Chapter 16

“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.