Author's Note: WARNING: Major Spoilers: Might have to go back a couple of chapters in which Lamuria(Marluxia's Original) is, because his actual name is...well, let's just say that he's in Union X and his real name is revealed in that game. (Sweatdrops)
Well, here's another new chapter and we're taking a first brief visit to another world before we enter the next Disney world. Oh yes, and this chapter will reveal a bit more spoilers too.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.
CH18: Another Keyblade Wielder.
As Sora and his friends finally reappeared in the gummiship, the first thing everyone noticed was that they were back to their original forms and no longer in toy forms they were in for the last nearly 72 hours in Toy Mania, and it was such a huge relief to Jack and Lea.
"Ugh, finally. I missed my soft, normal hair." Lea moaned in relief, immediately running his hand through his hair's original soft but spikiness.
"I never want to be a toy ever again." Jack muttered, already feeling the huge difference in his normal form and having utterly disliked in feeling completely strange, which as the others had told him, was also known as plastic.
"Call me crazy, but it was kind of cool to be toy." Sora admitted, though like two of his friends, he was utterly relieved to be back to normal as well.
"You're crazy." Lea and Jack both chorused, giving the teenager skeptical and slightly incredious looks.
"At least that world is safe for now." Roxas shrugged. "So I guess it's onward to the next world, right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Having time to relax for a little while and Myde was telling Lea, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Xion, Ven, Sora, Kairi, and even Isa about what the show "Woody's Roundup" was like, having memorized most of the episodes, especially all of the hilarious moments of the Prospector which had them laughing as the images formed into their heads, especially since it more amusing when the evil Cowboy doll had definitely deserved the punishment back at the Airport in Toy Mania. Even Riku, Terra, Aqua, Mickey and Jack, who caught parts of the conversation, laughed at those moments.
"...And in the episode that was supposed to be the second last one of the series, Stinky Pete tried to put the fuse out by sitting on it, only to end up burning his butt and screaming about his biscuits burning." Myde concluded through laughter, which had most of the group burst out laughing.
"The show may be weird, but now I kinda wish I'd seen all of it." Roxas said through laughter.
"Never thought I'd hear a man who would try and sit on a fuse, because if that took brains...then he was obviously and incredibly, stupid." Jack commented.
Ven was about to comment when he noticed at the corner of his eye that Skuld hadn't been laughing during the entire conversation or Myde's retelling. In fact, she didn't seem to have even noticed, because the Keyblade wielder was gazing out at the cockpit window at the stars they were passing in the Gummiship. Suddenly feeling that something was up, the young wielder stood up and approached the young woman which the others noticed when he stood up.
"Hey, Skuld? What's wrong?" Ven asked, slightly concerned.
Apparently, she'd been in deep thought, but seemed to acknowlage Ven's approach.
"I just can't seem to figure out why he's so...familiar." Skuld admitted.
"Who?"
"Lamuria. The man whom we fought against in Arendelle."
This got everyone's attention at the mention of Marluxia's Original form they encountered outside of Elsa's Ice Palace in Arendelle before they entered Toy Mania.
"What's that s'posed to mean?" Lea asked, furrowing his brows.
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Skuld shook her head. "It's just...his name sounds similiar to another name that I'm struggling to remember, and his face and hair...it's strikingly familiar. Like as though...I've met him before."
"Hmm...Now that you mention it, I'm gettin' the weird sense of deja vu from that guy too. Maybe it's because my heart's been inside Sora's for so long and that when Roxas returned to Sora, I was able to see through his memories and see everything both of them were seeing." Ven admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
"Marluxia was one of first to have told me about the Heartless when I first joined the Organization couple of years ago. Then again, I never payed much attention to him and barely got to know him much since he left for Castle Oblivion." Roxas said.
"How was it that he came to this Organization XIII?" Skuld questioned to the others.
"Xigbar found him wanderin' around and convinced to join under Xemnas' orders." Lea shrugged, before adding, "Then when it came to Sora and Roxas, Marluxia and Larxene joined a secret coup to turn Sora into their puppet by using Namine's powers and use them both to overthrow him and take over the Organization. I was sent to find out the truth as a double agent when I was Axel."
"The Organization already suspected there were traitors, and I already had a feeling that Marluxia was one of them when I was Saix." Isa nodded, adding, "But other than that...none of us really know where he came from before he became a Heartless and a Nobody."
"He certainly liked plants and flowers, that's for sure. Everybody else sometimes called him the Graceful Assassin, and with a Scythe like his, I could see why." Myde shuddered.
"I still don't remember much about Castle Oblivion, but when we fought against Lamuria, I had this sense of deja vu in my head." Sora commented, in deep thought himself. "At that time, I saw a memory of myself on a path in the middle of the night...I think it was after we beated Xehanort's Heartless and closed the door to darkness."
Flashback: Beginning events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories...
Two years ago...after the events of Kingdom Hearts...
One night after the great battle, Sora sat up after seemingly having an unusual dream and saw that Donald and Goofy were sleeping and snoring away. Finding himself unable to sleep, the teenager stood up before deciding to take a bit of a walk while his mind was that on finding Riku and King Mickey.
When Sora came to stop at a crossroads of four paths and stares into the sky, an unfamilair man's voice suddenly alarmed him into defence mode.
"Along the road ahead lies something you need."
Sora quickly whirled around, but found no one. Just as he thought on who was it that was behind him, he suddenly sensed something behind him once more and quickly turned around, this time seeing an unfamiliar man in a black coat, standing in front of the middle road. He had a hood one, so Sora couldn't see his face.
"However-in order to claim it you must lose something that is dear to you." The man continued before strangely disappearing into thin air, leaving Sora stunned and confused.
Who was that guy, and where did he come from?
End of Flashback.
"...Not sure why, but I think...that was Marluxia leading me to Castle Oblivion." Sora concluded, now concerned.
"Yeah, totally was him." Lea sighed, shaking his head. "Wasn't me, or Larxene, and definitely not Vexen, or Zexion or Lexaeus."
"But if Marluxia is back as Lamuria, why did he attack us?" Kairi asked, worriedly. "If he has his heart back, what is he really doing?"
"Maybe it's how Dulor betrayed us back at Port Royal." Mickey thought, concerned while having the helm of the Gummiship. "I mean, how can we know about the rest of the Organization before we beat 'em?"
"Braig, Dulor and Lamuria...what could they be thinking?" Isa thought.
"Let's see...Me, Lea, Isa, Roxas, Mar', Dulor, Braig, Lexaeus, Xaldin, Vexen, Xemnas, Zexion, Larxene..." Myde counted, before blinking worriedly, "Well, so far most of us are doin' the right thing, right? The ones who were really nasty are Xehanort, Lamu-whatever it is, Dulor and Braig were bad guys right?"
"What are you on about?" Donald asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Well, Larxene always had a bad and scary temper, I'm just wondering if she's gonna be in the bad guy catagory too." Myde answered.
"I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case." Lea agreed, though a little surprised that Myde had actually come up with something that they may have to watch out for.
"If you ask my experience, the mind of a woman is always difficult to make out." Jack commented, sourly.
"Coming from a man who gets on women's nerves no matter what he does." Riku rolled his eyes.
Despite the slim possiblity of encountering Larxene's Somebody, Sora and his friends couldn't help but feel like they would end up encountering her none the less, and most of them somehow sensed that there was a possiblity that shecould be another one of their future enemies during this adventures, but no one knew when or if it would happen.
Just then, the Gummiship's rader than blared, getting everyone's attentions as they all gathered around Mickey who along with Goofy and Aqua fiddled with the map, just as another world came up to them. It had a tall clock tower, with a train tram running, and from what most of them could make out, it had a sunset of red, orange and yellow.
In an instant, Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Roxas, Xion, Lea and Isa immediately somehow recongised it.
"I know that world!" All ten of them exclaimed in unison.
"You do?" Jack asked at the ten of them, puzzled. First time they arrived in a world that is familiar to Sora and the others, not like the previous three such as Kuzco-Topia, Arendelle and Toy Mania.
"Let's make landing and see for ourselves." Mickey declared to everyone.
{Twilight Town}
The moment the sixteen worldly travellers appeared via teleport from the gummiship, they gazed around at in a large area of a couple of trains. Sora and his friends then ventured out and into the familiar area where it overlooked the rest of the town and a forest, and the familiar warm sunlight of twilight. It was then Sora and most of the others knew where they were.
"It's Twilight Town!" Donald exclaimed happily.
"Gawrsh, sure brings back good o'l memories, huh?" Goofy thought.
"You're tellin' me." Lea said, fondly as he, Roxas and Xion all gazed up at the Clock Tower with smiles on their faces, as memories came into their minds; the times when the three of them would just at the top in front of the clock on the edge, eating Sea-Salt Ice Cream, having conversations, and watch the sunset.
"I sure miss those days just sitting up there, eating ice cream with you guys." Roxas said.
"Me too." Xion agreed.
"You use to go up to that clock tower above us?" Terra asked, curiously.
"Yeah. Right after our missions, we used to go up there and hang out." Roxas answered, "Especially watching the sunset."
Aqua smiled, "Well, you're not the only ones. I miss the days when Terra, Ven and I would sit together in the Land of Departure, and gaze up at the stars." as both Ven and Terra nodded in agreement.
"Sounds just like how me, Sora and Riku would sit by the Papou Tree at home to watch the sunset and sunrise on the island." Kairi said, with a warm smile.
"Gosh, I guess we all have fond memories that are always within our hearts." Mickey thought.
"Yeah, and when this is all over, we're all gonna live in peace and if we're able to, visit each other to share more good times, without the worry of Heartless and bad guys." Sora said with determination for a brighter future.
The moment of Sora's speech came to a sudden halt when Heartless appeared in front of the group, much to their annoyance and forced them to bring out their weapons once more.
"Speaking of Heartless..." Isa sighed, exasperated.
However, before the group could even make a move, all of the sudden, they heard an unfamiliar female voice yelling out as suddenly the Heartless in front of them, striking the Heartless with surprising ease before unleashing the power of light that oblierated the rest of the monsters. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Jack, Myde, and Skuld were astonished by the skill of an familiar young woman who had long orange ginger hair tied up in two loose ponytails, a white short skirt dress with long loose sleeves, white matching boots that went up to her knees, blue eyes, and a Keyblade that looked similiar to Skuld's, except that the teeth were a crystal like star-snow flake with a matching key-chain, and the hilt around the handle were shaped like feathered wings.
The group were so distracted by the new girl's appearence and her skills that they didn't notice another lone Heartless appearing behind them only for it to be eliminated by an arrow just when they turned around to hear it's demise. They then turned to see another unfamiliar young woman, with strawberry blonde hair that hanged on her left shoulder in a small side-ponytail, and an outfit of pink and white with grayish blue gloves, and long socks that went up to her thighs, and purple shoes. In her hand is a crossbow in a very strange design.
"Is everyone alright?" The pink-haired girl asked to the group.
"Uh...yeah." Sora replied, awkwardly.
"We were just about to fight those things, but thanks, anyway." Lea said, shrugging with one shoulder, as he and everyone else, including the two new women all dismissed their weapons. To his and the rest of the group's surprise, instead of the pink-haired woman's weapon vanishing, it turned into...a Moogle?
On top of that, as the other girl dismissed her Keyblade, a strange creature poofed from a dust of cloud. It looked a stuffy toy cat with beady blue eyes, wearing a pink cape and wearing a pouch with a star design on it. Skuld's eyes widened at the sight of the little cat.
"That sure took care of the Heartless. Great job, guys!" The little cat praised in an adorable voice to the two new girls who nodded.
"What!? It talked!" Donald exclaimed, surprised, as were everyone else.
"It's so cute!" Kairi cooed, and Aqua and Xion agreed with her.
"...Chirithy?" Skuld asked, stunned, immediately recongising the little cat.
Chirithy, the little cat, seeing Skuld, tilted it's head before saying, "Oh! You must be Skuld! It's really nice to meet you."
"One of the Keyblade wielders of the past. So they really are here." The ginger-haired girl said, thoughtfully.
"I guess that means these people are the ones who are also trying to solve the problem with the Heartless, right?" The pink-haired girl asked, approaching the group with the Moogle.
"...Did I hit my head or something?" Myde asked, cluelessly. To his surprise, the Moogle hovered over to him and examined him before it hovered back to the other girl.
"Nope. Your head is just fine, Kupo." The Moogle said.
"What is going on?" Sora asked, confused.
"Wait, if you have a Chirithy with you, and you know who I am...you must've been brought here as well." Skuld said the ginger-head. "Did you get lost in the Realm of Darkness too?"
"...It's complicated with me, but I guess you could say I was lost to darkness. My name is Strelitzia. Nice to meet you." The girl, Strelitzia, replied and introduced herself. "This is my Chirithy."
"Nice to meet you, everybody!" Chirithy greeted.
"And I'm Serah. This is Mog." The pink-haired girl, Serah, introduced herself and the Moogle nicknamed Mog.
"Nice to meet you, Kupo!" Mog said.
Seeing that all four of them were friendly and had light in their Hearts, Sora's group decided they can be trusted for now.
"I'm Sora, and this is Riku, Kairi, Ven, Terra, Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Myde and Jack." Sora introduced himself and the rest of the group who all gave their own greetings to Strelitzia, Serah, Chirithy and Mog.
"Strelitzia, you said that you were lost to darkness and according to Skuld, you came from the same place she did. What are you doing here?" Aqua questioned to the new Keyblade wielder.
"I honestly don't know." Strelitzia shook her head. "As such, all I know is that someone brought me and my Chirithy back to life after we were both struck down. I didn't understand how or why, but I do remember a voice. It was...strange yet comforting. It sounded like a woman, but all I remember was being surrounded by light, and I could hear it say, 'It's time to give you a second chance. Rebuild your life. Help others, and then you will be able to live in peace'. That's when I found myself in another world, and met Serah."
"A voice and a light..." Sora repeated, before he and most of the others realised what it meant. "That means..."
"It was Cosmos." Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion, Kairi, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Mickey, Donald and Goofy all finished for Sora.
"You know who that is?" Strelitzia questioned.
"We have a hunch on who saved you and brought you back. See, from what we learned so far a little while back, Cosmos is a Goddess of Light." Sora explained.
"With the help of a certain something, Cosmos is the one who had brought me back a year ago." Lea added, "It's a long story."
Strelitzia looked a bit skeptical.
"I think they might be right." Serah spoke up, standing by Strelitzia's side. "It could also explain the same voice I heard that brought Mog back to help me."
"You were told to help too?" Xion asked.
"Yes. I was living off a normal life, but one day, a voice came in my dreams. I can't say much, but it told me that something I once knew before was coming back, and I had to be strong, especially since my older sister vanished. That's when I met Strelitzia and Chirithy and reunited with my friend, Mog." Serah explained.
"Gosh, sounds like ya' both went through a lot. That means you all came from another world." Mickey realised.
"It's more of the case that like me and Ventus, Strelitzia and her Chirithy came from the same world before the Keyblade War." Skuld corrected, before adding, "I never thought I'd see any of the Chirithy's again, not when mine is gone."
"Wait a minute. Your Chirithy?" Sora asked, confused.
"They only lasted two years, unfortunately. But each Keyblade wielder back then had their own Chirithy to guide them on their journey. Sort of like supporters and eventually they become our close friends." Skuld explained, "But if a Keyblade wielder dies or falls into darkness, their Chirithy suffers the same fate."
"It's an awfully sad thing for us. But we accept it as well as being there for our wielders and friends." Chirithy added to confirm it.
"So how come you came back too?" Ven asked to the little cat.
"I don't know. I guess I'm a special case." Chirithy shrugged.
"At least you're not a talking toy." Jack mumured.
"Jack!" Sora and the rest of the group scolded angrily at the pirate who shrank back a little, holding his hands up in surrender.
"That's not very nice." Mickey scolded angrily to Jack.
Strelitzia, Serah, Chirithy and Mog all shared somewhat awkward glances, before Mog muttered, "He's...awfully odd, Kupo."
"Join the club." Lea sighed.
"So what brings you guys here to Twilight Town?" Terra asked, after a moment of awkward silence.
"We thought there might be clues here in this town. We were just on our way to the forest where rumors say a mansion is when we sensed the Heartless and came here first instead." Strelitzia replied.
"The old Mansion..." Aqua repeated.
"Hey, ya'know. Maybe we'll find somethin' there to clues to stop Chaos and Maleficent too." Goofy thought as an idea came into his head, which surprised the rest of the group who all realised that he's right. Ansem the Wise used that place, and since there were still mysteries of it, maybe they can find the Book of Prophecies there.
"Good idea, Goofy." Mickey said, agreeing.
"Hey, why don't we all go together since we're going to the same place?" Xion suggested.
"Are you sure it's alright?" Strelitzia asked, slightly surprised.
"Sure. The more the merrier." Sora said with a grin, placing his hands behind his head. "Most of us know the way anyway."
Strelitzia, Serah, Mog and Chirithy glanced at each other again. Sora and his friends seemed really nice people with many personalities. The way things are going, perhaps they are who the voice instructed them to help in the first place. After a few moments, the four of them nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Let's go." Strelitzia said, holding out a hand with a smile. Sora chuckled, and shook hands with her with his own, in which everyone else all smiled while Mog and Chirithy both cheered happily.
While fighting off the Heartless through out Twilight Town and a shopping for a few supplies as they were running low on Potions, food and such, Sora and his group, along with Strelitzia and her group ventured on towards the old Mansion which most of them haven't visited in a long while. Though the closer they got to it, the more Lea, Roxas and Xion felt a bit uncomfortable, especially since that place is where Lea, as Axel, had defeated Xion in a heavy battle and that's when he lost her just as Roxas had lost both of them that day. It was admittedly the one place they wanted to avoid, but their friendship along with Isa and Namine would not change; not now.
The group reached the clearing and stopped in front of the familiar large old building, with a stone fence and a caged gates again locked. All in all, it was still as the same as Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Lea, Roxas and Xion remembered.
"Charming spot." Jack admitted.
"This is where Ansem has the computer that helped us get to Organization XIII's stronghold." Mickey explained, remembering the last time he and the others were here a year ago.
"Ansem?" Serah asked, confused.
"Organization XIII?" Strelitzia added, puzzled.
"Who're they?" Chirithy asked, sounding confused itself.
"Ansem the Wise was the Elder of a place called Radiant Garden and well, me and him were real good friends." Mickey answered Serah's question, before sighing in sadness as memories of Ansem's death resurfaced the moment he said that. "But...he sacrificed himself to help us, so...he's gone."
"I'm sorry, Mickey." Serah apologuised. She knew what was like losing someone close to her.
"Nah, it's okay." Mickey replied.
"As for Organization XIII...well, they were led by Xehanort, who is the reason behind this whole mess that got all of us caught up this since twelve years ago." Terra began. "He wanted to know about the Keyblade War, and wanted to recreate it. He used me as a vessel, tried to use Ven, and forced Aqua to sacrifice herself."
"And then he split himself into a Heartless while creating his Nobody. Short version, Sora and the others had to stop him several times until just a little while ago. We were all involved in many ways." Isa continued for Terra.
"The main reason for Organization XIII was, well, for Xehanort to split his heart and put twelve pieces of it into the rest of the members and turn them into clones of himself, while having lied to those said members about getting their Hearts back, since it was easier to do it when they're Nobodies." Lea added.
"How is it that Xehanort was able to do such a thing? It's impossible!" Strelitzia asked, shocked at this.
"We think it might've have something to do with his Keyblade which is the most unusual. Sora and I destroyed both of them and well, it's a really long story. But at the same time, the moment Xehanort was defeated, Chaos appeared." Riku answered.
"Chaos...? Are you saying that-?"
"Let me answer the true answer of that." A familiar voice cut Serah off, when most of them sensed the sudden pressence of Darkness in front of them, causing everyone to sharply gaze at the gates of the Mansion, finding that a familiar man in purple and black standing right there, glaring at them. "Loud and clear...Serah."
"You!" Sora growled, he and his friends quickly standing in defense.
"Who're you? Have I threatened you before?" Jack asked, puzzled.
Serah on the other hand, gasped in shock, her eyes widening. "Caius! What are you doing here?" She demanded.
This was newflash to Sora and his group who gazed at Serah and Strelitzia who both also glared hard at Caius Ballad who didn't seem anymore impressed at all either.
"Hold on...you know this whacko?" Myde asked, in disbelief.
"Oh, they go back much longer than any of you know." Another, slightly more charming voice that was unfamiliar spoke, causing everyone else to gaze in front of them again, when another man materalized from the Darkness. This man had magenta hair, a black oldish hat with a black coat, black leather pants and boots, a white shirt underneath which parts of his upper chest was seen, hazle eyes with very thin invisible beard.
"So, you are Sora and his little army. Now joined by two of the old wielders of the Keyblade, still looking quite young." The man chuckled, mockingly.
"Who are you?" Aqua demanded to the strange new man.
"Oh, do pardon my manners, miss. Ardyn Izunia." The man, Ardyn, introduced himself, bowing slighlty as though he were being polite upon this greeting. "Quite a crowd, all of you. It's no wonder you've met so many."
"...Doesn't ring a bell." Jack said to Ardyn.
"What is it that you're both after? How is it any of our fault with what is happening, when it was the one who predicted the Keyblade War in the first place?" Strelitzia demanded to both Caius and Ardyn.
"You all broke the sacred laws of the Chaos. Instead of doing as history should have done, history has changed when one of you unexpectedly formed into two humans when one should never have existed." Caius explained, taking a few steps forward, before pointing at Sora directly, "That person at fault is you, Sora."
Sora was shocked and confused. It was...all of his fault that Chaos appeared? Sure Roxas never meant to exist, but Sora knew that Roxas did deserve to exist and it was because of Roxas that Sora had been able to save Axel from dying and fading into Darkness and thus, it helped him regain his heart and become Lea once again. If that didn't happen...then Roxas and Xion would've still been inside Sora, Ven's heart would've still been in his own heart, Terra and Isa would've both still be in Xehanort's clutches, Aqua would've still been in the Realm of Darkness along with Skuld, and even Namine would've still been inside Kairi.
Shaking those thoughts away, Sora glared harder at Caius, pointing out, "You're crazy! The one who's at fault at this whole mess is Xehanort and he's gone now! My friends and I fought long and hard to stop him from creating another Keyblade War, and we managed to save those who needed saving!"
"Are you certain it's the right course?" Ardyn grinned evilly as he took a few steps to stand beside Caius. "Death is a permament thing, and you should know it. For example."
He turned his gaze to Roxas, Xion and Lea, continuing, "The friendship of those three was never meant to be, and and it's because of Lea that he held back the truth from the two young ones. How could be they trust him if he betrayed them before?"
"Shut up!" Roxas snapped angrily.
"And you," Caius turned his gaze to Aqua. "You acted on instinct rather than focusing on your true destiny. You are at fault for keeping Xehanort alive for the sake of your friendship with Terra."
"Stop it!" Aqua shouted, struggling not to let that lingering guilt get the better of her.
"And last but not least...you, little King." Ardyn smirked as he gazed at Mickey this time. "What kind of king would leave his subjects to help another while going out to try and solve the problem, already having failed to save others and left his Kingdom defendless?"
"Stop!" Mickey screamed, struggling himself.
"Who knows? Maybe all of you are what brought Chaos to life because of your own actions? Maybe things would've been better off in Xehanort's clutches. But you have killed him! The one who could've saved the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness, rejoining the two to recreate the world back to it's former glory!" Ardyn continued mockingly.
"STOP IT!" Serah shouted, with Mog already turning into her bow and Arrow, firing two arrows at the two men to get him to shut up. Unfortunately, Caius summoned his massive sword and swiped at the two arrows clean, shattering them into pieces.
Still, that didn't stop Serah from yelling, "No more lies! Caius, this isn't like you! What happened to protecting the Dead? Everything that you forced me and Lightning to go through? Are you trying to repeat what you forced me to do, to force Sora and his friends onto the wrong path?"
"You already nearly had me down the wrong path, Caius and Ardyn. I refuse to let you both do the same to these people. They have been doing the right thing as I can sense. They only got involved because they didn't have a choice, because they didn't know any better." Strelitzia added, glaring heatedly at the two men.
This was enough for Sora and the others to snap out of the trances that they all nearly became engulfed in with guilt and sudden lies they almost believed, and instead glared at the two new enemies once more.
"Fine." Ardyn shrugged carelessly. "You two finally beat us in that catagory. But do you really think you all have what it takes to bring peace to the Realm of Light?"
"Don't think you're off the hook, Ardyn. I still have doubts about you." Caius growled warningly at Ardyn who smirked.
The magenta haired man grinned, "Now, Caius. Would I really go and betray you?"
Caius snorted, "If I find out you were in the league of another behind my back, I will not hesitate to kill you myself."
There was a tensed silence for a few moments.
"Well, I think we shall take our leave. We will meet again, Sora." Ardyn finally said, before he vanished into a Corridor of Darkness that appeared behind him.
Before he followed, Caius glared at Sora's group and the others again, saying for the final time, "None of you have what it takes to defeat Chaos. This is a war of gods that will begin soon. The next time we meet, it will be in battle." before entering the portal and vanished as the Corridor of Darkness also vanished into thin air.
Relaxing a little when they realised that the two strange men were gone for now, Sora and everyone else shared concerned and slightly terrified glances.
"Whoa...that was scary." Myde thought.
"I really don't like them already. They remind me too much of Beckett." Jack nodded in agreement, shuddering a little at the memories of the lord of the East Indian Trading Company.
"That Ardyn guy reminds me too much of Xemnas." Lea shuddered, still feeling admittedly scared for almost falling for the man's tricks. What scared him even more was that Ardyn was right about a few things, but still, the blame for everything that's happened is Xehanort's.
"How is it that you all know those two men?" Skuld asked to Strelitzia, Serah, Mog who returned to his Moogle form, and Chirithy.
"It was a few months ago when we first encountered them. Back then, they tried to get me to fall into the despair of guilt. No one knows Ardyn Izunia or where he originally came from. But he is very manipulative and dangerous. Makes you think his words are true." Strelitzia explained first.
"Sounds like Xehanort." Terra sighed, and Lea, Roxas, Xion, Isa, Mickey, Riku, Sora, Kairi, Ven and Aqua both nodded in agreement.
"What about Caius?" Kairi asked, worriedly.
Serah looked uncomfortable, before eventually saying, with slight hesitation, "He's the reason why I was seperated from my sister. A long time ago when the actions he did had costed so many lives, he redeemed himself by sacrificing his life to be in a place where he could watch over the dead to guide them in a place that is forbidden to reach to those who are still living. It's...very complicated."
"I feel like my brain's turning into goo." Myde groaned.
"That's weird. Wonder why none of us knew about those guys when they would've joined Xehanort?" Sora thought, concerned and worried.
"Maybe it's because they're in another group, like Maleficent and Pete weren't working for Xehanort and Organization XIII, and Aced too." Mickey theoried.
"Wait, did you say Aced? Master Aced is here?" Strelitzia asked, stunned and shocked.
"Sora and the others encountered him a while back in another world. He has Mickey's mentor and two others captured and is another who is a worry to the Realm of Light. He...isn't who he once was." Skuld answered.
"I think we should investigate the Mansion and see what we can find. So many things are happening, even I don't know what is going on here." Chirithy suggested to everyone else.
Everyone nodded in agreement before heading through the gates of the mansion, though Mickey lingered behind and ended up pausing in his steps all together. Despite knowing that Ardyn had been trying to get to his weakness and trick him, Mickey was still haunted by the man's words. The blame was squarely on Xehanort's shoulders, but the king couldn't help but feel like part of this was his fault too.
Mickey felt his heart sink slightly. Even though he had to be strong and take on the role of being wise, he didn't think he was doing a good job at it. Was he really worthy of having the title of Keyblade Master?
"I wish Master Yen Sid were here." Mickey muttered to himself.
"Is everything alright, Mickey?" Aqua's voice jarred him out of his thoughts, before looking up and realised that his friend had noticed that he lingered behind and stopped all together, and, having been worried, she came back to him and was now kneeling to his height of level.
Sighing, remembering another thing that he failed at, Mickey replied, "I'm sorry, Aqua. Everythin' I did was a complete mess. Gosh, what happened twelve years ago is the biggest mess I ever made in my entire life. I couldn't save ya, twice in a row, I couldn't help to save Ven or Terra...and I wasn't strong enough to stop Xehanort, and ended up having Sora, Riku and everybody else get involved."
"It's not your fault." Aqua pointed out, feeling the similiar guilt as her friend was feeling; unable to support Terra when he had needed it, unable to protect Ven, unable to keep her promise she had made to Master Eraqus, unable to stop Xehanort from using her best friends and murdered their master, and had unwittingly allowed Xehanort to continue the terror for those twelve years in her attempt to save Terra from being lost in the Realm of Darkness by taking their place.
"...I let Xehanort to continue to do what he wanted...and I wasn't able to be there to stop him. It's my fault that you had to continue my fight, and ended up having Sora, Riku and Kairi finish what we started, and getting so many others involved; Lea, Isa, Myde, Donald, Goofy...and all of the worlds who had enough problems of their own. If I didn't do that, Terra would've been lost, but none of this would've happened. I just...I didn't want to lose him, but in the end, I still did, and even though we're all back together now...the Realm of Light is still facing grave danger." Aqua continued, the guilt slowly starting to get the better of her.
"I don't wanna blame ya' Aqua. All I want is to blame Xehanort...but it's not easy. I wish I wasn't so blind and naive." Mickey muttered, struggling not to cry. "It's worse when Master Eraqus was struck down, and Ansem sacrificed himself...and now Master Yen Sid is out there somewhere, in Aced's clutches with Angeal and Genesis."
"I guess we all made mistakes we're not proud of." Aqua sighed. "But still...we shouldn't dwell in the past that we can't change."
These words instantly hit Mickey out of his saddened trance. That would be something Sora would say. They all had the problems with Chaos and all of the villians and here he was blaming himself for something that can't be undone, when he and Aqua should be focusing on fixing up the mess that's happened and prevent the Realm of Light from being destroyed by the hands of Chaos and Bhunivelze.
"Ya' know, you're absolutely right." Mickey said, renewed determination growing, "The worlds need Sora and all of us, and so do all of our friends and families who are out there waiting. Besides, you, Ven, Terra, Lea, Isa and Myde were given a second chance, and I'm gonna do in all of my power to make sure none of ya's or anybody else get lost into darkness again."
Mickey's words had also renewed Aqua's determination as well. This was the Mickey she remembered; the one who was optimistic, determined, kind and brave, and also adventurous as well.
"Right." Aqua nodded.
"But um, just promise me one thing." Mickey added, a little sheepishly.
"Huh?"
To Aqua's slight surprise, Mickey wrapped his arms around her shoulders and neck as his face was slightly buried on her right shoulder in a hug, "Please don't go away again. I don't wanna lose ya' or Ven, or Riku, or Sora, or Kairi, or Donald and Goofy, or anybody else again. I don't think my heart can bear it."
"...I'll do my best not to." Aqua whispered, returning the hug as her arms wrapped around her friend's small but warm body.
Unknowingly to both of them, Lea, who had noticed Aqua having gone back to Mickey, had listened in to their conversation from the doorway of the mansion and sighed, guilt but determination mixed up in his own heart. Aqua was was; they all made mistaked none of them in this team were proud of, but Mickey was also right about oen thing; it's up to them and especially up to Sora to protect the worlds and stop the enemies as much as they can.
Half an hour later...
"Nope." Sora muttered to himself as he looked through another room for the fourth time in a row since they started investigating the Mansion for clues. He and the others didn't know what Mickey, Aqua and Lea had been doing a little while ago, but neither of them questioned it.
Mickey pulled out a book from a shelf in the library and took a quick read before shaking his head, muttering, "Nope." putting the book back and continued looking.
"Hmm..." Lea thought as he checked one of the lower rooms, before shaking his head, "Nuh-uh." and headed back to the main stairway room.
Everyone else had been searching the entire mansion all over the place, but it seemed that despite all of the books and memories, they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Eventually they all gathered in the computer room where the teleporter to the simulation Twilight Town was still in place, and Roxas couldn't help but glare at it, sighing.
"...Guess this is a dud." Myde grumbled, disappointed.
"What about through that door?" Serah asked, pointing at the doorway next to the computer to the left next to the staircase where they came from.
"Nah, that just leads to the capsule room. Nothing interesting or useful that way." Lea sighed.
"What does this thing do?" Chirithy asked, gazing at the teleporter.
"That leads to the Alternate Twilight Town. It's basically the same as the real Twilight Town. I don't think it'll help us out either." Mickey answered.
"Alternate Twilight Town?" Strelitzia asked, confused. Jack, Ven, Aqua, Terra and Skuld were confused as well.
"It's just a simulated version of it." Roxas began, "Ansem put me in there to hide from Organization XIII and to help Sora."
"What's simulated?" Jack asked, dumbfounded.
"It means a digital copy of something that looks real but it isn't. It can even feel real when you touch it, but it's all basically done by technology." Isa explained to the pirate.
"Don't you think there might be another secret door or something? There has to be something we can find to help us out." Kairi thought, not wanting to admit defeat, but at the rate they were going, it was starting to seem like it.
"Gee, the only way to find the secret door is not knowin' it's actually there." Goofy shrugged, while leaning against the wall next to the staircase with one hand, only to suddenly hear an unusual sound when his hand unknowingly pushed a secret function plate which then caused the wall to slide downward and disappear, causing the Captain of the Knights to suddenly realise that the wall was no longer there and fell sideways down the hidden stairs clumsily while crying out in alarm.
"Goofy!" Sora cried out, worriedly, as he and the rest of the group cringed and winched in sympathy and worry as their friend tumbled down the stairs until they heard a crash and thud which told them that Goofy had stopped tumbling.
Without hesitation, everyone raced down the stairs into the dark room, where they found Goofy having crashed into a bookshelf where books and wards of paper landed slightly on top of him and all over the floor, and Goofy himself seeing stars circle around his head.
"Are you okay, Goof'?" Mickey asked worriedly as he, Sora, Donald and Kairi went over to him, while Myde found a light switch and switched it on, instantly lighting up the room which seemed similiar to Al's office in Al's Toy Burn, but more fit for Twilight Town and the mansion.
"Ay-yhuck, guess I found the secret room." Goofy said after shaking his head to rid the dizzy spells. This made most of his friends chuckle, while Donald facepalmed himself in exasperation.
"Of course you have. Not what I was expecting, but it's close." Jack commented, glacing around at the said small room that was big enough to fit at least 30 people.
The others by then were already investigating the room until something caught Riku's eye. A lone brown leathered book that had a picture of a rose on it. There was something...quite odd about it. Picking it up from the desk, the silver-haired teen flipped through the first place and read it, his eyes narrowing in confusion but at the same time, it was starting to make sense.
"Hey, guys. I found something." Riku called up, causing everyone, including Goofy who recovered, to come forward.
"What'dcha find?" Ven asked.
"Looks like a diary." Riku answered, before reading the lines on the first page aloud.
"Unknown Year: First Diary Journal I find in this new life.
I do not remember where I had come from or who I really am, aside from my name; Lauriam. All I know is I find myself in this mysterious Mansion in a strange new world I am unfamiliar with. Bits and pieces of my memories are that I had murdered someone to gain access to a special book that would give me answers to claim the power of a weapon.
But nothing else. So on my first day, I ventured to this mysterious town of Twilight, but none of this makes sense. But I must be patient. If I have to spend many days, weeks, months, or perhaps even years to learn of my past, then so be it. Until then, I will record my days in this journal to always remind myself should I lose my memories for unknown reason once more."
"So...I'm not the only one who didn't know where I came from." Ven thought, frowning. The name Lauriam, it sounded strongly familiar.
"Lauriam...I suspected something was unsual about him." Skuld muttered, frowning deeply.
"Do you know who that is?" Xion asked.
"He was one of the Union Leaders of the second generation of Foretellers along with Ven, Blaine, Ephemer and myself. The last to join us, actually." Skuld explained.
"It can't be..." Strelitzia muttered, shocked and seemingly horrified.
"What is it, Strel'?" Myde asked.
"So this Lauriam...he's the one who ambushed Chirithy and I and stole my book." The ginger-haired girl realised, and Chirithy shuddered in realization as well, which made everyone else now even more concerned.
"What? Wait a minute, are you saying that...?" Ven trailled off.
"So you two are the second generation of the Foretellers, chosen by Master Ava?" Strelitzia asked to both Ven and Skuld who blinked in shock.
"How do you know?" Skuld asked, suddenly feeling a bad sense in this.
"...Master Ava chose me to be one of the new Foretellers. But, when I was searching for someone who was going to fight in the Keyblade War...Chirithy and I were ambushed and fatally beaten. My book was stolen from me, and none of us could see who it was since the abandoned room was dark. That's how my life ended in the first place." Strelitzia explained.
"You mean...?" Sora began.
After a moments pause.
"WHAAAAATTTT!?" Everyone else except for Jack, Strelitzia, Serah, Mog, and Chirithy all exclaimed in shock and utter disbelief.
"Lemme get this straight; You were chosen to be one of the five new Foretellers, but never got the chance to even meet Ven and the others and some guy in the journal here killed you so that he could take your place?" Lea asked incrediously.
"I never knew who it really was who killed me, but now it makes sense on how it happened." Strelitzia nodded.
"So Lauriam lied to us...but the question is, why?" Skuld muttered, shocked and horrified by this new revolation. "I still don't remember much of it at all. I don't even remember what he looks like."
"I wish I could remember it." Ven sighed, folding his arms to his chest, troubled.
"Hmmm...if what the journal says is right, I guess Lauriam wasn't even a real Keyblade wielder and wanted to use it's power as his own." Mickey theoried.
"That sounds similiar to what Xehanort tried to do." Terra thought, frowning.
"Oooh! I can't believe any of this." Donald groaned in dismay.
"Looks like whoever this Lauriam person is, had found his way here to the present, Kupo." Mog muttered after thinking this through. "Maybe he's still here since the journal doesn't seem that old. Maybe about 16 years old, Kupo."
"So Lauriam arrived here sixteen years ago." Isa thought, deepily.
Ven's eyes widened in realization as he said, "That's around the same time Xehanort found me before he extracted the darkness out of my heart."
"So, like you, Skuld and Ephemer, Lauriam could still be alive?" Sora correctly guessed.
"Come on, Sora. Isn't it that obvious? I don't know about you, but I'm getting a feeling that this Lauriam guy and Lamuria are the same person." Vanitas pointed out as he rolled his eyes while materalizing once more next to Sora.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Sora asked in his mind, while focusing on the main conversation that was going on, doing his best not to look crazy.
"If Isa's theory is correct, then possibly." Strelitzia nodded in agreement, fully unaware of Sora multi-tasking between two conversations, one aloud and one in his head.
"Exactly what I said, idiot." The raven-haired boy sighed, slightly exasperated. "This Lauriam guy killed Strelizia to get a book, wanting a weapon which is clearly a Keyblade and then lied to Ventus, Skuld, Ephemer and this Blaine guy. Then we have Lamuria who, as Marluxia, wanted to use you as his puppet with Namine's powers so that he would use your Keyblade to overtake Xemnas. A big coincidence, if you ask me."
'Gimme a break. So their goals in wanting the Keyblade is similiar, but Xehanort's goal wasn't that different with the X-Blade.' Sora pointed out, though he had to admit it, as much as it hated it, Vanitas did have a good point. Then again, he might be trying to gain Sora's trust, so the teenaged wielder wanted to be extra careful.
Seeing that Sora wasn't going to change his mind on this, Vanitas shrugged as he disappeared once more, "Fine. But don't say I told you so." fading once more, much to Sora's relief.
Still...maybe finding Lauriam might not be a bad idea, and if they can, maybe they can question the guy in what his crazy goal was and why he killed Strelitzia in the first place to get the Keyblade.
"Then maybe we should go out and find this guy first." Sora suggested, and this slightly surprised everyone else, but it made sense at the same time now that they realised what he had in mind.
"And maybe he has the Book of Prophecies with him." Roxas added.
"But where can we find him?" Donald asked.
"Welp, the only way to find out is to look." Mickey stated.
"Right, and then ask him what's going on through his head." Sora agreed.
"Maybe he's with Aced." Kairi said, worriedly. "I don't know why, but I just have this feeling."
"I don't get it either, but I think you might right, Kai'." Lea nodded in agreement.
"Then let's go out and find them. It'll take a while in searching the worlds, but they still need our help anyway." Ven declared.
"Strelitzia, Mog, Chirithy and I'll stay here to look further around this town. Otherwise, we'll probably leave to other worlds too." Serah declared, with her three companions nodding in agreement.
"Then I guess we'll meet each other in one of the worlds at some point." Skuld stated. Strelitzia nodded in agreement.
"Be careful out there. It'll be really dangerous." Strelitzia said, worriedly.
"Don't worry, we'll be careful." Mickey promised.
These goals in mind, Sora's group left Strelitzia's group in the Mansion before leaving behind Twilight Town for the time being, promising themselves to return soon to look further into the mystery if they had to, while on their way to the next world that was calling out to them, now with an added goal on their quest.
A/N: I liked Strelitzia and was quite sad that she had to die just only two weeks after her introduction. That's the shortest introduction and farewell to a character in gaming history! And while I am fully aware that Lauriam/Lamuria may not be Strelizia's murderer in Union X, but I don't like Marluxia anyway, so I'm sticking him as a full own antagonist.
See you in the next chapter in the next Disney world!