Kingdom Hearts: The Light Guardians

by Keyblade Guardian

After Xehanort's defeat, the worlds were saved by Sora again, but that was just temporary. There are still threats out there, so the Keyblade wielders who fought against Xehanort form an organization called "Light Guardians" to protect and help those who need it.

31. Dark Hunters

Here you go, new chapter of TLG

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Chapter XXXI

Dark Hunters

0815hrs, August 23rd, 2024
Central City, Amestris

Saying that Xion was feeling down was clearly an understatement. When she went to Rush Valley with Roxas to see Winry and retrieve the Keyblade Armors, it never crossed her mind that she would receive such horrible news. Apparently, Maes Hughes was killed the night she left Amestris. He was an Amestrian State Military officer she and Sora met. That night, they found him with a gunshot in his chest, which they healed, or at least that's what she thought. Hughes appeared to be unconscious, so she assumed that a coma would be the worst-case scenario, not death.

According to Winry, Colonel Mustang was transferred to Central Command, and he was the person who, most likely, knew Hughes better than anyone else. With this in mind, Xion and Roxas decided to go to Central City to find him and see if he knew anything about what happened to Hughes, so they took a train after saying goodbye to Winry and Garfiel. The next day, they arrived in Central and now they were on their way to the military headquarters.

The blond spiky-haired Guardian wasn't exactly feeling great, either. Hearing that someone died was partly the reason, but it was mostly because of Xion. He hadn't seen her like this since they were part of the first Organization XIII and that really frustrated Roxas. He got used to see Xion all cheerful these last two years, so it especially hurt to see how crestfallen she looked now. He tried to make her feel better, but no matter what he said, it didn't work. It made him wonder how Sora managed to cheer up people. Anyway, he decided to shut his mouth instead of risking making things worse. The last thing he wanted was to touch the wrong buttons.

"That must be the place."

Roxas looked briefly at Xion before turning to look at the building she was pointing at. Central Command was just a few more meters ahead. It was easy to tell which building was because it really stood out, not being on ground level as the rest of the city's buildings. It was surrounded by a moat and atop an enclosed, pyramid-like structure. Apparently, they had to take some kind of elevator to reach the headquarters.

As they got closer, they could see some soldiers guarding the elevator. As expected, civilians couldn't enter the place whenever they wanted, so the two Guardians had to come up with something so they would let them in. However, this wasn't going to be necessary as someone who Xion met the last time she was in Amestris was nearby and spotted her.

"Miss Xion, you have returned!"

Xion and Roxas turned around, and the latter was utterly shocked when he saw a remarkably large and muscular man running toward Xion after ripping his shirt off just by flexing his muscles. The man even had sparkles all around him, which left Roxas even more dumbfounded than he already was. Before he could react, the man was already embracing Xion with his big arms. She didn't look very surprised, though.

"Oh, it's you, Major..." said Xion in a rather emotionless voice. She was glad to see Armstrong again, even though it didn't look like she was. "Good to see you again."

"Mmmm?" Armstrong extended his arms to take a better look at Xion. "You haven't struggled in response to my warm hug, Miss Xion. Not even a small wriggle. Is everything all right?"

Xion lowered her gaze. "Not really..."

Armstrong put the girl on the ground after hearing her reply. Something really bad must have happened if the cheerful and upbeat girl he met not long ago was feeling down. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Tell me, what's wrong?" asked the major. "Is there anything I can do?"

"So they know each other," thought Roxas, still a bit agitated after Armstrong's sudden appearance. He, then, heard the man's question and decided to answer in Xion's place. "There's something you can do, actually. You're part of the army, right?"

Armstrong turned to Roxas. He hadn't realized there was someone else there until now.

"Yes, I am," replied Armstrong. "And who might you be, young man? I believe we haven't introduce each other yet."

"Oh, right, I forgot." Xion proceeded to introduce Roxas to the major. "Roxas, this is Major Armstrong. Major, this is Roxas, a good friend of mine and a member of Sora's guild."

"Oh, another one of those noble wielders of that mysterious key-shaped sword!" exclaimed Armstrong with excitement. "What a great honor this is!"

"Nice to meet you, too," said Roxas as he extended his arm, hoping to avoid being hugged like Xion was. Armstrong did the same and they shook hands. "Ouch...I guess those muscles aren't just to show off..."

"Now, why did you want to know if I was part of the army?" asked the major.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you could get us in," replied Roxas, pointing at Central Command. "I don't think they'd allow us to enter the military headquarters just because we want to talk with someone, am I right?"

"That is right," said Armstrong. "Normally people who aren't part of the military can't access Central Command. If I may ask, who do you want to talk with?"

"Roy Mustang," replied Roxas. "Right, Xion?"

Xion nodded. "Yes."

"The colonel?" asked the major surprised. "Well, I think there will be no problem. After all, you Keyblade wielders helped us with our Heartless problem. What do you want to talk about with the colonel? Forgive the amount of questions, but this is in case someone asks."

"About Hughes," answered the black-haired Guardian.

This took Armstrong off guard. Yes, he knew Xion had met Hughes the last time she was in Amestris, but he didn't expect her to know about what happened to him. Perhaps she talked with someone before coming to Central? That could be it. No wonder the girl said she wasn't all right.

"I see, so it's that..." Armstrong sighed. "Look, you can always ask me if—"

"No, it has to be Mustang," said Xion, looking at the major in the eye. "I know he and Hughes were really close, so if there's anything about Hughes I want to know, the colonel is my best option."

Armstrong tried to come up with something, but he realized it was futile. The girl had already set her mind and wanted to see Mustang no matter what. The only thing he could do was to take her and Roxas to Central Command. He had the feeling that, if he didn't, they would enter the place by force, and that wouldn't end up well.

"Very well, I'll take you to him," said the major. "But please, I ask you to have some tact when you ask the colonel about this."

"I will," assured Xion.

Armstrong nodded. "All right, then."

"God, I hope this doesn't end up badly," thought Roxas.

The two Guardians headed for Central Command with the major. Not many people found strange to see two teens walking with someone from the Amestris' military. Considering there was a fifteen-year-old who was an State Alchemist, it could be not very strange for them. Surprisingly, none of the soldiers were surprised either, but apparently that was because they recognized Xion. Surely a lot of soldiers knew her because she was the girl who kicked Roy Mustang's butt in public. That might not be something to be proud of, but thanks to that everything went smoothly and they could get inside the military headquarters without any problems.

After taking the elevator, they continued to the building's entrance, walking thorough an spacious courtyard, and crossed the front doors. The amount of soldiers increased as they entered the place. It was the biggest and most important military base, after all. It didn't take them long to reach Mustang's new office in Central. Armstrong was about to open the door, but he turned to Roxas and Xion before doing it.

"Listen, this place is not only the Central Command Headquarters, but King Bradley's personal residence as well," said the major. "He is the Führer, the respected Commander-in-Chief of the State Military. With that said, I don't think I need to tell you what could happen if you start something here."

The two Keyblade wielders simply nodded in response. Then, Armstrong opened the door to Mustang's office. Unexpectedly, there were only two people in the room, the colonel himself and his personal adjutant. Normally one would've expected to see the complete Mustang unit in there, but it was better off like this…For now at least.

Roy saw Armstrong at his door. "Major, is there anything y—Why are you shirtless again?"

"Don't mind me," replied Armstrong. "There's someone here who wants to see you."

"I don't remember having any meetings today," said the colonel. "Who is it?"

The muscled man moved aside, allowing Mustang and his bodyguard to see the two people standing behind him. Both of them were surprised as they recognized one of them. The two Guardians walked inside the office and the major closed the door, staying outside.

"Xion," said Hawkeye.

"You came back," pointed out Mustang. "What? Do you want to fight me again? I have better things to do, so why don't you—"

"No, that's not it..." interrupted Xion.

"Then what is it?" asked the colonel almost impatiently, but also kind of confused due to Xion's mood. "What's wrong with her?"

"I need to…" Xion stopped talking, realizing there was something more important she had to tell Mustang. After hearing what happened to Hughes, her mind was a mess and she almost forgot about it. "I need to keep my cool. This comes first…"

"Hey, say some—"

Mustang was interrupted by Xion, who walked to his desk and hit it with her hand a bit too hard, startling both Roxas and the colonel. Even Hawkeye was taken by surprise by Xion's sudden action. The girl didn't hit the desk just because she felt like it. She put something on it, the copy of the Information Lacrima she got from Naminé.

"What is that?" asked Roy.

"Listen carefully," said Xion as she activated the Lacrima, which shocked both the lieutenant and the colonel. They weren't used to see magic stuff like this, after all. "I want you to memorize this people's appearances. It is very important that you do not forget what they look like."

Mustang was still amazed by the sudden display of magic in front of him. He had no idea what it was or how it was doing it, but that little crystal Xion was showing him images of four robbed people. There was also what appeared to be their names above each one of them. Leo, Vulpe, Cornis and Ursus.

"Who are these people?" asked Hawkeye.

"Keyblade wielders," replied Xion.

"So, they are like you and Sora," said Mustang.

Xion shook her head. "Far from it. They are much more powerful than us. And they aren't exactly the nicest people around, either. We still aren't strong enough to defeat them, so right now we're warning the people we know about them. If you ever see one of these guys, do no try to confront or capture them. Tell this to the rest of your unit and to other soldiers as soon as possible, okay?"

"What are you saying?" asked Mustang a bit sharply. "Xion, you might have been victorious in our small duel, but if you think that I and the Amestrian army will let a bunch of kids with giant keys to do what they want, then you're completely mistaken."

Roxas sighed. "That arrogance will get you nowhere."

The colonel looked at the boy. "And you are...?"

"Roxas, a Guardian," replied the blond.

"Guardian?" asked Mustang. "Oh, right, Fullmetal mentioned something about Sora having some kind of group...So you're a Keyblade wielder too, huh?"

"Yes, but that's not important right now," said Roxas. "Listen, forget about your pride. These four Keyblade wielders are able to destroy any army with just a snap of their fingers. Unless you want your comrades to get killed, do what Xion told you and avoid them at all costs. It's already difficult for us knowing that we aren't strong enough to protect people from them, so please, do us a favor and don't do anything stupid."

"Colonel, I think you should listen to them," said Hawkeye before Mustang could even reply. "They came all the way to Central to warn us about these people, after all. I don't think they'd have done it if these Keyblade wielders weren't a real threat."

"Lieutenant..." The colonel looked at his bodyguard with surprise. "You know, I'm starting to think you took a liking to these kids. You are always very understanding with them."

Hawkeye smiled briefly. "Who knows?"

Mustang sighed in defeat. "Very well, we won't confront these Keyblade wielders. Anything else?"

Now it was when things could get ugly.

"Yes, there's something else," said Xion. "Something I wanted to ask you. It's…It's about…"

"I don't have all day…" said Mustang as he crossed his arms. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Hnng, it's not easy…I have never asked anyone about these kind of things," said Xion, lowering her head and clenching her hands. She took a deep breath and decided to start slowly instead of asking straight ahead. "Okay…Before coming here, we went to see Winry Rockbell. You know her, right?"

"Yes, I know who she is," replied the colonel. "She is Fullmetal's childhood friend."

"Well, we talked with her a bit and we also told her about these Keyblade wielders," continued Xion. The complicated part was getting closer. "Then, she told me about…about something that happened the night Sora and I left."

"The night they left?" thought Mustang, trying to recall the events of that day. "That was…two weeks ago. Wait, two weeks ago was when….!"

"She told us that…"

Before Xion could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the colonel, who suddenly stood up from his chair, almost throwing it away. This startled Xion a bit, making her step back a bit. Roxas, on the other hand, saw the expression of realization Mustang had before standing up, so he deduced that the colonel must have remembered what happened two weeks ago, and the blond Keybearer was actually right. One would have expected Mustang to get angry, but he just turned around and started looking through the window behind his desk instead.

"I have nothing to tell you about that," said the colonel. "Sorry, but you came here for nothing."

"What? But…I…" This took Xion off guard. "I need to…"

"Leave," said Mustang without turning around.

"I know this is difficult for you." Roxas intervened. "She's also very affected. Couldn't you—?"

"No," replied the Flame Alchemist. "Leave now."

"Hey, why don't you stop being such an—?!"

Roxas snapped and was about to say something not very nice to Mustang, but was interrupted by Hawkeye, who put a hand on his shoulder. The male Guardian looked at the lieutenant, who made a gesture with her head, telling him to go with her outside. Roxas was angry, but he remembered what Armstrong told him before, so he decided to not do anything for now. Hawkeye put a hand on Xion's back and gently pushed her to make the girl come with her.

The three made their way out of the colonel's office. The lieutenant slowly closed the door and turned to the Keyblade wielders. One of them looked really depressed while the other could kill with his glare, so she decided to do something. There was some risk to it, but the lieutenant knew she could trust these two Guardians. She took a notebook and a pen from her pocket and started writing something. Meanwhile, Roxas ranted about what just happened.

"Who does he think he is!?" exclaimed the annoyed Guardian. "Man, if when Sora was arrested I didn't start to dislike any kind of military, I might start now! God, this is really pissing me off!"

Xion remained silent, thinking about the reason Mustang wanted her to leave. She could only think of one thing, but she didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true…could it? Then, after a minute or so, something appeared in front of her, a piece of paper. She looked up and saw that Hawkeye was handing it to her. The black-haired girl grabbed the paper.

"What's that?" asked Roxas.

"Listen carefully," said Hawkeye as she brought the two Guardians closer to her. "I want you to read that and then destroy it. You can't let anyone else read it, understand? This is very important. As soon as you're done, burn it. Got it?"

Roxas and Xion looked at each other and then nodded in response. Hawkeye, then, returned to Mustang's office, leaving the two Keyblade wielders alone. As soon as the lieutenant crossed the door, Xion and Roxas looked at the paper.

"Xion, I know you became friends with Lt. Hughes the last time you were here, so it must have been hard for you to learn about what happened to him. Now, what you're about to read is extremely confidential, only a few know about this, so I remind you that you must destroy this when you finish reading it.

Hughes is not dead.

I cannot give you details. I shouldn't even be telling you this. The reason the colonel told you to leave is because he doesn't want to speak about it. The walls have ears and there could be someone around here who shouldn't know about Hughes' state.

One last thing…I don't know how Hughes managed to survive that since he can't tell us right now, but there was a bullet hole in his uniform, around his chest. However, there was no wound. The only explanation I can come up with is that you and Sora did something, am I right? If that's the case, then on the colonel's behalf…no, on behalf of all the people that knew Lt. Hughes…Thank you."

"Oh." Roxas scratched his head and then chuckled. "I guess I got angry for nothing, right, Xion? Uh, Xion?"

Xion's facial expression was blank, no reaction from her part. Then, all of a sudden, she cast a small Fire spell and burned the piece of paper completely. After that, she walked to the nearest wall and leaned on it. The girl slowly slid until she was sitting on the floor.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Roxas, worried about his friend. He crouched next to her. "Everything…uh…is fine now, right?"

Xion laughed briefly. Then she looked at Roxas and gave him a bright smile.

"Yes, it is," said the girl, feeling as if someone just lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.

Roxas smiled. "Glad to see you are back to your usual chirpy self."

"Sorry, I know I've not been like myself since we left Rush Valley," said Xion. "It's just that, after all the things that have been happening lately, I was expecting the worst. However, it seems that good things can still happen."

"Come on, don't be so pessimistic," said Roxas, patting the girl's head. He sat next to his friend. "You know, you and Sora sure did it this time. If you hadn't meddled into this world's affairs, that man would be dead. Not saying you did wrong, though. Any of us would have done the same."

"And I'm glad we could save him," added Xion. "You know, when we were with Hughes, Sora looked like he was about to pass out any moment. He was sweating a lot and started breathing really heavily. His body started aching, too. It was kind of scary…"

"Well, you know he still hasn't gotten over the fact that he had to…" Roxas didn't want to finish that sentence. "Good thing, Hughes is all right."

"Yeah, I don't know how I would have told Sora if Hughes hadn't made it." Xion hugged her knees. "I'm afraid that something bad will happen that will make him change into someone totally different…"

"Hey, you know Sora as much as I do," said Roxas. "One of Sora's main characteristics is his ability to withstand a surprising amount of crap and still retain his upbeat personality. Besides, he promised Kairi he wouldn't change, right? He never breaks his promises, you know that."

"That's true," said Xion smiling. "Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. So, what should we do now?"

"I say let's go back to Radiant Garden," replied Roxas as he patted the brown bag he had. The Keyblade armor's plates were inside it. "We have to deliver these, after all. Besides, I feel kinda bad for leaving Lea all alone."

Xion giggled. "All right, then. Let's RTG."

"RTG...?" Roxas looked at Xion confused. "Oh, 'Return To the Guild'? Ha, that's clever."

"Of course it is," said Xion confidently. "I'm a smart girl."

Roxas chuckled. "Well, not gonna deny that one. Come on, let's go."

-TLG-

1702hrs, August 20th, 2024
Coliseum Gates, Olympus Coliseum

After going to the Mysterious Tower and talking with Yen Sid and Eraqus, Terra and Ventus' next stop was Olympus Coliseum. The reason they wanted to visit this world was because they thought Philoctetes, or Phil for short, could help them with their training. He was the personal trainer of Hercules, so he had to have a system to make people become stronger than they already were.

"It's been such a long time..." said Terra as he walked up the stairs that led to the Coliseum's courtyard. "The last time I was here Hercules was a trainee, and you told he he's already a full-fledged hero."

Ven laughed. "Yeah, he changed a lot. He's a lot more buff now. He even got a girlfriend...I think. Phil hasn't changed one bit, though."

Terra smiled. "That's good to know. Oh..."

"What?" Ven turned to Terra before looking in the same direction the Keyblade Master was looking at. "Oh, wow..."

The two Guardians were surprised because when they reached the courtyard, they saw that the coliseum was partially destroyed. It wasn't as bad as when Sora, Donald and Goofy fought the Hydra, but it was still pretty bad damaged. There were a lot of people around the destroyed building. Apparently, they were working on the repairs. Ven looked around, as if trying to find someone. Then, he spotted the person he was looking for, or in this case, the satyr.

"Look, there he is!" said Ven. "Come on."

Terra followed Ven to where Phil was. The small satyr was looking to what it appeared to be a blueprint of the coliseum. Probably he was in charge of the repairs. After all, he was the one in charge of the coliseum. The Keyblade wielders greeted Phil as they got closer to him.

"Sup, Phil!" said Ven.

"Oh, about time you showed up," said the satyr as he kept studying the blueprint. "How about you give these guys a hand? They could use some help and we'd be done in no time! Besides, I remind you that you're partially responsible for what happened. No hard feelings, though."

Terra raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Phil..."

"I know you've been busy lately, but remember..." Phil raised two of his fingers. "You just need two things in life...Planning, perseverance and patience."

Ven counted the words with his fingers and noticed that, as usual, Phil messed up and said the wrong number of words. This caused Ven and Terra to laugh.

"Told you he's still the same."

"Hey, who do you think you're laugh—!?" Phil couldn't believe his eyes when he turned around, ready to hit whoever was mocking him. "No way! Am I dreaming?! You two finally showed up after all these years!"

"Hey, how's it going?" asked Ven as he crouched to greet Phil with a hi-five.

"Can't complain!" replied Phil before looking at both Keyblade wielders. "You two are looking good. I see you haven't been slacking off. So, what brings you here? Came to visit your old pal Phil?"

"Yeah, we wanted to see how you were doing," replied Terra. "But we also wanted to ask you something. We were wondering if you could do us a little favor."

"Oh, boy, what is it?" asked Phil.

"You see, we need to get stronger," explained Ven. "We thought that, since you trained Herc, you might have some sort of efficient way to make people stronger."

"You want me to train you?!" asked Phil in disbelief. "Listen, I might be able to turn a wimp into a champion, but you two are no wimps. There's nothing new I can teach you. The only thing I could do is making you more buff, and I don't think Terra needs that. You, however, could use some more muscle, Ven."

"Hey, I'm fine the way I am!" said Ven confidently. "Ven's my name, speed is my game!"

"Sure, whatever you say," said Phil smiling. "Anyway, the only way you can get stronger now is to fight strong guys. That's my advice. However, you'll have to find those guys in another place. There won't be any games here for a while as you can see."

"What happened here, anyway?" asked Terra. "You said Hercules had something to do with it, right?"

"That's right," said the satyr. "Look, there he is, so why don't you ask him yourself? Hey, champ, look who came to visit!"

Ven and Terra turned around and saw the friend they met a long time ago along with a brown-haired woman wearing a pink dress. Ven already knew the aspect Hercules had now, but Terra didn't. The Keyblade Master was shocked to see how much Hercules changed over the last years. He really did look like a true hero now. The demi-god was really surprised when he saw the Keyblade wielders.

"Terra, Ven!" Hercules ran to where Phil and the Guardians were. "Boy, I'm so glad to see you guys again! How's everything?"

Ven grinned. "We're fine. How about you?"

"Never better!" replied Herc before grabbing Ven by his arms and lifting him. "Let me take a look good at you! Wow, you've barely changed, Ven!"

"Good things never change," said the blond smiling. "Although you did and you're looking great now! Like a true hero!"

"Well, I'm a true hero now!" said Hercules proudly as he put Ven on the ground again. Then he turned to Terra. "You haven't changed much either."

Terra crossed his arms. "That...huh...I mean, there's a reason the two of us..."

Hercules chuckled. "Relax. Aqua already explained it to us."

"Oh...wait, what?"

"She didn't give us many details," said Hercules. "She just said you three were like this because of that guy Sora defeated two years ago. Sorry about that, guys."

"Nah, don't worry about it," said Ven. "So, Aqua has been here, huh?"

"That's right," said Phil as he walked up to Hercules. "She and Sora's little girlfriend have been here before you. They left quickly, though. I asked them I they wanted some to participate in some training sessions, but they refused and left. Guess they were too busy."

"Yeah, they need to—" Ven narrowed his eyes. "Wait, he offered to train them? There's something wrong about this..."

"Wait, that redhead is Sora's girlfriend," asked the woman next to Hercules. "Good for him. How come you didn't tell me?"

"Well, I'm not sure there are together, to be honest," said Hercules. "That's what everyone thinks. And when we went to that club, Donald said she was. Although, maybe he was just joking..."

"Believe me, he was," assured Ven. "There's nothing going on between Sora and Kairi...well, there is, but there is not at the same time..."

"Okay, I think I understand," said the woman stiffing a laugh. "It's complicated."

Ven nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

"Why do we always end up talking about those two and their relationship?" asked Terra, who apparently was one of the few who felt a bit of sympathy towards the two teens. "Give those poor guys a break."

"Would you rather having people talking about you and Aqua?" inquired Ven.

"Pardon?" asked Terra obliviously.

Ven sighed. "Never mind."

"So, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Wonderboy?" asked the woman. "I know their names, but I believe they don't know mine."

"Oh, right, sorry!" said Hercules. "Guys, this is Megara."

"You can call me Meg," said the woman smiling. "So, are you two also heroes?"

Terra smiled. "Far from it."

"Aww, come on, we are heroes," said Ven. "Right, Phil?"

"I don't know…" Phil stroked his chin. "Terra could pass as a hero, but you still don't look the part, kid. You're still in the same team as those three."

"C'mon, Phil, you can't be really still considering them junior heroes!" said Hercules. "Sora, Donald and Goofy got their own constellation! They were acknowledged as true heroes by the gods!"

"Not by me, though!" said Phil, as stubborn as always. "They still have a long way to go! Just because they won a few tournaments here doesn't mean anything!"

"And defeated the Hydra," added Herc. "Not to mention they fought Hades and won."

"They also saved the worlds from destruction more than once," mentioned Ven. "Just saying."

"Petty details," declared the satyr.

"I guess he's sad because they don't need him to train anymore," said Herc to the others in a low voice so Phil wouldn't hear. "So, what brings you here?"

"We came here to train," replied Terra, surprising the demi-god. "However, Phil told us that the only thing that could make us stronger is to fight strong people."

"We need to get stronger," said Ven with determination. He looked at Hercules. "I suppose that, since Aqua and Kairi were here, they told you about our new enemies."

"Oh, right…" said Hercules. "They said there were five people that used the same weapon you guys use and that they were trying to rule over the worlds."

"We saw that recording, too," added Meg. "That girl sure wasn't a pushover at all. You guys will be fine?"

Ven smiled. "Yeah, it's not like we haven't done this before. We will be able to deal with them as soon as we get stronger. However, I don't know how much time that will take us…"

"Well, as I told you the coliseum needs to be repaired, so there won't be any games here until we're done," said Phil. "You'll have to look somewhere else. You can thank Herc for that."

"Yeah, what's with that?" asked Ven. "Phil said you are the one responsible the coliseum is like this now."

"It's not my fault!" protested Hercules. "Not completely, at least."

"What happened?" asked Terra. "A fight that got out of hand?"

Meg chuckled. "You guessed right. A boy came here to participate in the most recent games. He completely dominated the competition and reached the finals without breaking a sweat. He and Wonderboy fought in the finals and you know the rest."

"So, you won?" asked Ven, and Hercules smiled and shook his head. "You lost?! For real?!"

"Yup." Hercules crossed his arms. "It's been a while since I lost a fight. That guy sure was strong."

"No kidding," said Phil. "No idea where he came from, but he had a lot of potential. And that sword he used…it kinda looked like that one you use. It's called Keyblade, right?"

"What?" This worried Terra. "Are you sure?"

"Not really," replied Phil nonchalantly. "But he wasn't one of those five, if that's what you're wondering."

"We told Aqua and Kairi about him, too," said Hercules. "They considered the possibility he was one of the five, but it was discarded in the end. You only got pictures of four of them, but according to Aqua, the fifth one was also a girl, right?"

"It's possible, yeah," said Ven.

"This boy's weapon, if it was a Keyblade, it didn't match the ones your enemies use," continued Herc. "We saw you got pictures for the Keyblades of…uh, Leo and Cornis, was it? And while you didn't have one for the Keyblade of the other guy, Ursus, he looked too different from the boy I fought. At first sight, at least."

"Besides, he was too…nice," added Meg. "Believe me, that boy was far from evil. He even gave Phil the money he earned for winning the games as payment for the damage he caused."

"He did?" said Terra surprised. "That doesn't sound like something they would do…"

Ven nodded in agreement. "Still, I'm curious. What's this guy's name?"

"Efo…Ese…" Hercules couldn't remember the name of the boy he fought. "I know it started with an 'E'…or maybe not."

"He had a weird name," said Phil. "I can't remember it, either, but he said he wanted to meet the previous champion someday, so I guess Sora will end up meeting him…as soon as the repairs are done."

"What are you going to do now, then?" asked Hercules.

"I guess we'll return to Radiant Garden," said Terra.

"Yeah, you guys are busy and we don't want to be a bother," added Ven. "Besides, there might be some new missions, so we should get back soon."

"Radiant Garden, you say?" asked Megara. "There was someone here who wanted to go to that place, so maybe you could lend him a hand and take him with you."

"Uh, you see, Keyblade wielders aren't supposed to take people to other worlds," said Ventus, feeling a bit bad for whoever it was that wanted to go to Radiant Garden. "Who's that person?"

"Oh, right." Hercules knew who it was, apparently. A smiled appeared on his face. "He got a bit sad after finding out Aqua left before he could see her again, but surely seeing you guys will cheer him up. Also, he's from Radiant Garden, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Did someone say Radiant Garden?!"

Out of nowhere, a man appeared between Terra and Ventus, shocking the two of them. He was tall, well-built, and had sky-blue eyes as well as spiky black hair. He also had an X-shaped scar on his cheek and a silver earring in his left ear. The man noticed the two people next to him and he looked at them for some time, while they did the same. Then the three realized they knew each other.

"Terra?! Ven?!"

"Zack?!"

"Wow, I can't believe you're back!" exclaimed Zack all excited. He put his arms around each Keyblade wielder. "My old buddies have returned! This is a glorious day! Let's celebrate!"

"Zack, is it really you?!" asked Ven.

"Of course it's me!" replied the black-haired man. "Well, I'm taller and more handsome than the last time, but it's been more than ten years, man. You, however, are still a runt. How come?"

"Hey!"

"Just kidding!" Zack laughed and then looked at the other Keybearer. "And you also look kinda the same, Terra. Still young-looking after all this time. What's your secret?"

"It's a long story," said Terra, paraphrasing the leader of the Guardians.

"Oh, well, tell me if you ever feel like it, then!" said Zack with a smile. "I'm so happy to see you guys again! You know, Herc told me Aqua had been here, but I was busy and couldn't see her. I was hoping you two would appear sooner or later, and you didn't disappoint!"

Terra laughed. "We're also glad to see you, Zack. Say, did you accomplish your dream? Have you become a hero yet?"

"I think I'm pretty heroic myself," affirmed Zack. "That grumpy satyr over there won't ever admit it, though. So, where you talking about Radiant Garden or was it my imagination?"

"Terra and Ven are going to Radiant Garden, so we thought they could give you a lift," said Hercules. "You're from that world, aren't you?"

"Sure am!" Zack took something from his pocket, some kind of ID, and showed it to the Guardians. "I'm a member of the Heartless Resistance there. I came here using one of Cid's ships, but I kinda lost it, so I can't go back."

"You lost it?!" asked Ven. "Cid's gonna kill you."

"Nah, he adores me," said Zack. "So, could you guys take me with you? Let's travel together!"

"Well, if you're from that world, then I don't see why not," said Terra smiling. "You'll have to deal with Cid on your own, though."

"I knew I could count on you guys, thanks a lot!" said Zack gratefully. He turned to Hercules, Phil and Megara. "Well, it's been fun. I'm sure we'll see each other soon, so don't worry."

"When you're here I can't help but worry more than I normally do," said Phil.

"Be nice, Phil," said Hercules. "See you soon, Zack. Take care of yourself."

Zack smiled and nodded. "You got it. I know you'll miss me, Meg, but I'll be back sooner than you think."

"No need to hurry," joked Meg.

"Let's get going, then," said Terra.

"Bye, guys!" Ven waved his hand. "And nice to meet you, Meg!"

"Oh, and one last thing," said Zack to Hercules as Ven and Terra walked away. "If that silver-haired guy ever comes back, tell him I want a rematch. I'll be ready and this time I won't lose."

Hercules nodded. "Sure. You're not the only one who wants to fight him again."

Zack gave Herc a thumbs-up, and then he ran to catch up with the Keyblade wielders.

"So, how's Aqua doing?" asked Zack. "Is she still training?"

"I think so," replied Terra. "We're all training because of something that happened recently. We'll tell you as soon as we reach the ship."

"Alright," said Zack before sighing. "So, she's still training, huh? At this rate we'll never go on to a date, but a deal is a deal."

Terra and Ven stopped on their tracks, looked at each other for a few seconds, and then looked at Zack with a stunned look on their faces.

"Date?!"

-TLG-

1220hrs, September 5th, 2024
Lecture Hall, Beacon Academy

Aqua had never talked in front of many people, and knowing that you were about to talk to an entire class would make anyone nervous, but she wasn't. Peter Port, a professor of Beacon, offered Aqua the opportunity to speak in front of his class at the end of his lesson, and the Keyblade Master accepted the offer. She had to admit, having the attention of so many teens felt nice. And knowing that they were interested in what she was talking about was even better. Then again, that might be because, instead of talking about history of Grimm or explaining theories about Dust, she was giving the students a motivational speech.

Normally there were always a couple of students who weren't interested and ended up leaving, but no one moved from their seat and listened to Aqua. It helped that Professor Port said that she was a high-rank Keyblade wielder. That sparked the interest of many students, specially a small group on the second row.

She was basing her speech a little on the ones that her old master, Eraqus, used to give to Terra, Ven and her. She changed a lot of things, so it looked more like it was of her own now. She couldn't be saying that Light should be absolute at this point of the story. If there was something she learned after all these years, it was that darkness was also necessary. There had to be balance between light and darkness. Anyway, the blue-haired Guardian had the feeling she talked enough, so she proceeded to finish.

"To sum up, you all can achieve great things, even if you think you're just first-years here at Beacon. Don't let anyone look down on you, but don't put your life in danger unnecessarily, either. I am sure all of you can become full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses if you try. And if you do, you'd do us Keyblade wielders a favor. We always could use some help when it comes to protect the worlds. That's all."

The students stood up and started clapping at the Keyblade Master, who was taken completely by surprise. She noticed they liked the speech, but she didn't expect them to applause. She had to admit it felt great. She even heard someone shouting that she 'rocked' or something like that. The students started to leave the lecture room and Aqua couldn't help but overheard some of them.

"Guys, I'm so pumped up now!" said a boy. "I'm sure we can win the tournament!"

"Pfft, you're dreaming," said a girl. "Considering who's participating, I very much doubt we'll even make it to the finals."

"Yeah, remember that Nikos is participating, and she won several tournaments back in Mistral," added a different boy. "I sure feel more confident, though. Surely we can make it to the semifinals at least."

"Well, I wanted to raise their morale and looks like it worked," thought the Keyblade Master contently. "I wonder who that 'Nikos' is…"

"That was marvelous!" praised Port. "You're a natural, Miss Aqua!"

Aqua smiled. "You think?"

"Without a doubt!" affirmed Port. "If you ever retire from saving the worlds and decide you want a more normal life, you should definitely apply for a job here at Beacon. You're not a Huntress per se, but I'm sure Ozpin will make an exception."

"Thank you for the offer," said Aqua. "Although I don't know if I'll ever retire considering how many threats are out there."

Port nodded. "You speak the truth. Now there are some things I have to do, so I'll leave you with these students who seem to want to hear your motivational voice again."

Aqua turned her head and saw that there were four students standing not far from her, most likely waiting for the Keyblade wielder to finish talking with Port. She noticed they were the group from the second row that looked a bit more surprised than the rest when Professor Port mentioned that she was a Keyblade wielder.

"Hello there," said Aqua with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"You…" said one of the four students, a white-haired girl with a scar on her left eye.

Aqua tilted her head. "Me?"

"You're exactly what I had pictured a Keyblade Master would be!" said the girl, her voice full of approval. "You're perfect!"

The other three teens sighed and rolled their eyes.

"Really?" said the girl next to the one with white hair. She had black hair and had a bow on her head. "That's the first thing you're going to say?"

"What?" The white-haired girl crossed her arms. "What do you want me to say?"

"How about you tell me your names?" suggested Aqua. "If you don't mind."

"Oh…" The girl with the scar realized she should've introduced herself first, and now she felt kinda embarrassed. The black-haired girl looked at her with a smirk, and she responded with a glare.

"Well, I'll make the introductions," said the only boy of the group. "The one who said the creepy line is Weiss…"

"Hey!" Weiss protested.

"The one with the bow is Blake."

"Hi."

"This is Pyrrha."

"Hello!" said the third girl.

"And I'm Jaune."

"Jaune…Oh, you're that boy from before!" said Aqua in realization.

Jaune chuckled. "I thought you'd forgotten about me. Glad to see I was wrong."

"Aww, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you earlier," said Aqua putting her hands together in a gesture of apology. "Thank you for helping us before."

"Nah, don't worry about it," said Jaune smiling.

"When did you meet her, Jaune?" asked a curious Pyrrha.

"A couple of hours ago," replied the boy. "She and another girl were looking for Professor Ozpin's office and I told them how to make their way there. I didn't know I helped a Keyblade wielder. Wait, the girl who was with you is also a…?"

"Yes, she is a Keyblade wielder, too," replied Aqua. "And we're both Light Guardians, in case you were wondering."

"It makes sense, considering you have that crown," said Jaune, pointing at Aqua's badge. "That means Sora's your boss."

Aqua laughed. "That's right. Although I don't think he'd like being called that by any of us. Do you know Sora, th—Oh, what am I saying, of course you do. Everyone here does."

"Well, out of all the students here at Beacon, we're the ones who spent more time with him," said Pyrrha. "Actually, Weiss and Blake spent more time with him since their team worked frequently with Sora. Jaune and I, on the other hand, are from a different team. The other Keyblade wielder who was here with Sora, spent more time with us."

"Then you two must be from Team JNPR," said Aqua, looking at Jaune and Pyrrha. "Ven told me a bit about you. He said he had a good time being with you. I hope he didn't cause you any troubles."

"Of course not," said Pyrrha. "He's really nice."

"Yeah, he's a cool guy," added Jaune. "He even helped me to train and thanks to him I could learn a few tricks."

"I'm very glad to hear that," said Aqua. Then, she turned to Blake and Weiss. "And you are members of Team RWBY, right? Weiss and Blake…It's neither of you, then."

"What do you mean?" asked Blake.

"Uh…Let's say one of your teammates did something to Sora," answered the Guardian. This surprised the students, and worried them a bit, too. "He didn't find out until he was back in the guild. Actually, he wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for me."

Weiss and Blake looked at each other for a moment before turning to Aqua again. The two of them asked the same question at the same time.

"What did Yang do?"

Aqua blinked. "Oh, wow. I assume you're used to her…antics."

"Unfortunately, yes," said Weiss. "What did she do to Sora?"

"Well, I don't want to be a snitch, so you'd better ask her," replied Aqua. "Besides, I don't want Sora to find out I've been telling people about that. I like to tease him like everyone else, but I don't want to overdo it."

Blake smirked. "I see that teasing Sora is a running gag among the people who know him."

"It is," said Aqua, laughing a bit. "Fortunately, he takes it well. Otherwise, we'd have stopped a long time ago."

"Poor guy," thought Jaune.

"So, is there anything you wanted to ask me?" Aqua leaned on the desk behind her. "Or you just wanted to talk?"

"We just wanted to chat," said Jaune.

"Actually, now there's something I'd like to ask you," said Blake. "May I?"

Aqua nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"According to what Jaune said, you were looking for Professor Ozpin," said Blake. "For two Keyblade wielders to come all the way here to see our headmaster...I guess something must have happened, right?"

"You're sharp," said Aqua. "Yes, there's some information we wanted to share with Beacon's headmaster. All students should be getting a message with that information soon. Have you checked your scrolls? The message should be delivered to each one of you at the same time."

"I did a few minutes ago, but it was just spam..." Jaune realized he probably said something he shouldn't have. "I mean, I haven't checked my scroll! I was listening to you the whole time!"

Aqua laughed. "Come on, no need to be scared. I'm not going to get angry if you just checked your mail."

"Wow, really?" asked Jaune very surprised. "Boy, now I wish you were our teacher."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," said Aqua, a bright smile appeared on her face. "If I were your teacher, and I saw you using your scroll during one of my lessons...Well, you'd wish Glynda was the one who caught you."

A pale-faced Jaune gulped, genuinely scared of what Aqua would do to him if she was a teacher at Beacon. The Keyblade Master, on the other hand, just smiled. She imagined Goodwitch was a bit feared among the students, and she was right. She felt a bit bad for scaring Jaune, but maybe now he won't use his scroll in class again. From her point of view, she was just doing a favor to him and to the teachers.

Pyrrha checked her scroll while trying not to laugh because of the face Jaune was making at this moment.

"I haven't received any message."

"No message in my inbox, either," said Blake.

"We can only wait, then." Weiss closed her scroll and looked and Aqua. There was something she wanted to know for a while. "Could I ask you something, too?"

"Of course."

"Sora told me he was chosen by the rest of you to be the leader of your organization," said Weiss. "Why did you choose him?"

Blake sighed. "Weiss…We already talked about this."

"I know, I just…!"

"I take that Sora wasn't what you were expecting when you heard about Keyblade wielders," said Aqua. The white-haired girl didn't know how to respond, so Aqua continued. "I know he might appear to have a very relaxed attitude, but believe me, he takes his job as a Keyblade wielder as seriously as I do."

"I know that," said Weiss. It looked like she was still feeling a bit bad for doubting Sora. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have achieved what he did."

"To answer your question…" Aqua crossed her arms. "I think Sora makes a good leader because of how he makes connections with the people he knows. He's able to feel the pain someone's going through. Some years ago, bad things happened to most of the Guardians, but thanks to him, we could move on. He's also able to raise morale just with his presence. Thanks to that, we could win an important fight. I've seen him in his best moments, so believe me when I say that Sora is leader material. Once you get to know him better, you'll realize what I mean."

Blake looked at her teammate. "Satisfied?"

"Yes, that's what I wanted to know," said Weiss, averting her eyes. She looked at Aqua. "Thank you for the answer."

"No problem," replied Aqua smiling.

"It's heartwarming how all of you seem to appreciate him so much," commented Pyrrha. "Ven also seemed to respect him a lot."

"We all love each other," stated Aqua. "We're like a big family. A big strange family, I'd say."

Jaune raised his hand, as if he was asking permission to talk during a class.

"Yes, Jaune?" asked the Guardian.

"You said you've seen Sora in his best moments..." Jaune scratched his head. "Maybe i'm wrong, but the way you said it...You made it sound like right now he's not as strong as he used to be..."

"Oh, about that..." Aqua lowered her gaze for a second. "Lately he isn't..."

Suddenly, someone opened the room's door a little too hard, making a loud noise that made Aqua stop talking and turn her head to look at the classroom's entrance. The students also looked in the same direction and saw the two members of Team RWBY who weren't already in the room along with a redhead girl.

"What's up, everyone?" asked Yang, a huge grin on her face.

"Sis, one of these days you'll break the door," said Ruby. "And I don't think the teachers will like that."

Yang gave her sister a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Ruby. Everything's under control!"

"Except for you," said the redhead smiling.

"Of course, no one can stop me!" claimed Yang. She then looked at her teammates and the two members of JNPR before turning to Kairi again. She grabbed the Guardian and put her in front of her. "Guys, meet Kairi, a Keyblade wielder from Sora's organization!"

Kairi smiled a bit awkwardly. "Hi."

"Nice to meet you," said Blake. "And sorry for the trouble Yang might have caused you."

The redhead laughed. "Don't worry, I can handle it."

"Aww, don't be mean!" Yang brought Kairi closer to her. "We're gonna be BFF's, you'll see!"

"Mmmm, maybe~," said Kairi, unable to hide her smile. "Perhaps I'll be BFF's with Ruby instead."

"Hey!" protested Yang.

Ruby mockingly pointed at her sister. "Ha!"

"So that's Yang," thought Aqua.

The blue-haired Guardian looked at the blonde student who had Kairi around her arm. It was kind of surprising to her seeing that Kairi, despite being a little bothered by what Yang did to Sora, looked like she was having fun being around the lilac-eyed girl. She knew Kairi and was completely sure she wasn't just being nice because it'd be the correct thing to do. It seemed that she decided to put aside what happened and forget about it. Aqua couldn't help but smile at this. Kairi's heart was sure full of pure light.

"Hey, guys…Guess what?" said Ruby. "Kairi told us there's another Keyblade wielder in Beacon. A Keyblade Master nonetheless."

"Yeah, we know, Ruby," said Jaune before pointing at Aqua. "She's right there."

The silver-eyed girl looked in the direction Jaune was pointing at and saw the blue-haired woman who was leaning on the desk the teachers used.

"Hello," said Aqua, waving her hand.

"Oh." Ruby laughed awkwardly. "Hi. I'm Ruby."

"I'm Aqua, nice to meet you." The Keyblade Master looked at the blonde. "And you must be the famous Yang."

"The one and only," said Yang bowing. She, then, took a better look at Aqua and realized that the reputation she gained among the male students in the short time she was in Beacon was clearly justified. "Tch, to think there's someone of this level in Sora's group…Looks like I'll have to work harder."

Aqua cocked an eyebrow. "Uh?"

"Don't ask," said Kairi before turning to the four teens who were initially in the room. "Okay, let me guess… Weiss…Blake…Pyrrha…"

Pyrrha smiled and waved hear hand. "Hello!"

"…and Jaune," finished Kairi. "Hey, you're the boy who helped us before!"

"At your service," said Jaune, mimicking Yang's previous bow. "I just did what any nice guy would've done."

Kairi giggled. "Well, thank you again. I don't see the other two members of Team JNPR…Where are they?"

"Oh, right, we forgot to tell you about that…" said Ruby, a tad of sadness in her voice. "You see, they're not in Beacon right now. They…uh…one of Ren's relatives…"

"All right, you don't have to say anything," said Kairi, raising her hand to stop Ruby. She realized it must be something difficult to talk about, and she didn't want to bring it up. "I'll meet them when they come back. And if they don't before I leave, there's always next time."

"Okie dokie, let's change the subject before the mood starts to change in the wrong way," said Yang. "What were you ways talking about before we arrived?"

"Aqua here just explained Weiss why she chose Sora to be the leader of the Light Guardians," said Jaune. "And she demonstrated me that she can be even scarier than Goodwitch."

Ruby groaned. "Seriously, Weiss? This again?"

"I got my answer, so I'm not going to ask again, okay?!" exclaimed Weiss. "Sheesh, I just want to know something and you all treat me as if I were doing something horrible."

"Well, you're the Ice Queen, after all," said Yang, earning a glare from the heiress. "Why don't you stop being so tsun-tsun and admit that you like him at least a little bit?"

Weiss' glare disappeared instantly. "W-w-what did you just call me?! And I don't like him! That's your thing!"

"I mean like him as a person, not the other way," clarified the blonde. "Unless you..."

Weiss stomped her foot. "NO!"

"Yeah, no way you do," said Yang, although Weiss' reaction was making her suspect a bit. Yang, then, looked momentarily at Kairi and smirked. "Besides, if you did, I wouldn't admit it if I were you…At least not in front of his girlfriend here."

Kairi's eyes went wide. "YANG!"

This took off guard the four students who didn't know that Yang was joking. Jaune and Pyrrha were really surprised while Weiss was in utter shock, pointing at Kairi and stammering at the same time. Even Blake was taken by surprise. The look on her face wasn't the same extravagant one Weiss had, but it could be noticed.

"Y-y-you are...H-h-he has..."

"Relax, I was just kidding," said Yang with an amused smile. "Nice reaction, though. It looks to me that you care more than you think."

"..."

"It was just a joke, then?" said Pyrrha while Weiss tried to hit Yang with her rapier. She took a brief look at Kairi. "However, if she reacted that way, could it be...?"

"Oh well, it's not that surprising," said Jaune. "I mean, I'm sure there are a lot of girls who would love to date Sora, so he shouldn't have any difficulty getting a girlf—Ow, why did you hit me, Pyrrha?!"

"I'll explain it to you later," said Pyrrha.

Blake sighed. "Yang, you know that this kind of jokes can make people angry, right?"

"Oh, she knows how to take a joke." Yang turned to the redhead and saw that she was holding her Keyblade and had a threatening look on her face. "Okay, maybe not. I guess I'll stop."

Kairi smiled contently. "Good. So, how was your experience, Aqua?"

"It was great," said Aqua pleased. "I think I'm going to—"

Several beeping sounds coming from different places interrupted Aqua in the middle of her sentence. The Beacon students' scrolls were the ones who made those sounds. Each one of them took their scroll and opened it. Kairi, being close to Ruby, took a quick look at the girl's scroll and saw that she received a message with a red warning icon next to it.

"Important warning…" said Yang, looking at her scroll. "I wonder what happened now."

Pyrrha looked at Aqua. "This is what you told us about, right?"

"Yes, it must be it," replied Aqua. "Read it carefully. And watch the video, too. Kairi and I will wait here until you're done."

The six Beacon students got closer to each other and opened their respective messages and carefully read it, not wanting to overlook any single detail. The two Guardians could see how their expressions changed as they read the message. At first they looked slightly surprised. They already knew about the new Keyblade wielders, after all. Then, they saw the picture that was in the middle of the information they received. Pyrrha made a comment about how there were only four pictures, and Weiss said the Guardians probably hadn't seen the fifth one yet.

After a minute or so, they finished reading the message. There was one thing that caught Yang's attention, and by the look on her face, she didn't like it too much. The blonde didn't look angry, but she decided to say something about it.

"Wait a sec." Yang looked at Aqua and Kairi. "Are you really telling us to not do anything if we see any of these guys? You can't be serious."

Kairi sighed. "Yang..."

The blonde brawler continued. "You can't really expect us to just let them do as they please, right? We might be still in training, but we've faced tough enemies."

"Yang, we had trouble dealing with Heartless," said Jaune. "We needed Sora and Ven to come here and help us. They are stronger than us."

"Oh c'mon, slaying a Heartless with a Keyblade is like cutting butter with a hot knife," said Yang. "Yes, Keyblade wielders are strong, but if we work together, we may be able to do something instead of just letting other people solve our problems. Perhaps not one team, but several teams working together…"

"You are underestimating them," said Blake. "As you said, defeating Heartless with a Keyblade is relatively easy. That's why you can't judge a Keyblade wielder's strength until you've seen him or her fight against something or someone who's not a Heartless."

"I'm with Blake here," said Pyrrha. "We're just first-year students in Beacon. We might have fought Grimm and a criminal organization, but this is too big. It's too much for us to handle. Remember what that hooded guy told Sora. He said not even him was strong enough to defeat one of them."

"And Sora saved the worlds more than one time," added Jaune, which surprised the two Guardians in the room. "He might be one of the strongest guys we know. If he can't beat those guys, then it's out of the question for us."

"I'm not saying we can defeat them, but we can help." Despite not looking angry, Yang definitely looked bothered by something. "Aren't we supposed to be the defenders of this world? What kind of defenders let the bad guys do as they please? And how do you know that guy wasn't just bluffing? Maybe they're just a bunch of pushovers."

Blake frowned. "Yang, what's wrong with you? If this is because of that girl in the train…"

Yang looked a bit angry now. "Don't bring that up."

"Yang, listen." Kairi decided to speak and try to put an end to the argument. "I know it's hard when someone tells you that you can't do anything to solve a—"

"Kairi, don't—"

"No, you listen to me now!" Kairi raised her voice, startling the brawler and her peers. "I know it's hard, but you have to know when to back away! I know sometimes taking risks is necessary, but not this time. Aqua and I have been going to every world we know to warn our friends about these Keyblade wielders for a reason. You don't stand a chance. Right now I don't think any of the Guardians stand a chance, either, so please, don't do anything stupid. They aren't your regular bad guys, so they won't destroy your world, but if you become a nuisance for them, you'll get yourself killed. I don't want any of you to die…"

"Kairi…" said Yang. The blonde looked at the floor, realizing her pride made her more stubborn than she usually was. "I…"

"Is there…that much of a difference between you and these five?" asked Weiss. She hadn't said anything until now, but she knew a bunch of first-year students couldn't deal with experienced Keyblade wielders. "You look worried, so..."

"Watch the video," said Aqua as she put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "Once you watch it, you'll understand our concern."

"Here, let's watch it at the same time," said Pyrrha, telling the others to come and watch the video from her scroll. "It's easier this way."

The six Beacon students started watching the recording of the fight in Worth Woodsea. This was awkward for both Kairi and Aqua, but especially for the blue-haired Keybearer. During this week, she had seen that recording quite a few times and she had to admit it hurt her pride a bit seeing how a single girl beat her and her friends so easily. She could understand how Yang felt, but she couldn't let that get the best of her. All of her friends from different worlds told her and Kairi that they were counting on the Guardians, and they couldn't let them or anyone down.

Both teams looked shocked as the recording ended. They just saw a single person fighting more than twenty people without any effort so their reaction was normal. Still, apparently they didn't expect that one of them was that powerful.

Pyrrha covered her mouth. "Oh god…"

Jaune gulped. "And she was just…playing. I'll need new underwear if I ever run into one of these guys…"

Weiss grimaced. "Ugh, that's disgusting…"

Kairi looked at the lilac-eyed girl. "So, Yang…?"

Yang sighed and chuckled. "Okay, you win. They're way outta my league. Sorry for being so stubborn."

"It's alright," said Kairi with a smile, feeling more relaxed now. "I know how it feels."

"You know…"

"Yes?"

"I didn't know you cared so much about us!" said Yang, making a cute silly face. "And we just met you today! You're sooo nice! Come here and let me give you a big hug!"

"What?!" Kairi was caught with her guard down, so Yang could grab her easily. Now the redhead's face was planted right into Yang's chest. "Hey, let go! Yang…Oh, why do I even bother?"

"Admit it, you're enjoying this," said Yang with a cheeky grin. "I know I am."

"Way to kill off the mood, Yang," said Pyrrha, rather amused by the scene. "You should let go before you choke her."

"Killing the mood is exactly what I wanted," said Yang. "I don't want any gloomy atmosphere around us. And I'm not letting go yet. I want her to warm up to me more."

"Maybe I need to cool you off a bit instead," muttered Kairi. She put a finger close to Yang's back without her noticing and cast a tiny Blizzard spell.

Yang felt a chill down her spine, powerful enough to make her release Kairi. "W-what the heck?! W-what was that?!"

Kairi smirked. "Just a tiny bit of magic."

Yang squinted at Kairi. "Oh, you little cheat. Damn, I can still feel it. That thing is ice cold…Or should I say…Weiss cold!"

Everyone looked at Yang with blank expressions. Blake had her hand covering her face while Weiss eyebrow twitched because of her teammate used her name to make a lame pun that wasn't even amusing.

"God dammit, Barb…I mean, Yang!" said Jaune.

Yang pouted. "Oh, come on, it was funny!"

"Looks like it worked," thought Pyrrha. "The mood has certainly lightened up."

"Sis, back me up here!" said Yang, and it was then when she noticed that Ruby was staring at her scroll. She had opened the video and was watching it again on her own, but with the sound off. "Hey, what are you watching that again? Now that I think about it, you haven't said a word since we got the message…"

The group looked at the youngest girl in the room. She didn't look sad, but focused instead. There was like fire in her eyes. The only boy in the room spoke after he saw the expression on Ruby's face. Apparently, it wasn't the first time he saw it.

"Ruby, you have that look on your face again…" said the boy. "Please, tell me you're not going to do anything reckless."

Ruby didn't respond. She just looked at Jaune and puffed her cheeks a bit.

"What?" Weiss stepped in. "Ruby, you'd better don't…"

Ruby turned to Weiss, her cheeks getting puffier.

"Oh god, is she going to explode?" thought Kairi and Aqua at the same time.

"I'm warning you!" Weiss raised a scolding finger. "Don't—!"

"I'm gonna do something!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Ruby, no!"

"RUBY YES!"

"Have you even been listening this whole time?!" asked Weiss irritated. "We can't do anything with our current power! Do you want to get yourself killed? I'm not going to let you fight any of these Keyblade wielders!"

"That's not what I mean!" said Ruby. "I'm going to become stronger, a full-fledge Huntress, so I can help Sora and the others with their next enemy!"

Weiss blinked. "The next?"

"Yes!" replied Ruby. "I know I'm not strong enough to fight a Keyblade wielder yet, so I'll leave these five to the Guardians. However, I'll make sure that, the next time, I'll be skilled enough to help. You'll see! I'll get so strong that I'll join Sora's guild!"

"What?!"

"This is getting a bit out of hand," thought Aqua. "However…"

"Ruby, you know you need a Keyblade to be a Light Guardian, right?" asked Blake.

"And even if you get one, what are you going to do about us?" asked Yang. "Are you going to quit the team?"

"No, you three are coming with me!" said Ruby. "It's an order!"

"Would you ditch Crescent Rose for a Keyblade?" asked Jaune.

Ruby flinched. "Uuuh, well, then we'll become so powerful that Sora will have to make an exception!"

Weiss sighed in defeat. "Geez, why are you so stubborn?"

Kairi laughed. "It looks like she has made up her mind."

"Well, t's good to have goals, after all," said Aqua. "It's certainly a way to become stronger. It might look unreachable, but with enough confidence and perseverance, I'm sure she can do it."

"You two are okay with this?" asked the heiress surprised.

"It's not like we can make her change her mind," said Aqua smiling. "As long as she knows her limits, I'm sure she'll be fine. And she has you three to keep her in line, right?"

Yang nodded. "You can bet on that!"

Aqua smiled. "Good. You know, Ruby, I like your enthusiasm. And that strong sense of moral justice you have…I'm sure you'd be a great Keyblade wielder."

Ruby blushed and started mumbling. "Oh, shut up, you're just saying that…"

"Just remember, do not fight these Keyblade wielders," said Aqua over Ruby's incoherent gushing. "If you see one of them here, just tell Ozpin."

"Got it," said Blake.

"But you know, maybe you could actually help us with our other enemies, instead of trying to go after those Keyblade wielders," commented Kairi. "They aren't as strong as them, so you should be fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Jaune, feeling a bit insecure.

"Yes, I think so, too." Aqua agreed. "I'm sure you can take on them, but I'd still train if I were you. I have the feeling they are getting stronger."

"We were going to do that anyway," said Yang. She, then, looked at her scroll. "Still, it bugs me that I can't beat up this girl…Vulpe, right? Who does she think she is, flirting with my man?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Your man?"

"Oh right, our man." Yang corrected herself. "No girl can touch Sora, only my teammates and me…And Kairi, of course."

Aqua looked at Kairi. "Anything to say to that?"

"I'm not even going to bother," said the redhead Guardian. "Besides, we share that dislike toward Vulpe, so I'll let her off the hook for that one."

"I've got the feeling he was actually enjoying it for a second there," said Weiss crossing her arms, a disappointed look on her face. "Boys…"

"Well, she's definitely good-loo…" Jaune could feel how the eyes of the seven girls' in the room were aimed at him. It felt like having several swords around, ready to slice him into tiny pieces. "Crap, I forgot I'm the only male here. I need guys to support me!"

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Pyrrha, trying to change the subject and save Jaune's butt as usual. "Are you going back to your guild?"

"What?" Yang didn't like the sound of that. "You can't be seriously thinking of leaving already, right? Come on, stay a bit more! Haven't you two been travelling to a lot of worlds lately? You must be tired, so why don't you and take a break?"

"She does have a point," said Aqua.

"You're just saying that because you want to look for Velvet, aren't you?" said Kairi, and Aqua just responded with an innocent smile. "Figures."

"Velvet? As in Team CFVY's Velvet?" asked Weiss.

"Why do you want to look for her, Aqua?" asked Jaune.

"We don't know anything for sure, but there might be something going on between her and Ven," said Kairi. The redhead brought her hand to her mouth as soon as she realized she said something she shouldn't have. "Uh oh…"

"Wait, what?" said Weiss.

"You're kidding," said Yang, a huge grin appearing on her face. "Ven and Velvet? For real? Oh, he's never going to hear the end of it~"

"Who would have thought?" Pyrrha looked quite happy for Ven and the Faunus. "Although, considering that he defended her from Cardin and his team, it's not very surprising that she took an interest in him."

Kairi waved her hands. "Wait, guys, I didn't…"

"Too late for that, Kairi," said Aqua. "You'd better hope Ven doesn't find out you spilled the beans."

"Well, if he does, I'm blaming you," muttered Kairi, averting her eyes.

"I heard that," said Aqua, making Kairi flinch. "Anyway, I still think it's a good idea we rest a bit before returning to Radiant Garden. Why don't you go to the city, Kairi? I heard there's going to be a festival soon, so there might be something fun to do there. Why don't you go with them?"

Kairi thought about it for a second and it wasn't a bad idea. After all, she did want to spend some time with Team RWBY, mostly because Sora was now good friends with its members, but there were also a few more reasons. They all seemed nice, but she wanted to know them better.

"I was about to suggest that," said Yang before looking at her teammates. "What do you say? It's better than staying in campus, right?"

"Sounds good," said Blake.

Kairi looked at Team RWBY. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not!" replied Ruby happily.

"We could give you a tour around the city," said Weiss. "It'd be easier now that there aren't any Heartless around."

"I hope she didn't jinx it saying that," thought Kairi. She looked at the two members of Team JNPR. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Oh, we'd love to, but…" Pyrrha looked at Jaune. "We have a training session now."

"Can't skip it or she'll bonk me in the head," said the blond. "We'll join you guys later."

"All right, then," said Kairi before looking at her guildmate. "Guess we separate again."

Aqua smiled. "Have fun and take care. If something happens, you know what to do."

"Right, see you later." Kairi looked at Team RWBY. "Alright then, let's hang out!"

-TLG-

1934hrs, August 21st, 2024
Forest near Death Vegas's desert, Earth

During the small party in Maka and Soul's apartment, the group of teens decided to investigate the old castle where Sora and the Shibusen gang once fought against Maleficent. There, they found some kind of group that turned out to be part of Maleficent's new army. To Sora's surprise, they weren't from the Earth, but from Earth Land instead. The man leading the group appeared to be a mage called Zancrow that fought Natsu some time ago. Apparently, he held a grudge against Fairy Tail, and since Sora was a member of that guild, he decided that he was going to take the Keyblade wielder out as revenge.

Sora looked confident. He knew he could beat Zancrow. However, something unexpected happened before they could even start fighting. Cornis, one of the five evil Keyblade wielders, appeared through a portal.

Sora looked at the hooded man. "Cornis."

"Good to see you," said the cloaked Keyblade wielder. "Although, by the look on your face, I can see that the feeling isn't mutual."

"What do you want?" asked Sora sharply. He abandoned his battle stance, but didn't lower his guard. He had a tight grip on his Keyblade. "Are you following me?"

"Calm down," said Cornis raising his right hand. "I'm not here for you or your friends. I'm here for the Dark Mage."

"Uh?" Zancrow looked at Cornis. "What do you want from me? I don't even know you. I was going to fight the brat with the Keyblade, so go away…Unless you have a death wish, of course."

Cornis let out a sigh of exasperation. "It's like all of you want to do this the hard way. Would I have your attention if I tell you I am also a Keyblade wielder?"

"Oh, really?" The mage looked interested now. He took a better look at Cornis. "Wait…A hooded Keyblade wielder…Don't tell me you're one of those five the witch told me to 'avoid at all costs'!?"

"I think so," said Cornis.

Zancrow started laughing. "And I thought this mission would be a waste of time. Today must be my lucky day. Two Guardians and one Hunter. This is going to be so much fun."

Cornis touched his forehead. "Oh for crying out loud…"

"Hunter?" Naminé wondered why Zancrow used that term to refer to Cornis.

"Dark Hunters," said the hooded Keybearer. "That's what our group is called. One of us came up with that name. I don't like it very much, but it's better than nothing. Anyway, returning to the matter at hand…Zancrow, right? I want you to take me to where your boss is."

"What?" Zancrow cocked an eyebrow. "Do you really think I'm going to do that? You Keyblade wielder must be even more stupid than I thought."

"I wouldn't test my patience if I were you," said Cornis. He was calm and collected all the time, but now he was starting to sound threatening. "For some reason it's really difficult to track down any of you. I won't let you leave without taking me where the witch is. If you do, I might consider sparing you."

Zancrow laughed. "How scary."

Meanwhile, the Sora and the rest watched the scene without taking part. The group of Maleficent's soldiers started to move and managed to make their way inside the castle. They were scared, but considering who appeared, no one could blame them. The Shibusen gang didn't move from their positions since Cornis appeared. Maka was still on the ground, trying to recover from the shock of having sensed Cornis' power.

"So he's here because he was looking for Maleficent, too?" said Kid.

"Hey, guys, isn't that good thing?" asked Liz, still in her weapon form just like Patty. "I know he's…well, one of the bad guys, but if he takes care of Maleficent…"

"She has a point," said Naminé. "But still, why do I have the feeling that…"

"That we shouldn't let him do it?" asked Sora.

Naminé nodded. "Do you have it too?"

"Yeah, it's like there's something I'm overlooking…" said Sora, trying hard to think a reason to not let Cornis go after Maleficent. "But what is it?"

Black*Star looked at both the mage and the hooded Keyblade wielder. He had that look in his eyes, the one he got when he was about to fight someone in a serious battle. Anyone familiar with Black*Star knew that, especially his partner.

The blue-haired Meister raised his weapons. "Tsubaki."

"No."

"What?" Black*Star didn't expect that response. "But Tsuba—"

"No!" Tsubaki sounded scared, which was making her partner worry. "You know I always support you when it comes to fight someone strong, but not this time! We don't know how powerful that boy is! Don't attack him on your own!"

"Listen to her, Black*Star," said Kid. "I know you're a tough one, but I don't think your usual straightforward approach will help you here. Asura was extremely powerful, yes, but remember one of these Keyblade wielders could deal with more a big group of Earth Land mages and two Keyblade wielders at the same time."

"Yeah, I don't think we should attack him, either," said Liz. "I've got the feeling it won't end up well, even if we attack him together."

"We can't do it, anyway," said Patty. "Maka's still feeling bad."

Upon hearing this, both the Shadow Weapon Meister and the Shinigami turned around and saw that their scythe-wielding friend was still kneeling on the ground with her partner by her side. When Cornis appeared, Maka's Heart Perception could sense his power and it overwhelmed her. She was still a bit of a beginner when it came to her second perception ability, after all.

"Maka, can you stand up?" asked Soul. "This might get ugly, so it's a bad idea to be resting on the grass."

"W-we can't."

"What?" Soul looked puzzled at his Meister. "What are you saying?"

"We can't fight that guy," said Maka, who was sweating and breathing heavily. "He's not…His power is…He could…kill us any moment."

"Maka, you have to calm down," said Soul. He knew he couldn't feel the same Maka was feeling since he couldn't see what she was seeing, but still, he had to make her regain her composure. "Remember that fight, two years ago. We fought against a Keyblade wielder and we survived."

Maka shook her head. "This one is on a total different level…"

"I know." Soul put a hand over Maka's shoulder. "I'm not saying we have to defeat him now. However, we can just stay here and do nothing, right? Look at Sora."

Maka raised her head and looked at the brown-haired Keyblade wielder, who was talking with Naminé about something, but she couldn't hear what it was.

Soul continued. "That guy might look like he's all cool and calm, but I'm sure he's scared too. We can't let him down now, can we? You know he's nothing without his friends."

The Scythe Meister could feel how the fear slowly left her body. She was about to start panicking when she felt Cornis' power, but now she was feeling better thanks to Soul.

"You're right," said Maka smiling. "Thank you, Soul."

Soul smirked before transforming. "No problem."

Maka grabbed Soul in his weapon form and took a deep breath before walking up to where Kid and Black*Star were. Now that she calmed down, she was ready to fight, even though it would take her and the others more than determination to beat Cornis in a battle.

Meanwhile, Sora was still trying to figure out why he had the feeling that letting Cornis go after Maleficent wasn't a good idea. If he could get rid of her army, it would be one less problem to worry about, but why? Cornis could destroy Maleficent's new organization without any trouble, every single soldier she had under her control…People under her control…

"That's it!" Sora finally figured it out. He looked at the Hunter, who was slowly walking toward Zancrow. "Cornis, wait!"

The Hunter stopped. "What is it?"

"You're going to destroy Maleficent's army, right?" asked Sora, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," replied Cornis, wondering why Sora was asking him that now of all times. "I'm going to eliminate every single underling she has. And after that, I'll deal with her. Why are you asking me that?"

Sora shook his head. "I can't let you do that."

This surprised both Zancrow and Cornis. It didn't make any sense. Why wouldn't Sora let someone who was apparently much more powerful than him take care of one of his enemies?

"This kid must be an idiot," thought Zancrow.

"What are you saying?" asked Cornis. "You're not making any sense. Maleficent is your enemy. She's been trying to kill you since you got your Keyblade. What in the worlds could possibly—?"

"Her soldiers," said Sora, confusing Cornis more. "While some of them are monsters, some of them might be under her control. You can't kill those people."

Cornis sighed. "Sora…You can't be serious. If they fell under her control, then they already have darkness inside them. Sooner or later they will cause trouble, even if Maleficent is not around. Our job is to eliminate all the darkness in the worlds. We have to hunt down every bit of darkness…Oh, now I get it…Dark Hunters…"

"Okay, this one's an idiot, too," thought Zancrow.

"You can't do that," said Sora. "Darkness cannot be destroyed, it can only be channeled. There has to be a balance. That's how it works."

"You are starting to sound like Xehanort," said Cornis. This took Sora completely off guard. "Isn't that what he usually said when he was alive?"

"I…" Sora looked at the ground. Then he shook his head and looked at Cornis again. "Yes, it is. It might be the only thing he was right about. Every single person in the universe has darkness in their hearts. Well, except seven of them. However, my point still stands."

"Even you have darkness, Cornis," said Naminé. "And your friends have a lot, too. What do you have to say about that?"

"What?" Cornis appeared to be confused. "Yes, I know there's darkness in every heart, but we barely have any."

Naminé was disconcerted. "You…can't feel it? Look, I can use Heart Perception and right now I can see a lot of darkness inside you."

"I can use it too and I don't see anything," said Cornis. "Yours must be still half-baked, Naminé."

"He really can't feel it…" thought Naminé. "What's going on here? I know my Heart Perception is good enough. Why can't someone as powerful as him feel all that darkness?"

"Enough of this," said Cornis, turning to Zancrow again. "I won't ask again. Take me to your boss."

Zancrow smirked. "Make me."

"All right, then." Cornis started walking toward Zancrow, but was cut off by Sora, who was now standing in front of him. "Get out of my way."

"No," said the spiky-haired Guardian. "I can't let you do this, Cornis."

"And I can't let you stop me, Sora," said Cornis. "Step aside."

"Oh god, no…" said a scared Liz.

"Sora, I don't want to hurt you, but you're making it really difficult," said Cornis. "Besides, do you really think you can beat me?"

"I don't have to beat you," said Sora. "I just have to hold you off."

As he finished his sentence, Sora could hear how someone approached him really fast. Before he could even turn around, Kid was already behind him. Zancrow was the one charging at Sora, trying to punch him with a fist engulfed in black flames. However, the Shinigami was fast enough and could block the attack with his arm. Then he kicked the Dark Mage, who protected himself with his arms. Still, the kick was strong enough to send him away despite having blocked it. Kid didn't come out unharmed, though.

"Argh!" Kid could feel a tremendous pain in the arm he used to block Zancrow's attack. "What's this?!"

"Kid, are you okay?!" asked Liz.

"What's wrong?!" asked Patty.

"Oh, right, you must be the Shinigami," said Zancrow with a twisted smile. "Does it hurt? You're the first one I fight, so let me ask…How does it feel to be hit with God Slayer Magic?"

"God Slayer?" Kid was shocked. "Is there a magic like that?"

"This is bad…" thought Sora also shocked by the revelation of Zancrow's magic. He looked behind him for a second before turning to Cornis again, but the Hunter wasn't there. "What!? Where is he!?"

Cornis was now right behind Zancrow. The Dark Mage saw him and did the same attack as before. However, Cornis just dodge it by moving aside and then grabbed the God Slayer's wrist. The Keyblade wielder was about to knock him out cold when suddenly some kind of white sword stabbed Zancrow. It didn't hurt him, but it made him vanish from where he was and appear several meters away from Cornis. The Hunter looked around and saw how Naminé was moving her hand and making the white sword disappear.

"Not you too, Naminé," said Cornis, growing impatient.

"Sorry, just doing what my leader thinks is the correct thing to do," said the blonde Guardian with a smile. "And I agree with him."

"You're starting to piss me off!"

Zancrow was now angry. He obviously didn't like that the Keyblade wielders were messing with him. He molded a huge scythe from black flames and charged at Naminé.

"Shield*Star!"

A pentagram shield in the shape of a golden, inverted star appeared in front of the female Guardian, protecting her from the scythe by blocking it. Black*Star and Tsubaki used one of their Soul Resonance Techniques to protect Naminé from Zancrow, but the mage wasn't giving up and tried to break the shield.

"Oh no, you don't!"

Maka quickly rushed toward Zancrow, making sure she didn't touch his scythe. Then, she swung her own scythe, trying to slash the mage, but he jumped away and could avoid the blade.

"What the hell is going on here?!" shouted Black*Star. "Who are we fighting?! Are we protecting that guy or what?! I don't understand!"

"Okay, that's enough," said Cornis, and then he summoned his Keyblade.

"Black*Star, watch out!" exclaimed Tsubaki.

"Here he…" Black*Star readied his weapon, but as he was doing it, Cornis appeared in front of him. "…comes."

Before he could even blink, Black*Star was hit by Cornis. The Hunter used his free hand to push Black*Star away with enough force to make him crash against a tree quite far away from where he was previously standing. He, then, attacked the other two Meisters. He cast a Bind spell on Maka, immobilizing her, and kicked Kid to send him away and make sure he didn't interfere either.

Sora and Naminé tried to help their friends, but Cornis was too fast and as the two Keybearers ran to where he was, the Hunter had already neutralized the three Meisters. And now he was going to do the same with the two Guardians. Cornis hit Naminé's Keyblade with his and disarmed her. Then he cast the same spell he used to subdue Maka and captured the blonde Keyblade wielder. Just after that, Sora attacked Cornis, but he avoided the Guardian's thrusting attack, grabbed his wrist and made him drop the Keyblade by twisting it. Then he threw the boy to the ground, grabbed his right arm and dislocated it. A short cry of pain came out of the brown-haired boy.

"Sora!" exclaimed the boy's friends.

"Stay put or I'll do the same to the other one," said Cornis. He looked at the Dark Mage. "Now no one will interrupt us."

"Wow, you really are strong," said Zancrow, actually impressed. "Now I understand why she told me to avoid you guys."

"Now, don't fight back and…" Cornis stopped and started looking around. "Someone just appeared out of nowhere. Hold on, I can't sense anyone inside the castle. How did they…?"

Zancrow cocked an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Then, as the Dark Hunter said, someone appeared in front of Zancrow all of a sudden, surprising all the people in the area. It was a rather short girl with a peculiar appearance. Her hair was half pink and half brown, with white streaks in the pink half. A curious detail was that her left eye was pink while the other was brown. Also, she was holding an umbrella decorated in lace fabric in her right hand.

"What's happening?" asked Black*Star, who tried to stand up, but he felt like electricity through all his body and couldn't do it. "Dammit, what did he do?!"

"A new enemy?" said Kid, his voice a bit weak. His partners were in their human forms now, standing by his side. Despite the pain, the Shinigami started getting up slowly.

"Don't strain yourself, Kiddo," said Patty.

Naminé looked up. "Who's that?"

Sora looked at the girl who just appeared. He wondered who she was and why did she come here of all places. She must be someone who's also working for Maleficent since she was standing right in front of Zancrow and he hadn't attacked her. The girl was looking at her surroundings, looking at all the people Cornis neutralized. She stopped when her eyes landed on Sora, as if she recognized him, even though it was the first time Sora saw her. A small smirk appeared on her face as she winked at him, confusing the boy.

"What the hell are you doing here, ice-cream head?!" exclaimed Zancrow, looking at the girl. "Things are getting interesting, so don't interfere! Go back and leave us alone!"

The girl didn't say anything, she simply looked at Zancrow with an annoyed look on her face. A Corridor of Darkness then appeared behind Zancrow without him noticing it. The girl then kicked Zancrow and sent him inside the dark portal while he cursed her. The mysterious girl turned around and looked at Cornis before curtsying him with a bow.

Cornis didn't say anything, he just charged forth with his Keyblade raised to strike the girl, who didn't have time to react due to the Keyblade wielder's speed, or at least that's what it looked like. Apparently, the fact that she didn't move was intentional since, when Cornis swung his sword, he only broke…her image? It was just like he broke a huge mirror that was in front of the girl. As the crystal pieces fell to the ground, Cornis looked around, trying to find the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't sense her, either. She was gone, just like Zancrow and the rest of Maleficent's soldiers.

Sora smiled. "Nice going, whoever you were."

The Hunter touched his forehead in frustration. He stood where he was for a minute and then started approaching Sora. His face couldn't be seen due to his hood, but after what happened he probably wasn't very happy. The moment he started getting close to her Guild Master, Naminé started struggling like crazy, but she couldn't break the binding magic.

"Calm down, I'm not going to kill him," said Cornis. He crouched and looked at Sora, who was sitting on the ground with his arm dislocated. "Listen, this can't continue. You and your friends will get yourselves killed."

"We're not going to join you, Cornis," said Sora. "What you're doing is not right. And you'll see that, sooner or later."

"I wonder if you'll still be alive when that happens," said the Hunter as he grabbed Sora's arm and put it back in its place, making the boy wince in pain. "Look, I have a lot of patience, but some of us don't. I'd suggest you to think about it more thoroughly because it's impossible for you and the other Guardians to defeat us."

"Impossible, you say?" Sora smirked with confidence. "Good. We've done the impossible before."

Cornis shook his head in defeat. "You're as stubborn as he was. Consider yourself warned, Sora. See you around."

Cornis opened a portal made of light and crossed it just after freeing Maka and Naminé from their bindings. The portal closed and Sora sighed in relief before lying on the ground. Black*Star and Kid approached their friends, helped by their partner since their bodies could still feel the pain from Cornis' attacks.

"Everyone all right?" asked Tsubaki.

"Yes, we're fine…" replied Soul.

"How's your arm, Sora?" asked Kid.

Sora sat up and looked at Kid in disbelief. "Forget about my arm. How are you? You just got hit by Cornis and by that God Slayer."

"Don't worry, I've been worse," said Kid with a smile. "Still, that type of magic…Fighting against someone like that would be especially dangerous for me. I didn't know there was a magic like that."

"I didn't know either," said Sora.

"Don't worry, I can take care of that…arhg…mage," said Black*Star as another stream of electricity went through his body. "Seriously, I don't know what that guy did, but it feels like I'm being shocked periodically."

"He might have used some kind of Thunder spell to immobilize you," said Naminé. "I'm surprised you can stand up and walk, to be honest."

"Heh, I'm the Great Black*Star, Naminé," said the blue-haired Meister. "A bit of lightning won't stop me."

"If it weren't for Tsubaki, you'd be still in there," said Soul, pointing at the broken tree where Black*Star crashed. "Geez, that guy was obviously holding back and still…"

"Told you we were no match for him," said Maka, lowering her head. "We can't help you with this, Sora."

"Hey, you might not be able to beat one of those Keyblade wielders, but you guys did great against Zancrow," said Sora. "Earth Land's mages are really strong, I assure you that. However, you put up a good fight, even if it was for a couple of minutes."

"Sora is right," said Naminé. "I'm sure you can deal with Maleficent and her allies. You can help us with that. You've been doing it all this time, after all."

"You can count on us," affirmed Soul.

"We'll do our best," said Liz. "Just like you guys did two years ago."

"It still worries me…Letting you deal with them on your own," said Tsubaki, referring to all the Guardians. "I know you are strong, but…"

"I know, but we have to," continued Naminé. "We have no option. Now they're letting us do as we please, but someday, we'll have to fight them."

"Hey, how about we return to Shibusen?" said Liz. "I'd like Stein to check Kid, just in case."

"What about the castle?" asked Patty. "Weren't those guys trying to retrieve some books or something?"

"Cornis said the people who were inside the castle weren't there anymore," said Maka. "I can't sense any soul inside, so it was true. They might have used the same dark portal that girl used to get Zancrow out of here."

"Who was that anyway?" asked Black*Star. "Anyone you know, Sora?"

Sora shook his head. "No, I don't who she is."

"Well, I'll explain Father about what happened here," said Kid. "He'll send some agents here to investigate."

"Good idea," said Maka as she and the other started walking to leave the forest. She took a quick look at the blue-haired boy who was having some difficulties to walk. "You should let Stein see you, too, Black*Star."

"Nonsense, I'm perfectly fine," said the Shadow Weapon Meister. Then he could see how his arm started shaking because of Cornis' spell. "Well, just fine."

"Dude…" said Soul before noticing that Sora wasn't with them. He was still near the castle. "Hey, Sora, what's wrong?"

"Mmm? Oh, nothing, I'm coming!" replied Sora as he started walking toward his friends. He couldn't stop thinking about the name of his new enemies. This was going to be one hell of a battle. "Dark Hunters…"

-TLG-

---

Before I forget again, in my profile you can find a document called Sora's Journal. It's a list of all the characters that are appearing in this fanfic (a mugshot and a brief description written from Sora's point of view). Since there are a lot characters in the story, I thought it was a good idea to have something like this. You can check it out, if you want. You have to copy the link and paste it in your browser address bar since this site started breaking the links not long ago.

To Tony Anderson: Thanks. The chapters of this story aren't short, and I'm not going to rush this. I'll write at my own pace.

To thrawn92: Well, I have a lot of time to think about that. There are still a lot of chapters to write until the tournament. Yeah, I know about Winter and Qrow. I watched the RTX event.

Zancrow didn't run off anywhere. He was killed by Zeref. He was brought back to life by Maleficent here.

To animelover276: Yes, he was. He was brought back to live by Maleficent just like Mifune and Giriko in this story.

To StrongGuy159: Chill, I'm going to continue. No need to tell me that in every single review.

To blazeking: Probably not. I always prefer to come up with my own storylines rather than have Sora taking part in the original ones.

To StoryMakerr014: Yes, they will meet them, of course. I wouldn't have mentioned them in the last chapter if they weren't to.

I'm still not sure about what moment Sora will get into SAO, but I'll try to not alter the canon storyline. I want it to end just like it did in the anime.

Yes, I have plans to use more recent animes. Actually, I can tell you that I'm going to use one of the three animes you've mentioned in your review. I haven't watched the other two yet, so I don't know about those.

To Red John: Personally I don't think they'll use the Avengers since the KH team would need to pay for the license to use them in the game. It wouldn't be as easy as using a Disney movie. Big Hero 6 is the closest Marvel world we'll get in KH3 in my opinion, and that's because Disney made a movie adaptation of the comic. I could be wrong, though.

To Neku Sakuraba: Thanks a lot! I'm glad you like it so much!

To MagatsuIza: I'm going to use their MCU appearance, but I'm not going to make Sora or any Guardian part of any of the two Avengers movies. As I always do, I'll come up with my own storyline. I will use things from both MCU and the comics.

Is it? It wasn't my intention to make an Ace Attorney reference.

After finishing the game I told myself: "I have to add them to the story no matter what."

Yes, there will be more super heroes, not just the ones who appear in the films.

To AnimeMasterDub: No, I won't use that. I'll do it my own way.

You'll see as the story goes on.

To yak952: Then you'll have to wait and see what happens.

Uh, Organization XIII was already defeated in this story, you know?

I already watched that movie.

To Alpha Alchemist: To be honest, I think Pirates of the Caribbean looked far more out of place in KH2 than the Avengers in this. It's fine, though. I knew there will be different reactions to the Avengers in the last chapter.

1. This site breaks all the links people try to post, but I think I could find what you wanted to show me. Meliodas and Ban reunion, right? I can picture Natsu and Rin being like that.

2. I don't think I'd be able to pull something like that since it would make the number of teams uneven, and I need an even number of teams for the tournament.

3-4-5. There is still a long time until the tournament, so let's save the ideas until it begins. I like to prepare things beforehand, but it's still too early to start thinking about all the details of the Tournament Arc.

6. I'd rather not say anything about these characters and the part they're playing in the story. Let me handle them myself and you'll see. Then again, it's obvious they don't care about the meddling rule. I think that was clear after Sora and Cornis' encounter

7. I always thought those two would get along. As for Excalibur, well, you'll see.

Yeah, I thought that something similar to a cannon would be their Heart-Soul Resonance.

I have also lots of Keyblade transformations in mind. In this story, though, Sora will be able to do all of them with just his Kingdom Key.

To kingdom hearts guy: I haven't watched any Digimon apart from the first four seasons, so no.

To kingdomkey0703: Oh, I assure you he'll piss people off a lot XD. He was also a good rival for Natsu. Too bad they killed him so quickly in Fairy Tail.

To GuestWithIdeas: Yes, in this story, killing Xehanort with his own hands left Sora kind of scarred. It's a problem he'll have to face to get stronger. That's about all I can tell you for now. As for Maleficent, it's possible she will try something like that. It won't be easy for her considering all the strong people who are living in Radiant Garden now.

To Sentoro Elementos: I guess I am?

To Mishka-chan0.0: Well, I think it's more like Eraqus thinks he was a player in his youth, when he actually wasn't in the slightest xD As for Zack, I think this chapter answered your questions about him. About Fairy Tail, I can't say anything for the moment as I don't know how the current arc in the manga is going to end. Also, Mavis hasn't appeared in the fanfic yet, but she will.

To Keroro: She might even think their gear is some kind of new fashion around Radiant Garden.

To NRG: Can't say I haven't thought about this, but I still haven't decided anything yet.

To ice dragon: I don't know.

To SpiritTrainer: Thanks! I thought it was a good idea since no one ever uses them as they are barely known among the fans.

To Binan: It'd depend on the type of Titan, but for trained Keyblade wielders it shouldn't be.

To Kuroko: Oh, thanks for that. I'll correct them as soon as I can.

To jacalman: It's very strange to find a SoraxHarem, isn't it? I can't remember if I ever read one in this site.

To Nulack: He will never hear the end of it.

To Mapleworld312: Exactly. Now that KH II.8 is coming, I'm really eager to see how the Foretellers officially are. Surely they'll be depicted in a total different way as they are in my story, but I guess that was inevitable.

To OrionGold: That's a nice idea. I already thought of a group who was going to take care of them, but maybe I can mix that with your suggestion.

To XXXxxxXX: The Keyblade he uses right now can transform.

Yes, I've seen the KH II.8 trailer. People have the theory the Anguis Foreteller is the traitor, but I think it also could be the sixth apprentice, even if it'd be too obvious. Who knows?

Equadrias? Who's that? Also, good to see a Team Levy's supporter.

To buster blader: Don't know. Who says he'll live long enough to have kids?

To krystian morales: I know I haven't used them yet. It doesn't mean I won't, though. There are a lot of characters in this story, and I can't use all of them in a single chapter. They will appear eventually. Also, I know I don't have to follow the story, but I'd like to do it to some extent. Right now, I can't follow it perfectly due to the time skip in the manga. That totally blew what I had planned to do initially. Anyway, Fairy Girls and the Sabertooth side story aren't being made by Mashima, you know that, right? As for Levy and the death of a character, I don't know what you mean because you haven't asked me about it before. You haven't asked me any of these questions before, actually, so I don't know what you're talking about me not giving you an answer.

To RedLikeRoses537: Yes, eventually. As one of them said in a previous chapter, they don't remember their own names, but they will remember them. I hope they are revealed in II.8.

To colossalblackening: I haven't watched Kenichi myself, unfortunately.

I'm going to keep the details of the Tournament Arc to myself, but the FMA characters will go to Radiant Garden, I can assure you that. Not all of them, though.

To Aoi Hyoudou: Apologies for the delay.