Chapter XVII: Brand New Tomorrow

Setting out once again, Ushio journeyed to yet another world. Futuristic buildings composed a nearby city as she walked the nearby hillside. The bright sun shone down on her as she eyed something flying fast close by. Upon realizing that the object wasn't flying and more falling, her instincts kicked it. The vehicle crashed as she ran towards it.

•[World of Tomorrow]•

Running over a hill, she heard voices on the other side.

"Isn't there like a time machine repair shop or something?" a blonde haired boy asked.

"No! There's only two time machines in existence, and the Bowler Hat Guy has the other one!" exclaimed a raven haired boy beside him.

"Well, somebody's gonna have to fix this." the first boy said.

"Good idea." the second boy pushed the first towards the broken vehicle. "You're smart. You fix it."

"Are you crazy? I can't fix this thing." the blonde said, exacerbated.

"Yes, you can. You broke it. You fix it."

"All right, under one condition. I fix it, you take me back to see my mom."

"What? You didn't even follow through on our last deal. How can I trust you?"

"Well, you told me you were a time cop from the future. How can I trust you?"

"Touché."

"So, do we have a deal?"

The boys shock hands as they finally realized Ushio was watching their entire conversation. After the initial shock, the black haired boy spoke.

"Um, how much of that did you hear?"

"All of it." Ushio's voice went a bit higher. "Though I wasn't trying to spy on you or anything. I swear. It's just I saw your thing crash and I came to check on if you were okay. I'm Ushio, by the way."

"I'm Wilbur." said the black haired one.

"My name's Lewis." said the blond in glasses.

With greetings out of the way, Ushio gazed at the broken vehicle.

"So, this is a time machine, huh?" she examined it. "Do you need any help moving it to a place you can fix it."

"Well, considering you already know our secrets, I'll take you up on that." Wilbur stated. "Though, I'm gonna need to keep a close eye on you."

—

The city was abound with activity as the citizens carried about their days. People moved to and fro as a lone person stood out. Sitting upon a tall building, a person in a black cloak watched everyone. They removed the hood to reveal a purple haired girl with multiple gold earrings on her left ear. Her hair resembled a crescent on her right side as it avoided covering her eyes.

"Geez, I can't find them anywhere." she sighed. "Just when we found the one to aid, they seem to vanish. This is such a pain."

Hopping up, the woman gazed around the city as she scanned the vicinity.

"I can't go back empty handed. Guess I gotta look for them more. Let's just hope they appear soon."

—

The trio continued pushing the time machine over the grassy hills. The nice weather was a treat to Ushio as it aided her task.

"We'll sneak this thing into the garage." Wilbur stated as they reached the top of a hill. "Lewis, you'll have all the tools you need."

"What about your parents?" Lewis asked the other boy.

"Mom never goes in there, and Dad's on a business trip until tomorrow morning. You've got till then to fix it."

"Well, fine, but I'm gonna need some blueprints or something for this."

"No worries, I got someone who could help us with that." Wilbur stated.

The trio rolled the machine up to a large building before coming to a stop. A loud voice called out as someone noticed them.

"Who dares to disturb my sanctuary?" it boomed.

"Carl, it's me. Let me in." Wilbur took the lead.

"None may enter unless they speak the royal password." it spoke again.

"You…need a password to get into your own home?" Ushio asked.

"No, I don't. We don't have a password." Wilbur responded.

"Yes, we do." the voice said. "I made one up while you were gone."

"That's stupid and inconvenient." Ushio replied.

"Exactly." Wilbur added. "How am I supposed to know what it is then?"

"Good point." the voice lowered to a friendlier tone. The door opened as a golden robot came out. "Welcome back, little buddy."

The trio started moving the time machine into the garage as the robot continued to talk.

"So what's up with the stolen time machine? Did you find it? Apparently not. And you managed to bust this one as well."

"It'll be fixed before Dad gets home." Wilbur assured.

"And how do you suppose that's gonna - Who are they?"

"Wow, a real robot!" Lewis exclaimed.

"My name's Ushio. I'm just helping them bring this back." the Keyblade wielder stated.

"Ushio, okay. And you?" Carl, the robot, asked the blond. Unlike with Ushio, there seemed to be more apprehension with him.

"Hi, I'm Lewis." he said, holding out his hand.

Carl panicked and screamed. His body slinking away, he ran to a tube and was sucked upwards.

"Okay." Ushio had a weird look on her face.

"That was unexpected." Lewis added.

Wilbur quickly threw a fruit hat onto the boy as he walked over towards him.

"If my family finds out I brought you from the past, they'll bury me alive and dance on my grave. I'm not exaggerating." Wilbur explained. "Well, yes, I am, but that's not the point."

"So, am I good or…" Ushio hinted.

"Yes, you don't need to disguise yourself, just Lewis." Wilbur answered. "Speaking of which, Lewis, your hair's a dead giveaway."

"Why would my hair be a dead giveaway?" Lewis asked.

"That is an excellent question." Wilbur said before running off.

"Wait! Where are you going?" asked Lewis.

"Another excellent question." Wilbur said before going up the same tube as the robot.

"But I don't just want to sit here." Lewis spoke.

"I guess it's just us now." Ushio said as she looked at him.

—

Looking at a large house, the purple haired girl developed a plan.

"This looks like as good a place as any. If I remember their information correctly, the others said this was part of their target." Heartless began to spring up around the woman as she chatted away to herself. "I'll just start this off and when they appear, they'll get to be delighted. It's been a spell since I encountered them after all."