‘We’ve been doing some looking around at some of the worlds,’ Goofy explained. ‘The King wants to know if the situation here in Radiant Garden is the same as the other worlds.’

‘We just came back from Pride Lands. It looks much greener than before,’ said Donald. ‘And guess what? Simba and Nala have a new cub!’

‘Wow! That’s great!’ Sora cheered gladly. ‘They must be really happy.’

‘Everyone is helping out to check on the other worlds,’ Goofy continued. ‘We are trying to get some clues from the locals too. It’s important that we find out what’s happening and stop the bad guys from meddling.’

‘Wow…’ Sora said softly.

‘What was that for?’ Donald asked.

‘Goofy finally said “meddling” correctly!’ Sora smiled. ‘He used to say “muddling”, remember?’

‘Ahyuck!’ Goofy grinned sheepishly. ‘I do learn ya know.’

‘So, what new leads have you got?’ asked Leon.

‘We know that the Keyholes in each world are sealed. So there should be no danger to the heart of the world,’ said Donald. ‘The Heartless and Nobodies don’t seem to be looking for the Keyhole either. So their objectives have nothing to do with consuming the heart of the world.’

‘But after questioning the locals, we found out that the Nobodies and most of the Heartless only attack those who had connections with us,’ Goofy nodded. ‘Simba said he had to beat of the bad guys many times. But the other animals are safe and sound.’

‘It’s definitely Maleficent!’ Yuffie said. ‘She knows us and definitely wants to get back at us!’

‘That could be it,’ Leon agreed. ‘But we’ll need to report to the King first.’

‘So what do we need, exactly?’ asked Kairi.

‘We need to visit the other worlds and check in the situation,’ Goofy answered after some thought. ‘We are looking out for Heartless and Nobody activity. The locals give good information, so be sure to talk to them.’

‘Why don’t we go straight to The World That Never Was and look for Maleficent there?’ asked Riku.

‘You can’t,’ Cid snapped back. ‘Haven’t you heard that the paths connecting the worlds are messed up?’

‘What?’ said Sora in dismay. ‘How did that happen?’

‘We have no idea yet,’ said Leon. ‘Some of the paths are fine. But others lead to different places and some are disconnected. It’ll slow down the process a little bit, but you’ll have to unlock the paths again.’

‘Jeez…’ Sora sighed at the thought of having to amend paths he had already opened before. It was déjà vu again. ‘Hey, then what happened to our gummi ship?’

‘Oh, right,’ Donald smiled, looking a little happier to be delivering good news. ‘We managed to retrieve the gummi ship with the help of a special gummi block that Cid made.’

‘Did he make the gummi block we used to come here too?’ asked Sora.

‘Of course I did,’ said Cid proudly with a casual wave.

‘Thanks, Cid,’ Sora said.

‘No problem,’ Cid replied. ‘Are you still having it with you?’

‘Yeah,’ Sora rummaged through his pockets and took out the gummi block. It was orange, and still dull like before. ‘But it’s not glowing anymore.’

‘What do you expect?’ Cid shook his head as he shrugged. ‘It only has enough energy for one trip. After that you’ve got to leave it alone and let it recharge. Keep it with you, it’ll come in handy. Free trip back to Radiant Garden as long as you’ve got a vessel.’

Sora pocketed the gummi block again.

‘So, our task is to unlock paths and check out the worlds, right?’ Riku returned to the point.

Donald and Goofy nodded. ‘The King wrote out a list of the worlds we need to visit,’ Donald continued. ‘We’re going in two separate teams so we get this done with quickly.’

‘Two teams?’ Sora asked.

‘Our unknown enemies have been too discreet with the activities,’ said Aerith. ‘It’s too suspicious, and we cannot wait any longer.’

‘But… which are the two teams?’ Sora asked once again.

Donald and Goofy stared at each other before turning back to Sora and answering his question. ‘We have decided that Donald and I would be one team. You, Riku and Kairi can be the other team,’ said Goofy. ‘How does that sound?’

‘That sounds great, but…’ Sora started uncertainly. ‘We’ve been together all the time. It’d be strange without you guys.’

‘But you’ll have us, Sora,’ Kairi reassured Sora as she placed her hands on his shoulder. Sora’s eyes darted towards Kairi’s warm hands, then to Kairi, then to Riku. He smiled.

‘I guess change is good,’ said Sora happily. ‘So, when will be leaving?’
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Current Word Count: 3,714

Labels: NaNoMadness