A Committee Meeting [RGRC members; Mickey; Sora]

[Aerith]

Waiting and Wondering

The common area of Merlin's house was in need of a good dusting. Aerith was the sole occupant of the room right now, and she allowed her eyes to roam over the many stacks of books and papers that littered the floor. Merlin had bookshelves, of course, but none of them were big enough to contain all of the written knowledge the wizard possessed. Someday, she would have to read all of these books. Whether or not she would be able to comprehend every single nuanced phrase was another matter entirely.

The chair she occupied was an overstuffed affair, plush and burgundy in color. It was a perfect chair in which to curl up and read, but right now, she would be unable to do any reading. Today, the Restoration Committee had important things to discuss. Merlin, unfortunately, had to be away. He and Cid had gone elsewhere and only knew about the recent events in Radiant Garden through distant communications. Everything discussed in today's meeting would also be relayed to them, wherever there were right now.

Aerith ran over a mental list in her head. The mysterious black figure would obviously be the main topic of discussion. Though, she knew that most of what they would say about him would be pure speculation. The only thing they knew for certain was that he existed at all. But perhaps, in simply talking among themselves, some truth might come to light. Probably the second most crucial topic was closely related to the first, and that was this idea of growing darkness in everyone's hearts. Aerith had been thinking her own thoughts about that for the past few days, and she might very well have to give a voice to them today. For now, all she could do was wait for the others to arrive. And after settling deeper into the comfort of her chair, she did just that.

[Castle]

The Radiant Garden seemed like a good first stop.

Sora disembarked the gummi ship and appeared in the usual location above the Marketplace. It felt good to be here again, maybe because he'd been home on the Destiny Islands for so long. He wondered how everything was holding up, and how the guys at the RGRC were doing.

It didn't take long for the first question to be answered. Before he even descended the staircase, he could tell something was amiss. It was pretty obvious with all the activity going on in the Marketplace, centered around the buildings that were currently under repair. He wandered further into the open and paused, looking around.

"What's going on here?" he wondered aloud to no one in particular, though possibly to the invisible Donald and Goofy placebos that did little to fill the empty space around him.

Was this more renovation, or had something happened? Before he could move to try and ask someone, Sora was struck suddenly in the back of the shoulder by something hard. He stumbled out of the way and turned to see someone trip past him. That person stopped and spun around to face him. It was a boy around his own age, who was carrying a broken beam of wood on his shoulder and glaring at him with bright red eyes.

"Watch where you're going!" Castle snapped, and then turned around and continued to hurry away with the useless beam.

"Sorry," Sora muttered sarcastically.

Maybe he should try Merlin's house. Someone in the Restoration Committee was usually there, and they would know what was going on. Sora made his way across the Marketplace and into the Borough. From there, he went straight to the familiar building. Without bothering to knock, he opened the door and went inside.

He quickly spotted Aerith sitting in the plushy chair and smiled.

"Hey, Aerith. What's up?" he asked cheerfully, glad to see one of his other-world friends after so long.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie skipped towards Merlin's house. A Restoration Committee meeting had been called, so it was her duty as a member to head over there. Obviously, they were going to be talking about recent events. She kind of didn't want to voice her concerns over the darkness that was supposedly growing in their hearts, but it needed to be discussed. She hoped Vincent wouldn't bring up their little escapade in the castle, but she doubted it. Vincent probably felt like everyone else should know.

She sighed at the thought, but thought nothing more of it. She didn't need those thoughts to linger and continued to cheerful skip to Merlin's house. She opened the door. "Heeey~, am I the first to arrive?" she called out as she walked in. She saw Aerith sitting down and then...

"Sora!" she exclaimed as she saw him. It had been awhile since they had last seen the kid. She ran over and hugged him. "How've ya been?" she asked as she let go and questioned him further. "Does that mean Donald and Goofy are here too? You find your friend? Say, have you gotten taller?"

[Nothingness]

Long Time No See

Leon was walking back to the Borough after having been on Heartless patrol around the path to the Crystal Cavern. Merlin had healed up his arm in no time at all, and despite the wizard's protests, he immediately went back to his rounds the next day. Anything to keep him and his mind occupied.

As he approached the house, he saw Yuffie skipping in her usual, hyper self to Merlin's house, but was surprised when he heard her shout Sora's name. It had been almost a year since Sora was last at Radiant Garden. "Well, glad to see he stopped by for a visit. Just wish it was under better circumstances." He knew that the kid-hero wouldn't like that state of things, and Leon hoped that wouldn't spur him on to do something..."Sora-ish."

Stopping at the doorway, he leaned against the inside of it. "Well, I don't think we were expecting a visit from you so soon." Leon couldn't help but get a friendly smirk on his face as he said this. Seeing Sora again was enough to brighten up his spirits. As much as he hated to admit it, Sora's innate cheerful attitude was rather infectious.

[King Mickey]

Remembered Faces

Considering that Radiant Garden was a center for much activity at the moment, Mickey lingered on the world for several days. Part of him was hoping that if he stayed in one place long enough, Riku might stumble across him. Unless and until he heard about that mystery attacker showing up somewhere else, the king would remain here and do whatever he could to help the Restoration Committee.

Speaking of the RGRC, Mickey remembered that a meeting had been called. While he technically was not a member of the group, he needed any information that might come up in the meeting. Plus, he did enjoy seeing everyone. Being in the company of friends here would make up for being away from home.

He was on his way toward Merlin's house when he noticed a Gummi Ship landing over toward the Marketplace. Wait a second. That ship looks very familiar. The king broke into a run, heading for the Borough and the wizard's house. If he was right about that ship...

He approached the door to the house and saw Leon standing in the opening. "Leon! I'm here for the meeting, if ya don't mind." Taking advantage of his small frame, Mickey squeezed past Leon into the house and was immediately greeted by the sight of Sora standing in the middle of the room. He was currently getting smothered by questions from Yuffie, and Mickey couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Sora!" The mouse king approached him, a large smile covering his face. Now that he was deeper into the room, he noticed Aerith sitting in a large stuffed chair, smiling as she usually did. The coziness of the house was made even more pleasant by all the people in it. "It's good to see you here," Mickey said to his fellow Keyblade master, effectively rescuing him from further Yuffie questions. "Everything okay back on Destiny Islands?"

[Aerith]

Let Us Begin

The first person to enter the room was not the person she had expected. That did not mean she was any less glad to see him. From the comfort of her chair--she was unwilling to give up its warm embrace--she gave the new guest a bright smile. "Hello, Sora. It's been a good while since we last saw you here."

Before Sora could react, however, Yuffie burst onto the scene and immediately began pummeling the Keyblade master with a barrage of questions. Aerith chuckled softly to herself. She probably could have said something to Yuffie about giving Sora his space, but this was amusing to watch.

She then saw Leon darken the doorway and give his own greeting to Sora. He seemed much happier suddenly. Sora's presence was truly a lift for them all. He might have been a little prone to overdo those heroic speeches of his, but he had a good heart and was a constant bright spot. The RGRC could certainly benefit with having him here, especially after recent events.

If that weren't enough, though, King Mickey made his entrance, slipping by Leon and making his way over to greet Sora. The wisdom of the king would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps he could lend some insight into what they all should do now.

She hated to end the friendly reunion, but they really did need to get started. She knew Cloud had said he was coming, though, so she would give him a little longer to arrive. "Everyone, could we begin this meeting in a few minutes? Cloud isn't here yet, but he shouldn't be too long."

[Castle]

Sora didn't actually expect to get a hug from Yuffie, or to be bombarded with questions immediately afterward. He had just enough time to chuckle and say "Good to see you too, Yuffie..." before Leon made himself known from the doorway ("Hey, Leon," Sora said cheerily). And then, King Mickey entered and approached him. Needless to say, it was great to see everyone again so quickly after coming here, and having the King show up was a pleasant surprise. Sora thought he'd be at Disney Castle, not the Radiant Garden.

"Your Majesty!" Sora grinned, "Everything's fine back home. I just came out to see how things are doing everywhere else."

He had some questions of his own for these guys, especially the King, since he'd be able to tell him more about what Donald and Goofy were doing. But, before he could ask anything, Aerith spoke again, which diverted his attention to her.

"Meeting? Like for the Restoration Committee?" Sora guessed, glancing at the others.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he gave a small start and turned back toward Aerith,

"Wait a second. Cloud? You're saying Cloud's still here? What about when he vanished, after that fight...?"

[Cloud]

A Familiar Face

Cloud stood in the Marketplace, looking around quietly. Things definitely were looking better than they had earlier in the week. Gradually, the area was beginning to be restored to it's state from before the unexpected attack, more or less. It was a sign of the Radiant Garden's resilience; it's refusal to let the darkness overtake it and win. If only it were as simple as the worlds made it seem... Well, he guessed he should go ahead and get going. The Committee was having a meeting, and he has promised he come. Undoubtedly the mysterious "tool of darkness" and what to do about him would be one of the main topics of discussion.

Walking under the wide stone arch that stood between the Market and the Borough, he started to near the entrance to Merlin's house. The door was wide open, and he could hear various voices inside talking. Including one that he hadn't been expecting to hear. Was that...? Stepping inside, he saw that it indeed was who he had thought he'd heard. "Sora." he said with slight surprise upon seeing the keyblade master, though his voice still remaining rather monotone. But Cloud wasn't nearly as surprised as Sora appeared to be with see him. Not that that wasn't really to be expected.

But he secretly hoped he wouldn't ask him whether or not the swordsman had worked everything out with his darkness, or anything else along those lines. Because the answer to that question wasn't one he was very much proud of. He remembered back when he had first met the brown-haired boy, who had told him that he too was searching for his light. Well it sure didn't seem to take him very long to find it. While here Cloud was, about two years later, just as lost and unsure as ever. "So," he began abruptly, "has the meeting started yet?" If he was lucky, they would get things started without the topic having to become him.

[Aerith]

Summary for Sora

When Cloud walked into the room, everyone who was planning on being here for the meeting was now here. Aerith could tell Cloud was surprised to see Sora, though the stoic swordsman of course did not show it very clearly. He seemed in a hurry to get the meeting started, though. She guessed it had something to do with Sora's questions about what happened to Cloud after his fight with Sephiroth.

Deciding to do Cloud a favor, Aerith spoke up. "It looks like everyone's here. Merlin and Cid couldn't be here today, and Vincent is...somewhere." She chuckled. Trying to pinpoint Vincent's exact location was like trying to find the one grain of salt in a mountain of sugar. If he wanted to show up to the meeting, though, no one would bar his way. "If anyone else trickles in later on, that's fine, as well. It shouldn't be too difficult to get everyone up to speed."

She crossed her arms in her lap. While the RGRC did not have an official hierarchy, it seemed for the moment that Aerith had taken it upon herself to act as the main facilitator for this discussion. And a facilitator was exactly what she would be, for she did not wish, by any means, to dominate and lecture. "The first order of business, I think, is to make sure that Sora is made aware of what has been going on here." She proceeded to fill in the Keyblade master on the details of the mysterious figure, also mentioning the words about darkness growing in everyone's hearts who had come in contact with the man's attacks. "I was out of range when he attacked, and His Majesty was not present while the figure was here. But everyone else..." She trailed off, though her silence hung ominously in the room.

[Nothingness]

We're All Thinking It

Removing himself from the door way, Leon looked at Sora more so than everyone else, but the statement was directed at everyone. "...has been infected by darkness." Leon figured that he may as well be the one to say it. Deep down, he felt like it wouldn't make much difference, but optimism may help keep their spirits afloat at least for a little while. Walking over to Sora, he put a hand on the young man's shoulder and smiled. "But as long as we keep our hearts strong, and don't give in to that darkness, I think we'll be fine." Leon really wanted to believe that, but after his fight with Loz something hadn't been feeling right...

Letting go of Sora, he turned around and walked back to the doorway. "And after that, we were attacked again by three silver-haired men--Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. After we fought them off, they mentioned that they were heading back to the Castle, so I'm assuming that they're working with Maleficent." Leon had heard the rumors that she was back, but that wasn't something he particularly to admit to be true. Wanting someone else to take over the meeting, he returned to plastering himself to the wall, head looking down and arms crossed.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie had barely registered Leon had entered after her, still excited that Sora was here. The kid's presence often lightened the mood no matter what and the RGRC could sure use that right now. Though before Sora could really answer any of her questions the King walked in. She gave her own cheerful smile and wave towards him. Aerith then mentioned starting the meeting in a bit after Cloud arrived and as if on cue Cloud came walking in.

Then Aerith spoke up again, mentioning Cid and Merlin were off doing something and Vincent was...well being Vincent. Yuffie chuckled a bit at hearing her say that, but it was true Vincent normally just kind of did his own thing. He'd probably stop by soon enough. And at least with him not here she wouldn't have to mention their escapade in the castle just yet.

Aerith then summed up what had happened to them for Sora. She didn't really mention the whole being infected by darkness part, but Leon finished it for her. He then went on to talk about the three silver haired men. She hadn't been there, but she had heard about it and all she knew it didn't sound good and was further proof that the witch Maleficent was back.

She then decided to add on. She gave a big cheerful smile towards Sora. "Don't worry too much about us, Sora. Like Leon said as long as we keep our hearts strong and don't give in we'll be fine. No amount of darkness can defeat the Great Ninja Yuffie!" she told Sora, though she wasn't as confident as she sounded. She had her own doubts about this whole darkness thing. "I think Leon's got a point that those three are working with Maleficent. The castle seems to be acting up again," she added, without really going into details about what had happened.

[King Mickey]

Carefully Considered Words

It was good to see everyone coming together like this. Sora seemed as fine as ever, and Destiny Islands was safe since the boy had last been there. That thought naturally came with pessimistic connotations. Just because Destiny Islands had been intact when Sora had left, it did not necessarily follow that the islands remained in that unspoiled state. Things had a way of flipping on their heads every time a back was turned. Mickey tilted his head to the side a little, thinking to himself. Unlike Sora, the king did not live in a seemingly inexhaustible state of optimism. Sometimes, he didn't like that about himself.

Cloud entered the room just as soon as Aerith had finished saying they would start the meeting when the blond swordsman showed up. As usually, he was a man of few words and immediately found a spot to plant for the duration of the meeting. Now that everyone was here, they could start discussing things.

Aerith provided a good summary for Sora, and Leon added on the dreadful fact of this darkness that was growing inside many of their hearts. Though, he did make sure to tack on some hope to the end of those words. Yuffie, too, seemed confident that as long as they had each other, the darkness could not prevail. Mickey had remained silent throughout all of this, but he felt he could do so no longer. "I'm glad you're all trying to remain positive, but let me remind you of something. Darkness is in all of our hearts no matter what. None of us are completely filled with either light or darkness. So, don't think this mysterious attacker has done or created something new. You've all lived with darkness all your lives. Don't run and hide from it now."

[Castle]

Sora hadn't had time to question Cloud as to the success of his battle before Aerith caught his attention with the words "make sure that Sora is made aware". He immediately decided to save any questioning for later. Besides, if Cloud was here, and in one piece, didn't that mean he had won?

However, all of those thoughts were pushed into the background by the report that Aerith gave him. He was alarmed by the description of the mysterious figure, and what he had done to the people who tried to fight him. Even so, Sora crossed his arms and kept quiet while Aerith, and then Leon, finished talking, a rare look of thoughtfulness settling on his face.

After only a year of peace, it seemed they had a new enemy on their hands.

Leon put a hand on his shoulder, and Sora uncrossed his arms and looked up at him. The usually serious man was smiling, and his words made Sora smile as well and nod in agreement.

"That's right," he said confidently. He was sure that Leon and the others would be able to resist the darkness. They were strong enough, he knew it.

Leon went on to describe the three silver haired men, and their supposed connection to Maleficent. "Maleficent?" Sora repeated, remembering the last time he saw her, back in the World That Never Was. Yuffie elaborated, and Sora knew that they were probably right. "Huh. I guess she made it through that battle after all," he mused. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. Maleficent was a bad witch, but she had also helped him out a few times near the end of the last journey. Well, if she was causing problems again, he would just have to take her down, again, regardless of her help in the past.

Mickey's words brought him the rest of the way back into the present. For some reason, they made him think of Riku, and the conversation they had on the Dark Meridian.

"Yeah. You've just gotta stand up to it, and not let it get to you," he said.

[Cloud]

...

Much to his relief, Aerith didn't hesitate long to get the meeting started. Apparently everyone that was actually coming was already there, and he had been the last one to arrive. Hopefully he hadn't held them up for too long. She quickly retold the recent events relating the mysterious figure and his attack. However she trailed off as she got to the particularly unsettling part. The unfinished sentence hung uncomfortably for a moment in the air, until Leon choose to finish it. Yes, they had all been infected by the darkness. Well-- most everyone. But, nobody seemed that worried to Cloud. At least not compared to himself. They were all at least able to put on a smile easily enough, which was more than he could really say.

They also moved onto the subject of Maleficent, and these three men that she was evidently in league with now. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo... Fortunately or unfortunately, Cloud has missed their attack. But something about the mere mention of them gave him a strange feeling... Maybe it was just the silver-haired aspect of their description that was causing his mind to think of Sephiroth... He couldn't really explain it. Probably just best to ignore it. After all, it wasn't very important compared to the other issue at hand.

Of course Sora was being optimistic about the whole thing. If there was one thing you could say about the keyblade master, it was that he never failed to put on a smile, despite the circumstances. His Majesty pointed out the fact that they all already had darkness in their hearts, so it wasn't as if this was technically anything new. Not that that really made Cloud feel any better. It was his past experience with the darkness in his heart that made him worry. He had enough trouble dealing with that; he didn't need any more of it to deal with. Still, he didn't want to go against the positive attitude everyone seemed to be taking, so he just remained silent; staring somewhat absently at the floor.

[Aerith]

Concerning Motives

Aerith listened quietly to everyone as they weighed in on the discussion. Leon finished her sentence for her, which she appreciated. Though, not vocalizing the thought was not going to make the issue go away. This growing darkness had not, as far as she knew, manifested in any visible way yet. She wondered what would happen when or if it did. Would she be the only one left standing in the light? Mickey and Sora, of course, had not been attacked, either, but they would probably not stay here forever.

Leon, Yuffie, and Sora were all being quite positive about this, which was good in its own way. However, if the threat was real, they could not all just brush it aside like nothing. She looked over at Cloud, who was remaining silent throughout all of this. She knew why he was, too. Their talk together showed he was not so very confident of the light within himself. He probably doubted his inner light's existence at all.

She decided to add her two cents into this talk of inner darkness. "I will do everything I can to help. Don't be afraid to come and talk to me if you need to. Don't think you have to fight this fight alone." Her eyes drifted to Cloud briefly then focused back on the rest of the group. "I think another troubling question is who this mysterious figure is. And why he's doing what he's doing. As far as I heard, he offered no concrete reasons for his attack. It sounded like he was a tool of the darkness being used to destroy Radiant Garden. But that doesn't offer much in the way of motivation."