To view Marie's Keyblade, please go here.[replace the word dot with the actual sign, please. XD]

www[dot]Swirl3y[dot]Deviantart[dot]com/gallery/26504272#/d3e59r9

To view her outfit, please go here:

www[dot]swirl3y[dot]deviantart[dot]com/art/I-bring-you-peace-214094964?q=gallery%3Aswirl3y%2F29599925&qo=5

To view the pose she does, go here:

www[dot]swirl3y[dot]deviantart[dot]com/art/Marie-in-KH2-180679311?q=gallery%3Aswirl3y%2F29599925&qo=34

I strongly recommend you see each picture.

Chapter Six
ȶ
A very special birthday

The train took a while before we reached our destination, and I sat down to take a rest. I looked at the window across from me, and I just sat there looking at it lazily. I wasn't interested in what was going on outside, I just wanted to sleep. All this fighting and finding my old friends really did take a lot out of me, and really, I just wanted to go back to Olette's place and pass out. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible anymore, and I was still very sad about it. I noticed my knee was still scrapped, and my dress was all dirty. I looked from the window to the floor, and sighed rather heavily.

I have a bad habit of having bad things happen on my birthday.

"Hey, what happened to your knee?" I heard Sora say. I looked up at him, who had been looking at my knee. I tilted my head a bit, and then looked at my knee again before looking back at him.

"Yeah, I got it when I was running from those monsters," I replied, scratching my head. "It's no biggie, though."

"Yeah right," he replied, giving me a concerned look. He walked over to Donald, who just so happen to have a first aid kit, since I guess it made sense since he was a mage and all. Sometimes magic can't heal most things, and these wounds were one of 'em.

Sora walked over to me after he received the kit from Donald, and he bent down towards my knee. I placed my hand on my lap, and suddenly, I felt really awkward. I watched as Sora wiped the dry blood with a pad with some alcohol, and it stung a bit. Then he took out a wet cloth, and wiped the alcohol from my knee, and finally he wiped my knee with a dry cloth. I looked at him really oddly, and I couldn't help but notice that he was so... comfortable around me. He looked up at me, and then he smiled. I smiled back, although awkwardly, and the next thing he did really just made me raise my left eyebrow.

When he looked back at my knee, he kissed it, and then rubbed it. Now, wait... what? I couldn't help but blush at how awkward this was becoming, and my smiled lowered. He looked back up, and his smile also faded. "What's wrong?"

I jumped in surprise by his voice, and I looked at him. I brought up an awkward smile along with a nervous laugh. "N-nothing, I... um, I just don't like seeing blood."

I pointed at the pad with the dry blood on it, so as to avert the attention away from me. He looked at the pad, and he chuckled. He picked up the waste, and threw it in the garbage bin on the train. I sighed, and tried looking at something—anything—to change the subject. I looked over to Donald and Goofy, and finally something popped into my head. "Hey, Donald, Goofy, what did the king say? Since you guys met him and all."

Both Donald and Goofy raised their eyebrow at me, and I tried laughing to make them not ask about what just happened. Their faces returned to normal, and then Goofy chuckled. "Well, all he said was to board the train. Not much after that."

Donald agreed, and soon enough the train stopped. I mentally cheered with relief knowing I was going to get off this train ride that was nothing but awkward. I got up from my seat, and hurried myself to the door. As it opened, I literally jumped out, and I stared at the tall tower that was standing by it's lonesome self.

ȶ
Sora

Sora stared as Marie happily got off the train, and he raised his eyebrow. There was something really off about her, but he couldn't tell just what it was. She acted a bit different than before, and he was starting to notice it. He shook his head however, and shrugged. He figured it was because she grew up a bit, and thus changed in personality as well.

Donald and Goofy got off the train after Sora, and they looked at each other with worried looks. Although Sora wasn't able to realize, they were able to see that Marie was acting awkward whenever Sora showed signs of affection. They didn't know what happened to her while she was spending her time in Twilight Town, but something to make her feel awkward towards Sora did happen.

What they didn't know what to do, was to tell Sora or not if he had noticed. They didn't want to offend him, or make him think things that could possibly or not be true. They both sighed as they looked at the two teens stare at the tower, and could only think how complicated a teen's life could really be.

ȶ
Marie

As we looked around outside, Donald pointed out a big, burly guy that looked a little suspicious. I raised my eyebrow, and we all walked towards him. I tilted my head in confusion, and wondered what he was doing. We stood there for a moment, staring at the guy and what he was doing. He was peaking through the door, and he giggled and cackled lightly as he did. I only just started this journey and already I'm seeing weirdos.

"What's goin' on?" asked Donald, who continued to stare at the big guy. The man peeked a little more into the door, until he finally decided to talk. He cackled and told us that he had sent some of his lackeys inside the place, and made them check to see if the owner of the tower was as big and tough and he had heard. I raised my eyebrow again, and he continued on saying that the man who owned the tower is a sorcerer, and wanted him to be his bodyguard.

"See, it don't matter how tough he is," said the man. "Once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!"

Sora, Donald, Goofy and I all gasped as soon as the word 'Heartless' was heard. Donald repeated the word, and the guy told him the explanation of the little monsters. "Why, with all those Heartless by her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything!"

My eyes widened with shock when I heard Maleficent's name being mentioned. What was she doing alive, anyways? I thought we got rid of her? I shook my head, and the man said he had a debt to owe her, and he was going to make it up by building a Heartless army for her. A small silence appeared between all of us, and then the man told us to scram.

"You oughta do something nicer to do," said Goofy, who—for once—I agree with! The man sounded annoyed when he told us we weren't his boss, and turned around. As soon as he did, though, he gasped, and looked at us with complete shock.

"It's you!" he shouted, looking so shocked and possibly frightened? Both Donald and Goofy also gasped, and called out the guy's name, which we found out was Pete. "What are you two nimrods doin' here!"

"What are you doin' here?" retorted Donald. I looked at them both, and I felt confused. Sora asked Goofy if he knew Pete, and Goofy replied saying that Pete had been causing trouble for ages. He said that Pete was banished by the king, and locked up.

"Ahaha! I was busted out by Maleficent!" he shouted, smirking as he did. "And she's gonna help me conquer all the worlds!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy all started laughing, and I looked at them as if they were crazy. Sora stopped laughing, and he looked at Pete. "She's toast."

Pete questioned them, and they laughed again. I wasn't really laughing along, since I thought the whole issue on Maleficent was pretty serious. Goofy looked over to Pete, and he chuckled before talking. "Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now!"

Donald started laughing again, and I looked over to Pete, who was confused beyond all. He gasped, and pointed his finger at us while have an angered look on his face. "You! So you're the ones that did it!"

Sora placed his hands on the back of his head, and smirked while looking up at the sky. "Well... we mighta had something to do with it."

Sora lowered his hands, and he elbowed me. I jumped in surprise, since I was actually thinking of Maleficent being alive. I looked over to him, and he winked at me. I smiled, and laughed as if I wasn't really interested. In truth, though, I was out of thought. I heard Pete growl, and I looked at him. He called forward his Heartless squad, and I sighed out of annoyance. "See where bragging gets you, guys? Now we got trouble!"

"Aww, phooey," replied Donald, who took out his staff. Goofy took out his shield, and Sora was already prepared with his Keyblade in hand. They all looked over to me, and I looked down at the floor. I gasped lightly when I remembered that I had a Keyblade now, so I closed my eyes as I summoned it.

A bright light appeared, and I felt the handle of the Keyblade in my hand. As the light disappeared, I looked down, and saw my new Keyblade. It was pink and purple, well at least the handle was. The tip of the blade, as well as the bottom part of it were gold, and the blade was light blue. Golden stars, that looked really sharp, were inside the blades, and a pink stone was at the middle of them all. There was a trigger near the handle, and I questioned just what it did. Oh well, no time to experiment. Time to kick some Heartless butt!

As I took my stance, which had been a long time since I've done it, I looked at the rising Heartless. I looked over to Donald and Goofy, who were also prepared to fight, and then I looked at Sora. He started the fight by hitting one of the Heartless, and then Donald and Goofy did the same. I looked over the Heartless that had been looking at me, and I stiffened, making sure I wasn't going to falter. I ran towards the Heartless, and I attacked it roughly. It staggered, and I was able to tell that I had indeed lost all of the powers that Stella gave to me, which sucked. If I couldn't kill a shadow on the first attack, then I was seriously lacking in skills and strength. I attacked it again, and it still didn't die. It looked weak, which I was glad about, but it still sucked.

I looked over to Sora, who was down to killing his third Heartless. I creased my forehead, and I was feeling so insecure all of a sudden. Losing these powers from Stella really set me back, and all I could think about... was how I was going to gain new strength to protect what mattered to me.

I shook my head, and focused on the problem before me. I looked at the same Heartless I had been fighting, and I attacked it, finally making it disappear. Although using the Keyblade was no problem, since Stella once told me that using it was natural, it was the fact that I had little to no stamina and barely any physical strength. It made me realize just how much I depended on Stella's powers. I sighed, and looked at another shadow Heartless. It came running up to me, and I blocked it with my arm. Although I barely had no physical strength, I knew I had great perception, and that I was flexible. Of course, that would only work if I was a defender like Goofy, but I had the Keyblade. It was... different.

I looked over to the Heartless, and I attacked it again. It fell back, but it quickly disappeared into the ground. I held the Keyblade close, and I looked around carefully. I heard light feet shuffling, and I quickly turned around to block it's attack. I attacked it with my Keyblade, but this time I also kicked it. It growled, and I swung my Keyblade at it, making it disappear. I bent down to catch my breath, and I looked over to Sora and the others. They finished off the last batch of Heartless, and they all stood as if they were never tired in their life! I saw Sora walk over to me, but he stopped when we heard Pete growl.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!" said Pete, who swung his arms around for dramatic effect. I sighed, finally catching my breath, and I got up. Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked closer to me, and they also looked at Pete.

"So 'mighty' Pete," mocked Sora, who crossed his arms. "Who lives in this tower, anyway?"

Yen Sid. That was who the person was, as told by Pete. He smirked, and chuckled evilly when he told us that he was most likely a Heartless by now. Both Sora and I raised our eyebrow, and suddenly we heard a quaking noise from Donald. We looked over to him, and he gasped again. "Master Yen Sid lives here!"

I gasped lightly after seeing Donald run into the tower, and I extended my hand towards him while running after him. "Donald, stop! That place must be crawling with Heartless!"

ȶ
Sora

Sora and Goofy watched as Marie ran after Donald, and Goofy explained to Sora that Yen Sid was the King's teacher. Sora's eyes widened with awe and curiosity, and quickly ran inside the tower to follow both Marie and Donald. Goofy laughed, and did the same. As the two of them entered the tower, Pete stood there with his eyes popped wide opened and his jaw hanging out. He couldn't believe that all four of them just left him as he wasn't important, and he was infuriated.

He stomped the floor, and waved his hands up and about. He was going to show them that he was indeed important, and that he was indeed going to conquer the worlds. Of course, with the help of Maleficent.

ȶ
Marie

I stared with complete anger and annoyance as I saw the inside of the tower, and I knew that today was not going to go well. Of course, nothing ever goes well on my birthday! As I stood on my feet, looking at the crazy and probably never-ending staircase, I sighed.

I lowered my head, and I stomped my foot. I felt the eyes of the other guys on me, and then I heard Sora laugh. "Hey, I just remembered that you hate stairs."

I looked over to Sora, but then I lowered my head again and bent down while doing circles on the floor with my left finger. I didn't want to climb stairs, and I wasn't going to anytime soon. I mean, come on, it was my birthday! I sighed again, and then suddenly, I felt two thin hands around my waist. I gasped very loudly, and I was taken by surprise when I heard Sora laugh from behind. I looked behind me slightly, and he was smiling while lifting me up. I heard Donald and Goofy laughing, and I raised my eyebrow.

Then all of a sudden, I felt him tickle my sides. I burst out into laughter, and I was squirming around in his grasp. I heard him laugh out loud, and I couldn't control the laughing I was doing, too. I found myself turning around so I could avoid being tickled, but he managed to twirl me right back so that he could tickle me even more! I laughed so hard, to the point of snorting. I heard Sora laugh a little louder, and soon enough, the whole fun suddenly turned into awkwardness.

Sora had wrapped his arms around me, and his chin leaned on my shoulder. I tensed up, and I looked at Goofy and Donald, who had questioning looks on their faces. I chuckled nervously, and I pulled away from the hug. I turned around to face him, and he tilted his head in confusion while staring at me. "Marie? What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing." I turned away from Sora, Donald and Goofy, and walked towards the stairs. My eyes were shifty, and I felt like hiding from all of this awkwardness. Just when I was having friendly fun, Sora comes in and tries to get all... affectionate. We're just friends, and I don't see Sora as anything else. So, why wasn't he? I sighed, stopped at the first step leading up, and looked back at the boys. "Well, I think we should be going."

Sora had a weird look on his face, and I couldn't tell if it was confusion, or hurt. Donald and Goofy were just standing there, and their forehead's creased. They all looked... disappointed, but why?

Sora gave out a small, soft chuckle, and he walked up towards me. Donald and Goofy followed behind slowly, and when they were all standing beside me, Sora smiled. "Yeah, let's go."

I gave a weak smile, and we all proceeded to walk up the stairs. I clasped my hands together while I walked up the stairs, and I started to think about how weird Sora was acting. I mean, as I recall, our adventures were filled with fun and friendship. I don't ever remembering him pulling moves on me during that time, so just what exactly made him now? As we walked a little further up into the stairs, a bunch of shadows appeared. I gasped, since they came out of nowhere, and I quickly took out my Keyblade. Sora, and the others did the same, and we all stood close to each other while fighting the Heartless.

I attacked one swiftly, but it didn't fall. I groaned, and attacked it again. It still didn't fall, so I kicked it with my foot. It still didn't fall, and I was getting really annoyed. I raised my Keyblade, and my hand fumbled on it. By pure accident, I pulled the trigger beside the handle, and the blue blades suddenly lit up. Instantly, they flung out from the Keyblade, and the force that they left at made me fall flat on my rear. As I grunted when I hit the floor, I stared in shock and awe as the blades hit every single Heartless in the area. It killed some, since Donald, Goofy, and Sora had already roughened them up, and it just hurt the others. When it came back, I was pushed back again, since they came at full force. I stared at the Keyblade, and I also noticed that Sora, Donald, and Goofy did as well. I got up, and I placed the Keyblade in front of me as I took a good look at it.

"Gosh, did you see that!" I squealed. Honestly, this Keyblade was looking cooler and cooler by the minute. I swung it around, and the guys laughed. I stood in my stance, and I looked at the others as I nodded. They all did as well, and we all got back to defeating the rest of the Heartless. I looked at the shadow staring at me, and I ran up to it while attacking it. It was pushed back, and I managed to sneak in another attack. It grunted, and I kicked it. It fell to the floor, and with another hit from my blade, it disappeared. I smirked, and realized that my moves were pretty quick, although I was still really weak. I looked over to Sora, who had been fighting and defeating every Heartless with ease. I sighed, and placed my Keyblade away as he had finished the last batch. He was so strong, and it made me a bit insecure.

Sora placed his Keyblade away, too, and he continued walking up the stairs. I followed him along with Donald and Goofy. I placed a hand near my chest, and I looked away from them. Man, it sucked being this weak without any kind of help. But this is what Stella wanted, right? For me to fight with my own strength. But, couldn't we have taken baby steps? Taking it all at once really made me feel weak...

as we climbed up the stairs, we walked into the next room. As expected, a lot of Heartless shadows appeared, and we got into our positions. It didn't take long to get rid of them, since there were so few, and Sora practically had them all covered. I sighed, and just kept feeling more insecure about my powers. I didn't want any of the guys to see it, though. So I'll just lay low about it for now, I guess.

A door had suddenly appeared, and we were granted access to go on further. Sora nodded at all of us, and we continued on. There were few to none Heartless here, and I attacked some, trying to see if I could train this natural strength of mine. Although I wasn't getting as tired, I still needed to take a breather after every fight. As we walked towards the other door, I couldn't help but wonder why I got a new Keyblade. What was wrong with my old one? I looked over to Sora, who was smiling and laughing as he talked with Goofy. I doubt he knew the reason why, so I wasn't going to ask.

Actually, there was something else that I had noticed. The room that we had just previously been in had stars all around it, and my Keyblade has stars on it, as well. I wonder if this, "Yen Sid" knows something about my Keyblade, though, I guess I'll have to ask him when I meet him.

We made it to the second door, and Sora opened it. We walked in cautiously, and noticed that another batch of Heartless waited for us. I sighed, and groaned as I was getting pretty tired of fighting. Nonetheless, I took out my Keyblade, and positioned myself. I attacked one of the shadows, and jumped in again to attack it a second time. It staggered, and it came back at me to attack. I blocked it with my hand, since shadows aren't very strong, and slapped it away from me. I attacked it with my Keyblade, and it growled. I attacked it two more times, and it finally disappeared. I looked over, and noticed that Sora and the others had already defeated their share of Heartless. Which was a lot more than what I had fought. I sighed again, and dropped my shoulders. I looked over to them, and they had noticed my brief show of insecurity. I jumped at this, and I gave them my most assuring smile. Sora laughed, and he smiled back. Donald and Goofy, however, didn't really look convinced. I still continued to smile, and the door to the next area appeared before us.

Donald walked towards me, and so did Sora and Goofy. I was sure they were going to gang up on me, and ask me what was wrong. But instead, Donald stomped his foot on the ground, and crossed his arms as he shook his head in disappointment. "Heartless, Heartless, Heartless! Things haven't changed one bit!"

Gosh, glad I dodged the bullet of being asked what was wrong with me! Although I did have to agree with Donald, all these Heartless tells me something is definitely up, and I wasn't feeling so confident about it. Goofy assured, though, that it was a good thing that we were on the job getting rid of them all.

"So, the worlds aren't at peace, after all?" asked Sora. I looked at him, and questioned that as well. Wasn't it Leon who told us that the worlds would be closed off if we defeated Ansem, or rather, guy-who-likes-to-steal-a-very-respectful-man's-name?

I shook my head, and looked at the gang. "Something is up, though. We should be very careful, and prepared."

Donald and Goofy laughed a little, and Sora did as well. Gosh, what was up with everyone laughing? I huffed, and placed my hands on my hips as I glared at the guys. "What's so funny?"

"It's just funny hearing you talk like that," replied Sora. I raised my eyebrow, and asked them what they meant.

"Well, you talk kinda like Leon," replied Goofy, which I was still confused until he cleared it up. "See, Leon talks all wise-like, so that's kinda how you talk now."

I actually laughed at what Goofy said, because... it's true. I did notice that I spoke with a more wise-like tone, but I think that was because of the people that I hung around with in Twilight Town. No, I'm not referring to Hayner, Pence and Olette. The old man who taught me how to fight often times told me things that were important when in a dangerous area. He was the one who told me to walk around with caution, and to keep my senses up. I really did respect him, and he really did remind me of Ansy, whom I really miss.

"I suppose I do," I replied, smiling at them. "But I guess it's about time we had someone wise in this group since, well.. you guys kinda suck at it."

I giggled after, and both Donald and Goofy gave me a glare. It made me laugh harder, and Sora pushing me slightly only made me laugh even harder. They three of them started laughing as well when they heard me laughing like a maniac, and we stood there laughing. I stopped laughing, and noticed the door.

As much as I wanted to laugh, I had to tell the others that we needed to continue on. They stopped laughing as well, and nodded as they agreed. We walked through the door, and there wasn't a lot of Heartless. I'm assuming that Yen Sid did something so that they wouldn't reach his room, or else the whole place would be crawling with Heartless. It was a straight path going up to another room, and I was glad that I wasn't going to climb stairs. Actually, I didn't feel the climb at all... hunh. Guess I had other things on my mind...

With having only one Heartless to kill, which Sora took care of, we opened the door to the next room. As we did, Donald and Goofy immediately walked up to the desk in front of them, and bowed. Sora looked at them, but he didn't bow, which made me snicker since he was never one to really bow as I recall. I stood beside him, and I stared at the man in front of us. He was this old-looking man, with a long grey beard that reached to his upper chest. He had a bold eye shape, and thick grey eyebrows. He wore a blue robe, and a pointy hat with stars.

"Master Yen Sid! It's an honour!" greeted Donald, who kept bowing down.

"Hey there!" greeted Sora, who acted casual. Donald and Goofy immediately stood straight, and gasped at Sora. It made me jump in surprise, as well as Sora. He looked at Donald and Goofy, and raised his eyebrow at them.

"Sora! Show some respect!" shouted Donald. I giggled, and he growled at me after. I kept my

mouth shut after, and I saw Yen Sid looking at Sora.

"So, you are Sora," he said, his voice sounding deep and old. He sat down in his chair, and looked pretty comfortable. Sora smiled at him, to which he nodded in return. Yen Sid looked at me after, and I smiled and nodded my head. "And you must be Marie."

He nodded his head when I confirmed who I was, and he asked if we saw the king. Goofy said they did, but they didn't get the chance to talk to him. Yen Sid then told us that he had been really busy, but with what? I wonder.

"Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you four falls upon my shoulder," said Yen Sid. He told us that we were going to have a rough journey, and that we needed to be prepared. Sora moved a bit, and I looked at him as he had a sad look on his face.

"We have to go on another journey?" he asked, not pleased with the situation at hand. "I was looking forward to finding our friend Riku, so we could go back home."

Sora pointed at the both of us, since Riku was my friend too. I looked at Yen Sid, and I nodded along with Sora. Yen Sid said that he knew, but that everything in our journey was connected. Whether it be returning home alone or not or even having a home to return to.

"You are the key that connects them all, Sora," said Yen Sid, looking at Sora. I looked at Sora, and he pointed to himself.

"I'm... the key?" he asked. He looked down at the floor, and looked back up as he called forth his Keyblade. Yen Sid looked at his Keyblade, and told him he was the one who could open the door to the light. I gave Yen Sid a questioning look, and wondered, aren't I that 'light'?

"But I'm that light," I protested calmly. I looked at him, and he nodded at me.

"Indeed you are, Marie," he said, shifting in his chair. "But I sense an alteration in your powers."

"What...?" I barely whispered. How could this man know about my powers being gone? How could he know...? this guy knows something about me, and I want to find out. But I have to remain calm, and not be disrespectful. Sora looked at me, and I was able to see from the corner of my eyes. I didn't want to look at him, but I could tell he had something to say.

"What do you mean about Marie's powers being altered?" he asked. I looked back at Yen Sid, and he closed his eyes while giving out a low sigh.

"To put it simply," he replied, looking at all of us. "Although she still possesses the power of Kingdom Hearts, she can no longer use them. However, that does not mean you are safe."

""W-what do you mean?" I asked, feeling really shaky. Yen Sid extended his hand above his desk, and a book magically appeared. He told us that it contained valuable information that we would need on our journey. I took a deep breath, and we all walked towards to the book. It was basically about the journey that we had last year, and how there was more to come in our next one. I was the first one to finish reading, then Donald, then Goofy, then finally, Sora.

Sora looked away from the book, and I lowered my head, still sad and insecure about my powers. If Sora is the one that can open the door to the light, then what am I good for, now? I relied my whole mission on just protecting that door, and now I can't do that if I don't have powers to protect it. I can't even open it, now...

"But wait a sec—how come the Heartless are still running around?" asked Sora, who stared at Yen Sid. He told us that what we did last year did stop the Heartless, however, it still lingered since it was pure real darkness. As long as people around the worlds had darkness in their hearts, it would be impossible for us to fully get rid of the Heartless.

But, thinking on it, if everyone had light in their hearts the Heartless would go away for good. I dropped my shoulders at the thought of dealing and fighting the Heartless, but then I heard Yen Sid's voice again. "Now it is time to speak of the enemies you will encounter."

Yen Sid pointed his finger to the corner of the room, and a holographic image of Donald appeared. Donald quacked when he saw himself, and both Sora and Goofy snickered at him. Suddenly, however, the holographic Donald changed into a Heartless. We all jumped and gasped, and Yen Sid cleared his throat, which made us look at him. "If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart. They, too, will become a Heartless."

We nodded our heads, and Yen Sid continued. He pointed his finger at the Heartless, and another hologram appeared. The monster in the white jumpsuit popped up, and I gasped as I nearly freaked out. I don't have a good history with these things since, you know, they tried to kill me.

"At times, if someone with a strong heart and will—be they evil or good—becomes a Heartless," he said, pointing at the Heartless hologram. "The empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of it's own."

The Heartless hologram disappeared, and we continued to stare at the white monster. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away... A spirit that goes on, even as it's body fades away from existence—for you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all."

I creased my forehead, feeling a bit sad all of a sudden, and looked at Yen Sid. "Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse—they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!"

"Nobodies... they don't exist..." I looked at the Nobody in front of us, but it disappeared, and popped up in front of us, except there was three of them this time. Yen Sid described these jumpsuit looking ones as Dusks, and told us they were very common.

"But there are others—some larger," he continued, which made us turn around. "Some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant!"

He told us that we would see a lot of these Dusks, but we shouldn't be too alarmed, since they had to return to the darkness either way. When I thought about it, it made me feel a little sad. These things had no heart, and they had a horrible fate...

Yen Sid made the Dusks disappear, and then suddenly a hologram of three men with black cloaks appeared before us. Sora, Donald and Goofy stood back a bit, while I merely stared at them. I heard Yen Sid shuffle in his seat, and then I heard him speak. "The beings you see before you now are different. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies."

I heard Sora repeat the name, and he looked at Donald and Goofy, asking if they've heard of the name. They didn't, but something told me that Sora was feeling weird about the name. Why I had that feeling, was beyond my questioning.

"While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner," We heard Yen Sid say. "They can think and plan, and it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, we do not know, however..."

Yen Sid shifted a bit uncomfortably in his chair, and he looked at us. "The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade, and with it, closed the door."

My eye's popped wide open, and I looked at Yen Sid with such an intense look. "Is that the reason why I disappeared?"

"Yes, the king used your power, although without knowing it," replied Yen Sid. "He used quite a lot."

"I see," I said, placing a finger on my chin as I looked down to the floor. "I figured it was because since I had the power of Kingdom Hearts, I would have to return to it."

"You should be very careful around the Organization," Yen Sid cautioned. I gave him a questioning look, as did Sora, Donald and Goofy. He looked at all of us, and then at me. "While the king is still trying to find out what their goal is, he did find out that Marie is a part of it."

"what?" I heard Sora, Donald, and Goofy say in unison. I jumped at my mention, and I walked a little closer to Yen Sid's table. I clasped my hands together, and I gave him a confused yet sad look.

"Why would they need me?" I asked, looking at him, hoping he would give me a full answer, but unfortunately, he said that he didn't know the full details, and that I was best off asking the king. I sighed, and dropped my shoulders. Sora came up, and placed his hand on my shoulder as he smiled at me.

"Then I guess we better go find the king," assured Sora. I smiled at him for being helpful, and I looked at the others as they nodded as well. We didn't know where the king went, but we had to look either way.

"We can ask the king where Riku is, too," I said, looking at Sora while smiling. He was being helpful and trying to cheer me up, it was only right to do the same. Yen Sid chuckled, and we all looked at him, he told us we needed more suitable travelling clothes, and I looked over to Sora.

"Hey, he's right. That outfit is way too small on you!" I said as I looked at him. Donald and Goofy laughed at him, and soon I started to laugh as well. Sora puffed his cheeks as he looked at us, which only made me laugh even more. I held on to my stomach laughing when Sora tried pulling down his shorts after taking a closer look that it was too small on him. Donald quacked, and Donald gave out a really funny 'hyuk' laugh. I only laughed harder, and I looked at Sora, who had suddenly pouted at us. I stopped laughing eventually, and I placed a hand over my mouth while still chuckling. I looked at him, and gave him a smile while patting his back. "Haha, don't worry. You'll get new clothes soon."

Sora smiled back at me, and his hand slightly brushed off of mine. I froze a bit, and I watched as he walked into the next room. I didn't know what to think about Sora and his affectionate self, but it was really making me awkward. Well, anyways, Yen Sid told us that the next room had three fairies that would fix us up with outfits. I was getting excited since I like to dress up, so I happily walked over to the next room along with the others.

As we walked into the other room, Sora stopped and he looked at the fairies. "Me, you guys, Riku and the king. I don't care who this organization is or what it's planning, but with the six of us—I mean, seven of us—we won't let them get near Marie. And we have nothing to worry about, right?"

"Yeah!" replied Donald enthusiastically, Goofy laughed, and Sora looked at me. He gave me a sweet smile, and I smiled back. He was so nice caring for a friend, and I really am happy to have a friend like him. Heck, he's like my best friend.

"Well, look who's here, dears!" I looked over to the three fairies, and the one dressed in red smiled at us. The other two, who are wearing a blue and green dress, also smiled at us. "Sora, Marie, Donald and Goofy!"

"Oh, if you're looking for clothes, you've come to the right place!" said the small, chubby fairy with black hair wearing the blue dress. The red fairy took a look at Sora, while the blue one looked at my body, while touching the fabric of my dress. I felt so embarrassed, and really awkward that they were touching me. The red fairy took Sora's hand, and the blue one took mine as we walked to the center of the room. I stood beside Sora as we looked at the green fairy point her wand at us, a green light appeared from it, and it hit us. I covered my eyes slightly, and when the light was gone I looked down at my dress.

I raised my eyebrow as I noticed that the only thing that changed about my outfit was the colour, and it was green. I smiled awkwardly at the fairy, until the blue pointed her wand at us. A blue light appeared and hit us, and the same thing occurred, except this time my dress was blue. Sora looked down at his outfit, and then he looked at me as if I knew what was going on. I shrugged my shoulders, since I really didn't know what was going on.

The red fairy looked at the two other fairies, and she told them that our colour wouldn't do. I sighed, hoping I would get an outfit, however, when she pointed her wand, our outfit just changed to the colour red. The blue fairy grew angry, and she changed our outfits to the colour blue. Then the green one changed them to green, and then the red one changed them to red. I looked at Sora, and he raised his eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking, and it was that this was going to take forever. The fairies just kept changing our colours from red, to blue, to green and then over again.

ȶ
Aura and DiZ

Aura sat down on one of the chairs, and skimmed through a book that she had in her possession. It was the same romance novel that Zexion had lent her, and for whatever reason, she just couldn't leave without it. She had already read more than half of the story, and she had gotten really into it.

DiZ sat on his computer chair, and typed in some codes and whatnot. During their time together, Aura had not mentioned organization XIII's goals. What he only knew, was that they wanted Marie and Aura. He wondered why the young nobody wouldn't tell him, and he was very suspicious at first. However, she assured him that she wasn't going to turn her back on him, and that Kingdom Hearts had told her not to speak of it. Aura and DiZ didn't know why Stella didn't want him knowing, but Aura figured she wanted DiZ to learn the hard way, like she did.

Aura kept reading her novel, and she was close to reaching the end. She sighed as she remember the times she had within the Organization, and how she missed them. She stopped reading the book, and closed it up. She got up from her chair and left the room, however, before she could leave, DiZ turned around from his chair. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm just gonna go for a walk," she replied coldly. Although she couldn't blame him, DiZ had a rather hard time trusting Aura ever since she made Marie suffer by remembering early. Aura had felt completely awful about that, and she told DiZ that she was going to protect Marie no matter what.

"Hmph," replied DiZ. He turned back from Aura to his computer, and continued typing some things on it. "Just don't go too far, and let Riku know where you're going."

Aura sighed, and left to go for a walk. A lot was going on with her, and it had started when Sora awoke. Every time she saw him she wanted to hurt him, but she desperately had to control them, so she wouldn't make another mistake.

ȶ
Marie

I leaned against a table that was nearby, and Sora still stood in his position. Donald and Goofy were leaning against each other while we all waited for the fairies to decide on what to do with our outfits. Although I was getting a little irritated, I didn't want to tell them to hurry up, since it was pretty rude.

"Aww, would you just decide?" complained Sora. Well, I guess someone else had the same thought as me. Sora groaned, and the fairies looked at him and gasped when he complained. Although he was right about them deciding, I think Sora could gave said it more... nicely.

"All right, then. Together now, dears," said the red fairy. She looked at the other two fairies, and they all prepared their wands as they nodded at each other. "And no more squabbling!"

I walked away from the table, and I watched as the fairies pointed their wands at Sora. The colours of green, red and blue hit Sora as a bright light appeared around him. The light covered his body, and when it disappeared, the fairies gasped. I looked over to Sora, and noticed that his outfit still kinda looked like his old outfit. It was all black and silver, and a little baggy. It's definitely darker looking than his previous outfit, and there was a lit of zippers, and straps. Overall though... Sora looked really good.

"Oh my," said the red fairy, admiring his new look. The blue and green fairy giggled and commented his outfit, while Donald and Goofy stared in awe as well. "He does look dashing."

As Sora took out his Keyblade, the ladies looked at him. Specifically, the red one. "Now, those aren't ordinary garments. They have very special powers."

I tilted my head in confusion, as did Sora. The red fairy created a red orb near Sora, and told him to take it. She told us all to watch, and Sora suddenly transformed. He was covered in a bright light for a moment, and then when it disappeared, his outfit changed colours. He was wearing all red, but what I really noticed was...

"Two Keyblades!" I complained. I stared in awe as he stood there waving his second Keyblade around, and I heard Donald and Goofy also awing over it. I puffed my cheeks, and I was a little jealous of him having two Keyblades.

"Your garments have other powers," said the red fairy. "But you'll have to find out as you continue your journey."

I continued to stare at Sora, who was flashing off his keyblades. I huffed, and started feeling really insecure about my powers. I heard the fairies giggle, and I looked at them. They all smiled at me, and pointed their wands at me. "Now, it's your turn, my dear!"

I stood up straight, and I smiled at them. Sora moved aside, while the three of them stared at me. When the ladies cast their spell, the same thing that had happened to sora—the whole red, green and blue thing with the bright light—and I covered my eyes as it covered my whole body. When it disappeared, and when I uncovered my eyes, I looked down.

I gotta say, this is probably the most sweetest and cutest looking outfit I ever saw. When I looked down, I noticed I was wearing coral pink running shoes. As I continued to look, I found myself wearing short beige shorts. I was wearing a pink belt with a golden heart buckle, and my shirt had been white with coral pink straps and a coral pink hoodie. What I liked about my shirt, was that it had like this white cover from the chest going below. Overall, though, the outfit was really cool-looking. I also had pink and gold bracelets.

I was so happy about the new outfit, that I twirled around. I heard Sora laugh, and I looked at them. I smiled, and couldn't help but feel a little mischievous. So as I stood there, I placed my left hand on my hip, and the other behind my head. I parted my legs a bit, and I kinda had this mature pose going on. As I stared at Sora, I couldn't help but giggle as I spoke. "So, how do I look, Sora?"

I passed on a wink at him, and then I noticed him blushing. Donald and Goofy noticed, and they started to snicker. Sora started smiling, though oddly, and he gave me a weak, yet awkward sounding laugh. "I-I-it looks great!"

I started laughing, and got out of that pose. I looked down a bit, and then I noticed this golden necklace. Before I could touch it, though, I heard the red fairy speak. "Your garment holds a power that very much suits you, my dear."

I gave her a questioning look, and I was really hoping to wield a second Keyblade. I clasped my hands together as I jumped a bit from excitement, and waited for what she had to say. "These powers are the powers of healing and protection, so you'll be very important to your friends."

My shoulders dropped, and I pouted. I was really hoping for a second Keyblade, but really, I wasn't complaining. Healing and protection spells were going to be really important, especially after experiencing last year's adventure. I looked at the green fairy, as she began to speak. "they're basic healing and protecting spells, but as you continue on your adventure they'll advance."

I looked at the ladies, and I gave them one of my biggest smiles. "Thank you so much!"

"This journey's gonna be twice as difficult as your last," said the blue fairy. Sora dropped his shoulders, and he sighed as he bent down a little. He obviously wasn't happy about that, but you know what? I was kind of happy. There was a chance of seeing all of the people that I met last time, and I really wanted to see them. I really wanted to see Cid, Leon, Yuffie and Aerith out of all of them.

"No problem, we'll do out best!" cheered Sora, who patted my back. I looked at him, and looked back at the fairies and smiled at them as Sora spoke. "Thanks a lot!"

"Oh, and there's something else for you," said the green fairy, who smiled sweetly at all of us. "From Master Yen Sid."

Donald and Goofy cheered and were suddenly excited about their present, since it was from Yen Sid. We said our goodbyes to the fairies, and we walked over to previous room where Yen Sid resided. As we walked along, I had completely forgotten about my birthday. I sighed, and kinda wished that all of this happened after it.

As we walked to the other room, Yen Sid stood near the window, and motioned us to go over there. As we did, we suddenly saw a ship appear. I gasped along with Donald and Goofy when we noticed it was the Gummi Ship! Sora ran up to us, and he smiled at it. He looked at us as he spoke. "So, you guys ready?"

Donald, Goofy and I nodded, and we all looked at Yen Sid as we stood up straight and faced him as he spoke. "Now, now. Due to your past journey, the worlds have since returned to their original state. So the pathway to them have disappeared."

We all dropped our shoulders, but Yen Sid assured us that new paths were created. He told us to be prepared, as the Heartless and Nobodies were also creating their own path using corridors of darkness. Donald didn't like it, since it wasn't fair for us.

"Go forth, Sora, Marie, Donald and Goofy," said Yen Sid, looking at us. "Everyone is waiting."

We all bowed down to him, and we said our thanks. We started walking out, however, we were stopped when Yen Sid called us back. We all gave him a questioning look, and we stood there lined up waiting for him to speak. He went digging in his pocket, and dug pretty deep as he struggled a bit to find what he was looking for. When he took out whatever he was looking for, a small light appeared around it. When the light disappeared, a blue flower appeared floating from his hand. I stared at it's beauty, as it looked really nice.

"This bluebell flower has long since been forgotten," he said, walking a little closer to us. "But I managed to revive it, since it holds value."

The flower floated it's way towards me, and I placed my hand underneath it. It felt weird, since there was this force that was used to make it float, and I felt it. I looked at the flower, and oddly, it looked familiar. I couldn't help but smile, since it was so beautiful. Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at the flower, too, and they stared in awe. I looked at Yen Sid as he spoke. "A gentle flower with sentimental value belongs to a gentle girl with sentimental feelings. As such, happy birthday, Marie."

I looked at Yen Sid, and gasped. How did he know it was my birthday? Gosh, all these magical people really do surprise me all the time. But nonetheless, I smiled brightly, and nodded as I thanked him.

"It's your birthday today!" I heard a very surprised and shocked Sora say. I looked over to him, and I saw him—along with Donald and goofy—stare at me with shock. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Well, it didn't really seem important, what with everything going on," I replied, smiling awkward at them. "It's not important, don't worry about it."

"As if!" replied Sora. He walked up to me, and gave me a hug. It was one of those really affectionate and awkward hugs, but I didn't mind this time, since I knew he was hugging me because it was my birthday. I started giggling when Donald and Goofy joined in with the hug, and I was covered by my friends. I kind of wanted to cry, though, since... well, I was feeling really emotional.

As we all separated from the hug, the flower disappeared, and began to turn into a flower crystal. I caught it, and placed it in my pocket. Yen Sid told me that if I wanted to see it again, all I would have to do is hold it in my palm. Well, as we said our real goodbyes, Sora, Donald and Goofy all ran towards the ship. I also started to run, however, I stopped when I thought of a question I could ask Yen Sid. I walked up to him, and looked at him as I took out my Keyblade. "Um.."

"What is it, Marie?" he asked, looking at me. I looked at the floor for a moment, until looking back at him.

"The king gave me this Keyblade, and I wanted to know who gave it to him," I asked, showing the Keyblade to him. "I was hoping you would be able to tell me if the king told you anything."

Yen Sid took the Keyblade, and he examined it closely. I stood here silently and patiently as he looked at it, and when he finished he gave it back to me. "Although the king has shown me the Keyblade, he has not mentioned who gave it to him. However, I can tell you that this Keyblade holds historical value, for you see, this Keyblade has seen a lot of fighting before you."

"Ah, thank you, Master Yen Sid," I bowed down, and as I got up, he nodded. I nodded back, and I ran towards the other guys. I was really curious now, just what kind of history did my Keyblade exactly have?

ȶ
Riku and Aura

Riku stood on top of the clock tower, and stared into the town. He was feeling like how he was when he was back on the islands, and that was a calm and relaxing feeling. He thought back on his adventures, and he was really shocked that all of the that happened, happened to him. He always wanted to leave the islands, but he never anticipated the kind of adventure he got.

As he continued to stare into the town, Aura walked into the area, and noticed him standing there while staring into the town. She sighed, and stared at him with a blank face. She walked further into the area that she used to sit with Axel and Roxas, and stood beside Riku.

"Are you okay?" she asked with no emotion. Riku looked at her through his hood, and then turned back. Although she didn't like working with DiZ, and was a little jealous of Naminé getting all close to Roxas, she found some kind of peace with Riku. Though, it was very little.

"When I was at castle oblivion with Marie," he said, looking down at the town. "She found this bluebell flower that she wanted to give to Sora, but she never got to since I had the flower."

"And?" asked Aura, not really understanding where Riku was going with his little story.

"It died, the flower, but I still wanted Marie to get it," he replied, looking up into the sky. "So I gave it to the king, and I told him to give it to Marie."

"Did she get it," asked Aura, still with her emotionless voice.

"Well, the king said that he would ask his master to see if he could revive the flower, and then he would give it to her," replied Riku. He chuckled, and dug into his pocket. When he took out what he wanted, he extended his hand, and a yellow flower appeared floating from him palm. "The king told me he fixed the flower by placing it in a crystal like stasis to keep it alive, much like this flower."

Aura looked at the flower that Riku had in his palm, and she found it beautiful. Although she was still emotionless and expressionless about almost everything, nature and the beauty of life still amazed her. The flower she stared at was a yellow follower named Celandine, which were pretty common around Twilight Town. Riku told her that the king's master created the flower he was holding as an example, but the king gave it to him since he didn't have any use for it. Riku turned to face Aura, and he extended his hand towards her, making the flower face her.

"Here, take it," he said, giving the flower to her. She took it from him, and stared it at blankly.

"And what am I gonna do with a flower?" she asked, staring between the flower and Riku.

"Keep it with you," he said, walking away towards the exit. "You used to be bubbly and happy like that flower, but you both changed. This flower came back to being bubbly and happy, it just changed in appearance... you can do the same, too."

As Riku left the tower, Aura merely stared at him. She knew where he was going with it, and he was trying to make her feel happy again. Aura scoffed, and looked at the flower. She looked away for a moment, and then she looked back at the flower. She was able to see a reflection from it, and seeing her blank expression through it really made her feel weird.

She sighed as she looked down, and the flower turned into a crystal flower. She figured this was what Riku meant by placing it in a crystal-like stasis, so it would stay a live. She looked down at it as she placed it near her chest. She looked up back into the sky, and sighed as she stared at it sadly.

"You're both gone..."

I DONT CARE HOW LATE I UPDATE THIS, I AM DETERMINED TO BRING YOU GUYS ANOTHER CHAPTER!

Well, chapter six is out with 10,000 words! Oh my goodness! I'm really, really, really, really sorry this chapter is so long. I usually keep them between 5,000,-8,000 but I went overboard. So, sorry. D:

grapejuice101: Lol, everything else will start to feel awkward. And thank you, I like them together as well, and although no fluff will be present for a while, you'll see a nice batch of friendship from them.

Shadow 1n2: LOL, yeah. Well, she noticed, and although it wasn't a funny scene, I still liked it. A Sora show? Ohh, I'd like to see that. And yea, surprisingly the whole show didn't flop on them, and thankfully a lot of people like them. I really think their funny. Hmm, I forgot what episode it was, but it would have to be the one when they put the camera in cloud's room while he reads Tifa's journal.

Lvl-ZeR0: Thank you so much! Ahaha, yeah, it took me five chapters after, but hey, I'm glad. XD OH GOD, I though the same thing! Though a little dirtier, something of his dropped along with his voice. XD Haha, well I do like donuts, so I think I'm in the clear. XD

kingdomdisney: Ah, feel bad for her later on, really. She like suffers so badly. DX

Captainface: Haha, of course. But you love me for that, so boo. XD and yea, it'll just get rougher, and well... she won't have him later on...

The Result of Squffie: LOL, yeah it sounds hilarious. XD Yeah I saw that anime, but I lost interest after a while. I don't watch anime anymore, lol. All I watch is degrassi. XD LOL, lovely excuse! Ahaha, and yes, plent of awkward moments.

Lele-the-Greek-Geek: Lol, yes! That's the effect I'm going for. You have to sit there and read through ALL of the awkward moments. XD and well, Sora is pretty much oblivious to anything. He is special like that. And haha, yes let's blame Aura. Bad Aura, bad! And thank you!

SisterOfScarletDevil: Aw, thank you! I know, it really was sad, it even made me sad as I wrote it. D: xLiesOfLovex: Haha, yea I get it. XD everyone is happy. Ah, yeah I understand. That's how I was with two of my stories. Though, I'm slowly bringing them out, now. Thanks for reading, I hope you like this chapter!

Dracula-key: Ah, yes. Sora is gonna have a meltdown. And Marie will sense it. And then she'll feel sad, and then the whole world will be sad. Gah, it's a world full of sadness!

TheEvilMonkey94: I know, Aura is a really complicated person. And it does suck that he's gonna realize soon that she has no feelings. Well, eventually, but not with the help of Stella.

Kurai-Darkness: Haha, yeah. Fillers are horrible, and I really don't like watching them... but I love writing with them! XD and yes, it shall be interesting!

Mysterygirl123: Ah, yes. Poor Sora. DX

InuyaKoneko: Well, this chapter is looooooooooong. Like super looooooong. Oh, who is NDL? I'm curious! And thank you! I'm glad you like them! Pffft, we both know who he's gonna chose. XD

Dracula X: I LOVE YOU. Seriously, I have been waiting for someone to ask me this question. XD
Okay, let's start with Marie. I LOVE the voice actress named Danielle Judovits for her.
I imagine her KH1 voice to sound similar to Estelle in Tales of vesperia, though just a little lower that what she sounds here:
www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=sLkrV_TEfd0

And in KHII, I imagine her sounding like Ten Ten in Naruto like here: www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=RT2nNzdNgxc&feature=related

As for Aura, I love, absolutely love the voice actress named Stephanie Sheh for her. The voice that she does that sounds more close to Aura is Silmeria from the game Valkyrie Profile 2. like this: www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=7U_cIKj62zo

Thank you so much for asking, really! I think everyone should hear what I think should sound like Marie and Aura's voice. XD Thank you sooooooooo much!