NEW CHAPTER!!!! GAH, TOOK FOREVER CUZ LIFE IS ANNOYING! UGH! SORRY AGAIN, I HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT.
NOBODIES BECOME SOMEBODIES
Chapter Six: Cruel Fate
The mystic lady and her servant shuffled along the crowds amidst a busy street. The fact that no one had noticed them was due to a spell she had cast on the townfolk.
“Ugh! This place is discusting!” Evrer sneered, “The horrible scent of light is everywhere!” He glanced up at Jazel, “I hope you're satisfied with the mission so we can get out of here.”
She replied with an evil grin, “I am quite pleased. Besides, the location of our next stop has been consumed by darkness for some time now.”
Her small creature leaped up in delight, “Oh, goodie! I can hardly wait!”
In minutes time they reached the swirling portal which had brought them there, and they disappeared in a flash of light.
xxxx
Sora and the gang now returned to Disney Castle, the gummi ship landing near the royal gardens.
“Now, Donald and Goofy, while the others and myself check up on things here, could you have Chip and Dale perform a maintenance overview of the ship? We need to prepare for another departure as soon as possible.” Mickey told them.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the knight and magician stood tall and addressed him firmly, then left to carry out their orders.
The four remaining continued to walk toward the castle entrance, always staying aware that the enemy could pop out at them at any given moment.
“Welp, looks like the coast is clear,” Mickey stated when they came to the throne room, “It's just as I had predicted.”
“Oh, I get it,” Sora understood, “Because recently, the heartless have randomly shown up and then vanished just as soon as they appear.”
“Exactly!”
“So, didn't you tell us that we need to head towards the Cornerstone of Light?” Kairi questioned the mouse.
“Yeah, but...what is it?” Riku wondered.
The king had the three follow him while he explained, “It is our world's most precious treasure, and it's been around for some time. Sora here could tell you that from his own experience.”
Sora laughed a little, thinking again of the past when he, Donald, and Goofy had traveled back in time.
“Anyways,” Mickey continued, “The Cornerstone of Light has served as our castle's means of protection from danger.”
He then proceeded to press a lever on his throne's seat, opening the ground and revealing a staircase. They all descended down into the room, and they were warmly greeted by Daisy and Queen Minnie.
“Oh, it's ever so good to see you again, Sora,” Minnie smiled.
“Yes, welcome back,” Daisy concurred, glancing over to the people standing next to him, “And you must be some of his friends.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Kairi grinned, “My name is Kairi, and this is Riku.”
Riku simply replied, “Nice to meet you.”
“So, this is Riku,” Minnie talked to Mickey directly now, “I remember you telling me about him.”
“Oh, so the king-” Riku started.
“Yes,” the queen turned back to face him, “You sure seem like a very nice young man.”
Riku had rarely been addressed in that fashion before an began to stutter a little, “Well, um...thank you.”
Sora tried his best to hide a chuckle as his friend's expense, until Riku 'lightly' punched him in the side, quieting his noises instantly.
“Sorrrry...” Sora grunted in a whisper.
“Miss Kairi. Such a pleasure to meet you, too,” Minnie spoke to the girl.
Kairi bowed towards the queen, “Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine.”
“No need to be so formal, dear. Just call me Minnie.”
Daisy trudged up to Sora, suddenly pointing a menacing finger at his face, “Now I hope Donald hasn't been rushing into danger again!”
Sora drew back on instinct, “N-n-no! He's just fine, I promise! Goofy and him are here with us, too.”
The duck crossed her arms, “Well, I would sure hope so.”
“Y-yes! You have nothing to worry about.”
“So, Mickey, how is everything looking out there?” Minnie asked, a little worried.
Mickey smiled brightly at her in assurance, “Just fine. You should be safe here now and can head back upstairs.”
And with that, they all began to turn around to go over to the stairs once more.
That is...until...
POOF!
“H-hey! K-K-King Mickey!”
The group looked behind them to see Merlin the wizard, colorful smoke dispersing around him from his magical arrival.
Mickey ran over to the man, recognizing that something wasn't right, “What is it? What's going on?”
Merlin ruffled his robe and stood straight up, clearing his throat, “I'm so sorry for bothering you, but we must hurry! You need to come along with me to Radiant Garden immediately!”
“In that case,” Sora added with confidence, “We'll come along, too!”
“Right!” Riku nodded in agreement.
“But...there is a problem,” Merlin admitted, “I won't be able to send us back with my magic. I used up...most of it to fight that person off and to also get here, so...”
“Wait, fight?” Kairi wondered, “There was a battle?”
“Yes...we need to go!” Merlin urged them, “NOW!”
Mickey walked over to Minnie and Daisy, “I'll have Goofy and Donald stay here with you until we return,” he now turned back to the others, “Hurry! To the gummi ship!”
xxxx
An emptiness.
A space shrouded in the darkness.
It is where one waits to emerge from their prison...
In the depths of memory.
And now a lady approaches this lonely master.
“My lord. The deed is done,” she speaks.
The invisible force whispers back in return, “Ah, very good. Soon the bonds of this world will break.”
“And you will grace us with your presence once again,” the lady bows, “I will see to it.”
“Then I will eagerly await your return...”
A pair of beckoning eyes stare up at her.
“...Jazel.”
xxxx
Even though the spaces between the worlds were available once again, the connections were growing weaker. The distance from one place to the next seemed much longer to our heroes.
“Why is it taking so long! We'll never reach them in time!” Sora exclaimed angrily.
“Sora, we can't help it,” Kairi placed a hand on his shoulder, “Merlin had to use up quite a bit of his power just to come and warn us.”
“I know, but...” his hands bent into fists, “How can I be patient when I know our friends are in danger?”
“Don't worry,” Riku assured, “We'll get there in time.”
Sora half-smiled at his friends, still feeling worried, “Thanks. I just hope you're right.”
Once they reached Radient Garden and were on the ground, Merlin pointed them in the right direction, “Hurry, this way!”
All of them came to the wizard's house, and Sora noticed someone familiar lying on the ground by the doorway.
“Cid!” The keyblade master immediately ran over to him, “Cid, what happened?”
The man barely moved and looked at Sora with half-closed eyes, “I couldn't stop them. I couldn't...do anything. And now, Leon and the others are...”
Without a moment to lose, the door was opened and everyone ran inside the building.
Sora gasped at what he saw, “No...”
Kairi's hands covered her mouth in horror.
The entire area was trashed. The large computer that was once there now only remained as a pile of metal rubber, engulfed in flames.
“Who could've done this?” Kairi wondered.
“No time for that!” Riku ran towards the smokey area, “They must all still be in here!” he coughed slightly as he bent down to move away large pieces of wood and other debris.
Sora, Kairi, Merlin, and Mickey all agreed and began to do the same. Sora immediately used a few blizzard spells with his keyblade to extinguish the fire set ablaze.
“Hey! Over here!” Mickey called for some help.
Sora obliged and went over to pick up some rocks on the ground. He spotted what the king had noticed.
“Oh, no! Leon!” he picked up his pace and soon all of the rubble was off of his friend, “Leon, get up!”
Mickey's head was downcast, “Sora...I think...”
“No! Wake up, Leon!” Sora shook him harder.
“But, his heart...I can't feel his light anymore. It's gone.”
Sora didn't even know he could get very emotional, but right then he felt moisture begin to fill his eyes, “We were...we weren't fast enough.”
“Um...Sora?” Kairi called from behind him.
Sora regrettably turned around, only to become more disheartened. Yuffie and Aerith were in the same state as Leon, laying lifelessly on the stone ground.
The brown-haired boy bent to his knees in defeat, “No...” a tear trickled down his face, “Everyone is...is...” Suddenly, he slammed a fist on the ground, “No! Who would be cruel enough to do something like this!”
Sora's expression changed into one of frustration. He stood up and nonchalantly wiped his tears away, “They'll pay. They'll pay for what they've done,” he looked ahead in determination and went over to Cid again. He motioned for Riku and they both helped Cid to his feet.
“Do you remember anything about the people who came here?” Sora questioned him, “How they looked? How they talked?”
“Well, I...I did hear one of their voices,” Cid replied, “It...it was a woman.”
“You mean a girl was the cause of this?” Riku wondered, Maybe...Maleficant, he pondered to himself.
“Yes,” Cid continued, “But, she wasn't alone, and they were both cloaked in disguise so they didn't look familiar or anything.”
“Do you think they'll keep doing this to...other people?” Kairi spoke worriedly.
“If that's the case, we need to stop them at any cost,” Sora agreed.
Merlin walked over to them, “Well, then, if you need to leave, Cid and I will do our best to keep an eye on Leon and the others. I can even place a magical barrier around the house once I get my strength back.”
“He's right,” nodded Mickey, “There is still a chance to save them and retrieve their lost hearts, so we can't give up yet.”
They all were ready to head out, but then Cid stopped them.
“Wait a minute! Before you go...that lady, the one who came here, she said something that might be important to ya.”
“Really? Go on,” Sora encouraged him to continue.
“Right before I was attacked, she said that the likes of me couldn't stop her plan to bring...him back.”
“Him?” Riku thought for a moment, “I wonder who she was referring to.”
Cid shook his head, “I dunno, but I wasn't about to take that rude remark lightly, so I stood my ground nonetheless. I just couldn't do it very long, I guess,” he rubbed the back of his head.
“Don't feel that way,” Kairi assured, “You did your best, and we're all going to do the same.”
“Okay, then, we should rejoin Donald and Goofy first. We need all the help we can get,” Mickey brought up.
“But, Your Majesty,” Riku addressed him, “Where do we even begin to look for the people who caused this?”
“Anywhere and everywhere. This power needs to be fought against before anything else happens.”
xxxx
Why...Why is this happening all of a sudden?
Sora lay on a bed in one of the gummi ship's quarters.
Our friends got hurt, and we couldn't save them. We've always been able to save everyone before...but now...
He turned to his side and let out a large sigh of disappointment.
Swoosh! The door to the room came open.
“Hey, Sora,” Riku spoke when entering. He then took a chair and sat on it backwards, his chin resting upon the top of the chair, “So...about what...just happened...”
“Why? Why is it different this time?”
Riku was confused, “What are you talking about?”
Sora sat up now, his legs dangling off the side of the mattress, “Whenever we've had to travel and save worlds, we've always been successful,” his head hung low, “Today was...was completely different.”
“Hey, don't say that. There is still a way to save them, remember?” Riku spoke to console his friend, “We just need to find whoever was responsible and then retrieve the hearts back.”
“Would it...really be that simple?” Sora questioned, a hint of doubt in his shaking voice.
“Sora, I...” Riku gave in at that moment, too, “I guess I don't know.”
A tiny sob could now be heard from Sora as a few tears ran down his cheeks, “I really thought...that we had already brought peace to everyone. We had finally freed the world's from darkness. Why? Why is it starting all over again!” he shouted.
All Riku could do then was nod his head, close his eyes, and wonder the same thing, And, that dream I had...about Ansem...Was that really not a dream as well? Are my own personal nightmares still not over?
“I'm sorry...” Sora apologized out of the blue, “I guess I did get a little carried away.”
Riku looked back up at him, and then got out of his seat. He walked over to his best friend and patted his shoulder, “Hey, we all need to express our feelings somehow, am I right?” he laughed a little.
Sora actually smiled now, nodding in agreement, “That's right.”
“Hey, how about you go see Kairi for a little bit?”
“Huh? Why Kairi?”
Riku whacked Sora on the head, in a 'friendly' and not so hurtful manner, and exhaled deeply, “Are you serious? She's really worried about you. Ever since we left Radiant Garden she's been in another room all by herself, just like you have.”
“Oh...really?”
Riku grabbed Sora's hand and jerked him up to his feet, turning him around and pushing him towards the door, “Come on, you need to go talk to her.”
Sora chuckled a little, “Okay, okay, I'm going!”
“You better,” Riku teased, “Now, hurry up, lover-boy.”
“RIKUUUU! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?”
“Oh, no reason...”
A/N: Yup, I just had to add in a comforting and yet funny friendship moment with Sora and Riku for you guys. Thanks for reading again! More to come!
