A/N: Sorry for being so slow... and with nothing else to say, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Puella Magi Madoka Magica

In a World Without You

"Oh my, are ye alright there, lass?"

The voice seemed distant and muffled, as if it traveled through water rather than air to reach her tired ears. Madoka's body flinched slightly at the sudden sensation of a hand on her shoulder, which quickly removed itself at the spasm. Her senses slowly returned to her, she could feel the warm but hard ground underneath her, pressing against her chest and face, suggesting that she was lying down face first. She heard the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance, fluttering open her eyes to find herself staring at… a pair of yellow, webbed feet.

"Ye must have taken quite the tumble, can ye stand?" The person asked in a thick Scottish accent.

"Y-Yes, I think so." Madoka replied as she attempted to prop herself up on her hands. She then lowly rose back to her feet, a bit dizzy, but otherwise perfectly fine. "Thank you for your concern Mr… duck." Madoka breathed in surprise at the sight of the Good Samaritan. He was indeed a short, anthropomorphic duck, his bill the same yellow color as his feet, and his plumage pure white. His eyes were a bright blue, but carried some visible bags underneath denoting his advanced age, and resting on his bill were a small pair of round rimmed glasses. He wore an expensive looking blue jacket with red trim, with a matching top hat on his head, and in his hand he held a finely carved cane that he leaned on for support.

"Aye, the pleasure was all mine. I couldn't very well leave a defenseless young lass laying on the cold, hard ground now can I, lest the name of Scrooge McDuck be forever soiled." The duck said with a playful smile.

"Scrooge… McDuck?" Madoka said quizzically.

He's Donald's uncle… he traveled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King…

'Right, he's a relative of one of Sora's friends… so what's he doing here in Mitaki…' It was then that she finally began to really take in her surroundings, looking around to see nothing but unfamiliar looking shops and buildings, connected with pathways made from carefully placed stone.

"What? Wh-where…?" Madoka's thought was silenced once her eyes fell on a large, partially unconstructed castle in the distance. The sight of it made memories flood into her mind, and suddenly she knew exactly where she was.

"This is… Hollow Bastion."

"Ye be about half right." Scrooge said, Madoka returning her attention to him. "We did away with that awful name quite recently, it would be much appreciated if ye referred to this here town as Radiant Garden."

"Radiant… Garden?" Madoka repeated the name; it had a familiar ring to it, derived from a memory much fresher than the others, and thus there could be no doubt where she was. "But… but how? I was just in Mitakihara, how did I..?"

"Mi-ta-ki… Oh, I see now, yer from another world, aren't ye lass?" Scrooge deduced, Madoka's eyes widening in shock and confusion.

"What?"

"Do not fret, tis the same with me. I've come here to aid in the reconstruction of the town see, quite the lucrative investment if I do say so me self." He explained, though Madoka didn't quite catch what he said, a horrible realization dawning on her.

"I'm… I'm not in my world anymore?" She breathed with a look of utter shock and despair, the old duck returning her empty gaze with a concerned look of his own. "No… No, it can't be!" Madoka denied, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cellphone. Her first instinct was to call home, or perhaps Sayaka, or Mami, but she quickly noticed that she had no signal. "It's not true, it's a lie!" She denied again as she attempted to activate her GPS, only for an error message to appear.

"What's the matter, lass?" Scrooge attempted to ask, Madoka's only response being to drop her phone and fall onto her knees.

Madoka had only felt this way once before, revisiting a faint memory of when she had first left Mitakihara with her family to move to America. She had been sad to leave all of her friends behind, and terrified to start a new life in a country she knew nothing about, but she got through it because she had her family to support her. However, she now knew that those memories weren't real, and that this was most likely the farthest she has ever been from home, the farthest she could ever possibly be… and this time, she was completely alone.

"Mama… Papa… Tatsuya… Sayaka-chan… none of them… none of them are here…" Madoka whimpered before she buried her face in her hands and began sobbing.

"Ah… now, now, there's no need to cry." Scrooge tried in vein to comfort her. The elderly duck made to offer her a handkerchief when suddenly four Soldier Heartless appeared and surrounded them.

"H-Heartless!" Madoka exclaimed, raising her tear stained face.

"Honestly, not ye ruffians again!" Scrooge said, shooting the creatures a defiant glare.

"We're surrounded…" Madoka observed, cowering on her knees.

"Aye, but not for long." Scrooge assured her with a confident smile.

Before Madoka could even wonder what he meant, she heard a soft ping come from off to the side, followed by another that was accompanied by the flash of a strange light that traveled on the ground around them. Just as two of the Heartless seemed like they would attack, they were both shot up into the air by a mysterious column of light, surprising Madoka, as well as the other two Soldiers.

"Heh, heh, how do ye like that ye hooligans!" Scrooge taunted. "Come lass, now's our chance!" He said as he grabbed Madoka's hand and pulled her to her feet, dragging her off down the street that was once blocked by the disoriented Heartless. The rest attempted to give chase, but they two where impeded by the strange lights.

"That was…" Madoka struggled to place where she had seen such a thing before.

"That be the town's defense system." Scrooge explained as they ran. "The Heartless can be quite the problem here, so the lads at the Restoration Committee whipped that up to give folks like us a fightin' chance."

"Restoration…" Madoka's thought was cut off as two Soldiers suddenly materialized before them, blocking their path. Scrooge attempted to turn back, only for the other two to intercept them as well.

"This way!" Scrooge cried as he led Madoka down a narrow alley that the two small companions could just barely slip through. They came out the other end and continued fleeing, however Scrooge began slowing down, panting heavily with each frantic step he took.

"Are you ok?" Madoka asked in concern.

"My apologies lass, I'm not quite the duck I used to be." He lamented as he pressed on. "I must say, they be quite the persistent bunch, they usually give up the chase by now."

"They do?" Madoka said quizzically. "Then why…"

They'll come at you out of nowhere… So long as you continue to wield the Keyblade…

'…They're… they're after me…' Madoka realized as the hazy memory flashed in her mind. She looked at Scrooge as he struggled to keep up the pace, already slowing down to what would be a brisk walk for her. 'Mr. Scrooge is in danger… because he's trying to help me.' Madoka suddenly stopped, Scrooge doing so himself when he felt her hand pull on his.

"What… is it?" He asked between pants.

"I…" Madoka began, but was cut off once the Heartless caught up and surrounded them again.

"Bah, go ahead, just try and come any closer, I'll give ye such a wallop!" Scrooge challenged, waving his cane at them.

However, the Heartless paid no mind to his threat, all four of them lunging forward to attack. Three where countered by the defense system, but one was left unhindered, it's claws outstretched to dig into the innocent old duck's chest.

"No!" Madoka exclaimed as she got between them, summoning the Keyblade and slashing straight through the Soldier's unprotected body, defeating it.

"Oh! Well I'll be, yer a Keyblade Wielder!" Scrooge said in surprise before slumping down in exhaustion. "Why didn't ye just say so?"

"Uh, s-sorry." Madoka said with an apologetic bow.

Madoka quickly returned her attention to the fight, just in time to block a claw swipe from the second Heartless. The two remained locked as Madoka noticed the light of the defense system approaching. Almost instinctively, Madoka broke off the struggle and took a step back, and as the Soldier attempted to advance, it was shot up into the air by the column of light, allowing Madoka to land a leaping upward slash and kill it. Once she landed on the ground, she immediately rolled out of the way of the third Soldier's leaping kick and slashed it in the back in retaliation. She then advanced on the last Heartless, her two slashes parried by its claws before she had to guard against a rotating kick. She leaped back, and once again the Heartless was caught by the town's defense system, allowing Madoka to leap into the air and finish it with a downward slash.

Once the battle was over, Madoka took a deep breath to calm herself down before dismissing the Keyblade. She then returned her attention to the recovering Scrooge.

"Are you ok Mr. Scrooge?" Madoka said as she offered him a hand.

"Aye, don't ye worry lass, just a little tired is all." Scrooge assured as he accepted the hand and allowed Madoka to help him back to his feet. "It'll take more than just a light run to put down ol' Scrooge McDuck." Madoka couldn't help but giggle at the old duck's boast.

"Thank goodness, and thank you for helping me." Madoka said with gratitude.

"Bah, ye got it backwards lass, I should be the one saying thank ye." Scrooge protested. "But I must admit, if ye had just pulled out that Keyblade from the start, it could have saved us both quite a bit of trouble." Madoka's face fell at the comment.

"Right, I'm sorry, it's just that…" She attempted to find the words to explain the complex range of emotions she currently felt. "I've never really been away from home before, let alone to a completely different world. And I don't even really know how I got here, so… I guess I just got scared." She hung her head in shame, a crestfallen look on her face.

"Oh my, ye found yer self in quite the pickle, haven't ye lass?" Scrooge said with sympathy. "Well, luckily for ye, I have a few friends that just might be able to help."

"Eh, really?" Madoka said, her face lighting up with hope.

"Heh, heh, of course! I'd be happy to introduce ye, they should be right over at that castle there." Scrooge pointed his cane up towards the tall castle in the distance. "However, the Heartless might give us some trouble along the way. Feel like yer up for it, uh… oh, I don't believe I ever caught yer name lass."

"Oh, my name is Kaname Madoka." The pinkette introduced herself with a polite bow. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Scrooge"

"Aye, the pleasure is all mine, Madoka." Scrooge replied with a joyful smile, Madoka offering one of her own.

"…Huh?" Sayaka suddenly jolted awake.

"…I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this real, or not?" Sayaka turned to see Madoka, sitting formally at the table in Mami's living room, a cup of tea half empty before her.

"Madoka?" Sayaka said quizzically.

"And I don't just mean the Heartless or the Keyblade; I've actually been thinking like this ever since I got back to Japan." Madoka continued, giving no heed to Sayaka.

"Oh yeah, you lived abroad for awhile, didn't you?" Mami recalled.

"I'm actually not so sure about that anymore." Madoka admitted.

"Whoa, whoa, hold a second, haven't we already had this conversation?" Sayaka interjected, recognizing the scene of Madoka explaining her troubles while they were hiding out in Mami's apartment.

"You see, ever since I came back, I've been having these really strange dreams." Madoka continued as if Sayaka had said nothing.

"Hey, quite ignoring me!" Sayaka demanded as she stood up and glared at each of her friends, but Madoka just continued speaking, and the others just continued listening. "What the… what is this?"

"You really are a troublesome one, Miki Sayaka." Sayaka flinched at the cold voice, before turning to see Homura, clad in her black feathery dress and wings outstretched behind her, leaning her back on the window of Mami's apartment.

"Transfer student?" Sayaka said with a quizzical stare and a defensive stance.

"I was able to watch this scene play out peacefully with the others, but it seems, as always, you insist on giving me trouble. Honestly, it's like the purpose of your entire existence is just to be a nuisance to me." Homura said with a tired glare as she approached the table and took a seat just a bit too close to Madoka.

"At first they were fuzzy, and I couldn't remember what they were about after I woke up, but recently…" Madoka continued her monologue without ever acknowledging Homura, even as she invaded her personal space and stared intently at her as she listened.

"…Wait, so is this…?"

"A memory, a recording of a past event simply being replayed in your mind." Homura confirmed, though her gaze was fixed solely on Madoka's troubled face.

"So… this is all in my head… you're inside my head!?" Sayaka grasped her head between her hands at the horrific realization.

"Believe me, it is an unpleasant experience for both of us." Homura quipped darkly, sparing Sayaka a momentary glance before returning her full attention to Madoka.

"…When I held that Keyblade, it felt like I was that boy, in another one of those memories… and that really scares me." Homura's face fell as Madoka said this, the devil girl reaching up and caressing the memory's cheek with her gloved hand.

"Oh Madoka," She cooed sadly before embracing the memory of the pinkette just as the room began to shake, Sayaka and the rest of the memory reacting accordingly. Yet, Madoka remained still in Homura's arms, as if shielded while the rest of the memory played out without her. "I still can't believe I let you suffer like this for so long. Just what have I been doing all of this time?" She began to choke up as she held the petit body in her arms tightly, pressing her cheek against Madoka's lovingly as she wallowed in her own self-pity.

"...You devil, quit using my memories to creep on Madoka!" Sayaka furiously demanded as she took the knocked over, broken teapot by the handle and charged forward with the full intent to smash Homura over the head with it. However, just as she was about to bring the shattered edge of it down, her arm was held back in a vice like grip. Sayaka was shocked to look over and find Homura herself, now standing behind her, with her gloved hand clamping down on her wrist.

"Grr, you damn…!" Sayaka's curse fell as she attempted to kick her away, only to realize that she could no longer feel, or move, any part of her body. "W-What the… why…?" Sayaka desperately tried to command her body, but all she managed was the tiniest bit of trembling to anything she attempted to move. A chill ran down the blunette's spine, she could just feel Homura putting on an amused smirk as she let go of Sayaka's wrist and caressed the length of her frozen arm.

"It's ironic really, you were always the least competent of Madoka's friends. Neither innately strong or intelligent, with a mental state that comes crashing down with even the slightest and most trivial of provocations." Homura's hand moved to cup Sayaka's cheek as her other rested on her shoulder, a tender embrace that served to only mock the blunette and her inability to escape the sickening position she was put in. "And yet, despite your total ineptitude, you are always the one that manages to give me the most trouble. Whether it is torturing Madoka with your own self destruction, or somehow finding the will to resist, even though you can never truly stand against me." Homura's voice never went beyond a condescending whisper, but the tight grip on her shoulder and the cupping of her cheek turning into a violent grasp of her jaw betrayed her malice.

"…What are you even… talking about?" Sayaka inquired as she continued to struggle, with little to show for it. Homura let out a dark giggle as her grip on Sayaka softened. Just when Sayaka was beginning to feel some relief, Homura's hands suddenly turned into shadowy tendrils, ensnaring Sayaka.

"There was once a time when I had to waste a great deal of effort to handle the trouble you caused me, but now… now you're nothing more than a thorn in my side; persistent and annoying, but ultimately harmless." The room was engulfed by shadows, Homura's voice now coming from everywhere at once. Sayaka felt herself sink into the floor as she desperately struggled against her binds.

"I don't really get it, but… I'll never let you have your way, you… you devil!" Sayaka was suddenly silenced, completely submerged in the pit of darkness, sinking deeper and deeper, without any hope of returning to the surface.

The glow in Homura's eyes faded as she removed her hand from the bright blue Soul Gem that floated above Sayaka's unconscious body. With a subtle gesture of her hand, the crystal changed its shape in a flash of light, returning to Sayaka's finger as a silver ring. Lying next to her was Kyoko, followed by Mami, and then by Nagisa, all sleeping peacefully as Homura suppressed their conscious minds.

Homura let out a disappointed sigh. She hated to admit it, but Sayaka was undoubtedly Madoka's best friend. She had hoped that the blunette might have picked up on something from this whole ordeal that the others hadn't, whether it be by virtue of being the closest to Madoka, or simply due to her delusional mind being able to grasp the situation in a way the more mature Mami or cynical Kyoko couldn't. But alas, she was just as useless as she'd always been… her last option had failed.

She looked over at the landscape that should have been Mitakihara, the very earth torn asunder and flung every which way, the pieces lying in improper places, and some even floating precariously overhead. The entire planet, nay, the entire universe had shared this fate, the fate of a teenager's bedroom when they were in a frantic search for something and cared not for the cleanup that would follow. As the devil stared at her handiwork, her lips began to quiver, her knees shook under her own weight, and tears eventually began to spill from her eyes.

"Where are you…? MADOKA!" She shouted, her desperate plea echoing all throughout the cosmos for all to hear, but no reply came. Homura fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands as she began sobbing, the weight of this horrible realization simply too much for her to handle.

"…I looked everywhere for you… I asked everyone where you could be... You're not back with the Law of Cycles, but you don't exist in this world anymore, and… and only I know that you're gone! This… this is… THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE WRAITHS ALL OVER AGAIN!" Her cry alone nearly shattered her barrier, but she hardly cared, what good was a birdcage when the bird has gone and flown away.

She sobbed for what felt like hours, so much so that she failed to notice the slow approach of a certain mangled creature until it was right behind her. The moment she noticed the new presence, she willed herself to stop sobbing, though her pain and desperation were far from gone.

"…I had thrown away my humanity, became the devil, and overthrew a god, all so that one girl could find happiness in this world." Homura forced herself back to her feet, wiping away her tears as she looked up at the starry sky. "Madoka, I'm sorry that I'm such a useless girl, but there is nothing that I wouldn't do for you. I'd even… rely on them again." Homura summoned her Dark Orb, holding it out before her as a large pillar of dark, ominous energy sprang forth from a patch of grass behind her. The dark power, the curses of the world, flew up into the sky and scattered all around, entering new vessels of Homura's own choosing. Once the job was done, Homura dismissed the Dark Orb, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"Well? I've given you your voice back, that's all you said you would need, isn't that right? If so, then start talking, Incubator!" Homura demanded as she shot a glare over her shoulder at the patch of grass that moved ever so slightly.

Eventually, a long, white, fluffy tail peaked over the green blades before the rest of the animal stood up on all fours, stretching its body and letting out what seemed to be a relieved sigh.

"I must say the burden of all of humanity's curses sure is a heavy one, to think that just a year of discomfort could make me nearly forget eons of contentment." Kyubey mused, as it seemed to groom itself with its paw. Suddenly, the Incubator let out a gasp as a white, ornate table appeared below it, elevating it off the ground. Homura then appeared before the creature, slamming her hands on the white surface with a force great enough to shake the very earth beneath them.

"CEASE YOUR PRATTLING INCUBATOR!" She screamed in the creature's face with an infuriated look on her face. "I did not free you to listen to you vent your own frustrations!"

"I'm doing no such thing Akemi Homura, I'm simply stating an intriguing fact." Kyubey defended, completely unfazed by Homura's ire. "You should know better than anyone that I am incapable of such a thing as frustration." Homura clenched her teeth together in a furious scowl before reluctantly backing off, knowing that threats and violence were pointless against the little monster. "Now then, am I correct in assuming that this is about Kaname Madoka's disappearance from this world?" It inquired, Homura trying her best to remain composed.

"…You said that you know things about what happened tonight. About those monsters, and that key shaped sword." Homura stated in her typical icy tone.

"Ah yes, the Keyblade." Kyubey recalled. "I must say, I was very surprised to see it end up in the hands of Kaname Madoka, but I suppose I would be mistaken holding her to the same standards as an ordinary human." Homura's fists tightened as she listened to the Incubator muse to himself. Kyubey seemed to notice this, and let out a sigh. "You really don't have any patience, do you Akemi Homura? But regardless, I'll tell you what I know if you think it will help." It stated, much to Homura's subtle surprise.

"Really? Just like that?" Homura said, clearly skeptical.

"While some may have taken this opportunity to make demands, I understand that you would never follow through on any promises you make to me. In fact, I'm certain that the moment we are through conversing, you will force me back into submission." Kyubey replied.

"Then why?" Homura demanded.

"You forget Akemi Homura, the protection of this universe is the ultimate goal of us Incubators, and at the moment you are the only one capable of countering the forces at play here, so I am more than willing to offer my assistance." Kyubey explained, but it did little to calm Homura. In fact, it irritated her all the more, this wolf in sheep's clothing acting as if it were the lesser of two evils.

"Now then, where to start?" Kyubey wondered, rubbing its cheek with its paw, an action that at one point she might have considered cute. "Tell me Akemi Homura, are you familiar with the concept of… parallel worlds?"

Madoka let out a loud huff as she slashed through the last Shadow blocking her path; she had fought her way through the Restoration Site and had finally made it to the Postern, the entrance to the castle in plain view.

"Whoa…" Madoka breathed as she took a moment to admire the castle. It looked much bigger up close, and despite clearly being under construction and renovation, it still made for an impressive sight that few things in Mitakihara could match.

"Aye, ye should have seen it in its heyday, quite the marvelous sight." Scrooge said, following close behind her. "Still needs a bit of fixin' up before I can really recognize it." Madoka looked over to find the elderly duck looking up at the structure with a distant look in his eyes, no doubt remembering a time that is only a distant memory now. Scrooge noticed Madoka's gaze, and awkwardly cleared his throat.

"But, it's still serviceable. Come along now, my friends should be right inside." He said, beckoning her to follow as he waddled his way to the entrance.

"Oh, right." Madoka complied, sparing the castle one last look before following Scrooge's lead.

"Stay close now lass, we don't want ye getting lost now do we." Scrooge said as they entered the castle. Turns out the old duck wasn't just teasing; what awaited them inside was a series of long and empty corridors, for each path Scrooge led them down, there were three others they ignored. It was a regular maze if Madoka ever saw one, and she didn't like her chances traversing it alone.

Eventually, their trek led them down one last corridor, at the end of which was a large, ornate door that was slightly ajar, letting the light that illuminated the room spill into the hallway. Madoka could also faintly hear the sounds of people talking on the other side, and as they got closer, the voices began sounding rather familiar to her. With a slight huff, Scrooge pushed the door open, leading Madoka into a brightly lit room that clearly hadn't seen use in quite some time. There were books and notes scattered all about, with charts and figures hanging on the walls that Madoka couldn't make heads or tails of. However, what caught her eye the most were the three people that crowded around a large desk in the center of the room. All three of them where far too busy looking over and discussing some paperwork on the table to notice the two newcomers enter.

"Hello, anyone home?" Scrooge said as he knocked on the door, finally gaining the trio's attention.

"Oh, Mr. Scrooge, good afternoon." Replied a mature looking girl with a kind smile. She was fairly tall with pale skin, bright green eyes, and light brown hair tied in a braid behind her head.

"What brings you by the castle?" Another girl, younger and shorter than the first, asked with a cheerful smile. She wore primarily black, an outfit that seemed to champion mobility over anything else, and her casual greeting to the duck decades her senior suggested a laid back attitude.

"If this is about the payment…" The third and only male of the group spoke up, wearing a stern expression that complimented his serious tone. He was the tallest of them, and the most imposing; wearing primarily leather with a scar painted across his face that completed the intimidating look he seemed to go for.

"Bah, don't ye worry about that lad, I know yer good for it. But I will be needin' it by the end of the month, or else I'll be forced to charge ye interest." Scrooge affirmed.

"Of course, thank you again for being so understanding." The man replied with a respectful bow of the head. His face softened an infinitesimally small amount, but the slight relaxing of his posture showed his relief and gratitude. "Things have been pretty busy up here lately."

"Aye, that I know, which is why my visit may not entirely be welcome." Scrooge admitted, much to the trio's concern. "I've come askin' for a favor. Ye see, this here lass with me, Madoka be her name, she came here from another world, and tells me she has no clue how or why." Scrooge explained, Madoka shying away from suddenly being made the center of attention.

"Oh dear." The first girl gasped.

"And that's not all, she also has herself a Keyblade. Those bloody Heartless are drawn to her like moths to a flame, and she's hardly in the right mind to be fendin' them off all by herself in a strange town she knows nothin' about."

"Yikes, talk about a rough day." The younger girl said with sympathy.

"My thoughts precisely. I know ye lads and lasses are swamped, but I thought if anybody could help, ye could." Scrooge stated almost pleadingly. The two ladies shared a concerned glance before turning to the man, meeting their gaze before going into a thoughtful expression.

"…We'll do what we can." He said.

"Aye, please do." Scrooge said with an appreciative nod of the head.

"Um, i-if it's really too much trouble…" Madoka began, but was cut off when the girl in black leaped over the desk and trotted up to her.

"Don't be silly, helping out people in town is part of our job, and that includes visitors." She insisted, her smile never wavering. "Your name was Madoka, right? Nice to meet you, I'm…"

"Yuffie…" Madoka interrupted, the girl freezing as she offered the girl a hand to shake. "You're… the great ninja Yuffie, right?"

"Uh, y-yeah, that's right." Yuffie replied, letting out an awkward chuckle in a horrible attempt to mask her surprise. "And that over there is…"

"Aerith," Madoka beat her to the punch yet again, referring to the other girl that still stood by the desk. "And that's Leon. You're the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee." She stated. The trio all looked to Scrooge, who only shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in denial.

"Uh, sorry, have we met before?" Yuffie inquired with a confused tilt of her head.

"I-I, um… no, but…" Madoka immediately lost her composure, covering her mouth and stuttering for an answer. She honestly couldn't help it, the moment she saw them, the memories just came flooding back, and she just couldn't keep herself from blurting out their names as if she were proving to a few old friends that she still remembered them.

"Then, how do you know our names?" Aerith asked in a soft, almost motherly tone, while Leon just crossed his arms and gazed at her with what could have either been interest or suspicion.

"That's…" Madoka struggled for an answer, but she honestly didn't know where to start. It was hard enough to explain things to her four closest friends, but it was another thing entirely to pour her heart out to people that were somehow both old friends and total strangers.

"You three are… friends with Sora, right?" Madoka said, nervously fidgeting with her skirt. "Well, that's how I know you. Sora has some very precious memories with all of you."

"Sora?" Aerith said quizzically.

"Memories?" Yuffie said with a confused head tilt.

So, this is the key…

Once again, Sora's memories came the rescue. Madoka gazed down at her hand with slight apprehension, before reaching out and summoning the Keyblade, garnering an immediate response from the others.

"That… that Keyblade!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"It can't be." Aerith said in disbelief. With not so much as a gasp of surprise, Leon just walked up to Madoka and gave her a stern look.

"Maybe you should start from the beginning." He suggested, though his imposing figure made it difficult to refuse even if she wanted to.

"R-Right…" Madoka agreed, clutching the Keyblade with both hands to her chest.

She went on to recount her tale; she spoke of Sora's memories that have been plaguing her for close to a year. She told them of the Heartless that suddenly attacked her home, and how she managed to fight them off with the Keyblade. And finally, she spoke of her classmate, Akemi Homura, a girl who turned out to be the literal devil that had been toying with her and her memories for who knows how long.

"And then, I was swallowed up by this bright light, and the next thing I know, I'm here in Hollow- I mean, Radiant Garden."

"I take it that's when I found ye lying on the ground in the middle of the Marketplace?" Scrooge deduced, Madoka giving him a nod of confirmation. She looked back to the others, all wearing thoughtful looks, as they took just a little too long to process Madoka's story.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Madoka accused as her gaze fell to the floor. "That's ok, I know it's really hard to believe, I can hardly believe it myself…"

"Oh, we believe you alright." Yuffie casually rebuked, much to Madoka's surprise. "In fact, it's not as strange to us as you might think."

"What?" Madoka said quizzically.

"It's just like you said, Sora is a very dear friend of ours, but you see… up until recently, we had all completely forgotten about him." Aerith admitted, her kind smile slowly turning into a sad frown.

"Eh? You… forgot him?" Madoka said in disbelief.

"That's right, none of us could remember him for a whole year, until just right before he came back into our lives." Aerith confirmed with a guilty look on her face.

"And that's not all. Apparently, Sora had been asleep for that entire year, and when he woke up, he couldn't remember anything from after his battle with Ansem." Leon added.

"So yeah, Sora and mysterious memory shenanigans kind of go hand in hand around here." Yuffie proclaimed to Madoka.

"Oh, I see." She said, her simple reply thinly veiling her relief.

'So it's not that crazy after all.' She thought.

"So if I'm followin' all this correctly, yer all saying that what's happenin' to Madoka here has something to do with what happened to ye lot?" Scrooge interjected.

"Maybe." Yuffie said with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"The timelines match up a little bit too well to just be a coincidence." Aerith stated.

"That maybe so, but it's one thing for us to lose our own memories, and another thing entirely for this unrelated girl from some distant world to suddenly have somebody else's." Leon countered.

"Well, what about that devil girl Madoka mentioned? If she's powerful enough to play puppet master for an entire World, maybe she's also the one behind what happened to Sora, and to us." Yuffie suggested.

"Um, I don't think that's right." Madoka spoke up, everyone returning their attention to her. "It's true Homura-chan admitted to messing with my memories, but when I mentioned Sora, she got really confused and upset, so I don't think she knows anything about him, or you." She explained, the others pondering this new information.

"Ugh, this is starting to make my head hurt!" Yuffie complained. "And we haven't even started thinking about how Madoka can use Sora's Keyblade!"

"Well, one thing's for sure, just standing around scratching our heads about it isn't going to get us anywhere." Leon said.

"Well, maybe not you lad, but I believe there are others in yer company that are better suited to the task, wouldn't ye agree?" Scrooge proposed, everyone politely ignoring the subtle jab at Leon's expense.

"Hey yeah, they could probably figure this out better than we can." Yuffie agreed.

"Let's go ask them." Aerith said, Leon only offering a nod of agreement.

"Uh… them?" Madoka asked.

"You'll know them when you see them." Yuffie assured.

Madoka watched as Leon stood before a bare part of the wall, placing his hand on a seemingly arbitrary spot that began glowing just a moment later. Suddenly, the glow expanded, before fading away to reveal a new, metallic hallway, much to Madoka's surprise.

"Right this way." Leon ushered as he proceeded into the hidden passage.

"R-Right…" Madoka said sheepishly as she followed him, Yuffie, Aerith, and Scrooge bringing up the rear.

The metallic hallway soon gave way to a glass floor, holding them up in an enormous open room, the walls lined with countless strange pods that seemed to be filled with a strange, liquid energy. Madoka gawked at the magnificent room, obviously some sort of factory or assembly line, with mysterious tools and equipment strewn about that she could only guess at the function of. There was no memory that came to explain its purpose, but the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that it wasn't a place to be admired. Leon guided her to what seemed to be some sort of control room, as on the front wall was an advanced looking computer terminal seated underneath a large window that allowed one to see the entire facility. On the opposite side was a large complicated looking device that took up most of the wall, surrounded by various screens that showed readouts that Madoka couldn't possibly hope to understand.

However, it was the sound of furious tapping and irritated grumbling that brought her attention straight to the terminal, where two men were huddled around the screen as one typed on the keyboard.

"Hmm, maybe… nah, that ain't gonna work…" The younger of the two men said as he typed in codes into some sort of program on the computer.

"Perhaps we could try this." The second man said as he reached over the other's shoulder and typed some things in.

"You old coot! We already tried that!" The younger man exclaimed as he furiously shoved the older man's hands away.

"Well, third time's the charm, as I believe the saying goes." The older man replied with a pretentious wave of his finger.

"I can assure you that the probability of that succeeding hasn't increased since your previous attempt." A third, almost artificial sounding voice said from the speakers of the computer.

"Ya see! Even the computer knows you're full of it!" The younger man chastised.

"Why I never…!" The older man said, clearly insulted.

"I hope we're not interrupting somethin' now, are we?" Scrooge spoke up, gaining the duo's attention and giving Madoka a chance to get a good look at them.

The one sat at the computer was a gruff looking man with short blond hair and some slight stubble on his chin. He wore a pair of goggles on his forehead, and had a long toothpick hanging from his mouth. She couldn't help but think of Kyoko and those pocky she loved to snack on. The other was a significantly older man, with a long white beard and a pair of round-rimmed glasses resting on his nose. He wore a long blue robe with a matching tall pointed hat, and carried what seemed to be a finely crafted, but otherwise ordinary looking stick.

"Oh, well if it isn't Mr. Scrooge. How are you old chap?" The elder of the two said, his mouth hidden by his beard but the wrinkles in in his face and bright look in his eye said that he was smiling.

"Please tell me you're here to take this loon off my hands." The other man griped almost playfully, to which Scrooge let out an amused chuckle.

"No, I'm afraid not, but it's good to see you three getting along as usual." He replied, the two men trading a look before turning away from each other with a hostile grunt.

"Your assessment of our relationship is severely inaccurate." The computer voice stated, apparently missing the sarcastic nature of the comment.

"Alright fellas, you can be at each other's throats later, right now we've got a job for you." Yuffie said.

"Great, add it to the list and we'll get to it when we get to it." The blond man said with clear disinterest as he attempted to return to his work.

"Sorry, but I don't think this one can wait." Aerith said as she guided Madoka forward by her shoulders.

"Hmm? Who's the little pink gal?" The blond man inquired, Madoka shifting awkwardly under his gaze.

"This here's Madoka, she's a girl from another world." Yuffie introduced. "Madoka, this is… well, you probably already know, don't you?" She said with a knowing smile. Madoka flinched a bit at the accusation, but she couldn't deny it as she took another look at the aging duo.

Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid!

"You're Cid," Madoka said to the blond man, a surprised expression appearing on his face. "And you're…"

Are you… A Heartless?

Oh, my. No. My name is Merlin.

"…Merlin the Wizard, right?" She said to the elderly man, who certainly seemed like an old wizard if she ever saw one.

"…Well shucks little lady, you some kind of mind reader or something?" Cid inquired.

"Unlikely. A more plausible explanation is that you have encountered each other before, and you are simply unable to recall her." The computer voice suggested.

"You calling me stupid you pile of ones and zeros!" Cid barked at the screen.

"I believe he is calling you forgetful rather than stupid." Merlin clarified.

"Affirmative." The computer confirmed.

"Why you..." Cid growled in annoyance.

"That voice…" Madoka spoke up, finally recognizing the computer generate words.

My name is Tron. I'm a security program.

"Tron?"

"…Fascinating, unlike these users, I can say with absolute certainty that this is our first encounter, and yet she is somehow aware of my identity. Perhaps she can divine information with nothing but her mind." Tron mused with great interest.

"It's a long story, but the short version is this girl has some of Sora's memories crammed inside her head, and her own are completely out of whack." Yuffie explained.

"Not to mention she can summon Sora's Keyblade, and is essentially stranded in a town with no shortage of Heartless." Leon said.

"My word! That is quite the problem." Merlin replied.

"And ain't it just fittin' that Sora's involved. I swear that kid loves his memory hocus pocus." Cid commented with a look that was a mixture of annoyance and nostalgia.

"I know we've been asking a lot of you three lately, but if you could please help her…" Aerith pleaded.

Madoka's gaze hit the floor, a troubled expression crossing her features as she thought about how much of an inconvenience she was being. Even without Sora's memories, all Madoka had to do was take a good look at the dilapidated town to see that they had better things to do than help a total stranger with such a complicated problem. However, she also knew that any protest on her part would just fall on deaf ears, and so all she could do was stand there and feel guilty.

"Say no more my dear, we're on the case." Merlin happily assured. "In fact, I believe we have just the thing for this very predicament, wouldn't you agree?" He turned to Cid, their previous animosity nowhere to be found as the blond man gave him a knowing nod.

"That we do. Just have the little lady step on forward while Tron and I get it up and running." Cid instructed as he cracked his fingers and began typing away at the keyboard yet again.

"Right this way, dear." Merlin said to the pinkette with a beckoning hand.

"Uh, right." Madoka said as she quickly trotted up next to the old wizard.

"Stand right here please, eyes forward, back straight, arms out, feet together." Merlin stated as he gently helped Madoka get into the proper position before stepping back.

"I have all of the necessary protocols ready and waiting. Launch the start sequence whenever you're ready." Tron stated.

"Get ready now, this'll tickle just a bit." Cid warned as he punched in one last sequence of code and hit enter.

Madoka spared him a concerned gaze over her shoulder before the large device on the opposite wall flashed to life. A bright light shown from the red, circular center, and before Madoka could question it, a small beam shot out from the device onto her. The laser traveled all over her body, Madoka trying her best not to squirm as it felt like each particle of her body was being thoroughly examined, though the dreaded "ticking" sensation only lasted for the millisecond that the laser passed over any particular part of her body. As Madoka attempted to remain still, new data was being processed on the screen of the computer, Cid and Tron making small adjustments to the beam as they felt necessary.

"Wait a second, is that…?" Leon said as he looked over Cid's shoulder at the compiling data.

"Yep, you guessed it, this here's some kind of program meant to translate the stuff in folks Hearts into data." Cid explained.

"My user, Ansem the Wise, devised this program to aid in his research. However, after this "Xehanort" took over the system, it was discarded in favor of more… intrusive methods." Tron elaborated further.

"It ain't perfect, heck Merlin needed to spruce it up a bit with his magic just to get it working again, but it'll at least give us a picture of what's going on in that Heart of hers."

"My… Heart?" Madoka said quizzically just as the beam disappeared, allowing Madoka to relax her posture.

"That's right, your Heart." Aerith said, placing her hand over her own chest. "The part of you that makes you who you are. It's what allows you to feel emotions, and what holds your memories."

"Plus, the Heart is a pretty big deal when it comes to using a Keyblade; can't even wield one without a strong Heart." Yuffie added.

"Strong?" Madoka mused, placing her hand over where the organ should be. "Then I guess there really is something wrong, there's no way someone like me can wield the Keyblade."

"Aww come now, don't be sayin' that lass. Ye looked mighty fine wielding it out there in town today." Scrooge argued, waddling up to her.

"Sure, I can do it if I'm in danger, or someone is pushing me, but when it really counts…" Madoka's face fell, as she recalled how she couldn't bring herself to face Homura. Despite having just defeated such a powerful Heartless, despite her loved ones being in danger, she found herself rooted to the ground, Keyblade shaking in her grip, unable to raise the mighty weapon against the devil girl. No, instead she ran, leaving her home to the machinations of an obsessed tyrant. If that wasn't the marking of a weak heart, she didn't know what was. "…Sora wouldn't have run away from her."

Aerith and Yuffie traded a concerned look with Scrooge, but before anything else could be said, the trio of men crowded around the computer all let out shocked gasps.

"Goodness gracious, that can't possibly be correct!" Merlin exclaimed, adjusting his glasses as if they were playing tricks on him.

"I'm afraid it is, I've compiled the data multiple times to be sure." Tron replied, equally as shocked.

"How is that possible?" Leon mused, crossing his arms in contemplation.

"Is something wrong?" Madoka asked nervously.

"Well, something certainly ain't right, I'll tell you that much." Cid replied as he continued stroking keys, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

"Well, don't leave us in suspense now Cid, what's the matter?" Scrooge insisted.

"See for yourselves." Leon said as he stepped to the side, allowing the rest of the group to look over Cid's shoulder and watch him sift through line and line of code. After a few moments of coding, a strange graph appeared on the screen. It was vaguely shaped like a heart, though it was somewhat hard to tell, as most of it was comprised of a strange, dark, pixelated color that made the whole thing unpleasant to look at.

"Well, that definitely doesn't look good." Yuffie said as she drew her face closer to the screen and squinted at the image.

"What is it?" Aerith asked, failing to make heads or tails of the graphic.

"This, I'm afraid, is a graph representing the data that we found in young Madoka's Heart." Merlin replied.

"Ehh!? T-That's… my Heart?" Madoka stammered, clutching her chest as she stared at the ominous picture on the screen.

"It's supposed to be anyway," Cid said as he once again attempted to clean up the data. "What in sam-heck did a sweet little girl like you do to end up with so much darkness in your Heart?"

"Darkness?" Madoka said with a quizzical tilt of her head.

"Wait, are you saying that all of that is darkness!?" Yuffie exclaimed, pointing incredulously at the dark haze that comprised most of the graph.

"I suppose now you can see why we're so concerned." Leon stated, stepping forward and giving Madoka a stern look. "With that much darkness, it's baffling that your heart is still in one piece."

If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless.

Awww…

"So, am I… going to become a Heartless?" Madoka asked, looking up at Leon frightfully.

"The fact that you haven't already is what has us so baffled." Tron spoke up from the terminal. "Ansem the Wise, as well as Xehanort, kept extensive logs of their experiments on the Heartless, and from what I can tell, such an extreme concentration of darkness should be more than enough to trigger the transformation."

"Not to mention that the darkness doesn't seem to be spreading at all, and that just goes against the very nature of darkness itself." Merlin added as he fixed his inquisitive gaze on the screen.

"So, what does it all mean?" Yuffie asked.

"Can't really say honestly." Cid lamented with a shrug of his shoulders. "That graph there is just a basic picture, to really get to the bottom of this, we'll actually have to take a look at the raw data."

"How long will that take?" Leon inquired.

"Not long, but it won't exactly be the most exciting thing to watch." Cid replied.

"Alright, we'll leave you to it…" Leon began before the loud blaring of an alarm cut him off.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Yuffie pleaded.

"Dagnabbit! We don't have time for this!" Cid cursed as he hunched back over the terminal and began typing, shutting off the alarm in the process.

"What's going on?" Madoka asked.

"We're about to be attacked." Leon replied, ignoring Madoka's shocked reaction as he stepped forward to examine the terminal screen. "Is it the same one?" He asked Cid as a map appeared on the screen. On the far end of it, in a vastly empty looking space, a large Heartless symbol appeared, followed by numerous small red points.

"Sure is, and it's brought its posse like always." Cid replied, Leon's gaze narrowing in what seemed to be agitation.

"Are those…?" Madoka asked, but already knew the answer.

"Yep, Heartless." Yuffie confirmed with a hint of indignation in her voice.

"For the past few days, a large Heartless has been appearing in the Great Maw outside of the town, always with an army of smaller Heartless in tow." Leon explained.

"Always? Then, why haven't you defeated it?" Madoka inquired.

"Believe me, we've tried." Yuffie sighed in exasperation.

"Is it… really strong?" Madoka questioned further.

"Not quite. It is not the power of the Heartless or its minions that make it a nuisance, but rather its… demeanor." Merlin corrected.

"So… it's not strong?" Madoka said quizzically.

"The big fella ain't nothing to sneeze at, don't get us wrong, but the thing is the moment we pin the sucker down, it runs away, only to come back the next day." Cid said.

"So yeah, it's more of an annoyance than anything else." Yuffie insisted. "But the weird thing is it already came today, so why is it back so soon?" The girl wondered, the rest of the group silently pondering the same thing.

"Hmm, yet another mystery it seems." Scrooge said as he rubbed his bill and tapped his webbed foot in contemplation. Madoka glanced over at the old duck, recalling their meeting, and their earlier encounter with the Heartless.

"…It's me." Madoka practically whispered, but it was enough to gain the group's attention. "I used the Keyblade in town, it knows that there's a Keyblade wielder here. It… it's my fault." She whimpered as she began visibly shaking.

"No, no, it's ok, it's probably just a coincidence!" Yuffie said in a frantic attempt to keep her from crying. "And even if it isn't, it's no big deal. Like we said, it's more of a hassle than anything else."

"Don't worry, we'll deal with it just like we always have, you just focus on solving your own mysteries, ok." Aerith assured as she put a comforting hand on Madoka's shoulder. She wiped away the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, and gave Aerith a single nod in response.

"Cid, is there any chance that it's ready yet." Leon inquired, returning everyone's focus to the task at hand.

"Sorry Leon, but we just can't get it working." Cid lamented with a regretful shake of his head.

"Get what working?" Madoka said curiously.

"We've been trying to adjust the town's security system so that it could possibly prevent the large Heartless' escape by trapping it in the Great Maw." Merlin explained.

"Unfortunately, every configuration we've tried so far leaves the rest of the town defenseless." Tron added.

"Is that what you were working on before I came here for help?" Madoka guessed. Her gaze falling once again as the trio awkwardly avoided giving a straight answer.

"Hey now, didn't we just get through telling ye not to go blaming yerself for this, lass?" Scrooge stated in a pseudo stern voice.

"But if they hadn't wasted time helping me, or if I hadn't come here in the first place, then…"

"It doesn't matter." Leon cut her off. "The problem is here, so we have to deal with it, and wasting time debating whose fault it is won't solve anything." He insisted, Madoka shying away under his gaze. "Come on Yuffie, we better get out there before they get too close to the town."

"Alright, let's get this over with." Yuffie sighed in frustration.

"You three stay here and look through Madoka's data, see if you can figure anything out." Leon instructed the rest, much to Madoka's shock.

"You got it, Leon." Cid replied as he and Merlin immediately got to work.

"We'll be back in a flash." Yuffie said with a playful wave of her hand as she and Leon made for the door.

'Why is it always like this.' Madoka thought, her gaze falling to the floor again. 'Even in a completely different world, I'm always causing trouble for people. Why… why am I so useless…'

We were hoping the three of you might give us a hand around here.

Like we're gonna say no.

"Wait!" Madoka cried just before Leon and Yuffie could sprint out the door. "I… I'm coming to!" She declared, much to everyone's shock.

"Uh… thanks for offering, but really, we can handle it." Yuffie insisted, clearly skeptical of Madoka's competence on the battlefield. Not that anyone could blame her; the small pinkette was often mistaken for a grade schooler in her own world, and the adorable way she attempted to maintain her composure in the face of the rejection didn't exactly help her case.

"I… I know you said not to blame myself for this, and I won't if you really don't want me to, but… you all took the time to help me, even though you had much more important things to worry about." She said, sparing each and every member of the restoration committee a look of sincere gratitude. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't at least try to help you in return. So please, let me help too!" She pleaded with a deep bow, her hands formally folded together before her. The restoration committee all traded concerned looks, all except for Leon, who simply stepped forward to stand before the groveling girl.

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." He stated, Madoka standing up right to meet his stern gaze. "It's why they are always attacking you. As a Keyblade Wielder you are a threat to them, and so through pure instinct, they will stop at nothing to get rid of you." He continued, his voice never leaving the realm of a stern lecture. "Which is why you're probably our best bet at putting an end to this." He added, Madoka letting out a surprised gasp at the thought. "If you go out there with us, the leader is going to want to eliminate you just like any other Heartless, and it won't stop until the job is done."

"Which means… if Madoka fights it, it won't try to run away!" Yuffie said in realization. "That might actually work! But…" Yuffie's enthusiasm for the idea dropped the moment she saw the linchpin in the plan struggle to meet Leon's gaze.

"Aye, is the lass really up to the task?" Scrooge mused out loud, the rest of the committee having similar thoughts.

"Our priority is protecting the town, so while Yuffie and I take care of the small fry, you'll have to fight the leader, alone." Leon warned, the new information clearly having a troubling effect on Madoka. "So, knowing all of that, do you still want to tag along?" He asked, crossing his arms as he awaited her answer.

Madoka struggled to answer, the danger of the mission weighing down on her resolve. She fidgeted with her skirt, realizing for the first time that all of her battles up to this point had truly been life or death, and this one would be no different. Part of her wanted to take back her offer, to let Leon and Yuffie deal with the problem as they said they always have, but another part, a louder, stronger part, told her not to back down. After all, she had defeated a giant Heartless before, and it was in fact Leon's advice to Sora that allowed her to save her world. She wanted to repay them, and if this was the only way how, then so be it.

Madoka lifted her head to meet Leon's gaze, and with her eyes radiating with determination, gave the man a silent nod. The corner of Leon's mouth just barley tilted upwards in what could possibly be considered a satisfied smile, before he turned his back to the girl.

"Alright, let's get going then." He said as he made his way to the door.

"R-Right!" Madoka said as her determined gaze softened into a look of content.

"Now hold on there just a moment." Merlin spoke up, gaining Madoka's attention as the old wizard approached her. "Forgive me for the delay, but I could not help but notice that none of the data we collected from you mentioned anything about your proficiency in magic."

"Huh? Magic…?" Madoka said as she pondered the thought. Of course, she knew magic existed from Sora's memories, but somehow the idea that she could cast magic seemed… strange. She thought about what it would be like, causing small fragments of memories to bubble up to the surface. They were foggy at best, and indecipherable at worst, and eventually they all just faded back into Sora's memories of magic, leaving Madoka with a now all too familiar feeling that she was forgetting something.

"I figured as much." Merlin said with a chuckle, sensing her uncertainty. "But if you are to go to battle, I believe you could benefit from knowing a spell or two." He paused as he held out his hand, a cold breeze suddenly blowing past Madoka as small flakes of snow began accumulating in the wizard's palm, before coming together to form a crystal snowflake. "Here you are then, the Power of Ice, with this you will be able to cast Blizzard magic." Merlin stated, much to Madoka's shock and awe.

"R-Really? I can use magic?" Madoka said in disbelief.

"Of course ye can! The Keyblade is an excellent conduit for castin' magic, better than any wand I dare say." Scrooge encouraged. "Ye handle the weapon well lass, but more variety never hurt anyone."

"Well, go on, take it." Merlin urged as he held the power out for her.

Madoka hesitantly reached out and let Merlin place the crystal in her hand. The moment it exchanged owners, it faded into a light blue glow that suddenly fazed into Madoka's chest, the pinkette suddenly feeling the surge of Magical Power. If was an incredible feeling, and yet it seemed… different than how she expected it to feel. Not bad, in fact quite the opposite, somehow she expected it to be much less pleasant, and was thus rather relieved.

"Thank you very much, Merlin-san." Madoka said with an appreciative bow, which Merlin returned with a nod and smile of his own. Madoka let out a slight yelp as Yuffie gave her a friendly pat on the back, and offered her an assuring thumbs up. Madoka returned the gesture with an appreciative smile, the rest of the committee offering last minute well wishes before the two girls followed Leon out the door.

Leon and Yuffie led the way back through the Bailey and out to the Ravine Trail, Madoka nearly halting as she marveled at the vast chasm before her. A memory flashed into her mind of Sora himself gawking at the sight of the ravine filling with hundreds upon hundreds of Heartless, the boy brandishing the Keyblade and going on to mow down the incursion with ease. She felt a moment of panic, is that what she was walking into, is that what Leon and Yuffie expected of her. However, she quickly banished those thoughts from her mind, reminding herself that she wasn't to be concerned with the army, but its single leader.

Madoka increased her pace to try and close the distance between her and the others as they led her down through the jagged trail. They made it about halfway down before a group of Heartless suddenly appeared to bar their path. Among the usual Shadows and Soldiers, there was a new Heartless that Madoka had never seen before. It was very thin and clad in silver armor, the helmet visor ajar, revealing the round black head and typical yellow beady eyes; the Armored Knight.

The new Heartless brandished a sword in its left hand, completely ignoring the older opponents to lung towards Madoka, the girl just barely being able to summon the Keyblade in time to clashed her weapon with the opposing one. She struggled to stay standing as the Armored Knight pushed its blade down on Madoka's with all its strength, locking her in place as two Soldiers and two Shadows came around to flank her. However, just as they were about to attack, a giant shuriken came spinning out from seemingly nowhere, cutting down the four Heartless before Yuffie appeared next to them in a puff of smoke. She caught the weapon out of the air and slashed at the Armored Knight, making it stagger enough for Madoka to break the lock and retaliate with a forward thrust with the Keyblade, defeating it.

Unfortunately, the moment it was gone, four more Armored Knights appeared to take its place, along with six Shadows to back them up. Madoka quickly blocked a swing from one of the Armored Knights, making it stagger back enough for Leon to cut it down with his large Gunblade, the following two meeting the same fate when they approached the brooding swordsman.

"This is where we leave you Madoka!" Yuffie said as she suddenly appeared next to her, blocking an attack from a Shadow.

"Ehh! But…!" Madoka began to protest.

"We have to hold the line here, you just go on ahead and take out the leader!" Leon instructed as he cleared out the remaining Heartless in a single, wide swing of his blade.

"…Ok!" Madoka said with a determined nod before running passed Leon down the trail.

She heard the familiar sound of Heartless appearing behind her, sparing a glance over her shoulder to see Leon and Yuffie engaging a hoard of Soldiers. Part of her wanted to go back and help, but she knew the two of them were leagues above her in strength and skill; they would be fine without her. Instead, Madoka focused on getting to the Great Maw, platoons of Heartless appeared all along the trail, but Madoka only blocked, dodged, and parried any that came her way, just enough to clear a path for her to take. Eventually, she managed to get to the Crystal Fissure unharmed, the moment of rest from the attacking Heartless giving her a chance to admire the bright, shining crystals that adorned the walls of the small gap in between the stone.

"Wow~, so pretty… Ah! No, no, no, I have to focus, Leon and Yuffie are counting on me!" Madoka scolded herself, deciding to use the moment of respite to check on her inventory. "Only two potions left… I hope that'll be enough." She returned the bottles to her pocket, looking towards the other end of the fissure that led to the Great Maw. There was nothing in sight, but that was to be expected when dealing with the Heartless. Madoka knew that the moment she stepped out into the open, she would be attacked, and then there would be no turning back.

She took one last deep breath to steel herself before finally walking out of the fissure and out into the flat barren waste that was the Great Maw. In the distance, she could see the ruins of another castle, so far away that each step she took didn't seem to bring her any closer to it, intensifying the feeling of dreadful isolation she was feeling. She stopped once she was a good ways out into the open, a light breeze blowing through the canyon as Madoka waited for the inevitable ambush.

"Ok! I'm here! You came back for me, didn't you!?" Madoka cried, her own echo being her only answer. However, not a second later, the breeze began to pick up slightly, the cool air suddenly turning into a wave of heat.

"Ugh, so… hot." Madoka complained before the wind really began picking up. Suddenly, a sphere of darkness appeared before her, the hot air accumulating around it before it morphed into a giant Heartless. It was very similar to the Armored Knights and Soldiers it commanded, only much larger, easily over double Madoka's own height. It was clad from head to toe in silver and grey armor, and in place of hands, there were instead a pair of jagged, molten blades that glowed from their intense heat; the Heat Saber.

It landed with a loud metal clang, towering over Madoka as it stared down at her with its glowing yellow eyes. Madoka was speechless, only able to take a few intimidated steps back as the Heat Saber brandished its blades. Then, as if sensing Madoka's hesitation, the Heartless thrusted forward, it's twin blades implanting themselves into the ground as Madoka narrowly evaded the strike.

"Alright, here it goes." Madoka said as she summoned the Keyblade and took her defensive stance. The Heat Saber pulled its blade out of the ground, smoke erupting from the resulting crevice, and without hesitation, it swung its left blade at Madoka in a wide arc. Madoka ducked under the attack and raised the Keyblade just in time to guard against a follow up downward slash from the right blade, bouncing off the weapon and causing it to stagger back slightly. Madoka took the chance to retaliate, thrusting forward with the Keyblade to jab its lower body, only to hit the flat of a blade as the Heat Saber brought up its appendages in a cross block. Not a second after their weapons clashed, the Heat Saber swiftly separated its blades, sending the Keyblade flying were it not for Madoka's grip. She staggered back, giving the Heartless a chance to attack. Its blades ignited with red hot flames and it twirled on one foot, the swirling blades catching Madoka off guard and sending her tumbling back.

Madoka let out a cry as she felt the flames bite her skin, the intense heat a far deal more painful than what she felt with the Red Nocturnes. But, the pain was fleeting like it always was, and so she quickly got back to her feet to reengage the Heartless. She went on the offensive this time, charging forward with the Keyblade at the ready. She blocked a slash from the right blade and immediately ducked under a wide swing with the left, and when that blade came swinging back around, she blocked it, the lucky angle at which the blades connected making the molten weapon slide down the Keyblade's edge. Madoka took advantage of the opening and dashed forward, slashing at the Heat Saber's right foot to trip it up. The Heartless knelt on its good knee, planting one of its blades in the ground to support the rest of its body, and noticing the vulnerable position it was in, Madoka leapt into the air and attempted to bring the Keyblade down on its exposed head. Unfortunately, the Heartless managed to bring its free blade up and deflected the attack; sending Madoka flying and giving it a chance leap back to create some distance.

Madoka managed to regain her composure in the air and landed with just a slight stumble. As she attempted to steady herself, the blades of the Heat Saber began glowing with fiery energy, the Heartless rooting its stance before unleashing the energy of one of its blades into a blazing arc. Madoka just barely managed to return her attention to the Heartless in time to narrowly side step out of the way, only to have to hastily roll out of the trajectory of a second arc. The Heartless didn't give her a chance to recover, and unleashed an X shaped blast of energy straight at Madoka, who attempted to guard the attack, but the force and heat behind it still caused her to stumble back. Instinctively recognizing the opening, the Heat Saber reignited its blades and dashed forward at an inhuman speed, instantly closing the distance between them and unleashing a flaming slash at Madoka. In no position to block or evade, Madoka shrieked in pain as she was knocked into the air by the slash, her entire body engulfed in flames before the Heat Saber immediately followed up with a powerful jab with both of its blades, sending Madoka colliding into the wall of the canyon.

She fell to the ground, and with a whimper she struggled back to her feet, still feeling the damage from the onslaught of attacks. She got up right just in time to duck under a leaping slash, the Heat Saber unwilling to give her any moment of rest. Madoka blocked a second strike with the Keyblade, the Heartless rearing its blades back for a twin jab, giving Madoka the chance to roll between its legs out of harms way. Before the Heartless had a chance to recover from the missed attack, Madoka landed a powerful slash to its exposed back, the force making it stumble forward into the wall, dazing it. Madoka took the chance to put some distance between them and quickly used a Potion, the feeling of the damage fading away allowing her to gather the energy to keep fighting.

The Heat Saber quickly recovered and unleashed a twirling slash towards Madoka, but this time she was prepared, and managed to guard against the attack. The Heat Saber recoiled back, allowing Madoka to get inside its guard and land an upward leaping slash to its chest, following up with a mid air spinning slash to its face, which made it fall to the ground. She hesitated to attack while it was knocked prone, a part of her hoping that it was down for the count, but such hopes were dashed when the Heartless quickly sprung to its feet, its blades reigniting before it dashed forward for a powerful slash. Madoka managed to evade the attack this time, but in her relief she neglected to prepare for the follow up twin jab that resulted in her staggering back. The Heat Saber then proceeded to swing its blades wildly at Madoka, the pinkette unable to find an appropriate moment to guard, and so was forced to simply parry and evade each swing made with clear murderous intent. She struggled to keep up with the relentless barrage, blazing heat emanating from the blades every time they clashed against the Keyblade, wearing her down until it eventually broke through her guard, landing a flaming slash that sent her tumbling back.

It took a moment for Madoka to recover, giving the Heat Saber the chance to charge its blades with flames and leap high up into the air. By the time Madoka realized what it was doing, it was too late, the Heartless came crashing down blades first, impaling them into the ground and sending a shockwave of flaming energy in all directions. The blast flung Madoka across the ravine, the girl's pained shrieks echoing off the walls as she skid across the ground before coming to a halt a good distance away. The searing pain from the flames made it impossible for Madoka to summon the energy to stand, and so she quickly used her last potion to heal up before she struggled back to her feet.

"I… I can't do it…" Madoka whimpered, her knees shaking under her own weight. "It's too fast, and strong, and the heat is just unbearable…I'm sorry everyone, but I can't…" Just as tears began to spill from her eyes, another of Sora's memories popped into her head. She saw Sora struggling against a large Heartless that constantly shot balls of fire at him, but he gained the upper hand when he managed to hit it with a blast of ice shot from the tip of his Keyblade. "…Blizzard?" Madoka said quizzically, gazing down at the Keyblade.

'The Power of Ice, with this you will be able to cast Blizzard magic.' Madoka's eyes widened in realization before she returned her attention to the Heat Saber, the Heartless having pulled its blades out of the crater it had made and already preparing it's next attack.

"…Not yet. It's not over yet." Madoka said, her grip tightening on the Keyblade before she lowered back into her defensive stance. She saw the Heat Saber root its stance, and knowing what was coming, she dashed forward in order to close the distance. The Heat Saber's blades ignited, and it let out a wave of fire that Madoka evaded with a quick roll to the side. She evaded a second attack just as easily, before leaping up into the air with her Keyblade raised for an overhead strike. The Heat Saber brought up its blades in cross block to defend, but Madoka remained undeterred, bringing down her Keyblade just a moment too soon, or so it seemed.

"Freeze!" She cried, pointing the Keyblade at the crossed blades. Suddenly, Madoka felt that same Magical Power surge through her, flowing from her body into the Keyblade before a blast of ice came shooting out of the tip. The Blizzard spell collided with the creature's blades, the ice evaporating on contact, but also robbing them of their fiery glow. The Heat Saber staggered back, waving its bladed appendages as if they were in pain, giving Madoka the chance to land safely and get inside its guard. She slashed at its legs, forcing it to kneel and giving her a clear shot at its head. She pointed the Keyblade at its face and casted another Blizzard spell, creating a thin layer of ice on its helmet that made the Heartless rear back in pain. She then leaped up and landed a slash on the creature's frozen face, as well as a mid air spinning slash on the chest that made it fall over.

However, much like before, it quickly got back to its feet, but it took a moment for it to reignite its blades, giving Madoka the chance to back away before it retaliated. Once its blades regained their flames, it attempted to dash at Madoka, but she thought quickly and aimed her next Blizzard spell at the ground between them, creating a thin layer of ice that the Heat Saber wasn't able to traverse safely, losing its balance and falling right into a powerful spinning slash that sent it flying back.

"Almost there, just a little bit more!" Madoka declared as she dashed forward, ready to finish the fight. She leaped over the Heat Saber, still knocked prone, and brought her Keyblade forward. "Blizzard!" She cried with as much fervor as the first time, however no blast of ice came, only a slight cold breeze that did nothing to injure the Heartless. "Huh, w-what?" Madoka stammered in shock. Sensing her vulnerability, the Heat Saber sat up and slashed her out of the air, sending her crashing into the side of the canyon. "Ugh… w-why, what happened?" She inquired to the Keyblade, as if expecting it to answer back. Her attention was quickly grabbed by the feeling of the intense heat emanating from the Heat Saber's blades, ready to unleash it on Madoka. In her panic, she attempted to cast another Blizzard spell, only for nothing to happen, as a sudden feeling of exhaustion overcame her. All she could do was put her guard up as the Heat Saber threw a flaming slash at Madoka, but it never reached her as a large fireball collided with it in mid flight, the two attacks canceling each other out.

"Huh?" Madoka gasped in surprise, but soon received the answer to the question that she was about to ask. With a loud battle cry, Leon came rushing into the canyon, leaping up and bringing his Gunblade down on the Heat Saber, the Heartless just barely managing to block the attack. Leon's weapon slid off of the molten blade, and when he landed, he immediately swung at the Heartless again, only to be blocked by the opposite blade. However, Leon remained persistent, his Gunblade clashing against the Heat Saber's appendages over and over again, neither showing any sign of backing down. Madoka stared in awe as Leon managed to keep the Heat Saber on the defensive, her attention only grabbed when she felt a surge of Magical Power through her body, as a blue light showered over here.

"Madoka, are you ok?" Yuffie said as she kneeled next to the pinkette.

"Eh, Yuffie?" Madoka said, clearly surprised. "B-But what about…?"

"Taken care of! I told you it was no big deal." Yuffie replied, flashing Madoka a victory sign with a confident wink and smile. "And thanks to you, we can finally give this big guy a piece of our minds." She added as she glared at the Heat Saber and brandished her shuriken. "Come on Madoka, let's finish this!" With that she was gone, reappearing in a puff of smoke on the other side of the canyon, throwing her shuriken to deflect a swing of the Heat Saber's blade that would have just barely managed to get past Leon's guard.

"…That's right, I can't just let Leon and Yuffie fight by themselves, I have to finish what I started." Madoka declared before charging in to rejoin the fight.

Leon swung his Gunblade in a powerful overhead slash, however the Heat Saber managed to deflect the blow, leaving Leon wide open for a retaliating slash from the Heartless. Once again however, Yuffie appeared in the creature's blind spot and deflected the attack with a throw of her shuriken, making the Heartless stagger and giving Leon the chance to attack. Unfortunately, the Heartless followed through with the momentum from its stumble and back flipped just in time to avoid Leon's blade, preparing its flaming blades for a charge attack the moment its feet hit the ground. Leon knew he wasn't quick enough to evade, so instead prepared to guard against the strike, but just as the Heartless was going to dash forward, Leon caught Madoka advancing out of the corner of his eye.

"Freeze!" She cried as she casted a Blizzard spell at the blades, extinguishing their flames and the resulting pain causing the Heat Saber's swing to become dramatically weaker. As such, Leon was able to deflect the blades with ease. The swing knocked the Heartless off balance enough for Leon to get inside its guard and land a powerful upward slash that sent it into the air.

"Yuffie, Madoka, finish it!" Leon exclaimed, not wanting the chance to slip by.

"You got it!" Yuffie replied as her Shuriken charged with bright green energy as it spun in between her hands.

"R-right!" Madoka complied, pointing the Keyblade at the airborne target, focusing as much Magical Power as she could muster into the weapon's tip.

With a determined cry, both girls unleashed their attacks, the energized projectile and blast of ice and snow colliding with the Heartless at the same time, the creature's body convulsing in the air from the massive damage it had received. It landed back on the ground with a loud crash, its body twitching as if attempting to stand back up, but after only being able to lift one of its blades, its movements ceased, the Heat Saber fading away into darkness as a Heart was freed with its defeat.

"…We… we did it…" Madoka said with great relief as she gasped for breath. With the danger passed and adrenaline no longer fueling her, Madoka felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over her. Try as she might, she couldn't stay standing, the Keyblade falling out of her grip before her legs gave out. She felt herself being caught by someone, and faintly heard Yuffie calling to her before she finally lost consciousness.

Madoka let out a tired moan as her eyes fluttered open to the sight of an unfamiliar beige ceiling.

"Huh? Where…?" She breathed quizzically as she sat up on the comfortable bed she was laying on.

"Oh good, you're awake." Madoka looked over to find Aerith seated at her bedside, with Yuffie standing off to the side.

"How are you feeling?" Yuffie inquired.

"I… I'm ok." Madoka weakly assured, still somewhat out of it. "Where am I?"

"Back at the castle, my room to be exact." Yuffie said almost proudly.

"Your room…?" Madoka wearily looked around the room. It was fairly nice, the quality of a hotel resort room, which was to be expected from a castle. It had beige painted walls, which were decorated with an assortment of weapons fit for a ninja such as Yuffie. On an ornate bedside table was a glass of water, presumably for her should she need it, and it was then that she suddenly remembered what had happened. "Wait, the Heartless…!" She said, the panic fully bringing her to her senses.

"Is history, thanks to you!" Yuffie stated, offering Madoka a thumbs up and victorious smile.

"You collapsed after it was defeated." Aerith elaborated in response to her quizzical stare. "Leon carried you back here, and I was able to heal what damage you had left."

"Which by the way wasn't much." Yuffie added.

"…I'm sorry, even though I was trying to help, I ended up just being a burden." Madoka said, staring down at her lap with a crestfallen look on her face.

"There's nothing to apologize for, you're still new to fighting, let alone casting magic, its only natural that you'd feel fatigued after such a grueling battle." Aerith reassured her.

"Yeah, don't sweat it, you did better than I did on my first time out on the battlefield, I'll tell you that much." Yuffie added.

"But I… I couldn't defeat the Heartless, I needed you and Leon to come rescue me." Madoka argued, her face falling even more. "If I hadn't come when you did, I…"

"The Heartless was plenty worn down by the time we jumped in." The trio of girls all turned their heads to see Leon in the doorway. "And you weren't exactly in the worst of shapes either. If anything, we just helped finish it off." He insisted, leaning on the doorframe and crossing his arms.

"But I…"

"Not to mention we wouldn't have even had the chance if you hadn't pinned it down for us." Leon cut her off before she had the chance to argue. "Otherwise, it would have been long gone by the time we cut down its minions." Madoka's eyes widened in realization, suddenly remembering the whole reason she was allowed to accompany them in the first place. "You can be critical of yourself all you want, it's the only way you'll improve, but regardless of any mistakes you may have made, it doesn't change the fact that this all wouldn't have been possible without your help." He softened his stare and gave her a small, but genuine smile. "Thank you, Madoka."

Madoka was stunned, staring back at Leon with a vacant stare. She turned her gaze back to Yuffie and Aerith, who gave her appreciative smiles of their own, agreeing with Leon's sentiment wholeheartedly. A smile slowly found itself on Madoka's face, a mixture of relief, pride, and no small amount of joy filling her as she looked down at her hands, clenched together not from worry or fear, but rather sheer bliss.

"Now, if you're up for it, come back down to the study. Cid and the others were able to figure some things out from your data." Leon said.

"Eh, really!" Madoka gasped.

"Awesome!" Yuffie said, exchanging an excited smile with the pinkette.

"Don't celebrate just yet, they didn't exactly look happy with what they found." Leon warned as he turned to leave the room, taking the girls' enthusiasm with him.

With a silent dread, the girls all followed Leon back down to the study and then into the lab, where Cid, Merlin, and presumably Tron were waiting for them. Madoka couldn't help but notice that Scrooge was nowhere to be seen, understandable, a wealthy business tycoon probably had more important things to do than continue aiding a stranger.

"Well, look who's back from the dead." Cid said playfully as he turned in his swivel chair to greet them.

"My deepest apologies Madoka, while I'm glad to hear you made such good use of the spell I gave you, perhaps I should have warned you of the dangers of casting fatigue." Merlin lamented. Madoka shook her head in response.

"It's ok, it was my fault for overdoing it. I would have been in big trouble without that spell though, so thank you once again." Madoka replied with gratitude.

"Yes, well, it was my pleasure." Merlin said with a hint of bashfulness.

"As uplifting as this moment is, I'm afraid it is about time we proceed." Tron interjected, Cid and Merlin's mood instantly dropping.

"R-right, Leon said you found something out about my… data?" Madoka asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, about that…" Cid began awkwardly before pulling up the same diagram she was shone before. "You remember this, right? Well our first order of business was to figure out what the deal was with all that nasty looking darkness, but…"

"Quite honestly, we still cannot make heads or tails of it." Merlin interrupted with a slightly frustrated tone. "Even with a fresh dose of my magic added to the program, the data is simply far too corrupted to decipher."

"In other words, you still have nothing?" Yuffie said in a snarky tone.

"Not exactly." Tron denied. "While it's true we weren't able to decipher anything about its purpose or origin, one thing did become increasingly clear the more we analyzed the data. That is, the vast majority of the darkness in Kaname Madoka's Heart is not her own." The program revealed, shocking the whole assembly.

"The darkness in my Heart… isn't mine?" Madoka repeated, placing a hand over her chest.

"What do you mean by that?" Aerith asked, a comforting hand on Madoka's shoulder.

"He means exactly what he said." Merlin answered. "Just as every individual is unique, so is the light and darkness that makes up their Hearts, and after multiple attempts to decode the data, we were able to make a clear distinction between Madoka's own darkness, and the darkness that makes up most of her Heart." The wizard explained, gesturing to the diagram that now had a miniscule purple patch cut out of the black stain that was the rest of the darkness in Madoka's Heart.

"…Homura-chan." Madoka realized.

"The girl that ran you out of your world. You think she did this to you?" Leon suggested.

"I… I think so." She confirmed. "I could feel it, back when she tried to erase my memories, a terrible darkness that tried to snuff out what little light I apparently have."

"Funny you should mention that." Cid said, regaining Madoka's attention. "After figuring this out, we decided to check on the rest of your Heart, and wouldn't you know it, not all of your light is yours either."

"WHAT!?" Madoka exclaimed in absolute shock.

"No way, you can't be serious!" Yuffie said incredulously.

"You think I'd joke about this, see for yourself!" Cid stated as he hit a key on the keyboard, turning a portion of what remained of Madoka's Heart into a rich blue color. "Wanna take a wild guess as to whose light that is?"

"…Sora." Madoka said.

"Bingo." Cid confirmed.

"Sora had once been digitized and brought into the system. As such, I have intimate knowledge about his configuration. There can be no doubt, your Heart houses a fraction Sora's data." Tron affirmed.

"Wow, talk about crazy with a capital C." Yuffie said, her tone somewhat light but with clear concern in her voice.

"This certainly explains why you have his memories, and how you can use the Keyblade." Aerith said, hoping to put the stunned pinkette at ease.

"So, is there anyway we can fix this?" Leon inquired.

"Sorry, we got a big fat "nothing" on that front." Cid lamented with a regretful shrug of his shoulders.

"To be frank, I have never seen anything like this before, and neither have Xehanort or Ansem the Wise for that matter." Merlin stated. "This isn't entirely like when Sora housed Kairi's Heart within himself, Madoka only holds a fraction of Sora's light. It is as if their Hearts are… touching in a way, combined yet completely separate, and Worlds apart. I'm afraid there simply isn't any precedence for this!"

"…I see." Leon said with a regretful sigh.

'Sora's light is inside me?' Madoka thought as she clenched her hand into her chest. 'Sora… has been protecting me… all this time. But why… why would he… how did he…?' Her thoughts returned to her last moments in Mitakihara, to the voice that called out to her, and gave her the strength to fight back against the darkness that threatened to swallow her at the time… Homura's darkness.

"I have to find him." Madoka spoke up. "I have to find Sora. He's been protecting me this whole time, I don't know why, or how, but he has, I know it. And if he can protect me, then maybe… maybe he could help save my world too." She paused, as if waiting for a response, but her eyes stayed nervously glued to the floor. She expected them to reject the idea, with how crazy and selfish it was, but…

"Sounds like a plan." Cid was the first to speak, Madoka finally lifting her head to see his enthusiastic face.

"We had a feeling that would be the case." Merlin said with a knowing smirk.

"All things considered, it is the most logical course of action." Tron stated.

"Honestly, only he would go so far to help a total stranger." Leon said with a nostalgic smile as he gazed at the colorful diagram.

"He wouldn't be Sora otherwise." Yuffie agreed playfully.

"There's no doubt he would help you if you asked." Aerith assured.

"You guys…" Madoka said, floored by all of their support. Sora had felt this way many times before, surrounded by these familiar faces, his friends, all offering their full support while he did the same; Madoka couldn't help but smile.

"But you know, it's easier said then done." Yuffie spoke. "Sora isn't exactly in the next town over."

"The last we heard, he finally made it back home, after he took down Organization XIII." Leon informed.

"Home?" Madoka said quizzically, before realizing what he meant. "Oh, that's right, he's… in a completely different World." She lamented, still coming to grips with the idea of multiple, separate Worlds completely different from her own.

"Traveling between Worlds isn't easy, and we don't know where Sora's World is either. How are we going to get you there?" Aerith mused, her uncertainty not exactly helping Madoka's confidence.

"Don't y'all worry about that." Cid said, leaning back on his chair with a crafty smile.

"Didn't I say before that we were expecting this?" Merlin playfully reminded.

"Eh? What are you…?" Madoka was cut off by a small ringing alarm sounding from the computer.

"It appears that he has returned." Tron informed.

"Alright fellas, what do you say we go see our little heroine off." Cid suggested, standing from his seat and making his way to the study.

"W-wait, what? See me off, huh…?" Madoka stammered in utter confusion.

"You guys, did you actually…?"

"Now, now Leon, let's not spoil the surprise now, shall we." Merlin cut him off before he could say any more. Leon gave Madoka a reluctant shrug before following Merlin out, Yuffie and Aerith offering quizzical looks of their own before doing the same. Eventually, Madoka followed as well, being led through the castle halls for what felt like the hundredth time before coming out onto the Postern.

"Wow, is that what I think it is!" Yuffie exclaimed. Madoka looked around, but didn't see anything of note in the open, rounded area of the Postern. However, it was then that she realized that Yuffie, as well as the rest, were looking up. She tilted her head in that same direction, her eyes widening and jaw dropping at the sight of a large, brightly colored ship floating overhead. The ship was primarily blue in color, with red wings and a few yellow accents in a few places. It was blocky in design, but still clearly resembled a rocket ship, a cockpit clearly visible up front and jet engines in the back.

"It's… a Gummi Ship!" Madoka exclaimed, an excited smile on her face. It was certainly different from the one Sora had ridden on, but the soft, blocky material that made it up was unmistakable.

"Aye, that it is, lass." Scrooge said as he suddenly appeared before her in a bright flash of light. Gone where his fancy clothes, replaced with a brown aviator jacket, an aviator cap in place of his top hat on his head, and a white scarf wrapped around his neck. "Ain't she a beaut? Cid's been keepin' her safe for me, and in tip top shape I might add, she flies better than ever!"

"Well what did you expect?" Cid said with a cocky grin.

"So, this is your Gummi Ship, Mr. Scrooge?" Madoka asked, recalling from Sora's memories that the elderly bird did in fact used to travel in one. "Wait, does this mean…?"

"Well, I didn't bring it all the way down here just to show off now, lass." Scrooge confirmed with an amused smile.

"N-no, you really don't have to!" Madoka frantically declined.

"Don't ye fret lass, I may not be much use on the ground, but this old duck can still fly with the best of them!" Scrooge assured.

"That's not what I meant!" Madoka rebuked. "You've already done so much for me, all of you have, I couldn't possibly ask for you to..."

"Ah, bah, bah, I'm gonna stop ye right there lass." Scrooge cut her off with a wave of his finger. "Balancin' debts is all well and good in the world of business, but none of that matters when it comes to helpin' a friend."

"…Friend?" Madoka said, Scrooge punctuating the point with a kind smile and a nod. She looked back to the others, each and every one of them giving her an encouraging look, putting all of Madoka's worries at ease. "Then… thank you, I'll be in your care." She said with a polite bow to her new pilot.

"Now hold on there Madoka, we ain't through helping you just yet." Cid said as he approached the curious girl. "Here, this is for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a necklace, a pink gemstone cut in the shape of a teardrop with a flat golden base hanging from a gold chain. "Sorry if it doesn't suit your tastes, it was just something I had lying around for Merlin to work his magic on."

"Magic?" Madoka said as she took the trinket.

"Indeed, granted it won't give you any new spells per say, but it does have a few enchantments on it that should aid you well on your journey." Merlin explained. Madoka looked upon the necklace curiously before slipping it on, the gem resting on her chest and emitting a faint glow, much to Madoka's awe.

"Be careful, the both of you." Aerith said.

"You better come back and visit once everything is fixed." Yuffie playfully warned.

"Good luck." Leon said with a straight face and simple nod.

"Right, thank you all so much, for everything." Madoka replied, giving one last appreciative bow.

"Well, off we go then." Scrooge said, turning around and walking onto a strange glowing circle on the ground. He gestured for Madoka to do the same, and as soon as she was inside they were both engulfed in a bright, blinding light. Once her sight returned, she was shocked to find herself in the cockpit of the Gummi Ship, three seats placed in a triangle before a long panel of intricate looking controls and a glass window.

"Wow!" Madoka gawked, only having seen such incredible technology from the glimpses she got from Sora's memories.

"Now, I don't know how much ye know about the ins and outs of Gummi Ship travel lass, but in order to go anywhere, we're gonna need a pathway." Scrooge explained as he sat at the helm, fiddling with some of the controls.

"A pathway…" Madoka repeated thoughtfully.

"Aye, so why don't ye…" Scrooge cut himself off once he heard the familiar chime of a Keyblade being summoned, looking back to see Madoka already holding said weapon. "Oh, looks like yer one step ahead of me already." He said, gaining an amused giggle from Madoka. She then stepped forward, looking out at the clouded sky of Radiant Garden, before taking the Keyblade in both hands and closing her eyes, focusing her very hardest.

'Take me to Sora.' She thought, a large keyhole appearing in the sky in response. She held the weapon out, teeth pointed down and light collecting in the very tip until a beam shot out into the sky, completely ignoring the glass window. The beam struck the Keyhole and transformed it into a bright portal, sparks of energy arcing out of its swirling edges.

"HA HA! There's the ticket!" Scrooge exclaimed jovially as he flipped a few more switches, turned a few more dials, and the engine roared to life. "Ye best be gettin' seated lass, it's gonna be quite the ride!"

Madoka immediately heeded Scrooge's instructions, taking the seat to the right of him and strapping in. Once she was secure, Scrooge took hold of the wheel, and with a few minor tugs and turns, he brought the ship around. Madoka looked down to see the rest of the Restoration Committee waving farewell, Madoka offering her own wave in return.

'I'm coming Sora… please help me if you can.'

"Hold on tight now, we're goin' in!" Scrooge instructed before suddenly accelerating upwards, the Gummi Ship flying into the portal, the vortex flashing brightly before fizzling out without a trace.

A/N: OH WOW THAT GOT REALLY LONG! Can you believe I actually thought this chapter would end up being short, or at least shorter than the last chapter, guess I underestimated my ability to write long drawn out exposition chapters... I have great shame. Anyway, that was Ch. 3, Madoka's visit to the hub world of Radiant Garden. I hope you guys enjoyed Madoka's interactions with the Restoration Committee, I know I enjoyed writing it, and if you didn't enjoy it... then I guess I just did it wrong and try to do better next time. I know Madoka kind of felt like a real Negative Nancy throughout this entire chapter, something tells me that's going to annoy some people, but let's be honest here, Madoka... is kind of a wimp. Don't get me wrong, I love her character, which is why I portrayed her the way I did, I just feel like Madoka doesn't really have any agency without the rest of the PMMM cast to work off of. She's very shy and insecure and if she were put into this situation I feel like she would have a really hard time summoning the will to do much of anything other than wallow in sadness. And that's ok, the entire point of this chapter was to have Madoka gain some agency the only way she really can, by helping others. Now that she has two large Heartless slayings under her belt and a clear goal to work towards, she'll be a lot more... active in her coming journey into the Disney worlds.

Speaking of the journey, let's talk about good old Scrooge McDuck. The first thing to note about that is originally I wasn't going to give Madoka any sort of traveling companion, she was actually going to get a small sort of "Gummi Glider" rather than a whole Gummi Ship and have to travel the worlds on her own. However, after some discussion with the reviewer by the username of "Variable Zero", he was able to convince me that Madoka, being the lonely, self-conscious girl that she is, would need some kind of companion to stave off the crushing loneliness that traveling the empty void of the Lanes Between would surely bring (as well as address some other issues that traveling in a small little glider would bring). And so I took the small bit of trivia that Scrooge used to travel around in a Gummi Ship with King Mickey in stride and made him into Madoka's personal Gummi Ship pilot for this expedition. Of course he isn't going to follow Madoka into the worlds and fight alongside her like Donald and Goofy did with Sora, but he'll be a constant companion that Madoka will need on her journey, again just so that she doesn't get lonely.

Finally, something I should probably address, the next chapter of this story is probably going to take a while (and no one was surprised), but not just because I'm a lazy bastard with ADHD, but rather because I'm kind of going to take an unofficial hiatus from fan fic writing for a while in order to focus on writing my own original novel. I'm kind of at a crossroads in my life, I just graduated collage, I now physically have my BS in Applied Physics, and after four years struggling to get that I've realized that what I really want to do is write stories, and with some encouragement from my best friend (who just so happens to have some connections with a publisher) I want to try my hand at writing an original work. I'm not saying I'll never write for my fan fics again, I'll probably alternate between writing for fics and writing my novel (cause that strategy has worked wonders for me so far), just know that for the time being I will not be working on any of my fics. I apologize for the inconvenience and I really do appreciate the patience you have all had for me with my stories.

Well, that's all I have to say, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I hope to see you guys next time.