In which Sora and Rinzler cross blades...

The first thing Sora caught sight of was a blur of black metal and bright neon lines, and the first thing he felt was a gentle nudging at his cheeks, even occasional dampness, two tinier bodies nustled at his sides. The spiky-haired boy's eyes gazed straight up at the roof as he came to, his eyelids instinctively lowering to protect them from the burn of the searing light, his gloved hand slowly rising in assistance to this end.

Though he might not have been aching the same way he had done after the defeat of Frollo's Nightmares a world before, he'd also be lying if he said he was without pain outright, as a pale ache running up and down his back like boats across a long, unforgiving sea, and his head pounded against the reins of his mind without remorse. A slight groan escaped his lips, his head hanging slightly now as his chin dug a little into his chest, his body's upper half now rising, seating himself upright. Putting a hand to his head, Sora squinted as he took the room in, only to be met by the nudging once again, just above his waist, affectionate and skittish.

As he turned to the source of it, he was met by the catlike face of Morgana, staring up at him with eyes big enough to get anything she asked for on one side of him, while Sheppy followed suit on the other. Feeling himself smile weakly upon seeing them — and thus the fact he wasn't completely on his own here, Sora's hands quickly gave them an affectionate rustle across the head, answered shortly after by a quiet bleat and purr in comparatively cheerier tandem than that they had previously held.

"Hey, relax," he assured softly, his voice slightly lower than its typical nature, but kind nevertheless. "I'm just fine, okay...? I just...don't know where we are..." he said — only for his gut to drop as he remembered. "Wait...Nemurin!"

Rising to his feet, Sora's eyes frantically searched the room, his head turning from one side to another in hopes of finding a familiar silhouette. A faint light coldly illuminated the centre of the distinctly unfamiliar area, casting a thick blanket of shadows in its wake across every other part of the room, and all of it was in the same bluish-white hue as the rest of the Grid. Looking down now, Sora seemed to now be standing on a pitch-black platform, which rose a small amount from the floor, given only the slightest bit of diversity by the blue pattern of a circle in the centre of it, the rest of it otherwise lined and divided into four pieces. Though he couldn't quite tell for sure, the walls seemed to be some dark grey colour, and at least for now, they were the only ones present.

No, that wasn't right, it couldn't be. If he was here, then Nemurin should have been too, right?

What got them here? His mind rewound like an old tape, and he recalled it piece by piece.

He remembered the battleship.

He remembered Tron, and their attempts to reach out to him.

He remembered it now, the darkness that appeared around him, if only for that second, and the attack he'd volleyed at them, the one that had hurt Nemurin.

He remembered Xemnas, and the guy in the black coat alongside him.

And that was where he stopped remembering, as it was only after that happened that things turned to black and he and his friend's Spirit companions ended up here. Questions bounced and pounded off every single side of his brain, each coming in as quickly as the last and being left just as sorely unanswered as each other. How could Xemnas be here!? It was impossible, he and Riku and the King and the others, they'd put a stop to him once and for all. He knew himself, they'd landed the finishing blow, they'd watched him fade into nothing more than thorned shadows! It had been the final part of that journey, and he knew that meant Master Xehanort would come back — it was the whole reason behind why he and Riku were doing the Mark of Mastery in the first place — but the whole reason for that was because Xemnas was dead. Yet, he had been there, in-tact, and...something told him it wasn't a copy. Something about it felt real, despite him hoping desperately for it not to.

And the other question was the one he was more afraid of — even in the worst-case scenario, they'd need to fight him back again, but Sora could face that with a smile after getting past the initial shock, like he always did. After all, they'd done it once before, right? And even if Xemnas had come back stronger, he, Riku, everyone, they weren't just sat warming the bench either, it was something they could handle. But the exception to that, the one that was presently leaving a deep pit that tunnelled through his gut and left it hollow, leaving nothing but anxiety residing within him now, were Quorra and Nemurin. Several scans across the chamber had proven to him that she wasn't with him, and that Sheppy hadn't been able to join her, wherever it was she'd ended up.

Part of him wanted to stay positive, just as he always had; after all, Quorra hardly seemed to be a pushover, and Top Speed had been waiting outside the ship in case anything happened, and when the doors had opened for the second time, she had been long gone, leaving the likelihood that Quorra had been bailed out by the witchy Magical Girl. And Nemurin wasn't just anyone, she was a Magical Girl too. True, he might not have been the best person to describe what that meant, but he had a picture, one his sleepy friend had fitted thus far. And true, she'd had moments of struggle here and there, but not enough to leave her completely helpless, at least not from what he'd seen of her last, especially if she had the others to help her. But the flash of crimson that had splattered across her shoulder, sprouted from Rinzler's hostility, left him not so sure; his mind rewound once more, back to her state after he'd met with her again after escaping the bounds set upon them by Frollo and his guards — for the most part anyway, he was certain her healing had been relatively swift, about the same as his own once Cure was cast, as a point of reference.

'I would have thought such pathetic injuries would be beneath you.' the taunt directed at his companion replayed in his mind, a certain umbrage spiking up there at the fact he had to go off of something from that guy at all, but he didn't exactly have much to work with here.

But the mark on her, it had seemed to...stay, and he couldn't make sense of why, and it made him wonder just where she might be, how she had escaped — if she even had at all, but Sora buried that thought as determinedly as one buried things they never wanted to see again — where she was now, if she had been able to rejoin Quorra and Ideal Top Speed. Taking in a breath, Sora forced himself to accept that he had no way of knowing unless he stepped out of here and that sitting here questioning it in his head wasn't going to get him any answers. Before he could plan his next move, however, his thoughts were intruded upon by the sound of whines, akin to a fire alarm's screams rolling through the hallways of a building, accompanied by a snarling growl, dragged from the bottom of a throat.

And as Sora turned his head to the origin of the sound, he could see why.

Standing there, shrouded in shadows, was a figure in ivory white, pale in her skin, hair, in everything, distinctly feminine and with her hands clasped. Gem.

"Sora," her voice greeted him, almost robotically, as she stepped out into the light. But she still possessed a smile — the same one she'd shot him and Nemurin when they first met at the End of the Line club earlier.

When she'd led them into Castor's clutches earlier.

When she'd subsequently been nowhere to be seen earlier-

No, no. Sora didn't want to think like that. She might not have known anything about any of it. Even Quorra had been planning to send Sam there, so Gem might have been the same, someone who thought she was doing the right thing in the moment.

"Gem?" Sora replied, the mild surprise he wore on his face at the unexpected reunion quickly hardening into an uncertain stare. "...Where am I?"

"The arena." Gem answered, simply.

"Arena?" Sora repeated, eyes widening. "So...I'll be fighting again, right?"

Sure enough, he was met with a nod from the Siren in white, "Surviving."

And for a moment or so more, he was quiet — only broken by his narrowed eyes, dancing the line between a stare and a glare. "Gem...did you know about Castor? From before, did you know that he-"

That smile again. "Perhaps."

Suddenly, the smile he hadn't been able to read made more sense. It wasn't the smile of someone surrounded by mystery, just as she was surrounded by shadows now, it was the smile of someone who knowingly led him and his friend to a place where they'd be caught out by people wanting them arrested.

"...Why?" Sora questioned, his voice growing colder, a certain frost present that previously he'd lacked.

And yet, her expression remained identical to how it had been at the beginning of their conversation; "It wasn't anything personal, you know."

Sora huffed slightly, averting her eyes now, Morgana giving her a look that would have killed her on the spot, were such things possible. "That doesn't make it any better."

It was then that they heard it, a single alarm, a single sound. Once it reached their earshot, Gem stepped back into her pod after giving him one final look, up and down. "Proceed to the games. Good luck."

And with that, the walls almost seemed to encapsulate her, her distinct figure of white now lost amidst the blacks of the walls. Soon replacing it, however, signalled by a low drone, was a blinding white light that emanated through the opened doors, ripping a pathway through the room, stopping not long in front of him. Once again, Sora looked to his sides and behind him, and found nothing but walls, just as it had been before. A timorous whimper crawled up from his left leg, where Sheppy remained, his eyes still glancing around as they had done previously. Once again, Sora knelt slightly and smiled a bit stronger than before, moving a hand to scratch behind his ears until Sheppy's whimpering had been replaced by a reluctantly more relaxed 'baa'.

"Don't worry about it, buddy. We'll find Nemurin as soon as we find a way outta here," he promised, before standing up straight again. Letting out a resigned, but not hopeless sigh, he shrugged and commented, "Guess there's only one way to go. C'mon,"

With that, the boy and the two Dream Eaters strode forward into the light, the former having to use his hand as a shield the closer they got, his eyes squinting as he tried to take it in all at once. Once they had walked far enough, they were swiftly met by the sounds of a door closing behind them, the room's darkness being left behind as the elevator he had unknowingly stepped into rose upwards. At a certain point, the walls surrounding him disappeared, and the dream trio were met by a gargantuan sight. Stretching on for what looked like miles, it was obvious at least Gem hadn't been lying when she called this place an arena, even bigger than that of Olympus Coliseum. As they were taken upwards, the chorus of cheers and shouts came from an undeniably huge crowd drumming away, drowning out the sounds of just about anything else all the while, their darkened figures just barely visible from the platform Sora stood on now. His mouth hung slightly open as he surveyed the area, the constant shriek of the crowd only broken up on occasion by the drone of passing airships. At his legs, he sensed Sheppy cowering slightly behind him, as if to hide from the thousands of eyes that circled around them as a quiet student hid in the back of a classroom, while Morgana stood on all of her fours as if standing guard over him.

"Combatant thirteen..." a digitised voice announced. "Versus...Rinzler."

Before Sora's gut even had the chance to properly drop at that idea, another voice chimed in, this one almost familiar...but not quite. When he turned around, he was met by a man standing before him, clad in black and blisteringly bright orange armour...and Rinzler right behind him. The more Sora looked at him, his face specifically, the more he was reminded of the man from before, Kevin Flynn. It was like a younger version of him...and definitely a less kind-looking one too. Just the sight of him prompted Morgana to break out into growls again, and even Sheppy toddled out from behind him, shakily readying himself into a battle stance.

"Greetings, Sora," the figure addressed him, his lips slightly curving into a smirk. "I've been waiting."

"You." Sora almost spat at the sight of him, a fist clenching as he shot him down with a glare, one instinctive at the realisation of who he was, what he had done, to the Grid, to the friend that stood behind him and the friend that wasn't present now. "I know who you are...you're that guy who turned Tron into Rinzler!"

Without remorse, Clu confirmed, "Correct. I had to...repurpose his code,"

"Well, un-repurpose it!"

Clu seemed to think for a moment, before looking at him again. "Yes...under the right parameters, I might."

Sora felt a bell of suspicion ring inside his head, his own unbreaking stance only shifting ever so slightly as his brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

"I was informed that you have a little item called a Keyblade," Clu explained. "It can open any lock, and go to any world, isn't that right?"

"Let me guess — those guys in the black coats told you that, right?" Sora snapped back.

Clu offered but a condescending smile in reply. "Perceptive, boy," he answered, flatly. "I request for you to hand it over — do that, and I'll change Rinzler back into Tron myself."

That clearly struck Sora, his eyes widened at the sudden offer, which seemed to dig its way into him as he considered what he'd just been told. Some might have taken that deal in a heartbeat — save a friend, all for a single thing, a single thing being something some might dub as simple by comparison.

"The Keyblade...?"

Sora's eyes fell to his hand, which had extended past his side. In a small glimmer of white stars that faded as soon as they appeared, his Keyblade was now in his grasp. For a moment, he gazed at it — and then tightened his hold.

Because deep down, he knew taking such a deal would never work out, not in any good way, that much he was sure about. Even assuming Clu kept his word, everything Sora had seen of him thus far proved to him one thing, that he would hurt countless more people if he ever got his hands on anything as powerful as the Keyblade. Even with the comparatively little he'd seen of the Grid, he knew he was no different than any other villain he'd fought off for the sake of what was right. Doing that could, if not likely would, utterly doom those who he had come to see as friends here, Quorra's face flashing in his mind at that thought. Those like Tron would simply be hurt in his stead, and it left those who still needed him, those whose worlds still remained trapped in slumber helpless and alone in the darkness

And if Tron, the real Tron, of this world was anything like how he knew him...Sora doubted it was the path he'd want him to take.

"I..." Sora whispered.

Especially when there was still another way out of this.

"I can't...no. I won't."

The attempt from before might not have worked out exactly as they'd hoped, but Sora knew at that moment that he and Nemurin had come exceedingly close to their goal, and likely would have achieved it if it weren't for the man in the black coat's dark influence, and that wasn't lost even in the way things escalated so soon afterwards. He could still save Tron, and keep the Keyblade out of Clu's clutches.

And that was exactly what he was going to do, no matter what.

"This..." Sora extended his Keyblade forward, the crowd's attention in his hands. "This is what lights the darkness — a chance to make everyone happy!"

His declaration threw the crowd for a loop, it would seem, as he was met by several gasps and shocked muttering, most questioning how he could be crazy enough to defy Clu so openly.

Clu's eyes narrowed, the previous look on his face cracking somewhat, even if he tried to mask that fact with a loud scoff. "Ha! Flawed reasoning. You give me no choice, then — I'll have to take it by force."

With that, the elevator Clu stood on lowered, and his figure disappeared back beneath the floor again, leaving only Rinzler, staring at him as he had done in the club and on the airship. Abruptly, he moved forward, giving Sora no way out of the battle that was about to ensue, pulling his dual discs off his back. This time, however, Sora knew the sign of Rinzler's incoming attack, remembering it distinctly from their previous encounter. Jumping backwards, Sora held his Keyblade solidly in front of him, the discs screeching slightly as they smacked against the surface of the weapon, flying back towards their owner.

"Tron, I...I will get through to you," Sora stated, taking in a single breath before readying his Keyblade.

"Yeah, you bet ya will!" a unique voice suddenly called out, drawing Sora's eyes upwards, causing them to glimmer in relief.

In the air, in place of one of the many iron-clad airships, was a sight for sore eyes, at least for his; Top Speed positioned at the front of her broom, one hand remaining steady and the other waving her arm zealously in his direction. And sat behind were the two faces he had worried about before — first was Quorra, in the middle, who leapt from the broom and onto an airship that had positioned itself close below, and behind her was Nemurin, looking livelier than she had back on the airship, but honestly just seeing the both of them in one piece was enough to overflow into a well of solace.

"Nemu! Quorra! Top Speed! You guys are alright!"

"Of course...! We wouldn't leave you behind, you know...~" Nemurin answered, her fists pumped as if she were cheering him on.

"Yes...! I think, no, I know now. Tron did hear you. Long enough that I was able to escape with Top Speed here and meet back up with Nemurin," Quorra explained, gesturing to the braided girl who offered a friendly wave at the acknowledgement.

"You can do it...! You can get through to him, Sora...! If anyone can do it, it's you!" Nemurin urged, smiling down at him. "We'll find a way in to help you,"

"...Right...!" Sora said, returning her smile, even as he blocked and dodged the barrage of Rinzler's discs. "But I can handle this," he stated, his face hardening as it looked upon his opponent. "Let's go, Tron!" he shouted.

Sora opened the fight with a blast of magic, holding his blade upright as he cast a bolt of lightning that struck twice, forcing Rinzler to bolt backwards, the first catching and sizzling at his leg and the other missing by a hair. Rolling out of the way, the figure in black launched his discs upwards, their direction only signalled by a single clunk as they bounced across the roof and straight for his target.

Breaking out into a sprint across the circular arena, the Keyblade Wielder swung his blade, clashing with the discs as they slammed into the metal, signalled by the screaming sparks that flew off its edges as he sent it colliding back towards his opponent. Rinzler's arm rose and he grasped the disc quickly again, pursuing Sora without stopping. He closed the distance between them quickly, before jumping high into the air with one arm raised and the other close behind; the boy only had seconds to roll backwards and out of its way, just barely missing the shockwave that radiated from where he landed, the scent of metal so close Sora could almost taste it.

Seeing his target was in range, Rinzler's leg abruptly spun upwards into a kick that rammed into Sora's side, who staggered, one hand clutching the area as it pounded in its bruising while the other quickly pointed his Keyblade at him, calling upon, "Fire!"

From the Keyblade's end, a bright ball of flame emerged and bowled straight ahead, cracking right into Rinzler's helmet, the only thing that stopped it from being an outright headshot. His body flew backwards, landing hard on the arena floor with a stone-cold thud, yet he said nothing, not even a grunt or a cry like most would give. Instead, he simply vaulted upright again, sending one disc slashing towards where Sora currently stood and the other into the air as a wild card. Sora rose his Keyblade in front of his face and stumbled backwards for the moment, waiting for the second of harsh screeching from their opposing weapons to pass before lowering it again and readying himself to cast another spell; not realising the wild card was about to carve into him from behind until it was too late.

Pain exploded across Sora's back as the impact threw him into the range of his enemy, only avoiding another burst of pain by slamming the blade into Rinzler's side. He staggered for a moment and then abruptly jabbed his arm between his body and Sora's blade, his attempt to drive his foot into the boy's stomach interrupted by what was almost like a bowling ball smashing against the back of his throat — the result of Sheppy weaponising himself, opening the door for Sora to blast him with another elemental spell.

"Wind!"

Yet, despite the ripping gale that broke through the arena that heaved Rinzler a stretch away from Sora, allowing him a moment to catch his breath and to prepare for an incoming attack; Rinzler didn't go towards him, but rather backwards, a high-pitched alarm hollering twice. Once he reached the wall, he began to sprint up it, just as Sora had been darting about the arena earlier; and something within the floor began to shift. Abruptly, the normal weight that had kept them both tethered to the floor was changing, the boy floating straight towards the roof.

His head flicked left and right in search of his opponent, but found nothing before being met with the sensation of being on the ground again — yet, clearly not the one from before. In the milliseconds he had to try and comprehend the sensation, however, Rinzler had been preparing a new volley of attacks; he shot his discs off against the wall, and straight for the centre where Sora would likely land, and as he found out, his calculations were far from inaccurate. The moment he landed, he was bombarded by the stinging slice of a disc against his cheek, and a hard thump into his armoured shoulder as he moved to protect himself again from it. Hissing slightly in pain, his blue eyes focused on the black-clad silhouette again as it made its relentless approach, not even getting to truly acknowledge the throbbing that was running through every part of his body before Rinzler's body collided with his in a brutal, shattering swing that took both of them to the other side of the arena.

Instinctively, Sora bashed into Rinzler's gut with all the strength he could manage, having only a second to jolt his head back before a disc sliced dangerously near his neck, a single short breath escaping in realisation before he turned his attention back to trying to manage the disorientation. Morgana growled beside him and jumped up high before him, temporarily separating the pair, before Rinzler cut at her, sending her tubby form tumbling to the right side of them. With his other disc in hand, he swung down for Sora's head, meeting resistance from the Keyblade's shaft, the blue-eyed boy continuing to stare dead into him, his body remaining firm even as he pushed back against him, a certain look aglow in his eye, one that refused to bow even when met with the constant call from his body to stop.

This is familiar-

No, it couldn't be. He knew it so, there was no record of this person, he was an enemy of Clu.

I know what this looks like.

No, he didn't. And he'd prove he didn't by ending the fight now like he was supposed to. The alarm rang out again, and Rinzler quickly darted for the wall, gravity shifting once again.

But this time, Sora was ready, he knew what was coming the second he heard the infernal alarm ring out throughout the arena, even managing to overcome the shrill, shrieking voices of the crowd as they watched the battle escalate higher and higher.

Forcing back the instinct to flail about as he floated back downwards, Sora and Rinzler's attention was both fixed on the other, both knowing what the other was planning to do next, signified by the first thing they did while landing — Sora knew that opening with an attack was the sort of thing Rinzler would take advantage of, so he waited a second or so, instead taking the opportunity to dodge-roll underneath the two discs, moving the second he heard them clatter off the arena's walls, while Rinzler pressed forward, flipping and rolling under and above the sparks of magic Sora sent in his direction, pushing against the wind or avoiding its reach entirely, and leaping away from the cold and unforgiving hands of ice and fire.

Within seconds, the two of them were face-to-face once more, and Sora's stance was no longer defensive as Rinzler grew closer to him. His discs now both in hand, both having missed their mark, he tightened his grasp on them as he struck for Sora's head, the boy ducking underneath and parrying it with one quick movement before aiming for another hit, directly for his legs. Rinzler twisted his body back swiftly, one arm cutting a ring that blocked the interference of Sora's two Spirit companions, the magic they blasted at him hardly even seeming to make him flinch as he readied himself for another set of blows. He backflipped, but not before grabbing hold of the arm that held the Keyblade, forcing him down with him — but when Sora went down, the weapon was no longer held in that hand, but rather the other, as Rinzler learnt first-hand as an explosion of ice ripped right at his chest, sending him tumbling back across the other side of the arena.

Almost hastily, he sent off another of his discs straight for Sora, only for the blue Dream Eater, Morgana, to catch him in the act; she bounced up high, and slammed down into the top of the disc, sending it clattering weakly to the floor, before she and Sheppy barrelled at him, blocking his vision of Sora; but not the beeping sound of the alarm as it echoed off of the arena's walls.

One second.

Those within the arena began to rise for the ceiling, and it was Rinzler's turn to flail as he called back his remaining disc.

Two seconds.

Sora pressed up against the wall, his feet apart as he knelt and pushed himself off.

Three seconds.

The two figures struck into one another, just as they had before, Sora's Keyblade extended out and his body glowing with the power of Flowmotion as they were both thrown to the other side of the arena. The alarm's screeching came to a halt, and they both began to fall to ground-level once more, Sora landing on both feet and Rinzler body-first.

As they took in the spectacle, the arena's barriers were finally brought down, and the crowd finally fell into silence as they realised what had happened.

Rinzler had lost.

For a moment, Sora stood, Keyblade still in his hold; and to those who had witnessed his previous attempt at reaching out to his friend's memories, another silhouette almost seemed to overlap with his real one, similar in appearance but not quite — the glowing blues of the silhouette's light brighter, its appearance bulkier, but distinctly him all the same. As Rinzler lay there, Sora rose his weapon, a gentle light emerging from its tip as a screen appeared before Rinzler's chest; a spinning red and green light, that disappeared and imploded in on itself at the reach of Sora's hand, droplets of violet that previously encircled it fading away like dust in the wind. Light, both technical like the sort that surrounded them, and one of a completely different sort, gentle and loving, surrounded the figure and then disappeared, and once again, he lay there, before his head slowly tilted upward, as if taking in his surroundings again.

Sora took in a single breath, only to feel an affectionate nuzzle at the tip of his hand. As he looked down, Morgana's eyes met him, and he smiled a little to himself. Sheppy trailed at his side, and Sora walked forward, towards his friend.

"Haha, he did it!~ Ya definitely were right to have faith in that kid, Nemurin," Ideal Top Speed said, the three ladies now heading for the main arena floor.

"Yeah~ I...I knew he could~" Nemurin answered, her gaze looking upon Sora as he approached Rinzler- no, Tron. Something had changed, for real this time, like it almost had before, she was sure of it.

But it was as the three of them approached that they noticed something, a figure rising from beneath the floor.

It was Clu, who shot Sora a glare from behind, one not one of them trusted, now reaching for his back.

"No!" Quorra shouted, joined by the two Magical Girls in an effort to impede him, one that was ultimately fruitless. By the time, they got close, the disc had already been thrown, and was bolting from one corner of the arena to another.

Sora had only a single second, the corner of his eye barely getting an opportunity to register the disc that screeched towards him before he felt a hand abruptly shove into his chest, sending him several feet away. Landing heavily on the ground, his head snapped upwards as it looked back towards Tron — only to be met with the sight of a disc darting straight for him. Before a cry or a shout could even escape him, the disc smashed through the floor underneath his friend's feet, and he began to descend into the darkness below.

Shooting off the floor, Sora's hand stretched out as far as it could go, his body slipping again as he slid. Tron's hand reached back out towards him, their fingers barely brushing together before his body fell into the abyss below. Yet, he could still feel Tron staring back at him, and for that moment, both their hands remained reached out for the other's, despite knowing the other was inaccessible to them.

A hitched breath escaped the brown-haired boy's throat as he stared down the black gaping hole beneath the floor, each breath he took shaky and weak. His eyes soon slowly drifted away from the endless hollow before him, and to his hand, still extended, hoping for that of his friend's to grasp onto. Silently, his allies could only stare in horror; Quorra's own eyes found themselves looking beneath the floor, helpless but to watch as Tron's silhouette dropped heavier and heavier through it like a stone's descent towards the ocean floor.

Nemurin gazed at Sora, not a word leaving her as she walked towards him, Ideal Top Speed watching their backs, her catlike eyes shooting Clu a glare strong enough to kill someone by itself. She yearned for the proper words to tear him to verbal shreds with, but found nothing. Her heart ached as she watched Nemurin approach Sora's side, kneeling down next to him, feeling the same as she often did when left watching someone who she had little room to help. But as she and Quorra glanced towards one another, taking a step forward to try, they were interrupted.

"I'll deal with you later." Clu spat at them, his eyes ablaze with tranquil rage towards the boy who'd just lost his friend. "I need to retrieve Rinzler..." he began, before a certain spite seemed to flicker in his gaze. "...If such a thing is possible."

"Hey, you son of a b-" Top Speed barked, her fist clenched. But he had disappeared once again, the elevator taking him out of sight.

Still, she took in a sigh, and her intent had been to focus on the kid. He'd need the help, after witnessing that and having rubbed right in his face. But then, she felt it — Quorra looking at her and Nemurin with increasing puzzlement, which turned to concern.

Nemurin had knelt beside Sora, and without a word, took him gently into her arms, hoping to give him the warmth he likely lacked. Sora was silent, but didn't reject her hold, his breath still shaking in shock. His head hung, as he looked back towards the spot where Tron had fallen, and then towards her assuring look.

His mouth gaped for a moment as he almost seemed to choke out, "Wait, Nemu-"

"Huh...?" Nemurin asked, looking up at him.

Top Speed looked down at Nemurin, and then herself; her whole body seemed to be...glitching, in and out of existence, in and out of presence. It was a strange effect to see in action, one that didn't seem or feel real, but there it was, blocks of what was almost like code shrouded in bruise-coloured shadows around the two Magical Girls' bodies, and it was clear that everyone else could see it too. The crowd erupted in a cacophony of panicked crowing over the uncanny visual, and it only increased when either girl tried to speak again.

"W-w-waIT-" Top Speed's voice almost seemed to glitch too as she called out. "Wh-GOIN- what's goin' on!?"

"Nemurin! Top Speed!" Sora and Quorra's voices cried out as the final parts of this unnerving phenomenon ran their course. Piece by piece, their body parts distorted, and then disappeared into a blank figure, one that eventually reverted to nothingness.

"Hold on!" was the last thing Nemurin was able to request before her and Top Speed's bodies disappeared completely — like glitches deleted from a computer's infinite system.

Sora and Quorra stared at the sight, the places where Top Speed and Nemurin had once been. The arena was still emptying with panicked screeching, and the endless void of noise was joined by the puzzled bleating of Sheppy, who looked left and right for the two who disappeared, Morgana crying out in a whine, one equal in questioning as it was in sympathy for the one she'd started this journey with.

"...What...what just happened...?" Sora questioned, slowly rising to his feet as he surveyed the area in a vain hope that their missing friends' figures would suddenly appear again.

"I...I don't know..." Quorra confessed, her own lack of certainty audible. "Nemurin! Top Speed!" she called again, and was met with silence. "Where...where could they have went..." she trailed off, before her eyes fell on the hole in the floor again.

Quiet. Several seconds of it.

"Is it true, Quorra...?" Sora asked, his voice almost weak compared to his previous resolve. "Is Tron..."

"No." Quorra answered — quicker than she might have liked, but the uncertainty she had could act as a bit of hope for him. She didn't know for sure, what happened if you fell down there — she might not have been able to keep track of Tron's silhouette as it fell the whole way down, but she didn't see it derezz, the sign of death. "I don't think so. I'm certain...he could still be down there. Tron is still in there, and...the fact he saved you shows that. And...I think Nemurin and Top Speed are out there somewhere too."

Sora's face, previously downcast, seemed to lighten ever so slightly at the thought. Quorra smiled at him, "You and that key, and you and Nemurin — you have a special power, all of you. I don't know what it is that brought you here, but I know you'll find your way to the point you're looking for."

"You do too, Quorra — don't...don't forget that, okay?"

"I won't." Quorra promised. "I'll look around here, and I'll get help from Sam and Flynn too — and...when we have the chance, we can come back, and do the things we said we'd do before. You, Nemurin, your Spirits, Top Speed..."

Sora's eyes turned towards the wall, a look of recognition, a familiar sight gleaming in his eye before he turned to her again, "Yeah...yeah, we will." he confirmed, a soft but still evident smile gracing his face.

As Quorra left the scene, it appeared to him again. The Keyhole to this world. A certain melancholy floated over his heart even now, even with the smile he had used to mask it, even with the veil of hopes that usually guided his eyes so naturally, at the knowledge it had appeared now — after all, usually...usually this sort of thing happened when he helped fix a world's problems, but he wasn't sure if they'd even done anything deserving of that label. Clu was still in the seat of power, and their attempts at helping Tron simply led to him falling into a place where he might not even come back from.

It's your fault.

It didn't feel right, it felt...wrong to leave things as they were. But the Keyhole's presence meant that the time had come, for him to awaken the world from its slumber. His thoughts trailed to Riku, what he might have been doing now.

Probably doing a better job of it than you ever could.

He extended his arm, and a line of light burst out from the end of his Keyblade, towards the keyhole, as thoughts shrouded in violet slowly crept up behind him, even as the light engulfed his figure.

He might have actually been able to stop Clu.

He might have actually been able to save someone, unlike you.

A/N: So...I'm pretty sure that was my longest chapter so far, like...period. I'm actually quite sure that whole thing was longer than the fight back in La Cite Des Cloches if I'm to be honest, and I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks again to Captain Imaginat for reviewing the last chapter and I hope y'all who read this one enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Even if that last section was honestly tough emotionally, like holy shit...sorry Tron, sorry Sora.

Thanks for reading, any comments or feedback is appreciated. I'll see you all in the next chapter of Cosmogyral!