Kingdom Hearts II Vol 1

by Tomoco Kanemaki

  They seemed to be rather flighty fairies. So the one in the blue was Merryweather, the red was Flora, and the green was Fauna.

  “Well, Sora, why don’t we get started?” Fauna waved her slender magic wand, and Sora’s entire outfit turned green.

  “Oh, that will never do!” This time Merryweather’s wand turned Sora’s garments blue.

  “You two haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re doing,” Flora declared, and with a flick of her wrist, Sora’s clothes turned red.

  “No, this is much better!”

  “Is it?”

  “Oh, what is that?”

  “This’ll do it!”

  The barrage of magic continued, and Sora’s clothes shifted through colors so fast his eyes hurt. “Aw, c’mon, would you just decide?” he complained.

  “Very well… All together now, dears. No more squabbling!” Flora said, and the other two bobbed their heads in agreement. “Here goes!”

  The three magic wands shot out jets of sparkles, and Sora’s outfit settled into a stylish black, with trimming here and there in different colors.

  “Oh my!”

  “Not bad at all.”

  “Oh yes, he does look dashing.”

  In response, Sora struck a smart pose, showing off the new threads. His two friends cracked up.

  “Hey! Don’t laugh at me!”

  “But…!” Donald couldn’t contain his quacking laughter.

  “Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”

  “Yup,” Goofy agreed.

  The fairies seemed satisfied, too.

  Sora examined his new clothes and hopped to test the fit.

  Outside the window, a suspicious shape watched the scene. But those inside never noticed.

  “Oh, and Master Yen Sid’s got something for you, too,” Fauna said, excited.

  “Wow! Thanks, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather!” Sora exclaimed.

  “You’re very welcome.”

  The three fairies happily waved to him, the sleeves of their robes fluttering. Sora bowed to them like a prince at a great ball and rushed back out to the sorcerer’s room.

  The men in black cloaks gathered in the hall of spotless white marble. Their hoods hid their faces—and their expressions. Only six of the thirteen seats were occupied. The five lost at Castle Oblivion; number 13, Roxas; and number 8, Axel, were gone.

  Number 2, Xigbar, opened the discussion. “So the Keyblade’s on the move.”

  “Isn’t that part of the plan?” Xaldin said, number 3.

  “Losing number thirteen—well, Roxas—sure wasn’t,” Xigbar shot back, then turned his gaze downward. “We should have made sure our little hero stayed incomplete.”

  “What about Axel?” Number 9, Demyx, softly mentioned the last missing member.

  Luxord, number 10, answered bluntly from his low-ranking seat, “He’s apparently betrayed us.”

  “…Betrayed us, hmm?” rumbled number 1—Xemnas.

  “Really? Him?” Demyx practically squealed.

  “He was involved in the incident at Castle Oblivion… I warned you he had a hand in the demise of Marluxia and the others, and yet someone failed to eliminate him.” Saïx, number 7, glared at Xigbar from under his hood with a sharp glint in his eyes.

  “Hey, he’s the only one who’s had direct contact with the Keyblade wielder,” Xigbar replied, unruffled.

  “Observe them.” Xemnas issued the order quietly.

  “Saïx, you go after Axel. Demyx, you follow the kid.” Xigbar translated it for the rest of them as if he were privy to Xemnas’s thoughts.

  “The kid? Roxas, you mean?” Demyx got to his feet.

  “Yes… That’s right. Roxas.” Xigbar smiled darkly and exchanged a glance with Xemnas.

  “So what do you think, Master Yen Sid?” Sora, freshly outfitted, ran up to the sorcerer.

  “Oh, quite good indeed,” Yen Sid replied, moving to the window. “Here—this is my final gift before you depart.”

  Floating outside the wide-open casement was the Gummi Ship.

  Donald squawked in delight and dashed to the window.

  “All right! Let’s get going!” Sora seemed ready to jump straight out the window as he waited for confirmation from Donald and Goofy.

  “Now, now, hold on a moment,” Yen Sid said reprovingly. “Thanks to your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states—which means the pathways between them have disappeared.”

  Was he saying that they couldn’t simply travel from world to world like before? Sora’s shoulders slumped.

  “That’s a problem…,” Donald remarked, leaning out the window to stare at the ship.

  “Have no fear. If what the king suspected proves true, the worlds will have prepared new pathways, which you should be able to use by unlocking certain gates. As for how to unlock them, the Keyblade will serve as your guide.”

  The weapon in Sora’s hand gleamed.

  “Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach,” Yen Sid said, “they all remain bound by invisible ties—as do our hearts.”

  Sora nodded. “Our hearts…are connected.”

  He was linked to Riku…and to Kairi and to King Mickey. And to all the people they’d met on their journey…

  “Precisely,” Yen Sid said. “But be warned—the Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths, Corridors of Darkness, to move from world to world. And they may be trying to link their corridors to the gates between the worlds.”

  Sora nodded again, more forcefully this time.

  “Now, that is all I can tell you. Go forth, Sora, Donald, Goofy. Your friends and the worlds are waiting.”

  The trio looked at one another and nodded in unison.

  “Okay, we’re off!” Sora declared, and leaped out to the Gummi Ship as it floated up to meet them.

  Donald and Goofy briskly saluted Yen Sid, who smiled at them in return, then jumped out after Sora.

  The humming of the engine grew steadily louder, and the Gummi Ship took off into the Other Sky.

  Just then, an ink-black shadow fluttered to the floor in the middle of the fairies’ room.

  “Goodness—what is that?” Merryweather edged back from it in apprehension.

  A solitary raven clutched a length of black cloth in its claws and cawed a sinister kraak.

  The fairies eyed the cloth fearfully. “Haven’t we seen that somewhere before…?” Merryweather said.

  “I believe so…,” Fauna mused. “I wonder whose…”

  “Is it Mal—?”

  As Merryweather began to utter a name, Flora rushed to interrupt. “No! We mustn’t remember her name! Oh, I’ve got a terrible feeling about this!” Shivering, she crossed her arms and hugged herself.

  “Ooh, she was a mean ol’ witch. Oh no, the memories are coming back! This is no good! What’ll we do?” Merryweather fretted, beginning to pace.

  Between them, the black cloth slowly squirmed…into the form of a person.

  “We’ve got to tell Master Yen Sid!” cried Fauna.

  “Yes—that’s what we’ll do!” Flora agreed. The two of them flew out of the room, leaving behind the black cloth—and Merryweather.

  The cloth, which had taken the shape of a dress, lifted into the air by itself and transformed into a certain witch who should have stayed lost in their memories.

  Merryweather screamed the name of the enchantress who had imprisoned their beloved princess within tangles of cursed thorns.

  The princess was called Aurora, and the witch was called—

  “Maleficent!”

  Merryweather scurried out after the others, leaving Maleficent to survey the room with some degree of familiarity.

  And then she let out a high, cruel laugh.

  CHAPTER 2

  HOLLOW BASTION

  RIKU AND KING MICKEY EACH SAT ON A BOULDER, watching the sunset.

  …Just like Riku used to do with Sora and Kairi.

  How long ago was that now? It must have been ages, and
yet the memory felt like it had happened just yesterday.

  I’d like to go home, if we can, Riku thought. But the way I am now, I can’t.

  This was the path he’d chosen for himself.

  “We’d better get going,” King Mickey said to Riku.

  “Right.” Riku got to his feet.

  They’d spoken about many things—about everything that had happened and what might lie ahead.

  In truth, he wanted to go with King Mickey, but there were things that he had to take care of on his own.

  “If you take the Corridors of Darkness, you can come and go between the worlds wherever you want. You know how to do that, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Once, being around King Mickey had been painful enough for Riku to travel those corridors alone. And now, because of that, he’d gained enormous power—and the form of a different person.

  He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  Only a sliver of sun remained above the horizon, and dusk painted the sky pale violet.

  “Your Majesty, I want you to promise me something.”

  At that, King Mickey finally stood up. “What’s that?”

  “Even…even if you meet Sora or the others, promise you won’t tell them about me?”

  “Okay. I won’t.” King Mickey gave him a solemn nod.

  Riku began to walk away across the sand. “Well, I’m off.”

  “Riku!” he heard King Mickey call after him. “We’ll be apart, y’know…but it’ll be all right.”

  Riku looked back at him.

  “You’re not alone, Riku.”

  He’d heard those words before.

  That was what the king had told him in that castle—Castle Oblivion.

  “Yeah. I know. You and Sora and everyone else…you’re always with me.” Riku smiled.

  King Mickey nodded in reply.

  “See you, Your Majesty.” With that, Riku stepped into the gap in space yawning before him—the Corridor of Darkness.

  The Gummi Ship flew on through the Other Sky.

  “Can’t see a thing!” Donald announced with his bill against the porthole.

  Sora joined him and smushed his face against the glass to look outside. “Nope, nothing. But King Mickey got the Gummi Ship all ready for us, didn’t he?”

  “Sora, Donald! C’mere! I can see something thataway!” Goofy called, likewise pressed against the opposite porthole.

  “Where?”

  “What? Where?”

  The other two dashed over to him. Donald climbed atop Goofy, and Sora poked his head up under Goofy’s snout.

  “You’re squishin’ me!” Goofy protested.

  “You’re in the way!” snapped Donald.

  “Look, there it is!”

  All pressed up against the little porthole, pushing and shoving, they could see a world floating in the distance.

  “Only one?” Sora complained as the Gummi Ship drifted closer.

  “That’s not enough,” Donald said glumly, and finally hopped down off Goofy.

  Goofy gazed fixedly at the lone world. “But…I think it’s a world we know.”

  “I dunno…” Sora sounded a bit uncertain, his nose still on the window.

  “Look, there’s a castle in the middle of it,” Goofy pointed out.

  Donald promptly clambered atop him again and squinted. “It’s Hollow Bastion!” he exclaimed, bouncing.

  “You’re right!” After Sora’s head knocked into Goofy’s chin, he happily thought aloud, “I wonder how everyone’s doing…”

  The Gummi Ship sped closer to Hollow Bastion.

  “Maleficent! Maleficent?!” A harsh male voice echoed through the quiet halls.

  This was a place where evil had once dwelled, the empty fortress—Hollow Bastion.

  Pete glanced furtively about the grand hall, wandering around at a loss.

  The castle was much changed from when Sora had come in search of Kairi. No one seemed to be here at all, leaving it even more lonely and decrepit.

  “Maybe they really did finish her off?” Pete muttered nervously. “And this castle sure ain’t like I heard about neither. No shine, no nothin’… Now what’s gonna happen to our plan…?”

  Crestfallen, he hung his head.

  An enormous window in the grand hall overlooked the town. Steam rose from the buildings below, proving that people lived there. The streets even looked cheerful—which also didn’t match up with what Maleficent had told him.

  A single raven alighted on the window ledge and made a raucous caw.

  “…Maleficent?” Pete mumbled, and the bird flew into the hall.

  Sora bounded out of the Gummi Ship and hopped again for sheer joy. “It is Hollow Bastion!”

  Donald and Goofy followed him out and took in the scene. “Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now,” Goofy wondered aloud, gazing up at the castle in the distance.

  “I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay.” Hoping to find them right away, Donald took off over the brick-paved square—and leaped back in surprise. “Quack!”

  “What’s the matter, Donald?” Then Sora jumped, too. “Whoa!”

  There was a mass of Heartless in front of them.

  “Guess we better gear up for more fightin’, huh?” Goofy said under his breath.

  “All right—here we go!” Sora called. They charged, Donald with his wand and Goofy with his shield, and before long the swarm was defeated, releasing the trapped hearts and dissipating.

  “That was quick!” Sora grinned, resting the Keyblade across his shoulders.

  “I guess this is the town market,” Donald said, looking around. Heartless didn’t often come where there were lots of people—the same as Traverse Town.

  “Unca Donald!” someone called suddenly.

  Donald turned. “Wak?”

  The voice belonged to one of his nephews, Louie, perched on a shop counter.

  “Gee, it’s been a long time!” Goofy ran up to the window.

  Sora followed. “So you’re still running a store, huh?”

  “Yep. Good to see you, Sora!”

  Apparently the brothers Huey, Dewey, and Louie managed shops here and there around town.

  “Unca Scrooge is here, too!” Dewey called from across the street.

  “He is?!” Donald whirled.

  “Who’s that?” Sora whispered to Goofy. The name wasn’t familiar.

  “Donald’s uncle. He’s a big businessman!” Goofy replied. “Before the Heartless showed up, he was travelin’ on the Gummi Ship with the king. He was gonna help set up a traffic system.”

  “Transit system!” Donald corrected him peevishly.

  “Unca Scrooge’s right over thataway!” Huey pointed, and Donald scurried off.

  Sora and Goofy rushed to catch up. “Slow down, Donald!”

  “Uncle Scrooge?” Donald called to a gentleman duck in a silk hat in front of a building that appeared to be an enormous freezer.

  “What’s all the racket?” The gentleman in question turned around. He had some kind of ice pop in his hand. “Why, if it isn’t Donald. Hello there, lad!”

  Scrooge hopped in surprise, just like Donald often did, and smiled warmly. The family resemblance was striking. He wore a pair of spectacles and a blue suit.

  “And Goofy, too. Aye, you both look hale and hearty!”

  “So do you, Uncle Scrooge.”

  But Scrooge’s face fell at Donald’s reply. “Ah, if only I was… I’ve been trying to re-create my favorite old-time ice cream. Thought I’d make a pretty penny…”

  “Ice cream?!” Sora blurted, poking his head in between Donald and Goofy.

  “Who’s this now?” Scrooge asked.

  “I’m Sora!” After this brief introduction, he stared intently at the ice pop Scrooge was holding.

  “He’s our friend,” Donald explained.

  Scrooge peered with interest at Sora. “Do you like ice cream, lad?”

  “Yeah!” Sora nodded, his gaze intensifying. It had bee
n forever since he’d had a treat like that, he thought, unconsciously leaning in.

  And yet he got the feeling he had had one somewhere… It must have been home on Destiny Islands, and yet it wasn’t…

  “What’s wrong, Sora?” asked Goofy, seeing Sora’s confusion.

  “Oh—it’s nothing. Um, Mr. Scrooge, could I have one?” Sora’s expression returned to a hopeful grin.

  Scrooge heaved a sigh. “Well, you can have this one, but…you see…”

  “Really? Thanks, Mr. Scrooge!” Sora took it from Scrooge’s hand.

  “Oh no, I should warn you—”

  “I can’t wait!” Ignoring Scrooge’s attempts to stop him, Sora chomped down on the ice cream bar. “……Ugh!”

  He held it at arm’s length and scrunched up his face in disgust.

  Donald took the ice pop and sniffed it before taking a bite. “…It’s awful!” He made the same face as Sora, and then Goofy tried it.

  “Gee, that’s pretty bad…,” Goofy said mournfully.

  “What is that?! It doesn’t taste like ice cream! It’s bitter!” Sora complained.

  “I did try to warn you…,” Scrooge said with another sigh, and his shoulders slumped. “I haven’t been able to get it right.”

  “What kind of ice cream is it supposed to be?” Donald asked.

  “I don’t quite remember, myself.”

  “…That would make it pretty tough.” Goofy crossed his arms and sighed, too.

  Beside him, Sora stamped his foot. “Aww, I want ice cream!” he yelled at the sky.

  “Well, do ye mind waiting a bit?” Scrooge said. “I think I can—no, I’m sure I can—re-create that flavor properly!”

  Goofy nodded. “Guess we gotta wait.”

  “See you later, Uncle Scrooge,” Donald said.

  “Aye…” Scrooge nodded weakly, and the trio started heading farther into town.

  “I want ice cream! C’mon! Ice cream!” Sora kept insisting, his sweet tooth getting the better of him.

  Goofy cocked his head. “You really like ice cream that much?”

  “Everyone likes ice cream!”

  “Wak! Ain’t that the truth!” Donald agreed.

  “See? It’s sweet and cold and…huh?” Sora paused, confusion creeping over his face again.

  “What? That’s ice cream, all right.”