"Howdy, Sora and Annalise! How ya doin'?" Dale, our pilot, greeted us when we got on the Gummi Ship.
"It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty: Chip..."
"...and Dale!"
"Happy flying!" They shouted in their squeaky voices.
Sora and I look at the map and see only one place to go to.
"Only one?" Sora complained.
"That's no good!" Donald said.
"Wait! I think it's a world we know!" Goofy and I said. I laughed and directed the ship towards the World. We landed only ten minutes later, and hopped out of the ship. When we were all out, the ship flew away.
The town was bustling with activity. Moogles are flying through the air selling items, and people are at work trying to rebuild the town. We all run in and gaze at the castle in the midst of rebuilding
"It's Hollow Bastion!" Sora cried out when he recognized the town.
"Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now." Goofy said, concerned.
"I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay." I said, worrying for my friends' safety.
Goofy sees some Soldier Heartless on the roof of a nearby building
"Uh-oh. Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'." He said as he pointed out the Heartless.
We walk through the Marketplace and spot an elderly duck holding
some ice cream near a freezer
"Uncle Scrooge!" Donald said.
"Er, who?" I asked.
"He's Donald's uncle-a business typhoon! Before the Heartless showed
up, he traveled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King. He was helpin' to set
up a traffic system." Goofy said.
"A transit system!" Donald corrected him.
"What's all the racket?" The old duck asked.
He turned around and sees us.
"Why, if it isn't Donald! And Goofy! Hello, lads! Aye, you all look hale and hearty!"
"So do you, Uncle Scrooge." Donald said.
"Ah, if only I were... I canna seem to recreate my favorite old-time ice cream. I'd make millions if I just got it right..."
Scrooge looked at the ice cream bar in his hand, licks it, and looks disgusted.
"Terrible...!" He shouted, throwing away the bar.
We make our way to the Borough, where some odd light pedestals appear and disappear, as if scanning for something.
"Hey, what's going on?" I asked, dodging the pedestal.
"That's the town's defense mechanism." A familiar voice said.
We looked around for a second and saw Yuffie on top of a building
"Yuffie!" I shouted happily.
Yuffie waves slightly, and sees something behind us.
"Look out!" She cried out.
Our Keyblades flashed into our hands as a Heartless Soldier swoops in to hit us. We
are quickly surrounded by Heartless. We dispose of them, while the defense
mechanism helped us in the process. After they were gone, Yuffie hopped down with a large smile.
"Hey, you guys!" She said. I rushed at her and tackled one of my best friends in a hug. She grunted, but hugged me back. I helped her up, and she dusted herself off. She looks at me pointedly, and I laughed sheepishly.
"I see you're still in top form." She said.
"What'd you expect?" Sora said with a laugh. He patted his chest in a "manly" way.
"Looks like you're doing okay." Sora said in return.
"Well, what did YOU expect?" She laughed.
"How are the others?" I asked her.
"Great!" She said, waving her hand towards Merlin's house.
"Hey, Yuffie! Have you seen the King and Riku?" Sora and I asked.
"Nope." I stare at her, gaping.
"But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again." She said, turning around for a second.
"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other." Sora said, imitating Leon.
"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie giggled.
"Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!" She shouted, taking my hand and running towards Merlin's house.
We ran around a corner. The others follow us and enter Merlin's House.
Cid is typing at a computer, while Aerith and Leon watched.
"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie said, letting go of my hand to gesture to the three others. They turned at Yuffie's voice and smile… well Leon looked indifferent.
"We missed you!" Aerith said, giving me a hug.
"Well, if you ain't in top shape." Cid said, nodding to us.
"I knew it." Leon said, walking over to us.
"Knew what?" I asked, my eyebrows lifting and my hands on my hips.
"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." Leon responded.
"You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!" Sora asked. I glared over at Yuffie and Aerith, who laugh sheepishly.
"Thanks!" Donald said, annoyed.
"So where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked.
"We were sleepin'." Goofy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Where? In cold storage?" Cid asked.
We all laugh nervously and scratch the back of our necks.
"It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again!" Aerith said happily.
"So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Sora asked.
Leon, Aerith, and Cid shook their heads
"Right." Sora said, his head hanging down.
"Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?" Aerith said.
"Okay. Thanks." Sora and I said.
Cid got up in our faces.
"Don't go thankin' us just yet." He said.
"Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." Leon said.
"You mean, like Heartless? And Order of Chaos?" I asked.
"That's right!" Yuffie said.
"Sounds like you could use our help." I said smugly. Leon's eyebrows lifted and he got in my face. "And what makes you think that Doodles?" I growled at the nickname he had given me all those years ago and swatted at his head. He ducked and laughed at me.
"Then let's cut to the chase. Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the
three of you might give us a hand around here."
Sora patted his chest proudly.
"Like we're gonna say, no?" He said smugly. I rolled my eyes at him and he smiled back at me.
"...I forgot who I'm dealing with." Leon said, a smirk playing on his face.
"Hey...what do you mean by that?" I demanded.
"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment.'" Aerith responded.
Leon opened the door
"Follow me to the bailey-there's something you need to see." Leon said as he walked out of the door. I followed after him, but Sora and the others stayed for a minute. It was silent as we walked but, he suddenly stopped and turned towards me. "So, you're a Guardian of Light, huh?" I nodded and he smiled at me. "Don't hurt the Nobodies, ok?" I asked him. He nodded in understanding as I told him my mission. "I'll let everyone know Doodles." I growled again and managed to hit his head. He glared at me and I shrunk back. His glare softened slightly and he started walking again. "Yeah, ok Squall." I said. He glared at me again. "I won't call you that if you don't call me Doodles." He sighed and nodded. We stopped in the Bailey and waited for the others to show up.
They did five minutes later.