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I'm Nobody Chapter 32: Longing
Sitting within the Highwind, the Gummi Ship piloted by Riku and King Mickey, the Nobody trio gazed around the cockpit. Looking outside of the window, they saw the Excalibur, which was piloted by Sora, Donald and Goofy.
Unintentionally, the two Destiny Islanders were racing against each other to see who can get their respective ships to reach Planet Disna first.
"Does this happen often?" Asked Xion.
"Occasionally." Was Mickey's response.
"Come on Sora, is that the best you can do?" Riku egged on through the comm channel.
"Oh please Riku, you got lucky with all those corridors you used but I've had a lot of experience flying this ship by now." Sora shot back with a cocky smirk in place.
"Really? Is that why I'm in the lead?"
"No, it's cause I'm giving you a false sense of security."
In an instant, Sora performed an aviation roll up and around the Highwind and was now flying in front of Riku's ship.
"Sora." Namine complained from within the Excalibur, eyes swirling about.
"Oops." The islander cringed upon seeing his friend. "Er… uh, sorry Namine."
"HA, I'll take that advantage!" Riku blew past Sora who instantly forgot about Namine's plight and rocketed after him.
Within the Highwind, Roxas had the flattest look he could muster up.
"...Don't know what would happen if they decided to try their medal against Stitch and Joker."
Axel had a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Actually, that sounds like a grand idea. Could make bets to see which idiots win and which ones crash and burn."
"Stitch could perhaps have an even match against these two." Xion commented, gesturing to the islanders. "But with ship size, Joker could beat them."
"Maybe." Was all Roxas said as he was indecisive.
Soon enough, no clear winner could be made when the two Gummi ships entered Disna's atmosphere. From there, they zoomed across the sky in order to reach their intended destination.
For Sora, Riku and Namine, they had already been here several times before after a mission of sorts had been completed on another world.
For Mickey, Donald and Goofy, this was home.
And for the three Nobodies, it was a brand new World to explore.
This place here was Disney Castle.
From what the Nobody trio could tell on the structure, it was rather medieval in design. It was primarily blue and white on the outer color scheme with many of its towers having cone shaped tops. Surrounding the building's infrastructure were the many gardens and fields where the three former Organization members could see many castle servants maintaining them.
And it was large. Really, really large.
Like… how many rooms were enough? One thousand? Two thousand? The Castle looked like a few thousand rooms could fit in there. Unless they committed to the grandiose route and had some exceptionally large chambers.
Which it probably did in hindsight.
"Welcome to Disney Castle." Mickey said cheerfully, the trio of Nobodies gaping in open wonder at the gargantuan castle.
"Damn." Axel whistled, nodding his head at the structure. "The castle back in the Organization's World is pretty big too but this is something special."
"Took a long time to build." Goofy said with a broad smile.
"But this here is the seat of our King." Donald said proudly.
"Really?" Axel sarcastically asked. "This is King Mickey's castle? Well golly feathers, I couldn't tell. What with the three circles all over the place representing Mousey's head there."
Donald more or less growled at the fiery Nobody while the others rolled their eyes.
Going through a certain part of the grounds, a pair of doors opened up in the ground. The two Gummi ships then descended as they made their way to dock inside of the Castle Hangar.
Slowly, three large circles cycled around one another until two grew slightly smaller.
The first one had the small title of Disney Castle, the castle itself appearing on top of it. The second circle had the title of Disney town with multiple smaller houses dotting along its sides. Both soon situated themselves on top of the largest of the three circles with a bright light glowing at its center.
It continued to radiate with light until it expanded vertically and stretched outwards horizontally, a set of drums playing with small fireworks going off in the background of the large emblem to spell out…
DISNA °o°
Once the ships were parked with the magnetic clamps keeping them down, the occupants from the two space vessels exited out of the ramps. From there they were greeted by a number of individuals.
"Oh Mickey." Queen Minnie Mouse lightly jogged up to her husband and King. "It's so good to see you back so soon."
"Aw shucks Minnie, I'll take every chance I have to see you." Mickey said happily, hands intertwined with hers.
"I know how busy you can be Mickey." Minnie said with a shake of her head. "Just be sure to take your time to rest when you need to."
"That's why we're here, Queen Minnie." Goofy spoke up cheerfully. "And to show our friends around."
The female mouse nodded as she soon greeted the others. After that, she finally made her introductions to the former Organization members.
"You must be Roxas, Axel and Xion." Minnie said, a pleasant smile in place. "Mickey and the others have spoken about the three of you and how you'll be assisting in the fight against this Organization and the Heartless."
"You can count on us, your highness." Axel remarked, bumping his fist against his chest.
"It's good to meet you, your grace." Xion said politely.
Roxas simply nodded, a small smile in place.
The blonde Nobody did lessen the smile as he noticed the particular look the queen wore once she gazed upon him. It was one of curiosity and nostalgia if he were to guess.
And he wasn't the only one to see this, making Axel wonder what was going on.
"Donald!"
The group jolted slightly at the loud exclamation and they turned in time to see the wizard being tackled by another anthropomorphic duck in a royal dress.
"Uh, h-HACK-i D-Daisy." Donald managed out from the strangling hug he was receiving from his sweetheart and wife.
"You came back in time for our date tonight." Daisy said happily, lifting him up off the ground and twirling him about.
"Ooh, uh, yeah, our date." Donald said, a strained smile in place.
"It's gonna be wonderful." Daisy proclaimed, began to chatter about a number of things while occasionally pecking Donald on the cheek which in turn prevented him from managing to get a word in.
From the sidelines, a few people of the group noticed how things were going: primarily in Donald's position.
"Did he seriously forget their date or something?" Was Axel's comment.
"I believe he did." Riku stated thoughtfully.
"We're probably not gonna see him for the rest of the day." Mickey added in.
"Aw don't worry." Goofy assured. "His sister Della will fill him in."
"Della?" Roxas and Axel said at the same time.
"She's here?" No XIV. asked, with a hopeful look in her eyes.
Goofy and Mickey nodded.
"I believe they're here to visit him from Duckberg, last time we checked."
Roxas and Xion exchanged excited looks with each other whilst Axel sported a small smirk.
"It'll be good to see that crazed duck again." Axel said fondly.
"She'll be happy to hear about the others too." Roxas added in.
"Well come on then fellas." Mickey said. "This'll be a great surprise for her."
Following the natives of this world, the Nobodies and islanders exited out of the Hangar and found themselves in the Courtyard Gardens after popping out of a large hedge trimmed in the style of a miniature castle. Looking all around, there were other large hedges which were designedly trimmed into a number of individuals playing musical instruments.
Getting past the Courtyard, they soon made their way through the white walled hallways with red carpets along the floor and the occasional tapestries hanging at every other place.
After the little tour, the group exited the palace and made their way to the neighboring town aptly named Disney Town.
When entering the populated area, Roxas felt a strange sense of nostalgia as he gazed around the place.
It was rather odd, due to him never being to this place beforehand. Yet something within him seemed to somewhat know the town's layout for an unknown reason.
Walking through the town, the large group was headed towards a particularly large structure in the distance.
"Whoa, what's that place?" Xion asked, gazing ahead at what they now realized to be a large mansion.
"That's Scrooge McDuck's mansion. Or at least one of them." Goofy answered. "Uncle Scrooge always was smart with his business."
"Real smart." Mickey added in. "He helped in the construction of the Gummi Ships several times. We owe a lot to him."
"So you've paid him?" Roxas asked.
Mickey shook his head in the negative. "He always helped out free of charge. It's his endeavors in other places and Worlds and his grand adventures that got him this fortune. In reality, we merely owe him favors as forms of payment."
"But I guess he might start charging people with the supply and demand of Gummi-tech in the foreseeable future." Axel noted.
"You're more or less correct on that one." Mickey said with a shrug. "But he's not as stingy as he used to be."
Goofy laughed at the mention of Scrooge's blatant characteristic.
"For goodness sake Della, ya just got back." said an old, wizened voice up ahead. "Can't ya take a time to sit down and relax?"
"Aw come on, Uncle Scrooge." A very familiar voice to all responded. "This is a trip me and the boys have been wanting to do for ages. I promised to take them this time around."
"Can't ya just wait till Balthier and Fran come back then go out on another adventure?" the accented old voice said stressfully. "Least with the three of ya, the boys will be in far safer hands."
"You're saying that I'm not?!"
"Do ya really wan' me to answer that question?"
She grumbled. "You're more stingy about the topic after what happened with FOWL not long ago."
Whirling her head around, the dark haired Nobody searched for the source of the voice. In mere moments, Xion was able to spot the person before charging right at her with a large smile on her face.
"Della!" Xion called out to her, causing the adventurous duck to whip around in surprise.
"Xion!" Della exclaimed aloud in joy, rushing over to the black haired teen and leapt into her arms.
Both girls embraced one another tightly.
"It's so good to see you again." Della stated, beaming at seeing her friend once more. She gasped a moment later as she looked past Xion's shoulder to see- "Roxas, Axel! When'd you all get here?"
"Not that long ago." Roxas said, laughing slightly from the tackling hug he got from Della.
"Quite literally a few minutes ago." Axel remarked, grinning down at her who smiled up at him.
"Well I'm happy you guys are all here." Della proclaimed before looking around.
She greeted Sora, Mickey and the others when she couldn't find-
"Where's the rest of the Normandy crew?"
This ended up making the merry mood they all had to become a little awkward.
"Oh, right. So…" Xion frowned slightly, already missing her friends from the Milky Way.
"We're somewhat separated for the time being." Axel revealed.
Della's mood fell slightly. "Meaning what?"
"For starters, Wrex had to return to Tuchanka to get his people ready for the Reapers and Tali left a few days ago due to her Pilgrimage finally ending." No. VIII listed off. "Shepard, Ash, Kaidan, Liara and Garrus are still on the Normandy. Stitch is with them too."
"And we're here now." Roxas said.
Della scratched the back of her head, releasing a sigh. "Yeah, figured Tali had to depart at some point. But it's good to know about Wrex and what's happening on his end."
"We'll see them again." Xion said. "And they send their regards."
Della's mood brightened up upon hearing that. "Well I know we all will eventually."
"Ahem."
Della glanced over and saw the look her uncle gave her.
"Oh, where are my manners?" Said Della before she gave the proper introductions. "Axel, Roxas, Xion, this here is my Uncle Scrooge McDuck, the richest man in the galaxy. And Uncle Scrooge, these are some of the friends I've told you about during my time on the Normandy. Hopefully, you'll meet the others soon enough."
"Well." Scrooge stepped forward, twirling his cane and lifting his hat up in greeting. "A pleasure to meet yer… Ventus? Is that you laddy?"
No. VIII's eyes widened slightly at that name, turning to the others to see them all visibly react to this confusion of identities.
All except for King Mickey.
Mickey managed to keep a blank visage yet the moment that he tensed up with his fists clenched tightly made Axel's eyes narrow at the King.
"No, no, Uncle Scrooge, I told you, this is Roxas." Della corrected him. "I made the same assumption as last time when I first saw him."
"Are ya sure Della?" Scrooge squinted as he stood before the bewildered sandy-blond haired Nobody. "He looks suspiciously like him."
"Yeah that's what I thought the first time." Della said, patting her Uncles back. "But it's not him, I swear."
Narrowing his green eyes a bit, Axel knew he'll need to get to the bottom of this at some point.
But not now as he didn't want to ruin the present mood and atmosphere.
"Hey, where's Donald?" Della asked. "Thought he'd be with you guys."
"Daisy." Mickey and Goofy said at once.
"Ah, nevermind then. Best send him the layout." Della brought out her Omni-Tool and sent the plans she had thought up for him for his date with Daisy.
"Oh-ho." Scrooge said aloud, broad grin in place. "Seeing that reminds me."
Scrooge regarded the three Nobodies with a mischievous smile.
"Ever since Della came back from her foray into that new galaxy with those nifty wrist gadgets -let alone those weapons and other doohickies- my business has been positively booming." Scrooge declared. "Practically everyone on Disna has one by now and it's so useful."
"I'll say." Mickey said, bringing out his own Omni-Tool.
"How were you able to work around the Mass Effect technology since this galaxy has no Eezo?" Asked the blonde Nobody.
"Bah." Scrooge waved off. "That energy know-how is just a matter of what to use over specifications. Little magic flare and technical wizardry and ye got yer new and improved Omni-tool."
"That and Gyro has been doing a lot of work ever since dealing with Kaidan's implant as a starting basis." Della added in.
"'E always did know his way around the tech." Scrooge laughed. "But since the three of ya are the reason for this boon, figure I at least owe ya some of the revenue that ya helped bring in."
"Oh~?" Axel now had a manic grin in place. "Revenue you say?"
Scrooge simply nodded and brought up his Omni-tool again and sent out a few "packages" to Roxas, Axel and Xion.
Receiving his ping, the trio brought up their own Omni-Tools and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"WHOA!" Roxas and Xion exclaimed at once. "Scrooge, are you sure about this?!"
"Is it really that- Whoa!" Namine gasped, peaking over Xion's shoulder upon seeing how much they received from Scrooge. "Isn't that a little extreme?"
With the amount given to the Nobodies, it was quite a hefty sum each. And while the currency will work in the present galaxy, it could get converted through their Moogle wallets to work back in the Milky Way.
"Oh I can be fine spending such an expense." Waved off the multi-trillionaire.
"Hey~" Sora whined. "Why can't I get something like that? I'm Roxas' Somebody, can't I get a little help like that?"
"Sorry Sora." Roxas said slyly. "I clearly recall you telling me I'm my own person. So this is all mine and mine alone."
"That's cheating." Sora stomped on the ground petulantly.
As the group laughed at this interaction, Della turned to Axel.
"So tell me, did anything else happen while I was away?"
Axel thought for a bit and wondered what he could inform Della about. After all, there was quite the amount she had missed out on since Ilos. Going to Barsoom, discovering the Rem-tech, storming the Cerberus facility…
But soon enough, a recent memory popped into his head, making him mimic a bird eating a canary.
"Well… there is something."
"Being what?"
"Just Tali and Roxas-"
"AXEL!" Roxas shouted, face becoming beat red.
The redhead laughed uproariously at his friend's reaction before he got pounced on by No XIII. who proceeded to grind his knuckle against his head.
"See how you like these!" Roxas said through gritted teeth.
"And see how you forget who's taller." Axel said, managing to easily fling the shorter teen off of him.
The two proceeded to engage into a small tussle of sorts -with a dust cloud soon surrounding them both- which was ignored slightly by the others.
"Well, since you're all here and all in town for now, why don't ye all come inside for lunch with me and Della." Scrooge offered. "Pretty sure somethin' can be whipped up for all yer likings."
"I am a bit hungry." Namine admitted, Riku nodding beside her.
"That sounds swell." Mickey declared. "Lead the way Uncle Scrooge."
The large group followed Scrooge and Della into the business tycoon's large mansion.
Walking inside the mansion, those who had never been inside such a place were met with long corridors and pricey looking furniture.
Eventually, the large group were sitting within an extravagant dining hall with a litany of dishes having been already set up for all of them.
They had also seen that some of the seats had already been occupied by a number of other Ducks.
There were four young kids with an older, grey haired female duck who was sitting next to the only other female duck in the group.
"Mom!" The three duck boys exclaimed happily, the distinguishing features between the three being their different colored shirts.
They jumped out from their seats and ran over to hug Della who hugged them back in kind.
"Hi Della!" Spoke the duck girl, who waved from the table.
"My, quite the crowd you brought in today, Scrooge." The older duck lady commented. "Your Majesty, Sir Goofy, a pleasure to see you both once again. Where is-"
"Daisy." Both Mickey and Goofy said at the same time with the older Duck letting out an 'ah' of understanding.
"Hey Sora." The duck in the Red shirt greeted.
"Oh hey, Huey, Dewey, Louie, good to see you guys again." Sora said cheerfully. "What're you guys up to?"
Dewey, the duck in blue shrugged. "Just helpin' out Uncle Scrooge and gettin' ready for our adventure with mom."
"Which you rapscallions will not do until Balthy and Fran get their hides back here." Scrooge quickly cut in, emphatically tapping his cane on the ground. "Honestly, Donald and Della were a handful enough as they were when they were kids."
"Who are you guys?" Louie, the duck boy wearing a green hoodie asked aloud, looking up at the three black coated Nobodies.
"I'm Roxas."
"Axel's the name squirt. Got it Memorized?"
"And I'm Xion."
"And you've already met Riku and Namine last time." Della said, her sons waving happily, particularly in the direction of the platinum blond Nobody.
She giggled and waved back whilst Riku arched a brow of amusement.
"Come on now, enough standin' around." Scrooge spoke up. "I'm gettin' famished by the minute."
"We've heard a lot about you guys during Della's stay with us." Xion said, the group now going over to seat themselves around the table.
"So did we." Dewey spoke up excitedly. "She introduced us to these Omni-tools, showed us what you guys did and all. You three and our mom basically saved a galaxy!"
"Hey now, don't forget about your Uncles Donald and Goofy." Della said good naturedly. "They save the Worlds here to in case ya forgot."
"And we weren't alone." Roxas chimed in. "If it wasn't for our friends that we made in that galaxy, we wouldn't have gotten very far."
"I wish they could be here to meet you all." Xion wistfully said, resting her cheek in her hand.
"Next time then." Della assured. "Want the Normandy to meet my family at one point. Still owe a lot to them for helping me through my time in that galaxy."
"You'll just have to try and work with their schedules now. Remember Wrex is really busy uniting the clans and Tali will have her own thing to deal with on whatever ship she's assigned now." Axel pointed out.
"We could look for some crazy threat that would bring the team back together." Roxas jokingly suggested. "Feels like that would work."
"Bah, we've filled our quota for that for now." Axel said. "You know there's more crap headed our way right around the corner."
The group soon began eating the meal presented to them, each having their plates stacked cartoonishly high.
They were all eating merrily for the most part whilst conversing with each other.
Xion all the while looked around the table and in her head named and counted off the members of the duck family currently present.
'There's Della's sons, Webby, Bentina and…' she thought to herself.
"I thought there was another with you guys?" Xion spoke up upon feeling that someone was missing from the list of names Della spoke of.
"Who're you referring to?" Scrooge's niece questioned the Nobody.
"Your co-pilot… What was his name again? Launchport?"
"Launchpad." Della corrected. "And he's currently in St. Canard doing this thing with his own friends."
"Who was it again?" Roxas muttered inquisitively. "Some costumed actor and his ward?"
"Drake Mallard and Gosalyn." Scrooge clarified. "They're busy for now so they won't be back for a while."
"But what about you guys?" Dewey asked excitedly. "What's your galaxy like? Mom hasn't told us as much cause she's been busy."
"You do know we're from here, right?" Axel asked rhetorically.
"You guys had been there longer than she did."
Roxas and Xion shared a look with each other whilst Axel snorted.
"Good point." No. VIII conceded, pointing his thumb at his two friends. "Though that applies more to them than me."
"So~?" Huey leaned forward with the others subconsciously doing the same.
"More futuristic, I believe." Axel stated. "And violent. Like… a lot more violent in most places. We haven't had the chance to really explore the entire galaxy yet."
"Most of the time we ended up just going from planet to planet on a mission then a chance to explore." Xion admitted.
"With people either shooting at us or the Heartless chasing us." Roxas said in a flat tone.
"Citadel was where we did the most exploring." Xion revealed. "We spent any downtime we had there."
"That's a shame." Scrooge commented. "From what Della described it to be, it sounds like quite the place to be."
"Even I didn't explore much of the station, due to my circumstances on my arrival." Della pointed out.
"They really find us so weird?" Dewey asked the Nobodies for confirmation.
"They're not fully accustomed to our normal." Axel emphasized. "They only have like a dozen sentient species or so over there. Anything else is just otherworldly for them."
"Only our friends aboard the Normandy are used to the things we know." Xion said.
"And that's kinda putting it politely." Roxas remarked with a small fond chuckle. "They always freaked out half the time at the things we've seen and done."
"That will no doubt change in the upcoming future with the eventual trade and travel." Della declared. "I've already gotten some plans written out for my return trip to the Milky Way and I won't be going alone."
"I've always wanted to see the Citadel in person too." Sora spoke up. "I've only seen it through Roxas' point of view whenever we had those shared dreams."
"Fair warning but it will be rather rough and awkward." Xion said in the kindest voice she could muster up.
"One step at a time." Said Scrooge. "I'm presently chatting with this Hackett fellow to begin some transitions and setting up some-"
"You're in contact with Admiral Hackett?!" The trio of Nobodies asked in surprise.
"Della was kind enough to give me his contact information along with Anderson." Scrooge revealed, sending a smirk towards his niece. "He's quite the stickler but a good man."
"No wonder you two get along." Della dryly stated.
Scrooge snorted aloud, chest puffed out slightly. "We're two old, experienced fellows who've seen their fair share of adventures and troubles."
"So what have you guys been talking about?" Xion asked.
"Aside from customary chatter and discussing eventual meetings with our respective boards, a slew of topics." Scrooge said, eyes alight with excitement. "He's heard so much about gummi technology and oxy-chew, he wants to meet with me as soon as he can so we can standardize it for his… what was it called again? Ah yes, Systems Alliance."
"Pretty sure everyone will want some Oxy-chew once it gets to the Milky Way." Axel remarked.
"There's also the matter of me soon chatting with the other representatives from the other races there." Scrooge went on. "Important figures that represent the species that make up the Citadel as a whole."
"You sure you wanna go on your own there?" Della asked nervously. "Axel's right when he says that the Milky Way is a heck of a lot more dangerous than our own home galaxy."
"Lass, I've survived the Heartless, Worlds being consumed by the Darkness and so much more you were there to see."
"Yeah, but that's just it, you weren't alone for a majority of those situations." Della countered.
"At least have some guards and escorts to settle our worries." Said Ms. Beakley. "Besides, you don't want to leave your daughter an orphan now, don't you?"
"Now why'd ya have to go and use that against me?" Scrooge complained with an irritated tone. "You know that's not fair."
"Wait… you have a daughter?" Xion asked in surprise, Scrooge nodding in confirmation.
"Where is she?" Roxas looked around momentarily.
"Why she's right here." Scrooge said, gesturing over to the youngest female duck seated at the table.
"...You're pointing at Webby." No. XIII pointed.
"Because I am his daughter." Webby exclaimed.
"Really now?" Axel had a brow arched up, running the math in his head. "Then how'd Scrooge-"
"There's quite an interesting story behind that." Huey perked up with a laugh.
Scrooge appeared less amused. "A long, complicated one at that."
"Well then…" Axel propped his arm against the table and leaned forward in the multi-millionaire's direction. "We're not busy."
The top-hat wearing duck gave the fiery Nobody a flat look before realizing most of the table appeared to be more on Axel's side then his own.
"You're all supposed to be my family and support me." Scrooge argued.
"Yes, we are." Huey, Dewey and Louie said with sly smirks.
"And as your family, we wholeheartedly support you in telling the story." Della finished, matching her sons' smirks.
"You four are the worst." Scrooge grumbled. "Ms. Beakley-"
"Settle down everyone." the aged Duck said calmly, momentarily drawing relief from Scrooge. "This will take quite a while."
"Betrayal." Scrooge grunted out. "Betrayal all around me."
"C'mon, dad. Recount the tale of how we finally learned our connection." The young female duck egged on.
He gave Webby an annoyed look which didn't deter her bright, cheerful and taunting smile.
Eventually, he couldn't help but smile back at her.
"Alright, alright." Scrooge conceded. Turning towards his guests, who leaned forward with anticipation, the aged duck began the tale. "It all started when Della and Donald first came under my care-"
-Scene Cut-
-Insert Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: Twilight Town Clock Tower Theme-
"Does it feel weird that we're doing this more often now after so long?" Xion asked her two friends seated beside her, ice cream in hand.
"Kinda does." Axel admitted with a shrug. "Best not to make a habit out of it, much as it pains me to say that."
"Think the Organization will catch on?" Roxas asked, his friend nodding.
"We'll have to space ourselves out and try to keep a low profile around these parts." Axel said. "Already fought some of the lesser down below when we first came here with Shep and the others. Last thing we need right now is the entire Organization coming down on us."
Axel stuck his finished ice cream stick into the corner of his mouth and casually turned to look at the unusual silent Keybearers and saw their saddened demeanors.
"Oi, oi, oi, it's not like we have to stop doing this all together." Axel quickly rectified. "Just that we gotta be more careful is all. Geez you two. Jumpin' to conclusions like that."
"Heh, sorry 'bout that." Roxas said, scratching the side of his face.
Axel simply shook his head in amusement. "You two. You're both hopeless sometimes."
Both had their cheeks puffed out at that with Axel openly laughing at their expressions now.
"So there's where you guys went off to."
The three of them turned their heads to see Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Namine walking out from around the corner.
"Hey guys." Xion greeted, smiling up at Namine who took a seat next to her. "What're you guys doing here?"
"Lookin' for ya." Riku answered, sitting beside Namine with King Mickey at his side followed by Donald and Goofy whilst Sora sat in the free spot next to Axel. "You guys just up and disappeared without telling us anything."
"How'd you guys know we'd be here?" Roxas asked.
"When you and your friends from the Normandy first came here, you dropped in on us from above, A-hyuck." Goofy stated.
"And I've seen this place several times in my dreams." Sora added. "Man, that connection is never gonna not be weird."
"I hear ya." Roxas grumbled, giving the brown haired teen a pointed look.
Sora laughed nervously when he blinked at the offered ice cream bar before him from Axel. Smiling appreciatively, he took the bar out from the red heads hand and saw the others got their hands on their own now.
"Always have spares by this point." Xion said chipperly.
"Yeah, being on the Normandy kinda forced us to have it." Roxas said with a shrug.
"Forced? Roxas, unlike you and Xion, I have the self-awareness of admitting when I have a problem slash addiction." Axel said pointedly, flicking the sandy-blond Nobody's forehead.
"Hey." Roxas whined, rubbing his forehead.
"It's… it's not bad, is it?" Xion asked, looking to Namine. "It's not right?"
Her platinum blonde friend, who was in the middle of taking a bite out of her ice cream, froze in mid-chomp and side eyed Xion for a moment. She completed the bite after a second and chuckled sheepishly.
"I dunno." She said, "I've only seen you with it…"
No XIV. watched as Namine counted the amount of times that she had been seen with a sea-salt ice cream bar in hand.
"Nevermind." Xion huffed, eliciting a giggle out of Namine.
"Meh, they ain't bad." Riku spoke up. "After taste though… actually, I can see why you'd get addicted to this."
"You're telling me." Sora remarked. "Being connected to Roxas and Xion, I get cravings for it without realizing it."
"That explains the saliva dripping out whenever he sees ice cream now." Donald said mischievously to a now laughing Goofy.
Sora puffed his cheeks out in annoyance before resuming nibbling on his ice cream.
"Still, this place has quite the view." Mickey said with open wonder, gazing out at the sunset.
"Used to come here after every mission back with the Organization." Axel said. "Kinda was our friendship ritual to do it every day."
"Until we had to run for it." Roxas said flatly, thinking back on the tumultuous past few months.
Honestly, Roxas was sometimes stunned that he had managed to develop "normally" enough as is knowing what he does now.
"Now that tradition has been broken for quite some time. Not to mention the ongoing streak of many days in a row."
"Do ya think the Organization will come after us since we're all here?" Goofy abruptly asked. "We are out in the open after all."
"I don't know for sure. But I guess we can't be here for long before they catch on to our whereabouts." Roxas said.
"Nah." Axel waved off. "Strong as they are, I wouldn't worry about that too much. There's nine of us here in case you haven't noticed. And we've had our fair share of insanity that's made us a lot stronger."
"I think Axel's right." Namine said happily. "Besides, we have five Keyblade wielders, the Captain of the guard and the best wizard in all the Worlds here."
"Oi, what am I, chopped liver?"
"And there's you too, Axel." Xion said cheekily.
The group laughed at the red heads' expense and fell into a comfortable silence.
They soon resumed their friendly chatter, talking the sunset away until it was high time for them to leave and go back to Yen Sid's tower.
Making their way into the train station, Axel called out to the King.
"Hey, Mick, can I get a word with you for a moment?" No. VIII asked in a neutral tone.
The group as a whole was a bit put off by this sudden request with the King looking up at the red head in confusion. He saw a rather stern look in the eyes and realized that there was something rather serious he needed to speak with him.
"Wait on the train fellas." Mickey said to the others.
"Don't worry, it'll only take a minute." Axel added in. "Promise."
The others were rather unsure about this but seeing that it wasn't anything hostile, they acquiesced and went to the train that would take them back to Yen Sid's castle.
Watching as the group walked away from them and seeing them enter the colorful train, Mickey and Axel locked eyes with the latter gazing down at the former in an unreadable expression.
"What is this about Axel?" Mickey asked straight away.
Axel didn't verbally respond at first, instead crossing his arms and tilting his head down with his eyes closed for a few seconds.
After a few more moments of silence…
"You obviously know about Ventus, correct?" Axel rhetorically asked. "What happened to him? Where did he go? And why does Roxas look exactly like him?"
Mickey jolted back a bit, not really expecting that to be the reason that Axel wanted to speak with him in private.
"You knew Ventus?"
"Met him before my World fell." Axel revealed. "Brief as it was, he and I became fast friends. But then he up and disappeared. Then I became a Nobody with an old friend and sometime later, a new Nobody joined the Organization not long after I did. And you could believe my shock when I first thought I was looking at Ventus."
Mickey was silent, not responding as Axel went on.
"I admit, when I first saw Roxas, I wondered if it was an odd coincidence. Ventus perhaps falling and becoming a Nobody as a result. But that wasn't the fact at all, much to my confusion."
The anthropomorphic mouse nodded in understanding.
"So spill it, what happened to Ventus and what the hell is going on?"
Mickey had his head inclined down towards the ground, his expression that of regret.
"I couldn't save him." Mickey said in a somber tone. "I tried to do everything in my power to help Ventus those many years ago but it wasn't enough. He lost his heart but his body remained behind. I really wish I knew where he was taken. All I know was that his friend -Aqua- took him to some place. Only she would know of his whereabouts, honest."
"And let me guess." Axel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "This Aqua chick is nowhere to be found now, isn't she?"
"Actually… I had seen her not long ago… or at least I think I did." Mickey said in an unsure manner.
"Meaning?"
"Back when the Worlds were out of balance and Sora was going on his first journey, I managed to find my way into the Realm of Darkness. On the other side of Kingdom Hearts." Mickey elaborated.
"And why were you there of all places?"
Summoning his own Keyblade, Axel saw the weapon in Mickey's grasp was of a similar model to Sora's but with an alternate color pallet.
He had seen him use it several times already, but why bring this particular Keyblade out?
"This Keyblade ain't no ordinary one." Mickey revealed. "This one came from the Realm of Darkness itself."
This ended up perking Axel's curiosity.
"You see, in order to properly close off Kingdom Hearts at the time, two Keys were needed. One from the Realm of Light and one from Darkness. The journey in obtaining it was a hard one but needed to halt Ansem's plans. And on my task, I started seeing things. Things which sought to divert me from my path."
"Whatcha mean by that?"
"From what Master Yen Sid told me when we reunited all those weeks ago, the Realm of Darkness is ever expanding and fluctuating. You can basically say it has a mind and will of its own." Mickey said, gravely serious. "And with that will come dangers to those who aren't prepared for it. When I was in there, the Darkness constantly played tricks on me and I had to fight it with all I had to keep it back. That's where I also encountered Riku. but…"
Mickey's fists clenched tightly as he shuddered. "The Darkness nearly got to me. It was surrounding me on all sides and I knew that it was about to win. That Ansem was going to win."
Axel's gaze bore into the small King's eyes who looked back with a slightly tired look.
"So what happened?"
"Something or maybe someone saved me." Mickey stated. "Magic surrounded me and the Darkness vanished around me. Before I could hopefully investigate the source, it disappeared. It felt familiar to me at the time, or it could've been delusions in giving me false hope. It was so hard to tell."
Axel had his arms crossed once again, deep in contemplation.
"If that was Aqua… would you have gone after her?"
"Absolutely." Mickey replied without hesitation. "She wasn't just any Keyblade Master, she was a friend. And a kind girl who sacrificed everything for her friends. Something not even I was able to do when I needed to."
Axel mulled these words in his mind.
"Do you think she might be there?"
Mickey shook his head. "I wish I knew. The Realm of Darkness is a dangerous place for any and all who go through it. Like I said before, it could have been a trick of some kind, maybe it was my reactive magic but I just need to be sure. That place is dangerous and we can't just go inside without a plan or course of action otherwise, we'd be consumed before we know it."
Mickey was indeed right about a number of things with the Realm of Darkness. It was more or less the reason why he and the other Nobodies needed to wear their coats in the first place.
"It doesn't hurt to perhaps try and look for her there."
Mickey nodded in agreement. "I know, but I need to get better prepared if I were to do so. Not just in getting stronger but obtaining the right gear to properly defend myself when traversing the Realm of Darkness; especially for a long period of time."
Axel hummed to himself before he looked down at the coat he wore.
"What about this?" Axel said, patting his chest lightly. "This coat was specifically made to repel the Darkness. It's how us Nobodies in the Organization get around the darkness without it affecting us."
Mickey hummed aloud, rubbing his chin before brightening up.
"That sounds like a swell idea, Axel." Mickey said happily. "That way all of us can get gear and clothing that can help with the Darkness."
"It's why I'm the smart one." No. VIII boasted.
The King only laughed at the fiery Nobody. "Come on Axel, let's not keep our friends waiting any longer then."
"Right behind ya."
-Scene Cut-
-The World That Never Was-
Within the castle HQ of the Organization, once more, a meeting had been called within the Room Where Nothing Gathers.
The circular room with elevated chairs had their seats filled save for those reserved for Nos. VIII and XIII.
No. I, Xemnas, sat in the highest elevated chair of the circle and his amber eyes glanced over each member in attendance in silence.
"So, am I to understand that the three traitors no longer travel with their companions that they have made in that galaxy?" Xemnas asked, his baritone voice vibrating around the room.
Saix was the first to respond. "Our scouts have reported no sign of them anywhere, be it on the Citadel nor with the companions they have made there."
"It is likely that they have finally made their way back here." Vexen spoke up with a cross look.
"What's the matter, Vex?" Xigbar goaded with his usual easy going smirk in place. "Plan on giving them a Cold reception after getting thrashed by them back in Castle Oblivion?"
"You try taking on four Keyblade Wielders at once with their lackeys." Vexen snapped back at the Freeshooter. "See how you fare!"
"Let it go, Vexen." Lexaeus said in his stoic voice. "It is not worth it to dwell on such matters."
No. IV begrudgingly agreed to this statement looking away from the eye patch wearing Nobody who had his amused expression still in place.
Xaldin spoke next. "If they have returned here, would it not be prudent that we bring them back here to us?"
"That would be easier said than done." No. VI, Zexion stated. "They are travelling with Sora, The King, Riku and their own companions while being under the watchful eye of a former Keyblade Master."
"And it is clear that they have grown in strength since we had last seen them." Luxord, the Gambler of Fate pointed out. "While I'm not calling either of you slouches, Zexion, Vexen, they managed to fight off Lexaeus. No small feat mind you."
"Urgh." The Melodious Nocturne, Demyx, moaned aloud. "Are we really gonna try bringing them in forcefully? It sounds like it'll be a pain."
"We can leave it to chance, perhaps?" Luxord stated, a hint of excitement in his voice as he tossed dice in his hand.
"We shall do neither." Saix spoke up. "They still need to answer for their actions against the Organization and they shall do so when the time comes."
"Sounds like a drag." Larxene said, clearly not wanting to be here for this.
"There is the matter of the Worlds corrupting." Xaldin said aloud. "I have been to a World inhabited by one of the Keyblade Masters previous companions. It is subtle and not entirely visible to see, but there has been a changing shift in the Worlds here."
"Yes, Demyx and I have actually seen the effects in one of the Worlds we have gone to recently." Luxord said with a grimace. "Ghastly changes to say the least.
"So things are changing in more ways than one it seems." Xigbar commented.
"I assume that you have a hypothesis, Vexen?" Marluxia inquired, looking to No. IV.
Rather than rebuke the Graceful Assassin, the Chilly Academic held a more contemplative look.
"Perhaps I could survey them and see what the cause may originate from." He said with some level of interest. "Something like this is like the coming of a blue moon."
"Take your replica with you." Xemnas ordered. "These changes are ones we must tread cautiously around. The link between galaxies is having a greater effect on one another than anticipated."
"I shall, Lord Xemnas." Vexen assured, a bow of his head.
Saix then looked to No. II. "Anything new to report about our recent partnership?"
"They're hesitant, for starters." Said the Sharpshooter. "One of their scientists is honestly wanting to go right ahead on what we're offering while this Illusive dude is perhaps wanting to keep us at arm's length."
"That should be expected." Lexaeus spoke up. "From what my Nobodies have reported on during their scouting missions, the traitors have done several missions of their own that actively went against their own. A visual association of mistrust can be present."
"Trusting them would be foolish as well." Zexion stated. "I have done my own research in my reconnaissance to that galaxy. They aren't exactly viewed with much favoritism and their actions are considered extreme. Even by some of our own standards."
"Truly?" Marluxia's interest was piqued. "Then why consider an alliance with them?"
"They have… potential." Xemnas said cryptically. "They can be of great use to us in the long term."
"Whatever you say, boss man." Demyx drawled out.
"For now, we shall continue to do what we have before." No. I said with finality. "We still have our objectives here and the traitors have returned to this galaxy. We shall deal with them when the time comes. Until then, dismissed."
As many of the members began calling upon the corridor of Darkness to get them out of the meeting chamber, No. VII momentarily paused as he looked over to the seat adjacent to him.
He briefly caught sight of No. VI seated in his throne once more as one of the last ones to leave.
Saix frowned slightly but gave an ever so subtle nod as darkness encompassed his entire being and he vanished from the Room Where Nothing Gathers.
The corridor of darkness led No. VII to his own room within the Castle headquarters of the Organization, eyes upon the ever present light of the heart shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts.
No sooner did he arrive did he hear the sound of another Corridor appearing behind him and he let out a sigh.
"You do realize that there is a likely chance that they can begin suspecting us of these continued meetings." Saix said, tone void of any emotion as the newly arrived Organization member walked up to stand beside him.
He looked to the silver haired Nobody next to him out of the corner of his eyes.
"Perhaps."
"What is it this time, Zexion?"
"I'm… concerned with these new issues."
"These new issues being?"
"You spoke of this girl that you and Axel were once friends within your lives prior to the Organization."
Saix's eyes narrowed slightly, almost defensively as he gazed upon Zexion.
"Yes." He said slowly.
"It took some time for me to deduce this but…" Zexion turned to the Luna Diviner, eyes betraying nothing. "You and Axel… you planned on overthrowing several members of the Organization itself, didn't you? In an effort to have the means in which to find your lost friend."
Saix tensed up, turning back up to the heart shaped moon. "I cannot confirm nor deny such a thing."
"Don't play such a game with me, Saix." Zexion said sharply. "You may fool others but not me. Lest you forget, I recall many things quite vividly before Radiant Gardens' fall. Axel betraying the Organization, a man who prided himself on the loyalty to his friends isn't one to do something like that especially to the one who was his best friend in their previous lives."
"You're treading on dangerous ground, Zexion." Saix now threatened.
"What I am treading on is that there is a greater mystery to what has transpired in these last few months." No. VI coolly countered.
"Then what are you here to suggest, Zexion?" Saix all but hissed out.
"We need to find Axel and speak with him." The Cloaked Schemer revealed. "Be it on our own terms or bringing them back here, it is better we speak to the source directly."
"That would be rather difficult to try." Saix said, arms crossed now.
"And why would that be?"
"In case you forget, I knew him in our past life." Saix said, almost in a deadpan manner. "He's as hot headed as he is now as he was back then."
"It's still a risk worth taking." Zexion said resolutely. "Roxas and Xion perhaps will retaliate against us rather immediately but maybe we can find the means in which to speak with Axel without it turning violent."
"And how do you suggest we do such a thing?" No. VII inquired.
"Then have our scouts search for him across the Worlds. Once we pinpointed his location, we will need to speak with him posthaste."
"He will not welcome us kindly upon our arrival."
"When has he ever?"
"There's also the notion of him travelling in the company of Sora and his own companions." Saix added. "They are well aware of our presence.
"Isolate him, if possible."
Saix' frown grew before shaking his head.
"Rather obstinate of you, Zexion." Saix commented.
He was silent for a few seconds until he exhaled with a shake of his head.
"Very well then." Saix said. "We shall try to speak with him when we get the chance to."
-Scene Cut-
"This place is so empty now." Ashley Williams bemoaned aloud, pushing her food away and slumping dramatically forward on the table.
Around her was Jane, Garrus, Kaidan and Liara who all chuckled understanding.
It was strange for them to have just the five of them seated around a table in the Normandy's cafeteria.
In a short span of time, the Normandy lost five of their ground team and good friends and their absence was noticeable immediately.
Only Stitch remained and he was a bit miserable at times. The team usually found him in the engine room where Tali once stayed or near the sleeping quarters of the ship, specifically Roxas' and Xion's bunks. If not there, at least Joker kept the blue furball of a "mascot" company as the pilot was always happy to have him close by.
"Wonder how they're all doing." Kaidan murmured aloud.
"It's only been a few days." Garrus pointed out.
"And you don't miss them already?" Liara asked, the Turian opening and closing his mouth with a dejected look.
"You should have seen him yesterday." Shepard said with an amused smile present. "He said one of his atrocious jokes and turned to "Axel" and nearly broke down then and there."
"Why… just why did you have to tell them that?" Garrus asked, head slamming down on the table.
"Because this amuses me." Jane said, mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Entering the Sol System." Joker spoke through the intercom, cutting into their conversation.
The first human Spectre let out a small sigh.
"Looks like we're near your stop, Liara." Jane said with a forlorn smile.
The Normandy had been presently journeying to Mars to yet again part with another member of the crew.
Only this time around, it was thankfully going to be brief as their resident Archaeologist wouldn't need to be there for long.
It was still a bittersweet feeling that the team was going their separate ways and in such rapid fashion by this point.
"Why don't we stick around till Liara's done, Shep?" Ash asked. "It shouldn't take too long."
"You know we got a mission to do, Williams." Shepard said with a shake of her head. "Can't leave Batarians running about Alliance systems willy nilly."
"Not to mention getting the reports of Geth being sighted." Kaidan stated.
"And the Heartless." Garrus added on. "Of which, we're one of the literal handful of people in this galaxy that can actually take them on."
"Ok, ok, geez, just asking." Ashley relented.
"I hopefully shouldn't take long." Liara said. "I'm glad I am being offered this chance to study the strange Remnant Spire but I'd much rather be here with you all."
"We'll just keep us on speed dial when you're done." Jane said kindly. "We'll come for ya in a heartbeat."
"I'll hold you to it." Liara said, smiling at them all.
After a few more minutes of flying through the home system of humanity, the Normandy eventually arrived on a more… greener Mars.
Dropping off their Asari companion, Liara now stood before several Alliance personnel with only one being familiar to her.
"Dr. T'Soni, good to have you with us." An aged Alliance Captain said with a pleasant smile.
"My pleasure, Captain Anderson." replied the Asari archaeologist. "Is Admiral Hackett still around?"
Anderson shook his head. "You just missed him. He had to return to the Fifth Fleet while I took his place here for the time being. How's the rest of the Normandy?"
"Miserable." Liara admitted earnestly. "We miss our friends."
Anderson couldn't help but chuckle. "Shepard always was sentimental in her own way. Only makes sense her team would be the same."
Liara smiled good naturedly at the man, hearing the father-like affection in his tone when he spoke of Jane.
She then looked up to the large spire that she had come to investigate. "Has there been any new developments with the archives or structure?"
"Everything we have discovered so far is here." Anderson said, pulling out a datapad from his uniform.
Liara nodded as she was handed the datapad by the Alliance captain before taking a quick scan of the contents.
"Quite the extensive list." Liara noted.
"No doubt. I'll leave you to look through most of the data while you settle in." Anderson said. "We have your quarters set up near the base of the structure. Other Citadel and Alliance officials have arrived recently and shall defer to you if you need any assistance."
Liara looked up to the human in surprise. "Captain Anderson, that seems a bit much, don't you-"
"Not even." Anderson waved her down. "With everything the Normandy has undergone this past year, all of you who were a part of it are the experts in the weird and strange now in this galaxy. I know it and most of the galaxy knows it even if they'll never own up to it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
The Asari couldn't help but smile kindly at the aged veteran of war. "Shepard speaks and thinks very highly of you, Captain. I can see why she does."
Anderson appeared somewhat bashful at the praise, a warm smile on his face as his mind went to the Spectre who was his pupil and surrogate daughter.
"She's the best of us." Anderson plainly said, giving Liara one final nod before walking away.
Exhaling a sigh, the Asari went to drop off her belongings at her assigned quarters.
She was met with a number of individuals who all came up to her almost straight away and began filling up her Omni-tool with a litany of data they themselves had accumulated.
Liara was momentarily overwhelmed by all this and questioned as to why they gave up their data so willingly to her.
They all simply replied that it was their orders from Admirals Hackett and Captain Anderson, citing her to be the professional and head researcher here.
This was going to be something for her to get used to. She had never been placed in such a position before and she was rather nervous about the prospect. Yet she will do her best to-
"Hello, Liara."
Turning to an all too familiar voice, the archaeologist saw its owner.
"Zo?" Liara said aloud, as if wishing to confirm to herself that the strange man she had met numerous times before was indeed in front of her. "You're here?"
"Of course." Zo said cheerily. "I had heard of what has transpired here and I just had to come see this place for myself."
"Do you not study Social interactions?" Liara asked. "The possibility of terraforming seems outside your field of expertise."
"You'd be wrong in that regard." Zo said, gesturing over to the many other individuals littering this sight. "Multiple species all interacting on a find that can retroactively change the galaxy? Much can be divulged by being here alone."
Liara gave the man a strange look yet he appeared to be earnest so she shrugged it off and resumed looking over the multiple files of data she now had.
It will no doubt take about a day to go through it all and memorize their contents so she may be able to properly interact with the others stationed here.
"Hmmm? Are the rest of your friends not present here?" Zo said, looking around as a means of trying to find them.
Liara's form momentarily slouched before she shook her head.
"Yes, I'm here alone for the time being." She revealed. "They will return for me but only when I am done with my work here."
Zo gave her a look of scrutiny. "I sense there's more to it than just that. Is all well with your team?"
Liara didn't respond right away and inadvertently switched from reading the data on the spire to bringing up a photo that was captured of her with the other nine close friends she had made simply eating together.
A longing and sad smile appeared as she sifted through several more that had been taken of them.
"You can say I've grown used to their presence. Hard to part ways with such a thing." Liara said, close to tearing up.
"Liara." Zo said in surprise.
"Hmmm? Oh!" Liara wiped the corners of her eyes. "Apologies, I don't know where that came from."
"They must mean a greater deal to you than you realized." Zo remarked, standing by her now.
"Yes." It wasn't as strange as Liara had anticipated in admitting that. "They mean more to me than anyone I have ever met. Even my own mother."
That got a truly surprised look out of the strange human who almost balked at such a statement.
"Truly?"
Liara realized a moment later as to what she had just blurted out and quickly shook her head.
"No, no, it's not like I didn't love my mother, I did, truly." Liara said a bit ashamedly. "It's just…"
Zo was silent, allowing the archaeologist to gather her thoughts.
"My mother…" Liara said wistfully, taking a seat upon a nearby crate.
"If you do not wish to discuss this Liara I won't force you to." Zo quickly spoke up.
"No, no, it's alright." She responded with a small smile. "Just give me a moment."
Zo simply nodded and waited patiently for her to speak.
"I don't really talk about my mother all that much." Liara said slowly. "There was a time where we were together but then we drifted apart and after… I didn't speak to her for a few decades. I never knew why."
"I can perhaps understand the reason why. A rough relationship with memories is hard to resurface on the pleasant ones from those which aren't."
"Maybe." Liara nodded. "But I feel like it was something else as I had time to think about it since I last saw her."
"How is she now?" Zo asked.
"Dead." Liara bluntly admitted, getting a visible recoil from Zo. "She died back on Noveria when we went to confront her about working with Saren. She attacked us and… we retaliated in kind."
"I see. Then you have my condolences." Zo said softly.
Liara gave a brief nod, not voicing a response to such a thing at all.
After what felt like an eternity -in the archaeologist's perspective- she resumed speaking with hurt in her voice.
"Yet, in the end of it all, her last thoughts were of me." Liara whispered, voice trembling slightly. "She never once stopped thinking about me and the last of her actions were to help me as much as she was able to."
"Even after everything that transpired." Liara held a more content expression on her face. "The last words I heard from my mother were those of love. That she was proud of me for becoming strong in my own way. And she left behind the means in which to further help us on our goal bringing Saren down. I thought my mother was lost but in the end she found herself and helped when it counted most. I'm glad that I at least got to see her as she once was before she died."
Zo was silent for all this with a more… troubled expression in place now.
"What… what of your father?" Zo asked.
"Never knew who my "father" was. All I know is that they were an Asari."
"I beg your pardon?" Zo blinked in clear confusion. "Your "father" was an Asari? How is this possible? Doesn't your race procreate with others?"
"Asari can mate and procreate with each other. It was once acceptable centuries, even thousands of years ago. But now it's frowned upon, given a number of issues. And in my race, a child from such a relationship is often called "pureblood", being quite the slur."
"So your… "father" left because of this?" Zo asked.
Liara shook her head. "I do not know. My mother never told me about her. Not a single detail. Perhaps it was out of necessity, worry or protecting me from the hurt I might get if learning the truth. I can only theorize the reasons and come up with no discernible answer. I even combed through my mother's Omni-tool for any shred of detail or reference to this person and like before, I got nothing."
Zo was quiet as he processed this bit of information the Asari archaeologist spoke to him. Seeing as she told him this delicate piece of her past, he saw it was fair to reveal something about himself.
"I never knew the intentions of my father-figure. The later ones, I mean." He revealed.
"The one who adopted you, yes?" Liara recalled him telling her that he was an orphan.
Zo nodded in confirmation.
"For a time, I believed he was the kindest man I had ever known." the silver haired man now had a more… fond look on his face, if Liara were to describe it. "He recognized my aptitude and hunger for knowledge and science and not only did he encourage me, he took me on as a direct apprentice. He taught me so much and spent a great deal of his time with me every day. I… I was happy."
Liara turned to give him her full attention, with the man now delving into his own experiences in full.
"My genius was nurtured and I was raised into a capable person." Zo's expression soon soured in mere moments. "And then… the incident occurred which made a whole lot of things warp in my perspective of him."
"The incident?" Liara repeated in clear confusion.
Zo froze up momentarily before shaking his head. "Apologies Liara. This is something I'm not ready to speak about just yet."
"I see…"
"I know it seems unfair-"
"No, no." Liara raised her hand. "It's alright Zo, I don't wish to pry."
Zo couldn't help but give her a small smile.
"Now I just feel guilty that I heard your own personal troubles yet I refuse to give you mine." Zo admitted aloud.
"Perhaps I can guilt you into telling me more about yourself." Liara said with a now mischievous smile. "Should I pour my heart out more, weep some tears or bat my lashes in a pretty fashion. I know that many of my own race succeed with such tricks."
This garnered a chuckle out from Zo who shook his head.
"What can you tell me?" Liara asked after a brief second. "No need to go in depth but just enough for you to feel more comfortable."
Puffing out a bit of air, Zo relented.
"It was unfair, making me believe at the time that I was perhaps used for his own ends along with everyone else who knew and respected him."
"You believed you were a means to an end?"
Zo nodded. "The other apprentices… they made it seem as though the Old man had lost his mind though it should not have come to a surprise. What we were studying was exceptionally dangerous when looking back on it in hindsight."
"How old were you when you were studying this?" Liara asked in bewilderment.
"Eleven."
"Eleven?" she was certainly surprised. "Quite young."
"My old Mentor held a great deal of faith in me when he took me in."
Liara nodded as she ushered him to continue.
"As time passed, I never really thought back on it as it might open some old wounds. Not wanting to perhaps let it fester any further. Yet some occurrences came up recently, which forced me to dwell into them after so long. A more mature perspective if you will."
"And… what came from this little investigation of yours?" She asked. "Have you made any progress in the search?"
"More questions than answers."
Liara couldn't help but giggle slightly. "Sounds frustrating."
"It clearly is." Stated Zo. "I may never come to terms with them, let alone the truth. It'll be something I might have to live with for the remainder of my existence."
"Then I wish you luck on this issue of yours."
"I thank you for that." Zo nodded in gratitude.
Liara gave him a small smile. "Enough with troubling pasts, let's focus on the here and now."
"With troubling pasts of long lost civilizations?"
"...Not my best way of saying it."
Zo chuckled at her expression.
Liara found herself puffing her cheeks out slightly. "This is brand new to me in case you didn't know. It's why I'm here to study and understand it."
"By all means." Zo gestured a hand forward. "Don't let me stop you from your research."
The Asari chuckled as they parted ways to take care of their respective duties while here on Mars.
-Scene Cut-
Yen Sid sat within his chair, eyes closed whilst the large group of the King's friends and comrades all stood before him.
They all waited patiently for him to speak as he was in the midst of gathering his thoughts before addressing them.
He slowly opened his eyes to take a moment to regard the large, assembled group of people in front of him.
"As you all are well aware, the Organization has been sending out Heartless in droves across many Worlds." Yen Sid began. "Their purpose is for the Hearts freed by Keyblades to eventually coalesce and gather at their World where their own Kingdom Hearts is forming."
The three former members of said Organization tensed up with Roxas having a look of determination whilst Xion was more forlorn in knowing she helped with their insidious plans.
"Sora and the King's actions have done the World's a great deal of protection in being consumed by Darkness in their prior adventure but that the World's and its denizens are in grave danger once more." Yen Sid stated. "Thankfully, with the three of you defecting from the Organization, we were made aware of the dangers that have made themselves known. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey have all been mindful of their duty in protecting the Worlds and their people. Namine has made great strides of her own in this time and has also become a capable fighter in her own right."
The platinum blond girl blushed under the praise and had a bashful smile. Donald nudged with a proud look with her smiling down at him with a grateful smile and Riku placed a hand on her shoulder in approval.
Yen Sid smirked slightly at this interaction before going on.
"Be that as it may, the Heartless are numerous and have been spreading at a rapid rate that even the six of them can keep up with." Yen Sid said in a grave tone. "Recently, there have been some rather close calls in the last several times you have all gone out to deal with the threat of the Heartless due to exhaustion."
"Aw come on Master Yen Sid, it wasn't that bad." Sora said with a slight whine.
"Sora." Donald said dryly.
The brown haired teen slumped. "I know, just trying to be optimistic."
"Be that as it may, the three of you coming here is a welcomed one as you have all made it clear in your willingness to assist us." Yen Sid, turning to face the three Nobodies directly.
"This is just as much our fight as it is yours, sir." Roxas said respectfully.
Axel silently nodded in agreement.
"Where is it where you need us to go, Master Yen Sid?" Xion asked with a determined glint in her eyes.
"Tell me, have either of you ever been to Wonderland?"
While Roxas gave a "so-so" gesture with his hand, given his very brief visit there, Axel and Xion gave confirming nods as they've done past assignments on that World.
"Good. That will help on your travels."
"Something happened to it when we were last there?" Axel spoke up in an inquisitive tone.
"It's hard to explain." King Mickey spoke this time. "I went there a week ago with Namine cause we wanted to check up on Alice, one of the Princesses of Heart."
"When we got there, Wonderland looked… different." Namine added in with a frown.
"Different… how?" Xion asked anxiously.
"That is for you to see for yourselves." Yen Sid stated.
Neither of the Nobodies were ready for the vague answer.
"Can we at least have an idea of what to expect there?" Axel inquired with his arms crossed.
Yen Sid nodded. "If you recall, I spoke with you three and your friends from the Milky Way about the growing influence both galaxies now have between each other. For the most part, judging from what you have all spoken of and showed us, it has been relegated to that galaxy alone. Heartless, Magic and new methods of cosmic travel."
Axel's eyes narrowed.
"It's happening here now, isn't it?" No. VIII said, more as a factual statement than a question.
"It has indeed, unfortunately." Yen Sid confirmed. "And it seems Wonderland is the first to undergo this influence."
"That doesn't sound ominous at all." Roxas said under his breath.
"I know it may come across as rather rude to say this, but the three of you have been facing far more dangerous and darker threats than some gathered here today." Yen Sid said apologetically. "The King and I believe that the three of you are the best chance of fighting whatever threat is present in Wonderland."
"There's somethin' else you need to know fellas." Mickey spoke up again. "Something I've actually discussed with Yen Sid and Namine."
"And that is…?" Axel rolled his hand to gesture for the King to continue.
"Namine believes that there may be a way to expunge the influence of the Milky Way but it could be risky."
The trio of Nobodies, including Sora, Donald, Goofy and Riku all looked at one another in confusion.
"You do?" Xion asked, looking between Namine and the King.
"We are not completely certain. This is something we need to further work on the theory before it may be legitimate." Mickey admitted.
"Don't leave us in suspense. Lay it out on us."
"There are two ideas which come to mind, for starters." Mickey said, holding up two fingers. "The first is more or less disconnecting the Lanes between the Worlds, similar to what happened during the crisis the first time around."
"And what does that mean for us?" Axel asked, eyes narrowed.
Mickey slumped slightly. "It means… you three can never go back to that galaxy ever again."
"There's no way we'd do that!" Roxas exclaimed aloud. "We promised our friends there that when the Reapers come, we'd fight right by their side."
"And the Organization is aware of that place now." Axel reminded them. "So even if we were to stop going there, the Organization wouldn't follow our rules now would they?"
"And what of the Reapers?" Xion added in with a grim tone. "The galaxy is in danger with their coming presence. We already halted their arrival, but sooner or later they'll make their play again."
"Which is why that first theory is all but likely an impossible one to undertake." Yen Sid said placatingly. "We all are aware that this idea is not something any of you would do and frankly, we are certain we ourselves wouldn't have done that."
"Then what's the second option?" Roxas asked.
"Like beforehand when the Worlds went through their crisis, we needed to search for the Keyholes and have them sealed away from the Heartless." King Mickey said, looking at Sora, Donald and Goofy briefly. "This time, however, will be more tricky on the approach."
"Keyholes?" Axel frowned in thought. "What do they have to do with this situation?"
"When I first got the Keyblade," Sora said, taking over for Yen Sid and Mickey. "I learned that when I found a World's Keyhole, the heart of the World, I had to seal it because that would effectively protect it from the Heartless permanently."
"Wait, then…" Xion looked slightly panicked now. "Wouldn't that mean the Heartless could do that to the Milky Way Galaxy and its World's?!"
She had remembered seeing the Citadel almost being consumed by the darkness during Sovereign's attack on the station. The place was more or less a World but made her wonder a number of things.
Not to mention there had been no reports of planets having "disappeared" out of nowhere, at least to their knowledge.
"Calm yourself, Xion." Yen Sid soothed. "If you recall, even though these two galaxies are influencing one another, certain laws of both it seems cannot be altered or broken. There will be no need in finding Keyholes to seal in that galaxy."
"What about the Citadel?" Axel asked challengingly.
"From what you have described it to be, it is more of an artificial place." Yen Sid murmured. "However, it would not have been consumed by the Heartless. Perhaps changed or transformed but not consumed."
"Ok, so there's that out of the way." Roxas said in deep thought. "You mentioned these Keyholes that we gotta find and lock away right?"
The aged wizard nodded.
"So… can't we just go to where Sora had been before?" Roxas asked, looking around at the group. "Can't these new Keyholes be found in the same place as the ones that lead to the Heart of each World?"
"Those cannot be so easily used anymore." Yen Sid waved that idea off. "New ones will have to be found and taken care of in different manners."
"How then?" Axel displayed a measure of frustration.
"Like before, the Keyholes will be found in places of great significance to the respective Worlds. Though reaching them is done through unconventional means."
"Yeah, some of them were rather odd to reveal." Goofy commented with several examples. "There was the one in Traverse Town with that puzzle. Wonderland had its Keyhole hidden in plain sight in a literal doorknob. And in Atlantica, there had to be either that crystal trident or Triton's very own trident presented before the hidden Keyhole to reveal its presence."
"So you gotta figure it's gonna be weird, out of the ordinary, dangerous or all of the above." Donald declared.
"Something we're all used to by this point." Riku said with a shrug.
"Can't deny that logic." Axel nodded in agreement.
"This task will befall you three in particular." Yen Sid stated firmly. "Roxas, Axel, Xion, the three of you are more than likely the only ones as of right now that have the capacity to find these Keyholes and seal them away."
"Why us?" Xion asked, gesturing to herself and her two best friends.
"The three of you are the most familiar with the Milky Way Galaxy." Namine explained. "We believe that you three might be able to find specific elements that are clear influences on the World's you visit that are able to lead you to the Keyholes you need to find."
"I guess…" Roxas was unsure about that part.
"I take it you guys have tried this already." Axel said with a knowing look directed at the group.
"More or less." Sora admitted. "So far, it looks like it's only been Wonderland but we know it's only a matter of time before other Worlds start changing from their original selves."
"So you guys gotta act fast." Riku stated. "We'll keep up things on our end and keep the Heartless back while you three search for those Keyho-"
Riku flinched abruptly, raising a hand up that paused over his chest before he placed it on his head, making the group turn to him.
"Riku?" Sora looked to his friend in slight concern.
"Sorry, sorry." Riku played off his sudden silence and pained expression sheepishly. "Just got a bit of a headache comin' on. Haven't slept much lately."
"Gawrsh Riku, you can have Donald spell ya asleep." Goofy suggested.
"That… actually sounds like a good idea." Riku said with a nod of agreement.
What the group failed to notice was the momentary shared look of clear concern that Mickey and Namine had with each other. They both saw that Riku was about to put his hand on his chest rather than his head.
"So, we're racing against the clock, eh?" Axel said, returning the conversation to their new objective. "No pressure, then."
"Best you stock up on this first go fellas." Mickey encouraged. "Better you being prepared for anything that you run into there."
The trio of Nobodies could not argue that sound logic and went about gathering some additional potions, ethers, an elixir for each of them and some accessories that Yen Sid had offered to help boost their mystical and physical prowess.
After saying their goodbyes, Axel conjured a Dark Corridor for him and his fellow Nobodies to traverse from.
Stepping out through the other side, the trio of friends came upon a rather unusual sight.
"Whoa, what happened to this place?" Roxas asked with a stunned look in place.
"Guess this is what they meant by influence." Axel said with a grim look in his eyes.
Instead of the bright and unusual landscape they were more or less familiar with, the land before them was rather dark and bleak. And it wasn't caused by the cloudy weather hanging above them.
Many structures that they saw appeared to be more jagged and uninviting, if not crumbling apart.
The landscape as a whole was far more somber and despondent than colorful and whimsical.
Axel hummed to himself, looking around at the despondent World they now stood in.
"Time to start surveying, you two." He began. "Pay attention to your surroundings and be sure to keep an open communication."
"We're splitting up?" Xion said in surprise.
"We just gotta make sure this area at least is secure." Axel said, ruffling the girl's hair. "We'll meet back here and then keep going forward."
The trio then heard a litany of sounds that came from things they couldn't quite identify. It sounded like birds, bears, dogs and other unidentifiable creatures.
"On second thought, let's stick together." Axel deadpanned, conjuring forth his chakrams. "With our weapons in hand."
"Yup." Was the synchronized response from his two friends, their Keyblades flashing into their hands.
As they moved forward, it panned up to the desecrated landscape of…
Ten card soldiers with sharpened and jagged edges, broken and chipped spears and axes that all came together to spell...
Wonderlan-
The "d" fell, though it was quickly pulled back up by a flying pig. Once back in place, a shroud of darkness warped and mutated it to form…
Wͫ͐҉̺̖͇͎̹ǒ̡̮͈̼̭̭͕͔͋͆̅Ňd̘͍̙̜̟̝̑̄ͮͤ͘e͉̩͎̺͇ͤ͡ͅͅяl̨̲̤̱̜̥̝̹ͨa̸͇̪͈̣͓͊͂͐Ňd̢̖̝͖̳̠̟̘̏ͤ͋
AN
Short sweet and simple and right to the point.
Slow start to the road down to Mass Effect 2 and Kingdom Hearts 2.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.