Aura's new look:
www.fav.me/d6zt7ll

Aura's weapon; Harmonic Wave:
www.fav.me/d6crpql

Marie:
www.fav.me/d6ztad8

Mai:
www.fav.me/d6zubpc

Trinity:
www.fav.me/d6zzlvs

A/N:
Sorry about the late update, I'm on summer vacation now, but don't be too excited-I wanna look for a job to keep me busy and get some cash flowing in.

Chapter Ten
ȶ
Musketeering

"We're back at Traverse Town?" Aura asked. After Riku fought the Dream Eater inside Monstro, they eventually saw to it that Pinocchio went to Geppetto, and then wounded up in Traverse Town. "Why are we back?"

"Joshua." Riku simply said. Aura tilted her head in confusion, but turned around when she heard footsteps from behind. She saw Joshua walking up to them, and was glad that they could join him. Riku asked what had happened and Joshua informed them that he needed one of their help—either his or Sora's. "When did Sora get here?" Riku asked.

"Bravo, Riku. Why can't he be this quick on the uptake?" he asked. Riku chuckled a bit and told him that Sora was a bit slow, but Joshua informed him that they needed to get down to business. He told them about a Dream Eater that kept jumping between worlds and knew how to summon its own kind. The others needed help—Shiki, Neku, Beat and Rhyme. Riku was quick to follow and tried leaving, but Joshua pointed something out for the two.

"A dream?" Aura asked. Joshua nodded, he explained how the worlds weren't parallel, but distinct—It was like two worlds imagined by two people, and although it meant nothing to Joshua and his friends, maybe it meant something for Riku, Sora and Aura. They both considered it and left. As they headed to the plaza, Aura began to think a little deeper about the whole conversation—what could it mean for Mai? She knew Marie was somewhere far away from the dream world, and she still couldn't figure out what Mai was other than the fact that she looked identical to Marie. She decided not to dwell on it too much, as they had reached the fountain plaza. They met up with Beat and Rhyme, and after a few words passed, decided to deal with the Dream Eater at hand.

"Rhyme and I will deal with these guys!" Beat announced as he and his partner ran after the lesser Dream Eaters.

"I'll fight off the rest. Focus on fighting the boss," Aura stated. Riku nodded and she quickly left to fight off the lesser Dream Eaters as well. She quickly brought down her scythe and it created a slight earthquake from the strength of bringing it down, and Aura was quite impressed. It got rid of a couple of Dream Eaters, and she continued fighting off a couple by using her fingers to snap them away. She spun her scythe around and killed a Dream Eater nearby, and then swung it to get rid of a couple more. She was getting comfortable with her scythe, but the occasional thought of using a Keyblade came to mind. She flipped over and swung her scythe quickly while snapping her finger to kill a Dream Eater. Mimi came out of hiding and decided to help along, since she hadn't fought in a while. The two of them stood close as they fought Dream Eaters, and Aura took quick glances at Riku to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything.

Joshua appeared and told them that they were going to the third district to pin the Dream Eater, and Riku followed close behind while waving at Aura. She finished off the last batch of Dream Eaters and started running towards the third district. Once there, all of them cornered the Dream Eater, but it quickly disappeared as they did. However, Riku wasn't worried—he knew Sora would handle the Dream Eater on the other side, and he assured Beat and Rhyme that they had allies. After a few conversations with them all, a keyhole appeared, and Riku quickly took out his Keyblade. It was a rather quick visit to the world, but Aura was glad for a break—no matter how small it was. Once the keyhole disappeared, they walked out of the area and started roaming around.

"Aura?" Riku asked. She turned to him and wondered what he wanted, and although he hesitated a bit, he answered. "What's on your mind? You've been quiet lately."

"Have I?" she asked. She looked down to the floor and thought about it—she was being quiet, but she had a lot on her mind, and they usually involved Mai or Axel, but she didn't really want to talk to Riku about Axel. There was something inside telling her that it just wasn't a good idea. She was dealing with having a heart too, and it showed the not-so-happy sides when she wanted to cry—but they were for Axel—and she wasn't going to tell that to Riku either. "I think having a heart is changing me…" she replied.

"Well, you didn't know how it was to have a heart, so I wouldn't be surprised," he replied. "The question is if it's changing you into someone you're okay with."

"I don't know… I've realized just how scary change is," she said, reminding Riku of the change she had to go through after losing Roxas and Axel—and even realizing the truth about herself and her identity as a Nobody. She wasn't a big fan of it, and he doubted she ever will be, but she had to accept it.

"It doesn't have to be scary when you're surrounded by people who care… people who will help you through it," he told her. She tilted her head a bit and stared at him—he was being oddly comforting, but she didn't mind it. She gave a small chuckle, and although she appreciated Riku's kind words, she didn't want to show her emotions. Maybe it was something she grew used to, but she was never one to show much emotion. Of course, she knew now that it was something that was going to change—she just had to take it one-step at a time.

"Thanks Riku," she replied. She gave him a smile and he returned it, and she wanted to give him a hug—but the thought of Axel popped into her mind again. Why he kept appearing was beyond her—the man was gone… she had to deal with that, but… she didn't want to. She missed Axel too much to just forget him like that—and he was gone unlike Roxas. She felt the tears welling up from inside her, and she took a deep breath to control them. Unfortunately, Riku caught a glance, and he truly wondered what went on inside the girl's heart. Something inside him was probably telling him that she was missing Roxas, and he really didn't want to think about it. She probably wasn't over him, and he couldn't blame her—Roxas was in a way her first love, and someone like that was hard to get over—At least to him. What he didn't know was that Aura got over Roxas pretty quick, and they got off on the right foot—Aura knew that she and Roxas were meant to be the greatest of friends.

"Anytime." She turned around and smiled at the silver-headed boy, and although she couldn't figure out her feelings, she really enjoyed his company. She wanted him by her side wherever she went because he was able to make her feel calm. Riku walked up to her and the two of them started walking around a bit before heading into the next world.

-Meanwhile-

Sora got up from the floor after three cloaked figures pushed him off the carriage that held Princess Minnie. He traveled into the country of the musketeers and met Donald, Goofy and Mickey, who were musketeers themselves. Mickey was able to tell that Sora was from another world, but unfortunately, he couldn't remember Sora since this was before they ever met. The brunette was saddened when Goofy and Donald couldn't remember him, but he still kept his cheery appearances knowing that they were all still friends. Turning to the task, the four managed to lose the carriage holding Princess Minnie, who was supposed to be protected. Sora apologized for losing it.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," Mickey told him. Goofy assured that as long as they stuck together, they'd be able to get the princess back. Donald wasn't so sure, but Mickey was optimistic. "Goofy's right! As a team, we can do anything!"

Sora agreed, and the four started walking down the path the carriage went. Mai was walking a little ways down the road ahead of them, but she was walking towards them. She stretched her arms and yawned, wondering what there was to do in a place like the country of the Musketeers. She sighed as she trekked through the dirt path but her eyes lit up as she saw people walking towards her, and she smiled when she saw Sora with three other strangers. She started running towards them, and when Sora caught a glimpse of a running Mai, he smiled immediately.

"Mai, what are you doing here?" he asked. She stopped running when she reached them and quickly caught her breath. She smiled a bit wider when she saw who was behind her.

"Donald? Goofy? Mickey?" she asked. The three of them seemed confused beyond all, and asked how she knew them. It was then that she blanked out, and lowered her eyes a bit, as she wondered about that herself. "I… I don't know… it's like I know you three from somewhere…"

"Uh… you guys are probably getting popular!" Sora tried covering up. The three of them seemed a bit skeptic, but they believed him nonetheless. They were actually pleased that their names were getting around, and Sora turned over to Mai and lowered his voice with her. "You remember them?" he asked.

"It's weird… they just popped up in my head," she replied. She looked at Sora, who gave a soft smile at her—he was actually surprised and glad that she was remember something about her life. She smiled in return when his calmed her down enough, and she asked what they were doing. Sora explained the situation, and she seemed intrigued by it. She saw where the carriage went, and turned to the rest. "Hey, maybe I can help you find the carriage. I think I know where it went!"

"Really? That'd be great!" Mickey replied. She smiled at them and looked at Sora as she asked if it was all right if she went along. He was fine with it, and so were the other three. She smiled brightly after, and the five of them continued down the dirt path. Mai was extremely excited to me travelling with Sora and his friends, even if it only meant finding the princess, and she hopped a bit as she thought of it. Sora noticed her excited exterior, and he smiled at how happy she was, really… it reminded him a lot of Marie back in the real world. Mai reminded her of the Marie that he remembered when they first started out, and now she was a mature young woman who now had goals and responsibilities. He was happy to watch her grow, and knew she would be with him as he grew into a young, mature man.

The crew made it into an emptied building, and they saw the carriage along the way. It was empty, and Mickey opted to check out the building near it. They entered the place and found the beagle boys running up a couple of stairs and Sora quickly went to chase after them, however, the boys started throwing down barrels. Luckily, he and the musketeers were able to get rid of them, and Mai watched and made sure they weren't too hurt, since she knew a little bit of first aid from her various run-ins with adventure. She watched with excitement how Sora fought, and really wanted to know how to wield his weapon, the Keyblade. He got rid of the beagle boys and was able to get Minnie to safety. Mickey thanked the boy, but Sora was just glad to help. Unfortunately, the beagle boys were still around, and Goofy yelped as he pointed towards them.

"Thought we'd go down easy, eh?" one of them shouted. Goofy looked around and quickly grabbed Mickey and jumped out of the tower. Mai gasped, but saw both Goofy and Mickey bounce back into the building and slammed the boys out of it. They landed all the way towards the ground, and Mai flinched when she heard the thump.

"Yeah! We did it! Hurray for the Musketeers!" Mickey shouted. Donald came out of hiding, which both Sora and Mai noticed, and asked if they got the job done. He came into the room and Mickey brought out his sword. Goofy, Donald and Sora took theirs out and pointed it towards the air as they chanted their slogan. Mai smiled and the whole lot of them returned to the castle.

Once there, it turned to night, and Sora walked a bit ahead of Goofy as the rest walked to their posts. Goofy turned around and ran off as he noticed something in the far distance. Sora tried running after him, but Mickey stopped and asked what was going on. Sora explained, and Donald came running in for help. Mai wondered what was going on, and Donald turned to Mickey.

"What do we do? It's a disaster!" Donald shouted. He explained that the captain was going to kidnap Princess Minnie, and that the captain lied about making them musketeers. Mickey didn't care about the lie, but he knew that they couldn't run from danger. Donald wasn't having it, and even though both Mickey and Sora tried convincing them that they could stop Pete together, he couldn't do it. Donald ran out of the castle, and Mickey grew depressed about it. Mai was oddly disappointed in Donald, as if she knew he was better than that, and ran after the duck. Sora called out to her, but she ignored him and tried to chase after her newfound friend. When she was out of sight from Mickey and Sora, but nowhere near Donald, she suddenly dealt a blow to the back of her head. She quickly fell to the ground, without having a second to check around, and passed out. All she saw was a heap of orange hair and a wicked smile. Trinity bent down and looked down at the girl, and for a moment, saw Dante in her. She hesitated, and something inside of her changed. She looked around—her eyes seemed somewhat glossy, but they returned to their normal state. She looked down at Mai again, and lowered her eyes.

"So… it is you who hinders his plans," she said a loud. She looked at Mai a little closer, and although she could see Stella in her as well, it didn't seem to bother her. "Let you be filled with darkness… let us play a little game."

She brought her hand over Mai's heart, and a speech of dark light surrounded it. Mai jumped a bit, but for the most part did nothing and laid still. Trinity brought her hand back and stared at Mai, amazed at how much she looked like Dante with the brown hair. She figured it was nothing compared to the actual Marie, but perhaps the little game of hers would quicken her meeting with the blonde. "May you remember what you need to, lest the darkness take over? However, you are my brother's blood, so you may actually win. Might I actually meet the child who also bears my blood?"

Before she could do anything else, a bright light appeared around Mai and she quickly disappeared from the scene. Trinity just watched amazed at how she functioned. She always knew her brother would bear a child who would be a legend or do great things, but the thing that worried her was the blood of Hill. Would it be Marie's downfall?

-Meanwhile-

It was late at night, but Riku and Aura managed to get to the next world, which was a country filled with Musketeers. One step forward, however, led them to seeing Mai scrunched on the floor with a cloud of darkness surrounding her. Aura gasped and quickly made her way to the girl along with Riku, and she bent down and tried grabbing her, but Riku pulled her hand away. The darkness surrounding her all spun around and entered Mai, and Aura furrowed her eyebrows together.

"The darkness… it just… it went inside her!" she exclaimed. Riku examined the girl on the floor, and wondered what happened, but Aura couldn't ignore it and placed her hands on Mai. Nothing happened, and she tried waking the girl up. "Mai, wake up! Can you hear me?"

She moaned and slowly moved around, and once her eyes started fluttering Aura let out a relief of air that she didn't know was held in. Mai got off from the ground and sat up as she rubbed her head; she looked around and wondered where Sora and the rest of them went. She turned to Aura and Riku and felt secure enough to sigh out of relief. Riku bent down near Aura and questioned what happened, but Mai told them that she was only able to see orange hair.

"Trinity… that makes sense, but why would she attack you and not—well, not our friend?" Aura covered up. Riku wondered the same thing, but figured Trinity knew something that they didn't.

"That Trinity woman, her name sounds familiar… even that shade of orange hair looks familiar." Aura looked at Riku with a surprised look. Was Mai remembering things that Marie knew? Riku tried asking if she remembered anything else, and Mai thought for a moment. "Donald… Goofy… and Mickey. I saw them not too long ago—but something happened and I ran from Mickey and Sora to chase after Donald!"

"You saw Sora?" Riku asked. She nodded, telling them that she was accompanying them until she was hit on the head. Riku was about to say more, but they heard feet shuffling, and Aura helped Mai up as they hid. They saw Pete looking around in front of an opera house and then entered it, Mai wanted to explore, and the two agreed. "That guy adds up to trouble in any world."

"Let's just get this over with, I really wanna speak to Trinity about some things," Aura flipped her hair back and started strutting inside the house. Riku just stared and shook his head a bit to get certain thoughts out of his mind. Mai felt a bit weak, but she continued on and followed Riku inside the house—but she wondered about something.

"Riku… are you and Aura… together? I mean I always see you two together—you're never separated." Riku grew a bit flustered by the question Mai asked, but she wondered if he got what she meant. "What I mean by it is if you and Aura are dating, like how Sora and I—"

Mai quickly covered her mouth, hoping Riku wouldn't catch it, but he did. He raised an eyebrow but pretended to play dumb. Once she caught on that he didn't hear her, she continued. "—kind of like Sora and his girlfriend… Marie."

"Maybe that's something you'd have to ask her about…" he replied. Mai narrowed her eyes a bit and wondered what he meant by that—did he like Aura? Did she like him back? Maybe she was stepping into dangerous territory, since Aura was a very intimidating girl. She sighed and decided to leave it at that—she herself had problems that she needed to fix, and it wouldn't help if she had other problems on top of them.

-Meanwhile-

"Keep it up!" Merlin said as he waved his wand around. Marie kept her eyes closed and brought her Keyblade close to her chest as she concentrated a magical force around her. A bright light appeared around her, but she was starting to waver and her hands started to get shaky. She took a deep breath in, but eventually let the magical force around her go, and it dispersed into thin air. "Quite marvelous! Keep it up and you'll be able to sustain your magic for a much longer time."

"I feel like something is blocking me though," she replied. She willed her Keyblade away and looked out the window of Merlin's house. "I can sense a twisted darkness near me, but there shouldn't be any… it's weird."

"Perhaps your senses as a Keyblade master in training are growing," Merlin suggested, but Marie didn't think so. It was as if someone was calling out to her but she couldn't hear their voice—it was almost a spiritual calling. Sometimes it was loud and clear, but then it would go quiet, and she wondered what was going on. She would even have dreams about Sora, Riku and Aura, and they all looked different—with Sora and Riku looking incredibly young. They were talking to her, but she couldn't hear them, and it was so vivid that it would bother her sometimes. Merlin stopped for the day, and Marie sighed in relief as she was starting to wear out. She stepped out of the house and took in the fresh air, looking out into the town and wondering what everyone was doing. Now that she got a taste of home, and had been there for a bit, she grew a bit homesick.

She wondered about Stella and Dante, and even about Trinity. That woman spelled trouble, but she was still family. How would things turn out, if Marie had to face her own aunt in battle?

Done chapter 10! Honestly, it felt like I wrote more chapters than that, but hey, I guess I'm doing a good job so far. I feel like I've gotten halfway through the game, but not really lol. I just wanna get to the organization parts i.e Lea and all of them.