Chapter 25

CHAPTER 1 CONFRONTATION AS THE TERRIBLE RUMBLING ECHOED THROUGH HOLLOW BASTION, Sora and the others dashed outside. They had no idea what was happening, but it was definitely something. “I hope everybody’s okay…,” Goofy worried as they ran. Sora heard the muttering behind him, but he kept running. Even if people were in trouble, the trio would help. They could fight. Kairi, Riku, and the people of Hollow Bastion—they were more important than Kingdom Hearts or Nobodies. Because Sora was on this quest to save Kairi, find Riku again, and help everyone. “Let’s go!” he shouted as they hurried toward the castle postern. Riku gazed at the woman clad in black-and-violet robes. This was Hollow Bastion, the empty castle. This place had once been called Radiant Garden, before it fell under Maleficent’s rule. Sora and his friends had driven her off and were finally beginning to restore the town to its former glory, but once again, Maleficent and the Heartless—and now the Nobodies—were trying to put a stop to that. “So you are alive, Riku,” said Maleficent coldly. “And you’re back from the dead, like I thought,” Riku answered quietly from under his hood. “But of course. Like the darkness itself, I will not be vanquished. And aren’t you the same? You may change your form, but you cannot change your heart,” she said with a smile. That scent particular to human beings could not be hidden so easily. And try as he might to disguise himself, with her magic, Maleficent could easily tell whose heart it was. “Do you know about Organization XIII?” Riku asked. “I have heard of it. Those fellows in black cloaks like yours?” He nodded. “And the Nobodies.” “Nobodies?” Maleficent repeated. He stood close enough that she could feel the breath from his words. “I’m sure you’ve seen them. Those weird white creatures.” Just as Riku spoke, the castle shook with a terrible rumble. “They’re here.” He frowned, turned his back on Maleficent, and began to run. “Wait, boy!” “You’d better fight, too, if you don’t want to lose this castle,” he told her, ignoring her command, and plunged himself into inky darkness. “Hmph. What could he have been after…?” Maleficent muttered. Then she heard Pete shouting from behind her. “This is bad! Maleficent!” She turned deliberately to ask, “Now what?” “Those things. The white things…!” Pete gasped out, pointing behind him. “Well, speak of the devils…” Maleficent laughed softly, quite unruffled, and advanced toward them. Just after Sora and his friends rushed outside because of the noise…a man in a black cloak stole into the empty computer lab. The screen displayed a picture of a man with a white beard. Axel quietly pushed back his hood, revealing a shock of bright red hair. He squinted, leaning closer to peer at the screen. But there was something else that grabbed his attention more than the man in the picture—something about the computer system itself. The interface looked familiar. It was a lot like the one the computers in the organization headquarters used. That wasn’t the only thing giving Axel déjà vu. He stared at the screen… “…What are you doing here?” said a voice behind him. Axel spun around to find another man in black standing there. Seeing that Axel was ready to fight, the newcomer pushed his hood back and shifted his shoulders. “Ansem… Oh, Riku, it’s you.” Axel breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing the face. “Don’t scare me like that, okay? I got people after me, y’know.” “Well, if so, you should be a little more cautious.” Riku pulled up his hood again and went to join Axel in front of the computer. “You’re weak anyway,” he added, and a small laugh escaped him. “Wh— Hey, I just let my guard down for—” “So this is Ansem’s computer?” Riku interrupted Axel’s protest. “Who’s the man in this picture?” “Beats me.” Axel shrugged. “…I thought someone in the organization would be more help.” “I’m not in the organization!” Ignoring Axel, Riku began typing on the keyboard, and the screen displayed some data about the man. It seemed Sora and the others had left the information unlocked. “…Ansem? …That’s the real Ansem?” Riku murmured, reading the text above the picture. Beside him, Axel stayed quiet. A little while back, when he and Riku had exchanged information, they’d both come to understand that the man who called himself Ansem had only stolen Ansem’s name. “Oh!” Axel blurted. “What is it?” “I remember now! The screen looks like that computer in Twilight Town!” he exclaimed with certainty. The details of the system interface were the same. The one in Twilight Town had seemed more advanced, though. As if this one was its predecessor. “It has the same layout and the functions. That computer was managing Twilight Town, and this one is managing Hollow Bastion. Both of these systems were developed for town administration. There’s no way anyone else could’ve designed this. It has to mean they both have the same creator.” As Axel rushed to explain, Riku only kept staring silently at the computer. “…So where did the real Ansem go?” Axel said finally. “There is one person whose true identity we don’t know,” Riku muttered. At that, Axel looked up from the screen, meeting Riku’s eyes. Someone was there. After she’d come to Twilight Town, Naminé had never set foot outside of the white room. She hadn’t gone to the lab in the basement or to the town itself. She just prayed and drew pictures. Today was different. She could sense someone in the basement lab—a presence she didn’t recognize at all. Uncertainly, heart pounding, Naminé left the white room. She crossed the long hallway to the room at the far end and, step by step, descended the stairs to the basement. In front of the single door, Naminé paused. There was no doubt—he had returned. She took a deep breath and opened the door. A man was there, illuminated by the blue-white glow from a computer screen. “I thought you went with Riku.” “DiZ?” said Naminé. “When did you come back?” “Exactly what I’d like to ask you, Naminé.” DiZ turned in his chair, looking somehow amused. “I…” “Ice cream?” DiZ held out a blue ice cream pop. “It’s sea salt.” Still nervous, she accepted it. “Sora really is something else,” DiZ mused. “It seems he infiltrated the system and restored that modified program to normal.” “What do you mean?” asked Naminé. DiZ only smiled and took out another ice pop, then bit into it. “Hey, DiZ. Are you a bad guy or a good guy?” “…Well…I can’t answer that myself.” At that ambiguous reply, Naminé lowered her eyes, disappointed. “Oh, that’s right. I have something more important than ice cream to share with you.” He stood up and handed her a single photograph. “This is…” It depicted Hayner, Olette, Pence, and Roxas. “Those are all the presents I have for you. Now I’m afraid I must disappear.” “Wait—DiZ!” “Oh yes.” He shrugged and pointed to a small door under the computer. “There’s lots of sea-salt ice cream in the freezer there. Have as many as you like. Or share it if anyone comes by.” “Hey, DiZ, hold on!” The moment she tried to run after him, he vanished. She didn’t know what he was planning. When he’d taken Sora from that castle, he’d said it was for his protection. But DiZ had hurt Roxas—even let him be destroyed—to wake Sora up. Roxas had to disappear. I know that. I understand it, but something inside me makes me reject that. Did he really have to disappear? The heart probably had secrets unknown even to DiZ. The Heartless were an embodiment of the darkness in the heart. When a Heartless was born, it created a Nobody, too—an empty physical form. Then…a Nobody is…… Sora had to be the one who held the key. By coming into contact with him, the heart would awaken. And that means…… “…It’s salty…but sweet,” Naminé murmured after taking a bite of the ice cream. The Nobodies and the Heartless grappled in the open hall. “Hear me, my Heartless!” Maleficent called, looking down upon the battle. “Attack the white husks. Sweep them away!” Behind her, Pete hid his face in terror. The Nobodies clearly had the advantage. “Maleficent, we’re never gonna win! I don’t know about you—but I’m outta here!” He ran off. “You pathetic coward!” Maleficent fumed, but Pete didn’t look back. Meanwhile, the Nobodies were cutting swaths through the Heartless, and Maleficent took a step back. That moment, a certain trio hurtled into the great hall—Sora and the king’s lackeys. But King Mickey, the leader, was no longer with them. “Maleficent!” At Sora’s shout, she glanced toward them and gave a small contemptuous laugh. “Heartless! Leave the white ones. Turn your attention to Sora and his friends!” With that, she vanished from the scene. All at once, the Heartless turned from their fight with Nobodies and set their sights on the trio. “Uh-oh…,” said Goofy. “We can take ’em both!” Sora dashed into the swarm of Heartless and Nobodies. Both enemies posed a danger to this world, so to Sora and the others, there was hardly any difference between them. It just meant they had more than one kind of adversary. “Fire! Fire!” Donald yelled, waving his wand. “Gee, I guess we gotta.” With his shield out, Goofy joined the melee. Outside the castle, Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith battled the onslaught of Nobodies. They were just beginning to restore the town of Hollow Bastion. They couldn’t let a bunch of Nobodies destroy it now. They had to stop the Nobodies from infiltrating the town any further. “They just keep coming…,” Aerith murmured, facing the Nobodies that poured endlessly from the castle. “But it’s up to us to protect the town!” Yuffie shouted back, shuriken in hand, but a Nobody knocked her to the ground. “Yuffie!” Aerith gave her a healing potion. “Right now would be…” In the throng of Nobodies, she looked up at the sky. Right now would be a good time for him to come. And just then, a blade flashed among the swarm. “Cloud…!” Aerith cried. The owner of that blade—an enormous sword that he had to rest on his shoulder—was a blond youth dashing through the Nobodies toward Leon. “Tch.” Surrounded, the latter made a noise of frustration. Cloud turned to face the Nobodies, back-to-back with Leon. “Think you can handle this many?” Leon said with his gunblade ready. “Well… Might be tough if one more shows up,” Cloud replied without much concern. Leon smirked. “Then that’ll have to be the one I take care of.” “What, you’re fighting, too?” With that good-natured jeer, Cloud sprang into the sea of silver and whirled into action. Not a moment later, Leon began carving a path through the Nobodies. They would both fight to protect their home. Axel and Riku stood at the cliff by the postern, gazing down at the writhing mass of Nobodies. “Now what are you gonna do?” Axel wondered. Riku never took his eyes off the battle with Leon and his friends as he retorted, “What about you?” “I’m not telling.” Apparently, Axel had something in mind. “I’m gonna try to help Sora and the gang,” Riku informed him. “They’ve got their work cut out for them, fighting a horde like this.” He was about to leap down from the cliff, Soul Eater in hand, when— “Riku!” a voice called from behind him, and he froze. “…Your Majesty?” Quietly, Riku turned. “Good thing I found ya!” King Mickey ran to him. Riku instinctively glanced in Axel’s direction and noticed the redhead was averting his gaze uncomfortably. “Who are you…?” the king asked warily. “Axel,” he replied, mildly annoyed. “Got it memorized?” King Mickey nodded, then confirmed his suspicions. “…You’re a member of the organization, huh?” “You guessed it,” Axel said, quite unabashed. “He betrayed them, though,” Riku added. At that, the king looked between the two, then focused on Riku. “Is he on our side?” “No idea,” Axel interjected. “It’s true,” said Riku, finding it a bit funny. “We’re not sure whose side he’s on.” “But you’re friends,” said King Mickey. Mildly surprised at that, Riku looked at Axel. “Nobodies don’t have friends,” Axel snapped. “I’m glad to see you’re not all alone, Riku!” the king said with genuine relief as Axel slumped wordlessly. “Where’s Sora?” Riku asked, unable to hold the question in any longer. “He’ll be along soon,” King Mickey replied. “He said he’s looking for you and Kairi… He really wants to see you.” Riku shook his head. “Well, I don’t want to see him.” “But Riku—” “Please don’t, Your Majesty.” He didn’t let the king finish. “You already promised, didn’t you? Don’t tell Sora about me.” “All right. But it won’t be easy to keep him off your trail.” Riku smiled slightly. “Well, it is Sora, after all. Anyway…did you find any clues about where Ansem the Wise might be?” “I just don’t know,” said King Mickey. “It felt like I was awful close to him at one point…” “So you did feel his presence…?” Riku looked down. The real Ansem the Wise…and there was one more whose true identity they didn’t know. What if they were connected…? “Hey, Your Majesty… Where did you feel like he was close?” Axel leaned down to ask. “Was it…in Twilight Town?” King Mickey stared back at him, startled. “It sure was! But how’d you know?” Axel and Riku exchanged a glance. “Naminé’s in danger…isn’t she?” Axel muttered, his expression darkening. “Your Majesty, I’ll go to Twilight Town,” said Riku. “If Ansem the Wise is there, maybe I’ll find him.” “Riku?” As the king looked up at him, mystified, he nodded once more and brought the darkness of the rift up about him. “Gosh… Riku’s always running off like that.” King Mickey gave Axel a bemused look. “What’ll you do now?” “Uh…” Axel was similarly at a loss. “Well, I’m getting a whiff of a good friend of mine from you.” The king stepped closer, his nose twitching. “I thought it was from Riku, but it’s from you.” “Do I smell?” Axel hurried to sniff his clothes. He couldn’t smell anything. “I wonder where Pluto went…” The king heaved a sigh. “Pluto? What, that dog?” “Yup! Oh, boy, you did meet Pluto!” Overjoyed, King Mickey grabbed Axel’s hand and shook it vigorously. “…I mean, I’ve had a shower since then…,” Axel mumbled, still confused. “So, what are you gonna do now?” The king’s bright, clear eyes were trained on him. Axel frowned and took a deep breath. His voice came out faint. “I want to tell Sora I’m sorry.” “…Axel. You’re…a Nobody, right?” He gave a tiny nod. “So I can’t destroy other Nobodies,” he said, more quietly than before. Unless he was actually in danger, Axel couldn’t fight Nobodies. Not when he was one himself. He didn’t want to make them disappear. But even about that, he had his doubts. Weren’t Nobodies supposed to be destroyed? He didn’t know what to do. He just couldn’t fight something so similar to him. “I’m thinking I’d like to get Sora and the others off this world, and soon,” said King Mickey. “I’m not sure either whether we should be fightin’ the Nobodies or the organization.” “What about the Heartless? Don’t you have to fight them, too?” Axel asked, back to his usual tone. “What d’you mean?” “Well—,” Axel began, but the king suddenly turned. “Oh no! Here they are!” King Mickey leaned over the cliff face and shouted to him, “We’ll talk later, Axel!” Then he leaped from the cliff. Watching him descend, Axel gazed over the edge for a while. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy left the postern, they came across some ruins. The path that should have been there was destroyed, leaving only the sheared-off edge of a cliff. All around there were deep cracks in the earth. And in the distance, they could see a swarm of Nobodies steadily advancing toward them. They rushed forward to meet it. Then a figure in a black cloak hurtled down from overhead, somersaulting through the air before landing. “Your Majesty!” Donald called out. It was none other than King Mickey. But with his back to them, he spread his arms to stop them. “Okay, fellas—you’ve gotta go find Riku and Kairi!” “But Leon and the others are our friends, too!” Sora protested. “Don’t worry,” the king told him without turning around. “There’s already lots of help here. We’ll take care of this fight.” “I promised Leon…” Sora hung his head. Even if the king was instructing him to go, he couldn’t just run away from a promise. I want to help Leon and everyone. I want to protect the town, Sora thought. Riku and Kairi will still be there… Please just let them wait a little longer. “Donald, Goofy! Take Sora and get goin’!” Hearing that, Donald and Goofy looked at each other. “Quick!” King Mickey urged them. They couldn’t see his face or guess what he was thinking. Still, Donald stood at attention. “Your Majesty!” “We’ll go look for Riku and Kairi!” Goofy declared. “Right. Be careful!” said King Mickey, his back still turned. “You too, Your Majesty!” Donald replied. Sora turned to him. “Wait—you guys!” Donald and Goofy gazed back at him, stiff as soldiers. “Hurry up, Sora!” “You’re comin’ with us whether you like it or not!” But despite their words, they didn’t move. “C’mon, do as you’re told!” Donald said with a wink. A smile came to Sora’s face, and he nodded. “Okay, okay.” “Well then, skedaddle!” said Goofy. Sora mouthed his reply. Thank you. “Let’s go!” Donald prompted, and Sora sprinted away as hard as he could—past King Mickey—leaping down the stairs. “Sora! Wait!” The king started after them. “Sorry, Your Majesty!” Sora shouted his apology and kept going. “Hope you can forgive us!” added Goofy. “Quack!” Donald agreed. “…Fiddlesticks,” King Mickey said under his breath. “Kind of a handful, aren’t they?” Axel was there behind him. “And somebody from the organization’s about to make an appearance, too.” “What…?!” King Mickey was about to resume chasing them when Axel grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. “Look, I know the guy. Those three can handle him.” The king anxiously looked down the stairs after them. The door to the computer lab suddenly opened, and Naminé whirled around. “Naminé!” the visitor exclaimed. She said his name, sea-salt ice cream in hand. “…Riku?” “Is DiZ here?” he asked, a little out of breath. Naminé shook her head. “He left. But how did you know he would be here?” “The computers.” Riku crossed the room to DiZ’s computer and tried typing, but all he got was an error message and an automated reply: “Please enter the password.” “What about the computers?” said Naminé. “The system on this one and the system on the computer in Hollow Bastion are almost exactly the same. That means there’s a good chance the same person designed them.” Riku tried typing in the words that came to mind, but every time, he got the error message. As he uneasily pecked at the keyboard, he went on explaining. “Sora restored the system in Hollow Bastion. If something went wrong with it there, I thought DiZ would come back here.” “…So DiZ made the computer system in Hollow Bastion?” Naminé asked. Riku turned to face her. “No—Ansem the Wise made the one here.” “But that means…” “Right. I think DiZ is Ansem the Wise.” Naminé’s breath caught, and uncertainty clouded her expression. “But why…why would someone like that…?” “—DiZ didn’t tell you anything?” “No. Nothing. He just gave me this ice cream and a picture.” She showed Riku her treat, minus a single bite, and the photograph. “Sea-salt ice cream…?” Riku turned back to the computer as if something had occurred to him and typed in a few words. “There. I’m in.” “The ice cream was the password?” said Naminé. “Then does this picture mean something…?” Riku peered at the photo of Roxas and his friends. “It was taken in front of the mansion. Maybe…” He fell silent, glaring at the monitor. “When DiZ looked at me this time, he didn’t seem as cold as before. I wonder why…?” Naminé murmured. “Oh, the ice cream. He said I could share it if anyone comes by.” She knelt down and opened the little door beside her feet, releasing a gust of cold air. The inside was stacked with sea-salt ice cream pops. “Want one, Riku?” She held one out to him. He accepted and took a bite. “…It’s salty…but kind of sweet…?” “It’s good, though, isn’t it? It was Roxas’s favorite.” Sorrow crossed Naminé’s face. “Sea-salt ice cream and a photo…” With the ice pop in his hand, Riku eyed the transporter device in the center of the room. “Is he saying to give it to Sora…? As a hint pointing to this place?” Naminé nodded. “That might be it. I think DiZ—I mean, Ansem the Wise—has some kind of plan.” “Hey, Naminé… Is there something you haven’t told me—well, haven’t told us?” She looked at the floor. “…I’m not sure of it yet. The secrets of the heart…aren’t something I can talk about, not yet,” she told him in a tiny voice and took another bite of ice cream. The trio hurled themselves straight into the mass of Nobodies. Or they were about to—but someone stood in their way. “Wak!” Unable to stop in time, Donald crashed into the man at full speed. “Get outta the way!” Holding his bruised bill, Donald glared up at him—then noticed that the man wore a black cloak and jumped back. “You guys sure are looking lively,” the man remarked. Sora recognized the face and the voice. “Hey, didn’t we catch you messing around in the Underworld? How’d a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?” Demyx backed away, pretending to be cowed. “Can you even fight?” Sora taunted, folding his arms. “We won’t hold back!” Donald added. “It’s wrong to judge people by appearances,” Demyx told them with a self-confidence completely opposed to his earlier attitude. “You sure about that?” Sora held the Keyblade ready. “…I told them they were sending the wrong guy.” Demyx’s expression fell again, and he scratched his head in frustration, confidence gone. “…What’s up with him?” Sora muttered, baffled at his constantly changing mood. “Remember, Sora?” said Goofy. “The organization’s made up of Nobodies.” “Oh, right! No hearts!” Sora nodded and fixed a glare on Demyx. “Aw, we do too have hearts. Please don’t be mad!” Now he looked apologetic. “You can’t fool us!” shouted Donald, waving his wand. “Silence, traitor.” Pointing at Sora, Demyx had transformed again, grimly furious. He dashed at the trio and brandished his weapon, which resembled a huge stringed instrument—a sitar. “Who’s this traitor?!” Sora demanded, blocking the attack. “Traitors are traitors!” Demyx sprang into the air, and a wave of water gushed out of the ground. “Whoa!” The ferocious wave knocked them back, and the spray took on shapes—watery copies of Demyx surrounding them. “Ack!” “Fire! Blizzard!” Donald shot off spells at the copies, which splashed into nothing with one hit. The trio made quick work of the rest of the clones and then began to chase down Demyx. But jets of water spouted up from near his feet, and they couldn’t get close. “That’s cheatin’!” Goofy complained. “I don’t see how!” Demyx retorted and fired more water at them. “Thunder!” Donald managed to stop one of the jets with a spell. “Nice work, Donald!” Sora saw the opening and rushed at Demyx. “Quick, take him down!” Donald called. “You got it!” Sora leaped up to attack—and so did Demyx, sitar poised. “Having fun yet?” “Not really!” Sora brought down the Keyblade. “Gah!” Demyx yelped. That was all it took to send him crashing into the ground. He let out a pitiful whine as his sitar dissolved into water trickling between his fingers. “Aw, c’mon, no way!” “Yes way.” Sora stared down at him. Before his eyes, a dark mist enveloped Demyx, and then he was gone. “Anyone from the organization who wants to be next?” Sora shouted at the empty square. “Hey, Sora…” Donald tugged at his hand, then stood up to scold with his arms folded. “Don’t antagonize them!” “Yeah, we gotta go help out our friends first,” Goofy said cheerfully, running over to join them. “Oh, right. Sorry.” Sora rubbed his head sheepishly. “Then let’s go!” said Donald. Sora nodded, but that moment, the king’s piping voice rang out. “Aha! There you are!” Donald and Goofy stopped in their tracks just before they could run ahead. They turned to find a very unhappy-looking King Mickey. He glared at the trio for a few tense moments—then broke into a grin. “You sure do have a lot of friends to help.” All three of them exhaled in relief. “All right,” said King Mickey, “we’d better pull together and finish this battle for good!” “Yes, Your Majesty!” the trio replied in unison and then smiled at one another. But before they could set off, there was an explosion above. Boulders came tumbling down. “Look out!” cried Goofy, but there was no time. He darted forward, knocking the king aside—and a falling stone struck him. “Goofy?!” The others rushed to where he was sprawled on the ground. His eyes didn’t open. “Hey! You’re the king’s captain! Get yourself together!” Donald desperately shook him by the shoulders. Goofy stayed limp and motionless. “C’mon, wake up!” Sora was shouting, too. “Goofy, it’s time for dinner!” Donald tried. But Goofy didn’t respond even to that. At a slight distance from the others, King Mickey edged away. “Goofy…?” Donald thumped on Goofy’s chest, and his voice came out half-sobbing. “G-Goofy…” “This isn’t happening… It can’t be happening…” Sora peered at Goofy’s face. “You’ve gotta be kidding…right?” “They’ll pay for this…!” King Mickey flung off his cloak and stared furiously ahead, his fist clenched around his Keyblade. And then he dashed toward the writhing Nobodies. “Waaaaak!” With his own battle cry, Donald followed. Sora reached out for Donald and grabbed his hand, turning back for one more look at their fallen friend. Then he ran, as if to escape his own emotions.