment to help me regain some of my lost memories that ended up going nowhere" says Xion. "Anyways, about your day, Roxas?"
"Well, it all started with..." and Roxas began to fill them in on all he had learned and what he would do with this newfound understanding of things.
To be continued...
AN: Well, I wasn't expecting to get this chapter or the last one out so soon after releasing chpt.14, but I managed to convince my brother to temporarily connect my lap top to his wifi device so I could go online and start putting in job applications in my search for a more permanent and FULL TIME job seeing as I can't count on Scholastic's being there forever, do to it only being a seasonal job that may end just before Christmas from what I've been told. And using the internet when no one is around for other things doesn't hurt either, heh heh.
That is, when the don't turn their wifi off on me which then tend to do a lot. How rude...
Anyways,the next chapter will be about Roxas and Axel and I think I've made upmy mind about the world, though I can't be sure how much of it I will be using for the sake of that chapter. Chapters 18 and 19 will be a two parter, featuring a world from a series of books Disney was involved in for a time but has since broken their ties with as it didn't makethe money they thought it would. I'll go into more details in those chapters. And chapter 20 willsee the end of Realm Hearts first major arc as we move into the second one in chapter 21.
So look forward to these coming chapters as they may get released sooner over later I hope.