Castle Oblivion
"Sora!" cheered Naminè
"We found the piece" announced Goofy
"Yeah" Sora handed over the square piece to Axel.
With the press of a button once again, a hologram video popped up.
"Well that's pretty unrealistic" claimed Donald
"Not as realistic as a talking duck the size of a human toddler?"
"Aw, phooey!"
In the video was the point-of-view of a man against a smirking reddish-purply creature whose confidence conveyed with power, wearing a gauntlet with shiney stones on his left hand. The man gasped as his own weapon was penetrated through him.
"Tony!" gasped Ronin
Who's Tony?" asked Sora
"He was my friend" answered Ronin "Now I am sure where this device came from. It belonged to him"
"You have my respect, Stark" said the creature "When I'm done half of humanity will still be alive. I hope They remember you" He points his left hand at the man and the shiney stones glowed"
"Stop" said a grunting voice "Spare his life and I will give you the stone"
"No tricks"
The man looks over his injured ally, who wore blue robe and, a red cape, and a necklace. He shook his head as if to ensure that were absolutely no tricks.
"Don't!"
But he did not listen as he stretched out his hand to spawn from a star a small green glowing stone which floated to get to the reddish-purply creature. He grabbed it with his right hand and placed it on the gauntlet, stretching his arms to absorb its strength when somebody started blasting lasers at him and screaming. It had no effect and he spawned a portal to get out. The next part of the video showed everyone's suffering before suddenly flying away as ashes. The voice of a young boy broke the windy silence "Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good" the footage went static and the words "Stream-transmission end" blocked the video before it closed down.
"All other organization members disappeared and only I survived. It doesn't matter. After all, we're just nobodies" said Axel "Half the universe disappeared all at the same time"
"At the same time? " asked Sora "So the dusts on Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie's floor were actually their ashes. But then why did Kairi and Riku disappear a few hours late?"
"Like I said" said Naminè "Nothing depends on luck. We found out that those who have the strongest hearts survived. And Riku and Kairi's were fighting, but theirs weren't strong enough."
"Don't say their hearts weren't strong enough! Especially Kairi's" whined Sora "Maybe there was another reason?"
"How about we find the reddish-purply feller?" suggested Goofy
"Hmph" grunted Axel "Finding survivors won't be a walk in the park. But you are too determined after all. I'll take you back to Traverse Town"
"Good luck, Sora!" Said Naminé
"Don't worry!" smiled Sora, showing that he still has the necklace given to him.
Traverse Town
Axel left Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ronin as soon as he dropped them off. But Sora, knowing Axel, knew that he will come by every once and a while. Ronin eventually stumbled upon his dropped bow and satchel of arrows and picked them up.
"To the Gummi Ship!" announced Donald. The whole Town stood silent and empty the same way it was when they arrived.
"There's not enough seats for Ronin, unfortunately"
"No? that's okay" claimed Ronin "I'll find my way around"
"How?"
"I was part of a team that always found a way. It was called the Avengers. And my friend Tony. He helped assemble us. With that being said. Again, I'll find my way around"
"You seem comfortable enough to tell us anything" said Goofy
"Good luck looking for your friends"
"You still haven't told us your real name" said Donald
"Barton" answered Ronin "Clint Barton"
"Here, you might need these. I don't need them anymore. I'm not the man I used to be"
Sora obtained the bow which Clint informally called Hawkeye's Bow and its arrows. They bid their goodbyes and walked to the Gummi Ship.
"We still have to make sure Leon, and the others are safe" said Sora "And find a way to bring back Kairi and Riku. If we can, and I hope we can"
They travelled around the cosmos and into wormholes to get to Radiant Garden. Everything was just as empty as Traverse Town.
Radiant Garden
"You know, I used to be annoyed by the opposing ships we used to encounter all the time, but now that they're gone, I miss them, amd everything's just eerie" shared Sora as they walked around. Towering over Radiant Garden was a castle called Hollow Bastion, once ruled by the respectful Ansem the wise.
"Sora" said Donald "Remember what we talked about"
"It's hard to smile at a situation like this"
"Sora, Donald, Goofy!" called out a cheery and cute voice. Dropping from the roof was a cute girl named Yuffie Kisaragi- wearing short short and a black and blue strapless top showing the midriff, and orange sneakers with white leg warmers. Her hair was short but long enougb to cover her ears.
"Sora, It's Yuffie!" said Goofy
"Where's Leon and the others? are they okay?" asked Sora
"Somehow, they disintegrated to ash and got blown off by the wind. Merlin, however, is fine. He's in his house as usual" explained Yuffie before joining their party and escorting them to Merlin's house.
"I was expecting you" jumped Merlin the moment they entered through the door. "Though, others turned to ash, I knew you three were unaffected. Well, maybe it affected your feelings"
"How?" questioned Sora
"Because I believed in you, everybody else did. You have a very strong heart, Sora. But we are still unsure why not Everybody was affected. Those who survived happen to come up with pretty interesting theories"
"Merlin, you told me you had something to say to them?"
"Ah yes, of course. Sit down. When everybody disappeared, I found this message in a bottle just lying on my desk. I do not know who placed it there when I wasn't looking. Here, Sora, I think it's for you"
Merlin handed over to Sora a small letter with unfamiliar handwriting. The stretched letters showed that the writer was in a rush.
"I have to write fast before I disappear" read aloud Sora "There is a reason some of us are disappearing late. You must find the Twilight Ghost and you will be able to do so by finding the gauntlet-wielding titan named Thanos. I have casted a spell to deliver this letter to the nearest, wisest magic user and If it reaches someone else, find the spikey-haired keyblade-wielder"
The letter had no signature.
"What or who is the Twilight Ghost?" asked Donald
"Maybe it's a legend" said Goofy
"The Twilight Ghost" explained Merlin "Is a legend alright. They say that the Twlight Ghost is an evil entity that came to existence unknowingly a few thousand years ago and that the only way to defeat it is by the hands of its own prisoners. The prisoners can only be freed by the strongest of all hearts. You, Sora, are the only one I know who has a heart stronger than history itself, stronger than his friends'. You must find this Twilight Ghost, free its prisoners and defeat it"
"We got it!" acknowledged Sora before feeling the loud thud of an object outside.
"There's something outside!" panicked Donald.
Outside Merlin's house was one giant armored vehicle crawling on four legs. Its appearance like an armored animal, and its head had two cannons on the side. It was half the height of the towering Hollow Bastion. Walking towards them as it blasted the small houses in the distance.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Yuffie drew out their weapons. Yuffie's was a giant shuriken. Merlin pointed his wand at the thing ready to blast some magic onto it.