It did not take long for the gummi ship to take to the skies yet again, but this time with less yelling and a much more sombre tone. The quintet had been reduced to a quartet, and while sometimes a pain with his jokes and arrogance, Shun was still a beloved friend... at least, to Ren, Hikari and Yumi. Tenmei didn't know the boy very well, but still felt responsible for him.

Even now, he felt his worry not only for the teen... but for his own subjects. He looked hastily at the map as they took off, plotting a course for the next world that he was willing to travel to, and refused to leave his seat this time. He didn't even say anything to the others, causing Yumi to frown.

"I think Tenmei's worried about something", she whispered to Hikari.

"Aren't we all?" Hikari asked, looking out the window of the Gummi Ship. "I hope wherever Xao took Shun, he'll be ok..."

Ren frowned a bit at that, looking down and curling his fingers into his fists. "Why didn't I follow after him to make sure he was ok? I mean, I get that he can be a bit salty when we train, but... I still should've been there for him..."

Tenmei gave a sigh. "It's not your fault, Ren... it's mine. I should have been the one to follow him... offer him a way for him to learn at his own pace. It may have only been one move, but... I should have followed him the moment he left."

Silence filled the Gummi Ship for awhile, before Hikari finally let out a gasp and stood up. Everyone turned to her, the blonde's face radiating excitement and victory. "Xao won't succeed! I mean, think about it, guys! If we truly are back in time, then the future is already set in stone! Xao cannot succeed since we literally cannot alter events that are supposed to happen!"

"That's true, but..." Ren muttered.

Tenmei, on the other hand, sighed whilst activating the auto-pilot. He then swiveled his chair around, facing the other three in his group. "That would be true... if we had traveled in time the way we are supposed to."

Yumi's eyebrow quirked at that. "What do you mean?"

"There are actual documented incidents of this before", Tenmei pointed out, "most infamously being that of... him." No one needed to hear any more to know who he was talking about. "Time travel has rules. First, you can only travel to times where you existed before, and I know for a fact we've never existed in the era of Twilight Town. Another is that in order to travel through time, your heart goes, untethered by a body. And anyone who is tethered needs someone who is already traveling through time to aid them in that endeavor if they're going to do so. Since I'm 99.9% sure none of us have turned into a heartless during Xao's attack..." He let his words trail a bit, waiting for someone to answer the question he had posed.

"We didn't time travel the same way others have time traveled before us," Ren finished, looking wide-eyed.

"But... if we didn't time travel like that, then why should we worry about the timeline? Everything should still be the same, right?" Yumi asked, looking over at Hikari.

Hikari finally seemed to realize what Tenmei was getting at, and shook her head. "No... we should be even more worried. If we didn't time travel the same way that he did... then we didn't travel through time... we technically entered another universe."

"I always did hear one of my teachers say 'multiverse theory is a bitch'... and now I understand why", Tenmei said with a snarl. "With his time travel, he technically never messed fully with the timeline. Once those traveling were defeated, they were sent back where they belonged, to enact the rest of their timeline as if it had never been interrupted. If we die or fall to darkness... that's it for us. There is no 'returning to our time'. Not that there's much we'd return to in the first place..."

"Which means that if Xao plays his cards right, he can alter any event he wants," Ren finished, gripping his chair with rage. "He could prevent Sora from defeating Ansem, make Xemnas succeed with his plans, or worse..."

"He could allow the x-blade to unlock Kingdom Hearts and reset the worlds", Yumi said, her eyes wide and her face very pale. She stood up. "We have to do something! We need to find Sora!"

"And what good would that do us?" Tenmei asked, frustrated. "Sora's a novice as well! I can teach Ren efficiently because he's gotten some training from Hiroto before, but Sora is completely self taught throughout his whole adventure! He learns by figuring things out for himself! Even if we traveled alongside him, we can't help him and he can't help us!"

"But if Xao can help Ansem succeed, doesn't that mean we can help Sora? If he can meddle with the time for his gain, why can't we do the same for ours?" Yumi posed, and Tenmei was surprised by her determination. He couldn't even pose a proper argument. "Normally, I'd agree and say we should stay out of it... but if Xao defeats Sora... then we'd pretty much be giving him the win without even trying. If we help him out... won't that close the Door to Darkness that much quicker?"

"Because altering the timeline in that way could be disastrous in the end," Ren suddenly said, shocking everyone. He looked up at them, his eyes more focused then anyone recalled ever seeing from him before. "We have to keep the timeline as on point as possible as to what actually happened, cause if we don't... who knows what could happen? Sora could be that much weaker due to not fulfilling his journey, and die to Xemnas. He could not even become a heartless, thus preventing his Nobody from existing, which is important... all we can do is try our best to make sure the timeline goes as smoothly and accurately as possible... and prevent Xao from damaging it anymore then he may have already done..."

Tenmei crossed his arms. Both of them had a very good point about what was going on. Ren was right on his points. Sora learned best from figuring things out on his own. That much was clear, and the reason he became so strong was not only the strength of his heart, but the sheer will to push through, even making friends with literally anyone that he wanted. On the other hand... now there was a threat to him and the rest of the worlds that was much more powerful already. If they only stood to the side and fought only when the timeline was being threatened, that could lead to adverse effects as well. If Xao didn't buy his bluff and already moved to make Sora's enemies stronger, then that could also be a fatal error on their part.

"... I need time to think over this", Tenmei said. "We'll vote on a decision later. For now... we're going to Traverse Town. We'll need supplies for our journey, wherever it takes us, and while Olympus is good for weapons, I doubt we'll get enough potions from anywhere else at this time."

Everyone nodded in agreement at that, and eventually they all settled in for the night as the ship sailed to the destination they were all headed towards. Eventually, the ship docked outside of the refuge town, and the four disembarked to gather what they needed for the long journey that was ahead of them.

"Ren, come with me", Tenmei said. "If we're going to train you on the keyblade, we'll need to see how powerful our enemy is... so we're going to the second district to fight some Heartless."

"We can come too!" Yumi stated, moving to follow them.

"Keybladers only", Tenmei shot down, holding his hand up to stop the redhead. "Unfortunately, I need you and Hikari to stay here for a bit and get the supplies. Once we're stocked up, feel free to run over and catch up. For now, though, I think Ren and I will have the easiest time if we fight the Heartless alone."

Reluctantly, Yumi nodded, and turned to follow Hikari as she headed towards the shopping district. Meanwhile, Ren and Tenmei ran off towards the second district, where heartless were swarming the area. The two Twilight Warriors summoned their keyblades, slaughtering every heartless in their way, none of them standing a chance against the keyblades of legend. Eventually, after what seemed like countless creatures under their belt, they saw a boy with brown spikey hair, wearing red clothes, running directly at them, followed by a dog and duck looking creature.

"Riku?" the boy asked, looking at Ren curiously, confused. "Didn't we just see you back there?"

"Huh?" Ren asked, confused. "Uh... I'm not Riku... my name is Ren."

Tenmei stepped over, getting between the boy and Ren. "Can we... help you?" he said, pausing in his sentence. His eyes looked the boy up and down, a look of realization. "You... you have a Keyblade, don't you?" he blurted, not even thinking.

At that, the boy jumped back, summoning Kingdom Key to his side. "How did you know that? If you aren't Riku, then who are you guys?"

"And how do you know about the keyblade?" the duck asked, readying his staff and charging some magic.

Tenmei winced, realizing his blunder, and raised his hands up in a "settle down" manner. "Whoa, hey, easy. We're not enemies here. We lost our world to Darkness, too." He motioned towards Ren. "This is my friend, Ren, and my name is Tenmei. As for how we know about keyblades..." He sighed, raising up his hand and summoning his Twilight's Guardian. "You can say that I've gotten used to telling who can and can't use one."

Ren already had his out, causing the brunette boy to look between the two in shock. He finally seemed to recover and held out his hand, as if offering a handshake in apology. "Sorry... my name is Sora!"

"Hey, don't trust them!" the duck yelled angrily, jumping in rage. "They could be tricking us!"

"Aw, come on, Donald!" the dog muttered, stepping forward as well. "They don't seem so bad... besides, even though the King told us to find the 'key', he really only meant one 'key', right? There are others, after all."

The duck, now called Donald, grumbled a bit, though glared at Tenmei and Ren as if looking at a zit. "I guess so..."

Tenmei let out a sigh, desummoning his keyblade. "Thanks for understanding, Mister...?"

"Aw, shucks, just call me Goofy", the dog said, letting out a chuckle as he offered a warm smile. "So, you fellas traveling around the worlds, too?"

"A bit... Ren here is new at the keyblade, so we came here to test his mettle against some Heartless", Tenmei offered. "We really should get going to do so..."

"Hang on, why don't we go with you?" Sora offered. "Maybe I can give some pointers? I'm self taught, but anything's better than nothing, right?"

"No, we won't", Donald argued.

"Why not? First Riku, now them... Donald, what is your deal?" Sora argued, glaring down at the mallard.

"Aw, he's just worried about you, Sora", Goofy said with a chuckle. "You are kinda easy to let your guard down..."

"Oh, thanks", Sora grumbled, though he couldn't argue that fact. "But... still, three keyblades are better than one, right?"

Tenmei wasn't sure what to do. He glanced over at Ren, quirking an eyebrow. "I'll let you call the shot here. You want to fight alongside them?"

"I... I'm not sure," Ren muttered, before suddenly he felt a surge of darkness. The five of them turned, seeing the fountain in the town teeming with darkness. An armored creature appeared from nowhere, darkness surging off his body, and instantly Ren and Tenmei knew that something was wrong. The armor before them was stronger then anything they had faced in the past before, and could easily kill any one of them in an instant if given the chance to. Ren gulped, raising Twilight's Balance up a bit. "Well, at the very least we could take this thing on with them."

Tenmei, on the other hand, grit his teeth, holding back a groan. "This must be his work... Sora, I hope you're ready! If we don't destroy this thing... you can kiss Traverse Town goodbye!"

"Hey, with three keyblades, how can we lose?" Sora asked, preparing to fight, though he quickly got his answer. The armored heartless was so strong, that any attack launched at him almost seemed to bounce off him as if nothing happened. Donald and Goofy tried to offer what support they could, but seemed to be knocked back and out of the fight so quickly that Ren swore he blinked and suddenly they were gone. It almost seemed hopeless, before Yumi appeared out of nowhere and punched the heartless so hard that the head of the beast spun in the armor uncontrollably, landing nearby her two friends, while Hikari sent out a thunder spell, shocking the hands and feet away from Sora and Ren.

"Looks like you could use some help!" Yumi suggested, grinning.

Tenmei stared at the shield-warrior, looking starstruck for a moment, before shaking his head, giving a smile. "Glad to be wrong about that", he said with a smile. He glanced over at Sora. "Guard your friends from the smallfry! We'll handle the big one!"

Sora nodded, running over and guarding over Donald and Goofy. The fight that followed was drawn out, but eventually the four future warriors, plus with Sora's assistance, defeated Opposite Armor, sending it into the sea of darkness that followed it's death. Sora managed to seal the keyhole of Traverse Town, and even Donald had to admit that Ren and Tenmei were alright when he finally awoke from being left hooked into dream land.

"So... what about traveling together?" Sora suggested, looking at the four with a hopeful grin.

Ren paused for a moment, before sighing and stepping forward, shaking his head. "Thanks... but we have our own enemies to chase."

Tenmei stepped up, handing Sora a scrap of paper. "This is how you can reach our ship. If you ever need us, just call. We'll be there to help whenever we can." He placed his hand on the budding Keyblade Warrior, and offered a supportive smile. "You're strong, Sora... I have no doubt you'll do great."

Sora smiled, nodding with encouragement. "I hope whatever you are searching for goes well... and may we both find what we are looking for."

Even though Ren knew the answer, he thought the best thing to do was to ask anyway. "What is it that you are looking for, Sora?"

Sora frowned a bit at that, looking discouraged. "My friends... we got separated when my world got swallowed by the darkness, and I am hoping that I can find them soon."

Hikari stepped forward at this, offering a supportive smile. "You'll find them... I am sure of it."

At that, Sora smiled, giving them all a wave. "Thanks! Anyway, be seeing you!"

As Sora, Donald and Goofy turned to leave, Tenmei whispered something under his breath, softly, so no one else would hear. He then turned to his friends. "Well... I'm assuming we're all in agreement that we need to focus on squashing out any more Dark surges like that?"

Ren nodded. "And finding Xao and Shun... we need to make sure that the timeline stays as accurate as possible, and find our friend as well!" Hikari and Yumi nodded in agreement.

"Then let's get back to the ship", Tenmei said. "Our work here is done... Xao can't ever reach this world's heart, so I doubt he'll attack here again." He then crossed his arms, looking concerned. "I know he's collecting hearts... but the question is why. He's not discriminating, either; Light and Dark hearts are prime for the picking."

"When he confronted us on Twilight Citadel, he wanted our hearts more then anything," Ren stated, remembering what had happened the day they were transported back in time. "So it is really anyone's guess as to what he is really after... though I get the feeling that if he gets one of us, then his goal will be achieved much faster then it will be without us... so, I say we train as much as we can."

Tenmei nodded. "Then I have an idea of how we can do that between worlds... We still have a large, empty room on the ship, right?" When Yumi nodded, Tenmei smirked. "Alright, guys... then back to the ship. Our next world is waiting for us."

With that, the team left Traverse Town behind, looking to their future with a new determination.

XxXxXxX

BloodWingdAngel here... Alright, so before everyone gets all "REN IS A RIKU CLONE UNORIGINAL OC" on me, I am going to say the differences between Ren and RIku's looks real quick so confusion can be eliminated.

First, Ren has what is known as "baby face". He looks pretty young for his age, and actually has a higher pitched voice then most men. Second, Riku and Ren both have green eyes, but while Riku's are a blue-green design (funny enough, they look ice blue until KH3 where they're actually green), Ren's are like an jade green. Finally, both have silver hair, but at different lengths and styles. You all know Riku's, but imagine Ren's hair style as pretty much Xehanort's when he's playing chess with Eraqus as a child. I imagine it as almost the exact same in terms of shape, texture and length, just silver in color. Only thing different between Ren and Kid Xehanort would be the back would be spiked down instead of back like his.

This is just in terms of looks. In terms of personality, well, you guys can start seeing that for yourselves in the story... Anyway, just thought I would clear this up now. Until next time guys, see ya!