Sword Art Kingdom III

by Jacob Pendra-Huth

After so many years of waiting, the next chapter of SAK, with the final battle awaiting the trio of Keyblade wielders, Sora, Asuna and Kirito. With swarms of enemies coming from all sides, the heroes must not only gather the Guardians of Light, but also the Lost Princesses of Hearts, all the while doing their best not to let the enemy win, in any world, in any dimension.

6. Green Square! Beat Heartless with Dance?

Music to play in the world:

Passive Music: (Dancebeat: Heartbeat Dance Remix~)

Battle Music: ('Shrouding Dark Cloud' Kingdom Hearts III Ver.)

---

Unknown World

"I'm sorry I left without saying good-bye. Did Master Yen Sid tell you? I'm training to become a Keyblade wielder like you. That's right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures. I want to get out there and do my part to help. Merlin has used his magic to bring us to a place where time doesn't matter. We can take as long as we need to complete our training. He's an amazing wizard. And for the three teachers Gretinal sent, they have helped us make great strides in our training as well. If it weren't so tough at times, I almost feel like we were pampered."

"Oh, and by 'we', I mean me, Leafa and Lea. He's really sorry for all the trouble he caused. I told him it's fine, but he won't stop apologizing. I'll admit I was a little scared of him at first, but I've gotten to know him better. Leafa also made sure to ease things up when she arrived. She seemed to have gained a special bond with Lea even in the short time she met him back before, and I can tell, those two have only gotten closer as we've trained. At times, I kinda feel like a third wheel here, but they always welcome me into their moments."

"Every now and then, I catch Lea staring at me. When I ask what's wrong, he says 'I'm not sure. I think I'm forgetting something. Don't know what.' Leafa teased him about it at first, but even she could see this was something important to him. Sora, I think it may have something to do with you."

"Your journey is all about helping people: some that you've never met before, and some like Lea and Leafa that you have. They're all counting on you, Kirito and Asuna. It won't be easy, but I hope you'll remain the happy and cheerful Sora I know. There's no heart your smile can't reach."

Sitting on a rock near a cliff, with nothing but the forest surrounding all about her, Kairi, a Princess of Heart and a cherished person of Sora's, was writing in her journal, smiling as she was reading everything she wrote down. It had been a while since she wrote something in it, and it was a letter to Sora. All her feelings she had, as well as all the thoughts on her mind, she decided to write down on the sets of papers before her.

She stopped as she sensed eyes gazing upon her. She looked up, and saw the person she wrote about next to him, Lea, who was also known as Axel when he was a Nobody.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Huh? Nothin', sorry." Lea answered, turning away, trying to brush off the moment.

"Lea…" Kairi verbally prodded.

"What? I am." He defended.

"You were staring at her for a reason." Leafa, also known as Suguha Kirigaya, Kirito's cousin, wandered out from the woods, having watched the scene as she arrived.

"What? You ganging up on me or somethin'?" Lea asked, walking over and sitting on a rock next to Kairi. The two girls giggled as Leafa joined the pair.

"Writing a letter?" Leafa asked, peering over Kairi's shoulder.

"Yep." She answered.

"To Sora?" Lea asked.

"Mmm, technically yes. But I won't send it. It's more for me."

"Ask Merlin. He'll deliver it for you." Lea suggested.

"I'm even sure Dreamcast and the others could do it, too." Leafa added.

"Yeah, but it's okay." Kairi assured the pair, "I just like talking to Sora, even if it's on paper."

"Okay…" Lea understood…sort of, but turned to Leafa as he asked, "You doing okay with your training?"

"Yeah. It's still pretty tough, but I think I need that discipline after the epic fail I made during the Mark of Mastery." Leafa looked down at her hands, thinking back to how she got tricked so easily during that time, nearly becoming a vessel like Sora did for Xehanort. The fact that she got tricked so easily, and that they used a fake Recon to fool her, did a real damage on her pride.

"Hey, at least you're still okay, like Sora." Kairi reminded her, "Besides, you're getting better. And Gretinal said those new clothes you got will help you with controlling your powers."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't wear them just yet." Leafa retorted, "I wanna make sure I can at least use the Power of Bonds without needing the clothes. So far, it's hard to do it on command…"

"Well, I know what'll cheer us up." Lea told the trio, and he dug into a magic satchel in his back pocket, pulling out three sea-salt ice cream bars.

"Ice cream? Really?" Kairi asked, amazed, while Leafa mentally questioned how and where he pulled them from.

"Yeah, I asked Merlin to pick these up." Lea explained, "Ya know, we did both summon Keyblades. And Leafa is at least awoken to the Power of Bonds. Gotta celebrate."

"You're sweet, Lea." Kairi answered, taking her ice cream.

"Thank you, Axel." Leafa answered, "Oh, and by the way, I would much rather you called me Suguha, instead."

"Why? I already had your name Leafa memorized." Lea pointed out, "It's you who should call me Lea."

"True, but one, I had the name 'Axel' memorized instead. And two, more than half of my name is your real one. Kinda feels weird."

Lea sighed, shaking his head at this, then responded, "Fair point. But Suguha doesn't exactly roll off my tongue as easily as Leafa does."

"Hey, I like my real name, thank you!" Leafa barked.

Kairi laughed at the two, getting their attention. "What's so funny?" They asked together.

"Nothing. It's just…it's fun watching the two of you like this." She answered, looking at her ice cream, "You bicker from time to time, but it's not like you hate each other. It's kind of the opposite, in fact."

Lea and Leafa looked at one another, realizing what she was getting at, before looking away, blushing. They really didn't want to say anything that would add more fuel for Kairi to use. They did get pretty close, even though they met as enemies the first time, and it wasn't a long time ago, either. And there was a huge gap between when Axel perished from saving Sora, Leafa and the others, and when he and everyone else saved her and Sora during the Mark of Mastery. They didn't get a lot of time together to really talk or get to know one another. Although, they were starting to make up time during the training here.

Considering a lot of time passed since she arrived here to train with Axel and Kairi, Leafa was starting to get comfortable around the red-haired, ex-Nobody. And although her focus was making sure she was able to be strong enough to also save Recon, she couldn't help but feel that Axel was just as special to her, too. But she wasn't sure if it was going as far as what Kairi might be hinting at.

Axel wasn't sure either. Sure, she felt a lot like Roxas and Sora, mainly due to the fact that they were dimensional counterparts. Though recently, he started to realize how pretty Leafa was, and how charming of a girl she was. Suddenly having a heart again made him confused on his emotions.

As Leafa started to eat her ice cream, Lea looked away from her and back to Kairi, his thoughts starting to get vague again. Something about her reminded him of something. Of someone. He wasn't sure, but he felt like he should know someone else. Someone important.

"What's wrong?" Kairi noticed he was staring again.

"N-Nothing, I just…" Lea started.

"Trying to remember what you forgot again?" Leafa finished his sentence, having heard this several times.

"Well, I, uh… Yeah… Yeah." Lea looked off towards the sunset, feeling a sense of nostalgia.

The two girls looked to one another, then back at Lea. They knew what he had forgotten was bothering him, but every time they try to prod the question, he seems to brush it off. They didn't want him to get angry, so they decided to let the subject go to keep the peace.

"So tomorrow…" Kairi started, waving her ice cream bar like a sword, "The three of us in the ring. You guys ready?"

"Absolutely." Leafa answered, grabbing the stick of his bar in two hands like a kendo stick, accepting the challenge, "Let's toughen each other up."

"Course." Lea answered, still staring out into the sun.

"Don't hold back, Lea. Promise?" Kairi requested.

Lea turned to Kairi, and was stunned. For a slight second, as the sun shined brightly down on all of them, he saw, in replace of Kairi, someone else standing there with her sea-salt ice cream. A girl with short black hair, blue eyes, and wearing an Organization's coat. He was so stunned, he dropped his ice cream. Before he realized it, tears fell from his eyes. A sense of missing the person before him flooded his heart.

Leafa and Kairi were startled at the sight of him crying. "Huh? Are you okay? Lea!" Kairi asked, the two coming closer to him as he wiped away his tears.

"Yeah…sorry…" he answered, sniffing a bit from the sudden flood of emotions.

"Why were you crying? Did you remember something?" Leafa asked, concerned for Axel.

"J-Just something in my eyes." He answered, looking away from the girls. He stood up and said, "I'm…gonna go. Sorry."

He was about to start when Kairi answered, "Kay, but stop apologizing."

"And don't hold back your emotions around us." Leafa added, "You're a person now, so act like it, Axel."

Lea huffed a chuckle at the two's requests. And he looked back at the two, replying, "Fine…on two conditions." He looked to Kairi, "Call me Axel from now on…" Then to Leafa, "…and let me call you Leafa. Got it memorized?" He poked a finger to his temple at his catchphrase of a question.

Kairi nodded as she answered, "Yeah. Okay, Axel."

"Yeah…I got it memorized." Leafa answered, mimicking the same movement as Axel. With that, the man left the two girls, walking back into the forest, leaving his fallen ice cream on the ground. Leafa looked down at it, then up at Axel as he vanished into the shadows of the trees. She was worried, not just for what he was feeling, but also what he had just seen in that moment that made him cry.

---

(Insert Persona 5 DSN 'GROOVY' Opening ver.)

Music intro (Time for some fun. Let's start the trickster game.)

(Six spotlights turn on one at a time, showing the silhouettes of the six main heroes, all in Dance Stage attire. They dip their hands down, before slowly raising them up to the center of the stage.)

It's showtime!

Let's get going!

Ain't it some fun

Taking a chance, or even two?

(Screen shifts to Sora, Donald and Goofy dancing, each demonstrating their dance styles, before coming together and dancing together, before Goofy accidentally steps on Donald's foot, causing him to yelp and glare angrily at him.)

There's no guideline for doing it your way,

Let's just focus now

On what lies ahead.

(Kirito appears on screen dancing first, followed by Asuna, coordinating her moves with his. Then Yui squeezes between the two, dancing in front with her parents mimicking her from behind.)

Time to get ready

Cuz we're taking over here.

(Wake up, get up, get out there!)

(A swarm of High Crowd Heartless, gathered together, with Tears and Pete standing in front of them, their attire shifting from their normal to a dark dance attire. They stomped the ground, creating black, red and violet shockwaves that cracked the ground, aiming towards the Sword Art Kingdom III symbol, only to be stopped by a the heroes leaping through the symbol, slamming on the ground to create a counter shockwave.)

Come on let's be honest, right?

(Sora and Yui in front start to dance together.)

You've been waiting for us 'til now.

(Kirito and Asuna, who stand outside and on either side of them, join in their dance.)

Here we are, and things are

(Donald and Goofy, standing on the very outside of the group, join in the dance.)

Gonna get freaking hot and wild!

(The dance energy sweeps across the floor, causing the Heartless to vanish, and for Pete and Tears to be sent flying, and the scene goes white.)

So can you feel the Jazz?

(A spotlight shines on a red stage as Sora shows off his parkour.)

Or the beautiful Ballet?

(The stage turns pink as Yui shows off her hip-hop dancing.)

How about a Tango?

Or maybe some Rock'n'Roll?

(Stage turns light blue as Asuna shows off her street jazz, then shifts to dark blue as Donald demonstrates his swag dance style.)

We'll bring it all to you

(Stage turns gold as Kirito unleashes his breakdancing.)

And guess what, you signed up for

(Stage turns green as Goofy shows off he Freestyle Disco.)

Team A-W-E-S-O-M-E

Just say it, you don't need lame, pretty tunes.

(Goofy is joined by the rest of the group, dancing together before coming together to strike a group pose.)

Music moment

(With every note, silhouettes of characters who will dance with them flash by.)

Send BORING back to nowhere

Come in for the whole deal, yeah

(Philia, Flair and Hinata as a dance team, showing off their vogue and house dance style before striking a group pose. The spotlight shines brighter, blinding the screen.)

Music moment

(The camera zooms out as the six heroes are dancing in separate parts of the stage.)

You know you wanna be here

Part of this show that's

Gonna change your world

Let's rock!

(Camera further zooms out to show off the Swiftline Gummi Ship flying in a multi-colored sky filled with music notes and bars, soaring off towards the next world, which changes into a disco ball. It spins horizontally, revealing the SAKIII logo, with music notes popping at the last notes of the song.)

---

"Heartless with robotic parts..." Gretinal questioned the group.

"That's right." Jiminy answered, on Sora's shoulder as the heroes surrounded the crystal.

"You don't sound too surprised about this." Asuna noticed.

They had just left Twilight Town, and were back flying about in their Gummi Ship again. After discussing with one another, they decided to contact Mistress Gretinal on the Swiftline's crystal communicator, and explain to them about the unusual encounter involving Tears and the Heartless she summoned at them. They did plan to contact King Mickey before, but they instead contacted Kayaba, who was still on the Gummiphone. The reason of this was mainly due to what Yui said about what she felt after meeting Tears.

"A young woman that Yui believed she met before you arrived in this dimension does sound quite far-fetched, but not impossible." Kayaba noted, "Exactly why do you believe you know this young lady?"

"I'm not quite sure..." the mental health counselor answered, "It's like...the moment I made eye contact with her, my heart suddenly ached. I felt a sense of longing to meet her again, but I don't know why."

"You mean, she was someone who you knew before, and you were friends with her?" Kirito asked, confused, "But I don't even remember seeing anyone like that in that world. Did you, Asuna?" His girlfriend shook her head at this.

Kayaba was deep in thought for a moment, then muttered, "I may not be of any help if it involved someone after Sword Art Online was cleared, but...maybe if you could use the Gummiphone, and take a photograph of her. I might make a cross-reference with my database on all known SAO survivors and revived ones."

"We'll try to get something for you..." Kirito answered, not sure how they would go about doing that without her getting the jump on them.

"But back to what I was saying..." she said, looking to Gretinal, "...you seem to have some sort of understanding about the Heartless. Am I wrong?"

"...No, Asuna. Your observation is on point." Gretinal answered, "As a matter of fact, I know about Tears, and the Heartless you spoke of." This bit of news surprised the group.

"For how long?" Donald asked.

"Let's see...I'd say around the time your Keyblades brought Disney Castle to this dimension."

"That long?!" Yui exclaimed.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Kirito demanded, "And why didn't we ever see them?!"

Gretinal looked serious as she replied, "Because I had someone investigating them while you weren't watching. I learned more about their existence through her."

"Her?" Goofy echoed.

"You might meet her in due time, along with her companions..." Gretinal assured them, "While you were dealing with the Unversed and Heartless, led by Oberon, I had my assistant learn about the existence of the beings I am dubbing, 'Cyber Heartless'."

"Cyber Heartless..." Yui echoed, looking to the others, who weren't sure what they were, either.

"From what we discovered, it seems they were being made by this 'daddy' of Tears. His name is Dr. Nagamiya Tenma, a brilliant scientist in robotics. At some point, his heart became corrupted, and he is not only able to control the Heartless, but implant robotic parts onto them."

"He's able to weaponize Heartless with mechanics?!" Kirito questioned, amazed at this capability.

"Not only that, but I've even seen signs of him trying to implant beings with the darkness of Heartless, seemingly fusing them together to form Dark Hybrids. He is a genius, if not a very sinister man. And what's more, it seems that he is gathering allies to help him in his schemes."

"Just like Maleficent way back when..." Sora recalled, looking back to his first adventure when he got the Keyblade. Characters like Ursula, Hades, Jafar, and even Riku, were amongst her following.

"This Tenma definitely sounds like a much tougher opponent than what we had to deal with so far. Especially if he is able to have Maleficent under his rule." Kirito noted, glaring determinately at Gretinal, "So, what's our plan of action to stopping him?"

"Right now, we are unsure of his main base of operations." Gretinal explained, "However, I know that he, Tears and those that serve him seem to be looking for darkness, and siphoning it into data."

"Turning darkness into data?" Kayaba questioned, finding a scenario like this far too familiar. It reminded him of the bugs inside Jiminy's Journal, and what almost happened when they were gathered up.

"I do not know what they plan to do with it, with Dr. Tenma AND the Organization at our necks, we need to combat their darkness with powerful lights."

"But we're still trying to get stronger in order to awaken Aqua, and find the other Guardians of Light." Asuna pointed out.

"I'm not speaking about that, but you are on the right track." Gretinal told her, looking to the spiky-haired Keyblade wielder, "Sora, answer me this question. What was Maleficent's plan when you were sealing the world's Keyholes during your first adventure?"

"Maleficent's plan?" Sora asked, confused. He pondered a bit, before answering, "She was trying to consume worlds in darkness... Oh! And she was trying to find the Princesses of Heart."

"Exactly. Seven Princess of Heart. Seven lights that would replace one of you should you not find all the Guardians." Gretinal noted.

"Well, too late for one of them, since Kairi is a Princess of Heart AND a Guardian." Kirito noted.

"Wait a moment." Asuna interrupted everyone, "Seven lights...but there are suppose to be eleven now."

"Correct. With the information that was hidden in this dimension now in the hands of Xehanort, he is now able to rectify his mistake, and add more darkness to his side, as we are adding more Guardians of Light to our own."

It took a little while, wondering what Gretinal was getting at, before Goofy suddenly realized what she was trying to clue them on. "I got it!" He exclaimed, "If eleven lights are needed to created the X-Blade, then won't that mean that there should be Eleven Princesses of Heart, too?"

Donald squawked in total surprise, while Yui gasped, "You're absolutely right! We only know seven princesses, but that still leaves four more to be discovered!" Everyone looked to her, realizing that this fact was in their face, and they didn't even figure it out until now.

"The Lost Princesses of Heart." Gretinal dubbed the title, "Those four lights are currently scattered about in this dimension, though they might not even be princesses. And what's more, they have no idea how brightly their hearts shine, or how much danger they are in, with the darkness looming over the horizon."

"So, do you know where they are?" Sora asked Gretinal, hopefully, "We might be able to find them and protect them!"

Gretinal had a moment of silence, not immediately answering. She then replied, "No. I do not know EXACTLY where they are." Everyone looked forlorn at this answer. "However...I can tell you approximately where they might be, as well as give you hints on what hearts they have."

"If you don't know who they are, then how do you know what their hearts are like?" Donald asked, confused.

"Donald, I am seer. I may not have the ability to see things exactly, but I can learn some things about what we're looking for. That was what I was trying to discover shortly after the Mark of Mastery. And I can tell you I know what the four hearts you should look for."

"Alright, then. Tell us what these hearts are." Kirito asked.

Gretinal waved her hand out around the crystal orb, and it shone brightly, both from her side and the heroes's. Finally, four hearts appeared on the holographic image, circling about one another.

"The list is as follows..." she started, and one of the hearts glowed gold, "...A young heart, whose bonds of friendship can bring about miracles..." The second heart glowed blue, "...A heart of power, who can turn lust into love..." The third heart glowed a deep purple, "...A wise heart, endlessly pursued alone in darkness..." The fourth heart glowed a red hue, "...And a spirited heart, whose free life had touched many others." The hearts suddenly vanished, and the crystal was back to showing Gretinal again.

The team stood in silence for a moment, comprehending what they had just witnessed. "So…these four hearts belong to the Lost Princesses." Kirito understood, "And with just these vague clues, we're suppose to find them?"

"Come now, Kirito. You shouldn't pout about such things." Kayaba stated, "After all, did you not take on quests in Aincrad with just as little information as this?" Kirito had no say in the matter, as it was technically true. Although, this was coming from the creator of SAO itself.

"I'm sure you'll discover these hearts as long as you let your hearts be your guiding key." Gretinal quoted, smiling at the team, "I know you are able to accomplish this task. I will try to give an approximate location as to where each of them are, but one thing is for certain; They are all from this dimension."

"So…we're going to Kirito and Asuna's dimension again?" Sora asked, looking a bit excited.

"But how are we gonna get there?" Donald asked.

"That's easy." Asuna answered, looking to Kirito and Yui, who nodded in response to this. The trio stepped in front of the others, and drew out their Keyblades. They pointed them towards the path in front of the Gummi Ship, and lights shined brightly from their Keyblades. Beams shot out together, merged outside of the ship to create a large portal, very much like the massive one that sucked in the world of Disney Castle.

"I remember that!" Sora recognized, as Donald, Goofy and Jiminy all looked amazed by the sight.

"I'll be waiting for that photo of Tears." Kayaba told the group, "In the meantime, I'll continue my research on deciphering Ansem's Code. Good luck." The Gummiphone turned off after this.

"When you reach the first world, I shall give you a brief description of what this world has to offer." Gretinal explained, "I do know a lot about the many worlds in this dimension."

"Okay. Thanks, Gretinal." Sora thanked the Keyblade Mistress, and the crystal died down as she turned off communication. Everyone went to their seats, as Yui and Donald drove the Swiftline to the portal, entering into it. The Gummi Ship shook at it crossed the rift between dimensions. Then finally, it came out of the portal, now entering another area of deep space, similar to the one they were in before.

"So where's the closest world?" Sora asked, curious as to where to go.

"There's one nearby." Donald explained, pointing towards a world on the space map they had.

"I'll set a course for it." Yui explained, tapping in the coordinates, and the Gummi Ship took off towards their next destination.

---

Back in the Realm of Arrival, Gretinal sighed, standing up and stretching herself, before turning to the window, looking to the sky beyond. Though the battle ahead was a dangerous one, the truth of the matter…was that she did know exactly where these four Lost Princesses were. She closed her eyes, thinking on the choice she made to lie to the heroes.

"It's all for the sake of helping them grow and understand." She told herself, "They are the next generation of Keyblade wielders. They must learn to let their hearts see more than what their eyes and minds notice. They have seen these things in the past, but this is the ultimate test. One that has a time limit and, should they not accomplish such a task in time, our fates would be sentenced to darkness…"

She turned back to the window, going back to the crystal ball on her desk, and begun looking into it. She noticed the Swiftline on it. "Now, if I am correct, the next world they are heading to will grant them a new power to the battles ahead." A smile came across her face as she muttered, "I wonder if they will learn to enjoy the power that'll soon awaken? It is the only thing that can stop certain opponents ahead of them…and it is one that is fun. I hope my friend in that world has set something up to prepare them to earn the gift."

---

The Swiftline was slowing down, until it came to a halt. The team looked out, and saw a world whose main focus looked like a park with a stage on it, a glass building, and what looked like an emblem that had a 'J' and a single wing.

"So this is the first world we're visiting." Kirito understood, "And it looks like an Earth world, too."

"It looks like a lot of fun." Goofy pointed out, as Yui pulled up the crystal communicator. The crystal appeared, and it activated to reveal Gretinal's holographic figure.

"I see you arrived at the first world, which is dubbed 'Green Square'." Gretinal noticed, "I have visited this world a couple of times, and it is definitely focused around a certain kind of skill."

"What kind of skill?" Sora asked, "Is it something cool? Can we get it?"

"Oh, you're gonna have to discover that, yourself." Gretinal answered, "And you might just need to learn this very same skill in order to progress forward in your adventures."

"That sounds promising." Asuna stated, "Let's go down and see what this new 'skill' is." She and everyone else stepped into the transporter, and Yui locked in the coordinates. She raced into the transporter as everyone teleported down to the surface below.

---

When they came out of the teleportation, They found themselves in the park they saw from above. It was within a large city, and there were several tall buildings about them. There was a glass-walled railing nearby, and they walked towards it, looking out to the lower level.

"It feels the same as our home world." Kirito compared, "I don't know what's so different about this place compared to back home."

"Well, I'm wondering where all the people are at." Asuna asked, looking about. There didn't seem to be a single soul in sight from what they could see.

"It looks like a place that should be popular and crowded…" Yui noticed, looking about.

As if on cue, the team heard a noise that sounded like a large crowd cheering off in the distance. "There's some people." Goofy noticed, "And they sound excited."

"Let's go and see what's up!" Sora suggested, racing to where the cheering was at.

Kirito stood there, watching Donald, Goofy, Yui and Asuna follow Sora. He was hearing the cheering, but something seemed…off. The cheers didn't seem like they were rooting for something pleasant. It almost felt like the cheers were coming from people addicted to something unhealthy.

"Kirito, what's up?" Asuna asked, stopping to look at him.

"I don't know…but I feel like something is wrong." He answered, "I don't think what they're cheering for is something good." Asuna seemed confused at this.

The two followed the others as they made it to the scene of the excitement. There was a crowd of people there, all cheering and raving as they surrounded and outdoor stage. They approached the back of the crowd, trying to look over the people's heads, who were oblivious to their presence.

"I can't see anything!" Donald grimaced, hopping up and down to try and see.

"I can…" Goofy told them, a whimper coming from his tone, "And it doesn't look good."

Sora finally was able to peer through through the crowd, and saw what the commotion was. On the stage in front of the crowd were two humanoid figures. However, based on the familiar symbol underneath their silver jackets, along with their yellow eyes and jagged mouths, that they were Heartless. The jackets they wore had popped-open collars, a sleeve that was longer than the other, with a black band on the longer sleeve's upper arm that trailed off into a red wisp. They had backward silver caps with a red underside, blue jeans with a loose gold belt that hung diagonally down their waist, red, black and silver tennis shoes, a silver choker, and a gold bracelet on the wrist of the short-sleeved side.

"Heartless!" Sora gasped, seeing what the crowd was cheering for. The others looked worried and serious as they heard the news.

(Insert 'GET READY' from Tribe Cool Crew OST -Dance Side-)

The team heard music starting to play from speakers on the stage, as the Heartless started to glow a dark aura. Then suddenly, as the music started to go full out, the humanoid Heartless started to dance. The moves they exerted were skilled, but the main focus on their dance style was on punching and kicking. Every time they unleashed such moves, they ended up creating red and violet shockwaves that flew through the crowd and the heroes, who endured with all their might.

"What…is this?!" Asuna questioned, shielding her eyes with her arm.

"Are they…unleashing this darkness with that dancing?!" Kirito questioned, peering through the crowd to see the Heartless's dance.

"It's making me sick to my stomach." Donald grimaced.

"But look." Yui pointed something out. The audience that was watching them was not phased in a bad way by the dark waves. In fact, they seemed rather excited and enjoyed it. Almost intoxicated by it. "The people are enjoying their dancing!" Yui finished, looking a bit fearful at this.

"Well, we have to stop them!" Sora declared, "If they are influenced by the darkness, then we have to snap them out of it by fighting those Heartless!" He summoned his new Shooting Star Keyblade, which he gained from Twilight Town after the incident with Tears, and raced around the crowd, enduring the shockwaves from the dancing. Everyone followed Sora as they prepared themselves for battle.

As the song started to die down, Sora hopped onto the stage, and stomped the ground hard, drawing the Heartless's attention. "Show's over!" Sora barked, getting in a fighter's stance, as the others came from behind, readying their weapons.

"Cool! Is there gonna be a dance battle?" A male voice from the crowd called out, getting the heroes's attention.

"They don't look like people who can even dance at all!" Another younger male voice noticed.

"These guys are toast!" A girl chuckled.

"Knock it off!" Donald squawked at the crowd angrily.

"What do they mean by 'dance battle'?" Yui asked.

"Don't know, but we can figure it out after we beat these Heartless." Kirito told her, and he charged forward with Elucidator Keyblade at hand.

The music started up again, and the Heartless began dancing, stomping the ground hard to unleash another powerful shockwave. The close range of the attack caused Kirito to be sent flying in pain, toppling back into the middle of the others.

"Kirito!" Sora gasped, seeing how easily he was sent flying.

"We can't even get close to them!" Goofy noticed.

"Then it's time for some magic!" Donald declared, and he unleashed a Fire spell.

"Right!" Asuna agreed, unleashing her own Fire spell at the Heartless. Yui created a whirlwind that joined the two's attacks, forming together to created a fiery tornado. The music continued to play as the Heartless unleashed punches in rhythm with the music, creating shockwaves that diminished the attack in an instant.

"Our attack was destroyed?!" Yui gasped, only for her, Asuna and Donald to endure against the shockwaves that they formed.

"Then how about a Shotlock?" Sora demanded, leaping high up and locking on with his Keyblade. When he reached max lock, he transformed his Keyblade into a rocket launcher form, charging up the front end of it with magic, before firing off a magic missile that transformed into smaller homing bullet, curving around to come at all sides. The Heartless came together, and unleashed omnidirectional shockwaves, destroying every single magic bullet, and sending Sora flying off the stage. The rest of the team also got sent flying off the stage, unable to withstand the combined might of the shockwaves.

They all recovered, though Sora's fall was the worst. He moaned as he felt the pain in his back from landing on the hard cement ground. Goofy looked like he was halfway through a backroll. Donald beret was on his tail-end. Kirito, Asuna and Yui all were on their backs or stomachs.

"One…more time…" he grimaced, looking at the two Heartless that continued to dance.

"No. They're too strong for us, right now." Asuna told him, glaring back at the Heartless, as their dance was hyping up the crowd, who were unfazed by the group leaving the stage. In fact they didn't even seem to care there was a one-sided battle directly in front of them. "Let's retreat from their range so we can come up with a plan." With that decision set, they gathered themselves up, and ran away from the range of the Heartless's shockwaves.

"We can't even get close with those shockwaves they unleash with their dancing." Kirito noticed, "And all magic and long-ranged attacks gets repelled by those same shockwaves, too. Yui, can you tell us what those Heartless are?"

Yui shook her head sadly at this as she answered, "Unfortunately, I'm not completely sure what those Heartless are, either. The scanning device wasn't able to have data on any of them."

"Seriously?" Asuna asked.

"So we have no information on what we're dealing with, and no way to defeat them." Kirito understood.

"But…if we combine our attacks together, we might do something!" Sora suggested in a hopeful manner.

"Do you think that's possible?" Goofy asked. Donald sighed in disgruntlement in response to this. That, too, would end the same way as all others.

Suddenly, the team heard music as they heard someone approaching from behind them. They turned and saw, coming through the planted trees, a person moonwalking towards them. He was a middle-aged man with black combed hair, black eyebrows, and a goatee. He wore a black suit with a purple underside, with two purple hearts at the sleeves, a white shirt underneath, and a black pants, and black laceless shoes.

As the team stared in confusion, he stopped, spun several times around, and struck a pose with his arm out to them. "Unity is a key to defeating them, but your battle is the wrong way to stop them." He told the group in a bravado tone, "Fortunately, the Fairy of Dancing has come to help you with all your problems!"

There was a moment of silence between the two sides, the heroes wondering how to respond to this. "He's a fairy?" Goofy questioned in a quiet tone to Asuna.

"I doubt that." She answered, very suspicious of the man.

Kirito approached the man with caution as he asked, "Who are you? What do you want with us?"

"Pardon me. I forgot to introduce myself properly." He responded, lowering his bravado to a normal tone, "You may refer to me as Master T. I have come to assist you in your battle to defeat those Heartless."

"How did you know what kind of beings those things were?" Sora asked, catching onto how he knew to name them 'Heartless'.

"The one I assist, the King of Dance, Jey El, told me that his dear friend contacted him recently, telling him that six unusual characters would appear, and that they would come to fight off against the High Crowd that possess the populace."

"High Crowd?" Yui echoed, confused.

"That's the name of the Heartless behind you." Master T answered, pointing to the stage where the Heartless were dancing, "They are the dark dancers that have inherited a forbidden dance that was born from the darkness of the world. And thanks to their darkness, the dance makes them nigh impossible to stop…unless defeated by ones with powers as special as yours."

The team looked to one another, then Asuna asked, "So, who is this 'friend' that you spoke of?"

"Who knows?" Master T answered, "Jey only told me she was a mistress of great knowledge and light." It didn't take too long for the team to understand who he meant.

"Mistress Gretinal!" Donald realized.

"So she has more friends than just people like Palutena." Kirito understood, thinking back to the Goddess of Light in Pit's world, who also had knowledge of the Keyblades, too.

"If Jey El knows her, then he's gotta be a good guy!" Sora understood, turning to his friends, who all nodded in agreement. He then turned back to Master T and asked, "Then that means you know how to beat those High Crowds, right?"

"Indeed, but it is not an easy task to accomplish." He answered, "As you experienced, the Heartless can fend off any attack that comes at them. They can sense hostility and your attacks, and repel all."

"They can sense our attacks and hostility?" Kirito asked, "Then how do we defeat them?"

"Yeah. Whatever they're doing to that crowd, I don't think it's healthy to them." Asuna noted, looking to the cheering crowd far beyond them, "It almost looks like they are addicted to the shockwaves they unleash."

"Addicted like a drug." Master T responded, "And in due time, they would transform the hearts of the masses into darkness, and become one of them. But even dark dancing like that can be defeated, when counteracted with dance filled with spirit." Master T looked to the six heroes, "And all of you have a strong spirit within you. I can feel it. But instead of using weapons and magic, you must unleash your spirit onto the mass through dance!"

"Wait a minute…" Kirito started to piece the picture together, "So what you're saying is that the only thing that can stop those Heartless…is through dancing?"

"Precisely." Master T answered, pointing a finger towards Kirito.

The team looked to one another, all of them agreeing to one thing. This was, without a doubt, the strangest way they ever had to deal with the Heartless. And not only that…

"Even if that is the only way to beat the Heartless, we…don't know how to dance." Kirito admitted.

"I know a bit of ballet." Asuna admitted, "My mother actually signed me up for lessons when I was young. But I only spent half-a-year on it."

"I know a lot of disco." Goofy followed, "I danced the nights away back when I was a youngster!"

"Goofy…how old are you?" Kirito questioned, realizing he had never even asked Goofy his age.

"Even if mama and Goofy both know dancing, the rest of us don't." Yui stated.

"That is where I come in!" Master T declared, striking another pose, "I called in some teachers of dance for all of you. They will be the ones who will instruct you in the art of spirited dance!"

Sora looked a bit intrigued, and turned to the others. "Well, if that's the only way to defeat the Heartless, then let's learn it!" He declared, "Besides, it does sound fun!"

Kirito looked to Asuna, who understood one thing. Even if dancing was the only way to defeat them, how could they learn to do so in a short amount of time? They felt like they couldn't dawdle, since who knows when the people would turn into Heartless.

"Then follow me." He told them, and he started to moonwalk away from them, "I shall guide you to the world of dance, and help you embrace it!" He pointed towards the road nearby, and saw a limousine parked there, waiting for the team to climb into. Wondering where and how it appeared without their notice, they ran towards it, got into the car, and it drove them along the road to their destination.

---

After a while, the limo stopped at the bottom of a staircase that led up to a place that was called the 'Hometown History Memorial Hall'. The six heroes and Master T hopped out of the limo, and it drove off down the street, parking somewhere out of sight.

"Your teachers are up this way. Follow me." He told the six, and he led them up the stairs.

"So, who are these teachers that will be helping us?" Asuna asked, "How good are they in dance? And what kind of dance do they do?"

"They are dancer of great caliber. Ones who reached the pinnacle of dance to even join the side of Jey El. They are some of the best street dancers out there."

"Street dancers?" Asuna questioned, "So is it something like breakdancing?"

"Well, one of them specializes in such a style." Master T answered, "There is more to street dancing than just that."

They passed the booth that was at the entrance of the building, where an old man was reading a book. "Yo." Master T greeted the elderly man.

"Aw, hello there." The man answered, "They've already arrived and are waiting. A couple of their friends also arrived, too." The last bit of news did puzzle Master T, but he shrugged it off, and continued walking.

They rounded a corner, and found themselves in an area that looked big enough for dancing, including a window that, thanks to the sun, acted like a mirror for them. Not only that, but there were several people there waiting for them. They all didn't even look that old.

One was a short, slightly-tanned boy with honey-colored eyes, long eyelashes, a yellow backwards cap with a white and black badge attached to it, and brown hair that stuck out of it like rabbit ears, with a ponytail going off the back. A pink 'J' was tattooed on his left cheek. He wore a red shirt that had a triangular cut on the side, revealing his black tank top underneath, with yellow and white buttons, and one sleeve that was longer than the other, jean shorts, white, orange, and yellow high top shoes, and maroon glovelettes with white cuffs.

The second was a tall and slender girl with waist-length pink hair that was tied in a side ponytail, held by a large yellow ribbon, bright pink eyes, and blush marks on her cheeks. She wore a pink hoodie with a heart-shaped zipper on it, blue shorts, long black stockings with hearts going down them from dark red to pink, and yellow, orange and multiple pink-colored high tops.

The third was a tall, lean muscular guy with tanned skin, green eyes with red bags underneath, a canine tooth sticking from his closed mouth, and a pair of silver earrings on his right ear. His hair was mostly hidden by a black cloth, but he had braided blonde hair going down the back. He wore a black tank top with a red flame symbol on the side, a half-blue, half-black bandana on his neck, muddy brown pants, and dark green combat boots with dark yellow laces.

The fourth was a young lady with an hourglass figure, dark red eyes, lipstick, blue hair with lighter blue side-bangs, and a white beanie with an 'M' badge. Her attire was a teal crop top with open holes on her shoulders, knee-length sky blue pants, the left pants leg going up to her thigh, a purple belt, a thigh-high, blue-striped sock on her left leg, blue sneakers, a white band on the end of her right pants leg, and a black and red beaded necklace.

The fifth character had a look that reminded the group a bit of Eggman from Sonic's world. He had an egg-shaped body, with short, dark blond hair thick eyebrows, and purple eyes. He wore a purple shirt with a red and white polka-dot tie, white pants with black and orange suspenders, a black belt with a silver buckle, red and orange stars going down his left leg, and black shoes.

The short boy was sitting on the ground while he was waiting, but stood up at the sight of Master T. " Master T!" He greeted, "What's with the sudden call for all of us to get together?"

"Didn't you remember what Mizuki and Kumo told you?" The tall girl reminded him, "He said we were suppose to help him out with a task."

The muscular young man and the young lady approached Master T as the heroes joined him from behind. "So, what's with this group of guys?" The young man asked.

"They're your students in dance." He explained, waving his hand to the six heroes, "They're the ones capable of taking out those dark dancers."

"You mean the ones that took over the Green Square stage?" The short boy asked, looking to the group, "And they're capable of beating them?"

"Yes. They have a special power that has yet to be unlocked. And I asked you guys to come together to help them gain it." The heroes behind him all looked at each other. Now, they understood what the 'skill' that Gretinal was talking about before.

Sora stepped forward as he asked, "So, can you guys can teach us how to dance?"

"Absolutely!" Said a pair of voices in sync. Sliding in between the short boy and Sora were two more characters that appeared out of nowhere.

One was a young man with short blonde hair, hidden with a dark blue backwards cap, purple lipstick, and purple eyes. He wore a beige and red-trimmed open vest over a black t-shirt, dark gray pants, brown boots, and blue and white bandanas around his neck and waist.

The other was a girl around his age. She had purple eyes with eyeshadow to match, pink lipstick, hazel hair that was formed in a heart-shaped bun, with a broad bang curling out in front, tied with a bandana the same color as the guy. Her attire consisted of a pink sleeveless coat, a black crop top, white and blue-striped gymnastic pants, and red sneakers. She also wore a gold bellybutton piercing.

"We heard you guys were looking for dancers to teach you guys." The young man started.

"So we 'boinged' over to come and lend our assistance to paint you guys in our color!" The young lady followed.

Sora looked really confused as he asked, "Paint us…in your color."

"They were actually here in town to visit, but heard about Jey asking for our help." The muscular boy stated, "So they sort of followed us." The pair looked a bit smug, despite their true reasons being exposed.

"So, who exactly are you guys?" Asuna asked, wanting to know the people that were teaching them.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." The young boy apologized, "I'm Haneru Tobitatsu." He raised his hand to Sora to shake, "Nice ta meet ya."

The young Keyblade wielder smiled as he greeted, "I'm Sora." He took Haneru's hand, and they shook.

"I'm Kanon Otosaki." The tall girl introduced herself, bowing to the group, "Please bear with me."

"My name is Yui." The ex-program replied, bowing in response, "Please teach me well."

The muscular boy and the young lady approached Kirito and Asuna as the former greeted, "It's Kumo."

"And I'm Mizuki." The girl followed, placing one arm on Kumo's shoulder, and giving a peace sign to the couple.

"Hi. I'm Kirito."

"And I'm Asuna. It's a pleasure."

"My name is Yuzuru." The robust boy greeted the final pair of the heroes.

"Howdy, Yuzuru. I'm Goofy." The anthropomorphic dog greeted.

"Donald Duck." The duck greeted.

The pair that appeared before got in front of Yuzuru as they introduced themselves, "I'm Lui." "And I'm Moe." The young man shaped his fingers like an 'L', while the girl formed her fingers into an 'M'.

"And we are…!" Lui started, "When the Grandiose Yatsugatake Range to the East, the Lake Suwa's Waters Shine Clear, and On its Shores, We Perform the Steps of a New Dawn."

"Whaaat?! That's way too long!" Donald exclaimed.

"What is that suppose to be?" Yui questioned.

"Apparently, that's their team name." Kanon chuckled.

"Your's better not be as complex." Kirito muttered to Kumo and Mizuki.

"Don't worry. It ain't." Kumo answered.

"So, you have a dance team name?" Sora asked Haneru, "What is it?"

Haneru smirked as he spread his arms out to Kanon, Kumo, Mizuki, and Yuzuru as he replied, "We are Tribe Cool Crew."

"Tri-Cool for short." Mizuki added.

"Tribe Cool Crew…" Sora echoed, grinning at the name, "That sounds awesome!"

Master T cleared his throat, drawing the attention onto him. "Well now. I'd better take my leave. I'll keep a watchful eye on the happenings in Green Square. You guys better start teaching these heroes how to dance. As a personal note, I'd suggest using what you know individually, and teach it to each of them. We're all counting on you. Jey is counting on all of you." With that, he moonwalked out of the scene, disappearing from sight.

"That guy is pretty odd." Kirito muttered, while Asuna chuckled in agreement.

"I can do that moonwalk, no problem!" Goofy stated, doing his own moonwalk with ease, "It's one of the first things I learned at the disco club."

"So your style is into disco, huh?" Yuzuru asked, "That's good to know."

Sora turned to the group of young teachers as he asked, "Okay. I…know only a few moves in dance. But I don't think it'll be enough to beat those High Crowds. Please teach us."

"You got it!" Haneru answered, "If Jey is counting on us to teach you, then we HAVE to do it. Let's go maximum moves, baby!"

"Hold on." Kumo stopped his excitement hard, "Remember what Master T suggested; We should try teaching each of them what each of us know."

"What does that mean?" Goofy asked.

"Maybe…teaching each of them our dance styles?" Kanon suggested.

"Do you guys have different dance styles?" Asuna asked.

"We do." Kumo answered, "Tribe Cool Crew's main style of dance is New Jack Swing. But we each specialize in our own style of dance. I do breakdancing."

"My style is street jazz." Mizuki followed.

"My style is parkour." Haneru stated, doing a high jump backflip.

"My style is hip-hop." Kanon explained.

"And I'm well-versed in all forms of dance." Yuzuru stated, spinning on the spot and coming to a halt almost instantly. For his figure, he was surprisingly nimble.

"What about you guys?" Kirito asked, looking to Lui and Moe.

"Our dance style…" Moe started, pointing a finger at the crowd in general, "…Is to dye you in our color!"

There was a moment of silence between the group, then Kumo turned to the heroes, "Let's get started then."

"Oy! Don't ignore us like that!" Moe exclaimed.

"Boing! That's too cruel!" Lui argued.

"Sorry, but this is important." Kirito apologized.

"If we don't learn how to dance, those Heartless in Green Square will turn everyone's hearts to darkness." Yui exclaimed.

"That's why we have to learn to dance." Sora declared, "We'll make sure everyone's hearts are safe by using that 'dance spirit' stuff!"

"In that case, I bet I can teach you, Sora." Haneru suggested, "I totally can feel your spirit. It's hittin' me right here!" He poked a thumb at his chest, indicating his heart. Sora smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Yui." Kanon approached the youngest member of the group, "Would you be fine in having me as your teacher?"

"Sure. I would love to, actually." Yui answered.

"Oy, Kirito." Kumo called out to the black swordsman, "I'll teach you."

"Having Kumo call you out like that must mean he sees something special in you." Mizuki told Kirito, then to Asuna, she suggested, "And I bet I can teach you how to dance, Asuna. You okay in learning street jazz?"

"Sure, if you think I can do it." Asuna answered, a little nervous at learning how to dance her style.

"Guess I'd better learn how to breakdance, then." Kirito sighed, matching Kumo's glare with his own, as if sizing one another up.

Yuzuru approached Donald and Goofy as he started, "Now, as for you two…"

"Hold it, hold it, hoooold it!" Moe stopped him, coming up behind Donald, and bot he and Lui grabbed his feathered arms, "This one's already got the colors we like. We'll be the ones to teach him our style."

"And we'll doing a boingin' good job, too!" Lui added, and they hoisted Donald off the ground.

"Hey, let me go! Let me go!" Donald squawked angrily as the two dancers carried him off to a different part of the area, shouting out, "See you guys later!"

"Those guys march to their own beat…" Kirito muttered.

"I guess that leaves me to teach you how to dance." Yuzuru told Goofy, "And if you are good in disco dancing, I bet I can teach you dance steps that'll give your moves more elegance and class!"

"Gee, ya think you can?" Goofy asked.

"Of course!" Yuzuru answered.

"Let's split up and practice in individual spots." Kumo suggested, "And remember; don't forget to warm up and stretch. Got it?"

"I got it, I got it." Haneru answered, "Sora and I'll take this spot!"

"I know of a good spot, too." Kanon told Yui, "I'll ask Wakui to the keys to it."

"Sure. I'll follow you." Yui answered, and the two girls walked off towards the entrance.

"Let's go, Kirito." Kumo ordered.

"Sure." He answered, and the two walked off.

"I get the feeling those two'll be good friends." Mizuki assumed, looking to Asuna, "Okay. Why don't we work together somewhere close to where they're practicing?"

"Okay." Asuna answered, and the two followed Kumo and Kirito.

"I know of a room in this building that'll work for us." Yuzuru told Goofy, "Follow me, if you please."

"I'm right behind ya!" Goofy answered, and the two walked towards the entrance as well. This left Sora and Haneru alone in the open space.

"So, I guess we start with warming up, right?" Sora asked Haneru.

"Yeah. Let me teach you a few exercises that help me loosen up and control my body more easily." He answered, "Here, let me teach you."

During this time, all of the pairs, or trio in Donald's case, were doing their stretches and exercises to loosen themselves up. Both Sora and Yui were learning isolation techniques they were taught by the other members of their dance team to better control their body (Author's note: all displayed in Tribe Cool Crew episode 4). Kirito and Kumo were more or less stretching out their limbs and bodies like pro athletes. Asuna was seriously amazed at Mizuki's flexibility, as she was not only able to perform splits, but also have her legs reach all the way up to her face. Donald was forced into stretches with Lui and Moe, thought they were very anxious to show their stuff to him. And Yuzuru was teaching Goofy the same things Kanon and Haneru were teaching.

"Okay. Now that we're stretched out, let's get to some practicing." Haneru declared, putting his hands on his hips, "So…do you know any moves?"

"Um…" Sora started, thinking on some moves, "Well, I can do handstand spins when I'm on a barrel."

"Seriously?! That's awesome!" Haneru exclaimed, "Why don't you show me that?"

"Okay…" Sora answered, looking about. There were no barrels about, but he decided to try it anyway. He leapt into a handstand, stretched one arm and both his legs outwards, and tried to pivot on his free hand. Unfortunately, without something to pivot him, he lost his balance, and fell over. Haneru winced at his fail.

"Guess it's hard without something like a barrel to be on." Sora chuckled, getting back up on his feet, "Why don't you show me how you dance, so I know what parkour dancing looks like."

It was as if Sora had just asked him to demonstrate his most precious skill in the world. Haneru beamed at the request, and replied, "You got it! I'll show you the best moves you have ever seen!" He raced to his backpack that he had on the ground, pulled out his music player and speakers, and prepared a song. He got back in front of the reflecting window, and got himself set.

(Insert 'Change the Mind ~LET ME SHOW THE BRIGHT' from Tribe Cool Crew OST)

Sora watched Haneru as he was focusing, his eyes closed, listening to the music. Sora could tell he was tuning himself into the music, feeling it, and wanting his body to dance with it. His drive to dance was so strong, a fiery aura was somehow coming off of him. Then the moment came, and Haneru's eyes opened. All at once he began his dance…and it was a dance Sora had never seen before. Street dancing was non-existent on the islands. However, Haneru's dancing, his control over his body, and his flow with the music, were so incredible. His parkour skills really shined with his jumping and stunts with or from it. Haneru's dancing drew Sora in, loving every bit of it.

When the music finished, Haneru performed a backflip, ending with a fist pump pose and a grin. "Wow! That was awesome!" Sora exclaimed, racing up to Haneru's side excitedly.

"Your really felt it, huh?" Haneru asked, thumbing his heart, "Hit you right here, didn't it?"

"Yeah! It totally did!" Sora nodded in agreement, "That dancing just reached my heart and made me excited!"

"You totally get it!" Haneru noted, pointing at Sora, "Make your moves reach the audience, and you'll definitely hit them with your spirit! I'll help you out!" Sora nodded in agreement, eager to start.

---

On the other side of the window, Yui and Kanon were watching the two boys as Haneru started to show steps and moves to use in dance. "Those two are a lot alike." Kanon noticed.

"Sora's always had a childish eagerness to try new things like that." Yui noticed, "But he's also dedicated to helping people when it matters. I bet that's what's influencing him now, too."

"For you to say Sora is childish is really strange, Yui." Kanon noticed in an awkward tone, "How old are you?"

"Er…" Yui started, not sure how to answer that. She was told by her parents not to tell anyone that she was really an Artificial Intelligence unless they were aware of outside world, or if AIs existed like she did. So she had to divert the conversation somehow. "Well…I was more curious on how long you have been dancing." She started, "You don't seem that much older than me."

Kanon looked a bit surprised, but she smiled as she started, "Actually, I did start in ballet for a while, but it didn't end up being that interesting to me. When I discovered a class on hip-hop, I became totally intrigued. My mother, however, didn't think it was right for a proper girl to learn. I was pretty shy, and I didn't have a lot of confidence in myself. So I ended up learning hip-hop in secret, and took on the an alias called 'Rhythm' for a while, putting up dance videos and such."

She looked ahead, seeing Haneru teaching Sora, who was having a hard time learning the exact steps. "But Haneru change everything. He learned about who I really was, and pushed me into dancing more publicly. We joined Kumo, Mizuki and Yuzuru, and formed Tribe Cool Crew. Dancing together changed me, and I enjoy being the person I am today."

Yui looked happily at Kanon, who stared at Haneru with admiration. It was clear she more than admired Haneru. "Are you and Haneru…a couple?" She asked. Kanon blushed horribly at this, but didn't deny the fact.

"W-Well, let me show you a clip of my time back in my Rhythm days." Kanon pulled out her smartphone, and after scrolling through it, pulled up a video of her. Apart from her figure, she had her hair tied up in twin-tails, held with blue orbs and oval-shaped yellow hair ties. She wore a blue mask, and had a 'R' earring on her right ear. Her attire consisted of a white dress that was sleeveless on the left side, a red beaded belt and short tights. She wore a green sock with butterfly patterns on her right leg, and red sneakers.

(Insert 'Start up! ~KING'S DREAM' from Tribe Cool Crew OST)

Yui took the smartphone and watched the dance segment as Kanon, under the alias of Rhythm, was dancing. Like Haneru, she was incredibly skilled, moving her body to the rhythm of the music in the style of hip-hop. Not only that, but Kanon was effectively using her long limbs in her dancing style.

"So…this is how you dance?" Yui asked, intoxicated by the dance video.

"Mm-hm. Though, I have grown and improved since then." Kanon explained, "I mean, I do like to look back at where I was before, and see how much has changed till now. I don't even use the disguise of Rhythm anymore."

Once the dance video ended, Yui paused for a second. As an AI, she learned a lot of things online by surfing the internet. Seeing this video made her want to study it a bit more. "If it's okay with you, can I watch this video a few times?" She asked Kanon, "I tend to learn better from watching videos like this. Afterwards, I would like to try these steps."

"Okay. If that's what you want to do." Kanon agreed. She then realized something, and giggled a bit.

"What is it?" Yui asked.

"Nothing…" she replied, "It's just…it was actually through this dance that I met Haneru. He was trying to learn the dance through this video, too. And now, you're doing the same." Yui looked intrigued at the irony, but decided not to further ask on it. Instead, she looked back at the smartphone, and begun to replay the video again.

---

Near the entrance, at the guardrail near the steps leading upwards to the building, Kirito and Kumo were practicing together, the former trying to learn the steps that Kumo was demonstrating, but struggling to do so.

"This is harder than it looks." Kirito pointed out, looking at his feet after he failed to make the right steps.

"You're not committed." Kumo told him, "Do you even like to dance?"

Kirito paused before answering, "It's not that I don't enjoy it. But I've never even experienced something like this before."

Kumo glared at Kirito for a few minutes, like he was analyzing him. Finally, he asked, "What do you do physically?"

"Me?" Kirito asked, wondering where he was getting out of that question, "Well…I do a lot of fighting."

"You're a delinquent?" Kumo asked.

"No! Not like that! I don't pick meaningless fights. I fight monsters like the ones that are in the square right now, even other people, who control them."

"Are you good at fighting?"

"Well, yeah. I did train hard. And I'm great with a sword. I'm not trying to be boastful, but I know how to use one, and how to fight others with the skills I have."

Isn't that dancing?" Kumo's question caused Kirito to blink in surprise

"My sword skills…a dance?" Kirito summed up, a bit confused.

"Your moves require control over your body and mind in order to pull them off during a fight." Mizuki stated, approaching from a nearby spot with Asuna, the latter having trouble learning the street jazz style, "Dancing is no different. And if you use what you are confident with into your dance, then you can dance better. That is what he was trying to say. Right, Kumo?" The group looked to the breakdancer, who only answered with a single nod.

"That's an idea." Asuna understood, "I was actually having trouble learning the steps Mizuki was teaching me. But if we think of dancing like we were fighting unseeable opponents, we might be able to pull it off."

"Use what I know in battle, and put it into my dance…" Kirito understood, looking at his hand. He thought back to all the Sword Skills from SAO, and thought to his Horizontal Square. He positioned his feet as if he was prepared to unleash the 4-hit skill, then shot forward. He pivoted his footing as he used his hand to make the first three slashes in the air. At his fourth one, he tilted downward, his secondary palm slamming onto the pavement, going into a one-handed handstand, flipping forward, and unleashing his final slash with his hand. It created a minor shockwave, similar to his usual Horizontal Square, enough to just distort the wind.

Mizuki and Asuna were amazed at Kirito's move just now. Kumo gave a cheeky grin, starting to see the potential he felt before. Kirito looked at his hands, realizing the success of the dance move.

"You pulled it off, Kirito!" Asuna cheered, "And it looked just like a dance move."

"An unusual dance move, but I can see what you can pull off." Mizuki admitted.

"If I keep working at it, I bet my sword skills can mix well with breakdancing, and pull off my own style of dancing." Kirito understood, looking to Kumo, "Let's get back to practice again. I wanna try some things."

"Sure." Kumo responded, and they gave some space from the ladies as they went back to practice.

"Well, Asuna?" Mizuki started, "You gonna let your boyfriend one-up you like that?"

Asuna wasn't phased by her blatant comment, but she smiled confidently as she answered, "No way. I know I can do just as well with my rapier skills and your street jazz, and I'll be able to pull off moves just as great as him."

Mizuki snapped her finger as she answered, "Good answer. Let's get to it!" Asuna and Mizuki stepped further away from the boys as they continued their lessons.

---

Down near the road, Donald was practicing hard with Lui and Moe, watching one another from a spare window that reflected like a mirror. Despite Donald's duck feet, he was actually learning the steps from Lui and Moe pretty well.

"Not bad, Donald. Your gettin' into our color." Lui told him, lowering the bandana covering his mouth.

"It's makin' us hoppin' happy!" Moe added.

Donald chuckled with a hint of pride, "Well, I'm not just a great wizard, you know. I can dance, too!"

Lui had a bit of a sweat-dropped expression as he said, "Though, I wish you were easier to understand when you speak."

"I speak fine!" Donald argued angrily, causing Lui to raise his hands in defense.

"Though with our dance, you'll definitely be able to beat those dancers at Green Square, boing~!." Moe added.

"Actually, I was wondering myself…" The trio turned to see Yuzuru and Goofy, both coming out of the building after their practice, the former speaking up to them, "…Why did you decide to follow us? You weren't called upon like Tribe Cool Crew. You have a secret agenda in all of this, don't you?"

Lui and Moe looked to one another for a second, then they sighed as Moe answered, "Guess it can't be helped. You got us." He became serious as he answered, "The truth is that we're trying to redeem ourselves, and get rid of that dance."

"Redeem yourselves?" Goofy asked.

"I see. Is it because you use to use the same dance, as well." Yuzuru understood.

Donald looked surprised as Moe stepped forward, answering, "Yeah. That dance made us forget about our color, along who we truly were. We were so obsessed with fame and fortune, we ended up using that dance to try and take over the dance world."

"But that dance damaged our bodies, boing…" Moe followed, "It took us a while before we returned ourselves to normal, and we returned to our roots again, regaining what we lost."

"And that includes our friendship with Tribe Cool Crew." Lui finished, "We never fully forgave ourselves for all the trouble we put you through. So if our dance can help save someone, we'll do it. We'll dye those darkened hearts in our color!"

Yuzuru smiled and nodded in understanding. "A beautiful way in trying to redeem yourselves. You use your dance and make sure that people's heart were never as dark as yours were in the past."

"And here I thought you guys were just full of yourselves." Donald bluntly stated, causing the LuiMoe pair to act a little embarrassed.

Goofy chuckled as he stated, "Well, I'm glad you guys are here to help us out. It looked like Donald was having a lot of fun dancin' with you guys." Donald avoided eye contact from Lui and Moe, trying not to show he was right. "And I'm having fun with Yuzuru. This 'disco freestyle' dance is hard to learn, but I like it."

"You are learning quite fast, Goofy." Yuzuru noted, "I must admit, I am surprised by your progression."

"Well, people say I have a lot of space in my head for learnin'." Goofy noted with a chuckle, absentmindedly not getting the real message behind that. The others, on the other hand, understood what that meant.

"Let's get back to dancing." Yuzuru told everyone, "You guys may be good, but there is still room for progression."

"He's right." Lui agreed, turning to Donald, "Let's keep gettin' you ready. We'll even teach you our specialty."

"The Luilui step, boing~!" Moe understood.

"Yeah. You ready, Donald?"

"Alright!" Donald answered, looking very sure he could master the dance technique.

It had been about three and a half hours since they started their practicing. Everyone was progressing quite well in their lessons. They were learning the basics, but due to having physical experience, and their ability to adapt, they were learning the dances quite well.

"Fuu…" Sora sighed in relief, wiping his forehead after he and Haneru tried a dance together, "That was tough, but fun. Was I doing alright?"

"Hmm…" Haneru was pondering on where to begin, "Well, you were using the steps I taught you, and your passion was hittin' me, but…"

"But what?" Sora asked, realizing something was wrong.

"…I can't really explain. I think it had to do with your dance with the music?" Haneru summed up, rubbing the temple of his head with one finger, "It felt like they didn't match up."

"My dance…didn't match with the music?" Sora echoed, wondering what that meant.

On the other side of the glass, Yui had just finished the dance she watched from Kanon's phone, and she panted a bit from the exertion. "Well, what do you think?" She asked.

"Amazing! You were able to match my dance moves perfectly, Yui." Kanon stated, "After just watching that video, you were able to quickly learn the steps." Yui chuckled from the appraise, though it stopped when Kanon continued, "Although…I wasn't really feeling it."

"Huh?" Yui questioned, "What do you mean? Didn't I dance it well?"

"Yeah. You did it perfectly. But…it didn't impact my heart like it should."

Yui looked confused, looking down at her feet. How did the dance not reach her heart?

Just then, there was a ring from Kanon's phone. In fact, all of the Tribe Cool Crew's phones were ringing. They all picked up their phones, answering the call.

"Tri-Cool, I'm sending the car to you guys." It was Master T's voice, and he sounded concern, "The High Crowd's influence is worsening on the crowd. We need them to dance, now!"

"Eh?! Now?!" Haneru exclaimed.

"But, we're still teaching them." Kanon pointed out.

"It can't be helped." Kumo responded, "People's lives are at stake. Let's hope we taught them enough."

"Okay." "We're on it." Mizuki and Yuzuru answered. Everyone hung up on Master T, and got themselves together. Though they were still inexperienced, the six heroes still needed to use what they know so far, and put it to the test.

---

Moments later, the limo that picked up the heroes before was driving them, Tri-Cool, and LuiMoe was driving itself back to Green Square, and they could tell the situation had gotten worse off than before. The crowd was bigger than before, and they were encased in a dark aura. They were no longer cheering, but the top half of their bodies were sagging, and they were swaying to the beat of the High Crowd Heartless. Master T was watching from a distance as the team joined up from behind.

"This is terrible!" Asuna gasped.

"Oy, what's wrong with them?!" Haneru questioned in shock.

"I'm afraid that if we don't stop those High Crowd now, the audience will become like them." Master T stated.

"That's not good…" Yuzuru muttered.

"It'll get worse." Kirito added, "They might spread the darkness even further across this place, until the entire world is consumed. While they're still contained, let's end them, here and now!"

"Yeah, but…are we really prepared for a dance-off against them?" Asuna asked. Kirito, unfortunately, didn't have the answer.

"We'll never know until we try." Sora responded, and he raced ahead towards the stage.

"Sora, wait!" Donald and Goofy shouted, racing from behind.

Just then, the Heartless unleashed a shockwave from their dance. Sora endured, but Donald and Goofy were ill-prepared to endure, and they fell over. Sora saw his friends were hurt, but he knew they were fine. He turned back and continued running, racing up the steps onto the stage.

"This time, things'll be different." He told the Heartless, "Cause I got the moves that'll beat yours!"

(Insert 'Change the Mind ~LET ME SHOW THE BRIGHT' from Tribe Cool Crew OST)

Using the music player Sora pulled from Haneru, he began playing the same music he was playing before. As the music slowly progressed, Sora focused himself. Then when it was time, he began his routine. His dancing was good, and he was able to pull off flashy and skilled moves that Haneru himself taught him. Some were moves he pulled off from his own skills.

"Not bad." Kirito noted, seeing Sora moves, "He's gotten way better."

"Yeah, but he isn't in sync." Kumo noticed, "His dancing is all over the place."

"His dancing isn't in sync?" Asuna echoed. Then she looked about, and noticed someone wasn't there. "Where's Yui?"

Sora finished his routine, and struck a pose. He panted as he hoped his dance was enough to beat the High Crowd. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work, as with one dark shockwave, Sora was sent flying off the stage by the Heartless.

"Why?" Sora asked, getting into a sitting position, "Was that not enough?"

"Sora!" Yui cried out, coming from behind him. Once he got back onto his feet, Yui started, "I could see you dance routine, but your dancing didn't seem right."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, confused.

"You were pulling off big moves in the wrong places." Yui explained, "And some dance moves didn't really blend well into one another with the music. I watched a video of Kanon dancing several times, and she was doing the same thing; saving all her flashier moves for when it was right for the music."

Sora finally understood what Haneru was trying to say before. He was not in sync with the music because his dance, his moves, they were all placed in the wrong parts of the music.

"Let me try." Yui requested, walking towards the steps.

"You sure you can handle it?" Sora asked.

"Trust me. I studied the dance Kanon showed me, and I know how to do it." She answered, getting onto the stage, glaring at the Heartless, "I can do this! Watch!"

(Insert 'Start up! ~KING'S DREAM' from Tribe Cool Crew OST)

Yui began the routine she watched in Rhythm's video, and she was mimicking the same exact moves as she saw. The timing and the rhythm of her dance was on point. She was easily able to perform the dance steps. The expression on her face was focused and serious.

"Go, Yui!" Donald and Goofy shouted together.

"I can't believe that's really our Yui dancing up there." Asuna noted, turning to Kanon, "Did she learn all that from you?"

"Yeah, she did." She answered, looking to Yui dancing, "She is able to do the dance I showed her, but still…"

"I'm not feeling her passion." Kumo bluntly stated.

"True. She isn't exerting her joy in her dance." Yuzuru admitted. The other heroes looked from them to Yui, who had just finished her routine. However, like Sora before, the High Crowd were unaffected by her dance, and with one shockwave, she was sent flying. Sora managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Are you okay, Yui?!" Sora asked in a worried manner.

"I'll be fine." She answered, "But I did the dance right. What went wrong?"

"Hmm… Well, I didn't really feel like your heart was into it." Sora summed up.

"My heart?" Yui echoed.

"You did the dance great, but I couldn't feel your spirit." He explained, "Weren't you having fun on the stage?"

"I don't know. I was only thinking about getting the steps right."

"That explained it. I was enjoying trying to enjoy the dance and show it, but my dance was out of sync. Your dance was great, but you didn't feel like you were enjoying the dance." Sora placed Yui on her feet, and both looked toward the Heartless. "We gotta learn from one another's mistakes, and get better."

Yui understood what Sora was saying. She was acting like a machine when doing the dance; she could do the routine, but she had no soul. Without that, how could she influence other people's hearts? That was something she needed to learn to do, here and now.

The Heartless's influenced caused the darkness to thicken around the audience, and their eyes were turning yellow. "We are running out of time!" Master T noticed.

"Kirito, Asuna, you guys go out and dance!" Mizuki told the pair, who looked nervous, but felt they had to try before it was too late.

"Wait!" Kumo stopped them, looking to the stage. Both Sora and Yui were on the stage, standing side by side as they confronted the High Crowd Heartless.

"Are they planning to try again?" Lui questioned, shocked.

"Boing~! They certainly don't want to give up!" Moe followed.

Sora and Yui were glaring at the Heartless as Sora started, "Okay, Yui. Let's show 'em we can be better than what we have shown."

"Right. Let's time our dance to the music, and put all of our heart into it." Yui followed.

"Right. Let's work together and pull this off!" Sora declared, with Yui nodding in agreement, "With all of our spirit, and all of our dance!"

Suddenly, the pair started to exert a glowing aura from their bodies; Sora's being a red aura, and Yui's being a pink one. It came off of them, floating upwards like fireflies. They both felt the light, and looked down at themselves.

"What's happening to them?!" Donald questioned.

"They're glowing." Goofy pointed out.

The rest of the group from behind were amazed at the sight of the two's aura. "This is it…" Master T muttered, "This is what Jey said would happen."

"Jey?!" Haneru echoed, wondering what he meant.

Master T ignored him, and he cupped his hands in front of his mouth like a megaphone and shouted out, "Hey! That's your Dancing Spirit shining out! Use it's power to defeat the Heartless!" Sora and Yui looked to where he was, wondering how they were suppose to do that, but he had the answer. "Stomp towards your opponent, and shout out, 'Dance Stage On!' Then, let the dance take you over!"

Sora and Yui looked to one another, nodded in confirmation, and turned to their opponents. They stomped their right foot towards their opponent as they shouted, in unison, "Dance Stage On!" The Dancing Spirit shot to their feet, and dispersed all about them, forming a field of light to do their dance. The darkness consuming the stage was pushed back, as Sora and Yui's field was protected with a ring of light. The ground transformed into something similar to the design of the station in the Dive into the Heart. It had a red and pink background, with a giant SAKIII emblem in the center, with a ring of hearts resembling the colors of the six heroes in a pattern.

Sora and Yui's bodies glowed, and their clothes transformed. Sora's attire featured a red backwards cap, with only part of his hair sticking out from the gap in the hat and from underneath, a white and black KH pin attached to one side. He had on a black combat vest, a red and white-trimmed short-sleeved shirt, blue cargo shorts, yellow, black and white shoes that were thinner and more high-tops, and black glovelettes with gold wrists.

Yui's hair had now become high twintails, held with blue bands, and her side bangs still hanging out on either side. Her one-piece dress was similar to Rhythm's in design, but it was pink. She had a loose black belt on her waist with blue stones patterned on it, dark blue leggings underneath, a blue sock going up her right thigh, patterned with blue tears, pink and white high-tops with purple straps, and a dark blue detached sleeve on her left lower arm, complete with a black band on the upper part and her Inhibitor Ring on her wrist.

The two looked poised and ready, their eyes closed, unaware of their transformation. The others, on the other hand, were total amazement at the new looks of the two. The High Crowd Heartless were frozen in place, as the crowd was looking up with glowing yellow eyes at the pair, as the music started.

---

(Insert 'Simple & Clean Remix ver.' Of KH OST)

Sora and Yui waited as the song started calm. Then, as the music finally reached the moment it picked up in intensity, they danced as one. Their moves were in sync as they danced, both to the song and one another. They were smiling as they danced together, enjoying themselves.

You're giving me too many things lately

You're all I need, you smiled at me and said

As the singing started, Yui took front first, demonstrating her hip-hop style of dancing, small moves at the started, then become stronger as her moment ended. Unlike before, her enjoyment of the song was emanating, and she was truly having fun.

"Don't get me wrong, I love you

But does that mean I have to meet your father?"

When we are older you'll understand

What I meant when I said

"No, I don't think life is quite that simple"

Sora and Yui traded positions, now Sora in front, showing his parkour dance style. His dance was now in sync with the music, holding back his bigger, flashier moves until the right moments.

When you walk away, you don't hear me say

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go

The two came together, and danced as one, their moves in sync once more. When they even went into parkour and hip-hop, their moves worked well with one another. Neither one seemed to stand out.

"I'm feelin' it! I'm feelin' it!" Haneru exclaimed.

"They got so good in an instant! How is this possible?!" Kanon questioned.

"It's the power of the Dance Stage." Master T answered simply.

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning is a little later on

Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

Sora was in front of Yui as she cut back on big moves, and danced behind him, while he shined with his extravagant moves. When the song repeated at a different form, Yui swapped spots with Sora, and their roles became revered; with Sora doing smaller moves to compliment Yui's as she pulled off her bigger moves. Then as it went back to music, the pair continued to dance together, in sync and filled with spirit and heart. At this point, they weren't even aware that this was a dance to stop the Heartless. That is, until the music ended.

---

As the music ended, they both exerted all the dance energy they stored from their routine, and in one fell swoop, they stomped the ground, unleashing it onto the Heartless. They were sent flying, and vanished into the shadows, leaving the hearts to float up and vanish. They had succeeded in defeating them.

The two panted from exhaustion, but they looked at their handiwork. Suddenly, they heard applause and cheering. They turned, and saw that the crowd was no longer under the dark influence of the Heartless. They were now cheering and raving for the pair and their dance. It was as if they were unaware of what they had been through before at all. The rest of the heroes and their teachers knew, and they applauded in joy at the success of the two.

Yui and Sora looked to each other, saw briefly that they had new garments on, but decided to question it later as they turned to the audience, and waved in thanks for their applause. They raced off the stage, just as their clothing glowed, and reverted back to normal.

"So cool!" Haneru was already leaps ahead of everyone as he made a fiery flip, landing in front of the two, "You guys were so awesome up there! You really hit me where it counts with your moves and spirit!"

"I agree." Kanon followed, as she led Donald and Goofy over to them, "I wanted to dance with you guys so badly up there. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was watching you."

"Hehe. Thanks." Sora thanked them as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I had so much fun up there." Yui stated, "I even forgot I was doing this to stop the Heartless."

"Well, your dance certainly did stop the Heartless." Master T led the rest of the heroes, "And you ended up saving the audience from them, too."

"That was pretty swell." Goofy chuckled, "You guys look like you were having fun!"

"But what was with those clothes you guys were wearing when you were dancing?" Kirito asked.

"Dunno. But they were easier to move around in." Sora admitted, looking at his garments, remembering what the other clothing looked like.

"I agree. My hair wasn't even in the way." Yui noted, indicating that during her training with Kanon, her hair was slightly getting in her face from time to time.

"I gotta admit; I never thought of Yui having her hair in twin-tails like Silica's." Asuna admitted, "But seeing them while you danced was really makes me think of how adorable you are in them. Don't you agree, Kirito?"

"I don't know. Since I have short hair, I really don't care much about how hair is styled anyways."

The answer irritated both Asuna and Mizuki as the former argued, "Geez, Kirito. I keep forgetting how tactless you can be with girls and fashion. This is our daughter, here! At least compliment her!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Kirito apologized in his defense.

"My God! You are just as useless in fashion as Kumo!" Mizuki compared, snapping a look at the said guy, who expression questioned why he was being brought into this argument.

"Dance Stage." Master T broke up the argument as everyone turned to him, while he was moonwalking around the group, "A force of power that exists for those with powers and spirits like the six of you. By channeling the Dancing Spirit that comes out of you, you are able to create a stage that is suited for the song that is made for that moment. As you dance, you build up your dance energy. When you are finished, you can unleash it onto your target, banishing the darkness from them. That is the power of Dance Stage."

"That is an amazing power!" Yuzuru muttered in amazement.

"Why don't we have something like that, boing~?" Moe questioned.

"Yeah! If we could pull that off, we could've ended those Heartless things and their dance!" Lui argued.

Master T stopped moonwalking as he turned to the six heroes. "Because you don't have the same 'inner power' as they do." He pointed at them, "They contain the light in their spirit that can truly extinguish the darkness."

The six looked to one another. The light in their spirit? I wonder if that was referring to their magic? Or was it the light in their hearts? Whatever it was, what Master T was saying was that they were the only ones among the group who could exert such powers.

"Well, that doesn't seem fair." Haneru grumbled, "I wouldn't mind having that kind of power."

"Hey, just be happy we can dance at the Green Square now." Kanon told him. Haneru was too stubborn to really agree to this.

"Well, it looks like we solved your problem here." Kirito told them, "Guess we'd better get on our way."

"You sure?" Mizuki asked, "You guys hadn't been here long."

"There are a lot more places than you think that have similar problems and similar monsters to deal with." Asuna told her, "And we're some of the few that can handle it."

"But we'll be back." Goofy assured them.

"That's a promise." Donald added.

"You'd better." Kumo told them, "I wanna see how far you can go with your dancing."

He raised a hand to Sora, who looked at if for a second, then smiled and nodded as he answered, "Sure! We'll get better at dancing, and we'll be back to see you if we need help, okay?" He took Kumo's hand, and shook it.

Kumo slid his hand off of Sora's, and snapped his finger. "What was that?" Yui asked.

"A dancer's salute." Mizuki explained, "Why don't you and Kanon do it?"

Yui and Kanon looked to one another, then they took each other's hand, slid off of them, and snapped their fingers. "There, you got it!" Kanon complimented her. Yui chuckled gleefully at this.

"Well, then. Take care of yourselves!" Haneru told them as they all began to walk off.

"Don't forget our color, Donald!" Lui shouted out after him, with Moe saying 'boing~' following this.

"I won't!" Donald shouted back.

"See ya, folks!" Goofy ended. With everyone waving goodbye to one another, the six heroes left their sight, and called upon the Gummi ship to bring them back up.

---

They returned to the ship, and were starting to their seats when the crystal orb on the stand appeared, and it glowed to reveal Gretinal on it. "Mistress Gretinal!" Asuna gasped, surprised as everyone else at her sudden appearance.

"Congratulations. I see you gained the power I was hoping you would find." She told them.

"You mean the power of the Dance Stage, right?" Sora asked, "It was pretty cool to use."

"And it will continue to be useful as you progress on your journey." Gretinal told them, "You didn't think High Crowd Heartless only exist in that world, do you? They also have been appearing in other worlds. They may be rare, but they are dangerous."

"Right. We know that from experience." Asuna muttered.

"And the dance skills you have right now will not be enough." Gretinal explained, "You must further your dance abilities in order to defeat even tougher and/or larger groups of High Crowds."

"How will we do that? Do we have to come back to this world constantly?" Kirito asked.

"Not all the time. But fortunately, I have the dance studio in the list of rooms in the Switch Chamber. Go into it." Donald used the panel, and transformed the interior of the Switch Chamber. They entered in, and discovered the dance studio, which contained a wooden floor that was perfect for dance practice, along with a mirror wall, and a cassette player attached to the wall, with large speakers.

As soon as they entered in, the floor glowed, and so did they. They all glowed an aura that matched their color; red for Sora, bronze for Kirito, light blue for Asuna, green for Goofy, blue for Donald, and pink for Yui. All at once, their bodies glowed, and their garments transformed. Like Sora and Yui's, the other's looks changed quite a bit.

Asuna's long hair was tucked underneath a white beanie, with enough coming out to reach underneath her shoulders. Her attire was a crop top much like Mizuki's, only deep blue, with silver trimming and pink straps that criss-crossed around her neck, holding it up. She had blue jeans on, with her left pants leg going halfway down her thigh. She had a teal jacket tied around her waist, hanging down behind her legs. She had light blue and white tennis shoes, pink socks, and her Wayfinder was wrapped tightly around her left calf.

Kirito wore a black baseball cap like Sora's only it was frontward, and it had the design of the hilt of his Elucidator on it. He wore an open black hoodie with silver trimming, a brown tank top underneath, muddy gray pants with a tear on the left knee, and a white cloth tied around his right thigh, and black and gold combat boots. He also bore a gray bandana around his neck, and black fingerless gloves.

Donald's attire had a blue backwards cap, a blue and yellow trimmed jacket with gold buttons on the sides, multiple blue-colored shoes that matched his duck feet, gold bracelets, and a light blue bandana around his neck.

Goofy's attire made him look like a proper disco dancer, including a giant, fake black afro on his head. He wore an open white shirt with a hidden Mickey emblem attached to the side, a green undershirt with an open collar, white pants with bellbottoms, with yellow and orange stars on the legs, green and black dance shoes, and a yellow scarf around his neck.

"Our clothes changed!" Donald exclaimed, examining himself.

"Gee, this brings back memories." Goofy reminisced, scrunching his hair.

"Is this what I wear when I dance?" Asuna asked, while she and Kirito looked at themselves.

"Now that you've obtained the power of the Dance Stage, your clothing will react to the dance studio's magic, and transform them into the attire you dance in." Gretinal explained, "They are fitted to resemble the style of dance you do and give you more freedom with your movements."

"Does this jacket have to be on me?" Asuna asked, looking at the one tied around her waist.

"Doesn't really matter. If it is something I need to wear when we're dancing, might as well get use to it." Kirito stated.

"Alright, guys. Let's continue to stop the Heartless through both fighting and dancing." Sora declared, "We'll keep getting stronger and better, and show 'em the power of our hearts as one!"

"Yeah!" The team cheered in response, punching the air in declaration. With the powers they had before, the weapons at hand, and the power of Dance Stage, they knew that now, nothing could stop them as they progressed forward in the journey ahead.

---

Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom III:

Resolute Oasis! Discoveries of Allies!