Marie and her keyblade:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Marie-and-her-Shooting-Star-Keyblade-38350 2787

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

Marie's Prideland Form:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Marie-in-pridelands-coloured-240540217?q=gallery%3Aswirl3y%2F29599925&qo=18

A\N:
One more chapter to go until we reach that point… that epic point in this story! At least I hope it's one more chapter to go.

Yay, chapter 40! I hope I reach my 60 chapter mark!

Chapter Forty
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This feeling of uneasiness

We climbed up the cave until we reached the very tip of it, and saw Simba and Scar circling around each other. They were breathing heavily, and it was obvious that they had been fighting a good while prior to our coming. Donald was ready to stop and help Simba, but Sora stopped him.

"This is his fight, Donald," he said. We watched as Simba dealt a heavy claw to Scar, who managed to withstand it. He clawed Simba in return, and pushed him all the way towards the corner. He blocked the oncoming attack, and we saw him flip Scar all the way off the cliff. I gasped a bit when I heard him scream as he fell, and it was terrifying to see Scar fall to his death. Maybe it was the exposure to death, but it didn't shock me as much as it would last year. We were glad that Simba was safe, and as we walked up to him we heard Pete talking behind us.

"Aw, that was just a sneak preview!" he said. He came walking out from the rock, and smirked at us. "'Cause this ain't over—not by a long shot!"

He pointed to where Scar had fallen off, and slowly, we saw claws reach the top. I gasped louder than before, mainly because I hadn't seen someone really rise from the dead like that. Pete chuckled however, and explained it to us. "Anger and jealousy turned the king of Pride Rock into a heartless! Oh, your kingdom's gonna rise again…but this time, as the Pride Lands of Darkness!"

Simba growled while everyone else took out their weapons. Ryan got his claws out and I willed my keyblade, preparing to fight heartless Scar. The area suddenly turned black, and Scar immediately went after Simba. I did my best to heal everyone, while Sora, Simba and Ryan were dealing damage to the guy. Goofy spun around in his shell while Donald dealt a couple of magic spells. I turned to see if Pete was still around, and when he wasn't my guess was that he ran… sneaky guy. I didn't focus on that though, since we had a former king to get rid of!

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Aura

Aura jumped down to a nearby roof of one of the houses in Hollow Bastion and looked over the place, she didn't how Marie could have such an affinity to this place, but she wanted to check on it for her. She hid when she noticed a brunette man walk around with a brunette woman and a younger woman with short dark brown hair, and tried listening to see if she could get any information.

"Aww, c'mon Squall," the young woman with short dark brown hair complained. "Just a five minute break!"

"…It's Leon, Yuffie," he told her. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. "And you had a half-hour break ten minutes ago."

"Aerith, back me up!" Yuffie complained to the woman with brown hair that was tied up. Aerith just stood there as she gave a chuckle. The three of them were working hard—well, the two of them—to rebuild Hollow Bastion to its original state. Aura listened in about how the progress was going, but she didn't care about that. What she cared about was if the heartless or nobodies were causing trouble. They didn't mention anything like that and she grunted in annoyance as she left, heading the direction opposite from them. She made her way to the bailey, and stopped to take a look at the view. The place didn't look anything nice, definitely nothing like Twilight Town or Destiny Island, but she was curious about how it looked before it crumbled.

"Who are you?" a low, but sharp voice called out. Aura turned around fully prepared, and she stared at a woman who was dressed in black with horns on the side of her head. Her skin was a sickly green, and her eyes shined with a tint of yellow. The woman closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them widely when she came to realize something. "Why do I sense the power of Kingdom Hearts from you?"

Aura narrowed her eyes at the woman; she knew who she was. "Well, that should be obvious, Maleficent. You are partly responsible for making Marie go unconscious in Neverland. Don't you remember? She lost her heart. What comes out of that?"

"Ah, so you are the Nobody," she replied. Aura crossed her arms and stared hard at the woman. Although she grew with the hateful feelings toward Sora, this woman was more or less responsible for turning Riku into a dark hoarding fiend, and that pretty much caused Marie's temporary demise. Maleficent walked around the girl in a slow manner, and placed a finger on her chin. "How interesting that you, too, possess the power of Kingdom Hearts," she said.

"You must not go out a lot if you think that is interesting," Aura retorted. "There is a lot of other interesting things like… the birds, or the buildings, hey… maybe even this."

She snapped her finger and a loud boom was heard, Maleficent closed and covered her eyes and used her staff to protect her from the pressure it created. When she opened them she saw a portal closing up, and scowled when she noticed the young Nobody escape.

"Ugh, stupid old hag," Aura said as she stood once again on top of a roof in Hollow Bastion. She overlooked the area and took a glance at the team she saw earlier walking around, this time they brought along an old man with blue robes and a blonde man with a toothpick in his mouth. She looked around once again, and since there were no nobodies or significant heartless roaming around, she decided to check out a couple of other places. She really only did this to get away from Twilight Town, since she didn't even want to look at Riku or Kairi any longer. She really only felt bad for leaving Naminé behind, but she got over it after a while. She puffed her cheeks and created her portal to leave to another world.

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Marie

So we just got done with defeating the heartless Scar, and even after the battle he was still standing. He was going to continue to fight, but after a few moments of just standing there a dark light appeared around him and he dropped dead. It was still a bit scary to just see him die like that, and even Ryan commented on how it was just a bit too morbid.

Well, bringing me out of my thoughts, we all watched as Simba took his rightful place atop the throne. He gave out a loud and ferocious roar, and the entire tribe followed. He kept looking up, and the sun suddenly appeared, giving the light to him. A keyhole appeared, and Sora did his usual thing.

"Hey, what's with the light show?" Timon asked. When Sora finished unlocking the keyhole, he turned towards them and told how we had to say good bye for a little while. Pumbaa offered to tell Simba, but Goofy shook his head.

"Aw, he's prob'ly busy. Just tell him we'll be back soon," he said. Timon was a bit sad that Simba would be busy as king, but they still had 'Hakuna Matata', so it wasn't all that bad. Timon still wasn't assured, and Pumbaa even ran away when he didn't want to be anyone's dinner. I started chuckling, and I saw Sora smiling from the corner of my eye.

"You can never forget your true buddies," he said as he looked at Timon chasing after Pumbaa. I stopped chuckling, but I was still smiling. He was right, there is no way someone can forget their friends, or family for that matter. Even if I'm struggling with my own friends and family, I know that they'll still be there for me. Even if they're not my real parents, I know my aunt and uncle love me just as if I were they're own daughter. The only thing I'm worried about is meeting them; I wonder what they'll say?

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After leaving the Pride Lands, we decided to check back at Twilight Town, and I was really happy about it. I wanted to see the gang and how they were doing, and I even wanted to see how Seifer, Fuu and Rai were doing, too. Ryan decided to stay behind and catch up on some sleep. He said he didn't feel any pains or anything, and he still felt the rush from the Pride Lands. I was happy to hear that, since maybe he was getting better at controlling his anemia? As we walked down the street of Twilight Town, I started hearing Vivi's voice.

"H-Help! The sandlot! It's Seifer!" he shouted. He started running and eventually passed us, and I wanted to chase after him. I brought my hand close to my chest; what was Seifer doing now? "Somebody please help us!"

Vivi was gone by now, and I turned my head towards the other guys, "Let's go, I wanna see what's going on."

They all nodded and we all started making our way towards the sandlot. The place didn't change that much since I left, but there were less kids roaming around, but I figured it was because of school. I wonder how I'll do in my future since I've practically missed a year of learning thanks to this journey, but I know it's for the best. At least, I hope it's for the best.

We made our way towards the sandlot, and I immediately saw Seifer, Rai and Fuu on the ground being surrounded by nobodies. Seifer was trying to get up, and I gasped as I ran to their side. "Seifer! Fuu! Rai!" I cried out.

As I bent down near Seifer, who was still trying to get up, Sora, Donald and Goofy came in front of us. He told me to take care of them while they dealt with the nobodies and I complied. While they were busy dealing with them, I brought Seifer's arm around my shoulder as I carried him near the benches. After that I dragged Fuu and Rai near him, and I tended to Seifer's wounds first. I asked what had happened.

"They just came out of nowhere," he said, grunting with pain. I told him to hold still while my hands placed pressure on his wound, and a little tiny light appeared. I felt my hands become shaky and when I looked at them they wouldn't calm down, I started sniffling and I felt tears come down. "Why are you crying?" I heard Seifer ask. I looked up at him but looked back down once I met his eyes.

"I don't know..., I think I'm scared." Why was I crying? The thought of having my friends—even if some of them were bullies—being attacked made me scared. I quickly wiped away any tears that were falling down, and looked at Sora, Donald and Goofy fighting. I wanted to check on Hayner, Pence and Olette, but I couldn't leave the rest here unattended. The fight was getting a bit too intense, and when Fuu and Rai started waking up I quickly healed them both up. "Alright, I need you guys to get out of here!"

Seifer was a bit reluctant, but after a few bouts of begging, him and his team left. I ran up to Sora, who was just about done with fighting, and asked if he and everyone else were okay. He was about to answer me, but I jumped when I heard someone appear.

"Impressive," he said. We turned around and were met with a man in a hooded black coat; I brought my hands close to me, since this guy was part of that Organization 13 group. "By the way, have you seen a man named Axel? I expect he's here somewhere."

"Like I care," Sora retorted.

"You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest," the man replied. Goofy asked if he was with the organization, and he nodded. Sora commented on how they weren't a very organized Organization, but it wasn't really the time to get cheeky. "Don't let your guards down. Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless."

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister," Sora retorted once again. He told him how we could handle ourselves fine on our own, but I was curious as to why Axel wanted Sora to be a Heartless, but not the rest? The man started mocking us saying it would break their hearts if something happened to Sora, and Donald retorted by saying they didn't have any.

"True, we don't have hearts…" The man started pulling down his hood, and when he did I nearly dropped to my knees. "But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special."

"Whaddya' mean?" Goofy asked. I felt like I couldn't move, since this man… his hair was long and blue and his eyes were gold and yet so familiar. Why did I feel like… I remember him? He looked straight at me, and I flinched at the look he gave. It was a long, hard stare and I started feeling really uncomfortable. I know him, but from where!?

"We know very well how to injure a heart," he said, still looking at me. He created a portal and I heard Sora talking about following him, and how we would be able to see where their hideout was, but the man overheard. "We'll leave her be for now, so don't be reckless. Do you want to end up like Riku?"

Both Sora and I quickly called out Riku's name, but the man started disappearing into his portal. Sora attempted to follow him, but the portal closed. I just stood there wondering about how this man felt so familiar, but not for the life of me could I figure out who he was. "What does he mean, end up like Riku?" Sora thought out loud.

"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now?" I heard Seifer say. I turned around and saw him standing with Fuu and Rai behind him. "You've caused enough trouble."

I was still a bit tied up with my thoughts to give an answer, but Donald just told us we should leave. When Donald turned around though, Seifer told him to wait, which caused him to get even angrier and told him to make up his mind. Seifer took out a trophy, and I immediately recognized it as the trophy that I won, except that it had all its crystals placed in them. He stuck it out. "This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town."

"Hey, isn't that mine—"

"Was yours, but since you left we had another tournament," he cut me off as he still had the trophy in his hands. "They had to replace the jewels, but I eventually won it. So I'm giving it to him."

I brought a finger to my mouth, and thought about the jewels. I placed a hand down my pocket and felt the jewel from the trophy, but I didn't take it out, since I was a bit scared that Seifer was going to take it away. Still, Sora told him that he was fine not getting the trophy, but Seifer pushed into Goofy's arms as he, Fuu and Rai left the scene. We watched as they left, and then I heard a very familiar voice. "Sora! Marie!"

I turned around and immediately saw Pence running towards us. My eyes lit up as I ran up to him, and we both did a little handshake that we shared with Hayner. "Pence! What's going on?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. Everything is still the same, but..." He stopped to catch his breath for a moment, and then he looked at Sora with a curious look on his face. "Sora, do you know a girl named Kairi?"

"K-Kairi…! I sure do!" Sora shouted in return. Pence jumped a bit from his reply, as did Donald and Goofy, and he told us to go to the station. Pence started running ahead, with Sora right behind him. Donald and Goofy started following, and I was the last to walk. I felt a bit uneasy with the way Sora called out Kairi's name, but I'm sure it was because he hadn't seen her since last year. Yeah… I'm sure of it.

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We made it to the station, and I saw Hayner and Olette running towards us. I was nearly pushed down to the ground when Olette gave me a hug, and I laughed as she hugged me tighter. Hayner scratched the back of his head and when Olette finished hugging me we did our handshake. Sora walked up a bit, and looked at them three. "So, how do you guys know Kairi?" He asked.

Hayner told us that she somehow made it to Twilight Town, and was looking for Sora. He wanted to know where she was, but Hayner dropped his shoulders as he explained.

ଓ

"What a romantic story!" Olette said as she brought her hands together. Kairi only smiled along with Pluto, and Pence told her that if she stayed around Sora would show up. Hayner agreed, and told her that both he and Marie said they would come back.

"Marie is with him, too?" she asked. They all nodded, and Kairi looked down. She was happy that the blonde was doing well, and she didn't expect anything less from a girl like her. Yet somehow, it made her feel a bit sad still, even from last year. She remembered how Marie had told her how much she loved Sora, and she knew she meant every word. Even explaining her story to Hayner, Pence and Olette had bits of how Marie came into the picture, with Olette ogling over the romance.

"Yeah, she stayed with us for a good while, but when Sora came she left with him," Hayner explained. She nodded, and was eager to meet Marie. Even with the hurt she was still going to keep her word on wanting to be friends with the blonde, and honestly she wanted to know how much she had changed since last year.

"What took you so long, Kairi?" a voice was heard from the shadows. A man with spikey red, flaming hair with a black coat appeared from a portal, and he had a smirk plastered on his face. "Somewhere, I just knew you'd be here. I tell ya, Kairi, you've got a lot of guts, jumping right into the darkness like that."

He kept walking towards her, and easily dodged a pathetic attempt at punching from Hayner. Pence came in after, trying to protect her, but he ran through the redhead. He stood right in front of Kairi, and grabbed her arm. Olette tried to stop him, but her hand just went through him like a ghost. He dragged Kairi back into the portal, with the girl telling him to stop, and they both disappeared after Pluto ran after them. Hayner and Pence got up as they, along with Olette, watched as the portal disappeared.

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"Sorry...," Hayner said as he finished explaining. Sora looked down at a charm that Kairi left him, and I looked down to my feet feeling uneasy again. There was a short pause, but Sora started moving around.

"Hey, it's not your fault. C'mon, cheer up!" he said. He looked back down, and sighed as he dropped his shoulders. "Like I can even say that… I gotta help Kairi!"

He bumped into Goofy, who dropped the trophy with its jewels dropping and rolling away. Hayner, Pence and Olette picked up the other jewels, while Goofy picked up the blue one. Olette walked over to me along with Hayner and Pence, and they all looked at their jewels. "It's like the time you won the trophy," Olette said.

They all brought it up towards the sun, and Olette nudged my left rib. I took out my jewel, and I brought it up along with them. I saw Goofy and Sora do the same, and we all just stared at the glistening that came from them. I stopped looking, and along with Goofy and Donald, we saw Sora change into a completely different person. I gasped as I saw a blonde guy with spikey hair wearing bits of beige and brown, and Goofy immediately called out to him.

"Sora! Are you okay!?" he asked. Sora quickly changed back, and I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. The jewel in his hand started glowing and it rose to the sky, and we all knew where this was going. Sora took out his keyblade and did the usual with Hayner, Pence and Olette watching.

"W-What just happened?" Pence asked. Sora told them that a new road opened up, and that Kairi and Riku were waiting for us somewhere along. They understood, and asked us if we were coming back. We promised them, and I felt Olette grab my arm as we made it to the other side of the station.

"You never told me you loved Sora!" I heard her say out loud. I quickly felt my face heat up, and I brought my hands to cover her mouth, telling her to be quiet. She started laughing when Hayner and Pence walked towards us, and they explained that Kairi had told them. "Yeah, she said how you two fell in love! It's so romantic!"

I lowered my head, now my friends think it's true. Well, it must have been for Kairi to tell them that. Still though, why couldn't I remember? I admit that I was feeling something for Sora, but it wasn't anything big, and I knew he was pretty much better off with Kairi. I sighed, and decided to just go along with it, since I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it from Olette. "Yeah… I guess it is romantic," I replied with a smile.

Olette started squealing while Hayner and Pence covered their ears. When she stopped Hayner looked at me. "He just better not screw anything up, or we'll have to teach him a lesson!"

"It'll be fine," I laughed, even if it didn't feel fine. Somehow I not remembering was leading to something horrible. I noticed Sora wasn't really all that affectionate lately, but I was still hoping he would do something—anything to make me not feel uneasy.

Well, jeez. Kairi is officially back and though it's not intentional on her part, Sora seems to be a bit too emotional about her. I wonder what's going to happen?