I apologize for the hiatus. I was working on trying to get three chapters written before I posted the next one. I may have to wait a little bit while I work with Flautist4ever on the story for her characters. At any rate, please enjoy.

I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, and/or Disney.

Jason and Aurora are mine.

Chapter 2

JASON'S POV

SAARIN 12, 92 KA…

Radiant Garden…

I let out a sigh as we finally landed back in Radiant Garden. It was a surprise to see the city looking so good. Were the repairs now complete? It sure seemed that way.

"Feels good to be back, doesn't it?" A familiar voice asked. Turning, I smiled at my friend and mentor Scrooge out when he got blasted by the Tesseract he had been sent to Radiant Garden and had been able to call the Gummi back to him. Then when I made myself known on Twilight Town he wasted no time coming to get me.

With a nod, I said, "You said everyone was trying to figure out what to do, right?"

"Aye. Last I checked they were trying to figure out a plan to combat Madsane and his Neo-Thirteen. With ye there might be hope. Now, don't you start moping about just because ye lost yer Keyblade. We'll set this whole thing right."

My conscience then spoke up. "Scrooge is right. Everything will work out for the better. You just need to have faith."

With an understanding nod the three of us made our way through to the castle. I noticed more gardens had been planted, and there were fountains shooting out water works that children were playing in. I was glad they could have fun despite all the chaos that was going on.

As we approached the main gates the guards prepared to block our way when they did a double take. "Scrooge? You were successful?"

"Of course I was successful, Dilan. I'm Scrooge McDuck." My mentor smiled as we were allowed past. We managed to make our way through the castle into a large chamber that could've served as a barracks. There we found everyone deep in discussion about the crisis at hand.

It was Riku who first noticed our presence. "Scrooge. You did it."

"Jiminy's here too… wait a moment!" I couldn't believe who I was seeing in the crowd. I knew her anywhere, green shirt shirt with purple lines and purple and black pants. "Aurora?"

Brushing some highlighted strands of purple hair out of her face my rival looked at me. "Look what the trash dragged in."

"What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get out of here. These people are saying because I have some strange weapon that I can help fight back against these monsters and Doctor Madsane."

"Weapon? Wait. You don't mean-"

With that she held out her hand and in a flash a Keyblade appeared in her grip. It was a relatively simple design, with a guard shaped like a pair of folding bat wings around the hilt. The blade itself was beige while the teeth were shaped like a green snarling dragon's head. That brought back memories of the Mystic Library. "It's different from what you tried to kill me with, but I get that it's the same type of weapon."

"Aurora, I-"

"Save it." She said as she pointed her weapon at me. "I think I'm owed some payback for when you almost killed me."

Before she could take a step Riku got between us and used his Keyblade to block hers. "Enough. No one is taking revenge on anyone. The enemy is Madsane and we need to focus on stopping him."

"Riku is right." Merlin agreed as he stroked his long white beard. "While Clair is still missing I believe it would be in our best interest for Jason to train Aurora in how to use her-"

"No." I said. "I cannot teach her."

"Why not?" My rival frowned at me.

"I just can't."

"What? Don't want me cramping your style?"

"No."

"Oh, I know you, Jason Duncan Norman. You can't handle it when someone can do something that you can, so you throw a fit. Well, guess wha-"

"I can't use mine anymore!" I finally blurted out, earning gasps from several people in the room. "Because of what happened that night… my actions… my Keyblade left me. I've tried to call it forth, but no matter what it doesn't respond to me. I'm not worthy of it now."

There was silence for several minutes while everyone processed my words. I could tell I had thrown an unexpected problem into their midst. Not wanting to be burdened with pity I turned to leave. "Jason? What are you doing?" I heard the Cetra ask.

"Leaving. I can't help you right now."

"Running away isn't going to solve the problem. If you want to help, then you need to stand with us even when it's hard for you." The silver-haired Keyblade master told me.

"Riku is right, Jason." Jiminy said. "It's tempting to take the easy path, but the better rewards come from pushing through the hard trail."

Reluctantly I ended up staying even though I didn't give much input during our debates. I did join in when I learned Mortem had been there to warn about Madsane, but had refused to help. Why wasn't I surprised? I did agree with what he had said that the mad scientist had to be stopped.

During our discussions they also brought Aurora up to speed on the workings of the universe. Riku and Sora explained that the weapon my rival now carried was a Keyblade, a weapon of great power that could either hinder the darkness or let it run rampant. Her eyes went wide when she was told we existed in a multiverse, that every plane of existence used to be one until they were divided eons ago as a result of the Keyblade War.

I listened while Terra, Aqua, and Ven explained the Keyblade War as an old conflict between bearers who chose light or darkness, and when the ensuing battle had brought about doomsday. Kairi then explained that seven lights survived the resulting darkness, and with their power brought existence back before dividing their world into countless parallel ones to prevent such a disaster from occuring again.

Aurora leaned back in her seat while she mused over what we told her. "This sounds like the convoluted plot of a video game."

"I know the feeling, but it's all real." I said.

"I know. I faced the Heartless on Harthyn."

That took me by surprise. "Heartless? On Harthyn?"

Aurora then began to explain what happened to her. Apparently after I tried to kill her she fled to the MacBays when they were attacked. During the conflict a Keyblade came to her, but it wasn't enough. My eyes widened as I heard about the carnage and the chaos that erupted in our world after that. Must've been after I had been banished via the Tesseract. "Then, it was like Harthyn had been shattered and I was attacked by one of those things. I was able to defeat it, but…"

"We noticed a star go out not long before we found you." Merlin said as he looked down. "Jason. Aurora. I'm afraid the Heartless have consumed your world."

I swear my blood froze, and did time freeze? "Consumed? You mean…?"

"I'm sorry. I know what you're going through." Sora said. "The same thing happened to my friends and I years ago, but we were able to reverse it."

I wanted to snap at him, tell him he had no idea what I was going through. I clenched my fists while I tried to keep my emotions in check. Losing my temper was not going to fix our problems. "... It doesn't matter now. We need to focus on stopping Madsane."

"Maybe, but it's not what you want." Aurora frowned. "Right now you want nothing more than to attack someone, to hurt them in an effort to ease the pain you're feeling. I know you too well."

"That's not who I am anymore!"

"I don't believe you."

"Aurora!" Aqua snapped. "That's not helping the situation."

"Right now you're the only one who has the least experience, Aurora Kara. If you want people to teach you, to train you to use that thing, then you need to stop acting so high and mighty and accept-"

"I don't need anyone's help, especially yours. And didn't you just say you can't use one of these things anymore? Seems like you're the one who needs help, and I'm not sure I'm inclined to help you. All you've done is hurt everyone you've come in contact with. Maybe your Keyblade left you because it realized you were a waste of time and genetics. Your parents made a mistake when they paid for you to be created."

That did it. If I stayed any longer I was going to lose it, and I'd only prove her right. Still some words escaped my lips. "This is bigger than us, Aurora! There are countless people who are in danger, and you have the power to do something. Yet all you care about is yourself and proving yourself right. Maybe your Keyblade made a mistake in choosing you!"

With that, I turned and stormed out of the meeting. As I did Aurora got the last word. "At least I didn't forget who to look out for. Me. That way no one can hurt me unlike you. You know why? Because you are a loser!"

As I left the castle and headed into the streets, I could feel my anger inside me. That girl always manages to get under my skin, but just blowing off countless worlds because she doesn't want to help? There were times when I wish she had been taken out with the rest of her country, and saved us all the grief.

And what she said reminded me of… the traitors. Steven. Alan. Noah. The people I thought had been my friends only for them to turn their backs on me. All because I lost some fights to her and that Axel, and they decided I was weak and not worthy of their association. Taking in a breath I reflected on my past experiences. What was really different about me now?

Had I even changed at all from who I used to be?

As I exited the city walls I found myself staring out over a canyon with blue and purple rocks. It would've been breathtaking if Aurora's words hadn't cut me so deeply. Heading over to the mouth I let out a cry as I punched the stone. That made my hand hurt, but I didn't care. I just punched it again and again to try and force my pain and anger out of my system.

"What are you doing?" Jiminy asked from my shoulder. "I've been trying to talk to you for ages and you didn't say a word."

I had managed to get several punches in, and my blood was beginning to cool so I felt okay talking. "I'm just trying to vent my anger without getting into a needless fight. If I had stayed any longer that's what would've happened."

"You would've hit her?"

"... In the past yes." I could tell I had just said something I shouldn't have because my conscience went pale. "Jiminy, I know I haven't been a good person, and there's still so much I don't understand about right and wrong. You've done a great job teaching me, but right now I'm wondering if I'm any different from when I first came to Radiant Garden."

"You are. You've grown so much from when I first met you. What would the old you have done in that situation?"

"I would've gotten into a fight with her."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to give her satisfaction by proving her right. That's probably a selfish reason, isn't it?"

"It's using your head." The conscience explained. "You realized that you weren't going to last in that situation so you got out of there. You didn't let yourself give in to your temptations. I see that as tremendous growth." That made me smile for a moment before he asked, "Why was it you were getting upset at Aurora?"

"She was acting like she was right, and the entire universe needed to bow to her ideas." I felt my anger flaring up, so I took a couple of deep breaths before I answered again. "I guess… I saw the old me in her words. Only thinking about herself, and ignoring the bigger picture. When I did that I almost ended up dead. I guess… I'm scared she'll end up that way, and I can't do anything to help her."

"I wouldn't say that." A new voice said. Turning, I saw the familiar face of Tifa Lockhart not far from where I was venting my anger. Still dressed in the same black outfit I saw her in before, she walked up to me and took a seat on a boulder. "That wall given way yet?"

"What do you want?" I remembered how she refused to teach me when I asked her way back when. Seems like eons ago.

"Just wanted to check on you. Heard you left the castle in a foul mood."

"You heard right. Just got a reminder of…" I trailed off because I didn't know how to phrase it. Tifa was cool, but I only spoke with her that one time. So yeah.

She managed to find the words though. "A shameful past." As I gave a nod to her words I was surprised to see her hand me a familiar blue treat. "Sea salt ice cream always makes things better."

Accepting the snack from her I began to eat while she asked me more questions. Jiminy helped me explain what was going on regarding Aurora and I. I told her about how we had been fighting since we were kids, and how her words were reminding me of my own actions. She just sat there and listened while eating her ice cream.

When I finished she looked at the sky like she was thinking of something. "Sounds like you two have quite the history together, but neither of you can see the good in each other."

"There's a lot of bad blood between us." I admitted. "Right now I don't see how I can ever make that part of my past right."

"Maybe I have an idea how." She said as she got up. "Come with me."

I ended up following Tifa through a great deal of the city, passing through sections I hadn't really gone through before. We slipped through alleys and leapt over fences before we got to the suburbs. Once there, Tifa had us hide behind a corner while she motioned for me to take a look.

As I peeked around the corner I found myself shocked at what I saw. Down in an old lady's garden was Aurora, pulling out the weeds and making the humble little patch seem beautiful. "I never saw her do something like that for anyone. Maybe I did, but I don't remember."

"Maybe because you weren't looking for it." Tifa said as we moved away from the area. "I think she has a good heart but doesn't know how to show it."

"Well, Morugans like her weren't really treated well after the war."

"That probably explains it." She then looked at me and I thought she would want an explanation. "Do you truly want to help her avoid the mistakes you made when you were starting out? Will you fight with every fiber of your being to shed the mistakes of your past and become someone better?"

Looking at her, I said, "That's what I was trying to do this whole time. And if I haven't done it yet then I'll keep fighting until I get there."

That brought a smile to her face. "Then we'd better find Scrooge. We need to let him know we'll be traveling with him."

"We? You're coming?"

"Of course. How else will I be able to teach you to fight?"

"Wait. What?"

She then looked at me with a smile. "Congratulations. As of right now you are my student."

Later that day I was sitting in the Gummi ship waiting for us to take off. Scrooge had heartily agreed to pilot the ship again and Tifa accepted to pay the charges of our expedition. With Jiminy sitting on my shoulder it almost felt like old times again.

Except Clair wasn't here. Cuz, I hope you're okay wherever you are. I'm sorry about what happened, but I'll learn to fight without my Keyblade and then I'll come and find you.

"What are you doing here?" Turning in my seat my jaw dropped as I saw Aurora had come aboard. "Tifa said this was where I needed to come to travel to other worlds with her."

"Wait. Tifa said that? But…"

"Why does that shock you? I am her student after all."

That made me fall out of my seat. "What? But Tifa agreed to make me her student."

"What?!" With that she picked up her stuff and turned to leave only to be blocked by our teacher. "Out of my way."

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked.

Glaring at her, Aurora answered, "I'm not going to be training alongside him. I don't want to share a universe with that jerk! Now get out of my way."

Tifa moved to clear the path for her, but kept a smile on her face. "Okay. I just thought you'd relish the opportunity to show your rival up in training. What better way to prove you're the better warrior than to out-train him? But if you don't want the chance to make him feel bad, then feel free to-"

Before she could finish Aurora did a u-turn and moved to a seat. "I'm only staying to humiliate you." She said as she turned away from me.

We sat in silence until my friend took the controls. "Scrooge McDuck to launch control. We are ready for liftoff." He said into the radio.

"Launch control to Scrooge McDuck. You are clear for takeoff." A voice said over the speakers. With that the window began counting down. I braced myself until the numbers reached zero, and then with a blast we left Radiant Garden behind. I smiled upon seeing the familiar sight of the Starocean, or the Lanes Between. Still haven't been able to figure out the proper name for this in-between realm.

I heard Aurora give a small gasp. "What is this?"

"This is an in-between place." I explained. "The space between the world-"

"I wasn't asking you."

Two days later…

I forgot how long traveling could take to get to the other worlds. Must've been due to the use of the Tesseract. No matter. We got here and that's what was important. What was impressive was that Aurora and I didn't tear each other apart, though we had come close to it when we had to blast that squadron of Heartless on our way here.

"What happened to our clothes?" Aurora asked as she looked over herself. I noticed that now she was wearing a light blue martial arts shirt with white lines, and black pants that matched her. Instead of boots now she had knee-high socks and black shoes.

Looking down at myself, I saw I was also in similar attire, except my shirt was dark blue with red lines, and my pants were a lighter shade. "Guess you got the spell too."

"Wait. You mean when Merlin waved his stick over me?"

"Yep. He says it's to help us blend in so we don't attract unwanted attention."

"B-b-but… this is like ancient Morugan wear."

I had to agree with her there. Our clothes did seem reminiscent of old pictures I had seen of Morugan culture long before the kaiju awakened. Was this a world that was similar to what that country used to be? If Madsane found out about this place I was certain it would not last long.

"Maybe keep it a little down." Tifa said as she walked up to us. "Just in case anyone could be listening."

Looking around, I saw we were in a vast field that seemed to spread as far as the eye could see. "There's no one else here."

"Wait. Why didn't you and Scrooge change appearances?" Aurora asked.

With a smile, the old duck answered, "Oh, that's easy lass. We didn't get the enchantment. Don't need it."

"Thanks a lot."

"Hey guys!" A new voice called out. Turning, I saw the familiar figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy running towards us from what seemed to be a large camp. Wait. How did they get here before us? "Glad you could make it. Welcome to the Land of Dragons."

"The Land of Dragons?" My rival looked around. "That's what this place is called?"

"You get used to it." I told her.

"I didn't ask you."

"Come on. Shang's waiting for you." With that the trio led us into the camp they came from. I noticed a golden flag flying that had a red serpentine creature embroidered on it. Was that the sigil of this world? Why were dragons such a big deal to these people? The last one I saw wasn't very friendly.

Our predecessors stopped when we got close to a man in armor with a red cape flowing behind him. What surprised me was this man looked like he was from Moruga, and as a result kind of confirmed my suspicions from before. "These are the warriors you spoke of?"

"Yep. They were chosen by the Keyblade just like Sora." Goofy smiled as he gestured to us.

My rival then had to ruin it. "I have the Keyblade. Jason's ditched him."

"What?" The captain didn't seem happy about that. "Why did you bring them here?"

"Remember what we told you about a new threat that's rebuilding the Organization?" The spikey-haired hero asked. "Their home was the first to be destroyed. If they're not ready more people will be hurt like before."

Donald then added in, "The Emperor already agreed to let them train here. And we'll be helping out too."

This guy, Shang, thought about it as he looked over us. "They're rough. I'd be reluctant to train them as soldiers. But since the Emperor has decreed this to be a secret mission, and they have Keyblades like you Sora I will find honor in teaching them."

I raised an eyebrow at that. Honor? What was that? Turning to Tifa, I prepared to ask what about her promise to train us when she held a hand up to motion for me to be quiet. Guess I'll have to ask her later.

"Very well." Shang said as he looked at the two of us. "You two will assemble here swiftly each and every morning. As of this moment you will be trained as if you were joining the Emperor's army."

"Sounds like Jason made his goal after all. Joining a military force." Aurora said out loud.

"Not now." I frowned at her.

"What's the matter? Afraid you'll fall out of favor?"

"That's enough." The captain glared at her. "You may be a woman but here you will be treated like any other soldier. You will train together, you will work together, and you will triumph or fall together. I promise that before you leave I will make a warrior out of you."

I did try reading this chapter out loud to myself to see how it sounded, and it's amazing how different something reads when you read it out loud to yourself. I may do that more often in the future because it helped me a lot here.

I know Aurora seems really mean but that's because she wasn't treated nicely growing up. All her life she was treated as inferior because she's Morugan. It tends to make one bitter. Part of the reason for this story is to try and help soften her heart, heal the pain that she's too used to by now.

Flautist4ever and I were talking about having her dress in a green sweater and giving her purple hair, but I was still seeing artwork of her with black hair and a blue sweater so I decided to write her as such here. Plus I didn't want to make Flautist4ever redo the cover image. Be sure to thank her for it as it was an entry for Musical May.

I hope this chapter was worth the wait for you. I'm sorry to make you wait again, but I want to help get the story involving Braxton and co. ready. Hopefully you'll enjoy that one as well. I will say it will be published as one of Flautist4ever's stories since those are her characters. Be sure to keep an eye out.

Also, I decided to make Tifa a new mentor for Jason because I think her fighting style would go well with Jason's character. I did play the remake of Final Fantasy VII to try and get a better understanding of her character. There were some screenshots that explained some moves of hers that could help expand the roster of moves beyond Somersault and Final Heaven. I just need to look them up. Overall, I can see her acting as the older sister for these two.

Until next time, stay safe and awesome.

Edit 5/15/2020: Received a new cover based on a new design for Aurora, so description was updated.