"Did you ever hear the story of the χ-blade?"
Amber looked up at Meter, wondering where that particular thought had come from. "What's a χ-blade?" Amber asked.
Meter, Queen of Spring, chuckled at that. Amber, Queen of Autumn, had never been much for reading books and fables, preferring to experience events out there in the worlds.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Just make sure you listen this time," Meter laughed.
"Says the one with the shortest attention span of all of us," Freya, Queen of Winter, stated matter-of-factly, causing Meter to glare at her in an attempt to look annoyed, but found she couldn't stay angry at her fellow Queens. They were the best of friends on and off the battlefield, after all.
"The old legends say that, in ancient times, the people believed that light was a precious gift, hailing from an unseen land known only as Kingdom Hearts," Meter explained. "But Kingdom Hearts was protected by its counterpart, the χ-blade. Many people vied for that precious light, and so let darkness into their hearts."
"Oh, that's so sad," Rose, Queen of Summer, sighed. "Why would they want to take the light? Aren't they supposed to be balanced?"
"Some people deluded themselves into thinking that they held ownership of the light," Meter continued, patting Rose on the head in what she hoped was a comforting way. Despite being the youngest of the four Elemental Queens, Rose still hated being treated like a child. Thankfully, Rose smiled brightly to put Meter at ease.
"Warriors forged special weapons called keyblades, in the image of the original χ-blade, and began to fight," Meter continued. "Some fought to defend the light from the darkness, and others fought to hoard the light for themselves. Thus began what is known as the 'Keyblade War'. No one knows how long it lasted or how it ended, but the violent clash eventually shattered the χ-blade into twenty pieces. Seven of light, thirteen of darkness."
"And... what happened to Kingdom Hearts?" Freya wondered.
"Swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again," Meter answered.
"Hold on, I'm a little confused," Rose wondered. "If it's called the χ-blade, isn't it a keyblade like ours?"
"The χ-blade is different from the keyblades we wield," Meter answered. "χ is a most ancient letter. Some would pronounce it 'kye', but the meaning is the same. A letter that spells endings..."
"Wait, wait, if that world was destroyed, how do all these worlds exist now?" Amber asked, curious as to where Meter's tale was going.
"They say that the hearts of children, pure and untainted by darkness, were able to rebuild what was left of the world after the Keyblade War," Meter explained. "This light took the form of the worlds we know now, and possibly countless others that have yet to be discovered."
"Wow, Meter, you seem really curious about this Keyblade War," Rose stated. "Any particular reason?"
"Well, we know so little about it," Meter proclaimed. "Only that it was just the beginning of a grander tale to be told. After all, amidst the darkness of the war, a precious light was found. It's a curious tale, and, at least to me, one worth exploring. They say that ruin brings about creation. When the darkness falls, will we be considered worthy of the precious light that the legends tells of so fondly?"
"Meter?" Amber stated. "You're going all dramatic on us again."
"Oh, oh, sorry," Meter stuttered. "I tend to do that when I'm telling stories."
"Meter, don't take this the wrong way, but..." Freya stated, looking slightly nervous. "I have heard rumors that you are trying to learn to harness the power of darkness."
"I think I know who started spreading those rumors," Meter immediately answered. "She's always getting on my case about it, and for what? Light and darkness are supposed to be in balance, after all. That's what the Oracle keeps drilling into our heads. I just want to prove that darkness can be controlled so I can shut up all of the naysayers who think darkness can be destroyed."
"But it can't be destroyed," Rose responded. "Light and darkness are part of all of us, of everything."
"Some of the more... shall we say, deluded members of the council would like to say otherwise," Freya stated. "I just worry about you, Meter."
"You don't have to, Freya," Meter proclaimed. "I will never let the darkness take control of me. I will take control of it, and show the people that all we need is a little balance."
Amber flashed a thumbs up, Freya nodded sagely, and Rose just nodded happily.
They believe in me, Meter thought, glancing at her hands. Her left hand was enveloped in a hazy glow of darkness, and her right hand pulsed with a soft sphere of light. I will not let them down.
(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)
The Blue Time Ranger is proud to present:
W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III
Story Created: April 17th, 2019
Story Rated: T for Teen
The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)
Bryce Papenbrook as Nick Kelly
Eden Riegel as Marie Kelly
Cassandra Lee Morris as Maylin Rae / Meiling Li
Cherami Leigh as Haruka Rose
Kelly Stables as Will Vandom
Candi Milo as Irma Lair
Kali Troy as Taranee Cook
Christel Khalil as Cornelia Hale
Liza del Mundo as Hay Lin
Serena Berman as Queen Elyon Portrait
Laura Post as The Dark Mother Meter
Story Summary: It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?
Author's Notes: Well, well, a third entry already? Yep, it's time to conclude this trilogy of adventures, and let me just say that I'm excited for this one. Kingdom Hearts III is INCREDIBLE, and I'm so glad the wait was worth it (though, there are some things about it that irk me, namely the boat race with Luxord (WHO DESIGNED THAT SH!T), that goddamned ghost fleet battle at the end of the Caribbean, and the fact that the supposed superboss is a #$ JOKE). Now, this story's gonna be a bit different from its two preceding journeys. While the first two Key to Her Hearts followed the basic plot structure of the respective Kingdom Hearts game it was adapting (just with different worlds, characters, and what have you), this story's... well, story is most likely going to deviate the most from Kingdom Hearts III's story. Most of the major gameplay elements will be showing up here, just that the story's going to take a different approach.
Theme Song Notes: Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as not to get my stories torpedoed, the opening theme is "Adamas" by LiSA (the first opening theme to Sword Art Online: Alicization) and the ending theme is "Datte Atashi no Hero" by LiSA (the second ending theme to season two of My Hero Academia).
And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?
Episode 1: Third Time's the Charm
I slowly opened my eyes, completely unsure of where I was.
At the same instant I realized I was falling through the empty air, I looked down and saw a large, circular platform approaching fast, resembling a stained-glass window and imprinted with myself, my three fellow keyblade wielders, and all five of the Guardians of the Veil.
All right, now I'm definitely confused.
This is supposed to be my Dive Into the Heart, right?
So why am I here again?
I thought I'd already gotten my keyblade.
And, just to add to the weirdness scale, when I finally landed on the platform, I noticed that I resembled my fourteen-year-old self, back when I'd first gone through my Dive.
...holy crap, has it really been three years already?
Shaking off that feeling for the moment, I took a few steps forward, wondering if I should call out for whoever had brought me back to my Dive.
There are many hearts to save.
Speak of the devil...
I looked back down and saw that a large mirror had appeared in front of me, its outer rim decorated by what appeared to be keyblades integrated into its design.
And there, reflected in the mirror, was my fifteen-year-old self, wearing the outfit I'd been wearing for most of my second adventure, the one granted to me by the Oracle.
Approach.
You don't have to be rude about it, mister voice...
Realizing there's really nothing else to do, I decided to obey the voice and approach the mirror.
Instinctively, I reached out to touch the glass of the mirror, and it suddenly started shining before pulling me through it.
When I stumbled out of the mirror, I now resembled my fifteen-year-old self, with my fourteen-year-old self now my reflection in the mirror.
And that mirror quickly vanished in a shower of sparkles.
Before I could question what the heck was going on, hundreds of mirrors appeared and began to slowly float around the outer edge of the platform, each mirror presenting what appeared to be a still image of a moment from one of my previous adventures. The mirrors all formed a rotating tower around the platform that seemed to ascend forever.
Three of the mirrors floated down to my position, each showing a specific moment.
The center mirror showed me defending myself from Kusumi-no-Okami attacking me with the Dark Keyblade during my first trip to the Blue Sky Kingdom.
The left mirror showed me and Elyon, the Queen of Meridian, raising our respective keyblades to seal the Door to Darkness.
The right mirror showed me the moment I'd met and befriended Maylin and Haruka in Traverse Town to begin our first journey.
The voice resounded in my mind, asking me a question.
What do you desire?
Noting to myself that this seemed very familiar to the choices I'd made in my first Dive, I walked closer to examine the mirrors and see if they'd give me any information about what, exactly, I could choose.
First, I examined the right mirror.
Balance... a body and mind of equal merit and equal potential.
Then, I checked out the left mirror.
Wisdom... a sharp mind that will grant you mastery of wondrous power.
Finally, I looked at the center mirror.
Vitality... a rugged body that will endure even the toughest of challenges.
After taking about a minute to think it over (I'm inside what's essentially a dream, so I'm really in no hurry here), I decided that I was going to choose balance.
Hey, I know for sure that my friends and I have been trying to drill it into everybody's heads that balance is good for the world, as light and darkness can't exist without each other. It's just the natural order of things, right?
With my mind made up, I raise my right hand to summon my keyblade, the Kingdom Key, into my grip and aim it for the balance mirror.
Light shined from the keyblade's teeth and fired a beam of light into it, causing the mirror to start glowing and then disappear in a shower of sparkles, the other two mirrors following.
A few seconds later, three more mirrors floated down from the tower of mirrors and placed themselves in front of me.
The center mirror showed me my clash with the other-dimensional version of my future daughter Lily in the Blue Sky Kingdom, me just barely avoiding an overhead slash before clashing blades with her.
The left mirror showed Maylin running over to me and casting a giant Reflect spell that created a barrier to protect me.
The right mirror showed me my friend Strelitzia, a keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales, raising her keyblade to conjure a powerful magic spell.
Again, the voice spoke to me.
What power do you seek?
Now this choice I remember.
First, I looked at the center mirror.
The power of the warrior. A sword whose strength is courage, the will to stand against anything.
Just like the first Dive. Next, I examined the right mirror.
The power of the mystic. A staff whose strength is spirit, power the eye cannot see.
Checks out. Finally, I checked out the left mirror.
The power of the guardian. A shield whose strength is kindness, the desire to help one's friends.
Yup, everything's in order here.
I figured I'd make the same choice I made on my first Dive and pick the guardian. I aimed my keyblade for the guardian mirror and fired a beam into it, causing that mirror to dissipate, followed by the other two.
The voice spoke one last time.
Is this who you are?
I simply nodded. Who else could I be but me, right?
In that instant, every last mirror around me vanished completely, and...
...wait, why are my feet wet?
I looked down to see that the platform was completely covered by water. After trying to make sense of my situation, I noticed a light shining just up ahead.
Also, um, there was also the matter of the giant tidal wave that was flying right towards me!
Before I could react to maybe cast a spell or something, the tidal wave crashed down on me, submerging me in its depths.
Thankfully, I could actually swim in this dream-like place, a far cry from my "swimming ability" in the real world.
I swear, Heatherfield's swim coach really wangs chung at teaching people how to swim... maybe I'll ask Irma if she can teach me. I mean, she's the Guardian of Water, for crying out loud, and she's dominating the swim meets at Sheffield!
...okay, getting off topic now.
I swam my way upwards through the tides until I leapt out into what seemed to be an endless expanse of sea and sky, reaching out into infinity.
There seemed to be no visible ground to stand on, only more water, but I was standing on it just fine.
Before I could decide whether or not to question the utter absurdity of that, small pools of darkness appeared just ahead of me and spawned a few Shadows, the most basic form of Heartless there was.
All right, finally I get to bust some heads.
I summoned the Kingdom Key and charged into battle.
The Shadows attempted to hit me with flying scratch attacks, but I easily dispatched them one by one.
My fighting style had changed a bit since my last adventure. Now that I'm a Keyblade Master, I decided to change the way I swing my weapon when I do combos. Hey, gotta make sure your style doesn't get stale, right?
I lunged towards the first Shadow I saw, hitting it first with a diagonal overhead swing, then a left hook slash, then an upward swipe, and finishing off with a spinning sidewinder that obliterated the Shadow.
Another Shadow leaped through the air towards me, but I leaped to meet it, then struck with an upward swipe, a spinning hook, a diagonal downward strike, and finishing with a spiral somersault attack very reminiscent of my Hurricane Period finisher.
After only a few seconds, the Shadows were all gone.
But as I was about to let my keyblade disappear, the ground around me began to shake and rumble. I turned around to face whatever was causing it, and found myself face to face with a very familiar foe.
It was a Darkside, a massive pureblood Heartless that had attacked me multiple times over the course of my journey.
Only this one looked quite different, its body semi-transparent and glowing.
As the Darkside brought its fist back to slam it into the ground, creating a shockwave that I easily jumped over, I figured I'd just beat this thing's face in and ask questions later.
I proceeded to attack the Darkside's hand while it was stuck in the ground until it was able to free itself.
Darkside clutched its palm, gathering energy into its hands before firing it in the form of multiple dark spheres, all of them aimed straight for me. Being much more experienced this time around, I simply swung my keyblade to deflect each sphere back at Darkside's head, doing big damage in a hurry.
Then, the Darkside threw another shockwave punch and got its hand stuck in the ground, giving me ample time to land one last combo on its head before driving my keyblade into its face and causing it to explode in a wave of darkness.
All I could think of as my vision began to shut down was that this is becoming a pattern...
"Hey, Nick, you awake or what?"
Seventeen-year-old Nick Kelly immediately shot to attention upon hearing his name being called, looking around for the source of the voice.
Standing in the doorway was Nick's sixteen-year-old younger sister Marie, looking slightly concerned about Nick's sleeping state.
Marie was actually wearing her "new Keyblade Master outfit", a set of power-granting clothes granted to her by the Oracle after their Mark of Mastery Exam. This new outfit consisted of a sleeveless white shirt, a short black necktie with various safety pins and a checkered skirt along with a black belt and a fancy, golden buckle which resembled a winged heart, black-striped red fingerless gloves and black-striped white stockings, dark gray and checkered heeled boots, a deep blue bag adorned with golden designs, a blue officer's cap with a golden button, and a red choker necklace.
"Is everything okay, big brother?" Marie asked.
"Aside from another trip into my Dive to the Heart... mostly," Nick sighed, knowing nothing about him got past Marie.
Marie leaned against the door frame, trying to phrase this delicately. "You still upset over what happened yesterday?"
"I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I lost my temper," Nick groaned. "I'm not usually like that..."
"I think the stress just got to both of you," Marie answered. "...are you going to go apologize?"
"Yeah," Nick responded. "I feel so stupid for what I said, and I need to go fix my mistake before it's too late."
Marie walked up and kissed Nick on the cheek to reassure him. "Go get her back, big bro. You got this."
With his sister's reassurance, Nick felt a little more confident in his ability to make things right and rushed out of the Kelly house.
However, about halfway to his target destination, Nick was forced to stop in his tracks when pools of darkness opened all around him, spawning a pack of Heartless to attack him.
At least half of them were Neoshadows, but a group of them were flying Heartless that resembled a cross between a bat and an umbrella.
"Of course, as if I need more distractions when I'm in a foul mood right now!" Nick growled, his Keyblade Master outfit materializing. "Get out of my way, you freaks!"
One of the Neoshadows began to twirl through the air, but Nick lunged for it, swinging the Kingdom Key in an overhead slice that bisected the Neoshadow, just in time for two of the Flutterings to divebomb him.
Nick spun around with the Kingdom Key extended to get the Flutterings to back off, then cast Thundaga to rain lightning bolts down around him that blasted a bunch of the Heartless away, even defeating some of the Flutterings instantly.
One of the Neoshadows sunk into the ground and traveled to just under Nick, but he was ready, backflipping away from the upward stab the Neoshadow made, then launching himself forward to attack with a Stride Break that split it in half, its halves popping into dark mist that quickly evaporated.
Four more Flutterings surrounded him, but Nick made short work of them by swinging upwards and unleashing a Ripple Drive that eliminated them on the spot.
"This is the last thing I need right now," Nick groaned as he turned back to his destination...
...only to see Cornelia Hale herself standing in the front doorway of her house, having heard the commotion caused by Nick fighting the Heartless.
Oh, crap, this wasn't in the plan, Nick thought, trying to think of something he could say as Cornelia slowly walked over to where he was standing. Say something, Nick, otherwise she's not gonna believe you're sincere!
To Nick's surprise, Cornelia threw her arms around him and started crying.
"Cornelia, wha...?"
"Oh, Nick, I'm so sorry!"
Naturally, Nick was confused. "W-Why are you apologizing, Cornelia?" Nick asked. "I'm the one who lost my temper when I shouldn't have! I'm the one who snapped!"
"But I didn't make things any better by arguing with you!" Cornelia cried. "I could have been the better and just put an end to it, but..."
Unable to hold themselves back any longer, Nick and Cornelia leaned forward and kissed, both of them allowing their tears to fall unchecked.
"I'm the one who should be apologizing, Cornelia," Nick stated.
"No, Nick, I just made it worse by firing back," Cornelia countered. "You were already in a bad mood after what that jerk Uriah said about Marie, and I shouldn't have made it worse. Can you ever forgive me?"
"That's... what I was on my way to do," Nick admitted. "I felt so stupid when I got home yesterday, so absolutely stupid for making you cry when I promised myself I'd never do that..."
Nick and Cornelia just stood there holding each other, both of them glad to get this matter off their chests after agonizing over it for what felt like weeks.
"Can we please put this whole incident behind us, Nick?" Cornelia asked. "I felt so bad when I got home yesterday, and I... I just..."
Nick leaned over and kissed Cornelia on the cheek. "Apology accepted, sweetheart."
Cornelia couldn't help but blush at that name. Even though they rarely dipped into "romantic pet name" territory (even if it was only to keep Irma from teasing them about it, which she did anyway because Irma), Cornelia still appreciated the nicknames regardless.
A loud clank caught the two lovers' attention. Nick was the first to look towards the source of the sound, and, to his surprise, he saw what appeared to be a keyblade lying on the cement near the driveway of the Hale house.
"Okay, that's weird," Nick quipped.
"Yeah, that wasn't there when I came out here," Cornelia stated.
Curious as to where this keyblade had come from, Nick walked over and picked it up to examine it.
This keyblade appeared to have a fire and summer theme to it, with a handle guard consisting of tulips and lilies, a hilt resembling a blooming red rose, a blade that resembled a skinny tree topped with a dark green tangle of leaves and a ruby-red sunburst acting as the teeth. The token, connected by a strand of cloth that resembled a stream of fire, was the elemental symbol of fire, a dark red, incomplete triangle.
"Okay, this is an interesting-looking keyblade," Nick stated. "But what's it doing here?"
"And why does it look like something Taranee would use?" Cornelia asked. "It's got the symbol of fire on it..."
"Good question," Nick quipped, lifting the strange keyblade behind his back and letting it vanish for the moment.
"Are you going to hold on to it?" Cornelia wondered.
"Might as well," Nick answered. "I have a feeling it's gonna be important later."
Just then, a loud explosion caught Nick and Cornelia's attention. When they spun around to find the source, they noticed a rather large Heartless stomping through the town plaza, its appearance that of a stone golem with beady yellow eyes covered in thick metal armor dusted shades of black and purple. It was carrying a gigantic double-bladed labrys decorated with the same face as the Heartless itself.
"Oh, I don't think so," Nick growled. "Come on, Cornelia, let's go send this thing packing."
"That's the idea," Cornelia giggled as she and her boyfriend summoned their keyblades and rushed towards the town plaza.
The two wielders were so focused on taking down the marauding Heartless that they failed to notice two other keyblade wielders nearby.
The boy was about Nick's age, with short, spiky brown hair and blue eyes, and the girl was about Cornelia's age, with short green bobcut hair and green eyes to match.
"Hey, did you see him?" Justin asked to the person trailing behind him. After leaping to eviscerate another Neoshadow that was in her way, Mira skidded to a stop to catch her breath.
"How could I not?" Mira gasped, balancing herself on Starlight. "It's still the same, right?"
"Honestly, I'm a little annoyed that we're suddenly not allowed to interfere or even help him out," Justin proclaimed, swinging his Starlight in frustration. "After all, we've spent the past two years just exploring the worlds. Why can't we help him?!"
"I think Mallory said something about protecting the world order," Mira answered.
"The world order?! Not this bullcrap again!" Justin bellowed, causing Mira to squeak in fright and back a few steps away. After all, even after all this time, Justin was still scary when he got angry.
"Seriously, what's even the point of this whole 'world order' shtick when the freakin' Heartless are a thing?!" Justin shouted. "It can't be that!"
Justin looked back, only to feel like a complete ass for unintentionally scaring Mira again. I really need to stop doing that, Justin thought as he calmed himself down, then walked over and patted Mira's shoulder to calm her down.
"Sorry about that, Mira," Justin stated. "I guess these past two years really haven't gotten my temper under control, huh?"
Mira just nodded and smiled, signaling that all was forgiven. "Maybe we'd better catch up with them," Mira stated. "If there's bigger Heartless around here, we may need to step in."
That was all Justin needed to hear. Turning towards the large Heartless in the distance, Justin and Mira brandished their keyblades and charged, hoping they could lend their assistance in some way.
"Holy crapbaskets, that's a big one!" Nick shouted once he and Cornelia had arrived in the plaza and beheld the size of the Rock Troll.
"Well, you know what they say, right?" Cornelia giggled.
"I sure do," Nick responded. "Let's enforce the cliché, then."
The Rock Troll slowly turned towards Nick and Cornelia, then roared and raised its giant labrys, ready to smash them into pieces.
Nick simply raised the Kingdom Key to stop the labrys in its place, holding it away from him for a few seconds before shoving forwards, knocking the Rock Troll off balance so Cornelia could leapfrog over him and start attacking the Rock Troll's bulbous face with a long string of attacks.
Cornelia's combo was only broken when the Rock Troll began to spin its upper body around like a swivel, its labrys extended. The Earth Guardian forced herself to fall back to the ground and rolled under the Rock Troll's legs so she could strike at its back when it stopped spinning.
Feeling a little devious, Cornelia ducked, then swung Rockbreaker out to slash at the Rock Troll's legs, causing it to collapse to its knees. This put its face at ground level, thus allowing Nick to wail away at the Rock Troll's face with an Ars Arcanum.
A left-horizontal spiral slash, a right-horizontal flourish, a vertical uppercut, a downward spike, four left-to-right-to-left slashes, a diagonal uppercut, and a downward chop, Kingdom Key's blade leaving orange light trails with each movement Nick made.
An outward stab, a right-hand slice, two diagonal slashes in an X formation, a quick slap with the flat of the blade, and finally, Nick gripped his keyblade tightly, leaping into the air and slicing downward with all the force of a crashing airliner, splitting the Rock Troll's steel mask in half and allowing Cornelia to run around and stab Rockbreaker into the exposed face.
Before the Rock Troll could respond to this, Nick stabbed the Kingdom Key into the other side of the Rock Troll's face, and a second later, both Nick and Cornelia slashed upwards with their keyblades, eviscerating the Rock Troll's face and leaving its body to crash to the ground.
As the Rock Troll evaporated into wisps of darkness, Nick couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky that these large-scale Heartless didn't attract any attention from the other citizens of Heatherfield.
Though, I guess it's fair to note that most of the people usually scatter like me in front of bees when the Heartless start attacking, Nick thought. And, the only ones at Sheffield who knows about the keyblade are Uriah and the Grump Twins, and they definitely have the good sense not to blab about it.
"NICK, LOOK OUT!" Cornelia near-screamed.
Nick barely had time to get his keyblade up to defend himself as, of all things, a Demon Tide came spiraling through the air and blindsided Nick with a flying tackle, causing Nick to get flung down the street. When Nick had finally stopped rolling, he looked up just in time to notice his Keyblade Master outfit dissolving into nothingness, leaving him in his normal clothes.
"Oh, that's not good," Nick stated.
The Demon Tide spiraled around the sky for a few second before barreling full-charge towards the obviously weakened Nick.
"And that's even less good!" Nick shouted as he attempted to get to his feet. That last attack had hurt like hell, after all.
Just as the Demon Tide was about to finish the job it had started, Mira planted herself firmly in front of Nick, raising her Starlight keyblade to conjure a massive Reflect barrier in front of them. The Demon Tide crashed into the barrier, unable to stop itself once committed to its attack.
While this was happening, Justin leaped in and swung his Starlight at the Demon Tide's core a few times, causing the swarm to back off.
Before Nick could process what was happening, an oppressive blue ring of light surrounded the Demon Tide's core before being battered by a barrage of what appeared to be souped-up Firaga spells. This attack finally forced the Demon Tide to retreat, flying into the horizon and eventually vanishing from sight.
"Yeah, come back when you can actually put up a fight!" Katelyn shouted, waving her Starlight threateningly towards the retreating Demon Tide.
"Um, I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you," Mallory reprimanded. "You clearly saw what it did to Nick, right?"
"Wait, didn't Nick take one of those things down two years ago?" Justin wondered.
"If I remember what we were told correctly, he actually had quite a bit of help in taking it on," Mira quipped. "And... this might be me, but didn't that one seem way stronger than the one we fought?"
"That can't be a good sign," Mallory groaned. "If they're getting stronger each time they pop up, something really bad must be happening..."
Amongst all the discussion about where the Demon Tide had come from, Cornelia helped Nick to his feet so he could inquire about what exactly was going on.
Justin, Mallory, Katelyn, and Mira all huddled together in a circle and began chattering to themselves about the situation. While they did this, Nick decided to see what exactly had happened to him due to the Demon Tide's surprise attack.
Attempting to switch between his different keyblades only yielded the Kingdom Key and Starlight, and trying to cast a spell, even a simple Fire spell, yielded absolutely nothing.
Well, that's disheartening, Nick thought. I must have lost the grand majority of my keyblades and powers when I got blindsided. If a Demon Tide's strong enough to do that by just clipping me, then...
After Nick's name came up in the quartet's hushed conversation, and it was here that Nick decided he'd had enough waiting.
"Um... could I possibly get a footnote here?" Nick asked, drawing the quartet's attention to him. "I definitely appreciate the assist in saving my bacon, make no mistake, but what exactly is a freakin' Demon Tide doing here?!"
Katelyn simply sighed in frustration, understanding that Nick probably didn't remember them. "There's a bad omen in the air, Nick," Katelyn answered. "Demon Tides usually only appear when there's a great darkness approaching, unlike its lesser Demon Towers."
"Okay, second question, how do you know my boyfriend?" Cornelia asked, now slightly on the defensive. "I'm pretty sure we've never met before..."
After taking a good long look at the four keyblade wielders in front of him, something finally clicked in Nick's thought process.
"Wait a minute," Nick stated. "You're... my 'guild', right?"
"Well, we weren't exactly a guild, but..." Mira stated before registering what Nick had just said. "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, you remember us?!"
Nick just smiled and summoned Starlight, the only keyblade he had left besides his default Kingdom Key, and this garnered an appropriate reaction from the quartet.
"Strelitzia told me everything about the age of fairy tales," Nick explained. "I don't remember all of the adventures I've most likely been on with you guys, but Strelly did tell me how close we were back then."
That was all Mira needed to hear, squealing happily and throwing herself into Nick's arms before anyone could stop her.
"You knew she would do this," Mallory quipped, glancing at Justin.
Katelyn walked over and gently pulled Mira back by her shoulders. "Easy, girl," Katelyn giggled. "We don't wanna overwhelm him too quickly, do we? Besides, he's already got a girlfriend, as you can see."
"Well, technically, he's got two girlfriends," Cornelia laughed.
Oh, here it comes, Nick thought.
"Wait, two?" Mallory gasped. "Doesn't that only happen in..."
"Okay, I'm putting a moratorium on that right now," Nick proclaimed.
"Right, sorry," Mallory replied, blushing slightly.
"I'm so sorry, Nick, I just couldn't help myself," Mira stated, shaking her head to clear her mind. "I used to have a huge crush on you back in Daybreak Town, but you never seemed to notice... I always thought you were interested in Strelitzia..."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to look back on my memories whenever they all decide to come back," Nick quipped.
Mira, unable to resist her urges any longer, leaned over and kissed Nick on the cheek before being once again pulled back by Katelyn. "Down, girl," Katelyn teased.
"HEY!"
Nick and Cornelia spun around upon hearing themselves being addressed, only to see Will Vandom, Keeper of the Heart, rushing over to them.
"What is it, Will?" Cornelia asked.
"We've been summoned by the Oracle," Will answered, already fishing out the Heart of Candracar. "Sounds like we've got trouble."
"And I'm pretty sure I know what that trouble is," Nick responded. "After all, it's what my friends and I became Keyblade Masters for."
Nick looked back at Mallory. "Will you all be okay while we're gone?" Nick asked.
"Of course! We're keyblade wielders, after all!" Katelyn proclaimed, hefting her Starlight proudly.
"In fact, we're damn good keyblade wielders!" Justin bellowed, only to be dope-slapped by Mallory. "OW! What was that for?!"
"Um, doof, last time you said that, I had to literally drag you out of the Dark Corridor Trials because you went in far before you were ready," Mallory stated.
Justin had no rebuttal for that.
"Don't you worry, Nick! We'll protect your home while you're away!" Mira stated. "It's what we all promised to do, after all."
Nick threw his free hand up in a mock-salute before doubling back to join Cornelia and Will on their way to Candracar.
"Hey, guys?" Mallory asked. "Nick said he might have known what this trouble is. What do you think it could be?"
"I have no clue, but if it's anything like that, the worlds might be in big trouble," Katelyn answered. "That was more than enough for us to deal with."
"Wow, you're all here already?" Nick asked when he realized the rest of W.I.T.C.H. was already waiting in the Congregation Hall for them.
"Yeah, it was kinda an emergency summons," Irma Lair quipped.
Nick glanced around for two people he was sure would be here, if the summons was as big of an emergency as he believed it to be.
"Um, where's..."
Nick's question was answered when he was suddenly grabbed in a flying hug and knocked down to the ground. Upon glancing up, he saw who else but Maylin Rae, once known as Meiling Li, all over him and looking very worried.
"Maylin? What's the matter?" Nick asked.
"I should be asking you that, Nick! What the heck happened to you?!" Maylin exclaimed. "I can tell just by looking at you that your powers are gone!"
"Short story, Cornelia and I were fighting a big Heartless in Heatherfield, then I got freaking sucker punched by a souped-up Demon Tide that demolished most of my powers," Nick explained. "Damn thing wrecked most of my keychains, too. All I've got left is my basic Kingdom Key and the Starlight that Strelly gave me."
"Sounds like you've had a rough day, huh?" Haruka Rose stated.
"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Nick stated. "Because I'm pretty dang sure on why the Oracle called all of us here."
"You are correct in your assumptions, Master Nick."
Himerish, the Oracle of Candracar, had appeared just ahead of the group, standing tall and wielding his own keyblade, Master Keeper.
"Surely, you know of the great evil that is approaching our worlds," Himerish proclaimed. "The very same threat that I put you and your fellow keyblade wielders through the Mark of Mastery Exam to prepare you for."
Nick just nodded. "The Dark Mother."
"To be honest, we've known she was coming for a good couple years now, right?" Hay Lin asked. "This can't be the only reason you've called us here, Your Majesty."
"Ever perceptive, my Guardians," Himerish responded. "Now that she draws ever closer to our worlds, I now understand what exactly she intends to do."
"And that would be...?" Will asked.
Himerish took a deep breath before answering.
"Have you, by any chance, heard of the χ-blade?"
Naturally, most of W.I.T.C.H. was confused, but Maylin and Haruka gasped in shock upon hearing Himerish mutter the name of the ancient weapon.
"You... you can't be serious, Your Majesty," Maylin gasped. "How does she know about that ancient thing?!"
"Wait, you said χ-blade, right?" Nick asked. "It sounds like it's different from the ones we wield."
"It is, Master Nick," Himerish answered. "The χ-blade is the progenitor of all keyblades that exist today, and the protector of the one and only true Kingdom Hearts. When the Keyblade War ended, the χ-blade was shattered, separated into twenty pieces, seven of light and thirteen of darkness."
It didn't take long for Nick to put the pieces together. "She's gathering those fragments to remake the χ-blade, isn't she?"
"Yes," Himerish stated. "The Dark Mother seeks hearts both of pure light and pure darkness in order to forge the χ-blade and attain the ultimate power she seeks."
"Since you guys weren't with us when I figured out what was going on with the off-worlders," Haruka explained to W.I.T.C.H., "the Dark Mother used to be Meter, the Elemental Queen of Spring. Meter and the other Queens ruled over their respective elements until Meter's heart began to fill with arrogance and a lust for power, most likely caused by learning of the χ-blade. Meter turned on her fellow queens, only to be defeated and imprisoned in the nothingness away from the worlds. However, some of her seeds found their way to other worlds as a way for her to eventually regain her strength and break out of her prison."
"I fear, even now, that she has escaped and once again seeks to recreate the χ-blade and bring all worlds to ruin," Himerish proclaimed. "That is why I have called you here. Your next task as Keyblade Masters is to defeat Meter before she can forge the χ-blade."
Nick glanced down at his clothes. "Um... I may have hit a snag, in that a Demon Tide sideswiped me and took most of my powers with it..." Nick sighed.
Himerish simply smiled before raising Master Keeper and swinging it in wide circles, drawing patterns of light energy as he did so. After the pattern was complete, Himerish stabbed Master Keeper through the pattern, and chains of light burst forth to envelop Nick in a bright flash.
When the light cleared and everyone could see Nick again, he was wearing a black jacket with grey pockets and a stripe of the same color on each sleeve. The hood, sleeves and jacket had a red lining, and six buttons could be seen on the front. Underneath, he wore a black tank top with a V-neck style collar and white lining. Covering his hands were gauntlets with a similar color scheme to his jacket, with red linings and grey circles on the backs, with yellow buckled straps wrapped around his wrists, leaving the palms of his hands exposed. He was also wearing black shorts with several grey pockets, a red band wrapping around each pant leg, and small yellow shoes with blue straps.
"Oh, yeah, much better," Nick quipped.
"Still dashing as ever, huh, Corny?" Maylin giggled.
"Yep," Cornelia admitted.
"With this outfit, you will discover wondrous new powers over the course of your journey," Himerish proclaimed. "But, much like your previous journey, you will need to discover these powers on your own."
"I got no problem with that," Nick quipped. "That's usually what happens whenever a new quest begins, right?"
"Is there anything we can do?" Irma asked.
"As a matter of fact, my Guardians, there is," Himerish proclaimed. "As I have told you, the Dark Mother seeks pure hearts in order to forge the χ-blade. While Master Nick and his friends will scour the worlds, I would have you investigate Heatherfield for anyone that the Dark Mother may be targeting for their pure hearts."
"You really think they could be in Heatherfield?" Taranee wondered.
"I have no idea how many hearts she has gathered so far, if any," Himerish admitted. "This is why I wish to attack on two different fronts to prevent any more pure hearts from falling into her clutches."
"You can count on us, Your Majesty," Will stated, bowing slightly.
"Well, I think we need to get going, everybody," Maylin proclaimed. "The longer we stand around here yammering, the more time the Dark Mother's gonna have to enact her dastardly deeds!"
"So, off to adventure we go, then?" Haruka giggled.
"OFF TO ADVENTURE WE GO!" Maylin shouted.
Glad to see my friends never really change much, Nick thought.
"Before you go, Nick, I have one last gift for you," Himerish proclaimed, raising Master Keeper and channeling his power into it. After a brief flare of golden light, Nick felt something fall into his hands.
Upon getting a closer look, Nick saw a large charm shaped mostly like a snowflake with the top spike extending upwards in a flare shape. Imprinted on the center of the charm was a circular symbol that reminded him of someone he knew.
"This is a Heartbinder," Himerish stated. "You have a gift for connecting with others, Nick, and this will make that gift stronger. Simply concentrate on its power with all your heart and you will summon an ally to help you in your time of need."
"Oh, new summon allies?" Maylin giggled. "Sweet!"
"There are more Heartbinders out there, waiting for you to find them," Himerish continued. "You will need all the strength you can gather in order to thwart the Dark Mother's wicked ambitions."
"But no pressure," Nick sighed as Haruka activated her wrist-mounted communicator, a device that resembled a futuristic sci-fi watch, to teleport the three of them to the Gummi Ship while Will used the Heart of Candracar to open a portal in the Veil that would return them to Heatherfield to get their search underway.
"May your hearts be your guiding key," Himerish proclaimed as his warriors set out to fulfill their duty.
After a few seconds of awkward (at least to her) silence, Marie stepped out from the hallway leading into the Congregation Hall, still wondering why she'd been told to wait out of sight.
"Um... Your Majesty?" Marie asked.
"Step forward, Master Marie," Himerish proclaimed.
As Marie did so, she instinctively summoned her keyblade, Darkgnaw, and let it rest on her shoulder.
"Okay, now that everyone's gone but you and me, could you please explain why you wanted me to wait until they all left?" Marie asked. "Because I'm still really confused."
"It is because I have a very special task for you, Master Marie," Himerish explained. "And I did not wish for your brother to worry."
"Is it that serious?" Marie wondered.
"As a matter of fact, it is something only you can do," Himerish answered. "Due to your exposure to the darkness three years ago, and your subsequent revival, your heart has developed an astounding immunity to the corrupting effects of the unnatural darkness."
"So... I'm basically a paragon of sorts for the 'good' darkness?" Marie quipped.
"One of the most admirable qualities that you and Nick both possess is the ability to see the good in anything, light or darkness," Himerish stated. "You, of all people, know that darkness does not always have to be evil or bad. And that is precisely why I have selected you for this task."
"Which would be...?" Marie asked.
"Activity in the realm of darkness has been increasing lately," Himerish explained. "And it usually only does so in reaction to the approach of a great darkness."
"The Dark Mother," Marie stated. "You want me to go to the realm of darkness for... what, exactly?"
"There are hearts lost in the realm of darkness," Himerish continued, and Marie easily noticed his change in expression, as if recalling those memories was painful. "The bearers of these hearts may be our best chance at putting an end to the Dark Mother's ambitions should she manage to claim the hearts she seeks. With your immunity to its corruption, you are the only worthy candidate to travel to the realm of darkness and find these hearts so that you may bring them back to the realm of light."
"Your Majesty, if I may?" Marie stated. "Last time I was in the realm of darkness, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Even with my immunity, I'm worried something is going to go wrong. And that's not even considering the possibility that really strong Heartless call that place their home."
"Fear not, for I have thought about this possibility," Himerish answered. "Your new clothes will grant you much more protection against the realm of darkness and its... shall we say, nastier elements. Also, I have one last gift for you."
Himerish raised Master Keeper and pointed it towards Marie. A golden light burst from her chest and converged around Darkgnaw, transforming it into a brand new keyblade.
This new keyblade, Moonlight, had a pink handle and a rectangular, lilac guard with long spikes on each of its corners, a long dark purple blade with concave edges, decorated with two indigo diamonds, and ending in a spike topped off by a dark purple crescent moon, lilac-colored teeth shaped like a large arrowhead, and a keychain token shaped like two criss-crossing crescent moons.
"I believe in you to the utmost extent, Master Marie," Himerish proclaimed. "I know you will not let me down."
"But no pressure," Marie giggled. Himerish allowed himself a small chuckle at that. "Wait, wait, I have one more question. How exactly do I get into the realm of darkness? I'm pretty sure it's not the easiest place to get to, after all."
"That is true," Himerish admitted. "Normally, an entry point is only formed when a world is consumed by the Heartless, and these points do not stay open for very long."
"And I have a feeling that this probably won't be one of those 'get in and get out' types of journeys," Marie noted.
"However, I believe I have found a safe passage into the realm of darkness in Heatherfield," Himerish stated, causing Marie to gasp in surprise. "As you know, Heatherfield was once swallowed by the darkness. Various portals have opened recently, similar to the holes that once permeated the Veil. It is my belief that these portals will allow you to enter the dark realm."
"Well, then I guess I'd better get going, if I'm gonna find those hearts," Marie quipped. "But... can I ask one final question? Why did you want me to do this and not my brother? He's the 'hero' of this whole bonanza, after all."
Himerish sighed. "If Nick were to learn of this, he would most likely attempt a reckless rescue without knowing how the realm of darkness works," Himerish explained.
"And considering how Nick used to be so worried about letting his darkness take control of him, as we saw with that whole Anti-Form spiel," Marie admitted. "And considering that time we all got sent there after we met that corrupted Lily, we only got out thanks to whoever left that picture for us so we could open the gate. Yeah, that probably wouldn't end well. However, that would be exactly what Nick would do. He'd jump at any chance to save someone, regardless of the risk to himself. It's just the way he is."
"Regardless, you must make haste," Himerish stated. "As Master Maylin has stated, the longer we wait, the closer the Dark Mother gets to achieving her goals."
"Right, right, hurrying up now!" Marie stuttered, turning on her heel, slinging Moonlight atop her shoulder, and dashing out of the Congregation Hall to fulfill her own task. She stopped short of the doorway and turned back towards Himerish. "May my heart me be my guiding key."
Himerish stood there for a few seconds as Marie vanished, before noticing that someone else had appeared in the Congregation Hall, a figure wearing a very familiar black cloak.
Despite the cloak, Himerish apparently had no trouble recognizing the figure. "Luxu?"
"Oh, so you do remember me now?" Luxu teased, clutching a keyblade that Himerish had hoped to never see again.
"Wait, why do you have the No Name?" Himerish asked, suddenly apprehensive.
"Well, it is my keyblade, after all," Luxu admitted. "I just took back what was given to me by you."
Luxu glanced around the Congregation Hall, lazily twirling No Name in his hands. "You know, I'm surprised your memories actually came back," Luxu stated.
"I prefer not to stay stuck in the past," Himerish answered. "Despite who I may have been in the past, this is who I am now, and I would not change that for anything."
"Wouldn't want you to," Luxu proclaimed. "You do you, of course. I just came to observe events as I was tasked to... Master."
Marie gazed out at the vistas of the realm of darkness, formed of multiple mountain-like landmasses with glowing blue cracks in them.
"Wow, never thought I'd return here willingly," Marie quipped, glancing at her reflection in Moonlight. "Well, no time for pontificating or whatever those people do. I need to start looking for those hearts."
Steeling her resolve, Marie began to walk forward down the winding and twisting pathways of the realm, hoping to find something here.
After sliding down a long and rather bumpy slope to get to a cavern-like area within a mountain, Marie noticed something very peculiar up ahead near the mouth of the tunnel.
It appeared to be the wreckage of some kind of space ship, and a very futuristic one at that. The body of the ship was mostly intact, though it was the only part of the ship that still remained as such. The wings of the ship were in many pieces along the cavern floor and wall, some of the pieces actually looking like they had been fused into the walls.
"Wha...?" Marie gasped. "I'm... pretty sure that's not supposed to be here. ...then again, the Oracle did say that sometimes pieces of worlds lost to the darkness make their way here..."
Walking up to the hull and brushing some dust off of the side, Marie could now read the name "Normandy".
"I can only imagine those poor people," Marie sighed. "Not knowing what was happening, unable to do anything while their world ripped itself apart..."
Realizing that staring at the wrecked Normandy wasn't going to get her anywhere, Marie turned back to the tunnel, only to find herself surrounded by a small group of Neoshadows and Darkballs.
"Should have figured you'd be popping up eventually," Marie quipped, raising Moonlight into a battle stance. "Let's dance, dark boys!"
One of the Darkballs lunged for Marie, attempting to take a bite out of her, but Marie defended herself with Dark Barrier, creating a spherical shield of light around her. The Darkball slammed into the barrier and bounced back, giving Marie time to go on the offensive.
Like Nick, Marie's string of physical combos had changed since becoming a Keyblade Master. Marie attacked first with an upward vertical slash from the left leg, then a long rush forward with a diagonal spinning slash, followed by a vertical downward slash, then finishing with a lightning-fast double horizontal slash, left to right, destroying the Darkball.
A Neoshadow started floating before spinning towards her seemingly unprotected back, hoping to knock her down while she was dealing with the Darkball, but Marie simply raised another Dark Barrier around herself.
"Nice try," Marie giggled before leaping to meet the Neoshadow while it was disoriented, attacking first with a horizontal slash to the left, then a horizontal slash to the right, followed by a vertical downward chop, then finishing with a spinning somersault attack that trailed darkness as she spun. The Neoshadow didn't stand a chance, being split in half by the finisher.
Marie continued to dance around the area, attacking Neoshadows and Darkballs with her keyblade, while also noting that despite how easily she took them down, the few times she'd been hit by them tended to hurt a lot more than they had in the realm of light.
Must be because the realm of darkness makes even the lesser Heartless stronger while they're here, Marie thought.
After splitting the last Darkball in half with an overhead slam, more Heartless spawned in, all of them Heartless that Marie had never seen before. They were all spherical in shape, with one type having long horns and flame sprouting from its head, one looking like a large boulder with spikes jutting out of its backside, and the third having what looked like a cartoon villain's mustache and a long beard made entirely of water.
"Great, now you throw the elemental ones at me," Marie groaned.
The Flame Core spat a fireball into the air that split into a dozen smaller fireballs to rain down on the area, forcing Marie to duck and weave between the fireballs to land a few solid hits on the Flame Core.
After landing a combo finisher on the Flame Core, Marie noticed that Moonlight had started glowing.
"Huh," Marie quipped. "Wonder what this does? Let's find out together, shall we?"
Marie spun Moonlight around in her hands, causing an approaching Earth Core to back away.
"Formchange: Crescent Staff!" Marie shouted, her keyblade actually transforming into a long and elaborate staff with a crescent moon-shaped jewel at its tip. Marie whirled it all around her, keeping a couple approaching Water Cores from getting any closer, before holding it behind her in a battle stance.
"H-Holy crap, did my keyblade just transform?!" Marie gasped. "I guess I can gawk later. Let's see what this baby can do!"
Many of the different cores began to surround Marie with the intent of boxing her in, but Marie just swung her transformed keyblade, the long reach of the staff granting her enormous reach and mobility, with Marie performing many wide-reaching spinning strikes with the staff, including spinning leaps and long-range stabs, ending with a combo finisher in which she slammed her staff into the ground, causing a shockwave of purple crescent moons to explode outwards from the point of impact.
Marie continued her wild attack until her staff began to glow yet again. Leaping backwards to plant herself a good distance from all of the Heartless, Marie raised her staff, channeling its power to create a projection of the moon above her. Marie took a few steps forward, spinning her staff around her and causing the moon to whirl around her body, ravaging any Heartless that got caught in the strike, before leaping into the air and coming down with an overhead swing that thrust the moon into the ground and caused it to explode outwards, easily destroying all of the Cores around her.
When her final attack was spent, the staff reverted back to its keyblade form.
"Okay, that was awesome," Marie proclaimed. "I just bet that big bro can do that now, too..."
With the Heartless gone for the moment, Marie continued her trek, making her way through the cavern and past the wrecked Normandy. More Heartless continued to accost her, but Marie was easily able to handle them thanks to her new Formchange.
After a while of cave-dwelling, Marie eventually made her way out of the opposite cave mouth and found herself on what appeared to be a beach, with strange, almost organic rock formations far out in the distance.
"Huh, never thought there'd be a beach out here in the dark world," Marie admitted as she walked forward and into the shallows at the edge of the sand, feeling the waves wash over her feet. If she was being honest, it brought back memories of all the beach trips she'd been on with Nick and his family.
Marie was quite pleased to know that she no longer felt that same empty feeling that she'd felt the last time she'd been trapped in this world, unable to find her way through the darkness and eventually forcing her brother to kill her to save all of existence.
Instead, she felt invigorated, full of energy and ready to do her part to stop the rise of the Dark Mother.
But still, she wondered...
"Who exactly are these hearts that the Oracle wants me to find?" Marie asked herself as she sat down on the shore and gazed out into the horizon towards the luminescent moon that cast its soft light over this shadowy realm. "Who do they belong to?"
The sound of footsteps behind her caused Marie to jump back to her feet and summon Moonlight. "All right, who's there?!" Marie shouted.
Marie was expecting a rather strong Heartless, especially after the trip she'd had.
She definitely wasn't expecting to see a group of humanoid Heartless only a few inches shorter than her, with double-pointed witch hats, bat-like wings, and vicious-looking claws.
Marie prepared herself, only to find that the Darklings weren't attacking her, just standing there and staring at her.
"Um... okay, now I'm lost," Marie admitted. "I thought Heartless were supposed to act on instinct and just go for a target. Why are these things just staring at me like I'm one of those fancy chicken dinners big bro likes so much?"
Marie slowly raised Moonlight, ready to do whatever she had to. "Well, maybe I should just..."
"luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuux"
Stunned into silence for a second, Marie stared blankly at the Darkling that had just spoken. "Did... did you just speak?" Marie asked.
The lead Darkling brandished its claws, putting Marie on edge enough to bring Moonlight into a battle stance. The Darklings, spurred on by their leader's unspoken command, began to slowly march towards Marie.
"Lux," the lead Darkling proclaimed. "Gi... give... ...ux... Give me... give me your Lux!"
Marie readied Moonlight for a battle. "Okay, that is ten pounds of 'hell no' in a five pound bag if I've ever seen it," Marie groaned.
One of the Darklings leaped forward, scratching at Marie with both of its claws, but she quickly defended herself with a Dark Barrier even as the other Darklings began to batter at the shield.
In a trick she'd picked up from Nick, Marie raised Moonlight and shattered the barrier, the blowback knocking the Darklings away from her.
Before the Darklings could reorient themselves, Marie swung Moonlight upwards and cast Zero Gravity, creating an anti-gravity field around her that caused the Darklings to start drifting in the air. This left them wide open for Marie to Formchange into Crescent Staff and start wailing on the Darklings.
Before too long, all that remained was the lead Darkling, about a few inches taller than Marie, with more wicked-looking claws and a positively murderous expression on its yellow-eyed face.
"Give me your Lux, or I will tear it from your body myself!" the Darkling growled in a guttural voice.
"How about 'hell no'?!" Marie countered, swinging Crescent Staff around in a spinning motion to deflect the Darkling's lunge attack.
"I can practically taste the Lux you radiate," the Darkling laughed.
"Okay, gross!" Marie shuddered as she rushed forward to start beating on the Darkling with her staff, eventually culminating in slashing it in half with a vicious horizontal swing.
The Darkling bellowed in disbelief before evaporating into little wisps of darkness that quickly faded away.
As Marie reverted her staff back to her keyblade, she realized that she was probably in over her head if she was encountering Heartless that could talk.
"Yeah, like that's ever stopped us before," Marie giggled, thinking about her brother's gung-ho attitude when it came to fighting the Heartless.
Deciding that she probably needed to beat it out of this place, Marie started walking along the shoreline to another section of the beach, where she saw a pathway leading into another mountain with a ramp jutting out from it.
"Well, might as well take the obvious path, then," Marie quipped.
Please... help me...
"Who... said that?" Marie asked.
When the light from the portal had finally died down, Nick could see that the Lanes Between looked very different from the last time he'd been in them, namely the end of his Mark of Mastery Exam.
"Wow, this place changed a lot since our last voyage," Nick admitted.
"Well, that's because this technically isn't the lanes," Maylin proclaimed. "My dear fighting buddy, this is the majesty that is the Ocean Between!"
"It basically houses all of the Lanes Between that have been discovered, and that means we'll most likely be seeing a lot of new worlds on this journey," Haruka stated. "I don't think we really need to explain much more for the moment, so... how about we get this voyage underway?"
"You're the pilot, right?" Nick laughed.
Maylin suddenly sighed happily, then leaned over to hug Nick tightly. "I really missed this, you know," Maylin stated.
"Missed what?" Nick wondered. "You hug the crap out of me practically every time I see you, after all."
"Just... this adventure," Maylin answered. "The feeling of going on a majestic adventure across the worlds with the two best friends I could have ever asked for..."
"It feels like so long ago that we would constantly get into comical arguments over what we were gonna do with our Gummi Ship," Haruka giggled. "Even though I quickly shot that down, since I'm the one who built this ship."
"This adventure's already off to a quirky start, and we haven't even gotten started yet," Nick stated. "Though I guess I'd expect nothing less."
"And, Nick?" Maylin asked, kissing Nick on the cheek. "I know for damn sure that you're going to get your powers back and then some. You did it before, and I know you can do it again. If you want, I can even let you use my old spell coins to get your magic spells back."
"Wait, don't you need those to use your magic?" Nick wondered.
"Not anymore, buddy," Maylin replied. "Since I became a Keyblade Master, my magic's only gotten more powerful, to the point that I don't even need my coins to cast magic spells. Just one of the perks of finally fulfilling my dream!"
"And I don't think we'd appreciate the Dark Mother ruining that dream, right?" Haruka responded.
"Yeah, I hope that crazy lady is ready to deal with us," Maylin proclaimed. "Because we're not gonna show any mercy!"
"Then, let's do as Haruka said and get this voyage underway," Nick stated.
"Roger that!" Haruka exclaimed, activating the control panel so she could take the wheel and begin flying the Gummi Ship through the Ocean Between, ready to get this adventure on the road.
To be continued...
Keyblade get!
Moonlight
Base Strength: 6
Base Magic: 5
Ability: Magic Galvanizer (Increase the damage you deal with magic in proportion to the length of your combo. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)
Formchange 1: Crescent Staff (Transform your keyblade into a long staff for far-reaching attacks that cover a wide range around you.)
Formchange 2: Moon-a-rang (Brandish dual boomerangs for multi-hit attacks and long-range throws.)
Description: Marie's new keyblade to aid her in traversing the realm of darkness. Well-balanced in both strength and magic.
On the next episode...
Maylin: Well, readers, our third adventure is ready to kick off!
Haruka: And it seems like we're once again stepping into familiar territory for our first stop.
Nick: Well, when you've got Creatures of Grimm prowling around alongside the Heartless and Nobodies, trouble tends to be right around the corner in every corner.
Haruka: Despite that, this city looks really cool. Guess it's a good thing the Grimm haven't run the place over like lots of these towns tend to do.
Nick: I think it's because there's a pretty huge Atlas military presence here.
Maylin: Wait, was that... guys, I think that was Adam!
Haruka: The jerk who took Yang's arm?! What's he doing here?!
Nick: Whatever it is, it can't be good. Let's see if we can head him off. Next time on W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III, "Taking the Bull By the Horns"!
Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!