"So why are we here again?" Xion asked, appearing to Sora's left, walking along behind him, or at least making the motion of walking. Roxas was to Sora's right but was simply floating behind Sora with his arms crossed. They were trekking through a jungle world and had been for a few minutes now.

"Because we're lost." Roxas mumbled.

"No we're not." Sora argued.

"You can't lie to us, Sora. We're a part of you, ya know." Roxas argued.

"Roxas, ease off. We sensed something here didn't we?" Xion asked.

"Yeah. It feels familiar, like someone I know was here recently." Sora said as they stepped out onto a wide open veldt of tall grass.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn that Riku's been here." Roxas commented.

"But he wasn't though." Xion added.

"But I can feel that he was here. I can feel it in my gut." Sora replied.

"Your gut's also telling you to eat some lunch." Xion mumbled with a smirk.

"But you're right. I feel as if he was here…yet not here at the same time." Roxas added.

"Is there a way to find out and prove it?" Xion asked as Sora's eyes lit up.

"There is." He replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his lucky charm, plopping down into the grass and entering a D-Link.

Back in Twilight Town…

Riku was stood leaning against the outside wall of Axel's home, deep in thought, when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"Sora?" Riku asked as he pulled his lucky charm from his pocket. Soon he found himself in the infinite white space of the D-Link. He turned and saw a grainy looking Sora with an equally grainy Roxas and Xion standing on either side of him.

"Riku!" Sora called, his voice mildly distorted.

"Sora? What are these two doing here?" Riku asked, surprised to see Roxas and Xion.

"Well hello to you too, Riku." Xion said with a scowl.

"I honestly didn't think he'd be able to see us." Roxas mumbled.

"Guys, come on. Cut it out. We don't have much time." Sora said to the two who fell silent. He then turned towards Riku.

"Riku have you been to the Forgotten Worlds lately?" Sora asked, earning a confused look from Riku.

"What? How could I've been there? I've been here the whole time." Riku said as Sora scratched his head in confusion.

"Really? Because I could've sworn I felt traces of your magic around here. You and Terra are the only ones who can use Darkness Magic right? I'd recognize the traces of it coming from you anywhere." Sora asked as Riku gave a nod.

"Yeah but we've both been here the whole time. I can't be in two places at once, Sora." Riku said as Sora gave a nod.

"Okay, just thought I'd-…" Sora said before feeling a strange tingling sensation on his left hand. He looked and saw a line of text appear on his palm in black and red lettering…

"3rd Sister in Lantern Kingdom! Possible Nixe sighting! Unconfirmed! Trying to verify! – Reaper 3"

"Sora?" Riku asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I just got a lead on a friend of mine. I gotta go!" Sora replied as he, Roxas, and Xion suddenly started disappearing.

"Wait! Sora! I need to tell you-…d'oh forget it. I'll catch him later." Riku mumbled as the D-Link ended.

Back in the Forgotten Worlds

Sora had just disconnected the D-Link and was rushing through the jungle. He rounded a tree when he crashed into a large lumbering lump of grey fur.

"Whoa there, settle down little britches." Baloo said to Sora who stepped back.

"Uh…sorry about that. I'm kind of in a hurry." Sora said as Baloo shook his head in pity.

"Hurry for what, kid? There ain't nothin' worth waitin' for." Baloo said, not noticing a black tail dangling from an overhead branch.

"Would you stop harassing the man-cub already Baloo?" Bagheera asked as he rose from his relaxed posture on the limb overhead.

"Oh come on Baggy, get with the spirit." Baloo argued.

"Um, who are you?" Sora asked as Bagheera leapt down to the ground, sniffing Sora curiously for a moment.

"Another man-cub. Why are there so many man-cubs passing through here lately?" Bagheera asked curiously.

"Dunno but that man-cub with the wild fur on her head really knows her stuff." Baloo said as Sora looked up at the sloth bear.

"Wild fur? A her? Wait, was her name Nixe?!" Sora asked as Baloo and Bagheera both looked towards him.

"Yeah that's her. Had a fancy light show. Met up with another man-cub with white fur and a sharp stick." Baloo said as Sora scratched his head.

"White fur…you mean white hair?" Sora asked.

"I believe that is the correct man-cub expression." Bagheera replied as he sniffed Sora over again.

"Did he have a name?" Sora asked.

"He did. He called himself-…" Bagheera said but suddenly froze, spinning around in alarm towards the veldt.

"Called him what?" Sora asked, but Bagheera raised a paw, motioning to get down. Sora and Baloo both knelt down lower to the ground, looking for the cause of Bagheera's concern.

"I don't think we're alone." Bagheera whispered.

"Bravo Bagheera, your senses do not disappoint." A deep male voice said as a large mass of orange fur with black stripes rose from within the veldt.

"Shere Khan." Bagheera gasped as the large Bengal Tiger emerged from the tall grass.

"Indeed, and I thank you for detaining my victim." Shere Khan said as Sora blinked in surprise.

"You set me up?!" Sora asked in alarm.

"Oh come on, kid! We don't do that!" Baloo argued.

"Shere Khan is the strongest animal in the jungle and he hates man. We'd never treat a man-cub like that. Run while you still can." Bagheera said but Shere Khan smiled towards Sora.

"Why should I run?" Sora asked. Shere Khan seemed surprised by the question but delighted all the same.

"Why should you run? Could it be possible you don't know who I am?" Shere Khan said.

"Shere Khan. What of it?" Sora asked, realizing the danger he was in but wasn't the slightest bit afraid.

"Precisely. Then you should also know that everyone runs from Shere Khan." The tiger said, examining his claws.

"You don't scare me. I've known tigers before. I'm not going to run from you." Sora said, Bagheera and Baloo both glaring at him in stunned surprise.

"Tigger doesn't count!" Roxas yelled in his ear. Khan seemed delighted by Sora's bravado.

"Ah. You have spirit for one so small. And such spirit is deserving of a sporting chance. Now, I'm going to close my eyes and count to ten. It makes the chase more interesting…for me." Khan said, turning away as Sora crossed his arms over his chest. He started to count from one but Sora didn't move, summoning his Keyblade when Khan reached four. Khan was watching from the corner of his eyes.

"You're trying my patience." Khan said in annoyance towards Sora. Sora merely activated his armor.

"I'm not running." Sora replied as Khan narrowed his gaze towards him. (Battle Music Cue: Unforgettable – BBS)

"5-6-7-8-9-10!" Khan counted quickly before he suddenly leapt at Sora who rolled beneath the tiger but before he could turn fully around to face Khan, he saw the tiger pounce at him again. Sora quickly blocked Khan's mouth with his Keyblade, forcing the tiger to bite down on the blade, giving Sora the chance to knock him away slightly, blasting him with an Aeroga, flinging the tiger away but Khan landed on all fours, as any cat would.

"You are an amusing man-cub. But I am losing my patience." Khan said as he started to approach Sora. Sora quickly raised his Keyblade defensively, swinging at the tiger in an attempt to ward him off. Suddenly Khan pounced at him with a roar of fury only to be suddenly be held back by a certain sloth bear.

"Run kid! Run!" Baloo yelled, holding Khan by the tail.

"No way!" Sora yelled back, striking Khan across the face, earning a howl of anger from the tiger.

"I'll kill you for that!" Khan yelled angrily, a strange yellow glow appearing in his left eye. Sora blinked in alarm as black tendrils of dark energy started rising from Khan's back. Sora immediately knew what was happening, having seen it before numerous times in other worlds. Khan let out a loud roar of anger, causing several cat-like Heartless to appear surrounding Sora. They looked like Shadow-Heartless but moved around on all fours and had cat-like bodies and tails. They were only slightly smaller than Khan.

"Whoa! What are these things?!" Baloo asked as Khan started trying to turn towards him, attempting to attack the bear.

"Baloo! Let go!" Sora yelled.

"Nuh-uh! There's teeth on the other end!" Baloo yelled back, holding on to Khan's tail for dear life. Sora quickly spun around, cutting through one of the Heartless as it pounced at him, striking another with a bolt of Thundaga, and beginning to lay waste to the heartless, striking them down in piles while Khan continued to be distracted by Baloo. Finally Sora had built up enough energy to unleash the Thunder Bolt Command Style. He finished off the Heartless and immediately started chasing after Baloo and Khan as they made their way into a small cluster of dead trees. Sora attempted to land a Thundaga on Khan but missed. Sora started trying to rain Thundaga bolts down onto Khan but kept missing until one bolt struck one of the trees, causing it to light on fire. Khan almost instantly recoiled the minute he saw the fire, a look of fear clear on his face. Sora blinked in surprise. He'd seen Khan's reaction.

"Fire, huh?" Sora asked as Khan managed to shake loose of Baloo and leap at Sora who quickly ignited a Firaga Shield, the tiger immediately sliding to a halt in fear. (A/N: Just a reminder, Firaga Shield is what I refer to as the spinning fireballs that acted as KH2's version of the fire spells. Basic Fire spells are the basic fireballs).

"Fire?!" He asked in alarm.

"Yeah! Leave my friends alone or I'll make more!" Sora demanded, constantly igniting a Firaga shield, causing the Tiger to back away. The yellow glow in his eye had vanished but suddenly it reappeared and his anger swelled. Khan suddenly pounced at Sora who quickly leapt to one side, causing Khan to land near the burning tree and quickly back away in fear. With Khan distracted, Sora quickly picked up a burning branch and tied it to the tiger's tail.

"Hey Khan! Look behind you!" Sora yelled, the tiger spinning around and seeing the fire. The yellow glow in his eye completely vanished as Khan fled screaming into the distance, the burning branch following him every step of the way. (End Battle Music) As Sora watched Khan flee, he heard a clapping sound nearby and turned around to see a tall figure in white clothes with a hood over its head, a lone yellow eye piercing the darkness of the hood.

"Well done little Keyblade boy. You're more powerful than I thought. But then again, Shere Khan's anger was not enough to overcome his fear of fire." The figure said with a woman's voice.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, his helmet disappearing. The woman merely chuckled in amusement.

"Who am I? Why my dear boy, I should apologize for not introducing myself. You, a stranger to these worlds, and we haven't been properly introduced. I am First, Eldest Sister of the Sisterhood of Seven, the Lady of Wrath." The woman introduced, her face still hidden beneath the hood.

"You're First? Then you're the one behind Namine's kidnapping! Where is she?!" Sora asked but First merely wagged a finger towards him.

"Nah-ah-ah. 'Namine' as you call her is no longer interested in returning to you. She's with her family now. But if you insist on trying to 'rescue' her from her newfound freedom, you'll only wind up wasting your time." First said before disappearing in a Corridor of Darkness. Sora scowled at where she had been standing as Baloo and Bagheera approached from either side of him.

"Man does she have a bad smell to her." Baloo commented.

"You defeated Shere Khan. No man-cub has ever been able to claim that feat for themselves." Bagheera said as Sora dismissed his Keyblade and armor.

"Shere Khan was being manipulated by her. I don't know how but I know she was." Sora said before turning towards the two.

"Did she do something to Nixe?" Sora asked but Bagheera shook his head.

"No but Baloo and I saw her and a white furred man-cub fighting a smaller person in white and a strange black beast the likes of which we've never seen before." Bagheera explained.

"The man-cub with the white fur-I-mean-hair…what was his name?" Sora asked.

"His name was Riku." Bagheera replied, surprising Sora.

"Riku? Are you sure?!" Sora asked as Bagheera nodded.

"Yep that's the kid's name." Baloo replied. Sora scratched his head in frustration.

"Alright, thanks. I should probably leave before Shere Khan comes back." Sora said as Bagheera and Baloo gave a nod. The burning tree had long since burnt itself out.

"Be safe out there man-cub." Bagheera said as Baloo gave a nod.

"Yeah, hurry back little britches. And tell Nixe that ol' Baloo says hey." Baloo said as Sora gave a nod with a smile before turning, activating his armor, running towards the veldt, summoning his Keyblade Glider and taking off into the sky.

Meanwhile in the Palace of Eternity…

First sat scowling in her chambers, quietly fuming at Shere Khan's defeat. As she sat scowling, she was visited by Second.

"Sister, you seem troubled." Second said as First glared at her.

"Shere Khan has been defeated. We will have to try and find the world's Keyhole on our own." First said before noticing Second had a small letter in her hand. She quietly snatched the letter and read it, scowling at its contents.

"So the brat from Nomanisan has managed to draw out his hero." First commented, incinerating the letter with black flames in her hand.

"He has, yes. However the Omnidroid failed to stop Mr. Incredible. It would seem that the boy from the other worlds managed to help him defeat the machine." Second replied as First arched a curious eyebrow.

"Is that so? Interesting." First said, thinking for a moment before a dark smile appeared on her face.

"Seven has returned from Steadfast Stadium, correct? With the abhorrent child?" she asked.

"She has." Second replied as First rose to her feet.

"Send a message to Syndrome. Tell him to build the next iteration of the machine. We will take care of the hero for him." First instructed.

"And how will we do that? Is Seven ready for such a task?" Second asked curiously.

"Not quite but that is why we will send the abhorrent one along with her once more. We'll consider it as…insurance." First said as Second smiled.

"It will be done, Sister." Second replied before turning to leave. First merely smiled as Second left the room. Once the doors were shut, her scowl returned. There was something about Sora which made her feel ill at ease.

"Namine…that's what he calls her." She mumbled with a dark tone.

"I'm going to need to watch him more carefully." She muttered as Fourth hurried in with a coy smile.

"Sister, you're not going to believe what Third just hooked in Lantern Kingdom." Fourth said as First rolled her lone visible eye.

"I'm in no mood for games, Fourth. What is it?" First said as Fourth smiled darkly.

"She's got the girl." Fourth said, First's gaze shifting sharply towards her.

"Girl?" she asked as Fourth nodded.

"The girl." Fourth replied as First started to chuckle with a dark smile.

"Ah this is welcome news indeed. Lose one pawn…" she said as she rose to her feet, looking herself in the mirror…

"…and gain one heart."

End Chapter 30

I'm sure all of you have heard by now that on February 27th 2015, Leonard Nimoy, the actor famous for portraying Mr. Spock of the Star Trek franchise and for voicing Master Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, passed away at the age of 83.

I'd like to take the opportunity and dedicate this chapter to his memory.