Authors Note: Thank you everyone for the kind reviews! I hope you all enjoy the next chapter of Heart of the Shield!

Motoyasu grinned as he ran past the fleeing civilians, not even bothering to give them a second glance as he spotted a single angelic heartless turning to him as he approached. He was so excited he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, spinning his spear and pointing it at the fragile-looking creature that would soon fall by his hands. He would defeat this monster and be rewarded by the king for his heroic efforts, citizens would cheer his name! He was the legendary spear hero!

To his surprise information appeared in his field of vision. It seemed he had some sort of inherent scan ability, perhaps something all legendary heroes possessed.

Angel Star

Flying Heartless that cast potent spells. They are born of holy spells. They attack from long range with magic.

So that was this thing's name, Angel Star. It hardly mattered when the end result would be no different. He had no abilities unlocked at the moment, but that did little to dissuade him. The false angel's body appeared to be made of glass, so surely it would easily shatter with a single strike from his spear. With a battle cry, Motoyasu charged the beast, leaping into the air and swinging his spear downward, toward the center of the monster.

Before his spear made contact the Angel Star's wings folded inward, protecting its body. Slamming his spear into its wings caused no visible damage, the heartless throwing them open causing Motoyasu to fly back, slamming into the hard concrete with an audible thud. He felt as if the air had been struck from his lungs, struggling to get back to his feet, using his spear to support his weight. Suddenly the creature began to brightly glow, throwing its wings toward him as a heavy gust of wind suddenly struck his body.

He screamed, feeling the wind slice and pierce his flesh. Blood pooled from the wounds, the spear falling from his hands as he shakily grasped the areas where the attack landed, desperately trying to stop the now steady flow of crimson. How could this be happening? This heartless looked weak, surely as this world's spear hero he had the power to stop one single monster!

To his horror three more Angel Star's appeared from the darkness, approaching him as the one he attacked brought its wings back once more, its body glowing as it prepared another wind-based attack. Desperately he reached for his spear, his mind racing as he recalled his death before waking in this new world.

He'd been murdered by two jealous girls who did not relent in filling his body with merciless stab wounds. Would he die again here, in this world, in some twisted mimicry of the way he'd been killed before? Was he going to feel that pain again as these monsters cut his flesh with their heavy wind-based attacks? At the very least he would not feel the betrayal of his two closest friends turning against him as he had before, but that didn't mean this didn't still hurt.

He tried to fight the tears that formed in his panicked eyes, his vision filling with images of Ikuyo and Momiji, each holding a knife and charging toward him with sadistic smiles. He let loose another shriek of terror, swiping at the mirages with his spear as the heartless above shot another wave of harsh wind in his direction. He did his best to block the attack with his spear, the winds slicing at his arms and face.

This was not a game. This world was real, its people alive. This pain was real. He choked back a sob as he realized he was gifted a second chance at life and already blew it thanks to his cockiness. Thinking back to his initial greeting he felt a wave of regret splash into him, now realizing the people he mercilessly made demands of were not nameless npcs. They were a kingdom on the path to ruin, and he told them to let it burn.

He was no hero. He entered this world on the pretense of lies, and he would soon leave it the same way.

"Motoyasu!"

His head snapped in the direction of his name, eyes widening as he saw Sora rushing toward him. Not far behind the shield hero trailed the king, using fire magic to dispatch some aquatic variant of heartless. Terror filled his mind as he opened his mouth, attempting to scream. Instead, his throat tightened up on him, his body freezing in place.

He had to tell Sora to run! He was big brother Motoyasu, he couldn't let the weak shield hero come here to die in a foolhardy attempt to save him. If he, the spear hero, couldn't take on this monster then what chance did a shielder have? He tried again to scream, to beg Sora to turn and run, but nothing would escape his trembling lips.

Could he not save even a single person? Was he that useless of a hero?

Sora leapt in front of him, just in time for him to notice the false angel's wings shoot toward the two of them, a heavy gust of wind sailing in their direction. Finally, his body obeyed him, reaching out to the shield hero as he desperately called his name.

"Sora!"

He watched as Sora swung his shield in a parry motion, hitting the gust which caused it to fly back, smashing into the heartless. Motoyasu felt his hand drop as he stared in awe, Sora leaping toward the stunned heartless and smashing his shield into it with a downward motion. It burst into shadows, a single heart lifting into the sky from where it had been previously. He then turned, lifting his shield toward Motoyasu as he yelled, a bright light surrounding the two of them suddenly.

"Curaga!"

The pain wracking his body vanished, the wounds sealing up almost instantly. He stared down at his arms, then his body, the only proof he'd ever been wounded being the stains of blood on his shirt. He looked back up, speechless, as Sora offered him a smile, then turned and rushed another of the approaching heartless. He could only watch as the shield hero did a roll, landing behind the Angel Star. In a quick motion, he lept toward it, swinging his shield, it bursting into shadow like the one he'd previously defeated.

How? How was the shielder this powerful? In Emerald Online shielders were useless...but then again this wasn't Emerald Online. This was real, and Sora had fought these monsters before. He had told them all that he was in a war, that he fought these creatures before, and they all looked at him as if he were weak. As if he were lying to try and deal with the shitty hand he'd been given when he received the shield class. He was such a fool.

The remaining two Angel Stars turned toward Sora, beginning to rush in his direction. Motoyasu felt a jolt run through his body, gripping his spear as he forced himself to move. He would not be useless, not if he could protect the boy who just saved his life! He ran after them, leaping into the air with a guttural scream. He swung his spear, cutting both heartless in half in one powerful strike. They, like the previous two, burst into shadow. However, these did not release hearts like the ones Sora disposed of.

Exp +360

Level 4 Reached!

+20 Strength. +15 Magic.

Abilities unlocked!

Chaos Spear

Spear splits into multiple spear which then fly towards a selected target or targets

Air Strike Javelin

Summons a glowing spear which flies toward a selected target

Spears unlocked!

Trident Spear

+4 Strength. +2 Magic

A spear in the shape of the mighty trident. Gives a 50% damage boost to water based spells (AoE).

"Thanks, Motoyasu! You did great!" Sora cheered, redness coming to his cheeks at the unexpected compliment. He didn't do nearly as well as Sora claimed, but he appreciated the kind words all the same. The king approached from behind, having finished dealing with the aquatic heartless, giving Motoyasu a look of concern.

"Are you alright, Sir spear hero?"

Motoyasu grimaced at the title, feeling nothing like a hero at the moment. He then turned to look at the approaching shielder, his grimace shifting into a small smile.

"I will be...thanks to Sora."

Itsuki grinned as he released the arrow he held taut, striking down the final Screwdiver with little effort. He and Ren had fought alongside the royal guard in the beginning, but now he wandered down the empty streets at the glorious level of ten. Oh, if only those who bullied him in his previous life could see him now, standing proud as the legendary bow hero!

He stopped at the sound of a scream, turning to face the point of its origin. Running from the alleyway was a young red-haired woman, falling to her knees as another Screwdiver followed her from the shadows. His grin only grew, pulling back yet another arrow and releasing it, watching as it struck the heartless, causing it to burst into shadow as it perished.

Exp +90

The woman looked up at him in wonder, clasping her hands together as she quickly got to her feet. She let out a loud cheer, running over to him and hugging his arm with a look of absolute glee.

"Oh, that was so amazing, Sir bow hero!" She praised, pressing her chest against his arm as she spoke, "You truly are a hero of legend!"

"I'm just glad you're alright, miss," He replied with a pompous tone of voice, feeling the high of this woman's admiration, "Might I get your name?"

"Of course, Sir bow hero. My name is Myne. Myne Sophia!"

The first thing Riku noticed upon exiting the tunnel was the heavy stench of decay, intermixed with the smell of blood. His eyes darted around the dark dungeon hall, taking in the various empty cells as Kairi, Donald and Goofy exited the tunnel behind him. Looks of fear covered the faces of the quartet as they slowly began to walk through the long and empty hall, the tunnel they used to get here closing behind them.

"You used your connection to Sora to open that path, right? You don't think he's in here, do you?" Goofy asked, looking into the cells with obvious concern. He could see chains hanging from the ceiling, each one containing cuffs to leave victims hanging as they were beaten. He didn't want to imagine Sora going through that kind of torture.

Riku gripping his keyblade tighter as he fought to reign in his nerves. He had used his connection to Sora, yet it brought him here. If someone hurt Sora...he didn't want to think about it. Luckily Donald replied, allowing him to keep his mind from going down that dark path.

"When Sora used his connection to Hercules we landed outside the city. Remember, Goofy?"

"Oh yeah, so it's possible Sora isn't here," Goofy replied, sounding relieved. Kairi placed her hand over her heart, squeezing her hand into a fist as she did so.

"Wherever he is, he's alright. I can feel it" She said confidently, stopping in her tracks as she was about to pass a locked cell door. Her eyes widened in horror as she gazed inside, her hand shooting up to her mouth as she stifled a scream. Seeing this reaction Riku quickly approached her, placing his hands on her arm in an attempt to comfort her. His own eyes widened as he looked inside the cell, his breath catching in his throat at the miserable sight.

Inside the cell sat two children, little girls no older than the age of ten. One with the ears of a weasel, who leaned heavily on the second child who had the ears of a raccoon or tanuki. The raccoon girl held her friend close to her body, a look of terror on her face as she gazed at the two of them. The weasel girl looked near death, marks of abuse evident on her arms and back, visible through the tears on the rags she was forced to wear.

Riku didn't hesitate, his face shifting into one of determination as he pointed his keyblade at the locked cell door, Kairi digging into her pockets for one of the Elixir's she brought with them. Donald and Goofy stared inside, looks of heartbreak spreading across their faces as a light shot from the keyblade, an audible click echoing through the dark torture chamber.