A Committee Meeting [RGRC members; Mickey; Sora]

[Nothingness]

Not Much To Say

Despite Aerith's assurance to be there if they needed her, Leon felt like he wouldn't be taking her up on that offer any time soon. It wasn't that he didn't want her help or appreciate it, but that he just wanted to solve his problems on his own. Yeah, he knew that he'd eventually feel bad about that even if it was only a little, but that was how he'd always done things and he wasn't particularly comfortable with changing that.

Then the topic changed to their real problem. Maleficent and her lackeys weren't anywhere near as threatening as this silver-robed man who took on the entirety of the RGRC single-handed. He completely outclassed them in every area, and he didn't even move from his spot--he either blocked or purposely took every hit. Not even getting shot phased him. "I hate to say it, but I don't think we're ready to fight him if he comes back. He was stronger than all of us combined. We need to be prepared for when he comes back. As for what he wants...anyone's guess is as good as mine."

[Yuffie]

Yuffie listened as the others talked. The king brought up the point that they all had darkness in their hearts and had dealt with it before, which was a good point. The thing that bothered her most though was that the darkness was supposedly growing. Though she wouldn't let it consume her. Sora agreed naturally, and also showed some surprise at Maleficent being back. She didn't blame him, they all thought she had been taken care of before yet she kept coming back.

Cloud was his usual silent self, just absorbing what was going on, most likely not having anything to really add. Aerith then chipped in that she would do whatever she could to help everyone and Yuffie figured she might do that if it ever got too much to handle. Then Leon brought the conversation back to that figure and how they wouldn't be ready to fight him if he came back.

"Yeah, I agree with Leon," she said after he had spoken. She hated not being optimistic but truth of the matter was that the figure could have killed them all if he had wanted to. They needed to find a way to stand a chance against him next time. "Okay!" she then exclaimed and clapped her hands together. "So we have this guy who can wield the darkness very effectively, and whose motives are unknown. We also have Maleficent most likely back ready to cause some trouble with three silver haired guys possibly serving under her." she explained to everyone."Sounds like the Restoration Committee has a lot on their hands now!"

[King Mickey]

It's Time For Action, Not Words

Mickey, being the mouse of action that he was, had heard all he needed to hear from this meeting. Basically, all the Restoration Committee knew was that there was a threat that was much stronger than all of them combined. Maleficent was back--he had already seen that for himself in Land of Dragons--and Kadaj and his brothers were her pawns. At least for now. The king suspected that trio wouldn't enjoy staying under the witch's thumb for too much longer.

"I think we've said everything that needs to be said. Just make sure you guys look out for that man coming back. Not sure if he'll come back here or attack somewhere else, though. I'm gonna visit the worlds and do some investigating." Talking about the issues at hand wasn't going to do any of them any good. The balance wasn't going to just fix itself, after all. Mickey needed to see for himself the effect the imbalance was having on the worlds. Maybe he could discover ways to tip the scales back into a more stable position.

"This is goodbye for now, I think." He nodded at all of them in turn, settling on Sora last. "Could I ask you a few things outside?" Without waiting for a response from the young Keyblade master, Mickey made his way out into the Borough, then turned around and waited for Sora to emerge. He wanted to ask where Riku might be, and he was hoping Sora, being best friends with Riku and everything, would know the answer to that question.

[Castle]

"You got that right," Sora said in response to Yuffie's statement.

He was already doing a brief, simplistic analysis of their new opponents in his mind. The 'tool of darkness' really did sound strong, since whoever he was managed to beat the whole Restoration Committee like that. But, Sora had seen, fought, and defeated some pretty powerful stuff before. He would have to wait and see for himself what that enemy was really like. As for the silver haired trio, if they were really just Maleficent's new goons, they probably weren't as much to worry about.

King Mickey sort of concluded the meeting, ending with a request to see Sora outside. His curiosity was piqued.

"Sure," he said, and while the King went out the door awhile, Sora addressed the others, "I guess I'll see you guys around. I was planning to go visit the worlds, too, to see how things were doing. I'll keep an eye out for that darkness guy and Maleficent's new lackeys."

He started for the door, paused, and turned back toward them with a big grin.
"Stay sharp, you guys," he said, giving them a thumbs-up.

After that, he exited into the Borough and found King Mickey waiting for him.
"What's up, your Majesty?" he asked, a bit more serious now and still quite curious.

[Aerith]

A Little Fresh Air

The meeting appeared to be over. King Mickey had seen to that in one quick statement before exiting Merlin's house. Sora bade them all farewell before leaving himself, following after the king per the mouse's request. Aerith stayed in her chair, absorbing what little had just taken place. In short, the king had been correct. They all knew precious little information, and that was going to be their downfall unless they learned more and soon. She was glad to hear the king would seek out new information himself. The Restoration Committee had their hands full here on Radiant Garden. They would be unable to leave any time soon.

Her eyes drifted over the remaining people in the room. So far, this darkness issue had not become a problem, but Aerith could not help but think it inevitably would. She was worried about all of them more so than she was worried about herself. She finally stood from the chair, and smoothed the skirt of her dress. "I think I might take a walk and see if anything needs to be out in town." With that, she stepped outside, waved and smiled at the king and Sora as she passed, and then continued toward the Marketplace.

[King Mickey]

Help Me Out, Please

Mickey was glad to see Sora in such high spirits. He hoped the attitude would be infectious to the Restoration Committee. The last thing they needed was a constant cloud of depression hanging over their heads. Sora's attention was focused entirely on Mickey now, but Aerith walked out of the house right before the king could respond. He returned her wave and grinned at her, waiting for her to disappear into the marketplace before answering his fellow Keyblade master.

"I was just wondering if you had any idea where Riku is. I've been wanting to talk to him about a lot of things, but I can't find him." Sora just had to know where Riku was. They were best friends, after all. But if the young Keyblade master turned out not to have the slightest clue as to Riku's current whereabouts, then Mickey would still be stuck at square one. He might always run into Riku in his search for information on the balance and the mysterious attacker, but Mickey would rather know for sure where he could find him instead of just blindly wandering around in the hopes that chance would lead him to Riku.

[Castle]

Sora also smiled and waved as Aerith went by, and then he returned his attention to Mickey. As it turned out, the king was in search of Riku, apparently in need of a talk with him. Sora's face fell.

"Sorry, your Majesty. I don't have a clue. He just sort of left, and the letter he wrote didn't say anything about where he was going, just that he was off to journey the worlds," he said apologetically.

Then, his curiosity got the better of him, and he added,

"What did you want to talk to him about?"

Though it was obvious that the king wanted to speak to Riku in particular, there was always the chance that Sora would be able to help out in some way. That, and he just wanted to know if something important was going on, especially if it involved his friends. He had a right to know about stuff like that, didn't he?

[Fate]

Hide and Seek

A Corridor of Darkness sounded in a nearby alleyway, the sound short as Zexion walked out of it and made it disappear quickly. His eyes shifted to look around at his surroundings and gather his senses about him. As he suspected, the Restoration Committee was holding a meeting and were all gathered in one place. Another suspicion was confirmed when he sensed a familiar scent, one with very little darkness in it; Sora. It was luck that Zexion managed to track him down to this world and predict that he would come. It made this little plan of his much easier to enact.

The Schemer silently slipped his hand into his pocket, producing a single piece of paper. This was the key part of his plan and all that had to happen was a simple delivery. Although, doing that in his current form would prove to be difficult; Sora knew what the Organization cloak looked like and would undoubtedly try to kill him before he got a word in edgewise. He closed his eyes briefly, concentrating as he shrunk in size. His hair shortened and his eyes changed to a lighter shade of blue. Instead of a black Organization cloak, a white lab coat went over a navy tee-shirt and blue jeans. This change occurred in mere seconds, Zexion now standing as his Other, Ienzo.

Right at this moment, he was not too far away from Sora, but far enough away so that the Keyblade Master wouldn't know where he was coming from. He cast one last glance down at the piece of paper in his hand; one side read Sora's name while the other read his message in his neat cursive print. Without a moment to waste, he ran out of the alleyway and to where Sora's scent was coming from.

He nearly stopped when he saw King Mickey standing with Sora and speaking with him. Zexion had not calculated Mickey arriving here as well, though he could not say that he was surprised. This could prove to be very interesting then; the mouse had known of all of the apprentices back in the early days of Radiant Garden. Would he be able to recognize one standing right in front of him? Better yet, would he be able to see that it was only an illusion.

Zexion stopped just short of Sora and Mickey, gasping for breath to make it seem like he ran a long distance to get here. He looked up to Sora with an inquisitive stare, holding the piece of paper roughly in his hand. "Sorry to interrupt..." he said in Ienzo's rather meek voice, "But someone gave me this piece of paper and I can't find who to give it to." He showed it to Sora and Mickey, though more to the former than the latter. "Do you know where I can find someone named Sora?"

Sora,

I'm sorry for not getting in contact with you sooner and having to deliver a message like this on such short notice, but this is urgent. I have something very important that I want to discuss with you and it can't wait too long. It has to do with the state of the worlds and the darkness. I need your help. If you could meet me in Castle Oblivion on July 2nd, that would be greatly appreciated. I do not want anyone to know of this meeting.

The note was without a signature.

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[King Mickey]

Warning Bells

Mickey tried not to look too disappointed when the only piece of information Sora could give him on Riku's whereabouts was that he was traveling the worlds. He had been afraid that would be the answer. For all he knew, he and Riku could have missed each other at some point. They needed better ways to stay in touch than through word-of-mouth.

Sora then asked what it was he wanted to talk to Riku about, but before the king could answer, they were interrupted by the appearance of a third person. This newcomer was diminutive in stature, though he was still taller than Mickey, of course, and he was dressed in a white lab coat that tugged heavily at the king's memory. Even though this person mostly spoke to Sora, Mickey couldn't shake the feeling that he should know who this was.

Ansem. Ansem's apprentices all wore that coat.

"Hey, are you...?" But he was soon distracted from the question by the piece of paper the boy was holding in his hand. Someone wanted to get in touch with Sora, but there was no name. Castle Oblivion? Sora wouldn't remember Castle Oblivion, and as far as Mickey knew, only the Organization members would know about the place. And they were all dead. Weren't they?

"Could you describe the person who gave you this note? That might help." There was another person, besides himself, who would still clearly remember Castle Oblivion, and that was Riku. But something about this wasn't right. If this was so important, why tell Sora to wait until July 2nd to go to Castle Oblivion? And why trust this urgent information to a seemingly total stranger? He felt something scratching persistently at the back of his memory, but he still couldn't figure out what it was.

[Castle]

Before King Mickey could answer Sora's question, a little kid ran up to them and caught their attention. He wasn't anyone that Sora had seen before, and he was dressed in a lab coat. However, what quickly caught Sora's interest was that the boy was apparently looking for him, and had a note.

"Yeah, that's me," Sora said, bending over to get a better look at the note.

After skimming it once, he took the paper from the boy and straightened up to read it again. His brown eyebrows furrowed slightly. Castle Oblivion? He flipped the page over briefly to check the back, but there was nothing else written on it, not even a signature or a map or anything.

King Mickey suggested that the boy describe the person who had given him the paper.

"Yeah..." Sora agreed, and then a thought struck him, "was it a guy about this tall with silver hair?" He lifted a hand up above his head to demonstrate Riku's height.

Who else but Riku would write him something like this? Sure he had other friends on other worlds who might try to contact him, but who else knew that Sora was no longer on the Destiny Islands? And where was Castle Oblivion?

[Fate]

Isn't It Peculiar?

Naturally, King Mickey had to make things a bit more difficult for him. He was suspicious and he would remember Castle Oblivion; he had been there when Riku was going through it, though he could not say he ever met the mouse himself. Though, like any good planner, Zexion had a counter-measure to go by. As Ienzo, he shook his head and grew a slightly fearful look; only slightly though since the one he was imitating never showed much emotion in the first place. His entire plan depended on now the two of them buying this act; he had to make it believable.

"He wore a black cloak with a hood," he described, "Though, I think he was about that tall, but I couldn't see his hair. I just happened to be in the same area of town and he told me to go give this to someone named Sora. He said he figured you were here and he wanted to meet you later. He's been traveling lately." He was of course being purposely vague, though he had a guess as to who Sora was referring to; it could only be Riku. He could let the two of them believe that it was Riku, though that might lead the mouse to come to Castle Oblivion as well; he could deal with that if it came down to that, or Axel could.

"Sorry for interrupting," he apologized, bowing his head slightly, "I should be leaving. I'm expected back home. It was nice to meet you Sora." He ran off in the direction that he came, making sure he ran far enough away so he was completely out of sight. Going by what he knew about Sora, he would take that bait just to figure out exactly what was going on. Was this plan perfectly executed? Yes... and no. Mickey would have to be dealt with if he came.

With those thoughts in mind, Zexion disappeared completely from Radiant Garden, a Corridor of Darkness bringing him back to the World That Never Was.

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[King Mickey]

Just Promise You'll Be Careful

This whole thing was more than a little bit suspicious to Mickey. Why couldn't Riku just approach them openly, especially if he was nearby? And the king still didn't understand why Riku--if it was indeed Riku who had sent the note--wanted Sora to wait several days before going to Castle Oblivion. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to voice these objections before the strangely familiar boy walked out of sight. He could have stayed to see if there was a return message. But nothing was ever that easy, was it?

The mouse king looked at Sora, who now held the note in his hands. He knew Sora would not have the slightest clue how to find Castle Oblivion again, or for the first time depending on how you looked at it. But a part of Mickey was reluctant to let Sora know even a hint about the events that had taken place there. He didn't want to run the risk of throwing Sora's memories out of whack. So, instead, he settled for a blanket warning. "Hmm, I'd be careful if I were you. And I wouldn't assume right off the bat that it was Riku who sent this note. The boy mentioned a black cloak, but Riku shouldn't feel the need to wear his cloak anymore." Could this mean that there were Organization members actually running around?

However, between the already taxing missions of figuring out the balance and tracking down this Tool of Darkness, Mickey had enough on his plate as it was. And he could make no promises that he would be in a position to stop by Castle Oblivion on that specific date. Who knew where he might be then? "Sora, if you're really planning on going...please stay alert. So many people are counting on you, you know."

He turned to leave then. His business here on Radiant Garden was finished, and it was time to move on. Sora could take care of himself, Mickey knew, even without Donald and Goofy with him. There were far more pressing matters to attend to. He waved a final farewell to Sora and made his way to his waiting Gummi Ship.

[Castle]

A black cloak and a hood? That description rang a bell, and not a very good sounding one. But, the other details, the traveling, the weird urgency (even though he was going to be waiting around for several days before the deadline), just made it confusing. However, before he could ask further, the kid scurried off.

The King made a good point. Why would Riku be wearing that cloak again? Something was fishy about the whole situation.

"Yeah..." Sora mumbled, staring at the paper.

He hardly noticed Mickey bidding him farewell and walking out of the area. When he finally realized, he gave a violent start and turned in the direction that the King had exited in,

"Wait a minute, where's Castle Obliv..."

King Mickey wasn't in sight anymore. Sora's shoulders sagged.

"...ion," he finished, drooping.

After a second or two, he straightened up and glanced once more at the note. It couldn't be anyone from the Organization, could it? He'd wiped all of them out a year ago. All the monuments in that room were broken.

A rare, deeply serious look settled on his face. The only way he was going to figure this out is if he showed up at that place, on that day.

"Well," he said to himself, "I guess there's only one thing to do."

He started in the direction of the Marketplace, but paused partway down the road and looked over his shoulder at Merlin's house.
So many people are counting on you, you know.

He turned his gaze forward again, nodded determinedly, and continued on to where the gummi ship waited. Maybe Chip and Dale could locate Castle Oblivion on their radar.