That Hollow Feeling Where Their Hearts Used To Be (Kingdom Hearts 2) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora has awakened from his slumber. How long he has been asleep, he does not know. All he knows is that he wants to find Mickey and Riku. After that, he can return to the Destiny Islands and be at peace. The newly reunited trio stumbled outside and wandered through a nearby town they found out was called Twilight Town. They met some of the locals including Seifer, the town’s self-appointed disciplinarian, and Hayner, Pence, and Olette, a group of kids who didn’t care much for Seifer. Sora felt a strange connection with the three kids, who told him that someone had just been by there looking for the trio. As Hayner described the cloaked little guy with the big ears, the trio knew that he was talking about King Mickey. Pence told them that Mickey had gone back towards the town’s train station. Excited at the prospect of finding their friends, the trio took off towards the station, but were attacked by strange silver creatures called Dusks. Though they fought valiantly, they were worn down by the number of creatures…until Mickey joined the fight! Mickey dispatched the foes and told the trio to get on the train in the station. Mickey ran off as the group absorbed what his appearance meant. Finally boarding the train with an unexplainable tearful goodbye to his new friends, Sora and crew were taken to the mysterious tower of the sorcerer Yen Sid, teacher to Mickey and master of the tower. Outside, the trio ran into Pete, a troublemaker from Disney Castle that Mickey had banished into the darkness some time ago. Pete had guided the Heartless to the tower, which surprised the trio who thought the Heartless to be gone after defeating Ansem and closing the door to the darkness. The trio managed to get past Pete and went into the tower. At the top, they met Yen Sid himself, who informed them that they were about to embark on a new journey. He explained the existence of both Heartless and Nobodies, shells of people who had lost their hearts to darkness that managed to operate with a mind and will of their own. He also told them about a new foe, or at least it seemed new to them, Organization XIII. Yep, they’re back and plotting something, though Yen Sid could not tell them exactly what the Organization’s goal was. Yen Sid directed Sora to the next room where three fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, made new clothes for the mysteriously grown Sora. They informed him that there was more to the clothes than meets the eye. Yup, Sora was a Transformer…well, not exactly like that. He could transform into different forms with the help of his friends. He learned a form called Valor Form which allowed him to dual wield Keyblades! With this new power in his hands, Sora and company left the tower in the Gummi Ship and made their way to the only world they could access: Hollow Bastion. Remembering the nightmares they had endured in the dark world, but also remembering that their friends Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid should be there, the trio landed the Gummi Ship and embarked on yet another journey to save the worlds…

Now…

Somewhere, in a place far from the trio, Pete ducked his head inside a tower and called for Maleficent. When his calls went unanswered, Pete wondered if Sora, Donald, and Goofy really had finished her off. Pete said that the castle sure wasn’t what he had expected. No shine, no nothing. As Pete wondered what was going to happen to their plan, Maleficent’s crow landed on the ledge outside the tower he was in. Pete knew then that Maleficent was not gone.

Meanwhile, outside of a small castle town, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran up to a wall near the edge of town and, looking out over the distance, saw a familiar castle. Sora identified it first, saying that it was Hollow Bastion. Goofy said that it looked kind of different now. Donald said that he hoped Leon and the gang were doing okay. On a nearby rooftop, Goofy spotted some Soldier Heartless and told the others that it looked like they were going to have to do some fighting. Sora and Donald agreed and the trio set off into town. They discovered another golden crown puzzle piece nearby. The trio ran through the town and stopped at the shops, purchasing an Ability Ring and another Elven Bandanna. The stopped to see a moogle floating in the air who was running a Synthesis Shop. The trio earned an Elixir for the items they turned in to the moogle. Across the way, Donald stopped and called out to his Uncle Scrooge, who stood nearby in front of a giant freezer. Sora asked who Donald was calling to. Goofy told Sora that it was Donald’s uncle and he was a business typhoon! Before the Heartless had shown up, Scrooge had traveled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with King Mickey. He was helping to set up a traffic system. Donald yelled that it was a transit system. Scrooge, oblivious to the new arrivals, asked what all the racket was about. He turned around and spotted Donald. Scrooge stood there, eating an ice cream cone. He also spotted Goofy and said that they looked hale and hearty. Donald said that Scrooge did, as well. Scrooge said that he wished that were the case. Problem was, he couldn’t seem to recall his favorite old-time ice cream. He would make millions if he could just get it right. He took a few licks off the bar he had and said it was terrible. When pressed, Scrooge told them that Leon and the others were in the borough. They had gone to Merlin’s house. The trio took their leave and made their way to the next part of town. As they made their way through an arch, a ball of light appeared in the air in front of them and warped into the ground. This happened a few times and Donald asked what was going on. A voice from nearby told him that it was the town’s defense mechanism. The trio looked around and spotted a familiar face standing high above them. Sora called out to Yuffie, who smiled before her face dropped and she yelled to Sora to look out. A Dusk appeared behind Sora. Sora drew his Keyblade as a number of Dusks appeared out of nowhere. Sora decided it would be a good time to test out his new Valor Form. Sora activated it, taking Goofy out of the battle, but giving him an acrobatic edge over the spry enemies. Sora and company ended up being the last ones standing. After the battle, Yuffie called out to them again and jumped down to ground level. She could see that the trio was still in top form. Sora asked what she had expected and said that it looked like she was doing okay. Yuffie asked what Sora had expected. Donald asked how the others were doing. Yuffie said that everyone was doing great. Sora asked if she had seen Mickey or Riku. Yuffie, however, said that she hadn’t and ran off, stopping before leaving the area. She told them she’d had a feeling that she would be seeing the three of them again, however. Sora got a really serious look on his face and repeated the promise that Leon had made. “We may never meet again, but we will never forget each other.” Yuffie asked if that was supposed to be Leon. The trio laughed, delighted that she had gotten Sora’s impression. She told them that everyone was working on stuff over at Merlin’s house and invited them along. The trio explored the area a little bit and picked up a few treasures, in addition to more of the crown stickers, before heading over to Merlin’s house.

Inside, Cid was working on a computer as Leon and Aerith stood close by. Sora walked in through the door and Yuffie introduced him to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. All three of the people near the computer spun around as Sora and crew entered the room. Aerith said that they had missed the trio. Cid said that it looked as if they were in top shape. Leon smiled and said that he knew it. Sora asked what he knew. Leon told them that, awhile back, everyone suddenly remembered the trio all at the same time. Sora was confused about the remembering part. Did that mean they had forgotten about Sora, Donald, and Goofy? Yuffie asked where they had been this whole time. Goofy said that they had been sleeping. Cid asked if they had been in cold storage and the trio simply chuckled. Aerith said it didn’t matter. This was great. All of them were together again. Sora said that they were trying to find Mickey and Riku and asked if their group had seen them. All of the rest said that they hadn’t. Sora seemed not to be too surprised. Aerith apologized, but asked if Sora would tell them if there was anything they could do to help. Sora thanked her, but Cid told him not to go thanking them just yet. Leon said that Hollow Bastion had a problem. A big problem. Sora asked if he meant there were Nobodies and Heartless. Yuffie said that he was right on the money. Sora figured that they could use the trio’s help. Leon decided to cut to the chase. He was hoping that the three of them might give the Committee a hand around Hollow Bastion. Sora said that would be no problem. Leon had forgotten who he was dealing with. Donald asked what he meant by that. Aerith told him to just think of it as a Leon compliment. Leon walked to the door and opened it. He told the trio to follow him to the bailey as there was something he felt that they needed to see. As Leon went out the door, Merlin materialized in mid air. He’d thought it was them and said that they were right on time. Yuffie told the wizard that Sora and the gang had agreed to help out. Merlin thought that was splendid and said they would count on them. Merlin turned to Aerith and asked if she had given the trio the cards. Aerith had totally forgotten. Aerith handed Sora some cards and said that they were presents for them. Leon had figured Sora might like to have them. They turned out to be membership cards into the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. Sora turned to thank Leon, but he had already disappeared. Sora remembered that they were supposed to be at the bailey and went to run off, but Merlin stopped him. Merlin asked about Sora’s magic. Sora tried to remember, but drew a blank. Yuffie figured that Sora might have forgotten it while he was asleep. Merlin figured he would have to lend a few spells to Sora in the meantime. Donald said it was time to get to the bailey, and fast. Merlin gave Sora the Blizzard spell before Sora left the wizard’s house and headed to the bailey.

The trio fought their way through the Borough and made their way up a nearby staircase which led to the top of the town’s perimeter wall. On the north side of the wall, there was a tunnel that led down farther. After buying a Shadow Anklet armor piece for Donald and giving Donald’s Elven Bandanna to Goofy, fully armoring the group, the trio went down into the tunnel to find Leon. The tunnel led to the Bailey, were they found Leon standing by an opening in the perimeter wall. As they approached, he told them to take a look. What the trio saw sent chills up their spines: thousand, possibly millions, of Heartless milled around, making a black moat around the castle proper. Leon said that they wanted to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Maybe even something better, but there was still a lot to do. He figured they could handle everything, except for all those Heartless and the Nobodies that kept appearing. Sora said that they would handle that problem. Leon said that was good to hear and asked if Sora knew what was going on. Sora explained about Pete, who had been plotting with the Heartless but wasn’t smart enough to tie his own shoes, and the Nobodies, including Organization XIII guys in charge. A deep voice droned out, saying they had called. The group looked around before Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran out of the tunnel and looked around outside. Another voice said that it looked like Sora was doing well. Sora drew the Keyblade and asked who was there. The first voice said that this called for a celebration and Dusks began appearing around the area. Sora, Donald, and Goofy chased and fought the Dusks as the gate back to the Borough closed, sealing the trio and Leon in the area and protecting the rest of the town. Sora and Leon protected the gates while Donald and Goofy did their best to combat the other Dusks in the area. Sora also met two more Nobody types: Samurais and Creepers. The group put up a fight and, after a lengthy battle, stood victorious. The first voice said that the Keyblade was a marvelous weapon. Were it only in more…capable hands. Multiple voices had a good laugh at that as Sora ran out of the tunnel again. Sora told them to show themselves. On top of a nearby wall, they did just that. Dark portals opened up and six of the remaining members of Organization XIII appeared on the wall. Sora said good, now they could settle this. The first voice though it was a shame Sora felt that way, and here he was thinking that they could be friends. The Organization members returned to their dark portals and Donald ran towards the wall, telling them to come back, but suddenly, another dark portal opened and another black cloaked person stood in front of them, blocking their way. Donald asked what the big idea was. The voice responded with an oopsy-daisy. Sora told him to move. The cloaked man asked if he really thought that was polite, shutting him down like that. Sora yelled at him to get out of the way. The cloaked one said as if. Sora could talk all he wanted, but that wouldn’t change a thing. The trio drew their weapons again and Donald told him they would make him move. Cloaked guy said that would work if he was just any old dude, except he wasn’t. He was with the Organization and there wasn’t anything old about him. Sora countered, saying that was tough talk for a guy who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting. Cloaked said it was a shame that it seemed Sora got the wrong impression. Sora asked if he was gonna cry. Cloaked said he might as well remind Sora how tough the crowd he was dealing with truly was. Sora wondered what he meant by “remind him.” Cloaked laughed and said that “he” used to give him that exact same look. Sora figured the guy was trying to psych him out by saying really random stuff. Cloaked said that he just didn’t know and raised his arms as if he was about to fight, but then just told Sora to be a good boy now as he disappeared into his own dark portal. Donald yelled to wait and charged, diving at the spot the guy had been standing, only to land face first. Donald was mad that he got away. Sora said that whole conversation was weird and wondered WHO gave him the same look. Goofy figured the guy was just trying to confuse him. Sora said that Goofy was probably right. There was only one Sora after all. Sora took out his Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member card and looked at it, when it suddenly rose into the air and began to glow! Then, the end of Sora’s Keyblade began to glow! Leon asked what was going on. Goofy asked if Sora thought this might be what Yen Sid had been talking about. Sora pointed his Keyblade down on the ground and a giant crown of light appeared. As light swirled around Sora, the glowing membership card became a giant Keyhole in the sky. Sora raised the Keyblade and a beam of light fired into the Keyhole, casting a blinding light over everything. Sora, standing next to Leon, said that he got it now. That must have been the gate that Yen Sid had been talking about. Sora turned to Leon and said that he was sorry, but other worlds were calling. Leon nodded and told Sora to be careful. Those Organization XIII guys looked tough. Sora said they would see him soon and received a Secret Ansem report.

Meanwhile, in the white Organization chamber, the members began to reappear. One of them asked if his eyes deceived him. Did Sora really have the power to wield the Keyblade? He was just a boy. The one who barred Sora’s path not too long ago said to give him a chance, while laughing the whole time. He said that Sora must be straight as an arrow, pure of heart, unlike all of them there. Another voice said that he better be, or else he would be worthless. Another one said, as he drew a card, that he truly hoped Sora was enjoying himself on this adventure. Maybe he would like a hand in determining his fate. Another one said that it didn’t matter, as long as it worked in their favor. They could let him do what he wanted for now and jump in when needed. The blocker said those were bold words coming from the last one. Was he volunteering to take care of it if things went wrong? The last guy said no way, he had the wrong guy. There was no way he would be comfortable with that. The first speaker said he acted as though he had a conscience. When was the last time any of them had felt anything? The card guy said that truer words were never spoken and figured the fun would have to wait. Another one asked if they realized what happened to those who forgot their true purpose. Inevitably, they would destroy themselves. The leader, the one in the tallest chair, told them all that the hero of the Keyblade had embarked on a new adventure. He told them to make sure it was one that Sora would remember and to go. All the members except for the leader left the room.

Back in the Gummi Ship, Sora studied the two Secret Ansem Reports he had found thusfar. In SAR 2, Ansem said that he had made a grave mistake. Spurred on by his youngest apprentice, Ienzo, he had built a laboratory in the basement of his castle. However, his six apprentices had been gathering a large number of subjects on which to experiment. As soon as he had found out, he ordered his apprentices to cease their studies and destroy their research. Realizing how close to the darkness he had come and worried that his apprentices may have wandered into the darkness themselves, Ansem fell into despair until he met King Mickey. Upon talking with Mickey, he decided to review the data obtained in his lab. That was when he had found the Ansem Reports. Though they bore his name, he had only written number 0. Apparently, it was the first subject in his foolish experiments that had penned 1 through 8. In SAR 7, Ansem wrote that while beings born of darkness and those without hearts may use them, it was dangerous for anyone else to use corridors of darkness. Darkness eroded the heart. While searching for a place to continue his research, he found himself in Twilight Town and appropriated the basement of a mansion on the outskirts of town. His research proceeded in leaps and bounds. He discovered that when a Heartless is born, the body and soul left behind are reborn into the world as a different being. They possessed different intentions than the Heartless and while it was unclear what they were after, it seemed they were responsible for much of the bedlam in the world. While Mickey and Sora battled the Heartless, Ansem realized that a new threat approached and that they had given themselves a name: Nobodies. Most Nobodies lost human form, but those born from people with strong hearts retained their shape, though with some faint visible changes. Apparently, his betrayers had retained their human forms as Nobodies. Organization XIII, formed of thirteen Nobodies with his betrayers at its core. The group seemed to have divided in two to carry out some sort of research. Hoping to uncover the plans of the Organization, he headed to where six of its members had gathered: Castle Oblivion. Sora tried to take in as much as he could, but couldn’t make much sense of it all. With nothing to do but move on, Sora and crew readied to take off. However, they discovered that they could no longer go back to Twilight Town. Without that option, the trio decided to go down the two optional Gummi Paths and see where they could go. These Nobody ships aren’t kidding around! Though challenged at every turn by the Nobodies, Sora and crew made their way through the two pathways and found they had two options for worlds to land on: Beast’s Castle and The Land of Dragons. As The Land of Dragons seemed to require the least amount of experience, Sora and crew landed there for their next adventure…