On Today's Episode: The trinity finds themselves inside of a very strange museum, full of funhouses, magical mirrors, upside-down rooms, and even an odd cat-person and his companions looking for something. Also, Ellen is here for some reason, and she's acting very strange. Can Nick figure out what's up with his girlfriend, and can they help Klonoa and Lolo escape the Maze of Memories?

Author's Note/For Today's World: ...welp. It's been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I wrote for this, huh? Well, I have not abandoned it, I promise. I just was occupied with Totally Spies: The New Adventures, and you know how I get with multiple stories, lol. For today's world, we're actually doing something different from what I mentioned last time. For this chapter, we're visiting Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, specifically the Maze of Memories level, since I figured it's be a good stand-in for Monstro given how whack it is. I've been in a Klonoa mood lately thanks to the Phantasy Reverie Series, so let's get to it, shall we?

Episode 9: The Labyrinth of Illusions

As Klonoa and Lolo entered the building they'd found at the end of the snowboard trail, they naturally weren't expecting the inside to be so... well, trippy. And Klonoa had no doubt been to many different dream worlds on his journeys as the Dream Traveler, many of which defied logic at times.

But this place was a serious contender for the cake in Klonoa's eyes.

"Whoa," Klonoa gasped. "Is this place some kind of maze?"

"Oh, we're going to get lost in here for sure," Popka sighed.

"Oh, don't be like that," Lolo reprimanded. "We just need to ask someone for information."

Intent on doing just that, Lolo walked up to one of the museum's attendants. "Excuse us, ma'am, we're searching for the Bell of Indecision," Lolo explained. "Could you possibly tell us where to find it?"

"...a bell?" the lady asked. "I wish I could be of more help. After all, we never venture outside of this place. We can simply bask in glorious memories right here..."

"Your memories?" Klonoa asked. "What does that mean?"

The lady pointed to one of the artworks just above them. "Just as art is a reflection of the soul, these mirrors are a reflection of our past," the lady proclaimed. "Why leave here when we can keep reliving our bygone days?"

"Oh, stop with the old fogey talk!" Popka shot back.

Klonoa looked over at Lolo, only to notice an odd look in her eyes before she shook it off. "Well, guess the only thing we can do is push forward," Klonoa quipped. Lolo nodded before turning into a ball of light and flying into Klonoa's Wind Ring so they could head into the museum.

A bit further ahead, the trinity had just landed in this new world and didn't know quite what to make of it.

"Yikes, this place is gonna be murder on the eyes," Maylin quipped as she looked around. "And I thought some of my own artwork was abstract..."

"Probably wouldn't have been much better than mine," Nick stated. "I can't really draw for squat, honestly."

"How about we get moving before this place decides to mess with our perception any further?" Haruka replied.

The trinity all summoned their keyblades and started moving forward, occasionally crossing bridges to areas where the only way forward appeared to be on the ceiling. Nick used Plus Ultra to unlock a nearby door so they could all enter, only to find themselves on the ceiling on the other pathway.

After crossing that way, jumping over a gap that ended in a spike pit, and going through another doorway, they returned to the floor on another pathway that weaved to the west and into another room.

No sooner had they entered this new room than a bunch of Heartless appeared to surround them, mostly consisting of some Yellow Operas and Green Requiems, but there was also a number of new enemies. The new Heartless was a pale-skinned ghost-like figure clad in purple tunics bearing the Heartless emblem, the sleeves of the tunic ending in white cuffs with gold cuff links, with the fashionable nature of the tunic ruined a bit by the torn hemline and a rip on the left side that exposed the thing's ribcage.

"Okay, who's the spook?" Nick quipped.

"These things are Search Ghosts," Haruka answered. "They don't do much, but what they do try is kinda annoying. Normally, they'll only attack you if you find yourself in their spotlights, but be careful, because their attacks can actually drain your health."

Maylin took care of the Green Requiems by flattening them with a Gravity spell, the one magic type they don't absorb, then rushing in to slice at them until they were all gone.

Nick rushed towards one of the Search Ghosts, only for it to open its eye and shine a light on him before swinging its hands downwards. Nick raised Plus Ultra to parry the attack, then lunged forward with a powerful horizontal chop to destroy the Search Ghost before jumping and casting Thunder on the other Search Ghost.

While Haruka went after the Yellow Operas, Nick saw another Search Ghost trying to sneak up on him and blasted it with a Fire spell for its trouble.

"Enemy data registered," Sophia proclaimed as she registered an entry about the Search Ghost on Nick's Gummiphone.

Once all of the Heartless in the area had been mopped up, the trinity continued onwards, only to stop in front of a gigantic mirror.

"Wow, I've never seen a mirror this large before," Sophia stated.

"Yeah, mirrors normally don't get this big," Haruka quipped.

Initially, the mirror simply reflected what was in front of it, but as Nick stared closer, the mirror began to reflect something else entirely.

("Girls" by Kana Nishino plays)

"It's true! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

"Are you sure you're not hearing things?"

"What difference does that make?! There's a huuuuuuuuuuuuge monster in there, I know it!"

"...okay, Nick, so... if there is a monster... you think we can take it by ourselves?"

"Of course, Marie! Together, we're unstoppable!"

A ten-year-old Nick and Marie both snuck closer to the area of the park where they'd heard that strange noise, right at the cave just outside the picnic area.

"Listen, do you hear that growling?"

"Shush, I'm trying to listen. We gotta be careful about this one."

They moved closer to the cave, only to see nothing but a small tunnel.

"Aw, man, it was just the wind after all."

"That stinks, I really wanted to beat up a monster. ...wait, I see something in there."

Marie looked closer to where Nick was pointing, and now she saw a door on the opposite end of the cave.

"A door? It won't open, though."

"Guess we gotta find a way to open it, huh?"

"We'll find a way, Nick. Remember, you said we're unstoppable together."

"Yeah, I did, huh? Well, I meant every word. You're my sister, Marie, and that means you're the most precious person in my life!"

"Hey, Nick? Ya still there, buddy?"

Nick shook his head to dispel the mental cobwebs, and when he looked at the mirror again, it was just reflecting the room again.

"What's up with this place?" Nick asked. "I swear that mirror just showed me something that Marie and I did when we were kids..."

"I didn't see anything but ourselves," Maylin quipped.

"Maybe it's because you were the one focusing on it, Nick?" Haruka wondered.

"Let's just get out of this place before anything else weird happens," Nick responded. "I've seen some sights on this journey of ours, but I think this place might be the top contender for the cake."

"Oh, you think so, too?"

The trinity spun around to glance at whoever had addressed them, and that turned out to be a black-furred cat-like person with long ears, with his muzzle/snout fur, hand-paws, feet-paws and the ends of his long ears being white and yellow eyes, being followed by what could only be described as a living plush doll.

"I know that's exactly what I thought when I first saw this place," Klonoa chuckled. "Oh, by the way, my name's Klonoa, and I'm definitely not gonna attack you like those weird ghost things we fought off earlier."

"Sounds like we're all trying to find our way through this trippy maze," Maylin quipped. "I say the more, the merrier!"

And so, Klonoa and Popka joined the trinity in their travels as they all moved through an odd room where the way out was on the ceiling, but enemies were blocking the way through.

Klonoa demonstrated his powers as the Dream Traveler by using his Wind Ring (which Klonoa said his friend Lolo was currently powering) to grab a nearby Search Ghost with a Wind Bullet fired from his ring, actually inflate the Search Ghost like a balloon, and throw it at the enemy blocking the doorway.

The group continued through a small maze-like room where the walls blocked the way forward, Klonoa using his ring to grab enemies from all sides and use them to hit switches that dropped walls and opened the way onward. Occasionally, they would get in a scrap with some Heartless, in which Klonoa showed off that he could use his Wind Ring in other offensive ways as well, using an enemy to jump over a Large Body and hit it in the head with said enemy, stunning it long enough to Haruka to finish it off.

After they entered another double-sided room, Popka started looking around for the solution to this room's puzzle frantically.

"Yeah, Popka's very impatient sometimes," Lolo giggled, her voice echoing as she was currently inside Klonoa's ring.

"Given how wacky this place seems to be, I wouldn't be surprised," Maylin chuckled.

"He kinda has that look that says 'I'm done playing games, show me the way out'," Nick laughed.

"But I thought you liked games, Nick."

That voice definitely caught Nick's attention, and he looked towards the opposite side of the circular room and saw Ellen standing there, giving him a slightly mocking smile while balancing her keyblade, Starlight, on her shoulder.

"Or, you know, do you think you're too cool for games now that you have a keyblade?" Ellen quipped.

"W-wait, wait, Ellen?! What are you doing here?" Nick gasped.

"Oh, just playing around," Ellen laughed. "This place is pretty twisty and turn-y."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Nick shot back. "I asked about Marie! Did you find her anywhere?!"

"Hmmm... maybe," Ellen quipped. "Maybe if you catch me, I'll tell you what I know. But good luck with how this place is designed."

Her piece said, Ellen vanished into the doorway on her side of the room.

"...what was that all about?" Popka stated.

"Long story that we'll save for later," Nick replied. "Right now, we've gotta find a way to get through that doorway, and I suspect we have a puzzle to solve in order to get there."

"Ugh, a puzzle? Just end me already," Maylin groaned.

Haruka couldn't help but giggle as they split into two teams of two to tackle the room's puzzle and find the way onward. Sophia even chimed in at points to offer her suggestions for figuring out how to clear the puzzle.

While they were figuring out the room's puzzle, just ahead, in another room with a large, reflective mirror, Ellen couldn't help but stare into the mirror, knowing that she'd see another memory of her past. That's just how this place worked, after all.

As she reminisced, a corridor of darkness opened up just behind her, and Kuon Ichinose walked out of it.

"Everything okay here?" Ichinose asked.

"Oh, you know," Ellen sighed. "Just reminiscing. That's becoming more and more common in this place."

"Why do you still care about him?" Ichinose wondered. "He has new companions, he has the keyblade. He's pretty much ditched you, you know."

"I was just messing with him back there," Ellen countered. "Besides, even if what we had was short-lived, it was... nice while it lasted."

"I guess so," Ichinose quipped. "Just try not to let that get you all weepy and vulnerable. Vulnerability of the heart can quickly turn into darkness, and you know the Heartless prey upon that."

Ichinose smirked and walked back into the corridor of darkness, and Ellen looked behind her as it closed up.

"Oh, just mind your own damn business," Ellen taunted, re-summoning Starlight and walking into the room ahead.

After finally solving the room's puzzle and opening the way onward, the group moved into another room consisting of two intersecting racetrack-like roads.

"Ooh, my head's starting to spin," Maylin groaned.

"And the Gummi Ship doesn't make you dizzy with the kind of flying we do?" Haruka chuckled.

Nick glanced up ahead, towards a treasure chest that had appeared on the upper road. However, a Heartless spawned, grabbed the treasure chest, and attempted to leap off of the road with it.

"Oh, no you don't!" Nick shouted, summoning Plus Ultra to his hand and performing a Strike Raid to both destroy the Search Ghost and bring the chest back onto the road so he could walk up and open it, freeing another trio of Pretty Cure fairies from it.

They didn't say anything as they disappeared, but they did a glowing book page in Nick's hands before they vanished.

"Hey, that's another page from the Pipo Storybook, right?" Haruka wondered. "Looks like we're making another stop at Traverse Town after this."

After ascending a long, vertical tower and then jumping down another long gap, the group eventually found themselves in a large, circular arena.

And Ellen was standing at the far end of the arena, Starlight at the ready.

"Ellen, what's going on?" Nick asked as he summoned the Kingdom Key to his hands. "Don't you realize what, exactly, you're doing?"

"You know, I could probably ask you the same thing," Ellen shot back. "Honestly, all you seem interested in doing nowadays is running around and showing off that keyblade of yours. Don't you even want to save Marie?"

"Of course I do!" Nick shouted. "Why do you think we're scouring all of these different worlds?!"

Suddenly, the argument was interrupted when a large Heartless dropped down from the sky and landed right in front of them. The Heartless in question was shaped like a large, magenta blob with glowing yellow eyes and thin, rounded teeth that resembled prison bars. This body rested on a violet and aquamarine flower-like base. A much smaller pink head was resting on top of the main one, sporting a jagged mouth, glowing yellow eyes, two short, dark purple spikes under its mouth, and a curled magenta antenna on its head. Two long, aquamarine tentacles sprouted from either side of the second head and ended in violet "hands" with three fingers, each with a dark purple spike on it.

"Oof, that thing's ugly," Ellen quipped, raising Starlight into a battle stance. "You up for this, Nick?"

"Look who you're talking to, Miss Masher," Nick teased, referencing Ellen's nickname from her basketball team.

The Parasite Cage roared at them, swinging its long arms towards them in wide, sweeping motions.

Nick parried both swings before hopping off of Maylin's shoulders to fire a Thunder spell directly into the Parasite Cage's face, causing it to reel back in its spot.

Despite this, the Parasite Cage simply bounced back and thrust its entire body straight for them. Ellen rushed in and lashed out with a spinning chop strike to bounce the Parasite Cage's body back and stun it long enough for Nick to shoot a Fire spell into its mouth, causing it to collapse to the ground.

"Ooh, yeah, that looked like it hurt," Maylin quipped.

Haruka maneuvered around to the backside of the Parasite Cage and started whacking it in the back, eventually causing it to turn its attention to her.

This gave both Nick and Ellen ample opportunity to start striking at the Parasite Cage's back while Haruka kept it busy and Maylin fired spells at it one after the other. Even Klonoa got in on the action by flinging inflated enemies at the Parasite Cage whenever he could.

After a bit of this, the Parasite Cage twirled its long arms like a tornado around itself, causing the four keyblade wielders to scatter in different directions.

"Okay, so much for that strategy," Nick sighed.

"I might have something," Ellen replied. "Haruka, can you get that thing to bend all the way back, if you know what I mean?"

"All over that," Haruka responded as she jumped backwards to avoid the Parasite Cage slamming both of its tentacles down in the same spot. While the Parasite Cage recovered, Haruka reached out to grab those tentacles, run behind the Heartless, and pull, forcing the Parasite Cage to rear back and open its mouth wide.

"You're all mine now!" Ellen shouted, jumping off of Nick's shoulders and throwing Starlight into the mouth of the Parasite Cage. When she landed, Ellen began waving her hand around to control Starlight and make it bounce around the Parasite Cage's mouth, damaging it from within.

For the finale, Ellen called Starlight back to her hand and rushed the Parasite Cage with a mighty overhead chop, sending the large Heartless crashing into the outer walls of the arena.

"Boo-ya!" Maylin exclaimed, only for the Parasite Cage to pick itself back up and start climbing back up the vertical tower they'd all fallen down. "Oh, what the hell?!"

Ellen quickly gave chase, hopping up the walls in pursuit of the Parasite Cage.

"I believe she can handle that thing," Sophia proclaimed. "We should keep moving forward."

"Good idea, Sophia," Nick replied. "Ellen can take care of herself. I just hope this new attitude of hers fades by the next time I see her..."

"Say, Nick, I do not believe you have told me about miss Ellen," Sophia asked as the group crossed into the next room, which held four different pathways, each with a different enemy as a statue above the room. This indicated that they needed to use these enemies in the right order in order to move on.

"Oh, well, she's my girlfriend," Nick explained. "Back in my world. She's a really great basketball player, and an absolute sweetheart. But..."

"She has changed, obviously," Sophia replied.

"Ever since we lost our world," Nick answered while Klonoa continued to bring enemies between each of the rooms to solve the puzzle. "I don't know what's gotten into her, or if Ichinose and her council of villains has something to do with that..."

Eventually, Klonoa threw a glowing-red enemy towards a crystal formation in the room adjacent to the hallway, breaking the crystal apart and revealing the way forward.

"Man, that took longer than I thought it would," Popka teased.

"Hey, I'm not always a good puzzle-solver," Klonoa admitted.

"I probably wouldn't be much better, really," Nick replied.

Despite the crystal wall being destroyed, a single small crystal remained where the wall had once been.

"Hey, I think that's a summon gem," Nick quipped, reaching down to pick up the small jewel and feeling a small surge of power coming from the gem. "We're finding these pretty quickly, huh?"

"Here's hoping whoever's in this one is a powerful ally like the others," Maylin stated. "I have a feeling we're going to need them."

Eventually, the group crossed into one final hallway with a much larger mirror than any they'd seen before in this place.

"Hey, it's another mirror," Klonoa stated.

"Well, obviously," Maylin teased.

"I think we're almost there," Lolo proclaimed as she left Klonoa's ring for the moment. "We should keep going, Klonoa."

"Wait, hold on," Klonoa replied. "I think I see something in the mirror."

When Lolo stepped closer to get a good look, the mirror flashed, and then she saw...

...herself.

"I'm... I'm not..." the mirror Lolo gasped. "I'm not a failure!"

Lolo shivered slightly, knowing what she was about to see.

Multiple La-Lakoosha priestesses appeared around mirror Lolo, each one with a blank face.

"You'll never be a priestess. You're too weak."

"Just give it up. It's for your own good, you know."

"You don't have what it takes. You're nothing but an embarrassment and a failure to us all."

"I'm not a failure!" mirror Lolo exclaimed again.

The priestesses faded away to reveal an image of Baguji the Wise Man, someone who Klonoa and Lolo had sought advice from throughout their journey in Lunatea.

"When the Sea of Tears grows dark and stormy, the Dream Traveler will appear and save our world," mirror Baguji proclaimed. "The power of his Ring shall bring peace to our world once again."

The priestesses appeared and started laughing in a mocking manner as what appeared to be Klonoa's Wind Ring floated in front of mirror Lolo.

"I know that I have what it takes!" mirror Lolo exclaimed.

The priestesses continued laughing until the reflection seemingly shattered, leaving nothing but a regular mirror.

"What... was all that?" Maylin asked.

"Was that something from Lolo's past?" Haruka wondered.

Before Nick could get any answers from Lolo, she ran a few steps ahead, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"I... I know," Lolo cried. "I know! I didn't actually become a priestess all on my own. I just... I just wanted to show them that I could do it, that I could become a priestess no matter what they said about me."

Lolo glanced back at Klonoa, still not willing to fully face him just yet. "I know that it was your power that got me this title, Klonoa," Lolo sobbed. "I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"

Klonoa didn't know what to say to that, and he didn't want to upset Lolo any further, so the entire group just exited the Maze of Memories through the nearby doorway and back out into the snowy mountains of Mira-Mira.

As they approached a nearby tree, Klonoa looked back at Lolo, who was trailing behind the rest of the group.

"Lolo, if it's any comfort, I still think you rang that bell with your own strength," Nick stated.

"...really?" Lolo asked.

"Klonoa told me that you're the power source for his ring while he's here in Lunatea," Nick replied. "So, in my eyes at least, even if he fired the shot that rang the bell, it only rang because of your strength. I know you want to be strong, to show those other priestesses who mocked you, but trust me when I say that being strong isn't just about being powerful. Strength can take many different forms. It's definitely something I've learned on my journeys so far."

Before Lolo could respond, Klonoa gasped in surprise when he saw their target hanging from a tall branch on the tree just ahead of them.

"So that's the Bell of Indecision?" Klonoa wondered.

"But why is this withered ol' tree gettin' in our way?" Popka quipped.

"Well, excuse ME for being withered!" a voice answered.

Maylin immediately hopped backwards and summoned Spellbinder to her hands. "D-Did... did that freakin' tree just talk?!" Maylin shouted.

"Well, well, we don't see strangers too often around these parts," the tree stated. "Am I to presume you are here for the Bell of Indecision?"

"Yes, we are," Klonoa answered. "There's a Fifth Bell trying to make its way into the world, and we need the Elements in order to contain it."

"You, contain it?" the tree laughed.

"And what's so funny, bark breath?!" Maylin growled, angrily twirling Spellbinder.

"Maylin, not now," Haruka chided.

"Dream Traveler, wielders of the keyblade, answer this," the tree proclaimed. "Why do you wish to save the world? Why have you taken such a task upon yourselves?"

"Hey, it ain't like ya need a reason to save the dang world, ya know!" Popka shouted.

"Oh, really? It doesn't seem like that girl agrees with you," the tree responded, and though it didn't have a face, it was clearly referring to Lolo.

"Hey, don't you dare insult Lolo," Klonoa shot back.

"I never intended to," the tree answered. "But, if you want the bell, you'll have to pass my test first."

In response, a massive flash of light erupted, and when it cleared, a large egg had fallen in front of the tree, with eyes popping open on its shell, a flower on top, and bird-like legs sprouting from its underside.

"I rarely ever get visitors, so please indulge my hospitality," the tree proclaimed.

However, as Polonte the Hatchling jumped down into the nearby canyon, Lolo stayed rooted to her spot, clearly shaken by the tree's words.

"Hey, dummy, what are ya doin'?!" Popka shouted. "Klonoa can't use his ring without you, ya know that, right?!"

Suddenly, a large pink spike ball fell near Klonoa, forcing him to grab the snowboard he'd used earlier and ride it down the canyon as Polonte retreated down it.

Without Lolo powering his ring, Klonoa had to find another way to attack Polonte's shell, and he eventually did so by using speed booster rings much like on the alpine trail to speed up until he eventually collided with Polonte's shell, sending the creature flying backwards.

Two more collisions eventually destroyed Polonte's shell, revealing a large, bird-like creature.

"Come on, ya just gonna stand there?" Popka stated.

"But... I'm not... I'm not qualified to save this world," Lolo admitted.

"Who is, really?" Nick responded.

"Yeah, who the heck cares about qualifications?" Maylin proclaimed. "I mean, look at Klonoa over there. He may not be from this world, but he's still giving it everything he's got for Lunatea!"

"Yeah, you think he's tryin' so hard because he wants to save the world?" Popka quipped. "No! He's just a simple fool who doesn't know any better, but he keeps fighting anyway, because all he really knows is to keep on tryin'!"

"You didn't have to be so blunt," Haruka sighed. "Now I feel like he's insulting us, too..."

"And you're just as much a fool, too, Lolo, so the least ya can do is keep tryin', right?" Popka proclaimed.

A few seconds passed before Lolo closed her eyes and smiled.

"Hehe, you called me a fool," Lolo giggled. "Were you trying to cheer me up?"

"Ya mad?" Popka quipped.

"A little, but... thank you," Lolo replied as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Do you think Klonoa will forgive me?"

"Lending him a hand or two probably wouldn't hurt," Haruka teased.

Lolo just nodded and ran towards where Klonoa had stopped, turning into a sphere of light and flying into his Wind Ring so they could fight Polonte together.

"Ya guys aren't gonna help?" Popka asked.

"Nah, this is their fight," Nick quipped. "It wouldn't feel right to butt in."

"Yeah, that would be meddling!" Maylin teased.

Klonoa did the same speed-boosting trick from earlier to catch up to Polonte, but this time, it actually attempted to fight back by sending some Moos on skis to attack Klonoa. In response, Klonoa grabbed them with his Wind Bullet and threw them back at Polonte.

Five thrown Moos to the face later, Polonte was sent flying through the air and crashed in front of the large tree before finally exploding in spectacular fashion.

"Bravo! Well done, I must say," the tree laughed. "All of you... no, it was YOUR determination that really impressed me! And results are what matter in this world, after all. Mira-Mirans, as a people, are very indecisive. But doubt is a part of us all, something we can't deny no matter how hard you try. But, as long as you can accept doubt and move forward, the rest of the pieces will fall into place on their own."

A small, ringed switch appeared right behind Klonoa.

"Take the Element," the tree proclaimed. "You've certainly earned it."

Lolo nodded to Klonoa and returned into his Ring so he could shoot the switch with a Wind Bullet, causing the bell hanging from the top of the tree to start chiming.

A small golden crystal appeared in Klonoa's hand, the last of the Elements they needed.

Almost immediately after this happened, light gathered in the sky high above the tree until it formed into the shape of a keyhole.

Nick swiftly summoned Plus Ultra to his hand and raised it towards the keyhole, firing a beam of light from the teeth that surged into the keyhole and sealed it off with a loud "CLICK".

"All right, that should be all of them," Klonoa quipped. "Let's head back to Baguji and..."

Just then, without any warning, the Parasite Cage from earlier flew into the ravine, crashing down with much pageantry and struggling to get up before it collapsed, its body dissolving into wisps of darkness and a large, glowing heart escaping into the sky.

The sudden crash had caused Klonoa to drop the Element of Indecision, but when he moved to retrieve it, someone swooped by and took it.

Nick looked up to the top of the large tree and noticed Ellen standing there, staring intently at the Element in her free hand.

"Hmmmm... the Element of Indecision," Ellen mused. "The crystallized essence of the emotions in people's hearts. I wonder... can these help someone who's lost their own heart?"

"Wait a minute, Ellen, are you talking about Marie?" Nick asked.

"Oh, come off it," Ellen laughed. "Stop acting like you actually care about her."

"What was that?!" Nick growled.

"Crystallized emotion," Ellen proclaimed. "Hearts are made of many different emotions, after all. Maybe this little gem holds the key to helping Marie. How about it, Nick? Why don't we join forces to save her? I know we can do it together."

Nick stared Ellen down for a few seconds before summoning the Kingdom Key to his hand and raising it into a fighting stance.

"...really?" Ellen sighed. "You'd rather fight me instead of helping your sister? Seriously, where are your priorities?"

"Yeah, well, right now, my own heart is speaking loud and clear," Nick proclaimed. "And it's telling me that you're on the wrong side!"

Nick raised Kingdom Key and fired a beam of light towards Ellen, surprising her enough that she couldn't dodge in time. The beam struck her in the chest and sent her flying off of the tree, causing her to drop the Element so that Klonoa could retrieve it.

As the group ran to where Ellen had seemingly fallen, it turned out that she had quickly picked herself up.

"All right," Ellen stated, summoning Starlight to her right hand and holding it above herself at her following side, putting her left hand out. "Have it your way."

Nick prepared himself as Ellen rushed him, swinging Starlight in a forward slashing motion. Nick quickly raised Kingdom Key to parry the attack before striking back with a forward chop that sent Ellen stumbling backwards.

Ellen recovered quickly before leaping into the air and slamming Starlight into the ground, Nick juked to one side to avoid the attack, only for the strike to create two shockwaves that flew to either side from the impact point, knocking Nick down.

Before Ellen could take advantage of this, Maylin sent her flying back with a Thunder spell.

"Back off, you," Maylin proclaimed.

"Oh, do try and stop me," Ellen giggled.

Maylin responded by launching a Fire spell, only for Ellen to swing Starlight upwards and deflect the fireball right back to Maylin.

Haruka quickly placed herself in front of Maylin and took the Fire spell without flinching.

While Ellen was smirking, this left her wide open to a flying sidewinder swing from Nick, causing her to tumble to the ground. She rolled as she fell, allowing her to jump right back to her feet and strike with a downward slash followed by a lunging thrust.

Nick rolled to the side to avoid the attack before retaliating with a Blitz, a flying jump attack, though Ellen managed to raise Starlight in time to parry the attack and counter with a forward somersault slash that sent Nick reeling.

Deciding it was time to finish this, Ellen charged in while Nick was still reeling. Before Nick could think of a way out of this, time seemed to slow down for him and the teeth of the Kingdom Key sparkled, indicating he'd learned a new attack of some kind.

As he watched Ellen approach him, the Kingdom Key's blade began to glow a bright orange. Nick lunged forward, shocking Ellen as he began to lash out with a savage flurry of keyblade attacks.

A left-horizontal spiral slash, a right-horizontal flourish, a vertical uppercut, a downward spike, four left-to-right-to-left slashes, a diagonal uppercut, and a downward chop, Kingdom Key's blade leaving orange light trails with each movement Nick made.

An outward stab, a right-hand slice, two diagonal slashes in an X formation, a quick slap with the flat of the blade, and finally, Nick gripped his keyblade tightly, leaping into the air and slicing downward with all the force of a crashing airliner. Ellen was floored by the final strike, skidding through the snow slightly.

After picking herself up and staring at the three keyblade wielders, Ellen realized she was currently outmatched and wisely decided to retreat, ducking behind the large tree again.

When Nick pursued, however, she had vanished.

"Nick, is everything okay?" Sophia asked, looking at Nick with concern on her face.

Maylin and Haruka looked around and noticed that Klonoa, Lolo, and Popka had all vanished as well, most likely heading off to see Baguji.

"...I'll have to get back to you on that one, Sophia," Nick admitted.


Meanwhile, Ellen had returned to her temporary hideout in the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl's Arctic fortress. While Queen Beryl was currently away scoping out possible incoming threats (as she was pretty damn sure that the Sailor Senshi would be dropping by any moment now), Ichinose had shown up to tell them about the next phase of their plan.

Though Ellen's attention was currently occupied by Marie, who was seated in a chair made completely of black ice, her body still and her half-open eyes glazed over and dull.

"You're telling me that Marie's just a lifeless puppet right now?" Ellen asked.

"It would appear so," Ichinose replied.

"And... and her heart?" Ellen wondered, fearing the answer she knew was coming.

"No doubt it's been taken by the Heartless," Ichinose stated.

"DAMN IT!" Ellen shouted as she punched a nearby wall. "If only I'd been faster... if only I hadn't..."

Ellen whirled around to face Ichinose, the desperation in her eyes palpable. "Please, is there anything I can do to get Marie's heart back?!" Ellen shouted.

"Relax, my dear," Ichinose proclaimed. "You do remember our backup plan, right?"

"Wait, you mean those girls I brought here?" Ellen gasped, remembering Fena Houtman, Ochako Uraraka, and Hinata Hyuuga, the three girls that she'd been tasked with capturing.

"Yes, there are four more such maidens to find," Ichinose explained. "The seven maidens of purest heart, known as the Princesses of Heart. If gathered together, their light will open a door to the heart of all worlds. Within that door lies wisdom untold, and I know there you'll find a way to restore Marie's heart."

Ichinose took a couple steps closer to Ellen and raised her hands. "Now, I'd like to give you a rather marvelous gift," Ichinose stated.

"Really? What's that?" Ellen asked.

Ichinose grinned in a rather mischievous way. "The power to control the Heartless."

Ellen's body was quickly surrounded by a well of evil-looking green energy that absorbed itself into her. But if anything, she didn't feel scared. Instead, she felt more at ease. Maybe this kind of power was just meant for her.

When the energy dissipated, Ellen looked back at the unconscious Marie.

"I'll be back soon, Marie," Ellen proclaimed, raising her hand to open a corridor of darkness. "Please wait for me."

To be continued...


On the next episode...

Nick: ...Ellen, what happened to you?

Maylin: You okay there, fearless leader?

Nick: Maylin, stop calling me that. I don't want to feel like I'm lording over you or something...

Maylin: Maybe you just need some cheering up. Something to pass the time, know what I mean?

Haruka: It looks like there's a new tournament in Nordopolica. Wanna stop there after Traverse Town?

Nick: Yeah, sounds like fun.

Maylin: There we go! There's the smile!

Nick: We've got quite a few sidequests to take care of on the aptly-named next episode of Kingdom Hearts: Key to Her Heart re:Verse, "Sidequesting Adventures"!

Nick, Maylin and Haruka: May your hearts be your guiding key!