Underground In Twilight Town (Kingdom Hearts 2) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy have traveled from one end of the universe to the other in search of their friends Riku and King Mickey. They have traveled the pathways of light in an effort to stymie the plans of Maleficent, Pete, and the Heartless. The trio has traveled from world to world in search of clues to the plans of Organization XIII and the Nobodies. They have met the enemy on many fronts, but there are still so many questions left unanswered. Where are their friends? What is Organization XIII up to? Where will Maleficent strike next in an attempt to turn a strong hearted person into a Heartless? The most recent attempt was made in the Pride Lands. The trio arrived and found their forms altered once more, this time with Sora as a lion cub, Donald as a heron, and Goofy as a savannah turtle. However, they were almost immediately surrounded by a pack of hyenas. The hyenas were about to turn the heroes into lunch, but were summoned by a roar from afar. Counting themselves lucky, the trio forged their way out of the gorge they had arrived in to find a lioness under assault from the Heartless. After helping her, she asked them to come to Pride Rock, the home of their pride of lions, and help them overthrow their king, Scar, who had caused waste and ruin to come to the Pride Lands. The trio agreed to help, following Nala to Pride Rock, only to find that Pete had beaten them there and had informed Scar of them. Scar summoned the hyenas and chased the trio from Pride Rock. After escaping, Nala had told them about how Scar came to power and that things would be different if Simba had not died as a cub. Sora told her that Simba was, in fact, still alive. Encouraged, Nala guided the trio into the jungle, where they found Simba, along with his friends Timon and Pumbaa. Nala begged Simba to come back to save them from Scar and, after a visit from the spirit of his father, Mufasa, Simba agreed to come back and fight Scar for control of the Pride Lands. A melee ensued back at Pride Rock as the trio and the lionesses dealt with Scar’s hyena henchmen before they ran to the top rock where Simba managed to defeat Scar by throwing him over the edge of the rock…which, unfortunately, fed right into Pete’s plan of turning Scar into a Heartless, making the traitorous king stronger as he launched into battle against the trio and Simba. However, it was still not enough to topple the strength of Sora and company and Scar was defeated once more. Simba assumed control of the Pride Lands and the trio left in the Gummi Ship to explore the worlds once again…

Now…

Sora and company arrived back in Hollow Bastion first to return the pages of Pooh’s book. Sora shrunk down into the book and watched as the returned page opened up a new area that appeared to be Rabbit’s House. Sora arrived to the sight of Pooh floating on a balloon high above the gardens of Rabbit’s house. Piglet fretted as he saw Pooh begin to descend. Sora encouraged Piglet on and the two ran towards Pooh as he crash landed right on top of Eeyore’s house of sticks. Sora and Piglet arrived a moment later to make sure that both Pooh and Eeyore were okay, although Eeyore’s house of sticks had been destroyed. Eeyore said it was no matter. It probably would have fallen down anyway. Piglet walked up to the forlorn donkey and offered to help him fix his house. Eeyore thanked him for the offer, but he didn’t want to spoil Piglet’s fun day. Pooh said hi to Piglet and turned to Eeyore, but didn’t recognize him. Sora tried to jog Pooh’s memory, but Pooh isn’t much for jogging. Sora wondered what in the world had happened to Pooh. Piglet suggested that Pooh’s tummy was so rumbly that it was making him forget everybody. If they brought him some honey, he was sure to remember! Sora was skeptical, but figured it was worth a try. Eeyore thought it might work, but probably not. Sora said that they needed to find some honey first. Eeyore said that he knew just the place and told the group to follow him…right to Rabbit’s House. Rabbit had just finished stacking pots of honey in the back of the house, admiring his good work. Eeyore led them right to the pots and said that this was the place he had been talking about. Sora was impressed by the amount of honey left there. Piglet, however, wondered if the honey belonged to somebody as Pooh sat down to eat. A short while later, Rabbit returned with another full honey pot to find that Pooh had eaten every last smackerel of honey. Rabbit was irate, but Pooh simply did not recognize Rabbit either. Pooh walked up to Rabbit and took the pot of honey right out of his hands as Rabbit bemoaned the discovery of yet another hiding place lost to Pooh’s stomach. Sora apologized, saying it was them that had brought Pooh there. Rabbit, finally noticing Sora, said hello to the Keyblade wielder. Sora apologized again, but Rabbit said it was all right. He knew Pooh couldn’t be stopped when he got that hungry. Pooh, still oblivious to who Rabbit was, asked if he had any more honey. Rabbit wondered if Pooh was feeling all right and asked how Pooh had forgotten all about him. Pooh asked if there was more honey and Rabbit figured that was the problem: Pooh was just so hungry that he had forgotten everything. Piglet admitted that they had thought the same thing. Rabbit suggested stuffing Pooh full of honey, but Eeyore told them not to get their hopes up. Sora was confused, however, because he had thought Pooh had eaten all of Rabbit’s honey already. Rabbit said that he had more. He had emergency rations, but he had hid them a bit too well. Sora took Pooh on a trip all around the Hundred Acre Wood to find Rabbit’s honey rations. The two of them were quite successful and Rabbit told Pooh to have as much as he would like. Pooh thanked him and began eating, but a short while later, Pooh had eaten everything and still didn’t know who anybody but Piglet was. Pooh, following his stomach, walked towards Rabbit’s house and tried crawling in through the window to find more honey, but managed to get himself stuck. Rabbit couldn’t believe that Pooh still didn’t remember them, but Sora said, whatever the problem was, they had to help him. Working together, Sora, Rabbit, Eeyore, and Piglet grabbed ahold of Pooh and pulled on him, finally popping him out of the window hole. Pooh landed on his backside and got to his feet a short ways away. Sora said that Pooh was okay now, but Rabbit wasn’t so sure. After all, Pooh still didn’t remember him. He fretted over the myriad possibilities that could cause Pooh to forget them all when Pooh walked up to him and said that he hoped Rabbit would invite him back to lunch very soon. Pooh remembered them! Eeyore too! Everybody…everybody except for Sora that was. However, Sora was just happy that he had managed to remember Rabbit and Eeyore for the moment. With the page returned and a mission accomplished, Sora left the Hundred Acre Wood, once more, and returned to the Gummi Ship, this time heading to Twilight Town.

The trio found themselves back in shopping district of Twilight Town and immediately found trouble. Vivi ran towards them, calling for help at the Sandlot. Something was happening to Seifer! Sensing serious trouble, Sora and company ran off in the direction of the Sandlot. They arrived to find that Seifer and his crew had been taken out by Dusks. As Seifer tried to get to his feet, Sora jumped in and said that they would take it from here. Sora and company fought off the Dusks and a new type of Nobody, the Beserker. Sora switched quickly into his Valor Form and fought the menaces off. After the battle, a voice congratulated Sora on a job well done. Sora turned to see a black cloaked man, one of the members of Organization XIII. The man asked if Sora had seen a man named Axel. The man figured he was near here, somewhere. Sora didn’t particularly care and got into a combat stance. The man ignored Sora’s aggression and said that Axel was no longer acting in the best interest of the Organization. The trio noted how unorganized a group calling themselves the Organization seemed to be. The man warned them not to let their guard down. Axel would stop at nothing to turn them into Heartless. Sarcastically, Sora thanked the cloaked man for looking out for them, but they could take care of themselves just fine. The man, with no hint of emotion in his voice, said that he was glad to hear it. Aside from Axel, it would break their hearts if something were to happen to Sora. Donald pointed out that they didn’t have any hearts. The man said that they may not have hearts, but they remembered what it was like. That was what made the members of the Organization special. The man raised his hands and lowered his hood to reveal a head of long blue hair with criss-crossing scars forming an “X” over the bridge of his nose. Goofy asked what he meant. The man said that they knew very well how to injure a heart. A black portal appeared behind the man. He told Sora to keep fighting the Heartless. Sora suggested that they jump into the portal after the guy. Donald asked why they would do that. Sora wasn’t sure, but figured that he would lead them to the Organization’s home world. The cloaked man told him not to be reckless. Did he want to end up like Riku? That got Sora’s attention, startling him. The man, however, backed up into the portal without explaining further. Sora stood and wondered what the man had been talking about. Meanwhile, Seifer had gotten his act together and suggested that Sora and crew get out of town. He figured they had caused enough trouble. What a douche! Sora was too lost in his own thoughts to move, so Donald said fine and told the other two that it was time to go. Seifer told him to wait just a minute. Donald told him to make up his mind. Seifer, however, held out a trophy just like the one Roxas had won in the Struggle Tournament. He said that the trophy went to the strongest guy in Twilight Town. Sora thanked him, but said they didn’t really need it. Seifer, not one to take “no” for an answer, ran forward and shoved the trophy into Goofy’s arms, gave Sora a quick smile, and walked out of the Sandlot with the rest of his crew. Just then, Pence ran up and noticed Sora standing there. Sora managed to remember his name. It was the name that Pence brought up that knocked Sora for a loop. Pence asked if Sora knew somebody named Kairi. Sora almost fell down in shock. He said he sure did. Pence told him that he better come to the station right away. Before heading out, Jiminy whispered into Sora’s ear that the Organization member that they had just met was named Saix, Organization XIII’s number VII. Sora and company reached the station a short time later, led by Pence. A voice called out to them from behind and they were joined by both Hayner and Olette. Sora asked them how they knew Kairi, causing Hayner and Olette to look at each other before turning back to Sora. They explained the story to Sora in turns. Sora looked almost gleeful. He couldn’t believe that Kairi had really been there. They confirmed that she was and that she was looking for Sora. Sora asked where she was, and Hayner recounted more of the story. Kairi had just finished telling them about her adventures with Sora. Olette thought it sounded very romantic. Pence told Kairi that, if she just stuck around, he was sure that Sora would show up. Hayner agreed and said that Sora had promised to come back. Kairi was happy to wait with them, but just then, a voice asked Kairi what had taken her so long. A dark portal opened up in the other side of the clubhouse and Axel appeared! He knew she would be here, somehow. He marveled at the guts Kairi had to just jump into the darkness like she had. Hayner and Pence both charged Axel, but passed right through him as Axel walked right up to Kairi. Axel grabbed ahold of her arm and dragged Kairi into the dark portal, despite her best efforts to escape. Pluto charged off and jumped into the portal behind them before the portal blinked out of existence. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were left speechless and powerless to do anything. Back in real time, Sora looked to his gift from Kairi, saddened at her kidnapping. Goofy wondered if it might have been Axel that the kids had described and Donald nodded his head. Hayner apologized, but Sora told them that it wasn’t their fault and to cheer up. However, Sora couldn’t even convince himself. Goofy inched forward to check on Sora, but was startled backwards when Sora straightened up and said that he had to help Kairi. Goofy dropped the trophy and three of the marbles fell out: the red rolled to Hayner, the yellow to Olette, and the green to Pence. Just how they had split them up in Roxas’ experiences! Sora picked up the blue marble and looked at the sun through it, having a bit of déjà vu. Goofy found the other blue marble still inside munny pouch and did the same. Sora, standing completely still, worried Donald and Goofy. They called his name, finally getting Sora’s attention. Suddenly, the blue marble starting shining and opened another pathway of light in the sky! Sora opened the path with the Keyblade. Pence asked what had just happened. Sora said that a new road had opened and Kairi and Riku were waiting somewhere along it. Olette told him that he better hurry and Hayner asked if he was coming back. Sora promised he was and received the Oathkeeper keyblade again, along with the Limit Form!

In the Organization’s main headquarters, Saix reappeared on his familiar chair and looked up to the cloaked leader of the group, telling him that he had passed on the message that the leader had asked him to: for Sora to keep defeating the Heartless. The leader was pleased. He commended Saix for his ability not only to inflict pain on other’s hearts, but to plant seeds of doubt in receptive hearts. The leader said that Sora would soon begin to doubt himself and it would cause him to hesitate, leading to that hesitation to turn to anger. The anger would fuel him to get rid of his apprehension and move forward. Sora would pave the way for the future that THEY desired. Saix said that there was something he had meant to ask. The leader figured that he was speaking of Axel. He wondered how long the poor fool would keep chasing the illusion of friendship when he himself lacked emotion. Axel tried so hard to retrieve what he had lost when it may never have existed in the first place. The leader claimed that Axel deserved nothing more than their pity.

Back in the Gummi Ship, Sora moaned that he had lost Riku, Mickey, and now Kairi again, too. Donald told him not to be sad. Goofy agreed. After all, Sora was the key that connected everything. Sora took that to mean that everything was his fault. Goofy said that he didn’t mean that. He figured if Sora just did what was natural to him, they were sure to find everybody. Sora thanked them for their help. Suddenly, a warning light went off. Chip said that Hollow Bastion had suddenly become covered in darkness. Dale wondered what was going on. Chip suggested that they hurry and check it out right away. First, however, Sora had a few other stops to make. First was to see if he could capture a new prize in the Underdrome in the Olympus Coliseum. The Gummi Ship took off for its next stop.

Sora entered the Underworld and spoke to Panic, asking to try the Cerberus Cup, which would require Sora to fight solo. Sora prepared himself for the fight and headed towards the Underdrome…

Round 1: Air Pirate x 2, Trick Ghost x 2
Round 2: Driller Mole x 3, Hammer Frame x 3
Round 3: Tornado Step x 3, Wight Knight x 3
Round 4: Silver Rock x 4, Living Bone x 1
Round 5: Icy Cube x 5, Fiery Globe x 5, Shaman x 1
Round 6: Aerial Knocker x 2, Fortune Teller x 2
Round 7: Cannon Gun x 3, Toy Soldier x 1
Round 8: Luna Bandit x 5
Round 9: Emerald Blues x 4, Fat Bandit x 1
Round 10: Cerberus

Sora, after a bit of effort and a few false starts after finding out there was a time limit to the Cerberus Cup, finally managed to stand victorious over the corpses of his foes. I mean, it is the Underworld. They were kinda already corpses. Anyhow, Sora won the Rising Dragon staff for Donald and a Serenity Crystal for his troubles. Now that the warm ups were out of the way, Sora decided it was time to head back to Hollow Bastion and see what was going on.

The trio arrived back in the marketplace area of Hollow Bastion and immediately saw a group of Soldiers run up the stairs in front of them and disappear, giving the group a start. Sora wondered if the worst had happened. Goofy even noted that there appeared to be more Heartless now than there were before. Suddenly, a group of Dusks came flying up the staircase also and flew over the wall next to the staircase. Concerned, Sora decided it would be a good idea to go check in with everyone. Goofy figured they were probably all still at Merlin’s house. As the trio walked along, they bumped into Scrooge McDuck. Scrooge was mumbling something about being so close to recreating the flavor of ice cream. They checked with him to see if he knew, for sure, where the Committee was. He confirmed that all of them were, indeed, at Merlin’s House. Just past Scrooge, however, they saw a very familiar face. A man with spiky blonde hair and black clothing. Cloud was here in Hollow Bastion! Sora ran up to him, happy to see his old friend from the Olympus Coliseum was doing okay. Cloud looked up briefly with his icy blue eyes, noting the trio, but looked immediately back down, the same stern look on his face as ever. Donald asked what he was doing, but all Cloud said was that he would “get him.” He claimed that, this time, they would settle it. Him and the one who embodied all of the darkness within him. Donald, looking worried, said that he thought Cloud looked kind of different. Cloud said that, if he did, it was “his” fault. Sora asked who he was talking about. Cloud dropped one simple name that meant a thousand fears and a million tears. He spoke of the One-Winged Angel: Sephiroth! Cloud asked the trio to let him know if they saw Sephiroth. Sora asked what he looked like. Cloud told them that he had silver hair and carried a long sword. A drastic understatement, if you ask me. Sora said they would look out for Sephiroth and that they would be seeing Cloud later. Cloud warned them to be careful. Sephiroth, he said, would mess with their heads and make them think that darkness was the only way. As Cloud started to walk away, a girl asked if there was something wrong. The trio turned to see Aerith coming from the marketplace area. Cloud said it was nothing, but Aerith walked up to him and leaned closer to him, examining his face with a hint of a smile on her lips and her hands clasped behind her back. Cloud told her that he didn’t want her involved. Aerith asked if he meant he didn’t want her there when he went away again. For the first time Sora and company had ever seen, Cloud looked flustered and stumbled over his words. He finally managed to tell Aerith that even if he went far away, he would come back. Aerith asked if he meant it, speaking in a teasing tone. Cloud turned his head slightly and said that he would. Still teasing, Aerith said that Cloud didn’t look so sure, but she told him it was okay. She wanted Cloud to go get things settled. She figured that no matter how far away he was, once Cloud found his light, she was sure it would lead him back here again. Cloud supposed she was right. Aerith said that she would stay there and cheer for him, waiting for his return. Cloud, still a little flustered, said okay and walked off into the town. As Cloud walked down the nearby stairs, Aerith wondered if he would be okay. Sora, who had walked up beside her, said that he was sure Cloud would be fine. He knew there was some light in him somewhere. Aerith knew that Sora was telling the truth and walked off into town herself, leaving the trio to make their way to Merlin’s. On the way, they ran into a new type of Heartless, the Bookmaster. This magical Heartless was a master of Fire, Ice, and Lightning and was immune to magic. However, with Sora and Goofy’s overwhelming power, these new Heartless didn’t stand a chance against the trio.

Inside Merlin’s House, the trio found Cid sitting at the town’s defense computer, punching keys frantically with Yuffie standing nearby, looking over his shoulder. Cid turned around when he heard the door close and said that the trio was just in time. He said they had some good news for them, but they needed to get over to Leon’s. Sora asked what kind of news it was. Yuffie explained that they had found the computer that Ansem had been using! Cid said that they should be able to get all kinds of information on the Heartless and the Organization from it. Sora figured there might also be information on the dark realm, too, thinking about Riku and Kairi’s whereabouts. Cid and Yuffie told them to go see for themselves. It couldn’t hurt, after all. Sora asked what they meant. Cid said nothing, just to get to the computer room through the castle postern and to watch their step. The trio fought their way through the Borough toward the Bailey, finally arriving within the walls of the town. As they walked by the windows, a small voice asked if they were part of the Restoration Committee. Sora looked around and could not find the source of the voices until he looked a little lower and saw three tiny girls floating behind him. There was a blonde, a brunette, and…a really dark, gothic chick. The brunette, who appeared to be the leader, asked what Leon’s gang was up to. Sora told her that they had some stuff to do over by the castle postern. The brunette pumped her arm in the air, while the blonde yelled “Scoop!” The scary one suggested that they report it. Donald asked who they were reporting to. The brunette said that it was their leader, of course. The blonde agreed, saying their leader was Malefice- The scary one covered the blonde’s mouth with her hand as the trio looked at them suspiciously. She said that they came in peace and the blonde simply nodded her head. The brunette said that she must be kidding. Offended, the scary one told her to do the talking herself and disappeared into thin air. The brunette turned around and bowed to the trio, saying she was very sorry before her and the blonde both disappeared. Jiminy found out in his journal that their names were Yuna, the brunette, Rikku, the blonde, and Paine, the scary one. Seems like an appropriate name. As the trio made their way forward, they came upon more new Heartless, called the Armored Knight and the Morning Star. The trio moved on into the Restoration Site and fought through even more Heartless along the way to the castle they remembered quite well.

As they arrived, Sora called out for Leon, but were greeted instead by Aerith. Sora asked if they had found Ansem’s computer. She said that they had, and that the King was very interested in it. Not willing to jump to hoping, Donald asked who she was talking about. Aerith confirmed that it was indeed Mickey and that he was with Leon right at that moment. Donald and Goofy were overjoyed, but Sora was not as excited. He asked if Riku was with Mickey, but Aerith simply shook her head. Sora sighed and shrugged, but figured he could at least ask Mickey about Riku. And, he figured, the computer might be able to tell them something. Aerith pointed to a nearby door and said they were right through there. The trio proceeded along into the dark corridors of the castle. Above them, a small blue creature crawled along the ceiling, out of eyeshot of the trio. As the trio made their way through the corridors of the castle, they came upon yet another new Heartless, the Surveillance Robot. After making their way through the twisting, turning corridors, the trio finally found a door that led further into the castle and walked through. Inside, they found a run-down library and study with books strewn all over the floor and spider webs everywhere. It looked picked apart and badly damaged. On the wall hung a picture of Ansem himself. However, they did not see Mickey or Leon anywhere within the small room Sora called out for them, but the only answer came from the doorway behind them. The trio turned and found a girl with long black hair standing in the doorway. She told the trio that she was looking for a guy with spiky hair. Donald and Goofy looked at Sora and Sora just touched his own spiky hair. Hey, she is cute. Could ya really blame him? The girl laughed and said the guy she was looking for had spikier hair than that. The trio shrugged, so the girl said she would just take a look around. The girl searched around the office, looking over and around everything. Her attention seemed to be fixated on a blank wall at some point. She stepped back from it and delivered a thunderous kick to the wall that reverberated around the room. She shrugged and turned back, apologizing for bothering the trio. All three of them snapped to attention and said that it was no bother at all. The girl walked out and closed the door behind her. Just as she did, a voice came from the blank wall, saying that they had made it. The trio spun around to find Leon leaning against the wall. Sora asked if Mickey was with him. Leon put a finger to his lips and said that they would see Mickey soon enough. Until then, though, he figured seeing Ansem’s computer room would tide them over. He turned back to the wall and placed his palm against a portion, causing the wall to disappear! With the pathway open, the trio proceeded through the corridor to the computer room. Leon warned them to be careful, however, as computers were delicate things. Sora ran into the room and immediately disregarded the warning. He started punching buttons on the computer, asking it where Riku and Kairi were. Sora pounded on the keyboard. Leon ducked into the room behind them and told him to take it easy as the tiny blue creature from before started walking up the wall behind him. Sora apologized for getting carried away. Goofy let out a yelp as he spotted the little blue guy. The creature dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the keyboard of the computer. Donald told him to get off of there. Donald jumped at him, but the creature outmaneuvered him, bouncing off his head and running away, leaving Donald fuming. However, Donald became startled when warning klaxons sounded out in the room. A computerized voice spoke out in the room warning them, saying that further misuse of this terminal would result in immediate defensive action. Sora asked who was there. The computer voice responded that it was the Master Control Program. It oversaw the system. Sora asked where the voice was. Donald, suddenly moved and the klaxons blared once again. Donald apologized, but it was too late. The voice said that they were now under arrest. As Goofy attempted to get Donald off the keyboard, a small window opened in the wall and a bright light shone forth. Leon, realizing the danger, told the trio to run, but it was too late. Three beams of light shot out and engulfed the trio, digitizing them and drawing them into the computer. Leon could only watch as the trio disappeared in front of his very eyes…

Last updated September 12, 2015