Disclaimer: not mine

Ffnet seems to be fixing the email issue, I've started receiving the backlog in lots of about 10 with big gaps between groups.

2nd edition of The Night Woods is available on many sites. Paperback is still to come as it takes longer to publish. Even working on a hardcover for Amazon. Kickstarter for the new book is not doing well 12% with 16 days left. If you want to help either share or pledge, please. The campaign is called A Twist in the Tail.

Chapter 3

Riku kept his pace slow, Sora doing the same, Tim in between them as they made their way outside to the garden. It was the furthest Tim had walked so they were playing it safe. He looked a lot better than he had when they found him, Riku honestly hadn't been sure he'd survive his wounds, not when he had so little magic. Could Tim feel it growing yet, reinforcing his body? Keyblade wielders could do and survive things that others couldn't. Riku couldn't glide like Sora and Ven but he could still run up a skyscraper or survive falling from one.

They made it outside and Tim tipped his head back, soaking in the sunlight. He was pale still, but it seemed a natural pale and no longer from blood loss. Either he didn't tan easily or wasn't out in the sun much normally. Tim sat on the blanket Sora had set out earlier, leaning against a tree, breathing heavily. Riku grabbed a water bottle and handed it to him.

"Thanks," Tim smiled slightly at him, opening it to sip. "Hate recovery periods," he grumbled, and Sora laughed.

"Should have seen me the one time I broke my arm falling out of a tree when I was what…seven?" Sora glanced at him and Riku nodded.

"So glad that isn't an issue anymore mister I jump from the summit of mountains." Riku shuddered. "He could not sit still, had to have the cast re-done three times due to damage."

Tim laughed at that. "Broken bones suck," he agreed. "My stamina is completely shot now."

"You'll get it back and then more," Riku assured him. Magic would see to that.

Tim kind of reminded Riku of himself. Quiet and always watching; it was obvious he'd been through a lot, even before being stabbed and left to die. He'd seen the scars that littered his body, he'd seen violence, battle, before. Was the clothing he'd been wearing some kind of uniform maybe?

"This seems like a nice place to grow up," Tim murmured after a while.

"I guess," Sora shrugged. "Though it's only recently been recovering. Radiant Garden was destroyed a bit over a decade ago. Kairi, Riku's girlfriend, was originally from here. One night there was a shooting star and then the next day she was in the hospital, out mayor adopted her. She doesn't remember living here though, she was only four."

"The Destiny Islands are very different to here," Riku added, explaining the basics of their home.

"I'm used to having different planet, there's aliens on Earth. But the idea of Worlds that aren't just different planets is really strange."

"I guess it would be."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Dick collapsed on his bed, not that it felt like his bed. Months in the Gotham Penthouse and the place still didn't feel like home. He was also in the master bedroom when the very few times he'd been before, he'd been in the room Damian was now using. But it didn't feel right for either of them to use Tim's room and the only other bedroom was Alfred's.

Tim… no one could find a trace of him anywhere, not after a night at a hotel in Iraq…with people that Damian had grudgingly identified as members of the League of Assassins. Had he really pushed Tim so far that he'd work with Ra's? It made him feel sick. Babs had managed to find a record of the woman from the group in a hospital, her throat slit, but then it all vanished, obviously she'd been retrieved. But there was no sign of Tim or the two males anywhere.

Seeing the data he'd collected, having members of the League verify it… Tim had been right. Bruce was alive somewhere lost in time. He buried his face in his hands, it was all his fault. He'd been so focused on the fact they'd buried B that he refused to listen, believed it was just too much grief talking. And now…they could get Bruce back only to have to tell him Tim was gone.

He nearly jumped as he heard the window being forced, leaping up in alarm, only to stare in shock. How?

"Where is he?" Superboy demanded, blue eyes glowing red in anger.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"What is all that?" Sora asked as he leant in the door of the room Tim had been given, not surprised he didn't jump. Tim was not easy to sneak up on at all.

"My uniform," Tim answered absently. "It's fixable but it won't give the same level of protection. It needed altering anywhere, it'll be easier to fabricate a new one."

"So…you're in an army or something?" he asked, moving to take the chair and watch Tim work.

"What?" Tim looked up at him in surprise. "No, I'm too young for military service."

"Then…?"

Tim stared at him, considering. "I'm a vigilante," he finally answered.

"A what?" Sora hadn't heard of that before.

"A vigilante." Tim paused. "I've never actually had to explain that before," he admitted.

Sora settled in to listen to his explanation, it sounded very strange to him, the closest he could think of was Hiro and Baymax. But it sounded a lot more organised and widespread in Tim's World. But it also…sounded like something Yen Sid would not agree with at all. He supposed in a way they could almost be considered vigilantes by Tim's definition but they did serve an authority outside of the Worlds they protected in that they supposedly answered to the current Masters.

"Who's the weirdest enemy you've ever faced?" he asked curiously, and Tim considered it.

"Well…for lamest I'd have to say Condiment King, he literally uses condiments as his weapons. The washing after is a pain and you stink like mustard or ketchup for about a week."

"Okay, gross," Sora agreed. "I've fought flans, they'd be the closest to him since they tend to be fruity, but they don't shoot fruit!" He figured it was time to give Tim a better explanation of what Keyblade wielders did.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim listened as Sora gave more information on what it meant to be a Keyblade wielder, even if he didn't really believe he was one. It just seemed too fantastical to him. But there were some similarities to being a vigilante or hero. The photos on Sora's phone were incredible and the idea of being able to do some of those moves would be very fun. They laughed at some of the mistakes Sora had made in battle and Tim shared some of his own, wishing he had his photos to show Sora in return.

"Sora…when can I go home?" he asked after a while, and Sora put his phone away, becoming serious.

"We've got a few options there," he answered, and that was hopefully good. "Option one, we get you to where you can supress your presence and you have a visit before leaving to continue training. Or you stay till you finish and then go home. The third option is that I go with you and train you there, with Riku stopping in occasionally to check on your progress as a Master."

Tim stared at him in surprised. "You'd do that?"

"We didn't have that option, when the Keyblade came to me…our home was gone, fallen to Darkness. Even when it was restored, I didn't get to go home. I've been back since but…it doesn't feel the same anymore," he admitted softly.

As much as he just wanted to choose the third option, he had to consider them all logically.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Yen Sid read Riku's latest update, pleased that their newest wielder was healing well. It was very good he had sensed this Tim's presence when he had, if they had arrived any later it would have been too late. It was interesting that he had yet to summon his Keyblade but perhaps the attack he had suffered had been too quick and since then all his energy was going to healing. They would have much to work on once he arrived, though Riku had not even approximated when that might be which was strange.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Kairi put her book down and stretched, smiling as her phone beeped with a message from Riku. A new wielder, how exciting! Sadly, they were another boy, she'd been hoping for another girl since it was just her and Aqua. Not that she blamed Xion for wanting to just be a normal teenager for a while, Roxas was doing the same as was Naminé. It meant if anything happened, they were down two, though they had Sora back.

Sora… so much had changed since the Keyblade Graveyard. She'd been so sure of herself going into the battle, so determined to prove she was more than just a Princess of Heart, to protect Sora like he always did her and yet…she was still captured and used against him. It was saving her that had ended with him vanishing. Would she ever get over the guilt? She hadn't meant to fall in love with Riku, sure, she'd had a crush on him before they left home but it had been fading as his behaviour changed the closer to the Island's destruction they'd gotten. After that, she'd been hidden within Sora and then focused on him for so long. But after he was gone those old feelings for Riku had come back full force as they worked together to get Sora back. She still loved Sora, she always would, just…not how she'd thought.

He was so different since coming back too, quieter, withdrawn at times. Everyone said it was normal enough given everything he'd been through, but she missed the old Sora. And now he was missing his exam, he had to be so disappointed about that. Would it ever go right for him?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Kon lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He'd been back for a week now and yet it all felt so wrong. So much had changed while he was gone…dead. Batman, Bruce, was gone. Everyone had thought him dead except Tim and for that… well, maybe it was good he hadn't been around for that, sure, he could have supported Tim and Bart would have too. But they also would have gotten in serious trouble for their reactions to how others took Tim's insistence that Batman was alive. And of course, Tim had set things up so his evidence would be sent on even if something happened to him.

Could they have come back only for Tim to now be gone? He'd searched the world; he couldn't pick up on Tim anywhere. Sure, he could be somewhere that blocked Kon's senses, but all the time?

With how desperate Tim must have been, Kon wasn't surprised he'd worked with the League though he knew Tim would have been planning to cause serious issues for Ra's as well. He also knew Tim would not have killed even if Ra's wanted to, Tim knew where that could lead him thanks to their little trip to that possible future and he never wanted to become that person. None of them wanted to be who they had been in that timeline.

He just…couldn't get over how they'd treated Tim, mister logical who never suggested a theory without evidence to back it up. So why hadn't Dick listened? No one else had because Dick had gotten to them first.

So now he was back and he didn't know what to do. Did he want to go back to the Titans with how they'd treated Tim? Cassie had apparently sided with Dick and joined a cult, could their relationship recover from that? He could easily forgiver her and Tim kissing, it'd been grief and their connection to him. But the rest? He knew Bart wasn't sure about what came next either.

There were no current big threats so maybe…they could actually take their time and consider all their options?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ienzo paused and turned back to find someone under the console to the main computer. Those legs did not look familiar which meant they likely belonged to Tim. But why? "Hello?" he called, not wanting to startle him into hitting his head.

Sure enough, Tim rolled out from under the console, a smear of something on one cheek. "Oh, hi Ienzo."

"Hello, Tim. May I ask what you're doing under there?"

"I was talking with Ansem about the differences in technology and he agreed I could take a look and see what I could do for you." He lifted his hand to reveal the glove he'd been wearing on arrival…and the screen embedded. Could that truly be a computer?

"I see…"

"I'm bored and I feel bad about being here and doing nothing. I've been working with computers most of my life."

"Well then, thank you."

"Thank me if I manage to get the upgrades working." And with that he vanished back under the console. A second later Tron called out something beyond Ienzo's computer level, Tim responding.

It was not necessary, but it was kind of him to do so.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim moved carefully through the stretches he'd learnt before ever being allowed out on patrol, one of the first things Bruce had taught him. It was a relief to find no pain, not even much of a pull from the surgical site, just the pull of muscles that had gotten unused to exercise. Hearing the slight sound of footsteps, he looked up to see Sora who stopped to watch him. And then Sora joined him, copying his movements. Then Sora began to lead and Tim followed along, always willing to learn.

"Any pain?" Sora asked when they were done, Tim breathing heavily, sweat dampening his hair.

He grinned and shook his head. "None."

"Great! So, let's get started, we talked and we're going to try and help you summon your Keyblade first since it'll make learning magic easier. Technically, you'll be able to cast without it, but the boost to your magic it gives is really handy in the beginning."

Tim nodded, still not sure about the whole thing, but the sooner he either learned or proved to them they had the wrong person then the sooner he could get home.

"Let's head outside, don't want to do accidental damage."

"Sure," Tim agreed, following Sora out into the gardens.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Riku watched as Tim listened to Sora, able to see his scepticism. It was interesting, most would be eager to learn to summon a magical weapon, but Tim seemed reluctant. Ansem had mentioned he was worried about his adoptive father not accepting it, would that keep him from succeeding?

He sighed and glanced at the message, Master Yen Sid was not pleased with him refusing to answer the more prying questions or even give a date for their arrival at his tower. Riku was starting to dread how their meeting would go, Tim would not just follow Yen Sid's orders because he was the oldest Master, that was obvious. And he was determined to return home, not that Riku could blame him. The three of them had never truly fit in so leaving hadn't been hard but Tim had family to go home to. Technically, Sora had his Mum and Riku had his parents but it'd been so long since either of them spent any real time with their families that visiting always felt awkward.

He figured Tim was going to choose to have Sora return with him to work on his training and that was fine. It wasn't like when Sora vanished, they'd still be able to keep in contact. And maybe Sora could be happy again away from the pressure that Yen Sid kept pressing on him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ansem listened as Tim explained what he had done to their computer system, Tron happily praising his work in the background. The young man was quite brilliant and if he was not to be a Keyblade wielder or return home then he would offer him a position with them. He lacked much of the equipment he was used to and yet he had managed to increase the power and speed of the system.

"Tron, call Chip and Dale. I do believe they would love to work with you," he told Tim, who just blinked and then nodded.

He stared at the sight of the two as they began enthusiastically greeting Ansem and Ansem quickly introduced them to Tim. Within a minute the three were lost in their own world of technology so he left them be.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ra's frowned as he read the latest report. Things were not going well with the Council of Spiders. How had they gotten to the Expediter when the only time he left the Cradle was to go to another base or see his family? The family was watched constantly and the team had not reported any issues. He'd had to burn the Cradle after that and so far, he had lost three other bases. They were good, though their actions had slowed since the Cradle's destruction.

Prudence had been little help in discovering Timothy's fate. She knew he had been impaled by the assassin but that was all. It was all highly frustrating.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim grinned as he flew across the cobbled streets, Sora beside him on another board. It had been so long since he'd skateboarded, finding them scattered about for quick, easy transport had been a happy surprise. It was a bumpier ride but still a lot of fun and Sora was really good too. It was his first time off the castle grounds and he was curious about the town, the damage still obvious in some areas but so was the ongoing rebuilding.

They were going to meet some of Sora's friends who helped protect this World from the Heartless. He'd been warned that they still showed up and while the defences could handle most, they couldn't deal with all of them. He kind of wanted to see one, to see what this threat was. Maybe it would feel real if he did. He'd seen Sora's Keyblade but it all still seemed like a fairy tale. He'd had no luck summoning a Keyblade and it was probably because of that (or that they had the wrong person).

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Leon studied the newcomer who was observing everything with the attitude of a fighter. He wasn't overly tall or muscular but neither was Sora. He had black hair almost to his shoulders, icy blue eyes, and there was definitely muscle hidden by the clothing that didn't quite fit rit.

"Tim, this is Leon, he's kind of in charge of the Restoration Committee. And that's Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith. Where's Merlin, Cloud, and Tifa?" Sora asked.

"Cloud and Tifa are out in The Great Maw," Leon told him. "Merlin is around somewhere." He offered his hand to Tim who took it and shook, interesting lack of weapons calluses or scars but he could wear gloves in a fight.

"Nice to meet you," the teen offered.

"His World has no Heartless," Sora announced, shocking them all. "And a confrontation is a good way to manifest the Keyblade for the first time so I figured it was time to bring him into town."

Leon was surprised. A World with no Heartless? And a new Keyblade wielder? Bring him into town…so he was the mystery patient Ansem had been healing. Normally, he'd suggest the Maw but if he hadn't summoned it yet, that might be a bit too dangerous.

"There were some sightings earlier near the market," Yuffie offered after nearly shaking the poor guys arm from the socket.

"Thanks!" Sora grabbed Tim's hand and dragged him away.

TBC….