Three and the others had managed to locate Ravus, however, the cyclops was surrounded by so many dangerous heartless that they were forced to do more running and cowering in fear than fighting and advancing further into the enemy's base. The only one who didn't get the memo was Three, who was absorbed by Riku's gummiphone, pretty much never taking her eyes off of it, even feigning sleep so she could tinker around with the device.

In the time since they departed on their journey, Three managed to gain a solid grasp on how the gummiphone worked, despite never reaching past the lock screen. That was her next step, and the most challenging one yet. Figuring out which word Riku used to lock his device proved to be nigh impossible, even for Three, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"Lady Three!" Octa dove to the ground to avoid the attack from an airborne heartless. "Is now really the best time to be fiddling with that contraption?"

"Not now." Three effortlessly weaved through a round of dark spheres fired in her direction, all without taking her eyes off of the illuminated screen. She was in the middle of typing in yet another guess at the passcode only to be met with a red screen that read 'Too Many Passcode Attempts. Call Chip n Dale to reset passcode'.

'Could this be a breakthrough?' Without hesitation, Three called the elusive 'Chip n Dale', imagining who or what they could possibly be. Of all the people she guessed would pick up her call, two funny-looking chipmunks were definitely on the bottom of her list, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. "Fascinating, what strange animals..."

Chip and Dale started to wave at Three before slowly putting their hands down.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Chip asked.

'And they talk too? What other secrets does this device hide?' "His...girlfriend?"

He crossed his arms. "Uh huh, likely story."

"Yeah, likely story! No way Riku would ever have a girlfriend!" Dale said.

"No, it's true. We're-" She had to run for cover abruptly because a large blast of fire consumed the battlefield.

"Jumping chestnuts, what the heck's going on?!" Chip yelled.

"Heartless." Three shot a few Red Nocturnes down with a crossbow then returned to Chip and Dale. "I forgot his 'passcode'. Can you give it to me?"

"Hmm..." Chip scrunched his little nose up. "Well, it's not like Riku to just give up his gummiphone to anybody, maybe you really are his girl. Still, allowing an outsider like you to access the gummiphone could potentially breach you-know-what."

"You know what?" Dale asked.

Chip whispered something into his brother's ear.

"Oh riiight! Worl-"

"Shut it, Dale!"

'Not good. They won't allow me access to the device if I'm an outsider to them. I have to trick them into thinking that I know what they're talking about, but how? Perhaps the answer lies in that conversation he was having with those box people.'

'The girl called Midgard a "world", which implies that she, the rat, and Riku are of a different world. I think that's what the chipmunk means by calling me an outsider. It sounded like the red-nose chipmunk was on the verge of saying "world" too.'

'What else do I know? Riku's a keyblade master, whatever that means, and he came to Midgard looking for "Sora", whoever that is.'

'Okay. I think I have enough to come up with a convincing lie.' "Riku..." She began. "Wanted me to tell...Kairi... that he's doing...keyblade master stuff... in another world...and he can't tell her in person because he's fighting the heartless so he trusted me to do it."

Shocked at Three's apparent breadth of knowledge, Chip and Dale turned around to discuss the matter between themselves.

"Wait, so I guess she knows about all the different worlds and stuff huh?" Dale asked.

"Riku must be serious about her if he shared all of that with her," Chip said.

"Looks like they're in a pretty hairy situation too. We should prolly help her out."

"I don't know...I still think there's something funny about this, don't you think?"

"Relax Chip-" He slapped him on the back. "It'll be fine! She already knows about world order, what's the worst that can happen?"

"I guess you're right."

The brothers faced Three again.

"Alright, we'll send you a temporary passcode but it'll expire after 30 minutes- you know the drill," Chip explained. "Okay, best of luck against the heartless!"

Dale waved Three goodbye. "Yeah, good luck!"

A few minutes later Three received the code and immediately typed it in, granting her full access to Riku's gummiphone.


J Geil (12/17): Um I would personally love HSM to be a world in kh4. Sharpay would obviously use the heartless to do her nefarious deeds, she already ended the uchiha bloodline. Zero and Sharpay rivaling with each other would be hilarious omg, that'd take me out. Yes I fully intend on going through to Branch D, I'm sorry if I didn't clarify that or if I said something different earlier. I'd wait until I get a gauge on the design first, it would be cool if he does so I'm holding out on it. Merry Christmas to you to ^_^

Guest (12/14): 'Only You' sounds kinda twisted coming from The Joker

Deeno3p0: I'll probably come out with a side story or something like that. I've grown pretty attached the D3 characters so I'd like to do something more with them in the future. Omg I glad you like Rosa, I realized I wrote all the elves as terrible people so I had to use her to balance things out. Now that I think about, yeah she's def has all the tropes of a Disney princess, technically a magical girl too by definition. Oh god yeah, that scene was a mess, sometimes I look back and can't believe some of the things I write in this fic.

In regards to A2, once the story of N:O2 unfolds you'll see how things sort of go for her and where her story ends.

As for Sora, honestly, I think that's the reality for many video game protagonists. For the sake of the game, they're in a constant state of adventure, it's especially so for Sora since he's one of the few video game protagonists where he's in a story that builds off on each other. I'd be surprised if they actually address Sora hasn't had a break since like….maybe the gaps between kh2, kh:coded, kh:3D, if there were any, and the nap he took for a year :/ Merry Christmas to you too!

Centurious the Azure: Yeah I was thinking about something that would be punishment for Three, same way the convent was for Five, and figured a prison labor camp would be it. I tried to draw beefy Octa, your description's way funnier tho. I'm glad there's another One enjoyer, I get the feeling not a lot of ppl like her even though she's a great character imo. Yes Claudia is a reference to the historical roman empress Claudia Octavia. Fyra is just Four in Swedish, ik that's pretty lame tho. I look forward for when you'll be updating your story, I'm getting every done now before the holidays start bc I know I'll have no time for anything after that.

VonLeporace: Thank you!

Phoenix Keyblade: Now the score's 1-0

J Geil (11/9): So glad you liked the chapter, it was def a fave for me to write as well! Dialogue's like 90% of the story so I have to get that right at least. The KH cast would love Mikhail, no doubt there, it's Zero they'd have some mixed feelings on. That's such an interesting question, I think I'll just spitball a rough guess on how they'd receive Zero at first

Hates her guts: Donald

Doesn't like her right/annoyed by her: Aqua, Terra, Mickey(?)

Amused/interested by her: Lea, Mickey(?)

Likes her immediately: Goofy, Kairi, Sora, Ven(?)

Intimidated by her, avoids at all costs: Roxas, Xion, Namine, Ven(?)

Uncertain, really depends on the context: Mickey, Ven

By the story's end, I'll def have to complete some of the fanart ideas to celebrate me finally finishing it! No need to apologize at all lol, this is very fun!

Goldfaber (11/9): Yeah, one of the reasons I brought Maleficent in was bc of her dragon form, I definitely intend on writing a fight with Dragon Maleficent. Tbf Three's not the worst representative for the D3 cast, better her than Five or Zero.

Anon (11/6): Oh I put Pete through the wringer, he deserves it tho. All of the disciples and their schticks get old very fast, Dito's the only one I semi-like bc his humor's kind of funny at times. Idk why but something abt One being taught positive affirmations cracks me up. I think it's because for someone in Midgard a talking dragon is far more common than like a talking goat so they'd find it strange. Riku could not have taken into account Three would just like her entire ass off to get what she wants. No Decadus wasn't referencing Pete, he was just being a bit psychotic. Tbh, I think Riku would look great in Four's outfit, he could def work it in that oversized coat. Idk I think Maleficent's just built different, that's why she's an abnormally large faerie. Maybe to contain all the evil inside her.

Gundam-Knight-Chris: It's been 84 years…

keybladelight: yes three def said that line with intention! While I think Three accessing the secrets of KH would change her demeanor towards Riku entirely, don't think she'd propose to him? Feel like we're missing a few steps in there. No, the Intoners are always at odds with each other, if they actually worked together then they'd be getting somewhere. Well, you're not like out of the ballpark for what I intend to do with Branch C, but it'll be no better/worse than how the other endings develop.


"Verklärte Schweigen No. 2"

"You still haven't told me yet."

"Told you what?" Zero's finger entwined itself into Riku's collar.

"If you wanna go by Rose or Zero."

"Wouldn't make sense to call me Rose while I'm still an Intoner." She traced her finger from his collar to his shoulder, slipping his jacket off.

"You won't be one for long, I'll make sure of it."

"No. Not until you're free of the Flower first."

"But-"

"Riku, please... just do that for me. Promise me."

He dragged his hand over his mouth. "...You know, I hate the sacrifice stuff just as much as you do."

"It's not like that, I'm just making sure you don't do anything stupid." She cupped her hand on his face, massaging her thumb around his cheek. "I'm not losing you."

"...Fine. Promise."

"Good." Her gaze drew downward, and so did her hand, dropping from his face to his stomach. As her fingertips grazed past his belly button, she felt him jump from her touch. When she tilted her head back up, she saw how red his face was turning.

"You nervous?" She asked in a soft voice.

"...uh..."

"I was nervous too...for my first time."

"...You're just saying that."

"No, I mean it, I was scared shitless. But I don't want you to feel the same way I did."

Riku wrapped his hands around hers, holding them tight. "Well, I'm not scared. I feel safe with you."

"That's all I want you to be." She reached up to kiss him, biting at his lip before tearing herself away from him again. "So...how long are you going to make me wait for you?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"—ZEROOOOOO!"

"D-Did you hear that just now?" Riku asked.

"No."

"ZEROOOOO—I know you can hear me—OOOOOOOO!"

"...fuck." She groaned.

"ZEROOOOO! ZEROOOOOO!"

"—Mikhail!" Gabriella snarled. "CUT IT OUT, I'm trying to get some damn sleep over here!"

"But I'm so huuuuuuungry!"

"Then go hunt for some food! Hello, you're a dragon!"

"Zero promised she was going to bring back something yummy but her and Riku have been gone for so long and I'm starving! They're big fat meanies for doing this to me!"

"Of all the dragons Michael could've reincarnated as, it just had to be some loud-mouthed, sniveling brat!"

"Wahhh, don't be so mean to me Granny Gabby! It's not my fault!"

"'Granny Gabby'?! You got some nerve fixing your lips to call me that!"

"Oh but Granny Gabby is so endearing," One teased.

"Stay out of this! Hmph, you young'uns have no respect for your elders! Anyways, back to you Mikhail, hate to break it to you kid, but they're probably screwing each other so I'd start finding something to eat now if I were you."

"'Screwing each other'? What does that mean?"

"I'm not telling you all of that- what do I look like?!"

"It means she's just fulfilling her needs as a woman," One said.

"Huh, whaddya mean? I don't get it."

"You'll understand when you're older, Mikhail. Regrettably, I've still retained that quality about her despite the Flower no longer having its hold on me."

"—Didn't know you had it bad like that."

One wheeled around to meet with Zero who was returning to the campsite along with Riku. "It seems as though my senses have regressed back to that of a normal person, otherwise I would've heard you both coming. And here I assumed you two would be gone all night..."

"Because hearing my dragon wail halfway across the motherfucking town put me out of the mood!" She whipped her head to Mikhail. "And what if I didn't come back, then what?!"

"Of course you would 'cause we're best friends! Besides, my tummy was rumbling so loud I couldn't even take a nap!"

"Neither would you let anyone else..." Gabriella grumbled.

"So what took you so long anyways?! Were you guys 'screwing each other'?"

"...I wish- I mean, Mikhail! Don't say that! Where the hell did you even get that from?!" Zero asked.

"Granny Gabby told me!"

"What? How did you even guess something like that?"

"How did I even- girl be for real! You were so thirsty I thought you'd taken a lap around the Land of Sands before we found you. Tch, you're definitely the older sister, no mistake about that."

Zero actually didn't have anything to reply back with because she was right, not that she'd ever admit to it. Cursing out a dragon that would have no qualms with killing her on the spot didn't seem like the best move either, so she just left it at that and went to get started on dinner.

'Looks like her temper's getting a lot better.' "I should go help her," Riku said.

"Not so fast. You've been suspiciously quiet, tell me, how was your outing with Zero?" One asked.

"...Good."

She raised an eyebrow. "Just good?"

He crossed his arms. "Great, even. Why do you wanna know?"

"Nothing more than curiosity. She seems to be in an unusually good mood, I don't believe I've ever seen her smile before."

"Oh. Well we checked out a festival too while we were in Lindblum so that's probably why. Which reminds me, Zero got something for you and she wanted me to give it to you."

"A gift? From Zero?"

"It has to be a bomb," Gabriella said.

"Actually, I think it's a book."

"You're kidding," One said.

"See for yourself." Riku took out a small package from his pocket, then handed it to One.

When she opened up the package, it was in fact a book. "I can't believe it, this is so -" Then she read the cover. "'Four's Four Hundred Ways On How To Become A Better Leader, Sister, Public Speaker...and, most importantly; Person'."

"Huh, a Land of Mountain's bestseller too. Guess lying out your ass does get you far," Gabriella said.

"Thank you, this was a very thoughtful gift," She said before casually tossing it into the campfire.

"Zero thought ...you would've... liked it. Wasn't my idea," Riku said, rubbing his neck.

"...You're mistaken, I hold no will against Zero for her pettiness. After all, most prostitutes don't know how to read so it's not like she would've known the difference between-"

A butcher knife flew past One's face, the blade just barely missing her, and lodged itself in Mikhail's forehead instead.

"OWIE! That hurt Zero! Why'd you throw that at me AGAIN?!"

Zero went up to Mikhail, then yanked the knife out from his forehead. "My bad, my hand slipped in the WRONG direction." She walked back over to One, glaring at her. "The meat's cooking right now. So instead of figuring out ways to kill yourself, why don't you tell the class about your big, master plan to stop Four?"

"...Very well. Tomorrow, we'll rendezvous at Elfheim, then launch one coordinated attack on Three's shrine where Four is located. We have no intel on what Four's defensive measures looks like, all we know is that she can command those demons, so we can expect to face them. Additionally, she's working with someone named 'Maleficent' as well as my own brother."

"Brother?" Zero asked.

"It's a long story, just know that he's identical to me and wields a dragonbone sword. As for us, we'll mainly be relying on Three, Ravus, Gabriella, whatever soldiers we can round up, and of course you, Riku, and Mikhail."

"Oh, so we're all gonna die tomorrow?"

"Have some faith in your allies, sister. Are we severely outnumbered? Yes. Are we up against someone who's psychotic and unpredictable? Also yes, but-"

"We have each other to rely on and our hearts to guide us!" Riku said.

"You're lucky you're cute..." Zero muttered.

"What I was going to say was that we possess every tool necessary to kill her, so we will make the shrine serve as her final resting place."

"So you're actually planning on killing her?"

"She is lost. There's nothing left of her to save."

"That's not true. I can 'exorcise' the Flower out of her just like what I did with you and free her from the darkness," Riku said.

"No, we cannot forsake justice on her behalf nor can we pin all of her actions on the Flower. How do you think that'll come across to the people whose lives have been ripped apart because of her? Should we tell them; 'Please put away the guillotine, Four didn't mean to destroy your entire village'?"

"I'm not saying Four hasn't done terrible things and she's not a garbage person, but wouldn't that apply to the rest of your sisters too? Pretty sure they all did messed up stuff, not just her."

"Except they didn't bruise her ego," Zero said.

One scoffed. "You say that as if this is nothing more than some petty grudge."

"You're my sister, so of course it is."

"Don't reduce my motivations down to something so simplistic—but I will admit, there is some truth to what you said earlier, Riku. I didn't want to say this before, as not to upset Three, but once the Intoners are gone... there will be no shortage of people lining up to kill us. We acquired Midgard through blood and sustained it through song. Without it, the world will soon turn against us."

"Then start things over and do things the right way this time around! Don't give up so easily on fighting for the world just because the road ahead of you will be tough."

"That's easier said than done."

"No one said it would be. As for Four, I don't have all the answers on if it's the right thing to spare her life or not so...I don't really know what the best thing to do is. I guess since she's your guys's sister then, ultimately, it's your decision. I just want everyone to have a fair chance, you know?" Riku said.

"Eh, who knows. With the way things are going, she might just be your sister-in-law before long," Gabriella said.

"Shut the fuck up!" Zero snapped.

"...Well I'm set on ending Four's life. What of you, Zero?" One asked.

"You never have to ask me whether or not I want to kill my sisters..." She looked over to Riku. "But I guess we could try not killing her or whatever."

She tried not to break out into laughter at Zero's response.

"What's so funny?" Zero asked.

"Nothing. I just find it ironic how our roles have reversed. I suppose you've become so blinded by love that you're willing to become just as ineffectual and...what's the word? Soft, as he is."

Riku held Zero back from pouncing on One.

"SOFT?! I'll show you soft! Consider that virgin dead!"

One smirked, knowing her words would illicit such a response from Zero, but all the spite and vitriol was well worth it as long as everything was going according to her plan.

"I'm glad you see things my way. Be prepared for tomorrow you two, despite the plan I've laid out, there's no telling what Four will pull out of her sleeve so we must be ready for anything..." One wheeled around to Riku. "And Riku, keep your head on your shoulders. You can't save this world if you spiral into madness."

Four's Airship

-Captain's Quarters-

After Four washed her face in the wash basin, she went to her vanity to finish dolling herself up for the big day. However, when she took a look at herself in the mirror, she could see the white in her hair starting to show.

Frowning, she reached into her drawer to pull out a brown vial then returned to the wash basin to mask the white hairs. Then she checked her eyes to make sure they weren't starting to show as well. "Good...eyes as beautiful as the daylit sky-and they're all mine~"

Next up, she went to her wardrobe, browsing through her selection of outfits. Her hand stopped at the silky, emerald green dress tucked all the way in the back. "Haven't worn this old thing in a while...does it even fit anymore? Oh, what the hell, it's a special occasion! It's not like the end of the world happens every day hee hee!"

Four stepped out of the Captain's Quarters totally different from how she usually presented herself; her hair was down, she was in a fancy dress, and she even applied some light makeup. If she hadn't lost her mind recently and been subjugated to the whims of a parasitic demon, her old self would've turned her nose up and swore she was taking a page out of Five's book.

Claudia caught sight of Four as she walked down the deck, and gestured over to her. "Looking good, princess. By the way, preparations have been set, ready to go whenever you are."

Four clasped her hands together. "Wonderful! You're the best, bestie!"

"Hm, I know. So where will our first destination be?"

"Why, Elfheim, naturally. It's the most logical place to target, strategically speaking. We'll be blowing that village to kingdom come."

"Elfheim..."

"Hm what's wrong ? Awww-" She stuck out her lip in mock sympathy. "Are you sad we'll have to kill all those poor wittle elves? Bestie. Look I hate to say it, but sometimes you have to crack a few...hundred...eggs give or take to make the world's best omelet!"

"No, I don't care about them. It's about my brother."

"Ughhhhh. This again." She folded her arms. "You already know how I feel about that loser."

"Bestie, you're not seeing the vision!"

"What, vision?! He's incontinent now, can't even use his own-"

"But you could use your Intoner powers on him and bring him back!"

"No why would I- actually the better question is why do you insist on staying stuck behind your brother's shadow when I want you to play the lead role?"

"...Play the lead role? But...how? With what power?"

"Welcome to manipulation 101! Listen Claud, real talk, even if we had him on our side and I pulled out all the stops, we'd still be done-zo against those two in a real fight. That's a fact. Not to mention, they're not the only ones we have to worry about, they're just the most dangerous ones by far."

"But-"

"Ah-ah, no but's! I know my sister, and I've heard enough ranting from Maleficent to practically write a book about Riku. We have to play dirty and hit below the belt, that's the only way we win. Aaaaaand lucky for us, Riku's mind is already in an incredibly fragile state, so with the right amount of pressure he'll-" She clenched her fist. "-BREAK. Just do the usual stuff, you know, poke and prod at his insecurities, haunt him with his past trauma...all the good stuff!"

Four grabbed Claudia's shoulders, locking her eyes onto hers. "Claudia, this is why I chose you, your ability is perfect for this type! Plus you literally get off on hurting people, who's better equipped for this job than you?"

"Well, you're not wrong. Okay...so what do you want me to do?"

"Whatever your little messed up heart desires! Who am I to impede your artistic vision? Although I have some ...directorial notes, you could call it-" She flipped out a folded piece of paper. "We both know that no matter what, Riku's going to be a major pain in the ass, so I came prepared with a secret weapon."

Claudia took the paper from Four's hand, then opened it up. "...I don't get it. What is this?"

"A weakness. I had Pete prepare a file for me a while ago 'cause I figured the best way to beat your enemy is to know your enemy, and BOY is he one giant clusterfuck! Trust me, this is gonna set him over the edge, then all I have to do is use my song on him and he's my willing slave. Flawless plan, right?"

"Oh, it's downright diabolical. So what do you have for Zero?"

"Riku already has the Flower so I'll just use him to kill her and be done with it."

"That's it? What about the torture and the-"

Four shook her head. "Not gonna work on her."

"But she has to pay for what she did to my brother!"

"And she will pay, just not directly. Trust me on this bestie, you don't wanna mess with Zero, she's crazier than me! Ha ha ha!"

"—Commander Four! We've reached Elfheim, awaiting your orders!" Called out one of her generals.

"And that's our cue!" Four walked over to the edge of the railing, staring down at the elven village. "...Let's reduce it to ash."

That same morning, Zero, Riku and One boarded their respective dragons, then set course for Elfheim where they would rendezvous with Three's team. Although, knowing Three, they were going to be incredibly late anyways and screw up One's meticulous planning. However, as they were flying closer to Elfheim, Three's tardiness became the least of their worries. From afar, they could see a fleet of airships circling above the direction of where the village was located and more troublesome— thick, black smoke billowing into the sky.

"Damn it! Four struck much earlier than anticipated." But One, ever the tactician, thought up of a working strategy on the fly. "...Riku, you'll fend off Elfheim on the ground and evacuate as many villagers as you can!"

"Got it."

"Zero, you and Mikhail will take on Four while Gabriella, and I will handle the airships and provide as much backup as we can. Hopefully, Three and the others arrive in time to support us, otherwise, we'll have a long road ahead of us."

"You ready, kid?" Gabriella asked, picking up speed.

Mikhail managed to match Gabriella's speed by furiously flapping his wings. "Uh-huh! Get ready to see my awesome fireballs in action, Granny Gabby!"

"Just try not to piss on yourself too much..."

Once the dragons were flying over Elfheim's gates, Riku stood up. "Zero, Mikhail, be careful."

"We'll be fine, right Zero?" Mikhail said.

"Yeah. Same shit, different day," Zero said.

"I know, but still. Don't push yourself too much or do anything reckless."

"Okay, okay."

"One more thing."

"What?"

He held Zero's face in his hand, then gave her a kiss on the cheek, "...Later." After that, he stepped off Mikhail's back and dropped hundreds of feet in the air.

"What the hell? Is he trying to kill himself?! We just got here!" Gabriella yelled.

"No, he does this stuff a lot ha ha!" Mikhail said. "Zero said he's like 'fall damage proof' but I dunno what that means."

"It means he's a freak of nature!"

"—Treacherous Intoners!"

Catching sight of Mikhail and Gabriella, Four's trusted generals; Steiner and Beatrix, ran to the edge of her airship. "Intoners! You oppose our lady's wishes and stand in the way of her radiance, therefore you shall be swiftly eliminated!"

"Zero, there's no doubt Four's on that airship, so I'll leave this one to you. Gabriella and I will take care of the rest of the enemy airships," One said.

"..."

When One didn't get a response, she turned to Zero and realized she wasn't paying attention to her in the slightest. "...Oh here we go."

"Earth to fucking Zero!" Gabriella yelled.

"..."

"ZERO!"

"...oh my god- WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!"

"Get your head out of Riku's ass! Your target's right in front of you!"

"Men, fire at this witch and her dragon!" Steiner commanded.

Zero reeled Mikhail back just in time to avoid the barrage of cannon fire. "So where the hell's Four?!"

Beatrix rested her leg up on the ship's railing, drawing her trusted sword. "Worry not about our lady, witch. When I'm through with you, you won't even get a chance to lay eyes upon her...or eye, I should say."

"Not this smug bitch again. Mikhail, bring me closer to her, I'll finish them off now!"

Before Mikhail could fly any closer to the ship, his shadow morphed into an enormous dark portal.

"Huh, what's that?"

"Mikhail, get away from it now!"

A giant arm emerged from the dark portal, grabbing Mikhail by the neck just as he was trying to fly away. Holding Mikhail firmly in its clutches, a massive Darkside heartless pulled itself out from the darkness to serve Four's army. With Gabriella battling against a fleet of airships, and Riku grounded in the village, it was up to Mikhail to become his own hero. He snapped and clawed at the Darkside, vigorously fighting back to escape from its hold.

At the same time, General Beatrix leaped off from Four's airship, landing on Mikhail's back to confront Zero directly. "I've heard much about you witch, none good. Through my blade, your reign of terror will-"

Zero swung at Beatrix, clashing against her iron longsword. "God, do you ever shut up?!"

"...You have a short temper and poor posture, you make it too easy for your opponent to exploit your weaknesses-" In one swift movement, Beatrix quickly withdrew her sword, making Zero stumble forward from throwing all of her weight into her sword. This allowed Beatrix to sweep kick Zero off her feet, causing her to fall right off Mikhail's back.

"ZERO!" Mikhail screamed.

"Pay attention dragon, never take your eyes off your opponent," Beatrix said.

The Darkside grabbed Mikhail's jaw in one hand to keep it closed shut, then punched him with the other. Beatrix, satisfied with her job, backflipped from Mikhail all the way back to Four's airship where she reconvened with Steiner.

"General Steiner, I've dealt with the witch, how are things going with the traitorous One?"

"She's putting up far tougher of a fight than we anticipated. Her and that impudent dragon have already taken several of our airships."

Beatrix placed her hand on the handle of her blade. "Shall I leave my post to deal with them as well?"

"No. Lady Four ordered us to stay by her side, even if every last one of our men should fall."

"Hmph. If she insists. Lady Four must not see her as much of a threat in that case. Zero, on the other hand... there's something demonic about that woman..."

Zero was falling through the sky, rapidly approaching the grounds of Elfheim. Acting fast, Zero tied her chain to her sword, then hurled it at the nearest tree. In her defense, it was a perfectly sound plan in her head, in fact, it even worked ...for two seconds. Unfortunately, her sword just couldn't bear her weight at the speed she was falling and it snapped out of the tree trunk. So she ended up crashing through the roof of a cottage and landing harshly against a wooden table.

"Uhhh...fuck..." Zero picked herself up from the debris, then snapped her arm back into place. "I'm never doing that again..."

"-D-Did you just fall out of the sky?!"

Turning, she saw a little elf girl poke her head out from behind a corner.

"What're you still doing here? Can't you tell your village is getting blown up?"

"N- No I can't! Mommy and Daddy told me to stay here!"

"Whatever. Your funeral." She was about to leave when a pair of neoshadow heartless broke into the cottage.

"AAAAAAHHHH! M- M- MONSTERS!" The neoshadows lunged for the little elf girl, unable to get away in time.

"For fuck's sake..." Letting out an annoyed groan, Zero sliced the neoshadows in half, then carried the elf girl out of the cottage.

As thanks, the elf girl banged on Zero's chest. "No! Take me back! Take me back! I have to wait for Mommy and Daddy! Take me back!"

"Shut up you goddamn brat! You should be grateful I saved your life from those monsters!"

Zero's angry outburst only caused the elf girl to start crying, which was even worse.

"I said shut up!"

"WAHHHH!"

"..." ["Probably needs more encouragement than you just yelling and screaming at him."]

"Hey, shh- shh, it's okay. We'll... find your parents. Just no more crying."

She sniffled. "O-Okay."

'Even though I'm pretty sure we saw them just now.' Zero let the elf girl hang off her back so she'd have a freer range of motion, then ran around the village, in search of the rest of the elves. Something she ended up regretting, not because of having to dodge the endless cannon fire or fend off against the heartless prowling around, but because of the memories it drudged up. Each step she took, each house she passed, reminded her of that inescapable night.

It got to the point where Zero was seriously considering just dropping the elf girl off somewhere with a dagger and letting her fend for herself, but then she heard something, or rather someone, behind her that caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

"—Hey, long time no see, babe."

The elf girl tugged at Zero's ear. "What's wrong? It's just █████████ he's a really good guy! I bet he'll want to help us find my parents!"

"Sure thing, that's the job of a captain. To help people out when they need it."

She heard the sound of his boots grinding against the loose gravel. "...Get the fuck away from me."

"Aw, so hostile now." Next was the clicking of his crossbows as he loaded his arrows into place. "Alright, we can play this game. Bet I'll win though."

Zero set the elf girl down. "...Go find somewhere to hide. I'll make this quick."

"Don't worry, I- I'll go find help!"

████ grinned when Zero turned to face him. "Oh, someone's cocky. You know, I could've been quick too if you let me."

Zero stuck her sword in the ground, then made her way to ████.

"Oooh I get it. You're not cocky, you're just stupid." He twirled his crossbows around in his hands. "But hey, if you're in for another ass beating then be my-"

She snatched him by the throat, then slammed him against the wall of a cottage.

"You can put those toys down." Leaning in close to his ear, she said in a low, menacing voice, "You're not Nero."

'Shit. How'd she find me out? I did a spot-on impression of my brother!' Claudia raised her hand to blast Zero's head off with elf magic, but Zero snatched it before the magic could reach her fingertips and crushed every single bone in her hand.

Claudia screamed out in pain, desperately clawing and scratching at Zero's arm to break free of her chokehold but the Intoner held an iron grip on her neck.

"...But I can tell you're related to him...you both have that same look in your eyes. So pass this message along to him."

"Let me...lemme...go..."

"Tell him he's a coward. The other ones didn't use 'elf magic' to get what they wanted from me-" Zero slammed Claudia's arm against the wall repeatedly. "They just- fucking- DID IT-" After that last slam, she broke through the stone wall, leaving Claudia's arm a mangled, bloody, mess, but she wasn't done just yet.

Wrapping her blood-soaked fingers around Claudia's collar, Zero brought her close to her face. "...The next time you wanna play dress up, I will rip your body apart, limb by limb. That hurt's a hell of a lot more than me just breaking your arm...and if Nero decides to show his face to me again, what I'll do to him will be even worse."

She shoved Claudia down to the ground. "...Get out of my sight."

With one arm, Claudia dragged herself as far away from Zero as she could. Zero also left, deciding to look for the elf girl again, but she didn't get far before the deep-seated anger festering inside of her took hold of her. Squeezing her heart so hard it felt like it was going to burst.

In an explosion of rage, she punched a hole clean through another cottage wall, then just kept at it until she lost her grip on reality altogether, letting the wrath take over every single emotion and action in her body.

"Zero? Zero!"

She saw Riku gunning straight for her before getting pulled into his embrace. "...Riku, I don't get it! Why does this shit always keep happening to me?! It's like this world just fucking hates me!"

"The world doesn't hate you. You've just been surrounded by horrible people all your life, but that's over now, I'll always protect you. Listen, we're going to stop Four, then things will be better."

Even if none of that was true, just the thought alone, the possibility that things could get better was enough to calm her down. He was like the warm glow of sunlight when all she knew was torrential rain.

"...Fine."

Riku let her go, then turned her around so she would face him. "This elf girl told me you were in trouble, so I came as soon as I could. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"...Nothing."

"Don't be like that, you gotta talk to me."

"Motherfucker, I told you-" She took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Thanks for showing concern but I'm okay. Really. I ran into Claudia and she gave me a hard time but I handled her."

Riku knew she was intentionally leaving out several details, but figured she just didn't want to talk about it now and decided it was best to bring it up later. So he squeezed her shoulders and smiled at her. "Heh, of course you handled her. As for everyone else, it looks like One and Gabriella have cleared out most of the airships and I evacuated all the villagers, so they should be safe for the time being. It's Mikhail I'm worried about, he's struggling against the Darkside, it's better we help him out against it, then face Four together."

"Great. So how the hell are we gonna get to Mikhail way up there?"

"That's not a problem. I can airstep us to Mikhail."

"Airstep? You mean that crazy fast stuff you do in the air?"

"Yep."

"Ugh...not unless you want barf all over you..."

"Ew, that's gross, Zero... Well how else are we supposed to get up there then?"

Zero pointed to the sky. "I don't think we have to anymore!" She tackled Riku out of the way as Mikhail crash-landed on the village, steamrolling dozens of houses along the way.

While Mikhail could barely get back up on his feet, the Darkside was still hot on his trail, intent on finishing him off. Riku was about to face off against the Darkside himself when a giant cyclops creature burst out from the surrounding forest and rammed its head into the colossal heartless's torso.

"Good boy, Ravus."

Standing on top of Ravus' right shoulder was Three and her team, and on the other shoulder, Dito and Decadus.

"Oh dear...look at all of this destruction Four caused, we must stop her at once!" Octa said.

"Three, any ideas on how we can stop this thing?" Rosa asked.

She checked Riku's gummiphone. "...Working on it."

In the meantime, back on the ground, Riku and Zero were running for their lives as they made their way to Mikhail. Dodging the falling debris and sweeping destruction while Ravus and the Darkside battled it out over the now-demolished Elfheim village.

However, just as they were closing in on the white dragon, a swarm of wyvern heartless came flying over to them

"Not the wyverns...anything but the wyverns..." Mikhail wailed.

Riku and Zero drew their weapons only for a powerful laser to tear through the swarm of Wyverns.

"—Oh. My. God! Riku, Zero! Hiiiiiiiiii! It's been so long!"

Egregore descended upon Riku and Zero, carrying Five and Cent in its massive arms. Five, excited to see them again, jumped off Egregore before it even landed on the ground, then ran over to hug them—or rather, only Riku, because Zero stepped out of the way.

"Riku! It's so good to see you, my friend! How have you been?"

"I'm...hanging in there. Uh- sorry, why are you and that other guy here anyways?"

Five let go of him, then put her hands on his shoulders. "Oh right! I imagine me being here comes as a bit of a surprise."

"Not a good one..." Zero muttered.

"So just after you two left, I got this really long letter from Cent, asking me to help him fight against Four. Something about her going crazy and trying to kill everyone- I didn't really read most of it, but it sounded serious so I wanted to do my part! I went to the Land of Sands right away, then on our way to the Land of Forests, we ran into Three and hitched a ride with her!"

Cent waved to them. "And I'm Cent! A pleasure to meet all of you! After what Four did to my lady, I just couldn't let her get away with it."

"Mm hm, and this nice elf girl told us all the terrible things that happened to us were all Four's fault anyways so we're definitely gonna teach her a long, hard, and mmm ~painful~ lesson!"

"Um, sure," Riku said.

"Anyways, I know we're in the middle of a life or death battle right now-" Five paused to stab one of the surviving Wyverns in the head. "But I really wanna know what you've been up to lately! Three told me you became her 'test subject', not sure what that meant exactly but it sounded kind of kinky~"

"Good question Lady Five, a 'test subject' is someone who's tested on a subject, like mathematics or history," Cent explained.

"Oh really? That's way less kinky than I thought..."

"That's not what that means you morons!" Zero faced Riku next. "And why the hell are you her test subject?!"

"I didn't consent to it, it was against my will!"

"What do you- ugh, never mind...forget it."

Five had her usual I'm-definitely-gonna-start-something smirk on her face which Zero knew all too well at this point. "Hmmmm Zero, are you actually ...letting things go for once? That's-"

Their conversation was cut short by Ravus stumbling back on the ground and causing nothing short of an earthquake.

"Five, Cent, if you're here to help, then stop fucking around and do something already!" Zero yelled.

"Ha ha, well you heard the woman, duty calls Lady Five!" Cent offered his hand to help her up on Egregore.

"Ohh alright, but that doesn't mean this conversation's over! If we all live through this then I'm gonna get to the bottom of this one way or another eheheh~" Five blew Riku a kiss, then joined Cent on Egregore.

"My sisters all need to die in the third act, I can't take this anymore," Zero said.

"Let's just get to Mikhail."

As they continued making their way to Mikhail, little did they know, Four was watching them from the shadows. After they left the area, Four slunk out of the darkness, then rummaged through the rubble, eventually finding Claudia on the ground, visibly shaken.

"Bestie? There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, you know!"

"..."

Four bent down, snapping in Claudia's empty face. "Claud- hey Claud- hellooooo? Anybody in there?"

"..."

"Claudia- seriously! There are like 10 different people trying to kill me, I kinda need you right now! Especially against Riku and Zero-"

Claudia vigorously shook her head at the mention of Zero's name, which helped Four put two and two together.

"Ooooh, okay I get it now. Let me guess, you had a run-in with Zero even though I told you to leave her alone?" Four put her hands on her hips. "Tsk-tsk-tsk, see? Should've listened to me, but nooooooo- no one ever wanna listens to Four."

"..."

"She really messed you up, huh? I figured something like this would happen, so don't you worry about a thing bestie..." Her eyes glowed. "I'll sing you a lullaby and make it all stop." Then she pulled Claudia through a dark portal.

Meanwhile, Five and Cent were the first to make it to Four's airship thanks to Egregore's rocket boosters and landed on the deck.

"Lady Five, I can't sustain Egregore any longer without Lady Two's presence, we need to finish this fiend off as soon as possible," Cent said.

"That won't be a problem." Pulling out her spear, Five looked around the deck in search of Four who was suspiciously absent. "Ooooooh FooOOOour! I know you're here sis, no need to be shy! Enough with the silly games and show yourself already!"

They heard Four's voice but couldn't pinpoint her location. "—Hm? Is that nails on a chalkboard I hear, or is that just Five's voice? Well it's not like you could tell the difference anyways. Sorry, but I ask that you wait and stay seated until our guests of honor arrive."

Suddenly, two Big Body heartless grabbed Five and Cent from behind and forced them to stay in place.

"Unnngh~ I can't break free, these guys are tough- what about you Cent?"

"It's not looking good on my side either, Lady Five. Just what devious trap does your sister have in store for us?"

Fortunately, Five and Cent didn't have to stay trapped for long because Mikhail was finally making his way toward her airship.

"...Did those idiots really show up just to get immediately captured?" Zero grumbled.

"Good luck guys!" Mikhail dropped Riku and Zero off at Four's airship.

They landed on the deck with a bang with Riku throwing his keyblade at the Big Bodies while Zero broke off to hunt down Four. However, as soon as Riku finished off the heartless, Zero returned to them just as fast with a frustrated expression on her face.

"Can't find Four, but she's definitely here," Zero said.

They heard Four's voice again. "—Welcome Riku and Zero! I've been expecting you two for quite some time, apologies for my total lack of appearance. I know it's a major faux pas for the host to not personally greet their guests, but unfortunately, it's taking longer than usual to get everything prepared."

"You're just hiding because you know you're gonna get your ass beat the second you show yourself," Zero said.

"—Oh no, not at all! It's not like you can stop me sister, so I'm not worried about that. However, if you're so restless, then please, allow me to sing you a song I've been working on for quite some time. Featuring Decadus of course."

"Decadus? But isn't he with Three on that giant giraffe?" Cent asked.

Just then Four's airship started moving again toward Ravus. It was slow at first until the airship kicked it into high gear and everyone had to hold onto dear life as the airship launched itself directly into Ravus's body.

While everyone was still recovering from the insanity of crashing an airship into a cyclops, it got even more unhinged when the sound of trumpets blasted into the air.

*do-do-do-do

"Introducing the one, the only, the lustrous and most beautiful Intoner of Midgard; Lady Four!"

Several soldiers lined themselves alongside the deck, breaking out into uproarious applause for their Intoner. If that wasn't enough, Four's generals at the front rolled out a fancy red carpet, while the other soldiers held out a long banner with Four's name sprawled across.

Five rolled her eyes, putting a hand on her hip. "Are you serious? This is like, beyond tacky, and that's saying a lot coming from you."

Finally, Four made her grand appearance in front of her adversaries and just to make it more over-the-top, she was carried in the arms of a Big Body heartless before being gracefully set down on the red carpet. Her appearance caused even more applause from the soldiers.

"Woooo! Lady Four, you're amazing!"

"I love you Lady Four! Please marry me!"

"I'd die for you Lady Four!"

Four waved her hands down. "— Please, please that's enough, really you're embarrassing me! Hold your applause until the end of the show." She curtsied to the others. "I hope you've all been enjoying yourselves so far for the End of the World. Has the entertainment I've provided been to your liking? Don't worry, I have a lot more where that came from ha ha HAHAH AHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

With a snap of her fingers, her soldiers charged at her 'honored' guests, preoccupying them so she could saunter over to the ship's railing.

"Ohhh Dec-a-dus~" Four cooed.

Decadus held onto Ravus' shoulder for dear life as it tried to steady itself. "L-L-Lady Four! H-How I am humbled by your grace and effortless beauty, wh-what brings you here?!"

"Come on Decadus, like you'd even have to ask? Pop quiz! What's the only thing you're good at being? I'll give you a hint, it starts with 'B' and rhymes with snitch!"

"Lady Four! Please, I-I beg you to stop th-"

"Just shut up and say your lines for me." Four snapped her fingers together, her eyes glowed while her insignia engraved itself onto Decadus' forehead. "Aaaaaand ACTION!"

"B- Behold, the Fourth song... Impenetrable Shield of An...tiquity...The rare power granted to our own, the stout citadel that protects us. Cast your blighted sins upon these very skies! I, Decadus, summon thee in my name...Armaros, Uphold!"

ARMAROS

Verse 1-4

-Aria-

A heart that once sickened me to my core,

My shame was forevermore.

But now the song I sing is a cheer!

Because I'll make the world disappear!

Blinding white light flooded the battlefield accompanied by the green ripple of Four's magic. When the light subsided, Armaros had made its descent from the heavens and transformed Four's airship into an enormous citadel that flew high into the skies. Since Riku, Zero, Five, and Cent were already on board, they were now stuck on top of her citadel, a situation Four took full advantage of. She used Armaros's shield magic to trap the four of them within its square rings, severely limiting their movements.

Four cackled. "What's with the long faces? You all should be happy now that you have front-row seats to the world's destruction! Ha hahahahahahaha!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Riku yelled.

Gabriella and Mikhail were also trapped in Armaros's magic, but they were granted the mobility to circle around the citadel and target its weak spots.

"-Don't you guys worry! Me and Granny Gabby's gonna break you guys out of here!" Mikhail said.

"Would you stop calling me- ugh, forget it! C'mon, let's make quick work of this hunk of junk."

While the dragons were fighting against Armaros, Ravus was struggling against the now-mutated Darkside heartless. The tentacles covering its head had fallen down to its back, revealing a monstrous mouth lined with rows upon rows of needle-like teeth. It bit into Ravus's body multiple times, ripping off chunks of its flesh with each bite.

"Three! We're losing badly right now! We need to stop this thing before it causes any more damage to Ravus or we're done for!" Rosa yelled.

"Ohhh just imagine the unbearable amount of pain we'll go through from having our bodies be torn apart by this monster it- it's unghhh...ohhhh...I can't even begin to uh-" Decadus moaned.

"Shut up Decadus! You're really not helping the mood here!"

"Yeah, plus it's basically your fault this thing transformed in the first place! I say we feed Decadus to it, maybe it'll choke on all his bullshit! Who's with me?!" Dito said, raising his hand.

"Uhhhh, s-such cruelty, the fact that you would render me to such a fate is so- uh...UNGHH!"

"No need. I got it," Three said.

"Have you finally found a weakness, Lady Three?" Octa asked.

"Yes. This heartless is called a 'Darkside'. It's a purebloodheartlesswhichmeansit'sbornfromthedarknessinpeople's-"

"Now's not the time for an info dump! Just get to the point and tell us how we defeat this thing," Rosa said.

A black chasm formed in the heart-shaped hole embedded within the Darkside's body, it then fired an onslaught of dark-homing missiles that exploded on Ravus. The impact of the blast, combined with the immense amount of damage it already sustained, caused it to fall backward.

"OH MY GOD THREE DO SOMETHING NOW OR WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Rosa screamed.

"I AGREE WITH ROSA!" Octa screamed along with her.

"Calm down. Ravus, start charging for your ultimate attack. Now that I know its weak point, I will end this quickly."

Fascinating.

Hm? Is there more I have to say?

What about no comment? Will that suffice?

No? Uh, have a nice day I guess.

Flowers for the Dead


A/N: The ending of Branch B ended up being incredibly long so I decided to just split it up into 3 parts instead of two. The next and final chapter of the branch will come out in the next coming days

In the meantime, I rewrote the indigo vs Mikhail/zero fight in CH30 so that Indigo and Zero interact before the heartless-fication and I also made art of almost all the relevant side characters and new designs in Branch B. It's on my Ao3 but it's ALSO on my DeviantArt that I finally got up and running, the username is Catch358. Check out if you want, if not, see you next chapter!

Last thing: Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!