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Chapter Text

Kairi

“You’re sure your parents are fine with meeting me?” Kairi watched as Focalor tugged at the collar of his shirt, looking like a dog that was being squeezed into a  Halloween costume. It looked pretty silly, but Kairi did her best to hold in her laughter. Nearby, Sora and Riku were also getting ready in their own nice clothes, sneaking a kiss, only to blush when they noticed Kairi was staring at them. The gummiship wasn’t the greatest place to get changed, but it did the trick.

Three months. It was three months ago when things happened. Now, things were pretty much back to how they were. No sin eaters. No legion. Not even the heartless were as big a problem as they were before. Sora was back, and they even had new friends. It felt pretty good. Plus, he and Riku were now officially a couple, but if she was being honest, Kairi accepted it. She needed a bit longer to figure things out.

 Still, they had their losses. The group had tried to reach out to Ienzo who it was safe to say was keeping to himself mainly. It broke kairi’s heart to see him so depressed. Then again, if her partner had trapped a psychopathic angel in his body and sent himself to his world’s version of the Realm of Darkness, she would be in a dark place too. 

“So what’s the plan, Princess? You plan on showing off this feral demon bastard to everybody in the community? I mean, I won’t promise that I don’t bite.” Focalor flashed a toothy grin, giving a mocking snarl.

The redhead rolled her eyes at the demon before playfully punching him in the arm. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Now come on. Time to introduce my parents to a new friend.” Taking his hand, she led the angel out the door, before turning back to look at Sora and Riku. “Come on, lovebirds! We’re going for dinner!”

Sora made an obviously fake pout, “Aaaaw! Can’t Riku and I have a bit more time to get ready?”

Focalor gave a sharp laugh. “What? So you two can get hot and bothered? Can’t be the only guy lookin’ good at this dinner, so you two horny lovebirds can save the makeout sessions for later.”

Kairi had to stifle a laugh as she saw the boys go red, before awkwardly separating. “Don’t worry.” She teased. “You two can make out as much as you want after. Sound good?” The boys nodded. “Great!”

As the two headed out, Kairi took in the tropical air of the Destiny Islands. How she’d missed it. It felt like a warm hug. A welcome home.

The group soon headed onto the main island, with all the shops and boutiques that came with it. Sure it was no San Fransokyo, but past the more forested areas, the Destiny islands had a lot to offer. Especially the more beachside areas.

The four finally reached the restaurant they’d booked for the occasion, with a gorgeous view of the beachfront. “Hi”, she said to the hostess, “I booked a table for seven?”

“Kairi Kou? The mayor’s kid?”

“Yup! That’s me!” Kairi chirped. 

“Perfect!” The hostess replied. “Just follow me to your table. I believe your parents and one other guest already arrived. We'll be able to start serving you soon. How does that sound?”

“Sounds great!” Sora cheered. Leaning against Riku who laughed.

“I second him.” Kairi said. 

The friends soon made it to their table, Kairi smiling as she saw her parents and Sora’s mom sitting at the table, laughing and talking. It looked like they already got some drinks, judging by her mom and dad’s wine glasses, and Mrs Amaki was sipping from a pretty tropical looking cocktail, complete with a small umbrella.

Her dad looked up and grinned. “There’s my girl! C’mere!” Kairi blushed as her dad pulled her into a bear hug. “Missed you, Kai! How’re you doing?”

“Dad… air.”

“Oh, sorry kiddo.” Her dad separated so she could give him a kiss on the cheek, before doing the same for her mom.

“Hey mom. Hi Mrs Amaki.” 

“Hello Kairi.” Sora’s mom smiled. The redhead couldn’t believe how much happier she looked now that she’d gotten to see Sora again. It brought a smile to Kairi’s face.

“Hello boys.” Her mom said, looking at Sora and Riku. “I’m glad you two made it home. Especially you, Sora. We missed having you around.”

“Thanks Mrs Kou.” Sora mumbled, looking away. Kairi reached over to put an arm around his shoulder. 

“Oh.” Kairi’s mom seemed a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“He still needs a little time to get used to things.” Kairi reassured her. “He’s just been through… a lot. It’s nothing against you.” 

“You want to sit next to your mom?” Riku asked, visibly giving Sora’s hand a squeeze that seemed to help calm the brunet down, who then gave a nod. 

“I’ll sit next to you, dad.” Kairi said. “That way, Focalor’s next to me.”

“Sounds good to me.” Kairi’s dad declared. “I haven’t met your new friend. Care to introduce him to us?”

It was then that Kairi realized that up until then, Focalor had been pretty quiet. Looking over, she saw he was still standing up, looking strangely nervous. “You okay, Kyros?” The name seemed to get Focalor’s attention, looking at Kairi and for a second, she didn’t see the demon that he was now. She saw a different face. 

That of a human boy from a world that was now gone.

“Yeah. I guess I’m not used to…this.” He slumped down in his seat, awkwardly waving to her parents. “Um, hey. Name’s Focalor, but…Kyros is fine. I’m just kind of some random stray your daughter picked up on her...exchange program. I promise that I’m house trained.”

Kairi watched as her parents gave her an awkward look. “He’s got an… interesting sense of humor.” her dad finally responded, an eyebrow raised up, while he sipped his wine. “So why don’t you tell us about yourself, Focalor? Where are you from? You’re not from the islands are you?”

“Dad!” Kairi was about to chastise her father when she felt Focalor put a hand on her shoulder. 

“No, it’s fine. Place I’m from isn’t that different from this place. Just different buildings and less palm trees. Lots of wine though.”

This seemed to cause Kairi’s dad to relax. “Wine, eh? You know your vintages?”

“Oh, I’ve had my fair share.”

Kairi couldn’t hide the smile creeping onto her face as the two talked. Down the table, she could hear her mom’s voice. 

“So, Riku. Sora. I understand that you two are together now?

Riku nodded and smiled, squeezing Sora’s hand. “Yeah. We hooked up when Sora got back. We’ve been trying lots of couple things which is fun. I’m lucky we ended up together.”

“Aw, you’re both so sweet together.” Mrs Amaki cooed, hugging Sora. “Let me know when you’re planning to get married. I expect lots of grandkids someday.”

“Moooom!” Sora whined, but given he was smiling the whole time, it was easy for Kairi to clue in that he was in on the joke. Still, it didn’t seem to stop Riku’s face from cosplaying a lobster. 

Kairi leaned back in her chair, staring out at the open ocean, taking in the beauty of the bright blue skies, gently tossing waves, the sound of seagulls squawking overhead, the friends and family all around her.

‘It’s perfect…’ She thought.

That’s when she noticed something that seemed off. There seemed to be something floating in the waters offshore. Squinting her eyes, she tried to see what it was. At first, it looked like an animal. Maybe some kind of large fish or a dolphin? But it was too close to be a dolphin or large fish. They’d be further out. 

“Kai?” Riku called out. “You alright?”

“There’s something in the water.” She said, pointing in the direction of the thing. “What do you think it is?”

“Hmmm.” Sora said, moving around, looking over Kairi’s shoulder. “Doesn’t look like a fish or anything.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” 

“Huh?” Focalor turned in his seat, glancing out at the ocean, only for his face to fall. “That’s not a fish. That’s a person.”

As soon as he said those words, Kairi had a bad feeling. Without a second thought, she hopped over the restaurant barrier and ran towards the water, before diving in, swimming to the person, the shouts of her parents and friends fading into the background. Reaching the person, she quickly noticed that they were face down, floating aimlessly. Her heart racing, she grabbed onto them and began to drag them to shore, but she found that between the waves and how deep the water was, it was pretty difficult.

Suddenly, she felt another pair of hands dragging her and this other person to shore. Looking up, she saw Focalor. 

“I gotcha, Red.” He called out. Soon, they were on shore. 

Worried, Kairi looked back at the figure, and nearly felt herself hurl as she realized something she’d overlooked. The figure’s lower half was completely gone, a dark energy that matched Focalor’s coming off of him. This was a demon.

“Hell….”

Kairi blinked. “What did you say?” That’s when the figure turned his head, and stared into her eyes. Kairi hadn’t imagined a creature of darkness could ever look afraid, but those eyes were filled to bursting with it. Before taking a final breath, the demon finished what they were trying to say:

“Hell…Hell has…fallen…”

Those words echoed in Kairi’s ears as her family and friends gathered around, the screams beginning to start.

Chapter Text

Aqua

“Are you sure you’re okay, Aqua?” Terra asked.

At least, that’s what Aqua thought he was asking, the bluenette giving a half croak/half gasp as she slowly pulled herself up from the side of the ship, giving Terra a bleary-eyed glance. “O-of c-course I’m doing alright. Never-ulp!” She draped her upper body over the ship’s edge once again as her stomach gave another heave.

She and Terra, along with Ven and Phenix, were currently on a mission in the Caribbean for Yen Sid regarding a spate of heartless activity in that world. It overall went rather smoothly in Aqua’s opinion. Well, minus the constant nausea she felt every time they set sail. 

‘Of all the times for me to learn I don’t handle ocean travel too well.’ She thought bitterly.

“Aqua? You okay?”

Looking up, the keyblade master saw a familiar head of blond hair in the corner of her eye.

“It’s probably a good idea to give her a minute.” Terra’s voice floated into her head through the vertigo. “Why don’t we head into port? Take a break from sailing?”

“Ah! Lass hasn’t found her sea legs!” The voice of Captain -emphasis on including the title- Jack Sparrow’s voice called out from somewhere nearby. “You know what’ll do her a world of good? Rum!” Aqua wanted to tell him that rum probably wouldn’t solve her issue, but a roiling in her gut distracted her.

“S-some… land would be nice…”

Half an hour later, the group were docked at Tortuga, Aqua taking a gulp of air as she felt her stomach settle. 

Terra came over, a wooden mug in his hands. “ They didn’t have a lot that wasn’t alcohol, so I brought you some water with lime juice. I didn’t think you’d get seasick.”

“I… I guess I never really had the chance to find out.” Taking a long gulp, the bluenette almost as quickly spat out the liquid with a gag. The water wasn’t just lime-flavored, it was saturated with it. With effort, she swallowed the drink before relegating herself to more manageable sips, sighing. “I wish I knew that sooner.”

Terra laughed.“Hey, still not the worst thing out there.” The sound made the woman feel a little better. He then gave a smile. Not an innocent one, but one that was more… sneaky. “You know… pirates aside, this place is pretty romantic.”

Aqua immediately knew what was running through her boyfriend’s head. “True…” she traced her hand down his chest. “Anything could happen…” the two leaned in to kiss-

The sound of a gummiphone’s ringtone going off caused the two to jump back like they’d just experienced an electric shock. Feeling her pocket, Aqua reached in and took out her communication device, seeing it was from Riku. 

“Hold on.” She answered the call. “Riku? What’s going on?”

“Aqua? Where are you?!”

“The Caribbean, with Terra and the boys. What’s wrong?”

“A body!” Kairi’s voice shouted, the redhead cutting into frame. “A dead body washed up onto the beach!”

Aqua nearly dropped the phone in shock. “We’ll be there soon. Do the others know?”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marchosias

*Around the same time, in Twilight Town.*

“Hello, welcome to Le Grand Bistrot. How can I help you?” 

“That’s good, but maybe try a little more of a happy tone.” 

“You sure as shit haven’t been in customer service for that long.” Marchosias sighed as she stared at her reflection in the washroom mirror. Instead of her usual rottweiler form she now was In an anthropomorphic look, her dark black hair contrasting the browns of her muzzle.

Xion blinked. “I didn’t know you used to do this sort of thing!”

“I didn’t. I’ve heard enough horror stories to know what to expect from this kinda job.” The demon corrected, tugging at the collar of her uniform. “I don’t know why you even suggested I try this.”

“Because we thought you’d wanna earn some munny like us!” Xion replied with a smile. “Right, Roxas?”

He shrugged. “I guess…”

‘What a vote of confidence.’ The demon sighed.

"Pleeease" Xion whined, giving her signature puppy dog eyes. Marchosias tried to resist, she really did. She was already painfully familiar with Xion's large blue eyes, the way they turned watery and sparkled as the light hits them, aided even more by the way Xion's underlip quivered and shock making her already cute face look just that bit more adorable and-

Marchosias sighed. ‘Damn you, cosmic irony.’ she thought. “This one shift. If I change my mind, I’ll let you know. Does that work for you?”

“Yay!!!” Xion glomped onto the demon who rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. No need to butter me up.” Marchosias stretched before throwing on the rest of the outfit, questioning her life choices up to that point. ‘Hell almost sounds nice by comparison.’

And so came the grind. While the kids were busy serving tables and chatting up customers like the little social butterflies that they were, well Xion was the social one at least, the former demon lord was trapped leading people to the tables before waiting back at the front desk. It suuuuuuucked!!! She rubbed her face. ‘Fuuuuuuck.’ She thought to herself as she put on yet another fake smile as she escorted a new couple to a fresh table. ‘Can’t something exciting happen?’ As she walked back, she noticed something strange.

Over at the desk was a hunched over figure, their face hidden from view by the counter. Now the demon couldn’t be sure but they looked to be sick given how they were shaking. ‘That or it’s drugs. Not that it’d be the case. Pretty sure most drugs aren’t even a thing in this universe.’ She went to her position and threw on the most syrupy sweet voice she could manage. “Hi! Welcome to Le Grand Bistrot! How many people were you expecting to have with you today?”

“Rrrrrgh.”

“Huh.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, that’s not a real number. Care to repeat that for-What the fuck?”

The figure glared up with her. The face was otherwise human, but there were three things wrong with it. The small, nub-like horns, the blood red eyes which held zero thoughts other than ripping and tearing, and the manic grin on the man’s face that was far too wide for any human.

“D̵̝͒I̵͠ͅE̵̛̦!̴̠́!̵̡͂!̸͍͛” The demon charges, and Marchosias responds with what came naturally to her. 

She brought her fist into his face, sending the bastard crashing through the front entrance. That definitely got some excitement going as she heard restaurant patrons screaming, some rushing through the open hole she’d made. “Hey asshole!! She called out. Just so you know, I’m blaming you for damaging private property!!! The money for repairs is coming out of your wallet!!!”

She watched as the demon got back up, the grin still plastered on their face and a low giggling coming out of them. That’s when she spotted more figures crawling out, their bodies jerking and twisting like something straight out of a stereotypical exorcism movie. 

“Y̸o̶u̵ ̵k̷n̶o̴w̷,̸ ̷t̴h̷a̴t̵ ̸f̴u̷c̸k̴i̷n̴g̴ ̸h̷u̸r̶t̶!̴!̸!̷” The demon shouts.

“Oh grow up!” Marchi rolled her eyes, “I barely made a dent in you! If you can get back up and work that mouth, then you’re not hurt enough!!! Come on!! Give me a good excuse to rip your throats out!!!”

“MARCHI!!!” 

The sound of Xion’s voice caused the demon to turn, seeing a pack of lesser demons diving her way. “Ah shit!” She cursed, bringing out her talons and slicing through her attackers, sensing blood and bodies scattering. Just as she turned back, she was tackled to the ground by the horde, her arms and legs being pinned down. “RGH!!! Get the Hell off me!!!”

“O̸o̴o̶h̶!̵ ̷I̶ ̵w̴a̸n̵t̵ ̵y̷o̸u̴r̵ ̸e̷y̸e̵s̵!̷”

“I̶ ̷w̸a̸n̵t̷ ̷h̸e̸r̸ ̴t̶o̴n̵g̵u̴e̶!̶”

“FIRAGA!!!” 

An explosion of flames  filled the demon dog’s vision, the attacking lesser demons scattering before hitting the ground as they smoldered. Just as some of the group were rising back up, there was a slash of light followed by those attackers being split down the middle before fading into shadows, Roxas standing where they once were. This was followed by Marchosias feeling herself being hoisted up by a familiar girl with black hair.

“Are you okay?” Xion asked, lifting the demon to her feet.

“Hn. I’ll live- DOWN!!!” Marchosias pulled down Xion just in time to cause an attacker to stumble into the range of her canine maw, crushing his neck like a vice, before chucking the body like a chew toy into some trash cans where it promptly disintegrated. “Just get up and fight!”

The two girls joined in and soon the trio were making headway until the last demon collapsed into a shadowy puddle. However, once the adrenaline left her system, and the reality of the situation hit her. “Those demons. They’re from the sloth ring.”

“The what?” Roxas asked.

“It’s a section of Hell.” Marchosias replied. “They’re not this rabid. Plus what were they even-?”

“What in the blue blazes is goin’ on?!” Looking up, the trio saw Mr McDuck headed straight towards them, filled with a rage that even took Marchosias aback. “What blasted fool broke the front of my restaurant?!”

“The demons.” 

“The demons! Of course it’s the blasted demons!!!” The old duck shook his walking cane, facing towards the sky. “Curse you, you flying vermin!!!”

“Um, Mr McDuck sir?” Xion raised up her hand. “I don’t think they come from that way-”

Marchosias shot the girl a look before grabbing the phone. “Hello?” 

“Marchi?” Kairi’s voice echoed from the other side. “Is that you?”

“Yeah it’s Marchosias, what the Hell is going on?!”

*************************************************************************************************************

Mickey Mouse

*Earlier that day*

“You got everything, Riku?” The mouse watched as his son piled his things into the gummiship just outside of Disney Castle.

 “Yeah, I’m sure.” It’s just for a few days. Catching up with friends and family.” Riku glanced back at the ship Sora and Kairi waiting onboard.“Plus, after everything, I think being somewhere familiar will do Sora a lot of good, you know?”

Mickey nodded. It’d been a while since the recovery of Sora and Asher’s disappearance, and since then, the hero of the light was obviously shaken up, even if he looked fine in public. From what he heard with Riku, the brunet was even worse in private. The downtime was definitely a good idea. “How’re his visits with Prof.Von Drake?”

Riku shrugged. “He doesn’t talk about it, but given what little I heard from the Professor, his approach isn’t working. It might be a bit too old school.”

The king sighed. He knew the old duck, he was a good person, but he could be a bit much. Plus Riku was right. He was getting long in the tooth -bill?-, but that meant that they’d need to find someone new at short notice. Hopefully Prof. Ludwig would understand. 

Riku seemed to pick up on this since he was reaching into his pocket. “I think he knows it too, since he gave me this. He said he vetted them and that they’re in the clear.” The mouse glanced at the card, which was laminated. Definitely fancy. It had a name and a number.

“Dr Enrique Cohen?”

“I’ll be mentioning him to Sora at some point. If it works, it works.”

Mickey nodded. “I’ll trust you. I’ll still cover everything. Now you go ahead and bond with your friends! I hope you three have a great time.” In a few minutes, Mickey watched as the ship sailed over the horizon and out of sight.

“A letter for his highness!”

Mickey watched somebody racing across the green of the courtyard, waving something in their hand. He’s dressed up in an all blue mailman’s outfit, with a hat of the same color on a head of curly caramel colored hair that matches his skin.

“Are you King Mickey?” The kid asks, Mickey’s sure he’s a kid. He can’t be older than 19.

“That’s me!” the King threw on a smile. “Anything ya need help with?!”

“Oh, nothing, your highness!” The delivery boy giggled. “Just delivering a letter for you!” They bent over, holding out an envelope. “Here you go!!!”

“Gosh, thanks!!” Mickey took it with a smile. ‘I wonder who sent it.’ Running his thumb under a tab of the envelope, he carefully ripped open the top and brought the contents, his eyes gliding over the page. He stopped.

He’s waiting for you in the Circus of the Forgotten. Don’t look for it.The time will come soon.

“What’s goin’- huh?!” When Mickey looked up, he realized he was alone again. “What the-?”

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

“EARTH TO MICKEY!!!! WATCH THE LANDING!!!”

Mickey noticed the oncoming asteroid. “WOAH!!!” He jerked on the controls, swerving the gummiship just in time to avoid them all getting turned into jam. He sighed as he came down from the adrenaline rush. Right now he was with Donald and Goofy on their way to Yen Sid’s tower.

“Gosh, sorry fellas! I guess I was just on another planet.”

“Well we’re almost at this one.” Donald huffed. “Everyone’s waiting for us inside.”

“Yeah…” Mickey reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter, giving it a final look. He’d checked earlier with the moogle service to check for who sent it. They said they didn’t hire humans, and didn’t have plans to for security reasons.

Demons acting crazy or turning up dead on beaches, and mysterious mailmen giving weird letters?

 ‘What’s going on? Are ya waiting for me, Ozzie?’

Chapter Text

Ienzo

*a few months ago*

“You seem pretty eager to be coming this way, Asher. Is there a reason?” Ienzo eyed his boyfriend -HIS BOYFRIEND!!!- as the demon summoner gave him a cheeky smile. 

“All good things come in time.” Asher said. “I asked Jiminy for the coordinates and he said he was pretty sure this was the place- AH! There we go!” The ship landed, and to Ienzo’s surprise, they were looking at the buildings of Halloween Town in the distance. Asher chuckled. “I thought it’d be a cool thing to try. Consider this a date.”

As they exited, Ienzo took a moment to take in the haunting view as his boyfriend locked up the ship. “Alright.” Asher said. “I’ve got the world order spell ready. I’ll use it on you first then do it for me.” As those words were said, the scientist saw a sly grin stretch its way over Asher’s face. “I’m curious what you’ll look like.”

There was a brief flash, and as soon as it faded, Ienzo looked down at his clothes, before bringing out his gummiphone and turning on the camera, to which he was greeted to a fox mask perched on the side of his head.

The demon summoner let out a wolf whistle. “Damn, a kitsune/mad scientist hybrid? Not bad, not bad. Alright. My turn.” Asher was enveloped by light before remerging. “So?” He asked. “What am I?”

“You’re…a catboy.” Ienzo said, trying desperately to contain his laughter. Who knew the art of corpsing was so difficult, even in a place full of reanimated ones.

“....You’re shittin’ me.” Asher’s frown was difficult to take seriously as Ienzo watched his boyfriend’s brand new ears and tail twitch in agitation. “Man, I was hoping to get something a bit scarier.”

Ienzo chuckled. “Well I think you look frighteningly adorable.” The scientist offered, placing a hand behind Asher’s cat ears and gently scratching his fingers in juuuust the right spot. To his amusement, his boyfriend’s face went a bright red. 

“H-hey! What’re you-! Oh, oooooh, that’s pretty good.” Asher started to close his eyes and lean into Ienzo’s touch. “Keep going.”

“Hmmm. Later, I think.” Ienzo stopped. “For now, I think we should take the time to explore. Oh, and since we’re here, I wouldn’t even mind speaking with Dr Finkelstein for further scientific knowledge.” Asher gave him a quizzical look. “Isn’t that guy nuts though?” 

“What’s genius without a little bit of madness?” Ienzo took his lover’s hand, taking a moment to take in his warmth. “Let’s go.”

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“Running diagnostics! In three! Two! One!!”

There were a bunch of flashing lights followed by the sounds of whirring machinery. Sparks flew, causing Ienzo to shield his eyes, despite already wearing safety goggles, watching the machine bore into the amber as if to get at the figure contained within. After several minutes, it began to sputter and crackle before coming to a halt.

The silver-haired scientist sighed in frustration and disappointment. Next to him, his young assistant was giving sounds of similar disapproval. “No!” Varian slumped down into a nearby chair. “I thought we had it!” Reaching over, the scientist put a hand on the boy’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

“We’ll keep trying. I promise. For now, let’s take a break.” The two went over to a nearby table where a pair of now cold coffee cups rested along with increasingly stale pieces of toast. Ienzo took a sip and forced down the urge to spit his drink back out. ‘Do it for the caffeine’ he thought as he continued to drink. He made sure not to put any in Varian’s cup. Hot chocolate and decaffeinated tea only for him. Ienzo couldn’t risk what that boy would be like caffeinated, given for all of his efforts, he still was a minor hazard in the lab. He was improving though, which was a benefit.

“I don’t know why nothing’s working. I mean, we tried everything. I hope that, with everything done involving the…” Varian slumped into his sheet, his eyes downcast. Ienzo could feel the melancholy radiating off of him. “I just want my father back.”

“I know, Varian.” Ienzo said. “I know…” Suddenly, his gummiphone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he put the receiver to his ear. “Yes? Hello?”

Even’s voice came from the other end. “Ienzo. You’re needed at the mysterious tower. Come as soon as you can.”

*later*

Ienzo burst through the doors of Yensid’s study, finding everyone else already there, looking his way in curiosity, with Yensid’s own gaze being the most annoyed. From the Destiny Islands trio, the keyblade wielders of Twilight Town, the residents of the Land of Departure, King Mickey and Queen Minnie, and so on and so on.

“My apologies for being late.” the young scientist muttered as he found a place between Lea and Kairi. “I hope I didn’t miss too much.”

“Ienzo. Usually you’re rather punctual about timing.” Yensid said, with the old wizard’s tone rather cool and grave. 

“I was busy with an experiment. I won’t be tardy again.”

This seemed to pacify the elderly keyblade master. “Very well. Fortunately for you, we had yet to begin our debriefing. The primary focus will be on the sudden events that have taken place in both the Destiny Islands and Twilight Town.” Yen Sid motioned towards Riku and Marchosias. “Riku. You may inform the rest of us of your tale first.”

Riku nodded. “We found a demon on the beaches of the Destiny Islands. Kairi and Focalor were the closest to him while Sora and I contacted you and the others.”

Kairi nodded. “The demon said something before he died. I think it was ‘Hell has fallen’.” 

Ienzo found himself giving an aside glance at the demons in the room. Perhaps they had an idea of what this message meant. It seemed everyone else in the room had the same thought as they gazed at the quartet.

“Hey, don’t look at us!!” Focalor shot back in a defense tone. “We’re just as in the dark as you people!”

Remiel nodded. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we can be of much assistance. At least for now. Still, the words that this spoke…” He looked to Kairi. “Are you certain this demon said to you that ‘Hell has fallen’? Those exact words.”Kairi nodded. While Ienzo wasn’t familiar with the topic at hand, there was still something about that phrase that brought a chill to his spine. They just had an aura of forbidding to them.

“I can back her up.” Focalor said, the wind demon digging a clawed finger into a nearby wall and chiselling into it. “Dead bastard said that.”

“So these do mean something.” Mickey said. “Could ya tell us?”

“Well, it’s more complex than that.” Remiel said. “You see, there’s a prophecy of the end times. Many of them. Some are more apocalyptic about it than others.”

“Humans are doom and gloom that way.” Focalor added, before Kairi shot him a look which seemed to quiet him.

“Regardless,” Remiel added “Many of them consist of the afterlife falling to destruction and Hell, or their equivalent, being emptied.”

“But, isn’t that a good thing?” Ven asked. “I mean, if it’s filled with all the bad people around, wouldn’t it being destroyed mean that every bad guy goes with it?”

Ienzo exchanged a look with his adopted father and grandfather, a similar thought passing between them. Still, it was Goofy of all people that seemed to voice their concerns.

“I dunno.” The captain of the knights said. “I mean, if it gets destroyed, where’d everyone in it go?”

“Goofy’s correct.” Merlin added, the ancient wizard heading forward. “As was proven by the encounter our Twilight Town friends had, those demons are finding ways to make themselves at home in our reality.”

Yen Sid nodded his head. “That and Master Riku has made me aware that communities of demons have established themselves in Traverse Town. While I am loath to allow creatures of darkness to remain unattended, for the time being they pose little threat from what the younger masters have told me.”

“We’re positive, Master.” Aqua said. “Still, if it would help, Riku and I can go in for a routine check just in case.”

“Thank you. Both of you.” Yen Sid. 

“Still…” Marchosias was saying, her words lingering. “This doesn’t make sense. Those were sloth demons

“You agree that they were hostile, yes?” Yen Sid asked, his tone harsh.“ Then I would consider that a moot point.” He cleared his throat. “There is one final matter that must be addressed. You may come out, Jiminy.”

Everyone watched as the cricket appeared from behind some books, carrying his journal in his hands. Approaching the end where everyone could see him, the cricket opened the journal and immediately sparks burst out, along with a horrid glitching wail. Everyone in the room clutched at their ears in pain. Just as suddenly, Jiminy shut the book, with everything going relatively quiet, minus the ringing in Ienzo’s ears.

“What the heck was that?!” Lea shouted, rubbing his ears. 

“A problem.” The cricket said. “It was normal before but for the past few days it’s been looking like this. I brought it to the chipmunks and Cid in private. I was hoping it wouldn’t be another virus, but I wanted to be sure. Just in case it was nothing, I made a decision to keep it secretive for the time being.”

“May I?” Ansem offered. Getting approval, Ienzo watched as his adopted grandfather walked over to the journal to study it. After a minute or so, he shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m at a loss. This is something I don’t recognize. I had thought it would be something I’ve encountered, and yet…”

“Regardless” Yen Sid stated,“ we must remain attentive to our tasks. There have been whispers of strange incidents in other worlds. For those tasks, the rest of you will be sent on these tasks. Some will be familiar, others unknown.” He placed his hand over his heart. “May your heart be your guiding key.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora

Sora sighed as he walked over to the gummiship. He couldn’t help but feel gloomy about everything. He’d just gotten back and already there were new problems 

“Hey, you alright?” Sora looked up, feeling Riku’s hand on his shoulder. His friend, no boyfriend (he had to remind himself sometimes) was looking at him with a look that the keyblade’s chosen was all too familiar with: Worry. 

Sora smiled, “Aw, you worry too much Riku!” He playfully nuzzled against the taller boy. “Plus, I don’t think these demon things’re going to be a big problem. I mean, we’ve taken on heartless, nobodies, unversed. I’m sure some of these guys won’t even make me break a sweat.”

“Sora-”

“Come on, Riku. It’ll be okay. Trust me!”

Riku shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. I was talking to Professor Von Drake. He told me about your sessions. He said you weren’t doing great in them. You weren’t opening up like he hoped you would.”

Sora couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed. He didn’t really see the point in doing all this. He’d been through worse. “Riku, I don’t need somebody to psychopath me-”

“Psychoanalyze.” Riku said. “It’s psychoanalyze.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sora sighed. “I just don’t think there’s anything to fix. I just need to get used to being back here. I mean, I was in Quadratum a whole year, and it’s only been two months back home.”

“Sora-”

“Riku, I’m fine!” Sora blinked, realizing he’d just snapped at his boyfriend. Not just his boyfriend but his best friend. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know-.”

“Sora, you’re obviously holding it together.” Riku placed a kiss on the brunet’s forehead, making Sora’s face heat up. “I can respect that, but I’m worried about you. Not just me. Kairi and the King too.” The silveret reaches into his pocket. “When I was talking to the Professor, he handed me this card.” 

Sora looked at it, squinting his eyes as he read the lettering. “‘Dr Enrique Cohen. Therapist and Psychologist’. Riku?”

“He’s apparently good at his job.” Sora felt Riku hold his hands. “Please Sora. If you don’t do it for yourself, at least…do it for me. Please.”

“...” Sora nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.” his heart fluttered at seeing a smile on his boyfriend’s face.

“Thanks Sora. This means a lot. I’ll set up an appointment later this week. I promise to take you there myself.”

Sora sighed. This was going to suck.

Chapter Text

Kairi

“To the right! Back again!” 

Kairi dipped and dodged out of the way as Terra came at her, swinging his keyblade. The two were almost dancing as they twisted around each other’s attacks. By the time they were done, her body was aching. 

Normally she would’ve been training with Aqua or Riku, but since they were off on their mission, Terra offered to take over. On some nearby logs, Strelitzia, Ven and Namine were watching from the sidelines.

“Good work, Kairi. Why don’t you take a break while Ven has a turn?”

The girl nodded and walked to the others while Ven rushed past her for training. Taking a seat next to Strelitzia, she watched as the boys trained. If she was honest, she had at first felt a little jealous of the girl. Sure, it wasn’t her fault that she’d spent around a year with Sora. Alone. Sharing an apartment. Basically what a couple did. 

Kairi shook her head. No. It wasn’t time to think about that. It wasn’t fair to Strelitzia to be so bitter over something that never happened. Especially since Riku and Sora were already together. Okay, that soured the mood a little bit more.

“Are you alright Kairi?”

“It’s nothing.” Kairi forced a smile. “Um, I was wondering. Do you mind if we talked a little later?” 

“Oh, sure. I’d like to get to know you a little better since we don’t really get that kind of time. I mean, you’re so busy and all that. We could walk around Radiant Garden. How does that sound?”

Kairi thought about her fellow redhead’s offer. Maybe that’s what she needed. To get to know the other girl better. That’d solve it! “Sure. I’d love to. Let’s just finish up first.

*an hour later*

“Here I am!” Kairi waved as she made her way out from Merlin’s house. “So where did you want to go?”

The younger redhead -well, technically Strelitzia was older but still- seemed to give it some thought. “The gardens should be nice. I haven’t seen them yet, so maybe you could take me on a little bit of a tour.”

Kairi nodded. “Sounds good to me.” As they walked towards it, she wanted to ask Strelitzia so many questions that she hadn’t gotten to ask yet. But what should the first one be? Should it be about what living in Quadratum was like? Maybe about the past?

Strelitzia: “You wanted to ask about Sora, didn’t you?”

The question from her fellow redhead took Kairi straight out of her thoughts with a start. “Wh-what? I didn’t-” Before she could keep going, she noticed that Strelitzia was giving her a smile. “Don’t worry. He’s just a friend. We just lived together.”

“O-oh.” Kairi couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “R-right. I didn’t mean to-”

“I’m guessing you’re worried that you’re not involved in his life? That he’s with Riku and you’ll drift apart?” Kairi was floored. She barely knew this girl and somehow Strelitzia was reading her like a book. “When you live in an apartment with someone long term, you learn things about them very quickly.” Strelitiza went quiet for a moment. “I get how it is. I had someone I really cared about too. But that was long ago and they didn’t really feel that way about me.”

“Oh.” The Princess of Heart felt like an idiot for not realizing. “...Do you think you’ll meet them again?”

“I hope so. I miss many people from Daybreak Town. When I learned that Ven and  Chirithy were alive, I was so happy. I finally had connections to my past. Still, I’m glad I’m here too. I’ve been getting to see what the world was like.”

Kairi: “Has a lot changed since you were last around?” 

Strelitzia: “Not really, although the gummiphones are nice.”

The two laughed “Well, why don’t I help you with Sora?” Strelitzia’s offer took the other redhead by surprise. At first, Kairi wasn’t even sure that she’d heard right. The shock must’ve been obvious since Streli smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to keep you updated.”

“Um…Okay?” 

And so they ended it there, just sitting and enjoying the sun, though Kairi was unsure how things were going to go from there. Still, she had a feeling she needed to trust in Strelitzia. Whether it was her heart or something else, she wasn’t sure. Still, she decided to follow it nonetheless. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   

Aqua

“We’re almost there.”

Aqua landed the ship at the coordinates Riku had given her. This would actually be her first time in this world and a part of her couldn’t help but feel a little excited at the chance of seeing it.

Looking outside, she could make out the lights of this way station for the lost. Once they got out, she frowned.

“So this is Traverse Town?” She was pretty sure from the descriptions that neon lighting, a smoky haze and muted buildings weren’t part of the world.

“Yeah, that’s right- woah!” Riku’s face was awash in surprise. “Ooookay. This wasn’t like this last time. I mean, it still looked like the old place before, with a little bit of new stuff at the edges but that wasn’t so long ago.”

Aqua felt like asking more questions but thought better of it. Instead, she focused on the mission at hand. They were here to investigate the demons here and for her to do her job properly, Aqua would need to push her doubts aside. 

Walking down the road, the two passed by various shops and restaurants. Upon closer inspection, Aqua could see various creatures staring back. Some with hostility, others with interest. She also felt some of their looks lingered a little too long. 

After a few minutes of walking, the two keyblade masters were standing outside of a metal door, a leopard carved just above a sliding window. Aqua turned to Riku and noticed a grim expression on his face. “What’s wrong? Do you know what this place is?”

Riku let out a sigh.“Let’s just… let’s just go in.” 

So that’s what the two did.

Almost immediately, Aqua was hit with the smell of smoke, causing her to back away in shock, coughing slightly to clear her lungs. Once her coughing fit was over, she looked up and felt a blush spreading across her face. Hard not to be when she was facing a group of shirtless women flaunting their, admittedly ample, chests. Scrambling back, she tried to collect herself, turning back to Riku who seemed a mixture of unphased and amused.

“Yeah. It’s one of those places. Look, we just need to find who I think could fill us in then leave.” Aqua watched as he walked with caution into the club. Brushing herself off, she took a better survey of her surroundings. The place was fairly spacious, with a bar and stage set up. While she couldn’t be sure, she had a feeling that she wouldn't appreciate the kinds of performances here.

“Huh. I guess they aren’t here.” Riku’s voice drew Aqua’s attention.

“Who’s not here?” 

“Someone I thought that’d fill us in on some of the behind the scenes.” The other keyblade master sighed. “Still, I kinda hoped they weren’t here. I don’t exactly like this place- ah!” He was 

The two walked outside, the canvas that was the Traverse Town sky hanging over them like a blanket in a pillow fort. There was an awkward silence as the two wandered, and the older of the two was sure that her younger counterpart was thinking about those 

“They’re a fox.” He said. 

Aqua blinked, unsure how to register the reply given to her. “Oh. I see.” Riku must have noticed this since he blushed.

“Oh, I mean they mostly looked like a person, just with fox ears.” He sighed. “The context sounded better in my head. Let me rewind a bit. Can we sit down? Maybe get something to eat or drink?”

Aqua nodded, “That sounds fine.” She looked around, spotting a vendor not too far away, a man with what looked like a dog’s head. Overhead the stall was a sign with a language that took her a moment to recognize. It was the same as on Asher’s dagger. She approached with a smile. “Excuse me, do you have any food or drinks?” The dog man sniffed at her before grunting.

“Human, huh? Don’t get many ‘round here. Well, not many here that’re lookin’ for what I’m offerin’.” He motioned to the menu. “Take your pick. We’ve got ‘em listed in your alphabet anyway.”

Aqua selected a dish called biryani and Riku chose the pork dumplings. A bit eclectic, but they did smell good. As soon as they were a good distance away, they sat on a nearby bench, watching the citizens going by. It was oddly peaceful in a way. They seemed to be away from the more risque area and were in an odd park with plants coiling around the nearby lamp posts and blossoming into all kinds of different colors. Close by were what Aqua assumed were herbs, vegetable and fruit plants.

“Sorry for dragging you here for nothing.” Riku said, putting down his now empty takeout. “I was hoping we’d get a lead here and now the only contacts I have here aren’t around.”

Aqua nodded. “You mentioned wanting to tell me your experience here. What happened?”

 She listened to him talk about how back when they’d been looking for Sora/helping Asher get home, he’d had a vision of a Sora look-alike. How he’d dragged a few of the others to the area only to find out that it was a mistake and that the person he thought was Sora was a demon named Fumio. Still, even with the mistake, Fumio was good about it and it turned out they’d wanted to get out of their job.

“I hope he’s somewhere better right now.” Riku smiled. “Thanks for letting me talk.”

“Well you’re a friend.” Aqua smiled. “It’s what they do. Now let’s get you back to Radiant Garden.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ienzo

“Are you ready to go?”

“Give me a second, Ahuvi!!”

Ienzo watched as Asher hopped out of the door to their bedroom, hiking his pants up as an apple was clenched in his jaws. The scientist raised an eyebrow at the display. “You know we can’t keep Varian waiting too long. Also I thought that apple was for Rudiger?” Reaching over, Ienzo plucked the fruit from his boyfriend’s teeth, seeing that apart from some teeth marks it was otherwise untouched.

Asher rolled his eyes. “Well how am I supposed to get my pants on if I’m only using one hand?”

Ienzo tried to remain neutral but he couldn’t hold back the chuckle building up before letting it out. “Well I’m glad you managed.” he said, placing a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek. “Now let’s go. I want you both to see something special.”

The two strolled over to the gummiship, seeing Varian and Rudiger 

*An hour later*

“This should be the place.” Ienzo gathered his equipment and headed for the door to the ship, opening it up and gazing outside, followed by the others in the group. 

The place was very liminal, with only blue waters and blue skies stretching into the horizon. It was both eerie yet soothing all at once. A contrast to be sure, but it was one that seemed to compliment things.

“Huh.” Asher spoke. “I don’t recognize this from anything.”

Ienzo smiled. “Well, perhaps it could be. This is what a world in the making looks like. What it will be is up to chance- oh!” 

The ship suddenly began to ship rock, causing the group onboard to brace for whatever was close by. After a few minutes, the seismic rumblings seemed to subside.  Looking down again, Ienzo was shocked at seeing a small circle of land forming underneath. That was surprisingly convenient. 

The trio disembarked, and Ienzo could hear the crunch of sand underneath his shoes. He wasn’t entirely sure it was best to go barefoot. Maybe he should take some samples of the soil before - oh. It seemed that Asher and Varian were already walking around barefoot, Rudiger trailing behind them. With a shrug and a smile, the young scientist followed suit. Soon their boots and shoes were resting as they took in the heat.

WIthin the space of half an hour, the beach was flanked by trees and other vegetation. With each new progression, Ienzo took notes, occasionally glancing over to see the others enjoying the clear blue waters. It seemed fresh so far, but who knows when that could change.

“Oy! ZoZo!” Asher waved over from the shoreline, a grin on his face. “Come on over!” 

“But my research- AH!” Ienzo yelped mid-sentence as he was lifted up into the air by a strong breeze, his journal falling from his grasp. He was carried for a good while before settling into a bridal position in his boyfriend’s arms. 

“A-Asher?” 

“Ienzo. Hold your breath.”

Suddenly, Ienzo felt himself getting soaking wet, his hair stuck to him. Sputtering, he looked up in annoyance, only to see Asher in a similar state, his locks now making him look like a drowned rat. At the sight, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. On the shore, he could make out the figures of Asher’s demons, with various expressions of approval.”

“There. Now we’re all wet together.” Asher smiled.

In that moment, Ienzo felt a sense of peace. He was here in a brand new world with some of those closest to him. Closing his eyes, preparing to lean into the kiss. Closer…closer…

“You need to wake up, ZoZo.”

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

“Hm?” Ienzo’s eyes slowly opened, peeling his face off the table, completely disoriented. At first he wasn’t even sure where he was, but the sight of computer screens reminded the scientist where he was. What he was doing.

Adjusting his eyes downwards, he gazed on Jiminy’s journal, plugged into a nearby server as it continued to spark and glitch. It had been days since Ienzo and his fellow Radiant Garden scientists had received it.

Seeing that, his heart fell. It was all a memory of a dream. Nothing more. 

Hesitantly, he placed a hand to his cheek, and for a moment, he could almost feel the ghost of Asher’s touch on his cheek. While it wasn’t much, he held onto it. ‘Strange.’ He thought. ‘It almost feels real…’ Dwelling on the thought, he felt something wet trace its way down his cheek.

Chapter Text

Sora

Sora looked up at the building in front of him, a sense of dread welling up in his stomach. They’d ended up in Twilight Town which was already a bad sign. How was Sora going to keep things secret if he ran into the others?

“Are you ready?” Riku asked. Sora didn’t even need a second to give an answer.

“No.” 

He watches his boyfriend sigh before giving Sora a smile. “I know this isn’t easy. Tell you what? After your appointment, why don’t Kairi and I take you out for some ice cream? How’s that sound?”

Sora thought for a moment. “…sea salt ice cream?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go!” The two headed inside, and while he was teying to put on a good look for Riku’s sake. Sora was already bracing for another of those plain white, professional places with lots of textbooks and a couch for him to talk about his problems.

Not that he had any problems. 

Nope! None! Zilch! Nada! He was fine.

When they got to the top, Sora could already feel a groan building up. The waiting room was already looking like the one at Prof. Von Drake’s, with those clean areas and chairs that looked straight out of school. The uncomfortable plastic ones that made you sore after 15 minutes.

He and Riku went up to the front desk and there was a lady in a white and green striped sweater, which had a name tag just reading ‘Gibi’. Her long brown hair and tan skin. Looking up, her grey eyes had a friendliness to them. Sora felt like he was looking at his mom. 

“Good morning you two.” the woman said, smiling. “Are you Sora and Prince Riku?”

Riku laughed, making Sora feel a little lighter.“Just Riku’s okay. Yeah, I’m just taking my boyfriend to meet with Dr Cohen.”

“Of course!” The receptionist got up. “Let me show you the way. He’s just with another client, but he should be ready in a minute or two.”

“Thanks.” Riku leaned down and kissed Sora’s cheek. “I’ll be back in an hour. I'll see you then, okay?”

Sora really didn’t want him to go, but he knew it probably wouldn’t be nice to bother anybody. So as he watched Riku wave to him, the receptionist was showing him down the hall.

“I know you’re nervous.” 

“Huh?”

The receptionist nodded.“You’re visiting somebody completely new. Take it from me though, Dr Cohen’s a good man.”

“Oh I’m okay!” Sora smiled. “Thanks for telling me that though!”

“Ah!” a new voice called out. “Sorry I’m a bit late!” 

Looking back, Sora saw a man speed-walking down the hall. When he’d heard about a doctor, Sora expected to meet an old guy in a white coat. He didn’t expect a middle aged guy in a pair of black jeans, blue turtleneck sweater, fluffy black and white hair, large round glasses in front of brown eyes and a scruffy beard.

“Ah.” The man smiled. “You must be Sora. Professor Von Drake told me about you.” Sora winced. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. To his surprise, Dr Cohen chuckled. “Oh, no need to worry, young man. The things I heard were only pleasant, I assure you. Why don’t we just step into my office?”

“Uh, sure.”

They stepped inside and Sora gasped. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting at all! 

There were beanbag chairs, a table with art supplies, some snacks and drinks. Sora had to rub his eyes to see if what he was seeing was real.

Dr Cohen chuckled. “Don’t worry. You can pick a seat.”

Sora picked a red beanbag chair, plopping down. “Um, so are you gonna try and psychosis me?”

“What? Oh, I'm just here to talk.” Cohen sat on another chair and smiled. “I was told you’re quite the adventurous type. Hot chocolate?”

“Uh, yeah. To the hot chocolate. And the adventures thing.” Sora felt confused. Normally he’d be pretty friendly with new people and while he didn’t hate Dr Cohen, he couldn’t help but find it hard to understand how this was supposed to get him to talk.

Soon, the two were sipping on hot chocolate. That’s when a phone rang. “Ah. Must be another client. I should only be a minute.”

“Okay.” After the doctor left, Sora just felt even more confused. Was this some type of hands-off kind of thing? He honestly wasn’t trusting this doctor too much. 

He glanced at the coloring supplies on the table. At least there was stuff to do until then. Taking a crayon, he began to doodle. At first it was random. Just some plants, shapes and animals, but after a while, that changed. He drew stuff from his adventures. 

Agrabah, Arendelle. The Carribean, the Toy Box. Halloween Town, the Pride Lands, the Land of Dragons, and on and on. It was like it was just pouring out of him. By the time he was done, he was staring at several pages of art.

The door opened and Sora looked up to see Dr Cohen walking in.“Sorry for taking a while- oh! I see you have a bit of artistic talent.”

Sora felt embarrassed, grabbing at the drawings and trying to stuff them messily in his pockets. “It’s nothing. I’m not that talented.”

“Oh I wouldn’t say that.” Cohen laughed. “Everyone’s got an innate talent in some shape of form. You just need to search for it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe our session’s over for the day.”

Sora frowned. “Huh? But I just got-.” The boy stopped when he saw the time and went silent. 

“Since I wasn’t here, I’ll make this session free. I’ll just inform the king.”

*Later*

“Sora!! Over here!!”

The brunet walked out of the office and saw Riku, Kairi, Roxas and Xion waving from nearby. Smiling, he jogged over. “Hi!”

“So?” Kairi asked. “How did your appointment go? Riku said you were getting a haircut.”

Roxas snorted, “Obviously it didn’t work.”

Sora glanced at his boyfriend who gave a smile and a nod. He was worried that the others would find out about his…problems, so it was nice that Riku was keeping it quiet. “Yeah. I guess there’s always next time.”

“So are we going for ice cream?” Xion asked.

Riku laughs. “Yeah. My treat!!!”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cohen

Cohen watched outside his office window as he watched Sora and his friends leave. 

‘The boy has the potential to overcome his final barriers.’ He thought. ‘Yet his mental barriers are getting in the way. His insecurities will need to be addressed.’ He shook his head. ‘Still, that will need a gentle and subtle touch.’

There was a knock on his door and it opened to reveal his secretary Gibi. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s a call for you.”

“Thank you, Gibi.” The psychiatrist walked over to his office the phone and went to a hidden door, revealing a window looking into his office. On a table was ringing phone. Picking it up, Cohen spoke into it. “Hello?...Ah yes, good. Everything should go smoothly. Stay put. Good luck.” He ended the call, before looking back up at his secretary.

 “Now we wait.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kairi

Xion: “This is terrible!”

Sora: “He can’t get away with this!”

Roxas:“Time for Revolution!!!!”

Kairi glanced at Riku, the two exchanging looks at the reactions of their friends as they stood in front of the closed ice cream shop.

“Aren’t you three being a bit extreme? I mean, I like it but it’s not the end of the world.”

Sora gasped. Xion looked like she’d faint. Roxas looked ready to stab someone.

“Not the end of the world?!” The blond said, his teeth clenched. “NOT THE END OF THE WORLD?”

“B-but it’s sea salt ice cream!” Xion whimpered. “The best flavor!”

“What’re we gonna dooooo?!” Sora wailed.

‘Looks like they have the same drama levels.’ Kairi thought, shaking her head. ‘No wonder Sora got into theater in school.’

“Look, we can find a new place to go.” Riku said. “Why don’t I look something up on my gummiphone?”

“That’s a great idea!” She smiled, looking at the others. “That way if this place is closed again, we have a plan B!” 

The 

Roxas: “Guess so…”

Xion: “Okay!”

Sora: “Can I see?”

So they all piled around Riku’s phone, all of them having to get on her tippy toes to get a look. As she watched her friend scroll through, something caught her attention.

“The Glen? Click on that one, Riku!” Riku scrolled through the screen, before entering the page. “‘Welcome to the Glen, where you’ll find freshly baked goods, both sweet and savory, many nourishing or refreshing drinks, and a warm inviting cottage atmosphere right in the heart of Twilight Town. Whether with friends or 

Riku smiled. “Huh. Sounds pretty good. You guys okay with it?” Everyone else nodded. “Great! New place it is!”

They headed that way, following the directions on the phone until they reached their stop.

 It was a cute two-story place, with a front that looked like it was ripped out of those travel blogs Kairi had started watching. In fact, if she was to pick a look, she’d say it was like someone took some of the cottages outside of the main city. Outside was a sign:

GRAND OPENING!!!

The group of five went in and right away, Kairi could smell the fresh baking and coffee. While there wasn’t really a place like this on the islands, it had some kind of feeling of nostalgia. The tables were just like the pictures, with 

“Hello!” A voice chirped! “How can I- HEY!!! IT’S YOU!!! HI RIKU!!!”

Kairi looked towards the voice and everyone in the group gasped. Kairi couldn’t believe her eyes. Standing there was-

“Sora?!“ Xion gasped. 

Sure enough. This person looked so much like him. The hair, the skin, even the shape of the face. It was like someone made a papercopy, except he was wearing a red shirt. However, the closer Kairi looked, there were things that didn’t match. The eyes and the fact that this fake Sora was a bit older looking.

“Hold on!” Roxas said, “There’s another one?!” He turned towards Sora. “How many of you are there, huh?!”

“Woah, calm down you two!” Riku was suddenly between them. “That’s not Sora!” He turned to look at the fake-Sora. “Fumio?”

That’s when two of the hair spikes on the Sora fake’s head twitched and Kairi gasped. It was a pair of ears!

“Oi! You alright?!” 

Another person came out from a side door, dressed in a white shirt with a rabbit on it which must’ve been because of the pair of bunny ears on the lady’s head, her hair falling in thick orange curls. Upon looking closer, Kairi could make out hundreds of tiny freckles dotted all over her.

The rabbit lady walked over and put an arm around Fumio’s waist. “Fumio? These arseholes botherin’ you- hey, I know you! That Riku person!” Her voice had a really thick accent to it. Scottish? Irish? It was either one of those.”

Kairi wished she knew what was going on. “CAN SOMEONE JUST TELL US WHAT’S GOING ON?!” She saw everyone glancing at her, and her face felt like someone poured lava on it. “Um…sorry.”

Riku sighed. “Sorry. Everyone, this is Fumio. I met them when we were looking for Sora. We… um-.” 

“Met in a strip club.” Fumio chuckled. “No need to be so coy. It was what it was.” They looked at Sora with a smile. “He thought I was you, and now that I see you, I can see why. still, I’m happy to say he restrained himself when he was proven wrong.”

Kairi watched as Sora’s face went red, while Riku looked ready to crawl under a table.

“Well, why don’t we talk about it over some food?” The redhead looked over at Fumio. “This place here’s really nice. The owners put a lot of love into it.”

“Oh, we’re the owners.” The rabbit girl said. “Name’s Etain. I’m this fox’s girlfriend, so you better not be gettin’ any ideas.”

“Fumio! Etain!“ a voice called out from the back. “I need your help!”

“Coming, Asterion!” Fumio called. “Sorry you guys. Why don’t you take a seat and one of us’ll serve you in just a bit.”

Kairi smiled. “Sounds great! Thanks!”

The five teens settled on a window seat, facing the outside

“Hey! Look who it is!” 

Kairi looked up to see three recognizable kids: Hayner, Pence and Olette. 

“Hey you guys!” Sora called out, waving with a huge smile. “How’s it going?!”

“Pretty good.” Pence said. “We noticed the usual place was closed so we came here to check it out.”

“Sorry about the wait!” Fumio called out, running out of the kitchen. “I can serve you now.” They then turned to the three waiting. “Asterion’ll help you out.”

Kairi chuckled. The fox person was really cute. Still, for some reason, Hayner gave a funny look. After Fumio had taken their orders and left, she leaned over next to the boy. “What’s going on? You looked surprised.”

“Huh?” Hayner chuckled. “Just that guy looked like Roxas.”

“Anyway, see you guys later!” Olette waved. As she and the boys walked out, Kairi watched as Roxas’ face reddened, while everyone was either holding back fits of giggling or were sitting slack jawed. It was Xion that spoke up first.

“Did he just- Is he really?”

Kairi glanced back at Roxas, smiling. “Well. It looks like someone’s got a little crush on you.”

“Sh-shut up Kairi!” The blond snapped, but the blush didn’t go away.

As the group dug into their food, Kairi glanced at Sora who was shoving a whole muffin into his mouth. ‘That’s the boy I’m in love with.’ She thought. 

And she couldn’t say she regretted it.

Chapter Text

Remiel

“That should be enough for today.” Remiel put away the painting supplies, looking down at Cid for a sign of approval. The angel had come over to help the inventor alongside Leon and Yuffie in painting his house with a fresh coat, and while it would’ve been easier to use magic, there was a satisfaction to doing it the mortal way.

“You can come down from there, you three!” Cid called up. “Aerith’s got lunch ready!” He then walked over to the other side of the building, giving time for Remiel to fly down from where he was, setting his feet down on the ground. 

Glancing at his reflection, the angel gazed upon it with consideration. He couldn’t be certain but he thought he spotted slight crow’s feet around the corners of his eyes, and if one were to look hard enough, you’d be able to see the slight traces of silver hidden among the ebony, which had begun to become more coarse to the touch. Closer and closer to his original form of self. After a moment longer, he drew his attention away.

Continuing on inside the home, he saw the gathered residents of the Garden united at a table, arrays of dishes including pastries, . The Guardians were sadly unable to attend, they had their own responsibilities, the room was still rather busy with the residents busying around the table. He could spot the others alongside Cloud and Tifa who were getting suspiciously close to one another. Remiel had a feeling that the two were lovers, although that little tidbit was an open secret

“The food smells wonderful, Aerith.” Remiel complimented, digging into the meal with satisfaction. Of course the hard work made the meal all the more of a delicacy. The young woman blushed from across the table. “Thanks. It was a bit difficult, but I managed to get it done to my satisfaction.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Tifa said.

“Let’s eat then.” Cloud said, starting to pile food on his own plate.

*An hour later*

Remiel sighed as he stepped outside, unfurling his wings so the sun could kiss them with its life-giving rays. The meal was definitely the most filling he’d had in a while. Suddenly, he felt something in the air change. Like he was being observed. As if on instinct, the fallen angel turned to see a figure standing in a nearby alley.

The youth couldn’t have been any older than nineteen, his dreadlocked hair matching his skin, both of which were a dark brown, only outmatched by the pitch-black surgical face mask covering his mouth. Aside from that and a pair of arm warmers of the same shade, the rest of his clothes were lighter in color. A golden necklace hung around his neck with a bird pendant on it, white sandals and robes, and white and red kohl around his bright blue eyes. 

Remiel must have been unable to hide his surprise as the figure removed his mask, revealing a mangled hole in the side of his cheek, his teeth exposed. “Been a while, Remiel.”

“Azrael?” Remiel asked, finding himself surprisingly calm at bearing witness to one of his kin standing across from him. “Is that you? I didn’t expect you of all people to be traveling to this world.”

The young man chuckled, his teeth clicking slightly as he did. “I’m going by Huur these days. Although I’m sure you know me well enough to know that I never did settle on a single name.”

Remiel simply nodded. “You always did like to collect names. I sometimes wonder if you try to beat out our creator in that regard.”

Azrael - now Huur- stepped forward, resting on the wall next to his brother.  “How is he? Your grandson.” Remiel smiled slightly, although he couldn’t hide the pain. “Still as lively as before. He still is unaware, but I believe for now, it’s best things remain that way. He’s made friends here. He’s…happy.” 

The other angel nodded. “Good.” His expression changed to something more serious. “You know why I’m here, Remiel.” Huur said sadly. “...I wish it wouldn’t come to that, but you know it will. The best that can be done is to minimize the harm caused.” 

“So it’s true then.” The fallen angel said. “Hell is no more.” 

“Yes.” Huur said. “I was in the area as it all happened. As you can tell, we managed to escape in time, but many others…” the Angel of Death went quiet, although Remiel knew that the silence alone spoke volumes more than actual words about how dire the situation was.

“You said ‘we’.” Remiel noted. “Who else was with you?” To his surprise he watched his ‘brother’ give a sheepish grin. A look that Remiel could recognize. He cocked an eyebrow, a smile spreading across his lips. “Lord’s name, you actually-?”

“-Broke my vow.” Huur confirmed, “Yes I did.”

Most in Remiel’s position would have teased their sibling if they weren’t an angel, or chastised him if they were. Instead, the fallen simply asked a question. “Do they make you happy?” Huur hesitated, as if not expecting the response, but eventually nodded. “Good. Then that’s all that matters.”

Huur chuckled. “I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from you, huh?” Remiel laughed. “I suppose not. Is your lover with you now?” Huur shook his head. “No. She’s…elsewhere at the moment. Still, if-.” Remiel cut him off. “No ifs.” he insisted, putting a hand on his sibling’s shoulder. Huur nodded. “When…when things are better, I’ll introduce you to her.”

The two went quiet for a few moments. Finally, Huur straightened himself up. “I better be off. Take care, Remiel.” He placed a hand over his heart. “May blessings follow you.” The fallen angel returned the gesture. “And may they follow you.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mickey

*Edge of Traverse Town*

“So this is the place.” Mickey said, looking at the banner hanging over the entrance. Beyond it was a big top surrounded by a couple smaller tents and amusement attractions, like merry-go-rounds, arcade games and food carts. The place looked deserted.

Noah’s Ark Circus

“Gawrsh.” Goofy said, “It sure is creepy ‘round here. I wonder what happened tah everybody.” Donald scowled. “Well whatever happened, it’s weird that the king asked us to come here and nobody else.” Goofy chuckled. “Gawrsh. Sure’s been a while since we last worked together.

Mickey thought about it for a moment. “Well, the last time was that Imperial Ship…” he shuddered, remembering how the infected troopers had been acting. “Let’s just forget about that for right now.”

“You think it’s got something to do with what we heard when talking with the locals?” Donald asked. 

As they walked around the ruins, Mickey’s thoughts went to that morning. The thing that brought him to this area in the first place. 

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*Earlier that Day*

“Morning, Mickey!” 

The sound of his wife’s voice put a smile on the king’s face as he gave a stretch. “Morning Minnie. Thanks for letting me sleep in.” He headed to the table, a cup of coffee waiting for him, the mouse taking a sip of the morning brew. Under the table, he noticed Pluto waiting there. “I’ll try to sneak you something later.” He whispered, before taking a bite of toast smeared in peach jelly. He then turned to look at all the letters gathered on the table. ‘Guess the morning mail’s in.’ He thought, starting to leaf through everything. 

It was the usual junk. 

COME FIND ME.

-Ozzie

Mickey sat up so fast, his knees slammed into the table edge, making him stagger. “Yowch!” 

“Mickey!” Minnie ran over, a look of concern written all over. “What happened?”

“This letter!” Mickey gasped.  “Did ya see who sent it in?!” He watched as his wife shook her head. Without another word, the king ran down the halls until he came to a pair of castle guards. “Excuse me!” He called out. They turned to him. “Did you see who delivered the castle mail?”

One of the guards nodded. “Oh yeah”, he said. “We had the usual moogle deliveries. Nothin’ really to report.” The second guard shook her head. “No, remember earlier? There was that one other fella. A human.” The first guard’s eyes lit up. “Right, right!”

Mickey frowned. “ A human? What’d he look like?”

The second guard thought for a moment. “He looked ‘round Master Aqua’s age. Maybe a little younger. Had curly brown hair and skin that almost matched.”

“Oh!” The first guard went. “He dressed like a postman!” 

Mickey had to do his best to not let his jaw drop, his mind going back to the other letter. Maybe this was it! It had to be! Mickey looked back at the letter, still in his hand. That’s when he noticed that there was something on the other side. Flipping it over was a map. A map leading to Traverse Town. Without another word, the mouse pulled out his gummiphone, scrolling through his contacts. After finding the numbers he wanted, he began the call.

“Donald, Goofy. Meet me at Traverse Town. There’s somethin’ I need your help with.”

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*Back to the present*

DING!!!!!!!!

“GAH!” Mickey spun around, pointing his keyblade at the source of the noise, only to sigh in relief at seeing Goofy over at the strength test machine. “Whack!” Donald shouted, waving his staff around. “Don’t do that! We’re here to find Oswald, not play games!”

“I was just thinkin’.” Goofy said, “Isn’t it weird how the stuff’s all workin’?” Mickey frowned before looking around. The more he looked, the more he realized that Goofy was right. Everything was weirdly clean. Sure they were pretty rough around the edges, but otherwise they seemed to be working. “Whatever this place is, it’s not right.”

“Why would Oswald want you to come here?” Donald asked. “You think it’d be a trap? Mizrabel could be behind this.” Mickey shook his head. “No, this feels different. Plus, she’s been retired for years now. I even make sure to check on her. It’s not her. This feels like something else.”

“Well we should check the big top.” Doanld said, and before Mickey could stop him, the royal mage was marching over to the tent.

The tent erupted into sounds of cheering that came from nowhere,

“WELCOME FOLKS!!!” A voice boomed out from somewhere in the tent. “BOYS, GIRLS AND IN-BETWEENS!!! WELCOME TO THE NOAH’S ARK CIRCUS!!!” 

A light shone down from somewhere and shone down on a face framed by matted black hair, that Mickey was pretty sure only a mother could love. The skin looked like a wooden manikin that was dotted with enough craters to rival a moon, eyes large and wide like yoga balls. Red, bloodshot yoga balls with large pupils in the middle. In the middle of the face was a smooshed nose like a pig, and his mouth was full of crooked teeth. On top of his head was a large, dark purple top hat. 

 “I AM YOUR HOST, BIFRONS THE BOLD!!! ERL OF THE DAMNED!! HERE TO AWE YOU WITH MY MASTERY OF SCIENCE AND THE ARTS!!!” 

The tent suddenly lit up, showing a crowd of people sitting in the bleachers. Well, they looked like people at first, but when Mickey looked closer, he saw, much to his unease, that they all were actually puppets, the creepiest bit being they were all wearing gas masks that looked kind of like Mickey.

“Guess we know who’s probably taking everybody.” Donald said. Mickey nodded, and while they didn’t attack right away, the trio kept their weapons at the ready. That’s when he realized that the spotlight was suddenly on them.

“OH MY! MORE GUESTS!!!” The giant laughed. “PERFECT!!! HERE I THOUGHT I HAD TO GO OUT AGAIN OR SEND SOME PROXIES TO GET SOME FRESH ONES!!!”

“What’s he talkin’ about?” Goofy asked. Mickey was about to agree with him, only for Bifrons to talk again.

“UUUUUGH! DON’T GET ME STARTED!” The demon limp-wristed with a drawl. “THERE WERE HUMANS AROUND, BUT THEY DIDN’T WANT TO HELP! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! STILL, I DID GET THEIR BOSS. HE MANAGED TO MAKE ME SOME INCREDIBLE TOYS!!!” Something fell from the ceiling, dangling on strings. It was a middle-aged man with dark hair dressed in a labcoat, his eyes hidden by a pair of rounded glasses. “STILL,” Bifrons said, “I HAD TO CONVERT HIM TOO.”

Mickey looked at his friends and they all seemed to be sharing the same idea: They needed to get back up. Mickey’s hand started to slowly make its way to the gummiphone in his pocket, trying not to get the demon’s attention. “Well, as much we’d like tah stay, we’ve go tah go take care of some things-.”

“OH, DON’T THINK YOU’RE GOING ANYWHERE!!!” 

Mickey looked up, seeing strings falling from the roof. He managed to dodge them but he was the only lucky one. Donald and Goofy jolted before slumping over.“NO! DONALD! GOOFY!” The mouse watched in horror as his friends-now-puppets turned to face him, their weapons raised as they stared at him with blank eyes.

“OH, THIS IS GREAT! I CAN ALREADY TELL THESE GUYS ARE PRETTY STRONG! ESPECIALLY THE DUCK!” The demon’s grin widened, and Mickey almost felt nauseous, both at the dental nightmare, and his friends being used like this. Before he could attack, he felt something hard and metal slam into him. There were the sounds of cheering and applause as he hit the ground. Dazed, he looked up and let out a yelp, rolling to the side just as the edge of Goofy’s shield slammed into the ground where Mickey’s neck was. 

As he got up, Mickey’s head was filling up with thoughts. He didn’t want to hurt his friends, but they clearly weren’t holding back.

“YES!!! YES, MOUSE!!! PUT ON A SHOW!!!”

So Mickey just did his best to dodge. Spells barely missed him as he blocked Goofy’s shield. He honestly wasn’t sure how he was going to get

“NOW! TIME TO MAKE YOU ANOTHER PART OF MY-.”

CRACKOOM!!!! A thunder spell hit Bifrons in the face, sending him back, his large eyes blinking rapidly as he started screaming. “AGH!!! DAMN IT!!! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“HEY! MITTS OFF MY BROTHER!” A familiar voice barked. Mickey looked up and felt himself start rubbing his eyes. Standing in front of him was a rabbit with huge ears, a paintbrush shaped keyblade resting on his shoulders. Next to him was a giant big-lizard thing and a teenager with black spiky hair and a broad sword.

“YOU!!!” Bifrons screamed, his eyes redder than before. “YOU RUINED MY SCENE!!! NOW I HAVE TO KILL YOU!!!”

“Yeah, not in the cards.” Oswald boasts.  Mickey chuckled. ‘Yeah, that’s my brother.’ He wasn’t sure who the others were, but it was probably better to ask him after they beat up the demon.

Ozzie turned to the bug man and the kid with the sword. “Dark Claw! Zack! Help out Donald, Goofy and whoever else you can! My little brother and I can handle the big ugly guy over here!” 

“HEY!” Bifrons shouted. “LOW BLOW, RABBIT- OUCH!! DAMN IT,STOP! STAND STILL SO I CAN HIT YOU!”

The brothers ignored Bifrons’ shouts and screams, launching spell after spell, and smacking the large head with their keyblades, making loud clonk sounds as they did. Still, it didn’t look like they were doing much besides annoying Bifrons. As they darted around, something caught Mickey’s attention. On the back of the demon’s giant head, there was what looked like a weak-spot..

“Ozzie!” He pointed out to the spot, and he could see his big brother saw it too. Aiming their keyblades, they shouted out their attacks in unison:

“FIRAGA!!!!”

The attacks hit home, and the two landed on the ground just as the fire started to spread over Bifrons. “YAAAARGH!!!! Y-YOUUUUUUUU!!!! THIS WASN’T HOW THE PERFORMANCE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO AT ALL!!!”

“Sorry pal!” Oswald called out. “Guess this show’s over! We’ll be waitin’ to get our money back for the tickets.”

“NOOOOO-!!!!!”

BOOM!!!

Bifrons exploded, gears, scrap and wires flying all over the place, sending the six fighters flying in different directions. By the time the smoke cleared and Mickey was picking himself up, the thing was gone.

“Phew! Good riddance!” Oswald said. Mickey watched as his brother brushed himself before he looked back, frowning? “What?”

“O-Ozzie?” Mickey asked, his voice shaking, his eyes becoming blurry. “I-is it really you?” He watched the rabbit puff up his chest and grin. “Course it is!” Who else could be this awesome-WOAH!” Mickey tackled his older brother into the biggest hug he’d ever given in his life. He had to make sure this was all real and he was pretty sure he couldn't hug air. “M-Mick! Mick! Air!”

Ozzie frowned. “What’re you talkin’ about? I wasn’t gone for too long, right?”

Mickey’s smile fell. “Ozzie. You were gone for years.” The mouse watched as his brother’s face sank. ‘Oh gosh.’ he thought. ‘He really didn’t know.’ 

Nearby, Donald and Goofy were getting up, along with the rest of the audience. Mickey decided now was a pretty good time to change topics. “We’ll talk about it later.”  He looked over to the others in the group, mainly the bug man- who was apparently called Dark Claw- and the weird heartless-looking creature. “So. Who’re your friends, Ozzie?”

His brother chuckled. “Long story. I’ll let’cha know when we get home.” Mickey noticed Oswald looking at the dark monkey-looking thing with a sad expression in his eyes. “The monkey thing was… it was a friend’s.” He went back to smiling just as quickly. “So I guess I’ve got a lot to catch up with.”

Mickey laughed. “Uh huh. Wait until you meet your nephew.”

Ozzie blinked. “I’ve got a nephew?”

“Like you said.” Mickey put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Long story. Let’s get you home, Ozzie.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Another demon defeated.” The figure mused to themself, watching the circus empty out from a vision before him. “Hm, no matter. It’s best to send another.” They turned to face the boy behind them, his silvery hair hanging over his eyes.” As for the Guardians, that is where your services are further required.”

The sounds of screams soon echoed through the void.