On Today's Episode: With their business in Mainframe concluded for now, the trinity accesses Yaldabaoth's computer database to search for information about the Organization, though they might actually find something completely different and much more shocking instead. But even that is small potatoes compared to the chaos that suddenly engulfs Lost Jerusalem. Everyone bands together to fight off this invasion, but who will be left standing when the dust settles?
Episode 13: Sinister Shadows
"Well, that should be that," Nick quipped once the trinity had returned to the Computer Room after their adventure in Mainframe.
"Hey, look," Ziggy stated as he pointed to the monitor above the computer console, which was displaying a quintet of 8-bit sprites of the trinity with the words "THANK YOU" underneath.
"Hang in there, Bob," Nick stated. "We'll be back soon."
"So, where should we start, then?" Ellen asked.
"We should probably access the DTD," Sophia answered. "After all, that has been our goal here, right?"
"Um... has anybody seen Emperor Clow?" Maylin wondered.
"He's checking on the situation in town, so he'll be back soon," Ziggy responded as he began to type on the computer keypad. "Don't worry about a thing. ...hey, it's asking for a password. Did you find it?"
The trinity all lined up and struck a flashy pose. Ziggy couldn't help but grin at their antics.
"That's... to the point," Ziggy admitted. A few seconds later, a loud beep resounded from the main console. "That did it. We are in."
To the trinity's surprise, Ziggy actually started walking out of the room. "I need to go back into town and see what that last shakeup did," Ziggy stated.
"Wait, wait, you're not going to check out the data with us?" Nick gasped. "We kinda had to bust our keesters to get it, ya know!"
"I'll be right back," Ziggy answered. "Why don't you get started on loading the data inside and copying it down? It's only a few keystrokes. Simple, right?"
Ziggy smirked as he left the Study, leaving the trinity to figure out how to get this computer working.
Nick hesitantly typed a few things on the keypad, hoping that he wouldn't break it (and also making a mental note to ask Ellen to teach him more about this stuff when this was all over; after all, she was the one taking a computer class in school).
Thankfully, it seemed like Ellen had heard Nick's silent prayer, as she moved to gently guide his hands to press the right keys and get the system up and running.
"...so, what's it doing now?" Maylin asked. The screen displayed the words "INSERT QUERY NOW".
"I think it wants to know what we want to know," Ellen replied. "Let's see if we can access Yaldabaoth's research data."
Ellen typed in the necessary commands, only for the screen to turn red and flash a large "RESTRICTED DATA" sign.
"...fudge," Nick sighed.
"I might be able to do something about that," Sophia chuckled as she turned her form into a red ball of light and flew into the computer console.
It took about fifteen seconds, but the "RESTRICTED DATA" sign vanished and allowed access, and Sophia jumped out of the computer and returned to her physical body.
"There we go," Sophia proclaimed.
Many images flashed to life on the main screen. Most of them resembled the Secret Reports that Yaldabaoth had written during his research on the 'darkness of the heart', the reports that the trinity had collected during their first adventure.
Though one report was signed with the name 'Igor' instead of 'Yaldabaoth'.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Haruka noted.
"Looks like most of this is just stuff we already know," Maylin sighed. "There's still a lot of research in her, though, so we probably just gotta keep truckin' on, and..."
A loud gasp from Sophia caught everyone's attention, and they glanced towards what had surprised her.
Much to their surprise, it was a photo of her.
Alongside that, there was a blueprint of how to build a Gummiphone, and even a research note about the materials that went into making a Gummiphone. Much like Haruka had mentioned, Gummiphones allowed for interworld communication, since they were made of the same material that went into Gummi Ships.
But that still begged the question of how Yaldabaoth, or even possibly this 'Igor' character, had figured out how to make one.
One particular note caught Sophia's eye the most, however.
Research Notes: Manifesting the Virtual into Real
I have been at a quandary over how to replicate this power, the strength of heart necessary to manifest the virtual into physical form. Theoretically, anything possessing a heart, even a facsimile of a heart, would be able to utilize this if their will was strong enough.
"So, he was trying to make things real that weren't real?" Maylin wondered. "Because that's the vibe I'm getting from this..."
"H-Hold on!" Sophia gasped. "The strength of heart... to make real what was not real..."
"Yeah, now that I think about it, that's exactly what happened to you, Sophia!" Nick exclaimed. "When you saved me from Ellen, you actually manifested a physical form of your own outside of the Metaverse!"
"Wait, what else does the report say?" Ellen wondered. "Because I think we might have hit a gold mine here."
I have only seen one similar case of this, and it involves the girl who somehow found her way into my network recently. Despite all the evidence pointing to her being a mere artificial intelligence, she has manifested her own sense of self, and that appears to have granted her great power.
It feels like this power of hers may be linked to what I seek. Though she can only exist physically inside of a computer network at this point, the mere fact that she has self-actualized speaks volumes about the possibility of my hypothesis.
She speaks of her creator much. I can only assume they got separated when her world was taken by the Heartless. From what this girl says about her creator, it would seem that this woman has the same strength of heart.
Sophia's eyes widened when she made the connection in her mind.
"...it all makes sense now," Nick answered. "That has to be how Ichinose came back after we defeated her, right? The first time, she'd only been separated when Sophia's world was taken and then manipulated by Yaldabaoth and the Heartless."
"Yeah, Ichinose's gotta have some kinda strength of heart if she's able to manifest a Persona like Sophia did," Haruka admitted.
"Okay, but here's my question," Maylin asked. "What, exactly, did Yaldabaoth want with this idea?"
"I don't think it was Yaldabaoth," Sophia responded.
"How do you figure that?" Ellen wondered.
"Remember that portrait that was hiding the password to the DTD?" Sophia replied. "That portrait looked like Yaldabaoth, but it was still slightly different in a few places."
"Hey, I think there's more to this report," Nick quipped. "Can you translate it for us, Sophia?"
Sophia nodded and looked back to the report, attempting to decipher this scrambled code. It took her a bit longer than normal, but she eventually did crack it, and the decoded text appeared on the screen.
This creation of mine... it does not seem like the world I am familiar with. Though it replicates it near-perfectly, it still does not feel like it, no doubt due to everything my errant doppelganger caused.
I am still unsure if there actually is a way to recreate that world, the one I was tasked with watching over. I do have the power to create life to a certain extent, as I did with Morgana, but... to create on this grand scale may be beyond even my power.
Nonetheless, I must try. As the proprietor of the Velvet Room, to give up on this task means I have failed in my duty. And I will not fail them again.
~ Igor
"There's that name again," Maylin noted. "You think Yaldabaoth and this Igor character are related somehow?"
"Oh, I see you've got things working here."
The group all looked back towards the entrance of the room to see Emperor Clow standing there.
"Oh, we didn't even notice you there, Your Majesty," Haruka quipped.
"Looks like you're figuring stuff out, huh?" Emperor Clow stated. "Have you found Igor yet?"
"Not really, but we discovered some of his research notes, and we're starting to believe that this Igor guy was really the one doing a lot of this research and not Yaldabaoth," Nick answered. "Oh, yeah, you said that you know that guy, right?"
"...oh, right, I forgot to finish my explanations," Emperor Clow chuckled. "Well... do you remember Yaldabaoth's comments about how he erased an entire multiverse before you all defeated him? Igor came from that universe, and he's essentially the... shall we say, 'true self'. Yaldabaoth is merely an impostor taking Igor's form. A while ago, in that other universe, Igor was locked away in the depths of his own realm, the Velvet Room. A place..."
"A place between dreams and reality, mind and matter," Sophia gasped. "How did you know that, Emperor Clow?"
"I have never been to the Velvet Room, but I have met Igor before," Emperor Clow answered. "While he was doing his research here, actually."
"WHAT?!" the trinity shouted in shock.
"That's actually why I disappeared last year," Emperor Clow quipped. "When the stars started blinking out, I realized that Yaldabaoth had somehow returned, which I initially thought was strange, considering that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had destroyed him in that other multiverse."
"Is... is that why the Phantom Thieves we clashed with in Nordopolica didn't recognize Sophia?" Maylin gasped. "Because they're from this multiverse where they might not know Sophia yet?"
"It's as good a guess as any," Emperor Clow admitted.
"Then maybe that's why Igor was researching that power," Haruka stated. "Because he was trying to at least recreate the world he'd lost, since it didn't simply have its heart taken by the Heartless."
"You said you know Igor, right?" Sophia asked. "Does he know why I was inside of a Gummiphone when you said that only the Kingdom of Clow currently has the technology to create a Gummiphone?"
"Oh, yes, that," Emperor Clow sighed. "I had actually made one at his request so he could store you inside of it. He wished to take you to other worlds in order to figure out how to master the power he was researching. I can only guess that you lost your memory of that when you were attacked."
"...yeah, I think the memories are coming back now," Sophia admitted as she reminisced on one particular conversation she'd had.
"You truly are an amazing one, Sophia."
"Hehehe, praise accepted. But what is it you hope to gain by recreating a world entirely from data?"
"...I failed them, Sophia. I failed your friends in the Phantom Thieves, and I will not do so again. I gave you the ability to recognize strength of heart and convert it into a great power. If ever we are to be separated again, I only wish that you use that power to help someone you care about."
"I will."
"Wait, wait, is that how you gave Marie and I our keyblades, Sophia?" Nick gasped when he made the connection.
"Yes, Igor granted me that power," Sophia stated. "I had simply forgotten until now."
"The reason I've been trying to figure out where the real Igor is right now is because he must know something about Organization XIII's plans," Emperor Clow answered.
"All we know is that they're trying to obtain the power of Kingdom Hearts in order to change their fates, since something really bad must have happened to a lot of them," Nick quipped. "And now they've even kidnapped my sister..."
"W-What? Marie's missing again?" Emperor Clow gasped. "...you know, I just remembered something Igor told me. I was planning to go find him and get his help, but now I know I forgot the most important thing. Helping others should always come before asking others for help. We're safe and sound, and free to choose, so there's no reason why we shouldn't choose to help our friends, am I right?"
Everyone simply nodded.
"So, then, let's go look for Marie together," Emperor Clow proclaimed as he walked up to hand Nick another Summon Charm, this one imprinted with the image of a dog's paw print.
All of a sudden, a large explosion resounded from far off, nearly knocking everyone off balance.
"That came from outside!" Ellen gasped.
"Sounds like we've gotta start by helping out there," Emperor Clow proclaimed as he summoned Kingdom Key D and charged out into the fray.
The trinity all followed, but when they got out to the large room outside the Study, Emperor Clow had vanished and a bunch of Heartless and Nobodies could be seen fighting each other.
The new Nobody was notably more brightly colored and feminine in appearance than other Nobodies, wearing pink bell-bottom pants with a white Nobody symbol printed on one leg, pink beanie-like hats that covered where their eyes would be, with a long pink braid-like growth sprouting from under the caps, along with dark heeled boots with toes that pointed up at sharp right angles, dark bracelets on each wrist, both with a small spike on them, and dark armor resembling the top of the Nobody symbol that covered their chests. Their hands were shaped like blades and their mouths looked to have been sewn on into a permanent eerie grin.
Down the other hallway out of the large room, Ichinose and Ripto were observing the fight with interest.
"That's it, my Heartless," Ichinose laughed. "Sweep away those white husks!"
"Are you serious?" Ripto sputtered. "Look at those things! I don't think this is one we can win, honestly. I don't know about you, but I'm outta here!"
With that, Ripto disappeared in a flash of dark magic.
"Still a coward as always," Ichinose quipped, just then noticing the trinity as they entered the room.
Sophia didn't know what to say when she locked eyes with Ichinose, even knowing that this was just a digital recreation of Ichinose that had gained a physical form much like she had. She did realize that Igor could only have done that if he knew about Ichinose as well, and considering how much Sophia talked about her...
Ichinose smirked before vanishing into a corridor of darkness, though not without one last command to the Heartless under her employ.
"Heartless, leave the white ones for now, and get rid of them."
The Surveillance Robots and the Dancers all advanced on the trinity with inexorable intent.
"This could be a pickle," Ellen quipped. "There's so many of both factions here."
Nick looked down at the Wonderful Charm in his hands and grinned.
"Well, we did just get a new friend to play with," Nick stated. "Let's see if they can help us clean some clocks."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Maylin laughed as she and Haruka both vanished from sight.
("Wonderful Pretty Cure! Evolution!" by Chihaya Yoshitake plays)
Nick raised the Wonderful Charm into the air, then summoned Oathkeeper to draw a pink paw print around the charm before stabbing through it, causing a bright pink light to erupt from the jewel in the charm.
Much to Nick's surprise, the dog from earlier, the one who'd inadvertently gotten them sent to Mainframe, popped out of the charm, running around like, well, an excited dog for a couple seconds before noticing Nick.
Komugi barked twice before jumping into the air, a bright pink light surrounding her body as she transformed into a humanoid form before transforming again into what appeared to be a Pretty Cure.
In her Pretty Cure form, Komugi had pink hair with light yellow ends that was pulled into twintails that resembled the ears of her dog form, and her eyes turned a mixture of purple, pink and blue with light yellow pupils.
"I love everyone in this lovely world!" Komugi exclaimed after her post-transformation pose. "Cure Wonderful! Let's play together!"
Cure Wonderful jumped back to Nick's side as the Dancers approached in a low posture, their hands glowing.
"You stay away from my friend!" Cure Wonderful shouted, raising her hand to create a paw-shaped barrier that stopped the Dancer cold, allowing Nick to strike at it with Oathkeeper.
A bunch of other Dancers tried to advance, but Cure Wonderful let out a loud, loud bark that paralyzed the Dancers, allowing Ellen and Sophia to pitch in and get rid of them, with Sophia even grabbing a Watcher and using its laser to blow away a bunch of Dancers.
Though the Dancers were taken care of, Armored Knights spawned in alongside more Watchers, but Nick and Cure Wonderful both looked at each other and grinned, knowing exactly what time it was.
Cure Wonderful brought out her Friendly Tact, and Nick summoned a similar one to his own hands, so they could both press the ribbons on them until the crystals turned blue, then spun them around to create four magenta hearts around them. Cure Wonderful ran her finger across her wand, while Nick twirled his around in his hand. Eventually, they both formed a large heart in front of them before charging through it, their bodies trailing pink and purple ribbons. Nick and Cure Wonderful soared around the remaining Heartless to entrap them within the ribbons, which eventually constricted and unleashed an upwards swell of pink hearts and paw prints to destroy the Heartless.
The field clear, Cure Wonderful smiled at Nick before jumping over to cuddle with him briefly much like a dog would, even licking his cheek before vanishing in a burst of pink paw prints that reformed into the Wonderful Charm.
"Okay, she's definitely an interesting one," Maylin chuckled once she and Haruka returned.
"She's a Pretty Cure, but I don't think I've heard of her, so she must be a relatively recent one," Haruka noted.
"HEY!"
Nick turned around just in time to see the three Steel Angels, the fairies they'd met on their way here, flying down the corridors.
"Hey, what happened to Ichinose?" Kurumi wondered.
"Looks like she skedaddled," Ellen quipped.
"Oof, that was really lame of her," Karinka taunted.
"I guess we picked the wrong side after all, huh?" Saki admitted.
"Um, you know, if you're looking to pick a side, why don't you join up with Ziggy and the Restoration Committee?" Nick offered. "I'm sure they could use the extra hands."
"Does... Ziggy have any treasure?" Kurumi asked.
"Oh, yeah, lots of stuff," Maylin quipped.
"Ooh, that's perfect!" Karinka laughed.
"Um, pardon us for asking, but who exactly are all of you?" Sophia wondered.
"Oh, nobody special," Saki admitted. "Just three treasure fanatics."
"Later, tater tots!" Karinka proclaimed as all three of the fairies vanished in a burst of magic.
"...does Ziggy actually have any treasure?" Haruka asked, to which Maylin just snickered to herself.
The group made their way out of the castle and back into the Postern, though Dusks started slithering towards them.
"Why don't you just beat it?!" Maylin shouted. "We don't have time to be dealing with you!"
The group just swatted the Dusks away with their keyblades and ran up the pathway, hoping they could catch up with Emperor Clow before something else happened.
However, on the way up, somebody dropped down from the sky and smashed their fist into the ground, unleashing a blood-red shockwave that knocked the trinity back a couple feet.
This new challenger looked very similar to Ryu, only he had darker skin, bright red eyes, and longer and spikier hair, including a small pair of horns sprouting from his forehead.
"Whoa, isn't that the 'Kage' guy that Ryu told us about?" Nick quipped. "The one who's supposed to be the manifestation of the Satsui no Hado and basically Ryu's darkness?"
"...hmph. Ryu told you that, didn't he?" Kage retorted. "Then that probably means he understands now."
"What are you gonna do to him?" Maylin challenged, aiming Counterpoint for Kage.
"...nothing," Kage chuckled. "Ryu is the one who hungers for the thrill of battle."
'He said he's got a score to settle with you," Nick stated.
"Oh, he wants to meet me again, does he?" Kage laughed before walking away. "Then I should go and give him what he wants. After all, that last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out."
Kage surrounded himself with dark purple energy before leaping away into the sky.
Putting that away for the moment, the trinity all ran through the Restoration Site, where they could see Ziggy using his arm blade to slice apart a bunch of Heartless while MOMO was using her Ether skills to keep Ziggy in fighting shape.
"Emperor Clow went to the Bailey," MOMO stated. "You'd better hurry over there!"
As the trinity moved on to the Bailey, they noticed that the wall leading up the stairway had been mostly destroyed, revealing a winding path towards the castle in the distance, the one the trinity had explored on their very first visit to Lost Jerusalem.
"That must have been what caused that explosion," Haruka noted.
"Holy crapbaskets!" Maylin shouted, pointing towards the ravine in the distance, where they could now see thousands upon thousands of Heartless storming the cliffs, forming a solid river of black with beady yellow eyes.
Despite this, every able-bodied fighter in the city was doing their best to stem the tide of the Heartless invasion.
Junior and Shion stood back-to-back as they fired their weapons to blow Heartless apart left, right and center, Shion even extending a Spell Blade and wading into the fray to slice Heartless apart.
Komugi bounded across the battlefield, hopping off the heads of Armored Knights before transforming back into Cure Wonderful and conjuring a Puni-Puni Barrier, then throwing it like a discus to tear down a bunch of them. She quickly saw a bunch more Armored Knights marching her way, so she turned back into Komugi and bounded away.
Even the Steel Angels were getting into the thick of it, with Saki jumping over an Armored Knight as it slashed at her, then bounding off its head and stumbling it long enough for Kurumi and Karinka to hit it with a double flying kick that sent it over the edge.
In another part of the Ravine Trail, both Ryu and Sakura were preparing to fight a bunch of Armored Knights themselves.
"Do you think you can handle this many, Ryu?" Sakura asked.
"Well... it might be tough if one more shows up," Ryu quipped.
"Okay, then that'll be the one I take care of!" Sakura proclaimed.
"What, you're fighting, too?" Ryu teased as he and Sakura went to work, dispatching the Armored Knights with their martial arts moves.
Ryu blasted a bunch of Armored Knights with a Shinku Hadoken, only for more to show up and surround him. Ryu prepared to attack these as well, but they were suddenly destroyed by a flurry of dark purple lightning bolts.
Of course, Ryu knew who was responsible.
"Kage," Ryu growled.
"I understand you've been looking for me, Ryu," Kage chuckled. "After all, we're still two peas in a pod."
"Once I figure out how to get rid of you, I can finally put the Satsui no Hado and everything it's capable of behind me," Ryu proclaimed.
"Oh, don't make me laugh!" Kage cackled. "You can never truly destroy the Satsui no Hado. After all, it is killing intent manifested into physical power, and you love the thrill of the fight as much as anyone."
"That may be, but I'm not a murderer like you," Ryu snarled, his tone indicating he was still hurting about that.
"Oh, please, I was doing that poor girl a favor," Kage laughed. "Admit it, by trying to get rid of me, you're turning your back on the present and living in the past, just because the light of the present is too much for you to handle."
"Don't act as if you know me," Ryu shot back.
"Oh, I think I do know you," Kage sneered. "Because... I am you."
Having said everything he needed to, Kage vanished in a burst of evil power, leaving Ryu to chase him, not noticing Sakura calling his name.
Back in the Bailey, Nick clenched his fist at the sight of everyone fighting their hardest to stem the tide of this invasion.
"Hang in there, everyone," Nick proclaimed.
Just as the trinity was about to head down the Ravine Trail, Emperor Clow dropped down from the sky and spread his arms out as if to block the way.
"All right, everyone, you need to go look for Marie," Emperor Clow stated.
"B-But... Ziggy and the others are our friends, too," Nick sputtered.
"Don't worry, there's already more than enough help here," Emperor Clow responded. "We can take care of this fight no problem."
"But... I made a promise to them..." Nick sighed.
"Maylin, Haruka, take Nick and get going," Emperor Clow stated.
Maylin and Haruka both glanced at each other, silently communicating before they made a decision.
"We understand, Your Majesty," Haruka proclaimed. "We're gonna go and look for Nick's sister."
"Right, just watch for danger," Emperor Clow responded.
"I'd advise you to do the same," Maylin chuckled.
"Y-You guys, what the..." Nick gasped.
"Come on, Nick, you gotta do what the Emperor's telling ya," Maylin proclaimed. "You're comin' with us whether to want to or not!"
Unseen by Emperor Clow, Maylin winked to Nick, and this let him catch on. Nick couldn't help but silently mouth the words "thank you" before all five of them turned towards the Ravine Trail.
"Right, let's go," Nick proclaimed as he ran forward to jump down the small cliff, much to Emperor Clow's surprise.
"Sorry, Your Majesty," Haruka sighed. "Hope you can forgive us..."
"Wherever Nick goes, I go," Sophia answered.
"Same here," Ellen stated.
As the entire trinity ran off, Emperor Clow couldn't help but smile regardless. "I guess I taught them well after all."
The trinity all ran down the trail towards the Castle Gates, only to stop when a corridor of darkness opened up in the center of the square. After a few seconds, Mipha stepped out of it, though she seemed surprised to see them.
"H-Hey, you're all looking lively," Mipha stated.
"Oh, why don't you just scram already?!" Maylin shouted.
"Weren't you the one messing around in Nordopolica?" Nick wondered. "You seem so timid. How'd you even get into the Organization?"
"I'm starting to think you can't even actually fight," Ellen taunted.
"You know, you shouldn't judge anybody by their mere appearance," Mipha retorted. "I was one of the Champions of Hyrule. I piloted a Divine Beast!"
"Sorry, fish lady, but that's all just a bunch of gobbledy-gook to us," Haruka admitted. "And besides, you're still a part of the Organization, so you know how this is going to go down."
Mipha was silent for a few moments, but before Nick or the girls could move in to attack, water began to flow upwards from the ground into Mipha's right hand, eventually forming into a large bubble. After a few seconds, the bubble compressed before exploding outwards, forming into Mipha's trident.
Mipha spun her trident around before aiming it for the trinity.
"Silence... traitor."
Before Nick could make heads or tails of what that meant, Mipha summoned her Lightscale Trident and started creating more water clones of herself much like she had in Nordopolica.
"Oh, we're really doing this runaround again?" Maylin groaned as she started casting Fire and Thunder spells to make short work of the clones.
Nick even did the same thing he'd done before, whacking a clone before reaching out to grab its head fin and start swinging it around to dispatch multiple clones at once.
However, once all of the clones had been vanquished, Mipha actually started attacking them, swinging her Lightscale Trident in wide sweeping strikes, each strike also causing a column of water to erupt from the ground.
Nick tried to slip in an attack, but instead, Mipha just conjured a wall of water columns in front of her.
"...okay, I'm starting to regret taunting her," Ellen admitted.
Haruka ran forward and leapfrogged off of Maylin's shoulders, just barely sailing over another water column to land behind Mipha and slash Divewing at her back, sending her stumbling forward.
Naturally, Nick took advantage of this, lunging forward to hit Mipha with a Flash Step before knocking her into the air with an Upper Slash.
"Sophia!" Nick exclaimed, feeling a little more willing to push his luck.
"On it!" Sophia responded, and she jumped forward to hug Nick from behind so they could merge into Limit Form.
"Now let's see how you like a taste of this!" Limit Form Nick exclaimed as he threw Super Yo-Yo towards Mipha in a Strike Raid, keeping her suspended in the air for a while.
Maylin ducked underneath Mipha and cast a point-blank Thunder spell to keep her in the air, only for Mipha to eventually break out of the combo by way of exploding bubbles that surrounded her for a brief moment.
When she landed back on her feet, Mipha swung her trident and sent a wave of water geysers rushing towards Limit Form Nick, only for Ellen to dash forward, seemingly blending in with the shadows, grab Limit Form Nick, then dash away, the water geysers passing harmlessly through them while she was cloaked in the shadows.
"Oof, that was a close one," Limit Form Nick quipped. "Thanks for the save, Ellen."
"I've been practicing Shadow Sneak for a while," Ellen giggled as she leaned over to kiss Limit Form Nick on the cheek (did that mean she'd also kissed Sophia, technically?). "Glad you liked it."
Mipha raised her trident and conjured a barrage of exploding bubbles to fall down from the sky and force everyone to stay on the move.
Limit Form Nick caught wind of Mipha standing there recovering after that last attack and decided to take advantage, moving forward and wailing on Mipha with Ars Arcanum.
"Enough of this!" Mipha exclaimed, swinging her trident to knock Limit Form Nick back before slamming it into the ground, creating a continuous wall of water geysers all around her.
"We need to find a way to get through that!" Haruka exclaimed.
Ellen once again had an idea, and she started running towards Mipha.
"You'll only get blasted, you know," Mipha chuckled.
"It's like you didn't see what I did to help Nick earlier," Ellen taunted, and when she figured it out, Mipha could only curse her own carelessness.
Ellen took a step back before lunging forward, blending in with the shadows to pass right through the water geysers and slash Mipha into the air with an upwards swing from Starlight, and Limit Form Nick ran forward just as Mipha fell down to finish the battle with a Zantetsuken right through Mipha.
Mipha stumbled backwards before collapsing to her knees, her trident vanishing in a burst of bubbles.
"N-No, no, this... this can't be how it ends," Mipha stuttered, her body beginning to fade away. "I never... I never got the chance to tell Link that... that I..."
And with that, Mipha had spoken her last, fading back into darkness.
"All right, anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?!" Nick shouted after splitting off from Limit Form.
"Come on, Nick we don't need to antagonize them," Maylin quipped. "We've gotta go and help the others, and fast."
"There you are!"
Everyone suddenly froze as Emperor Clow walked into the Castle Gates, trying his best to look stern (even if he himself thought it didn't do much).
"...oh, we're in trouble, aren't we?" Ellen sighed.
"You know, you have an awful lot of friends to help," Emperor Clow chuckled. "So I guess that means we'd better all pull together so we can finish this fight once and for all."
"Whew, I was seriously worried there," Maylin admitted, unaware of a Dusk fighting a Watcher on top of the nearby cliff. "I thought we were in deep doo-doo with how we deliberately disobeyed your orders, Your Majesty..."
"Hey, sometimes disobeying an order is the right thing to do," Emperor Clow quipped.
The Watcher fired a laser at the Dusk, and though it missed, debris from the shot went flying everywhere, one such large rock flying right towards Emperor Clow.
"It just means I taught you all well," Emperor Clow proclaimed.
"Aw, stop, you're actually making me blush," Maylin giggled.
"LOOK OUT!" Haruka wailed, dashing forward to push Emperor Clow out of the way just in time, only for the rock to collide with her own head instead, sending her flying backwards until she eventually crashed into the opposite cliff face, then slid down and collapsed to the ground, knocked out completely.
"...no," Emperor Clow gasped.
Nick, Maylin and Sophia were instantly over there to check on Haruka while Ellen fired a blast of dark energy to destroy the offending Heartless.
"H-Hey, come on, Haruka, wake up!" Maylin exclaimed. "You wouldn't be taken out that easily, right?"
"Please, please wake up..." Nick gasped.
"I-I'm really sorry about that time I pushed you into one of Milla's spells!" Maylin sputtered, sounding like she was about to start crying. "Stupid Peepo put me up to it, honest!"
"...Haruka?" Emperor Clow gasped.
"This... this can't be happening..." Nick cried.
Emperor Clow clenched his fist tightly. He rarely got angry, but this was proving to be the exception. And he could only think of one thing at this moment.
"...they'll pay for this," Emperor Clow growled as he grasped the edge of his black cloak before ripping it off and flinging it aside, revealing that he was wearing a short-sleeved jacket with white lining, with the top half of this jacket being black, the bottom half being red, and two yellow straps dangling in front of it, red pants that sported a zipper going down the front of each leg, each leg also having a yellow pouch with a black strap that partially covered the zipper, as well as a blue strap on the outer side of each pant leg, and yellow shoes with grey backs and two orange, intersecting straps attached to the front of each shoe.
Kingdom Key D flashed into Emperor Clow's hand as he charged down the pathway outside of the Castle Gates.
Unable to contain her own emotions any longer, Maylin let out a scream of pure unyielding rage before summoning Counterpoint and running down the Ravine Trail as well. Ellen hopped up the cliffside to go and pursue any more Heartless that were in that area.
"...come on, Nick, we have to go," Sophia stated, leaning down to hug Nick, knowing he probably needed one right now.
Despite his own turbulent emotions, Nick knew that Sophia was right. They still had friends that needed their help.
Taking one last look at Haruka's unmoving body, Nick and Sophia summoned their own keyblades and ran down the Ravine Trail.
On the way there, however, a large pack of Neoshadows and Armored Knights spawned in front of them.
"This is not the time to be getting in my way," Nick growled.
Before Nick could charge into the fray, though, an arrow shot into the air and turned into a storm of energy arrows from above that rained down and obliterated a bunch of the Neoshadows.
Nick glanced back at the trail to see that MOMO had done that, her Ether bow Moon Bridge out and aimed towards the remaining Heartless.
"Hey, Nick, I came to help!" MOMO exclaimed.
"Came at just the right time, in my opinion," Nick quipped.
With that, Nick and Sophia went to work on the Heartless while MOMO hung back and fired arrows from Moon Bridge to take down any stragglers.
After a little bit of this, MOMO raised Moon Bridge and fired another arrow into the sky. This one returned as a barrage of orange lightning bolts that destroyed the remaining Neoshadows.
"All right, the way should be clear! Get going, you two!" MOMO proclaimed as she headed off down another path to assist the others.
Nick and Sophia continued down the Ravine Trail, only to encounter another mob of Dusks and Dancers.
"Oh, wonderful, these things are back," Nick groaned.
"Well, then it's a good thing I'm here!" Junior laughed as he charged in to deliver a headshot to a nearby Dancer.
Once again, Nick and Sophia fought off the Nobodies, while Junior used his guns to blast at any opponent that tried to get close to him.
After a while, Junior tossed a bunch of coins into the air and started rapid-firing his guns towards the coins, making the bullets ricochet off of them and turn into a storm of bullets that wiped out the remaining Nobodies.
"All right, hurry up!" Junior shouted as he dashed off to assist MOMO.
Further down the Ravine Trail, a group of Watchers and Neoshadows were waiting for them.
"Why are there suddenly so many more Heartless around here?" Nick wondered.
"You think it's because the Organization is here?" Sophia pondered.
"I wouldn't put it past those hooded wackos," Nick quipped.
One of the Watchers attempted to fire its laser, only for Shion to jump in and extend an energy blade from her MWS, the Miyuki Special, and slice the Watcher in half.
"Sorry I'm late," Shion stated.
"Better late than never, honestly," Nick chuckled.
Like the past two times, Nick and Sophia battled the Heartless while Shion assisted with various weapons from her MWS, many of which she'd used during her battle with Nick in Nordopolica.
Eventually, Shion began to charge Ether energy into the Miyuki Special before slashing it forward a few times, unleashing a storm of Ether blades that cut down the remaining Heartless.
"That oughta do it! Hurry on ahead!" Shion exclaimed as she jumped away to help the others.
However, right before Nick and Sophia could reach the crevice that led to the Crystal Fissure, more Heartless and Nobodies of different kinds all spawned in to stop them.
"Oh, come on with this!" Nick growled. "This is starting to get really annoying!"
Just then, someone dropped down from the sky and punched the ground hard enough to create a shockwave that sent the enemies flying. This new arrival appeared to be an android girl with light blue hair and piercing red eyes.
"Shion has requested that I assist you," KOS-MOS proclaimed, her right hand transforming into a blade so she could dash around and cut down Heartless one by one.
A Berserker attempted to swat her away with its hammer, but KOS-MOS retaliated by summoning a large gatling gun and firing it to rather quickly make mincemeat of the Berserker.
The other remaining Heartless seemed to realize that they were outmatched, but KOS-MOS was faster on the draw, opening a compartment on her chest and unleashing a massive storm of blue laser beams that easily obliterated the remaining enemies.
"Your friends are just up ahead," KOS-MOS proclaimed. "Get going!"
Her task done, KOS-MOS hopped down into the canyon to continue the fight, leaving Nick and Sophia to finally enter the Crystal Fissure, where Maylin, Ellen and Emperor Clow were waiting for them.
"Holy crapbaskets, that was an ordeal," Nick quipped.
"You guys okay?" Ellen asked.
"We should be, but..." Sophia sighed, knowing that they'd been forced to leave one of their companions behind, possibly to a grim fate.
"Oh, Haruka..." Maylin sobbed.
"Hey there, everyone!"
Five pairs of eyes all snapped to attention, gazing towards the entrance of the Crystal Fissure. There was Haruka, happily waving to everyone like she hadn't been hurt at all.
"Haruka!" Nick exclaimed as he and Sophia both ran over to hug Haruka tightly.
"...that rock hurt, you know," Haruka teased. "Come on, you guys, I take knocks to the head like that all the time, and I always come out of it just fine. You know I've got a pretty hard head, right?"
Maylin marched over to where Haruka was standing and summoned Counterpoint to her hands before twirling it around and smashing it right into Haruka's knee, causing her to start jumping around a bit.
"H-Hey, that hurt, too!" Haruka sputtered, only for Maylin to fling herself forward and hug Haruka.
"D-Don't you ever scare me like that again," Maylin cried.
"Sorry, Maylin, I didn't mean to freak you all out like that," Haruka responded as she hugged Maylin back.
"Well, then, if we're all back together, let's head into the big canyon thingy over there and put an end to this nonsense!" Ellen proclaimed.
After taking a couple minutes to readjust themselves and prepare, as they had no idea what would be waiting for them, the trinity all rushed out the opposite end of the Crystal Fissure into the Great Maw, where hundreds of Heartless were waiting.
"...they're not even moving?" Maylin wondered.
"What's up with that?" Nick quipped.
"H-Hey, look up there!" Haruka exclaimed, pointing towards a much higher cliff, where a corridor of darkness had opened and another figure in a black coat stepped out of it.
"I'm sensing a lot, and I mean A LOT of dark power from whoever that is," Nick noted. "That can only mean that whoever that is has to be the leader of Organization XIII."
No. 1 glanced down towards the Great Maw and grinned to herself, pulling her hood down to reveal a slender girl with fair skin, black eyes, and short hair that was red in the front hair and blue in the back half.
"She doesn't look like much at first glance, but I've just got this feeling that she's the real deal," Ellen quipped.
Before anyone could move to confront No. 1 personally, large groups of the Heartless in the Great Maw suddenly came alive and surrounded the trinity.
"Move it already!" Nick shouted as the trinity all summoned their keyblades for battle.
"I'll go after the leader," Emperor Clow stated. "You all just focus on this horde."
"PENNY!"
Another loud shout caught their attention, and they all saw another girl running along the top of the cliff face to try and attack No. 1. And Nick recognized her.
"H-Hey, that's Lillie!" Nick gasped.
"Don't think you're getting away from me this time!" Lillie growled as she summoned her Kingdom Key to attack Penny.
"Oh, stop using that pale imitation of your father's weapon," Penny chuckled.
Naturally, Nick gasped in surprise when he heard that from Penny.
"...you wanna see me get serious?" Lillie retorted. "All right, then, but just remember this, Penny: you asked for it!"
Lillie concentrated, and her Kingdom Key transformed into a completely different keyblade. The main structure of her new keyblade was a chokutÅ with a black handle, gold pommel, and gold rain guard, the blade's edge facing the keyblade's teeth. The guard was split into an upper and lower half, both halves being gold and lined with spikes, but the spikes were more prominent on the upper half. The teeth of the keyblade were comprised of a gold semi-circle with a turquoise center that was lined by long, gold spikes, the teeth connecting to the main blade by a spiked spade symbol, and the keychain token was shaped like a diamond lined by short spikes.
"Ah, that's much better," Penny chuckled before, much to everybody's surprise, summoned her own keyblade to her hands. This keyblade had a pink handle and a rectangular, lilac guard with long spikes on each of its corners, a long, dark purple shaft with concave edges, decorated by two indigo diamonds, and ending in a spike, the lilac-colored teeth shaped like a large arrowhead and the keychain token was a diamond resembling the keyblade's teeth.
"Am... am I seeing this right?" Maylin gasped. "The leader of Organization XIII... is a keyblade wielder?!"
"And what did Lillie say about her father?" Haruka wondered. "After all, she was using your default keyblade until just now, Nick."
The Heartless surrounding them all drew closer.
"Hey, we're having a moment here, don't ruin it!" Nick exclaimed.
Each member of the trinity split off to handle a different part of the Heartless horde, and now Nick was glad that most of them were Watchers and Armored Knights, because that meant he could grab the Watcher and use its laser attack to decimate large swaths of the enemies.
It thankfully didn't take long for them all to clear the Great Maw of the enemy horde, and this enabled them all to race after Penny and Lillie into the Dark Depths, which was a cliff overlooking the long path to the castle that Ichinose had been using as her headquarters during their first journey.
Near the edge of the cliff, Penny and Lillie were clashing multiple times with their respective keyblades.
"Stop it, both of you!" Nick exclaimed.
"D-Dad?" Lillie gasped, though the shock of her accidentally blurting it out gave Penny enough time to swing Interdiction and send her skidding backwards.
"I think I've lingered here long enough," Penny chuckled. "I have things to do, after all."
"All right, you, out with it," Nick retorted, aiming Oathkeeper towards Penny. "What did you freaks do with my sister?!"
"...you don't know?" Penny answered. "Why don't you ask your emperor?"
That said, Penny retreated through a corridor of darkness, only for Emperor Clow to jump into the corridor right before it closed.
"H-He's gone again..." Maylin gasped.
"He'll be fine," Haruka admitted. "He's been through a lot worse. I think we need to address the other elephant in this room."
Lillie looked back at the trinity and laughed, letting Aubade rest on her shoulder.
"I guess that cat's out of the bag, huh?" Lillie giggled. "Oh, well, I guess there's no point in hiding it now. Yeah, Nick, you're my father."
"B-But you two are the same age!" Maylin exclaimed. "How the heck does that work?!"
"You're from the future, aren't you?" Ellen answered.
"Right on point as always, mom," Lillie chuckled, to which Ellen blushed when she made the connection. "I'll try to make this brief, since we've still got trouble to deal with."
Lillie glanced at her reflection in Aubade's blade. "In the time I came back from, my father was having these strange visions," Lillie explained. "He said something about a great calamity in the past that was threatening to screw everything over. We managed to gather up enough power to send me back in time to figure it out, though we accidentally overshot my destination time by a while. I've been chasing Penny, the Organization's leader, pretty much ever since, though I did take some time to watch over you, dad, while your heart was recovering from you getting attacked by the Lich."
"That's why you were there," Nick quipped.
"Essentially, yeah," Lillie stated.
"Oh, wow, way to fall right into their trap."
Nick looked over to the opposite cliff edge and saw another hooded figure leaning against the cliff. She was a young woman with neck-length, fiery red hair and bright red eyes. A bright green, crucifix-shaped crystal attached to her chest could be seen through her coat by its glow, and what little of her body showed outside the cloak had green lines of light running across her skin.
"Haven't you figured this out, dude?" Pyra scoffed. "This is all a big setup by the Organization. Penny's using you guys to destroy the Heartless, as part of their big master plan."
"Wait, why would the Organization want to get rid of the Heartless?" Haruka wondered.
"Oh, jeez, you guys are slower than I thought," Pyra chuckled, pointing to Nick's keyblade. "Remember? Every Heartless that gets destroyed by a keyblade releases the captive heart. And that's what the Organization is after. And no, I'm not telling you what they're going to do with the hearts."
"I think a better question is, why are you telling us this?" Ellen asked. "Aren't you a member of the Organization?"
"Let's just say that, well..." Pyra started, only to be interrupted when Nick realized something.
"...wait a minute, you're the one who kidnapped Marie, aren't you?!" Nick growled as he summoned Starlight to his hands.
"Bingo," Pyra responded. "And look, about your sister... I'm sorry."
"There you are, Pyra."
"Oh, jeez," Pyra gasped as she escaped via a corridor of darkness, just as another one opened up to allow the Organization's No. 7 to walk out, a young woman with pale skin, silvery-white hair, and a strange crescent moon symbol imprinted on her forehead.
"We'll ensure that she receives the maximum punishment for her traitorous actions," Diana proclaimed. "And if it's Marie you're worried about, don't. We promise we're taking very good care of her."
"And why do I not believe you?" Maylin quipped. "Remember, she's a keyblade wielder like us. No mere door can hold her for long."
"We have taken special precautions against that," Diana answered.
"Look, I'm in no freakin' mood for your cryptic bullshit," Nick growled. "Now give me back my sister, or else!"
"Are you angry?" Dian asked. "Do you hate me for what I've done to your family? Then why don't you take that rage and direct it at the Heartless instead?"
Diana snapped her fingers, and a bunch of Armored Knights spawned in to surround the trinity.
"Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts," Diana proclaimed. "And they have no idea what the power they hold really is. The rage of the keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free, until they weave together to make... Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes, no longer will we be bound by cruel fate."
"Just what in the hell are you prattling on about, lady?"
Ichinose appeared behind Diana in a flash of dark energy.
"I-Ichinose?" Sophia gasped.
"You really think you can lay claim to what I've had my eyes on for so long?" Ichinose proclaimed. "The heart of all kingdoms and worlds, the heart of all that lives and breathes... a dominion fit to be called Kingdom Hearts can only be my dominion!"
"Come on, Ichinose, you don't have to do this anymore," Sophia pleaded. "I know the truth, I know exactly how you came back, and..."
"Do you really think that's something that bothers me?" Ichinose admitted. "As long as I can continue my work, that's all that really matters to me."
Ichinose raised her hand to summon a bunch of Aerial Knockers to surround Diana.
"Seriously, Ichinose, stop with the Heartless!" Nick exclaimed.
"I do not seem to recall ever taking orders from you," Ichinose retorted.
"What a bunch of fools," Diana stated, snapping her fingers to materialize a bunch of Dusks that made short work of the Aerial Knockers.
However, before they could go after the trinity, Ichinose summoned Hecatoncheires and cast Heat Wave to create a wall of flames between them and Diana.
"Listen to me very carefully," Ichinose proclaimed. "I'm going to keep these creatures at bay while you devise a way to vanquish them once and for all. As much as you've all been a thorn in my side, I must admit your tenacity has earned my respect."
The Dusks suddenly jumped on top of Ichinose and pulled her down to dogpile on her, causing the Heat Wave to vanish. Sophia couldn't sense Ichinose anywhere, which could only mean she had made her escape.
"All right, then, where did we leave off?" Diana quipped as she summoned more Armored Knights to her side.
"Seriously, whose side are you freaks on, anyway?!" Nick exclaimed.
One of the Armored Knights lunged forward to strike at Lillie, but Nick swiftly retaliated with a Flash Step to destroy it, a bright heart escaping into the sky.
Diana's grin turned sinister. "That's it, Nick, extract more hearts for us," Diana cackled before vanishing into another corridor of darkness."
The Armored Knights all closed in to corner the trinity.
Far away from the Great Maw, near the outskirts of town, Ryu and Sakura had finally finished off the group of Heartless that had ambushed them when they saw a bright flash of light billowing out from the canyon.
"...oh, no, that's where Nick and his friends are!" Sakura gasped.
"I wouldn't worry, Sakura," Ryu admitted. "Those kids aren't going down that easily, I know that much."
Ryu turned around and began to walk back towards the town.
"The keyblade's chosen one... he's a lucky kid."
The light coming from the canyon eventually erupted into a giant beam of light that streaked off into the sky.
"See you guys soon," Sakura chuckled.
"I guess sometimes you get help from really unexpected places," Nick chuckled as he reflected on everything that had just happened.
"Tell me about it," Ellen quipped.
"...maybe everything we've done... maybe it was all for nothing," Nick sighed as he raised Starlight to block another strike from the Armored Knight in front of him. "I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do if I can't use the keyblade?!"
"You idiots! Must I do everything myself?!"
"...huh?" Nick gasped.
All of a sudden, a large pool of darkness opened up underneath the trinity, and despite their best efforts, all five of them were pulled down into it. Lillie had left to chase after Penny.
When Nick was able to see again, all he could see was pitch black and nothing else.
"...whoa, what the heck is this place?" Haruka wondered.
"Wait, is this the realm of darkness?" Maylin gasped.
"Unfortunately, it is," Ellen admitted, catching everyone's attention. "I've been here before, and it is not a fun place to be."
"Wait, you have?" Nick wondered.
"Yeah, remember after Yaldabaoth completely took over my body?" Ellen replied. "My heart kinda got sent here during that until you guys pasted him for good, so I was wandering around for a while."
"Hey, I think I see somebody over there," Maylin stated, pointing somewhere to their southwest, since it was hard to even gauge direction in this place.
Nick expected it to be another member of the Organization, but much to his surprise, it was actually a young girl with long platinum hair and golden eyes, wearing a blue dress, and stylish matching headband with white butterfly ornaments and yellow roses. She was carrying a mysterious blue box.
The girl walked over to Nick and placed the box in his hands, uttering a silent "sorry" before vanishing in a burst of dark blue light.
"What did she give you?" Sophia wondered.
Nick reached down to open the box, and inside it was a bar of light-blue ice cream and a photograph of the Alola Town trio, though Lillie was also in the photo posing alongside them.
"Hey, I didn't know Lillie knew those girls from Alola Town," Ellen quipped.
"She never mentioned anything about them, and considering she's from the future, wouldn't they be way older?" Haruka asked.
Maylin took the ice cream and took a tentative bite out of it.
"Hmmmm... it's salty, but kinda sweet, too," Maylin noted. "But why does it feel so familiar?"
Suddenly, the ice cream bar began shining brightly before floating into the air.
"Ooh, looks like that's our way out," Ellen chuckled.
Nick held Oathkeeper aloft as light energy began to swirl around the keyblade's teeth before projecting the image of a crown symbol, same as his pendant, underneath him.
Wind began to swirl around Nick until he found himself in the middle of a rusty-orange starry sky. The ice cream shined brightly before firing a burst of light into the sky that eventually formed into a large keyhole.
Nick jumped back and twirled Oathkeeper around a couple times before firing a beam of light from the keyblade into the keyhole. Reality seemed to shatter around the keyhole for a brief moment before light began to shine from it, and after a loud "CLICK" resounded, Nick found himself back in the dark realm.
"...I hope you're all right, wherever you are, Marie," Nick sighed as the trinity exited the dark realm through the gate Nick had opened.
Meanwhile, in the White Room where Organization XIII usually held council, a group of its members appeared simultaneously.
"So, Nick knows the truth now," Diana proclaimed. "He understands that the more Heartless he defeats, the closer he is to becoming our perfect puppet. But... won't this knowledge make him that much harder to control?"
"Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?" No. 2 retorted. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. Nick has never been able to stop himself from saving people from the Heartless. That's just what his pure little heart wants, isn't it?"
No. 10 flipped open her pocket watch before grinning. "The dice have already been cast, you know," No. 10 chuckled. "Things are in motion and he can't stop it."
"I wouldn't be too cocky if I were you, ya little 'devil'," Revali sneered. "Nothing's set in stone, after all, and if the dice aren't in your favor, then you're probably going to share Mipha's fate."
"Well, the fun is in not knowing, right?" No. 10 quipped. "What's even the point of betting on something you already know the outcome of?"
"Can you be so sure that defeating him won't derail our plans?" No. 2 wondered.
"If he could die so easily, he wouldn't be of any use to us," Penny admitted.
"That's pretty much exactly what I wanted to hear," Revali chuckled. "You know that it's not my style to hold myself back."
Back on the Gummi Ship, Nick and the girls continued to ponder everything they'd experienced in the dark realm. Junior had contacted them through their Gummiphone, thanks to Julius, to tell them that the enemy horde had been successfully beaten back and everything in Lost Jerusalem had returned to normal for the time being.
"A photograph and some ice cream," Haruka quipped. "I wonder if they were some sort of clue? And who was that girl that left them for us?"
"I believe I have seen her before," Sophia admitted. "I just can't completely place where. Maybe that answer is in the memories I haven't recovered yet..."
"Hey, look, the paths are all open!" Maylin exclaimed. Haruka checked their map of the Ocean Between and noticed that, yes, all of the worlds they'd explored were now visible out there, along with a strange blurry structure at the far end of the area.
"That... might present a new problem," Nick admitted. "What if the Heartless are causing trouble again? Wouldn't using the keyblade only help the Organization at this point?"
"Problem is, I think you have to use your keyblade," Haruka stated. "Otherwise, the Heartless will just keep hurting people."
"I know it's kinda a big ol' catch-22, but all we can really do is play it by ear," Maylin quipped. "Remember, we're all keyblade wielders, too, so we're kind of in the same boat."
"But just remember that we've got your back every step of the way, Nick," Ellen proclaimed. "No matter what."
"...you know, I really couldn't have asked for a better group of friends," Nick sighed. "Thank you, everyone."
"So, then, what world should he re-visit first?" Sophia wondered. "Alongside helping the people there, we should probably focus on trying to find a way into the Organization's stronghold. No doubt that's where they're holding Marie."
"How about we start from the beginning of our journey and work our way from there until we figure something out?" Maylin offered. "That's probably the most efficient way to go about it."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Nick quipped as Haruka piloted the Gummi Ship towards Imperial China to get this round-trip started.
Nick glanced out towards the vistas of the Ocean Between, hoping that he'd be able to find Marie soon.
I hope Lillie's doing okay, too, Nick thought. Even if we're the same age, she technically is my daughter. Just be safe out there, Lillie.
To be continued...
New summon acquired!
Cure Wonderful, Excitable Dog Warrior
Drive Gauge Points Required: 4
Anime of Origin: Wonderful Pretty Cure! (2024)
Theme Song: "Wonderful Pretty Cure! Evolution!" by Chihaya Yoshitake
What They Do: Cure Wonderful specializes in defensive skills and keeping Nick at the top of his game in a fight. Outside of battle, she will revert to Komugi and help Nick sniff out items around the field. Every Heartless killed while Komugi is active fills the Limit Gauge by 1/6th.
Summon Actions
Puni-Puni Barrier: Press ] to have Cure Wonderful defend Nick with a paw-shaped barrier that can block even normally unblockable attacks.
Paralyzing Bark: Press /\ to have Cure Wonderful let out a loud bark that stuns all enemies in front of Nick. Must recharge for ten seconds before it can be used again.
Wonderful Restoration: Occasionally, Komugi will jump on the HUD and lick it, restoring all of Nick's MP and 20% of his HP.
Friend Liberale, Across Worlds: [FINISHER: When the Limit Gauge is completely full, select Friend Liberale on the Command Menu to have both Nick and Cure Wonderful surround all nearby enemies with ribbons that eventually constrict and deal large damage. Press /\ again before the Limit Gauge runs out to end the attack with a swell of energy from Cure Wonderful that makes all destroyed enemies drop at least one of all the synthesis items they normally give.
On the next episode...
Maylin: Looks like Lei's been training her butt off, hasn't she?
Haruka: Yeah, look at her go! The Shifu would be proud, I know it.
Nick: I wonder what's been going on in town.
Sophia: Some of the locals are saying that there's somebody in a black hood skulking around.
Maylin: I'm pretty sure that's our cue to start busting some heads.
Nick: ...
Ellen: Everything all right, Nick?
Nick: I don't know, there's something familiar about this hooded weirdo, but I'm not entirely sure what. Guess we'll just have to find out ourselves, next time on Kingdom Hearts: Key to Her Heart re:Verse II, "Mastering the Art"!
Nick, Maylin, Haruka, Ellen and Sophia: May your hearts be your guiding key!