Realm of Arrival, Gretinal's Office
The six members of Team Keybladers stood in a line, while Candy stood on top of Gretinal's desk, looking up at the face of the mistress herself.
"I congratulate all of you for finally finding one of the Lost Princesses of Heart." Gretinal praised the heroes, "You have done well in reaching this far. Now there will be three more to go."
"That's great, but…" Asuna started, looking to Candy, "What are you planning to do with Candy?"
"I'm still a little confused at what's going on, kuru." Candy stated.
"My apologies. Let me explain. My name is Mistress Gretinal. I am the teacher of this school, as well as the guide and master for these six. It is our duty to gather up the Guardians of Light, as well as the Lost Princesses of Heart, in order to tackle the darkness that is gathering in both dimensions. You, my dear little Candy, are one of the Lost Princesses, which is why I asked for your presence here."
"Wait a minute!" Donald interrupted, "There's something we have to talk about!"
"Oh? And what would that be?" Gretinal questioned him.
"We were wonderin' about the world order." Goofy noted, "Isn't bringing Candy a problem?"
"Goofy's right." Sora admitted, "Should we really be allowed to take Candy from her world, even though it is still around?"
"You are correct. In a matter of perspective, I am breaking that order." Gretinal admitted, "However, I believe there are some special circumstances, as well as reasons for acting on these choices. The biggest case is that I am trying to not let things repeat like how they did in your dimension, Sora, Donald, Goofy."
"What do you mean?" Kirito asked.
Gretinal pulled out a crystal ball, and held it high with magic as it glowed, showing a familiar scene to Sora, Donald and Goofy; the six Princesses of Heart that were locked away in Hollow Bastion.
"Long ago, Ansem, Maleficent, and other villains gathered with them were able to steal the seven Princesses of Heart in order to attempt and reveal Kingdom Hearts. Had it not been the special circumstance of Kairi's heart being within your's, Sora, and how you were able to save the Princesses and stop Ansem, things would've turned out far worse than how it ended."
Sora looked at the crystal ball, and suddenly caught a brief glimpse of a familiar girl right by his side as the trio faced Ansem, before the crystal ball stopped projecting. Sora blinked and shook his head, wondering if what he saw was real. Gretinal cleared her throat, drawing the attention back to her.
"I was able to catch glimpses of that battle because of the damage it was causing to the walls between dimensions." She explained, "As such, I wanted to make sure and prepare to prevent any such circumstances from taking place again. However, I cannot be responsible for the Princesses of Heart in your dimension. That is far against what I am allowed to do. What I can do is protect the Princesses of Heart in this dimension."
"Okay, so in order to prevent the Organization from trying to obtain them, you plan to protect the four Lost Princesses here?" Asuna asked, "I mean, it makes sense. But I would find that Miyuki and the other Smile Precure could do the job pretty well. They are not weak girls."
"They are strong, but remember that without your timely arrival, they would've been perished by the Heartless summoned by an outside force." Gretinal retorted, looking to Candy, who was scared to imagine what would've happened if they had not come, "While those like the Precure could take on targets that are local to their world, the Heartless, the Nobodies, Dr. Tenma and his group, the Organization, they would all be too much for them to handle."
The six heroes looked to each other, realizing that they had a point. They barely made it out of the Orb of Neglect, which was empowered thanks to Tears. Plus, with Gouxus there, who knows how much worse it could've been. If anything, the six heroes were necessary in stopping them.
"That is why, as a countermeasure, I devised a strategy to not only protect them, but also preserve world order to the best of my capabilities." Gretinal continued, "I trained my three disciples, Dreamcast, Genesis, and Drive, to replace the princesses once they are discovered. Utilizing a bit of my magic and such, we could instantly replicate necessary components in order to take over the exact roles the princesses were in their worlds."
"I'm…really getting confused." Sora stated, as he, Goofy and Donald looked completely bewildered at the explanation.
"It's like how Dreamcast transformed into a fairy just like Candy." Yui explained, "Plus, she can do everything Candy can do for the Pretty Cure, as well."
"Okay, that makes more sense." Sora understood, placing a fist into his open palm.
Gretinal looked to Candy, and said, "I do apologize again that we had to pull you away from your friends, but we promise we will return you to your world once the Organization is stopped."
"Don't worry. I'm just glad I'm with people who are also friends, kuru!" Candy stated.
"That is good." Gretinal responded with a smile.
"So, what do you plan to do with Candy while she is here?" Kirito asked, "I don't suppose sealing her away is not an option." The thought made a frightened exclamation come out of Candy.
"Actually, I planned for something else." The Keyblade mistress answered, "One other thing that I plan to do that the other Princesses of Heart didn't get a chance to do is improve themselves more capable of fending off the darkness, not just in their world, but also in other worlds. As such, I would like to ask that you would take Candy along with you on your journey."
This request stunned the heroes, who looked at each other, before Asuna asked, "But, wouldn't that leave her vulnerable to the Organization, who might go after her?"
"Not at all, as long as she is under your protection." Gretinal explained, looking at Candy again, "Plus, Candy will gain valuable skills and knowledge. She will fully understand the duty she, as well as all other princesses, must uphold in order to be true Princesses of Heart. So bring her with you to other worlds as you continue your search. Not just in this dimension, but also in the other, as well. Let her gain experience, and become strong and wise. Is that what you would like to do, Candy?"
Everyone's gazes fell to the little fairy, who paused for a moment, thinking. "I still don't really understand everything, kuru. It's scary, and I really want to get back to all of my friends back home, kuru. But…" Candy turned to the heroes, responding, "I want to show how useful I can be, and I don't want bad things like that to happen again, kuru! And I want to tell stories to Miyuki and everyone about all the worlds I've been to, kuru! I'm sure they'll be ultra-happy with me, kuru!"
The six heroes looked happily at her. It was an answer that fit Candy's character, and they knew she would want to do this much. She was the one who dove in after Miyuki and Pop into the Orb of Neglect.
"Very good. It's not easy to make such a strong decision for one as young as you." Gretinal responded, standing up and coming around the table, "Now, before you go on this journey, you should get prepared. If you would just follow me to the dressing room, we shall get you into new garments." She wandered over to the door that was on the left side of the room. She guided Candy into the room, and closed the door behind.
"It's still concerning. I mean, Dreamcast isn't the same as Candy." Asuna noted, looking down with concern, "She gave us her reasons, and is doing this to protect the Princesses of Heart from the darkness, but… I feel like there are still some holes in the plan."
"This whole thing is pretty new to me, but I think we're still doing the right thing." Sora responded, "After all, we are stopping the Organization from getting their hands on them."
"Right. We need to find the remaining Guardians of Light." Kirito told Asuna, "And if we don't find them, we need replacements. The Lost Princesses of Heart are basically the last resort if we don't find them. And it's not like the Precure aren't aware of other worlds, either."
Asuna paused on the reasons they gave her. She wasn't denying that what they were doing wasn't wrong. In fact, it was a plan that could have great benefits in the future. At the same time, something in Asuna's heart felt there was something wrong about it. For now, she remained indifferent and cautious about it all, and decided to follow through with Gretinal's plan.
A few minutes later, the door opened up again, and Gretinal came out with Candy, who had a new look to her than before. Her attire was pretty simple; a white and gold-trimmed tunic-like scarf, a small pale gold, wing-like ornaments on the side for shoulder guards, yellow footwear, gold bracelets on her arms, and her pink ribbons on her curled fluffy ears had now been embroidered with lavender heart decorations.
(Insert Sora's Theme of KH OST)
Candy walked forward with the new look towards the team, who were admiring her appearance. She then unfurled her ears, displaying the length they were, and producing gold vambraces via magic. The vambraces produced neon white energy from the grooves, and white energy knuckles appeared around the tips of her ears, which were slightly larger than a normal human gauntlet.
"Wow!" The team gasped, looking at her new look and weapons.
"You look really pretty and cool, Candy!" Yui stated.
"Thanks a lot, kuru!" The little fairy replied.
"I'm sorry, but what is all of this?" Kirito asked Gretinal.
"These are traveling garments for Candy." Gretinal explained, "They will provide her protection as well as stimulate her magic abilities. As for those pieces on her ears, I call them 'Brace Knuckles'. They emit energy fists that allow her to fight in combat."
"So Candy is now able to fight?" Yui asked, looking amazed.
"Exactly. Let us go to the training area to test her out." Gretinal answered, and she guided the team out of her office.
Moment's later, they found themselves in the training room, where they saw Jackson, Latias, and Cypress were gathered together to train. They stood on the sidelines as Kirito stood on one end, while Candy stood in front of Sora and Asuna. Gretinal had the others stand on the sidelines.
(Insert 'Future Masters' of KH:BBS OST)
"Kirito, I would like to to just protect from attacks for the time being." Gretinal told the Black Swordsman, "This is merely a training for Candy to be use to combat."
"Right." Kirito understood.
"You mean I have to fight, kuru?" Candy asked, a little nervous at being in the front lines.
"You are more use to having the Smile Pretty Cure fight the battles." Gretinal argued, "However, there was one time that you were fighting, or rather, Miyuki was fighting in your body."
"Right, I remember that, kuru!" Candy recalled.
"What are you talking about?" Asuna asked, wanting to hear the story about that.
"That's not important right now." Gretinal argued, "What matters is how she fought in that fight. You used your ear hair to fight. Do the same with your Brace Knuckles."
"Okay, kuru!" Candy replied, dashing forward and leaping at Kirito, swinging one of her weapons at Kirito. He blocked the energy fist, along with the other barrage of fists that came after. Candy was clearly no seasoned fighter, as her attacks were straightforward and easy to predict.
"Good. You got the basics of hand-to-hand combat." Gretinal replied, "You can still utilize your previous ability of unleashing healing magic onto your allies. Do it on Kirito at the moment." Candy responded, unleashing her healing spell onto Kirito, restoring his energy again.
"You can also channel your magic into long-ranged attacks. Try channeling your energy into your hands, and unleash your magic." Candy followed through, channeling her magic within, which turned into an energy heart. She unleashed it at Kirito, who blocked the explosion of energy that followed.
"Now, come back to your starting position." Gretinal told Candy, and she doubled back to Asuna and Sora's side. "Now that you have awakened to your powers as a Lost Princess of Heart, you should be able to access the power of light deep within your heart." Gretinal explained, "However, you are unable to release it regularly. You will need the power of a Keyblade wielder who can unleash your Soul Release. Asuna, if you would."
"So it's basically the same as utilizing a Soul Release with Donald." Asuna understood, and she pointed her Keyblade at Candy, unleashing a beam of light that connected with her.
Candy felt the surge of energy within, and leapt up, charging up the energy. "Candy…" she chanted, drawing a large heart with her ears, before shouting, "…Shower!" She thrusted her tiny arms forward, and unleashing a stream of light at Kirito, who was stunned at the oncoming beam. He took the full blast, and was sent flying, crashing into the wall.
"Kirito!" "Papa!" Sora and Yui cried out in shock at the damage he took.
"Are you okay, Kirito?" Asuna asked as Candy was amazed at what she had done.
Kirito was able to regain himself, using a potion before answering, "I'll be fine… So that's what it feels like to be on the other end of one of those attacks."
"That's the basics of how you fight." Gretinal told Candy, not even perturbed by Kirito's damage, "There is still more for you to learn as time goes on. For now, let's head back to my office again." The team gathered themselves up, saying goodbye to the students that watched them, and wandered back to Gretinal's office.
When they returned, Gretinal sat back in her chair again, with Kirito the first to speak. "So what's the plan from here?" He asked, "We found one of the Lost Princesses, but there are still three more to go."
"For now, there are no new worlds for you to discover in this dimension, at this time." Gretinal answered, "As there are no new Lost Princesses as of yet, it would be wise for you to do a couple things; train Candy, and explore worlds in the other dimension."
"So we're going back to my dimension again?" Sora asked, "That sounds great! We might find the other Guardians of Light."
"You might. However, might I make a suggestion?" the Keyblade Master started, "As you noticed, Candy's fighting prowess is…less than capable." Candy looked insulted at this, but soon gathered herself as she made an expression that admitted it was the truth. "Before going back to the other dimension, I would believe that you should take Candy with you to the Battle Tower, and train there to improve herself. The next set of floors should be waiting for you to conquer."
"That's understandable." Yui answered, "Plus, we can improve ourselves in the tower, preparing us for the battles ahead."
"Gawrsh, I have a feelin' we would need it." Goofy noted.
"Maybe YOU do." Donald huffed, his confidence stating he would be fine.
"You can even visit other worlds you previously visited, such as Resolute Oasis, to gather yourselves up." Gretinal added.
"I would actually like to visit Melromarc again." Asuna responded, "I'm wondering how Naofumi is doing." Last time they remembered, he did take a heavy toll from utilizing that powerful last technique.
"Okay, let's do it all!" Sora suggested, "Let's go visit all our friends, take on the Battle Tower, and then we can go back to my dimension." The team nodded in agreement.
"I can't wait to see what kind of worlds are out there, kuru!" Candy proclaimed.
Gretinal smiled and nodded at their plan. "Okay, then. Go forth, Team Keybladers. And may your hearts be your guiding key." The team saluted back to Gretinal, before they took off.
As they left, Gretinal looked down, a sad expression on her face. "It's so difficult for me to stomach, especially how I have to bend the rules of the world order in order to succeed in our goal. But in order to stop the Organization and Dr. Tenma, I have to. It's for 'your' sake, that we do this…" Her mind trailed down the basement below the castle, where a certain child was dangling from several electric cords plugged into him, one of the larger four starting to glow, his mind shut down, and his heart asleep.
(Insert 'Adamas Amalee ver.', TV version)
Music intro
(Rushing through black darkness, glittering shards of light pass by. As music starts, the three main Keyblades suddenly shoot forward like shooting stars, circling around from a distance, then crossing one another, shining brightly, forming the logo of the series.)
I'm trying to understand it but it's making me numb
(Left half of Sora's serious face, the other half hidden by the teeth of his Kingdom Key.)
This swirl of karma leaving such a bitter taste on my tongue
(Right half of Asuna's determined face, the other half hidden by the Lambent Light's teeth.)
'Cause I know the pain and sorrow, it has only begun
(The upper half of Kirito's face, with glaring eyes, the lower half hidden by the Elucidator's teeth.)
Who-o-oa, Who-o-oa, Who-o-oa
(Flashing through the faces of each hero; Donald, Goofy, Yui, Mickey, Riku, Leafa, Kairi, Axel, and Kayaba.)
Now I'm surrounded by my enemies, but luck's on my side
(In the dusty fields of the Keyblade Graveyard, the camera pans around the circle of the six main heroes as they ready their weapons.)
So I shatter through the walls and change the course of the tide
(In the same field, the camera pans the opposite way around the six other heroes as they ready their weapons.)
Can't stop this surging fate like a volcano set to break, Take a breath until you're set to
(Allies of the multiple worlds they will or have visited pan across the screen, finally ending with the silhouettes of the four Lost Princesses of heart, with the one in the center opening her hands to reveal a bright light.)
face that voice of fear. That god of death that's always looking down on you
(Philia stands on a lone green hill, staring at a card with the picture of Castle Oblivion on it. She feels a hand behind her, and looks to see Flair and Hinata standing behind her, giving assuring smiles, with Tinkerbell coming out of her pocket, and Samson giving a thumbs up.)
"Do you believe yourself?" I won't stop til I've won
(Maleficent and Dr. Temna stand together, with Pete and Tears next to them, and a swarm of Heartless and shadowed foes ready to strike.)
A glimpse of that bright future that's just begun!
(Xehanort's maliciously smirking face appears, as he and fifteen others float together in a circle. Screen splits in half as half of Heartless Oberon and Gouxus take the screen, their eyes shining from yellow to violet.)
Shining like a diamond, The emotions in your heart reflect like crystal
(The six heroes team up together, taking down Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed that come across their path with their weapons, skills and magic.)
As we vow an oath that will ignite your light and mine - And we will rise!
(A Demon Tower nearly falls on top of the six, but they get away, with Kirito, Asuna and Sora in the air, performing Soul Bursts and Keyblade transformation, creating Cloud's Buster Sword, Asuna's SAO Lambent Light, and Sora's twin guns, unleashing a sword beam, ice spears, and magic shots as one.)
So many times I've gotten back on my feet to make it to this moment
(A group of dark energy orbs shoots down the trio from a cliff above, hitting them into the ground. The attack comes from Xehanort, Heartless Oberon, and Gouxus.)
It's time our prayer that's waiting in the dark. Is set free so light the spark and let it shine!
(Sora, Asuna and Kirito get back up on their feet, shaking off their injuries, and raising their Keyblades as they charge forward, beams of sunlight shining upon each of them as they all take a leap at the Organization XVI, with their friends, the other heroes, including Roxas, Xion, Recon, Terra, Aqua and Ven, joining them from behind.)
Melromarc, Kingdom City
The first visit once the team left the Realm of Arrival was Naofumi's world. There, they heard a bunch of stories going around town that took place after they left. A couple weeks had passed since they left the world. During that time, the Shield Hero, Naofumi, had recovered from his battle against the Pope of the Three Heroes Church. Not only that, but the king and princess Malty, who were now being called 'Trash' and 'Bitch', were stripped of their royal titles, admonished for their actions, and cleared Naofumi of any false charges placed upon him, including the sexual assault on the ex-princess. He and his party are now genuine heroes, and the church had now changed to the Four Heroes Church, now adding the Shield Hero as one to be honored and respected.
"Seems like things have been taken care of for Naofumi." Sora stated as they wandered through town, "I'm glad he's now a hero to the people."
They approached the church, which had been remodeled since the last time they saw it. The biggest change was the symbol of the church, which had now added the shield with the bow, sword, and spear. "Look! Now a shield is part of the symbol." Goofy noted.
"I just hope Naofumi is not letting this get to his head." Kirito wondered.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Asuna assured him, "Besides, Raphtalia wouldn't let him get that way."
"So were things bad for this hero, kuru?" Candy asked.
"Really bad." Donald answered.
"Worse than you think." Yui added. This made the little fairy look scared.
"Don't worry. He's really nice. And now, everyone knows it." Sora assured Candy.
Just then, they heard someone call out, "Heeeeeey!" They turned to the familiar voice, and saw the large bird Filo appear, carrying a cart as they drew near the team, she came to a halt as in a puff of smoke, Filo reverted to her human form, racing to them. "You guys came back!" She cheered, bounding to Yui, the two hugging each other. A few seconds later, Naofumi and Raphtalia joined them.
"It's been a while." Raphtalia greeted.
"Hey. You came back here?" Naofumi asked.
"Just arrived to see how you are doing." Kirito answered, "Looks like things turned out alright for you."
"Yeah, partly thanks to you guys." Naofumi answered, "Thanks to you dealing with that whole Heartless thing and that Organization guy, I was able to not be looked at with detest by others. And I finally taught Trash and Bitch a hard lesson!"
"Glad you got your revenge." Kirito answered, "If you ask me, they deserve it after all they put you through."
"You don't even know the half of it." Naofumi stated, holding back a chuckle, "Bitch needed an adventurer name, so…"
"Hold on. Better whisper it to us." Kirito told Naofumi, looking to Yui and Candy, "Don't want the kids in our group to hear it." Naofumi obliged, understanding the reason, and whispered her adventurer's name in Kirito and Asuna's ear. They nearly did a spit-take, as it was very inappropriate, but at the same time, fitting.
"Dang, Naofumi, You are lethal! Can't say she didn't deserve it." Kirito stated with a laugh.
"I'm really not comfortable with that name, but I'm glad that now everyone can look at both her and the king as complete fools for putting down the only competent hero." Asuna muttered.
"What? What did he say?" Sora asked.
"You probably don't wanna know." Raphtalia answered. Sora looked to Donald and Goofy, who shrugged.
"Anyways, what brings you to the church?" Kirito asked, looking up at the church.
"I came here to get Raphtalia and Filo upgraded, so they can get stronger." Naofumi answered, "They reached the peak level before, but I couldn't upgrade their classes back when it was the Three Heroes Church."
"So there's a level cap and class-base system in this world?" Kirito asked, "Almost seems like a game."
"Except, it's not." Naofumi responded, his tone showing how serious he was with his words, "There are real people in this world, and they will die if we treat everything like a game. That's why those three other idiots are useless in an actual fight."
"Understandable." Kirito responded, acknowledging that he meant the other three heroes, "Back in the games I played, especially the one Asuna, Yui and I were trapped in, we couldn't treat the world at all like it was a game. Even if they were NPCs, their lives mattered. Same went for the many people stuck in the game with us. Too many lives were lost because of our carelessness, and also letting PKers wander free and murder." Asuna looked down shamefully, admitting that she was just as much at fault at such things as Kirito was.
"Sounds like you guys had it rough, just like I did." Naofumi compared.
"Trust me, I don't think our predicament was as bad as yours." Kirito admitted, "You may have darkness in your heart, but I think you are a far better hero than those other three. Make sure you stay that way, Naofumi."
"Sure. I'll do what I can to stop the Waves so I can get back home." Naofumi answered, "You and your friends make sure to stop that Organization and the Heartless."
"That's our job." Asuna answered.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Naofumi realized, and he pulled up a digital screen, before revealing a shield, which looked very similar to his Legendary Shield. The bigger difference is that its back was made to be held, rather than attached like Naofumi's. Not only that, but there was a dark trimming around the edge. "I wanted to give this to Goofy." He told Kirito, "Filo and Raphtalia actually made me go and get this for you guys."
"A new shield for Goofy?" Kirito asked, as Goofy came up and looked at it.
"We just felt like giving you guys a present." Raphtalia stated, "And since Goofy uses a shield like master Naofumi, we felt you could use one for your journey."
"Oh, boy! Thanks a bunch!" Goofy thanked them, replacing his old shield with the new one.
"From what I can see, it's only a replica, so it doesn't have the versatile powers as Naofumi's Legendary Shield." Yui examined, "But it does have an effect to help you recover magic energy quicker when you run out."
"This was really nice of you." Asuna thanked Naofumi.
"Wasn't my idea. Raphtalia and Filo insisted you guys." He repeated.
"Well, then, we're very grateful." Asuna thanked the two girls, who giggled happily in response. Asuna then thought of an idea, and asked, "Hey, there is one thing I would also like to ask."
"What is it?" Naofumi asked disgruntled.
"If it's not too much of a bother, you wouldn't happen to know any tasty recipes, would you?" The question surprised both teams.
"Uh, Asuna, I do like your cooking, but why are you asking for more recipes?" Kirito asked.
"Well, to help two people." Asuna answered, "Little Chef could use the recipe to expand his culinary horizon at the Bistro, and Premiere wants to try all sorts of new food, right?"
"Oh, yeah! And Premiere says that she can give us experience boosts at the Battle Tower by giving her more kinds of food!" Sora recalled.
"That makes sense, now." Kirito realized.
"So basically, you need to give food to someone for an experience boost at this Battle Tower place, right?" Naofumi asked. Being an otaku for video games, he could see why getting a new recipe would be extremely helpful.
"Is that a problem?" Kirito asked.
"Nah. I can understand how it can help you guys out. Plus, it's no pain off my back." Naofumi then gave a sinister grin as he added, "Plus, if it helps you guys take out those Heartless and get revenge on that Organization guy for making me out as the villain, who am I to stop you from getting stronger."
"Naofumi, stop pushing them." Raphtalia told him.
"It's okay. It's part of our job." Kirito assured her, before turning to Naofumi, "I promise you, our team will totally mop the floor with Sïax." With this final promise, the Naofumi wrote down a couple new recipes for Asuna; a recreation of the stew they made the last time they were here, and a fish skewer recipe that truly showed his Japanese origins.
"Isn't this kind of recipe a bit more casual for the Bistro?" Kirito asked Asuna, indicating the fish skewers, "I'm pretty sure Premiere would like them, but…"
"I thought about that, but I feel like it can still work out." Asuna answered, "The Bistro is more of a traditional French restaurant. But if we add in some traditional Japanese courses, it might change the Bistro to become a more international restaurant."
"That would be pretty amazing! We should sell this idea to Scrooge." Sora suggested.
"If it brings in loads of money, Uncle Scrooge won't say no!" Donald added.
"I would love to come to this Bistro. It sounds really tasty!" Filo exclaimed.
"I wanna go there, too, kuru!" Candy added.
"If we can. It might be pretty difficult to bring Filo, though." Kirito noted. This made Filo a bit sad.
"Don't worry. We can bring something back when we can." Asuna told Filo, who perked back up again.
"Well, if there's nothing else, we should go to the class upgrade." Naofumi told the team.
"Okay. Good luck." Kirito told Naofumi.
"Take care, girls." Asuna told Raphtalia and Filo.
"Best of luck on your journey." Raphtalia answered, as Filo waved goodbye.
"And be on your best behavior." Goofy told Naofumi.
"Right. You only just got everyone's approval of you back." Yui added.
"Can't make any promises, but I'll do my best." Naofumi responded, and he led his party into the church, leaving the team to watch him go.
"I'm glad he's doing okay, now." Sora stated, "He really deserves the title of hero."
"Considering what he has done, I'd say so." Kirito agreed.
"Hey, shouldn't we get going?!" Donald asked.
"Right. Up next, the Battle Tower!" Sora answered, with everyone agreeing with the plan, they left to a more secure location to teleport back to the Swiftwing. Sora gave one last look to Naofumi before they vanished, wishing him the best of luck.
(Author's Note: As I was writing this chapter, the unfortunate news that Naofumi's English Voice Actor, Billy Kametz, had passed away on June 9th at the age of 35 due to stage 4 colon cancer. He was a great voice actor, not to mention that he even took on the role of Aladdin in Aladdin's Musical Spectacular in California Adventure as one of his earlier gigs. Spoiler alert: there are a couple characters he voiced that will be part of SAKIII, but I will not say who. But Rest In Peace, my good sir. You left a great legacy.)
Battle Tower
After about an hour, the team reached their next destination. They arrived on the floating island once more with the huge tower in the center of it. There was one slight difference from the exterior, though. They only noticed it sort of before, but there were ten circular plinths in a straight line diagonally from the front entrance. On one of those plinths, a statue suddenly appeared when there was none before. The statue was that of Tanya, holding her gun, and gave off a cynical expression.
"Hey, is that Tanya?" Sora asked, looking at the statue.
"Looks like beating her earned us a statue of her in honor of our victory." Asuna understood.
"She looks pretty darn evil with that expression on her face." Kirito mentioned, with the others nodding in agreement.
"She is scary, kuru…" Candy muttered, hiding behind Goofy's leg, "Do I have to face someone like her, as well, kuru?"
"Possibly." Kirito answered, "That's part of our life, really. Besides, Heartless and those Akanbe are far scarier… kind of." Candy whimpered, while Kirito thought of the final attacks between him and Tanya in their duel.
"Shouldn't we get going while the food ya made for Premiere is still warm?" Goofy asked Asuna, raising a bag of freshly-cooked food.
"Right. Let's go in." Asuna answered, and the team walked up to the front door.
The door opened up for them, and Premiere stood there, waiting for them. She bowed as she greeted, "Welcome back to the Battle Tower."
"Hey, Premiere." Sora greeted, "Glad to see you again."
"The same to you." She replied, "Are you ready to take on the Battle Tower again?"
"That's why we're here." Kirito answered, "But before that, we brought you something." Goofy handed Premiere the bag of food, and she opened it up, seeing what was within.
"I made more food for you, just as you requested." Asuna told her.
Instead of a response, she walked away from the team, surprising them as she went to a table nearby, sat down, and pulled out the food. "You're welcome!" Donald huffed, offended she didn't even thanked them.
Premiere set out the meal before her, placing her hands together as she said, "Thank you for the meal." She dug into the food, immediately taking a liking to all of it. She polished it off in about fifteen minutes, and turned to the team, saying, "It was a whole new experience of food. I really like it. Thank you."
"We're glad you like it." Asuna replied, as the team looked satisfied with her thanks.
"As part of the deal, I will add an improvement to your experience." Premiere told the team, walking over the main desk, and activating something on the console on it, "There. Those who control souls will gain a boost to their Soul Pact experience, while those who don't gain an experience in their overall level of strength."
"Awesome!" Sora cheered, "We're ready to go."
"Just a moment." Premiere stopped them, coming from behind the desk and approaching the team, "I see you have a new ally in your registered team. A Lost Princess of Heart, perhaps?"
"How did you—?" Donald started, before Asuna immediately responded, "Must've been Gretinal. She sent a message to her."
"I'm Candy, kuru!" The little fairy greeted her.
"A pleasure. I am Premiere, one of the caretakers of the Battle Tower." She bowed to Candy in greeting her.
"So, are there special rules for Candy to follow in the Battle Tower?" Yui asked.
"Correct. You are here for the Princess to gain experience." The young girl assumed, "She will be categorized alongside those who cannot control souls, so she will gain experience to her overall level of strength. However, she is not allowed to partake in boss battles, so she will stay behind when you reach those floors."
"That's reasonable enough." Kirito understood.
"Very good. Now, are you ready to take on floors 11 through 20?" Premiere asked.
"If we weren't, we would never come here." Sora answered.
Premiere didn't seem to respond for a few seconds, before cocking her head like she didn't understand what Sora meant. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Yui, and Candy all cocked their heads in mimicking her movements, wondering why she wasn't getting it. Kirito intervened by telling her, "That means we're ready to go."
"Oh, I see." Premiere understood, "Okay, then follow me." She led the team to the elevator, everyone cramming inside, before Premiere made the elevator move up to the next floor above where they left off.
The doors opened up, and the seven combatants stepped out onto the battlefield, the door closing behind them. "Okay, Candy. This is your first actual experience in fighting opponents yourself." Asuna told the little fairy, "Are you ready to go?"
"I am ready to go, kuru!" Candy answered, summoning her Brace Knuckles to the battlefield, and prepping herself to fight.
"It would be helpful for us if she learned about how to fight with her fist weapons if we use fists, as well." Kirito assumed, "So I'll go into Snow's Soul Pact for the fight."
"Good idea. I can either use Cure Beat's or Tifa's Soul Pacts for me." Asuna added, "Since we get the experience boost, I'll use my latter Soul Pact for the boost in experience."
Suddenly, multiple Heartless appeared before the team, and they prepped themselves to fight. "Floor 11 battle… begin!" the announcer shouted, and the team launched themselves into battle, with Kirito entering Snow's Soul Pact and Asuna into Tifa's Soul Pact right off the bat.
Candy was familiar with the Heartless at this point, but fighting them was still very different. She was petite, and not that fast. Fortunately, her new garments provided a great amount of endurance, while her fists weapons packed a wallop. Donald, Goofy, Yui, and Sora both did their part fighting off their Heartless, while Kirito and Asuna aided Candy in learning hand-to-hand combat with their fist-fighting style Soul Bursts.
When the floor was cleared, they exited to the elevator, going up to the next floor. "I had no idea how Happy and the other Pretty Cure were able to fight like this, kuru…" Candy panted.
"You'll get use to fighting." Kirito assured her, "It's not that easy, but in due time, your body will be able to adapt."
They reached the 12th floor, exited it, and continued fighting. Yui decided to go into her 'Soul Burst: Second Form', and used the boost to experience with that Soul Burst. Everyone continued the fight as they unleashed all they could, conquering it.
The routine was the same until they reached the 16th floor. Asuna was demonstrating Tifa's Advance Burst: Premium Hearts. She was dealing even more devastating attacks than before, and unleashed more techniques than her base form, which included techniques such as Meteodrive, Burning Arrow, Rolling Blaze, and Meteor Crusher.
"Meteors and flames?" Kirito asked, after seeing Asuna use Meteodrive again, kicking an opponent up with her legs before pursuing them and slamming them back to the ground, "Asuna certainly has a strong close combat form with Tifa's Soul Pact."
"Yeah. I'll never want to fight her when she gets this intense." Sora admitted.
Asuna finished up the Wild Oni, before her eyes lit up, and she faded out of reality.
Next second, she appeared on her Station of Awakening once more, with Tifa standing in front of her again.
"You really are pulling off some incredible wins, Asuna." Tifa acknowledged.
"Thanks, Tifa. Your Soul Burst really brings out some strength." Asuna responded, "I bet you trained really hard to get that strong, right?"
"Absolutely. I decided to train myself after Cloud left to become a SOLDIER." Tifa responded, "He was my childhood friend, and someone who I became close to. But then, Sephiroth destroyed my home, and after some time, I became part of Avalanche in order to destroy Shinra. Cloud reappeared as a mercenary for hire, though his personality and memories completely changed since we last met."
"That's pretty sad." Asuna responded, "I didn't have childhood friends growing up like you did. My mother was strict with me, trying to make me financially successful in life by studying really hard and such, so I never had time to gain friends. Course, she never told me that I was really from an entirely different world, and magically appeared at their doorsteps when I was a baby."
"Well…that's a pretty interesting start." Tifa answered, and both girls giggled at this.
"Seems to me like Cloud is someone you care for a lot." Asuna stated, "Be honest, do you love him?"
Tifa paused for a moment, before she answered, "I wouldn't say that I don't have feelings for him. However, I'm not sure if he is interested in relationships. He did have someone else in his life, who was a friend and rival. A girl named Aerith."
"I know her, as well." Asuna recalled the young lady in Radiant Garden, "She is very sweet person, but really serious to the point that not even the most stoic people can stop her. She has helped us so many times."
"That definitely Aerith." Tifa giggled, "So she's alive in your world. That's good."
"You mean…" Asuna realized in a shocked manner, reading the words she said that led her to what happened to Tifa's Aerith.
"Sephiroth was responsible to what happened to her, and Cloud still hasn't completely let go after what happened." Tifa explained, "But she isn't truly gone. She's part of the Lifestream, helping us whenever we need it."
"I can understand that feeling." Asuna stated, recalling the times Yuuki aided her in times of need. Course, this was before realizing she was actually alive and well in Twilight Town.
"I am kinda jealous of you and Kirito." Tifa admitted, "You two are so close."
"Well, Kirito is not too far off from Cloud's character." Asuna compared, "I bet when you find the right time, you can tell your feelings to him. It worked for me, and I know it can work for you."
"Thanks, Asuna. I'll keep that in mind." Tifa answered as everything went white around them.
Next second, Asuna was back in the battle again, smiling as she thought of what happened, before Kirito appeared and slashed away an Air Soldier that nearly got to her. "Watch yourself, Asuna!" Kirito shouted to her.
"Sorry." Asuna apologized, "Just had a conversation with Tifa."
"Yeah, I kinda figured." Kirito understood, "Should probably boost my Soul Burst with Cloud and my Second Form, then. Care to help out Candy with her training?"
"She's actually getting better." Asuna noticed, seeing Candy join with Goofy as she hopped off his shield, and leapt at an Air Soldier, delivering a one-two punch that knocked it out of the sky. She landed on her feet, but stumbled and fell on her back, causing Goofy to step in and slam his shield down on the Air Soldier to defeat it.
"Still needs a little more practice." Kirito noted. Asuna nodded in agreement, and they went back into the fight.
The team continued the fight, climbing up the Battle Tower with each battle, gaining more experience, especially Candy. As they continued fighting, the little fairy was able to learn both from the combat itself, as well as the lessons from both Asuna and Kirito in their fist-style Soul Bursts. She was able to gain great amount of experience from the Battle Tower.
"You're really doing amazing!" Sora praised Candy after they finished the 19th floor.
"It's a lot of fun to do this, kuru." Candy replied, "I'm always on the sidelines, cheering them on unless they need my help unleashing powerful attacks, kuru. But I never get the chance to fight like this, kuru!"
"I just hope you don't get too use to fighting." Yui prayed.
"Yeah. All we want to do is protect the light in people's hearts." Sora told Candy, "We don't want to start fights."
"I know that, kuru." Candy agreed, "I just want to have fun with all of our friends, and be helpful to them any way I can, kuru."
"And we appreciate that, Candy." Asuna assured her as they entered the elevator, "And we are glad to have you on the team." Candy looked pleased at the praise as the elevator closed, and they ascended.
"Need I remind you that in the next battle, you are unable to assist in the six's fight." Premiere reminded Candy.
"Right. The next opponent is a boss." Kirito reminded himself, "I wonder if it's someone like Tanya?"
"We'll just have to find out when we get there." Asuna answered.
When the reached the next floor, the 20th floor, the six heroes stepped out of the elevator, with the elevator closing behind them. However, from Candy and Premiere's perspective, they were able to witness everything that was taking place in the field like there was no door there. Candy looked worried as the six heroes looked around.
"Hey, why is there a sky in here?" Donald asked, looking up at the ceiling. The team did so, and were surprised. For some reason, the area above them looked like a sky was high above them, even though they knew they were inside.
"What's going on here?" Asuna asked.
"Don't tell me there is another airborne opponent?" Kirito questioned, looking at the air. In this arena, an airborne target would have a huger advantage than on the 10th floor.
"Now awaiting the challengers." the announcer called out.
Suddenly, a golden portal opened up before them, the design of which surprised the heroes. Suddenly, six characters came out of it, all of them didn't look like they could fly, but all looked young.
The first was a young man in his mid-teens, with short brown hair and golden eyes. He wore a blue, brown and gold gear that looked sort of designed for salvaging in watery depths, a device with an anchor on his left arm, and a diving helmet that hung on his back. He also had a green x-shaped gem attached to his chest.
The second was beautiful young girl, with short red hair in a bob-like cut, a gold and green-gemmed tiara on her head, and red eyes. Her attire was a short red and black armor with gold and green pieces on it, exposing skin in the back, hugging her hourglass figure. The rest of her attire was black fingerless gloves, armored red thigh-high boots, red short-shorts, a long multicoloured reverse drape scarf-like cape. Above her chest was a green piece that looked sort of like a crucifix, with an X-shaped hole that was the same size as the X-shaped gem on the boy.
The third was a girl around the other girl's age, though a bit shorter, with silver hair that reached her neck, and cat-like ears sticking out of it, showing she was not human. She had amber eyes, and whiskers on her face that reminded Kirito of Argo's whiskers. She wore a yellow one piece jumpsuit with a white and red-trimmed hoodie on it, white armor plates around her chest and upper arms, and a brown utility belt around her hips, which held daggers. Her boots were armored, red and white, while her leggings were wide and coned, decorated in black and white, extending past her knees around the front and around her calves from the back.
The fourth character was a tiger-like creature, thick white fur, and blue eyes. Gold and blue armor pieces decorated his feet and chest, with a blue gem that looked like a claw on his chest, while twin ring-like bladed weapons were attached on his shoulders.
The fifth reminded the team of a very fat version of Candy. It was a chubby creature, about half the size of the other human figures around him, long ears that wrapped down close to its belly, and stubby hands and feet. Its body composed of brown and orange feathers, with a mohawk-like tuft on his head, where a pair of goggles were, and dark brown eyes. It wore denim dungarees, a purple belt with a gold buckle, and purple cases on the belts and dungarees to carry stuff. He even had a wrench visibly on its person.
The final character was a little girl that looked around Yui's age, though based on appearances, she was clearly robotic. She had short purple hair that was hidden by a white and red-trimmed cap with a red ribbon, pale skin, and orange eyes. Her attire, or rather, her body, was completely metal, black and grey armor, bolted together, clunky limbs, with orange energy coursing about in parts of it. She had black pantaloons, a red cape with a lily on its lapel, and a shield-like weapon attached to her back. She also had an orange gem on her chest, similar to the red-head and the tiger.
"They look…different from Tanya and her soldiers." Sora compared.
"Yeah, and they look weird." Donald added, seeing some of the characters.
"Gee, they kinda remind me of our gang." Goofy compared.
"I guess. They do seem pretty diverse." Kirito noted, "But I can tell they are seasoned fighters."
"I can tell, too." Asuna admitted, "Especially that boy and girl in front."
Meanwhile, from the other six's perspective, they looked around the place. "What is this place?" The boy asked, looking around, "Where did the Nopon Sage take us to this time?"
"Rex, I can't tell where this place is." The young lady told the boy, "But I am getting this weird feeling around here."
"Well, maybe we should ask those folks up ahead." the tiger suggested, looking at Team Keybladers ahead.
"They don't look like the normal folk to me." The cat-eared girl next to him.
"Meh meh! They all dress kinda funny." the pudgy creature noted.
"Two of them don't appear normal." The robot girl added, "Perhaps they are Blades like Poppi?"
A few seconds after the portal closed up behind them, the announcer spoke up. "Heroes and heroines of Alrest, led by the Aegis and her Driver, I welcome you to my Battle Tower. You are here, as I asked permission by your Nopon Sage, to take on the challenge against these six competitors to see who is the strongest group of adventurers and fighters there are! Sora, Asuna, Kirito, Donald, Goofy, and Yui…" The said heroes made their gestures of greeting the group.
"…Versus Rex and Pyra, Nia and Dromarch, and Tora and Poppi." the announcer finished, which caused the six to be rather surprised at how well she knew their names.
"So you guys are heroes, too?" Sora asked, "Great to meet you!"
"The same." the boy named Rex answered, "I can't wait to see how strong you are."
"Trust us, we're no pushovers." Asuna told them as the team summoned out their weapons for battle.
"Neither are we. Right, Pyra?!" Rex responded, as the girl named Pyra summoned out a fiery-looking blade, and tossed to Rex, who caught it. He then activated the blade, which emanated a green energy, forming the blade.
"You got it, Rex." She replied, glowing as she started to channel energy to Rex. At the same time, the cat-eared girl named Nia was tossed the twin rings by the tiger named Dromarch, whereas the chubby creature named Tora was given the shield by the robot girl named Poppy, which turned out to have a drill on the center of the shield.
"Whoever wins or loses won't matter. You will be healed at the end of the match, so do not hold anything back." The announcer called out, "So show me how strong you all are, and let the match begin!"
Rex lunged in first, doing a leaping slash which Sora caught with his Keyblade, causing a shockwave that he braced hard against. Sora grimaced, realizing the strength Rex had with his weapon, and was forced to one knee. However, Asuna came in and thrusted her Keyblade into Rex's shoulder, knocking him back. Oddly enough, Pyra also felt the attack, and braced the same part on her body as Rex.
"Sora, let's fight these two together, okay?" Asuna told Sora, who nodded in agreement as he rose to his feet, "There are six of us, and six of them. They're paired up together, so we should do the same!"
"Understood." Kirito responded. He looked to one side, and already saw Tora and Poppi going towards Goofy and Yui, the two shield fighter clashing against each other, before Yui came around and attempted to slash the spongy creature. "Guess they have them." Kirito muttered as Donald came to his side, "Which leaves us with…" He looked to Nia and Dromarch, the former brandishing the ring bladed weapons.
"Okay, Dromarch. Let's show 'em what we're capable of doing!" Nia told him.
"Of course, my lady." Dromarch responded.
"This should be no problem!" Donald answered.
"We don't know what they are capable of doing, Donald. Be on guard." Kirito counter-argued, preparing as Nia leapt forward, and spun as she brandished her weapons.
Back in the first fight, Sora was trading blades with Rex, the two countering each other with each blow. Asuna tried to get from behind and thrust her blade at him, only for it to bounce off a barrier that was summoned out of nowhere. "What?!" Asuna gasped, seeing the barrier, before turning to Pyra. She wasn't fighting, but she held out her palms towards Rex's direction, her body glowing as she did so. 'What is she doing?' Asuna asked, before backing of as Rex did a spinning slash that forced both her and Sora away from him, 'It looks like…she's channeling energy towards him. Is that how he produced a barrier? In that case…'
"Sora, keep him distracted!" Asuna shouted, before charging at Pyra.
Rex turned to Asuna, and saw where she was going. "Pyra!" He called out, but got stopped as Sora came from behind. He turned and blocked the attack from him, stumbling backwards.
Pyra turned to see Asuna, as she shouted, "I see your game!" Asuna swung and thrusted her Keyblade at her, but Pyra was able to evade her attacks, trying not to get hit.
"Hold on!" Rex shouted, finding an opening to back off from a swing from Sora. He pointed his anchor at Sora, and it took the form of a grappling hook as he shot it at him, hooking him at the leg, and threw him off his feet. He then turned and threw his sword at Pyra, who instinctively grabbed it and blocked Asuna's attack. The two engaged in their own clash as well, Pyra adding in a fiery element into her swings as their duel continued.
"Aquastrike!" Asuna shouted, pulling back her Keyblade and unleashing a water-infused thrust with her weapon. Pyra tried to parry, but got struck right in the stomach, and was knocked back. At the same time, Rex also felt the attack, and doubled over. 'Again with that synchronized damage.' Asuna noticed, 'When he got struck by Sora, Pyra felt it. When I hit Pyra, the reverse happened.'
Asuna looked to Kirito and Donald's fight, as Kirito was blocking against Nia's assortment of strikes, before he managed to knock the weapons away, and struck Nia down. Dromarch didn't feel the damage, but ended up getting hit by a Fire spell from Donald, which Nia didn't react to.
The same went with Tora and Poppi, as Yui was unleashing a storm of slashes with her fan, with providing barriers to block it. However, she backed off as Goofy did a charging bash into Tora, who tried to whack him away, and ended up being overpowered instead. Like Nia and Dromarch, the damage done to Tora didn't affect Poppi.
"You two are different from the other pairings." Asuna noticed as Sora and Pyra got to their feet again, "Attacking one hurts the other as well. Why is that?"
Pyra and Rex looked to each other, amazed that she was figuring that out so quickly. Pyra finally answered, "It's because Rex almost died when he first met me, but I saved him by sharing my Core with him." She was indicating the gem on her chest. Sora was amazed as he looked to Rex, seeing the gem on his chest, as well. They practically looked like they should be one gem.
"So, Pyra saved your life?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. I owe everything to her that day." Rex answered, "And everything afterwards, since I met her…has been fantastic!"
Sora and Asuna looked to one another, before the pair smiled. Despite how strong the fight seem to be, they couldn't help but feel warm from his words. "I know that feeling. Since the day I met Kirito, my life has been so much brighter than before." Asuna admitted.
"With every person that became part of my life, starting with Riku and Kairi, then Donald and Goofy, and Kirito, Asuna and Yui, my life has gotten so much better." Sora stated. Suddenly, his head flashed, as for a millisecond, it flashed back to Philia back in Resolute Oasis. Surprised, wondering why he thought of her, he shook his head, and continued to smile.
"Guess meeting the people that mean the most to us in our lives has made life worth living, eh?" Rex stated, looking to Pyra, who smiled, nodding in agreement at this statement. "In that case…" Rex and Pyra came close together, standing back to back as they each looked to Sora and Asuna, "…We'd better see who really is the stronger team!"
"Don't hold back, because we certainly won't." Pyra warned them.
"Trust me. We wouldn't dream of it!" Asuna answered.
"Yeah. With our hearts bonded, we're unbeatable!" Sora declared, getting into his fighter's stance, before he and Asuna charged at the pair together. The difference before is that now, all four of them had smiles on their faces. They knew that there was no animosity between the combatants.
Meanwhile, Kirito and Nia's battle was still strong. Kirito was figuring out Nia's fighting style, already noticing the energy Dromarch was feeding her. Donald was coming in to fight any way he could, dealing damage any way he could, but constantly backing off due to Nia's vigorous fighting style. 'I'm getting the hang of their techniques.' Kirito mentally told himself, 'She does light attacks, though they are swift. However, her skills are in healing. She takes a lot of hits, but with that white tiger, she recovers. What's more, that tiger provides defensive barriers. I wonder if…'
Kirito grabbed Donald by the collar and leapt up to evade a slash from Nia. "What are you doing?!" Donald demanded, struggling to break free.
"Listen, Donald." Kirito spoke quietly to not allow Nia and Dromarch from hearing, "I have a theory on how we can weaken them. If they are close, then they are strong. So let's distance them from one another. Can you handle the white tiger?" Donald looked to the said beast, before nodding in response.
"Kay, then let's go!" Kirito declared, letting go of Donald as they descended towards the opponents, Donald charging up flames into his staff, before slamming a fire spell onto the ground right between Nia and Dromarch, causing them to back off. Kirito landed just a millisecond later, turning to Nia, and with a slash, sent her flying away from Dromarch.
"My lady!" Dromarch called out, attempting to go after her, only to have Donald interfere with his path.
Kirito, meanwhile, leapt toward Nia, who recovered as she saw Kirito come at her, and braced herself by blocking his charge with her weapons. As they struggled, she saw the distance the two put between her and her Blade, before growling, "Trying to pull a sneaky separation, are we?"
"Divide and conquer. Kinda of a simple strategy, right?" Kirito asked.
"It's gonna take a lot more than that to put us down!" Nia snapped, before the two continued their battle.
At this time, Yui and Goofy were putting Tora and Poppi through the ropes. Tora was a decent fighter, and quite a tank to the pair's attacks. The attacks the two were dealing out were pretty straight-forward, and very similar to Goofy's style of fighting, with the difference being that a drill would pop out of the center of the shield.
"Meh-meh! You two aren't enough to beat Tora and Poppi!" Tora called out on the pair as he and Goofy pressed their shields against one another, trying to push the other away.
"We still got some tricks up our sleeves!" Goofy responded.
"Like right here!" Yui shouted, "Soul Burst: Yuna!" Yui produced her Keyblade, summoning the power of Yuna once more, before she dove into her Keyblade, transforming into the magic staff again. She then summoned out Valefor, who came out of a magic circle next to her, and they took their stand together with Goofy.
"Meh-meh?!" Tora gasped, surprised to see this new transformation.
Yui hopped onto Valefor's back, and they took to the sky as her Eidolon unleashed razor-sharp energy winds at Tora and Poppi damaging both of them and causing the two to fumble backwards together.
"What in Alrest?!" Nia gasped, taking a moment away from her duel with Kirito to see the monster Yui rode on. This was a mistake, as she left herself vulnerable to an attack by Kirito, knocking her back.
"I've never seen a creature like that before!" Rex noted, standing back to back with his red-headed companion.
"Neither have I, and we've seen a lot." Pyra mentioned.
"So have we." Asuna answered, "You'd be surprised by how much we've seen and had to deal with."
"Yeah? We've been through a lot ourselves." Rex stated, turning to his companion, "Pyra, switch with Mythra!"
"Got it!" Pyra answered.
While Asuna and Sora looked confused, Pyra closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, in a glittering of lights, Pyra transformed to a brand new form. This new form only had two things similar to her previous form; the figure and the gem on her chest. Apart from that, her hair was long and blonde, with a tiara on top, and she had golden eyes. She wore a short white dress with numerous golden and green ornaments, though there was a cleavage window on her dress. She has two green symmetrical crosses on her chest armor, and coattails behind her. Her limb attire was complete reverse to what it was before; her arms were far more armored than her legs, which only had a single band piece on her right thigh, and armored short-ankled boots.
What's more, the sword that Rex wielded transformed, becoming a different-looking form, and exchanged the red colors with white.
"What in the heck?!" Asuna gasped.
"Whoa! That girl changed!" Sora followed up in shock.
"Guess there's no need to hold back, huh?" The blonde-haired girl asked.
"Nope. These guys are really strong, so we need to show 'em what we can do together, Mythra!" Rex declared, readying his sword, charging up the energy within.
"Mythra?" Sora echoed, "I thought it was Pyra."
"I don't think so." Asuna replied, glaring at the girl, "I'm only guessing here, and it seems bizarre, but I think there are two different characters in that one body. There might be more than that, so let's go on the offense!"
Sora and Asuna charged in at the pair, ready to strike, but they felt something emanate off of Mythra. As they went in for the strike, Rex was able to block and dodge their attacks, before slashing at the both of them hard, knocking them over.
"That hurt…" Sora muttered.
"What was that?" Asuna asked, "I almost felt like our movements were being read."
"Then, let's hit them with things they can't dodge!" Sora declared, switching to the Shooting Star Keyblade, before firing off Fire spells at Rex.
Asuna nodded in understanding, and switched to a new Keyblade she gained from the Precure world. It suddenly appeared in her pocket after they left the world. She swapped to reveal the Miracle Smile Keyblade. The hilt was a pink, white and gold, with a feathery guard similar to the Precure shoulder-guards, and a ribbon decor on the front. The shaft and end of the Keyblade was very similar to the candlestick wands that the girls used in their Princess forms, with the teeth being a white feathery wing that had the theme colors of the five Precure on it. The keychain on the back was a gold chain, with the Smile Precure symbol on a gold medallion at the end.
As Rex deflected Sora's magic, she concentrated at Rex and Mythra, gathering her focus and shouting, "Shotlock: Rainbow Healing!" Her Keyblade shined brightly, as multiple rainbow-colored streams shot towards the targets, being Rex and Mythra.
The two were startled. "Mythra!" Rex shouted.
"Got it! Another Foresight!" She called back. From their perspective, a dome-like film of energy filled the area around them, and they saw Asuna's Shotlock coming in. It looked like it was gonna hit them directly if they didn't move. Rex and Mythra made a jump skyward to avoid the attack. What they didn't expect is the light to suddenly pursue them as they leapt upwards, getting peppered away by the attack, harming the two of them. They fell to the ground, injured by Asuna's attack.
"Her attack followed us?!" Rex questioned in shock, struggling to his feet with his Blade.
"Even with my Foresight, we couldn't avoid it!" Mythra grimaced.
"Rex! Mythra!" Nia called out, looking onward to see the two were overwhelmed.
"Eyes on here!" Kirito shouted, bringing his Keyblade down on her weapons, causing her to be pushed back. She looked to Dromarch, seeing him unable to get to her side due to his feet frozen by Donald's Blizzard spell.
"No choice here!" Nia grimaced, "I'd better act!" Using her reflexes, she leapt high from Kirito's next swing. He looked up to see her toss her ring weapons at Dromarch, who saw them coming, and with his power, telekinetically brought them close to his side. Kirito was bewildered at what she was doing, until she started to glow, her appearance completely transforming before his eyes.
A second later, Kirito her appearance had become something less Cait Sith like, and something that made Kirito think of a kitsune. However, her hair was longer, styled in twin tails, held by red roping, and her ears became longer, pointier, and decorated. Her attire became more like a miko outfit, white, gold, and red, with a kite-shaped gem on her chest, blue with red blotches, white gloves, thigh-high boots with a single gold spike on each toe. She even produced a sword, which glowed with an energy like the other weapons, and it had flowers going down it.
"What in the?!" Kirito gasped, seeing her transformation. She landed on her feet, and dashed towards Mythra and Rex. "Get back here!" Kirito shouted, racing towards her, only for her to swish her blade to unleash a watery slash that Kirito stopped to block.
"Rex!" Nia shouted, coming to his side, and unleashing a dome of energy surrounding them. Sora and Asuna were surprised at both her appearance, before realizing that the energy she was exuding was healing their injuries.
"She's healing them, Sora!" Asuna realized, dashing in. Sora immediately noticed and raced with her to stop them. Unfortunately, Nia's healing was quick enough to restore them, and both she and Mythra joined together, and blocked their slashes.
At the same, Rex turned to see Kirito appear, and used his grappling hook to stop him. Kirito blocked as the Keyblade got intertwined in it. The two tugged on each other, before Kirito dismissed his Keyblade, leaving the grappling hook loose. He resummoned it again, and unleashed a Blizzard spell at Rex, who blocked with his arm, freezing it.
"Hold on!" Mythra shouted to Rex, shoving Sora, and unleashing a lightning flash set of slashes to slash him away, before she glowed and switched to Pyra again, coming to Rex's side. She conjured up flames, and embraced them on the frozen part of Rex's arm, melting it away.
"Thanks, Pyra." Rex thanked her.
"They're more versatile than we expected." Asuna stated, looking as she and Nia locked blades.
"We're not gonna make it easy for you!" Nia responded, as she backed off and stood next to Rex and Pyra, Rex taking the latter's sword and readying himself to fight.
Kirito suddenly heard Donald, Goofy, and Yui cry out, and turned to them. Donald was knocked back as Dromarch unleashed a water-elemented roar with the power of the twin rings. At the same time, Goofy, Yui and Valefor were flung back by explosives, and Kirito, looking to their pair, saw why. Tora was not using a shield, but instead arm cannon weapons on its ears. Behind him, the robot had changed.
It was now more humanoid, though the limbs and the legs were still very robotic. Not only that, but she gained a growth spurt, becoming more teen-like, with her 'hairstyle' now twin tails. Her attire was a stereotypical maid outfit, with a red bow and a cog-flower decoration.
"Meh-meh! Have a taste of Poppi QT!" Tora shouted, "Let's go!"
"Roger, roger, Masterpon." Poppit answered, as she was given the arm cannons, revealing rockets from the forearms, firing at the two. Fortunately, Yui had Valefor grab Goofy, and the two flew upwards to avoid the majority of the damage.
"How many transformations do these guys have?!" Kirito questioned.
"Focus, Kirito!" Asuna called out to him, getting his attention.
"Go help the others! We'll handle these guys!" Sora called out, as he and Asuna prepared to face the trio.
'Right. They can handle them for the time being!' Kirito told himself, 'Better focus on the one easiest to handle, and gather ourselves together!' With that, he charged at Dromarch, shouting, "Soul Armament!" His body shined as he went into Snow's Soul Armament. He then channeled the ice-imbued energy into his Keyblade, and unleashed a Sonic Leap Sword Skill, knocking him back before he could do anything more.
"Waaah, I'll show you!" Donald roared, getting next to Kirito, and the two pursued Dromarch.
Yui and Goofy were already dealing with the new version of their adversary, who unleashed all sorts of attacks, depending on what form Poppi was in. Her 'Alpha' form was more of the defensive form for herself and Tora, while the 'QT' form had her more offense and evasive skills. Goofy was making sure Yui was able to guard against attacks, while unleashing his own offense, while Yui unleashed full offense with her Valefor.
"I feel it!" Yui shouted, her body and her Eidolon glowing, "Advance Burst: Grand Summoning!" Yui staff transformed, becoming the even stronger Nirvana staff. Valefor vanished, but she spun around to reveal many magic circle that contained all of her Eidolons, before they vanished.
She landed on the ground, before dashing at Tora, creating a magic circle right next to her. Out of it came a creature that looked unicorn-esque, but was generating electricity from its body. "Go, Ixion!" Yui shouted, waving her staff forward. It charged in and unleashed an electric waves at Tora and Poppi Alpha. Tora tried to endure, but he still took a bit of damage.
"Meh! Tora doesn't like giant horned beast one bit!" Tora exclaimed, tossing the shield to Poppi, who then activated the drill on it.
"Noponic Storm!" Poppi shouted, unleashing a cyclone from the drill, aiming at Yui. Goofy intercepted by using his shield to endure the attack, and Yui braced herself against Goofy to help him out.
"I can't hold out much longer!" Goofy exclaimed.
"Don't worry! I got it!" Yui answered, raising Nirvana up, and unleashing another magic circle, switching out Ixion for another character; a icy-blue skinned woman with braided hair. "Shiva, Heavenly Strike!" Yui called out. Shiva responded by creating a chunk of ice high above Tora and Poppi, sending it crashing down onto the two of them. They got knocked away by her attack, with Tora tumbling towards them.
"We got you now! Bahamut!" Yui commanded, swapping out Shiva with another Eidolon, a dragonic-like monster from a magic circle. "Impulse!" Yui commanded. Bahamut then unleashed a pulse of energy from its body, blasting Tora, and sending him crashing into Poppi.
"Nice going, Yui!" Goofy cheered.
"Glad to have you on defense, Goofy!" Yui responded.
"No time to pat each other on the back, guys!" Kirito called out, as Dromarch was sent tumbling next to the rising Poppi and Tora. Kirito and Donald joined their side, prepared to face the pair.
"Poppi won't give up!" Poppi declared, taking her shield and, in a whirl of her red cloak, transformed to her secondary form.
"Well said, Poppi!" Tora responded as Poppi tossed her arm cannons to him.
"I agree. We must gird ourselves against these opponents." Dromarch finished. The trio readied to continue the fight, while Kirito, Yui, Donald, and Goofy prepped themselves to continue.
At the same time, Sora and Asuna were holding their own against the trio of Rex, Nia, and the unison of both Pyra and Mythra. It was a challenge, as they had the power of water, fire, and light-elemented attacks on them.
"Flame Nova!" Pyra shouted, circling her sword before unleashing a pulse of flames around her, forcing Sora to go on the defense and block the attack.
"Merciful Heart!" Nia shouted, slashing her blade to unleashing a stream of geysers following Pyra's attack, trying to break through Sora's defenses.
"Aquastrike!" Asuna roared, leaping over Sora to unleash a water-infused thrust of her Keyblade, countering the attack, and nullifying both attacks.
"Ray of Punishment!" Asuna heard from above, and saw Mythra had replaced Pyra, and she unleashed a blast of light at Asuna and Sora, blasting them backwards.
The two got back up on their feet again, grimacing as they looked the trio, while Rex got Mythra's blade back, and the trio launched forward. Asuna and Sora looked at each other, nodded in understanding, and leapt high as Rex swung at them. He then looked up as Sora and Asuna channeled energy into the Keyblades they held close to their faces, unleashing their 'Sonic Star' Team Attack, conjuring up stars around them, and sending them falling towards their three opponents. Nia produced a barrier to endure the attacks, while Mythra activated Foresight with Rex. While they were able to get around a lot of the stars, they did end up getting hit by a couple. This was followed by Sora and Asuna's Keyblade turning blue, lunging forward down onto them, not only causing the two to fly, but also broke Nia's barrier.
Rex and his party got back up as the duo stood there, with Sora shouting, "See that?! We're about to get serious, too!"
"No joke." Nia grimaced, straightening herself out, and creating a healing wave around herself, Rex and Mythra.
"Heal!" Asuna shouted, raising her Keyblade high and healing the two of them with Cure, "We can heal up to. And just to let you know we're just getting started."
"Formchange: Double Arrowgun!" Sora shouted, transforming his Keyblade into twin pistols.
"Soul Burst: Tifa Lockhart!" Asuna shouted, "And Soul Armament!" Asuna's Keyblade shined as the image of Tifa Lockhart appeared while her garments shined, and both transformed, her knuckle weapons underneath the armor of Lightning's Soul Armament. "Not exactly a matching combo, but Lightning's Armament does give me benefits." Asuna stated, before charging in at Nia, while Sora shot magic bullets from his guns for cover fire.
"Heads up, Rex!" Mythra shouted, channeling energy into Rex's weapon as he swung at the oncoming fist-fighting knight. He did a double circular spin with his blade, but Asuna flipped over it, and went into a kick at Nia, who barely blocked it. However, thanks to her armor, her kick was Thunder-elemented, and shocked the kitsune girl, stopping her for a moment to give Asuna a combo set of punches and kicks, before unleashing a somersault that knocked her back. Rex and Mythra were too busy blocking Sora's shots to get a chance to protect her, and were pinned down.
"You'll pay for that!" Nia shouted, before retaliating with swings of her own, engaging in a sword vs. fist fight with Asuna.
"Lets get in close, and I'll switch to Pyra when we get in!" Mythra told Rex.
"Yeah, let's do that!" Rex shouted, racing in towards Sora, dancing around the magic shots as best as he could before coming close to Sora as Pyra replaced Mythra, before slamming his sword onto Sora, who instantly swapped his guns to his Kingdom Key Keyblade, and endured the attack.
'Best save that when I can use them…' Sora told himself, before going into another clash with Rex.
Back with the others, Yui had just came out of her Soul Burst. Tora had just punched back Kirito and Donald as he shouted, "Poppi QT, activate Quixotic Megaburst!"
He tossed the weapons to Poppi, who answered, "Understood! Target locked on!" She held out the arm cannons from the sides, and from the backs of the wrist parts, it opened up to reveal itself to be a missile launcher. "Weapons system standing by!" She informed Tora.
"I'll stop it!" Donald shouted, ready to unleash magic, but Dromarch came in and used his twin ring weapons, roaring through them as he blasted Donald away before he had a chance to strike. It even reached the others and placed them on the defense.
"This isn't good!" Yui cried out.
"No kidding!" Kirito grimaced.
"Hey, fellas. I have an idea!" Goofy exclaimed, "Let's do the Trinity Tower!"
"Right, like how we did with mama!" Yui recalled.
"Then let's do it now!" Kirito declared, and the trio unified their energy to perform their Team Attack. Kirito instinctively hopped onto Goofy's shoulders, followed by Yui hopping onto his shoulders. Goofy straightened himself upwards, and the trio got their balance in place. Goofy had his shield at the ready as Yui poured magic into her fan and threw it forwards. Dromarch and Tora thought the fan would hit them, but instead it boomeranged back to the trio, catching Goofy's shield, and sent them in a tornado spin.
"Quite an unusual attack." Dromarch stated.
"Meh-meh! It make Tora dizzy!" Tora exclaimed, "Poppi, fry them like Tasty Sausages!"
"Roger, Masterpon!" Poppi answered, "Quizotic Megaburst!" She fired a volley of missiles at the trio, who were unable to dodge.
"Now!" Yui cried, and the trio unleashed the gathered winds they had, and unleashed a gust that not only protected them against the missiles, but made them misfire. As in, they ended up scooped into their winds, and started circling around them.
"Meh-meh?!" Tora exclaimed in shock.
"How is that possible!" Dromach questioned.
"Imminent danger!" Poppi cried out as the Trinity Tower got close to them, missiles at hand. She reverted back to her alpha form, and tossed Tora a shield. The trio braced for impact, as the Trinity Tower connected with them. The missiles ignited, and they exploded.
"Everyone, kuru!" Candy cried out from behind the elevator. Donald raised his head to watch what had happened Even the other battle stopped to see the explosion take place.
"Tora!" Rex shouted to him.
"Kirito!" Asuna cried out.
"What in the hell happened?!" Nia questioned.
When the smoke cleared, the team witnessed the six that were caught in the explosion were knocked out from the fight. Tora and Poppi had spirals in their eyes. Dromach got his fur singed pretty badly as he was crumpled to the floor. Goofy looked like he was halfway through a reverse roll. Yui ended knocked into the wall nearby. Kirito was struggling to get up on his hands and knees.
"It would seem about half of the contestants have been taken out." Premiere noted.
"Kirito's trying to get back up…" Asuna muttered, "We can't wait for him, unfortunately. We have to take out the last three!" She turned her attention back to Nia, and unleashed an electrified punch that she blocked with her sword.
"You cheeky little…!" Nia growled, pushing her away, before unleashing a series of slashes at her, which she evaded, backing off as she unleashed Fire spells from her hands, which she used water to douse out.
Asuna glowed as she shouted, "Advance Burst: Premium Hearts!" She crossed her arms in front of her, her fists glowing, before thrusting her fists up high as she gained her Premium Heart knuckle weapons.
"Now it's time to get serious!" Asuna shouted, launching at Nia.
Sora kept switching between his Kingdom Key, Hero's Origin, and his Arrowguns while fighting against Rex and his partner. He unleashed his Sparkstrike to counter Pyra's Blazing End, sending her sword in a fiery buzzsaw spin at him. Sora got blown back, but was able to gain some ground, and skidded to a halt.
"Let's get 'em, Pyra!" Rex shouted.
"Do the honors, Rex." She answered, tossing her sword to him. He was about to launch forward when Pyra got under attack by Water spells. This was coming from Donald, who was racing to Sora as fast as his waddling feet could.
"Let's go get 'em, Sora!" Donald shouted.
"Good going, Donald!" Sora replied, and he switched to his arrowguns and fired away at the pair, putting them on the defense while Donald was making his way over.
"Let's add a little more. Formchange: Magic Launcher!" His twin guns morphed together, growing larger as it transformed into a rocket launcher form.
"What the…!" Rex gasped.
"Rex, heads up!" Shouted Mythra, who had taken Pyra's place during that time, "If they want to unleash heavy firepower, let's do the same!"
"I got it!" Rex answered, doubling back to her side as Sora was ready to take aim, while Donald reached his side.
Rex held the blade high as Mythra grasped the blade as well, and the two surged with energy, which shot into the sky above. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Sora muttered as Donald was having second thoughts for making his way here.
Nia and Asuna stopped as they turned to see the attack. "Too bad we're not indoors." Nia told her opponent, "Your friends are in danger."
"Sora, Donald!" Asuna cried out, but too late.
"Sacred Arrow!" Rex and Mythra shouted together, and large arrows made of light rained down from the sky on top of Donald and Sora, who panicked and tried to evade. They ended up consumed by the attack, as everyone else watched in shock at the damage.
"I gotta stop them!" Asuna cried out as she raced to Nia, who turned to see her grab her, kick her high into the air, leapt up, and performed a Meteor Strike, sending her careening into Rex and Mythra, causing them to cease their attack as they fell over.
"Sora, Donald, are you okay?!" Asuna shouted, racing to the scene of the carnage.
Nia, Rex and Mythra got back up as they looked onward. "Better use my Foresight just in case…" the blonde noted, activating her foresight on the scene, seeing if any attack was coming their way. The result? She and Rex saw firework rockets coming out of the smoke. "Incoming!" Mythra shouted.
"Flare Force!" Sora and Donald shouted together, and out of the smoke came over a dozen rockets, homing in on the trio. Nia and Mythra went on the defense, blocking the attack. The two boys were worse for wear, but fortunate to stand up. Asuna sighed in relief as she approached them.
"They're still standing after all of that?!" Nia grimaced.
"We can still keep going!" Rex declared, "We got one more trick, yeah?"
"Right." Nia answered, as Mythra swapped to Pyra.
"Our bonds are as one!" Pyra followed up.
"Looks like they got an ace up their sleeve." Sora stated.
"That last attack wasn't their ace?!" Donald questioned.
"Sora, Donald, I am ready to unleash my Soul Finisher." Asuna told them, "I'll give you the opening, then go in for the attack!"
"Right!" They understood.
Rex took both Nia and Pyra's blades in each hand, the two girls grasping it alongside him. They raised them both high as they charged up, the energy from each sword connecting with each other. They became one swirling force. At the same time, Asuna stepped forward, hunched over as she pulled back a fist, which charged up with a serious amount of energy. Sora, meanwhile, was taking aim with his Magic Launcher, ready to fire off a powerful attack.
"Nexus Force!" Rex, Pyra and Nia shouted, bringing down the two blades together to unleash a powerful wave of energy towards their opponents.
"Final Heaven!" Asuna roared, lunging forward with her shining fist. The two attacks collided, and there was an eruption of light and rubble from the ground, causing everyone to shield themselves from what was taking place.
"Whoa…!" Sora gasped, looking up at the crazy damage Asuna's attack did.
"Focus, Sora!" Donald shouted.
"Oh, right!" Sora understood, unleashing the final attack from his Magic Launcher, making the head bigger. He aimed at the three targets, charging it up, before firing the head at the trio. They had not seen this coming until it was too late, and ended up getting blasted really hard by it, even more so by the flares that followed from the explosion of the launcher.
"They're…too strong." Pyra muttered.
"Let me…just heal you guys…" Nia grimaced.
"We can…still fight!" Rex declared.
"It's over!" Sora shouted, and he, Asuna, and Donald raced towards them before they could recover, and with a swing of their weapons, knocked them backwards, where they collapsed to the ground, defeated.
"The match is over! Winners: Team Keybladers!" The female announcer shouted.
"Alright!" Sora cheered.
"Whoo! That was close." Asuna sighed in relief.
"See? I told ya we would win!" Donald scoffed.
"When did you say that?" The other two asked.
Kirito watched it from afar, and couldn't help but smile at the trio for working together to defeat their opponents. Candy was cheering and leaping with joy at the win they got.
"Now, to heal everyone up." The announcer called out, and a widespread healing was done to all combatants. They were all able to get to their feet right after that.
"Ah, we really lost?" Rex grimaced.
"They were way too strong for any of us." Pyra admitted, "I bet Mythra would say the same thing."
"Meh… Tora did not expect Quizotic Megaburst to be tossed back to Tora and Poppi." Tora stated.
"Enemies were far too unpredictable to calculate a winning solution." Poppi stated.
"We honestly didn't think that would happen, either." Kirito admitted.
"Guess that wasn't such a good idea after all." Goofy sadly stated.
"Well, at lead it left mama, big brother Sora, and Donald to take care of the rest." Yui argued, "And we won in the end.
"Forgive me, my lady." Dromarch apologized to Nia, who reverted back to her more cat-like look.
"Ah, don't worry yourself, Dromarch." Nia assured him, "A loss is a loss, but at least they aren't bad folks."
Sora, Asuna and Donald approached Rex and Pyra. "Man, you guys had us going there." Sora admitted.
"Agreed. Your unification in your attacks and your teamwork was so amazing, I was thinking many times that I might lose." Asuna stated.
"Your bonds with one another were just as amazing." Pyra admitted.
"Yeah. We could learn a thing or two from one another." Rex stated, raising a hand to Sora, "Next time, we'll show you that we're stronger, eh?"
Sora looked at the hand, grinned, and took it, answering, "It's a deal! But for now, let's be friends with each other."
"Sure thing. I'd like that." Rex answered.
"Hey, don't leave me out!" Donald squawked, pacing his hand on theirs.
"You're pretty good if you managed to hold back old furball here." Nia told Kirito, "You and that other fowl there." She nodded her head to Donald as she said this.
"Thanks. You caught me off guard when you suddenly transformed like that." Kirito stated, "Can Rex do that?"
"No. He's no Flesh Eater like me. None of them are." Nia responded.
"Flesh Eater?" Kirito echoed, finding the name a bit disturbing.
"Never mind that." Nia waved it off, "Funny, why am I even tellin' you that? We only just met and fought each other."
"I end up getting this a lot." Kirito muttered, knowing this isn't the first time a girl became honest with him.
"Next time, Tora and Poppi will get better, with better Mods and gear, and we'll show you who's best!" Tora told Goofy and Yui, "Course, Tora would've won now if Tora had something to eat before fighting."
"Masterpon would give any excuse to deny Masterpon and Poppi went all out." Poppi followed up.
"Poppi, that's no way to talk about your Masterpon!" Tora pleaded.
"Ayuck! Gee, you two seem to be very close." Goofy giggled.
"You sound like a lot of fun to be around, Tora, Poppi." Yui told them, "Maybe we can meet again for some food? My mama is a great cook."
"Pyra is also great cook." Poppi added.
"Is she?" Yui asked, as she and Goofy looked to see Asuna and Pyra together, the latter suddenly turning into Mythra.
"Gotta say, I never met another person like you guys." Mythra noted to Asuna.
"Same. Never thought I would meet someone who had two different people in one body like you do." Asuna admitted.
"It's more strange how versatile one person can be without the need of Blades like your team." Mythra stated, "Although, one thing is for certain…" The two girls looked to the side, and saw Rex and Sora talking to each other in an excited manner, "…the three of us have our work cut out when dealing with childish allies."
"No kidding." Asuna agreed, causing the pair to chuckle at this.
Suddenly, a light shined from the gem on Mythra's chest, causing her and Asuna to look surprised. "What in the…?!" The blonde gasped.
This drew everyone else's attention, as Rex asked, "Mythra, what's going on with you?"
"That light…" Kirito recognized.
"You know what that is, then?" Nia asked.
"Could this be…?" Asuna asked.
A ball of light shot out from Mythra, and angled itself over to Asuna, who raised her hands to it as it came to her, and entered through her chest. She closed her eyes, feeling the new soul that connected with her, before snapping them open as she shouted, "Soul Burst: Pyra & Mythra!" She summoned her Keyblade high as the images of the two girls suddenly appeared, crossing paths with their swords in hand, before diving into her Keyblade. Asuna's weapon transformed, becoming Pyra's sword. She spun around as her sword transformed into Mythra's sword, before spinning back again it reverted to Pyra's sword again, taking a fighter's stance with it.
"What in Alrest?!" Mythra gasped.
"You can use Pyra and Mythra's swords?!" Rex exclaimed, "But I'm their Driver! How is this possible?!"
"It's how Soul Pacts work." Kirito explained as the others joined their side, "And it looks like Asuna made a Soul Pact with them."
"I guess fighting each other out of the respect we have for each other, and gaining a friendship even afterwards might've caused it." Asuna assumed, holding her new blade, before looking between Mythra, Rex, and Kirito, "Plus, having someone we love close to us does make us similar."
Mythra blushed horribly as she stammered, "L-Love?! Woah, woah, woah! I mean, it's not completely like that! We're just Driver and Blade!"
"I dunno. Seems that way to me." Asuna stated in a sweet teasing manner.
"The way they act, I thought you two were sweethearts." Goofy noted. Rex and Mythra looked to each other, now both of them blushing before looking away awkwardly.
Just then, a portal opened up nearby, similar to the one they entered in before. "Finally, the door back home opened." Nia stated in a slight irritable manner, "This is getting too much for me to be around. Best be gettin' home."
"Farewell, everyone. We hope to see you again." Dromarch told the team.
"Yeah, and thanks for a great match, Nia." Kirito thanked her.
"Don't be strangers!" Donald told Dromarch.
"Take care!" Sora told them. Nia and Dromarch waved goodbye to them as she exited through the portal.
"I hope we see each other again." Yui told Tora and Poppi, "I know we just fought each other, but it seems like we became friends, too."
"Ya know, I was thinkin' the exact same thing." Goofy added.
"Tora thinks so, too." Tora agreed, "Next time, Tora and friends should introduce to more friends back home to Yui-Yui, Goofy, and their friends."
"Yui-Yui?" The former navigation pixie echoed.
"Poppi would like to see Yui-Yui and Goofy again, as well." Poppi added.
"Come to Alrest sometime!" Tora finished, "Then we can enjoy Tasty Sausages together, but Tora will have most of them."
"Sure. Hope to see you again, someday!" Yui told them as they walked off. Goofy was waving goodbye with Yui as they exited through the portal, and vanished.
"Guess it's just us left." Rex told Mythra, who reverted back to Pyra again.
"Seems so." Pyra agreed.
Rex turned to Asuna and asked, "So, about this whole Soul Pact thing…"
"No need to worry. It doesn't cause any adverse side effects to Pyra or Mythra." Asuna assured him.
"Yeah. In fact, it causes an everlasting bond between us and you guys." Sora noted, "So no matter how far away we are, we're always connected, and you give us strength."
"I like the sound of that." Rex agreed, "Pyra and Mythra are really strong, mind you."
"As long as you don't cause too much damage with our souls." Pyra told Asuna, "We've already done enough damage in the past."
"Don't worry. We fight to defend the light of the world." Asuna assured her, "Your Soul Pact is to protect, not to destroy."
"That's good." Pyra said in relief.
"Well, we'll see you again someday." Rex told Sora, shaking hands with each other.
"Yeah. We'll DEFINITELY see each other again." Sora answered.
"Take care of him, Pyra. He sounds like a handful." Asuna told his Blade.
"Oh, I know. And I have been helping him all this time." Pyra answered. The two girls giggled before they parted ways. Rex and Pyra waved goodbye to the group as they left through the portal, and vanished. Soon after, the portal also vanished.
Moments later, the team found themselves back down in the lobby again, together with Candy and Premiere.
"Congratulations on defeating the 20th floor opponents." Premiere told the team, "This is your rewards." She handed out a Keyblade keychain, which had the look of a red and neon blue chainlink, with an X symbol for the medallion.
"A new Keyblade!" Sora noticed.
"This is 'Changing Future'." Premiere explained, "A special Keyblade which grants a great boost to defense when in a pinch, and even gains a special boost of damage to Cyber Heartless."
"A Keyblade that specializes in taking out Cyber Heartless? That could come in handy." Kirito stated.
"Take it, Kirito." Asuna told him, "You haven't gotten a new Soul Pact for a long time, so you should at least be given this."
"Is that okay?" Kirito asked, looking from her to Sora, who nodded in agreement. Kirito smiled and took the keychain. Since he had three Keyblades on his person, he swapped out with Dark Repulser for the time being to use it.
"So, Candy, you think you got use to fighting, yet?" Sora asked.
"I am feeling really confident in helping out, kuru!" Candy proclaimed.
"Good. Then let's get going." Sora told the team, "We should stop by Resolute Oasis before taking off to my dimension again."
"We'd better say high to the gang before we leave." Goofy noted. Donald sighed as he felt leaving to their dimension was taking forever.
"I will see you again when you return." Premiere told them, bowing to the group.
"Yeah, and we'll bring even more food for you to try!" Sora added.
"I cannot wait." She answered in a monotonous tone, though there was a slight bit of excitement in it. With that, they parted ways, heading back to the Gummi ship once again.
Extra: Record Sphere Collection #2
Resolute Oasis
Returning to the Resolute Oasis, they were able to see that there were improvements here and there, thanks to all the stuff they gathered from the worlds before. After a look around and greeting old and new faces, they went to Argo with the gathered information they had gained from Melromarc, Battle Tower, and Orb of Neglect.
"Thank you for your transaction." Argo thanked them, "I got some new Record Sphere's up for sale since we last spoke. Better get 'em before someone else takes the embarrassing ones away. Nya-ha-ha-ha…"
"I got a bad feeling about this." Kirito muttered, as Sora eagerly wanted to see the merchandise she had.
Record Sphere #5: Blacksmith meets Bookworm
Location: Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop
"A new set of assistants?" Liz questioned, looking confused. Penelo had just arrived in the blacksmith shop to tell Lisbeth herself that a new group of Lost Lights had just arrived in the world, saved from their world being swallowed by darkness.
"Correct. They are all young, but they have potential." Penelo informed, "Lady Ashe decided that they should assist you in taking care of the shop, as your bookkeeper, merchant, and seamstress."
"Those all do seem pretty good to have in the shop." Liz noted, "Besides, as good as Moogles are at doing the job, the ones I have are a bit aloof. So having fresh blood around here would do me good. Where are these new assistants?"
"They're right outside the door." Penelo answered, opening up the entrance, saying, "You can come in. She's ready for you." The three came through the door, and Liz was a bit taken aback, as none of them even looked ten years old.
The eldest of the group had blue-green hair tied in braids down to her waist, and blue eyes. Her attire consisted of an orange and white-trimmed tunic over a worn yellow and white-trimmed long-sleeve top an apron over her green skirt, and wooden clogs.
The middle-aged one of the group was the only boy in the trio, with short, clean blonde hair and jade green eyes. He wore attire that was slightly professional; a dark blue vest over a white long-sleeved top, dark gray pants, and leather clogs.
The youngest of the group had long blue hair that was held on top in a bun by a wooden hairpin, and golden eyes. Her attire consisted of a red vest with a white frilly top with bell sleeves, a blue skirt that matched her hair, visible white long-sleeve socks, and black shoes.
"You gotta be kidding me…" she muttered, "They look as old as the girls in the Maho-Dou shop! Maybe even younger!"
"Allow me to introduce you to Myne, Lutz, and Ruuti." Penelo told her.
"We are grateful for you employing us in your shop." The blue-haired girl named Myne greeted, giving her a curtsy.
"Yeah…" Liz answered haphazardly. She wasn't expecting such good manners to come out of a young girl like her. She turned to Penelo and said, "Listen, no disrespect to the queen, but are these guys really that capable? I run a strict business here, despite the appearances of my coworkers."
"Kupo?!" The trio of Moogles cried out in shock at the disrespect she gave them. This caused the little kids to become surprised by them slightly, though Myne regained herself quicker than the others.
"Lady Ashe can approve that they are skilled at the job, and would be great under your tutelage." Penelo informed her.
"It's true. My sister, Tuuli, is aiming to be an apprentice seamstress." Myne informed Liz, "Lutz is working at an apprentice merchant at a high class guild. And I am very quick to learn things."
"She means she's got a mind full of books and gets so excited, it leaves her exhausted and sick." Lutz noted, flicking Myne on the side of the head, causing her to yelp and massage the area she was struck.
"That's true. Although, even we nearly passed out myself when we arrived here in this new land." Tuuli noted, looking down sadly, "And mother and father weren't even…" Tears started to form in her eyes, on the verge of crying. Lutz and Myne looked to her, then looked down with saddened expressions. Liz then realized what she was getting at, and let down her hostility towards them.
"As you can tell, these three were the only ones who escaped their world." Penelo explained, "We have set up residents for young children like them in town, but as to make ends need, this was the best Lady Ashe could come up with."
"I got it." Liz understood, stepping towards the trio of depressed kids, "Listen, I understand the feeling of being away from your parents. I was trapped in a place that had death around every corner for two years, before I was able to reunite with them again."
"You were in such a place?" Myne asked, surprised.
"Yep, but that's why I became a blacksmith; so I can make sure those who fight to save us will have the best equipment around." Liz told them, "Over time, it did become a hobby I grew into, but the initial reason is still there. And right now, there is a group of heroes out there who are my friends, and they are doing everything they can to rescue all those who have lost their worlds."
"Really? Does that mean that your friends are out there, saving our world?" Lutz asked.
"Yep! I bet they'll swing by eventually, so I'll introduce you to them." Liz assured them, "In the meantime, let's make this business the best it can be. And I run a strict shop, so don't expect any mercy from me, you got it?"
"Wow, she's starting to sound like Bueno." Myne noted.
"Well, I'll leave it to you, then." Penelo told the group, and she left them alone as she exited the shop.
"Okay, everyone, I'll guide you to your sections." Liz started, "Tuuli, Lutz, have an investigation around the place to get to know it. Moogles, help guide them around the shop."
"Understood, Boss Liz, kupo!" One of the Moogles answered as they passed her to aid the two kids.
"Myne, I'll show you where the books are at." Liz told the last child.
"Okay." She replied, and she followed Liz into the back room. Liz led her to her work desk, showing all the paperwork and such around.
"It might be difficult for you to understand." Liz told Myne, "Not to mention I am not sure what language you are use to..."
"You write all this in Japanese? That's easy enough!" Myne answered.
Liz was rather surprised, and asked, "So you understand Japanese? Does that mean you come from a Japan world or somethin'?" Myne froze up a bit, not sure to answer, which became more so when Liz added, "Come to think of it, the other two didn't look or act Japanese to me. How is it you act so differently from them?"
"Well…" Myne started, thinking things through. She then mentally thought, 'Since she is Japanese, and this is a new world, I'm sure I can get away with explaining the truth about me, especially since Tuuli is not here to learn the truth. But it would be best for only her to know about it.'
She then sighed as she answered, "If you promise to keep this a secret from everyone, I can tell you."
"Sounds like a big deal. But don't worry, I can keep it a secret." Liz answered, "Go ahead. What's the big secret?"
Myne paused for a second, before she said, "The truth is that this body was not originally mine. In truth, I was an adult in a previous life, before I died when books fell on top of me. Next thing I knew, I was Myne."
Liz was rather surprised at this. "Seriously?! You were reincarnated?!" She asked incredulously, "I always thought that happened in manga or anime, not in real life!"
"Please don't tell Tuuli about this." Myne pleaded to Liz, "She doesn't know about this, and I still want her as a sister."
"I guess, but what about that boy, Lutz?" Liz asked.
"He already knows. He figured me out."
"Gotcha. Anything else I should know?" The blacksmith asked.
"Well…" Myne started, twiddling her thumbs, "If it's not too much trouble, can I bring books here while I work?"
"Sure, as long as it doesn't distract you from your record-keeping duty here." Liz warned her.
"Thanks. The truth is that books are basically my life." Myne explained, her eyes glittering as she said this, "I learned they had a library in this town, and I SO want to see all the different kinds of books you have here in such a sanctuary!"
"You consider libraries as a sanctuary?" Liz asked, finding her enthusiasm for book rather startling, "Didn't you JUST say you died when books fell on top of you?"
"That's not gonna stop me!" Myne argued, "After all, my dream is to become a librarian, surrounded by my beloved books, so I can read as long as I want to! In the world we came from, libraries don't even exist, and books are really only made for nobles. So I did anything I could to make books and be part of any places that have books in them. I even became an apprentice blue-roped priestess for a church so I can read all the books they have in there!"
"Wow. I've never met such a strong bookworm like you…" Liz stated, before seeing Myne starting to sway, and her expression looking more sickly, "Whoa, are you okay?!" Myne nearly collapsed, but Liz caught her.
At this moment, Lutz and Tuuli came into the back room, and the two witnessed Myne's condition. "Myne!" Tuuli exclaimed, rushing over to her.
"Not again!" Lutz grimaced, rushing next to her, and taking Myne off of Liz's hands, "I heard her talking excitedly, so I was afraid of this."
"What's going on with her?" Liz asked, as the three Moogles appeared to aid.
"Myne's very frail, so when she gets over-excited like this, she ends up getting sick." Lutz argued.
"Why didn't anyone say anything to me before this?!" Liz questioned, "I need to know these things when dealing with my employees!"
"We apologize. We should've known better." Tuuli apologized.
"No. It's my duty as her protector to inform these things." Lutz retorted.
Liz shook her head at this, muttering, "I never had this kind of problem in Aincrad OR Alfheim. Course, I was never an employer back then. Well, let's see if I can actually make this new group work…"
Record Sphere #6: Goddess about Gods
Location: Church of Light
Thanks to the efforts of Team Keybladers, they were able to construct a church within Resolute Oasis. One that was made specifically for any Lost Light who was religious to worship their individual god or goddess. After debates from people, mostly by Gretinal, it was decided that Palutena, the Goddess of Light, would be the head priestess in this church. At this point, Palutena was speaking to Fran, the beautiful vierra partner to Balthier, and Lightning talking together at the central stage of the church, surrounded by several segments, with each having rows of chairs facing away from the stage, made for those who worship separate gods.
"I know Gretinal wanted me to help out in getting Resolute Oasis, but I never thought I would act as the head priestess of a church." Palutena stated.
"It was majority voted. 'Who'd better to lead a religious location than a goddess' is what she said." Lightning stated.
"She was a very insistent woman." Fran stated.
"But it puts me in a situation where I might be biased, being a Goddess and all." Palutena noted, "Having others worship other gods while in my presence…I would find that disrespectful."
"There are more gods than the ones in the world you reside in." Fran noted, "In the land I originate from, there are those who worship Faram the Father, the God of Light."
"So there exists a God of Light in your world?" Palutena questioned.
"It is rather difficult to say whether he exists or not." Fran explained, "However, there does exist gods known as the Occuria. They watched over our land, controlling history, and giving power to those they deem worthy as their saints. They are the ones who created magickal power, as well as control the Espers."
"I see. And do you worship these gods?" Palutena asked.
"I neither worship nor rebel against them." Fran stated, "I am an outcast of my people, the viera, as I have left the Woods of my home."
"There's nothing wrong with being an outcast." Palutena stated, "Pit is an angel, and leader of my army, but he is unable to fly due to an incident in the past, and must rely on me to give him the power of flight." She then turned to Lightning and asked, "What about your world? What deities exist in your world?"
"There are three deities as far as I am aware of in our world." Lightning explained, "Pulse, the creator of the world, Linzei, the creator of the Fal'Cie, and Etro, the goddess who created people and balances the mortal world and the afterlife."
"So Etro is much like Hades." Palutena understood, "He was suppose to guide those to the afterlife, but ended up deciding to eat the souls of those who died."
"The Goddess Etro is no where evil like that." Lightning argued, "While I have had my fair share of disliking the gods, I can say that Etro is one I show no disdain towards whatsoever. In fact, I would fight for her if given the chance."
"I wonder if that is why Asuna's Soul Armament for you is that of a knight of Etro?" Palutena questioned, "You might've become a knight for Etro in some other lifetime."
"You believe there might be other lifetimes for us?" Fran questioned, "Have you ever seen them?"
"Just a goddess's intuition." She replied.
Just then, the church doors opened up, and the three women turned to see none other than Myne appear through the doors, looking at the place, with Lutz by her side. "Is this place a church in this world?" Lutz questioned as they walked further inside, "Feels a lot different from the church back home."
"True. I just hope it's not run by snob nobles like the ones back home." Myne prayed. The pair then stopped as they noticed the trio of women standing there. Myne saw the looks on their faces, and questioned if she offended them with what she just said. "Um, hello…" she greeted sheepishly, with Lutz looking worried Myne screwed up.
"You're that new Lost Light that appeared recently, correct?" Lightning recognized.
"That's right. I'm Myne!" She greeted hastily.
"And I'm Lutz, ma'am!" The boy followed, "Please forgive Myne if she made any offense to you!"
"There is no need to apologize. We're not nobles." Fran explained to them, "I am a sky pirate. Lightning is a warrior."
"And I am no noble, but I am the Goddess of Light in my world." Palutena greeted, turning to Lutz with a slight shadow in her eyes that scared him, "And please, refrain from addressing me as 'ma'am'. Call me Lady Palutena."
"Eh?! You're the Goddess of Light?!" Myne exclaimed, shocked to see her in real life. Palutena was surprised, even more so when she suddenly struck a pose, standing on one foot as she raised her palms high, shouting, "I offer my prayers to the gods! Please forgive me!" She then fell to her knees, bowing her head to the floor. She was doing everything she could not to displease her.
"There's no need to apologize." Palutena insisted, finding her prayers a bit much.
"I didn't expect her to be such an avid religious person." Lightning noted.
"She's actually an apprentice blue-robed priestess in our world, and is head of the church's orphanage." Lutz explained, "Though, she only wanted to take that position because she wanted access to the church's library initially. She's totally obsessed with books."
"Lutz, that's a bit mean." Myne stated, looking up at him.
"So you are a child of the church." Fran understood.
"I take it you are familiar with A goddess of light?" Palutena asked.
"It's written in the scriptures in my world." Myne stated, standing back up to her feet, "The supreme gods being the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness, married together, and gave birth to four children; Flutrane the Goddess of Water, Leidenschaft, the God of Fire, Schutzaria, the Goddess of Wind, and Geduldh, the Goddess of Earth. Together, with Ewigeliebe, the God of Light, and through a complex story, they created the world and the four seasons."
"Sounds far tamer than the gods in your two worlds." Palutena noted, looking to Fran and Lightning, "Although, being married to the God of Darkness? Only Hades or Medusa qualify those titles, but I wouldn't dare be interest in EITHER of them."
"Eh?! Hades and Medusa?!" Myne questioned, before mentally questioning, 'Come to think of it, Palutena does sound a lot like Athena in Greek Mythology. Does that mean her world is based highly on those ancient tales?'
Myne was in deep thought, as the others looked at her. "There goes Myne again, stuck in her own head." Lutz noted.
"She is far more quizzical than most." Fran stated.
"I wish Snow could at least think things through half as much as Myne." Lightning argued.
"If there are this many kinds of gods and goddesses in other worlds, then perhaps it would do me good to understand a bit of everything." Palutena stated, "Who knows? I might even be able to make friends with them." She then paused as she realized, 'I wonder if this is why Gretinal wanted me in this position?'
Record Sphere #7: Royal Discussions 1
Location: Castle of Fertility
The reconstruction of the place known as Desolate Castle was slow-going. However, they were able to return the throne room, the room where the SAO heroes fought their possessed real bodies, to a more hospitable location. As for the halls and other rooms, they were still in process of being rebuilt.
Inside the said throne room, the current ruler of Resolute Oasis, Princess Ashe, was standing with her royal guard, Basch. Ashe was nearly in her twenties, and wore the same attire as she wore in Yusnaan: a white and gold cropped shirt over a leather waist swath and a bright pink miniskirt secured by a thick light-blue belt, metal thigh-high leg-guards and a pair of gold metal open-toed shoes with darker pink stockings.
"Sir Basch, how goes the restoration of Resolute Oasis?" Ashe asked.
"As you can see, it is slow, but reconstruction is still taking place." Basch explained, "Thanks to the efforts of many people in this world, including material deliveries from Sora, Asuna, Kirito and their friends, we were able to start recreating this world as it should be."
"It is still a very difficult task, especially with the diverse cultures of multiple worlds within this land." Ashe sighed, "Am I really suited to govern this land in this state?"
"Do not undermine yourself, Lady Ashe." Basch told her, "You do not give yourself enough credit for all the efforts you have done so far. Besides, you are not alone in this endeavor. Prince Zen will also be governing this country alongside you."
"Speaking of which, where is Prince Zen?" Ashe asked.
At this exact moment, the doors to the throne room opened up, and in came the said prince, along with his two retainers, Kiki and Mitsuhide. Zen looked rather disgruntled for being brought back here, while Mitsuhide looked like he was in the midst of scolding him.
"Zen, I get you wanted to check out the town, but remember you were given a duty to help out, considering you are a prince." Mitsuhide told him.
"Give me a break. I told you that I wasn't needed as much here, so I just wanted to have a look around." Zen grimaced, "It's such a different place from Wistaria, so I wanted to understand the people around here."
"And I take it seeing Shirayuki was also among the tasks you had set up?" Kiki bluntly questioned, which caused the said prince to drop beads of sweat, "You did make sure that Obi was taking care of her, so there's no need to worry about her."
"I know, I know." Zen sighed. It was then that he noticed Basch and Ashe in the room.
"There you are, Prince Zen." Basch noted, "Where have you been?"
"Based on what they were just talking about before he arrived, he was examining the town." Ashe answered, as the three approached her and her guard.
"You got me. I was just amazed at how different this world is compared to where I came from." Zen explained.
"Which is why we require more than one ruler to assist in taking care of this land." Ashe argued, "I am not fit to rule this place myself. That is why I need your assistance, Prince Zen Wistaria."
"Stop, I get it. Just don't use my full title like that." Zen argued, signaling a hand to her to stop, "I'd rather if you just call me Zen, instead."
"Very well then, Zen." Ashe continued, "Tell me, are you even a proper prince in your land? You certainly do not act the part."
"I am, in fact, the second prince of Wistaria." Zen explained, "My brother, Izana, is the first prince. However, I do take my job as the prince of my country seriously. I want to be more than a prince in name. I want to be one in my actions."
"Zen may act aloof, but he is a great prince." Mitsuhide explained, "He just has a tendency of sneaking out on his princely duties so he can see the sights."
"Why is that?" Basch questioned, "Shouldn't the duty of royalty be to their kingdom?"
"I just don't want to be separated from the kingdom and its people, is all." Zen explained, "I need to at least understand the people and their way of life in order to be a better ruler."
"Is this true, or is he making things up?" Basch questioned Zen's retainers.
"As a matter of fact, he is telling the truth in that sense." Kiki responds, "And it often results in us tracking him down in order to bring him back."
"But his experience does help him become a good prince." Mitsuhide explained, smiling at Zen, "Even though he often causes trouble."
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zen questioned.
This bit of bickering did cause a smile to form on Ashe's face. "You and your retainers do have a rather close bond with each other. I can see that much."
"Sir Basch does have a strong connection to you, as well." Mitsuhide noted.
"I had been taking care of Ashe since she was a child." Basch explained, "I tried my hardest to protect her all this time, even after I failed to save Lord Rasler's life and prevent the castle from being taken."
"That's all in the past." Ashe assured him, "We were able to avenge his death and defeat your twin brother, Gabranth, for killing him under your name. And our kingdom was saved…until the Heartless consumed it in darkness."
Zen, Mitsuhide and Kiki were surprised at what they were hearing, before Zen noted, "Sounds like you had a hell of a lot in your life. I'm sorry for your losses. Was this Lord Rasler…?"
"My husband, and former king of Rabanastre, my former land." Ashe explained, looking sad at this, "After an enemy kingdom took over, I faked my death and fled, finding a way to reclaim my throne. With the aid of Vaan, Basch, Balthier, Fran, and Penelo, I was able to save it. Sadly, it ended up being all for naught when the Heartless came. Now, I believe that the Resolute Oasis… might be the remains of mine world, as well as Light and her companions. That is why I must help all those who were sent here because of the Heartless to make it a strong and peaceful kingdom, so we will not lose it."
"If that is the case, I'll do what I can to help you." Zen told Ashe, surprising her, "I want to make a kingdom where all its citizen wouldn't worry about losing their homes, growing hungry, or anything else in that sense. If you're willing, I'll be happy to make sure the kingdom is prosperous and sturdy." The three retainers of the two royals looked honored at his words.
"Thank you, Prince Zen." Ashe thanked him.
"Just as long as you stop constantly leaving the place for too long." Mitsuhide noted, "I know you want to see Shirayuki from time to time, but don't make it a habit."
"We can even have her come here, if you want." Kiki suggested.
"Nah, she's too busy at the apothecary." Zen argued, "Obi already informed me of how she was doing. I might as well give it everything I got so I won't fall behind."
"Is Shirayuki that important to you?" Ashe asked, already familiar with the red-haired girl.
"She is. She inspires me a lot to do my best." Zen answered.
Ashe looked at his face closely, and could tell the kinds of feelings he had for her. She closed her eyes and smiled, saying, "Make sure she is protected. Do not end up losing the one you love like I did."
Zen was a bit taken aback at how she was able to figure out his feelings towards her, but grew serious as he answered, "I swear, I will never let that come to pass."
"The same goes for the two of you." Basch told Mitsuhide and Kiki, "Don't let any harm come to the prince."
"I've dedicated my life for him, so there's no need to worry." Mitsuhide answered.
"He's practically attached to the hip of Zen, so you can take his words seriously." Kiki added, "Course, it's prevented him from having any other sorts of relationships in the process."
Mitsuhide looked stumped at her words as he asked, "Kiki, why did you have to say something like that?!"
This scenario caused Zen to laugh at this, as well as made Ashe giggle a bit. Truly, while they were completely different rulers and retainers, Ashe could feel that she found them a reliable ally.
Next time on Sword Art Kingdom III
Toy Box! Possessed in the Mall!
