It was almost concerningly easy to fall into a pattern, relying on the routine to avoid things that would require sitting down and playing nice with the darkness that resulted from— well, Darkness.

Every morning she'd wake up lazily, far too unused to a soft bed instead of hard ground, and eventually discover that Robin had draped his coat over her at some point (the implications of which she didn't know what to make of). After dressing into some exercise clothes Ethel had ordered for her by way of Fred and overnight delivery, she'd drop Robin's coat off in his room before heading into the backyard for some stretches.

From there, she'd spend an hour or so doing physical exercises before having a light breakfast all by herself consisting of some fruit and a few slices of bread; after the third day of doing so, she found a bowl of oatmeal and cubed fruit pieces along with a note from Heathcliff. After a short break, she'd head down to the training room to do magical exercises, where she was sure Hiro or Aiko (who she had not seen hide or hair of) were continuing to oversee the recording machinery.

Once that was done, finally she'd take a shower and by noon the rest of her day would be free to handle however she pleased. In most cases, that meant wandering the neighborhood; basking in the sun and waving to the handful of elderly folk who met her eye (those around her age, she noted, seemed a bit more skittish if not outright ignoring her).

Sometimes, while wandering the halls of the mansion, she'd end up bumping into Robin, nose deep in a book and only giving her a few words of greeting before handing over a scribbled scrap of paper regarding things he wanted her to do. Some of those things were book assignments— he didn't want to be the only one well read about the area, after all. Other times he listed experiments for her to try out and document in regards to her magic. What were the effects of casting Thunder and Aero one after the other? What happened if she reversed the order cast?

In the Realm of Light where she could build up her mana stores more readily instead of having to rely on ethers and also subject to different laws of reality, was she still capable of triple casting different elements of a high tier back to back? How long could she hold Magnet for? Oddly enough, every note he handed to her had something to do with Magnet, even if just as a posed thought experiment.

Come nightfall, dinner would be between herself and Heathcliff. Fred had a tendency to eat in his room (or wherever was holding his fancy) and Robin was inclined towards eating small meals periodically throughout the day, rather than regular, full meals. It was nice though, eating with someone again.

While Heathcliff wasn't very open about himself, the discussions they had about everything else were always fulfilling. How the weather tended to be this time of year; what sort of enemies Big Hero 6 tended to deal with; whether or not Heathcliff knew any formal dancing and would be able to be her partner from time to time. The last of which was a personal hobby of hers. It wasn't often that she had to dance, but sometimes while travelling with Master Eraqus to the various worlds, they'd arrive during a formal function.

Learning how not to make an embarrassment of herself was something done after the catastrophe of her first event, and practicing when she had free time served as a wonderful distraction to whatever. By the afternoon of the fifth day, she was only slightly surprised when Aiko had collapsed into the chair beside her.

"Busy days?" She asked, turning to look at her. While Aqua was hesitant to use the word 'disheveled' to describe Aiko, there was no other way to describe her; stained and wrinkled clothes, hair that looked like it hadn't been combed in days. Wherever Aiko had been, it had clearly been for some time.

"Well worth it, though." Aiko stretched out her limbs and slumped even further into the chair, making an appreciative noise as she did so. "We've finally started making some headway into isolating how your abilities work, and thanks to Robin, we might have some prototypes by next week." It seemed impossible, but somehow Aiko managed to relax even further. "I'm just glad nothing happened that needed me or Hiro to step out of the labs."

Aqua froze at that. How could she have forgotten? Of the seven of them, it was only her and Robin who could make any meaningful effort against the Heartless. If they were to leave the city and go to the beach, how much trouble would those left behind have to put up with?

"What about you?" Aiko's question made Aqua realize she had missed what she was saying. A quick search through her memories revealed it was something to do with how Robin was spending most of his time in the training room assisting with the research. "How have you been settling in?"

"Things have been... quiet. In a good way!" Aqua sat up and turned to properly face Aiko. "It's been nice being able to just relax and unwind."

Aiko giggled. "Robin said you would say something like that. 'She'd probably do nothing more than stay near the mansion.'" She mimicked, giving a disapproving sigh. Rather close to what Robin sounded like on the rare occasion he did so. "'That girl...'" Aiko giggled once again. "Whoo, I think I've been staying up too late past few days." She laid the back of her hand over her eyes, shifting to try and get more comfortable underneath the shade of the umbrella Heathcliff had set up a few days prior.

"If you have nothing else planned, you should go explore the city. Robin said you might appreciate wandering around a new place." Aiko cracked open an eye, grinning slightly. "Ask Hiro for something to help you blend in. He's been working on something recently and would love to get some feedback on it."

/ - /

Culture Shock. Noun. A state of mind caused by an unfamiliarity with a culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. As a keybearer who had trained to protect the worlds, Aqua was no stranger to learning how to ride unexpected tides, but her experiences of visiting other worlds were limited to those similar to the Enchanted Domain or to a more similar extent, Disney Town.

Worlds such as this, where the buildings towered high in the sky, almost as if daring the clouds to crash against them like waves against the ocean, were decidedly unusual. Let alone the almost insular nature of everyone wandering around, keeping their eyes glued to the screens of their phones or their immediate companions— more technologically varied and handheld versions of the so-called communicator Hiro had loaned her; which itself was naught but a half a pair of glasses, whose singular leg wrapping around the back of her head almost reached her other ear.

Deciding to act on Aiko's words, Hiro had taken the initiative to outfit the device with a reality enhancing virtual assistant. Whenever she focused long enough on building, a small window of information would pop up on the eyeglass. If she pressed a button on the glass' leg, more information and windows would pop up, all of them dispelling if she pressed the same button twice in rapid succession. Fred had followed up with giving her a small card and black-dyed leather case. Inside the latter was a few folded up pieces of paper describing a few notable locations, as well as instructions on how to use the card. That all of it was written in a practiced, elegant style brought a tiny smile to her face, especially since she knew for a fact that Heathcliff was the one who wrote it.

It was such a novel idea though: towering buildings made of a powdered stone and water mixture, supported by a framework of steel. Once, when she was younger, she had accompanied Master Eraqus to a world whose denizens resided within ancient trees. Through techniques honed by numerous generations, they had learned how to guide the growth of their abodes into new architecture. It was a process that took tens of years, but apparently the natives naturally lived for centuries at a time, and thus it was of no concern to them. For mere mortals such as humans though, whose life spans were so fleeting, perhaps bending innate material to their wills was the most they could accomplish. Aqua brought a hand to her lips and giggled. "I've been hanging around them too much," she whispered to herself.

For a time Aqua let her feet carry her where they pleased. At times, she would blend among a crowd moving in the same direction by happenstance. Other times, the lit up sign of a building would attract her attention and she would wander in, marveling at their wares. Like this, she could understand Robin's fascination with history and culture; though she'd much rather experience it in person or by the words of another, rather than be so impersonal with a book.

If she had to be honest, she was rather grateful for the solitary behaviors of the world's people. Were this a world whose people were distinctly 'village' based, she knew without a doubt they would have been badgering her with questions. A people whose whole existence was limited to only a single settlement and its surrounding lands— anything foreign to them would have merited curiosity, regardless of much the magics imprinted upon herself as a Keybearer attempted to smooth over her presence.

Here, though, her hair, her eyes, even the magic'd pauldron that she'd convinced herself to take as a precaution, all of it barely seemed to register on the minds of those around her. Considering some of the clothing styles she'd seen while out and about, a few eye-catching oddities barely meant anything in terms of eccentricities. Even here, sitting on a wooden bench in a tiny, quiet slice of nature nestled within tower buildings like a polished gem within a wooden brooch, she barely got more than a lingering glance.

It was... comforting, in a way. As if she was just one of the locals. Here, she wasn't Aqua the Keyblade Master. She was just Aqua the Civilian. She was Aqua the Civilian, and she was in the Realm of Light, surrounded by warmth and greenery she had sorely been lacking for over twelve years.

It was with those thoughts, of warmth and Light and nature, that Aqua slipped off into slumber, the rustling of trees and joyous conversations of others filling her ears.

/ - /

It was that itching, itching, skittering, scratching sound that the tiny ant Heartless made that tore her from her sleep, a false Keyblade firmly in her hand as she slashed through the air. Consciousness did not return to her gently; by the time she realized where she was, she was still in that half hazy dream-like state, a part of her convinced she was stuck in some barely remembered, lived-through nightmare transposed into the Realm of Light. The other part of her scowled at those sleep addled thoughts, focusing instead on the annihilation of the Heartless.

A physical block of a clawed swipe brought a scowl to her face, the rush of wind on her bare arm providing enough reason to weave a tap of her arm guard into her next spinning attack. Cold, crawling, comforting sliminess spread across her body, her vision becoming tinted for only a moment before the magics set in and corrected the coloration. There were no rumbling whispers. No pleased grumbles. Only the irritations of a ruined nap that were firmly her own.

The anger couldn't be manifested in the way she wanted, though. No, in this place of trees and grass and benches and perfectly manicured walkways, her displeasure was made known by way of ice and thunder. Things that required precision, or could readily be fixed in the heat of the afternoon sun. The small incursion of Heartless was dealt with so quickly, that by the time Aqua realized she was jumping at literal shadows, people had already started to return.

With barely a thought, Aqua immediately started running, turning into the nearest secluded space she could find and dispelling her armor. She almost would have stepped out and left, too, if it wasn't for the quiet noise that her adrenaline filled ears picked up on as highly unusual. "Who's there?" She whispered, debating on whether or not she should bring out her ice blade or just an orb of mana.

"Don't say anything, Mogrii," a youngish, masculine sounding voice said. "The people of this world can't see you anyway, so just be silent, kupo. Ooooh..."

Aqua pressed her lips together. 'The people of this world'? "Are you a traveller, too?" She asked the hidden voice.

"Oh no, kupo! She heard me!" A small, floating mass shot out of a trash can, wires and the like falling off the creature's body as it flew off.

"Hey, wait!"

For such a tiny creature, it sure flew fast. And had quite the endurance. Aqua had gone nearly four blocks, weaving through the mass of bodies before it turned into another alley and pressed itself against a wall, panting heavily.

"Do whatever you want to me, kupo! You won't get anything! You hear me, kupo?! Nothing!"

A white body, red pompom attached by way of antennae with a similar looking orb on its face, and violet, almost bat-like wings? Aqua stared down at the creature, frowning. "What are you?"

"What am I, she asks, kupo? Pah." The creature moved as if spitting, its facial features contorting into what Aqua assumed was anger. "What am I? That's your question, kupo? Not who? Peh. Didn't your parents teach you better?"

Aqua winced. While respecting sentients wasn't exactly a lesson Master Eraqus ever covered, the creature was right in that asking somebody that was rather indelicate. "I apologize. I just haven't seen one of your kind ever before."

"One of my kind?!" The creature sputtered. "How could you not have ever seen a Moogle, kupo?! Especially as a world traveller!?"

"It's... been a while since I travelled much," she admitted, wondering exactly how much she would have to blatantly lie versus simply bending the truth.

The creature— Moogle?— stared at her blankly for a moment before shouting out in surprise. "You're a world traveller! You can see me!" In a burst of movement, the moogle was directly in her face, stubby paws holding her by the cheeks with a surprising amount of force. "Tell me you have magitech! Tell me you have any tech! Show me any synthesis materials you have! Give me the goods!"

"I don't have any?!" Synthesis materials? Magitech? The closest to the latter she had was probably Robin's arm guard, and as for the former, the only thing that could have possibly come to mind was some of the odds and ends she picked up alongside the rare piece of munny that the Heartless dropped; varying chunks of solidified mana that neither could access but both admitted were rather interesting to look at.

"How can you not have synthesis materials!?" the moogle shouted. "You fought and slew Heartless! Those things drop synthesis materials on defeat when you're lucky!"

"I have some, I have some!" She shouted back, shoving her hands between her face and the moogle to push the creature away. How could something so small have so much strength?!

"Show me! I need them!"

"Okay, okay! But I don't have them on me, right now!" Aqua quietly apologized to Fred for the nightmare she was about to unleash on his home. "They're somewhere else right now, with my other belongings."

"Then bring me to them!" The moogle dashed behind her, settling itself over her shoulder. "Move it, move it! I haven't messed with anything meeting my standards in months!"

Fred had told her that when she was ready to come back, she was to call Heathcliff. It was a fact she didn't remember until she was easily halfway towards the mansion. A heavily regrettable thing, especially when Mogrii took to complaining every other minute about how long the trip was taking, and when at some point it had yelled out 'curse this world for not knowing magic! If you were only able to cast a spell to make this trip easier!', she purposely said nothing about her Blizzard rail.

At least the salvation for her feet known as Heathcliff had the additional blessing of not being able to see Mogrii.

Yet.

She thought.

When she had strolled up to the car, Heathcliff had raised a brow at her (and possibly more specifically, the moogle on her shoulder), taking a moment before saying-more-than-asking 'enjoyed your walk, m'am?'

All she could do at the time was nod silently, thankful for the reprieve but dreading another minute of having to put up with Mogrii's complaining. It was why she was extremely surprised that the moogle had acted as little more than an exceptionally made plush toy the entire trip, the behavior continuing up until she closed the door to her room.

"Show me the goods! Now!" the moogle shouted, once again flying into her face.

Aqua held no shame in showing her displeasure as she claimed her pants and pouches from their storage, irritated grimace morphing into the kind of regret formed from realizing you'd forgotten something critical for a camping trip and were far too invested to make a return trip.

"Ooooh, yes, that's the stuff~" Mogrii immediately began nuzzling the various colored gems she'd picked up over her stay in the Realm of Darkness, cooing at this and that and muttering about 'all the wonderful creations we can make, you and I.' Frankly, its fondness for the items combined with the almost perverse mumbling about what it was doing was enough to keep her silent as the moogle very casually created an arcane circle with nothing but its own mana.

"Aqua?"

She turned to face Robin, unable to remove the perturbed look she knew was on her face.

Robin stared at the moogle and its movements, expression furrowing into a frown. "I'm assuming you don't know this creature?"

"A just met him— it— today," she whispered, hesitant to regain Mogrii's attention. "It's a Moogle, whatever that means, and apparently it's adept with magic creations." For not the first time since the moogle began its work, Aqua scoured her memories, wondering if Master Eraqus had ever taught them about the moogles or if the memory had simply faded into obscurity.

"Magic creations?" Robin cupped his chin. "Has this 'moogle' seen your arm guard, yet?"

Aqua shook her head. "No, it's been too fixated on 'synthesis materials', stuff that I've picked up off the Heartless while we were in— you know."

The magic circle Mogrii was working with suddenly began to glow a vibrant gold. With a single flash, all of the assorted gems Mogrii had pilfered disappeared. In their place, six luminescent gems appeared alongside a faintly glowing braided cord of string ending in what seemed to be silky smooth ribbons of fabric.

"Ha hah! I did it! Five months of nothing but substandard materials and a populace that barely knows the basics of alloy creation and I can still synthesize materials flawlessly! Oh, mama Mogli, does this wishful child of yours make you proud, still?"

Aqua stared. She was sure that Robin was as well. Though the finished product had yet to be assembled, even from here she could feel the magical properties of the items. And, if her eyes weren't deceiving her, the cord and the trio of black gems, two of which were smaller than the other, seemed to be emanating near ethereal wisps of a shadowy haze.

"I'm taking it to Hiro and Aiko."

"What?!" Aqua flinched and glanced towards Mogrii, the moogle still crowing to itself about its abilities.

Robin silently pointed a finger towards the gems. "It just turned those gems you've collected into something that reeks of magical enchantments. Plus, you said yourself that it specializes in magical creations, something that the three of us have been working on the past week. Right now we're just starting work on drafting up some prototypes, but if this Moogle can expedite the process?"

"Hey! You!" Mogrii jolted over to Robin, holding his surprisingly elastic cheeks in its paws. "You have materials, don't you! Don't lie to me! Your whole coat is brimming with magic! You've got to have picked up some stuff!"

Robin said nothing for several seconds, staring blankly at the moogle in his face. A sensual, almost sleazy tone entered Robin's voice as he spoke. "You know, I actually do have a handful of things somewhere. Why don't I take you there and we see what you can do with them?"

"Yes! More synthesis materials!" Mogrii's formed nearly blurred, the moogle doing the same thing it had done to her and lazing about over Robin's right shoulder. "Onward! To progress and innovation!"

Aqua stared at her closed door in silence, unsure how to process the events that just happened. Was it because Robin was just overworked, or was that calculative expression on his face a result of Grima? Or was that just how he normally acted when he was in Tactician mode and needed to make the most use out of all his resources?

She let out a sigh and plopped down on her bed, resting her head in her hands. All things considered, the day had gone by rather smoothly, and though she'd much rather have been able to spend more time wandering about the city, what she had accomplished was enough to figure out what she'd like to do in the future. It was as she was thinking about the most recent event that Aqua sat up straight, lips curling downward.

That incursion of Heartless was far too sudden. Far too small. All she fought were those soldiers and ants, and they were so weak a single slash or second tier spell was able to deal with them. It wasn't like the previous battles which took far more effort to deal with them. Not, compared to the battles from before, this one felt more like...

"A scouting party," she murmured.

Mogrii had mentioned seeing her deal with the Heartless— did that mean it had seen her from the very beginning before she had her armor up? Had others seen her doing so or were they all running away? And if one being now knew who she was, who else did? Instinctively, Aqua slid her hand into a pocket, grabbing hold of her Wayfinder. One week. That's all she had before things were starting back up again. One week of blissful ignorance to the things around her. It wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough. Aqua groaned and fell back, throwing out her other arm. "Light, give me strength..."

Next chapter will be December 13th.