On Today's Episode: Nick wakes up from the mother of all naps in an unfamiliar seaside city. As he explores Alola Town in search of his friends, he unwittingly realizes that, for keyblade wielders like him, the adventure is never truly over. As Nick reunites with his friends, they learn of a new evil that is approaching the worlds, that of the Nobodies and their leaders, Organization XIII. What could the Organization possibly want with the power of Kingdom Hearts?
Episode 2: The Adventure Begins Anew
"Nick? Can you hear me? You have to wake up."
"All right, all right, if you wanted me to wake up that badly..." Nick groaned as he picked himself up, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes...
...only to realize that this wasn't his bedroom.
He was apparently in some kind of hospital room, the equipment around him all hooked up to a series of very high-tech computers dotted around the room.
Now appropriately confused, Nick checked his body, making sure nothing was out of place. Nope, everything seemed to be in order, though his clothes seemed a little too small for him now. They still fit just fine, though, just a good bit tighter.
Had he had a growth spurt since his last sleep?
And... why couldn't he remember what had happened in the last... however long it had been since he'd fallen asleep?
"What, was I napping or in a coma?" Nick quipped as he continued to look around the hospital room for anything that would seem familiar.
"You could say that."
Nick glanced over to the doorway as someone walked into the room. She appeared to be about his age, with green eyes and platinum-blonde hair tied into a ponytail with a braid, and she was wearing a white sailor-like shirt with a blue ribbon and a very short white miniskirt with a light blue line, and a pink backpack with a white ribbon and white penny loafers with white ankle socks.
"Good morning," the girl giggled. "My name's Lillie."
"Um, hello there, Lillie," Nick responded. "Are you... my 'nurse', or something?"
"I guess you could call me that," Lillie admitted. She could tell by his eyes that Nick was already confused enough as it was, so she decided to keep the 'big twist' to herself for now. There'd be a time to tell him. "In case you're wondering, Nick, you've been here in the Metaverse for about six months."
"W-wait, the Metaverse?" Nick gasped before his brain registered the other half of that statement. "Hold the frick up, I've been asleep for six months?! What the heck happened to me?!"
"I don't know all the details, but something happened to you that damaged your heart, and you were brought here to recover," Lillie answered. "Judging by the fact that you're up and about, it seems like you've made a full recovery."
Nick raised his right hand and summoned the Kingdom Key into his grip, and though he initially thought Lillie was going to freak out, she simply smiled back and summoned her own Kingdom Key.
"Keyblade wielders are tough," Lillie quipped before turning to walk out of the room.
"H-Hey, wait," Nick sputtered. "You're a keyblade wielder like me, right?"
"More than you know, Nick," Lillie responded. Remembering the last thing Caroline and Justine had done before they'd vanished, Lillie leaned over to kiss Nick on the cheek. "I have places of my own to be. But maybe we'll meet again somewhere down the road. I truly believe that."
Having said everything she felt she needed to, hopefully without giving too much away, Lillie walked out of the room, leaving Nick to his thoughts.
"Okay, one more check to make sure my memories are actually in order," Nick quipped. "So, about a year ago now, I guess, my friends and I defeated Yaldabaoth and saved all of the worlds. The last thing I remember was going to that charity basketball game at the stadium with Ellen, and then I encountered a strange Heartless there. Everything after that's a blur, so that's probably when my heart got 'cracked', according to what I've been hearing."
Nick shook his head to clear the last remaining cobwebs from his mind. "You know, now that I think about it, pontificating on what happened to me probably isn't gonna get me anywhere," Nick stated. "Maybe I should start by getting out of the Metaverse and figuring out just where the heck I am."
After making sure all of his personal effects were in order, Nick glanced over to a counter just to the right of the computer monitors, where his Gummiphone was resting, though it appeared to have been turned off.
"I hope Sophia's doing all right," Nick wondered as he turned the Gummiphone on. After its usual startup procedures, the screen faded in to an image of Sophia's personal "icon", that being a red circle with her hooded face on it, which was also the keychain token for Sophia's own keyblade.
"Hello, it is very nice to..." Sophia started before realizing who was looking at her from the other side of the screen. "O-Oh, my goodness, Nick, is that you?!"
"Yeah, I'm awake now, Sophia," Nick quipped.
Almost immediately, the Gummiphone's screen glowed a bright ruby-red before Sophia herself jumped out, now in her full physical body, then landing on her feet so she could lunge forward and hug Nick tightly.
"I didn't know what was happening, Nick," Sophia cried. "I was so scared that you were never going to wake up, I didn't know what to do..."
"Hey, hey, it's all right, Sophia," Nick responded after returning her hug earnestly. "I'm made of tougher stuff than I look, after all."
Nick glanced around the hospital room again. "That Lillie girl said that we're inside the Metaverse right now, right?" Nick wondered.
"Yes, an isolated pocket of the Metaverse," Sophia answered. "It's a small one, probably intended to keep you away from external threats until you'd fully recovered."
"Then, how about we get out of here and find out just where the heck we are?" Nick quipped.
"Exactly what I was thinking, Nick," Sophia responded.
When Nick and Sophia exited the Pocket Metaverse (Nick's words), they found themselves in a tropical seaside city that looked much like Hawaii.
Nick looked around, taking in the sights and wondering why all of this felt so familiar to him. After all, he was pretty sure he'd never been to this city before.
"Everything okay, Nick?" Sophia asked.
"It's just... I think I know this place, but I'm not sure why," Nick admitted. "I wonder if it was just my imagination..."
As Nick and Sophia continued their search, they eventually found out that this place was apparently called "Alola Town, the City of Never-Ending Summer", according to a billboard near Market Street.
"Hey, newbies."
Nick and Sophia turned around to glance at whoever had just addressed them. It turned out to be three girls about their age.
"Um, and newbies means what, exactly?" Nick wondered.
"You just have that look of 'I'm the new guy in town', that's all," Mallow chuckled. "That was Selene not too long ago."
"Do you have to keep harping on that, Mallow?" Selene sighed, used to Mallow's antics by this point.
"You know Mallow, right?" Lana giggled. "Once she latches onto something, she never lets it go."
Mallow took a closer look at Nick, wondering if this was the boy she'd been asked about earlier today.
"Um, mind if I ask your name?" Mallow wondered.
"Oh, sure, I'm Nick, and this is my friend Sophia," Nick responded.
"Nice to meet you all," Sophia stated.
"Yeah, you're definitely the one, then," Mallow admitted. "So, Nick, earlier this morning, we apparently met some people who were looking for you. They were wearing outfits kinda like yours, and one of them was very frantic."
"Yeah, she was absolutely trashing the Tram Common trying to find you," Selene chuckled.
"Oof, I think I know who that might have been," Nick sighed. "Where did you see them?"
"Last time we saw them, they were heading towards Central Station," Lana answered, pointing towards the tall clock tower in the distance. "It's to the southwest of Station Heights, right at the base of that big clock tower. Can't possibly miss it. You can get there faster if you take the path through the Sandlot."
"Got it, thanks," Nick quipped.
"And on that note, we should probably get back to our independent studies assignment before Selene chews our heads off again," Mallow chuckled even as Selene gave her a stern glance, the three girls walking off to do just that.
"How do you think Maylin and Haruka got here?" Nick wondered. "After all, I thought all of the pathways between worlds were closed off when we defeated Yaldabaoth and sealed away Kingdom Hearts..."
"Maybe they found another way to cross worlds," Sophia replied. "But the only way we'll know for sure is if we find them first."
Nick nodded as he ran towards the Sandlot with Sophia right behind him.
On their way through, however...
"Hey, you, stop right there."
Nick skidded to a stop and turned around to see someone walking towards him with a cross expression.
"Where did you come from?" Bede demanded.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Nick quipped.
"What, you here to pick a fight with us or somethin'?" Bede retorted.
"J-Just where the hell did that come from?!" Nick gasped, wondering if this guy was for real.
"All right, then, you smart-aleck, it's time I taught you how to behave in my town," Bede proclaimed. "Bring it on, chicken wuss!"
Bede and his posse Gary and Silver all took up defensive stances while Acerola watched from afar.
"Oh, you wanna play that game, jerk?" Nick taunted, summoning Kingdom Key to his hands while Sophia summoned her own keyblade, Super Yo-Yo. "Sophia, let's teach him a lesson."
"Hold on, hold on just a second!"
Professor Kukui ran up to the group, effectively stopping the 'fight' before it could get started.
"If you guys are going to fight, why not make it a proper Struggle instead?" Kukui stated before turning to Bede. "Listen, Bede, I'm honestly a really big fan of yours."
"Wh-what?" Bede gasped, clearly not expecting that.
"In layman's terms, I want to see more of those 'super cool' moves of yours," Kukui admitted. "You handled the tournament with real, actual style, and I still can't forget how you absolutely dominated the title bout, but I just can't get enough. The matches are far too short to really take it all in."
Kukui then looked at Nick. "And what are your names?" Kukui asked.
"Um, I'm Nick, and this is my friend Sophia," Nick repeated.
"Well, then, Nick, Sophia, if either of you want to try out a Struggle match, you just say the word," Kukui proclaimed.
Nick nodded before turning to leave the Sandlot with Sophia following close behind him. It didn't take them much longer to reach Central Station, but it seemed like nobody was there.
"I hope she didn't split while we got distracted by that jerk," Nick quipped. "Because I'm gonna be kicking myself up and down Market Street if we missed our chance because of him."
An extremely loud squeal made Nick jump in his spot, and he barely had time to summon his keyblade before Maylin came flying in his direction, tackle-hugging him right to the ground.
Haruka jogged up the last of the pathway to the station, having expected that exactly this would happen.
"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to warn you," Haruka chuckled.
"Holy crapbaskets, Nick, is it actually you?!" Maylin sobbed, unable to stop her tears now. "I'm not going crazy with loneliness, am I?!"
"Maylin, seriously, it's me," Nick sputtered. "I'm about as me as I can be."
Nick helped Maylin to her feet, after which she hugged him again much like Sophia had done earlier.
"But seriously, Nick, are you doing all right?" Haruka wondered. "We haven't heard from you in so long, and then this guy in a red robe shows up and asks if we wanted to meet you again. So, naturally, Maylin started freaking out and demanding he take us to where you were, but then he just dropped us off in town and vanished. Maylin's been tearing the place up trying to find you."
"That's what I heard from some of the locals," Nick quipped. "Honestly, some of the details are still a little fuzzy, but I guess I've been in some kind of deep slumber for the past six months because my heart got damaged by something, and I only just woke up this morning, and apparently, the peeps who were taking care of me must have split."
Before Maylin or Haruka could question what that was all about, a horde of strange-looking creatures materialized around them.
This creature had a thin, sinuous body that looked like it was capable of dumbfounding feats of flexibility, a large, cylindrical head with a flat top that was emblazoned with a strange symbol, its body seemingly covered in a light grey jumpsuit. It appeared fairly muscular, though its arms and legs were very thin. The sides of its body were lined by a black line, which pulsed weakly with light, its feet and hands were pointed and lack digits, and its hands each sported two black bands around them.
"Um, excuse me?!" Maylin shouted, summoning her keyblade, Spellbinder, to her hands. "Will you freaks just freak off?!"
"What the heck are they?" Haruka wondered as she summoned her keyblade, Divine Rose. "They don't look like any Heartless I've ever seen."
"Let's get rid of them first before we start asking questions," Sophia answered as she summoned Super Yo-Yo.
Nick just nodded, summoning Kingdom Key as the four of them started attacking the horde of Dusks.
Though they weren't that tough, each one going down in about three or four hits, Nick noticed something very distressing as the scrap wore on.
He literally couldn't perform any of the fancy moves he'd learned how to do over the course of his first adventure, his combos regressing back to a downward swing, a forward thrust with some sweep, and a jumping slash for the finisher.
Worse, Nick couldn't use any of the magic he'd learned or switch to any of his other keyblades. All he had was his basic Kingdom Key. His summons were a much more understandable case, as they'd naturally been restored and returned to their own worlds after Kingdom Hearts was locked away.
Inwardly, Nick wondered if that had something to do with the incident that had damaged his heart six months ago. What kind of Heartless could be strong enough to do something like that to him?
Despite Maylin, Haruka and Sophia faring much better, the Dusks simply kept coming one after the other.
"Oh, jeez, what is this crap in a hat?!" Maylin gasped as she and Haruka backed up closer to each other as the Dusks continued to make their advance.
Even Nick eventually dropped to his knees out of sheer exhaustion, no doubt since his body wasn't used to fighting after so long in slumber.
One of the Dusks attempted to capitalize on this moment of vulnerability and lunged for Nick, but someone jumped down from the roof of Central Station and started attacking the Dusk horde, thinning their numbers rapidly.
Once all of the Dusks had been destroyed, Maylin and Haruka glanced at the figure and gasped in surprise. Though he was wearing a strange black coat, they recognized him immediately.
"Emperor Clow?!" Maylin and Haruka shouted.
Naturally, they were surprised to see Emperor Clow Reed, the crown ruler of the Kingdom of Clow, since he was supposedly trapped in the realm of darkness after helping Nick seal away Kingdom Hearts last year.
Emperor Clow immediately held his hand to silence them, his Kingdom Key D glimmering in the midday light.
"There's no time," Emperor Clow proclaimed. "You've got to board the train and leave town quickly. Don't worry, the train knows the way."
Emperor Clow handed Maylin a pouch full of munny before dashing off almost as swiftly as he'd appeared.
"Was that... actually Emperor Clow?" Haruka wondered.
"I'm pretty sure it was," Maylin quipped. "Hey, at least we know he made it out of the dark realm safely! That's good enough for me."
"Hold on, I just realized something," Nick asked now that the rush of the battle had faded. "Did Marie and/or Ellen ever come with you guys?"
"That's the one thing we're not sure of," Maylin admitted. "Remember, Nick, Haruka and I haven't seen you since we sealed Kingdom Hearts away, so we have no idea what happened to them."
"But I'm sure they're okay," Haruka stated. "After all, they're keyblade wielders like us, and thus tough cookies."
"So, what exactly are we going to do from here?" Sophia wondered. "All we know is that we have to board the train and leave town."
"Yeah, and I've got a feeling that we're not quite done with our adventures yet," Nick quipped. "So, what do you say, girls? Wanna stick together for another journey?"
"Come on, Nick, do you even have to ask?" Maylin teased. "We're sticking with you until the very end!"
"That's the promise we made, after all," Haruka giggled.
"Well, then, if that's all settled, let's board the train!" Sophia proclaimed.
The quartet of keyblade wielders entered Central Station so they could get their tickets, only to be stopped by Mallow, Lana and Selene.
"Hey, there, you guys," Mallow quipped. "Sorry if this is pretty sudden, but... we came to see you off. It just felt like something we gotta do."
"Much appreciated," Sophia responded.
"You should probably hurry up and get your tickets," Selene stated as Maylin brought out the munny pouch that Emperor Clow had given her. Selene couldn't help but gasp in surprise as she brought out her own munny pouch.
"...they're exactly the same," Haruka noted.
After paying for four train tickets, Nick glanced back at Mallow, Lana and Selene as a mysterious blue and gold train decorated with stars and moons pulled into the station, no doubt the train Emperor Clow had wanted them to take.
"You know, I can't help but feel like we might not see this town again," Nick quipped.
"Why is that?" Haruka wondered.
"Maybe you're overthinking it," Maylin stated.
"Could be," Nick replied.
"Hey, Nick? Are you absolutely sure we haven't met before?" Mallow asked. "Because I don't think we've met, but you're kinda giving me that vibe..."
"Really?" Nick responded, only to gasp when a tear fell from his eyes.
"You okay?" Selene asked.
"Y-Yeah, just... not sure where that came from," Nick answered as he, Maylin, Haruka and Sophia all boarded the train while waving goodbye to Mallow, Lana and Selene.
Nick reached into the munny pouch and pulled out something else that had been in there, a small, spherical blue crystal.
"I don't know why, but... I'm sad," Nick admitted.
"Hey, we'll be back," Maylin replied. "We can visit them again, I'm sure of it."
Outside, the sky around the train shifted and warbled until the landscape completely changed, to where the train was now riding on tracks of light in the middle of a starry sky.
Eventually, the train grinded to a halt at the base of a mysterious floating island with a strangely-shaped tower standing on the opposite side of the island.
After the quartet stepped off of the train, it shined brightly before vanishing completely, leaving Nick a little nervous.
"Welp, there went our ride," Nick chuckled apprehensively.
"Okay, so, I have two questions," Maylin quipped. "One, where the heck did the train leave us?"
"Is question two 'who's that guy trying to get into the tower'?" Haruka wondered, pointing to the doorway into the tower, where someone was indeed trying to find a way to get through.
"This person does not look that dangerous, but maybe we should exercise caution," Sophia noted.
Nick took a closer look at the person in question, who appeared to be a short, orange dinosaur-like humanoid with green eyes, a large snout, and a single large, twisted horn. He was wearing a large purple cape with a large collar wrapped around his head, and a white undershirt with purple trousers and a red and gold amulet.
"What's going on?" Nick queried.
"Well, I sent some of my lackeys in there to see if the master of this tower's as big and tough as everyone says she is," the dinosaur responded. "Word on the street is that she's an insanely powerful goddess, and that would make her the perfect minion for me. See, it doesn't matter how tough she is, even if she is a goddess, because once she's a Heartless, she'll only obey me!"
"A Heartless?!" the quartet gasped.
"Yeah, those monster things that come out of the darkness in people's hearts," the dinosaur replied. "I sure could have used those to help me take out that accursed dragon, but that's not important right now. With all these Heartless at her side, my comrade Ichinose is going to conquer everything!"
Nick looked at the others, especially noting Sophia's conflicted expression. Kuon Ichinose was Sophia's creator and the woman behind the Heartless invasion that had set Nick's adventure into motion. Despite putting up a fight, Ichinose had been defeated by Sophia in Lost Jerusalem, fading away after regaining her fondness for her greatest creation, feelings that had been suppressed by the darkness in her heart.
"And since I've got a debt to pay to her, I'm going around to a bunch of different worlds and putting together a veritable army of Heartless, special for her," the dinosaur laughed. "...wait, why am I talking to you little punks anyways? Go on and beat it, I'm already behind schedule as it is."
"You really should find something nicer to do with your time," Sophia responded.
"Oh, yeah, says who?" the dinosaur cackled before turning around, only to gasp in shock when he recognized Maylin and Haruka. "AGH, it's you two again?!"
"Ripto?!" Maylin and Haruka shouted.
"Wait, you know this shorty?" Nick wondered, not noticing how angry Ripto got thanks to that comment.
"We sure do," Haruka answered. "Ripto's been a real troublemaker for a long time now. I'm just not sure how he's out and about, since Emperor Clow banished him to another dimension a long time ago."
"Oh, that's because Ichinose busted me out," Ripto laughed. "And now, that means your world and all worlds are gonna belong to yours truly, because Ichinose is going to help me conquer them all!"
Ripto's eye twitched when he saw that everyone was laughing slightly at that, all except Sophia.
"What's so funny?!" Ripto shouted. "Ichinose's power is so vast that she can literally..."
"Um, my dude, she's toast," Nick replied.
"Yeah, she can't exactly help you now," Haruka quipped.
"What do you mean by..." Ripto shouted before it quickly dawned on him. "So you're the ones who did it!"
"Well, we might have had something to do with it," Sophia replied.
"Ooh, that's it!" Ripto exclaimed. "Heartless, get them!"
The quartet was suddenly surrounded by a pack of Heartless, mostly the basic Shadows and Soldiers.
"Oh, please," Nick taunted. "Even in my 'diminished' state, I can still mop the floor with these pathetic weaklings no problem."
The quartet proceeded to do just that, wiping out the Shadows and Soldiers with little visible effort.
"Ooh, just you wait," Ripto exclaimed. "You won't get away with this, I swear!"
"So, Ripto, who exactly lives in that castle?" Nick wondered.
"Oh, you don't know?" Ripto cackled. "It's the goddess Eris. And honestly, she's probably a Heartless by now."
"Eris?!" Maylin and Haruka gasped in shock.
"She lives here?!" Maylin shouted.
"You know her?" Nick asked.
"Eris, the Goddess of Fortune, is Emperor Clow's magic teacher," Haruka stated. "And she may look young, but she's super-powerful."
"Then let's hurry and make sure she's okay," Sophia proclaimed.
The quartet headed inside the Mysterious Tower, leaving Ripto to stare in confusion until he started throwing a tantrum before eventually retreating through a corridor of darkness.
They made their way up multiple flights of stairs that led through doors of light to other flights of stairs, occasionally stopping in circular rooms to scrap with more Heartless.
Though Nick was thankful that they were just more Shadows and Soldiers so he could learn his moves again, it did worry him that Heartless were still running around. After all, he figured that the Heartless would be at the very least forced into some kind of hibernation after they'd locked away Kingdom Hearts.
But from the looks of it, things hadn't really changed at all.
Eventually, after about four flights of interdimensional stairs, the quartet opened one last door and found themselves inside a larger room where someone could be seen sitting down.
"Lady Eris, it's an honor," Maylin proclaimed as she and Haruka bowed respectfully. "H-Hey, Nick, bow your head already!"
"It's fine," Eris responded as she stood up to her full height. She appeared to be only fifteen years old, though as a goddess, Nick knew that was just her physical appearance. Eris had long silver hair going down to her ankles with two long bangs reaching down to her shoulders, purple eyes, and was wearing a matching white and purple one-piece hagoromo dress with yellow trimmings, a purple coif over her head which matched the shade of her eyes, along with purple shoes, white stockings, and a necklace around her neck with a pink diamond in its center.
Nick couldn't help but note that Eris was indeed quite the beauty.
Eris glanced at Nick and smiled softly. "So, you must be Nick," Eris proclaimed. "I've heard so much about you. Now, on to our business. Have you seen the Emperor yet?"
"Yeah, but we didn't get a chance to talk to him, Your Majesty," Haruka answered. "He just gave us munny for the train and left."
"Yes, the Emperor has been quite busy lately," Eris stated. "Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing the four of you falls to me. After all, you have a very perilous journey ahead of you, and you must be well prepared for it."
"Wait, does that mean we have to go on another quest?" Nick wondered. "I have a feeling you know already, being a goddess and all, but I've kinda been out of it for six months and I'm worried about my girlfriend and my sister..."
"I know, don't worry," Eris chuckled. "But everything in your journey is connected, after all. Whether you will find your way back home, whether you will return alone or with your loved ones, and whether or not your home will still be there when you do. And the key that connects them all... that is you, Nick."
"I'm the key?" Nick gasped, instinctively raising his hand to summon the Kingdom Key into his grip in a flash of light.
"Yes, chosen wielder of the keyblade," Eris proclaimed. "You are the key that will open the door to light."
Inwardly, Nick wondered where exactly he'd heard that phrase before.
"Okay, I'm actually confused about something," Nick asked. "How come the Heartless are still roaming around? I was pretty sure we sealed that door to darkness..."
"Of course, your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from reaching the great darkness, that much is certain, Nick," Eris proclaimed. "But the Heartless are darkness made manifest, and darkness yet lingers in every heart. Make no mistake, the Heartless are much fewer in number thanks to you sealing Kingdom Hearts, but while darkness exists in even a single heart, it will prove difficult to fully eliminate them."
"Then that must mean if everyone's heart was full of light, then the Heartless would go away, right?" Maylin wondered.
"Therein lies the rub, though, since light and darkness are part of everything," Haruka answered. "They're pretty much two sides of the same coin."
"Then I guess it's a good thing that we're on the job, huh?" Sophia quipped.
Eris stood back up, waving her hand towards the table. "Now, then, let us speak of the enemies that you will no doubt encounter on your adventures," Eris stated, snapping her fingers to manifest a magical hologram on the table, that of Maylin, though it quickly turned into a Shadow.
"As you know, if one such as you, Maylin, would yield to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless," Eris explained. "Remember, the Heartless are always lurking, ever seeking to capture new hearts. You must not let your guard down."
Eris waved her hand again, and another image materialized next to the Shadow, that of a Dusk, the strange creature that had swarmed the quartet at Central Station.
"H-Hey, those were the things that attacked us!" Maylin gasped.
"Occasionally, if someone with a strong heart and a strong will, regardless of good or evil, becomes a Heartless, then the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will all its own," Eris explained. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away... a spirit that lingers even as its body fades away into the void... for you see, the Nobodies do not truly exist. Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but it is merely an act. They only pretend to have hearts, so do not be deceived."
"Nobodies," Nick repeated. "Beings that don't technically exist..."
Two more Dusk images appeared around the initial one.
"The being you see right now is called a Dusk, the most common form of Nobody," Eris proclaimed. "But there are surely others, some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to the darkness."
Nick couldn't help but notice Eris' expression twitching slightly when she said that, especially the way she scratched her right cheek. Though his curiosity wanted to inquire, Nick wisely decided to keep his trap shut, especially in the presence of an actual goddess.
Eris once again waved her hand, conjuring images of various figures, all of them wearing a black leather ankle-length coat with a large hood that concealed the face, long sleeves, a large silver zipper with pulls at the top and bottom to seal the coat from both ends, two silver drawstrings for the hood, each with a large silver bead hanging from the end, and a silver chain ornament with lobster claw clasps on each end that fasten to loops on either side of the collarbone region.
"However, the beings you see before you now are different," Eris stated. "These powerful Nobodies have formed a group known as Organization XIII. They command the lesser Nobodies."
"Wait, I didn't think something like that was normally possible," Nick admitted..
"True, Heartless merely act on instinct, and will obey whoever is the strongest among them, but Nobodies function in a higher manner," Eris explained. "They can think and plan, and it would appear that they are working towards some kind of goal, even if we do not know what that goal is. It seems that Emperor Clow sensed the danger, and that is why he left on his journey to find the keyblade of the dark realm, and used it to close the door to Kingdom Hearts. Now, he travels from world to world fighting the Heartless while, like most of us, he seeks the answer to the riddle of the Organization and the Nobodies."
Eris waved her hand once again and dispelled the images.
"Then, it feels like our best bet would be to find Emperor Clow," Nick proclaimed.
"But we don't know where the heck he is, do we?" Maylin quipped.
"Well, we won't know unless we give it a try, right?" Haruka answered.
"And maybe Emperor Clow will know where Ellen and Marie are," Sophia stated.
Nick looked out the nearby window towards the magical sky outside the Mysterious Tower.
"Me, you ladies, Ellen, Marie, and the Emperor," Nick stated. "I don't give a crap who this Organization is or what it's planning, but with all seven of us, I don't think there's anything to worry about."
"Yeah, we beat a world-ending crisis before, and we can definitely do it again!" Maylin laughed.
"Now, before you go," Eris proclaimed. "You will need some more suitable traveling clothes for your journey. After all..."
Eris couldn't help but chuckle. "Those clothes look like they're a bit too small for you."
"Well, I did apparently grow a bit while I was sleeping," Nick chuckled.
Eris raised her right hand, and much to everyone's surprise, summoned a keyblade in a flash of light. This keyblade had an abstract swooping design based off of shooting stars, with the top of the handle sporting a silver shooting star design ending in a multicolored star, the length of the blade having a swooping blue and yellow tail ending at the top in an open blue star and a reversed yellow star that made up the teeth, the keychain being three yellow diamonds, and the token being a multicolored star similar to the one on the handle with a yellow diamond on top.
Maylin and Haruka were the most surprised, as while they knew Eris was a powerful goddess in her own right, they'd had no inkling that she also wielded a keyblade.
"Y-Your Majesty, where did you...?!" Maylin gasped.
"I didn't know you were a keyblade wielder!" Haruka exclaimed.
"Well, I never mentioned this before, but... yes, I am a Keyblade Master," Eris explained, resting her keyblade, Shooting Star, on her shoulders. "Sorry if I didn't say anything, but... you never asked."
"...okay, that makes sense," Maylin admitted.
"When I heard that Emperor Clow was sending you my way, I knew that it was time to take up my keyblade once again," Eris stated. "If the worlds are at stake as I fear they are, then I figured it was necessary."
Eris waved Shooting Star in a complex pattern, tracing a glowing magical circle in front of her. After a bit of this, Eris thrust Shooting Star forward, stabbing through the magical circle and causing beams of holy light to converge around Nick and swallow him in a flash of light.
When the light dissipated, Nick was now wearing a completely different outfit. Over his now navy blue shirt with a red patch in the center, he now wore a black hoodie, with silver pauldrons lining his sleeves. His pants, similar to chaps, were colored black on the outside, and a navy blue on the inside, lined with silver-white edging. Yellow straps crisscrossed around his pants, held together with a black belt. The pants featured red pockets with a black cross over them, his gloves were colored black on the outside and white on the inside with a yellow line running around them. Nick was also wearing large black-yellow shoes with silver soles, a zipper running across the top, and black straps holding them together with buckles here and there.
"Whoa," Nick gasped.
"Yes, you look very dashing in that," Eris giggled. "Now, then, these are no ordinary clothes, Nick. They have very special powers."
Eris waved her free hand, causing a small, golden orb to appear in front of Nick.
"Simply take the orb, and watch what happens," Eris proclaimed.
Nick reached out to take the orb, which absorbed itself into his new clothes, and without warning, his body started floating in the air. Haruka also began glowing with a strawberry-pink aura of light before suddenly vanishing from sight.
Nick threw his arms outwards, and a great burst of silver light exploded outwards from his new outfit. When the light cleared, Nick had once again transformed. Most of his clothes had turned to black and shades of a reddish-pink color, and a white fleur-de-lis emblem was imprinted on both of his pant legs. He was also wielding both his own Kingdom Key and Haruka's Divine Rose at the same time, and his eyes had shifted to Haruka's strawberry pink shade.
"Whoa, what just happened?" Nick asked, though whenever he spoke in this form, it was in a mixture of both his and Haruka's voices.
"Your clothes will allow you to temporarily merge with your friends to attain great power," Eris explained. "As you no doubt have noticed, many of such forms will allow you to wield two keyblades at once, due to both of your hearts momentarily merged together."
"That sounds like it could be very useful," Valor Form Nick responded before splitting back into Nick and Haruka.
"Now, then, I would also like to grant you two a gift as well," Eris proclaimed, aiming Shooting Star for both Maylin and Haruka before firing off a blast of holy light that split into two identical beams that flew into Maylin and Haruka's keyblades, transforming them into brand new ones.
Maylin's new keyblade had a bright bronze guard modeled after a violin, a slightly curved blade shaped like a stylized line of music, colored deep blue fading to cyan with three golden eighth notes, teeth composed of a treble clef with a lilac color fading to yellow and topped with a small wizard's hat that culminated into a large, five-pointed star, and the token being a purple fading to yellow stylized eighth note with a silver star, connected by a keychain of silver and gold links. The word Counterpoint came to Maylin's mind.
Haruka's new keyblade had a blade shaped like a red, single-edged sword with a white inner edge, a yellow wing sweeping around it forming the teeth, the hilt blending into grey with the symbol of a rainbow-colored ring in the middle, a deep red handle, the guard being another sweeping wing, colored blue and circling around the handle but not connecting, and the token was a shooting star with a prominent bow shock, connected by a keychain made of three silver sunbursts. The word Divewing came to Haruka's mind.
Eris then gestured to the outside of the tower just as a very familiar ship floated into view.
"Hey, that's our Gummi Ship!" Maylin exclaimed.
"So, are you ladies ready to go?" Nick asked.
"Hold on just a moment," Eris stated. "As you have no doubt realized, after you sealed Kingdom Hearts away, the worlds have all returned to their original states, which means that the pathways between them have also disappeared."
"That... could be a problem," Maylin sighed.
"I wouldn't be too worried," Eris responded. "If what Emperor Clow suspected is true, then the worlds have prepared brand new pathways for you to travel on. These pathways are utilized by unlocking special gates, though even I do not know how they are opened. However, the keyblade will serve as your guide. If you see a beam of light radiate from the keyblade, you will know what to do."
Eris glanced out the nearby window, towards the magical sky. "Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties, as do our hearts," Eris proclaimed.
"Our hearts are connected," Nick echoed. "An unbreakable connection."
"I must give one final warning, though," Eris stated. "The Heartless and Nobodies will be utilizing their own paths, the corridors of darkness, to travel between worlds. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds."
"Doesn't seem very fair to me," Maylin groaned.
"Now, that is all the information I can pass on to you," Eris proclaimed, all four keyblade wielders standing at attention. "Go forth, then. The worlds are calling you."
All four wielders bowed to Eris before dashing out of the loft, though Nick was stopped at the last second by Eris.
"Is... everything okay, Your Majesty?" Nick wondered.
"You noticed my nervous habit earlier, I assume?" Eris asked, dispelling Shooting Star for the moment.
"I... didn't want to say anything that might have gotten me in trouble," Nick admitted.
"Back when I was ruling as the patron deity of my original world..." Eris started, the memories coming back like they had been just yesterday. "Let's just say that I had a very strong dislike for anything related to dark magic and the undead. I would never give anything related to those two concepts a second thought, even disregarding the possible moral character of such beings. It took a very personal tragedy, the loss of my world, and a lesson from Emperor Clow for me to realize that strength of character can make all the difference."
"The whole 'power isn't bad if you do good things with it' moral, right?" Nick quipped.
"When I said that Nobodies don't have hearts, I meant every word," Eris admitted. "But... maybe that is why they do what they do. They wish to reunite with what they have lost..."
"And maybe they think finding whatever they're looking for will do that," Nick answered.
"All I am saying is... try to keep an open mind when you encounter such events," Eris proclaimed. "It's a lesson I wish I had learned before it was too late..."
"Hey, if you'd lost your world, it should be back now, right?" Nick wondered. "All of the worlds taken by the Heartless were restored when we locked away Kingdom Hearts, so..."
A tear that fell from Eris' eye immediately shut Nick up, as he feared he'd crossed a line.
"O-Oh, jeez, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Nick sputtered.
"It's not you, Nick, don't freak out," Eris answered. "It's just... my world was sadly not destroyed by the Heartless. Oh, how I wish it was that simple, but... I lost my world to a much stronger incarnation of its Demon King, one that even I could not hope to match in the state I was in then. One of my fellow goddesses just barely managed to send me away before our world was annihilated. That... is why I took up the keyblade, in the hopes of learning something, anything that could bring my world back to me, to possibly make up for what happened to it..."
Eris wiped her eyes again. "But sadly, even the power that comes with being a keyblade master could not grant me that wish. I fear my world is forever gone now..."
"But it could still be restored somehow," Nick quipped. "It's like you told me, keep an open mind. Trust me, I've seen some pretty amazing things on my journeys that I would have never thought possible before I got my keyblade. I'm sure you'll see your world again someday, I promise you that. And, well, that's a big thing about me: I never break my promises."
When Eris started crying again, Nick was worried he'd somehow made things worse, but then Eris looked up at him so that he could see that she was also smiling.
"You really are nothing like anyone I've ever met, Nick," Eris admitted as she stepped forward to hug Nick. "You're so earnest and honest..."
"I'm just saying what I feel, that's all," Nick answered. "I just follow my heart."
"And that is why I believe that you can save us all," Eris stated matter-of-factly. "Journey forth, then, Nick, and bring balance back to the worlds."
Eris took a step back before smiling at Nick one last time.
"May your hearts be your guiding key."
With those final words, Eris, Goddess of Fortune, vanished in a burst of light.
Nick took one last look at where Eris had been standing before turning around to head down the corridor and rejoin his friends in heading to the Gummi Ship so they could begin their journey, Eris' last words echoing in his mind.
"Ah, it's good to be back in the Gummi Ship again," Maylin quipped once all four wielders were seated in their respective chairs (Eris had even slightly modified the cockpit to have six seats, no doubt for Sophia as well as Ellen and Marie when they would show up). "I missed this old thing."
"Well, technically, we saw it every day while it was anchored in the Kingdom of Clow, we just couldn't use it because all the pathways were gone," Haruka answered.
"It looks like there is only one world in the immediate vicinity," Sophia noted, looking outside towards the large structure out in the Ocean Between that represented a world, this one being a very familiar castle surrounded by a bustling city of sorts.
"Aw, only one?" Maylin groaned.
"Wait a minute, I think that's a world that we know," Nick stated. "Haruka, let's check it out."
"Roger that," Haruka proclaimed, taking the controls and steering the Gummi Ship towards the world. "Prepare for landing!"
Ripto continued to search around the tower rooms for any sign of Ichinose, but found absolutely nothing. Even calling out her name yielded no results.
"Jeez, maybe those brats really did finish her off," Ripto admitted. "And this castle sure isn't what I expected of it, either. It's nothing like the castles in Avalar."
Ripto kept up his search, unaware of something approaching the tower from the sky.
"Well, now what's going to happen to our plan?" Ripto groaned.
The sound of footsteps landing nearby caught Ripto's attention, and he turned around and brandished his scepter, immediately suspecting a certain purple dragon, only to gasp in surprise at who it actually was.
Nick and the girls were pretty surprised to see a rather bustling town when they landed in the world, considering that only a year ago, this world had been completely abandoned save for Ichinose and her council of villains.
"Wow, is this Lost Jerusalem?" Maylin gasped. "It looks amazing!"
"Who'd have thought they could rebuild so quickly?" Haruka quipped. "It almost looks completely different from where we went through."
"I hope Shion and the others are doing okay," Nick stated.
"Hey, look!" Sophia responded, pointing some Soldiers on a nearby rooftop.
"Welp, guess our work is never really done, huh?" Haruka answered. "Let's go see if we can find Shion and the gang."
Making sure to ready their keyblades just in case, the quartet headed through the city and into the town's Borough, where they noticed a strange, sphere-shaped pedestal of light sweeping across the ground before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else, almost as if it was scanning the area for something.
"Um, I have several questions," Maylin quipped.
"Oh, that's the town's defense mechanism."
They looked up to a nearby ledge and saw Junior standing there.
"Oh, hey, long time no see, shorty!" Maylin teased.
Junior would have retorted if he hadn't seen something approaching quickly. "Hey, incoming!" Junior shouted.
The quartet brought their keyblades up, and just in time, as several Dusks materialized around them.
"Should have figured," Nick stated as he jumped to hit a Dusk that was flying through the air towards him. "Hey, Haruka, you want to give our new form its first test run?"
"I'd be delighted," Haruka giggled as she jumped away from another Dusk so she could land near Nick. Nick and Haruka joined hands before Haruka vanished, allowing Nick to transform into Valor Form, dual-wielding Kingdom Key and Divewing.
Two Dusks attempted to pincer their opponent in, but Valor Form Nick retaliated with a vertical slash from Kingdom Key, then an upward spinning strike from Divewing, all in one fluid motion, before continuing with a horizontal slash from Kingdom Key, then a downward chop from Divewing.
With the Dusks staggered, Valor Form Nick jumped into the air before slamming both keyblades into the ground, sending an upward geyser of energy across the ground that knocked the Dusks into the air. Not finished just yet, Valor Form Nick began to spin around, keyblades extended, until he started floating in the air and creating a cutting light circle with his spin attack, eviscerating the Dusks.
Still, more Dusks remained. Valor Form Nick jumped to meet more of them, noting that he jumped much higher than normal in this form, before catching another Dusk in mid-flight with a vertical swing from Divewing and a horizontal slash from Kingdom Key, followed by an up-and-down attack with each blade that caught a pair of Dusks trying to ambush him. Valor Form Nick finished the combo by twirling both keyblades behind him before lunging forward with a piercing strike, then continuing on with a series of wide slashes that ended with a powerful cross strike that finished off the Dusks.
When the area was clear of Dusks, Junior hopped down to ground level and cracked a grin. "I see you're all still in top form," Junior quipped.
"What'd you expect?" Nick responded. "By the way, we were wondering if you've seen Emperor Clow anywhere around here?"
"Nope," Junior answered. "But I definitely had a feeling I'd be seein' you jokers again."
Nick grinned as he recited the words that Shion had said to him last year. "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."
"Your Shion imitation needs work," Junior teased as he walked down the nearby alleyway. "Julius has a house set up for all us nearby, and everyone's waiting there, so move your butts!"
The group followed Junior through the alley and to a house on the corner. Inside was a room much like the Magic House in Traverse Town where Julius had set up shop while his world was missing. To the right was a large computer system that someone was typing frantically on.
"Well, time to say 'yo' to the Lost Jerusalem Restoration Committee!" Junior proclaimed, catching the attention of the others.
"We missed you all!" MOMO laughed.
"Well, if you ain't in tip-top shape," Captain Matthews chuckled.
"I figured as much," Ziggy proclaimed.
"Wait, figured what?" Nick wondered.
"A while back, all of us suddenly remembered all of you at the same time," Ziggy answered.
"Hey, does that mean you forgot about us?!" Maylin sputtered.
"Thanks a lot," Haruka sighed.
"So, where the heck have you all been this whole time?" Junior asked.
"I guess I was sleeping," Nick answered.
"Where, in cold storage?" Matthews chuckled.
"Something to that effect," Sophia responded.
MOMO clapped her hands happily. "You know what, it doesn't even matter, does it? Everyone's together again!" MOMO giggled.
"Speaking of together, how did this place get so populated in just about a year?" Nick wondered. "If I remember correctly, you guys lost your means of faster-than-light space travel when the U.M.N. collapsed, right?"
"Well, our genius MOMO here has actually been working on a brand new network to replace the U.M.N.," Matthews answered, to which MOMO beamed with pride. "She'd made that promise right before we'd set off to find Lost Jerusalem, and she'd actually finished putting it together right before the darkness invaded our world."
"Once we spread word of this new network, humanity was able to travel the stars again," Junior stated. "That's why there's so many people here in such a short time since we got our world back, and we're exploring everything to see what the old Earth had left behind."
"I'm just glad we could help," Haruka quipped.
"Oh, don't go thanking us just yet," Matthews retorted. "Let's just say that Lost Jerusalem has a pretty big problem."
"I'm willing to guess that it has something to do with the Heartless and the Nobodies," Maylin stated. "Sounds like you could probably use our help."
"Then let's cut to the chase," Ziggy proclaimed. "We were hoping the four of you would give us a hand with this problem of ours."
"Come on, like we're gonna refuse?" Nick quipped.
In response, Ziggy just smirked. "I forgot who I'm dealing with."
"And that's supposed to mean what?" Maylin retorted.
"Just think of it as a sort of... 'Ziggy compliment'," MOMO giggled.
Ziggy walked over to the door before opening it and walking outside. "Follow me to the bailey," Ziggy proclaimed. "There's something I need to show you."
As Ziggy left, a flash of light filled the room and allowed Julius Novachrono, Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom, to materialize in the room. Right beside him was Dorothy Unsworth, captain of the Coral Peacocks.
"Ah, I should have figured it was you," Julius quipped.
"You're right on time as always!" Dorothy laughed.
"Nick and the girls said they're going to help out!" MOMO stated.
"As expected," Julius responded before turning to MOMO. "MOMO, my dear, did you give them the cards?"
"Oh, I almost forgot," MOMO admitted, taking out the cards in question and handing them to Nick, Maylin, Haruka and Sophia. "Here, these are for you. Ziggy wanted you to have them."
They turned out be membership cards for the Lost Jerusalem Restoration Committee.
"Ooh, that's cool," Maylin chuckled. "All right, then, to the bailey!"
"Wait, what about your magic?" Julius asked.
"Oh, yeah, that little crinkle," Nick sighed. "Well, Julius, the details are still a little fuzzy, but apparently I've..."
"I heard about what happened to you, don't worry," Julius answered before handing Nick an icy-blue crystal. "I can lend you some spells to use in the battles ahead, but please be careful with them, okay?"
"Roger that," Nick responded as the four wielders exited Restoration HQ and followed Ziggy's steps up the nearby staircase and back around to the Bailey where Ziggy was waiting, looking out over the great canyon that surrounded the island where the castle still stood, the same castle that Nick and the girls had explored in their previous adventure.
"Now that we have re-established a network, we want to restore Lost Jerusalem, the ancestral home of humankind, to what it used to be," Ziggy explained. "Maybe even something better. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm sure we can handle most of the work. The only problems, though, are that..."
Ziggy pointed towards the canyon, where a flood of shadows with beady yellow eyes could be seen flooding the ravines, no doubt a concentration of Heartless still attracted to the darkness that had once leaked from that castle.
"...and that," Ziggy proclaimed, now pointing to a pair of Dusks slithering towards the castle.
"Hey, we can handle them no problem," Nick quipped.
"That's good to hear," Ziggy answered. "So, Nick, do you know exactly what's going on?"
"Well, there's this weird dinosaur guy, long story, who's going around plotting with the Heartless, but he doesn't seem to be that much of a threat at the moment," Nick explained. "The ones we should be worried about are the Nobodies."
"And those Organization XIII peeps that are supposed to be the Nobodies' leaders, too," Maylin responded.
You called?
The four wielders instantly summoned their keyblades in response to that.
You're doing well, it seems.
"Who's there?!" Nick challenged.
This calls for a celebration.
Suddenly, another horde of Dusks appeared around them. Maylin and Haruka both ran off to chase down a group of Dusks they'd seen near the stairway area, leaving Nick and Sophia to face off with the Dusks surrounding them.
Among the Dusks, however, was a new type of Nobody. This enemy had a distinctive cylindrical head that was a darker shade of grey than the most of the rest of its body, said head bearing six diagonal slits on the front, three on each side, the majority of its body covered in a grey jumpsuit with bell sleeves and a lighter grey seam going down the front, the sleeves having the Nobody emblem printed on them. It wielded two dull gray swords.
"Well, well, looks like we've got a new challenger," Nick quipped. "Shall we, Sophia?"
"You bet," Sophia proclaimed as she started attacking the Dusks while making sure they didn't damage the nearby gates too much.
Ziggy moved in to attack his own group of Dusks with his blade arm, and this left Nick to face down the Samurai. At first, Nick stayed at a distance while waiting for a tell in the Samurai's stance so he could move in and strike.
But the Samurai was too clever at times, managing to counter Nick's strikes when he thought he had an opening.
But when Nick managed to parry one of the Samurai's attacks, it raised its swords and stood there. Nick did the same, raising Kingdom Key and adopting a similar stance.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Nick as they both waited for their chance.
The instant Nick saw a tell, he lunged forward with an overhead chop that obliterated the Samurai.
Once the Samurai was gone, Nick turned his attention to a pair of Dusks that were approaching the gates and cast his new spell, Blizzard.
But instead of a shotgun-like spread of frost like it had been last time, this Blizzard spell came out as a chunk of solid ice crystals that pierced through both Dusks.
It didn't take too much longer to defeat the remaining Dusks, thankfully, Ziggy even assisting with a Lightning Fist, where he channeled electricity into his hands and slammed it into the ground to blast a Dusk with a bolt from above.
"We got 'em all, Nick!" Maylin exclaimed as she and Haruka rejoined the group.
The keyblade. Truly, a marvelous weapon. If only it were in more... capable hands than yours.
"All right, enough of these games," Nick growled. "Why don't you show yourselves?!"
In response to Nick's challenge, multiple corridors of darkness opened on a high ledge just above the Bailey gates, and out stepped thirteen figures all wearing black coats, their hoods up and hiding their faces.
"H-Hey, isn't that Organization XIII?!" Maylin gasped.
"Just like Lady Eris warned us," Haruka quipped.
"Fine by me," Nick shouted, raising Kingdom Key towards them. "Now we can settle this!"
"Aw, what a shame," the leader sighed. "And here I was hoping we could be friends."
The members all laughed in different ways before disappearing through corridors of darkness just as quickly as they'd arrived.
"Of course they'd chicken out," Nick groaned.
Just then, one of the figures appeared close to the nearby stairway.
"Hey, what's the big idea, buddy?!" Maylin shouted.
"Oops," No. 2 sarcastically replied.
"Move," Nick taunted.
"Now, is that any way to respect your elders?" No. 2 retorted.
"I said, get out of our way!" Nick growled, brandishing the Kingdom Key towards No. 2.
"You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing," No. 2 proclaimed.
"Then how about we make you move instead?" Haruka taunted.
"You see, that would work if I was just any random Nobody," No. 2 answered. "Except I'm with the Organization. I'm much tougher than you think."
"Oh, sure, that's big tough guy talk for somebody why just sat on the sidelines and watched his Nobody flunkies do all of the fighting for you," Nick quipped.
"Hmmm... I think you've got the wrong impression," No. 2 responded as he brandished his weapon, a double-sided staff with prongs that, for some reason, resembled a wrench. "How about I remind you of how tough the crowd you're dealing with actually is?"
Nick just glared angrily at No. 2, only for him to start laughing in response.
"Ah, now I remember!" No. 2 laughed. "He used to give me that same exact look!"
"I guess you think you're going to psych me out by spouting random gibberish, I take it?" Nick shot back.
"I just... don't know," No. 2 quipped before relaxing his stance and dispelling his weapon. "Be a good boy, now."
Before anyone could make a move to attack, No. 2 vanished through a corridor of darkness.
"That was... odd," Nick stated. "Who gave him the same look?"
"I think he was just trying to trip you up," Sophia responded.
"Probably," Nick conceded. "There's really only one me."
Nick glanced at his membership card for the Lost Jerusalem Restoration Committee, only for the card to start glowing and floating into the air.
"What the heck is this?" Maylin wondered.
"Hey, Nick, your keyblade's glowing," Haruka noted. Indeed, the Kingdom Key was glowing the same as the card.
"Hmmm, do you think..." Sophia hummed.
Nick held the Kingdom Key aloft as light energy began to swirl around the keyblade's teeth before projecting the image of a crown symbol, same as his pendant, underneath him.
Wind began to swirl around Nick until he found himself in the middle of a rusty-orange starry sky. The membership card shined brightly before firing a burst of light into the sky that eventually formed into a large keyhole.
Nick jumped back and twirled the Kingdom Key around a couple times before firing a beam of light from the keyblade into the keyhole. Reality seemed to shatter around the keyhole for a brief moment before light began to shine from it, and after a loud "CLICK" resounded, Nick found himself back in Lost Jerusalem.
"I get it," Nick stated. "That must have been what Lady Eris meant by a gateway."
Nick turned towards Ziggy, who was wondering what had just happened. "Sorry, Ziggy, but we've gotta run," Nick proclaimed. "The worlds are calling us."
"This Organization XIII sounds pretty tough," Ziggy admitted. "Just be careful out there."
"Of course," Maylin quipped.
"We'll see you soon!" Sophia proclaimed, to which Ziggy smiled and saluted them as the four wielders ran off to return to the Gummi Ship.
In another world, the members of Organization XIII were gathered in the White Room, their meeting place, to discuss what they'd witnessed in Lost Jerusalem.
"Do my eyes deceive me?" No. 3 wondered. "Does that kid really have the power to wield a keyblade? He's just a boy, not unlike a certain knight I used to know..."
"That is why we should give him a chance," No. 2 responded. "It means he's straight as an arrow and pure of heart, unlike all of us."
"He'd better be, or else he isn't any use to us," No. 7 stated.
"I truly hope he's enjoying his little adventure," No. 10 chuckled, tapping the Soul Gem hanging from her necklace before looking at the timer on her shield. "Maybe he'd like a vision to determine his fate?"
"As long as it works in our favor," No. 9 stated. "We should let him do what he wants for now, and we'll jump in if we need to."
"Those are bold words coming from you, little fish-y," No. 8 laughed. "You're saying you'll volunteer to take care of things if/and when they go wrong?"
No. 9 sputtered as she tried to deny it. Honestly, No. 8 was having too much fun teasing her.
"Why do you still act like you have a conscience?" No. 3 asked, still used to how No. 9 acted. "When was the last time any of us felt anything?"
"Truer words," No. 10 admitted, putting her shield away. "I guess our fun will have to go on hold for now."
"You must remember what happens to those who lose their true purpose," No. 7 stated. "They inevitably destroy themselves."
"Ladies and gentlemen."
All of them looked up towards No. 1, who was sitting on the highest throne in the White Room.
"The hero of the keyblade has embarked on his new adventure," No. 1 proclaimed. "I want you to make sure that it is one he'll remember forever. Now go."
Everyone but the leader vanished through corridors of darkness, leaving No. 1 to ponder how far their plans had come up to this point.
Soon, they'd have a way to change their fates once and for all.
To be continued...
Keyblade acquired!
Counterpoint
Strength: +3
Magic: +6
Length: 130
Ability: Magic Boost (Enhances magic attack power by 20%. Equip more to increase the effect.)
Description: A keyblade representing a gifted mage and a treasured friend.
Keyblade acquired!
Divewing
Strength: +7
Magic: +2
Length: 145
Ability: Finish Bracer (Ensures that a combo finishing move cannot be interrupted by enemy attacks. You may still take damage.)
Description: A keyblade representing the freedom a young woman once longed for.
Drive Form acquired!
Valor Form
Form Focus: Merge with Haruka to utilize your strength to its fullest.
Drive Gauge Points Needed: 3
Experience Points: Gain 1 EXP for every hit landed upon an enemy in this form.
Action Abilities
Brave Shot: Unleashes a powerful finishing combo move to knock a single target off its feet.
Brave Beat: Unleashes a powerful finishing combo move that successively attacks several targets at once.
Sonic Strike: Unleashes a powerful finishing combo move that pierces through a single target.
Sonic End: Unleashes a powerful finishing combo move in a rapid midair attack to several targets at once.
Over the Horizon: Leap towards a target in a rapid attack with [].
Omega Finale: Deal finishing combo moves in the middle of a combo with [].
Retaliating Slash: When knocked down, quickly regain balance and counterattack with [].
Growth Ability
High Jump: Jump higher than you could before to reach new places.
Support Abilities
Synch Blade: Equips a keyblade in each hand. The ability of the left hand weapon becomes available as well.
Combo Plus: Increases maximum combo by 1 when on the ground. Equip more to enable more combos.
Air Combo Plus: Increases maximum combo by 1 when in midair. Equip more to enable more combos.
On the next episode...
Maylin: Well, readers, next time is when our adventure begins for realsies!
Haruka: And it looks like we landed in quite the interesting place.
Nick: Yeah, try ancient China.
Sophia: Hold on, why is that lady trying to rob that old man?
Maylin: Yeah, that didn't go well for her.
Nick: It looks like he's trying to pass his techniques onto someone, but who are these jerks trying to butt in?
Haruka: Oh, yeah, they definitely look like bad news.
Maylin: Hey, you try being good guys with a name like "School of the Indomitable Fist".
Nick: Our second journey begins with a nice chop-suey, next time on Kingdom Hearts: Key to Her Heart re:Verse II, "A Worthy Successor"!
Nick, Maylin, Haruka and Sophia: May your hearts be your guiding key!