Meet Sora

It took a few minutes before the group found Concord Street, a street located in Orlando, and a condo, too. A man named Cid Highwind was playing a violin on one side of it, but the place that they were looking for was the other side, marked "Detective Sora Keyheart: 223 E. Concord Street, Orlando, FL 32801."

"Well, here we are at 223 E. Concord Street." Roxas said.

"Where fellow detectives can hang out and be smart." Riku added happily. He knocked on the front door. Just then, the door opened up, revealing three beautiful girls.

The first girl was 14 years old with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a white lace dress and light blue sandals. Her name was Namine, one of Sora's scullery maids.

The second girl was 15 years old with peach skin, bright green eyes, and brown hair that sticks out on the sides and two strands of hair fall from either side of her head, just long enough to drape over her shoulders, wearing an orange tank top with a white floral design at the bottom, khaki-colored capri pants, and orange socks with white hems. She also wears cream, black, and yellow shoes with black laces, a beaded, sky blue bracelet on her right wrist, and a black necklace decorated with a spherical, sky blue charm. Her name was Olette, Sora's other scullery maid.

The last girl was the same age as Namine with shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes, wearing a black tank top, blue shorts, white socks, and red and white converse shoes. Her name was Xion, Sora's last scullery maid.

Anyway, all three girls were holding some books, blankets, pillows, pajamas, socks, slippers, towels, and, of course, a medieval mace.

"Good evening, girls." Riku smiled, taking off his rain hat and tipping it.

"Is this the very residence of Sora of Concord Street?" Roxas asked.

"I'm afraid it is, boys." Namine said with a sigh.

"He's not here at the moment." Olette added.

"But you're welcome to come in and wait." Xion finished, nodding her head.

"Well, we don't want to impose." Roxas replied.

"Roxas' right," Riku added. "It's just the boys." He motioned to the Gangreen Gang, only to see that they were gone. The group turned to see them standing by a couch, with Arturo looking at a magnifying glass nearby. "*¡Interesante!*" Arturo said eagerly.

"Oh, my! You poor things! You five must be soaking wet and cold from the rain." Namine said, as she and the other girls took the wet clothes off the green-skinned boys and dried them off.

"Oh, but we know just the thing!" Olette smiled, as she dressed the gang in dry pajamas, socks, and slippers.

"Let us fetch each of you a mug of hot chocolate and some of our fresh raw fish." Xion added, as she and the others headed into the laundromat to put the boys' clothes in the dryer.

Ace was now wearing a purple long-sleeved pajama jacket with buttons and pockets, matching long pajama pants, white socks, and yellow slippers. He was still wearing his sunglasses, though.

Snake was now wearing an orange long-sleeved pajama jacket with buttons and pockets, matching long pajama pants, white socks, and brown slippers. He was not wearing his hat since it was already in the dryer with the other clothes.

Arturo was now wearing red long-sleeved footy pajamas with snaps, a white collar, and matching cuffs.

Grubber was now wearing a dark red long-sleeved pajama jacket with brown checkers, pockets, and plain dark red buttons, matching long pajama pants with the same dark brown checkered pattern as his top, white socks, and sienna slippers.

Billy was now wearing an extra large sky-blue long-sleeved pajama top with buttons and pockets, matching extra large long pajama pants, white socks, and dark green slippers.

The Gangreen Gang looked around, amazed by a lot of items, like an auto pipes and shoes leaving foot prints on paper.

Meanwhile, Roxas and Riku had already taken off their raincoats, hats, and boots, revealing their regular shoes, and had hung them up while putting their boots and umbrellas aside.

"Duh, this Sora must be a good detective, right Ace?" Billy said to Ace with a smile.

"Yeah, that's right Billy." Ace said, "For someone who used to..."

"Aha! The villain slipped this time! I shall have him!" A voice cut him off. The door bust open as a Japanese boy in robes came in with a smile of triumph on his face. He was holding up again as lightning struck, making Roxas and Riku gasp.

The same Japanese boy rushed over to the table, pushing the two boys aside as he exclaimed, "Out of my way! Out of my way!"

"I say!" Roxas gasped, as the Japanese boy tossed a hat, letting it fall on Riku's head.

Riku took the hat off, scowling, "Who are you?!" he demanded.

"Who? Oh." The Japanese boy asked, not realizing he was a visitor.

When the Japanese boy took off his Latex mask, he was revealed to be a 14-year-old boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a red jumpsuit, a blue belt, yellow shoes, a white and black overjacket, white with yellow gloves with his signature crown necklace and crown chain. His name was Sora. "My name is Sora of Concord Street, my good boys." the said boy replied with a smile.

The said boy pulled a tab on his costume, causing it to deflate and revealing his slender form.

This confused Roxas and Riku, but the Gangreen Gang was excited to see Sora.

"Sora!" Ace exclaimed in surprise, "The boys and I need your help, and..."

"All in good time." Sora cut him off, not listening and putting on a red bathrobe before he tossed a dart over his shoulder toward a dartboard.

"But you don't undersssstand!" Snake protested, "We're in terrible trouble!"

"If you'll excuse me!" Sora said, as he walked by the Gangreen Gang quickly. Grubber wearily and sadly blew a raspberry. Sora took out a bullet of some kind.

"Now you see here, Sora!" Riku said, wagging his finger at Sora, "These five green boys are in need of assistance!"

If Sora was a detective, he sure was a rude one! And Roxas agreed with Riku, saying, "Wee think you ought to..."

"Will you hold this, please, Roxas?" Sora asked, cutting him off and handing him a gun.

"Ok." Roxas said, as he closed his eyes, unaware of what he was holding while pointing the gun to his head. Opening his eyes, he yelped as he held it away from him. Sora took the gun back. "Wait a minute. How did you know my name?"

"You and I were best friends ten years ago. Today, you returned from military duty in Destiny Islands. Am I right?"

"Oh. Why, yes." said Riku. "And I'm sure you know *my* name, too. But how could you possibly..."

"Quite simple, really." Sora smiled, cutting him off. Then he held up Roxas' left arm to reveal a stitch mark on his jacket.

"You've sewn your torn cuff together with the Lambert stitch, which of course, only a surgeon uses," Sora went on, as he gathered several pillows. "And the thread is a unique form of catgut distinguished by its peculiar pungency found only in the provinces on Destiny Islands."

One by one, Sora tossed six pillows to Riku and Roxas, who held them against their bodies, their faces mostly covered.

"Amazing!" Roxas and Riku mumbled in unison even though it was hard to hear them from behind the pillows.

"Actually, it's elementary, my dear boys." said Sora, as he spinned the gun before aiming it at one of the pillows.

"Do yourselves a favor, cover your ears," Sora advised the Gangreen Gang, who obeyed. "Oh, and try to hide; I'm not often a good shot."

Roxas and Riku gasped in alarm, for Sora was about to shoot! The two teenage boys tossed the pillows into an armchair as the Keyblade Wielder aimed at them. The two boys yelped as they ducked behind a chair. Roxas and Riku quickly grabbed the Gangreen Gang and hid them behind the couch.

With that, Sora shot the pillows, causing feathers to fly around. As the others took a peek, Sora blew smoke from his gun.

"What in heaven's name?" Namine gasped, as she and the others came upstairs from the laundromat.

The three girls heard a shot and decided to investigate. "Oh, oh! Our..." Xion groaned, as she spits out a few feathers while she and the others grabbed some, feeling distraught. "Our good pillows!"

"Are you all right, Xion?" Olette asked, patting the coughing Xion on the back.

"Yeah, I'm O.K." Xion replied, spitting out the last feather, "But who is behind all of this?"

Namine, Olette, and Xion glared in the direction of the armchair.

"Sora Keyheart!" Namine furiously shouted to Sora, who tossed the feathers aside. As the boy popped his head above his chair, Xion spat out more feathers.

"Uh-oh!" gulped Sora.

Namine continued yelling, "How many times have we told you not to shoot our good pillows, especially your wife's?!"

"There, there, girls. It's quite all right." Sora cut her off as he assured her, Olette, and Xion a bit. The boy smiled while continuing, "Hmmm, yes. I believe I smell that delightful hot chocolate of yours. Why don't you fetch our guests mugs of it, along with your delightful fresh, raw fish?"

Olette stammered a little, "But, ah, but, but..."

But Sora gently pushed her, Namine, and Xion into the kitchen before closing the door.

At this point, Sora got onto the floor on his hands and knees, looking for the bullet that was fired. "Now..." he said, "I know that bullet's here somewhere..." The boy finally saw Ace, who was holding it up. Sora took it, saying, "Thank you, Mr...."

"Copular. *Ace D.* Copular." Ace said, giving out his name to Sora. He and the others hoped that Sora would now give them some help.

Ace went on, "And these are my friends, Snake,..."

"Hello, Sssssora," said Snake. "My name is Ssssssanford D. Ingleberry. But everyone callsssss me Ssssssnake, gotsssss it?"

"...Lil' Arturo,..."

"Pleased to meet you, *amigo*," Arturo said with a smile. "My name is Arturo de la Guerra. But you can call me Lil' Arturo or just Arturo."

"...Grubber,..."

Grubber introduced himself to Sora in raspberries, translating "I'm Grubber J. Gribberish. How do you do, Sora?"

Sora got confused "What?"

Ace translated "He said 'I'm Grubber J. Gribberish. How do you do, Sora?' That's what he said."

Sora nods in realization, "Ah, okay."

"...and last, but not least, Big Billy."

"Duh, hello," Billy said, waving at Sora. "I am William W. Williams. You can call me Big Billy or just Billy."

"Ok, those are nice names," Sora said, as he walked back to his desk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to finish."

"Duh, looks like we dodged the bullet there!" Billy exclaimed, much to the dismay of the others.

"Don't do that again." Ace told Billy.

"This is *el stupido*, man." Arturo explained.

Grubber blew a raspberry in agreement and annoyance.

"Wait, you don't undersssssstand," Snake said in concern. Why couldn't Sora talk to them? "You sssssssee how..."

"Shhh!" Sora shushed him sternly. He opened up a small box, taking out the other bullet. If this experiment worked, Sora would be one step closer to being a master detective. The boy put the bullet under the microscope, took out the one he fired, and put it under the same microscope. "Now, time to play, match that bullet."

"What issssss he doing?" Snake asked Ace, as Sora was busy using the microscope to look at the bullets carefully.

"We're on the tail of a dangerous villain." Ace replied.

"He sure hopes that the bullet we found matches to the one in the gun, depending on which directions that the former were fired at and how the gun fired the latter bullet." said Arturo.

"Yes, oh yeah, good..." Sora said with a smile. So far, both bullets seemed to match...but when he got to one part, to his horror, the two bullets were in separate directions. "NOOOOOOO!!! Drat!"

"Not a match?" Snake asked Sora, who sadly looked down to the floor in defeat.

"Yes...another dead end." Sora sighed sadly. He took the extra bullet and tossed it away before going back to his chair. "He was within our grasp." So, sadly, Sora flopped into the chair, looking down before reaching or a violin nearby, playing a soft melody.

Roxas and Riku paused before nudging the Gangreen Gang.

"Go ahead, boys." Riku said.

"You can do it." added Roxas.

Now was the time to tell him, since Sora wasn't distracted at the moment.

With determined looks on their faces, the sad Gangreen Gang walked over to the depressed Sora, and Ace said, "Now, will you *please* listen to us?"

"Master Shifu is gone, and we're all alone." Arturo said.

"Little ones, this is a most inopportune time." Sora said to the five green-skinned teenagers with a frown. He continued playing, but looked at the sad Gangreen Gang. The Keyblade Bearer rolled his eyes, saying, "Surely your parents know where he is."

"We don't have any parentssssss." Snake sadly explained.

"Our parents died when we were very young." Billy said sadly, and Grubber sadly blew a raspberry in agreement.

That made Sora yelp as his violin playing came to a screeching halt. "Ummmm, well...then perhaps..." Sora said, not sure what to say. It was true, the Gangreen Gang's parents passed away in their childhood. The Keyblade Bearer pondered on what to say next, then looked seriously at the five green-skinned teenagers as he snapped, "See here, I simply have no time for lost and found!"

By now, the Gangreen Gang was getting annoyed, and they all crossed their arms over their chests. "Hey, Sora," Arturo protested in annoyance. Sora scoffed and turned away. "We all know we came to you for help, and now you're turning us down!"

"Arturo's right," replied Ace indignantly, "We didn't lose him. He was taken by three humans and a cat!"

"That'ssss right!" Snake replied.

"Duh, I agree." said Billy, and Grubber blew a raspberry in annoyance and agreement.

Upon hearing what the Gangreen Gang just said, Sora turned to them with a hopeful smirk, asking, "Did you say...humans and cat?"

"Yesssssss." hissed Snake.

"Were they working for Team Rocket?"

"Duh, I don't know." Billy said in concern.

"But one human had black hair and looked like you, the other had the same hairstyle as mine, but blue, and the other had magenta hair," said Ace. "Plus, the cat was a Normal-Type Scratch Cat Pokémon"

"Ha!" Sora exclaimed with a smile, as he stood up triumphantly. "I say!" Roxas said, as he and Riku walked up to Sora, who was sitting on top of the chair, "Do you know them?"

"Know them?" Sora repeated, "Those humans and that cat, three Vanitas, Jessie, and James, and one Meowth by name, are the employs of the very fiend who was the target of my experiment! The horror of my every waking moment! The nefarious Mr. Swackhammer!"

Sora pointed to a picture over a mantle frame, with the flame and thunder roaring. On the picture is a figure, who is grinning sinisterly.

"Swackhammer?" Riku asked, as Sora leaned over the top of his chair.

"He's a genius, Riku." Sora said, ducking down quickly before reappearing at the side. "A genius twisted for...evil!" The detective turned to the front of the chair. "The Napoleon of Crime!"

"Is this Swackhammer monster really bad as all that?" Riku asked Sora, who poked his head behind the banister.

"Worse!" Sora said, "For years, I did my best to capture him, each time I came close!" Sora scowled as he held his angry fist at the figure's picture. "Each time, so close, but each time he's narrowly evaded my grasp!"

Sora finished his story, "Not a corner of Orlando's safe while Swackhammer's at large. There's no evil scheme he wouldn't concoct! No depravity he wouldn't commit! Who knows what dastardly scheme that villain is plotting even as we speak?"