"Hey, have you ever heard of Latium?" one maid asked another.

"I think so," replied Maid #2. "Isn't it that legendary crystal from around here?"

"Yup!" said Maid #1. "Legend has it, that if you put it into a charm and give it to the one you love, you and that person will live a charmed, happy life!"

"Heh, maybe I should find one for my husband."

Or maybe I should find one for Aris, Raphtalia thought as she eavesdropped.

She had been unable to sleep that night, and as such had elected to take a walk and clear her head. Raphtalia didn't want her feelings for Aris to cloud her judgement and abilities, but she wasn't going to let go of them, either.

"Where can you find one?" asked Maid #2.

Maid #1 chuckled. "In the nest of the Gogoku bird. It's really rare, so...well, good luck trying to find it."

Raphtalia had left the inn to search for the Gogoku. The crisp night air blew across her body, giving her a bit of a chill.

"Once I find that Latium," she said to herself, "I'll make it into a charm and give that to Aris. Hopefully, he'll understand my feelings for him, and..."

Her face turned beet red at the thought of what might happen next. Would he actually...kiss me like that? she thought. He seems like he'd be more of a chaste person when it comes to romance, but...well, it's not out of the question.

She was roused from her thoughts by flashes of darkness appearing before her. Neoshadow Heartless emerged, their backs hunched and their beady yellow eyes focused on Raphtalia. The Demi-Human drew her sword.

The Neoshadows pounced. She cut them down with ease.

More Heartless appeared. She recognized them as Large Bodies, but there was one that looked somewhat different, in terms of wardrobe.

The anomalous Heartless reared its head and breathed great balls of fire at Raphtalia. Searing flames hurtled in her direction.

Raphtalia tried to run. More Large Bodies intercepted her.

The unknown Heartless reared its head again. Raphtalia flinched.

"Wind!"

A foreign voice exclaimed in front of Raphtalia as a boy jumped between her and the flame-breather. A barrier of wind formed around the boy, shielding Raphtalia from the fire. The flames were absorbed by the wind and sent back to their origin, incinerating the Heartless.

"Thunder!"

Forking arcs of glowing electricity rocked the remaining Large Bodies, dispatching them instantly.

All was quiet now. The boy who'd saved Raphtalia turned to her with a smile. It was then Raphtalia noticed his strangely spiky brown hair - and his very unusual outfit.

"You alright?" the boy asked her.

"Oh, I'm okay, thank you," said Raphtalia. "Those Heartless probably would've been my end if you hadn't shown up."

"You know the Heartless?"

Raphtalia nodded. "My friends and I have encountered them before. You do, too?"

"Yeah," replied the boy. "I fight Heartless like it's my job. I mean...it kinda is." He chuckled.

Raphtalia laughed with him.

"Say, ma'am," said the boy, "have you seen a girl with short red hair around? She wears a lot of pink, and she's got blue eyes, kinda like mine."

Raphtalia thought for a moment. She didn't recall anyone like that. "I don't think I have, why? Is she a friend of yours?"

The boy blushed. "Eh...you could say that. I'm looking for her. We got separated a while ago, and...well, I'm really worried about her. I know she can handle herself, but I can't help but be a little scared she might be hurt."

"What's her name?" asked Raphtalia. "Maybe I've heard it somewhere. It's a shot in the dark, though."

"Her name's Kairi," replied the boy.

"Oh, I definitely haven't heard anyone with that name," said Raphtalia.

The boy looked crestfallen. "Oh...okay. Sorry to bother you, then."

"Hey, hold on," said Raphtalia, "you don't have to apologize. I mean, if anything, you did save me from the Heartless. The least I could do is maybe try to help you find your friend."

The boy's face lit up. "You'd do that?"

Raphtalia nodded. "Of course! I have some friends who might be able to help you out, too. We're doing some traveling, so if you come with us, we might be able to find Kairi somewhere along the way."

"I like that idea!" said the boy.

"Actually," said Raphtalia, "I'm looking for something right now: a crystal that's housed in the nest of a rare bird found only in this area. Would you want to come with me? I wouldn't mind some company."

"I wouldn't mind at all!" The boy smiled.

Raphtalia and the stranger continued down the path.

The boy turned to her. "Hey, I never caught your name."

"Oh, sorry about that," she apologized. "I'm Raphtalia. And you are?"

"I'm Sora."

Sora

"My friends...are my power!"

Age: 16

Sex: Male

Level: 40*

Class: Keyblade Wielder

HP: 211/211

MP: 51/70

DRIVE: 9/9

LIMIT: FULL

STATS:

ATK: 162

DEF: 150

SPD: 90

EQUIPMENT:

Weapon: Kingdom Key (+30 ATK)

Headgear: None

Armor: Third Journey Shirt (+0 DEF), Third Journey Jacket (+2 DEF)

Legwear: Third Journey Pants (+3 DEF)

Footwear: Third Journey Shoes (+3 DEF)

The two of them continued down the path.

Suddenly, Sora had a smirk on his face. "Hey, I just got an idea."

Raphtalia looked intrigued. "What is it?"

Sora quickly got into a running stance. "We race! Whoever finds the nest first is the winner!"

The boy took off at a run.

Raphtalia started after him. "Hey, no fair!" she shouted. "You didn't warn me!"

Sora laughed. "I do this to my friend Riku all the time, and he still wins!"

Raphtalia sucked in air as she tried to keep up. Her efforts were fruitless.

Sora turned around and started running backward. "Come on, slowpoke, keep up!" he teased.

Raphtalia's eyes widened as she noticed something.

Sora was nearing the edge of a cliff.

She gasped. "Sora, watch it!"

Sora looked over his shoulder and screamed as he teetered on the edge of the bluff. "Wh-Whoa!"

"Hang on, I'll help you!"

Raphtalia didn't reach him in time. She was able to grab Sora's hand, but such a feat only resulted in her plummeting off the edge of the bluff with him.

They came to a screaming landing. Luckily for them, this landing was atop something soft.

Raphtalia winced. "Ow...my tail..."

"My butt," Sora quipped. "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," said Raphtalia. She patted the soft surface on which she and Sora had landed. "Good thing whatever this is cushioned our fall, huh?"

A beastly growl sounded off near them. The thing beneath their rear ends rumbled to life.

Raphtalia noticed its red eyes, filled with anger and a hint of hunger.

"I, uh..." Sora looked nervous, "...we should start making tracks."

He and Raphtalia bolted away as the massive silver-furred boar began to give chase.

Raphtalia went pale as she noticed a gap in the path ahead. "Oh, great, now what!?"

Sora took a deep breath. "Raphtalia, grab my hand!"

She did so, clasping Sora's left hand in a death grip that might have broken the bones of a weaker hand, like Filo's.

Sora held out his right hand. A small beam of blue light appeared near his palm, summoning what looked like an oversized skeleton key. The bow of the key was square-shaped and gold in color. A small chain hung from the butt end of the massive key, holding a peculiar emblem of three circles.

Still holding Raphtalia's hand, Sora slammed the tip of his key into the ground near the gap in the road, swinging himself and Raphtalia in a circle with the key as their axis. Their bodies suddenly became engulfed in pinkish-purple energy. They burst forward in the air, landing against the face of the cliff to the left of the road. Sora kicked off the cliff face, pushing himself and Raphtalia to safety on the other side.

The boar cried out in rage, furious at its failure to chase down its targets.

Sora slid to a halt, bending over and panting. "Hah...that was...that was a close one."

Raphtalia smiled at him. "Thanks, Sora."

He smiled back. "No worries. Happy to help." Sora got back up. "Now...where do we find that crystal you were looking for?"

Raphtalia's ears twitched with anticipation. "I think that's a Gogoku," she whispered to Sora.

Sora shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I'm...not exactly from around here."

"I can tell," replied Raphtalia. "But we'll put a pin in that discussion."

"Right." Sora and Raphtalia crept toward the slumbering avian. A purple glint flashed beneath the feathers of its chest. That was the Latium.

Sora slowly reached for the crystal. "Don't mind me, birdie," he said quietly. "Just trying to get this."

The Gogoku woke up with a startled screech and hysterical flapping.

Sora recoiled his hand. "Hey, birdie, I'm sorry!" he said gently. "I'm just trying to get that crystal you were sitting on."

A familiar growl rumbled behind him and Raphtalia. The silver-backed boar had reached them.

It charged. The duo dove to either side, barely evading its fury. The Gogoku grabbed the Latium crystal in its talons and took to the air, managing to escape the enraged beast.

Its nest and eggs, however, were not so lucky.

"No!" Raphtalia cried. "Come back!"

The boar turned back on itself, facing Raphtalia and Sora. The latter saw the destroyed eggs, the yolks and whites of which were spattered across the ground. There were even what looked like the mangled remains of an unborn chick among them. At the sight of that, Sora clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "That thing just killed an unborn baby," he seethed. "No Keyblade Wielder should let that slide!"

He summoned the large key - presumably his "Keyblade" - to his hand again.

Equipped Weapon (Sora): Kingdom Key

Weapon Type: Keyblade

Acquisition: Unknown

ATK: 30

Equip Bonus: Damage Control (damage taken decreases by 0.5% when at low HP)

Shotlock: Ragnarok

Formchanges: Arcanum Hammer, Sonic Greatsword, Strike Blasters, Guard Break Gauntlets

DESC: "May your heart be your guiding key."

The silver boar dragged one of its forefeet across the ground, ready to charge.

Sora narrowed his eyes at it.

Raphtalia stood firm by his side, drawing her sword.

The beast charged.

Sora jumped in front of Raphtalia. "Defense!"

A translucent energy bubble formed around him, stopping the boar in its tracks. The barrier burst into white light, knocking back the beast.

Raphtalia leaped into action, raising her sword for a killing blow.

The boar fell to the might of her blade. It dropped to its side, moving no more.

Sora cheered, spinning his Keyblade like a circus baton before shouldering it. "That's all she wrote!"

"Easy enough," Raphtalia breathed, sheathing her sword. "Shame we couldn't get that Latium, though."

"Speaking of," said Sora, "why were you looking for it?"

"I..." Raphtalia's cheeks turned pink, "...it's an old legend in this area that making a charm out of Latium and giving it to someone you have feelings for will help them understand that you love them. I...I was trying to find a piece of Latium so I could make a charm to...t-to give to someone I really li-l-love."

Sora smirked. "Wow, seems like you really care about them, huh? Who is it?"

"Y-You'll meet him later, I think. But...with the Latium gone, what can I give him...?"

She and Sora eyed the boar, turned back to each other, and nodded.

"But how are we gonna get it back to the town?" asked Sora.

Raphtalia smiled. "I know someone."

Filo shifted her weight with the boar on her back. "Man, how did you and this Sora guy kill this thing? It's really heavy."

"It's a long story," replied Raphtalia. "One that is probably best saved for later."

"Hey, you two!"

Two young men, who seemed to have been doing maintenance on the town's central fountain, ran over. "Is...Is that a Silver Razor Back you're carrying?" one of them asked. "It's like that thing on the fountain statue."

Raphtalia followed the man's pointed finger. Sure enough, the statue in the center of the fountain depicted, among other things, a boar strikingly similar to the one Filo had on her back.

"They're really valuable, Silver Razor Backs," added the other fountain worker. "Especially since we use them in our town rituals. We could buy it from you, and for good money."

Raphtalia and Filo met each other's gazes. They had an idea.

Sora looked confused. "What loop am I out of here?"

"This is for me?" Aris held an ornate box in his hand, admiring the quality-made crafting hammer inside. "It seems rather expensive."

"Yes, it is," said Raphtalia. "I...I got it as a gift for you. I wanted to show you my thanks for...for everything you've done for me. I-I mean, you've helped me in so many ways, so...even just buying something like that for you...I don't think it'd be nearly enough to repay everything you've done for me."

Aris smiled gently at her. "I...Raphtalia, you really didn't need to do something like this."

"I know," said Raphtalia, "but I wanted to. You...You deserve it, really."

"Yeah!" Filo added. "You've done so many great things! So Raphtalia decided to do something for you!"

"Well...I may not have asked for anything in return," Aris stepped towards Raphtalia, "but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful."

He set down the crafting hammer and took Raphtalia in his arms, holding her in a gentle embrace.

Raphtalia's breath hitched and her face turned crimson. She slowly returned the gesture.

"Actually," she said, her voice muffled as her face was buried in Aris's shoulder, "I...didn't really do all that stuff alone."

"Really?" Aris was curious. "Who helped you?"

"I did!"

BGM: Sora - Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

As Raphtalia let go of him, Aris looked to the door of the room to find the source of the voice. It was a peculiarly dressed young man with spiky brown hair and eyes as blue as the sky.

"Sorry I'm late," the youth said to Raphtalia. "Some Heartless spawned in the town square, so I took 'em down."

"It's alright," replied Raphtalia. She turned back to Aris. "Aris, I'd like you to meet Sora. We ran into each other while I was out last night."

"Nice to meetcha!" Sora said cheerfully.

"Greetings, Sora," said Aris.

"Sora's looking for a friend of his," Raphtalia explained, "and, well, he was wondering if he could travel with us in case we find her instead."

"Yeah," Sora added. "I promise I'll do my best!"

Aris nodded. "Welcome to the team, Sora. I look forward to working with you."

"Right! Same here!"

The last prince of Hyrule and the link to all exchanged a firm, friendly handshake.