FG: Welcome back to CC2! I have a bit of good news for the Riku x Emma fans…even thought Riku agreed to stay friends with Emma, that doesn't mean you should give up all hope. (wink) Anyway, please welcome this chapter's disclaimer guest, Angel-of-Twilgiht…

Everyone else: (try not to laugh)

FG: …also known as Chloe.

Chloe: Hey, I have a perfectly good reason for spelling "Twilight" incorrectly! But it's top-secret, and if I told you, I'd have to kill you. With a salmon. A big salmon. A big, flaming salmon. And I'll shove it up your-

FG: Why don't you just tell us about yourself, Chloe?

Chloe: Well, for starters, I'm a hyper pyromaniac, and-

Robin: We seem ta get a lot 'a those, dun we?

Shadow, Neassa, Ace, and Shiro Tyrant: Apparently.

Chloe: Hey, let's all sing the Pyromaniac Fireman Song!

Everyone who isn't a pyromaniac: (sweatdrop)

Chloe, Shadow, Neassa, Ace, and Shiro Tyrant: He burnt down an innocent person's house, like some elephant chasin' down the wrong mouse! His own folks are wondering, "Is he blind?", while the rest of the world ain't so kind!

Chloe: FG doesn't own anyone except for Emma, Dia, Jake, Robin, Bernie, Coeur/Hart, Miaow, Eclipse, Miru, the rest of the Nekoshus, the Nikushimi, Haiiro, Taylor, Lyze, Silke, Karson, Sadym, Alissa, Etoile, Lotte, Aurelie, and Darcy.

Chloe, Shadow, Neassa, Ace, and Shiro Tyrant: …'cause we're as greatest as it git! Don't even need to bother shootin' straight, just pick the largest dang target!

FG: (sighs and rubs her forehead) This is going to be a VERY long ten pages…here's Chapter 24.

… … … … … … … … …

"Mommy?" Bernie asked. "Your mom's in Arizona? I thought you lived in Chicago!"

Emma nodded numbly. "I do. But my mom disappeared after the Heartless attacked." She suddenly whirled around to face the others. "We have to go to Arizona! Please, guys?"

Dia glanced at Jake, who nodded. Dia nodded as well. "Dad can wait. Besides, if we go to Arizona, we'll find Eclipse and Coeur, too. What do you guys think?" She was answered with general murmurs of approval. "Well, it's unanimous! We're going to Arizona!"

"Just a moment," Ayame-oya spoke up. "I found this on the ground earlier…I myself have no use for it, but I believe that it will be most helpful to you," she declared, handing Sora a small chain with a lotus at the end.

Sora bowed his head slightly. "Thank you very much, Ayame-oya." He switched the Ookami Keychain with the new one. The blade was made out of a shimmering, green metal. The hilt was adorned with glass roses, cherry blossoms, lotuses, daisies, and violets.

"It's pretty!" Kairi exclaimed. "I want one like that!"

A pillar of light shone a few feet away from the Juu Senshi and Ayame-oya. "That is the Shirohana Keyblade," a familiar voice explained. "It is exceedingly high in strength."

Robin rolled her eyes. "I think we can do without the showmanship, Haiiro. Jus' tell us whatever it is ya came to tell us."

Haiiro floated out of the light, adjusting his collar. "Very well. You must go to Florida at once. I have located-"

"Taylor an' Guardian, we know," Robin interrupted. "Save it fer later. We're goin' ta Arizona ta find Cat Boy an' his sister, along wit' Emma's mom."

The replica blinked. "How did you know? Only a highly accomplished seer could deduce that!"

Axel gestured to the flustered French girl next to him. "Accomplished seer, right here, remember? She figured it out with her dandelion seeds."

Haiiro smiled. "I must commend you on your skill, Bernie. But are you positive that you will be going to Arizona in lieu of Florida?"

"It's really important that we stop by," Donald told him. "Then we'll go beat the final boss when we're done."

"Very well. I trust you know what is right. Good luck!" Haiiro promptly disappeared.

Sora turned to leave for the Gummi docks. "Come on, guys, we've got to save our friends!"

Silke bowed. "I shall see you again, Ayame-oya. My duty will be fulfilled with the utmost speed."

Ayame-oya bowed in return. "I am sure it will, little Silke. You are traveling with a fine band of warriors." She waved as the Juu Senshi left.

… … …

"Man, is it hot out here, or what?" Riku panted.

Sadym wiped his brow. "Just be thankful that you're wearing a tank top. Ed ec rud ahuikr du samd y machina's bmydac!"

Bernie rolled up her sleeves. "Well said." She pulled out her dandelion, then plucked off three seeds. They changed colors and flew towards a mound of sand. "That's weird…it says that Eclipse, Coeur, and Alissa are right…AAAAAAAAAAGH!" The sand gave way, and Bernie fell through.

"Bernie!" Emma shouted. She ran over, and peered into the hole. "It's an underground cave!" Emma hurriedly jumped into it.

Dia snickered. "She's like a lemming, sometimes, isn't she? GERONIMO!" She also leapt into the hole, followed by the other Senshi.

A sinister chuckle emanated from deep in the cave once all of them had fell. "I'm so glad you could make it. Our fight was cut short back at the lodge, so I've been waiting for you…Emma."

Emma dusted herself off, then stared. "Eclipse?"

"That's right. So, are you prepared for a battle to the death?"

"D-d-death?"

"Isn't that what I just said? Of course, to the death! It is the destiny of the Hikari and Yami Swords to defeat the other!"

"Wait, brother," a female voice echoed. "Let me duel with her first. If she cannot defeat me, then she is not worth your time, and must not waste it."

Eclipse could be heard sighing heavily. "Fine, fight the elementalist. But I assure you, she is not a weakling."

Hart stepped forward, sharpening a small sword. "Neither am I."

"Coeur! You're back to normal!" Bernie cried.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? How can you be sure that's Coeur?"

Bernie grinned at him. "She looks exactly like Miaow, her Nobody!" She started to run forward.

Emma shook her head. "Stay back, Bernie. I think Hart is possessed. Why else would she talk all fancy and want to fight me?"

Bernie's happy look suddenly faded. "Oh…"

"Why would I not want to fight you?" Hart demanded. "As a Daimyo, you are my sworn enemy!"

Emma twitched. "You're Rei no Aku's new Sword Daimyo?" Hart nodded. "Well, this is great…but I guess there's no way out of this. GINGKO!" Emma's eyes and shirt turned beige. A wooden bow appeared in her hand. "What? I didn't have this before!"

"You didn't have the fans in Inazuma form before, either," Goofy reminded her. "But you still used them to fight Marluxia!"

"Good point. Well, let's try this baby out." Emma shot an arrow at Hart. It pierced her belt. "Note to self: get archery lessons when all this Rei no Aku stuff is patched up."

Hart sneered. "I whole-heartedly agree." She reached down to pull the harmless arrow out of her belt. However, it wouldn't come out. "What?"

Vines flew out of the arrow's tip, wrapping themselves around the Nekoshu like a straitjacket. "Wow! This form is awesome!" Emma decided.

"Insolent girl!" Hart scooted over to a jagged rock, and cut herself free. "Ha! Is that the best you can do?" She lunged forward, attempting to stab Emma.

"JIKAN!" Emma turned black. She sped herself up, perfectly evading all of Hart's jabs. A large, black scythe appeared in her hand. She swung it around, nearly whacking Hart with the non-bladed side. The Sword Daimyo expertly parried the blow, and aimed for Emma's chest. "Whoa!" She side-stepped, and made her mace disappear. "ANTARES!"

Hart ducked below the purple mist that faded in. "Why haven't you hit me yet? What is holding you back?"

"………" A dark, purple staff with stars on it appeared in Emma's hand. With it, she banged Hart's shoulder. The Head Warrior fell to the ground, pressed by the forces of gravity. "………"

"Ugh!" she grunted. Hart pushed on the stone floor, but she could not bring herself up. "I seem to have been rendered helpless," she admitted. "What will you do now?"

Emma returned to normal, then crossed her arms. "Nothing. You're our friend, and I don't want to hurt you."

Hart glared. "Friend? You are my sworn enemy. We are nothing of the sort."

"Don't you remember? When you were a genet, you stayed with me," Bernie practically whispered. "We were best friends."

"Genet? What foolishness! I am Sword Daimyo Hart Kurosato, former Head Warrior of the Nekoshu Tribe in Hollow Bastion. My home was taken by the darkness, and I gladly joined Rei no Aku afterwards."

"No, you had your heart stolen, and turned into a genet! Haiiro gave you to me, so you could help us, since he said you had some weird powers, which we haven't even seen yet…but that's beside the point!" She kneeled down, so she was closer to Hart. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you're not evil! You're my best friend!" she wailed, and hugged Hart.

"Best…friend…?" Hart's eyes grew less hazy, and she looked up at the girl. "Bernie…?" she murmured.

Emma grinned. "That's better!" She stomped, and the effects of Antares wore off.

Bernie looked like she was going to cry. "Hart, what happened?"

Hart sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. "After my little bro teleported me here, he tied me up, and mumbled some spell…then I was a Nekoshu again! His eyes started glowing, and I lost consciousness. Must've possessed me…do any of you guys know where he is now?"

"Back here, DEAR sister," Eclipse snarled. He was standing behind the group. "I should have know that you Senshi would make me lose my control over her…no matter. A rematch is in order, elementalist."

Emma clenched her fists. "No, it isn't! I won't fight you!"

Eclipse smirked. "Oh, but you have to. Your sword is dying to defeat mine." The Hikari Sword appeared in Emma's hands, to her shock. "See? Even you can't stop it. It knows that it must fight me. You must satisfy its urges…come!" He summoned the Yami Sword, and swung at Emma.

"SHINZOU NEKOSHU!" A woman appeared in-between Emma and Eclipse, blocking the Yami Sword with the handle of a mace. Emma looked over her shoulder, at Hart. She gave a thumbs-up. "It'll be hard to lose this with Great-Aunt Kobito on your side!" she proclaimed.

Emma's eyes widened. "Great-Aunt Kobito?" She looked back at the woman. "You mean Chief Shin-nen Kurosato's little sister?" Hart nodded proudly. "But how?"

Hart smiled. "Little-known secret; you don't have to be a psychic to know Shinzou Nekoshu. Every royal gets to summon an ancestor! Eclipse originally had Chikara Kurosato alone, but the Nikushimi gave him Kirau Ketsueki, too. I have Kobito Kurosato!"

"So that's Hart's special power!" Bernie exclaimed.

Emma grinned at the Nekoshu. "Thanks a ton, Hart."

Eclipse glared. "So that's how it's going to be. SHINZOU NIKUSHIMI!" The ghostly image of Kirau fizzled into view. He swiped at his former friend's granddaughter with his claws. Kobito stumbled a little, then raised her mace again. Instead of attacking Kirau, however, she attacked Eclipse, whose forehead started bleeding.

"NAO-"

"Don't, Emma!" Sora warned. "You're fighting him. Even if he is Eclipse, he's a boss right now. You can't heal him!"

Emma nodded sadly, then jumped back instinctively as Kobito fell down and faded away. Hart flashed an ashamed look. "Sorry, but Kirau IS the First Nikushimi…I shouldn't have expected Great-Aunt Kobito to hold a candle to him."

"Don't worry," Emma dismissed. "I've got plenty of other attacks. WIND'S MASK!" She turned white, and flew into the air. A gleaming nunchaku appeared in her hands. "I love these new weapons! I wonder what this one does…" She cracked the nunchaku like a whip, hitting Eclipse's forehead again. An enormous gust of wind blew him back. "Cool!"

Eclipse held his gloved hand out, and aimed at Emma. "Let's see how you like this!" He used his telekinetic powers to shake her back and forth.

I can't believe I'm fighting Eclipse! I don't want to kill him, but if I don't, he'll kill ME! Emma turned into wind, and escaped Eclipse's wrath. She solidified on the ground. "Can't we just call this a tie?"

"NEVER!"

Emma cracked her nunchaku again, this time, dozens of consecutive strikes. Eclipse crumpled to the ground. He was covered in bruises. "Eclipse!"

Hart waved her arms furiously. "No, don't go near him! He's probably waiting to spring a trap!"

"Oh, you're no fun," Eclipse groaned. He leapt to his feet and threw Emma into the air with another telekinetic move. She fell down, rubbing her legs. "What's the matter, elementalist? Get back up and fight like a man!"

"I'm not a man!" Emma yelled, whacking him again. "How am I supposed to beat Eclipse? I need help!"

A gruff voice came out of nowhere, joking, "Say please."

Sadym grinned. "Karson!"

Karson tumbled through the hole. Once he got up, he prodded a shallow dent in his machine plates. "I gotta get that fixed later…what kind of guy has a hole for the entrance to his hideout?" He peered at Eclipse with his remaining eye, who looked bewildered. "Oh, that kind of guy."

"What are you doing here, Kinzoku?" Silke asked hostilely.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Karson raised his metal hands defensively. "Number one, it's Karson. I'm not working for that mummified Heartless and his puppet anymore, so I dropped the nickname. And number two, I thought you guys might need some help. I've been waiting for the opportunity to come on over since I heard that you guys and Sadym became chums. I was wondering why he'd left…besides, since the other two ex-Daimyos are here, I thought it'd be fun to join in the fun." He cracked his knuckles. "So…Emma, right? What're your orders for Chiefy here? Medium rare?"

Emma shook her head wildly. "Stunned!" she implored him. "Can you do that?"

Karson proudly patted a plate on his right arm, the space that his Sykel Tacdnildun plate had formerly occupied. "Thanks to the upgrade that Sadym and his coworkers gave me!" he announced proudly.

"I would like to see you try," Eclipse challenged.

A huge, white laser flew out of Karson's arm, and hit Eclipse. Eclipse fell again. "And that's how you take out the trash." Karson heaved the teenage over his shoulder. "Impressed?"

Emma nodded. "Very. What do we do with him?"

Lyze shrugged. "No clue. At least he's out for the moment, so we have time to think. For now, let's find Emma's mom!"

… … …

"Are we there yet?" Hart asked.

Sora scratched his head. "I don't know. I was hoping that you knew the way!"

"Let's ask Eclipse!" Jake suggested. "He'll know!"

Robin grimaced at the young boy. "Cat-Boy'd sooner knock off his own head 'fore helpin' us."

Lyze looked as if she had an epiphany. "We'd have to take Eclipse to King Mickey to get all the darkness out of his system, but I know how to kick his obsession with fighting you, Emma! Jake, can you synthesize our weapons?"

"Um…sure!"

Lyze handed him the Joyeuse. "You know Evil Gaze? The ability that turned Emma against you guys when we fought? That's what's forcing him to think he needs to kick your butt. I just made up that whole destiny stuff when I met him. When the Hikari Sword appeared without you telling it to, Emma, that wasn't by the sword's will; I saw Eclipse teleport it out. If we break the sword, he'll still be all dark and stuff, but he won't have any homicidal urges out of the blue."

Emma rolled her eyes as she handed Jake the Hikari Sword. "You're such a jerk, Lyze. And why do we have to synthesize our weapons?"

"It's the only way we can destroy the Yami Sword. The Joyeuse has to do it because it originated the spell, and the Hikari Sword balances out the darkness," Lyze explained.

A small burst of light appeared, and Jake passed a golden sword with swirling fire designs to Lyze. "It's called the Hikari Rapier."

Karson picked Eclipse off his shoulder, and took the Yami Sword from his hands, setting it on the ground. "There ya go, Lyze."

Lyze held out the Hikari Rapier, then brought it down on the Yami Sword with a "HYAH!" The sword shattered into pieces, and a cloud of darkness floated out. It faded soon after. "Now, can you wake Eclipse up?"

"I don't have an anti-stun button."

Before Lyze could make a suggestion, Bernie grabbed Eclipse's collar, then roared in his ear, "WAKEY, WAKEY! 'ELLO, POLLY! THIS IS YOUR NINE O' CLOCK WAKE-UP CALL, MR. POLLY PARROT!"

Dia flinched from the volume of Bernie's exclamation. "Someone's been watching too much Monty Python…"

Eclipse also flinched, then stared at the Senshi through wide, brown eyes. "What are you guys doing? And why did Bernie just yell in my ear and call me Polly?"

Robin actually smiled a little. "Whadda ya know, Eclipse's back to normal."

"No, he isn't." Lyze shook her head. "He may have his old personality and memories back, but he's still a bad guy."

Emma clasped her hands together. "Eclipse, will you please show us the way to get to Mom?"

"You mean Alissa? Man, she's annoying…let me down, would you?" Karson warily dropped Eclipse, who landed on his feet. "Give me a good reason why I should guide you."

"Because we're your friends!"

Eclipse stuck up his nose. "You used to be. Now that I'm working for Rei no Aku, I don't need you guys."

"At least for old time's sake? Please?" Emma begged.

The angry look on his face melted as he saw Emma's expression; Daimyo or not, he was still Eclipse. "For old time's sake," he grumbled, giving in. "But after this, you're my enemy again!"

Hart hugged Eclipse. "Thanks a ton, little bro!"

Eclipse led the Senshi to the right. "Just be thankful that I reconsidered. You guys would probably give up searching after a few more minutes and rot in a corner."

"Stop talking and lead us to Alissa," Dia ordered.

While the other Juu Senshi members talked amongst themselves, Riku walked up to Eclipse's side. "We need to talk about-"

"Emma. You're right," Eclipse finished with a quiet voice. "Look, you can keep her. I just wanted to make her like me more so I could get her to join Rei no Aku with me. Even when I refused to join, I knew Lyze would find a way to sucker me in, so I wanted Emma to join, too. Then I wouldn't have to kill her."

Riku snorted. "Lyze told us that you were under the Yami Sword's spell, and that the whole destiny thing was fake. You wouldn't have had to kill her, anyway. Besides, she made me promise to just stay friends with her."

Eclipse tried to look sincerely upset by the news. "Ouch. Well, there's other girls in the Juu Senshi that you could date..."

The bishounen shook his head, laughing a bit. "Kairi's taken by Sora, Dia already tried to set me up with Emma, Bernie's mood swings are dangerous, Robin scares me, Lyze is taken by Sadym, she's just too flustered to admit it, and Silke and Hart are too old. There are absolutely no other girls in the Juu Senshi for me to date. But it's like some guy once said: 'tis far better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."

"What guy said that?" Eclipse wondered.

Robin slapped both of them in the back of their heads. "Yer momma did," she grunted angrily.

Riku turned red. "You were listening to us?"

"You bet a billion yen. If I wasn't so flattered by the fact that yer afraid a' me, I'd crush the both 'a ya fer playin' matchmaker when yer SUPPOSED TA BE LEADIN' US TA EMMA'S MOM!" she yelled, pointing at the dead end in front of them.

Eclipse rubbed his head. "Oops."

… … …

"Well, Alissa is just around this corner," Eclipse announced. "I have to leave now. I'll just tell Guardian and Taylor that you beat me." He turned around.

"Why can't you stay with us?" Lyze asked sadly.

Eclipse glanced over his shoulder. "I work for Rei no Aku now. Plus, won't Guardian get rid of Ivalice if he doesn't have a Magic Daimyo?"

Sora grinned. "After we take Alissa home, we're going to defeat Guardian and Taylor! He won't be able to get rid of Ivalice if he's a corpse, will he?"

"And…" Eclipse continued. "…now that I've joined the darkness's side, I can't go back. I have darkness in my veins."

Riku waved. "I was Maleficent's stooge a month ago, and look at me now! King Mickey can at least make you a Twilight."

Eclipse looked at each of the Senshi in turn. "Really? THE King Mickey? I've wanted to see him again for six years…" He sighed, and threw up his arms. "Sure, why not. I don't have much to lose…except for the possibility that Guardian will knock Ivalice into oblivion because of me, and will probably dismember me..."

Hart gave him a noogie. "You're being too pessimistic! Look on the bright side; you're traveling with the Juu Senshi, the strongest band of warriors in the universe! I mean, think about it!" She let go of her brother's head. "We've got two gunners, a seer, two elementalists, a possessor, two defenders, one of whom is an animist, the Keyblade Master, a Princess of Heart, a cyborg, a Nobody, a swordswoman, a magician, and two Nekoshu royals! How could anyone stand up to us?"

"Well, when you put it like that, we do kick butt," Eclipse agreed. "Let's free your mom now, Emma."

Emma nodded, then smiled at Lyze. "It's a good thing that you knew how to free Eclipse. Sorry I called you a jerk."

Lyze smiled back. "Don't be. I deserved it, possessing your crush and making him think he had to kill you or be killed himself." Suddenly, her smile faded. "Wow, that sounds even worse out loud, doesn't it?" Emma just patted her shoulder.

"Alissa!" Eclipse called, walking around the corner.

Alissa looked up, still chained to a rock formation. "Oh, it's you, Daimyo Kurosato," she spat. "What do you want now?"

Eclipse motioned to Emma, then kept his eyes on the ground. "I brought you something."

"Mom?" Emma stepped forward, and adjusted her glasses. "Mom!"

Alissa grinned widely and extended her arms as far as the chains would let her. "Emma!"

Kairi sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I love happy endings!"

"Dun make me hit you," Robin warned the princess, but her own eyes were looking rather puffy. "This isn't even the end!"

Emma and her reunited mother hugged for a moment before Alissa asked, "Where have you been?" She craned her head to look behind her daughter. "And isn't that Donald and Goofy? And some King of Hearts characters?"

"Kingdom Hearts," Emma corrected. "And yes, it's them. Guys, come meet my mom." The other Senshi stepped forward. "This is Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Lyze, Silke, Karson, Sadym, Axel, Bernie, and Robin. I think you already know Eclipse and Hart…don't worry, they're good guys now," she added for the benefit of her now-livid mother. "And you obviously know Dia and Jake."

Dia and Jake waved. "Hi, Mrs. Baecker," they chorused politely.

Alissa waved in response, then turned back to Emma. "I still don't have a clue what's going on here!"

For the next several minutes, Emma tried to explain what had happened over the last two years; the mysterious phone call, the cheat code, having to travel the game universe, eventually dragging Dia and Jake into the effort, changing the storyline, bringing the Heartless into the U.S., learning that Taylor had replaced Ansem, meeting the new staff of Rei no Aku and eventually bringing them into the Juu Senshi, and their current mission.

"So you won't have to hurt Taylor?" Alissa clarified nervously. "Just sing a little?"

The Senshi clearly looked nervous as well. "Well, we'll have to restrain him first. He might get scraped up a bit in the process," Bernie told her. "Just a little, though. Emma has a few attacks that are perfect for restraining people."

Emma nodded. "Don't worry, Mom. We want Taylor back, safe and sound, just as much as you do. After we sort this mess out, you guys can finish your wedding!"

Eclipse took a key out of his vest pocket and unlocked Alissa from her chains and cuffs. "But it's not just Taylor I'm worried about…" Alissa murmured. "Will my little girl be all right?"

The Senshi all exchanged glances, then burst into laughter. Riku was the first one to regain the ability to breathe, so he announced, "Ma'am, your daughter is the strongest person I've ever seen. You don't need to worry a single bit about whether or not she'll be all right."

Alissa swiveled her head to look at Emma, then cast her a proud look. "All right. I trust you. Please bring Taylor back safely too," she begged.

Emma adjusted her glasses again. "You can count on us, Mom."

Lyze gathered the Senshi around her, excluding Eclipse. "I'll teleport these guys to Disney World," she volunteered. "You teleport Alissa back to Chicago. She'll be safer there."

"Teleport?" Alissa asked with a twinge of fear. However, there was no time to ask any follow-up questions, for Eclipse had grabbed her sleeve and teleported away in a flash.

"Well…this is it! The final battle! Exhilarating, don't you think?" Hart asked cheerfully.

Robin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if ya like tryin' to serenade the baddie while he's tryin' ta cut yer throat," she responded sarcastically.

Hart ignored her, triumphantly raised her fist, and yelled, "Time to kick butt!"

Lyze laughed. "Er…I can only take a few people at a time, remember? I have to teleport you guys in shifts. We're not doing anything until everyone's in Florida."

"Then it's time to kick butt?"

"Yes."

"Awright!"

… … … … … … … … …

FG: That was Chapter 24!