Another chapter is up and ready. Two more OCs are introduced, they have the same names as two other OCs from my Dragon Quest fic, though.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy series, the Kingdom Hearts series and the Dissidia: Final Fantasy games are Squaresoft's creations, along with their characters, locations etc.

Chapter XIV: A Lingering Soul

The sun shone on Alexandria in the morning as the group got up and headed for the dining hall. Sora's group was the first to reach the dining hall with Zidane. The others were up and in the hall. They had either pancakes or a salad for those who wanted something healthier.

"So what next?" piped Serenia.

"We might need to go to another world, but we don't know which one" sighed Tifa around a bite of salad.

"So what do you think the next one is?" chimed Serenia

"That's what we'll find out" said Sora, before a holograph projection of Luneth's group appeared.

Serenia glanced over"Luneth?"

The Onion Knight grinned"Sorry we were busy, I thought we should check other worlds for Twilight Shards while you guys were on Zidane's homeworld. You familiar with Spira, right? Something really wierd is going on. Oh, and I had found a communication station on the Pride of Sasune."

"You're really resourceful, Luneth" grinned Tifa.

"Luneth, you may wait for Sora near Spira. I have urgent news" said Cosmos, appearing.

Lance blinked"Uh, is it proper to bow down before a goddess?"

"There is no need. Sora, Spira and Gaia may need your help. The Farplane in Tidus' original homeworld has gone out of control, and there is trouble in Cloud's homeworld as well, I'm afraid" replied the Goddess of Harmony.

"Where should we go next?" piped Serenia.

Cosmos replied"Cloud's world has a powerful force there, Spira should be your first destination. This quest is slowly becoming more difficult than your previous ones."

"Well, my dad is the most powerful Keyblade Master, right?" piped Serenia.

"Not really, I do my best though" interjected Sora.

Zidane squared his shoulders"Well, I had not seen everyone else in a while. Want me to come along?"

Serenia blinked"Uh, sure, but what about your wife?"

Garnet spoke around a bite of salad"What else? I'll be coming, I can't let Kuja get away with this."

"But your majesty, what about your kingdom?" protested Steiner.

"You and Beatrix can take care of things. I don't think I can accept a world without light and darkness" replied Dagger.

Zidane grinned"It is no trouble, Rusty. I'll take good care of her."

"I'm coming, too" piped Mia.

Lance nodded"Count me in."

Beatrix addressed them"Are you certain? We don't know for sure what we're up against. Mia, you and Lance are still young."

"Beatrix is right, Lance. You are the Crown Prince of Alexandria, that should in no way be ignored. Dagger, I'd say we'll join our friends on our own."

"Still, Mia and I are trained enough to us weapons when we need to. We fought together last night, remember?" persisted Lance.

Zidane shrugged"Guess we don't have much choice. Why not, Dagger?"

Garnet hesitated"I would not wish such an experience upon our child or Captain Steiner's. But I suppose we could keep an eye on the children at the same time. Beatrix, Steiner, do you object?"

"We shall comply" replied Beatrix, silently daring Steiner to protest.

Steiner opened his mouth for a second to protest, but then found struggled with himself for a moment"Very well, we shall leave Mia in your majesty's hands. Zidane, you better take good care of Mia and the queen!"

Zidane grinned"Heh, don't worry, will do."

Mia smiled as she glanced at Lance"Guess we have an adventure of our own."

"Yeah, kind of" shrugged Lance.

Cosmos looked on with a smile"I wish you good luck, Spira and Cloud's world may contain powerful foes at present."

Garnet nodded"We should probably go as soon as we're finished with breakfast."

"Yeah, good idea, mom" smiled Lance.

Tifa piped up"We haven't seen Tidus and Yuna in a long time, anyway."

"True" said Sora.

The group finished their breakfast before standing. Garnet, Zidane, Lance and Mia went over to Sora's group. The Alexandrian Queen addressed Beatrix"Take care of things while we're out."

"Yes, your majesty. Everyone, look after her" said the Alexandrian General.

Sora nodded"We will, you can count on us."

Cloud shrugged"Our Gummi Ship is going to be packed at this rate."

"It'll be fine" smiled Sora.

Zidane and Dagger led the way out of the banquet hall. Serenia addressed Lance"Have you ever been to Spira before?"

"No, but I have gone with my dad on treasure hunts before" replied the Alexandrian Prince.

Once Sora's group was out, they headed back to the Ragnarok II.

Arlene smirked as she approached Yoran and handed the shard over"This is what you wanted, right?"

"Yes, only a few left" replied the man.

"And what of Weiss and Kadaj? Those two may really be up to something" remarked Lumaria.

Yoran was silent for a moment before replying"Leave them to their devices, the heroes from the Realm of Light may deal with them eventually. The last three Twilight Shards will be ours, soon. The heroes do not know how to use their portions of the crystal. For the heck of it though, I will ask Caius to keep tabs on the situation in Midgar."

"You're really a cunning guy, Yoran" smirked Arlene.

"If you say so" he replied.

Sora's group returned to the Ragnarok II to find the others. Roxas and Xion greeted them.

"Sora, how did it go?" asked Ventus.

"Kuja somehow got the Twilight Shard from that world before I could. I heard that the gummi ship was frozen in time" replied the brunette hero.

Roxas shrugged"I was able to throw up a barrier when the Cloud of Darkness tried to cast her spell, it reduced the effectiveness of her spell, but still prevented us from coming down to help."

"Let's go meet up with Luneth at Spira" suggested Sora.

"Let's mosey ownward" nodded Cloud.

The group returned to the bridge. Sora went to the pilot's seat and addressed Cid who was at the navigation station"Looks like Spira is the next destination."

"All right, I'll set our course with the Warp-G and get us there as soon as I can" nodded the older man.

The group flew the Gummi ship past Alexandria towards another planet, this one had almost the same color-scheme as Zidane's homeworld.

"By the way Uncle Roxas, this is Lance and Mia" said Serenia, introducing two of their allies.

"Nice to meet you two" acknowledged the black-clad Keybearer.

Roxas examined the navagation screen"This should be Spira, right?"

Cid shrugged"Well, I programmed the coordinates into the Warp-G, this should be it."

Sora turned and spotted the Pride of Sasune"Luneth must have been waiting."

A projection appeared on the screen showing Ingus, the Sasune Knight spoke"Luneth and Refia have gone down to an island called 'Besaid.' Glad you could join us, Sora."

"Yeah, sorry if we're late" grinned Sora.

Ingus nodded"It is no trouble, the investigation hasn't truly begun, yet. Arc and I are guarding the Pride of Sasune while Luneth and Refia are down there, the scanner on the Pride of Sasune detected strange activity down there."

"All right, I will take Zidane, Serenia, Lance, Cloud and Tifa down to Spira with me" said Sora.

"Do what you gotta do" remarked Arc.

Zidane grinned"Well, let's go."

Sora and his selected team members teleported down. The group landed at a beach, south of Besaid Village itself. Serenia breathed"Its so pretty, and warm." The view of the ocean was pleasant.

"Its beautiful here" breathed Serenia.

"Yeah" breathed Lance.

"Let's go find a village" said Sora, heading up a nearby hill. The rest of the group followed.

The trek through the island was peaceful as they headed to the village. The group were headed down the hill just outside the village when they saw six more people conversing in front of It, Luneth and Refia were two of them.

"Hey, Luneth" greeted Zidane.

"Zidane, Sora, glad you could make it" grinned one of the others.

"Tidus, Yuna, good to see you again" said Sora, acknowledging another blond and a brunette standing with two younger blonds. One with blue eyes, and one with a mismatched eye color.

"Lightning made contact with me and Tidus on Destiny Island, said Cosmos is assembling her warriors again" spoke Yuna.

"So you know about the Twilight Crystal Shards?" asked Serenia.

Tidus smiled at the little red-head"Your kid, right Sora? These two munchkins Yuna and I brought with me are Astrid and Lester, they're twins. Though Astrid looks more like her mother with her green eye and blue eye."

Astrid blushed at her father's comment"Uh, nice to meet you."

"Same here" grinned Lester.

Tidus continued"We get the gist of what was going on, Yuna even decided to bring the kids along for the ride so that they can visit other worlds, too. Anyway, according to the people in Besaid Village, Pyreflies are acting oddly in the temple."

"Pyreflies?" inquired Serenia.

"They are kind of like fireflies" Astrid put in, a rod hung on her belt. Lester carried a pair of short swords.

"So we should go to the temple, then?" piped Refia.

Yuna nodded"Yes."

The group headed into the village, straight for Besaid Temple. The temple interior was some lavish with a rug layered down onto the floor and four statues guarding over.

"Wasn't Destiny Island always Tidus' world?" asked Serenia.

"It was probably a paradox or something, but this is the real homeworld where Yuna and me came from" explained Tidus.

They climbed a nearby set of stairs to the entrance to a small section of hallways beyond the door on the second floor. Yuna looked around"The Cloister of Trials... I seem to remember being here, actually."

"How can anyone have two different homeworlds?" wondered Serenia.

"The world is full of mysteries, who can say?" replied Yuna.

They crossed the hallways until the group came to a small door in a lower level of the temple. Tidus looked around"Huh, that's odd, I thought the villagers said something was weird."

Refia shook her head"Something is definitely up."

"That is correct" said a voice as Kadaj and Sepiroth both appeared.

Cloud was shocked"How did they split up?"

"The Twilight Crystal is more potent than any can realize. With its power, I am able to assume life of my on" grinned Kadaj.

"And you are all so troublesome" hissed a voice as a red-clad woman with black hair showed up"I am Rosso the Crimson, this world shall be your tomb."

"Dream on!" exclaimed Sora, readying his keyblade.

Rosso cackled"Do you really think to take on three of us at once?"

Kadaj addressed her"I owe them one since the clash at the Land of Departure. Wait until they get to the abyss below this hole, I will confront them, there."

"Ah, you intend to have the Twilight Shard stolen from under their noses? This will be amusing" grimaced the crimson-clad woman.

Kadaj nodded, turning to the nearby door"Follow me if you dare, Cloud."

Cloud shrugged"I can't help but suspect a trap."

"Good luck with that, you may not be able to get out of there, alive" Rosso and Sephiroth vanished.

"What could they be up to?" remarked Tidus.

Sora's group followed the Jenova Remnant through the door leading to a circular chamber with a hole nearby. Serenia walked close to it, warily"Hm, looks kind of deep. Where do you think it goes?"

"Only one way to find out" Zidane walked towards the hole and stepped into it, finding himself standing on a long, winding path leading down.

Sora squared his shoulders and followed, the rest of the group followed shortly after. They came to a long, underground road which took them into a strange place.

"Hm, I think I've been here before" mussed Yuna.

"How? Oh, on your on adventure before, right?" asked Zidane.

Yuna nodded"Yes, that's it. But just remembering feels weird. This place is the road which leads to a part of the Farplane where the living never go. It is supposed to be the final resting place of Spira's dead people."

"Cloud's and my homeworld has something like that: The Lifestream" supplied Tifa.

"So if this is where the dead people of Spira go, are we intruding here?" paled Serenia.

"Precisely" said a voice as a swarm of Pyreflies came out of nowhere.

Sora looked around"Who's there? Didn't Kadaj pass through here?"

The voice, a female replied"Yes, he is a shell of whom should not have been here in the first place. Those with dark hearts should not defile such sacred places as this, but your hearts are so pure."

Sora looked around for the source of the disembodied voice"Where are you?"

The Pyreflies began to gather to a spot in front of the group and began to take form. Tifa watched with awe"Is it trying to become human?"

The Pyreflies faded as they took shape of a young woman with long lavender hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a bluish armor over her light blue tunic and dark pants. Her eyes were a greenish color"I have wondered the realms of Darkness and Light since after the Keyblade War ended. My name was Questa."

"Questa? Never heard of you" remarked Cloud.

Questa nodded"I was a Keyblade Master, one who fought during the Keyblade War. In the days before everyone fought over the Great Light which shone upon the worlds when they were still one. My love, Yoran and I have long since been doomed to exist as Lingering Spirits."

"Yoran? You mean... Sanhille?" squeaked Serenia.

Questa grimly nodded"He was a good man, and a cunning warrior in the Keyblade War. I cannot recall everything, so I know not how I can help you stop the madness being caused by the Twilight Crystal's formidable power. That is your goal, is it not?"

"How do you know that? And why would you help us?" asked Sora.

Questa replied"Being dead and a Lingering Spirit has its advantages. As I am, all I could bring myself to do was watch for the past few thousand years. If you will permit it, I can accompany you on your quest and find out what caused Yoran to change. Spira was my home, which explains the pyreflies you just saw. Yoran was from Twilight Town."

"So you watched everything? That's amazing" whispered Serenia.

Questa started to stride forward deeper into the farplane, pretending not to hear Serenia"Whether or not you agree to let me join, foreign beings below linger where they should not."

"Then let's get rid of Kadaj" chimed Tidus.

"Thank you" whispered the lingering spirit.

Sora stood there for a moment"She sure sounds like she needs help. Questa, we'd be happy to have you along."

Questa nodded, and led the way deeper inside on foot. The group and their newest addition traveled deeper and farther into the Farplane, until they emerged into what looked like a vast garden.

"What is this place?" asked Serenia.

"The Farplane Abyss" whispered Yuna.

Questa stood still"The enemy lies ahead, I can sense their foul presence."

"So you came" Kadaj approached.

"This ends here, Kadaj" said Cloud.

Kadaj drew his blade"Wait until you see what I have with me."

Even as the Jenova Remnant spoke, fifteen Manikins resembling either Cloud, Tifa or Sephiroth appeared. Zidane drew his daggers"This never gets old, Manikins are nothing."

Kadaj grinned maliciously"Let us fight to the death this time."

"Be careful what you wish for, Omnislash!" Cloud unleashed a flurry of sword slashes which Kadaj dodged and countered with a stab.

Sora and the others intercepted the Manikins. Tifa flipped a Imaginary Brawler Manikin over her shoulder before blocking an oncoming attack from a Imaginary Soldier.

Sora leapt into the air and mowed down several Cloud Manikins with Rising Sun. A Sephiroth Manikin stabbed at Sora, who dodged and countered with a fire spell.

Cloud staggered back and lunged forward, slashing downward at Kadaj. The other man blocked and aimed a sweep kick. Cloud jumped over that and aimed a downward stab at Kadaj, who dodged and cast Flare.

"Cloud!" Yuna quickly healed him while Tidus butted into the duel with a blitzball to Kadaj's face.

Serenia cast blizzard and thunder spells at some of the Manikins, while Lance and Zidane protected her by engaging Manikins that got too close.

Kadaj reeled from the impact and lunged at Tidus, who dodged and countered with Spiral Slash. Kadaj staggered back while Cloud unleashed Bladebeam at the Jenova Remnant. Kadaj swiftly recovered and jumped over the beam, slashing Tidus in the side before turning once more on Cloud.

Yuna healed Tidus while Lester charged at the Manikin horde and slashed through several of them.

"Nice one, Lester" said Tidus, joining his son his striking down more manikins.

Cloud and Kadaj continued to lock blades against each other as Tifa, Serenia and Sora eliminated as many Manikins as they could. Though he was tiring, Cloud slashed upwards as Kadaj swung down at him and lunged forward with a cross slash. Kadaj collapsed onto his knee at the injury"You think you've won?"

"The Manikins are being mopped up, so I believe that's my line" said Cloud, puzzled at Kadaj's words.

Kadaj stood and swung one last time, hitting Cloud in the chest. While Yuna rushed to heal the blond Ex-Soldier, Tifa lunged at Kadaj with a flurry of punches and a sweep kick. As soon as he was healed, Cloud focused his inner energy into his sword, spun it once and stabbed it to the ground, summoning a series of meteors"Meteorain!"

As Kadaj was being pelted by Cloud's limit break, Rosso had stood by and watched with a sneer"Step into our trap, fools."

"Hm?" Questa turned towards the Heart of the Farplane while the others were holding off the Manikins.

"What's wrong?" asked Serenia.

Questa replied"I may have underestimated our foe."

Sora ran ahead, followed by Zidane, Tidus and Yuna. Up ahead, they found Kuja and the Cloud of Darkness. Kuja held a shard in his hand"You are a step too late. The curtain draws to a close on you."

"We'll see about that" said Tidus, charging at Kuja. The silver-haired man blasted him back with flare.

"All shall be engulfed in darkness" stated the Cloud of Darkness.

Yuna healed Tidus while Luneth cast Firaga at Kuja. The man dodged and warped away"I have no time to deal with you."

"How did he get the shard before we did?" frowned Refia.

"I don't know, but let's get the Cloud of Darkness" said Luneth, readying himself for a fight.

The Cloud of Darkness unleashed particle beam before lashing out with her snake-like tentacles.

Sora and the others dodged. Cloud charged forward, only to be blasted back by an aura ball. Luneth countered the wraith's attack with Comet. The Cloud of Darkness was flung back, only to counter with another Aura Ball.

"Didn't exactly want to fight a lady, but here goes. Meteo Twist!" Zidane unleashed one of his special attacks on the Cloud of Darkness, only for her to retaliate with a lash of one of its tentacles.

"Those snake things get on my nerves" sighed Serenia, casting Fira at the wraith, only to get hit by an Aura Ball for her trouble.

Sora lunged forward and slashed the Cloud of Darkness, who staggered back and countered with 0-Particle Beam.

Cloud lunged forward, slashing at the Cloud of Darkness with a flurry of blows"OMNISLASH!"

Luneth pitched in"Comet!"

Infuriated, the wounded Cloud of Darkness sent a blast of Particle Beams and Aura Balls at the group. Sora cast curaga on his allies before countering the Cloud of Darkness with Strike Raid. As the wraith staggered, Tifa pounded the living daylights out of the Cloud of Darkness with Final Heaven.

"Giving up?" Zidane addressed the Cloud of Darkness.

The Chaos Warrior barely stayed afloat as it faded"Don't think you've won."

"Let's get back to the others" shrugged Sora after a moment.

"Yeah" breathed Refia, who was healing her allies.

Sora's group returned to their allies at the Farplane Glen. Questa approached"You lost the Twilight Shard, didn't you?"

"Yeah, we're in big trouble since Yoran is in on the hunt for shards" replied Sora.

Questa shrugged as she led the way out"I would've liked to help stop Xehanort when he tried to recreate the keyblade war or defeat Mateus, but I could easily lose control of myself, so I didn't interfere. Its because I'm a lingering spirit."

"That's not necessarily a problem" smiled Yuna as they returned to Besaid Temple.

The minute the group exited into the village, Questa addressed them"I will go off on my own to try and find a way into the realm where Yoran is keeping his headquarters. If possible, we should try to parlay with him. Despite whatever he's doing, I know there's good left in him."

"Okay, we'll see you around. The rest of us are headed for Cloud's original homeworld" smiled Sora.

Questa nodded"Thanks, guys" and summoned forward a keyblade. Tossing it upwards, she turned it into a glider and donned a blue helmet.

"So how do you know Yoran?" inquired Serenia.

"That's kind of a long story. I'm afraid we don't have time. Farewell, for now" replied Questa as she got on her Keyblade Glider.

Sora nodded"You two."

Back at Yoran's headquarters, Caius addressed Kuja"You seem to be getting reckless, not that it is any of my concern."

"Too right, you know. Kadaj and the Cloud of Darkness may have been defeated, but we certainly have enough allies to carry out Yoran's little scheme" smirked the silver-haired genome.

"Do what you may, I am currently watching over events in Midgar. Weiss is up to something" speculated Caius.

Kuja grinned"Truly? This will be most amusing."

"Indeed" Sephiroth approached.

"So why were you with Rosso? I imagined you wouldn't want anything to do with any of Weiss's ilk" spoke Kuja.

Sephiroth frowned"I am merely messing with them, I will deal with the Crimson soon enough. Just keep Kefka in line, Kuja."

Finished another chapter, I hope I made sense. If this is getting too dark, please let me know and I'll tone it down.

Please review if you'd like.