- Chapter 28 -

Trouble in Traverse Town

Author's Note:

So, my reviewer YamiChaos27 pointed out an error last chapter; that I mentioned Kikyo having a shark attack, which drove Riku to the darkness in the first place, but forgot to actually explain what happened.

I edited it to include it, but in case you read the chapter before that happened, allow me to explain: at age five, Kikyo and Riku were out on a boat. Kikyo fell into the water and her leg was bitten by a shark. She got out alive, but ended up in the hospital. Riku felt helpless because he wasn't the one who saved her, which is why he gave in to the darkness.

With that out of the way...

Traverse Town

The Highwind landed near the front gates of Traverse Town, and everyone disembarked.

"Okay," Sï'Lea said. "Let's all split up and try to find Sera."

They did so. West went with Riku, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi went with one another, and the rest stayed together to go search.

-X-

West and Riku searched the back alleys for any sign of Sera.

"It's been a long time since we've been back here," West said. "I kinda missed this place."

"Me too," Riku said, smiling. "It's where we first met."

West blushed. "Y-yeah..." Before she could say anything else, another voice cut in.

"Well, if it isn't my knight in shining armor."

West and Riku both jumped, and turned to see a girl around their age standing off to the side. She was a tall and slender figure, with long dark red hair under a maroon-and-white newsboy cap. She wore a red short sleeved shirt that exposed a very large portion of her midriff, a short yellow hoodie, a necklace with a puzzle piece-shaped pendant, a low-cut green colored denim skirt with a brown pouch around her hips, a yellow bracelet around her left wrist, a ring around her left pinkie finger, and knee-length brown medium heeled boots with yellow stripes on the sides. In her hand, she carried a black cat plushy. Riku gasped as he recognized Shiki Misaki, a girl he had met in the Realm of Sleep.

"Shiki?" Riku said, surprised.

"Hey, Riku!" Shiki said as she approached. "Long time no see!"

West turned to Riku, raising an eyebrow. "Knight in shining armor?"

"It was during my Mark of Mastery exam," Riku replied. "I saved her from Dream Eaters. And she was just kidding about that title."

"Yeah, it was just a joke," Shiki said. "So... are you his girlfriend?"

"G-girlfriend?!" Both West and Riku turned beet-red at that. Shiki laughed at the sight.

"You should see your faces!" she said. "Priceless!"

"K-knock it off!" Riku said.

Shiki smiled. "Sorry, couldn't resist." She decided to change a subject. "So, what brings you here?"

"We're looking for a girl named Sera," Riku explained. "But first, I have a question. Why are you here, and not in the Realm of Sleep?"

"I don't get it all myself, but long story short, Joshua brought us here." Shiki replied.

Riku nodded. "It would be him."

"The guy with the angel wings?" West asked, remembering Riku telling her of that during his story of their Mark of Mastery exam (1).

"Yep, that's him," Shiki replied. "So... you said you were looking for someone?"

"Oh, right!" Riku said. "A girl named Sera. She has brown hair, and was last seen wearing a red dress."

Shiki thought for a few seconds. "Can't say I've seen her. But I've got time to spare; I'll help you track her down."

West smiled at that. "Thanks for the help."

Shiki smiled back. "It's no trouble."

-X-

Around the same time, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi were looking around the Second District.

"Where could she be?" Sora asked.

"Sora?" spoke a different voice.

The quartet turned to see a boy around their age standing on a nearby rooftop. He had a lanky build, spiky orange hair and blue eyes, and wore a pair of purple colored headphones, with a tube-shaped white MP3 player hanging around his neck, along witha sleeveless, purple-grey shirt with a high collar that has a purple stripe going down the middle, with the stripe outlined in yellow, white shorts held up by a loose-fitting black belt, purple-grey shoes with a purple stripe outlined by yellow, and four yellow buttons with white straps in place of laces, as well as a yellow wristband around his left wrist. Sora recognized him as Neku Sakuraba, who had helped him in the Sleeping Worlds.

"Neku?" Sora said in surprise.

"It is you," Neku said, hopping down from the building and approaching them.

"Hey!" Sora said, smiling. "How have you been?"

Neku gave a small smile in response. "Can't complain. It's good to see you again."

Kairi recognized him. "This is that Neku Sakuraba guy you mentioned?"

Sora nodded. "Neku, these are my friends, Goofy, Donald, and Kairi."

Neku nodded at them. "Nice to meet you."

"How'd you get out of the Sleeping Worlds?" Sora asked.

"Ash Joshua," Neku replied. "I don't know the exact details, but apparently, our homeworld isn't exactly the safest place to be right now. So he brought us here."

"Oh," said Sora. "I see."

"So, what brings you here?" Neku asked.

"We're looking for a brown haired girl," Goofy replied. "Her name's Sera."

Neku pursed his lips in thought. "The name doesn't ring a bell, but it does sound like the girl Rhyme met a few days ago."

"Rhyme saw her?" Sora said. "Do you know where she is now?"

Neku shook his head. "No. There was a Heartless attack a few days ago, so we don't know where many people are."

"Rats!" Donald said.

"But it's not just Heartless," Neku continued. "There've been these weird monsters around as well, that's been giving us no end of trouble."

"Weird monsters?" Sora asked. "What do they look like?"

"They come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors," Neku replied. "The ones we see the most are blue."

Sora wrinkled his brow in confusion. "I've never fought anything like that."

"Me neither," said Kairi, before deciding to change the subject. "This Rhyme... do you know where she is? She might know where Sera went."

"Sorry, no," Neku replied. "She and her brother Beat went off somewhere by themselves."

"Drat," Sora said. "Well... I guess we'll just have to keep looking."

"I'll help you out," Neku said. "Not really doing anything else right now."

Sora smiled. "Thanks."

They made their way into the Third District, and Sora took notice of the door with the flame pattern on it.

"Wait..." Sora said. "That door leads to Merlin's old house. It'd be a great place to hide."

"There's nowhere else left to look," Kairi said. "Let's go."

They went up to the door, and Donald opened it with a Fire spell, allowing them entry. Before them was a small pond of some sort, with three stepping stones leading to an old two-story house.

"I'll go over and check it out," Sora said. "Be right back."

He quickly hopped across the stepping stones and went over to the front door. He stuck his head in-

-and narrowly managed to duck in time to avoid a ball of fire.

"Yipe!" Still covering his head, Sora stood up to see a young woman in her early twenties, wearing a red dress with black trim and sleeves, black flats and tights, with brown hair covering her eyes. And she was surrounded by fire and glaring at him. Sora quickly recognized her from Tifa's description; this had to be Sera Rose.

"Don't take another step!" Sera shouted. "Or I'll fry you!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Sora said, holding up his hands. "I'm here to help you! You're Sera, right? Sera Rose?"

Sera's flaming aura slowly faded, and she tilted her head quizzically. "How do you know my name?"

"Tifa sent me."

Sera lowered her hands, and Sora briefly saw her eyes glow through her hair as she looked him over. Before he could question anything, she smiled.

"I can see you're trustworthy," Sera said. "Sorry about that. I've been a little... on edge. Heartless chased me in here."

"Don't worry about it," Sora said. "I'm just glad you're okay. Let's get outta here."

Sera nodded, and they exited the house. However, as Sora started jumping across the rocks, Sera stopped at the water's edge.

Sora stopped and looked back. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Sera said. "Just give me a second." With that, she sent out a blast of fire that traveled over the water and hovered over the rocks. The others watched her do so.

"Sora found her," Kairi said. "But what's she doing?"

"I have no clue," Neku replied.

Sera jumped across the rocks, making sure to jump on the fire hovering over them. Before long, she reached Sora's position, and hopped back with them.

Kairi waved at her and smiled. "Hello."

"Uh... hi." Sera said nervously.

"Relax, they're with me, Sera." Sora explained. Sera nodded.

Donald tilted his head quizzically. "What was with that fire?"

"I needed to see where the rocks where," Sera said simply.

"See?" Neku asked. "It's light enough in here to see them."

Kairi examined Sera's face more closely, and waved a hand over her eyes.

"You can stop that," Sera said. "Yes, I'm blind."

"Oh!" Kairi backed off. "I-I'm sorry."

Sera smiled. "It's fine. You're not the first."

"Well, let's find the others and get you home." Sora said.

"Sounds good to me," said Sera, and they exited. As they walked, they talked.

"How'd you get in there anyways?" Goofy asked.

"Heartless chased me in there," Sera explained. "Along with some other creatures and a boy. He was very unpleasant."

"A boy?" Kairi asked. "One of Xehanort's men?"

"Most likely," Sora said, before deciding to change the subject. "So, what was up with that fire? When you used it, you could see the stepping stones."

"Oh, it's a power of mine," Sera explained. "Fire is my eyes. I use it to see."

"Wow," Sora said. "That's neat. But I have another question. Your eyes were glowing earlier, when I found you in Merlin's house. What was that about?"

"That's my other power," Sera said. "I can read others' auras; your thoughts, emotions, personalities, etc. That's how I could tell you weren't lying about Tifa."

"That's amazing!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Yeah, Sera said simply. "I guess it is."

"Let's go find the others," Sora said.

They went back to the Second District, and ran into Ven, Aqua, and Mickey.

"You found her!" Ven exclaimed. "That's great!"

"Yep," Sora said. "Guys, this is Sera. Sera... well, I can't point them out for you, so..."

Sera waved a hand, dismissing it. "It's fine."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"I'm blind," Sera explained. "That's why he said that."

"Oh," Aqua replied. "Well, I'm Aqua."

"I'm Ventus," Ven said. "Call me Ven."

"And I'm King Mickey." said Mickey.

"It's nice to meet you all." said Sera.

"Seen anything suspicious around here, guys?" Sora asked.

"Just a few Heartless," Aqua replied. "But we saw the others heading back to the First District."

"Then that's where we're headed," Kairi said.

"So," Sera said as they walked, "how many of you all came to search for me."

"A lot." Goofy said simply.

Sera smiled slightly. "Thank you all for coming to help me."

Sora shrugged his shoulders. "I don't need a reason to help someone in trouble. None of us do."

-X-

The others were all hanging out in the First District when Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Neku, and Sera showed up.

"Did you find her?" Riku asked.

"Yep," Sora said, stepping aside to reveal Sera.

"It's nice to meet you," Sera said. Her eyes glowed briefly as she scanned all their auras... and stopped short when she sensed a familiar one.

"Wait a second..." she said. "Lea?"

Lea smiled. "Hey, Sera."

"Wait a sec," Sora said, surprised. "You two know each-"

He was cut off when Sera ran over to Lea, who hugged her. She reached up and touched his face before kissing him, much to the shock of the others.

"Well..." Kairi said simply, "didn't see that coming."

Sera and Lea parted, and she leaned against him, smiling. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Lea said. "Are you hurt?"

Sera shook her head. "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

Lea stroked her hair. "I know, fire flower."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Mind filling us in?" Lea pulled away from Sera, clasping her hand in his.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend." he replied.

"Girlfriend?!" Everyone else said in surprise. Lea nodded.

"When did this happen?" Kairi asked.

"About six months ago, a little after Sora went off on his own," Lea explained. "She showed up in Radiant Garden, and I helped her settle in."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Ven asked.

Lea rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I wanted to keep my romantic life separate for the time being. But, well... the cat's out of the bag."

"Yep," Sera said simply.

Lea turned to her. "I'd introduce everyone, Sera, but... well, you know."

"Know what?" Hikari asked.

"I'm blind," Sera replied. "I can't tell who's who, unless..."

"Unless what?" asked Riku.

"Don't freak out, okay?" With that, Sera held up her hand, and a stream of fire floated out and darted between the group; it gently touched everyone's faces, but didn't burn them.

"What is this?" Ven asked, surprised.

"Fire is my eyes. I use it to see," Sera replied. "I'm trying to see your faces as best as I can. It'll help me distinguish you." With that, she retracted the flame back into her hand.

Neku gave a small smile. "Glad you found your friend."

It was at that moment that Shiki noticed Neku was there. "There you are, Neku!"

Neku turned to her. "Shiki? I thought you were a goner after the Heartless attack."

"Wait," Sora said. "You two were separated?"

"Yep," came a new voice. "These two, and everyone else, were driven apart."

Everyone nearly jumped out of their skins, and looked up to see a teenage boy sitting atop a building. The boy had unkempt ash-blond hair and lavender-colored eyes, and wore a light grey button-down shirt, with a fairly exposed neck and collar, dark grey pants, and plain white shoes with black laces.

"Joshua?" Sora said in surprise.

"I see he still likes to pop up out of nowhere." Riku said flatly.

"Pretty much, yeah," Neku said as Joshua jumped off the building, floating to the ground.

"This is Joshua?" Kairi asked Sora. "The boy with the angel wings?"

"That would be me," Joshua said simply, before turning to Neku and Shiki. "Glad to see you two are alright."

Shiki nodded. "Thanks. Any word on Beat and Rhyme?"

Joshua nodded grimly. "They're separated. They're fine for now, but a boy in black is attacking them."

"Where are they now?" Hikari asked.

"Rhyme is in the underground mailroom," Joshua replied. "Beat's somewhere in the back alleys."

"Then we better go help 'em." Sora said.

Mickey turned to Joshua. "This boy in black... could you see his face?"

Joshua shook his head. "No. He was wearing a black coat, and kept the hood up."

"One of Xehanort's men." Aqua said.

"Are we surprised?" West said flatly.

"No." said everyone in Sora's group, sans Sera.

"But here's another thing," Joshua said. "He wasn't alone." He looked right at Neku and Shiki with his next words. "Two of the Reapers from our homeworld were with him."

Neku gasped. "Reapers?!"

Joshua nodded. "Yep. Mitsuki Konishi and Megumi Kitaniji."

Kairi tilted her head quizzically. "Who?"

"Those are some of the top Reapers from our home." Shiki said.

"What's going on?" Nixe asked. "Who are the Reapers?"

"These guys from our home who made us play their little 'game'," Neku replied. "And trust me, it's not a fun game."

"Wait," Sora said, remembering something. "That game you mentioned in the Sleeping Worlds?" Neku nodded.

"I never thought they'd follow us all the way here." Shiki said fearfully.

"I have no clue why they did," Sï'Lea said, "but whatever they're up to, it can't be good."

"Especially if Xehanort's involved." Aqua added.

Sï'Lea turned to Lea. "Lea, why don't you take Sera home in the Gummi Ship and meet us back here."

Lea opened his mouth to reply, but Sera cut in.

"No," she said. "I can help."

"Are you sure, Sera?" Sora asked. "This could be dangerous."

"I can handle myself." To drive her point home, Sera, without even turning her head, threw a fireball to their left; they turned to see a Soldier Heartless on a nearby roof get hit with the fireball, burst into flame, and fall to its demise. Everyone gaped in awe for several seconds.

"Well," Hikari said, breaking the silence, "I'm convinced."

"Alright," Lea said. "But stay with me." Sera nodded.

"Okay," Joshua said. "I say we split up. One group goes to Beat, the other goes to Rhyme, and the last two go deal with the Reapers. Then we all go after the boy in black."

Sora nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

They all did so, going in groups consisting of the following people; Sï'Lea, Nixe, Joshua, Aqua, and Ven, Lea, Sera, West, Riku, and Mickey, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi, and Neku, Shiki, Hikari, and Max.

-X-

As they went, Nixe turned to Joshua. "What are we up against?"

"Well," Joshua said, "Mitsuki can turn into a humanoid tigress with wings and Megumi can turn into a large red serpent and a dragon-like monster."

Nixe gulped nervously. "Yipe."

"If it's any comfort, Mitsuki's the easier of the two." Joshua replied.

"And Megumi?" Aqua asked.

"Neku and Shiki can take him."

"I hope so," Ven said.

"Don't worry," Joshua said. "We beat them before."

-X-

"You know Kairi's gonna kill you for this, Lea," Riku said.

Lea looked at him. "What'd I do this time?"

"You didn't tell us about Sera, that's what," Riku replied.

"Kairi..." Sera said, "that's the girl you told me about before."

Lea nodded. "Yeah."

"So, what's your story, Sera?" Mickey asked.

Sera shrugged. "There's not much to tell. Six months ago, I just showed up in Radiant Garden. I have no memories of where I come from or my past; all I know is my name and my powers."

"I found her, and helped her get settled in, paying for her to stay at Tifa's inn." Lea added. "One day, I took her out for dinner, and well... one thing led to another."

"And the rest is history," Riku said.

Lea nodded. "More or less."

"Aww," West said, "that's so cute."

Sera blushed briefly, and Lea decided to change the subject.

"So, Riku," he said, "what's this Beat guy like?"

"He's... interesting, to say the least," Riku said. "A bit dim. And he talks weird."

"Weird how?" West asked.

"You'll see." Riku replied.

They continued along.

"He's gotta be around here somewhere," Riku said. "He's usually hard to miss."

Before long, they heard fighting.

"I can't be beaten like this, yo!" came a male voice.

"That's him," said Riku. "I'd recognize that voice and speech pattern anywhere."

They ran towards the voice, and soon came across a boy surrounded by Heartless. The boy had short blond hair and blue eyes, and wore a black beanie with a white skull design embroidered on the front. He wore a black chain necklace with a skull pendant, a white tank top with red trim, beige shorts, red and black sneakers, a black studded wristband on his left wrist, and a chain accessory hanging from his left hip.

"Beat!" Riku shouted as they charged in.

The boy, Beat, turned to see them. "Riku?!"

"We're here to help!" Riku said as they drew their weapons.

Beat rolled his eyes. "I can handle this, yo!"

"You can drop the tough guy act, 'yo'." West shot back.

"Hey!" Beat said, glaring at her. "Don't mock me!"

"Can we please stop arguing and just kill the Heartless already?" Sera asked.

Beat shrugged. "Fine."

They turned on the Heartless, and before long, they were all destroyed. Riku turned to Beat.

"Good thing we made it in time." he said, dismissing his Keyblade.

Beat shrugged. "I coulda handled them on my own, yo."

"You're welcome." West deadpanned.

"Anyway," Riku said, taking charge, "Joshua told us everything. You were all separated after a Heartless attack. What happened before then?"

"I was just taking Rhyme out for ice cream, yo, when those monsters attacked us," Beat said, before remembering something. "Wait... Rhyme!"

"It's okay," Lea said. "She's in the mailroom. Sora's got it covered."

Beat sighed in relief. "Good."

"Let's get going," said Mickey."

Beat nodded. "Aiight."

West sighed. "And can you please stop talking like that?"

Beat raised an eyebrow. "Whaddaya mean?"

West opened her mouth to say something, then just shrugged. "Never mind."

-X-

Back in the first district, Sora led Kairi, Donald, and Goofy over to the mailbox.

"Where's this mailroom Joshua mentioned?" Donald asked.

"Right here." Sora pushed the mailbox aside, revealing a tunnel down.

"Gawrsh," Goofy said. "That was there the whole time?"

"Yep." Sora replied. "Let's get going."

They descended the ladder, and all but Sora looked around in awe at the massive post office.

"Whoa..." Kairi said in surprise.

"I know, right?" Sora replied.

Goofy turned to Sora. "So, what does Rhyme look like."

"A short girl with blonde hair," Sora replied. "She wears a black beanie with a skull pin. She's really cute."

Soon after he said that, they heard a terrified scream.

"Oh, no!" Donald cried.

They ran in the direction of the scream, and soon saw a little girl surrounded by mysterious blue creatures. The girl had blue eyes and blonde hair under a black beanie, which was decorated with a skull pin. She wore a small bell around her neck, a light red long-sleeved shirt decorated with a black insignia that resembled a cross between a skull-and-crossbones and a heart, white shorts, and yellow-and-black sneakers. Sora immediately recognized her as Rhyme.

"Those must be the blue creatures Neku mentioned before!" Kairi exclaimed.

"C'mon, she needs our help!" Sora said. They charged in, and quickly dealt with the monsters.

"Sora?" Rhyme said in surprise, approaching them. "It is you! I'm so happy to see you again!"

"I'm glad to see you too," Sora said, dismissing his Keyblade. "Are you okay?"

"A few scrapes here and there," Rhyme replied. "Nothing serious."

"Good." Kairi said. Rhyme turned to her, tilting her head quizzically.

"And who are you?" she asked.

"They're with me," Sora replied. "That's Kairi, Donald, and Goofy."

Rhyme smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you," Kairi replied. "Joshua told us everything."

"Oh," Rhyme said. "Do you know where Beat is?"

"Yeah," Goofy replied. "Riku's got it covered."

"That's great!" Rhyme said.

"And we found those weird blue creatures Neku mentioned," Sora said. "But what are they?"

"I dunno," Rhyme replied. "But they didn't show up around here until that boy in a black coat showed up."

That got the others' attention.

"You saw him?!" Donald asked.

Rhyme nodded before turning to Sora. "It was weird. He kinda sounded like you."

"Like... me?" Sora said, surprised.

Rhyme nodded again. "His voice was a bit deeper, but yeah."

"That's really weird." Kairi said.

"We need to find this guy, and find out who or what he is." Sora said with determination.

-X-

Neku, Shiki, Hikari, and Max entered the fourth district, looking around.

Shiki sighed. "I can't believe we have to fight these guys again."

"Me neither." said Neku.

"Then you know how to beat them," Hikari said. "There's that, at least."

"True," Shiki conceded. "But why would they come here?"

"For you guys?" Max suggested.

"Maybe," Neku said. "We did kick their butts. They probably want revenge."

"Whatever they want, it doesn't matter," Hikari said. "As long as they're involved with Xehanort, they're our enemies."

"Who is this Xehanort guy, anyway?" Neku asked.

"He's bad news, that's what," Max replied. "He's been causing all sorts of trouble these past few years."

"Sounds like a real piece of work," said Shiki.

"Well, I hate doing the dirty work," said a new voice, "but you two are going to be worth it."

They all jumped out of their skins, and looked around to find the source of the voice.

"Who's there?!" Hikari shouted, drawing her sword. "Show yourself."

From a nearby building jumped an older man wearing sunglasses, dressed in a black suit, white undershirt, with long black hair and a goatee, and red headphones around his neck.

"It's him!" Shiki shouted. "Megumi!"

"That's Megumi?" Max asked.

Neku nodded. "The Reapers' second in command."

"Why'd you follow us here, Megumi?" Shiki demanded.

"Why do you think?" Megumi replied. "You're Players, and we don't let Players leave the Game. Good thing that Xehanort let us know where you were."

At the mention of Xehanort's name, Hikari scowled. "So you are in league with him!"

"Well... not exactly," Megumi said. "He just gave us the info, in exchange for us capturing a boy named Sora and turning him over."

"No way!" Max shouted. "You're not gonna lay a finger on Sora, you creep!"

Hikari pointed her sword at Megumi. "I don't know the details about you or this 'game.' But I know one thing: you're helping Xehanort, and that makes you our enemy by default."

Megumi smirked. "Well then... you'd make a great Player. I guess I'll just take you two with me to play the Game too."

"Bring it!" Max declared.

"If you insist," Megumi replied. He concentrated, and soon, his form expanded, becoming a massive red dragon.

Max gulped nervously. "Uh-oh..."

"You said it," Shiki said nervously.

Hikari stood her ground. "You won't be the first dragon I've slain."

-X-

As they went along, Joshua suddenly stopped.

"Hold it." he said.

Ven tilted his head quizzically. "What's up?"

"We found her." Joshua replied.

"Well, well, well," came a female voice. "I would've expected to see you holding Neku's leash, Joshua."

Everyone stiffened and drew their weapons.

"Show yourself!" Aqua shouted.

From out of the shadows emerged an older woman wearing glasses, with long blonde hair, wearing a white and black dress, black stockings, and white high heels.

"Mitsuki," Joshua said coldly. Mitsuki just smirked at him.

"So," she asked, "where's your proxy, Neku?"

"Dealing with Megumi," Joshua replied. "And he's not my proxy."

"Whatever you say," Mitsuki looked between the group. "Well... I don't see any targets here."

"Targets?" Nixe asked.

"Yes," Mitsuki replied. "Neku and his little friends are participants in the Reapers' Game. And quitting is not an option."

Joshua glared at her. "Leave them alone."

Mitsuki smirked. "Now, why would I do that?"

"Because we'll kick your butt if you don't," Ven replied.

"How did you find us?" Joshua demanded.

"This Xehanort," Mitsuki replied. "Who else? He tipped us off."

Sï'Lea scowled at that. "So you are in league with him."

"More or less," Mitsuki shrugged. "We get what we want and he gets what he wants. That Sora kid."

Aqua glared at her. "Xehanort can't have him."

"Oh, really?" Mitsuki said mockingly. "And who's gonna stop me?"

"Us," Ven replied. "I don't know what this "Reapers' Game" is, but any ally of Xehanort's is my enemy."

"Exactly," said Aqua.

"Fine then," Mitsuki said. She concentrated intensely, and shifted into a humanoid tiger with wings.

"Changing shape won't scare us!" Ven declared. "Let's see what you got!"

Author's Note:

Yep! Sera is Lea's girlfriend. To be honest, anyone who's read Kristen Verne's fics shouldn't be too surprised.

Next chapter, the gang fights the Reapers and comes face to face with this mystery boy in a black coat... though his identity should be fairly obvious.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Sera - Tia Ballard (Happy from Fairy Tail, Mizore Shirayuki from Rosario + Vampire, Chiho Sasaki from The Devil is a Part-Timer!)

Please R&R. Until next time!