Chapter 17

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 been 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.” “Hmm… Yeah, sweet and cold and…I dunno.” It felt like he was forgetting something. Cold, sweet, and…what else? “Oh well. That’s what makes ice cream great!”