Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Day 1:

Twilight Town. A town that exists in the lanes between light and darkness, much like Traverse Town. However, unlike Traverse Town that was eternal night, Twilight Town had a sunset vibe to it.

Inside Twilight Town was a young boy with blond spiky hair named Roxas. He wore a white coat over a black shirt and tan pants. Currently he was sitting with three other kids in a small hideout that had a sofa, some tires, posters and a dart board.

One was a boy with messy blond hair. He wore a black shirt under a green small jacket with camouflage pants and shoes. He was currently pacing around the room looking angry. He was Hayner.

The other boy was rather chubby. He wore a red poncho that said 'Dog Street' on it and blue jeans. He had black hair and a headband on. This was Pence.

The last one was a girl with brown hair. She wore an orange tank top with flowers on it and khaki pants. Her name was Olette.

"This is ridiculous! I can't believe Seifier!" Hayner growled before turning to Roxas who was rather spaced out. "Are you listening Roxas?"

"Huh?" Roxas asked snapping out of his day dream. For a while now, Roxas has been having some strange dreams of a boy that he's never met before, and Roxas was unsure why he was having these dreams.

"We have to find a way to clear our names!" Hayner said firmly.

"Clear our names?" Roxas asked confused.

"Are you for real?" Hayner asked annoyed.

"Do you remember all that stuff that's been stolen lately?" Olette asked and Roxas nodded. "Seifier and his gang are going around telling people that we're the thieves."

"I guess that explains why a lot of the shop owners were glaring at me this morning." Roxas admitted remembering his walk here. Nearly every person he passed by was giving him some rather mean glares like he did something wrong.

"It's the same with us too." Pence sighed.

"This can't go on any longer! Seifier is only saying that because of our rivalry! Therefore, we'll beat some sense into him. Who's ready for a rumble?" Hayner demanded as he grabbed a bat.

"Or, we could just go looking for the real thieves. We catch them, get back all the stolen stuff, and everyone will get off our backs." Roxas suggested before his friend made their situation worse.

"I…guess that will work." Hayner relented as he dropped the bat. "Let's go catch us a criminal!"

"Sounds like fun. I'll get my camera." Pence said as he got up and went through his stuff.

"Thanks, Roxas. If Hayner went through with his idea, we would be in even more hot water." Olette whispered to Roxas.

"Tell me about it." Roxas sighed. He liked Hayner. He was a good person, but he was also a hothead who occasionally acted before thinking.

"Guys! We've been robbed! The ( ) are gone!" Pence shouted while holding a picture frame.

The other three just looked at him strangely.

"What?" Hayner asked.

"Our ( ) are gone!" Pence said as he started to realize what got the others shocked.

"Quite trying to mess with us Pence." Hayner said.

"I'm not! Take a look!" Pence said giving Hayner the empty picture frame. The three looked to see that the photo of them that was once inside the frame was gone.

"Where did our ( ) go?" Roxas asked as everyone looked in shock.

"See! You can't even say the word ( )" Pence said.

"That is ridiculous!" Hayner shouted as he tried to say the word photo but no word came out.

"This is not your ordinary thief." Pence said a bit excited. He was really into the super natural, and this just screams it.

"Instead of getting super excited, let's go figure what the heck is going on around here!" Hayner argued.

The three nodded and ran out of their Usual Spot.

The four arrived at the opened area that was the Sandlot. The area was usually used for competitions, but it was also the favorite hang out place for Seifer and his gang.

"Remind me again why we are going to see Seifier?" Olette asked. "I thought we agreed not to get into a big brawl with him."

"He's the one spreading all that false information that we are the thieves. So if he is trying to frame us, then maybe he might know something about what's really going on." Hayner explained.

"Makes sense?" Roxas muttered confused at Hayner's logic.

"Now then, where are they?" Hayner asked looking around for his 'rival.'

"Sneaking around huh? Pretty fitting for a group of thieves." A voice said causing the four friends to turn around.

Before them was the town's Disciplinary Committee leader Seifer with his two lackeys Rai and Fuu, and a small boy in a blue coat and a large yellow hat named Vivi.

Seifer himself was dressed in a small blue tank top with a large white coat over it. He had brown pants and a black tuque with the Ore kanji written on it.

Next to him was Rai who was a rather muscular boy that had tan skin, an orange sleeveless shirt with a black and white tribal design and a thunderbolt neck-less around his neck. He also had dark baggy pants with an orange stripe on the sides and an 8 on the right hip.

Fuu was the only girl of the group. She had a sleeveless navy-blue jacket, with khaki pants. She had light blue hair that covered her left eye.

"Thieves." Fuu said pointing at Roxas's group.

"That was low y'know!" Rai said.

"We're not thieves! Stop accusing us!" Hayner shouted.

"Roxas." Seifer said ignoring Hayner. "Where did you hide my ( )? That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers."

"You're the only ones that would take it." Rai added.

"Did you hide it? Or did you destroy it?" Seifer demanded.

"I'm innocent until proven guilty. Besides, we were robbed too." Roxas argued.

"Is that so? A likely story. Technically, I don't need the ( ) to know that I totally crushed you, but that ( ) was my property." Seifer said.

"Replay." Fuu suggested.

"Now you're talking. We can just replay the glorious memory if you want." Seifer said as he grabbed two bats from a nearby bin and tossed one two Roxas that landed by his feet.

Unlike the wooden swords from Destiny Island, these were a blue bat-like objects on a yellow handle.

"Pick it up Roxas!" Seifer ordered.

Roxas picked up the bat and got into a fighting position. Seifer got ready as well.

Seifer charged at Roxas unleashing a barrage of attacks at Roxas who was able to block all of them much to Seifer's shock.

'That's weird. When did this punk get so much better at fighting? And in such a short time?' Seifer thought as he attacked, but Roxas easily blocked each move. "Come on and attack you wimp!" Seifer taunted hoping to make an opening for him to exploit.

"Fine then!" Roxas said as he gave a fast yet powerful swing of the bat knocking Seifer right out of his hand much to everyone's surprise.

"H-How?" Seifer muttered in complete shock that he lost so easily.

Roxas pointed the bat at him right in the chest claiming his victory.

"S-Seifer is just saving his strength for the tournament y'know!" Rai said immediately to his leader's defense.

"Tournament decides." Fuu said.

"Excuses!" Hayner shouted out but laughed. "Whatever. Pence, please document this glorious moment for us."

Pence took out his camera and snapped a photo of Roxas's victory over Seifer much to the disciplinary committee's irritation. Though the moment the picture was printed, it was stolen by a white figure that quickly flew off.

"Was that the thief?" Olette asked shocked.

"After it!" Hayner shouted.

"Which way did it go Pence?" Roxas asked.

"Uh…I don't know. It just happened." Pence said.

"Split up!" Hayner ordered and the four headed in different directions.

As Roxas searched around town, he spotted something slim in a silver-white color fly through a hole in the wall of Twilight Town that lead into a forest. Roxas gave chase through the forest to an old mansion guarded by a locked gate.

"The Haunted Old Mansion? I guess this would be a good place for a thief to hide." Roxas muttered to himself as he looked around for the culprit. "But where did that thief go?"

Suddenly the figure appeared before him.

The White creature with a flat head and a strange symbol on its forehead. Its slender body with sharp claws tied together, and its mouth that was unzipping.

"What is this thing?" Roxas asked in shock.

"We have come for you my liege." A voice said to Roxas.

"It talks?" Roxas asked freaking out. Composing himself, Roxas swung his bat at the creature right in the face, but the bat seemed to have no effect.

"What the heck? Is this thing a Ghost or something?" Roxas asked shocked as more creatures appeared and surrounded Roxas. The creatures then joined together around Roxas with their bodies making a cage around the boy preventing him from fleeing. A black corridor appeared nearby and the creatures started to drag Roxas towards it.

"Wh-What is that? Where are you taking me? Let me go!" Roxas shouted as he tried to break free but to no avail.

Suddenly, Roxas's bat started to glow and change form. The Dusks broke free from each other and jumped back from the light. When the light died down, a Keyblade was in his hand.

"What the heck is this thing?" Roxas asked in awe as he examined the weapon in his hands. For some reason, this weapon felt incredibly familiar to him, but he didn't know why.

One of the Creatures charged at Roxas. Instinctively, Roxas swung the Key at it which not only hit the creature this time, but destroyed it as well.

"What the heck?" Roxas asked himself before shacking his head. "I don't understand it, but now I at least have a means of beating these creeps!"

The other creatures charged at Roxas, but they all ended up meeting the same fate as the one before.

When the last creature was slain, multiple photos dropped all around Roxas as the Keyblade vanished from his hand.

"That was weird." Roxas said as he started to collect the photos.

In the Usual Spot:

"There we go." Olette smiled as she put the photo of the four of them at the beach from last year in the frame once again.

"Well, now that all the photos are back, the people will no longer think we're thieves again." Pence smiled before he realized what he said. "Hey, I just said photo!"

"Talk about wacky. Everything that was stolen were just photos." Hayner said looking though the photos that no one claimed. "Even more weird, Roxas, you're in every one of these."

"Seriously?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, check it out." Hayner said showing Roxas the photos. Sure enough, Roxas was in each of them. With the Ice Cream Lady, the accessory shop owner, with Seifer's gang and him on the ground beaten, each one of them had Roxas in it.

"I guess that's why Seifer accused us in the first place." Pence said looking through the photos.

"That's pretty creepy. You should keep your doors and windows locked at night." Olette said concerned.

"What can you tell us about the thief?" Pence asked.

"It was white and didn't look human. My bat had no effect and I was moments away from being dragged into a portal to who knows where when…Hayner? Are you okay?" Roxas asked as he noticed Hayner starting to shiver.

"C-Come on dude. Lay off the G-Ghost stories already…" Hayner said trying and failing to keep his cool.

"That wasn't a Ghost story!" Roxas retorted.

"You know Roxas, when you tell a ghost story, you should always…" Pence began but Roxas just facepalmed as he drowned him out.

'Do these guys even care about the photo thief anymore?' Roxas thought annoyed.

*BONG! BONG!*

"Guess it's getting late." Olette said hearing the giant Clock tower issuing the end of the day.

"Hard to believe that we only have a week left before summer vacation is over." Roxas said.

"Tomorrow, we need to get our summer homework done!" Olette said firmly.

"Yeah, yeah." Hayner dismissed.

"You could stand to be a little more worried Hayner. It's due the moment we get back and we haven't even started it yet." Olette scolded.

"We'll get it done mom! Chill out!" Hayner said annoyed much to Olette's irritation.

After a short argument between the two, the three headed off to go home, waving goodbye and to see each other tomorrow.

Roxas waved goodbye and was about to leave, but he suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed.

"It is almost time." A voice called out.

'Almost time? For what?' Roxas thought as he lost conscious.

In the Real Twilight Town in the Old Mansion:

"Those Organization Miscreants. They found us already!" DIZ growled from his computer.

"But why did the Nobodies go around stealing Photos?" Riku asked. His voice still sounding like Ansem since his fight with Roxas back at the World that Never Was not too long ago.

"To them, both are nothing but mere data. Those fools could never tell the difference. I scattered those photos of Roxas to throw them off the trail." DIZ explained.

"I see…" Riku said.

DIZ looked at the computer screen that showed the clock tower in the real world, with Axel standing on top of it with multiple Dusks flying around.

"Sora will awaken soon. But we still need a little more time." DIZ said.

"What about the memories of Sora and Corrin?" Riku asked remembering that with the exception of himself and Silas, everyone else forgot about his two friends thanks to Namine messing with Sora's memories for the Organization.

"They should be starting to return now. As Sora's restoration continues, the memories of him, his brother, and his companions will return to those who forgot them thanks to Namine. The Organization is likely already aware of that and are desperately making their move to reclaim Roxas. Keep a close eye on him." DIZ ordered.

Riku simply nodded. "I will."

"That coat is becoming of you." DIZ commented.

"I'm not wearing this because I want to." Riku growled as he walked off.

"Of course." DIZ nodded as he continued his work.

At the Clock-tower:

Axel looked annoyed as the Dusks dropped more photos of Roxas in his hands.

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU IDIOTS KEEP BRINGING ME PHOTOS?! FIND THE REAL ROXAS!" Axel shouted as the Dusks scattered and the photos were burned to a crisp.

Axel just sighed. "Where is the real Roxas hiding?"

As Roxas drifted through his sleep, visions came before him. Of a brown spiky haired boy, and white-haired kid with pointy ears, a bunch of dark creatures, and a familiar Key in the Boy's hand.

"Keyblade."

Restoration at 12%

Chapter Text

Day 2:

Roxas awoke the next day in his room.

"What the? How did I get back in my room?" He wondered as he remembered collapsing at the Usual Spot.

Ignoring it for now, Roxas got himself ready and headed out to the Usual Spot.

As Roxas walked to the Usual Spot, he spotted a stick on the ground. "A Key…Blade…I wonder…" Roxas started to wave the stick around trying to get it to transform like his bat did yesterday. "Come forth!" He would constantly shout, but after a minute, he gave up as he tossed the stick over his shoulder. "That was pointless."

The stick then hit a man with a black coat right in the chest.

"Oh, sorry about that." Roxas apologized.

The man said nothing and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Roxas asked as he entered the Usual Spot.

"Hey Roxas, you're late." Hayner called out upon seeing his friend.

"Sorry about that. What did I miss?" Roxas asked.

"Not much. Have some ice cream." Olette said handing Roxas some Sea-Salt Ice Cream. Roxas thanked her as he grabbed the treat and ate with his friends.

"This must be what people mean by saying simple pleasures. Hanging out with friends and eating ice cream." Pence said happily.

"You're happy whenever you eat." Hayner said.

"Hey! I was just trying to say something touching! Like, 'I hope we can always be together' or something like that!" Pence cried.

"Nope. Times change. When we grow up, we won't be able to hang out like this anymore." Hayner said getting the mood to drop between the others.

"Geeze Hayner. Don't have to be such a cynic." Pence muttered.

"Yeah. Way to kill the mood." Olette muttered.

"No, I…Ugh." Hayner groaned as an idea came to his head. "I got it! Let's hit the beach today!"

"Today? But what about our homework?" Olette asked.

"We can do it later." Hayner dismissed.

"You always say that as you wait to the last minute to do it, then come crying to me to help bail you out!" Olette scolded.

"Oh, come on! We need to hit the beach at least once this summer! Besides, you can't tell me you don't want to go as well!" Hayner said.

"No, I…Ugh fine. But after the tournament, we ARE doing our homework." Olette said firmly. Though honestly, she wanted to go to the beach as well.

"There's one problem with that." Roxas said getting everyone's attention. "How do we get there? I don't know about you guys, but I don't have much money."

"That's true. It isn't cheep to get there. It's about 800 munny for a ticket to the beach, and it will cost more if we want food there like corn dogs and such." Olette said.

"Right…" Hayner muttered.

"There is also, French fires, rice, ramen, corn on the cob, kebabs…" Pence listed off with his mouth drooling.

"You want all that, you pay yourself." Hayner said annoyed before turning to the others. "How much munny do we have?"

"Not much." Olette said rummaging through her pockets.

"Same here." Pence said checking his wallet.

"I spent most of mine on a Moai Tissue dispense…Why did I buy that?" Roxas asked as the others looked at him awkwardly.

"I think I have an idea. Follow me!" Hayner said as he led the group outside.

"You kids want a job? Right now?" A man asked while doing inventory.

"That's right. Is there anything we can do?" Hayner asked.

"Well, you're in luck. I am a bit backed up on getting things ready for the Strugglers Tournament in two days. I could actually use some hands." The man smiled as he went over to a stack of papers. "If you kids could post these posters up around town, I'd be glad to pay you for your trouble."

"You got it sir! Let's go!" Hayner said as he grabbed a handful of posters. "You guys grab some as well!"

The three complied and headed to the market area of Twilight Town.

"The Strugglers Tournament is in two days." Hayner said as they walked down the roads of Twilight Town with posters in their hands.

"You two are going to do great." Pence complemented.

"Don't let Seifer's gang beat you." Olette said.

"NO WAY THEY'RE GOING TO BEAT US, RIGHT ROXAS?!" Hayner shouted.

"Uh, that's right." Roxas said with some enthusiasm.

"You and me are going to make it to the finals. That way, whoever wins, we still get to split the prize." Hayner said with a smile.

"Right!" Roxas smiled.

"It's a promise! But for now, we have a job to do." Hayner said as he started to put up the posters. He set them all up along a large wall to spell out the word "WIN" with them.

"What do you think?" Hayner asked.

"You idiot! We need to spread them across town!" Olette scolded.

"This is going to be a long day." Pence commented to Roxas who nodded.

In the Old Mansion of the real Twilight Town:

"A trip to the beach? Absolutely not! He can't be allowed to leave town. You must stop him!" DIZ ordered to Riku.

Riku was silent for a moment. "Do we really have to?"

"You must not get too attached to it." DIZ advised. "We are too close to our goals to make a big risk."

With Roxas and the others:

The four had spent almost the entire morning doing jobs. Once the posters were up, the four split up to find more odd jobs to take. Thankfully, it was near the end of summer and many people could use an extra hand. Right at noon, the four met at the train station with their bags packed as Olette counted the munny and put it in her small orange bad with a flower on it.

"Thanks to our hard work, that gives us 5000 munny." Olette cheered holding up the bag.

"So, the cost for all four of us to pay for a round trip will be 3200 munny. That leaves us with 1800 for the beach itself." Roxas said.

"Right. We will have to go easy on the snacks PENCE, but we should have enough to have a fun time at the beach." Hayner said making an emphasis to his friend about his want of food.

"Fine." Pence pouted.

"Let me hold onto the money. I want to feel the weight of our hard work." Hayner smiled.

"Here you go Roxas. You can hold onto it for us." Olette said immediately handing Roxas the money much to Hayner's annoyance.

"HEY!" Hayner shouted.

"Uh guys, the train will be leaving soon." Pence pointed out.

"Let's go!" Hayner said as he ran to the station with Olette and Pence following him. Roxas was about to follow, but a stick went flying at his feet causing him to trip.

"Who threw that?" Roxas groaned.

Before him stood the man in the black coat he met earlier. The man grabbed Roxas's arm and pulled him up fast.

"Hey, what gives?" Roxas demanded.

"Can you feel Sora?" The man asked.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas, come on!" Hayner called out.

Roxas blinked and suddenly, the man was gone.

Inside the station:

"Four students please." Hayner said to the receptionist "Roxas, the money."

Roxas searched for his pockets, but found nothing. "It's gone!"

"What? How?" Olette asked shocked.

"That guy! From when I tripped. I bet he stole it!" Roxas said as the others looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" Pence asked confused.

"That guy in the black coat! When I tripped outside the station." Roxas said.

"Roxas, there was no one there when you tripped." Hayner said much to Roxas's shock.

Later on, the roof of the Clock tower:

"I'm so sorry guys." Roxas said sadly as the four ate some Ice Cream

"Don't worry about it. If you didn't re-post all those posters, we probably wouldn't have gotten paid from that. And you did make the most of that munny." Olette said trying to cheer Roxas up.

"At least we still have our ice cream." Pence said.

"We may not be together forever, but we will still make these memories that will last forever." Hayner said.

"When did you turn into a poet Hayner?" Pence laughed.

"SHUT UP PENCE!" Hayner shouted with his face red.

Roxas however was still thinking about that man from before. Why did he steal their money? Why didn't the others see him? And what did he mean?

'Can you feel Sora?'

'Sora…That's the guy I see in my dreams. Who is he?' Roxas thought as he finished his ice cream.

Back in the real Twilight Town:

"Was it really THAT hard to make a beach?" Riku asked annoyed tossing the bag of Munny he took from Roxas in his hand.

"Of course not. But if I did, we would just be giving the enemy another entry point. And like I said. The Organization is getting desperate to reclaim Roxas. We can't afford to be careless right now with our goals so close." DIZ said.

Riku was silent. He hated to admit it, but he did see where DIZ was coming from. Still…

"I still don't think this was necessary." Riku admitted looking at the bag of munny in his hands. "What do I even do with this?"

"Delete that. Objects from that world must be kept out of the real world." DIZ said.

"So, what is the status of the Organization?" Riku asked.

"They have been quite for now, but they are probably waiting for us to make our move. Namine must hurry." DIZ urged.

From inside the next room, Namine watched Sora as his memories finally started to return.

"I feel like I'm making both sides worse." She muttered. "I'm the reason Sora is in this situation in the first place, and even after learning what I did to him, he was still the first person to show me genuine kindness. I can't just leave him like this. But…I still feel sorry for Roxas. I know what it feels to be in his situation. One day, I must disappear as well." Namine said to herself as she remembered her own situation. Granted she did enjoy her short times with Riku and Silas, but she was also a nobody and would one day have to return to her original as well.

"I have to see Roxas…at least just once." She decided.

Restoration at 28%

Chapter Text

Day 3:

Roxas awoke the next morning and headed to the Usual Spot once again. When he arrived there, he didn't see any of his friends, but he did see a note on the couch.

"Meet us at the train station. Today, we finally hit the beach. Don't worry about the munny.

Hayner."

Roxas headed out to the station.

As Roxas walked up the Station Heights that lead to the Train Station, he spotted Pence and Olette. As soon as the two spotted him, they headed over to him.

"Hey Roxas." Pence greeted.

"Hey. Are we actually going to the beach today?" Roxas asked excited.

"Yep. Apparently, Hayner's uncle gave him some Munny so we can go." Olette said excited.

"That's great." Roxas smiled.

Then suddenly, Pence and Olette froze in place.

"What the?" Roxas asked confused as he poked Pence. He fell over, but he didn't move from his position. Roxas looked around to see the others nearby were also frozen. "This is creepy."

"Hello Roxas." A female voice said from behind.

Roxas turned to see a girl about his age in a white dress with blond hair smiling at him.

"Who are you?" Roxas asked.

"Come to the Old Mansion, and I will tell you what you want to know." Namine said as she walked away, repeating what she just said until she vanished.

When she did, things returned to normal. While Pence was rubbing his head wondering why he fell, Roxas headed off for the Old Mansion.

'I don't know who that girl was, but if she has answers to what's been going on lately, then I want to know.' Roxas thought as he ran through the woods.

As Roxas approached the mansion however, he was ambushed by Dusks.

"Not these guys again!" Roxas cried as he ran. There was no Keyblade in his hands, so he was not going to try his luck against them.

As Roxas ran past the Sandlot, trying to get away from the Dusks that were still chasing him. As he ran, he was spotted by Seifer that was doing some weight lifting.

"Hey Chicken wuss! You jogging or something?" Seifer called out.

"Can't talk, running!" Roxas said as he noticed a struggles bat laying on the ground. 'Last time I brought out the Keyblade, it was when I held that bat.'

"Running from what exactly?" Seifer asked annoyed.

He got his answer as the Dusks swarmed the Sandlot.

"What are these things?" Rai asked concerned

"I don't know, but they crossed the line. Find a weapon!" Seifer growled as he, Rai, and Fuu got ready for a fight. Vivi ducked and hide as Roxas grabbed the spare bat on the floor.

'These things can't be fought regularly. If that Keyblade doesn't show up, we could be in trouble.' Roxas thought as he readied his weapon.

Suddenly, everything minus the Dusks froze in place once again.

"What the?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas, use the Keyblade!" Namine called out as the Keyblade appeared in Roxas's hands once again.

A flash of light blinded Roxas and he found himself…somewhere else.

When Roxas opened his eyes, he was standing on a glass-like platform surrounded by darkness. The platform had a picture of Sora sleeping with the Kingdom Key in his hand. The center had seven circles on it. One in the center with six others surrounding it. Though two of the circles were covered by Sora, the other circles had a picture of someone else inside of them.

Kairi was in the center.

Donald was on the top circle

Goofy was on the one next to Donald to the left.

Riku was on the following one.

Corrin was on the one at the bottom.

"This is…Sora?" Roxas asked as he looked at the person before him. "Where am I? Is this a dream?"

"Roxas" A voice came out of nowhere.

As Roxas looked around for that voice, a giant Nobody appeared before him. It was rather tall, on par with Darkside. Its body was white with big shoulder pad-like designs and a blue scarf-like object around its neck that flowed in the distance behind it. Its face had the same insignia that the Dusks had on them.

Roxas tried to run, but found he had nowhere to run. He was trapped with this creature and like it or not, he had to fight if he wanted to get out of this.

Getting into a fighting position with Keyblade and hand, Roxas readied itself for whatever this creature was about to do.

The Twilight Thorn began with firing white thorn-like objects at Roxas that he dodge-rolled out of the way.

The Twilight Throne then slivered its body to another side of the platform and fired more thorns at Roxas that hit him in the shoulder. Roxas clenched his shoulder in pain.

"Okay, definitely not a dream!" He cried as the Twilight Thorn took a swing at Roxas, sending him flying across the platform.

Roxas groaned as he got back up. The Twilight Thorn made a dash at Roxas, who jumped out of the way, them stopped on his head sending out more thorns.

'This is my chance!' Roxas thought. He dodged the thorns and started to wail on the monster's head. After a few hits, the monster recoiled in pain as it stood straight up again.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Roxas taunted.

The giant Nobody's symbol glowed as Roxas's body was covered in a white light.

When the light died down, Roxas found his arms and legs restrained as he was hovering in the air.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Roxas cried as he struggled to break free as the Twilight Thorn appeared in front of him getting up close to Roxas.

The Twilight Thorn reeled its arm back for a mighty punch as Roxas continued to struggle.

"Come on, come on…" Roxas gritted as he struggled to get free. Just in the nick of time, he managed to get his leg free and give the Nobody a nice big kick to the face causing it to recoil and sliver away.

"Ha! Take that!" Roxas mocked.

In response, the Twilight Thorn's arms extended as it grabbed Roxas, which ironically freed his remaining limbs from the restrainers. It then tossed Roxas up in the air for another punch, but Roxas managed to recover and dodge the punch striking the creature right in the face.

Roxas landed on his feet while the Twilight Thorn fell flat on its face, but slivered off the platform.

"Now what is it going to do?" Roxas asked himself.

Roxas got its answer as the ground started to shack and everything began to turn. Roxas slammed his Keyblade into the platform to prevent himself from falling off, though gasped in horror as he saw the nobody forming a massive ball of energy in its hands.

The gravity shifted once more as Roxas felt himself flying into the air as the nobody prepared to launch the energy ball at him.

'Gotta do something and fast, but what?' Roxas thought as an idea came to his head. 'It's reckless, but it's better than nothing.' Roxas thought desperately.

Roxas threw his Keyblade right at the energy ball causing it to explode that engulfed both him and the Twilight Thorn.

While the Twilight Thorn was destroyed by the blast, Roxas felt a hand grab him and pull him away to safety before he too was caught in the explosion.

When Roxas came too, he found himself sitting in a chair in a room covered in white. There was a table in front of him with the girl in white from before sitting on the other side of the table.

"What the?" Roxas began to shout but Namine put a finger to her mouth in a hush matter telling Roxas to keep his voice down.

"My name is Namine." Namine introduced.

Both stood there in a moment of silence for a second before Namine began to speak again.

"Roxas, do you remember your true name?" Namine asked.

"My true name? What are you talking about?" Roxas asked confused.

"You see…" Namine was cut off by Riku that placed a hand on her arm.

"That's enough Namine." Riku said firmly.

"But if no one tells him, Roxas will…" Namine began but Roxas cut her off this time.

"HEY! You're that pickpocket!" He shouted.

Riku said nothing as he summoned a corridor of darkness behind Roxas.

While Roxas looked at the Corridor in shock, Riku appeared behind Roxas and lifted him by his collar, then tossed him through the portal. Once the portal closed, he turned to Namine.

"It's best he doesn't know the truth." Riku said.

Roxas awoken in the Sandlot with Seifer posing to Fuu who had a camera in her hands.

"Strike a pose y'know!" Rai cheered.

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked as he got up.

"Making a keepsake of your knocked-out face." Seifer laughed showing Roxas the picture he took.

Roxas swiped the picture and tore it up.

"No matter. We took several this time." Seifer laughed.

Roxas was about to retort, but he stopped when he and Seifer saw Hayner Pence and Olette stare at them.

Hayner huffed and turned around. "Let's just go."

Pence and Olette followed him without a word.

"Hey, wait!" Roxas called out as he ran after them.

"Hey, don't you chicken out tomorrow!" Seifer called out but Roxas didn't respond as he chased after his friends.

Roxas arrived at the Usual Spot. Hayner just huffed while Olette and Pence looked sad.

"So, you hung out with Seifer's group today?" Olette asked.

"No! I just ran into them!" Roxas said.

"You've been gone for most of the day." Pence said.

"What? Was I really gone that long?" Roxas asked. 'It felt like not that much time though.' He thought. "Oh yeah, how was the beach? That was today, wasn't it?"

"We didn't go. It wouldn't have been the same without you." Pence said sadly.

"Oh…Maybe we can go tomorrow?" Roxas offered.

"I can't. I promised I'd be somewhere tomorrow." Hayner said as he left.

"Great…I'm just a screw up." Roxas muttered. He suddenly felt a pain in his head.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Olette asked concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm going home." Roxas said as he left.

On his way back home, he spotted one of the flyers he put up yesterday. It was then he remembered his promise to Hayner. Tomorrow was the big Strugglers Tournament and he and Hayner promised to meet each other in the finals.

"I'm such an idiot." Roxas muttered as he went home.

Back in the Old Mansion:

"Was that Namine made out of data?" Riku asked.

"No. Namine hijacked the data herself." DIZ growled as he slammed his fist onto one of the Keyboards. "What does she think she's doing?"

"Calm down." Riku urged.

"What did she tell Roxas?" DIZ asked.

"Nothing. I stopped her before she could say anything." Riku assured.

"I suppose it doesn't matter. No matter what Namine tells Roxas, there is no escaping his fate. Namine has no choice but to accomplish her goals." DIZ said as he calmed down.

Chapter Text

Day 4:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Strugglers Tournament!" A young man announced through a microphone to the audience.

The Sandlot was filled with people as the center now had a small stage for fighting. The chalkboard at the side had a tournament tree drawn on it and a massive poster of the Struggles Tournament was hung up behind the stage. There were stands on both sides of the stage for the audience to watch.

"Today we see who has the skills to become this years Strugglers Champion. Let's introduce our four finalists that made it through the preliminaries." The announcer said as the four fighters took the stage.

"First we have a regular finalist and head of the Disciplinary Committee, Seifer." The announcer said as Seifer looked smug.

"Next, we have a fighter that took the preliminaries by surprise, Vivi!" The announcer said as Vivi just stood there silent.

"Next we have an underground favorite and local attitude problem Hayner!" The announcer said as Hayner said nothing.

"Last but not least, my favorite customer, Roxas!" The announcer said. Roxas glanced at Hayner who was still ignoring him.

"These four will face off to see who will make it to the top and win the Four Crystal Trophy, along with a chance of taking on our last year's champion, Setzer!" The announcer said as he pointed to a man with long silver hair, a fancy white shirt, black pants, a black coat that was hanging off his body and a golden belt around his shoulder. Setzer said nothing, but he gave a waved to the crowd that cheered his name.

"Our first match will be against Roxas and Hayner." The announcer said as Roxas and Hayner put on some gear. It was black vest and a black helmet that had orbs stuck to them. Roxas had blue, and Hayner had red. Both had a struggler's bat in their hands.

"Rules are simple. Battle will last for two minutes. If you lose all your orbs, you are out. If time is up then whoever has the most orbs at the end will win. I want a good clean fight out there. Understood?" The referee said and both boys nodded. "Very good. Now get into position."

Both got into position and the match started, but nether boy moved.

"What is this? Is friendship preventing them from fighting?" The announcer asked.

"Hey, about yesterday…" Roxas began but was cut off by Hayner whacking him in the face knocking off some of his orbs.

"And Hayner lands the first hit!" The announcer said.

"Yesterday? I forgot about that when I feel asleep." Hayner shrugged.

"Then why have you been cranky all day?" Roxas asked.

"You expect me to smile about this match? Now put up a fight, unless you don't want to win!" Hayner said.

"You ARE mad!" Roxas pointed out as he blocked a hit from Hayner.

"Of course, I'm mad! You never said anything!" Hayner shouted as he landed another hit on Roxas knocking off more orbs. "If something serious is going on, you should tell us! Me, Pence and Olette were worried that something bad was happening. Don't you trust us?"

Roxas was silent for a second before nodding. Quickly, he gave a mighty slap to Hayner with his bat that knocked Hayner to the ground and most of his orbs.

"Thanks, Hayner." Roxas said with a smile as the timer reached zero.

"And time is up! With a mighty last second come back, Roxas emerges victorious!" The announcer said much to Hayner's shock that not only was the battle over, but that hit at the last minute knocked more orbs off his vest than he did to Roxas.

"SERIOUSLY?! I can't believe I lost." Hayner groaned as Roxas offered him a hand up. Hayner smiled and took it. "You better make it to the very top."

They both glanced over to their friends, and to their surprise, Pence was sadly giving food to Olette.

"Did those two seriously just bet their lunches on us?" Hayner asked Roxas as both boys groaned at their friends antics.

"Let keep this tournament going! Next match will be Seifer vs Vivi!" The announcer said as Roxas and Hayner left the field and Seifer and Vivi entered.

"Roxas…" Vivi muttered eerily.

In the Real Twilight Town:

Riku was staring at Sora's pod as Namine approached him.

"You came to see him again?" Namine asked and Riku nodded.

Namine noticed a mark and tear on Riku's arm.

"You're hurt." She said.

"It's only a scratch." Riku assured. "More and more Nobodies have been getting in lately. We're running out of time."

"It's going well, but it will still take a few more days at best for Sora to awaken." Namine said.

With DIZ:

DIZ was tireless working when he noticed something strange in the program.

"Trying to hide yourself in the data, are you?" DIZ asked. "Such a pitiful tactic will never work on me." DIZ started to run a scan for any intruders. "Now then, let's see where you are hiding."

With the Tournament:

The next match was shocking to say the least. Vivi was a beast on the battle field as Seifer was forced to take the defensive. Seifer managed to deflect a strike and knock off some of Vivi's orbs, but Vivi then counter attacked and landed a massive blow that knocked the last orb off of Seifer ending the match.

"What a shocking turn of events folks. One of the top favorite finalists was taken out by one of his own men. Vivi advances!" The announcer said just as surprised as everyone else.

"When did Vivi get so good? You better watch yourself out there Roxas." Hayner said as Roxas nodded.

"Seifer, what about your match for third?" The referee asked as Seifer, Fuu, and Rai started to walk away.

"I don't care." Seifer spat as he approached Roxas and Hayner.

"He got you good fearless leader." Hayner mocked.

"Shut it!" Seifer growled as he passed Roxas. "That's not Vivi."

Roxas and Hayner looked confused as Seifer's group minus Vivi, left the Sandlot.

"That's not Vivi? Then who is it?" Roxas asked.

"Don't know. Maybe he's just making excuses." Hayner shrugged as the referee approached him.

"Well, since Seifer left, that means that you now hold third place by default." The referee said.

"Wait seriously? Sweet!" Hayner cheered.

"The final match will be between Roxas and Vivi!" The announcer said as the two finalists took their positions.

"I place my bets on Roxas this time!" Pence said.

"No fair!" Olette cried. "Fine then. All my dumplings on Vivi."

"You guys eat too much." Hayner said flatly.

"Let the match begin!" The announcer said.

Vivi immediately went for a strike so fast that Roxas had no time to block. He lost a few orbs at that.

"Hang in there Roxas!" Hayner shouted as the three friends looked concerned.

Roxas recoiled for an attack of his own that not only knocked orbs off of Vivi, but his body twisted around the stomach and stretched taller as a result of the hit.

"What the heck?" Roxas asked.

Suddenly, Vivi vanished and a dusk appeared in its place. Roxas also quickly noticed that time had frozen once again, since he didn't hear any screams of terror of Vivi turning into...whatever the heck this thing was.

"Again?" Roxas asked as a Keyblade appeared in his hands in place of the bat.

"Again?" He groaned as he got ready for a fight.

Back in the Real World:

"I found you." DIZ said as a red dot appeared on his monitor that was scanning the digital version of Twilight Town.

In the Virtual World:

Roxas took out the Dusk rather easily this time, but as soon as he did, he heard clapping.

"All right Roxas…fight, fight, fight!" a man in a black coat said while clapping.

Roxas at first thought this was the pickpocket guy again, but dismissed that since his voice was entirely different. The man approached Roxas as he stood right in front of the confused boy.

"Took me forever to get in here, and what the heck are you wearing?" The man asked as he grabbed and tossed off Roxas's helmet.

"Who are you?" Roxas asked.

"You don't remember? It's me, Axel." Axel said as he took off his hood but Roxas was still drawing a blank. "Seems the reports were true."

Axel summoned his chakrams and lunged at Roxas who barely managed to block them.

"Just like the old days Roxas." Axel laughed as he knocked Roxas back. "You're coming with me, then you'll know everything. Number XIII. The Keyblade's chosen one."

"What are you talking about? I'm no chosen one." Roxas said.

"Then what's that in your hand?" Axel asked pointing to the Keyblade.

"LIKE I KNOW!" Roxas shouted as he tossed the Keyblade, but it reappeared back in his hands.

"We can't stick around here for too long Roxas. The truth is that this town is actually…" Axel began but was cut off by the arrival of a man in red robes with his face covered in bandages.

"What the?" Roxas asked shocked. Who was this guy?

"So, it was you." Axel growled.

"It's time you awaken from this dream, Roxas." DIZ said.

"Don't listen to him Roxas! Come with me!" Axel shouted.

"You were in the middle of a match. Weren't you about to win?" DIZ asked ignoring Axel.

"Shut up!" Axel shouted as he tossed his Chakrams at DIZ, but were blocked by a barrier.

"You made a promise to your friends, did you not?" DIZ asked.

"What the?" Axel asked as data covered his body. "Roxas, remember who your real best friend is!" Axel shouted but vanished in data.

DIZ vanished as well. The Keyblade was replaced by a stragglers bat and Roxas's helmet appeared on his head once again.

"My best friend?" Roxas asked as he looked around to the frozen audience and began to shout. "HAYNER, PENCE, OLETTE!"

A flash of white erupted around Roxas.

Once Roxas regained his senses, he saw Vivi collapse and the timer hit zero.

"And the winner is Roxas! Our new Strugglers Champion!" The announcer said.

"Huh?" Roxas asked. 'What happened? Was that all a dream?'

"Roxas, you won!" Hayner cheered as he, Pence and Olette cheered for him.

Vivi just looked as confused as Roxas as he got up.

"How did I get here?" He asked as he walked away.

"Here we present to you the Four Crystal Trophy." The referee said handing Roxas the trophy.

"Now then. Roxas is given a chance to battle our defending champion Setzer!" The announcer declared as Setzer took the stage. Hayner took the trophy as he, Pence, and Olette walked off the stage.

"There is only room for one champion up here, so allow me to show you the harshness of reality!" Setzer declared as the match began.

Later, on the Clock tower:

Roxas was now wearing the Champion belt as he plucked off the four crystals of the trophy and tossed them to his friends. The Red one went to Hayner, the yellow one to Olette, and the green one to Pence. Roxas kept the blue one for himself.

"One more treasure for us to share." Hayner said marveling at the orb.

"It's all thanks to you Roxas." Pence said.

"Hey, I helped!" Hayner cried.

"You lost in the first round!" Pence pointed out.

"I still got third!" Hayner argued.

"Only because Seifer bailed on the tournament." Pence said.

"Shut up!" Hayner pouted. "I would have beaten him."

"Well then, here is something to celebrate." Olette said as she pulled out four Sea Salt Ice Cream bars.

"Sweet!" Pence said as everyone took one.

Though as Roxas got up to reach for his, he suddenly felt dizzy again. Roxas stumbled and lost his balance, falling off the clock-tower much to his friends horror. However, as he fell, time suddenly felt like it slowed down.

Destiny Island:

Kairi was walking home from school. She had grown quite a bit in the last year. While she was now wearing a simple school uniform of a white shirt and a blue dress, her hair had grown out longer. She still practiced magic, but she forgot why she practiced in the first place.

"Hey Kairi! Let's walk home together!" Selphie called out. She was wearing the same uniform as Kairi. Kairi nodded and the two continued to walk.

"It's really nice out today. You want to go to the island with me? Tidus and Walka are all wrapped up in their ball game to go with me and it's been a while since we went there." Selphie asked.

"I can't." Kairi said.

"Why? Are you still thinking about that boy?" Selphie asked.

"I know we used to play on that island, but I can't remember his name, or his face. So I promised I wouldn't go to the Island again until I remembered him." Kairi said firmly.

"That's why you moved your crazy training to the beach?" Selphie asked and Kairi nodded. "Are you sure you didn't make him up?"

"No. I know he was there, and he had a brother. We used to play with Riku all the time as kids." Kairi said.

"Speaking of Riku, what ever happened to him? He just vanished. His parents are worried sick." Selphie wondered rather concerned herself.

"So is Hikari. Though she can't remember why." Kairi said as she felt a headache coming as she suddenly collapsed to the ground much to Selphie's shock.

"Namine?" A voice suddenly asked in Kairi's head.

"Who are you? And that's not my name. It's Kairi." Kairi said.

"Kairi? I know you. You're that girl he likes." The voice said.

"Who?" Kairi asked "Please, I need a name."

"I'm Roxas." Roxas said.

"Okay Roxas, but I need his name." Kairi said. She didn't mean to sound rude, but this question of who that boy was has been bothering her for quite a while and she wanted answers.

"You don't remember my name? Thanks a lot, Kairi. And people said I was a scatterbrain." A new voice joked.

Kairi gasped at the familiar feeling of the new voice.

"Okay, I guess I can give you a hint. My name starts with an S." The voice teased.

Kairi awoke from the ground with a concerned Selphie looking over her.

"Are you okay? You just passed out." Selphie asked as she offered a hand to Kairi.

"I'm okay. Sorry for worrying you." Kairi said as she took the hand and got up.

Kairi then headed straight for the beach with Selphie following behind.

Once she made it to the water, she took out of her bag a bottle with a letter in it and put it in the water as the waves carried it out to sea.

"What was that?" Selphie asked.

"A letter I wrote to the boy I can't remember. I wrote it yesterday, and when I finished, I remembered that we made a promise. The letter says that I will find them." Kairi said.

"Huh. Well, I hope he gets it." Selphie said not fully getting what Kairi was saying.

"He will…Starts with an S…Right, Sora?" Kairi asked slowly.

Restoration at 79%

Real Twilight Town:

"His progress is astounding." DIZ muttered surprised as he read the changes that suddenly happened to Sora.

Riku was tossing around the blue orb in his hand before he dropping it into the bag he took from Roxas a few days ago.

"What happened?" Riku asked approaching DIZ.

"Namine's encounter with Roxas put him in contact with Kairi's heart. And that in turn affected Sora." DIZ explained.

"Namine sure is something." Riku muttered.

"She wasn't born like other Nobodies. She can interfere with the hearts and minds of Sora and those close to him." DIZ said.

"But whose Nobody is she's?" Riku asked.

"I could tell you, but first perhaps you can tell me your true name first." DIZ said.

Riku removed his hood with his face still resembling Ansem's. "It's Ansem."

DIZ was silent for a moment before he started to laugh. "It's an honor, Ansem."

In the World that Never Was:

The remaining Organization members were having a meeting to discuss Axel's mission of bringing back Roxas.

"So, you failed to bring him back?" Xemnas asked.

"What was I suppose to do? He's forgotten everything. I need more time" Axel pleaded.

"Time is something we don't have. If he refuses to return, eliminate him." Xemnas ordered.

"No way! It's too soon! You can't just seriously get rid of him!" Axel protested.

"It's an order. Why do you hesitate? You have always been ruthless to those who turn their backs on the Organization in the past." Xaldin informed.

"But this is different. He didn't betray us; he CAN'T come back." Axel retorted.

"It is no different. If he refuses, you know what must be done." Xaldin said as he summoned one of his lances that floated next to him. "Or YOU will face the consequences." The lance was tossed right at Axel who didn't even flinch despite the lance being only a few inches away from his head.

Xemnas made a motion with his hand ordering Xaldin to stand down. Xaldin recalled the lance as Xemnas faced Axel. He pointed his hand at him as it glowed with energy.

"So, you'll turn me into a Dusk, is that it?" Axel asked. Xemnas didn't answer, but he didn't need to. Axel knew the answer.

"Fine! I'll do it, if that's what you want." He spat as Xemnas lowered his hand.

Chapter Text

Day 5:

Roxas awoke in a cold sweat the next morning in his bed.

"How am I alive? Didn't I fall off the Clock Tower? Or was that a dream?" Roxas muttered to himself.

Roxas rummaged through his stuff to find the Blue orb, only to realize it was gone much to his horror. Roxas practically tore his room apart trying to find the darn thing, but it was nowhere to be seen. After several minutes of looking, Roxas was forced to give up and head towards the Usual Spot empty handed; rather upset he lost his orb.

"Roxas, you're late." Hayner said as Roxas entered the Usual Spot. Pence was sitting on the couch while Olette and Hayner were arguing.

"Sorry. What did I miss?" Roxas asked trying to hide his sorrow over losing the orb.

"We promised that we would do our summer homework after the tournament but Hayner says that it isn't important." Olette said with a frown.

"Roxas, you're on my side, right? We have only three days left of freedom and she wants to waste that time with some homework assignment?" Hayner asked.

"Hey, did I fall off the Clock Tower yesterday?" Roxas asked.

"If you did, you wouldn't be here. But it was close." Pence said.

"I see…" Roxas muttered.

"Stop changing the subject! Roxas, do you agree that we should get our homework done?" Olette asked.

Roxas noticed Hayner was playing with his orb and Pence was ogling his. Olette didn't have hers on hand, but he saw it with her stuff on the couch.

"I think we should do our homework." Roxas said much to Olette's joy and Hayner's shock. Honestly, homework sounded like a nice way to get his mind off of things.

"Ugh fine…But what are we going to do our assignment on?" Hayner groaned.

"There are plenty of subjects for our research." Olette said.

"Like what?" Hayner asked.

"Uh…well…" Olette stuttered trying to think of what they should do their homework on, but she couldn't decide ether.

"How about something supernatural." Pence asked.

Usually Hayner would dismiss it but now, he just wanted to get this stupid project over with.

"Okay Pence, what do you have in mind." Hayner asked.

"The Seven Wonders of Twilight Town!" Pence suggested happily.

"You do know that most of those have been proven to be nothing but a load of bull crap, right?" Hayner groaned.

"Not the last one! The one at the abandoned mansion." Pence argued. "Hardly anyone is bold enough to even approach the Old Mansion."

"Well, if anything, research on that place in general is bound to give enough for a report even without the supernatural." Olette pointed out.

"Then it's settled. Let's go Ghost hunting!" Hayner declared as the four ran outside to the Old Mansion.

At the Old Mansion:

"Time to go ghost hunting!" Hayner declared as the group arrived at the Old Mansion.

"We're not ghost hunting; we're investigating the paranormal activities that surround this place." Pence pointed out.

"Yeah…What you said." Hayner said pretending he understood what Pence said.

"Let's see. According to the rumors, there is supposed to be a girl that appears on the second-floor window." Olette said reading what she dug up about the seventh wonder.

'A girl? Could it be Namine?' Roxas thought as he remembered what Namine once said to him.

"Come to the Old Mansion. I'll tell you what you want to know." Namine's voice rang in Roxas's head that she said a few days ago.

"So, how do we get over this gate?" Hayner asked as he began to climb it…only to get zapped by something. "Ouch, what shocked me?" Hayner asked.

"What are you boneheads doing here?" Seifer asked as he, Fuu, Rai, and Vivi approached the group.

"We could be asking you the same thing." Hayner shot back.

"We're investigating the Old Mansion for our summer homework." Seifer said.

"DON'T COPY US!" Hayner shouted.

"Why would I want to copy you?" Seifer shot back. "Early Bird gets the worm!"

Roxas wasn't paying attention to the fight that was about to happen. Instead, he was drawn in by the window as he saw a familiar figure in the window.

"Namine?" Roxas asked as a flash of light erupted.

When the light died down, Roxas found himself in the white room again from a few days ago when he last spoke to Namine.

"Am I inside the mansion?" Roxas asked as he looked out the window of the room. He could see the gate from here, but he couldn't see his friends or Seifer's gang for some reason.

Roxas then took a glance around to the number of drawings on the walls and floor. All done in crayon.

"Hello Roxas." Namine said from her seat.

"Namine…" Roxas said looking at her before turning back to the pictures. One picture in particular was of him and that Axel guy from yesterday. "Is that me and Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Yes. You two are best friends." Namine said.

"Very funny." Roxas muttered not believing it.

"Roxas…Do you want to know the truth about yourself?" Namine asked.

"What do you mean? No one knows me better than me." Roxas said causing Namine to chuckle. "Though, some strange stuff has been happening lately."

"Do you know who those four are?" Namine asked pointing to a picture of two boys, a duck, and a dog.

"That's Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy." Roxas said remembering them from his dreams.

"About a year ago, I had to take apart the chains of memories in Sora's heart. Now I've been trying to put them back exactly to what they once were. The process has been taking quite some time, but soon he will be back to normal soon. The process is affecting you Roxas. That's why you've been having those dreams." Namine explained.

"Namine, who are you?" Roxas had to ask.

"I am a witch that has the power to control the memories of Sora and those close to him." Namine explained.

"A witch?" Roxas asked.

"Well, that's what DIZ calls me. I don't know why I have these powers, but honestly, I wished I didn't." Namine said sadly.

"DIZ?" Roxas asked.

"He monitors this whole town." Namine said.

"Okay?" Roxas said not getting that. But he had another question. "Who is Sora? Is he related to me?"

"You and he are connected, because you are half of what he is. For him to wake up, he also needs you to become complete." Namine said.

"Huh? He needs me?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas…you were never supposed to exist." Namine said much to Roxas's shock.

"How could you say that?" Roxas asked a bit offended.

"Sorry…I guess Riku was right. Some things are better left unsaid." Namine said sadly as Roxas was engulfed in another flash of light.

When Roxas came to, he saw Hayner gloating.

"Hey Roxas, you okay? You kind of zoned out." Pence said.

"Sorry, what did I miss?" Roxas asked.

"I sent Seifer's gang packing." Hayner boasted.

"Translation, Seifer said this wasn't worth his time and left." Olette said.

"Spoil sport." Hayner muttered.

"Hey guys look!" Pence said pointing at the window. "Look at how the curtain moves. That must be what people see when they think it's a girl."

"Another wash out. Just like the rest of the wonders. Big surprise." Hayner sighed but was pretty much expecting it.

"Don't worry. While you were arguing with Seifer, I managed to get enough material to write our paper." Olette cheered.

"Great! Then let's get this stupid paper done with and go back to enjoying summer." Hayner said as the four took off, though Roxas couldn't help but think to what Namine said.

"You were never supposed to exist."

'I was never supposed to exist? What does that even mean?' Roxas wondered as he followed his friends.

In the Old Mansion of the Real Twilight Town:

"I'm surprised that you didn't stop Namine this time." Riku said as he approached DIZ.

"I saw no need to. Besides, he missed his trip to the beach." DIZ said.

"That is almost kind of you." Riku muttered a bit sarcastic.

"More importantly, how are you doing? Are the holes in your memories starting to fill up?" DIZ asked.

"Yes." Riku nodded.

"The same is happening to everyone that forgot Sora and Corrin. Pretty soon, they will be like old friends that has gone away for a year." DIZ said.

"I've been waiting long enough. But I must know. What is it that you are after?" Riku asked.

"Revenge." DIZ said simply.

"Revenge?" Riku asked.

"Anyway, there are other lose ends to tie up. I want you to dispose of Namine. She did a splendid job fixing her mistake, but it is high time she vanished as well. Roxas isn't the only one that was never meant to exist after all." DIZ said.

Riku said nothing to that.

Destiny Island:

"FIRE!" Kairi shouted as she shot a fire spell out into the sea.

She was now dressed in a pink one-piece dress with a white undershirt beneath it. Her memories of Sora and Corrin were back and now she was on the island they used to play on once again.

"How could I have forgotten them? Why did I forget them?" Kairi scolded herself before shacking her head. "No matter. I also remember why I am learning magic. Sora, Corrin, Riku…Next time, I won't be a burden to you." Kairi said determined as she continued to practice spells. While she has gotten great at magic, she hasn't really had many if any Heartless to test and improve her power. Still, she at least had some means of fighting if she was ever attacked. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Nohr:

"Big sis, are you up yet?" Elise asked as she entered Kamui's room. But to her surprise, Kamui was crying. "What's wrong?" She asked concerned as the other siblings entered the room.

"Are you worried about your mission tomorrow?" Camilla asked worried.

Kamui shook her head. "No…It's Corrin."

"Corrin?" The others asked a bit surprised.

"My own brother. How could I forget him?" Kamui cried.

"Corrin? That's right! We had a brother named Corrin!" Elise gasped.

"It is quite a disgrace that we could forget him like that. Whether he is dead or not." Leo muttered.

"All the more reason that I will do some investigating tomorrow while you are on your mission. So just focus on that for now." Xander assured and Kamui nodded.

"Thank you Xander." Kamui smiled.

"It is no problem dear sister. Might be a bit easier now that I remember his name." Xander smiled.

"I still forget though. What happened to him exactly?" Elise asked.

"From what Gunter said, he was taken by a man in a black coat. Sadly we can't ask him for more information." Xander said remembering that Gunter was lost on Kamui's first mission to the Hoshidan boarder.

"A black coat? I saw a man in a black coat at the Bottomless Canyon. He asked if I knew Corrin." Kamui gasped.

"Seriously? Do you know where he went?" Xander asked surprised.

"No. Soon after that, we were dragged into a battle and I didn't see him after that." Kamui said.

"That is definitely suspicious. I'd best speak to father about this." Xander said as he left.

Hoshido:

Takumi was sitting with his family at the dinner table. Though no one was especially hungry with their mother's death, Kamui's betrayal, and a war erupting.

"We must eat. We will need our strength." Ryoma said as he ate slowly.

"I know but, I just can't get out of my head the time I saw Kamui last before she was taken." Hinoka said sadly.

"I was too young to remember." Sakura said sadly.

"They're gone. Kamui is with Nohr and Corrin is gone. That's all there is to it!" Takumi said firmly as everyone blinked and looked at him.

"Corrin?" Azura asked confused.

"Corrin…that's right! Corrin! He was Kamui's twin brother!" Hinoka gasped.

"I have another brother?" Sakura gasped. Though deep in her early memories, she did see a young boy that looked a lot like Kamui.

"He's probably dead." Takumi said bitterly.

"How could you say that?" Hinoka demanded in anger that Takumi could be so dismissive like that.

"Think about it. He was taken when Kamui was right?" Takumi asked and Ryoma and Hinoka nodded. "Yet Kamui never mentioned him once. It's likely that he was discarded, or he died in Nohr, and Kamui's memories were whipped of him. How we forgot is a mystery, but it is very likely he is dead." Takumi said.

"I hate to admit it, but it is a possibility." Azura admitted as she remembered the harshness in Nohr. "It's sad because I was actually curious about him."

"I...can't argue with that." Hinoka sighed in defeat. She prayed Corrin was still alive, but she couldn't deny that Takumi had a point.

"All the more reason to make Nohr pay. They ruined our family for far too long." Ryoma declared.

Hinoka and Takumi nodded.

Outside the dinner hall Kaze slumped to the ground in depression, having overheard everything.

"None of this would have happened if I just said something that day." He muttered sadly.

Somewhere else:

Silas was deep in thought as the holes in his memories were starting to fill.

"I wonder if this means that Riku was successful in helping to awaken Sora." Silas asked himself. "It's almost clear, so they must be awakening soon. I should wrap this up and head back. I'll stay and do recon on the Dusks for a little bit longer, but after that, I'm out of here, regardless of what DIZ wants."

Hollow Bastion:

Leon was patrolling the newly reconstructed town of Hollow Bastion. People were returning and shops were being ran again. It wasn't much, but it was the start of the restoration of his home world.

Though as he walked, he couldn't help but wonder.

"Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy…Why did we just forget you guys?" He asked himself bitterly.

"You remember them too huh?" Yuffie asked as she appeared next to him. She was now wearing a black colored variation of what she wore a year ago.

"It's strange how we all just forgot them and then all suddenly remember then at the same time." Leon admitted.

"It's strange that we all forgot them all in the first place." Yuffie said sadly.

"Yeah…That's true." Leon said with regret.

"I know the chances are slim to none, but I would like to see them again. At least one more time." Yuffie admitted.

Leon just nodded. "Sora did say he'd find a way. And if he can't, then I'll look for one once the restorations are complete. Those four deserve to see what they helped us fight for last year."

Twilight Town:

Riku approached Namine who was looking over Sora in the pod room. She was sitting in a chair in front of the large pod with a sketch book and crayons in her hands.

"How is he?" Riku asked.

"The memory restoration is almost done. It should be finished by tomorrow." Namine said.

"What is that drawing?" Riku asked pointing to the drawing in Namine's hands.

"It's a picture of Roxas, and his friends from that world…honestly, I wish he could stay there forever." Namine admitted. While it may be fake, Roxas was happy there.

Riku said nothing.

"DIZ asked you to dispose of me, didn't he?" Namine asked much to Riku's surprise. "He did say that once I filled my purpose, there was no reason for me to stay…But before I go, I need to tell Roxas something."

Chapter Text

Day 6:

In the Kingdom of Nohr:

Xander entered the Throne room where Garon and Iago were waiting for him.

"What is it Prince Xander?" Garon asked as Xander knelled before his father.

"Father, I have to ask. Do you remember Corrin?" Xander asked.

Garon raised an eyebrow and was silent for a second but then nodded. "I do. What about him?" He asked.

"Well, as you recall, the reason for his disappearance was a man in a black coat that broke into the Northern Fortress and stole Corrin from us that night about nine years ago." Xander explained.

"What about it?" Garon asked annoyed. This was getting rather pointless to remember about something that was years ago.

"Well, Kamui told me that she ran into a man in a black coat when she was at the Bottomless Canyon. Based on the description, it could be the same man who kidnapped Corrin." Xander said.

That did get Garon's attention.

"Really now?" Garon asked.

"That man has been a mystery for many years now. The only one that so easily got past some of Nohr's greatest defenses like it was nothing. Not even Hoshidan ninjas could ever do that." Iago muttered.

"I bring this up because it seems that after all these years, that man has returned. And this return could bring us a lead to Corrin." Xander said.

"He is likely dead. Why should we care?" Iago asked not caring about the missing prince.

"Might I remind you that it was YOUR defenses that you were so proud of that the man managed to get past?" Xander asked that shut Iago up.

"That's enough." Garon ordered getting Xander and Iago's attention. "Regardless if Corrin is alive or not matters not right now. We are about to go to war with Hoshido. Our attention should be to prepare for the invasion. Do not forget that Xander."

"But…yes father." Xander relented.

"However, I cannot deny that the man in the black coat is a threat as well. He was able to easily slip past Nohr defenses with ease and then vanish. Can you confirm that Kamui saw him at the Bottomless Canyon?" Garon asked.

"Well, the only person who actually saw him back then was Gunter, but we can't ask him anymore. However, the man Kamui saw does match the description of the report he submitted. Plus I don't think Kamui was ever lie about this." Xander said.

I suppose you're right...Very well. I will allow the investigation to continue again, provided that it doesn't impede the invasion. Do you understand?" Garon asked.

"Th-Thank you father. I will not let you down." Xander smiled. "I will assist in the investigation, and prepare for the invasion."

Garon nodded. "See to it that you do my son. I have high expectations for you. If that is all, you are dismissed."

Xander nodded and left.

Once Xander was gone, Iago turned to Garon.

"So, do you think that Corrin is still alive your highness?" Iago asked.

"I am unsure. The mysteries that surround the man in the Black Coat run deep on how he was just able to appear and leave in the blink of an eye. Or how he was able to slip past the barrier we put up in that fortress." Garon admitted.

"Considering the fact that Kamui made no mention of Corrin during her time in Hoshido, I think it's safe to assume that the man isn't working for Hoshido." Iago pointed out.

"Be that as it may, I want no interruptions to my plans. If that man appears before us again, he will be crushed like anyone else who opposes me." Garon declared.

"And if Corrin is alive?" Iago asked.

"I have no need for him anymore. If by some chance he is alive, kill him." Garon simply said.

"Of course, your majesty." Iago smirked.

'I have no need for those two anymore. While Kamui has fulfilled her purpose, her strong ties to the rest of the family can still prove to be useful. I see no use for a failed plan like Corrin. Especially since his loyalty wouldn't likely be as strong as Kamui's. He may as well be a traitor if he still lives.' Garon thought. As far as he was concerned, Corrin was dead.

Virtual Twilight Town:

Roxas awoke the next morning feeling rather…strange. As he got out of bed, he didn't feel like himself.

Shaking it off, Roxas headed to the Usual Spot, once he was all dressed up.

"Hey guys, what's the plan today?" Roxas asked as he entered the Usual Spot. Hayner, Pence and Olette were chatting away with each other, but didn't seem to indicate that they heard Roxas speak.

"Hey guys!" Roxas called out but to no response.

"What am I, invisible?" Roxas asked himself as he stepped forward. "Hey Hayner, Seifer got his laundry mixed up and looks ridiculous!"

Hayner didn't react.

"Hey Pence. There is an 'End of Summer Sale' at the market place. Lots of taste food half off." Roxas tried.

Pence didn't react.

"Hey Olette, did we finish everything in that summer homework yesterday?" Roxas asked starting to get worried.

Olette didn't react.

"Guys come on; this isn't funny!" Roxas said as he reached for Hayner's shoulder. Only for it to go right through Hayner's body.

"What the?" Roxas asked shocked as the three ran outside, going right through Roxas in the process. "What is going on around here?"

"There you are Roxas." Axel said as he appeared in the Usual Spot through a Corridor of Darkness, to notice that Roxas looked rather sad. "What's with you?"

Roxas said nothing.

"Uh, here. I got you some Ice Cream." Axel said handing Roxas a bar of Sea Salt Ice Cream. Roxas took the Ice Cream and slowly ate it with Axel who had his own. Once the two finished, Axel spoke up.

"So, the boss has given me these icky orders. If you refuse to come back with me, I have no choice but to get rid of you." Axel admitted.

"Get rid of me?" Roxas asked shocked.

"That's right." Axel nodded.

"But, we're best friends, right?" Roxas asked remembering what Namine told him yesterday.

"Yeah, but I'm not about to get turned into a Dusk for…Wait a second, you remember?" Axel asked excited.

Roxas slowly nodded trying to play along.

"That's great! I was worried there for a moment." Axel said relieved.

"Axel, am I…not supposed to exist?" Roxas had to ask.

Axel stared at him in silent for a second before he started to laugh. "You had me there for a minute. But that question just blew your 'I remember' act."

Axel then sighed as he summoned one of his Chakrams.

"Roxas, let me let you in on a little secret." Axel said. He then threw the Chakram around the spot destroying everything much to Roxas's horror. "This entire town is nothing but a sham! That guy with the bandages you saw when we last met a few days ago created this entire town from data based on the real Twilight Town."

Roxas looked down to the ground where the photo he took with Hayner, Pence, and Olette at the beach last year laid on the ground in a broken picture frame. However, when he saw it, there was something wrong...

He wasn't in the picture at all.

"Don't you see it yet? There is still time. Just come home with me." Axel pleaded as he offered a hand to Roxas.

Roxas only summoned the Keyblade in response.

"You're an idiot." Axel spat. He summoned his other Chakram and readied for battle.

Roxas got into a battle position as Axel charged at him. But Axel then suddenly froze in place.

Roxas lowered his Keyblade in confusion as he approached the red-head cautiously.

"What is going on here?" Roxas asked out loud.

"Roxas, to the mansion! The time has come!" DIZ's voice called out of nowhere.

Roxas glanced at the photo one more time before he ran out of the Usual Spot. He didn't know what else to do at this point but to head to the mansion. Hopefully there, he can get some answers.

"Hayner, Pence, Olette…" Roxas muttered as he ran.

Shortly after Roxas left, Axel was able to break free from his frozen position.

"So, it seems that the Roxas I knew is long gone…Fine. I see how it is." Axel muttered as he clenched his fist in anger.

Roxas ran through the streets of Twilight Town that was swarming with Nobodies. Dusks were one thing, but there were also Assassin Nobodies as well. They had a vague human-like body covered in a silver and purple body suit. Their arms had four blades sticking out that they used to essentially glide around with their incredibly flexible bodies. One approached Roxas as he got ready for battle.

The Assassin sank into the ground and charged at Roxas with its blades, but Roxas deflected them with his Keyblade. Once its guard was down, Roxas gave a counterattack destroying the creature. Another came up from behind and self-destructed itself, but as its body was glowing, Roxas dodge rolled away before it could blow up.

Roxas continued to run towards the mansion, though his thoughts were currently on the town.

'Where is everyone? This entire place is a ghost town…Was Axel, right? Is this town a fake?' Roxas wondered as he made it through the forest.

Roxas arrived at the Old Mansion, but just like yesterday, it was still locked up tight.

"Don't just call me and then lock me out." Roxas groaned. "How am I supposed to get in?"

Roxas suddenly had a vision.

"Come open this chest. The Keyblade is said to be able to open any lock." Leon said. Sora walked over to the chest and pointed the Keyblade at the lock. Suddenly a small beam shot out of the Keyblade's tip and into the lock. A lock opening sound was heard and Leon opened the chest.

Roxas decided to point the Keyblade at the lock. Just like in the memory, a beam shot out of the Keyblade and right into the lock. The sound of a lock opening and the lock vanished causing the gate to open up. With the Dusks still on his tail, Roxas dashed inside of the mansion.

Once Roxas was inside, Riku appeared with his Soul Eater in his hand, blocking the Dusks from giving chase.

The inside of the mansion was everything Roxas was expecting. Dusty, broken, ominous, and creepy. The place looked like it hasn't been taken care of for years with tears in the wallpaper, decorations and furniture broken, and heck, one door was completely blocked off by fallen debris.

Ahead of him, there was a glass door that lead to a garden outside. But around it was a set of stairs that lead to the second floor where there were two doors on each side.

Roxas glanced to the left.

"If I recall correctly, the room I met Namine in was the door on the left." Roxas muttered as he ran up the stairs and entered the door on the left.

"Namine?" Roxas asked as he entered, but Namine wasn't in the room. But what Roxas did see on the table was the picture of him with Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

"I wish she wouldn't draw those pictures." Roxas said sadly. After what just happened, he didn't want to be reminded of the memories that might be false.

Roxas then glanced at a picture of him in a black coat running in the night. This brought memories back to him. To what he once was.

"Organization XIII…" Roxas muttered.

"Do you remember something?" Namine asked as she appeared in her chair.

"They're…a bad group." Roxas said.

"I don't know. They are a group of incomplete beings that wish to be whole. And in order to do that, they are desperately searching for something." Namine admitted.

"What?" Roxas asked.

"Kingdom Hearts." Namine said.

Roxas just sighed. "You know, there is one question that I've been running from this entire time. I was afraid of the answer but now, nothing else matters."

"What is that?" Namine asked.

"What's going to happen to me? What am I supposed to do?" Roxas asked.

"Everyone is waiting for the Keyblade hero's return. To do that, you need to wake up Sora and…" Namine began but immediately stopped.

"And what? Namine?" Roxas asked as Namine didn't move or respond. But instead, DIZ appeared before him as Namine vanished.

"What are you doing here?" DIZ asked.

"Hey, what gives? We were talking! Bring Namine back!" Roxas said annoyed.

"Go to the library across the halls and head downstairs. I will answer any questions you have there." DIZ ordered.

"What?" Roxas asked confused.

"Roxas!" Namine shouted as she appeared through a corridor of darkness.

"Namine?" Roxas gasped.

"Listen to me. You and I are called Nobodies. Essentially what is half of a person. You won't disappear, you'll be whole!" Namine said.

"Enough outbursts out of you!" DIZ shouted as he grabbed her.

"Hey!" Roxas shouted as DIZ dragged her back through the Corridor. Roxas tried to run after them, but a barrier stopped him.

"Roxas, we will meet again. I won't be me and you won't be you. But we will meet again. And then we can talk about everything." Namine said as she was pulled through and the corridor vanished.

"Disappear? What did she mean?" Roxas asked confused. With no other leads, Roxas decides to do what the man in bandages said and heads to the library.

In the Real twilight Town:

"Get in there." DIZ growled as he tossed Namine in a storage closet and locked the door as Riku appeared. "I thought I told you to dispose of Namine."

Riku just glared at DIZ from under his hood. "I'm not doing that. You want it done, do it yourself." He spat. "But more importantly, we are out of time. The data world is swarming with Nobodies!"

DIZ went over to his computer.

"I see. They are making one final stand. I will deal with them. This is just the prelude to my revenge." DIZ smirked as Riku watched in silent.

In the Data Twilight Town:

Roxas arrived in the library and looked around for said stairs.

"Okay, so where are these stairs that guy said would be here?" Roxas asked annoyed.

As if on cue, the floor opened up to reveal a set of stairs that lead to a laboratory of sorts.

"Okay…that happened." Roxas muttered as he headed downstairs.

The basement was strange. Compared to the worn out look the rest of the mansion minus Namine's room had, this place was far more futuristic and higher tech. Roxas honestly felt like he was in another place entirely.

As Roxas approached DIZ's computer, memories started to return to him.

Him being in the Organization, Axel, him leaving the Organization, his fight with Riku and…

Flashback:

"Will this work?" Riku asked he placed Roxas underneath a device near DIZ's computer as per DIZ's instructions.

"We need to buy some time until Namine can finish repairing Sora's memories. In the meantime, we will place him in a virtual town with some false memories. That should fool the Organization." DIZ said setting things up on his computer.

"What will happen to Roxas?" Riku asked.

"He contains half of Sora's power. In the end, he will have to give it back." DIZ said in a matter of fact.

"Poor thing." Riku muttered.

"It is the common fate of a Nobody. Honestly these blissful dreams are more than he deserves." DIZ dismissed.

Flashback Ends:

Anger filled Roxas's being as he summoned the Keyblade and started to utterly destroy DIZ's computer (Or at least a data recreation of it) as a means of unleashing all that anger.

'It was all a lie! I never had anything!' Roxas thought as he destroyed the computer. Once he calmed down, he was lost in thought.

'I remember now. I'm a nobody. A being that doesn't have a heart…I was never supposed to exist. Shortly after I came into being, I met Xemnas. He gave me the name Roxas, a number, and a purpose within Organization XIII. I was to collect hearts from the Heartless so that we can create Kingdom Hearts and finally gain a heart of my own. That's where I met Axel…my best friend as well. But then…I started to have these weird dreams of a boy named Sora. I asked what they were about, but I never got any answers. It always felt like they were hiding something from me. Even Axel. I wanted answers. To why I was able to use the Keyblade. So I left.' Roxas thought as his mind drifted to Hayner Pence, and Olette.

'Then there was those three. After missions, I would hang out with Axel for some Sea Salt Ice Cream. Sometimes I would see them…and I wished I could enjoy life like them. But it was all just a dream.' Roxas thought sadly.

"Well, you sure did a number on that computer." Axel commented as he appeared behind Roxas.

"Axel." Roxas said sadly causing Axel to blink.

"Oh, you actually do remember me this time?" Axel asked and Roxas nodded. "I'm so FLATTERED!"

Axel unleashed his fire power causing an explosion that sent Roxas flying into the next room that was more opened in space than the computer room.

"But sadly, you're too late!" Axel spat as he approached Roxas who was getting back up. Fire surrounded the entire room on the walls and doors cutting off any possibility of escape. "I warned you that day. That if you go against the Organization, then you would be dead. I can't save you this time. Orders are absolute about traitors Roxas. Get ready."

"I won't go down without a fight." Roxas said firmly as his Keyblade changed into Oblivion, and Oathkeeper appeared in his left hand.

"Two of them?" Axel gasped. But he shook off the shock and summoned his chakrams.

Axel charged at Roxas and started to unleash a barrage of attacks with his chakrams, but even with his speed, Roxas was able to block each of them.

'Not only is he somehow able to wield two Keyblades, but he's also gotten a lot stronger too. I'll have to step my game up here.' Axel thought as Roxas charged at him.

"Get back!" Axel shouted as he slammed his chakrams to the ground creating a wall of fire that caused Roxas to immediately jump back to avoid getting burned.

Axel engulfed his Chakrams in fire and tossed them at Roxas. Roxas dodge rolled out of the first one's way and knocked the other with his Keyblade as he charged at Axel again. Axel jumped back to avoid a hit as he caught his Chakrams and jumped further back into the fire that surrounded them.

Roxas stood in the center of the room looking for where Axel was going to pop out of. From his left, Axel charged at Roxas at high speed, that Roxas jumped out of the way.

"Doesn't this bring back some old memories Roxas?" Axel asked as he slammed his Chakrams into the ground to create several pillars of fire making Roxas jump in order to avoid them.

Axel took advantage of this and jumped towards Roxas while he was still in the air. "Just like those good old days!"

To his surprise, Roxas vanished from sight and appeared behind Axel.

"We can't go back to those days." Roxas said as he gave a mighty slash to Axel's side with his Keyblade, ripping into Axel's coat and damaging him as well.

As Axel fell to the ground in defeat, the fire that surrounded the two vanished and Roxas dismissed the Keyblades.

"That was…a pretty good move there." Axel admitted as he clenched the side where Roxas struck him in pain.

"Axel…I'm sorry." Roxas said with regret.

"Hey, let's me again in the next life." Axel said sadly.

"Yeah…I'll be waiting." Roxas said with a sad smile.

"I'll…be waiting to." Axel said sadly as he vanished in a corridor of darkness.

With Axel gone, Roxas decided to head to the next room.

The next room was a simple hallway to the next room after it. But what really caught Roxas's attention is the pods that stood at one side of the room. They looked like a closed lotus flower with the top. It was what appears to be crystal like with it being rather transparent allowing Roxas to see inside the pods. Inside three of the six pods that lined across the room, there were three figures that Roxas recognized from the dreams he had.

"Corrin…Donald…Goofy?" Roxas asked himself as he passed by. Donald and Goofy looked no different from the memories at all, while Corrin's only change was that he was slightly taller and his clothing looked a bit too small for him. His pants didn't reach his shoes anymore like they used too.

Roxas headed into the next room.

Inside what seems to be the final room, was a single massive pod in the center of the room. The room itself was white like the room Namine was in earlier and DIZ was there standing in front of the big pod.

"At last. The Keyblade's chosen one." DIZ greeted.

"Who are you talking to? Me or Sora?" Roxas asked.

"To half of Sora of course." DIZ said.

"Well, I'm here. You said that you would answer any questions I had." Roxas said.

"I did, and I will. What do you wish to know?" DIZ asked.

"What do you want with me?" Roxas asked.

"In order for the Keyblade hero to awaken, he needs you to return the half of his power you possess, along with the remains of his memories. For that to happen, you must disappear." DIZ said.

"Why? Why do I have to disappear?" Roxas asked in anger.

"You reside in darkness. I need someone who can travel about the realm of light to destroy Organization XIII. While you are indeed strong, you are not strong enough to face the Organization. Your fight with Riku is proof of that. Therefore, you must give up your existence and return your power to Sora." DIZ said.

"But why?" Roxas asked again.

"As I said. You hold half of Sora's power, and you are a Nobody." DIZ said simply.

"So?" Roxas asked as he summoned the Keyblade. "WHO CARES!" Roxas shouted as he charged at DIZ intent on cutting him down. However, the Keyblade just went right through him.

"What the?" Roxas asked shocked.

"My apologies. This is nothing but a data-based projection. But if it makes you feel better, you are free to try again." DIZ said.

Roxas did try to slash at DIZ repeatedly until he was exhausted.

"Finished?" DIZ asked.

"I hate you so much." Roxas spat.

"You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good." DIZ said as he vanished.

"NO! My heart belongs to ME!" Roxas shouted.

Just as he said that, the pod then began to open getting Roxas's attention.

Inside the pod was a boy sleeping. The boy he had dreams of for quite some time. The boy who everyone told him about. The boy he grew to resent out of jealousy. The boy that was his original half...

"Sora." Roxas said sadly.

Sora was still sleeping, just like Namine said he was. And much like Corrin, his clothing looked a bit too small on him. His pants only went down to his knees.

"This is him. The one I had dreams of. That made me start to doubt myself. That made me leave the Organization to find answers." Roxas muttered to himself as he stared at Sora. "They say that Nobodies don't feel emotions, but why do I feel so much jealousy?"

Roxas looked through his memories again. Of the real ones in the Organization with Axel, but then to the fake ones in the virtual Twilight Town.

"I know it was all fake, but it still felt real to me. But when I look at my memories of my friends, and see those memories of yours, I guess I can see why you would want them back." Roxas admitted sadly.

Roxas looked at his hand and noticed that it became transparent, just like the rest of his body.

"You know Sora, you're lucky. I thought I still had one day left, but it seems that my summer vacation is…over." Roxas said sadly as he vanished completely.

In the Real Twilight Town:

Axel stood on top of the Clock Tower. He didn't know how, but he could feel that Roxas was no more. Axel gave no expression as he stared at the sunset. The one that he and Roxas would stare at as they ate Ice Cream after each mission.

He then glanced down at his ripped coat.

"Guess I need to find a new coat." He muttered to himself.

In the Train Station Below:

A rather tacky train pulled into the station. It was purple in color with stars and notes designed over it. It also had a big blue sorcerer's hat that was blue with white stars on it right on the top of the train.

Out of the train stepped King Mickey. Still wearing the Organization coat he got from DIZ back in Castle Oblivion. As he stepped out, he spotted another man wearing a black coat waiting for him.

And in his hand, was an orange pouch with a flower decorated on it.

Chapter Text

"Sora…" A voice called out.

"Sora…" The voice called again as Sora stirred a little bit in his sleep.

"SORA!" The voice called more annoyed. "Wake up sleeping beauty!" Sora felt himself being shacked.

Sora slowly opened his eyes as his vision slowly returned to him. When it was clear, he saw his brother looking annoyed.

"About time you woke up." Corrin huffed.

Sora yawned as he shook himself fully awake. "Corrin!" Sora cheered as he embraced his brother in a hug.

Corrin was surprised at first, before he smiled and hug Sora back.

"Well now, you awake?" Corrin asked.

"Yeah but…where are we?" Sora asked as he looked around.

"I have no idea. I woke up in a pod in the next room with Donald and Goofy." Corrin said pointing to the door behind him.

"Where are they?" Sora asked.

"Next room." Corrin said pointing towards the door behind him.

"Hey Corrin? I have to ask. Is that a bruise on your face?" Sora asked noticing a small red bruise on Corrin's forehead.

"Shut up." Corrin growled. His face glowing a bit red.

"You said you were sleeping in a pod…" Sora continued as they made their way to the next room.

"Shut it." Corrin growled.

Sora noticed a mark on the ground in front of one of the pods.

"Did you fall out?" Sora laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Corrin shouted embarrassed as Sora laughed.

Entering the next room, Sora saw Donald and Goofy looking around. Once they saw Sora, they ran up and hug him.

"SORA!" The two cheered.

"Donald, Goofy!" Sora cheered as the friends embraced in a quick hug.

Jiminy jumped out of Sora's hood, and onto his shoulder.

"Man, that was some nap." Jiminy said yawning.

"But why were we sleeping in the first place?" Corrin asked.

"And, where are we?" Sora added.

"There are some stairs up ahead. Let's check things out while Jiminy checks his journal." Donald suggested pointing to the stairs.

The others nodded and headed up stairs.

The four now stood in the Old Mansion's main room, still just as confused as before.

"Man. The upper layers don't match the basement at all." Sora commented.

"Jiminy, what does your journal say?" Goofy asked.

Jiminy opened his journal, but to his horror, it was empty.

"NOOO!" Jiminy cried.

"Jiminy, are you okay?" Sora asked concerned.

"It's gone! All the fruits of my labor are gone!" Jiminy cried showing the others the journal.

"Wak! It IS empty!" Donald gasped.

"How could this even happen?" Jiminy cried.

"Maybe you wrote in invisible ink?" Goofy suggested.

"DON'T BE STUPID!" Jiminy shouted annoyed.

"So, there's nothing in your journal?" Corrin asked.

Jiminy looked through again. "Wait, there is something. 'Thank Namine!' Who is Namine?" Jiminy asked confused.

"How should we know? You're the one that wrote it." Donald said annoyed.

"THANKS, NAMINE!" Sora shouted getting everyone's attention.

"Did you have to shout?" Donald asked annoyed.

Sora just shrugged.

"Okay, but back to the matter at hand, what was the last thing you guys remembered?" Corrin asked.

That got the others in deep thought.

"We found Kairi." Sora began.

"We defeated Ansem." Goofy continued.

"Sealed the Door to Darkness." Donald added.

"And then we went looking for Riku and the King." Sora finished.

"That's right, I remember that." Corrin said remember the end of their last adventure. "Then you said you might have an idea where to look for them and lead the way." Corrin said turning to Sora.

Sora thought about that for a moment before it came back to him.

"Yeah. There was this guy in a Black Coat, kind of like the guy we saw at Hollow Bastion after we sealed the Final Keyhole. He said 'Up ahead is something you need, but to find it, you must lose something dear to you.'" Sora said recalling his meeting with the strange man.

"Then we found ourselves at a creepy castle, opened the door and then…I can't remember." Corrin admitted.

"Me neither." Sora admitted.

"I know we entered the door, but everything after that is a blank." Donald said.

"Is this the mansion?" Goofy asked.

"Let's go outside and look." Corrin said.

Jiminy had jumped back in Sora's hood to start rewriting everything lost in his journal based on memory. Needless to say, he was going to be at it for a while.

The four stepped outside to a beautiful sunset and a forest before them.

"This is definitely not the mansion. The place was more creepy looking, and looked like it was surrounded by a black void." Corrin said.

"Yeah. This place looks smaller. And while creepy, not as creepy as that other castle. Or as twisted." Sora said.

"Could make a great place for ghost stories though." Donald pointed out.

"Well, at least we're all safe and sound, right?" Sora asked.

"True, but this is all still confusing." Corrin said.

"Maybe, but why don't we take a look around? And who knows, maybe Riku and the King are around." Sora said as he headed towards the forest.

"That's right! We still need to find the king!" Donald said as he and Goofy followed Sora.

"So carefree…" Corrin muttered before smiling. "But then again, I can't argue that I'm curious as well."

With that, Corrin followed after the others.

Sora and co made it through the small woods and into Twilight Town as they marveled at the scenery.

"Wow, this place sure is lovely." Corrin commented.

"Still, it feels a bit empty. Where is everyone?" Donald asked. For such a big town, the streets were pretty empty.

"Maybe over there?" Goofy suggested pointing up ahead.

Sora's eyes widened at what he saw. Food stands, games, attractions, it could only be one thing…

"Woo-Hoo! It's a festival!" Sora cheered as he ran off to enjoy the festival.

"Twilight Town's End of Summer Festival." Corrin read from a nearby sign. "Geeze, how long did we sleep for?"

"That doesn't matter! We have a mission to focus on." Donald scolded as he turned to Goofy. "Come on Goofy, let's go get…"

Goofy was too busy trying a fish scooping game. He also already had some cotton candy in his hand.

"Unbelievable. Corrin, you're with me on this right?" Donald asked turning to Corrin…

Only to find Corrin munching on a caramel apple with some silly mask on the side of his head.

"Did you say something Donald?" Corrin asked in between bites.

Donald just grumbled in annoyance as he stomped away.

Sora was enjoying himself. He filled himself with junk food, and played some games. Like Corrin, he had a silly mask on the side of his head, a drink of soda, and some cotton candy. Though as he enjoyed the fair, he couldn't help but wonder…

Has he been here before?

For some reason, Sora felt familiar with the town, but as far as he knows, he's never been to this town before. Sure, he can be rather simple minded, but he never forgot any of the worlds he visited and the people he met on his last journey. So why was he feeling like he knew this place?

"Hey, you ran into me!" A voice called out.

Sora looked ahead to see two boys arguing. Strangely enough they seemed familiar to him as well. A boy with messy blond hair was arguing with a boy in a white coat.

"No, you ran into me!" The other one called out.

"Come on Hayner, just drop it." A girl behind him pleaded.

"Yeah. This is supposed to be a fun day." A boy behind him said.

"No way! Seifer totally ran into me!" Hayner called out.

"You ran into me!" Seifer growled.

"Knock it off already!" Sora groaned already getting tired of listening to this.

"What did you say?" Seifer growled.

"It was just an accident. There's no reason to make a scene about it." Sora said.

"You have some nerves. Who are you anyway? I'm the head of this town's disciplinary committee, and I have never seen you before." Seifer said as he glared at Sora in suspicion.

"Just a guy enjoying a festival." Sora shrugged.

"What's going on here?" Corrin asked as he Donald and Goofy approached the scene.

"Nothing much." Sora said.

"More of you? Where did you guys even come from?" Seifer asked.

"None of your business." Corrin said.

"I'd say it is my business. So fess up." Seifer growled.

"Geeze. We aren't causing any problems. You're the one making a scene because some guy bumped into you." Sora said getting annoyed at this guy.

"Why you…" Seifer growled as he readied his fist for a punch.

Sora then splashed his soda on Seifer in the face making him stutter in shock. He then used the rubber band on his mask to launch it at Seifer, sticking to the soda on his face and stuck his cotton candy in his mouth.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette laughed at what they saw as Seifer stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

"I won't forget this!" Seifer growled as he tossed the cotton candy aside and left to go clean off the soda.

"That was awesome! My name's Hayner." Hayner said offering a handshake to Sora.

"My name is Olette and this is Pence." Olette introduced herself and the boy next to her.

"My name is Sora." Sora said as he pointed to his companions. "That is my brother Corrin, and they are Donald and Goofy."

"Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy?" Pence asked surprised as they four nodded. "Olette and I just met someone who was looking for you four."

"Really? Who?" Corrin asked. Who was here that wanted to see them? Maybe someone who can answer some questions?

"He had a hood on so we couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears." Pence said as his hands gestured to make some big ears on his head.

"Big ears…King Mickey?" Donald gasped. "Where did you see him?"

"At the train station. We'll take you there." Pence offered. The four nodded and the seven headed off.

At the Train Station:

"Here we are. Don't know if he's still here, but this is where Olette and I saw him." Pence said.

"But where is he now?" Donald asked impatient.

"Not sure, but I do want to know, where did you guys come from? I don't think I've seen you around here before." Hayner asked.

"It's a long story. To be honest, we don't know how we got here ether." Corrin admitted.

"How mysterious. Maybe it was an abduction or something." Pence muttered excited.

"Ignore him." Hayner said dismissively to the world jumpers.

"Come on Hayner, this could be big!" Pence pleaded.

"Like the Seven Wonders? Sorry Pence, but nothing strange ever happens around here." Hayner said.

As if on cue, several Dusks showed up surrounding the group.

"What the heck are these things?" Corrin asked shocked.

"There has to be an explanation for this!" Hayner said freaking out.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Pence said excited.

"Now is not the time to be excited Pence!" Olette cried out.

Sora and the gang summoned their weapons, ready for a fight.

"Wow! Where did those come from?" Pence asked excited.

"NOT NOW!" Hayner shouted as he pulled Pence away with Olette to safety.

The Dusks got ready to attack, but were intercepted by a small figure appearing in front of them and slicing them away with a weapon awfully similar to Sora.

The figure held a Keyblade that looked just like Sora's but with the colors reversed. Where Sora's Keyblade was silver with a gold handle, the other was gold with a silver handle.

Donald and Goofy were shocked at what they saw. Despite the coat the figure was wearing, they recognized those ears anywhere.

"Your Majesty!" They gasped.

"Shh! I can't go back yet?" Mickey said.

"Huh?" Donald asked confused.

"Take this and board the train. It knows the way." Mickey said tossing a pouch to Sora.

Mickey then took off before anything else could be said.

"What was that all about?" Hayner asked confused over the whole ordeal.

"I have no idea." Corrin admitted as they dismissed their weapons.

"Your majesty…" Donald muttered sadly.

"Well, at least we know he's okay." Goofy offered to cheer Donald up.

"Maybe that means Riku's okay as well. Since they were stuck together last we saw them." Sora said

"Maybe. For now, why don't we get on that train. If King Mickey wants us to do so that badly, then there must be something there worth checking out." Corrin offered.

"I guess so. Seems this pouch is full of munny." Sora said shacking the pouch and hearing a jingle sound.

"Hey, that pouch…" Olette muttered in shock once she got a good look at it.

"Something wrong?" Corrin asked.

"No…it's nothing." Olette said.

Inside the station:

Sora and co paid for their tickets and headed for the train that they were told to go to.

"Where did this train come from?" Hayner asked surprised as they approached the tacky looking train.

"Isn't this from one of the seven wonders?" Pence asked excited.

"I'm guessing that this is our train?" Corrin asked as he got on board.

"Seems like it." Donald said as he and Goofy boarded the train.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye for now. Thanks for guiding us here." Sora said.

"You take care out there. And come visit us next time you come by." Hayner smiled.

Sora felt a tear roll down his face, much to his and their surprise.

"You okay?" Olette asked concerned.

"Yeah…I don't know what's come over me." Sora said. "I'll be seeing you guys."

The three waved goodbyes as the door closed and the train took off.

"What a weird kid." Hayner commented.

"Yeah but…I feel as though we know him from somewhere." Pence said

Olette nodded as well.

In the Old Mansion:

"Well, now that they've left, I have no reason to stick around." Riku said as he and DIZ were looking out a window from the second floor of the mansion.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to see them. Especially after all you went through to awaken them." DIZ commented.

Riku said nothing as he left through a corridor of darkness.

"Farewell." DIZ muttered as he too decided to abandon the base. He could sense that Axel was still in the area and he didn't want to run the risk of running into the fire user. A huge look of regret was plastered on his face as he summoned a corridor of darkness.

"Though now that I think about it, I'm no better with seeing old friends." He muttered as he left.

Inside the train:

"How long have we been on this train?" Sora groaned from his seat. Despite the big train, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Corrin were the only ones on the train, so they were a bit spread out.

"About two hours, I think." Corrin sighed.

"Seriously? Are we even close yet?" Sora whined.

"They don't even have any service on this train." Donald grumbled.

"I'm fine. I chowed down at the festival." Corrin smirked.

"Well I didn't." Donald grumbled.

"And who's fault is that?" Sora teased.

"Shut up." Donald grumbled.

Sora decided to take out the pouch again and opened it up. There was still one other thing in the pouch besides the munny they used for the train ride. Sora took out a blue orb that he felt like holding up to the sunlight.

"That's pretty." Corrin commented.

"Yeah...I wonder why the king had it in the pouch though." Sora muttered.

"There's a lot of questions that plagues us. Why were we in Twilight Town? What were we doing before then. Why can't we remember what we did last? How long were we asleep for? Why is Jiminy's journal erased? Who is Namine? What were those white things we saw at the station? Why does the king want us on this train? And where are we going?" Corrin listed off.

"Well, maybe we'll get those answers when we arrive." Goofy offered.

"Maybe, but I'm not going to hold my breath." Corrin muttered. He slouched back in his seat as he put his hands in his pocket. Corrin jolted when he felt something.

Pulling out what he felt, he pulled out a picture of two people that did give a familiarity to him. One was a man in some kind of samurai armor that had long dark brown hair, while the other was a woman with long black hair in some kind of priestess outfit.

"What the? When did I get this?" Corrin asked confused.

"Who are those people?" Sora asked looking at the photo.

"Can't say I know them." Corrin admitted, though there was something familiar.

"Maybe they're from your past?" Goofy suggested.

"Maybe, but where did I get this photo from? I know I didn't have it before." Corrin said.

"Hey, at least this might be a clue to your past." Sora offered.

"There's something written on the back." Donald pointed out.

Corrin turned the picture around, and sure enough like Donald said, there was a word written in crayon for some reason.

"Hoshido." Corrin read.

"Hoshido?" Sora asked.

"There is something familiar about that word." Corrin admitted.

"Then we do have a clue about your past!" Sora said excited.

"Maybe. But nothing is for certain yet." Corrin said as he pocketed the photo. "Besides. I think the first thing we need to worry about is what is going on right now before we worry about anything else."

"That's true." Donald admitted.

"Hey guys, I think I can see our destination!" Goofy said as he looked out the window.

The others looked out to see a strange tower off in the distance on a small floating platform with some trees on it. The tower itself was stacked a bit crooked, but the top was designed similar to the hat design on the train, with a moon and star shapes.

"Say Donald, doesn't that tower look familiar?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah...It does." Donald said.

"Been here before?" Sora asked.

"I believe so." Donald guessed.

"Well, let's just hope that whoever is there, has some much needed answers for us." Corrin said as the train approached the tower.

Chapter Text

The train arrived at its destination and the door opened, allowing our heroes to exit. Once Sora, the last one out stepped out of the train, the train vanished into thin air.

"There goes our ride." Sora chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, no we can't go back the way we came. Only one way to go it seems?" Corrin said as the four approached the tower.

However, as they approached, they noticed a figure creeping around the entrance of the tower as he peeked inside through the slightly opened door.

He was a bit fat black cat-like creature wearing black overalls over a red shirt with blue armor parts on his body.

"What's ya doing?" Sora asked as Corrin just looked at him.

"I sent some of my lackeys inside. To see if the master of this here castle is as big and tough as they say. Word has it that the master here is a really powerful sorcerer, which makes him the perfect bodyguard for me." The cat said as Corrin just looked dumbfounded.

'This guy…does he just tell everyone anything?' Corrin wondered. It was clear that this guy was up to know good, especially the way he was sneaking around, yet he openly told his plans to the first person who just asked?

"Of course, it doesn't matter how powerful he is. Once he becomes a Heartless, he'll do exactly what I say." The cat continued.

"A Heartless?!" The four gasped.

"Yeah. They're the dark creatures that come out of people's hearts. With them, my dear friend Maleficent is going to conquer all the worlds!" He laughed.

"Maleficent?" Corrin asked confused. Wasn't she dead?

"And since I've got me a debt to pay, I'm going around the worlds to build an army of Heartless for her." He laughed. "But what am I doing telling you guys anyway? I'm behind schedule. Go on, scram!"

"You ought to find something nicer to do." Goofy advised.

That got the creature annoyed as he turned around.

"Oh yeah? Says who?" The creature asked as he turned around, but jumped in surprise as he saw a duck and a dog that was familiar to him. "YOU TWO?!"

"PETE?!" Donald and Goofy gasped in shock.

"You guys know this idiot?" Corrin asked as Goofy nodded.

"Sure do. He's from our home world. Pete's been causing trouble for ages. Eventually, her majesty Queen Minnie got fed up with his antics and attitude and banished him to another dimension." Goofy explained.

"What are you nimrods even doing here?" Pete demanded.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be locked away in that pocket dimension?" Donald demanded.

"Maleficent busted me out years ago." Pete boasted. "And now, your worlds, no…ALL the worlds are going to belong to yours truly! Because Maleficent is going to help me concur them!"

That caused the four to laugh.

"Why are you laughing? You boneheads don't even fully grasp the true depths of Maleficent's power." Pete growled.

"Oh, we do…As did our blades." Corrin laughed.

"What?" Pete asked confused.

"Maleficent's gone. We destroyed her." Sora laughed.

"WHAT?! Impossible!" Pete demanded.

"Sorry but, Maleficent can't help you now!" Goofy said.

"Grr! I'll show you! Heartless squad, round up!" Pete ordered as several Shadow's appeared from the ground.

Everyone got their weapons ready for battle.

The Shadows charged at the four, as Sora and Corrin started to hack away with their blades and Goofy tossed his shield at his foes.

"Let's try some magic. Thundaga!" Donald shouted. A blast of thunder was released, but not at the power that Donald was hoping for.

"Thunder? I thought I said Thundaga?" He asked annoyed.

The last batch of Shadows charged at Sora, but he got ready for them. "Sonic Blade!"

Sora charged at the remaining shadows and slashed them with incredible speed destroying the rest of them much to Pete's horror.

"Don't think that you'll get away with this! Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, messes with the mighty Pete!" Pete declared.

"So, 'mighty' Pete, who lives in this tower anyway?" Sora asked.

"Oh, you don't know? This tower is home to the mighty Yen Sid! Though, he's probably a heartless by now!" Pete laughed.

"Master Yen Sid? I knew this place looked familiar!" Donald said excited as he raced inside.

"Yen Sid is the King's teacher." Goofy explained to the confused Sora and Corrin.

"King Mickey's teacher? He must be powerful." Sora said.

"And maybe he might have some answers." Corrin said as the two headed inside with Goofy much to Pete's frustration on how he was just ignored.

Inside the Tower:

The tower's inside wasn't much to speak of, as it mainly consisted of a long flight of stairs that lead all the way to the top.

Sora and co climb up the tower, taking out Heartless along the way.

"Heartless, Heartless, Heartless. Nothing has changed." Donald said bitterly.

"So, the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora asked sadly.

"Guess not. But have you guys also noticed our strength?" Corrin asked. It took them longer to deal with simple Shadows than normal.

"Yeah. I can't use high powered spells." Donald said remembering what happened outside.

"Just how long were we sleeping for us to get so rusty?" Corrin asked as Sora opened the door ahead of them.

Master Yen Sid was an old man with a grey beard. He wore a blue robe and a hat that matched the design on the train and tower. Upon approaching his desk, Donald and Goofy stood in salute while Sora and Corrin stood more casually.

"Master Yen Sid. It's an honor to see you again." Donald bowed as did Goofy.

"Hey there." Sora greeted causing Donald and Goofy to jump in shock.

"Sora! Show some respect! You too Corrin!" Donald scolded at the boys that weren't bowing.

Yen Sid made a gesture with his hands, telling Donald to calm down before he spoke.

"So, you are Sora, are you?" Yen Sid asked.

"Uh, that's right. And you're the king's teacher?" Sora asked.

Yen Sid nodded. "Yes. I am master Yen Sid. A retired Keyblade Master."

"A Keyblade Master? I have something important to ask." Sora said.

"What is it?" Yen Sid asked.

"How do I fully utilize the Keyblade. Merlin once said I have yet to awaken its true power, but I don't even know what that is? What even is a Keyblade?" Sora asked.

"Understandable that you would be curious. You are not like many other Keyblade wielders. Many are chosen by a master to inherent a Keyblade train for years to master them. You, to my knowledge were given a Keyblade and thrust into a dangerous mission." Yen Sid said.

"Yeah. I was glad to have my brother with me, as well as Donald and Goofy. They stuck with me through all of it." Sora said. Corrin smiled, though Donald and Goofy flinched as they remembered that one time they abandoned Sora when he lost the Keyblade. Their biggest mistake.

"And to that I have to commend you. You took a challenge when no one else could have." Yen Sid smiled.

"I just wanted to help, and to find my friends." Sora admitted.

"And much like last time, this new journey of yours will link everything together. To find your missing friend, to return to your islands, if the islands will still be there, and to face your new enemies." Yen Sid said.

"New enemies?" Corrin asked.

"Master Yen Sid, why are there Heartless still roaming about?" Donald asked. "Didn't we seal the Door to Darkness?"

"While it is true that your past endeavors did prevent an apocalyptic spread of Heartless from the realm of darkness across all the worlds, the truth is that as long as there is darkness in people's hearts, the Heartless will never fully go away. Don't forget that the Heartless are darkness made real." Yen Sid explained much to the others disappointment.

"So, unless everyone's heart is full of light, the Heartless will never go away completely?" Goofy asked and Yen Sid nodded.

"Yes. But there are more enemies than just the Heartless this time. I trust you have met the King?" Yen Sid asked.

"For a second. Then he just took off while telling us to come here." Corrin said.

"He has been rather busy as of late, but I suppose that the task of explaining things fall onto me." Yen Sid said as he waved his hand making an image of Donald appear that then turned into a Shadow Heartless, much to Donald's irk.

"If one such as you Donald gives into the darkness in one's heart, then you will become a heartless. Though you already know this from your last adventure, right?" Yen Sid asked causing the four to nod. "The Heartless are always lurking in the shadows, seeking to capture a new heart. Never let your guard down."

Yen Sid made another wave of his hand as a familiar white creature appeared next to the heartless.

"Hey, it's those creatures we saw in Twilight Town." Corrin said.

"Yes. If someone of a strong heart and will becomes a Heartless, good or evil, the body they leave behind begins to act on a will of its own. An empty shell that has lost its heart, yet its spirit goes on, even as its body fades away. For you see, Nobodies do not truly exist." Yen Sid said.

"Nobodies don't exist?" Corrin asked confused. 'How does that make sense?'

"While Nobodies can pretend to have feelings, that is nothing but a ruse. They only pretend to have hearts. You must be vigilant." Yen Sid said as the four stared at the Dusk. "This one is called a Dusk, one of the most common forms of Nobodies, but much like the Heartless, they come in many forms and hold many strange powers. Then, there are these." The retired Keyblade Master said as he waved his hand. The image of the Shadow and Dusk disappeared and in its place was three individuals that all wore the same black coat that covered their faces. A black coat that Sora recognized.

"That coat! That guy that lead us to that creepy castle wore one just like it!" Sora gasped.

"The beings that you see before are also Nobodies, but unlike the Dusk you saw before, these beings remain human-like. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. They command the lesser Nobodies." Yen Sid said.

"Organization XIII…" Sora muttered.

"Unlike the Heartless who rely on simple instinct, the Nobodies are capable of thinking and planning. They are also working towards a goal that I do not know of. The King sensed the danger and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the Dark Realms Keyblade to help you close the door. And now journeys across the worlds battling the Heartless as he searches for clues on Organization XIII." Yen Sid explained.

"Then we have to find the King again?" Corrin asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Goofy nodded.

"But before you go, I think the two of you need some more suitable clothing. Those look a bit too small on you." Yen Sid said about Sora and Corrin's clothing.

"How long were we sleeping for? And why?" Corrin asked as he looked at the clothes that once fit him perfectly, now were too small on him.

"I do not know why as the king never told me, but apparently, you were asleep for almost a year." Yen Sid explained.

"A YEAR?!" The four gasped.

Yen Sid nodded. "Through the door on the left, you will find three good fairies. They will provide you with some more fitting clothing." Yen Sid said as he pointed to the door on the left.

"Thank you, Master Yen Sid." The four bowed and headed through the door.

As they entered the next room, the four spotted three human-sized faeries dressed in different colors. One in red, one in green that was the tallest, and one dressed in blue that was the smallest. The three were chatting with each other and had yet to notice Sora and co enter.

"I don't know how strong this Organization is, or what they are after. But what I do know is that with the six of us…I mean the seven of us, they don't stand a chance." Sora said as the other three nodded.

The fairies then took notice of the four's arrival.

"Oh my. You must be Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy. My name is Flora." The red fairy said as she gestured to the other two. "The one in green is Fauna, and the blue one is Merryweather." The other two waved at the sound of their names.

"Master Yen Sid said you had some new clothing for my brother and I?" Corrin asked.

"Of course. Please step forward you two." Flora said as Sora and Corrin did so.

Fauna waved her wand as Sora and Corrin's clothing changed to green.

"Oh, that will never do!" Merryweather said as she turned their clothing blue.

"Come now dears." Flora said as she turned their clothing pink.

"But don't you like this better?" Fauna asked turning the clothing green again.

"Blue" Merryweather said as the three got into an argument on the color constantly switching the colors between green, blue and pink.

"We're going to be here a while." Corrin groaned as the three fairies were still arguing on what the color should be.

Unknown to all of them, a crow was watching from the windows before he flew off.

"Okay, can you guys please stop arguing and just pick a color already?" Sora groaned losing patience with the three fairies bickering.

"Oh dear. We're terribly sorry about that." Flora gasped as the three realized that they've been at it again for quite a while. "Okay then. All together and no more bickering."

The three castes their magic at the same time at the two boys as their new clothing appeared.

Sora was wearing a mostly black outfit as his coat and outer pant legs were black, though he wore a blue and red shirt underneath, and blue pants could be seen under the black outer layer. We wore yellow belts with red pouches on his hips and had a black hood where Jiminy was still rewriting the journal. He wore black gloves with a yellow strap on them and finally black and yellow big shoes.

Corrin's outfit mostly resembled Sora's. Though his pants didn't have the extra layer, his shirt was still the same as Sora's but sported a more white color than black with a blue undershirt. His pants were grey with some blue pouches on his hips. His shoes were white with blue straps on them.

Both still retained their crown pendents.

"Oh my, they do look dashing." Fauna said.

"Now then, those aren't ordinary garments. They have special powers. For both of you, we added some of our magic that can allow you both to recover magic energy a lot quicker. But we also added something different for both of you." Flora said.

"For you Corrin, we added in some magic to reduce the strain you suffer from when you use some of your most powerful attacks in your dragon form." Fauna said.

"Really? Thanks!" Corrin cheered.

"But do keep in mind that it is only a little reduction of strain. You still need to be cautious when using powerful attacks like that." Fauna warned and Corrin nodded.

"As for you Sora, we give you an ability to power up temporarily. Try shouting VALOR and see what happens." Merryweather encouraged.

"VALOR!" Sora shouted as his body flashed. When the light died down, his clothing was now red and black and he had both Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands.

"Two Keyblade's?" Donald and Goofy gasped.

"Well, that is a surprise." Flora said also shocked at the second Keyblade.

"This wasn't planned?" Corrin asked.

Merryweather shook her head. "No. That form is supposed to boost your physical power at the cost of your magic abilities, not give you two Keyblade's. I wonder where the second one came from?"

Sora turned back to normal, though the two Keyblade's were still there.

"Well, I guess I have double the power now." Sora said as he dismissed his two Keyblade's.

"Well, this journey is going to be twice as difficult than the last, so that might be a good thing." Merryweather commented.

Sora groaned at that.

"As for you two." Fauna said turning to Donald and Goofy. She castes a spell on them. Their clothing remained unchanged, but they dd look newer. "This will enhance your clothing with the same magic ability as Sora and Corrin."

"Oh boy!" Donald cheered.

"Even got the stains out." Goofy commented looking at his now clean clothing.

"Before you head off, you should report back to Yen Sid. He has something else for you." Flora said.

"Thank you for this." Corrin said as the four bowed and headed out.

"Safe travels you four." Flora said.

"Hey, is it just me, or does that Sora kid give off a similar vibe to that Ventus boy we met years ago?" Fauna asked.

"What do you mean?" Merryweather asked.

"I can't explain it, but there is something familiar about Sora." Fauna said as the three fairies were left in deep thought.

Inside Yen Sid's room, the four were surprised to see the Gummi Ship right outside the window.

"It's the Gummi Ship!" Donald cheered.

"So, you guys ready to go?" Sora asked.

"Before you go, I have one last thing to say." Yen Sid said getting their attention. "Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their previous states. That means the paths you once used are no longer accessible through a Gummi Ship."

"Then what do we do?" Corrin asked.

"If what the King said is true, then the worlds have opened new paths for you to take. That is part of the Keyblade's power. You will need to find these special locks that will allow you to access more worlds. It will not only allow you to get around, but it will help you learn more about the Keyblade Sora." Yen Sid said. "You will know these special gates when you see it. But be careful as the Heartless and Nobodies will be taking their own paths of darkness to other worlds."

"That's not fair." Donald pouted.

"Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy. Good luck out there. Everyone is waiting for you." Yen Sid said. The four saluted and headed off.

Twilight Town:

"Thank you, Axel. This is the second time you've saved me." Namine said as she and Axel were sitting around a beautiful hilltop in the outskirts of Twilight Town where a beautiful Sunset could be just as well scene as at the Clock Tower.

"It's nothing really. To be honest, I was just looking around that mansion for a possible spare coat." Axel said gesturing to the tear in his coat from his fight with Roxas. "Unlike you, I need one to protect myself from the darkness when I use a Corridor of Darkness. It was painful last time I used it with this tear, despite the distance being rather short."

"I see. But thank you anyway." Namine said.

"I do wonder. Can't you open a Corridor of Darkness?" Axel asked.

"I can…sometimes…" Namine muttered embarrassed. Truth is, she hasn't fully mastered how to summon a corridor. Sometimes she can do it, but most times, she cannot. Maybe if she told Riku that issue, he would have helped her out before he left.

"Hey, you'll get it." Axel encouraged.

"But anyway, maybe I can help that tear." Namine said as she pushed Axel into a nearby bench and took out a small sewing kit.

"It's fine." Axel said trying to push her off, but Namine was too stubborn. Eventually, he gave up and let her do it.

"So, what are you going to do now? It's not like we have homes to return to. I can't return to the Organization and I doubt that DIZ guy wants you anymore." Axel asked.

"That's true." Namine admitted as she remembered that DIZ ordered for Namine to vanish, and both Riku and Silas weren't in Twilight Town anymore. "But there is one place I want to go, and someone I want to see." Namine said until she accidentally poked herself with the needle.

"Same here. It's weird. Nobodies aren't supposed to have hearts, but why do I feel the urge to see someone like I do?" Axel asked.

"I don't know." Namine admitted as she finished up. "All done."

Axel looked at Namine's work. "Wow that looks awful."

Hollow Bastion:

Pete arrived at an old castle. This castle was a bit simpler in design with a single tower that sported the Heartless Emblem. It was located off to the distance of the castle to Hollow Bastion and a small town nearby. This was an old fortress Maleficent used back when she first conquered Hollow Bastion years ago before she took over the castle.

"Maleficent!" Pete called out. No answer. "Maybe they did finish her off."

As if on cue, a crow arrived at the window carrying a familiar cloak.

"What's this? A Cloak?" Pete asked

"Who did you say was finished off?" A familiar voice said as the cloak started to rise much to Pete's shock. "Did you really think I would be bested so easily?"

"It's you…Maleficent!" Pete gasped.

"And you're late Pete. Now come. We have work to do." Maleficent said as she had Pete follow her.

Chapter Text

The Gummi Ship was just as Sora and co remembered it. The upper area was the control room where the group spent most of the time when they were flying, ether chatting on what has been going on in their recent mission, or arguing about something like who pilots. The lower area was where they would sleep. Each of them taking their seats with Donald at the pilot chair.

"Well, this feels nice again." Donald said getting comfy in the pilot's chair again.

"Back to square one I guess." Corrin said.

"Well, at least you both know Kairi is safe this time." Goofy offered.

"That's true. She's still at Destiny Island. Waiting for us to get home with Riku." Sora said.

Just then, a video call was going through to the Gummi Ship. Donald answered the call, to spot Chip and Dale on the monitor that appeared on the window in front of them.

"I thought we detected someone entering the Gummi Ship." Dale said.

"Where have you guys been?" Chip demanded.

"It's a long story." Donald sighed as he explained what happened…Or at least what he remembered.

"Huh, that is strange but I guess all that matters is that you are all safe." Chip said.

"Well, we'll inform the queen that you're alright. Happy flying and good luck on your mission!" Dale said.

"Thanks, you two." Goofy smiled as Chip and Dale ended the call.

"Okay, so let's see these new pathways." Donald said as Goofy looked at the map.

"Seems like there is only one path available." Goofy pointed out.

"Only one? That's no good." Sora groaned.

"Aw don't look so bummed out. Check it out. It's at least a world we know." Goofy said as he gestured the others to take a look.

"Hey, that's Hollow Bastion!" Corrin gasped as he saw the familiar world.

"Leon and the gang are there." Sora said excited.

"Then Hollow Bastion, here we come!" Donald declared as the Gummi Ship blasted off.

Hollow Bastion:

Sora and co arrived at a small town in Hollow Bastion. There were a few shops, houses, and people walking about in a central square plaza.

"Looks like Leon's group's been busy this past year." Corrin commented. "Last year, this place was a ghost world thanks to the Heartless."

"They even have shops opened up." Donald commented as he observed the wares for sale.

"I wonder where Leon is." Sora muttered.

"Leon?" The store owner they passed by asked.

"That's right. Do you know where he is?" Sora asked.

"He's at that old wizard Merlin's place just outside the town. Just follow the path out that way." The store owner said pointing in the direction. "Just be careful of those Heartless."

"We will. Thank you." Sora said as the four headed towards Merlin's place.

Once they were outside the town, the four spotted some Shadow Heartless appear before them.

The four got their weapons ready to fight, but then a circular object appeared on the ground bellow the Heartless and shot up destroying the Shadows.

"What the heck was that?" Sora asked as the others shrugged.

"Sora? Is that you?" A familiar voice asked. The four turned to see Yuffie looking shocked as she slowly approached them. "It is you! Oh my gosh!" Yuffie immediately jumped towards Sora and gave him a big hug.

"Nice to see you too Yuffie." Sora chuckled as he returned the hug.

"You seem to be doing well." Corrin said as Yuffie gave him a hug as well.

"Of course, what did you expect?" Yuffie smirked.

"Are the others doing well?" Sora asked.

"Yep! I'll take you to them." Yuffie said excited.

"Say, what's that thing anyway?" Donald asked pointing to the strange device that destroyed some Heartless.

"That's the town's defense system. The Claymores as Cid calls them. He designed them to help us combat the Heartless and defend the town." Yuffie said. "I was actually out here to observe how it performed when you guys showed up."

"We saw the town. You guys sure have been busy." Corrin said.

"Yeah. It's been a lot of work, but it will be worth it once we're done. This is my home after all." Yuffie said as she looked out to the distance of Hollow Bastion.

"Anything we can do to help?" Sora asked.

"Really?" Yuffie asked excited and Sora nodded. "We should talk with Leon. Let's go!"

"Aren't we on a mission?" Donald whispered.

"Seriously Donald? They helped us a lot to even get started with our first adventure. It won't kill us." Corrin scolded.

"Fair point." Donald relented as he, Corrin, and Goofy followed Sora and Yuffie to Merlin's house.

At Merlin's House:

Merlin's house greatly resembled his place from back in Traverse Town. The place was filled with books on spells, along with a single bed in the corner and a small table in the center of the room. Though the biggest difference between his place in Traverse Town and his home in Hollow Bastion, was the massive computer near the door that Cid was typing it with Leon looking over his shoulder as Aerith was preparing tea.

"Progression with the restoration of Hollow Bastion is going smoothly, but the surge of Heartless is leaving everyone unsettled." Leon said.

"Who could blame them. They all know what those creatures are capable of, and there is a whole army of them that completely fills up the ravine right just outside the city." Cid said.

"It doesn't seem like they've made a move yet, so I can assume that someone is controlling them. If they were acting more freely, they would have attacked by now." Merlin sighed.

"That's even more worrisome. Who is controlling them? Maleficent and Ansem are both gone." Leon wondered.

"Possibly someone with a lot of darkness in their hearts." Merlin said.

"Then the real question is, how do we deal with them?" Leon asked.

"That's a good question. One that I don't have an answer too. We lack the fire power to launch an offensive assault against that many Heartless, and even if we did, we would be leaving the town completely defenseless." Cid said.

"Damn it." Leon growled in anger.

Aerith then walked over and handed the three men a glass of tea.

"Calm down. Getting too worked up won't solve anything ether." Aerith said calmly.

Leon sighed as he took the tea. "You're right. But we can't stay on the defense forever. We slay some Heartless, and more just takes their place."

Cid took a sip of his tea, and immediately spit it out. "Aerith! Lay off the sugar, would ya?"

"I guess for the time being, all we can do is build our defenses up." Leon sighed.

Cid glanced at the screen. "Perhaps if worse comes to worse, I should consider a force field as a last ditch effort. If I can get access to wherever Ansem's main computer is, I can build a force field powerful enough to keep the Heartless out around the palace so we can at least keep the people safe should those monsters launch an all out attack. Heck, maybe even find some more ideas on how to get rid of them since we are without a Keyblade."

"Not a bad idea for later, but until we do find the computer, it won't help us." Leon said.

"Well then, once Yuffie gets back, all I can do is further upgrade the Claymore system." Cid sighed. "This is going to be an all nighter, isn't it?"

"Sorry Cid." Aerith apologized.

"It's fine. I chose this job after all." Cid sighed.

"What I wouldn't give for a miracle." Leon sighed.

"That's wishful thinking." Cid groaned.

Just then, Yuffie swung open the front door. "Hey guys, look who I ran into!" Yuffie cheered as Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy walked in.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee." Yuffie said with pride.

"Ask for help and it shall come." Cid muttered in awe as Aerith set down the trey she was holding to give Sora and Corrin a hug.

"How have you guys been?" Sora asked as Aerith let go of him.

"Could be better." Cid shrugged. "What about you guys?"

"More or less the same." Corrin smiled.

"Interesting…" Leon muttered.

"What is?" Sora asked.

"Not too long ago, everyone's memories of you four came back all at once." Leon said.

"Came back? You forgot about us?" Corrin asked hurt.

"Not intentionally! I don't even know how that happened in the first place." Yuffie defended.

"I have a feeling that something strange was behind it. I can feel some after effects of magic for when the memories came back." Merlin added.

"Magic? What kind of magic?" Donald asked his former teacher.

"I can't tell unfortunately. Pray tell. What did you guys do this last year?" Merlin asked.

"We were sleeping." Goofy said.

"Where? In cold storage?" Cid joked.

"Sort of. You see, it went like this." Corrin began as he told all that happened to them from the defeat of Ansem, to the mysterious castle, to waking up in Twilight Town and meeting Master Yen Sid.

"Twilight Town? Interesting place to end up in." Merlin muttered.

"Why's that?" Yuffie asked.

"It is a place similar to Traverse Town. A place in-between the realm of light and darkness. Though I am more curious of this castle you went into. I wonder if something there was linked to everyone's memory loss and your long sleep." Merlin said.

"Maybe, but we can't remember anything past opening the front door." Sora said.

"It doesn't matter anyway. You're here now and that's what matters." Aerith smiled.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Sora said with a smile.

"By the way, have you seen Riku or the King lately?" Corrin asked.

The Restoration Committee shook their heads.

"Sorry, but let us know if you need any help." Aerith offered.

"What about you guys? Yuffie said you guys needed help." Sora asked.

"You want to help? Don't you guys have a mission?" Leon asked. Sure, they needed the help, but Sora and co did have their own mission as well.

"Like we could say no." Sora smirked.

"I forgot who I'm dealing with." Leon smirked.

"What does that mean?" Donald asked annoyed.

"Just think of it as a Leon compliment." Aerith giggled.

"Well, what has been going on with you guys this last year?" Corrin asked.

"Well, soon after you guys defeated Ansem and Kairi returned back to the Islands, we immediately got to work on restoring our home world." Leon began. "Much like the worlds that were lost, people who were lost to the darkness when Maleficent took over all those years ago were also starting to return."

"So, even the people that were lost to the darkness were also returning?" Corrin asked and Leon nodded.

"In some ways yes. Though it does appear to be rather slow, but you guys saw the town on your way here, right?" Leon asked and the others nodded.

"Though to be fair, our world never vanished since the Keyhole was protected, but for places like were you two are from, those that vanished with the world should have returned as well." Merlin theorized.

"Well, that puts some comfort that mom should be alright." Sora smiled and Corrin nodded.

"Anyway, that town was the first to be rebuilt for the people returning to have someplace to live in, and shops were restored to rebuild an economy and gather supplies. Scrooge Mcduck was a big help with that." Leon said.

"Originally, we were doing this from the castle, but once the town was finished, we moved here to work closer." Aerith added.

"Though I am not thrilled with that giant doohickey in my house." Merlin grumbled as he pointed to the computer.

"We do still go back to the castle every now and then to renovate it just in case, or to find anymore of Ansem's research." Leon said.

"More particularly, the computer room." Cid said.

"Computer room?" Corrin asked.

"Back before the Heartless came, there was said to be a super computer in the castle somewhere where all of Ansem's research was stored into. Problem is, the exact location was only know by Ansem and his six Apprentice's. But Ansem is dead, and no one has seen the six apprentice's since Hollow Bastion fell." Cid said.

"But of course, the Heartless are still showing up, so me and Leon have been working nonstop as guardians to the town." Yuffie sighed.

"I built the Claymore system for some added defense, but there is a larger problem that we need help with." Cid added.

"A larger problem?" Sora asked.

"Follow me, I'll show you." Leon said as he guided Sora and co outside of Merlin's House.

Chapter Text

Along the outer walls of the castle was the Bailey. From there, Leon approached a window and gestured Sora and co to take a look to the ravine on the other side.

"Most of Hollow Bastion's repairs we can do ourselves, but there are a few problems that we can't handle. That is one of them." Leon said as he pointed to the ravine.

Sora and co looked out and to their shock, the entire ravine was filled with Heartless that just stood there in front of a castle that held the Heartless emblem on it.

"They showed up a while ago and it's got everyone nervous. Everyone in town knows full well what those creatures are capable of." Leon said bitterly.

"So many Heartless." Corrin said in shock.

"What's with that fort in the background?" Sora asked pointing to the fortress beyond the army of Heartless that bore the Heartless Emblem on it.

"Don't know. It's been there since we got back. The Heartless seem pretty intent on it though. It's like they're guarding it." Leon said with a sigh. "And that's what we need your help with. We lack the fire power alone to take them out. If they ever decide to attack, they could easily overrun the city."

"Sure, no problem." Sora smiled much to Donald and Goofy's horror.

"Sora, are you crazy? Look at how much of them there are!" Donald cried.

"Come on. That Heartless world we fought Ansem in had what felt like an endless number of Heartless. This isn't anything new." Sora said.

"True but…" Donald muttered.

"So, what's controlling them?" Corrin asked.

"We don't know. You have any ideas?" Leon asked.

"Well, there is a guy named Pete who was controlling the heartless back in Twilight Town, but that guy doesn't seem smart enough to tie his own shoes." Sora said.

"Pete?" Leon asked.

"He's from our home world." Goofy said.

"He was, but he was always creating problems. One day, Queen Minnie had enough of it and banished him to another dimension, but Maleficent at one point busted him out." Donald explained.

"Dumb or not, perhaps he was the one that brought those Heartless here." Leon muttered.

"He did say that he was gathering an army of Heartless." Corrin admitted.

"Great." Leon groaned. "By the way, do you know anything about white creatures? They've shown up recently and also caused a stir as of late." Leon said.

"Those must be the Nobodies." Sora said.

"When a person of a strong heart and will becomes a Heartless, it creates a Nobody out of the person's discarded body. They are being controlled by a group called Organization XIII." Corrin explained.

"You called?" A voice rang out getting everyone on edge.

"Who's there?" Leon demanded.

"You're doing well." Another voice said.

"Show yourself!" Sora demanded as everyone called their weapons out. Sora his Kingdom Key, Corrin his Brotherhood sword, Donald his staff, Goofy his shield, and Leon his Gunblade.

"This calls for a celebration." The first voice said as Nobodies surrounded the group.

There were the usual Dusks, but there were two other types of Nobodies. One had a small body with the exception of its massive arms, and the other was garbed in robes with a helmet for a face and two swords in their hands. For some reason, Sora could have sworn they were glaring at him.

"These are the Nobodies huh?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, and there is quite a lot of them." Sora said noticing that they were surrounded.

"Cid was finishing up the expansion program for the Claymores when you guys showed up. It should be finished uploading soon. If we can hold out for a little, the Claymores should start appearing here." Leon said as the group got ready for battle.

The Dusks made the first move as they slivered through the air. Sora tried to attack one, but the Dusk dodged it and gave a kick to his back causing him to stumble.

Donald raised his staff for some magic.

"Figara!" Donald shouted, but all he got was a simple fire spell. It hit one of the creepers, but it didn't destroy it. "Why is my magic so low?"

"Are we really that out of practice?" Corrin muttered as he tried to slash a Dusk, that just dodged his attack easily.

The Dusk then attacked Corrin from behind causing him to fall over.

"Not only are we out of practice, but these guys are so annoying to fight." Corrin grunted.

Leon wasn't faring much better. He was currently holding off a Samurai Nobody when a Dusk attacked him from behind. Leon stumbled and quickly raised his blade to block a Creeper from attacking by placing its hands together to form a blade.

"Anytime now Cid." He mumbled as he slashed the Creeper, destroying it.

A Dusk swirled around ready to attack Corrin, but before he could, Corrin Dodge rolled out of the way and to the other side of the Dusk. The Dusk tried to follow Corrin with its head, but it ended up twisting its body around immobilizing it.

Corrin, not wasting his chance struck down the Dusk.

"Guys! Try to immobilize them with their bodies! Then we can hit them easier!" Corrin called out.

"Got it!" Sora shouted as he dodge-rolled out of the way of a Dusk's attack that caused its body to twist as it followed the Keybearer that moved around it. Once it was all twisted up, Sora struck the creature, destroying it.

Though two Samurai's ganged up on him as he tried to dodge their swords. Sora jumped back in order to avoid getting slashed as he gathered his strength.

"VALOR!" Sora shouted as he flashed a bright light.

Once the light died down, Sora was now dressed in a red colored version of his outfit with Oblivion in his hand.

With his boasted power, Sora easily overpowered the Samurais that tried to attack him, destroying both of them with ease.

'This new power is amazing.' Sora thought in awe at what he just did. He then turned to the Dusks that just appeared before him. "Let's go!"

Corrin dodge rolled out of the way of another Dusk's attack. With a strong strike, Corrin slayed the Dusk and wobbled a bit as he started to pant. While they had made some process in taking out the Nobodies thanks to Corrin finding out a weakness to the Dusks, those Organization members just kept sending more. Leon and Valor form Sora were still fighting but Donald and Goofy were starting to wear out and fell to the ground exhausted.

"I have to do something and fast." Corrin grunted as he grabbed his Dragon Stone. With a burst of light, Corrin took on his Dragon Form for the first time in a year. Gathering his energy, he fired a powerful blast of water that wiped out the rest of the Creepers, but he then turned back to his human form thanks to exhaustion.

Sora finished the last of the Samurai.

"Alright, who's next?" Sora asked before he felt his energy leave him and revert back to normal. Sora fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Wh-What's happening?" Sora panted as he tried to catch his breath.

"This is not good." Leon grunted as he was the last one standing, but even he was getting exhausted. While he was in better shape than the four world jumpers, he had taken quite some damage thanks to his earlier struggle with the Dusk's movements.

Though in an actual stroke of luck for once, the Claymore system finally kicked on and started attacking the remaining Dusks which caused them to flee.

"Well now, that was rather disappointing. If only the Keyblade were in more…capable hands." The voice from before said as a few laughter was heard following.

From a nearby ledge, the remaining members of Organization XIII appeared via Corridors of Darkness.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy gasped from his spot on the ground.

"Great! Now we can end this." Sora grunted despite the fact he was struggling to keep on his feet.

"Settle this? You barely handled the Dusks. You think you can take us on with those skills?" Xigbar laughed.

"Fine then, I'll start with you." Sora growled.

Xigbar just laughed. "Sure kid, sure. But let me tell you a little secret."

Xigbar was cut off by a Claymore that powered up underneath him and sent him flying off the ledge and onto the ground in front of Sora and co.

"What the heck are these things?" Demyx cried as he dodged one.

"We will leave for now. I've seen all that I needed." Xemnas said as all the others minus Xigbar left via corridor of darkness. "Tis a shame though. I was hoping we could be friends." Xemnas mocked as he vanished as well.

"That voice. He's the one we saw a year ago." Corrin mumbled as his head started to hurt.

Xigbar had gotten back up off the ground.

"Okay, that was a cheap shot." He groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Looks like you're not as good as you thought." Sora teased.

"As if. I'll admit that whatever caught me off guard, but it would be wise of you to remember who you're messing with." Xigbar laughed as he straightens himself out.

"Remember who I'm messing with?" Sora asked.

"As I was saying before, that weapon in your hands is capable of far more potential than you are showing. If you don't get good at it soon, he will have disappeared for nothing." Xigbar said.

'He will have disappeared? Who is he?' Sora wondered as he glared at Xigbar trying to get himself composed for a fight.

Xigbar however started to laugh.

"That's right. He made that same face at me once." He laughed.

"Are you trying to physic me out or something?" Sora demanded.

"Who knows." Xigbar shrugged.

A Claymore started to form under Xigbar again, but Xigbar took out his Arrowgun and quickly shot at the thing causing it to vanish much to the others shock.

"Yeah, not going to fall for that again." Xigbar laughed at the shocked faces of those he was facing. "You be a good boy now." With that, Xigbar vanished in a corridor of darkness.

Sora collapsed to his knees in shock. He might be simple minded, but he was well aware at the short display of skill he just saw Xigbar do. Despite his earlier bravado, he was well aware that if he actually did fight that guy, he would have easily lost.

Needless to say, it didn't feel like a victory today.

"Come on." Leon said placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Let's get back to Merlin's place."

Merlin's Place:

Shortly after everyone's safe return, Aerith and Cid cooked up a small feast.

"You know, it's been a while since we all were able to just eat together like this." Yuffie commented as everyone ate.

"Yep. Gotta build your strength up." Cid said as he poured himself some kind of stew.

"Still, those Organization guys aren't going to be easy. You'd better watch yourselves out there." Leon said.

"So, those guys control those white creatures…Nobodies, right?" Yuffie asked as she ate.

"Yeah. The left over remains of those who lost their hearts to darkness." Corrin said.

"I know those white creatures have been causing some problems as of late, but not as bad as the Heartless…For now." Yuffie said

"Not as bad? They stole the seat off my bike!" Cid cried.

"If that was the worse they got, it wouldn't be an issue, but aside from their attack just now, we don't know their goals and that only makes things even more dangerous." Leon said much to Cid's irritation.

"Wouldn't be an issue? You want me to ride a seat-less bike?" Cid demanded.

"I never said that!" Leon argued.

Aerith ignored the banter as she turned to Sora who had been awfully quite.

"Sora? Are you okay?" Aerith asked concerned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…I'm fine." Sora said.

"I get that you're worried about the fight. I didn't do so hot myself." Leon admitted.

"Who was he talking about?" Sora asked himself out loud.

"Who was who talking about?" Yuffie asked confused.

"You mean that Organization guy saying that 'He will have disappeared for nothing' or something like that?" Donald asked as Sora nodded.

"Is that's what's been bothering you?" Goofy asked and Sora nodded.

"It's just that…I'm wondering if he was talking about Riku." Sora said.

"Why do you think that?" Corrin asked with concern.

"Well, the way he was talking about that I wasn't using the Keyblade properly, and how he said that 'He' disappeared. Riku is the only he I know that can also use the Keyblade." Sora said.

"So can King Mickey!" Donald pointed out.

"But we saw him in Twilight Town. He was fine." Sora pointed out.

"Good point." Donald admitted.

"I'm worried that something might have happened to Riku while we were asleep." Sora admitted.

"I guess I can see why you think that, but that's not enough to go on to say that Riku's in trouble, and Riku is a pretty tough guy." Corrin said, though even he was concerned for his childhood friend as well.

"Sora, if you feel that way, go find him." Leon encouraged.

"What? But what about you guys?" Sora asked surprised. Sure, Riku meant a lot to him, but Leon and the others were friends too and he did just promise to help them.

"Don't worry about it. We aren't even ready to go on the offense yet. There are still some preparations we need to do first. Thankfully those Heartless aren't attacking at the moment, so go look for your friend. We'll be fine for the time being." Leon assured.

"Not to mention the fixing I have to do to the Claymore that Organization creep did to it." Cid added annoyed.

"We will be back, I promise." Sora said determined.

"We'll be waiting." Leon said as he reached into his pocket and handed a card to Sora and another to Corrin. Aerith handed out two to Donald and Goofy.

"What is this?" Sora asked looking at the card.

"Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member." Corrin read the title on the card with his name on the bottom. "Are theses membership cards?"

"Yep! And if you show them at the market place, they will give you a 5% discount!" Yuffie said.

"Cool!" The four said.

"By the way Corrin, did you ever get any of your memories back?" Aerith asked.

"Nothing more than that nightmare, but when I woke up, I did find this." Corrin said as he pulled out the photo from his pocket and showed it to Aerith.

"Who are these people? Are they your parents?" Aerith asked.

"I think so. I recognize the man from my nightmare...The man who was killed by those arrows." Corrin muttered sadly.

"I'm sorry Corrin." Aerith said with a look of sorrow on her face.

"It's fine." Corrin assured.

"Hey, your mother might still be out there." Yuffie offered.

"Maybe." Corrin said as he turned the photo around. "On the back is the word 'Hoshido.' That name ring a bell to anyone?"

The rest of the Restoration Committee shook their heads.

"Sorry my boy. I've never heard of such a place." Merlin said.

"But at least you have a clue to look out for when you are on your adventure this time." Leon said.

"That's true." Corrin admitted.

Suddenly, Sora's card flashed and flew out of his hands and outside. Sora chased after it as the light revealed a Keyhole.

"Sora! That must be the Keyhole Master Yen Sid was talking about!" Donald said.

Sora took out his Keyblade and pointed it at the Keyhole. A beam was fired and an unlocking sound was heard.

"I guess that must be our ticket to exploring others worlds." Corrin said.

"Take care out there. We'll call you if we need to." Leon said.

"Thanks." Sora smiled.

"Hang on a moment. If you are going out on a journey, then let me teach you some new spells first." Merlin offered.

"And why don't we finish the meal so it doesn't go to waste." Aerith chuckled.

Sora and the others nodded as they headed back inside. There was a log journey ahead of them, and they needed to get their strength up before setting out.

Unknown to them, a shadowy figure watched as Sora went back inside of Merlin's House.

Chapter Text

The World that Never Was:

The remaining Organization members met up in the round room to discuss their next move.

"I have to ask. Is Sora really capable of wielding the Keyblade? He is just a boy." Xaldin said.

"Hey give him a chance. He's straight as an arrow. Pure of heart…Unlike us." Xigbar joked.

"I hope so. Otherwise he is useless. Which is worse since we lost him." Saix pointed out.

"Who's him?" Demyx asked confused.

"Roxas." Luxord clarified as he played around with a hand of cards.

"Sucks that he's gone. He was a good kid." Demyx sighed.

"He's not gone. He has returned to Sora." Saix said.

"Cool! He's still alive!" Demyx laughed.

"Stop acting like you have emotions." Xaldin groaned annoyed. "You can't even act right."

"Hey!" Demyx cried.

"Still, That Sora barely held his own against the Dusks. And his cocky attitude doesn't make it feel like he isn't capable of helping us." Xaldin said firmly.

"I'm sure he will grow well on his adventure. Though I wonder if he would like a hand to determine his fate?" Luxord asked picking a card from his hand.

"Why don't we just let him be for now, and if things get out of hand, we can all jump in?" Demyx offered.

"You offering to step in if things get out of hand? How noble of you." Xigbar laughed.

"What! No way!" Demyx cried.

"Friends." Xemnas spoke up getting everyone's attention. "Regardless of anything, the Keyblade Hero's Journey has begun. You will all sow the seeds that will make his path, and he will water them until they bare fruit. Understood?" Xemnas asked and everyone nodded, but Saix raised his hand.

"If I may ask, what do we do with Axel?" Saix asked.

"Leave him be for now. He won't be coming back. But if he does show his face, we will give him the mercy he deserves." Xemnas said. Everyone nodded and left via Corridor of Darkness to carry out their orders.

With Sora and Co:

"So, that was Organization XIII." Corrin said.

"They do seem like they will be tough opponents. Maybe even tougher than Ansem was." Jiminy said hopping on Sora's shoulder. "Hopefully this means you guys will be more careful in the future."

"We'll see." Corrin shrugged. Careful was sadly not this group's strongest attribute.

"Hey Jiminy! How's the journal going?" Goofy asked.

"Well, I got a lot of it rewritten based on memory, and I did add the stuff we just heard from Master Yen Sid." Jiminy said.

"So, what's our next destination?" Sora asked.

"We're approaching a world now. I don't think we've been to this one before though." Goofy said.

"Well, wherever it is, we will need to find some time to get ourselves back into shape if we want to stand a chance against the Organization." Corrin said.

"Yeah…That Valor form really takes a lot out of me." Sora said remembering how he felt after he used the Valor form.

"Of course, it does! A sudden burst in power like that usually comes at a price. You can't just use something like that so recklessly." Jiminy scolded.

"I guess you're right. Sorry." Sora sighed.

"Everyone! We are about to disembark!" Donald called out as the group arrived at their next world.

Land of Dragons:

In a small cave only lit by a fire in the center, a muscular man wearing a yellow and black coat with a hood over his pale skinned head was sitting before a member of the Organization. Behind the man in the coat was a few dead men.

"Sorry about that. I didn't want to do that, but they were the ones that attacked me." Xigbar said.

"What is it that you want?" The muscular man in a hood growled.

"An Alliance mister Shan-Yu. You saw what I was capable of. How would you like this kind of power? You'll need it for what's to come." Xigbar said.

"What would that be?" Shan-Yu asked curious.

"There are some warriors from far away coming. They can easily ruin your plans for China. But with my help, you can easily concur not only China, but anything you wish." Xigbar offered.

This got Shan-Yu in deep thought.

After warping down to the new world, Sora and co found themselves in a Bamboo forest.

"Where exactly are we?" Donald asked as he looked around.

"A forest, I think. I wonder if there is any civilization around here?" Corrin asked looking around.

"I see a camp just down that hill." Goofy said pointing. The other three looked to where Goofy was pointing and sure enough, beyond the Bamboo, and down a hill, was a rather large campsite of sorts. There were multiple tents, and what looked like a lot of people, but no one was able to see clearly from where they currently were.

"Should we get a closer look?" Sora asked.

"Now hold on there. We can't just barge into everything we meet. Let's proceed with caution. For all we know, they may not be friendly." Jiminy warned.

"All right. Let's follow the path and see where it leads." Corrin said as he pointed down the road.

"This will be your big chance girl! Fa Mulan whips public enemy number 1! You're going to be famous!" A familiar voice called out nearby.

"Wait…Is that Mushu?" Corrin asked recognizing the voice.

"Mushu? That small dragon from the Hades cup?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. Let's take a look." Corrin said as the four followed the voice.

"I just hope I don't get discovered. But I have to do this to preserve the Fa family honor." A female voice said.

Sora and co arrived to see Mushu standing on a rock talking to a person with their hair tied back, wearing thick green armor.

Mulan and Mushu jumped at the sight of Sora and co, thinking they were discovered before they even started, but once Mushu saw who it was, all that fear turned into joy.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, and my dragon buddy!" Mushu cheered as he ran up to his old teammates from the Hades Cup.

"Mushu! I knew that was you I heard." Corrin smiled as he picked up the little dragon.

"You guys know Mushu?" The solider asked curiously.

"We go way back kicking all kinds of bad guy butts, right?" Mushu asked.

"Something like that. But Mushu gave us a hand with a situation a year ago." Corrin chuckled. "What is your name?"

"I am Mulan…I mean uh…" The girl stuttered.

"Ping!" Mushu chimed in.

"Mulan Ping?" Donald asked confused.

"Just Ping. I am Ping. Son of Fa Zhou." Mulan said trying to sound mainly.

"So, Ping, you know Mushu?" Sora asked.

"Mushu is one of my family's guardians." Mulan explained.

"We didn't know we were borrowing something as important as a family guardian." Goofy said apologetic.

"That's right, so that puts you four in debt in eyeballs to Ping here, and it's payback time for requesting my help." Mushu said.

"If I recall correctly, you were the one who asked us to join the team." Donald pointed out annoyed.

"Details. But who was it that helped you fight that giant Popsicle with that blond guy with the big sword?" Mushu countered.

"I guess that's fair. What do you need us to do?" Sora asked.

"Mushu…" Mulan groaned not comfortable with this.

"Ah, they don't mind it, right guys?" Mushu asked

"I guess it won't hurt." Corrin sighed.

"You see, Ping here was on his way to join the imperial army, so we have to go find the other recruits at the training camp." Mulan said.

"So that's a military base?" Corrin asked looking down to the camp from before.

"Yes. We are preparing for war against the Huns. Don't you know this?" Mulan asked confused. The Hun invasion was common knowledge in China.

"These guys are from far away Ping. Don't think about it too much." Mushu said to the group's defense.

"Okay, if you say so." Mulan said deciding to trust Mushu with this. "Plus, it would help me fit in if I'm with guys like you."

"Fit in?" Sora asked confused.

"You're pretending to be a boy, aren't you?" Goofy guessed.

Mulan nodded.

"Wait…You're a girl?" Sora and Donald gasped.

"You didn't notice?" Mulan asked excited.

Sora and Donald shook their head.

"I think it's working." Mulan cheered to Mushu.

"I don't know. Those two would fall for anything." Mushu chuckled.

"HEY!" Sora and Donald shouted.

"More importantly, why are you pretending to be a guy?" Corrin asked trying to get back on topic.

"Because women aren't allowed to join the army. If I'm found out, I'll be put to death." Mulan explained.

"DEATH?!" The four shouted.

"See, around here, it's a man's honor to defend their homelands." Mushu said.

"Then, why join the army in the first place?" Sora asked.

"With the Hun's invasion, the emperor has ordered one man from every family to serve in the army. But my father still hasn't recovered from the last time he's served the emperor, and I have no brothers. So, I decided to steal his armor, sneak off and join in his place." Mulan sighed. "My father must be angry with me. If I'm discovered, not only will I be put to death for dishonoring the army, but my family will be dishonored as well. I know it's mad, but I don't want to lose him."

"I don't think its mad." Sora said much to Mulan's surprise.

"You want to protect your family, right? Then you're okay in my books." Corrin smiled. Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement.

"Thank you." Mulan smiled.

"Well then, let's go get Ping here enlisted in the army." Mushu cheered as the group headed to the campsite.

As the five arrived at the Campsite, Corrin took a glance at Mulan, who was walking rather weird with Mushu whispering something to her.

'This is going to be tough.' Corrin sighed.

There were two types of Solders in the camp. One group looked like actual solders in armor and on top of horses. There were plenty more outside the campsite, but there was a few inside that seemed like they were waiting to leave.

The other group looked like novices. They weren't dressed in armor and didn't carry the aura of experience like the other group did. In fact, they were rather childish as they messed around while getting in line for food.

"I guess we should get a bite to eat?" Sora asked as the others nodded and got in line.

"About time we get some grub." A short man with a black eye muttered as he rudely shoved Sora aside and took his spot in line.

"HEY!" Sora shouted.

"No cutting!" Donald shouted.

The short man turned around and slugged Sora in the face causing him to fall on his butt. Corrin rushed to his brother's aid as Donald attacked the short man getting into a tussle with Mulan and Goofy looking on worried.

"Hey, a spot in line!" A skinny man said as he cut in along with a fat tall bald man.

"I wonder what they are serving for lunch?" The bald one asked as he accidentally knocked the short man and Donald over with his large body.

"Knuckle sandwiches!" The short man shouted as charged at the big man. But he missed and hit the skinny one causing him to join the tussle.

"That does it." Sora growled as he got up but was held back by Corrin.

"Let's not draw unwanted attention to ourselves." Corrin said.

"Who's side are you on? I just got slugged!" Sora protested.

"He's not worth it." Corrin said.

"Yeah. Listen to the wimp." The short man teased getting on Corrin's nerves.

"Still not worth it." Corrin said to himself as he turned away, only to get hit by a rock tossed by the short man.

"That's it!" Sora growled as he charged at the short man for attacking his brother.

"Screw it!" Corrin growled joining the fray with others stopping what they were doing to cheer and egg on the fight.

"Please stop!" Mulan shouted causing everyone to stop and look at her.

"Please? What a girl!" The skinny man laughed.

"Let's just get back in line." Mulan tried with her fake manly voice.

The others ignored her as they got ready to rumble again with Sora, Corrin, and Donald ready to defend themselves.

As this was going on, three men stepped out of a rather large tent. One was a man in gold armor with a helmet and a red cape. The second was a young man around Mulan's age in grey armor with a similar red cape to the first man, and the last one was a skinny man with a thin mustache and goatee dressed in blue robes. He had a clipboard and a brush in his hands.

"Most impressive." The man in the blue robe commented sarcastically as they saw the end of that little fight.

The man in the golden armor got onto a white horse as he looked at the younger man.

"Good luck captain." He said as he ordered the first group of solders to ride off.

"Good luck to you…father." The captain said as he turned to the recruits.

"SOLDIERS! BACK IN LINE!" He shouted getting the fighting to stop and everyone, including Mulan and Goofy to get in an orderly line.

The captain walked around the recruits with a critical eye. He stopped at Sora and co. Before he was about to speak, the man and blue shouted for him.

"Captain!" He cried as he pointed to the Shadow Heartless emerging from the ground.

"Just after the General left?" The captain muttered as he got ready for battle. "Solders! Grab a weapon and…"

The captain and the other solders were shocked as Sora, Corrin, Donald and Goofy immediately got to work slaying the heartless with ease. Unlike with the Nobodies, The Heartless they were used to fighting. Especially if those Heartless were the Shadow Heartless. So the four made quick work of the little ambush.

Mulan tired to join in…and was stumbling with her sword. It was clear she had zero experience with a weapon resulting in the other four having to pick up the slack for her.

Once the Heartless were dealt with, The Captain ordered the five before him.

"What are your names?" The captain asked.

"I'm Sora." Sora greeted.

"I'm his brother, Corrin." Corrin said.

"Donald Duck." Donald said.

"Goofy." Goofy said.

"I have to admit, your skills were impressive. Those Shadow creatures have been showing up as of late. Possibly called by the Huns. Yet you seem to be able to fight them well." The Captain said.

"We've had run ins with them." Sora admitted.

"Quite fortunate." The man in blue commented with a critical eye.

"Regardless, you are welcomed in my troops. Your battle skills are encouraging." The captain said with a smile.

"Um, I am the son of Fa Zhou…" Mulan began but was cut off.

"You should go home. It was clear that you have no experience in even holding a weapon." The captain said immediately.

"B-but…That would dishonor my family." Mulan said shocked.

"Would you rather dishonor my troops?" The captain asked.

"Don't make me…" Mushu began, but Mulan was able to over him before he put her in hot water.

"Ping can be a great warrior if you give him a chance!" Sora protested.

"I won't give up! Give me a chance, and I will show you what I can do!" Mulan said trying to be confident.

The Captain looked at her for a moment. "You wish to be tested? Very well. I'll give you a chance. But if you don't meet my standards, I WILL send you home. Understood?" The captain asked and Mulan nodded. "Very well. Dismissed. Tomorrow all of you better be ready for training first thing in the morning."

With that, everyone went back to getting dinner.

"This is going to be rough." Mulan sighed.

"Seriously, you guys couldn't leave some Heartless for Ping?" Mushu cried out.

"Heartless?" Mulan asked.

"That's what those monsters were called. And Mushu, they needed to be dealt with as soon as possible." Corrin said firmly.

"But still…" Mushu began.

"It's fine Mushu. I joined the army, now I have to prove my strength." Mulan said.

"Well, lets get some food for now, and worry about that after." Sora said.

"I'll agree to that." Mushu commented.

"And on the plus side, maybe this army can give us the training we need to get back into shape." Corrin commented.

A few days of intense training went by. With the Huns approaching, The Captain, Shang wasted no time whipping these recruits into warriors to defend China.

Mulan struggled badly at first, and the captain was not impressed. Thankfully, Sora and Corrin gave her some extra sword lessons to help get her caught up, and even teaching her the ever useful Dodge Roll. After that, she definitely showed some improvement. She only hoped it was enough to meet Shang's expectations.

As for Sora and co, none of them were even remotely interested in fighting a war, but it was becoming more apparent that the Huns might have something to do with the Heartless, so they had no choice but to help. Plus, they did promise to help Mulan out. At the very least, they did notice themselves starting to get a bit back to full strength. Maybe now they would be able to deal with the Nobodies better than they did back in Hollow Bastion.

But the real question was, were they strong enough to take on the Organization?

Chapter Text

After a few more days of training, Shang finally thought the troops were ready enough. There wasn't much time left, so they had to hurry and meet up with his father. The next morning, everyone was getting prepared, but Shang pulled Sora and co along with Mulan aside.

"I do admit that you have improved a bit since you joined us." Shang admitted to Mulan.

"Not a little, a lot!" Donald argued.

"No, it's fine. I'm ready to show you what I'm capable of." Mulan declared.

"Very well then. I want the five of you to scout ahead the path on the mountains for enemies hiding about. Understood?" Shang asked.

"Yes sir!" The five saluted.

With their orders given, the five set off for the mountain pass.

Sora and co started to climb the mountain as they scouted for enemies.

"So, what if we run into these Huns?" Goofy asked worried.

"We fight our way back down and warn the captain." Sora said.

"No, no, no! You guys have it all wrong. We kick their butts and tell that Captain that Ping single-highhandedly took out a squad of Huns. That will get here noticed." Mushu cheered.

"Mushu, that idea is terrible for so many reasons." Corrin sighed.

"Well, let's just hope we don't run into any enemies." Donald said.

Just then, a couple of Heartless showed up. These Heartless were a Centaur-like creature that wore armor that bore the Heartless Emblem and a red cape. In their hands was a Guan Do that had a golden blade and a silver handle.

"You know, with how Heartless always constantly appearing out of nowhere, we really should have seen this coming." Corrin commented as the five got ready for battle.

One of the Assault Riders charged forward, but the group managed to avoid it by Dodge Rolling.

"Wow, that technique does come in handy." Mulan commented.

Sora fired a Blizzard spell at one of the Assault Riders causing it to stumble as Corrin summoned his mask to perform a Dragon Fang.

Corrin lunged forward with his sword attacking the Heartless that was still recovering from Sora's magic. Corrin's hand then turned into a lance that struck the Heartless, before opening up to charge a ball of water and blast the Heartless destroying it.

Donald was firing Fire spells at the second Assault Rider, but the creature spun its weapon around to block the attacks. Goofy jumped to the side of it and tossed his shield at the creature right in the head, causing it to stumble. Mulan, taking the opportunity, jumped forward and plunged her father's sword into the Heartless's head destroying it.

The rest of the army arrived right at that moment.

"Wow Ping, you aren't that bad!" The short man named Yao said having saw the end of the fight.

"Quite remarkable." The big bald man Chien Po added.

"A man among men." The skinny man Ling said.

The three kept heading forward as Sora and the gang congratulate Mulan.

"Great job! They like you!" Sora cheered.

"It's great and all, but what about the captain?" Mulan asked.

"Well, we can ask him right now. Here is comes!" Corrin said pointing to the Captain heading up the mountain with Chi Fu by his side.

"We took out the monsters captain. All for us did." Corrin said.

"I can see that." Shang said.

"So, about Ping..." Sora began.

"Very well. You can join my troops. Though I am not sure if you really have what it takes." Shang admitted.

"I'll continue to prove that I am ready!" Mulan vowed.

"That's the spirit." Shang praised.

"Hmph. Even still, this army is utterly pitiful. Do you really think they stand a chance against the Hun army?" The man in blue robes Chi Fu said.

"They completed their training. They are ready." Shang said as the two continued to the front of the army.

"The village is just up ahead. We will rendezvous with the general's troops there." Shang ordered as he got on his horse and rode ahead. Chi Fu following suit.

"That adviser guy is a jerk." Donald grumbled.

"Don't worry about him. More importantly, you're in the army Ping!" Sora cheered.

"Thank you guys. You all really helped me." Mulan smiled.

"And thank you Mushu for enlisting them." Mushu gloated.

"A little too early to celebrate. We still have the Huns and Heartless to deal with." Corrin pointed out.

"Corrin's right. We better get going." Goofy said as the five joined the rest of the army's climb up the mountain.

"We're approaching the mountain village. Let us join forces with the General's troops and crush the Hun army." Shang ordered.

However, what they found at their destination was not what anyone was expecting.

The village was utterly destroyed. There was no buildings left standing, smoke still filled the air from what was likely a fire, and not a soul was seen. The only sound that was heard was a broken bell rocking on a broken perch in the wind.

"Wh-what happened here?" Sora asked in horror.

"This is…horrible." Corrin said in horror.

"Search for survivors." Shang ordered as everyone started to look around.

The troops were more or less silent as they searched the wreckage.

Mulan found a discarded doll laying on the ground. She picked it up and clenched it.

"Did the Heartless cause this?" Sora asked as he looked at the destruction around him.

"I don't think so. When they invaded Hollow Bastion all those years ago, the place didn't look all that touched. But all this damage? I don't think it was the Heartless doing." Corrin said.

"This was the Huns." Shang said approaching the two. "But none of this makes any sense. My father should have been here with his troops."

"Captain!" Chi Fu called out as he and Goofy pointed down the hill with a pained look on their faces.

Shang and the others approached and gasped in horror to what they saw.

Corpses. Hundreds of corpses from both the solders Sora and co saw when they first arrived at the campsite a few days ago, and some civilians as well.

"This is awful." Sora gasped in horror.

"That's war for you." Jiminy said sadly on Sora's shoulder.

Chun Po walked up to Shang with a helmet in his hands.

"The General…" He said sadly.

Shang took the helmet and walked off a bit. He pulled out his sword and stuck it in the ground and placed the helmet on top of it as he gave his respect and Mulan joined him.

When Shang returned, he got on top of his horse and addressed the troops.

"The Huns are heading for the capital. We'll make better time through the Tung Shou Pass. We're the only hope for the emperor. Move out." He ordered.

Mulan left the doll she picked up earlier and placed it in front of the sword.

The remaining troops started to head up the mountain, but Sora then noticed something. It was small and black. A Heartless?

"Is something wrong?" Shang asked Sora who was looking off to the distance.

"I saw something move in the distance.

"A spy? We can't let the Huns know we are here. Spread out and find him. Stay in groups, but don't go too far away." Shang ordered.

Sora and co along with Mulan made one group as they followed down a path where Sora saw the creature that lead them to a cave.

The cave itself was rather small. It was a narrow passage that lead to a larger open area. There were carved out holes in the walls that held candles which lite the area. There was also some mini shrine at the end of the cave as well.

"You sure this is where you saw the Heartless?" Corrin asked.

"I'm positive. But...It looked different somehow." Sora said.

"Different how?" Mulan asked.

As if on cue, a group of creatures appeared around the group. They were sleek humanoid creatures with blue skin and pointy hands and feet. Its head was triangular shaped with lightning bolt shaped antennas.

"Those guys don't look like Heartless." Mushu commented.

"But is don't look friendly ether." Sora said summoning his Keyblade Oathkeeper.

Several more then appeared along with another type of creature. This one was more humanoid in design and stood up taller. It had blue skin and red eyes like the other creatures, but it had silver claws, a diamond shaped head, and small antennas. One the bigger creature's body was an odd emblem. It looked like a heart, but was pointier and blacker as opposed to the red and black emblem some of the Heartless carried.

"Why do I feel like I've seen that symbol before?" Goofy wondered as he looked at the odd symbol that was on some of the creatures.

"Worry about that later. Here they come!" Corrin said as the five got ready for battle.

The fight didn't last long. Despite not being Heartless, the creatures did fight in a similar matter. The smaller ones were like the Shadow Heartless, and the taller ones were like the Soldier Heartless. Both of which Sora and co fought many times before, and these creatures met the same fate.

"That takes care of them. Let's report back to Shang." Sora said.

"I can see what Sora meant by them being different. What were those creatures? Were they Heartless?" Corrin asked.

"I have to say, that strange facade had me confused at first…brother." A new voice called out.

The group turned around to the entrance to see a person about Sora's age…maybe standing before them. His outfit was similar to Riku's when he was possessed by Ansem. While both suits had black on them, this guy had red to go with his black suit as opposed to Riku's purple. The stranger also lacked the Heartless Emblem on his chest like Riku had. His face however was fully covered by a silver helmet with a black glass.

"Who are you?" Sora demanded as the five readied their weapons. "And who are you calling strange?"

"Say Donald, have we ever seen this guy before?" Goofy asked.

"I don't think so." Donald said though he was just as confused as Goofy. There was something about him that felt familiar.

"We have never met in the flesh before. I am Vanitas." The man Vanitas introduced himself.

"VANITAS?!" The two gasped in shock.

"You two know him?" Corrin asked.

"Do you remember that bad Keyblade Master we mentioned once before?" Donald asked and Sora and Corrin nodded. "This guy was working with him. He's a Keyblade wielder that came from the darkness of another Keyblade wielder's heart."

"Then, what does he want with us?" Sora asked.

"And more importantly, didn't you get destroyed years ago?" Donald demanded as he pointed his staff at Vanitas.

"I can't be rid of so easily. I was freed a year ago, but sadly it took me some time to regain my form. For an entire year I hid in Hollow Bastion, gathering the essence that make my heart. Soon enough, I was able to restore my body, but my power was another matter. Thankfully these villagers were very helpful in giving some of my power back." Vanitas explained.

"Wait, did you attack these villagers?" Mulan demanded.

"No. Those brutes that came down from the mountains did that. But the fear and despair that those villagers, as well as the solders that were slaughtered was what gave me my power. For you see, my heart is made from negative emotions. That is how I restore my power."Vanitas explained.

"Great for you, you sick freak." Corrin spat.

"But there is one part that no amount of negative emotions could fill." Vanitas added.

"And what's that?" Sora demanded.

Vanitas vanished from sight, much to everyone's shock.

"The other half of me that sleeps inside your heart." Vanitas said appearing behind Sora with his Keyblade, the Void Gear out. It's blade resembled a gear, just like the hilt, connected by a long blade with another gear in the middle and chains wrapped around it.

"Vanitas!" Sora gasped as he and the others turned around. However, when Sora spoke, it sounded like a different voice spoke at the same time. Something everyone, even Sora quickly noticed.

"Ventus…What a strange place to slither of to…you insignificant speak." Vanitas mocked as he reached his free hand towards Sora, only for Sora to slap it away.

"What are you talking about?" Sora demanded in confusion.

"Oh, you wouldn't remember. When you were little, you formed a special bond with a boy named Ventus that joined with your heart." Vanitas explained.

"Ven!" Donald gasped.

"So one of the missing Keyblade wielders the King's been looking for is inside of Sora's heart?" Goofy asked shocked.

"Okay, we are going to have a serous talk when we are done here." Corrin said completely lost.

"How is that even possible?" Sora asked.

A dark aura surrounded Vanitas as he prepared to strike. "Now, you will return Ventus to me!"

Sora was ready to fight back, but a pain in his chest prevented him from doing so. Donald and Goofy jumped in front of Sora to shield him, while Corrin and Mulan ran to Sora's aid.

"The king told us about this! Ventus wasn't able to defeat Vanitas! They struck each other down; and Ventus's heart was lost and never came back!" Goofy grunted while trying to cover Sora from a serge of dark energy that was erupting from Vanitas's body..

"There is no way we will let you do that to Sora!" Donald declared.

"Stay out of my way!" Vanitas yelled. With a single swing of his sword, a wave of dark energy was released knocking Donald and Goofy away.

Mulan grabbed her sword and charged at Vanitas, but Vanitas easily knocked her away, causing her to hit the wall of the cave and fall unconscious as Mushu rushed to check on her. Vanitas charged a Dark Figara spell at Corrin knocking him away from Sora as well leaving Sora all alone.

Sora grabbed his Keyblade to fight back, but Vanitas knocked it out of his hands with ease using his own Keyblade.

Vanitas pointed his Keyblade right at Sora's chest.

"Now, you will join your heart, with mine!" Vanitas declared as he raised his Keyblade.

Before Vanitas could strike Sora down, something big slammed into him from the side, sending him flying into the cave all. Vanitas looked up to see Dragon Corrin growling at him as he turned back to his human form with his sword drawn.

"You want him, you have to get through me!" Corrin declared.

"You think you're a match for me?" Vanitas mocked as he got up.

Sora, who managed to finally collect himself summoned back his Keyblade Oathkeeper and stood next to Corrin.

"You want mine or Ventus's heart, then you'll have to take it from me!" Sora declared. He didn't fully know who this Ventus person was, but something in his heart was crying out for his help. This Vanitas guy was bad news, and Sora wasn't going to let him get his way.

"So you want to do this the hard way? Fine then. Let's see what you're made of." Vanitas said as he got into a battle position similar to Riku's with his Keyblade held in one hand over his head.

Vanitas charged at the two Islanders who dodge rolled out of the way. Corrin fired a fire spell at the masked boy that Vanitas blocked with his Keyblade. Sora then swung at him, that Vanitas blocked.

"Hydro shot!" Corrin shouted as his hand turned into a mouth and fired a blast of water at Vanitas from behind, causing him to stumble. Sora took the opportunity to strike, but Vanitas recovered and cartwheeled out of the way.

"This guy is pretty good." Sora grunted.

"We better not hold anything back." Corrin said.

"Suffer!" Vanitas shouted as he fired a ball of fire that slowly traveled towards the two islanders. The fireball then split into three smaller fireballs that homed in on Sora who dodge rolled out of the way in time.

Corrin leaped forward to attack Vanitas but his Keyblade went right through him as Vanitas vanished.

"Too slow!" Vanitas mocked as he appeared above Corrin from behind and brought the blade down.

Corrin tried to dodge, but was a bit too late and was struck in the left shoulder by Vanitas's Keyblade.

"GAHH!" Corrin cried in pain as he held his shoulder that was struck.

"CORRIN!" Sora shouted as he gathered his energy. "LIGHT!"

Sora transformed into his Valor form and charged at Vanitas with Oblivion in his hands.

Vanitas blocked the attack, but the added power was enough to push him back.

Corrin, who managed to caste cure on himself got back up and charged another Hydro Shot.

Sora went on the offensive as he attacked Vanitas with his Ars Arcanium attack which knocked Vanitas back.

"You're finished!" Sora declared as he charged at Vanitas for another attack. But Vanitas vanished just as the blade was about to make contact with him. He appeared behind Sora ready to attack.

"Hydro Shot!" Corrin shouted as he blasted Vanitas with a blast of water that hit Vanitas while he was still in the air. This sent him flying away from Sora.

Vanitas landed on the ground a few feet away from Sora flat on his back. Sora reverted to his regular form to save his energy.

Around this time, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan managed to regain conscious. They each grabbed their weapons and joined Sora and Corrin as they slowly approached Vanitas.

Vanitas immediately jumped back on his feet as the group got ready for another round.

"Fine. You win this round." Vanitas said dismissing his Keyblade much to the other's confusion.

"Looks like you're all talk and no action." Mushu taunted.

"Hardly. It seems like my power hasn't fully returned yet. But this is far from over. I will reclaim Ventus from you, mark my words. Until then, consider yourself on probation." Vanitas said as he vanished via a corridor of darkness.

With Vanitas gone, the group put away their weapons.

"Who was that guy?" Mushu asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Corrin admitted.

"Well, he's gone now, we need to report back to Shang immediately." Mulan said.

"Right." Everyone nodded as they headed back to the remains of the village. Though Sora stopped and looked back into the cave.

"Ventus…Vanitas…Why do those names sound so familiar to me?" Sora asked himself before catching up with the others.

Outside the cave, the group spotted the captain approaching them.

"Where have you all been?" Shang demanded

"The spy that Sora saw turned out to be some Heartless hiding in the cave. But we took care of them." Corrin lied. Telling the truth would have resulted in more questions.

"I see. Well then hurry back with the others. We've confirmed the Hun army is up ahead. We need to stop them from heading to the palace. Move out." Shang ordered. The others nodded and headed back to regroup with the rest. The battle wasn't over yet.

Chapter Text

The remains of the Chinese army headed further up the mountain pass. Fear was engulfing all but Sora and co who had another problem on their mind. Corrin also noticed that Sora looked rather winded.

"You okay?" Corrin asked in concerned.

"Yeah, just exhausted. Valor really takes a lot out of you." Sora said panting a bit.

"Can't be helped. That Vanitas guy was pretty tough." Corrin admitted.

"Sorry we weren't much help back there." Donald said sadly.

"Don't worry about it. But when we get back to the ship, you guys need to tell us all that you know about that Vanitas guy." Corrin said.

"Well, we'll tell you anything we know, but what we said back in the cave was pretty much all we do know about the guy. King Mickey might know more about him though." Goofy said.

"But we don't know where he is." Corrin sighed.

"We should go back to Yen Sid's place after this. He might know more. Plus we need to tell him that we found Ventus's heart." Donald suggested.

"Sora, do you know anything about that connection Vanitas was talking about?" Corrin asked.

Sora was in thought for a moment. He did remember this one moment where he spoke to a ball of light when he was four. Was that the connection? "I can't really say for sure. It sounds like I should but I just can't fully grasp it."

Donald took out a potion and handed it to Sora.

"Well, we can worry about that later. Right now, we still have another fight to worry about." Donald said.

"Right, the Huns." Sora said as he finished the potion and clenched his fist at the thought of the slaughtered village he saw.

Just then, a hawk flew above the troops getting everyone's attention as it flew higher up the mountain to land on the shoulder of a man covered in a fog. The fog lifted to reveal not only Shan Yu, but the entire army of Huns waiting at the top of the mountain.

"That's Shan Yu!" Mushu gasped.

"So, he's the one that torched that village." Corrin spat in anger.

"Prepare for battle! If we die, we die with honor!" Shang ordered as the soldiers prepared for battle, rather afraid.

"Attack!" Shan Yu ordered as the Huns began to ride down the mountains on their horses.

"Ready the canons!" Shang ordered as Yao, Chien Po and Ling ready some small canons with a dragon's head on them. The three fired but the blasts were intercepted by a group of heartless that had a black body with a yellow beak that made most of their small bodies. They had stubby legs and a propeller on their rear that kept them flying. The Heartless Emblem was on their foreheads.

Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy jumped forward to combat the Rapid Thrusters that were charging at the army much to Shang's shock

"Get back here! This is suicide!" Shang ordered.

"This whole fight is!" Corrin retorted as the four engaged in battle with the Heartless.

Some of the Rapid Thrusters began firing a small bolt of yellow energy. Sora and co were able to deflect them or block them, but Shang wasn't as one went straight for him knocking him off his horse.

"Shang!" Mulan gasped as she ran to his aid.

"I'm fine." Shang grunted as he pushed himself back on his feet and turned to his troops. "How many canons do we have left?"

"Only one." Yao said holding it up.

"Then aim it at Shan Yu." Shang ordered. Maybe they could at least take out the leader.

Mulan watched as Sora and co were still fighting the Heartless as the Hun army was approaching closer. She then caught a glimpse of the mountain and had an idea.

She stole the canon right out of Yao's hands and bolted towards the battlefield in front of her despite all the shouts of Shang and the rest of the troops.

"Ping, what are you doing?" Mushu cried.

"I'm helping them!" Mulan said as she planted the canon into the ground and aimed it where she wanted. She looked for a match to start the flame until she noticed Mushu. She grabbed him and stretched his body out causing him to spit out some fire and lite the fuse. Mushu landed on the canon's head as it blasted off Just as Shan Yu was right in front of her. But the canon wasn't firing at the Hun, it was aiming at the mountain nearby.

"HOW COULD YOU MISS?! HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU?!" Mushu shouted as the canon hit the mountain.

Shan Yu swung his sword at Mulan who tried to dodge roll out of the way, but the sword struck her side wounding her. Shan Yu raised his sword at the disguised woman to kill her, but was intercepted by Sora's Keyblade allowing Mulan to get away and run towards Shang.

"A Keyblade…So you're the one he mentioned." Shan Yu muttered.

"Mentioned? Who?" Sora asked but a rumble cut him off.

The canon's fire had loosen the snow creating an avalanche that was quickly approaching everyone on the mountain. Sora knocked Shan Yu away and fled with the others.

The Hun's tried to escape the avalanche but all of them, even Shan Yu were engulfed in the snow.

Sora and co were trying to flee. They saw Mulan and Shang on a black horse that Mulan brought from home, while the rest of the army took cover behind some rocks from the snow.

"What are we going do?" Donald cried as they ran. The snow was catching up to them.

"Grab onto me!" Goofy yelled as he took out his shield. His shield grew in size as he grabbed his friends and tossed them on top of the shield along with himself. When the snow caught up to them, the four rode the shield like a sled.

"Great job Goofy!" Sora cheered.

"When did you learn to do this?" Corrin asked.

"Uh…I can't remember." Goofy admitted.

"Typical." Donald groaned with a roll of the eyes.

"Hey guys, I just remembered something…" Corrin said.

"What's that?" Sora asked pretty excited on the sledding thing.

"Aren't we heading towards a cliff?" Corrin asked as everyone paled.

"Oh crap!" The four cried. The sled hit the edge of the mountain as the snow went falling down the mountain side and the four world jumpers were sent flying.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The four screamed as they fell.

"WHAT DO WE DO?!" Donald cried as he flapped his arms frantically.

"Boy do I wish this was Neverland right now!" Corrin cried.

"Neverland…wait…That's it!" Sora called out.

"What is?" Goofy asked

"Gliding! We can glide! Follow me!" Sora said as he started to glide around the falling snow.

Corrin and the others, remembering that they can glide as well, followed suit. The four glided to a part of the mountain that was away from the falling snow and grabbed on as they waited for the avalanche to stop. Once all the snow had fallen, the four began to climb back up.

After taking a while to climb all the way back up to the top, and get to where the others were, the four spotted the rest of the troops waiting outside a tent looking rather nervous. Mushu was there standing off to the side of the tent with a worried look on his face as well. Even Shang was pacing back and forth in front of the tent frantically. Though when he spotted the four, he along with Chien Po, Yao, and Ling ran up to them.

"Thank goodness you guys are alright! We were worried when we saw you go flying off the mountain!" Ling cheered.

"That wasn't the first crazy stunt we pulled." Corrin chuckled.

"You guys and Ping are a lot alike in that." Yao chuckled.

"Where is Ping?" Sora asked concerned as he looked around for Mulan.

"Getting medical treatment. He had a pretty nasty injury on his side." Shang said pointing at the tent.

Just then, a doctor came out and Shang went to speak with him. Shang looked surprised and rushed inside. The doctor then told Chi Fu who looked rather outraged as he rushed inside.

Corrin watched the whole thing go down and started to connect the dots.

Mulan was injured…inside a medical tent to receive treatment, meaning they would have to remove her armor to do so…oh crap!

At that moment Shang stormed out of the tent. Chi Fu then pulled Mulan out of the tent as she was covering herself with a blanket.

"I knew there was something wrong about you!" Chi Fu growled as he pulled off her hair tie letting her hair down. "A woman!"

The solders all gasped as Sora and co along with Mushu started to tense up as to what was going to happen to Mulan.

Chi Fu tossed her to the ground. "Treacherous snake! You dishonor the entire Imperial Army!"

"I did this to save my father!" Mulan argued which caused Shang to flinch.

"High treason!" Chi Fu called out.

"I never meant for it to go this far." Mulan pleaded.

"Ultimate dishonor!" Chi Fu spat.

"Hey, if it wasn't for Mulan, we would all be dead!" Sora shouted.

"You knew?" Shang asked shocked.

"So, you were in on it? Well, we will deal with you in a second." Chi Fu spat as he turned to Mulan.

"I'd like to see you try." Corrin growled as he gripped his Dragon stone in his pocket.

Chi Fu grabbed a sword and handed it to Shang. "Your verdict, captain?"

Chien Po, Yao, and Ling ran towards Mulan, but Chi Fu blocked them. "You all know the law."

Shang approached Mulan with the sword in hands.

Corrin grabbed Sora and pulled him close. "You're the faster of the two of us so, when I give the single, I pounce the chancellor and you save Mulan from Shang." Sora nodded.

However, before anyone could do anything, Shang tossed the sword to the ground much to everyone's surprise.

"A life for a life. My debt is repaid." Shang said as he turned towards Sora and co. "You five are dismissed from the army." He then started to leave. "Move out!"

"B-But captain the law- "Chi Fu was cut off by Shang grabbing him by his collar and pulling him close to his face.

"I said 'move out.'" Shang growled leaving no room for arguments. Chi Fu gulped in fear with a nod.

The rest of the army left with Shang leaving Mulan alone with Sora and co. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po looked rather worried, but marched with the rest of the army back to the capital.

Mulan just sat there in the snow in shame as Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, and Mushu watched over her in concern.

"I've dishonored my family." She muttered sadly.

Chapter Text

Mulan had dressed back into her training gear from when she was training at base camp. A simple grey outfit with green lining and a green sash. Thankfully the army left her horse behind.

"Sorry I got you guys in trouble as well." Mulan said sadly.

"Don't worry about it." Sora assured.

"So, Ping…I mean Mulan, what are you going to do now?" Corrin asked.

"Go back home I guess." Mulan sighed.

"Your daddy is going to be as steamed as a chicken dumpling." Mushu muttered.

Sora pulled his brother and friends close by the shoulders. "Relax. We'll take our share of the blame."

Mulan chuckled. "Thanks. You guys are such wonderful friends."

"Well, it's a long walk down. Best get moving." Mushu said and the five started to head down the mountain.

Though before they could get far, they heard a rumble coming from the snow above.

To their shock, Shan Yu emerged from the snow.

"Fools! Like a little snow was enough to get rid of me." He laughed. "Come forth Dragon of the Earth!"

A massive dragon Heartless appeared beneath Shan Yu. It was a large blue dragon with a curled tail and yellow spikes on its back and red horns on its head. Its hands were webbed wings with a swirly design on it and had two rows of golden symbols on its stomach. The Heartless emblem was on the bottom half of its jaw.

"Now we fly!" Shan Yu declared as the dragon took flight and headed for the palace.

"How the heck did he survive that?" Corrin cried out.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is that he's heading for the palace. We have to warn Shang!" Mulan urged.

"How are we going to beat him there?" Sora asked.

"Don't know, but move!" Mulan ordered as everyone piled on her horse and raced down the mountain.

At the Palace:

Shang and Chi Fu were standing before the Emperor. An elder man dressed in elegant yellow robes and a matching hat.

"You have done well General Li. You are all to be commended as heroes." The Emperor said.

Chi Fu looked delighted but Shang looked troubled.

"Is something wrong General?" The Emperor asked.

"…No, it's nothing." Shang said.

"Halt, who goes there?" A voice said outside. Then a thumping sound was heard. The door opened revealing a man in a black coat.

"Who are you?" Shang demanded as he drew his sword. Shang charged at the man who easily knocked Shang to the ground with a sword in the shape of a bat wing.

"I didn't come here to fight." The man said dismissing his sword.

"Then why are you here?" The Emperor demanded.

"To warn you. The Heartless are coming." The man said.

"The Heartless?" The Emperor asked confused.

Shan Yu arrived at the city, though to his surprise, the place was empty.

"Where is everyone?" He muttered confused.

*BOOM!*

Several canon blasts hit the heartless which caused it to stutter, but mostly remained unfazed.

"Ready more canons!" Shang ordered as the troops grabbed some more cannons.

Mulan and the others arrived at the city to see Shang and the others fight the giant Heartless.

"How did they know it was coming?" Sora asked.

"Shang!" Mulan shouted as she ran to her former commanding officer.

"Mulan? What are you doing here?" Shang demanded.

"We came to warn you about that!" Mulan said pointing to the sky chaser.

"How strange. We were warned by a man in a black coat earlier." Shang commented.

"Organization XIII? Why would they warn them?" Sora asked Corrin.

"I don't know, but we need to take this thing out first." Corrin said.

"Captain, we'll deal with this creature." Sora said summoning his Keyblade.

Shang was silent for a second before he nodded. "Fine." He then turned to his troops. "Fire another round at it and get it to land."

Sora and co rushed forward to face the dragon.

Another round of canon fire did cause the creature to stumble a bit and lower itself down, where Sora got ready for it.

"Magnet!" Sora shouted as he formed a black ball of energy in the air that started to drag the Heartless down.

"I'll help! Gravity!" Donald shouted bringing it down further.

"Hydro Shot!" Corrin shouted as he blasted the Giant Heartless causing it to crash.

Sora was ready to finish it off, but the creature, but the creature wasn't done yet.

A pair of walls appeared around the group as the dragon charged a massive bolt of electricity.

Donald then jumped forward.

"I got this!" Donald declared.

The Storm Chaser fired a massive blast of electricity at the group as Donald raised his staff.

"Reflect!" Donald shouted.

A dome of energy appeared around the group shielding them from the blast. Donald struggled to keep the shield up, but he succeeded leaving the group unscratched.

"Let's finish this Corrin!" Sora declared as he turned into his Valor form and Corrin went dragon.

Sora jumped on top of Corrin as Corrin charged at the Heartless.

The Storm Chaser was about to intercept with more electricity but Mulan was ready for it.

"Mushu!" She shouted as she tossed the little dragon at the Heartless.

Mushu then unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the dragon Heartless causing it to drop its focus and cancel the attack. Leaving it wide open for a final attack.

Corrin charged forward as Sora's Keyblade tore through the Heartless like it was made of tissue.

The Storm Chaser vanished leaving only Shan Yu left.

"You…I will not be denied my goal when it is so close to me." Shan Yu growled as his body released a dark aura.

"Don't let him near the emperor!" Shang ordered as he and the soldiers charged, but Shan Yu unleashed a wave of dark energy with his sword knocking them away leaving only Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan left.

"Looks like it's all up to us." Sora said.

Mulan looked rather nervous but Corrin spoke up.

"Don't worry Mulan. You're not alone. Besides. There is no way he made it out of that avalanche unscratched." Corrin said.

Mulan was silent for a second before nodding. "Right. This ends now!"

"Right now!" Sora said as the five readied for battle.

Shan Yu summoned a pair of Heartless. These Heartless wore a blue and purple robe and a matching hat that had the Heartless emblem on it. Their skin was rather blue and they had sharp claws. The Heartless made a beeline towards the palace hopping.

"Donald, Goofy. Take care of the Heartless while we deal with Shan Yu." Corrin ordered.

"Got it!" Donald and Goofy said as they gave chase to the Nightwalkers.

Sora, Corrin, and Mulan stood face to face with Shan Yu.

Shan Yu released another dark aura around his body and charged at the three.

The three dodge-rolled out of the way and Corrin went on the offense swinging his blade at Shan Yu who blocked it with his sword.

Sora tried to attack, but Shan Yu jumped away from the boy and landed a bit further away.

"Up in the mountains, you knew about the Keyblade. How did you know about that?" Sora asked

"I was warned about it. But that's the least of your problems. You guys took my victory away from me!" Shan Yu growled.

"No, I did!" Mulan said getting Shan Yu's attention. When she did, Mulan lifted her hair to how she wore it as Ping much to Shan Yu's shock.

"The warrior from the mountain." He gasped before growling. Shan Yu charged at Mulan who dodged out of the way.

"Girl, you are never going to win this if you don't go on the offense. Don't worry. You have me to back you up!" Mushu said

"Thanks, Mushu." Mulan smiled as she got ready.

Shan Yu charged again at Mulan but Mushu shot some fire at him making him stumble back to avoid being hit.

Sora then attacked Shan Yu injuring him in the side with his Keyblade.

Corrin attacked Shan Yu with his sword, though Shan Yu was able to block it. But that didn't stop Corrin from kicking him in the stomach making him stumble back.

"I will not fall here! Not when I am so close! Hayabusa!" Shan Yu called out.

Shan Yu's Falcon, which was also covered in a dark aura charged at the group with blazing speed.

"Gah!" Sora cried out as the Falcon slashed at him with his claws at high speed. Mulan and Corrin weren't faring any better.

"Now die!" Shan Yu yelled as he charged at Sora, but Sora managed to block the attack and the two started to push each other.

"You think you can overpower me?" Shan Yu demanded as the two continued their struggle.

Corrin and Mulan were still being attacked by Hayabusa.

"Gah! I can't hit the thing!" Corrin cried out as he tried to attack the falcon, but missed and was left open for another attack.

"Leave this to me!" Mushu said as he fired a bunch of fireballs in the air. The fireballs came back down around the two causing Hayabusa to break in order to avoid being roasted.

Mushu breathed fire at the falcon causing it to lose all of its feathers and fall to the ground.

"Now that's what I call a Mongolian Barbecue." Mushu joked.

"Let's go help Sora!" Corrin said as Mulan and Mushu nodded.

Sora in the meantime was able to get the advantage over Shan Yu and start pushing him back much to his shock. With one more push, Sora knocked Shan Yu away and gave a powerful slash injuring him.

"No…more power! I need more power!" Shan Yu muttered as he forced himself back up as Corrin and Mulan joined Sora.

"This guy won't give up." Corrin muttered.

Sora readied himself for another round but Mulan stopped him.

"Let me handle this from here." Mulan asked Sora nodded and dismissed his Keyblade.

Mulan stepped forward as Shan Yu pushed himself up. His dark aura was weaker than before.

"Let's end this." Mulan said as she readied her sword.

Shan Yu charged at Mulan with every last bit of his strength.

Mushu used his fire to surround Mulan's sword with fire as she charged as well.

With a mighty slash, Shan Yu was down.

The battle was over.

"We did it!" Sora cheered.

"Oh yeah! Mulan's the best…no wait a minute, I'm the best! Mushu's the best!" Mushu cheered.

"Yeah. I guess you do have a little bite to you." A voice called out.

Xigbar appeared right before the three as Shang and the rest of the army managed to get back up and join Sora and co.

"One…more time…I need more…power." Shan Yu gasped weakly at the hooded man.

"What a pathetic loser. And here I thought you'd put up more of a fight than that." Xigbar sighed as he pulled out one of his arrowguns and pointed it right at Shan Yu's head.

Bang!

Sora, Corrin and Mulan flinched as Xigbar ended Shan Yu's life.

"I guess you are a bit more capable than I originally thought, but if you don't shape up soon, things will get even uglier." Xigbar said.

"You!" Sora growled as he charged at Xigbar. Xigbar used his arrowgun to block it, though the force did knock his hood off.

"Settle down I just came to say hello…for now at least." Xigbar said as he knocked Sora back with ease. "You just keep on fighting those Heartless." With that, Xigbar left.

"Who was that man? He was different from the one that came before." Shang muttered.

A few moments later:

Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan stood before the Emperor with Chi Fu and Shang at his sides. The citizens and soldiers all stood below the steps as they watched on.

"I've heard a great deal about you Fa Mulan. You ran away from home, stole your father's armor, impersonated a solider, deceived your commanding officer, shamed the entire Chinese Army, and dishonored your family's name." The Emperor said listing off Mulan's crimes.

"We get the picture." Sora sighed.

"You are a young woman, and in the end…you have saved us all." The Emperor finished as he bowed in respect to Mulan.

Chi Fu quickly did as well as did Shang, but with more grace.

"The same goes for you four. If there is anything I can do to thank you, please speak it." The Emperor asked the four world jumpers.

"I was kind of hoping you could tell me about that guy who warned you." Sora said. There was something about that person that got both him and Corrin thinking. They had to know more to confirm their suspicions.

"That is all you wish?" The Emperor asked and Sora nodded.

"He showed up shortly after the army came back from the battle in the mountains and defeated General Li in battle rather easily." The Emperor began much to Shang's embarrassment over his easy loss.

"If you ask me, he was quite rude to just barge in like that." Chi Fu humphed.

"Anyway, he told us that someone of evil intent disrupted one of our Dragons and changed it into what you call a Heartless to assist Shan Yu's conquest. He advised me to prepare for defense and evacuate the citizens." The Emperor said.

"He also told us that a couple of wise guys with a giant Key would arrive to assist us." Shang added.

'I guess that explains why Shang was willing to allow our help earlier.' Corrin thought.

"There wasn't malice in that man like the other one we saw just moments ago. But after he delivered the message, he left." The Emperor said.

"That man…I wonder…Riku?" Sora wondered.

"I am sorry, but that is all I know." The Emperor said.

"No, thank you. That alone was helpful enough." Sora bowed. After hearing Xigbar say how he vanished backed in Hollow Bastion, this gave him some hope that Riku is still out there somewhere.

"On a side note, if you wish, I can reenlist you four into my army." Shang asked.

"No thank you. But you should take Mulan." Sora said.

"Women are NOT allowed in the army!" Chi Fu shouted.

"That's a stupid law!" Sora shouted.

"Very well then. Chi Fu." The Emperor said.

"Yes, your excellency?" Chi Fu asked.

"See to it that this woman is made a member of my council." The Emperor said.

"WHAT?! But…there are no openings available your majesty!" Chi Fu argued.

"All right then…You can have his job." The Emperor said to Mulan as he pointed to Chi Fu causing the man to faint in shock much to Sora and Co's amusement.

"With all due respect your excellency, I think I've been away from home for too long." Mulan bowed.

"Then take this so that the world knows what you did for China." The Emperor said as he handed Mulan Shan Yu's sword as the crowd behind them cheered.

"Now they have to let me go back to being a Guardian now, they have to!" Mushu cheered.

"I thought you were already a guardian Mushu." Goofy said.

What? Oh no, no-don't even worry about that. That's just real technical. Just for us Guardians." Mushu stuttered but Sora and Corrin glared at him.

"You tricked us!" Sora accused.

Before Mushu could respond, Shan Yu's sword glowed getting Sora's attention. Remembering what happened in Hollow Bastion, Sora summoned his Keyblade to unlock the path that the sword revealed.

"What was that?" Mulan asked.

"It means, we have to get going." Sora said.

"Already?" Mulan asked a bit sad.

"Yeah. Just like you, there are people back home waiting for us." Corrin smiled.

"Thank you all for everything. You will always be welcomed in China." The Emperor bowed.

Before they could leave however Mushu pulled the four aside.

"So listen, I'm sorry for lying earlier, but I have something to make it up to you." Mushu said as he turned to Corrin and handed him a red dragon stone.

"What's this?" Corrin asked.

"That's a Fire Dragon Stone. It should let you transform into a fire dragon as opposed to a water dragon, just in case you need some more fire power in the future." Mushu said.

Corrin took out his own dragon stone with his other hand and held the two up. Suddenly, his own Dragon Stone started to glow, as did the fire stone Mushu gave him along with his whole body.

"Corrin, are you okay?" Sora asked concerned.

"Yeah. I think so." Corrin nodded as he pocketed his Dragon stone and gripped the fire one. "Let's test this out."

Corrin transformed into a dragon using the fire stone. Unlike his normal dragon form, this form was red instead of blue.

"Doesn't look too much different from your own form." Donald commented.

"Maybe because it reacted to your other dragon stone." Goofy guessed.

"Water is great and all, but when you think of dragons, you think fire. And now you are one as well!" Mushu cheered.

Corrin turned back to normal and pocketed the new stone. "Thank you Mushu. But keep in mind that you don't need to lie next time you need a favor."

"I know. I'm sorry." Mushu sighed.

"All right then. You take care Mushu." Corrin waved as the four headed back to the Gummi Ship.

Back in the ship:

"Well, that was something." Corrin sighed as he sat down in his chair.

"Yeah…that poor village, and then Vanitas." Sora said sadly.

"So, what do you guys know about him?" Corrin asked Donald and Goofy.

"Well, around 11 years ago, the Unversed appeared and were causing problems across the worlds. Kind of like the Heartless are now. So a Keyblade Master named Eraqus sent his pupils to take care of them." Donald said.

"So, the Unversed were a problem in the past?" Corrin asked.

"Yeah. They were connected to that bad Keyblade Master and Vanitas somehow, but after that they vanished and haven't been seen since. At least not until today." Donald said.

"And Vanitas is connected to this Ventus guy, right? Was he one of the pupils?" Corrin asked and Donald and Goofy nodded. "What do you guys know about these pupils?"

"There were three. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus." Goofy listed off.

"And they are missing based on what you said in the cave?" Corrin asked.

"Right. King Mickey stole a Star Shard to let him go to other worlds and help fight the Unversed leaving us behind." Donald said adding some bitterness in that last part. "Some time later, Ventus showed up at the tower with the Star Shard the King had. Master Yen Sid used it to track the King that was in trouble and Ventus left to go save him."

"But strangely enough, it was Aqua that showed up with King Mickey and Ventus was nowhere to be seen." Goofy added.

"So, what happened to Ventus?" Sora asked concerned.

"We don't know. Aqua left to a place called the Keyblade Graveyard to look for Terra. King Mickey left once he recovered and brought her and Ventus back with him. There was apparently a massive battle with the bad Keyblade Master and Vanitas. Terra was nowhere to be seen and Ventus...He lost his heart after a big battle with Vanitas." Donald said sadly.

"Lost his heart?" Corrin asked surprised.

"I guess that's what happened. He was sleeping and wouldn't wake up. Kind of how Kairi was a year ago." Donald said.

"Poor guy." Sora muttered. He remembered how Kairi looked so lifeless when she lost her heart. This Ventus guy was probably the same.

"What happened to his body, or Aqua?" Corrin asked.

"Aqua said she would find a place where Ven would be safe until she, Master Yen Sid and King Mickey can locate his missing heart. Then she would go back to finding Terra. She left, and we never saw her again." Donald said sadly.

"Where could she have gone?" Sora asked.

"Could she be…dead?" Corrin asked worried.

"NO WAY! Aqua is a Keyblade Master. She wouldn't fall so easily." Donald argued.

"Sorry." Corrin said defensively.

"But still, why did Ventus go to Sora, instead of Aqua or King Mickey? Didn't Master Yen Sid say that Ventus's heart would look for a friend when it was lost?" Goofy asked

"Sorry guys, but I don't remember ever meeting anyone named Ventus before." Sora said sadly.

"Don't worry about it. At least with you, we know Ventus's heart is safe." Goofy smiled.

"But for now, we need to head back to Twilight Town and inform Master Yen Sid about Vanitas's return and that we found Ventus's heart." Donald declared as he reached for the ship's controls.

"Uh problem Donald. Twilight Town is missing." Goofy pointed out looking at the map.

"WHAT?! Missing? Where did it go?" Donald demanded looking at the map. Sure enough, the town was nowhere to be seen.

"That's strange. But I guess we can't go back to Twilight Town for now." Corrin sighed.

"Well now what? Vanitas is still out there and he'll likely make another attempt at Sora for Ven's Heart." Donald cried out.

"Well, Vanitas did admit that he wasn't at full power yet, so we just have to stay ahead of him. And with the four of us working together, we'll be ready for anything." Sora said with a smile.

"Quite the optimism." Donald groaned.

"Well, until we can relocate Twilight Town, or find King Mickey, we can't really do anything with this information." Corrin pointed out.

"I guess you're right. So where do we go next then?" Donald asked.

As if on cue, the four received a call from Hollow Bastion. Upon answering it Cid appeared on the screen looking rather troubled.

"Hey guys…are you busy at the moment?" Cid asked.

"Not really, why? Is there a problem going on?" Corrin asked.

"Are the Heartless attacking?" Sora asked worried.

"No but, just get back over to Merlin's place as soon as you can." Cid said.

"Okay. We'll be right there." Sora agreed as Cid hung up.

"What's with Cid? He looked a bit spaced out?" Donald asked.

"Only one way to find out. Hollow Bastion, here we come!" Sora declared as the ship blasted off to Hollow Bastion.

Chapter Text

Sora and co arrived at Hollow Bastion and headed straight for Merlin's house.

"I wonder what Cid wants? He sounded rather troubled." Donald asked.

"Well, we're about to find out." Corrin said as they opened the door to Merlin's house and went inside.

Inside, the four saw that there was two more people than normal in the house. One was a girl that was younger than Sora. She had pink salmon hair and was dressed like some kind of shrine maiden with a white shirt and a red long skirt. The other was a man slightly older than Corrin. He had green hair and was dressed in green and black clothing with a purple scarf around his neck. The girl was sitting on Merlin's bed with Aerith next to her with a large book on her lap that looked like the one Sora saw Kairi with when she returned to Destiny Island. The man was talking with Yuffie in the corner. Or rather Yuffie was yelling at him about something and he looked completely disinterested in the conversation. However, the moment he laid eyes on Corrin, he vanished and reappeared right in front of Corrin bowed down.

"Lord Corrin. I can't believe it, you truly are alive!" The man said.

"Wait, LORD Corrin?!" The four asked rather baffled.

"Yeah, that was our reaction as well." Yuffie commented.

"Kaze, maybe we should all sit down and explain everything from the beginning." Aerith advised.

"Of course." The ninja named Kaze said as he headed for the table.

"Is that…Is that really my brother?" The girl asked nervously.

"Brother?" Corrin asked. Granted he knew he had a sister thanks to that nightmare, but this girl looked nothing like her.

"Let's just sit down and clear this all up. We only know so much ourselves." Aerith advised as everyone got comfortable around the dinner table. Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy were at one end while Sakura, and Kaze were at the other end and the Restoration Committee were in-between the two on both sides of the table.

"Okay, let's start with introductions." Aerith said.

"My name is Kaze. I am a ninja that serves Hoshido." Kaze greeted.

'Hoshido?' Corrin gasped. That was the name that was on the back of the photo.

"M-My name is Sakura. I am the youngest of the Hoshidan Royal Family." The girl named Sakura stuttered.

"So does that mean that you're a princess?" Goofy asked and Sakura shyly nodded. "Nice to meet you. My name is Goofy your highness."

"My name is Sora." Sora said with his usual smile.

"Donald Dusk." Donald greeted.

"And I'm Corrin, but it seems that you already know that." Corrin said. "If I may ask, how exactly do you know me?"

"You are a member of the Hoshidan Royal family. Lady Sakura is your younger sister and Prince Takumi, Lady Hinoka, and Lord Ryoma are your siblings back home." Kaze said much to everyone's shock.

"Corrin, you're a prince?" Sora asked surprised.

"Are you sure you don't have me confused with someone else?" Corrin asked.

"No. You may have grown, but you still look roughly the same as you did all those years ago." Kaze said.

"How can I be a prince? I grew up on the islands most of my life?" Corrin asked.

"Yeah! What's your proof that Corrin here is a prince?" Yuffie argued.

"What about that picture though? Didn't it say Hoshido on the back?" Goofy asked.

"What picture?" Kaze asked curiously. Corrin took out the picture he found in his pocket and showed it to Kaze and Sakura. Both gasped at what they saw.

"Th-this picture. I've seen it in the halls back home? How do you have a picture of it?" Sakura asked.

"I have no idea." Corrin admitted. "It just popped into my pocket one day."

"So, do you know these people?" Sora asked hopeful to get some answers for his adopted brother's past.

"They are my…our parents." Sakura said "King Sumeragi and Queen Mikoto."

"Still makes me wonder how you got that." Yuffie commented.

"You and me both." Corrin sighed as he looked at the picture. "I recognized the man from my nightmare though."

"Nightmares?" Sakura asked concerned.

"I'm in some kind of town with a scary pale skinned man unleashing a bunch of arrows at this guy and then grabbing me and some girl who looks like me. I've been having that nightmare for a year now." Corrin admitted as Aerith and Sora put a comforting hand on his shoulders. Kaze flinched which the others took notice of.

"I take it you know something about that?" Leon asked suspiciously.

"Yes. That event did happen and I saw it, as I was there that day." Kaze said with regret.

"Are you familiar with it Sakura?" Aerith asked softly.

Sakura shook her head. "N-No. I was too little when that event happened. I only heard of it from my siblings."

"Do you remember anything else Lord Corrin?" Kaze urged.

"Just Corrin please, and no. Aside from that nightmare, I know nothing from before I was found on the beach by Sora and his mother." Corrin said.

"Why don't we start with the beginning? How about you tell us about your homeland first. Maybe it can help Corrin remember something." Merlin offered.

Kaze nodded. "We come from the Kingdom of Hoshido. In our…world…it is one of the two greatest Kingdoms out there with the other being the Kingdom of Nohr." He started with some discomfort of saying the word 'world.' "For many years, the two Kingdoms had been at odds with one another. So our King Sumeragi arranged a meeting with the Nohrian King Garon to negotiate some kind of treaty. But…"

"He was ambushed and killed instead." Corrin said subconsciously as he remembered the dream.

Kaze nodded. "King Garon ambushed him and killed him in cold blood. Then he took you and your sister Kamui away from us."

'Kamui…That name sounds familiar to me…' Corrin thought.

"Well, that confirms that guy is a jerk." Yuffie huffed, remembering when she first heard of Corrin's nightmare last year.

"But that still doesn't answer how Corrin went from Nohr to Destiny Island." Leon said.

"Or better yet, how did you two get here in the first place?" Donald asked.

"Well, I suppose we should start by explaining this." Kaze began. "After your kidnapping, Hoshidan forces did everything they could to find you and your sister. However, despite our best efforts, we couldn't find where King Garon took you both. But then our tactician Yukimura, managed to get his hands on one of the Nohrian Royal Family. A girl named Azura."

"So you guys kidnapped her?" Corrin frowned.

"Yes…Your mother was unaware of this at first. Yukimura took her on his own volition. His hopes was to use her in a hostage exchange to get you two back. When Queen Mikoto found out about it at first, she was furious at the idea. However, she wanted you both back more than anything. So, reluctantly, she agreed to go along with Yukimura's plan." Kaze said.

"But I'm guessing it didn't work?" Corrin asked.

"Correct. We tried to negotiate the Hostage exchange, but Garon denied it. He cared nothing for Lady Azura." Kaze said.

"That's horrible. I'm not thrilled with a hostage exchange, but what kind of parent doesn't care for their own daughter?" Aerith asked a bit angry.

"I honestly have no idea. Lady Azura hardly ever spoke of her past." Kaze said.

"What happened to this Azura after that?" Cid asked concerned.

"A-Azura was adopted into the Hoshidan royal family after it was clear that Nohr had no interest to get her back. She was like a big sister to me." Sakura said which calmed the others down a bit.

"That's interesting and all, but what does this Azura girl have to do with how you got here?" Donald asked impatiently.

"Calm down Donald. I'm sure they are getting to that." Merlin assured his former apprentice.

"We are, but this story begins when your sister Kamui came home one day from Nohr." Kaze said.

Kaze then began to explain the events that happened from Kamui's return from Nohr, to the dreaded day that Kamui's sword exploded killing Queen Mikoto.

"So, my mother's…dead?" Corrin asked shocked.

"I'm sorry." Kaze said sadly with his head bowed in shame. Sakura was trying her best not to cry again.

Aerith embraced Corrin as he looked down. Here he finally was getting news on his real family, only to find out that both of his parents are dead. Even if he still doesn't remember them, his heart did and it felt like breaking right now. Honestly, Corrin wanted to leave, but he needed to hear the rest of this.

"Though with her death, your sister Kamui was chosen by the sacred blade, the Yato. We then received word that the Nohrian army was awaiting us at the boarder so we headed out to confront them." Kaze said.

Everyone did get some curiosity at this Yato blade, but at the moment, it wasn't important.

"As both of our armies stood ready for battle against each other, Lady Kamui had to make the choice to fight along side us, or fight alongside Nohr. Sadly, she chose to fight for Nohr." Kaze finished.

"What? Why would she go back to some guy that used her as a bomb?" Yuffie asked rather dumbfounded.

"I don't know. But her betrayal made things worse in Hoshido. Monsters began to appear everywhere and Lady Azura was accused of suspicion due to her Nohrian lineage." Kaze said.

"W-we tried…We tried everything we could to stop those rumors. But then Azura left…" Sakura spoke up with tears in her eyes.

"Lady Sakura gave chase to Lady Azura to try and get her to stay. I saw her and followed, but then…" Kaze began.

Flashback:

"Azura!" Sakura called out as she looked around an abandon town. Many towns in Hoshido were abandoned due to the war and shadow creatures that started to appear since the war began. The citizens relocated closer to the capital for protection. "Please! I can't lose another member of my family!" Tears were starting to spill in her eyes. First her mother dies, then Kamui betrays them, and now Azura was missing.

"Lady Sakura! There you are!" Kaze said running up to her.

"K-Kaze? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked surprised.

"I'm here to retrieve you. It's too dangerous to be out here alone. The Nohrian army may not be here now, but those monsters are still lurking around here." He warned.

"I-I'm sorry, but I know I saw Azura head in this direction." Sakura said

Kaze sighed. "Very well. We can take a quick look. But if we don't find her, we need to head back. It's for your own safety."

"Very well." Sakura sighed. But before they could start looking, multiple Shadow Heartless appeared surrounding the two.

"Damn! I knew I should have grabbed Hana and Subaki before I headed out." Kaze cursed under his breath He was in a rush to go after Sakura he didn't have time to grab her retainers. While he had gained a bit of experience fighting these Shadow creatures, there were far too many for him to take on himself, and he had to protect Sakura while he was at it. "Stay close to me Lady Sakura!"

"O-Okay!" Sakura said in fear as she stepped closer to the green-haired ninja.

Kaze got to work fending off the Heartless, and while he was able to take out a few of them, more and more kept coming. Slicing another Shadow into nothing, several more started to charge forward. Kaze readied himself to counter their attack, but to his surprise, they weren't even aiming for him. They leaped right over him and aimed right at Sakura who was a little bit away from him.

"Lady Sakura!" Kaze gasped as he rushed to help the princess but was intercepted by more Shadows.

Sakura held up her staff to try and defend herself but with one slash from a Shadow, her staff was broken and Sakura fell to the ground.

The Shadow Heartless prepared to jump and finish her off. Sakura closed her eyes and awaited for the inevitable.

*Slash*

It never came. When Sakura opened her eyes, she saw a man in a black coat with a familiar face she could have sworn that she saw hanging around the palace a few weeks ago.

"Silas!" Kaze gasped.

"Kaze! You need to get her out of here!" Silas ordered as he took out another Heartless with his sword.

"Easier said then done! They're blocking all the exits!" Kaze retorted as he fended off another one.

'There is quite a number of Shadows here, and the way they went after Sakura like that...Did someone summon them here?' Silas thought. However, those thoughts would have to wait. Even though he and Kaze took out a decent amount of Heartless already, more and more will still coming, and Sakura seemed to be their target. He needed to get them out of here and fast.

Then, to his shock, Invisible Heartless started to appear.

Kaze and Sakura looked on in shock.

"What are these?" Kaze asked in horror. This was a new type of monster he had never seen before.

'These are some really powerful Heartless. Someone is definitely calling them here. But why are they targeting Lady Sakura?' Silas thought.

"I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" Sakura cried.

"Hey don't worry about it. We aren't dead yet." Silas said as he reached into his pocket. 'I can't fight them all while keep them safe.'

"You have a plan?" Kaze asked.

"Only one. Get close to me!" Silas ordered.

Not left with much options, Kaze decided to place his faith in Silas as he grabbed Sakura and ran towards Silas.

"Let's hope this one takes them to a place where they can be safe." Silas said as he pushed a button on the shard that DIZ gave him. The three were engulfed in a bright flash of light.

Flashback Ends:

"Next thing I knew, we woke up here." Kaze finished.

"Yuffie and I found them unconscious out in the market streets during our patrol a few days ago. We brought them back here until they awoken. When they mentioned Hoshido, we remembered that word that was written on your photo. When we mentioned you, and they seemed to recognize you as one of their own. So Cid called you when you returned to your ship." Leon added.

"But who's Silas?" Sora asked.

"He's a Nohrian that helped us a few weeks ago, though he disappeared after the incident in the square. Other then that, I don't know much about him. But he seems to know you Lord Corrin." Kaze said.

The others looked at Corrin.

"There is something familiar about that name, but I can't say I've heard of him." Corrin admitted.

"Probably someone you met while you were in Nohr?" Yuffie guessed.

"Probably." Corrin admitted.

"There's more. When we first met him, he said that he was looking out for some group called Organization XIII that apparently has something to do with you being taken." Kaze said much to everyone's shock.

"Organization XIII has something to do with me ending up on the islands?" Corrin asked shocked.

"All the more reason we have to go after them." Sora declared.

"If I may ask, who is this Organization XIII? Based on your reaction, you seem to know more about them." Kaze asked.

"A-And, what about those shadow creatures? I've seen them here as well?" Sakura added.

The others looked at each other and shrugged. They both already know this much about other worlds, so there wasn't much of a reason to keep this information away from them.

"Those Shadow Creatures are called Heartless. They are beings who lost their hearts to the Darkness." Aerith began.

"They were once people?" Sakura asked horrified.

Aerith nodded. "They are animalistic creatures that continue to seek out new hearts. They then seek out the heart of the world to devour. Once the heart of a world is devoured, the world, and all of its people vanish into the darkness."

"Th-That's horrifying." Sakura shuttered.

"And this Organization?" Kaze asked trying to maintain a neutral face despite the horrifying information he was learning.

"Well, when a person of a strong heart and will becomes a Heartless, the body they leave behind becomes what is known as a Nobody. Beings that lack a heart yet pretend to have one. The Organization are really powerful Nobodies that controls the lesser Nobodies, and are after something. Of what, we don't know." Corrin explained reciting what Master Yen Sid told them.

"That's why we are out there trying to stop them, as well as locate some missing friends." Sora added.

"You're trying to stop them?" Sakura asked.

Sora nodded.

Sakura was silent for a moment as she went into deep thought.

"By the way, how are you guys going to get home?" Donald asked.

"That is a good question. When we found them, it was just them. That Silas guy was nowhere to be found. And without the coordinates, we can't take them in a Gummi Ship without wondering the cosmos like a bunch of idiots." Cid said.

"They can stay here for the time being, but how we are going to get them back is going to be another problem itself." Leon sighed.

"More problems." Sora sighed.

"We better get going then. We still have a lot to do." Donald said getting up. Corrin nodded as he got up as well.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked looking at Corrin concerned. They finally find some information on his past, but they have to push it aside.

"It's fine Sora. Donald is right that we have a lot to do." Corrin said before turning to Leon and the gang. "Thank you for informing me on this."

"It was nothing kiddo." Cid waved off.

"Wait!" Sakura called out.

"What is it?" Corrin asked.

"Please...I want to go with you!" Sakura asked.

"What?" Sora and co gasped.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Donald shouted.

"Did you really have to shout that?" Leon asked annoyed, though he was ignored.

"We are on a dangerous mission. We can't just bring in extra people. There is the world order to protect." Donald said.

"Please! I can help!" Sakura pleaded.

"Why do you want to come?" Corrin asked curiously.

"Y-Your fighting those monsters. I want to learn how to stop them. Everyone back home has enough to deal with with the war going on. I-I want to be of more help to them." Sakura said.

"Then practice here. There are plenty of Heartless running around." Donald argued.

"B-But...I also want to get to know my brother. I was little when he was taken so I don't remember him well. I had to grow up only with stories from my other siblings." Sakura insisted.

That hit Corrin. While on one hand, he was curious to where he came from since he found out he could turn into a dragon and that nightmare, but on the other hand, he was pretty happy with his life back home. He had a wonderful mother, an amazing brother, and great friends. What more could he need? Now he finds one of his real siblings that really wants to get to know him. Plus, there was something slightly familiar about her. Sure, she wasn't that Kamui girl like in his nightmare, but there was something that Corrin was convinced she wasn't lying about being his younger sister.

"I would like to go as well. It is my duty to protect the royal family." Kaze said.

"NO!" Donald shouted.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Donald does have a point. This is a dangerous mission." Sora said.

"I-I'm learning magic." Sakura said holding up the big book in her hands.

"That looks like the book I saw Kairi have." Sora said as he looked at the book.

"I gave her a book similar to that so she can continue practicing magic when she left. The one I gave Kairi focuses on black magic, while this book focuses on white magic." Aerith explained.

"Black and White magic?" Sora and Corrin asked confused.

You don't know? That's odd. I could have sworn that Donald would have taught you that." Merlin said.

The two looked at Donald who was looking away whistling innocently.

"Well anyway, magic is broken into mainly two different categories. Black magic and White magic. Black magic is mostly offensive like fire, blizzard, and thunder; while White magic is more supportive magic like cure and reflect." Merlin explained.

"So, Sakura here is trying to learn White magic?" Corrin asked and Aerith nodded.

"She learned the Cure spell so far, but she has skills. She can learn some really helpful ones if she continues to study." Aerith said.

"We could use the extra help. Especially with the drain for my Valor form and that Vanitas guy running around now." Sora admitted.

"Who?" Leon asked.

Sora and co then explain what happened back in the Land of the Dragons with Vanitas and the Unversed.

"So, you're saying there is an enemy out there that also wields a Keyblade?" Leon asked shocked.

"Yeah, and he's after Sora for apparently holding the Heart of a Keyblade Wielder named Ventus." Corrin said.

"Ventus? I met the boy once. Nice kid." Merlin commented. "But more importantly, if what you said is true, then you might find it good to take these two with you. Their help could be vital in the future."

"She's a beginner. She knows one spell that three of us already know." Donald argued.

"Well, maybe you can teach her Donald." Goofy suggested.

"No way! I'm too busy to train someone." Donald said much to Sakura's disappointment.

Corrin looked at Sakura's disappointment and then came up with an idea.

"I have to agree with Donald on this." Corrin said much to everyone's surprise. "Sakura needs a true master mage to teach her."

Sora started to catch on as well. "Yeah. Something like that is too much for an amateur like Donald to handle."

Donald's face went red in anger from this.

"AMATEUR?! I'LL SHOW YOU AN AMATEUR! I'LL TRAIN THIS GIRL INTO ONE OF THE BEST MAGES YOU'VE EVERY SCENE!" Donald shouted.

"Really? Thank you so much! I won't let you down!" Sakura cheered.

Sora and Corrin high five as Donald slowly realized he was just played.

"Ah phooey." He grumbled.

"If Lord Corrin and Lady Sakura are going, then I insist on joining as well. My skills in stealth are sure to come in handy." Kaze said.

"Yeah, that does sound handy." Corrin admitted.

"You can hang onto that book for the time being Lady Sakura. There are plenty of white magic that will no doubt be of help for you." Aerith smiled.

"Th-Thank you!" Sakura said.

"Don't worry about it." Aerith smiled.

"Can we get a move on?" Donald grumbled still mad that he fell for such a trick. Well, he gave his word, and now he was going to stick with it.

"Right. Welcome aboard Kaze, Sakura." Sora greeted as he held out a hand. Kaze stared at him for a minute before taking the handshake.

Chapter Text

To say Sakura and Kaze was shocked was an understatement. Finding out they were in a new world from the Restoration Committee was already shocking enough, but when the two arrived in the Gummi Ship, their minds were blown.

"S-So this thing can take us to space?" Sakura asked in disbelief and worry.

"Yep. Don't worry though, it's safe." Corrin assured.

"But more importantly, where are they going to sleep? We only have one spare bedroom." Donald asked.

"I don't need a room." Kaze offered.

"Nonsense. Out here, there is no royalty stuff. Everyone is equal." Corrin said.

"Y-You should have a room Kaze." Sakura spoke up.

"How about this. I'll bunk with Sora. His room is big enough for two. Kaze can have my old room and Sakura gets the last one." Corrin offered.

"I'm not really comfortable with you giving up your room for me." Kaze said.

"It's fine. Sora and I've been sharing a room since we were kids." Corrin assured.

Sakura and Kaze took a glance between Sora and Corrin. From what they heard, Sora and his mother found Corrin and took him in. So now, Corrin views Sora as his brother.

To be honest, both didn't know what to think of Sora. Donald and Goofy were odd, but nether had much to say on that matter other than how strange it was to see a talking duck and dog. Sora, due to his relationship with Corrin was another story.

For Kaze, it was mainly caution. Maybe he took too much after his brother, but Kaze was a bit concerned as he knew nothing about Sora or his home. For Sakura, it was more worrisome with a bit of envy. After what happened with Kamui and the Nohrian, Sakura was worried that this was going to end the same way. For her to finally meet a long-lost sibling that she heard so much about from her other siblings, only for that sibling to abandon her for their new family.

Still, Sora didn't seem like a bad guy. In fact, he kind of reminded them of Takumi's retainer Hinata. An easy-going smile, apparently great with a sword, and a vibe of a guy who just wants to be your friend. Hopefully during this journey, they would figure out what kind of person Sora truly is. At the very least, he didn't seem to be an ally of Nohr.

"Well then, get yourself situated and then meet me in the training room. We need you to have a few spells under your belt before we land in the next world." Donald said to Sakura who nodded timidly.

Once everyone was settled, Sora and Corrin lead Sakura to the training room where Donald was waiting for her. Once they did their job, the two left to get the bedrooms set up for their new traveling companions.

"Where is your staff?" Donald asked noticing that Sakura's hands were empty.

"A Heartless destroyed it." Sakura admitted in shame.

"I see. Hold on a second." Donald sighed as he walked to a nearby chest and started digging through it. He then pulled out a staff that looked just like his except it was red instead of blue.

"This is one of my spares. You can barrow it for now." Donald said as he handed her the staff.

"Th-thank you." Sakura stuttered taking the staff.

"Let's start with some basic spells. I want you to look over these." Donald said handing Sakura three scrolls.

Meanwhile with Kaze:

Kaze had been wandering around the ship. There wasn't much for him to do. With them off in space, there wasn't much of a chance for an ambush.

Kaze arrived in the control room where Goofy was flying the ship…Since Donald was busy with Sakura and didn't trust Sora and Corrin after something that happened last year.

Goofy took notice of Kaze and waved. "Hiya Kaze."

"Hello." Kaze greeted as he approached the dog.

"So, what weapon do you fight with? I know that Lord Corrin and Sora are sword fighters, and your friend is a magic user, but what do you fight with?" Kaze asked.

"I fight with a shield." Goofy said happily.

"A shield?" Kaze asked surprised.

"Yep. I'm a bit…clumsy, so I don't fight with a sharp weapon. But I'm pretty good with my trusty shield." Goofy smiled.

"I never heard of a shield being used a weapon. Usually it's meant for defense." Kaze said skeptically.

"Don't let appearances judge you." A new voice called out. Kaze got on guard as he took out his Shirukins ready for combat.

"Calm down, no one is going to hurt you. I'm to your left." The voice called out.

Kaze looked to see a small cricket in a suit and hat carrying a small umbrella waving at him.

"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket." Jiminy greeted. "I'm the royal chronicler."

"Royal?" Kaze asked surprised.

"Yep. I was asked by Queen Minnie to record our journey in my journal." Jiminy said

"Donald and I are from a place called Disney Castle. It's ruled by King Mickey and Queen Minnie. King Mickey is also a Keyblade wielder like Sora. He ran off a year ago when the Heartless started to grow, so me and Donald are tasked with finding him and following Sora. Donald is the Royal Mage, and I am Captain of the knights." Goofy said.

That was something Kaze wasn't expecting. Donald and Goofy didn't exactly look or act like someone who served royalty…Then again, nether did Lady Hinoka's retainers.

"That's…surprising. But if you're the captain, should you really be leaving your home defenseless?" Kaze asked concerned.

"It's fine. Our home is protected from the Heartless by a sphere called the Cornerstone of Light. It keeps the Heartless away." Goofy assured.

"Cornerstone of Light?" Kaze asked.

"A powerful sphere that our castle was built around." Goofy explained.

"I see…and what of this Keyblade I keep hearing about?" Kaze asked. This Cornerstone of Light was intriguing, but he wanted to know more about this Keyblade that everyone was making a big deal about. Possibly as much if not more than the sacred weapons back home.

"It's a powerful weapon that can open any lock. In fact, it's the reason we're able to travel to different worlds in the first place. You see, the worlds are usually separated from each other in a way that even a Gummi Ship alone wouldn't be enough for us to travel in between them. But the Keyblade opens a path so that we can travel to different worlds." Jiminy explained.

"And Sora was chosen by it?" Kaze asked and Goofy nodded.

"The Keyblade chooses its wielder and Sora is one of them." Goofy said.

"One of them?" Kaze asked shocked. "There are more?"

"Well, there used to be many years ago, but at the moment, there are three that I know of. Sora, his Majesty, and that Vanitas guy." Goofy said.

"That man you mentioned back in Hollow Bastion." Kaze said.

"Right. He's someone we have to watch out for." Goofy said.

Kaze nodded. 'This mission will definitely be far more difficult than anything else I've faced but it matters not. I will let nothing bad happen to Lord Corrin and Lady Sakura. Not again.' He vowed in his head as that dreaded day that King Sumeragi's death played in his head again.

Back with Donald and Sakura:

"Try again." Donald ordered.

"Fire!" Sakura called out as she summoned a fireball and launched it forward. The attack hit, but it only gazed the target.

"Not enough power. You need not hold back as much." Donald said.

"S-Sorry. But I'm not really used to fighting. I've mostly been a healer back home." Sakura said shyly.

"And healing is good and all, but you need to learn offense too." Donald instructed. "Let's keep trying."

"Fire!" Sakura shouted as she summoned another fireball.

With Corrin and Sora:

Corrin and Sora were both in deep thought as they finished setting up the bedrooms for the new sleeping arrangements.

For Sora, it was rather interesting. He had always been curious where Corrin and Kairi came from, and last year he more or less figured out that Kairi lived in Hollow Bastion at one point in her life thanks to that image he saw of her with her grandmother in the library of Hollow Bastion's castle. But Corrin was a different matter all together, especially after he first learned his ability to transform into a dragon. Now he finally got to learn more about his brother. He was apparently a prince that had several siblings. One in particular was a twin sister that joined the man from his nightmare willingly. Sora could only wonder what Corrin was going through. As for Sakura and Kaze, they seemed nice, though Sora couldn't help but feel that they were both observing him. Though speaking of siblings, Sora did wonder what Corrin was going to do in the end. Was he going to go home with him, or was he going to go to his original home with his siblings. And what about Kairi for that matter? Granted Kairi seems more incline that she wants to stay on the islands, much to Sora's joy, but unlike her, Corrin at least has people back home that miss him. Sora knew that it was Corrin's choice in the end and while he and his mom would be sad to see him go, deep down, they knew it was right. And besides. Sora was able to see Leon and the others again despite what Leon said about the worlds being separated, so if Corrin chooses to go to his own home, Sora would just have to visit him.

Corrin was filled with several thoughts. First, he was a prince, though that wasn't much of a thought to him. He didn't really care about that, but more on what was going on at home. His home was at war and Corrin was wondering if he would have to fight in it. And after seeing that destroyed village courtesy of the Huns, he was not looking forward to that. But to make matters more worse, that man that haunted his dreams, King Garon was their enemy and his twin sister Kamui was fighting at his side. Granted his memories of her were a bit scares, but his heart was aching from the thought of having to fight her. And then there was Sakura. While Corrin was pretty content with his life back on Destiny Island, he was rather curious of his little sister. She really wanted to get to know him. Maybe when she was on break from magic lessons, he was talk to her. Maybe get her to befriend Sora. It would be great if his real siblings would get along well with his adopted brother. There was new memories flashing in his head.

He was playing tag with a young boy with similar hair color as a little baby girl giggled on the sidelines.

That baby...That was Sakura...His memories were indeed starting to return. Perhaps he should speak with Kaze when he gets a chance.

But Corrin had to think. Where would he go after this? From the sounds of things, Sakura and Kaze want him to go back home, but what about Sora and the woman who raised him for most of his life? Corrin wasn't ready to make such a decision, and honestly, it could wait. He needed to find Riku. There was no way that he was going to let one of his best friends be left hanging.

Then another image flashed in his head. It was of himself being dragged by a boy around his age with grey hair and a picnic basket in his other hand. Though the location was much darker than the image from before that was more bright.

'Who was that guy?' Corrin thought.

"Corrin? You okay?" Sora asked concerned snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." Corrin said.

"Hey listen Corrin..." Sora began, but was cut off by the loud speakers.

"We're approaching a new world! Get ready for landing!" Goofy called out.

The two brothers said nothing as they headed to the bridge.

Chapter Text

As the ship pulled to a stop in front of the new world, Donald turned to the two newcomers.

"Okay. So, there are a few rules you must remember. Number one, you can't reveal you are from another world as it would upset the world order. Number two, we can't interfere with the World's affair. We can only jump in if it involves the Heartless, the Nobodies, or Vanitas." Donald explained.

"S-So, should I hide that I'm a princess as well?" Sakura asked.

"Probably for the best. If they hear that your royalty, they may start asking more of your homeland than normal." Corrin said.

"O-Okay then. Everyone please just call me Sakura then." Sakura said.

"This is going to be rough." Kaze muttered. While he did understand their reasoning, his family was raised to serve and protect the royal family of Hoshido for generations. So for him to speak to lord Corrin and lady Sakura casually was going to be one heck of a challenge. This was one moment where he was glad his brother wasn't here. There was no way Saizo would ever accept this.

"Alright then! Let's get down there!" Sora said excited.

"H-He seems pretty happy." Sakura noticed.

"He usually is." Corrin chuckled. "But I have to admit, there is a wonder whenever we go to a new world in what we'll find down there and who we'll meet."

"I-I guess so." Sakura muttered. Sure she was curious on what to find down there, but also rather nervous.

The four…six now arrived at the next world. It was a rather ominous castle surrounded by the eeriness of night. Opening the door, the group found themselves in a massive room with a staircase right in front of them that split into two different directions and a door in the center.

"What is this place?" Sora asked looking around.

"It's huge." Donald gawked.

"And sort of gloomy, don't you think?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah. This place looks like it hasn't been touched in years." Corrin commented looking around the dark castle.

"It's kind of scary here." Sakura muttered as she started to shake. She really wished Takumi was here right now. He would usually offer a hand to her when she was scared.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Kaze asked.

"Well, first we should see if this place is deserted or not, then we should look around for any signs of Riku or the king." Corrin said.

"Not to mention Heartless, Nobodies, or Vanitas. Hope you two are ready for a fight." Donald said.

"I've some experience fighting the heartless. I will be fine." Kaze assured.

"That's good and Sakura can support us with healing at the least. It can save some magic on me, Sora and Donald." Corrin offered.

"I-I'll do my best." Sakura said nervously.

"Still, I wonder who lives here." Sora muttered as he looked around.

Suddenly a massive roar was heard from afar causing the group to jump in shock. Especially Sakura.

"Say, don't we know that roar?" Corrin asked as the roar happened again.

"Oh yeah! That's the Beast!" Sora said excited as Kaze and Sakura stared at them.

"Beast? What kind of friends did you two make?" Kaze asked.

"Plenty." Corrin chuckled.

Kaze was about to comment, when he sensed movement nearby. Turning, he saw a Shadow Heartless crawl across the floor and into a nearby room.

"We have company." Kaze said as everyone else spotted the Shadow.

"Let's get it!" Donald declared as the six gave chase.

The six entered a small room with a fireplace. Though the main thing that caught their attention was a rose that was protected by a glass case.

"That's a pretty rose." Sakura commented in awe at the rose.

"Why is it glowing like that?" Corrin asked noticing the odd aura the rose was giving off.

"More importantly, where did that heartless go?" Donald asked looking around.

Suddenly, the six found themselves surrounded by Shadow Heartless.

"Found it." Donald said as the six readied for battle.

"This will be your first battle Sakura. Time to show what you are made of." Donald said.

"I-I'll try." Sakura said as she gripped her staff nervously.

"Don't worry Sakura. We have your back." Sora assured.

The Shadows charged and the battle began.

Sora and Corrin got to work slicing the Heartless down with ease as Donald unleashed his magic and Goofy tossed his shield around knocking away the Heartless.

'Huh. I guess he can fight with a shield.' Kaze thought a bit surprised as he glanced at Goofy's fighting before turning back to his own opponents.

Kaze had stacked up on some weapons before he was taken away. His personal weapon, a small dagger-like blade that he held one in each of his hands. He also had a Flame Shuriken on standby if he needed it. Using his great speed, Kaze quickly jumped around the Shadows slicing them with his weapons. He was having an easier time than back in Hoshido since he had more people to not only watch his back, but to protect the members of the royal family…though from the looks of things, Corrin was handling himself perfectly fine without the need of protection.

Sakura however, was struggling. Black magic wasn't coming to her as easily as white magic. She did manage to take out a heartless with a fire spell, but there was too many of them for her to focus her magic so she started flailing her staff around trying to keep them away. Corrin took note of this and ran to her aid, taking out the Heartless that were attacking her.

"Th-Thank you." Sakura muttered.

"Just provide me with support." Corrin offered and Sakura nodded with a bit of shame.

The Heartless kept coming and it was becoming concerning.

"Do these guys ever end?" Sora groaned.

"Somebody help us!" Donald cried.

Just then, the door busted open revealing the Beast. With a roar, the Heartless turned their attention to him and were taken out by his great strength.

"Beast! Just in time!" Sora cheered as the Beast walked past him and knocked Sora away as he did. He then proceeded to do the same to Corrin, who knocked into Sakura as well as Donald and Goofy.

Kaze was about to attack, but Corrin shouted for him to stop.

Beast then approached the rose and held it rather protectively as he left without a word.

"Why did he do that?" Sora groaned.

"That was your friend?" Kaze asked in disbelief.

"Yeah but, there was something off about him. He was grumpy last time we saw him sure, but he still had more compassion than that." Corrin said.

"Do you think he forgot about us?" Goofy asked.

"With all these Heartless around, something must be up." Sora said.

"Why did he have to do that?" Donald grumbled.

"Let's follow him." Sora said as he walked to the door.

Corrin helped Sakura up.

"Thank you and…I-I'm sorry I'm so useless." Sakura muttered.

"You're not useless, you're new. You'll get stronger." Corrin assured.

"If you say so, but these spells that Donald taught me are harder than the spell Aerith taught me." Sakura said.

"Just keep practicing. We all start somewhere. Me and Sora weren't all that great at the start ether. Sure, we knew how to swing a sword, but a bunch of our early victory's was more on luck than skill. But as time went on, we got stronger. The same goes for magic. Just because you have a hard time launching a fire spell, doesn't mean you won't get better. Keep practicing and you'll be a champ in no time." Corrin encouraged.

Sakura slowly nodded as she and Corrin caught up with the others that pasted through the doors. Corrin then noticed that Donald was glancing up the stairs.

"What's up Donald?" Corrin asked.

"I could have sworn I saw a lady up the stairs." Donald said.

"Someone else is here?" Sakura asked.

"Friend or foe?" Kaze asked. After their encounter with the Beast, he was a bit on edge.

"Well, if the Beast is here, then that lady must be Belle." Goofy guessed.

"Maybe she knows what's up with the Beast." Sora said.

"Who is Belle?" Kaze asked.

"Belle is someone that Beast really cares for. He ended up in Hollow Bastion just to find her last year when she was taken by a witch named Maleficent." Sora explained.

"So, this Beast crossed into another world?" Kaze asked.

"Yep. Belle is kind. She is one of the Seven Princesses after all." Sora said.

"Princess? She's royalty?" Kaze asked.

"I have no idea. But the Seven Princesses are maidens that are pure of heart. They also hold the key that unlocks the Door to Darkness. Maleficent captured them to do just that." Corrin explained.

"Sounds scary. W-What happened to this Maleficent?" Sakura asked.

"We beat her. She won't be bothering us again." Sora smiled.

"Ether way, let's go check on Belle and get some answers." Corrin said as the group headed up the stairs.

Back in Hollow Bastion at the Heartless Tower:

"And where is everyone else?" Maleficent asked Pete in annoyance.

"Beats me. I guess they had other matters to deal with." Pete said.

"You mean they had more important matter to deal with than my return?" Maleficent asked annoyed.

"Well, That Captain Hook guy no longer wants anything to do with the Heartless, and I didn't see anyone else." Pete said.

"Forget him. But tell me. How has the Heartless army come in other worlds?" Maleficent asked as Pete gulped.

Chapter Text

Heading up the stairs to the Right wing of the castle, the six approach the door at the end of the they approached the door, they could hear someone talking.

"Oh, what am I going to do?" A woman's voice could be slightly heard.

"Hey Kaze. See if you can get closer and hear more." Corrin whispered.

Kaze nodded. Though before he could do what he was asked, Donald stepped in front of him.

"No need for that. I've got this." Donald said as he readied to charge.

"Wait Donald!" Sora called out as Donald ran towards the door.

However, before Donald could make contact with the door, it opened causing him to fall to the floor.

"Hey, who opened the door?" Donald groaned as he looked up annoyed.

Before him was Belle. Now wearing a simple white dress with a blue apron.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here." Belle cheered as she picked up Donald for a hug. Looking up see noticed the others.

"Sora, Corrin, Goofy!" Belle greeted happily.

"Hey there." Sora waved.

"And who are your new friends?" Belle asked looking at the two Hoshidans.

"I-I'm Sakura." Sakura said nervously.

"My name is Kaze." Kaze said with a small bow.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Donald cried still in Belle's hug.

"Oops. Sorry." Belle laughed nervously as she set the duck down a bit dizzy.

"So, how have you been lately?" Corrin asked.

"Good, I guess…" Belle said unsure.

"Is there something going on with the Beast? We met up with him a moment ago, but he didn't even acknowledge us. He was pretty possessive of this rose." Sora asked.

"The rose isn't out of the ordinary. He's always been protective of that thing. But…lately he's been avoiding me quite a lot." Belle said sadly.

"Did something happen?" Goofy asked concerned.

"I'm not sure. About a month ago, he became more and more distant." Belle said. "Is that why you guys are here?" She asked hopefully.

"Not really, but we can see what we can do." Sora said.

"Why is he so obsessed with that rose those?" Corrin asked.

"I'm not sure. The only ones that would know why are locked in the dungeon." Belle said.

"Wait. Who locked who up?" Corrin asked.

"The Beast locked up the castle servants. I want to go help them but…" Belle began.

"We'll go rescue them." Sora assured.

"Thank you very much." Belle cheered.

"How do we get to the dungeons?" Corrin asked.

"Head to the western halls on the other side of the castle. You'll find a door that leads to the dungeons bellow." Belle informed.

"Got it. Just sit tight Belle. We'll be back before you know it." Sora said.

"Thank you. And be careful. Heartless have been all over the " Belle smiled as the group left with Sora giving a thumbs up.

"So, now we are rescuing the servants?" Kaze asked finally speaking.

"They are the only ones that likely knows what's going on here." Corrin said.

"I suppose so." Kaze admitted.

"W-We should hurry then." Sakura said and the group took off.

The group pasted the main hall and made their way to the West Wing. There, they found a large room that had a staircase blocked off by some suits in armor. There was also a Wardrobe blocking a door to the side.

"That door must be the entrance to the dungeons Belle mentioned." Sora said.

"Great. Let's just move the Wardrobe and get down there." Donald said.

Just then, a group of Heartless appeared. Some were small balls of purple mist with a face on it that went inside of some statues that was placed on the sides of the room transforming them. They were Gargoyles on a platform with some wielding swords and others wielding axes.

The other type of heartless was a yellow armored skinny Heartless in the shape of a humanoid with a large dark lance that was designed to look like a face with red swirls for eyes, two silver protrusions that looked like ears, and a jagged-tooth maw.

"Let me show you how it's done Sakura." Donald said stepping forward. He was a teacher now, so he should provide an example of magic casting.

"Thunder!" Donald shouted as he unleashed a bolt of thunder down on one of the Gargoyles.

Only for it to have no effect much to Donald's shock.

"Quite an example there." Sora teased.

"Uh…Of course it was!" Donald immediately said facing the group trying to hide his nervousness over his blunder. "You see Sakura, there are some enemies out there that are immune to magic. For us mages, they are definitely the most dangerous since we can't hurt them with our best attacks."

"I-I see." Sakura nodded listening intensely.

"When that happens, you'll ether need to use your staff for melee combat, or fall back and let the others handle it." Donald finished with a proud smirk on his face. 'Nice save.'

"Anyway, Donald is right. These guys are immune to magic. So, leave this to me, Sora, Kaze, and Goofy while you two give us back up and keep us healthy." Corrin instructed as the group readied their weapons and leaped into combat.

The lance solider rushed forward towards Sora, only to trip and fall, yet it threw its lance at the Keyblade hero who dodge rolled out of the way. Before the Heartless could retrieve its weapon, Sora struck it down.

Kaze was dodging the axe swings of a Gargoyle Warrior with little effort.

"You're pretty fast Kaze." Corrin commented as he locked blades with a Gargoyle solider.

"Ninjas have to be fast to strike quickly and precisely. That and axes are known to be powerful, but heavy so they attack slower. Glad to see that it seems to apply here as well." Kaze said as he struck the possessed statue destroying it along with the Heartless inside it. Corrin overpowered the Heartless and took it out.

Goofy was blocking the attack of another Lance Solider Heartless. Tossing his shield at the creature caused it to stumble. Goofy then started to smack it with his shield.

In a last-ditch effort, the lance took to the air dragging the solider with it. Goofy quickly grabbed it on instinct and was taken for a ride.

Goofy was being pulled all around the place screaming as the Lance Solider flew around in the air.

The extra weight eventually caused the Heartless to lose its strength faster and flew straight down as a last-ditch effort.

Goofy finally lost his grip and went tumbling away as the Heartless exploded upon hitting the ground.

"You alright Goofy?" Sora asked running up to the clumsy knight.

"Gwarsh." Goofy muttered as stars flew around his head.

Corrin took out the last Gargoyle Knight as a Large Body Heartless appeared.

"All right Sakura. This is our chance! These Heartless are vulnerable to magic." Donald declared as he readied his staff.

"O-Okay. F-Fire!" Sakura called out as a weak fire spell was shot from her staff. It only gazed the Heartless.

"No, no, no! Like this. Fire!" Donald shouted firing a larger fireball at the Heartless causing it to be knocked back.

"Wh-What is it that I'm doing wrong?" Sakura asked as the large Body began to charge at her.

"Try a different spell." Corrin called out.

"Uh…Wind!" Sakura shouted as a gust of wind blew around her knocking the Heartless back.

"Thunder!" Sora shouted as a bolt of lightning struck the Heartless finishing it off.

"Well, you can use a wind spell decently." Donald said.

"Still, that was a pretty cool way of using Aero. Usually, we just use it for defense." Sora said.

"But Fire is one of the most basic spells out there. How is it that she struggles with that, yet she pulled off a wind spell in one try?" Donald asked.

"How should we know? You're the magic expert here." Corrin pointed out flatly.

"Maybe, Sakura is better at white magic than she is at Black Magic." Goofy guessed.

"That's not how it works...I think?" Donald said unsure.

"Well, when we get back to the ship, we can call Merlin and see what he says about it." Corrin offered.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. Fine. Until then you might as well stick with Aero and Cure since you seem to be able to use them well enough." Donald said to Sakura who nodded.

*Yawn*

Everyone blinked.

"Who just yawned?" Sora asked the others who looked just as confused.

"And I finally got comfortable. You guys are too loud." A female voice complained.

Everyone looked around for who was talking.

"Behind you." The voice said annoyed.

The group turned to see the wardrobe from earlier having a face on its top and looking at them annoyed.

"Did…Did that wardrobe just talk?" Corrin asked shocked.

"You do remember we once met a talking doorknob before, right?" Sora pointed out.

"Good point." Corrin sighed.

"Talking Doorknobs and wardrobes? Is this normal for your journey?" Kaze asked shocked.

"More or less." Sora shrugged.

"Can I help you?" The Wardrobe asked annoyed.

"Oh uh…Belle needed us to go into the dungeon." Sora said.

That caused the wardrobe to blink before her expression shifted to happy.

"Goodness! You must be here to help my friends! Why didn't you say so?" The Wardrobe asked.

"Your friends?" Kaze asked.

"Yep. Oh, where are my matters. My name is Madame de la Grande Bouche. I am the maid of this castle." The Wardrobe greeted.

"You're a maid?" Corrin asked confused. A wardrobe was a maid to this castle?

"Oh, don't let this appearance fool you. I used to be a human." Grande Bouche assured.

"You were?" The group asked surprised.

The Wardrobe nodded. "Yep. Every since that enchantress castes her spell. I was turned into a wardrobe when the Prince was turned into a Beast." Grande Bouche said.

"Wait…The Beast is a PRINCE?!" Corrin shouted. Everyone else had a similar look of shock.

'First Corrin turns out to be a prince and now the Beast? Who's next? Goofy?' Sora thought.

"Yes, though his behavior was far from princely at the time." Grande Bouche said.

"What's this about a spell?" Corrin asked.

"It all began on a cold winter's night…" Grande Bouche began getting the others interested. "And that's it for now." The group got annoyed at that.

"Seriously?" Donald shouted annoyed.

"It will give you something to look forward to. And besides. You should probably hurry. A dungeon is too cold and damp for a clock." Grande Bouche said.

"A clock? Were the rest of the servants changed as well?" Kaze asked and the Wardrobe nodded.

"Cogsworth can tell you the story when you save him. In the meantime, I'd best check on Belle." The Wardrobe said as she hopped away.

"Let's just go." Corrin sighed as he opened the door to the dungeons.

Sora and co made their way through the dungeons until they came across a door that had two demon like statues on it each with a massive claw sticking out.

"This must be the place." Sora said as Donald approached the door.

Donald was about to try and open it but the door started to glow. The statues of the door came to life. Both were demon like in design with a black body and yellow hexagon shaped designs on their bodies. They both had one massive claw out and the other trapped inside the door holding the lock. The two tried to smash Donald but he managed to get away in time and regroup with the others.

The Thresholder roared causing some Gargoyle statue Heartless to come to life.

"Goofy and Kaze. You two take out the Statues. The rest of us will handle this thing." Corrin ordered. Everyone nodded and got to work.

The Thresholder moved its massive arms that actually extended and started to swat at the group. Sakura stayed a good distance from them and readied her staff.

"Let's see if I got this…WIND!" She shouted as Sora was covered in a protective gust of wind.

"I did it!" Sakura cheered as she applied it to Corrin and then the rest.

Sora and Corrin were trying to avoid the massive arms that were swinging wildly and striking them which caused the Heartless pain, but didn't lessen the onslaught.

The Thresholder then released a barrage of dark energy balls at the party. Sora and Corrin were able to block some of them, but the rest hit them. Though thanks to Sakura, they didn't take too much damage.

"There has got to be a weakness to this thing." Sora muttered as he caught a glance at the Keyhole that was glowing. "I wonder…"

Sora pointed his Keyblade at the Keyhole and shot a beam of light at it. The Thresholder cried out as a Possessor Heartless flew out.

"Take it out!" Corrin shouted.

Donald unleashed a Thunder spell on it stunning the Heartless as Sora and Corrin slashed it with their blades destroying it.

The statues Disintegrated as the Possessor faded into darkness.

"That takes care of that." Sora said as they dismissed their weapons.

"Let's hurry and save the servants." Goofy said as the group headed inside.

The dungeon room was rather small wit three chairs in the back. A candle was on one, a clock was on the center, and a tea pot and cup was on the last one.

"There's nobody in here." Sora said.

"Maybe there is. Remember what the Wardrobe said? I have a feeling the servants are here." Corrin said as he glanced towards the objects on the chair.

"Uh hello! Belle sent us to rescue the castle servants." Sora called out.

"Rescue you say?" A French voice asked.

"Quiet Lumiere. It could be THEM." A more cautious voice scolded.

"Oh, they seem like nice folks to me." A woman's voice said.

"That's right. We are nice." Goofy said.

The candle, the clock, and the pot and tea cup immediately opened their eyes and hopped off the table to the six.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Lumiere. The castle's maître d" The candle introduced.

"I am Cogsworth. The castle's majordomo" The clock said causing Donald to pick it up for a closer look. "HEY! Put me down!"

"I am Mrs. Potts the housekeeper. And this is my son Chip." The tea pot greeted.

"Hi there!" Chip greeted with a smile.

"My name is Sora. This is my brother Corrin, his sister Sakura, and that is Kaze, Donald, and Goofy." Sora greeted. Sakura wasn't sure what to say about Sora saying that he was Corrin's brother, but she was relieved he still called her Corrin's sister as opposed to the Nohrians who said that Kamui was only their sibling.

"So, were you guys all cursed as well?" Goofy asked.

"So, you heard about that, didn't you?" Lumiere asked.

"Your wardrobe friend told us a little about it." Sora said.

"Yes. It was the enchantress." Cogsworth said.

"It seemed so long ago." Lumiere sighed.

"It was a cold winter's night. A beggar woman then came to the castle and asked for shelter." Mrs. Potts continued.

"But the master of this castle, that is, the prince…" Cogsworth began only top stop when Donald opened the window door on Cogsworth's stomach and started to fiddle with the pendulum. "Stop that! And put me down this instant!"

Donald complied and set the clock down on one of the chairs.

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying…The master had turned her away due to her…'ahem'…meager appearance." Cogsworth said.

"That's awful." Sakura gasped.

"Yes…The prince was rather spoiled. So selfish and quite how should I say…cruel." Lumiere said.

"LUMIERE!" Cogsworth scolded.

"Anyway, the old lady warned the prince to not be deceived by mere appearance as she offered him a rose for her stay. But the prince would still not allow her." Mrs. Potts continued before an argument could start.

"Then the old lady's ugliness melted away and revealed a beautiful enchantress." Cogsworth said.

"As punishment for his coldness, she transformed the prince into a Beast that would reflect what she saw in his heart." Mrs. Potts said.

"And to further punish him, all of the castle's servants were transformed as well. As a result, we are now what you see." Cogsworth said.

"That's…quite a story." Sora admitted.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Goofy asked.

"LET'S GET THE ENCHANTRESS!" Donald declared.

"Oh dear no!" Mrs. Potts cried out.

"We know how to break the spell, but with how the master is currently…" Lumiere sighed.

"I hope he wasn't turned into a Heartless." Cogsworth said worried.

"Then it's a good thing we're here. We'll knock some sense into him." Sora offered.

"Are you sure we should?" Kaze asked.

"I-I want to help as well." Sakura said determined.

"So do I. Besides. I have to look after this goof." Corrin joked pointing to Sora.

"HEY!" Sora cried as Corrin chuckled.

"But not only that, the Beast helped us out a lot last year, so we should return the favor." Corrin added as Donald and Goofy flinched.

"If that's the case, I will assist." Kaze said.

"Wonderful. I will escort you to the Master's chambers." Cogsworth said.

"I shall go and check on the rest of the castle. I fear that I was absent for to long." Lumiere said.

"I'll go with you. Come along Chip." Mrs. Potts said to her son.

"Okay mamma." Chip sighed as the three hopped away.

"The Master's room is located in the west wing. You can get there up the stairs where the dungeon's entrance is. Now, let us make haste." Cogsworth said.

Sora nodded and picked him up as the group exited the dungeon.

Chapter Text

"Please allow our guests to past." Cogsworth ordered the suits of armor that blocked the stairs. The suits complied and stood aside.

"Man. Who hasn't been cursed in this castle?" Sora asked.

"No one I'm afraid. Belle is the only human living here at the moment." Cogsworth said sadly.

Cogsworth lead the group up the stairs and through the west wing, which was more damaged than the east wing with claw marks everywhere.

"Did the Heartless do this?" Goofy asked.

"No. This was done by the master." Cogsworth said.

"The Beast did this?" Sora asked surprised.

"Ever since he was cursed, the spoiled and selfish personality was replaced by anger and regret. He tends to vent his frustrations out in the west wing where he sleeps." Cogsworth explained.

"Beast…" Sora muttered sadly.

"Anyway, the master's bedroom is straight ahead." Cogsworth said pointing to the door ahead.

"Great then lets…" Sora was cut off by sounds from the other side of the door. Everyone else head it to. It sounded like people talking. One was definitely the Beast, but who was the other?

"The master hates company. Who could be in there with him?" Cogsworth whispered as Sora and Kaze crept up to the door for a better hearing with everyone else right behind them.

"It's time you dealt with Belle. She's scheming to take everything away from you. This castle, your precious rose, and then…your life." An unknown voice said. "Trust no one. Give into your anger. Only anger will make you strong."

"I've had enough of strength. There is only one thing I want." The Beast sighs.

"To what? To love and be loved in return? Who could ever love a Beast?" The man mocked causing the Beast to roar at him.

'There is no way that is Pete. Is it Vanitas? No that doesn't sound like him. It must be the Organization!' Sora thought before busting open the door. Whoever it was, it was bad news no doubt.

Sora bolted into the room. The others were surprised by Sora's actions, but followed him in regardless.

Sora ran across the destroyed bedroom where he saw Beast standing in front of the Rose from before and next to him…was a man in a black coat.

"Beast! Don't listen to him!" Sora cried out.

"You see? She has accomplices." Xaldin said as he vanished in a corridor of darkness.

"Beast, who was that guy?" Sora asked as he slowly approached him.

"Sora, get back!" Kaze warned as the Beast suddenly roared with a dark aura engulfing him.

"Oh dear, Master!" Cogsworth cried out.

Sora jumped back to avoid a slash from the Beast's claws.

"Beast! It's us!" Sora called out but the Beast wasn't listening.

"Has he turned into a Heartless already?" Sakura gasped.

"No, but he might soon." Corrin said.

Beast charged at the group but Cogsworth intercepted ringing his bells and shouting. "PLEASE MASTER PLEASE! COMPOSE YOURSELF!" He shouted.

Beast stuttered for a moment as Cogsworth ran up to him.

"Master, are you alright?" Cogsworth asked.

"Leave…NOW!" The Beast shouted as he slapped Cogsworth away, but was caught by Sora.

"We can't keep dodging him forever. If we can't snap him out of it, we will have to take him down." Kaze warned.

"I know but…There has to be something we can do." Sora said.

"Wait a minute. Cogsworth's voice did reach Beast for a moment. Maybe if he had a little extra push, it could get through to the Beast." Jiminy suggested while hopping on Sora's shoulder.

"What kind of push?" Sora asked.

"Your Keyblade. The Keyblade can connect to one's heart. If you use it to assist Cogsworth. It might wake Beast up." Jiminy said.

"Okay then. I'll wear him down. You get Cogsworth ready." Corrin said as he gripped his Dragonstone.

With a flash of light, Corrin transformed into a dragon. Sakura and Kaze looked on in surprise. Corrin looked just like Kamui did when she transformed back in Hoshido. Though the main difference was that Corrin seemed to be in control of himself as opposed to Kamui. When they get a chance, they would have to talk to him about it.

Dragon Corrin charged and wrestled with the Beast as Sora set Cogsworth down and summoned his Keyblade.

"Are you sure this will work?" Cogsworth asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." Sora admitted, "But it may be our best bet to save Beast."

Cogsworth nodded. "Very well then. I'll place my trust in you on this. Just let me know when you are ready."

Sora nodded as he tried to concentrate power on the Keyblade, causing the tip to light up.

'I want to save the Beast. I HAVE too save the Beast.' Sora thought. To be frank, he had no idea what he was doing, but the Keyblade seemed to be reacting to his thoughts and channeled his power into Cogsworth.

The Beast managed to throw Corrin off of him and got ready to charge again.

"Okay! Try it now Cogsworth!" Sora shouted.

Cogsworth nodded and ran up to the Beast. With Sora's power flaring around his small body, Cogsworth called out again.

"PLEASE MASTER PLEASE! COMPOSE YOURSELF!" He shouted as light energy flared out as Cogsworth rang his bells again.

The light knocked the Beast down and the dark aura subsided.

The Beast groaned as he pulled himself together. "Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy?" He asked noticing the familiar faces.

"Beast! You're okay!" Sora cheered as Corrin returned to normal.

"Cogsworth…what happened?" The Beast asked his servant.

"Well master…ah, you see…that is…How shall I say…ah, actually…mmm…." Cogsworth began trying and failing to find the best way to tell the Beast what was going on.

"Well for starters, you put everyone down there in that dungeon!" Donald pointed out.

"I did what?" Beast gasped.

"Yes…you did." Cogsworth admitted as Beast looked down in shame.

"Hey, who was that guy you were talking to? The guy in black." Sora asked.

"Xaldin!" Beast gasped.

"Xaldin?" Corrin asked.

"Yes. That's his name. He came from the darkness…He…. used my anger to control me." He growled before he slumped down again. "He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain, and turned it all into rage. There was nothing I could do…I could no longer see the truth." Beast said sadly.

"Well maybe that's why you put all of them in that dungeon. You didn't want to hurt them." Goofy offered.

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?" Beast asked unsure.

"Of course. We know that deep down you are a good person." Corrin offered.

"He's right master. We've seen the goodness in your heart, as did Belle. But I'm afraid that you have yet to…" Cogsworth began but Beast cut him off.

"Belle!" Beast gasped. "I've mistreated her. I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

"She never said anything like that." Sora offered.

"Of course, she wouldn't. She's too kind to tell anyone of my cruelty." Beast argued.

"I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly." Cogsworth whispered to the group.

"Y-You kind of sound like someone I know from back home." Sakura muttered getting everyone's attention. "He acts cruel and mean to others because of ether distrust or his own insecurity, but deep down he is a great person and doesn't seem to realize it."

Beast blinked and noticed two more people with Sora's group. "Who are you?"

"This is Sakura and Kaze. They're with us." Corrin assured.

"Anyway, just go talk to her." Sora encouraged.

"But…" Beast began but Sora cut him off. "No excuses. Come on. We'll go with you."

Beast follows the group to the East Wing where Belle's room was located. However, instead of finding Belle, they only found the Wardrobe in her room.

"Master!" Grande Bouche cheered.

"Everyone is free." Donald said.

"Wonderful. Thank you all very much." Grande Bouche said.

"Where's Belle?" Beast asked.

"She ran off just a bit ago. Saying something about chasing after a man in black." Grande Bouche said much to the group's horror.

"WHAT?! Why doesn't see ever do what she is told?" Beast demanded.

"Temper, Temper." Grande Bouche scolded. "Her spirit is what makes Belle so special."

"Come on Beast. We better go find her before something bad happens." Sora offered making the Beast calm down a bit.

"Fine. Let's go." The Beast said as the group exited the bedroom.

The group headed back to the entrance of the castle.

"So, any idea where she could be?" Kaze asked.

Beast was about to speak when Belle's voice cut him off.

"I'm warning you! You'll be sorry!" Belle's voice echoed.

"Belle! Where are you?" Beast called out

"Beast help! I'm in the Ballroom!" Belle shouted.

Beast turned to the door in the center of the stairs.

"We need to hurry!" Beast demanded as the group followed him into the Ballroom.

The Ballroom was the only room in the castle that wasn't dark and gloomy like the rest with its more bright golden color as opposed to the dark coloring of the rest of the castle. Still, it did look like it hasn't been used for a long time. Belle was seen on the other side of the Ballroom running to the door at the other side that lead outside.

"Belle!" Beast cried out.

"I'm all right." Belle said as she opened the door, ran through it and closed it quickly. As she did, the group saw why she was running as a Heartless descended down. It looked like a Darkball Heartless in that it was a sphere shaped Heartless with tentacles sticking out of its body. The two on top were larger with a metal band around each of them while the other tentacles on the bottom were much smaller. The Heartless had two chains wrapped around its body.

"Kaze. Take Sakura and go to Belle's side." Corrin ordered.

"What? Lord Corrin, what are you saying?" Kaze demanded.

"Brother please. Let me help!" Sakura pleaded.

Corrin shook his head.

"I've been facing Heartless longer and I have a good feeling on what this thing is capable of. It's been a bit of a pattern here, but the Big Heartless we face like this are usually far stronger and way more dangerous than the ones that we face on the way here." Corrin said. He didn't mean to be rude, but he was rather worried that Sakura was going to get hurt if she battled this Heartless…or even worse.

"It might be for the best Sakura. Your currently level of magic aside, you don't have the mobility to handle something like this." Donald added.

B-But…" Sakura began

Sora placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance one day, I'm sure of it. But for now, just watch. I'll make sure our brother is safe." Sora assured.

Sakura was silent again. But she eventually nodded. She wasn't much of a help so far, and this thing looked frightening.

Kaze grabbed Sakura and headed to where Belle was. Belle opened the door and let Sakura through for safety. But before Kaze could get through, the Shadow Striker unleashed a dark aura that covered the room with darkness and blocked Kaze from the door and the Hoshidan Princess and Princess of Heart.

The rest of the group readied their weapons for the fight with the Shadow Striker.

Chapter Text

The Shadow Striker fazed into the wall, causing its face to appear in between the pillars where the windows were and unleashed a wave of darkness that sent Kaze flying back to the rest of the group.

Donald patched Kaze up with a heal spell and the Shadow Striker exited out of the wall and moved around the room rather fast.

"Be careful. This thing can attack from anywhere." Corrin warned as the Shadow Striker went into the pillar causing all the pillars to come to life and swipe at the group.

Sora dodge rolled out of the way and pointed his Keyblade at the pillar.

"Release!" Sora called out as a beam of light shot towards the possessed pillar causing the Heartless to be expelled. Corrin and Kaze tried to attack it, but the thing moved way too fast and dodged the attacks.

The Shadow Striker then dove into the ground.

"Now where did it go?" Donald asked annoyed.

"Lord Corrin, look out!" Kaze shouted as he pushed Corrin out of the way before the Shadow Striker could devour him from bellow.

"Thanks, Kaze." Corrin said as Kaze nodded.

Sora and Beast tried to hit the creature, but like before, it dodged the attacks with its speed. Donald even tried a Thunder spell and missed.

"Strike Raid!" Sora shouted as he tossed his Keyblade at the creature. Sora was close, but the Heartless zipped out of the way.

"This is ridiculous! This thing moves too fast for us to hit it!" Donald cried.

Beast was silent for a moment thinking.

The Shadow Striker then rose to the ceiling and possessed the Chandelier.

"Brace yourselves!" Corrin warned as the Chandelier slammed into the ground creating a shock wave that knocked everyone away and to the ground.

"So, now what is this thing up to? Just trying to ram us from above?" Corrin asked as he got back up.

To his surprise, beams of light fired from the Chandelier from two different sides as the Shadow Stalker started to rotate the Chandelier around.

"Move!" Sora yelled as the group got to their feat and moved to try and avoid being hit.

"This is getting us nowhere. When its not possessing something, that Heartless moves too fast for us to hit it." Corrin cried out.

"Sora. I want you to release that creature like you did before." Beast said.

"Uh sure but do you have a plan? Because if not, it's just going to end up like it did before." Sora pointed out.

Beast just nodded.

"Regardless of the plan, just do it!" Donald cried still trying to avoid being hit by the laser.

Sora nodded and pointed his Keyblade at the Chandelier. "Release!"

Like before, a beam of light fired at the Chandelier and the Shadow Stalker was ejected. However, this time, Beast immediately jumped into action and grabbed the chains of the Heartless to keep it in place with his tremendous strength.

"Attack it now!" Beast grunted as he tried to keep the Heartless restrained.

Sora and Corrin nodded and jumped up to slash the Heartless with their swords.

"You got em!" Goofy cheered.

The Shadow Stalker floated slower as a dark aura covered its body in a cocoon-like shape of darkness.

"That's new." Corrin commented.

"Get ready." Beast growled.

The cocoon burst open to reveal a more monstrous form. The creature had sharp claws on both its hands and feet. Its body also had some thorns all around it and chains on its arms and legs. The Heartless also had long red hair on its head.

The Dark Thorn let out a roar as its body became transparent.

"Careful everyone!" Corrin called out.

The Dark Thorn slammed its fist into the ground summoning Possessor Heartless that started to jump around frantically.

"Donald, Goofy! Take care of those smaller Heartless!" Corrin ordered.

"Why is it that Goofy and I are always stuck with the small fry?" Donald grumbled as he got to work blasting the Possessors with magic.

Goofy just shrugged and started to toss his shield at the Possessors.

The Dark Thorn started to do a summer-salt with its claws out to try and slash the others.

Beast was attacked first by the creature, being knocked back as a result. The Dark Thorn then set its sights on Sora.

"To your left!" Kaze called out allowing Sora to dodge roll out of the way from an attack. Kaze then tossed his Flame shuriken at the Heartless resulting it getting wedged into its shoulder.

"Great job Kaze!" Corrin cheered as he summoned his mask and charged a Hydro Shot at the Heartless, blasting it thanks to the target that Kaze made. Kaze looked on surprised at this.

'I never saw Lady Kamui use an attack like that. How long as Lord Corrin been practicing?' Kaze thought.

Corrin and Sora dodge rolled out of the way again from another one of the Heartless's attacks.

"Thanks to Kaze, we can pinpoint its location easier but it's still too fast to land a good hit." Corrin said.

"I don't think I can get a good grip on this thing like earlier." Beast grunted.

Sora was silent for a moment before an idea came to his mind.

"Beast, I need you to toss me to the ceiling." Sora said much to the others surprise.

"What? What are you planning?" Corrin asked.

"Just trust me and take cover behind the pillars." Sora said as Beast grabbed Sora.

"You sure about this?" Beast asked a bit concerned and Sora nodded.

With that, Beast tossed Sora to the ceiling and he grabbed onto the Chandelier. The extra weight caused the thing to slam into the ground like before as Everyone else quickly dove out of the way. Sora gave the chain a push and rode the thing around like crazy slamming it into the Dark Thorn causing its invisibility to fade and for it to slam into a wall.

"Sora is crazy." Kaze commented.

"Yeah, but he gets the job done." Corrin laughed.

Beast took advantage of the Heartless's injured state and lunged right at it.

"GET OUT OF MY CASTLE!" Beast roared and gave a mighty slash with his claws destroying the injured Heartless for good.

With the Dark Thorn defeated, the darkness around the room faded returning the ballroom back to normal.

"We did it!" Sora cheered.

"So you think?" Xaldin mocked appearing by the door.

"Xaldin!" Beast growled as he was about to attack, but before he could charge at the man that filled his head with lies, Kaze appeared right behind the man with a shuriken in hand, ready to end the man in black.

However, before Kaze could strike, Xaldin effortlessly grabbed Kaze's arm and tossed him to the wall with ease much to the shock of the others.

"I've studied quite a bit of your Hoshidan fighting styles ever since you and the princess joined the Keyblade's chosen. I won't be taken out by such a technique." Xaldin warned.

"Xaldin!" Beast roared as he charged at the man this time, but Xaldin vanished in a Corridor of Darkness before Beast could reach him.

"Farewell." Xaldin's voice called out.

"What does he want here?" Beast growled as Corrin went to go help Kaze up.

"He must be with the Organization." Sora said.

"The what?" Beast asked.

"A group of Nobodies. When a strong hearted person becomes a Heartless, they form a Nobody." Sora explained.

"The Organization has control over the other Nobodies, so maybe he wanted you to become a Heartless so that he can gain control over your Nobody." Corrin guessed as he and Kaze joined the others.

"Big Brother!" Sakura cried out.

The others turned to see Belle and Sakura run up to the group. Cogsworth and the others also entered the room.

"You're all right." Belle sighed in relief.

"Belle!" Beast said as he ran towards her though both stopped a bit apart.

Sakura however ran up to her brother. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sakura. But Kaze…" Corrin began.

"I'm alright. That blow hurt my pride more than my body. Seems Silas was right about those Organization people." Kaze muttered.

"I'm just glad that everyone is okay." Sakura sighed in relief.

"Belle…I'm sorry. I wasn't myself…I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you." Beast said with regret. "Forgive me."

"I know you weren't yourself. You don't have to apologies. I'm fine." Belle assured with a smile though that did melt away. "But I had hoped that you would change a little." She scolded causing the Beast to flinch. "I wish you would just trust me."

"I'm afraid that time is running out." Lumiere sighed.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Do you remember how we said we knew what was needed to break the curse?" Lumiere asked as the others nodded. "It ties with the rose."

"The one in the Beast's room?" Donald asked.

Cogsworth nodded. "That's right. If the Master can learn to love and be loved in return before the last petal falls, then the spell will be broken."

"Do you think he's going to make it?" Corrin asked concerned.

"We believe so." Mrs. Potts said.

"Yeah. I believe so as well." Goofy agreed.

"I hope so." Corrin said worried.

Sora's Keyblade then appeared in his hands. Despite not seeing what would make the gate, he stilled held his Keyblade up.

From the Beast's room, the rose glowed and revealed a Keyhole for Sora to unlock. Sora pointed his Keyblade at the lock and opened a new path.

"What was that?" Kaze asked.

"A new path is open!" Donald cheered.

"Does this mean you have to go?" Belle asked upset. Things finally settled down and their friends now have to leave.

"I'm afraid so." Sora said.

"We still have our mission to take care of." Corrin said.

"We still have to find the King." Donald said.

"And Riku." Sora added.

"No more arguing you two." Corrin teased.

"We'll see to it." Cogsworth said. "And you are welcomed back at any time."

With a wave goodbye, Sora and co departed from Beast's castle.

Back at the Gummi Ship:

"So, what did you two thinks of a new world?" Sora asked.

"It was…interesting." Sakura admitted.

"Lord Corrin. May I ask you something?" Kaze asked.

"It's just Corrin, and sure. What's up?" Corrin asked.

"How long have you been able to turn into a dragon?" Kaze asked.

"For about a year by now." Corrin said.

"But how did you turn into one in the first place?" Sakura asked.

Corrin and the others were silent for a moment before Donald spoke up.

"It happened back at Hollow Bastion a year ago." Donald said.

"When we first set out on our journey, we left to find Riku, the King and our friend Kairi who was taken from us when our home was invaded by the Heartless." Sora explained.

"That witch we mentioned before Maleficent, lead a group that was controlling the Heartless in order to find the Seven Princesses of Heart like Belle so they could open the door to Kingdom Hearts. Kairi was one of them" Corrin added.

"Kingdom Hearts?" Sakura asked.

"The heart of all worlds." Corrin clarified.

"But behind the scenes of that, was a man named Ansem who once ruled over Hollow Bastion. He was also a scientist and wanted to study the Heart and the Heartless. That study led to him becoming a Heartless and he took over our friend Riku to restore his body after he lost his to the darkness." Sora said.

"So, what does this have to do with lord Corrin becoming a dragon?" Kaze asked.

"Well, after we defeated Ansem in Riku's body, Sora used a Keyblade on himself to save Kairi's heart that was trapped inside of him. But that part is another story all together." Donald said.

"When Sora vanished, and Ansem appeared before us, I felt rage. That man took my home, my friend, and finally by brother. After that, it all went white to me." Corrin said.

"He turned into a dragon right there and the Heartless started to attack him." Goofy said.

"We took Kairi to safety after that and then stumbled across Sora who had become a Heartless after freeing Kairi's heart." Donald said.

"You became a Heartless?" Sakura gasped.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, but somehow Kairi saved me and brought me back. After that, we made it back to Corrin with the help of Leon and the others. Corrin was exhausted from the fighting, so Kairi and I tried to reach him by talking, and it worked."

"When Lady Kamui transformed, no one's words could reach her. I guess you should consider yourself lucky." Kaze said.

"I guess so." Corrin admitted.

"Though that does leave me with another question." Kaze said as he turned his attention to Sora. "If you became a Heartless, then did you create a Nobody?"

Everyone blinked at that.

"I don't think I did..." Sora muttered unsure himself.

"Didn't Master Yen-Sid say it was the body that was left behind that begins to act on its own that forms the Nobody?" Corrin asked.

"I think so." Donald said.

"But I have my body so, maybe not? I wasn't a Heartless for too long, wasn't I?" Sora asked Donald and Goofy.

"No. Only for little while. We ran into you at the entrance where you got your body back, so maybe a few minutes at best." Donald said.

Suddenly an alarm went off inside the ship.

"W-What's going on?" Sakura asked freaking out.

"It's an SOS from Chip and Dale." Donald said shocked as he looked at the monitor.

"Is something going on back home?" Goofy asked worried.

"I don't know, but it looks like we are heading back to Disney Castle next." Donald said as he started to fly the ship home.

Meanwhile:

Maleficent stood before a white door in the middle of her "Temporary" castle.

"Let's hope that bumbling fool doesn't mess this one up." She groaned as she turned to another individual that stood behind her. "Hopefully, you'll achieve better results than him."

The figure said nothing.

Chapter Text

The Gummi Ship landed inside the Gummi Hanger and the grouped stepped out.

"So, this is where you guys are from?" Sora asked looking around.

Donald and Goofy didn't answer. Instead, they were scouting the area.

"Are you two all right?" Corrin asked.

"Something definitely don't feel quite right." Goofy said.

"Something is definitely fishy going on around here." Donald said.

'Impressive. Maybe they aren't just a bunch of goofs that happen to be good at fighting.' Kaze thought as he watched the two scout the area.

Just then a Shadow Heartless appeared before the group. But before the others could summon their weapons, Donald and Goofy immediately jumped the Heartless and destroyed it by slamming their weapons on it…repeatedly.

"WHY ARE THERE HEARTLESS HERE?!" Donald shouted.

"Uh hello? There are Heartless everywhere." Sora said flatly.

"But they can't be here!" Donald argued.

Before Sora and the other could question that Chip and Dale appeared from on top of the stairs.

"Thank goodness you made it!" Dale said.

"Queen Minnie is in the Library. You need to hurry to her immediately!" Chip said.

"Got it. Let's go!" Donald ordered as the group headed outside.

Exiting the Gummi garage, the group arrived in a garden with multiple hedges shaped like animal-people similar to Donald and Goofy.

"This is the Royal Garden. If we head through that door and follow the hallway past the audience chamber, we should reach the Library." Donald said pointing towards said door.

Just then, an army of Shadow Heartless appeared everywhere.

"Should we fight them?" Kaze asked getting his weapons ready.

"We can't do that! We'd damage the garden!" Donald cried out.

"Then what should we do?" Corrin asked.

"I think we should run!" Goofy cried.

"To the Library!" Donald declared as the group fled down the hallways with the Heartless in hot pursuit.

As they ran past the Audience Chamber's massive, which Donald and Goofy noticed was sealed off, Corrin had an idea.

Reaching into his pocket, Corrin grabbed his Dragon Stone and transformed into his fire form he got from Mushu.

'Why is Corrin red now?' Sakura and Kaze thought noticing how Corrin's dragon form was now red instead of blue.

Charging up his power Corrin unleashed a fire version of his Hydro Blast which incinerated the numerous Heartless that were pilled up in the hallway.

And leaving burn marks on the walls.

Corrin returned back to normal feeling a bit dizzy which Sora was quick to support him.

"Th-That was amazing Big brother." Sakura said in awe.

"Are you okay?" Kaze asked concerned.

"Yeah, but that attack takes a lot out of me." Corrin panted. "Just need to catch my breath."

"Come on. You can catch it in the library." Sora said helping his brother up.

"The walls." Donald cried looking at the burn marks.

"Hey, its better than Heartless. Now lets hurry." Sora called out as he helped Corrin to the Library door with Kaze.

Donald tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Sora, use your Keyblade!" Donald ordered pointing to the lock.

"What am I? A lock-smith?" Sora groaned as he summoned his Keyblade to open the door.

Behind the door, the group saw some tables placed in front of the bookshelf's in the back, stacked up as a blockade. A pair of mouse ears slowly looked up revealing a female mouse holding a broom. Though upon seeing who it was, she breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered her broom.

"Donald? Goofy? You made it! Daisy, it's Donald!" Queen Mickey shouted in joy. A female duck popped her head up as well.

"Donald?" Daisy gasped.

"Daisy!" Donald cheered as he ran towards her.

*Whack!*

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! YOU HAVEN'T CALLED ONCE SINCE YOU LEFT TO LOOK FOR THE KING, AND THEN YOU GO MISSING FOR A WHOLE YEAR?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?! NOT ONE CALL!" Daisy shouted as she constantly whacked Donald over the head with a broom as he yelled sorry to her.

"Guess we should have called." Goofy commented awkwardly.

"So, I take it this Daisy person is someone close to Donald?" Corrin asked.

"She's the Duchess of the castle and Queen Minnie's best friend. She is also Donald's girlfriend." Goofy said.

"I see." Sora commented.

Once Daisy was done beating the tar out of Donald and Corrin caught his breath, the seven (yes seven as Jiminy was on Sora's shoulder) stood in front of Queen Minnie.

"I'm so glad that you are here." Minnie smiled.

"Your majesty, why are there so many Heartless in the castle?" Donald asked.

"It's those thorns. They're draining the Cornerstone of Light's power." Daisy huffed.

"Thorns? Cornerstone of Light? You all lost me." Sora said.

"Same here." Corrin agreed as Sakura and Kaze nodded.

"You see, this castle is protected from the Heartless by the Cornerstone of Light. The castle's most prized possession and the ultimate line of defense." Minnie explained.

"But then suddenly, these Thorns showed up in the Cornerstone's Chamber and then Heartless started to swarm the place." Daisy added.

"And the King is?" Corrin asked resulting a whack on the head by Donald.

"Show some respect!" Donald scolded as Kaze glared at the duck.

"Peace Donald." Minnie ordered. "I get some letters from him from time to time, but recently I haven't heard much. I don't know where he is at the moment."

"We saw him once, but he took off rather quickly." Goofy said.

"He never sits still for long." Minnie sighed before turning to Sora. "I take it that you're Sora?"

Sora nodded.

"The King did mention you in his letters. A brave young man who took up the role as another Keyblade Wielder." Minnie added.

"Yep. This is my brother Corrin, and those two are his sister Sakura, and Kaze." Sora introduced.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Minnie greeted.

"So, about the thorns…" Donald began.

"Right. I'll show them to you. Let us hurry." Minnie said as she headed for the door.

"Are you sure it is wise for you to go somewhere so dangerous Queen Minnie?" Kaze asked concerned.

"I'll be fine. I am quite capable with White magic. I can protect myself." Minnie assured as Sakura perked up.

"You can use White Magic?" Sakura asked and Minnie nodded. "Is there some spells you can show me?"

"Of course. Once we deal with those thorns, I'd be happy to show you some." Minnie smiled and Sakura nodded. "We had best be off."

"The Audience Chamber is that massive door we past in the halls on the way here." Donald informed and Sora nodded.

Sora then opened the door as he, Corrin and Kaze took the lead on the way to the Audience Chamber.

The halls were still filled with many Shadow Heartless. Corrin turned into his Dragon form and Sora jumped on his back. He then reached out his hand for Sakura.

"You come on as well Sakura." Sora said knowing that Sakura had the least battle experience of the group.

"Uh...are you sure? I don't want to weigh Corrin down." Sakura said worried but Dragon Corrin nodded telling Sakura she wouldn't. Sora helped Sakura on Corrin's back.

"Hang on tight Sakura." Sora said as Dragon Corrin charged and Sakura gripped Sora tightly as Sora took out his Keyblade and shot magic at the enemies.

Kaze and Goofy provided support to the sides of Dragon Corrin as Donald stayed with Minnie and Daisy to keep them safe from possible back attacks.

Not too long, the group made it to the Audience Chamber as Sora helped Sakura off and Corrin went back to normal.

"Th-that was something...but I don't think I want to do that again." Sakura sighed as she caught her breath from that crazy ride.

"Aw come on. It wasn't that bad." Corrin laughed.

Minnie stood in front of the Audience Chamber as she faced the group.

"I made sure to seal this room away when the trouble started." Minnie said as she undid the seal and opened the door. Or rather a small part of the massive door opened much to the outsider's surprise.

"Well, that's a thing." Sora commented.

"Well, they are rather small and the door is massive. Kind of seems pointless to have to open the whole thing." Corrin commented.

"It's also heavy. Which is why we keep it locked and just use the small door." Daisy chimed in.

Inside was a large empty room with the throne sitting at the other end.

"The Cornerstone is hidden beneath the Throne." Minnie said.

"A Throne of secrets. Reminds me of back home." Sakura muttered.

"Why's that?" Corrin asked.

"The Hoshidan throne also holds secrets. They say those who sit on it are revealed their true selves." Sakura said.

"Interesting. Have you ever seen it?" Corrin asked and Sakura shook her head.

"I do recall hearing that mother wanted to use it on Kamui." Sakura said.

"Why?" Corrin asked.

"It was Lord Takumi's idea. He figured that the throne would help Lady Kamui recover her lost memories." Kaze said.

"It can do that? Maybe I should try it." Corrin muttered. With all these revelations of his past, he was really getting anxious to see what else he was missing from his memories.

Just then, Heartless appeared in the Throne room.

"Not here too!" Daisy cried.

"Pearl!" Minnie shouted as she fired a ball of light taking out a Heartless.

Sora, Corrin, and Kaze got to work slicing Heartless left and right. Goofy was tossing his shield from afar so that he could stay close and protect the queen. Donald did the same with Daisy, blasting Heartless with magic. Unfortunately, the Heartless kept coming regardless of how many the group destroyed.

"I need to get to the throne. Sora, can you open a path for me?" Minnie asked and Sora nodded.

Sora then charged energy into the tip of his blade that formed into a big ball of energy. "Ragnarok!" Sora shouted as he unleashed a barrage of small balls of energy that took out multiple Heartless and cleared a path to the throne room.

She quickly sprinted to the throne room and pushed a button underneath the arm. The throne moved releasing a massive wave of light from underneath that destroyed all the Heartless in the room.

"Wow." Sora gasped.

"Let's hurry." Minnie said as everyone descended the stairs that was revealed under the throne.

The Cornerstone of light was a giant orb that shined brightly as it sat on a pedestal in a dark room where Thorns covered the walls completely, except for the door.

"So, these are the Thorns?" Corrin asked looking at the thorns that covered the walls.

Minnie nodded. "I still wonder how they got here in the first place?" Minnie asked.

"M-Maybe some bad guy is trying to take the castle while the King is away." Sakura offered timidly.

"But who? The only bad guy I can think of is Pete, but I banished him about 11 years ago." Minnie said as she remembered when she was forced to banish Pete after his actions and attitude at the Dream Festival all those years ago.

"Actually, he was busted out by Maleficent some time ago. He's been controlling the Heartless as well." Goofy said much to Minnie and Daisy's shock.

"But how did he escape? We had Brooms guarding his prison." Daisy asked.

'Brooms?' Sora, Corrin, Kaze and Sakura thought flatly.

"So, he must be behind this." Donald guessed.

"Please. Like that idiot could ever come up with a plan like this?" A familiar voice called out.

The grouped turned in shock to see Maleficent appear before them rather transparent.

"Maleficent? But how? We saw you die!" Corrin gasped.

"T-That's Maleficent?" Sakura gasped.

"I do admit that I was close to death, but I survived." Maleficent answered vaguely.

"Well I fix that, right now!" Donald declared as he charged at Maleficent, only to go right through her and slam into the Cornerstone's pillar.

"Patients. I will deal with you four in due time." Maleficent said.

"What are you after Maleficent?" Minnie demanded.

"Queen Minnie. As radiant as always." Maleficent mocked with a bow. "I am here on a property venture. I want this castle for myself. But I find it a bit too bright as it is right now. So, I'm giving it a makeover of darkness to better suit me."

"You'd better stop this right now if you know what's good for you!" Minnie demanded.

"How frightening. But what can you do? The seeds that these Thorns spawn from were planted a long time ago and have taken root deep in the castle's foundation. You can't remove them now without destroying your castle in the first place. It's only a matter of time until the Thorns drain the Cornerstone of its power completely and this castle will be mine. The fact that I can use my magic to project myself so close to it reveals that its destruction is coming soon." Maleficent laughed. "But, that's the least of your problems right now."

"Why's that?" Corrin demanded.

"Because you have a little reunion to attend." Maleficent smirked as she vanished.

"Reunion? What does she mean?" Corrin asked as Kaze heard footsteps from behind.

"Lord Corrin, duck!" Kaze shouted as he grabbed Corrin and flew to the ground as a green arrow flew right past them where Corrin's head once was.

"Who shot that?" Sora demanded summoning his Keyblade as everyone turned to the direction the arrow was shot from.

Before them standing at the entrance of the room was a young man close to Sora in age wearing a blue and white archer's outfit with white fur as decoration. He had silver hair like Corrin's but tied in a ponytail. In his hands was a bow that seemed to have a string made out of green energy like the arrows themselves. There was also a dark aura around the guy as his eyes were glowing green.

Sakura and Kaze gasped in shock at who they saw.

"T-Takumi?" Sakura gasped.

Chapter Text

"T-Takumi?" Sakura gasped.

Before her was indeed her older brother from back home. Though there was something clearly wrong with him.

"Lord Takumi." Kaze gasped.

'Takumi? Wait a minute…' Corrin thought in shock.

"Say Corrin, isn't that the name of one of your brothers from back home?" Sora asked.

"By why is he here and why did he try to attack us?" Donald demanded.

Takumi didn't say anything. Instead, he shot another arrow at the group with his Fujin Yumi. This time he aimed for Sora, but Sora blocked it with Oathkeeper.

"Takumi! Please stop!" Sakura cried. But Takumi fired an arrow at her which Corrin intercepted with his own sword.

"Takumi!" Sakura cried in shock.

"Something is wrong with him. Lord Takumi would never point his weapon at Lady Sakura." Kaze said.

"I'll bet it was Maleficent!" Donald growled.

"Most likely. Look at his eyes. Maleficent has him under a spell." Minnie said pointing at the prince's green glowing eyes. Takumi fired another arrow at her, but Goofy blocked it with his shield.

"There has to be something we can do!" Sakura cried.

"Maybe the Cornerstone's power can snap him out of it." Minnie offered.

"We can't! Don't you remember what Maleficent said? The Cornerstone is really low on power. If we use it, it could break and this castle will be completely overrun by the Heartless!" Daisy cried as she ducked under another arrow shot.

"What about my Keyblade? It worked on the Beast." Sora offered deflecting an arrow.

"Well, the Beast wasn't under a spell like he is but...Maybe it might work with a little push." Jiminy guessed.

"What kind of push?" Sora asked deflecting another arrow. "And how many arrows does this guy have?"

"Well, the Keyblade is suppose to connect with one's heart. Maybe if someone close can reach out to him, Sora's Keyblade can free him from Maleficent's spell." Jiminy offered.

"You think that will work?" Donald asked

"I'm not sure, but it's probably our best shot." Jiminy said.

"Someone close huh..." Corrin muttered deflecting another arrow as he glanced to his sister behind him. "Sakura. Look's like you're up."

"What? No, I can't! I couldn't even help Kamui when she went on a rampage!" Sakura protested as she was still hiding behind Corrin who was deflecting arrows.

"But from what I heard, Kamui didn't remember anything about home before hand, so she likely didn't fully trust you yet. But does Takumi?" Corrin asked.

"He has a point lady Sakura. Lord Takumi is probably closer to you than to anyone else of the Hoshidan Royal Family. If anyone here can reach him, it's you." Kaze said dodging an arrow.

"It has to be you Sakura. My memories of home are still too fuzzy. I don't think my voice can reach him." Corrin said.

"You can do it Sakura!" Sora cheered. "Don't you remember when we told you how Kairi and I saved Corrin from going crazy as a dragon? I believe you can do the same with Takumi."

Sakura was silent for a moment. She couldn't deny what Kaze and Corrin said. She and Takumi would usually go to each other for problems whenever their mother wasn't available, and out of all their siblings back home, she was the closest to Takumi. Plus she did want to protect what was left of her family. Her mother was now dead, she failed to win back Kamui, she lost Azura, and if something wasn't done soon, she would lose Takumi as well.

"Okay...I'll do it." Sakura said with a more determined look in her eye that was usually not seen in the shy youngest princess of Hoshido.

"Okay. First, me and Sora will wear him out. Once we do, Sakura will speak up and try to reach through to him. Once she does that, Sora will do that think with his Keyblade that he did with Cogsworth and hopefully that will snap Takumi out of it." Corrin said as the other two nodded.

"And what about us?" Donald asked.

As if on cue, a swarm of Shadow Heartless appeared around them.

"There's your answer." Corrin smirked as Donald rolled his eyes.

"You'll have to Donald. I can't draw more power from the Cornerstone without the risk of breaking it." Minnie said.

"Got it. Let's get em Kaze and Goofy!" Donald declared as the three got to work slaying the Heartless.

Sora charged at Takumi and swung his Keyblade, only for Takumi to block it with his Fujin Yumi. Corrin then summoned his mask and blasted a Hydro Shot at Takumi, knocking him back.

"Sakura! Start trying to talk to Takumi!" Corrin called out as his mask vanished.

Sakura nodded and ran towards him.

"Big brother, please stop! This isn't you!" Sakura pleaded and Takumi flinched.

"I think it's starting to work. Keep it up Sakura!" Sora said as he unleashed a Sonic blade to weaken Takumi even more with its high speed.

"Takumi! It's me Sakura! Don't you remember?" Sakura pleaded.

"S-Sakura?" Takumi groaned as the glow in his eyes were starting to fade slightly.

"Don't you remember the times you and I would have to brace ourselves for major gatherings? You gave me pointers on how to use a Yumi before. We used to play a lot together when we were little! Please Takumi! Don't let our family get even more divided!" Sakura cried as she ran up to Takumi and restrained him in a hug.

"Now's my chance." Sora said as he focused on the Keyblade. 'This is just like with Cogsworth. I need to help Sakura.' Sora thought as energy started to build at the tip of the blade. Once it was ready he pointed it at the two Hoshidan siblings.

"SAKURA, NOW!" Sora shouted.

"TAKUMI, WAKE UP!" Sakura shouted as the two were engulfed in a white light.

Once the light died down, Takumi collapsed to the ground unconscious as the black and green aura vanished.

"Takumi!" Sakura cried as she checked on him.

"Is he okay?" Sora asked as he and the others approached the two.

"He seems to be okay, just unconscious." Sakura said as she started to caste a cure spell on him.

Sora glanced at his Keyblade as he remembered what Merlin once said to him on his first adventure.

'You're still using the Keyblade instinctively Sora. You must learn how to control that power.' Merlin's voice echoed in Sora's head.

'Both now and with the Beast, I called on its power and it came without issue. Maybe I'm finally beginning to use the Keyblade's power like Merlin was talking about?' Sora wondered.

Flashback:

The war with Nohr had gone on quite big as both Hoshido and Nohr did their best to gain as much ground as possible. Takumi and his retainers Hinata and Oboro were sent to capture Port Dia in Nohrian territory where he came face to face with his traitor of a sister Kamui along with the youngest of the Nohrian Royal Family Elise.

At first, the battle went in Takumi's favor. He was able to push back Kamui's army further and further to where seizing the port was within reach. However, all that changed when the eldest princess of Nohr Camilla arrived on the battlefield with both of her retainers Selene and Beruka. Their arrival quickly turned the battle in Kamui's favor. Camilla's retainers were both fierce warriors on their own, especially the orange-haired girl Selene. But above all else, Camilla was a different matter all together. Despite her fighting on the back of a flying mount, which Takumi was normally skilled at sniping out of the sky, the eldest princess's strength was on another level as his troops were crushed before he even knew it.

After the battle, Takumi was before the princesses of the Nohrian Royal Family.

"Dammit! I've lost to you twice already." Takumi growled in frustration.

"Takumi please. This fighting is pointless. You've lost the battle. Do your solders a favor and retreat from this port immediately. If you do, you can all keep your lives and dignity intact." Kamui offered.

"How generous of you 'dear sister.' If I didn't know any better, I'd believe you. But I am well aware of the Nohrian army brutality." Takumi spat. Especially at the "dear sister" part.

"Well then perhaps you should take this as a lesson to not judge all Nohrian's at face value. I speak the truth when I said my soldiers won't harm anyone that doesn't attack us." Kamui retorted.

"Tell me dear sister. Do lies come naturally to you? In light of all the innocent Hoshidans lives you took including our dear mother, you have the gull to claim you're not a savage? And this 'those who won't attack us' crap...You are helping the people who killed our father invade our home! Pathetic." Takumi spat.

Camilla frowned at this.

"My, what a rude little boy you are. I should really beat some manners into you. You'd better take back what you said or I just might do that." Camilla warned with her axe in hand.

"Stop Camilla. He is entitled to his anger. I am partly to blame for what happened that fateful day." Kamui admitted. Honestly, she still felt guilty over what happened that day, remembering how she held her dying mother in her hands after she protected her from that strange blast.

"That's right. If you never came back into our lives, mother, Sakura, and all those people would still…Argh." Takumi was cut off by a sharp pain in his head.

'Come to the Bottomless Canyon. I can help you.' A voice started to call out in his head.

"Takumi, are you alright? And what's this about Sakura? Did something happen to her?" Kamui asked concerned as she approached her brother in pain.

"GET AWAY FROM ME! Don't touch me Nohrain filth!" Takumi shouted slapping Kamui's hand away and jumping back.

"Takumi! Please let me help you!" Kamui pleaded.

"Yeah! Don't be such a jerk!" Elise cried out.

"Don't think this is over. Ryoma has already met with the Rainbow Sage and received his power. You're no match for him even with the entire Nohrian Army backing you up. I'll get stronger too. Soon, you'll be at my feet begging for death that I will happily give." Takumi spat.

"Takumi wait! What happen to Sakura?" Kamui asked.

"Like you care? You chose to turn your back on us! So stop acting like we still matter to you!" Takumi spat as he turned to his wounded soldiers and retainers. "Everyone retreat!"

With that, Takumi and the Hoshidan Forces retreated from Port Dia despite Kamui calling out to him. But the voice in his head from earlier was still calling to him as he ran.

'I can give you the power you crave.'

Takumi didn't know how long he had been running. Before he knew it, he was separated from his allies and found himself alone at the Bottomless Canyon. When exactly he split apart from them, and how long was he running? He had no idea.

"What am I doing here?" Takumi asked himself in confusion. Though for some reason, he felt himself drawn to the Bottomless Canyon.

'Closer! Soon all your troubles will end.'

Though before he could get too close, another voice snapped him out of it.

"My, my. This world is full of such potential." A female voice said.

Takumi turned to see a pale woman with a black cloak and horns on her head with a big staff and her hands.

"Who are you?" Takumi demanded.

"Such raw anger. Such amazing jealousy. You are perfect to serve me." The woman praised.

"Serve you? Ha! I don't even know you!" Takumi retorted as he pointed the Fujin Yumi at her.

"But it seems you are too much of a lose canon as opposed to my other finding. And I am not dealing with another Riku." The woman sighed as she raised her staff. "Now sleep young prince. Soon all your troubles won't matter."

A green light engulfed Takumi as he found himself struggling to stay awake.

"W-What the? What is happening…to me?" Takumi asked as he started to fall asleep despite his best efforts.

As he dropped the Fujin Yumi and fell to the ground, the last thing he saw was the witch approaching him as he succumbs to sleep.

Flashback end:

Takumi started to groan as he slowly opened his eyes. When his vision came to, he saw a concerned Sakura and Kaze before him as he slowly sat up.

"Sakura? Kaze? But…" Before Takumi could finish, Sakura had engulfed him in a massive hug.

"You're okay! I'm so glad you're safe Takumi!" Sakura cried into his chest.

"Wait, hold on a minute. I should be saying that to you! We thought you were dead when we found your shattered rod!" Takumi protested making Sakura flinch with guilt.

"We would have been had it not been for Silas. We were ambushed by hordes of Heartless, but Silas saved us by sending us to another world. Which you are currently in Prince Takumi." Kaze explained.

"Another world?" Takumi asked skeptically. Kaze nodded and pointed to Queen Minnie and Daisy.

"Hello there Prince Takumi. I am queen Minnie and this is Daisy." Minnie greeted with a bow.

"Another world…a talking mouse that's queen…and a room of thorns. It's official. I've lost my mind. That last battle pushed me over the edge and I've given into madness." Takumi sighed.

"Is that anyway to talk after you attacked us?" Daisy demanded much to Takumi's confusion.

"Daisy please." Minnie said as she approached Takumi. "I know this may be hard to believe, but it is true. You are not in your home world. Tell me. What was the last thing you remember?"

Takumi was silent for a second before he recited to the others what happened at the Bottomless Canyon.

"I see. Maleficent captured you to use you for her own ambitions." Minnie sighed.

"Maleficent?" Takumi asked.

"That witch you met. She brainwashed you to attack us. Including your sister." Minnie said.

"I did WHAT?!" Takumi demanded shocked and horrified.

"I-It's true. You weren't acting like yourself." Sakura admitted. "If it wasn't for Sora and Corrin…"

"Corrin?" Takumi asked surprised.

"Oh right! We found our missing brother Takumi. Look!" Sakura said with her mood changing to happy as she pointed to Corrin who was watching to the side quietly.

Takumi couldn't believe what he saw. He was sure that Corrin was dead at this point. When the memories of Corrin, that were strangely lost to everyone returned, Takumi was convinced that he was killed by King Garon. But now here he was before him. Looking a lot similar to how he did when they were little, only much taller and wearing rather strange clothing.

"You're alive?" Takumi asked surprised.

"I guess I am." Corrin laughed awkwardly. "My name is Corrin. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"He sadly doesn't remember anything from back home." Kaze said.

"Figures." Takumi muttered as his mood dropped. "Just like Kamui."

"Huh?" Corrin asked confused, not fully hearing Takumi.

"Anyway, what exactly is going on here?" Takumi asked.

"Well…" Kaze said as he explained to Takumi the entire situation.

"So let me see if I got this…Corrin and his…brother Sora are traveling the worlds to look for this castle's king and their friend from back on whatever islands he grew up on; and this Sora guy wields a magic sword called the Keyblade that can defeat those Shadow creatures called Heartless and face up against that Organization XIII that Silas once mentioned?" Takumi asked.

"Pretty much." Corrin said.

"I must be dreaming." Takumi sighed resulting in Corrin flicking him in the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're awake. And alive." Corrin said simply.

Takumi glared at him for a minute before sighing. "So where is this brother of yours anyway?"

"He, Donald, and Goofy went to go consult a friend of ours named Merlin about these Thorns Maleficent set up in our castle." Minnie explained.

"We stayed behind to make sure you are okay." Sakura chimed in.

Takumi wasn't sure what to make of this. He was apparently in another world, where he gets reunited with the sister he thought was dead, and the brother that was missing for so long. But just like Kamui, he remembered nothing of his home. So it was only a matter of time before he betrayed him like Kamui did.

"Regardless, I'm glad to see you're alive Sakura. Everyone was devastated when Saizo came back to the castle with your broken rod in hands. I also hoped I didn't hurt you earlier." Takumi said softly.

"I'm sorry I worried you all. I just wanted to find Azura. Our family's been so divided ever since Corrin and Kamui were taken and now that Kamui left us, I didn't want to lose more." Sakura said. "And no. You didn't hurt me."

"Look. I don't remember anything about this Nohr place ether. I won't betray you like my sister apparently did. Maybe we can learn more about one another." Corrin assured.

"I suppose we'll see." Takumi said. If what Sakura said is true, he and that Sora person helped save him so he at least owed them that much. But he would have his guard up at all times. He then turned to Queen Minnie.

"I guess I should also apologies for attacking you." Takumi bowed.

"You're darn right you should." Daisy scolded.

"Daisy please!" Minnie scolded before turning to Takumi. "It wasn't your fault, it was Maleficent's."

Before anyone could say anything else, Donald's voice was heard as he, Sora, Goofy, and Merlin suddenly teleported into the room.

"I thought it would be better to see the situation myself." Merlin said as Donald grumbled.

While Merlin was inspecting the thorns, Sora noticed Takumi was up and about.

"Hey! Glad to see you're all right. You had Sakura really worried about you." Sora said casually.

Takumi just stared at him.

"My name is Sora. Nice to meet you Takumi." Sora greeted.

"That's prince Takumi." Takumi said sharply.

"Oh uh…sorry." Sora said unsure.

"I'm sorry about my brother. He has trust issues and can come off as rude. Please don't be too angry." Sakura bowed.

"Aw don't worry about it. We already know what it is like to deal with someone who is rude and has a temper. Right Donald?" Goofy laughed.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?! I'M NOT RUDE AND I DON'T HAVE A TEMPER!" Donald shouted.

"Loud." Takumi grumbled as he covered his ears at the duck's screaming.

"And here I thought the ninja girl from Hollow Bastion was too loud." Kaze groaned.

"And he doesn't even call to let his girlfriend know that he's alive when he vanishes for a year." Daisy scolded.

"I said I was sorry!" Donald cried.

"Let that also be a lesson to the rest of you. If you have or ever have a special someone in your life, be sure to check up on them when you have to leave for a long time." Daisy lectured to Sora, Corrin, Takumi and Kaze who just nodded dumbfounded.

"Remember that when you and Kairi get together." Corrin chuckled to Sora.

"Shut it!" Sora shouted with his face all red as Corrin laughed.

"I think I see the problem." Merlin said getting everyone's attention as he raised his hands. As he did, a white door appeared.

"This door should lead you to where our enemies are hiding." Merlin said.

"What does it lead to?" Sora asked.

"I can't say." Merlin said causing everyone to fall over.

"Why not?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Let's just say that it leads to a special world. Our enemies are using a door similar to this one. Sora, you must find the other door and lock it with your Keyblade. As long as the other door remains open, this castle will never be safe." Merlin said.

"You got it. Leave it to me." Sora assured.

"One last thing. This world will give you some dark temptations. You must resist it and complete your objective. Understood?" Merlin asked as the others nodded.

"Good. I have high hopes for you all." Merlin said.

"Let's go. We need to get rid of these thorns before the castle becomes overrun by Heartless." Sora said. The others nodded.

Sora went up to the door and opened it. He and the others walked right through being engulfed in a white light.

Chapter Text

From the other side of the door, the door shook around comedically a bit before opening up and spitting everyone out.

Sora and Corrin recovered to see that they were in their old outfits from when their journey began, but everything was all black and white. Their eyes looked a lot more simpler and their arms and legs were more noodle-like.

"Why did we change clothes?" Corrin asked looking over himself.

"And where did all the color go?" Sora asked doing the same as Corrin.

Sakura and Kaze mostly remained the same, but they too had no color and their eyes were a bit bigger and like Sora and Corrin, their arms and legs were noodle-like as well.

Donald and Goofy looked…simpler in design. While Goofy was wearing his hat, he only had a vest gloves and shoes on. Donald was wearing a sailor's outfit with a white hat as opposed to the blue one he previously wore.

"And I thought the last place was strange." Kaze muttered looking at himself.

"I-I look like some cartoon character in someone's comic." Sakura said looking over herself.

"What the heck?" A familiar voice called out.

The group turned to see Takumi examine himself. Like Sakura and Kaze, he remained more or less the same, but with bigger eyes and no color and noodle-like arms and legs

"What are you doing here?" Donald demanded.

"What do you think? I'm here to get payback on that witch. If she thinks she can get away with controlling me, she has another thing coming." Takumi said firmly.

"Doesn't matter Donald. We don't have time for an argument on this. We have to find a way to stop those thorns and fast." Corrin said before Donald could go on his usual rant on someone new entering the party.

Donald grumbled but didn't retort.

"But the bigger question is, where are we?" Sora asked.

"I don't know, but this place seems kind of familiar." Goofy said.

"Yeah. Now that you mention it, it does." Donald admitted taking a look around.

The group was on a hilltop where the Cornerstone of Light was a few feet away. From the distance, they could see a river.

"Have you guys been here before?" Sora asked and Donald and Goofy shrugged.

"I can't remember but this place dose feel kind of..." Donald began trying to find the right word.

"Deja-vu?" Goofy suggested.

"Yeah! That's it!" Donald said.

"There's the Cornerstone of Light." Corrin said pointing ahead to the Corner Stone of Light sitting on top of a small hill. "Where are we exactly?"

Before they could continue pondering that question, a voice called out to them.

"Hey you!" The voice called out. The group turned to see a familiar looking fat cat. He wore overalls with one strap over his right shoulder and a hat on his head. "Have you seen any bad guys around here?"

"Pete?!" Sora gasped.

"Yeah I'm Pete! What of it?" 'Pete' demanded.

"Then you're the bad guy!" Corrin shouted as he, Sora, Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons and got the jump on Pete. The three Hoshidans were left rather confused.

"Pete? Didn't we hear that name before?" Takumi asked.

"Oh yeah. That guy the Queen was talking about with Corrin and the others." Sakura said.

"The one working with Maleficent?" Kaze asked.

"Yeah but...If he is? Why isn't he summoning Heartless?" Sakura asked as she watched her brother and his friends beat the crap out of Pete in a dust cloud.

Within a few seconds, Pete was on the ground beaten.

"That was rather easy." Sora said rather surprised. Sure he didn't know what to expect with Pete having only met the guy once, but this guy went down rather quick and...

"Why hasn't he summoned any Heartless yet?" Corrin asked seeing it surprising that Pete had yet to summon Heartless, when last they met, he was going on about building an army of Heartless.

"Heartless? What are you babbling about? I bet you that you're the ones that stole my boat!" 'Pete' accused while on the ground covered in bruises.

"Boat?" Donald asked.

"Guys, I think we might have made a mistake." Sora muttered.

Just then, a steamboat's horns could be heard coming from the river. 'Pete' tried to get up, but he fell over just as fast.

"D-Don't move too much." Sakura warned as she ran to the fat cat's side, her healing instincts taking over.

"Sorry for attacking you like that Captain Pete." Goofy apologized.

"If you're really sorry, then get back my Steamboat!" Pete yelled as the group ran off towards the river.

"Bunch of weirdos. And where is that lazy good-for-nothing Mickey?" 'Pete' grumbled.

Near the river:

"I guess we kind of jumped the gun on that one." Corrin admitted rather embarrassed.

"Let's just find that Steamboat that Pete was talking about." Sora said.

"Why are we looking for some boat? I thought we were looking for the villains that filled your castle with thorns?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Well, it's not like have any leads on where to look." Corrin retorted.

"Maybe if we find this Steamboat, we can ask Pete for information on where we are?" Sora offered.

"Or we could just go back and ask him instead." Takumi offered.

"Oh come on Takumi. We should help him after what happened." Sora offered.

"First of all, it's Prince Takumi to you. Second, you guys were the ones that attacked him. Not us." Takumi retorted causing Sora to flinch.

Before anyone could say anything, the group spotted a Steamboat pass by them in the river.

"That must be the Steamboat! Let's go!" Sora declared as he and Corrin jumped into the air and glided towards the Steamboat much to the shock of the Hoshidans

"H-How did they do that?" Sakura gasped.

"Eh it's nothing special." Donald dismissed.

"What the heck is even going on anymore?" Takumi cried out. First it was talking animals, then it was other worlds, now everything is all black and white, and not his supposed missing brother can somehow fly without the assist of a Wyvern, Pegasus, or a Kinshi.

Back on the Steamboat:

"Alright you boat thief! Time to give…" Sora stopped in shock at who he saw at the wheel.

It was Pete. Though this Pete looked exactly like the Pete they saw back at Yen-Sid's tower, just black and White like the rest of the world.

"Wh-What are you bozos doing here?!" Pete demanded.

"What are YOU doing here?" Corrin demanded as he and Sora summoned their weapons.

"None of your business!" Pete retorted.

"Give back this steamboat!" Sora demanded.

"Why should I? This is MY steamboat. Now get…" Pete readied his foot. "LOST!" with a powerful boot, Pete punted the two islanders off the Steamboat and flying across the river, landing in the water.

Sora and Corrin resurfaced and started to swim after the boat.

"GET BACK HERE!" They both shouted as they swam after the Steamboat however, the boat was too far away and the two lost sight of it.

"Darn he got away!" Sora grunted as the Steamboat disappeared further down the river.

"That was Pete, right?" Corrin asked.

"Yeah! So, Pete lied to us!" Sora growled.

"I don't think so. We went straight towards the river after confronting him. There is no way he could have beaten us there. Not with the injuries we gave him. But there is something fishy going on though." Corrin said.

"Sora Corrin!" Donald called out.

The two islanders turned to see the rest of the group approaching the edge of the river as Sora and Corrin swam to them.

"A-Are you both okay?" Sakura asked raising her wand for the need to heal.

"We're fine Sakura." Corrin assured causing the young princess to lower her wand.

"Did you catch the boat thief?" Goofy asked.

"No, he got away." Sora said as Kaze and Goofy helped the two out of the water.

"But that was definitely Pete in the boat." Corrin said.

"So, he is behind this." Donald declared.

"But we just saw him by the hills, right?" Takumi asked.

"So, there is two of them?" Kaze asked as everyone remained silent in confusion.

"Where the heck are we?" Corrin asked again.

Meanwhile with Pete:

Once Pete was sure he lost the two islanders, he docked the Steamboat over to the side.

"I knew I'd feel more at home here." Pete sighed in nostalgia before fear and anger crept onto him. "By why is that brat with the Keyblade here? Oh no! What if they find out about the Cornerstone of Light? What if they're here to stop me?"

Pete then clapped his hands making a white door appear. Pete opened the door and stuck his head in.

"HEY MALEFICENT! THAT BRAT WITH THE KEYBLADE IS HERE! WHAT DO I DO?!" Pete shouted.

From in her throne room, Maleficent simply facepalmed at her lackey's utter stupidity.

'Think for yourself you brainless oaf.' She groaned as the figure next to her rolled their eyes.

"ANYBODY HOME? YOU LOUSY OLD BATTLE AXE!" Pete shouted resulting in electrocution from Maleficent.

"Is insults the only thing you're good for?" Maleficent asked annoyed as she stood over the barbecued Pete.

"I thought you weren't home." Pete groaned.

"Now then, as for the Keyblade wielder, obviously you need to stop him. The thorns still need more time to drain the Cornerstone of its power." Maleficent said as she looked into the distance. "Still, I suppose I should set a trap for them." With that Maleficent waved her wand and castes a spell. She then turned to Pete as he was getting back up.

"Make sure that they don't interfere with our plans for the Cornerstone." Maleficent said as she exited through the door back to her castle. The door shut and vanished as she did.

Back with Sora and co:

Before the group could even react to what was happening, a strange door opened up and swallowed them whole. The group found themselves in a small room with multiple furniture and a black hole in the center that immediately started to suck them up.

"Everyone, grab onto something!" Corrin shouted. Everyone grabbed onto a couch except for Sakura who was being held onto by Takumi, but his grip was slipping.

"Sakura…hang on!" Takumi grunted as he tried to pull his little sister to safety, but his grip slipped and Sakura was sent flying towards the black hole as she screamed.

"SAKURA!" Everyone shouted.

Just then, a piece of cloth flung towards Sakura, wrapped around her arm, and pulled her to a nearby chair where she was grabbed by a mouse wearing overalls.

"Your majesty?" Donald and Goofy gasped.

Chapter Text

'Mickey' had flung Sakura over to the door of the room as he kicked the couch towards the black hole. He then knocked other pieces of furniture towards it like his clock, the lamp and a Christmas Tree oddly enough all towards the black hole.

The furniture all fell into the hole at once, plugging it up and causing everyone to fall to the ground once the force of the black hole was no longer pulling them in.

'Mickey' ran up to Sora, shook his hand, waved and ran off.

"What just happened?" Kaze asked confused.

"I have no idea." Corrin admitted.

"Sakura!" Takumi gasped as he ran towards his sister. "Are you okay?" He asked frantically

"I-I'm fine Takumi." Sakura assured which calmed him down.

"Was that really the king?" Sora asked.

"It had to be! Let's go after him!" Donald declared as the group ran out of the door that 'Mickey' ran out.

The group found themselves suddenly out in a field with Heartless appearing before them. Some of them looked like a car that had teeth in the front, and eyes where the window normally is. The Heartless emblem was a hood ornament and it had an antenna on the top.

Other Heartless were small creatures with a big head and a pilot's helmet on a plane that had guns on the wings and the Heartless Emblem on the side.

The last ones were shaped like a giant hammer with the emblem right at the end of the hammer and their face above it. They also had scrawny arms and legs sticking out of the hammer body.

"What the heck?" Corrin muttered to himself at the sight of the Heartless before him.

"These are more of those Heartless, right?" Takumi asked rather unsure of the creatures...unique appearance.

"Yeah. Heartless take on many different shapes, but they're all still just as dangerous." Sora said.

"So, see a Heartless and just shoot it? I can do that." Takumi said rising his bow. Regardless of how ridiculous these Heartless looked, this fight was probably the most normal thing Takumi saw since he was taken by Maleficent.

The group readied their weapons and prepared for a fight.

The planes started to open fire on the group that Sora and Corrin started blocking with their swords. One of the Areoplanes tried to ram into Sora, but he dodge-rolled out of the way and unleashed a Thunder spell destroying the Heartless. Corrin shot a blizzard spell at the other Aeroplane Heartless destroying it.

Takumi fired an arrow at one of the Hammer Frame Heartless injuring it, but wasn't enough to kill it. The Hammer Frame then jumped into the air and slammed on the ground in front of Takumi creating a shock-wave that sent him flying. Takumi groaned as he landed on the ground, but he managed to roll out of the way before the Hammer Frame could finish hm off by smashing him with its hammer body.

Takumi gripped his bow and fired a shot straight at the Hammer Frame causing it to stumble over and fall down. Takumi unleashed another shot at the Heartless finishing it off.

Just as he stood up however, the other Hammer Frame slammed into him sending him flying. The Hammer Frame then jumped into the air to finish him off, by was intercepted by Sora who slashed it with his Keyblade destroying it.

Sora then went up to Takumi and offered his hand.

"You okay?" Sora asked.

Takumi said nothing as he stood up on his own…slowly.

"I didn't ask for your help." He muttered.

"Sorry." Sora said as he handed Takumi a potion.

"What is that?" Takumi asked.

"A potion. It will heal your injuries." Sora said with a smile.

"I'm fine. I don't need…urk." Takumi flinched from his injuries. Takumi muttered a thanks as he took the potion from Sora's hands and drank down the liquid.

Goofy and Kaze were facing a pair of Hot Rod Heartless that charged right at them. Kaze was able to dodge them, but Goofy was sent flying all around.

'I'm amazed how many hits he could take.' Kaze thought as he saw Goofy getting air juggled by the Heartless.

Kaze took out his Flame Shuriken and tossed it at one of the Hot rods. The fire from the weapon caused the top of the car to catch on fire and the Heartless started to freak out as it drove in circles trying to get the fire out.

Donald unleashed a Thunder spell on the Heartless destroying it.

"These things are pretty weak to magic. Try it Sakura." Donald said as Sakura nodded.

The other Hot Rod charged at Sakura.

"A-Aero!" She shouted as she pointed her wand at the Heartless. A burst of wind erupted from underneath it sending the Hot Ride flying.

"N-Now Thunder!" Sakura called out as a rather weak bolt of lightning struck the Heartless, but was still alive.

"Thunder!" Donald called out blasting the Heartless with a stronger thunder spell, destroying it.

"Sakura, you can't just rely on just Aero for offense." Donald scolded.

"I-I'm trying but it seems like it's the only spell outside of healing that I can do. I'm sorry!" Sakura cried while bowing.

"Well, maybe when we get back to the ship, you can look in that book Aerith gave you for other white magic spells. Especially if what Goofy said about you being better at White magic was true." Corrin offered as the others regrouped.

"Y-Yeah. Maybe I should." Sakura said.

"Hey Sakura. How did you do that wind thing?" Takumi asked.

"It's a spell I leaned called Aero." Sakura said.

"Can you show me it?" Takumi asked.

"Uh, sure." Sakura said a bit surprised. Takumi never showed any interest in magic back home, so why is he now? Still, it would be nice for her to show one of her older siblings something new for once rather than the other way around for once so she wasn't going to complain.

"Say, what's that?" Corrin asked pointing to what looks like a window covered in a curtain. Donald walked up and pulled the rope connected to the curtain opening it up. But what they saw wasn't a window, it was Maleficent and Pete standing in front of a white door like Merlin used to send them here.

"It's like a TV." Donald commented.

"What's a TV?" Takumi asked.

"Never mind that, look! That must be the other door Merlin was talking about." Corrin pointed.

"So, what are ya going to do?" Pete asked rather nervously. "Cause I'd rather leave this place alone. It's…sort of special to me."

"I see. You've been indulging in memories of your former glory." Maleficent sighed. "Perhaps if you would stop dwelling on the past, you could actually make something useful of yourself in the present."

Pete growled at that.

"But rest assured. I have no intention of trampling on your precious memories." Maleficent assured.

"You don't?" Pete asked surprised.

"No. I have no need to. But with this portal to the past, we can go back to before they began construction on that wretched castle." Maleficent said.

"You mean Disney Castle?" Pete asked and Maleficent nodded.

"That horrid Cornerstone of Light is the reason why I can't enter Disney Castle. But as you can see through this door, it stands unguarded. Now take these." Maleficent said handing Pete a small bag.

Pete opens the bag and pulls out one of the seeds inside of it.

"Are these seeds? How are they going to help?" Pete asked confused.

"I want you to plant those seeds around the Cornerstone of Light. As time goes on, those seeds will sprout and take root beneath the future foundation of the castle. And by around this time, they will sprout into the thorns that will drain the cornerstone of all of its power. Once that happens, Disney castle is as good as mine!" Maleficent explained. "This is your last chance. I trust you won't screw up such an easy task?"

"If it's so easy, then why don't you do it?!" Pete yelled as he tossed the bag of seeds to the ground, though Maleficent remained unfazed. Rather she simply raised her wand.

The scene ends with flashes of lightning and Pete screaming as the heroes look on awkwardly. Once it was done, the curtains folded and the window just up and vanished.

"A door to the past…Wait we're in the past?" Sora asked.

"I thought this place felt familiar." Goofy said.

"So that means that the Pete we beat up was actually the Pete of this timeline." Corrin guessed.

"Oh yeah! I remember hearing that he was once a Steamboat captain." Donald said.

"And the Pete that stole the boat was the Pete of our time." Corrin guessed.

"So that King Mickey we saw was the King Mickey of this timeline as well?" Kaze asked.

"I wonder if he led us here so that we could see this." Goofy pondered.

"Maybe. But now that we know what's going on, we should go find those seeds. If we remove them, then the thorns will disappear and the Cornerstone will be safe." Corrin said.

"Anything to get out of this crazy place." Takumi sighed. He was already more than done with this crazy "world" and wanted to get back to something a bit more...normal. If that was even possible anymore.

"Let's head back to the Cornerstone of Light." Sora declared.

"Hey you guys!" Past Pete called out as he ran towards them. "Haven't you found my boat yet?"

"We're working on it!" Sora called out as the group bolted back to the hill where the Cornerstone was.

"What a bunch of weirdos." Past Pete muttered as he caught a glance of Past Mickey trying to sneak behind him. "And as for you! What they heck were you doing? You were supposed to be guarding my boat!" Past Pete yelled as he pounded Past Mickey on the head.

The group headed right back to the hill where the Cornerstone resided but to their shock, it was gone.

"The Cornerstone!" Goofy gasped.

"Pete must have taken it!" Donald growled.

"B-But where did he take it?" Sakura asked.

"The river! That must be why he stole the Steamboat! So he could use it for a quick getaway!" Corrin realized.

"Then we're wasting time! We have to hurry!" Sora declared as the group ran off towards the harbor.

Pete had just finished loading the Cornerstone of Light in a wooden crate that was tied to the back of his boat.

"I'm such a genus. All I have to do is get this rock away from that hill and there won't be no Cornerstone to protect Disney Castle." Pete chuckled to himself as he climbed back into his boat.

Pete got at the wheel and started to sail away, but stopped after a few feet.

"Wait a minute. All I really have to do is drop this thing into the river! Won't do me any good to just take it back." Pete said as he got out again and went to the Cornerstone.

"HEY YOU!" A familiar voice shouted.

Pete turned to see his past-self running towards him while dragging the past version of King Mickey.

"Give me back my boat!" Past Pete demanded.

"Oh it's just me. Scram! I'm busy." Pete waved off as he got back onto the boat to work the crane at the back.

"What do you think you're doing to my boat?" Past Pete demanded.

"Shuddup! I am you, so back off and let me do what I want with my boat!" Pete argued.

"Stop talking crazy and get down here!" Past Pete yelled as he grabbed Pete by his jacket and tossed him off the boat. Past Pete then noticed the Cornerstone. "What is this thing? Some kind of treasure?"

Pete got up and slugged his past-self. "Your future is on the line pal! So back off and give me the boat!"

"Mickey! Do something will ya!" Past Pete yelled as he rubbed his head where Pete hit him.

Past Mickey jumped onto Pete's back.

"Get off of me!" Pete demanded as he tried to shake Past Mickey off.

"Atta boy Mickey! Now hold him down." Past Pete said as he readied a punch, but Pete managed to shake Past Mickey off and tossed him towards Past Pete causing both of them to tumble to the ground.

"You're still wet behind the ears." Pete laughed.

"Then try us!" Sora shouted as he and the rest of his group made it to the river.

"You brats are beginning to become a pain in my posterior." Pete growled. However, Pete jumped back into the Steam boat and took off with the Cornerstone in hands. But Past Pete recovered and jumped onto the Cornerstone's cage.

"Give me back my boat!" Past Pete demanded as he climbed to the top of the cage.

"You nincompoop! We need to get this stone…" Pete began approaching the cage, but his past-self cut him off.

"And another thing. What's with this rock?" Past Pete demanded.

Pete then got an idea.

"This stone is actually a curse see?" Pete said.

"What? Cursed?" Past Pete gasped.

"That's right. So I'm going to have it swim with the fishes." Pete said as he reached for the crane to pick up the Cornerstone and drop it but Past Pete jumped off the crate and right in front of Pete, blocking him from the controls.

"Don't you go throwing stuff in my river!" Past Pete demanded.

"Why you." Pete growled. However, before he could do anything, he was nearly hit by an arrow.

Both Pete's turned to see Takumi with the Fujin Yumi in hand pointing it right at them.

"One chance. Pull that boat over or the next arrow will be for your head." He threatened as he readied another arrow.

"You've got some nerves." Pete growled but Takumi shot another arrow at him. Pete clapped his hands causing a barrier to appear around him stopping the arrow from reaching him.

"What the?" Takumi asked surprised.

"I've picked up a few tricks over the years I've been helping Maleficent." Pete laughed as the Force-field disappeared.

However, the boat suddenly turned and headed towards the shore.

"What the?" Pete gasped as he turned to see Kaze at the wheel. "When did you get here?"

Kaze smirked. "When indeed." He answered vaguely.

In truth, he jumped onto the boat when Pete went for the crane. Pete failed to notice him thanks to his stealth training.

"Why I outta…" Pete began.

"For the last time. GET OFF MY BOAT!" Past Pete shouted as he punted Pete off his boat and to the shores.

Pete groaned as he got up to see Sora, Corrin, Takumi, Donald, Goofy, and Sakura glaring at him with their weapons ready. Kaze then joined them as well.

"Fine then. You punks want to go a few rounds with old Pete? Then let's go!" Pete declared as he got ready for a fight.

Sora and Corrin charged at Pete, but Pete tossed several small orbs to the ground threat immediately exploded causing Sora and Corrin to jump back.

Pete used the smoke from the explosion to try and run.

"He's getting away!" Kaze yelled.

"Coward." Takumi spat as smoke cleared, but they could still see Pete running further away.

"He must be heading for the door!" Sora shouted as they gave chase leaving Past Pete and Past Mickey behind to check the Steamboat for damage.

Pete ran until he thought he lost them. "Darn those little brats." Pete growled as he started to wave his hands. Unknown to him, Sora and the others were hiding further away waiting.

"He's going to summon the door. As soon as he does, lock it." Corrin whispered to Sora who nodded.

Pete summoned the door with a clap of the hands, and opened it. "So long as I have this door, I can try as many times as I like." He laughed as he ran through and shut it.

"NOW!" Corrin shouted as Sora jumped towards the door with Keyblade in hand.

Sora shot a beam of light at the door and a locking sound was heard as the door vanished.

The others walked up to him.

"So, is that it?" Takumi asked.

"Yep. The Keyblade is capable of locking and unlocking any lock. Thanks to that, this door is locked up for good since Maleficent doesn't have a Keyblade to open it again. Which means the past is safe." Sora cheered.

"If it could do all that, then my lock picking abilities will be useless." Kaze muttered.

"Don't worry Kaze. There are many things you can do that Sora can't. Like sneaking onto the boat. There is no way Sora could do that! He's way too loud." Corrin laughed.

"HEY!" Sora shouted causing the others to laugh.

'Just like the 'Great Ninja' Yuffie.' Kaze chuckled.

Past Pete and Past Mickey walked up to the group.

"Well, I guess you folks aren't half bad after all. Much more useful than this runt." Past Pete said pointing to Past Mickey much to his annoyance. "And since you helped me get back my boat and shooed off that weirdo, I'll let you pilot my Steamboat. Best little craft on the river."

"Thanks. We need to take that Cornerstone back to the central hill anyway." Donald said.

"That rock?" Past Pete asked as Donald nodded. "Fine then. Just take it with you when you leave. I don't want to see it in my river again."

"Deal." Goofy said.

"And take this with you. That thief dropped it when he fled." Past Pete said handing Sora a small bag.

Sora opened the bag and saw several seeds inside it.

"These must be the seeds that sprouted those thorns." Sora gasped.

"I guess Pete must of changed his plans when he saw us chase after him." Corrin muttered.

"What all this about thorns?" Past Pete asked.

"O-Oh nothing." Sakura smiled sweetly.

Kaze got to pilot the Steamboat down the river as they dragged the Cornerstone of light back to the Central hill. Everyone else enjoyed the peaceful scene of floating down the river on Captain Pete's Steamboat.

"This is nice, isn't it Takumi?" Sakura asked smiling.

"Yeah…It is." Takumi gave a small smile. As wacky as this world is, he couldn't deny that this moment was rather peaceful.

At Maleficent's Lair:

Pete was trying to open the door, but the door remained firmly shut.

"Come on...why isn't it opening?" Pete grunted as he tried and failed to open the door.

"Back so soon? I trust that you were successful." Maleficent said approaching Pete.

"Um...well..." Pete began.

"Are you having trouble opening the door?" Maleficent asked.

"Uh-oh." Pete mumbled as his face turned white with fear as Maleficent's face grew angrier with his lack of an answer.

Once the Cornerstone was unloaded, Past Pete sailed off with Past Mickey waving goodbye.

Sora, Corrin, and Kaze placed the Cornerstone back where it once was on the hill where Disney Castle would soon be built upon.

"He has issues and a bad attitude, but I guess he isn't a bad person." Sora said thinking about Past Pete.

"Sad how he turned out." Corrin said. "What even happened?"

"Many things happened over the years." Goofy sighed.

"Regardless, the Cornerstone is safe, the door is locked, and the seeds are secured. I think we're ready to head back now." Corrin said.

"Good. Let's get out of here." Takumi sighed.

"Wait a moment. Before he go…" Donald began with an excited look on his face.

The next thing he knew, Sora and Goofy were dragging him towards the door. Corrin opened the door and the two tossed the duck through before walking through it themselves along with the Hoshidans.

Back in the present:

The Thorn had vanished and the Cornerstone had regained its power which also meant the Heartless roaming the castle were immediately expelled. Disney Castle was once again safe.

The door to the past opened and Donald went flying out as everyone else walked out.

"We're back!" Sora said.

"The thorns have vanished. I can't thank you enough for what you've done." Minnie smiled.

"Donald!" Daisy cheered as she hugged her boyfriend.

"We got the seeds!" Donald said handing Daisy the bag of seeds, who promptly tossed them to the ground and stomped on them…repeatedly.

"As if things aren't bad enough, now we have to keep an eye on the past as well." Daisy grumbled.

"Amazing how you said that so normally." Takumi commented flatly.

"I hope you all didn't do anything reckless in there." Merlin asked sternly.

"Of course not." Donald immediately said as the others stared at him.

"Regardless, I'm just happy the castle is safe." Minnie said as she stared at the Cornerstone.

'She must really miss the King.' Sora thought sadly with his thoughts drifting towards Kairi. Then something came to him.

"Say, didn't you say the King sends you letters?" Sora asked.

Minnie nodded. "Sometimes."

"Do you send them back?" Sora asked.

"I can. Do you need me to tell him something? I don't think asking for a meeting place will work with how busy he's been." Minnie said.

"No but, we made a discovery and we need to let him know." Sora said as he placed a hand on his heart.

Corrin, Donald, and Goofy immediately realized what Sora was saying.

"That's right. Queen Minnie! We found Ven's heart!" Donald said causing Minnie and Daisy to gasp.

"You did?" Minnie asked surprised.

"How? The King and Master Yen Sid were looking into that for years." Daisy asked.

"Well, it all happened like this..." Corrin began and told them about their meeting with Vanitas in the Land of Dragons.

"Oh dear. So, Vanitas is back as well?" Minnie asked worried. She had never met the guy, but she did hear about him from Mickey, and how dangerous he was. A strong Keyblade wielder that was not only able to best King Mickey, but even hold his own against a Keyblade Master like Aqua.

"So now those Unversed are back as well? Can things get any worse?" Daisy asked worried.

"We need you to tell the King that right away." Sora urged.

"I will. I'll get started on the letter immediately. For now, please just keep his heart safe. I've met Ventus before. He's a nice boy." Minnie said and Sora nodded.

"Well then, I'd best get back to Hollow Bastion. That computer thingy that Cid set up in my house makes me nervous sometimes. I swear it's going to explode on me one day." Merlin said stating his concern on Technology.

"How's things going there?" Sora asked with concern.

"Same as they were when you were last there. But Leon is getting ready right now to start searching the castle for Ansem's computer. I'm sure Cid will contact you when we find something." Merlin said.

"Okay. Tell them that we wish them good luck." Sora said with a smile.

"I will. Don't you worry about us Sora." Merlin assured with his own smile.

"And I'm just going to pretend that I have a clue on what you're saying." Takumi added to himself.

"Speaking off, what do you plan on doing now Takumi?" Corrin asked.

"What do you think? I'm going with you." Takumi retorted.

"Says who?" Donald demanded.

"I'm not letting my little sister travel these 'worlds' alone with you. I don't trust you." Takumi said firmly.

"I-I'm fine so far, but I would like it if he could come with us." Sakura said. Kaze didn't say anything, but everyone already knew his stance on the issue.

"Just let him come Donald. We could use the help." Corrin said.

"You know what? Fine. No one listened to me the last times, why would it be any different now?" Donald grumbled.

Just then, the Cornerstone started to glow brighter prompting Sora to summon his Keyblade to unlock another path.

Once that was done, the group said their goodbyes.

"You promise to call once in a while this time?" Daisy asked sternly.

"Scouts honor." Donald promised raising his hand. He was not going to make that mistake again.

"Don't you worry Queen Minnie. We'll bring the King back home safe and sound." Goofy promised.

"Thank you." Minnie said. "And safe travels to all of you."

Queen Minnie then handed Sakura a scroll.

"This will teach you how to use that Pearl spell you wanted to learn." Minnie smiled.

"T-Thank you your majesty." Sakura said taking the scroll.

"And for you Sora, take this." Minnie said handing Sora a ball of magic.

"What's this?" Sora asked.

"A power up for your clothing. This will give you a boast in magic." Minnie said.

Sora accepted the ball of light as he felt a new power course through his body.

"Thanks your majesty." Sora smiled.

"And good luck to you." Minnie smiled.

With that, the group headed to the Gummi ship ready for their next destination.

Meanwhile with the bad guys:

"So…Not only have you failed, but you also lost the door forever?" Maleficent growled as Pete was groveling at her feet.

"I-I tried my best." Pete whimpered.

"And what's more you lost the seeds?" Maleficent growled.

"W-Well, with those brats here, I decided to improvise." Pete muttered.

Pete was rewarded with multiple blasts of lighting.

Chapter Text

Takumi was sitting in what was now to be his room on the ship that he was sharing with Kaze. Kaze offered to leave and give Takumi the room for himself, but Takumi declined. He wasn't going to make Kaze sleep outside.

It's not like he minds bunking or anything. Since the war with Nohr started, he would usually bunk with others when away from home. Usually for protection. He did trust Kaze so he had no issue. In fact, he was probably the only one that Takumi would bunk with on this ship since Sakura was a little too old for them to bunk together, siblings or not.

Donald and Goofy were immediately out of the question.

Sora did kind of remind him of Hinata, and he didn't find himself hating the guy per say, but that doesn't mean he was going to trust him immediately. And as for Corrin...He wasn't going to deal with another Kamui.

But more importantly, what was he doing now? First it went from a 'long lost sibling' returning home that resulted in his mother's death, then she betrays them further by joining Nohr and helping them fight him and his siblings. Then the war truly began and Sakura and Azura went missing. Soon he suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of Kamui with the help of the other two princesses of Nohr. Soon after that, he was lured to the Bottomless Canyon by an ominous voice only to be captured and brainwashed by that witch Maleficent and waking up to see Sakura and even Corrin in another world. It's crazy!

Then Takumi stopped his train of thoughts.

"That voice I heard at Dia. And that headache. What were they?" Takumi asked himself. It all just came out of nowhere. Who's voice was that? Why was his head hurting so much? Why did it want him to go to the Bottomless Canyon of all places?

And most importantly…where did it go?

After awakening from Maleficent's mind control, Takumi no longer felt a headache or heard that voice.

Maybe it was just the stress of war?

"Lord Takumi. Are you okay?" Kaze asked entering their room.

"I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind." Takumi said.

"Understandable. It was quite a shock for me and Lady Sakura…and it still is." Kaze said.

It's all unbelievable! Other Worlds, talking animals...It's impossible!" Takumi said. "And then there are those Heartless."

"That reminds me. I'm to tell you that we are arriving in the next world soon. And apparently, Lord Corrin claims that we can get some good training there." Kaze said.

"That's good then." Takumi said getting up. Training sounds really good right about now.

The world itself was rather ominous. Even more than Beast's Castle.

The place looked like a massive cave. There was a river off to the side, but it looked like a river no one wanted to swim in due to the ominous feeling it gave. There was three paths in total. One that lead to a massive door, one blocked by a wall of green flames, and one that lead to a light at the end of a tunnel.

"Are you sure we are in the right place?" Takumi asked looking around.

"I'm sure this is the Colosseum." Donald said looking around.

"Doesn't look like a Colosseum." Takumi retorted.

"I think its that way." Goofy said pointing to the light path.

"I guess we were a little off." Sora said as the group headed to the stairs.

"AHH!" A woman's voice shouted.

The group turned to see a rather beautiful woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a purple dress. She was being chased by a group of Heartless that looked like blue dogs with sharp teeth, yellow swirly eyes and a red collar with spikes on its rather small body.

"Heartless!" Sora shouted as he jumped into action and slashed away the Heartless.

Once they were dealt with, Sora went to help the woman up.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." The woman said standing up on her own and getting a good look at her saviors. "Who are you supposed to be?" She asked with a bit of an attitude.

"I'm Sora. This is Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Sakura, Kaze, and Takumi." Sora introduced. "We came here to see how Hercules is doing."

"You know Wonderboy?" The woman asked.

"Wonderboy?" Corrin asked.

"Hercules." The woman clarified.

"Yeah. Because we're heroes too!" Donald declared.

"You mean Junior Heroes." Goofy pointed out much to Donald's irritation and the Hoshidan's confusion.

"So, we have a friend in common. I'm Megara. My friends call me Meg." Meg introduced.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" Kaze asked.

"I want to see Hades." Meg said much to Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Corrin's shock and the Hoshidan's confusion.

"W-Who's Hades?" Sakura asked.

"He's the God of the Underworld. He's also a villain that was helping Maleficent with the Heartless a year ago." Corrin said.

"A God?" The Hoshidans asked shocked.

"Why are you going to see him? He's not a person you just casually visit. He's dangerous." Sora asked.

"I want to make a deal with him to give Wonderboy a breather. Hades has been sending monster after monster to fight him. Hercules has beaten everyone so far, but he's starting to get exhausted. I'm getting worried." Meg admitted.

"Sounds like you really care about him." Corrin commented.

"Err…well." Meg stuttered looking away with a small blush.

"Anyway, why don't you let us go talk to Hades. Force is probably the only way to make a deal with him anyway." Sora said.

"You might be right about that, and you seem to know what you're doing." Meg said before nodding. "Alright then. I'll take you on your offer. But let's keep this a secret from Hercules. He'll worry otherwise."

"Our lips are sealed." Sora promised.

"Hades is beyond that door. Be careful though. The Underworld is said to be able to sap ones strength." Meg warned.

"Sap Strength?" Corrin asked.

"It's some kind of curse of the Underworld that can drain a person's strength as they travel through it. It is a place of the dead after all." Meg said.

"P-Place of the dead?" Sakura asked afraid.

"Thanks for the tip." Sora nodded.

"So let me see if I got this right...We are going into the land of the dead, to see an evil god, and force him to stop sending monsters to fight this lady's boyfriend." Takumi asked annoyed. Meg blushed at the boyfriend comment.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sora smiled rather oblivious to the problem the Hoshidan prince had. Takumi just facepalmed.

"Actually, I want you, Sakura, and Kaze to escort Meg to the Colosseum. The four of us will have a talk with Hades." Corrin said.

"What no! Brother please! Let me come too!" Sakura pleaded. Sure she was utterly afraid, but she just got Corrin back. And now he was going into a super dangerous place to talk to a super dangerous guy?

"Lord Corrin please!" Kaze pleaded.

"Lord?" Meg asked.

"Long story." Corrin said before turning to the Hoshidans. "You guys need training. While you've managed to make it this far, there have been some pretty close calls and multiple bumps getting here. And it will only get worse from here on out. Go see Phil and get a start on your training."

"Will he do that? It took a bit of convincing for him to train us." Goofy pointed out.

"I can help with that. I don't fully understand your predicament, but if you're willing to do this much for me, then this is the least I could do. I think I can convince the old goat to help." Meg said.

'Old goat?' Takumi thought flatly.

"I suppose we have no choice." Kaze relented. He couldn't argue with what Corrin said. Plus the more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was probably for the best. Sakura was struggling more than any of them so far, and he and Prince Takumi weren't too much better. He also couldn't leave them alone. He did make a promise to Queen Mikoto to look after them all. Plus as much as he hated to admit it, Lord Corrin was more than capable of taking care of himself, and Sora wouldn't leave him hanging.

"I-I suppose you're right. But please be careful." Sakura said as the three Hoshidans escorted Meg out of the Colosseum.

"Well, now it's the four of us again." Sora said.

Corrin nodded. "Let's go see Hades."

The door opened and the four world jumpers headed into the Underworld.

Hades Chambers:

"Where do they dig these freaks up? Geeze louse." Hades groaned as he watched another one of his monsters beaten by Hercules in the Colosseum from his throne on a mirror. Beside him were two little demons. One blue and skinny and one pink and fat. Pete was also in the room with him.

"Oh, they're nothing but trouble. The whole lot of them." Pete dismissed. "So uh, what are you going to do about Hercules? He's made mincemeat out of every fighter you've sent him. Soon the Underworld is going to be the standing room only. Say, here is an idea. Why don't you just send him someone already dead and save him the trouble?" Pete laughed as Hades glared at him.

Hades was ready to throttle Pete, but his little comment gave Hades an idea.

"Dead…dead is good! And I know just the warrior." Hades said with a smirk as he got off his throne and headed towards a swirly vortex hole nearby. Pete crept closer rather afraid.

"So…what's down there?" Pete asked nervously.

"This is the Underworld's deepest dungeon." Hades said with a smirk. "This time I'm bringing out the mother of all bad guys."

"You don't say." Pete muttered stepping back. "Maybe I should go."

Hades lite both of his hands-on fire and tossed both of them into the vortex causing a puff of red smoke to appear. Out of the smoke stepped a man in a red trench coat with short black hair.

After fighting through Heartless that filled the tunnels of the Underworld, Sora and co arrived at a long path over a pit of what looked like Green water below. And a bunch of souls swimming around.

Donald and Goofy were looking down rather frightened.

"Wh-What do you suppose that is?" Goofy asked scared.

"I-I don't know and I don't want to know." Donald said just as scared.

Sora and Corrin were panting. Despite the Heartless not being too tough, they found each step further into the Underworld was far more draining than normal.

"I think the Underworld curse is starting to get to us." Corrin panted.

"Yeah. We'd better do what we came here for and get out quick." Sora said as he noticed a room at the end of the path.

"I bet that's where Hades is. HADES COME OUT!" Sora shouted much to Donald an Goofy's fear.

"Why don't we get a closer look." Corrin offered. Sora nodded and the four headed up the path with the Disney Castle residents following behind them.

Hades stood before the man in the red coat.

"Alright prisoner here's the deal I'm going to offer you. I let you out of the slammer. No strings attached! You'll be as free as a bird. And all you have to do is face Hercules in the Colosseum to the death. What do you say?" Hades offered.

"...This is my story. And you're not part of it." The man said as he raised a large blade over his shoulder.

"What was that?" Hades demanded with anger building.

"It's as I said. You're not part of my story." The man said.

"Did you forget who you are talking to? I am the LORD OF THE DEAD!" Hades demanded.

"No wonder no one wants to die." The man mocked.

"You are FIRED!" Hades shouted as his flames turned from blue to orange as he charged at the man. The man was able to block the attack with his sword and push Hades back.

At this point, Sora and co entered the room.

"Hades!" Donald gasped

"You four again?" Hades complained as he blocked another of the man's attacks. This time, he managed to toss the man to the ground and charge up a fireball, but Sora intercepted the attack.

"Get up!" Sora shouted.

The man took a glance at Sora. 'That kid…he looks familiar.'

Corrin, Donald, and Goofy readied their weapons to face the God of the Underworld who was not amused at all on what was going on.

Chapter Text

Both Hades and Sora's group were ready to do battle with each other. However, before anyone could make a move, Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy suddenly fell to their knees in exhaustion.

"Wh-What's happening?" Sora asked trying to catch his breath.

"Is this the Underworld's curse?" Corrin asked also out of breath.

"Yep. Down here, heroes are zeroes. Comes with the territory." Hades smirked.

The man in red suddenly grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on. We have to get out of here." The man urged.

"But I have to talk to Hades." Sora argued.

"What was that?" Hades asked while plugging his ears with his fingers.

"It's pointless now. Let's go!" The man ordered and Sora reluctantly complied as the five made a break for the exit with Hades shooting fireballs at them.

"How cute. But let's see how far they can truly get." Hades smirked as he vanished leaving Pete alone with Pain and Panic.

"I guess we hold down the fort then?" Pete asked Pain and Panic who just shrugged.

Back on the long road:

The five managed to exit Hades's Chamber with Sora and Goofy closing the door as Corrin looked forward.

"Okay. The entrance was a straight forward path that way. Let's just get back to the Colosseum and figure out another way to deal with this." Corrin offered.

"Sounds good. Let's hurry before Hades catches up." Donald said.

"Too late." The man in red growled.

"Leaving so soon?" Hades asked appearing next to Sora leaning on the door casually. "You came all this way to see me. At least let me give you some hospitality for coming all the way down here." Hades smirked with fire burning in his hand.

"RUN!" Corrin shouted as the five bolted towards the entrance.

The group ran down the long pathway making it to the second larger platform above the Valley of the Dead when multiple Heartless appeared. Mainly Large Bodies and another type of Heartless. It looked like a small person in a green scholar outfit along with a matching hat carrying a massive book larger than their own body. The Heartless Emblem was present on the book.

"Great. More trouble." Donald spat as he readied a fireball. However, one of the Bookmaster Heartless intercepted his fireball with a fireball of its own.

The large Bodies then began to charge at the Duck, though he was thankfully pushed out of the way by Goofy before he was knocked off the edge.

"Thanks, Goofy." Donald panted.

"No problem." Goofy said.

Sora, Corrin, and the newcomer charged at the Heartless with their blades, but the Large bodies blocked it with their front body shields. The Bookmaster then rained Thunder spells on the three that they were barely able to dodge.

With each move, Sora and Corrin felt weaker.

"The curse…" Sora groaned.

"If we don't do something soon, we'll be in big trouble. These Heartless are set up mainly to stall us while the curse of the Underworld drains us of our strength." Corrin grunted.

"Feel the Heat!" Hades sang as he launched a fireball at Sora.

"Gah!" Sora shouted as the fireball made contact with his back knocking him over the edge.

"SORA!" Corrin, Donald, and Goofy shouted.

"Uh hi! Did you forget about little old me here? Rather rude." Hades mocked.

Thankfully, the man in red jumped forward and grabbed Sora before he could fall, pulling him to safety.

"Th-Thanks." Sora said.

"If anyone has any plans, I'd like to hear them." The man in red said.

Corrin was silent for a moment as he observed his surroundings. Hades was smirking as he readied another fireball from behind, the Heartless had blocked their path forward, and bellow them was a Valley that Corrin believed if they fell down, there would likely be no return, knowing Hades.

That's when he got an idea. The Valley.

"This is probably going to be really stupid." Corrin muttered as he gripped his dragon stone.

In a flash of light, Corrin turned into his dragon form and started to gather water energy in his mouth.

"HYDRO BLAST!"

Corrin fired a massive blast of water but not at the Heartless, or even Hades himself, but rather the ground bellow Hades.

The platform shattered and Hades began to fall, though he did manage to grab onto the edge of the now broken road.

Corrin immediately returned to normal and collapsed to the ground unconscious, dropping his dragon stone in the process.

"Corrin!" Sora shouted running to his brother along with their new ally.

The red man checked on Corrin for a second before picking up the unconscious lost prince and hoisting him over his shoulder.

"He's drained. He needs to get out of here now. Let's use the opportunity he gave us." The man said.

Sora nodded. He picked up Corrin's dragon stone and pocketed it.

"Time for a new trick." Sora said as he ran towards the Heartless.

"Sliding Dash!" Sora shouted as he slid past the Bookmaster Heartless and right in front of the Large Bodies. As he did, his Keyblade was gathering energy.

"Ragnarok!" Sora shouted as he blasted the Large Bodies at point blank with a powerful magic spell destroying them.

"Now hurry!" The man shouted as he began to run.

Sora felt incredibly exhausted after that attack, but he had to ignore it for now. Pushing aside his exhaustion, Sora bolted to the other end of the Valley with the others.

At this point, Hades pulled himself up from the edge and looked at the retreating intruders annoyed.

"Little punks. First they barge in uninvited, and then they wreak my Underworld? This is far from over. But first…" Hades snapped his finger. "Pain, Panic. I want this bridge fixed!"

With that, Hades headed back to his chambers as Pain and Panic ran past Hades with some construction tools and hardhats to the damaged bridge over the Valley.

With the Heroes:

"Okay. I think we can break here." The man said as he set Corrin down.

Sora collapsed on his back in exhaustion.

"We really underestimated the Underworld's curse." Sora panted.

"Yeah. We were lucky to escape." Donald said as he patched up Corrin with a heal spell and pulled out an Elixir.

"We aren't out of the woods yet. I doubt Hades will give up that easily." The man said.

Corrin slowly regained conscious as Sora approached him with his dragon stone.

"You okay bro?" Sora asked giving Corrin the stone.

"Yeah. But I still feel really drained." Corrin said pocketing the stone.

"The Underworld's curse is still in effect. It gets worse the deeper in you go in." The man said.

"So, the closer we get to the entrance, the less the curse will affect us?" Corrin asked and the man nodded.

"How come you don't seem to be affected?" Goofy asked.

"Because I'm dead." The man said as if it was obvious.

"Dead?" The group asked surprised.

"Are you really that surprised? Did you forget where we are?" The man asked.

"Oh. Good point." Corrin admitted sheepishly.

"Still, dead or not, you're really good. Are you some kind of hero?" Sora asked.

"No. I'm no hero. Just an…" The man began rather upset much to the group's confusion. "Auron."

"Auron?" Sora asked. That name sounded familiar but he couldn't recall where he heard it before.

"My name." The man named Auron said.

"Oh, well I'm Sora." Sora greeted.

"Corrin!" Corrin said jumping on top of Sora.

"Donald Duck." Donald said jumping on top of Corrin.

"Goofy." Goofy said getting on top of Donald. The weight was too much for Sora and he collapsed back to the floor with the others going with him.

'Sora…it is him. Doesn't seem like he recognizes me though. Not that I blame him. He was too little.' Auron thought. "Perhaps we were fated to meet. You in need of a Guardian?"

"A Guardian? Thanks, but no thanks." Sora said.

Auron let off a soft chuckle.

"At any rate, we aren't too much farther to the entrance. We shouldn't waste any more time than needed." Corrin said.

"He's right. If you are all set, we should get going." Auron said.

The others nodded and headed for the exit.

Hades's Chamber:

"I've got Heartless stationed all over the Underworld. You just leave those brats to me and you keep on working on turning Hercules into a Heartless." Pete offered, but Hades just got angry.

"This is MY Underworld you idiot! I'll handle this myself!" Hades shouted as he snapped his finger. From his window a giant black three headed dog popped up. "Cerberus, GO!"

The giant dog took off towards the entrance.

With the Heroes:

Sora and the others managed to slice their way through Heartless as they headed towards the entrance to the Underworld. Thankfully, the Heartless weren't too tough so not much energy was wasted.

Once they arrived at the gate, Sora and Goofy tried to push it open, but to no avail.

"Why won't it open?" Sora grunted.

"Because of that." Corrin said pointing upwards to a giant lock on the Underworld's gate.

"Hades must be trying to lock us in." Donald said.

Sora summoned his Keyblade in his hand. Auron looked at the weapon curiously.

"I've been meaning to ask but, what is that weapon?" Auron asked.

"It's called a Keyblade." Sora said.

"A Keybalde? Can it open that door?" Auron asked.

"It should. The Keyblade is capable of unlocking any lock." Sora said.

'Even a lock of a god? Wish we had something of that power when…no. No time to be thinking of that now.' Auron thought.

A roar was heard in the distance.

"Hurry!" Auron urged as he readied his sword.

Cerberus jumped down behind the group and let out a roar.

"CERBERUS?!" Sora and the others shouted.

Auron ran forward to intercept Cerberus before it could harm the others, locking his blade with the middle head's jaw.

Sora quickly pointed the Keyblade at the lock and a beam of light shot from the Keyblade's tip and straight at the lock causing it to vanish and the door to open.

Corrin, Donald, and Goofy ran through the door with Sora following. However, Sora stopped and looked back at Auron still fighting Cerberus. He fought Cerberus before and Cerberus wasn't an easy opponent. Sure Auron seemed to be pretty strong, and he was already dead but still…

Sora ran towards Cerberus.

"Sora! Wait!" Corrin shouted, though he tripped and fell to the ground. "Damn it. I'm still a bit winded from that Hydro Blast."

Donald and Goofy began to chase after, but saw the door was closing.

"Quick grab it!" Donald shouted as he and Goofy grabbed the door and began to push to keep it open and prevent it from closing on Sora.

Sora summoned and Keyblade and ran next to Auron who was knocked back by Cerberus.

"I'm here to help!" Sora declared.

"What are you doing here? Get to the entrance. I'll be fine." Auron shouted.

"I can't just leave you to face this by yourself." Sora argued and Auron flinched.

'I can't just leave you guys to face this creature alone!'

'Damn it.' Auron growled as he and Sora readied their blades for the Guardian of the Underworld.

Cerberus jumped towards the two swordsmen as Sora dodge rolled out of the way.

Auron swung his sword at the beast hitting its left head, causing the three headed dog to recoil in pain.

"Blizzard!" Sora shouted shooting ice at Cerberus.

Cerberus responded by shooting fire balls from its three mouths. One hitting the ice spell and the other two heading straight towards Sora.

Auron intercepted and blocked the two fireballs with his sword.

'This isn't good. I'm still feeling weak from the curse. I need to find a way to get away and fast.' Sora thought.

Auron charged at Cerberus, but Cerberus knocked Auron away with a spin, striking the red swordsman with his tail.

Cerberus charged at Sora as the two side heads closed in at both sides.

Sora managed to push on both of its snouts holding the heads back, but the third head lunged right at him. Sora managed to push himself up in time to grab his Keyblade and lodge it into the middle's mouth preventing the head from chomping the Keyblade hero down to size.

The middle head started to try and shake Sora off as the right head tried to attack Sora.

Sora let go of the Keyblade and jumped into the air, re-summoning the Keyblade in his head.

"Take this!" Sora shouted as he dove down on the middle forehead knocking the Underworld guardian down.

"Let's get out of here!" Auron shouted.

Sora nodded as the two ran out of the gate.

Cerberus managed to get back up and tried to charge at the escaping heroes as Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy made faces at him from the other side.

The gate closed just as Cerberus reached it and a large bang was heard from the other side.

"That's gotta leave a mark." Corrin commented.

"We made it." Donald sighed in relief.

Sora looked around and noticed someone was missing.

"Guys? Where's Auron?" Sora asked.

Everyone else looked around and failed to locate the dead swordsman.

"I know I saw him go through the gate as well." Goofy said.

"He can take care of himself. He made it out, but he can't exactly leave. He's dead after all." Corrin reminded the others.

"I guess you're right." Sora said though clearly not thrilled to leave him behind.

"For now, let's head to the Colosseum. I'm sure Kaze and the others are worried." Corrin said.

"Yeah. And maybe Hercules might know something about the Underworld curse." Goofy said.

"Well then, let's go." Donald declared as the four started to head up to the Colosseum.

Sora though looked back towards the entrance of the Underworld.

"Auron…I know I heard that name somewhere…" He muttered before following his brother and friends.

Back in Hades's Chamber:

Hades was absolutely shocked. He was sure he had them when he locked the gate. Brooding blond spiky wasn't here to help them and Cerberus would have easily drained the rest of their strength, even with Auron's help. But what he wasn't suspecting was Sora managing to unlock his lock.

"So you're saying that kids Keyblade can open ANY lock?" Hades asked Pete.

"You didn't know? Weren't you a part of Maleficent's group last year?" Pete asked.

Hades grunted. To be honest, he never really cared about the Keyblade, or Kingdom Hearts. He only helped because he believed the Heartless may be his answer to crushing Hercules before he could stop his plans of taking over Mount Olympus.

'If that lock can even break my lock, I wonder if it could break HIS lock.' Hades thought with a sinister smile.

"You've got a plan?" Pete asked.

"Have I ever told you of the killer Colosseum we have here in the Underworld?" Hades asked. "It makes the one upstairs look like an Olympic kiddie pool."

"Then that's where we will put an end to Herc the Jerk's winning streak." Pete declared.

"Problem. Zeus locked it tight." Hades said.

"Doh." Pete grunted. Though he started to see Hades's plan when he heard the word "lock."

"All we have to do is swipe that key, and reopen the Underdome." Hades smirked.

"Hate to break it to ya, but that Key is rather particular. It won't work for just anyone, God or not. And that kid isn't a push over." Pete warned.

Hades frowned at that. As much as he hated to admit it, Pete was right. That was the same kid that was able to take down a Titan with his friends last year. And not only that, but he was able to fend off Cerberus and escape the Underworld even with the curse draining his power. Plus, even if he did snag the Keyblade from Sora, if he couldn't use it then it was useless.

Hades smirked as an idea came to his head.

"I think we need a woman's touch." Hades said as an image of Meg appeared in his hand.

Back at the Colosseum, Meg felt a shiver through her body.

Chapter Text

"Ah the Colosseum. What memories this brings." Goofy said happily as the four approached the gates.

"Rigorous training, nearly killed by Cloud, nearly killed by Cerberus, nearly killed by a giant ice monster…" Corrin listed off.

"Killjoy." Donald grumbled as Corrin shrugged.

"And in the end, we're still just junior heroes." Corrin finished a bit annoyed.

While Corrin and Donald continued to banter, Jiminy hoped on Sora's shoulder, who was rather lost in thought.

"What's wrong Sora? You're unusually quiet." Jiminy asked.

"Oh…I was just thinking about Auron." Sora said.

"Well, it's like Corrin said, he's dead. He can't come with us." Jiminy said.

"No not that. But I just can't help but feel that he's familiar to me." Sora said.

"Really? From where?" Jiminy asked curiously.

"Back home on the islands. I swear I've heard his name before." Sora said.

"That's odd. I wonder why that is?" Jiminy asked.

"I don't know, and it's bugging me." Sora said frustrated.

"Well, maybe it will come back to you soon. But for now, it would be wise to focus on the task at hand. Getting distracted can be rather fatal in battle." Jiminy advised.

"I guess you're right." Sora admitted as they approached the gates to the Colosseum.

Opening the door, the group saw Hercules sitting in the lobby looking awfully tired as he was finishing a sandwich that Meg had made for him. Looking up at the sound of the door opening, some of his tiredness left upon seeing Sora and co.

"Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy. You guys made it." Hercules said approaching the four and giving Sora a high five.

"Good to see you Herc." Sora said smiling.

"You don't look so well." Corrin commented.

"Sorry. Hades has been sending Monster after Monster at me so I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately. By the way Corrin, your sister can be scary." Hercules said with a small shiver.

"Sakura?" Corrin asked surprised. The shy timid healer scary?

"When she saw Wonder Boy here in the condition he was in, she immediately shoved him into a bed and ordered him to get some rest. It was like a sudden change. She sees Wonder boy throw this massive rock creature into the stars in shock one moment, but when she sees how tired he is, all that shock was automatically gone." Meg chuckled.

"Looks like our shy little princess has some bite to her after all." Corrin chuckled.

"Thankfully, it seems Hades was preoccupied with something so he was able to get some rest." Meg said.

"Speaking of Hades, we need a favor Herc." Corrin said.

"What is it?" Hercules asked.

"We ran into someone with…big trouble that Hades was causing so we headed down there to teach him a lesson. But the Underworld's curse drained our strength. You wouldn't happen to know a way around it? Do you?" Corrin asked keeping Meg's involvement a secret like they promised.

"The Underworld's curse? Yeah, I know of it. There is actually a stone that the Gods on Mount Olympus use whenever they have to go down there. It protects one from the curse." Hercules said.

"Any chance we could barrow it?" Donald asked.

"Yeah. My father was rather impressed with your actions last year. He shouldn't mind." Hercules said getting up. "I can go get it for you. Phil and Meg are telling me to take a break anyway, so a trip back home might be good." Hercules said.

"Thanks, Herc." Sora said.

"But even with the stone, Hades isn't going to be easy. He's far worse than the Ice Titan you took out before." Hercules warned.

"Doesn't matter. We have to face him." Sora said determined.

"Quite confidence. Alright. I'll get the stone. Why don't you guys get some more training in with Phil?" Hercules asked.

"Sounds good. Kaze and Sakura are probably worried sick." Corrin said.

"Yeah. They're all training in the back." Meg said.

"Phil said yes?" Sora asked a bit surprised.

"Well, after Sakura forced Wonder Boy to bed, he didn't want to get on her bad side. Plus when he heard that two of them were your siblings, he decided to give them a chance." Meg said looking at Corrin.

"Great. I'll catch you guys later." Hercules said heading out.

"Thanks, you guys. Sorry for putting you in such danger." Meg said.

"It's fine. With the stone, we should see results next time." Sora said.

"Well, your recent stunt did get him distracted for now." Meg said.

The Stadium looked the same as it did the last time Sora and co was here. Though at the moment, Phil was using it for training grounds rather than a tournament.

Kaze was running laps.

Takumi was going through an obstacle course while shooting targets with his bow.

Sakura was off in a corner reading the book Aerith gave her and practicing the spells she read.

"Alright. Good work so far. Take five for now. Next we're going to work on something special." Phil said watching over the three Hoshidans. "Don't forget the two simple words required for making it as a hero. Eat, Bath, Sleep."

"I see you still can't count." Corrin commented as the four approached him.

Phil immediately turned to the sight of Sora and the gang.

"Hey, if it ain't the junior heroes!" Phil cheered as he ran up to them.

"Brother! You're back!" Sakura cheered running up to Corrin with Kaze following.

Takumi did as well, but slower.

"You look well Phil." Sora said.

"Never better. So, what are you guys up to? Have you earned your "true hero" wings yet?" Phil asked though the four looked confused. "Guess not. But anyway, what's up?"

Sora and co explained what had happened down in the Underworld.

"YOU GUYS WANT TO TAKE ON HADES?!" Phil shouted shocked.

"Herc needs a break, and force is the only thing that works on him." Corrin said.

"While that is true, that's rather reckless. Look, you got nerves and I like that, but Hades is out of your league. He isn't like that Ice Titan you fought last year, and there likely won't be an out of bounce rule like there was with Herc. A fight with him is a fight to the end. You still want to do it?" Phil warned.

"We do." Sora said determined.

"Well, stranger things have happened. You ready to go through the wringer again?" Phil asked and the four nodded. "Great. After lunch, we'll get to work."

"So, Hercules tossed a rock monster?" Sora asked.

"Yeah...it was something..." Kaze said still surprised at what he saw.

"Like I said Kaze, try not to make sense out of everything. Trust me on that." Corrin whispered.

"Yeah. Seems Hades released another Titan like the one you guys fought before." Phil said.

"Y-You fought a monster like that before?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Yeah, but with some help." Sora said remembering how they fought with Mushu and Cloud to fight the beast.

"This is why we have to train. There will be plenty of strong and dangerous enemies like that." Corrin said as everyone left the arena to get some lunch.

As the group ate some lunch that Meg and Phil prepared, the group decided to talk.

"So, how's the training coming?" Corrin asked.

"I've been working on my stamina and speed lately. A ninja needs to be quick on his feet, but it is quite clear that what may have been acceptable at home, is not the case here." Kaze said as he was reminded of his failed attack on Xaldin back in Beast's castle. The man was completely ready for his attack and moved far faster to intercept him.

"Well, I've learned a few new spells. Still have to practice with them though." Sakura said with a bit more confidence than normal.

"The goat guy says I need to learn some 'special moves.' What does that even mean?" Takumi asked.

"It means, you're pretty predictable with your fighting." Phil said.

"What do you mean predictable?" Takumi demanded.

"Look kid. I'll admit that your bow looks rather impressive, and your skills with archery is incredible. Heck, you may even be better than Herc with a bow. But that bow is all you got. You need something more to back it up. The others have that. From a variety of magic spells to different techniques, or even a transformation in Corrin's case. All you can really do is shoot an arrow. You need some more style. You need some new techniques. You need a secret weapon to fall back on." Phil explained.

Takumi growled, but said nothing.

"I remember my first technique." Sora said. "On our first visit here, Cloud taught me the Sonic Blade attack."

"Yeah. And you worked tirelessly to master it." Corrin laughed.

"I remember when you first got that mask, you experimented and tired to see what else you could do with it than just your Dragon Fang attack." Sora said.

"I bet I have more attacks than my sister does." Corrin chuckled though Sakura and Kaze flinched at that comment which Corrin missed. Takumi only growled at the traitor's name.

"A-Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Takumi, isn't there something else you could use with the Fujin Yumi? I remember you used to train with…" Sakura began.

"I remember I wanted to learn that Aero spell. It can go well with my Fujin Yumi." Takumi interrupted.

The others minus Kaze were curious to what Sakura was about to say, but doubted that Takumi would tell them if he was that quick to shut it down.

"I've noticed that your Fujin Yumi doesn't seem to use arrows. Maybe we can work on something like that. Perhaps you can use it more than a simple bow. If possible, that would cover the weakness you have in your fighting." Phil offered.

"…Alright." Takumi agreed. With all the crazy and insane stuff he's seen since his kidnapping, maybe these "Special moves" could be ideal for helping him.

"Well now that everyone is eaten, let's take care of these plates and get back to work." Phil said.

"I think I'll hit the town for some more supplies." Meg said.

"Good idea." Phil agreed.

Little did anyone know; they were being watched from the shadows.

Everyone began to train like there was no tomorrow.

Donald and Sakura got to work on improving their magic.

"So, what have you learned?" Donald asked.

"W-Well, I found a set of spells that is supposed to protect from certain magic attacks." Sakura said.

"We have Reflect for that." Donald said.

"Y-Yes, but this lasts longer." Sakura argued.

"Okay fine. Anything else?" Donald asked.

"Y-Yeah. There is this spell called Esuna." Sakura said.

"WHAT?! ESUNA?!" Donald shouted.

"I-Is that bad?" Sakura cried out.

"Uh no, but I just remembered that I could never get that spell down back when I was learning magic. Thankfully, we never needed it yet." Donald said. "Well regardless, do you have any offensive moves?" Donald asked.

"S-So far, just the Pearl spell Queen Minnie showed me." Sakura admitted.

"Well let's work on that next. You need to have some more offensive spells. You can't just rely on defense." Donald said.

"R-Right." Sakura said.

With Kaze and Goofy:

"You know, I think I might have something that can help you two out." Phil said.

"What's that?" Kaze asked.

"Sword magic." Phil said.

"Sword magic? But I don't use a sword." Goofy said confused.

"No! That's just its name, but it could be used with any weapon. This spell invokes your weapon with magic like fire, thunder, or blizzard. Catch my drift?" Phil asked.

"So, you're saying that I can use this in place of magic?" Kaze asked.

"In some ways. You both interested?" Phil asked.

"Sure! I always felt a bit left out that out of the four of us, I couldn't use magic." Goofy admitted.

"If it will help in my mission, then I will be honored to learn it." Kaze agreed.

"Good. Now let's get to work." Phil said.

With Sora Corrin and Takumi:

"I didn't ask you to help me." Takumi growled.

"Yeesh sorry." Sora grumbled.

"What's your deal? I never did anything to you?" Corrin asked.

"Tch. Whatever." Takumi spat and stormed off.

"What's his problem?" Corrin asked.

Sora shrugged.

Days went on as the group continued to hone their skills. Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy felt themselves get more and more closer to the strength they had before they mysteriously went to sleep.

Sakura had practiced Pearl immensely to the point she was comfortable using it in battle.

Goofy and Kaze started to get the hang of Sword magic. At least the three basics of Fire, Ice, and Thunder.

Takumi's lessons with Sakura on Aero allowed him to create a new move that Sora ended up calling, the Tornado Shot. Takumi just ended up rolling with the name.

Still, Hades has been awfully quiet since Sora and co's little stunt in the Underworld and it was starting to get alarming. Hades never sent a monster to attack, and they never received a word of Hercules being attacked ether. It was starting to get worrisome.

With Meg:

Meg was heading back to the Colosseum with some herbs in hand. Hercules was apparently almost back from Olympus and these herbs could be used for some medicine to help him relax more.

As she walked though, a big hand came over her mouth causing her to drop the basket as another big hand grabbed her arms behind her back.

"Don't make a sound ya here?" Pete asked with a smirk on his face.

*Chomp! *

"OUCH!" Pete shouted in pain as Meg bite down on his hand covering her mouth allowing her to escape his grasp. "Why you little."

"Careful now. She's a feisty one." A familiar voice said as some smoke wrapped around her body forming into Hades. "Sorry sweety, but you'll be coming with me."

Back at the Colosseum:

"Alright. That will do for now." Phil said as everyone else fell to the ground tired.

"I thought I had tough training back home." Kaze commented as he panted.

"Yeah, but hopefully we can stand a better chance against Hades, the Organization, and that creep Vanitas." Sora said.

"Who?" Takumi asked.

"Long story." Sora said.

Just then Hercules arrived back, though he was looking rather concerned.

"Hey Champ! How was your visit back home?" Phil asked.

"Alright. Dad was telling me the same things Meg and Sakura were saying." Hercules chuckled lightly.

"Then take it to heart." Phil advised.

"So, about the Olympus stone?" Corrin asked.

Herc frowned. "Sorry guys, but apparently the Olympus stone was stolen."

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.

"Who stole from Mount Olympus?" Phil asked shocked.

"I'll bet it was Hades." Donald growled.

"That was my first guess, but he wasn't. From what I was told, the thief wore a black coat, and was accompanied by these white creatures." Hercules said.

"The Organization!" Sora gasped.

"I can't tell if that is better or worse." Corrin groaned.

"Sorry guys." Hercules apologized.

"It's not your fault." Goofy offered.

"But what are we going to do? You can't really mean to tackle the Underworld with protection again can do you?" Kaze asked.

"No. We'll have to find the Organization member that stole it." Sora said.

'Organization XIII. That's the group that Silas guy mentioned. Looks like I'll finally get to see what's so concerning about these guys.' Takumi thought.

"By the way, where's Meg?" Hercules asked looking around for said girl.

"She went out in town to get some supplies, but she should have been back by now." Phil said.

"I wonder what's taking her?" Sakura asked getting worried.

"Meg…" Hercules muttered.

"What's wrong your heroness? Feeling under the weather? I thought staying in shape was part of the hero's job description. You know what I'm saying." Hades said suddenly appearing behind Hercules surprising everyone.

"Hades!" Hercules growled.

"That's Hades?" Sakura gasped.

Takumi didn't waste a beat as he fired an arrow at Hades, who casually dodged it. "Watch it pineapple head. I'm not here for a fight." Hades warned.

Takumi growled. Why do people keep saying that about his hair?

"Hades! We need to talk!" Sora stated, but Hades just flicked him to the ground.

"I came to share a bit of mildly amusing news. Seems that your little nutmeg got herself lost deep in the Underworld." Hades said teleporting behind Hercules as Hercules was about to punch him.

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Hercules accused.

"Well, maybe…by why get caught up in the details?" Hades smirked.

Kaze tried to attack Hades, but he teleported to another area before Kaze's weapon could even connect with Hades's head.

Hercules gave out a whistle as a white horse with wings and a blue mane and tail flew down to the ground.

'There are Pegasus out here too?' Sakura gasped.

Hercules was about to get on when Hades spoke up.

"You can't leave right now. You have a big match today against…the bloodthirsty Hydra!" Hades smirked. "If you skip it, who knows what kind of accidents could happen?"

"Accidents YOU cause!" Corrin accused.

"Like I said. Details, who needs him?" Hades dismissed.

"Coward!" Hercules shouted.

"Oh well. Can't all be heroes." Hades shrugged as he teleported away.

"He's a slippery snake." Kaze spat.

"Tell me about it." Hercules groaned.

"You deal with the Hydra Herc. We'll save Meg." Sora assured.

"Are you sure?" Hercules asked concerned.

Sora nodded.

"Yeah because we're heroes too!" Donald declared.

"Junior Heroes Donald." Goofy reminded and Donald glared at him.

HEY GUYS!" Phil shouted running into the Stadium.

"Phil? When did you leave?" Corrin asked.

"Sorry. I saw someone shady and gave chase. He ran into the Underworld and I lost track of him. He was wearing a Black Coat. I think he was the one that stole the Olympus stone." Phil said.

"Great. Now we know where it is." Sora said.

"But that does mean we'll have to face the Underworld curse again." Corrin reminded.

"Well if we hurry, we can catch him before he goes too far." Sora said.

"You're right. Let's go!" Corrin said.

"We're going with you this time!" Sakura said determined.

"You'll need all the help you can get with this." Kaze said.

"Well, you guys did improve…all right." Corrin relented.

"Let's hurry!" Donald shouted as all but Hercules and Phil took off.

"Follow after them. If it looks too bad, get them out of there." Hercules ordered the Pegasus. The creature nodded and took off after the junior heroes and Hoshidans.

"I'll catch up as soon as I finish the Hydra!" Hercules shouted.

"Are you sure you're up for it champ?" Phil asked.

"I've gotten some rest and a break thanks to my trip. I should be fine." Hercules assured.

"If you say so." Phil said though he still was worried. Hades likely had more tricks behind it.

Chapter Text

The group arrived back in the Underworld and the first thing they noticed was the lack of green flames that once blocked a path.

"That path was block when we were here before, right?" Donald asked.

"Yeah. I'm willing to bet the Organization guy went that way." Sora said.

Corrin took a glance at the door that lead to Hades's chamber. The lock from before was back on the door.

"The path we used last time is locked and I don't think the Organization has a Keyblade. At least I hope they don't." Corrin said.

"So, then I guess we go this way." Kaze said pointing to the now unblocked path.

"Seems so, but we need to be careful. Until we can get the Olympus Stone back, we are at the mercy of the Underworld curse. And the further down we go, the worse the curse gets." Corrin said.

"T-Then we'd better hurry and get back the stone." Sakura said.

With that, the group headed inside the chamber along the now opened path.

The corridors were a small tunnel that just kept going deeper and deeper. They were lite up with some torches on the wall that had blue flames, and white little spirit balls were floating everywhere.

"Th-This place is rather spooky." Sakura muttered as she was shacking like a leaf.

"I know it's unsettling Lady Sakura, but we must hurry. I can already feel the effects of this place starting to take effect." Kaze said as they walked.

"I-I'll try." Sakura muttered. But she was slowing down out of fear.

Takumi reached out a hand to his little sister.

"If you want, you can hang onto me." Takumi offered.

Sakura immediately latched onto her brother's arm like it was a lifeline. Everyone minus Kaze just looked at Takumi a bit surprised.

"What?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Nothing. Anyway, how deep do you think these tunnels go?" Corrin asked changing the topic.

"Don't know. But more importantly, how far did that Organization guy go?" Donald asked.

"Good question." Kaze said.

"H-Hopefully not too far." Sakura said still clinging onto Takumi's arm.

"Don't worry Sakura. Just think of it as some scary house attraction at a theme park." Sora smiled.

"Th-Theme park?" Sakura asked confused.

"Like a big party with all kinds of attractions." Sora said smiling. "Don't you guys have anything like that back home?"

"We have festivals in Hoshido, but they usually don't have those attractions like you're talking about." Takumi said.

"I remember that one haunted house that I had to drag you out of once." Corrin smirked.

"Sh-Shut up!" Sora shouted embarrassed.

Corrin chuckled before turning to the group. "So, one time me, Sora, Kairi and Riku went into this haunted house attraction several years ago. Sora wanted to prove to Riku that he wasn't scared, and Kairi and I had nothing better to do. But Sora was already shacking like a leaf even at the entrance."

"YOU WERE SHACKING TOO!" Sora shouted.

"I was a bit." Corrin admitted. "But anyway, we were nearing the end when they had this big fake ghost or something pop out and surprise us. Me and Riku were a bit startled, but Kairi was freaking out and Sora had nearly passed out. I had to drag him out of the Haunted House after that."

Donald and Goofy were laughing, and Takumi was chuckling. Sakura just looked at Sora.

"A-Anyway, we should hurry." Sora said with his cheeks red with embarrassment trying to drop the subject.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." Corrin said.

'So even Sora can get scared?' Sakura thought. While she hasn't known Sora for long, he always seemed to have a smile on his rather brave face no matter what happened. But based on that story Corrin just said, Sora acted like she would act in that situation. Maybe hanging around with Sora would be beneficial to more than just finding a way back home.

As the group continued forward, their footsteps became a bit heavier.

"I'm starting to see what you mean by the curse getting stronger as we go further down." Kaze said as he was slightly panting.

"Hopefully the Organization guy that stole the Olympus Stone is a bit further ahead, or we might have to consider withdrawing." Corrin said.

"B-But what about Meg?" Sakura asked.

"We won't be of any help to her if we collapse before finding her." Takumi said.

Suddenly, an unknown voice was heard up ahead.

"Man. If this place wasn't so eerie, this would be a perfect place to slack off at." A voice said.

Hurrying towards it, they saw a man in a black coat talking to himself as he glanced at a golden round object in his hand.

"Why did they send me here? I told them I'm no good at fighting. Saix is such a jerk sometimes. And all this because I was kind of close to Roxas? Yeah. Compared to you Saix anyone but the boss was pretty close to Roxas." The man whined.

"This is a member of Organization XII?" Takumi asked flatly.

"Don't let this guy fool you Lord Takumi. I've felt first hand of their power. They are not to be underestimated." Kaze warned.

"Still, as long as I have this, I won't be affected by the Underworld curse." The man continued looking closely at the stone.

"The Olympus Stone!" Sora gasped as he ran forward. The man jumped at the sudden noise and stumbled to not drop the stone.

As soon as he caught it, he turned to face the group, though his eyes were mainly a Sora.

"Ah you!" The man said as he pulled off his hood. "Wait a second…Roxas?"

"Excuse me?" Sora asked confused.

"Hey Roxas! It's me Demyx! Remember? We went through that goat's grueling training together?" Demyx asked.

Sora was still confused.

"Ugh. It's no use." Demyx sighed as he pulled out a piece of paper. "Let's see…If the subject fails to respond. Use aggression to liberate his true disposition. I am totally not the guy for the job." He complained.

"Listen thief. I don't care about whatever this Roxas thing is about, but hand over the Olympus stone right now, or you're target practice." Takumi threatened raising his bow.

"Fine then." Demyx said as he raised his hand. Water began to gather into the form of a blue Guitar that Demyx began to play.

"Is that some kind of instrument?" Sakura asked confused.

Demyx began to strum some notes on his Sitar as water began to swirl around the group and take shape like Demyx.

"Guys, get ready!" Corrin warned as the group readied their weapons.

However, before Demyx could do anything, the water vanished and Demyx fell to his knees panting, dropping his Sitar.

"Wh-What the?" Demyx asked confused.

"So, this is the Olympus Stone." Kaze said from behind Demyx. Demyx turned and to his surprise, Kaze was standing behind him examining the Olympus Stone in his hands. Demyx quickly checked his pockets to find them empty.

"What the? How did you…Give that back you thief!" Demyx cried as he jumped towards Kaze, only for him to jump away and return to Sora and the others.

"You call me a thief, when you yourself stole this from Mount Olympus?" Kaze asked.

"Err…well…" Demyx stuttered.

"Well what now? You still want to fight?" Corrin asked readying his weapon.

"Ugh…I'm out of here." Demyx said summoning a Corridor of Darkness. Though before he left, he turned to Sora. "Please come back to us Roxas. We aren't mad."

Sora just looked confused, while Takumi started to fire arrows at him.

Demyx yelped and dove into the corridor closing it immediately.

"Looks like he got away." Takumi grunted as he turned to Sora and Corrin. "That was seriously a member of this Organization I've heard so much about?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are." Corrin admitted.

"Lord Takumi, it would be wise to still keep your guard up around them. I can't speak about for that man, but before you joined us we met another man from Organization XIII named Xaldin that completely blocked my sneak attack on him with ease. There are some powerful members in the Organization that warrants Silas's concerns." Kaze said.

"He blocked your attack?" Takumi asked surprised.

"H-He also sounded like he knew a lot about Hoshido." Sakura said.

That also surprised Takumi.

"Well, this is interesting and all, but we should probably save this conversation till later. We do need to rescue Meg after all." Corrin said.

"You're right." Sakura admitted.

Kaze handed the stone to Corrin. Corrin lifted the stone in his hand, as a bright light covered the world jumpers' bodies. Once the light died down, the effects of the curse were completely gone.

"Now THAT feels much better." Donald said relieved.

"Yeah. It feels great not having to worry about our strengths being drained." Sora said.

"Still, we can't get too comfortable. Who knows what Hades has waiting for us up ahead?" Corrin said.

The others nodded and continued down the corridor deeper into the Underworld.

Back at the Colosseum:

Hercules faced off against the dreaded Hydra.

The creature itself was a massive reptilian creature with a bulky body, sharp claws, a long tail, and a long serpent like neck. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth under its orange eyes and the back of its head had darker purple spikes that ran down its neck.

The Hydra lunged its head at Hercules trying to take a bite out of the Demi God, but Hercules knocked it back with his sword. The monster lunged again at Hercules, but Hercules dodged the attack and slammed his sword into the monster's head. The Hydra cries in pain as it wobbles and falls over seemingly dead.

"HERCULES! HERCULES! HERCULES!" The audience cheered as Herc waved to the people as he stepped closer and closer to the entrance.

"Thanks! Thank you! Hope you enjoyed it!" Hercules said as he bolted out of the Colosseum and towards the Underworld.

"I hope I'm not too late." Hercules said as he ran.

What he didn't know was that after he had left, the Hydra started to twitch.

Back in the Underworld:

Sora and co arrived in a more open room with a massive rock in the center with a black pillar behind it.

On the rock's surface was what looked like Meg wrapped around a lock that glowed in the center.

"That must be where Meg is." Sora said as he summoned Oathkeeper and pointed it at the Keyhole. A beam of light shot from the Keyblade and the lock, along with the stone vanished. The Black pillar was also replaced by a green light.

"I'm starting to get concerned. We didn't run into any Heartless yet." Kaze said.

"That's a good point. Earlier would have been an ideal time to attack us since we were being drained constantly by the Underworld curse, but not a single one showed up." Corrin realized.

"So what do you think it means?" Donald asked.

"If I were to guess, I'd say that Hades has something planned for us up ahead." Corrin guessed. "We'd best be ready for anything."

Everyone nodded as they stepped through the light.

The group found themselves in a small open room where Hades stood before them with Meg at his side, all tied up in chains.

"Now THAT'S what I call a key." Hades smirked. "Thanks for all of your help…Now have a nice day." With that, Hades just teleported away.

"What was that all about?" Corrin asked confused.

Sora shrugged as he and Sakura ran over to Meg.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked.

"Are you hurt?" Sakura asked.

"I'm fine. Sorry to make you worry." Meg smiled.

"It's fine. Let's just get you out of here." Sora said but Meg's eyes widened.

"Behind you!" Meg suddenly cried out.

Everyone turned around to see Pete with a group of Hook Bat Heartless at the entrance.

"You bozos walked right into my trap! Once I finish with you punks, Maleficent will see her mistakes in firing me and it will be too late!" Pete laughed.

"Fired? You mean she just NOW realized that you're an oaf?" Donald mocked.

"Can it duck boy! Just for that, I'm taking you two bozos out first. What better way to get back at those punks Mickey and Minnie than to present your beaten forms before them?" Pete growled.

"I'd like to see you try you big palooka!" Donald growled before turning to Sora and Corrin. "Goofy and I will deal with this bozo. You keep Meg safe."

"All by yourselves?" Corrin asked concerned.

"We'll be fine. Like we told you before, Pete's been causing problems for ages. Donald and I are familiar with him." Goofy assured.

"Well, if you think you're up for it, then go for it!" Sora said and the two residents of Disney Castle nodded.

Donald and Goofy readied their weapons to face off against Pete.

"You bozos forget where you are? I got Hades protecting me from the Underworld's curse, while you two nimrods got nothing!" Pete mocked.

"Shows how little you know." Donald smirked.

Goofy charged at Pete with his shield for his Goofy bash that knocked Pete back and Donald unleashed a mighty Thundara spell on him.

"Ouch." Pete groaned.

"We've got protection from the Underworld as well." Donald smirked.

"Oh yeah? Then fine! I'll do this the old fashion way." Pete growled as he got into position.

"Let's get him Goofy!" Donald declared as the two prepared for battle.

Pete tossed a bunch of mini bombs into the air towards the two, but Goofy covered Donald with his shield protecting them both from the explosions.

"Got ya now!" Pete laughed as he tossed a larger bomb like a bowling ball at the two.

"Fore!" Donald shouted as he swung his staff like a golf club and knocked the bomb back right at Pete exploding right in his face.

Pete fell off his feet in a daze as stars swirled around his head.

"Still sticking to the old bomb tricks? We know how you fight. You can't beat us." Donald scoffed.

"Shows how little YOU know. I've picked up a few tricks since I was banished." Pete said as he raised his arms.

"D-Thundaga!" Pete shouted as his body vanished and a ball of Thunder magic appeared floating above.

"D-Thundaga? Goofy, watch out!" Donald warned as the ball hovered over Goofy.

*ZAP!*

"Gawrsh…" Goofy groaned covered in soot and in a daze.

"Cura!" Donald shouted healing Goofy.

"Thanks Donald!" Goofy said as the two ran away from Pete's thunder form.

"Don't worry. The spell only lasts a few seconds. Just keep your distance." Donald said.

Sure enough, the spell ended and Pete was back to normal.

"Now let's get him!" Donald declared charging up a fire spell.

Meanwhile with the others:

The Hook Bats started swarming the others as they provided a protective circle around Meg, striking any that came too close. Kaze had tried the Thunder Sword magic spell as his weapons were now covered in lightning as he attacked.

"There's too many of them." Sora said attacking another Hook Bat.

Just then, Hercules arrived, knocking a group of Hook Bats away, along with his Pegasus that tackled some Heartless.

"Sorry I'm late." Hercules arrived.

"You made it." Sora cheered as he sliced off the chains binding Meg and she got on the Pegasus.

Just then, the cave suddenly started to shake.

"We should get out of here. Now!" Kaze said.

"I'll clear a path." Takumi said as he faced another group of Hook Bats blocking the entrance.

Takumi jumped into the air and shot an arrow towards the ground.

"Tornado Shot!" Takumi shouted.

The arrow, covered in Aero magic summoned a tornado of green energy that destroyed the group of Heartless, clearing the path.

"Looks like all that training was worth it." Takumi smirked.

"Donald, Goofy, we need to get out of here!" Corrin shouted.

Donald and Goofy stood over the beaten Pete.

"How did I lose?" Pete cried in pain.

"Did you really think one new magic trick would help you win against someone who's been studying magic for years?" Donald asked flatly.

"What happened to ya Pete? You were always a jerk, but not this bad. Don't you remember our times in school together?" Goofy asked sadly.

"I remember a certain idiot kicking me in the face causing us to lose the big Football game and the coach calling me Putty Fingers Pete!" Pete growled as he slowly got up. "But this is far from over." Pete then vanished in a puff of smoke.

The cave's shacking got worse.

"Hurry!" Hercules shouted as the group fled.

Back at the entrance:

"Thanks for helping me back there…All of you." Meg said getting off the Pegasus.

"I'm just glad you're safe." Hercules said with a small blush on his face.

"Never be in danger while you're around." Meg joked.

"Ugh. Your little lover talk is sickening." Hades groaned as he approached the group from behind. "By the way 'Hero,' you really blew it this time."

"No one like's a sore loser Hades." Sora mocked.

"Can it Keyboy." Hades spat.

"Then allow me." Hercules said approaching the God. "No one like's a sore loser Hades."

"Yeah, yeah. Styx and Stones." Hades dismissed. "But instead of talking to me, maybe you should go check on that Hydra you neglected to finish off. Things are really falling apart up there."

"What? I know I killed that thing!" Hercules argued.

"CHAMP!" Phil shouted running towards everyone. "The Hydra! It's destroying everything!"

"WHAT?!" Hercules shouted as he bolted towards the Colosseum.

"As much as I would love to see this, I have other things I have to deal with. So, I will abide you all a do." Hades said as he vanished.

"We better go check on Hercules." Sora said.

"Be careful. That Hydra is no ordinary monster." Phil warned as the group headed towards the Colosseum.

Chapter Text

What was once an arena for heroes to prove their strength against each other, was now nothing more than a pile of rubble as the Hydra stood on top of it. People were screaming and running for their lives as Hercules fell to his knees in utter despair.

"Champ!" Phil shouted in concern as he, Meg, and the Pegasus ran to the Demi God's side.

"Are you okay?" Phil asked in concern.

"This is all my fault. I failed." Hercules said depressed.

"It's not your fault." Meg said.

"I left everyone unprotected. Hades was right. I'm a…a washout." Hercules cried.

"Come on Champ. I didn't train you to think like that." Phil said.

"Phil's right. This isn't the time to beat yourself up." Sora said running up to the down hero, but Hercules's color faded to a duller color. His god aura was completely gone.

Before Sora, Meg, or Phil could say anything more, a piece of debris went flying nearby reminding them of the Hydra's presents.

"Herc needs help!" Donald shouted.

"Get him out of here!" Corrin told Meg. Meg nodded and helped Hercules to his feet and guided him away from the battle.

"Now let's deal with this thing!" Sora declared.

"We'll help too!" Phil declared. Meg nodded having dropped Hercules off at a safe spot, as did Herc's Pegasus that did some kung-fu moves.

Takumi, Sakura, and Kaze stared blankly at that.

"Things certainly aren't like at home around here." Takumi commented as the other two just nodded.

The Hydra let out a roar as the group readied for battle.

The Hydra reeled its head back and unleashed multiple balls of dark energy on the group. Meg immediately ran towards where the backroom of the Colosseum once was trying to look for something to be of help. The Pegasus flew up into the sky while Phil ran past the Hydra to where his training grounds once was.

Sora and co avoided the attacks as the Hydra lunged its head at them. Sora whacked it with his Keyblade causing it to reel back in pain.

The Hydra let out a roar as blue lightning spells rained down on the battle field. One of them hit Corrin.

"Gah" Corrin cried in pain.

"CORRIN!" Sakura shouted as she ran over to her older brother. "Heal!"

Sakura castes a green light that healed Corrin of his injuries as he stood up.

"Thanks Sakura." Corrin smiled as he turned to the Hydra summoning his mask. "Hydro Shot!"

Corrin fired a blast of water at the monster causing it to stumble.

Takumi then shot an arrow right into the creature's eye causing it to scream in pain.

"Sora now!" Corrin shouted.

"Right." Sora said switching to Oblivion.

Both Sora and Corrin jumped into the air and slashed down on the monster in a cross slash cutting the head clean off its body.

The head fell to the ground as it denigrated and the body slumped to the ground with what was left of the neck sticking downward into the ground.

"I think that did it." Sora said sighing in relief.

Suddenly, the ground started to shack.

"Spoke too soon." Donald cried.

Just then, three Hydra heads popped out of the ground.

"Seriously?" Takumi cried.

"Now what?" Sora asked.

"SORA!" Phil shouted. Sora turned to see Phil standing on top of some rubble with a massive golden jar in his hands. "GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!"

Sora did as he was told as Phil tossed the pot into the air. Sora caught onto what Phil was doing and jumped up to smack the Jar right onto the Hydra's back where he was once standing.

The Hydra collapsed down as all three heads were suddenly in a daze from the attack.

"Now's our chance!" Corrin cried out.

Takumi went for one head, Goofy went for another, while Sakura and Kaze went for the last one.

"Pearl!" Sakura shouted as she fired a ball of light at the head. Kaze finished it off with a slash from his Shiruken that were infused with Fire Magic.

"Excellent work Lady Sakura." Kaze praised.

Sakura blushed. "I-It's nothing."

Goofy used Blizzard Sword magic to enhance his shield with ice causing the neck to freeze when it was struck by the shield. Goofy then charged with his Goofy Bash attack destroying the head.

Takumi charged an arrow embedded with Aero magic and cut clean through the neck.

"Now that should do it." Takumi said.

However, the Hydra's head suddenly shot up revealing multiple heads on its body.

"CAN WE TRY SOMETHING OTHER THAN HEAD CHOPPING?!" Donald shouted.

"I don't see you doing anything!" Takumi retorted.

The Hydra unleashed a barrage of Lightning down on the group that did their best to dodge them.

"I don't get it! How can it recover from that?" Sora asked.

"I don't know, It's like a Lizard's tail. It just grows back, but with more than before." Corrin said.

"So what do we do to beat this thing?" Sora asked.

"Right now, avoid getting killed!" Corrin cried out as he dodged another lightning blast.

Sakura on the other hand, was getting carried by Kaze as he dodged the oncoming lightning. He could see that Takumi and Corrin were doing just fine, at least for now.

'There has to be something I can do about that lightning…Wait I know!' Sakura thought as she raised her staff. "NULSHOCK!"

A yellow light engulfed the party just as Goofy was about to get struck by lightning. The attack still hurt, but only a little to almost not at all much to everyone's surprise.

"Sakura…what was that?" Corrin asked surprised.

"I-I'll explain later. This spell won't last for long though." Sakura warned.

The heads, seeing that the lightning wasn't much help decided to shoot more dark spheres and slam down on the party.

"We aren't going to get anywhere if we stay on the defense." Corrin said dodging another head slamming into him trying to take a bite.

Just then, the Pegasus flew down.

"The Pegasus…I'll try to get it's attention. Corrin, I'm counting on you to think of something." Sora said as he jumped onto of the Pegasus and took off.

The Pegasus flew around the heads as Sora started to whack them with his Keyblade which ended up getting the monster's attention.

The three Hoshidans were rather shocked at this.

"W-Wow. Sora's really good at riding." Sakura said surprised.

"As he had experience with this?" Kaze asked.

"On a winged horse? No." Corrin said approaching the ninja as everyone else regrouped and Sakura put up another Nulshock.

Takumi grew angrier. 'It took me months to even stay on a Pegasus and he just rides it like a pro right at the start? Not even Hinoka could do that.' Takumi growled. Granted there were other reasons why his older sister struggled at first with a Pegasus, but still…

"More importantly, we need to find a way to get rid of this thing for good. We cut off its head and it just grows back. Does that mean the rest of its body can do that?" Corrin asked.

"Well, what if we blast it really hard with something? Would that work?" Goofy asked.

"Blast it with what? We don't have something strong enough to do that. My strongest magic attack Fantasia doesn't pack the amount of firepower that you're taking about." Donald said.

'Though there is that other spell I have, but King Mickey made me promise to never use it unless as a final resort. Does this count?' Donald wondered. There was a spell he learned back when he was studying magic. It was incredibly powerful and could easily reduce this monster to nothing…But the cost of that spell could end Donald's life in the process and everyone back home was really against him using it. Which is why even Goofy didn't bring it up when Donald asked that question. 'Though, I might be able to use this one.'

"I do have a spell that I don't use all that often. It's called Flare. Maybe that could work." Donald said.

"I-I'll help! Pearl may not be strong enough on its own, but it might be some assistance." Sakura said.

Corrin nodded. "Every bit helps. I'll blast it with my Hydro Blast in my fire form as well." Corrin then turned into his fire dragon form and started to gather power.

Takumi nodded as he readied an arrow that was charging with Aero magic.

"Sora! We need you to wound the Hydra!" Kaze called out.

"Got it!" Sora shouted back. "Let's do this…WISDOM!"

In a flash of light, Sora's clothing had changed to a blue color scheme as opposed to his red in Valor.

"Fire!" Sora shouted as he launched a multitude of fireballs at each of the Hydra's head.

"Okay. Now to finish this." Sora said as he jumped off of the Pegasus and changed into his Valor form.

"TAKE THIS!" Sora shouted and with a charge, he sliced off every head of the Hydra in one attack much to Goofy and Kaze's surprise.

'Wow! Where did that come from?' Sora asked surprised. Unknown to him, some dark energy was appearing on his hand, though it vanished when Sora went back to normal and glided out of the way.

"ATTACK!" Donald shouted as he, Corrin, Sakura, and Takumi blasted the Hydra where its heads were about to grow back.

The creature stumbled back to the back wall of the Colosseum that was still standing. Though, when the Hydra hit it, it crumbled on top of the creature.

Finally, it was dead.

A few moments later:

"And so, in light of your valor in the face of danger, I hereby dub thy Junior Heroes." Phil read the same scroll he read to Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy last year. Though this time, he read it to Sakura, Kaze, and Takumi.

"Junior heroes?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Just beating a monster doesn't automatically make you a full-blown hero. But you're on your way there. Maybe some day you'll make it…Like these four." Phil said pointing to Sora and co off to the side. "Then again, maybe Junior is your limit."

"We'll make it! All of us will!" Sora declared.

"Well, I look forward to see you prove that to me." Phil said.

"Still, a pity about the Colosseum." Corrin said sadly.

"It's just a building. I'll get it fixed up sooner or later. Though my main concern is…" Phil said motioning to Hercules who was sitting in a corner with Meg by his side.

"This is all my fault." Herc muttered. "I let you all down. I'm just…no use."

"Herc." Sora muttered worried.

"Hey don't beat yourself up. I bet even a God can get exhausted." Meg assured.

"Just get yourself some rest." Sakura instructed.

"At least there won't be any games for a while to give you that rest." Takumi pointed out.

"They're right. Give yourself some rest." Sora said.

"I guess we better get going." Corrin said.

"True. We still have a lot of work ahead of us." Donald said.

"B-But what about Herc?" Sakura asked. She wasn't too keen leaving Hercules like this.

"I can handle it from here. Like your brother said, there won't be any games for a while." Meg said.

"I-If you say so." Sakura said.

"Thank you guys, for everything." Meg said.

"No problem! That's what Heroes are for!" Donald declared.

"Don't you mean Junior Heroes Donald?" Goofy asked and Donald growled.

"Phil?" Sora asked.

"Huh? Oh! Well don't be strangers. Stay a little longer next time. We have a lot to catch up with training." Phil said.

"But the Colosseum." Corrin pointed out.

"When I went to grab that jar, I noticed that a lot of my equipment was thankfully undamaged. I can still do training if you need it." Phil said.

"We'll remember that." Corrin smiled as he reached into his pocket. "By the way, here's the Olympus Stone."

Herc slowly got up to take it, but the stone started to glow.

Sora took out his Keyblade and unlocked the gate that was revealed. With that taken care off, the group was heading out to a new adventure.

Back on the ship:

"Man, that was something." Takumi sighed as he sat down in a seat within the Gummi Ship cockpit.

"Yeah, but at least you managed to develop a new skill." Sora pointed out.

Takumi said nothing.

"B-By the way Sora, how did you managed to ride that Pegasus so well? Do they have Pegasus were you're from?" Sakura asked.

"Nope. That was my first-time riding something like that." Sora admitted.

"Really? But you rode it so well. Even the best of our Pegasus riders in Hoshido didn't do that so fast." Kaze said.

"Maybe it was the Pegasus." Sora shrugged.

"Maybe…" Sakura muttered. She did have to admit that that may be possible…That Pegasus was certainly different from those back home. She then remembered the Pegasus doing some kind of kung-fu moves before they battled the Hydra.

"So, there are Pegasus back in Hoshido?" Corrin asked.

"Oh yes. My retainer Subaki and our older sister Hinoka ride them." Sakura said happily.

"Pegasus are quite common in Hoshido." Kaze said.

"Do you guys ride one?" Corrin asked.

"Me and Takumi have, as well as Ryoma and Azura. Though Hinoka is the only one that rides them into battle." Sakura said.

Takumi said nothing. He just got up and left.

"What's his problem?" Donald asked annoyed.

"I-I don't know." Sakura said worried.

"Well, on another note, you did pretty well Sakura." Donald praised.

Sakura blushed embarrassed. "I-It was nothing."

"Nonsense. You've gotten better at magic. Maybe soon, you'll be better than Donald." Sora teased.

"Hey! Don't get ahead of ourselves." Donald shouted as Sora laughed.

"But anyway, I want to learn that Flare spell Donald." Sora said. "Being in that Wisdom Form makes me really want to improve my magic."

"Same here. Sora and I have relied a little too much on physical power, we should learn some more magic." Corrin added.

"We'll see if you two have what it takes later. Right now, I need a nap." Donald said heading towards his room.

"Good point. Remember what Phil said. 'Eat, Bathe, Sleep.'" Sora said.

"Now if only he could learn how to count." Corrin laughed as the two headed towards their room.

"If you don't need anything, I shall retire as well Lady Sakura." Kaze said.

"Th-That's fine. Go ahead Kaze." Sakura said and Kaze vanished.

"Go get some sleep too Sakura. You'll need it." Goofy instructed.

"Wh-What about you?" Sakura asked.

"I just need to check the course, and I'll get some rest as well. Don't you worry." Goofy assured.

"O-Okay. But don't overwork yourself." Sakura said as her face shifted to a glare. "Or you'll see how I got Hercules to sleep."

Goofy just nodded rather nervously.

"Good." Sakura smiled before heading to her room.

"Boy…To think that it feels like yesterday Donald and I went off to search for the Keybarer and find the King. Now we've almost doubled that party." Goofy said. Though his thoughts drifted to Pete. "Looking back on things, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he turned out this way. But I wonder...is the old Pete even still in there? Or was he ever there to begin with?"

Goofy sighed as he got up and headed to bed.

With Pete:

"What do you mean it's not ready?" Pete demanded.

"This place has been locked for a very long time. I have to get the place cleaned up and then I need to chose my champion. The location alone isn't enough to crush Hercules." Hades said as he was examining his newly opened Underdome.

Pete groaned. "Well, then I guess I'm out of here. I need to build my own army of Heartless after all." If Hercules wasn't going to be a Heartless now, then there was no point to staying.

"Fine, whatever. Bye." Hades said not caring at all. He really didn't have any use for Pete, so it was no deal if he left or not.

Pete growled. "I'll show everyone."

With that, Pete opened a Corridor of Darkness and left.

Chapter Text

The streets of Twilight Town were rather empty today. School had started back up again around here as summer was finally over. Kids were in school and adults were working. As a result, Riku was able to be out more in daylight than normal.

Currently, Riku was sitting on a bench on the Sunset hill looking over the Town of Twilight.

"I wonder. If Roxas were still around would he enjoy school, or would he find it boring?" Riku asked chuckling a bit sadly at that last part as he tried to imagine Roxas acting like Sora did in school back on the islands. They may be different in many ways, but they were still similar in many ways as well.

Sora…

"But I thought you liked playing games Sora. Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

"Then you leave me no choice. I'll save Kairi on my own. You two can go have fun playing Heartless Slayer."

"Are those two really important to you two? More important than old friends?"

"You were just the Delivery Boy."

How much Riku wanted to go back in time and slap his past self for what he did. He had faced jealousy in the past, mainly with Corrin as he and Sora were practically brothers before he showed up, but he never hated him. Though he wouldn't be surprised if Corrin hated him now.

Riku got up and took a walk. Heading down the hill, he noticed a mini waterfall-like fountain. He stood in front of it as he lifted his hood…

And he HATED what he saw.

Ansem…The man that took over his body. The man he LET take over his body thanks to stupidly believing Maleficent's lies.

And now he looked just like him.

Riku punched through the waterfall in sheer frustration.

He knew that this was his fate. Back when he fought with Roxas. Roxas was growing far stronger than Riku originally thought with him somehow obtaining a second Keyblade. Namine warned him what would happen if he unleashed his full power again, but he knew that if he didn't, he would have lost, and Roxas would have fallen into the Organization's claws once again.

And now he was alone. Like he honestly wanted.

DIZ had left the soon after Sora had awoken. Where he is now, Riku didn't know and honestly didn't care. He only helped him to awaken Sora and Corrin. Now that they were awake, they parted ways.

Namine had fled after Riku let her go. He didn't know where she went, but he hopes that she's safe, wherever she ran off to.

King Mickey was who knows where. That guy never sits still for long.

Silas should still be on his Home world, though Riku wondered if he was still doing DIZ's mission. He'd go check, but he wasn't sure where his home world is. And even then, Riku didn't want Silas to see him like this.

"I know you could have helped but…This was my burden to bear. I'm the one who fell to darkness. I'm the one who had to stay on the other side of that door. I'm the reason Sora and Corrin decided to go to Castle Oblivion and get their memories screwed up. I'm the reason they missed an entire year of their lives." Riku muttered to himself remembering Silas's last words before he left.

"If you need any help, tell me. Don't feel like you need to do everything on your own. Like I said before, you're my friend too."

Well, any regret or curiosity of what would have happened if he was there to fight Roxas was pointless now. Riku made his choice. Roxas was gone, and so was his old self. Like Namine warned him, if he were to unleash it again he would never be able to turn back. He would forever be Ansem.

Riku decided to leave before school let out, and someone saw him.

As he walked, a voice could be heard.

"…qu…ntu…"

"Who's there?" Riku demanded as he summoned his Soul Eater.

"…qu…ntu…"

Riku looked around, but no one was there.

Also, that voice sounded a bit familiar.

"Aqua…Ventus" The voice said clearer this time.

"Who is saying that? Who is Aqua and Ventus? Where are you?" Riku asked.

"I wish…to set this right…Like you I wish to set things right…" The voice said.

"Who…Who is saying that?" Riku asked though the voice seemed to vanish.

Riku shrugged as he opened a Corridor of Darkness and left. Still, he couldn't help but feel that the voice was awfully familiar.

Hoshido:

Pain…That was all he felt.

Sitting in his chambers, the High Prince of Hoshido was sitting in silence as he thought about all that had happened up to this point.

First, it started back roughly around 10 years ago. His father had brought him, Corrin, and Kamui with him to a meeting in Chives with the King of Nohr Garon to discuss something. Whatever it was didn't matter though. All that happened was Garon ambushed them and murdered their father in cold blood. Then to make matters worse, took Corrin and Kamui away from him.

They had tried tirelessly to get them back, but to no avail. Then Yukimura came up with and idea that he performed on his own of kidnapping Azura from Nohr for a hostage exchange…It didn't work.

Despite his demeanor, Ryoma was just as worried about the twins as the others were, but he tried to keep a strong face…despite having moments where he wanted to barrow a page from Hinoka and storm Nohr on his own to get the two back.

Then as if a miracle happened, Kamui returned to them. While she sadly remembered nothing of her time before the kidnapping, but as time went on, she had warmed up to him, Hinoka, Sakura, and Lady Mikoto. Even Azura.

Only Takumi wasn't warming up to her and harbored suspicions on her sudden return…and thinking back, he might have been right.

Kamui's sword that was given to her by Garon exploded, killing many Hoshidan citizens, along with Queen Mikoto herself.

This then followed up by Kamui stabbing them in the back by rejoining Nohr, and assisting to threaten the lives of his siblings along with Yukimura if Ryoma didn't back down.

Now they were at war with Nohr, and things have gone from bad to worse.

First, some Hoshidans kidnapped Azura and took her away. Sakura and Kaze had apparently given chase.

Then they were ambushed by those shadow creatures Ryoma heard Silas talk about. Some of the kidnappers were brought back by Saizo and Kagero, but Azura, Kaze, and Sakura were missing with only Sakura's broken staff found.

In an act of rage, Ryoma executed the kidnappers himself for their treason. The others could only look on in shock at how quickly Ryoma acted.

Then Takumi goes missing.He was retreating from a defeat at the hands of Kamui in Dia, but at some point, he got separated from his retainers and the rest of his soldiers. There was no trace of him to be found. Same with the Fujin Yumi.

His retainers Oboro and Hinata teamed up with Sakura's retainers Hana and Subaki to go and look for them, but so far, they had no luck.

It was becoming more and more apparent that this was all an act from Nohr. Hoshidan scouts have indicated that those shadow creatures seem to be coming from Nohr. Seems that Nohr found something new to summon than just Faceless.

But that left Ryoma stumped at what was he going to do next to stop this growing madness?

"Like I've been telling you. She was plotting the whole thing from the start. Yet you still wish to capture her alive?" A voice said.

Ryoma turned his head slightly to the sight of a man dressed in a Black Coat. He wasn't Silas, that was for sure. In fact, Silas has been missing since the incident at the capital. Where was he anyway?

"I refuse to believe it. I will return my sister home." Ryoma stated, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than the stranger.

"Really now? Look at what has happened. Because of her, you lost your mother, your sister, your brother, and soon, your girlfriend." The stranger said.

"What do you mean?" Ryoma demanded.

"I'm saying that word has it that the King is sending an army to Cheve. If you don't act soon, your girlfriend will die by her hands." The stranger said.

"Scarlet is strong. She won't fall that easily." Ryoma said firmly, ignoring the girlfriend remark.

"If you say so." The stranger shrugged.

"More importantly, why have you come here? And how did you get in here?" Ryoma demanded with his hand on his sword ready to strike.

"I'm just a friend wanting to help. Don't you want to be free of this pain?" The man said.

Ryoma was silent for a moment before answering. "I have no time for games. State your business and leave or else."

"Fine. I'll leave. Good luck prince Ryoma." The stranger said as he vanished though a corridor of darkness.

As he did, Yukimura ran into the room.

"We've received word that King Garon is planning to send reinforcements to quell the rebellion in Cheve. Reports indicate that Princess Kamui is leading the charge." The tactician said. Ryoma was surprised. That hooded man was right on that regard.

"Then I shall head out." Ryoma said getting up and heading out the room.

"Brother wait! Let me go with you!" Hinoka said running up to her remaining sibling.

Ryoma shook his head. "You haven't fully recovered from your fight with Kamui back at the Sevenfold Sanctuary. Besides, one of us needs to stay behind to keep our people safe. Especially with all the Shadow creatures running about."

"All the more reason to go! Corrin, Kamui, Takumi, and Sakura...We've lost them. We...I can't lose you as well!" Hinoka demanded. Tears were actually threatening to spill from the usually headstrong princess.

"I will be alright Hinoka. I have received the blessing of the Rainbow Sage. I am much stronger now as a result. I will head out to assist the Cheves rebels and bring Kamui back." Ryoma assured.

Hinoka couldn't say anything but nod slowly as Ryoma headed out.

"Stay safe…" Hinoka whispered as Yukimura tried to comfort her.

Nohr:

"Why have you not left yet Kamui?" Garon demanded to his "Adopted" daughter as the Nohrian Royal Family stood before him in his throne room with Iago at his side.

"Father, will all due respect, perhaps I should go instead. Those Shadow creatures are coming out more and more each day. It would be much safer if I lead the assault. I can handle it!" Xander pleaded.

"You cannot baby her Xander." Garon snapped making Xander flinch. "Besides, I have another job for you anyway."

"But father." Xander began.

"She should be fine. She managed to kill the Rainbow Sage and destroyed the Ice Tribe so far." Iago said.

Kamui flinched at that last part. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but when she and Elise returned from quell the Ice Tribe rebellion, King Garon was incredibly pleased with her for the destruction of the Ice Tribe. Kamui just rolled with it for the time, but Leo quickly rode off to check on the Ice Tribe. When he returned, he reported that the entire village had been destroyed. None of the tribe was found. Not even a corpse. Kamui wasn't sure what happened, but one thing was certain.

The Ice Tribe was destroyed. And she was credited for it.

Along with the Ice Tribe, Kamui also lost a second retainer in Flora as she was with her tribe when she last saw them. However, anything Kamui was feeling was nothing compared to what Felicia was feeling. Flora was her twin sister. And now, she was gone along with her father and the rest of her tribe. Felicia was the last of the Ice Tribe.

"Speaking of those Shadow creatures, any luck finding out where they came from?" Iago asked Leo.

"No. They seem to be coming from somewhere nearby according to rumors, but I haven't been able to pinpoint a source yet." Leo said annoyed at his lack of progress.

"It matters not. They've been about as much of a problem as a stray Faceless. For now, we continue with the invasion. Understood?" Garon declared.

The children reluctantly nodded.

"Then move out." Garon ordered.

With that, Xander, Camellia, Leo, Elise, and Kamui left the throne room to complete their jobs.

Chapter Text

Everyone was relaxing within the Gummi Ship while on their way to the next world.

Kaze was meditating, Takumi was looking through some of the books that Donald and Goofy kept on the ship, Sakura was reading her magic book for more spells, Sora and Corrin were snoozing lightly, Goofy was polishing his shield, and Donald was flying the ship. Though he kept eyeing the glass in front of him with caution.

"What's the matter Donald?" Goofy asked.

"I'm just waiting. I know Cid is about to pop up on the screen and block my vision like he did last year." Donald said.

"It's not like you ever crashed." Corrin said waking up.

"No, that was your brother." Donald said flatly.

"Hey, it was my first time!" Sora cried.

"And your last!" Donald said and Sora pouted.

"Anyway, it is kind of odd we haven't heard from Cid yet." Corrin said.

"Yeah. He called us quite frequently in our last adventure." Goofy said.

"And this Cid person is?" Takumi asked.

"He's a Gummi ship engineer and a friend of ours. Along with Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Merlin." Corrin said.

"I've met them. They're really nice. Aerith even gave me this book." Sakura said showing Takumi her book.

"They helped us out after we were saved from the Heartless by Silas." Kaze said.

"Still, wonder why they haven't called." Sora wondered.

"They're probably busy with fixing Hollow Bastion. Plus, one of the reason Cid called was to retrieve those Ansem Reports." Corrin said.

"True." Sora admitted.

"Ansem?" The Hoshidans asked.

"Oh right. You see, Ansem was a researcher who studied the Heartless. He was also kind of a ruler to Hollow Bastion where Cid and the others are from. However, in his studies of the Heart and the Heartless, he was consumed by them and became a Heartless himself which lead to Hollow Bastion's destruction. We beat his Heartless a year ago after he stole our friend Riku from us. Now Leon and the others are trying to fix their home." Corrin explained.

"I can't believe their ruler would allow that to happen." Sakura muttered in shock.

"Rulers are supposed to protect the people, not endanger them." Takumi growled.

"Well, Ansem is gone now, so nothing to be done about it." Corrin said.

"You know, if this Ansem person became a Heartless, do you think he made a Nobody?" Kaze asked.

That got everyone thinking.

"You know, he definitely could have. If he was strong able to regain his human form after becoming a Heartless, then maybe he did create a Nobody." Corrin said. Even if it was thanks to stealing Riku's body, he didn't turn mindless like other Heartless were.

"How much you want to bet he's a part of that Organization XIII group?" Donald asked.

"That's a strong possibility." Corrin admitted.

Just then, the alarm went off.

"Looks like the next world is approaching." Donald said.

Everyone got up and looked at the monitor of the new world.

"Doesn't look like one we've been to before." Sora said.

"Well, it's our next stop regardless, so get ready to disembark." Donald said.

The group had found themselves on a pathway that lead up to a hill where a village was built. The houses were placed all along the hill with one at the very top.

"This place looked nice. Kind of reminds me back home except that it's a hill instead of an island." Sora said looking around.

"Hoshido is also located on a hill, though this isn't as big." Sakura commented.

"Regardless, this place definitely doesn't look like any of the worlds we visited last year." Corrin said.

"So, this is a new world? Oh boy!" Goofy said excited.

"Why are you excited?" Donald asked.

"Well, isn't it exciting to see new places?" Goofy asked.

"I expected something like that from Sora. Not you." Donald said annoyed.

"It looks like it's getting late around here. We should find a spot to sleep." Corrin said noticing that the sun was setting.

"There's a village on this hill. Maybe we can find an Inn or something." Takumi suggested.

"Good point. Let's go!" Sora cheered.

"AAAHHH!" A voice screamed out getting the groups attention.

"Someone's in trouble!" Sora shouted rushing to the sound.

"Sora, wait up!" Corrin shouted running after him with the others.

Up ahead on the path was a large man in a green poncho with brown robes underneath next to a llama carrying a cart of supplies. The two were surrounded by a group of monsters.

"Are those Heartless?" Takumi asked confused by the creatures before him.

"No. Unversed!" Sora growled as he recognized the creatures.

There was a group of Unversed that resembled a raven that flew above the man in a circle. They had a black and grey coloration with red eyes and markings on its body. It had wings on its side and no feet, but had a Fleur-de-lis-shaped tail.

The other type of Unversed on the ground had a pot-like body with a black spherical head with pink flowers on top. The creatures had vines that sprouted out from the side like arms. They had thorns on it with a sharp looking leaf at the end.

"Doesn't matter! That guy needs our help!" Corrin declared.

Sora Corrin and Kaze got to work slaying the Thornbites. Some of them attempted to use their thorn arms as whips, but Donald incinerated them with fire magic.

Takumi took aim, and fired an arrow at one of the Archravens, destroying it in an instant. Though the moment he did, the rest of them dived straight at him.

"P-Pearl!" Sakura shouted as she fired a small ball of light at one of the Archravens, destroying it.

One dived from behind, but Goofy jumped in front of the two royals, and blocked the attack with his shield. The moment the Unversed made contact, Goofy activated thunder sword magic, electrocuting the Unversed.

"Now for the finisher." Takumi muttered. He then jumped into the air and pointed the Fujin Yumi at the ground. "Tornado Shot!"

Takumi shot an arrow towards the ground, infused with wind magic. The moment it hit the ground, it formed a tornado that engulfed the remaining Archravens, destroying them.

Once the Unversed were taken care of, the group approached the man.

"A-Are you okay?" Sakura asked ready to heal if needed.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks." The man said breathing a sigh of relief.

"No problem. I'm Sora." Sora said as he started to point to the others. "That's Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Sakura, Kaze, and Takumi."

"I'm Pacha." The man introduced. "Thanks again for the help. I've lived here my whole life, but that was the first I've seen of creatures like that."

"It's fine. We're travelers who just happened to be passing by here." Corrin said.

"Travelers? Well, if you want, you can stay the night at my place. It's the least I can do for helping me back there." Pacha offered.

"O-Oh, we couldn't intrude." Sakura said.

"Nonsense. It's fine." Pacha insisted. 'Plus, I could really use something to get my mind of some things.' He thought sadly.

"Well, it is getting late." Corrin admitted as the sun had fully set.

"Plus, the path can be really dangerous at night. Especially the forest area." Pacha said pointing to the forest in the distance.

"I see. I guess we'll take you up on your offer." Sora said as the others nodded in agreement.

"Great. My house is up at the top of that hill." Pacha said pointing to the hill as he started to head there with the group following.

"This is a nice place." Sora commented looking around at the village and the people doing their own things as they got ready for the night.

"It is. It's a nice friendly little village on a lovely hill." Pacha said sadly.

"I-Is everything okay?" Sakura asked worried. Why did Pacha sound sad about a place like this?

"Uh, yeah. It's fine. Anyway, here we are." Pacha said as they approached his house.

The house was a simple small house like any other in the village. It was at the very top of the hill with a fence built around the building. There was also a clothes line with some clothing hanging off of it. In front of it were three people. One was a with black hair and a green headband wearing a yellow robe and a pair of large red earrings. Her stomach was also rather large that she would place a hand on from time to time.

The other two were children of a boy and girl. The girl had her black hair tied in two pigtails. She wore a yellow shirt and an orange skirt. The boy had his hair tied upward and was wearing a green grass-like skirt. When the three saw Pacha, the kids immediately ran up to him.

"Dad's back!" The boy cheered as the two embraced their father.

"Hey you two!" Pacha laughed as he hugged them back putting both on his shoulders.

"Dad, I ate a bug today!" The boy said.

"Oh really? Was mom baking today?" Pacha laughed. "Don't tell her I said that."

"I heard that!" The mom joked as she walked up to the three, though she did stumble a bit. "Make way. Lady with a baby coming through." The two then kissed.

"Glad you made it back. There have been theses weird monster sightings lately." She said.

"Yeah, I ran into them. Got a bit of help though." Pacha said gesturing to the group that was watching from the distance.

"These guys?" The wife asked and Pacha nodded. "Thank you for helping my husband. I'm Chicha."

"I'm Sora. This is Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Kaze, Sakura, and Takumi." Sora introduced.

The two kids jumped down and greeted the group.

"I'm Chaca. And this is my brother Tipo." The girl said.

Tipo however was interested in the bow that was still in Takumi's hand.

"Is that a bow mister?" Tipo asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah it is. It's called the Fujin Yumi." Takumi said.

"Fuja what?" Tipo asked.

Takumi smiled as he got down on one knee to show the kid a closer look. "It's the Fujin Yumi. It's a special bow."

"Is that why it doesn't have a string?" Tipo asked.

"Yep." Takumi smiled as he stood up. "I'll show you." Takumi readied the bow as a green string appeared along with a green arrow. Takumi shot the arrow into the distance towards the forest.

"Cool!" Tipo cheered. "Can I try?"

"I think you're a little young to be holding weapons." Takumi chuckled.

"Hey, I just hit a growth spurt." Tipo protested.

"I see. Well, I'm sure you'll grow into a big strong man like your father there." Takumi smiled.

"Of course, I will." Tipo cheered.

Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy looked at Takumi as this went down.

"What?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Anyway, we were hoping to find a place to sleep for the night." Corrin said trying to change the topic.

"Well, we don't have a lot of room, but I do have some spare blankets you could use." Chicha said.

"That's fine." Sora said.

"Alright. I'll get things settled." Chicha said as she turned to her kids. "As for you two, we had a deal that you two could stay up until daddy got home. So off to bed with you two."

"Dad, do we have to?" Both kids asked giving him puppy dog eyes.

"No, of course not. You two can stay up. We're just going to sit here telling each other how much we love each other." Pacha said looking lovey dovey with his wife. The kids looked disgusted and ran to their rooms shouting goodnight.

"Like a pro." Corrin laughed.

"You learn on the job." Pacha laughed.

"So, what did the emperor want?" Chicha asked.

"Emperor?" The group asked confused.

"Yes. My husband was called to see Emperor Kuzco." Chicha said to the group before turning back to her husband.

"Oh…the emperor! Uh, he couldn't see me." Pacha said quickly.

"Couldn't see you?" Chicha asked annoyed.

"I guess he was busy." Pacha said.

"That's just rude!" Chicha argued.

"Well, he is the emperor." Pacha offered.

"Nonononono No! Emperor or no emperor, it's called common courtesy. If I were there, I'd march right back in there and demand to see the emperor! You know I would." Chicha said getting worked up.

"Honey, think of the baby." Pacha said concerned.

"It's fine. The baby isn't coming for a while. But even if it was, I'd still do that." Chicha said getting angry before calming down. "I'm going to go wash something." Chicha said before looking at the group. "You know where the spare blankets are?"

Pacha nodded.

"Good. Help get them settled please." She said and Pacha nodded.

Chicha went to wash the dishes as Pacha looked at the wall where the kids got their measurements taken.

Corrin walked up to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just need some air." Pacha said heading out. The others followed him.

Pacha walked down with his lama to a small shed by a fountain looked rather upset. Sora and the others followed.

"You know, talking can be helpful." Sora offered.

"I-It's fine. It's my problem." Pacha said.

"Does it have something to do with this emperor?" Kaze asked.

"You were acting off when your wife brought it up." Corrin added.

Pacha sighed. "I couldn't tell her. I should, but I couldn't."

"What happened?" Sora asked concerned.

Goofy then noticed a red bag on the cart beginning to shake.

"Uh, is it supposed to do that?" Goofy asked pointing to the bag and getting everyone's attention.

Pacha looked up and noticed the bag.

"Where did this even come from?" Pacha asked walking to the mysterious bag.

"It's not yours?" Donald asked.

"Nope. Never seen it. Wonder what's inside." Pacha said as he opened it. To everyone's surprise, a black-haired llama groaned as emerged from the bag looking dizzy.

"Is that a llama?" Donald asked.

"Why was it in a bag?" Sora wondered.

"Poor thing. It looks hurt." Sakura said worried.

"Are you okay little guy?" Pacha asked patting the head gently.

"No touchy." The llama groaned.

…

"AHHH!" Pacha screamed. "Demon llama!"

"Demon llama where?" The llama screamed turning to Pacha's llama and screaming. The llama jumped out of the bag revealing it to be wearing red rags as he tried to run on two feet but stumbled and rolled into a wall. "My head." It groaned.

The world jumpers got themselves ready in case the llama decided to attack.

"It's okay demon llama. I mean you no harm." Pacha tried putting his hands forward in peace.

"What are you talking about?" The llama asked annoyed as he finally calmed down and got a better look at the man. "Oh wait, I know you! You're the whiny peasant." The llama said getting up.

"Wait a second…Emperor Kuzco?" Pacha asked recognizing the voice.

"Uh yeah! Who did you think you were talking to?" The Llama asked annoyed.

"Wait, emperor? THAT'S your emperor?" Takumi asked shocked. True, he met a mouse queen not too long ago, but that bazaar world seemed to be full of talking animals. This world however seemed to be filled with humans, yet their supposed emperor was a llama that was riding in the back of a cart?

"Why are you acting all that surprised? My appearance should scream 'I'm the Emperor' to even a country bum like you." Kuzco shot back.

Takumi growled but Corrin put a hand in front of him before he could say or do anything rash.

"Is this guy seriously your emperor?" Sora asked unsure.

"Yeah, but he didn't look like this when I saw him last a few days ago." Pacha said.

"I didn't look like this? What else would I look like?" Kuzco demanded.

"Uh well, you don't...look like an emperor now." Pacha tried.

"What do you mean I don't look like the emperor?" Kuzco demanded.

"U-Uh…do this with your hand." Sakura said waving her hand across her face.

"What is this? Some kind of peasant game?" Kuzco asked doing it. But one look at his hand, he started to freak out. He ran to the fountain and looked at his reflection in horror.

"My, my face! My beautiful face! I'm a stinky llama! Llama face!" Kuzco cried.

"An emperor huh?" Takumi asked flatly as he watched the pitiful display of the so-called emperor.

"It's okay. Do you remember what happened?" Pacha tried to calm him down.

Kuzco slapped himself to calm down before he tried to remember. He tried to walk, but fell down again causing him to laugh in denial. "I can't remember why!" He cried.

"E-Emperor Kuzco. Try to relax." Sakura said getting his attention. "Take a deep breath." Kuzco did as instructed. "Good. Now, what was the last thing you remember?"

Kuzco thought for a second before turning to Pacha. "I remember meeting you…And I was going to build my pool where your house was…"

"Wait, you were going to what?" Sora asked surprised.

"And then you got mad at me and…" Kuzco gasped. "And then you turned me into a llama!"

"What? No, I didn't!" Pacha argued.

"Yes, you did and then you kidnapped me! And these guys helped you!" Kuzco accused pointing his hoof at Sakura and the others.

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.

"Why would we even kidnap a llama?" Corrin demanded.

"I don't know! You're the criminal masterminds, not me!" Kuzco retorted.

"Are you serious?" Donald demanded.

"Yeah, I'm probably giving you guys way too much credit." Kuzco said.

"Or you realized you're an idiot." Takumi retorted causing Kuzco to glare at him.

"Whatever. Anyway, all I need to do is go back to the palace. Yzma has that 'secret lab.' I'll just go over there, snap my fingers, and order her to change me back." Kuzco said with confidence.

"You don't have fingers anymore." Kaze pointed out flatly.

"You know what I mean!" Kuzco retorted as he tried to stand up like a human, but stumbled. "Well, let's get going. I want to get out of this body as much as you would."

Pacha didn't move.

"Well? What are you waiting for big guy?" Kuzco asked impatient.

"Build your summer home somewhere else." Pacha said firmly.

Kuzco stopped and started to move back towards Pacha. "You want to run that by me again?"

"Okay, hold on a minute." Sora said getting both of their attention. "What is going on here? What is this about building a pool where Pacha's house is?"

Pacha sighed and spoke up. "A few days ago, I was called to the palace by Emperor Kuzco, saying he needed my help with something. When I got there, he asked about the hill our village is build on. Our village is very helpful to the kingdom. We grow the crops that are used even in the palace, and we heard the llamas that are used to carry cargo. And what does he want to do with it? He wants to tare it all down to build a Summer Home for himself!"

Wait WHAT?!" Everyone gasped.

"Why would you do something like that?" Sakura demanded with anger in her voice.

"Uh, it's my own birthday gift to me!" Kuzco said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're ruining people's homes! Where would they go?" Corrin asked.

Kuzco shrugged. "Not my problem."

You can't do that!" Sora argued.

"I'm an emperor. I can do what I want. Everyone else in the kingdom gets that. Only you guys don't." Kuzco said dismissively.

"Emperor or not, royalty is supposed to protect the people. Not to mention if the village contributes to your kingdom like Pacha said, then this is just utterly irresponsible." Takumi argued.

"Uh huh, sure. A simple-minded country folk like you wouldn't understand how things go for royalty." Kuzco dismissed.

Takumi gripped his bow ready to shoot, but was stopped by Sora and Corrin.

"Now are we going or not?" Kuzco asked rudely.

"I already told you. Ether you agree to build your summer home somewhere else, or you're stuck out here." Pacha said firmly.

"Same goes for us Kuzco. I'm not helping you back if you're just going to destroy these people's livelihoods." Sora said and Corrin nodded.

"I-I'm sorry Kuzco. But I can't help you destroy these people's home." Sakura said.

"I have no reason to help you." Takumi spat.

"Sorry Kuzco. But I can't help you if you're going to do something like that." Goofy said.

"If you don't change your mind, you're on your own." Donald said firmly.

"I have no obligation to help you." Kaze said without any care in his voice.

"Ether you build your summer home somewhere else, or you're stuck out here." Pacha said firmly.

"Why don't you come a little closer." Kuzco said as Sora, Sakura, and Pacha leaned closer. "Closer." Kuzco said again as the three leaned closer. "I DON'T MAKE DEALS WITH PEASANTS!" He shouted causing the three's ears to ring.

Donald and Goofy had to stop Corrin, Takumi and Kaze from charging at the Llama Emperor.

"Then I guess you're just stuck here." Pacha said firmly once he recovered.

"Fine I don't need you guys. I can find my own way back." Kuzco said walking more like a llama this time.

"I wouldn't recommend it. It's dangerous if you don't know the way." Pacha warned.

"Nice try pal." Kuzco said continuing to walk.

"I'm serious! There are jaguars, snakes, and even quicksand!" Pacha continued.

"Lalalala. I'm not listening." Kuzco sang.

"There are also monsters called Unversed running around! You'll be killed!" Goofy warned.

Kuzco still kept going.

"FINE! Just go! There's no Kuzco, there's no Kuzcotopia! That ends my problems!" Pacha shouted as Kuzco disappeared down the trail and towards the forest.

'Was he seriously going to call his summer home Kuzcotopia?' Corrin, Takumi, and Kaze thought flatly.

"I-Is he going to be okay?" Sakura asked concerned as she watched Kuzco head into the forest. Sure she didn't like him, but she didn't want him dead.

"That's a good question." Sora said having similar feelings to Sakura.

Pacha sighed.

"Guess I'd better tell my wife I'm heading out again." Pacha said running back home to tell Chicha he was heading out.

"So we're actually going after him?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Sorry but, he'll die out there without help." Sora said.

"That's not our problem. Besides, wasn't one of your rules to not interfere with the affairs of other worlds?" Takumi asked causing Sora and Sakura to flinch.

"Well, do keep in mind that there are Unversed running around, which means that Vanitas is here somewhere. We won't find him just standing around in the village." Corrin admitted.

"Vanitas. You mentioned him back at that castle." Takumi said.

"He's a Keyblade wielder like Sora, but he's nowhere as friendly. He's a threat that we need to stop as well as the Organization." Donald said.

"Great." Takumi groaned.

Pacha had just returned to the group. "So, can I ask you guys a favor?"

"We're in." Sora said much to Pacha's surprise.

"Really?" Pacha asked.

"We're hunting creatures like the ones that attacked you so we have a reason to travel." Corrin said.

"Thanks. We'd better hurry though. That guy isn't going to last long out there by himself." Pacha said pointing to the forest.

"You do know he's going to destroy your home right?" Donald asked.

"I know, but I can't forgive myself if I left him to die. Nobody is that Heartless." Pacha said.

"Then let's go!" Sora declared as the group ran off towards the forest.

From afar, Vanitas watched as the rest of the group ran after the Llama Emperor.

"So, it seems my brother has found some new allies. They don't look like much, but I can't afford to underestimate them again like I did last time. Especially since I have yet to recover my full strength." Vanitas said looking into the distance where Kuzco's palace was located.

"Perhaps I can find a way to test their abilities." He smirked under his helmet as he vanished into a corridor of darkness.

Chapter Text

The forest itself was definitely scary. Poor Sakura found herself holding onto Takumi's arm again like she did back in the Underworld. But Donald however, was rather irritated.

"How the heck did we lose track of Sora, Corrin, and Pacha?" He growled.

"I don't know, but I hope their okay." Goofy muttered worried.

"Do you see anything Kaze?" Takumi shouted up a tree where Kaze was standing looking around.

"No. I don't see any of them." Kaze called back.

"Great. What on earth are they doing?" Donald asked.

Just then, a group of Unversed appeared surrounding the group. Floods and Scrappers.

"More of these guys?" Takumi asked drawing his bow.

"Let's get them!" Donald declared as the group got to work facing the Unversed.

Kuzco wasn't having a good day. From waking up in the same town he planned to destroy, finding out he was now a Llama, and then dealing with some whinny peasants. But now, he was being chased through the jungle by Jaguars. It didn't take him long to get lost in the forest, where he met this dumb squirrel. After telling it to get lost, it went a made a balloon animal and popped it waking up a group of jaguars that Kuzco had accidentally stumbled into. Now said Jaguars were chasing him through out the jungle.

Kuzco kept running and running until he reached a cliff that marked a dead end. He gulped as the Jaguars approached their prey.

"You…killer…jaguars…" Kuzco stuttered as he stepped backwards as much as he could before he was right at the ledge as the jaguars slowly approached him menacingly.

Suddenly, Pacha hollering could be heard as Kuzco and the pack of jaguars looked to see him, Sora, and Corrin swinging on a vine towards them. Kuzco smirked in triumph as he was going to be rescued, but as the swung towards the jaguars, the jaguars stepped aside causing the three to miss.

"HOW DOES TARZAN DO THIS SO EASILY?!" Sora's voice could be heard as the three went swinging further away trying desperately to change directions.

Kuzco gulped as the jaguars continued to move closer to him, but Pacha suddenly appeared and grabbed Kuzco as the three swung away from the wild animals.

"Don't worry your highness! You're safe now!" Pacha declared.

"Got it on the second try!" Sora cheered.

"Would have looked a lot cooler if it was the first try." Corrin commented.

"Forget that! Let's just land and find the others." Sora said.

However, the four ended up hitting a large branch that ended up getting the four of them tied to it with Sora and Pacha on the top, and Kuzco and Corrin were at the bottom.

"Maybe I'm just new to this whole rescue thing, but to me, this kind of feels like a step backwards here." Kuzco commented dryly.

"Nonono! It's okay. We can figure this out." Pacha tried to assure.

"He's right. The others shouldn't be too far behind. All we have to do is hang tight." Corrin assured. Sadly his dragon stone was out of the question as his hands were tied up, unable to reach his pocket. Plus, looking down, if he did break free, they would all plummet downwards. Sure he and Sora had means of saving themselves, but Kuzco and Pacha?

"Corrin's right. Our friends will be here any minute and they can get us out of here." Sora said with confidence.

*Crack*

"I hate you three." Kuzco said as the branch broke causing the four to fall.

As the log dropped down into the canyon bellow, it bumped against multiple rocks until it landed on a slop that caused it to roll into the water.

Once the log resurfaced, the four found themselves caught in rapid tides that banged them into even more rocks as they went flying down the river until finally it reached more calm water.

"Wow. That was one heck of a ride." Sora commented with a bit of laughter.

"Well I don't know about you spiky, but I'm getting all fund out." Kuzco commented dryly.

"Already?" Didn't you want to build a water-slide with your little Summer Home?" Pacha mocked.

"Shut up." Kuzco muttered.

Sora and Pacha looked ahead and paled. "Uh-oh."

"Don't tell me, we're about to go over a huge waterfall." Kuzco asked flatly.

"Yep." Sora said flatly.

"Sharp rocks at the bottom?" Corrin asked flatly.

"Most likely." Pacha said flatly.

"Bring it on." Corrin and Kuzco said.

Kuzco screaming "Booyah" could be heard from the entire forest as the four went flying off the huge waterfall.

"DIE ALREADY!" Takumi shouted as he shot an arrow at the last Scrapper killing it.

"They may not be Heartless, but they do fight like them." Kaze said.

"We should be careful though. The King told us that there were many different types of these creatures. Some even bigger like those Giant Heartless we've fought." Donald commented.

"Yet all we've seen are small ones so far." Kaze said.

"Well, Vanitas did say that he was still restoring his power when we last saw him. If he controls the Unversed, maybe he hasn't gained enough power to call upon a big one yet." Goofy guessed.

"If that's true, then it's all the more reason we need to find him and stop him fast. Back then he was able to defeat the king, and he almost beat Aqua." Donald said.

"Okay, who is this Aqua person?" Takumi asked feeling lost to the discussion.

"She's a Keyblade Master that went missing about 11 years ago. She was friends with both Ventus and King Mickey." Donald said.

"Keyblade Master?" Takumi asked.

"A Keyblade wielder has to take some test and they are called a true master of the Keyblade." Donald said.

"Is Sora a Keyblade Master?" Sakura asked.

"I doubt it. He's only had the thing for about a year." Donald said.

"But he is getting better at it." Goofy pointed out.

"Booyah!"

"What was that?" Sakura asked as the group looked around for the owner of that voice.

"That sounds like that whinny Llama." Donald said.

"I-If we find him, we find Corrin and Sora." Sakura said.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Donald declared as the group headed to the direction of the sound.

Out of the river, Sora and Corrin groaned as they crawled out of the water and onto dry land.

"I can't believe we survived that." Corrin groaned.

"Are you really complaining?" Sora asked.

"Not really." Corrin said.

Pacha groaned as he started to get out of the water, but noticed Kuzco wasn't moving.

"SORA CORRIN!" Donald shouted as everyone ran up to the two.

"A-are you okay? Do you need healing?" Sakura asked frantically.

"We're fine Sakura." Sora assured.

"What happened? Where did you guys go?" Kaze asked.

"Well…" Corrin began.

"GAH!"

Everyone turned to see Pacha and Kuzco jump away with each other in disgust.

"No seriously, what happened?" Takumi asked.

After an explanation was given, and the utter shock that the four just went over a massive waterfall, the group decided to settle there for camp as it was too late to hike back to Pacha's village. Pacha and Donald were trying to start a fire, Sakura and Sora were gathering more fire wood, Goofy and Corrin were clearing rocks out of the area so everyone could sleep a bit more comfortably, Takumi and Kaze were fishing and Kuzco was rinsing his mouth out.

"For the last time is was NOT a kiss." Pacha said as he finally got a fire started.

"Well whatever you called it, it was disgusting." Kuzco said spitting out the water onto the fire much to Pacha and Donald's annoyance.

"It's called CPR Kuzco. And it was to save your life." Sakura informed as the three placed the firewood they gathered on the campfire as Pacha and Donald tried to lite a fire again.

"Regardless, if you all had just taken me back to the palace in the first place like I asked, we wouldn't have to deal with your kiss of life." Kuzco said shacking the water off his body and putting out the fire again my to Pacha and Donald's irritation.

"Well you know, if you had just listened to Pacha's warning about the jungle in the first place, you wouldn't have had to be chased by Jaguars and fallen off a waterfall." Kaze retorted as he managed to reel in a fish.

"Are you sure you guys are okay?" Sakura asked the four again for what was like the seventh time.

"We're fine Sakura. Sora and I have been through worse on this adventure. Trust me." Corrin assured.

"I'll be all right Sakura. A little shaken, but I'm still alive." Pacha assured.

"Well, now that you're all here, you guys can take me back to the palace, I can get Yzma to change me back, and get back to work on Kuzcotopia. Oh yeah!" Kuzco cheered as he started playing with some rocks and a leaf.

"You're still going on about that?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"Okay look. I think we got off on the wrong foot." Pacha said trying to play peacemaker as Donald continued to try and start a fire. "I just think, if you really thought about it, you'd decide to build your home on another hilltop."

"And why would I do that?" Kuzco asked using Pacha's poncho to dry off before tossing it on the fire putting it out for a third time.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Donald shouted started to see red.

"Because…" Pacha took a deep breath to keep calm. "You'd be forcing an entire village out of their homes."

"And that's…bad?" Kuzco asked.

"Well yeah. Come on, no one is that Heartless." Pacha tried reasoning with the selfish emperor.

"I see…Now take me back." Kuzco ordered and Pacha started to lose his patients.

"Why are you like this?" Pacha asked. "All you care about is building your summer home and filling it with stuff for you!"

"Uh yeah! Like I said before, everyone else in the kingdom gets it. You're the only ones that doesn't get with the program." Kuzco said.

"You know, someday you are going to end up all alone and you won't have anyone to blame but yourself." Pacha said.

"Thanks. I'll make sure to file that away. Now for the final time, take me back to the palace." Kuzco ordered.

Pacha sighed. "Sorry but, you're stuck out here. Unless you change your mind about tearing down my village, I'm not taking you back." Pacha said firmly.

"Hey Kuzco, how about you make yourself useful and help Goofy and I clear out rocks." Corrin said.

"Yeah. All you've been doing is complaining and putting out the fire!" Donald added getting the fire started for a fourth time.

"Unless you change your mind, I'm not taking you back to the palace." Kuzco muttered mocking Pacha's voice. He then picked up a rock and tossed hit, hitting Goofy right in the head.

"OUCH!" Goofy cried out.

Everyone glared at Kuzco.

"Huh? I didn't do anything. Someone's throwing stuff." Kuzco quickly said as he walked off to a corner by some rocks and made himself comfy.

"He's never going to change." Pacha sighed.

"Are you alright Goofy?" Sakura asked concerned.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Goofy assured rubbing his head.

"So, what do we do about the spoiled brat?" Corrin asked pointing to Kuzco.

"Nothing. When the sun goes up, we head back to the village." Pacha said.

"Sounds like a plan." Sora said.

Jiminy then hopped up on Sora's shoulder.

"That Kuzco needs a stern talking to. Maybe I should give him a good lecture." Jiminy said.

"Maybe not now. After that stunt in the jungle, he might try to squish you." Corrin said.

"True. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning." Jiminy decided.

Soon enough, Kaze and Takumi managed to catch some fish. Once they were cooked over the fire, everyone enjoyed a small dinner before turning into the night.

After eating some fish, everyone went to sleep around the campfire, though Kaze stayed up for patrol. Pacha also woke up and noticed Kuzco shivering from his spot away from the fire. Sighing Pacha put his poncho on the spoiled emperor to keep him warm.

Corrin soon got up and walked up to Kaze who was sitting on some rocks and took a seat next to him.

"I can take the next shift if you need to get some sleep." Corrin offered.

"I couldn't do such a thing lord Corrin." Kaze said.

"Okay, first of all, it's just Corrin. Second, ninja or not, you need some sleep." Corrin said.

"I assure you I'm fine…Corrin." Kaze said struggling with the casual way of addressing the missing prince.

"Anyway, what do you think of these new worlds?" Corrin asked.

"It's…something." Kaze admitted. "I never thought of life beyond the stars until that day but it's all baffling."

"Yeah. It was like that for me as well." Corrin said. "Back on the islands, Riku was always fond of a story about this one boy that wished to see the outside worlds and escape the islands. One day he vanished and some believe that he found a way to leave. It was always seen as some silly campfire story but Riku always wanted to believe that it was real."

"And that's what prompted you to head out?" Kaze asked.

"Mostly. I guess I was also a bit curious. I mean, I knew I wasn't born on the islands, even with my memories gone. But I think mine and Kairi's arrival to the islands is what further sparked Riku's desire to build a raft and explore the outside worlds." Corrin said.

"Build a raft to see the outside worlds?" Kaze asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. Looking back on it, I can't help but see a lot of flaws with that plan. Honestly, it sounds like a plan Sora would come up with." Corrin laughed.

"Lord Corrin, do you want to go home?" Kaze couldn't help but ask.

Corrin was silent for a minute. "Well, i mean I guess I would like to meet Ryoma and Hinoka just once at least, but I also should head back home to Destiny Island once this is all over. Mom must be worried sick." He admitted feeling conflict in his heart.

Kaze didn't say anything. Unknown to them, Sakura and Takumi overheard the conversation.

'He guesses? Does he care or not?' Takumi growled.

'Corrin…Are you happy back on the islands?' Sakura wondered with some hurt in her heart.

Sora meanwhile had his thoughts on another issue.

'If the Unversed are here, then Vanitas is here.' He thought.

For some reason, Sora's thoughts angered when he thought about the masked boy and unknown to him. A small bit of dark energy appeared on his hand for a moment that vanished when he went to sleep.

The next morning, everyone got up and got ready to get on the move.

"So, what's the plan?" Sora asked.

"Well, once we get Pacha and Kuzco back to the village, we should consider heading out. We still need to find Riku and the King as well as stop Vanitas." Corrin said.

"I guess you're right. Where do we start?" Sora asked.

"I guess we can check around that palace since there isn't anywhere else to start, but let's not tell Kuzco. I'd rather not play a part in tearing down that village." Corrin whispered.

"Agreed." Sora whispered back.

"W-Well, shall we get going?" Sakura asked more quiet than usual.

"Are you okay Sakura?" Corrin asked concerned.

"O-Oh yeah. I'm fine." Sakura lied.

Takumi said nothing.

Corrin was about to speak when Pacha ran up to the group.

"Guys, Kuzco agreed to build his home elsewhere." Pacha said excited.

"That's great!" Sora, Sakura, and Goofy cheered. Though the rest weren't buying it.

"That easily? Sorry if I find that hard to believe." Corrin said.

"Yeah. He was pretty adamant last night on doing it." Takumi added.

"Hey, no one is that Heartless." Pacha assured.

"So does that mean we are heading to the palace?" Kaze asked.

"Yeah. Though I was wondering if you guys would like to come along." Pacha offered.

"Sure." Sora cheered.

"Sora!" Donald scolded.

"Actually Donald, it's don't know much about this area, and having someone that can guide us would be better than wondering aimlessly." Corrin said.

"Great. Well, it's a bit of a walk to the palace so we better get moving." Pacha said.

Corrin approached Kuzco.

"Did you really change your mind?" He asked with suspicion.

"Of course. We shook on it and everything." Kuzco assured.

Corrin said nothing and started to follow Pacha.

'And thank you guys as well.' Kuzco internally smirked.

'I'd better keep an eye on him.' Corrin thought.

At the Palace:

Servants were redecorating the palace replacing Kuzco's pictures with an old looking lady. The lady in question was rather wrinkly, skinny, and with light purple skin. She wore a dark purple and black dress. Next to her was a muscular man with a long square chin, wearing a blue shirt with some yellow on it and purple pants.

The woman was Yzma. The Emperor's former advisor and the man was her right-hand man Kronk. Yzma was laying on a couch while Kronk was getting her a snack.

"You know Kronk, I was worried when you mixed up those potions, but now that Kuzco is dead, all is forgiven." Yzma said as Kronk froze up.

"Uh yeah. He's dead. Can't get much deader than dead. Unless we kill him, again right?" Kronk stuttered.

"He IS dead, right? I need to hear these words Kronk." Yzma urged.

"Are you talking about that talking Llama?" A voice called out.

Yzma and Kronk turned to see Vanitas approach them.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" Yzma demanded ready to call the guards.

"I am but a friend. And as a friend I came to warn you that your emperor is still alive and is on his way back as we speak." Vanitas spoke.

WHAT?!" Yzma shouted and turned to Kronk. "He's still alive?!"

"Well, he's not as dead as we want him to be." Kronk admitted.

"Kronk!" Yzma growled. "If he gets back, we are finished!"

"Yeah. That would be awkward after that eulogy you gave at his funeral." Kronk said missing the point entirely. Yzma and even Vanitas stared in disbelief at the man.

"You think?!" Yzma snapped before turning to Vanitas. "That still doesn't explain who you are or why are you helping us. What is it that you want?"

"Your emperor…" Vanitas began.

"FORMER emperor!" Yzma corrected.

"Former emperor is currently traveling with some troublesome brats. One of them is a boy named Sora that has something I need. So if they are traveling together, we have a common enemy. Simple as that." Vanitas said.

"So you need my help in taking out this boy?" Yzma asked.

"No. I need his friends taken out. I need Sora alive...for now. Do this, and I will help you kill the talking Llama. I even have solders of my own." Vanitas said snapping his fingers

Several floods appeared.

"What…what are they?" Kronk asked.

"They are called, the Unversed. Creatures born of negative emotions. They will be more helpful in killing Kuzco than some potion and you can't exactly get the guards to do this without the risk of them finding out." Vanitas said.

"Clearly." Yzma muttered examining the creatures. "So, I help you dispose of this Sora kid's friends, you help me get rid of Kuzco, so I can become Empress without any issues?" Yzma asked.

Vanitas nodded.

"Very well then. Kronk, get my things ready to depart." Yzma ordered.

"Wait. We're going as well?" Kronk asked.

"Of course. If I learned anything from you, it's that if I want to ensure anything is done correctly, I need to see it with my own two eyes." Yzma growled as the two headed off to get ready. "You're coming too. I accept your help, but I still want you in my sight"

"Of course." Vanitas nodded.

"Good. Meet us at the castle gates in an hour. If you are not there, so help me I will make you pay." Yzma warned.

Vanitas nodded as Yzma left with Kronk.

"Well those two idiots should be a vital distraction at least to separate Sora from his friends. If I can get him alone, I should be able to finally take Ventus's heart back. Still, I'd best get ready." Vanitas muttered to himself as he vanished in a corridor of darkness.

Chapter Text

With Pacha's guidance, the group was able to make it through the jungle with no issue. However, once they were out of the jungle, the group followed a linear mountain path that led them to a rather worn out broken bridge.

"I-Is that bridge even stable?" Sakura asked unsure.

"Yeah. I crossed it not that long ago with my llama and cart so it should hold us." Pacha assured as he took another look at the bridge. "But it does look like its seen better days lately."

"You'd think someone would do something about this though. This bridge looks like its on its last leg." Corrin said. Everyone then turned to Kuzco.

"Okay, okay I'll get on it when I turn back. Now can we just get across? I'm not comfortable with this bridge anymore than you guys are." Kuzco said annoyed.

"I suggest we cross one at a time or in small groups." Kaze suggested.

"Not one at a time. That will take too long." Kuzco complained.

"Fine. I'll go first to show that it's safe." Pacha offered.

"Right behind you." Kuzco said as the two started to cross.

"Once we cross this bridge, it's only an hour walk to the palace." Pacha said.

"Good. Because believe it or not, I can use a bath." Kuzco muttered.

"I believe it." Takumi and Donald muttered.

"What was that?" Kuzco demanded.

"Nothing." Both of them said.

Once Pacha and Kuzco were halfway across, Sora decided to go next as he started to make his way across the bridge.

"Did Sora just forget that he could easily glide across this gap?" Donald asked.

"He can be quite a scatterbrain sometimes." Corrin chuckled.

Suddenly, the bridge started to break as Sora and Pacha fell through the holes in the bridge, only being held up by the bridge rope and vines that tangled both of them.

"SORA PACHA!" Corrin and the others shouted.

"Kuzco, grab Pacha while I grab Sora." Corrin said making his way over to the hole Sora fell in.

Kuzco however casually hopped over the hole Pacha fell in and made his way across the bridge.

"Kuzco, where are you going?" Sakura cried out.

"Well I was going to have you all arrested when we got back, but I like this better." Kuzco said.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Donald demanded.

"Do I have to spell it out? When we got back to the palace, and Yzma turned me back to normal, I was going to have all of you thrown into the dungeon for kidnapping me." Kuzco said.

"We didn't kidnap you!" Sora shouted.

"That's what they all say." Kuzco said.

"So, you're just going to leave us here?" Pacha asked as his anger was growing.

"Yep." Kuzco said.

"I thought you were a changed man." Pacha growled.

"Well I had to say something to get you guys to take me back to the palace." Kuzco argued.

"I knew it. You were lying!" Corrin growled as he grabbed onto the vines that held Sora.

"So, everything you said was a lie?" Pacha growled.

"Well yeah…No wait…Yeah. It was a lie." Kuzco smirked. "Toddles."

"WE SHOOK HANDS ON IT!" Pacha shouted.

Kuzco went back onto the bridge and stuck his long neck down the hole to Pacha's face.

"Funny story about that…You actually need hands to do that." Kuzco laughed. "Bye-bye."

However, just as Kuzco was about to cross a second time, another hole was made on the bridge causing Kuzco to fall in a similar position to Sora and Pacha.

"Gotta love karma." Donald smirked.

"Are you okay?" Pacha asked.

"Yeah. I think so." Kuzco said.

"Good!" Pacha said as he punched Kuzco. "That's for going back on your word!"

He was greeted with a kick that sent Pacha flying into Sora and to the cliff side.

"And that's for kidnapping me and taking me to your village. Which I'm still going to destroy." Kuzco laughed before gulping. "No touchy."

Pacha headbutted him into the other side of the cliff.

"Why did I ever waste my time helping a selfish brat like you?" Pacha asked swing back into Sora at the cliff side.

"Uh Pacha?" Sora asked as he was being squished into the cliff by Pacha, but Pacha wasn't listening.

"I was always taught that there was good in every person, but you seem pretty intent on proving me wrong." Pacha growled.

"Oh now I feel really bad. Bad llama." Kuzco mocked as he lightly slapped himself.

"I could have left you to die in that jungle, and all my problems would be over." Pacha reminded.

"Well that makes you both ugly and stupid." Kuzco mocked.

"Let's finish this!" Pacha growled.

"Ladies first." Kuzco mocked as the two swung towards each other and started to fight.

Meanwhile up above, Corrin was trying to pull the vines up, but they looked ready to break.

"Maybe if we had a fresh rope for Sora to climb, he could be pulled to safety." Donald suggested.

"We would still have to untangle him first, and we don't have a rope." Kaze said.

"Here you go." Goofy said handing Kaze a rope.

"Why do you have that?" Takumi asked.

"Always be prepared." Goofy said.

"Who cares why he has it. Just bring it over." Corrin shouted.

Kaze nodded and headed over to Sora.

"Okay Sora. I want you to untangle yourself and glide over to the cliff. We'll toss you a rope for you to climb." Corrin instructed.

"Got it!" Sora said as he started to do just that.

Suddenly Kaze noticed the bridge starting to crack more and more. He then looked down to the two-world residence still fighting.

"Guys! Stop fighting! You're wearing out the bridge even more!" Kaze warned.

But it was too late. The bridge shattered sending the five plummeting downwards.

Kaze was thankfully able to grab Corrin and jump to safety thanks to his quick reflexes, where Takumi and Goofy caught them and pulled them up.

Sora did what he was originally asked to and glided over to the cliff-side where he started to climb. Though sadly, there wasn't much to safely grab onto.

Kuzco and Pacha however, fell. But thankfully, the gap was narrower towards the bottom so they both managed to stop falling into the alligator infested waters bellow by pressing their feet against the cliff and their backs together.

Corrin grabbed the rope and tossed it downwards. The rope was close to Sora's position, but not far enough.

"Sora! You need to climb." Corrin called out.

"I'm trying!" Sora said looking for something to get a good grip on.

Sora found something to grab, but it just crumbled off.

'Guess I'll have to jump it.' Sora thought.

Sora made the jump. Sakura saw this and summoned her staff along with Donald.

"Magnet!" They both shouted.

An orb of energy appeared above Sora that started to pull him up a bit. The extra boast was enough for Sora to grab the rope. Everyone else grabbed the other end with Corrin.

Sora looked down and saw that Pacha and Kuzco were slowly making their way up by walking along the walls.

"Hang on a minute guys! Pacha and Kuzco are almost to me!" Sora shouted as he reached out a hand towards Pacha.

Pacha and Kuzco got closer, but the walls were starting to curve further apart, meaning that they couldn't use their walking idea any further.

"Okay. Use your neck to push me up to Sora's hand." Pacha instructed.

"How do I know you aren't going to let me fall?" Kuzco demanded.

"You're just going to have to trust me." Pacha cried out.

Kuzco complied and Pacha was successful in grabbing Sora's hand.

"Okay guys! Pull us up!" Sora shouted.

With some tough pulling, the three were finally safe. And now that everyone was safe and sound, they all turned to glare at Kuzco who was nervously chuckling.

"You have ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right now." Takumi demanded as he pulled out the Fujin Yumi.

"Uh, because I'm the Emperor?" Kuzco said meekly. Takumi just aimed the bow at Kuzco.

"H-Hang on Takumi!" Sakura insisted. As furious as she was with Kuzco for trying to ditch them, she didn't feel murdering him was the right way to go.

Suddenly, the ground shook as the side of the cliff that Pacha was standing on started to fall. Before anyone else could react, Kuzco grabbed Pacha by his poncho with his teeth and tossed him to safety.

"Oh yeah! Look at me and my bad self! I snatched you out of the air." Kuzco cheered as he turned to the cliff. "Oh, I'm a crumbling canyon wall and I'm taking you with me; But not today! Uh-Huh! Uh-Huh Uh-huh Uh-huh!"

"You just saved my life." Pacha muttered in surprise.

"What? So?" Kuzco muttered.

"I knew it. There is good in you." Pacha teased.

"Oh, come on. Nobody is that heartless." Kuzco muttered.

"Glad it showed up this time." Corrin muttered.

"Well, with the bridge out, it's now a four day walk to the palace." Pacha said.

"Wait. You're still taking me back?" Kuzco asked surprised.

"We are?" Takumi and Donald also asked.

"I did shake on it." Pacha pointed out.

"But he broke his promise! You don't need to follow yours." Takumi argued.

"I make a promise, I keep it. And hey, four days is quite a while. He might change his mind." Pacha said.

"Right…Keep thinking that." Kuzco muttered. "So, what are the chances of any of you carrying me?"

"Not good." Pacha said.

"Zero chance." Everyone else said.

Meanwhile in the swampy areas of the Jungle by Pacha's village:

Vanitas could feel his already small patience falling faster with each passing minute. Yzma was unbearable to be around, and Kronk was just an idiot. Currently, the idiot was talking to a squirrel about where that Kuzco was last scene, while Yzma was forced to keep some distance. The squirrel pointed Kronk in the direction and the three were off. Or rather the two were off as Kronk carried Yzma in some kind of fancy carriage that Kronk was carrying on his back. And this woman complained about being tired? Vanitas would have loved to see her tackle the Old man's training. She'd be dead in an hour at best.

Vanitas's thoughts then drifted to Sora. His "Brother" that carried his other half. His group has almost doubled since the last time he saw him. And then there was Corrin that interfered from Vanitas taking back his other half last time. In a way, it reminded Vanitas of two other nuisances.

Terra. The master wanted him to be his vessel after Ven was a failure, which resulted in his birth. The man was strong. Vanitas only fought the man once at the Keyblade Graveyard where he fought alongside Master Xehanort himself to face the young brunette. The fight didn't last too long, as Xehanort then ordered him to kill Aqua and merge with Ventus. Still, Vanitas had to admit he was impressed that Terra was able to fend off both him and Master Xehanort. Vanitas wasn't sure what happened to Terra after that, but when he was hiding in Hollow Bastion trying to restore his form, he did see a picture of a familiar man in a lab coat. If that was who he thought it was, then it seems that the old man's plan was a success in that department at least.

Aqua. She was probably the biggest annoyance Vanitas ever faced. She wasn't at the same level as Xehanort was, but even though he hated to admit it, she was stronger than him. It's why he launched a surprise attack on her to take her out as soon as possible in the Keyblade Graveyard. After he merged with Ventus, he fought her with the newly forged X-Blade. In a one on one match, he might have won with that power, but thanks to the interference of that blasted King Mickey, along with Ventus fighting back from inside, the scales were tipped in Aqua's favor and he suffered defeat from her once again.

But where were they now? If the Old man's plans worked, then Terra wasn't going to bother him anymore. But Aqua?

"So, one of the missing Keyblade wielders the King's been looking for is inside of Sora's heart?" Goofy asked.

Vanitas blinked. He didn't think much of that sentence back then as he was too fixed on Sora, but now things were starting to come together. There weren't that many Keyblade wielders around these days, so it seems likely that the King's lapdog was talking about Aqua.

'She's missing…But does that mean she's dead? I hope so, but I can't be certain. Still, if she was around, I would have seen or heard of her by now. There is no way she would sit around and do nothing with all these Heartless and me running around. She's way too much of a goodie good. I need to confirm what happened to her.' Vanitas thought. He then summoned some Floods.

"I want you to locate Sora and keep me informed on his position." Vanitas ordered and the Floods left to do as they were told.

Vanitas turned to see that Kronk seemed to have gotten the directions from the squirrel so the three headed off.

With Sora and the Gang:

Kuzco actually got Pacha to carry him.

"Low blood sugar huh?" Pacha asked flatly

"It's a curse." Kuzco said.

"Well, as soon as we get something to eat, you're walking the rest of the way." Pacha said.

"Is there even a place to eat around here?" Takumi asked.

"Yeah. There's a great restaurant up ahead." Pacha said excited.

The group came upon a restaurant that had a big billboard of a large guy with big mouth holding a plate with a dead chameleon on it.

"Mudka's Meat Hut?" Corrin asked reading the sign.

"Looks...tasty." Takumi commented dryly.

"Problem." Goofy said pointing to a sign above the door. It was a sign of a llama with a red cross over it.

"No llamas? What do they have against Llamas?" Kuzco demanded.

"They're ugly, smelly, whinny, liars, and really obnoxious." Donald listed off causing Kuzco to glare at him.

"You know, it's kind of weird that no one comments on you two." Kaze said looking at Donald and Goofy.

"Good point. I wonder why that is?" Goofy asked.

"Because Golden would likely go crazy for trying to take into account every bit of realism from your series." Corrin said. Everyone looked oddly at him for a moment.

"Hey focus! What about me?" Kuzco asked annoyed. Then he looked at Pacha as the two had an idea.

"Welcome to Mudka's Meat Hut. Home of the Mudka Meat." A waitress with orange hair that stood up like an explosion. She wore a blue and white apron and had a dull expression on her face. "What will it be?"

Pacha had handed his poncho and hat to Kuzco, who put them on with some makeup and a flower to look like a woman. Sora and Goofy were just chuckling awkwardly, Corrin, Donald, Takumi, and Kaze looked away in embarrassment, and Sakura was red in the face like she was ready to die of embarrassment.

"We'll all have the special. That alright with you, dear?" Pacha asked in a loving voice.

"Oh, whatever you say darling. You know what I like." Kuzco teased waving a fan around.

"This is our first family vacation." Pacha said to the waitress.

"Bless you for coming out in public." The waitress said flatly.

"Bless us indeed." Corrin muttered embarrassed.

"So, nine specials then?" The waitress asked.

"And an onion log…to split." Kuzco added.

The waitress left to place the order and Kuzco and Pacha started to laugh.

"Okay I have to admit that this is a good idea." Pacha said.

"Matter of opinion I suppose." Takumi muttered.

"Hey, they said no llamas. What else could we do?" Sora asked.

"Get him a doggy bag?" Takumi suggested.

"Not happening. Besides, this idea was great just like all my ideas." Kuzco said.

"Like you going into the forest alone?" Kaze asked.

"Or being chased by Jaguars?" Pacha asked.

"Or lying to all of us?" Sakura asked.

"Doesn't sound like good ideas to me." Donald said.

"Well anything sounds bad when you say it with that attitude." Kuzco retorted.

"Whatever. Let's just eat so I can begin forgetting this moment." Takumi said.

"Oh, come on Takumi. It isn't that bad." Sora said. Everyone minus Goofy, Kuzco, and Pacha gave him an 'are you serious' look in response.

"Nine Pill Bugs for the happy family." The waitress said setting nine plates on the table. Each plate had a Pill Bug all rolled up with a straw next to them. Everyone minus Pacha looked rather horrified at what was placed in front of them.

Sora, Sakura, and Donald immediately pushed it away in disgust.

Kuzco was sniffing it.

Kaze, Corrin, and Takumi just stared at it.

Goofy was looking anywhere else.

Pacha, who actually looked excited, hit his bug with the straw causing it to open revealing its guts. He then started drinking it with a straw much to everyone's disgust.

"Here. Let me get those for you." Pacha said hitting the other eight with his straw opening them.

"Maybe we should have looked at the menu more before ordering." Corrin muttered trying not to throw up.

"Don't think that would have helped too much." Takumi said looking around. A lot of the food the other people were eating ether were bug-like meals that they had, or just looked really unhealthy with a lot of gravy.

"Hey. Don't knock it until you try it." Pacha said.

"Then allow me to taste it for you." Kaze offered.

"You don't have to." Corrin tried but Kaze still started anyway.

Grabbing the straw, Kaze slowly took a sip of the Pill Bug. After a moment, he swallowed it.

"Well? How does it taste?" Takumi asked.

"Its…interesting." Kaze muttered slowly. Suddenly, his face matched his hair as he immediately jumped out of his seat and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Kaze's groans and hurling could be heard from all the way to the table.

"Check please!" Corrin called out.

Kuzco then started to get up.

"Where are you going?" Pacha asked.

"I'm going into the kitchen to have a word with the chief." Kuzco said.

"You're going to get us thrown out." Pacha said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Takumi retorted.

"I'll be fine. With this disguise, I'm invisible." Kuzco said as he left for the kitchen

The moment Kuzco went through the doors into the kitchen, three more people entered the restaurant. One of which caused Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy to duck immediately under the table and dragging Sakura and Takumi with them. Pacha was confused by their behavior, but was too engulfed in his meal to comment.

Yzma, Kronk, and Vanitas took a seat in a nearby table as Vanitas grabbed a menu.

"That is the last time we take directions from a squirrel." Yzma muttered.

"Should have known that from the beginning." Vanitas commented looking over the menu.

"I knew I should have killed Kuzco myself when I had the chance." Yzma growled making Pacha choke for a moment in shock.

"So, they want to kill Kuzco huh?" Corrin asked in a low tone.

"Who are they?" Sakura whispered.

"And more importantly, why are we hiding?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"That guy in the mask is Vanitas." Donald whispered.

"So we need to hide from him? There are six of us." Takumi asked.

"First of all, he's a strong Keyblade wielder. Second, he can summon more Unversed to even the odds, and third, even if we can beat him, I'd rather not fight him in a place where innocents could get caught in the crossfire." Corrin pointed out.

"Oh…good point." Takumi admitted.

"Seriously Yzma. You have to stop beating yourself up on that." Kronk said as Yzma bent a spoon with her hand in anger. Kronk turned to Vanitas. "You going to take your mask off to eat there pal?"

"I would if there was anything on this menu worth eating." Vanitas said tossing the menu over his shoulder and getting up and walking away. As he passed the table Sora and the others were hiding under, he stopped.

Vanitas took a glance towards the table staring at it in silent for a moment.

"Uh...Anything I can help you with pal?" Pacha asked nervously.

"…No. Sorry to bother you." Vanitas said as he left the restaurant much to the group's relief.

As Kronk started to ask the nervous Pacha for a spare fork for Yzma, Sora and the others were planning on their escape.

"So what are we going to do?" Goofy asked worried.

"Sora. You and Sakura go grab Kuzco, while I head to the restroom to grab Kaze. Takumi, you Donald and Goofy head out and keep an eye out for danger." Corrin ordered.

The others nodded and got to work. Pacha overheard the plan and ran towards the kitchen with Sora and Sakura.

Outside:

Donald, Goofy, and Takumi headed outside and looked for Unversed.

"So that guy was the one who controls those Unversed?" Takumi asked.

Donald nodded. "Yeah. He's bad news. But the coast is clear so maybe he didn't see us."

"Oh. I saw you." Vanitas said from behind.

The three jumped and turned to see Vanitas leaning on the building with his arms crossed.

"What do we have here? The King's royal lapdogs and some stray my brother picked up?" Vanitas asked.

"Brother?" Takumi asked as the three summoned their weapons.

"He's been calling Sora his brother for some reason." Donald explained.

"Ether way, we won't let you take Ventus's Heart. Both he and Sora are our friends." Goofy declared.

"How unfortunate." Vanitas mocked.

"Enough of this." Takumi declared as he drew the Fujin Yumi.

"So, you want to play a bit? Fine." Vanitas smirked summoning Void Gear.

Back in the kitchen:

Pacha, Sora, and Sakura made their way to the kitchen as Kuzco was complaining to the chief, much to his growing irritation.

"Look. I'm just saying that the food looks iffy, and I know for a fact that I'm not the only one that thinks that." Kuzco said.

Pacha saw that Kronk was heading for the kitchen and grabbed Kuzco dragging him away.

"Is there or isn't there anything edible on this menu?" Kuzco asked as Pacha, Sora, and Sakura dragged him into the closet as Kronk entered.

"Hey pal. What's your policy on making special orders?" Kronk asked and the chief snapped.

"Okay buster, that's it! You want a special order? Then you make it, because I quit!" The chief said tossing his hat to the confused Kronk. "You know, I try and I try but there is no respect for anyone with vision. That's it. There is nothing I can do about it." The chief packed his pot along with a bunch of other stuff into a small briefcase as he ranted, but on a hat and stormed out the door.

"One second. Please don't go!" Kronk pleaded but the chief just left.

"Ordering! Four combos, extra bacon on the side, two chilly cheese samplers, a liver and onion rings, a catch of the day, and a steak cut in the shape of a trout." The waitress said ether unaware, of the chief's departure, or didn't care. "You got all that honey?"

"Three oinkers wearing pants, plate of hot air, a basket of grandma's breakfast, and changeable to a gill. Got it." Kronk said quickly with determination as he started cooking.

From inside the closet:

"What is going on here?" Kuzco asked.

"There is no time to explain. We have to get out of here." Pacha said trying to open a window.

"Hang on. I'm still hungry." Kuzco said heading back into the kitchen despite the three's protest.

"Okay I'll make it simple for you. I'll have a spinach omelet with wheat toast." Kuzco said heading back to the table and unaware of the change in cook.

"Got it." Kronk said too busy getting ready to cook to recognize Kuzco's voice.

Pacha tried to follow him, but Yzma suddenly appeared in the kitchen. Sora and Sakura stayed in the closet watching the events unfold as Pacha dove under the table Kronk was cooking on.

"What is taking so long?" Yzma demanded. "Kronk? What are you doing?"

"Busy now. Your order is coming right up!" Kronk called out finishing a customer's order.

"Why am I not surprised." Yzma muttered before sighing. "While you're at it, make me the special. And hold the gravy." She said as she went back to her table.

"You know what? On second thought, make my omelet a meat pie." Kuzco said entering the twin door as Yzma exited.

"No problem." Kronk said as Kuzco left again.

"Kronk!" Yzma asked reentering the kitchen again as Pacha exited the table. He quickly hid in the corner pretending to be a statue. "Can I get the potatoes as a side?"

"I'll have to charge you full price." Kronk said chopping carrots.

Yzma growled in frustration as she exited and Kuzco entered.

"Hey pal, can I get some potatoes?" Kuzco asked.

"You got it. You want cheese?" Kronk asked not even looking as Kuzco exited and Yzma entered.

"Thank you Kronk. Cheddar would be fine." She said as she left.

"Cheddar spuds coming up." Kronk said as Kuzco and Yzma kept coming and going through the twin doors.

"Spuds yes. Cheese no." Kuzco said.

"Got it. Hold the cheese." Kronk said.

"No, I want cheese." Yzma said.

"Cheese it is." Kronk said.

"Cheesy me no likey." Kuzco said.

"Cheese out." Kronk said.

"No I want cheese in." Yzma said.

"Well make up your mind!" Kronk said starting to get annoyed.

"You know what on second thought…" Kuzco began as he stuck his head through one door as Yzma did with the other.

"Make my potatoes a salad."

Kuzco went right back to his table, while Yzma stopped at the sound of the second voice for a moment before going back to hers.

The three managed to sneak their way out of the kitchen and spotted Kuzco and Yzma reading the menus.

"How we managed to get through that was something." Sora commented.

"We need to think of something and fast before that luck runs out." Sakura whispered.

Pacha then spotted the waitress and had an idea.

Meanwhile Outside:

"GAH!" Takumi shouted in pain as he, Donald, and Goofy were sent flying to the ground by Vanitas.

"Well, that was quick. You two are as weak as your king." Vanitas mocked as he dismissed Void Gear.

"Don't mock the King!" Donald shouted as the three slowly got back up.

"Speaking of King, that reminds me. Where is he or Aqua for that matter?" Vanitas asked.

"Why should we tell you?" Donald demanded.

"Well, I just find it kind of odd. Two well trained Keyblade wielders not out here trying to stop the Heartless, or those Nobodies, or even me. No. Instead they decide to hide away like cowards while letting my brother do all the hard work." Vanitas mocked.

"They are NOT cowards." Donald argued.

"Then, where are they?" Vanitas insisted.

"I have no idea where the King is, but Aqua's been missing for years now!" Donald stated without thinking.

"So, she really is gone? For how long? 11 years at this point?" Vanitas asked making Donald gulp at his mistake.

"Wh-What's it to you?" Donald asked.

"Then she's likely dead." Vanitas laughed.

"SHE IS NOT!" Donald said.

"Then where is she? Why isn't she or your coward of a King out here?" Vanitas asked.

"KING MICKEY IS NOT A COWARD!" Donald shouted.

"Isn't he? A fully trained Keyblade wielder that doesn't do his job and instead he pawns it off on some random kid that was lucky enough to get a Keyblade? Someone with no prior training thrown right into the lion's den with you two weaklings? And even now, he's still in hiding while you three face off against that Organization." Vanitas retorted.

"You don't know anything!" Donald declared, though his voice did falter a bit.

"Are you sure?" Vanitas asked.

"King Mickey is no coward! I'm confident that what he's doing is to help us all against the Organization!" Goofy vowed with no falter in his voice.

"Humph. I see." Vanitas said. 'I still don't have a confirmation on if Aqua is dead or not, but it does seem certain that she isn't around at the moment. I can work with this.'

Back in the restaurant:

Yzma was starting to get suspicious of the 'woman' that was sitting in the table next to her. She tried to lean forward to get a closer look when…

"1,2,3,4. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FROM ALL OF US TO YOU, WE WISH IT WAS OUR BIRTHDAY, SO WE CAN PARTY TOO!" A group of employees sang much to Yzma's shock as they placed a giant sombrero on her and a cake on the table with a whole lot of candles.

Sora, Sakura, and Pacha used the distraction to grab Kuzco and bolt out the door, hiding on the opposite side of the building where Takumi, Donald, and Goofy were confronting Vanitas.

"What are you three doing?" Kuzco demanded.

"Look. There are two people in there looking for you." Pacha said.

"A big guy and a skinny old woman." Sakura added.

"Wait. Was this woman scary beyond all reason?" Kuzco asked.

"Oh yeah." Sora and Pacha said.

"That's Yzma and Kronk! I'm saved!" Kuzco cheered.

"Kuzco, they aren't here to save you, they're here to kill you." Sora warned.

"Kill me? Their whole world revolves around me. Thanks for the help, but I can take it from here." Kuzco said as he headed back to the restaurant.

"No! We can't let you!" Pacha said grabbing Kuzco.

"Why can't you…wait a minute. You don't want to take me back to the palace! You want to keep me out here forever!" Kuzco accused.

"WHAT?!" The three shouted.

"All you care about is your dumb old village. You guys don't care about me at all! You know what, get lost all of you!" Kuzco spat.

"Will you just stop thinking about yourself for a second a listen?" Pacha tried.

"Kuzco, we are thinking of you! Don't you trust us?" Sakura asked.

"No, I don't! Now GO!" Kuzco shouted.

"Fine!" Pacha shouted back as the three left. Sakura and Sora looked disapproving at Kuzco.

"We backed you up when the others were suspicious of you. But if you really don't care, then fine." Sora said sadly.

Kuzco ignored them as the three left.

Back with Vanitas:

"Well then, what should I do with you three now?" Vanitas asked.

"I'm fair from beaten!" Takumi retorted as he raised the Fujin Yumi and fired.

Vanitas effortlessly blocked the attack with his Keyblade, and with a quick swing, the Fujin Yumi was knocked clean out of Takumi's hands.

"I'd beg to differ." Vanitas said pointing the Keyblade right at Takumi, Donald, and Goofy.

However, Vanitas then spotted Sora and Corrin with their swords drawn running up to the masked Keyblade wielder. Sakura was ready with her staff, and Pacha was carrying the woozy Kaze on his back.

"Seems we're out of time. I'll leave for now. But mark my words, Ventus's heart WILL be mine again." Vanitas said dismissing his Keyblade.

"Leaving all ready?" Sora mocked.

"Oh, we will fight soon. Just you wait." Vanitas said. 'Once I get something edible to eat.'

Vanitas then vanished in thin air.

"You guys hurt?" Corrin asked.

"Only my dignity." Takumi muttered.

"Where's Kuzco?" Goofy asked.

Sora, Sakura, and Pacha all frowned.

With Kuzco:

Yzma and Kronk were finally able to get out of that party, and Yzma was more annoyed than when she entered the restaurant.

"This is all your fault!" Yzma growled.

"What did I do?" Kronk asked.

"If you didn't mix up those poisons, Kuzco would be dead, and we wouldn't be in this situation." Yzma growled.

Kuzco, who was approaching the two gasped in shock as he hid under a rock, out of sight.

"I said I was sorry." Kronk tried.

"No more distractions. We must find that Llama and kill him! Then the kingdom can finally be rid of that useless pest." Yzma said getting into her chariot as Kronk handed her a piece of cake and picked the thing up.

"You've got a point. No one in the kingdom even seems to care that he's dead." Kronk pointed out as the two headed off.

Kuzco stood there in shock.

"They want to kill me? Why?" Kuzco gasped as he started to run around.

"Pacha? Sora? Sakura? Anyone?" Kuzco shouted out but he couldn't find any of them.

"They…They didn't just ditch me, did they?" Kuzco asked himself.

'Keep in mind, that we defended you when the others were suspicious of you.'

'All you care about is building your stupid summer home and filling it with stuff just for you!'

'I knew it! You were lying!'

'Someday you're going to end up all alone out there, and you will have no one to blame but yourself.'

Night was starting to come and the clouds covered the sky and the rain started to fall. Kuzco hid himself under a large leaf as he cried himself to sleep.

Chapter Text

Sora and the gang were currently resting at a Llama ranch as Pacha had insisted.

"Are you sure he's going to come back?" Takumi asked annoyed.

"He'll be here. But more importantly, how's your friend?" Pacha asked pointing to Kaze.

"I-I'm fine. But forgive me when I say I NEVER want to see a Pill Bug again." Kaze muttered.

"You're loss." Pacha shrugged.

"I still think that waiting for him is a waste of time. Don't we have a mission to get to?" Takumi asked.

"Look. I know he's a spoiled brat, but I know that there is good inside of him. I mean, he could have let me fall to my death when the cliff broke underneath me, but he didn't. Deep down, I'm sure that there is a good person that can grow into a great Emperor. Besides, I couldn't just leave him out here by himself. He's a terrible Llama." Pacha said.

"I won't argue with that." Sora laughed.

"And to answer your question Takumi, we really don't know where to even look. At least this gives us some direction." Corrin said.

"What is this mission you keep mentioning?" Pacha asked.

"That masked guy Vanitas is the one that summons those monsters. We're here to stop him, as well as look for some missing friends." Sora said.

Before Pacha could question more, the group spotted Kuzco approach them looking rather guilty and ashamed.

"Hey Pacha, Sora, Sakura? About what I said at the dinner…I…I didn't really…I mean I should have…" Kuzco stuttered out his apology, but then Pacha put his hand up.

"You tired of being a llama?" Pacha asked.

"Yes!" Kuzco cried. Sora and Sakura just smiled.

"So, what is our plan here? If those two that were with Vanitas want to kill Kuzco, then we need to hurry to get him to change back." Corrin asked.

"I know. Going the long away isn't an option anymore. Especially if that Vanitas guy really can summon those monsters like you said earlier…We have to cross that canyon if we want to make it back and fast." Pacha said.

"But how? The bridge is gone?" Kuzco asked.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, and I have a means to cross that gap, but we can't carry others while doing it." Corrin said.

"We're not too far from my village. We'll stop there, get some supplies, and make a beeline to the palace." Pacha suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement and immediately took off.

As the group made it back to Pacha's village, they headed straight up the mountain, but two seniors playing checkers spoke up.

"Hey Pacha! You just missed your relatives." One said.

That stopped Pacha and the group dead in their tracks.

"My relatives?" Pacha asked confused.

"Were you expecting someone?" Sakura asked.

"No, I wasn't." Pacha said getting a bad feeling. "What did they look like?"

"Well there was this big guy and this skinny woman who…how would you describe it?" One old man asked the other.

"Eh, scary beyond all belief." The other one said.

"Yeah! That's it!" The first one said.

Everyone paled and immediately ran towards Pacha's house except for Sora who stayed behind for a minute.

"Was there a guy dressed in black and red wearing a mask that covered his face?" Sora asked.

"I don't think so." One of the old men said. The other shook his head in agreement.

That brought some relief to Sora as he thanked the two and ran to catch up with his friends.

Upon reaching the house, the group saw that Yzma was indeed at Pacha's place talking with Chicha at the table in the kitchen.

"So, remind me again how you're related to Pacha?" Chicha asked suspiciously as she poured Yzma a cup of tea.

"Why I'm his third cousins, brother's, wife's, step niece's great aunt…twice removed." Yzma answered taking a quick sip.

"Uh-huh." Chicha said not buying it.

"Uh, isn't that right Kronk?" Yzma asked Kronk who was too busy playing jump rope with the kids to pay attention much to Yzma's annoyance.

"You know, I am so sorry that you had to come all this way, but as you recall that I said before, Pacha isn't here. But I'll be sure to tell him that you dropped by." Chicha said.

"Oh, thank you." Yzma said knocking the cup off the table. "Oops. Silly me."

"No please. Allow me." Chicha said flatly as she struggled to pick up the glass due to her pregnancy.

Yzma took the moment to speak with Kronk before returning to the table as Chicha finally reached the cup.

"So, while we are waiting for Paka." Yzma started.

"Pacha." Chicha corrected.

"Yes of course. But while we wait, how about you give me a tour of your lovely home?" Yzma asked.

"You know, how about you just come back when Pacha's home. I'm sure he'd love to…" Chicha stopped when she saw her husband gesturing her to the window. "Uh, could you excuse me for a minute? I think I left something in the oven." Chicha said as she ran off. Yzma went back to Kronk.

Pacha had explained everything that happened to his wife as quickly as he could.

"So we have to get him back to the palace, and change him back." Pacha finished.

"Hi there." Kuzco said sticking his head in the window.

On reflex, Chicha smacked him with a frying pan right in the face.

"Uh, that was him." Pacha said.

"Whoops." Chicha muttered as Takumi and Donald surpassed a laugh.

"Did you see a guy in a mask with those two?" Corrin asked.

"No. But when they came knocking on the door, Chaca was mentioning the lady complaining about a guy like that." Chicha said.

"The villagers didn't see him ether. He must have separated at the diner." Sora said.

"That works well for us. But let's hurry before he joins up." Kaze said.

"You guys go get a head start. I'll stall them as long as I can." Chicha said as Pacha gathered the supplies he needed. A bow and arrow and a rope.

"Thanks honey." Pacha said as the two gave a quick kiss.

"You lovely wife. Both very pretty." Kuzco said dazed from the hit to his face as Pacha grabbed him and the group ran off.

"Hey, is it a good idea leaving your family with them?" Takumi asked as they ran down the hill.

"Don't worry. They can handle themselves." Pacha assured.

As if on cue, the group saw something white fly towards a birthday party. It was Yzma covered in feathers, stuck on a string where a pinata once was. The kids, all blindfolded failed to notice the difference and started beating her with sticks.

"I see what you mean." Takumi said as the group bolted further from the village.

The group ran as fast as they could to get to the palace as Kronk and Yzma were following behind them. They soon got to the canyon that was without a bridge.

"I got this." Takumi said grabbing the bow from Pacha and shooting the arrow. The arrow landed perfectly on a tree on the other side of the canyon. Using some extra rope, Pacha made a zip-line for himself, Kuzco, Sakura, Takumi, and Kaze. Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy however just glided across the canyon.

"I have got to learn how to do that." Takumi muttered with jealousy once everyone was on the other side.

"Heads up." Corrin shouted as he pointed to Kronk and Yzma that was approaching the canyon.

Kuzco bite the rope cutting it, but the two seemed unfazed. They both put on some goggles as Kronk pulled a string that caused a pair of wings to sprout from the carrier. Kronk jumped at the end as they glided across the canyon.

"I don't think so. THUNDARA!" Donald shouted.

A blast of lighting struck the two causing the carrier and wings to burn up and the two were sent plummeting into the water below.

"Nice one Donald!" Corrin cheered as the group continued to run back to the palace.

It was evening by the time as they reached the palace. The group made their way inside as the rain started to come down.

"Made it." Pacha gasped as everyone stopped to catch their breath.

"Great. Now where is this secret lab Kuzco?" Corrin asked.

"I believe she pulls one of those levers over there to open it." Kuzco said pointing to a face on the wall with two tusks.

The group approached the statue on the wall.

"These things?" Corrin asked poking the tusks.

"Of course. It's just like in the movies. A hidden switch that leads to a secret room." Donald explained as he pointed to the tusks. "Pull the lever Goofy!"

Goofy grabbed one of the levers and pulled down.

A trap door opened underneath Donald and Kuzco causing them to fall screaming.

"Donald! Kuzco!" Sora cried out in concern.

"Uh, wrong lever Goofy." Corrin pointed out.

"Oops." Goofy muttered embarrassed.

The door opened up as an angry Donald and Kuzco stormed back in with an alligator biting Kuzco's tail.

"Okay. Why does she even HAVE that lever?" Kuzco asked annoyed as he kicked the Alligator in the nose causing it to let go and scamper away, and Donald was wringing his hat dry as he glared at Goofy.

Pacha pulled the other lever causing the wall to open and the floor to spring forward, launching everyone onto a roller-coaster.

Pacha and Kuzco were in the front, Sora and Corrin were right behind, then Takumi and Sakura, while Donald, Goofy, and Kaze were stuck in the last one.

"Please remain seated, and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times." A recorded voice rang out.

"Wh-What is this?" Sakura asked fearfully.

"Uh, grab the bar in front of you and just brace yourself." Corrin said to his little sister.

The Roller-coaster started as Sakura's screams rang across the chamber louder than the others.

At the end, all of them were flung to the ground suddenly dressed in white lab coats and goggles.

"What the heck are we wearing?" Sora asked as everyone discarded the outfits.

"All I know is that I NEVER want to go on that again." Sakura muttered shaken.

The group ran to the lab table as they started looking everywhere.

"So where is this potion that can turn you back?" Corrin asked looking through beakers.

"I don't know." Kuzco said looking.

"Well, what does it look like?" Takumi asked looking.

"I don't know!" Kuzco repeated.

"Over here!" Corrin shouted as he opened a giant cabinet that was shaped like a bird.

Inside were many potions with a label on the shelf in the form of different creatures.

"Let's see here…Lions, Tigers, Bears…" Pacha read off, but when he reached the spot for human, there was no potion.

"Oh my." A voice called out. Everyone turned to see Yzma approach them with a potion in her hand. "Looking for this?"

"What? No! How did you get back here before us?" Corrin demanded.

Yzma was about to speak, but then stopped. "That's a good question. How did we get back here first Kronk?"

"Well you got me." Kronk said pulling down a map. A red line was marked for Kuzco's group, while a purple line was marked for him and Yzma. There was even a lightning bolt for when Donald zapped them. "By all accounts, this doesn't make any sense."

Yzma just shrugged. "Oh well. Back to business."

"Okay. I'll admit that I wasn't nice as I should have been. But do you really want to kill me Yzma?" Kuzco asked nervously.

"Just think of it as you're being let go. That your life is going in a different direction. That your body is part of an out of placement." Yzma said making Kuzco gulp.

"Hey! That's kind of what he said to you when he fired you." Kronk pointed out causing Yzma to groan.

"I know. It's called a cruel irony. Like my depends on you." Yzma said flatly.

"I can't believe this is happening." Kuzco gulped.

"Then I bet you weren't expecting THIS!" Yzma said as she started to lift up her dress leg.

"OH, GODS NO!" Pacha and Kuzco shouted as everyone covered their eyes.

"Yzma then revealed a knife calming them down.

"Oh, okay." Kuzco sighed in relief.

"Finish them off." Yzma said tossing the knife to Kronk.

Everyone summoned their weapons.

"You really think a little knife is going to scare us?" Sora mocked.

Kronk however wasn't listening as he was having his own conflict.

"You're not backing down, are you big guy?" A voice said as a little Kronk dressed in a devil costume appeared on Kronk's shoulder.

"Uh, where's the other guy?" Kronk asked pointing to his bare shoulder.

Just then, a Kronk dressed as an angel sitting in a chair with a hair dryer on while he was reading a book.

"Yo!" Kronk called out.

"Oh!" The angel said quickly dismissing the chair, and removing the book as he put his halo on and brought a harp out instead. "Sorry. What I miss?"

"Well Yzma tossed me this knife and told me to you know…take them out…" Kronk began. To everyone else in the room however, Kronk was just talking to himself. Yzma looked at the other with a disturbed confusion on her face as the others shrugged.

"Kronk!" Yzma shouted getting Kronk's attention. "Why did I think you could do this? This one simple thing? It's like I'm talking to a monkey. A really big stupid monkey named Kronk. And do you know what else? I never liked your spinach puffs. NEVER!" Yzma scolded losing all her patients for her bumbling buffoon of a lackey.

Kronk gasped and started to cry.

"Th-That was mean!" Sakura shouted but Yzma didn't care.

"Yeah! Isn't he your friend?" Sora demanded.

"He's my lackey. Not my friend." Yzma clarified.

"That's it. She's going down." Devil Kronk spat as he pointed his pitchfork at her.

"Now, now. Remember guys. From above, the wicked shall receive their just reward." Angel Kronk said looking up.

Kronk and Devil Kronk looked up to see a chandler above Yzma.

"That'll work." The three said.

Kronk then used the knife to cut the rope holding the chandler, but because of Yzma's thin body, it missed her entirely thanks to the opening in the center.

"Well that didn't go the way I thought." Corrin commented.

"Strange. That usually works." Kronk muttered.

"So, does THIS!" Yzma said pulling a lever causing a trap door to open under Kronk.

"Huh. Should have seen that coming." Kronk muttered before he fell through.

Kaze then snagged the vial out of Yzma's hands.

"Hey!" Yzma shouted as Kaze handed it to Pacha.

Yzma tackled the villager causing him to drop it, then ran over to the cabinet and hit it from behind, causing numerous vials to fall to the floor around the human potion.

"Oops. Clumsy me." Yzma mocked. Everyone was looking through the potions on the floor for the human one, but without the labels, they all looked the same.

Yzma then pulled a lever causing an alarm to sound off. "Better hurry. I'm expecting company."

Doors opened on both sides of the group as muscular solders with their bodies covered in red and blue paint stormed in.

"GET THEM! They murdered the Emperor!" Yzma ordered. The guards grabbed their weapons of mostly axes and maces and began to charge.

"No wait, it's me Kuzco!" Kuzco cried out but the guards weren't listening.

"I'll take care of this." Takumi said rising the Fujin Yumi.

"Wait! We can't kill them!" Sakura pleaded as she grabbed Takumi's arm.

Pacha then kicked the table filled with Yzma's potions on the ongoing guards causing the potions on the table to explode on contact.

When the smoke cleared, the guards were changed into animals.

There was a warthog, a lizard, a cow, an ostrich, an octopus, and a gorilla.

"Get them!" Yzma ordered pointing at the group/

"Uh excuse me? I've been turned into a cow. Can I go home?" The cow asked.

"You're excused." Yzma said.

"Thanks." The cow said running off.

"Anyone else?" Yzma asked.

"No. We're good." The rest said.

"GET THEM!" Yzma shouted.

"Just grab them all and run!" Corrin shouted.

Pacha gathered all the vials into his poncho as everyone ran for the exit.

Sora however, felt someone grab his hood and toss him to the ground hard before he could run away.

Groaning and looking up, Sora was shocked to see Vanitas standing before him.

"I do believe it's time to continue where we left off. Brother." Vanitas said as he summoned Void Gear in his hand.

Sora jumped back to his feet and summoned Oathkeeper as he readied to fight Vanitas.

"Vanitas, where have you been? You vanished at the diner!" Yzma shouted.

Vanitas ignored her as his attention was set on Sora.

"Are you listening to me? Forget the brat and go after Kuzco!" Yzma ordered.

"Be quite! This brat is what I'm after. Your llama problem is no longer my concern." Vanitas said.

"WHAT?! So help me that when this is finished, I will have your head for this!" Yzma warned but Vanitas didn't care at all.

"Still, I don't want your friends butting in like last time." Vanitas muttered as he snapped his finger.

Several Unversed appeared in the room. Multiple Floods and some jellyfish-like Unversed in different colors appeared.

"Get them." Vanitas ordered pointing to the exit Corrin and the others ran out of as the Unversed gave chase to the heroes. "Now that they're distracted, I have you all to myself. So, will you give Ventus's heart willingly, or do we have to do this the hard way?"

Sora readied himself for a fight.

"Hard way it is." Vanitas said as got into his battle stance. Yzma decided to leave the room and chase after Kuzco.

Sora and Vanitas charged forward as the sound of Keyblade's clashing filled the room.

Chapter Text

The Unversed began to swarm the halls of the palace giving chase to the group minus Sora as they ran away from the guards turned into animals.

"Oh great! Monsters as well!" Kuzco cried out sarcastically.

"I'll take care of them." Takumi said as he stopped running and started shooting the Unversed with the Fujin Yumi.

"Kaze and I will go help out. Goofy, you Corrin and Sakura help Kuzco." Donald ordered.

The four nodded as Donald and Kaze went to back Takumi up.

With most of the Unversed now preoccupied on Donald, Takumi, and Kaze, that left the others to deal with dodging the guards.

"If we can just change you back, the guards should stop attacking us." Corrin shouted.

"But which potion will do it?" Pacha asked looking at all the potions they gathered.

"They all should turn Kuzco into something. Just pick one. We don't exactly have the time to choose carefully." Corrin said.

"Okay. This one." Pacha said tossing Kuzco a potion. He caught and drank it turning into a turtle.

"Guys? Help!" Kuzco cried too slow to get away from his approaching guards, and coming across some stairs.

Pacha scooped him up as they ran. The Octopus guard tried to attack with an axe, but Corrin blocked it with his sword, knocking the changed guard back.

Pacha then jumped on Kuzco's shell and rode down the railing. Goofy took out his shield and did the same with Sakura jumping onto his shoulder and Corrin ran down the stairs right behind them.

From at the bottom, some more guards gathered to intercept them.

"Oh, please be something with wings." Pacha prayed as he shoved another potion in Kuzco's mouth.

When the smoke died down, Kuzco did turn into something with wings.

"Yeah! We're flying!" Kuzco cheered. Only to realize that he was a small bird that couldn't support Pacha's weight. "Uh-oh."

The two crashed down to the ground.

Goofy was able to jump the guards as he reached the end, and Corrin pointed his sword at them.

"Force!" He shouted.

The gravity spell incapacitated the guards, allowing Corrin to slip by and join up with Kuzco and Pacha who started running as soon as the spell wore off.

"We aren't getting anywhere with you picking. I'm picking the next one!" Kuzco demanded as Pacha carried him.

"Fine by me!" Pacha said as he grabbed the remaining four potions in his other hand.

"Give me that one." Kuzco said pointing to the one on the far left.

Pacha gave him the potion and Kuzco changed into a whale stopping them all in their tracks on a bridge.

"Don't say a word." Kuzco warned.

Kaze, Donald, and Takumi then caught up with them.

"Do I even want to know?" Takumi asked looking at Kuzco's new body.

Before anyone could say anything, the bridge was starting to give out from the weight of Kuzco's new body causing them all to fall into the canals bellow.

"Quick! Drain the canals!" Yzma ordered as the others resurfaced.

"Open up!" Pacha said as he tossed a potion into Kuzco's mouth.

When the smoke cleared, Kuzco was back into a familiar form.

"Yeah! I'm a Llama again!" Kuzco cheered before stopping. "Wait…"

"On the bright side, you're more comfortable moving in that form than those other animals." Corrin pointed out.

Suddenly, the eight of them were sucked down as the canals were drained and the water exited out of the nose to a giant face statue of gold.

Kuzco, Pacha, Donald, and Goofy held onto one nostril while Corrin, Takumi, Sakura, and Kaze held onto the other.

"There they are! Get them!" Yzma ordered pointing down the hole.

"Come on men! No one lives forever!" The lizard ordered as the guards charged downwards, only to fall through the hole and to the ground bellow as the heroes already moved out of the way and was hanging on to the sides of the nose.

"Did…Did they just jump off like that?" Corrin asked bewildered.

"And here I thought Setsuna was bad." Takumi commented.

"I hope they're okay." Sakura muttered in concern.

"Someone remind me to do something about that later." Kuzco commented also surprised by his guard's stupidity.

Meanwhile with Sora:

Sora and Vanitas clashed Keyblade's through the lab, though Sora was quickly put on the defense. Jiminy had left Sora's hood at the start of the fight and was now watching on the broken table nearby.

"Don't tell me this is all you got brother." Vanitas mocked.

"I'm not done yet! Sonic Blade!" Sora shouted.

"Sonic Blade!" Vanitas shouted.

Both moved at a fast pace clashing at a blinding speed before both jumped back from each other. Sora stared at the masked Keyblade wielder in front of him in utter shock.

"H-How did you know that attack?" Sora demanded.

"I was locked in your heart for quite some time. And during that time, I picked up quite a number of your moves." Vanitas said. Just to prove his point further, he pointed his Keyblade and charged it full of energy at the point.

"Sora! Look out!" Jiminy warned.

"Ragnarok!" Vanitas shouted as the ball of energy burst into smaller balls of energy that homed in on Sora.

"Reflect!" Sora shouted as he covered himself in a magic shield protecting him from the blast.

When things died down, Vanitas was gone.

"Where are you?" Sora demanded.

"Right here." Vanitas said from behind.

The moment he said that, he blasted Sora in the back with a Dark Figara. Sora was sent flying forward to the ground.

"You're hopeless." Vanitas laughed as he walked towards Sora.

Sora managed to get up and caste a Cura spell on him.

'This isn't good. Vanitas knows all of Sora's attacks, along with his own. Sora is at a complete disadvantage.' Jiminy thought in concern. Sadly, he himself was in no way able to help Sora. He could only hope one of the others could come back.

"You know, when I was trapped in your heart with Ventus, your techniques weren't the only thing I picked up." Vanitas said.

"Oh? What else did you learn?" Sora spat.

"How similar you are to Ventus. You both share quite a weakness. Your friends." Vanitas said.

"Leave them out of this!" Sora shouted in anger.

"Riku and Kairi. They remind me of two nuisances. Terra and Aqua." Vanitas said.

"Terra and Aqua?" Sora asked confused.

"Terra was a powerful Keyblade wielder and Aqua was a Keyblade master. Yet in the end, despite all their power, they both failed miserably." Vanitas smirked.

"You're wrong!" Sora shouted with Ventus's voice leaking through.

"Am I? Where are they then? I warned you Ventus, that if you didn't hurry, Terra would no longer be himself. And where is Aqua? Why isn't she helping to solve this problem? Ether she is a coward, or she's gone." Vanitas smirked.

"She is not! Terra and Aqua are stronger than this!" Sora shouted in Ven's voice.

"They were weak. And soon, Riku and Kairi will suffer the same fate." Vanitas taunted.

"Don't you dare hurt them!" Sora shouted as darkness started emanating from his body.

"And who is going to make me? You? You can't even protect yourself. Your brother isn't here to save you this time, and I already have you on the ropes." Vanitas retorted. "When we last fought Ventus, you said that your friends were your power, and you Sora, said that back in Hollow Bastion. But all that has done is made you weak. Without them you are nothing. You may have won our last match Ventus, but look where we are now. I am the one who is free, while you remain trapped in a boy who was never chosen by the Keyblade in the first place."

"Don't you listen to him Sora! He's only trying to get in your head! Think about it! Sure you've relied on others a lot in the past, but there have been fights you've had to fight alone and you still found a way to come out on top!" Jiminy shouted.

"Y-You're right!" Sora stuttered rather unsure himself. "I can't give up! I still have more tricks up my sleeve. VALOR!"

Sora was engulfed in a bright light…But immediately, that light turned dark.

"S-Sora?" Jiminy gasped in concern.

"Well now. What is this?" Vanitas asked curiously.

Back with the others:

Yzma grabbed a purple curtain and used it as a rope to prevent herself from falling like the guards did when she jumped. With it, she also ran up the side of the statue where the others had finally climbed to reach the two remaining potions currently in Pacha's hand.

"Okay. So, there are only two left. One of these HAS to turn you back to normal." Pacha said.

"Where's Sora?" Corrin suddenly asked noticing the lack of his brother.

"He was with us earlier. Wasn't he?" Donald asked. Thinking that Sora was with them from the start.

"Gawrsh. I guess we got caught up in all the action, we didn't realize that he separated." Goofy said worried.

"I hope he's okay." Sakura muttered.

"He might still be at the lab. Maybe I should go back and check." Corrin said in concern. 'If the Unversed are close by, then Vanitas might be as well.'

Before anyone could do anything else, Yzma suddenly appeared and tackled Pacha, causing him to drop the two potions. She and Kuzco both ran towards one, ending up on Yzma breaking it and exploding.

"MWA HAHAHAHA!" Yzma laughed through the smoke.

But when it died down, Yzma was revealed to be nothing more but a small grey cat.

Meow." Yzma said.

"I'll just take this then." Kuzco smirked taking the last potion.

"Well thanks to that, we now know which one will change you back." Donald cheered.

Before Kuzco could drink the potion, Yzma attacked Kuzco's face with her claws causing him to drop the potion. Pacha tried to help, but Yzma bite him causing him to stumble back in pain and bump into Takumi. Losing their balance, the two fell off the ledge with Pacha grabbing onto a piece of the statue for dear life as Takumi grabbed his legs.

"TAKUMI! PACHA!" Sakura shouted.

"Hang on! We'll get you!" Corrin shouted before turning to Kuzco who managed to slam his head into Yzma against a wall. "Just drink the potion."

Kuzco looked around, but the potion was gone.

"Where is it?" Kuzco cried out.

"Looking for this?" Yzma asked. Everyone stopped and starred at her now high-pitched voice. Even she was shocked by the change in her voice. "Is…Is that my voice? Is that MY voice?" She then shrugged. "Oh well." She then held the potion high as she grinned evilly at Kuzco.

"Wait! You can't drop it!" Kuzco cried out.

"I'm not going to drop it you fool! I'm going to DRINK it! And once's I'm back to my beautiful self, I'm going to KILL you!" Yzma laughed.

"Uh-huh. And how exactly are you going to do that when all of us are here, armed, and you are nothing more but a small cat?" Corrin asked flatly as Yzma remembered that she was indeed surrounded.

"Oh. Good point…uh…VANITAS!" Yzma called out.

No response.

"Where did he go? That masked buffoon! Once I'm finished with Kuzco, he's next." Yzma growled.

Corrin then summoned his sword and pointed it at Yzma. "Hand over the potion. NOW!" Corrin ordered. 'No doubt that Vanitas is with Sora right now. I'd better wrap this up and get back to the lab fast.'

Just then, three large Unversed appeared before the group. In some case, it was similar to the Guard Armor, Sora, Corrin, Donald, and Goofy fought back in Traverse Town as the three looked like pieces to a larger foe.

The top piece was dark torso and head piece that was grey and diamond shaped with red eyes. The front of its body was adorned with a large, light blue, U-shaped additive with black edges lined by four short spikes. The Unversed symbol was at the bottom of its neck with two black spikes that had a red base, and a yellow stripe on each of them.

The middle piece was a red and black cone-shaped body with spikes decorating it and the Unversed symbol decorated in the front. There was some gold lining to the body and the top had four propeller-like blades on top.

The bottom one looked like three segmented legs that were red in color with black outlining and grey joints. The legs all had a triangular black feet-like shape and the Unversed symbol was right in the center.

The middle and bottom looking ones then changed into a pair of arms and legs as the head connected them to its body and its face changed into a more armor mask.

"That works!" Yzma smirked.

The Trinity Armor let out a barrage of small laser blasts at the group causing Yzma and Kuzco to duck for cover. Goofy ran in front of Sakura and Donald to protect them with his shield as Kaze started dodging and Corrin deflected them with his sword.

The Trinity Armor then reeled back its large hand and smacked the world jumpers, minus Takumi away sending them flying as it took off and gave chase.

Yzma then went to try and open the vial, but her small body was having trouble removing the cork. She tossed it to the wall out of frustration, causing it to bounce back into her face, sending them both flying off the ledge.

With Corrin and the others:

"For the last time, no one here ordered a giant pillow!" A guard shouted annoyed to a merchant that was hauling a massive white pillow on a cart.

"Well why didn't you tell me before I dragged it inside?" The merchant asked annoyed.

"AHHHHH!"

The two looked up to see Corrin, Sakura, Kaze, Donald, and Goofy screaming as they fell right onto the giant pillow.

"Ah-Huck. Comfy." Goofy said.

"Talk about lucky." Kaze muttered.

The Trinity Armor then landed before them.

"Wh-What is that thing?" The merchant screamed as he ran.

The guard charged at it, but was easily swatted away.

"Hope you guys are ready for this. Because there is no Keyblade to back us up this time." Corrin said as the five got ready for battle.

Back with Kuzco:

While she fell, Yzma dropped the potion and it landed on a ledge a bit further down. Kuzco ran for it, but things weren't good for Pacha and Takumi.

Because Pacha was grabbing on the statue's eye, the round surface was starting to make him lose his grip as he started sliding off the side. He was still able to keep his hold, but it was apparent that it was slipping.

"Hang on Pacha!" Takumi cried out as he barely hung onto Pacha's feet.

"I-I'm trying! KUZCO!" Pacha cried out.

"Be right there!" Kuzco cried out in concern as he raced for the potion. The potion dangled on the edge ready to fall as Kuzco tried to reach, but was coming up short.

"KUZCO!" Pacha cried out.

"Crap! There's gotta be something I can do!" Takumi cried out looking for an answer but finding nothing. Pacha was barely hanging on as is, so climbing up him would likely cause Pacha to lose his grip.

Kuzco looked back and forth between Pacha and the potion before making up his mind.

Pacha's grip finally gave out as the two began to fall…Only to be caught by a familiar pair of hooves.

"Gotcha!" Kuzco cried out as he grabbed Pacha's hand and started to help pull the two to safety.

Takumi was in shock. The selfish brat that was willing to let Pacha and Sora fall back at the bridge had just forfeited his chance of being human again to save them.

Kuzco had succeed in pulling the two up and Pacha turned to Takumi.

"See? I told you. No one is that Heartless." Pacha said.

"I…I guess you were right. Thank you Kuzco." Takumi admitted.

"Thanks." Pacha smiled just as he spotted something. "The vial!"

The three looked to see the vial had finally rolled off the edge and fell.

Back with Sora:

When the darkness died down, Sora was now completely black with waves of dark energy emanating off his body. His eyes were yellow. He looked like…a Heartless. He didn't even have the Keyblade in his hands anymore. Instead, his hands looked like claws.

"It seems that your transformation into a Heartless had some other affects." Vanitas smirked.

Anti-Sora didn't say anything. Instead in charged at Vanitas running on all four.

Anti-Sora brought his claws forth and swiped at Vanitas. Vanitas blocked the attack with his Keyblade, but was then greeted with a swift kick to his mid-section.

As Vanitas stumbled back, he could only laugh.

"This is quite a discovery. You fight like a Heartless in this form! I wonder what else you can do?" Vanitas said as he readied his Keyblade for another round.

Jiminy had seen enough. He needed to help Sora.

"Sora! You need to turn back now! Before the darkness consumes you!" Jiminy cried out as he ran towards Sora, but the young Keyblade wielder didn't respond. He just charged at Vanitas once again.

"SORA! STOP!" Jiminy cried out.

Anti-Sora started moving around Vanitas attacking with his claws and feet on the masked Keyblade wielder. Vanitas however was able to block them, but Anti-Sora's attacks were getting faster and more hits were starting to connect.

Vanitas jumped into the air away from Sora and pointed his Keyblade down at him.

"SUFFER!" Vanitas shouted as he shot a Dark Figara at Sora.

Anti-Sora dodge the attack and jumped behind him, and launched a back-flip kick to the back of his head sending Vanitas plummeting to the ground.

Anti-Sora dove down at Vanitas, but Vanitas recovered and dodged, while swing his Keyblade hitting Sora in the side.

Anti-Sora went flying back.

Vanitas followed up with a charge attacking Anti-Sora with his Keyblade.

Anti-Sora was able to recover and strike with his claws, blocking the Keyblade.

'Interesting. It's like he relies only on instinct. He truly is like a Heartless in this form.' Vanitas thought.

Anti-Sora then jumped into the air and waved his arms down unleashing a barrage of dark blasts from his claws at Vanitas knocking him back.

Vanitas then brought his Keyblade forward and charged energy into the tip.

"Ragnarok!" Vanitas shouted.

A barrage of blasts homed in on Anti-Sora exploding on contact and sending him flying.

When the smoke died down, Sora was back to normal as he fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Wh-What happened to me?" Sora panted.

"SORA!" Jiminy cried out running to the fallen boy.

"Well, that was something. It seems your powers have more to them than you thought. But it looks like you're used up all your strength." Vanitas said.

Sora re-summoned his Keyblade as he tried to stand, but he didn't have the energy to stand up and fight and fell back down to his knees, using the Keyblade to support himself.

"A bit of a letdown, but I suppose I can't complain. I got what I want." Vanitas said as he approached Sora.

Jiminy jumped onto Sora's Keyblade and glared at Vanitas.

"I won't let you hurt Sora!" Jiminy declared.

"J-Jiminy…run!" Sora panted.

"I won't run away from a friend. I stayed with you back in Hollow Bastion and I will stay with you now!" Jiminy declared.

"Matters not to me." Vanitas shrugged as he stopped right in front of Sora. He raised his Keyblade ready to strike Sora down and take Ventus's heart. Sora could only close his eyes and await the inevitable.

'I'm sorry everyone. I-I wasn't strong enough.' Sora thought sadly as his thoughts drifted to Sakura, Takumi, Kaze, Donald, Goofy, Leon's group, Cloud, the friends he made from all the different worlds, Riku, Corrin, his mother, and especially Kairi.

Suddenly, a trap door opened underneath Vanitas.

"AHHHHH!" Vanitas shouted as he fell.

Sora and Jiminy looked around confused as to what just happened, until he spotted Kronk with his hands on a lever.

"You know, Yzma has a lot of trap doors all over the place in this lab. Never really knew why but hey. I'm not complaining." Kronk smiled.

Sora just fell on his back gasping in exhaustion.

"Come on kiddo. I've got a recipe that will put some energy back into you." Kronk said hoisting Sora over his shoulder.

"We can't thank you enough." Jiminy said hoping on Kronk's shoulder.

As Kronk headed for the exit, he spotted another lever he didn't recognize.

"I never saw this lever before. Did Yzma just install it? Wonder what this does." Kronk wondered pulling it.

A trap door opened underneath him.

"Should have seen that one coming." Kronk said before he fell with Sora and Jiminy.

Back with Kuzco:

"Sorry Kuzco." Pacha said sadly. The three looked down to where they saw the potion fell. Chances are that it had already hit the bottom and shattered.

"If only I wasn't such a burden back there." Takumi muttered bitterly.

"Hey! I wasn't much better." Pacha argued but Takumi didn't respond.

Suddenly, the three spotted Yzma holding the potion laughing as she went flying upward. She smashed her head on the statue dropping it, causing it to fall a bit further up.

Pacha and Kuzco saw that the statue designs made it that there was a gap that was close to each other much like the canyon from that bridge.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Pacha smirked.

Kuzco nodded as the two went back to back and started to walk up the wall arms locked towards the vial.

Yzma snapped out of her daze and made a dash for the vial. Her new cat body let her climb and jump towards it much easier.

Several Jellyshade Unversed charged at the climbing duo, only to be met with arrows from the Fujin Yumi.

"I'll hold them off! Just climb!" Takumi shouted.

"Got it!" Pacha shouted back. The two climbed as high as they could as the walls were starting to slant away. Kuzco pressed his head on Pacha's back and stretched his neck as Pacha tried to reach for the vial.

Yzma then jumped forward grabbing the vial herself and laughing.

"I win!" She said.

Suddenly, a Door opened, slamming Yzma in the face causing her to lose her grip on the vial. Pacha caught it as it fell towards him.

"Wow! Who would have thought that trap door would lead to here?" Kronk commented from behind the door.

Pacha and Kuzco managed to get themselves to a flat platform with the potion in hands. The two laughed and hugged each other for a moment before pulling back a bit embarrassed. Pacha opened the vial and handed it to Kuzco.

"Well, see you on the other side." Kuzco said finally drinking the potion.

Takumi watched as Kuzco finally drank the potion and couldn't help but smile a bit.

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting coming from the distances got his full attention.

"Hope the others are okay." He muttered as he started to climb up to where the others are. That door Kronk came through looked like a nice exit from this statue.

Back with the others a few moments ago:

The trinity armor fired another round of lasers at the group as Sakura raised her staff.

"Reflect!" She shouted creating a barrier that protected the others from the lasers.

When the barrier died down, Kaze ran behind the creature and slashed at the legs with his weapon. The creature reeled back before taking a swing at the ninja sending him flying back. The Unversed then started to spin launched out multiple balls of fire into the air that went falling all over the place.

Corrin dodge rolled passed the fireballs as he summoned his mask. "Hydro shot!" Corrin shouted as he blasted one of the arms with a ball of water.

"Nullfire!" Sakura shouted as she engulfed the group in a spell to protect them from the fire balls.

"Fira!" Donald shouted as he blasted the creature with a ball of fire. The Unversed recoiled, but it was far from done.

The Unversed started to change red in color as energy was building in front of it.

"Incoming!" Goofy shouted.

The Trinity Armor unleashed a massive blast of energy at the group. Kaze grabbed Sakura who was the least acrobatic of the group as everyone else dodged to avoid being it.

"This thing is taking our attacks like nothing. We need to do something and fast." Kaze said.

"No. I think it's taking hits, but we aren't doing enough." Corrin said.

"Well, you have any plans?" Donald asked.

Corrin was silent for a moment before speaking. "Everyone focus on one spot. If we combine our attacks, we should take it out faster. We'll start with the legs."

Kaze and Goofy readied their sword magic with Thunder on their weapons, Donald and Sakura readied their staffs, and Corrin put on his mask once again.

"HYDRO SHOT!" Corrin shouted blasting a ball of water at the Unversed.

"PEARL!" Sakura shouted firing a ball of light magic at the Unversed.

"FIRA!" Donald shouted shooting a fireball at the Unversed.

"TAKE THIS!" Goofy and Kaze shouted as they tossed their Thunder covered weapons at the Unversed.

The onslaught of all the attacks destroyed the legs as the Unversed spit back into two creatures.

"Great! Now for the middle part!" Corrin cheered.

The middle piece started to spin around like a top and charged at the group.

"I'll take care of this one!" Donald declared as he pointed his staff at it. "FANTASIA!"

A barrage of missiles launched at the middle piece destroying it on contact.

"Great work Donald!" Goofy cheered.

"That was amazing!" Sakura cheered for her kind of mentor.

"I'll take out the head!" Corrin declared as he charged at it.

"I'm right behind you Lord Corrin!" Kaze declared also charging at the creature with his weapons still engulfed in lighting.

Corrin and Kaze jumped into the air and dived right at the final piece, destroying it in a cross slash.

At last, the battle was over.

"We…We did it! We actually won!" Sakura cheered.

"You all did great!" Corrin smiled.

"I hate to cut the celebration short, but we should hurry back and check on the others." Kaze said.

Everyone nodded and headed back to where they were launched from.

Chapter Text

Things had settled down at the palace after the fighting was done with.

Kuzco was now a young man ruffly around the same age as Sora with long black hair and a slim body. He was no longer wearing rags like he did as a Llama, and instead a red robe with a golden headpiece that he wore as Emperor. Currently he was talking to an old man dressed in blue and white clothing with a blue pointy hat and a walking stick in his hand.

"Oh, you should stop being so hard on yourself. All is forgiven." The old man assured.

"You sure?" Kuzco asked.

"It wasn't the first time I was thrown out a window, and it won't be the last. What can I say? I'm a rebel." The old man joked as he threw a few punches around.

"Wow there, tiger." Kuzco joked as he was tapped in the arm. "Hey watch it! I gotta use that later."

With that the old man left as Takumi and Sakura walked up to him.

"You tossed him out a window?" Takumi asked.

"Uh…yeah." Kuzco admitted sheepishly.

"So, what is going to happen to Yzma and Kronk?" Sakura asked.

"I don't what I'll do with Yzma yet. As for Kronk, I think he said he has things he's wanted to do." Kuzco said.

"By the way, I want to thank you for saving my brother." Sakura bowed.

"Yeah. I have to admit, I was wrong about you." Takumi admitted.

"Well, I can't blame you for thinking that about me." Kuzco admitted. "By the way, how's your spiky friend doing?"

"Sora? I'm not sure." Sakura admitted.

"Corrin's checking on him." Takumi said hiding the bitterness in his voice.

Kuzco then noticed Pacha sitting in front of a small replica of his home village looking at it sadly. Kuzco walked up to him. He knew what he had to do.

With Sora:

Sora was sitting at a dinner table with Corrin, Jiminy Donald, and Goofy. All four of them were looking at the young Keyblade wielder in concern as Sora was slowly eating the food in front of him as opposed to how he usually eats.

"Hey, I know you're upset with how your fight went, but I know you'll get stronger." Corrin encouraged.

"Don't worry Sora. We'll be with you next time. You're hopeless without us." Donald lightly teased. Sora slumped down his shoulders further as Corrin and Jiminy glared at him.

"Err…Sorry. Maybe not the best time." Donald admitted sheepishly. Sora didn't respond. "Look. Even King Mickey wasn't able to defeat Vanitas in a one on one match. I still remember the day Aqua brought his unconscious body to Yen Sid's tower. He's not an easy opponent to beat."

"It's true." Goofy added. "Vanitas isn't your ordinary opponent. But you've got a lot of potential. With some more training, I'm sure you'll come out on top next time."

"It's not just that I'm worried about." Sora admitted.

"Is this about that dark form you took when you fought him?" Goofy asked and Sora nodded.

"Maybe we should find someone to talk to about this." Corrin offered.

"I'd suggest Master Yen Sid, but sadly we can't seem to find the coordinates to Twilight Town to get to him." Donald sighed.

"Maybe Merlin?" Goofy offered.

"That's not a bad idea." Donald admitted. "But Hollow Bastion is quite a way away, and the warp drive has been acting up recently.

"We can always call them." Goofy suggested.

"But…what if I'm not strong enough? I couldn't even scratch the guy before that and if I didn't use my drive, I would have died. But what if when the next time I transform, I turn into that dark form? I can't even remember what I did in that form!" Sora cried out.

"You didn't hurt anybody Sora. Just Vanitas." Jiminy assured.

"But still…" Sora began.

"Look. We'll call Merlin as soon as possible and see if he has any ideas on how to combat it. You'll be fine Sora." Corrin assured.

"How do you know that?" Sora asked.

"Because I know how you're feeling. Remember when I first transformed into a dragon? I didn't say much at the time, but I felt fear. Fear that I would lose control of myself and hurt you guys. If it wasn't for Merlin giving me that Dragon Stone, I don't know what I'd do." Corrin said.

"I don't think this is like your dragon form though." Sora argued.

"Maybe not completely, but the feeling of dread definitely is." Corrin countered. "And when I was lost in my rage, you and Kairi were able to snap me out of it. If you transform, I'll do the same. That's a promise."

"Corrin." Sora muttered.

"And we'll be with you as well Sora. It's all for one and one for all!" Goofy cheered.

"So cheer up! Remember what we said when we met? Our boat doesn't run on frowns, and we get enough of that with Takumi." Donald chuckled.

"I guess so." Sora muttered.

'When we last fought Ventus, you said that your friends were your power, and you Sora said the same thing back in Hollow Bastion. But all that has done has made you weak. Without them you are nothing!' Vanitas's voice rang in Sora's head.

'Do I rely on others too much? Am I useless on my own?' Sora thought sadly.

With Kuzco:

Kuzco approached Pacha who was holding a model of his house that wasn't on the hill due to a model of Kuzco's future summer home in its place on the mountain.

"So, you lied to me." Kuzco said getting Pacha's attention.

"I did?" Pacha asked unsure of what Kuzco was talking about.

"You said that when the sun hits these hills just right, they sing. Well pal, I was dragged all over these hills and I never heard any singing." Kuzco stated.

Pacha smiled upon realizing what Kuzco was implying.

"So I think I'll be building my summer home on a more magical hill." Kuzco said taking the model of his summer home off along with a mini water-slide. "Thank you."

Kuzco reached out his hand for Pacha to hand over the model of his house which Pacha handed to him.

"Can't pull the wool off your eyes huh?" Pacha asked.

"Nope! I'm sharp." Kuzco said putting the house back on its spot. "Looks like your family is stuck on the tuneless hilltop forever pal." Kuzco then took a seat next to Pacha.

"You know, I did hear some singing on the hill next to us…In case you're interested." Pacha offered as Kuzco started to think about it.

The Hoshidans decided to leave the two alone at that.

"I'm glad Kuzco reconsidered." Sakura smiled.

"Yeah." Takumi agreed.

Kaze then appeared.

"The others are in the dining hall. You wish to join them?" Kaze asked.

"How is Sora doing?" Takumi asked with some caution.

"He seems rather down, but I don't sense any danger from him." Kaze said

"For now, I suppose." Takumi muttered.

"I-I don't think Sora is a threat." Sakura said.

"Maybe not now, but what if he transforms like that again? Sora said he doesn't remember what he did in that form. How do we know he won't try to kill us in that form?" Takumi demanded.

"C-Corrin and K-Kamui transformed, but neither of them hurt anyone friendly." Sakura argued.

"First of all, I don't care what that traitor does. Second, I doubt this is the same thing as that Dragon form. And third of all, Kamui was only saved by Azura's singing." Takumi countered.

"W-Well, I don't think Sora would hurt us." Sakura argued.

"How can you be so sure?" Takumi argued.

"I-I just have a feeling!" Sakura said as she walked away.

"That isn't very reassuring." Takumi sighed.

Later:

Everyone was all set and ready to head out. Pacha was going to be heading back soon, but he was sticking around a bit longer to talk to Kuzco about a new spot for his summer home. Kuzco was still holding the model for his summer home in his hands.

"So, you have to leave?" Pacha asked.

"Yeah. Vanitas was nowhere to be seen, so he likely left, and we still have some friends to find." Corrin said.

"Well, take care." Pacha smiled.

"Hey. If you're ever looking for work, I could use someone like you guys as guards." Kuzco offered.

"Uh…We'll keep that in mind." Corrin said awkwardly.

Suddenly, the model in Kuzco's hands started to glow.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and opened the lock to a new path.

"What the heck was that?" Kuzco asked when the light died down as he examined his model for what caused the light show.

"Uh, don't worry about it. You behave Kuzco." Corrin said changing the subject.

"Uh…yeah." Kuzco chuckled awkwardly.

Everyone waved farewell as the group departed to a spot out of sight so they could teleport to the Gummi Ship without drawing unwanted attention.

In the Gummi Ship:

Upon returning to the Gummi Ship, Donald immediately got to the phone and called Cid.

Cid's face appeared on the window of the Gummi Ship much to the shock of the three Hoshidans.

"What the heck is this?" Takumi cried out.

"Don't worry about it." Corrin dismissed.

"Hey there." Cid waved.

"Hey Cid, is Merlin there?" Corrin asked.

"Merlin? No. The old loon is still at Disney Castle. Says my computer keeps him awake at night." Cid said with a roll of his eyes.

"That's not too far from here. Guess We're going home again." Donald said.

"How's things going at your end?" Corrin asked.

"Pretty quite for the moment. Leon is still searching around the castle for Ansem's computer, but no luck so far." Cid said.

"Well, tell him good luck." Corrin said.

"I will." Cid said ending the call.

"Back to Disney Castle then!" Donald declared as the ship took off.

Disney Castle:

Upon landing in the Gummi hanger, Donald lead the group out to the gardens where Merlin was relaxing with some tea, joined by Minnie and Daisy.

"Merlin!" Donald called out getting the three's attention.

"Oh? Back so soon? Is something up?" Minnie asked.

"We need to talk to Merlin, and Cid said you were still here." Corrin said.

"Well you've caught me at the right time. I was going to head back when I finished my tea. What can I do for you fellows?" Merlin asked.

"Well…" Jiminy began as he explained what happened back at the Palace with Vanitas.

"Oh dear. That sounded terrible. I'm glad you're okay." Minnie said kindly to Sora.

"Thanks." Sora muttered.

"This is definitely serious. A transformation like that could be dangerous to both yourself and others." Merlin said.

"Where did this transformation come from?" Daisy asked.

"Vanitas thinks it was a side effect from Sora becoming a Heartless." Jiminy said.

"Wait a minute. You became a Heartless?" Takumi asked shocked.

"Yeah. It's a long story. Last year, Ansem and Maleficent needed the hearts of seven special maidens to open a door that would lead to Kingdom Hearts. Our friend from back home Kairi was one of them, but when the islands were swallowed by darkness, Kairi's heart was somehow inside of Sora. Sora turned the Keyblade on himself to save her heart, but in the process became a Heartless. Though Kairi was able to bring him back…somehow." Corrin explained.

"That's was apparently what set Vanitas free as well." Jiminy added.

"Oh dear." Minnie muttered.

"Merlin. Do you have anything that can help Sora like you did with me?" Corrin asked.

Merlin shook his head. "Sadly no. Your situation is more on your bloodline. Sora's is his inner darkness. If I had a solution for that, we wouldn't be dealing with all these Heartless and Nobodies."

"So…Is there anything I can do?" Sora asked a bit afraid.

"Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you. That is something you'll have to figure out yourself." Merlin said sadly.

"Do you remember what happened during the battle that might have triggered it?" Minnie asked.

Sora was silent for a moment before shacking his head. "It's kind of blurry to me."

"Vanitas was taunting you and Ventus. Claiming how those other two Aqua and Terra failed, and how Riku and Kairi would fall as well." Jiminy chimed in.

"That's right! I was feeling angry and afraid." Sora remembered.

"That might be the case then. I would recommend not using your drive powers while your emotions shift to more highly to negative ones. At the least that should reduce the chance of transforming into that dark form." Merlin advised.

"I'll try." Sora said sadly.

"I'm sure you will succeed Sora. We have faith in you." Minnie assured.

"Thank you." Sora said giving a small smile.

"It's times like these that your skills as a Keyblade Wielder is tested to its fullest. But surpassing it can bring you another step closer to becoming a Keyblade Master." Merlin said.

"Keyblade Master?" Kaze asked.

"A Keyblade Wielder that has shown the Mark of Mastery and passed through some trials will be bestowed the title of a Keyblade Master." Merlin explained.

"Interesting." Kaze muttered.

"Well, I'd best be off. There is still a lot of work to do back in Hollow Bastion." Merlin said.

"Tell Leon and the others we said hi." Corrin said.

"I will. And if you need any advice, do feel free to call. I'll do what I can." Merlin said.

"Thank you, Merlin." Sora and the others said as they left.

Back on the Gummi Ship:

As the group returned to the Gummi ship, Donald got in the pilot's seat and started the ship up to take off.

"Thankfully we didn't have to travel too far from where we were. We'll check what path has opened for us and continue our quest." Donald said.

"That's good. I guess I'll work on some magic practice then." Sakura said leaving the room.

Corrin tapped Sora's shoulder getting his attention.

"Why don't you go and get some sleep. With all that has happened, maybe some shut eye will help calm you down." Corrin suggested.

"I guess you're right." Sora muttered feeling tired.

"I usually am." Corrin joked.

Sora chuckled as he headed to his room.

Takumi stared at Sora's retreating figure before following. Corrin decided to as well.

Sora wasted no time heading straight for his bed and drifting off to sleep.

Takumi stood outside the room pondering how to handle this.

"Can I help you with something?" Corrin asked startling Takumi.

"What are you doing here?" Takumi asked.

"I sleep here. What are you doing here?" Corrin asked.

Takumi just stared back at Sora and Corrin put the pieces together.

"He won't harm anyone." Corrin said.

"How do you know that?" Takumi asked.

"Because I trust him. Sora would never hurt those close to him." Corrin said firmly.

"He couldn't control himself in that form. He could do it regardless if he wants to or not." Takumi argued.

"Well then, what's your excuse for attacking us back at Disney Castle?" Corrin retorted.

Takumi flinched at that like he was slapped and Corrin sighed.

"Look. I get you're worried, but I have faith in Sora. When I transformed into a dragon for the first time, I had lost all control. I saw Sora stab himself with the Keyblade and vanish before my eyes. Then Ansem had appeared. The one that caused all that hardship we faced last year had fully taken over our friend Riku's body. At that moment, all I could feel was rage. I wasn't even listening to what he was saying. I just wanted him dead. He took the islands I called home, separated me and Sora from our friends, took over one of their bodies and caused the other to lose her heart, and now the one I called my brother was taken right in front of me and I could do nothing about it. I hated Ansem for all of that, and I hated myself for my weakness. After that, everything went dark for me. I was lost. Lost in my anger attacking anything that got close to me. Then I heard Sora and Kairi's voice. They reached out to me. They came back for me, even knowing that I could possibly hurt them. They refused to give up on me and I won't give up on them. I will help Sora through this. No matter what." Corrin said.

Takumi looked down in both sorrow, jealousy, and even some anger. "And yet our voice wouldn't reach her." He muttered.

"Who?" Corrin asked.

"Nothing." Takumi muttered with sorrow in his voice. "I'll leave him alone...But I'm still staying on guard."

Takumi walked away leaving Corrin confused.

"What was that all about?" Corrin asked.

"When your sister transformed into a Dragon after your mother's death, your siblings tried to reach out to her, but their voices didn't reach." Kaze said from behind Corrin.

"That's right. Sakura mentioned that when Takumi was possessed by Maleficent. How did she change back then?" Corrin asked.

"Lady Azura's singing. Her song was somehow able to calm Lady Kamui down." Kaze said.

"A song?" Corrin asked.

"I don't know much about it. Lady Azura would never talk much of her past. I do know she would always practice that song whenever she could. The only thing I ever got out of her about it was that it was taught to her by her mother. Still, it was able to calm your sister down to the point that Azura's voice was able to reach her." Kaze said.

I see...Thank you for sharing this with me. If you don't mind though, I think I'll get some shut eye." Corrin said.

"Understood. Sleep well Lord Corrin." Kaze said as he vanished.

"It's just...never mind." Corrin sighed as he entered the room and lied down in his own bed. He glanced at Sora who was already out like a light. Corrin shut his eyes and drifted to sleep himself. His mind constantly drifting to Sora, Sakura, Takumi, and even his twin Kamui.

Chapter Text

Hoshido Castle:

Ryoma just slumped into his room in utter depression. He didn't even notice that he dropped Rajinto to the floor like it was some coat.

He had failed. He failed to get Kamui to return home with him, the Chieve rebellion was a failure, and even worse, Scarlet was now dead. Her forces were completely massacred and not one of her troops were spared. The Nohrian troops executed her in a gruesome manner according to Orochi, who along with Reina managed to return heavily injured but alive.

"That sister of yours. I think it's clear where her love is now." The hooded man said appearing in Ryoma's quarters. "Your little sister cared more for the princess than she did you."

Ryoma said nothing.

"And then your forces were attacked by the Heartless." The man continued.

"The Heartless?" Ryoma slowly asked.

"Those dark creatures. Gotta have a name, right?" The man asked.

"I…suppose so." Ryoma muttered.

"And then she went and killed your girlfriend. Oh, but not just her, she killed her army, and slaughtered the citizens of Chieve. The Nohrian's that were sympathetic to your cause." The man added.

"It wasn't her. It was that Hans guy!" Ryoma argued remembering the report he received upon his return.

"Does it matter? She did nothing to stop it. She chose to side with people like him over you." The man retorted.

Ryoma tried to open his mouth to retort, but all words died.

"You know, there is one thing I can't figure out. How did you know where Kamui's group would be traveling through?" The man asked.

"We intercepted some Intel that Kamui's group was passing towards Macarath." Ryoma said.

"Interesting. If you ask me. It seems like it was a set up. Like King Garon is rubbing it in that Kamui chose him over you." The man said.

Ryoma thought for a moment, and the more he thought, the more that it made sense with how the timing matched up to when he received the Intel, just the right amount of time to arrive and counter, and with how little Nohrian forces his troops dealt with in order to get to a place where King Garon keeps a personal Villa.

"Damn him!" Ryoma growled.

"Why are you so persistent on bring Kamui back home?" The man had to ask.

"…I was there the day that Corrin and Kamui were taken. I saw it all. I saw my father be betrayed and murdered by Garon. I saw him take two of my siblings from me. I…I was powerless. The soldiers of Hoshido pulled me away to safety. I was able to escape but they weren't. It was my failure that caused them to be taken. For Takumi to shut himself out. For Hinoka to change her personality and grow as a warrior at such a young age. For Sakura to be subjected to rumors and for her to grow anxiety as a result. And for our Mother to lose some of the light in her eyes that she once had. I am their older brother and I am nothing but a failure!" Ryoma cried out.

He didn't know why he was telling some stranger all this stuff, but words came out without even thinking.

"And because of that promise, it has brought you nothing but pain. Kamui's twin Corrin is gone, your youngest brother and sister are gone, and even that blue-haired girl is gone. Now Scarlet is gone and soon, and soon, your last sister will be as well." The man said.

"No! I-I won't let that happen!" Ryoma cried out. His voice becoming more and more desperate. "I will use every bit of my power to save my family and Hoshido!"

"With your current power? As if. You may have strength, but it isn't enough to save your family. Even with that old man's so called 'blessing.' But perhaps I can help." The man said.

"How?" Ryoma asked desperately.

"I can help you awaken power that exist within you." The man offered.

"Power that exists within me? Like what the Rainbow Sage did?" Ryoma asked.

"As if. I'm talking about actually power. Power that can truly make a difference." The man said.

"And what power is that?" Ryoma asked.

"I'm talking about darkness. The Nohrians have embarrassed it but you have not. That's why the Heartless cooperate with them. Nohr didn't create them, they called them. But if you open your heart to darkness, you'd become much stronger. Far stronger than that maniac Nohr calls a king." Xigbar said.

"Open my heart…tell me. Who are you?" Ryoma asked.

"Me? I'm just a friend. But if you need a name…Xigbar." The man smirked under his hood.

In another section of the Castle:

Hinoka was sitting in a large meeting room with not only her retainers, but the retainers of her siblings as well as Yukimura.

Setsuna was a young woman in green and white around Hinoka's age. Her green hair even covered one of her eyes.

Azama was a priest around Hinoka's age wearing blue and white robes with brown spiky hair that pointed back.

Hana was a young girl around Sakura'a age that had long brown hair and a white headband. She wore pink clothing under her white armor with blue underneath it.

Subaki was a young man around Takumi's age with Marion hair. He wore white and blue clothing with black armor on his shoulders.

Hinata was a young man around Takumi's age with brown spiky hair that was tied into a ponytail. He wore a purple sleeveless shirt under some black armor and white pants.

Oboro was a young woman around Takumi's age with long dark blue hair tied in a ponytail. She wore blue clothing underneath an orange outer layer along with some chest armor like many of the others.

"So…according to Orochi, the battle at Chieve ended horribly?" Hinoka asked upset.

"It would appear so my lady. The entire Chieve rebellion was slaughtered by the Nohrian army along with its commander Scarlet." Yukimura said.

"How are Orochi and Reina holding up?" Hinata asked.

"Both have sustained massive injuries. They are alive for now, but their recovery is still unsure." Kagero answered.

"Lord Ryoma hasn't been looking all that well ether." Yukimura pointed out.

"I know. I'll check on him after the meeting." Hinoka said.

"Well, according to Intel, King Garon is nearly ready to begin his invasion." Yukimura said gravely.

"Great. With the loss of most of the royal family, morality is at an all time low." Hinoka said bitterly before turning to the retainers of Sakura and Takumi. "Speaking of, was there any luck in finding their whereabouts?"

"Sadly, no. The four of us searched everywhere but have found no sign of Lady Sakura, Lord Takumi, Kaze, or even Lady Azura." Subaki said sadly.

"Perhaps if we waited a bit more before executing those people that took Lady Azura, we might have had a lead." Azama pointed out.

"It matters not. They're dead now and that is all there is to it." Saizo said as a matter of fact. "And, as much as it pains me to say this, it is very certain that the four of them are dead as well."

"I COULD YOU SAY THAT SAIZO?!" Hana shouted standing up and slamming her hands on the table as she glared at the red headed ninja.

"Sorry to say, that it is a likely possibility." Kagero said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Hinoka demanded.

"After Lady Kamui evaded our forces, we were ambushed by those creatures. Strangely enough, they never seemed to target Lady Kamui's troops that couldn't have been too far away. They only attacked us. It's why we couldn't regroup with the Chieve rebels and were forced to withdraw." Kagero explained. "Given the brutality of Nohr, and those Shadow creatures attacking us from everywhere..."

"It is very likely that Lady Sakura, Lady Azura, Lord Takumi, and Kaze were killed by those creatures from Nohr." Yukimura finished sadly as Kagero nodded. "Given the state that Sakura's rod was found in, it is very plausible."

"Great." Saizo growled rather upset.

"No…Lady Sakura." Hana muttered trying her best not to cry.

"If only we never got separated from Lord Takumi after the failed invasion at Dia." Oboro muttered sadly as she clenched her fist in anger.

"Dwelling on the past won't change anything. We need to come up with a plan or Hoshido is finished." Saizo said sternly.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO HEARTLESS?!" Hana shouted.

"I'M NOT! You aren't the only one that lost someone dear! Did you forget my own brother is gone as well? I am devastated, but there is no time to morn when the enemy is ready to begin an invasion right this very moment!" Saizo shouted.

"Saizo." Kagero muttered in concern to her coworker and former lover.

"That's enough!" Yukimura shouted getting everyone's attention. "Tensions are already bad enough as is, the last thing we need is to be fighting among ourselves." That got the two retainers to settle down.

"Do you think we should just surrender? Maybe King Garon will spare us?" Setsuna offered.

"Out of the question. Even if that 'I only want peace' crap Lady Kamui constantly claims was even remotely true, King Garon had made it obvious that he wants us all dead. Further proof lies with the fate of the Chieve Rebels and citizens." Saizo said.

"I think we should at least evacuate the citizens so they aren't caught in the crossfire. What do you think Lady Hinoka?" Kagero offered.

Hinoka nodded. "That's a good idea. We'll evacuate those that can't fight, then we need to fortify our defenses." Hinoka said.

The Hoshidans then began to further plan their defense for the inevitable invasion. It was likely a loss cause, but if they were going down, they were going down fighting.

Kingdom of Nohr:

Kamui stood before King Garon who sat on his throne as usual with Iago to his side. Leo was also in the room as well off to the side.

"You have done well in quelling the Chieve Rebellion. Kamui. I am very pleased." King Garon said.

"Father I have to ask. Was it really necessary to kill all those people? Not only did Hans murder the solders, but most of the citizens of Chieve as well." Kamui argued.

"It seems you still reek of naivety." Garon sighed.

"Naivety?" Kamui asked shocked.

"Do you think of yourself as a saint or something? There is no such thing. If we didn't kill them, they would have returned to kill us." Garon said.

"I-I can't accept that father! Why do we need to kill everyone? I'm sure if we talk things out, we can reach a compromise." Kamui pleaded.

"FOOLISH GIRL! Are you trying to anger me?" Garon roared.

"Father please! Forgive Kamui. It was an exhausting ride for her and the upcoming invasion has a lot of us on edge." Leo said making his presents known to Kamui who didn't realize he was in the room the whole time.

"Speaking of the invasion, are things going as planned?" Garon asked turning his attention to Leo.

"Yes father. The invasion should proceed on schedule. I have made sure of it myself." Leo bowed.

"Excellent. You are both excused." Garon ordered.

"Understood." Leo bowed.

"Wait father! I'm not done yet! Is this really the legacy you want to leave behind? Is this really the Nohrian way? I beg of you to reconsider!" Kamui pleaded. Garon's face twisted to more anger.

"My goal is to conquer Hoshido for the benefit of Nohr. Everyone in Nohr is aware of the situation, their position, and their role. Those that get in the way will be crushed. It matters not what they think of me. Talk of treason will be dealt with severally." Garon growled.

"But father..." Kamui began.

"Enough Kamui! Father has spoken. It's time to go!" Leo ordered grabbing her arm and dragging her out the door despite her protest.

"King Garon I must ask. Is it wise to keep her alive? While watching her squirm is amusing, her questioning is getting rather jarring." Iago said.

"The Great Dragon as spoken and she is to be sparred. For now. Besides, killing her would just be an easy out." Garon said.

"As you wish." Iago said.

Outside the Throne Room:

"What were you thinking in there Kamui? Do you have a death wish or something?" Leo demanded.

"Leo, you can't possibly be okay with all this mass murder, are you?" Kamui asked.

"Of course, I don't! Why do you think I spared Kaze and Rinkah on the day of your first test? But that doesn't mean you can openly disagree with father. You've been lucky so far, but eventually father will run out of patients and have you will be killed on the spot. Trust me on this. It is best that you keep silent and just follow orders. For your own safety." Leo said.

"Camilla said the same thing back in Chieve." Kamui muttered as she remembered her talk with Camilla after seeing Hans kill all those soldiers and citizens on the King's orders.

"All four of us have lived under King Garon's rule for our whole lives. Xander and Elise would tell you the same thing." Leo said.

"I see…I know that's how you all have lived all these years and I understand your perspective. However, I cannot carry out these orders father has been giving recently. I refuse to raise my sword to the innocents. I want to protect them." Kamui said as she started to walk away.

"Kamui wait! Think of who you're talking to. You know me better than that. We have to follow fathers' orders yes, but in truth we only have to make it appear to follow orders." Leo called out.

Kamui stopped and turned back to face Leo. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember what I did to save Kaze and Rinkah?" Leo asked and Kamui nodded. "That wasn't the only time we have done something like that. We give the appearance of good little solders, but we have made it a certain art of manipulating things behind the scenes. As a matter of fact, I did succeed in getting at least some of the younger citizens of Chieve out of there while Hans was distracted by you and Camilla. How do you think the four of us have kept our souls intact and survived all this time?"

"You…You've been deceiving father? But you said it was dangerous." Kamui stated.

"It is. But sometimes the most righteous path is the one most dangerous to walk. The Hoshidans claim that they are the path of justice, but they are hypocrites. They have more than enough resources to spare, but they cut trade with us and left us all to die. That is why we have this war in the first place. Still, that doesn't mean I want them all to die." Leo said.

"I'm still confused on what happened that day. I've heard different stories from Hoshido and you guys, and there are my nightmares that seem to point more towards Hoshido's story. But that can't be right. I know you guys would never lie to me like that." Kamui said.

"I'm glad to have that trust. As for what happened, Hoshido suddenly cut off trade with Nohr one day with no explanation. Father arranged a meeting with King Sumeragi at Chieve to negotiate the reopening of trades, but it didn't work. King Sumeragi held no care for the suffering of our people since he thought of us as useless with nothing to offer them. Angered by this, Father lashed out at him, and King Sumeragi attacked as a result. His attack failed and he was killed in the process. That resulted in an uproar and you and your brother were taken during the chaos." Leo said.

"Father...Did he really say that?" Kamui asked shocked.

Leo nodded. "In all honesty, that might not have been the wisest choice to take you both, but the tension was getting to him. The plights of Nohr has never been good for father's health. I still remember when I was little where he was such a kind and caring man. But around the time Elise was born, that seemed to have disappeared. Xander would tell me in the past that Garon did try to do things your way in fixing the problems with Nohr, but it never worked and sometimes blew up in his face. It has hardened his heart as a result. Xander believes though that once this war is finished and Nohr has the resources it needs to survive and thrive once again, that father would return to his old self. And I believe that too." Leo said.

"I-I never knew." Kamui muttered.

"I suppose that is our fault as well. We prepared you to fight, but we never got a chance to show you how to work here in Nohr. I'm sorry Kamui." Leo said.

"No Leo. Thank you for telling me this." Kamui smiled. "I'm sorry that my father refused to help."

"It's not your fault. People don't always take after their parents and sometimes, that can be a good thing." Leo said.

"How so?" Kamui asked.

Leo's thoughts drifted to his own mother, causing him to grow some anger. "I'll...tell you another time."

"Okay." Kamui said though still concerned for her step brother.

"I can't guarantee that we will be able to save everyone, but we will do what we can." Leo assured.

"Thank you, Leo. I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Kamui smiled.

Suddenly, Leo's tomb Byrnhildr, and Kamui's sword Yato started to glow. Both took out their relics in surprise.

"Wh-What the heck? This has never happened before." Leo asked in shock looking at his sacred relic.

A light from Byrnhildr shot towards the Yato causing the Yato to glow brighter in a purple light. The hilt opened up wider and the blade was now glowing in a purple light. The bottom hole in the blade closest to the hilt was also purple.

"This…This must be the Grim Yato the sage was talking about." Kamui gasped.

"Sage? What are you talking about?" Leo asked confused.

"When I went to Norte Sagesse, I met the Rainbow Sage like Xander recommended. When I did, the sage said that I would join forces with a hero of Nohr and the Yato would grow into the Grim Yato." Kamui said.

"The sage said that? Wow." Leo muttered in awe. "Does that mean I'm the hero he mentioned?"

"It would appear so. He said our weapons were otherworldly and my sword would become the True Seal of Flames. Sadly though that's all he told me before he died." Kamui said sadly.

"The Seal of Flames…I wish I had more time to research it, but with the invasion coming I don't." Leo said putting his tomb away.

"Impressive Kamui." Xander said.

The two turned to see Xander, Camilla, and Elise approach them.

"How long have you three been there?" Kamui asked.

"Since you left the throne room." Xander said before approaching Kamui. "I should also apologies to you. I wasn't expecting Father to send you on missions so fast I never got a chance to teach you how we operate behind the scenes."

"No, I'm sorry I started to doubt you guys." Kamui said.

"Well don't you worry Kamui. The five of us will be together in the invasion." Camilla smiled.

"Hey cool sword Kamui. That's what the sage was talking about right?" Elise asked excited.

"I believe so." Kamui smiled.

"Cool! I wonder if it will change with Xander's sword as well?" Elise asked.

Deciding to try it, both Kamui and Xander drew their swords, but nothing happened.

"Well, it did just transform. Maybe it's not ready yet?" Leo suggested.

"That's not a bad guess. We can try again another time when we get the chance." Xander said putting his sword away. Kamui did the same as well. "Still, we do have some time to ourselves before the invasion starts, so let's use this moment to start educating you on how to manipulate father's order's behind his back." He offered.

"Thank you Xander. Everyone." Kamui smiled as the five headed off.

The invasion was coming. The final days of the war were seemingly in sight. And Kamui could only hope that things wouldn't go too bad.

Chapter Text

It was a rare sight indeed. Sora had woken up before Corrin.

Granted, many a times, Sora would awaken to the sound of his brother falling out of the bed, but recently, Corrin had a railing attached to the side of his bed that wasn't next to the wall. So while he was still turning a lot, he wasn't going to fall off as easily as before.

Sora exited out of his room and headed to the cockpit. His mind though was still on his dark form from when he fought Vanitas.

'Merlin said that this was something I was going to have to overcome, but how do I do that?' Sora asked himself until he bumped into someone snapping out of it. Looking ahead, he saw it was Takumi who turned to face him as a result of getting bumped into.

"Oh sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Sora lightly chuckled.

"It's fine." Takumi dismissed.

"So, you're up early." Sora said.

"I usually do to get some training in. Sadly, There is only so much I can do on this ship." Takumi simply said.

"I see…Well, I'm sure you'll get some practice in when we land next." Sora said.

"Maybe." Takumi muttered.

The two were in an uncomfortable silence, but Takumi looked like he was holding back a glare.

"So…How are you liking things so far?" Sora asked trying to make small talk.

"I want to make something perfectly clear." Takumi said suddenly. "I don't trust you. I may have to travel with you for the time being, but don't think that makes us friends. Sakura may trust you, and I know I can't tell her how to think, but I've got my eyes on you. If you ever attack her in that form of yours, I won't hesitate to kill you. Understood?" Takumi stated.

Sora said nothing, but he slowly nodded.

With that, Takumi left.

"Well, that could have gone better…" Sora muttered as he continued back to the cockpit.

Later in the Cockpit:

Everyone was lounging around in the cockpit. Corrin was reading a book, Donald was flying, Kaze was meditating, Goofy was snoozing, Sakura was looking at her spell book again, and Sora was still lost in thought as Takumi stared at him every now and then.

"Looks like a new world is approaching." Donald said getting everyone's attention.

"Great. I could use a stretch." Kaze said.

"Any world we're familiar with?" Corrin asked.

"I don't think so. But we are about to land, so everyone get ready." Donald said as began to disembark.

Sora and the gang found themselves at some kind of stone wall. Sora ran up to the edge and looked at the sea that was beyond it.

"This place seems…" Sora began

"Kind of different." Goofy finished. They weren't sure why, but there was something different about this place that felt different compared to every other world they visited.

"This place though…It's a wall, right? It kind of reminds me of the Great Wall of Suzanoh back home. Even has some ballistas on it...At least I think these are ballistas." Takumi commented as he examines the canons.

Takumi then noticed something written on the wall. "For use in the event of a Pirate Attack. Commodore Norrington."

"If that is true, then this is likely a means to protect someplace nearby from pirates. Though that does beg the question on where the guards are." Kaze asked looking around at the lack of people manning this area of defense. "Still, it would be wise for us not to loiter around here for too long. If someone were to come and see us here, I can't see it looking well for us."

"Can't argue with that. If we ever caught anyone unknown on the Great Wall of Suzanoh, we'd be on full alert as well." Takumi admitted.

"Great Wall of Suzanoh?" Sora asked confused.

"It's a great wall that protects Hoshido's capital." Sakura explained though Takumi wasn't too thrilled of Sakura telling Sora things like that about Hoshido.

"Sakura. You should be careful with the things you say. We can't have Hoshido's secrets being revealed." Takumi said.

"O-Oh…I'm sorry. But I don't think Sora is a threat to Hoshido." Sakura said.

"Even still, other enemies are lurking around everywhere Lady Sakura. It would be wise to take caution on when you speak of our home. Who knows who could be listening?" Kaze advised.

"Y-You're right. That was careless of me. I'm sorry." Sakura bowed in embarrassment.

Suddenly, screaming filled the air.

"What was that?" Sora demanded as he ran to another end of the wall where a town was spotted not too far. It was also on fire.

"Organization XIII?" Goofy gasped

"Could be the Heartless." Donald said.

"Ether way, we should check it out." Corrin said as everyone headed for the village.

Port:

Right by the docks, where several ships were stationed, one looking awfully old, Pete was speaking to a group of pirates. None of them bore any similarities to Captain Hook. Where Hook was dressed in bright red in clothing that looked richer, these pirates were dressed in more dark clothing that was more rags. The leader in front was wearing a dark blue jacket with a matching pirate hat. Under the hat, he had shoulder length blond hair and a wavy beard. He also had a rapier and a pistol on his belt.

"Aztec treasure eh?" Pete asked.

"Aye. And thanks to the curse placed on it, we are nether among the living, or the dead." The Pirate Captain said.

"Really? Because you look like regular pirates to me." Pete asked curiously.

"Aye. For now, but when under the moonlight…" The Captain began as he looked up to the sky. The clouds that covered the moon moved causing the moonlight to shine down on the pirates.

Much to Pete's shock, the pirate's appearance changed. Their skin ether vanished completely, or in the captain's case, became grey and decayed. Skeletons were what was left, and even their clothing was more decay.

"Wow!" Pete jumped back in shock. "Now I see what you mean!"

Pete was able to calm himself pretty quickly. His experience with other worlds and building an army for Maleficent has caused him to see a lot of crazy stuff. Unlike the old him that once lived in Disney town, who would have run for the hills on seeing this, he was more ready for surprises like this.

"Well, I should leave you with a word of warning. There's this punk running around with a weapon called a Keyblade. It would be of your best interest to stay clear. He and his group have a type of magic that don't belong to this world see. And there is no telling what that magic could do to you when you looking like that." Pete warned.

"Oh. A match for Barbossa you say?" The pirate named Barbossa asked.

"Oh, big surprise! It's you Pete!" Donald shouted in annoyance.

Pete and the pirates turned to see Sora and the gang running up to them with their weapons drawn.

"That there be those punks I was telling you about." Pete said.

"Who are you calling punks? It's Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Takumi, Sakura, and Kaze. And don't you forget it!" Sora declared.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to mark it on your tombstones." Barbossa mocked.

"Wow! I like your style." Pete laughed.

"Is that supposed to scare us?" Takumi spat.

'It kind of does.' Sakura thought as she slowly moved closer to Takumi.

"Men! Half of you stay here and deal with these cullies. The rest, bring me the medallion!" Barbossa ordered.

The pirates cheered as half of them ran into town, while the rest stayed to fight the group.

"Aw. We only get to stomp on a few of you?" Sora mocked.

Barbossa just smirked as he headed for the town. Pete however stayed to watch the show.

The Pirates were armed with axes, swords, of rifles, and all of them charged at the group.

Sora met one of the pirates in a blade lock. The pirate tried to push the boy down, but to his surprise, Sora proved to be stronger and knocked the pirate back.

'Great. These guys don't seem that tough. Maybe I won't have to use a drive form this time.' Sora smirked internally with some relief washing over him. Sora then charged at the pirate and swung his Keyblade going on the offense as the Pirate tried and failed to block the attacks.

Corrin went up against a large one with axes in each hand. The pirate swung his axes at the young dragon boy, but Corrin dodge rolled out of the way. His mask then appeared as he aimed a Hydro Shot right at the Pirate.

"Hydro Shot!" Corrin shouted. A blast of water hit the pirate dead on in the chest sending him flying a few feet away and landing flat on the ground.

Takumi was facing against a Pirate with a gun. The pirate shot at Takumi, who was able to dodge the shot.

'It shoots like an arrow but much faster and harder to see. If it wasn't for my training with Phil, I'd probably be hit bad.' Takumi thought as he shot an arrow, hitting the Pirate in the forehead.

"Bullseye." Takumi smirked.

However, much to his shock, the Pirate was unaffected.

Kaze had stabbed a Pirate with his weapons, but the Pirate wasn't even reacting to the hit.

Even the one Corrin hit just got back up like the Hydro Shot was nothing.

"WH-What are they?" Sakura asked as she and Donald were behind Goofy and his shield.

"This is ridiculous! That attack should have at least done some damage." Corrin muttered in shock.

Sora kept up the attacks, but the Pirate never flinched. Soon, he jumped back to avoid tiring himself out.

"Why isn't anything working?" Sora asked.

"I don't know, but if we don't figure something out soon, we're in serious trouble." Corrin said.

Suddenly, the clouds stopped covering the moon, revealing the Pirate's true form.

"WAHH!" Sakura screamed in fear.

"What the heck?" Takumi asked in shock.

"Say your prayers." One Pirate said.

"HEY WATCH OUT! THE MOON IS OUT! STAY CLEAR OF THEIR MAGIC!" Pete shouted in fear.

"What for?" One pirate asked.

"Weren't you listening to me before?" Pete growled in annoyance at the pirates lack of concern for his warning.

'Moon?' Corrin wondered as he looked up. Sure enough, the moon was shinning down on the Pirates. 'The moon shows them like these weird skeleton creatures, and Pete is freaking out about our magic?' Corrin smirked as he gathered a basic idea of what to do.

"Hey Pete! Thanks for the tip!" Corrin shouted.

Pete gasped at his blunder. "Doh!"

"Guys, I don't fully know what's going on, but I think we can beat them now! Try focusing on magic!" Corrin shouted. The group nodded and got to work.

"Thundara!" Sora shouted as he blasted the Pirate, he was fighting with a powerful thunder spell.

The pirate screamed in pain as his body was paralyzed by the magic.

"H-How did that hurt?" The pirate gasped in shock.

Sora then charged forward and slashed the Pirate with his Keyblade causing the Pirate to scream as he denigrated.

Takumi shot another arrow at his target, and this time, it destroyed the Pirate.

Corrin fired another Hydro Shot destroying his target.

Kaze unleashed his Fire Sword art magic and sliced a Pirate destroying him.

Donald shot a Blizzard spell at another Pirate freezing him in place, for Goofy to finish him off with his shield. Though Sakura, was still too scared to move.

The remaining pirates were actually frightened now.

"How? How are they doing this? The curse should have protected us from this!" One Pirate screamed.

"I don't bloody know!" Another screamed.

"Forget this! We need to alert the captain!" Another said as the remaining Pirate fled.

Pete was not amused.

"I'll get you punks yet!" Pete shouted as he ran after the pirates. "I told those morons to watch out!" He mumbled in anger.

"That was close. If that opening didn't present itself, we could have been in massive trouble." Goofy sighed.

"Tell me about it." Sora sighed. "What was this curse they mentioned?"

"Probably whatever allowed them to do all that stuff with their bodies." Corrin guessed as he looked up into the sky. "It does appear that the moon has something to do with it as well. At least from what I got from Pete. My advice would be to fight those Pirates when in the moonlight. They seem to be vulnerable then."

Everyone but Sakura nodded.

"Hey Sakura, are you okay?" Sora asked in concern.

"Huh? Oh…yeah." Sakura muttered shacking.

"What happened? Why didn't you unleash your magic?" Corrin asked.

"It's just…those pirates…seeing them just reminds me of those ghost stories that Azura would tell me about." Sakura said.

"Don't worry about it Sakura. With your magic, you're not as defenseless as the characters in her stories." Takumi assured.

"I'm sorry." Sakura muttered.

"You need to toughen up. I know it's tough, but we're counting on you Sakura. We're all a team here." Donald scolded.

"I-I'll try." Sakura muttered.

"Still, that Pirate captain doesn't look all that nice." Goofy said thinking to the captain they saw earlier.

"Yeah. I'd hate to see him turn into a Heartless." Sora added.

"Well we ARE here." Donald pointed out.

"Maybe we should take a Pirate ship for a spin while we're here." Sora smiled. Everyone but Corrin gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Are you kidding me?" Takumi demanded.

"Just kidding!" Sora smiled much to Takumi and Donald's annoyance. "Anyway, didn't that Pirate say they were heading into town?"

"Yeah. I think they're looking for some kind of treasure." Goofy said.

"Makes sense. They are pirates after all." Takumi said familiar with how Pirates and bandits tend to act.

"Then it's settled. If Pete's with them, then the Heartless are involved. Let's go!" Sora declared as the group headed into the town. Corrin however stayed still for a moment.

"Pirates huh?" Corrin muttered as he smiled a bit. "Maybe this world would be good for helping get Sora's mind off of Vanitas and that dark form of his."

With that, Corrin ran into the town as well.

Chapter Text

Sora and the gang ran into the town and witnessed carnage all around. The Heartless were running all over the place as the townsfolks screamed and ran in fear. Strangely, the Pirates weren't around at the moment, but that was the least of their concerns. There were solders fighting the heartless, dressed in red coats with rifles in hand, though they were having little to no success.

"GAH!" A voice cried out.

The group turned to see a young man with slicked back brown hair wearing a white shirt with bishop sleeves and a brown v-neck. His pants were navy blue breeches along with light grey knee-high socks and brown buckled shoes. In his hand was a sword that he was using to try and fight a group of Heartless, but was knocked back into the wall of a nearby building.

"Wh-what are these creatures?" The man groaned in pain.

Sora and Corrin immediately ran in between the man and the Heartless with their weapons ready.

"Hang tight. We've got this." Sora said as the two got to work slicing the Shadow creatures.

At this point, Sakura ran up to the man with her staff out as the others went to deal with the rest of the Heartless in town.

"H-Hold still. I can help you." Sakura said quietly as she raised her staff. "Cure."

A bright green light engulfed the man as his injuries healed.

"I-I feel great. Thank you miss." The man said as he got up.

As this was going on, Sora and Corrin finished killing the Shadow Heartless that attacked the man Sakura was healing. However, as soon as they did, a group of Air Pirate Heartless they once saw in Never-land appeared.

"Looks like the second wave is here." Corrin said getting ready for another round.

The Air pirates started diving towards the to Islanders who dodge rolled out of the way.

Corrin slashed at one, destroying it, but another came down and attacked him.

Sora zapped one with a thunder spell destroying it, but then three more charged at him.

"This looks like a job for Wisdom Form." Sora stated as he readied to transform. 'I'll use Wisdom form and put up a stronger reflect around me. That'll knock them open for a strong blast of magic.'

"WIS-" Sora suddenly stopped as an image of Vanitas appeared before him.

"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" Vanitas taunted. "You have no idea what you're missing out on. Give into the dark. Maybe then you won't be such a weakling."

Sora's inter thoughts was cut short as the three Air Pirates slam right into Sora, sending him flying.

"SORA!" Corrin shouted as he summoned his magic. "Hydro Shot!"

Corrin fired a blast of water at the three Air Pirates, destroying them in a single shot. Corrin then made quick work of the remaining Air Soldiers, before going to Sora to check on him.

"You okay?" Corrin asked helping Sora up.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." Sora muttered.

"What happened back there? You just froze up?" Corrin asked.

Before Sora could speak, Sakura and the man they saved approached the two.

"Thank you for the help." The man said to the two swordsmen. "My own fencing skills are nothing to be ashamed of, but those creatures were something else."

"Not a problem. I'm Sora. This is Corrin and that is Sakura." Sora said introducing himself and the two royals.

"I'm William Turner, but call me Will. And I'm sorry to ask of another favor, but I need your help. Those pirates took Miss Swann. I was giving chase to them when those creatures attacked me. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm strong enough to save her on my own should those creatures attack again." Will said.

"Not a problem. Which way did they go?" Sora asked as Will pointed towards the harbor.

"Then we better hurry!" Corrin declared as the three followed Will to the harbor. He would need to talk to Sora later, but for now, they had a job to do.

Takumi in the meantime, fired another arrow at a Heartless.

This Heartless was shaped like a blue canon with a black base. The barrel of the canon was black with red markings on it in the shape of the Heartless Emblem. The creature also had the same type of face most Heartless had on the front with yellow eyes. There was also a red fuse in the back.

The arrow hit the Cannon Gun dead on destroying it immediately.

Once it was gone, Takumi turned to the child that was hiding behind him.

"Okay. Let's see if we can find your mom." Takumi said to the kid.

"Mommy!" The kid cried out.

Takumi turned to see an older woman running towards the child. As soon as she reached him, the woman picked him up into a hug that he returned.

"Thank you so much sir." The woman said as she hugged her son tight.

"Get him out of here." Takumi urged.

The woman nodded and ran off with her kid.

"All right. That seems to be the last of the Heartless in this area. Strange that the pirates from earlier aren't here though." Takumi muttered to himself.

"Takumi!" Sora called out.

Takumi turned to see Sora, Corrin, Sakura, and some other guy run close by.

"Head to the harbor! The pirates are there!" Corrin shouted.

Takumi nodded and joined them.

Just then, Donald, Goofy, and Kaze arrived.

"The Heartless are taken care of, but those pirates are missing for some reason." Donald said.

"They're at the port. We have to hurry." Sora urged as the group headed to the port.

At the Port:

Sora and co along with Will finally arrived at the port, but they were too late.

The pirate ship was already sailing off. Its distance was too far for even a glide to catch up.

"No! We're too late!" Will cried out.

"Too late for what?" Takumi asked.

"Those Pirates kidnapped Miss Swann, and took her to their ship." Will explained.

"So those Pirates were looking for your friend? Not sure why, but that does explain where they were in town since we only saw Heartless." Corrin said.

"Same for me." Takumi said.

"Same here." Donald said with Goofy and Kaze nodding.

"Now she's gone. And I'll never find her." Will slumped in defeat.

"Hey, it's not too late! We'll grab a ship and chase after them. If we hurry, we can catch up." Sora offered with his usual optimism.

"She's long gone there. The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable. Best find yourself a new girl mate." A voice said. The group turned to see a man with dark brown hair in dreadlocks and decorated with many beads and a red bandanna over it. He wore a white shirt under a black vest, black pants, and brown boots. His clothing were rather dirty as well. The man was also currently aboard another ship that was fancier than the ones the pirates were in.

"What are you doing above the Interceptor? She is off limits to civilians." Will demanded.

"Commandeer her of course. She'll make for a fine pirate ship." The man said.

"You're a pirate?" Sora said with some excitement.

"Captain Jack Sparrow if you please." The pirate known as Jack said.

Will was silent for a moment before speaking up. "Please take me with you. Help me haunt down the Black Pearl and save Miss Swann. I got you out of that cell back when the town was being raided. Help me, and your debt is repaid."

Jack just shrugged dismissively. "I don't see any profit in it for me. You'll have to win fair lady's heart on your own."

"Then do pray tell captain. Are you able to sail a ship that big? All on your own?" Will challenged.

Jack frowned for a moment as he looked at Will. "What's your name?"

"Will Turner." Will said.

"No doubt short for William I'd imagine." Jack said before going silent for a moment. Then a smirk appeared on his face. "Very well then. You have a deal."

Takumi, Corrin, and Kaze were still left skeptical on how easily Jack was willing to cooperate, but said nothing as they needed a ship.

Sakura, Donald, and Goofy were rather concerned of making a deal with a pirate.

Sora however was overjoyed.

"Well then, best we board and ship off before the guards get here." Jack said as the group boarded the Interceptor.

"I'm Sora. This is Donald, Goofy, Corrin, Sakura, Kaze, and Takumi." Sora introduced.

"And I am Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack greeted.

"This is going to be awesome!" Sora cheered as he got onboard.

"Sora, do you really want to be a pirate?" Goofy asked concerned.

"Of course not." Sora said simply leaving everyone minus Corrin confused.

"He's more into the adventuring life of a pirate. When you grow up on the islands, you tend to hear a bunch of sailing stories. Sora's ideal of a pirate is a free spirit that goes off exploring." Corrin sighed as he explained to the others.

"So, he's just acting like a child?" Takumi guessed.

"More or less." Corrin shrugged.

"Great." Takumi groaned.

Once preparations were set, the ship took off.

The Interceptor sailed through the sea at night as everyone took a break from working the ship.

Corrin and Sora were leaning on the side of the ship watching the waves.

"Been a while since we've been on a boat, hasn't it?" Corrin asked.

"Yeah. If I recall, we were helping some fishers to make some extra munny." Sora said. "Though it kind of makes me wonder. If the Heartless never attacked that night, where would we be now? Where to do think the seas would have taken our raft?"

"I don't know honestly. Looking back, I do wonder how far a raft could even take us." Corrin admitted.

Sora just chuckled awkwardly. "Funny that the raft was Riku's idea."

Corrin laughed. "I know. That sounds like something you would come up with."

"Hey!" Sora pouted before laughing with his brother.

Corrin was silent for a moment before speaking up again. "What happened back in town?"

Sora was silent.

"You looked like you were about to use your drive, but you just stopped." Corrin said.

Sora didn't say anything. He just looked down upset.

"Are you worried about that dark form you took last time?" Corrin asked.

"I..." Sora muttered, but Corrin didn't need an answer to know he was correct.

Sakura and Takumi watched from afar, though for different reasons. Takumi was more caution of Sora, while Sakura looked rather concerned for Sora's issue.

Will and Kaze at the moment, were watching Jack man the wheel as he kept looking at a compass.

"Why are you so fixated on that compass?" Will asked.

"It'll be she that leads us to the Isla de Muerta. That is where Barbossa is heading." Jack explained.

"How do you know that?" Kaze asked with some suspicion.

"He and I once had our eyes on a treasure. Aztec Gold. Twas hidden on the Isla de Muerta." Jack said with a sigh. "But then he turned traitor and stole my ship."

"The Black Pearl?" Will asked.

"Aye." Jack nodded.

"So, this Barbossa guy is after treasure?" Sora asked as the rest of the group joined in on the conversation.

"The treasure is already his. As is the curse upon it." Jack said.

"Curse?" Corrin wondered before it came to him. "Wait…when the pirates fell under the moonlight, they turned into skeletons. Is that the curse?"

Jack nodded. "I have no desire for such treacherous spoils, but I will take back what is mine. The Black Pearl."

"That still doesn't answer why they took Elizabeth." Will said.

"We'll be approaching soon. Best get ready." Jack suddenly said as the island started to come into view.

Isla de Muerta was an island that was covered by rocks. Thanks to that, Jack was able to find a good spot to disembark out of sight from the Pirates or Pete.

"So, is this where that Barbossa guy went?" Corrin asked.

"Aye. This is Isla de Muerta. A hidden place only known to those who know where it is located, and the resting place of the Aztec Gold." Jack said as he moved a large plank of wood to connect the Interceptor to the island. Once he was done, Jack turned to Sora and the others.

"Young Turner and I will rescue the lady. The rest of you will guard the ship." Jack said.

"Seriously?" Sora complained.

"It is a task only given to the bravest pirates." Jack said.

"Fine." Sora sighed.

"Guard her well." Jack smiled before turning to Will. "Shall we?"

Will nodded and the two headed off deep into the island.

About an hour or two had past, and the group quickly found themselves rather bored.

"Anyone think he was trying to fast-talk us?" Sora asked.

"And you fell for it." Donald said flatly.

"Not like you said anything!" Sora retorted.

Corrin was left in deep thought. "Considering that this is a rescue mission, I can understand the need to bring in as few people as possible."

Kaze nodded. "That's right. It's easier to slip in undetected in a smaller group, than a larger one."

"Still, we know that Pete is working with those Pirates, meaning that there are Heartless in there…" Sora said getting worried.

"Will didn't know how to fight the Heartless back in town, and it's likely that Jack doesn't ether." Sakura said getting worried.

"We'd better go in after them." Sora said.

"What about the ship though? Fast-talk or not, we can't leave it unguarded. It's our way out." Takumi argued.

"Plus, a large group could put them in danger if they actually weren't spotted." Kaze added.

"I think our best bet it to split up. Some of us will go take a look, while the rest stay here and protect the ship." Corrin said.

"Okay then, so who goes and who stays?" Sora asked.

"I-I think I should stay. I don't think I'll be of much help." Sakura said remembering her encounter with the pirates when they first arrived.

"Sora will stay with you." Corrin said immediately much to Sora's shock.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Sora shouted.

"Because of what happened in town." Corrin said firmly. "It's not that I worry about you turning into that dark form, but if you were to freeze up like that again, it could be fatal. You were lucky that I was with you in town, and it was a small group of Heartless. But with them and those Pirates, I don't want to risk you freezing up like that out there."

Sora didn't have a response to that.

"I'll stay then as well." Takumi said. Not wanting his sister to stay alone with Sora, and he didn't feel much of a reason to assist a pirate like Jack. He never answered why the pirates kidnapped Will's friend, and he was pretty quick to agree to help only AFTER Will told him his name.

"Okay then. Kaze, Donald, Goofy, you three will be going with me then." Corrin said turning to the ninja and Disney castle residents.

"That's fine. This is my field of expertise after all." Kaze said.

Donald and Goofy nodded, holding no arguments.

Corrin turned back to Sora with a look of sorry on his face. He didn't want to exclude his brother, but he also wanted him to be safe.

The four headed off leaving Sora alone on the ship with the two Hoshidan Royals.

Sakura approached Sora.

"A-Are you okay?" Sakura asked.

"O-Oh. I'm fine." Sora stuttered but Sakura frowned.

"Sora." Sakura said in a stern voice.

Sora just sighed. "I don't know honestly. But back in town, I wanted to use my drive form since the Heartless were becoming a bit too overwhelming. But when I did, I froze. I was afraid of turning into that dark form I became when I fought Vanitas."

Sakura nodded. "I see. So that's why you froze."

Jiminy hopped on his shoulder. "Sora. I understand you concern. I saw the form myself. But you can't let it hold you back like this. If you freeze up in a fight like that, it could be big trouble for you."

"But what do I do?" Sora asked. "What if I turn into that dark form again and attack you guys? I could never forgive myself if I ever did that you you guys, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Kaze, Riku, Kairi, or any of my friends.

"Sora…" Sakura muttered.

Takumi was rather silent as he watched this exchange. Oddly enough, he was starting to feel sorry for Sora. And even a bit guilty for what he said back on the ship. The more he thought about it, while he was right to be cautious, Sora has been trying to be friendly and welcoming to both him, Sakura, and Kaze. As opposed to Corrin who hasn't really...

Takumi's thoughts were cut off by the sounds of fighting not too far away.

"What was that?" Sora asked looking ahead.

Just then, Will and a woman with long dirty blond hair, wearing an elegant gold and white laced dress with floral patterns on the sides ran towards the three.

"Will, what's happening?" Sora asked.

"The pirates are after us. Corrin and the others are stalling them. We need to get the ship ready to leave and fast!" Will urged.

Sora nodded as Will and the woman ran onto the ship and got to work preparing it for sail. Once it was done, the woman shot a flare into the sky, causing Corrin and the others to ran back onto the ship. The Interceptor took off, as Takumi and Donald stayed to the side of the ship shooting any pirates with arrows and magic that tried to jump for them.

"Thank you all for your help. This is Elizabeth." Will said gesturing to the woman next to him.

"So, you're Will's friend?" Sora asked and Elizabeth nodded. "I'm Sora. This is Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Kaze, Sakura, and Takumi."

"It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for helping me." Elizabeth said with a smile.

Sora then looked around and noticed someone was missing.

"Wait a second…Where's Jack?" Sora asked.

"Come to think of it, we didn't see him when the pirates were chasing you." Goofy added.

Will frowned. "Well, it went like this..."

Chapter Text

Flashback with Jack and Will:

Barbossa and Elizabeth stood before a chest that contained the rest of the medallions like the one Elizabeth had. It was placed on a small mountain of gold as the rest of the Pirates cheered on.

"And now the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever." Barbossa cheered.

From not too far away, Will and Jack watched. Will started to get worried and was about to run down to Elizabeth, but Jack stopped him.

"No! Not yet! We wait for the opportune moment." Jack whispered.

"And when is that opportune moment? When it's most opportune to you?" Will argued.

"Let me asked you something. Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?" Jack asked. Will didn't respond. "Stay here. And try not to do anything stupid."

When Jack turned around, Will hit him in the head with an oar, knocking him out cold. Will then headed down towards Elizabeth.

Back with Elizabeth, Barbossa had made a cut in her hand, getting the medallion soaked in her blood as Barbossa held her hand closed.

"Begun by blood…By blood undone." Barbossa said as he let go of her hand causing her to drop the medallion into the chest.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Well? Did it work?" One pirate asked.

Barbarossa responded by pulling out his gun and shooting the pirate that asked.

To everyone's shock and anger, he didn't die. Barbossa then turned to Elizabeth.

"You! Maid! Your father. Was your father William Turner?" Barbossa asked.

"No." Elizabeth spat.

Barbarossa shoved her off the pile and onto the ground in anger before turning to his pirates that were all shouting complaints.

"Who brought this wench to us?" Barbossa demanded.

"She said her name was Turner!" One pirate defended.

"Well she wasn't, you nimrod!" Barbossa shouted.

Elizabeth saw Will's medallion land in front of her. As she reached to grab it, Will grabbed her hand and helped her up.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Will urged and Elizabeth nodded. Picking up the Medallion, the two headed for the exit. Though as they did, Barbarossa spotted them, and to his horror, the medallion in their hands.

"The medallion! After them, you ingrates!" Barbossa ordered as the Pirates gave chase.

Flashback ends:

"And that's what happened." Will finished his explanation to the group.

"So, you left Jack behind?" Sora asked concerned.

"I had to. Jack is no fairy tale pirate Sora. Real pirates aren't to be trusted." Will said.

"But still..." Sora muttered in concern. Pirate or not, Sora wasn't too keen on leaving someone behind.

"There is something I've been meaning to ask. Why did they take you Elizabeth?" Corrin asked.

"To break the curse of the Aztec Gold. According to Barbossa, there is supposed to be one hundred and eighty-two identical pieces in a stone chest on that island. Barbossa said he and his crew found the gold and took them all. But as they spent it, they became cursed as you all no doubt saw." Elizabeth said.

"Yeah. They turned into those skeletons when under the moon light." Goofy said and Elizabeth nodded.

"Yes. In order to break the curse, they need to not only return every piece to the chest, but must also take some blood from every soul that has ever touched it." Elizabeth said as she showed the others the cut on her hand.

"So, the curse is broken?" Takumi asked but Elizabeth shook her head.

"No. They thought I was someone else." Elizabeth said.

"You gave them my name...But why did you give Barbossa my name instead of yours?" Will asked having heard Barbossa speak after his failed attempt to break the curse.

"I…I don't know." Elizabeth muttered. Will then noticed the medallion in her hand.

"Where did you get that?" Will asked.

"It's yours. From the day we found you-drifting at sea." Elizabeth said sadly.

"I thought I lost that." Will muttered as Elizabeth handed the medallion to him. "This was a gift from my father…He sent it to me." Will was silent for a moment. "Why did you take it?"

"I was afraid that you were a pirate." Elizabeth admitted. "That would have been awful."

Will was silent again before it finally dawned on him. "I see now. It wasn't your blood they needed. It was my father's blood…my blood…the blood of a pirate." Will muttered.

"So now what?" Corrin asked getting both of their attention. "If you have that medallion, that means that Barbossa will be after us again…And you if they figure out, you're the one they want."

Will nodded. "Let's get Elizabeth back to town first. Then we'll figure out what to do with those pirates."

"C-Couldn't we just let them break the curse?" Sakura asked.

"Problem with that is that who knows if they will negotiate Sakura. They could just kill us ether way." Takumi argued.

"Plus with Pete helping them out, that is very likely. Regardless of what we do, it would be best to do it on our terms." Corrin added.

Everyone agreed and got to work on stirring the boat.

Sora however looked out at the sea in the direction of Isla de Muerta as it was no longer in view.

"I hope Jack is okay." He muttered.

On the Black Pearl:

Jack was currently on the deck of the Black Pearl he wanted back so much. Sadly, it wasn't as its captain, but its prisoner as he was tied up with Barbossa approached him.

"How in the blazes did you even get off that island Jack?" Barbossa asked.

"When you sailed away in my ship and marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, with naught but a pistol and a single shot, you forgot one important thing mate. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack said.

"Well, I won't be making that mistake again." Barbossa laughed.

"Then let's say we put the past behind us, untie these ropes, and I'll negotiate the return of your medallion? What say you to that?" Jack offered.

"Seeing as how the Black Pearl is mine now, letting you go just doesn't seem to fall within my interests." Barbossa said.

"Odd…I'm not actually concerned with YOUR INTEREST! Give me back the Pearl." Jack demanded.

Barbossa however, just laughed. "Lock him in the brig."

As one pirate pushed Jack down into the brig, another pirate called out.

"We're coming up onto the Interceptor. What do we do captain?" The pirate asked.

"What do you think you idiot?" Barbossa snapped annoyed.

Back on the Interceptor:

It was rather quite on the Interceptor. Will was at the wheel, while everyone else was lost to their own thoughts. Sora in particular.

'Corrin didn't let me fight because I held back in town. Because I was afraid of using my drive forms…How do I get over this?' Sora thought.

"Will look!" Elizabeth suddenly called out.

Everyone looked to where Elizabeth was pointing, and sure enough, it was the Black Pearl approaching them fast.

"It's not a surprise, but it is shocking that they caught up so fast." Takumi said.

"Barbossa really wants that medallion." Kaze said.

"So, what do we do?" Goofy asked worried.

"What would Jack do?" Sora asked.

"I'm not sure…I suppose, he'd run for it." Will said.

"Sounds like a plan." Corrin said.

Suddenly, the ship was hit by a cannonball, causing it to shake. Will lost his balance and fell off the ship's rails, dropping the medallion in the process.

"Will!" Elizabeth gasped as she ran to the side of the ship and looked down for her friend.

Sora got up and picked up the medallion. "Looks like we have to fight our way out of this."

"I don't think we have a choice. If we run now, they'll just keep firing on us." Corrin said as he ran for the wheel. Corrin gave a sharp turn on the ship causing it to turn towards the pirates.

The Black Pearl approached the Interceptor, and upon being close enough, pirates started to jump aboard.

"Okay kiddies. We'll ask just one time nicely. Hand over the Medallion, and we might let you go." One of the pirates laughed.

"Like we'd believe you." Takumi spat as he readied the Fujin Yumi.

"Your loss." The pirate shrugged as he and the other prepared for battle.

"Let's go everyone!" Sora declared.

"I think not." Barbossa said. Everyone looked to the side, and to their shock, Barbossa and some pirates were standing with a tied-up Jack, and Elizabeth held at gun point. "I don't fully understand how you are able to do it, but it seems that you can actually hurt us despite the curse. But that ends here. Hand over that medallion, or we kill these two."

The group growled.

"You coward." Takumi spat but the group complied and lowered their weapons.

"Drop your weapons and hand over the medallion or we shoot." Barbossa threatened.

The group complied dismissing their weapons.

"She goes free!" Will shouted.

Everyone turned to see Will, finally managing to pull himself back onto the ship with a gun in his hand that was pointing at Barbossa.

Barbossa however looked unconcerned.

"Go ahead boy, shoot. We can't die." Barbossa said.

"You're right. You can't…" Will said lowering the gun for a moment before pointing it at his head much to everyone's surprise. "But I can! My name is Will Turner. My father is Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."

"What?!" Barbossa and the pirates gasped.

"On my word, do as I say, or I pull the trigger and be lost to Davey Jones Locker." Will declared.

Barbossa growled. If what this guy said was true, then he was the one they were looking for. Granted it could be another lie, but that wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

"Name your terms… Mr. Turner." Barbossa growled.

"Release Elizabeth…And Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Kaze, Sakura, and Takumi too." Will demanded.

"Anything else?" Barbossa asked. Jack made some movements to get Will's attention, but Will ignored him.

"Leave now!" Will demanded.

"Agreed. Leave we shall…" Barbossa said with a bow. But a smirk appeared on his face as he rose his head. "But the Heartless stay."

"Will, look out!" Kaze suddenly warned, but it was too late. Will felt a pain in the back of his head and was out like a light.

Pete had snuck up from behind Will, and hit him in the head with an oar. He then grabbed the unconscious man and ran to Barbossa's side. As he did, multiple Air Pirate Heartless appeared and surrounded the unarmed group.

"No fair!" Sora cried out as the pirates and Heartless moved in on them.

"And in you go!" Pete sang as he tossed Sora into the lower decks of the Interceptor with the rest of the group minus Will. All of them were tied up. "Good work Barbossa, that was too easy."

"Barbossa you coward!" Elizabeth spat.

"That's the last time I trust a pirate." Sora muttered.

"Why would you trust one in the first place?" Takumi demanded.

"A straight up fight against ye would likely not end well for me. Especially with that magic you somehow have that can actually hurt us. But worry not. I am keeping my word and leaving ya. With a parting gift no less." Barbossa laughed.

"The Power Kegs are ready captain." A pirate shouted much to the group's surprise.

"Then I bid ye farewell." Barbossa smirked as he left.

"I can't wait to see the look on Maleficent's face when I tell her about this. And I did it without her." Pete sang as he closed the door and left.

Soon enough, the sound of movement on the deck had vanished as the Black Pearl sailed away.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked afraid.

"We're going to be blown to smithereens!" Goofy cried out.

"Why struggle mate? A pirate knows when to surrender." Jack said.

"Are you serious Jack?" Elizabeth demanded.

"Well, your average pirate anyway." Jack said suddenly standing up with the ropes cut and falling to the ground. Jack was shown to have a knife in his hand as he faced the door. "First we need to see to that gunpowder. I could use your help if…" Jack stopped talking when he turned to see that Kaze had not only managed to free himself, but the others as well.

"If what?" Kaze asked.

"Impressive." Jack commented.

"It seems that Barbossa and Pete have no knowledge of ninjas. Their method of restraining me was amateur at best." Kaze said putting away his own hidden blade he used to cut the rope.

"Good to know. Now then. Let us deal with that gunpowder. I don't plan on losing this ship." Jack said.

"I don't trust pirates." Takumi stated.

"Wise policy lad." Jack said. "But even you have to admit that if that gun powder goes off, we'll all be killed right?"

"True, but its not like we need your help to take out some Heartless and dispose of some gun powder. We can still toss you over board after." Takumi argued.

"Throw me overboard if you wish, but let me ask you something else? How do you plan on getting to Isla de Marta without me? Like I said before, it is an island that is only known to those who know where it is. I know where it is, but do you?" Jack challenged.

No one was able to retort that.

"I hate to admit it, but we do need Jack. Not only to get to the island, but he knows how Barbossa works." Corrin pointed out reluctantly. He wasn't thrilled with the chances of trusting a pirate, but they had no choice.

"Then we'd best hurry." Jack sang as the group ran up to the deck, minus Elizabeth as she didn't have a weapon to fight with.

On the deck, many Air Pirate Heartless were getting ready to light five barrels of gunpowder on fire to blow up the ship.

"Split up! Me, Sora, Kaze, Takumi, and Jack will each take a barrel. Sakura, Donald, and Goofy, keep the Heartless off our backs.

Everyone nodded and did their duty. In a few moments, all the barrels were successfully launched into the sea and any remaining Heartless fled.

Jack immediately ran to the wheel and sailed the ship back to the island.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship. But I'll be having her back soon enough." Jack vowed.

Chapter Text

The interceptor once again parked itself at the Isla De Muerta as everyone got off the ship. Though Jack turned to Elizabeth as she was about to step forward.

"You stay with the ship lass." Jack ordered.

"I will do no such thing! Will could die in there." Elizabeth protested.

"Will will be fine, trust me." Jack said but Elizabeth shot him a look.

"I'm not a fool Jack." Elizabeth argued.

"Then trust me." Sora said stepping forward. "I promise we will rescue Will."

Elizabeth was rather conflicted. See wanted to go. She wanted to make sure that Will was safe and sound. But sadly, she had no weapon on her nor any means of defending herself at the moment. She'd only be a liability. Sora on the other hand did seem capable in battle, and had an aura around him that made her want to trust his words.

"Please bring Will back safely." Elizabeth pleaded. Sora nodded and she returned to the Interceptor.

The Hoshidans were mildly surprised by this.

'She barely knows him, yet he instantly gained her trust.' Kaze thought rather impressed. 'It reminds me of the vibe I got from Lady Kamui.'

"Oh, and one more thing. I want you lot to deal with the pirates, but leave Barbossa to me." Jack ordered.

"Why?" Corrin asked.

"When he mutinied and stole my ship, he left my alone on a small piece of land with nothing but a gun and a single bullet. I managed to escape obviously, and I still carry the gun with that one bullet on me." Jack said taking out said pistol. "I promised that I would use this bullet to kill Barbossa."

"That's great and all, but I don't think that bullet will kill him." Corrin pointed out.

"Oh, it will." Jack assured.

"How? Aren't they cursed?" Takumi asked.

"I have a plan." Jack said.

"And that plan is?" Sora urged.

"Quiet. They're nearby." Jack said as he guided the group into the cave where the Aztec treasure was.

With Will:

"Now let's be tryin' this again." Barbossa stated as he and Will stood before the Chest of the Aztec Gold, much like he did with Elizabeth. Though Will's hands were tied up behind him. "The last of the Aztec treasure has been returned."

Barbossa then faced Will with a knife in hand. "And now the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever! This time for sure!"

The pirates cheered as Barbossa approached Will.

"Ahoy! Treasure mateys!" Sora shouted as he and the others ran into the room much to Barbarossa and the pirate's shock.

"Not possible!" Barbossa gasped.

"Not probable. We're alive, and we're pirates!" Donald stated.

"Captain Jack Sparrow!" Jack announced.

"Sora!" Sora joined in followed by the others.

"Corrin." Corrin declared.

"Donald Duck!" Donald added.

"Goofy!" Goofy added.

"S-Sakura!" Sakura said a bit afraid.

"Pass." Takumi dismissed.

Kaze said nothing. The two just took out their weapons.

"So, you want to play pirate? Best save the play acting for the nursery." Barbossa mocked. "Get them!"

A few pirates charged at the group, but Donald raised his staff.

"Thundara!" Donald shouted!

A blast of lightning came down and destroyed the approaching pirates.

"How's that for playacting?" Donald mocked.

Will then ran up to the group. Corrin used his sword to cut the ropes releasing him.

"Thank you. All of you." Will said with a smile.

"No problem." Corrin smiled back.

The rest of the pirates charged. Corrin slashed one with his blade causing him to drop it. Will quickly picked it up and joined the group in the fight.

"Where's Jack?" Sora asked as he knocked away another pirate.

Suddenly, the group heard swords clash. They turned to the side to see Jack and Barbarossa facing off in a sword match.

Barbossa then laughed and lowered his sword.

"You can't beat me Jack." Barbossa mocked.

Jack responded by stabbing Barbossa in the chest, but Barbossa was unfazed. All he did was sigh as he quickly stabbed Jack with his own blade before Jack could reclaim his sword for defense.

"JACK!" Sora gasped.

However, much to everyone's shock, Jack stumbled into the moonlight, revealing himself to be cursed. Jack then pulled a medallion out of his pocket and twirled it between his bony fingers.

"Couldn't resist mate." Jack smirked.

Barbarossa growled at this revelation. "Show yourself Pete! The tide has changed!"

Pete walked into the room with a smirk on his face.

"See? I told ya you'd be needing old Pete." Pete smirked as he snapped his finger.

A rather small lizard-like Heartless that had green skin on its upper body, and blue skin on its lower body appeared. It had a long tongue, and the Heartless Emblem on its forehead. The most notable part of it was its tail which had a lantern on it.

"Quite a pipsqueak this time. Running out of Heartless?" Donald teased.

"Sure, this Heartless may not look like much, but it has a special power that more than makes up for it." Pete explained as the lantern tail began to glow with a purple light, and soon things got dark.

"What the?" Sora muttered in shock as everything got darker.

"Despite it being called an Illuminator, this little guy does the opposite. Its tail can absorb light all around it leaving the area in total darkness." Pete explained.

Corrin and the others were left in shock as they all immediately knew what this meant.

The moonlight that shined down from the openings in the ceiling of the cave were being absorbed and covered by darkness.

"Everyone, group together!" Corrin ordered as everyone minus Jack complied.

Jack just continued his fight with Barbossa as thanks to the curse, he was just as invincible as Barbarossa.

Everyone got into a circle standing side by side, though Sakura was placed in the middle. Soon enough, the pirates started to swarm them from every side. Sakura lit her staff up to give the group some means of seeing. A trick she learned while training at the Colosseum.

Takumi shot one with his Fujin Yumi in the forehead, and while the pirate stumbled back a bit, he just shrugged it off and continued forward towards the group.

The others weren't faring much better.

Donald unleashed spells on the pirates, but without the moonlight to expose them, the attacks were having no effect.

Corrin and Sora were fending off attacks with their swords, Kaze was slicing nearby pirates to little effects, and Goofy was blocking attacks with his shield.

Soon pirates closed in and started to attack at once from multiple angles.

Sakura on instinct raised her staff.

"Reflect!" She shouted.

A shield formed around the group and burst apart, knocking away the pirates and giving the group a quick second to breath.

"Without the moonlight, we can't hurt these guys. All we can do is fend them off, but for how long? Me, Sora, Sakura, and Donald can't keep shooting off spells forever." Corrin said.

"We need to get rid of that Heartless. If he's absorbing the light, then we take him out and the moonlight comes back." Donald said.

"But where is he?" Takumi asked looking around as the pirates started to approach them again.

"Over there." Kaze pointed to a pair of glowing eyes. "I'll deal with it." He said as he jumped over the pirates in pursuit of the Illuminator. He activated his fire swords magic for some light.

"Please hurry!" Sakura pleaded as the others closed the circle to cover Kaze's absents and continued to fend off the pirates.

Kaze was jumping around the pirates as he made his way to the Illuminator. Thanks to his training as a ninja, he had rather heightened senses that the darkness didn't completely make him blind.

The Illuminator then suddenly jumped to the other side of the room much to Kaze's surprise.

'So it's a quick little thing huh? No problem then.' Kaze thought as a pirate charged at him with an axe.

"DIE!" The pirate shouted.

Kaze jumped out of the way, and then used the pirate's head as a platform to jump away from more approaching pirates, resulting in them slamming into the first one.

Kaze was about to grab a shuriken to toss at the Heartless, but suddenly, several bombs landed by his feet. Kaze barely managed to jump back before they exploded.

"Forget about me did ya?" Pete mocked as he grabbed more bombs.

'Blast.' Kaze spat as he deactivated his sword magic to keep hidden.

However, Pete tossed more bombs at Kaze. This time, the bombs hit him, causing Kaze to go flying back.

'How did he see me?' Kaze groaned as he slowly got up.

A green light approached Kaze. When it was close enough, Kaze saw Pete wear some strange high tech goggles.

"Surprised eh? These high tech goggles not only give me night vision, but also can track body heat. Stole them from old Ludwig, I did." Pete mocked.

Kaze had no clue on anything Pete just said.

"What's wrong? Can't understand me? These goggles let me see in the dark." Pete mocked as he raised his hand. "D-Thunder!"

Pete vanished and a circle of Thunder magic appeared in his place. Kaze jumped to his feet to try and get away, but Pete was too close.

"Nulthunder!" Sakura shouted.

A yellow light engulfed Kaze, shielding him from the lightning attacks as Pete returned to normal.

"What the? How did that little brat know to use that?" Pete growled.

"Well, you are rather loud." Kaze pointed out.

Before Pete could retort, Kaze spotted the Illuminator and tossed one of his shuriken at it, killing it instantly.

With the Illuminator gone, the Moonlight returned, and the pirates turned into their skeleton forms again.

"Well, well. Looks like the moonlight's back. You guys want to continue this? If so, I've got a few Thunder spells here." Corrin threatened.

"F-Forget this, let's bail!" One said as the pirates fled the cave.

That just left Pete and Barbossa. The later was too busy with Jack at the moment.

"You twerps just keep finding new ways to anger me." Pete growled.

"Feeling's mutual." Donald spat.

Pete just turned around and fled the cave as he shouted "THIS AIN'T OVER!"

Meanwhile with the two pirates, Barbossa growled at the fact that his crew and Pete fled. Jack quickly took the medallion, and cut himself with his sword, covering the little trinket with his blood. He then dropped his sword and pulled out his gun getting Barbossa's attention.

"I've had enough of this." Jack said. He tossed the medallion to Will and fired the gun shooting Barbossa in the heart.

Barbossa just laughed. "Ten years you've been carrying around that pistol and now you've just wasted your shot."

"He didn't waste it." Will said getting Barbossa attention. To his shock, Will dropped the two medallions into the chest. There was a cut on Will's hand and both the medallions were covered in blood.

The moment the two medallions landed in the chest with the rest of them, Barbossa gasped. He quickly opened his jacket to see him bleeding right in the heart where Jack had shot him.

"I feel…cold." Barbossa whispered as he fell to the ground dead.

"How ironic. He wanted to break the curse so badly, but it ended up causing his death instead." Kaze said.

"Now I see what you meant by a plan." Corrin said.

"What about the other pirates that escaped." Takumi asked.

"Likely fleeing as well. They should realize the curse is broken. If they couldn't beat you in their cursed form, they aren't going to try it now." Jack said. "Now let's get out of here."

With that, the group left the Aztec treasure room.

Outside by the ships:

"So what now Jack?" Will asked.

"Whatever I want. Now that the Pearl is mine again." Jack said as the two looked to the Pearl that was parked not too far away from the Interceptor.

"That she is." Will said as he held out a hand. "Thank you, Jack."

However, Jack instead put his hands over his head in a defensive position much to the others confusion.

"I didn't want you hitting me again mate." Jack said.

"Hey Jack, take care." Sora said.

"And remember to be good." Donald teased.