So I've got Melody of Memory already on my switch. Now, can I take the power to time travel in Animal Crossing and transfer it to real life so November will come faster.

Though, I probably won't have this fic done before MoM comes out…

Whatever, let's get on with the chapter.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

My OCs © to me!

Marie © to Valk!

Other OCs © to their respective owners!

Chapter 23: Toxic

Kairi flopped back on her bed. "You know, this explains a lot."

"What you learned today?"

She nodded as Chirithy hopped up onto the bed. "What do you think Sora would say if I told him that I'm depressed?" She laughed dryly. "I bet he'd do everything he could to make me smile."

"Sounds about right." Chirithy took a paper from Kairi's hand. "'Ten Natural Depression Treatments'?"

"The last thing Cat gave me. She said these things might help, combined with other things."

"Make a routine. Set goals. Exercise. Eat healthy. Get enough sleep. Take on Responsibilities. Challenge negative thoughts. Check with your doctor before trying supplements. Try something new. Try to have fun(1)." The dream eater looked up. "Well, you can do some of these things easily."

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. Some I already do. The routine, goals, sleep, responsibilities. And we talked all day about that negative thoughts thing. Maybe I should try something new."

"Well, you like writing and crafty things."

"Yeah." She ran a hand through her hair. "Grandma always wanted me to pick up sewing and quilting. Maybe I could try it."

"Bet Lucky can get you material and a sewing kit."

"Yeah. I bet she can."

Chirithy hopped further up onto the bed, patting the pillow. "But we can deal with that tomorrow. Get some rest."

The girl took one last glance at the paper from Cat before she laid down, listening to the world around her. People seemed to be moving around outside a little more than usual, but she felt way too emotionally exhausted right now to investigate.

She felt the dream eaters appear around her, the squeaks of Shadow and Bubbles making her smile as she slipped under the bedsheets and flicked the lights off.

Her eyes closed, allowing her to slip into deep sleep.

She didn't even visit anyone in her dream.

Just calm sleep.

Her eyes felt heavy as Kairi walked down to breakfast. She slept hard and coffee sounded really good right now.

People kept glancing at her, muttering to each other. A tense cloud hung over the base for some reason.

Coffee first.

Then she could focus.

"Kairi?" Alexis stood behind her, carrying a breakfast taco wrapped in foil.

Kairi took a drink of her coffee. "Something wrong?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know."

The coffee cup stopped halfway to her lips. "Don't know what?"

Alexis sat down. "Yesterday, Yozora got hurt on the mission."

"Wait, weren't they supposed to talk to the LLE!?"

"It was an ambush." The young woman sighed. "Those new gigas, the Doomtrain, attacked them. Yozora was poisoned."

The princess leapt to her feet. "What!? Why didn't anyone tell me!?"

Alexis gently held up a hand. "Cat told us not to. She said you needed to relax yesterday. But if you're up for it, we can go see him."

"Yes."

The two young women hurried down to the medical bay. Kairi saw Hercshal pacing outside with Magia and Aegis.

"Guys?"

"Kairi." Magia smiled sadly. "You feeling better?"

"It doesn't matter how I feel. Yozora's hurt… maybe if I'd been there, he'd-"

"Shut up." Aegis snapped. "It wouldn't have mattered. We checked that area over all day and they still got the drop on us. Yozora was attacked right away and poisoned before we even knew we were being attacked. There was nothing you could've done if you were there."

Magia sighed. "At least we got him back in time. Doc says he'll be alright."

Hercshal tapped his cane on the ground. "Where did the gigas go?"

"Um, they didn't really leave. We've tracked them all night and they know it."

Kairi bit her lip. "Tell me everything."

"There's no way they should've caught us like that." Aegis leaned against a wall. "We cased the area around the meeting all day, sealed off entrances, but somehow they got in the meeting area anyway. The LLE guys had barely greeted us before a giga jumped down on Yozora, slashing him with a poison-laced blade. Three came down after the one, five more after that one, and four more sealed off the exits. We fought as long as we could, Yozora insisted. He passed out and we retreated."

Hercshal tightened his grip on his cane. "Poison is a dirty and cruel way to harm people, and to create an entire weapon based around it just makes the LLE as cruel as anything that comes from the door."

That maybe have been the most and strongest emotion the old man showed before Kairi.

Aegis took a step toward the driver. "What's the plan?"

"We take them out. All of them." Hercshal picked up his cane, marching out of the medical ward. "The three of you, with me."

"Wait, what?"

"Kairi, come on." Magia smirked. "We're going giga hunting."

She trotted along behind them as the three went down and climbed into a jeep. She scrambled into the seat next to Hercshal. "Shouldn't we call for some backup?"

"No."

Hercshal started the car. "We're doing this ourselves. Backup would draw attention. And I will not allow someone to use poison to hurt any more people."

"Take us to the red-light district in Shinjuku. That was the meeting place. It should be clear of civilians."

"Why did you set up a meeting there?"

"We could clear it out easier and faster. Flash badges and military papers and people scram. But we need to move fast; we have this area under surveillance and the moment we get in we have a time limit until backup arrives and pulls us out." Magia grunted.

They pulled around toward an alley. Signs that probably normally made the street glow, lay dark. Nightclubs. Restaurants. Host clubs.

Street stalls lay like people dropped everything in a hurry, probably moved by the military so they'd be out of the line of fire.

Hercshal parked the jeep. "Stay close together. We need to keep our distance."

"Didn't you say the gigas were here?"

Aegis pushed up his glasses. "Most likely, they're in and out of the buildings patrolling for any survivors. I think they know we've got them under surveillance."

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Loud footsteps came from out of a nightclub.

A nine-foot robot burst through the door. A skull-like face rested upon a scrawny metal frame with copper colored ribs. Instead of hands, it had a giant needle as its left arm and a sword for the right arm. Capsules on each shoulder fed a purple liquid into each arm with long tubes.

Poison pumped through the tubes into the blade and the giant needle. Kairi's stomach turned at the thought of what that purple liquid could do to a person. "So, what's the plan?"

"This." Hercshal lifted up his cane, twisting it and pressing a button. The end of the cane expanded becoming a shotgun. Kairi barely had time to process this before he fired a shot.

The left canister shattered.

The giga turned, charging at the old man. But Aegis put up a shield, letting the giga slam into it. It stumbled back, allowing the young man to pull out his sword, slashing it in two.

"One down, twelve to go. We have less than five minutes."

Hercshal pumped this shotgun. "Magia, with me. You two, cover us."

From alleys and buildings tromped more gigas.

But Kairi and Aegis never moved. Hercshal and Magia cut them down one after another.

"This is wrong." Aegis narrowed his eyes. "They were not this easy to defeat yesterday."

"Well of course. These have been compromised."

Kairi barely managed to turn and put up a shield as a metal object slammed into it. Her assailant jumped back, hauling a large metal hammer with him. He wore a white shirt, dark gray pants, black gloves and boots, a metal breastplate, and a burnt orange hooded coat.

A cream mask with a pointed top covered the top half of his face. The mask bore two bronze crossing sticks and two black eye-holes bored into the two.

"Nero!" A woman in the same outfit grabbed the man by her arm. "You fool!"

"Oh, come on Livia(2). These kids would be a thorn in our side anyway. We should take them out now."

Aegis hefted up his sword. "Livia and Nero. Two of the LLE's top four. Your faces haven't been seen in three years."

"Oh yeah, the boss calls you the human calculator… Aegis right?" Nero tapped his chin. "But, no one said anything about the lovely doll with you."

Kairi grit her teeth. "Aegis, what's the plan?"

"Arrest them."

He ran toward Nero, clashing his blade against the man's hammer. "Aw, are you mad we put the prince in the hospital?"

"You were supposed to meet us. Talk it out."

"This suited us much better."

The woman, Livia stepped away from her partner, looking just about ready to leave him behind.

But.

"Listen, kid, you really don't want to step in the middle of this."

"I'm doing my job." Kairi brandished her Keyblade. "And I'm in the middle of an emotional mess, so right now, I could use some way to distract myself."

Livia huffed. "Children." Leaping forward, she slammed her fist in Kairi's chest.

The girl gasped, something cracking in her chest. "Oh… ow." Switching her Keyblade to Hippocratic Oath, she felt her outfit shift to the red and white one. "That really hurt."

"One last chance, child. Back off or leave in a body bag."

Casting Cure, the girl felt the pain in her chest vanish. "I'm angry. I'm tired. And way to stubborn to quit now." She leapt backwards, unleashing a powerful Fira at the other woman. Livia dodges, but the princess continued to fire spells over and over, keeping her opponent at a distance.

Her Keyblade transformed into its shield form as Livia threw a punch. "And how are you going to cast magic now?"

"I'm not."

Shoving as hard as she could, the girl pushed the shield upward into Livia's face.

"Kairi. With me!" Aegis grabbed her arm.

She jumped back with him. "Yeah?"

"That thing you do with the shield. Can we do it with one of mine?"

"I-I uh, yeah. I think."

"Good." He put up a large shield as Nero and Livia lunged at them. "Now what?"

Kairi waited until their assailants leapt at them before releasing a burst of magic. It shattered, magic and fading shield stabbing the robed figures in an explosion of green and white light(3).

"Nero. We can't be caug-"

"I know!" The two figures took off, only for a truck to pull up before them. They jumped in, as the vehicle sped off.

Kairi dismissed her weapon. "Who were they?"

"Two of the LLE's big four. There is a boss at the top, and right below him is Nero, Livia, Faustus, and Severina. Livia and Nero were probably the two who were supposed to meet us here, or better yet, oversee the ambush."

"Why send gigas like those and let us kill them today!?" Magia stomped over, he and Hercshal having finished off the Doomtrains.

Aegis cleaned his glasses. "They said these units were now 'compromised'. We probably faced off with some prototypes. Most likely, the ambush was the test run. Next time we face them, they might be stronger and their poison might be more potent."

Joys.

Hercshal huffed. "Poison… it's such a cowardly way to harm others. Instead of facing them, they resort to underhanded tactics."

"You… really don't like poison."

Hercshal walked past her. "Get in the jeep. The backup should be here to make us leave, so we should just leave now."

"Sure…"

She looked at her squad-mates, hoping one of them would answer her query without making her push their driver.

Neither of them said a word.

Just great.

As the hours ticked by, Kairi's pen scratched across her notepad.

After she and the others returned, Alexis and Aiko gave them one heck of a lecture. Though, the information they brought, calmed her slightly.

Aegis and Magia went with her to give a report. Hercshal went… somewhere. And Kairi-

Kairi found herself sitting in a chair beside Yozora. He looked pale, and purple veins stretched across his skin.

He hadn't woken up at all.

But Atlas said he should wake up soon. Hopefully.

"You're still here?"

"Yeah."

Hercshal walked in, sitting on the other side of the room. "Where are the boys?"

"Reporting to the general." The girl folded up her notebook, glancing over at Yozora. "Where did you go?"

"I needed to let my wife know I wasn't dead. She hates it when I go out into the field. Says I'm 'too old to be running around with those kids like that'."

"I didn't know you were married."

The driver smiled. "I am. I have children and grandchildren too. My wife's name is Marie."

"That's a nice name." The girl looked up, her eyes meeting his. "Why were you so angry about poison earlier?"

"Oh, you don't know." He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and began to wipe down his cane. "I've worked for the king's family for years. I took care of the king himself when he was young. And that put me in a spotlight with both Hayate and Yozora. And put a target on me. Yozora was just a child at the time, but someone wanted him dead. They came to me and tried to make me give them access to Yozora. I refused… so they poisoned Marie."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"She's fine now. But when I see people using poison, it just… makes me furious."

Kairi opened her mouth, only for Yozora to groan, his eyes opening slightly. "Yozora!"

Hercshal smiled, standing up. "I'll get the doctor." He passed by Kairi, dropping something in her hands.

"Wh…" The young man glanced around the room, his eyes resting on Kairi. "What happened…" He gasped. "Ow."

Kairi smiled as Atlas entered and began to lecture the prince on being more careful.

Everything seemed normal again.

Maybe it would stay that way for a while.

"Can we come in?"

"Yes." Aqua called. The others came in to see Kairi on the screen. She stood in a room with a blonde girl.

"Here ya go! Not sure what it will look like, but we can try it." The blonde girl handed Kairi a small orb.

Kairi pulled out a keychain made of a pin that looked like a quill pen. "Alright Stella."

"Who gave you this one?"

"Hercshal."

"Aw, really. You know why?"

Kairi paused. "Uh, no… he just kinda handed it to me."

"Would you like to know why?" The old man in question entered the room. He grinned. "By the way, Yozora is doing much better."

"Yozora?"

Riku glanced over at Jiminy. "You know the name?"

"Oh yeah," Goofy gasped, "in Toy Box."

Kairi smiled. "Good. And yes, I would love to know why."

"This is why." He pulled out a photo from his wallet. "This is me and my dear, Marie."

Kairi looked at the photo. Hercshal looked almost the same, but without the bushy mustache. But the girl, she had red hair and green eyes with a hint of blue in them.

"She looks like Kairi."

"That she does." He put the photo away. "Now, I would like to see this keyblade that small pin of mine can make."

Kairi switched out the keychain. Her Keyblade changed to a long metal shaft with gray and brown feathers making up the blade. Something that looked like a blue necktie served at the guard around the black handle with bronze rings.

"It's called… Fanciful Honor."

"Oh!" Stella bounced on her heels. "Make it change! Make it change!"

Kairi giggled as she attacked a training dummy.

The Keyblade changed, as did her outfit. The blade changed into a rapier with feathers for the guard.

Kairi's outfit changed to a black hat, coat, and boots with soft blue accents. Her sweater changed to white and her pants to a dark teal. The tops of her boots and emblem on her arm was copper(4).

She continued to fight until her rapier changed into two flintlock pistols.

Hercshal nodded. "I approve."

"I'm sure you do."

The conversation continued with nothing really standing out. Lea sighed. "At least she seems to be doing alright today."

"Yeah."

Riku turned toward Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy. "So, who is Yozora?"

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Footnotes:

(1) I got this list from my own counselor.

(2) Nero and Livia are named for Livia sas Junius and Nero tol Scaeva from Final Fantasy XIV.

(3) This is Aegis and Kairi's limit: Planetcracker.

(4) This is Kairi's Formal Form.

VAs:

Nero- Mike Rock (Nero the Sable, Tanner, Aaron Winsby, Mr. Sirota, Toby)

Livia- Alison Lees Taylor (Livia sas Junius, Tira, Judith, Rosea, Cleopatra, Julia)