Another short chapter this time, but there's not much going on in this one.

Episode 8: Round Two:

Shibuya – Scramble Crossing

August 8, 2015

"Congratulations," a voice called out once Ludor and Isa finished their duel with the Game Master of Shibuya's Underground. The two of them turned around to find Joshua, the one who'd offered them entry into the game, clapping as he walked up to them. "You both survived The Game." Despite their exhaustion, the former Nobodies felt proud of their accomplishment. They'd managed to survive everything The Underground had to offer and they had survived. Whether they won however, was another story, as Joshua had informed them that only a set quantity of Players would receive a second chance at life.

"So how did we stack up in the rankings?" Ludor asked curiously, hopeful that they'd managed to win while remaining realistic about their chances of success. They were both surprised and disappointed when Joshua revealed the end result.

"Ludor," he replied. "You won the game. Sadly, your partner did not make it into the final bracket." Isa was disappointed. On the one hand, he was glad at least one of them won. But on the other, what did that mean for him? Would his soul be Erased like all the others who failed in previous days? Or would he be sent right back to Ashphodel? Before he could ask the question that he and Ludor were both thinking, Joshua answered it for them.

"Since you lost the game Isa," the angel began. "You have three options: Play again, erasure, or become a Reaper. Which do you choose?" For a moment, Isa considered his options thoughtfully. Erasure was out of the question. Becoming a reaper meant more supernatural powers, but his survival depended on how many Players he Erased. In the end, it wasn't really much of a contest.

"I'll play again," he answered bluntly. Joshua nodded at the blue-haired man's decision, and returned the former Organization members' entry fees with a snap of his fingers. Isa clutched his head as his memories of his and Lea's plans for their coup against Xemnas rushed back into his mind, while Ludor, whose entry fee was his love of gambling, happily shuffled his deck of cards in his hands.

"Just a head's up," Joshua commented. "Each round of the Game takes place at least one week apart, so the souls of the next round's Players stay in Ashphodel in between Games." Isa nodded in understanding before the Composer sprouted wings and flew off into the sky. Turning to his now former partner, Ludor wished him good luck in the next round. Without a fellow Organization member there with him, he'd need to find someone to Partner with in order to survive.

"And enjoy your new life," Isa told the Gambler of Fate. "You've earned it." As soon as the words left his lips, the world around him faded away like mist, and he found himself standing in the familiar caverns of the Underworld. In the Fields of Ashphodel. Might as well plan a workout routine to stay in shape for the next Game, then, he thought to himself as he began a light jog through the crowds of the dead.

Alright, now we're about a quarter of the way through Regroup and Rebuild. As you've probably noticed, each chapter takes place on a different day. This is completely intentional, and the story will end with Chapter 31. As for why it's set in August 2015, there's a few reasons. Reason 1 being that Birth By Sleep takes place right at the beginning of Lilo and Stitch. Assuming that L&S takes place in 2002, the year it was released, that would mean KH1 occurs in 2012, KH2 in 2013, and DDD in late 2014/early 2015. I included a timeline in the final chapter of The Xehanort War, but for the purposes of this fic, The final boss battle with Xemnas in KH2 occurred on New Year's Eve 2013, and Dream Drop Distance within the first 2 weeks of January 2015, with The Xehanort War beginning 6 months afterwards.

And to clear up any confusion about the whole timing issue, since the Reaper's Game is only 7 days in TWEWY, I always interpreted Riku's whole "worlds all run on different Time Axis-es" comment in Dream Drop Distance as being more like time zones. So time in Shibuya is far enough ahead of time in the Keyblade Garveyard that night time in the Graveyard on August 1 is morning in Shibuya on the 2nd.

Coming Soon: The remaining Keyblade Wielders meet in the Land of Departure to discuss what to do now that Xehanort is dead.