Aerith, Sora, and Aqua were walking through the marketplace on their way to the Restoration Committee's headquarters.
"So what's the heartless situation like these days?" Sora asked.
"Well they're still around but they're not as bad as they once were. We haven't seen any nobodies lately though. But the security system's been improved ever since we linked it up to Ansem's old computer. With Tron running it, its effectiveness has pretty much doubled. Well that's all according to Cid at least." Aerith explained.
"Wait, you mentioned Ansem. Do you mean Ansem the Wise? Huh, I'm surprised he let you use his computer." Aqua said as Aerith and Sora both gave her disheartened looks.
"I'm afraid that…Ansem's dead. He disappeared after Radiant Garden fell and briefly reappeared in an effort to try and transform Kingdom Hearts into data. He died when the machine he was using exploded." Aerith said as Aqua looked surprised.
"That's a shame. Wait what about his apprentices?" Aqua asked.
"We don't know for sure. From what we've been able to tell, they disappeared before the world fell into darkness. Though we have made some…disturbing discoveries when it comes to them and Organization XIII." Aerith said causing Sora to look at her curiously. Aqua was now hopelessly lost.
"Uh what is Organization XIII?" Aqua asked.
"You really have been gone a while haven't you?" Aerith asked back. Aqua shrugged helplessly.
"I don't suppose you and the Restoration Committee could help me explain to her what all has happened in the past eleven years?" Sora asked as Aerith nodded with a smile.
"Sure we could." Aerith said as they arrived outside Merlin's old house.
"Hey, we're at Merlin's." Sora said, catching Aqua by surprise.
"Merlin? As in the crazy old Wizard Merlin?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.
"Yeah, you know him?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, I met him a few times here back in my day. Wow it sounds strange to say that." Aqua said as Sora laughed slightly.
"It does, doesn't it?" He replied.
"Unfortunately Merlin isn't here anymore." Aerith said, earning a surprised look from Sora.
"What?! Why?!" He asked.
"Well he still technically lives here. He told us a few days ago that he heard one of his favorite worlds had come back and he was going to go check on it and see if he could reconnect with some old friends of his. He told us that he was going to come back eventually but for now he said we could use the place as our headquarters. The whole gang should be in there right now." Aerith said as she opened the door.
"I'm back." Aerith called into the room. Leon was sitting at a desk on the far end of the room, looking at some papers while Cid sat hammering away at the keys on the computer. Yuffie and the small fairy Rikku were busy pestering the gummy ship builder while the fairies Yuna and Paine hovered in midair chatting. Curiously Tifa was also present, sitting on the pedestal in the center of the room and eating some sea salt ice cream.
"It's about time. Cid here was getting grouchier." Yuffie said, earning a glare from the gummy ship builder.
"Shut up ya yahoo. I don't need you hoppin' up and down yammerin' at me all the time. You're bad enough on your own so that little fairy gal isn't helpin' things much." Cid grumbled as the little fairy Rikku floated up.
"You rang?" Rikku asked playfully before Aerith cleared her throat.
"Guys, we have guests." Aerith said, catching everyone, including Leon's attention.
"Sora! Welcome back!" Yuffie exclaimed as she promptly glomped the Apprentice Keybearer.
"Good to see you guys too." Sora said as Yuffie let him go.
"Hey how ya doin' short fry? Tron's been askin' bout 'cha." Cid said as Sora shrugged.
"I've been okay. What about you guys?" Sora asked.
"Eh, same ol' same ol'." Cid replied.
"We feared the worst after we heard about what happened in the World that Never Was, Sora. But it's good to see you're alright." Leon said in his calm and stoic fashion.
"Come on Leon, you know Sora could beat anyone. He is the Keyblade Master after all." Yuffie said as Aqua cleared her throat.
"Uh, not really." She said, earning looks from everyone in the room.
"…and you are?" Paine asked, floating up very close to Aqua's face.
"I'm Aqua. Sora's my apprentice." Aqua replied.
"Apprentice?! Oh come on, Sora's a master!" Yuffie argued.
"No…he's not." Leon corrected.
"Oh and what makes you such an expert on Keyblades huh?" Rikku asked.
"We're not experts either Rikku. We can only guess at how powerful an actual master is." Yuna replied.
"So does this mean that you're a Keyblade Master?" Paine asked Aqua.
"Officially, yes. I passed my Masters Qualification Exam eleven years ago under the late Master Eraqus." Aqua answered.
"Eleven years ago? Impossible, you look far too young to be a master." Cid said as Aqua sighed.
"I've been trapped in the Realm of Darkness this whole time and time flows much differently there than in most of the other worlds. Master Yen Sid himself confirmed that, so unless you want to take it up with him-?" Aqua said causing Cid to back up.
"Whoa-ho, I ain't no fan of the ol' coot Merlin but I sure ain't gonna cross Yen Sid. I'll take your word for it." Cid said as he sat back down in his computer chair.
"So what brings you back here to Radiant Garden, Sora?" Tifa asked.
"Master Yen Sid sent us here. He said that we needed to-…hey wait a minute, weren't you with Cloud?" Sora asked as Tifa giggled slightly.
"Yeah I was. Don't worry he's fine. He's in another world with a couple friends of his and Leon's. He'll be fine as long as he has friends with him so I'm not as worried." Tifa explained.
"Glad to hear he's alright. Did he ever find his light?" Sora asked as Tifa sighed.
"Not that I can tell." Tifa replied.
"Oh come on, you know how easy it is to read what's going through Cloud's head. If you were able to read anything from his expression or not would be miraculous." Yuffie said sarcastically.
"Sora. You were saying that Master Yen Sid sent you here for something?" Leon asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
"Oh yeah. Um." Sora said, turning to Aqua curiously. He was hesitant about mentioning that she was powerless at the present time out of concern for her feelings but she simply smiled.
"We're looking for my Keyblade. I had to sacrifice it eleven years ago to save the life of a friend of mine from falling into darkness." Aqua explained. Leon seemed to understand.
"Any idea why it would be here?" Leon asked.
"Master Yen Sid told us to check in the deepest darkest places of Ansem's castle. He said that the 'embodiment' of my powers would be there waiting for me to return." Aqua replied.
"But before the two of you head there, Sora asked if we could help explain to her what all has happened in the eleven years since she's been gone." Aerith said as the committee looked at each other and shrugged and then voiced their agreement. A few minutes later, they had covered an abridged version of the first half of Sora's adventure and were just wrapping up on the second half.
"After that we returned to the islands through the Door to Light. Then a while later, the King sends us a message in a bottle, telling me that there are all these suffering people out there and that I need to reconnect with them all. And that's where we meet up in the Realm of Darkness." Sora finished explaining.
"I'm impressed Sora. You really seem to make friends easily." Aqua said with a sip of some tea that Aerith had brewed during the lengthy discussion.
"I like making friends. It's always good to go places and be liked and not called things like, riffraff, or street rat, or scoundrel. No that's my buddy Aladdin. He lives in Agrabah." Sora said as Aqua looked at him curiously.
"So you've faced all sorts of these bad guys huh? Heartless and Nobodies huh. You must be pretty well on your way to becoming a Master then. I wouldn't mind seeing you demonstrate your skills for me real quick though." Aqua said as Sora smiled.
"Sure, I'd love to." Sora said as he headed for the door with Aqua and the entire restoration committee behind him. They followed him to the old castle postern where the committee took seats situated around the large circular area. Leon stepped forward to try out Sora's skill.
"Okay, here's what I've figured out when it comes to fighting. I always need to let the Keyblade guide me and just follow its lead." Sora said as Aqua nodded.
"Very good Sora. What else?" She asked. (Music Cue: Aladdin: One Jump Ahead)
"Well…" Sora said as he turned to Leon and nodded before explaining as Leon started to attack…
"Gotta keep,
one jump ahead of the Shadow.
One swing ahead of the Dusk
I fight only those I must…"
"That's almost everyone." Sora said as he continued to dodge Leon's attacks.
"One jump ahead of the Heartless
that's all, and that's no joke
those guys know their hearts are broke."
Sora said as Aqua looked concerned.
"Riffraff? Street rat? Scoundrel? Why that!"
She asked as Sora shrugged.
"Just a few old bad guys"
He replied as Yuffie leaned in close to Aqua.
"They'd rip him open, 'n' take his heart, guys"
Yuffie said as Sora dodged another of Leon's attacks.
"I can take a hint, gotta face the facts
Lucky I've got friends like you!"
Sora said as he turned to attack Leon. Aerith however chimed in.
"But, our dear Sora's never hit the bottom.
He's become the one to rise and shine."
Aerith added as Cid smirked.
"I'd say brains 'cept he hasn't got 'em."
Cid added, earning an indignant look from Sora and a chuckle from Aqua.
"Gotta fight to live, gotta shine to fight
tell you all about it when I got the time!"
Sora said as Leon started coming at him again.
"One jump ahead of the Dragoons
One skip ahead of my doom
Next time gonna use a Summon Rune
One jump ahead of the Darkside
One hit ahead of the flock
I think I need to spin around and BLOCK!"
Sora yelped as he blocked a particularly fierce blow from Leon. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine however floated up to Aqua.
"He's not a thief, vandal, caused outrage or scandal!"
Yuna said as Paine scoffed.
"Let's not be too hasty."
Paine said as Rikku leered at Sora as he fought.
"Still I think he's rather tasty."
Rikku said, earning concerned looks from everyone. Then Sora chimed back in.
"Gotta fight to live, gotta shine to fight
Otherwise how'd I get along."
Sora said as Leon started fighting even harder. Sora upped the ante and entered Valor form, with Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands and laying waste to Leon quickly.
"One jump ahead of the Sniper
One hop ahead of the hump
one trick ahead of the Gambler
they're quick, but I'm much faster."
Sora said as Leon leapt back and Sora prepared to unleash a Limit Break on him.
"Here goes, better throw my hand in
Wish me happy landin'
all I gotta do is JUMP!"
Sora shouted as he leapt into the air and came down hard on Leon in a blinding flash. When the light faded, Leon was still standing for a moment before he dropped to one knee in pain. His pain however was quickly alleviated by a Curaga spell from Sora.
"Well done Sora. You're skills are impressive, but I did notice a few weak spots in your style. Temporarily sacrificing your ability to use magic for an increase in physical strength could either save you or cost you in certain battles. What do you call that anyway?" Aqua asked as Sora reverted to his original form.
"They're called Drive Forms. I can call upon them at will now instead of needing one of my companions to help." Sora explained as Aqua nodded and leapt off the postern wall.
"Interesting. You've unknowingly learned a variation of the Command Styles." Aqua said as she tapped her chin.
"What are Command Styles?" Sora asked.
"They're very much like your Drive Forms. The Command Styles come in two tiers and provide a temporary boost in strength in a particular area but require repetitive use of a particular magic spell in order to use them properly." Aqua explained.
"Can you teach me the Command Styles?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.
"Of course. That's what I'm here to do. I'm here to guide you how to use your powers more effectively and eventually make you into a Keyblade Master." Aqua said.
"Then you should probably try and get your power back." Leon said as Aqua and Sora both nodded.
"Yeah. We're at the castle, like Yen Sid told us, but where do we go to find her power?" Sora asked. Aqua looked up at the castle curiously. She lifted her hand up towards her face to tap her chin but as she did, her lucky charm fell out of her sleeve and landed unharmed on the ground.
"I think you dropped something." Yuna said, floating down and picking the charm up by the string necklace attached to it.
"Thanks." Aqua said as she took hold of the charm itself. When she did however it started glowing and her hand suddenly jerked towards the castle.
"WHOA! What's going on?!" Aqua asked, confused as she tried pulling the charm back towards her but found it increasingly difficult.
"I don't know. It's acting kinda like my Keyblade when Heartless or Nobodies are around." Sora said as Aqua looked at the charm curiously.
"Maybe it's trying to lead us to my Keyblade. Perhaps we should follow it." Aqua said as Sora nodded.
"We'll follow you as far as the control room in Ansem's Study. After that, you should probably go on alone without us." Leon said as the Restoration Committee fell in step with the two and followed them into the castle. They walked through the winding passages, Aqua looking at the wreckage sadly as they passed, following the charms mysterious pull. As they approached Ansem's study the charm started to glow slightly with a light blue aura. When they finally reached the study they opened the door and slowly started to walk through. Aqua however paused and looked in silence at the large painting of Xehanort, resting on the floor beneath where it once hung on the wall over the writing detailing the Door to Darkness. She looked at it in silence, a hint of a tear in her eyes.
"Something wrong?" Sora asked as they stopped behind her.
"That man…the one in the painting…who is he?" Aqua asked as Sora looked at Xehanort's painting and sighed.
"That's Xehanort, the guy who created the Heartless and I guess that he technically the Nobodies too." Sora answered as Aqua lowered her head.
"I was afraid of that." She sighed as she started following the charm again; heading for the secret passage that led into what was once the Heartless Factory. They entered into control room where the computer sat humming along, the screen blank. The charm then started pulling out the window.
"It looks like whatever we're looking for is in the computer." Cid said as Sora grinned.
"Tron! Hey Tron! Are you in there?!" Sora asked. The computer then beeped for a second as the monitor flickered to life.
"Greetings Sora. I am pleased to hear from you again. How are things in the user worlds?" Tron asked.
"Things are great Tron, but we need your help. We're trying to find my friend's Keyblade and her lucky charm led us here. Do you know anything?" Sora asked as the computer hummed a moment.
"Accessing data…" Tron said. A moment later the screen went blank and a single blank appeared on the screen asking for a password, "…upon analyzing all relevant data regarding Keyblades, I have uncovered this program in the DTD. I am unsure as to what it leads to."
"Tron, can you override it?" Cid asked.
"I cannot I'm afraid. It requires a single password followed by six additional passwords. It's a security sequence." Tron replied. Just then Aqua's charm started glowing and a blue beam of light shot from the charm and hit the monitor. When the beam disappeared the password blank had been filled in and six more blanks had appeared.
"Password accepted." Tron said.
"Okay so now that we got the first password in. What do we do about these six?" Cid asked as he stepped closer to the computer.
"Tron, can't you give us any sort of clue?" Sora asked.
"I can actually but it does not make any sense to my processors. The clue is, quote, 'The six." Tron replied. Aqua and Sora were both confused but Leon, Aerith, and Cid looked at each other knowingly.
"The six? What's that supposed to mean?" Aqua asked.
"He means the six apprentices of Ansem the Wise." Aerith said as Aqua and Sora looked at them confused.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"Yeah there were only five last I remember." Aqua said.
"That's true but Ansem added a sixth and made him his primary apprentice." Aerith said as Sora realized what she meant.
"Oh. I know who you mean. You mean Xehanort and the five guys who became the first six members of Organization XIII right?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed.
"Right." Leon said Aqua walked up to the computer.
"You say that 'Xehanort' was made his primary apprentice? Then that means the order is Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and…Ienzo." Aqua said as she finished typing in the names into the blanks. She pressed enter and instantly the screen went blank again.
"Passwords accepted." Tron said as a series of mechanical sounds were heard from the factory floor below.
"You knew the apprentice's names?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.
"Before they apparently became Nobodies, like you said." Aqua said as she and Sora turned towards the door, led by the charm once again.
"We'll stay here and wait for you to return." Leon said as Sora nodded over his shoulder.
"We'll be rooting for you." Aerith said as Aqua and Sora entered the elevator to take them down to the factory floor.
End Chapter 3.
Please R&R.
The Song above was an altered version of "One Jump Ahead" from Disney's Aladdin. I do not own it.