Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: a dive into the heart

“Hey”: a character talking

‘Hey’ :a character thinking

*Hey*: a echo or whisper

After saving her brother Keith from his kidnappers, Katarina Claes returned to her relaxing way of life. Soon, she would graduate from the magic academy and apply to work in the magic ministry with Maria. Her only worry left was what she would do with her field in the academy. She had spent years taking care of it and felt really bad about abandoning it just like that.

Apart from that, her life was great, filled with fun days with her friends and comforting nights, not having to worry about the doom flags that came with being a villainess reincarnated. With a lot of effort, she had been granted the friendship ending. She was finally free of the doom flags haunting her dreams, or so she thought.

Her dreams had always been weird, but falling from who knows where into the depths of an ocean took the prize for sure. She closed her eyes while she slowly fell into the darkness until she could feel her feet touching something again. She couldn't see anything besides the great void she was apparently standing in. Upon taking one step forward, light burst out from the floor, revealing butterflies flying away and unveiling an image in the stained glass floor.

It took her a while to see the full image. On one side, there was Katarina Claes, her current self in her usual dress, looking like she was sleeping in front of what seemed like her field, with portraits of her friends around her. On the other side, she saw herself or at least her old self dressed in her old school uniform, also sleeping in what seemed like her old hometown. In this case, there was only one portrait that belonged to A-chan, while the other spaces were filled by important objects for her like vegetables, a tree, books, and manga. Both her past and present selves supported each other's backs, and her hands held the same sword-like thing.

It had a rectangular blue guard and a black handle that extended into a silver blade. At the top of the blade were three protrusions: one was a silver five-pointed star, another was a single point on the opposite side, and the third one, located at the tip, was a simple silver orb. A small gold ring was seen where the blade began, and it also had a Keychain attached to a gold star.

"What kind of dream is this?" she said as she stepped back a little to get a better view, but soon enough, she felt an edge, nearly losing her balance. Katarina looked to her back only to see a fall so big she couldn't see a bottom if there was any at all.

*Be careful, jumping into the darkness without protection will lead you to lose yourself in it,* a voice echoed.

When she turned around, there was no one standing behind her.

"Who said that?" in a worried tone, Katarina kept looking around, trying to find the origin of the voice, but she found no one.

*Too many questions and so little time. Destiny is set in motion, and we must prepare to set it off rails,* the voice continued.

It felt like someone was speaking to her from far away, yet she could still hear it. She knew the voice, but she just couldn't tell from where.

"Um, excuse me, miss creepy voice, can you tell me where I am?" Unfortunately for her, the voice didn't seem interested in answering her questions at that moment. Well, she was used to having weird dreams, besides the occasional memories of her past life haunting her, so maybe this wouldn't be that bad. At least it wouldn't be another possible doom flag, right?

*Step forward,* a light soon appeared in the middle of the platform. Katarina walked towards it, unsure of what to expect.

*Your power is sleeping deep within. We need to give it form.* Soon, three pedestals raised from the floor, one with a broadsword with a yellow handle and a red gem in the center with a black emblem that looked like the head of a mouse, a wand with a blue mouse head at the tip, and lastly, a red shield that also had the black mouse emblem. All of them were floating on top of the pedestals.

*Choose carefully,* the voice advised.

Unsure of what she would encounter, Katarina advanced towards the weapon she was most familiar with, and soon the sword was in her hands.

*The power of a warrior, the courage to face an adversary head-on, unleashing destruction upon them. Do you wish for this power?* the voice asked.

It sounded a little too drastic for her liking, but how much damage could she really unleash with it? She wasn't a genius like Geordo, so using it for self-defense in a dream wouldn't really matter, right?

“Yes?” Unsure of what to expect, she gave her answer as the weapon disappeared from her hands in a flash of light.

*To earn something is to lose something. Which power do you forsake?* She started walking again, this time towards the wand. It really wouldn't be useful for her; she had already accepted that she couldn't really trust her magic for self-defense, unless she wanted to trip somebody with the earth bump, but that would be petty bullying or a distraction at best. Finally, she grabbed the staff.

*A wand of wonder and ruin, a mysterious force, the wisdom to guide an adversary to their end. Do you give up on this power?* the voice queried.

This was turning a little too dramatic, really. She didn't wish to harm anybody; her only wish was to grow old and watch the sunset with a cat on her lap. That was all, a peaceful life without doom flags. Maybe she should stop reading adventure novels before sleeping. They clearly started to affect her dreams.

“Yeah,” this time she sounded more tired than worried, like with the sword, the wand disappeared in another flash of light.

*As your power grows, the shadows in your path will grow as well. You must remain vigilant.* Unknown to her, from her shadow, a creature started crawling. She quickly turned around only to see her shadow had stopped moving, and from it, a humanoid creature raised. It had sharp claws, a skinny body, and a big head with antennae sprouting out. It stared at her with big yellow eyes, ready to jump at her. Then, in the spawn of a second, she felt the handle of a sword again in her hands and let her instincts do the work, cutting the thing while it was in mid-air, making it disappear in a burst of darkness.

The sword was back, so maybe this was a lucid dream or nightmare, depending on the way you looked at it, since two more of those things came out from the darkness. Before they could try jumping at her, she tried another slash towards them, but they dodged by melting into the ground, becoming actual moving shadows on the ground. Confused, she tried to stomp them, but she only felt the ground while the creatures moved erratically around her. Soon, one got out and managed to land a scratch on her back.

It didn't look like it, but those things had more strength than she thought. With a quick step, Katarina tried to gain some distance, only to see another pop out of the floor, ready to scratch her face. She reacted quickly and blocked with her blade, throwing the creature back to the floor. Not wanting these things to pull the same trick again, she charged against them, and with a horizontal slash, the remaining creatures disappeared back into the darkness.

"That's what you get for messing with me!" she then looked around, trying to make sure there weren't more of those things around. After poking her shadow with the sword a little, she directed her attention towards the sword in her hands.

"Well, I'm glad I learned how to wield one, but I didn't expect to have to use it against shadowy monsters." It was weird, but when she thought of a use for it, the sword appeared, and when she let go of the handle, the blade disappeared in a flash of light. After messing around a little, experimenting on what she could do with it, throwing the sword around and calling it back, soon she got bored.

"And now what?" the voice remained quiet. Looking around, she could see another platform not too far from the one she was standing on; soon enough, a path connecting the two appeared. Without any new instructions or miss creepy voice keeping her there, Katarina advanced towards the other platform. It had the same image as the previous one, just with a different color palette. The image still provoked something in her: sorrow, nostalgia, dread, and many others she still couldn't name. She really couldn't tell how long she stared at the image.

*Be careful not to lose yourself staring into the past. There are bigger things we have to deal with now,* the voice cautioned.

The floor started shaking, barely keeping her balance. Katarina stumbled into the middle of the platform, and as she tried to regain balance, she noticed something that sent a chill down her spine: a giant dark hand grabbing the edge of the platform. Soon, the creature raised towering towards her; the monster was a giant with rather short legs and thin feet, a big hole in the abdomen in the shape of a heart, giant arms ready to crush her, and finally, a head covered in tentacles that only let its yellow eyes uncovered.

Katarina watched in horror as the monster raised its arm, ready to crush her. Thankfully, it was slow enough for her to dodge without too much effort. She then tried to run away from where she came, but the path had vanished, leaving her face to face with the monster.

*Be brave. You can defeat it. Trust yourself and let your power do the rest.*

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Katarina looked at the monster in front of her. While it was massive, its moves were slow and sloppy. Maybe she really could beat it if she took advantage of it. It was her dream after all, so she didn't have anything to lose.

So she charged against it; the giant threw another punch at her. This time, she jumped to dodge it and, to her surprise, reached higher than she ever did. As for the giant, its fist got stuck in the floor, leaving a pool of darkness around it. Taking the chance, she charged towards it and started slashing its arm with all the strength she had. Then, more of the smaller monsters started coming out of the dark pool surrounding the fist, forcing Katarina to concentrate on them. While they weren't a big deal for her, now that she knew their tricks, the creatures managed to buy enough time for the big one to free itself and charge some dark energy in its fist. Then, it hit the ground with it, creating a shock wave of dark energy that pushed her back. As she got back up, the giant monster threw another punch at her; she managed to get out of its way and again trap it in the floor.

From her new point of view, Katarina got an idea. This time, using the arm of the giant as a platform, she jumped to reach the head of the giant and hit it directly with her sword, making it back off a couple of steps. The giant crossed its arms against its chest and got onto its knees, and soon, a dark magic explosion occurred, leaving a surge of dark energy coming from its chest. From it, dark fireballs were shot at her. While they were slow, the amount of them was enough to overwhelm and impact her. Having no time to breathe, Katarina composed herself as the giant stood up. After exchanging a couple more hits, Katarina was able to land a powerful slash on the head of the giant, who lost its balance and fell on the floor.

"I did it! I REALLY DID IT! IN YOUR FACE, YOU BIG BULLY!" Just as she started to celebrate her victory, the giant body started to dissolve into a dark puddle that Katarina didn't notice until she wasn't able to jump. As she looked towards her feet that were sinking into the void, she entered in panic again. Her erratic moves quickly made her lose her balance, and she fell into the dark pool. She could feel how it dragged her, trying to sink her deeper into what she could only assume was an endless void. As she used all her strength to push whatever was dragging her, the mysterious voice spoke to her again.

*Don't be afraid. Even if you fall into the deepest void, you possess the greatest weapon of all.

You have the key…*

As everything went dark, Katarina started to feel something again, pain especially in her face. Soon, the sound of a door opening and a sigh. Soon, Katarina was able to see again. There was her maid Anne looking at her while she held the bedsheet that was blocking her view.

"Lady Katarina, I believe the duchess told you not to eat sweets before going to bed for this exact reason," she said with a tone that suggested she knew her words were in vain.

"Sorry, Anne, I just had a weird dream. I had to defeat a giant shadow." As Katarina got up, she began her morning routine with the help of Anne.

Her day was relatively free; her friends were busy with the student council responsibilities, especially now that the midterms exams were about to start. So she would work in her field and maybe study if she had some time left. She put on her farmer's suit and went to her not-so-secret field.

–

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Swallowed by darkness

“Hey”: a character talking

‘Hey’ :a character thinking

Hey: a echo or whisper
—
Katarina was just finishing tending her field while the dream still remained in the back of her head: the routine of watering the crops, applying fertilizer, pulling weeds, and plowing the land. All these little tasks allowed her to quickly lose herself in the joys of hard work. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't really stay farming all day; she had responsibilities too. As a student in the magic academy, she was expected to attend a session of magic training to ensure a safe performance in her final exam. And of course, Katarina had already forgotten about it. Thankfully, the young lady, who was arguably the most competent maid in the kingdom, was forged by years of her lady randomly deciding to climb a tree, hunt bugs, fish, or toy with snakes during training.

Anne had learned to be ready at least two hours before any activity of her lady. Upon arriving, she was surprised by her lady once again. While she was arguably the strongest of her social group, she wasn't sure if the results of her lady's arm wrestling contest were accurate, since everybody was more interested in holding her lady for as long as they could. Katarina right now was not only carrying two times the weight she normally did like it was nothing, looking around she saw that all of the heavy work was also finished. Everybody else was busy, so this surely made her lady alone.

As Katarina finished packing her farming supplies in a shed, she noticed her maid looking at her.

“Hello Anne, are you alright? You look pale.” Anne shook her head a little and returned to her usual neutral expression.

“Lady Katarina, I came to remind you of the mandatory magical practice today." As soon as she finished her sentence, Katarina's expression changed.

"Today! Everybody told me it was for tomorrow," the anxiety kept building on her face. While the practice wasn't a big deal for most students, for her, an average student who struggles in most tests and exercises, it was a nightmare to go into it without studying.

"That was yesterday, my lady," as desperation took over the young lady, her maid directed her towards her room to help her change in preparation for the practice.

Unknown to both of them, a pair of deep yellow eyes was spying on them, slowly returning to the shadows after they left.

—

Katarina was a mess. She had changed to her usual white and blue dress and arrived just in time to the exercises. She tried to frantically study her notes as the different names of the students were being called to perform, even if her own magic was weak. The teachers expected her to perform all security measures perfectly since everybody was held to the same standards regardless of their house, affinity, or power.

She hadn't seen her friends either, as this class was separated by affinities, and her little brother Keith was in an advanced class due to his exceptional magic power. While she knew a couple of people here, most were like her, trying to concentrate for the exercise, creating a tense atmosphere in the room that didn't help the already nervous lady.

"Lady Katarina Claes," a chill ran down Katarina's back. She wasn't ready, but after a deep breath, she composed herself and advanced towards the training field.

On her way, Katarina was able to see her friends performing in their respective fields. All of them gave reassuring looks after noticing she was a little nervous. With another deep breath, she pushed her worries away and stood in front of her professor.

"Good evening, Lady Claes. Your objective is to make the earth under the middle dummy rise without touching the other dummies," the teacher then pointed towards her target, a dummy as tall as an average person in the middle of a line of 5 of similar size.

It wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. Feeling more relaxed, Katarina then began to concentrate. Her professor was more focused on its notes, after all, Katarina had a really low magic power, so nothing to worry about, right?

The following incident took everybody by surprise. Normally, Katarina was only capable of raising a little bump of earth, but instead was able to raise enough earth to damage the dummy in the middle and the two closest to it, leaving Katarina dumbfounded. Her professor composed himself from the surprise and began to do damage control.

“Well, Lady Claes, you damaged three dummies. Judging by your expression, you didn't expect this outcome,” he said while looking around at the dummies, noticing remains of the magic used, showing the user's lack of experience with stronger magic outputs.

“It wasn't supposed to be like this. Normally, it's just a bump,” Katarina said, growing anxious at her apparent failure in the exercise. The professor looked at her and the dummies, then continued to write in his notes.

“There is nothing to worry about, Lady Claes. These kinds of situations are why we have these exercises, even for third-year students. Sudden increases in magical power aren't as uncommon as people think; some people are just late bloomers,” he explained, taking a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to her.

“For now, you need to have some extra classes on magic control. Thanks for coming today.” The paper contained the schedule of some magic instructors at the academy.

With it, the teacher called the staff to clean the training ground for the next student, but unknown to them, Katarina's new earth magic had left a dark trace in the field that disappeared after they left.
—
Outside the training grounds, Katarina was feeling down; having to take extra classes was the second-worst outcome of these exercises. On the other hand, at least her magic was finally getting stronger, but it was a little too late for her liking. Where was this power when she faced the doom flags?

"Lady Katarina," she heard her friends approaching with worried expressions.

"We heard you failed the exercise. Is it true?" the one asking was Sofía Ascart, a white-haired girl with ruby eyes. Katarina and she shared a passion for books, especially romance novels. To her side stood Mary Hunt, a confident lady with brown hair and eyes with a green touch, and María Campbell, a blond commoner capable of using light magic and the greatest baker in the kingdom if you asked Katarina.

"I'm sorry, Lady Katarina. We should have helped you study for it. I promise it won't happen again," Mary mentioned with a little guilt in her tone.

"Lady Katarina, I brought you some cookies to cheer you up," María offered, presenting a small bag to Katarina. She was about to explain what had happened, but María's cookies took priority.

"Thank you, María! Your cookies are the best," Katarina exclaimed, taking the bag and happily eating them.

As all her troubles became insignificant thanks to María's delicious cookies, the rest of her friends arrived to check on her. Alan and Geordo Stuart, both princes of the kingdom and, in Geordo's case, her fiancé, approached, a compromise made out of convenience to avoid fans, unlike Alan and Mary who clearly were made for each other. Then there was her little brother Keith, a prodigy with incredible magic power, adopted from a lesser branch of the Claes family to replace her as the head of the family after she entered her engagement with Geordo. Unlike her, Keith was a prodigy with incredible magic power. There were times where she forgot they were all supposed to be characters from an otome game. It was weird that neither of them had tried to make a move on María, the main character; not even Nicol, Sofía's older brother and one main capture target, had made the effort to deepen his relationship with her after he graduated from the academy. If she were a man, she would be head over heels for her, but everybody seemed to be busy with something else. Apparently, she wondered what or who it could be.

"Katarina, are you hearing us?" Geordo asked, used to her spacing out.

"Sorry, I got distracted. What was the question?" As the cookies had run out, Katarina realized they were talking to her, only for Geordo to sigh and repeat himself.

"I asked you what happened; the instructors were too busy to tell us exactly what had happened," he said with concern in his voice.

"The only thing we got was that a student had accidentally lost control of their magic and they were unable to fix the training ground," Keith added, matching Geordo's tone.

"What? But it was just my earth bump; there is no way it caused that much trouble, right?” Everybody looked at her surprised that magic control had never been a problem for her due to her low magic power. seeing the disbelief of her friends Katarina proceeded to make a little demonstration with similar results than the exercise.

“Sister, how are you doing that?” Keith was the closest thing that the group had to earth magic and moving this amount of earth required an amount of magic power he thought his sister lacked; he also was worried that she would run out of magic power and hurt herself in the process.

“I don't know. Before today it was normal.” As Katarina kept worrying about her magic, Geordo tried to analyze the situation.

“Have you done any exercises to increase your affinity and not just farming, the exercises that the academy recommends?” he asked while he kept looking at Katarina's display.

“I don't think so, I mean maybe I tried to study everything before the exercise and the teacher said something about late bloomers.'' For a moment, everybody went silent. Until Alan broke down laughing.

“After all these years, that's what it took for you to finally improve your magic, studying at the last minute of a test.” As Alan kept trying to regain composure and the tension that their worries had created disappeared. With everybody in a better mood, the topic changed to what had actually happened.

“That reminds me. I have to get someone to teach me magic control again.” With those innocent words, Katarina had started a war. As is custom, Geordo made the first attack.

“I could help you after all as a fire mage, keeping control of my magic is a top priority at all moments.” A direct attack fitting of a member of the royal family; unfortunately, Geordo's adversaries knew him well from their countless battles.

“But Prince Geordo, you have duties as the student council president. There is no way you have enough time to properly teach Katarina.” Mary intercepted Geordo's attack with a fake worried tone that had been perfected over years of messing up his relationship with Katarina.

“A good fiancé always makes time for their partner, no matter what.” To this day, Geordo was sure that Mary had pulled some strings to ensure he became the student council president and spent less time with Katarina.

“As the only earth mage, I think I'm more suited to be my sister's instructor,” Keith charged in.

Soon Sofía also entered the Battlefield offering both her help and her brother, saying two teachers were better. Alan, as usual, stood in the middle of the battlefield completely unaware of the bloodbath. The unexpected move came from María, who implied always baking sweets to eat after her practice and later invited Katarina to study with her. Both Geordo and Mary had realized that by focusing on each other, they had allowed María to become one of the biggest threats in this violent war for Katarina's heart. As usual, Katarina ended the conflict by simply turning it into a group study session.

Katarina loved all her friends and wished to spend all the time she could with them.

If only things could remain like this forever.

—

After talking a little more with her friends, they all parted ways to their respective rooms. However, on her way there, Katarina’s dark familiar Pocchi, a dog formed of dark magic that she got after rescuing Keith from his kidnappers, jumped out of her shadow and started to look around frantically. He then locked onto something in one direction and ran towards it. Knowing she couldn't leave the dog without supervision, Katarina started to chase it.

Soon, she was out of the dormitories under the light of the dawn. Katarina nearly lost the trace of the familiar, but she recognized the road it took to be the same one she used every morning to reach her farm. As she ran towards it, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Upon arriving at her farm, she found it to be a wreck. Claw marks covered the place, and most of the crops were destroyed. All her effort and care were gone, and she still had no sign of Pochi.

As the night began, a green glow appeared deeper in the forest around her farm. Having no other clue, Katarina grabbed her favorite hoe for self-defense and started to approach whatever was causing that glow.

As she got closer, signs of something bigger moving were all around the forest. Trees were cracked all over the place, and then she finally saw Pocchi. The little dog laid in the middle of a burned patch of grass with some kind of green flames lingering around him. Katarina rushed to help him, and as she touched him, the dog merged back into her shadow.

“What an interesting creature. Not many beings can withstand my power.” From where the voice came, an old woman appeared. She wore a long dark robe with a purple trim, a black horned headdress, and a staff with a green orb at the tip. Her skin was pale, and she wore purple makeup along with red lipstick. Katarina could only tighten the grip on her hoe as the obviously evil woman got closer.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” Katarina managed to say, feeling her legs giving up. Everything about this woman felt like a giant doom flag.

“I assume that creature responds to you, correct? Normally, I would have burned it for daring to attack me. But as a fellow user of the dark arts, I must admit I'm quite intrigued by its abilities.” As she said it, yellow eyes started to appear from the shadows of the forest, staring at her.

“You wouldn’t mind if I experiment a little more, right?” To Katarina's horror, she was soon surrounded by the same monsters from her dream, only this time she didn't have the magic sword. She tried to defend herself with the hoe, but her tool did nothing to them. Seeing no other option, she decided to run away into the forest.

“Going so soon? That is so disrespectful of a noble.” Or at least she tried to, as a wall of green flames blocked the way, forming a circle around them.

“I recommend you start using your magic. The heartless are quite ruthless, even little shadows like these.” The woman looked at her with a sadistic smile as the shadows kept cornering her. Before she knew it, one had jumped at her. Desperate, she closed her eyes and made a last swing to try to repel the attack.

“A KEYBLADE!” Finally, she heard another tone that wasn't sadistic joy from the mysterious woman. As she opened her eyes, she could see a silver blade instead of the wooden handle of her hoe. She had also seen this weapon in her dream before, and as much as she wanted to question what was happening, the other shadows started attacking her too. Only this time, with her new weapon, she was able to fight back.

“You are proving to be more interesting than I initially thought. Keep it that way, and you may get out of this place with much more than just your life.” As the shadows kept attacking her, Katarina soon began to realize that she had the same abilities as in that dream. She was faster and stronger, and in no time, the shadows had disappeared, leaving only her and the sorceress.

“Quite a display of talent. I believe you have earned the right to present yourself, young lady.” The sorceress congratulated her. Katarina didn't lower her guard but took the chance to catch her breath.

“I am Katarina Claes. Who are you?” she responded. It was more like a reflex than anything. She didn't like to judge people, but the woman in front of her and the things she controlled were obviously evil. Even she thought it was a bad idea to trust her.

“My name is Maleficent, and I am what you could call a traveler. I came to this world in order to find something really important. If you help me find it, I'll even reward you with power beyond your wildest dreams. I might even consider taking you as an apprentice.” The sorceress extended her offer.

“Who in their right mind would take an offer from someone as shady as you? You are probably sacrificing me to gain more power or something.” Katarina blurted out. She was the first to admit she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but the sorceress only needed to ask her to sign away her soul, and she would have the whole deal with the devil act complete. Katarina's outburst seemed to amuse Maleficent, who chuckled softly before responding.

"Ah, skepticism. It's a trait I find both endearing and irritating in mortals. But rest assured, my dear Katarina, I have no intention of sacrificing you. In fact, I see great potential in you."

Katarina remained wary, but curiosity gnawed at her. "Potential for what?"

Maleficent's eyes gleamed with a predatory glint. "For greatness, of course. With my guidance, you could become a master of the dark arts, wielding power that would make even the mightiest mages tremble."

“i have no need of a power that will turn me into your lackey”

“you still don't understand. I believe you just need some private time to think about my offer, and I happen to know the perfect place for you to ponder it.” The sorceress then struck the ground with her staff, summoning what resembled a knight clad in purple and blue armor. It had a very muscular physique in one arm that it used to move around, as its legs weren't strong enough to carry its weight. The other arm held a giant blue shield with the face of a three-eyed dog in the middle, covering its entire body. As she looked at the creature, she noted the face of the dog could move on its own.

“Why does it always have to be dogs?” As the eyes of the shield started to glow in bright red, the dog opened its mouth to form a fireball and shot it at her. She barely managed to dodge the projectile, but to her misfortune, it wasn't just one. Soon, another two fireballs hit her, making her fall to the ground. As she raised her head, she could see the wall of flames barely touching her, reminding her she couldn't run from this. Ignoring the pain of the burns, Katarina did her best to stand once more. In one last desperate attempt, she charged at the knight, hitting it with everything she had, crashing with the heartless and making it retreat a little.

“Quit fooling around and end it!” Maleficent screamed annoyed at the heartless, which proceeded to use its strength to push her back at such speed that she actually got past the wall of flames only to crash into a tree. The heartless slowly approached her to finish the job, but a green fireball destroyed it.

“Now you understand how weak you are. I can correct that. I offer you the power to take everything your heart desires; just let darkness take you and swear loyalty to me.” Maleficent towered over her as a dark puddle appeared under her, dragging her down. She didn't have the strength to move; she started to think about her friends, her family, and Anne, the people she cared for and was likely about to lose.

“Why does it have to happen again? After everything, to end it like this, to a generic evil witch?” Rage was a weird emotion on Katarina, one she shouldn't feel at this intensity. Her dark familiar rose again and absorbed the puddle, taking on a more dangerous form: a wolf who then let out a giant explosion with a howl. After the air cleared out, there were no traces of any of the participants of this battle.

—

Katarina opened her eyes again, feeling like nothing had happened. She also saw Pocchi sleeping on her. So, her fight with the generic evil witch was just another of her weird dreams. She would just stand up and eat breakfast only when she decided that she noticed something. She still had her damaged dress, this wasn't her bed, and she didn't recognize this room.

This place wasn't her home.

Chapter Text

chapter 3: the first steps

“talking”

‘thinking, writing or the council of Katarina's’

*echo*

—

To say that Maleficent was angry was an understatement. Nobody insulted her without paying the price, but outsmarting her and using her own powers to do so was humiliating. As soon as she laid her hands on her, Maleficent would break her into a void puppet that could wield the Keyblade for her, and if she failed in the process, then she would get a powerful Heartless out of the experiment. She was about to summon a portal to return to Hollow Bastion. Katarina's familiar had used her portal to transport them as far from each other as possible, making finding her troublesome. Maleficent couldn't afford to have a Keyblade wielder go unchecked, especially one with as much potential as Katarina, but all her resources were focused on finding the Princesses of Heart. Going to Katarina's world was a mistake, as the light user of that world was still too weak to qualify as a princess. As she was about to summon a portal to return to Hollow Bastion and think of her next move, something interrupted her. She finally started to notice her current location: a simple prairie that contrasted with the colorful caravan with a lot of advertising posters around it, all centered around destiny and fortune.

After looking at the pitiful attempt at a business, Maleficent let out a smile. "What a coincidence. I was in dire need of a scammer.”

—

Katarina looked around, trying to determine if her current location was a fancy one. It almost seemed as if it had been hastily put together just for her after waking up. Pocchi had decided to remain in bed while Katarina explored. Besides the bed, there was just a small table with a box on top. Upon closer inspection, the box had a little note on it that read ‘open me.’ As much as she wanted to open it, she noticed a window. It was noon outside, and she could see a giant clock tower in the middle of the town and a train passing by. With that, she definitely knew she wasn't at home. Her world resembled the typical medieval fantasy novel. This place seemed way more advanced, although not as much as Japan. They seemed to have electricity down since a couple of shops had some neon signs.

She then focused on the box. Upon opening it, there was a purse inside along with a train ticket. inside the purse there was another note

‘I can explain to you what is happening. Come to the last stop of the train. DO NOT ARRIVE LATE.’ It was a little too complicated for Katarina's liking, so she began thinking about what to do.

Katarina Claes, post-doom meeting, sponsored by Maria's Sweets.

‘EVERYTHING IS OVER! WE ARE DOOMED!’ a Katarina with glasses screamed at the top of her lungs while she hid under the table, which was currently on fire. Another Katarina was trying to put out the flames while stomping on the floor. ‘WHO WAS THAT OLD HAG AND WHY WERE WE FIGHTING A FINAL BOSS ALONE?’

‘STOP SCREAMING, YOU ARE SCARING SHY,’ the normally happy part of her said, trying to coax her shy part out of the corner of the room. Soon, the sound of a hammer hitting made everybody stop.

‘ORDER IN THE ROOM!’ a Katarina dressed like a judge demanded. Soon, without her tantrum, the brave part of her was able to put out the flames on the table, and all the Katarinas took their normal seats.

‘Let's start the first post-doom meeting,’ as everybody wanted to suggest something. The truth was the council was stuck. ‘Honestly, what can we do now? We don't even know how we escaped that witch.’

It was the first time she felt like this. Katarina had done everything right; she had avoided the doom flags only for something to come out of nowhere and take everything from her again. It was frustrating. The chairwoman could only do one thing: ‘those in favor of finding out what this note is about?’

‘Yeah,’ right now it was better to focus on a short-term goal while she figured out what to do next. After deciding this, Katarina looked for the exit door. When she opened it, Pocchi jumped out of the bed and into her shadow. With nothing else to do, Katarina stepped out of the apartment into this unknown city.
—

Katarina wandered around the town; the ticket indicated she had at least a couple of hours before her train arrived. She wanted to find something to eat, but unfortunately, she was penniless. As she walked down a street, she saw a board that said ‘help wanted’. She looked to the clock tower, confirming if she had the time. After looking at them for a while, she decided to do the closest one. Apparently, one of the stores, a restaurant. gave you money if you managed to keep a ball in the air as a publicity stunt. After practicing a little, she realized that she could still use her dream-like abilities, like high jumping and the weird sword thingy so she armed herself with valor and went to the restaurant.

As she overcame the weird look of the little girl who was in charge of managing the event, as her parents were too busy cooking, she noticed that her burned dress attracted a lot of attention, though she could still wear it just fine. After an awkward talk, the crowd was gathered.

“Ready, go!” the girl gave her the sign. Katarina summoned her weapon, and at first, hitting the ball was easy. It was lighter than it seemed, and aside from a few hits that sent the ball a little too far, forcing her to run, nothing had happened, causing people to lose interest. This made Katarina lose her concentration and accidentally hit the ball too hard, causing it to go out of her reach.

“NO!” Katarina yelled as she tried to reach the ball, accidentally using her magic, creating an earth spike that made the ball explode like miniature fireworks. Katarina then stopped in her tracks, wondering if people were going to freak out. She didn't know if magic was a thing here. What if they formed a mob and chased her out of town or worse? But instead, she heard a round of cheers. Noticing Katarina's concern and confusion, the little girl spoke again.

“Magic is allowed, Miss. The only thing that matters is that you give a good show.” After hearing this, Katarina started to get more daring with her attempts, jumping to hit it in the air. She also began to truly see the new extent of her physical abilities. Soon, cartwheels, backflips, and frontflips were added along with her new magic moves that she used as a platform to reach even higher. By then, the crowd was at least five times their initial size, all cheering for her. With one last hit in the middle of the air, Katarina was able to break the ball, triggering even bigger fireworks. She then landed, striking a pose with her weapon, making the crowd go wild.

“That was amazing, Miss,” the little girl managing the event was really excited as she gave her what apparently was the coin of the town, a couple of yellow crystals with different sizes. Most of them were big and as she opened the purse, the crystals floated inside while they became smaller in the process. She also could see a number two thousand appear in the back of the purse.

“But this is way more than the amounts said.” While she didn't know how the money worked here, she didn't want to take advantage of a little girl. but she only met the girl's eyes of admiration that kinda reminded her of sofia. “It isn't a problem. The restaurant of my family already caught more clients thanks to you. It's the least we can do.”

While Katarina still wanted to object, soon her body betrayed her, and her stomach began to growl, making the little girl surprised but also forming a smile.

“Are you hungry, miss? We can give you a free meal for your troubles.” Not waiting for an answer, the little girl dragged Katarina towards the restaurant where they gave her a free meal while the little girl bombarded her with questions about who she was and how she could do all that amazing stuff and why her dress was burned. The excuse she could come up with was that she was a traveler passing through the town, which she learned was called Twilight Town, had an accident with her magic, lost her money, and got her clothes burned by it. Upon hearing it, the little girl recommended a store in the market that sold magic-resistant clothes, managed by a Moguri?. With that info, she thanked the little girl and her family and directed herself to this Moguri shop.

—

Well, Katarina wasn't surprised that her magic didn't surprise the crowd much. In front of her, there was a small, round creature resembling a plush toy brought to life. Its body was compact and chubby, with soft and fluffy fur covering it. It had small, rounded ears atop its head and a short, stubby tail often topped with a fluffy pom-pom, with large eyes.

“Welcome, what can I do for you today?” Katarina resisted the urge to hug the little thing as she looked around at the many dresses in the shop. “Erm, I was told you sold magic-resistant clothes. Can you show them to me?”

“Oh sure, just give me a minute.” The creature floated away to the back of the store and then returned with a couple of outfits. Katarina knew beggars couldn't be choosers, but she wondered what happened with all these belts and zippers; most of them didn't even have pockets to justify it. But among them, one caught her attention. “I want to try this one.” After choosing the moguri, pointed her to a place where she could change.

Seeing her reflection in the mirror was yet another surreal experience for Katarina. Despite still resembling Katarina Claes, she couldn't completely dismiss the slim possibility of reincarnation. However, dwelling on such thoughts was unproductive, and she preferred not to entertain them. With a sigh, Katarina decided to focus on the present and began to change.

Katarina emerged wearing a dress with delicate pink and white hues. The outfit included matching accessories such as gloves, stockings, and shoes, all designed to complement the overall aesthetic. She loved how fluffy it was. Katarina had opted to take off most of her jewelry, such as her earrings and bracelets; she even replaced her hair brooch to not stand out that much. “I will take this one, please.”

The moguri then smiled. “It's going to be five thousand munny.” Katarina's face then turned pale. She couldn't really afford that price, so she tried to negotiate. “I can give you my jewelry to complete.” As she nervously searched for them in her pockets, the moguri interrupted her. “You come from another world, right? It isn't a big problem if you can't afford the full price.”

“How did you know that?” Katarina said, surprised at the creature. “We moguri's are able to feel that kind of stuff, and with the current problems with the Heartless messing around all worlds makes it easy to spot lost people like you.”

“The Heartless?” Katarina remembered hearing the old witch calling those monsters like that. “Yeah, Heartless. You know, dark creatures with yellow eyes obsessed with dragging things into darkness. They have been out of control lately, so you can have the dress for two thousand. It's the best we can do in these rough times.” As Katarina thanked the moguri left the shop, three lights—one red, one blue, and one green—began to follow her..
—
"Do you really think this is a good idea? She hasn't done anything dangerous," a voice said, unsure of the plan. "Anything dangerous YET. If that girl has anything to do with Maleficent, then I assure you, a couple of enchanted objects will be the least of Twilight Town's problems," the second voice had a more firm tone. "We can't rush into conclusions yet. Master Yen Sid told us to keep an eye on her and test her if we were still unsure. Now, is everything ready?" The third voice had a calm tone while trying to get the other two to coordinate.

"Everything is ready. Those kids training for the Struggle Tournament should be enough," the second voice replied. "Then let's begin.” The three lights entered the tunnels connecting the city with the underground tunnels. One could see red, green, and blue sparkles, along with flashes of light coming out of the entrance.
—
Katarina began walking towards the clock tower in the center of the city. She had heard from inquiries at the train station that it was located on the first floor of the tower. Despite suggestions of using tunnels as a shortcut, she knew she would likely become lost. The town, stuck in an eternal twilight, aptly named "Twilight Town," held a unique charm. She pondered what her friends would think of this place, worried about the witch returning to harm them. Knowing that she wasn't as strong to even try to protect them, she recalled her confrontation with the witch's lackey and wondered if her friends were prepared to face a final boss like that witch.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, snapping Katarina to attention. She spotted a young child—was it?—wearing a large pointed hat with two patches and a zipper in the middle resembling a face. He also wore a blue sky coat, with striking yellow eyes. Startled, Katarina instinctively summoned her weapon, mistaking the child for a Heartless wearing clothes. Upon realizing her mistake, she relaxed as the child approached her.

"Miss, please help us! My friends and I were practicing for a tournament when a strange light appeared, causing our bats to attack us. Now they're trapped, and we need help," the child pleaded desperately. Uncertain of what to do, but moved by the child's distress, Katarina made her decision. "Where are they?"

—
‘Why are we doing this? were going to miss the train’ Smart Katarina said while put her hand on the table ‘we’re are stronger now and maybe we take care of this' Brave Katarina said also hitting the table ‘the last time we took care of something we got our butt kicked by a gorilla with a living dog shield’ Smart Katarina responded ‘that exactly why we need to do this we need to get stronger if we ever found another of those and the only way to level up to complete quests’ brave Katarina argued ‘THIS ISN'T AN RPG’ Smart Katarina screamed ‘girls we are already here’ Happy Katarina pointed at the screen.

instead of arguing with herself Katarina now focused in the tunnel in front of her. She could see all the pibes that formed the town water system. Who knew maybe she could bring this kind of thing if she ever found her way back home. Suddenly she could feel a hand grabbing her sleeve to stop her. “there! those are my friends” the little kid pulled Katarina into the conner and slowly peaked with his head to watch soon followed by Katarina

Both saw how the toy bats were hovering over some unconscious kids “See those are Seifer, Raijin and Fujin, we have to save them please” Katarina saw the toys float around in a weird way. it almost seemed like they were being holded by a marching soldier. while looking around she found a similar bat to ones they were currently guarding over the kids only that this looked like a magic wand with a mouse head as its tip. she was beginning to wonder that shape was important considering how frequently she saw it. Regardless, she took the wand and gave it to the kid.

“here you might need to defend yourself erm” as she handed over the wand, Katarina tried to remember if this kid had told her his name, the kid a little unsure took the wand “I am Vivi” looking again at the unconscious kids Katarina thought of something “alright here is the plan first i go there and get the attention of the toy swords then you go there and rescue your friends one by one once all of them are safe you give me a signal and we get out of here” simple and quick Vivi gave a quick nod and Katarina charged towards the floating bats after summoning her weapon.

At first, only one of the toys showed interest in Katarina, mainly attempting to lure the toy far enough so Vivi could grab his friends. It honestly reminded her of training sessions with a dummy while she and Keith practiced sword fighting. It wasn't difficult, really just time-consuming. They were kids, but did they really get knocked by these things? Something wasn't adding up for her.

Meanwhile, Vivi had already started to drag his friends out; it was only at this moment he really wished that Katarina had left Raijin for last; he was arguably the tallest of the group, meaning he was the heaviest and twice as big as Vivi. The poor kid did his best to get him out of there. Meanwhile, for Katarina, things were not getting better as Vivi managed to get his friends out; more objects started attacking her. First, they were other toy swords, then they were brooms, buckets, and even some old furniture that was laying around started attacking her, forcing her to become aggressive and start destroying them. Here she noticed something: her weapon, despite looking more like a bat, had the ability to properly cut stuff like any blade would. As there were fewer and fewer of these cursed objects, Vivi had managed to get his friend Fujin out, leaving only Seifer. Unfortunately, Vivi tripped over some of the remnants of the cursed objects that Katarina destroyed. The objects attacking Katarina stopped and then turned towards Vivi. The objects began to charge towards him. Katarina reacted quickly and managed to destroy two of them, but the last one was still charging towards Vivi. The boy froze in place, shaking while trying to keep hold of the wand and summon a little courage. He looked at Seifer, who was slowly getting up, and Katarina, who was trying to stop the cursed object charging towards him. He couldn't give up just yet. Closing his eyes, Vivi raised his wand and swung it in front of him; a red light then appeared from the tip of the wand as a fireball appeared and destroyed the object.

Katarina looked surprised as she approached Vivi, who was dumbfounded by what had just happened. "Way to go, Vivi! You should have told me you could use magic," she exclaimed as she celebrated their victory. However, Katarina suddenly remembered something. "THE TRAIN. I HAVE TO GO. SEE YOU LATER, VIVI.”
—
Katarina arrived at the train station, but unfortunately, upon entering, she saw that she was late, with no more trains in sight. She gave a deep sigh and proceeded to sit on a staircase.

‘Now what?’ Chairman Katarina asked. ‘We did the right thing, but we lost our only clue on what actually happened to us,’ Shy Katarina commented, disappointed. ‘Maybe we should go back to that apartment where we were left. Whoever left us there might have come back,’ Smart Katarina said, defeated. As she pondered what to do next, she noticed Vivi approaching her. "Did something happen, Miss?" the kid asked, worried at her expression. "I just missed my train," Katarina replied, taking out her ticket and handing it to Vivi, who proceeded to take a seat while looking at it. "I'm sorry if I had been stronger, I could have saved them myself and not gotten you involved," Vivi apologized, looking down. "Don't say that. You managed to take the last one out and helped your friends get away from there," Katarina responded, patting the boy on the back. "By the way, how are your friends? Are they okay?" Vivi's face wasn't very expressive, but she could tell he was also feeling down. "Seifer sprained his ankle. Raijin and Fujin took him to his home so he can rest," he said, still with a guilty tone in his voice as he looked at the ticket. "Who gave you this ticket, Miss?" Vivi suddenly asked Katarina, who then realized she hadn't told him her name. "I'm Katarina, and I don't really know, to be honest."

Vivi kept looking at the ticket, spotting a detail and pointing it out to Katarina. "Whoever did this must be pulling a prank on you, Katarina," Vivi said, getting up and pointing towards the gates. "The blue train is a rumor; nobody has seen it actually arrive at the station before." He gave Katarina the ticket back and guided her towards the stop. "So it was just a prank. Well, I don't know what I was expecting, to be honest."

However, once Katarina held the ticket in front of the stop, it began glowing until it disappeared from her hands. Then, the gates to the station opened, and the rails started glowing, forcing both Katarina and Vivi to look away. When they were able to see again, a blue and yellow wagon adorned with a magician's hat on top appeared, its doors opened for them. Neither Katarina nor Vivi resisted their curiosity and went inside. Besides a couple of seats, it was surprisingly empty; there wasn't even a conductor's seat or controls for it. They kept investigating until suddenly they heard something.

"What was that?" Katarina looked at Vivi. "It sounded like a door closing," Vivi slowly responded until the realization hit them. They also heard the wheels of the train slowly beginning to move. "I think you're going to have to come with me," Katarina awkwardly laughed as Vivi began to wonder what kind of mess he had gotten into.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: the lost lady and the magic tower

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

—

The grounds of the magical academy had a somber atmosphere. Knights and members of the Magic Ministry ran from all parts of the school, looking for clues of what might have happened last night. The biggest concentration of them was in a plot of land close by, specifically where Lady Katarina Claes' farm was located, or where it used to be located. The once humble farm looked like it was pulled straight from a nightmare; there were signals of claw marks all around the place combined with spots that looked burned. It only got worse as all the destruction pointed towards the forest. The trail of destruction led towards a devastated scene resembling a wildfire had taken place, ending in a cracked tree.

They could confirm it: the place was plagued with dark magic remains, or at least that was what the resident light mage Maria Cambell affirmed. Dark magic was supposed to be a myth to scare off noble children from losing control of their magic, or at least that was what Sienna Nelson had grown to believe until last night.

Katarina Claes was the resident saint of the academy. Thanks to her kindness and her resolve to treat everybody as her equal regardless of their status, she had earned the admiration of many young nobles of Sorcier, Sienna included, and the love of what she could only describe as the most powerful new generation of nobles, including two princes, the son and daughter of the prime minister, and the daughter of a marquis. With her father being a duke and having an excellent relationship with her adopted brother and heir to the position, with their influence alone, nobody dared to mess with her, and those stupid enough who did were quickly dealt with. For this reason, getting into Katarina's inner circle was also incredibly difficult, so Sienna had opted to admire her from afar, far enough from Lady Mary's jealous eye, at least. But last night, while she was working late on a personal project, she had noticed the young lady running towards the forest, chasing something. From what she knew, Katarina had a 'secret garden' in that part of the school; rumors said it was actually a farm, but she honestly couldn't tell if that was just to slander her name or if she actually did it—she was truly an eccentric lady after all. Sienna didn't really give it importance; she had a job to do, so she resumed her work, hoping to end it once and for all. But moments later, she heard something that sent a chill down her spine: the howl of a wolf. She couldn't imagine the size of the creature if it was able to produce a sound like that. She got up and went to the window to look if the creature was around, only to be met with a green glow and smoke coming from the forest.

She doesn't remember the next part well; maybe it was the rush to find someone to inform of the emergency. She managed to inform a teacher who gathered the best water magicians to fight the flames. From what she heard, it took them hours to put them out, not because they spread too much, but because there was something abnormal with them—a green fire that refused to disappear. Not getting a wink of sleep, Sienna was summoned to the area of the disaster to testify what she had seen.

A knight guided her towards a group of people. There was the academy director, a member of the Magic Ministry she could swear she had seen before, and Prince Geordo, who looked pale like he had seen death directly in the eyes.

"Miss Nelson, I assume you know why you are here," the director spoke, trying to break the tension created by everybody's worry.

"Yes, sir. As I said before, I reported the fire as soon as I saw it after hearing a howl from a creature. I stopped working and ran towards the closest teacher," she repeated her words; the looks of the Prince and the ministry member only became more worried, filled with dread.

Being the only one still keeping his composure, the director spoke again, "Did you see someone enter the forest before all this happened?"

Everything clicked for Sienna at that moment: the guards, the Magic Ministry, and the Prince's presence. With fear in her voice, she said the name. "Lady Katarina Claes. She was chasing something small; I couldn't tell what it was."

"Are you sure it was her and not just another lady? She was popular; maybe some other noble," Prince Geordo interjected in front of her. He was famous for keeping a cordial expression all the time; if it wasn't for Katarina and his friends, you wouldn't realize when he was truly happy or annoyed, but all she could see in his face now was despair—all evidence pointed towards a somber end for the young Lady. "It was noon when I saw her. Maybe she is just lost."

The Prince looked at her, realizing she just wanted to give him hope. He tried to say something, anything, but the ministry member put a hand on his shoulder. "We have to tell the others."

Sianna wanted to do something, but the director stopped her. "Leave them alone; they need time to process everything"

The following days weren't kind to her either. As Katarina's friends all came, trying to find something, a clue, something they could latch onto, she gave all she could, and they all left with the same empty look that the prince had. Unfortunately, there were people in the kingdom who saw this as an opportunity, such as Noelia Flores, a bully who thought herself superior to everybody else in the academy. The foolish girl had been obsessed with the position of the prince's fiancée that Katarina held, believing her family deserved to enter royalty out of a sense of entitlement.

"Now that disgrace of a noble was eaten by a beast, a true noble can step up and help Prince Geordo reach the crown," these were her words at the cafeteria. Sienna didn't even want to acknowledge such stupid words; in her joy, Flores managed to say those words out loud, making everybody around her go silent. Everybody there, regardless of their status, looked at her like a delusional lady who didn't know who she was messing with or like a witch who needed to be sent to the nearest pyre. "I remember I had something to talk to a teacher," "I have to write a letter to my father about the fire," that was the excuse her lackeys, members of poor noble families trying to earn the pity of anyone willing to lend them money, used when they realized the major screw-up Noelia had committed, especially when Mary Hunt made her presence known.

"Lady Flores, you seem to possess a positive attitude even with the recent misfortunes that have plagued your family. How much has your father lost already?" While in Katarina's group there were two Princes whom you truly had to take care of, Mary was the most dangerous of all of them. There wasn't a single scandal she wasn't aware of; rumors had it she alone could destroy a noble family if she put her mind to it with the amount of black mail material she gathered. "After all, the last trades with the kingdom of Multaq turned out to be a scam. I hope the damage is not too serious," with a false tone of worry, Mary had delivered a heavy blow to Noelia. While these kinds of events could happen to everybody, reputation was a big deal when it came to financial troubles. No respectable noble would want to make a deal with someone who was not only in debt but also tricked into it in some way. It only showed that they wouldn't be able to make the money back, dragging other families with them.

Sienna took the chance, being done with Noelia's attitude. "I believe I should tell my father to reconsider his potential business partners, then," she said loud enough so those who didn't know what to do with the info Mary gave them knew the next step to take. Soon whispers flooded the room, all slandering the Flores house who in their pursuit of the royalty had lost any sense of grace. Noelia was furious and was about to jump at Sienna since Mary was untouchable for her, but finally becoming aware of her environment, she saw many nobles getting ready as if she was a rabbit surrounded by wolves waiting for the opportunity to strike. "Thank you for your concern, Lady Hunt."

Humiliated, Noelia left the cafeteria with the nasty looks of everybody glued at her back. Afterward, Sienna saw how Mary sat in front of her and gave her an invitation. "I want you to have this, Lady Nelson. I would like to apologize personally for us bothering you these days." Sienna looked at Mary closely and could see her tired expression as she took it. Mary excused herself and also got out of the room. The academy, and especially Katarina's close friends, had lost their sun but still tried to do what was best for everybody, what Lady Katarina would have done. Sienna hoped whatever destiny had in store for Katarina, she would at least get back to them soon; they needed her..

—

The train finally made a stop. Vivi got out as quickly as he could, hoping to catch another train. To his disappointment and surprise, they weren't at a normal stop. Currently, they were on what seemed to be a couple of floating islands. In front of them, there was a dirt path leading to a cylindrical tower with a conical roof reaching into the sky. The exterior was adorned with intricate designs, arches, and magical symbols, giving it an ancient aura.

After getting out and noticing there weren't any more trains for Vivi to take home, Katarina looked at the tower. "Maybe we can go in there and see if they know a path back to Twilight Town for you," she suggested. Katarina then walked towards the entrance via a staircase with a wooden door. After a sigh, Vivi followed her. At first, they did the polite thing and knocked on the door. After an awkward silence and trying again a few times, they noticed the door was open. Seeing no other option, they entered the tower.

Inside, everything seemed normal with only a spiral staircase. Weirdly enough, there was some kind of light in the middle of the path. "Maybe there is someone at the top. Do you want to check it out?" Vivi didn't really want to explore that much; the tower gave him a weird feeling, and he was also worried that the train would leave him stuck there. "I think I'm going to keep an eye on the train just in case," Vivi said. He waited for a response from Katarina, but he didn't hear anything. When he looked to where she used to be, he found out she had disappeared completely. He was about to run away to ask for help, but then he remembered Seifer had been hurt the last time he ran away, so he armed himself with courage, took his struggle staff, and changed towards the weird light.

"Hey Vivi, you have to check this out!" Suddenly, Katarina's head popped out of the light, which scared Vivi, causing him to trip into the light and crash with Katarina. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

As both got up, Vivi was surprised by the sudden change of scenery. They were inside a massive room on top of another staircase, but this time, it seemed the staircase was floating in the air too. When they looked up, they could see another set of stairs floating, seemingly both connected by the magic portals. They kept moving forward until they found themselves in front of a green door with a star symbol. Upon entering, they found themselves in a circular room with a star theme. The only noteworthy thing about it were its doors. The one they came through had an arrow pointing down, and the one in front of them had one pointing up. When they opened it, they found another set of stairs. "This is going to be annoying," Katarina commented after realizing what was coming. After going through a moon-themed room, Vivi started to get tired. "Why do they use stairs when they can teleport? It's like they are adding things to make us take longer," it was weird to see the young mage annoyed but Katarina agreed with him. Finally, they found themselves in front of a door, this time with a bell symbol on it. Expecting another room like the previous ones, a voice surprised them.

"It's bad manners to enter without knocking on the door first." His voice sounded old and raspy. In front of them, there was an old man wearing a blue robe and a magician hat with stars and moons, along with a long beard. "Well, aren't you going to present yourself?" The old man looked at them with a serious expression while he sat at his desk. "Oh, we are sorry; we didn't mean to be rude. We are kind of lost here. My name is Katarina Claes." Vivi then took a step forward. "I am Vivi." Upon hearing them, the old man closed his book. "And I am the sorcerer Yen Sid. If guidance is what you are looking for, then I can provide it."

Katarina smiled and looked at Vivi. "You can go first; I think mine will take a while to explain." Vivi thought about it for a moment. "It's okay; I think you should ask first. Yours seems urgent." Coming to an agreement, Katarina took a deep breath and looked at Yen Sid.

"Well, I don't know where to start. I'm not from here, from this world, I mean." Trying to explain her situation, Yen Sid made a hand gesture to stop her. "I'm well aware of that fact, Katarina. If you are wondering about the location where you woke up and the gifts you received, they came from me." Katarina then took the purse she got from the box. "I think you noticed its magical properties. I hope it continues to be useful. Now, allow me a question as well: did you leave your world willingly?" Her expression changed to an uneasy one. She then summoned Pocchi, surprising Vivi and making Yen Sid curious. "This is my familiar; his name is Pocchi. The night before, he ran away, and I tried to catch him. Then, when I found him, a witch appeared out of nowhere. She started attacking me with these shadowy monsters until this appeared." She then summoned her weapon in front of Yen Sid. "I see; so the Keyblade choose you as its wielder." As Katarina watched her weapon, she could see where the name came from. "It chose me. Why? What even is this thing?" she asked.

"I will answer that question later. For now, continue your story," Katarina nodded. "After that, she summoned a stronger monster that I couldn't defeat. After that, everything is blurred." Finishing her explanation, Yen Sid began to touch his beard as he thought. Then, he raised his hand, and a projection of a shadow appeared. "Was this the creature that attacked you?" Indeed, it was, as Katarina felt a chill running down her back and looked at the creature, a sentiment shared by Vivi. "Yeah, that's the one. What are they?" she asked. "The Heartless are a physical manifestation of the darkness of the hearts. Their main objective is to consume the hearts of other beings and bring them into darkness," Yen Sid explained. "By heart, you mean a literal heart or something else?" Katarina asked. “A person is composed of three crucial elements: heart, body, soul. The heart is a mysterious force that drives us all, you could say it's the spark of life.” Nodding, Katarina passed to her next question. "What is the Keyblade?" Yen Sid looked puzzled. "That's a difficult question, young miss. The origins of the Keyblade go way back, even to someone as ancient as me. Besides theories, I can tell you that the Keyblade is a legendary weapon that is able to defeat the darkness." Katarina then looked at her Keyblade. "Why can I use such an ancient weapon?" she really couldn't tell if it was because she was reincarnated or something else. "The Keyblade chooses its wielder most of the time; sometimes, they just pick someone in need if they have the potential, or sometimes, it just passed on by their master." That didn't really answer her question fully.
"As for the witch you mentioned," with another gesture of his hand, a projection of Maleficent appeared. "Did she look like this?" Katarina gave a quick nod. "She appeared out of nowhere and started talking nonsense. I really didn't pay attention to what she said. She sounded really generic." Yeah, aside from her power and the threat she posed to her friends, Katarina didn't remember the name of the generic witch or whatever she had told her. She was too busy fighting for her life to care, to be honest. "It would be unwise to underestimate her. She is Maleficent, an evil fairy with powerful dark magic. If she is interested in your world, then they might be in terrible danger." The expression of Katarina turned into a more serious one. "How do I return home?”.

"Traveling between worlds is a difficult task when you don't have a clear destiny. Lucky for you, as the master of a Keyblade, you have access to all paths between the worlds if you are willing to master its powers," Yen Sid replied. "Well, do I need a teacher, or do you know of someone who could teach me how to do it?" Part of Katarina was disappointed; no matter what, it seemed she always had to study. "I'm afraid there isn't someone who will be able to teach you," Yen Sid quickly replied. "But why? Is there really nobody who could teach me?" Yen Sid gave her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid that there isn't any Keyblade wielder active that could teach you, and training under me would only hurt your condition," Katarina got weirded out by the last part. "What condition?" Yen Sid then gave her a serious look. "Your heart, or should I say hearts in plural. I had only read theories about people like you, but to see it happen naturally is something I never expected to see in all my years of existence: two hearts in the process of merging into one." Katarina turned pale at the revelation, while Vivi looked confused. "You know about reincarnation?" she could barely keep her composure; it was the secret she had kept since she was eight, fully exposed by this stranger. "I had only seen one or two previous cases documented over centuries, but now I get to see you in person. All that theory makes sense; your existence has a delicate balance between light and darkness. In your case, this manifests in an incredible affinity with darkness, as your familiar proves. But if you were forced to suppress that darkness in favor of the light, that might cause you to lose that balance, causing both your light and darkness to get out of control. Who knows what might happen in such a case," Yen Sid ended his explanation. "And unfortunately, for all my knowledge, I'm quite ignorant in the ways of coexisting with darkness, so you will need to learn on your own for the moment." Katarina tried to process it all while petting Pocchi to relax a little. "So I'm stuck here?" She said, not as a question, but really not knowing what her next move should be, all while processing the new info about reincarnation and how she was merging with the original Katarina apparently while thought about Pocchi returned to sleep in her shadow.

"I think that even if you can't get proper training at the moment, that doesn't mean you are out of options. Your condition is only temporary, thanks to the Keyblade. Since its power is what provoked the merge to begin with, once the process is finished, you should be able to properly master it" Yen Sid replied, but something clicked for her. "Wait, you say the merge just began, but why haven't I been able to talk with the original? I mean, I remembered years ago, but not once have I felt there was another... well, sometimes it felt weird, but..." Katarina tried to explain herself, but her whole existence was confusing for her. Yen Sid then simply asked her, "And what makes you think you aren't the original? There are so many things about your existence that remain a mystery, so I would advise you not to jump to your first conclusions." Katarina got another bomb; it was really difficult to deal with all the implications. Yen Sid was right; she couldn't jump to any conclusions yet. "For now, Katarina, I would like to ask something from you. As we speak, the Heartless keep attacking different worlds to devour their hearts. As a wielder of a Keyblade, you possess the power to open and close everything that has been sealed. In each world, there is a keyhole that leads to the very heart of the world. I ask you to use the Keyblade to seal it to prevent the Heartless from sinking the worlds into darkness as you find your way home." Katarina understood; it seemed like a big responsibility, too big for her especially with all that was happening to her right now, to be honest, but her conscience would not let her go away like that, not if she could help in some way. "I will do my best," Katarina responded a little unsure of herself. Yen Sid thanked her and then focused on Vivi. "I believe you also have a question for me?" Vivi looked a little lost after all the info that had been dropped, so he took a deep breath. "I first came here by accident and wanted to find a way home, but now," he looked at Katarina, "is it possible for me to follow Katarina in her travels?" he asked, surprising Katarina. "But Vivi, this is going to be dangerous; the Heartless are no joke, and who knows what else is out there," Katarina warned Vivi; she didn't want to drag someone into her mess. "You took the time to save my friends when I ran away. I want to learn to be brave like you," Yen Sid looked at him, and with a snap of his finger, a wooden staff appeared and floated into Vivi’s hands. "The decision is up to Katarina, but you have great potential in magic. That staff should be better to bring it out than the toy you are using now," Vivi took the staff and then looked at Katarina with determination. For a moment, he reminded her of her friend Sofia, and then she knew there wouldn't be a way to talk him out of it. "Alright, I guess you can come," Vivi then raised his fist; Katarina understood what he tried, and they did a fist bump. Then both looked at Yen Sid. "How do we leave, then?" Katarina asked. Yen Sid stood. "I'm going to send you to a world where you will be able to get transport for your travel," he handed Katarina a big quantity of munny. "From there, you will be free to choose your own route. Just try to follow your heart," he said to her as he began to prepare a spell. "Oh, and one last thing: if you ever meet a royal guard named Goofy and a royal mage named Donald in your travels, tell them to visit me when they have the chance." Finally casting the spell, Katarina and Vivi disappeared in a smoke screen. "May your hearts be the guiding key," was the last word they heard from him.

---

Katarina then felt something cold on her back. She realized she was on the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw the sky filled with stars, but something was weird; she could also see a city, as if she was seeing it from a really high perspective. She looked to the horizon, and again she saw the sky, only this time she saw a big ship navigating the space as if it was an ocean..

Chapter Text

chapter 5: Crescentia: the space port

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

—

Katarina looked around her, dumbfounded as she explored her new environment. She soon realized the floor was made of metal. As she walked a couple of steps, Katarina noticed they were currently on some kind of metal platform. Finally finding an edge, upon looking down, she saw the sky filled with stars, then it clicked for her.

"We are in SPACE," her yelling woke up Vivi, who immediately got up with his new staff ready to attack. "Where, how, when, what happened? I remember that we were in a magic tower then… IT'S THAT BOAT FLYING!" Vivi didn't take it as well as Katarina; she could understand it was his first travel between worlds, and he wasn't as experienced as her. While Vivi lost his marbles at the space theme of the world, Katarina admired the scenery. Besides all technology, Katarina could really see the similarities with the port city of her home world. If anything, this made her realize how lazy the developers of Fortune Lover were. Comparing this to Sorcier didn't seem fair, but sometimes she could feel they didn't do anything with the magical setting. Speaking of, there was something weird about this place. It was a port, right? So where are the people? She could tell this place should have people managing it. There were some ships still landing from afar, but she couldn't see the people from that far. Maybe they could ask around and find someone to sell them a ship, although she didn't know how she would pilot that kind of thing with only two people without experience.

"Vivi, we need to keep moving on." He snapped out of his freak out and gave a nod to Katarina. They could tell something was up; people were closing their windows and blocking their doors. Katarina could swear she heard someone loading a gun, but she didn't want to scare Vivi. As they advanced a little, suddenly in front of them, a dark magic portal appeared. From it, a dark creature formed. It was the same size as Vivi. It wore a red bandana covering its head and an eyepatch with an ‘X’ stitched in the middle. It wore bare stitched leather pants and boots, mirroring the appearance of a pirate. On its chest, it had a weird emblem: a heart shape with a jagged, pointed bottom; it held a blade with a red crack and yellow spiral-looking, like a face. There was no doubt about it; it was a heartless appearance. As Katarina and Vivi drew their weapons, the heartless opened its mouth, showing a set of pointy teeth, as a group of shadows and another pirate also appeared as backups.

"I'll take care of the pirates; you deal with the little ones," Vivi gave her a quick nod before starting to smack the shadows on their heads with his staff. They were small, so he thought using fire on them would be overkill; he was unsure if he should use it. He had tried to practice while they were on the train on the way to Yen Sid, and from what he saw, the spell always came with the same power. It was fortunate he could cancel it before shooting it, or that would end badly for them, so he would stick with what he knew unless it was truly necessary.

Meanwhile, Katarina began to fight the pirates. Fortunately for her, they didn't seem to know how to properly fight with their swords, aimlessly trying to hit her with random slashes, leaving plenty of openings for her to exploit. She then again thanked her previous lessons on sword fighting. As she dodged its attacks, she started connecting hits against it the creature managed to stop the last one ending in a clash forcing her to use her to hands in the struggle. Her opponent was weakened from all her previous attacks, making it easy to overpower it, or so she thought. As she started to get the upper hand in the struggle, she heard Vivi scream at her, "Behind you!" The other one had jumped, ready to slash her back. She couldn't jump away or block it, so she just braced herself for the hit, but it never came. From her shadow, a mass raised and stopped the attack. The mass then took the shape of a dog head, biting the heartless's hand and taking advantage of the grip, smashing it into the ground, making it disappear. At the same time, not really caring for what stopped the other heartless, Katarina broke the heartless's stance, delivering a diagonal cut to its chest, making it disappear as well.

Having a moment to breathe, Katarina looked at her shadow, and she could see it acting strange. It looked like a strange substance was rising from it. "Pocchi?" she asked, making her shadow react, letting a little dog head form in her shadow, giving a quick nod.

"Help!" She then remembered Vivi, who looked like he was playing whack-a-mole as the heartless swarmed the floor down him. Katarina then thought quickly, "Pocchi, catch." In a blink of an eye her shadow left her and took the shape of the frontal part of a wolf, which proceed to catch the heartless in its mouth and force them out. Not losing time, Katarina used her magic to create the same upgraded earth bump, sending them up in the air. "Vivi, finish them now." Vivi then used fire, and with the resulting explosion, destroyed the remaining shadows.

With the battle finished, Vivi looked a little worried about her shadow abilities. "So your shadow has always been able to do that?" he tried to say as normally as he could, only managing to sound twice as awkward. "Well, I think that was just Pocchi. It feels good to have someone watching my back like that." Vivi relaxed a little, seeing that Katarina's shadow went back to normal.

"Maybe that's why there is nobody around, with the heartless attacking everybody. I doubt someone would like to do business," Vivi said, as many shops, upon giving a closer look, had barricades of pieces of wood nailing the door shut. "Well, that's going to make buying a ship harder." She looked at her purse, looking at the munny Yen Sid gave them. She really wasn't sure if that would be enough to get a ship. While she thought about it, she heard something like a door closing coming from an alley. As they looked around, besides the trash and a door in a really poor state, as she tried knocking, she met with what seemed to be a pistol.

"Heartless or client?" The voice was very high-pitched to an inhuman point. Katarina, seeing the threat, answered as quickly as she could, "Client, we are looking for a…" Before she could end her sentence, the door opened. Katarina then saw what seemed to be a slug dressed like a sailor. Both stared at the creature, a surprisingly small creature with the weird gun on top of a barrel. "What! Never saw a slug before," feeling a little ashamed, Katarina and Vivi apologized as they started going downstairs. They could hear a lot of voices talking over each other. As they looked around, they saw a bunch of tables full of all kinds of beings. Some looked alien to her, like beings made of rock, some had two heads, others looked like fantasy races like cat people. All were talking and drinking who knows what, in the typical pub atmosphere. In the center of the room, there was a bar managed by a creature Katarina could recognize, a moogle wearing an apron.

"Excuse us, we are looking to buy a ship," the moogle looked at her and kept silent for a moment. "We only sell drinks here, miss," it had a dry tone like someone who wasn't paid enough to deal with this. "Wait, not like that, what i mean is if you know where we could find one? It doesn't need to be big; we just need something to move around, you know," as she tried to explain herself, the moguri interrupted her. "Oh, I get it, you're rookies, right?" before she could respond a guy, rock, thing crashed onto the bar table. Upon turning around, she saw a typical bar fight that kept escalating. The moogle gave a sigh and took a piece of paper and a pen and quickly drew a symbol, an alien skull with two rings in an 'x' shape. "Here, look for this symbol around the Port, knock on the door that has it five times then make a pause and do another two, ask for the cyborg. He has a soft spot for rookies; I'm sure he would help you," the moogle then took what seemed to be a rifle and flew towards the fight, shooting like there was no tomorrow. As Katarina watched the chaos unfold, she was grateful not to be involved. "Well, I think we should keep going, right Vivi? Vivi?" She realized her traveling companion wasn't beside her anymore. She then saw his characteristic hat in the center of the bar fight. "VIVI!?”

—

After a couple of minutes back in the alley, one could hear the sounds of the bar fight. The door kicked open as Katarina ran away, charging at Vivi like a sack of potatoes. They quickly hid behind a trash container. A slug person then emerged, angry, looking for them, followed by a tiny green thing with only one eye and tentacles for hands. “What are you doing?” the green thing was angry as the slug thing let out a couple of fart noises from some part of its back, apparently communicating with those noises. “I don't care if he insulted you, do you want to get your heart torn up by a Heartless?” The slug creature made a sad noise and slowly walked towards the bar, both closing the door. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, and you better apologize to the barman for starting all this mess; you know he hates using his gun with paying customers,” Katarina managed to hear as they went back up the stairs into the bar.

She gave a sigh of relief and looked at Vivi. “What did you even say to him to get him so angry?” she asked, still weirded out by the whole event. “I just asked where the bathroom was,” he said, recovering from the commotion of the previous fight.

As they got up, Katarina looked at the paper the moogle gave her before all that mess started. “I guess we have to go back to the port.” In their path back to the port, they got ambushed again by a group of Heartless. The port was infested by them. She was also surprised at how easily she and Vivi were taking them out. They weren't as much of a threat without someone directing them like when she fought them back at her home against the witch. Something else was happening here maybe they acted on their own. As they continued to walk, they finally arrived at the oldest part of the port. Surprisingly, there were a couple of people outside, with their weapons out, while they charged things onto an old ship. They weren't friendly, to put it simply.”'Look over there, is that symbol, the symbol,” Vivi pointed towards a door; the symbol was carved in the lower parts of the door, making it hard to spot unless you were short or really looking for it. Despite the heavy looks of the workers behind them, Katarina knocked five times, paused, and nervously did the last two. The workers then relaxed and continued to work as if nothing had happened. Soon, the door opened a little bit, showing a lot of chains keeping it closed. “What do you want?” a deep voice asked, a little intimidated. Katarina answered, ”We are looking for the cyborg; the bartender sent us.” Quickly, the door shut as they heard a bunch of locks opening. Soon, the door revealed a gigantic red arachnic being, with a set of tongs for hands and yellow eyes with a black iris. The creature instantly noticed their discomfort and made a smile. “Pass, I will guide you.” As they walked, they heard the door loudly being closed. The creature looked satisfied after scaring them.

The place was a mess; marks of slashes filled the walls, with some still having knives or swords stuck in them. Finally, they arrived at a door. “We have clients,” he said in a mocking tone as he held the door open for them. “Leave them pass,” the other voice sounded human, a little old but compared to anything they had seen so far they were happy with it. Inside the place, there was a table with a holographic map. The first thing they noticed was a red light coming from one side of his face showing a robotic eye. The man wore a simple sailor outfit with a black coat and captain hat. The other distinctive characteristic was a metal prosthesis with the hand made of different articulations, allowing even more intricate movements. As they looked at the man, they heard the door being shut again, catching them with their guard lowered. “So, you are here for business, I guess?” The tone of the old man was relaxed. He turned the map off and got up, showing that one of his legs was also a prosthesis. The man then extended his arm to them. “John Silver, you could say I'm the closest thing these rats have to a captain.” The man started to laugh. Katarina felt more comfortable and returned the handshake. “I am Katarina.”

“And I am Vivi,” both presented themselves. “We need a ship.'” Silver then put his robot hand on his chin. “How long is going to be this job? My men and I have a very important business coming, one that will require our full attention,” he said as he thought. “Oh, we don't need a crew; we just want the ship.” A large grin formed on the old man as he started to laugh again. “I get it, you kids finally got some freedom and want to take on the world. I can respect that.” He took his seat again and began to think. “So, you kids need a small ship and some basic training in navigation.” Katarina and Vivi exchanged a look before they both nodded to Silver. “While I'm sure I would be able to turn both of you into experienced marines and get you a respectable ship in no time, but I'm going to need to know the budget we are working with. As you can tell, that kind of equipment isn't cheap speacialy on these times.” Sounding like bad actor Katarina understood the indirect and then took out the Munny from her purse and put it on the table. “Would this be enough?” The moment the large amount hit the table, one of the ornaments on Silver's table started to shake as it transformed into a floating pink goo with two eyes and a small mouth. The creature started playing around with the Munny, making celebrating noises. “Morph, control yourself; the clients are watching.” The creature then stopped and transformed back into an ornament but it moved slowly, trying to grab one of the Munny pieces from the table. Vivi got really interested in the creature, and started getting very close to it. “What kind of creature is this?” he said as he tried to get a closer look at the creature, who started to get nervous as Vivi looked at it. The creature then transformed into its original form and hid behind Silver. “He is Morph, my companion for as long as I can remember,” he then pet it with his normal hand while he looked at the Munny on the table. “This should be enough, but it might take a while to find the ship, you know. It takes time to move around with the Heartless bothering everybody.” Katarina then jumped at the chance. “There's no need to worry about the Heartless,” she said excitedly as she summoned her Keyblade. “Vivi and I can take them out while you ask around.” Vivi took out his staff, trying to strike a pose along with Katarina; they still needed practice on this.

Silver, on the other hand, took real interest in Katarina’s weapon, like he had seen it before somewhere. With a smile, he then let out another big laugh. “I guess it's a deal then; it's getting late too. So, Morph, why don't you guide these rookies towards their rooms? Your lessons will start early in the morning, and you will need the rest.” Silver then got up and opened the door, and Morph changed its
form to a little version of Silver, who guided them towards their room.

As they continued on their way, the arachnid creature crawled out of the ceiling and got into Silver's office, who then looked at it angrily. “Haven't I told you that I can handle business alone?” There was a lot of venom in his voice. “Well, it's difficult to take you seriously when you pull us all into your charities instead of looking for Billy.” The arachnid was interrupted by Silver's iron hand grabbing his neck. “If you had a brain inside that empty head of yours, you would have realized that those kids came here without a scratch on them. You would also have noticed that their clothes aren't from here, meaning they are world travelers, and we would have missed out on this deal,” he said as he let the creature see the table full of Munny. “That's why I'm in charge, and you just listen to my orders,” he finally let him go. As he recovered his breath, the creature looked surprised at the quantity of the Munny. “What are we supposed to do?” Silver then gave a quick laugh. “You will make sure the others treat them like guests or leave them alone. I will teach them what they pay for, and if everything goes right, we would finally be able to find the good old Billy Bones,” he said as he began to plan how Katarina and Vivi would leave him one step closer to his dream.

Chapter Text

chapter 6: learning the basics

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

—

It was dark and thunder kept falling outside. She was scared with her sheets under her head trying to make the noise stop. Normally she would already be asleep but she was waiting for her mom and dad to come. They always came to tell her good night and send away the nightmares but they had not appeared. What happened? Were they alright? they could not have forgotten about her right? she had not seen them all day but they would never fail her like this right?.

Another thunder fall she could not handle it anymore she started to cry loudly she was afraid and alone did not know what to do. She heard something. The door opened quickly, they had finally arrived. Her parents maybe had gotten lost in the mansion with how dark it was. Maybe that was it she took the sheet off “Mommy, Daddy i'm scared” she said with hope for it to be crashed again. who entered was not her mom or dad it was just a simple maid she didn't remember her name. she was just a newbie here she looked around looking for her parents but they were not there tears flooded her eyes again as she began to loudly cry again “my please stop crying it’s just a storm it will pass” the maid tried to sound reassuring but her tone was just as nervous as hers something was happening “I want mom and dad, i wanna see them, i wanna see them” she keep screaming she didn't trusted this maid she couldn't keep her composure with the thunders falling she wanted her mom and dad to hug her. “but my your parents are in their room and they are very tired”

That was clearly a lie, this maid was clearly lying to her face. her father always said they were never too tired for her. how dared she to try to lie about her parents like that. it makes her really, really angry “How dare you. Daddy is always there for me when i'm scared, i'm going to tell him you are lying about him” she screamed again as the maid got scared by her words “I'm sorry my lady please give me a minute” the lying maid exited her room running she couldn't believe the audacity of that maid trying to lie about her dad. It took a couple minutes but then her parents finally arrived in the room, a little alarmed as they saw her crying as her father runned towards her. She felt warm. her dad hugs always tranquilized her. “What happened,my little princess, did the storm wake you up?” as her mother took a seat besides with a worried look. between cries the little girl explained what had happened and both of them exchanged a look “You wanna sleep with us tonight?” Her mom offered with an understanding smile, she gave a quick nod as her father charged her towards their room with them. She was finally able to sleep peacefully with her parents to her side, now she knew it wasn't her parents fault the maids surely were too scared of the storm distracting them and that is why they took so long to come to her. She wouldn't let this happen again; her parents were far too busy to deal with cowardly maids. she would set them straight for them.

—

“Good morning!” A sudden splash of cold water greeted her, forcefully pulling her out of her dream. In front of her, she saw a floating bucket that quickly transformed into Morph, who was laughing at her. She was currently in the room that Silver had given them for the time being; it was just a storage room with a couple of sheets nailed to the walls acting as hammocks and a tiny table in the middle. As she recovered from the shock, she saw Silver throwing a bucket of water at Vivi. Silver, for his part, couldn't stop laughing. “This one never gets old.” As they both tried to recover from the shock and Silver stopped laughing, he said, “I hope you got a good night of sleep here because you two have a long day ahead of you.”

While Silver took them to his ship to begin their lessons, she couldn't help but think about her dream. It had been a while since she had dreamed about Katarina’s past or her own past. She still couldn't tell the difference between the two. To be honest, the idea that they were merging confused her as well. For a long time, she just thought she was herself, and now every time she tried to figure it out, she got a headache. It didn't help that she also didn't know if her friends and home were alright.

“Are you ok?” Vivi asked worriedly. He could see something was bothering her. “Nothing, I was just thinking about my home.” Before Vivi could reassure her, Silver joined the conversation. “It's difficult to be far from home, but it's a necessary step in the life of a young adult. How else are you going to grow if you don't ever step out of what you know?” He then looked directly at her with confidence. “That is my lesson for you two: set your course and never look back.” While she felt a little reassured by Silver's advice, part of her still worried. She hadn't left on her own terms, after all.

As he finished, they finally arrived at another port that was in worse condition than the one they met Silver. In front of them there was an old ship, a relatively small one compared to the bigger ones they had seen before, but it was perfect for a small group like them. They should be able to at least manage it. Heck, maybe Pocchi could help too if they needed it. Silver made a sign, and the crew working there started to get off the ship.

“Well, this piece of trash should be enough to teach you two the basics.” With that, Silver gave the ship a kick, proving the materials of the ship were resistant despite its neglected appearance. Both Katarina and Vivi still looked unsure of it but Silver quickly shut their worries down “Don't worry, your ship will be in better condition. But if you two learn to use this old piece of trash, any other ship will be a walk in the park.” He put his hands on their shoulders. “Now, let's start with the basics.”

Silver truly made it simple to understand how the ship worked; he truly had a natural talent when it came to all the parts navigation combined with life time of experience. The sails were panels that used solar energy to fuel all the ship's technology, such as a field that kept them on the ship, preventing them from dying in space. The propellants and floating engine kept the ship in the air even when they were inside another planet’s atmosphere. Some of the weapons were also powered by this energy. Silver explained that some Heartless actually adapted to move in space, so having a shield of energy became an obligatory component. As they had greater mobility than the Heartless, the shield gave the gunners enough time to take out the Heartless before they could actually damage the ship. Unfortunately, this meant they had to slow down during a battle since both the weapons and shield consumed a lot of energy, depending on the ship they had at the moment. Fortunately, Silver made sure to give them another important device, a book-like gadget that scanned most of the devices and gave instructions on how to fix them. As Silver said, "Even a brain-dead worm could figure out how to fix something important if there was a crisis.” Katarina struggled a little with this many explanations; Vivi, on the other hand, grasped all the theory behind it really quickly.

"Well, you aren't going to actually learn something just by hearing me chatter all day long. Lower the sails, we're going to take a lap around the closest moon," he said as he positioned himself at the rudder. He gave them instructions on how to properly start the ship, and soon enough they were moving. However, Vivi struggled, as his physical capabilities were nowhere near Katarina's, who was able to climb to the top so fast that Silver believed the gravity field wasn't working for a moment.

"I have seen arachnids climb slower than her. Is that normal for her?" a confused Silver asked Vivi.

"If I'm being honest, I don't know if there's a possibility of a normal moment with her," Vivi replied. In the short time Vivi had known the Keyblade wielder, she had fought possessed furniture, summoned a magical train, met an ancient magician, been revealed as the chosen wielder of a legendary sword, and arrived at a port floating in the middle of space. Those were only just the first two or three days. Yeah, he would mourn the chance of normalcy this night before he went to sleep.

As Katarina got down, a radar beside the rudder started to emit an alarm. Silver just smiled and pulled a lever, creating a shield around the ship, slowing them down as the power of propulsors got lowered. "Prepare the cannons, we have company." Both looked worried as the Silver prepared for the upcoming they could see great group bright lights getting closer to them.

"Already? We're not even that far from the port," Katarina said as she ran towards the cannons. The comment only provoked a laugh from Silver.

"You better get used to it if you really want to travel around. Space belongs to the Heartless now," they could hear the venom in his voice, making it clear he wasn't happy with the situation either.
Then they could see different types of Heartless than they had seen before. These ones were fused with some kind of spaceships made out of blocks, allowing them to move quickly in space and attack with some kind of cannons. If anything, they looked more like something from a sci-fi story rather than the steampunk aesthetic of the world. Their cannons in turn worked more like turrets that could fire more shots per minute rather than a single powerful one. It reminded her of some of the festival games back in her first life, only this time they shot back and it was lethal. Games always made things look easier, to be honest. Fortunately the heartless weren't great pilots to begin with preferring to charge forward to them rather than exploit their lack of movement. As her cannon cooled down from repeated shooting, she noticed that Silver had joined them in, his hand transformed into a cannon that had almost the same power as the turret she was using. It made her wonder what other things his prosthesis was capable of, although it was clear that using that cannon took a lot, considering how long it took for the weapons to cool down. Speaking of which, hers had just recovered, so she resumed shooting at the remaining Heartless on her side.

_____

Once the battle was over Silver let them rest for a couple of minutes before calling Katarina specifically Vivi was currently recovering since moving his turret so much had left him dizzy. they were in front of the moon he had previously mentioned to them. Silver then handed her over the helm of the ship to her.

“i think now it's the perfect moment for you to learn to direct” as he stepped down Katarina wasn't sure but she gave it try after a quick explanation Katarina was able to do the turn without to much difficulty, it was like learning to drive a car in it's on unique way. The memories of the monkey girl came to her, this time getting a license seemed like the next great challenge back then, before the doom flags and being transported to another on top of being a reincarnated the quiet moment was interrupted by Silver.

“Lost in your memories again, I suppose?” he sounded relaxed as his gaze turned to the stars around them. “You shouldn’t daydream so much; you will miss a lot of what's happening in front of you,” he said, pointing his mechanical finger to the front. There was the port, looking like a crescent moon. To think there was a whole city there! A truly beautiful sight if she was honest. Noticing her sudden surprise, Silver added, “I’m not one to make assumptions, but it seems you didn't start this journey because you wanted to.” She was surprised he read her so easily. “Was it so obvious?” Silver looked at her and let out another laugh. “Well, it isn't as if you are trying to hide it, girl, with all those stares you give to the void.” She was a little embarrassed by that comment; her mother, Anne, and Keith always made sure to put her feet back on the ground. She took a quick breath. “I was just looking for my dog when it happened. Everything was so fast after that, and I can't help but worry about my home and friends.” Silver gave her an understanding look.

“It is not as uncommon as you think, especially in these chaotic times. You would be surprised by the amount of lost people that end up here.” He then put his hand on her shoulder. “What really matters is that you are still on your two feet and that you are making progress. If you were able to stand up on your own, what makes you think your friends aren't doing the same?”

“Look! A shooting star,” Vivi exclaimed, a little excited, while pointing towards the side of the ship. From afar, she noticed a star falling. She was about to make a comment about wishes when Silver took his captain's hat off. “That isn't a shooting star, little one.” Both Katarina and Vivi were taken by surprise by the tone of Silver, a respectful one that you would only use in a funeral.

“What do you mean?” Vivi asked as she felt the atmosphere getting heavy. Silver just took a deep breath.

“You see all these stars around us? Well, each single one of them is a world filled with countless lives.” Both of them looked around in wonder, each star containing its own people with their own unique stories. It was just impressive. But then Silver added, “When a star falls like that, it means the Heartless have devoured that world into the darkness.” As he finished his sentence, he put his hat back on, leaving both Katarina and Vivi in shock. The gravity of the situation dawned on them.

“Since when has this been happening?” Vivi asked, his tone sad and a little frustrated.

“Nobody can really tell. Some folks say that the Heartless have always been around, and they are just more groups arriving on our side of the galaxy. Others say someone found a way to control them and is using them for a bigger purpose.” As they finally got close enough to disembark, Silver quickly changed the topic to instruct them on how to disembark the ship properly.

---

Maleficent had finally returned after finishing her negotiations with that man. It wasn't common for her to meet a heart as rotten as hers, but the fact that it lacked power proved to be their weak spot and the path for Maleficent to gain another pawn in her line. While the possibility that man would find Katarina was low, she was more intrigued by the possible Heartless that would certainly form from that rotten heart. She just had to wait to see how he slowly succumbed to his own greed for power until then. Her mind then centered on Katarina again. The problem with the girl wasn't even the Keyblade itself but her affinity with her own element. The darkness should have consumed someone as weak as her in an instant, but for some reason, it did not. In fact, darkness itself seemed to follow the girl's command without receiving anything in return. To someone like Maleficent, who had to fight for thousands of years to submit darkness to her will and had to constantly keep that fight, it felt like an insult. She wanted nothing more than to put her hands on the girl and break her apart so she could understand what made her so special.

As she walked through the halls of her castle, she felt the presence of the other pieces of her plan. It was truly a bother to pretend she would share her power once Kingdom Hearts became hers, but until then, she would let them believe they were her equals. Summoning a dark portal, she transported herself to their meeting room.

“Look who finally decides to show up. Here I thought she had forgotten about us,” a smug voice said. The figure that emerged from the shadows of the dark hall was a humanoid creature made of a sack.

“Gotta say, I didn't expect you to vanish like that. I even had to check the River Styx to make sure you hadn't finally met your doom,” said a man wearing a black robe with a skull emblem. His skin was gray, his head produced a blue flame, and he had bright yellow eyes. Maleficent ignored both their comments. Realizing they were the only members who had decided to show up, she moved to the center of the room where there was a stone table. She conjured an image of her newest pawn, making them curious.

“So who’s the old fart? I thought you were done with recruits,” the sack creature said, not seeing anything special about the potential new member of their group.

“I’m with the bug bag. I don't see how another mortal would help us find the Princesses of Heart. I mean, the last one at least had a flying ship,” the man in the black robe added. Maleficent was not disappointed; she knew they lacked her ability to see true potential.

“There is a chosen one of the Keyblade on the run. She managed to escape my grasp by some underhanded means, so I figured that I would prepare some powerful Heartless to capture her,” Maleficent revealed.As she also conjured an image of Katarina when they met.

Upon seeing the noble lady, the sack creature started to laugh. “She escaped from you? What, did she throw her heels at your eyes before running away?” As he mocked her, Maleficent quickly conjured a small flame that scared the sack creature, who started running like a coward from the flame, which followed him slowly playing with him.

“Capture? Is she a princess too?” the other member asked, not caring about what was happening with the sack creature.

“No, but the Keyblade’s power is something we could all greatly benefit from,” she lied as she looked at the projection of the girl with disdain.

Chapter Text

chapter 7: distrust

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

____

A couple of days had passed, and both Katarina and Vivi were returning from their first time sailing alone. They had grown into their roles well, with Katarina taking care of piloting the ship and maintaining the sails, and Vivi being a great gunner on the cannons. Still, they were a little understaffed since Katarina's attempts to teach her dark familiar to use the cannons turned out poorly, especially since the keyblade wielder was the only one who didn't get goosebumps from the creature. Even the seasoned cyborg kept the creature at arm's length for self-preservation. These comments only annoyed the noble lady; just because her familiar was a creature made of darkness didn't mean that it would try to rip their hearts out. Additionally, a rumor had spread in bars that she could control the heartless just because she had Pocchi, and the noble lady was starting to get bored of the world's people, at least.

They had also tried recruiting someone else for their crew. Silver warned them that while the two could handle most of the ship's duties right now, there was always the possibility of one of them getting hurt or sick, which would cause problems. Unfortunately, they did not have any luck; nobody was looking to join any crew, especially one so new and small. Only the most experienced officials regularly got out from the port these days, and even then, they couldn't keep up with the pressure the heartless were putting on the port. As they finally got off the ship, they were greeted by Silver.

“I've truly outdone myself with you two. There is nothing left for me to teach you; you should be able to go on your travels without much issue even with a missing member,” Silver said. Katarina and Vivi fist-pumped.

“Does this mean you have our ship ready?” Katarina asked, and both she and Vivi were really excited to see their ship.

“I'm afraid you two are going to have to wait a little. You know the heartless make things go really slow. My usual contact is too afraid of them to do business right now,” he answered, disappointing both of them a little but also igniting their curiosity.

“Well, if the heartless are that much of a problem for them, maybe Vivi and I can get rid of them while you talk with him,” Katarina suggested.

Silver gave one of his usual smiles as he patted both of them on the shoulders. “I knew I could count on you two. With your help, we will have that ship in no time.”

___

The group was walking in the middle of the urban part of the port. Apart from a few shops that had their guns ready, most of them were closed. They had gotten used to the empty streets and the sound of people hiding from the heartless by this point. Well, Katarina was used to it; Vivi, on his part, still felt nervous about the possibility of being attacked by a group of heartless, particularly afraid of hitting someone innocent by accident with a fireball. In order to calm his nerves, Vivi tried to imitate his friends—in this case, Seifer—by going ahead of Katarina and Silver, clumsily holding his staff while trying to appear as intimidating as possible. This only lasted for a couple of minutes until a sudden noise caused the young mage to fall on his back in surprise. Both Katarina and Silver got their weapons ready, with Silver using a blade coming out of his cyborg arm, prepared to face whatever made the noise, only to find out it was a rat messing with the trash. Seeing this, Vivi tried to hide more of his face with his hat.

“Sorry,” Vivi said, really ashamed of what had just happened. Katarina just offered her hand to him, helping him to get up.

“It’s okay. I think anybody would be scared of this place; it does look really creepy with all the empty space and blocked windows,” Katarina casually said as she looked around a little at their environment. The houses on these streets looked really old. The only notable building in this place was a great building of the Navy, maybe a warehouse or something. Vivi still didn't look convinced, but before he could express his insecurities, Silver interrupted him.

“There it is. My contact told me he would be inside that house,” he pointed to an old construction in a really bad state even when compared with the other buildings. Both Katarina and Vivi looked at the place and only sighed as they followed the cyborg into the decayed building, fully expecting some kind of ambush or fight. Unsurprisingly, upon knocking on the door, Silver got a gun pointed at him by another creature—some kind of old anthropomorphic grumpy cat man—who put his pistol back into his belt upon realizing it was Silver.

“You, I have already told you that I'm not going to risk my neck only for your stupid—” Before he could finish the insult, Silver showed him a bag. Neither Katarina nor Vivi could see its contents, but the cat seemed really interested in it as he tried to quickly take it away from Silver, only to be stopped by Silver's hand pushing him away.

“If you want it, you are going to hear me out,” Silver stated firmly. The cat man stared daggers at him as the tension of the situation grew. The old man seemed to start reaching for his weapon again, only to be interrupted by the sound of the portals that the heartless used. In a quick move, Silver pushed the cat man inside the house.

“Take care of them while I protect this geezer,” Silver ordered, closing the door as the group of heartless approached. This time, they encountered a new variant. This one had a massive spherical blue body with a red heart-shaped emblem on its chest and the typical yellow eyes of its kind. It was supported by a group of pirates.

As the fight began, the new heartless proved to be a real problem. All of Katarina's physical attacks bounced off its large belly like she was hitting a giant balloon. Apart from that, the creature connected a powerful punch that she barely blocked in the air with her keyblade, sending her flying. Vivi was dealing with the pirates, hitting them with his staff as he tried to gain distance to use his magic. Katarina, who had just recovered, decided to help Vivi with the pirates so they could deal with the fat one together. Unknown to them, Silver was showing the battle to the cat man.

“See, I told you they can pull it off,” the cyborg watched the fight unfold with a smile as the cat man evaluated their abilities.

“It is not about if they can pull it off, but what happens after they do. I'm not going to risk going into space without a hiding spot, especially when they start investigating whose password you used to get that info,” the cat man said, still not fully buying into Silver's words, only to be met with the cyborg's smile.

“You think they are going to have time to look for a mole?” Silver asked. The cat man gave a last look at the fight before directing himself to the fireplace of the house. He then removed a brick and took a paper out of the hole.

“If this comes back to bite me in the ass, you can kiss goodbye to any organic part you still have left,” he threatened as he handed the paper to Silver.

Katarina and Vivi had managed to defeat all the pirates, leaving only the fat one. While magic had proven effective against it after a few hits from Vivi's fireballs and Katarina's earth attacks, it became enraged like a child throwing a tantrum. The heartless started hitting its own chest like a gorilla, with a dark aura surrounding it, making it faster and stronger.

"That can't be good," Vivi said, afraid of the heartless' newfound power. "Watch out!" Katarina pushed Vivi away as the heartless charged at them. After regaining his composure, Vivi tried to use his magic again, but his concentration was interrupted by the heartless, which jumped and created a dark wave that hit him. Meanwhile, Katarina summoned her familiar into battle. "Pocchi, catch!" With a quick command, her familiar returned to the shadows and swiftly moved towards the heartless. Once in position, the familiar grabbed the heartless by the legs, causing it to trip. Taking advantage, it grabbed the heartless' arms, leaving its back exposed. Seizing the opportunity, Katarina leapt high and stabbed the creature in the back, finally destroying it. She then shifted her attention to Vivi and helped him up from the floor.

"That was a little more difficult than I thought. Are you alright?" Vivi nodded, looking around cautiously. "The heartless seem to be stronger in this area," the apprentice mage commented. Up until now, the pirates had been the bigger problem; the fat one clearly indicated something was amiss in this area.

"Well, enemies tend to get stronger the closer you are to the boss," Katarina said aloud, recalling her video game knowledge. Realizing her mistake, she tried to find an excuse to justify her knowledge, but Vivi just looked at her.

"Is it okay to apply video game logic here? I mean, it could be true, but I don't want to get into unnecessary danger." While the mage still pondered the situation, Katarina remembered that Vivi came from a more advanced world than Sorcier. It wasn't unusual for her to drop random bits of knowledge without explanation. They then focused on the navy building; the heartless that appeared there were quickly disposed of by the guards shooting at them. Whatever was inside, the heartless wanted it.

"Could the keyhole be inside there?" Vivi asked, curious, as the heartless kept trying to breach the building, only to be destroyed. They didn't have time to dwell on it, as Silver approached them after finishing his business.

___

After returning to the port, they rested for a while in their room. At this point, the only place they could think the keyhole might be was that building. Neither of them could think of an excuse to let them in, and breaking in themselves was just as dangerous. After seeing how many heartless were shot, they began planning after a while Silver called them to his office to explain the situation.

"Well, the ship that my friend was planning to sell to you has been confiscated," he revealed, disappointment evident as he watched it sink in for them.

"But why? Did he do something wrong?" Katarina asked, worried about the possibility of being trapped there.

"It's a difficult time; spare parts are really rare, and most of them don't need a reason to take from others to keep things balanced on the battlefield," Silver explained. To tell a good lie, you need to mix in some truth so people won't suspect. He had made sure Katarina and Vivi had heard about confiscated ships here and had intentionally let them see the heartless attacking the navy's barracks so they wouldn't suspect his intentions.

"And what do we do now?" Vivi asked. It wasn't like they could go to the navy and demand they sell the ship, right?

"Well, it's a big risk, but I know someone in there. He and I talked, and I managed to convince him to sell one of the ships they have in there without his superiors knowing." Tension filled the room; it was clear this wasn't exactly legal.

"Do you want us to steal a ship?" Katarina broke the tension with all the subtlety of throwing a stone through a window, causing Silver to burst out laughing. After catching his breath, he answered, "It's not stealing; the navy has always held auctions to sell these ships. It's completely legal as long as we don't alert a superior who can stop the sale." Silver reassured them, though both still had their doubts. As they looked at each other, this could be an opportunity to gain entry.

"We're going to do it," Katarina answered, with Vivi giving a quick nod. Both sides had ulterior motives but hoped it wouldn't escalate into a full confrontation.

___

The night fell over the port as the group walked towards the meeting point. Contrary to superstition, they hadn't been attacked by the heartless yet. If anything, things were quiet—too quiet. Something else was happening here. As they walked through the dark streets, tension only increased the closer they got to their destination.

"Keep your guard up," was all Silver said to them as his robot hand transformed into a sword. Neither of them could tell what it was—was it a warning? Neither Katarina nor Vivi could figure out where it came from. Finally arriving at the building, they noticed something odd: there weren't any heartless attacking the building either. Upon reaching the back door, which was secured with a metal lock needing a code to open, they found a massive door, likely where ships were stored. After entering the password, they stepped into a hangar with a couple of ships visible through the foggy illumination.

Katarina, focused on why the place was so empty and dark despite the nighttime, noted several large doors in the hangar—likely to protect the important ships. One door bore a sign in bright letters: 'L0-R Star Cutter.'

"I've heard of this ship. Apparently, it was designed to deal with the heartless, but the cost of production was so high that the Navy opted for more affordable alternatives," Silver commented as they continued moving. Soon, they were ambushed by a group of pirate heartless, quickly surrounding them. It didn't help that they couldn't see well; not even Silver with his cyber eye could fully discern what was happening, barely able to make out some eyes.

"They've got us surrounded; watch your backs," Silver warned them. Katarina summoned Pocchi from her shadow, knowing this would be a tough battle. With no other options, they fought back-to-back. Vivi was the first to attack; fortunately, his fireballs created enough light to disperse some darkness and allow them to see their opponents. This gave Katarina an idea.

"Vivi, keep the light on as long as you can. Pocchi, focus on protecting Vivi," she commanded. The familiar barked in response before embedding itself in Vivi's shadow—an act that sent a chill down the young mage's spine due to the proximity of dark magic.

"Did you have to do that?" Vivi asked the familiar, causing it to bark again, leaving the meaning open to interpretation. As the young mage maintained his fireball, Katarina and Silver began attacking the heartless. Though not as fast as Katarina, Silver's strength was enough to overwhelm most heartless with fewer strikes. He also drew a laser pistol, whose shots produced additional light. Thanks to these shots, Katarina noticed something on the walls—something flickering like a candle amidst the darkness.

"Did anyone else see that?" she asked as she clashed her keyblade against a pirate's sword. The comment prompted Silver to shoot at a few random spots, revealing parts of what seemed to be a lizard moving within the hangar walls.

"That vermin. Do you think it has something to do with this fog?" he asked as he grabbed one pirate by the leg and effortlessly slammed it into another.

"Maybe? We don't seem to have many other options," Katarina replied, finishing off a heartless by slashing its leg while it was down.

"Send Pocchi to get it," Vivi said aloud, maintaining his fireball while Pocchi continued to grab heartless from Vivi's shadow, keeping them immobilized.

"Are you sure?" Katarina asked as she dealt the finishing blow to a heartless that Pocchi was restraining. The magician nodded eagerly, keen to rid himself of Pocchi from his shadow.

"Pocchi, fetch!" Pocchi left Vivi's shadow and disappeared into the darkness. This forced Katarina and Silver to cover Vivi, as heartless tried to attack him. After a few moments, they heard a loud crash. Soon, they saw Pocchi with the lizard heartless in its mouth.

"Pocchi, throw!" With a swift move, the familiar tossed the heartless into the air and headbutted it into Vivi's fireball, destroying the lizard heartless. The dark fog dissipated, finally revealing the heartless surrounding them—or what remained of them, as only a couple of pirates remained. Perhaps the lizard had been causing them to see things; without their field advantage, the remaining heartless didn't last long.

With the place now illuminated, they were able to see how much of a mess the hangar was. There were shoot marks everywhere, as if someone had desperately tried to hit something. Several guard robots were destroyed in the zone, each with clean cuts—a crude reminder of what a heartless could do when they had the upper hand. The lack of living soldiers and the quantity of heartless they had just fought left them with a bitter taste in their mouths. Inspecting the hangar further, they saw a door with a barely assembled barricade in front of it. Whatever was in there was important enough to be sacrificed for protection.

“So, the heartless finally managed to get inside here,” Silver said as he looked around the empty building. He opened a door leading to a hallway. While the heartless attack made it easier to get the information he was looking for, and he was sure he could earn a lot if he looted this place with his crew, he was repulsed by the idea. Whatever profit he could gain from this couldn’t compare to the loot of thousands of worlds. He couldn’t risk his dream for an ‘easy’ profit; besides, the amount of time it would take to do it would give Bones time to cover his tracks or die from old age.

“We need to see if my contact survived or if anybody survived, for what it’s worth,” he said as he held the door for them. With a quick nod, the group began to wander around the hallways. Most rooms were either empty or destroyed by the heartless. Finally, they reached what seemed to be the office of the highest-ranking official in the building. As expected, the place was a mess too. The only notable things were a pile of documents and a deactivated robot guard. They had seen a couple of these in the port, acting as general law enforcement. While inspecting the room for clues, Vivi began to move the robot guard a little, accidentally reactivating it.

“Identify yourselves,” the machine demanded while it failed to get up due to its poor condition. As Vivi tried to answer, the machine gave up, realizing it was pointless.

“Whatever you came here for, it won’t matter in the long run,” the robot informed them as its voice began to fail.

“What do you mean?” Katarina asked, worried and beginning to fear the worst.

“The keyhole, our mission... we were supposed to protect it and keep its location a secret. But the admiral suspected the pirates were involved with the heartless. As his paranoia grew, he began to cut contact with the rest of the Navy and embargo as many ships as he could in an effort to prevent his enemies from gaining more power. When the dark fog appeared in the building, his last sane command was to guard the location of the keyhole. After that, the admiral descended into madness. Now it's only a matter of time until the heartless break through,” the machine explained. As the robot finished, Silver took the opportunity to look through the documents. After finding what he was looking for, he tucked it into his coat. The robot was left without energy, and both Vivi and Katarina shared a look.

“The keyhole must be on the other side of the barricade. We just need to get in there, and you can close it up for good,” Vivi said determinedly, raising his staff.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's close the door right in the heartless' face,” Katarina matched Vivi's tone, summoning her keyblade. They both remembered they weren’t alone and weren’t supposed to share this kind of information so freely. Silver looked at them seriously, then pushed them closer to the door.

“What are you waiting for, a formal invitation? Let’s go close that thing,” Silver said in his captain's voice. He didn’t know exactly what the keyhole was, but if closing it meant screwing with the heartless, he was happy to help. Their moment was interrupted as they felt the floor shaking. Returning to the hangar, they saw a gigantic mass of darkness forming in the middle. From it, a giant boot emerged, followed by the sound of a large piece of metal being dragged across the floor. From the dark mass, a creature emerged. It had a humanoid appearance and wore a blue uniform of a distinguished captain. The creature had a couple of missing limbs, replaced by a cannon with the heartless crest instead of a leg, and an anchor replacing an arm. The creature proved to have massive strength, effortlessly standing on one leg and destroying the barricade with a single shot from its cannon leg. Intimidated as they were, they had no other option but to jump into battle.

Chapter Text

chapter 8: Setting a course

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

___

Katarina felt nervous as she positioned herself between the Heartless and the now-destroyed barricade. The creature was at least three times her size, and the floor shook with each of its steps. As everyone prepared, the Heartless let out a roar, ripping its mouth open to reveal a set of sharp teeth. In a quick move, the Heartless jumped, closing the distance with Katarina and punching the ground as it landed, followed by a couple of punches. Fortunately, Katarina was able to dodge its attacks with relative ease, overwhelming the creature with her superior mobility. Katarina began to land blows on it with her Keyblade.

“How do you like this!” she exclaimed as she used the creature's arm as a platform to land a hit on its head, making it back away a little, similar to how she fought the creature in her dream. She smiled confidently, thinking that if things continued this way, the fight wouldn't last long. But the Heartless quickly recovered and raised its anchor behind its back, preparing a powerful blow. Everything then started to slow down for Katarina as the adrenaline kicked in, and she remembered what had happened when she fought the shield Heartless, the memory of being sent flying towards that burnt tree and completely losing the battle. With the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, she quickly jumped to the side as fast as she could before the impact happened. While the attack didn't hit her, the impact made her retreat. As the dust dispersed, she saw the metal floor completely destroyed, and the reality of the situation began to dawn on her, making her freeze on the spot.

“This isn't good.” Seeing her shock, Vivi, who remained at a safe distance so he could cast without worries, threw a fireball at the Heartless's head as a way of distracting it and getting the creature to focus on him. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well. The Heartless raised its cannon leg and pointed it at Vivi, forcing him to run to dodge the blast of the explosion. Meanwhile, Silver had transformed his arm into cannon mode, realizing he didn't have the speed to dodge the powerful blows of the Heartless in close combat. Upon seeing Katarina in shock, he yelled towards her as he shot at the Heartless's leg, making it lose its balance and giving Vivi room to breathe.

“Snap out of it, kid! This isn't over!” As Katarina saw the creature fall to the floor, she tried to breathe to regain control of the battle, but seeing this didn't help, so she just slapped herself.

“Sorry, guys, I'm okay now,” she said as she summoned Pocchi, knowing that defense wasn't an option with the strength of the Heartless and the memory of their first fight fresh in her mind. She thought of something else. “Pocchi, can you make yourself bigger like last time?” The dog looked at her, then grew to a bigger size, gaining more wild features like fangs and claws.

“Great, now I need you to help me distract him.” The dog nodded and charged against the Heartless. Katarina then focused on Silver and Vivi, who were positioned on both sides of the Heartless. “Keep attacking him from there. We'll keep him from using that cannon.” She joined Pocchi in the charge, focusing on landing more blows to its head while Pocchi mostly attacked its legs or back.

“Roger!” While the creature started using the anchor, forcing the pair to backtrack to dodge the impacts, Silver and Vivi took advantage of these moments to use their fully charged attacks on the creature, opening a window for Katarina and Pocchi to once again overwhelm it.

“Eat this!” The fully charged fireball hit the Heartless once again, this time causing it to roar as the anchor fell to the ground.

“Excellent shot, kid,” Silver said, proud of the mage's aim.

“Way to go, Vivi,” Katarina said, taking a moment to look at the young mage who was also beginning to celebrate. But then she was pushed to the ground by Pocchi. As she opened her eyes, she saw the anchor pass right above her, making Vivi throw himself to the floor while Silver hid behind a column where the anchor finally crashed. They slowly saw the anchor had a chain attached to it, allowing it to return to its owner, who started using the anchor as a flail against them, forcing both Vivi and Silver to dodge the powerful swings as well.

“It's getting more violent; it must be at its limit,” Silver observed. As the Heartless swung its weapon in circular patterns, Vivi used his small size to dodge while the old captain opted to use objects like boxes or pieces of debris to cover himself from the impacts. Meanwhile, Katarina and Pocchi jumped and rolled around, trying to close the distance, avoiding the chain that seemed imbued with some dark energy. With a couple of quick shots courtesy of Vivi, they were finally able to get close enough to land a couple of blows. As the damage began to show on the Heartless, they saw a spark appearing in the cannon, making them react once again.

By shooting the cannon, the Heartless propelled itself to the ceiling. Once in the air, it nailed the anchor to the ceiling, extending the chain and beginning to swing again in a circular pattern, bombarding them from the high point with a series of weaker, quick explosions, forcing them to take cover.

“Does someone have a plan?” Katarina yelled from her cover with Pocchi, not knowing what to do.

“I can blow up the ceiling to make it fall, but I need a clean shot and can't do it from here,” Silver yelled back.

“Me neither,” Vivi added. Katarina began to look around at all the damage the fight was causing. All the ships that didn't have a door protecting them were destroyed. The Heartless kept shooting at random from its safe spot. If only she could get closer to the chain, she might be able to cut it, but she couldn't jump that high even with her new strength, and there wasn't a spot she could climb either.

“Think, Katarina, think.” As she tried to figure a way out of this, Pocchi acted, returning to her shadow but this time leaving his usual energy on her feet.

“Pocchi, what is... this?” As she began to experiment a little, she put her feet into the wall between her and the debris she was using as a shield. It felt weird, as if her feet were sticking to the wall. She remembered her familiar doing it sometime while they fought Heartless, so maybe...

“Alright, I hope this works.” To her surprise, she began to actually run up the wall.

“How are you doing that?” Vivi yelled at her, surprised.

“I'm not sure! Prepare your shots,” Katarina yelled back as she outran the shots of the Heartless, who was focusing on her. As the wall began to collapse from all the damage, she finally was in range. She jumped with all her strength and, with a single well-timed slash, cut the chain, making the Heartless fall to the floor.

“DO IT NOW!” Katarina yelled as she landed. Both Silver and Vivi shot towards the ceiling, making the anchor fall directly onto the body of the Heartless, finally destroying it. Its body started to disintegrate into little particles of light, leaving a heart to fly away to the now uncovered night sky in the process.

With the battle finally over, Katarina caught her breath as she slowly approached where the Heartless had fallen. There, she found a strange red crystal. When she picked it up, the crystal turned into pure energy that her body seemed to absorb. She felt a warm sensation spreading through her body. Following her instincts, she pointed her keyblade at one of the boxes that still remained in the area.

“Fire.” A smaller version of Vivi’s fireball appeared at the tip of Katarina's keyblade. She shot it at the boxes, and while the impact wasn't comparable to Vivi’s fireballs, she realized something quickly. As she cast another three in quick succession, it didn't take her much effort. It was curious; Geordo always spoke about how much control fire magic required for the user to not burn themselves and their surroundings. She had seen a similar thing with how much effort Vivi put into not hurting anybody with his fireballs, maybe magic changed depending on the user. As she thought about it, Vivi approached her with a smile.

“We did it! We actually won against that giant Heartless!” Vivi said excitedly as he jumped around Katarina, celebrating. For his part, Silver was intrigued by the barricade and what was on the other side as he began to investigate, he called them.

“I don't want to interrupt the celebration, but is this the thing you guys were looking for?” Both Katarina and Vivi followed him inside the hole in the barricade. The place was a storage room, and curiously, all the furniture and shelves had been used to create another barricade. With nothing else to do, they all started to remove the furniture one by one until they finally were able to see the keyhole.

“When Yen Sid told us to find a keyhole, I didn't think it would be a literal one.” she. said a little weirded out, the keyhole looked out of place in the room, especially considering its size. Katarina was sure she could put her whole arm inside if she tried, but something told her that would be a pretty bad idea.

“What do we do now?” Vivi turned to Katarina, who was just as lost as him, until her keyblade suddenly appeared in her hand as if it had a conscience of its own. The weapon raised Katarina's arm, making her point it towards the keyhole. As she started to feel some kind of energy coming from the keyblade, she closed her eyes to focus on it, mainly on the idea of closing the keyhole. When she opened her eyes, she shot a beam from the tip of her keyblade, which impacted the keyhole, making it slowly disappear as they all heard the sound of a lock being closed.

“I guess that's it,” Katarina said as she relaxed a little, seeing nothing else was happening. Silver quickly asked a question.

“So, exactly how is that going to affect the Heartless?” He looked at them, searching for answers now that everything seemed to be over.

“From what we were told, now that the keyhole is closed, the Heartless can't consume this world's heart and sink it into darkness,” Vivi recalled what Yen Sid had told them not so long ago, leaving the old pirate with a strange feeling of pride. He knew better than anyone else that his pursuit of his dream had led him down a dark path and that he was not a hero, but knowing that he had left something behind other than pillage and misfortune felt good enough for a good night of sleep, at the very least.

As they got out of the room, they noticed how much collateral damage the battle had created. All the ships were damaged in some critical way, and it would take a lot to repair them. As both Katarina and Vivi started to get nervous about having to wait even longer to get their ship, Silver began inspecting the remains and quickly noticed something.

“Heh, it seems you kids have luck on your side,” he said as he began to move one of the destroyed doors, revealing a ship in perfect condition. Katarina and Vivi approached him.

“Is it really okay for us to take it? I mean, you said it belonged to the Navy,” the noblewoman said. Neither she nor Vivi felt comfortable taking the ship; they weren't thieves, after all.

“There's no problem. It's a failed prototype. The admiral probably kept it for its personal value, but if the Navy gets their hands on it, they'll probably just scrap it.”After hearing him Katarina got on board a little and started to explore it.

The ship was painted in the white and blue colors typical of the Navy, which reminded her of her old dress in some way. It was 30 meters in length, 15 meters in width, and 10 meters in height without including the solar sails, or so Silver said as he started to read the specifications of the ship from the main controls. The cannons were five in total, of the latest models, and the controls allowed the gunners to control them remotely. There were two on each side and one in the front of the ship. While Vivi stayed to hear Silver's explanation, Katarina entered the inside of the ship. It only had one lifeboat and next to no supplies in the cargo area. She moved to the living quarters, which, compared to the rest of the ship, was a small area with just the essentials to keep four people alive and healthy.

The rooms had just a couple of bunk beds, a table, and a wardrobe—nothing fancy. Weirdly enough, there wasn't anything special for the captain, maybe because it was a prototype?
When she got out, Silver and Vivi were waiting for her. Silver, in particular, seemed to be waiting for her response with his characteristic confident smile.

“So, what do you think?” the old cyborg asked, already knowing her response. When she looked at the young magician, he was really excited about the cannons; it was clear that he already loved the ship.

“Well, if the alternative is for it to be scrapped, I guess we could save it.” She was sure she saw Vivi's eyes sparkle with joy as he began running around the ship, celebrating, but she noticed a problem.

“How are we going to get the ship out of here?” The look of mischief that she received as a response sent a chill down her spine.
___

It was beginning to dawn at the port. After 'testing' the cannons of the Starcutter, they had quickly returned to the port near Silver's office. As they rested from the battle and said goodbye to their humble room, they noticed Silver waiting for them at the port with the ship ready to go. Besides him was a moogle who managed the bar, leaving one last box inside the ship.

"Good morning, sleepyheads," Silver greeted them in his usual tone as the moogle made a small gesture with his hand to salute them.

"Good morning, what is happening?" Katarina asked as she saw all the equipment that the ship was missing already loaded in.

"Well, I wanted more details about what you two had done, so I went to this old friend of mine, and he explained it more clearly. Afterwards, he decided he wanted to show his gratitude personally," he said, then pointed towards the moogle, who gave a little bow.

"Thanks to the chosen wielder of the keyblade, the Heartless have become less of a threat to our world, and my business is blooming again. So, I decided to give the supplies for your mission with a discount," the moogle said, making them nervous.

"Katarina, do we have money to pay for this?" Vivi pulled her closer so the other two couldn't hear them.

"Well, I do have a couple of jewels. Maybe if you distract them long enough, I can go sell them and then pay?" As they continued to plan their next move, both Silver and the moogle broke down laughing.

"Hahahahahahaha, don't worry, kids. We're just messing with you. The supplies come from the money you paid me. There's no need for you two to pay a debt," Silver explained. The moogle proceeded to show them what they had: potions capable of curing wounds, ethers to replenish magic power, and other things like a cookbook with recipes for all the food they couldn't identify, curiously written by Silver himself.

"You can cook?" both said in unison.

"I'm a man of many passions, as you'll soon learn. Preparing a meal for yourselves is one of life's greatest passions," he said with his typical wise man aura. As the moogle retired, he quizzed them, making sure they could handle the ship. With nothing else to say, the moment to say goodbye was getting closer. They felt weird, honestly, having to part ways after forming such a bond with Silver and not knowing if they would ever see him again. It was a difficult feeling, and Silver noticed the change on their faces, understanding what they were feeling.

"Don't be sad, kids. We all knew this was coming. We have different paths, after all, and following our own path doesn't mean that we will never cross paths again. If anything, it just makes it more special when we meet again and you have more stories to share." He then offered his hand to both of them. Both felt better.

"Thank you, Silver, for everything," Katarina said in her usual happy tone.

"I'm going to make sure that the next time you see us, we will be legends," Vivi said, excited to prove himself.

"I know you will. I trained you, after all." With one last laugh, the cyborg gave them one last piece of advice before he got off the ship.

"You two be careful. You got lucky I have a code that I like to follow, but there are a lot of people who don't, and they won’t think twice about using you both." He finally left the ship with that last warning. Both of them looked at each other, taking the advice to heart.

As the cyborg waved his captain's hat as a final farewell, the Starcutter left the port. They really didn't know what direction to take next.

"Yen Sid told me I should follow my heart back to my home, but how?" Was it a metaphor or something literal, like with the keyhole? Neither she nor Vivi could tell. The ship was just going in a straight line, but with a specific destiny. As she looked to the stars on the horizon, she felt something.

"Vivi, take the rudder," she said as she moved to the front of the ship, leaving little time to react.

"Wait, don't do that so suddenly!" The boy barely took it in time before Katarina was already at the front of the ship. She followed her heart and summoned her keyblade. She then created a beam similar to the one she had used to close the keyhole and opened a portal in the shape of a keyhole.

"Woah," was the only thing the young mage could say.

"Vivi, max speed. We are entering this portal," she said confidently. The boy just gave an affirmative response and increased the power on the propulsors of the Starcutter.

'Don't worry, guys. I'll be there before you notice I was missing.' As her travel finally started, the chosen wielder of the keyblade was ready to take on everything on her way home.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 : Prankster Paradise

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

___

It was a stormy night. Usually, children would be safe in their homes, cuddled with their parents in front of a fire, listening to stories until they fell asleep in a warm embrace. But the sounds of the storm were muffled by the laughs and screams of children who ran without control in the new attractions. He never thought he would get so rich that he would actually invest some money into his park beyond the trashy scams he used to lure children. But finally, he had reached the point where money didn't matter anymore. He was pursuing power now, true power. With his new business partner, his park would grow beyond the limits of his world. Heck, he had already bought a bunch of new attractions from other worlds so advanced he couldn't really understand how they worked. One of them almost felt as if it was actually alive, a perfect distraction so people would remain ignorant of his true business. With all of this, it was only a matter of time before adults started to fall into the park. His only concern was how to get more people once he ran out of them in his own world.

The mere thought could only make him seem like the monster he truly was, as a green flame illuminated his office.
___

Neither of them knew what to expect when they entered the portal. For a moment, they were inside a tunnel of light, but now they were in space. Around them were multiple structures made of an unknown multicolored material. They had taken their usual positions, with Vivi on the artillery and Katarina piloting. With only the calm of space for company, both couldn't help but relax a little. As she kept the ship steady, Vivi shot a couple of pieces of debris that got in their way. Surprisingly, the Heartless weren't as many or as strong compared with the ones they faced during their stay in Crescentia. Maybe the Star cutter's arsenal was simply better, as their encounters with them were really short.

“Honestly, I wasn't expecting things to be this easy,” Katarina commented, a little bored as she let a small yawn escape her mouth. Vivi, on his part, was enjoying the relative peace of the moment.

“Do you want to switch? Shooting down the debris is really fun,” he offered after noticing Katarina's boredom from the corner of his eye.

“No, I'm okay. It's good to have a moment to relax.” By this time, she had realized that sometimes piloting the ship didn't require as much concentration. At first, Katarina treated the ship like a car, nervously trying to recall all the instructions Silver taught her, trying not to crash into something. But now she was starting to realize that, thanks to the ship's advanced systems, all she needed to focus on was the radar in case an object required more advanced maneuvers.

After a while, the radar started to detect something big in the distance. Katarina recognized what seemed to be a new world. The closer they got, the more they could distinguish its characteristics. The place seemed to be an island with a giant amusement park in the middle.

“There is no way! I haven't seen one in years. We have to check it out,” Katarina said excitedly as she remembered with nostalgia all the times she had gone to one in her previous life with her family and friends. Maybe she could take everybody on a trip with the Starcutter and bring them here.

“Sure!” The young mage couldn't help but share her enthusiasm. Unlike most of Seifer’s group, Vivi wasn't opposed to doing childish things from time to time. While he shared the group's determination in growing stronger, he often felt that all they did was train.

___

As the Star cutter landed in the stormy waters, they disembarked at an abandoned old port on the other side of the island, mainly because they didn't want to draw attention to the Star cutter. The place around this port was a mess, with a bunch of rats and other pests running around, and boxes and other supplies left to rot. Or so it seemed. Upon closer inspection, the signs showed that the place was still in use by whoever owned it as a storage room. Another concerning thing was the supply of cages the place seemed to have. There were hundreds of them in really poor condition just piled around this area. Something about the place made them feel uncomfortable. It kind of reminded them of when they entered the hangar in Crescentia, just not as intense. It was as if the darkness had left on its own rather than being vanquished by the light.

“Maybe this is just an old storage room,” Katarina said, trying to break the somber atmosphere as she noticed Vivi's growing concern.

"Yeah, maybe they are just busy dealing with this right now. I mean, look at all the buildings they have over there,” he said nervously, pointing to the window. From there, they could see the artificial light of the park with many building sites of what seemed like new attractions. As they were about to leave the storeroom, something got in their way. A blue sparkle flew around them and then directed itself towards the door, waiting for them.

“What is that?” she said, surprised at the sudden appearance of the sparkle.

“It seems it wants us to follow it.” As they started to get closer, the sparkle guided them towards a path. From there, they could see an old path leading to a park.

*Please, they need help,* the sparkle disappeared, leaving both astonished.

“You also heard that, right?” Vivi asked, a little nervous, wondering if what had just happened was real.

“She asked for our help.” They started to head towards the path to the park with their guards up until a galloping sound stopped them. For some unknown reason, they felt the need to move away as a weak light started to appear on the horizon. Neither of them could tell why, but as the sound got closer, they realized why the Keyblade had led them here. What began as the shape of a donkey pulling a chariot began to become smaller. Then they realized that the thing pulling the chariot was a Heartless.

The creature was smaller, only a little taller than a Shadow; it was surprising that it was capable of pulling so much while being so small. It was dressed in very childish clothes with a hat and big shoes. All these seemed like a joke with their donkey heads and hooves instead of hands. Aside from that, the Heartless had the usual Heartless characteristics like the yellow eyes and emblem on their backs. Following them were a couple of blue bell-like Heartless floating around the chariot.

“The Heartless are already here,” Vivi said as he got his staff ready. Katarina summoned her Keyblade. Taking advantage of their concealed position, both Katarina and Vivi shot down the bell-like Heartless with fire, leaving just the donkey.

“Just one more.” As they got out of their hideout, ready to take out the last one, the Heartless, upon noticing them and realizing it was alone, started to throw a tantrum, rushing at them while it frantically waved its arms at them in a poor attempt to hit them.

“It’s not much of a fighter,” Vivi commented after easily dodging the attacks.

“I don’t think we should be taunting it.” A dark aura started to surround it. The tantrum got worse as the Heartless got on four legs and started to kick the air. Then it began charging towards them furiously, running on all fours. Both of them jumped out of its range, and it broke a rock behind them in half with a headbutt, leaving it stunned. Katarina didn’t want to take a risk and quickly slashed its back, making it disappear. Despite its great strength, it was really vulnerable.

“I guess it was just a small group,” Vivi commented as they caught their breath, noticing there were no more Heartless coming to attack them. Katarina inspected the carriage that the donkey Heartless was pulling.

“More cages. Why would an amusement park need this many? And why would the Heartless help them?” she wondered, trying to process the information.

“Pest control?” Vivi did his best to respond and lighten the mood a little.

“I guess it was too good to be true, but this place is raising way too many red flags,” Katarina commented, disappointed. She had really hoped to have the classic amusement park experience at least one more time.

As the two continued to advance, the light of the park became more intense. For her part, Katarina had forgotten how bothersome these types of illuminations could be. She struggled to adjust her eyes to it, part of her feeling disappointed in herself. She used to be an otaku in her previous life, spending nights watching a screen. Now these weak lights were beating her, truly staining her pride.

Finally, they arrived at the park, or at least the outskirts of it. A huge concrete wall with barbed wire on top, stopped them from entering the center of the park. From there, they could hear the attractions working at full capacity and the kids laughing inside, making them even more confused. As they began to walk around the wall, they found a construction zone which forced them to hide upon seeing the dozens of Heartless working on the new attractions.

“Are they building the attractions?” Katarina knew someone could control the Heartless. She wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for the generic witch summoning them against her, but she didn’t think they could be used this way.

“Are people here not aware of how dangerous they can be?” Vivi tried to find an explanation for it.

As they watched the Heartless work, they noticed how dangerous the whole operation was. The only type of Heartless working were the donkeys. They dragged around the materials and welded everything together. But they could also see a couple being squished by falling tools or boxes and others actually catching on fire when they failed to use the welder. It was like a cartoon showing workers being exploited.

“Whoever is in charge here has full control over the Heartless,” Vivi concluded after seeing how little care or self-preservation the Heartless showed while working to construct the new attractions, earning a quick nod from Katarina.

“We need to get inside and see what is happening in this park,” she began to focus on a way to navigate the place. She wasn’t sure they could take on this many Heartless on their own, especially after watching what had happened to that rock.

“There, look on top of the roller coaster,” Vivi pointed. Sure enough, at the tallest point of the roller coaster, there was a set of scaffoldings supported by one of the buildings inside the park.

“Great job, Vivi. Now our only problem is the Heartless,” she said as they started to create a plan.

But unknown to them, the wall of the building they were using to hide wasn’t as good of a hideout as they thought it would be. A Heartless pulling a cart of tools saw them. The Heartless left the cart in its place first, completing its task before it casually directed itself towards a bell and began ringing it with all its strength. For a moment, all the Heartless in the zone began to watch them, leaving an awkward silence for a solid minute.

“Vivi.”

“Yes?”

“Run.”

As they started to run for their lives, they summoned their weapons. The Heartless abandoned all their tasks to chase them, many even falling to the ground from high places. They mainly used fire on the ones in their way. As they reached the roller coaster wagons, thanks to her being faster, Katarina reached the controls first, with Vivi deciding to secure the first wagon and shoot all the Heartless closing in on them.

“Why are there so many buttons?” Katarina screamed, frustrated with the controls and the adrenaline affecting her. She finally noticed a lever and pulled it. As the machine finally started running, she jumped inside the last wagon with many donkeys closely following her. As a desperate measure, the Heartless began to grab and even bite the last wagon, holding it back. Thinking quickly, Katarina jumped to the next cart and used fire to get rid of the connection between the cars. As the wagons gained more speed, distancing themselves from the Heartless, she heard Vivi’s voice yelling at her.

“Katarina, we are getting closer to the top!” he warned as the attraction began to slow down, likely to build suspense before the last drop. As the Heartless began to catch up with her, Katarina decided to move forward.

“Vivi, I need you to cover me!” she yelled, earning a quick nod from the mage who started to fireballs from the sides of the cars, slowing the horde chasing them. Katarina’s climbing experience allowed her to reach the top just in time for the wagons to stop.

“JUMP!” It felt as if time stopped for a minute as they reached the scaffoldings and passed the wall. But knowing they weren’t out of danger yet, they did another jump towards the ceiling of what seemed to be a theater. Now they were close enough, and in a quick move, Vivi started a fire in the scaffolding so the Heartless couldn't follow them, with the structure crumbling down stopping the horde from pursuing them further.

Catching their breaths, they observed their current position inside the park. Surprisingly, there were only children inside, not a single adult in sight. The attractions, besides the usual merry-go-rounds and carnival games, had tons of stands filled with all types of candy, with a Heartless standing as a kind of guard. But they didn't stop the children from stealing the candy; if anything, the children seemed to be competing on who stole the most. There was a school where the Heartless continued to change the windows and paint it, only for the children to vandalize it again. And last but not least, a bar where Katarina could see smoke coming out of the windows. Judging by all they had seen, they were probably serving real alcohol in there too. The last remarkable building was a storehouse close to another port, this one actually being taken care of, the building was the biggest in the park not taking the attractions it really gave ominous vibe.

“What kind of place is this?” Vivi wondered. The chaos unfolding was simply unbelievable; it was as if the whole world was upside down. It actually made him feel bad for the Heartless down there.

“Where are their parents?” The principal thing Katarina noticed was the poor condition of the children’s clothes. It made her worry if this place preyed on the unfortunate. The second thing was that the clothes were also similar to the ones in Sorcier, making her wonder how they could have attractions so close to the ones she had seen in her first life. Nothing here made sense.

“We are not going to find out what is happening here by just standing around.” After a quick nod from Vivi, Katarina began inspecting the ceiling of the theater, eventually finding a skylight close enough to a catwalk both used to get into the theater. After a short walk, they found a ladder that led them to the backstage. Inside, they could see a bunch of props and other elements similar to the ones they had seen in the park. In fact, they saw a giant neon sign that had ‘Prankster’s Paradise’ written on it, perhaps the name of this place. Along with the props, they also found what seemed to be a script.

‘In this paradise, neither your parents nor the cops can tell you what to do or when to do it.’ The script was filled with such sentences. It was like the one writing it didn’t bother to rhyme and just kept listing all the things the children were allowed to do.

“Well, that answers one question. But who in their right mind would bring their children here?” Vivi commented. He could see how this place would attract a child. It took him a minute to realize the answer.

“I don't think their parents know they are here,” Katarina said as she kept reading the awful script full of nonsense. The blue sparkle appeared again, and this time they could hear its voice clearly.

“These children are being lured here by a vile monster. At this rate, there will be no chance to rescue their hearts from the darkness that monster is sowing. I beg you, chosen wielder of the Keyblade, put a stop to this.” Her voice was gentle, with a motherly feel to it. Katarina began to feel unsure.

“We, we are going to do our best, but we haven't faced this many Heartless before.” Katarina began to feel the weight of the responsibility the Keyblade entailed. It was different from fighting in self-defense. Lives depended on her.

The sparkle then remained still for a minute, then it began to study the props of the theater, looking for something.

“Could you help me move these objects? The darkness of this area prevents me from manifesting my physical form,” the sparkle asked.

“Sure, just tell me when to stop.” Vivi directed himself to the pile of props. Katarina got curious too and began to help him. Eventually, they found a metal box bigger than Vivi that looked really out of place. The box was closed with an advanced lock and needed a special key to open it. The front of the box had a red diamond logo with two kanji inside.

“Shin-Ra,” Katarina read, surprised upon finding kanji here of all places. Maybe one day she could visit Japan too if she managed to find it, that is.

“I can't open it.” As Vivi tried to pull the lock away, the lock actually let out a charge, hurting him and making him lose his grip and fall.

“Try using the Keyblade,” the sparkle suggested after Katarina helped Vivi get back on his feet.

While she thought brute force might break the lock, it had hurt Vivi, so the retribution was valid. It was also a little funny that the mystical sparkle lady suggested something so brute, but who was she to judge? As she summoned it, prepared to hit it, she didn't realize the weak glow her weapon was emitting. Upon landing the first hit, the glow affected the box, forcing it to open itself, revealing a black cat plushie wearing a crown, a cape, and a pair of boots. Katarina couldn't resist and ended up giving it a hug.

“All that security just for a plushie?” Vivi felt insulted.

“Can I have it for a moment?” Katarina blushed a little before setting the plushie in front of the sparkle. A blue aura then appeared, surrounding the plushie.

“So many memories left, your creator had such high hopes for you. Perhaps I can help you achieve some of them in his name.” Soon the aura became so bright they couldn't see anymore.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Behind the curtains

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

___

“Hey, lassie, can you hear me?” As Katarina recovered her senses after the flash of light, she saw a gloved hand waving in front of her and felt a little pressure in her head.

“Lassie, tell me how many fingers?” The voice was male, and it had a proper tone even if the flash had left her confused.

“Three,” Katarina finally responded as she instinctively grabbed whatever was on her head, believing it was Pocchi. Instead, she found a cat staring back at her.

“Glad you are okay, but can I ask you to put me back on the floor, please?” the previously mysterious plushie asked her, causing her to blink a couple of times to process what was happening.

“Lassie?” the cat asked again in a slightly nervous tone.

“Oh, sorry.” Katarina didn’t really react to a talking plushie; she was half-expecting it after the sparkle asked to see it. She gently set him on the floor.

“Thank you very much.” The cat then gave her a polite bow as he got up and stretched a little. She looked at Vivi, who was also recovering.

“Are you okay, Vivi?” The young mage kept rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, I just wish she had given us a heads up before doing that,” he commented as he finally noticed the cat plushie moving on its own. Just like Katarina, he didn’t really react to the talking plushie.

“Well, I can assume you two activated me. I can’t find you in the Shinra Corp database, but it has been a long time since I was last active. I can also see new data, but it's really difficult to process. Is Mister Reeve trying a new technique, or…” The cat began to dump information on them about patches and data that quickly lost both of them.

“Sorry, could you slow down a little? Maybe start with your name?” Katarina finally interrupted him.

“Oh, where are my manners? I am Cait Sith. I should be the eyes and ears of my creator, but I can’t feel my connection with him for some reason,” he confessed as both Katarina and Vivi looked at each other.

“Well, I am Katarina Claes, and this is Vivi. We found you in that box over there after a sparkle thingy guided us here. We initially thought you were some kind of expensive toy until she gave you life for some reason, and, well, here we are.” Katarina did her best to explain the situation to the plushie—or robot, maybe. After the tech talk he threw at them, he was clearly more advanced than anything here. In fact, she could bet that he was ages more advanced than anything they had seen in Crescentia. They let Cait Sith assimilate the information as he moved towards his old box.

“Well, that explains the broken link and all this new data too,” he said as he began looking directly at the logo on the box while processing the information. In some way, Katarina felt a sense of kinship with him; both of them were lost, after all.

“Hey, do you want to come with us? There’s a chance we might stumble into your original world during our travels.” Katarina resisted the urge to hug him after she finished her sentence. Weirdly enough, she felt something biting her foot. When she looked down, she recognized the little shadow.

‘Don’t be jealous, Pocchi,’ she apologized to her familiar silently. Her connection with him allowed the shadow dog to listen to her thoughts; he stopped and gave a quick nod before melting back into her shadow.

“You can do that? Then consider me part of your crew, Lady Katarina!” With renewed enthusiasm, Cait Sith shook both Katarina and Vivi’s hands, joining them for the being.

“Well, I guess we should return to the ship and plan our next move from there. It’s not safe for Cait Sith with the Heartless running around, and we still need to find a way to get all the children out of this place without alerting the Heartless.” Vivi started to worry about the sparkle’s request; those kids seemed more like animals to him, if he was honest.

“Well, I don’t know what these Heartless are, but…” With a snap of his fingers, a cloud of smoke appeared, and from it emerged a new creature. It had a round, soft body, large arms and legs, and a purple bat-like wing on its back. It had a gentle and somewhat dopey expression, a large face with two fangs, and simple eyes. Cait Sith stood on top of it, holding a megaphone, reaching Katarina’s height.

“I can assure you I’m capable of defending myself.” To further demonstrate its capabilities, the plushie picked up a big piece of artillery with one hand and threw it into the air. Cait Sith then used his megaphone to cast some kind of magic projectile in the shape of musical notes. As they impacted, the piece of artillery was reduced to bits as they fell to the floor. Cait Sith and his plushie gave a small bow, finishing their act.

“That was so cool!” Katarina clapped with enthusiasm. Vivi, for his part, looked a little more worried as he was the only one who remembered that they were supposed to lay low to avoid alerting the Heartless, who then proceeded to break through the door of the theater, looking for the source of the noise.

“Oops, I didn’t know we were that deep into enemy territory.” As he apologized, a group composed of four donkeys, two Large Bodies, and four of the bell-like Heartless—only this time they were red instead of blue—appeared. Taking the initiative, both Katarina and Vivi shot fireballs at them. Unfortunately, the spell was quickly absorbed, and the bells started to charge their own fireballs.

‘Fool, you can't use fire attacks against fire enemies. Didn’t you learn anything from Pocket Monsters?’ Smart Katarina said angrily at Brave Katarina, who normally took charge of the battles.

‘Give me a break! The last RPG we played had cheat codes in case you only wanted to see the story,’ Brave shouted back, hiding her shame about forgetting about elemental weaknesses.

‘THEY ARE COMING!’ Spineless Katarina warned them as the Heartless who couldn’t float closed in. She reacted with a jump, hitting one of the Large Bodies in the head, causing it to lose its balance. As the Heartless fell, it created an energy wave that dispersed the donkeys around them. Vivi, who was thinking about what to do after seeing Katarina’s mistake, became nervous as fire was his only spell at the moment. This nearly caused him to get hit by a fireball from the bell Heartless until Cait Sith intercepted it with his own spell.

“Deal with the donkeys, I will keep the flying ones in check,” Cait Sith reassured him before the plushie charged against the remaining Large Body, starting to trade punches with it. Strangely enough, the plushie was able to absorb the impacts of the Large Body with relative ease.

“Right, thank you.” Vivi then began to target the donkeys that Katarina had knocked over with her previous attack, managing to destroy two before the others got up and focused on him. For his part, Cait Sith proved to be really agile, dodging the fireballs from the bells and closing the distance with them despite their ability to float. Although his actual attacks lacked a little strength, he compensated with his megaphone and the magic it created. Currently, he was launching a barrage of projectiles at the bells, trying to group them in one spot. Once he had them in place, he jumped into the middle of them and released a magic sound wave that finished them off. With them dealt with, he mounted his plushie again and started to reinforce its attacks with his magic, giving the plushie the advantage against the Heartless.

Meanwhile, Katarina was having an easier time. After knocking down the Large Body, she commanded Pocchi to keep it pinned down on the floor. She then proceeded to attack directly to the head. After a couple of cuts, the Large Body fell quickly. As Pocchi returned to her shadow, Katarina realized the remaining donkeys were about to attack Vivi with a charge. In a quick motion, she combined both Pocchi’s magic and her earth magic.

“Dark Earth Bump!” Part of her cringed at the name of her attack, but the results spoke for themselves. The floor between Vivi and the Heartless raised into a decent wall, reinforced with Pocchi’s shadows. Thanks to it, the Heartless not only clashed with the wall but also got trapped by the dark magic, leaving them in the perfect position to be finished off by Vivi. Just as Cait Sith and his plushie finished the last Large Body with a magic-enhanced uppercut.

“It seems that was the last one,” Cait Sith said as he approached on top of his plushie, sparking Katarina’s curiosity.

“That was amazing. I haven’t seen anyone take a punch from a fat one directly without being sent flying, let alone return the punch. What is your name?” Katarina tried to present her hand to the plushie, but it only returned her blank stare.

“I must apologize. You see, my friend over here is the muscle to my brain, so it lacks the ability to do complex things like thinking,” Cait Sith explained as he snapped his fingers again and the plushie disappeared in another smoke screen.

“Oh, so he isn’t like Pocchi,” Katarina looked a little disappointed but recovered quickly as her familiar got out of her shadow and started inspecting Cait Sith.

“I was about to ask what kind of creature this is. It’s the first time I can’t find anything in my database like him. Well, maybe those Heartless creatures, but he is clearly different from them,” Cait Sith started to study Pocchi from top to bottom. This only caused the familiar to lose interest in Cait Sith, causing it to let out a yawn and return to Katarina’s shadow.

“We should start moving. I doubt those are the only ones looking for us,” Vivi warned them as he quickly approached.

“Maybe we should find a back exit then. It would be easier to sneak in,” Cait Sith suggested. Both Katarina and Vivi nodded in agreement as they returned backstage.

___

While they looked for another exit, Vivi took the opportunity to explain the Heartless and their origin to Cait Sith, as well as what they knew about the park so far.

“Such a disgusting place, targeting a young audience with those underhanded methods. To think I would be part of all this if you hadn't found me... I can't thank you enough for it,” Cait Sith said sincerely as they walked through the corridors of the theater. They finally found a service door leading to an alley.

As they exited, the smell of broken machinery and over-processed, rotten sugar assaulted their noses. Katarina was surprised by how distasteful she found the smell.

“Even the sweets smell like trash. How did they find a way to ruin sweets?” Katarina was reaching the limit of her patience with the place. Between the brainwashing, the Heartless, the incredibly dangerous attractions, and the rotting sweets, she felt the need to put an end to this place permanently. Weirdly enough, most of the noise had vanished, leaving only the attractions to fill the silence. That was until a sudden burst of laughter interrupted them. As they inspected, a group of children seemed to be focused on something, throwing their drinks and candy at it. They were about to let it slide until Katarina heard a child cry for help.

“Please, guys, it isn't funny!” The voice had a bunch of cracks similar to a donkey’s bray, provoking more laughs from the group, who started to look for more stuff to throw. She had seen enough.

“What do you think you all are doing?” Her villainess face was on full display as the kids got scared, and she quickly put herself in front of the child, who was covering his face with his hands.

“But they told us there wouldn't be adults here,” one of the kids cried as he began to try to run, only to get intimidated by Katarina's look, making him stay in place. By this moment, Vivi and Cait Sith caught up to her. Vivi, while at first surprised by Katarina's reaction, decided to help the boy recover, while Cait Sith stood by her side.

“That isn't an excuse for hurting him like that. Would you like it if they did something like that to you?” Katarina said, keeping her firm tone. She couldn't help but think of all the times her mother had scolded her as she unconsciously began to imitate her posture and tone.

“But he is a freak,” another kid replied.

“That was beyond rude. Do you think your parents would approve of that kind of behavior?” Cait Sith intervened this time. He tried a calmer tone, taking the role of the good cop.

“No buts. You are all going to apologize to him, and that's final,” she said, issuing an ultimatum. She was interrupted by Vivi.

“Guys, I think you need to see this,” Vivi tried to keep his composure as the kid they were defending showed his face to them.

“What kind of magic is this?” Cait Sith said in disbelief. The poor kid's teeth grew as his mouth slowly turned into a snout.

“See, he is a fre—HAAH!” The insult was cut short by another donkey bray. The kid covered his mouth as everybody focused on him, his hands transforming into hooves, causing him to let out another donkey bray. Soon, all the kids entered into a panic as donkey traits started appearing—ears, tails, snouts. In little time, they were surrounded by donkeys wearing children's clothes, braying desperately.

“Please, everybody, calm down!” Katarina tried, but her voice was overshadowed by all the frightened cries of the kids. Before everything got out of control, Cait Sith used his megaphone to create an even louder sound, making the children stop and put their attention on them.

“Thank you. Now, we need to stay calm. Can any of you still talk?” Katarina asked. The kids tried to utter a word, and in a bit of irony, the one who managed to do it was the one they were bullying.

“I... I still… can talk… miss,” the child responded with some difficulty and cracks.

“Do you know if there are any more kids around here?” Cait Sith asked. The kid took a moment to answer.

“There... used... to... be... they... disappeared... we... started... looking…” As much as they wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, another kid got scared. Turning around, they saw a carriage like the one they had seen at the entrance of the park, only this time the cages were filled with donkeys, likely more children transformed. Just like before, the carriage was pulled and guarded by a group of Heartless. Unlike previous encounters, the Heartless seemed more interested in capturing the children.

“Stay behind us!” Katarina warned the children as she summoned her weapon. They were surrounded by three large bodies, forcing them to separate to try to protect the children. While each of them was able to handle an individual threat, the situation worsened when a group of donkey Heartless appeared as backup and quickly began capturing the children and placing them in cages.

“MISS, HELP US!” a scream of terror alerted Katarina as a group of donkey Heartless were taking the kids away and putting them in the cages on the carriage. She tried to intervene, but the large body she was fighting landed a hit, sending her flying and putting even more distance between her and the children. To make matters worse, both Vivi and Cait Sith were too busy dealing with their own opponents to help the children, especially now that they had reinforcements.

“Pocchi, stop that carriage!” she commanded her familiar while she focused on fighting the large body, which now had four bells covering him with magic—two blue ones and two red ones. The blue bells this time had enough time to launch their spell with an ice crystal. It was slower than the fireballs of the red bells but had a bigger area of effect. While it didn't hit her directly, the cold wave that followed hurt her, numbing her body. She never thought she would feel an ice burn in her life.

“Yep, I'm not going to let you do that again,” she muttered. She raised her keyblade and, after dodging a couple of attacks, managed to destroy the bells with fire shots. Without giving her time to breathe, the large body charged towards her while the red bells kept shooting at her. In a stroke of luck, she was able to redirect a fireball directly toward the large body, destroying it and leaving only the red bells to deal with.

Without Pocchi, her best bet was to fight them directly, if only they weren't so elusive. Each time she was about to land a hit, the bells quickly dodged with a counterattack already prepared for her. As the battle continued, she began to lose her patience until she noticed something: the bells paused before casting a spell. She doubted for a moment, since failing would mean being blasted in the face with a fireball—an experience she wasn't eager to relive. In the end, her frustration with them proved to be the defining factor for her. She focused on one of them until she saw it charge its spell, a grin slowly appearing on her face.

“You're done.” With a jump, she delivered a strong hit to the bell, the impact of the fall destroying it. She then delivered a somber look to the remaining one. “Now you're next.”

Meanwhile, the dark familiar quickly caught up with the donkeys who were about to leave with the children. He submerged into the shadows until he was just in front of the donkey pulling the carriage. Like a shark jumping out of the water, he caught the Heartless in a bite and then proceeded to shake it violently until it was destroyed. This attracted the attention of the other Heartless, who charged toward him. The familiar simply jumped and let them crash into each other, leaving them vulnerable for one last attack. In a burst of speed, the familiar crashed to the ground and destroyed them with a shockwave.

“Is everybody okay?” Katarina regrouped with her friends in front of the carriage, and immediately they started to check on the kids.

“We're missing two,” Vivi said, concerned after counting them. Cait Sith, for his part, was looking at the path the carriage was taking. “There are tracks over here. They probably took them in this direction.”

“We have to rescue them, but...” She turned towards the little group they had saved. “We can't just bring them with us.”

“Even if we did, the Heartless would keep attacking us,” Cait Sith added. They were at a dead end.

*Perhaps I could help with this problem,* a familiar blue light appeared behind them—the same one that had awakened Cait Sith.

“Bluey, you're back!” Katarina greeted with her usual happy tone. While the light didn't have a body, Vivi could feel that the nickname surprised her.

*Bluey?* The light seemed puzzled. Katarina quickly realized she might have overstepped a little.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude.” The blue light took a moment and then let out a little laugh.

*It doesn't matter. Right now, we should focus on the children. I can hide them from those vile creatures, but I need a safe place to do so.*

“Our ship should be fine. It's far enough from the park that the Heartless won't look there,” Vivi suggested, earning everyone's approval.

“We're going to follow the path then. Please be careful,” Katarina warned them before they took different paths. Just then, Cait Sith interrupted.

“I know this isn't the best moment, but I have a lot of questions about... well, myself.” The blue light paused for a moment and moved closer to him.

*Fear not. Once this nightmare ends, I will answer all your questions in person,* she promised. *May fortune be with you.*

A flash of light blinded them, and the blue light disappeared along with the children. With nothing else stopping them, they focused on finding and rescuing the rest of the children.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Curtain call

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

___

After saving some of the children from the heartless and leaving them with the blue light, the group pursued the few heartless that had managed to escape, taking a kid with them. The park was not operational, and a dreadful feeling invaded them as the once chaotic streets were now silent. Cait Sith, who was the fastest of the group, was in the lead. Upon taking a turn, he quickly backtracked and made a sign for Katarina and Vivi to stop.

“Wait! The heartless are over there,” he said in a lower tone. The two nearly tripped from the sudden stop. As they took a look themselves, they saw the heartless carrying more carriages filled with the cursed kids, along with the pair that had managed to escape them with cages on their backs. They were heading for a door to open in a massive building connected to a port.

“I have a bad feeling about that place.” Even when the whole park felt wrong for her, that particular building seemed to be radiating a feeling of dread. Vivi gave her nod, confirming it wasn't just her.

“It's just like when we fought the admiral,” Vivi warned Katarina and piqued Cait Sith's curiosity.

“The admiral?”

“Some people's darkness creates unique heartless, stronger than usual ones,” Vivi gave a quick explanation with a quick nod. Cait Sith began to count the number of Heartless in front of them. “5 fat ones, 10 donkeys, 10 bells, and I have never seen those, but there are 5 in total,” he pointed towards a new variant of heartless, a small, humanoid creature with a knight-type appearance. Their muscular forms were clad in a bluish-black bodysuit bearing the Heartless emblem and purple inverted emblems trimmed in gold on the knees, and a silver knight's helm decorated with two angular, eye-like spirals on the front and a yellow stripe at the base of the curled silver plume. Despite its more human appearance at first glance, its movements were just as animalistic as the ones of the shadows.

“Great, that's a new one. Does anybody have a plan?” Katarina said as she tried to come up with something to save the children from their cages. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door of the building finally opening from it. An old man appeared. He wore a large red coat, a blue scarf, a pair of leather boots, and a gray hat. He carried a whip usually used for cattle.

“What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get inside already.” While the man initially seemed harmless, his tone and expression showed his true nature. As he hit the floor with his whip, the heartless began entering the building, scaring the children, who then began to cry. They all watched as the man seemed to be commanding the heartless.

“Aren't the heartless supposed to consume everybody? What is that guy doing there?” Cait Sith asked as Vivi shared his surprise. “Some people can control the heartless, Evil people,” she explained as she remembered the witch that put her in this situation in the first place.

“Oh shut up!” He was about to hit the cages with his whip. This nearly made Katarina's group jump ahead, but they all stopped when he stopped after noticing something and began to count.

“One, two, three, YOU BRAINLESS FOOLS! WE ARE MISSING FIVE!” He then kicked one of the donkeys and attacked it with his whip.

“I shouldn't have turned all my men into these freaks at least they could get a job done,” the man said exasperated as he delivered another kick to the heartless and pointed to the rest of the donkeys “You all find the ones missing and do not dare to come back without them” he then hit the ground again with his whip and turned his attention to the other heartless.

“MOVE! WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE DAY. WE ARE ALREADY LATE FOR OUR FIRST DELIVERY.”After another hit to the ground, the heartless began dispersing with one of the donkeys, the one that had been kicked twice coming their way. Cait summoned his moogle again and quickly grabbed it and destroyed it in a bear hug.

“He sent away a third of his forces, it's now or never” Vivi commented with Cait Sith nodding in agreement Katarina took a deep breath before summoning her keyblade she gave a look to Vivi, and Cait Sith both were unusually eager to jump into action a sentiment she could help to share after all that old man seemed to be the one in charge of this place, they all had a couple complains about his business.

“Stop right there!” Both Katarina and Vivi used fire to destroy two of the bells, with the remaining ones being immune to it; the old man's face turned red as another interruption arose.

“WHO ARE YOU? AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY PARK? I'm trying to run a legit business here.” The comment filled them with anger as the man dared to call this a business.

“Let those children go, and we will not hurt you,” Katarina started her demand while taking her stance with her Keyblade.

The man only let a loud laugh as he began to catch his breath and began to cough “These stopped being children when they entered my park” he said between laughs as if he had found some kind of loophole that excused all his actions, this made Katarina angry a cold sensation cover her entire body as the man continued laughing.

“Fire,” she raised her Keyblade, but this time, the fireball summoned had a purple core with black flames instead of the usual red and orange tones. One of the bells tried to intercept the fireball, but to everyone's surprise, the spell dogged the heartless and impacted the man.

As his coat caught on fire the man threw himself onto the muddy floor and began to roll around like a pig.

“... rin..” she couldn't hear that well but she could somewhat feel something pulling her sleeve she turned around to see Vivi looking directly at her as he shook her arm “KATARINA”

She recovered her senses. The first thing she saw was Vivi and Cait Sith's worried looks. The next thing she caught on was the desperate cries of the owner of the park as he tried to extinguish the flames. As amusing as it looked, Katarina felt no pride. In this outburst, “Katarina, is everything alright?” Vivi asked, concerned. While they hadn't traveled together for that long, Vivi, the spell, and her lack of emotions during that interaction wasn't a good sign, but before they could process what had happened, they heard the angry voice of the old man again.

“you DAWM BRAT! Forget the merchandise; I want her head and you three to protect me.” The man got back up, his blood boiling in rage with another hit of his whip; the heartless charged towards them as he ran back into the building with the three large bodies following him. However, Katarina was able to see green flames covering the whip before the man ran again.

“You guys see that?” as she pointed towards the whip. “A horde of Heartless coming to attack us? Yeah I can see it” Cait Sith answered as he prepared for the assault
“Not that I mean his whip”

They all jumped back to dodge the fireballs of the bells, Vivi then began to shoot down the soldiers who were quickly closing the distance between them, managing to destroy two of them before the other got close enough to attack them, the first two launched a rotating kick that's Katarina managed to block while Cait Sith moogle directly countered with a punch, the third one passed between the two and hit Vivi with the same move.

“Vivi!” Katarina was about to send his familiar to assist him. “It's okay, I can handle it.” Despite not being used to the pain, the young mage quickly recovered and used his staff as a club to hit the heartless while his magic recovered.

From his relatively safe position, Cait Sith tried to remember the old man's whip. “Seemed normal to me,” as he gave a little more thought, his moogle grabbed the soldier's leg and slammed it into the ground. “You think it is related to his ability to control the heartless?” he asked her but she was too focused on her battle and Vivi's to respond at the same time he noticed that the large bodies were finally reaching them ready to join the fight, he opted to get rid of the remaining bells in the meantime so jumped from the head of his summon landed on top of one bell, then forced it to crash with the other and used his projectiles to finish the last.

Katarina quickly finished her opponent. Without a second thought, she rushed towards Vivi, who was struggling in close combat; taking advantage of her position, she quickly finished The Heartless by hitting him in the back of its head.

“Are you alright?” she offered her hand to the young mage “I'm ok”

He politely declined Katarina's offer and got up on his own. Vivi felt disappointed that he got against the robes so easily. After all, he hadn't started this journey to remain hidden behind his friends.

“How is Cait Sith?” changing the topic both then were surprised by a rather comical scene in front of them while his moogle was having a rather simple fight with one of the large bodies where they just exchanged punches until one felt Cait Sith had climbed on top of the other hitting its head with his megaphone and mostly triking it to hit itself in its tries to get rid of him honoring his feline nature.

“Hold on we're coming” Katarina again rushed towards his friends with Vivi closely following her but at that moment another large body enraged and using his belly he pushed against a wall the moogle then disappeared in a smoke screen before the two could say anything Cait Sith spoke “it's ok I can summon it again after some time,” he said while he frantically tried to keep a hold of the Heartless who was trying to shake him away, when Katarina and Vivi were close enough he jumped away making the heartless lose its balance allowing Katarina to land a powerful on it's back while Vivi avenged moogle with a powerful fireball to the face of the last heartless.

“Nice shot,” Cait Sith commented as they regrouped. They then turned their attention to the children, who still were scared after witnessing the fight after freeing them multiple blue lights illuminated a path, and the blue light manifested again

*This way, kids, we will help you escape this horrible place* but the children remained too scared to even move. Seeing the situation, Cait Sith jumped, spinning around in the air and summing a couple of fireworks with his megaphone to attract the attention of the kids.

“Well kids it has been a scary ride hasn't but now it's time you all follow the blue lights so we can start turning you back to your usual selves” he then made a gift box appear he threw it to the floor from it a couple of yellow birds jumped out the bird quickly began to play with the kids earning their trust a little Cait Sith then approached the blue light “they should help you to guide them to the ship but they still can't fight so be careful”

*Thank you very much for your act but please hurry up and stop that man I fear what he will do now he is cornered* as the kids began to follow the blue light and Cait Sith's illusions

“Wow! You are full of surprises” Vivi commented as he watched the birds guide the children “Yeah those birds were really cute” Katarina added with her usual smile

“Well, I'm a performer at heart. Bringing a smile out of people is what was made for,” the cat said proudly as they all turned their attention to the building the man ran into.

“We should be careful. He certainly has something waiting for us inside there.” Both Katarina and Vivi gave the nod as they stepped inside the building.
___

He couldn't believe all the effort he had put into upgrading his park, he wouldn't allow anybody to stop him now when he was at the top, he furiously opened the door of his office and began to for an object in his drawers finally he found a crystal sphere that he quickly put it in the chimney, a green flame emerged from the sphere that quickly illuminated the room.

“Make it quick, Coachman, I have matters of greater importance to attend to,” Maleficent said in her usual bored tone. “Yes, lady Maleficent, I humbly ask for reinforcements as…” the flames suddenly became stronger, nearly burning him if he “reinforces? There hasn't even been a week since I gave you power over the heartless and you are already begging for more, I should have known better than to trust such a pathetic man to fulfill such a simple task” he hated her, there was nothing he wished more than to get rid of her and take all that power for himself but that was a distant dream for now, he had to earn her trust, grow behind her back and wait for the perfect moment to strike. For now, he tried to appease her by vowing his head to the ground.

“I'm so sorry it's just a pest has appeared and the heartless here haven't been able to get rid of it so I wonder if you could send a stronger one” he explained with his usual fake tone

“A stronger one. What in your pitiful world could require wasting a powerful Heartless?” he took a deep breath, preparing an excuse, and taking a couple of steps back, anticipating another burst of flames. He gulped before answering her question.

“It is a young woman, a weird kid, and that puppet that Captain Hook sold to me” predictable the flames grew bigger but as he tried to step back, even more, his bodyguards stopped him blocking the exit soon the heartless started pushing him closer to the fire “I don't know why did I bother with you slightly stronger heartless aren't worth putting up with your incompetence,” she said the large body picked him like he was a sack preparing to throw him directly into the fire

“Lady Maleficent please let me explain it wasn't my fault, they had powerful magic she even used a dark flame like yours” The heartless stopped and the flames became a little weaker “Similar to me you say describe this woman now” she ordered him as the heartless keep his hold on him “she had brown hair with blue eyes and used some kind of big key as a weapon.

After saying that Maleficent's face slowly turned into a smile as she seemed to recognize the description “Oh you should have started from there” The heartless finally let him go the smile on Maleficent's face helped him regain some of his confidence he tried to hit the heartless with his elbow in an attempt of revenge, the creature didn't even react to this opting to scratch his head instead.

“You say she had company describe them as well” As her voice took a soft tone the Coachman cleaned himself a little “Well I didn't stay to see their abilities since that brat attacked me directly but one of them was the puppet that Hook sold me, he might be working against our organization my lady” he had to get out of her bad side blaming their messenger was the best option he had at the moment Maleficent smile disappeared then she thought for a minute before finally addressing him again.

“You say, you need a stronger heartless to deal with her well then let's make one” Her unusually excited tone made him uncomfortable but on the other side the possibility of learning how to create powerful Heartless made him ignore the feeling

“Did you secure the keyhole of this world?” she asked quickly not giving him time to muster a word

“Yes my lady it is right down this office so I could watch over it” he answered he had figured the place was important but Maleficent refused to share the reason, as he spoke one of the Heartless picked up the magic ball the flames didn't hurt him in sightless maybe thanks to the influence of Maleficent “take them there”

The man obeyed her order. He went to his desk and pushed a bottom hidden under it as the wall began to move, reviling a set of stairs using Maleficent flame as a torch. He and his heartlessness descended until they reached the enter the place.

It was a cave that had a couple of crystals in the ceiling, creating the illusion of a starry sky. He had tried to take them again on one occasion, but the cave nearly collapsed with his office, so he left that for later. His thoughts were interrupted by Maleficent once again

“You see heartless are simple creatures to create a powerful Heartless you just need one simple thing” he was so focused on Maleficent that hadn't realized one of the Heartless was standing behind him “A heart full of darkness” Maleficent's smile came back the heartless introduced his hand inside of him he didn't felt like was being stabbed no the heartless was grabbing part of his very being finally the heartless took away something he felt week and cold as of his whole being was falling apart he saw the Heartless holding something, it was black in the core with purple tones surrounding it he recognized the shape he had seen it many times with the children or the men that used to work.

“My…heart…give… it… back…please” he managed to say before disappearing.

“What a foolish man, thinking I wouldn't notice all his plots had he known his place, I would have made his demise a painless one.” The heartless dropped his heart onto the floor, where the darkness consumed it until a dark amorphous mass formed.

“that was. Quicker than I expected perhaps I should have turned you into the moment we met we'll all make mistakes I guess” Even in this state Maleficent found joy in humiliating the Coachman “Be useful for one time in your life and consume this world heart, drag the chosen wielder of the Keyblade into the darkness where she belongs” the mass crawled inside keyhole as the room began to be swallowed by the shadows an arm emerged from it.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Collapse

“talking”

‘thinking or writing’

*echo*

___

The group entered the building in pursuit of the old man, hoping to put an end to his twisted amusement park. Unlike most of the park, this place wasn’t being maintained properly. The wooden floor was beginning to rot, the windows were dirty, and they barely let in the artificial light from the attractions. Similar to the old port, this place was also filled with cages. Strangely enough, these were open, and Katarina couldn’t help but stare at them.

“You’re feeling it too, right?” Vivi asked worriedly as he approached her, also looking at the cages.
“Yeah, something really bad happened here,” Katarina responded in a similar tone.

“Are you two alright?” Cait Sith asked, concerned.
“This place feels wrong. Let’s just finish this quickly and get out of here,” Katarina replied before beginning to explore. Vivi gave a quick nod and followed her.

For his part, Cait Sith stared at the cages a bit longer. The lingering darkness in them was a result of that man trying to mass-produce Heartless. Fortunately, Katarina and Vivi hadn’t connected the dots yet, and considering her earlier outburst, he wasn’t going to bring it up either. He had his mission, but he still needed to determine if Katarina and Vivi would be obstacles to it or not.

“Take cover!” Katarina screamed as an earthquake began. The sudden movement nearly knocked Cait Sith off balance as the already damaged building started collapsing. The floor cracked, and amidst the chaos, he noticed a light moving below, distracting him for a moment. A tiny piece of debris hit him in the head, snapping him out of it. He quickly leapt out of the way as the section he’d been standing in collapsed. Before he could process what had happened, something pulled him away. He was about to pull out his megaphone to defend himself, only to realize it was Katarina, who was also carrying Vivi like a bag in her other hand as she ran from the collapsing building. They barely made it out unscathed.

“What just happened back there?” she panted as she set them down, catching her breath.
“I don’t know; maybe he destroyed the building so we couldn’t catch up with him,” Cait Sith added as he started thinking over the possibilities.
“Guys, was this storm here before we entered the building?” Vivi asked. Both of them stopped what they were doing and realized how drastically the weather had changed. The sky was now covered with dark clouds, and waves were crashing violently against the port and nearby coastal buildings.

“I don’t think so,” Katarina muttered, turning her attention to the remains of the building. If Cait Sith’s theory was correct, they would have to move quickly.

“We’re wasting time just standing here,” Cait Sith said. “I think we should cut our losses and check on the children. I don’t think we can get past all that debris, especially with this weather.” As much as they wanted to stop that man, they began to turn away—until a crumbling sound alerted them. Upon turning back to the ruins, they saw a blue light emitting from within. Something about it called to them, drawing them in as their bodies moved toward the light on their own.

“Guys? Are you alright?” Cait Sith asked. Unlike Katarina and Vivi, Cait Sith was an artificial being—highly advanced, but artificial nonetheless. The light didn’t affect him as strongly as it did them. Turning his attention to the ruins, he noticed the debris slowly starting to move around the light, which immediately put him on alert.

“GUYS, YOU NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT!” Realizing what was happening, he quickly climbed onto Vivi’s head and tried to shake him, but got no response. Standing in front of the mage, he said, “I’m sorry for this, lad.” Cait Sith took out his megaphone and shouted, “WAKE UP!” The shockwave knocked Vivi to the ground.

“OW! What was that for?” Vivi asked as Cait Sith helped him up.
“Sorry, but it was the only way I could wake you up.”

“Was I sleeping?” the still-dazed mage asked. Then he noticed Katarina was about to walk into what was essentially turning into the jaws of a monster, hypnotized by the glowing hook-like blue light.

“KATARINA, WATCH OUT!” they both screamed. Cait Sith rushed toward her with his megaphone ready, but just as he prepared to wake her up, something grabbed his feet, pulling him down. In front of him from the shadow of the young lady, Katarina’s familiar, Pocchi, looked at him with a smug smile.

“There’s no time for this! She’s in danger!” Cait Sith pointed toward the ruins. At first glance, the debris seemed to form a collapsed wall in a triangular shape, but the closer Katarina got, the more a dark mass began to take shape. It drew pieces of debris to itself, forming sharp fangs.

Seeing this, Pocchi jumped, using Cait Sith’s back as leverage.
“Ouch! That wasn’t necessary!” Cait Sith grumbled, but Pocchi ignored him. Reaching Katarina, he impulsively bit her leg.

“AARGH! What was—?” She turned to see her familiar’s worried expression. As she held Pocchi, a loud crash sounded behind her, along with a warm breeze. Turning slowly, she saw a set of enormous teeth made of debris. Gathering all her strength, she jumped away just as the creature tried to bite down on her. Regrouping with Vivi and Cait Sith, she finally saw what they were up against: a giant black snake with a massive yellow eye hanging within its mouth. Most of its body appeared slimy and liquid, with pieces of debris forming armor-like plating. The creature used this makeshift armor to fashion sharp fangs and claws, making itself all the more menacing.

After finishing its armor, the creature took an imposing stance, balancing on its tail and spreading its arms to display the Heartless emblem as if trying to show off. The group drew their weapons as the Heartless prepared to crush them. Fortunately, it was slow—clunky, to be precise.

“Isn’t this thing a little too cocky?” Katarina remarked, noticing how the Heartless struggled to maintain its posture while swinging at her. She tried to get around it, dodging the clumsy but massive sweeps of its arms.

“Never stop your enemy if they’re making a mistake,” Cait Sith replied, summoning his moogle to deliver a magical punch to the Heartless's elbow, taking advantage of its focus on Katarina. The attack destroyed some of the debris, creating an opening. Vivi seized the opportunity and shot a fireball directly into the exposed spot, damaging it and nearly setting the rest of its armor aflame.

“Great shot!” Katarina praised Vivi before jumping to attack the other arm. But the Heartless dodged quickly, grabbed more debris, and slammed it into the opening, sealing the gap. Realizing it was outnumbered, the Heartless opened its mouth, and the yellow eye emerged, emitting the same hypnotic blue light, forcing Katarina to shut her eyes. Vulnerable, she was caught off guard as the Heartless whipped her with its tail, sending her flying into another building.

“KATARINA!” Vivi and Cait Sith called out, forced to move as the Heartless shifted its attention to them. Katarina hit the wall hard, but she recovered quickly, groaning as she got up. “I feel like I’m getting used to this…” She muttered, unsure if she was actually more resilient or if the attack had simply been weaker. As she stood, she noticed that the creature's back and tail weren’t as heavily covered in debris as the front. With a bigger impact, maybe she could crack the Heartless's armor. The situation reminded her of an RPG game with that famous plumber her brother used to play in her first life. If only she could do something similar. As she looked between her familiar, her Keyblade, and back at her familiar, an idea crossed her mind. Thanks to their connection, Pocchi caught on to her plan and gave a small nod of approval although it didn't seem as sure of it as her master.

“Pocchi, get ready,” she instructed as she charged at the Heartless, which was using its light to paralyze her companions. “Jump!” Following her command, the familiar grew in size, rolled into the air at high speed, and Katarina readied her Keyblade for a powerful swing.

“What are they doing?” Cait Sith asked, genuinely confused as he dodged the Heartless’s attacks. He looked at Vivi, who took a quick peek before refocusing on the Heartless.
“You get used to it,” Vivi said. “Just be ready!”

Using her Keyblade like a bat, Katarina struck her familiar mid-air, launching him like a projectile. The impact stunned the Heartless completely, shattering the debris armor on its back. “I can’t believe that worked!” she said happily as she landed beside Vivi and Cait Sith, with Pocchi jumping off the Heartless and shrinking back to his normal size.
“Pocchi! Are you okay?” She looked at her tired familiar, who merged into her Shadow with a smile. “Get a good rest; we’ll take it from here.”

“I guess it’s our turn,” Cait Sith said, glancing at Vivi.
“Right!” Vivi replied.

“The tail’s always exposed!” Katarina pointed out, preparing to join the assault.

Cait Sith nodded as he dismissed his moogle before dashing toward the Heartless, which was struggling to get back up. “Not so fast,” Vivi called, launching a fireball at its left arm. Katarina shot at the other arm, giving Cait Sith enough time to reach the creature’s tail. He summoned his moogle again and made it grab the Heartless’s tail. Concentrating its power into the moogle, the summon slowly lifted the Heartless and slammed it against the ground, destroying the rest of its armor.

The Heartless tried to gather more debris to rebuild, but there wasn’t enough left. With no other options, the snake-like Heartless began to retreat, revealing exceptional speed without its armor.

“Don’t let it get away!” They chased the creature deeper into the park. Unbeknownst to them, something within the ruins began absorbing the remaining debris, along with stones, wood from buildings, and even earth and water from the surroundings. Soon, everything in the area was consumed, leaving only darkness behind.

—

The group had lost sight of the Heartless, but its large size and heavy movements left a clear trail for them to follow. The storm only grew worse as they pressed on, the wind and rain intensifying.

“This storm... there’s something strange about it,” Cait Sith remarked, looking up at the sky with concern.
“Yeah, we encountered a Heartless before that could create darkness around itself. Maybe this one’s connected to the storm,” Vivi theorized.

Suddenly, a red light began scanning the area until it passed over Vivi. At that moment, a metal tube landed in front of him, narrowly missing him. The group looked up to see more of these metal bars flying toward them, each one split in two to form sharp pikes.

“Everybody, take cover!” Cait Sith yelled, and they quickly ducked into a nearby alley. Katarina peeked out and saw dark energy surrounding the pikes, pulling them back toward the Heartless. Observing it further, they realized the Heartless had dismantled a nearby attraction—a merry-go-round—to create weapons. The ride's ceiling now served as a shield, and the metal bars that once held up the horses and other animals had been transformed into deadly, spiked arms.

The Heartless had climbed to the top of the tallest building in the area, the theater. Standing there, it projected the red light across the surroundings, searching for them. Vivi picked up a rock and threw it toward the red light, and, in an instant, the Heartless fired a spike toward it before resuming its scanning.

“That thing has us on a silver platter,” Cait Sith remarked as he scanned the area from his perch on Katarina’s shoulder.
“Maybe we could try hitting it with magic?” Katarina suggested.
Vivi shook his head. “My fireballs don’t reach that far, and yours aren’t strong enough to get through that shield. Same goes for Cait Sith’s notes.”

Unfortunately, the red light swept over their alley, allowing the Heartless to pinpoint them. Spikes began raining down, quickly crumbling the building they were using for cover.

“Run!” They darted out of the alley as the barrage of spikes followed close behind. Finally, the Heartless ran out of projectiles, switching its red light to a blue one as it began recalling the scattered spikes.

“The good news is we’re closer to him. The bad news is that he can still paralyze us with that blue light,” Cait Sith commented as they caught their breath behind another building.
“Maybe Cait Sith and I can distract him while you climb up and attack from behind,”Vivi suggested. Katarina looked up at the theater, but even with her abilities, she doubted she could reach the top on her own. “Pocchi, can you help me climb up there?” Her shadow shifted, forming the shape of her familiar, but the dog shook its head, signaling that it was still too weak.

“I guess that's a no,” Cait Sith remarked, noticing the Heartless had damaged the theater’s ceiling with its weight, shield, and projectiles. “I’ve got an idea! If we cause enough damage to the theater, the ceiling will collapse, forcing it down to a level where we can fight it more easily.”

Katarina and Vivi looked at him, surprised.
“Can we even do that much damage?” Katarina asked. “I mean, I could with Pocchi’s help, but I don’t know if I can manage it alone.”

Cait Sith nodded confidently. “This place is as cheaply built as it gets. If we weaken the theater structure, it’ll come down on top of him, putting him in a position where we stand a real chance!”

The red light zeroed in on the house they were using for cover. “Let’s disperse! We’ll have more chances to attack that way,” Cait Sith instructed, taking initiative. Being a cat, he was the most agile of the group, darting out and making it difficult for the red light to keep up with him. Katarina followed, using a similar strategy. The light quickly abandoned Cait Sith and shifted to follow her instead. Meanwhile, Vivi stayed hidden in the shadows, carefully waiting for the perfect moment to unleash a powerful attack.

Both Katarina and Cait Sith kept the Heartless distracted, using bursts of magic to keep its focus bouncing between them. Each time it adjusted its massive shield, it unknowingly chipped away at the weakened theater ceiling. Finally, Vivi reached his ideal range, staying hidden as he concentrated, channeling his energy into a single, large fireball. Slowly, it grew until it was even bigger than him.

“Firaga!” The massive fireball struck the Heartless squarely, lighting the ceiling on fire. The Heartless staggered, trying to recover, and furiously scanned for Vivi. Drained by the effort, Vivi ducked into hiding just in time.

Realizing Vivi was in trouble, Katarina took matters into her own hands. “Hey, blockhead! Over here!” She shot a fireball at the Heartless to keep its focus on her. The Heartless whipped around, launching a barrage of spikes in her direction. She ran in circles around the theater, forcing it to follow her and weakening the ceiling further. Exhausted of its spikes, it switched to the hypnotizing blue light, catching Katarina in its glow and momentarily stunning her as it called back the spikes for a final attack.

“YOU FORGOT SOMEONE!” Cait Sith’s voice called from above. He had launched himself into the air using his moogle, summoning it again mid-fall to deliver a forceful blow to the weakened ceiling. With one final impact, the ceiling gave way, collapsing in on the Heartless as Cait Sith leaped to safety.

After the dust settled, they regrouped at the entrance of the theater. “Did it work?” Vivi broke the silence, eyeing the crumbling structure as they readied their weapons. “We should make sure,” Cait Sith replied, preparing to approach with them. But as they took a step closer, a tremor rippled through the ground, and black cracks appeared everywhere.

From the horizon, a massive sphere of dark energy appeared, pulling everything into it like a black hole.

“We… failed. I failed again,” Cait Sith muttered, his voice tinged with a haunting sadness that struck Katarina and Vivi to their core, as if the words came from something deeper than himself.

*There you are,* a calm blue light appeared, whispering urgently. *We must hurry—darkness has reclaimed this world.* The weight of failure crept over them, but the light’s voice broke through. *There’s still hope. You can still save the children.* The reminder of their true mission renewed their resolve.

“Let’s get out of here,” Katarina said, her voice steady. With the blue light guiding them, they raced back to the ship, leaving the burning theater behind.

As they sailed away, the wounded Heartless pulled itself free from the collapsing ruins, vanishing into the darkness that swirled around it, waiting to strike when the time was right.

—
Finally reaching the port, they found the storm had only worsened. A regular ship would have been torn apart by the ocean’s fury, but the Starcutter, built to withstand the void of space, held firm. “Where are the children?” Katarina asked, voice tense.

*I guided them to the cargo hold, i thought it would be safer there,* the blue light reassured her as they boarded.

“Then there's no time to waste,” Katarina said, taking the helm, while Vivi readied himself at the cannons. “I’ll go check on the children,” Cait Sith offered, disappearing into the ship with the blue light as his guide. Just then, cracks started forming around them, and Katarina didn’t hesitate—she pushed the thrusters to max power. “Everyone, hold tight!” The Starcutter lurched forward, but the dark sphere began to pull them in. For a tense moment, it looked like they might be lost to it, but finally, they broke free.

“Is everyone alright?” Katarina asked, easing her grip as they gained distance. She brought the ship to a stop, looking back at what was now just a black fog, the remnants of a world that had once been vibrant. All of it was gone, consumed by one man’s greed.

“Some chosen one of the Keyblade I turned out to be,” she muttered, feeling the weight of their loss. Cait Sith and Vivi joined her, all of them silent but sharing the same sorrow.

“Please, don’t entertain those thoughts,” a gentle voice broke in. They turned to see the blue light, shining brighter than before. In a flash, it transformed into a blonde woman in a flowing blue dress, with fairy wings that glowed softly.

“Maria?” Katarina asked, blinking. Realizing her mistake, she quickly apologized, “Oh, sorry—I thought you were someone else.”

“It’s alright,” the woman replied with a kind smile. “Now that we’re out of the darkness’s influence, I can fully manifest myself. Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am the Blue Fairy. Normally, I oversee the wishes of those with good hearts, but with Heartless ravaging the worlds, I’ve taken it upon myself to guide the lost and save as many as I can.”

They looked at her, awed by her revelation but growing used to such surprises. Vivi, concerned, asked, “What will happen to the children? They lost their home.”

“Fear not; I know of a world accepting refugees. I’ll care for them until the spell cast on them is broken,” she reassured him.

“We’re…sorry we couldn’t save that world,” Katarina said softly, lowering her head, along with Cait Sith and Vivi.

“Lift your heads,” the Blue Fairy said gently, stepping aside to reveal the children they’d saved. “You carried a heavy burden and did your best. Despite the losses, you did more than enough.”

The children, some still struggling with donkey features, managed to stand, helping each other. “Thank you for saving us,” they said in unison, their voices returned.

Katarina held back a tear, turning to the Blue Fairy. “Thank you.”

The Blue Fairy smiled warmly. “Before I go, I have something for the two of you.” She waved her wand, and two crystals appeared before Katarina and Vivi. As they touched them, the crystals burst with magical energy, infusing them. They drew their weapons, testing the power they felt.

“Water!” they commanded, and a stream surrounded them, crashing forward as they adjusted to the new spell. Satisfied, the Blue Fairy turned to Cait Sith. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything for you just yet.”

Cait Sith placed a hand on his chest, bowing. “You’ve already given me something far more valuable.”

The Blue Fairy smiled. “Only honesty and bravery will make it grow.” She took one last look at them all. “Until we meet again.” With that, she and the children transformed into blue lights and disappeared, heading to safety.

—
Welcome to:

**Cait Sith's Archives:**

*Heartless Entry - "The Skinchanger"*

The Skinchanger is a malformed Heartless, born from Maleficent’s interference during the Coachman’s transformation. Due to its rushed development, it uses objects in its environment to complete itself. Only time will tell what abomination it may evolve into if it ever reaches a mature stage…

Chapter Text

Chapter 12.5: “Chasing shadows”

“talking”

‘thinking, reading or writing’

*echo*

___

It was raining outside, and raindrops kept hitting the windows of the royal library. The room was dimly lit by the fireplace and a few candles atop a table. Three people were present, though only two remained awake: Sophia, the prime minister's daughter, and Geordo, the third prince of the country. Both were surrounded by stacks of books and documents. Many of them were forbidden, as they mentioned dark magic or other topics that the kings of Sorcier deemed too dangerous for public knowledge; they would be in serious trouble if anyone discovered them reading these materials. Geordo had initially planned to do this alone, but after sharing his plan, both Nikol and Sophia joined him. Mary and Alan were even taking turns keeping watch outside.

It was very late, and the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll. As Sophia reached for another book, she accidentally tipped over one of the piles, causing a chain reaction that sent books tumbling across the table, breaking Geordo’s concentration. Surprisingly, it didn’t wake her older brother. “Nikol really is a heavy sleeper,” Geordo remarked with a small smile, which earned a chuckle from Sophia.

“He really is. The maids always have trouble waking him up in the mornings,” she replied, looking at her brother with empathy. “Have you found anything yet about what kind of creature attacked?”

Geordo’s expression turned weary.

“No. I've gone through every bestiary I could find, and there isn’t a single creature capable of causing that kind of damage and disappearing without a trace—at least, not one that’s alive,” he said, frustrated. “Any luck with the green fire?” he asked, hoping she’d had better results.

“No, the only documented case of differently colored magic flames involves a legend about a group of magicians who managed to create a blue flame after months of training. Besides that, they’re all just legends.”

They both sighed.

“We’re just reading fairy tales at this point,” Geordo said, beginning to lose hope in the library’s usefulness. But something about his words sparked an idea in Sophia.

“Fairy tales?” she repeated, as if connecting the dots. She stood up and walked toward a section they hadn’t explored yet. Geordo followed, holding a candle to help her see.

“Mythology? You think we’ll find a clue here?” he asked, confused by her choice.

“All these books were deemed dangerous for a reason, right? Dark magic was considered a myth until Katarina disappeared. Only a few knew about its existence, but now practically everyone in Sorcier fears it,” she explained.

Geordo grimaced at the comparison. Whatever had happened at the academy had become a nightmare for his parents, who were still trying to calm the nobility and reassure them that everything was under control. Yet, he couldn’t deny the logic behind her point. They carried a new stack of books to the table.

Both were quick readers, so it didn’t take long for Sophia to find something of interest. “Eidolon,” she muttered aloud, catching Geordo's attention. Seeing his curiosity, she began reading out loud. ‘Unlike the sacred beasts, Eidolons are believed to be physical manifestations of the magic elements. It is said that these creatures gifted magic to humans and later founded Sorcier as their champions.’

“I don’t see how that helps…” Geordo began, but Sophia held up a hand to stop him. She quickly turned the book around and set it on the table, revealing an illustration. The first image was of a small black dog, similar to Katarina’s familiar. The second was a wolf, larger than normal, with shadows beneath its feet. The last was a massive, three-headed wolf surrounded by darkness.

“Doesn’t he look familiar to you?” Sophia asked, excited. Geordo could only nod in agreement as she resumed reading. ‘Of all the Eidolons, Cerberus was the first to disappear, gradually losing his power in the search for a champion of his own.’

“But we all saw how Pocchi was created after Katarina saved Keith,” he argued, still unconvinced of her theory. “We know next to nothing about dark magic. For all we know, Katarina could have gained his attention by ripping apart dark magic with her own hands.”

Geordo conceded her point as he recalled the scene at the school grounds. “A creature like this could explain the claw marks, the dark magic, and some of the broken trees. But that still leaves out the green fire.”

“It’s not perfect, but it’s the first lead we’ve found in weeks of silence. I just can’t give up on it yet,” Sophia replied, determined.

Geordo thought for a moment, then sighed. “If we were talking about anyone else, I’d be skeptical. But this is my fiancée we’re talking about, so maybe the most outrageous answer really is the one we’re looking for.”

“Then I’ll take it from here,” a third voice chimed in, startling them. They turned to see the first prince of Sorcier and Geordo’s older brother, Geoffrey, smiling at them.

“But how? Alan and Mary were supposed to be guarding right now,” Geordo stammered.

“They’re sleeping; don’t worry. Ian is on guard now, and Selena is making sure they got to their rooms safely,” Geoffrey replied as if nothing unusual had happened. “But you two need to rest. At least, after we get Nikol to bed.” he said looking at Nikol who was still sleeping in the chair

“But we’re close to a major breakthrough!” Sophia pleaded.

“You two already made a breakthrough, and you’ve gone through a significant portion of the books here. That’s enough for your first day. Rest well, and tomorrow you can make even more progress,” Geoffrey said gently.

“Tomorrow? We only managed to sneak in here after a week of planning,” Geordo protested.

Geoffrey smiled again, then pulled out a document and handed it to Geordo. “here,” he said. Sophia took a quick look at it and realized it bore the king’s seal—not just the royal family’s crest, but the king’s personal seal, making it an official royal decree. The document granted them unrestricted access to the forbidden library.

“Our parents may have their hands full at the moment, but they’re always watching over us from afar,” Geoffrey said, noticing Geordo’s shock and letting him process it at his own pace. He then turned his attention to Sophia. “I have a request for you, Lady Sophia.”

Sophia looked at him, curious. “What is it, Your Highness?”

“I need you to deliver this letter to the Duke and Duchess Claes personally. With everything becoming so chaotic, maintaining communication is essential.” He handed her a letter sealed with the royal crest.

It would be a difficult task. When Duke Claes learned of Katarina’s disappearance, he took Keith and dozens of his best men to search for her. They had already scoured about 80% of the forest around the academy. Meanwhile, Duchess Claes’s worry grew with each day without news. It was painful to watch them lose hope bit by bit.

“I know it’s been difficult for all of you, but I want you to understand—you’re not alone in this.”

With the conversation finished, both Sophia and Geordo managed to wake up Nikol and retire for the night. As Geoffrey resumed the investigation, another figure appeared: his fiancée, Suzanna Randall. “You really are taking this seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you study this hard in all my life,” she commented, taking a large pile of books away from him and starting to read them herself.

“I will always take my dear brothers' happiness seriously. Besides, I’m also in debt to Lady Katarina after all she’s done for my family,” he replied earnestly, then added with a smirk, “I’m surprised you’re so focused, with all these forbidden books around you.”

Suzanna sighed. “Normally, I would be distracted, but right now finding Lady Katarina is my top priority, too.”

“And why is that?” he asked, curious.

“So I can recruit her into the ministry and have her as the office pet,” she replied. Geoffrey didn’t respond to this; he knew what kind of person his fiancée was. Instead, he focused on how grateful his brothers would be once they found Lady Katarina. As they continued to read, their heads filled with possibilities, and they couldn’t help but laugh as the eccentric dreamers/perverts they truly were.

—

Cait Sith's Archives:

*Heartless Entry - Donkeys*

*Born from a heart cursed by the Coachman, these Heartless excel in many forms of hard labor. Their clothes mock what they once were, hindering all their movements in the process.*

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: “Olympus Coliseum”

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

___

Katarina woke up tired after staying up late explaining to Cait Sith how to drive. Despite all the time they had spent on the Starcutter—a ship as advanced as it was—none of the electronics had a built-in clock, leaving her sense of time a little skewed. Maybe it was because the ship was a prototype, or perhaps it was another sign of the admiral's paranoia that had drawn him into darkness.

Her room on the Starcutter was relatively small, containing only a bed, a night table, and a mirror she used to comb her hair. The ship had everything she needed for her morning routine, aside from sometimes having to wait for Vivi to finish in the shower everything was fine. Curiously, she had never seen him wear anything other than his usual attire. Her own clothes were enchanted, so cleaning wasn’t an issue; perhaps he had his own similar arrangements. Then she noticed it had happened again, as she looked at her reflection as if she was waiting for someone else to come.

“Oh, right…” She picked up her brush and began to brush her hair, as memories of her maid, Anne, made her heart ache. She missed Anne, and part of her wondered if the maid was finally getting a well-deserved rest from taking care of her. This wasn’t the first time they’d been separated—not even the first time they’d been separated forcefully. But, unlike during her previous kidnapping, this time she didn’t know if she’d be able to find her way home.

“Stop that,” she said to herself, shaking her head to drive away the negative thoughts, though it accidentally undid her progress in brushing her hair, making her sigh as she started over.

Finally, she finished her routine and headed to the kitchen to begin today’s battle. The truth was, neither she nor Vivi was a good cook, so their mornings often turned into a daily struggle, with only Silver’s recipes to guide them. She met the young mage in the kitchen, and they exchanged a determined look. Words weren’t necessary, as memories of their previous attempts still haunted them..
___
“Good morning! Why the long faces?” Cait Sith saluted in his usual upbeat tone, noticing the low morale of the crew. Both Katarina and Vivi looked at him, a little disappointed, as they passed a plate of some kind of soup with a gooey texture.

“Oh, there's not really a need for it. I work with magic, sooo…” he explained, politely declining the dish. This earned a sigh from both of them as they divided the portion in two and began eating.

“Just another defeat,” Katarina said, sounding defeated, as Vivi sobbed in agreement. Cait Sith sat with them at the table.

“You guys know you don't have to eat it all right away, don't you?” he asked. Both exchanged looks before turning their gazes back to him.

“We’re not really sure how long this stuff will last before spoiling,” Vivi admitted, a little ashamed. “And there’s no way I’m wasting food, even if it tastes… this bad,” she added, forcing the last bite down with difficulty. Cait Sith looked at them with pity one last time before deciding to change the subject.

“By the way, we’re getting close to another world,” he said in an optimistic tone, hoping to lift their spirits.

“Really? We should go check it out,” Vivi said, perking up and eager to leave behind the place of their earlier defeat.

“Maybe we can get something to take the bad taste out of our mouths too,” Katarina added, cheering up as they all headed to the deck.

This new world’s main feature was a giant coliseum flanked by two enormous gold statues of gladiators holding spears and shields. Below the coliseum was a town made of similarly styled buildings, all with a Greek aesthetic.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to hide the ship,” Cait Sith observed. “There aren’t any ports, and we don’t know how the locals will react to something this advanced.” Unlike in Prankster Paradise, there were no docks to disguise the Starcutter as just another ship. As Cait Sith pondered this, Vivi interrupted him.

“We could just use one of the boats,” Vivi suggested, leading them below deck to the lower floor, where two small boats floated.

“Oh, I forgot the ship came with these,” Katarina commented as she boarded one of the boats. Vivi opened a hatch from a control panel, allowing them to leave the Starcutter.

“Wait, is it really okay to leave the ship alone?” Cait asked as he climbed aboard the boat.

“Don’t worry. I can activate the shield from here—nobody will be able to board without our knowledge,” Vivi reassured him. He boarded the boat and opened a panel on the mast, while Katarina sat in the back, where the motor controls were located.

“Everybody ready?” Katarina asked as she turned on the motor. Both Cait Sith and Vivi nodded in response. With everything set, they left the Starcutter behind and embarked into the new world.

—Olympus Coliseum—

“Seriously, what was wrong with that guy?” Vivi grumbled, still fuming. “Who just shows up and tries to sell you a stone watch?”

“Honestly, I thought it was going to be way worse, considering how he looked,” Cait Sith added, recalling the man’s shabby attire.

“Isn’t it curious, though?” Katarina said, her tone more relaxed. “If he’d had wall clocks instead of watches, I might’ve bought one. we do need one in the starcutter after all”

The group arrived at the coliseum doors, surprisingly all sipping sodas.

“I don’t know who this Hercules guy is, but his merchandise is top quality,” Cait Sith remarked, happily drinking from his cup.

“Wait, didn’t you say you work with magic?” Katarina asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I do. I just eat things that are tasty,” Cait Sith replied casually.

“Hey! We did our best with that soup!” Katarina said, a little offended by the cat’s dismissive attitude.

“I just didn’t know if I’d be able to process that soup,” Cait Sith confessed.

“Alright, just don’t come begging once we get the hang of cooking, because we’re not going to share,” Katarina huffed, with Vivi nodding in agreement.

“That’s fair,” Cait Sith sighed.

As they approached the door of the coliseum, they prepared themselves. Word had it that most strange creatures appeared in the tournaments, so they wanted to ensure Heartless weren’t causing trouble.

Suddenly, they heard shouting from inside.

“YOU WILL DO WHATEVER I TELL YOU TO DO!”

A wave of heat hit them as they stepped into the coliseum, where two figures were arguing. One was a gray-skinned man with yellow eyes and sharp, yellowed teeth. His hair burned like a flickering flame, shifting to blue as he seemed to regain his composure. He wore a black robe, and for some reason, Katarina felt goosebumps prickle her skin the closer she got to him.

“I haven’t signed anything yet. I don’t owe you anything,” said the other figure, a blond man. He wore a sleeveless, high-collared black top with a large, tattered cape draped over his left shoulder, extending down his back. On his left hand was a metallic, claw-like gauntlet, and a single dark wing extended from his back. His tone was confident, bordering on defiant.

The gray-skinned man was about to shout back, but the blond man drew a giant sword, readying himself for battle. Rather than being intimidated, the gray man relaxed, speaking again.

“Okay, okay, calm down, pretty boy. I’m not the one you want to impale with that sword. You said you were looking for someone, right? Well, it just so happens my contacts can guide you to him. All I’m asking in return is that you get rid of that insufferable goody two-shoes permanently. You can make a skewer out of him, and we all win here,” the gray man said, summoning a contract with a snap of his fingers.

“I’ll only fight Hercules—nobody else,” the blond man clarified, his tone firm.

The gray man’s expression darkened, but he snapped his fingers again, summoning another contract. “HERE! Now will you sign already?” he growled. Beside the contract, a pen appeared out of thin air.

The blond man glanced at the paper, then took the pen and signed it without a word.

“A pleasure doing business with you,” the gray man said, extending his hand.

The blond man ignored him entirely and walked deeper into the building, leaving the gray man smirking in his wake before realizing he wasn't alone.

“I don’t remember selling tickets for this show,” the gray-skinned man said, annoyed, as he turned to face Katarina and her group.

“Oh, sorry, sorry, mister! We didn’t mean to intervene,” Cait Sith stammered, trying to defuse the situation as the group attempted to move past him without a word.

But then they heard a sharp snap.

A barrier appeared behind them, blocking the door to the coliseum. A chill ran through the group, and their drinks slipped from their hands, hitting the floor with dull thuds.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” The gray man’s voice turned deadly serious, sending a shiver through them. Instinctively, they drew their weapons, their nerves on high alert. The man’s eyes fell on the Keyblade in Katarina’s hands, his lips curling into a cruel smirk.

“You Keyblade idiots are always meddling in things beyond your understanding,” he sneered. With another snap of his fingers, a horde of Soldier Heartless appeared, their glowing eyes fixating on the group. “This can go one of two ways: you either confess how you got *her* out, or I send you all to the Well of Souls—together.”

“We don’t know what you’re talking about!” Katarina tried to reason with him, though the Heartless now surrounding them suggested the man wasn’t interested in listening.

“Shut up! The dead shouldn’t speak,” he snapped, waving a dismissive hand at her. “Now, the kid and his puppet—spill the beans, and maybe I’ll let you go. After a beating, of course.”

The Heartless began marching forward, cutting off their options.

# Emergency Katarina Council Meeting #

“WAIT! He called us *dead*! Did we die again?” Spineless Katarina screamed, diving under a desk in panic.

“OF COURSE WE DIDN’T!” Brave Katarina barked back, stretching in preparation for battle while Studious Katarina scrambled to organize piles of documents on video games and past experiences.

“Still... something about him feels familiar. Not in a good way,” Studious Katarina murmured, her hands shaking as the stack of papers toppled over. “Oh, damn it!”

All the Katarinas turned to stare at her.

“Give me a break! I’m under pressure here!” she snapped.

“Order! Miss Katarina, please stop distracting the battlefront!” Chairman Katarina banged a gavel, trying to restore order as Happy Katarina attempted to coax Spineless Katarina out from under the desk. Still, all of them felt a heavy weight pressing down on them.

“HERE THEY COME!” Brave Katarina shouted as the Heartless closed in.

#Back to Reality #

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I won’t let you talk to her like that!” Vivi yelled, pointing his staff at the gray man. A stream of water shot out, creating a smoke screen between them and their foe.

“Seriously? That’s the best you’ve got?” the gray man said as the smoke cleared, revealing him completely unharmed and clearly unimpressed. “How did you clowns even escape the Underworld?”

Katarina stood frozen, her hands gripping her Keyblade tightly. The Heartless swarmed around her, but her focus remained locked on the gray man. Her heartbeat raced as memories began flashing in her mind—her bike, the familiar road, a deafening crash, and the numbness that followed.

“KATARINA!” Cait Sith shouted, snapping her partially back to reality. She still didn’t move, her Shadow frantically fighting off the Heartless to protect her.

“Something’s wrong—I’ve never seen her like this,” Vivi said, casting water spells to hold off two advancing Soldiers.

“This is perfectly natural,” the gray man commented nonchalantly, arms crossed as he watched Katarina struggle. “The girl just couldn’t handle looking into my eyes a second time.” He smirked. “Gotta hand it to her, though—she’s still standing. Even in the middle of a meltdown, she’s holding her own. It takes guts to try and scam the God of Death.”

The Heartless vanished with another snap of his fingers, granting them a brief reprieve. However, Katarina remained motionless, gripping her Keyblade as tightly as before.

“She’s of no use to me like this. Hey, funny hat, be useful. Wake her up with one of your spells—I’ve got work for you three.”

Vivi hesitated, about to argue, but the gray man raised a hand as if to snap again. Cait Sith exchanged a look with Vivi before giving him a begrudging nod. Sighing, Vivi conjured a bubble of water, letting it float over Katarina’s head before dropping it with a splash.

“Wait—what happened?” Katarina asked, shaking the water from her hair as she came to her senses. She instinctively raised her Keyblade, ready to fight, but stopped when she saw Vivi and Cait Sith’s concerned faces.

“Are you alright? You froze. If it wasn’t for Pocchi, you could’ve been hurt,” Cait Sith said.

“What happened?” Vivi asked.

Before Katarina could answer, the gray man interrupted.

“You three can bond later. Normally, I wouldn’t tolerate someone messing with my work, but since it’s hard to find free henchmen who are even *remotely* competent, I’m willing to turn a blind eye to your little… intrusion.”

“Who are you?” Vivi asked, his patience wearing thin.

“Really? You mess with the concept of death and don’t even bother to learn the name of the guy in charge?” The man looked genuinely offended. After a long pause, he sighed dramatically.

“I’m Hades. God of Death. And *you*”—he pointed directly at Katarina—“aren’t supposed to be here.”

Realization began to dawn on Katarina and Vivi, though Cait Sith tried to salvage the situation.

“This is just a misunderstanding, sir! We’re only here to ensure the Heartless can’t consume this world’s heart. Maybe you can point us to it so we can seal it and leave?”

Hades rolled his eyes. “Do I *look* like I care about the heart of this world? That’s my brother’s job. I’m talking about that parasite hiding inside another person’s heart.” He pointed at Katarina, whose expression darkened.

“I... her... we... it wasn’t on purpose! It just happened, and I don’t even—” Katarina stammered, struggling to find the words.

“Save it. The fact is, you died, and that puts you under my thumb. If I say ‘jump,’ you ask ‘how high.’ Got it?” Hades snapped, his patience running thin.

Realizing resistance was futile, the group reluctantly nodded.

“That’s more like it,” Hades said, his smirk returning. “Here’s the deal: I’ve got some pests in this tournament. Since Pretty Boy has a moral code, I’m casting you three as my backup. Get rid of Hercules, and you’re free to waste your second life however you like. Capiche?”

The group exchanged hesitant looks but nodded again.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Hades added, his flames turning red as he leaned closer. “If I sense *any* funny business, I’ll turn your souls into Cerberus’ personal chew toys.”

With that, he disappeared in a plume of black smoke, leaving the trio shaken.

“Well,” Cait Sith began, his tone unusually serious. “I think we need to talk about what just happened.”

Vivi nodded, glancing at Katarina, whose expression revealed a mixture of fear and determination.

___

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: “Contractual obligations”

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

___

They were sitting on the stairs as Katarina finished explaining her condition and parts of her life to Cait Sith. The cat took a moment to process everything she had just shared.

“Well, it seems you’ve been through quite a lot. To think I was traveling with an undercover princess all this time,” he joked, causing Katarina to blush slightly.

“I’m just the daughter of a duke, and I’m not that important, to be honest,” she quickly added, imagining the horrified scream of her mother if she ever gained such a title.

“I don’t know,” Vivi chimed in, his tone thoughtful. “You *do* travel with a magical talking animal and carry a legendary weapon only you can wield.”

Katarina groaned as she blushed a little. “This thing brings more trouble than it’s worth,” she muttered, summoning her Keyblade into her hand looking at the weapon feeling its weight on her hand.

"I think you're seeing things the wrong way. Just think of all the times the Keyblade has saved you from the Heartless, or all the things you can do with it. Without it, we’d be in Hades’ hands," Cait Sith said, trying to cheer her up.

"Do you really think we have a chance against him?" Vivi asked, sounding uncertain but curious as he and Katarina turned their attention to Cait Sith.

"He caught us off guard, but I’ve been thinking: why would a god need the Heartless, that boy, or us, for that matter?"

"Because he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty?" Vivi replied, still a little unsure.

"With that temperament? I don’t think so. We might have a bigger chance than we think. We just need to figure out the rules we’re playing by." They all felt a sense of relief as their objective became clearer.

"Maybe we should ask Hercules. If Hades is so obsessed with getting rid of him, maybe he can help us," Vivi suggested, his hope renewed.

Katarina couldn’t help but smile as she watched her friends refuse to give up on her. ‘I can’t wait to introduce them to you guys.’ Her heart was set. "Then what are we waiting for?"

They all got up and entered the coliseum. The place was dimly lit with torches. There weren’t many remarkable features in the room—just an out-of-place large block, a few pedestals, and a sign tied to a couple of ropes that read "CLOSED," blocking the next room.

"Hello? Is anyone there? We’d like to sign up for the tournament," Katarina called out, trying to get someone’s attention. There was no response, though she could hear something coming from the other side.

"Maybe we should check it out," Cait Sith suggested. He easily slipped under the rope. After hesitating for a moment, the others followed him until they reached an arena. The space was square with a platform in the center. On either side, there were stands for spectators to watch the matches.

Right in the middle, they saw a muscular man with wavy auburn hair styled in a combed look. He wore a brown gladiator outfit paired with a blue cape and seemed to be preparing the arena for the tournament. Beside him, a couple of marble pillars lay on the ground, perhaps waiting for more people to help move them away. Finally finding someone to talk to, they approached him.

“Hello, we want—” Katarina started but was interrupted by sheer surprise as the man lifted one of the giant pillars as if it were just a stick. He was about to place the pillar in one of the platform's corners when he noticed them.

“Oh, you’re here for the tournament?” he asked, continuing his task effortlessly as he positioned each pillar in a corner.

Cait Sith overcame the surprise first, realizing they had seen this man before on all the merchandise around town. “Yeah, we’d like to participate. Also, are you perhaps Hercules?” Cait asked as the man placed the last pillar in its spot, creating a magical barrier around the platform.

“Yup, that’s me. A pleasure to meet you,” the man replied, offering his hand. Katarina and Vivi, recovering from their surprise, returned the greeting.

“I’m Katarina.”

“I’m Vivi.”

“And I’m the illustrious Cait Sith,” added Cait proudly.

“Well, normally Phil handles the registrations, but he mentioned he’d be testing some rookies, so I’m taking care of it instead,” Hercules explained, walking toward the exit. “Follow me, then.” He pulled out a parchment and a quill. “So, you’re all entering as a team, right?”

They nodded, and Hercules quickly wrote down their names. As he finished, he turned to them with a smile.

“You know,” he began, “I always love seeing new teams join. It’s refreshing to see people stepping up, especially when the challenges aren’t easy. You three look like you’ve got a good mix of skills. What kind of team are you? Heavy hitters, magic users, or a mix?”

Katarina shrugged. “I’d say we’re a mix. I’m more of a swordswoman, Cait here is… well, Cait, and Vivi is our magic specialist.”

Cait puffed out his chest. “The essential specialist, I might add.”

Hercules chuckled. “Good to know. A balanced team usually does well in the early rounds. But just remember—it’s not always about raw power. Strategy and teamwork will carry you far.”

He glanced at Pocchi as the shadowy pup peeked out from Katarina’s shadow. “Looks like you’ve got a little extra help there. Sorry about the no-summons rule; it’s to keep things fair. Otherwise, we’d have armies of creatures running loose.”

Pocchi whimpered, trying the pleading face again. Hercules laughed and held up the parchment like a shield. “Nice try, buddy, but rules are rules.”

Katarina gave Pocchi a pat. “It’s okay, Pocchi. Maybe next time.” The familiar looked a little disappointed but returned to her shadow.

“So,” Hercules continued, “are there any more questions before we start?”

Katarina hesitated before speaking. “Well, this might sound weird, but do you happen to know someone called Hades?”

Hercules’s friendly demeanor shifted slightly. His brow furrowed as he leaned against one of the pillars. “All right, what did he do this time?” he asked, his tone a mix of curiosity and exasperation.

Cait jumped in. “Well, you see, my friend here”—he gestured toward Katarina—“got a ‘second chance,’ but it seems this Hades guy wasn’t informed about it. Now he’s demanding a ‘favor’ from us unless we want to end up as charcoal. Do you know how we can get him off our backs?”

Hercules sighed deeply, crossing his arms. “Sounds like Hades, all right. Look, dealing with him is always tricky. He’s got his rules, and once he’s fixated on something, it’s hard to change his mind. That said, I do know people who might be able to help. They’ve dealt with him before. Do you want me to ask around?”

“Yes, please. We don’t really know if we can take on a god ourselves,” Vivi said, gripping his staff tightly.

Hercules nodded. “I’ll send a message to Olympus after the first round starts. For now, focus on the tournament. It’s a good distraction, and you’ll need the experience if things get messy.”

“What kind of messy are we talking about?” Katarina asked cautiously.

“The kind where you might need all the strength, courage, and cleverness you’ve got,” Hercules replied with a wry smile. “But hey, you’re already taking on this tournament. That tells me you’re braver than most.”

He gave a brief nod and motioned toward the door. As Hercules left the room, they exchanged nervous glances before heading to the lobby, their thoughts heavy with the weight of what might come.

As they made their way to the lobby, a familiar dark cloud stopped them in their tracks.

“There you are! I was beginning to think you’d run away. Well, that’s a point for you,” Hades said in his usual mocking tone, casually inspecting his nails. “Anyway, follow me. Goldilocks is waiting, and we need my pawns to at least *pretend* they can coordinate.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked into a dark hall, the swirling shadows around him somehow illuminating the path ahead.

They followed reluctantly until they reached a barred door. Behind them was a deep, unnatural darkness, while in front lay another arena. Leaning against the wall was a blond man they’d seen talking to Hades earlier. His spiky hair almost seemed to shimmer in the dim light, and his piercing blue eyes were closed, his face set in a calm, unreadable expression.

“Wake up! You’ve got coworkers to meet,” Hades called out with a theatrical sigh.

The man slowly opened his eyes, and for a moment, it felt as though his gaze cut straight through them. His expression remained unreadable until his eyes landed on Cait Sith. A flicker of recognition passed over his face, but he said nothing.

“I work alone,” he said bluntly, his voice low and steady. Without waiting for a response, he closed his eyes again, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Lone Wolf,” Hades replied, rolling his eyes. “Listen up, all of you. Blondie here”—he gestured lazily to the man—“is technically part of your team for now. You’ll be coordinating during the tournament. I’ll handle the details of when you fight, but don’t expect me to babysit. Follow the rules, don’t get yourselves killed, and *try* not to screw up too badly. Got it? Great.”

He smirked, looking particularly amused. “Oh, and one more thing—if any of you decide to go off-script, well, let’s just say you won’t like the consequences. Now, break a leg!” With that, he disappeared into thin air, leaving them alone.

For a moment, an awkward silence hung in the air. The blond man didn’t acknowledge them until Cait Sith cautiously stepped forward.

“There’s… something familiar about you,” Cait said, tilting his head as he studied the man. “I can’t quite place it, but you remind me of someone I knew. Not exactly the person you are now, but someone from... before.”

The man opened one eye, his expression softening slightly. “Before?”

Cait Sith hesitated. His memories of his last moments before his destruction were fragmented, corrupted beyond repair. But before that, he remembered meeting a much younger version of this man—a quiet, determined warrior who was still finding his path. That Cloud had been different: less haunted, more human.

“I think we fought together once,” Cait said carefully. “Back when I wasn't... whole. Before my world, our world was destroyed.” He paused, watching for a reaction. “You were different then. Less…”

“Less what?” Cloud’s tone was calm but carried a subtle edge.

Cait hesitated again, choosing his words carefully. “Less burdened, maybe. Or maybe I’m just imagining things.”

Cloud’s gaze sharpened, but he said nothing. Cait Sith could see traces of the younger man he remembered—the same quiet intensity, the same drive—but the person before him now seemed heavier, darker, as though carrying something too big to bear.

Katarina stepped in, sensing the tension. “Look, none of us want to be here, but we don’t exactly have a choice. Maybe we should focus on the task at hand instead of digging into the past?”

Cloud straightened, his stoic demeanor returning. “Fine. Don’t slow me down, and we won’t have a problem.”

As he moved toward the arena, Cait Sith watched him go, conflicted. Cloud’s determination to find the person responsible for the destruction of their world was evident, and Cait Sith realized with a sinking feeling that they were looking for the same person. But Cait Sith couldn’t bring himself to say it—not yet. The Cloud he’d known before might have been a trusted ally, but this Cloud… this Cloud felt like someone he wasn’t sure he could trust completely.

“Are you okay? That was intense,” Katarina said, noticing the difficult expression Cait Sith was making as he watched the swordsman walk away.

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect to see him again—at least not like this,” Cait Sith replied.

“Who was he?” Vivi asked.

“His name is Cloud. We came from the same world. It’s just... we both failed to protect it,” Cait Sith finished, his voice heavy.

“The first rounds are about to start. Get out there already,” Cloud said as the bars on the door disappeared, allowing them to pass into the arena.

As they got closer, they noticed a short, half-goat, half-man creature with reddish-brown fur on his lower half, a round belly, and two small, curved goat horns atop his bald head. His expressive face featured a bulbous nose and a bushy beard. He held a parchment in one hand. Cloud stood before him.

“Name?” the creature asked, quill poised.

“Cloud.”

“You’re in the right bracket. Go to the second arena.”

The interaction was brief, as neither showed any interest in the other. Cloud left them there as they approached the goat-man.

“Name?”

“Katarina.”

“Vivi.”

“Cait Sith.”

“Oh, right. Herc told me about you three. And if you think I’m going to let you take advantage of his innocence, I have three words for you,” the creature said, his tone suddenly threatening. However, he stopped mid-sentence and looked up from the parchment, finally meeting their eyes.

There was an awkward silence as the goat-man stared at Cait Sith and Vivi. Katarina couldn’t tell for sure due to his short stature, but his gaze eventually reached her. Perhaps it was the first time he’d seen someone as tall as her.

The man licked his hand and combed back his hair with it.

“Hey, I’m Philoctetes, but you can call me Phil, cutie,” he said in a flirtatious tone.

It was strange. He almost sounded like he was flirting, but the only cute member of their group, aside from Pocchi, was Cait Sith. Katarina was taken aback, but then she remembered the literature lessons from her past life. Her friend A-Chan and she had once made a report on a famous Greek mythological poem about a warrior who had lost his lover in battle. Relationships like this weren’t unusual here.

“Excuse us. Can you just tell us our arena already?” Cait Sith interrupted, his tone irritated. Vivi didn’t say anything, but he had his staff ready as he stepped protectively between Katarina and Phil.

“You’re in the left bracket, in this arena. Just step up on the platform when you’re ready,” Phil instructed, sounding annoyed.

As they moved toward the platform, Phil spoke again.

“Hey, if you’re interested, I could help you train later. Or maybe I could read you some poe—”

A fireball hit the magic barrier close to where Phil stood, startling him.

“Sorry, I was just practicing before the match,” Vivi said, his voice unusually determined.

“Good job, but where did you learn how to handle things like this?” Cait Sith whispered to Vivi.

“My friend Fujin taught me,” Vivi replied. Cait Sith patted him on the back approvingly as Katarina finally stepped onto the platform.

As the barrier finished forming, a familiar dark portal opened in front of them. A group of Heartless appeared; there were two types of humanoid monkey-like creatures with sleek black bodies, yellow glowing eyes, and oversized claw-like hands. Their feet were large and resembled exaggerated monkey paws, with Heartless emblems on their chests. The other ones were similar, but they had yellow fur, bows on their heads, and carried slingshots.

“Powerwilds and Bouncywilds. Of course, they’re using Heartless here,” Cait Sith said angrily as he summoned his Moogle.

“HEY! WE SAID NO SUMMONS!” Phil screamed at him, stepping forward to stop the fight.

“This is more like a puppet I control. It has no mind without me,” Cait Sith argued.

Phil thought about it for a moment. “I’ll allow it, but you can only summon one. Once it’s out, you can’t summon it back. Are we clear?”

Everyone took their battle positions with weapons ready as the monkey-like Heartless hit the ground, preparing to jump at them.

“NOW, BEGIN!” Phil gave the signal, and both groups charged at each other.

The Powerwilds leapt at them, trying to grab them. Cait Sith’s Moogle easily sent two flying with a punch, but Katarina was forced to block with her arms fully extended to keep the Heartless away. The creature violently swung its arms, trying to scratch her face. Finally, she managed to throw it back.

Meanwhile, Vivi faced a different kind of battle with the Bouncywilds. Each side shot projectiles at the other, but Vivi had to be careful with his steps as the ones not shooting were somehow throwing banana peels around him.

“Where do they even get those? They don’t have mouths!” Vivi exclaimed in frustration.

Switching tactics, he started using water. While the impact wasn’t as powerful as fireballs, the water chased its target, and the wet floor caused the Heartless to slip, reducing their movement and turning the battle in his favor.

Back with Katarina and Cait Sith, they were beginning to coordinate better against the Powerwilds’ wild behavior. Cait Sith’s Moogle, with its superior strength, easily overpowered the Heartless, grabbing one in each arm and smashing them together to finish them off. Katarina, for her part, relied more on her reactions since she couldn’t use Pocchi to create openings or cover her mistakes. She observed the Heartless, dodging their punches and swings until they charged at her again. After dodging, she struck one in the back, defeating it. Looking around, she realized only the Bouncywilds remained.

“Let’s end this, Vivi!” Feeling confident, she charged in to finish them off.

“Katarina, careful with the—” Vivi started to warn, but before he could finish, Katarina stepped on one of the banana peels and slipped into the air.

“—banana peels.” Vivi looked away as Katarina spun through the air. Luckily, the resulting impact managed to defeat the Bouncywilds, finishing the round with Katarina a little embarrassed of her display.

“Well, you guys are certainly a colorful bunch,” Phil commented as he stepped into the arena. “But you still have a long way to go if you want to call yourselves heroes.”

“Oh, we aren’t heroes,” Katarina interrupted, surprising Phil. He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “Heroes always manage to save the day, no matter the odds. We weren’t strong enough to do that.” Katarina gripped her Keyblade with determination. “But we’re not going to let that stop us from trying again.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“You’d better be ready, then. Things are only going to get harder from here. The next round will start soon,” Phil informed them as they exited the arena.

“Well, it seems Herc has a better eye for this than I thought,” Phil said with a smile as he left to prepare for the next round of the tournament.
—
Welcome to:

**Cait Sith's Archives:**

*Heartless Entry - "Powerwilds and Bouncywilds"*

This branch of Heartless emulates their animal counterparts. They tend to be highly chaotic, so it’s better to approach them with caution to avoid getting caught in their tricks.

As for data on their origin world? That’s restricted under copyright laws. But hey, we can still put them here, right?

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Legal troubles

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

___

The next round of the tournament didn’t prove to be much of a challenge. They faced a group of thirty shadows which, compared to the things they had encountered before, was surprisingly underwhelming.

“You know, guys, this is easier than I thought it would be. The formation was great, by the way,” Katarina commented casually as she parried and countered the attacks of the shadows. Slowly but surely, their numbers dwindled.

“It wasn’t that much, to be honest. This variant of Heartless isn’t much of a threat when you have the right tools,” Cait Sith replied. He had come up with a simple triangular formation, allowing them to cover each other’s backs and prevent the shadows from sneaking up on them. That was realistically the only way the shadows could pose any threat. For the most part, Cait Sith let his Moogle do the hard work, occasionally hitting a shadow with his megaphone when it got too close.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but are you guys okay if I try something new? Well, it’s not exactly new—I just thought of using my magic in a weird way,” Vivi asked as he smacked shadows with his staff.

“Come on, Vivi, you don’t have to ask for permission to pull a Katarina,” Cait Sith chuckled.

“I heard that! My tactics aren’t weird,” Katarina shot back, momentarily turning to glare at the cat. In doing so, she accidentally struck another shadow with her keyblade. “Oh, sorry,” she said reflexively, before quickly focusing back on the remaining Heartless in her field of vision.

“See? As long as you stand your ground, it’ll be fine,” Vivi nodded as he concentrated. This time, instead of casting his usual spells, his magic power enveloped the tip of his staff. “Here goes nothing,” he murmured. Flames flared to life around the tip of his weapon, staying there as he swung the staff at the Heartless. The fiery strikes dealt significantly more damage, compensating for his lack of physical strength.

“Whoa! Cool move, Vivi. You’re already a better mage than I am,” Katarina grinned at her companion as the last Heartless was destroyed. Phil declared them the winners, deactivating the magic barrier around the arena.

“Well, I’ll admit, that was a clean job—better than I expected from a rookie team in the Games,” Phil remarked, giving them a once-over, clearly more impressed than during their first encounter.

“Well, it’s not our first rodeo. I thought that was clear from the first round,” Cait Sith said proudly.

“Ha! You’d be surprised how many teams I’ve seen who can’t use their heads for anything other than bashing things. Keep this up, and you might actually win the tournament—especially with your next opponent,” Phil said as he exited the arena, heading toward the lobby. “Go rest for now. I’ll announce the semi-finals later.”

The group returned to the quarters Hades had arranged for them. There, they found Cloud, who had already finished his rounds and was waiting for the next stage.

“Hey, you made it too. Congrats,” Katarina was the first to speak, but Cloud didn’t respond, leaving an uncomfortable silence.

“I think it’s better if we let him be,” Cait Sith suggested awkwardly, trying to minimize interactions with the stoic swordsman.

Time passed as they rested as best as they could in the prison-like room.

“How did you survive facing him?” Cloud finally broke the silence, his piercing blue eyes fixed on Cait Sith.

“I... he didn’t. The data of the fight is corrupted, so I don’t have all the details of my predecessor,” Cait Sith explained. Katarina, observing him closely, noticed how rigid his tail had become—just as it had when they fought against stronger Heartless.

“But you still have some of his data from before the encounter,” Cloud pressed, his gaze intensifying as if searching for a crack in Cait Sith’s calm expression.

Cait Sith stayed silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on Cloud, analyzing him as the swordsman’s frustration grew. After a brief pause, he turned to Katarina and Vivi.

“Sorry, but I can’t help you find him. The data is corrupted,” he repeated, taking a cautious step back from Cloud. The tension in the room thickened. Cloud’s gaze grew more intense, and Vivi began to slowly draw his staff. Katarina’s hand moved instinctively, ready to summon her Keyblade.

Fortunately, Cloud turned away, abandoning the conversation.

“Thanks for nothing,” he muttered as he left the room.

Katarina and Vivi let out a collective sigh of relief, grateful the situation hadn’t escalated further. Still, they couldn’t figure the guy out.

“What does he have against you? Don’t you two come from the same world?” Vivi asked Cait Sith, noticing how shaken he seemed by the encounter.

Cait Sith hesitated, struggling to find a way to deflect the question. But something about being with Katarina and Vivi made lying to them feel impossible.

“Not everyone handles loss the same way, Vivi,” Katarina interjected, sensing Cait Sith’s discomfort. Her tone was gentle, yet firm. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. We’ve got your back.”

“Thank you,” Cait Sith said quietly.

It was going to be a long process for them, but Cait Sith felt he had better chances of accomplishing his mission with Katarina and Vivi than with Cloud. He just needed to make sure his decisions were based on logic and data, not his heart.
___

As the games progressed, they found themselves in the semifinals. Given how rare it was for so many teams to make it this far, Phil decided to announce the matches in front of all the teams. The event had even attracted an audience, who were now seated in the stands, cheering loudly.

"It's a great honor for the coliseum to witness so many participants reaching this stage of the games. After facing numerous challenges..." While Phil continued his speech, Katarina couldn't shake the feeling that something was off — a strange, familiar sensation of some sort.

"Katarina, it's our turn," Vivi reminded her. As her team was finally announced, they walked toward the arena where Cloud and Hercules were already standing. Cloud looked irritated by the whole ceremony, while Hercules waved at some of his fans, who were still cheering for him.

Katarina's team finally stood next to Hercules, preferring to avoid Cloud for the moment. "Good job making it this far," Hercules whispered to them, giving a thumbs up as Phil began introducing the final group.

"Gawrsh, I didn't think there would be this many people," said the first member of the next group — an anthropomorphic dog wearing a green jacket with a black vest, orange baggy pants, and a yellow hat with a black band in the middle, along with a pair of goggles.

"It's only natural. Heroes like us attract this kind of crowd," replied the second member, an anthropomorphic duck with a difficult-to-understand accent. He wore a blue jacket with intricate gold designs and a matching flat blue hat adorned with similar details, saluting proudly.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see Phil's face once we win the games," said the last member, a young boy. He wore a short-sleeved, black, hoodie-like jacket with white trim and puffy sleeves. Underneath, he had a red jumpsuit-style outfit that connected to his shorts. He also sported oversized yellow shoes and fingerless gloves. His spiky brown hair resembled a crown, and his blue eyes and confident smile stood out as he walked with his hands behind his neck.

Katarina felt something about this boy but couldn't quite place it.

"Wow, they let him enter the games? Perhaps he has some kind of special ability to compensate for his age," Cait Sith analyzed as he observed the group, who had taken their place next to Cloud.

"Oh, you felt it too?" Katarina asked, glad her instincts were becoming sharper.

"Now to decide the matches!" Phil gestured dramatically, as if waiting for something to happen. Gossip started to spread as an awkward silence filled the arena.

"Herc, where is that birdbrain horse of yours?" Phil muttered as Hercules approached him.

Hercules whispered something back.

"What do you mean it's busy right now?"

"I warned you this could happen!"

"Rule 7: always be ready for the unexpected!"

"You know what? Just return to the line."

Hercules sighed and returned to his place between Katarina and Cloud as Phil cleared his throat.

"So, the matches will be..." He paused for a moment, seemingly thinking. "Team Claes against Hercules, and Team Sora against Cloud. May the best team win and all that," he concluded, ending the ceremony in an anticlimactic way.

“Well, it seems we’re going to be the next ones, so may the best one win,” Hercules said, approaching them and offering his hand as a sign of good sportsmanship.

“Yeah, about that... remember the whole thing with Hades?” Neither of them felt it was appropriate to respond to Hercules’ gesture since, technically, they had to kill him. Hercules' expression shifted to a more concerned one.

“Did you find out anything we can do about him?” Katarina asked worriedly, aware they were running out of time.

“Well, your situation is apparently more complex than I initially thought. I don’t have the details, but they told me to return while they looked into it. I didn’t understand much after that—once I explained, they panicked. Apparently, they want to confirm if it’s really you before proceeding,” he explained, taking a deep breath. They wanted to press him for more details, but it was clear Hercules was just as clueless as they were.

“Maybe we could stall for a while—pretend we’re really trying to fight to the death—and gain a little more time,” Vivi suggested. Low on options and out of time, they couldn’t discuss further as the heat of the arena intensified.

“Oh, then I’ll get a bucket of popcorn and sit around while you rehearse your little play. After all, you better perfect it for the audience.” They turned to see Hades standing at the arena entrance. “Word of advice for your afterlife: when plotting to betray someone, don’t do it center stage.” He snapped his fingers, activating the magical barrier surrounding the arena.

“I guess that’s what I get for trying to be merciful,” Hades sneered as he hurled a fireball at them. Hercules reacted first, punching it back toward the god.

“I won’t let you hurt them, Hades!” Hercules declared, inspiring the group as they readied their weapons.

“Bad idea! Interfering with my duties officially gives me the right to BURN YOU TO A CRISP!” Hades’ flames turned crimson as he summoned a wave of Heartless. Ten shadow soldiers and five red operas attacked as Hades prepared another fireball.

The soldiers charged. Hercules quickly punched one, sending it flying into two others and knocking all three into a pile. “Shatter!” Katarina shouted, using her Keyblade to channel her earth affinity. A sharp rock erupted from the ground, eliminating the trio of Heartless. Cait Sith Moogle joined the front line, assisting Katarina and Hercules in holding back the soldiers while Vivi and Cait Sith worked from the rear.

Cait Sith prepared to leap at the red operas, but Vivi stopped him. “Let me try something,” he said, touching Cait Sith’s megaphone with his staff. Focusing intently, the staff began to glow with a watery aura that then was passed to Cait Sith megaphone. Curious, Cait Sith cast his usual musical notes. This time, the notes were encased in bubbles. When they struck the red operas, the bubbles burst into streams of water, destroying the Heartless. Excited, Cait Sith unleashed a flurry of musical notes, quickly eliminating the red operas and injuring the remaining shadows. One even struck Hades in the face, enraging him further.

“YOU USELESS PESTS!” Hades roared, engulfing himself in flames. Streams of fire erupted from his hands, scattering the group and destroying the remaining Heartless.

Cait Sith Moogle was the first to recover and attempted to punch Hades from behind. The god noticed and growled, “That’s it, you’re done!” With a fiery slap, he sent Cait Sith flying, the Moogle vanishing in a puff of smoke.

“Ugh, I’m going to need a minute to summon it back,” Cait Sith groaned, retreating as Hades positioned himself in the arena's center.

“Feel the heat!” Hades summoned two fiery pillars, spinning rapidly and forcing the group to duck. Hercules punched the ground, causing a small quake that disrupted Hades’ movements. Taking advantage of the moment, Hercules charged, striking Hades in the chest and headbutting him. The god stumbled back but quickly steadied himself. “Was that supposed to HURT?”

Switching tactics, Hades summoned a ball of magma, striking Hercules and knocking him back. As he prepared another attack, Katarina and Vivi cast “Watera” in unison, the streams extinguishing Hades’ flames momentarily. Cait Sith seized the opportunity, unleashing a sound blast that sent Hades flying and raised a cloud of smoke.

“Do you think that was enough?” Katarina asked, as Vivi helped Hercules to his feet. Her familiar appeared from her shadow and shook its head.

From the smoke, a giant flame burst forth, hovering above the arena. Fireballs rained down as everyone scrambled to dodge. Katarina found herself face-to-face with Hades, who unleashed a flurry of fiery attacks. She blocked as best she could, but the intense heat wore her down. Hades exploited her fatigue, delivering a fiery slap that sent her crashing into the barrier.

“Well, time to finish this,” Hades declared, summoning a massive magma ball. “Try to stay dead this time, sweetie.”

Her friends tried to intervene, but the fireballs kept them at bay. Katarina, desperate, raised her Keyblade. Her eyes turned yellow as she charged a black fireball, pouring all her strength into the attack. The arena was consumed in an explosion, and as the dust cleared, they saw Katarina kneeling, breathless, using her Keyblade for support. Sparks of electricity crackled across Hades’ body. Above, the barrier had a gaping hole.

“THAT ARROGANT IDIOT HAS THE GALL TO INTERVENE IN THE JOB HE GAVE ME!” Hades roared, realizing someone had interfered. Hercules smiled as a blue man wearing a toga, winged helmet, and sunglasses appeared, wielding a staff with two snakes.

“CEASE AND DESIST, LORD HADES, UNLESS YOU WANT TO CAUSE AN INTERDIMENSIONAL INCIDENT!” the man shouted, shoving a document into Hades’ face. Hercules grinned. “Right on time, Hermes.”

Apologizing for the delay, Hermes explained, “We didn’t expect you to bring a problem of this kind.” Hades snatched the document, growling, “What is this? I can’t even read this language!”

Hermes cleared his throat and read aloud: ‘By the word of Enma Daiō-sama, the human known as Chiharu Tanaka is granted a second chance at life after her eternal rest was interrupted by external causes.’

Both Hades and Katarina stared in shock at the announcement. Katarina, ignoring her pain, rushed toward Hermes. “Mister, can I please read that letter?” she begged. The messenger handed it to her without hesitation.

The document was written in kanji, resembling a legal document from her original world. It bore an official seal that gave it undeniable legitimacy or at least that was what she thought. “Mister, I have so many questions. Am I really Katarina Claes? Did I take her place, or did I—?”

She struggled to form coherent questions, overwhelmed by a torrent of thoughts. Hermes raised a hand, interrupting gently.

“Miss, please calm down. I understand this process is confusing for mortals, but you must realize that interdimensional affairs are… complicated. The laws vary greatly between pantheons,” he explained with a sympathetic expression.

“So, who can give me real answers?” Katarina pressed, desperation in her voice.

Hermes hesitated, glancing at Hades. Both seemed to reach the same conclusion.

“Don’t even think about it!” Hades snapped, visibly annoyed. “And now you tell me how that greasy red ball has a say in all of this!”

Hermes looked at Hades with exasperation. “If Lord Hades actually paid attention in our meetings, he’d know the fissure between our dimensions remains open. The poor lass’ heart must have been absorbed by accident when she passed away.”

“A fissure?” Katarina repeated, confused.

“It’s a matter for the gods,” Hermes replied quickly, avoiding the details. “We’d prefer not to involve mortals, especially with the Heartless running rampant across other worlds.”

“Wait—what do you mean, accidentally absorbed?” Katarina insisted, taking a step forward despite her exhaustion.

But before Hermes could answer, Hades raised his hand. “Enough! I don’t care about the ‘how.’ What I care about is fixing this mess before I get blamed for it!” His body reignited, flames flaring brighter as his rage boiled over.

“Lord Hades,” Hermes warned, holding up his staff as a golden aura surrounded him. “You will comply with the decree, or the consequences will escalate far beyond this arena.”

“Consequences?” Hades sneered. “Let me tell you about consequences, messenger boy.” His flames kept surging.

“Don’t push your luck,” Hermes warned. “We’re not here to fight. This is a legal order, and you’ll follow it whether you like it or not.”

Katarina, still clutching the document, looked at her companions. Cait Sith placed a reassuring hand on her. “We’ll figure this out,” he said.

For the first time in what felt like ages, Katarina allowed herself to hope.

“You know what? I don’t have to deal with this nonsense,” Hades said dismissively. “You can keep your sorry heart for all I care. After all, sooner or later, all Keyblade wielders end the same way.” He smirked darkly. “Which reminds me of another important matter to attend to.”

“Wait, don’t—” Katarina tried to stop him, but Hades snapped his fingers, vanishing in a burst of blue flames, leaving her questions unanswered.

Katarina stood there, staring at the spot where Hades had been. Her shoulders sagged, her grip on her Keyblade loosening. They had been so close, yet she still didn’t have the answers she needed.

She suddenly felt something warm surround her. Looking up, she saw Cait Sith, Vivi, and Pocchi using shadowy hands to hug her gently. Vivi’s hand rested lightly on her arm.

“You looked like you needed it,” Vivi said softly, offering her a reassuring smile or at that's wahy she thought he was doing.

A faint smile broke through Katarina’s sadness. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Hercules watched the scene with a quiet nod of approval, but their moment of peace was interrupted by the sound of pounding footsteps.

“Herc! We’ve got trouble—it’s Cerberus!” Phil shouted as he burst into the arena, skidding to a stop.

“Cerberus?” Hercules asked, instantly alert. “What’s going on?”

“He’s busted into the other semifinal match!” Phil panted. “He’s tearing through everything and everyone! If someone doesn’t stop him, there won’t be a finals!”

Katarina’s heart sank. “That has to be Hades’ doing,” she muttered.

“Probably,” Hercules agreed grimly. “He must’ve sent Cerberus to cause chaos before he disappeared.”

Katarina tightened her grip on her Keyblade. “Then we have to stop him.”

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Hercules asked, glancing at her companions, who all looked ready to fight.

“I am,” Katarina said, determination blazing in her eyes. “We can’t let him ruin everything. Let’s go.”

Phil waved them forward. “Hurry up, then! Before he levels the whole arena!”

The group wasted no time, rushing toward the other arena where screams and the sound of destruction echoed through the air.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: “And then there were two”

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

___

Katarina was struggling to keep up with the rest of the group. She had borne the brunt of Hades’ wrath, and every movement sent sharp pain through her body. After a few minutes, Vivi slowed down and stopped her.

“You can’t keep going like this. You need to drink a potion,” he said, pulling a glowing green bottle from his coat.

“But what if we need it later?” Katarina protested weakly, her sense of duty outweighing her exhaustion.

Cait Sith, clearly fed up, climbed up her arm until he was within reach of her ear and started tugging on it.

“Wait! Ouch! That hurts! Please stop it! I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it!” Katarina pleaded. Satisfied, Cait Sith jumped down, crossing his small arms and watching closely as she reluctantly opened the potion.

The glowing green liquid had an almost otherworldly shimmer. Without wasting more time, Katarina drank it in one gulp. The bitter taste made her grimace, but before she could complain, a calming warmth spread through her body. Her burns vanished, her aches dissolved, and energy surged back into her.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Cait Sith said in a playful tone.

Katarina blinked in surprise and gave a small nod. “I guess you’re right.”

“Hey, you three, hurry up!” Phil shouted from ahead. Hercules already had a significant lead, disappearing into the chaos of the arena.

They broke into a sprint, reaching the arena just in time to hear a loud scream.

“Yah-hoo-hooooeey!”

An anthropomorphic dog flew through the air, flailing wildly. He was about to crash directly into them when Katarina shouted, “Pocchi, catch!”

Her familiar quickly reacted, creating a mass of darkness that softened the dog’s landing.

“Thanks for the catch, miss… uh…” the dog said in a cheerful yet curious tone.

“Katarina,” she replied, watching as Pocchi absorbed the darkness back into her shadow. He was about to thank her when another voice interrupted them.

“Goofy, get yourself back here!” a voice shouted. A duck, wielding a staff, was dodging frantically as Cerberus—the massive three-headed dog with black fur, glowing red eyes, and razor-sharp yellow teeth—swiped at him with one of its massive claws.

“Hold on, Donald!” Goofy called out. Grabbing his shield, he charged forward, blocking one of Cerberus’ claws and forcing the beast to step back.

From the corner of the arena, Hercules came sprinting toward them, cradling an unconscious Cloud in his arms. Cerberus turned its attention to Hercules, preparing to lunge.

“Freeze!”

An ice projectile struck one of Cerberus’ heads, causing it to reel back in pain. The group turned to see a young boy, wielding a surprisingly familiar weapon.

“A Keyblade!” Vivi and Cait Sith exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with shock, unlike Katarina's, his looked like a traditional key with yellow guard.

Katarina, however, didn’t hesitate. She summoned her own Keyblade and leapt into the fray.

“Another one?” Donald shouted, surprised. Goofy’s mouth hung open as Katarina jumped onto Cerberus’ back, gripping her Keyblade tightly.

Cerberus roared, preparing to charge at the boy, but Katarina concentrated her strength and struck the central head with a powerful blow. The impact was enough to stop Cerberus in its tracks.

As she landed in front of the boy, they both caught sight of each other’s Keyblades, their eyes meeting in mutual recognition and surprise.

“Hello, I’m Katarina,” she said, breaking the silence as she tried to calm her nerves.

The boy glanced at her and nodded. “I’m Sora.” He took a stance, readying himself for Cerberus’ next move. The beast was rising again, clearly enraged by their presence.

Katarina tightened her grip on her Keyblade. A new sense of responsibility welled up within her as she summoned Pocchi from her shadow. “You can back away from this if you want,” she offered in a concerned tone as Cerberus’ three heads turned toward them, growling menacingly.

“Nah, I’m good,” Sora replied, a hint of a grin forming. “But... uh... what’s going on with your shadow?” he added, his gaze dropping to the dark mass at her feet.

“Huh? Oh, that’s just—” Katarina started to explain, but then she realized something was different. Her shadow had grown larger, and from it emerged Pocchi. Only this time, her familiar’s appearance was vastly different.

Pocchi had taken on an imposing form, standing just as tall as Cerberus. His sleek, shadowy body exuded an aura of power, and his glowing yellow eyes locked onto Cerberus with an intimidating grin.

“Pocchi?” Katarina whispered in disbelief.

The familiar let out a thunderous howl, the sound so powerful it nearly knocked everyone back. As the howl echoed through the arena, the tension was broken by an unexpected sight—Cerberus, with all three heads, sat down. Its once menacing expression softened, and it looked almost submissive.

“What is happening?” Donald squawked, running up with Vivi and Cait Sith.

“We don’t know,” Vivi said, with a surprising normal tone. “This sort of thing just tends to happen around Katarina.”

Pocchi stared down at Cerberus, his gaze unwavering. To everyone’s shock, Cerberus extended one of its massive paws in a gesture that could only be interpreted as a handshake. Pocchi responded with a firm bark and returned the gesture, pressing his own shadowy paw to Cerberus’.

The crowd watched in stunned silence as Pocchi let out another bark. Cerberus, seemingly obeying, rolled onto its back like a playful puppy, causing the ground to rumble and forcing everyone to take cover in the stands.

“Is he... training it?” Goofy wondered aloud, scratching his head as he peeked out from behind his shield.

All eyes turned to Katarina, who could only shrug helplessly. “What? Don’t look at me like that! Pocchi is just smarter than your average dog,” she said defensively.

Pocchi barked again, commanding Cerberus to stop. The massive beast rolled back to its feet and looked around the arena. Spotting one of the massive stone pillars, it clamped its jaws around it. Pocchi barked once more, and with surprising strength, threw the pillar toward the gate where Cerberus had spawned.

The gate, glowing with ominous energy, appeared to be a portal. Cerberus gave the group one last glance before bounding after the pillar, disappearing into the swirling darkness. The portal flickered and then closed, leaving the arena eerily quiet.

“Well... that’s one way to handle it,” Sora said, lowering his Keyblade and looking at Katarina with admiration.

Katarina let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I... didn’t plan any of that,” she admitted, glancing at Pocchi, who returned to her shadow with an air of smug satisfaction.

“And that’s why summons are forbidden?” Hercules said with a smile as he approached the group, leaving Cloud’s unconscious body gently propped against one of the stands. “Way to go, Katarina.”

Katarina blushed slightly but smiled back. “Thanks.”

“Well, I suppose that’s the end of these games—at least for now,” Phil interjected, walking up with a broom in hand. “We’re going to have to fix this place up before we can organize another one. Herc! Get to it!” He shoved the broom into Hercules’ hands.

Hercules sighed, but before getting to work, Phil paused, his eyes lighting up as he remembered something. “Oh! Before you guys leave, I’ve got something for you. Wait at the entrance for me!” With that, he shuffled off toward the exit.

Hercules scratched his head, chuckling. “Guess I better get started, huh?” But before he left, he reached into his bag and pulled out two yellow crystals. “Here. My father gave me these as an apology for the trouble Hades caused you guys.”

Katarina and Vivi exchanged a glance of excitement and then carefully took the crystals. As soon as they touched them, the crystals shattered into tiny fragments of light, filling them with a sudden surge of energy.

“Thunder!” they both said in unison, testing the new magic. A bolt of lightning crackled to life in front of them, lighting up the area for a brief moment.

Hercules grinned at their success. “My father only gave me two of those, but I thought you might find this useful too,” he added, handing Cait Sith a goat horn. It looked similar to his usual megaphone but radiated a much stronger magical aura.

“Wow! Thank you so much!” Cait Sith exclaimed, inspecting the horn with wide eyes.

Hercules gave him a nod. “No problem. Use it well,” he said before heading off to catch up with Phil.

Cait Sith’s attention turned to Cloud, who was still unconscious nearby. Sora approached them, glancing at the fallen warrior.

“How’s Cloud doing?” Sora asked as he approached, his tone filled with concern.

Cait Sith knelt beside Cloud, carefully observing him. “He’s still unconscious. It’ll take some time for him to recover,” he replied, adjusting Cloud’s position for comfort.

Sora smiled faintly, a mix of admiration and worry in his expression. “Cloud’s tough. Even when Cerberus blindsided him, he kept its attention on him long enough for most of the audience to escape. He saved a lot of people.”

Cait Sith blinked, genuinely taken aback. For a moment, he said nothing, processing Sora’s words. “Cloud... saved the audience?” he murmured, glancing down at his former teammate.

He couldn’t hide his astonishment. The Cloud he remembered had always been distant, consumed by his inner struggles and bitterness toward the world. Seeing him step up, risking himself to protect others, was unexpected—and deeply moving.

“Maybe there’s more to him than I gave him credit for,” Cait Sith thought aloud, his tone tinged with a mix of guilt and newfound respect.

“Can you lift his head a little?” Cait Sith asked after a moment, pulling a potion out of his pack.

Sora gently raised Cloud’s head as Cait Sith carefully uncorked the glowing bottle. “You’ve still got it in you, huh?” Cait Sith muttered, pouring the potion into Cloud’s mouth.

Cloud stirred slightly, his breathing evening out as the potion began to work. Cait Sith sighed, setting the empty bottle aside. “That should do it. He just needs some rest now.”

Sora stood, gripping his Keyblade with a newfound sense of determination. “Cloud will be fine. He’s a lot stronger than people think.”

Cait Sith nodded slowly, still watching Cloud with a quiet relief. “Yeah... he really is.”

Against the odds, Cloud started to get up. His first instinct was to reach for the handle of his sword, but he stopped once he realized the danger had passed. He glanced around and noticed Sora and Cait Sith watching him. “So, you guys managed to get rid of that thing,” he said, his voice calm but weary.

With some effort, he stood up fully, rejecting their attempts to help him. “I’m fine,” he assured them, though his tone carried a hint of fatigue.

“So, Hades backstabbed you too, huh?” Cait Sith asked, his voice a mix of understanding and concern.

Cloud gave a small nod. “I tried to exploit the power of darkness,” he admitted, his voice heavy with regret. “But it backfired. When Hades offered me a way to find him”—he paused, his gaze lowering for a moment—“I lost sight of the light.”

His eyes shifted to Cait Sith, and for a moment, it was as if he were looking at a reflection of his own struggles, a reminder of the part of himself he was trying to leave behind.

“You’ll find it,” Sora said with quiet confidence, stepping closer. “I’m searching too.”

“For your light?” Cloud asked, tilting his head slightly.

Sora gave him a firm nod.

Cloud stood silent for a moment before concentrating. In his hand, a crystal materialized, faintly glowing with a soft, reassuring light. “Don’t lose sight of it,” he said, handing the crystal to Sora.

As he turned to leave, Cait Sith stepped forward, snapping his fingers to summon a small whistle. “If you ever find a clue about his location, we can keep in touch with this.” He handed the whistle to Cloud with a hopeful smile.

Curious, Cloud raised the whistle to his lips and blew. A small yellow bird with a messenger’s hat appeared, hovering briefly before disappearing into the distance once Cloud dismissed it.

“Thank you,” Cloud said simply, slipping the whistle into his belt.

As he walked away from the arena, his lips curled into a faint smile—one that spoke of a glimmer of hope.

Katarina and Vivi smiled after watching the interaction between Cait Sith and Sora, feeling a sense of camaraderie among their group. However, the moment was interrupted as Donald and Goofy approached them, their expressions a mix of curiosity and concern.

“Excuse me, Miss Katarina,” Goofy began politely, tilting his head. “That weapon of yours... that’s a Keyblade, isn’t it?”

His question caught Katarina slightly off guard, reminding her that Sora also wielded the legendary weapon. “Yes, it is,” she replied, summoning her Keyblade again and holding it up for both of them to see more clearly.

Donald frowned, tapping his staff against the ground. “Well, that makes things more complicated,” he muttered, earning the curiosity of both Katarina and Vivi.

Before Katarina could inquire further, Sora and Cait Sith arrived, with Sora immediately focusing on her. “I can't believe we found another Keyblade wielder! The way Donald and Goofy were talking, I thought I was the only one,” he said, smiling warmly.

“Of course, you aren’t the only one,” Donald interrupted, clearly annoyed. “The king just happened to ask for your help specifically.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me that before?” Sora asked, frowning at the duck.

Donald glanced at Goofy, who tapped his chin in thought before replying, “Well, I think this is the first time this topic has come up. But, uh, the king himself is actually a Keyblade Master.”

“I guess you’re right. Hey, maybe he's out there sealing Keyholes too,” Sora theorized, while Donald puffed out his chest proudly, looking as though he had won the argument.

“Keyblade Master? Do you think I could speak with your king? I have a lot of questions about all this,” Katarina asked politely, her curiosity piqued.

“His Majesty is far too busy to—” Donald began.

“We don’t really know where he is at the moment. Sorry,” Goofy interjected sheepishly, cutting Donald off. Donald shot Goofy an irritated glare, but Katarina just sighed, visibly disappointed.

“So, what do we do now? Master Yen Sid really only told us to seal the Keyholes in each world as we travel,” Vivi commented, trying to bring some focus back to the situation.

“You guys met Master Yen Sid?!” Donald and Goofy exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with surprise.

“Yes,” Katarina answered. “He was the one who explained what little we know about all this so far. I take it that’s unusual?”

“Unusual? That’s a huge deal!” Goofy said, his tone cheerful yet full of respect. “Master Yen Sid doesn’t just meet with anyone! Even the king has to send a request in advance before meeting him.”

“Are you his new student?” Donald asked.

“Well, I asked him to teach me, but he said he couldn't really teach me anything—not at the moment, at least,” she explained, recalling their conversation.

At that moment, Vivi seemed to remember something. “You two are Donald and Goofy, correct?” His yellow eyes gleamed from beneath his hat, unintentionally intimidating the two.

“Uh… yes, we are,” Goofy said, shifting uncomfortably, until Vivi's expression lightened again.

“Oh, then Master Yen Sid asked if you two could pay him a visit soon,” Vivi relayed the message, making the pair sigh in relief. Sora chuckled at the interaction.

“Well, we can't go right now. We still don’t have a clue where the king is,” Donald said, thinking about their next move.
“And we still haven't found this world's keyhole either. Did you guys have any luck with that?” Cait Sith added, earning a shake of the head from Sora’s group.

“We didn’t find anything, and Phil didn’t seem to know what we were talking about,” Sora commented, leaving everyone puzzled.

“Well, I doubt the Heartless can pull this world into darkness with Hercules standing guard. So, perhaps it's time for us to move on to the next world. We shouldn’t interfere with the natural order between worlds, especially if this one doesn’t need us at the moment,” Donald argued. Katarina felt a little uncomfortable with his words but understood after recalling Hercules’ strength.

“I guess there are other worlds in danger too,” Katarina thought, the idea starting to scare her. Would her friends be able to repel the Heartless' relentless attacks? After all, the only reason she’d been able to survive against them was—
“Hey, what’s with the long face?” Goofy asked, noticing Katarina’s distress.

“Oh, sorry. I’m just worried about my friends and my home world,” she confessed with an uneasy smile.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy exchanged understanding looks—Sora especially knew exactly how she felt.

“There’s no need to put on that kind of face. We’re defeating the Heartless, aren’t we? If we keep this up, we’ll surely find what’s causing all this mess and stop it,” Goofy said in an almost fatherly tone.

“Nothing good comes from only thinking about the worst-case scenario,” Donald added with a reassuring smile, along with Sora, Cait Sith, and Vivi, who all nodded in agreement.
Their words reached Katarina. She had almost forgotten who her friends were—prodigies in magic, fencing, and so much more. The Keyblade didn’t make her special; it just meant she was finally catching up to them. With a renewed smile, she said, “Thank you, guys.”

Finally, they decided to leave, not without checking in with Phil and Hercules one last time before departing.
___
They found Phil busy cleaning some trophies with his tail, weirding everyone out a little.

“What? Haven’t you heard about practicality?” he snapped, annoyed, as he placed a trophy back in its spot.

“You all sure took your sweet time, didn’t you?” he grumbled just as Hercules entered the room, waving at them with a smile before handing Phil a scroll. Clearing his throat dramatically, Phil began to read:
“For your contributions in taming the hellhound, I hereby bestow the title of JUNIOR HEROES to all of you. Congratulations!” Phil and Hercules gave them a small round of applause, joined enthusiastically by Katarina, who treated the celebration as a great accomplishment. Vivi clapped as well, mostly imitating Katarina, while Cait Sith joined in out of sheer habit.

“JUNIOR heroes? But we beat Cerberus!” Sora objected, clearly offended.

“There’s more to being a true hero than fighting monsters,” Hercules said in an understanding tone. “You guys are on the right path—just keep at it, and you’ll understand soon enough. just like I did.”

Phil crossed his arms, adding with a smirk, “Although I have to say, the girl seems to understand more about heroics than you three.” He said as he handed Katarina a gold medallion with a thunder symbol engraved in the center, she could a strong magic presence inside.

“Huh? Me, a hero? I’m not that great, to be honest,” she said, clearly confused by the idea of being anything other than a villainess, which earned a small laugh from the group.

“As someone I once knew said, you don’t get to decide if you’re a hero or not,” Hercules said thoughtfully, recalling his old rival.

“If you truly want to understand what it means to be a hero, just watch her,” Phil added, chuckling. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out before she does.”

Katarina looked even more confused, which only made everyone burst into laughter at her expense—though it was filled with warmth and camaraderie.
___
Cait Sith's Archives:

*Weapon Entry - Cornucopia*

*A magical horn that used to belong to one of the goats that helped raise Zeus. Its power surpasses my previous megaphone.*

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: “Traverse Town”

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

____

The Starcutter sailed once more through a sea of stars, this time trailing behind a more traditional red spaceship with white wings. The tranquility of space was shattered by the clash of two Keyblades, their impact echoing through the void.

Sora pressed the attack, swinging with all his strength in an attempt to break through Katarina’s defense. Despite agreeing to the spar, Katarina still hesitated, uncertain about striking a child. She deflected his blows, parrying each strike until she finally pushed Sora back. He stumbled but quickly recovered, settling into his stance once more.

"Come on, Katarina! This isn't fun if I'm the only one attacking," Sora complained, his tone carrying clear disappointment. He had noticed she was holding back.

Meanwhile, inside the Starcutter, Vivi was at the helm, piloting the ship with Donald at his side. Vivi had several questions about magic, which Donald was happy to answer. Over in the Gummi Ship, Goofy and Cait Sith handled the controls. Cait Sith, fascinated by how the ship functioned, had insisted on helping, leading to their current situation.

Sora had been the one to suggest the sparring match. Apparently, back on the islands, it was a regular pastime among the kids from his world.

“Sorry, it's just that... I'm not the best at holding back," Katarina admitted. "Especially after this thing chose me." She glanced down at her Keyblade before continuing, "I haven't really sparred with anyone in a while."

She watched as Sora remained eager to continue, his determination unwavering. That enthusiasm reminded her of the times she spent practicing swordsmanship growing up—how, as the years passed, it became harder to find a worthy opponent. Her friends had taken an interest in other things, but she had never stopped training, not with the doom flags waiting to strike her.

Tightening her grip on her Keyblade, she smiled. "Get ready, because I'm going all out."

Without hesitation, Katarina charged, bringing her Keyblade down in a vertical slash. Sora reacted instantly, raising his weapon to block the strike before attempting a counterattack. But Katarina was quicker—she dodged, repositioned, and struck again.

As their weapons clashed, she started to gain ground. Sora, in his eagerness to strike her, neglected his defense, leaving too many openings. She pressed the advantage, striking relentlessly until she finally landed a decisive blow on his hand. His grip faltered, and his Keyblade slipped from his grasp.

“Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to go that hard," Katarina apologized as she picked up Sora’s Keyblade and helped him to his feet.

"Man, it's like fighting Riku all over again," Sora muttered, clearly disappointed. "Just when I think I'm about to win, you guys turn it around."

Katarina chuckled. "Maybe you should work on your footwork. Back when I started training, I always got scolded for neglecting my defense in favor of attacking. Going all out should be a last resort, not your go-to strategy."

She handed his Keyblade back but hesitated for a moment, curiosity taking over. Turning the weapon over in her hands, she examined it closely. Aside from the distinct designs at the tips, the Keyblades felt almost identical.

"Huh... you’d think these would feel different somehow, but they’re basically the same," she mused. Summoning her own Keyblade to her other hand, she compared them side by side.

"Really?" Sora asked, now fully recovered.

"Yeah here, have a look." She offered him her Keyblade, holding it out by the handle.

Sora took it, giving it a few test swings. "Yeah, you’re right," he admitted. "I guess, for all their power, they’re still just swords in the end."

Katarina smiled as they exchanged weapons again. "I guess it’s up to us to bring out their full potential."

"Guys, we're about to arrive!" Donald called out.

Katarina turned from the deck, catching her first glimpse of the new world. From the ship’s bow, she could see the town emerging beneath them—a place locked in perpetual night, its streets illuminated by warm lanterns and neon signs. The buildings, made of brick and timber, gave off an old-world charm, standing in contrast to the starlit sky above.

Their ship, a majestic vessel with great solar sails catching cosmic winds, began its descent. The masts creaked slightly as the ship adjusted course, gliding through the air with practiced ease. Below, rooftops and chimneys passed by as they prepared to dock.

—

After landing outside the town’s great gates, the group stepped onto solid ground. Though a few people were about, the town felt eerily empty for its size. A woman tended to a small café, and across from it, a child played between two lampposts. Only two houses had their lights on—the rest were either boarded up or abandoned. Despite its emptiness, the town had a quiet, cozy atmosphere, as if it had once been full of life and still held onto its warmth.

"We should go look for Leon. I can’t wait to see his face when we tell him we found another Keyblade wielder!" Sora said with a grin, leading the way toward a set of stairs in front of the square. "We should also check in with Cid about that weird Gummi piece we found.” commented Goofy as the group began to follow Sora.

"Then we know our first stop," Sora said as they climbed the stairs. He opened the door of a store, allowing the group to enter. However, as they stepped inside, Katarina noticed a donkey tail disappearing into an alley. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she turned toward the alley.

"Is that…? Wait, I just wanna talk!" she called out as she noticed a donkey kid slipping into a hole in a wooden wall that blocked the other half of the alley. Without hesitation, she quickly jumped over the wall, finding herself chasing the kid’s tail through the complex paths winding between houses and shops.

As she arrived at a small square with a circular fountain, she took in her surroundings. The square was surrounded by a few houses, but only one had its lights on. In front of that house, a group of Heartless lurked, almost as if they were waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The donkey kid arrived, and the Heartless immediately noticed him, slowly closing in to corner him.

"Hold on!" Katarina shouted as two Soldier Heartless lunged at the kid. Desperate to protect him, she threw her Keyblade at the Heartless, destroying one. However, just as the other was about to strike, something grabbed the kid, pulling him away from danger.

In the air, she saw a slim man dressed in elegant purple noble attire, similar to styles that had been popular in her home world. His eyes were a striking shade of purple, and his black hair contrasted sharply with his otherworldly appearance. Adding to his unusual look were distinct draconic traits—his hands were covered in black scales, resembling armor, and his sharp, almost reptilian nails added to his imposing presence. Finally, two large black dragon wings extended from his back.

The Heartless attempted to attack him, leaping toward him, but he effortlessly dodged their strikes. With his free hand, he cast a spell, forming a dark sphere that sent the Heartless crashing to the ground with incredible speed.

As he observed the Heartless, analyzing their movements while trying to protect the cursed child, Katarina intervened. Summoning her Keyblade back to her hand, she swiftly destroyed a couple of Yellow Operas that were about to attack them.

"Go somewhere safe! I’ll take care of this," Katarina said firmly. She then raised her Keyblade. "Thunder!" she commanded, casting the spell. Lightning struck, and all the Heartless immediately shifted their attention to her.

The man watched Katarina fight for a moment before deciding to follow her advice. Without hesitation, he took the child and disappeared into the shadows.

Realizing she was outnumbered, Katarina lured the Heartless into the alleys. As they started chasing her, she recalled her doom flag strategies. While running, she began tossing whatever trash and debris she could find, creating obstacles for the Heartless. They crawled through them in an insect-like manner, unnerving her. Seizing an opportunity, she used her earth magic to summon a wall of stone, crushing a few Heartless in the process. However, the rest continued their relentless pursuit.

"Ugh, just once—just once—I wish these things didn’t act like freaks!" she muttered in frustration, trying to think of another strategy.

As she felt more and more cornered in the alley, a familiar sensation crept over her—her darkness was starting to manifest again. Glancing down at her hands, she noticed the dark aura surging around them. With no better option, she turned to face the approaching Heartless, gripping her Keyblade tightly.

"Burn!" she shouted, unleashing a massive fireball laced with dark energy. Though its speed wasn’t impressive, the moment it made contact with the Heartless, it exploded, wiping out a large portion of them.

With their numbers significantly reduced, Katarina seized the moment and led the remaining Heartless toward a more open area.

"Pocchi, get ready!" Katarina commanded as her familiar rose from her shadow, prepared for combat. The Heartless surrounded them, their dark forms shifting in anticipation.

The Heartless struck first—two Soldiers lunged at them with spinning kicks. Katarina swiftly dodged and immediately countered with a spinning slash. On his side, Pocchi caught one of the airborne Heartless in his jaws and slammed it into the ground, eliminating it.

That left only the Shadows, but instead of attacking as usual, they began stacking themselves atop one another, absorbing the lingering darkness from their fallen allies. The shifting black mass grew, forming some kind of pillar.

"What are they doing?" Katarina muttered, glancing at Pocchi, who looked just as confused.

Before they could react, the mass of darkness suddenly surged toward them, as if dozens of claws and kicks were crashing down at once. The force sent them both flying backward. Just as it was about to strike again, a series of dark chains lashed out, wrapping tightly around the shifting mass and compressing it into a ball of writhing shadows.

"Hurry! I hold them off!" The dragon man had returned, his outstretched hand glowing with the power of the spell restraining the entity.

Snapping back into focus, Katarina and Pocchi launched their attack. With each strike, pieces of shadow were torn away, unraveling the monstrous formation bit by bit.

“Katarina, where are you…? We were only separated for ten minutes!” Cait Sith exclaimed, a mix of frustration and surprise in his voice as he and Vivi arrived. Both quickly drew their weapons and joined the battle. Cait Sith summoned his Moogle, which delivered a powerful punch to the ball of darkness, while Vivi first launched a fireball into the sky, then began casting as many spells as he could without exhausting himself.

“Sora and the others should be on their way,” Vivi added, eyes locked on the enemy.

“Sorry, guys! It kinda happened out of nowhere,” Katarina replied, a bit sheepishly.

Finally, their combined efforts began to pay off. They started breaking through the outer layers of darkness, drawing closer to the core. Noticing this, Vivi took a step back and began charging a more powerful spell.

“Katarina! Over here!” he called, gesturing for her to come closer. She paused, then stepped back and approached him.

“Raise your Keyblade,” the young mage instructed firmly, surprising Katarina with his rare assertiveness. She nodded and obeyed, raising her weapon. Vivi touched the Keyblade with his wand, and a surge of flames enveloped its blade.

Seeing the fiery enchantment, Katarina grinned. With a determined leap, she launched herself toward the exposed core.

“Fira Blade!” they shouted in unison as her blazing Keyblade cleaved the mass of darkness in two.

“Great job, Vivi!” Katarina praised, smiling warmly at the young mage. Her gaze then shifted toward the mysterious dragon man.

“And thank you, Mister Dragon,” she added with a grateful smile, giving him a small wave.

The man returned the wave just as a blue light flew in circles around him. Both figures descended to face Katarina, who instantly recognized the source.

“Blue!” she called out in a cheerful tone as the little light burst into a flash, revealing the Blue Fairy. She appeared from the glow with her usual warm smile, standing beside the dragon man. From up close, Katarina noticed he wasn’t as old as she’d first assumed—he looked to be around the same age as her group of friends.

“It seems once again you’ve saved my children, Miss Katarina,” the Blue Fairy said kindly, smiling at the group.

“You know them, Blue?” the man asked, surprised by Katarina’s familiarity with the magical being.

“These were the heroes who helped me rescue the children from the Coachman,” she replied as she approached both groups.

“Katarina, Vivi, and Cait Sith, I would like to introduce you to Darien Nighogg. He’s been helping me keep the children safe from the claws of darkness ever since we parted ways.”

Vivi and Cait Sith gave small gestures of greeting, while Katarina extended her hand.

“Well, any friend of Blue’s is a friend of mine. A pleasure to meet you, Darien,” she said with her trademark smile, causing a faint blush to rise on Darien’s face.

“Likewise,” was all he managed to mutter as he shook her hand, clearly affected by her warmth without her even realizing it.

“I should head back—the Heartless might try to take advantage of our absence,” he said quickly. His wings unfurled and, with a graceful beat, he flew off toward the house where the children had taken refuge.

The Blue Fairy let out a gentle giggle. “Ah, to be young.”

Vivi and Cait Sith shared a chuckle, while Katarina remained oblivious to what just happened.

“Did I say something weird?” she asked, tilting her head.

At that, Cait Sith burst out laughing, and both Vivi and the Blue Fairy simply smiled.

“Don’t worry,” the Blue Fairy reassured her. “He’s just very dedicated to his work.”

Then, turning toward Katarina, she continued, “It seems I am once again in your debt, Miss Claes. Please accept this power as a token of gratitude.”

She summoned two glowing green crystals. As usual, when Katarina touched one, a warm, revitalizing sensation spread through her body.

“You now possess the power of healing,” the Blue Fairy said. “But be careful—it consumes a large amount of magic.” Katarina nodded in acknowledgment.

When Vivi reached for the second crystal, he found himself unable to absorb its magic.

“What’s happening?” he asked, puzzled.

The Blue Fairy examined him for a moment before offering a comforting smile.

“There’s nothing to worry about, my child. You’re simply not compatible with this type of magic.”

Curious, Cait Sith tried next. With some effort, he managed to absorb the magic.

“Whoa, that feels weirder than I thought. You guys are used to this?” he asked, visibly unsettled.

“Well… more or less,” Katarina replied nonchalantly, while Vivi gave a small nod of agreement.

As the group continued talking, unaware of the danger above, a dark presence watched from a nearby rooftop. Maleficent had been observing the entire scene. She had even strengthened the shadows herself, hoping they would be enough to deal with Katarina.

Her blood boiled at the sight of the Keyblade wielder. Despite Katarina's affinity with the dark arts, her heart still connected effortlessly with others. To Maleficent, she was an insult to everything sacred.

Raising her staff, she prepared to summon a more powerful Heartless to end this nuisance once and for all—

“It’s rare to see you behave this childishly,” came a deep, calm voice from behind.

A man, draped in a dusty old cloak, slowly stepped forward to stand beside her. His features were hidden in shadow, but the presence was unmistakable.

“And it’s an even rarer sight to see you crawl out of your hole to bother me, Ansem,” Maleficent spat, lowering her staff but not her hostility.

“Oh, have I earned your wrath, O Mistress of Evil?” he said mockingly. Under different circumstances, such tone might have cost him dearly—but Maleficent knew she still needed him if she ever hoped to control Kingdom Hearts.

“I wouldn’t push my luck if I were you,” she warned, pointing her staff in his direction. “Unlike you, I have all the time in the world to unlock the secrets of Kingdom Hearts once it's within my grasp.”

“My apologies,” Ansem replied with feigned courtesy. “I was simply… distracted by your latest discovery. Quite the curious find. And here I thought there was only one Keyblade running around.” He watched Katarina with quiet interest, sensing the darkness within her.

“She’s just a pest. I’ll deal with her shortly,” Maleficent snapped, dismissing the thought.

Ansem merely chuckled. “Ah… so she refused your offer, then? Perhaps you should take another look at her home world. Keyblades tend to manifest near Princesses of Heart.”

“I already investigated. Nothing of value remained. The Heartless have likely devoured whatever was left.”

Ansem turned away without further comment and summoned a dark portal.

“Light tends to need… a little incentive to reveal itself,” he said cryptically, stepping into the swirling darkness and vanishing—leaving the witch alone with her growing frustration.

It would have been foolish to ignore Ansem's advice—yet Maleficent refused to waste more of her precious time on that world. Still, as she considered the pawns at her disposal, one particular being came to mind.

While he wasn’t the most competent asset, he possessed a rare trait among her forces: unwavering loyalty.

As much as she preferred to keep him as a fail-safe, giving him something to occupy his time wouldn’t hurt while she focused on more important tasks.

That thought reminded her of the true reason she had come to this world.

With a wave of her staff, she opened a portal of darkness. From it, a teenager stepped through. He carried himself with a calm, confident air.

He wore a sleeveless yellow and black vest, zipped and padded with an armor-like design, along with blue pants. Black gloves covered his hands, and a black belt with silver accents fastened around his waist. His silver hair fell slightly over his piercing aqua-blue eyes.

“Welcome,” Maleficent said, her usual haughty demeanor cloaked in a feigned warmth. “If my sources are correct, you should be able to find your friend here.”

She stepped aside, her expression unreadable. “I hope you’re able to find him, Riku.”

Without another word, she vanished into another portal of darkness, leaving the pieces of her game slowly falling into place.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: A friendly duel

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

___

After parting ways with the Blue Fairy—who promised to visit later—Katarina and her group regrouped with Donald and Goofy outside of the shop.

"Where have you been? You vanished out of nowhere!" Donald began scolding her about the importance of staying with the group. While she was used to being scolded by her mother to the point she could easily tune it out, Donald’s particular way of speaking kept her focused. It would be rude to ask him to repeat himself, especially since this was, well, a scolding.

"I'm sorry, I just saw someone I knew in trouble and had to intervene," Katarina explained in an apologetic tone.

"Even so, you can't be that reckless. The mission takes priority," Donald replied firmly.

"Are your friends hurt? I don't see them around here," Goofy asked worriedly, looking around for anyone else.

"They're fine. Katarina arrived in time to keep the Heartless away from their refuge," Cait Sith chimed in, trying to defuse the situation. "After all, isn't the mission to stop the Heartless?"

"He's right, Donald. Maybe you shouldn't be so severe with her," Goofy added. "I'm sure His Majesty would do the same."

"It's because he does this kind of stuff that we're in this mess," Donald muttered, resigned.

"Oh hey, Katarina! Where did you go?" Sora greeted her as he exited the shop, followed by a man who looked like he had just come out of an engine room. A worn toothpick shifted constantly between his lips, and oil stains marked his tan sleeveless shirt. He carried the weight of experience on his broad shoulders. His tousled blonde hair and sharp, no-nonsense eyes gave him a rugged look.

"I take it you're the other Keyblade wielder, correct?" His voice was rough and raspy—clearly, this man had seen a fair share of things. Intimidated by his presence, Katarina stood straight, almost in a military stance.

"Yes, sir! My name is Katarina," she replied immediately, summoning her Keyblade as proof. It earned a chuckle from him.

"I'm Cid relax, I'm not going to bite," he said as he looked her over. "Glad to know the fate of all worlds isn't only in the hands of a kid."

"Hey, I'm right here Cid!" Sora protested, while the others laughed at the comment—all except Katarina and the man, Cid. She could feel that Cid was serious about that last part.
___

Now the group was making their way toward the Second District, searching for Leon—Cid had told them he was training in his secret spot, an alley behind the hotel in the second district. The path there was relatively uneventful; the only thing worth mentioning was the strange behavior of a couple of Heartless who kept trying to ring the bells of one of the buildings in the district.

“Do they normally do that?” Katarina asked, weirded out by the dark creatures.

“Most Heartless are empty-headed. I wouldn’t give it much thought,” Donald replied quickly, dismissing it. But Katarina was left with an eerie sensation. The Heartless never did anything without a reason. She tried to shake off the feeling.

“Maybe we should check it out, just in case,” she suggested, but Donald grabbed her by the hoodie, pulling her back on track.

“No. We mustn’t separate again. We can check it out after we talk to Leon. For now, focus on the mission,” he said, clearly frustrated. Katarina sighed and pushed the feeling away.

As they stepped into the alley, they didn’t find anything out of the ordinary—just a small canal of water that led to a tunnel. They could hear someone inside; maybe this was the place Cid had told them about. The only problem was that the entrance was locked with a barred fence.

“Perhaps there’s a hidden entrance somewhere… or maybe a switch,” Cait Sith said to Donald. Vivi nodded in agreement as they began investigating the tunnel entrance and the surrounding areas, not realizing they had left Katarina, Sora, and Goofy unsupervised for more than a minute.

“Then we should start checking arou— What are you guys doing?” Donald said, dumbfounded as he turned and saw Katarina and Sora holding Goofy like a battering ram.

“Charge!” The three shouted in unison as they ran full speed at the fence, easily breaking through it—and the wall behind it. A loud crashing sound echoed from inside the tunnel.

“Why?” was all Donald could mutter, staring in disbelief.

“Well, as much as I wanna be mad… we’re the ones who left them unsupervised,” Cait Sith said with a mix of resignation and amusement.

“They did come up with it pretty fast. I guess we shouldn’t underestimate them,” Vivi added, more surprised than anything at their unorthodox method.

“Should we come up with a super move too?” the young mage asked, causing both Cait Sith and Donald to sigh in unison, realizing they were outnumbered by meatheads.

“We should just check if they’re okay,” Donald said in defeat as they all entered the tunnel.

___

Upon entering the tunnel, the group advanced until they reached a small cave, illuminated by glowing minerals that shone in the dark like stars in the night sky. The cave used to have a small pond inside, making the ground uneven and difficult to walk on. As they moved deeper, they finally spotted two young adults, roughly Katarina’s age, staring at a hole in the wall.

The first was a man with long brown hair and a scar across the center of his face. He held a peculiar sword that appeared to be merged with a gun. He wore leather pants, a leather jacket, and a white shirt. The second was a young woman with green eyes, brown hair tied into two braids, a red ribbon, and a pink dress.

“Excuse us—we’re really sorry, we’re just going to pull our friends out of there,” Cait Sith said awkwardly, pointing toward the wall. Upon closer inspection, they could see the cartoon-like silhouettes of Katarina, Sora, and Goofy perfectly imprinted into the shape of the hole.

“Guys, hold on!” Vivi shouted, rushing to the hole to help them out. He managed to pull Sora out first. The man lowered his sword as he noticed Donald’s presence.

“So it was you guys,” the man said in a dry, serious tone, his posture relaxing slightly.

“Sorry about that,” Sora apologized as he stood back up.

“It’s good to see you all in one piece,” the young woman added, glancing awkwardly at the hole as Vivi finally helped Katarina out. That reminded Sora why they were there in the first place.

“Oh! I almost forgot—Leon, Aerith, you guys won’t believe what we found. Meet Katarina, Cait Sith, and Vivi. She’s a Keyblade wielder—just like me!” he said excitedly, helping Katarina to her feet. The two adults looked surprised as Katarina summoned her Keyblade as proof. Cait Sith and Vivi gave a small wave in greeting.

“This certainly changes things, doesn’t it?” Aerith commented, glancing at Leon, who now seemed lost in thought. Her eyes then wandered to Cait Sith in particular.

“Is something wrong, lassie?” Cait Sith asked, noticing Aerith’s curious gaze.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just… you reminded me of something,” she replied, trying to recall exactly where she had seen him before.

“His Majesty only mentioned one chosen wielder…” Leon muttered, turning his attention to Katarina. He studied her and her companions closely, trying to form an opinion.

“Katarina, right? I have a request for you,” he said in a serious tone, his piercing gaze focused on her.

“Sure… what is it?” she agreed, a little intimidated.

“I want to duel you. I need to test your abilities—and your character,” he said, drawing his sword and pointing it at her.

“Wait—right now?” Katarina asked, surprised. Vivi stepped forward, staff in hand, ready to support her.

“Really? Again? You did this when we first met! And why does she get a heads-up?” Sora complained, offended but not exactly shocked.

“You knew this could happen and didn’t warn her?” Cait Sith added, trying to de-escalate things.

“Well, Leon’s a good guy. I don’t think it’ll be much different from a spar,” Sora replied with a confident grin. His relaxed attitude helped calm everyone down.

“I guess, I accept the duel,” Katarina said, trusting Sora’s judgment. She raised her Keyblade and took her stance, and at that moment, everyone stepped back to give them space.

Leon was the first to make a big move. He leapt forward, quickly closing the distance between them, and launched a powerful slash. Katarina blocked the blow, but the force of the impact pushed her back slightly. Not wanting to give up ground, she stepped forward, and the two began exchanging blows at surprising speed.

“Gawrsh, they really are going at it,” Goofy commented, watching the intense clash, neither fighter gaining an edge. Meanwhile, Sora, Cait Sith, and Aerith cheered for their respective friends.

As the duel continued, Katarina realized she needed an edge. Leon clearly had more combat experience, and if she didn’t get creative, she’d fall behind. A plan began to form in her head, and she decided to act mid-clash.

“Excuse me! I forgot to ask—are you okay with using magic in the duel?” she said abruptly, instantly shattering the dramatic tension of the fight.

Leon blinked, surprised by the sudden question. After a brief pause, he replied, “Sure.”

With his confirmation, Katarina grinned. Her hand began to glow with energy. Startled, Leon instinctively backed away.

“Rise and deal with my opponent—Earth Bump!” she declared proudly as a small mound of dirt rose up behind him.

“That’s it? Just a bump?” Donald said flatly, unimpressed by the neat but seemingly useless spell.

“It worked!” No one was sure how—maybe it was Katarina’s confidence, maybe the absurdity of her strategy—but when Leon backstepped, he tripped over the bump of dirt. It left him open for a final move… or so she thought. Leon quickly flipped backward, regaining his balance and keeping his pride intact.

“To be able to overcome my ultimate technique… You truly are strong, Leon,” Katarina said with respect, readying her stance again.

The duel resumed. Both fighters now kept their distance, tension rising as they waited for the other to make the next move. Leon slowly raised his arm, holding his sword in a particular stance that hinted at the gun-like feature of his weapon.

He wouldn’t— Before she could finish the thought, she heard the unmistakable sound of a trigger being pulled. Time seemed to slow. Her instincts took over—she swung her Keyblade and sliced the bullet in two midair.

“DID YOU JUST SHOOT AT ME?! I THOUGHT THIS WAS A FRIENDLY DUEL!” she shouted, wide-eyed and stunned.

“You cut the bullet,” Leon replied in his usual dry tone, almost brushing off her outrage.

“Really? I didn’t see that last move… Katarina was way too fast,” Goofy said, scratching his head.

“She did,” Cait Sith confirmed. “After reviewing the footage, I had to slow it down to catch the exact moment.”

“That’s Katarina for you. I wonder if I’ll be able to pull off something like that,” Sora said with admiration. He and Vivi watched intently, clearly impressed.

“I… I did? I mean—of course I did,” Katarina said, recovering. “Still, using weapons like that is a bit too dangerous!”

“She does have a point, Leon,” Aerith added. “That was kind of rude.”

“You don’t consider the Keyblade to be a more dangerous weapon?” Leon’s question gave Katarina pause. After all, she had just blocked a bullet, and honestly, she’d done far more incredible things since gaining the Keyblade. If she really thought about it, she probably could cleave a truck in half with ease.

“…I hadn’t stopped to think about that,” she admitted. Then, tightening her grip on her weapon, she asked, “Should we continue?”

“It won’t be necessary,” Leon replied. He lowered his weapon and stepped forward, offering her his hand. “I’ve seen enough.”

“You’re not chasing power. You just happened to earn it,” he said, his eyes now filled with respect. Katarina accepted the handshake.

Aerith stepped forward as well and gave a small bow. “I owe you an apology. The truth is… I sensed your darkness when you approached, and I warned Leon before you all even crashed in.”

As the weight of those words settled, Katarina’s mind kicked into overdrive.

Did my villainess aura level up again? The thought was so haunting she nearly called for a doom-avoidance meeting right there and then—but Aerith’s voice snapped her out of it.

“Hello? Are you still with us?” Aerith waved a hand gently.

“Ah! Sorry, I spaced out for a moment,” Katarina said, quickly regaining focus. “Sorry for scaring you with my darkness.”

“Don’t worry,” Aerith said with a soft smile. “If anything, from up close… your darkness feels kind of aloof?”

Aerith struggled to explain it properly. The chaotic energy within Katarina wasn’t exactly menacing—it felt more like a confused tangle that couldn’t be bothered to interact with the world. Scary from a distance… but oddly amusing once you got closer.

After the fight, Leon and Aerith told them about the Ansem Reports—documents that detailed the origins of some of the Heartless and possibly held the key to understanding the cause of all this chaos. For now, they could only confirm what Yen Sid had already told them: closing keyholes would permanently seal a world's heart from the Heartless.

The real question now was where to go next.

Up until this point, Katarina had been opening portals at random, following her heart’s intuition. But maybe now, with a bit more information, they could find a clearer path forward. There was also another issue—the missing keyhole in Traverse Town. As long as it remained open, the world couldn’t truly serve as a safe refuge.

“Perhaps we should start looking around for the keyhole here, then,” Vivi suggested, and the group nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Sora suddenly remembered something. “Oh yeah—do you guys know what this Gummi Block does?”

Goofy pulled out the block in question—a strange one with a complicated pattern engraved on it—and handed it to Leon. He examined it closely, his expression unreadable. The group leaned in, waiting for an answer. Finally, Aerith stepped in.

“I think Cid can tell you more about this one.”

Leon remained silent as he returned the block, but just before the group left, he spoke again.

“Sora, before you go, I wanted to give you this.” He pulled out an orange stone that radiated magical energy and handed it to the boy. “I found this during my travels through different worlds. I kept it as a lucky charm, but… I think you’ll make better use of it.”

“Whoa, thank you! So, uh… how do I use it?” Sora asked eagerly, eyes bright with curiosity.

Leon didn’t answer—just gave him another awkward, blank look.

It quickly became clear that they wouldn’t be getting an explanation any time soon.

___

The group decided to split up after presenting the Gummi Block to Cid, who explained that it was a navigation piece. With it, they’d be able to travel to more distant worlds—ones possibly closer to the source of the Heartless. At the same time, Cait Sith wanted to establish a communication link between the Highwind and the Star Cutter, so he and Goofy went off to handle that, since Donald refused to leave Katarina unsupervised.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group volunteered to help Cid deliver a book to a magician in the Third District. After an uneventful walk, they arrived at a mysterious door marked with a flame symbol. It didn’t take them long to realize fire magic was the key—casting it caused the symbol to glow and the door to rise, revealing a cave behind it.

Inside the cave, a small pond encircled a lone island. On the island stood a weathered, deteriorating house. A path of moving rocks hovered above the water, granting passage to the seemingly abandoned structure.

“Are you guys sure this is the right place?” Katarina asked, steadying Vivi as they crossed the floating stones.

“The door was sealed with magic, so there’s definitely something here,” Sora replied. Reaching the house first, he tried the handle—but it was locked.

Katarina, arriving just behind him, scanned the area and spotted a cloth-covered hole just big enough for someone to crawl through. “Guys, I found an entrance over here!”

She slipped through the opening into the house. Inside, it was pitch dark and completely barren—not even a single piece of furniture. As the others followed, they fanned out, looking for any sign of life.

“I guess we got the wrong place,” Donald muttered, visibly annoyed.

“Yeah, I couldn’t find anything either,” Katarina said with a sigh. As they turned to leave, she suddenly noticed Sora standing still—completely unresponsive.

“I suppose we did. But then why would someone go through the trouble of sealing this place?” Vivi asked, puzzled.

“Some magicians just leave their magical junk lying around. That’s why you’ve got to stay organized with—wait, what’s going on?” Donald stopped mid-sentence, noticing Katarina waving her hand in front of Sora’s face.

“Sora’s not reacting!” she said, panic creeping into her voice. “Sora! Sora, are you alright?”

She gently shook him, trying to snap him out of it. Finally, he whispered, “Kairi?”

“Sora, it’s me—Katarina. Are you okay?” she asked gently.

Sora blinked a few times, then finally came back to himself.

“Sorry… I just thought I saw someone important,” he said softly.

The look on his face struck a chord in Katarina—she understood that longing.

“Don’t worry,” she said warmly. “We’ll find her. And then you can give her the grand tour of the Star Cutter.”

Sora managed a grateful smile, his usual energy returning.

Just as they were about to leave, an elderly man appeared before them. He had a long white beard, wore a blue robe, and adjusted his glasses before offering a polite greeting.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting visitors. My name is Merlin. How can I help you?”
___

Cait Sith’s Archives:

Trinity Entry – Goofy Cavalier

When three idiot hearts unite, they unleash a force capable of obliterating everything in their path. Therefore, this technique must only be used with the explicit authorization of a responsible adult nearby.
(Note: Katarina and Goofy, it doesn’t matter how old you are—you still don’t count.)

This is a full-frontal assault technique. Once a target is locked, changing course is impossible. Choose wisely—if you can.

___

Chapter Text

“Talking”

‘Thinking reading or writing’

*Echo*

___

After the group introduced themselves, they tried to give the old magician the book Cid had given them, but he interrupted as he looked around at the poor state of his home.

“Oh, forgive me—I haven’t cleaned this place. Just give me a minute and I’ll attend to you right away,” he said. He walked toward the center of the room, placed his bag on the floor, and left it open as he pulled out a wand.

“Everybody ready?” He tapped the tip of his wand in the air. Sparks started to manifest from it. “One, two, three, four... and one, two, three, four…”

As he kept the rhythm, small pieces of furniture began to float out of the bag, almost as if they were marching. With each beat, the pieces grew in size until they took their place in the once-empty space. Shortly after, the bag was empty, and the shack was filled with tons of books—some on concepts Katarina had only heard about in her first life. The holes in the ceiling were now covered with umbrellas. The more they looked around, the more they saw tools from different ages: model planes, test tubes—it felt like an extremely disorganized history museum.

“Now, what brings you to my home?” the man asked after admiring the now-furnished place. Katarina stepped forward and handed him the book.

“Well, Cid asked us to deliver this to you.”

The magician adjusted his glasses before letting out a disappointed sigh.

“Oh, poor Pooh. What have they done to your home?” he said as he placed the book on a table.

“Pooh? Is this book someone’s house?” Vivi asked, confused, as he looked at the torn book. Seeing his curiosity, the magician began to explain.

“Well, little apprentice, within this book exists a small world—so small that it cannot produce any meaningful darkness. Unfortunately, this also means it cannot defend itself from darkness either.”

The old mage paused and looked at Katarina and Sora.

“Are you two Keyblade wielders, perhaps?” Merlin asked, eyeing them from head to toe as if sensing something. They both nodded and summoned their legendary weapons as proof.

“Splendid. If you don’t mind, could you enter the book to check if Pooh is doing all right?” he asked. Katarina and Sora exchanged a look.

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I entered a magic book, so count me in,” she said, raising her thumb. Sora nodded in agreement.

“All right. I’m always willing to lend a hand,” Sora smiled.

“Excellent. You two just need to open it—the magic of the book will react with your Keyblades and send you inside,” Merlin explained, then took a seat and began preparing tea in a kettle. “In the meantime, I can offer both of my fellow mages a cup of tea,” he added as cups and seats floated toward Donald and Vivi.

“Well, I could use a break,” Donald said as he and Vivi took their seats.

The two wielders opened the book, and its pages emitted a flash of light.

___

As the two recovered their sight, a beautiful blue sky greeted them, accompanied by the singing of birds and the scent of nature. They stood in a quiet prairie, with a road leading toward a peaceful-looking forest.

Katarina took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air—but as she did, she noticed something odd. The horizon of the world seemed to fade into a white void, almost as if an entire part had vanished.

“Well, something definitely happened here,” Katarina commented, as both wielders looked around for any signs of life before focusing on the forest ahead.

“I guess there’s only one path forward,” Sora said. With that, the two began walking.

Soon, they arrived at a particularly large tree with a small door built into its base. They tried to peek inside but couldn't see anyone. Then they noticed something strange—a pair of small yellow feet sticking out of a hole near the back of the house.

Weirded out by the sight, Katarina summoned her Keyblade and gently poked one of the feet with its tip.

“Ho, ho, ho, that tickles,” a muffled, soft voice replied from the other side.

“Hmm, are you okay in there? Need any help getting out?” Katarina asked.

“Oh, that would be very kind of you,” the voice replied, the feet wiggling in a surprisingly energetic way.

“All right, hold on. Sora, help with the other leg,” Katarina said. She grabbed one leg while Sora took the other. With a swift pull, both fell backward to the ground as the yellow bear, previously stuck, was launched into the air.

As he flew upward, the bear noticed a jar of honey stuck in a tree branch. He managed to tip it over, causing it to fall with him, making it even harder for Sora and Katarina to catch him.

At that moment, both wielders felt a strange sense of synchronization. They summoned their Keyblades, and the chains of their weapons began to glow and intertwine. The light from the blades formed a blanket of energy that softened the fall of both the bear and the jar.

“Oh, thank you, strangers,” the yellow bear said as Sora gently set him down and Katarina handed him the honey jar.

“No problem. Can you tell us your name? And why were you stuck there?” Katarina asked with a smile.

“I’m Pooh, and I was looking for honey,” he said simply, already eating from the jar without a care.

“I’m Sora.”

“And I’m Katarina,” they both introduced themselves as the yellow bear in a red shirt ate peacefully.

“Are you alone here, Pooh?” Katarina asked, glancing at the road ahead—which, unsettlingly, also led into the white void.

“Oh no, there’s Tigger, Piglet, and the others. But I haven’t seen them lately,” Pooh said, finishing the honey and setting the jar on the ground. He yawned. “But you two are here now, so I’m sure the others will come back eventually.”

He yawned again, clearly sleepy. Katarina and Sora exchanged a concerned look. Pooh seemed too innocent to notice the cracks forming in his world.

“I think I’m going to take a nap. It was nice meeting new faces in the forest,” the small bear said as he waddled to the tiny door and squeezed his way inside.

“He got stuck in his own house,” Katarina said with a chuckle. Sora joined in, and they both laughed gently. There was something contagious about Pooh’s simplicity and warmth.

Then they remembered how they’d saved him—not just with their strength, but with an unexpected harmony between them. It felt as if the light of the forest itself had guided them.

“This place really is special,” Sora said.

Katarina nodded, and they walked toward the end of the road, their bond stronger than before. Light enveloped them once more.

___

As they found themselves back in Merlin’s house, Katarina and Sora noticed the place was strangely quiet. They could hear odd crashing noises coming from beneath the floor.

“Guys? Are you there?” Katarina called out, rushing outside—but found no one there. When she returned, the strange noises continued. Meanwhile, Sora had put his ear to the floor.

“I think the noise is coming from down here,” he said. As he stood up, he accidentally bumped into a small model of a carriage. Suddenly, it began to glow, and with a flash of light, an old woman appeared. She wore a lilac robe and held a white wand.

“Oh, you must be the visitors Merlin mentioned. I’m the Fairy Godmother. A pleasure to meet both of you,” she said with a polite bow.

“I’m Sora.”

“And I’m Katarina. Do you know where everybody else is?” Katarina asked, glancing around once again.

“Oh, they’re just practicing magic on the lower floor. That kid Vivi surely has a talent for inspiring the older generation,” she said with a chuckle. Both Katarina and Sora relaxed at her words.

“Well, can you tell us how to get there? We have something to tell Merlin,” Sora asked.

“Of course. But before that, there’s something I’d like to ask you two. Do you happen to have any artifacts radiating magical power?” The Fairy Godmother examined them closely, clearly sensing something.

A bit puzzled, both Sora and Katarina looked into their pouches. Katarina pulled out the medallion Hercules had gifted her, and Sora took out the stone Leon had given him.

“Oh, perfect! Both of you have one,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Now tell me—do you happen to know how to use these artifacts?”

As expected, both shook their heads.

“These two are different in nature, but they share the same purpose. With them, you’ll be able to summon the power of magical beings to aid you in battle,” she explained. She gently placed her hands over each object, helping them form a connection through their hearts.

For Katarina, she could have sworn she heard a deep laugh: About time, little heroine. I was beginning to think you’d never figure it out. Looking forward to working with you. A zap of electricity surged through her hands.

For Sora, it was simpler. He heard a powerful roar and felt the ground tremble with its strength.

“Whoa,” both Keyblade wielders said in unison, making the Fairy Godmother laugh softly.

“Thank you so much,” Katarina said, bowing her head. Sora quickly mimicked her, earning a warm smile from the Fairy Godmother.

This generation of wielders sure is promising, she thought fondly.

___

After reuniting with Merlin, the old mage confirmed his suspicions after hearing about the state of Pooh’s world. He then entrusted them with a new task: to recover the missing pages the Heartless had stolen. Only by retrieving them could they restore the world to its former state. Merlin also hinted that the world possessed a unique ability to unlock hidden powers within its visitors.

With a new objective in mind, Katarina and Sora decided to check on the upgrades being made to their ship. But as they made their way toward the entrance of the First District, a group of Heartless soldiers ambushed them. Just as they prepared to fight, the Heartless were suddenly destroyed from behind by someone else.

A boy with silver hair and a yellow sleeveless vest stood there, holding a particular sword. Its blade resembled a bat wing, and a sinister blue eye sat at the center of its guard.

“There you are. What’s going on?” the boy asked, looking directly at Sora as he approached.

Katarina immediately recognized him from Sora’s stories—this had to be Riku, one of his childhood friends.

“Riku? Is it really you? I’m not dreaming, right?” Sora said, grinning as he reached out and began to tug at Riku’s face to confirm he was real.

“I hope not. It took me forever to find you,” Riku replied with a small smirk as the two began to catch up.

While the boys talked, Katarina noticed a shadow approaching—a Heartless creeping up behind them. Sora had seen it too, but Katarina gave him a quick signal. She summoned her Keyblade and swiftly destroyed the creature with one strike.

That caught Riku’s attention. His gaze locked on Katarina and, more specifically, on her Keyblade.

“What is that? And who are they?” Riku asked, his voice flat and unreadable.

Katarina, however, had played enough otome games to recognize the look—this was classic jealous tsundere behavior. She wisely decided to let Sora do the talking while she dealt with a couple of shadows that had begun to appear for some reason.

“Oh, that’s a Keyblade. Katarina and I use it to help save these worlds from the Heartless—you know, those things you just defeated,” Sora explained casually, summoning his Keyblade and offering it to Riku so he could hold it.

“Sora, don’t just hand it over like that!” Donald chimed in, clearly uneasy. But strangely, Riku wasn’t paying much attention to Sora or Donald—his eyes were fixed on Katarina.

“Why does she have one?” he asked under his breath, his tone low enough that only Sora might have caught it. Riku watched as Katarina and Vivi effortlessly dealt with several Shadows, matching the ease with which he had done so earlier.

Sora noticed the look but, not fully understanding the source of Riku’s feelings, assumed it was admiration.

“Pretty cool, right? I’ve been sparring with Katarina—she’s no joke. Honestly, I think she could end your winning streak if you’re not careful! Oh, and I almost forgot—I can’t wait to show you the Star Cutter! It’s a flying ship! Like, a real one!” Sora beamed as he excitedly rambled on about everything he’d experienced during his journey.

But Riku had already started tuning him out. The only words that seemed to register were all the compliments directed toward Katarina. His gaze narrowed slightly as he watched her fight alongside Vivi.

“Riku? Riku, are you okay?” Sora asked, snapping him out of it.

“What? What did you say?”

“I asked if you’ve seen Kairi,” Sora repeated, a bit more seriously this time.

“She’s not with you?” Riku asked, his voice suddenly sharp with concern.

Sora’s worried expression gave him the answer. “Guess that means we’re gonna have to find her,” he added, trying to keep things optimistic.

By that point, the Shadows had fully retreated back into the darkness. Riku started walking away, only stopping when he noticed Sora wasn’t following. He turned back.

“Riku—I wanted to introduce everyone,” Sora said as he caught up. “This is Katarina, Vivi, and Donald. They’ve been helping me look for you and Kairi. We’ve also got Goofy and Cait Sith working on the ship upgrades right now. You’re seriously gonna love the Star Cutter—it’s like the raft we built, but a hundred times cooler!”

That last line almost made Katarina facepalm. She glanced at Riku, studying him closely. Something about his eyes reminded her of Alan when they first met—there was definitely jealousy, but also something more. Something deeper. Something unsettlingly familiar.

“A pleasure to meet you, Riku. Sora hasn’t stopped talking about you two. I’m sure now that you’re here, we’ll find your friend Kairi in no time,” she said, pushing aside the strange kinship she felt and offering her hand in greeting.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Vivi. I’m training to become a mage and get stronger!” Vivi’s warm introduction did manage to earn a returned greeting from Riku, though it felt stiff. The same awkward reaction happened when Donald introduced himself, making the atmosphere even tenser.

“Riku, is something wrong? You’re being kinda rude,” Sora said, trying to reason with his friend.

Riku sighed, then turned to face Katarina. His smile was polite, but his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

“You stink.”

Silence fell like a dropped anvil. Sora, Donald, and Vivi stared at Riku, stunned. Katarina, of course, was a responsible adult. She wasn’t about to lose her temper over something so childish.

“I mean, no offense,” Riku continued, “but you smell like withered flowers.”

It was a petty jab—anyone else might’ve taken the bait. But Katarina was a grown woman, at least twice his age if she counted her previous life. She wasn’t going to stoop to that level.

“And it’s not just the smell,” Riku added. “It lingers. In every place you’ve been.”

“Listen to me, brat,” Katarina snapped, throwing aside any pretense of maturity. “Just because you're jealous doesn't mean you get to be this rude to someone you just met.”

“I’m not jealous!” Riku shot back, his voice rising. “I could’ve taken down those weaklings too—I was just checking on Sora!”

“Of course you could,” she said in a mocking tone. “And maybe you’d have enough time to rehearse a cool one-liner after showing off.”

“Oh, you think?”

“Yeah!”

“Maybe they ran away because of your smell!”

“Or maybe they were just being nice and giving you time to practice your poses!”

“Stinky!”

“Drama queen!”

“Guys! We shouldn’t—” Sora tried to step in.

“Don’t interrupt!” they snapped in unison, resuming their bickering like fire and oil.

The rest of the group stood frozen in disbelief until Riku suddenly smirked, an idea forming.

“If you think you're so great, why don’t you prove it?” he taunted. “If you can beat more Heartless than I can, I’ll take back everything I said.”

“You're on, brat!” Katarina declared, glaring at him with fierce determination.

Without another word, the two stormed off toward the Second District, still exchanging insults under their breath. Sora, Vivi, and Donald followed behind, trying—mostly in vain—to calm them down.

___

Sora, Donald, and Vivi stood awkwardly in front of the fountain in the Second District, weapons in hand. Behind them, water splashed as Pocchi happily played, oblivious to the chaos erupting just out of view. The three tried their best to ignore the slaughter unfolding behind them.

The moment they arrived, Katarina had summoned Pocchi and nearly wiped out an entire group of Shadows in one blow. Riku immediately protested that it was cheating, so she left her familiar with Sora and Vivi. Since then, she and Riku had been running wildly across the district, trying to one-up each other in Heartless hunting.

“That’s three for me,” Riku called out after finishing off two Soldiers and a Large Body.

“I’m at five,” Katarina replied smugly from a rooftop, having just zapped a group of Red and Blue Operas into oblivion with a thunder spell.

Their competition escalated quickly, drawing more and more Heartless toward the plaza’s center—and bringing the group back to their current predicament.

“Is it bad that I kinda feel sorry for the Heartless?” Vivi asked, watching a lone Soldier get dragged back into the chaos.

“Nah. It just means you’ve got a kind heart,” Sora said, casually watching a burst of dark fire explode in the distance.

“Just don’t let it get to you... unlike some people,” Donald added, sounding bored as he watched Katarina and Riku collapse, gasping for air after eliminating the last Heartless.

“So,” Riku panted, smirking, “ready to accept defeat, old hag?”

“Where did you learn to count?” Katarina replied, equally winded but visibly less exhausted. “It’s a tie. And honestly, you shouldn’t keep pushing yourself like this.”

Her time spent farming in her old life had done wonders for her stamina; she was winded but far from her limit. Riku, on the other hand, looked like he’d collapse any second—but he wasn’t done yet.

His eyes scanned the area and locked onto something above: a Heartless playing with the bell on a rooftop.

“Well, that looks like a tiebreaker to me—unless you’re scared,” he said with a crooked grin before taking off toward the building.

“Wait, you don’t have to—ugh! He’s worse than Alan!” Katarina groaned in frustration before sprinting after him, her tone no longer competitive, but genuinely worried.

“Was he always like this?” Vivi asked, his small hands clutching his staff a little tighter as they hurried after Riku and Katarina toward the building.

“I... don’t think so?” Sora replied, sounding unsure. “I mean, we’ve always been competitive, yeah, but this? This is new.”

He paused, glancing up toward the rooftop where the sounds of combat had already resumed.

“Riku’s always been ahead of me,” Sora admitted. “Even when I caught up, he kept this cool, confident vibe. Never rattled, y’know?” He hesitated, then added quietly, “But with Katarina... she actually gets under his skin.”

Vivi blinked, surprised. “Is that... good or bad?”

“I’m not sure,” Sora replied honestly, watching as a flicker of thunder lit up the rooftop. “Perhaps he just doesn’t know how to handle her yet.”

Donald, waddling beside them with his arms crossed, muttered, “I could’ve told you that after the ‘stinky’ comment.”

They quickened their pace.

___

Cait Sith’s Archives
Entry: Keyblade Transformation — "Cloth"

The Hundred Acre Wood, despite its simplicity, possesses a unique resonance—one that harmonizes directly with the hearts of those who enter with pure intent. During a recent visit, an anomalous synchronization occurred between Keyblade wielders Sora and Katarina. This emotional and spiritual resonance manifested physically, temporarily altering the nature of their Keyblades.

Further study is recommended.