Heroes of Light

by Silverbits

Shadows of the Past, Light of the Future Reboot! When shadows threaten to take over the world, and all seemed lost a new hero appears out of nowhere and chases away the darkness. Izuku Midoriya wants to follow this hero, feeling a strange connection to her and her power. Little did he know that he'd become part of something bigger.

24. Heart of the Jungle

Heart of the Jungle

It was strange.

"I'm sorry…but you've been…"

It was like a dream. A weird, surreal dream.

He stared blankly into an endless horizon. It was almost peaceful, but there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Something was wrong.

I'm not…supposed to be here. Right? There's something I still need to do, isn't there?

Hazy memories flickered in his mind. Something happened, something awful. It wasn't supposed to happen in the first place. Right?

"Hey wait! Hold on! What are you-"

A soft, glimmering light filled his vision, and he felt drawn towards it. He hadn't realized he had been reaching towards it until it felt like a hole opened up in the ground beneath him.

Suddenly he was falling. Spiraling away further and further into the unknown. He wasn't sure where he was falling, until he finally slammed into the earth.

Suddenly he found himself gasping, desperately dragging air back into his lungs.

He was breathing.

T̷̤̾̄̽́h̴͉̞̏ë̸̗̺̰̣̥͉̕͠r̶̨̦̠̋͑̅ę̷͕̀ ̴̟͕͂̅͜͝ͅy̴͖̍̑́̂̕͠ǫ̷̗͚͕̉̃͝u̷͈̦̞̙̇̓ ̴̡͖̦̼͓̊ͅa̸͓̙͒̏͋̈́ṟ̷̦͈̩̑̆̕͠e̴̡̬̺͌

-HoL-

Everything was disorientating.

It felt hard to move his body. It was taking everything he had just to breathe.

In and out. In and out. There wasn't enough air.

Despite this he felt his body moving automatically. He had no say in the matter.

Wait.

He struggled to get up despite the pain. There were frustrated shouts behind him. There was a faint ringing in his ears.

Hold on. I already saw this, didn't I? Hasn't this…happened?

"Izuku?"

He glanced to the side and saw Sora had sat up. He was hurt. He looked scared. There was a line of red on his cheek that dribbled out crimson.

There was the sound of the gun cocking.

Wait a minute. Isn't this-

"Izuku move!"

He felt a sudden surge of energy, and threw himself to the side, away from the bullet's path. He wasn't entirely spared, not when he felt a sharp pain strike through his shoulder. He hit the ground hard and cried out.

He brought a hand up to clutch at the persisting pain. He felt something warm seep through his shirt and jacket.

He tried to focus on breathing as his mind ran miles a minute.

He couldn't taste copper, he wasn't dying. Was that a dream? Some kind of premonition of death? He was supposed to be focusing on something else wasn't he? Why was it hard to think?!

Sora panted as he scrambled over. His own hands shook as he looked over his friend. He felt like there was some kind of deja vu there. Like something similar had already happened only…a worse outcome. Had he imagined it? Were his nerves just fried from…everything?

"T-That's a lot of…" He trailed off, frozen and unsure what to do as he saw red bleeding through Izuku's shirt and jacket.

Sora wasn't a stranger to blood. No, far from it. His parents worked on a fishing boat, they took him out to sail a lot when he was little. An accident or two had been bound to happen.

"It's alright. Now don't go panicking, that won't help."

Words his dad once said to him when he cut himself pretty good while gutting a fish. Panicking wouldn't help, that wouldn't get anything done. Even if he really wanted to.

His throat felt dry as he quickly searched his pockets for anything that could help. He was sure he pocketed a potion at some point. He had to.

He stopped his search when he heard the sound of Clayton readying his gun again. Even in the growing darkness, he could see the glint of it up ahead.

He ducked down when he heard the gun fire again. There was a harsh clanging noise in front of him. He looked up and saw Goofy standing in front of them, holding his shield up.

"Sora, are ya okay?"

The boy took a moment to nod numbly. "Izuku, he's…"

"He'll be alright." Donald tried to assure him.

The mentioned Keyblade wielder dragged in one breath after another. He tried to push himself up with his good arm.

"Or rather, he will be if he stops moving!"

Izuku didn't listen and glared ahead at Clayton and the Heartless.

"I said…" He spoke through gritted teeth. "I'd get us o-out of this. I need to…" He held his hand out, he couldn't even begin to cast a spell before he collapsed. He was out of magic energy.

Donald stared ahead at their opponents. He saw what kind of spell Izuku was trying to cast, and it gave him an idea.

"Sora, do ya have one more spell in you?"

The teen looked taken aback. He slowly nodded and held out his hand to call on his Keyblade again. Its weight was comforting, and gave him some assurance.

Another gunshot that made them all flinch. Goofy still stood strong with his shield, promising he wouldn't let anything happen to them.

"When I tell you, use a fire spell!"

A quiet nod.

Donald scowled as he faced Clayton and the Heartless. He didn't have as much magic energy as he would like to have, but it would be enough.

He raised his staff.

"Thunder!"

They saw the sparks and Clayton ordered the beast to dodge.

Immediately Donald pointed his staff at them, quickly switching over to another spell.

"Blizzara!" He didn't aim directly at Clayton, but instead the Heartless. It didn't get a chance to jump away before its feet were frozen to the ground.

Clayton shouted in anger and aimed at the group again. Before he could fire, Tarzan ran forward and leapt toward the man. He pulled the weapon away and tried to wrestle it out of his grasp. As he fought with the man, the Stealth Sneak reached up to get its unwelcome passenger off. It swiped at Tarzan until it managed to grab him and threw him off.

He crashed into Goofy, and caused the knight to fall to the ground. Their defense was gone.

It was fine though, the distraction gave Donald enough time to catch his breath. He raised his staff before slamming it to the ground with a shout.

The Stealth Sneak began to charge at them in response, only to slam into a clear barrier. It trilled and tried to get around it, only to slam into another wall. Clayton paused and reached forward, revealing a shimmering barrier. He scowled and slammed a fist against it, but to no avail. Even the Heartless began to pound on the barrier.

Donald pointed his staff up one more time. Water began to gather and he launched it toward the barrier.

"Now Sora!"

Sora pointed his Keyblade at the ball of water and gathered whatever magic he could. He shouted as he flung the cluster of flames toward the water..

The fireball flew through the air and collided with the Water spell. Steam billowed out from the collision of the magics and covered the area.

"Let's go!"

Goofy helped Sora up, then a barely conscious Izuku.

Tarzan watched them and looked in the direction of Clayton's yells. When everyone was up and running off he followed. He pulled ahead of them and began to lead them back to the camp, where Jane and her father could help them.

Clayton's shouting grew more distant the further away they ran. It was all they could do, run away to live another day. Fear what'll happen when Donald's spell breaks down and the man is set free. What kind of chaos he and his Heartless will cause.

Defeat.

-HoL-

It was a mess. A painful mish mash of memories and emotions that seemed to scramble the more he tried to look back on it. Things overlapped in a messy way, an incoherent story. Something he was so sure had happened but was relieved to see it didn't.

Even though the tragedy felt so real.

He was a bystander in those unclear memories, it was like he was watching himself through a cracked lens. Blurry and unclear, with missing pieces

Red on green. Burning tears. Rising panic...

"Sora."

He froze, it was a voice he knew. One he recognized. One that wasn't present during the fight. He whirled around, and saw nothing. He was so sure he heard her.

"Sora!" It was somehow further away, yet clearer than before. He turned away from the painful scene and toward an empty space. There was no one there.

"Kairi?"

A hand gently grabbed his arm.

"You shouldn't be here."

He was shoved away and he was falling. He expected to feel pain when he slammed onto the floor.

Instead he opened his eyes with a gasp.

Sora looked around, realizing he was in a tent. He was in a cot and a light blanket had been thrown over him.

He slowly sat up, trying to grasp at the fragments of a fleeting dream. There had been a sense of familiarity that set him at ease. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and began to think back. He didn't remember getting to the tent, let alone laying down to rest.

The last thing he remembered was…

He gasped and threw the blanket off, then stood up. Only to fall back down. He panted as he struggled to stand up on unsteady legs. He stood up and looked around for his friend, and spotted him in another cot.

He smiled and stumbled forward. His legs gave out on him again as he reached Izuku's bedside. He could see there were bandages around his shoulder. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing. He was okay. He was alive.

Sora took a shaky breath as he hung his head with a relieved smile.

"It was a dream. Just a bad dream. It didn't happen…" He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "Just a bad dream…nothing."

Sora leaned against the cot and tried to settle himself. He looked around again and found no trace of Donald or Goofy. They had probably left them alone so they could sleep in peace. He could only imagine how worried they were.

He could only hope they weren't hurt as badly.

He brought a hand up to his cheek where a bullet had grazed him. It was healed. No sign of the wound, it wasn't even tender. But he could still feel the sting of it. Hear the sound of the bullet whizzing past him. A near miss.

It would fade eventually. He was sure. He just needed to get his nerves settled. It shouldn't be too hard.

A groan pulled him from his thoughts and he looked over to see Izuku shifting.

"Izuku!"

He smiled as his friend slowly opened his eyes. He was still drowsy, and stared at Sora blankly.

"You're up. And you're okay!" He smiled. "We're back at camp in one of the tents. I think Donald and Goofy gotta be around here somewhere, I dunno. I just woke up too. I haven't checked yet."

Izuku continued to stare at him, trying to piece together the ramblings.

"Huh?"

Sora stared at him before shaking his head. "N-Nothing. We're okay, and safe. That's all that matters right now. We managed to get out alright."

Izuku continued to stare at him, seemingly piecing together the spoken words. After a moment he gasped and sat up in a hurry, he didn't get the chance to say anything before he grabbed his shoulder and leaned over in pain.

"Izuku?"

"I-I'm good." He shook his head. "I'm okay…"

Sora watched him ride out the pain before sitting up and looking around.

"Where…"

"We're back at camp." Sora sat on the cot. "I don't know how long we were out for, and I dunno where Donald and Goofy are."

"...What happened with Clayton? Did you manage to beat him or…."

Sora shook his head, then slowly drew his knees to his chest. "We just…ran. Donald trapped him, and then we ran. I don't remember much after that."

"So he's probably still out there."

He quietly nodded.

Izuku looked down. He was silent before taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." Izuku muttered, refusing to look at Sora. "I was so caught up in my own head I wasn't focusing. And that cost us. You all could have gotten hurt. I promised to get us out of all that…and everything just went wrong."

Sora blinked, and looked up at him with a frown. "You…but you got hurt."

Izuku still refused to look at him. "It's not that bad. It still kind of stings but another potion or a Cure should finish patching me up. I'm fine. I'm more relieved that the rest of you are alright."

Sora continued to stare. "But…but you're not-"

He was interrupted by the tent flap opening and hearing hushed voices step inside.

"We oughta let 'em rest Donald. They weren't lookin' too good the last time we came in here. We don't wanna wake 'em up."

"It's just more of a reason to check on them. If they aren't well then we need to-"

They stopped when they caught sight of the boys, awake and well.

Neither of the teens were prepared for the loud shouts and getting dragged into a tight hug by the magician and knight. They were mindful of Izuku's shoulder as they squeezed the pair as tight as they could, then let them go.

"It's about time you two woke up! Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"Are the two of ya okay?"

"I'm okay." Sora brushed himself off. "Still kinda tired."

"I'm fine." Izuku said.

"Liar, your shoulder still hurts."

Izuku only gave Sora a look, but Donald was quick to step up.

"I figured as much." Donald summoned his staff. "I was only able to do a quick patch job with whatever magic I had left. And a potion or two."

Sora watched as the bandages were undone and instinctively cringed when he saw the scar. The skin was still raised and a little irritated. He unconsciously brought a hand up to his face. He hoped there wasn't a scar there, it was one thing to have a reminder of a horrible incident you could hide, but one that would always be there when you looked in the mirror?

He shuddered.

"Is the bullet still in there or was it through and through?" Izuku asked.

"It's concerning how nonchalant you seem about this." Donald raised an eyebrow as petals of light fell over the teen.

"I'm more concerned with the fact I'm ali…okay."

"Hmm…"

None of them missed how Izuku held the blanket with a white-knuckled grip.

Izuku stared blankly ahead as Donald finished healing him up. The pain was gone for the most part, and of course all that was left was the ugly scar on his shoulder.

"The bullet isn't in there," Donald put the staff down. "So at least there's that."

Izuku nodded and only looked up when Goofy brought over some folded up clothes. He took them and looked over his shirt and jacket for damage. As expected there were holes where the bullet had struck him. What surprised him though were the lack of bloodstains he was so ready to see.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get those stains out." Donald huffed. "Magic certainly has its perks."

Izuku stared at the hole in the jacket. The jacket Aqua had gifted him. He ran a hand over it, and Goofy spoke up before he could linger on it for too long.

"We couldn't fix up the jacket, not yet. But when we get back to the ship I can probably fix it up, it wouldn't be the first time I've had to sew somethin' up after a fight."

"Right, thank you." Izuku quickly pulled on his shirt and jacket.

"Nothin' else is hurtin' is it?" Goofy asked. "The both of ya?"

"I'm okay."

"No, I'm good!"

The adults sighed in relief but still continued to look over them. Just to make sure.

Whatever positivity was in the atmosphere dissipated when Sora looked up at all of them.

"So, what happens now," he asked. "What are we gonna do now? Do we still go after Clayton? We have to, right? If he's out there then…"

"Then nobody is safe." Izuku finished.

Donald and Goofy glanced at each other.

"We do gotta find 'im, but the two of ya should probably see somethin' first."

The teens exchanged a confused glance before getting up and heading toward the tent flap. The moment they stepped outside, they were hit with a wave of intense dread.

Izuku felt his stomach drop as he took in the sight outside. The sky was overcast with clouds that seemed darker than they should be. Thunder called out distantly, promising a storm. The dark miasma they had seen around the plants of the treehouse had spread and was around all of the plant life around them. Slowly withering and dying off.

"The darkness…it's spreading."

"This is bad, really bad."

"How long were we out?" Izuku asked.

"A day or so." Donald sighed.

"That's pretty fast for things to get this bad."

Izuku felt more, and more dread the longer he stared at it all. He looked away from the sight. "No, darkness spreads fast. If anything, this is mild. We still have time to fix this."

"Izuku…"

"You're awake!" They all looked up to see Jane hurrying over to them. "Are you feeling alright? You shouldn't be pushing yourselves if you're not well."

"We're okay." Sora smiled. "We're doing a lot better."

Jane looked over them, she couldn't help but linger on Izuku. He looked away and grabbed his shoulder.

"W-We're alright, a lot better now. Thank you."

"Oh, are the boys up?" The Professor poked his head out from a stack of books on the desk in the middle of the camp. When he saw them he smiled and made his way over. "Oh, thank goodness! You boys gave us such a fright when we saw you. You were quite banged up."

"We know." Sora rubbed his arm. "Anyway, if you guys are here, where's Tarzan? He's okay too, right?"

Jane sighed and shook her head. "He's been running around for some time now. I believe he's searching for Clayton or looking after the gorillas." The mere mention of the man made her furrow her brow. "I can't believe he would do that, attack you all like that. Especially children."

"I didn't think he'd be capable of that." Professor Arcchimedes looked down. "I feel I must apologize for this. It was my idea to hire Clayton on as a guide and protector on this expedition. If I had asked someone else for assistance, perhaps none of this would have ever happened."

"Hey now, don't be too hard on yerself." Goofy stopped him. "How were ya supposed to know he'd do all this? I'm sure at the time he seemed like a good person, and the best option."

The Professor looked down. "Yes, I suppose he did."

Jane looked away. "He's right, daddy. We can't change the past, and I'm afraid what's happened is done. However, we can discuss how to move forward now. But first, how about we whip something up for you all? I'm sure we could all use some lunch."

-.-

After they all ate, Izuku couldn't help but notice how Sora was lingering near him, almost constantly. Wherever he went, Sora followed. He took a lap around the camp, Sora was right behind him. He sat down to think, Sora appeared right beside him.

He wasn't opposed to it, it was nice to have some company. He couldn't help but replay the hazy memories. Most of them fell through his fingers like sand, hard to grasp and slipping away. Some pieces stuck to him, hard to wipe away and clinging to him.

One image that was painfully clear was of Sora in tears, hovering over him.

He wasn't sure if that was from what happened, or the…dream? Premonition?

He still wasn't sure what to call it.

What was that?

"Hey, Izuku?"

He looked over to Sora, who was fidgeting with his hands.

"You're…okay. Right?"

He stared at him before nodding. "I'm alright Sora, I'm all healed up. So don't worry about me. What about you? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine! But you…I thought…you weren't though." He frowned and stopped himself. He looked away. "I thought I saw…something bad happen. Like, really bad. Worse than what happened but…well I'm not saying what happened wasn't bad already but-"

Izuku was thankful for Sora's rambling, so that he didn't see the way his eyes widened.

He saw it too. So…did it happen then? Unless it was a weird collective hallucination. But even then that doesn't make sense. I didn't…die. I thought it happened, but it never came to pass.

Izuku clenched his fist as he shook his head.

I don't know what that was all about, but I need to put this to rest for him.

"But it's just-"

"Sora."

The younger teen looked up, and Izuku smiled. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. I got hurt, but it's not as bad as it could have been." He put a hand to his shoulder. "See? I'm okay. Maybe from where you had been it looked worse than it was. But I'm okay, I'm still in one piece. I promise."

Sora stared at him, almost unsure of what he said. There was no argument to be had, not really. Not if Izuku is sitting right beside him and not…gone.

Maybe it really was just a bad dream, or something akin to that.

"Right." He nodded, and leaned back. "You're okay. It could have been worse but…you're okay."

Izuku watched him scratch at his face before nodding again. "I'm glad that it didn't turn out worse."

"Me too."

Izuku looked up at the overcast sky and watched the gray clouds pass over one another. There would be a storm soon, probably made worse by the darkness that's eating away at the world.

There was still time to fix it. He could still fix it.

"Hey, Izuku?" When he looked over, Sora took it as a sign to continue. "I don't know if you wanna talk about earlier. With that Katsuki guy? What he said was…"

"Don't worry about it." Izuku looked away. "Honestly, don't. I don't really have the energy to even think about that right now."

"Oh…okay."

"We've got more important things to worry about. Like dealing with Clayton and that Heartless."

Sora leaned forward with his elbows on his legs. "So, would it be safe to assume you've got a plan then? You being good at those and all?"

"Not a very solid one. More like a basic idea."

"That's still better than nothing!"

Izuku sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I would like to have a plan that has more substance than a basic idea."

"I dunno, we could always go with the basic idea and the feel of it. It might work out."

"With what we're dealing with? Not exactly."

"But it could."

"It might not."

"But it could."

Izuku raised an eyebrow and only got a grin back. At least Sora seemed to be in a better mood.

"So, what's the idea anyway?"

"Separating Clayton and his Heartless from each other, then taking the two down separately. I think that's going to be our best bet."

"Oh. That could work. So, how would we do that? Separate them?"

Izuku gave Sora a long stare.

"What part of 'basic idea' didn't you get?"

"Oh, wow that's really barebones."

"Why do you think I said I'd like it to have more substance?"

"I dunno, you kinda overthink things sometimes."

Izuku gave him a look.

"What? You do!"

Izuku shook his head and went back to thinking. Maybe it was something they could discuss with Donald and Goofy. They may have some ideas. While he thought, Sora laid back on the crates and watched the sky.

It was a moment of calm, one desperately needed. Something they just needed to wind down before they would face the terrifying pair that lurked in the jungle somewhere. They didn't have to say anything, it was just nice to have some company.

After a moment Izuku found himself lying back on the crates as well, watching the sky just like Sora.

A moment of peace amidst the chaos.

"Boys!"

Peace that didn't last too long.

Sora groaned as he slowly sat up to see Donald and Goofy making their way over.

"Are the two of ya okay?" Goofy asked.

"We're alright, just resting." Sora shrugged. "What about you? Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine. We just wanted to check on ya. We know the two of ya should rest but…"

Izuku sat up. "But we need to talk about…that."

The adults nodded. Whatever peace they had was now gone. Back to reality.

"We know that the two of ya probably don't wanna face Clayton again but…"

"We have to." Donald sighed.

"We understand if the two of ya are scared, we don't blame ya." Goofy glanced at Izuku, who looked away. "But…we can't just leave things the way they are. Not with Clayton runnin' around with that Heartless of his."

"We know." Sora said. "We…were kinda talking about earlier. How we were going to do that." He looked over at Izuku. "Our master plan maker doesn't have much of a plan."

"Hey, since when was I put in that position?"

"Since you're usually good at them?"

Izuku shook his head at Sora's grin. "It's just an idea, but the execution is where the issue is."

"And what exactly is your idea? Nothing reckless I hope, you've already done enough of that."

"The basic idea is just separating Clayton from the Heartless, and taking them down just like that." Sora said. "But, we don't know how we're supposed to do that."

"Not to mention keeping that thing away from Clayton. As soon as it's apart from him, it'll probably do anything to get back to him. It's there to protect him. And even if we were to split our group up, I don't like the chances of only two people just taking that thing on."

Goofy hummed as he looked up. "Well, I think the Heartless is the biggest problem. If we can find a way to disarm Clayton, he won't be able to hurt us. At least not as much."

"He becomes short range and much easier to deal with. But again, the issue is with how we do it. I won't lie, it's probably going to take the four of us to deal with that Heartless. We can't afford to give it any space to move, especially if we're in a space that's not to our advantage."

"But then who's going to deal with Clayton?" Sora asked.

Donald sighed as he crossed his arms. "We're going to need help, whether we like it or not."

"Ya mean-"

"Tarzan!"

The group looked over to see Tarzan drop out of the trees. He held a yellow bag in one hand as he slowly made his way over to Jane. She hurried over and looked over him. He didn't look injured, he was more tired than anything. There was a bandage on his arm from their previous encounter with Clayton.

He smiled at her as she asked if he was okay, looking for more injuries.

"You're not hurt are you? What about your family, are they alright? Goodness Tarzan I was worried sick!"

Tarzan put a hand to his chest. "I'm alright. Gorillas…are safe."

"You didn't run into Clayton, did you?"

Tarzan shook his head. "No Clayton."

Jane finally noticed the bag in his hands and raised an eyebrow. "Tarzan, what have you got there?"

The man looked around and paused when he saw the group of adventurers. He smiled and made his way over. He made a few grunting noises as he tried to find the proper words. "Found bag."

Izuku's eyes widened and he stood up to take his backpack back. "You went back to get it. Thank you."

He opened it and did a count of what was inside. They had more potions than ethers left. That would make things harder. Even so, he was more happy to have his bag back.

"Friends, okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay Tarzan." Sora smiled at him. "We're doing a lot better now. What about you?"

The man nodded.

"That's good."

Jane and her father began to make their way over as the group looked between each other. There was no easy way to bring it up.

"Tarzan, you didn't see Clayton while you were out, right?" Sora asked.

The man raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. "No, no Clayton."

"So he's probably resting, right?" Sora looked around. "Hiding and sleeping or something?"

"Probably." Izuku tapped his fingers on his backpack. "If he wasn't he probably would have gone after Tarzan, either to hurt him or to follow him to find the gorillas. He's not stupid, he knows he can't find them on his own."

"So, he's probably not too far away?"

"Likely not." Jane said. "You are right, he'd need Tarzan's help to find the gorillas. There's too much jungle to comb through."

The others all looked at each other.

"So he has to be nearby." Izuku continued to tap his backpack as he thought. "Somewhere just out of sight so he can recuperate, but close enough to keep an eye out. It's only a matter of time before he comes after us. Admittedly, he has no leverage to draw us out, but we have something he wants."

Donald raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

Izuku sighed and put his head down, resting it against his bag. "Whether we like it or not, if we want results we're going to have to use ourselves as bait."

"Use yourselves as bait?" Jane repeated. "Are you insane? You two have just recovered! You can't go back out there so soon!"

"But…we kind of have to." Sora said. "Clayton's not done with us yet, not after we managed to get away. There's no way he's going to just forget about us. He's probably not happy that we had gotten away too so…yeah."

"Staying here means Clayton might attack the camp, which would put you and your father in danger. That in itself would make things a lot harder, and risky. We have to be able to control the environment to some extent, at least to minimize risk."

"And how do you propose that?" Donald asked. "Any additions to your barebones plan?"

"Not really…but we do know one thing for certain." Izuku muttered. "We need to stop this before there's any more damage."

Tarzan looked up at that, then at Jane. Her expression changed to one of worry, concern.

"I will help." Tarzan said, stepping forward.

"Tarzan…" Jane muttered.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked. "You had gotten hurt last time, and it was pretty rough. You-"

"Help friends. Help keep my family safe." He said firmly. "Keep my friends safe."

-HoL-

By all means, they were still working on the bare minimum of a plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.

The pieces they needed would fall into place as they came along…at least that was the general hope.

It was against almost everyone's better judgment, but they were in the trees. Creeping along the winding, moss covered branches as they made their way through the jungle. There was no sign of Clayton or the Heartless. Despite this, there were no sounds of the forest. There was no sound of the wind, no birds chirping, no rustling of branches.

There was nothing.

It had been some time since they departed from the camp, much to Jane's dismay despite Tarzan promising they'd be safe.

So far the man had been guiding them through the jungle, helping them cross large divides and keeping balance on the large branches. He hadn't been taking them anywhere near where the nesting grounds were, if anything it's more like they were going around in circles.

"This is killing me, when is Clayton and his stupid Heartless going to show up?" Donald muttered as he looked up through the trees and vines.

"Maybe he wasn't watching us." Izuku muttered. "Maybe he was looking for the gorillas on his own after all. Even so, that's a lot of ground to cover, it's still not a good decision. He'd just be wasting time and energy."

"He's a trigger happy hunter that's obsessed with gorillas and tried to kill us. Does that really scream rational to you?" Donald raised an eyebrow.

"He's got a point." Goofy said.

"But that doesn't answer the question of where he is." Sora reached forward and grabbed Izuku's shoulder to steady himself. His foot was almost caught on a stray vine.

"You got any ideas where he might be Tarzan?"

The man paused to look around, then shook his head.

The others continued to keep an eye on their surroundings, constantly scanning the branches above and below. Each time they looked they saw no trace of the man or the Heartless. No animals. It was almost as if the entire jungle was empty.

"I know we're supposed to be using ourselves as bait, but I don't think it's really working." Sora peered over the edge to see more of the jungle floor tainted with darkness.

"Me neither, is this really the best idea?"

"Well no one said the plan would work right off the bat." Izuku muttered. "Even so, he has to come out at some point. He doesn't have infinite patience."

"Yeah well I'd rather get this done before sundown, I don't like our chances in the dark." Donald grumbled.

Izuku stared up at the stormy sky, there was almost no trace of the sun. It made the entire jungle dark and eerie, and it was still daytime. He dreaded to think how dark it would become at night. They'd be at a disadvantage…as if they already weren't.

"Maybe we oughta take a break." Goofy stopped. "We've been walkin' around for a bit with no sign of 'im."

"What?"

"We don't wanna tire ourselves out." Goofy said. "Besides, if walkin' around ain't working, we should take a minute and see if we can figure out another plan."

Donald glared at Goofy, then at the jungle around them before sighing. "Fine. We've got nothing better to do."

"We're taking a break?" Sora asked.

"Yes, we're taking a break."

"Yes!"

"We haven't even been walking around that long!"

Sora shrugged and walked further along the branch and settled down near a spot he could lean against. Izuku walked over near him and settled down, allowing his legs to dangle off the edge. Donald grumbled to himself as Goofy lightly chuckled.

Tarzan seemed in favor of resting as well and settled down nearby, still keeping an eye out in the trees.

While the others rested Sora looked over to Izuku, who stared out at the jungle. Even with what he said earlier…he was still worried. And the way Izuku was staring straight ahead didn't make him feel any less so.

"Hey Izuku?"

"Yeah?"

"Everything okay?" Sora shuffled a little closer.

Izuku was quiet before nodding. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just, trying to think some things through."

Sora paused before fully seating himself next to Izuku. "Like?"

Izuku was quiet for a moment before sighing. "What's happening here, with the jungle, all the darkness that's spreading and the stormy sky? This is what my world looked like before…yeah."

Sora stared at him, then looked out to the jungle. Eyes catching the trees stained with darkness, the sky seemingly growing ever darker.

"Our world didn't even last half a week. There were huge rifts in the ground, and the Heartless began to show up in the day. They were even more aggressive than they usually were. I…I don't want it to happen again. Especially if I can stop it this time.

Sora looked down. "...There was a big storm, on my world. It just came out of nowhere, and it happened really fast. Nothing like this happened. I don't think there were even Heartless in my world before then."

Izuku glanced at him, then back forward.

"I don't want it to happen to someone else's world either."

"Well that is why we're here. One of the reasons anyway."

Sora looked away. "Yup. Definitely."

The pair sat quietly for some time. Listening to thunder beginning to rumble in the distance, there was a storm coming and no way to stop it. Everything seemed determined to put them at a disadvantage.

"Do you think we'll find Clayton any time soon?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. But it's more of hoping for Clayton to find us instead of the other way around. At least if he comes to us we won't have to waste time and energy trying to find him."

"So, what do we do?"

"Honestly, no idea. I…didn't have much other thoughts than that one part of the plan. If Clayton doesn't bite, then we'll have to figure something else out."

"...I really don't like the guy, but you don't think Clayton would go after that jerk right? What's his name, Katsuki?"

Izuku looked up at that, then down.

"...I'm not sure. But we haven't heard any explosions, so if anything that means they haven't crossed paths."

"Yet."

"Don't wish that on him."

"Right, sorry. Where do you think he is anyway?"

"No idea."

"You don't wanna know?"

"It's not a priority at the moment."

Sora eyed him, then huffed. "Well, either way, I'm sure we'll figure this out. One way or another."

"Yeah I guess-"

The two froze when they heard something snap loudly. They all did. It echoed through the forest, disrupting the intense silence.

They all looked around, trying to spot the enemy.

There was another crack, followed by something snapping. They kept booking all around, the echoes made it hard to properly track them.

"Boys!" Donald whispered loudly, motioning for the pair to group up with the rest of them.

Tarzan looked around, eyes darting around as loud thumps were heard through the trees, vines swaying and disrupted.

"Is it the Heartless or Clayton?"

"No idea."

Sora and Izuku glanced at each other as the thumping got louder and louder. More snapping vines and creaking branches.

Each sound overlapped with one another. Building up further and further until was nothing more than a painful cacophony of noise. And then it suddenly stopped, even the echoes.

Complete silence.

The all too familiar sound of a gun cocking sent Izuku and Sora stiffening up.

Donald held up his staff. "Izuku!"

A gunshot deafened them as two barriers were put up. The bullet shattered one of the barriers and cracked the second one. They all looked in the direction of the crack, spotted a faint figure higher up in the trees.

"There he is!" Donald shouted.

Sora stared at the crack and summoned his Keyblade with a tight grip.

It just tore through a barrier and cracked another!

Donald put his staff down and dispelled the barrier.

"Well, well, I certainly didn't expect you lot to get back up so quickly." Clayton spoke as his Heartless stepped forward to reveal them.

"Yeah, well we're pretty good at that." Sora said.

"If anything it just proves how much of a nuisance you are." Clayton reloaded his gun. "However, it also goes to show how resilient you are as prey. And I love a good hunt."

"I told you he wasn't rational- hey!" Donald put up another barrier and watched as it was shattered, leaving the bullet to whiz past them.

"Yeah but he's also stronger now!"

"So what are we gonna do?"

"Other than separating them?" Izuku muttered and held his Keyblade in a white-knuckled grip. "Just try not to die."

The large Heartless chittered before launching itself at the group. Immediately they all scattered, clamoring to either get further up the tree or to another branch. Tarzan darted to another tree, making his way upward and watching the others.

He clung to the vines tightly, forcing himself to stay hidden as the other scrambled around. They had explained the plan to him, and they needed it to go as smoothly as possible.

They noticed how Clayton realized one of them had disappeared, but didn't give him the chance to look for too long.

"Thundara!" Donald raised his staff and sparks began to dance around Clayton and the Heartless.

The chameleon tensed up and quickly leaped to another branch hissing at the magician.

"Looks like it's angrier this time around." Goofy said.

Clayton shouted as he aimed his gun forward, and the Heartless jumped around to come at the pair.

Before either could land their attacks they were interrupted by a flurry of ice, knocking them off course and forcing them to find footing on a nearby branch. Before the Heartless could steady itself Sora jumped down from a branch he had been on and slammed his Keyblade down on the head of the Heartless.

The Heartless let out a pained screech as Clayton lifted his gun, Sora was still in midair.

"Sora! Get out of there!" Donald pointed at Clayton with his staff.

A fireball went flying toward the man as Sora landed on something. He took the chance to use it to leap towards another branch, and quickly scrambled to get to his feet. He looked back to see a half formed barrier shimmer and fade.

"You okay?" He looked up to see Izuku on another branch, readying another spell.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good, I'll keep you covered but you need to be careful."

"Got it!"

"Don't give him any room to think, just keep his attention on us."

"Is that a new part of the plan?"

"In a way."

Clayton shouted as he brought his gun up again, and the pair darted in different directions.

It was a delicate and painful dance. Constantly having to keep an eye on Clayton and the Heartless as they hopped from branch to branch in order to try and catch one of the four off guard.

The beast tore up the moss and bark of the tree every time it ran across and leapt from branch to branch. Using its claws to swipe and grab at its enemies, just barely missing them and further angering the Heartless and its master.

Clayton sitting atop the Heartless kept himself on a swivel, aiming for whoever he could find and pulling the trigger. Just like his Heartless, the lack of results was getting annoying. There was no progress, meanwhile they all seemed to land more blows than he could.

The more they danced around each other, the further in the jungle they went. Always trying to keep a certain distance.

Sora took whatever chance he could to close in the distance whenever the two were distracted by the others, then quickly backing away. The attention was never on him for long, not with Izuku and Donald flinging spells and Goofy throwing his shield.

Izuku panted as he ducked low to hide behind a leafy branch. He needed a moment to recover and think.

The Heartless hasn't used camouflage yet…it's focusing on offensive rather than defensive methods. Is it reacting to Clayton's emotions? It's impatient and angry…like him…

It wasn't being rational, neither of them were. If Clayton wanted to find the gorillas he'd need them alive, but instead he was treating it like a kill on sight. He would have at least needed one of them alive.

Is he just going off the deep end? Or is he planning something?

"Izuku move!"

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a loud trill and looked up to see the Heartless leaping towards him. He gasped and dropped down to a lower branch, using one of the dangling vines to slow his fall.

Before he could steady himself he heard the dreaded sound of the gun. Against his better judgment he went sprinting down the large branch, eyes darting around for cover.

The sound of the gun firing made him stumble, but instead of a close shave with death, he heard the sound of the bullet bouncing off something with a high pitched 'ting'. He skidded to a stop and saw Goofy behind him, holding his shield up.

"Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Move you two!" Donald shouted from across the way. They looked up and saw the Heartless chasing leaping onto the branch they were on and racing after them. Clayton was once again readying himself to take another shot.

The pair quickly darted away, splitting up and rushing to different spots before Donald unleashed a thunder spell, the electric magic crackled loudly as it struck Clayton and the Heartless, blinding all of them with a bright light.

The air buzzed with the leftover electricity, sparking and crackling in the air.

Izuku climbed up to the branch closest to Sora and peered over the edge to look at the aftermath.

"Did Donald get him?"

They waited for a moment and stared at the spot they had been a moment ago. There was no sign of the Heartless or Clayton.

Izuku frowned. "No, something's wrong…I don't think-"

Goofy yelped as something smacked him off the branch he was standing on, he cried out as he went tumbling down, only saved by the vines he managed to grab onto.

"Goofy!"

A loud trill echoed through the jungle, coming from a Heartless they couldn't see.

They all tensed up and looked around. The Heartless could disguise itself but not its rider, if they could spot a shock of yellow, they'd find the pair.

"Sora."

"I got it."

They had their backs to each other, straining their eyes and ears for any sign of them. They heard loud thumping footsteps but struggled to place them, especially with no sign of Clayton.

Donald hurried across the branches to get closer to the boys, trying to provide some cover. Before he could get too far he was flung off the tree and down below. He squawked loudly and struggled to catch himself, until Goofy reached out from where he was and managed to catch the magician.

"Are they okay?"

"Yeah," Sora squinted down at the vines. "It looks like it. They just need to get back up here."

"And we need to keep our footing up here." Izuku continued to look around, despite his best efforts he couldn't see any sign of Clayton, or find any traces of the Heartless.

Thunder continued to echo in the distance, the sky growing darker and darker. While silently searching they felt something dripping from above. Cold droplets falling from the sky, giving out the rain it had promised.

"You don't think the Heartless can disguise Clayton too now do you?"

"I hope not."

As a clap of thunder cracked through the sky Clayton's gun went off and it sent the two jumping away from each other, narrowly missing. They both looked down and saw an indent in the branch, and looked above to see Clayton standing on the branch above them with a deranged grin.

Both their stomachs sank as they saw him. Darkness practically poured out of his form, a man once on the edge had fully gone off the deep end.

"You're both quite the pests now, aren't you?" He spat out as he reloaded his weapon. "No matter!"

He leapt down between the two and held his gun up at whoever he saw first. "At least you've given me a thrilling hunt. The only worthwhile thing you lot were worth!"

Sora held up his Keyblade in attempt to block the inevitable bullet.

"Sora!" Izuku began to cast a barrier when something grabbed him and flung him across the way. He shouted as he slammed into a trunk and nearly slipped off the branch. He dropped his Keyblade in favor of clinging to the bark and pulling himself up.

While he scrambled up he tried to raise a hand in order to shield Sora, but before he could do anything he was dragged away and thrown down again. He looked up to see the faint outline of the Heartless above him. It trilled loudly as it raised its fist.

He didn't get a chance to summon his Keyblade before a barrier suddenly appeared above him and took the brunt of the attack but held strong.

Before Clayton could fire the gun a shield went flying through the air and smacked Clayton in the head, causing him to misfire and miss Sora completely.

"You stay away from him you good for nothing, overgrown lizard!" Donald yelled at the Heartless as he tried not to slip from the branch he was standing on.

Clayton growled as he turned to see Goofy standing beside Donald as his shield bounced back to him.

"You're still around, you little mongre-"

A loud cry from above and Clayton was unable to react as a blur kicked him off the branch and he was sent tumbling down. Before he fell too far he managed to catch himself and pull himself up. Tarzan didn't allow him any room to move though, coming in swinging with his spear and forcing Clayton to retreat.

Tarzan used the branches to get above and below, further forcing Clayton to retreat further into the jungle. Into more winding branches and tangled vines. At some point even darting behind him and practically dragging and throwing him further away.

The Heartless screeched as it sensed its master getting further and further away. It tried to leap to where Tarzan was practically dragging Clayton to, but instead stumbled and nearly fell out of the tree.

It growled and looked down at the offender. Izuku glared up at it, his Keyblade plunged into the tree. From his Keyblade to the Heartless's feet, icy covered the tree branch. It's form flickered and after a moment it lost its camouflage.

"You're staying right here."

The Heartless screeched again and brought its fists down on the ice and shattered the entire branch.

Izuku cried out as he was in free fall, dropping down to the ground far below. The Heartless didn't fare any better, struggling to catch itself before crashing into some vines that managed to support its weight.

Izuku crashed into more vines as well, getting tangled up as the Heartless hissed at him and began to wrench itself free, and make its way up the tree.

"Izuku!"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Just don't let the Heartless get to Clayton!"

He couldn't see their faces from where he was, but hoped they would listen as he began to get himself free.

Sora stared down at the vines in worry. He could barely see Izuku, but he could see the Heartless making its way up the tree. It clawed at the wood as it desperately dragged itself up, eager to get back to its master.

He flinched as he heard a gunshot in the distance, but didn't look back. Instead, he brought his Keyblade up and flung it as hard as he could.

The Heartless looked up and leapt onto a higher branch to avoid it, and instead was smacked in the head with a flying shield, quickly followed up by a thunder spell. Before it could recover Sora's Keyblade came back with a vengeance and struck the creature on its way back to its owner.

Sora caught his Keyblade and jumped towards the Heartless with a shout.

"Sora!"

The Heartless darted further down the branch and Sora's weapon only found solid wood. While he steadied himself again the Heartless turned around just to leap towards the boy.

Sora gasped as the Heartless was practically on top of him and tried to back up, only to feel a solid wall behind him. The air shimmered as a barrier formed around him and another Keyblade came to smack the Heartless off course, only for it to be struck again by Goofy's shield, and yet another spell.

The barrier around Sora broke and he scrambled to another branch without prompt.

He panted as he looked around, he caught sight of Izuku's Keyblade in a tree trunk before it disappeared. A small flash of light caught his eye amidst the darkening jungle and he sighed in relief as he spotted Izuku. Still among the thickest of vines, but perched on a small branch and standing steady.

He flinched hard as yet another gunshot was heard, but kept his eyes on the Heartless.

They were close, they had to be. The Heartless was losing focus and getting upset, and it was getting easier to hit, making mistakes in its desperation. It trilled loudly again and slammed its fists on the tree in frustration.

We can do this. We have a chance, we can win this!

The Heartless raised its head and hissed loudly, and leapt up to the branch where Sora was. It bounded after him, making the wood crack and splinter with each step.

Sora shouted in surprise and went sprinting the other way. He leapt down to a few branches below and tried to make his way to the others. As he sprinted he managed to fling his Keyblade behind him, at the Heartless.

It staggered it for a moment, but kept chasing after him. Sora yelped and resumed running, he struggled to spot the others between the flashes of lightning. While making his way to another tree he slipped on some moss and slipped over the edge.

"Sora!"

The teen cried out and fell a short distance before his foot caught on a few vines, leaving him dangling above a dangerous drop. He panted and was about to right himself when the Heartless trilled eagerly and was about to leap down.

Before it could go any further, another Keyblade went spinning through the air, Blizzard magic surging through it. It struck the branch at the Heartless's feet and sent the cold magic surging through the entire tree.

Ice magic exploded out and froze the Heartless's feet and legs to the branch. The ice spread further, even freezing other the vines that held Sora up.

Sora managed to look over and see Izuku had gotten further up the tree. Another close save from him.

Before Sora could try to get himself up, the Heartless began pounding on the tree to try and break itself free. It's blows made the ice begin to crack, and Sora could see the frozen vines were starting to break apart.

"Don't worry Sora we're comin'" Goofy shouted as he began to make his way over, hopping down to lower branches to try and catch Sora when he inevitably fell. Though, before Goody would get too far, the vines shattered and Sora was caught in a freefall.

"Sora!"

He shouted as he flailed around, trying to catch any nearby vines to slow himself down with. His Keyblade reappeared in his hand as he fell, and in a last ditch effort he swung his Keyblade out, and buried his weapon in a nearby tree and it slowed his fall until he came to a stop.

He panted and clung to the Keyblade tightly, dangling from it.

"Sora!" Donald shouted.

"I-I'm okay! I'm okay!"

How do I get out of this?

Izuku looked down, struggling to see Sora. He could hear him, but it didn't make him feel any better that he couldn't see him.

He didn't get to dwell on his worries for long, not when the Heartless began raging even harder. Beating its fists against the ice that was creeping up its body and across other trees.

Izuku stared at the Heartless and the branch it was on. He grit his teeth and held his hand out, summoning his Keyblade back to him. He was about to move when he saw Donald raise his staff, fire magic beginning to gather around it.

"Donald, don't!" Izuku shouted, making him stop short. "Don't melt the ice on it!"

"What?"

Izuku climbed further up the tree until he was above the iced over branch and struggled Heartless. Without prompt he went sprinting forward and jumped off, but wasn't aiming for the Heartless.

It made a useless swipe at him as he slammed his Keyblade down on the branch, he put as much force as he could into it, it only caused a few fractures.

I'm not like Sora, I can't do heavy strikes!

He looked up to call for help, only to see the glint of a shield coming in his direction. He jumped out of the way and saw it strike the branch. Goofy leapt over from where he was and grabbed the shield.

Before he could explain, Goofy just nodded, and began to chip away at the branch. They were just out of reach of the Heartless, making it beat on the ice even harder to try and free itself. The force shook the tree and caused more fractures to appear.

While the two worked at making the large branch collapse, Donald looked between them and where Sora was. He could barely see him, but he was there.

Donald glanced at the others before the air around him chilled. Ice magic gathered around his staff and he pointed it down at Sora.

"Blizzard!"

The spell went flying down and struck the tree Sora was hanging from. The ice spread and small spikes of ice began to emerge, giving Sora something to stand on.

Donald sighed in relief and snapped his gaze back to the others when he heard the sound of ice breaking. He looked down and saw the Heartless beginning to break free.

"Oh no you don't!"

He began flinging ice spells back at the Heartless, trying to slow it down. Goofy had thrown his shield as well to stun it.

Izuku panted as he stared at the branch. It was starting to crack, and the weight of them all was starting to make it sag. He heard echoing shouts in the distance just above the thunder.

"...screw it!" He looked at the Heartless and threw his Keyblade at it, smacking it in the face and getting a furious hiss in return.

Izuku gathered magic around his hands, dragging up whatever he had left and summoned fire in his hands.

Let's hope this doesn't backfire too much!

"Goofy, get off the tree!"

The knight barely had time to look back and quickly scrambled to get out of there. Once clear, Izuku brought his hands down on the section of the branch that was breaking apart.

Don't let the fire spread. Don't let it spread, just focus on this section!

The ice began cracking more and more with each second, and the Heartless's frantic attempts to free itself didn't help.

A harsh cracking sound and a shudder made Izuku stop. He saw the ice breaking apart and grinned, before trying to jump away. As he grabbed onto a different branch and began to climb up he felt something wet and slimy wrap around his leg.

Before he could try to free himself the branch the Heartless was on finally collapsed and Izuku was dragged down with it. He shouted as he was pulled into a free fall, down to the bottom of the jungle.

Izuku tried to free himself as the Heartless began to drag him closer and closer. Izuku shouted as they crashed through vines that snapped under their weight and kicked at the Heartless when it was too close.

He refused to look at the ground they were rocketing towards as he summoned his Keyblade. His mind running miles a minute to get a way out of this.

Before he could try anything there was a loud shout from above, and Sora came crashing down to slam his Keyblade into the Heartless's head.

Izuku reached for whatever magic he had left and cast a Blizzard spell straight to its face. Sora took the chance to swing again and shattered the tongue wrapped around Izuku's leg.

The Heartless screeched as it fell further down, leaving the two Keyblade wielders frantically trying to stop their fall. They could hear screaming in the distance as the ground grew closer and closer.

They grabbed for any vines but they either snapped or they couldn't slow down enough to stop.

Just as the ground was approaching there was a loud squawk from above and a bright light that raced down to meet them.

While thunder cracked in the sky the pair crashed into the ground with the Heartless.

-.-

Tarzan shouted as he threw Clayton into a deeper part of the jungle. He swung from vine to vine and hid himself as Clayton steadied himself with a loud shout.

"Of course out of all of them, it was you who chose to handle me. What, is it that I'm easier to pick off Tarzan?!" He shouted at the trees. He searched for any sign of movement, and eagerly held his gun up.

Just one good shot, and he could be rid of this pest forever.

"You can't hide forever. Not from me."

He walked along the branch and kept his eyes up. He had to be somewhere above, that would be the best place to strike. And once he leapt down, he would be dead.

"Once I get rid of you, I'll find the rest of your little family and hunt them down like the beasts they are!"

From the branches above, Tarzan grit his teeth. The mere thought was enough to send his blood boiling. He had a duty to protect everyone from this man. His family and his friends.

He eyed Clayton and looked away from just a moment to dart in a different direction. The rustling foliage was enough to set the man off and press the trigger in his direction. He grinned as he heard a cry of pain and the noise stopped.

From behind a large tree trunk Tarzan quietly hissed in pain and looked at his arm. In the dark he could barely see the wound. It was just a graze, he would be fine. He didn't have time to dwell on it!

He looked down as he saw Clayton approaching his hiding spot and looked around, before grabbing onto some vines and hauling himself up. He barely gained ground when his injured arm gave out, and he resorted to climbing with one hand.

He went further and further up, leading to a place full of tangled vines and twisting branches. A foreign space for Clayton, but a familiar playground to Tarzan.

Tarzan panted as he found solid ground and crouched down low, watching Clayton follow after him and look around with a deranged grin.

"I don't know how long it'll take us to deal with Clayton's monster, but if you need us, just call out. We'll get to you as soon as we can. We can't be…We gotta be careful, and we gotta take care of each other."

Tarzan shook his head as he recalled the words Sora gave him.

His friends were helping him a great deal, but this part was his responsibility. Not just for them, but for his family, for Jane. There was no doing everything alone. By all means they were taking the hardest part of all this.

He could handle this.

Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed, offering little light in the darkness. Whatever shadows appeared were twisted and all curved toward Clayton.

He watched the man walk along the twisting branch with confidence. He kept his eyes upwards, his gaze just missing Tarzan.

The man grabbed at some of the moss on the tree and bunched it up. He watched Clayton as he stood up and hurled the moss ball in a different direction. It disturbed the foliage in the distance and sent Clayton whirling in that direction, gun raised and ready to fire.

"Where are you? You can't keep hiding forever! Come and face me like the man you pretend to- Agh!"

Tarzan shouted as he swung down and kicked Clayton off the branch.

Clayton cried out as he landed hard below, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He looked up just in time to see Tarzan coming down towards him, his spear overhead and ready to strike him.

Clayton reached for his gun, but realized it wasn't there. He looked around in a panic and saw it below. He tried to crawl toward it but a spear buried in the bark forced him to stop and roll away. He didn't have enough time to get away before Tarzan landed on top of him and began wrestling with him.

Clayton thrashed and tried to push Tarzan off of him. While fighting he hit Tarzan's injured arm and caused him to cry out in pain. Clayton took the chance to shove him off and reach for the closest weapon, Tarzan's spear.

He pulled it out of the bark and raised it high, about to run the spear through him. Before he could bring it down Tarzan kicked out and struck the man in the stomach, knocking him off the branch and sending him falling to another one down below.

Clayton coughed as he pushed himself up. He looked around for the next attack, and while searching the branches around him he saw his most valuable weapon.

He laughed and got to his feet and rushed to get his gun. He could hear the rustling from around him and just before he could grab his gun- Tarzan swung down and grabbed the gun. Before Clayton could do anything he found his own weapon pointed at him, at point blank range.

Clayton scowled as he was forced to back up. "You really think that you do it? Go ahead, shoot me." he grinned.

He flinched as Tarzan brought the gun closer.

"Even if you do it, that doesn't mean it's all over. You're still not safe, you or your family! Or those annoying pests!" He grinned as he eyed the barrel. "Even if I'm gone, those monsters will continue to hunt down those gorillas, and tear them apart. I doubt you can keep them safe forever."

Tarzan grit his teeth and pushed the gun closer to Clayton.

"You think you can protect them? Prove it. Prove you're a man and kill me then."

His smug expression left as soon as he heard the sound of the gun firing and instinctively stiffened up, expecting his sudden end. When he felt nothing he looked up to see Tarzan baring his teeth, before pulling himself back and lowering the gun.

"I am a man." He said. "But not like you!"

Before Clayton could react Tarzan spun around and smashed the gun on the ground, sending it to the jungle floor in pieces.

"You won't hurt them. Not again!"

"You-"

Clayton just began shouting as he lunged at Tarzan, the shadows around him flared as he reached for his last ditch effort. His machete.

Tarzan stumbled back to dodge and was forced to back up as Clayton swung it wildly.

"Don't think I'm done yet you mongrel!" He chased after Tarzan. "You should have taken the shot when you had the chance!"

Tarzan ran out of space to retreat and threw himself into the vines, tightly woven together and managing to support his weight as he tried to gain ground. He almost lost his grip a few times from the rain. Clayton cut through the vines as he continued to chase him.

He forced himself to keep moving as he heard a pained screech in the distance. Clayton seemed to freeze for a moment, before his hacking became more frantic.

As Clayton cut through vines, Tarzan kept pulling more down over Clayton, hoping to slow him down.

The dark vines draped over Clayton were the only things keeping him upright. They seemed to tighten as he struggled and tried to get out. He drew in ragged breaths as he struggled and shouted, like a wild animal.

Clayton gripped his machete tightly and began to swing it at the vines at random in order to free himself.

"Clayton! Clayton don't!"

The man ignored him, laughing as he cut the vines and drew closer to Tarzan. As he slashed at the last vine holding him up, he was sent falling down from the great height.

Tarzan shouted as he was dragged with him, only hearing the screams of Clayton, the roaring thunder, and the pained screeches from afar.

As he fell to the ground a crack of thunder barely concealed a sickening snap.

-.-

"Boys! Boys, where are you!"

Donald and Goofy quickly made their way down from the trees. They got down from the trees with one last big leap, and thud as they landed on the ground.

"Gawrsh, I hope they're okay." Goofy said.

"I used a barrier spell on them, they should be fine. We would know if they would just answer us! Boys!"

Goofy looked around in worry as he scanned the ground for any sign of them. They couldn't be too far, he doubted they had gotten up to run off anywhere. Not with that fall, even with Donald's barrier to help break the fall, the entire fight had to have left them exhausted.

They jumped when they heard rustling in the bushes, then sighed.

"Sora? Izuku? You fellas there?"

Instead of who they wanted to see, instead Tarzan came out of the bushes.

"Tarzan!"

"If you're here, did you take care of Clayton?"

The man stared at them before looking away and nodding. "Clayton is…gone. Looking for friends."

"Gone?"

A flash of lightning lit up the area, showing an ominous shadow on one of the trees. Coming from a form they hadn't seen before. The pair gasped and backed away as far as they could.

"It's…"

Tarzan kept his head down as he walked away. "I'm sorry."

"Goofy."

"I know. Don't let the boys see."

The three of them lingered for a moment longer, before quickly walking away. While they left that area they heard quiet muttering and footsteps just up ahead. Donald and Goofy eagerly ran forward to see Sora and Izuku slowly making their way through the jungle floor, with Izuku supporting Sora while walking.

"Boys!"

They stopped and looked up.

"Donald! Goofy!"

Tarzan followed eagerly as they ran up to the boys and hugged them.

"Are ya okay?"

"I'm alright."

Sora nodded. "Yeah, my ankle and shoulder kinda hurt, but other than that I'm doing pretty good. What about you guys?"

"We're fine. We didn't take a tumble like the two of you did." Donald looked over them.

"Lucky you I guess."

"Don't be smart with me."

Izuku sighed. "What about Clayton? Did you beat him?"

Tarzan nodded. "Clayton won't…come back."

Before either of them could question Tarzan, Goofy cut in.

"How about we get back to camp? I think we've all had enough excitement for one night."

While Goofy and Donald ushered them in the opposite direction, Izuku couldn't help but notice the distress on all their faces.

-HoL-

The jungle wasn't as dark as it had been the day before.

Taking care of the Heartless and Clayton at least alleviated most of the symptoms. The darkness stopped spreading, and in some areas the jungle was cleared of the dark miasma and wilting plants.

It still didn't sit well with them that the darkness remained. There was no guarantee that it wouldn't spread again, and they couldn't stay to mind the darkness at all times.

While they all recuperated, the offworlders tried to discuss what to do, how to solve it. The Heartless weren't showing up anymore, but it didn't reassure them.

How long until another big Heartless showed up, or at least groups of smaller ones? If that happened, and they weren't here to defeat them, what would happen to the others?

In their discussions they got nowhere, having no solutions, and not wanting to leave things unfinished. It was a struggle to weigh the options.

Tarzan came and went from the camp, gone for hours before coming back for a short time, then leaving again.

Izuku would usually sit at the edge of camp, straining his ears for any sound of explosions or foul expletives. But there was no sign of him. Sora would sit with him and watch the trees, before eventually dragging him away to go look at something.

It all went nowhere, until Tarzan came back with a few guests.

-.-

"You're going to look me in the eye and tell me that you thought jumping out of a tree and into shallow water was a good idea?"

"I mean to be fair, Riku dared me."

"That doesn't assure me in the slightest."

"I only kinda banged my head, then Riku ended up slipping and falling in when trying to help me out."

Izuku shook his head as Sora laughed and recounted some stories from the islands. Goofy smiled to himself as he sorted out whatever supplies they had left.

"So you being reckless has always been a trend." Donald muttered as he cast a Cure on Sora.

"It was in what you call 'a controlled environment'."

"And where were your parents during this?" Donald tapped his staff on the ground.

"On the beach, talking with the other parents. It's not like we…were…"

"What? It's not like you were what?" Donald watched him before turning around. "What are you…"

"Tarzan!" Jane called out excitedly, she was about to run up to him when she saw who was following him.

Tarzan came into the clearing with a pair of gorillas behind him. The ones of note being a larger gorilla with black fur, that was imposing over the others, while the other one was a little smaller, sporting a brown coat. She had a more gentle demeanor.

"That's Kerchak!"

"Jane! Jane, it's the gorillas!" The Professor exclaimed quietly, struggling to keep his excitement down.

Izuku and the others stood up as Tarzan and the gorillas stopped at the edge of camp.

Tarzan looked at the gorillas, speaking to them in grunts and noises, before looking at the others.

"Kerchak wants to let you see the…" The next word didn't translate. Instead he spoke it in the way gorillas would say it. It left the others confused.

They didn't even get to question what he meant before Kerchak let out a loud grunt and turned around to leave. Tarzan looked at the others and motioned for them to follow, sending the others scrambling to follow after.

Professor Archimedes tried to drag along a bag of books and papers, only for Jane to take his hand and hurry him along to follow the gorillas.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Izuku hurried to follow as well. Kerchak wasn't going to slow down for them.

They trailed behind the others as they were led through a different section of the jungle, passing through a section of the bamboo thicket they hadn't gone through yet. It was a slightly worn path, blending in just enough amidst the rest of the thicket that it wasn't easily seen.

"Do any of ya have any idea of what Kerchak wants to show us?" Goofy asked.

"No idea. And we couldn't understand Tarzan so…"

Sora hummed as he stepped over. "Maybe it'll be something that can help us? Something that can get rid of whatever darkness is still sticking around?"

"You really think a gorilla knows what's causing the darkness?" Donald asked.

"I mean you never know."

"Hmph."

The further into the thicket they went, the less bamboo was around, instead being replaced by large trees between the bamboo, and rocks cropping up. The area began to widen at a certain point with a clear path.

It looked like they were approaching a dead end, with a small cliff covered in moss and a few plants that they couldn't climb. There was something in the distance, a noise they all could catch but couldn't quite make out.

Kerchak kept walking forward until he stopped at the cliff.

They others stopped with him, keeping a reasonable distance between them. Tarzan and the two gorillas spoke to each other quietly, motioning at the cliff. Kerchak grunted and ended the conversation, only to turn and approach the group.

"Tarzan, what is he doing?" Jane asked as the gorilla walked past them and to the other four.

"Oh dear, have we offended him somehow?"

"Uh, Tarzan?" Sora asked as he tried to back up. He didn't get that far before Kerchak grabbed the back of his shirt.

Izuku was about to try and get clear before Kerchak grabbed his jacket as well.

"Wait! Wait wait, what are you doing?"

"Put the boys down!"

Kerchak didn't listen, and instead threw the pair at the cliff. They shouted as they were thrown over it and crashed to the top of the cliff.

Sora groaned as he got up.

"Can we not fall from somewhere? For like five minutes?"

"At least we're not hurt." Izuku brushed himself off. "But why-" He stopped when he heard shouting from above and saw Donald and Goofy flying at them. He pushed Sora to the side before the other two came crashing into the earth as well.

Tarzan climbed up the cliff, bringing Jane up with him. When she was on the cliff safely he went back to get the Professor.

Donald shouted as he hopped to his feet. "Did you have to throw us?!" He shouted down below.

Kerchak glared up at him before grunting and turning away. He and the other gorilla left, leaving them all alone.

"What was that all about?" Sora watched them leave.

"I dunno, maybe that Kerchak fella wanted to help?" Goofy asked.

"By throwing us?"

Izuku looked over the cliff's edge and turned to see waterfalls leading to a large lake. The waterfalls roared, white mist rising from where they crashed into the lake. Down the path connected to the cliff they were on was a cave sloping upwards.

I think I had ended up near those falls when the ship crashed…

Tarzan finished climbing up with the Professor and looked at the others. He approached the edge of the cliff overlooking the falls and smiled.

"Home."

"This is your home?" Jane asked.

Tarzan smiled at her before looking at the others. "Follow Tarzan. Please."

They all nodded and trailed after him as he headed into the cave. As soon as they stepped inside the sound of the falls dampened for a moment and the corridor became narrow. It was dark but there was just enough light for them to navigate through.

The falls begin to grow louder as they inch along. The corridor widens and leads them to a large cave, where one of the walls is open. Revealing that they were behind one of the large waterfalls. There were smaller cliffs throughout the wave, with small streams of water running through some of them and leading to the cliff edge.

Lush plants grew between cracks in the rocks, accompanied by moss creeping along the stones. Vines hung from above, some wrapped around rocks while others hung loosely and swayed with the breeze that came through.

"Oh…" Jane looked around in wonder. "This place is beautiful."

"A carved out cave behind a waterfall? This is fascinating! Oh, Jane, look at these plants. They're absolutely thriving down here."

Sora grinned as he put his hand in one of the small streams. He shuddered from the cold and stood up. "Hey Izuku!"

He looked over and flinched as he got cold water flicked at him. Izuku wiped his face as Sora laughed, then held up a hand where water magic began to gather.

"Wait, no! That's cheating! We've talked about this!"

"All is fair!"

"No!"

Sora went running away with Izuku chasing after.

"Be careful boys! It's slippery here." Donald shouted.

Goofy chuckled. "Well, they seem to be doing better."

"I'll say."

Tarzan and Jane watched the teenagers chase each other, until Sora scrambled onto one of the higher sections and pointed at Izuku. "Aha! It's over Izuku, I have the high- GAH!"

He stumbled back as water smacked him in the face. He sputtered and wiped his face. "You could at least let me finish my monologue!"

"Why would you underestimate me? You know I can do long range." He began to gather more water magic in his hand.

"Don't you dare!"

Izuku raised his hand and Sora went running, and Izuku went to climb after him.

"No!"

Tarzan began to walk further up the cave, in the same direction Sora was, further and further up.

"Alright you two, stop messing around! Tarzan's trying to show us something."

They stopped for a moment, looking at Donald before looking at each other again. Izuku had barely made it up to the next section while Sora was perched on a higher section. Ready to bolt again and climb further up, wherever that would lead.

"I mean it! I don't want you two falling down!"

"Alright, fine." Sora rolled his eyes with a grin. He eyed Izuku for a moment before turning to where Tarzan was, who was continuing to climb upwards. To where Sora was.

"I wonder where he's leading us." Jane muttered.

"No idea, but I must say I'm excited to see what he wants to show us."

Tarzan continued to guide them upwards, helping Jane and her father climb when there was no clear way up. While the others managed to make do with the vines that crept across the rock walls.

The further they made their way up, the chillier it got. Only adding to whatever cold they had with droplets of water that fell on them.

As they climbed higher and higher they were met with a whole other section of the cave. More of the water was pooled in the center, following small streams that led downwards to the lower area. Moss and other small plants grew along the walls, almost guiding them to the mouth of the wave further ahead.

Tarzan nodded at them as he walked ahead, into the darkness of the cave.

Despite the unknown things that laid beyond, none of the offworlders felt the need to summon their weapons. Instead there was something that set them at ease, and made it easier to walk into the darkness.

There was nothing at first. Only the sound of their footsteps and the echoing roars of the waterfall. Then the droplets of water from above. Then the wind in the distance as it passed through the trees of the jungle. They could actually hear birds chirping as well, singing and flapping about.

The darkness began to recede as light poured in from above, revealing a small, hidden cave to them. A large tree sat before them, its roots digging deep and spread throughout. Long, lush vines hung down from above like a green curtain.

"This…is your home?" Sora asked. "But what you said earlier…"

Tarzan repeated the word, looking at Sora and nodding. "Friends are there. See friends."

Sora stared at him before looking at the tree, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Oh, I see now." Jane looked up. "What Tarzan was trying to say was heart. Our friends are in our hearts."

"Right…" Sora nodded.

"Clayton lost heart." Tarzan shook his head. "No friends. No heart, no friends." He looked up at them. "All alone."

Sora glanced at him, and Donald looks at Tarzan. After a moment they looked at each other.

"Sorry for…making us crash. And..saying that we were fine without you guys." Sora said.

Donald sighed. "I'm sorry too. I know I can be…difficult sometimes. I shouldn't have just brushed you off like that."

Goofy laughed as he pat the two of them on their shoulders. "I'm glad you two finally made up."

Izuku nodded in agreement beside him.

While Sora and Donald smiled at him a bright glow emerged from the tree. They all looked towards it and were surprised when a flurry of butterflies appeared out of nowhere, as if emerging from the tree itself.

They flew around the group, circling them again before landing. All of them settled in different parts of the cave, watching, waiting.

When the glow died down they all looked to the source, and gasped with what they saw. The world's Keyhole that seemed to be the source of all the vines.

"A Keyhole?" Sora asked.

Izuku and Sora's Keyblades appeared in their hands. They looked at each other and nodded, raising their weapons and pointing it at the glowing Keyhole. Their Keyblades shot out a bright light at the Keyhole, filling the area up with a warm glow again. Starting from the vines near the Keyhole and spreading throughout.

After a moment there was the sound of something locking, and the Keyhole faded away, leaving an indent of where it used to be. With that the butterflies all took off, swarming around them all as if to give their thanks before taking off into the sky above, and disappearing into the jungle.

They couldn't see it, but they could sense it. The air was much lighter now, the foreboding feeling was gone. As if the darkness of the world was receding.

"Amazing." Jane breathed.

Just as they were about to turn away something fell from where they Keyhole had been.

"What is…"

"A Gummi piece!" Donald went over and picked it up.

"But it sure ain't Mick's." Goofy sighed.

"Still, something has to be better than nothing. Right?" Sora asked.

Donald shrugged in agreement and gave the Gummi piece to Goofy.

Professor Archimedes hummed as he looked over the vines that had stemmed from the Keyhole.

"So, what will you boys do now?" He asked as he poked at the vines.

They all looked at each other, before looking back at the old man.

"I think…it's time we head out." Izuku said.

Goofy nodded. "Yep. We found each other, and we still gotta find some more of our friends."

"Do you have to go so soon?" Jane asked.

"It's best if we head out now, sorry." Sora rubbed the back of his head. "But, it was nice meeting you guys."

Tarzan nodded and Jane smiled. "Likewise. Safe travels."

-HoL-

Donald sighed as he sat back in his seat. There was a certain comfort to be had being behind the controls of the Gummi Ship.

Beside him, instead of Goofy, was Sora. Looking over the controls, but not touching. Learning by watching, and asking questions about what he saw. Goofy was sitting behind them with Izuku, who was staring out the window of the Gummi Ship. Out at the endless sea of stars, faraway worlds.

They had lingered in the Deep Jungle for a short while at Izuku's insistence. He wanted to find Bakugo, at least to see if he was okay. It didn't sit right with him to leave the boy behind, but there was no trace of him. It was as if he had just disappeared.

After some waiting and calling out, Izuku had finally agreed to leave.

He hadn't spoken much since they left, Goofy had somewhat expected it. Izuku had managed to pull himself together long enough to deal with Clayton and the Heartless, but that didn't mean everything was alright with him.

Goofy looked at the others before leaning over.

"Heya Izuku, are ya feeling alright?" Goofy whispered. "Ya haven't said much since we left the jungle. Are ya feelin' sick?"

"I'm alright." He answered a little too quickly. "Just thinking."

Goofy watched him, and spotted the hole in his jacket. He hummed and got up for a moment, going over to one of the small compartments and pulling out some supplies. When he came back he looked over to Izuku again.

"Say, why don't I fix up yer jacket for ya? I said I would do it earlier, it can't be too fun walkin' around with a hole in it."

Izuku reached up to where the tear was and sighed. He slowly took it off, staring at it for a moment before handing it over to Goofy.

The knight took it and looked it over. It didn't look like it would take too long to fix, it wasn't the first time he had to sew something up. Though, even holding it he could tell it was made with some synthesis material. Not the highest grade of things, but still.

If he had to guess, Aqua and some Moogles had made it for him. It had to have meant a lot, and for it to be torn, it probably didn't do any favors for how he was feeling.

While Goofy got to work patching it up, he glanced at Izuku every now and again.

"Say, Izuku, is what happened in the jungle still botherin' ya? What that Katsuki fella said was just mean. I hope ya aren't takin' his words to heart."

Sora looked up at the mention of Katsuku's name and peeked over his chair.

"Is what that jerk said still bothering you?" Sora asked.

"Sora, sit right."

"It's-"

"You shouldn't care what he says." He said. "He's a jerk, and he was just being mean for the sake of it. I don't really get why you still wanted to look for him…well, I mean I get it, but still!"

"He's still a person, Sora. And he can't get rid of the Heartless forever like we can."

"That's true, but then again we couldn't find him. You think he somehow got off the world himself?"

"How in the world would he do that?" Donald asked.

"...Yelling into the void?"

"Be serious Sora."

Sora rolled his eyes as Donald shook his head.

"Still though, I'm not gonna lie. He was saying a lot of mean things, but, one thing kept sticking out." He looked at Izuku. "He kept making a point to call you Quirkless, he said it like it was a bad thing but, it's not? You said it means you don't have powers from your world right? I mean, it's not that big a deal right? He's just being a jerk!"

Donald glanced at Sora. "Every person we've met from Izuku's world has had powers, Sora." He muttered quietly. "It might be a bigger deal than you-"

"It is a big deal." Izuku muttered, keeping his eyes on the window. "It is."

"Oh. I uh-"

"Out of a percentage, how many people in my world do you think have Quirks?"

Sora stared at him, then at the others.

"Uh, like 50% or something?"

"Maybe 60%," Goofy threw out.

"65%"

Izuku was quiet for a moment. Clasping his shaky hands together. "It's actually 80%"

They looked up at that.

"The Quirkless population is closer to 20%." Izuku said. "And it goes down every year. Quirkless people aren't…welcome, or wanted."

Sora was taken aback. "O-Oh, but…that's still not a reason to be a jerk. It's not like…"

"Quirkless people are just relics of a bygone age, and we're dying out. Nobody cares about that, because it's all the same. Quirkless people can't do anything, they're good for nothing."

"Hey now, don't talk about yerself like that." Goofy said.

"But you don't get it!" Izuku looked up at them. "It's just…you can't just talk about this like you get it Sora because it's…I know you don't like him Sora, but you just…you don't get it!"

Sora shrank back a bit, before steeling himself. "What don't I get? Izuku, he was just being mean! He said a lot of things that nobody should say, and none of it was true. It's-"

"But it is!" He stood up and looked at him. "You're so focused on him being a jerk, but you're not focused on what he was saying!"

"What he was saying was awful!"

"It doesn't mean he didn't have a point!" He shouted.

"How about we take a breather?" Goofy suggested. He looked at Donald who was staring at the fuel gauge.

"What could he possibly have had a point about?"

Izuku shook his head. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. He felt tears beginning to sting his eyes as Katsuki's words echoed in his mind.

"What if…What if I'm not cut out for this?" Izuku asked.

Sora stared at him before standing up from his chair and walking towards Izuku. "That can't be what you got from that. Come on, he's just jealous and-"

"But he was right, Sora!" Izuku shouted. "At least about me royally screwing everything up! My world didn't just fall apart, there was still a chance to save my world even after my Master disappeared, and I still messed it up! I didn't get my Keyblade until the last minute, the last minute! By the time I was good enough, it was too late. And even before that, I could have at least tried to step up and get rid of some of the Heartless!"

"Izuku-"

"And don't you remember what the Cheshire Cat said? How we aren't as innocent as we may think? He might have a point…I mean, I let that happen to my world. I didn't do a thing! And now look at the mess everybody is in!"

"Maybe we should talk about this later?" Donald was focused on the fuel gauge and its continuous descent, but went ignored.

Sora frowned. "It's not like you could have done it all on your own! I mean, I couldn't save my world either but that's why we're here and-"

"There is a big difference between our situations, Sora." Izuku hissed. "You had no idea what was going on, you were just thrown into this whole thing without knowing anything. Meanwhile I knew about it, I learned about it and I should have been better. It was all on me and I messed it all up!"

"Come on now you two, how about we settle down?" Goofy tried to get between them as a loud beeping began to fill the cabin.

"Boys!"

"I couldn't even be born right to get a Quirk, and I've dealt with that my entire life. So don't just act like you know what you're talking about, it not being a big deal. It is a big deal! And you can brush off whatever Katsuki says because you don't get it! You don't get how much it hurts to be called useless, a waste of space, a Deku!"

Sora found himself taking a step back as Izuku raised his voice.

"And the one time I'm given a chance, to actually be useful, to prove that maybe just maybe I really was worth all the time and care my Master gave me, that I could actually handle something like that- I screwed it up! I couldn't even last a day! And now everything is a mess, and I need to fix it! That is on me, because I said I would!"

The beeping got even louder, but they couldn't be bothered to pay attention to it.

"You keep on telling me to ignore whatever Katsuki says like it's that easy, but you don't get it! Because he reminds me of everything I hate about myself!"

Izuku didn't get a chance to realize what he even said before the ship lurched and more alarms began blaring out. It barely took a second for him to piece it all together.

Oh.

I messed up.

-HoL-

A big thank you to KeeperofHounds for beta-ing this for me!

Also I apologize for the delay of the upload of this chapter, FFN doc manager wouldn't submit the document, but I think I've got it fixed now. For future reference, you can always follow the story on Ao3 under the same story name. Ao3 doesn't give such a hard time, and there may come a time where I fully transition to Ao3, but I would announce when that happens

Thank you all for your patience!

Discord: /sP29PJ5zJx