Another chapter ready for the masses! It's another sort of set up/character development chapter, so I'll update a little sooner next time.
Sora: "You seem to write a lot of these."
I guess I do. But they're necessary!
Sora: "Sure. Anyway, DarthKingdom owns nothing, as usual."
!
Chapter 133: The Beginning of the End
"Master Yen Sid?"
Yen Sid was in his quarters, at the top of one of the towers of the castle. Some might have been intimidated by the atmosphere in the room.
It was round room, with a smooth stone floor. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and the single window in the room was closed by a pair of curtains. A cabinet on one of the walls contained all manner of magical substances. In the center of the room was a large cushion, on which the old sorcerer was seated. A few candles were lit around him.
Yen Sid looked up when Nehrut knocked. "Yes?"
"I have a question for you."
"Ask, then."
"What do you know about Infinity?"
For once, the wizard seemed surprised. He slowly got to his feet. Nehrut pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and handed it to him.
Yen Sid read the note, and then turned the paper over to examine the symbol on the back. He raised an eyebrow, which for him was an expression of great surprise.
"Interesting..."
!
"Just hold it still for a moment, my dear." Merlin said, holding his wand.
Bariss had gone down into the burough to Merlin's house after Nehrut had gone off to his room. She had been doing some thinking about her shield, and decided that she wanted to change it. She had given it a coating of green paint, but it still felt too much like Vexen's.
Now seemed like a good enough time to change it. And magic was a nice, fast way to go about it.
Merlin tapped it a few times with his wand, and then flicked his wand at the shield, releasing a burst of magic energy.
"How is that?"
"Perfect! Thanks."
If Vexen could have seen his shield, he wouldn't have recognized it. Not only was it a dark green color, but the entire shape had changed. The shield was about the same length as it had been before, but it now had something of a teardrop shape, and was slightly wider than before. The spikes on the edges had vanished, but the greater surface area made it better for defense.
"Think nothing of it, my girl." Merlin waved off her thanks. "Just make sure you know how to use it."
"Oh, I do. And I really appreciate it. I was getting tired of looking like Vexen."
"I don't think that's possible." They turned their heads. Yuffie was standing there in the doorway, silhouetted against the pinkish light of the sunset. "Vexen was butt ugly."
"I'll give you that." Bariss slung the shield onto her back.
"We're getting ready for dinner guys. They sent me to get you." Yuffie hiked a thumb over her shoulder. "C'mon, the cooks really outdid themselves."
Bariss and Merlin walked out of the house with the ninja, and set off down the street. They passed by a few people along the way to the castle, many of whom smiled or called out to them, praising them for defending them from the Heartless earlier that day.
"Nice to be appreciated." Yuffie commented. She looked at Bariss with a sly grin. "So... Have you picked a date yet?"
"Huh?"
"A date for what, Yuffie?" Merlin asked, curiously.
"Oh, you didn't hear? Bariss and Nehrut are engaged!"
Merlin beamed, and patted Bariss shoulder. "Congratulations, young lady! I hope you two will be happy together."
Bariss blushed, and looked at the ground, grinning. "We haven't made any specific plans, yet. We just know that we want to spend our lives together."
"Aww..." Yuffie hugged her in a very sisterly way. "That's sweet! Does he have a ring for you?"
"He says he wants to get me one, but it doesn't make a difference to me. As long as I've got him."
They arrived at the castle gates –guarded by ten Tron 2.0s- minutes later. They walked past the bronze statue of Ansem the Wise, and up into the front doors, which were already partially open.
"It's about time!" Sora said, when they finally reached the dining room. It was a long, high-ceilinged room, with a long, beautiful mahogany table in its center. Everybody else was already seated, and waiting for them. "I'm starving, and they wouldn't bring out the food until you got here!"
There was scattered laughter from all across the table. Mickey stood up in his chair at the head of the table. He clapped his hands once. Suddenly, a wide variety of different, scrumptious-looking foods appeared on the table, pre-prepared by the castle's small, but very talented kitchen staff.
He picked up his glass from the table. "A toast! To a battle well-fought, to the downfall of the Brotherhood of the Dark, and to the birth of WASP!"
"Cheers!"
Everybody tucked into their plates after the toast. Fairly soon, conversation broke out amongst the drastically different people in the room. Much of it revolved around the battle that had taken place earlier.
"So Sora, Riku, Kairi..." Sokka, from the Elemental Kingdom asked. "I saw you sparring earlier. Where did you guys learn your moves? I've never seen anybody fight like you before."
"I was wondering that myself." Soul added. "You're all crazy."
"Thank you." Riku said. "Sora and I used to train together all the time on our islands. Kairi started her own regimen while we were gone."
"I figured it was time I stopped looking like a damsel in distress and started taking care of myself." She said with a grin.
"I'll drink to that!" Toph said, raising her glass into the air. "We beautiful people have to prove ourselves once in a while."
Sokka tried and failed to smother a snort of laughter, and received a fist to the back of his head which sent his face crashing into his mashed potatoes.
"Sora, mind if I ask you a question?" Nehrut asked.
"Shoot." Sora said, emerging briefly from his turkey.
"That pendant." Nehrut indicated the crown hanging around his neck. "Where did you get it?"
If the question surprised Sora, he didn't show it. He held his pendant in his hand for a moment. "I found it on the beach one day. It was just lying there."
"Hey, that wasn't too long after we met Kairi, was it?" Riku said, remembering. "You found it the day after we went to see her at the mayor's house. After the meteor shower."
"That's right!" Sora said, remembering. Then, he blushed. "I remembered thinking that it was a space rock from the meteor shower."
"Meteors don't come in fancy shapes." Kairi said, smirking.
"Why'd you ask, Nehrut?"
"No reason. Just curious." But for just a moment, his eyes flickered over to Yen Sid.
They ate for a few more minutes, when suddenly the dining room doors opened. Several people walked in.
"You started without us." Cloud greeted, smirking.
Several of the table's occupants got up to greet the newcomers. Among them were Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Barret, Vincent, Rude, Red XIII, and Cait Sith from Midgar. On Cloud's shoulder sat none other than Jiminy Cricket. Chip and Dale were resting on Barret's shoulders. Following these others were Fa Mulan, Li Shang, Mushu, Yao, Ling, and Chein Po from Land of Dragons.
"Hey, you're smiling!" Sora grinned at Cloud.
"He's been doing more of that recently." Tifa squeezed the blonde man's hand, smiling at him. "Finally. It only took him a few years to remember how again."
"I know exactly how you feel." Rinoa suddenly pulled Leon into a headlock before he could realize what she was doing. "This knuckle-head was stuck in gloom and doom for way to long."
"Come on, join us for dinner!" Mickey beckoned. "We've still got plenty."
The newcomers took the empty seats on the table. Jiminy Cricket wound up sitting next to Sora's glass of lemonade.
"So, Jiminy!" Sora said. "Where've you been lately? Donald, Goofy, and I missed you."
"Oh, believe me Sora, I wanted to come." The cricket replied. "But, I had some trouble back on my own world. Pinocchio was without a conscience for too long, I figured I needed to help him out a bit more."
"Is he a real boy yet?"
"I am proud to say: YES!" Jiminy exclaimed happily.
"Cheers." Sora clinked his glass against Jiminy's tiny cup of tea.
"Yes. He also wanted me to say hello to you from him. You left quite an impression on him, Sora. You're his hero!"
Sora blushed. "I'm no hero, I just do what I need to."
"Sora, you've saved the universe twice, even when you didn't have to, and you're aiming for a third. You're a hero." Kairi said, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Oh, and Sora! I never knew you could ride a horse!" Jiminy said. "Did you ever take lessons?"
Sora looked at him curiously. "How did you know about that?"
Jiminy grinned, and hopped up onto the Keybearer's shoulder. He plucked a tiny little device from Sora's collar, and held it up to his face.
"These were installed onto your old clothing, and then transferred over to your new ones. It records, videos, and takes pictures with the aid of magic and technology."
"You were spying on us!?" Sora exclaimed.
"Oh, don't think of it as spying. Think of it as 'chronicling.' Don't worry, I turned it off when you got in bed."
Sora and Kairi blushed furiously, and the rest of the table laughed at their expense. "We never did anything!"
!
"Think you can help?" Nehrut asked.
Dinner had ended a few moments ago, and everybody was heading back to their own quarters to turn in for the night. Nehrut had stopped Yen Sid in a side chamber of the dining room.
"I believe I can." Yen Sid confirmed. "I will wait until Sora falls asleep tonight. When he wakes up in the morning, he'll never know what happened. But he will have to learn to use his power himself."
"That's all we can hope for." Nehrut said. "Well, thank you, Master Yen Sid. This could win the war for us."
He left him then, and Nehrut continued up the floors of the castle, his mind running through several possibilities at once. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Bariss standing in front of his bedroom door until he was about to run into her.
"Hey." He smiled.
"'Hey?' That's all you have to say to your fiancee?" She quirked an eyebrow.
He caught the hint, and smirked. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and placed a soft kiss to her lips. "Okay... How are you, my beautiful, wonderful Bariss?"
"Ooh, much better." She giggled. "Listen, feel free to say no, but uh..."
"You'd like to stay the night."
"Am I that predictable?"
"Actually, I was just hoping that was what it was."
"Not to... you know."
"Of course not. Not yet, anyway." He quickly bit his tongue, his face turning red.
Bariss giggled a little, opening the door behind her. "Come on. We've got one night left before we leave each other for a few days and I want to spend it with you."
They held each other close as they walked into the room. They fell onto the bed, fully clothed, and kissing softly.
!
A similar scene was taking place in Yuffie and Riku's bedroom. The two of them were under the covers, holding each other.
"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" Riku asked, running his fingers through her raven hair.
"I want to be with you." She replied. "But I honestly can't take any more space travel. I really, really don't want to suffer through any more stupid motion sickness. I'm tired of getting queasy every time the engines start."
"That's alright." Riku pulled her a bit closer, tenderly cupping her cheek in his hand, and pressing his lips briefly to hers. "I understand. I'll be sure and call, though."
Yuffie smiled, and buried her face into the crook of his neck. "I'll be waiting."
Riku placed a kiss to the top of her head, and ran his hand up and down her back. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
As they lay there, about to be separated for the first time in months, Riku arrived at a conclusion.
The minute he got back from Hawaii, he was going to ask Yuffie Kisaragi to marry him.
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Namine was having trouble sleeping.
This was definitely not because of her living conditions. Leon had put her into one of the royal chambers on the top floor of the castle. She sat on an extravagant four-poster bed, positioned next to a wide open window that looked down to the breathtaking gardens below. The furnishings were all beautifully crafted and upholstered, and what anybody would consider to be the perfect bathroom was just a doorway away.
Still, she couldn't sleep.
She supposed it was nerves. Less than twenty-four hours ago, she had been trapped within the body if Kairi, merely a Nobody who had joined with her Other. Now, she was her own person, and would have to deal with the mixed joy and terror that simple fact brought with it.
There came a knock on the door, startling her.
"Namine?"
Namine leapt off of the bed, and walked over to the door. A white robe was hanging by the door –provided by the servants in the castle (who had been hired on to help restore it, and aid the Restoration Committee)- and she threw it on over her night gown.
She opened the door, finding Roxas standing there in pajamas.
"You couldn't sleep either?" She asked.
"No." He shook his head. "Mind if I come in?"
Namine stepped aside to allow him entrance. She shut the door behind him. "It's sort of scary, isn't it?" She stated, more than asked.
"Yeah." Roxas sat down at the end of Namine's bed, and she sat next to him, taking his hand.
"I mean, we have futures now." Namine stared into space for a moment. "We didn't have to worry about this kind of thing before."
"And now it's all crashing down on us at once at the worst possible moment." Roxas agreed.
The two sat in silence for a moment. "But we've got some help..."
"Yeah." Roxas said. "Friends, allies, and we've technically got siblings now, right?"
Namine hadn't thought of that before. They were supposed to be Sora and Kairi, but they now had hearts, souls, and bodies of their own. So, despite the resemblance, they were no longer Sora and Kairi.
This could make her Kairi's sister, and Roxas Sora's brother.
That, or they were their kids, but that didn't seem right.
Still...
"We have families." She breathed. Somehow, things seemed a bit brighter due to that simple revelation. "We matter."
"We're going to live our own lives now." Roxas said. "Because we matter to people."
Slowly, they smiled. "I guess this won't be so bad." Namine looked at Roxas. "And if we're together, well..."
Roxas wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace.
!
"Wow."
"Welcome home, Princess Kairi." Leon said.
The Chancellor of Radiant Garden had escorted Sora and Kairi to the Princess's quarters. Apparently, it had been Kairi's old room, before everything had gone wrong.
These chambers were better than a suite in any conceivable five-star hotel. The high-ceilinged room had a golden chandelier hanging over the center. A large, mahogany wardrobe was positioned on one wall alongside a tall mirror. The carpet was extremely soft underfoot, and the sofa, love seat, and armchairs looked as though one could fall asleep in them immediately. On the opposite side of the room from the door was a curtained, four-poster bed, alonside a wide window which offered a magnificent view of the gardens and the landscape beyond.
"This is my..." Kairi gaped.
"Yes, it's your room." Leon confirmed, ushering her and Sora inside.
"But I'm not the Princess of Radiant Garden anymore!" She protested.
"Technically, yes you are." Leon said. "You're entitled to all of this by birth, even if you choose not to accept your position. If you wish, you can simply sit back, and allow the elected government to do all the real work."
"So I'm a figurehead."
Leon considered it for a moment. "If you want to be, I suppose. Your participation in the politics of Radiant Garden is completely your choice. Nobody will think any the less of you for choosing a normal life, if that's what you want."
Kairi looked at him. "I think a normal life is out of the question for me. But I don't want power. I'd much rather just go back to Destiny Islands when this is all over, and spend the rest of my life with those I love."
Leon smiled. "That's just what I expected you to say. And you've definitely earned that. Get your rest, I'll see you tomorrow."
When Leon left the room, Kairi saw that Sora had sat down on the end of the bed. He was looking at her in awe.
"What?"
"You said that you would give this all up to be with those you love."
Kairi held her head high. "Yes I did."
She took a seat next to him on the bed, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Who needs power if it comes at the expense of happiness? I'm following my heart, Sora. And it's telling me to stay with you, on our islands."
Sora's eyes bore into hers. "I don't want-"
She abruptly silenced the Keyblade Master with a fierce kiss. She pulled away a moment later, smirking at his dazed expression. "Sora, I'm giving this up." She said determinedly. "The Princess thing is over-rated, anyway. All I want is to live a simple life. And I want you in it."
Sora smiled widely, and pulled her into a tight embrace which she was happy to return. They had never spoken of their future in great detail before. To know that they both wanted the same thing was a precious thought to them. They were so happy, they began crying silently eventually.
They stayed that way for several minutes, drinking in each other's presence. They chatted about the future then, crawling under the covers, and holding each other close.
"I would have made a bad prince anyway." Sora commented before they fell asleep.
Kairi giggled. "You'll always be my prince."
!
In the darkest hours of the night, long after most of the castle had fallen asleep, but long before the sun would rise again, one tall figure silently approached Sora and Kairi's bedroom door.
Very, very slowly, the man turned the knob, and eased the door open.
Yen Sid stepped inside, so quiet that Santa Claus himself would have been impressed. He crept slowly through the room, making his way toward the four-poster bed in the corner.
The curtains were mostly closed, but a small opening between them showed that Sora and Kairi were sleeping peacefully, their arms coiled lightly around each other even in sleep. Soft smiles graced their faces, and Yen Sid had to smile, as well.
He scanned the room quickly, and found what he was looking for. Sora's crown pendant was resting on a nearby nightstand alongside Kairi's good luck charm.
Yen Sid stepped over to the nightstand, and slowly picked the crown up. It didn't look like anything particularly remarkable at first glance, but to a trained, experienced eye, one could see that it had been expertly crafted from very durable, very rare materials. One could only imagine the specifics.
Apparently, Sora hadn't realized this.
The wizard held it in his palm, and touched its center with the tip of his free index finger. A soft golden glow enveloped the crown for the next five or so minutes, before fading away, leaving no trace of change on the pendant.
Satisfied, Yen Sid placed Sora's pendant back on the nightstand where he had found it, and looked back at the sleeping Keybearers.
"Rest, young ones. In the days ahead, you will need it."
!
The castle's occupants woke fairly early the following day. The sun was only just peeking up over the horizon, making black silhouettes out of the buildings of Radiant Garden.
Sora forced his eyes open. He would have much preferred to stay in bed with Kairi for the rest of the day, but he kept reminding himself that they had a job to do. He could go back to sleep in warp space.
He sat up in bed, and discovered that the sleeping Kairi was still holding onto his shoulders. He grinned, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He gently grabbed Kairi's shoulder, and shook her softly awake.
Her eyes reluctantly opened, and she looked up into his face. She smiled sleepily, and leaned up to kiss him good morning.
The two quickly showered, donned their new clothing, and left the room. Almost immediately, they bumped into Roxas and Namine.
"Sleep well?" Sora asked them.
"Better than ever, bro." Roxas answered with a big smile.
"You two shared a room, didn't you?" Kairi said, smirking.
"You did it first." Namine replied cheekily.
The four Keybearers made their way down several floors of the castle, and soon arrived back at the dining hall. Everybody who would be leaving the world later that day was already present, as were several of the other off-worlders, and the entirety of AVALANCHE and the RGRC.
"Look who decided to crawl out of bed." Riku smirked, before gulping down a large glass of orange juice.
In retaliation, Sora grabbed a breakfast roll from a nearby tray, and tossed it at his friend. Yuffie caught it in midair an inch from Riku's head, and took a bite.
"Try throwing a muffin at him next." She suggested. "That'll show him."
For a moment, it looked like Sora was actually considering it, which was just enough to make the table laugh.
"Alright, so who's going where, again?" Sora asked, sitting down with Kairi, Roxas, and Namine across the table from Riku, Yuffie, Soul, and Wakka.
"You and Kairi are going to Star Command to get the rangers there to help us." Riku reminded. "I'm going to Hawaii to pick up Stitch, and maybe some of the other experiments, if Lilo actually had any luck at turning them good."
"Oh, I'll bet she did." Goofy said, after gulping down a very large doughnut. "Lilo's smart. She'll have figured somethin' out. Donald, the King, and I are going back to Agrabah to get Aladdin and Jasmine to help us."
"Don't forget Genie, we'll need him." Nehrut said. "Phenominal cosmic powers, and all that. I'm going to the Holy Land to see if the Assassins will help us... I'm a bit scared."
"How do you think I feel!?" Max exclaimed. "I'm going to a world full of Cryptos! I've only got Leon and PJ to back me up!"
"I'm going to Olympus to get Hercules to help us." Bariss said. "And Axel is going to the Cimarron to pick up Spirit and Rain's daughter."
"Let's hope she's worth the trip." Axel said.
"And Namine and I are going to Twilight Town." Roxas finished.
"Barret and I will be rounding up some more while you're all gone." Zell said. Sora noted with some confusion that he had a plate full of hot dogs, at breakfast time.
"And he'd better not hurt my lady." Cid growled at Barret.
The big man sighed in irritation, as though he had heard this several times already. "Cid, how many times have I flown the Shera?"
"Eight. And you totaled-"
"A got a single scratch on her, in the middle of a firefight."
"Just don' hurt her."
"I won't, already!"
There was quiet snickering from some of those present at the table.
The remainder of breakfast passed without any more notable events. While they were waiting, Sora and Kairi got a brief summary of Star Command's activities from King Mickey. They had also been informed that Chip, Dale, Tron, and Cid had been working on the Gummi ships all night, and had given the engines a lot more kick. Their travel time would be cut at least in half.
They were also given special communication devices. They looked mostly like any remote control that might be used on a television set, save for the fact that a four-by-four-inch square screen was set at the top. They would enable the user to contact anybody who had another of them, no matter what world they might be on.
All too soon, however, it was time to go. The whole group left the dining room together, and were led by Mickey to a garage/hanger located on one of the higher floors of the castle, overlooking the city to the south.
Sora gazed in awe at the endless machinery all around them. It looked similar to the one at Disney Castle, though slightly less colorful. Tron 2.0s rushed to and fro across the floor, working on Gummi ships and their support systems with the kind of precision that only machines could possess.
Over a dozen ships were situated on the deck of the hanger. The largest of these, Sora could only assume, was Cid's ship, the Shera. The hull was mainly grey, and deep violet. The main body of the ship was long, looking quite like part of a jumbo jet. 'Fins' protruded from the side, bristling with weapons, and connected to large engines. What looked like a set of helicoptor blades was attached to the top of the ship, near the stern.
"She's a bute, huh?" Cid nudged Sora in the side, grinning.
"Nice." Sora admitted, but his eyes had fallen upon the ship resting immediately to the Shera's left. The Highwind looked just as he remembered it, with its bright red and gold hull, and blue-tinted bubble-cockpit.
"Dibs!" He exclaimed, running directly at the smaller Gummi. With a single bound, he landed on top of the rear engine. "Hello, Highwind, old girl. Did you miss me?"
"Should we leave, and give you and the ship some privacy, Sora?" Roxas asked, grinning, as he walked toward his own awaiting ship. It was roughly the same size and shape as the Highwind (like many of the other ships in the hanger), though it was slightly longer, and had a sleeker appearance. It was marked with gold and light, blue-grey. Its designation was Sunset.
"There's nothing wrong with appreciating fine craftsmanship, Roxas." Sora replied. He walked forward, and popped open the cockpit. He flopped down into the familiar pilot's seat, and patted the console affectionately. "Don't listen to the mean ol' Nobody, girl. He's just jealous because his ship is so much slower."
"We'll see."
"Mine can smoke all of yours!" Max proclaimed proudly. He was standing by the Gummi he had stolen from the Brotherhood's headquarters. The black and blue ship had since been dubbed Coterie. "I got out of Pax Pacis in no time flat with this baby."
"Shame I'm stealing her, huh?" Nehrut said, jumping onto the top.
"What!? Why!?"
"Because he needs the practice." Leon said walking forward. "Besides, he'll need to move quickly... And I don't trust you in a very fast ship."
"But he'll mess it up!"
"I'm not that bad of a pilot, Max." Nehrut grimaced. "You'll get the ship back in one piece, and then you can keep it. Okay?"
"Fine..." Max grumbled.
"C'mon, dude." PJ patted his friend on the shoulder. "We'll be just fine on the Herald."
The Herald was the ship that PJ had used to extract Max after his escape from the Brotherhood's headquarters. It was about three times as large as the Coterie, and had something of an L-shape. The cockpit was elevated above the ground, while the rest of the ship attached to the back, and went down toward the ground. The two engines were strapped to either side of the cockpit, and the area beneath it could be used to connect with smaller ships.
"Everybody to your ships!" Mickey ordered, jumping into an awaiting ship himself. The Invincible could best be described as a large metal bat. It was shorter and slower than its counterpart, the Highwind, but had wider, thicker wings, and heavier armor. The cockpit window was a bright yellow. Donald and Goofy climbed in after him. "We're about to move."
Kairi joined Sora in the cockpit, and sat in the passenger seat to his right. Sora pressed a button, and sealed the ship's viewport. As he prepped the ship for launch, he could see on either side of him Barret walking up the boarding ramp of the Shera, and Roxas and Namine entering the Sunset.
Across the hanger, similar procedures were taking place. After kissing Yuffie goodbye, Riku jumped into his silver and blue ship, the Redeemer. This craft was slightly larger than Sora's, but also looked like it would be slightly slower.
Nehrut and Bariss kissed goodbye, before parting. Nehrut climbed into the Coterie, while Bariss ran to her ship. The Falcon was a small, sleek ship rather like the one she had flown to Disney Castle while in her service to the Brotherhood. It was marked with black, brown, and auburn on the hull.
Axel's ship was almost identical to the Highwind in design, but was more pointed at the stem. The Phoenix's hull was painted with yellow, orange, and red patterns, which obviously were inspired by its name. Only Axel knew it, but it was similar to the Brotherhood ship he had lost at Twilight Town.
"You guys all set?" Zell's voice crackled over the ship comms. He was on a landing pad outside of the castle, in the Griffon.
"Hey, that's what we're supposed to say!" Dale's voice interrrupted. "Prepare for launch."
"All ships, report in." Chip said.
"Coterie, standing by."
"Falcon, standing by."
"Griffon, standing by."
"Herald, standing by."
"Highwind, standing by."
"Invincible, standing by."
"Phoenix, standing by."
"Redeemer, standing by."
"Shera, standing by."
"Sunset, standing by."
Sora looked at his navigation console (unlike the Unity, which was undergoing repairs, all of the Highwind's systems could be handled by a single person) and saw a set of coordinates already locked in. Upon closer examination, Sora saw that they were for Star Command. They were all set.
"Alright boys, good luck out there!" Dale said. "Griffon, you're clear for launch."
"Roger that! See you kids later!"
Not far off, Sora saw the Griffon lift into the sky, and rush into the sky, becoming a tiny speck in seconds.
Sora eagerly awaited his turn to move out of the hanger, and when it finally came, he rushed out behind the Herald.
He throttled it, and pulled up alongside the oddly-shaped craft, waving through the viewport at Max, PJ, and Leon. He then promptly stuck his tongue out at them, and pushed past them just as Invincible rushed out of the hanger after them.
"See you in a few days, everybody!" Sora said.
"We'll be back with your reinforcements before the week is out!" Kairi added, just as the golden sky turned to dark blue, and then black.
"Keep yourselves safe, guys." Riku said. "We'll see you soon."
Sora throttled it, and sent them into warp space, leaving Radiant Garden behind.
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