"So, you saved another world?" Leon asked as Sora, Luigi, Bowser, and Peach walked in through the Traverse Town gates.
"Yeah, we did," Sora said.
"Tell me, did a Keyhole appear?" Leon asked.
"Yeah," Sora said. "The Keyblade locked it as soon as it appeared."
"How did you know about them?" Peach asked.
"Well, every world out there has a Keyhole, probably this one too…" Aerith said.
"What do you mean? Is this how we'll save all the worlds?" Sora asked. Excitement edged into his voice that what happened on his islands had already been prevented on a handful of worlds.
"I can't say for sure, just that it was in Ansem's Report," Aerith said.
"So what do the Heartless do in the Keyhole anyways that allows them to destroy the world?" Sora asked.
"They enter in through it and somehow do something to the core of the world to destroy it. We'll need more of those reports to be sure of what they do," Leon said. "The Keyblade is the only thing that can seal it."
"Which must be why Mario sent us to find Sora…" Peach realized.
"So we'll just travel the worlds and keep an extra good eye on Sora, right?" Tippi asked. "That way we can make sure the worlds stay safe."
"So do you know anybody who can install Power Stars into the Starshroom?" Luigi asked.
"You can try Cid. He might know something," Leon said.
"Huh, okay," Sora said. "Thanks for letting us know!"
The group began to walk off towards the shop Sora had first entered. "Hey Cid!"
"Kid, I see you found some friends to travel with," Cid said.
"Yeah, and we were hoping you could install a power star into the Starshroom for us," Peach said. "If you don't mind that is."
"I'll do it, just give me a bit of time first," Cid said. "Oh, by the way, some guy was asking for you and a person named Tippi. He said to send him your way if you came in to stop by."
"Really?" Tippi asked. "I suppose we should go visit them. Where are they staying?"
"A house in the back of Traverse Town's third district," Cid said. "You won't be able to miss it."
"Alright, we'll go visit, thanks for all the help!" Sora said.
"Don't mention it, and you might want to check out the Gizmo Shop too, it's been doing some weird stuff."
"Alright," Sora said. "Come on guys, let's go!"
-x-
"This is the house, right?" Peach asked and indicated the dark house in front of them.
"I think so…" Sora said. "You don't see any others, right?"
"I don't…" Tippi said. "We should go in." The three and Tippi went in. Sora went to follow, but stopped when he heard a voice.
"There's something about this musty place…" Sora turned around in surprise to see Kairi. She walked passed him. "It reminds me of the secret place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?"
"Kairi?" Sora asked. She couldn't have been here too; she was just in the Bitlands not too long ago. There was no way she could have been here now.
"Sora, are you okay?" Peach asked. He blinked, and as suddenly as Kairi had appeared, she'd vanished.
"I must be seeing things…" he mumbled. He walked inside after the others and smiled. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."
"That's good. Unfortunately our visitor isn't here," Tippi said.
"I'm afraid you're wrong Tippi dear. I'm in the back, oh ho ho!" A voice said. Moments later a man with a blue cloak emerged. The cloak shrouded his entire face in darkness, the only thing visible were two yellow eyes and a white beard. Tippi gasped.
"What's wrong? Is it a kind of Heartless?" Sora asked.
"Sora, that's no Heartless! That's Merlon!" Tippi said.
"It's cool to finally meet you Merlon!" Luigi said.
"The pleasure is all mine, heroes," Merlon said. "Come, we have much to discuss."
"So what do you want to talk about then? Tell us already!" Bowser shouted.
"I wish to tell you about the reason the world is about to be destroyed," Merlon said. "And teach Sora a thing or two."
"You know our names?" Sora asked.
"They were written in the Light Prognosticus, had I decoded them earlier, I could have searched you out much quicker," Merlon said. "Now, have any of you heard of the Light Prognosticus, besides Tippi of course?" Nobody raised their hands or said anything. "Very well, I will start from the beginning.
"The Light Prognosticus was created fifteen hundred years ago by my ancestors in the Tribe of Ancients. It was created to go against a dark book, the Dark Prognosticus. The dark book was said to have the secrets to gaining an ancient power, but one often lost their sanity when looking within the pages. The book predicted one day, a member from the ancient's sister tribe, the Tribe of Darkness, would come and bring ruin in their quest for ultimate power, the power of Kingdom Hearts. Four heroes will come and return him to light, the key, a ferocious monster, a man in green, and a woman of unknown importance. I currently deciphered three of the names within the Light Prognosticus about these heroes, yours, Bowser's, and Luigi's. The woman's name still remains shrouded in mystery, but I believe she is the princess."
"So what can you tell us about the Prognosticus's wielder?" Peach asked.
"Only that to risk opening the book, he was desperate with no brighter option," Merlon said. "Unfortunately, I know little else at this time. But now, Sora, it's time for you to learn magic."
"Me?" Sora asked.
"As the Keyblade's owner, it's important you learn to fight against the enemies in more ways than just hitting them with the Keyblade. I will teach you the basics, it will be up to you to learn the rest."
"Go for it!" Peach said. "You could become such a better fighter."
"Alright, I'll give it a shot!" Sora said. A dummy emerged from the floor moments later.
"I want you to set it on fire," Merlon said as he looked at Sora's blank expression. "There are many different ways to channel the elements, but some work better than others. You should try to focus on the warmth and flame of a fire, summon that feeling inside of you. When it fills you up, release the flames on the target, and a fireball should hit it."
"Concentrate on the warmth. You'll eventually get the flame to light…"
Tippi looked around for the source of the mysterious voice. If she hadn't known any better, she might have thought it sounded familiar, and caring. She turned back to Sora after a moment to watch him master the spell. It took several minutes of concentration, but an orange fireball emerged from the tip of Sora's Keyblade. "Excellent. You've learned fire," Merlon said. "Now it's time to learn ice."
-x-
Twenty minutes and five spells later (fire, ice, lightning, wind, and health, known as Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, and Cure respectively), Sora and the others exited the house of Merlon back to the third district.
"If you can learn magic that quickly, then we'll be saving the worlds even faster," Luigi said as they walked.
"Yeah!" Sora said. He looked to Tippi. "Hey, is everything alright Tippi?"
"I'm fine…I…did any of you hear something besides Merlon when Sora was learning magic, like a voice?" Tippi asked.
"No…" Sora shook his head. The others did as well. "Sorry."
"It must be like when you thought you saw Kairi in Bitlands," Tippi said. "We're just both…a little stressed I suppo-Heartless!" No sooner than Tippi had shouted her warning about the Shadows surrounding them did a dark sword shaped like a bat's wing slashed through each one, taking them down as quickly as possible.
"There you are. What's going on?" Sora would recognize that voice anywhere. It was his best friend's after all.
"Riku!" Sora shouted. He ran up to Riku and started stretching his mouth.
"Hey, hey," he slapped away Sora's hand, "cut it out."
"I'm not dreaming this time, right?" Sora asked.
"I hope not. Took forever to find you," Riku said.
"Riku!" He smiled. A moment later, Sora realized there was a lack of a familiar red head he'd been seeing everywhere he went. "Wait a second, where's Kairi?"
"Isn't she with you?" Riku watched as Sora's face fell in disappointment. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too. We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now." A Heartless formed in the middle of Riku's statement. "We'll all be together again soon. Just leave everything to me, I know this-" he was interrupted as Sora burst through, Keyblade in hand, and destroyed the Heartless in one blow.
"Leave it to who?" Sora asked. His voice filled with pride at the idea that he was able to even slightly show up his old friend.
"Sora, what did you-"
"I've been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help," Sora said.
"Who are they?" Riku asked.
"My name's Tippi. It's nice to meet you," Tippi said. "These are Princess Peach, Luigi, and B-"
"We visited so many places and worlds," Sora's eyes were lit up with excitement while Riku's filled with jealousy, "looking for you."
"Really, well, what do you know?" bitterness and resentment seemed to seep into his voice. "I never would have guessed."
"Sora's a Keyblade Master too!" Luigi said.
"It was pretty shocking when we first met him, but it's very believable now," Peach said. "He's become such a great fighter now."
"What's that mean?" Sora asked.
"So this is called a Keyblade." While Sora wasn't looking, Riku must have taken it from his hands. He examined it with minor interest.
"Huh? Hey, give it back," Sora said.
Riku looked at Sora nervously for a moment; he backed away before tossing the Keyblade. "Catch!"
"Okay, so you're coming with us, right?" Sora asked. "We've got this awesome rocket, wait 'till you see it!"
"No, he can't come!" Bowser said and crossed his arms.
"What?" Sora asked.
"Forget it!" Bowser insisted.
"Oh come on, he's Sora's friend. Please Bowser?" Peach asked.
"He's gone," Tippi said. This attracted all three of their attentions.
"Riku?" Sora asked. No response came. "Nice going."
"Sora, it's okay," Tippi said. "I mean, at least he's safe, right?"
"Right, and maybe we'll run into Kairi soon too!" Sora said. They walked around the third district to find a small house that had been locked before.
"Let's go in," Peach said and opened the door. Leon, Cid, Aerith, and Yuffie were inside the blue walls of the inside of the house.
"Hey guys," Sora said.
"You visited that strange guy, right?" Cid asked.
"We did visit, and I learned some magic," Sora said with pride.
"Good. You're going to need it as you continue this journey," Leon said.
"What do you mean he'll need it? Sora's been proving himself just fine on this journey." Luigi defended Sora, which considering how not ten minutes ago he had been mocked by the trio from Mushroom Kingdom to Riku was interesting.
"It's…you've heard of the dark sorcerer Count Bleck, haven't you?" Aerith asked. The four shook their heads.
"I'm afraid we haven't. Is he bad?" Tippi asked.
"Bad. He's allied with the Heartless," Leon explained. "When our home was destroyed, he had a hand in it. Don't take him lightly."
"We won't," Luigi said.
"We think Count Bleck has most of the pages to Ansem's report," Cid added. "Anyways, the Power Star's been added, so you guys are all set to go."
"Really, took you long enough." Bowser growled. The others glared.
"We've been busy too!" Peach said. "Cid was doing us a favor, so be happy he helped us at all."
"Right, you all remember the bell that rang earlier, right?" Aerith asked.
"Of course," Sora said.
"There's an old legend associated with it, and perhaps you might find something there," Leon said. "It wouldn't hurt to check it out before you leave."
"Okay, we can look!" Sora said. The heroes proceeded to leave the house.
-x-
"How could he just do that?" Riku asked. His voice was filled with anger and betrayal as he watched Sora talk with the others. "How can he abandon Kairi and I like that."
"Count Bleck is truly sorry the Keyblade Master has done this," a blue skinned creature said. He wore a while top hat and cloak, and his eyes glowed red. He had hands, but no arms, legs, or feet. "He did not anticipate that your company would not be welcome."
"Yeah, well, you were right count. He obviously doesn't care anymore."
"Count Bleck's offer of joining his minions still stands. If you would like it you may have a standing among us," Count Bleck said.
"I-" Riku sighed. "I'll join if you'll help me find Kairi."
"Count Bleck promises his unending aid."Count Bleck lowered the brim of his hat over his face to avoid Riku's face. "I don't want to see another soul go through the pain of losing the only thing that matters…"
-x-
"So what do you guys think happens when we ring the bell anyways?" Sora asked.
"Probably we get loads of treasure." Bowser laughed with excitement at the thought of a few hundred gold coins falling from the sky and into their laps.
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Tippi said. Sora hit the bell with his Keyblade and a loud clang resided. Besides that, nothing happened.
"Rip-off!" Bowser growled.
"Maybe it's just broken," Peach said.
"Or you just have to hit it more than once. My bro always says that most fights take hits in multiples of three, so maybe this bell requires three hits," Luigi said.
"Worth a shot." Sora hit the bell another two times with his Keyblade. Each time, a loud clang emerged from its depths. But on the third time, a glow emerged on the other side of the second district. The fountain background turned around twice, revealing a Keyhole.
"Come on! Let's seal it now!" Peach said. They jumped off the roof and onto the ground to begin running towards the Keyhole when a bulky figure landed in front of them. The figure was pale with a brown beard and bald head.
"Yeh aren't takin' another step closer," the figure said.
"We need to seal that if we're going to stop the Heartless. You might not realize this, but we're the heroes," Tippi said.
"I know exactly who yeh are! Yeh're the 'eroes who want to stop the Count and 'is goal. Whoever wants to defeat the Count 'as to go through me, O'Chunks."
"O what?" Sora asked.
"I think this oaf is one of Count Bleck's minions…" Tippi said. "You'd think he'd be able to get better."
" 'ey! Watch what yeh say 'bout the Count! 'e is one of the greatest counts out there and I'm 'is 'ighest quality minion."
"I'd hate to see what the other minions are like then…" Luigi said. "But get out of the way! We don't have time for this anyways."
"I don' plan on movin' from this spot," O'Chunks said.
"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Sora summoned his Keyblade and ran to hit the giant oaf with it. O'Chunks grabbed the Keyblade and threw Sora away before striking a victory pose. While he was still in his pose, Bowser used his fire breath on O'Chunks. He then proceeded to use his claws before the koopa king two was thrown back. He ducked into his shell as Peach pulled out her parasol and hit him back towards O'Chunks. The shell hit the minion and knocked him backwards several feet. Luigi ran up to him and performed a super jump before landing on O'Chunks's head. He punched him in the face as soon as he landed. The enraged minion proceeded to charge after the three, causing them to jump out of the way before Sora struck him from behind with his Keyblade. The Keyblade was promptly knocked from Sora's hand and reappeared in a bright flash of light. Seeing that close combat wouldn't work in this situation, Sora lifted up his Keyblade and a ball of ice formed at the top. "Freeze!" Five snowflakes left the Keyblade's top, the center one hitting O'Chunks and knocking him into another round of Bowser's flames.
"Argh! I give! I give!" O'Chunks shouted. "Yeh've bested me this time, 'eroes, but next time yeh won't be so lucky…eh…whate'er yer name was again."
"His name's Sora," Tippi said.
"Right, well, Sora, next time yeh won't get so lucky. Chunks away!" In a flash the man was gone, leaving Sora standing in front of the now unguarded Keyhole.
"Quick, seal it." A bright light flashed out of the Keyblade and a click sounded before the Keyhole was now sealed.
"You know, what if the count that took Zelda away and sent the green girl was Count Bleck?" Peach asked.
"Then our job will be easier," Tippi said. "I believe now it's time to move onto the next world."-