Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and everything else belongs to Walt Disney and Square-Enix.

The OCs and their alter-ego that appear in this story belong to their respective authors. More information about them are found in the "Original Characters' Intro" chapter.

::KINGDOM HEARTS III Online HD::

-The Return of a Legend-

Rian was on his motorbike, going as fast as he could through the meteor shower of space as the cry of the pursuing flying heartless rented the galaxy. Wherever he zoomed, he always felt their sinister eyes watching his every turn. But he knew that no matter what happens, he would see that the enigmatic young man that was sitting behind him was brought back to safety. After all, he did rescued him from that creepy sarcophagus he was locked in, alive and possibly waiting for his death.

Rian glanced over at the young man, who looked rather pale and unconscious, as if he was slowly dying. Apparently, the young man has been in that sarcophagus for as long as he could remember. So he was losing energy and kept on slipping in and out of trance.

"Hey, you're awake?" he called out to him, but didn't get a response.

"Just hang on, buddy." Rian said, "Everything's gonna be okay. I'll make sure that you get away from—!"

A powerful flash of wind blasted the motorbike backward, forcing Rian to stop. He saw an Unversed right in front of him: the Metamorphosis.

"…these freaks!" he finished his sentence, being face-to-face with the new enemy.

The Metamorphosis spun toward Rian with its tentacles, sending him backward. Rian stopped his motorbike from losing control.

"Get out of my way, you octopus freak!" Rian charged toward the creature with his bike, "Air Gyre!"

Rian on the Motorbike struck the metamorphosis with multiple-hit combos across.

"Thunder Jet!"

He then unleashed powerful sparks of electro-shocking Thunder blasts on the creature.

"Thunder Bolt!"

He then pushed a button on the motorbike and it charged a powerful electric beam. The beam struck the metamorphosis hard.

"And for the final touch… BRAVE BEAM!"

Thunder was ready to summon his Keyblade when instead; six of the blades pulled out of his motorbike and began hovering around him, "What?" he was stunned to see all Keyblades together. The Keyblade charged their beams and together shot blasts of Thunder on the Metamorphosis, sending it flying off space.

"Oh yeah! Boo-yeah! Boo-ya-ka!" Rian pumped his fists in the air, "I nailed you!" he turned to the young man who was still unconscious, "Yo, did you see that? I blasted that creature out of oblivion! Whoo!"

No response.

"Still not yourself huh?" Rian's smile suddenly disappeared when his eyes caught a light flickering from behind him. Immediately he knew what was coming.

"Oh, no. Not again."

He watched the metamorphosis charging toward him at full speed. Rian quickly revved up his motorbike, punched on the gas and blasted off, trying to get away from the creature. But the metamorphosis was getting closer and faster.

"Damn it, get away, you freak!" he shouted.

Too late. The Metamorphosis's shadow hovered above him. He could feel the threat of that space octopus all over again, this time freakier than before. The Unversed zoomed right past him at full launch, leaving behind a powerful gust of blast. The blast knocked Rian and the motorbike twirling through rain of comets. The motorbike vanished, and the unconscious young man flew off the vehicle. Rian watched a life that he just saved slipping from his hands.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Rian flew far away, so far away from his Keyblade and the man he rescued that he completely lost them and ended up in a rain of meteors. He closed his eyes and braced himself for what was coming. His body struck a meteor roughly, then bounced onto another meteor, then another one… pretty much as he entered through that rain of meteor he was pummeled by these rocks—flying and idle ones together. He soon couldn't feel anything and everything went dark.

xXx

"Rian…"

Rian blinked and squinted at the call of his name. He was waking up. His eyes peered vaguely across his surroundings. He was lying on a soft bed, inside a dimmed room full of books and artifacts. He briefly noticed the window. There were stars and comets flying across distance. Immediately he knew where he was: back at the Mysterious Tower.

"He's waking up…"

Rian heard the voice again. His gaze turned to a group. A strange group that didn't look human. He blinked a couple of times to rid of the blurry vision, and he clearly noticed the group that was staring at him… or standing before him, as they did not have eyes, but had woody bodies and arms like twigs. And their legs were…

"Brooms?" he gasped, finally realizing who they were.

"Get away!" The brooms sharply took off, squealing and tearing off through the chamber like cockroaches under a turned-on light.

"Hey wait…!" Rian sat up on his bed, but the sharp pain on his back restrained him, "Agh…!"

"Glad you survived that fall."

Rian heard Mickey. The king and his master Yen Sid came into the room.

"What happened…?" Rian groaned.

"You went through that asteroid rain back in space." Yen Sid told him, "You could have gotten killed you know?"

Rian suddenly realized he wasn't alone during that trip, "Oh no. That guy!"

"He's fine." Mickey reassured him, "He's in the next room."

Rian sighed in relief.

"But…" Mickey and Yen Sid then glanced at each other in silence then turned back to Rian. Rian followed their awkward gazes.

"There's more is there?" Rian finally said. "Like some big secret you're gonna tell me?"

"Gosh, you sure know how to read minds." Mickey said with a sigh.

"It's about this young man you saved." Yen Sid said, "He's not what you think he is actually."

"What do you mean?" Rian asked, "He's not a Keybearer?"

"Oh, he is a Keybearer all right." Mickey said.

"But he is more than that." Yen Sid added.

And yet there was another brief silence.

"Aw, come on!" Rian complained, "Don't keep me in suspense! Who is it?" he winced in pain.

"Ruin." Yen Sid responded.

"Ruin?" Rian blinked.

"The Keyblade Champion." Mickey revealed.

Rian looked lost, "Ohh-kay. So what's the Keyblade Champion and what can he do?"

Mickey furrowed his brow, "You mean to tell me that you played the KHIII Online HD game almost your entire life and you still have no idea who the Keyblade Champion is?"

"Of course I know who the Keyblade Champion is!" Rian said defensively before he immediately looked down in shame, "I just don't know what he does."

"Ahh…" Yen Sid articulated before facing his apprentice "See, now that is the good part Mickey. Teaching young Keyblade Apprentices about a lost Keyblade legend."

Rian looked up, "Legend?"

"Are you well enough to walk?" Yen Sid asked him, "We should speak about it over at my loft."

xXx

Rian managed to be on his feet, despite the pain he was in. Of course, Mickey and Yen Sid showed concern, thinking that perhaps he should still be in bed to recover, but Rian, as stubborn as always, insisted. Finally they sat together at Yen Sid's loft on comfortable sofas, with Yen Sid's conjured up green tea on hand, and eagerness from the young hero to learn of the legend.

"You probably know the origin of the Keyblade Riders right?" Yen Sid asked Rian who nodded in response. He went on, "Well, there was this one Keyblade Rider by the name of Kage Rei. He was the Keyblade Rider of Magic. He possessed extraordinary powers beyond imagining. Even beyond me."

Mickey took turn, "Kage had a sister. Her name was Naraku. You probably know her as…"

"Kami?" Rian finished before his eyes went wide in suspense, "Wait a minute…" he turned to look at the young Keybearer, still unconscious and lying in bed in a separate chamber across from the loft, "You mean to tell me that this guy is the Keyblade alter-ego of Kami's missing brother?"

"The one and only." Mickey said

"I knew it." Rian said, "I had my suspicions earlier the moment I laid eyes on him. But I wasn't sure. So, what's up with Kage?"

Mickey then proceeded, "One day of training, Kage's power overwhelmed him. It did so that he was unable to control it. So he traveled far from the Land of Heroes to request help from a witch."

"Maleficent?"

"No. Vivian." Yen Sid said, "A rival of Merlin and me. But that is another story to focus on later. "Kage sought the witch and found her. She promised to help him with his magic if he could bring to her his comrades to her for an ancient gathering. But then Kage realized his mistake. This witch had been targeting the Keyblade Riders ever since they came to existence, and he was not willing to sacrifice his friends just so that he could learn to control his powers."

"So what happened?"

"He refused to carry on her request." Yen Sid went on, "But that refusal was not in the witch's mind. The witch got so furious that, like lightning, she struck a curse on Kage! If he was to perish into the shadows, his heart would give out, and it would be the first seal needed to bring back a frightening darkness once more. And not only will his heart give out, so will his friends. So will the Keyblade Riders, one-by-one. After coming to this realization, Kage decided to change his name to Ruin. Ruin signifying that his trust for his friends has been nothing but sham."

Hearing all this 'heart' story even made Rian's heart almost jump out of his throat. He quickly regained his composure, "…so is that what happened to Kage? I mean, Ruin? His heart just gave out?"

"No." Mickey responded, "His heart was robbed. Snatched out of his body."

Now Rian felt his heart jumped out his throat, "What?" he gasped. He closed in on Mickey and Yen Sid with panic on his face, "Then what's gonna happen to the Keyblade Riders? To my friends? TO ME?"

"Calm, Rian." Yen Sid said with a serene tone, "Nothing will happen to you, unless Thunder and the other Riders lose their Hearts of Pure Bravery as well, then you and your friends will slip into this endless sleep very similar to Kami's brother back in the hospital."

Rian mirthlessly chuckled, "Wait… they say he was PKed. I mean, that's what Kami told me."

"PKing is only a basic term known in your world." Mickey said, "Here in this realm however, it is better to say, your Heart has been stolen. And you, Rian, just saved it."

There was a brief silence. Rian looked back to see the young man still fast asleep. He then faced Yen Sid and Mickey again, still looking shell-shocked, "Wait…" he pointed at him, "HE is a heart?"

"Indeed." Yen Sid replied, "That heart is Kage's heart. And you've just rescued it from having the seal broken. Recently, lost hearts have been able to take on ghostly forms of their true bodies. Their true selves. And I loosely use the term ghostly for they can appear in flesh as well. But only temporarily."

Rian collapsed on his chair, "My gosh…"

Yen Sid went on, "If you were too late on your rescue mission, all the Keyblade Riders' hearts would've been broken as well. One by one. And the Darkness we all fear would've returned before we even knew it. You've saved the Keybearers."

"I'm glad I did." Rian said with a sigh, "But just out of curiosity, what type of evil would've had been unleashed if I was too late? And you still haven't really explained to me what the Keyblade Champion does."

Mickey and Yen Sid glanced at each other again before facing Rian. Rian quickly added, "I mean don't get me wrong though. Everything you've told me so far is really good knowledge. It's quite a shocker to find out that a Keyblade Rider's heart could be the key to unleash…"

"…Xehanort." Yen Sid and Mickey both said.

Rian blinked, "…wait, what?"

"Master Xehanort." Mickey said, "He and his apprentice Vanitas. They are the evil. The evil that would've been unleashed, should Ruin lost his heart."

"Master Xehanort…" Rian said again, "You mean that old crone who plunged himself into Terra, ripped his heart out of his body, and turned him into a vegetable for to control? And Terra ended up…" Rian stopped talking; picturing himself what it would be like to be banished out of his own body; his mind be wandering about to an empty shell of his armor as a lingering spirit… and what about his heart? It won't be strong enough to take out an old man possessing his body, like Terra wasn't. He then said again, this time his voice trailing off, "…the same Master Xehanort?"

"But there is hope." Mickey said, his voice shedding out lint of fate, "Hope that if this was to happen, if Master Xehanort and his apprentice were to come back, "His counterpart would return. The one destined to defeat him completely. Thus the reason why Ruin is called the Keyblade Champion. Due to Vivian's curse, he has the power to not only bring back a dark legend but also a new hope."

"…someone who can defeat Master Xehanort." Rian said, "…and Ruin could be the key to do just that. But then again…" he looked back at Ruin who was still sleeping, "…it will come at a price: his heart… and everyone else's. If only…"

He sighed, trailing off hopelessly, "…if only there was a way… if only…"

xXx

The trio heard a slow mumbling. Ruin was waking up. His eyes slowly fluttered open and blankly stared about his surroundings. He saw Yen Sid and Mickey besides him.

"Gosh, you're all right?" Mickey asked him.

Ruin slowly rose out of bed, "…I guess… I guess I am… just not myself…"

"True." Yen Sid responded, "As a heart, you must be conserved and protected at all costs. This is my home, the Mysterious Tower. I have sealed this place from all forces of darkness, so you're safe now."

Rian who was nearby quietly watched the group.

"So can you explain to us what happened?" King Mickey asked.

Ruin shook his head, "…I don't… I don't remember anything. My mind is… dismissive."

"Just as predicted." Yen Sid said, "…as a heart, your senses and emotions are twice as effective as what you usually are in shell form. However you do not possess all the memories you used to have. Only your mind does possess it."

Rian, still hiding and listening, shook his head and closed his eyes. It was just as he feared. Ruin couldn't remember anything that has happened to him. It's no wonder he did not even remember his name.

Just at that moment Ruin spoke, "I sense your heart is troubled, Rian."

Rian jumped. How he knew he was hiding behind that wall was kinda freaky. He was so sure he was hiding well, he thought. He finally slipped out and slowly approached the group, "…err…how did…"

"Hearts are able to communicate with other hearts." Yen Sid explained to Rian, "Think of it as someone who can reads your mind."

"…your heart fears that something like this could happen to you as well." Ruin asked Rian, "I wouldn't worry if I were you, because I sense your heart is also a brave one who can overcome any obstacles. And I would like to thank you once again for rescuing me."

Rian nodded quietly with a faint smile. There was this moment of silence that even got Mickey and Yen Sid staring about with questions on their minds as well. Ruin took noticed of that, before facing Rian who also had something on his mind.

"…so," Ruin finally said to Rian, breaking the silence, "…I see that you are desperate to tell them your plan but are too afraid to know their answer. Do you want to proceed, or should I?"

"Uh-oh." Mickey interjected, already sensing Rian's next scheme, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Rian took a deep breath and faced Yen Sid and Mickey, "Guys," he said, "I'm sorry. This can't wait. I need to take Ruin back to Midlight City. He must return to his Keyblade Rider."

Mickey and Yen Sid were about to say something but Rian quickly interrupted, "And if I can't find Ruin's shell, might as well try to reunite him with his Earthy twin Tenshu, who's still at the hospital."

Once again the duo wanted to speak but Rian quickly went on, "Yes, I know it's gonna be a perilous journey and I'm at a high risk of losing Ruin's heart and myself to those Blackhearts Dominion if I go on, but as a Keybearer I gotta do this, 'cause it's my duty to protect everyone and defeat those demons! And I also wanna find the other Keyblade Riders as promised before the Dominion ever finds out! And I gotta find Talen too! I gotta see if he's okay. I saved my life and I owe him that much; and I'm pretty sure that he will owe me too big time. So no, I can't stay here all by my lonesome… I mean, stay here with you guys—even if I gotta protect my true identity from the Dominion and still make them believe that my Keyblade Rider died when he is very much alive and using my namesake just because he's my twin—but sometimes I gotta take the high road and step out of my hiding place to face those who are a threat to me and my friends!"

Rian wheezed and gasped, his back hunched and his eyes on the floor. After that much talking without a single pause, this convincing better be worth it!

Yen Sid smiled, "Spoken like a true Keyblade Rider."

"Wh…wh… whaat…?" Rian blinked. Now he was seeing stars.

"It means yes." Mickey responded, "We will let you go on your journey. Take Ruin with you and make sure he returns to his shell, and restore Kami's brother from his coma."

"R…really?" Rian sighed heavily, "…you mean that?"

"Yes." Yen Sid said, "But next time, try to pause on your sentence."

Rian struck a military salute, "Yes sir!" he smiled, "And I promise, I will protect Ruin with my life. Come with me, Ruin."

And Rian took off. Ruin stood up from his bed and quietly followed. As he was halfway to the door, he paused and turned to face Yen Sid and Mickey.

"Do not worry." Ruin said, "I will protect Rian as well. If he is to lose his heart, I will take over his shell and prevent his downfall."

"Thank you Ruin." Mickey said. "We appreciate your concern."

"Now, best of luck on your journey." Yen Sid said, "And stay safe."

Next Episode: Godly Tourneys