Black*Star charged at Crona as shadows all around them swarmed in and snatched Crona, making it impossible for the pale boy to move out of the way. With a single punch into Crona, Black*Star sent an electrical energy throughout Crona and zapped him intensely.
"This really hurts, I don't know how to deal with the pain," Crona spoke as a portal appeared behind him and the shadows released him. Black*Star stood there, dumbfounded, the shadows released Crona on their own… He did not tell them to do that.
"Crona! No!" Maka called out to Crona as he stepped back into the portal and disappeared from sight. Black*Star ran at the portal, but didn't move fast enough. Right as he reached the portal, it vanished into thin air. The sword in his hand glowed as it left his hand and transformed into Tsubaki, a tall girl with black hair up in a pony tail.
"Soul needs to see Professor Stein right away," Tsubaki gently spoke as she placed a hand on the frustrated Black*Star's shoulder.
"Alright," Black*Star walked over to Maka and picked up the unconscious Soul.
The rain poured down upon Radiant Garden as Aiko held onto her stomach while curled up in a painful ball on the ground. Looking around the boulder that kept her hidden, she saw a horrible sight. Her friend, a boy of seven-teen with blonde hair and big blue eyes stumbled before collapsing into a muddy puddle, the holes inside of him bled out. The muddy puddle quickly changed from brown to blood red. Xelysha stood before the boy with her keyblades out, both covered in blood. Sensing the presence of someone else, she turned around and saw Aiko watching her. She knew Aiko posed no threat to her, she only smirked at the wounded girl and vanished into a nearby portal.
Aiko kept a hold of her stomach as she crawled over to her fallen friend, leaving a muddy trail behind her. Carefully, she sat up and looked over her friend, now sprawled out in the puddle of blood.
"Fain," she softly spoke, unable to register the sight before her. Fain used all of his strength to give Aiko one last smile.
"It's all… up to you now, Aiko," Fain winced, "for the good of… everyone… you have to end this."
"Please, don't go," Aiko begged as her tears blended with the rain drops on her face, "we can go see Merlin, he can heal you… Can't he?" Her begging was in vain, he was already gone. Aiko fell over and put her arms around Fain's corpse and sobbed.
"Are you alright, Aiko?" Liz asked the pale girl across from her at the large dining table.
"I'm fine, I just had a horrible nightmare last night," Aiko answered, holding her head.
"A nightmare, huh?" Kid responded as Patty stuffed her face with scrambled eggs and toast, "perhaps it was a memory."
"Maybe, it felt like it was."
"Well, if you need to talk about it, we're here for you."
"Hey, Kid. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Liz chimed in.
"Of course," Kid and Liz stood up and walked out of the room. Aiko sat there, poking her eggs with a fork while Patty stared at her.
"Kid, what are we going to do?" Liz questioned as she closed the door behind them, "your dad said if Xelysha came here, we'd have to keep it a secret from Aiko. Xelysha's the only one we know who can make portals like the one Crona disappeared into. How are we going to keep this hidden from Aiko? Soul's in the infirmary and Crona is missing, not to mention Black*Star will probably go on a long rant on how he'll get revenge." Kid kept quiet a few moments as he thought it over.
"It seems we won't be able to. Aiko's only getting bits and pieces of her memories back, it's possible she remembers seeing Xelysha, but she still doesn't know Xelysha's name." The young Reaper looked back at the door, "Or maybe she does."
"What?"
"She had a nightmare last night; it could be one of her memories coming back to her. It is possible it could be the memory where she learns Xelysha's name." Kid reopened the doors and entered the dining room, only to find Patty running around the room while flapping her arms.
"Oink! Oink!" Patty grinned. Aiko smiled and chuckled while watching Patty, Kid watched and realized something: this is the first time she's actually smiled since she came to Death City.
"Phew. We're finally out of that place," Riku breathed while piloting the Gummy Ship.
"What activated the Keyhole anyway?" Kairi inquired with curiosity since she wasn't there when the Keyhole revealed itself and Sora locked it, saving the world from receiving more Heartless. Sora looked at Kairi and grinned.
"Woody's hat," Sora answered and then looked at Riku, "we should go back sometime, I actually enjoyed being an action figure!"
"I'm sure you did," Riku muttered.
"So what's the next world?"
"That one," Riku pointed at a planet in the distance, the part sticking out was a building with three large spikes sticking out of the front with a sun in the background. 'Does that sun have a face?' Riku thought with a puzzled expression, 'Why does it seem to be laughing?'
"Well at least Kid will be happy about this," Soul sighed as he lay on the infirmary bed, "my scar is finally symmetrical." Maka just stared at the floor. "Maka, it's going to be okay. We'll figure out what Xelysha did to Crona and get him back… You'll see."