Chapter 20

A New Form of Magic

Grimes Golden Park

Braeburn Town, Eden

The armor dematerialized around Kohle's body as he set foot on his home world for the first time in months. He stopped and frowned. Immediately he could tell that something was wrong. He peered over the railing at the pathway below. Following it would lead him back to Moira's Crescent's HQ.

Not having been there in four months, he had been looking forward to seeing the rest of his friends again after having spent some time by his lonesome in order to clear his head. He didn't think it would be easy, nor had he expected to return so soon to Eden. Despite his fading memories, those that had lived on were some of his most horrific. When he had fought in the Keyblade War he had seen the lives of those closest to him taken as well as having taken lives with his own hand.

War wasn't just something he could simply forget. Wherever he had been stationed, he had just a day or two of peace, maybe even a few if he were lucky, and then the fighting began. There had really only been a few battles he had participated in where his team had suffered defeat, and while the victories tended to be more frequent, the defeats usually were also some of the worst in the war. His last fight in particular he could never forget. It was so ingrained into his mind that he could recall them moment to moment when he closed his eyes. Though he had thought he had finally left them behind when he had found a family in Moira's Crescent, recent events had forced him to confront those memories once more.

He kept moving down the hill until he reached the asphalt and continued on his way. On his left and right were trees filled with his favorite apples, the Braeburn variety. Then again, he supposed it wouldn't be too hard for them to be his favorite when they were the only type of apple that grew in the town. If he had actually bothered to notify them that he was coming, then he imagined Salome and Alfonso would have prepared an amazing feast using these apples in celebration of his return. Ultimately, he decided against it, mainly because he wanted to keep it a surprise and see the reactions on their faces.

He turned into Grimes Golden Avenue and stopped again. There was a woman standing in front of his home. Kohle waited a few seconds but the woman was as motionless as a statue. She simply stayed there, rooted on the spot. Just staring.

Kohle walked towards her but his attention soon became fixed elsewhere—on what had once been his home. A huge portion had collapsed in on itself and was now a pile of debris. Windows were smashed and from what he could see from just being outside, the result of a fire had left most of the entrance and lounge scorched and battered beyond repair.

Suddenly feeling weak in the knees, Kohle dropped to the ground and shook his head. "No… w-why?"

"Horus, it would seem. I don't think they liked your friends disrupting their plans," the woman replied next to him. Her hair was as white as snow and a Kitsune mask hung from the side of her face. Her blue lipstick seemed to contrast greatly with her warm brown eyes. It was the mask that made him recognize this woman. She was a part of the Lunarian Elite Division. The best of the best. And her… judging by her lipstick, she was the one they called the 'Shiva of the Winds'. Her real name… Kohle couldn't quite remember, nor did he care to.

"So you've been doing well for yourself, I take it? How many years has it been, Kohle?" she asked.

"More than I care to remember," Kohle said. "Did Horus take them?"

"I couldn't say. I'm sorry about your friends and home," the woman said. "But we need you once more, Kohle."

Kohle laughed. With all the conflicting emotions stirring in his head, he didn't quite know how to feel at the moment so when he heard that, he couldn't help himself. He found the only measurable response at the moment was simply to laugh.

"Of course… a thousand years or so and you still don't get it."

"With all due respect, the situation as it was back then is not exactly the same as it is now. Things change but some remain the constant. If we refuse to do anything, Horus will take control of the light. That has always been the self-evident truth. I'm sorry we weren't there for you when you needed us most-"

"Me? I'm still here, aren't I? Now Moira? She's a different story. You don't get to regret anything. I will never forget what you did. If you even had the spine you do now, this war could have ended then and there. As far as I'm concerned, you Lunarians are just as bad as Horus," Kohle spat.

"You're right. It was our fault. Moira didn't deserve to die like that. That said, we can't keep looking back either. Like it or not, we exist in the here and now. Kingdom Hearts brought us back for a reason."

"Kingdom Hearts didn't bring you back," Kohle sneered but the woman shook her head, leaving him slightly mystified.

"We were locked outside the hourglass, with nothing but our dreams to hold us chained to this world. If Kingdom Hearts wanted to, it could have just erased us with but a thought. Why didn't it? Why else if not because it had greater plans in store for us?" the 'Shiva of the Winds' asked.

"You're suggesting that it was saving you for an opportunity like this?" Kohle asked with a slight look of amusement.

"I don't suggest. Do you ever stop to think that everything exists for the sake of another? That we live in a tangled web of relationships where what we do either acts as a benefit or a detriment to the other person and vice versa? Would you agree that relationships between people tend to be mutually beneficial in most cases? If so, what about a relationship between past and future? Is ours one of co-existence or is it parasitic? Can we work together, or will we end up devouring each other?" the woman asked.

"The way you make it out, it almost sounds like a test," Kohle said.

"I don't know about it. What I do know is that I shouldn't be standing here right now, but here I am. And so are you."

"I'm… a special case," Kohle said. "Anyway, the answer's no. I don't have time for you people. I don't know where I'm headed. I'm going to look for my friends, the people I can actually trust, and then I'm going after Horus. I'm no longer one of you. You get in my way, I won't hesitate to come after you either."

"Making the world your enemy is not a smart idea, Kohle," the woman said as he transformed back into his armor.

"Last I checked, you're not the world," he replied. With that he summoned his Keyblade and opened up a corridor of light, leaving the concerned stare of the woman behind as he left his old home for the final time.

Over the course of a week, Sora and Luna found their journey to find the rest of the pieces of heart stalled by a significant cramming session on relearning how to perform their magic. Shantotto's method of magic was reliant on two principles. The first was that the emotions and adrenaline that were used to cast magic needed to be separated from the magic itself. They hadn't even known that their emotions and other hormones were mixed into their magic let alone that they could separate them beforehand. It was also a big contributor towards mana depletion. It turned out that the potion Shantotto had given them had helped in giving them a larger window of sorts to untangle those emotions from the magic before casting.

The second principle relied on magic in context of its environment. It probably went without saying that using thunder around water was a disaster waiting to happen, but being able to draw from nature rather than relying on their own mana pool was also a way to increase efficiency. It didn't necessarily help with something like Fire unless they happened to be near a big source of it, but magic like Blizzard and Water could easily be drawn through what hydrogen was in the air. Even the potency of Thunder could change depending on the humidity in the air. While it wasn't exactly a reliable principle to go by depending on what was needed for the situation, it was certainly more than beneficial in the right situation. And this only extended to destructive magic. White magic was a whole other matter and Sora generally found it easier to adhere to the first principle when it came to it rather than the second.

Sora raised his right hand and focused, drawing his mana into it. He opened his palm wide and a Fira projectile shot out of it, setting the log he had been practicing on alight. He had to quickly look away as the magnificent eruption of flames was too bright to look at. He soon looked back and laughed out loud. The log had been blasted backwards by the force of the explosion and a decent circumference of grass was now scorched and smoking.

Sora looked down at his palm and grinned. "Did I do that? Oh, I totally did!"

"Didn't your parents tell you not to play with fire?" Shantotto asked from behind. Sora jumped at her sudden voice and spun around to face her.

"Well you have to admit I'm doing pretty well," Sora said.

"And you're finally able to keep your feet grounded. By all means, both of your progress within a short week has left me astounded. Then again, I suppose that's to be expected of disciples of mine. Now I feel quite assured in saying that the rest of your journey will go just fine," Shantotto replied. Not wanting to spend too much time away from their mission, Sora and Luna had chosen to go through the 'short course' as Shantotto had labelled it. Because the short course involved hours of rigorous training and control of their magic that left them completely spent by day's end, they could hardly stand to think what the 'long course' would entail.

It was actually quite difficult to decide out of Shantotto and Neuge which one was the more stringent of the too. Neuge certainly didn't allow them to cut corners and asking her even once to 'go easy' would result in disasterific consequences. Shantotto, on the other hand, constantly made Sora feel as if he were stupid. She taught quickly and was never one to linger on subjects for long… unless he failed to take in everything, something that had happened to Sora more than once in which she would instead beat it into his head with a verbal hammer. The tiniest error, such as bending the arm slightly the wrong way, was also heavily scrutinized by the genius doctor.

Ultimately, though they were both strict, there was something admirable in their dedication to their craft. Though Neuge purported disinterest in using the Keyblade, there was always a twinkle in her eyes when she swung her Keyblade around as she taught him and Luna. He would never have the guts to actually tease her about it, but he imagined somewhere in that hardened shell was the young girl who dreamt of becoming a Keyblade Master. As for Shantotto, it was all too apparent how her love for magic and discovery tied into her personality, and while she was sometimes a little too pompous about her superior capabilities, Sora and Luna had grown to sort of like it in a strange totally-not-masochistic (so they had decided) way.

With his training finally complete, Sora followed Shantotto back through the forest to her small cottage which turned out to be not so small when factoring in magic. Waiting for them were Kupopo, Luna and the Gullwings, who had all been talking with each other before Paine had pointed out that Sora and Shantotto were coming their way.

"You guys ready to get going?" Sora asked.

"Readier than I've ever been. With all you've taught us, we'll stand a better chance against the Wraith and other Keyblade wielders. Thank you for everything, Shantotto," Luna said, walking over to hug her.

Shantotto winced as if Luna were about to hit her instead but soon recovered and looked about nervously instead. "Oh, it's um- I don't really do hugs but… I suppose I can make an exception. Just this once."

"She likes hugging people. Might want to get used to it, doc. I assume we'll be seeing you again," Sora said.

"Of course you will. And when you do you'll be converting to the long course, I presume?" Shantotto asked.

Sora and Luna eyed each other dubiously before looking back at Shantotto. Sora coughed and stretched his arms. "Oh, I just remembered. I think I left the… the shower running back in the Gummi Ship! Can't waste water. Well, it's been nice knowing you. Ciao!"

Sora suddenly took off, leaving Luna, Kupopo and the Gullwings baffled. Luna stood up and rushed after him. "Wait, Sora! Don't let me suffer alone!"

As Shantotto watched them run off at her suggestion, she smiled and folded her arms. "You've still got it. O-hohohohohoho!"

"We have everything packed?" Luna asked as she put the last of the sandwiches into the ice cooler. With nothing else to use as a picnic basket, they had to substitute which was just fine since they could pack everything they needed neatly inside the rectangle box.

"Even if we don't it's not like we can't easily come back to get it," Sora said, brandishing the key that would lead them to Yeul once again.

"Alright, ready when you are. See you in a bit, Kupopo!" Luna yelled out. The two of them walked into the Gummi Ship's hall and stopped at the first door on the left leading to Luna's bedroom. Sora slipped the key into the lock and turned it left to lock it and then back right to unlock it. In a normal situation, Sora would have just opened the door to see Luna's room. This was not a normal key.

Sora opened the door and walked into the Perpetual Divergence. He could have just twisted the key as he did the first time he came here by himself but after finding out about this method, he couldn't help but show off and impress Luna.

Luna stepped in and out of the door frame with her jaw still dropped. Finally, the right half of her body joined the other in the divergence and she whistled. "Okay, I'm satisfied. Let's move on."

Sora stifled a laugh and they continued down the path until they arrived in front of their old friend. Yeul smiled and started off in a half-run towards them.

"You came!" she greeted with a bright smile.

"Was there ever any doubt? Come on, you know I promised you that the next time we met it would be with Luna and that we'd have a picnic so here we are," Sora said. He looked around for a moment before settling on Yeul. "How long has it been since we last met?"

"A few days, it feels like. It's hard to say," Yeul said.

"Then a week outside is at least a few days here? That's honestly better than what I was expecting. Anyway, hope you're hungry- er… do you even get hungry?" Sora asked.

"Not exactly. It would impede in the way of my duties so I don't imagine Kingdom Hearts sees it as a necessary function I need," Yeul said. "That said, I can… pretend to be hungry. That might work."

"It better, because I seriously doubt Sora, Kupopo and I can handle this food all on our own," Luna said. Noticing that Sora's necklace was hanging around her neck, she smiled before looking up at the sky where the many stars that eluded the Realm of Light now hanged. It was his necklace that had somehow lighted the way for him to find her in the Realm of Darkness. It had given Luna much comfort in the Dark Realm and she hoped it could do the same for Yeul. "A picnic under the stars… it almost feels unreal. All you see on the other side now is pitch blackness at night. It's like there's this giant black curtain covering the world. Back when the stars were there, when you looked up at least you knew you weren't alone in the universe. Now it just feels lonely, even when we have each other."

Sora set the cooler down and opened up the box, taking out the sandwiches and handing one each to Luna and Yeul.

"It must feel nice to see them again. I've been surrounded by them since I awoke so I'm pretty used to them by now," Yeul said. "I suppose in my position, it's daylight that I don't get to see. I still remember that day in Twilight Town, on the clock tower," Yeul said.

"We were all there. You, me, Luna, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Namine, Terra, Ven, Aqua, Xion, Lea, Roxas…" Sora paused upon mentioning his former Nobody's name. "I don't even know where any of them are at the moment. No matter how hard we try, something always keeps us apart. I don't know when or if I'll ever see them again."

"Well, you found me. Shouldn't that count for something?" Yeul asked.

"Exactly, Sora. Yeul's standing here right in front of us. Just try and comprehend that. If she's here, then it's only a matter of time until we meet the others. Only a matter of time until I see Astra again," Luna said. She pointed down at the cooler he was leaning over. "Also, I spent a good amount of time preparing those sandwiches so you better not ruin them with your tears. I may love Sea Salt Ice Cream but I'm not about to eat salty sandwiches."

"I wasn't about to cry! I was just… observing the situation," Sora quickly defended. He took a bite out of his sandwich and raised his brows. "Hmm, it's good. Oh, I almost forgot. Yeul, how much do you know about Kohle from Moira's Crescent?"

"Kohle?" Yeul asked in surprise.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. The thing is he's immortal, or at least it seems that way. Supposedly he's lived through the Keyblade War. I guess I can understand if he didn't tell you. Rhea seemed pretty surprised by it as well so I guess he never told the rest of Moira's Crescent. The problem is that we might have to fight him eventually. If we do, then I'm not sure how we're going to beat him."

Yeul was silent for a while. This would have been okay if it looked even the least bit like Yeul was pondering things over but that wasn't the case. Instead, her eyes reflected sadness. Did he say something to upset her? He tried to think back to his own words but he couldn't really think of anything that could be hurtful to Yeul's feelings.

"It's okay if you don't know, Yeul. We can figure things out on our own," Luna comforted but Yeul shook her head vehemently.

"No, it's just... I can't believe he's suffered for so long. I can't say I know a way. Immortality after all is meant to be unachievable—an impossibility. In a way, our hearts run on borrowed time and our bodies are the expiration date. Once that time is up, our hearts go back up there where they're renewed and given a clean slate. That would make Kohle's heart probably the oldest in existence. I suppose if you could find something just as impossible you could somehow drain his immortality," Yeul said.

"The only problem… that impossible thing," Sora said.

"I know it's not much help but it's all I've got. Though I say impossible, maybe that's not necessarily the right word. Improbable, more so. The Keyblade is an improbability. There should only be one in existence and yet as you know now, there are many. Me being in front of you is an improbability and yet I'm here. If those things can happen, then why not an improbable solution for immortality?" Yeul asked.

"I mean, that's great and all but I feel like at that point we're just asking for miracles. Like, right now I'd take a magic potion or a magical lance that could… wait a second…" Sora looked down on his sandwich and began weighing it in his hand.

Luna gave him an inquisitive look. "The sandwich? Sora, I don't think a sandwich is going to beat-"

"Not the sandwich! I know this sounds crazy but there just might be something that can help us. Our improbable weapon," Sora said. He told them both about the Seven-Branched Sword that could supposedly destroy anything it came in contact with simply from touching the object seven times. He also explained how David Xanatos had landed six hits on his Keyblade with it back in Atlantis before deliberately holding back on the seventh.

Luna, who had already known about the sword beforehand, frowned. "So we need to go after Xanatos then. Not like we weren't already going to do that but Sora, if he's already landed six hits-"

"Yeah. I know. Just one more and it's over, well, assuming it affects the Keyblade and assuming the hits don't wear off over time. But we need that sword," Sora said. He looked at Yeul for a moment and smiled before peering into the cooler once more. "But for now, less thinking, more binging. Speaking of which, you said you've never had a hot dog before, right? Time for your first bite!"

So this is how easy it was to talk to someone they had known to previously have been stabbed and killed right in front of them. It was almost like she had never been kidnapped in Twilight Town either. They had simply picked up right as they left off. It was a natural progression of where their friendship was headed. A more confident and approachable Yeul who loved to listen to their tales of the outside world involving comic books and manga on Sora's part and novels on Luna's.

"But that must be a lot of munny wasted to stay so committed to one series, don't you think?" Yeul asked, particularly in relation to Sora who had boasted owning multiple comics of the same series.

"Sure it is. I mean, I did my fair share of part time jobs back on the island to save up and I could have spent it on anything really, but I think it's worth it. Money is meant to be wasted really. It only means as much value as the person who has it is willing to give it. That and, what with being on an island for fourteen years of your life, there's not exactly much to do. Think of it like this—comics are like worlds! Each one you pick up is an invitation into that world where you get to see those characters' way of life, their dilemmas and how they solve them. They're this microcosm of the things I've seen on my journey so far. Good and evil, justice and injustice, law and chaos, you'd be surprised how many concepts they play with," Sora explained.

"I don't know. I've checked out some of them and I think they play it too close to the chest sometimes. Not enough ambivalence and they're morally static making them one dimensional characters," Luna said. "Books on the other hand, aren't afraid to experiment. You get more insight on a character's thoughts from them."

"You're totally generalizing! It's not like books can't have one-sided characters either, just as how comic books can have three-dimensional characters. Heck, in the Deadly Ronin comics, during the Aspersion saga, Detective Luger goes through one of the most traumatizing character arcs in probably any piece of fiction. He's tried and tested to the extreme as his whole world falls apart around him."

"Uh huh, I'm sure. And how long into these comics is this saga?" Luna asked.

"I'm not sure I understand your point," Sora said.

"Or you don't want to understand. My point is you probably had to spend a lot to even get to that point. Books, unless they're an epic spanning seven books or something, usually have beginnings, middle and endings. Sometimes there are cliffhangers but usually the book alone leaves you satisfied by itself and doesn't cheap you out of your munny for what might not even be a satisfying conclusion," Luna ranted.

"Luna… I'm sorry your parents didn't let you have comic books but I'm afraid you're incredibly wrong about this," Sora said.

Luna moved her hands as if wiping invisible tears from her eyes. "Too soon, Sora. Too soon!"

Yeul chuckled. "I don't think weeping will get him to concede, Luna."

Luna dropped her hands and went back to her glowing beam. "Oh well. At least I tried. Wow, I can't believe we've pretty much finished everything in the box. Yeul, you glutton!"

"Hehe, sorry," Yeul apologized with a rueful smile.

"No, it's okay. This was all for your royal hungry mungry-ness anyway-"

"Kupooooooo!"

They looked back at the pathway leading to the Gummi Ship to see Kupopo flying towards them.

Luna was the first to stand up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"W-we're being attacked, kupo!" Kupopo announced, flailing his arms about wildly.

Sora sprung up. "Crap! Yeul, I'm sorry but-"

"No, go quickly. I'm glad I got to see the both of you again," Yeul said. Sora smiled at her before grabbing the cooler than hurrying along with Luna and Kupopo back to the door.

"See? I told you that you couldn't leave me alone all by myself, kupo! Now look what's happened," Kupopo yelled as they ran towards the door.

"What are you talking about? If we'd taken you along with us, we might not have even had a Gummi Ship to return to. Heck, we might not anyway after this," Sora said. Luna reached the door first (left already opened by Kupopo) and ran into the Gummi Ship's hallway and towards the cockpit, jumping right into the pilot seat.

"Sora, you shoot. I drive," she said quickly.

"Yes, ma'am," Sora replied. He quickly opened up the trapdoor on the left of the room and jumped down into the firing room. The Gummi Ship suddenly jolted to the left with Sora's shoulder hitting the wall. When he looked out of the window he could the several large tentacles rising out from the ocean and writhing about like snakes. "What the hell is that?"

"I think it's the Kraken. Astra told me about it. Time to pay you back for Astra," he heard Luna's voice over the radio.

"The Kraken? What, you mean Davy Jones' pet?" Sora asked. "What's it even doing here?"

"Less thinking, more shooting!" Luna snapped.

"Probably the first time I've ever been told that," Sora said. He took hold of the controls and started firing Thunder shots at the tentacles. Some managed to connect with the giant tentacles, knocking them away while others hit the water creating a lot of large splashes. Meanwhile, Luna did her best to weave in between the tentacles but wasn't nearly as successful as she hoped. A tentacle moved in front the side and rammed into the Gummi Ship, knocking it into away. The whiplash threw Sora forward but seatbelt caught him and prevented him from flying out of the seat.

"Oops…" he heard Luna squeak through the radio.

"Alright, Luna! You're not me so please don't kill us?" Sora asked sweetly.

"I'll try not to," croaked Luna. Sora aimed the turret and was about to fire more shots at the tentacles when he caught sight of the monster's mouth in the water. "Sora, why aren't you-"

"Listen, I have an idea. You need to get in close. I think if we can shoot into his mouth we might stand a chance," Sora said.

Luna sighed. "Uh huh. Let's be honest, you really just want to shoot into its mouth, right?"

Sora grinned. "How did you know? I think we have that twin sibling connection thing going on."

"So since we're going out, does that make it twincest?" Luna asked.

"I… am not going to answer that," Sora said. Two tentacles came in from his left and right, to which he activated the Gravity-G button, blasting a sphere out of the cannon that quickly expanded and repelled the tentacles. His sight of them soon disappeared as the Gummi Ship rose up in altitude. Luna was probably trying to find the smoothest and safest way to the center of the Kraken.

Unfortunately, the Kraken happened to be faster. Something hard slammed into the Gummi Ship from the back, sending it spiralling off course. Luna quickly managed to level out the ship again but there was something considerably wrong. The airship didn't seem to be balancing correctly.

"I… uh, think we lost a wing," Luna said.

"You think?" Sora replied sarcastically. "Um, activate the thrusters."

"Sorry, what was that again?" Luna asked in a tiny voice.

Sora facepalmed. "We're dead."

He looked through his fingers as the Gummi Ship started creaking. Before he could check to see what was going on, the Gummi Ship was lurched backwards at quick speed. The last thing Sora saw before he lost consciousness was a blue sky they could no longer reach.

Location Unknown

A single breath escaped Luna's mouth as she jumped up and looked around frantically. Her eyes eventually settled on a crab in front of her. The crab stared at Luna and she stared back. It was a weird crab, not like any she had ever seen before. It was completely made out of rock. Suddenly it scuttled away from her and she stifled a laugh.

"Hello to you too," she murmured. She stood up and looked around but the person she expected to be with her wasn't there. "Sora? Sora? Kupopo?"

With only dead air as a reply, Luna decided she had no choice but to start walking. In which direction? Any. It wasn't like it mattered. The entire area was nothing but a white desert. She could very easily be walking in the opposite direction of where Sora and Kupopo were but if she stood around, there was no guarantee that Sora and Kupopo would ever find her either.

She had been alone before anyway. Having once been in the Realm of Darkness she had only her beliefs and inner strength to rely on, both of which at times felt so slippery that Luna had to grasp onto them for dear life in order to keep her sanity. If she could handle the realm of darkness then a desert was nothing.

But she had to admit, as she kept walking through the desert, even the realm of darkness had more variety in locale than this place. At least in the dark realm the occasional broken world would appear that could sometimes offer more solace than the roads in between them. This was just… bland. She was traversing a desert which could have easily spanned hundreds if not thousands of miles for all she knew.

Why was she even here in the first place? Now that she thought about it, the memories of prior events to her waking up ran through her mind. The Gummi Ship had been dragged straight into the Kraken's mouth. Knowing that, she should be dead. Not that she was complaining but she was sure there was a pretty big question mark somewhere in all that mess.

Luna stopped once again when another crab ran and stopped in front of her… or was it the same crab? She wasn't quite sure. Once again, they stared at each other and just like before, the crab soon wandered off. This time, Luna's stare lingered on the crab as it scuttled off.

"You want me to follow you? Alright, lead the way, Mr. Crab. And now I'm talking to a crab. Tis a dark day indeed," Luna said as she followed after the rock crab.

Meanwhile, Sora woke up to find himself in a similar situation. He looked around in hopes of finding Luna and Kupopo but when it became clear that he was the only person in the area, he sighed.

"Where am I even? We fell right into the Kraken's mouth, didn't we? So then… why am I here?" Sora asked.

"I suppose you could say… this is your rightful place."

At the sound of the voice, Sora turned around to see an exact copy of himself staring back at him.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Sora asked with an amused smile.

"Who do you think, genius? I'm you," replied the fake.

"Why thank you, me. I've never been called a genius before," Sora said. His face grew darker. "Not that it means much from you. And what did you mean by my rightful place?"

"This is a prison. A land forgotten by time. It's here you will stay and wonder this barren wasteland for eternity. Fitting for someone like you who, albeit unwillingly, has brought the sentence of death to so many. How many innocents do you think have died so far? My guess… so many of whose names you don't even know. But it's fine, right? Out of sight, out of mind. You just keep travelling and living in your tiny bubble. If you don't know them, it's like they don't exist."

"Shut up! Now I know you're definitely nothing but a fake. I would never think of anyone like the way you just described it. If you were me you would know I don't carry this burden lightly. There's not a day that goes by where I don't think about how worse off people are because of what I've done, but you know what? I did my self-pitying. I had three months to do that. Now, I'm going to actually get up and do something about it and no prison is going to keep me from doing that," Sora said. He summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the fake. "By the way, you're not stopping me either, fake."

Fake Sora sneered at him, his fists curling into balls. "A fake, am I? I have the same powers as you. I'd make a much better you than you could ever be."

"Another mistake you've made. I'm not the type to boast. Anyway, it's starting to freak me out seeing a reflection of myself talking back to me so let's hurry this up," Sora said. The fake summoned his Keyblade, an exact replica of the Kingdom Key, and cast Firaga magic with his left hand. The magic split into four separate attacks, but Sora dispersed them quickly with a widespread burst of Thundaga.

With the magic out of the way, they quickly ran at each other. Fake Sora swung horizontally but Sora backed out of the Keyblade's range and struck vertically only for his attack to be guarded and parried by the fake.

"Freeze!" Fake Sora yelled, sending several icicle projectiles Sora's way. Sora quickly batted them away before moving in with a Sonic Blade. Fake Sora quickly cast Aeroga summoning a gust of wind that blew Sora out of his thrusting attack. The fake jumped into the air and fired off Ragnorok. A fusillade of energy shots spiralled out of his Keyblade at Sora who quickly cast Reflect to defend against them. Fake Sora quickly warped in and delivered a powerful swing to the shield, breaking it and sending Sora to the ground.

"You understand now? I know all of your little tricks. There's nothing you can throw at me that I won't see coming," the fake said. Sora quickly extended his hand and flicked his wrist in quick succession, casting Firaga first followed by Thundaga. Fake Sora skilfully evaded the large explosion followed by the electrical boom, but Sora took this time to activate Ars Arcanum and warped in, initiating a flurry of attacks that overwhelmed the fake Sora. Though he tried to guard, the imitation was quickly disarmed after a few strikes. Sora followed up with another swing, the back of his Keyblade connecting with the Fake Sora's chin consequently launching him into the air.

The fake fell back to the ground and looked up at Sora with disgust. He reached out for his Keyblade and after a few misses finally managed to grab it. Sora expected him to retaliate but instead he watched as his fake got back up and took off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, come back here! I'm not done with you yet!" Sora yelled, chasing after him.

Following a crab had not been entirely easy nor had Luna expected it to be. The crab moved much slower than an average human so Luna found herself constantly stopping and having to wait for the crab to go ahead. Eventually, however she got bored of doing so and started crawling on the ground, half out of quirkiness and half because it kept her at the crab's pace.

"It's a small world after all. It's a small world after all. It's a small world-"

"Luna, what are you doing, kupo?"

Luna froze and looked up to see Kupopo. She quickly jumped up and looked about wholly unperturbed. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I was… trying to study the rocks. I'm a rock hound, I like collecting rocks."

"Uh huh. Whatever you say, kupo," Kupopo said. "But I'm so glad I've found you. I was so lonely by myself."

"Same here. Glad to see you're alright. Now we just need to find Sora," Luna said, looking back to the crab. It was probably strange to think so, but she felt as if she owed reuniting with Kupopo to this crab. Maybe it could sense other lifeforms present in the area. That, or her meeting with the moogle had been incredibly coincidental, something which was hard to believe in such a large wasteland.

With the thought in mind that the crab must be lucky, Luna continued to follow it, all the while explaining to Kupopo why she had actually been on the ground. It wasn't too long before they saw something in the distance. Luna soon recognized it as their Gummi Ship, though by its aesthetic appearance alone, she highly doubted it was capable of use anymore.

Luna set off into a run, Kupopo fast behind her. Arriving at the wreckage, her heart sank. Even after thinking the most obvious conclusion from its appearance alone, she still had hope that they could use it to get out of wherever it was they were. There was a tear that seemed to travel all the way across the Gummi Ship's side, and a good amount of paint peeled off leaving the original red, green and purple colors that the blocks had originally come in before being resprayed.

Luna walked over to the other side and pulled opened the door. The first thing she noticed as she stepped in was that the roof was slightly bent inwards, probably from the Kraken's clutch. The only thing that had been keeping it from caving in completely was probably the elasticity of the Gummi Blocks.

"Think it can be used again, Kupo?" Kupopo asked from behind her.

Luna shook her head. "It doesn't look good. Unless we somehow miraculously find Gummi Blocks around here, she's flown her last flight."

"Then how are we even supposed to get out of here?" Kupopo squirmed, clutching his head in a panic.

"I'm sure there's another way. Somewhere…" Luna murmured. Kupopo nodded solemnly and turned around to leave only to spot something strange.

"Luna!"

"Huh?" Luna turned around and her eyes widened at the strange phenomenon in front of her. "Another… me?"

"Surprised to see me? Or have I left you speechless?" the copy asked.

"I… I don't know what kind of sick joke you think this is but it's not funny. Kupopo, you can see her too, right?" Luna asked.

"Yes, Luna, er… you are Luna, right, kupo?" Kupopo asked.

"Of course I am. You've been with me this whole time, haven't you?" Luna asked.

"Don't listen to her, Kupopo. She's been lying to you this whole time. I'm the real Luna!" the other girl pleaded.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Please don't confuse him. I don't know who you think you are but tell me something. Where are we?"

"A place most befitting to you. A barren wasteland where you are neither dead nor truly alive. You'll wander here for all eternity, wandering what could have been. Oh, how many stars you could have seen, dream girl. Don't worry, I'll be sure to see them in your place. Aren't I nice? And since I am, I suppose it's only fair while I'm here that I try and help you see your parents once more," the fake Luna said, summoning her Keyblade. "And though I might not be able to kill you, they do say that you see your life flashes before your eyes just before your die. So you'll get to see your parents over and over again every time I bring you closer to the brink of death. An almost death, that's good enough. Don't worry, mom and dad, I'll take good care of your daughter. Forever and ever if I have to."

"You're insane! Kupopo, get behind me," Luna said. She waited for the moogle to do so before summoning her own Keyblade.

The fake moved first and jumped, cloaking her Keyblade in lightning and diving down at Luna. Luna let her hand slip to her keychain and she executed Chain Rave, holding the spinning Keyblade above her. The attacks collided causing a significant amount of sparks to be released. Luna quickly slide dashed away, the fake landing where she had once been. They both quickly turned and simultaneously shot off three spheres of electricity at each other. The shots met mid-air and so did their casters once again as they engaged in close combat.

"You really don't have to fight so hard, you know? There's certainly no point in it anymore since you're stuck here," Fake Luna said. She jumped and executed Blizzard Edge, cloaking her Keyblade in an icy sword and swinging at Luna who ducked and cast Fission Firaga. The spell made contact with the falling girl and blew her away. Fake Luna hit the ground a few feet away and kept rolling for a while before she finally lay still.

"You wanted to know why I won't give in. It's because of people like you. The kind of people who feel the need to put others down when they could be helping others instead," Luna said.

"So that's it. You think you can play the card of the self-righteous. You killed your own parents! You think any other person in your position would have gotten off scot-free? All this travelling, this adventure, this love… you were rewarded for killing your parents," Fake Luna said.

"That's not true. I'm sad to hear you think that. Maybe you are me. Maybe deep down, there's still a part of me that wants to be punished and that's why you've come out. Still, I have suffered. I lost my memory of who I was for a while. I could even remember my parents or Astra. Then, just as I got it back, I had to spend three months in the Realm of Darkness. And then even after that… well, you get the picture," Luna said with a small smile.

"Why… why don't you hate me? I hate me, so you must hate me too," Fake Luna cried out.

"Then you want me to end it then? For you?" Luna asked, aiming her Keyblade at the other Luna.

"Luna!"

Luna spun around as Sora ran towards her. It wasn't long before he felt his arms wrap around her.

"Sora?"

"Luna, I'm so glad you're okay. Looks like there was another one of you too, huh?" Sora asked, looking past Luna's shoulder to see the fake Luna.

"I… you're not Sora," Luna whispered.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked. Rather than answering, Luna pulled herself away from him. "Luna?"

She looked up into his eyes. "I said you're not Sora. You can drop the act."

"Luna, it really is-"

"You? No. Something feels off. Maybe my heart is warning me. That and the crown necklace you're wearing. You shouldn't have it on," Luna said. As Sora stared down at his necklace, Luna smirked and added, "Oh, and one more thing. The real Sora is right behind you."

The fake Sora spun around to see the real one, who smiled at him before delivering a punch to his jaw, sending the fake to the floor.

"Man, it's not every day you get to punch yourself, but when you do it feels so good," Sora said.

Fake Sora spat out some saliva that had formed in his mouth and stood back up. "Like you have anything to act so damn brave about. I know what you fear. The clock just keeps ticking and even if by some quirk of fate you manage to escape this prison, the clock on your death will resume once more. If anything, staying here means the prophecy won't come to pass."

"Prophecy?" Luna asked. She looked towards Sora. "What's he talking about, Sora?"

Sora managed to swallow down the lump in his throat and answered, "Nothing."

"Don't lie. Don't you think she deserves to know the truth?" When Sora remained silent however, Fake Sora sighed. "Play the ignorant fool then. It's about time for the gloves to come off anyway."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked with increasing exasperation.

"Heh. Heh-heh-heh. We'll see how well you deal with your own power," said Fake Sora before being engulfed in a bright light. When the light vanished, Sora stood face to face with his Final Form drive, equipped with a floating Oblivion and Oathkeeper behind him.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sora muttered.

"Uh, Sora, what is this?" Luna asked.

"What is this? Well… I'll just give you some advice. Don't try to get close to him," Sora said.

The Final Form Sora looked behind him at the fake Luna and said, "Are you willing to let this phoney get away with humiliating you?"

Fake Luna shook her head and stood up. "No. If we work together we can mop the floor with them."

Before Sora could reply, someone else ran in front of them, shielding them both from the Final Form Sora and Fake Luna.

"Looks like I arrived just in time to level the playing field. Are you two alright?" the blue-haired girl asked. Sora and Luna couldn't have believed it even if they tried. They both shouted her name in surprise.

"Aqua?!"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed what has actually been the first chapter in this story where we've seen from Luna's perspective. Also, although the introduction was a tease, I hope you're looking forward to more of said fan favorite character. For those who can't wait though, feel free to check out Through Smoke and Flames where a new chapter will be releasing within the next week. Also, for those that wonder about the letter and flashback in the last chapter, there is a little clue to who the person is in the first person perspective, but then that will lead to another question once you find the answer. Anyway, hope to see you again soon.