Sorrow's Promise

Chapter 31

A week passed, and it was time to return to Twilight Town to meet Sora and the others. I was so nervous when I woke up that day that it took me a large portion of the morning to convince myself to actually get up and go. I wasn't worried about running into Riku, since I knew he would be steering clear of his friend. I really wasn't sure what it was that had me nervous, but my best guess was that it had to do with finally meeting the infamous Keyblade bearer, or maybe because I felt the weight of responsibility for sending him off on his quest. On the other hand, maybe I was just apprehensive about being thrust into another relationship of a sort with yet another guy. Those didn't seem to be ending too well for me like, ever. The good news was, I wasn't obligated to spend any more time with this guy than it took to send him on his way.

By the time I arrived in the pod room via dark corridor, Sora's pod was open and the room was empty. Great, I had missed them. I opened another corridor to go outside, hoping I wasn't too far behind, and saw three figures disappearing into the forest. I started to call out to them, but quickly changed my mind. This might be better, after all. I had only promised to make sure that they made it safely to their destination, not to personally and visibly escort them there. As long as they were headed in the right direction and staying out of trouble, I could hang back and watch and get a feel for who these three were before jumping in to introduce myself.

Though it wasn't my first time seeing Donald and Goofy, watching the duck and dog walk around in their clothes and hats talking to people was still blowing my mind. Of all the strange things I had seen since coming to this universe, those two quite possibly topped the list. Along with Sora, who was reminding me more and more of Zephyr with his carefree grin and mannerisms, they found their way into town and wandered around a bit, eventually running into a group of kids in a back alley. I stayed around the corner, listening.

"We just met someone who was looking for you," the girl told them upon learning their names.

"He sure seemed in a hurry," the black-haired boy added. "He had a black coat on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big, round ears."

Immediately I was on the alert, glancing up and down the street for any signs of this mysterious person. Sora had just woken up, and the Organization was already here looking for him? That couldn't be good.

"The King!" I heard Donald exclaim a moment later. I scrunched my face up in confusion, but then remembered what Riku had told me. They must be referring to the King that he had asked to help guide Sora.

"Where'd you see him?" Sora asked.

"At the station," the boy replied.

"The station, thanks!" Sora responded.

I busied myself with getting out of sight to wait for them to emerge, then followed at a safe distance as they jogged through the streets towards Central Station. Once there, the trio stopped to look around for the King, but instead were greeted by a hoard of Dusks. Donald and Goofy had their weapons in their hands immediately, and Sora summoned his Keyblade, which I noticed looked just like the one Roxas had used. As they began to fight, I made my way inconspicuously around to the steps of the station, hiding myself in the shadows to watch. They were good, that was for sure. Even after a year of sleeping, it didn't look like they had lost their touch. Each had a unique fighting style, but they worked well as a team.

However, the Dusks seemed to just keep coming, and it was soon evident that the heroes were wearing out. Maybe the long break from battle had taken its toll on them, after all. All three of them soon dropped to the ground in exhaustion, with Dusks still surrounding them. I was just about to step in to help out when a tiny figure appeared out of nowhere and vanquished all the remaining enemies in mere seconds with his own golden Keyblade.