In a vision of a tower, Kairi and Namine found themselves starring at events unfolding. Rapunzel looked to many conflicting thoughts with in her mind as she laid still on a bed, looking up at the ceiling. She held a purple cloth with the image of a golden sun and looked up at the ceiling to find many suns looking down upon her, she got up to see the many and felt something tapping into her heart. A realization, an image of a king and queen wearing crowns, an image of a baby girl with hair like hers, an image of her wearing a similar crown that was fit for her head, the crown she was aware of. She gasped, lost her balance and caught herself with a table that had a mirror. Breathing heavily and realizing of a life she was stolen from. She walked out to find an observant black haired woman trying to figure out what has happened, Rapunzel asked. "I am the lost princess."

Gothel scoffed and demanded. "Uff! Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know I hate the mumbling."

Rapunzel raised her voice and glared at Gothel. "I am the lost princess. Aren't I?" Gothel looked astonished and Rapunzel asked with a heart bringing out a brave shine. "Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?"

Gothel listened, dismissed that and approached in faux affection. "Oh, Rapunzel. Do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"

She tried to make Rapunzel forget with a hug and was pushed away as the girl asked in realization. "It was you! It was all you!"

Gothel looked down on the rebellious girl. "Everything I did was to protect you."

Rapunzel knew the woman was full of it, pushed her out of the way and walked off. "I spent my entire life. Hiding from people who would use me for my power..." She drowned out Gothel's excuses and ran down the stairs. "When I should be hiding from you!"

Gothel asked with an attempt to snare Rapunzel back in the cycle. "Where would you go? They won't be there for you."

Rapunzel knew she was talking about Flynn and Kairi. "What did you do to them?"

Gothel smiled smugly and cruelly. "That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes and his accomplice is being taken cared of by someone who knew she doesn't belong."

Rapunzel gasped at what happened. "No.." Gothel approached and tried to persuade. "Now, now, it's alright. Everything is as it should be."

She tried to pat her on the head and was stopped by a firm grip from the princess, Kairi and Namine sensed a heart shining more, realizing who Rapunzel is at her core as she stood up to the manipulative witch. "No! You were wrong about the world and you were wrong about me. And I will never let you use my hair again!"

Gothel tried to pull back, lost her balance and caused a mirror to fall, cracking it and being distracted by that and seeing Rapunzel glaring at her, the girl walked to the door out, ready to leave forever more, the blinding shackles broken loose. Kairi and Namine sensed a darkening glow in Gothel, revealing a heart black as coal as she glared at Rapunzel. "You want me to be the bad guy?" She wasn't going to allow Rapunzel to escape. "Fine. Now I'm the bad guy."

The vision ended, with the girls hearing flies buzzing away. With in a white room, Kairi and Namine knew what needs to be done, Kairi said it first. "Rapunzel needs to break free, she knows the truth yet... that woman still tries to keep her trapped."

Namine agreed with that. "Now we can get involved and help her. But... why would that... thing, try to show us this?"

Kairi had no clue. "Maybe because it knew this was going to happen. It knocked us out prett-" She felt something licking her face. She woke up to find a white horse licking her face, Flynn was riding on top of the horse and the girl gasped awake in the unusual sight. Flynn and Maximus were working together?! The man felt accomplished. "Well that did the trick!" He gave praise to the horse. "Nice work Max."

Kairi felt a head ache and was embarrassed by the fact she was waken up in such a manner, she remembered a particular dog that tend to do something similar and giggled. She gasped in remembering something important and jumped up. "Oh no! Rapunzel! Flynn, Rapunzel is being held prisoner by that woman! She been held prisoner in that tower for her whole life!"

Flynn agreed with that. "That's right, in her mother's tower!" The horse approached the road as the rider recommended. "This calls for a rescue."

Kairi agreed with him as he offered to help her on. "Are you with me?" Kairi was and took the offer. "Yeah, let's do it!"

The horse neighed, bucked up and bolted towards the road, towards passage ways most familiar and passage ways that they knew would lead back to the tower. Exactly the path where they first met, Kairi couldn't believe that over a day ago, she thought the guy was an absolute scumbag, yet his heart shined through even with the flaws. BZZ!

They saw the darkness distort and the forest decayed, something pushed from the void. Three slithering black, humanoid slugs with yellow eyes, seven rancid fly like humanoid fiends much like the heartless and four small orbs of pulsing darkness. Flynn held the horse back. "Woah, woah! Easy Max!"

The horse stopped against the swarm of fourteen and Kairi on instinct jumped off. She formed her keyblade and ordered. "I'll take it from here Flynn. Go get Rapunzel out of there!"

Flynn gave his thanks and took off, the decaying heartless focused on her and attempted to attack, the princess jumped back, flung flowers at the pulsing orbs and watch them burst something like black pus. The ooze sizzled the environment as the slugs waddled to her in surprising speeds, the sheer weight and force of their movement gave Kairi a reason to jump to her left, out of the way, raise her keyblade to the sky and shoot out a star that pelted the slugs with light. Greatly wounding the three as the flying creatures swarmed and clawed at her, she gritted her teeth. Jumped out of the fight pit, felt like she was flying and landed far away. Letting loose her quick combination to decimate the swarm. She remembered the path to the tower and watched a world being consumed by rot, something was happening that drew those kinds of heartless in. She shook her head and followed the path, knowing what was important.

With in a dream.

Sora and Riku fell towards a small lush mountain with something on top. Dodging dancing musical strings and feeling themselves in an aerial dance as they realized they were falling from a night sky. Compared to their descent to the origins of the world, it was less perilous and more whimsical, the dark sky gave way to a morning sun as they closed in, seeing an open palace with marble columns. Both boys felt a splendor awaiting as they felt themselves slowing their fall. They felt a glitter of morning light and found themselves in front of a blue curtain. The curtain pulled away and revealed a medium sized ball of feathers. Sora's heart felt light as Riku watched the ball of feathers move and smiled to it. "What kind of place did we drop to this time?"

A bird's foot raised up to help the ball up, the ball undid itself and revealed an ostrich standing up, she had a pink bow on her head and a piece of string around her neck, looking gracefully at a rising morning. She yawned and tip toed a dance towards a left row leading somewhere. The boys followed as Sora felt he knew what was happening. "Wow."

Riku saw a row of ostriches curled up into a ball, the pink bowed ostrich tapped one and caused the whole row to undo themselves, she danced to the right row, tapped and caused them to undo themselves. Revealing a whole flock of ostriches with green wears.

They stretched as the lead ostrich danced away, with them following, the lead ostrich spun a dance as they encircled her. Riku wondered. "What are we suppose to do here?" They approached ensnared to a rhythm, like to a song. The ostrich flock covered the lead dancer with wings, raised their legs up and threw her above in a scattering of white feathers. She spun and used her legs to help herself flutter down. Even if it didn't make any sense, it was still gorgeous, the lead dancer landed on her rear in an undignified manner as the flock bowed and danced into formation, a row to the left and a row to the right, towards a conch filled with fruit. The lead dancer tip toed to the conch, took it and tossed various fruits to the maws of her dancers, all except for one, which she kept to herself. A succulent bundle of purple grapes, a dancer tip toed to her and took a branch. Another dancer came and took another, Sora and Riku ran from behind the crowd and watch the greedy dancers give chance to the lead, all in a sync dance, including the bystander boys. The dancers lead to a pool in the middle of the palace grounds, with stone roads leading to and an open noon sky.

The flock tried to pluck more grapes from their lead and in their squabble, dropped the grapes into the pool. They looked with in as the boys figured out what happened, something spooked the ostriches and danced away. A head of a hippopotamus emerged and wiggled her ears, she blew water from her nose and showered herself as she emerged to reveal her body, she held onto the grapes with her left hand, ate the grapes and shook water off of her body, all standing upright and looking like she was to dance. She noticed something that gave the boys caution of approaching, a ballet of hippos in pink tutus holding a yellow tutu for their lead. If they stay around, they will just get noticed and disturb the dance, Sora focused on a column to his right and felt an urge to jump there as Riku followed to the left. They watched the pod of hippos help the lead dancer dress herself, she danced out of the pool, surprisingly even more gracefully than the ostriches, with members of the pod assisting her. The noon sky's color shifted and the lead hippo yawned, she was helped to a couch that's legs bend to her weight, the hippos signaled to each other that they were to keep quiet and tip toed away as Sora noticed a building towards Riku's direction, it had a massive closed door. He signaled his distant friend and jumped off the pillar, for if he tried to flow to it, he would surely wake up the sleeping Hippo. Dusk came and Riku was ready to jump down to look, Elephants stepped from behind the column, performing a ballet.

Riku nearly yelped, flowed to a column to keep himself up and waited, the elephants left the column and tip toed to the pool past the hippo. Riku found a clock above the door, there was no keyhole to make transitioning easy and signaled to Sora that they need to wait. The spiky haired boy looked at the sunset and guessed that the door would open at night. The elephants drank from the pool and blew out bubbles, one of bubbles oddly had a fish swimming. The elephants tip toed towards a hippo that kept slumbering, blew bubbles and ran off, nearly tripping on a bubble and doing things that might wake someone up. At a distance, they blew a stream of bubbles that caused the couch and hippo to rise in a pillar of bubbles. It descended along with the sun and a strong gust of wind came, blowing the bubbles and the elephants towards the building. Riku wall jumped back on top of a column as Sora lost his balance and use his keyblade to keep himself by the pillar, spinning down in sync with the dance. Night came, the clock glowed with the moon and formed a spot light around the hippo. The door opened to reveal a screen with the words the end.

Sora waited for the moment and noticed sinister figures from the left and right sides of the palace, all in red cloaks. The dancers of the night, approached the hippo, revealing traits of alligators.

Both boys were not going to allow such villains to have their way as they encircled the sleeping hippo and plotted. Riku sensed more in the shadow of night and looked up, finding an alligator on a roof, tossing aside his cloak and revealing a feathered cap. He jumped towards his kin and scared them off, the alpha of the group. Sora used the darkness to sneak around and watched as the alligator crawled to the hippo, checking on her and looking to be smitten. The hippo awakened, looked frightened and got off the chair as the alligator looked to either be trying to pounce on her, or embrace her. The hippo tip toed away from the gator and looked to be teasing him, he gave chase as she ran to the horizon. He waited as of he was preparing for something. LEAP!

The hippo leaped a distance as the gator readied to catch her, Sora and Riku nearly burst into laughing, the spiky haired boy was closer to the exit.

THUD!

He felt a quake in the ground as the hippo landed on the gator, yet despite what should be fatal, the gator pushed and lifted her up, Sora nearly fell and flowed towards Riku, who watched the gator and the hippo ready for another dance. The silver haired boy silently agreed and lead his friend to the door, who was watching the dance near its climax and followed, seeing the gator and hippo dance together, leading to where the gators returned to the dance, Sora felt he got the concept of the name. "...The different times of day... the dance of the hours."

Riku made it past the door and was at the screen. "Don't get any ideas, but who ever dreamed of this has a talent for art."

Sora agreed as the dancing was becoming more chaotic, with all the animals joining in the final dance. "Come on, let's see what else is next!"

He jumped into the screen and Riku followed, from one strange dream to one more familiar.

Back into another Dark, Beautiful castle. Finding naught of Oswald, but of a figure cloaked in shadows, holding a tape in the palm of his hands and glowing red eyes. A deep voice whispered in their minds. "Deep with in the Realm of Dreams, untouched by time and mortals alike! A voice from the heavens, deafens before a great evil." An eight pointed star flickered, Sora and Riku readied their blades as they heard foot steps from above, the voice asked the two. "From the darkness of many worlds, shroud a Messenger of Darkness, that seeks to bring destruction, beckons his dark master! Do you cling to the hope of surviving the chaos? Do you have the courage to continue fighting? Do you and the others, stand hand in hand, awaiting the end of all you have ever loved?" The eyes looked down on the tape as the boys charged at him, a rabbit climbed down, gasped and tried to find something that would repel the demon. The demon asked. "How can you hope to fight this great evil, when deep with in, we are one in the same?"

They struck in unison and were consumed by shadows.

Sora felt his vision return and found himself alone with in the depths of the castle, he found figures approaching with murderous intent, they resembled humans with bodies of darkness and various blades, their eyes glowed yellow and their chests glowed white, resembling a mixture of an eight pointed star and a heartless emblem. The voice laughed in taunt. "See the follies of the warriors that attempt the impossible! Who climbed to ascend and stumbled into the abyss! See how their journey ends." Sora felt many voices laughing at him, cringed and attacked the monsters, he needs to find his friend and get to the bottom of the mysterious assault.

At Traverse Town, by a train track with no train.

Ken finished introducing Lauriam to Wanda as Elrena looked upon a steam tank that was in good condition, with an image of a gryphon on each side, two canons on the front and a rifle, it was a pinnacle of technology none of the three expected for someone looking quite medieval. "Um... right, you got this and you didn't know how to use a phone."

Wanda folded her arms and grunted. "This lass is what the Freeguild do, what the Stomcasts could not! So in the off chance those spider fangs come crawling up here, we will be prepared to push them back in their hole."

Lauriam sighed and asked the general. "With all due respect, the technology you have and the technology the Forces of Chaos... the ones talked about, are leagues apart. This is what Ienzo is trying to warn you about."

Wanda kept her ground as an authority figure and asked. "And what exactly can any of us do about it? I'm not leaving Stalwing behind and no demigryph knight worth his salt would leave their demigryph behind. The lad got good intentions, but unless he can build fast, we are all stuck here until further notice. Besides-" She looked to a sewer drain with sneaky red eyes in the shadows. "someone needs to keep the spider fangs in check at all times or the whole town would become like one big spider web with us being the flies."

Ken answered clearly. "Do more to talk to that guy and get a bigger transport ready. Magitinus's technology mixing in with Bryn was pretty big and the Eldar's technology... none of us know how to describe it, least of all figure out how it works. The Chaos Space Marine's technology might be something we would be familiar with... but not you."

Wanda gasped and asked the boy. "Well lad, if you got some tech like what Magi makes, I want you to consider... showing me what it can do."

Ken cringed, looked to the onlooking grown ups and formed Cadia's Light. "This... use to be that, but Wanda-" The general interrupted him and walked towards a lamp post with her war hammer in hand. "Then it will do, you know I heard that whole fight you had with that boy Sora. I heard he beaten you after you gave him a sweat."

Lauriam found it hard to believe, looked at Kendry and asked. "You? Lasting against him?"

Elrena patted him on the shoulder and stuck her tongue out. "Until he couldn't fly around anymore and lasted... tens seconds, it that's what happened. I was told that before then, those two were trading hits." She pointed to herself and asked. "Guess who else he fought and actually won?"

Lauriam gasped, looked tempted and dismissed it. "I decided to take you're word for it my dear Elrena. But, Wanda isn't-" Ken looked at him and assured with ease in his soul. "She isn't a keyblade user and she fights like an everyday person. She sounds tough... for an everyday person." He turned to Wanda and walked by a bench with his gun blade in hand. "I... also want to know what happened to my keyblade before I get into a real battle again."

He aimed at the general who smirked at him. "Who said this was play?"

She yelled out and charged. "By Azyr's stormy sky, test yourself against a servant of Sigmar! AAAAAH!"

Ken timed his aim at a knee and pulled a trigger. PEW!

Plunk!

A shot made contact with the woman's right knee and punched through her armor, causing her to fall on her face and for her hammer to fly off to a tree. Swoop! Land! Squawk! A gryphon landed to Ken's left side and was shrieking something, Wanda forced herself up and ordered. "Stalwing, back...ow! Back away!"

A knight approached to help her up as Ken stuttered. "O...Ow, that has to hurt." He looked at the two traveling with him and gave a request to something, Lauriam sighed and used a healing spell on Wanda. "The eldar laugh at the weapon this keyblade was born from, Wanda... please consider you're odds."

Wanda puffed her cheeks and groaned. "Fine, someone needs to give Merlin the que anyways, how much longer until that happens?"

Ken guessed. "Maybe soon, building something like a train takes a while and we only got tracks and a tunnel."

A wizard coughed in offense. "I say good sir, do you even know the slightest thing about magic?"

Ken looked to his right to find Merlin looking quite impatient about something. "Just air magic, I know nothing about how this even works." The boy had a ring from his gummy phone, checked it and qued the wizard. "Okay, they got something to send our way! Fire it up!"

Merlin nodded, pulled a wand out of his hat and waved it, with a few magic words, a shine was seen in the left side of the tunnel.

Toot! Chugga, chugga!

A train with three carts rolled over, leaving Wanda less than impressed as the door open to let out a four of Leon, Yuffie, Aerith and Cid. The engineer grunted to the general. "So this is the one responsible for bringing the town back?"

Cid smirked with his straw and firmly shook hands with Wanda, who answered with refusal. "Oh no, the town was like as it is without us. We are just making a fort out of it." She chuckled as Leon looked at the gryphon and whistled. "Maybe, but this town is like as we left it."

Yuffie slowly approached Stalwing, she was hiding her ecstatic joy as Aerith noticed a hole in her leg armor. "We were told that someone had to show you what we were dealing with... did you get into a fight?"

Wanda wouldn't call it that as she let go and looked her eyes towards Ken. "Not really, I think he made a point."

She hated to sound ungrateful as Leon sized up the gryphon. "There is no way we can carry that and the others in this. But this was a test anyways."

He shrugged as Wanda exhaled. "At least we are not stranded anymore. Anything we ought to do to fix that?"

Cid had one idea. "We need to count up what you got first, anything else we need to know besides the sewers?"

Wanda shook her head and offered to guide them. "Nope, the sewers are strictly forbidden and anyone who reads up on spiders will tell ya why. I'll show you the stables and we can talk about how we can help one another."

She thanked Merlin. "You have been amazing for this Freeguild, Sigmar be giving you his blessing this day."

The wizard didn't mind that one bit as Cid requested. "If you got tired of the town, you can wait in the cart till we finish. It shouldn't take too long."

Merlin hummed at the request. "To think we finally came to an agreement." He gave Wanda and the group his goodbyes. "I should look into the Winds of Magic and how they make up the worlds... Realms you came from very shortly. Good day madam!" He nodded to the bystanders. "Good day!"

Ken gave his goodbyes. "Thanks for the help, this town couldn't have been like it is without you!"

Merlin went into the cart as Elrena and Lauriam went west to explore, leaving Ken with the forming committee, Aerith sighed and asked the boy. "So how do you feel with that weight off you're chest?"

Ken stretched near tired. "Great, but now I'm getting involved with all this going on. Ha Wanda, what did you tell Merlin with all that Winds of Magic stuff?"

Wanda was glad he asked and offered to lead. "The Eight Winds of Magic, the foundation of the realms; Azyr, Aqshy, Chamon, Ghur, Ghyran, Hysh and Ulgu. Heavens, Fire, Metal, Beasts, Life, Light and Shadow."

Leon cringed at the last of the realms. "Shadow?! You let that be around?"

Wanda sighed about the knowledge. "I never been to many of the realms my whole life, but Ulgu is definitely one of the LAST ones I want to go to. But some of the best assassins I know grew with in the realm. Compared to that Realm of Darkness though, I would rather take my chances with Malerion... he is better than all I seen and heard from with... some of the other gods."

Ken knew which one she was talking about. "That might be something I should talk about, THAT guy sent something pretty dangerous that won't be showing up here... but could show up in the garden. But tour first." Leon felt his head ache returning and allowed it to happen. "Then you should talk."

In the realm of Hysh in the crystal valley.

Aqua and Moonfang looked down a small cave leading down into a dead end as the Ur-Pheonix awaited. Aqua let her pendent shine and apologized to the dracoth. "This is way too small for you to follow, Moonfang. I'll summon you on the other side when I can."

Moonfang growled, nodded to her and vanish back to Azyr. Aqua's pendent floated to the cave and floated mid air, she aimed her blade and thought of the word. "Ulgu." Pew.

For what should be the second to last time, the pendent opened a gate way of light, leading into a world of shadows as it returned to her. She turned around to the Ur-Pheonix that gave as close to a smile as a bird would and knew what it was trying to say. "I won't be alone in the darkness this time. This is the final realm I have to explore before I look back into Azyr... if Hysh's stone was that close, it should be even closer... and with my keyblade, finding it should be even easier. Thank you for the company."

She gave a thankful bow and turned to the gate way, placing the souvenir away, took a deep breath and jumped in. Finding ripples and mixing lights, give way to umbra. She closed her eyes to drown out a memory and landed. She felt herself in air most familiar and opened them to find herself in a place that caught her by surprise.

A grand city under the shadow of a castle, water flowing down a bridge and everything in its prime. She heard a girl screaming from across the gate and charged in, finding a small scared red haired girl in a simple white dress with a purple skirt, she was cornered by five sleek blue creatures she recognized, floating plant like creatures with an emblem she recognized and an hour glass with that emblem. Aqua knew unversed when she seen them and went after the smaller creatures, hacking them away like they were nothing, left flipped against the floral attempt to hurl leaves at her like they were boomerangs, pelted them with fire balls and sparked her keyblade in flames as the hourglass tried to stop her in time. She forced through with sheer will and dashed, obliterating the hour glass and finding twenty of the sleek creatures going for the girl. Aqua dashed to one, back flipped, ignited in flames and formed wings like a phoenix, she roared like the bird and dive bombed into the swarm of twenty before they even came CLOSE to the girl. Aqua found soot remaining of her foes, got up and found the girl staring at her with blue eyes and a set of flowers, two pink, one yellow and one white. Aqua felt the name returning. "K...Kairi, what are you doing out here again?"

Kairi looked more amazed and asked. "Aqua, where did you learned to do that?" Aqua nearly laughed at the memory. "From a bird known as a Pheonix... actually it is a god among those, the Ur-Pheonix."

She felt something off as Kairi approached her. "The Ur-Pheonix? A Pheonix?"

Aqua answered like she was talking to an old friend. "A special bird that turns to ashes to be reborn."

Kairi asked. "Reborn from the ashes? Why would it do that?"

Aqua closed her eyes to think about and opened her eyes, finding an older red haired girl with a flowery tipped keyblade that had a star fruit key chain, a teenager looking up to her and answering. "It's a cycle of life, the pheonix becomes its brightest right at the end. Living one life that... had to have been wonderful, then they burn up and start their life again. It's... like reincarnation. Master, I never really knew there was a god of those mythical birds."

Aqua gasped at the word master and looked upon a pink dress, the town looked worn from a decade and lost its splendor, yet it very much felt like home. "Reincarnation... I read about that belief. How sometimes a heart returns from beyond with a new life."

Kairi felt the idea made some sense. "Like... how certain people can have different memories that go with that life or-" She giggled at another idea. "How the people from then return with the same name, same look and sometimes similar memories. How does that happen Master?"

Aqua tried to answer and felt an aura of wrongness, she looked upon her buxom to find a pendent she remembered, the Heartstone. She felt her world darkening and looked ahead to find the images fading, an illusion, all of it.

Standing in front of an umbra cloaked gate was an armored sorcerer looking both masculine and feminine, having long, luscious grey hair, a staff with its tip looking like a masculine and feminine symbol, a maw that resembles something of a serpents, bright unnatural purple eyes and an expression of interest. "So the paragon of light has a desire beyond just kin?" It sang a rather pleasant melody as Aqua readied her blade. "A desire... for a life that is out of reach? A life that could still be in reach?" It sensed something and stood out of her way. "Put that thing away, I care not for harming you... just so long as I assisted someone buying him the time he needs." Aqua sensed emotions of barely contained excitement and dare not to keep her sight away, she hear a death scream as the sorcerer advised her. "You may want to try and stop him, it is a sight for all to see... to experience!" It moaned and faded into darkness, leaving Aqua to charge into a temple with dark, elven imagery, those adorn in bloodied spikes, statues above a cauldron and to little surprise, bodies of elven women, half women half snakes and some with demonic wings.

She ran up a set of stairs and found a large alter with a half woman, half snake monster, with snake like hair, red scales and snakes on the other end of her tail, being stabbed in the chest and having a grey stone resembling a hollow left heart being yanked from her grasp. She was kicked to the ground by a helmet man in black and red, holding a dark keyblade with a red tip and hilt, he shot at the stone and caused a rift to open. Ignoring her and jumping in with the stone, causing it to quickly close. Aqua felt her heart shaking and focused on the closing rift, flowing towards it and entering a new plane. One with many small floating islands that have erect pillars, all with chains that lead to a creature dormant, yet having a purple glow on its chest. She couldn't make a clear image as she heard a familiar voice from behind, taunting her. "So, you had fun traveling around this broken world?"

Aqua turned to find that man sitting in amazement at the imprisoned figure, the red and black triggered a swirl of memories as she used a summon stone to bring forth Moonfang. "Vanitas! What are you doing?!"

PEW!

A dracoth appeared, sensed the man and readied a breath of lighting. In a blink of an eye, Vanitas vanished to dodge the lighting and was seen leaning on a chained pillar, holding the fragment of Ulgu tauntingly. "Making sure you don't come back home, after how close you are."

He tossed the stone off the island, Aqua gasped, flowed towards the stone to catch it, caught the stone, saw she was hovering over a cosmic void mostly of shadow and little light, burst in air and parried her assailant. Who was glaring daggers at her as he vanished and appeared on an island to the upper left. She back flipped her landing as the man asked her. "Do you wonder what beauty is locked up here for the eons?"

He vanished and appeared next to the chain on the island, the Dracoth charged at him, Aqua sensed a mass of darkness watching her and knew where. "Moonfang, don't hit that chain!"

The Dracoth skid to a safer spot as Vanitas readied his keyblade, Aqua wasn't going to allow that to happen and charged at him, the man disappeared again and stood on top of the pillar. "To think, in one reality, it is free in the warp spreading its sensations an entire whole galaxy. Yet in one, it is trapped here, spreading its consciousness between this one and the immaterial plane, just to manage itself in two. What is a god to do?"

Moonfang looked puzzled and looked to the figure as Aqua felt it was mutual. "This thing is never in the same place?! That... doesn't make any sense."

That much Vanitas agreed with. "Nothing in the Realm of Chaos makes sense, so its time to set things right."

He jumped off and vanished, Aqua and Moonfang knew he was trying to break the chain, the woman attempted to dash and heard the sound of something break. The chain severed and fell down into the abyss, many more were pulled by an intense power.

Vanitas appeared behind the Dracoth and struck it from the side, nearly sending it flying off the land mass, Aqua charged and struck at him, watching a sinister glow as the man gloated. "The Chaos god of excess and every desire that lurks in all our hearts! Slaanesh! You just walked into a front row seat of its long awaited freedom!" The figure pulled its left limb and caused more chains to snap, moaning in pleasured pain, he asked Aqua in cruel sarcasm. "Have you ever stood before the presence of a god like this?! One that is waiting to meet someone like you. Tell me something Master Aqua, have you ever truly experience darkness like this? Especially how you took such a detour away from saving you're friends. If you can't manage something that selfish, what makes you think you would last before this!"

More chains broke as Aqua glowed like that of a frosty pheonix and charged Vanitas down. "Would you shut up?"

Vanitas wasn't going to he landed in a frosty thud and took the claws from the dracoth, falling off the island or so it seems. Aqua heard bestial roars and snarls as more of the chains broke, she and Moonfang approached together to find Vanitas above a gate of darkness, looking like he was smiling underneath his helmet as a dark veil was engulfing the freeing god. "Oh but don't worry about these tiny realms, Slaanesh is going to save those for last after it is finished with you and all people back home!"

He let go and fell into the abyss as the chains snapped in unison, the entity gave a purple glow and was ready to reveal its splendor. Moonfang's pendent gave off a glow of lightning and enveloped the duo. They found themselves in a grand golden city most familiar and found Arreia, looking horrified and imagined the unspeakable horror that was unleashed. "That demon..." She tried to keep calm and asked Aqua. "Did you get the fragment of Ulgu?"

Aqua looked into her free hand and found a grey glowing stone with a black arrow, she asked the Lord Arcanum. "Vanitas... he didn't just-" Arreia nodded to her and barked. "Put the stone in its socket! We need to talk before we begin searching for the last fragment. Blessed Loru's heart... but you found seven of them?"

Aqua did as requested and placed the next piece, showing a near completed Heartstone with but one hole left, a heart shaped socket. With that finished, Aqua asked. "What happened to Loru?"

Arreia wanted to laugh it away. "He was still searching the ends of the realm for that thing, now our war against Chaos has escalated and we all need to be ready for the biggest crisis this side of the realms, if the Necroquake wasn't already that." Aqua let her keyblade shine and felt it facing a direction she was familiar with, even in such a large city. "...Did he check this city?"

Arreia nodded and felt she was going to have a massive punchline. "This was his first and every settlement of importance was searched. He... thought more about the temples and places of training than something that simple... did he?" Aqua swallowed and got on Moonfang, she felt it was going to be embarrassingly for the Drakesworn Templar, the keyblade guided her towards a bridge in the city she knew of, the place she saw after escaping the Realm of Darkness and encountering her saviors, the Slann. To the very spot, her blade aimed down to a still heart shaped pebble on the blue markings of the road, the pebble glowed with the other fragments. Aqua saw a symbol that looked like an upside down A tilted to the right and with a small o on the top, she took it and placed it with in. The heartstone fragments shined at once and gave off a glow as one, nearly turning pink and dimming down. Aqua and Arreia felt something was wrong, the Stormcast took a closer inspection and gave a spark of frustration. "Grr! It needs more power to work. Hmm." Aqua's jaw dropped as Arreia requested with another voucher. "Give me a day to finish a battle going on, listen to an earful and then begin studying to stone to see how we can begin repairing it. You finished the hardest part of this... now let us do ours."

Aqua wanted to shout in an outrage as she closed her eyes and recalled what might have happened. "The fragments were used so often and not just by me. It must have spent so much of its power."

Arreia agreed and walked her and Moonfang to the Duradin's Cradle. "There is still a way to bring the Heartstone back to its full power, it is not like any ordinary realmstone... if it was." She wished to not answer as Aqua wanted to laugh it off. "Ha! So now what is left?"

Arreia guessed from Aqua's end. "Take a rest, meditate your worries away... it seems like your realm has capable warriors that would defend it from any threat that comes. Can you leave this fight to them for now?"

Aqua accepted that she had to and looked forward to some alone time. "I... can, someone saved those worlds once... I... never had the chance to ask what else happened."

In a forest cloaked in decay.

Kairi dealt a finishing blow to a bloated, fly like heartless and made it past a secret passage, finding the tower in the distance and found more heartless appearing in her way. Two fluffy dandelions, half a dozen flying weeds, five light green lanterns and five watery blue lanterns, she had some relief that she was fighting relatively normal enemies and felt the decay creeping in. She needs to hurry, she flung a bright star at the more weedy foes, flew at the left most group of lanterns and hacked away, making quick work of a part of the horde and knowing more were gaining up on her and had an image of rapid firing something. She aimed her blade and shot rapid fire balls to wipe out the larger dandelion heartless, leaving the lanterns to try and extinguish the flames and to be quickly taken down. Kairi felt the heat as she heard a particular girl giggle. "Where did that come from?"

Kairi felt a little embarrassed and approached the tower. "I... needed to do more than throw flowers and stars, I learned this from watching that fight. When you need to really be fast and you can't quite stop to make them back off or you need them to move as well. Come on, we need to catch up to-" "AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A black cloak fell out of the towers window, a voice Kairi recognized as Gothel's. What ever happened caused the woman to seemingly fall to her death, giving off a darkish glow as it made contact with the ground and left behind dust that pooled into a void.

Much like with Hans, something formed, four wooden, lizard like limbs emerged from the void, followed by a long wooden tail. THUD!

The limbs yanked something out of the void, a head like body, resembling the top of a tree with a heartless emblem on its forehead and yellow eyes with a crazed swirl. A monster of wood, limbs and darkness, Kairi wondered what happened up in the tower and charged at the slithering heartless, beating it down with her blade. The grim monster opened its maw and shot out a barrage of dark birds to peck at the girl, followed by scratching her off. Kairi was flung back, cast a healing spell and as she fell, fired fire balls to send the grim monster slithering and growing suspicious flowers. Kairi felt a burst with in and flung a star of light that was complimented by tropical flowers, knocking the monster into a corner and causing it to flash in light. Kairi felt herself a distance from the tower and watched the monster slither up the tower, she charged and was blocked off by a wall of thorns, she looked around and found a passage right behind her, followed by a barrage of literal cherry bombs raining down at her from the sky. She jumped past the gap, found another wall rising up and looked to where the tower is to find a gap leading out, the barrage became worse and Kairi felt a resolve to take that heartless down and stop the world going rotten.

She felt light as a feather, ran to the tower and jumped, flying towards it and seeing a faint glow of light from behind her, she really was flying, the Grim monster tried guarding herself and was impaled on the forehead, she fell off the tower and to the ground bellow as Kairi landed on the top of the tower and jumped off with her keyblade ready to spear down, the monster landed on its back and tried to swat Kairi away with its tail.

JAB! CRASH!

Kairi struck the beast like a descending angel and slammed its body to the forest floor, a glowing heart fluttered out of the dissolving monster and the feeling of decay felt like it was receding. "That woman was what those heartless were being drawn to?" Kairi fell into the water and felt like a pressure was free from her mind, yet there was one more thing that remained. "I think... those things are gone, but-"

She ran to the base of the tower and tried her trick again, feeling light as a feather and jumping high with wings of light and landing on the window, pulling in to find a long trail of brunette hair, Rapunzel with short brown hair resembling the parents in the mural. Trying to do something about a chained Flynn that was laying on the floor, bleeding greatly, Kairi tried to use a healing spell and felt something refusing to let her. She remembered this happening before and guessed that much like with Gaston stabbing the beast, Gothel stabbed Flynn. Rapunzel in her panic, laid over to the man, placed Flynn's hand on her own head and chanted in song, nearly choked in fearful tears. "Flower, gleam and glow, let you're power shine. Make the clock reverse-" Flynn coughed to try and ease her. "Rapunzel,"

The woman kept trying, Kairi felt a radiant heart with in Rapunzel and listened to the determination. "Bring back what was once mine."

Flynn tried to stop her and coughed out a last breath confession. "Hey...cough! Rapunzel."

The girl stopped to ask what, seeing the man cringing in pain over seeing her heart get broken. "Rapunzel... y...you, were my new dream."

Rapunzel's eyes watered as Kairi felt a similar pattern, the brunette confessed. "And you were mine."

Flynn felt weak and closed his eyes, nearing deaths door, Rapunzel was trying not to sob and kept trying to chant her song. "Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates design. Save what has been lost." Her arms were wrapped around the dying man as she finished. "Bring back what once was mine." Her eyes nearly let loose. "What once was mine." She sobbed in desperation, a tear fell on Flynn's cheek, it sank into his skin and caused a bright glow.

Kairi knew she was witnessing a miracle as something glowed out of Flynn, a bright golden light that shined in tethers all around the room, a flower of light bloomed. The princesses were sielnt at the radiant glow for various reasons, Kairi guessing it had everything to do with healing as Rapunzel saw the bleeding stopped, like a wound was closing up. The brunette felt a strong pulse and checked upon Flynn, who looked to be waking up. "Rapunzel?"

The girl gasped. "Eugene!"

He looked relieved to see her and asked trying to tease her. "Did I ever tell you... I got a thing for brunettes?" Rapunzel took the teasing and the two embraced each other, Kairi feeling like she seen enough at work, with only one more thing to do before exploring the worlds, a goodbye.

At Dark Beauty Castle.

Sora fought his way through the warriors of darkness, some had horses while others looked more bestial. Just the visual gave the boy the feeling that what was invading the castle was not something that belong in the dream, even compared to those of the bloats. He skid to a circular room with stained glass windows, the stained glass ceiling was smashed and surrounding him were images that brought depression and fear. One was of Ventus wearing black and red armor, looking completely deranged and wielding a sword that looked to have two keyblades as its hilt and a dark and gold blade. To the left was Aqua falling into an endless void and to the right was not an image of Terra, but an image deeply darkened, as if it was uncertain, but it was that of a white haired man in a lab coat, the man had striking resemblance to Terra and a particular foe Sora had faint memories of. The deep voice taunted again. "Some of the mightiest warriors you have heard of and they all faltered! Fates unknown or a certainty. Only a few ever succeed in their path to glory!"

Step! Step!

Sora noticed something climbing up the stairs and gasped, it looked like a hooded, demonic creature with razor sharp claws, wings, yellow eyes, torn pants and a fanged maw. It's claws looked to be dripping blood and on its right hand was Riku's keyblade. "You're friend has failed and became prey to the darkling's powers! Will they claim you as well?"

The Darkling raised the keyblade in a pose identical to Riku's and caused Sora to form tears, mixed in with anger, he posed for battle and in an instant, the Darkling vanished and appeared to Sora's left. Unleashing a vicious streak of dark attacks, Sora parried, was pushed back and countered with a full frontal charge. Beating the Darkling back and being countered with a swipe to his face that knocked him back, the Darkling flew to the sky and flew down ready to stab at the boy. Sora rolled out of the way and blitz as series of jumping attacks. The two forces pushed each other back and readied another as someone landing in between with his hands facing each of them, Oswald with a paint brush. "Guys stop! This isn't what it looks like!"

Sora and the Darkling stopped in confusion, Oswald aimed his brush at the Darkling's face, squirting blue paint that caused it to try and rub its eyes, he aimed at Sora's face and did the same. The eyes sting and he rubbed, the dark vision gave way to Riku rubbing his eyes and to a figure above, that same demon of shadows with mighty wings looking astonished.

"No, what have you done?!"

Oswald looked up at the demon and aimed his brush. "I made them see things in a new coat of paint. Now give us that tape and scram!"

The demon flew down at Oswald, the rabbit was sent flying to a wall as the fiend revealed more of its true self, an image that to Sora was like that of a recurring nightmare and to Riku was just a nightmare, a demonic humanoid figure of darkness that towered over them. One of skin as black as the dark, a symbol of chaos on its chest and a black blade in its right hand. In its left was the tape labeled Night on Bald Mountain. Sora was realizing what the demon was having him and Riku do to each other, more anger burned with in his heart as Riku tried to keep a brave face, faltering in sheer terror. "A...Another daemon of Chaos?!"

He had his blade ready and charged, the daemon with little effort, swung his shadowy sword and sent Riku towards Oswald. "I am no mere daemon, mortal! I am the First Prince of Chaos! What once was an insect like you, reshaped into their dark glory!"

Sora gasped. "You were once human?!"

He tensed and approached the nightmare, it taunted and aimed his sword at him. "You, all of you are but playthings to the Ruinous Powers. You think yourself a hero? With a mear gesture, you become a slave to you're own nature, the thing you call darkness!" The sword glowed and Sora felt his anger burst uncontrollably, Riku and Oswald came through to watch Sora crouch and become consumed by shadows, resembling a feral humanoid beast that resembles the boy.

Sora pounced at the demon and slashed in a frenzy, the demon laughed in sadistic pleasure and blocked his attacks with his wings. The black blade readied and Riku focused his flow on Sora. PEW!

He vanished and caught him, pulling him out of the way of a slash as Oswald painted something on the ground. Resembling a keyshaped sword. The demon focused on the more defenseless foe as Riku shook Sora. "Snap out of it! This thing is trying to control you."

The blackened form tried to push against his friend and felt a light glowing, it resonated in the fury and was causing the anger to reced, Sora looked to be calming down as Oswald drew enough for the blade to form. He plucked it and aimed at the daemon. "Get outta here! I know how to use this."

The daemon let his blade fade and with a claw, pin the rabbit to a wall, asking him. "Do you? You're heart is shrouded by envy of he who took you're destiny?"

His eyes directed at the boys trying to hold themselves together, Oswald noticed Sora regaining his color and falling on his knees. The rabbit barked back. "Don't give me any of that! You're just a big mook to the darkness yourself, why else would you give everything away to be a monster?"

Choke!

The demon tighten his grip in offense. "And you are just a specter in a make shift world, refusing to pass on. Praying to be remembered, praying that one day, you existence would mean something?" That hit Oswald where it hurt as the demon laughed at his pain. "Do you really believe these two will remember you're kindness? You were so eager to shut them away once they have what they came here for. Why are you so concerned with the realm outside of this prison? It's fate doesn't matter to you."

Sora felt he heard enough as he stood up, aimed his blade and focused a strong light, Riku placed his hand at the hilt of the keyblade and helped him guide the aim. Their hearts shined as one and they focused a beam, the demon felt something burn on his back.

PEW!

The demon tried to turn and felt a beam that pierced its hide, causing it to howl in pain and be sucked into something, a keyhole. It's shadowy essence vacuumed away like dirt and dropping Oswald, he landed in a thump, checked his throat and watched the keyblade of paint disappear. Looking both guilty and embarrassed as Riku helped Sora regain his balance and approached, seeing the rolled movie tape in one piece. "Is... there something you want to talk about?"

Oswald sighed, took the tape and nodded. "It's... complicated, but I never had the chance to take off when I did. That's how I got stuck here in the first place before my brother had the chance to know me." He sniffled. "That thing sure knows how to hurt ya."

Sora and Riku agreed to that, the silver haired boy offered to take the tape in hand as the spiky haired boy wanted to just walk with the rabbit. "That's why we are trying to stop those guys. They are just going to try to hurt more people and even worst."

Oswald sighed and let Riku have the tape. "That's... kind of the last part of the Song of Awakening's trial. Fighting something that is all too happy in seeing the sleeping worlds stay in the dark." He recalled. "Come to think of it, some of the movies stopped working for a long time until around a year ago."

Riku guessed why. "Even existing in a dream and following a pattern pretty alien for us, those worlds were not safe from the Heartless consuming them. But what creature that exists in these worlds... would want that?"

Sora guessed. "Something or someone that is... jealous of the waking world to want to see the dreams destroyed? But who?"

Oswald lead the way to a familiar room and wanted to look away from the grim memories. "There is one way to find out."

At the bottom of a tower.

Kairi felt satisfied with what Rapunzel told her in regards to a goal as Flynn and Maximus waited. "You're finally going back to you're real home and meet you're real parents?"

Rapunzel looked like she had a whole weight off her shoulders and had a new world to explore, still being the excited girl she was. "I know! I mean... I can't believe it!" She cheered. "I can finally be with my real family! I couldn't have done it without you're help."

Kairi giggled to that. "You're welcome."

Flynn had his own praises for both, starting with Rapunzel. "Well, from where I'm standing, the Kingdom couldn't ask for a better princess." He had his own thanks to Kairi. "I couldn't ask for a better sidekick!"

That Kairi was giving back. "I couldn't ask better for a heart that shines like yours."

Flynn appreciated that. "Thanks!"

Rapunzel had her own thanks. "Yeah, thank you so much!"

Kairi felt she seen enough and wished them luck. "I wish you good luck. Flynn, Maximus, are you finally going to keep getting along... or was that a one time thing?"

The man and horse looked at each other with a small dispute. Kairi knew one thing. "I haven't seen the guy controlling those heartless and it seems the forest if feeling better again. But this might be a cycle... Rapunzel, be careful if you find anything weird going on. Flynn, I can trust you to keep her safe if the worst comes. Least until me or my friends can get here."

Flynn assured her proudly. "True, but I'll make sure those vile villains think twice before going near her."

Rapunzel blushed and teased. "Oh, Eugene."

Kairi tilted her head. "Eugene? I heard you say that name before." Flynn had something to confess. "Oh... ha! That's my real name. Eugene Fitzherbert." He was embarrassed. "I...never told you."

Kairi didn't mind that. "I think it is a great name, thanks for continuing to be honest."

Rapunzel wasn't too thrilled by the revealed secret. "Hey! I thought I was the only one you were going to tell."

Eugene whispered to her with a flirt. "Don't worry. I saved plenty of Fitzherbert-y secrets just for you."

Rapunzel asked charmed. "Really?"

Kairi squinted her eyes with some ideas. "What are you two talking about? Flirts?"

The couple looked at her in shock, Eugene blushed red to say it was as Rapunzel giggled, saying in unison. "Nothing!"

Kairi shrugged to that. "Keeping things a secret again? Alright." She turned to take her leave. "Maximus, make sure he doesn't try hiding things again!"

She walked off as the horse gave him a hawks stair, Eugene was licked in the ear by a chameleon and felt a wet willy. "EEGH! You got to be kidding me." Kairi giggled and walked off into the forest, for a good opportunity to disappear into a purple interior gummy ship.

She took out her phone to see if Sora and Riku were currently busy. Finding they still were as a certain rival of hers posted a picture of a familiar gun like keyblade. A text asked. "Guess who got an upgrade?"

Kairi wasn't amused and texted Ken as she recognized the background. "You're back in Traverse, did you finally take care of that issue you were having?"

She was given an emoji that had a wide smile and text. "And some buddies of mine are heading back to the garden to handle something. The Farseer is gone, but I'm a complete jerk if I ditch everyone with all the crazy stuff going on."

Kairi cringed, imagined more chaotic things in the future and snapped her fingers. "I found out a pretty sweet technique if you want to be the first to see it."

Her rival texted an emoji question mark, an emoji with an exclamation mark and an answer. "A showdown by the bell? I managed to keep ahead of some guys that can blink all over the place with how I been doing, you got anything that can keep up?"

Kairi remembered the rivals strategy and promised him. "Let's see if I can and anywhere would do." An emoji with crossing blades flashed. "I'll be waiting."