FG: We're back with Chapter 6 of CC2! Instead of fighting with Dia, then suddenly remembering that we have a guest, I'm going to skip ahead to introducing the guest! Please welcome…Eclipse Kurosato!

Eclipse: Hi.

Riku: He's not a guest! He's one of your stupider OCs!

Eclipse: Stupid?

Sora: Don't worry, Eclipse. He's just jealous.

Emma: Jealous of what?

FG, Riku, and Sora: (sweatdrop)

FG: Nothing…

Sora: Heh-heh…nothing at all…

Riku: Nothing of, uh…major importance…or any importance…

Eclipse: Anyway, FG doesn't own anybody except Emma, Dia, Jake, Robin, Bernie, my sister Hart, aka Coeur, Miaow, Alissa, Taylor, and the Daimyos Lyze, Silke, and Kinzoku.

FG: Wow. In Chapter 1, the list was only Emma, Dia, Jake, Robin, and two secret characters, who are now Bernie and Hart/Coeur.

Kairi: Hey, is that Alissa going to be in this story?

FG: Um…somewhere near the end.

Jake: Does Daddy get a Nobody?

FG: Yup.

Goofy: Why is this story called "A Dream Worth Keeping"?

FG: STOP THE QUESTIONS! I'll explain that in the story…next chapter.

Eclipse: Why next chapter?

FG: SHUT UP! (grunt) Because I have plans for you.

Eclipse: ……

FG: You know what I mean, moron.

Eclipse: Oh, yeah. Well, on with-

FG: That's my line.

Eclipse: You don't like me very much, do you?

FG: No. You're just a little pain in the rear who's meant to be Riku v. 2.0 in CC2.

Eclipse: So I get Emma?

FG: No. Shut. Up. I meant...well, you'll see. I already gave a spoiler in Chapter 2 that Ansem was replaced by Taylor. Well, on with Chapter 6!

… … … … … … … … …

"Daimyo?" Miaow asked. "What's a Daimyo?"

"Estate owners in feudal Japan who hired many samurais to do their work," Emma explained. "They had alliances with the shogun. If she works for Taylor, and says she's the Magician Daimyo, I'm guessing she leads the Heartless who can cast spells, or use the elements, like Wizards and Defenders."

Lyze leapt down from the cabin roof. "Smart girl. But smarts alone won't help in battle."

Jake stepped forward cautiously. "If you lead some of the Heartless, why are you alone right now?"

"It's a trap, munchkin," Robin mumbled.

"I'm alone because this is a surveillance attack. I'm checking your skills. In the unlikely event that you're too powerful for me alone, I'll send the troops in." Lyze nodded.

Eclipse tapped Coeur's shoulder. "Hart, she doesn't seem like a real villain. Maybe she was drafted." Coeur gave a meow, then watched the Daimyo carefully. "I read her mind; she's bored out of her mind, and a little nervous. The thirteen of us are a little too much for her, but she likes a challenge."

Coeur nuzzled her little brother. "Myew!"

"He IS good," Bernie agreed.

"BUT HE READ MY MIND WRONG!" Emma yelled, getting red.

"You guys are weird. This'll be an interesting fight." Lyze reached into a black shoulder bag and took out two long, thin rapiers. The Juu Senshi and the Nekoshus followed suit, getting into battle stances. "Mr. Taylor says you're an elementalist." She focused on Emma. "So am I."

Emma glared. "You said you're the strongest elementalist in Ivalice. I'M the strongest in the Kingdom Hearts universe."

"Just one Ivalician assassin could kill all of you in one swipe. Ivalice is the strongest world there is, and the vieras are the best race." Lyze smirked. "Mr. Taylor won't need to send Silke or Kinzoku. I'll kick your butts myself."

"We'll see about that." Emma turned around. "Back up a bit, guys. I wanna fight her myself."

Lyze pointed the rapier at her. "I have a bag full of rapiers. The Scarlette is just one." She took out another Scarlette and put in her other hand.

"Dia! You're a Final Fantasy Tactics Advance expert, right?"

"I guess!"

"What kind of rapier is a Scarlette?"

"Um…a fire rapier! You should use Yuki Naifu."

Emma nodded. "Got it." Blue mist wafted in. "You don't stand a chance."

"It's the other way around," Lyze replied. "What're you doing?"

"This. YUKI NAIFU!" Nine icicles came down from the sky and pierced the forest floor in a circle, with Emma in the middle. She climbed up onto the one closest to Lyze and perched there. "Say sayonara, Daimyo."

Lyze shrugged. "So you're blue. Big deal." She climbed up a tree and pointed the Scarlettes at the girl again. "It's not just a plain old fire rapier. FIRE WHIP!"

Twin streams of fire caught Emma's hands. "Emma!" Dia called. "Try to move your hands!" Emma obediently tried, but the fire disabled them. "Thought so. The effects of Fire Whip disable all attacks. Can you make ice come out of your feet?"

Emma stared. "My feet? What do you think?"

"Well, try kicking your hands. If you can do an ice kick, you can reverse the disability effects. The fire is all that's keeping you from attacking!"

"Oh, all right…" Emma lowered her hands as far as she could, then kicked the fire connecting them. The fire froze and cracked. "That's helpful. HYAH!" She turned her right fist into ice and punched Lyze in the face.

Lyze prodded her cheek. "My face is numb!" She complained. She pressed one Scarlette against her frozen skin. "OW! Stupid fire rapier…" She sheathed both Scarlettes, and took out a plainer-looking one. She put it at face-level. "Earth Heal!" A green ball of light flew out of it and into Lyze. Leaves scattered around her, then disappeared. "I'll save the good stuff for later. I'm just going to stab you."

"Same here," Emma agreed. The blue drained from her eyes and shirt. She took out her new Hikari Sword and slashed Lyze.

"Try to catch me!" Laughing, Lyze leapt onto a higher branch and thrust the Fleuret into Emma's shoulder.

Riku and Eclipse gasped at the same time. "Emma!"

Then, Riku glared at Eclipse. "You just met her! Why do you care?"

"She's cool, and she's a good fighter."

Riku stared. "You like…her fighting? Just…her fighting?"

Eclipse shrugged. "I know you have a crush on her. I just admire her fighting. It's not my fault I'm a chick magnet."

"You aren't a chick magnet, you're an Emma magnet."

Emma glared at them. "Weren't you two just upset that I got stabbed? AND I DON'T LIKE ECLIPSE!" She kicked Lyze again. The Fleuret left Emma's shoulder when its owner went backwards. "Ow…why does it only hurt when it's taken out?"

Lyze shrugged. "You know when someone gets stabbed really badly, then they take the sword out, and blood comes out, and they're in more pain than if they left it there?"

"Like in House of Flying Daggers?"

"Uh…whatever." Lyze put the Fleuret back in her sack. "Time to break out the elemental attacks again. You go first. I'm going to pick a rival element."

"No way!"

"We'll go at the same time."

"I don't trust you."

"I'm not trying to kill you yet. I'm surveying your abilities."

"I still don't trust you."

"Fine, then." Lyze took out a new rapier. "I'll just pick one without a rival element." She pointed her current one, the Joyeuse, at Emma. "Evil Gaze!"

Emma looked up. A purple glow hung above her, then dropped into her. Illusions of bats swarmed around her, then disintegrated. She wobbled a little, then stared blankly at Lyze. Then, she fell out of the tree.

"Emma!" This time, only Riku yelled. He dove towards the tree, then caught Emma. He sighed. "What would you do without me?"

Dia ran towards them. "Stay away from Emma! Evil Gaze makes her think we're her enemies!"

"What? Hey!" Riku cried. Emma looked dazed as she lifted the Hikari Sword, then brought it down on Riku. Nothing happened. Even though she was confused, she remembered what Lyze had told her, and drew the sword back out. Still, nothing happened. "Hey, weird woman with the rabbit ears!" Lyze looked down. "Yeah, you! What's going on?"

Lyze scratched her head. "Mr. Taylor says the Hikari Sword can only harm dark creatures. I guess it can't hurt you. Well, so much for Evil Gaze. Here, kid, give her this." She dropped a little, black ball down.

"That's a Cureall," Dia explained. "Break it in half, then pour the stuff on Emma."

"Okay." Riku snapped the Cureall, and little white clouds floated onto Emma.

The Hikari Sword fell out of Emma's hands. "Ugh…" She glanced at Riku. "Why are you holding me?"

Turning as red as Emma had been earlier, he took his arms away and kneeled. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She stood up. "Nobody comes to the Flapping Monkey Reservation anymore. Nobody will mind a few burnt trees…PYROMANIAC!"

Lyze jumped down from the tree. "I'm going to stop stabbing you…but let's see how my other status effects do!" She grabbed a rapier with cloud designs, the Djinn Flyssa. "Shining Air!"

Just as Emma was about to scrape Lyze with the long, black claws that accompanied her fire attack, a shimmering, white light dropped on her, followed by a blinding flash. Emma knocked into a tree. "What the…I can't see a thing!"

"Ha! That's what Shining Air does!" Lyze leaned against a tree. "Good luck finding me!"

"I can follow your voice, stupid!" Emma roared, showing her fangs. A burst of fire came out her hands. It burnt the tree, but Lyze had disappeared into the branches of a nearby tree.

"Stand still, and let her come to you!" Sora suggested.

Emma nodded. Lyze jumped down from the tree. With a lunge and another roar, her cloak was caught on Emma's now-flaming claws. "WHOA!" Lyze tried to free her cloak, but the claws on Emma's other hand grazed her neck. "Okay, okay!" She took a white substance out of one of her pockets, then threw it at Emma.

Her eyes cleared up. "I got you, rabbit."

"Viera," she corrected angrily.

"Viera," Emma repeated. "I've decided to trust you…for now. So, if you're just watching my powers, use your next rapier." With the red mist gone, Emma went back to normal.

Lyze nodded and took out a lavender rapier. "This should be fun to watch. "Heavy Dust!" A brown light flew at Emma, followed by a cloud of dust. "Now you can't walk. Have any more long-range attacks?"

"STEEL-"

"DAIMYO RUNE!" Guardian's voice thundered. "You are simply toying with these fools! You were supposed to destroy all of them!"

Lyze growled and tossed an orange strip at Emma. Her legs started moving again. "I've seen enough. I've got to go."

A hologram of Guardian appeared. "You have failed. I am sending Daimyo Kinzoku next time."

"Fine… Emma, was it? This isn't over." She disappeared, as did the hologram.

Emma sighed. "She's harder than I thought. Those side effects are annoying."

Jake frowned. "That Daimyo Kinzoku must be really strong."

"He is," Eclipse agreed. "Daimyo Rune was thinking about him…he's the Metal Daimyo. Kinzoku was a mechanic. After he died, he was brought back to life as a cyborg. Almost all of his body parts are mind-controlled machina. Every Heartless in his division is a normal Heartless, like a Shadow or a Behemoth, but with machina upgrades. He lives in Spira, working with the Al Bhed."

"Was he behind the Decaclaw Heartless?" Donald asked.

"No, that was me," Riku admitted quietly. "I got some machina plates and stuck them on some Shadows."

Eclipse narrowed his eyes. "So you really DID work for the Heartless…I'd suspect that you still did, but Emma's sword went right through you."

"He's part 'a the Juu Senshi, Kurosato," Robin announced. "As much as I dun like 'im, it's true. He's one a' us. So back away from the ankle-biter."

"Um…thanks…" Riku scratched his head. "…I think…"

"Let's see if there's a keyhole around," Sora suggested. "Then we can get back on the road."

Eclipse started to follow them, but a hand grabbed him back. "Hey! GUYS!"

"Shut up, Nekoshu. How did you know what I was thinking?"

As Eclipse's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the tree trunk he was now standing in, he noticed his captor was Lyze. "I have special powers."

"What kind?" Eclipse glared. "Fess up, I'm not going to clobber you."

"Psychic," he answered. "And I'm not joining your stupid magic division."

"You don't understand. I am a respectable Daimyo. I want a strong division until this war is over. Then, I can return to my hometown, Muscadet, in Ivalice. I was drafted, and I don't like attacking the good guys, but I have to."

"You could help us kick Taylor and Guardian's butts. Then you'd be free from your job, and go home."

"It's not that easy. You'd have to go through the other two Daimyos first. Kinzoku's really hard, but Silke's brutal. Anyway, will you join?"

Eclipse tugged his arm from the viera's grip. "I'll humor you for a little; what's in it for me?"

"You could rule the world with the rest of Rei no Aku."

"A small tribe in Hollow Bastion is enough for me."

"You could be honored as a ruthless fighter."

"If I stay with the Juu Senshi, I could be honored as a ruthless fighter AND a hero."

"Well…" Lyze got a smile. "…I have something you can't possibly pass up."

Eclipse un-crossed his arms. "And what might that be?"

"We can make your sister a Nekoshu again."

… … …

Sora grinned as he locked every cabin on the Flapping Monkey Reservation. When he got to Cabin 10, he grimaced. "I'm glad we never had to go in there."

Bernie glanced in the window. "Um…Sora? I see a keychain in there."

"WHAT?"

Kairi giggled. "You have to go get the keychain from Cabin 10, Sora."

"Ugh…" Sora opened the door. The smell of goose poop flooded the area.

"Pooooooooooop…" Jake covered his nose with his hand.

Robin glared. "Shaddup, Quinn Jr.!"

A few minutes later, Sora emerged. He was covered with feathers, but thankfully, nothing else. "Well?" Emma asked.

Sora glumly held up a keychain with yet another goose feather at the end. "The keychain…is a goose feather."

"Put it on!" Jake cheered.

This new keychain was a little pathetic. When it was attached, the key-shaped blade became curved and yellow, like a banana. The hilt had red, metal feathers coming out. The grip was brown. "Um…" Sora looked it over. "Flapping…" He pointed out the metal feathers. "…Monkey." He pointed to the banana blade. "And…the goose feather…"

Haiiro appeared in front of them. "I see you have obtained the Winged Primate Keyblade."

"WHAT?" Sora yelled again. "WHAT DID YOU SAY THIS THING WAS CALLED?"

"The Winged Primate Keyblade," Haiiro repeated calmly.

"THAT'S STUPID!" He kicked the Keyblade. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!"

Robin glared at Haiiro. "Is this yer idea of a joke, Grandpa Man-Lady?"

Haiiro smiled. "In fact, it is."

Everyone else had fallen to the ground, laughing hysterically. "Is it even strong?" Sora asked.

"Not really. I just thought this would be funny."

Sora grunted and stepped back. "Strike Raid!" The Flying Primate was hurled at Haiiro, who chose an appropriate time to teleport away. "Crazy old man…"

… … …

Meanwhile, Eclipse was stared open-mouthed at Lyze. "Can you really turn my sister back to normal?"

"I don't know how, but Guardian probably does. All you have to do is join Rei no Aku. We can help you with your psychic abilities too. Once you're good enough, you may become the new Magician Daimyo!" Lyze nodded. "I could use a break from the pressure."

Eclipse growled. "I can train myself. I'll find a cure."

Lyze sighed. "Poor little boy. You're delusional. You need professionals to train you."

"I won't join you, and that's that!" Eclipse turned to leave.

"Not so fast. Rei no Aku is not evil. Darkness is not evil. Is nighttime evil? No. 'Nekoshu' means 'cat-human', right?" Eclipse nodded. "Then you're half cat!" She poked one of the thin, streaky, whisker-like tattoos on his face. "A cat of all things should know how wonderful the night is. Wandering off, sitting on fences with your fellow cats, meowing opera songs at random houses…"

Eclipse raised an eyebrow. "Opera songs?"

"Yeah, Guardian got me this Real-World Training Video for me."

"Was there a pig at the end of each segment?"

"Yes."

"Did he stutter a lot?"

"Yeah, you've seen it?"

Eclipse rolled his eyes. "That's Loony Toons, dimwit."

Lyze growled. "Okay, so no opera songs. But a half-cat should know how great the night is."

"I guess…but the darkness is evil! The Heartless are evil! Rei Aku is evil! I'm leaving."

"Fine." Lyze took out one more sword from her rapier pack. Eclipse braced himself for a stabbing, but she was offering him a sword with a blade that looked like black fire. "I like bribing people, not blackmailing. Take the Yami Sword. It's the opposite of that silly Hikari Sword. If you want to hide it from your friends, you can will it to disappear. But keep it, and consider my offer. And be warned; the Hikari Sword and the Yami Sword are doomed to fight, as light and dark often do. Yes, it's your fate to do battle… join us, and it's also your fate to win." Lyze patted Eclipse on the back. "Take your time choosing."

… … … … … … … … …

Eclipse: I don't want to kill Emma.

Emma: Then don't! (whacks Eclipse)

Eclipse: Hey, back off, woman.

Emma: Who're you callin' woman?

Eclipse and Emma: (pathetically fist-fight)

FG: Guys, cut it out. Hey, did you know that it just took me a day to write this chapter? Normally, it takes me several days, but that's when I type in short bursts, but I sat down for an hour and thought, then typed for another full hour.

Jake: You're so obsessed.

FG: Did Colin tell you to say that?

Jake: …yes.

Bernie: So…instead of the order being Ansem, Maleficent, Riku, it's…Taylor, Lyze, Eclipse?

FG: Basically.

Bernie: Ah.

Coeur: Myew! Myew, myew, myew, myew, myew! Myeeeeeeeeew!

FG: I already said you'll turn back to normal eventually.

Eclipse: Do I really have to join Rei no Aku?

FG: I told you to stop asking plot-related questions! Sheesh! Well, stay tuned for the next chapter of CC2, and a surprisingly surprising surprise guest!

Guest: You said 'surprise' a lot.

FG: So? Don't be picky! I'm the only friend you have, and I can stop being your friend any second. I mean, you abandoned me for almost two years!

Guest: (sniffle)

FG: Okay, okay, sorry. (hugs Guest) Well, FG out, yo.