Kingdom Hearts: The Brightest of Hearts

Chapter 7: Holiday Chaos

Now the Gummi ship finally managed to make it back to Traverse town, There Cloud and Aerith were waiting for them to land. However once Sora, Donald, and Goofy got off the ship and on the ground the three of them collapsed. Aerith gasped in shock while Cloud couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, Aerith then punched his shoulder.

"Heh, these guys really need a break, huh?"

***

Sora then woke up on the same large bed he was in when introduced to Yuffie and Squall; only now, the ones next to him was Cloud and Aerith. Sora got up slowly feeling better after a long rest.

"Hey now, you should rest more, it can't be easy saving the Multiverse without breaks."

"Thanks, but I'm ok now, so don't worry. Hey, where's Goofy and Donald?"

"They in town, they actually woke up earlier than you did."

"But even so, if you want to keep resting you-" Before Aerith could finish Sora energetically grabbed his keyblade and jumped out of bed. 

"I better get going then! Thanks guys!" Sora then left the room leaving Aerith confused and Cloud amused.

"Heh that kid really has some spunk huh?"

"He kind a reminds me of you, Cloud."

"Huh? How?" Aerith just giggled and walked off; Cloud groaned in annoyance for not getting an answer.

***

Sora wandered around town noticing the town was even brighter than before. Now it was starting to look more like town rather than the bleak atmosphere it used to have. As Sora wandered into the town square, he saw two adult men walking around but looking seeming paranoid. Sora however didn't notice their fear and instead he just waved at the two of them. They were spooked at first but when the saw Sora was just a boy, they calmed down and waved back. However, one of them saw Sora holding a Keyblade and gasped in fear, he then pointed at the Keyblade to get the other man's attention. The two of them screamed and ran out of the town square as fast as they could, leaving Sora confused.

"It wasn't your fault if that's what you're thinking." Sora then looked up to his left to see Squall standing next to him.

"They don't understand Keyblades, the Multiverse, Darkness, Light, or magic. So as far as they can tell your Keyblade is no different from the one that turned those guys into Heartless."

"Turned them into Heartless?"

"That's why the town's been getting brighter Sora, as you fight back the darkness and liberate the cursed hearts. Those same hearts return to where them came from, like those men you just saw. You saved them from becoming the Dark Army's playthings forever. They don't know it yet, but they owe you their lives because of that." Sora looked back to where he saw the two men run off to and even though he couldn't see them anymore he smiled brightly.

"The fact that their free from the Darkness is good enough for me."

"Hm, Yuffie was right about you, always finding the bright side of things." Sora looked at Squall then smiled proudly, owning up to his optimism. Then Sora remembered the valuable Ansem reports he got back in Agrabah.

"Oh! Hey Squall, is Merlin still in town?"

"Uh, yeah he's back in his office. why?"