Author's notes: Nice to have a few more reviews, but would appreciate more input. Hope your all enjoyed that last one. A bit different, more like a psychological thriller. I hope it was a neat twist. Enjoy this next one and please review.

"Get up, you!" a tough and grizzled voice called to Sora. Sora's mind was still in a haze of darkness. He couldn't see the source of the voice. "I said, get up! You miserable lout!" the voice bellowed. A sudden hard kick to his side brought Sora out of the darkness. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up into the disapproving eyes of frowning mustached soldier, in a red uniform and wearing a fur cap. Sora winced with pain and slowly sat up. He scanned the area. It all looked familiar but he didn't have time to process it all. "On your feet, boy!" the soldier growled, grabbing Sora by his shirt collar and dragging him to his feet.

"Alright!" Sora exclaimed. The soldier eyeballed him thoughtfully. Sora was still dazed and felt numb. He'd never seen a soldier dressed like this before. Most armies in his world wore something a bit more modern. There was a rifle of some sort slung around his shoulder, but it didn't look like most armies standard issue assault rifles. Then the coin dropped. "Wait! Is this Radiant Garden?" he asked the soldier.

"Of course it is, lad," the mustached soldier replied. "Where else would it be? Did you trade for a flagon of Amasec?

Sora's eyes lit up. After three years, he had almost forgotten all about this place. He was ashamed of himself for not recognizing it immediately. He was standing in the middle of the market district of Radiant Garden! Merlin, Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Tifa and all the others would be here! He was back, back in Kingdom Hearts! Sora felt like leaping for joy but was cut off by the soldier.

"Hold on a moment lad," he said. He looked Sora over once more, he seemed to recognize him. "Your name wouldn't be Sora, would it?" he asked.

"Yes," Sora answered. He looked at the soldier in question. He couldn't recall ever seeing the man before. Much of his memory of the place had returned very quickly. The soldier's face softened.

"Well that explains, that," the soldier murmured. "In that case, welcome back lad," the soldier continued with a sense of ceremony. "The Commissar and that wizard fellow will want to see you right away then."

"Merlin?" Sora asked in excitement. "Where is he?"

"Should be with the Commissar, in the office up in the fortress," the soldier answered.

"Thank you!" said Sora, almost shouting, and took off running down the street. After so long and nearly forgetting, he would finally see his friends again. He knew Kairi and Riku might be here somewhere too. And Donald and Goofy might be there. He was too happy to remember what had happened, yet.

"Hey, Lad!" the soldier shouted after him. "If you run into anymore guardsmen, just tell them your name," he said. Sora heard him say something into what he assumed was a radio set in his ear. Sora wanted to acknowledge him but was running too fast and spun around a corner seconds later. He made his way through the winding streets of the town, passing by other red coated soldiers as he ran, most of them just took a quick glance at him and kept on walking. Sora was curious as to why soldiers were in the streets and why there were no shops open I the market district but he decided it was best just to get to Merlin, if the soldiers weren't on his side then Merlin wouldn't be with their leader. He began ascending the steps to the fortress he ran into a pair of soldiers near the main entrance. They held up their hands and Sora stopped, panting for breath.

"You'd be Sora then, I take it?" asked one of the soldiers. Sora nodded, apparently it was a radio set that the soldier spoke into. "Best be getting inside then, the Commissar and the rest of the chain of command are waiting for you," he said. Sora nodded and stood up to take in a deep breath. He turned around to look out over the horizon he hadn't seen in years. His breath froze in his lungs. He was high enough over the main wall to see the vast open valley between the blue mountain range surrounding the fortress. The Valley, where Sora and his comrades had once fought a massive battle, was now filled with soldiers. The soldiers wore multiple different uniforms of varying colors and designs. Most of them were filtering in and out of tents or working on large armored vehicles and tanks. Some towered over others and wore head-to-toe armor suits. Sora was shocked. Clearly these soldiers weren't his enemies, but who were they and where did they come from? Sora snapped himself out of it. He turned and walked past the two soldiers, who had already moved aside for him. He resumed his run as he entered the fortress. It was time to find out what was going on.

Cain took another sip of tana, fresh and hot from the pot on the desk. It had been another usual day, if the days of the past three months could be called usual. As Merlin had predicted, more and more imperial guard troopers and space marines showed up on a daily basis. Even up to a month ago units and ships kept turning up.

A month ago, the last of the five ships orbiting the planet, arrived. The flotilla consisted of 3 battleships and 2 grand cruisers, plenty enough firepower to keep any chaos surprises at bay, assuming all they'd encounter is a small scout force. The tech-priest (or mechanic, as he preferred to be called), Sid, wasted no time in telling them that in order for the ships to travel through the void between worlds, they would need to be coated with a special material called "gumi coating". Cain had come close to laughing when he first heard the name of the material, but it happens the people of this world were capable of making formidable ships with this material; nothing nearly as impressive as the ships of the imperium but good enough to serve as transports or fighters. The two grand cruisers were both finished and the first two battleships were three quarters done with the gumi coating. The last Battleship was to begin coating after the first two were finished.

As for Cain, he'd had some minor troubles with the locals early on in their transition to imperial rule. The locals were less than enthusiastic about their local authorities being replaced by the guardsmen; Lt. Don and his Vostroyans were made the police/occupational force of the town, their small number being suitable. There were some complaints of soldiers behaving badly with the women early on, though of course the worst complainers were the medicade personal, on account of because they ended up needing to bed several guardsmen. A few of the local girls (Tifa and Yuffie), who Cain remembered from the day of his arrival (and for good reason) were as formidable fighters as were Leon and Cloud. Thus they took up the job of assuring the troopers were respectful to the local women.

At Merlin's request, Cain and Don had given the girls police authority over the troopers, with the understanding that they try not to injure them too badly. After a few foolish, usually drunken, guardsmen attempted to force themselves on a few of the locals (even Tifa and Yuffie) and they soon found themselves beaten bloody and wrapped in bandages in the fortresses make-shift sick bay, the bad behavior mellowed considerably. Guardsmen were still welcome to enter the town (albeit with liberty passes only) and could enjoy the comforts of civilization, so long as they didn't steal anything or cause any unnecessary damage or violence. By and large, the guardsmen grew to appreciate the kindliness and peacefulness of the village over time. Cain himself was relieved to at the friendly atmosphere of the village. Even after the terrible fighting which had taken place, the locals were quite resilient and optimistic. But then, they could afford to be, Cain couldn't.

The Cadians and Armageddon troopers set up camp in the Valley, outside the north gate. The camp soon grew massively as more and more troopers and astartes began to appear. The Black Templar marines and the one ultramarine, Capt. Titus, set up camp with the guardsmen (the inquisitor, Thrax, slept in a relatively small room in the fortress). Soon they were joined by a contingent of Tallarns, then a platoon of Mordians, then one of Krieg guardsmen (which caused an understandable drop in moral for a time), then a platoon of Valhallans appeared. The ships arrived soon after with troops of their own on board, who were all too glad for an excuse to leave the ships and make camp on a planet. It took them time to grow use to the wide range of strange sentient creatures they met in the village, but things settled relatively quickly with each new set of arrivals/reinforcements.

The Krieg guardsmen of course rarely entered the town, but to report to Cain and the other officers; except for the one Krieg officer, Col. Hannibal Land, a very unusual Krieg officer. Col. Land never wore his gas mask and usually had a warmer and more open demeanor about him than any other Kriegman; who Cain had understood to be very cold and anti-social. Most Krieg guardsmen were never seen without their masks; unless ordered to remove them, which usually revealed very plain and usual faces (albeit ridden with acne).

Cain was comfortably resting in his cushioned seat behind his grand desk. His staff was sitting equally comfortably in their own seats arranged in a semi-circle around his desk. Lt. Mira, Capt. Rosencrantz, Col. Land, Major Dragov, and Major Omar were sitting in the semi-circle. Merlin was sitting in a chair beside his desk. One chair was empty, but Cain had grown tired of waiting. It had been a relatively calm day, another fight had broken out between a dark angel and a space wolf, Tifa had broken a drunken Catachan's fingers at one of the taverns and Lord Astorath of the blood angels had executed another death company marine who was succumbing to the black rage. Long periods of inactivity could often be as lethal to the blood angels as the fury of combat. Cain had called the meeting to discuss the possibility of sending out a scouting party to the worlds of the multi-verse "kingdom hearts". Merlin had rebuked the idea a month ago when the thought was first suggested by Capt. Titus, but with things moving on so smoothly Cain thought it might be the appropriate time.

"At your command, Commissar, I will lead my men on a scouting mission," Col. Land said from his chair. His friendly disposition was as off-setting as always. "All we will require is a guide, I'm certain one of the two soldiers would be willing to volunteer," he said referring to Leon and Cloud. "Our pilots have been training with these gumi ships for the past two months now, I am confident they are ready sir."

"My men and I are prepared as well, Commissar," Major Omar of the Tallarns broke in. "We will travel light, as always. And if need be, we could set down on any tainted world and formulate a resistance until reinforcements arrive," he finished, the Tallarn guardsmen were very good at hit and run tactics and could easily fight a guerilla war on short notice, they were best suited for dessert climates but could adapt to nearly any climate.

"I understand that you're all looking forward to getting into the fight, or rather finding the fight," Cain stated, he noticed a look of disappointment on Lt. Mira and Capt. Rosencrantz's faces; no doubt they were about to volunteer themselves and their units for reconnaissance. "But first we need a basic idea of where we are going and what we'll encounter," he said. The officer's faces twisted in confusion. They had been under the impression that they would be facing Chaos, Heretics and possibly more Orks; Cain had thought it best to keep these "Heartless" to himself and Thrax (standing in the back of the room). Merlin had thought that wise as well. "I'm afraid we will be facing an additional enemy, one that we have never encountered before, "Cain said. He went on to tell them what Merlin had told him. Dark shadowy figures of twisted and bizarre shapes, some of which were once living beings but were absorbed into darkness, things that frightened Cain almost as much as the Necrons. Thrax had concluded long ago that these creatures were merely a newfound breed of Chaos Daemons, which Cain accepted; Emperor knows what lies within the eye of terror, just because the Imperium hadn't spotted any new daemon manifestations in centuries didn't mean there weren't any more variants lurking in the darkness. There wasn't a calm face in the room when Cain finished, except for Tharx who didn't seem to be rattled at anything. Cain took another sip of his tana (still warm) to repress a shiver.

"By the Emperor!" Rosencrantz exclaimed when Cain finished.

"Bloody Warp!" Mira gasped.

"How could the Administratorum not have known about this?" asked Omar. "Even the Necrons aren't so secret that the guard didn't know about them!" He went on. Cain took another sip.

"How and why don't matter much now," Land broke in. "These creatures exist and it is our duty to destroy them in the name of the Emperor," he finished. All eyes in the room were on him. Even Major Dragov of the Valhallan guard looked impressed with him (and he was impressed with little other than himself).

"Well spoken, Colonel," said Cain. Land nodded.

"How would you like us to proceed, Commissar?" asked Mira.

"The worlds of Kingdom Hearts do not stay in any fixed position or orbit," Cain explained. "They alternate over time but can be reached through a set pathway, similar to an underwater current. According to Merlin, these pathways should lead us to each world vortex," he went on. "Each vortex should lead to one particular area of each world, usually because there is some item or person of interest to the heartless. We will simply need to find that item or person and keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy."

"Or we could just wait for the enemy to make his move and crush them," Dragov broke in. He finished with pounding his fist on the arm of his chair. Merlin looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. Mira and Land both looked at him in question. The Valhallans had a history of leaving mayhem in their wake and not caring much who they trampled over to get to the enemy, Dragov was clearly a component of that reputation. Valhallan guardsmen, including Jurgen, tended to hate many of their commanding officers more than their enemies. Arousing such hatred among the guardsmen for one's self was a dubious strategy for any commander as far as Cain was concerned, but then he always figured that if the men respected and possibly admired him (at least somewhat) then they would be more likely to obey him; having a loyal group of guardsmen surrounding you when the enemy comes always seemed a much safer plan to Cain.

"Your input and enthusiasm is appreciated, Major," said Cain. "But hopefully it will not come to that. We are here to kill the enemies of humanity, not our fellow humans."

"Of course, Commissar," said Dragov. "But not all things go according to plan, we must be willing to adapt and take measures to assure the enemy do not gain the advantage, and surely the sacrifice of some may lead to the safety of others," said Dragov with a cocky smirk. Cain could see he was trying to be clever.

"I believe what the Commissar is saying," Land broke in. "Is that we must make sure our sacrifices are not in vain and that we should prioritize killing the enemy while losing as few of our own troopers as possible. Emperor knows we run the risk of stretching ourselves thin as is," He finished, this was very true. To the inexperienced eye it would appear they had a galaxy conquering battle force at hand, but in truth even their grand force available would hardly be enough to defend a single star system; let alone an entire multi-verse. Dragov seemed convinced at Land's input and nodded.

"Thank you again, Colonel," Cain nodded. "Merlin has designated a number of persons who may be of interest to the enemy, I have uploaded their descriptions and profiles to the data network; you'll be able to find them on your data slates under the file labeled, Princesses," he explained. "These women possess a certain degree of psychic energy, which the heartless will be able to gain power from and may be used as an unlocking mechanism for the collective power of the entire multi-verse. If the enemy is able to obtain all these women, it may very well be the end, not only for this kingdom hearts but of our own galaxy as well. The power which the forces of Chaos seek from this multi-verse would no doubt turn the tide of the war for our own world," Cain went on. "Make no mistake; this is a war for humanity itself. I expect you all to perform your duties without question, in the name of the Emperor," he finished.

"Sir," all the officers complied. Just then the door behind them opened and in stepped a rough and grizzled man wearing a field uniform with a cap and a fresh cigar blazing in his mouth. His face was covered with scars and his mouth seemed twisted in a permanent sneer. There was a strange darkness in his eyes and a look of ademantium will and determination on his face.

"My apologies for being late, Commissar," said Colonel Schaeffer. "There was another fight on board the ship, I had to exercise some extreme discipline," he explained.

"Understood Colonel," replied Cain. "Your unit does have its reputation,"

"They will obey their orders, Commissar, I promise you that," he said without a hint of doubt.

"I have no doubt," said Cain. "Have a word with Inquisitor Thrax, he will fill you in on all you've missed," he instructed. Schaeffer nodded and walked to the other end of the room with Thrax. The door opened again and Don bursted in.

"Commissar!" he said, as if he carried an urgent message. "That boy, Sora, he's here!"

"What?" Merlin cried as he jumped to his feet.

"One of my men found him in the streets, he is on his way here now," Don finished.

"About time," said Cain. He had been starting to wonder if the boy would show at all. Merlin claimed that the boy was their last best hope for victory. From all the praises of the locals, Cain figured it would be an excellent moral boost for the village's people. And, of course, having someone else who has not only fought the heartless, but defeated them and their leadership would definitely tip the odds in humanities favor. "Well officers, it seems we have yet another late arrival, he'll be joining us shortly.

Sora stopped running as he approached the door to the office, he caught his breath as quickly as he could, not wanting to make a bad impression of himself. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his clothing (the black shirt, pants and shoes he had grown accustomed to). He took a deep breath and stepped in the door. All who were present arose from their seats. There were nine people in the room, two of whom quickly moved their seats aside to allow for a man in a black uniform to see him. Merlin stood beside the man behind the desk. Apart from Merlin and himself, everyone in the room was in a uniform. A woman in a green field uniform, a man wearing a dark helmet and a large tan coat, a man wearing a black overcoat and cap (not too different from the man behind the desk), he had a friendly smile on his face, all the others had seemed to be more sincere. There was a man in a dark khaki uniform with a cap (with a look of arrogance on his face), a man wearing a bright orange-yellow uniform with a white hood and scarf and two others in the corner of the room. The ones in the corner made Sora a bit uneasy. One was a military man in a similar uniform as the woman. His face was covered with scars and had a very unfriendly aura about him. The other was considerably taller than most in the room and wore what seemed like a tunic of religious significance, he had a look of sincerity but also of suspicion. The man behind the desk was clearly the leader; his cap was pointed and was topped with a skull with wings. He seemed be looking him over with curiosity, as if he were expecting someone else. Everyone was looking at Sora in silence and question.

"Welcome back, Sora," Merlin finally broke the silence. Sora sighed with relief.

"Merlin, it's good to see you again," he said with a smile. "What's happened? Is it the Heartless?"

"I'm afraid so, my boy," Merlin sighed. "Oh, yes. Allow me to introduce you to the new editions to the fight," Merlin said, his mood lightening. "This is Commissar Ciaphas Cain, the leader of Imperial Guard," Merlin explained. He went on to introduce everyone in the room, each nodded respectively. "This is the keyblade bearer himself, Sora," Merlin finished, motioning to Sora open handed for the officers. Sora's couldn't stop himself from blushing.

"Honored to meet, Sora," said Cain. "Your reputation precedes you, the locals hail you as a hero worth of a Space Marine," he said. Sora could see he meant that as a compliment and thanked him. "Oh, I imagine you haven't met the Astartes yet," Cain correctly assumed. "Not a problem, I'll be briefing them shortly; you are welcome to join me. I'm certain they will be interested in meeting you."

"Sure thing," replied Sora, trying very hard to sound positive and not awkward. Cain took it as a prompt to continue.

"I just finished briefing the staff on how we intend to proceed," explained Cain. "I trust you're as anxious to get into the fight as we are. But it will be much more than the enemies you've faced before," said Cain. Sora looked at him in question. "Merlin will fill you in on the forces of Chaos, you may feel free to ask the guardsmen and Astartes for more detailed instructions." The door opened behind Sora.

"Welcome back, Sora. It's been a while," a familiar voice said behind him. Sora's face lit up.

"Leon, Cloud!" Sora cried as he spun around and saw his two friends and former comrades.

"Good to see you again," said Cloud, his face showing little emotion. "Commissar, we've broken up the fight," he said to Cain. "The two space marines had met before on another world, some old grudge. The other marines cooperated in breaking the fight up," he explained.

"Well done, both of you," said Cain. "I'll leave you to have a word with your friends, Sora. I'll be off to address the space marines, you'll find me out in the camp," he said with a polite not. The officers all came to attention, Sora did as Cloud and Leon; moved off to the side. Cain passed them all without a word. The other officers filed out behind him, except for Thrax, Land and Mira. Each officer regarded Sora with a nod as they passed, except Schaeffer; who settled for a glare. Mira approached Sora.

"Good to meet you, lad," she said. "You'll find me and the other officers in the camp, I'd appreciate any information you can give me and my men on these Heartless," she said. She was very pretty, but her voice was strong.

"No, problem," said Sora with smirk, he'd decided he liked her. She returned with a weak but sincere smile and exited the room. Col. Land approached Sora with a smile and an outstretched hand.

"An honor to meet you, Sora," he said. Sora accepted his hand; the handshake was firm but not over exaggerated. "As Lieutenant Mira said, you'll find me and my men in the camp. My men are not much for conversation but, if you have any questions at all about the Imperial Guard or the enemies of our world you may feel free to ask me. I'm certain the Commissar will be glad to answer any questions you may have for him as well. He is generally soft spoken, but is a most proficient commander," Land explained. Sora decided he liked him too, he seemed less formal and more open.

"Thank you," said Sora. "I'll be sure to stop by shortly."

"Excellent!" replied Land. "It may take some time for you to tell the guard units apart, you'll recognize mine though. My men will be the only ones constantly wearing gas masks," he finished with smile. Land gave a sharp salute, which Sora returned awkwardly; trying not to be as over the top as he was. Cloud and Leon both returned his salute as well. Land left the room. Thrax stepped forward.

"You'll find Col. Land to be very different from the soldiers he commands," said Thrax. "His own guard unit considers him to be unorthodox and unprofessional, but his results speak for themselves," he explained. He went on to explain that he was a member of the Inquisition, his job was to root out heretics and traitors within the Imperial forces. "I also look forward to your descriptions and recollections of the heartless; Merlin has explained to me that you experienced quite the ordeal in the past. But I will lead you to your friends for now. Please do join me in the camp though, there are many who'd love to meet you and one space marine I'd love for you to meet," he finished. Sora complied with a nod. Thrax left the room.

"Well, they're an interesting bunch," Sora said with a grin. That had gone much smoother than Sora thought it would. He was afraid there had been a hostile takeover. "Where did they come from?" he asked. Merlin explained to him that they came from a distant world just barely within range of kingdom hearts and that they were all hardened soldiers who had faced nightmarish monstrosities, even worse and more numerous than the heartless. The heartless had made an alliance with the forces of Chaos and they were on their way to kingdom hearts, to once again try to conquer it and claim it as their own. "Are you sure we can trust them?" asked Sora.

"I hope so," said Merlin. "The world they are from is a truly dark and loathsome place, one big 40,000 year old mess!" Merlin exclaimed. "But the ones who have been brought to us, by and large, seem to be honorable."

"They definitely have the numbers and firepower to take on Chaos," said Leon. "But Chaos and the heartless combined are another story. They'll need our help as much as we need theirs." Just then the door opened behind them and in stepped a guardsmen in a khaki uniform, carrying a silver tray with a tea pot and four cups. As he passed Sora's eyes teared up, a strong and unpleasant odor assaulted his nose. Sora pinched his nose, but stopped himself from grunting in disgust. The guardsman put the tray down on the Commissar's desk.

"Gunner Jurgen, reporting sir," he said, turning to Sora. "The Commissar passed me in the passageway. You may help yourself to some tea if you like. You'll find me in kitchen, I'll show you to your room. Sora nodded, having let go of his nose.

"Thank you, Jurgen," Sora replied with a forced smile. Jurgen nodded and exited the room.

"That one is rather odorous, but he makes a very splendid tea," said Merlin as he poured himself a cup of hot green fluid. "You should try some, it's actually quite good." Sora considered giving it a try.

"Sora!" an all too familiar quacking voice hissed from the other end of the room. The door to the main frame was opened and a short white duck in a blue sailors outfit stood stunned in the doorway. Donald was joined a second later by Goofy.

"Sora, it's you!" cried Goofy.

"Donald, Goofy!" Sora shouted. He ran to them and knelt on the floor to embrace both of them. He laughed with joy, his two best friends laughed with him. Sora couldn't help but let a tear escape his eye. A sudden jolt of energy surged through his body, forcing him to step back and hold out his right hand. With a blast of white light, the keyblade appeared in his hand. He paused in awe at the weapon that had become an extension of himself years before. It shined brightly in the light of the room.

"The keyblade!" Goofy exclaimed.

"You know what that means?" Donald asked rhetorically. Sora spun the keyblade in his hand, bringing it up over his head and downward in a chopping motion.

"It means the game is on!" answered Sora.

"Are Riku and Kairi here with you?" asked Goofy after a moment's pause. Sora froze, he nearly dropped the keyblade. He had forgotten what had happened. Riku tried to kill him, and that monster that appeared by the cliff. His eyes widened with terror. Goofy and Donald stepped back at the look on his face.

"They're not here?" he asked, though he knew the answer. The others looked at him blankly. Where were Riku and Kairi? What could have happened to them?