Of Keys and Hammers

by zcritic88

In a realm beyond, the Four Chaos has taken notice of a realm tied close to the heart. They squirmed into the darkness and sought to corrupt if to reach a prize beyond the light. Will the Light of Order, be able to repel this ancient evil?

29. Silly Old Key

During a bright morning in Radiant Garden, Sora was in an cheerful mood and greeting the rising sun. "*Yawn!* Hello, new day!" Tap! Tap. "You are awake this soon? I thought yesterday tired you out?"

The boy turned around to find Riku and had an even more chipper smile. "Can't let that hold us down."

Riku noticed Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Chip and Dale approaching. "Remember, we are not exactly on a break. We need to find more clues about Ahriman before he starts something up... he is one powerful sorcerer." Dale noticed Sora and scurried to him. "Morning Sora, morning Riku." Sora greeted the morning. "Morning Dale, what's up?"

The chipmunk answered as his twin followed. "We got a message from Merlin before he took off," Chip waved good morning. "Morning guys."

Sora gave him a morning back. "Does Merlin need us for something?"

The chipmunk nodded. "Yep, I think it's got something to do with some kind of book. He said he'll set up a breakfast meeting while he waits for y'all." Dale asked his twin. "A breakfast meeting? Where?" Chip gasped. "Oh, no! He said breakfast meeting, but he didn't say where." Dale was dumbfounded. "Do you mean he left before you could find out?" Chip answered nervously. "He is a tough wizard to pin down."

Sora felt he got the message. "But where could he be having that?" Donald answered confused. "I don't know." Goofy snapped his fingers to an answer. "Say, if you were going to have a breakfast meeting that important, wouldn't you want to have it at the best restaurant you could find?"

Sora blinked. "But where?" Riku felt a ding in his brain. "That bistro that opened up in Twilight Town?" Donald remembered the name. "Little Chef's Bistro, I think I saw someone I knew there." Mickey remembered more vividly. "Scrooge Mc Duck? What is he up to this time?" Riku wondered as well. "If we are going there, it's a perfect town to get out of here and find some clues about Resira, the only reason her... memorial wasn't made is because she could still be alive." Mickey understood. "And I need to let Yen Sid know that the Chaos Space Marines are gone and that Aqua is back." He looked around. "Speaking of which, where are the others?"

Sora wanted to know and noticed a familiar, red haired girl entering the district and stretching to greet the sun, she had a sleeveless pink dress with black highlights, shorter hair, a set of purple gloves and purple boots with white highlights. "K...Kairi?!" The girl turned towards him and approached with her hands behind her back. "Mmm. Morning everyone. Did you all sleep well?"

They let her know she did as Sora was blushing. "We...we have a meeting to go to. Kairi... you look... different." Kairi knew she had him, hook line and sinker. "Thank you, what else is going on today?" Riku explained with an eye for taste. "It's like he said, we got invited to a break fast meeting in Twilight Town, do you want to come along? It's a train away." Kairi wished she could and cringed. "Eh, I can't. It's my first day of training and no teacher wants that as a first impression."

The group remembered and Sora whined. "Aw." Goofy and Donald snickered as Mickey didn't mind. "It's very important to learn how to use the keyblade, it took everyone to make today happen and we could have another disaster like yesterday happen again in the future." Kairi agreed with that and nearly flexed. "That's why I want to be ready."

Thump! Thump! Thump! Kairi turned around to find a frantic blonde boy, chewing and swallowing something. "*Gulp!* Don't want to be-" He looked around to find no sign of Aqua, yet a familiar Stormcast flying from the garden was a sign that the time was coming. "*Phew.* I'm not late." He yawned and was in a brown shirt that covered part of his cybernetic arm, he noticed Kairi's new attire and was wide eyed. "Wow, someone is ready."

Chip and Dale lead the way to the train as Mickey lead the way. "Well, come on fellas. We don't want to be late." The group followed as Riku tugged a distracted Sora into following. "Come on, they have their own thing to do while we got ours." Sora did so and followed, realizing what he did in front of Kairi and keeping silent.

Leaving the students by their lonesome as Ken looked at Kairi with a smirk and half dropped eyes. "You totally got him." Kairi flushed to the boy in embarrassment. "Ken did anyone tell you that there are things you shouldn't say to a lady?" Ken laughed about that. "Oh come on, you know you didn't forget what happened back at Tra-" Kairi growled. "Alright, if you kept that under control, then you can keep this one a secret." Ken vowed. "By the storm, flame and light, I won't tell because it's only a matter of time until people can freely talk about it." Kairi's blush was crimson. "I hope it happens soon."

Flap! Flap! Thud!

Anatesis landed to greet the morning. "Morning, what are you talking about?" Kairi answered the armored angel. "Nothing important." Ken answered with her. "Just wishing her good luck about something." He looked upon his pocket with a phone for a scheme as Ana warned them. "Ya can keep that to yourselves while the lesson starts. What do you think this one is going to be about?"

Kairi was just as lost. "She only saw Ken fight and that shouldn't count." The boy agreed with that. "There was a reason I was disarmed. Wait a minute..." Ken thought as a dracoth entered the district with a blue haired woman that looked energized to seeing two ready students. "That's the lesson, seeing us fight and telling us what we are doing wrong." Kairi yelped and realized. "You might be right."

The rivals looked concerned about hurting each other as Aqua felt refreshed to be in a familiar town. "Morning Kairi, morning Ken, morning Ana." The teenage students took a bow of good morning. "Good morning Master Aqua." "Good morning Miss Aqua." Anatesis pressed her hand on her chest. "Good morning Lady Aqua." The titles of different words, yet similar meetings felt respectful as Aqua took out her keyblade and got started. "Bright and early? Excellent."

She went to a wall with Anatesis and asked the teenagers. "As you know, we all have a keyblade and use them as a part of ourselves when we battle. But we also have a different style, for example." She pointed to Anatesis. "Ana might be less experienced with a keyblade, but she has much more experience with a weapon, uses her force and speed to rush at the enemy and from what I heard, uses her power with the blade to bring down a storm. Ana."

The Stormcast nodded, readied her two handed blade and flew to the center in a speed of light, hammer first. She flew herself high into the air to form into a storm cloud and struck down like lightning, the mortals felt their hair standing as Moonfang nodded with approval. Ken and Kairi clapped in unison as Aqua asked them. "Before I show you mine, I wish to see how you two battle. Have you both grown accustomed already?" Kairi nodded and went to the left side of the arena as Ken went to the right. Anatesis left the arena to watch and realized. "You two young uns are rivals?"

Ken laughed and readied his blades, his gun like keyblade forming in his cybernetic hand and his burning blade in another. He posed with his gun more focused and kept his burning blade relaxing, Kairi's stance was a bit more two handed, she readied herself against a more confident foe and frowned fiercely. She skid to the right in the speed of light and dodged a first shot, dashing with a glow of light towards the boy that shot himself in the air with wind magic and charged a shot. Kairi jumped out of the way and after him with wings of light, reaching into close combat and letting loose. Ken parried with his burning blade, let it spark and back flipped an upper swing. Kairi fell to the ground and landed as Ken went to shooting once more, Kairi rolled to the left and launched herself at the boy like a torpedo of feathery light. The boy jumped back to the left and was knocked back by stars that shot out from the torpedo's burst. Ken looked slightly surprised, shot himself to the right and readied to fire. Kairi flung a flower of light at his direction and watched the boy fling right behind her. PEW! PEW!

She felt a sting and watched her attack miss, she back flipped right behind Ken, caused him to have to turn and adjust himself. Pow! The boy spun back and glowed in flame, tossing a quick fire ball that knocked the girl backward. Both gave a fierce aura as Aqua called a time out and was impressed. "Similar and... different."

The rivals sweated as Aqua summarized the princess's style. "Kairi, you're attacking close and aggressive while always on the move. Making use of the powers of light for most of your attacks." Kairi felt it was accurate as the teacher moved on to the boy. "And you Ken, you're first action in battle is to shoot as much as you can and keep yourself out of danger's reach. You move fast for a different reason to Kairi's and if someone does get close, you have ways to escape and do it all over again." Ken smiled proudly as Aqua thought about it. "And neither of you let loose yet." Kairi cringed. "That's the thing, someone can get hurt if we do." Ken agreed with that. "You don't play with fire." Aqua looked at the town and agreed. "Not now, especially when it is rebuilding. Anatesis? Would you mind helping me demonstrate something."

The Stormcast didn't and went to the center. Aqua had her students step to the side and asked. "It would normally be unwise for a teacher to demonstrate using a student unless it is for discipline." She smiled with apologies as Kairi understood. "Ana... is a different case from both of us." Ken agreed with that. "She is strong even without a keyblade. You're not fighting her because she did anything." Kairi nodded. "You are fighting her because she is the only one of us that can keep up right now." Anatesis nodded and took flight as Aqua approached her. "I can take this..." Aqua raised two fingers in each hand to help Ana quote. "punishment."

She readied for battle as Aqua drew out her keyblade to instruct. "I won't do that, though I will do what is needed if one of you... if..." She realized she nearly singled Ken out, the boy sighed and understood. "Kairi isn't the problem, she doesn't have darkness in her. Me along with nearly everyone else not a princess of heart has that problem though. Then there is Ana who is a Stormcast, darkness isn't a problem for her either." Aqua watched her student feel like the needle in the hay stack and apologized to him. "I shouldn't have brought it up. You both seen enough of that to understand what is the problem."

They certainly do as Ken answered. "People mess with darkness and it is why problems come, or people who are nothing but dark go out of control." He shivered as Aqua stood for battle and knew how to lift his spirits. "That is why you are smart to never follow that path. Ana, shall we?" The Stormcast nodded as the keyblade master formed a barrier. Ana took flight and charged after Aqua, who flipped out of the way, performed quick attacks that were complimented by lightning spells and dodged a spin of the hammer. Anatesis swung low, Aqua flipped to the Stormcasts side and burst into lightning, attacking along side electrical attacks and aiming an orb of lightning. BOOM! Ana felt that as Kairi and Ken put together what their teacher's specialization is, the Stormcast flew back to the center, crackled her keyblade and flung it at Aqua, the teacher dashed close to dodge a shock wave, glowed in magical power and attacked the Stormcast with close range barriers and boomerang like attacks. Ana focused on her blade and formed it back into her hand to parry, the two landed and the demonstration ended.

Kairi said it first. "You use magic in your attacks. Nearly all of them once you get started, is magic in some way." Ken was amazed. "And... that was just the basic? There really is only one way to know how strong someone is." Aqua agreed to that. "You need to feel the power before you, before you try thinking of a way to defeat it. It's a bit of common sense to just look at someone and tell." Ana agreed with that. "Like a big Orruk and his Mawcrusha, they look big, strong and ferocious... and they are." Kairi had a flash back of two metallic monsters and asked the teacher. "Or if the opponent is coming at you and you have no way to avoid anything they have besides just... running. Sometimes it is a good idea to know when a fight isn't worth it?"

Aqua nodded. "Exactly, but they are not always obvious. Take for example... Mickey." The teenagers took the knowledge, the boy asked. "Someone that is nice but can knock you down before you get to say something. Or some of those grots at the vale, the Scuttleboss and shaman look puny... but they know not to fight alone and those spiders just need to bite you once to really hurt you." Anatesis sweated to that. "Power isn't just strength, its how it is used." The sun risen high and Aqua felt satisfied with the impression she and her students made to each other. "At noon, we will go to the canyon to practice some of our more dangerous combinations." She smiled to all of them. "Well done."

The proud students took it well as Kairi spoke of unfortunate news. "You missed Sora and the others just now, so it is just us and the town waking up. What do you want to do Master?" Aqua tried to think about it. "It is just rebuilding so-" Tink! Woosh! Ken wedged his burning keyblade by a bench and warmed up to the fire. "We can tell each other stories to past the time? Miss, the realms you been to sound fun... would you tell us more?"

Aqua felt two clashing forces with in her heart as Kairi was interested as well. "We know you didn't stay in one realm, but there has to be more in those realms we wouldn't ever see." Aqua sat to the middle and invited Kairi. "Alright, you are right that I didn't stay in one place. But there was one of the realms that... can open a new perspective. What it takes to survive."

Ana leaned on a wall and asked. "Ghur? That's a lesson everyone has to learn in that realm, be it Orruk, Human or otherwise." Aqua tapped her head. "Like why the settlement I landed in is protected in a dome, that realm isn't like most of the others, it is one the Forces of Destruction make home. It has beasts the size of-"

In Twilight Town.

Rumble! Sora, Donald, Goofy and Riku listened to a hole in their stomach and saw a closed sign on a bistro. Mickey returned from the store and gave ill news. "The chef disappeared from a trip into the forest. Do you think he ran into trouble?" Sora, Donald and Goofy guessed so and looked to the north, the spikey haired boy sighed. "And Merlin is trying to keep a spot in the line. Fine, we'll look for him." He took off to a familiar direction and left Riku behind to ask the mouse. "Always more, but we could use something like this after yesterday. The eight realms... it keeps sounding weirder and weirder. The place Wanda and the others came from. The place Aqua traveled through." Mickey agreed and felt like things were a dream. "It's almost too out there to be true, but... ha, ha." Riku agreed back. "It would be like if you traveled here for the first time in forever." Rumble! The teenager was feeling impatient over the detour and hoped the breakfast conflict is resolved.

In forest past a water way.

Sora, Goofy and Donald stepped off to find a trial leading to a trial of kiwis, oranges, apples, pears, lemons and grapefruits, scattered around and leading to a tree that had a branch cornered by a swarm of monkey heartless. Sora asked, too hungry to think. "What do you think they're up to?"

Goofy squinted his eyes to find a rat on the branch. "Look! On that branch. The heartless have him surrounded!" Sora gasped. "Oh no!" Donald readied himself. "Let's help!" Sora agreed as he and his friends drew their weapons, the monkey like heartless jumped down from the trees and revealing a swarm of eight. The monkeys were annoying in throwing rocks at the trio and scattering to where they had difficulty taking them out quickly. Rumble!

Though the monkey like heartless were otherwise easy to deal with, as the last heart was released, the grey rat scurried down. Revealing a pink nose, pink ears, pink paws and a pink tail, he looked up to the trio in thanks, Sora waved goodbye, thinking none the wiser. "Well, take care." The trio journeyed off down the path to the mansion, not even a minute past and Sora felt something crawling on his back and parts of his spiky hair was pulled. Sora felt himself spin and was drawn to the fruit against his will. "Wooaaah! What is-" Goofy and Donald turned around to find their friend acting weird, the duck asked. "Are you okay?"

A piece of the boys hair tugged, he went for the an apple with his right hand and was coming to conclusions that he was going insane. Goofy noticed the rat on the boys head. "Lookie! That little feller's parked on your head." Sora was forced to turn around and asked. "Huuuh?" Tug! Sora felt his left hand reaching for another and yelled to the rat. "Would you cut that-" He picked up another apple as Donald quacked. "Sora, you've been hijacked." Goofy realized. "Ya know, maybe he wants you to pick up the fruit for him."

The rat nodded to the duo and Sora whined. "Okay, that's fine. But I can do this by myself." The rat let go and jumped onto the boys right hand, right on top of the apple, the boy asked. "I just need to collect the fruit?" Sora turned to the pile of fruit and was near to laughing in his own predicament. "Right then." It wasn't too long of an ordeal, they gathered the fruit and put it on the pile, the rat looked upon the pile and turned to the group with a thankful smile, the trio lowered themselves and Sora asked. "So what are you going to do with all this, anyway?"

The rat looked like he was imitating chopping something and spreading it, the trio had no understanding and the rat lowered his ears and looked to be frowning. Sora raised himself up and felt a deed for the day was done. "Well, okay. You better get going home." Donald gave his goodbyes. "Bye-bye." Goofy gave his. "See ya' around!" On the way to the manor to find the missing chef, Sora nearly went into a laugh. "Ha! It's been a while since we been through something like that." Donald agreed with that and saw the gate wide open, with a door being left open. "Wa-" The trio noticed and had an aching suspicion and Sora looked up to the doorway's gate, like there was more to the place than he would admit. "What do you think? Did our chef come here?"

Goofy doubted that. "I don't know, this place is normally empty and it feels a bit... haunted." Donald shivered and was weirded out as Sora looked at a blowing, white drape on a window. Something didn't feel right. "But... someone came here... who-" A tap on his shoulder and a boy's shoulder. "Hey there!" Sora cringe, yelped and pushed the hand away, turning to meet a boy with dark, blonde messy hair, brown eyes, a red vest, a white undershirt and a pair of dark blue pants, by him was a brown hair boy with a bandanna, brown eyes, a dog themed t shirt and a black pair of pants and a brown haired girl with two dangling strips of hair, green eyes, a sleeveless black shirt and red pants with white and blue stripes.

Donald and Goofy yelled out in shock as Sora yelled to the trio of teenagers. "Thanks for the heart attack!" The dark blonde boy asked cocky. "Oh, what? Did I scare you?" Donald lost his temper and answered. "Not a chance, Hayner!"

The girl apologized for the sudden arrival. "Our bad." Sora watched Donald fold his arms and asked. "S..So, Olette, Pence, what were you doing here?" The boy with the dog t shirt answered a bit tired. "Work, we were asking the town about the missing chef of the bistro. You were waiting like everyone else?" Sora nodded to Pence as Hayner had half pleasant news. "We ran into him on our way here and he told us some people were wandering to this abandoned house."

He looked up to the house as Olette wondered. "This was a mystery ever since yesterday when... we saw the sky burst into flickering stars. Someone went into this house and never came out." Sora, Donald and Goofy wished to forget about that as Hayner described the unknown. "A explosion in the sky scared nearly everyone, even Seifer was running. But then those stars flickered and things felt...normal. That was when someone came wandering here to find foot prints and that door opened. Hmm." He knew the talk was bothering the trio and changed the subject. "But you're not going to find anything in there besides the computer room. We should get back to town." The trio appreciated it as Olette wished to ask. "So kind of adventure are you three in this time?" The trio were too hungry to answer, they followed the group of friends back to the town.

At a bench in Radiant Garden.

Aqua finished her story. "Then I jumped up the eye hole and was in Ghyran." Anatesis's jaw dropped as the teenagers were speechless, the Stormcast asked. "You got Gordrakk to respect you. That... isn't easy." Kairi appreciated that a heartless like the Destroyer Dragon would never show its face around the worlds. "The whole realm sounded like a crazy ride." She sighed. "It's sad about the Deepkin though." Ana agreed with that. "They are good allies of the Stormcast, but remember, they do horrible things like raid villages and steal souls to survive. Don't be afraid to fight back against them," She frowned to more of the story. "And that man really needs to stop putting the tools of darkness in the hands of those crazy or stupid enough to fool around with it. The moonclan grots are dangerous enough."

Ken agreed with that. "Raknab got what was coming to him... it... feels wrong wanting to laugh at that." Aqua nodded and remembered the taste of squig. "All that man does is destroy lives and those grots are more victims... even if they did finished Raknab and are probably better now that they kicked the darkness out of the mountain." She shook off the memory and warned her students. "You three have a lot to learn before you are even close to ready to confront him." Ken stood up to the fire and gaze deeper in as Kairi understood perfectly. "Sora beaten him twice already, with all of us ready, Xehanort won't stand a chance." Anatesis warned the girl. "Parts of him were beaten and it sounds like that man is more of a planner than some dime a dozen overlord. Lady, Aqua, when's noon?"

Ken took out his gummi phone and answered. "In three more hours." He was nearly weirded out. "Things feel... normal around here. Am I the only one having that, itch?" Kairi folded her arms and answered. "The people that tried to kill you are gone and most of the issues from that galaxy is dealt with. But-" She admitted. "With a whole week of that war, a town back to normal feels... good." Ken agreed to that. "I like it as well, I guess the feeling we have before leaves the itch behind and we are... trying to use to it." Aqua spaced out and felt the itch of her own. "But it won't last long. Kairi, Kendry, is there nothing else for you to do here?"

Kairi shrugged. "I don't live here anymore." Ken bluntly answered. "I got some Star Wars movies that might be... nice for us all to watch. Hmm." The teacher refused the unspoken request. "Kendry, we can't go wander off into another world yet. Not until we know whats out there." The boy sat down disappointed and placed his hands to the fire. "I know." Anatesis felt the bored itch and thought to lighten the mood. "I got a few old stories to share about my fellow Stormcasts back home. Maybe that will help while we wait it out." The three were listening, Aqua asked. "What's the rivalry you and Loru had with each other? He seems like a good person and a good warrior along with Nightscale."

Ana agreed with that and tightened her grip. "He is, he IS one of the best we have and he is a figure head for most of us. He also has the idea of picking out those he thinks can do better than they are and push them. That's why he always gets under my skin and Nightscale is a beauty." The teenagers wanted to know who Nightscale is and Ana started. "Moonfang is my trusted companion I befriended a week ago, but she is a Dracoth. A powerful creature, but compared to a Star Drake. Only those who completed the Trial of Starwalking can ever hope to bond with either, but the Star Drake requires much more. Finding the rare solar gems and using it to find and bond with a Star Drake is another adventure."

Kairi asked with the mental image. "You are connecting with a dragon. You're problem with Loru, however is that... he earned that and he is using himself as an example for you." Anatesis nodded and wanted to yell to the sky. "He still got the last laugh in the end, but a lot of us would thank him later. He is a Drakesworn Templar as well, both he and Nightscale are fierce in combat, so any big talk he might have in battle-" Aqua remembered with a fierce memory. "He can support it, greatly. What other members of the Stormcast are there?" Ana had a list. "Well if ya get confused, you can ask as I list them. There is the humble liberators that you find as a rank and file-"

At Twilight Town's Bistro.

Order was restored to the restaurant and the group were out in a wide table enjoying some amazing crepes. Hayner was shocked by the details Riku gave to him. "Woah, woah. Chaos Space Marines? Like the guys that were watching over us," Pence felt more disturbed. "Were trying to attack everything?!" Olette realized. "And a Sorcerer that was working with them went into hiding rather than let himself be kicked out? Could he be who sneaked into the mansion?"

Riku answered with suspicion. "He might." Sora felt his brain working properly and lowered his voice. "You know that mansion is spookier than it looks." Hayne felt the connection. "That computer room and the other Twilight Town." Donald gasped. "That corridor was still open?!" Riku stilled and felt the puzzle was making sense. "Someone sneaked into the mansion with that knowledge and used the computer room to sneak into... that world. But... how would Ahriman know of all that?"

That was the mystery as Merlin was enjoying a cup of tea. Sip! "Hmm, Ahriman isn't a sorcerer from these parts... but there isn't a particular magic that would let someone read minds." Donald tapped his foot as Goofy asked. "Is it because of where his magic comes from?" Riku found the question believable and tapped his finger at the table. "Magic that messes with your head... or... psonics?" Donald gasped and answered. "They are alike... so," Riku nodded and realized. "Is that how he read me? Wow, he shouldn't be allowed to roam free."

Mickey agreed with that. "But what could he want from going into that world?" Sora felt something in his mind and heart answering, he spoke it out. "Info about... nobodies?! But how do they have anything to do with... with," Mickey felt that was the point. "They wouldn't... hmm." Riku felt the most confused and warned the three teenagers. "If you see an armored guy in red robes, steer clear of him. That's Ahriman and he is one of the worst kind of dangers we are dealing with right now."

Pence nodded to that. "Someone who is doing something we don't even know and we don't know why." Riku frowned and found his plate empty. "And you don't want to know the kind of people he works with. It's why some of our friends have been strict about keeping you from running into the wrong person." The teenagers understood as the breakfast meeting concluded.

Merlin sipped and asked. "Now... what brought us all the way out here?" Sora realized the wizard might have forgotten and stood up with Goofy and Donald. "But... Merlin, I thought you asked us to stop by." Merlin tried to remember. "Gracious, did I?" Sora nodded as Goofy asked. "Didn't ya leave a message for Chip and Dale?" Donald continued. "About a book?" The memory came to Merlin. "Ah! Yes, the book! That's right." He stood up to his purple bag, tapped a metal lid keeping it close with his wand and opened it, a large orange book with a golden closing pin hovered out, catching the interest of the group. It showed the image of a yellow bear with a red shirt, sitting on a fallen tree by himself and watching a night sky, Sora held the book with both hands and asked. "Hey this is..." Donald noticed something particularly wrong. "Sora's not on it." Goofy asked. "Did something happen?"

Merlin answered and addressed the issue to Sora. "Well, that's what you need to find out, lad." The bystanders wanted to know what was special about the book as Sora gave Donald the book and let him face it towards him. The boy smiled to the others awkwardly, like he knew it was silly. "I'll see you in a bit." Goofy gave a farewell and felt it was better if others saw. "Take care." Merlin spoke with a feeling he had a bit to explain. "Yes and good luck."

Sora aimed his keyblade at the book, glowed in light and as that energy, flew into the book. When the light vanished, he was in a vibrant forest of a hundred acres and felt nothing was out of place. "Hmm." He noticed a tree in the distance that had a door, a fence, several gardens of different labels of plants and vegetables. By the door with many pots with labels, was a yellow bear in a red shirt, lost in a thought with a small piglet standing up. The bear sighed. "Oh bother. Think, think, think..." Sora cheered to great a friend he remembered. "Pooh Bear!"

The piglet noticed the boy and watched him approach, Sora asked thinking about the image. "You okay?" Pooh was out of his thought and answered. "Oh, hello there Sora. Hmmhm." He got up to continue. "You're home." Sora felt it was weird greeting and lowered himself. "Uh-huh. Good to see you, Pooh." He looked at the piglet. "And you too Piglet." Piglet greeted him back. "Hello! Ha." He asked the two and looked around. "You're not in trouble? But I thought something odd must have been going on." Piglet looked at Pooh worried, the bear answered. "Hmm, let me see... I don't remember anything oddish, but perhaps I've forgotten. Mhmm." Pooh tabbed his head. "Think, think, think."

Sora raised himself up and heard a frantic voice answer. "Oh we got trouble alright!" Sora turned around to find a yellow rabbit with white underfur as Pooh was struggling to think. "Oh bother." The rabbit approached as Piglet asked. "Would that be the Rabbit sort of trouble?" Rabbit folded his arms in a scolding, to him it wasn't a time for jokes, Piglet felt the scolding and stuttered. "S-s-s-sorry, please continue."

Sora laughed at the small scale antics and heard a child yell out. "Sora!" He and the group turned to the entrance to a garden and found a plush purple elephant. Sora didn't remember the new arrival. "Wow! Who's this?" He noticed something riding on top of the elephants back,a young kangaroo in a blue shirt that jumped on top of the elephants head and slid down its trunk. He introduced Sora to the elephant. "It's okay, he's my friend."

Sora approached, lowered himself and introduced himself to the new face. "Hi, I'm Sora." The elephant carelessly introduced himself. "And I'm Lumpy! It's nice to meet you!" Lumpy broke into a small, playful dance that caused tremors, he doesn't know his own weight and caused a hole to rupture, a grey gopher popped out from the whole and complained in a whistle. "Sufferin' sassafras! Stomp a little louder, why don't ya?"

Lumpy and Roo looked regretful about what they did, the elephant looked more ashamed. "Oh! Gopher, I'm sorry." Piglet didn't mind the stomping. "Ha, ha! I kind of liked it when the ground gets bouncy." Gopher turned to Piglet with an acceptance. "Well, I suppose if something has to bounce..." He and Piglet noticed something coming, Gopher warned in a whistle. "Speaking of..."

Boing! Boing!

The group heard springing and Sora turned around, he was pounced to the ground by a friendly looking tiger that was bouncing on his tail. Thud! "Woah!" Sora rolled backwards into the dirt and landed, the tiger looked down upon him and asked. "Back for some more bouncin', Sora?" The boy laughed at the fun. "Ha! Tigger!" Tigger jumped off and invited. "C'mon, let's go! You too Roo!"

Roo and Lumpy joined in a series of hops that caused the smaller people to nearly loose balance and left Pooh in his thoughts. "Think, think, think." He remembered. "Oh, I remember now. Rabbit's trouble is harvest related." Rabbit appreciated a moment from an unusual source. "Well, thank you for remembering my plight, Pooh. Better late than never." He focused on the group goofing off. "Excuse me!" The group goofing off didn't hear him and he approached. "Would anyone else care to remember why we are here?"

The group stopped and honestly forgot, Pooh answered for them. "As I recall, we came to help you with your garden Rabbit." He smacked his lips. "After which, perhaps, you'll invite us in for a smackeral or two of honey?" Rabbit answered. "Correct." He realized he wasn't listening to the last part and turned around to correct that. "No, no! I mean, we'll see about that, Pooh." He asked. "Now, the garden if you please?" Rabbit asked the boy. "You can help too Sora." Sora realized he was dragged into community service. "What? Me too?" The group went into various places in the garden, Tigger bounced to a garden with vegetables. "Let's get started by sorting these out, we can get to the fun part sooner."

Outside the book.

Hayner was weirded out by the sight. "So Sora just... went into another world?" Donald and Goofy nodded as Merlin answered. "This is a very special world that I keep safe with me. Sora and Pooh seem to be good friends." Goofy promised the bystanders. "We will keep it safe while you all finish your business."

Hayner was ready to take that offer as Riku asked him, Pence and Olette. "In the mean time, I was searching for something or someone and you three might be of a help. You're majesty, I got it from here." Mickey appreciated it and let him know. "I'll be back in a few."

He took off as Pence asked the silver haired teenager. "There might be something here we were trying to figure out. A day ago, we found some white things acting... strange and they showed up again early in the morning." Riku asked confusingly. "Nobodies?! Is someone provoking them?" Pence knew that was the case. "They didn't attack anyone, but no one wants to get in their way. Every time by the clock tower, they gather there for something and... vanish."

Olette shivered. "It could get weird and dangerous if no one checks it out." Riku looked at the clock tower and understood with a faint hope. "Someone I knew became lost to darkness recently. I think I know who might be stirring things up. Consider this investigation started." He walked off the the clock tower. "Thanks for helping us guys."

He left the three who knew someone was awaiting them in the bistro, Olette was the first to go see. "Let's see what more Mr. Duck wants from us." Donald remembered the last name. "Huh?"

At the outskirts of Radiant Garden.

Aqua looked impressed by the vast descriptions Anatesis gave. "A Chamber for each category of Stormcast Eternal. Strike Command, Strike Troop, Extremis, Vanguard and Sacrosanct." Kairi remembered a few people from Ana's story and asked. "So Arreia is part of the Sacrosanct chamber while those of the knights are part of the Strike Command...hmm." Ken nodded as he noticed ruins down the stairs. "With Loru being in one of the highest positions in the Extremis Chamber, it's no wonder he been someone who gets under your skin Ana." The Stormcast agreed with him as Moonfang ran ahead to the tile. "It's kind of like what the four of us are." Kairi nodded to that. "We are all pretty different as a group. Master Aqua is well... our aster. You are someone who has been to a lot of battles while Ken and I are learning them." Ken divided the two regular students. "One is a mix of two good things that go together, well I seen it. Then there is the other who kind of specializes in one thing well."

Aqua nodded and found a good comparison. "It's like a retributor and a decimator, one of them can hurt a standard warrior with their hammers because of the sheer blunt, the other can hurt those who use numbers over everything else because axes cleave."

The teenagers nodded and took that information in as the ruins looked pleasant for another training session. They reached the place and Aqua turned to her younger students. "We still have a couple hours before we can get started, but we can't just stay in that town for long." Ana and Moonfang kept watch. "It's away from the Claymore to do its thing, but I don't think any heartless would come squirming around. If they do, they will be put out of their misery soon enough." The Keyblade Master thanked the Stormcast and watched the teenagers explore the ruins. Ken felt a few good memories. "I like coming out here away from the town, there is normally some treasures people overlook and it can fetch some munny."

Ana sensed the hints of a treasure hunter and advised against that. "And you are thinking that after an attack from the Forces of Chaos?" Ken shook his head. "By look you mean look for items that belonged to those guys and smash them, yeah. One guy made contact with a daemon and he went from... awful to causing the end of the world." Kairi heeded against even that. "We can do that later because you don't need to have darkness inside you for that to mess with your head." Aqua tensed at the thought. "And it would be smart to not search for things you don't know are there. At least... not without more friends around."

The princess agreed to that. "Something could have been left behind and someone might end up picking it up by accident." She blew to the wind and had a dreadful thought as Ana looked around the ruins. "And it might end up causing something like that war to happen again. Lady Aqua, permission to do a search?" Aqua nodded and ordered. "You can search and bring them into a pile, then we need to find a way to dispose of it safely."

She looked around with signs of nothing of notice as Ken went to explore a rock. "I pick a lot of stuff up when I shouldn't, you got to look in all the corners." Moonfang lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed to try and catch a scent as Kairi searched on the other side of the arena for anything of noticed. Ana smiled to the Keyblade Master and was given a smile back.

At the Hundred Acre Wood.

Sora knocked a bunch of onions into a pile to pick up as Tigger jumped into the garden patch and plucked a suave of carrots into a basket, finishing a bountiful harvest and for Rabbit to carry the baskets with them among the many other vegetables. He placed the onions away and looked upon the carrots. "What a harvest." Piglett agreed to that. "Thanks to Sora's and Tigger's help."

Rabbit turned towards the rather sweaty teenager that looked pleased by the hard work. "Yes, quite right. Thank you, Sora." He noticed Tigger bouncing all over and laughing. "Ho, ho, ho, ho! Well, how's about a little bouncin'?" Rabbit put the carrots down and scolded. "Oh, no, no, no! There's no bouncing in farm work!" Roo whined in disappointment. "Aww, no bouncin at all?" Lumpy joined in the childish complaint. "I want to bounce."

Gopher whistled with a head ache. "Whippersnappers and their bouncing..." Piglett laughed with him as Pooh ashed Rabbit. "Excuse me, Rabbit. The carrots are nice, but might you have some honey to go with them?" Rabbit answered with an attempt to get things under control. "Now is not the time, Pooh. If I give you honey here, I'll end up with a bear stuck in my front door, again." Sora looked around to find nothing else of note and tried to leave. "Well, looks like you're problem's solved. Guess I'll be on my way." Rabbit tried to stop him, for there is more than one kind of crop in the garden. "Solved? Oh, it's far from solved. We still need to harvest the fruit!"

Sora felt his sweat warning him of more work as Pooh asked. "Won't you stay, Sora, for the sake of honey?" The boy lowered himself and answered. "Uh...okay!" Rabbit, Roo and Lumpy went towards the pathway behind the house, leading to an orchard, the boy appreciated on thing about this, he doesn't have to dive into the dirt.

With in a black and white castle.

Ahriman held onto a black hooded jacket as he listened to what Maleficent said. "So those planets are really another reality of their own, each confided into its own settlement or kingdom? That would explain why there was nothing else for miles in that one... world." Maleficent agreed with that and was suspicious of the Sorcerer's plan. "Indeed, it is why this world, so close to the darkness, is in a more bleak state outside of the city or castle. How do you intend to study that which does not exist?"

Ahriman used a force of will and opened a corridor. "By tracing the steps of those who came before and see what knowledge they have to provide. The data with in the castle would be deciphered once the Tzaangor gather all they can. But I suspect a place more strange that would provide for more."

Maleficent raised an eyebrow amused. "That place came to your mind because that foolish boy thought to confront you and opened his mind like a book?" Ahriman chuckled in agreement. "I read enough about him to know the places he been to, to a point before he battled me. It all lead to him in a castle with many secrets and a...hmm, interesting concept. What can be done for one who's existence is an illusion and has nothing else? If I can unlock that secret-" He approached the corridor as Maleficent was amused. "Such a miserable state, you think you can change that towards you're benefit?"

Ahriman raised a finger. "It will open many doors Maleficent. The universe rewards those who are willing to travel them all. I'll be back with the rewarding fruit."

He stepped into the darkness alone and went down a long road, appearing on the other side and seeing a cragged road leaning towards the a cloudy abyss. A castle most distorted and with structures that make no sense brought a near childish excitement to the Sorcerer. "A Castle that leads to Oblivion. This lead to a new beginning for that boy?"

He strolled to the front gate and opened the door to find a still, white hall way that leads to a door. Ahriman scoffed and approached the center, he stood to the side and tapped it with his staff, causing it to break apart and spin away into a black hole. The Sorcerer jumped down, finding the darkness to shift into a battlefield. In a world full of tall, pyramid like buildings, they were on fire and under siege by a legion of space marines with greyish blue armor, orange beards and an insignias resembling wolves. A legion of red armored space marines fired against them in a losing battle. Ahriman held his head in a bitter memory. "It's just an illusion. It's just an illusion."

He glowed and fell deep into the battle, he felt himself resembling a red sorcerer with less horns, a white, scarab themed robe and was wielding a mystical pole arm. Ahriman growled as voices came. "L..Lord Magnus has abandoned us?!" "Chief Librarian, what are we going to do? The Space Wolves are over running us!" Ahriman wanted to order a last stand as he felt the presence of a psyker closing in, he roared and let loose energy from his mind, shattering the illusions and feeling himself in the basement of the castle. He looked around to find a spiral stairway leading up the way he came, he spitefully hissed to the castle. "I know my past, I do not need to be reminded. I will be on my way soon enough."

He approached the doorway to the way he came from, floating orbs of darkness and humanoid heartless crawled around. The Sorcerer readied his dreadful power as a witch like heartless appeared in thin air, he fired bolts of destructive energy at the witch as the heartless swarmed after him. Ahriman blew out a fire storm to kick the tide back, he rushed through door to door to find a way into a hall that had an image less than pleasing. A ten man row of space marine in red armor to left and right, bursting with tentacles and mutation, giving off a variety of distorted screams and charging to him, begging for help as their forms go completely out of control. Ahriman pulsed in psychic power, the mutations ceased and the mutating marines distorted into an image just as haunting. Rubric marines that became still and returning to their position in complete obedience. Ahriman stared at them stoically and walked down the hallway to the next floor bellow. In a floor not too out of the ordinary, he raised his staff and distorted the floor, to a familiar room that had a case containing a spiky haired teenage boy in a deep sleep and a blonde girl tending to the case. Ahriman knew the illusions and boasted. "Huff! I finally maintained some control over this labyrinths power. Now..." He wandered out of the room and through a set of rooms that were familiar to him, stepping out of the gates of a mansion, he found a familiar town basked in twilight.

The sorcerer chanted. "On this very floor, a fate unchosen had been sealed. To reflect... but for what greater purpose in the whole?" He stepped towards the gate and opened it, feeling his vision distort to a faint image of a confrontation, a body faded away into darkness. Ahriman continued. "To be cast aside into oblivion when the puppet masters are finished with him? To die a pointless death, unmourned?" He aimed his staff and clenched his fists, a vision of a blue flame with an eye came in its stead. "Well no more! For his fate goes beyond the tides of change. Memories most grim, heed my command and drag this one back from oblivion!"

Darkness distorted and the vision returned to the town, nothing was there save for the burning eye over the void, Ahriman felt something tug and pull, a body took form with in a temporal flux. Looking like a silver haired teenager with blue and black, skin tight armor that was complimented by a white skirt. Laughter of mischief filled the silence and scattered, the body stirred and Ahriman looked down upon him, seeing a heartless emblem in uniform speaks of a history. "What has that boy delve in? Hmm... for Riku to hit such a low point then and confront me in defense of the world without hesitation now? Where could that path ha-" The boy opened his eyes on the mention of that name, glared at Ahriman, back flipped and took out a sword resembling a demons wing. "Where did you learn that name?!" The Sorcerer was taken aback from the instant rebellious attitude and kept a battle ready pose. "Where is not important, with a simple flip of the page, I know a chapter in his life was in this castle and it lead to much. That is when I know of your existence, you would be grateful that I bothered to grant you another chance at all."

The boy resembling a recent enemy scoffed to that. "Yeah, another chance to be someones tool! What were you planning? Using me to throw off Riku's friend? Pose as him while I do your dirty work?" He glowed in darkness and crackled. "I'm not going to be used for that crap, if you are going to decide that for me, I'll cut you down!" Ahriman tapped his staff and insisted against the battle. "If you are going to continue this, you would be making a grave mistake, boy! Do you even know what I'm suggesting?" The boy slashed at Ahriman without hesitation and caused a wave of dark energy to rush at the sorcerer, who disappeared and appeared behind him, taking his staff and clubbed the boy across his body.

In one swipe, the boy was sent rolling to a wall and caught himself, he leaped into the air and shot a dark fire ball the Sorcerer that stopped him with a barrage of eldritch energy, sending the boy falling once again and causing him to become more desperate, he floated in the air with that dark glow and disappeared into a rift, he shot out of a rift and rushed at Ahriman's left, he was stopped in place by a psychic hold. The boy thrashed and kicked to try and break free as Ahriman found it pathetic. "You're done? Are you going to listen to me? You're fate was unjust and it is pitiful how the name Riku sets your soul into a frenzy, all because you were made to be an instrument of deception, made in his image."

The boy stopped resisting and didn't dare want sympathy from this man. "Oh please, its why you came for me in the first place." Ahriman asked smugly. "Really?" He gently dropped the boy and opened a corridor, he gave him a black coat and a small bag. "Journey through to the world you should have seen and use this as a... gift." The boy took the coat and looked into the bag to find shards of munny. "What am I suppose to do with this?!"

The Sorcerer sighed and extended his hand. "To buy something for yourself, if you have any hope of becoming more than a Replica, you should know what that something is. The other one should be obvious." The Replica looked distraught and let his glow fade, shifting his attire to what looks like an yellow top and blue pants, he took the coat and tried to put it on. "...It's for a set of clothes and this is so no one can see me." Ahriman nodded. "Because the boy you were molded from still exists out there and he knows of my existence. You're face won't be so easily changed, but this could give you some sense of identity. I could also assist you in something else you were robbed of. Knowledge." The Replica felt himself comfortable in the black coat and asked. "Knowledge... of... how you were able to do that?" Ahriman shook his head. "No, that would take years... centuries, to even come close of a tenth of understanding what the Cult of Time could do, least of all what I did to not disrupt reality any further. It's something... more trivial and something my minions could do for me. Worry about the clothes." He placed his hand on his chest in a vow. "I will provide the rest."

The Replica blew air and laughed bitterly. "What are they going to do? Rob a place." Ahriman snapped his fingers. "Exactly, it's a place children these days pay no heed to anyways, so it would go unnoticed. BUT, if you find people that disturb you, do not make contact with them. When you are done, you will find me in the place this castle makes the image of." Another corridor opened and the sorcerer turned around, leaving the boy with a parting. "But do get use to the idea that you will be called Replica... for your true name is not mine to give."

He left the boy alone, he faced the corridor and stepped down the path, feeling a hint of resentment and giving the Sorcerer's word for it, to an extent. "This is too good to be true." The boy journeyed through the darkness and found himself in a plaza resembling a town he remembers, he lurked in the shadows to find a group of people unaware and searching a clothes store closest, being run by a winged, furry creature. "What can I do for you? Kupo!"

At the clock tower.

Riku focused on the building and ran up to it, realizing he was doing the impossible and landing at the top of the building. It was near noon and he felt he had the time to search with in, finding nothing save for six mats for something. He stepped in with the gnawing feeling. "Something is going on here."

He looked around more and saw something crawling out of the shadows, leaning to a wall, almost pitifully and gritting her teeth. A black haired woman with a rather muscular physic, in a black tank top that was complimented by long, white military jeans. She was missing a left arm and a right leg as she snarled to him. "You are not welcome here." Riku recognized the woman without her armor. "Re...Resira, do you even-" The woman yelled to him. "No, no! They... they need me." She looked to the sun and back to him. "They need... order, they need...faith. Faith... keeps them strong." She looked like she remembered him and warned him. "If you break... order, they will lose faith. R..Riku, please leave."

The pitiful look made him hesitate to do so. "Resira, without a heart, that faith is going to be meaningless. I... didn't know you had prosthetics... why didn't they." Resira gave a faint glow of sun light on her left stump of an arm and on the stump of her right leg. A hand of the sun and a foot solidified. In her sun lit hand, a white sword with golden highlights formed. Resira stood firmly and she asked once more. "Riku... if they have no faith, they will have nothing. Please leave."

Riku understood and turned around, he asked. "Are the ones that come here doing anything else?" Resira answered as she saw the boy leaving. "They disrupt the order, their existence ends. That much they learned from you and he, that much, I will not protect them from if they chose to trend that path. If what I say is false, you are free to strike me down."

Riku wasn't taking that dare. "Oh you are telling the truth. You are too stubborn to lie to anyone." He sighed and had a hint of a smile. "I'll tell the others to leave you alone... Exrirsa, as long as you leave us alone. You have my promise."

The nobody took the words well, let her weapon fade and felt her glowing limbs fade, she crouched down and relaxed. "Exrirsa... that will do. Thank you Riku." The boy jumped off and flowed to the top of a smaller building. Bored and with nothing to do, he took out his gummi phone to text someone. "Please don't make me have to fight you again. I wonder how Kairi's training is going."

At Radiant Garden.

The students found nothing and looked half relieved. Kairi guessed. "We found nothing spooky or... feeling wrong. Some junk like that can be hard to miss though." Anatesis nodded to her. "Especially if they look demonic or have unusual parts sticking out. If it was an ordinary chaos item, it be cleansed away in lightning, if it was a daemon weapon... we need to a lot more to make sure it is destroyed. Just picking up a daemon weapon can put your soul in danger."

Aqua cringed to a flash back and requested to Ana. "That's all we need to know." Ken asked with a shiver. "You saw that happen to someone?" Aqua shook her head. "No, but I seen someone follow a path that lead to him being in deep trouble. I.. didn't see the signs until it was too late. A daemon weapon... somehow feels more dangerous." Kairi can picture why. "Because a daemon weapon has in it some of those monsters we been fighting and if it can possess a weapon, it will find another host when it can."

Aqua nodded. "Exactly." Kairi took out her phone to check the time and had a message, her frown became worse and she texted back to him. Ken was left with another feeling. "And we kind of have an ability to sense when something is wrong from worlds ahead if it can get bad. We should know if we ever find a weapon like that when it is trying to be subtle. Right Miss Aqua?"

The teacher admired observant students as Kairi finished texting and went back to class. "It's still not noon, but Riku has good news to give. It's about Resira." Ken tilted his head to ask. "He found her nobody and did something about it?" Kairi gestured with her hand that he was half right. "Resira... or Exrirsa, isn't trying to cause any problems. But the top of the tower can get pretty dangerous if that is where she is staying at. If she breaks on her word, we will set things right."

Aqua asked curiously. "Nobody?" Kairi answered feeling pitty for the creatures. "It is normally when a strong willed person becomes a heartless. The body they leave behind acts on its own and can act like a different person, they don't have hearts and have a pretty bad existence to where they are called... nobodies." Something in Aqua's brain cracked and she looked furious at a memory. "That was what Gillet was talking about?" The students wanted to know what she mentioned and Aqua dismissed it. "It will just make us all more angry. Ana, we both know the ghouls are pretty pitiful creatures that live in that fantasy world if to keep existing from the reality they are. They need to be put down, not toyed with."

Anatesis fully agreed to that. "I would bash who ever thinks their condition is a joke." She realized the scope of what happened, caused a storm cloud to form and kept watch, the other students refused to ask as Ken formed his burning keyblade and placed it to the ground. "I got nothing on that, but there is another secret this keyblade has that is kind of cool. Someone's heart is living in it." Kairi wanted to change the subject with him and asked. "The Firekeeper this blade was named after. How does she show up?"

Ken shrugged. "She tells me pretty good stories that... seem to end abruptly, is a big help when the keyblade has a new trick to show and I need to know and she always gives me the warm feeling that I'm never alone. I wonder-" Aqua felt she had more time to kill and asked. "What are those stories?" Ken appreciated it when his teach asked. "Some of the sillier ones about a Knight of Catarina that tries his hardest in his adventures and normally has to get help when he gets put into pretty awkward scenarios. He isn't dumb, but he always looks at them in the wrong angle. One particular... well, let me start by saying this story takes place in a golden city, where our knight got into a pickle with a band of evil knights."

At the 100 Acre Wood.

Sora finished knocking a half a dozen lemons off a tree as Roo encouraged Lumpy to stomp across the orchard to knock off a half dozen each of oranges, red apples, green apples and pears. Rabbit rushed frantically to gather them all and placed them into various nearly overfilled baskets. At the eve of the task, Sora was near a sweat once more as Rabbit marveled at the fruit. "Yes! Yes! Look at all this marvelous fruit!" Lumpy agreed with that as he stared at the colors. "Oh, it's lovely." Roo joined in the agreement. "Lumpy loves, loves, loves fruit." Roo giggled as Pooh had his mind on food. "You know, Rabbit, I find that fruit always tastes better with a little honey," Piglett agreed with that and envisioned honey baked apples. "You're right, Pooh, it certainly does." Sora had the mental image of honey roasted pears and had to remind himself that he recently eaten. Tigger bounced along with his tail and laughed. "Ho, ho! Then I'll keep lookin' for fruit up at bouncing height!" Gopher nearly whistled to that. "And I'll search closer to the soil."

Rabbit signaled Sora to come close with his ear ready for a whisper. "Sora, could you help me with my flower patch? I got a surprise for Pooh." Sora wondered what that surprise was. "Huh?! A surprise, for Pooh Bear?" Pooh turned to ask. "Yes, Sora?" The boy answered with a slightly nervous laugh. "Oh, it's nothing Pooh."

He went to the flower garden and tried to begin, Pooh noticed and innocently waddled, looking at the flowers questionably and for the boy to think of an excuse. "Eh, Rabbit needed me to help pick some flowers for... medicine. Uh-" Rabbit realized Pooh was wandering to somewhere he shouldn't and frantically looked at a bunch of red flowers with long stigmas. "That's... that right Pooh, like those hibiscus's over there, they are used to make herbal tea." Pooh blinked and waddled to white flowers that had bumble bees with tiny packets of pollen. "Tea... hmmm. And what of these?" Rabbit answered in realizing Pooh wasn't going away and was trying to pick up white lilys. "Oh, no not those. Eh, if I show you, would you promise to help?" Pooh nodded. "I wish to know why we have to pick the flowers."

At the Mysterious Tower.

Mickey finished a full report to Yen Sid, who looked troubled by the tragedy. "Such destruction to such an innocent world, for reasons beyond petty. Though this evil has been vanquished and order is restored to the worlds, Abaddon's actions would haunt us for years to come. May the defenders from the worlds beyond, earn their rest."

Mickey and Yen Sid gave a moment of silence to the heroes from the Imperium, the wizard broke the silence with more heartening news. "It was fortunate Master Aqua came at the cusp of the madness and helped with the final blow, along with her friend from that... peculiar world striking down like thunder." He chuckled amused. "And now she is training students of her own."

Mickey agreed with the pleasant thought. "But she hasn't forgotten the other important thing we need to help her with. Finding a way to restore Ventus's heart and find Terra. The problem is knowing where to start." Yen Sid agreed back. "Indeed, we should allow Aqua to decide when to start on her own... for now. Now, about Ahriman and the threat he poses. He sounds like an opposite problem to the likes of Zagor and his cult."

Mickey sighed. "Zagor was so obsessed with the heartless, darkness and those that oppose it to where he never considered a possibility of someone with neither light or darkness coming to stop him. What's real, what isn't and if they can exist as they do, doesn't matter when the rules are all broken. But what does chaos have to do with a nobody? What Ahriman might be interested in?" Yen Sid tried to think of a possibility and found none. "While the soul is something the daemons seem to covet... Ahriman would have just prioritize everyone. For him to quickly read Riku's memories with his magic... or his psychic power, would mean he has the means of obtaining knowledge on a whim. What does he seek?" Mickey had little idea. "What ever it is, we can't let him do what he want's. Especially at a time like this when we have another force of Chaos that could be just as scary as Abaddon was."

Yen Sid nodded and looked less than surprised. "Precisely, especially if Xehanort has cast his lot with this... Archaon. But how did that happen in the first place?" Mickey looked confused by the question. "With how the Realm of Darkness and Chaos started to intermingle, anything is possible." He perked up to a positive for the forces of good. "But despite that, we will be ready for when they come, we just don't know when. Hmm... it's like how things were right before this started." The wizard stood up and smiled. "So much is done, yet there is so much left unresolved."

At the manor in the outskirts of Twilight Town.

A boy in a hooded jacket held in a bag something crucial and looked behind, panting and praying no one saw him. "What...what is he doing here?" Rustle! Rustle!" The boy heard the noise and felt a presence familiar, turning around to find Ahriman, not really impressed by a simple task completed and less so by the boy acting like he was near death. "Settle down, it's just clothes shopping, it's not like I was sending you into a cathedral or something."

The boy growled, took off his hood and reveal his blue eyes and silver hair. "You never said Riku was in this town and people were looking at this coat." Ahriman sighed and shrugged. "I know much, but I can't be everywhere at once to foresee your every action. That coat was the only way you would have sneaked around without anyone saying: Is that Riku? That would have resulted, with in the span of an hour, a disaster for you and a complete waste of the time I spent."

The Replica listened, hated to admit it and saw a corridor behind the Sorcerer. "...It would have been all that work for nothing." He looked defeated as Ahriman offered to guide the boy. "If it were not for what you were created to be, society would not have cast this shadow upon you, do not blame the ignorant. Come, maybe this would be... enlighting, Ztardon has a surprise for you."

The Replica wondered and followed the Sorcerer, pulling his hood over. The Replica asked. "Ztardon?" Ahriman answered with humor. "A Tzaangor Shaman and he serves as my second in command for the forces I brought with me to these worlds for when my cabal served as cover for a megalomaniacal Warmaster. The Tzaangor are mutant creatures that serve in places I cannot, among other things. You treat them well and they will follow you into hell barefooted."

The Replica asked dumbfounded. "But how did you sneak them in when you were watched like a hawk?! If you were working with someone like... that, he would find out." Ahriman answered the boy as a grey light shined in the end of the tunnel. "I hid them and my rubrics within an ancient alien device called a tesseract labyrinth. It is normally used as a tool of imprisonment or enslavement, but they were willing." The Replica guessed the rest about the Tzaangor. "And that's why you brought them instead of any other tool, the Tzaangor wouldn't think to stab you in the back."

Ahriman corrected the boy with a slightly harsh tone. "They are less tools and more... willfully loyal servants. The rubrics are more special than them and are my actual enforcers. As of now, you would be a fool to try and turn the Tzaangor against me, for what could you provide to ensure their loyalty?" The Replica smiled to him as they stepped out of the corridor and into the castle. "Nothing you haven't already given them and...nothing you haven't already gave me." The two looked around in a grey castle that lead to a lobby feeding into a hallway, the Replica noticed still, armored soldiers with an intimidating, runed gun and several mutated goat men with avian features scurrying from the hall. Ahriman lead the boy to a particular doorway with a Tzaangor wielding a staff and slightly more armored, the shaman looked upon the replica curiously and gave a gracious bow to Ahriman. "Master, we gathered many before someone noticed and all preparations have been accounted for."

The Sorcerer grunted and opened the door to find the accommodations suitable, a well decorated bed room with a viewable window of the city, basic needs and a vast bookshelf with rows upon rows of books. The sight was certainly new to the Replica and he was speechless as he walked in and took a look at ordinary books and various types of comic books. "Wha... was this another reason why you sent me out there?"

Ahriman looked upon the books like it was the grand highlight of standard living. "I'm not going to let you read one word from my own collection of tomes, so I thought this would suffice for someone like you. Providing you don't ask questions about where these came from, for you already know." The Replica's reluctant smile became wide and willing as he answered. "You had Ztardon steal these, right from the same town you sent me to and this whole castle was something you decided to squat in since your actual place is gone."

Ahriman wouldn't consider such a crude term. "You are precisely on the mark with the books, but squat is such a savage word since the lords of this castle are gone and another is using this castle exactly as we are. Consider it... salvaging abandoned architecture." The Replica corrected him back with a half apology. "You're right, I'm sorry for using the word squat, I meant to say, you were taking free real estate."

The Sorcerer tried not to smile and turned around in a laugh. "You are permitted to use the new clothes at any time, but when you go out there again, that coat is your uniform... unless, by an off chance you had plans for that." The replica's mood became much grander. "I'm not going into that again unless I have to. How about I show you what I had planned." The Sorcerer walked out and wished him luck. "I'll try not to guess, you're freedom depends on you're attire."

He closed the door and looked down upon Ztardon. "It wasn't easy, but I think I found our eyes and ears for what goes on in that town. In exchange-" Ztardon nodded and skipped down the hall. "He would find freedom from his previous fate?" Ahriman nodded and walked down to the lobby. "He has much to work towards that path, but how he earns it will depend on his choices." "And what path did you lead you're... guest towards?"

Ahriman listened to the voice and turned to a doorway, Maleficent suspected conspiracy as the sorcerer answered to. "He is not my guest, he is a resident and my own agent for where even the Tzaangor would not trend so easily. How he ascends from the depths I found him in is his choice and it is going to be his choice. Now, if you are correct, there is a computer room with in this very castle? I believe I have a way to obtain the knowledge we need from Radiant Garden without setting one foot in there... while you... are devising a plan with an old contact of yours?"

Maleficent nodded and advised to the Sorcerer. "He was never the most attentive, but he has the secret needed to make this Horned King more willing to serve us. Be warned, your duplicity will become your undoing should just a portion of your plan becomes revealed. But you know you're way around the corridors, how do you plan to plunder Hollow Bastion?" Ahriman felt a spark of inspiration and kept himself out of the witches treachery. "With the most efficient means of robbing a computer. The creation of a virus and one who's design would surprise you. Meet me over at the computer room when I am finished with my agent and I will spin you a tale of the Necrontyr." Maleficent liked the sound of such a plan and left the Sorcerer be. "Intriguing." Ahriman promised her. "Indeed."

With her gone, Ztardon heard a door open and turned around, caught off guard, he squawked and alerted his master towards a more pressing matter. A boy in a purple shirt that was covered by a blue hoodie and an orange pair of pants, hiding his eyes were a pair of sunglasses, he kept a small frown as the Sorcerer and shaman approved, the Tzaangor squinted his eyes and approached the Replica. "Hmm, are you an intruder?" Ahriman answered him impressed. "No he isn't. But they won't figure it out."

He coughed and ordered the Replica. "Until further notice, you are assigned to gather any bits of information of the outside world from the confines of the town near here and gather anything the Tzaangor can cook up. They will eat anything, but considering you lack the knowledge of cooking." The Replica understood that. "I need to figure that part out because I'm having to eat it too, but I can do one better. There is a train way that supposedly connects to another world and if things go the way they do, they will go to a couple more beyond that. You guys found a fridge, so..twenty-" He counted and nodded. "You'll have something brought back by the end of the day to at LEAST last more than one. Is that all?"

Ahriman snapped the fingers of his left hand and opened a corridor. "Then you only require the coat for traveling to the town. That will be all until the evening when I arrive at the same place."

The replica nodded and went back to his room as Ztardon tried to ask something that was answered. "We have no knowledge of how long our venture is going to take and certain things are out of the question. If he is ambitious about finding some peace, he will work for it for the first few days. Until you and your people can find your own means of food."

Ztardon watched a black hooded figure run out of the room and jump into the corridor. "That will be done in due time master. But the virus," Ahriman had him follow. "You and that minion of Maleficent's are to have a history lesson about a xenos threat that you will not encounter here, but it is how I got that device in the first place."

In the Hundred Acre Wood.

Sora wondered why Rabbit was placing the gathered flower pots over towards bee hives as he and Pooh placed the last of the pots for the day. Rabbit returned with a strange pot that was brown at the top and white at the bottom, filled with a golden, sticky liquid. Sora realized that was the surprise for Pooh as Rabbit gave the pot to the bear. "Here, Pooh. A pot full of honey. It's your reward for being such a big help with the flowers. Eat all you want." Pooh took it with surprise. "Oh, thank you, Rabbit!" Pooh sat down and put his paws into the pot as Piglet asked Rabbit. "You planted all these flowers just for Pooh?" Roo asked. "Really? Why?" Gopher answered with a faint whistle. "It's simple, sonny. Flowers mean nectar. Nectar means honeybees. And honeybees... mean honey."

Pooh was nose deep into his pot as Lumpy had his own part to say. "Oh, and the flowers are so lovely. I like the pretty colors." He, Roo, Rabbit, Tigger, Gopher, Piglet and Sora looked at the flower garden as Pooh was half finished and looked on with them. Wind rushed in and blew to the flowers, scattering the petals into the wind. A pleasant sight that caused Tigger to bounce after the petals. "Woo, ho, ho, ho! Look at them all. They're bouncin' even higher than than me!"

The group enjoyed the sight of the petals for a moment, Pooh turned to the human boy in gratitude. "Sora, I believe the one I should thank for all that yummy, delicious honey is you." Sora lowered himself in appreciation. "Don't mention it Pooh, besides, we all helped."

That Pooh agreed with and looked worried, scared even. "Uh, Sora?" The boy was listening, Pooh placed his right paw on his chest. "You use to be right here. Why is it that you went away?" Sora was worried for Pooh. "Away? Oh! That's why you meant by "your home."" Pooh agreed with that. "Yes. You see, when I get a rumbly in my tumbly, it's very hard to think of anything but honey." He turned to his friends. "So I was worried that I might have forgotten you away." Sora sighed and kept a smile. "Silly bear, I'd never." Pooh was relieved by that. "Oh good," he turned to the boy with his desire. "because I want us to be together forever."

Sora promised the bear. "Pooh, we are together." He placed his hand on his chest. "There isn't a second that we're not." He felt the bears words worry some. "Except, our connections weaker... Why is that?" He felt a flash back of the times he had to leave the hundred acre wood, having a good moments with Pooh and his various friends and flash backs most recently, of a group of friends just as close that he wanted to help get home. A vision in his mind repeated something he heard before. "If you go back, they will never see you again. You will just die in another pointless war." "So be it."

The memory caused the boy to feel a couple tears drip down, Pooh tried to wipe them away and asked. "What's wrong Sora?" The boy snapped out of the flash back and had to remind both himself and Pooh. "Oh, it's nothing." He pointed to the bears chest. "What matters is I'll be here from now on." Pooh felt warm from that, he and Sora felt better about that belief as the boy promised. "No going away." Pooh appreciated it. "Thank you Sora." Woosh! He and Pooh heard giggling and turned to find more petals blowing in the wind. The boy felt the image of a honey pot keychain flash into his mind for a brief moment and enjoyed the peace.

Out of the book.

Riku, Donald and Goofy were charmed by the image within the story book and watched light shine out. Letting Sora out. Merlin closed the book and saw the cover page replaced by a charming image of Sora and Pooh sitting together on a fallen log together." Merlin felt satisfied. "Splendid. All is as it should be." Sora felt relaxed by that as Goofy asked. "But how come Sora's picture disappeared in the first place?"

Sora looked depressed and didn't wish to answer as Donald asked. "Sora?" The boy answered in an attempt to understand. "Something's happened to me... that made me vanish from Pooh's heart." Riku wanted to know what that something was. "What did you think that was?" Sora didn't want that answer and looked more hurt as he turned to the wizard. "Merlin, I don't ever want to lose my friends again."

Riku put his right hand on Sora's left shoulder and knew who he was talking about. "None of us do." Merlin agreed with that and had something to say as he picked up the book. "Well, now," Sora and the group wanted to know what as the wizard continued. "There is no need to fret, lad." He approached. "What ever is lost can be found again in some way. There are always new paths between hearts for us to discover and traverse," He was ready to show Sora his handiwork in the world with in the book. "But you already knew that."

He showed him the image and that perked Sora up. "Yeah," He turned to his friends as Merlin put the book away, for the boy might wish to visit the world yet again. "No matter where we go," He placed his hand on his heart. "We will always be together right here."

The other three mimicked the gesture and agreed, unaware of a voice approaching. "Well, bless my bagpipes! It was you laddies who rescued my chef." Sora, Donald and Goofy recognized the voice and turned to a duck leaving the bistro, one with a blue vest, a top hat, glasses, a cane and looking a bit elderly.

Donald knew his suspicions were correct. "Wha?! It's Uncle Scrooge!" Scrooge approached with his cane and a box of something, he waved with his cane as Sora asked, feeling much better. "Huh? Wait... didn't he sell ice cream back at Hallow Bastion?" Goofy answered with a few memories. "That's right. But Uncle Scrooge here's what you might call a world traveler."

Sora took interest and wanted to say hello. "Cool, how are you, Uncle Scrooge?" Scrooge answered back with his own greeting. "Oh! Hello, Sora! You're looking hale and hearty. I heard you were on another grand adventure with these two." He looked at Donald and asked. "I hope Donald isn't making a menace of himself." Donald was embarrassed. "Aw, why did you have to say that?" Goofy wanted to change the subject of family drama and asked. "So, Uncle Scrooge, what's that you were sayin' about a chef?"

Scrooge broke out of the subject and answered. "Och! Right, right. The chef of me bistro here wanted to show ye his appreciation." He presented the box to Sora, Donald and Goofy. "So he baked this for ye." The boy picked it up as Riku had good memories of the crepes. "Wonder what is it?" Sora wished to know and opened it, showing a gorgeous pastry with sliced oranges, apples circled around the top of a firm cream, on top of them were sliced kiwis, sliced strawberries and on top were sprinkled blueberries and more strawberries.

Riku took out his gummi phone to take a picture at the site as Sora, Donald and Goofy addressed the lunch treat. "Wow! Cake!" The top hat wiggled as Merlin looked at the time to realize it was noon, Sora asked Scrooge. "The whole cake? It's for us?" The hat wiggled more and Scrooge wanted the hidden passenger to calm down. "Aye, settle down... The chef wants ye to know it's not a cake, but a tarte aux fruits." Riku found the hat to be a give away of just how close the chef was and expected wacky highjinks as Goofy asked. "He does?" Scrooge gave up on hiding it and asked. "Why keep it under my hat?" He pulled his hat off and revealed a rat Sora, Donald and Goofy met during the morning. "May I introduce... Little Chef."

The Little Chef jumped on the hat." The trio showed their astonishment as Sora spoke. "Oh! It's you who made those crepes?!" Donald asked his uncle. "Uncle Scrooge, you opened a bistro in Twilight Town?" Scrooge answered proudly. "Aye. It all started a little while ago, when I was enjoying one of the best meals of my life." The Little Chef nodded as Scrooge continued. "And when I asked to speak to the chef, I met this wee genius."

Riku smiled impressed. "Talent comes when you don't expect it." Scrooge and the Little Chef agreed, the duck finished his tale. "As it turns out, he wanted to expand his culinary horizons. So I thought: that's an opportunity. And I financed the whole operation." The group definitely found it a investment worth while and wanted to enjoy a small lunch before waiting for someone to arrive from their trip. Ring! Ring! Riku checked his phone and gave it where it was due. "This would have a lot of people keep coming back. Hey Sora, Kairi got a video for us. Should we keep waiting here?"

At the training ground.

Aqua held a phone's camera in place to record something that was rather a spectacle. Kairi flew high in the sky with an angelic glow as Kendry waited for something, the princess fired down a barrage of light as Kendry let his burning blade flow in ashes and slammed it to the ground. Shrouding him into a fog of ashes at the moment of the barrage's fall. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Kairi, Aqua and Ana saw specs that were either the barrage's fractals or cinders. WOOSH! Ken shot himself into the air, blew a raspberry at the girl and aimed his hot shot lasgun, Kairi vanished in a shroud of light to dodge and appeared next to the boy to strike. Ken parried with his burning blade and pushed himself away, the two landed as the fog cleared. Ana and Moonfang felt they saw a rather intense sprawl as Aqua pressed a button. "And, send."

She gave Kairi her phone back and didn't know what to say. "Kairi was that... a shot lock? Where did you learn that?" Kairi answered proud of herself. "From watching my friends use powerful moves like that, I helped with some." Kendry remembered some of them and whistled playfully. "You don't fool around with any of them." Kairi appreciated a compliment and had one back as she turned around. "Little by little you add to that and it gets harder to hit you." Ken shook his head. "I got to keep moving because I know nothing of healing and THAT would send me laying on my back."

Aqua signaled a time out. "Kendry, you need to learn about healing yourself because getting hit is inevitable, while there are times where that won't matter, it's the foundation of any survival." She looked at a few marks, raised her keyblade in the air and glowed in green light, giving the boy a refreshing feeling. "Think of something soothing and who needs the help." Ken nodded and felt a small sting, he imagined a fire place by a cliff side and raised his keyblade into the air, giving off that green glow upon himself, the stinging left and the boy gave a grateful bow. "Thank you Miss Aqua." The teacher smiled to him and had her own critique. "You and Kairi both know how to harass each other in battle. If you keep close to your opponent after you catch them in any trick like that, like what I saw before Kairi went loose, they won't have a chance to heal themselves, cast anything and if you done it from the ashes and cinders. No one can see you." Kairi patted Ken on the back. "Which is exactly what his style is all about. But-" The boy knew what was going to be said. "If I do that fusion trick, I wouldn't be shooting play shots. It can kill a space marine in one shot and melt through pretty sturdy monsters. But it can clear out a tone of heartless as well." Aqua gave it that much. "I'll believe that. Ana?"

The Stormcast readied herself for a demonstration as she felt she had an idea of her own. "I think I got a move in mind when I need to clear the way from afar before charging. But-" Aqua promised she would take it as she and the Stormcast stood in opposite ends, the younger students and dracoth stepped out of the way and watched. Anatesis flew after Aqua with her wings, the Master flipped out of the way and swung back. Anatesis jumped out of the way and hovered, she charged above in surprise and swung her hammer up ward, hitting the teacher and causing her to roll back. The teacher charged to the Stormcast's left and swung for a quick combo, Anatesis countered using her keyblade to shield herself, trust the blunt and shook Aqua off. The Stormcast stepped back, focused and spun into a tornado and flung her hammer like keyblade at Aqua, the teacher dashed out of the way, watchined the hammer strike the ground and burst in a pillar of lightning. She focused on Ana, hovered in mid air and formed a circle of seven beams, together they resembled a rainbow, she fired again and again at the nimble Stormcast that summoned her blade back to her hand, landing several shots and making a point. She landed as Ana felt shaken, the teacher adjusted her standing hair. "A shot lock is a ranged finisher, they hit often and when they do, it can turn a battle around. Ken believed that as Kairi swallowed. "You don't know what to expect when you fight someone with a keyblade."

The boy agreed and was in a deep thought as Aqua felt a long day past. "Most of you have one in mind and you need to focus on when it is the time for a shot lock." Ken practice spinning a circle with his burning blade and aim his gun like blade for a quick one, the teacher approved of that. "It could become a little more complicated with two keyblades at once, but your style could be amazing with a shot lock if you can bring the best of both worlds." Ken nodded as Kairi saw a text from her phone and announced. "The guys are coming back after their meeting. They are bringing something beautiful back for the four of us." Moonfang wondered why she was being left out and was given a packet of crystalized starlight by Ana. "Moonfang you know you are on a strict diet until we find something we can hunt."

During the passing of noon.

Sora and Riku stepped out of a train by their lonesome with a half full box and current events. The silver haired teenager answered a complaint as they found themselves back at Radiant Garden. "Donald has to help finish that trainway so we can open more quick routes. He, Goofy and the King will be back here as soon as they can."

Sora held onto the box and pouted. "It still feels too early for that." The two walked out of the trainway to the main district with another fact to admire, Sora asked. "I wonder what else was going on here while we were away?"

Riku attempted to answer with the video he saw being the more prominent. "Nothing much, other than a teacher and her students starting to know each other. They haven't even gotten started on getting to learn something-" Arms wrapped around the two as they were distracted, Kairi greeted them with a welcoming embrace. She let go and answered. "Not quite but some of us might have new ideas soon."

She lead to a park bench to find Aqua and Ana looking confused at a story Ken was trying to speak of. "How does a drawing on the ground work, anyways?! Hmm." Ana didn't wish to break the boys spirits as Moonfang napped under the sun light. "What mattered is where ever that knight traveled, his friend from Astoria always happens to be around the corner, when the two take on some their foes together." Aqua squinted her eyes and realized a pattern. "This one is more complete compared the other one. Ken... is... there a reason why the Firekeeper is a bit... disjointed?"

The boy thought about it and looked to the bonfire, he noticed the arrivals and waved hello. "Welcome back," Kairi lead Sora and Riku to the small get together, Aqua asked the boys. "How was the meeting?"

Sora answered with warm feelings. "I met some old friends of mine and we might have found out a bit about what was going on in the town." Riku nodded to that. "We might have a trial on Ahriman and you had my message about Exrirsa... or who use to be Resira." Kairi nodded back. "If she keeps to herself, we... should have to worry about her." Riku had one heed. "But Exrirsa is a nobody and most can't be trusted." He looked upon the unknown like he was trying silently say: no offense. "She seems okay with staying in one place until further notice and if she was lying, we need to work together to return Exrirsa back to who she was."

Sora wanted to take the gloom away and gave Kairi the box. "We brought something back from the bistro after Donald, Goofy and I rescued the chef from some heartless." The girl took the box and saw half of a large fruit tart that was cut into four slices. "Wow, a fruit tart." Sora and Riku looked to each other and realized what they were told might have been that name in a different language. Sora admitted. "That place is pretty amazing. Maybe when you get the chance we can go together." He laughed a little nervously as Ana and Aqua looked like they would take the offer, Kairi blushed to the boy and confessed. "Yes, we should."

Ken knew the undertones, tried not to say anything and kept to himself as Sora asked the keyblade master. "Do you need any help tomorrow?" The teacher actually does. "It's another lesson about battle styles and-" She connected a few things she heard about. "you were someone who was self taught and that repurposed... exam helped you and Riku awaken a few things with in." She asked as she watched Kendry draw an imaginary circle in the air. "Is there anything you and Riku learned about recently?"

Sora had one and took out a key chain that had a honey pot. "I use these all the time when I can." Riku, Kairi and Ken already knew that as Anatesis formed her hammer blade and looked upon the dangling keychain with a lighting sparkling hammer. "That can... change the appearance of a keyblade or something?"

Aqua nodded and felt like it was common knowledge. "It can and it can help with what your special in. Do any of you have a reason to change your blades?" The students gave a unified no as Riku shined his own blade and felt too attached. "But it has nothing to do with the lesson."

Sora felt it didn't, let the chain fade in light and drew out his keyblade, showing a form the group found silly, a wooden hilt and a blade that looked like a pillar of honey pots, the pot closest to the hilt had the word hunny and the tip of the blade looked like a bee hive. Still image of bees and a burst of honey make the teeth and the chain attached to the hilt looked like red rope. The many felt the image was too absurd, Ana looked at her overly large hammer blade and smiled to the boy. "That isn't the most ridiculous thing we seen here, people would laugh about you all beating back the forces of chaos with keys." K

en gasped and tried not to laugh. "Ha! I just realized something." Riku and Aqua looked a few moments away from being offended and realized the joke, the silver haired teenager asked. "That some guy that commanded a legion of terror, had a whole plan made to pillage and burn everything we cared about... and he lost to something that would make him a laughing stock?"

Ken nodded and Riku felt an understanding about something. "Was that why Ahriman wasn't going along with Abaddon's plans all the way?" Aqua remembered and wanted to change the subject. "That Warmaster still tore a hole in all of our hearts. A close friend of mine was able to understand and use the power of Form change to change his keyblade into... many things. It's a reverse of what happened with Ana's, Ken's and...Hofneil's own weapons. Hmm."

Ken focused on the burning blade and placed Cadia's Light's tip on top of it, the burning blade enveloped in fire and fed itself to the lasgun, shifting it into something vagely resembling a melta gun. "It's... like this but more real?" Kairi snapped her fingers to an idea of brilliance. "That was possible because you have had a bond with both keyblades and the Firekeeper's Wish came from a world that is all about fire among the other thing we know of." Aqua agreed and rubbed the girls head in affection. "It's more that the heart that is in that blade fights along side yours to unlock your main keyblades power. If.. for a while."

Pew!

Ken caught the burning keyblade that defused and asked. "It's kind of a short cut, but isn't the real deal, it doesn't last long and this one is too limited?" Aqua invited him for a teachers affection, the boy did so and was answered. "It isn't a bad thing, in places where you are going to be close to the enemy no matter what, it would be helpful, but that isn't the style you would go for."

Kendry and Kairi blushed from the affection as Sora was interested. "What's tomorrow's lesson going to be about?" Aqua answered with confidence. "It's going to be exactly like what you saw in that video Kairi sent to you and Riku. I want to see how far you came on your own."

Sora took the challenge in pride as Riku realized. "You two are going to fight each other?!" Ana smirked. "Now that is what I would like to see. The boy who went out and saved this realm too many times. What else is going on?" Riku recalled something the group should know. "There is going to be more train ways soon and someone needs to talk with an expert on posts to make sure the forces of darkness or chaos don't go nosing in."

Sora asked. "Wanda?" Anatesis advised as she looked down at the tart slices. "If ya can, I don't know the full story of what she was doing with Traverse Town, but it all blowing up wasn't doing her any good." Riku answered with pity. "She worked hard on restoring the place, but I'll go do that soon." Aqua and her students went for the slices of tarts and their tongues were blown away.

At the mansion in the outskirts of Twilight Town.

The Replica sneaked towards a tree and held into his hand a massive ice box filled with fish. He put on his black coat and noticed a corridor opening up, letting out an unexpected creature, Ztardon. Who nearly gave a bird man's equivalent to a smile and pranced towards the ice box. "It been foretold that you would be unable to obtain what we seek in a more traditional way?"

The Replica nodded and presented him with the box. "It's hard to come by munny without someone asking for too many questions and the job I got doesn't pay nearly enough in the short time I have. But... there is a beach and a way to islands with the goods. Would this suffice for now?" Ztardon opened the box to find a plethora of fish, he nodded and rubbed his hands together. "Yes, we are pleased for at least three days. Come, come, the Master is busy but you served well."

The Replica closed the box and followed. "I know he has something in mind for me to do what he wants, I will figure it out... but this... wasn't what I expected." Ztardon lead the boy into the corridor, all the way into the castle of nothing, he took the ice box and advised the Replica. "To change your fate and to change your life, it is all in according to plan. We plot, we scheme to elevate ourselves, that is the way of the Raven Lord."

The Replica asked back. "That's why Ahriman had me go out to pick this." He took off his black coat and showed his attire. "He wanted me to think differently from... Riku. If I can... plan this, then I can plan something of my own."

Ztardon nodded as a duo of Tzaangor approached him, one on the left, with a sword and shield and another with more glistening horns. The more glistening Tzaangor squawked. "Great Shaman, we are needed to guard the Master." Ztardon nodded and went to them. "It will be done once I store these precious little things." He turned to the Replica and dismissed him. "You're task for the day is finished. Wait for the Master to finish with his own plan if you seek to explore the outside world again."

The Replica had one plan over and wanted to check out his room once more. "Or wait until the town finishes that train project so I can catch up on more than one world and keep myself up to date." He felt like he was being smiled upon and parted ways with the beastmen, the room had the same splendor as before and with little to entertain beyond literature, comics and manga. He reached for something appeasing, a comic about a band of humans with super powers that were labeled by a prejudice society as mutants. He opened the comic book, felt that the coast was clear and put the comic down. He sneaked back to the lobby and followed the dark scent left behind by the Tzaangor.

He followed the trial towards a well kept kitchen and towards a computer room, where Ahriman, two rubrics and ten Tzaangor stood guard. A witch and a fat cat in clothes watched a computer screen light up to a strange, green, alien like symbol as Ahriman finished part of the story. "And thus, the Necrontyr became the Necrons. I have plundered enough Tomb worlds to understand how they function and how their technology stretches what you would know about physics. That super computer deep within the Bastion would be no match for this... simulacrum of this ancient horror."

The fat cat asked with a chill. "And you are making this whole virus around a Necron you are... heh, heh, pals with." Ahriman nodded to someone who has some comprehension. "This a very complicated virus, Pete, but there is one overlord in mind that it will be made after. A collector of historical moments and artifacts that could be preserved from long before my time. Through this virus, we will uncover everything we need to know about why hearts are the key to the universe and by the time anyone... anyone discovers what the virus has done, there will be little they can do about it." He tilted his head towards the Replica. "This is exactly the kind of thing you thought I would be doing with you, Replica?"

The witch and Pete turned to the sudden boy that realized he was discovered, Ahriman signaled him to approach. "I was told about your mission and the... turn of events that might prove vital for your survival, when you decide that one town won't satisfy you." The Replica approached, took off his sun glasses and undid his hoodie, surprising the witch and her lackey as Ahriman answered them. "Some time ago, the very lords of this castle begun a program to create replicas of particular people to carry about their plans. Through retracing memories and temporal manipulation, I was able to resurrect the seed of that programs result, the Prototype that started it all. Now he is repurposed to a fate for him to decide."

The witch asked with bitter memories. "You are letting a Replica of Riku decide for himself how he will serve you?!" Ahriman corrected her smugly. "I am letting him decide how he wants to live his own fate. For now, he is under my care and anything he does for the betterment of my plan is out of obligation. It is with in your best interested to simply address him as Replica until he dedicates himself to a name of his own."

He looked down at the Replica who wanted to know who the guests are. "These two are also sharing this piece of real estate with us." He introduced the annoyed witch. "This is Maleficent, Mistress of All Evil and someone seeking to restore her cabal of villains in... some way." He introduced Pete. "And this is her underling who toils away much like the Tzaangor. Pete."

The Replica sensed hostility from Maleficent and confusion from Pete, the boy understood the terms of the partnership. "As long as they don't get in the way of our daily things, there should be no reason for me to be involved with them. Right?" Ahriman appreciated a sense of observation. "And in turn we allow them to set things in their own fruition. Less we get involved in a war that would undo this whole castle."

He looked towards the computer, the Replica asked without daring to be involved. "And that whole talk about a virus has nothing to do with me unless I decide to be involved. It would be stupid." The Tzaangor nodded as Ahriman typed away. "Correct and this virus is much more complicated than a program that acts and thinks like the Necron Overlord. Tranzyn the Infinite is one of the most devious of all the Necrons and where this program is going is a new lesson for you."

The Replica spoke it. "Where you are acting, I need to stay away from because attention is going towards there and I'll be discovered if I run into someone like Sora or any of his friends. If that happens right now, I'm done for."

He turned to leave as Ahriman advised him. "You're usual choir is the only thing of matter here right now. I'll be finished in a few hours, then we can talk." The Replica let his duplicity go and ran off, leaving Ahriman to put the program to the side and talk with Maleficent. "He is but a part of a long plan and this is but a start. As of now, there is another tome nestled away in the corners of the worlds I seek that would prove beneficial."

He went to a file listing names of certain people, Maleficent chose to disregard the Replica as a threat and asked. "And what do you seek with the former lords of this Castle? Organization XIII?" Ahriman analyzed each. "Thirteen of the most powerful Nobodies to have roamed, each one sounding more dreadful than the last. Yet... for all their worth, they somehow met oblivion and returned whole. Each one, in their current state, are a struggle to decipher without drawing attention. Except for this listing that is still classified as active and the only one I know is still around."

Maleficent looked to the thirteenth ranking, Roxas. "And how pray tell do you seek to find that one?!" Ahriman turned to Maleficent with his plan in place. "For the boy I read from has a memory of what befell Roxas and if the virus stirs attention, Riku's friend would deliver him exactly where I want him to be. All the secrets of Organization XIII would be mine to use at long last."

Maleficent realized something and laughed at something, like it was something she should have discovered sooner A sign of admitting defeat to a master planner as the Sorcerer didn't wish to spell it out. "The others have memories diluted from becoming whole, proven counter productive or would be much more difficult to track down. But Roxas must have something in his subconscious that would be new, you know exactly how drawing him out could be done." Maleficent cackled harder and got it out of her system. "How has Roxas hidden himself away in Sora all this time?!" Ahriman shrugged and looked upon the vast knowledge. "How is irrelevant, but where Sora goes, Roxas is exactly there."

Maleficent came to a realization and ordered Pete. "You, find the corridor with in the city and close it off! We are not to have those fools follow us here." The minion saluted in fear and took off as Ahriman agreed with the witch. "If this goes exactly as planned, Sora and his friends will learn why my reputation is legend. That corridor is the one complication to it all. If the heroes raided this place once, they will do it again."

At the Varanspire.

Archaon stood at the balcony of his citadel and finished cleaning blood off of his blade as a black knight in a horned helmet knelt behind him. "My Lord, the Summoners have arrived and are making preparations for our breaching into the realm beyond." Archaon turned to the knight that was accompanies by fourteen more like him, the Everchosen ordered him. "Excellent Korxaun, gather to the realm gate, I will tell our guest that the time has finally come!"

The knights in odd organization, obeyed the Everchosen. Archaon traveled through his spire to find Xehanort and a lightning scarred boy recovering, with in a make shift lab that had a strapped down Skaven for study. Archaon barked to him. "The time of wait is finally over! The Pretenders have caused enough of an uprise and will think wisely before they try and usurp their god!"

Xehanort turned around as the battered boy gave a slight glance to the Everchosen, the scientist smirked like his patience paid off. "So we can finally attempt to travel back to the Realm Beyond... or the Realm of Hearts." Vanitas spun a finger next to the left side of his helmet. "Or what ever dumb name matters to these people." Archaon stared at Vanitas' stoically. "What ever name they consider, will not matter once we arrive. It is some miracle that the realm survived this long and you are best to wait until our command before you have your fun."

Xehanort gasped. "She actually-" Archaon shook his head. "She was but one part, when many hearts gather, they can repel even the might of Chaos Undivided. We are not finishing the war here, brooding, are you finished here?" Xehanort nodded without a care for the Skaven. "The knowledge about Chaos and Darkness are going to waste here."

He gathered a binder and had Vanitas follow him, the two followed the Everchosen to a realm gate that was being under effect by nine, sickly thin mages that looked most eldritch, with eyes that did not belong and a blue hue as skin. Vanitas whistled at the unholy site as Xehanort noticed the waiting fifteen knights and a perching Dorghar. Archaon stepped onto his steed and requested from the Seeker of Darkness. "If there is a fortress or a base, we would require that and a thought of that place would guide us. This ritual will take considerable amount of time." Xehanort stepped to the center of the room and to the gate. "I know just the place in mind for us to arrive."

Energy from the Gaunt Summoners flowed into the man and a vision shined with in his mind, a white castle over a city in the dark, the feelings of anomalies and paranoia creep in, a side effect from using the powers of Chaos. The thoughts distorted into the realm gate and energy rippled away, Archaon looked rather pleased as Vanitas looked upon the knights and asked. "And are you bringing these guys?"

The Everchosen glared at him and warned him. "The Blades of Chaos go where I go and just one of them would have the power to destroy armies." He pointed to him. "If you show any signs of disrespect among them, you're life is forfeit! This is your one and only warning!" Vanitas took the hint and watched. "Yeah I know, the... funny guys left a whole mess in the Realm of Darkness for them to use. But Everchosen, what is going to happen while you are away?"

Archaon answered as he watched more of a path way open. "Slaanesh is freed and despoiling all it can, Nagash would take decades to recover, what could Sigmar as his forces do to force their way here while managing the Chaos? Nothing. If those fools in the Realm Beyond think their troubles are over," Vanitas had a sadistic plan of his own. "They'll find out the hard way that it has only begun."