All right, viewers. Here's the next chapter, in which the four heroes return to Traverse Town to get some upgrades to the ship, and Sora has his little reunion, which is cut short as he then gains a new enemy. But enough rambling on that, let's move on.
After leaving Olympus Coliseum, the four travelers returned to Traverse Town to find out more about the mysterious gummi blocks they'd found in Wonderland and the Deep Jungle.
Upon arriving, they met back up with Yuffie in the First District.
"Leon's probably at the underground cavern. He trains there often," Yuffie said to the four friends.
"Before Cid, let's go and see him," Jim piped up. "I want to let him know we saw Cloud at the Coliseum."
The other three agreed to do so and made their way into the Second District, where they had encountered two new types of Heartless: Yellow Operas, that utilized in thunder attacks, and Green Requiems, that absorbed most magic attacks and could heal themselves and other Heartless.
Fighting their way through these new Heartless and others, the four friends had made their way into the alleyway on the other side of the hotel. In the waterway, the entrance was blocked off by a gate, but right in front of it was a red trinity mark.
"All right, with these red marks, we can smash right through this gate with our combined strength," Jim explained.
"Let's do it," Sora said as he rushed forward, and rammed the bars, followed by Donald, Goofy and finally Jim. And together with their combined strength, they busted right through the bars.
They made their way into the secret waterway; Inside it was a cavern with green stone walls, and at one end was a full moon mural on the wall. Standing at the rocky land were Aerith and Leon, practicing his swings with his Gunblade.
The four travelers met with their two friends and explained to them what they witness and encountered on their journey.
"So, you found the keyhole," Leon said.
"Yeah. They Keyblade locked it automatically," Sora replied.
"Good," Aerith said relieved.
"Every world among the stars has a keyhole," Leon explained. "And each one leads to the heart of that world. There must be one in this town as well."
"What do you mean?" Sora puzzled.
"It was in Ansem's report," Aerith chimed in.
"The Heartless enter through the keyhole and do something to the world's core," Leon continued.
"What happens to the world?" Sora asked once more.
"In the end it disappears," Aerith replied.
"What?!" Sora, Donald and Goofy all exclaimed in shock.
"That's why your island and so many other worlds were destroyed by darkness," Jim said. "Because the Heartless acted too fast and got to the keyholes before we could."
"And that's also why your key is so important," Leon said.
"Please lock the keyholes," Aerith said. "You're the only one who can."
"Locking the keyholes will keep the worlds safe. It'll keep the worlds' cores out of reach of the Heartless," Jim said once more.
"I don't know," Sora replied.
"Seeing other worlds would probably serve you well," Leon said.
"Yeah!" Donald exclaimed.
"We gotta find your friends and King Mickey," Goofy said.
"I guess you're right," Sora said. "Okay!"
"We were on our way to see Cid about these gummi blocks, but I had to come and tell you guys something," Jim said to Aerith and Leon.
"What?" Leon asked.
"I saw Cloud," Jim said which earned a surprised look from the two.
"Where?" Leon asked again.
"Olympus Coliseum. He was hired by this guy Hades to eliminate us."
"Is he..." Aerith began.
Jim nodded. "He's still searching. And he made it quite clear he's never gonna give up, till he finds him."
"I hope he's doing all right," Aerith said worriedly.
"You and me both," Jim replied.
The four readied to take their leave, but Leon stopped them.
"Wait, Sora. Take this with you," Leon said giving Sora a strange yellow stone with a lion image, called an Earthshine. "This stone holds some mysterious power. I've been carrying it for luck. I want you to hold onto it."
"How do you use it?" Sora asked, but Leon was speechless.
The four then took their leave and headed back to First District and went into the Accessory Shop.
"Hey, Cid. We found these in our travels, and knowing you to be a gummi expert, we thought you'd know what these are for," Jim said putting the gummi blocks on the counter.
"What've you got there?" Cid said looking at the items. "Hey! Well, if it ain't a gummi block."
"Yup!" Donald squawked.
"What's this one for?" Goofy asked.
"You're kiddin' me!" Cid exclaimed. "You're flyin' a gummi ship, and you don't know nothin' about navigation gummis? Bunch of pinheads. Interspace ain't no playground."
"There's a lot we don't know. So, what!" Sora exclaimed. "We have to use the gummi ship to go to other worlds." He said holding out the Keyblade. "We don't have a choice."
"Whoa, easy," Cid responded. "I didn't know. No hard feelings, all right? Well, I guess I could lend y'all a hand, then."
"Thanks," Sora replied.
"Now a navigation gummi can be used to open a portal to navigate you through different areas of interspace, and take you someplace entirely new," Cid explained. "Basically, with navigation gummis you can go to new places. You want one on your ship, right?" He asked and the four nodded. "I'll install it for you. But I got this thing I gotta go deliver first."
"What do you need to deliver?" Sora asked.
"Just this book," Cid replied pulling out an old light brown book, with a blank white cover. "It's real old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically falling apart. Too beat up to restore it to the way it was. But overall, I did a decent job puttin' it back together. Anyway, you mind deliverin' it for me? It's the old house past the Third District. Look for a big fire sign."
"Fire sign? I know exactly where that is," Jim said and Cid gave him the book.
And then there was a big rumble, followed by the sound of a bell ringing.
"What was that?" Sora asked.
"The bell on the roof of the gizmo shop," Jim replied.
"Go check it out if you want, but deliver that book for me first," Cid said. "When you're done, stop by the house in the Third District. I'll be there."
With all that said, they left the Accessory Shop and went to the Third District. As they entered, they'd encountered a new flying Heartless called Air Soldiers, as well as Shadows, Soldiers, Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies.
Fighting their way through these Heartless, they made their way to the door with the fire emblem on it, but it was sealed off. But by blasting it with a fire spell, the emblem lit up and allowed them to go through.
Going through the door, they found themselves on the outskirts of the town, and in front of a small lake. At the center of that lake, sat a small piece of land where a small old house resided. Going across the moving steppingstones on the lake, the four friends made their way to the house.
Inside it was dark and completely empty, with a platform in the center of the area, and the four friends wandered but found no one there.
"There's something about this musty place." A voice caught Sora's attention, and he turned to see Kairi. "It reminds me of the secret place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?" Kairi said looking to Sora.
"Kairi," Sora said reaching towards her.
"Sora?" Goofy said diverting his attention.
"What are you looking at?" Jim said confused.
Sora looked back over to see that Kairi had vanished, just like in the Deep Jungle. "Kairi?"
"What about Kairi?" Jim asked.
"She was just standing right here. Where'd she go?"
"What do you mean? There was nobody there," Jim said.
"What? But how?" Sora said in shock.
"Well, well," another voice spoke, getting the attention of the four. "You've arrived sooner than I expected." said an elderly man with a long white beard, wearing a blue robe and a pointed hat, carrying a long brown wand and a packed bag.
Sora approached the man. "Wha... You knew we were coming?"
"Of course."
"Are you...a Heartless?" Sora asked.
"He doesn't look like one," Donald said.
"Oh, my. No. My name is Merlin. As you can see, I am a sorcerer. I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home. Your king has requested my help."
"King Mickey?" Goofy questioned.
"Yes, indeed," Merlin responded. "Donald, Goofy. And who you might you both be?"
"My name's James Leonhart."
"And I'm Sora."
"Ah. So, you have found the key."
"What did the king ask you to do?" Donald asked.
"Just a moment," Merlin said and went and stood on the platform. "Presto!" The elder sorcerer said waving his wand and dancing in place, as items started to float out of his bag and around the room.
In an instant, the empty house was now filled with numerous items, such as stacks of books, a desk with potions, a bed, a wardrobe and a table and chair on the platform, with a torch to light up the small house.
"There now. Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic," Merlin explained. "We can start anytime you like. Let me know when you're ready to begin training. Oh, and one more thing." He turned to a small pumpkin carriage near the exit.
Sparkling begun to appear around the carriage and it turned into a woman with white hair, wearing a purple dress and cape with a hood, and holding a white wand
"Hello. I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help, too. I will assist throughout your journey."
"I do not know how much I can be of help, but do stop by anytime," Merlin said.
"We came to bring you this," Jim said giving him the book.
"Oh, that book. So, Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you," Merlin said. "You wish to know what kind of book it is? I don't even know, myself. In fact, it's not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book; I asked Cid to repair it for me. Well, I guess I'll put it here somewhere, for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it. I'll leave the book there. Do look at it whenever you like." Merlin said putting the book on a small stand next to the bed. "My best regards to Cid for repairing it for me. Oh, and about that stone of yours. You should ask Fairy Godmother about that."
Taking Merlin's advice, Sora approached the Fairy Godmother, showing her the Earthshine stone.
"Do you know what this is?" Sora asked.
"Oh, the poor thing!" Fairy Godmother said in shock. "He has turned into a summon gem."
"A summon gem?" Sora questioned.
"This little creature lived in a world that was consumed by darkness," Fairy Godmother explained. "When a world vanishes, so do its inhabitants. But this one had such a strong heart, he became a gem instead of vanishing with his world."
"Can he regain himself?" Sora asked.
"Yes, but only his spirit. Now, watch!" Fairy Godmother then waved her wand. "Bibbity bobbity boo!"
The four friends were then met with the spirit of a strong and full-grown lion named Simba, who then vanished.
"Whenever you call, he will help you," Fairy Godmother continued. "If you find any more of these, bring them to me. Don't worry, when their worlds are restored, they will return there. Sora, please help save them."
"Don't worry, I will," Sora assured her.
"I say we go let Cid know we got the job done," Jim chimed in.
"Yeah. Let's go," Sora said and the four friends exited the mystical house.
Making their way out, they went back into the Third District, but as they entered, they were met with two Soldier Heartless. The four friends readied to fight them, but someone else beat them to it and struck them down, and Sora's eyes went wide in shock at the sight of who.
"There you are. What's going on?" Riku asked wielding a dark red and blue sword called the Soul Eater.
"Riku!" Sora approached his friend and put his hands into his mouth, pulling on his face.
"Hey, hey, cut it out," Riku swatted him away.
"I'm not dreaming this time, right?" Sora said still in shock.
"I hope not. Took forever to find you," Riku replied.
"Riku!" Sora said happily that he'd found his missing friend.
They walked through the district, but Sora grew curious about something.
"Wait a second, where's Kairi?" Sora asked.
"Isn't she with you?" Riku asked Sora, who lowered his head in sadness. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too." Riku said walking a few feet away. "We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now."
As Riku went on, a Shadow appeared behind them.
"We'll all be together again, soon. Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this..." Riku didn't get a chance to finish as Sora struck down the Heartless using the Keyblade, which caught Riku's attention.
"Leave it to who?" Sora asked heaving it over his shoulder.
"Sora, what did you-"
"I've been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help," Sora gestured to his three allies.
Riku shot them a glance. "Who are they?"
"Ahem. My name is..." Donald began but Sora cut him off.
"We've visited so many places and worlds, looking for you," Sora explained.
"Really? Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed," Riku said unimpressed.
"He's had one thing on his mind since the start of our journey, and that's finding you and Kairi. Never have I seen such determination," Jim chimed in.
"Oh, and guess what? Sora's the Keyblade master," Goofy said putting his hands on Sora's shoulders.
"Who would've thought it?" Donald said.
"What's that mean?!" Sora shot the duck a glare.
"So, this is called a Keyblade?" Riku asked holding said weapon.
"How did you just..." Jim said in shock.
"Hey, give it back," Sora went forward to get it back, but Riku took a step back, causing Sora to stumble forward and fall.
"Catch," Riku said tossing it back to him.
"Okay, so, you're coming with us, right?" Sora asked. "We've got this awesome rocket. Wait till you see it!"
"No!" Donald exclaimed. "He can't come!"
"What?" Sora said in disbelief.
"Forget it!" Donald said.
"Oh, come on! He's my friend!"
"I don't care!"
"Well, I say we put it to a vote," Jim piped up. "I vote he comes with."
Goofy looked back up. "He's gone."
"Riku?" Sora said looking around for his friend but saw him nowhere in sight.
"Great. You probably ticked him off, Donald," Jim said.
"Yeah, nice going," Sora said as well. "Oh, well. At least he's okay. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too."
After having found his friend, then losing track of him again, Sora and friends made their way to the small house that was right next to the entrance to the Second District, where Cid, Leon, Yuffie and Aerith were.
"You guys ever hear of Maleficent?" Cid asked the trio. "I hear she's in town."
"Maleficent?!" Jim said in shock. "She's here?"
"Who is she?" Sora asked.
"A witch, man, she's a witch!" Cid exclaimed.
"She's the reason this town is full of Heartless," Leon spoke up. "Don't take her lightly."
"She's been using the Heartless for years," Aerith chimed in.
"We lost our world, thanks to her," Leon said once more.
"A day I'll never forget," Jim said.
"One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world!" Cid said.
"That was nine years ago," Leon said.
"We barely got out of there in one piece," Jim responded.
"I got out of that mess and came here with these guys," Cid said again.
"That's awful!" Donald squawked.
"Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem," Leon said. "He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless."
"His report should tell us how to get rid of the Heartless," Cid explained.
"Where's this report?" Sora asked.
"We don't know," Leon replied. "It got scattered when our world was destroyed."
"I'm sure Maleficent's got most of the pages," Cid replied.
Unbeknownst to any of them, Maleficent was a lot closer than they knew. She and Riku stood right outside the house watching the four travelers.
"You see? It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions," Maleficent said to the young boy, and he looked to see how close Sora had become with the three. "Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you. You're better off without that wretched boy. Now think no more of him and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for."
Riku looked towards his childhood friend with a glare, falling for the evil fairy's trickery.
"So, you delivered that book?" Cid asked. "The navigation gummi's installed and ready to go. You find another one, you bring it to me. I threw in a warp gummi for the heck of it. Now you can jump to worlds you've been to before. Well, better get back to my real job. What's my real job? You'll see. See me at First District."
"I've been thinking about the bell in the Second District," Aerith spoke up.
"The one that rang a bit ago?" Sora asked.
"The one above the gizmo shop. There's a legend about it, you know," Yuffie chimed in.
"But it's all boarded up. No one can get in there," Aerith said once more.
"Heck, go check it out. Ring it three times to see if anything happens," Cid suggested.
"You know something?" Jim piped up. "I think I recall seeing a red trinity mark up there. What's say we go look into it?"
"Yeah!" Sora said.
With all that said and done, they left the house and returned to the Second District. Going through the Gizmo Shop, fighting their way through the Heartless, the four friends made their way up to the roof of the Gizmo Shop, and just as Jim had said there was a red trinity mark on the boards where the bell resided.
Combining their strength once more, the four friends charged and broke through the boards, allowing them free access to the bell.
Sora approached the cord and pulled on it, ringing the bell which caused the mural in the fountain to rotate to a new design.
Sora rung the bell a second time, making the mural rotate once more.
He rung it a third time, and once more the mural changed over, and after it did the world's keyhole was revealed.
"The keyhole!" Jim exclaimed.
The friends quickly jumped down and went over to seal the keyhole, but as they approached it the same Heartless that they took on in their first battle together dropped from the sky, ready for a rematch.
"This thing again?" Jim said in an irritated tone.
The four had readied their weapons and took on Guard Armor once more, but shortly after the battle began the giant Heartless stopped.
What it did next was that it put its hands onto the ground and flipped its body over, then it morphed its feet into a pair of hands, so that now the hands were the feet and vice versa. It then lowered the visor from its helmet, revealing a pitch-black face and yellow eyes. Guard Armor had now become Opposite Armor.
The battle against this transformed foe resumed. Opposite Armor attacked using its limbs like before and used its body to shoot powerful blasts like a cannon.
Like before, the four allies took on this foe by destroying its individual parts, one after another, and as the battle came to an end, the armored Heartless' body began to rattle, before it vanished in a flash of light once more.
Now that the battle was over, Sora approached the Keyhole and aimed the Keyblade at it. Like before, the tip illuminated, and a beam of light shot at the Keyhole sealing it and keeping the world's core forever beyond the reach of the Heartless. In the process, the group had also learned a new spell called aero, which was wind magic.
With the Heartless defeated and the Keyhole sealed, they returned to the First District and went to the world exit to use the gummis to explore entirely new worlds.
All right, that's all for this one. Hope liked reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've hated this scene mainly because Donald got Riku jealous that he'd been replaced. I get the feeling if it wasn't for him, I get the feeling much would have been different with Riku and Sora. Oh, well. To me the battles are fun to fight, either way. Next time they'll continue their journey through a new set of worlds. Until then, please read, review and enjoy.