Kingdom Hearts II Vol 1

by Tomoco Kanemaki

  “Whatcha doin’?” asked Donald.

  The figure replied without sparing a glance, “Heh-heh. I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower’s as big and tough as they say. Word is he’s a real powerful sorcerer. Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me.”

  The haughty voice belonged to a male. The trio exchanged glances.

  “See, it don’t matter how tough he is,” he went on. “Once he’s a Heartless, he’ll do what I say!”

  Donald leaped up at the familiar term. “A Heartless?”

  Sora and Goofy tensed, prepared for a fight.

  “That’s right! Those things that come outta the darkness in folks’ hearts. And with all those Heartless at her side, Maleficent’s gonna conquer everything! And since I got me a debt to pay to that nice ol’ witch, I’m goin’ round to a bunch of different worlds, buildin’ an army of Heartless, special for her. Get it?” He waved his arms as if lecturing them, even though he never took his eyes off the gap into the tower. “Why am I talkin’ to you pip-squeaks, anyway? Go on, scram! I’m behind schedule already!”

  He shooed them away once more.

  “You oughta find something nicer to do,” Goofy said.

  And the trio had soundly defeated Maleficent, hadn’t they?

  “Says who?” The person at the door finally turned to face them. “Wha—? Aaaugh! It’s you!”

  At the same time, Donald and Goofy leaped back, also startled, and shouted, “Pete!”

  So that was the name of the guy at the door.

  “What are you two nimrods doin’ here?!”

  “What’re you doing?!” Donald retorted.

  “Uh… Friend of yours?” Sora whispered to Goofy, finally catching on.

  “Pete used to cause trouble all the time in our world. His Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. Wonder how he escaped…?” Goofy folded his arms in thought.

  Pete burst into loud, mean laughter. “You wanna know how, eh? Maleficent busted me out, that’s how! And now your world—nah, all the worlds are gonna belong to yours truly!” he announced in one blustery breath, enormously full of himself, then made a small amendment: “And Maleficent, of course.”

  The trio exchanged dubious grins.

  “Maleficent, huh?” Sora remarked.

  “What’s so funny?!” Any moment now, steam would come pouring from Pete’s ears, or so it seemed. “Why, Maleficent’s power is so great—”

  Sora cut him off. “She’s gone.”

  “Huh?”

  “Maleficent won’t be helpin’ ya now,” Goofy said breezily.

  “Whaddaya mean?!” Pete bellowed, red-faced.

  Donald clamped his bill shut to contain his laughter.

  “You!” As Pete finally deduced the situation, he started trembling with rage. “So you’re the ones that did it!”

  “Well…” Sora shrugged as if confessing to a bout of mischief. “We might’ve had something to do with it.”

  Pete snarled, staring at his feet and shaking as he tried to contain himself. The trio exchanged a glance, wondering what to do, but at last Pete shouted again. “Heartless squad! Round up!”

  On cue, Heartless rose from the ground.

  “Whoa!” Gripping his wand, Donald jumped away from one that appeared right beside him.

  “Actually…this’ll be kinda fun!” Sora rubbed his nose in anticipation and readied the Keyblade.

  “Gawrsh, Sora, I sure wouldn’t!” Goofy said, sounding a bit confused.

  The ring of Heartless crept closer and closer.

  “This won’t even take a second!” Sora hurtled at them.

  A ball of flame shot from Donald’s wand. “Fire!”

  “Aw, shucks… Yahoooey!” Goofy rushed at the Heartless on the other side.

  Sure enough, scarcely a second later, the Heartless were gone.

  Sora grinned at Pete. “Wanna keep going?”

  “You just wait! Nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!” The trembling had turned to violent shaking.

  “So, ‘mighty’ Pete, who lives in this tower anyway?” Sora asked casually, his hands linked behind his head.

  “Oh, ya don’t know, huh? It’s old Yen Sid. ’Course, he’s probably a Heartless by now!” Pete sneered.

  Hearing the name, Donald hopped in surprise. “Master Yen Sid is here?!”

  He shoved Pete out of the way, yanked the doors open, and then waddled hastily into the tower.

  “Yen Sid? Who’s that?” Sora asked Goofy, mystified.

  “He’s the king’s teacher!” Goofy replied, halfway into the tower himself.

  “Wow. He must be powerful!” The last of the three followed them.

  “Hey! Hold it right there, pip-squeaks!” Pete started to run after the trio, but the doors slammed in his face with a boom and enough force to send him tumbling backward. “You won’t get away with this!”

  But inside the tower, Sora and his friends never even heard Pete’s blustering.

  Amid the soft rush of the waves, he idled on the seashore.

  He had only one thing to do—to help Sora.

  But…he was alone again.

  Had he made a mistake letting Axel and Naminé meet? If not for that, he wouldn’t be by himself now.

  But Axel and Naminé were both Nobodies—beings that DiZ had said were never supposed to exist. Was that true? Was it really so wrong for Nobodies to exist?

  What he’d learned from DiZ wasn’t enough to go on. He’d needed to know more than DiZ—to know more about the organization. So he’d tried approaching Axel with a deal.

  He’d needed information about the things DiZ knew, the things Axel knew…and the secrets of the worlds.

  The deal had been a success, and they had pooled their knowledge. Thanks to that, he had been able to learn more about the truth, and more about the organization, than DiZ.

  Axel had offered them information about the organization’s leader, too.

  Riku sat down on the boulder where Axel had been perched moments before and gazed out to where the sky met the sea.

  He wanted to go back to their sea…their island. He wanted to run down the shore with Sora. That was the wish in his heart.

  But doubt still lingered in Riku’s heart, too. Had he done the right thing?

  There had been no other way to awaken Sora. The only option was to destroy Roxas—or rather, to return him to Sora.

  But thanks to what Axel and Naminé had said, he didn’t know whether his choice was correct.

  He even wondered if there had been an alternative after all.

  Riku pulled his hood up. He had to be on his way quickly.

  Suddenly, a high voice addressed him. “Huh, so this is where you were.”

  He turned. “Mickey—er, Your Majesty…”

  Standing there was a dear friend of his—Mickey Mouse, the king of his own world. Still wearing the same black cloak as when they’d left Castle Oblivion, he appeared exactly the same as when Riku had last seen him, in every respect.

  “You left me with your stuff and took off. Gosh, I’ve been lookin’ all over for ya,” King Mickey told him kindly. In fact, he was smiling. “Gonna give a fella a hug this time? And no need to call me ‘Your Majesty,’ remember? Just Mickey.”

  Right…, Riku remembered. Back in Castle Oblivion, I was so glad to see him, so glad that I wasn’t alone…and I hugged him.

  But I can’t do that now. And—I can’t just call him “Mickey” now, either.

  Not when I look like this.

  “Your Majesty… I…” Riku tugged his hood deeper over his face.

  “Gosh, Riku, I think you gotta tell me what happened.”

  Riku nodded faintly.

  The trio climbed up the stairs in the tower, defeating Heartless as they went.

  “Take that!” Sora landed a blow with the Keyblade.

  “Sora! They won’t let up!” Goofy exclaimed, fending off an attack.

  “H
eartless, Heartless, and more Heartless! Things haven’t changed one bit!” Donald complained, waving his wand about.

  It was true. They’d closed that great door, and yet the worlds were still overrun with Heartless.

  “Gawrsh, it’s a good thing we’re on the job, then.” Goofy knocked another back with his shield.

  “So…the worlds aren’t at peace after all?” Sora said mostly to himself.

  His companions exchanged a troubled glance.

  “Master Yen Sid oughta be able to tell us what’s goin’ on.”

  Sora and Donald nodded. “Well, let’s get to the top of this tower first!” Sora declared, heading onward and upward at a run, with the other two hot on his heels.

  At last, they arrived at what seemed to be the tower’s summit. Beyond the door was a small room.

  “Whew…” Catching their breath after the fight up the stairs, the trio looked up—and met the level gaze of an old man with a snowy white beard and a blue robe. He reminded Sora a little bit of Merlin back in Traverse Town, but this sorcerer wore a much more severe expression, which made him terribly intimidating.

  “An honor to meet you again, Master Yen Sid,” Donald said, and he dropped to one knee. Goofy did the same.

  “Hey there!” Sora made no such effort in his greeting. Donald grabbed at his head and forced him down to one knee, too. “What?!”

  “Sora! Show some respect!” Donald hissed at him as he struggled.

  “So, you are Sora?” Yen Sid asked.

  Sora shook off Donald and stood up with a grin. “Pleasure to meet you, Master Yen Sid!”

  Yen Sid smiled very faintly in return. “Now, then—have you seen the king?”

  Goofy got to his feet and stood rigidly at attention. “We have, master, but we didn’t get to talk to him.”

  “Yes… He’s been quite busy of late.” Yen Sid nodded and gestured to Donald, who was still kneeling, that his deference was enough. The sorcerer went on with a grave expression. “It would seem that the task of instructing you three falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you, and you must be well prepared.”

  The trio shared a glance.

  “You mean…we have to go on another quest?” Sora said, dismayed. “I was hoping I’d get to find my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands…”

  “Yes, I know. But everything in your journey, Sora, is connected. Whether you will find your way back to the islands, whether you will be alone or with your friend…and whether your islands will still be as you left them…” As Yen Sid spoke, Sora kept his attention fixed on him. “The key that connects them all is you, Sora.”

  “I’m…the key?” Sora repeated.

  “Chosen wielder of the Keyblade. You are the key that will open the door to light.”

  Goofy cocked his head. “But…didn’t we close the door?”

  “It doesn’t make any sense that the Heartless are still around!” Donald fumed.

  Yen Sid dropped his gaze momentarily and then spoke again. “Your endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness. Make no mistake.”

  That seemed reasonable. They’d defeated Ansem, after all, and closed the door.

  “However, the Heartless are embodiments of darkness—and darkness lingers in every heart.” Yen Sid’s voice was low and ominous. “The Heartless are fewer than before, but while darkness yet exists, it will be difficult to eliminate them.”

  “Then that must mean…if everybody’s heart was full of light, the Heartless’d go away!” Goofy said.

  Yen Sid dipped his head and continued, “As ever, the Heartless roam about in search of hearts, and you must keep vigilant.”

  “We’ve got that covered, Master Yen Sid!” Goofy replied.

  “However…you will have other enemies to contend with as well.”

  Startled, the three exchanged glances again.

  “At times, if someone possessed of a strong heart and will—be they good or evil—should become a Heartless, the empty shell left behind begins to act with a will of its own. That is a Nobody.”

  “A Nobody?” Donald echoed.

  “An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away—a spirit whose existence lingers even as the body fades… No, in fact, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. They may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse—they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived.”

  Nobodies… Those who did not truly exist. They’d never heard of this before.

  They couldn’t have—and yet Sora felt like he knew about Nobodies from somewhere. His heart skipped a beat.

  Why would hearing about these Nobodies do that to me?

  “You may meet alarming numbers of common Nobodies, but they are only empty shells. They will attempt to do you harm, but before long they will dissolve into the darkness.” Yen Sid paused and pointed to the empty space beside them. The hazy shape of a man in a black cloak materialized there.

  “…Who’s that?” Sora asked quietly. He felt as if he’d seen that figure before—but he couldn’t remember.

  “That is one of the powerful Nobodies who have formed a group called Organization XIII. They command the lesser Nobodies.”

  “Organization XIII…,” Sora murmured, trying to etch the words into his mind.

  “While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function at a higher level,” Yen Sid explained. “They can think and plan. And it seems that under the instruction of Organization XIII, they are working toward a higher goal.”

  “Gawrsh, do we know what that might be?” Goofy asked.

  Yen Sid shook his head. “We cannot begin to guess. The king sensed the danger and journeyed forth to confront it. Now he’s traveling from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he searches for what Organization XIII and the Nobodies are planning.”

  A cabal with an unknown objective: Organization XIII. Sora had to wonder why his heart pounded at hearing the term.

  Still, it doesn’t change what our goals are, he thought. Finding Riku and the king.

  If they found the king, who was investigating the organization, then they would learn where Riku was, too, and what the organization was planning.

  “Then we’d better track down the king first!” Sora blurted with determination. Donald and Goofy looked at each other.

  There was nothing to be afraid of. This wasn’t a new quest. They were still on their original journey.

  This was still Sora’s quest to find Riku, keep his promise to Kairi, and go back to the Destiny Islands.

  Jiminy Cricket hopped out then from his hiding place in Sora’s pocket.

  Sora was startled. “Whoa!”

  “And we mustn’t forget to thank Naminé.” With that, Jiminy ducked back into the pocket.

  “Yup, he’s right,” Goofy remarked. “We gotta thank Naminé.”

  The trio grinned at one another. Satisfied to see their optimism, Yen Sid inclined his head and indicated a door in the corner.

  “Before you go, you’ll need more suitable traveling clothes,” he told Sora. “Those seem a bit small for you.”

  Donald and Goofy shared a laugh.

  “It’s true, Master Yen Sid,” Goofy said, unable to keep a funny story to himself. “Sora’s clothes ripped just now.”

  “I’ve summoned three good fairies to take care of that. They may be rather fussy about clothing, but you need only to ask and they’ll create some new garments for you,” Yen Sid said to Sora with care.

  The pair traipsed through the heavy mist. How long would they have to make their way without even a path to follow?

  “…Axel?” Naminé called out to the red-haired man striding briskly ahead of her.

  He halted, but didn’t turn. “What? Need a break?”

  “No, that’s not it…” Naminé paused, watching his broad back.

  “Having second thoughts about coming with me, then?”

  “…I don’t regret anything,” she told him, and started walking again. “Where ar
e we going?”

  “I wonder.” Axel’s steps resumed, too.

  She wasn’t sure how far they should keep going in this mist.

  “What are we going to do?” Naminé pressed.

  “Haven’t decided yet.” Axel’s pace remained steady this time.

  “Roxas won’t be coming back.”

  At that, Axel stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. “That was his—DiZ’s plan, wasn’t it? I remember that much.”

  His expression was hard, closed like a fortress. Seeing that, it was impossible to believe that Axel had no heart.

  Heart. She rolled the word around in her mind. What did that mean, anyway? What was a heart?

  “Riku’s all alone now.”

  “That’s what’s bothering you?” Axel laughed softly, watching her downturned face. “He’s human, you know. Not a Nobody.”

  “But still…” Naminé trailed off.

  Axel hounded her further. “Even if he looks like that now.”

  “How he looks has nothing to do with it.”

  Naminé was certain of that. So long as he still has his heart, his appearance doesn’t matter, she repeated to herself.

  And then, realizing something, she raised her head. “Hey, Axel. If we had hearts—”

  “Well, we don’t. Got it memorized?” Axel interrupted bluntly. “And you know, traitors to the organization—for the record. Do you know what that means?”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Then keep walking.”

  Naminé bit her lip and plodded onward.

  When Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered the back room, three fairies who gave the impression of sweet old aunties greeted them with bright smiles. In their colored robes and hats—one green, one blue, and one red—they immediately began chattering.

  “Why, look who’s here—Sora, Donald, and Goofy.” The first to speak was the one in red.

  “If you’re looking for new clothes, you’ve come to the right place!” said the one in blue.

  “I’ll take care of the designing!” the one in green gushed.

  “Wait, wait, slow down!” Sora said, a bit flustered. “Can you tell me your names?”

  The fairies introduced themselves self-importantly.

  “I’m Merryweather.”

  “I’m Flora.”

  “And I’m Fauna.”