Authors Note: Hello my wonderful readers (If any of you are left, that is)! I know it's been a long time but this is really the first moment I've had both free and with an internet connection. My parents surprised me with one of those two week cruises for my sweet 16 and straight after that I had to go to Detroit for a wedding. Then school started and I've been scrambling to make last minute corrections to my English homework blah blah blah. You don't care about my life. I'm just going to thank everyone who read/reviewed/checked boxes all together since there are so many of you and I'm not sure if I still have all of your pennames so THANK YOU to all who did! Also, since it's been so long, you can expect another chapter out before the end of the day. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now and let you read. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Kingdom Hearts Related. I just own Katy, my OC
Katy ran up into the pod and shook boy inside.
"Sora? Sora!" She yelled, but no avail.
Gee, he was one deep sleeper…
"Katy!" Two excited and familiar voices exclaimed.
Katy jumped out of the pod to hug Donald and Goofy. Then the three of them continued their task to wake Sora up.
Finally he opened his eyes, and, upon seeing who was waiting for him, jumped out of the pod and knocked all of them over in what was probably supposed to be a hug.
"Donald! Goofy!" He exclaimed Katy noted his voice was much deeper than she remembered…
She laughed out loud at the though of Sora going through puberty inside the pod.
At the sound of her laughter, Sora looked over at her and wordlessly helped her off the floor.
"Katy! You look…you look…wow." Sora stuttered at a loss for words.
Over the past year, Katy had defiantly…developed. She'd gotten a little taller, lost the roundness in her face, and got, well, boobs. None of this was lost on Sora and he was presently a bit slack-jawed.
Katy rolled her eyes. Boys.
"Nice to see you too. You don't look so bad yourself, except for, you know, the too small clothes."
Sora's grin didn't falter and he leaned in and kissed her.
It kinda lasted awhile considering it had been a year and all.
Finally, Donald cleared his throat and they broke apart.
"Sorry." Katy said sheepishly.
"So, when did we go to sleep?" Goofy asked.
"Uh…well, let's see. We defeated Ansem, restored peace to the worlds, found Kairi, Oh, yeah and then we went to look for Riku. I think that's right so far?"
"Then what?" Donald demanded.
"What does your journal say, Jiminy?" Goofy asked.
Jiminy Cricket hopped up onto Sora's shoulder and opened his journal
"Gee, there's only one sentence…Thank Naminé. Hm, I wonder who that is."
Katy couldn't help but grin at the fact that no one remembered Naminé She really didn't like her.
"So how about we look around? Find out where we are?" Katy suggested.
She had to make sure they thought she had been asleep the whole time too.
The others nodded and they set off rediscover Twilight Town.
They trekked through the woods, and up Market Street until they found themselves at the entrance to the Usual Spot. Katy couldn't help but snicker when she thought of Hayner's probable reaction to them.
"Hm…you know, I think I've been to this town." Sora remarked
"What's it called?" Donald asked.
"Hmm, must have imagined it." Sora dismissed the feeling with a shrug.
The four of them entered the Usual Spot, and as expected, were given a warm welcome. Not.
"What do you want?" Hayner demanded
"Uh, nothing. Just wondering what was back here." Sora replied.
"Now you know. This is our spot."
"Gee, kid. Try some manners." Katy retorted, leaning against the wall next to Olette.
Before Hayner could respond, Pence approached them.
"Umm." He began
"What?" Sora asked
"You're new around here…right?" I'm Pence.
"Hayner, nice to meet you. But we got stuff to do so, catch ya later." Hayner introduced himself before brushing past them and leaving.
Olette slid up next to Pence a little shyly.
"My name's Olette. Hey did you finish the summer homework yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?"
"Homework?" Sora asked, turning to the others who shrugged.
"Hey what are your names?" Pence asked.
"Oh, Sorry. Were Sora, Donald, Katy, and Goofy." Goofy introduced.
Olette and Pence exchanged gazes.
"We just met someone who was looking for you." Olette said
"He sure was in a hurry." Pence added. "He had a black coat on, so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears."
"The King!" Donald exclaimed.
"Where'd you see him?" Katy asked
"At the station." Olette replied.
"The station, thanks!" Sora said with a grin.
"Well, we'd better get back to that assignment." Olette sighed. "Later."
After the two left, Donald exclaimed;
"Oh, boy! The King is trying to find us."
"Let's get to the station, quick!" Sora said, already halfway out the door, the others following.
As they made their way to Sunset Station, Katy was only half listening to the happy chatter the others were making. In her head she was mentally coaching herself to appear physically, mentally, and emotionally unaware of anything that Sora didn't yet know about. She had to make it seem like she'd been stuck in a pod for a year just like they had. Just as she was thinking up a clever story as to why she had new clothes when she realized they'd reached Sunset Station…and were promptly ambushed by Dusks. The nobodies kept coming in a never-ending wave and eventually they all slumped to the ground, extremely beat. And that's when King Mickey decided to make his grand entrance. He literally jumped down from the station clock tower and disposed of the remaining Dusks as though they were made of tissue paper. It was safe to say that the four were a bit gob-smacked at the King's sudden appearance. Donald and Goofy literally pushed Sora and to the ground in an attempt to scramble over him.
"Your Majesty?" Donald asked, not daring to believe that the King was actually there.
The ears were a bit of a giveaway…
"Shhh." Mickey hissed looking around as though he was afraid they were being watched. "You gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way."
He took a very familiar looking pouch of munny out of the pocket of his black robe and handed it to Katy. "Here, take this."
Katy looked at him strangely, wondering how he got it when she knew that Cloaky was the last one to have it, but Mickey gave her a sharp look that clearly said not to say anything. She nodded and took the pouch from him. They all took their eyes off him for less than a split second and he was running back towards Market Street, Donald and Goofy calling after him.
"The King…was that really him?" Sora asked
"It coulda been…Yep, I know it was!" Goofy exclaimed
"Now we know he's okay!" Donald cheered
"The King was locked in the realm of darkness, right?" Sora asked
Katy rolled her eyes, knowing what he was getting at.
"Uh huh." Goofy answered.
"But we just saw him…"
"Yep." Donald replied
"So is the King's here, that means…"
"Riku's here too! Yes! Huzzah! I can't wait to see that guy again." Katy said sarcastically
Sora looked over at her and frowned
"But…he apologized to you, didn't he? And Ryan turned out to be okay, right?"
"Yeah, but in case you haven't known me for the past couple of years, I tend to hold a grudge."
Sora rolled his eyes laughing a little.
"Yeah, I guess you do." He turned to the others. "Well, me and Katy are gonna go look for Riku. Then we can all go back to the Islands. Just like I promised." Sora added with a grin at Katy before addressing Donald and Goofy once more. "What are you guys gonna do?"
The pair exchanged a looks.
"Gawrsh, Sora. Do ya have to ask?"
Sora laughed.
"What's so funny?" Donald demanded
"Your FACE!" Sora managed to get out between pleas of laughter.
The talking animals looked at each other and they too began to laugh.
"So what do you say, guys? Let's stick together for one more journey." Sora asked.
The others nodded and began to walk towards the station doors, save Katy who was still standing in the same spot with a stupid smile on her face.
"Are you okay?" Sora asked, waving a hand in front of her face."
"Yeah, fine, just…could you run that by me again? The whole thing about the Islands?"
Sora looked at her strangely, but repeated his statement anyway.
"I said that when we find Riku we could all go back to the Islands. Just like I promised. Why, don't you remember?"
"I remember. I'm just surprised you remember."
"How could I forget? I promised. Twice. And the second time you were kinda dying. That's not exactly an easy thing to forget…" He trailed off, resting his arms behind his head.
"Right…just checking. We were asleep for a really long time after all. And on top of that, guys tend to forget important things. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries." Katy said with a smirk before starting towards the doors.
"Hey!" Sora protested, running after her.
They caught up with Donald and Goofy who were waiting next to a purple train adorned with stars. As they drew closer, a familiar voice called out
"Hey! Wait up!"
The four turned around in time to see Hayner, Pence and Olette skid to a stop in front of them.
"Hey, Sora…" Hayner began
"What?" He replied, a bit confused as to why they were there.
"Nothing, but…"
"We came to see you off." Pence cut in. "It just seemed like something we oughta do."
"Oh…really? Thanks!"
"Yeah, that's really nice of you." Katy added, just as surprised. It's not like they actually knew them, only technically if that at all.
They bought their tickets, noting the fact that the pouch that The King gave them matched the one that Olette had, and made their way to the platform.
"I can't help but feeling that we won't see this town again." Sora said more to himself than the others.
There was a small awkward silence before Goofy asked;
"Why not?"
"You're thinking too much." Donald huffed
"Yeah, you're right!" Sora said with a shaky laugh
Katy didn't have the heart to tell him she felt the same way. It was a kinda thing that went along with being his Protector. They often got the same gut feelings on important things.
"Okay, let's go!" Sora continued, managing a small smile.
Donald and Goofy nodded and boarded the train while Sora and Katy said their last goodbyes to Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
"Well, bye." Sora said while Katy gave a small wave.
"Hey, Sora, Katy? You sure we haven't met before?" Hayner asked, studying him closely
The spiky-haired teen thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Positive. Have you, Katy?"
"Nope." She lied, smoothly "Why do you ask?"
"I dunno." Hayner replied with a goofy grin.
They all laughed at his antics until Sora felt something dripping down his cheek.
"Huh?" He gasped audibly, wiping the lone tear away.
"You okay?" Olette asked, concerned
"Y-yeah. Don't know where it came from." He stuttered.
Katy looked down at the floor. She had a pretty idea where, or rather who, it came from.
"Pull it together." Hayner joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Sora grinned at them and grabbed Katy's hand.
"Right, bye!" He called, tugging his girlfriend onto the train.
The two teens waved goodbye once more just as the doors closed. Hayner, Pence, and Olette watched as the train left the station, each of them wondering why it felt like they were losing two longtime friends even though they barley knew them. Meanwhile, back on the train, Sora was wondering the same thing. He took the munny pouch the King gave them out of his pocket and took out the small blue crystal that had been inside. He held it up to the window and watched as the sunlight sparkled through it.
"You know…I'm sad." He said out loud, still looking at the crystal.
"We'll be back." Donald reassured him.
"Yeah. We can visit Hayner and those guys again." Goofy added.
Suddenly, white light flashed from behind the windows and Twilight Town disappeared from behind them. In its place was an endless expanse of Gummi space and a glowing, green track that looked like it went on indefinitely. Katy sighed and took a seat next to Sora. It was gonna be a long journey, and she wasn't talking about the train ride.
A/N: For those of you wondering, I haven't forgotten about Cassie, Ryan, and Jordan! They will be making appearances VERY soon! I won't ask for 10 reviews because I'll be lucky to get any at this point :)