CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Radiant Garden. My home. I couldn't believe I was back and witnessing the world before it was swallowed up in darkness and turned into Hollow Bastion. Ventus and I stepped onto an ornate walkway and looked around. I remembered this place as clearly as when I gazed around at the scenery with my four-year-old eyes.
"Hey, is that Mickey?" Ventus said.
I followed Ventus's gaze and saw the mouse turn a corner.
"Maybe he got sent here, too." I said. "Let's follow him."
We ran through the market streets and neighborhoods of the city. The pathway led us to the giant, familiar castle that stood over the city. As we ran up to the door, I noticed the two guards standing at the door. One had long black hair and held a blue and silver lancer while the other had copper hair and held a crazy-looking battleaxe.
Dilan and Aeleus: the Somebodies of Organization XIII members Xaldin and Lexaeus. I saw these members before they became members.
As Ventus and I ran up to the door, the two guards held out their weapons and blocked our path.
"Hold on." Dilan said.
"The castle is presently closed." Aeleus said.
"But somebody just came this way! He's a friend of ours." Ventus said.
"He's a short mouse dressed kind of like us with giant ears. Any chance you've seen him?" I said.
Dilan and Aeleus shared a look.
"We aren't aware of any visitors." Dilan said. "Now run along home, children, before the monsters get you."
"I coulda sworn it was him." Ventus mumbled.
"Let's go look somewhere else." I said, taking his arm and pulling him away. We stopped when we saw an Unversed shoot out from the air and hover over us.
"They're here!" Aeleus said.
"Radiant Garden shall not fall under the likes of you." Dilan said as he and Aeleus walked towards the Unversed.
True. It would fall under the likes of the Heartless.
"Let's go, Hallie." Ventus said. I nodded and we ran past the guards and down the stairs. "Leave this to us!"
"Stop!" Aeleus cried.
"But you're only children!" Dilan chimed.
Dilan and Aeleus looked at each other, nodded, and walked a few more paces forward.
"Now who do you think will defend the castle if you two go skipping off?" Even, the Somebody of Vexen, said as he walked towards Dilan and Aeleus.
"But, those kids..." Aeleus said.
Even watched Hallie and Ventus run off with a smile.
"Never you worry about them. They're special cases." Even said.
"What?" Aeleus said.
"Even is right. Lord and castle come first. Those kids will have to fend for themselves." Dilan said.
"Which reminds me, His Lordship was asking for you." Even said.
Dilan and Aeleus walked past Even towards the castle while Even stared forward down the path Hallie and Ventus ran off.
"A heart devoid of darkness? Stripped clean of it, at that... And one whose strength defies the very concept of destiny?" Even said. A mysterious smirk spread across his lips. "Very questionable..."
"Ach! How dare ye!? Back off, ye fiend!" A familiar, Scottish-thickened voice cried. Ventus and I ran down the pathway and saw the Unversed creeping towards Scrooge McDuck, the wealthy uncle of Donald Duck. He swung his cane at the Unversed. "Ye'll not be gettin' my money!"
"Look out!" Ventus and I cried. We summoned our Keyblades and threw them at the Unversed. They smacked into it, and the creature flew off. Summoning our Keyblades back to our side, we chased after the Unversed.
"Wait a moment, laddies!" Scrooge cried. We turned around and dispelled our Keyblades. "Don't I even get a chance to repay ye?"
"Oh, you don't have to." Ventus said. We turned back towards the path.
"Now, just hold yer horses. I dinna mean me fortune. Maybe a wee bit o' gold, or a small token of..."
Ventus and I glanced back desperately at the Unversed as it disappeared down the market street.
"Could you make it quick, please?! We're kind of in a hurry!" I said.
"I know- I've just the thing in me hat!" Scrooge took off his hat and snickered. "C'mere."
Ventus and I walked over and crouched down to the duck's level. He placed his hat over his bill.
"Ye can tell me, laddies. You both came here from another world, didn't ye?" Scrooge said. He chortled at our surprised looks. "Dinna worry. Me bill is sealed. Yer secret's safe with me. I'll not be askin' ye any awkward questions. Ye see, 'tis the same with me. I asked a wizard named Merlin to bring me here from another world. After all, adventure is the mother of industry!"
"Great! That all?" Ventus said antsingly.
"Ach, but I'm holding ye up, kiddies." Scrooge reached into his hat and pulled out four cards colored with buildings, a Mickey Mouse-shaped cloud, and big letters that spelled "Disney Town Passport". "Here. These are lifetime passes to Disney Town. Ye'll have buckets o' fun there, or my name is not Scrooge McDuck. There y'are."
Ventus took the passports from Scrooge and examined them in awe.
"Enough for you to take your lovely girlfriend on a date, as well as two grown-ups." Scrooge said with a teasing chuckle.
"Girlfriend?!" I stammered. "I'm not his girlfriend!"
Scrooge turned around with a snicker and hobbled away. I sighed and pressed a hand over my cheek to hide the red that flamed up. I accepted one of the passes from Ventus and we turned to the pathway.
"Back to that Unversed." Ventus said.
We caught up to the Unversed and continued to chase it down the streets.
"Hang it all! Can't I get a moment's peace?!" a voice cried.
Merlin the Wizard, the blue-robed, white-bearded wizard stepped out of his house.
"Mister, get inside. It's not safe out here." Ventus said.
"Ordering me about- now that's unsafe. After all, I'm Merlin the Wizard!" He paused to look at us. "Oh... More young ones looking to wake the powers inside them, is that it?"
"Uh, not exactly... We're kind of on a time crunch, so..." I said.
"Ah, nevertheless... The book is inside on the table. You may have a gander, if you like." Merlin said, returning to his house.
Ventus raised an eyebrow. "What book?"
We entered Merlin's house and walked over to a podium with a storybook on top it. It was sort of dusty, but I could still make out the yellow bear, the orange and black striped tiger, the tiny pink baby pig, and the plump, gray donkey with an attachable tail. Written across the top were the words "Winnie the Pooh".
Pooh's storybook. I thought with a smile. I pictured the other two covers that would lay across the front, but Sora was drawn into the front covers. Ventus picked up the book and opened it. It began to shimmer, and the pages suddenly emitted a bright light.
"Um... okay." Ventus said, closing the book and setting it down. "Let's get back to the Unversed."
We walked outside, and I felt something strange churning in my stomach. I paused and looked around.
"Is something wrong?" Ventus said, turning towards me.
As I looked around the markets, an ancient memory surfaced. My eyes widened and I looked to Ventus.
"Uh... um... you can go on ahead of me." I said. "I need to take care of something."
Ventus raised his eyebrow at me, but he obeyed and ran down the path. If I remembered correctly, I knew exactly what events would take place next.
The sound of children giggling filled my ears, and my assumption was correct. I ran down the pathway, hearing the laughter grow louder. I turned around the corner, then immediately jumped back to the wall. Three little children, two girls and one boy, walked side-by-side, talking and giggling together. One girl had auburn-red hair, blue eyes, and wore a white dress. The boy had messy blonde hair and blue eyes, and he wore a yellow shirt and blue shorts.
My eyes were glued to the second girl, with short brown hair and amber eyes. She wore a black t-shirt, a black overall dress with white polka dots, and a gold ribbon was used as a headband in her hair. As the kids walked together, the girl with amber eyes stopped and glanced down an alleyway.
"Hallie!" the other girl called. My heart dropped to my stomach. "Come on!"
"Uh... I'll catch up in a minute, guys..." Young Hallie said.
I watched as the girl's friends walked together ahead. I gulped at the sight of my childhood friends, Ren and Kairi. We were best friends before we were separated by the destruction of Radiant Garden. I turned my eyes back to Young Hallie as she stared cautiously down the alleyway. My heart pounded with fright as a black boot emerged from the darkness. The boot was connected to an elderly man with a white goatee and piercing yellow eyes.
Xehanort. I watched as a huge smile spread across Young Hallie's face and she ran over and threw her arms around him.
"Grandpa Norty!" she cried.
"Hello, my dear." Xehanort said.
"Grandpa, I haven't see you in so long!"
"Indeed." Xehanort paused to look at Young Hallie. "Hallie, it is time for me to leave."
Young Hallie's smile faded. "What? Why?"
"It is of no importance. Do you recall the stories that I've told you of?"
"Yeah! Your stories are the greatest!"
Xehanort smirked. "I have one more story to tell you, my dear. The time has come that you learn of your legacy and your destiny."
Xehanort extended his hand out towards Young Hallie and summoned his Keyblade. The girl looked at the weapon in wonder.
"What is that, Grandpa?" she said.
"This, my granddaughter, is the Keyblade. A mysterious yet powerful weapon capable of unlocking any link, any door, any heart."
"Wow." Young Hallie said with wide eyes. "And you have one?"
"Yes. Someday soon you yourself will receive a Keyblade. You will have the opportunity to become a Keyblade Master, just like me and your mother."
The mention of my mother made my heart ache.
"Grandpa, why are you so interested in Keyblades?" Young Hallie said.
Something sinister sparked in Xehanort's eyes. "Long ago, there was a great and catastrophic event that took place called the Keyblade War. Thousands of Keyblade wielders clashed against one another for the power of the ultimate weapon, the χ-blade. The result of the war was brutal and devastating: darkness spread across the worlds and the lives of millions perished by their own unquenchable thirst for power. The χ-blade was shattered into twenty pieces: seven of light, thirteen of darkness. The χ-blade was the only weapon capable of unlocking Kingdom Hearts."
"What's Kingdom Hearts?"
"The heart of all worlds. A great source of power and wisdom. The heart of anything and everything that has ever existed." Xehanort gazed upon the little girl with a sinister smirk. "And I, Hallie, shall one day seize that power."
Young Hallie looked up at Xehanort in wonder. Xehanort dispelled his Keyblade and returned his hand to behind his back.
"Hallie. One day you will receive the mystical power of the Keyblade. One day you will follow in my footsteps. One day, Kingdom Hearts will be ours."
In your dreams. My subconscious hissed.
Young Hallie smiled up at Xehanort and hugged him again.
"Hallie!" As Young Hallie turned around, Xehanort walked back into the alleyway with that sinister grin filled with evil schemes that would someday unfold. Young Ren sprinted over to Young Hallie and stumbled to a stop. "Come quick! Kairi's in trouble!"
Young Hallie's amber eyes grew wide and the two kids took off down the pathway, allowing myself a moment to breathe. I sucked in deep breaths of air to try and calm my thudding heart.
Now I understand how I was able to travel back in time in the first place. I thought. According to time travel, you have to have a version of yourself in that time in order to go there. I understand the how... but what I want to know is the why?
I sucked in another deep breath and ran down the pathway. Remembering what happens next, I ran towards the castle and prepared to meet... myself.
