Hello everyone, the next chapter of 'The Light Guardians' is ready!
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Chapter XVIII
Mermaids and Mysteries
1710hrs, August 11th, 2024
Fiore, Earth Land
After visiting the Blue Pegasus Guild, Kairi, Naminé and Aqua headed to the all-females guild called Mermaid Heel. The blue-haired Keyblade wielder was interested in that guild, so she asked the other two guilds if they could visit it, and they agreed. There was also someone Aqua wanted to meet, and that person was the mage known as Kagura, who, according to other mages, was the strongest member of Mermaid Heel.
At this moment, the three Keyblade wielders were in the city where the Mermaid Heel Guild was located. They walked around, looking for the guild, and after a few minutes, they could find the guild's building. They just had to cross a small bridge, and they would reach the wide courtyard that was in front of the guild.
"This city is sure far from Blue Pegasus," said Kairi.
"Their guild's building is amazing," said Naminé, who was looking at the Mermaid Heel Guild as she and the other two girls walked to the bridge that led to the guild. "By the way, Aqua, how's that you want to join a Mages Guild?"
"Being allies with other guilds would be good for us," said Aqua. "For example, thanks to Fairy Tail we could find out that Maleficent's spheres were made of that material called Lacrima. The more allies we have, the merrier, don't you think?"
"Just for that?" asked Kairi.
"Well, I'd also like to meet new people," said Aqua smiling. "Terra and I decided we wanted to join a Mages Guild when we saw how happy those mages of Fairy Tail were when they saw Sora again. He has made a lot of friends during his travels, so I think we should give it a try."
"But you also made friends in the worlds you've visited," affirmed Naminé.
"Yes, but it can't be compared to the amount of friends Sora made," said Aqua smiling. "You could say that I want to be a bit like him when it comes to that aspect."
"And that's why you came here to pick a fight, right?" asked Kairi, looking at Aqua with a sly expression on her face. "You should try to mimic his friendly nature, not his competitive streak. You're someone who would never fight unless it's necessary. Only the boys do that, although Sora and Riku stopped competing. The last time they dueled was two years ago in this world."
"Just the boys?" asked Naminé cocking her head to the side. "If I remember correctly, you were always asking Riku for a duel when you were training in the Mysterious Tower. You even asked Lea for a fight."
"Hey, that's because I wanted to get stronger as fast as possible!" protested Kairi, and the other two laughed.
The girls were getting closer to the small bridge as they talked, and when they were in front of it, they stopped walking because two people were also walking to the bridge stopped when they saw the three Keyblade wielders. The first person was a young woman with long straight black hair that fell to the middle of her back. She was wearing a white headband with a white ribbon tied at the middle in a bow, an elaborate blazer with gold lining, white wrist-high gloves, a white skirt, black tights, and knee-high boots. The other person was also a woman, but she had messy brown hair stylized into cat ears and had four red whisker-like tattoos on her face. Her attire consisted of a purple hooded cape, long black-and-blue striped leggings, evening gloves, tight and small black shorts with a belt and boots. She also had a tail attached to her shorts.
"Cat?" thought the three Keyblade wielders when they saw the girl with the cat-like appearance.
The black-haired woman looked at the Keyblade wielders with thoughtful expressions while the girl with the fake tail stared at Kairi for some reason. Then her expression turned into one of realization and, as fast as lightning, she approached Kairi.
"You are Kairi, right!?" asked the cat girl, whose face was now really close to Kairi's. The other woman looked more interested when she heard the redhead's name.
"Y-yes," replied Kairi kind of startled. "How do you know my name?"
"Seven years ago!" replied the brown-haired girl, and Kairi looked at her puzzled. "You are one of the three people who protected Fiore seven years ago from those black monsters! I was visiting a town that got attacked by them, and I saw how you defeated all of them! You were amazing! I'm a big fan of yours!"
"Really?" asked Kairi smiling and feeling flattered since she didn't expect someone to be her fan. She also realized that the girl didn't mention that she looked younger than expected. Could it be that everyone in Earth Land already knew about the change in the flow of time their world experienced?
"Back then I thought you were Er-chan, because you had red hair and used a sword to fight, but when I got a closer look I realized you were a different person," said the cat girl, and then she grabbed Kairi's hands and shook them rapidly. "Oh, I'm so glad I could finally talk to you in person!"
"She kind of reminds me of Selphie," thought Kairi while smiling at the girl who was shaking her hands. "Wait, Er-chan?"
"Yes, Erza," replied the cat girl. "You know her, right?"
"Oh, yes," answered Kairi. "Well, I'm happy to meet you too…"
"Millianna," said the girl with the cat appearance before noticing the other two girls who were with Kairi. "Oh, who are your friends?"
"These are Aqua and Naminé," said Kairi, and the two Keyblade wielders smiled and waved their hands at Millianna.
"Oh, nice to meet you!" said Millianna with a bright smile.
Then the other woman approached the group. The Keyblade wielders looked at her, and Aqua could feel that she was someone really strong. Millianna noticed that the black-haired girl was now behind her and proceeded to introduce her to the three members of the Light Guardians.
"Oh, Kagura-chan, these girls are Kairi, Naminé and Aqua, but you already know who Kairi is, right?" said Millianna, and then she looked at the three Keyblade wielders. "She is Kagura Mikazuchi, the strongest mage of the Mermaid Heel Guild."
"So she is Kagura," thought Aqua.
"It's nice to meet you," said Naminé.
"Likewise," replied Kagura before looking at the redhead girl. "You are a close friend of the Keyblade wielder who joined Fairy Tail, right? The boy called Sora."
"Yes, I am," replied Kairi. "Why do you ask?"
"The next time you talk with him, tell him I want to meet him," replied Kagura, always with the same serious expression on her face.
"Uh, all right…" said Kairi, not knowing how to react.
"So it's true she wanted to fight Sora," said Naminé.
"Fight?" asked Millianna, who heard the blonde.
"Yes, we heard from another mages that she wanted to duel Sora," said Aqua.
"That's not actually true," said Millianna, and then she got closer to the Keyblade wielders and started talking with them in a low voice. "You see, after a tournament that was held here, Kagura-chan started getting along with Er-chan, and she also wanted to get along with her friends of Fairy Tail."
"And how did it go?" asked Kairi curious.
"Not very well," replied Millianna smiling nervously. "Lucy and Wendy are a bit scared of her, so she had some difficulties to talk with them. As for the pink-haired boy and the one who's always stripping…let's say Kagura-chan doesn't know how to deal with them."
"Oh, so that's why she wants to meet Sora," said Naminé in realization.
"Exactly," said Millianna, and then a playful smile appeared on her face. "She doesn't want people to think she's getting soft, so I think she might be the one who spread the rumor about the fight."
"Millianna…" said Kagura, who was looking at the cat girl with an intimidating face.
"I didn't say anything bad, I swear!" said Millianna startled when she heard Kagura saying her name. "By the way, what are you doing in Fiore, Kairi? Did you come to visit Blue Pegasus?"
"That's right, but there's another reason," replied Kairi smiling, and then she looked at Aqua. "She's interested in joining Mermaid Heel."
"Really?" asked Millianna with an excited face.
Aqua nodded. "You are members of that guild, right?"
"Yes, we are!" replied Millianna, and then she turned to Kagura to ask her what she thought, and she saw that the black-haired mage was looking at Aqua with a thoughtful expression.
"You are Keyblade wielders too, right?" asked Kagura, and then she turned to Naminé. "And you are one too. The two of you have a similar power to Kairi's."
"That's right," said Naminé. "I don't know if you've heard of it, but we are members of a guild called Light Guardians. It's a Keyblade Wielders Guild."
"Oh yes, everyone in Fiore knows about it!" said Millianna. "Kagura-chan, isn't this amazing? A Keyblade wielder wants to join Mermaid Heel!"
"I heard Sting wanted one of the Guardians to join Sabertooth, so it's not a bad idea," said Kagura, crossing her arms. "It would be bad if we're the only guild without a Keyblade wielder. Besides, Master also said she was interested in acquiring a Keyblade wielder for Mermaid Heel."
"Hearing that makes me feel like a collector's item…" muttered Kairi.
"Master said she wanted Mermaid Heel's Keyblade wielder to be stronger than Fairy Tail's or at least as strong as him," said Kagura.
"Well, I don't think that'd be a problem," said Naminé. "Aqua is one of the four Keyblade Masters of the Light Guardians. You could say she's an S-Class Keyblade wielder."
"Four?" asked Millianna curious. "Who are the other three?"
"Sora, Riku and Terra," replied Kairi. "The three are men, and Sora and Riku already joined a Mages Guild, so if you want a Keyblade Master in Mermaid Heel, Aqua is your only option."
"What do you say, Kagura-chan?" asked Millianna. "I think Aqua would be a perfect addition to the guild, and if she's a Keyblade Master, then she has to be really strong."
"I don't think there will be any problems for her to join Mermaid Heel," said Kagura. "But Master told me that, if by any chance I met a female Keyblade wielder, I had to test her strength and take her to Mermaid Heel. She trusts my judgment, so it's up to me if she joins Mermaid Heel or not. Aqua, I hope you understand why I have to do this."
Aqua nodded. "It was your master's order, so if she thinks this is necessary, then I won't object. I expected something like this would happen, so I don't mind at all."
"Thanks for understanding," said Kagura.
"It seems that you got what you wanted," said Kairi, who was smiling at the blue-haired Keyblade wielder.
"Cut that out," said Aqua as he nudged Kairi with her elbow
"This will be just a test, but I ask you to take this seriously," said Kagura, and then she started crossing the small bridge that led to the guild's courtyard. "I'll stop the combat when necessary. It would be pointless to end up badly injured because of this."
"Very well," said Aqua after nodding in agreement. "Let's begin."
-TLG-
1725hrs, August 11th, 2024
Emerald Forest, Vale, Remnant
Ventus and Sora were now in a forest with Team RWBY and Team JNPR, two teams of Beacon, the academy the two Guardians had to protect from the Heartless. The man who asked the two Keyblade wielders for help was Ozpin, the headmaster of the academy, and he also was an acquaintance of Shinigami, the headmaster of Shibusen. One of the students was skeptical about letting Sora and Ventus take care of the Heartless, so Ozpin decided to let the two Keyblade wielders proof what they could do, and that's why they were in the Emerald Forest, to destroy the Heartless the students of Beacon couldn't defeat.
"So you guys are members of an organization of Keyblade wielders," said Jaune, who was walking with Ventus and the other members of his team while Sora walked with Ruby and her team near them.
"Well, guild would be the correct term, but yes, it's basically the same thing," said Ven. "We travel around the worlds and protect them from the Heartless. That's the reason we created the guild."
"That's a noble cause," said Pyrrha approvingly.
"Then there are more Keyblade wielders out there," said Ren.
"Including Sora and me, there are ten active Keyblade wielders at this moment," said Ventus. "All of them members of the guild."
"A group like that should have a leader, someone who has authority over other Keyblade wielders," said Weiss crossing her arms. "You have one, right?"
"Oh yeah, that'd be Sora," said Ventus, pointing at the brown-haired boy.
"Really!?" asked Ruby, looking wide-eyed at Sora.
"Yes, but it's not like I have authority over the others," said Sora scratching his cheek.
"That'd explain why Professor Ozpin has so much confidence in you," said Pyrrha.
"Wow, so we have the big cheese with us, huh?" said Yang. She put her arm around Sora's shoulder and bringing him closer to her, maybe too close for Sora's taste. "You must be well-known out there. I'm sure you're pretty popular with the ladies, aren't you?"
Ven laughed. "Yeah, he is."
"Hey, shut up!" said Sora, whose face turned a bit red.
"Aww, you're blushing, how adorable~" said Yang as he poked Sora's cheek.
"Yang, we came here to look for the Heartless, not to flirt," said Weiss with her hands on her hips and looking at the blonde girl disapprovingly.
"C'mon, you have to admit he's cute," said Yang after letting go of Sora. "And I can say the same thing about Ven."
"You think?" asked Ven scratching his head and smiling.
"Of course!" replied Yang grinning.
"Why do I always end up being embarrassed by someone in every world I visit lately…" thought Sora not very amused, and Ruby noticed the expression on his face.
"Forgive her, she can't be a bit annoying sometimes," said Ruby in a low voice.
"I heard you, little sister," said Yang, and then she grabbed Ruby's head and started to give her a noogie.
"Hey, cut it out!" protested Ruby, trying to free herself from her sister's arm.
"By the way, from where does Professor Ozpin know you?" asked Weiss looking at Sora, who watched amused at the two sisters who were having a small quarrel. "He didn't mention that, and I'd like to know."
"Two years ago I protected another academy from the Heartless," replied Sora, and Ruby and Yang stopped their argument because what the brown-haired boy said caught their interest. "The headmaster of that academy knows Ozpin and told him about me."
"Wait, an academy from another world?" asked Ruby, and Sora nodded while making a strange face. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"The existence of other worlds is supposed to be a secret," said Blake, who spoke for the first time since the two teams and the Keyblade wielders entered the forest.
"Oh, that's why you had that same face when we found out that there were other worlds apart from ours at Professor Ozpin's office," remarked Pyrrha.
Sora chuckled. "So you noticed."
"Sora, I think we should forget about that rule," said Ven. "A lot of people already know about the existence of other worlds. Many worlds are connected now. It's pointless to hide that fact from others."
"I see you've been thinking about it too," said Sora smiling.
"It looks like a silly rule to me," said Yang. "Who came up with it?"
"We'd like to know that too," replied Ven, although he and Sora knew that the rule was useful since there were people like Maleficent. "Oh, there's something I wanted to ask you guys. Those Heartless you couldn't defeat…what does they look like?"
"One of them looked like a huge dragon with brown skin!" said Nora excitedly. "And the other was an ugly creature with red claws and orange horns and mane!"
"Mmmm, what do you think, Sora?" asked Ventus.
"It sounds like a Dustflier and a Dark Thorn to me," said Sora touching his chin. "If those are the Heartless you fought, then I'm not surprised you had problems dealing with them. Fighting those two Heartless at the same time can be a very difficult task, especially the Dustflier…"
"Tell me about it!" said Jaune. "We almost didn't make it. We were lucky the teachers were around when those two monsters appeared."
"Come on, it wasn't that bad…right?" said Ruby looking at the other students.
"Ruby, we couldn't even damage any of them," said Weiss. "I know the Grimm that were around were a nuisance because they were getting in our way, but the other times we fought Heartless and Grimm at the same time we could defeat them. It wasn't easy, but we could do it at the end."
"Except for yesterday's battle," said Blake.
"Well, don't worry," said Ven. "Now that we're here, those Heartless will be gone in no time, right, Sora?"
"Yup," replied Sora before looking at the two teams. "Those Heartless are strong, but with our help there shouldn't be any problems. By the way, I suppose those 'Grimm' are the local monsters, right?"
"That's right," answered Ren as he and the other teens arrived at some kind of an abandoned temple. According to what the students told Sora and Ven, that temple was the one that held the relics for the Beacon Academy Initiation.
"And…what do they look like?" asked Ven curious.
"Black creatures with bonelike spikes and plates around their bodies," replied Yang. "They don't have soul, so they can't use Aura."
"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul," explained Weiss before Sora or Ven could ask. "It can be used for a wide range of abilities. The specific ability, and its strength, is determined by who the user is, as well as the level of skill that he or she possesses."
"It sounds slightly similar to the Soul Wavelength," thought Sora, remembering the few things he learned when he attended class at Shibusen.
"By the way, I wanted to ask you how long it usually takes you to clear a world from Heartless," said Pyrrha, changing the subject. "How much time did you need to protect that academy you mentioned, Sora?"
"I think I spent two weeks there, but that was because the Heartless weren't the only problem," replied Sora. "There must be a Heartless in your world which has a green sphere inside its body. That sphere attracts other Heartless, so the only thing we have to do is to find that Heartless and destroy it."
"Did you find any strange sphere after you defeated a Heartless?" asked Ven looking at Jaune.
"I don't think so," replied the blond student. "And you, Ruby?"
"Nope," answered Team RWBY's leader.
"Wait, is that simple?" asked Weiss. "You just have to defeat that Heartless and our world will be safe? Because that sounds like something we could have done without your help."
"And what would happen if that Heartless is stronger than the ones we are looking for right now?" asked Sora with a cheeky smile, and the white-haired girl realized that he was right.
"Ha, he got you there," said Yang amused, and Weiss didn't look very happy after hearing her.
"Besides, we figured out that the Heartless with the sphere only appears when a Keyblade wielder is around," added Ven. "We don't know why, though. We know who is behind these Heartless invasions, but we don't know why she's making the Heartless behave this way."
"It looks like that person wants you to defeat those Heartless for some reason," said Blake.
"You're not the only one who thought of that," said Sora.
"Well, I'm sure you'll take down that Heartless in no time!" said Ruby.
"Yeah, although I'd like you to stay here for a while so I can get to know you better," said Yang as she winked at the Keyblade wielders. "You will stay at least for a few days, right?"
"Probably we'll need more than one day to find that Heartless, so yes," answered Ven smiling. "We'll have to ask Ozpin if he knows a place where Sora and I can stay, or-"
"You can stay with us, Ven!" said Nora suddenly. "There's enough space for one more. What do you say, guys?"
"Yeah, you can stay in our room if you want," said Jaune.
"I agree," said Pyrrha.
"We'll work together while you're here, so it's a good idea," said Ren.
"Well, if Ven is going to stay with you, then Sora will stay with us!" said Yang with a wide smile.
If Sora had been drinking something, he'd have spit out everything from the shock. Hearing Yang saying that she wanted him to stay with her and the other members of Team RWBY in the same room wasn't something he expected to hear, but he should have seen it coming. Ruby and Blake seemed to be okay with the idea, but Weiss didn't like it one bit.
"Hold on a second!" said Weiss. "He can't stay with us, Yang! He's a boy!"
"You don't say!" said Yang with wide eyes and a shocked expression.
"C'mon, Weiss," said Ruby. "Ven is going to stay with Jaune and his team. We can't leave Sora alone."
"Urgh…Blake, at least you agree with me, right?" asked Weiss looking at the black-haired girl.
"He seems like a trustworthy person," replied Blake. "I don't mind."
"You can't be serious…" said Weiss.
"It's decided, then!" said Ruby raising her arm as a victory gesture.
"Hey, don't I get any say in this?" asked Sora.
"Nope," answered Yang. "And be more excited! You're going to stay in a room with four girls! I bet it's the first time someone tells you this. You should feel lucky!"
Sora was going to say something to Yang when he noticed that Blake was looking at the sky with narrowed eyes. It seemed that she noticed something, and Sora could have sworn he saw Blake's bow twitching, but he didn't give it much importance. Then the black-haired girl started to look around for some reason. The others also noticed this, and wondered what was going on.
"Something's coming," said Blake.
Then multiple Heartless started appearing around the group. There were a lot of them, and the students didn't doubt in bringing out their weapons. It was the first time they saw the student's weapons, but Sora and Ven had to admit they were impressive, especially Ruby's.
"Took them long enough," said Ruby.
"Finally some action!" said Ven as he and Sora summoned their Keyblades.
"Fighting time!" said Nora.
-TLG-
1750hrs, August 11th, 2024
Mermaid Heel's Courtyard, Fiore, Earth Land
Kairi, Naminé and Millianna were in front of the Mermaid Heel Guild, watching how Aqua and Kagura got ready to fight. After this duel, Kagura will decide if Aqua joins Mermaid Heel or not. Kairi and Naminé knew Aqua was one of the strongest Keyblade wielders of the Light Guardians, but Kagura was the strongest mage of Mermaid Heel and, according to Millianna, she was on the same level as Erza, so the blue-haired Keyblade wielder will have to take this very seriously.
As Aqua and Kagura walked to the middle of the courtyard, three people came out of the guild. They were members of Mermaid Heel, so it was obvious that the three were female mages. They saw Millianna and started to walk towards her.
"Millia!" said one of the three. She was a petite young girl with orange-brown hair, which is tied in two braided pigtails on either side of her head. She had a childlike and innocent look to her, possessing very large, almost round greyish blue eyes and freckled cheeks.
"Hi girls!" said Millianna as she waved her hand at the three female mages.
"How did your mission with Kagura go?" asked a different member. She was a slim woman with pale skin, black eyes and long, pale green hair. She was wearing a tight-fitting, full-body mustard suit, which was entirely covered in a pattern representing a spider web.
"Perfect!" answered Millianna. "It was a piece of cake with Kagura by my side!"
"That's good to hear!" said the third person of the group. She was a very round woman with tan-colored skin, black, curly hair with a plain beige headband, and black eyes. Her attire appeared to feature a Native American theme. "By the way, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friends?"
"Oh, right! They are Naminé and Kairi," said Millianna with a smile. "Kairi, Naminé, these are my guildmates of Mermaid Heel. Her names are Araña Webb, Beth Vanderwood and Risley Law."
"It's nice to meet you," said Naminé with a kind smile.
"Likewise," replied Beth, returning the smile to the blonde girl.
"Kairi?" asked Araña. "That name sounds familiar…"
"Of course it does," said Risley. "She's Blue Pegasus' Keyblade wielder. Seven years ago she and those two boys protected Fiore from those black monsters called Heartless."
"Right, now I remember!" said Araña before looking at the redhead. "I'm glad I could finally meet you, Kairi. It's a pleasure."
"I'd have never thought so many people remembered me," said Kairi smiling flattered. "Sora was the one who did almost all the work back then."
"But you can't say that you did nothing," said Beth. "You helped Fiore a lot too."
"She's right," said Risley. "It was good to know that there was a girl also protecting our home. You can't always rely on boys, right?"
"True," replied Kairi after laughing at Risley's comment.
"So, why are you here?" asked Araña. "And where's Kagura, Millia?"
"There," said the girl with cat appearance while pointing at the black-haired mage.
"Who's the blue-haired lady?" asked Beth when she and the other two mages who walked out of Mermaid Heel realized that there was someone they didn't know in the courtyard with Kagura.
"She's Aqua, a friend of Kairi and Naminé," answered Millianna. "Remember the Keyblade Wielders Guild that Sorcerer Magazine mentioned? They are members of that guild, and they came here because Aqua wanted to join Mermaid Heel!"
"For real?" asked Araña surprised.
"That'd explain why they are in the middle of the courtyard," said Risley. "Master asked Kagura to look for a female Keyblade wielder since she doesn't want Mermaid Heel to be only guild without a Keyblade wielder."
"But it's not like every guild of Fiore has a Keyblade wielder," said Araña. "Only Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus have one."
"Maybe she was referring to the guilds that participated in the Grand Magic Games," said Beth.
"Hey, look, they're going to start," said Millianna, and then the others looked at Aqua and Kagura.
The blue-haired Guardian summoned her Keyblade, Stormfall, and assumed her battle stance. At the same time, Kagura grabbed her sheathed katana, wielding the sheath with one hand and resting the other on the hilt. The two of them looked at each other, and without wasting any time, they charged at each other.
The mage and the Keyblade wielder crossed the several meters separating them in an instant and engaged. Kagura used her unique swordplay to attack Aqua, and the Guardian parried the mage's attack with her Keyblade. As fast as lightning, Kagura tried to hit Aqua again, but the blue-haired woman reacted fast enough to stop the second strike. Then the two sword-wielding fighters engaged each other in a fast exchange of slashes. Their attacks were so fast that one could only see blurry images of the fighters' swords. Also, dust was rising around Aqua and Kagura because of the strength of their slashes. The Keyblade and the katana collided, and the two fighters stayed in the same position for a few seconds before jumping back to keep some distance between them.
"She's strong!" though Aqua. "And that style she uses…"
"I see the rumors about Keyblade wielders are true…" thought Kagura. "Show me what you can do, Aqua!"
The two fighters engaged again, both of them performing several combinations of fast slashes, but none of them could land a hit on the other. Aqua and Kagura were evenly matched, at least when it came to swordsmanship abilities. The people who were in front of Mermaid Heel watched the fight in awe.
"Kagura is really strong," said Kairi really impressed. "You weren't kidding when you said she was the strongest member of Mermaid Heel."
"I can say the same thing about Aqua," said Beth, who couldn't even look away from the battle. "This fight reminds me of the Grand Magic Games, when Kagura-chan and Erza fought."
Aqua and Kagura continued exchanging attacks at high speed. They were also using their agility to dodge the attacks, so they could try another approach. Aqua cartwheeled to avoid being hit by Kagura's katana, but when the Keyblade wielder counterattacked, the mage twirled into the air and dodged the Keyblade. Every time the two ended in a stalemate, with the Keyblade and the katana stuck to each other.
"This is getting nowhere…"
Aqua was starting to think that her duel with Kagura will continue being like this unless she changed tactics. She continued parrying Kagura's attack while the mage did the same with her attacks. Then, when she saw the opportunity, the blue-haired Keyblade wielder raised her left hand and created a barrier of light around her.
Kagura was slightly surprised when her sheathed katana bounced off Aqua's shield after hitting it. The mage, then, noticed that Aqua was raising the hand which held her Keyblade, so she did a backflip to create some distance between her and the Keyblade wielder.
Aqua shattered her barrier and sent it flying into Kagura after successfully blocking the mage's katana; however, Kagura could avoid taking damage from Aqua's Counter Blast thanks to her good reflexes. As soon as Kagura's feet touched the ground again, she shot out towards Aqua. The mage saw an opportunity to hit the Keyblade wielder and she wasn't going to waste it.
Kagura got in front of Aqua incredibly fast, and performed an horizontal slash which would have send the blue-haired woman several meters away, but something the mage didn't expect happened. Aqua vanished right before Kagura's katana could make contact with the Keyblade wielder's body.
"Teleportation Magic!?" thought Kagura before noticing that Aqua was behind her executing a jumping attack.
Aqua covered her Keyblade with magic, and then hit Kagura with an amazing amount of strength that even broke part of the ground and raised a lot of dust around the area. Kagura's cry of pain could be heard by Aqua when Stormfall hit the mage, but when the area was clear, the blue-haired woman realized that Kagura was nowhere to be seen.
"Blade of Resentment! Archenemy!" exclaimed Kagura, who was above Aqua. Then she lunged at the Guardian, prepared to strike, and swung her sheathed sword, hitting Aqua and sending her crashing against the ground. "Strong Form!"
"Argh!" cried Aqua in pain as her body hit the ground. She had the tip of Kagura's sheathed katana on her back, so she made her Keyblade disappear for a second and summoned it again, but this time she was grabbing it with a reverse grip. Aqua swung her sword at Kagura, but the latter leaped into the air and dodged the attack.
Aqua stood up quickly as Kagura landed. The two fighters were now wounded, and her clothes were slightly ripped. The girls who were in front of the guild looked amazed at them. The mages of Mermaid Heel were especially impressed at how strong Aqua was.
"You're really good," said Aqua as she and Kagura assumed their battle stances again. "It's been a while since I fought someone as strong as you."
"You are very skilled too," replied Kagura. "I'm sure Master would like someone like you to be in Mermaid Heel, but I want to see more of your abilities."
"Let's continue, then!" said Aqua.
Then the two ran to each other and their swords clashed one more time, but now they were using much more power than before. Aqua and Kagura started exchanging powerful strikes again, but this time they were damaging each other with different attacks.
"Slashing Form!" exclaimed Kagura, and then she lunged at Aqua and slashed her at a rapid speed.
Aqua received several cuts on her arms and body, but she didn't flinch. The blue-haired woman turned around and used her Keyblade to shoot a bolt of lightning that impacted on Kagura's body and sent her flying. The mage winced in pain as electricity went through her body, but she managed to put her hand on the ground and recover. Then she rushed to Aqua, prepared to strike, and the Keyblade wielder did the same.
The two fighter's swords clashed again, but this time Kagura could break Aqua's defenses. The mage kicked the Keyblade wielder on her side and sent her flying away, but Aqua stuck her weapon in the ground and used it to return to where Kagura was. The Keyblade wielder returned the kick and sent Kagura several meters away.
"Kagura is taking this too seriously," said Araña a bit worried. "Master only told her to test the strength of the Keyblade wielder, but now this is starting to look like a real fight."
"Well, you know that Kagura-chan never takes a fight lightly," said Millianna as she watched how Aqua and Kagura fought. "Besides, there aren't many people who can fight with her at the same level, so maybe she's curious to see what Aqua can do."
"Aqua sure is enjoying the match," observed Naminé.
"Yeah, I can tell despite that serious look on her face," said Kairi smiling.
Now Kagura and Aqua stopped fighting for a moment. Their bodies had several wounds, and the two were panting since they spend a lot of energy; however, they could still continue fighting, and Aqua was going to do it since Kagura was the one who had to stop the fight when she consider it necessary.
"All right, let's end this!" said Aqua, and then she threw her Keyblade at Kagura.
The mage raised her sheathed sword and got ready to hit Aqua's weapon, but before the Keyblade could get close to Kagura, Aqua used her magic and divided the sword into multiple Keyblades made of light that were copies of hers. Now there were dozens of Keyblades around the courtyard, and Kagura realized that this was a problem.
"So many Keyblades…but she's disarmed, so…" thought Kagura, and without wasting any second, she started running. Then the Keyblades, controlled by Aqua, started moving towards her, but Kagura was really fast and could dodge them.
"How fast!" thought Aqua surprised, but she had already something planned if something like this happened.
Kagura was getting closer to Aqua, and when she was in front of her, she swung her katana, but the Keyblade wielder managed to avoid being hit by leaping into the air. The mage was about to follow her, but then she realized that there was something on the ground, just where she was. When Kagura looked down she saw a row of explosive magical traps that Aqua put there. The mines exploded, but Kagura reacted fast enough and dodged the explosion; however, Aqua took this opportunity to send four light-made Keyblades at the mage, who was hit by them.
"Since I am at disadvantage on the ground I'll have to use this," said Kagura, and then her sword started glowing with a purple light. A magic circle appeared above the courtyard, which surprised Aqua, who wondered what magic Kagura used.
Suddenly, the gravity in the area that covered the magic circle changed, and Aqua started floating defenseless. Kagura charged at the Keyblade wielder and slashed her with an amazing speed, using the gravity change to her advantage. The mage also destroyed all the light-made Keyblades in the process.
"She altered the gravity!" said Naminé surprised.
"That's our Kagura," said Risley smiling. "Never underestimate her."
"Don't underestimate Aqua either," said Kairi with a confident smile.
Aqua, still under the effects of Kagura's magic, started looking around and saw that Kagura was going to attack her from above. The mage was approaching her with an outstanding speed, prepared to strike. Aqua couldn't move from her position, so the only thing she could do was to summon her Keyblade and try to block Kagura's attack, but that's just what someone who didn't know Aqua would have thought.
"This ends here!" said Kagura, but before she could land a hit, Aqua summoned her Keyblade and cast a spell.
"Transcendence!" said Aqua as she created an anti-gravity field around her. Kagura was trapped into the field, which stopped her attack and left her vulnerable. This shocked the mages of Mermaid Heel who were watching the battle.
"She can also use Gravity Magic!?" asked Risley dumbfounded.
"Amazing!" said Beth wide-eyed.
"That's our Aqua," said Kairi nodding.
Kagura was floating face down in Aqua's anti-gravity field, with a stunned expression on her face. She knew that Keyblade wielders could use different types of magic, but she didn't expect that Aqua could use Gravity Magic.
"Do you want to go on?" asked Aqua smiling.
"I think it's enough," replied Kagura closing her eyes.
Kagura and Aqua cancelled their spells and the gravity returned to normal. The two landed on the ground and looked at each other.
"Well, what's your verdict?" asked Aqua.
"I'm sure Master would like you to join Mermaid Heel…and I'd also like you to join us," said Kagura as a small smile appeared on her face.
"Hey, finally a smile," said Aqua smiling, and Kagura covered her mouth and coughed a bit, which made the blue-haired woman laugh.
"Anyway, let's go with the others," said Kagura as she extended her hand. "And welcome to Mermaid Heel, Keyblade Master Aqua."
"Thank you, Kagura," replied Aqua with a smile as she and the mage shook hands.
-TLG-
1800hrs, August 11th, 2024
Emerald Forest, Vale, Remnant
Sora, Ven and the students of Beacon were fighting together against all the Heartless that appeared in the Emerald Forest. There were a lot of them, but with ten people fighting side by side this battle was a piece of cake.
"Yahoo!" shouted Nora as she used her hammer to smash all the Heartless that attacked her. She performed a spinning attack and sent a lot of them flying into the air. Ren, who was by her side, used his two automatic pistols to shoot green bullets at the Heartless and destroy them.
"Jaune, how are you doing?" asked Pyrrha while slashing Heartless with her spear-like weapon.
"Fine, don't worry!" replied Jaune, who attacked all the Heartless he could with his sword while using the shield he had in his left hand to protect himself. He looked kind of sloppy, but he was doing a good job.
"There's no end of them!" said Yang. She was using her yellow gauntlets to punch the Heartless around her. She also used the gauntlets to create pulses of energy, emitting flashes of light resembling explosions or flames that she shot to the dark monsters that tried to keep some distance between them and the blonde girl.
"The more, the merrier!" said Ruby as she slashed every Heartless on her way with her scythe. She moved incredibly fast, leaving rose petals in the place where she was before moving, and this impressed Ventus. Sora, on the other hand, was impressed at the girl's skill with the scythe. He only knew two scythe wielders besides Ruby, but he had to admit that she was incredibly good.
"Speak for yourself, Ruby!" said Weiss. The rapier she used had multiple functions depending on the mode the white-haired girl used. Now Weiss used one of his rapier's modes to send out a wave of ice from the blade that immobilized a big group of Heartless. "Blake!"
"I'm on it!" replied Blake, who started running towards the frozen Heartless. She used her sheathed weapon to slash the ice, destroying the Heartless who were inside it in the process.
Sora and Ventus were supporting the students, defeating all the Heartless they could. However, the two had to admit that the two teams could have taken care of all the Heartless, now that they've seen how skilled they were.
The ten teens continued fighting the Heartless for a while when suddenly another one, bigger than the others, appeared in the forest. It was a massive Heartless with two enormous orange horns and a massive orange mane. It also had a large, red, toothy maw, glowing yellow eyes, red claws. As soon as it appeared, the group noticed it since the Heartless made a loud growl. The students recognized the Heartless since it was the Dark Thorn they couldn't defeat.
"There it is!" said Yang. "That's one of the Heartless we fought!"
"Alright, it's time for a rematch!" exclaimed Nora cheerfully as she transformed her hammer into a grenade launcher. She started firing canisters at the Dark Thorn that produced a pink explosion when they hit the Heartless, and Ren supported her, using his automatic pistols to shoot at the Heartless too; however, the monster didn't even flinch.
Yang started to shoot blasts of energy to the Dark Thorn after seeing that Nora's attack didn't worked. Blake followed by transforming her weapon into a pistol and using it to shoot at the Heartless. Ruby also took part in the combined assault, using the gun form of her scythe. Weiss also attacked the Heartless using one of the modes of her rapier, firing light blue blasts at it.
The Heartless received all the attacks, but it looked as if none of them worked because the monster started didn't move from where it was. Then it growled again and a red aura appeared around it, and this alerted Sora since it wasn't the first time he saw something like this happening.
"It's not working!" said Jaune as he continued fighting against the other Heartless.
Then the Dark Thorn turned invisible, much to the students' surprise. It seemed that the Heartless didn't use that ability the last time the teams fought against it.
"Where is it!?" asked Pyrrha.
Suddenly, the Heartless appeared near the two teams of Beacon and charged at them with a swinging attack. The dark creature appeared to close to them, so they didn't have enough time to react, but luckily for them, Ventus reacted really fast and stood between the team and the Heartless and blocked its attack with his Keyblade. Then he hit the Heartless with a rapid four-hit combo, pushing it back.
"Leave it to us!" said Ven to the students of Beacon.
The Heartless quickly charged at Ven, but before it could hit the blond Keyblade wielder, Sora interrupted the monster, hitting its face with a powerful strike. Then he performed a combo which consisted of several quick slashes, and finished it by slamming the Keyblade down into the ground and smashing the Dark Thorn's head while doing it. This would have stunned the Heartless, but this Dark Thorn was obviously tougher than a normal one.
"Those Red Lacrima Spheres are a real pain…" said Sora as he saw the Heartless raising its right claw, but Ven threw its Keyblade at the claw and stopped the Heartless' attack. Sora leaped into the air to let Ven continue the assault.
Ventus had now a light green aura surrounding his body. He started attacking the Heartless with a rapid combination of attacks while moving with an amazing speed. After a multiple hits, he struck forward with a four-hit combo, ending with him cutting five slash marks of light into the ground that hit the Dark Thorn's body and produced a small explosion of light.
"Wow," said Jaune and Nora when they saw what Ven just did.
"That was remarkable," added Pyrrha.
"He defeated it?" asked Ren.
After Sora's attacks and Ven's final assault, a common Dark Thorn would have been destroyed, but as stated before, this one wasn't a normal one. The Heartless appeared from the dust the explosion created and hit Ven with a spinning attack, sending the Keyblade wielder a few meters away.
"Are you serious!?" said Ven shocked after recovering. The Heartless, then, engulfed its claw in a dark aura and threw many balls of darkness at the blond Keyblade wielder. Ven raised his Keyblade to block the Heartless' attack, but Jaune and Pyrrha stood in front of him and used their shields to protect him.
"You okay?" asked Jaune.
"Yeah, thanks," replied Ventus before turning to the other Keyblade wielder. "Sora, this Dark Thorn is abnormally strong. It's because of the red Lacrima, right?"
Sora nodded. "And it seems that the old hag managed to improve the effects of that type of sphere. We're going to need more power…"
"More power, huh?" said Ven, and then he came up with something. "Sora…"
"What is it?" asked the brown-haired boy.
"When was the last time you used your Drive Forms?" asked Ven.
"Wait, are you suggesting me to use a Drive Form?" asked Sora stunned. "Ven, I don't think that's a good idea…"
"I know what happens if you overuse your Drive Forms," replied Ven. "That's why I asked that. When was the last time?"
"It was in Destiny Islands," answered Sora. "When Riku and Kairi where helping me to control my Anti Form, which was the last Form I used. I haven't used any Drive Form since then."
"Do you think you could use it now?" asked Ven. "If this battle prolongs, one of them might get hurt. Besides, if the Anti Form was the last one you used, you will be fine, right? The probability of activating that Form two times in a row is negligible."
"All right, I'll do it," said Sora after thinking about it. The last thing he wanted was the students to get hurt, so he decided to use a Drive Form.
"Great," said Ven smiling, and then he handed his Keyblade to Sora, who grabbed it with a reverse grip with his left hand. Then Sora started running at the Heartless really fast.
The students saw how Ven gave Sora his Keyblade and wondered what the brown-haired Keyblade wielder was planning to do. As Sora got closer to the Dark Thorn, the Heartless prepared an attack to knock him down. The teams saw how Sora was almost in front of the Heartless, but what surprised them was that, suddenly, a barrier of light surrounded him and his clothes started glowing.
Then Sora vanished when the Heartless' claw was about to hit him, and this confused the monster. Suddenly something started hitting the Dark Thorn's face, but it was moving so fast that the others could only see bright red blurs shooting out by the Heartless' head. Then the Heartless was sent flying into the air, and the students could see Sora again, when he stopped to prepare another attack. His clothes were now red with a red fleur-de-lis symbol on them.
Sora jumped really high and reached the Heartless. He wildly slashes with both Keyblades left and right, and then finished with a crossing slash and sent the Heartless to the ground again. He used his enhanced speed to land at the same time as the Dark Thorn and slammed the ground with both Keyblades to fire energy geysers forward, launching the monster up again.
"Awesome," said Ruby in awe. She and the other students looked at Sora with amazement as he obliterated the Heartless while moving as fast as lightning. Even Weiss was impressed, her mouth hanging open out of astonishment.
"Hey, close your mouth or you'll catch flies," said Yang jokingly when she saw Weiss' expression, and the white-haired girl looked irritated at her.
Meanwhile, Sora continued his assault on the Heartless. He hit the Heartless with a horizontal swing from left to right with the right Keyblade, immediately followed by an uppercut with the left one. Then Sora jumped up and slashed the Dark Thorn with both swords from left to right while spinning, twice, and when he landed, the boy slashed the Heartless' body repeatedly with a long and fast combination of attacks. To finish it off, Sora, at a very high speed, made an uppercut with the Kingdom Key, and then another with Wayward Wind. After that he executed a downward slash with the right his Keyblade followed by a downward diagonal slash towards the right with Ven's. Then he grabbed both Keyblades with a reverse grip and performed a double slash before charging at the Heartless and going through him with a thrusting attack.
"Done," muttered Sora as the Heartless glowed and vanished after making a final growl. Sora deactivated his Drive Form and looked where the Heartless was. He saw three Red Lacrima Spheres on the ground, and this shocked him.
"Nice job," said Ven as he and the others approached Sora. "It never gets old seeing you fighting with a Drive Form activated."
"Thanks," said Sora smiling as he give Ven his Keyblade back.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" exclaimed Ruby and Nora at the same time.
"W-what?" said a startled Sora.
"You were incredible, man!" said Jaune.
"And I thought I was fast!" said Ruby. "What did you do!? I could barely see you when you were fighting!"
"Drive Forms," replied Sora. "It's an ability that allows me, temporarily, to take on a new appearance that grants me a separate set of abilities. That one was called Valor Form. It enhances my strength and speed, but I can't cast spells."
"So, those Drive Forms are like your Semblance, right?" asked Yang.
"Semblance?" asked Sora.
"Semblance is the manifestation of one's innate and personal power," explained Pyrrha. "Well, you're not from here, so maybe you know it by a different name."
"Ven, do you also have that ability?" asked Jaune.
"Nope, only Sora can do that," answered the blond Keyblade wielder. "By the way, Sora, did the Heartless have…?"
"Three of them," said Sora as he showed the group the three red spheres he collected.
"Damn…" said Ven. "That'd explain why that Dark Thorn was so tough."
"What are those?" asked Weiss.
"These spheres increase the Heartless' strength," answered Sora as he put them in his pocket. "I don't know how much, but that Dark Thorn was incredibly strong."
"Oh man, I hope that dragon Heartless doesn't have those spheres too…" said Jaune.
"Talking about the devil," said Blake, who was looking at the sky. The others also looked up and saw that a Dustflier was flying towards them.
"You and your big mouth," said Weiss looking at Jaune.
"Sorry…" said the blond boy.
"It looks like we still have some work to do," said Ven.
The teens prepared themselves to fight the Dustflier when something unexpected happened. The Heartless stopped in the air, as if someone used a Stop spell on it. Then a flash of light went through it and the Dustflier was slashed in half. The group watched stunned how the Heartless vanished, and wondered who did it.
"Okay…it wasn't one of you, right?" asked Yang, looking at the Keyblade wielders.
"No…" answered Ven, looking at the blonde girl.
Sora, on the other hand, was still looking at the sky, where the Heartless was before it was destroyed. He saw someone up there. Everything happened so fast, but he could catch a glimpse of the person who defeated the Dustflier. The person was wearing a mostly white coat, but what concerned Sora the most was how that person defeated a Dustflier in a blink.
"That was strange," said Jaune. "But at least the Heartless was destroyed."
"You're right," said Pyrrha. "Now we don't have to worry about those two Heartless anymore."
"I'd have liked to be the one defeating them, though," said Ruby.
"Well, we came here to see what Sora and Ven could do," said Blake.
"Yeah, and they were awesome," said Yang, and then she looked at Sora. "You even left Weiss with her mouth hanging open."
"That's not true!" protested Weiss before turning to Sora. "But I'll admit you're really strong…now that I've seen it with my own eyes."
"That's the closest thing to a compliment you'll get from Weiss, so cherish it," said Yang smirking.
Sora laughed. "All right."
"Ven, you were so awesome too!" said Nora excitedly. "That green aura you had was so cool! And you also moved really fast! How can you do that!? What's Semblance do you have!? Do you-"
"Wait, Nora…" said Ven.
"Nora, save the questions for later," said Ren after covering the girl's mouth with his hand. "We should return to Beacon now."
"Right," said Pyrrha. "Professor Ozpin must be waiting for us. Also, we have class tomorrow, so we should get a good sleep."
"Let's go, then," said Jaune as he and his team walked with Ventus, heading to the place where Ozpin and Goodwitch were waiting for them. Team RWBY also started walking, but they stopped when they noticed that Sora was looking around, as if he was looking for something.
"Hey, Sora, what's wrong?" asked Ruby, snapping the Keybearer out of his thoughts.
"Come on, don't stay there, we have to return to the academy," said Yang, and then she grabbed Sora by his hood and dragged him as she walked.
"Okay, okay," said Sora as he freed himself from Yang's grip. He followed Team RWBY, but he couldn't stop think about the person who defeated the Dustflier. "Who was that?"
-TLG-
And that's that for chapter 18. I know there wasn't any part with Roxas, Xion and Lea, but I wanted to finish the Earth Land part in this chapter, so in the next one I can focus on Remnant and Shibuya.
I decided to let Sora use a Drive Form in this chapter. When I finished my KH/FT Crossover, I found out that using party members to activate the Drive Forms is just a gameplay mechanic. Canonically, Sora can use them without absorbing anyone.
I assume all of you have seen the teaser of Kingdom Hearts III that was uploaded a week ago, right? If you haven't, then you should do it. For those who have watched it, it's not very difficult to guess who the two people in the trailer are if you know the story of Kingdom Hearts well, but what I wanted to talk about is the "lost masters" who are mentioned in the teaser. If the lost masters are who I think they are, then you have a good clue there if you want to guess who the guy with the yellow coat is.
To Guest: Yang will just flirt with Sora since it's a trait of her personality. I thought about adding someone from Remnant to the group of Kairi's rivals, but I haven't decided yet. There are already stories with the SoraxYang and SoraxRuby pairing, so I don't think I'll use those two.
To Ventusblade: 1. I can say for sure that Roman will appear, but I can't confirm anything regarding Cinder Fall. 2. Yes, those characters will appear too. 3. Don't worry, you didn't sound rude. I'll try to be more careful with the grammar.
To Drag0n-0f-Shu: Blue Exorcist will be part of this story. Look forward to it.
To The Dark Dragon Emperor: 1. It's truly a disturbing image. 2. Yeah, some people wanted to see them working together, and that's why I did it.
To Sunny Lighter: I'm glad you like RWBY, and I hope you enjoy this part of the story too.
To KH-Hardcorefan4483: 1. Remember that the world of the characters of Shingeki no Kyojin was destroyed when Xehanort opened Kingdom Hearts, that's why they are now in Radiant Garden. 2. Yang has a perverse mind, so Sora will have to be careful when she's around.
To Ultima Z: Yes, it was! I'm glad someone got it!
To Great fan-M: Technically, Terra is the oldest Keyblade wielder of the Light Guardians, but I haven't made him, Aqua or Ventus age while they were 'lost' or sleeping, so Lea is at this moment the oldest Keyblade wielder of the guild.
To animelover276: No one would believe him if he says that he's more than twenty years old, right?
To Daxen123: What do you mean by 'jaguar'?
To Guest: I can't give you many details, but all of them will have to work together in a future.
To Mishka-chan0.0: Thanks! Sorry, but I haven't watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
To Guest: 1. Yes, Blue Exorcist will be part of this story, and it will be based on the manga, but without breaking the original storyline. 2. I'm just using the characters of Attack on Titan, not their world, so I can't really say if I'm using the manga or the anime.
To keys of fate: 1. You mean what she said to Kairi? Well, Naminé saw Sora's memories when she returned him the ones of Castle Oblivion, so she knows some things about certain girls… 2. When he finds out, it's not going to be a very happy moment... 3. Probably a mission based on Dead Space. I'm not going to use the characters or anything.
To AgentMcMuffin: I already decided who Sabertooth's Keyblade wielder will be. Cloud will appear again, don't worry.
To Pup2001: Yes, Blue Exorcist will be part of the story.
To Guest: I'd lie if I say I haven't thought about that. Regarding the puppy dog face, Sora will have to endure it more than one time in this story.
To Dracoboy259: Unfortunately, Dead Space 3 is the only one I haven't played, so if I create a mission based on the game, it'll be similar to the first. Bleach will appear in the story.
To MagatsuIza: You mean the main character of Persona 4, right? I'm going to use that game in this story in a future, so look forward to it.
To Mugenko: I'm glad you liked my story. As I said before, I haven't watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so I won't be able to use it in my story until I watch it.
To KeybearerSky13: It's not Clayton. The guy wearing a yellow coat is an original Kingdom Hearts character, so it's not from Disney, Final Fantasy or The World Ends With You.
To OrionGold: I don't think so. Dangan Ronpa's end doesn't give me much to use, and I don't like to break the original storyline.
To FrancisVamp0822: I'm trying to focus this story more on Sora and the others, giving Disney a minimal role, but Donald and Goofy will meet the anime characters for sure.