Legacy: Guys! I'm excited to announce that we're almost at the end of this first book. I can see our first milestone and I'm so excited for you guys to read what we have in store for this chapter. If you guys thought the action and the drama was good last chapter, you guys are in for a treat this time around. I noticed that some of you guys sided with Xion during her conversation with Kairi, which honestly surprised us. That's the beauty of having an opinion. Some people might agree more with Kairi while others might agree more with Xion. Also, I'd like to apologize to Time-Space lord Eon for not showing much of Eric last chapter. I know you said you still liked it, but I think this one chapter will bring you even more joy.
Wolfie: I have to agree, this chapter is one I'm probably most proud of so far. Of course, we haven't finished the next chapter yet, which...I'm not gonna say more about. Thanks to Antext-the Legendary Zoroark (Thank you as always, please enjoy!) and FallenFeather92 (Thank you again, can't wait to see your opinion on this chapter!) for reviewing, all 9 followers, 8 favorites and 1,031 readers! Alright, now everyone enjoy before I spoil it all!
Chapter 11: From the Shadows
Location: Treasure Planet - Forest
Lia shifted with a small groan, slowly taking in her surroundings. She was laying against a...rock, she was pretty sure, and her head hurt, but nothing else seemed too out of sorts. With a care for the possibility of light shining in her eyes, she opened them.
Blinking a couple times, her eyes widened as they rested on Tifa, who was watching over her and smiling in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. You're awake." The dark haired woman smiled. "I was starting to think I hit you too hard."
"Ms. Lia!" Ryo cried, suddenly kneeling over her as well, looking close to tears.
"Where are we…?" Lia asked, clearing her throat when it came out somewhat hoarse, gently pushing herself up. Looking around, she could see that they were in a...cave of some sort, with Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia next to the three of them, some kind of robot in the back, seemingly cleaning up, and Jim and Morph near the cave entrance.
"We're at this robot, B.E.N's, home to hide from t-the pirates." Ryo explained.
"I see…" Lia nodded.
"Are you okay, Lia? You've been out for a while." Tifa commented, gently running her fingers through Lia's hair, a motherly gesture that made the ninja want to lean into the touch, but she didn't.
"I'm fine, just...had a dream." She admitted aloud instead. "More like a memory."
"A-a good one, I hope?" Ryo smiled hopefully, but oh, Lia could see the cracks he was trying so desperately to hide, cracks she desperately wished never existed in the first place.
It's all my fault...none of this should have ever happened, and it wouldn't have if I had been stronger, better! Lia thought to herself, biting her lip and grateful for the cowl she wore, which hid her expression. "More bittersweet than anything." She said aloud as she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring both Tifa and Ryo's offers for help and made her way over to the entrance where Jim stood.
As she scanned their surroundings, Lia's eyes paused as she saw a figure standing a small distance away from where they were hiding out. A woman, who had sandy blonde hair that caught in the sunlight just right to make her noticeable.
"Hey, look! There's some more of your buddies!" B.E.N suddenly said while looking out a window before he began to yell, waving his arms over his head as he did so. "Hey, fellas! We're over here, fellas!"
"Oh for Crystal's sake!" Lia cursed as she quickly grasped Ryo's arm and pulled him down to the floor, shielding his body with her own as, of course, the pirates opened fire on them. She could hear the sounds of returning fire, probably from Jim, but she didn't dare move an inch, not until she heard a familiar voice.
"Hello up there!" Silver called out. Slowly, carefully, Lia slid herself off of Ryo, making sure to keep a hand on his shoulder so the boy stayed down. Tifa was kneeling down beside them, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Jim stayed near the entrance, crouched down with his laser gun in hand, ready to start firing at a moment's notice. "Jimbo? If, uh, it's alright with the captain, I'd like a short word with ya. No tricks, just a little palaver."
"Come to bargain for the map, doubtless." Captain Amelia scoffed through the pain she was no doubt in. "Pestiliental...ugh!" She groaned in pain as she tried to stand.
"Captain…" Dr. Doppler said warningly.
"That means...that he thinks we still have it." Jim grinned, as he looked over at the rest of the group.
"This...this could work." Lia gasped, her eyes widening before they narrowed again. "But only if we play our cards right. Are you sure you can do this, Jim?"
"Yeah...besides, I know Silver best and he asked for me." Jim then scoffed. "Probably thinks I'm the easiest one to manipulate and over power."
"Well, then it's a good thing he's wrong." Ryo insisted, his eyes narrowed in determination. He turned to Lia then, eyes clear and filled with faith. "Jim can do it, Ms. Lia. Please let him."
Lia took a deep breath and sighed, sharing a look with Tifa.
"I have an idea." Tifa smiled, reaching into a pocket and pulling out what looked like a materia. "This is a new kind of materia Cid made before I left. If you press your thumb into it, it'll react by touch and set off a flare. Just in case this all goes wrong, take it and we'll come running if we see it."
"Alright." Jim nodded, accepting the materia. For a moment, he looked it over, seemingly in awe of the item that he had never used nor seen before in his life. Then he looked up and met Lia's eyes with determined eyes of his own. "Let me do this. I could barely help last time, so let me do something now. Please."
"Alright." Lia nodded. "But if you feel like you're in danger, even for a second, use that materia. I'm not letting anyone else die on this mission."
"Agreed." Jim nodded, tucking the materia into his pocket before he stood up and began to make his way out of B.E.N's home to meet Silver.
I hope I don't regret this...dear Eidolons, please don't let me regret this…
Lia watched the conversation between Jim and Silver with her arms crossed over her chest. She bit her lip in frustration because she was out of earshot to hear what they were saying.
Thankfully, Jim came back in one piece with Morph at his side and he came with the good news that Silver really did think that they had the map. Unfortunately, they did not and Silver stood in their way of getting it. To make matters worse, Amelia's condition was worsening as the sun set and...something had Lia on edge.
Unable to stand still, Lia made her way to the window that served as B.E.N's only way into his home and stared down at the forest that made up Treasure Planet. As she overlooked the forest, her eyes tracked where Silver and his pirates had made camp, only obvious by the light of their campfire. There was something...off about this whole thing, and she didn't like it one bit.
She turned her head as Jim collapsed at the window beside her and gently kicked his leg.
"Don't look so down. Times like these are when delinquents, rebels and ninjas are supposed to get crafty and escape." Lia said, trying to keep her voice light.
"How? Without the map, we're dead. If we try to leave, we're dead. If we stay here-" Jim said, doubtlessly feeling the strain of the situation on his shoulders.
"We're dead! We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!" Morph cheerfully repeated.
Lia's heart ached as she looked from them to Ryo, who stepped up beside them. They were too young for this, both of them. Now the weight of death and responsibility of life rested on their shoulders and they should have never had to feel such a weight. Just the sight of the shadows in the boys' eyes made her want to destroy the concept of child soldiers.
"There has to be something, for Kingdom Hearts' sake." Ryo growled as he leaned against the wall.
"Are we sure this is the only entrance though?" Tifa proposed suddenly.
"Well, I think that-that Jimmy could use a little quiet time, so I'll just slip out the back door." B.E.N awkwardly said to Morph as he slowly backed away.
"Wait, what?" Ryo cried, shooting up.
"Back door?" Jim repeated, his head whipping around. Both boys watched as B.E.N pushed on some kind of dome shaped contraption.
"Oh yeah, I get this delightful breeze through here." B.E.N explained as he pushed, Jim and Ryo running over to pull on the contraption to help. "Which I think is important because ventilation among friends-"
"What is all this stuff?" Jim cut the robot off, awe in his voice. Curious, Lia shared a look with Tifa as the two of them went to join the boys.
What she saw was certainly awe inducing. There was a system under the planet made of metal, which could easily allow them to traverse all of Treasure Planet...if it went that far.
"Holy Crystals…" Lia gasped.
"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that course under this planet?" B.E.N asked. And, well, that answered Lia's question. "Not a clue!"
"Hey, Doc, Doc, I think I found a way out of here!" Jim cried as he and Ryo shared a look and began to climb on top of the contraption.
"No, no, Jim, Ryo, wait! The captain ordered us to stay together-" Dr. Doppler began to correct when.
"Then we'll go on ahead and come back!" Ryo cried. Without another word, the two boys, Morph and B.E.N (with a yell of 'cannonball!') jumped down into the planet's core.
Or rather, Ryo tried to go, but Lia shot forward with a flash step and caught him before he could.
"No way, you've been stretching yourself too thin. You stay here and protect the captain and Dr. Doppler, Tifa and I will keep Jim out of trouble." Lia instructed as she pushed the boy back towards the dog staring at them and the unconscious cat.
"But-" Ryo started to protest.
"Don't worry so much, we'll be okay." Tifa smiled as she straightened her gloves. "And we'll be back before you know it, too!"
With a reluctant nod of agreement from Ryo, Lia turned and took a deep breath before she jumped down into the core of Treasure Planet, Tifa right behind her.
She really, really hoped she didn't regret leaving Ryo on his own...she just did not like this mission anymore, at all.
Location: Midnight City - Rose Castle - Guest Room
Xion had tried to fall asleep but found that to be more difficult than her encounter with the Heartless in the city. After Kairi had left her on that rooftop, Roxas and Eric arrived and the three of them did a quick sweep of the nearby buildings before returning to Rose Castle. Roxas had asked her where Kairi went and Xion explained that the redhead felt that they were spending too much time in Midnight City instead of searching for Sora before storming off. She did not, however, mention her final words to Kairi.
There was a knock at the door. Xion remained silent in the guest bed, hoping the person would leave. She let out a subtle involuntary sigh through her nose when the knob twisted and the door opened. Pretending to be asleep would have worked on most people, but not on Roxas.
The blonde entered and said, "Well, she won't open her door either. She locked it but I didn't feel right unlocking it."
Without turning around to face him, Xion asked, "But you thought it was right to unlock mine?"
"I'm serious, Xion. I'm worried about her."
Xion sat up in her bed and said, "Of course you are."
Roxas quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "What do you mean?"
"Roxas, I'm not blind. You have feelings for Kairi."
His eyes widened in astonishment of her bold claim. "W-what are you talking about?"
"Roxas, are you forgetting that we used to date? The way you look at Kairi...you used to look at me that way. That is...until you realized that I'm not Kairi. It's the same reason Riku and Naminé broke up. I don't know if it's the part of you that came from Sora, but I know that what you want is to be with Kairi. It took me a long time to be okay with that, but I am now. I'm happy that I started seeing Ienzo. When he looks at me, he sees me. But, you and Riku, you two only kept looking for Kairi. I don't if Riku learned his lesson from his failed relationship, but I can see that you haven't."
Roxas stood there in silence, letting Xion pour out her evaluation. When she finally finished, she looked at him expectantly. He wasn't saying anything and it made her more anxious by the second.
"Nothing? You don't have anything to say?"
"What is there to say, Xion? I'm sorry that things didn't work out between us."
"This isn't about us, Roxas. This is about you and your feelings for Kairi. Like I said, I moved on. I think it's time you move on from her. You know she's been with Sora for a decade now. Sure, they haven't gotten married yet, but I'm not surprised. You know how hard it was for Sora to deal with the loss of his apprentice."
Roxas shook his head and said, "Look, it doesn't matter what I feel for her. All that matters is that we get Sora back. He's-"
"Excuse me." Roxas was cut short by Hibiki, causing him and Xion to look at the doorway where the dark-eyed man stood. His face had the same calm demeanor it always did, which did not help to prepare the two Keyblade wielders for the news he brought with him. "I beg your pardon for interrupting a rather intimate conversation-"
Xion yelled, "Wait, how much of that did you-?!"
Hibiki paid no mind as he continued, "But the king and queen have requested your immediate help with a particularly powerful Heartless."
"Another one?" Roxas asked.
Hibiki tilted his head. He seemed confused. "Based on the description Lady Xion provided, I was under the impression that you two knew its kind."
"I never got a good look at it."
Hibiki turned to Xion. "You mentioned a set of chains that wrapped around its face. After doing a rather brief investigation in the castle archives, I found some old Organization XIII records detailing a creature similar to the one you faced. One of the previous members, Xaldin, manifested one in the homeworld a previous Princesses of Heart - a Shadow Stalker."
Roxas and Xion gave each other a glance, both unfamiliar with that species of Heartless. Hibiki took notice of this and continued to explain, "When a Possessor Heartless amasses enough strength, it can solidify its body from a gaseous state and may often take pieces of the objects it has possessed. This typically takes the form of chains as they often get tangled in them. However, the chains begin to act as a sort of compressor for their power, holding the Shadow Stalker in that spherical shape until-"
Roxas finished his statement, "Until the chain breaks…"
Xion looked from Roxas to Hibiki, stood up, and left. Or rather, she would have had Hibiki not gotten in her way further down the hall.
"What are you doing?!" she snapped.
Hibiki's face remained expressionless as he explained, "I should advise you against running off. Master Lauriam and Lady Elrena will be departing from the grand hall shortly to join the fight. They entrusted me with the task of summoning you two to aid them on this mission."
Xion looked annoyed but she understood. She simply nodded, then turned to Roxas and said, "We shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Right." He looked from Xion to Hibiki and said, "I assume you won't be coming with us."
"I'm afraid you are correct. I am to stay here with Lady Zia and Lady Strelitzia to ensure that no harm comes to them should things not go smoothly in the city."
Xion's eyes widened. "Lauriam is that worried about this Heartless?"
"It is one that we have never encountered before and the damage it has done in the city thus far is greater than anything we've seen. A handful of Reapers are already in the city, trying to minimize the damages. Once again, you should hurry to the master. Time is of the essence."
"Right," the bounty hunters said in unison.
They had begun walking toward the grand hall when Roxas stopped and turned to Hibiki. The ninja looked back at him as if to ask, "Can I do something else for you?"
"Hey, Hibiki, once last thing? Could you keep an eye on Kairi? She hasn't come out of her room since the last mission and I just want to make sure that she's okay."
Hibiki nodded. "I will check in on her from time-to-time."
"Thank you," he said with a soft smile.
Roxas turned around and made his way to the grand hall with Xion while Hibiki went the other way to return to the princess of Rose Castle. As the two men disappeared from the hallway, Lauriam's younger sister peered her head from around a corner. She prepared to follow Roxas and Xion, but was startled when she heard Hibiki's voice behind her.
"Hello, young lady. Is there something I can help you with?"
The redhead squealed with fright and stumbled forward, tripping over herself onto the ground. When Strelitzia looked up, she found Hibiki offering a hand to her, which she took politely. As he brought the girl to her feet, he asked, "Lady Strelitzia, I was under the impression that you were with your niece."
She avoided eye contact. "I-I was, but when Elder Brother and Elrena left, they seemed worried."
An empty smile appeared on Hibiki's lips as he said, "M'lady, you need not concern yourself with conflict. Your brother and her grace will handle these affairs and return to the castle." Despite his effort to bring Strelitzia's mind to ease, he could tell that worries still plagued her. She grabbed her own arm and continued to avoid eye contact. Something was bothering her. "Is there something wrong?"
Strelitzia had not realized that she was lost in her own thoughts. She shuttered at his words and struggled to explain. "W-well I, um...I was just…"
Hibiki placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Lady Strelitzia, you may confide in me. Please remember that."
The girl swallowed and nodded to her caretaker. "Y-yes...I was just thinking how I...I wish I could help. I wish Elder Brother would-"
"Bequeath you with a Keyblade?"
Seeing Strelitzia flinch, Hibiki immediately apologized, "I beg your pardon, M'lady. I spoke out of term."
"N-no...I...you're right. I do wish I could be a wielder as well. Elder Brother and Elrena and Mr. Roxas and Ms. Xion and Ms. Kairi...t-they're all just so amazing. I wish I could be as brave as them." She continued to squeeze her arm.
"You are brave, Lady Strelitzia."
Her eyes widened as Hibiki spoke her words. With a furrowed face, she asked, "H-how?"
"It takes a lot of bravery to hope. Do you not hope for our success?"
"W-well yes…"
"Then I believe you are brave and you'll need to be brave for Lady Zia. She needs us both now, but you are much more important as a carrier of hope than I am."
Strelitzia felt the irresistible urge to smile as her eyes began to water because of Hibiki's kind words. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her white blouse and nodded. Looking up at the former Nobody, Strelitzia told him, "Yeah!" She stepped ahead of him and said, "Come on! We need to go with her!"
Hibiki gave a genuine smile. "I'll be right along. First, I must make sure Lady Xion does not get too far. If you'll excuse me, I will redirect her to the grand hall." Strelitzia smiled and nodded before leaving the ninja to disappear with a flash step.
Location: Treasure Planet - B.E.N.'s House
Ryo wasn't nervous for himself, but he was nervous for Jim, Lia, Tifa, Morph and B.E.N. Who knew if the Legacy was even abandoned, Ryo highly doubted it was. From what little strategy training he had been given, he knew that abandoning an important base of operations was the last thing you were supposed to do.
So, yeah, he had no doubt that the five going after the map would face some resistance, and probably not an easy one at that. Silver was too smart to leave some idiot behind to watch the ship in case they were able to attempt a hijacking of the Legacy.
Which...yeah, Ryo was pretty sure Scroop was up there. Ugh, he hoped they were okay!
Dr. Doppler was rambling, trying to reassure himself and Ryo at the same time, to not much success, when Ryo heard it.
"Dr. Doppler, shh." Ryo whispered, quickly summoning Starlight as he stared at the one entrance he was sure the pirates knew of.
However, instead of a pirate, an unfamiliar figure appeared instead.
The figure had long silver hair and wore an outfit made entirely of black leather. Ryo didn't recognize him, but something about him just...put the boy on edge.
"Who are you?" Ryo demanded, putting every ounce of authority that he could muster into his voice, despite there not being much of it. Maia probably would have laughed if she saw him, Marta too. His heart ached at the thought, but he pushed it aside. He had to keep the doctor and Captain Amelia safe.
"Ah, so my assumption was correct after all. How dull." The man sighed, entirely calm despite facing an unknown Keyblade wielder. Or, at least, Ryo hoped he was unknown. "Hm, I suppose I can just hold up my end of the bargain, otherwise there's no point to this deal Mother pushed onto us."
"Mother? What're you talking about? Who are you?" Ryo called out, making sure he stood before Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia to protect them.
"Oh, you can call me Yazoo, but that's not important." The man, Yazoo, waved flippantly. Suddenly, Heartless unlike any Ryo had ever seen before formed beside him and a sadistic smile crossed Yazoo's face. "What is important, is that you're all coming with me, thanks to these pet Dark Howlers of mine."
The Heartless charged and before Ryo knew it, they were a swarm around him.
He didn't freak out, though. Instead, Ryo focused everything he had into remaining calm and slicing through the Dark Howlers as quickly and efficiently as he could.
His master was Ventus, after all, and speed training was a part of his daily regiment.
So Ryo slashed through enemy after enemy, Heartless after Heartless, all with the sole focus of protecting those he was in charge of keeping safe. And he did everything he could to accomplish that goal. Everything.
But it didn't matter in the end, not when each Dark Howler slain was replaced with two more, as if the swarm were like the Hydra Sari had told Ryo about that originated on her home world.
Ryo did his best, but in the end, one good hit led to his world turning dark. The last thing he heard was Dr. Doppler yelling his name.
Location: Midnight City - Dark City
Roxas and Xion had found Lauriam and Elrena in the grand hall along with Eric, Shandanee, Ravi, and one of Elrena's Ninja bodyguards, Layla.
Unlike Elrena, who wore a simple navy blue gi, Layla's was cropped to reveal her flat, toned midriff. Her dark hair was held back into a loose bun to keep it out of her face for combat, save for the lonely strand of wavy hair that fell down the side of her face. She also kept a thin golden sash looped through her inner elbows and behind her back.
As the fastest of the group, Layla and Elrena were the two positioned at the forefront of the formation, so they were rightfully the first to see the damage done to the city with their own eyes. It was worse than what they imagined.
The towering buildings in the Dark City were mostly damaged, riddled with cracked and scarred facades. Some had pieces broken off while others had completely crumbled to the ground. Lauriam's cloaked Reapers were littered throughout the area, both of the humanoid and empty-shell variety. The more humanoid ones ushered civilians out of the buildings while those without faces and names fought to protect them from the usual Heartless that popped up in this world such as the Neo Shadows.
The stronger Heartless such as the Invisibles were a much larger threat to them. Layla caught one flying straight toward a Reaper and the civilians that it was trying to protect. She flashed by, burying a set of knives into its arm to catch its attention before stopping right underneath it. Layla crouched down and planted her hands on the ground to push herself up and deliver a solid kick to its chin, forcing it to spin backward middair.
Roxas followed up Layla's attack with one of his own, momentarily taking Oathkeeper from Xion to deliver a critical cross slash. The Invisible faded from existence, giving the civilians an opportunity to flee with a Reaper. After returning Oathkeeper to Xion, Roxas returned to his part of the formation, and so did Layla. The group continued their advance through the magenta forest, doing what they could to save the people of Midnight City and combat the number of enemies.
"I don't like this...not one bit." Layla muttered under her breath as they passed her fellow Nobodies and the civilians.
"Me either, but the sooner we finish this, the better it'll be for everyone." Elrena stated as she ran alongside her Ninja, Roxas right behind them.
While running alongside Xion, Lauriam asked, "Could you show us where you and Kairi fought the Shadow Stalker?"
"Yeah. I can go ahead with Elrena and Layla if you'd like me to."
Lauriam nodded and allowed her to move forward in the formation while he hung back with Roxas. As the party made their way through the city, they noticed that the lighting had begun to dim. Less street lamps were lit because many of them had been destroyed and a lot of the buildings had been toppled.
Roxas, Xion, Lauriam, and Elrena all summoned their Keyblades and used them as a light source. Even still, it did little to help them see past a few feet in front of them. This posed a major problem for two members of their party: Ravi and Shandanee.
The darker that their surroundings became, the more Ravi began to fidget, particularly her eyes. They flickered wildly in search of something hiding in the shadows. This became especially bad when she noticed her sister too, began to show signs of anxiety, though the cause was different. Shandanee too began searching for something, but that's because she felt like she was being watched.
Eric took note of their rattled condition and approached them cautiously. "Hey, are you guys holding up okay?"
"Yeah…" Despite saying she was fine, Ravi could not look at Eric. Instead, she just kept searching and that's when she saw something she wished she hadn't. Her body froze and refused to listen to her mind, which scream, "Move!"
"Ravi?"
Lauriam turned around to see a pair of crimson eyes peering through the darkness. "It's here!" He announced.
A rolling cyclone of red claws flew across the air, straight for the twins. While Ravi was paralyzed by fear, Shandanee was still able to react. She ran to grab her sister and move out of the way, but she was not fast enough. The Heartless approached at an alarming rate and did not give her enough time to evade. All she could do was hold her sister tight and close her eyes. Soon, she would be sliced to ribbons by the whirling claws. That never came, though.
When Shandanee opened her eyes, she found that Eric had stood between the twins and the beast, holding it back with his bare hands. This was possible because Eric had transformed from his base state into one that changed his physical appearance completely. He now resembled a winged gorilla and stood at least a foot taller than he did before. His hands had turned to a grayish, stony color with golden cracks spread throughout. He displayed a great level of strength as he held the rolling beast at bay.
"Y-your Noise Form!" Shandanee yelled.
"I won't let you two or anyone else get hurt!"
Eric was gritting his teeth, putting every ounce of strength he could muster into holding the Heartless back. Sparks flew from the intense friction, which undoubtedly hurt the young Reaper, but he showed unwavering resilience.
Lauriam and Elrena shared a look before charging forward. Elrena's Keyblade, Ominous Blight, glowed and broke apart into a set of knives, which she infused with electricity and threw them forward, but they were all deflected by the sheer velocity of the creature's rotation. When that failed, Lauriam used the Heartless' own strategy, as his own Divine Rose glowed and morphed into a scythe. He levitated himself into the air with his scythe spinning around him before taking hold of it and hurling himself forward bladefirst. He struck the beast from behind, creating a second flash of sparks from their opposing rotational directions, which helped to slow it down.
Elrena and Layla then each went for either Ravi or Shandanee and whisked them away to keep them out of immediate danger. Unable to hold the Heartless back for much longer, Eric was knocked aside as the beast blitzed past him, stopping just out of sight within the shadows. Lauriam came to a stop himself beside Eric when he checked on, the now colossal, Reaper.
"Eric, are you okay?"
The gorilla-like Reaper slowly rose to his feet and gave his superior a nod. "Yes, my lord. Please forgive me. I failed."
Lauriam shook his head. "Not yet. We're still in this fight. I need you up and ready to act. I think it's preparing another attack."
He was right. First came the thunderous sound of its footsteps beating against the ground. It was running toward them, creating pillars of fiery energy with each step. This was a mistake on its part, however, because it was unknowingly giving away its location.
Xion took advantage of this by transforming Oathkeeper into a weapon that would be of better use to her. She held her Keyblade out in front of her vertically and it began to glow. It's different parts began moving. The wings that made up the hand guard broke off and began spinning around Xion, growing larger as time passed by. They soon came back together, overtaking the hollow blade while the teeth of the Keyblade sat atop them flared out like, giving her weapon an axe-like appearance.
From the little bit of light that dimly illuminated the area, Roxas and the others could see that the raven-haired woman's clothes had gained a deep red color. She charged forward with her weapon held behind her head. With a powerful swing, she slammed the claymore into the Heartless, swatting it away with an explosion of blue flames. The brief flash of light allowed them to see that it was a very large Heartless with a mane consisting of magenta tendrils that stood on all fours.
A loud crashing sound signaled that it had touched down to the ground, most likely on its side. The others could not see the beast until Xion began charging forward again, this time generating light by beating her claymore against the ground to create small shockwaves of blue flames around herself. As she neared the Heartless, Xion wound up for another critical hit, but was surprised to find that she swung at the air. The creature had shifted itself to the side, leaving red, green, and purple after images behind it. With a powerful claw swipe, Xion was knocked into a nearby building, letting loose a pained whine.
"Xion!"
Roxas started running to his partner, keeping an eye out for the Heartless in case it decided to strike. When he reached Xion, he knelt down beside her and shook her away.
"Xion! Xion!"
The raven-haired woman slowly opened her eyes. It was difficult for her to focus with the pounding headache she received from her rough landing.
"What happened?" she asked in a daze.
Roxas let out a sigh of relief. "You took a big hit. Come on, we've got to get you out of here." He grabbed her by the wrist, but she slipped away from his grasp.
"Roxas, I'm not going anywhere. Like I told Kairi, we've stayed this long to help Lauriam and Elrena and that's exactly what I'm doing."
"Don't you get it?!"
Xion flinched.
"Xion…" He shook his head, not knowing what to say, but he spoke anyway. "You...you've got to learn when a fight isn't worth fighting."
Xion looked at the blonde with utter disgust. "Are you kidding me?!"
"Look around you! Really take a look around you. Midnight City is a hazardous world to live in. It always has been. Lauriam and Elrena...they saw a world that could be rehabilitated, just like Hollow Bastion was restored to Radiant Garden, but over the course of the eight years since they came back to this world, they've barely made any progress pushing the Heartless back. Things have only gotten worse recently and you know that. The stronger Heartless, the shortage of materia, Sora disappearing...it's all connected. There's something bigger going on. Something that isn't just affecting this world. I know that our friends live here...but if we focus all of our time, all of our attention, and all of our energy here, we might not have enough for the real fight."
"The real fight…"
Xion looked over to the flashing lights where their allies continued to hold their ground against the giant Heartless. For the moment, it was only Lauriam, Eric, and Layla. With her speed, the Ninja was able to evade the Heartless' movements, twirling away as it charged forward and flipping over its claw strikes. Whenever given the opportunity, Lauriam would strike with his scythe, but the beast's hide was very rough. Eric was much slower in his Noise form, so he had to rely on his ability to defend against the Heartless' devastating attacks.
Elrena, Ravi, and Shandanee were out of sight. Perhaps she had been keeping them out of the fight because of how they froze up. That meant they were three heads down. Xion slowly picked herself up, using her claymore for support.
"Xion…"
"One last fight, Roxas. We take this thing down, and then we get out of here."
Roxas' eyes trailed up as Xion rose. She had a determined look on her face as she stared ahead at the conflict in front of them. The blonde stood up beside her and held a fist out to her. She bawled her hand up and pressed her fist against his, turning to look at him as she did. Roxas looked back and nodded.
Layla had continued to frolic around the battlefield, holding the monster's attention while Lauriam attempted to cut through its thick exterior, to no avail. Roxas held Two Become One out and enhanced it with a glowing white aura. He then jumped up in time for Xion to spin around and land on her claymore. Harvesting the power of the moon, Xion began to glow with a fiery blue energy around her. She launched Roxas forward, allowing him to close the distance between himself and the beast. Much like Lauriam's attempts, Roxas found it difficult to inflict wounds on the Heartless.
After a flurry of slashes, Roxas jumped off of the creature's back. "It's got a tough hide," he said as he landed beside Lauriam.
"I suppose that would be a good thing to call it. A Dark Hide. I wouldn't take it that you've seen one of these before."
"No, this is the first time. I think this might be the strongest Heartless Xion and I have come across in a long time."
"Stronger Heartless do tend to spawn here…" Lauriam mused.
"Well, that's just our luck, isn't it, my king?" Layla drawled, rhetorically.
Lauriam was deep in thought for only a moment before looking forward at the Dark Hide in time to see Xion charge forward with her claymore. Eric had managed to secure a good grip of its tail, keeping it in place for Xion to smash her claymore against its side, forcing it off the ground. Eric held on tight, going into the air with the Heartless, but he slammed it down onto its back.
Eric called to Lauriam, "My king! The underside!"
Roxas sprang up with a flip and extended his hand toward Lauriam. "This is your Kingdom. Fight for it!"
Lauriam nodded as he jumped forward, reaching out for Roxas. The two held onto each other until Roxas tossed Lauriam up. Layla then appeared in the air in front of Lauriam, offering him another boost by swinging him with her sash.
"Good luck, my king. Don't let us down now." She called up as she launched him higher, a grin in her voice.
The last person to meet him was Elrena, leaving a trail of electricity behind her. The knives in her hand had grown with electrical energy, appearing like claws. She and Lauriam smiled at one another as their hands met.
"Together," she said.
"Together," he repeated.
Elrena and Lauriam planted their feet against each other and the blonde kicked her husband down. He began rolling with his scythe aimed forward while Elrena began zipping around with a tail of lightning. When they touched down onto the Dark Hide's underside, a pool of metal liquid formed underneath it and multiple bolts of lightning struck down onto it. The ground beneath them cracked from the impact and a glorious flash of light filled the area. When the light disappeared, so did the Dark Hide.
Lauriam and Elrena looked at one another, both panting from overexertion. It had been quite some time since they had fought so hard against anything.
"I should go check on the twins," Elrena said between breaths.
"I can go instead, my queen, you worry about yourself and the king." Layla was quick to offer to go in her stead, which Elrena accepted. Eric had reverted to his normal form, just as exhausted as his king and queen, if not more.
"So Lauriam…" He turned to Xion. "What now?"
The king looked around at what was left of his kingdom. While the Dark Hide had been vanquished, there were other denizens of darkness, more than usual.
Elrena placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. "We always said that if things got too out of hand here…"
Lauriam covered her hand with his and closed his eyes. He was hesitant to accept defeat, but ultimately gave a solemn nod. "The girls come first. But where will we go?"
Roxas reassured him, "You can always give Ansem a call. Otherwise, there's always the Land of Departure."
Lauriam nodded. "I suppose I should speak to our allies."
Layla returned with Ravi and Shandanee. Both of the twins were still a bit rattled despite the Dark Hide's defeat. Layla had a hand on each of their shoulders, her grip tight and grounding.
Lauriam turned to his subjects and said, "Find all the survivors that you can and get them back to Rose Castle."
"And then what, my king?" It was Ravi who had asked.
He closed his eyes and exhaled. "And then we depart this world. It's become completely inhospitable so close to the darkness. We will return here one day and rebuild, but for now, we will take the castle to another world...one where we have allies. Now go."
Ravi appeared contentious, but did not protest. She and the others said, "Yes, my king," before disappearing into the city in search of other Reapers.
Location: Treasure Planet - RLS Legacy
B.E.N. had led Lia, Jim, Tifa, and Morph through a secret passage that led from his house out into the forest, right to Silver's campfire. Lia cast a Silence spell on the others and led them to a longboat that Jim pointed out to her. They took it up to the Legacy and climbed on board as quietly as possible. There was no one on the main deck, but they were cautious as they made their way to the stairs leading to the lower deck. Lia and Jim each peered around a corner to make sure no one was nearby.
"Where's the map?" Lia whispered to Jim.
He responded just as quietly, "In the hangar. B.E.N, we'll go get the map. Wait here."
Before Jim finished his statement, B.E.N. stood upright and saluted as he said, "Got it, Jimmy! I'll neutralize laser cannons, sir!" As he waved his hand, he swatted through Morph, but the little blob regenerated immediately. B.E.N. then leapt onto the corridor floor with his legs bent into a set of wheels, which he rolled on as he sang, "Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me!"
The others looked at one another with looks of concern, but found that there was not much they could do because of how far B.E.N. had gotten. They did need him to disable the cannons, anyway. Tifa whispered to Lia and Jim, "I'll stay with him and keep him out of trouble."
Lia mouthed a "Thank you" as the older woman passed by her to follow after the robot. Lia then made her way with Jim and Morph to the hangar where the former cabin boy quickly retrieved the map from the ring of rope that it had fallen into earlier.
"Yes!" the two cheered.
Their celebrations were cut short by the blaring sound that rang through the ship's intercommunication system. By the time the noise had turned off, Lia and Jim had reached the stairs to the main deck.
In a hushed voice, Jim, began, "Stupid robot's gonna get us all..." he and Lia stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of Scroop standing at the top of the stairs. "...killed."
"Hello, cabin boy…" Scroop looked to Lia and said, "...good to see you're feeling well, girl."
Lia stepped forward between Jim and Scroop, summoning Kiku no Kizuna to defend the boy. "Scroop, we don't want any problems. We just want to get off the ship."
"I'll gladly throw you both overboard once you've handed over that map."
Lia's eyes narrowed and her grip tightened around her Keyblade's handle. "I'd like to see you try."
The insectoid took a step back, hesitant to accept the young woman's challenge. As Scroop moved back, he felt a gloved leather hand touch against his back, causing him to turn his head to the side to find a man he had never met before. It was Yazoo, the man with long silver hair. His calm, stoic expression unnerved Jim, Scroop, and even Lia.
Yazoo's sea green eyes locked on Lia. He tilted his head and said, "I've finally found you."
"Me?"
He ignored Lia's question as he continued, "Mother will be very pleased once I've brought you to her." His pale white hand reached for a gun at his hip and drew the firearm onto Jim.
Lia was quick to kick the boy to the side before Yazoo could pull the trigger. A hot bullet crashed through the floor behind where Jim once stood. The boy scrambled to his feet, Lia helping him by pulling him up by the collar of his shirt, and the two retreated back into the ship's network of corridors.
Yazoo looked at Scroop and told him, "Kill the boy and bring the girl back to me."
"Why should I listen to you?"
Yazoo gestured his hand to the side where a Corridor of Darkness opened and a pack of vicious Dark Howler heartless ran out from it, heading straight into the ship's lower deck in pursuit of Lia and Jim. It did not take long for the monsters to find their prey.
When Lia heard the Heartless' rapid footsteps, she turned around in time to find a Dark Howler lunging at them. She quickly spun and slashed through the creature before kicking off another one and hurling her Keyblade to saw through it. As she landed, Lia yelled to Jim, "Keep going, I'll deal with these monsters!"
"But-!"
"Go! I'll be fine. Find Tifa and B.E.N. and get back to the longboat. I'll meet you there!"
Jim nodded and fled into a corridor, leaving Lia to deal with the Dark Howlers. The Keyblade wielder prepared herself for the incoming pack. Her eyes darted from one to another, concentrating all of her attention on each of the enemies in front of her. Remembering what her master had taught her, Lia took a deep breath in and suddenly time seemed to slow down for her. It's just as he said. Energy pooled around her as she prepared to lunge forward with all her speed. She concentrated on the thought of protecting those around her. Sonic…
And she thought of...Marta.
Just as Lia prepared to push off with her right foot, a feeling of despair and rage clouded her mind, manifesting itself as a shadowy aura around her. Shadow!
She charged forward and suddenly stopped at the other end of the corridor. Eyes wide open, she couldn't believe how fast she moved. It took a few seconds before her mind could finally process the fact that she had just sliced through the entire horde of Dark Howlers in a fraction of a second. The dark aura around Lia began to fade, but so did her consciousness as she struggled to hold her balance.
Everything went dark, but Lia retained her awareness. In fact, her eyes were still open so it took her a moment to realize that she was still awake. The lights turned back on, but everything was red. Then, she found herself feeling completely weightless. What's going on?!
Only a few seconds had passed before Lia fell down to the floor. She was weak both physically and mentally so it helped that Tifa soon found her and supported her weight with her shoulder. The two soon met back up with Jim and B.E.N. Jim had defeated Scroop and sent him off into space and B.E.N. had successfully disabled the cannons. The party was now ready to return to Ryo and the others.
They soon returned to the tunnel that would lead them back to B.E.N.'s house. As soon as they entered it, Tifa had a feeling something was wrong. Something about the pirates they had to once again sneak by to even enter it felt...wrong, but she couldn't place her finger on what it was.
Instead, she focused on making sure Lia, Jim, B.E.N and Morph were all with her as they ran through the tunnels back to B.E.N's house to meet up with the rest of their group
Suddenly, however, Tifa noticed a figure in front of them and she frantically reached out to yank both Lia and Jim back. Instinctively, Jim reached out and grasped onto B.E.N as well, causing the robot to shriek in surprise.
"Whoaaaa!" B.E.N shouted as he got his bearings.
"Tifa…?" Lia whispered, catching on to how tense the monk no doubt was.
"Why are you stopping, we have to keep going!" Jim insisted. "We've got the map, so now we can-"
"Just stay still." Tifa cut him off as the figure began to walk towards them. His steps were slow and measured, as if he had all the time in the world. But that was exactly what had Tifa so on edge, even before she could make out his appearance.
Short, cropped silver hair. An entirely black leather outfit. And eyes...eyes she had never forgotten since the first time she ever laid her own eyes on them.
"Wanna play?" The man asked as he finally stopped a short distance away from them, reaching a hand out to Jim as if to beckon him like a child. Jim glared at the man, thankfully not saying a word.
"Actually, I- '' B.E.N started to say before Morph changed into a cartoonish gloved hand and slapped himself over the robot's mouth, muffling anything else he could or would say.
"I guess that's a no." The man said, retracting his hand and walking closer. "Now, you, come with me." The man pointed directly at Lia.
"What?" Lia gaped, obviously thrown for a loop, out of it as she was.
"Mother said to bring you back to her, so I will. So come." The man stated, as if Lia would listen just like that.
"She's not going with you!" Tifa cut in, her voice firm as she pushed herself in front of the ninja, just as she would for Marlene and Denzel if they were here instead. She didn't like this man, didn't trust him, not when he reminded her so much of-
"Fine. Play with me, then." The man smirked.
"You four get out of here." Tifa ordered, her eyes never leaving the man.
"What?!" Jim shouted. B.E.N tried to yell too, but Morph remained firmly planted over his mouth.
"Tifa...no…!" Lia gasped, trying to latch onto the monk's arm, to hold her in place.
"For whatever reason, he wants you. And something tells me he's not alone. You need to get as far away from him as possible. I know you don't want to abandon me because of Marta, but we can't afford losing you or the map." Tifa explained. "Besides...he reminds me of someone who tormented Cloud for years, meaning this is my fight and my fight alone."
All was silent for several minutes before Lia broke it.
"Fine. But...you better come back safe, you hear me?" The ninja ordered. "You aren't allowed to die on me, got it?"
"I understand." Tifa smiled softly before she placed Lia's hand in Jim's and pushed both of them forward. "Now go!"
Instantly, the two took off running, B.E.N bounding along behind them. Thankfully, the man didn't stop them, though that didn't bode well in Tifa's mind.
"Who are you, anyway?" Tifa demanded.
"The name's Loz. Now, let's play!" The man, Loz, grinned.
Location: Treasure Planet - Tunnel
Lia had a horrible, horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach as Jim practically dragged her back to B.E.N's house, needing the robot's help eventually to do so as her body slowly gave out on her.
"Look, if you've got another one of those key-shaped swords, I'd really like one, right about now!" Jim said as they ran and even in her haze and fear, Lia could hear the anticipation in the boy's voice.
"No, I don't, and I'm not giving you one either." Lia denied, glaring at the boy for even suggesting a thing. Keyblades weren't something to give willy-nilly. Hell, she shouldn't have a Keyblade herself, for crying out loud! No way was she passing one onto Jim in a situation like this. Besides...that horrible feeling only seemed to increase the further they went, something even Jim seemed to understand as he remained quiet the rest of their run.
She didn't know what she expected to find when they got back, but she felt cold and scared and she didn't like it at all. Every part of her was screaming at her to get away, but she couldn't, she couldn't abandon Jim, B.E.N, Morph, Ryo, Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia. They needed her, so she forced her tired body to move even longer.
When they reached B.E.N's home, Jim ran over to the sleeping figure and called out "Doc! Doc, wake up! I got the map!"
And Lia found she wasn't surprised at all as a mechanical hand grabbed the map.
"Fine work, Jimbo." Silver smirked, his red cybernetic eye glowing maliciously. "Fine work, indeed."
Lia froze for a second before she turned, only to see the pirates had Captain Amelia, Dr. Doppler, and Ryo tied up and gagged, the former being unconscious and slowly coming to. And beside the pirates stood a man with long silver hair, wearing black leather.
Instantly, she knew what happened.
"You bast-!" Lia yelled, trying to summon Kiku no Kizuna, to force her already depleted body to work so she could stop this, so she could save them all, get them out of here, but all that came was the faintest spark of darkness in her palm before alien arms wrapped around her, restraining her just as they restrained Jim and B.E.N. She could hear Morph squealing somewhere too, before she was stood up alongside Jim, facing Silver.
"You're just like me, Jimbo." The pirate mused. "Ya hates to lose. And you, lass, will earn me quite the pretty penny."
"Why, you-!" Lia snarled, every instinct in her body demanding she fight and fight and fight until there was nothing left in her to fight with.
"Oh, ya sure are a feisty one." Silver chuckled.
"Your money will depend on if she's the correct one, pirate." The silver haired man scoffed before he turned and fell to a knee as a Dark Corridor opened beside him. "Mother, your objective is here."
"Thank you, Yazoo. You are such a good boy." A woman's voice said as a figure stepped through the corridor.
Lia's eyes widened as they landed on a blonde woman, the same one she had spotted earlier that same day. The woman smiled as she approached Lia, as if she were trying to appear non-threatening when she had apparently ordered a hit on Lia. How is that not going to be perceived as threatening?!
"My, it has been such a long time. You've grown up so much, dear." The woman smiled as she looked over Lia.
"H-have we met?" Lia asked, cautious. She didn't recognize this woman, but...but there was something, almost a voice if it could be called that, screaming within her that this woman was dangerous, was terrifying, was not to be trusted no matter what. And the longer Lia stared at the woman, the more her blood felt as if it were turning to ice within her veins and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
She could almost see the flames, getting closer and closer, too close, too close, too close!
"Of course, my dear Liana. I could never forget someone like you." The woman cooed, completely unaware of Lia's internal panic and fear. Or perhaps she was, and she simply reveled in the sight of it in Lia's half hidden features. "Now, why don't you be a good girl and come with me? We have much to do, after all."
Then the woman reached out with her right hand, as if to take Lia from her current captors.
"No, no, no! Don't touch me, get away, get away, get away!" A primal fear forced Lia to yell out, her body instinctively pushing back into her captors, as if pirates were preferable to this disarmingly sweet woman.
But the woman did not stop and her hand closed around Lia's arm.
And a scream pierced the air.
Not Lia's, but the woman's.
Lia could feel a warmth flood through her entire body, as if it were protecting her, and a light burst from her skin in a way it had never done before. The light had blinded her momentarily, forcing her to shut her eyes until it faded. They opened to the sound of an agonizing scream. The light had subsided by then, leaving them all in a dark room.
The woman, Mother, was the one screaming with her back to Lia. Yazoo was at her side apprehensive of her screaming. "Mother, what's wrong?" He seemed to have realized the answer on his own because his eyes widened with shock. He turned to Lia and snapped at her. "You! What did you do to Mother?!"
Lia was just as surprised as he was. "I-I…"
The woman continued wailing in pain. The silver-haired man tried his best to comfort her, "It's okay, Mother. We'll make it all right." He helped her to her feet and turned to Silver. "You. Give us the map."
Silver moved the map behind his back and shook his head with a charming smile. "Afraid that won't be happening, sonny. We struck a deal."
Yazoo snarled, "Well the deal is off!"
"Leave it be!" Mother said through gritted teeth.
"M-Mother, I-"
"I said leave it, you fool! And the girl!"
Yazoo was torn, but ultimately did as Mother ordered. He looked to Silver and said, "Enjoy your treasure for now, pirate. You better hope to have had your fill with it before the next time we cross paths." He pointed to Lia. "We want her alive." He then turned to Lia and said, "We will meet again, Liana. I hope you are more welcoming to Mother next time. Kadaj won't appreciate it if you don't, after all."
Without another word, Yazoo led the injured woman back into the Dark Corridor and the two vanished as if they were never there to begin with.
Location: The Final World
An ethereal void of sky and sea. That is the only way to describe the place Kairi found herself in. As her sapphire eyes slowly opened, she could feel herself laying on the watery reflective surface that rippled with the slightest movement. She managed to bring herself to her feet despite the pounding headache plaguing her, examining herself to find that she was whole.
Just like every time she'd been there before, Kairi was surrounded by an endless expanse. Despite it being wide open space, she never knew when she would happen upon someone so she began walking, calling out Sora's name over and over in case he could hear her.
Hours passed and there was no response, but Kairi never once stopped walking or calling his name. If she had to, she was ready to roam the infinite plane until the end of time. Eventually, she came across a sparkling assortment of small lights held together in a five-pronged star formation.
Her eyes widened with excitement at the sight of it and her legs moved on their own. By the time Kairi realized it, she was running at full sprint in its direction, water splashing up with each step she took until she reached the star.
"Sora?!"
The star backed away from her and shouted, "Woah there!" His voice was soft and youthful with a boyish charm, but it was not one she recognized.
Kairi stopped herself from getting closer when she realized that it wasn't him. "I-I'm sorry! It's just that I thought that maybe...you were someone else."
He didn't seem upset. In fact, he seemed rather amused as he laughed, which eased Kairi's nerves. "It's no problem," he responded. "I probably would've done the same if our roles were reversed. But that makes me wonder...why do you look like a person?"
Kairi said, "That's a long story…"
"Well, we've got nothing but time here," he pointed out. "I've been here for a really long time. It could be years, but I couldn't tell you how many if you asked."
"Gosh...I'm sorry to hear that. That means that there's something left unresolved, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess that's a good way of putting it. There was still a lot I wanted to do before I passed. It looks like you're in the middle of something, yourself."
Kairi nodded. "I'm here looking for someone. I don't suppose you've seen him since you were so surprised to see me."
The star responded, "You're right, but there are others like me here…a lot of us…"
He was right. It hadn't occurred to Kairi until he mentioned it, but she had only assumed that Sora came to the Final World as a whole person like he did ten years before. She didn't want to think about his heart and body perishing together.
The star could tell that his comment didn't sit well with her as her gaze fell. "I'm sure that he'd appear to you if he was here, though."
"What makes you so sure?"
"If you've come looking for him, it sounds like it's not his time yet. He probably wouldn't be able to move on until you appeared here. I know I'm not."
Kairi smiled softly as she asked, "Are you waiting for someone special?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. You seem pretty special yourself if you're willing to come to the brink of existence for the person you're looking for. I'm sure you would've found him by now if he were here."
Hearing that made Kairi's smile grow with reassurance. A spark of hope returned to her eyes. "Yeah! I lost my faith for a moment, but I know that if I continue to follow my heart, it will lead me to him. There aren't any shortcuts to this."
"Well then? What are you waiting for? Go on and find him!"
Kairi nodded. "Yeah. Thanks! Erm...sorry, I never caught your name."
"The name's Tyfon. Yours?"
"Kairi."
"Well Kairi, I hope you find your special someone wherever he is, and I hope to see you again, but not too soon, alright?"
"Alright!" Kairi turned away from the star and summoned Destiny's Embrace before pointing it forward. A beam of light shot forward, creating a Sleeping Keyhole for her to depart from this dimension. She glanced back one last time and gave the star a gentle wave before disappearing into a pillar of light.
Wolfie: And there we are! Surprised? Intrigued? I hope so, a lot of this has been planned since the very beginning of this fic and both Legacy and I are thrilled to finally, FINALLY, share it with you all. Next chapter is going to be one for the history books, y'all, trust me ;) Leave a review to let us know what you think! And may your heart be your guiding key!
(And go check out Legacy's new KH SYOC Daybreak Academy!)