Author's note: Sorry that it's late. I was meant to update but I had trouble plotting it and such. But now it's back again, and I intend on finishing it this year. But from this point forward, most of the rest of the dream fragments won't have much dialogue.
Let's continue on and please remember these notes.
The Bold is the Author's Notes.
The Italic is both memories, thoughts and dreams.
The Bold &Italicare the names of the worlds.
The Brackets (-and Bold-) are the BGM(which will never happen, but one can dream, right?).
I hold no rights to Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII, Pokemon or Sailor Moon.
CHAPTER 11: Hurtful Memories.
(~Missing You-KH2~)
Meanwhile, at Disney Castle...
King Mickey found he couldn't sleep tonight. He wasn't certain why, but something else happened that was causing more sadness somewhere in the worlds. He didn't want to disturb Minnie, so he silently left their bedroom and into the gardens late at night to gaze up at the stars. Gazing at the stars that some where worlds, some where the hearts of so many lives through out the multiverse. Last time he did this was three years ago, on the night when he had the strangest dream that seemed so real. But right now, Mickey felt the sadness from one of the stars and could've sworn that a star blinked out.
Funny enough, the stars of three of the friends he met eight years ago still blinked, but for a long time, while he never met one of the three, there was still no sign of any of them and the other three friends he met, one he travelled with and was close to, they were already gone. Two whom didn't exist yet and may never will, and one...she gave her life to save others.
Eight years...eight years and still Mickey held the twinge of guilt and sadness in his heart, but he had managed to sway away from falling into despair. He still remembered the adventure from when he first met one of them right up to the end of the adventure, the last time he saw any of them.
(Mickey's memories: Moments from Sailor Moon 0-Birth By Sleep)
"This is a weird dream!" Jason exclaimed, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.
"Gee, I'm really sorry if I scared ya'. I didn't mean to." Mickey apologuised once he realised that he might've frightened the poor kid.
"Grovyle!" Jason exclaimed, looking around for any signs of his friend, but his only companion right now was Mickey, "Where's Grovyle?"
"Grovyle?" Mickey asked, puzzled, wondering what the boy was talking about.
"Have you seen a green Pokemon?" Jason then quickly asked with hope.
While the name Grovyle was vaguely familiar to Mickey, the mouse shook his head apologetically, "Nope, sorry."
Sighing in defeat and realising he was on his own, Jason muttered, "So that means he's somewhere else...and..." he trailed off as his eyes widened in another realization-he was in another world and on top of that..."I'm in the past!" he exclaimed in shock. The Passage of Time took him several years into the past.
Hearing this made Mickey awfully confused, and while he was familiar with time-travel, having been through that experience four years ago, he wondered what had caused Jason to travel back in time and into the present.
"Just as I feared." Yen Sid said with grave in his tone, "These monsters you have just encountered, they are new, but they intend to do harm-not just to the worlds, but to the Princessess of Heart as well. These creatures feed on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken the form of them. The "Unversed" will intend to do you harm. They are connected to the forces of darkness. You must be fully alert." having come up with the name of the monsters.
"Unversed?" Mickey repeated with concern of his own.
Jason, confused while trying to piece together on what he was hearing, then said, "Lemme get this straight. Are you saying that those things that attacked us feed on negative emotions? Kinda sounds like a world I've heard about in legend that was destroyed because of negativity around thousands of years ago."
"Mickey? What's the hurry?" Jason asked, only to be shushed by Mickey who looks back upstairs, as if making sure no one was listening.
Once he was certain that Yen Sid wasn't within earsdrop, Mickey gazed back at Jason and whispered, "I'm going to other worlds and find out where the Unversed are comin' from."
"You are?" Jason whispered back.
"Yup. I'm worried about could happen, and I can't just stay here knowing that the worlds need help." Mickey answered and he did look worried. He'd been on so many adventures since five years ago and he wasn't afraid. In fact, as much as he hated to admit it, he still loved adventures to this day.
He then added with a smile, "Besides, you're comin' with me, if ya want."
"Huh?" Jason asked, confused.
"I wanna help ya find your friend Grovyle." Mickey concluded, holding out his hand for a shake.
Realising what this means, and, seeing that this would be his only chance in finding Grovyle, Jason smiled in gratitude and shook hands with Mickey.
Nodding at his new friends' names, Ven then commented as he gazed at the Keyblades, "I see you've both got Keyblades."
"Yep. I've been trainin' under the great Yen Sid." Mickey explained, taking a quick gaze at the weapon that's been his companion for the last five years.
Jason shrugged in slight embarrassment as he explained while gazing at his own Keyblade, "Yeah, well, I just got mine a little while ago. I had no idea how that even happened." before continuting with a shrug, "See, it's a long story, but I got separated from my best friend, Grovyle."
Mickey then continued to explain, "Master Yen Sid found out the worlds are in trouble, an' I wanted to help Jason find his friend, an' we both sorta took off without tellin' him." rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, while Jason grinned sheepishly.
"Well, that makes the three of us." Ven said, not surprised, admitting, "I ran off, too."
"Wise Ansem, it's an honor to meet you." Mickey spoke wisely himself, which he didn't do as much, except to his elders. "My name is Mickey Mouse. I'm King of Disney Town."
Ansem was slightly surprised to hear this, before giving Mickey a welcoming smile, as he replied, "The pleasure is all mine, King Mickey. It's not often I get to meet a fellow King from another Kingdom, and a young one at that. I'd be more than happy to make auidence with you."
"Thank you so much." Serenity told the two young wielders, introducing herself, "I am "Sailor Moon", Sailor Soldier of the light."
"My name is Aqua. I train under Master Eraqus." Aqua introduced herself.
Mickey smiled and introduced himself in return, "And I'm Mickey. I used to be Yen Sid's apprentice. I came back to him for some more training."
While Jason was surprised by 'Sailor Moon's' early appearence, he decided to worry about that later and introduced himself to the two women, "Name's Jason. I just recently got my Keyblade, and, it's kinda a long story."
Serenity could see this at least as she told him, "You show such determination for a young man at your age." which made Jason blush. She then turned to Mickey and told him about the little girl who didn't understand what they were talking about, "I believe there's strong light within this young girl. Do you think that's why those monsters attacked her?"
"Yep, I think ya might be absolutely right." Mickey agreed, having also sensed the light from the girl who was behind him and Jason, as he continued, "If ya ask me, she must be somebody pretty extraordinary."
"Are you still worried?" Jason asked, taking notice of Mickey's somewhat saddened look.
Mickey sighed, admitting, "When I came back to Yen Sid's tower, and I told him that I was terrified of the thought of the darkness overtaking my heart and that I wanted to try and stop myself from being swallowed up by it, he told me the same thing he told me back a long time ago when I first met him."
Jason gave Mickey comfort which the latter needed the most.
Other times was when Mickey and Jason arrived in so many worlds to find Grovyle and arrived in Neverland where they met Sailor Pluto, fighting against the traitorous Chancellor who seeked out Queen Serenity and the Silver Crystal. The two fought him before they were kidnapped by Vanitas and then defeated by Master Xehanort, and when Mickey and Jason both learned that 'Sailor Moon' and Aqua both rescued them and learned about Xehanort's true goal before heading back to the Keyblade Graveyard in an epic battle in which Grovyle and Terra took on Xehanort while the rest of the group met up and fought against Vanitas who took over Ven's body.
Despite this, Serenity defeated Vanitas, but at the cost of Ven losing his heart, but Yen Sid assured them that as long as they all believed, Ven's heart would one day return to his body. Mickey had agreed, and had shared a tearful goodbye to his new friends. After they had left, Mickey was declared a Keyblade Master due to the courage of his heart.
(End of memories)
Mickey sighed as he sat on the soft grass. According to both Jason and Grovyle, Temporal Tower would collaspe in 1998. It was two years from now. Two more years and then time would stop. Mickey wished he knew the answer on how to figure this out early, as well as find Aqua who was still missing, find Ven's heart, and...also to find the descendant of Queen Serenity and the Silver Crystal.
But the visions he had the other day...someone's light was starting to shine in a far away universe. (~End Missing You~)
"The Silver Crystal was split into seven pieces, deep within hearts of others." Mickey quoted, repeating on what Master Yen Sid told him just almost a week ago. The king gazed up at the stars again, muttering, "If only I knew where to find them."
Little did he know, that one friend that he hasn't seen in about a year had noticed him and was on a dangerous journey himself.
Meanwhile, Zack had found himself on the beach of Costa Del Sol in the world of Midgar that he's been at for weeks now ever since the death of Angeal, and was still on edge. The more he had these dreams that seemed so real, the more he's starting to think that Genesis and Yen Sid were right about him. Maybe Zack's dreams really were his lost memories.
But how was that possible, if he lived his whole life in the village in Greece near Thebes? Zack also discovered a little while ago, that Project G was Angeal's mother's expirement. In a recent dream he had, the Dream-Zack had apprehended Hollander in Modeohiem and turned him over to the company. After that, the company put him on standby. That was a while ago now in the dream... Shinra is apparently in disarray right now. The Turks are hanging around him everyday. They say their and Zack's vacations are "overlapped" coicidentally.
Yeah, right... But none of them ever mention Angeal or Genesis. Almost as if they never existed... Is that how little SOLDIER was worth those days? What did Zack have left to fight for? What is SOLDIER honor...?
Zack shook his head. Maybe he was getting himself mixed up with his dreamself or something.
(~Destiny Islands-KH:BBS~)
Walking along side the beach that seemed familiar to him, Zack stood to a stop and wiped sweat from his forehead. This would've been a nice day to take a dip, and the ocean was crystal blue and clear and quite beautiful.
"If I had swimming trunks, I'd be hitting the beach." He said to himself.
"Suntan lotion?" A female voice spoke behind him, startling Zack to turn around to see a familiar young woman with blonde hair. He'd seen her before. Two weeks ago, actually. She was one of the Turks, the newer ones, he thought. But today, she was wearing an emerald green sleeveless dress and sandles, which was a good idea on a hot day like today.
"No thanks." Zack shook his head, before muttering, "I've seen you before...you were with Tseng, Reno and Rude, right?"
Elena nodded, introducing herself, "My name is Elena. I'm a recent member of the Turks."
Well that answered his question. Nodding, Zack replied, "I'm Zack. So, um, you're here on vacation?"
"I guess you could say that. What about you?"
The raven-haired man shrugged, gazed out at the ocean again and admitted, "I would be if I brought things to swim in." with a sheepish smile which made Elena giggle. He then couldn't help but blurt out in thought, "You know, Reno and the others seemed to reconigse me when I first met them. I wonder what it is, though."
It was still confusing on how the Turks knew him before he knew them, or something like that. It was as though they weren't confused, but rather surprised and shocked. That only increased Zack's suspicions that Genesis and Yen Sid were right about him, but there was still something missing about all this. He ignored in asking them about the situation before. Maybe he should go and ask them himself. But...deep in his heart, he couldn't find it in him to do so. Not as long as Genesis was still a threat and he had to handle that situation first.
"I don't understand it, myself." Elena muttered in agreement, which caused Zack to look at her, as she admitted with a slight shrug, "Lately for the past few years, we've been finding strange clues related to the past, and then, before you came, the four of us and the President all passed out. I remember...seeing so many flashes of memories...but...I guess I'm scared."
So Elena was confused about this afterall too. Not to mention afraid. Zack couldn't deny that he was freaked out about this himself, as he folded his arms to his chest, saying, "Huh...you're not the only one."
"Huh?"
"I've been having so many dreams about Midgar and myself in it a lot since the beginning of this year. They gotten worse as I go on, trying to find clues." Zack shrugged himself. That, he figured, was Genesis' fault. If only he had the answers about now. (~End Destiny Islands~)
Elena blinked before thinking of something. Something came up a moment later, and then suggested, "Have you ever heard about the Ancients?"
"Huh?" Zack asked, and instantly, a day-dream or something filled up his mind.
(Fragments from Zack's dreams)
Fragment 42: Zack, in swimming trunks, was with Cissnei as the two discussed on the situation which Zack was shocked to discover from Cissnei that Lazard had disappeared since it was said that he actually funded the situation with Hollander's research, using the ShinRa Company's money, and that Aerith is the last descendant of the Ancients, people with magical abilities who could read the Planet before they were attacked by the surprising return of Genesis Copies, the two and Tseng who had arrived just in time to help aid them(though was still in his Turk uniform despite the 90 degree tempreture) fight against the enemies.
After the fight, Zack was stunned, as he said, "These guys are still attacking...but..."
"Perhaps Genesis is still alive as well." Tseng theoried.
"Huh?"
"When a person dies, their soul is returned to the Lifestream."
"Yeah, I know that. So..."
"The river of souls that circles our planet. Perhaps Genesis's soul is..."
"Controlling copies from the Lifestream?" Zack finished for Tseng, in confusion, but at the same time, it sort of made sense. "So you're saying that he can actually do that even though he's supposed to be dead?"
"It was merely a supposition." Tseng replied, gazing firmly at Zack and Cissnei, declaring, "Either way, your vacation is cut short. Junon is under attack by an unknown force. You're going there with me to investigate."
"Got it." Zack nodded without hesitation, quickly moving to follow the two Turks.
However, during their walk back to the hotel, Zack couldn't help but comment to Cissnei as the two walked and out of earshot from Tseng, "Um, Cissnei. Does Tseng wear that suit everywhere he goes?"
"Were you hoping he'd be in swimming trunks?" Cissnei asked, almost teasingly.
Feeling awkward, Zack shrugged, "No. But, wearing a black suit in a place like this would make you sick, wouldn't it? I mean, surely it's pretty hot."
The two must've stopped walking, because Tseng noticed the two chatting, and then turned to approach them, questioning, "What's wrong?"
Zack felt awkward, before asking, "Aren't you feeling hot or something?"
Getting the picture, Tseng replied, "I can tolorate the heat more than the cold, I admit."
'Well that explains everything.' Zack thought to himself, remembering how Tseng and the other trooper had struggled against the cold in the mountains.
Returning to reality without having passed out, Zack now did now about the Ancients, even if just a little. So he told Elena, "Um...a little bit. They were people with magic that was connected to the Lifestream or something, right?"
"Yes, but they all went extinct years ago. They don't exist anymore." Elena replied.
That explained something, but then another thought occured to him. Aerith was still alive and she was back in Traverse Town. Did that mean...?
"Zack..."
Zack blinked, hearing a strangely familiar voice speak his name in his mind. Felt like...a friend was calling, but who could it be? Why was it familiar? It sounded quite urgen and Zack suddenly felt that he couldn't ignore it.
Shaking his head and noticing Elena's sudden concerned look, Zack rubbed the back of his head, saying apologetically, "Um, listen. I better go. See ya later, Elena." he waved before taking off towards town, much to Elena's confusion.
What was the hurry? Before the rookie Turk could ponder this further, her PHS rang from her skirt pockets, so the young woman quickly took it out and flipped it open, answering, "This is Elena."
The young woman listened to the caller which Tseng who said from the speaker, "Elena, new orders. Meet Reno at the docks. Militas Ultra as been sighted."
"Yes, sir." Elena answered before hanging up and made her way to where she came to meet with her co-worker and superior. It seemed that the Turks' own mission to find clues of their own was still to be discovered and solved of their own.
(Fragments from Zack's dreams)
(~The Worlds-KH:BBS~)
Fragment 43: When Zack and the Turks arrived in Junon, it was a complete mess as Genesis copies attacked and caused chaos. When the SOLDIER 1st was sent to defend Hollander, he met up with Cloud who had been a little motion sick so Zack promised to treat him for dinner before taking off to stop the mad scientest who unfortunately managed to escape. He met up with Sephiroth who informed him that he had been on his way to Modeoheim, but changed course when he heard that Zack was here.
Zack also learned from the Silver Haired General that the Genesis Copies had spread through out the entire Planet, including Midgar and that Genesis is very much alive, since he stole Hollander's device.
When will Zack learn not to black out in certain times? No sooner had he used the StarShard to follow the caller of the voice and having left Midgar without anyone else noticing that he once again passed out and yet had another one of those dreams. So Genesis survived that fall after all? That explained why he was still attack now.
Suddenly feeling like he stepped into another universe, Zack noticed a bright light ahead of him that was approaching. That light...it's very warm.
(~End The Worlds~)
When he had landed, Zack found himself what appeared to be a forest that seemed peaceful. But as he took a stroll and found the exit, he found that the woods were actually part of a rather fasinating and beautiful park with gorgeus flowers, with a beautiful like, which could also see a city. Little did Zack know, he was now in Neo Tokyo on Earth in the Solar Universe, but at the moment, he didn't pay attention to that.
The young swordsman pauses near the lake at the viewing point, as the sun sets, making it a breath-taking sight. Everything seems so...peaceful here. No sign of any Heartless, or Genesis at all.
(~Usagi/Serena's Theme-Sailor Moon S Movie~)
"Agh, I can't believe that the tests are next week! Molly, I wish things were easy with Ice Cream." A girl's voice whined behind him. When Zack turned around out of curiousity, he noticed two teenaged girls wearing junior High-School Uniforms. One of them had short brown hair with a green ribbon behind her head, and another had long blonde hair with buns on top and streamed down like a double ponytail and it appeared that the blonde haired girl was the one complaining. These two were no older than fourteen years old.
"Yeah, spelling and maths tests are the worst, huh?" The brown-haired girl, apparently Molly, said in agreement to her friend.
Her friend sighed, before saying, with admiration, "I bet the cool super hero like Sailor V doesn't have to go through what we have to."
Molly shook her head, before suggesting, with slight regret in her voice, "I hate to say this and I think it's the biggest mistake I'm making, but maybe you should study with Melvin to help with your studies?"
The other teenaged girl stopped short, and gazed at her friend with a horrified look on her face, "Melvin!? Are you crazy, Molly? If I end up hanging out with him alone during studying, he'll think we're on a date! Ugh!" she shuddered at the very thought. It was already bad enough for her to study, but to study with a dweeb like Melvin? She didn't even want to think about it.
From his spot, Zack couldn't help but chuckle at the two obviously beatiful teenage girls talking, before deciding to head off. But then a thought hit him lik a ton of bricks as Zack turned to gaze at the blonde-haired girl again. That hair style, those blue eyes, the gentleness, and her voice...it matched to the one he heard back at Costa Del Sol...he'd seen her before, but where? "That girl...she seems very familiar...and...why does she completely resemble to...Serenity?" Zack asked himself.
Was it a coincidence, or do Serenity and that girl have some sort of a connection?
"It's getting late. If I end up late for dinner, my Mom's gonna blow up and ground me." The Serenity look-alike sighed, noticing the sun was nearly gone and that if she didn't get home soon, she'll be in big trouble. Not easy in being a junior high-school student.
"I thought your parents were coming home late tonight and Sammy's on a field trip until tomorrow." Molly pointed out.
'Oh yeah, I forgot.' The blond-haired girl thought, then thought and then said, "Hmm, maybe I'll stick around here for a little bit, since the Park is one of my favorite places." gazing at the sunset again.
"Okay. See you tomorrow, Serena." Molly said, waving her friend goodbye before heading back home, leaving her friend, named Serena, on her own. (~End Usagi/Serena's Theme~)
Serena watched her friend go, before deciding to take a seat at a bench to daydream about either meeting the famous and mysterious Sailor V or having a handsome boyfriend. But she mistook a step and with an alarmed cry, due to her clumsiness, she tripped and fell to the ground while dropping her school bag-case. Sitting up, Serena ended up crying her eyes out like a three year old, since she was also a crybaby as well.
Zack, noticing what just happened, immediately rushed over to help the teenaged girl, kneeling down to her as he asked with concern, "Hey, you okay?"
(~Usagi/Serena's and Kairi's Theme*Kairi-KH:BBS*~)
Hearing his voice caused Serena to stop crying, and when she looked up, instantly she felt butterflies in her stomach, her heart fluttering and her face felt warm as well. The guy who extended his hand to help her up which she shyly accepted and helped her stand up, while then picking up her bag and kindly giving it back to her, immediately Serena knew that this guy, despite being at least in his early twenties, was kind and very handsome. Strangely he reminded her of someone she once knew and strangely had fallen in love with, but couldn't figure out how or why.
Deciding to worry about that later, she replied to Zack, "Y-yes, I am now. Thank you."
"Glad I could help." Zack smiled in relief, "I'm Zack, by the way."
"It's nice to meet you, Zack. M-my name's Serena." Serena replied in return.
"That's a beautiful name." Zack thought.
Serena blinked, which made her blush even more. "You think so?" before realising that he was wearing some sort of uniform she hasn't seen before, and couldn't help but ask, "Are you new around here?"
Quickly uncertain but deciding not to reveal where he actually came from or show it, Zack answered, "Uh, yeah. Actually, I came here for a visit, to clear my head." that, and he was still upset at the loss of Angeal. This was something Zack knew that he would never fully recover from.
Mentally shaking it off, Zack then asked gently, "Say, Serena. Do you like the other girl you hanged out with?" deciding that, in case something happened, he had to make sure that no one else had to go through or suffer the same or similiar situations as he'd been through for the last weeks.
"Of course I like her. She's my best friend." Serena answered, a little confused by this.
"Great. So then, if anything very unusual happens, and your friends are in trouble-or say, trouble tries to get to them, you and friends try to ignore them, and pretend that everything's alright." Zack told her wisely, "That'll at least keep both of you safe. That's your job, Serena. Okay?"
The young woman didn't know what Zack was talking about, but it somehow sensed that he went through something that brought him and a friend of his into trouble. She didn't know why, but somehow, she sensed the sadness from his heart. So, she replied with a slightly awkward smile, "Um, sounds pretty weird, but I'll try to give it a try."
Seeing how it was not almost twilight, Serena then apologetically said, "I better get home. It's nice to meet you, Zack." giving him a slight cursty.
"Yeah. You too." Zack replied as a farewell, giving her a slight bow like a gentlemen.
Serena smiled, before waving him a goodbye and turned to head back home. As she headed home, she was still blushing as she thought to herself about the handsome young man that was Zack, 'A weird kind of guy, but I gotta admit, Zack is so sweet and such a major hunk!'
Little did Serena know, this meeting was the first to reflect of her greatest destiny that is yet to arrive that would change her life forever and teach her something of a past she never would've guessed she would even think of, or even remember. (~End Usagi/Serena's and Kairi's Theme*Kairi's Theme*~)
As Zack watched Serena go, he sighed while feeling slightly guilty, at first unaware that a black beautiful cat with orange-red eyes and strangely a Cresent Moon mark on it's forehead approach and stood onto the leaning part of the bench, while Zack placed his hands on his hips as he said to himself, "Maybe I shouldn't have said that to her. She's way too innocent to get caught in dangerous situations."
"Which there's going to be one pretty soon." The cat spoke in a female voice, already deciding to reveal part of herself.
"Probably a man-power shortage-huh!?" Zack replied before realising who he was talking to and turned to the cat, eyes wide in disbelief. This world had talking cats? Wanting to make sure that he heard right, he asked, a little reluctantedly, "You uh...can talk?"
Instead of answering Zack's question, the cat, as though sensing something unusual about him, said in return, "You're not from this world, are you?"
"Excuse me?" Zack asked, caught off-guard.
(~Aqua's Theme-KH:BBS~)
"Your weapon and uniform say it all. Although I can sense that you're human, you're from another world." The cat said, pointing out the obvious of Zack's uniform and the unusually large sword that belonged to the late Angeal.
Realising that the cat was right, Zack sheepishly admitted, "Uh, yeah. How'd you know about that?"
The cat cleared her throat, before introducing herself, "My name is Luna. I am on a quest to find the Sailor Scout of the Moon."
"Sailor Scout...of the Moon?" Zack repeated. Did Luna mean 'Sailor Moon'? Did she know about Queen Serenity? That means something is about to happen in this world.
"I know you have nothing to do with it, but powerful forces are getting closer to Earth." Luna said, before saying firmly to Zack, "Young man, you have to promise not to tell anyone about what I am about to tell you."
"Um, sure." Zack agreed, "I have a lot of secrets I can't tell too." which was the truth. He promised to not reveal about other worlds or on what was really going on in the other worlds with Genesis.
"A long time ago, the darkness of evil attacked the Universe, and proceeded in destroying the Kingdom of the Moon." Luna explained, deciding that she can trust this young man since his heart was full of light, "The Silver Crystal, our universe's only light, must be found, never touched in the wrong hands, or everything will be lost. I must find our Princess and the Crsytal so both will be safe."
Zack's heart sank at this news. Darkness attacked the Kingdom where Serenity came from, meaning that she was most likely killed, but then it suddenly occured to him that he was in the very universe where the Queen from 1,000 years ago had come from. But then...what was the Silver Crystal? Was it similiar to the Kingdom Hearts Angeal told him about? If so, then Serenity wasn't actually a real 'Sailor Moon'.
Deciding to keep this knowlage a secret, he instead asked, "What about the Sailor Scout?"
"Her name is Sailor Moon, and I have to find her, as she is one of the Princess's guardiens. Although...I haven't found anything yet...except you." Luna admitted.
'Sailor Moon? Why does that name sound familiar?' Zack thought, even though he knew why, but there was something else about the name that was triggering another memory. So then he explained about his own quest, "I'm searching too. For a man who has been causing problems, getting myself and my lost friend involved. If I don't find him, then no one is safe. And these dreams I've been having lately aren't much help either. But I know that I can't give up."
"Then you shouldn't. You should keep going, and someday you'll find your answers. I know that I must keep searching for Sailor Moon and the Princess." Luna told him, before saying for the last time, "I'd best be on my way." (~End Aqua's Theme~)
"Me too." Zack said in return, "You be careful, Luna."
The cat nodded, before leaping off the bench and walked off, leaving Zack on his own once more. Sighing, he took a seat at the bench while unsheathing his sword, having it leaning in front of him as he held onto it's hilt. "Sailor Moon and the Moon Princess...I can't help but feel that Serena is part of both of them." Zack thought to himself gravely.
He then thought about another memory from eight years ago, one that brought him back home to when he first arrived in Thebes, and thought about the last time he, Herc' and Phil saw Ven. It instantly caused Zack to realise that maybe Ven's quest was to find Terra and Aqua.
(Flash-Back: During the events of Sailor Moon 0: Birth By Sleep)
(~Ven's Theme/Sadness-KH:BBS~)
Ven nodded to himself about his thoughts on Terra and Aqua, before turning to leave, but stopped when Herc' ran up to him, asking in slight disappointment, "You're leaving?"
The fifteen year old turned to face his new friend, answering with an apologetic smile, "Yeah. My journey's not over yet." knowing that he would have leave at least, but was glad to have met new friends who made him smile.
"But you'll visit, right?"
"I'll stop by once you're a true hero." Ven promised.
Zack couldn't help but comment as stood by Herc's side, "Stop by once me and him are both heroes!"
"Oh, so you mean never come back?" Ven placed his hands on his hips, teasingly.
"Hey, watch it!" Zack teasingly pouted as he pulled Zack into a playful choke before they, Hercules and Phil all laughed at the playful jokes. Surely enough, all four of them had quickly become such good friends, one that they believed that it would last on for many years to come.
(End of Flash-Back)
Except that Ven had suffered a horrible fate, as did Terra, Aqua, and now even Serenity in her Kingdom 1,000 years ago, and who knows what was going on with Jason and Grovyle in the future. Zack sighed in saddnes, before gazing at the sword helplessly, asking his deceased friend despite knowing that he wouldn't get an answer, "Angeal...what should I do?" (~End Ven's Theme/Sadness~)
(Fragments from Zack's dreams)
(~Drops of Poison-KH:BBS~)
Fragment 44: Zack had just protected Aerith from a machine that seemed out of control before it was destroyed by strangely a deeply wounded Angeal copy that somehow, much to Zack's surprise and Aerith's sympathy, protected them as though it was doing the right thing as Angeal's atonement. The two then went off to the park in Sector 6 to help Aerith sell some of her flowers before Zack was called into meeting with Sephiroth.
Fragment 45: Zack apologised to Aerith since he's leaving on a mission for a while with Sephiroth, and despite the slight suspicion from Tseng who had been watching them before Zack spotted him, the Turk promised to protect Aerith while he's away, before meeting up with Cloud at the SOLDIER floor and the two happily greeted. When meeting up with Sephiroth again who was the current leader of SOLDIER until they found on replacement, he declared they were heading to Nibelhiem, much to Cloud's shock.
Fragment 46: The group headed to Nibelhiem, as Cloud had placed his helmet back on for some reason, especially when a fifteen year old girl with black hair and wearing a cow-girl uniform greeted them, before they rested in a hotel for the night. Sephiroth admitted that his mother, apparently named Jenova, passed away immediately after he was born, but made no comment on his father, saying that it didn't matter. In the hotel later, he admitted that the village strangely felt familiar to him.
Zack later spotted Cloud near the well, as the younger man was gazing up at the night sky. "Can't sleep?" Zack asked.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about the past." Cloud replied.
Fragment 47: With the black haired girl, named Tifa as their guide, the group ventured up to the Mako Reactor in the mountains, though tragically they lost a trooper who fell into the cavern below due to the bridge breaking, which brought not only somewhat uncomfortable memories to Tifa, but to the helmeted Cloud.
"I want to go inside and look, too!" Tifa protested.
"This is a top-secret facility. Non-Shinra personnel are not permitted inside." Sephiroth told the girl firmly. Knowing that not only the young woman would be in the way, but he was also somewhat concerned for her safety, he turned to Cloud and ordered him, "Keep the young lady safe."
Without saying a word, Cloud nodded and held out a hand to prevent the teenaged young woman from entering while both Sephiroth and Zack entered, much to Tifa's annoyance as she pouted while looking away, placing her hands on her hips.
Fragment 48: When the two SOLDIERS entered the room full of pods filled with experimental monsters, much to their disgust, to their surprise and shock, the name JENOVA was written in metal above the door on top of a staircase, and that Sephiroth was starting to feel horrified for the first time in his life. Genesis then arrived and revealed part of the truth even to Sephiroth's past after knocking Zack down, revealing that, much to both of their shocks, Sephiroth was also experimented on; a monster, just like Genesis himself and Angeal, but unlike the latter two, Sephiroth is perfect and thus, he cannot degrade and needs his cells as a cure.
Despite this, Sephiroth refused and left without a word, causing Zack to quickly follow him, only to lost track and instead fight off against monsters that appeared in which Cloud ended up injured while trying to protect Tifa who felt a bit guilty for this. Zack led the two back into town and took Cloud into the hotel to rest while Tifa went to ask around about the whereabouts of Sephiroth.
Fragment 49: When Cloud admitted that he and Tifa were somewhat childhood friends and his reason on wanting to join SOLDIER so that he could get stronger to protect her, Zack grimly told him not to join, not understanding SOLDIER anymore, but then remembered to stay calm and Angeal's words, especially when Cloud commented about the sword.
Fragment 50: Zack discovered from Tifa that Sephiroth was in the ShinRa Manor, so he went to investigate, only to be told to leave by Sephiroth who went through the books to research more about his past and about his mother, muttering something about Proffessor Gast who apparently never told him anything and had recently passed away. It seemed that Gast was the only scientest Sephiroth had respected.
Why? Zack didn't know. This was only the trigger of the worst yet to come...(~End Drops of Poison~)
Blinking, Zack once again woke up in the middle of the Lanes Between since he left Earth and the Solar Universe to head back to his Universe to continue his search for Genesis. The dream he just had revealed more shocking truths.
Jenova Project...Sephiroth's involved too? Zack gasped in horror, realising that he had to find Sephiroth and warn him about Genesis before this history would repeat itself. Recalling in meeting him back at the Stadium, Zack realised where his next destination had to be.
Gripping the Starshard hard, he muttered with a plead, "Take me home."
As though hearing his desire from his heart, the item did so and zipped him faster than usual.
Nearly crash landing in the empty alley but this time managed to land without hurting himself, Zack sighed before putting away the item into his pockets. The sight in front of him was warmly familiar. So, as he walked out, he sighed in relief as he recongised the greek writing, signs, statues, buildings and even the stairs leading up to the very Coliseum he left weeks ago since his adventure began.
"Haven't been home in ages." He thought to himself, relieved to be back, but then realised that, in his current situation in his body now, he couldn't show himself to Hercules, Meg, Pegasus and Phil. What would they think if they saw him like this now?
"Well, if it isn't the mosquito? I gotta say, something sure happened to you, kid." An annoying familiar voice spoke next to him as when Zack turned to it, out of a dark dust of cloud, a familiar tall figure with blue fire on top of his head as hair appeared.
(~Villians of Sort-KH2~)
"Hades!" Zack grunted. He was seriously not in the mood to handle with the Lord of the Dead.
"You know, I've been looking all over the UnderWorld for you, and I couldn't find your slimy soul anywhere, which told me that you were alive and off somewhere else." Hades grumbled and shuddered, ignoring Zack's grunt.
The young man glared at him, demanding in anger, "Slimy soul!? Why you-!"
The lord grinned, saying while waving his hands mockingly, "Whoa, easy there, Mosquito-boy. So, where have you been all this time and why not go and see your friend Wonder-boy?"
"None of your business." Zack snapped, turning to leave, "I'm not dealing with you today." walking off.
"Well, I'm just starting to deal with you." Hades told him, not willing to let this go easily, especially since he had a few tricks up his sleeve to potentially finish off the friend of Hercules once and for all, "You remember that YOU were under my command, only to be saved by Chicken-heart...uh, what's his name? Terra, was it?" he pretended to think as he brought up memories from eight years ago.
This caused Zack to stop as he tried to keep his anger under control, turning to face Hades, yelling at him with warning in his tone, "Leave Terra out of this!"
"You haven't seen the guy in eight years, or lizard-boy, or silverbird or even your little bluebird girlfriend." Hades continued, before mockingly offered with an evil grin, "Hey, maybe I can help you, only if you accept the power you need."
"Not interested. Nobody's like you, Lowlife." Zack told him with finality, before running off to find Sephiroth quickly and hoped that Hades wouldn't cause any more problems since Genesis was enough problems as it was, including the Heartless.
As he watched Zack leave, Hades turned red in anger as he felt himself boil, grunting angrily at himself, "That little-Who does he think he is!? He's ten times worse than Wonder-Breath!" and the fact that Zack had actually survived the Octopus attack, not to mention that the kid's body somehow changed didn't help matters either.
"Don't worry. His heart his leading him straight to his own doom." An unrecongizable female voice spoke somewhat evily behind him.
Cooling down, Hades turned to see an unfamiliar woman with green skin, a black and purple ragged robe, horned had, and holding a staff in her jeweled hand stand there. She seemed to be a witch, and was named Maleficent.
"Hey, who let you butt in, sister?" Hades asked, pouting slightly in annoyance.
Maleficent ignored this question, and instead offered, "I can help you achieve your goal, if you agree to help me."
"And what would that be?"
"The same goal you desire. It may take a couple of years, but soon, all the worlds shall belong to us! Us and others who also agree." Maleficent answered with an evil smile that widened.
Hades seemed to consider it. He has heard of other worlds before, being a god and the lord of the dead. He had planned to take over Olympus dozens of times, but to even take over other worlds as well? Now that was some gold plot, and then shrugged, saying, "Domination, huh? Alrightly, then. It's settled, but first, I need to handle that annoying insect." (~End Villians of Sort~)
Zack had searched all over Thebes until finally he found the man he was looking for at the most unlikely place were his entire journey first began; the docks where he last saw his friends. Sephiroth was gazing at the ocean, seemingly either waiting for a ship or just gazing at the scenary in thought. To Zack's surprise, like himself, Sephiroth's appearence changed since they last met...now he resembled to the Sephiroth in Zack's dreams.
Suddenly sensing movement, Sephiroth turned to see Zack, seemingly not surprised at all, especially when he greeted, "It's been a while, Zack."
"Sephiroth...um..." Zack began awkwardly, but found himself trailing off, unable to voice his thoughts this time.
"You're wondering why I look different." Sephiroth said, having sensed the unspoken comment, before muttering, "I could ask the same thing about you."
So Sephiroth was seemingly aware on what was actually happening. That's troubling already and Zack knew he had to tell him now before Sephiroth ends up being driven crazy by Genesis, so he began, "Um, that's the thing. Listen, Sephiroth, I need to ask you not to tell anyone else about what I'm gonna tell you." before proceeding to tell him what happened to him.
A/N: Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, but I will continue this story, so look out for the next chapter, fellow readers. We're getting very close to the ending of this story now, actually. Okay, not that close, but the ending is approaching. This is also the starting point of the first episode of the original anime of "Sailor Moon" of the Dic English Dub.
Look out for the next chapter!