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

Ryan:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/That-s-his-name-286861562

Marie's timeless River outfit:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/gallery/29599925#/d41gx9m

A\N:
I'm so sorry I haven't updated in centuries. I've been busy with school and a lot of other things to give my full attention to this story. I'm hoping to start this thing up again, and I hope you all be patient with me as I try. I'm going to skip a lot of the chase for King Mickey. It's pretty boring o-o. I also changed some things—Ryan isn't going to be a major character anymore, but he'll still have his time on air.

Moreover, the necklace idea changes a bit, too. Had a lot of renovating with this story, you could say lol.

Chapter Thirty-One
ȶ
That which you love

As the ship landed at the same location as last time, I looked out the window and smiled. It was nice to be back at this place, only because Mulan was here. Other than that, almost being killed by a giant brute wasn't a pleasant memory. I don't know how it could be, anyways. Ryan got up and I was about to tell him to stay, but I figured it would be best if he explored. I did tell him that if he could prove himself worthy of fighting I wouldn't baby him. I guess this was a good opportunity for him to explore and see other worlds like that. We walked out of the ship, and slowly made our way towards the camps. I don't know where Mulan was exactly, but I was hoping to see some of the soldiers who could tell us where she was. Luckily, the three soldiers that were with us on our first trip were walking around. I started walking a little faster and Ryan did too, and I was already in their view.

"Well, well, if it isn't little 'Mario'," Yao said. I laughed with embarrassment, because they really only knew me as Mario. I scratched my head, and looked around. Not a lot of soldiers were here, which wasn't that bad. I took it as a sign that there was peace going on in this world.

"How's it going? I hope you guys aren't causing trouble," I said as I placed my hands on my hips. They scoffed, and looked over beside me to where Ryan stood. Yao ran over to him and started being rough with him, and Ryan simply stared at him, trying to avoid his punches.

"So who's the fresh meat? Hope he ain't like Sora, what with being a scrawny little punk," he said. Ryan raised his eyebrow, and it was surprising he wasn't like Sora. I mean Ryan was weak, but I was guessing he was strong in his own way, but it was too early to tell. I felt bad knowing I was blocking that potential, but I did make a deal with him, and I am hoping he proves me wrong.

"This is Ryan. Trust me he's nothing like Sora," I laughed. Ryan continued to raise his eyebrow, and from the corner of my eye, I spotted a very familiar person. I turned around, and saw Mulan walking towards us with a smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile in return, and started heading her way.

"You came back!" she said, squinting her eyes as her smile grew wider. I laughed, and bowed down. She was china's hero after all, so I had to show some respect. She just waved it off, saying it wasn't necessary. She looked around, but then her eyes landed on me again. "So, what brings you here?"

"I'm looking for something," I said. I placed a hand over my neckline, and told her how I was missing a necklace. She placed a finger on her chin, and started thinking. Her eyes grew wider, and she looked back at me.

"I found a necklace a while ago while you guys were still here," she said. I was starting to get my hopes up, maybe it's my necklace? "Come, I have it over at base camp."

We started walking towards the camp, and Mulan looked over to Ryan. She raised her eyebrow, and I giggled. "This is my cousin, Ryan. He's joining Sora and I on our journey." She gave an accepting smile, and Ryan winked towards her. I elbowed him in the ribs, and he groaned. Geez.

ȶ
Sora

Sora, Donald and Goofy made their way into another portal, and hoped that maybe the king and Marie were there. Sora was getting more worried as they progressed, but he had to stay strong. As they entered the portal, he noticed something was off and looked around.

"Hey..."

Donald and Goofy knew what was going on, but Sora looked around more until it finally hit him. The town suddenly shrunk, and he made sure he didn't step on any buildings. "Gwarsh, I think we're the ones that got bigger," Goofy said as he got a closer look around. It didn't matter whether they got bigger, or if the town shrunk—they still needed to focus.

Sora looked around and saw a tall building, about the same height as him actually, and noticed the cannons on it. "Hey, look at the toy cannons!" they walked over to the building and took a closer look. From the corner of his eye, Sora saw the king, and all three of them looked towards him. Mickey was waving his hands around frantically, and they didn't understand what he was trying to tell them. They heard the sound of a propeller, and when they turned, heartless surrounded them. They were heartless in airplanes, and they looked like their target was the town. Sora, Donald and Goofy immediately took out their weapons and prepared for the fight. If this was going to get them closer to the king and to Marie, then they certainly didn't mind bashing in a few heartless.

ȶ
Marie

"I picked it up when that village burned down. I hadn't realized it looked the same as Sora's necklace, but by the time I did you guys already left," Mulan said as she grabbed a small wooden box. "I'm pretty sure it's yours, since it's practically identical to his."

She opened the box, and inside was the necklace. I looked at it... seeing as it was the only thing I could do. My whole body froze... I'm finally going to have it back. My lips started quivering, and I wanted to cry. Staring at it alone just made me feel a lot better, and now it's mine again! I took a deep breath, and my hand started moving towards it. When I touched it, I started smiling and the tears started. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ryan staring at me, and I could feel Mulan's eyes on me as well.

"I'm sorry, it's just—this necklace means a lot," I said, wiping the tears from my face. I took the necklace, and wore it around my neck once more. It even felt great having it on me again. I had my hand on it, and I looked towards Mulan. "Thank you so much! I don't even know how to repay you, this is just..."

"You don't have to repay me," Mulan said, giving a warm smile. She wanted to say something, but she looked over to Ryan and I took the clue. I told Ryan to wait outside, and he raised his eyebrow and walked out of the tent. When he was out of sight, Mulan sighed. "Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but there's someone who loves you with all their heart. I can't tell you who, since they told me not to, but I want you to know at least that much."

I tilted my head in confusion. I had an inkling of whom she was talking about, but I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I was grateful for the necklace, and the person who she was talking about, but even with the necklace back... I still felt like I was forgetting many things, mainly about Sora. Maybe the necklace, since it's a gift from him, would help me remember. It's still too soon to tell though, and even then I didn't have a thing for Sora. I looked at Mulan, and smiled. "I don't think I'm looking for love right now, but thank you for letting me know."

Mulan sighed, and nodded her head while still smiling. We left the tent, and looked at Ryan talking with the three soldiers. They all walked over to us, and the soldiers laughed with Ryan as they did.

"So, Marie, you guys heading back?" Yao said as he looked at me. I kept forgetting to tell him my name, but I guess Ryan took care of that. I nodded, and gave a smile to him and the rest of gang. As much fun as it was being back here, I had to a mission to finish with Donald, Goofy, and Sora. Ryan and I said our farewells to everyone, and walked towards the gummi ship. I was very glad that I had my necklace back, but there was still a 'left-out' feeling there. I don't know what I have to do to make it go away, but I hope I find it soon. This feeling sucks. We boarded the ship, and made out way back towards Donald and Goofy's world. I hope the boys are doing all right...and I wonder if they've noticed I'm gone...

ȶ
Sora, Donald and Goofy

The boys had finished fighting off the last of the heartless, and the king simply shook Sora's hand before he left. They were left confused, but decided to follow him towards another curtain door. That room had a ball of darkness sucking in everything in sight, and they fought off another horde of heartless. The king yet again shook Sora's hand, and they followed him out towards other curtained doors. They kept seeing recordings of Maleficent, but didn't understand the meaning of it. They didn't bother worrying about it at the moment, since they had three more doors to go. As soon as they were about to go, however, a small voice stopped them, and they looked towards the entrance of the world. Or the door that Merlin created. They all went on their toes when they saw who it was, and wasn't sure how to act. It was Marie.

ȶ
Marie

As I walked through the door, I saw Donald, Goofy and Sora standing at the center of the town square. I shouted out their names, and they all looked at me. They seemed tensed though, and I wasn't sure why until it hit me. Fake Marie. I sighed, and gave them a big smile, hoping they would tell me from the faker. They didn't. They were still on edge, and I continued to walk up to them. I stopped, and looked at them—how was I going to convince them?

"You guys..., it's me, the real Marie," I said as I placed my hands on my hips. "Fakey tried to kidnap me and bring me to Organization XIII."

They were still unsure of me, and I lowered my head. I heard a jingling noise, and noticed my necklace. Of course, I can use that! I looked back at Sora, and pointed at my necklace. He gasped as he stared at it, and I smiled again. "I went with Ryan to find the necklace, which was with Mulan. She found it in the snow, and gave it back."

Sora smiled, and walked closer to me. I know I won him over because I was sure the fake Marie didn't know about Mulan or anyone there. He was glad I was safe, and so was I. Who knows what could have happened if Organization XIII had their hands on me. I'd probably be dead... well, not really, since they need my powers... I sighed. People just want me for my powers. How sad. The guys filled me in on what happened while I was away, and I was glad the king was safe. They were ready to check out three other spots, and I nodded. Ryan was back on the ship and resting, since he was tired. I walked along with Sora and went towards one of the curtained doors.

ȶ

We finished dealing with all three of the curtains, and I saw the king shaking Sora's hand. After we left the area, we saw a memory of Maleficent, and what seemed like her plans. I was mentioned in them, and that didn't surprise me. Maleficent was one of the people so intent on getting my powers, and I wonder if she would still want to catch me even though I don't have the powers I did in the past. Pete was in the memory to, and it seemed like after wishing for the past a door similar to the one we entered Timeless River with appeared in front of him. After that it was pretty apparent what Maleficent's plan was, and that was trying to take over the castle by smashing the cornerstone of light. We also realized that this place wasn't a separate planet, it was the past! Sora and Donald wondered about it, and mentioned that we could even change the future. Of course, Goofy was against it, stating that Merlin had faith in us. They were only joking about changing the future, but I was starting to think about it. If I could change my past I wonder how my future would be? Would I be here with Donald, Goofy and Sora?

"It was Pete after all," Sora said as he placed a finger on his chin. Yeah, since Maleficent only told him to take care of it, it was safe to assume that Pete was the one with the plan to destroy the cornerstone of light. Of course the Pete in this world had a nasty attitude, he didn't seem all that bad.

"Look!" Donald shouted. We all looked at the corner and noticed Pete, who was mumbling about taking over the castle. He was definitely the bad Pete. Donald and I turned around, and we noticed the stone was taken.

"If they've taken the stone, they'll fill the castle with darkness," I said as I looked at the rest. Sora agreed, and we were about to leave until we saw the Pete from this world running past us. He was trying to find the person who stole his boat, and it was obvious that it was the Pete from the future...er, if that made sense. Sora was having a headaches with so many Petes running around, and I think Goofy was, too. Of course, we still followed, and hoped to find them both in the same place. We saw a boat nearby, and the cornerstone of light attached to it! We sped up a bit, and saw the two petes fighting.

"Waaaaaaaaaaait!" the one from the past said. He came running a bit before us, and we noticed our Pete glaring at the other.

"Shuddup!" he complained, and pushed the Pete from the past. He was mumbling something but we really only heard the end, and that his future was on the line and that he needed the boat. The two started fighting, and unsurprisingly the future Pete gave a hard punch that made the other Pete fly away. Literally, he made him fly to who knows where! As we came running down the path, future Pete jumped on the boat and stuck out his tongue at us. What a child! I shook my head, and we watched as the boat started moving. Sora took out his Keyblade, and Donald, Goofy and I did the same with our weapons. Pete stared back at us, and just kept acting like a darn child. He had a couple of boxes with him, and started throwing them at us. Luckily, Sora had good aim and used his Keyblade to deflect the boxes and threw them back. There was no way I could do that, so I just kept watch. Eventually, Pete slipped and the whole boat turned around and came closer to the shore. We quickly ran towards it, and Sora immediately jumped on the hook that was connected to the cage. He started hacking away trying to open the cage, and we helped as well. I chanted a couple of fire spells along with Donald, and Goofy kept hitting it with his shield. Heartless appeared and I opted to take care of them while the rest were dealing with the cornerstone of light.

I slashed the few heartless that were around and chanted a couple of spells. In a couple of moments I heard Pete wailing, and the sound of something breaking. I finished up with hitting the last few heartless, which were pretty much shadows, and quickly made my way towards Sora and the rest. We watched as the boat slowly made it's way back to the shore along with the cornerstone of light, but noticed Pete was getting away. We decided to follow Pete, since the stone was safe now. When we walked into the next area we saw Pete and the Pete from the past fighting it out. It was painfully obvious that the Pete from the past was losing, and we watched as he fell back from the punches he received. We took out our weapons, and our Pete started laughing. "You're still wet behind the ears!"

"Then try us!" Sora shouted. The Pete from the past got up and ran past us, nearly knocking Goofy and Sora down. He was going to fight too, and it was greatly appreciated. Even if Pete was a bit childish, he was unmistakeably strong. I concentrated on healing while the rest went on offensive.

ȶ

A few more hits and spells later, Pete went down. It took us a while, and Pete had acquired some new and pretty powerful attacks. It was also very effective how Donald concentrated on offensive spells while I kept healing everyone. I noticed my healing spells were stronger than Donald's too, while his offensive spells were stronger than mine. I didn't use my Keyblade at all either, since I was just healing. For some reason though, I feel like I'm failing my own Keyblade...I just don't feel strong enough I guess. Well, back to the task at hand. When we defeated Pete, he got up and summoned the door that he used to enter this place, and ran for it. Sora was quick to seal it up with his Keyblade, and the Pete from the past was really confused.

"Just who was that creep!?" he shouted. Sora raised his eyebrow, and pointed out the fact that it was him from the future—but Goofy came in to stop him before he did. Like our journey last year, we couldn't be meddling. Or muddling as Goofy once stated, Pete from the past apologized, and Donald made a joke about not growing a habit out of it. Pete offered to let us board his steam boat and even offered Sora to pilot it.

ȶ

The boat was a fun ride, and we all stood near it's wheel while Sora steered it around the place. Everyone seemed happy, and Donald even tugged the string that made the boat whistled. I laughed at the fun we had, and looked out ahead. Despite this place being black and white, it was a very pretty place to be. I was especially happy to have my necklace back, and I glanced over to Sora's neck. We didn't talk much during our visit to this place, and somehow it was a little upsetting. We used to talk a lot last year, but lately it was just a lot of awkwardness. When I think about it, I really miss those times. But, somehow, it can't be like that unless I remember everything. Yuffie and Aerith made comments with the word 'lover', and even Mulan told me about love and feelings. What am I missing in order to finally be at ease with myself? Well, not completely at ease with my powers being all kaput and all, but at least with my memory.

I guess it's finally time to talk to Sora about it.

Hey, sorry about the late update. I'm trying really hard and will have about three more chapters out until I take time to make three or more chapters out, and another set... You get it lol. I hope you liked the chapter, and I hope I can get the other ones out. :D

Grapejuice101:
I hope you found three updates to your liking, I'm trying my best to get this story done, and recent motivation is making me keep going!

Shadow 1n2:
Haha, yeah it's been a good while. It's also been a good while since I updated. Isn't it for the ipod or tablets? My friend had a game called Slender on her ipod touch. You've been busy!

I've changed a few things, but the necklace is still subtly important. The main thing to her memory now is how Ryan Will leave the gang. In a way, you're right! She doesn't remember how he looks at the moment, only when he was younger, so he'll still be saddened when she doesn't remember the time they had in Twilight Town or their brief time in O.C.

I hope so :D

Dracula x:
Well that and the fact that she made Marie forget about Sora and what they had.

LVl-ZeR0:
Well, I hope her death Will be as awesome as you expect it to be! Maybe a little sad on the side.

Trubeque:
o: Physics! So much physics!

Dracula-key:
Yea, you're right. He didn't have time to go find her, but he was glad she came back. With the necklace it'll help her memory, though not by a lot.

DaniPotterLovesGod:
I was in a slump, but I think I found my creativity, and I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. I would love to know the article or what you read, and that sounds like a pleasant idea. I've had to rethink some things in this story, and I hope I don't go changing it again. I hope you find these three updates to be satisfying!