Sorry I'm late on posting, dear readers. The holidays have been pretty hectic, and I've been distracted.

And if some of you find this a rather short chapter, sorry about that. But to compensate, the second visit of Traverse Town will come in two or three parts, depending on what I think would be better to do. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this regardless and...oh, man, I so missed writing Shantotto's rhyming speech...Rhyming was a witch.

And if DarkKitsuneFluffy is reading this, guess who's back?

blueorchid7: I'm glad you're actually enjoying this story so far. I wanted to break the cliché that other writers had been doing with their original characters, particularly the whole 'Princess of Whatever the Writer Thinks About' and bring out a whole different character to stand out from the canon cast. And don't worry: I've got plans for further down the line. But I'm not gonna spill the beans on what.

All that being said, enjoy!

Constructive reviews are welcome. Rude comments are not.

I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except my OCs.

Read, review, but no flames allowed.

Chapter 7: Back to Traverse Town

After finding their gummi ship and checking to see if everything is still functional, the party took their leave of Deep Jungle. Since nobody had a clue as to the strange gummi blocks they had found in the previous worlds, it was unanimously agreed that they should head back to Traverse Town and ask about it; that and it was agreed that they might need to be more prepared for any further travelling they'll be doing. Not to mention, Sora thought it would be good for Luna and Medea to properly introduce them to the people he had met when he arrived in town.

To pass the time before their landing, Donald agreed to help Luna and Sora learn how to use magic properly – at Luna's own request – so that they'd be able to handle using magic better than they did before. Granted, it wasn't exactly cakewalk on Sora's part to practice since he was more used to striking physically; but in Luna's case, she had to figure out how to work around her skills and, with enough studying on her conjurations, she was able to learn how she can use magic in conjunction with her Shadow Hands (in fact, when Donald got a better idea of her style, he was the one who actually helped her figure out how to position the Hands to perform specific magic spells).

When they did arrive in Traverse Town, things seemed to be pretty calm…for the moment. But it was pretty clear that many of the townsfolk are not going to take any chances of trekking through the streets if it means the Heartless are still out there.

"Where are we going to find the Leon guy…?" Luna wondered.

"Dunno. Maybe we should ask someone," Sora suggested. "Or maybe Yuffie might know where he is."

"Wow, that's a smart idea. Any other brilliant suggestions?" Medea deadpanned.

"We could look for Seymour," Luna brought up an idea. "Or maybe speak with Larsa again."

"Gee, then where would they be?" Goofy wondered.

"You were looking for someone?"

Luna and Sora's attention was caught by the perky female voice, making them turn around to find the ninja Yuffie in the square giving them a friendly 'welcome back' wave as she was approaching them. Apparently, she had just arrived at the square and found them without them knowing it.

"Let me guess: you're looking for Leon, right? He's probably at the underground cavern," Yuffie explained, "He trains there often. You know, the channel in the alleyway is connected to the cavern."

"Where could we find such a thing? I don't think I've seen it," Luna confessed, "At least, not when we got here the first time."

"Aw, it's fine. I'm sure Larsa can point out where it is. Besides, he's helped scouting the place for Heartless time to time," the ninja reassured her.

"I wouldn't be too surprised, since he did seem able to take care of himself," Medea commented.

"That'd help a lot. Thanks," Sora thanked as they went on their way.

Yuffie grinned cheerfully. "Glad to be of help!"

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to look too far for Larsa as soon as they found him by an outdoor restaurant further down the district; apparently, he was searching the area for any Heartless that might've shown their faces unannounced. As soon as he did spot Sora and Luna, he lowered his guard to say hello to them.

"Welcome back, all of you. I trust your adventure has been well?" Larsa asked out of curiosity.

"It was…bittersweet, I think. We saved some worlds so far, and we've met wonderful people in those worlds," Luna answered, "But…we still haven't found Riku or Kairi. And…well…I don't know how to explain anything else."

"We're looking for Leon. Yuffie said that you'd know where he is," Sora added, "since we don't know where this channel is."

"I see. Then I'd be glad to guide you there," Larsa said in understanding. "I still have to make my rounds, but I can show you where to go."

With his guidance through the streets, their youngest friend led them to a waterway channel guarded by a set of metal bars to prevent anyone from snooping in. It certainly made the group wonder why anyone would want to train in a secluded place like this, or inside a cavern deep within there for that matter.

"This is where you need to go if you want to talk to him. You'd best let him know what you've been through and what you've found out there," Larsa told them. "I'm sure it could give us a bit of hope against the Heartless."

"No problem. Besides, we need to know where to go from here," Sora agreed.

"Oh, and by the way, if you happen to find Zidane in the cavern, will you let him know that I'll need a little help on the rounds?" Larsa requested. "I will require his aid in the second district if he's not too busy."

This caught Luna's attention, puzzling her in the process. "Zidane…? Why does that sound familiar?"

"Who knows? Maybe you'll know when ya see this guy," Medea suggested, to which Luna silently agreed on.

Once Larsa had gone off to continue his patrol of Traverse Town, Luna and the others continued on their way to meet with the others; though, the first thing they had to do was get rid of the bars blocking their way in. Thankfully, Medea took care of that by tearing the bars apart with her Black Claws (which startled the boys since they've never seen just how strong this guardian really is). After that, they had to swim through the tunnel in order to reach the cavern deep inside the empty waterway. Sure enough, they found Leon there sharpening his skills with the gunblade while Aerith simply stayed by the sideline and spoke with the third party member.

The new face was a boy with blond hair in a ponytail and bright blue eyes, wearing a teal vest over a white top with blue cargo pants held by belts, gray gloves with large cuffs and white boots; the one thing that made him an oddball was the fact that he had a monkey's tail.

By the time the party had arrived inside the cavern, Aerith was the first to see them coming and came over to greet them.

"You're back! Did everything go alright?" she asked as she came over to help them up.

"Aside from running into more Heartless, finding keyholes, and meeting different people? It's been pretty good," Sora answered as he climbed out of the water.

"But we haven't found our island friends," Luna added.

This managed to catch Leon's attention as he stopped to speak with them. "So, you found the keyhole."

"Yeah. The Keyblade locked it automatically," Sora replied.

Aerith smiled in relief. "That's good."

"How is it good? It's just a keyhole, isn't it?" Medea questioned.

"Every world among the stars has a keyhole, and each one leads to the heart of that world," Leon explained, "There must be one in this town as well."

Sora and Luna tilted their heads in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It was in Ansem's report," Aerith answered.

Ansem…? Why does that name sound familiar? I wish I knew, Luna thought for a moment.

"The Heartless enter through the keyhole and do something to the world's core," Leon continued to fill in the details.

"What happens to the world?" Sora asked.

Aerith shook her head sadly. "In the end, that world disappears."

Everyone was shocked at this. "What!"

Actually, Luna and Medea were not too shocked at this since both of them did witness the tragic demise of one world they knew about ten years ago at the hands of a man neither of them have fond memories of.

"That's why the key is important," Leon stated, like it was too obvious.

"Please, lock the keyholes," Aerith requested, as though she were softly imploring for help.

"Where does that leave Luna, though? I mean, let's face it: she's not a Keyblade wielder or anything like that," Medea reminded them. "She's something else entirely, and most likely something I'm pretty damn sure you don't know squat about."

"That is true. I am a Shadow Mage, a person who has the power to command the shadows to do as I wish it to and protected by a guardian that lives within my shadow," Luna confessed, "I have no Keyblade, that much is correct."

Aerith seemed to contemplate what both girls told. "You're right about that. I may not understand what a Shadow Mage is, but it might be possible that your power could help aid in the fight against the very creatures we are trying to put a stop to. It might sound like fighting fire with fire, but I believe you have something special that makes you different enough to be able to destroy any Heartless that stand in your way."

Sora lowered his head, rather unsure of himself. "I don't know…"

"What're you worried about? Seeing more worlds might be a good thing for you."

When it was realized that it was the monkey-tailed boy that spoke up, Leon glared at him.

"That was what I was going to say, Zidane," he commented.

"Hey, I just wanted to help, that's all," the boy Zidane answered as he shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, really, you've got a boy who's new to the whole saving the world stuff and a cute girl who got strung along for the ride. Show a little more love, hmm?"

Hilariously, Luna blushed in embarrassment while everyone else's faces questioned 'does he realize what he is saying?' in front of everybody.

"Is this kid always like that?" Medea had to ask in exasperation.

Aerith giggled a bit. "Yes, he's always been that way. Don't take what he says the wrong way. He's just trying to help."

When Luna came to her senses, she realized that something about the boy's name felt vaguely familiar. At first, she wasn't sure where that was – until after a moment of contemplation, it hit her like a ton of bricks; although it wasn't much, one memory came back to her that reminded her of that person she met once. That meant only thing: she's found another face that she had forgotten!

"Wait…Zidane? Now I remember…you said once you lived with Aerith," Luna said with a stunned tone of voice, surprised that she's regained more of her lost memory. "You were the boy who snuck into a garden…But where?"

This actually caught his attention and, when it was least expected, Zidane startled Luna by giving her a big squeeze of joy as though he had really missed being around her after who knows how long.

"This is incredible! Luna, you're really alive! Seymour said before that you had disappeared years ago, and nobody had the faintest idea where you are," Zidane said excitedly, "But look – here you are, and you're alive and well! What's everyone else going to think about this?"

"Everyone else…? What do you mean?" Luna questioned in confusion, unaware that there are others.

"I think you might understand better if you looked for Seymour and his teacher," Aerith suggested. "They might be able to help you find others who say they know you as well."

"Great. Where can we find them?" Sora asked.

"You can find them at Merlin's house, further in town. Zidane can guide you there," Leon answered.

"That's rather thoughtful. Thank you," Luna said sweetly.

"Not a problem. I know where that wizard's place is. Just follow me, everyone!" Zidane said as he led everyone out of the cavern.

"So, judging from what I've been hearing for a little while, Luna knows a few of the people living in Traverse Town, but for some weird reason or another she lost those memories up until now," Sora was saying as they were being led through the streets, "What other places has Luna been to and what other people has she met that I haven't? She's making me more jealous than I'd like to be…"

"Well, let me put it to you this way: there are some things you probably haven't learned from her yet. Whether it was a bit of memory loss or something else as a whole is beyond me, but who cares? She's here, and she's okay, and that's all that matters," Zidane replied jovially.

"It sure makes me wonder who else has missed the little lady all those years," Medea commented sarcastically.

"Do ya know other friends besides this Merlin guy?" Goofy asked out of curiosity.

"Aside from Seymour, there's that magic professor who never seems to stop trying to recite rather prideful poetry – what was her name again? – Oh, yeah, it was Shantotto!" the monkey boy replied, "How a lonesome half-blood got her for a teacher in magic is beyond me, but I can never listen to any of her lectures without falling asleep somewhere."

"It makes me wonder what else we don't know about Luna's adventures," Donald commented, his suspicious glare clearly telling Sora that he wants answers anytime now.

But the duck never got the chance to even try to pry in when they finally arrived in a rather peculiar place that seemed to be underground, and a lone worn-down house sat quietly in the middle of a piece of land surrounded by water. The only way they could even manage to cross to that lonely place was by trekking across three large stones that would slowly move this way and that way.

By the time they did manage to get across, Luna and Sora undoubtedly found Seymour and Alex by the hole in the wall conversing with another individual. The new face was a female with large pointed ears and blond hair set in short, thick pigtails (and of much shorter proportions than Seymour); she was wearing a black-and-white robe with gold linings in some places, dark decorated gloves, and striped boots that were very lightly armored.

"Where on earth is that kooky old hermit? I thought I had specifically informed him to prepare for someone who would need a wizard's permit," the small woman said impatiently as she tapped her feet, "I'm willing to forgive the tardiness of the poor woman and her benevolent hijinks, but that old loon could very easily make someone wish for more than forty winks."

"Professor, you have to understand how Merlin is: he's an old school sorcerer who has great power in his own right," Seymour explained, "It's just that he is hardly a socially active person, unlike you."

"What're you guys talking about?" Sora had to ask instinctively.

The moment Sora asked that question, their attention was quickly diverted long enough to know that they're not alone. Little Alex galloped over to Luna, happy to see her again; Seymour and Shantotto, knowing that they have company, came over to greet the group personally.

"Welcome back, all of you. I see you've met another compatriot of ours," Seymour said, referring to Zidane for a moment, "What brings all of you over here?"

"We were instructed to come here because someone called Merlin could help us for our next journey," Luna replied.

Shantotto noticed the two kids and certainly had something to say. "Well, well, now what do we have here? Have more lost refugees finally deigned to appear? Honestly, everyone has been expecting to find some form of honorable knight, but I am still not seeing it tonight."

Luna couldn't help but get the nostalgic feeling in the magic professor's speech, which helped her restore more of her memories; but this time, she was finally able to identify that this was another one of the people she had met before sometime in the past. Even so, she still had no recollection as to where exactly she did meet her…

"Professor Shantotto…? Your rhyming speeches haven't changed a bit, haven't they?" Luna commented.

Although she wouldn't show it, there was surprise on the sorceress's face. "Oh-ho, and what is this I see standing so shyly before me? Had I but known that it was you returned to us much sooner, I would've thought about a proper way to warmly greet thee. Come, come, and tell me where you have been after all these nine years. Tell me what you have gone through while we had to endure the worlds' greatest fears."

"Excuse me, but can this wait until later? We've got some business here we want to finish up before we go," Medea interrupted.

That was when Sora remembered something. "By the way, do you have business elsewhere, Zidane?"

"What makes you ask?"

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot: Larsa requests your help with recon as soon as possible," Luna explained. She could tell that he wasn't sure whether they'll be okay on their own. "Don't worry. We'll be alright. We'll just have a chat with this wizard and come back later to talk."

As Zidane left to do his job, Luna and Sora followed the two magicians into the old house to find themselves in a rather musty, vacant space within the building; but it was also rather perplexing that the place was actually bigger on the inside than they initially saw on the outside. Before any questions could be brought up, something confusing happened that neither of the young teens anticipated…

"There's something about this musty place…" Luna and Sora turned around to see what appears to be Kairi passing by them. "It reminds me of the secret place, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?"

Luna was shocked at what she was seeing, but at the same time she couldn't believe that her foster sister was here with them.

"Sora? Luna? Is everything alright?" Goofy asked.

Sora shook his head. "I don't know…"

"Well, well, you've all arrived sooner than I expected."

Everyone turned to find out that someone had arrived in the empty room; it was a rather skinny old man with an absurdly long white beard dressed in blue wizard's robes.

"So, you finally deigned to show yourself, Merlin, you ditzy buffoon?" Shantotto asked with irritation on her face, "Tardiness is unbecoming of you, crazy old loon!"

"Really, Professor, you just have no patience for other sorcerers!" the wizard Merlin replied in appall at her mannerisms. "You of all people should know that I run at a perfectly coordinated schedule!"

Luna turned to Seymour in confusion. "Who is that supposed to be?"

"That is Merlin, a wizard in his own right. Don't pay any mind to his quirks," Seymour replied, "He may be rather unorthodox in more ways than one, but he is very reliable when he is needed most."

"You…knew we were coming?" Sora questioned the old wizard.

Upon hearing this, Merlin cleared his throat and brought out his professional manners. "Of course. I was informed that you might."

Medea was not too sure about that. "Really? We didn't even know about you before those two magicians told us so."

"Yes, yes, I had the feeling you'd say that. Anyways, I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home," Merlin told everyone as he moved past them. As soon as he set his bag down, he turned back to them. "You see, the king has requested my help."

"King Mickey?" Goofy asked, curious as to the details.

"Yes, indeed, Donald, Goofy…" Merlin turned to the kids. "And who might you two be?"

"I'm Sora."

"Please, call me Luna."

"Ah. You have the key with you, and it's true there is a Shadow Mage among us," the wizard said, intrigued at what had been confirmed.

"What did the king ask you to do?" Donald inquired.

"Just a moment…" Merlin got up on the stone standing in the middle of the room, and, with the wave of his magic wand, the bag he had on him when he arrived opened to allow countless pieces of furniture to come out of that small space. And – just like magic, the room was no longer empty and dismal, but it was warmer and more inviting. All around the room were piles of vintage books stacked on top of each other and shelves holding all manner of magician's tools and decors that might have more use in the hands of a magic user than a civilian, and hospitable tables and a bed resting in all the right places as though they were saying 'make yourself at home' to whoever has arrived.

At this presentation, Shantotto simply rolled her eyes and said, "A show-off, you just had to be. I hope for your sake you're not letting them bark up the wrong tree."

"Professor, let the wizard do his work," Seymour requested with a sigh.

Thankful that business can begin, Merlin began to explain his job in the cause. "The king asked me to train you both in the art of magic, since your journey will be more difficult as you see other worlds. I'm sure that you'll be saying that you're just fine on your own, but that's not exactly the most logical mentality to go with, especially with all those Heartless running amok these days."

"Yeah, no lying there," Medea couldn't help agreeing on the last bit.

"That's a very generous offer you had to give. I'm sure we'll gladly let you know when we do need some help," Luna said politely.

"Not so fast, my dear girl. There's still one more thing we need to unfurl," Shantotto stopped them before anyone could think about leaving. "I believe we mentioned a benevolent woman who can help in a wink. Don't worry; I'm sure she'll be here in an eye's blink."

Since nobody knew what she was talking about, Merlin pointed over toward a small pumpkin coach nestled in one of the corners of the room. Then, like another form of brilliant magic, the pumpkin coach vanished in a flash and a kindly elder woman in blue robes made an appearance – which actually rang a bell from the past for Luna.

"Hello. I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help as well," Fairy Godmother said sweetly, "I will also be assisting you on your journey."

"I'm quite sure it's not too much, but…" Seymour was about to speak.

"No, it's alright. We'll need all the help we can get, and it's nice to know that someone's looking out for us," Sora interrupted, not wanting to feel bad about the offers.

On Luna's part, while most of the others were distracted, she went over to the Fairy Godmother and embraced her as though she were someone dear that she had missed after years of not seeing her.

"It's very good to see you again, ma'am. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Luna asked.

"Indeed, it has been years. Last I saw you, you were just a small child who had no idea where to direct her path," the kind fairy replied gently, "You've certainly grown into a beautiful young lady after all these years."

But then, Luna remembered something that worried her. "But…I don't understand. Where is Cinderella? Do you know whether or not she's alright?"

Fairy Godmother shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, I do not know where she is. The Heartless took her away as the darkness swallowed the world we had lived in. I was able to escape, but I have no knowledge as to where Cinderella was taken or whether she is alright." She tenderly rubbed Luna's shoulders in reassurance. "But I am certain that you'll be able to find her, Luna. You've known her well enough, so I believe that you might be able to find out what became of her."

Luna nodded in agreement. "You're probably right."

"Hey, Luna! Are you coming? We'd better get going if we want to find the keyhole."

When she realized that Sora was calling to her, Luna gave one more farewell to the kind-hearted fairy and hurried to keep up with everyone else. As she did, she noticed that Sora didn't have a clue about the person she knew about while Medea had an idea as to what the connection is between them.

"Was that another person you knew in the past?" Sora asked her.

"Yes…I knew her from ten years ago. She was the magical godmother of a princess I once knew as well," Luna replied, "She was very sweet and kind when I spoke to her, even though our meeting was short."

"Do you think we'll be able to meet other people you've met before?" Sora couldn't help wondering.

"Who knows? You'd be surprised how many people would know Luna the moment they lay their eyes on her," Medea answered for her. "Though, considering what that lady had said earlier, I wouldn't be too surprised if something happened to most of the places she's been to before."

That was something Luna couldn't deny after what she had just heard from Fairy Godmother; if something terrible happened to the good people she met as a child like Cinderella, it made her dread what might've befallen the other people she's met in the past. For that matter, if the Heartless took Cinderella, what happened to Snow White? What happened to the princess Aurora, even though she hadn't directly met her personally? Are there any other worlds she knew still around, for that matter?

The only way she'll ever be able to know is to keep travelling and, hopefully, she'll have an answer that can be found…