Radiant Garden
Sora hung on for dear life, when suddenly they slowed right down, almost to a stop. Sora looked out the window, and was stunned by the view. They were floating above a beautiful castle stood above a large town, bustling with activity. “Welcome to Radiant Garden,” said Lewis. “The place for those with nowhere else to go.”
“Nowhere else to go?” asked Sora. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” said Lewis, bringing them down in front of the castle. “The queen can tell you everything.” As they landed, they were approached by a guard. But the thing Sora found odd about this guard was its size, and species.
“Is this the guy?” asked the small rabbit. Lewis nodded, and before Sora could say or do anything, she was behind him, holding his arms behind his back as she handcuffed him. “Alright buster, don’t try anything funny.”
“Judy, is this really necessary?” asked Lewis. “He came here willingly. He’s probably not going to try anything.”
“You know as well as I do that he might be the dark one,” said Judy.
“Dark one?” said Sora. “I would never…”
“SILENCE!” yelled Judy. “I wouldn’t trust this one further than I can throw him. Now, we’re gonna go see the queen. One wrong move, and I’ll take you down myself.”
Sora lost count of how many stairways and lifts the group went up, but eventually they reached the top level. “Through here,” said Judy, pushing through two large doors. “Queen Elsa, may I present to you, Sora.”
“Judy, did you arrest him?” asked Elsa, rising from her throne at the other end of the room.
“Yes ma’am,” said Judy, saluting. “Just in case he’s the…”
“Uncuff him at once,” ordered Elsa. “Regardless of which one he is, he will be treated with the respect he deserves.”
“But, I…” said Judy, surprised by her queen’s coldness (her attitude, not…never mind), before sighing and unlocking Sora’s wrists.
“I’m sorry about that,” said the queen, approaching Sora. “She’s very protective of me, even though she knows I can handle myself. Watch.” The room got colder as Elsa caused a small blizzard in the middle of the room. The snow started to form a pair of legs, then a body, and a head. A couple of sticks, a carrot, and some rocks attached themselves to the snowman, making it look somewhat alive.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” said Sora, staring in awe.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” said Elsa, snapping her fingers. The snowman jumped, and started looking around.
“Hi everyone. I’m Olaf,” said the snowman.
“WHOA!” yelled Sora, falling backwards. “How did…”
“I’m a very powerful ice mage,” said Elsa. “But we’re not here to talk about me.”
“Ooh, are we here to talk about me?” asked Olaf. “It is my birthday, you know.”
“No, Olaf,” said Elsa. “We have to talk about Sora.”
“Is it his birthday too?” asked Olaf, hugging Sora. “That makes us twins, right?”
“Sora,” said Elsa, ignoring Olaf. “How much do you know about your keyblade?”
“Not much,” admitted Sora. “I sort of know how to summon it, and I know those guys in the black coats want me because of it, and you guys too…”
“That’s because the fate of the world rests in your hands,” said Elsa. “You, and two others like you.”
“Like that Riku guy I met?” asked Sora.
Elsa gasped. “You met another keyblade wielder?” she asked, concern in her voice.
“Yeah,” said Sora. “He showed up and helped me fight those Organization guys, then he used some kind of black portal and disappeared.”
“Black portal?” repeated Elsa. “He must be the dark one.”
“What?” asked Sora. “You mean he’s evil?”
“Not necessarily,” said Elsa. “A prophecy was foretold about the three of you:
When our world is on the brink
Three heroes will make the world swim or sink
Keyblades to the heroes of dark and light
And one in-between, whose choice ends the fight.”
“Oh cool, we’re singing now?” said Olaf. “Can we sing a song about building a snowman?”
“Judy, why don’t you show Olaf his room?” asked Elsa. Judy saluted her and guided the small snowman from the room.
“So what does it mean?” asked Sora.
“Light and dark have been at war for an eternity,” said Elsa. “Sometimes one overpowers the other, but never by enough to get rid of the other for good. This prophecy says that there are three keyblade wielders who will end this war. We believe the in-between one will sway one of the other two towards the opposite side, either eradicating the world of darkness, or engulfing the world in it.”
Sora looked up at the snow queen, anxiety on his face. “So, which one am I?” he asked, not sure what answer he wanted.
“Honestly, I was hoping you knew,” confessed Elsa. “From what you’ve said about this Riku character, there’s a reasonable chance he’s the dark one. So, you could be the light one, or…”
“In-between,” finished Sora. “But I’ve never tried to be evil for as long as I remember.”
“That’s good,” said Elsa. “Judging by your age, I’m guessing that’s about ten or eleven years?”
“Uhh…more like one,” said Sora. “I don’t know why, but I don’t remember anything from more than about a year ago.”
“A…year?” asked Elsa, a look of deep concern on her face.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sora, thinking there might be something she was hiding.
“Oh, it’s probably nothing,” said Elsa. “But still…Lewis? Could you have a word with Hiro, see if maybe…?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” said Lewis, running out of the room.
“What was that about?” demanded Sora.
“It’s just that, about a year ago, things happened,” said Elsa. “Horrible things. Points in history started…disappearing.”
“Disappearing?” asked Sora. “How? What happened?”
“It’s that Organization XIII,” said Judy, coming back into the room and jumping (literally) into the conversation. “You see, there are some key points in the world’s timeline called Fixed Points. These points can’t be changed under ANY circumstance. However, they can be destroyed, weakening the timeline. A year ago, the Organization sent a young boy with fierce power to some of these Points, collapsing them into nothing.”
“Fortunately, some people were able to escape these Points,” continued Elsa. “With the help of our other boy genius Hiro, that is. But soon, the boy began to realise what he was doing was wrong, and begged us for help. Unfortunately, his heart was almost completely engulfed in darkness, and the small amount of good in him was about to flicker out.”
“What…what happened to him?” asked Sora.
“Fortunately, a young witch helped him,” said Judy. “She removed as much of the darkness from his heart as possible. Unfortunately, the Organization found out about this, and tried to put a stop to it. Obviously, we did what we could to help the witch, but the Organization was just too powerful. However, before she died, she left that prophecy, so now we’ve been doing everything we can to track the three of you down.”
Sora was speechless for almost a full minute. “So, if these Fixed Points are gone,” he started. “Wouldn’t that alter history?”
“We thought so too,” said Elsa. “But from what we can tell, it’s more like those moments are blanked out. Like someone whited something out in a book. Something else can be written in its place, but underneath is still what was once written.”
“Okay, I think I get it,” said Sora. “So how many fixed points have been destroyed?”
“At least six,” said Elsa. “There might have been more though. Six of us were just lucky to escape. We are currently in Lewis’s time, since this is when that kid came to us for help, and it didn’t get destroyed. You’ve already met myself and Judy. I believe I’ve mentioned Hiro, so that’s three…”
“There’s also that kid Ace,” said Judy. “Oh, and Penny.”
“Yes, yes, I know,” said Elsa. “And there’s also…”
“ELSA!” came a cry. The three of them turned to see a girl with long (and I do mean LONG) blonde hair running into the room.
“Rapunzel, I know you’re my cousin, but do try and remember I’m still your queen,” said Elsa.
“I’m sorry,” said Rapunzel, stopping next to them. “But Hiro just found another Fixed Point, and the Organization already has a member there.”
“WHAT?!” demanded Elsa. “Rapunzel, tell Lewis to get the time machine ready. We need to…”
“I’ll go,” interrupted Sora.
“What?” said Elsa. “Are you sure?”
“You said it yourself,” said Sora. “The fate of the world hinges on me and the other keyblade wielders. I might be able to find them, and have them come to the side of light.” Sora stood up to leave. “Elsa, thank you for being honest with me.”
“Well, I know what happens all too well when you hide something,” said Elsa sadly. Sora thought maybe there was something she wasn’t saying, but didn’t say anything.
“Lewis said the time machine will be ready in ten minutes,” said Rapunzel. “In the meantime Sora, you may need this.” A glowing ball floated into Sora’s chest, disappearing with a flash. “There. You now have a magic ability called Curaga. If you or any ally you meet is in trouble, use that on them, and they’ll be back to fighting fit.”
“Good,” said Elsa. “In that case, we’ll have a quick lunch before Sora goes to fight.” Elsa clapped her hands twice. “Linguini? Lunch.”
A dorky looking man in a chef’s outfit stumbled into the room, carrying a bunch of trays. He dropped them in front of those present perfectly, though from his pose it was clear this was an accident. “Lunch is served,” said Linguini, standing up again.
“Are you okay Linguini?” asked Judy. “You seem distracted.”
“Oh, me?” said Linguini. “It’s nothing. It’s just that tonight at the restaurant, there’s this really mean critic named Anton Ego who’s gonna review us, and if we don’t get a good review…” Linguini didn’t finish, but it was clear what he meant.
“That sounds bad,” said Sora. “What do you know about this guy? Maybe you can appeal to him with something unexpected.”
Linguini thought for a moment. “Well, I know he grew up in a poor farming community,” said Linguini. “Wait…no, that’s crazy.”
“What is it?” asked Rapunzel.
“Well, there’s this dish called ratatouille,” said Linguini, who seemed to be suppressing a giggle at this. “But it’s a peasant dish. There’s no way…”
“You should try it,” said Sora. “You’re a very good cook. I’m sure he’d love a taste of his childhood, prepared by such a talented chef.”
“Well, that’s very kind of you to say,” said Linguini. “But you see, I…” Suddenly, Linguini seemed to twitch. “I…need to stock up on ingredients. Yeah, could you help out with that?”
“Absolutely,” said Sora. “Wait, I have to go on a mission soon…”
“Actually Sora, you’ll be travelling in a time machine,” said Elsa. “You’ll be back here minutes after you leave, even if you spend days out there.”
“Really?” asked Sora. “Well Linguini, if you don’t mind waiting…”
“I’ll be here,” said Linguini. “I’ll go get you a list of ingredients.” Linguini quickly dashed out of the room as Lewis came back in.
“Your majesties,” said Lewis, bowing deeply. “We’re ready to go.”
“Alright, let’s do this,” said Sora, jumping to his feet.