Chapter 25 – New Love

Maki's Restaurant

Attis was busy with another workday when the door chimed, and he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina walk in with a boy that he didn't recognize. Wondering who the guy was, he walked over to them as they took a table saying, "Hey girls, who's this guy?"

"…Would you believe it was Hippo?" Rina asked skeptically. Attis looked at her as if she grew a second head saying, "Are you serious?"

He took a look over Hippo, still unsure as he said, "You sure he's Hippo? The penguin with the dorky outfit?"

"My clothes are just fine thank you very much!" Hippo replied angrily. That made Attis jump and say, "Woah, he really is Hippo!"

That's when Hippo lowered his head in shame as Hanon urged him, "Come on, raise your head up, Hippo."

When Hippo refused to, Attis asked, "What the heck is his problem?"

Rina replied in a whisper, "He doesn't like how he looks. Hippo's acting like he's ugly or something." Lucia added, "Onee-chan said something how the view of beauty between the surface and the ocean is too different, or something like that."

Looking at Hippo one more time, Attis asked, "So, how did this happen exactly?"

"Let's see here, Hippo was being chased by some kids and a dog, and then the dog bit Hippo, causing him to transform with a bang." Rina explained in a snap.

"Okay, now that sounds interesting… Anyway, good luck with cheering the guy up. Honestly though, I'm shocked that a mob of girls hasn't swarmed him by now." Attis said as he left the four.

Attis' words confused Hippo when two guys came by and asked the three Princesses for a swim together. Keeping an eye on the situation, Attis laughed when Hanon stepped on Hippo's foot, making a face and sending the guys away in defeat; this nearly made him trip since he didn't look where he was going at the time.

However, it didn't work when Kaito came along and Lucia tried it with Hippo too. Attis rolled his eyes and said, "Either he doesn't care, is really professional, or he's too dense…"

When Kaito walked away, Attis went up to him and said, "So, looks like the girls got wind of you helping out here huh?"

"Yeah, they're pretty hard to shake off actually." Kaito replied. Then he pointed to Hippo and asked, "So anyway, who's that guy hanging out with Lucia and the others?"

'So he does care, I guess.' Attis thought. Then he replied, "I heard that he's a distant relative of Lucia and Nikora-san's coming over for a visit, I think."

"Really now…" Kaito said. Attis sighed inwardly that Kaito bought his story, and promised to tell Lucia and the others later.

A moment later, there was a commotion and Attis saw the girls that had crowded Kaito earlier swarm Hippo. He saw that Hippo realized that his current appearance was good, due to all the attention, and he flashed a smile, making the girls scream happily while making Attis laugh at the scene as he went back to work.

However, the fun didn't last when the girls started fighting over him, and Attis was horrified to see Hippo turned into some kind of tug-of-war thing by the girls. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina jumped in and tried to stop it. Hippo got loose and Attis went over to the door and opened it, letting Hippo through as he said, "Thank you Attis-san."

Soon, the girls realized that Hippo was gone, while Attis quietly went back to work. When the girls dispersed, looking for Hippo, the three Mermaid Princesses went over to Attis, since they saw him help Hippo escape. Lucia asked in a whisper, "Attis, did you see where Hippo ran off to?"

Pointing in the direction of the door and then the way Hippo ran, Attis replied, "Hippo went in that general direction, the last time I saw." They nodded and Lucia said, "Thank you very much Attis."

Seeing the three of them run out of the restaurant, Attis thought, 'Man, sudden popularity can really be crazy.'

Sighing, Attis went back to work, unaware of what would happen next. All he was grateful for was that the incident resolved itself before it could get out of hand.

A bit later in the day, Hippo came by alone and looked around until he saw Attis walk by. He was working overtime due to Maki's request and he saw Hippo coming towards him so he said, "Oh Hippo, still in one piece I see. Something wrong?"

"Um, could you please let me work here for a little bit Attis-san?" Hippo asked. Attis got curious and asked, "Mind telling me why?"

When Hippo told Attis the reason, he said, "Hmm, that's sound like a good reason. How about this: I'm currently working overtime and I'm starting to feel tired from the workload. I'll go out and get those sandals you want for that special girl of yours, and you'll take over for me as a way to pay me back. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good Attis-san. Thank you very much." Hippo replied. Attis gave Hippo his pen and pad saying, "Just go around and write down orders on that pad. And remember to give the orders to the right people. There are numbers on the tables so that should help."

Attis gave a wave and walked away after Hippo gave him the directions to the shoe store and the specific sandals that he wanted. Suddenly he felt a bit of weakness but he shook it off thinking, 'I might as well get this over with.'

Shoe Store

When Attis got to the place after taking a 'detour', which consisted of dinner, he looked around as he took out the piece of paper that had the description of the sandals that Hippo wanted.

Attis found them on display by the store window and asked the shop keeper, "Are those sandals for sale?"

"Yes sir," The shop keeper replied, "Is it for a special someone?"

"…I guess you could say that." Attis replied. The shop keeper nodded and got the sandals from the display case and brought them to the cashier. The shop keeper asked, "Do you want them wrapped sir?"

"Oh no, just put them in a box please." Attis replied. The shop keeper nodded, and when Attis paid for them, 'Wow, what a price. Hippo better be grateful…' he left the store and headed back to the restaurant, hoping that Maki doesn't know what he did.

Maki's restaurant

When Attis got back to the restaurant later, after dinner and a break, he found that a commotion was taking place between two couples. Putting the box that had the sandals down by the counter, he found Kaito standing nearby and asked, "What the heck happened Kaito?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that those two guys suddenly grabbed each other's girlfriends and now they're fighting." Kaito replied.

Attis found that confusing until he looked around and saw that Hippo was gone. He asked, "Hey, were did my fill-in go?"

Kaito looked around before he replied, "I'm not sure…he disappeared soon after the commotion started." Having a bad feeling about this, ran out of the restaurant and said, "Kaito, that box and its contents is for my fill-in. Don't let anyone touch it please."

"Uh, sure…" Kaito replied, wondering what Attis was up to.

When he was out of sight, Attis threw on his black cloak and jumped into the water, just in time to see a lightning bolt hit a certain spot in the ocean. Attis took that as a sign and headed right where the thunderbolt hit thinking, 'Oh no, that's not good…'

Attis was sure right when he reached the spot, only to find Hippo floating on the surface with severe injuries, not to mention that he was back in his penguin form. Summoning Aqualis and synchronizing the Red Pearl to it, he pointed the Keyblade to Hippo and said, "Cura!"

A strong wave of healing energy passed over Hippo and it healed some of the penguin's injuries, but it wasn't enough so Attis said again, "Cura!" With another strong wave of healing energy passing over Hippo, most of his injuries were healed, though Attis was still worried that the thunderbolt did some bad internal damage. He knew first hand how much of a thunderbolt hurt when hit straight on.

Shaking his head, Attis made Aqualis vanish as he checked over Hippo, when he heard him say faintly, "…Yuri-san…" Looking confused, Attis thought, 'Yuri-san…? Oh no, don't tell me…'

That's when Attis felt energy coming from beneath him and he hooded himself before diving underwater, but not before putting a small barrier around Hippo thanks to an item that he had received from Mogie.

Underwater

Attis was swimming deeper, when he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina singing Super Love Songs to Yuri, who was in a different dress and seemed to be suffering more than usual. Attis seemed to connect the dots and somehow, both Hippo and Yuri met earlier. He thought, 'They must've met earlier today, since Hippo just transformed…'

Watching the three Mermaid Princesses finish singing with their signature, "Love Shower Pitch!" Attis saw Yuri swim away looking depressed, making him think, 'For some reason, I wonder if that song was really necessary…'

Shaking his head, Attis swam up the Mermaid Princesses as Lucia asked, "Attis! Did you find Hippo? Is he alright?!"

Holding up his hands, Attis replied to the concerned girls, "It's alright, I've managed to heal most of Hippo's injuries with my magic, but he still needs to be treated. I've put a barrier around him up on the surface so we can bring him back to Pearl Piari."

Suddenly, a whole bunch of Screwdivers and Sea Neons popped up, making Attis summon Aqualis saying, "I'll take care of the Heartless, you three just go and get Hippo some help!"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina nodded as they transformed back into their mermaid forms and swam towards the surface. Attis held Aqualis in an aggressive stance saying, "I ain't playing around anymore…"

Attis was about to make the first move when suddenly he felt another pang of weakness, making him stop and lower his guard. One of the Screwdivers caught on to that and tried to pierce Attis' chest, but he managed to bring Aqualis up and stop the Screwdiver's spear.

Grunting, Attis spun around, making the Heartless near him fly back as he shouted, "Blizzard!"

A few shards of ice shot out of Aqualis' tip, piercing a Sea Neon and causing it to vanish, with its captive Heart released. Getting back into the groove, Attis went on the offensive against the Screwdivers, since Sea Neons weren't that much of a threat as he recalled.

Soon, he managed to get rid of them and Attis thought, 'Whew that takes care of that. Ugh, what's wrong with me lately? I've been feeling weak every now and again for a few days, and it nearly cost me just now. I'd better look into it later…'

That's when Attis swam upwards towards the surface, and if he had stuck around for a few minutes, Attis would've seen Caren go by the place he was just in, with the Pearl Radar in hand. She thought to herself, 'That's weird, I thought I saw him around here…'

Pearl Piari

Later that night, Attis went by Pearl Piari to see if Hippo was alright. He was in front of the door to the room where Hippo was resting, along with Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, with Nikora in front of them. Lucia asked for them, "Onee-chan, how's Hippo doing?"

"Well, thanks to Attis-san here, Hippo doesn't have any serious injuries, but he's still hurt, so let him sleep for a little longer." Nikora replied.

Attis clutched the box that held the sandals that Hippo wanted to get for Yuri and said, "Well, at least he's alright now." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny Hi-Potion bottle and gave it to Nikora saying, "Here, after he wakes up, have him drink this. It will help with the healing process, speeding it along."

"Thank you Attis-san." Nikora replied, taking the Hi-Potion from him.

Attis gave a light stretch and said, "Well, I guess I'll better get going, so I'll see you girls later." He turned around and was about to leave when Hanon asked, "Attis, what's with the box?"

"Oh this?" Attis replied, giving the box a slight shake, "It's nothing, don't worry." He walked away, leaving the mermaids by themselves. Attis sighed and thought, 'This turned into something quite troublesome…'

The night didn't end there as when Attis was outside, he heard something from one of the windows to the side. Going over to the source, he saw that Hippo was trying to sneak out, and was carefully making his way down from the second floor.

When Hippo was on the ground, Attis appeared in front of the penguin and asked in a low voice, "And where do you think you're going Hippo?"

That shocked the penguin as Hippo saw Attis standing there in front of him. However, he regained his composure and said, "I promised to go see Yuri-san again tonight, and not even you can stop me Attis-san."

Attis sighed at that and said, "Then I'd better come with you then. You still have those injuries so I'll just keep an eye on you."

"…Thank you very much Attis-san." Hippo said. With that the two of them headed off towards the shack where Yuri was.

Beachside – shack

When they approached the shack, Attis pulled out the sandals from the box and said, "I believe these are the sandals you wanted Hippo?"

"Yes." Hippo replied, graciously accepting them. Attis watched as Hippo went up to the door and the penguin heard Yuri crying inside. Attis himself went to the side of the building right of the door and leaned on the wall, listening in on the conversation.

Leaning over, Attis saw Hippo slip the sandals under the door saying, "I was only working at the restaurant because I wanted you to wear these sandals. If you just walk around barefoot, I thought that those pretty feet of yours would get cut all over."

'Wow, that Hippo can sure be one smooth talker. Kinda wish I could express myself like that…' Attis thought to himself. Taking another look, Hippo opened the door a bit and peeked inside, seeing the look of amazement on Hippo's face.

That's when he heard footsteps and Hippo shouted, "You mustn't come Yuri-san!"

When Yuri asked why Hippo explained, "Right now, we've been given star-crossed fates, but one day, I'm positive that there will be a time where we can meet and be together again. I believe that time will come, since a friend of mine told me, 'Anything can happen in the future'."

Attis nodded at that as Yuri agreed to that and understood what was going on. Then she said with tears, "Until the day we meet again, I'll always be thinking of you and treasure these sandals you have given me. But I don't want to say goodbye…until we meet again, be safe Hippo-san!"

Hippo opened the door and Yuri ran out of the shack crying as she disappeared from the area. Hippo felt the same way and after a thought, he shut the door saying, "Yuri-san!" but she was already long gone.

Looking out at the ocean, Hippo cried out in pain Yuri's name three times, as if hoping for a response. At the same time, Attis hooded himself, feeling sorry for Hippo. Going up to him Attis said, "You know, all you can do is hope that this whole situation with the water demons and Gaito can end peacefully, so that the two of you can meet again under happier circumstances."

"…I will hope for that Attis-san…" Hippo said solemnly. There was a moment of silence before Attis said quietly, "Let's head back to Pearl Piari Hippo. The others probably know that you're gone now."

Hippo was silent for a bit before he sat down on the porch and replied, "…I want to stay here for a while longer. Is that alright with you Attis-san?"

"…Sure." Attis replied. He went back to leaning on the shack wall, watching over Hippo who was looking at the moonlit ocean. If Hippo could've seen Attis' face, he would've saw a tear fall down his cheek.

Dreamstate – Awakening platform

Again, Attis found himself on the platform that had Aqua Regina and the seven Mermaid Princesses on it. For some reason he felt weak, and that's when Aine's voice asked, "What's wrong Onii-chan?"

Turning around, Attis saw Aine standing behind him with a concerned look on his face. He sat down on the floor as he replied, "Argh, I don't know… I just feel tired at times, and I can't explain it."

"Hmm, maybe you're just working yourself too hard, or maybe that you coming down sick with something." Aine suggested. Attis raised an eyebrow and asked, "Since when do you give suggestions for a…" He eyed her for a second before he said, "An eight year old?"

Aine pouted and corrected, "I'm ten Onii-chan!"

Attis raised one eye to Aine and said, "Really now… I wonder if you'll be as stacked as the Mermaid Princesses if you reach their age…"

At that, Aine got annoyed and gave Attis a light kick to the side, making him groan and say, "What the heck was that for?!"

"You're being an idiot right now Onii-chan!" Aine shouted. For some reason though, it made Attis' head hurt as a girl's voice in his head said, "Is the Keyblade wielder an idiot?"

Shaking his head, Attis thought, 'W-who was that?' All of a sudden, the pillar shook and suddenly, Shadow Heartless started coming out of the ground, making Attis jump to his feet and the two took a fighting stance.

When Aqualis appeared in Aine's hands, Attis tried summoning Solaris and Lunaria, but all there was two flashes of light and nothing afterwards. As the Shadows surrounded the two, Attis thought, 'What the, why can't I summon those two?'

Suddenly, there were two female voices in his head and one of them said, 'I still can't believe that he doesn't remember, it's quite ridiculous if you ask me.'

The other said, 'You can't blame him sis, there's quite a strong lock on part of his memories. Maybe if he can remember those twins though…'

'Who the heck are you two?!' Attis thought furiously as he summoned the Castle Key to his hands and gripped it tightly. He whacked a Shadow into dust as the first voice replied, 'Ha, he can't even remember us. Now that's just sad.'

Then the second voice told him, 'If you can remember exactly how you obtained Solaris and Lunaria, then you'll know exactly who we are Attis.'

The two voices vanished, leaving Attis confused as he and Aine dealt with the Shadows on the platform. Aine noticed the Castle Key in his hands and she said, "Wow, I've never seen you wield the Castle Key before Onii-chan, except for in your memories."

"Yeah, at least I remember how to summon my first Keyblade…" Attis muttered as he bashed a few more Shadows into black mist.

Eventually, the two took care of all the Shadows, when the pillar started shaking and a Dark Follower started to appear in front of them from a dark portal. Looking like a Darkside, but a shade of purple and stronger, its way of fighting was pretty much the same, but with more power.

Aine got scared at the sight of it, but Attis put a hand on her shoulder and said with a smile, "Ready to take on your first giant Heartless Aine?"

Seeing the smile on Attis' face, Aine's confidence came back as she replied, "Yes, of course I am Onii-chan!"

"Glad to hear that." Attis said, and the two of them charged right at the Dark Follower as it bellowed. Attis suggested, "The head is the weakest part, so go after it when you get the chance."

With that advice in hand, the two managed to take down the Dark Follower. Though as it teetered forward, Aine instinctively ran over to Attis and he held her tight as he jumped out of the way of the falling Heartless.

When it vanished, Aine said, "Whew that was tough. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later Onii-chan…" Then Aine and Aqualis vanished from his side as Attis nodded. Suddenly a thought came to him as he looked at the Castle Key, 'Wait, if I'm still able to summon my Castle Key, then why did Aqua Regina give me Aqualis?'

Waking up the next morning, Attis got out of bed, with the thought still fresh in his mind. Standing in front of his bed, Attis held out his hand and thought of the Castle Key. There was a flash of light and Attis' hopes got up, but they were instantly dashed when nothing showed up, making him slump.

'Man, what the heck happened to me?!' Attis thought to himself, shocked that the Castle Key didn't show up. He sighed as he got out of his room and prepared for breakfast, thought Attis felt a bit more tired than usual.

After breakfast, Attis got ready for work after greeting Mogie, when he thought, 'Those two voices, what did they mean by remembering how I obtained Solaris and Lunaria?'

Stopping at the door, Attis searched his memories, but to his horror, he found that he couldn't remember exactly how he obtained the twin Keyblades. This troubled him as he thought, 'Maybe that's why I can't summon them, but then what did they mean when they mentioned 'those twins'?'

Mogie noticed Attis just standing by the door and asked, "Is everything alright Attis kupo?"

Attis snapped out of it and shook his head saying, "I'm fine Mogie, just a bit preoccupied. Well, I'll see you later then."

"See you kupo!" The Moogle replied as Attis walked out the door. He then thought, 'I'll get to the bottom of this, sooner or later.'