When my eyes opened, I had no idea where I was.

I looked around, wondering why exactly I was falling.

Was I having another one of those dreams?

At second glance, I found myself surrounded by water, though I was apparently able to breathe just fine.

Hey, no one ever said dreams make any sense.

I looked downwards and saw myself falling towards a large platform. However, the instant I touched down on said platform, a gigantic flock of doves emerged from out of nowhere and took flight, revealing the design of the platform I'd landed on.

It... was me.

Specifically, it was a stained-glass design of myself with closed eyes and holding a strange key-shaped weapon, and the circles on the outer border of the platform were all different, symbols representing something in my life.

I don't know why I got the odd feeling that something was missing from all of this, but I didn't have time to answer that mental question, because now I could hear someone talking to me.

There is so much to do, and so little time to do it.

I looked around, oddly seeing nothing around me but the platform I was standing on. Where... was I, exactly?

Just take your time and don't be afraid. The door is still closed to you. But it will open in time. Now, step forward. Are you up to it?

Well, challenge accepted, I guess.

Deciding to humor whoever was speaking to me, I took a few steps forward.

Suddenly, three pillars of light shined down from what I can assume was the heavens. Odd, ancient-looking pillars rose from the floor at the point where the light hit the platform, each one carrying something.

You hold untold power, sleeping deep within yourself.

The first pillar was carrying a short sword with a blue handle and a golden pommel, with a small curved heart decorating the jewel on the hilt.

If you allow that power to take form...

The second pillar was carrying a long staff with a tan handle, a green disk at the top, and a tip shaped like that same curved heart.

...you will be granted great strength.

The third pillar was carrying a pentagonal shield with rounded corners, a red border, a mostly black face save for the prominent curved heart on the center, and a yellow outline.

Make your choice wisely, young one.

Um... okay?

What exactly do I have to choose here?

Since I figured I wasn't going to get anywhere by just standing here, I decided to walk up to one of the pillars to see if I could get any answers before I recklessly made a choice.

First, I decided to look at the sword.

The power of the warrior. Undefeatable courage. The will to stand against anything.

Okay, was actually not expecting a swift response.

And yet, the voice didn't ask me anything else, like it expects me to think before I choose one of these.

At least it's considerate and patient.

Next, I decided to check out the staff.

The power of the mystic. Strength from within. Power the eye cannot see.

Sounds like literal magic, if you ask me. I tucked that thought away for the moment as I walked up to the third pillar so I could examine the shield.

The power of the guardian. Determination to protect. The desire to help loved ones.

Well, that sounds like someone I know, huh?

I walked back to the center of the platform so I could think carefully about what I was going to choose.

Each of these three weapons represented a different personality trait, after all. I think this voice wants to know what I'm like, what kind of power I wish to wield.

After all, it said I hold untold power within me. I just gotta take a hold of that power and give it form, through one of these, apparently.

Well, people who know me will know that I'm a fighter by nature. When I commit to something, I don't quit.

So, with that in mind...

I walked up to the pillar holding the Dream Sword (the name just came to me, I guess) and took the sword into my hands, glancing at its strangely gleaming blade.

You choose the power of the warrior?

I nodded my head, and the Dream Sword vanished in a burst of sparkles. Okay, what was that for?

Your path is now set. What will you give up in exchange?

Give up?

Okay, now I'm a little confused.

It took me a bit to realize that the voice is asking me what my weakness is, of the three choices. Maybe this is gonna affect how I learn something in the future.

I took another minute to think it over before making my decision. I'm not much of a magic person, even though I believe in magic (talk to my brother sometime, has he got stories to tell). But I've never really been interested enough in magic to really be all that good at it, if I ever get to wield that kind of power in the future.

With that thought, I walked up to the pillar holding the Dream Rod and touch it gently.

You give up the power of the mystic?

I nod, and the Dream Rod disappeared, as did the Dream Shield.

You choose the power of the warrior. You give up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?

Guess it's giving me another opportunity to think it over. But, I think I'm good, so I nod for the third time today.

The three pillars sank back into the floor...

...and suddenly, I felt a rumbling. I took a few steps back, ready to run if I had to, only to realize there's really nowhere else to run here. There's just this platform and nothing else.

And, of course, just as I think that, the platform underneath me shatters like so much fine glass, the shards dissolving into light as I fell through the strange void once again.

Eventually, I could see another platform, depicting what appeared to be my big brother surrounded by more of those strange key-shaped weapons. Around his portrait were stars of varying shapes and sizes and colors.

What could they mean?

Something tells me that my heart knows the answer to that, but it's just not coming to me in my dream state. Maybe when I wake up?

I slowly stopped my descent, landing softly on the next platform, and then the Dream Sword reappeared in my right hand.

You have gained the power to fight.

Wondering what that could mean, I twirled the Dream Sword in my hand like those fancy duelists in the old movies I see so much, before swinging the Dream Sword three times, once in a basic downward swing, then a forward stab attack, and finishing with a forward sliding chop attack.

All right, you've got it! You learn pretty fast. Use this power to protect both yourself and other people.

As I continued to lazily swing the Dream Sword, I didn't even notice that small shadowy blob things were slithering through the floor behind me until the voice called to me again.

There will be times when you must fight. Keep your light burning bright and strong.

I turned around just as one of the blob monsters emerged and leaped through the air to scratch at me.

Gonna have to try harder than that, blobby.

I slashed the Dream Sword through the air, bisecting the little creature and causing it to 'pop' out of existence.

I continued to attack the other creatures until they were all defeated, noting that they liked to sink into the ground at times, where I couldn't touch them. Annoying little...

Just then, the platform was slowly covered in a dark void, threatening to suck me into its depths like some cliché horror movie monster would do to its victims.

I simply swung the Dream Sword a couple times, and its glowing blade cleared the dark void away, only to show that the platform below me had changed again, now showing the likeness of a girl I can only assume is either of Chinese descent or she just likes the fashion sense, again wielding a key-like weapon. Her portrait was surrounded by multi-colored bursts of light.

The next thing I noticed was that there was a large, burgundy-red door standing at the edge of this platform. However, upon examining it, I found out that I couldn't open it for some reason.

I heard a noise behind me, and turned around to see a small treasure chest appear close to the door. I walked up to it, realizing that I probably had to open it to get on with this dream sequence, and tapped it twice with the Dream Sword. The chest magically opened itself so I could reach in and pilfer the contents, a small necklace with a purple four-pointed crystal hanging from it.

After slipping it around my neck, I then saw a barrel fall to the ground near the door.

Stranger things.

I walked up to the barrel and, after temporarily dispelling the Dream Sword (I figured I could re-summon it later, this being a dream and all), I picked up the barrel. Surprisingly not heavy.

After a couple seconds of thought, I decided to chuck the barrel straight into the door. Naturally, the barrel exploded into tiny planks of wood on impact, but the door shined slightly and I heard a clicking sound.

Yeah, can you tell I'm in a dream?

Figuring that was all I had to do for the moment, I crossed the short distance to the door and found that I could finally open it. Progress!

Light shined from the doorway as I walked into it, now finding myself back in my hometown, more specifically at the local park. Okay, now I'm getting a little weirded out.

I looked around and saw that there was absolutely no one here.

Okay, I stand corrected, there's three people here.

Each one of them was sitting on one of the nearby benches, doing something or other. Guess I have to talk to them to move onwards.

I walked over to the girl on the left, a girl with long, curly orange hair, bright green eyes, and honestly adorable freckles wearing a Victorian-style dress.

She looked up at me, smiled brightly, and asked me a question.

"What is most important to you?"

I thought for a couple seconds before I answer that question. More personality quizzes, apparently, and I want to make sure I get my answers right.

When I'm ready, I looked back at her and gave my answer.

"My friends."

"Is friendship such a big deal?" she answers before disappearing.

Okay, now I wanna know what exactly this mystery voice wants by asking me all these questions. Is it to test if I'm worthy or something, like one of those "only the pure of heart and deed may pass" spiels?

Well, guess I won't be getting anywhere unless I answer the questions.

I walked over to the girl on the center bench, a young woman with a slim but curvy figure, blue eyes, and blond hair tied-up in a spiky ponytail wearing a crude, navy blue dress with a rope tied in the middle.

She looked up at me and, just like the first girl did, asked me a question.

"What is it you want out of your life?"

Oh, that one was easy. It's a goal I share with my brother, after all.

"To be strong, so I can protect the people I love."

The girl smiled. "Strength to protect what matters, huh?"

Just like before, she vanished as well, leaving just one more question-giver on the right bench.

I walked up to her, and she glanced up at me. This last girl looked to be a good couple years younger than me, almost as young as the little sister of my brother's girlfriend. She had bluish, off-white messy hair, very wide and innocent-looking bright red eyes, and a small, brown horn poking out of her forehead.

As expected, she asked me something, too.

"What are you afraid of?"

I took a little longer to think about this one, wanting to be absolutely sure of my answer.

After about a minute, I give my answer.

"Losing something or someone that's important to me."

The girl shuffled her feet. "Is losing something really so scary?"

And finally, she vanished as well, leaving me alone in the park. Okay?

You value friendship most of all. You wish to be strong in order to protect people. You're scared of losing something that is important to you. Your adventure shall begin at night. The road ahead will not be easy, but a rising sun will await you at the end of your journey.

Yeah, when is it ever easy, right? I look up and nod to wherever the voice is coming from.

The day that you will open the door is both far away and closer than you think.

One random flash of light later, and I was back in the dream place, now on a platform that depicted a girl about my age with long brown hair, again carrying a key-shaped weapon, and surrounded by hearts of varying shapes and sizes.

And I was once again surrounded by those little shadow blob things.

Guess they didn't learn their lesson the first time, huh?

As the things tried to scratch at me, I simply summoned the Dream Sword and swung it over and over to cut the little buggers down bit by bit.

However, a few of them actually got me from behind while I was busy mopping up the other ones, but thankfully they didn't hurt too bad. I'm just hoping that whatever damage my dream self takes doesn't reflect on my waking self. That'd be awkward, methinks...

Once I defeated the last shadow, however, another pillar of light shined down from above, and it produced a small circle of green light on the floor. I stepped into the circle, and it immediately surrounded me with a column of green light that filled me with new energy and subsequently healed my wounds.

Hooray for convenient healing circles, I guess? Hey, I'm dreaming, so I don't expect anything to really make much sense.

Once I'd healed up, a series of small steps began to materialize out of the outer ring of the platform, eventually forming a long and winding staircase towards one last platform.

Despite the open invitation, I made my way up the stairs slowly, mostly because I didn't want more of those shadow things to jump me, and partly because I had a strange feeling that whatever was waiting for me on this last platform wasn't going to play nice.

And you would not believe how right I was.

I eventually reached the final platform, which only had multiple designs of those same curved hearts I've been seeing everywhere in this dream, the voice gave me an ominous warning.

But you must be vigilant. The closer you are to light, the greater your shadow will become.

I took a step forward, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my own shadow move in a way that I did not.

I officially started to worry after I saw my shadow pull itself out of the ground and start moving on its own, eventually walking to just in front of me and growing in size until it became a massive, muscular, humanoid creature with black skin, short legs, long arms, two small and twisted wings sprouting from its back, and a large, heart-shaped hole in its chest area. Its head was covered by dozens of twisting black tentacles, and its beady yellow eyes looked like they were trying to stare into my very soul.

I immediately doubled back to at the very least get some breathing room, but the staircase I'd crossed to get here had disappeared. Oh, crapbaskets, what do I do now?

But then, I remembered something my brother always told me.

To never give up.

But don't be afraid, and don't forget.

I turned back to the Darkside (I think that was its name?), readying the Dream Sword for a fight.

After all, weirdness or not, this is my dream.

And no one invades on my dreams without consequences!

I took up a fighting stance and waited to see just what the Darkside would do.

After a couple seconds, it very slowly lifted his right hand into the air before slamming it down quickly. I had to jump to avoid the shockwave that punch created, and when I landed, I saw the Darkside's arms stuck inside a pool of darkness that kept spawning those little shadow things.

I ran over to cut up the Shadows, but while I did this, I made sure to slash a few times at the Darkside's hand, happy to see that I was leaving gashes in its hands with each slice.

Eventually, the Darkside pulled its hand out of the dark pool, and it faded away, leaving me to wait for its next attack.

While it just ambled around and did nothing, I attempted a swing at its legs, only to yield no results. Guess the hands are probably the way to go.

Then, the Darkside kneeled down and thrust its chest out. Before I could wonder what that was meant to accomplish, the Darkside gathered energy in that heart-shaped cavity in its chest and launched it as a flurry of dark homing shots that came straight for me.

I quickly swung the Dream Sword to parry the blasts, only to send them flying back into the Darkside's head. Hey, we're on to something here!

Realizing that the thing's head was probably more vulnerable than its arms, I waited for the Darkside to do its fist slam attack. This time, though, I jumped over the strike so I could land on and run up its beefy arm, taking me right to the Darkside's face.

Yeah, you're boned now!

I swung the Dream Sword once in a basic downward swing, then a forward stab attack, and finishing with a forward sliding chop attack that carved a large gash in the Darkside's face and caused it to collapse to the ground, exploding into wisps of darkness.

Try again in another life, buddy.

However, apparently I'd done something I wasn't supposed to, because now the whole platform was flooded with darkness and was trying to drag me into it. Blasted thing was trying to take me down with it!

However, no matter what I tried to escape, the darkness around me would just smother me and keep pulling me into its depths.

But don't be scared. After all, you hold the mightiest weapon of them all.

And as my vision was stained completely black, the voice said one last thing to me.

And don't forget... you are the one who will open the door.

Seventeen-year-old Marie Kelly suddenly lunged out of bed, making sure that no darkness was surrounding her.

Once she had calmed down enough to assess her surroundings, Marie glanced over at her desk, where her keyblade, Moonlight, was lying.

That was quite the surreal experience, though her big brother Nick had apparently described this exact experience as a "Dive to the Heart", which he had first experienced four years ago, a few hours before he had first acquired his keyblade.

But... Marie had already gotten her keyblade.

So why was she only experiencing her own Dive now of all times?

Moreover, the last words the strange voice had said to her were stuck in Marie's mind.

"You are the one... who will open the door," Marie repeated. "...what door?"

After looking out her bedroom window and seeing the sun slowly beginning to rise over the horizon, Marie decided that it was time to get ready for the day.

After taking a shower, Marie practically bolted downstairs for breakfast, mostly because she was excited to try that new Stargirl Shannon-themed cereal Nick had found at the grocery store lately.

Honestly, the haters need to shut up about that show, Marie thought. It's meant to appeal to all ages, what with its charming characters, believable world, and especially the deep stories they've been telling in later seasons!

Finding it funny that she was the first downstairs, Marie excitedly reached for the cereal she had been searching for, then going to retrieve the milk from the fridge.

"You're really excited about that cereal, huh?" Rhea asked.

"Well, obviously," Marie giggled. "I'd been eyeing this cereal since they got it in, but nobody's freakin' had it, and the one time they did, it sold out before we got there!"

"Oof, that was a trip," Jeff sighed.

"But leave it to Nick to finally snag a box when we thought nobody was looking, huh?" Marie laughed as she started pouring milk into her cereal bowl.

"Um... who's Nick?" Rhea asked.

Marie was so shocked, she was surprised she didn't drop the whole gallon of milk right there.

Deciding to hold off on questions until later, Marie hastily passed it off as a dream she'd had before going to town on her cereal. ("Strawberry blueberry crunch! What a combination!")

Once done with that, Marie tore off back upstairs, noticing something off about the row of pictures that lined the dresser drawer up here.

All of them were still the same as they had been since Marie had joined the family...

...except Nick wasn't in a single one of them.

Now Marie was beginning to grow concerned. She quickly took two steps forward and threw open the door to Nick's room, only to find exactly what she'd feared. He wasn't there.

And that's when Marie realized something that truly horrified her. She couldn't feel her bond with Nick whatsoever. It was gone as if it had never existed.

That settles it, Marie thought. I'm calling an emergency meeting.

During the lunch period that day at Sheffield Institute, Marie made it a point to find the Guardians of the Veil and tell them about what had happened.

However, with each person she talked to at school, none of whom even seemed to remember that Nick had existed, Marie's concern only continued to grow.

No, no, no, PLEASE don't tell me he's gone... Marie thought. According to Nick, this had been exactly what had happened in reverse after the defeat of Izanami-no-Mikoto. All traces of her existence had been erased, except to the people who had been there to witness the final battle.

So lost in her reverie, Marie didn't notice that she'd bumped into Cornelia Hale until she was sent stumbling backwards.

"Whoa, there, Marie," Cornelia quipped. "Everything okay? You kinda look lost."

She decided to take a chance.

"Cornelia? Have you seen Nick today?"

Marie braced herself for the worst.

"You know, that's a good question," Cornelia answered, putting her hand to her chin in thought. "I haven't heard a peep from him all day. Is that weird to you, Marie? You're his sister, so you should know him better than all of us."

Marie gasped in shock before re-composing herself. "Get the other Guardians, and meet me in the side lawn right away. We've got a real problem on our hands."

Despite her confusion, Cornelia nodded before heading back in the direction she'd come from to find the other Guardians while Marie moved to find Meiling and Haruka.

"Seriously, Marie, stop pacing so much," Hay Lin giggled. "You're going to wear a hole in the lawn."

Marie continued to pace back and forth regardless, despite knowing she was probably wearing out the grassy lawn in the process.

"I don't know what to do," Marie admitted. "I can't find any trace of Nick anywhere. And usually, I'm able to sense his presence from pretty far away."

"Sibling bonds, right?" Meiling giggled.

"That's exactly the problem, Meiling!" Marie shouted, startling Meiling in the process. "I can usually feel Nick through our bond, but... it feels like that bond's just... I don't know, gone! And that's what worries me."

Haruka thought for a second, wondering where she'd heard of this exact situation before. "You think whatever happened to Nick is suppressing your bond?" Haruka answered.

"If only it was that simple," Marie replied, glancing at her reflection in her keyblade, Moonlight. "If it were being suppressed, I'd be able to feel some of it, at least. But my bond with Nick is gone, like it was never there to begin with."

"Wait, it's gone?!" Irma gasped. "Like it never existed?!"

"Ooh, that can't be any sort of good," Cornelia stated. In truth, she was worried about Nick's whereabouts as well. After all, weren't they supposed to get married in a month?

"What do you think could have happened to him?" Hay Lin asked.

"No clue, but the moment where the straw broke was when this came into my possession this morning," Marie answered, switching from Moonlight to what was apparently Nick's Kingdom Key, his starting keyblade. "This is Nick's keyblade, not mine."

Everyone present let out a gasp of shock. If Nick's keyblade had been passed down...

"Wait..." Taranee gasped. "You... you don't think he's..."

"NO!" Marie exclaimed. "I absolutely refuse to believe my big brother is dead, especially after everything we've been through!"

"Then, what exactly are you going to do, Marie?" Will wondered.

"When I went missing, Nick scoured as many worlds as he could just to find me, and no matter what I did to him while being manipulated by that villain's council, he kept up his hope of finding me so we could be a family again," Marie explained, looking up to the sky. "And now, I have the chance to do the same thing for him. I'm not just going to let my big brother suffer without his family. I love him too much."

Marie concentrated for a few seconds before magically donning her Keyblade Master attire.

"That's why... I'm going to go find him," Marie proclaimed. "I don't care how many worlds I have to scour, how many Heartless I have to smash, or how many questions I have to ask. I'll bring Nick back no matter what."

Meiling and Haruka smiled. "Then... you could use some help," Meiling stated, to which she and Haruka summoned their own keyblades. "Nick's our buddy, too."

"And there is no way in hell that we'd leave a friend in the lurch like this," Haruka proclaimed.

"Thanks, you guys," Marie replied, tears in her eyes. "You really are the best."

Before the conversation could continue, however, the sounds of panicked screams caught everyone's attention.

"Oh, that can't be good," Taranee stated.

"What's going on over there?" Will shouted.

"Um..." Marie stated, pointing to the skies far above Sheffield.

Spiraling through the sky above Sheffield was a gigantic swarm of with a large Dark Core at its epicenter that glowed shades of violet and orange.

"What in the hell?!" Meiling shouted, summoning Spellbinder. "Why is there another of these things?!"

"I'm honestly betting that this is the one that cost Nick his powers last year," Marie quipped, summoning Moonlight to her hands. "And it's back to finish the job."

As if to answer the unasked question, the Demon Tide began to fly down towards Sheffield, setting its sights on all of the keyblade wielders that it sensed.

"Oh, yeah, right!" Irma shouted. "All right, Guardians, let's throw down!"

All five members of W.I.T.C.H. summoned their keyblades and charged to meet the Demon Tide head on.

The Demon Tide attempted to strike with a flying sidewinder, but Will simply sidestepped and slashed Innocent Sign across its flank, causing it to slow down and allowing Irma to attack the Demon Tide's core a few times with wide, flowing slashes from Abyssal Tide.

Taranee ducked under a wave of Shadows that was fired from the Demon Tide (also noting that the Shadows' eyes began to glow red whenever the Demon Tide was about to attack), before raising Maverick Flare and firing a burst of fire from its teeth to knock off more Shadows that were protecting the core.

Cornelia slammed her free hand into the ground to create a pillar of rock underneath her that propelled her high enough into the air to attack the core with a Gyro Winder, her own variation of Nick's Hurricane Period where she performed six backwards somersaulting attacks in more angled motions than Nick's, before finishing with a Geo Impact to the Demon Tide's core. She flourished Rockbreaker gracefully upon reaching the ground.

While this was happening, Hay Lin raised Wind Maker to cast a giant Aeroga spell that took the form of a miniature tornado, flying through the air to sever half of the Demon Tide's mass off of it, the Shadows comprising it falling to the ground and evaporating.

"Yeah, progress!" Hay Lin giggled.

Not wanting to be left out, Haruka also moved in to attack, waiting for the core to get close to her before unleashing a Windcutter on the Demon Tide's core. While it was slowed from the strike, Marie drew her free hand back to blast the Demon Tide with a Dark Firaga.

Meiling timed herself, waiting until Marie had moved away to unleash a powerful Thundaza spell, causing beams of light to rain down in a circle around the Demon Tide before dropping hundreds of powerful lightning bolts into the circle and heavily damaging the core.

Before Marie could move in to land the final blow, however, the Demon Tide forced itself into the ground before flying back up into the sky.

Meiling remedied this by peppering the Demon Tide with magic spells one after the other while it was in the air.

The Demon Tide flew down for one more attack, but Marie was ready for it, switching to Nick's Kingdom Key.

"Let's see how you like me now," Marie proclaimed. "Formchange: Second Form!"

Marie's clothes changed into the outfit Nick had worn for their second adventure as she charged to attack the Demon Tide,laying into the core with an Aerial Finish, a quartet of wide spinning slashes around her, before ending off with a downwards Hurricane Period that seemed to do the trick, causing all of the demonic Shadows to evaporate into dark mist and leave only the Dark Core.

"Wait, that was it?" Irma laughed. "It just died like that?"

"I wouldn't be too sure," Marie stated. "Remember what the one in the Land of Departure did?"

Almost as if fate was listening, the Dark Core began to rise into the air, its body vibrating violently and unsettlingly, before plunging into the ground at the center of the entrance lobby.

Droves of darkness billowed out from where the Dark Core had entered the ground, coating the entire area in darkness and causing the dark blue sky above them to turn a violent shade of blood-red.

"I just had to open my mouth, didn't I?" Irma groaned.

Just then, the Dark Core rose from the ground, now glowing a violent orange-reddish color, surrounded by a tornado of demonic Shadows around itself. The Demon Tide began to whirl around the area, forcing the group to keep their distance to avoid being tossed away by its rotation.

"Remember, wait for an opening!" Haruka shouted. "That twister doesn't completely protect the core!"

The instant the Demon Tide moved closer, expanding its Shadow tornado for an attack, Marie made her move and leaped forward, through a gap in the Shadows and into the eye of the storm.

"Yeah, can't exactly hit me in here, can you?!" Marie shouted before bombarding the Dark Core with multiple aerial attacks, finishing with a Magnet Splash that blasted chunks of Shadows off of the tornado.

Suddenly, the Demon Tide's tornado constricted around Marie, trapping her in place as a maelstrom of dark energy beams shot into the sky all around the Demon Tide, damaging Marie in the process.

"Ouch," Marie groaned before quickly picking herself up. Meiling quickly dashed over to cast Curaga on her. "Thanks for the first aid, Meiling."

"No problem, girl!" Meiling proclaimed. "Now let's end this thing! Any ideas?"

Marie just grinned, dropping out of Second Form and switching to Moonlight. "Oh, I've got a few. Formchange: Crescent Staff!"

Moonlight actually transformed into a long and elaborate staff with a crescent moon-shaped jewel at its tip. Marie whirled it dramatically all around her before holding it behind her in a battle stance.

"Let's dance, core boy!" Marie shouted, noting that was definitely something Nick would say.

The Demon Tide spiraled towards her, only for Marie to perform many wide-reaching spinning strikes with the staff, including spinning leaps and long-range stabs, ending with a combo finisher in which she slammed her staff into the ground, causing a shockwave of purple crescent moons to explode outwards from the point of impact.

Marie continued to use Shadow Sneak, a move she'd learned from Nick's Shadow Form, to dash stealthily across to battlefield and avoid the Demon Tide's attacks, including one where it warped its core away and began firing large orbs of darkness from the eye of the storm, all landing on the battlefield in random locations and forcing everyone to stay on the move.

Eventually, Marie had enough of dodging and Shadow Sneak-ed right back to the Demon Tide. Leaping backwards to plant herself a good distance from all of the Heartless, Marie raised her staff, channeling its power to create a projection of the moon above her. Marie took a few steps forward, spinning her staff around her and causing the moon to whirl around her body, ravaging any Heartless that got caught in the strike, before leaping into the air and coming down with an overhead swing that thrust the moon into the ground and caused it to explode outwards, blasting away large clumps of Shadows and leaving the Dark Core wide open.

Not intent on letting this thing fly around any longer, Marie reverted out of Crescent Staff, aimed Moonlight upwards and fired a beam of light straight through the Dark Core.

At long last, the Demon Tide collapsed, its twister of Shadows evaporating and leaving nothing but the fatally-damaged Dark Core, which crashed to the ground and exploded. When the core died, the blood-red sky returned to normal.

"Well, that was exhilarating," Marie giggled.

"Who said anything about exhilarating?" Irma sighed. "That thing is still as much of a pain in the rump as the other one was."

"All right, now that that's been settled, what do we do now?" Haruka asked. "Where exactly do we start searching for our missing buddy?"

"I think we should head to Candracar," Will answered, moving to summon the Heart. "Maybe the Oracle can give us a head start."

"Yeah, plus, it'll be good to see grandma again," Hay Lin stated. "It feels like it's been far too long."

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary."

Marie immediately re-summoned Moonlight and turned around to face the new challenger, expecting a hidden figure dressed in a black cloak.

To say she was surprised to see quite the opposite would be an understatement.

The figure in question looked rather ghostly, their form flickering in and out of reality and seemingly covered in glitchy static like some kind of demented television set. Said glitching and flickering made it impossible to make out any kind of features.

"Um, and who's the static-y creature from the bowels of that old Garfield game?" Irma wondered.

"I don't care," Marie growled. "I'm putting you out of your misery, thing, unless you know something about my big brother's disappearance?"

"He is lost to you," the figure proclaimed. "You clearly feel the absence of the bond, correct? There is no way for you to find him where he is. Just accept it and move on with your life."

A powerful aura of darkness exploded to life around Marie, and everyone else but the figure wisely took a few steps backwards.

"You want to run that by me again, you son of a bitch?!" Marie shouted before charging forward, intent on beheading the thing on the spot.

The figure simply sighed and raised a hand, blasting Marie far back with a powerful pulse wave that dissolved her Keyblade Master outfit, left her in her normal clothes, and even snapped Moonlight clean in half.

When Marie fell back to the ground, she looked up at the figure, unyielding rage filling her expression.

"Such a shame that I had to waste all that power on you," the figure proclaimed. "Now take the hint, and just accept the fact that he is gone forever."

The figure's body distorted and wobbled before fading away.

"Hey, Marie!" Meiling shouted as she and Haruka rushed over to help Marie to her feet. "You doing okay?"

Marie glanced at her normal clothes, then at her broken keyblade. "Oh, I've definitely been better," Marie admitted. "Now I know how Nick felt."

"Guess now we need to hustle it to Candracar," Will proclaimed. "If we've got a new enemy running about, we may need to spread our wings again."

Will raised the Heart above her, and its jewel pulsed before opening a shimmering portal in front of the group that led to Candracar's Congregation Hall.

"Let's get going, girls," Marie stated as they walked through the portal and into the Congregation Hall.

"Um, Your Majesty?" Hay Lin asked, still not sure if she could call the new Oracle that without it sounding weird. After all...

"What troubles you, my child?"

The group looked up to see Candracar's Oracle and Hay Lin's deceased grandmother Yan Lin appear on the Congregation Hall's highest throne.

The previous Oracle, Himerish, had resigned from his position at the climax of Nick's battle with the Dark Mother Meter after underestimating Meter's plans. Having been horrified at Meter taking the hearts of the Guardians and the keyblade wielders in order to forge the legendary χ-blade, Himerish believed that he had unknowingly sent his champions to their deaths. Despite everyone being brought back upon the final defeat of Meter and the destruction of the χ-blade, Himerish felt he was no longer worthy of the title of Oracle and had passed it on to Yan Lin.

Meiling and Haruka still wondered where he had left to, only being told that if they needed him, he would find them. Haruka believed that, as an apparent reincarnation of The Master of Masters from the age of fairy tales, he was wandering the worlds looking for a purpose.

"Hi, grandma," Hay Lin replied. Normally, the other members of the Council would not allow anyone, even the Guardians, to be so informal with the Oracle, but they made an exception in this case, seeing how much Hay Lin had missed her grandmother. "I wish I could say this was just a house call, but... we've got some pretty big trouble brewing."

Yan Lin looked down at the group in confusion. "I notice that someone in your circle is not with us," Yan Lin stated. "Has the boy decided to sleep in on such a beautiful day?"

"That's... that's actually the problem," Marie answered, catching Yan Lin's attention. "Nick's gone. Like... literally gone from existence. The only ones who remember him are us, and apparently you, Your Highness."

"We were going to stop by here earlier, but we got sidetracked by a Demon Tide and a strange glitchy specter that might have robbed Marie of most of her powers," Meiling continued.

"The specter thing said that 'Nick was lost to us', but naturally, we aren't gonna believe the word of a wacko, so we decided that we're going to look for him," Haruka stated. "He's gotta be somewhere out there if someone still remembers him."

"Hmmm... that is troubling," Yan Lin answered. "You cannot feel even the slightest hint of your bond?"

"That's the real troubling part," Marie stated. "Our bond is just... not there, like we never had a bond in the first place, despite everything we've been through. And that really scares me. I'm not going to let him down, Your Highness, not after everything he's done for me."

"Then, adventure on, my Guardians of the Veil," Yan Lin proclaimed. "The search for a friend is one of the most noble journeys you can undertake. You have my blessing to search the worlds however you wish in order to find that which is lost."

"After all, whatever is lost can be found again," Cornelia stated. "That's definitely something Nick would say."

"Um... if I could ask one more question, Your Highness?" Marie asked, gesturing to her normal clothes and her broken keyblade.

"Worry not, my dear," Yan Lin responded, rising to her full height and summoning the Master Keeper, the keyblade usually wielded by an Oracle. Yan Lin drew circles with the keyblade, its teeth leaving trails of light behind it, before pointing it towards Marie. Chains of light burst forth from Master Keeper and ensnared Marie before swallowing her in a great sphere of light energy.

When the sphere faded, Marie was now wearing a black, hooded jacket that she kept unzipped, with short sleeves, gold buttons, and a checkered pattern at the hem. Underneath the jacket, she wore a white shirt with a V-neck, blue cropped trousers that were hemmed with the same checkered pattern as her jacket, black gloves on each hand, and black high-top boots.

Also, a new keyblade was resting comfortably in Marie's right hand. This keyblade was designed after a dimple key for a pin tumbler lock, as opposed to the lever tumbler lock key designs of most other keyblades. The blade was silver, with two parallel grooves running the length of the blade at the center, with several circular intents etched along each edge asymmetrically. The blade jutted out and then cuts back in just before it connected to the guard, which was black and blocky, and the keychain token was a X-shaped formation of two crystals, one of light and one of darkness.

"Nice," Meiling quipped. "Love the new threads! You look really dashing in that."

"Very cool keyblade, too," Haruka replied.

"Okay, so how are we going to do this?" Taranee asked. "Nick could be anywhere, and there's a lot of worlds to explore."

"How about us, W.I.T.C.H., explore as many worlds as we can around here?" Will answered.

"And the three of us will take the Gummi Ship and see if he's anywhere out there in the Ocean Between," Haruka proclaimed. "After all, it's a surprisingly speedy way to travel worlds."

"We'll see you guys on the other side, then," Marie proclaimed. "I have family to find, after all."

"And we're off!" Meiling proclaimed as Haruka activated her wrist-mounted watch to transport herself, Meiling, and Marie to their Gummi Ship.

Almost instantly, Irma clapped her hands together as if she'd gotten an idea. "Your Highness, can we build a Gummi Ship, too?" Irma asked. "Think about it, if we only stick to 'local' worlds, we're probably gonna get nowhere fast."

"Yeah, Irma's got a point," Will conceded. "This way, we can effectively double the scope of our search."

"That doesn't sound like a half-baked idea," Yan Lin proclaimed. "Follow me, my Guardians, and I will show you how to build the perfect Gummi Ship."

The Guardians all accompanied Yan Lin to a nearby chamber, all of them filled with the hope of saving Nick from whatever cruel fate had befallen him.

Marie found it oddly comforting to view the vistas of the Ocean Between. After all, she had never been out here, having spent most of the gang's previous adventure wandering the realm of darkness.

"This place is amazing," Marie gasped.

"That's pretty much what Nick said when he saw it for the first time," Meiling giggled. "The Ocean Between is much more of a, well, ocean than the Lanes Between were, so there's a lot more ground to cover."

"It seems like we're in for quite the ride, so let's not waste any more time," Haruka proclaimed. "Take the helm, Marie, and let's be off!"

Naturally, Marie was confused. "But... I thought this was your Gummi Ship, Haruka," Marie asked. "Therefore, you're its exclusive pilot, right?"

"Well, in most normal circumstances, yes," Haruka admitted. "But considering what we're adventuring for this time, I figured I'd be courteous and let you take control of the ship so we can go find our missing buddy."

Marie couldn't help but smile at her friends. "Thanks, you two," Marie replied, wiping a tear from her left eye. "That really means a lot to me."

"Hey, we love him, too," Meiling stated. "And we're sure as hell not gonna dilly when he needs us more than ever, right?"

Marie walked over to the pilot's chair and sat down, knowing she'd have Haruka to teach her anything that she needed to know about piloting a Gummi Ship.

"You know it," Marie proclaimed, dramatically slamming down on the Big Red Button that jutted out from the pilot's chair.

With a loud rumble that seemed to echo in the Ocean Between, the Gummi Ship roared to life and blasted off through the nearby corridors, ready to begin a new adventure through the stars.

W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~Deep Dive~
Episode 1: Girls, Lift Your Hands Up

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

The Blue Time Ranger is proud to present:
W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~Deep Dive~
Story Created: April 10th, 2020
Story Rated: T for Teen

The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)
Eden Riegel as Marie Kelly
Cassandra Lee Morris as Meiling Li
Cherami Leigh as Haruka Rose
Kelly Stables as Will Vandom
Candi Milo as Irma Lair
Kali Troy as Taranee Cook
Christel Khalil as Cornelia Hale
Liza del Mundo as Hay Lin
Serena Berman as Queen Elyon Portrait

Story Summary: It's been a year since the Dark Mother Meter was put to rest, and it seems like things are finally calming down in Heatherfield. However, on the eve of W.I.T.C.H.'s graduation from Sheffield, Nick vanishes completely. Not just from the material world, but seemingly from existence entirely. Now, armed with a brand new keyblade and new powers, Nick's sister Marie will forge her own journey through the worlds and meet loads of colorful characters, fight off hordes of Heartless and Nobodies, and face off with a strange group of specter-like beings, all in the hopes of finding her lost brother before he fades completely...

Author's Notes: Of course, right? When I say I'm done with the Key to Her Heart trilogy, my mind just goes "HEY HERE'S A NEW IDEA YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE IT AND YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT" ...my mind is mean sometimes. And as for Key to Her Heart re:Mind? ...yeah, I was starting to not really feel that one, so I said "f it" and decided to switch focus over to this one instead.

Theme Song Notes: Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as not to get my stories torpedoed, the opening theme is "Girls" by Kana Nishino (the opening theme to Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy) and the ending theme is "To See the Future" by Tomori Kusunoki (the ending theme to Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online).

And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

On the next episode of W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~Deep Dive~...

Meiling: Well, it looks like our first stop is once again familiar territory, huh?

Haruka: Oh, you mean the World of Remnant, right?

Marie: I don't know, girls, this place looks dank to me. And I usually reserve the world "dank" for those dumb memes Nick loves so much.

Haruka: Wait, hold on, this is supposed to be Atlas?!

Meiling: Actually, I think it's Mantle, the city below Atlas. And I mean "below" in every sense of the world. Now I understand why Weiss wanted to get away from these jerkoffs...

Marie: And considering you practically have no idea who you're supposed to trust down here, I have a feeling things are gonna get ugly pretty quickly...

Meiling: When do they not get ugly quick with us?

Marie: ...good point. Well, I guess we're descending to Mantle on the next episode of W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~Deep Dive~, "The Greatest Kingdom"!

Marie, Maylin, and Haruka: May your hearts be your guiding key!