Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Good Morning, Twilight Town! This is 5bp. Radio, coming at you live today! How is your morning, everyone? Let’s see some of that bright energy for this blazing summer! And hoo boy, is this summer BLAZING! Wow, you people are really going at it. Look at all the messages we’re getting for today. Let’s go through them, shall we? Okay, this is from a Cat-Loving Big Boi, saying that something precious was stolen from him? Please help? Uh, I don’t know how to reply to that, but please stay strong! Anyway, here’s another from Mr. Reliable And Caring, saying that someone broke into his house and had something stolen from him, too! And the same one coming from Ms. Aspiring Actress, too… Hoo dear, I get the feeling that most of the messages I’m getting today may be theft-related, and to all those viewers I say this. Please watch over your belongings and secure your household tight, and I mean REAL tight! And if the thief out there is listening, please have some decency and return everything you stole from everyone. Anywho, on to the next matter for the day...”

Twilight Town – Usual Spot

In the back alleys of this fair town, there lies a hidden spot where a group of teenagers meet everyday to hang out. These young children were ostracized by the town’s Disciplinary Committee for being ‘out of the hood’, as they were, but the townsfolk knew better...

“Man, doesn’t that tick you off?”

...or so they thought...

“Yeah, that’s just wrong...”

“Seifer’s gone too far this time!”

“You tell me. I still feel like we’re being stared at on the way here. So creepy...”

The four teenagers turned to their remaining companion, a boy with spiky hair wearing a white jacket, who nodded along with their discussion.

A sigh. “Hayner, can you turn down the radio a bit? I don’t think we need to be reminded of our situation here”

Hayner, the leader of this group of teenagers, groaned as he turned down the volume. “Yeah, yeah”

The chubby boy wearing the red shirt, snickered. “He just couldn’t resist hearing her voice over the radio.”

Hayner huffed as soon as he turned off the radio. “So do you, Pence!”

Pence only shrugged.

The girl wearing orange sighed. “Can we please focus on the matter at hand here?”

“Olette’s right, guys” the other girl wearing a black dress draped by a white jacket with a blue-glowing hairpin mused as she stretched. “This is a serious issue for us! I’d rather not walk out of our apartment being glared at by people every day, you know?”

She sighed. “I don’t want Ms. Landlady to get in trouble too…”

“Oh, we hear you, Maho” Hayner reassured as he hopped out of his place. “I mean, it’s true that stuff’s being stolen around town, and we’ve got a score to settle with Seifer and everything...”

As Hayner continued on his rant, Maho looked to the boy in white next to her.

“You feeling okay, Roxas?” Maho asked the boy. “Still thinking about those dreams you told me about?”

Roxas nodded. “That boy...and then the girl afterwards...who were they?”

“Uh, hate to break it to ya...” Maho said. “But you’re barking up the wrong tree for that one”

“Then what tree SHOULD I bark up to?” Roxas asked with exasperation. All he got was a shrug from Maho.

“Maybe my other friend can help us?” Maho suggested as she brought out her phone. “She’s a real smart cookie!”

“You sure that’s not another of those fortune telling sites that’s all the buzz right now?” Roxas snarked.

“Hey!” the magenta-haired girl protested, her eyes turning into white circles. “I’m serious! This gal I know is SUPER smart. She’ll help us!”

Hayner, who just finished his rant, slapped his fists. “Now...what to do...?”

“Hey, we’re not gonna pick a fight with him!” Maho, pocketing her phone, chastised their leader.

“So, we’re just gonna let them pick on us?” the blonde boy fought back.

“No!” the magenta-haired girl exclaimed. “We’re not gonna give them more ammo to aim at us with!”

As the two began to fight, Olette turned to Roxas, who then offered his suggestion.

“Uh, excuse me...”

The two then stopped their bickering.

“What’s up, dude?” Maho asked.

“No need to be formal with us, bud” Hayner responded. “Got something in mind?”

Roxas nodded. “We could just find the real thieves. That would set the record straight”

“Huh” Maho muttered. “I mean, we didn’t really steal anything ever, so...”

“Hey, that sounds fun!” Pence exclaimed as he went to grab something.

“But what about Seifer?” Hayner asked.

Roxas stood up to make his point. “First, we gotta clear our names. Once we find the real culprits, everyone will get off our backs”

Olette sighed. “I hope it’s that simple...”

Maho narrowed her eyes down on the fellow female. “Girl, please don’t jinx us...”

Twilight Town – Market Street: Tram Common

“And that will be 300 munny!”

“Here you go”

The store lady, a woman with brown hair wearing a ponytail and a blue dress and teal apron, accepted the payment as she gave her customer her order neatly placed inside a paper bag.

“Thank you for your patronage!” the store lady cheerily replied, only to be followed by a sigh. “Man, I’d thought I get a kick outta drama, but here we are…”

“You seem worried, Jessie” the customer said.

The store lady, Jessie sighed again. “Yeah. Something of mine got stolen last night. And not just me, some of my pals had stuff stolen too…”

She then gazed upon the candy store, whose owner is a fat man wearing a red bandanna and white shirt, surrounded by numerous cats.

“Is this referring to the robberies I’ve been hearing about?” the customer asked with worry.

“Yup” the store lady confirmed. “People all around the neighborhood had their stuff stolen, too. I noticed what gone stolen since the thing I wanted to place in front of my store wasn’t where I placed it.”

She sighed again. “At least they didn’t get my life savings…Wouldn’t get into showbiz without it…”

“So…” the customer started. “What did you lose? What got stolen?”

“Well, Ms. Landlady, if you wanna know…” Jessie answered. “It was my---"

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“So, to recap” Maho exclaimed. “Stuff’s been stolen around town, everyone is suspicious of us, and our mystery thief’s not only stolen the -----, but even the word too! Did I get all that right?”

Pence nodded. “Every single point”

“Okay, so with that out of the way...”

She then breathed in...

“WHY ARE WE IN THE SANDLOT WHERE THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE IS!?”

...and yelled out loud.

“AND WHY IS ROXAS DUKING IT OUT WITH SEIFER WHEN WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE CLEARING OUR NAMES!?”

Sure enough, Roxas and Seifer, leader of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, were busing exchanging blows against each other with blue foam bats.

“Uhhhhh...” Pence uttered while Olette sighed.

“Well, we were gonna have to settle stuff with him, like I said” Hayner answered. “And I don’t think he’s gonna listen to a word we say unless it’s something he wants to hear us say...”

Maho sighed. “I get that, but we were doing kinda well with the investigation. Heck, just the fact that the word ----- was stolen was COMPLETE PROOF that we weren’t the snatchers!”

“True...” the leader of their group said as he jerked his thumb at Seifer. “But do you think he’ll listen?”

“ISN’T THIS ROMANTIC!?”

Seifer leapt up and launched a downward strike against the blonde-haired kid, who hopped back and then rushed in as soon as his foe landed.

“You’re gonna be sorry!”

He then unleashed a simple yet effective three hit combo against him...

“HAH!” Forward thrust!

“YAH!” Downward slash!

“HRAH!” Horizontal finish!

This combo pushed Seifer back, who lost his balance and knelt to the ground in defeat, dropping his Struggle bat in the process.

“Seifer’s...not feelin’ so hot, ya know?” Raijin, a tall boy wearing orange stepped in to defend his leader.

“TOURNAMENT. DECIDES” Fuujin, the white-haired girl wearing blue also stepped in.

Meanwhile, Vivi, the tiny boy in blue with a comically large hat, peeked out to see the fighting has stopped and sighed in relief.

Pence then took the chance and snapped the moment of his friend’s triumph with his camera.

“Lookin’ good, Roxas!” he cheered with a thumbs-up...

Only for his camera to be stolen by...

“Wha----” Maho screamed in bug-eyed surprise. “What was that...squiggly, white creature thing-y!?”

“The thief?” Olette wondered.

“It made off with Pence’s camera...” Hayner remarked. “That’s GOTTA be our mystery thief!”

“C’mon!” Roxas beckoned his friends as he and his group pursued the thief across town...

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Mansion Gates

“Now where’s that kitty gone to…?”

Meanwhile, the Landlady has gone into the nearby woods to look for a certain kitty, one owned by another shopkeeper she knows very well.

“Great…Guess she’s gone into the woods again” the fat shopkeeper, Wedge, groaned, scratching his hair. “She always seems to love that place. Anyway, Biggs ain’t here and I’d rather not be in Jess’ debt again, so I better go and get he---”

“Wait! I’ll go look for her myself!”

“Y-You sure? I don’t wanna trouble you, Ms. Landlady!”

She giggled. “It’s no trouble at all. Just leave it to me!”

The fat man chuckled. “Always rarin’ to go, huh? Alright. I’ll leave my little baby to you. Once you get back, I’ll have a whole bag of sweets with your name on it on my counter!”

The Landlady hummed as she walked around the woods. “I can’t seem to find her anywhere…”

And then she heard a loud meow.

“That’s a kitten’s meow, alright…”

She then noticed the sound getting louder as she walked forward to the light.

“That way!”

Rushing forward, she found a small kitten with white fur in front of some kind of locked gate, judging by the black grates and giant lock on it.

“There you are!” the Landlady exclaimed as she knelt down to the kitten. “You are quite the rascal, aren’t you!”

The kitten meowed as they were carried into the Landlady’s hands.

“Okay, let’s get you back to Wedge now, little one…”

Suddenly, she heard something…

“Are you a goddess…?”

The Landlady looked around, and suddenly, two white slender creatures, bearing a white, reverse cross for an emblem on their head and have stretchy, swaying legs, appeared and surrounded her!

“Wha---What are you!?” the Landlady demanded while the kitten hissed at the intruders.

The creatures didn’t answer. All the while, a third creature slinked it’s way into the way from the woods, swaying it’s way to it’s comrades from the air!

“Our liege draws near! The Lost Goddess is with her!”

“Targets identified. What about this one?”

“Restrain her. We were not given orders regarding this one…”

The Landlady groaned as the creatures then neared upon her. This is not good! How will she get out of this?

She then looked upon the kitten. “At the very least, I should get you to safety…”

“MS. LANDLADY, DUCK!”

Thinking fast, the Landlady did as she was told, and the creatures drew back at the sight of a gray object thrown in their general direction…

“BACK OFF!”

…and a boy in white rushing in with his blue bat, pushing the figures even further back!

“Roxas! Maho!”

The Landlady looked up and saw two familiar teenagers coming in to her aid!

“Ms. Landlady!” the boy called out. “What are you doing here!?”

The Landlady chuckled, tickling the kitten’s chin. “Just taking care of a small favor. What brings you two here, though?”

“Chasing down thieves” Maho answered, keeping her gray Frisbie close. “And not the garden variety types, apparently”

As she said so, one of the white creatures tried to attack her by swooping down on her feet with their skinny legs.

“Whoawhoawhoa!” the girl exclaimed as she squirmed in pain. “What are these creeps!? Why are they so squiggly and gross and stuff!?”

Roxas groaned. “These things move around pretty fast. We gotta find an opening!”

Maho gritted her teeth. “I wish we have better weapons. These toys simply aren’t cutting it!”

“Like what?” Roxas wondered. “A chainsaw?”

“Whoa!” the magenta-haired girl protested, eyes widening in surprise as she waved her hand. “Too violent, Roxas! Too violent!”

“Sorry?” the blonde-haired kid shrugged. “Can you come up with a better weapon?”

Maho closed her eyes in deep thought. “A magic sword, maybe?”

Roxas sighed. “That’s too unrealistic...”

“Can you even call these THINGS realistic, buddy!?” the girl shouted, pointing to the white creatures who are now dancing about.

The boy groaned again. “What to do?”

They then heard a loud scream. Upon turning around, they saw…

“Roxas! Maho!”

The two teenagers gasped.

“MS. LANDLADY!”

…their Landlady being held up by one of the white creatures with their own stretchy body (the kitten hopped on top of the Landlady’s head, hissing at the white creature all the while).

“Forget about me!” the woman shouted. “Run away and get yourselves to safety!”

Maho shook her head. “Not without you!”

Roxas growled in anger, readying his stance once more. “What to do? How do I save her!?”

The two remaining white creatures then neared the captured Landlady, facing the two teenagers.

“Surrender to us, my liege”

“We shall escort you back to your place”

The boy heard their demands, but rather than comply…

“HAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

…he rushed in and charged against them!

“ROXAS!”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

Alarms blared across the computer room as the lights emitted a red glow.

“This is bad…” a white-haired girl with blue eyes, wearing a hairclip of a green apple and a gray dress bemoaned, typing frantically at the keyboard. “At this rate, they’ll discover our secret projects! The last thing we need is them taking everything away!”

She groaned. “No choice! I have to activate the emergency defense protoc---”

But then, she saw something bright on one of her screens, which showed the outside of the mansion gates.

“What the…!?”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Mansion Gates

As the boy charged, a bright light shone on his hand, enveloping his Struggle Bat!

“Wha---” the Landlady gasped.

“GAH!” Maho shrieked, shielding her eyes. “Too bright!”

Once Roxas’ charge reached it’s peak, he slashed down the white creature trapping the Landlady, causing her to gasp for air as she fell down.

“Ms. Landlady!”

Maho took the chance and launched her frisbee against the creatures, allowing to run to the grown woman and help her up.

“You ok?” the girl asked.

The woman nodded, the kitten she rescued landing on her right shoulder as she licked her cheek. “I’ll be fine. What about…”

The two women looked to the young teenage boy, standing fiercely against the white creatures, his Struggle Bat now replaced by…

“Woah…” Maho gasped in awe.

“What is…” the Landlady gasped as well, the kitten next to her meowing in joy.

…a giant key-shaped sword with a silver blade and a yellow guard, with a mouse-shaped head attached to it as a keychain.

“This is…” Roxas gaped in awe at his new weapon, inspecting it closely. “This looks like the key I saw in my dreams. Why is it in my hands now?”

He then looked at the white creatures, two of which remained, and one of them began to shake erratically.

“Looks like they’re ready for Round 2!” Maho exclaimed. “Take ‘em down, Roxas!”

“Do be careful!” the Landlady shouted as the kitten meowed loudly.

Shelving his thoughts regarding the strange weapon for later, the blonde-haired kid braced his stance and readied to fight.

“Leave this to me!”

The white creature that was shaking then moved it to attack him, but Roxas deflected it’s attack with a swing, which connected!

“HAH!” Downward swing!

“RAH!” Forward thrust!

While Roxas was whaling on his target, the other white creature tried to launch an attack at the blonde-haired kid, but…

“NOPE!”

…he saw the move coming and slid right behind the other white creature, causing a Reversal!

“Look at him go!” the Landlady exclaimed in surprise, seeing the blonde-haired kid continuing his attack!

“Send ‘em packing, buck-o!” Maho cheered with all her might!

The assault continued, with two hits on a white creature, then sliding into a Reversal and continuing the attack on the other white creature!

“You’re done!”

Roxas then finished off one of the white creatures with a strong horizontal swing, the creature vanishing in sparks of white.

“One down!” Maho yelled.

“The other one’s still there!” the Landlady noticed. “Watch out!”

The other white creature slinked back and waved it’s way back against Roxas…

“Wha…?”

…and then hit the blonde-haired kid with it’s head, sending him back!

“Roxas!”

The young man was knocked back, his grip on the key-shaped sword firm!

Roxas breathed in, gasping from the pain. “Running out of steam here…”

The white creature began to shake erratically, and just as it began to land another attack on the defenseless teenager…

“RAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

…it was shot by a flurry of rubber bullets!

“Huh!?” Maho gasped. “Who the…!?”

The Landlady, however, knew where those bullets came from. “Mr. Wallace!”

Sure enough, a bulky man came in on the scene, his right arm wearing a white vest and armed with a large metal gauntlet that turned into a machine gun arm that shot rubber bullets. This man is Barret Wallace, owner of the Wallace Arms shop in the town, responsible for the maintenance of Struggle Bats, fireworks, silverware and other related tools.

Barret smirked. “Right on time, right?”

A chubby boy came into the scene, gasping for breath.

“Geez. How are you…not out of breath after that?”

Maho recognized the newcomer “Pence!”

“It’s all about the stamina, boy!” Barret stated to Pence as he looked back at Roxas. “Now, why are you still sittin’ down there for!? Get your butt back up and send this no-good runt running!”

Roxas grunted, getting back up and charged against the frazzled white creature.

“HAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

And with a mighty jump slash, the last of the white creatures was defeated, leaving behind fading white sparks and a whole bevy of papers.

“That takes care of that…” Roxas sighed, wiping his forehead. “Still, what was all that about?”

As he tried to inspect his new weapon, it suddenly vanished from his hand.

“That’s what I’d like to ask you about, son” Barret said, approaching the blonde-haired kid. “Heard from the grapevine that you were Suspect No. 1 in all those robberies”

Maho groaned, rushing to the bulky man. “It wasn’t us! Cross our hearts!”

Barret hummed for a bit.

“Well, I can see why they thought we did it…”

Everyone looked to Pence, who grabbed one of the objects on the floor, showing…

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“Stolen pictures of Roxas?” Anri asked, speaking to someone over the line.

“Yup” Maho’s voice answered. “Apparently, the reason everyone thought we were stealin’ stuff was because most of the stuff are pictures of the blonde goober himself.”

“All of them?”

“All of them. The one where he became Bigg’s first customer. The one with Jessie. The one with Barret and little Marlene. Even that cute one with Wedge and all his cats around him!”

The girl in front of the computer, leaned back as she hummed. “Strange. If the Nobodies wanted to retrieve Roxas, wouldn’t it be better to steal the real one instead of photographs?”

“Nobodies?”

“Those white creatures you fought off” Anri answered. “Minions working for Organization XIII”

“Okay, girl. You’re throwing a bunch of terms that don’t make sense right now.”

The white-haired girl sighed as she began to type on the keyboards. “Sorry, I’m a little stressed from having to do maintenance work here. Have to make sure to seal off any more access points so those Nobodies can’t get inside here”

“You tell me, Anri. Those things didn’t just steal photos, but even the word too! How weird is that!?”

“That was just a glitch in the system” the girl in front of the computer explained. “Thankfully, the glitch was fixed that up after you recovered the photos from those Nobodies”

“Oh, so when he beat them up with that key-thing, we fixed the word photo in this place? Super!”

Anri chuckled. “Yes. Super, indeed”

She leaned back again. “Still, how was he able to get the Keyblade to come out on his own? We had an emergency defense protocol set up for that, but it manifested on it’s own for him. I wonder…”

“Hey, quick question?”

She raised an eyebrow as she hummed. “What is it?”

“So, my buddy there had some weird dreams involving a boy, Sora, and a girl, Neptune. Any idea what that’s about?”

Anri hummed for a moment. “Could this relate to the memory restoration? He might be seeing their memories in his dreams...”

She then heard footsteps behind her. “Look, I have to end the call here. DiZ is expecting another report. I’ll try to ask other people around to see if they know anything.”

“Ah, smokes. Was hoping I’d have something to tell him...”

“Just tell him that the answers will come in time. I’ll hit you up once I find anything concrete.” the girl on the computer replied. “By the way, I...’ordered’ some dinner for you and Roxas. I imagine your landlady could use the break from cooking meals tonight from that last fiasco. The food should arrive in your apartment when you get back.”

Maho cooed, her drool could be practically heard from the other side of the call. “Have I ever mentioned that YOU are the awesome-est guardian angel EVAH?”

The girl giggled. “Please, Maho. I doubt angels would be working overnight behind computer screens.”

“Well, this one here certainly is, and I’m ever grateful for her ever-watchful eyes. Anyway, gotta jet now. Talk to ya later, Anri!”

Anri smiled. “See you later, Maho...”

The girl behind the computer ended the call, just as two pairs of footsteps entered the building.

“Have you patched the system?” a deep voice asked.

“I have” Anri answered as she continued her work. “There has been preliminary damage on the simulation’s vocabulary systems, but it was minimal and easily repaired. However...”

“Yes...” another deep voice, belonging to a man in a black coat, affirmed. “Based on their findings, there have been Dusk sightings across town. Thankfully, they’ve dealt with most of them.”

“Yeah...” Anri sighed as she turned around to face her guests. “But three of them managed to slip past them. Nearly even took the ‘landlady’ with them. Thankfully, Roxas took care of them.”

The first deep voice, belonging to a masked man in red, groaned. “Organization miscreants...They found us”

“But, why would the Nobodies steal photographs?” The black coated man wondered.

“I’ve wondered the same thing, myself” Anri commented.

The man in red huffed, inspecting the computer screens. “Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference”

“Do you think they’ll find out about...” the girl began to ask. “...you know what?”

“Let’s hope not” the man in the black coat answered. “Then again, the Organization has just lost two of their most important members. They’ll definitely want to retrieve at least one of them back by any means necessary...”

Anri sighed in sadness upon hearing that, as if she was recalling a bad memory...

“Which we won’t allow to happen! Unlike the other members they replaced, Keyblade wielders and Lost Goddesses will no doubt be difficult to substitute.” the man in red insisted. “Anri, status report!”

“Right”

The girl shifted her attention back to the screens, typing furiously at the keyboards on the screens.

“Structural damage is being repaired as we speak. Maintenance should be done within 3.5 hours. As for their restoration, it’s proceeding slowly, but steadily.”

“How much?” the man in black asked.

“12%”

The man in red sighed in annoyance. “And you’re certain she’s not tampering with the devices there?”

“I’m sure” Anri answered. “She knows the importance of this whole operation. Memory restoration and Share Energy redistribution should be completed within six days' time. A far cry from the stalled progress you all had over the past year.”

The man in red sighed again. “We’re running out of time. Naminé must make haste”

“We’re doing all we can, DiZ” Anri reassured the man in red.

“And are you sure that your fabrication will do its job?” DiZ asked.

Anri sighed in frustration. “Don’t worry. She will do her job well. She won’t mess this one up...”

The man in black sighed. “I sure hope so...”

Twilight Town – Back Alley

“And so, then he said…”

As Maho and Roxas left their usual spot and head back home, they couldn’t help but notice how bright the sun is today.

“Dude, what’s up with the sun to---”

But Roxas couldn’t hear her. Instead, the blonde-haired kid heard someone else speak to him.

“Huh?” a young man’s voice asked.

“Who the?” a young woman’s voice asked.

“Who’s there?” Roxas asked.

“Who are you?” the young man’s voice replied.

“Yeah. What he said” the young woman’s voice followed.

“---xas! Roxas!”

The blonde-haired kid groaned as he saw Maho, face filled with worry, at his side.

“You feelin’ alright?” the young girl asked. “Sun too much for ya?”

Roxas groaned again as he stood up straight. “Probably. Let’s just go home. It’s been quite a day”

Maho stretched in agreement. “Yeah. You tell me. Besides, we got ourselves a good dinner tonight!”

Roxas chuckled. “Right. We can’t keep Ms. Landlady waiting for us…”

Maho giggled. “That, too, buck-o! That, too!”

MahoMeansMagic: phooey, today was pretty wild, ngl

NGears4U: Are you alright?

MahoMeansMagic: just dandy! thanks for worrying, though 😊

NGears4U: Um, what’s that?

MahoMeansMagic: whats what?

NGears4U: That face you made.

MahoMeansMagic: oh, that? its an emoji, silly! its all the rage out there these days 😁

MahoMeansMagic: why dont you give it a try? 🤗

NGears4U: Um...okay!

NGears4U: 😣

MahoMeansMagic: wow, you really went with that first? 🤣

NGears4U: I’m sorry! This is my first time doing this! 😣

MahoMeansMagic: well, you should practice up! helps you fit in with the crowd, yknow? 😃

NoApplesPls: Okay, okay. How is everyone here?

MahoMeansMagic: doin great! just teaching gearsy here how to do emojis!😁

NGears4U: G-Gearsy? 😳

NoApplesPls: I see. Still, doesn’t that make this your sixth nickname for you now?

NGears4U: Y-Yeah...it kind of does... 😳

MahoMeansMagic: Six!? 😱 i didn’t know you are THAT popular, gearsy!

NGears4U: N-No, I’m not... 😣

NGears4U: A-Anyway, how about you, Anri? Are you okay?

NoApplesPls: About as fine as I can be. Just finished up my work for the night...

NGears4U: Oh my! You should really get some sleep right now...

NoApplesPls: Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure I get my usual 3 hours of sleep in...

MahoMeansMagic: wait, 3? isnt it usually 8 hours?

NoApplesPls: 6-8, actually...

NGears4U: She still has work to do, so she only gets 3 hours of sleep. Sometimes 4... 🙁

MahoMeansMagic: ok, thats it! this calls for an intervention! 😠

NoApplesPls: What?

MahoMeansMagic: you should really get the right amount of Zs there, anri! cant have you dozing off the job, whatever it is! 😤

NoApplesPls: Believe me, I’d love to, but my...’boss’ is quite...how do you say...crabby. If he sees something he doesn’t like, he’ll probably delete it before I know it.

MahoMeansMagic: are those important to you? 🤔

NoApplesPls: Super important. You could say it’s my life’s work right now.

NGears4U: Our lives’ work. It’s really important to us.

MahoMeansMagic: huh.

MahoMeansMagic: oh snap, i gotta hit the hay! the gang will let me have it if I don’t get that goober up and fed before we start! 😨

NoApplesPls: Guess you should heed your own advice now. 🤭

NGears4U: And now, you’re using those too... 😅

MahoMeansMagic: only if you start heeding mine! 😤

NoApplesPls: I will. I will.

MahoMeansMagic: i mean it! 😤

NGears4U: Girls! Girls! Let’s just get some sleep right now. We have to start our day right, right?

NoApplesPls: Yes, mother. Good night.

MahoMeansMagic: night! 🥱

NGears4U: Good night, everyone! 😴

Overall restoration at 12%

The dreams began again...

The boy was found, slumped and unconscious in a dark alley. He----

She was then licked awake by the strange, cartoon dog near her.

“Good night, nice doggy...”

The dog did not like that and so, he pounced the girl---

---boy awake!

“Where am I?”

The bo----

----girl ran forward into the dark alley, only to find herself surrounded by strange, dark ant-like creatures.

“Dude, this is one strange weapon...”

Meanwhile, the boy, having returned to the previous alley, turned around as he left the shop...

“Who are you?”

“They’ll come at you out of nowhere” a man wearing black spoke, pointing to the boy’s weapon. “as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade”

The girl began to run out of breath from her prolonged fighting...

“Wanna...keep going? I can...do this...all night~”

...and soon passed out like a light...

The boy stood up in surprise as he realized one thing.

“What happened to my home? My island!? Riku...Kai---”

“But if you kept movin’ around” the girl said, cheering the depressed boy. “I bet you they’re doin’ the same! That’s why you can’t stop now! Because I won’t either”

Soon, the girl and the boy were crushed by the falling duck and dog, who gasped in delight at the sight of the weapons they held.

“The key!”

“Look, Iffy!” a cutesy voice exclaimed. “We found it!”

“Yeah...” a calm voice answered. “Two of them, in fact”

“Hey, why don’t you come with us?” the dog asked the two. “We can go to other worlds on our vessel!”

“Vessel?” the girl asked with stars in her eyes. “Like...a SPACESHIP!?”

“Sora, Neptune, go with them” the man from earlier urged them. “Especially if you want to find your friends”

The duck raised his hand. “Donald Duck”

The dog followed suit. “Name’s Goofy”

The girl with the cutesy voice wearing a sweater placed her hand on top of theirs “Compa’s my name!”

The girl wearing a blue coat followed as well. “Call me IF”

“I’m Sora” the boy looked to his fellow wielder.

“And I...am...Neptune!” the girl proudly declared as she and Sora placed their hands on the pile.

“All for one and one for all!”

“The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade...” the man explained.

“That’s right...” the flower girl said. “The Keyblade”

“But the children are a problem. They found one of the Keyholes”

“Unless she recalls what her true power is, she will never reach my level...”

“...I need only wait for the right time before I can fulfill my ambitions!”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Landlady’s Room

“Ah!”

I jolted up as the weird dream ended…

“That was strange…”

My gaze ended up on my right hand, where I saw that boy and girl wield those strange weapons…

The same type of weapons I saw Roxas use yesterday…

“A Key…blade?”

Why am I seeing these types of dreams? Why am I seeing the boy and girl Roxas saw in his dreams too?

Could these be the type of dreams he’s been having? If so, why am I getting them now?

I shook my head. I can’t afford to distract myself with this!

“I need to get ready for today! Breakfast won’t make itself, after all!”

As soon as I rose out of bed, I continued on with my routine. Take a shower. Get dressed. Prepare breakfast. Check the marketplace.

I can almost feel it…

Today will be a good day!

Chapter Text

???

It’s dark…Pitch black…

Wait a minute…my eyes are closed…Of course, it’s dark. I can’t see anything…

I tried to strain my eyes open. Even then, the sight before me was blurred, filled with gray…and bubbles…

“…”

I could heart something…or rather someone talking…but the words escape me…

“…”

Now, a spot of black entered my vision. Even with my strained sight, I couldn’t tell who or what was in front of me…

“…!”

The voice, muffled as it was, got louder…and then, the bubbles began to overflow my senses and then…

…nothing…

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Maho’s Room

“AH!”

Maho woke up in a jolt, heavy breathing escaping her lungs…

“Oh man…” she groaned as she shook her head. “That dream again…”

The magenta-haired girl reached for her phone. Checking the time, it read 5:59…

She sighed. “Just one minute before the alarm…”

Sure enough, her phone alarm rang, which she immediately turned off.

“Welp…” the teenage girl said as she stretched. “Time to start the day and all that…”

As she went through her wake-up routine, she turned on the nearby radio…

“Hello and good morning, Twilight Town! This is 5pb. Radio, the live service that goes on even in the midst of danger. And speaking of which, I heard from the grapevine that the thievery incident has been resolved and all the belongings have been returned. When I looked around, witnesses stated that the belongings just...laid scattered on the ground somewhere in the woods. Whoever our mystery thief is, must’ve vanished into thin air and gave up the ghost! Oh, is it possible that it was a ghost? Brrrrr, just the thought of that gives me chills. Anyway, we can talk about ghost stories another day. Today, let’s give you people tips on how to beat that nasty, summer heat! Here’s one from Sender RJ. ‘The beach is the best way to beat the heat, ya know!?” Hehehe, well, he has a point there. Nothing like hitting the sandy shores and swimming the cool ocean waters to stave off the summer sun. Another tip came for Sender VO. “A watermelon would be nice.” Yes, but they’re also not cheap, but hey, if you can afford one, be sure to share it around! And one more from Sender RX. “Having sea-salt ice cream with friends is simply the best” Hahaha. You know, there are more flavors than sea-salt, right? But, he has a point. Nothing can beat the heat like an ice-cold treat. Now then, onto the best spots to spend this summer...”

Just as she finished bathing, Maho then heard a loud shout downstairs.

“Maho!” It was Roxas. “Breakfast is ready!”

The girl sighed as she got dressed. “Never a dull moment, huh?” She then shouted to him. “Be right there! Don’t you dare touch my plate before I get there!”

After dressing up, the girl fixed her hair at the mirror, ready to start the day.

“Time to get psyched!”

Twilight Town – Back Alley - Sunrise Apartments

“We’re off!”

The two teenagers waved at the smiling Landlady as they headed on their way.

“Still though…a Key-blade?” Maho asked as she and Roxas walked to their usual spot. “You sure you didn’t make that up?”

The blond-haired kid sighed. “I’m sure I didn’t. The dreams said that weird thing I got was called a Keyblade”

“Okay, so...” the magenta-haired girl wondered as she put her hands behind her back. “What’s so special about ‘em?”

“I...didn’t get much out of the dreams...” Roxas admitted. “But apparently, they can defeat these...weird dark monsters called Heartless and seal away Keyholes”

“Heartless, huh? Those dreams of yours are really trippy, you know that?”

As the two neared their usual spot, Roxas stopped for a moment and picked something off the ground.

“What’s up?”

Maho approached the boy to see his find.

“Roxas, that’s a stick” the girl snarked. “What are you, a dog?”

“Hey, that girl in my dream tried fighting with one of these” Roxas said as he took a few swings with the stick. “Maybe I can get it to come out again like she did there”

Maho sighed. “Here, let me try”

As she took the stick from Roxas, she tried a few swings at it...

“HOOH!” Up!

“HAH!” Down!

“HII-YAH!” SLASH!

...but...nothing happened.

“Welp, that was worth a try, I guess” she sighed in defeat.

“Guess we have to be in danger to get it to come out, huh?” the boy guessed.

“Maybe...” Maho wondered. “Or try snapping your wrist or something?”

Roxas hummed, doing as she said. “Like this?”

And then, a familiar key-shaped weapon appeared in his hand!

“Woah!”

“Wow-za!” Maho gasped in awe, her eyes deforming into white circles. “Didn’t think THAT would work!”

Roxas took the time to inspect his weapon. “Yup. This looks just like his weapon, alright.”

Maho groaned, stomping the ground in anger. “Man, this is no fair! When can I get a weapon like that!?”

In her stomping, she threw the stick she was holding on, causing it to hit a stranger in a black coat!

“Huh?” Roxas took notice and so did Maho, who then began to sputter.

“Oh, geez!” the girl pleaded as she clapped her hands shut. “So sorry about that, stranger! I won’t vandalize around here again!”

The stranger said nothing, looking intently at the blonde-haired kid and his weapon.

“You shouldn’t play around with that on your hand…”

This got the two teenagers confused, looking at the Keyblade again.

“What does he mean by that?” the boy asked.

The girl shrugged. “Dunno. Hey, stranger, whaddaya mean by…”

But as she turned to the stranger’s direction, he had long vanished away from the back alley...

“Huh” Maho could only utter. “He’s gone”

“Nice going...” Roxas snarked.

“How was I supposed to know other people walk around these parts!?” Maho complained as her eyes turned into white circles.

Roxas sighed, snapping his right wrist again to unsummon the weapon.

After taking a moment to inspect his hand, the blonde-haired kid spoke. “Anyway, let’s get going. Don’t’ wanna be late…”

“Hey!” Maho shouted, chasing after him as they went on their merry way. “I was talking to you, boy! Get back here!”

All the while another figure in a black coat kept watch over them from the nearby rooftop…

Twilight Town – Market Street: Station Heights

“Oh wow! I forgot the tournament’s in two days!”

Meanwhile, a shy girl was busy walking in the Station Heights when she overheard a loud voice near one of the poster boards.

“Those people are...”

As the shy girl mused on the group’s arrival, said group was discussing their plans for summer vacation.

“Welp, looks like we’re gonna have to work our butts off to get those train tickets” the blonde boy said.

“Thankfully, the tickets are discounted this season and there’s a lot of odd jobs to do around here” the girl in orange remarked. “We can earn a decent dough if we do enough jobs. Maybe even enough for a watermelon.”

“Aw-right!” the magenta-haired girl exclaimed with excitement. “Let’s blaze on through those jobs and get us that summer sun!”

The blonde-haired kid sighed. “C’mon. No need to go overboard”

“Wouldn’t want us to pass out before we reach the beach!” the boy wearing the red shirt commented.

The shy girl, who had turned her body around so no one would notice her, looked back to see where the group was heading.

“I wonder what they’re going to do...”

Odd Jobs – Mail Delivery

“Here’s your mail!”

After delivering a letter to a nearby house, Pence tried to run for a sprint, only to stop for a breather.

“How many...” the boy asked. “...houses do that make?”

“Seven, I think?” Olette answered, also feeling a bit tired.

“Don’t you think...” Pence started, looking at the bag of letters they’re carrying. “...we got too much of these?”

However, three blurs sped past them...

“KEEP UP, SLOWPOKES!”

“SLOW DOWN, HAYNER!”

“THE LETTERS AREN’T TEAR-PROOF, Y’KNOW!?”

...taking more of the letters they were carrying with them...

“Those three are way too energetic” Olette complained.

“At least they’re making progress...” Pence noted. “Probably should’ve taken those skateboard lessons...”

As the two were catching their breaths, the shy girl continued to observe, taking notes as she did so...

Odd Jobs – Cargo Lifting

“Keep it up, guys!” Olette cheered as she and Maho pulled the cart from the front.

“We’re halfway there, boys!” Maho shouted. “C’mon! Put your backs into it!”

Sure enough, the three boys were pushing the cart from the back, and they’re already feeling the strain of pushing something that heavy up a long ramp...

“Phew...” Pence huffed as he tried to catch his breath again. “Never thought...we’d do some...heavy-lifting here...”

Hayner groaned. “Maybe we should just whack this cart up to the garage!”

Roxas immediately stopped his friend just as he was pulling out his Struggle bat. “No! If this thing breaks, we have to pay for it!”

“Say” Pence wondered. “What about that thing you had yesterday? Can’t you use that?”

Roxas gulped.

“What thing?” Hayner wondered.

The blonde-haired kid turned to Maho, who was shaking her head furiously as she made a ‘Nope’ gesture with her arms.

“What thing?” Roxas lied. “You must’ve been seeing things yesterday, man”

The round boy hummed. “I suppose. Sprinting all the way there was exhausting…”

“HEY!” the magenta-haired girl shouted. “Get your butts moving! Any later and our pay’s gonna be docked!”

The shy girl continued taking notes, even as the boys over yonder continued to work.

Twilight Town – Market Street: Station Heights

“Excuse me?”

The shop owner, a large man wearing a silver vest and a metallic right arm, looked up to see his customer.

“Ah look, my favorite customer!” the large man cheered. “Whaddaya need, Ms. Landlady?”

The Landlady giggled. “I came here for my new silverware, Mr. Wallace. Are they not done yet?”

The shop keeper laughed. “C’mon, we don’t need that formal stuff here! Just call me Barret! Anyway, your stuff should be just about done here!”

He retreated further into the store to retrieve his customer’s order.

“So, how’s the kids? They doin’ alright since yesterday?”

The Landlady sighed, nodding her head. “Thankfully, yes. Unfortunately, some people haven’t exactly let go the fact that a robbery occurred in this community.”

Barret scoffed, knowing who ‘some people’ were. “That’s a load of bunk. Sure, those kids of yours ain’t exactly as shiny as rainbows, but no way they gonna do petty theft in this humble neighborhood!”

The Landlady hummed a nod. “I wish everyone else in this neighborhood shared your optimism…”

The shop keeper returned with a large box of silverware. “More like a good butt-whooping, is what they need! Sometimes, you gotta tell ‘em where they crossed the line. Otherwise, our whole community’s gonna fall apart!”

The Landlady chuckled. “Sure, sure. How’s Marlene, by the way?”

“Gather around!”

“Those kids are attempting the Grandstander Challenge!”

“Can they really do it!?”

The two then noticed a crowd gathering around a familiar group of teenagers. Along with them is a small girl with short black hair wearing a simple white dress.

“She’s making waves out there with them as her performers, huh?” the landlady mused as she heard a click.

Barret huffed, having exited his shop to carry the box holding the new silverware. “Big waves, I tell ya. Heard those kids even helped out with the mail and heavy liftin’ jobs too!

The Landlady giggled. “I wonder what they’re going to do with all that munny for?”

The large man chuckled, already figured that his customer has a good idea what the answer is. “Guess you’d better find out on the way. Mind watching the store for me?”

The Landlady chuckled. “Off making a delivery, big man?”

The shop keeper smirked as he went off. “Someone’s gotta do the job and the ones I could ask are currently occupied. You know how it is!”

As the large man left to his work, the Landlady watched the Grandstander performance with a smile, happy to see the two children she is looking after having a nice day.

Odd Jobs – Grandstander

“YUP!”

Olette threw the ball to Pence...

“Hah!”

...who then threw it to Maho...

“There!”

...who then played with the ball, bouncing it with her head raised up, even as she was stepping back...

“Okay, boys!” Maho shouted as she bounced the ball up high. “Your turn!”

She then leapt up and passed it to Hayner with a hard spike...

“Time to show off!”

He then hit the ball with his bat, causing it to bounce the wall and then right back to him.

“Big finale, Roxas!”

Still in the air, he passed the ball to Roxas in a bicycle kick!

“I’m on it!”

With his own Struggle bat, Roxas whacked the ball up two times to keep it in the air...

“Now for the big one!”

Landing back down, he then jumped up and hit the ball with his head, launching it up in the air.

“We got you!”

“Keep it up!”

Thanks to Pence and Olette using their hands as improvised stands, Roxas was able to leap higher, up until he and the ball meet in the air...

“Here it comes!”

He then slammed the ball hard as both of them landed back into the ground...

“And...pose!”

...landing coolly onto the ground as he and his posse posed to end their performance.

“Wow!”

“That was so cool!”

“When did they have time to make this?”

“They’re amazing, aren’t they!?” Marlene exclaimed.

The Landlady nodded. “They sure are…”

As the crowd cheered, the shy girl continued her note-taking...

Twilight Town – Market Street: Tram Common

“I’m here for my usual!”

A yelp was heard on the inside of the candy store. “Ah, Ms. Landlady! Okay, the usual, coming right up!”

The Landlady laughed. “You must be attentive and at your feet, Wedge. You’ll never know when another customer shows up or when another of your little ones run off again.”

She was then answered by the many meows of the nearby cats crowding the store entrance. “See? These little ones get it”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear ya. Thanks again for yesterday, by the way” Wedge said as he came back to the front with a small bag of candies. “And quit it, Jess. I can hear you over there”

The Landlady then heard playful laughter behind her. “So, you have gotten better at discerning my voice from the masses. I’ve taught you well, young squire!”

Wedge sighed. “C’mon, Jess. You know you’ve got better things to do than mess around and demand sweets from me.”

“Like my store?” Jessie replied with a huff. “Please, it’s getting too noisy to man the store. Besides, not a lot of people are around today because of all this heat…”

“Oh dear!” the Landlady expressed with worry. “Did you at least get something to wipe yourself dry?”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Landlady” the jewel store owner reassured. “I got all my bases covered. However…”

“Struggle in two days!”

“Be sure to come over and watch!”

“Don’t miss it!”

The three then looked to the source of the noise, seeing some familiar teenagers handing out Struggle posters.

“Wonder how those two are doing?” Maho wondered.

Meanwhile, Hayner and Roxas ran around the town, pasting poster after poster all throughout the town.

“How you doin’, Roxas?” Hayner asked. “I got 8!”

“Me?” Roxas asked back. “Got 13”

“Dude!” the blonde boy shouted in surprise. “How are you so fast at this?”

Roxas shrugged. “Maybe I’m just better at this than you”

“Big words coming from you...” Hayner growled. “Alright then! Best 2 out of 3! Loser buys ice cream with their own munny!”

Roxas smirked at the challenge. “You’re on!”

And so, the boys continued pasting posters across the town with intense fervor, unaware that a certain shy girl has been following them all around town...

“I have nothing against the loud noise of tournament advertisement!” Jessie complained dramatically, draping one of her hands over her forehead. “And thus, my solemn stay has been halted by the loud noises over yonder! Woe is me!”

The Landlady chuckled as Wedge sighed. “Give ‘em a break, Jess. Those guys are working to get their summer funds. You know how it is!”

The Landlady gasped, pretending to be shocked. “They were?”

“Haha! Yup!” the candy store owner nodded as he laughed. “Heard they were working with the mail service and heavy lifting back at the Station Heights too. Not to mention their Grandstander performance with little Marlene back there!”

The Landlady giggled. “Oh yes! I saw their performance. I’m amazed they managed to perform that without any sort of practice”

“No practice is right” Jessie exclaimed. “Seriously, that sort of talent can land them into showbiz! I’m honestly surprised no one scouted them out yet…”

“What surprises me more is that you still haven’t managed to score an acting gig” Wedge pointed out. “I’d imagine you’d get your big break soon”

Jessie sighed. “Yeah. Me too, but the entry fees to the darn gig is too high. Not to mention how cutthroat the acting industry is as of late. It’s gonna be hard to get in…”

“So you say, but uhhhh…” the candy store owner started. “Why don’t start with something smaller? You know, like…”

“5pb. Radio?” the jewel store lady asked. “Please. I taught that little one everything I know about acting out and whatnot. Only problem with her is the fact that she freezes up anytime she talks to a stranger…”

“Imagine the first time you two talked…” Wedge reminisced. “Bet she must’ve ran for the hills when she first noticed you!”

Jessie sighed again. “Tell me about it. One day, I heard something in the woods while I was finding a good place to practice, and then I saw this girl out there singing her heart out all by herself. By the time she finished up and noticed me, she freaked out and bolted away so fast I saw dust clouds in her place…”

The Landlady hummed. “I wonder how her life must’ve been before you two met…”

Jessie shrugged. “Dunno. Never thought to ask her of it. Never even told me anything about it.”

“Maybe you should try asking her to let it out” the Landlady suggested. “Perhaps speaking about her problems can help her figure out what’s wrong…”

“That’d be a good idea…” Wedge said. “But if she’s not comfortable enough to speak of it, then best let it lie. At least until she’s ready to spill”

Jessie hummed. “Good point. I’ll keep that in mind when I see her next time”

As the two shop owners conversed, the Landlady saw the group of teenagers helping out another person behind the nearby armor shop.

But that wasn’t what caught her eye…

“Is that…?”

What caught her eye was the sight of a hooded person stalking them from the side alley, a small notepad and pencil on their hands.

Curious about it, she decided to take her bag of sweets, left her pay and silently walked after them.

Odd Jobs – Junk Disposal

“Thanks for sorting out all this junk, you guys” a lean man with simple black hair wearing a green jacket thanked the group of teens sorting through the junk. “I’ve been meaning to get rid of these for a while, but, you know...”

“Don’t sweat it!” Hayner reassured. “We need to earn our pay here. It’s the least we can do”

Pence grunted as he arranged some of the junk he’s been carrying. “Is this all of them?”

Olette pushed the cart of junk she and Maho have been collecting near the boys’ pile. “I think so...”

“So” Roxas wondered. “Why do you want to get rid of all this junk, Biggs?”

“Oh!” the man with the bandanna exclaimed. “I heard from someone that they’re planning to build something fancy around here, and wanted this lot cleared for that”

“Really?” Pence asked. “This is the first time I’ve heard of it”

“What do you think’s gonna be built here?” Maho wondered.

“Well...” the man started. “From what I heard, its...”

As Biggs began to explain, Roxas scanned around the area.

“What’s up, Roxas?” the magenta-haired girl asked.

“Call me crazy” the blonde-haired kid whispered. “But I think we’re being watched...”

Maho raised her eyebrow “Don’t tell me it's those white weirdos again...”

Roxas shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s...”

As he tried to scan around again, his eyes fell upon a speck of teal hair running the opposite direction.

“Hey!”

Roxas then attempted to pursue the figure, sprinting past the man with the bandana.

“Roxas?” Olette noticed.

“What’s going on?” Pence wondered

“I’m going after him!”

But a hand on his shoulder stopped him

“No need for that!”

It was Biggs!

“Huh?”

“You kids worry about the junk” the man reassured. “I’ll go around and look for your mystery person.”

“You sure?” Olette asked.

Biggs gave a thumbs up. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on your job for now. We’ll discuss your pay once I get back!”

He then left to give pursuit.

Twilight Town – Market Street: Tram Common – Open Lot

“Found them yet?”

The Landlady shook her head as she and Biggs scanned around the area.

“Where could they have gone?” the Landlady wondered.

“I dunno…” Biggs answered. “But I doubt they could’ve gone far…”

He then ran to the opening. “I’ll look near the forest. You keep an eye out here!”

The Landlady nodded. “Got it! Don’t stay out too long!”

Biggs laughed. “Yeah. Can’t let the kids go without their pay for handling all the junk in my backyard.”

He waved the Landlady goodbye as he left the premises, leaving the Landlady in the open lot.

“Good thing the bees here have been cleared out before…” She took a deep breath and then spoke. “You can come out now.”

Right on cue, she heard footsteps. To her left, the Landlady could make out a figure wearing a brown cloak all over their person.

The person she spotted in the side alley earlier…

“U-Ummm…” the figure nervously stuttered. From their cadence and voice, they must be female.

The Landlady chuckled. “It’s alright. We didn’t mean to spook you. Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes” the cloaked figure responded. “H-How did you know I was here?”

““I just followed you here and figured you were still around here, hiding.” the Landlady admitted.

“I-I see…” the figure affirmed.

“You’ve gotten better at running away, haven’t you?”

The figure gasped, only to find her hood being taken off, revealing her teal hair and unusual music note-shaped eyes.

“Right, Lyrica?”

“J-j-j-jessie!?” Lyrica shouted. “What was that for!? Can’t you see I’m still nervous as heck here!?”

Jessie sighed. “At this rate, you’ll never be able to make it through your first interview. Honestly, it’s amazing you still managed to acquire a slot for your radio programs…”

“T-That’s because I got lucky to get a slot!” the teal-haired girl stammered. “No one else wanted it, so I took it and broadcasted my voice out there!”

“Broadcast?” Lyrica yelped, seeing the Landlady approaching them. “Ah, you must refer to 5pb. Radio, yes?”

The teal-haired radio girl nodded shyly. “How did she get up here?”

“I see” the Landlady said with a smile. “Me and the ones I’m looking after hear your radio broadcasts every day! I heard one of them even sent suggestions to your radio”

“I-Is that so?” Lyrica stuttered, smiling a little. “I’m glad to hear that!”

“Okay, enough small talk” Jessie butted in. “Mind telling what you’re doing around here?”

Lyrica gulped. “W-Well, I…ummm…”

The jewel store owner narrowed her eyes against the radio girl, causing her to stammer in embarrassment.

The Landlady sighed. “Calm down, both of you. We mustn’t make a scene here…”

Lyrica gulped. “I-I’m so sorry! I was just trying to find another topic for the radio, so I went around and observed people and…”

Jessie sighed. “Settle down. We’re not gonna turn you to the ‘Disciplinary Committee’ or anything like that. Remember Lesson #1 of Public Speaking?”

The teal-haired girl nodded. “’Take deep breaths to center yourself’”

She proceeded to do just that.

“To reiterate, I was observing people for my next topic on the radio. I-I was busy watching over those group of people over there doing various jobs here and there”

The Landlady and Jessie looked to where Lyrica was pointing, seeing Roxas, Maho and their friends talking to Biggs, likely about their payment.

“I see” the Landlady said as she nodded. “You wish to talk about what students do during summer break, am I right?”

“T-That’s part of it” Lyrica answered. “The real reason is…well…”

She took another deep breath. “I-I wanna know…What’s it’s like to have friends…To h-hang out with them…To have fun with them…”

“Oh, Lyrica…” the Landlady muttered, feeling bad for the girl.

Jessie sighed. How many times has she done that today? “The pains of being a teenager, huh?”

She then approached Lyrica and laid her arm around her neck.

“J-jessie?”

Jessie chuckled at the nervous teen. “No need to get your undies wet. Tell you what? We’ll continue your training if time allows it. That way, once you’ve got the guts, you can go approach people like a normal person. How about that?”

“A-Are you sure?” Lyrica stuttered.

Jessie grinned, patting her friend on the back. “Sure, am sure! Besides, you managed to hold a conversation with Ms Landlady there!”

Lyrica gasped, staring at the aforementioned Landlady, who smiled.

“W-Well…” the teen stammered, playing with her fingers. “S-She seemed pretty nice to talk to…”

“And I’ll make sure you can help talk to tons of people!” Jessie reassured. “By the time we’re done, you’ll be able to face a crowd like a garden of vegetables! I guarantee it!”

Lyrica raised a hand in protest. “L-let’s take this slowly, okay?”

The Landlady then offered some sweets to her. “Here”

The teen stared at the offerings. “F-For me? Why?”

The Landlady hummed. “Do I need a reason to? Please. Just take it”

Lyrica gulped, taking the candies into her hands. “T-Thank you, so much!”

Jessie then escorted Lyrica out of the open lot. “Okay, first off. Let’s see how well you can look someone straight in the eye…”

As the sounds of the duo began to shrink, the Landlady couldn’t help but chuckle. “There are all sorts of people out there, aren’t there?”

Satisfied, she decided to head home for the day.

Twilight Town – Market Street: Station Heights

As the Landlady was about to head home, she noticed some strangers in black coats approaching the Central Station.

“Who are they?” the Landlady wondered. But then, she remembered something. “Aren’t Roxas and the others headed there, too?”

Sensing danger, the Landlady ran to where the Black Coats are…

“Ah!”

…only to end up being bumped into by someone.

“Huh?”

She turned to see another figure in a black coat just walking past her, saying something to her...

“HEY!”

The Landlady gasped, turning to see an angry Barret running to her.

“Stay still, you freak!”

The hooded figure grunted, running in a sprint to the Back Alley.

“You okay?” Barret asked as he caught his breath. “You hurt anywhere?”

“I’ll be alright” the Landlady reassured as she dusted off the dirt on her outfit. “I…just got worried about…”

But as she turned her head and noticed no-one near the Central Station.

“Huh?” the Landlady gasped. “I swear there were more of them going to the station…”

“You sure you’re just seein’ things?” Barret wondered. “Maybe you’re just tired from walkin’ around all day…”

The Landlady sighed. “I guess…”

But when her hand tried to reach for something, she gasped. “My sweets!”

She then looked around in a frenzy. “That weird stranger in the black coat took it!”

“Seriously!?” Barret complained. “I thought we left all that burglar stuff yesterday!”

“This is bad…” the landlady bemoaned. “I bought all those sweets for the two, and now they’re gone…”

Barret scratched his head, confused over what to do. “H-hey, don’t sweat it! Tell ya what, I’ll get Wedge to deliver another bag to ya! Just tell him it’s an emergency and stuff!”

“Are you sure?” the Landlady asked.

Barret nodded, pounding his chest. “Just leave it to me!”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Dining Room

“You lost what!?”

Currently, the Landlady, standing from her seat, looked over the dejected Roxas and crying Maho. Clearly, something bad must’ve happened…

Roxas sighed. “We were gathering up all the money we earned, and heading into the station to get tickets to the beach, and then some jerk in a black coat went and took it. Tripped me on the floor, even!”

“You too?” the Landlady gasped.

“And that’s not the end of it!” the blonde-haired kid complained, looking at the sobbing Maho.

“...I’m…sho…shorry…I won’t…loshe it…again…”

“What happened to her?”

Roxas groaned. “She tried to help me up, but another guy in a black hood showed up and got in her way. Next, she knew, her phone was gone…”

“Oh no…” The Landlady growled. “Did they hurt you anywhere?”

“Other than my ankle, I’m pretty fine” the teenage boy answered. “Same can’t be said for all our munny or Maho’s phone…”

He looked to her, still sobbing on the table. “Or her sanity…”

The Landlady sighed, sitting down as she covered her face with her hands. “I knew there was something going on…”

“What’s wrong?” Roxas asked.

“Someone bumped into me on the way home…” the Landlady started. “Next thing I knew, I lost something the sweets I purchased…”

“Whaaaaaaaa----!?” Maho yelled. She was looking forward to those sweets! “Why…?”

“Wait” Roxas interrupted. “Did they happen to have a black coat on them, too?”

The Landlady nodded hesitantly. “Yes…”

“Did they say something to you?” Roxas continued.

“Say something…?”

The Landlady thought for a moment, recalling what the thief said.

“Can you feel Neptune?” she recalled. “That’s what she said, I think.”

“Weird…” The boy nodded. “The guy who tripped me also asked ‘Can you feel Sora?’ to me before he went off with our hard-earned cash…”

Recalling this caused Roxas to slam his hand on the table. “Curses! What is up with today!? Who were they!?”

Seeing the sorry sight before her, the Landlady sighed, trying to suppress a cry. “I’m sorry. I’m not a good Landlady…”

“Huh?” Maho shouted, her cheeks still stained with her stains.

“Where did that come from?” Roxas wondered.

“I was supposed to keep you two safe” the landlady started, covering her tear-stained face with her face. “Keep you fed and happy, but I couldn’t do any of that today or even yesterday. I’m so sorry”

“Hey…” Maho started, placing her hand over the landlady’s own. “Don’t apologize”

“What she said” Roxas reassured. “We’re still here and we’re all still alive. We won’t leave you”

The Landlady sniffed. “Really?”

“’Course we won’t!” Maho said with a smile, wiping out the snot from her nose. “You’re, like, the best caretaker we’ve ever known!”

Roxas nodded. “We’ll be together forever, right?”

“Yeah” the Landlady reassured. “As long as we’re here, we’ll always be together, right?”

As the mood in the dining room settled down, the three heard the doorbell.

“Who is it?” Roxas wondered.

The Landlady stood from her seat. “I’ll go get it”

She answered the door and saw…

“Biggs?”

“Hey” the armor shop owner greeted. “Heard you got into some trouble, so I thought I’d pass by for one more errand”

“Errand?”

As if to answer Roxas’ question, Biggs then brought out a paper bag with him.

“Are those…!?” Maho gasped.

“Yup” Biggs answered. “Funny thing is, Wedge ran out of sweets for the day. The one Ms Landlady purchased back there were the last ones. Yet, by some miracle, he found out ‘nother batch all readied up before we closed shop.”

He then gave the bag to them as they looked inside.

“Is that really…?” Roxas wondered.

“Yeah!” the Landlady sniffed. “It’s just like the bag of sweets I bought! Look, the receipt I had for it is still in here!”

“Huh” Biggs muttered. “Look at that…”

Maho gasped, catching something interesting inside it. “My buddy!”

She went in and retrieved her cellphone from the bag, clutching dearly onto it as she cried. “It’s okay! Mama’s got ya! She’s not letting you go again!”

“How did that get there?” Roxas asked. “That seems kinda odd…”

“Who cares, man…” Maho said through her tears. “We got our stuff back. That’s all that matters!”

The blonde-haired kid hummed. “Biggs, there wouldn’t happen to be a small orange pouch with around 7500 munny in Wedge’s place, is there?”

Biggs sighed. “No luck on that. Still, it seems kinda weird that our mystery thief just left those in Wedge’s place of all places…”

Roxas sighed as well. “Well, we should count our blessings, I guess…”

“Indeed…” the Landlady agreed, wiping off her tears. “Thank you so much, Biggs.”

“No need for that” Biggs reassured. “Call that a reward for housing two industrious teenagers and for saving his kitten yesterday. You’re doing fine, Ms Landlady”

The Landlady giggled. “T-Thank you. We really appreciate this!”

Biggs laughed. “Thank the boss, Jessie and Wedge, too. They all pulled together to look for your stuff. I was just the delivery man here”

“Then extend my thanks to them as well” the Landlady bowed in thanks. “Thank you all so much!”

Biggs chuckled. “Alright. Alright. I’ll tell them”

Just as the man turned around and left, he stopped after three steps. “By the way, Roxas…”

“Yeah?”

Roxas saw Biggs turn his head to him. “Wedge says there’s another bag for you if you can win the title match in two days. Pretty good motivation, no?”

Maho drooled at the thought. “Hoooo, you gotta win this one, Roxas! That bag of sweets shall be OURS!”

Roxas laughed. “Alright. Alright. I’ll do my best!”

Biggs grinned, giving a thumbs up to him. “You better pull all the stops in two days. You have my support there!”

Roxas smirked, wiping his nose. “Watch me!”

Biggs then turned around and waved them goodbye as he left.

The Landlady laughed. “Now then, who wants to have some sweets to settle down?”

The two teens excitedly raised their hands. “ME!”

As laughter and cheer rang throughout the atmosphere in their little apartment, the landlady knew that…despite the last-minute setbacks….

Today was a good day!

MahoMeansMagic: gaaaaaahhhhh! so hot~! 🥵 🥵 🥵 i wish we were in the beach right about now...

NGears4U: What happened?

MahoMeansMagic: oh, you know? planned a vacay out. worked our butts off to get enough munny, and then...the moneys lost! 🙃 this freakin blows! 😡

MahoMeansMagic: almost lost my phone too…

NGears4U: Say what!? 😱

MahoMeansMagic: and miss landlady’s sweets too…

NGears4U: I’m so sorry. You must have had a rough day today, huh? 😢

MahoMeansMagic: hey, you got nothin to apologize for.

MahoMeansMagic: besides, my phone is here with me again and ms landlady got her sweets back! so, you know. silver linings and all that! 😁

MahoMeansMagic: still, this stinks. we were so lookin forward to that beach trip. 😒

NoApplesPls: A beach, huh? Nepgear, didn’t you go to a beach at one point?

MahoMeansMagic: for realsies!? 😱 ooooohhhhh~! tell me! tell me! 😲😲😲

NGears4U: I mean, it’s more of a small tropical island than a beach, but...yeah, it’s got water, nice winds, warm weather. The sunsets there are particularly beautiful, I hear.

MahoMeansMagic: anything else? 🤔

NGears4U: Well, I hear they have this star-shaped fruit tree.

MahoMeansMagic: nice! something to snack on! 😁

NGears4U: Well, there’s a legend regarding the fruit. It’s said that if you shared that fruit with someone, your lives will be bound together for life!

MahoMeansMagic: uh-huh. so romantic stuff. you sure friends can’t share the fruit? 🤔

NGears4U: Huh. I...don’t know about that, actually. 🤔

MahoMeansMagic: better do more research on that, gearsy!

NGears4U: Yeah...

MahoMeansMagic: though if any here deserves a frickin vacation, its definitely anri!

NoApplesPls: Me?

MahoMeansMagic: sh-yeah! you've been workin’ non-stop on that project on yours on top of keepin an eye on me and the town. you dang deserve one for all your hard work! 😁

NoApplesPls: I appreciate the thought. Really. But I’m fine.

NGears4U: I’m with Maho on this one! You really need a break after...everything, really.

NoApplesPls: Nepgear...

MahoMeansMagic: im sensing a dark history there...

NoApplesPls: Not as dark as you feared, but...yeah. I...had a bit of a rough patch before I came onto this job...

MahoMeansMagic: this is sounding pretty serious. imma stop you there. best save that convo face-to-face, mkay?

NoApplesPls: Thanks, Maho. 🙂

MahoMeansMagic: still though. what are we gonna do? this summer lookin to be a pretty boring one... 😔

NoApplesPls: I mean, there are other things you can do there, right? The Struggle Tournament is in a few days, after all.

NGears4U: And there’s the Seven Mysteries I’ve heard about too! 😃

MahoMeansMagic: cool, but one, registrations closed, and two, thats probably gonna be our report for the independent study assignment.

NGears4U: Well...um... 😓

MahoMeansMagic: eh, today wasn’t completely terrible though. heard ms landlady made a new friend today.

NoApplesPls: Oh? Who is it?

MahoMeansMagic: lyrica. the radio girl? apparently shes really shy around people. who knew? 🤨

NoApplesPls: Ah, you’re referring to .5pb, correct?

MahoMeansMagic: yup-yup! shes been lookin into our daily routine and seeing what she can do to improve talking to people, since she really freezes up when around other human beings.

NGears4U: Wow, that was forward of her... 😲

NoApplesPls: Well, let’s hope nothing bad happens tomorrow...

NGears4U: Um, Anri... 😅

NoApplesPls: What is it?

MahoMeansMagic: if something bad does happen tomorrow, you owe me an extra rice bowl for dinner tomorrow. 😤

NoApplesPls: Huh?

NGears4U: You probably shouldn’t have jinxed that... 😅

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“I’m back!”

Anri sighed as she turned her head back a bit to see someone with a black coat entering the room.

“Welcome back, Uni” Anri greeted the figure, who took out their hood, revealing their feminine face and black hair tied into small twin-tails. “How did it go?”

Uni sighed. “Nothing much out there compared to yesterday, but who knows when those guys will try again…”

“Agreed” the gray-haired girl stated. “Sorry for making you guys go through that…”

Uni hummed, wondering what her friend was talking about. “Oh, you mean our little stop by the station?”

Anri nodded. “DiZ was panicking a bit when Roxas and the others planned to go to the beach, but since it doesn’t exist…”

“Tell me about it…” the black-haired girl complained. “First we went and stole stuff for our own use, and then he went and said that what he got is all we need. She and I had to round back and leave the stuff we stole behind on that candy store as we ran.” She sighed. “It was quite the afternoon, I tell you”

Anri forced out a laugh. “Again, sorry about that. I’d make more backdoor entrances and a beach for them if I could, but DiZ locked most of the creation functions from me in this system…”

The black-haired girl groaned. “Then tell him to just make one! He made this whole freakin’ town, for crying out loud!”

Anri shook her head. “Not in the cards, I’m afraid. He said it’d give the enemy another access point. Not to mention, with just the three of you being stretched thin yesterday, we’d rather not take any more risks. We’re already behind schedule as is…”

Uni sighed. “Good point. Still, aren’t we kinda…y’know cruel for locking them up like this?”

The gray-haired girl raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

She then see Uni approaching the screens, watching the one where Roxas, Maho and the Landlady are having supper for the day. Seeing the screen herself, she chimed in. “They look fine from where I’m watching.”

“Sure, but…” Uni started. “They don’t see it now, but they’re practically locked up in a cage until the time is here, and when that happens, they will…”

Anri sighed. “Yeah, I’m aware. It’s hard to believe that, knowing what they are.”

The black-haired girl sighed as well. “There’s gotta be another way. One where we can wake them up without having to take them away like this. It’s just…too cruel…”

“I know” the white-haired girl responded. “Nepgear and Naminé said as such as well…”

She then continued her typing as she maintained her vigil over the simulated town. “But time is not on our side. Any more delays and the Organization will get closer to their goal, and those two are our best bet to stop them”

Uni sighed once more. “I hate it when you people apply logic to your reasons. Anyway, is Nepgear here?”

Anri nodded. “She’s at the Pod Room with Naminé right now. Wanna check up on them?”

The black-haired girl nodded. “I will, in a while. Besides, she’s probably gonna need more time with her first friend there, considering where we’re all going after this…”

The white-haired girl sighed again. “I suppose so…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Pod Room

Meanwhile, a lone blonde girl wearing a simple white dress was busy watching over the twin pods in the area, all the while she continued to draw from her sketchpad.

“Hey, Naminé!”

She turned and faced the source of the sweet voice with a smile.

“Hi, Nepgear” Naminé greeted the lilac-haired girl. “How’re the others?”

“Doing fine” Nepgear answered. “Just went here to check up on them. You?”

Naminé chuckled. “Doing fine too”

The two then turned to the large twin pods in the middle of the room, where two people important to them lay asleep.

“Just a little more now” the blonde said. “Once his memories are restored and her Share Energy is stabilized, they should wake up, feeling new and refreshed”

Nepgear gave a sad smile. “I sure hope so...”

Naminé turned to her friend with a glum expression. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Hm?”

“You must still be reeling over what happened a few days ago...” Naminé noted. “About what happened to her...”

Nepgear frowned. “When haven’t I? I’ve only met her a few times, yet her final words...her fervent wish...they struck a chord to me...”

Naminé nodded. “That’s why you asked to insert what’s left of her into the simulation. So that you all can try to reconstruct her, piece by piece.”

Nepgear sighed. “We say that, but...I feel as if we’re nowhere close to piece her back together again. Sure, we’ve been able to reconstruct her form and heart in there, but without a new body, a new vessel, I don’t know if we’ll be able to restore her...”

“Don’t sell yourselves short...” the blonde girl reassured her friend. “The fact that you and your friend were able to establish a form for her fragmented heart in such a short time is nothing short of impressive.”

“Even so...” the nascent CPU continued to worry. “Are we fulfilling her last wishes this way? When this new person acts and feels so different from the one we knew?  When this new being doesn’t have the origin or memories to recall at all?”

The blond girl hummed. “This inner turmoil you now face...It must be what it’s like to have a heart to empathize. Feeling other’s pains and sorrow...”

Nepgear chuckled. “Come on. You’d feel that way if you were in my shoes...”

Naminé chuckled too. “I guess so. I would question that notion if not for what you, Plutia and Sora told me that day...”

“Speaking of Plutia, I wonder if she’s doing okay...” Nepgear wondered. “You still haven’t opened her letter yet, haven’t you?”

The blond shook her head. “I can pretty much tell what she would have written in that letter, and I’d rather she’d just tell us straight in the face why she just left.”

“It must be something important” Nepgear guessed. “Plutia doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who would go do something on a whim, her attitude notwithstanding”

Naminé nodded, placing a hand onto her heart. “Still, I hope she’s safe. Our promise wouldn’t come to pass if she’s not here with us...all of us...”

“Yeah...”

As the two continued to stare at the pods, Naminé then turned to Nepgear.

“Nepgear, can you watch over them for a while?”

“Hm?” Nepgear said, feeling confused. “Sure, but why?”

“There’s someone I need to meet...”

The blonde looked to her sketchpad, showing the drawing of two boys together, one with brown, spiky hair...

“Someone I need to tell...about himself and what awaits him...”

...and another boy with spiky, blonde hair, wearing black...

Overall restoration at 28%

The dreams began yet again...

This time, the dream takes place in an underwater land...

“Then you must already know...” a large and imposing merman told the party. “One must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds...”

The scene shifted. This time, a red-haired mermaid sat, burying her own face as she cried.

“Can ya think of a time your dad did somethin’ funny?”

The red-haired mermaid pondered on Goofy’s words for a bit...and then laughed.

The scenery changed, this time in a coliseum of some sorts...

“And thus, by the royal decree of Zeus, The God of Olympus...” the goatman read through. “I dub thee junior heroes...”

“Woahwoahwoah!” Neptune suddenly shouted. “What’s the meaning of this!?”

“Yeah, what do you mean ‘junior heroes’!?” Donald followed, similarly upset.

“You rookies still don’t understand what it takes to be a true hero” the goatman snapped back.

The scenery changed again, this time in a mysterious castle garden in a strange world...

“Loosen your shoulders, nyu”  a tiny girl said, massaging IF’s shoulders. “If they’re too stiff, you’ll freeze up a lot, nyu.”

“Is this the best you got?” the white-haired stranger mocked. “Surely you can do better!”

“Hey, I just got started on my journey here, so bear with me on this one, ‘kay?”

“I’M SO SORRY!”

Everyone stopped for a moment as IF shouted all of a sudden...

“So, you don’t need to apologize to us, Iffy! We’re friends, after all! We win or lose together!” Neptune said happily.

“Yeah” Sora nodded. “Friends rely on each other. There’s no need for favors or anything like that.”

And again, this time on a tent found out in the wilderness...

“...Don’t...fight...”

Compa and IF looked at the struggling Neptune, seemingly talking in her sleep.

“...Sora...Donald...please stop...fighting...If you two fight...you won’t be...happy...Goofy will stop...smiling...Your friends...will stop being happy...”

“Nep-Nep...” the nurse bemoaned...

“...You can...do it...Compa...”

The two girls turned to Neptune, who started speaking again.

“...There’s...no one else...out there...like you...”

“What do you mean, Nep-Nep?” Compa cried. “What else can I do here? Can I really do what I set out to do? Me, a failure who couldn’t even remember if she passed nursing school or not?”

“...It’s better...to try and fail...than to not do...and regret it...y’know?”

The scenery then changed again, this time in a hideout on a desert world...

The desert man opened his eyes. “I’ve made up my mind. Genie...my second wish is for CC2 to be cured...”

“Wish Numero Dos, GRANTED!”

“W...what was that?” a cat-girl(?) said as she shook her head and raised herself up.

“And now,” the desert man continued. “for my final wish...”

“Alright, lemme get my tracking equipment and we’ll get ourselves...”

“...I wish...for your freedom, Genie!”

“...a rescued princess, fresh from...say wha?”

Genie suddenly felt magic surging around him as his floating tail turned into humanoid legs and the braces on his wrists magically faded away, signifying his newfound freedom from genie servitude.

The scenery changed yet again, this time in a haunting world filled with ghosts and fright...

“Sally...” the skeletal man bemoaned, hanging his head down in shame. “...Why didn’t I listen to you?”

“Don’t feel bad, Jack” Sally reassured the skeleton man. “We’ll come up with a better plan for Halloween...”

She then takes his hands to hers, making him smile.

“And this time, we’ll do it together...”

The woman with the witch’s getup chuckled despite Neptune’s meek response. “Do not apologize. For you have a great many things that await you further on your path. You may stumble. You may find obstacles that may trip you, so to speak, but if you continue to push forward, so long as you stay true to your heart, you may find everything that you seek. Never lose faith, lass. Not in your friends. Not in others. Not in yourself. Eventually, in time, everyone, even those who once opposed you will see the radiance that belies in your heart, not the radiance they believe that you should have.”

The scenery changed yet again, this time which what seems to be a creature’s innards. Gross...

“Pinocchio...”

The ninja girl knelt down to the puppet boy

“...But you and your grandfather were willing to trust me despite not belonging in your world” the girl continued as she patted the boy’s head. “And I don’t treat things like trust lightly.”

“Why not?” Compa asked.

The lady with white hair sighed. “Riku here thinks this boy may hold the key to house Kai--’- lost heart.”

“Her...lost heart?” Neptune gasped.

“What happened to her!?” Sora demanded. “Did you really find her?”

“We already found her...” Riku replied.

“Besides, I am a Goddess. It is her duty to watch over those under her charge.”

She then raised her blade against the party. “Don’t hold back, because I won’t!”

Neptune groaned. “Do we have to? I’d rather talk this over with pudding than fight!”

The scenery changed back into the haunted town again, but this time...

Sora and Neptune looked at each other, and then upon looking back to the Newtype.

“Why do you keep fighting Neptune, anyway?” Sora asked.

The Newtype closed her eyes for a bit, and then she answered. “Because I was hoping to sense a ‘spark’ in her...”

“A...’spark’?” Neptune said, tilting her head.

The Newtype kept silent on that.

“C’mon, lady” Neptune shook her head. “You think that lil’ lovable Neptune here is a Goddess? Top of the food chain level of existence and all that?”

The Newtype chuckled. “Now that I began to think about, you being someone like me is ridiculous. I can never see that happening...”

The white-haired woman began to fly up again. “I see it was a waste of time to seek you out, after all. Forget everything I said. Enjoy your journey ahead or whatever. We likely won’t see each other again...”

“Wait!”

As the Newtype flew off into the sky, Neptune could only look on glumly. “...And we haven’t even gone on our date yet...”

“Neptune...”

The scenery changed, this time the party was flying out in the night sky...

“I’m flying...” Sora muttered. “I’m really flying, huh?”

The boy began to laugh. “I still can't believe it. Wait until I tell Kai-- about this!”

He then sighed. “I wonder if she’ll believe me. Probably not...”

“Hey, you can bring her to Neverland sometime” the young man in green offered. “Then she can try it out herself!”

“That’s a fantabulous idea!” Neptune nodded in agreement.

“Assuming our resident wizard doesn’t mind...” IF snarked.

“Ah, whatever!” Donald deflected. “Do what you want on that!”

“Guess the breaks in the World Order recently are starting to wear him down, huh?” Compa commented.

“I question the idea of such an Order existing in the first place” the yellow-haired woman flying with them wondered.

The scenery then returned to the Coliseum, this time Sora is meeting with a man wearing a red cape and a woman wearing orange.

“I’m searching too”

“For your light?” the soldier asked. Sora nodded.

“And not just me” the boy turned to Neptune, who is currently being chased around by IF after teasing her one too many times.

“You too, huh?” the aspiring adventurer mumbled.

The caped soldier then tossed an orb to the young Keyblade wielder, one with a red sword symbol on it.

“Don’t lose sight of it”

He then made for the door and opened it...

“Hey, how about a rematch sometime?” Sora asked as he waved the man goodbye. “Fair and square, no dark powers involved!”

“I want one too!” the adventurer declared. “I’ll get stronger and beat you too! To reach for my light! So please get stronger so you don’t lose your way too!”

“Hmph” the soldier flipped his hair. “I’ll think about it.”

He then left the premises, continuing on his path.

The scenery changed to that of a pirate’s ship...

“Donald! Goofy!” Sora shouted.

“Compa! Iffy! Where are you guys!?” Neptune screamed.

“You sure you should be asking about them?”

The two turned around to the source of the familiar voice.

“What about your old friends?”

“Riku!?” Sora called out.

“Okay, what’s your game this time, rude boy!?” Neptune demanded.

“Hmph. Instead of asking about them, you should be asking...”

Riku then stepped aside...

“...about her”

...to reveal a red-haired girl sitting behind him.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, everybody! 5bp. Radio, coming at you, live from your living rooms, bedrooms, whichever-rooms you’re listening from right now! For today, I wish to cover this one topic, and that is destined encounters! It can range from meeting a good friend, your everlasting rival to even the one you wish to share your life with for the rest of forever! Well, the reason I’m talking about this, you ask? Well, it turns I had a destined encounter just yesterday. I met a person full of cheer and spirit who guided me through the motions and another who’s definitely more down to earth and full of kindness. Seeing how confident they were and how well they get along with others inspire me to be more outgoing starting today! So, I hope that you all get something out of your destined encounters as well! Perhaps one day, we can talk about all of that over the radio as well! But let’s save that for another time! Right now, I need to talk about the hot new event coming in tomorrow...”

Twilight Town – Market Street: Tram Common

“And here’s your order, Ms Landlady!”

The Landlady giggled, handing her pay to the small child handling the goods store. “And here’s your pay, lil’ Marlene!”

The small child giggled, accepting the pay. “Thank you very much! Come by again!”

With the payment done, the Landlady and Maho carried the bags of groceries back to the apartment as they said goodbye to the little shopkeeper.

“So, uh…” the peach-haired girl started. “Remind me again. Why am I helping you with the groceries?”

The Landlady chuckled. “It’s your shift this time, remember? Roxas already helped out with these last time”

Maho hummed as she recalled that bit of information. “Oh yeah. Man, with everything going on, that felt like eons!”

“What do you mean?” the adult asked.

“I mean, a day when nothing extraordinary happened…” Maho stated. “You know, just lazing around, doing teenager stuff. Y’know, regular things”

The Landlady hummed. “Well, I admit, these ordinary days passed by like a blur compared to what has been going on these past few days…”

“Right!” the teenage girl exclaimed as she groaned. “What I’d give to keep these quiet days to last…”

The Landlady sighed. “Sad to say that’s impossible. Remember, in a few days, school will start up again.”

Maho groaned louder. “Don’t remind me! I still haven’t finished my summer homework…”

The Landlady sighed. “That’s no good. You should have done that beforehand.”

“But the others haven’t finished up theirs either!” the teenage girl complained. “Not to mention that independent group study…”

“Then tell me when you and your friends are coming over” the Landlady stated. “I’ll be sure to prepare snacks for all of you!”

“C’mon, Ms. Landlady!” Maho bemoaned, her eyes turning into white circles. “We’re not THAT lazy!”

The Landlady laughed at the teenage girl’s distress, much to her chagrin.

“C’mon…” she pleaded. “You’re embarrassing me…”

“Sorry! Sorry!” the purple-haired woman apologized as she calmed down. “Still, at least you’re feeling a little better now…”

Maho raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?”

The Landlady then turned herself to Maho. “Maho, I can’t help but notice that you’ve been feeling down lately…”

“Huh?” Maho felt incredulous at the declaration. “What are you talking about? If this is about what happened yesterday, it’s cool. I got over it since I got my phone back…”

The adult woman shook her head. “It’s not that. Ever since that day when the photos were stolen, sometimes when we eat together, you have this…look on your face”

The teenage girl raised an eyebrow with a low hum.

“Like…” the purple-haired woman clarified. “You were thinking of something and that made you feel down, but you refused to show it to us…to Roxas”

Maho gulped. Looks like the Landlady hit the bulls-eye.

“Is there something going on with you?”

Maho stammered. “I-I…”

Blurred images of white and grey filled --- vision as --- felt --- body floating in some sort of liquid. From --- view, a blur of black approached --- evercloser…

Sensing the teenager’s discomfort, the Landlady began to speak again.

“You don’t have to tell us right away, but if it still bothers you, then feel free to confide into me. I can keep a secret.”

Maho contemplated with a serious expression. A first for her, really.

“Promise?”

The Landlady nodded. “Promise”

Taking a deep breath, Maho began to speak. “So…you know those weird dreams you and Roxas had lately?”

The adult woman nodded. “You’ve been having them, too?”

To her surprise, the peach-haired girl shook her head. “No, that’s just it. It’s…something else. I try asking some…other people about it, but they couldn’t give me a straight answer…”

“Blurred images in your dreams?” Anri repeated over the line.

Maho nodded with a hum. “It was all weird and stuff…Like, I’m pretty sure I’ve never been in a place that white before…”

Anri hummed in response.

“And the weirdest part of it? It felt…real. Like, I really was in there. At least, that’s what my heart’s telling me…”

Anri sighed. “I see…”

“So…any ideas?”

“I…” the other girl stammered. “I…cannot say. Blurred images can’t exactly tell a whole story…”

“C’mon, Anri!” Maho complained. “I thought you’re supposed to be smart here!”

“On technology and science, yes” Anri snapped. “But when it comes dream interpretation, I’m at a loss here…”

Maho groaned. “Great. How am I supposed to go to sleep with this hanging over my head?”

“You think you had it bad?” Anri complained. “I’m practically in the same boat.”

“Get out of here” the peach-haired girl replied.

The white-haired girl over the line sighed. “I’m serious. I noticed that I’ve lacked memories from my childhood. I’d recall if I have parents or a family…but…nothing. Just blurred images and sounds I can’t decipher…”

Maho giggled. “Guess we’re stuck in the same boat, huh?”

Anri giggled back. “Yup. Guess we are…”

“I see…” the Landlady understood. “Mind if we continue this in the apartment?”

Maho nodded. “Sure. Wouldn’t want any eavesdroppers on us…”

“Or to have you pass out before you can finish your story…”

Maho nodded again. “Yeah. That too…”

Just as the two were about to leave, they saw Roxas running into their view.

“Hey!” he greeted, gasping for breath.

“Yo” Maho greeted back. “Did you run a marathon or something?”

“What’s wrong, Roxas?” the Landlady asked.

After catching his breath, Roxas straightened his posture, looking around the area.

“Have you two seen a blonde girl in a white dress anywhere?”

The two ladies looked at each other for an answer, and then looked back at the blonde-haired kid.

“Nah. Didn’t see one…” Maho answered.

“I don’t recall seeing someone like that around here…” the Landlady responded. “And I practically know everyone in town…”

Roxas groaned. “That’s weird. Just invite me for a talk and then vanish, why don’t you?”

The two ladies hummed, wondering what’s going on.

The teenage boy sighed. “It’s nothing. Anyway, I’ll keep looking. Hopefully, it won’t take long before Hayner finalizes whatever he’s doing.”

Maho nodded. “I’ll catch up with ya once I bring these bad boys home!”

“Stay safe, okay?” the Landlady requested.

Roxas nodded. “See ya!”

And then he ran off, looking for a blonde girl in white he swore that he just met…

Maho sighed at that. “Remember what I said earlier about weird stuff happening?”

The Landlady made a slight groan. “Something is going to happen today, isn’t it?”

The teenage girl deflated. “Unfortunately…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“She did WHAT!?” DiZ shouted.

“She entered the simulation and established contact with Roxas” Anri reported. “Is there an issue with that?”

“Issue!?” the man in red exclaimed. “Naminé should be focusing with restoring Sora and Neptune’s memories along with their Share Energy, not consorting with her fellow Nobody and the vessel!”

“And who are you to tell her what she can do!?” the young girl in the black hood fought back, entering the room in a huff.

“What!?” DiZ turned around to face the hooded girl in anger.

“The way I see it” the young girl continued. “Naminé has been held captive for so long that she deserved every bit of freedom she can get! Keep her locked up and you’d be no different from the Organization that held her and Nepgear captive!”

“But they were traitors!”

“From the same Organization at that! Don’t you go claim the moral high ground here, mister!”

DIZ growled in anger. “I don’t need to hear this from an insolent simulacrum like you!”

The young girl then growled in return. “What was that!?”

“Uni, please!”

Nepgear then barged into the room, stopping her friend from assaulting the man in red, causing said girl’s hood to drop in the process.

“Let me go, Nepgear!” Uni demanded. “He was just badmouthing Naminé!”

“Please!” Nepgear pleaded. “If anyone is to blame for sneaking her into the simulation, it’s me! I brought her into the simulation when no one else was looking!”

DiZ then turned his angered gaze at the nascent CPU.

“She’s lying” Anri observed. “I was here the whole time, and no logs indicated that Naminé used the machine to enter into the simulated world. How was she able to inject herself into this world’s data without this device? A Dark Corridor, perhaps?”

Suddenly, alarm bells rung within the room, as the computer screens began to flash red.

“Nobodies!” Anri reported, typing away at the keyboards. “Detecting forced entries in three sectors!”

“Call those two and send them into the digital world!” DIZ commanded. “Those minions must NOT retrieve Roxas OR the vessel!”

“Already sent a message!” the white-haired girl replied. “But Maho and the Landlady are close in one of the sectors, too!”

“They can’t fight them off like this!” Nepgear cried with worry. “Even with Roxas defending them!”

“Not if I have anything to say about that” Uni said, approaching the machine. “Anri, send me in there. I’ll go help them out!”

“Got it!”

“Then I’ll keep the pods safe!” Nepgear said as she turned around. “Be careful, Uni!”

Uni huffed. “Who do you think you’re talking to? You know I won’t miss my mark!”

Nepgear giggled as she nodded, heading back to the pod rooms and leaving the other two girls to their work.

Leaving DiZ in a fit of frustration, judging by his angrily clenched fist.

“Of all the times they have to move in...”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“Okay!” Maho shouted. “Can someone tell me what in the pancakes is GOING ON HERE!?”

Sure enough, the scene in front of her can be described as pandemonium. All around the sandlot, Seifer and his Disciplinary Committee are putting up a valiant fight against the white creatures from before, or rather the Nobodies. Seven of them, to be precise.

“What’s the matter, y’know!?” Raijin taunted one of the Dusks in front of him, his bo staff gripped in his right hand. “Too scared to fight us!?”

The Nobody in front of him took the taunt and attacked him. Rai tried to hit it with his weapon, but the white creature bent it’s form around the bo staff and knocked the large teenager into the ground.

“AGH! Y’KNOW!?”

Fuujin clicked her teeth, her own blue frisbee returning to her hand. “DANGER! CRITICAL!”

Seifer growled, standing defiantly against three Dusks as Vivi cowered behind him. “These freaks will regret strolling around my town!”

“Those creatures…” the Landlady gasped. “They’re the same ones from two days ago!”

Maho groaned, bringing out her frisbee. “Great. Guess they want another go at us now…”

Hearing their sounds, some of the white creatures, three of them to be exact, diverted their attention to the two ladies.

The Lost Goddesses!

No, they are imposters!

No matter! Restrain them and our liege will come to us!

Maho growled as she noticed them coming closer, raising her gray frisbee against them. “Not a step closer, you freaks!”

She threw the disc against them, but the Nobodies’ advance did not deter in the slightest!

“Aw, c’mon!” Maho whined as the frisbee returned to her hand. “What are these things made of!?”

Before the teenage girl could throw her disc again, the white creatures quickly slithered against them and bound the two girls, restraining their arms against their bodies.

“GAH!” the Landlady screamed.

“LET US GO, YOU CREEPS!” Maho shouted.

“Roxas! They’re here!” a different voice cried out. “They’ve got Maho and the Landlady!”

“Huh?” Maho wondered, looking around despite her trapped state. “Who was that?”

“LET THEM GO!”

The two girls turned their heads to the source of the voice, fighting his way through the Nobodies with his new mystical weapon in hand!

“ROXAS!”

Seeing the blonde-haired kid arriving on the scene, the white creatures, including the ones who kept Maho and the Landlady captive, all proceeded to close in and surround him, lurking around him as they did so.

Roxas braced his stance, ready to take the Nobodies down. “Come and get it!”

A swing to the left against two Nobodies!

A forward thrust against the Nobody in front of him!

A Reversal that sent the group into a daze!

Another swing against the three in his right!

The fight continued on, but as the enemy numbers seemed to dwindle, more of the white creatures come in to take their place!

“This is no use! Their numbers are endless!” the Landlady uttered, catching her breath. “What do we do…?”

Maho seethed with anger, clenching her free fist that wasn’t holding onto her frisbee.

“Seriously, Maho. Get some sleep. You’re not gonna be able to protect if you’re sleep-deprived…”

The angered girl clicked her teeth. “I was the one who was supposed to be protecting the both of you, yet I can’t seem to do anything…What am I supposed to do!?”

Roxas began to feel out of breath as the Nobodies began to swarm him and pile on him!

“GAH!” the blonde-haired kid gasped. “Maho…Ms…Landlady…Run…”

“ROXAS!”

“Don’t give up!” the new voice spoke out again. “Never lost faith in your heart, Roxas!”

The two ladies tried again to look for the source of the voice…

“Up there!”

The Landlady pointed up on the rooftops, seeing a blonde girl with blue eyes wearing a white dress.

“Grrkkk…”

As Roxas vainly tries to reach the blonde girl with his free hand, a bright light began to emerge on him and the piled-up Nobodies!

“Wha…!?”

“Look out!”

The Landlady immediately shielded the dazed Maho as the light grew brighter and larger…

??? ????? ????? – Dive into the Heart – Station of Serenity

“Huh?”

Roxas looked around and saw nothing but black.

“It’s dark. Pitch black…only it isn’t where I’m standing on…”

As Roxas regained his bearings, he noticed three things.

One, he was standing when he was supposedly piled on by a ton of those white creatures from two days ago.

Two, said creatures are now…standing out of the edges of the platform he is now standing on.

And three…

“Wha…!?”

…said platform is actually a sort of glass painting of blue and purple, one depicting a young boy with spiky brown hair on the right and a purple-haired girl on the left, seemingly asleep. In the middle of the circle contains eight circles, one of which is a blurred picture and the remaining seven of which were filled with faces that Roxas has seen before.

“What…is all this…?”

Twilight Town – Basement: Computer Room

Anri gasped in awe at she witnessed the scene in front of her. “It looks like he vanished…”

“He’d better not have been taken away…” DiZ stated, his tone unamused.

“Worry not” Anri reassured, looking at another of the monitors. “I can still read his vitals. So long as he’s not out of this simulated world, we can still track him no problem…”

She then looked back at the main screen, showing Maho and the Landlady looking around.

“At least without the Nobodies around…” the white-haired girl stated. “those two will remain safe for the time being…”

“I certainly hope your recreation will do its work to keep those two safe” DiZ mused as he looked onto the screens. “Recreating a Keyblade wielder, much less one based from a Lost Goddess, is no easy feat.”

“SHE will do well, DiZ” Anri corrected. “Though this is just a small fragment of what we managed to recover from her...”

“Do not undersell your achievement, young Anri” the man in red reassured. “Simply recreating a single person with data is a difficult task for anyone to achieve, even moreso with fragmented data. Only those with a certain degree of intelligence can even comprehend what we are undertaking”

Anri sighed. “So, you say, but I certainly can’t recreate an entire world with just data like you did here...”

“And even then, this isn’t all of it” DiZ remarked. “I’ve only recreated enough of this town to keep Roxas contained until the memory restoration is complete. Once it is done, he would have to merge back with Sora, for he holds half of what he is.”

“That is what I heard from the others about them...” the white-haired girl stated. “Does the same go for the Landlady?”

“Indeed” the man in red answered. “As the vessel who holds onto the essence of the Lost Goddess, her survival is equally as paramount. We can only hope the Organization does not discover her importance before it is time…”

“As you say…” Anri said.

“Regardless, we need to ensure the safety of the simulation if their restoration is to proceed unhindered” DiZ stated. “Status report!”

“Sector CS is under assault!” a woman’s voice reported from the screens. “They’re sending more Dusks and Creepers down here! I think I even saw a new one wielding a rapier here. A Fencer?”

“Sector TC is no better” a man’s voice shouted from the comms. “There’s Samurai, Mimics and Twin Mages among their numbers here. There’s also an Enchanter among them.”

“It seems our enemies are gaining more variety in their ranks...” DiZ said. “Are they starting to intensify their search parties?”

“Possibly...”

The alarms blared again as one of the screens was taken up by a flashing red light.

“A high-level signature!?” Anri panicked. “This is bad!”

“Where is it located?” DiZ wished to know.

“Sector S...” Anri stated, widening her eyes in surprise. “That’s where Maho, the Landlady and Naminé are!”

“Then begin ejection procedures!” DiZ shouted. “We can’t allow the Organization to claim the vessel and Roxas!”

“On it!”

Anri began typing furiously once more, hoping to contain the situation. “I only hope you can get there in time, Uni…”

Twilight Town – Sandlot – A Few Minutes Earlier

After a good seven seconds, the light dissipated…

“What was that…?”

As Maho asked that question, the two ladies looked around, only to find the blonde-haired kid and the pile of white creatures gone!

“That weird light took Roxas!” Maho shouted, her eyes replaced with white circles. “Hey, double time, people! Our boy’s gone missing!”

…But there was no answer. Looking around, the two women noticed that Seifer and his gang are completely frozen in whatever positions they were in.

“They’re not moving…” the Landlady noticed.

“Okay…” Maho exclaimed. “Seeing folks turning into statues was not on my bingo card of weirdness today, but…here we are…”

“Still though…” the Landlady wondered. “Where did Roxas go? Where did that light take him?”

“He’s undergoing a trial right now” an approaching voice answered. “One that will test the strength and integrity of his heart.”

The two girls then saw the blonde girl from earlier approaching them in the sandlot.

“It’s you…” the Landlady gasped. “You’re the girl Roxas saw, right?”

“Woah…” Maho gasped in awe. “Guess he wasn’t seeing things…”

The girl giggled. “That’s right. I wanted to speak with him regarding some things, so I came to this town and approached him.”

“Right…” Maho nodded. “So, who are ya? His secret girlfriend or something?”

“Maho!” the Landlady scolded the teenage girl, bonking her head. “That’s rude. If Roxas had a girlfriend, I’d be the first to know!”

“Huh!?” Maho screamed, her eyes turning into white circles again. “Then what about me!? Don’t I have the right to know!?”

“Still! People are entitled to their privacy! Roxas is no exception!”

“Then why do you feel the need to know if he has a girlfriend or not!?”

The blonde girl giggled at their little spat.

“Sorry” the girl apologized. “Seeing you two talk like that reminded me of something similar I witnessed about a year ago. Hard to believe it’s been that long…”

She then cleared her throat, holding the hem of her dress as she bowed. “Anyway, my name is Naminé, and no, I only met Roxas today. It’s nice to meet you two!”

“Oh, cool!” Maho cheered. “I’m Maho, and this here’s our Landlady!”

The Landlady bowed in a curtsy. “Nice to meet you. What brings you to our fair town?”

“Well…” Naminé started. “Call it curiosity. I’ve been wanting to meet someone like me for quite a while now…”

“Someone like you…?” the Landlady repeated.

“Okay, before you answer that” Maho butted in. “Mind answering us these? What are those white things? Why is everyone frozen stiff? And Where. Is. Roxas!?”

Naminé gulped, trying to calm herself and Maho down. “I-I can explain! It may take a while, but…”

“Ah-hah! I found it!”

“Took you long enough...*annoyed*”

A Dark Corridor manifested on the other side of the sandlot, and from that corridor, two small figures wearing Black Coats emerged into the area.

“Finally!” one of the two figures with the voice of a small girl, said energetically, running into the sandlot with her arms spread wide. “We made it! Why do we have to go through so many hoops to get here? This IS the same town, right?”

“Not quite” another small figure, one with a quieter, but still girly, voice, spoke. “This one’s a...what did they call it? A simu-lation?”

“Simu-what now?” the first girl in black said.

“It’s basically a fake town” the second girl summed up.

“Oh, I see” the first girl nodded. “Why are we in a fake town?”

“Oh no...” Naminé gasped, running up behind the magenta-haired girl. “It’s the Organization!”

“Organization?” the Landlady asked, shielding the blonde girl from their view.

“So, all those weirdos wearing black coats belong in a group?” Maho followed, preparing her frisbee.

“Um” Naminé stammered. “Not really, but these two definitely are...”

The two tiny girls in black coats then looked at Maho, causing them to gasp in surprise.

“No way...”

“Is that her? *hopeful*”

The two girls then ran up to Maho in a quick sprint, surprising the magenta-haired girl herself.

“Uhhhh” Maho sounded. “Can I help you?”

“Huh?” the energetic girl said, surprised. “Why are you acting all weird? Don’t you recognize us?”

“Ummmm...” the quiet girl said, patting her companion’s shoulder. “Our hoods are still up...*fidgets*”

“Oh, right!”

The energetic girl then took off her hood, revealing her medium-length brown hair, energetic smile and a magenta hairclip to the left of her hair.

“See, it’s me, Xarm! You know, Number XVIII?” the first girl introduced herself. “C’mon, take yours off too!”

“O-Okay...*nervous*”

The second girl did as she was told, revealing her short-length brown hair, nervous disposition and a blue hairclip to the right of her hair.

“They’re twins...” Naminé muttered under her breath.

“And children at that…” the Landlady mumbled, feeling a bit of disgust. “Who would bring such innocent ones into their fold?”

“It’s me, Xorm. I’m Number XVII.” the second girl asked. “Do you remember us now? *blink blink*”

Maho scrunched her eyebrows in thought. “Have I seen these two before? I’d remember if I ever met such rambunctious twins before…”

The teenage girl shook her head “Sorry, don’t know you two”

The twins gasped.

“B-But…” Xorm stammered. “We’re such good friends…*whimper*”

Seeing this, the Landlady began to approach them, kneeling down to their level. “I’m sure your friend is still out there somewhere. We’re sorry, but perhaps we can find her for you, if you wa---”

“Nuh-uh!” Xarm replied immediately, shooting the offer down. “We’re proud members of Organization XIII! We can find our friend without you, you big dummy!”

The Landlady gulped. She clearly did not expect to get shot down or insulted by a young child!

“Hey!” Maho yelled at the tiny girl. “That was very rude! Ms. Landlady was just trying to help! Apologize to her now!”

“Hey, what’s your deal?” the energetic twin fought back. “Why’d you go out of your way to defend this lady? You don’t know her!”

“Yuh-huh, I do!” the teenage girl shouted. “I’ve known Ms Landlady for as long as I lived! Of course I’d defend her from weirdos like you!”

The energetic girl, Xarm, began to laugh. “Weirdos? Us? C’mon, stop trying to trick us. We know you’re too serious for that kind of stuff!”

The quiet girl nodded. “We know you’re always focused on the mission at hand. All priorities are secondary to the Organization’s grand goal. Those are your words, right Xomah? *?*”

Their statements only served to confuse Maho even more.

“Okay, this is getting confusing…” she thought. “Wonder if Roxas is faring any better…”

??? ????? ????? – Dive into the Heart – Station of Awakening

“Man, I’m NOT faring any better over here…”

Meanwhile, Roxas was busy fighting against a giant white creature, with a body as slender and stretchy as the smaller Nobodies from before.

This creature is a Twilight Thorn and it’s powers have bound Roxas far above the glass platform, leaving him suspended and trapped at it’s mercy.

Seeing it’s prey, the large Nobody closed it’s head upon the blonde-haired kid, causing the captive to growl as he struggled to break free.

Sensing his defiance, the Twilight Thorn readied one of it’s hands to attack, but just before his attack landed…

“HAH!”

…he dodged to the side despite his binds and struck back against the Twilight Thorn with all his strength!

With a Key Counter, Roxas sent the giant white creature reeling back with the power of his Keyblade.

“How’s that!?” Roxas taunted, still not free from his binds. “Want some more!?”

Not to be deterred, the Twilight Thorn grabbed it’s prey with it’s two slender hands and tossed him upward.

“WOAH!”

Sensing a hand about to hit him in the middle of his fall, Roxas leapt over the hand and struck his giant foe at the head with a Lunarsault, causing it to fall off the glass platform!

Roxas grunted as he landed back down on solid ground. “That was a close one. Hopefully Maho and Ms. Landlady are doing fine back there…”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“Uh, are you sure you’re mistaking me for someone else?” the magenta-haired girl stated, scratching her head. “I’m Maho, not this ‘Xomah’ person, whoever she is”

“Nuh-uh!” Xarm denied. “You’re Xomah! Magenta hair. Weird hairclip. You look like Xomah to me!”

Xorm nodded. “Do you know someone named Roxas or Axel?”

“Axel?” Naminé wondered.

Maho scrunched her face. “I dunno an Axel, but I do know Roxas! Blonde hair? Spiky? Sort of an attitude problem?”

The quiet girl nodded. “He’s a part of our group like you are, Xomah”

“Huh” Maho said. “Why do you two kids know Roxas? Does he have a part-time job at the nursery or something?”

Xarm groaned. “We’re not kids! We’re legit members of Organization XIII! And you are too, Xomah!”

“Psh!” Maho rejected. “I am not Xomah!”

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

This heated exchange continued for seven more seconds, until...

Xarm groaned again. “Okay then, if you’re gonna play dumb...”

She then extended her left hand, bringing out a small magenta staff that she split into two batons and charged them up with magic.

“What are you doing?” Maho asked, raising her guard.

“Hyah!”

Xarm then released the magical energy she charged up!

“AH!”

Maho shielding herself from the incoming blast, but nothing came to her, save the small chill that breathed behind her back.

“Whoa…” the teenager girl shivered. “When did the Sandlot get an A/C this powerful?”

She then gasped, remembering who was just behind her!

“MS. LANDLADY!”

She looked behind and her fears came true!

“I…” the adult woman struggled to speak, with most of herself save for her head and her right arm frozen in ice. “I’m…stuck…Naminé, you should…”

The Landlady tried to look behind her, only to find no trace of the blonde girl anywhere!

“W-Where did she…?”

“Wha...wha...” Maho stuttered, rage bubbling inside her. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?”

Xarm flinched at the angered response. “Wh-why are you so mad, Xomah!? You were never this angry or expressive before!? Did this fake town do something to you!?”

“Well, of course I’m mad!” Maho shouted. “You literally put my caretaker on ice! What else did you think I was gonna say!?”

The energetic twin girl stepped back in confusion. “I don’t get it...What happened to you, Xomah?”

“The way she responded...” Xorm said. “It’s almost like she had a heart...*surprised*”

Maho growled in anger. “Well, of course I have one! You gotta have one to feel feelings! That’s just a basic fact, kiddos!”

Xarm growled in response. “For the last time, Xomah! WE’RE NOT KIDS!”

The energetic girl hopped back, readying her batons for battle. “That’s it! Since you’re not coming in quietly, I’ll just have to force you back with us!”

Xorm sighed, staying back as her twin is preparing herself for battle. “I figured this might happened...*annoyed*”

“Fine!” Maho then braced her stance as she readied for battle. “Then I’ll just have to teach you some manners!”

She then ran towards her foe in a furious charge…

“Well, I don’t wanna hurt you lots, so…” Xarm mused as she raised her batons up. “C’mon, out!”

In just three seconds, a large animated snowman emerged in front of Maho, who was forced to stop her charge.

Climbing atop the snowman’s shoulder, the energetic twin gave her order. “Okay then! Go get Xomah!”

Obeying it’s summoner’s command, the large snowman heaved it’s right hand backward and attempted to slam it down against Maho.

“No, you don’t!”

The teenage girl threw her frisbee against the snowman, causing it to lose focus. Drips of it’s icy skin fell onto Maho and her frisbee as it returned to it’s owner.

The teenage girl grunted, wiping some of the snow off her frisbee. “Geez, never thought we’d get snow here in the middle of summer, but here we are…”

Not to be outdone, the large snowman heaved it’s left hand and slammed it against the ground, causing Maho to stumbled backward on the ground!

“Maho!” the Landlady cried.

The teenage girl tried to get up, but the large snowman grabbed her with it’s free hand!

“Hey!” Maho struggled to break free. “Lemme go, you oversized decoration!”

Xarm laughed as the snowman delivered Maho near it’s summoner. “Wow! Look at you! Fighting with only a toy for a weapon? C’mon! Xomah would have wrecked my snowman in seven minutes flat!”

Xorm sighed. “Five minutes and twenty-seven seconds, to be precise…”

“Really?” Number XVIII asked, her eyes turning into white circles. “Bah! Who cares about keeping count? My point is, you’re too weak to even be Xomah!”

“Well, thanks for clearing that up, Ms. Know-It-All!” Maho snarked despite her predicament. “Now, let me and Ms. Landlady go and just…walk away from here!”

“No can do, fake-y!” Xarm responded, sticking her tongue out. “We’re here on a super important mission and we’re not going back ‘till it’s done!”

She then leaned closer to Maho’s face. “So, tell me. Where’s Roxas?”

“Like I’d tell you!” Maho spat back, causing her to groan when she felt the snowman’s grip tightening around her.

“Don’t make this harder for us, dummy!” Number XVIII warned. “Just tell us where Roxas is and we’ll get out of your hair! You’re not interesting enough for us, anyway!”

“I…don’t…know…” Maho barely answered.

Xarm huffed. “Okay. Your funeral. Pop her, snowman!”

Maho then screamed in pain as the hold on her tightened even further!

“Is this it? Am I just gonna be popped over like a gumball? What a way to go, huh?”

“MAHO!”

The teenage girl barely turned her head to see the Landlady, her eyes filled with tears as she sees her charge being hurt…

“What am I thinking!?” Maho berated herself. “I’m the one who was entrusted to protect them! I’m the one who wanted to keep Roxas and Ms. Landlady safe! I can’t just fall here!”

As she continued wallowing in her thoughts, the arm carrying her frisbee began to shine bright.

“Huh…?” Xarm took notice of this phenomenon. “What’s…?”

“I gotta fight back! I can’t let them down! I don’t want to see them hurt! I MUST FIGHT!”

As Maho screamed, the light on her arm began to engulf her!

“What the…!?”

Twilight Town – Basement: Computer Room

“What is this!?” DiZ stammered, taking note of the phenomenon occurring in the sandlot. “This surge of power…!”

“Could it be…!?” Anri gasped, taking note of Maho’s vitals. “But I haven’t even installed the combat data yet!”

“Then what is this!?” the man in red demanded to know.

Anri sighed. “Something similar happened to Roxas two days ago. I was going to engage the defensive protocol then, but then the Keyblade re-emerged onto his hand. He’s kept it with him ever since…”

“But…how…?” DiZ said, pacing around the room gathering his thoughts. “How could they regain the strength to use their Keyblades in their current state? The only way that could happen is if they really have---”

He then shook his head, as if in denial over something he thought. “Impossible! Completely outrageous! Such a possibility should NOT happen!”

Anri hummed. “He must be in denial over how Roxas and Maho could have hearts of their own, but if what Nepgear and Uni told me about Naminé and the Replicas are true, then why does DiZ, a man of logic, refuse to accept the evidence in front of him?”

She then shook her head, turning back to the computer screens as she got back to work. “I’ll worry about that later! Right now, I need to eject those intruders out of the system! Stay strong, Maho!”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“Oof!” Maho fell down on the ground in an un-glorious thud. “What the heck just happened?”

“No way…” the Landlady gasped.

“That weapon on her hand…” Xorm gasped as well, taking note of the new weapon on the teenage girl’s hand. “It’s just like Xomah’s…”

Maho overheard the quiet girl’s mumblings, taking note of the sudden weight on her right hand. “What weap---AAAAAHHH! What!? What!? WHAT!?”

Sure enough, on her right hand, where she usually keeps her frisbee worn like a gauntlet, now holds a gray-colored key, with the letters P and C decorated as it’s guard and four yellow buttons on it’s teeth. It’s Keychain is a gray crystal with a power symbol on it.

A gray Sharicite…

“Hoo-hoo boy!” Maho cheered as she jumped up and down. “Just wait ‘till Roxas sees this baby on me! Does this make me cool now!?”

“No freakin’ way!” Xarm shouted. “How did you get that!? That Keyblade belongs to Xomah!”

Maho laughed cheekily. “Dunno. Maybe I’m the Chosen One or something? Wanna find out?”

Xarm growled. “Okay, now you’re being too cheeky for an imposter! I’ll smash you into the ground!”

The snowman raised it’s remaining hand in an attempt to smash the teenage girl!

“Go, my snowman!”

Seeing the attack coming, Maho jumped over the shockwave generated by the snowman’s frenzied assault as she closed in on the large creature’s body.

“Time to hack away at this thing!”

The magenta-haired girl then launched her assault!

“YAH!” Upward slash!

“HYAH!” Downward strike!

“HAH-HAH!” Spinning strike!

She continued wailing at the snowman’s body with impunity, causing the energetic twin to get angry.

“Okay, you need a time-out!” Xarm shouted. “Keep her away!”

The snowman attempted to swat Maho away but she saw the attack coming and stopped her assault, running back from the snowman’s attacks.

This, however, left it’s head vulnerable and within striking distance…

Maho smiled. “I have me an idea…”

??? ????? ????? – Dive into the Heart – Station of Awakening

“WOAH!”

Suddenly, the ground shook and Roxas fell down. Thankfully, he managed to stop his fall by sticking his Keyblade onto the glass platform, seeing the Twilight Thorn on the other side, holding onto a large ball of energy.

“Don’t jump off. Don’t jump off. Don’t jump off.”

Unfortunately, the Twilight Thorn jumped off, throwing the energy ball right at the blonde-haired kid, who ended up tossed up with it!

“AGH!”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

Seeing this opportunity, the teenage girl leapt to the side and readied her next attack.

Using her fingers as an improvised telescope, she tries to imagine the trajectory of her attack.

“Yeah” Maho muttered to herself. “This should work”

She then raised her Keyblade hand back, ready to initiate her gambit.

“Here goes something!”

??? ????? ????? – Dive into the Heart – Station of Awakening

However, not one to give up, Roxas recovered and threw his Keyblade against the energy ball!

“HA!”

Thanks to his Break Raid, Roxas’ Keyblade collided with the energy ball, causing it to explode right onto the Twilight Thorn, causing it and Roxas to fall back onto the platform!

“Agh!” the blonde-haired kid grunted as he got up and retrieved his Keyblade. “Okay, time to take this thing down!”

He then charged forth and began smacking the Twilight Thorn on the head!

Twilight Town – Sandlot

The teenage girl then threw her new Keyblade against the snowman’s head, causing it to shave off some of it’s head off!

She has unleashed an Overhead Raid!

“Woah!” Xarm gasped. “Watch the head!”

Maho, however, grinned as her new weapon returned to her hand. “Then why don’t you come down there? Your new bud’s looking a bit hot right now!”

This only served to make the energetic twin angrier, if she understood the concept. “Oh no! I’ll just smash you into paste! Paste! You hear me!?”

Maho sighed as she braced her stance. “Okay. Your funeral.”

Angered further, Number XVIII gave her order. “That’s it! Smash her, snowman!”

The snowman obeyed, raising it’s remaining hand once more to launch it’s attack.

But Maho grinned, taunting the giant summoned monster to dare to attack her. “Bring it!”

The large snowman brought it’s hand down onto the magenta-haired girl…

“MAHO!”

…and it seemed to hit…

“Hah!” Xarm cheered. “That’s what you get for being such a dummy, you big du---”

But then she gasped. “What!?”

For the sight in front of her was a defiant Maho, still standing and holding back the snowman’s hand with a gray shield!

“Ho-ho-ho!” Maho laughed. “I didn’t even know it can do that! These Keyblades rock!”

Heaving with all her might, Maho repelled the snowman’s assault…

“No way!” the energetic twin shouted in denial.

…and then threw her transformed shield against the snowman’s neck, causing the snowman’s body to dissolve quickly…

“THAT’S NOT FAAAAAAAIIIIIRRRRR!!!”

And now, it was Xarm’s turn to take a disgraceful fall, landing on the floor with a disgruntled. “Ow…My butt…”

“Oof!” Maho uttered as her shield reverted back into it’s Keyblade form. “That’ll hurt…”

“You did great!”

Maho turned back to see the Landlady smiling in relief, despite her situation.

“Well, you know me?” the magenta-haired girl replied. “I’m the gal with the plan!”

She then laughed, only to stop as she remembered the Landlady’s predicament. “Okay, so…why don’t you stay put? I’ll get you out!”

The Landlady chuckled. “Not that hard to do. Be careful!”

Maho nodded, readying her new Keyblade as she slashed the ice around the Landlady, freeing her as she fell onto her knees.

“Phew…” the Landlady sighed in relief. “I’m out, but my body’s feeling numb…”

Maho sighed. “Must be all that ice in your system…Why don’t you stay put for a bit?”

The Landlady gave a small and confused hum, looking at her charge.

The teenage girl then readied her new weapon as she faced the twins in Black Coats. “’Cause I get the feeling these little kiddos ain’t gonna let us leave…”

Number XVIII, however, managed to pick herself up and stood up in a hop. “Unbelievable! I can’t believe this loser managed to take down my snowman! I thought you couldn’t even wield a Keyblade! What gives!?”

Maho shrugged. “I dunno what to tell you, kiddo. It just popped right into my hand when I needed strength…”

“Strength?” Xorm asked. “For what?”

Maho smiled, glancing back at the Landlady. “To protect those I cherish…with all my heart…”

“Heart? You?” Xarm laughed mockingly. “Wow, you really aren’t Xomah, huh. She’d never say something so cheesy with a straight face like that and mean it.”

Maho groaned. “For the last time, I’m NOT this Xomah person! Now take your white minions with you and leave our town alone!”

“Nuh-uh!” Xarm shook her head, readying her twin batons once more. “Didn’t I tell you? We’re here to retrieve Roxas, and we’re not leaving without him!”

She then twirled herself and her batons around, drawing forth ice magic above her!

The Landlady could only look agape at the sight. “What is that?”

Xorm sighed. “Guess I’ll help…”

“Are you sure about this, Xorm?” Xarm asked her twin.

The quiet twin nodded. “We have to do this. Or else things won’t go back to normal…”

Xarm smiled. “Okay then…Let’s teach these posers a lesson!”

Xorm nodded, bringing out a small rod with a sky-blue orb and began channeling her own magic as well.

“This is bad…” the Landlady bemoaned as the magic swirling above them began to intensify. “Hopefully Roxas is still doing alright…”

??? ????? ????? – Dive into the Heart – Station of Awakening

“You gotta be joking…”

Unfortunately for Roxas, he’s NOT doing alright. Despite a ferocious assault, the Twilight Thorn managed to recover and performed one final gambit. It bent it’s whole body, turning it into a large halo as it’s head hovered in the center, charging up with energy.

“Better take it down now before it takes me with it!”

Thinking fast, Roxas jumped up and performed strike after strike against the white creature’s head.

However, it wasn’t easy. As the charging continued, the Twilight Thorn then started to unleash masses of sharp ethereal thorns across the arena, forcing Roxas to weave through them via Reversals while maintaining his assaults!

“This is starting to get annoying!” Roxas complained as he continued attacking. “Hope the others are doing good…”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“This is not looking good…” Maho complained at the sight before her.

In front of her stood the twins, both channeling their magic together.

“Maho, we need to go…” the Landlady urged. “Now!”

Maho looked around furiously, taking note of the exits around the sandlot.

“We won’t be able to make it…” Maho stated. “Not with us being totally beat like this!”

The Landlady grunted, trying to stand. “Then, at least you should…”

“No!”

Maho stood tall and defiant, raising her Keyblade against the giant snowball forming above the twins.

“But Maho…!”

“Ms Landlady…” Maho stopped her caretaker. “Listen. I know it’s been your duty to watch over us…to guide us…to help us grow as people…”

The teenage girl tightened her hold on her new weapon. “But it’s also my duty to keep you and Roxas safe, and this time, I won’t fail!”

She then braced her stance, ready to receive the incoming attack. “Bring it on, you two! I’ll send your little snowball right back at your faces!”

Xarm scoffed. “Oh yeah? Then get ready, faker!”

“T-This will hurt…*worried*” Xorm stated.

After a good three seconds, the snowball formed completely and the twins are ready to send it down upon them…

“Take this!” Xarm shouted.

“SNOWBALL METEOR!”

The twins sent the giant snowball down against their prey. However, Maho stood firm.

“I won’t give in…” Maho told herself. “Not until they’re safe!”

“MAHO!”

As the Landlady screams resonated through the sandlot, a loud shot was heard.

“Huh?”

And all of a sudden, the snowball sent against them exploded in a loud burst, releasing snowflakes all across the sunny sandlot.

“Wha…?” Maho could only mutter.

“What…gives!?” Xarm complained, stomping her foot in annoyance. “First my snowman, now our snow meteor is useless! What gives!? I thought we were already feeling better after those last few days!”

“W-who stopped our attack? *?*” Xorm wondered, looking around for the culprit.

“Up here!”

Everyone looked up to see another person wearing a black coat, and beside her is…

“Naminé!?” Maho gasped.

“How did you get there?” the Landlady asked. “And who is that?”

“Help” the blonde girl answered. “She’ll take it from here”

The hooded person nodded to them as they leapt up from the rooftops to the middle of the sandlot.

“I got this” the hooded person reassured. Judging from their voice, she was a young girl too. “You two better go.”

“But…”

A loud ringing was heard from Maho.

“A message? Now?”

The teenage girl took out her phone, seeing a simple message.

RUN AWAY!

Maho grunted, pocketing her cellphone and unsummoning her Keyblade as she helped the Landlady up on her shoulder.

“Maho?”

“Let’s worry about this later!” Maho stated to the confused adult woman. “C’mon, let’s bail!”

“Wait!” Xarm shouted, readying an ice shard above her. “You’re not going anywhere!”

But the ice shard was shot down before it could even be deployed!

“Hey!” the hooded person taunted the twins, wielding a black rifle on her hands. “I’m your opponent, Organization scrubs!”

Number XVIII scoffed. “You call us scrubs!? We’re legit members, y’know!? Got the Numbers and everything!”

Number XVII nodded. “Don’t get in our way! *determination*”

“Well, sorry, but I will”

The hooded person thought back to her mission goal for the day.

“Uni, Maho and the Landlady are in danger!”

“How bad are we talking, Anri?”

“We got the twins. Numbers XVII & XVIII!”

Uni clicked her tongue. “Well, this is bad. Got the ejection procedure or something working?”

“Yes!” Anri confirmed. “I’ve got the forced ejection and emergency repair protocols started. All we need now is time!”

“How much do you need?”

“About three minutes as of now.”

Uni huffed. “Piece of cake. I came prepared for this”

Uni then braced her stance, transforming her rifle into a black Keyblade, one with green crystals adorned on it’s guard and hilt. It’s teeth resembled that of the edge of a gun, judging from it’s circular-shaped hole. A Sharicite in a shade of ebony hung around near it’s guard, marking it as her Keyblade’s Keychain.

This is her Ebony Gunner, the symbol of the replica’s own identity.

“Alright then” the hooded girl taunted her foes. “Come and get it!”

??? ????? ????? – Dive into the Heart – Station of Awakening

“Phew…finally got it…” Roxas breathed a sigh of relief as the Twilight Thorn began to falter.

However, it shook violently and repulsively as it began to trip and fall…

At the same time, Roxas’ own Keyblade disappeared, leaving him with nothing to defend himself and nowhere to run…

As the large creature fell on the arena, a dark sphere began to emanate across the area, consuming both the creature and Roxas into it’s dark clutches.

“No…” Roxas bemoaned as he shook the darkness away. “I can’t…go…I have to…go back…to them…”

As he continued to shake the darkness away, he began to see a bright light…

“Huh?”

…and from that bright light, a hand emerged.

Not thinking twice, Roxas grabbed that hand and the light shone throughout his view, bringing him out of this trial…

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“Emergency repairs complete. Return protocols initiated”

Anri sighed in relief, slumping to the backrest of the chair as the light on the nearby machine glew, signaling the return of Uni and her two hooded companions.

“You’re back” Anri greeted the trio. “And no worse for wear, I see”

Uni sighed, rolling her right arm. “You tell me. Those twins can pack quite the punch. Good thing you gave me those smoke bombs you’ve been making...”

Anri smiled. “I’m glad they’re of use to you”

“Still” the hooded woman wondered. “The fact that two members of the Organization managed to sneak their way close to where Roxas, Maho and the Landlady are, means that they likely know where they are now...”

Anri and Uni looked to the two, wondering what she meant.

“Meaning that the Organization can simply send in more search parties the next few days if we don’t act, like those we encountered around town” the hooded man responded. “And with their location confirmed, they’ll just have to narrow down their search points...”

“Making it much easier for them to snatch them up, huh?” Uni finalized. “What do we do, then?”

“I’ll scramble the coordinates so it’ll be harder for them to access the simulation” Anri declared, getting back to work.

“That would be best...” the hooded woman said. “But maybe you should mark some of those coordinates so we can spring a trap on them should they show up again”

“A clever idea!” the white-haired girl said in awe. “I’ll get on it!”

“Geez” Uni groaned in annoyance. “Are you going to stay up all night again?”

“Someone has to” Anri shrugged indifferently, but then jolted as she remembered something important. “Oh, I should tell Maho it’s safe now. Roxas should be back from his meeting with Naminé too. I just need to confirm his location…”

Uni huffed. “Shouldn’t DiZ be operating this? He made this whole simulation to begin with! He should be manning this machine and let Anri get some sleep!”

“I’ll go” the hooded man declared, heading out. “I have to give our report to him anyway.”

“I’ll go with you” the hooded woman followed. “Someone has to lash out at him for his outrageous claims after all”

“You too, huh?” Uni noted.

The hooded woman chuckled. “We both have it rough, huh?”

“You and me both...” Uni chuckled back. “Kinda funny we still got some common ground after everything, huh?”

The hooded woman shrugged. “I’d rather chalk it up to us having similar opinions, more than anything”

Uni laughed. “True. Still, it’s nice we can exchange words like this without losing it, huh?”

The hooded woman nodded, sharing a small chuckle. “You said it…”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Dining Room

“Here you go!” the Landlady said, placing more food on the table. “Eat all you want! You two must have had a horrible day today…”

“I-It’s alright…” Roxas insisted. “Besides, you should be resting right no---”

“No can do!” the purple-haired woman fought back. “I may have been frozen stiff, but all I have to do is to keep moving around so I can shake all the ice off me!”

She then bolted for the kitchen. “Now, let me get the rest of the food ready…”

Maho chuckled. “She’s really going all-out on this one, huh?”

Roxas sighed. “You tell me. She’s been at it for the rest of the day. What happened to you two back there?”

“Nuh-uh!” Maho fought back. “You first! Where the heck have you vanished to? And what’s the deal with you and that Naminé chick, huh?”

The blonde-haired kid shook his head as he sighed again. “You’re reading too much into this…”

“Then un-read it for me!” the magenta-haired girl exclaimed. “What happened? Why were you chasing her?”

Taking a deep breath, Roxas recounted his tale…

One exchange of tales later…

“Wow, dude…” Maho gasped. “Just…wow!”

“I never thought it would be possible to go to a place you’d only see in your dreams…” the Landlady admitted, laying down a bowl of sliced fruit on the table. “But you’ve proven it was possible”

“As possible as it was to get this…” Roxas claimed, summoning his Keyblade. “To say nothing of the giant monster I fought there…”

“Just like in the dreams you talked about…” the purple-haired woman noted, taking one of the slices of fruit from the bowl.

Maho groaned, laying her face on the table. “And then there’s Mr. Pickpocket, still going on with his cryptic nonsense! At least Ms. Phone-Nabber tried to keep us safe back there today…”

“Speaking of…” the blonde-haired kid butted in, unsummoning his Keyblade and grabbing a piece of fruit. “You mentioned there were kids looking for me?”

Maho nodded, taking a bite from the slice of fruit she got. “A couple of twins did. They were wearing those black coats too. Said they’re part of the Organization or whatever…”

“Organization…?” Roxas mumbled. “Which one?”

The magenta-haired girl shrugged. “Heck if I know. They kept mistaking me for this Xomah person they know, though. I’d remember if I had an identical twin like that…”

“Xomah…” the blonde-haired kid uttered. “Did you happen to catch their names?”

“We did” the Landlady answered instead. “They said their names were Xarm and Xorm”

Maho sighed. “Yeesh. What’s will all the X’s on their names? Forget Organization. They look like they’re in some weird dark cult or something…”

“That’s…disturbing…” was all Roxas could utter, considering that children like the twins were part of it.

The Landlady gave a heavy sigh at that. “Agreed…”

“And those twins got weird magic powers too!” Maho recalled. “Ice magic powers at that! One of them even summoned a giant snowman at me!”

Roxas gasped. “So how did you get through all that?”

Maho snickered as she snapped her right wrist, summoning her new weapon. “Bum-ba-bum~! Behold, for I am the chosen one!”

The blonde-haired kid gasped again, this time in awe. “You got one too!? Cool!”

The magenta-haired girl rubbed her nose. “Wait ‘till you see what I can do! Watch!”

She then transformed her Keyblade into a gray shield, one with four large yellow buttons near it’s center. “See? Tell me this ain’t awesome-sauce?”

“It can do that!?” Roxas exclaimed. “Great. Now I wish mine can do something that cool…”

“Don’t worry about it…” Maho reassured. “I bet you’ll be able to pull off something that’ll blow everyone away! I’m sure of it!”

The Landlady chuckled. “Okay, showing off your new toys is nice and all, but I wouldn’t recommend playing around the apartment with those.”

Roxas and Maho gulped.

“Wouldn’t want any accidents to come off your rent, right?”

Sweat dropped all over the teenagers as the magenta-haired girl unsummoned her Keyblade.

“No way, Jose! Not after what happened with all the munny we earned! Right, Roxas?”

Roxas nodded furiously. “Uh-huh! We didn’t even use them yesterday! We swear!”

The Landlady pursed her lips into a hum. “I’ll trust your word for it. Now, once you’re done eating, get yourselves bathed and ready for bed. You got a big day tomorrow!”

Maho sighed heavily. “No need to tell me that. I’m pooped after everything that happened today…”

Roxas nodded. “Ditto. Besides, I gotta be in top shape if I’m to go all the way to the top.”

“You better!” the teenage girl exclaimed. “Our pride’s on the line here!”

“By pride, you mean the bag of sweets Biggs promised, right?” Roxas teased.

“O-of course” Maho replied with weak laughter. The drool escaping her lips didn’t help her case. “A-anyway, I gotta hit the showers now! G’night, guys!”

As Maho headed up, the blonde-haired kid followed suit. “Same here. Goodnight, Ms Landlady”

The Landlady chuckled as she waved her charges goodnight. “Sweet dreams, you two…”

As the two teenagers left up to their rooms, the adult woman headed to the kitchen with a heavy sigh.

“All these weird happening occurring since the photos were stolen, and now Roxas and Maho have those…Keyblades with them. Not to mention the weird dreams we’ve all been having lately…”

As she got to work washing the dishes, one idle thought…no, prayer escaped the Landlady’s lips…

“I only hope…we can endure the coming days…until summer vacation is over…”

MahoMeansMagic: ANRI! wheres my extra rice bowl!? we just got the usual meal for dinner! 😠😠😠

NGears4U: Sorry, but Anri’s asleep right now. 😓

MahoMeansMagic: are you kiddin me? wake her up then!

NGears4U: See, that’s the thing. She went to bed shortly after the attacks were repelled. She literally jumped to bed and snapped asleep!

MahoMeansMagic: ughhhhhh. of all the times for her to be heeding my advice... 😒

NGears4U: I’m sorry, Maho. But Anri needed this.

MahoMeansMagic: i know, i know. its just...todays been real frustrating...

NGears4U: I heard. Two of the Organization’s members came by and attacked you, right?

MahoMeansMagic: whats their deal anyway!? 😡 they came to me, thinking i was this xomah character, then they attacked me with a GIANT FREAKIN SNOWMAN, and then they said theyre gonna capture Roxas, who by the way, vanished into thin air for a good sec or so! like...agggggghhhhhh! 😡 what even are they!? 😡😡😡

NGears4U: Maho... 🥺

MahoMeansMagic: sorry bout that. its just…

MahoMeansMagic: things have been rly peaceful for a long while. now weird stuff is happening left and right. and the funny thing is…

MahoMeansMagic: i get the feelin its revolving around roxas, the landlady and even me!

MahoMeansMagic: like

MahoMeansMagic: were all in the center of some conspiracy or something. you feel me, gearsy?

NGears4U: I understand. It’s really weird when you think about it like that.

MahoMeansMagic: right!? oh, thank goodness someone understands me! 🥺

NGears4U: Hehehe! I’m always here to lend an ear if you need to! 😃

MahoMeansMagic: u sure u dont mind? for all I now, you could be sleep-deprived like anri usually is… 🙄

NGears4U: Don’t worry. I’ve been getting enough sleep. Promise! 😁

MahoMeansMagic: gud 2 hear.

MahoMeansMagic: holy SMOKES that was a loud yawn from me! 🥱

MahoMeansMagic: guess I better hit the hay. ms landlady and i have something important to do tomorrow!

NGears4U: Okay, then! I’ll tell Anri you said hi!

MahoMeansMagic: thanks! u’re the best, gearsy! ☺️

MahoMeansMagic: nighty-night! ☺️

NGears4U: Good night! ☺️

Overall restoration at 48%

The dreams began again...Surprising...

The scenery began in a ruined city, and Neptune appears to be crying...

“What if we end up meeting more people like them? People who are conflicted about this whole thing? People who just wanna survive but realize they can’t? People who just...accepted that they’re going to die along with their world? I don’t wanna see their sad faces. I don’t wanna see their despair! I HATE IT! I HATE ALL OF THIS!”

The scenery changed again...

Sora tried to reach out to the younger Kair-, but she eventually vanished too!

And then...scene change, this time in an area surrounded by water.

Suddenly, Sora’s Keyblade vanished from his hands and then manifested into Riku’s hand, much to the surprise of everyone present.

“Only those with the strength to wield it can change the world”

Riku turned around and blocked an attack from the furious Neptune.

“Give Sora back his Keyblade...” the girl growled. “Right now!”

Suddenly, a tall woman with purple hair began to look at her own reflection...

“Is this...really me!?”

And then, the white-haired Newtype began to attack the tall woman in a fit of rage...

“So, what? Are you laughing at me? Mocking me for my lone endeavors? Ignoring all the pain I had to go through!? Tell me, Neptune!”

“Noire, please!” Neptune pleaded. “You have to listen!”

“NOT ANOTHER WORD!”

Later on, Riku was firing a dark bolt straight at the defenseless Sora, only to be defended by his remaining companions...

“You could’ve gotten really hurt, y’know?” Goofy said with more worry in his tone.

“I couldn’t just sit still” Sora insisted. “Not while Neptune’s out there fighting and Kair-’s still there, waiting for us.”

IF sighed. “There’s only so much reckless acts you can do before we all get hurt...”

“But...” Donald continued. “We’re glad you’re here with us, Sora. Thank you.”

Sora couldn’t help but chuckle. “I should be the one saying thanks to you guys, for sticking with me all the way.”

“Of course we would!” Compa declared proudly. “We’re a party now, and a party sticks together forever!”

“All for one and one for all, right?” IF recalled.

The scene changed, with Neptune facing down Noire with determination...

“Even if I am by myself, I am never alone..."

Sora/Neptune’s face is filled with determination, even against the odds.

“MY FRIENDS ARE MY POWER!”

“So” the Beast started. “Your heart won this battle”

Sora nodded. While the current battle has ended. their trek into the large, lumbering castle has only just begun...

Going back to the two Newtypes, Noire was lying down on the ground, crying and defeated, while Neptune sat beside her, listening to her story...

“All this time, you’ve been a CPU like me, but you couldn’t know about it...”

She continued to laugh as more tears leaked from her eyes.

“I suppose...this is what I get for being such a loner...for trying to do everything on my own...So pathetic...”

Neptune approached the white-haired woman more closely, propped her up and proceeded to hug her.

“All this time, all you wanted was a friend.”

“A...friend...”

Her sight is fading, yet Noire managed to give out a smile...

“I’m...sor...ry...I...hurt...you...Please...for...give...me...”

As soon as she spoke, she passed out like a light...

Neptune shook her fellow CPU to wake her, but there was no response...

“NOIRE!!!!!”

Noire looked to the party once more, fighting through her growing anxiety. Neptune, in particular, nodded to her.

She gulped. “C-Can I...Can we...be friends? For real this time?”

The party looked to each other once more, and nodded.

Later on, Sora, Neptune and their party eventually came across a figure in a Black Coat, who proceeded to unleash two electric orbs against them.

“Woah!”

“Watch out!”

Thankfully, the two managed to repel the orbs, glaring against the hooded stranger...

And suddenly, the scenery changed to a strange hallway, where Riku is facing down against Sora, his voice distorted by a dark being who possessed him...

“It is I, Ansem...” ‘Riku” declared, ready to slash Sora down. “Lead me into everlasting darkness!”

Meanwhile, Neptune and her friends were downed by a group of four witches...

“Go ahead...You win...”

Everyone looked at the girl in shock. Did Neptune just...

“Wha...”

“Nep-Nep...”

“W-Why!?”

“This isn’t worth it...” Neptune cried. “I wanna keep on going on adventures and stuff with you all. You...All of you...You all are my world!”

“Now then...”

The witch then grabbed Neptune by the neck...

“...Your power shall be mine at last, Neptune!”

...and after taking the tome from her, began to absorb Neptune’s power in earnest....

“Sora!”

Suddenly, as if beckoned on, the boy immediately raised his Keyblade in defense, deflecting ‘Riku’s’ attack.

“Forget it! There’s no way you’re taking Kairi’s heart!”

The boy turned to his friends with a goofy smile.

“Hey, Neptune...” Sora said sadly. “It’s been fun...”

He then aimed the Keyblade at his own heart...

...and STABBED himself with it!

As he let the Keyblade go, he could feel his consciousness, his entire being getting lighter and lighter, his eyes getting heavier as his vision blurred...

Meanwhile, one more heart emerged from Sora and flew into the unconscious Kairi, waking her up at last, bringing a smile to the boy’s face.

Kairi immediately got up upon hearing Sora’s name...

...and tried to reach him, only to dissolve into the light as sparks faded...

...But it was no use...

Sora, the Keyblade’s Chosen One...

...is gone...

“NOW!”

But then, a loud shout was heard near her and before the witch knew it, the tome in her hand is gone!

“I got you back, Histy!”

It was Compa! The nurse has somehow snuck into the scene and snatched Histoire from the witch’s clutches while she was distracted.

Three Shadows attempted to pounce on the party, only to be repelled by a slash from a rapier.

“Go!”

“Noire!?”

The twin-tailed CPU turned her head with a fierce look.

“I’ll keep them busy! Hurry and go!”

She readied her stance, daring the Heartless to attack her.

“Besides, I still have someone to save here. Now go!”

Neptune gripped the wooden sword in frustration.

“Fine! But don’t forget about our promise, ya hear!?”

The scene changed back to the entrance hallway from earlier, as the Shadows converged on Kairi and Neptune, protecting a glowing Heartless...

...forcing Kairi to hug the glowing Shadow, while Neptune shields the two with her own body!

However, a bright light shone forth, blasting the nearby Shadows away, and on its center, embracing the red-haired girl...

“Kairi...”

From the edge of the light, Kairi nodded with a smile...

The scene then changed, into a hill where Sora, Neptune and Kairi sat down while looking up to the starry sky...

“Neptune...”

Kairi approached her, sitting down next to the girl.

“I think the question you should be asking yourself is, are you happy with how things are going?”

“Me?”

The islander girl nodded. “The way I see it, if I want to make others smile, I have to be able to smile as well. But not just curl my lips to look like I am. I want to be able to smile from my heart, so the happiness that I spread could also to reach other’s hearts too.”

“Smile...” Neptune repeated. “From my own heart...”

Kairi smiled at that. “Neptune, you deserve to be happy just as much as everyone else. You don’t have to shoulder the burden yourself.” 

The scene changed again, this time back in Traverse Town’s alleyway...

IF approached Neptune, patting her on the shoulder.

“I would never trade it for anything in the worlds. You all mean so much to me now, you know?”

“You would really?” Neptune cried. “Even to a crummy CPU like me?”

IF shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a CPU or not. As far as I know, this girl in front of me, this Nep in front of me, she’s my best friend and that’s all that matters to me.”

The scene then changed into a dark area, where the whole party is now fighting against a giant Heartless...

Kairi furrowed her eyes at the creature. “I’ll finish it!”

The princess dashed forth, lunging straight at the Behemoth’s horn...

“IT’S GETTING UP!”

...only for the creature to begin standing up, unleashing a lightning storm around the area!

“NO!”

Just as Kairi braced herself for the worst, she felt nothing hitting her...

“Huh?”

...she looked up and saw a familiar boy, shielding her from the lightning strike.

“Sora!”

The boy knelt down, breathing heavily as he was charred from the sudden lightning attack.

“Once the door to all worlds has been sealed, the worlds themselves will go back to what they were, separated and closed off. This may be the last time we get to talk to each other like this...”

“Stand strong, Sora. You and Neptune are the only ones who can do this.”

“You’ve proven yourselves to be pretty hardy. You got this!”

“We may never meet again, but we’ll never forget each other.”

“Even if we drifted apart, our hearts will bring us together again. I just know it.”

“Well, I couldn’t forget any of you, even if I wanted to!”

The scene then changed to somewhere within the dark castle...

Neptune sighed again. “Guess we’re going to have to fix that.”

She then closed in again, this time with a big wide smile.

“Once we’re done here, you and me are going out of a date! It will be nep-tastic!”

Noire sighed, but nodded in agreement.

“Sure. Let’s go see the worlds together!”

Neptune’s eyes widened as her lips curled into a wide smile.

“Awesome-sauce! This will be the best date ever!”

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

Neptune and Noire sealed their promise with a pinky swear...

The scene changed to the castle’s library...

Kairi giggled in response. “One last thing.”

She walked up to the boy, taking his right hand and placing an object on it.

When the boy looked to his right hand, he saw a star-shaped charm, one made of seashells on his hand.

“It’s my good luck charm I’ve been making” Kairi said. “Be sure to hold onto it. I want it back when I come running to you, got it?”

Sora chuckled. “Don’t worry, I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise”

“Sora, don’t ever forget. Wherever you go, I’m always with you...”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Roxas' Room

Roxas woke up, recalling the last moments of his dream...

“Right...” he said. “Promise...”

The blonde-haired kid then did some slashes in the air, and then scratched his head...

“What a mess...”

“Hey, Roxas!” Maho’s voice called from downstairs. “Tournament’s in a few hours! Get down here and bulk up!”

“The Struggle Tournament’s about to start in an hour!” the Landlady’s voice shouted. “Eat some breakfast already!”

Roxas sighed again as he got up from his bed.

“How do they have so much energy in the morning?” the teenage boy wondered as he went down, ready for today’s big event...

The annual Struggle Tournament.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, Twilight Town! Today’s quite a loud and energetic day! Can you feel the tension in the air? Hear the loud cheers from out of your windows? That’s right! Today’s the annual Struggle Tournament, where our lucky participants, chosen for their skills and fighting spirit, will compete for the title match and a chance to face off against our reigning champion Setzer himself! So, I’ll be turning in quite early today so I can go watch the amazing matches myself! I hear the hosts there are quite energetic! What’s that? You’re not hosting this one, 5bp.? Hahaha, sorry, I’m not, but I’ll be in the crowd giving my energy to the contestants out there! Now, without further ado...Let’s Struggle!”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“Welcome, one and all!” Jessie announced from the stands. “Today’s the day! The day where people go out and show they’re the toughest of the tough in this fine town! That’s right! This is the long-awaited highlight of the summer! The annual! STRUGGLE TOURNAMENT! Let me hear those cheers, everybody!”

Loud cheers then resonated throughout the sandlot, crowded with what was basically the entirety of Twilight Town in it, each person shouting as loud as they can.

“The sandlot sure is filled today, huh?” Pence commented.

Olette nodded. “That’s the annual Struggle for ya!”

The Landlady chuckled. “I hope everyone here gets to have fun…”

“Yup-yup!” Maho agreed. “All fun and games here! No hard feelings!”

“Alright, now that everyone’s settled, allow us to introduce ourselves!” Jessie announced. “I am Jessie Raspberry, aspiring actress currently running a jewelry store to save up enough for her big break! What’s up!?”

Her chunky co-host sighed from beside her. “Keep it classy, Jes. Anywho, I’m Wedge. Just a man who loves cats and treats. I’m here to provide commentary on the matches and keeping this one here tame and under control!”

“O-ho-ho!” Jessie laughed. “Tame me, are you? It’ll take a lot to control this kitty! Rawr~!”

Wedge sighed again at his companion’s attempt at being a cat. “See what I have to work with?”

The crowd laughed at their little comedy skit. The pair composed themselves upon hearing that.

“Okay! Enough about us! We know what you all want!” Jessie said. “You want action! You love it! You crave it! Now, without further ado, let’s take our eyes onto the main stage where all the drama unfolds!”

A familiar man with a red bandana then walked onto the stage. “Thanks for the segue. Now, everyone! Allow me, Biggs, to introduce you to this year’s contestants!”

The first contestant walked onto the stage, arrogance and confidence filled in his every step.

“First off is someone you know” the announcer introduced. “From his provision of security and order, this man is not one you want to anger. So long as you live by the rules, you will not enter his crosshairs for ‘disciplinary measures’. Give it up for Seifer Almasay!”

Seifer snorted. “I’ll win this tournament with ease! That will show that I am not one to be messed with!”

“Kick their butts, Seifer!”  Raijin cheered from the sides.

“ANNIHILATION” Fuujin commented. “GUARANTEED”

Biggs laughed. “Alright then. Now for our next contestant…”

The next contestant then leapt onto the stage, eagerness filling his every step.

“He’s an eager beaver, ready to prove his worth for the world to see!” Biggs announced. “He may be rambunctious, but his dedication and love for chili dogs are sure to endear him to the audience here today! Cheers up for Hayner Dicht!”

Hayner cheered along, but then started to grumble loudly. “Hey! I actually hate those chili dogs! My throat took over a week to recover from that!”

Biggs snickered. “Sorry, but that little tidbit was placed in your entry form. If you had someone else sign you up, you may want to take it up with them.”

The yellow-haired boy then looked to his friends among the crowd, two of whom only snickered at the proclamation.

Hayner growled at the most likely culprit. “Pence…”

Pence tried to shrug while containing his laugher. “Hey…you told me to sign you and Roxas up. That’s your own fault for leaving me with the fine details!”

“Ho-ho, I remember that!” Maho laughed. “The face he made back then was out there! 11/10, bud!”

The Landlady chuckled. “Now, now. Let’s let him have his moment of glory here. We can’t have him feel down before the matches start!”

As the group of friends stopped chuckling, they heard the startled sounds of the crowd as a certain tiny fighter entered the ring.

“Now this one’s clearly unexpected…” Biggs announced. “No one knows much about this one, other than the fact that he quietly tagged along with the gang manned by one of our own contestants. It seems he manned up and decided to enter the ring to prove his worth today! Allow me to introduce you to Contestant No. 3, Vivi Ornitier!”

Sure enough, the tiny boy in blue with a comically large hat entered the ring. However…

“Hmmmmmm…” Maho hummed. “Is it me or is the little guy…weirdly quiet?”

The Landlady raised an eyebrow at that. “Is he? He’s always the type to behave, even though he’s part of Seifer’s group…”

Olette observed the tiny boy. “You have a point. He’s always one to behave, but he’s usually quite…animated whenever trouble comes up. Now, he’s just…there.”

Near the group, Barret took notice of the boy’s behavior as well. “Now that is odd. Don’t remember hearing about him signin’ up for the tournament…”

Marlene hummed quietly at that.

The magenta-haired girl shivered. “Now I’m getting some scary vibes from near the stands. Don’t tell me the weirdness is coming back for another round?”

“And now, for our fourth contestant…” Biggs continued, as the fourth contestant enters the ring. “He’s humble. He’s forthright. He’s industrious. Give him a job and he’ll do it. Just don’t forget to pay him so he can have his daily dose of sea-salt ice cream! Give it up for my favorite customer, Roxas!”

The blonde-haired kid waved around as the crowd cheered.

“WOO-HOO!” Maho screamed at the top of her lungs. “KICK THEIR BUTTS, ROXAS! YOU GOT THIS!”

Olette laughed. “Settle down, Maho. We need that energy when he actually fights in the tournament.”

The magenta-haired kid snickered. “Little did you people know, the Landlady and I have a little something saved up for that! You still got it with you, right Ms Landlady?”

The adult woman nodded, showing a large piece of folded black paper on her hand. “I’m keeping this safe and close with me. No one will ever get this while I’m around!”

Sensing something amiss, the Landlady looked to her left and saw Marlene staring at her. She gave a small wave at the girl, who just kept smiling…

Maho shivered again. “There’s the heebie-jeebies again…Something bad’s gonna happen today, is it?”

Pence hummed, taking note of Hayner’s expression, filled with scorn. “I guess Hayner’s still not over what happened yesterday…”

Olette sighed. “I hope he can keep his cool if he ever faces Roxas or Seifer…”

The Landlady sighed as well. “Here’s to hoping…”

“And that is all of our contestants for this year’s tournament, folks!” Biggs announced. “Who will reign supreme this year? Who will take the crown away from our reigning champion, the Blackjack himself, Setzer Gabbiani!”

At the announcement of his name, the man himself, a silver-haired man wearing a loose purple coat over his shirt, entered the stage in a glorious stride as he blew air kisses on the stage…

“Setzer~”

…causing some of the girls in the crowd to swoon at the sight of the champion. Hearing this, the current Struggle Champion produced a card, an Ace of Hearts, and threw it to his right, causing some of the girls nearby to scramble to grab it in a frenzy.

“W-Wow…” Lyrica, wearing a brown hood, gasped. “To turn part of the crowd into this…H-He must be really confident, isn’t he?”

Biggs chuckled at the sight. “Now, without further ado…”

He then crossed his arms…

“Let’s…”

And with raised arms, declared with the crowd…

“STRUGGLE!”

The annual Struggle Tournament has officially begun!

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

“Are you feeling alright, Anri?” Nepgear asked her friend, who is currently sipping her tea. “Have you slept well?”

“Honestly?” Anri admitted. “I slept like a log yesterday. The moment I hit the bed, I just snapped asleep, just like that”

“Not surprising...” Uni commented, taking a bite from the cookie on her plate. “You’ve been at work on the virtual town non-stop since you came here.”

“I have to” Anri said, stretching her arms. “I have to make sure her code can’t be modified or deleted in any way, be it from the Organization or from DiZ”

“Speaking of” Uni huffed. “What’s that guy’s deal? He’s always angry whenever he deals with me, Nepgear or especially Naminé. To say nothing of his attitude towards Anri here.”

Anri only looked confused.

“Don’t you remember?” the black-haired girl reminded. “When he saw us down there, he got mad all of a sudden and ordered us to kick you out of the mansion, stat.”

The white-haired girl tried to recall the event. “Ah, he did say something like that, did he?”

“Wow...” Uni gasped in surprise. “Did you wipe that event from your head or something?”

“Not really” Anri answered. “It’s more like...I didn’t sense anything malicious from him when he said that...”

“Really?” Uni doubted. “He sounded angry to me...”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to involve a regular civilian in all this...” Nepgear guessed. “Compared to you and me, Uni, Anri here’s just a regular girl...”

“A really smart regular girl, if you ask me...” Uni deflected, taking another bit from her cookie. “I can’t figure my way out of all the tech-y stuff you guys are talking about...”

The two girls chuckled.

“Come now” Anri reasuured. “We may know our way around technology, but no one knows their way with a gun like you can. You learned more about them long after I showed you the ones I had.”

“See, Uni?” Nepgear chirped. “You DO have something you’re good at.”

Uni giggled. “Yeah, yeah. Still, I can’t exactly call the rest of us here regular folk. Even DiZ and those two...”

Nepgear hummed. “What is DiZ, exactly? He was observing Riku and Noire and then helped them out with their problems. And now, he’s offered us a place to hide us and the others while we’re working to restore Sora and Neptune’s memories.”

“Sure, but I doubt he’s helping us out from the ‘goodness’ of his heart...” the black-haired girl noted. “...if he even has one...”

“What makes you say that?” the nascent CPU asked.

“He always goes on and on about how Nobodies and Replicas don’t have hearts or feelings or whatever, and that we’re not supposed to exist and all that...” Uni ranted. “...But if anything, it feels like he’s just projecting on to them...”

“You think something happened in his life that made him feel that way?” Anri wondered.

“Who knows?” Uni shrugged, sipping her tea. “I certainly don’t...”

Nepgear hummed again. “DiZ...just who is he?”

“Still...there’s a faint hint of familiarity around him...” Anri thought to herself. “Like, I know someone like him in my past life...one that I cannot recall...Who is he?”

Twilight Town – Sandlot – First Round

“And the match right now is fierce!” Jessie shouted from the stands.

“You tell me, Jess!” Wedge agreed. “Who would’ve thought we’d have a riveting start in our annual tournament!”

Jessie sighed. “You’re saying all our other tournaments before were boring?”

The big, jolly man shrugged. “Anyway, let’s go back to the match…”

Up in the arena, two contestants began their fierce bout, their Struggle bats parrying each other’s attacks, trying to hit the Struggle orbs attached to their persons.

“Real smooth there, buddy…” Jessie snarked. “Anyway, for those missing out, our first match is between two good friends. Both known to be ‘trouble-makers’ in our little town, but I honestly don’t see that…”

“They may stand out from the crowd, but they sure are reliable when the chips are down!” Wedge continued. “Give it up for Roxas and Hayner, everyone!”

Cheers erupted throughout the crowd…

“Man, I love Struggle!”

“Go get ‘em, Roxas!”

“This year is looking pretty good!”

“Do it for the chili dogs, Hayner!”

“STRUGGLE, STRUGGLE!”

Hayner’s head suddenly ticked off. “I heard that! I told you all before! I! HATE! CHILI DOGS!”

As the crowd laughed at Hayner’s remark, he felt something touching his shoulder.

The blonde-haired teen turned to see his fellow competitor…

“Hey”

“Hey”

…readying a strike that knocked off one of the three Struggle orbs off his person…

“Ooohhh, a dirty move right there!” Wedge shouted. “Taking advantage of his opponent’s state of duress, Roxas managed to knock off one of Hayner’s Struggle orbs!”

“Hey, you know what they say” Jessie shrugged. “All’s fair in love and war, and this right here is war!”

“Hey! I’ll show ya!”

Hayner then slid back and readied his big attack!

“RAH!”

The blonde boy lunged his Struggle bat forward, hitting his opponent in full force...

“Gh!”

...knocking one of the orbs off his waist as well!

“And Hayner returns the favor with a mighty thrust!” the large man commentated. “I hope his opponent doesn’t lose his breakfast with that!”

“And now we’re even!” Hayner declared.

“Please!” His opponent exclaimed. “I only let you get that hit in!”

“Get real, buddy!”

And thus, the two continued to engage in combat.

“I wonder what Roxas did have for breakfast today…” Jessie wondered with a grin. “Maybe some chili dogs perhaps…”

The crowd began to laugh again, much to Hayner’s consternation…

“Ugh…” the blonde teen sighed. “Is today Pick On Hayner day? Why is this happening to me?”

Roxas chuckled. “C’mon, you needed to release all that tension. You’ve been feeling pretty stiff since yesterday.”

Hayner sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I…may have jumped the gun and assumed the worst. Besides, why in the world would my friend pick a fight with Seifer without me?”

Roxas laughed. “Before this tournament? C’mon, man. You know I’m better than that!”

The two boys shared a hearty laugh, bringing relief to their closest supporters.

“Man, I was worried that they would still be at odds since yesterday...” Pence said.

“But it looks like we have nothing to worry about” Olette followed.

Maho nodded. “Told ya. Guys like them don’t need long to hash things out. It’s just how they work!”

The Landlady chuckled. “True enough…”

The match then continued in earnest, the two friends having fun despite the stakes. Truly, no one could break their bond…

Twilight Town – Underground Concourse

A loud sigh reverberated throughout the underground systems of the town, as a lone figure in a black coat roamed around it.

“Nothing around here…” the figure with a female voice spoke. “Why does patrol duty have to be so boring?”

“Want to switch?”

The figure turned around, seeing another figure wearing a black coat speaking with a deep, masculine voice.

“No need” the female in the black hood answered. “I’m doing fine”

“At least let me take the load off of you a bit…” the male in the black hood insisted.

“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?” the female replied back. “That girl deserves to spend time with her friends. Goodness knows she needs them…”

The male huffed. “You’re doting on her a bit too much…”

The female laughed. “Maybe. But I wanna do right by her. We did get off on the wrong foot when we first met, after all…”

The male scoffed. “Perhaps…”

The female sighed. “Are you still sure about this? About all this secrecy and all we had to do to wake them up?”

“It’s what’s best for everyone” the male answered. “Everyone who knew Sora and Neptune…”

“Hey” the female scoffed, crossing her arms. “We’re part of everyone too, you know?”

The man chuckled. “Isn’t that something she would say?”

The woman laughed again. “True. Perhaps she’s rubbing off on me more than I realized.”

The man scoffed.

“Hey, you’ll never know” the woman remarked. “Maybe you’ll start acting more like Sora in time!”

The man huffed. “That’ll be the day…”

The two, however, stopped their banter when they suddenly heard footsteps.

“Who…?”

“Hide”

The two did so near the archway as they faced the large passageway leading into the Waterway.

“Hey” the woman noticed. “Isn’t that…?”

Sure enough, a little girl with short black hair wearing a white dress holding onto a large black folded tarp walked into the Waterway in small, labored steps.

“One of the town’s residents?” the man wondered.

“Marlene!” a loud girl’s voice shouted.

“Where are you!?” another woman’s voice yelled.

“Aren’t those two…?” the man in the hood wondered.

The woman in the black coat gulped. She’d recognize the second voice anywhere.

“It’s Maho and Ne---” the woman cleared her throat. “I mean, the Landlady”

Sure enough, Maho and the Landlady emerged onto the scene, catching their breath as they looked around for the little girl.

“Where’d she go?” Maho complained. “I didn’t take her as Hide-and-Seek champion material!”

“I don’t know” the Landlady replied. “But why did she go here with the black tarp we prepared?”

Maho groaned. “We spent nights making that darn thing! We really gotta get it back!”

The Landlady patted the teenage girl’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We will and we will find out why Marlene decided to take it like she did…”

The magenta-haired girl hummed.

“Thought of something?” the adult woman asked.

“Yeah…” Maho said with exhaustion. “I don’t like what I’m thinking, but first, we gotta catch Marlene!”

The Landlady nodded, looking at the passageway leading into the Waterway. “Okay, let’s head that way. That’s the only place we haven’t looked at yet”

Maho nodded as well, the two women heading into the Waterway. As soon as they left, the two hooded figures left their hiding spots.

“That was weird…” the woman mused. “What do you think is going on?”

The man only gave a low hum.

“Trouble?”

The man nodded.

Seeing his answer, the woman produced something from her pocket. “Then I’ll contact Uni and the others. With those two away, no one’s watching Roxas right now”

“No one besides DiZ” the man commented. “And you know how he feels about him…”

The woman sighed. “Not as bad as he feels regarding the Landlady and especially Maho” She then groaned as she started typing away a message. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“We’d better do another look around” the man suggested. “Who knows when more of the Nobodies will emerge.”

The woman nodded, pocketing the object she was using. “Okay. Let’s take another look around. Hopefully we can catch THEM by surprise this time…”

And so, the two hooded figures split up, determined to fulfill their shared goals…

Twilight Town – Sandlot – Finals Match

“Welcome back, folks!” Jessie shouted.

“Back from what?” Wedge asked, confused. “We never left, Jess”

Jessie snickered with a wink. “If you know, you know!”

Wedge could only shrug at her remark.

“Anywho, for those not caught up, let us, you favorite commentators, tell you!” Jessie exclaimed. “After a wonderful match between two good friends, the next match was with Seifer, head of the Disciplinary Committee, and one of his own boys, Vivi!”

Wedge scoffed. “You call that a match? That was a one-sided stomp…on Vivi’s favor!”

“You tell me…” Jessie remarked, still in shock on the previous match’s results. “And thanks to that, Mr. Discipline dropped off the course like salt just filled up that cap of his, leading us to our current match! Can Roxas, our hometown hero, pull off another win, or will our new underdog prove he has what it takes!?”

“Only one way to find out!”

As Wedge closed out, he and Jessie then looked at the match already in progress.

Sure enough, Vivi was darting around the arena with such blinding speeds, faster than any ordinary person could hope to match!

Once the tiny boy landed right behind his opponent, he leapt up and spun his bat against Roxas, causing him to lose one of his Struggle orbs

The blonde-haired kid growled in anger, facing his fleeing opponent. “Hold still!”

“Yeesh!” Wedge winced. “Our underdog sure is fast. Did he undergo some secret training regimen before the tournament?”

“It seems years of being Seifer’s whipping boy have awakened something feral inside our little contestant!” Jessie commentated. “His movements are swift! His attacks ferocious! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s made of magic!”

Wedge laughed. “Okay, okay, Jess! Now you’re just being ridiculous!”

Jessie shrugged. “Just callin’ it like I see it, man…”

As the match continued, Roxas is losing focus. It didn’t help that he kept looking at the spot where his friends were, only that Maho and the Landlady are missing.

“This isn’t good…” Olette bemoaned. “Roxas can’t concentrate since Maho and the Landlady aren’t here”

Hayner groaned. “Of all the times they have to leave. What’s taking them so long?”

“Well…” Pence started. “They did say they’ll be back quick, so we should just hold out, okay?”

“I get you…” Hayner wondered. “But…”

“WHAT’SA MATTER, MAN!?” a loud voice boomed near them. “DON’T TELL YOU’RE WUSSIN’ OUT ALREADY!?”

Roxas gasped at the sound of the voice, but before he could identify it…

“Take this!”

As if by magic, Vivi then floated up in the air, and launched a flurry of spinning attacks with his Struggle Bat, ending with a large thrust against his opponent!

“HAH!”

Roxas narrowly dodged the attacks by the skin of his teeth, but the last attack not only knocked him to the side but took out another of his three Struggle orbs from his waist!

“This is bad!” Jessie screamed. “Roxas is now down to his last orb, and Vivi still has all three of his! At this rate, the match will be over!”

“This sure felt different from the previous match” Wedge commentated. “Vivi is settling for toying with his prey here, unlike with Seifer. What’s his deal?”

The tiny boy then began to hop up and down, laughing creepily at his own assured victory.

Roxas growled, stomping his fist on the ground. “What do I do?”

“KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, YOU FOOL!”

Roxas gasped again, seeing Barret standing next to his friends.

“Barret?” the blonde-haired kid managed to say. “What are you doing here?”

The large man then turned to the trio. “Cheering for your little guy! I’d figure I’d hold down the fort here since the Landlady is going out there, finding my little girl!”

He then beckoned the three teenagers. “So c’mon! We gotta give your boy some energy! He can’t make it to the title match like that!”

Hayner grinned. “You don’t have to tell us that!”

He then proceeded to yell. “C’MON, BUDDY! KICK HIS BUTT UP TO THE SUN!”

Pence and Olette looked to each other, and then nodded, proceeding to follow suit.

“FOCUS, ROXAS!” the latter yelled.

“TAKE IT SLOW AND STEADY, MAN!” the former shouted.

“DON’T WORRY ABOUT MAHO AND THE LANDLADY!” Hayner followed.

“THEY’RE COMIN’ BACK! SO GIVE ‘EM A SWEET WIN, ALRIGHT!?” Barret screamed.

Hearing this caused Roxas to chuckle to himself. “What am I doing? I almost forgot the reason why I’m doing this…”

He then turned to Vivi, who stopped taunting and began to prepare for his next move.

“I’m doing this for them…” the blonde-haired kid told himself as he braced his stance once more. “I’m doing this for us!”

He then proceeded to charge against his foe, who tried to stop his advance with a simple strike, but Roxas parried the incoming attack and knocked one orb off of Vivi!

“Oh!” Wedge winced. “That outta hurt!”

“And Roxas with the comeback!” Jessie yelled from the stands. “This game is not over yet, folks!”

Disgruntled at the loss, Vivi decided to leap to Roxas’ backside, readying his next attack.

“HOH!”

The tiny boy then launched a spinning move, but Roxas saw it coming and turned around to block his move.

“There!” Pence yelled. “Get a few licks in!”

Seeing the chance, Roxas launched another attack and knocked off Vivi’s second orb!

“Two orbs down!” the female commentator yelled. “This is sudden death! One wrong hit and the match is over!”

“But who will take the match?” the male commentator shouted. “It all comes down to the wire, folks!”

Once he was done, Roxas leapt back and readied himself for his opponent’s next attack. Said opponent was jumping around, likely searching for a weak point…

“Hehehehe…”

Roxas then heard a silent laugh from behind. Vivi was right there!

“Take that!”

The tiny boy then went for his big attack once again, but Roxas blocked through the move with his Guard, and just as Vivi went in for his final thrust…

“There!”

…the blonde-haired kid charged forth, slipping to the side to evade his opponent’s Struggle bat!

“He’s moving in!” Wedge shouted.

“He’s getting closer!” Jessie yelled. “Will. This. Settle. It!?”

Roxas closed in and---

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

Maho and the Landlady rushed up towards the hill, the latter stopping a bit to catch her breath.

“Where…” the adult woman barely said. “Is she?”

Maho scanned around the area, and found a little girl wearing white near one of the benches. The black folded tarp laid on it as the girl was staring out in the distance.

“Found her!” the teenage girl cheered. “Our little surprise is there, too!”

“That’s…great…” the Landlady breathed. “Go on to her…I’ll…catch up with you in a bit…”

Maho nodded as she sprinted to the little girl.

“Hey!” Maho shouted to the little girl. “I know you’re a good girl, Marlene. I’m not mad here. Just tell me why you took our tarp and we’ll hear you out, okay?”

But the little girl didn’t answer…

“Marlene?” Maho called out again, receiving no answer. “Hey! What’s with the silent treatment? Are you even okay?”

After about three seconds, the little girl tilted her head to the right…

Then…are you truly not our Goddess?

Maho gulped. “Ah geez. Don’t tell me…”

…and then turned around slowly…

So be it, imposter…

…as an eerie light glew beneath the little girl, transforming her into…

“I knew it!” Maho complained. “More of those Nobody weirdos!”

Indeed! However, this Nobody is different. Compared to the tall, slender creatures from before, this one is a smaller creature with two feet and a bendy head that can shift into numerous shapes!

“What’s going on?” the Landlady wondered, noticing the scene before her.

“Get back!”

As Maho screamed, the adult woman came to a stop as more of the tiny white creatures assembled around the teenage girl, who growled.

“Okay…” she started. “I dunno know what you did with Marlene or why you took our surprise, but you creeps have a lot to pay for luring us out here!”

Maho then summoned her own Keyblade, charging against the white creature in front of her.

“So, get out of our way!”

She leapt up and heaved her weapon forward.

“HAAAAAA----”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“---AAAAAAAHHHH!”

White sparks erupted in front of Roxas as he wiped out the last of the Nobodies (one of them possessed Vivi…somehow) with his own Keyblade.

“Those things again…” the blonde-haired kid bemoaned as he looked around. The crowd remained, but they were all frozen, still as statues and not a single sound emanated from them, not from the crowds, not even from the commentators.

“What’s going on this time?” Roxas wondered aloud. “I just hope Maho and Ms. Landlady are safe…”

However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone clapping their hands.

He quickly turned his head to the source, and saw another figure in a black hood.

“Who the…?” Roxas wondered. “The pickpocket? No, he’s thinner than the last guy…”

“Roxas!” the hooded figured called out as he approached the blonde-haired kid. “Alright! Fight fight fight!”

Roxas remained wary and guarded around him.

“And here I thought I needed to go through several hoops to find you” the hooded man mused. “Guess those twins weren’t making all that stuff up…”

Roxas hummed. “Twins? Didn’t Maho meet some twins here yesterday? Is he with them?”

The hooded figure looked to the blonde-haired kid, his face screaming confusion. “You really don’t remember, do you? It’s me!”

He then took his hood off, revealing his spiky-red hair, green eyes and tear marks on his cheeks.

“You know?” the man said. “Axel.”

“Axel?” Roxas repeated.

Axel shook his head in disbelief. “Talk about blank with a capital ‘B’! Man, oh man. Even the Dusks and Creepers aren’t gonna crack this one…”

The red-haired man conjured up his chakrams from flames, leaving Roxas even more confused. “Wait a sec! Tell me what’s going on!?”

“This town is his creation, right?” Axel asked, though he didn’t wait for an answer. “Which means, we don’t have time for a Q&A. You’re coming with me, conscious or not…”

The red-haired man then readied his stance. “Then you’ll hear the story”

Roxas took a few steps back, looking around frantically for something, someone, anyone, really!

“Looking for someone?”

The blonde-haired kid gasped, looking at the stranger as he relaxed his stance.

“If you’re worried about that Xomah look-a-like, she’s doin’ fine…”

He then gave a wild grin.

“In fact, a buddy of mine is on her way to grab her right about now…”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

“Phew…” Maho sighed in relief as she caught her breath. “Those small guys sure are something. Do those Nobodies have to be so…freaky?”

“Are you okay?”

The teenage girl looked up to see the Landlady approaching her, bending down to see if she’s doing okay.

“Yeah…” Maho reassured the adult woman. “Just peachy. Besides, I think I’m getting used to fighting those freaks with this thing…”

The Landlady then looked to the weapon currently slung around her shoulders.

“That’s right…” the Landlady said. “You have a Keyblade too since yesterday…”

“Still…” Maho said, looking around. “Those freaks just won’t let up, will they? Why do they want me and Roxas so badly?”

“I’m not sure…” the Landlady answered. “Regardless, we should try to find Marlene again before we head back”

Maho nodded. “Sounds like a plan” She then jolted. “Oh! We should grab our surprise before we go!”

The Landlady nodded, heading to grab the tarp.

“Got it!” the adult woman exclaimed, tarp safely in her hands. “Now, let’s get out of here!”

“Hold on, now!” another voice shouted. “Heading off right before we can see each other face-to-face? That simply won’t do now, would it?”

“Aw, cripes…” Maho panicked. “Ms. Landlady, run for it!”

The adult woman did so and attempted to leave the hill, only to somehow bump into something and fall right back down.

“Ouch!” the Landlady winced in pain. “Did I bump into something?”

Maho slumped in disappointment. “Of course, they’d block our only way out…”

“Now, now…” the voice spoke again as a Dark Corridor emerged. “It’s quite rude to leave before the main event has even started. Wouldn’t you say…”

As soon as the voice stopped speaking, a figure wearing a Black Coat appeared from the Dark Corridor, who then unveiled their hood, revealing a feminine face with blonde hair and blue eyes.

“…Xomah?”

Maho groaned. “Again with the ‘Xomah’ bit…Let me guess, you those twins’ mother or something?”

The blonde woman chuckled. “Quite presumptuous of you. But what gave away that I am acquainted with a pair of twins?”

“Because those two kept mistaking me for this ‘Xomah’ girl” the teenage girl replied, rolling her eyes. “If you’re not their mom, I’m guessing you’re part of the same nursery organization then?”

The blonde woman chuckled again. “Close. We’re not a nursery, but we ARE an Organization. The Organization XIII, to be precise.”

“Organization…” the Landlady mumbled. “XIII?”

“We don’t exactly broadcast our presence out there, but we are quite the large group” the blonde woman answered, taking a curtsy. “For the record, I am Vertx. The Organization’s Number XVI, the Wind of Perception”

Maho hummed. “Guess the fancy title means you’re quite high up there in your little group, huh?”

“Correct” Vertx confirmed.

“So, then…” the Landlady wondered. “What brings you here? What do you want with Maho?”

“It’s simple, really” Vertx answered as she began to pace around the hill. “We’re here to confirm and retrieve two of our own who deserted our ranks. Me and another of us are here just for that”

“Another member…” the Landlady thought to herself.

“But who…?”

Maho gasped, realizing who she was talking about!

“Roxas!”

Number XVI chuckled. “Correct again! Roxas was Number XIII among our group, the Key of Destiny. He has left our ranks a few days ago and our Superior deemed it fit that he be returned as soon as possible”

“Then…” the Landlady wondered. “Where does that leave Maho? Does this have something to do with that…Xomah person?”

“Correct” Vertx confirmed. “Xomah is also a member of our Organization. She held the Number XV, with the title of Gray Goddess…”

The blonde woman then extended her hand, summoning a medium-sized lance, giving it a twirl as she braced her stance.

Maho growled. “I’m guessing you wanna fight too…”

“Yes” Vertx replied bluntly. “The twins gained a glimpse into your power yesterday. Now, I wish to see for myself if you really are our lost lamb”

Maho began to seethe, her eyes falling onto her Keyblade…

“For the last time…”

She then raised her hand that held it…

“I AM NOT XOMAH!”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“WHAT’S GOING ON!?”

…and threw his Keyblade down onto the ground in anger.

But then, a few seconds later, the Keyblade vanished from the ground and re-emerged onto Roxas’ hand.

“Number XIII, Roxas…” Axel declared, bracing his stance once more. “The Keyblade’s Chosen One.”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

“Number XV, Xomah…” Vertx declared, preparing for battle. “The Lost Goddess”

Maho’s Keyblade shone for a brief moment, as if telling her to defend herself. Turning her head back for a moment, she nodded to the Landlady, urging her to step back.

“Fine!” the teenage girl shouted, bracing her stance. “You want some!? I’ll give it to ya!”

She then charged forth, launching a simple combo against the Organization member!

“HAH!” Downward slash!

“YAH!” Sideward swing!

“A-HAH!” Power swing!

“My…” Vertx said, parrying each blow. “You fight quite like a brute. Simplistic and highly telegraphed!”

“Yeah?” Maho asked. “Well, I didn’t ask for a key-sword thing! I’m more of a ranged fighter!”

The teenage girl hopped back and readied her next move.

“Like so!”

She then threw her Keyblade forward against her foe, who simply dodged to the side as the magical weapon flew back to it’s owner.

“Quite the skill” Vertx analyzed. “However, it’s pretty clear that you lack her experience and power. Perhaps as a result of you being trapped in this world or maybe…”

“Hey!”

The blonde woman raised an eyebrow as she quickly dodged another Keyblade throw from Maho.

“Focus on the fight, blonde lady!” the teenage girl taunted.

Vertx sighed. “And she certainly wasn’t this aggressive either. Are you really Xomah now?”

She then took a step back and readied her next move.

“Then I shall give back what’s owed! Here I go!”

Twilight Town – Sandlot

Axel charged against the blonde-haired kid, striking against him with two chakram swings…

“Nope!”

…that Roxas blocked, causing his opponent’s weapon to be thrown back against his face, stunning him.

“Got’cha!”

Roxas seized the opening and launched a simple, three hit combo against him!

“YAH!” Downward swing!

“HOH!” Forward thrust!

“RAH!” Strong horizontal swing!

Axel flinched back as he recovered his chakrams and knelt down. “Yeesh, that smarts! Must be getting rusty…”

The assassin, however, grinned. “Not!”

With regained vigor, Axel dashed to Roxas’ rear and unleashed a strong flame attack against the blonde-haired kid!

“BURN!”

The attack hit true, sending the young teenager reeling back!

“Ouch…” Roxas winced, wiping off the small flames from his clothes. “Great, now my clothes are a little singed. Miss Landlady won’t like this…”

“What’s the problem, Roxas?” Axel taunted as he spun back. “Don’t tell you’re giving up already?”

Roxas huffed. “Get real! I’m just getting started!”

He then charged once more against the Flurry of Dancing Flames…

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

“Feel my strikes!”

Vertx charged against her foe, unleashing a flurry of strikes against the teenage girl.

“Woah! Woah! Woah!” Maho complained as she tried to keep up with her opponent’s rapid strikes. “No one told me you’d be this hardcore!”

The blonde woman chuckled as she continued her attack. “You must be this skilled in order to survive in the Organization. Considering we have lost members before you and Roxas…”

Maho scoffed. “Well, that’s a whole lot of ‘not my problem’! My life is here and only here!”

The teenage girl went for another strike, but Vertx parried it and leapt back, conjuring a small portal to her left…

“GO! SYLHET SPEAR!”

…which unleashed a larger spear that hit Maho square on!

“GAH!”

The impact pushed her back down to the ground.

“Really, now?” Vertx asked with a hint of curiosity. “With the way you speak and fight, it’s pretty clear that you are a whole different person from the one I know”

Maho groaned, trying to get up. “Thank you! Someone finally understands!”

“However…”

An aura of green then flared up around the blonde woman.

“That means you are nothing now. An obstacle in my path that must be removed. Farewell, young woman. You were quite amusing, at the very least…”

Maho gulped as she braced for the worst…

Twilight Town – Sandlot

“Yeesh!” Axel complained as he fell back. “For someone who’s been slumming it up in this town, you haven’t lost all your edges, huh?”

Roxas gasped for breath, feeling woozy from fighting Vivi, the Nobodies and now Axel as well.

The red-haired assassin sighed. “Sorry, old bud, but I think you’ve gone and made me mad!”

He was then wreathed in an aura of flame, his chakrams glowing with flaming embers.

“Try and dodge this, Roxas!”

Axel unleashed a flurry of flaming attacks against his foe, forcing the blonde-haired kid to block the incoming attacks, but just as the combo was about to end…

“Got’cha!”

…the Organization’s Number VIII threw one of his chakrams forward, sending Roxas reeling on the floor!

“GAH!” the blonde-haired kid winced in pain. “That…was a sneaky one…”

Axel laughed. “Hey, old bud! Ringin’ any bells yet?”

Roxas slowly got up, using his Keyblade to support him as he stood. “Dunno. But I feel like…I know how you fight…somehow…”

Axel hummed as he nodded. “Okay…his muscle memory’s still kickin’ in a bit, but he really can’t remember us, huh? I wonder if she had anything to with this…”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

The Landlady gritted her teeth, seeing the sight of her charge downed on the floor as her foe readies her next big attack.

“What am I doing!?” she berated herself. “I’m the adult here, aren’t I!? Why am I still standing here when I should be the one protecting her!?”

“You already know the reason why…”

She gasped, hearing a voice in her head, but…

The adult woman clenched her free fist. “I know. I don’t have power like hers or Roxas’. I can’t wield a magic weapon or even fight like they can!”

“You have heart…yet you lack power…You are weak…”

The Landlady growled…

“But you still wish to protect them, don’t you?”

“I hope you said your prayers!” Vertx declared as she closed in on her foe. “Because, now you’ll feel my SPIRAL BREAK!”

The blonde woman struck true, throwing Maho up in the air! Giving her foe no time to recover, Vertx proceeded to dash through her once, twice, thrice…

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

The Landlady could feel her nails puncturing through her skin as she watched her charged being assaulted by her foe.

“Seeing them hurt like this…And not being able to do anything for them…I hate being this helpless!”

“Then reach out to it…The strength that lies within your heart…”

…six times, seven…

“May your soul find it’s final rest!”

…and Vertx moves in for her eight and final hit, taking Maho down and out of the fight!

“Ugh…” Maho groaned, finding no strength to get up. “This…bites…”

Vertx hummed as she gracefully landed, inspecting the teenage girl on the floor. “You certainly show promise, but as I feared, you are not Xomah or at least act like her…”

She then closely approached the fallen girl. “However, your resemblance to her is still uncanny and you have a great fighting spirit. I wonder how much of you can we really learn from.”

The blonde woman attempted to grab the girl on the floor, but stopped mere inches away as she felt something close to her neck.

“Well…” Vertx mused, noticing the purple-black blade neared her own neck. “This is certainly something I’m not expecting”

She turned her head around and noticed a purple-haired lady glaring at her with glowing blue eyes.

“Step away from her” the Landlady warned in a low tone.

“My, so dangerous…” the blonde lady snarked. “Tell me something, though. Are you really just some ordinary landlady?”

“I won’t ask again” the Landlady warned again, inching her blade closer to Vertx’ neck. “Step. Away.”

“Alright, alright” Vertx consented, standing up and slowly moving away from the downed Maho. “I will back off…”

But just as she was about to leave, the blonde woman immediately turned around in a snap and unleashed her sneak attack!

“SLYHET SPEAR!”

The Landlady immediately deflected the incoming spear and moved in for the attack.

“HAH!” Sideward slash to the left!

“YAH!” Sideward slash to the right!

“HI-YAH!” Leap into slam attack, causing a small shockwave!

“Grk!” Vertx was pushed back from the ferocious attack! “Such strength!”

The Landlady braced her stance once more, readying another move!

“Taste this!”

She then dashed forth, launching five more slashes against the blonde woman and then launched her up in the air during her sixth attack!

“Cross…”

The Landlady then jumped up and slammed her blade against the Wind of Perception!

“…COMBINATION!”

The Organization member was sent back down onto the ground, feeling a ton of damage from the Landlady’s fierce counterattack!

“What…power…”

Vertx could barely look up as the Landlady approached her again with her glowing blue eyes. As she peered closely into her opponent, the blonde woman can sense a purple aura surrounding her being.

“To think…” she managed to say. “You carry…this much power…No, it’s more like…you are unleashing the essence of your very being against me…”

The Landlady then raised her blade against her foe’s face.

“Could you…really be…?”

“Such words are meaningless” the Landlady coldly responded. “You dared to assault those under my charge and for that, you shall pay the price!”

She then raised her blade up, ready to end her opponent once and for all…

“HAYNER!”

But then, a loud voice yelled out, one loud enough to be heard from the Sunset Hill…

“PENCE! OLETTE!”

Maho groaned as she heard the voice. “Ro…xas?”

“MAHO! MS. LANDLADY!”

“Was that…” Vertx wondered. “Really him?”

Her musings were halted when she heard someone groaning. She looked up to see the Landlady clutching her head in pain, her purple sword dropped to the floor and vanishing from view.

Maho gasped as she stood and rushed to the Landlady’s side.

“Hang in there!”

“Ro…xas?” the Landlady managed to say. “Ma…ho?”

“Yes, it’s me!” the teenage girl answered. “Roxas is fine, too! We’re okay! So, please! Come back to us!”

The Landlady screamed in the air, her loud shriek threatening to deafen all who heard it…

Twilight Town – Sandlot

Roxas gasped as he looked around the crowd. “That was…”

“Setzer~!”

His attention then turned to the arena as the current Struggle champion went up for his match.

“Hey, Roxas” Olette called out. “It’s starting!”

“Yeah, but…” Roxas gulped. “Maho and Ms. Landlady still aren’t here yet…”

“Yeah, we know, but…” Pence started, only to be halted when a large man stepped.

“ATTEN-TION!”

Roxas gasped as he immediately stood up straight. “ROXAS PRESENT, SIR!”

Barret nodded. “Good. You still payin’ attention. Now, listen up!”

He then paced around. “I know what you’re feelin’ right now. Your hands are jittery. Your head’s thinkin’ ‘Oh man, what if I mess up? What if those other guys don’t make it in time?’. Believe me, I got those same thoughts too. Anytime before I do something big, I worry ‘bout what Marlene and the others might think about me…”

The large man then came to a stop, facing Roxas. “Well, I say nuts to that! Marlene and the others are fine and on their way here! We’re still here, rootin’ for ya, and there’s a pompous man struttin’ on the stage that needs a butt-whoopin’! So, I say, you go get out there and do your stuff!”

Roxas gulped. “Will they really be coming back?”

Barret nodded. “Trust me! When they come back, they’re gonna see you kickin’ butt out there, and when you win, you can look them in the eye and say, ‘I did it!’ You feel me?”

The blonde-haired kid grunted, slapping his own cheeks to compose himself. “It’s alright. I can do this!”

Hayner grinned. “Then go kick butt up there for us, bud!”

“Remember” Pence reminded. “Focused and centered”

“We’re all rooting for you!” Olette cheered.

Roxas nodded, pumping his fist. “I got this!”

He then rushed to the stage, ready for the title match.

“That’s right, kiddo” Barret said with a smile. “You got this…”

Twilight Town – Sunset Station

“We SO don’t got this!” Maho complained as she and the Landlady are at the empty station. “Why do the trams have to stop NOW of all times!”

“Everyone else is at the Sandlot right now” the Landlady mentioned. “I don’t think anyone’s running the trams right now…”

The magenta-haired girl sighed. “And to make matters worse, the gates to the sewers were closed up somehow! Now, we can’t just run all the way back! This blows!”

“I’m sorry…” Marlene apologized. “I don’t know what happened, but I ended causing trouble…”

“Ohhhh, don’t apologize…” Maho tried to soothe the little girl. “Some monsters tried to kidnap you and lured us away. We just did what any decent person would do”

“That’s certainly one way to put it…” the Landlady thought as she nodded. “True. Any decent people would…”

She then looked at her own right hand, remembering the voice in her hand and the sensation she felt after that. “What was that? That voice? And that surge of power that flowed within me? It looked like that Organization lady had an idea, but she left before we could ask her about it…”

“Okay!” Maho shouted. “If it comes down to it, we’ll just run all the way there!”

“Where?” the little girl asked.

“From here?” the Landlady said exasperatedly. “Maho, the Central Station is a good distance away! We’ll lose breath before we can make it back!”

“So, what!?” the teenage girl fought back, slowly approaching the adult woman in a huff. “We still have our surprise for Roxas, and the last thing we need is him flaking out right as he’s at the finishing line of this tournament!”

By the end of her sentence, she was close to the Landlady’s face.

“We gotta be there to cheer him on, Ms. Landlady! He’s totally hopeless without us!”

The Landlady sighed. “I’m with you there, but I don’t want him to worry about us anymore than we already did.”

Maho groaned. “But we gotta do something! I don’t want us to be stuck here forever!”

Marlene glanced around the station until she noticed a blonde girl in a white dress standing near the staircase. When their eyes locked, the blonde girl raised a finger near her lips, causing the little girl to hum a bit.

“What’s wrong, Marlene?”

As the Landlady wondered what was wrong with the little girl, she looked to where she was facing, and noticed…

“Isn’t that…?”

Twilight Town – Sandlot – Title Match

“And we’re down to the jugular, folks!” Jessie shouted over the stands. “The match is heating up between Roxas, our hometown hero, and the Blackjack himself, Setzer!”

“We’ve had a thrilling match so far!” Wedge exclaimed excitedly. “Between the taunts and the knockbacks, it’s been a gnarly back-and-forth between our final contestants!”

“Indeed!” Biggs announced. “Now, our two opponents are down to their last Struggle orb and their last breath, which is amazing, since our champion has only set foot in the arena once while our underdog had to face two opponents before arriving here.”

Jessie nodded with a hum. “These last few seconds will decide it all! Can our underdog take the win or will our Blackjack’s reign last another year? Keep you eyes peeled, folks!”

Sure enough, Roxas and Setzer are standing on the edges of the arena, panting and out of breath.

“To think…” Setzer started. “You could push me back this much…”

His eyes then glared at his competitor, who met his glare with equal intensity.

“I suppose…” the champion wondered. “There is something you wish to fight for. Something so important that it lights your own heart on fire!”

“Yeah…” Roxas agreed. “There is something important…”

He then regained his composure, bracing his stance once more.

“And that’s why…I can’t back down! I will win this!”

Setzer smirked. “Such confidence. Very well then…”

The champion Struggler then regained his own composure, raising his Struggle bat close to his chest. “Then let us raise the stakes! Who shall leave this arena the victor!?”

Conflicting cheers rang throughout the arena…

“Setzer’s our champ!”

“No way, man! Roxas’ gonna kick butt!”

“Ooooohhhhh~! Setzer, we love youuuuuuuu~!”

“Win this one for the streets, Roxas!”

“SETZER, MY LOVE~!”

“The crowd is going wild out here!” Jessie yelled.

“This is the last moment of the tournament, after all!” Wedge pointed out.

The sounds began to drown out the blonde-haired kid’s senses, causing him to lose focus…

“SETZER!”

“SETZER!”

“SETZER!”

…especially when the cheers for the champion are beginning to drown out his own supporters’ cheers.

Roxas panted, still reeling from exhaustion. “Can I really win this?”

“ROXAS!”

The blonde-haired kid gasped, recognizing who was calling him. From the other side of the arena, he sees a flash of magenta waving at him.

“Maho?”

As he tried to see who it was, he saw a mirage of purple moving in beside the magenta.

“Ms…Landlady?”

Roxas shook his head to clear his eyesight, and sure enough, he saw Maho and the Landlady, holding something up high in their hands. The sight of it made him gasp in awe.

“C’mon, Roxas!” Maho cheered him on. “He’s our man!”

“If you can’t win this” the Landlady cheered as well. “No one can!”

“Go, Roxas!” Even little Marlene cheered for him too!

Above their heads, Maho and the Landlady are holding onto a black banner that had ‘Roxas’ written on it, the X stylized like the teenage boy’s own necklace.

“When did they…?” Roxas wondered. He didn’t even know they made something like that for him.

Still, seeing this sight before him, something swelled up within his chest. It was warm…and welcoming…and invigorating!

Roxas huffed, a smile adorning his face. “Thanks, guys”

He then regained his focus and readied himself for the last clash.

“So, you wish to partake in this final gamble as well” Setzer mused with a small laugh. “Very well! Let us all hedge our bets in this one final move!”

The two readied themselves and after a good six seconds, the two men charged!

“HAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

“YAH!”

One second passed…

Two seconds passed…

Three seconds passed…

Gasps sounded throughout the arena…

“Roxas is down, kneeling on the ground!” Wedge announced. “Could this be it!?”

Setzer smirked, and with a heavy breath…

“That…” the champion struggled to say…”was a good game…”

…as the Blackjack fell to the ground, his bat reaching down in a loud clang. “…Roxas…”

Four seconds passed…

Then five…

And then six…

“S-S-SETZER IS OUT!” Jessie yelled. “Apologies for the yell, ladies, but this year’s Struggle Champion is our hometown hero, ROXAS!”

As Roxas regained his composure, he could the crowd chanting his name. He did it! He really won the Struggle Tournament!

“Roxas!”

“Roxas!”

He turned to see his friends all coming in to congratulate him.

“Nice going, buddy!” Hayner congratulated with a pat on the back.

“You really had us going there, man…” Pence said with a big sigh.

“But you pulled through!” Olette complimented. “That was incredible!”

“That’s the spirit, young man” Barret offered his congratulations. “Nice job out there!”

Roxas smiled. “Thanks, guys!”

“HEY!” a cheerful voice yelled from behind. “Don’t forget about us!”

He turned to see Maho, the Landlady and Marlene, the latter who rushed to her dad’s side, coming up on stage.

“What took ya?” Roxas joked. “You almost missed the match!”

Maho rolled her eyes at that statement. “Oh, you know. Just doing good stuff and all that.” She then whispered something to his ear. “And dealing with you know what.”

Roxas’s eyebrows furrowed. “You too?”

The magenta-haired girl sighed. “Yup. Ran into another one of those hooded weirdos. Would have gotten me if Ms. Landlady hadn’t stepped in”

The blonde-haired kid then laid eyes upon their caretaker, who looked confused. “Are you alright?”

Roxas sputtered. “Yeah. I guess I’m just tired…”

“Hey!” another female voice shouted. “You better have enough energy, because you got prizes here!”

As the three saw Biggs, Wedge and Jessie approaching them with their prizes, Maho whispered to Roxas again.

“We’ll chat this up later” the teenage girl said. “For now, let’s party!”

Meanwhile, up above the nearby rooftops, two figures observed the people on the arena from up high.

“That Roxas…” Axel sighed wistfully. “He certainly got comfortable in his new home, huh?”

“He certainly looks comfortable enough” Vertx observed. “Good to see his fighting instincts haven’t completely dulled these past few days…”

“You tell me...” the red-haired assassin groaned. “I think I nearly got thrashed back there…”

The blonde woman chuckled. “This isn’t like you to joke around like that. We all know you’re more capable than that”

Axel sighed again. “True enough…”

He then looked down at the arena as he saw Roxas and Maho holding up the Struggle Champion Belt while the Landlady held onto the trophy, with Hayner, Pence and Olette all holding up the black banner with Roxas’ name on it.

“Still, what do you think we should do now? Try again?”

Number XVI sighed. “I don’t think so. Considering what we felt here was true, it is likely the creator of this simulation has the means to kick us out, and ensuring we stay out”

Number VIII groaned. “So, we cut our losses and RTC?”

Vertx sighed as she summoned a Dark Corridor. “I suppose. Though I can imagine what the Superior’s next order will be…”

“What do you mean by…”

But his female companion left before he could finish his sentence.

Axel sighed. “Leave me hangin’, why don’t ya?”

He then looked to Roxas and his friends, happy as they are. Seeing this sight made Axel feel uncomfortable, as if something struck inside his chest…

Shaking his head, the Flurry of Dancing Flames turned around and went into the Dark Corridor, leaving the virtual town behind for now…

Twilight Town – Central Station – Atop Clock Tower

After the recent altercations, Roxas, Maho, the Landlady and their gang all went up to the station’s clock tower to celebrate the former’s victory against the previous Struggle champion, Setzer.

“That was definitely a match for the ages!” Pence said.

Olette nodded. “So riveting!”

Maho groaned in annoyance. “Man, I wish I could’ve seen it! That match sounded so epic!”

The Landlady laughed, carrying a bag of sweets with her. “Well, there’s always next year…”

Hayner huffed in confidence. “Just you guys wait! Next year, I will be top dog!”

Roxas smirked. “You’re on!”

Maho’s eyes lit up. “Oh, now this is one I definitely don’t wanna miss!”

“You’re just gonna tease Hayner to trip him up mid-match again, aren’t you?” Pence snarked.

The magenta-haired girl snickered. “Who knows~?”

“I can hear you!” the yellow-haired teenager complained, causing the others to laugh at him.

Roxas grabbed the Struggle Trophy near him, detaching three of the orbs on it and tossing them to his friends.

The yellow orb went to Olette’s hand, while the green orb flew into Hayner’s and Pence barely managed to catch the red orb with a nervous chuckle.

“Catch!”

Maho then caught the white orb that flew onto her hand.

“Here”

He then detached the purple orb and gave it to the Landlady as the blonde-haired kid took the blue orb and held it against the sun.

The others did the same, marveling at the sunset reflected on the orbs.

“Hey...” Pence started. “Do you guys ever wonder why the sun’s so red like this?”

Maho hummed. “That's a good question.”

Hayner snickered. “Gonna hit up that fortune telling site again?”

“Hey!” the magenta-haired girl protested. “A girl’s gonna have hobbies, you know?”

“Do you know, Ms Landlady?” Olette asked the only adult in the area.

The Landlady hummed. “I don’t know, actually…”

“Maybe...” Roxas started. “The sunset’s so red is because red’s the color that travels the farthest”

“Huh?” Olette asked. “Where’d you get that from?”

Roxas hummed. “Dunno...But I feel like...someone told me that...”

As he finished his sentence, the image of Axel flashed before his mind. “Strange. Why am I thinking about him now? Did we…really know each other back then?”

“Well, that someone sure sounds like a wise guy...” Pence commented.

“You sure you didn’t peek at the same fortune telling site?” Hayner wondered.

Roxas crossed his arms in thought. “I dunno...”

“Ms Landlady” Maho called out. “Did you sneak in a nugget of wisdom to his breakfast when I wasn’t looking?”

The Landlady giggled, showing a teasing face as she winked. “Who knows?”

Hayner sighed. “I’d like one of those nuggets. Might help me cram through all the homework I still have…”

Olette then clapped her hands. “Okay! I say our brains here deserve a frozen treat!”

She then produced six sea-salt ice cream sticks. “Here!”

In his excitement, Roxas stood up, causing him to lose his balance and fall from the clock tower!

“ROXAS!”

In their panic, Maho attempted to grab him, only to end up falling down with him!

“MAHO!”

Fear struck across the Landlady’s face as both of her charge’s are falling to their doom…

“NO!”

Destiny Islands – Main Island – Mayor’s Home

“So-ra? Are you sure you’re not just imagining him?” my friend asked me as we walked to my house.

I shook my head. “I’m sure, Selphie. Aside from Riku, there’s another boy who hung out with us. He’s Sora.”

Selphie poked her left cheek in thought. “I’d be pretty sure if I knew someone like that. You sure you didn’t mistake him for Tidus or Wakka?”

Again, I shook my head.

“Huh” Selphie said, scratching her head. “It’s weird. The more you tell me of him, the more I get this image of another boy with spiky hair racing after Riku.”

“Yes!” I cheered. “That’s him! That’s Sora!”

“Really?” my friend asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Y-Yes...” I stuttered. “What else can you recall from him?”

“Well...” she wondered. “I do recall how big his shoes were...”

I nodded, chuckling to myself about that particular detail. “Anything else?”

“Nothing else...” Selphie moaned. “This is weird. If he’s been here in the islands with us, why do I feel like I forgot about him?”

“That’s...” A good question, actually. For the whole year since I lived here, there’s been this nagging feeling like I forgot someone...Someone very important to me...

Even if the memory had long faded from my mind, something is nagging at me to keep track of this boy. Even if I forgot his name or what he looked like...

It’s as if my heart is refusing to forget him...he’s too important, it would say...

And then, when I heard what that other boy and the woman said (the boy’s name was Roxas and the woman’s his Landlady, apparently), the more the image settled into my mind...

And then I heard him call out to me...telling me with the same spring in his step, along with another equally cheerful voice...

Starts with an S...

“Well” Selphie shook her head. “I’m sure I’ll be figure it out after a good night’s sleep. We’ll go ask those two if they remember him too. Whaddaya say?”

I nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan!”

“Boo-yaka!” the girl cheered. It’s what she always says when she’s happy. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Kairi!”

We waved each other goodbye as I entered my house and ran up to my room, plopping down to my bed as I covered my eyes with arms, still thinking about the boy I just remembered...

Sora...

As I kept thinking about him...

Sora...

As I kept saying his name...

Sora...

More and more memories of him began to flood my mind...

His toothy smile...

His enthusiastic cheer and sense of adventure...

His bright heart that touches so many...

My lips curled into a smile as my heart filled in elation.

As it did, I began to recall a memory. An important one, long before we parted ways...

“It’s the lucky charm I’ve been making. I want it back when I come running to you, got it?”

“Don’t worry, I will”

“Promise?”

“Promise”

“Right” I made a promise with him. An oath for us to get stronger, so I can fight alongside him and Riku...

As I recalled the promise, I stretched out my hand and snapped my wrist, causing a flash of light to appear...

And once it faded, a familiar shape, one adorned in flowers, appeared in my hand.

It was the Keyblade I had. The one I still have, after all this time.

What was it called again? Destiny’s Embrace? I think that’s what this one is called...

I smiled at the sight of it. “Still got it...”

I nodded to myself. There’s still work for me to do.

“Okay! Time to start my training again”

I then got off my bed, opened my satchel and brought out a large tome with a keyhole on the seal and placed it on top of my desk. Thankfully, my father’s out for the day and will be late for dinner tonight.

“Here’s goes something...”

I then held my weapon out and pointed it towards the lock, causing a beam of light to shoot out against it.

My view was then filled with light as I felt myself being sent over to another place...to the inside of the tome...

Memories of Gamindustri - Virtua Forest

Once the lights faded and I regained my view, I glanced around, find a lush forest filled with greenery and nature’s beauty. The blue skies were as clear as the cool winds blew around the place.

I remember this place well. This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, after all.

“Kairi?”

I heard a voice call out as an orb of light descended onto my view. The orb then manifested itself, revealing someone I met, but only now just remembered.

“You have returned, I see” the voice, belonging to a blonde-haired fairy said. “This is your third visit here. What ails you?”

“I just remembered!” I said excitedly. “I remembered Sora!”

The fairy smiled. “I see! That is good news! I have been wondering why you have this tome and why I feel it is safe with you. Now that you mention his name, I can recall certain memories in full now!”

I nodded. “He and Neptune were on a journey together, and they’re still out there even now. I need to get stronger before I can catch up to them! Please, help me!”

I bowed to the fairy in front of me. The one who sensed the potential within me. The one who helped unlock the power of the Keyblade within me.

“Histoire!”

Overall restoration at 79%

Chapter Text

???

What’s wrong with me?

Why does it feel like I’ve been falling for a while?

Ah…

My eyes faced forward as I noticed two children falling down…

Yes, they fell and I tried to help them up…

But, now, it feels like we’re just falling together to our do---

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Landlady’s Room

“NO!”

The Landlady suddenly woke up, breathing heavily as if she experienced a nightmare.

“What…” the Landlady wondered, hiding her own face in her face. “What even was that? A dream?”

She then looked outside, seeing the rising sun nearing the horizon.

“But which parts…were the dream?”

MahoMeansMagic: hey! anyone up? 🥱 what time is it right now?

NoApplesPls: I’m here having my coffee and it’s 4:45 in the morning. Nepgear is still asleep. Need something?

MahoMeansMagic: yeah, i just had a trippy dream.

NoApplesPls: A dream?

MahoMeansMagic: yup. we were just chillin up at the clock tower, then the darn goober tripped and fell. i tried catching him and then i ended up fallin too. next i knew i was here in bed. trippy, right?

MahoMeansMagic: anri?

MahoMeansMagic: anri? 😟

NoApplesPls: Ah, sorry. I was wondering how I’m going to break it to you.

MahoMeansMagic: oh good! i thought you probably croaked from caffeine overdose or something! 😄

NoApplesPls: I take enough coffee to last the day. I’m actually mindful of my caffeine intake. Anyway, for your last question, it wasn’t a dream. That really happened.

MahoMeansMagic: no cap!? get outta here, girl! 😱

NoApplesPls: I’m serious. You and Roxas did fall from the Clock Tower. Thankfully, your Landlady managed to catch you two and landed safely on the ground. And no, none of your bones are cracked.

MahoMeansMagic: wow! is ms landlady a super hero or something? 😲

NoApplesPls: Not…really...

MahoMeansMagic: lemme guess. Complicated stuff?

NoApplesPls: Complicated stuff…

MahoMeansMagic: nvrmind then…

NoApplesPls: Besides, the system itself already had something in place in case something like that happened. It’s mostly robust when it comes to fail-safes.

MahoMeansMagic: what do you mean most

MahoMeansMagic: oh yeah, the white squiggly guys... 😒

NoApplesPls: The Nobodies, yup.

MahoMeansMagic: i sure hope they don’t come in today. gotta finish our stupid independent study homework... 😩

NoApplePls: Cramming is usually a bad idea, you know?

MahoMeansMagic: is breakfast ready yet?

NoApplesPls: Fine, I’ll order up for you two. Just finish your homework today, please?

MahoMeansMagic: Yes, mom. I’ll get right on it. 🙄

NoApplesPls: By the way, Maho.

MahoMeansMagic: wassup?

NoApplesPls: Do you mind meeting with me later? Sometime late afternoon?

MahoMeansMagic: oh, a chance to meet with an overworked angel irl, huh? wat am i to do??? 🤔 🤔 🤔

NoApplesPls: Maho…

MahoMeansMagic: hehehehe! just messin with you! of course ill meet up with you!

NoApplesPls: Great! I’ll tell you the exact time. Just, please, finish your homework. You don’t want Ms. Landlady to get upset with you, right?

MahoMeansMagic: 😲 😲 😲

MahoMeansMagic: right! ill get on it!

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“Good morning once more! 5bp. Radio is now live! Yesterday was quite the riveting day, wasn’t it? The battles! The spirit! The competition! I’m sure our competitors are relaxing after that exciting day! But now, I want to ask you all something. Have you ever wished to solve mysteries? Be it from a story you read, a rumor you heard of or even from something this town offered? That’s right. This town has its own Wonders. Seven Wonders, to be exact! Can you figure out what they are and if they are as wondrous as they claim? That will make quite the adventure, huh? Anyway, onto other findings...”

I…cannot recall the last time I’ve ever been this busy…

Then again, there’s a lot I don’t really know about myself. Only that my name was Anri and that I’ve been living in this world for as long as I can remember.

Ever since that fateful meeting, I began to ask myself “What do I want to do?” and “How do I go about it?”

And when that fateful event happened, that was when I knew I wanted to do…

“Morning!”

I glanced at my side to see a familiar girl with black pig-tails coming down. She always passes by here after breakfast on her way to see Nepgear. As far I knew her, they were kinda attached. Not to the hip, per se, but they were pretty close.

“You’re listening to that?” the girl asked. “I’m surprised you even managed to make something like that for that world, considering how the host really is here…”

I turned down the radio volume to greet her. “Good morning to you too. Ready to start your day?”

“A day full of patrols and guard duty” Uni grumbled. She’s definitely not a morning person. “I’m SO ready…”

I chuckled at that. “You’re always an inspiration, Uni”

As I continued my work, I could feel Uni looking on the screens herself.

“So…” the girl started. “What are you working on this time?”

Uni was an ever-curious girl. I’ve heard from Nepgear that she was a Replica, a being created from the data of someone else, in this case from someone named Noire. Perfect Replicas cannot even distinguish if they are real or fake, only that they truly believe that they are who they believe they are. Uni was an exception since she fully accepted that she was a forgery created from someone else to be that someone else, but that failed. So, instead, she opted to form her own identity and as such, has a very curious nature within her, even if she doesn’t fully understand everything around her.

“Just surveying the town, looking for bugs and possible entry points” I explained to her, eyeing the numerous areas within my sights. “Can’t let our guards down after two more members of the Organization infiltrated the data world yesterday…”

Uni sighed. “You tell me. The moment I got the message that there are enemies there, you scrambled immediately to get here, and yesterday was supposed to be your break day!”

I chuckled weakly. “You know me. I get worried about the smallest things. It happens…”

She sighed again. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for later? Did you even tell Maho that you’re meeting with her today?”

I chuckled again. “I already did.” My eyes glanced towards one of the screens, showing her and Roxas riding on the train leading to Sunset Station. “Naminé wanted to meet up with Roxas as well, so we all arranged some time for them today”

Uni hummed. “That explains what you girls have been talking about when I came back.”

Her eyes then widened, as if realizing something. “Wait, does that mean Nepgear’s…”

I nodded. Good for her to catch on so quickly.

“Yup. She wants to meet someone too. Someone who resembles her own sister…”

Twilight Town – Market Street: Station Heights

“Man, yesterday’s tournament was pretty fun?” Barret bellowed. “Ain’t that right, Marlene?”

The little girl nodded, bouncing up and down. “They were all like WOOSH, and then they were like WHAM and then they were all WAHAHA!”

The Landlady chuckled weakly at the energetic girl.

Barret furrowed his eyes at the adult woman. “Hey. You feelin’ alright?”

The adult woman gulped. “Y-Yes. I’m okay! I’m alive! Don’t worry about me, ahahaha!”

The large man hummed for a while. “If you’re sure…”

He then looked around, noticing something odd.

The large man rubbed his nose as he grinned. “Say, I saw your kids headin’ up to the station a while ago. Where’d they go?”

“Oh!” The purple-haired woman said in a snap. “They’re off to do some last minute homework. You know kids, these days…”

Twilight Town – Sunset Station

“Welp, that was a bummer and a half, huh?” Maho complained as she and the gang disembarked from the train.

Roxas sighed. “You tell me...”

“I’m sure we can find better stuff than Rai miscounting his steps here!” Pence reassured. “Who knows? Maybe the other six will be better!”

Maho sweatdropped. “Somehow, I doubt that...”

Twilight Town – Market Street: Station Heights

“Sheesh!” Barret complained. “Holdin’ off your homework until the last day? That’s a load of bunk! Everyone knows dockin’ it early’s the way to go!”

He then flashed a grin at his daughter. “Right, Marlene?”

The little girl nodded. “I finished up my homework as soon as I got them!”

“Right!” the armor shop owner boasted. “Finishin’ up early means more time to play and goof off! Everyone knows that!”

The Landlady chuckled. “True, but you’ll never know what you get if you decided to hold off your work until the last possible moment”

She then gazed up to the sky. “Why, I can imagine the escapades they all must be going through…”

And then she casted her gaze onto the ground. “And if nothing bad will happen to them today…”

The Seven Wonders – The Ball on the Wall

“Why!?” Maho complained as three balls flew from the alleyway. “Why do balls fly out of walls!? Is there some sort of ball conspiracy here!?”

Roxas groaned. “No time to think about that. Just cover me!”

Maho groaned as well as she stood. “Oh, fine!”

She then stood in front of the strange all, defiantly blocking the incoming balls, whether in waves of three, four and even six as she slowly inched forward!

Maho then saw only one ball emerge from the wall.

“We’re close!” she shouted. “Get in there, buck-o!”

Hearing the call, Roxas leapt up from behind her and charged against the wall…

“HAAAAAAA---”

The Seven Wonders – Strange Waterway Noises

“----AAAAAHHHHH!!!”

With a downward slam, Roxas disintegrated a fake Vivi as two more appeared, jumping up as they laughed and hopped around in sync.

Maho groaned again as she blocked an incoming attack from a Vivi. “Never thought I’d hear little Vivi laughing creepily in stereo here, but here we are…”

“Still…” Roxas said, whacking another Vivi out as two more took his place. “These Vivis aren’t that tough. Even the wind could blow them out if it made it’s way here…”

Maho then grinned as she pulled back and readied her frisbee. “Then there’s only one thing to do!”

She then released her frisbee and threw it against the fakes. “YAH!”

The frisbee nears it’s target…

The Seven Wonders – Reflection at the Waterfall

…and was deflected by a similarly thrown frisbee!

“Geez!” Maho complained as she faced a shadowy version of herself. “I thought the Vivis were creepy enough, now there’s this!?”

She then looked to Roxas, who was clashing against his shadow blow for blow. So far, it’s been a stalemate with no clear winner.

“They’re matching my every move…” the blonde-haired kid noted. “But I don’t think these guys get tired. What do we do?”

Maho hummed, as she tried to move to the left, causing her shadow to follow her.

“Uh-huh…”

She then moved to the right, causing the shadow to follow suit.

“Interesting…”

Thinking of an idea, Maho took a step back and readied to throw her frisbee again, causing her shadow to do the same…

“What are you doing?” Roxas wondered.

Maho just grinned. “Just watch!”

She then threw her hand forward, but not her frisbee! Yet when her shadow did the same, she ended up throwing her frisbee away!

“Oh!” Roxas realized. “I get it! You tricked her into throwing her weapon away!”

Maho snickered. “Now for the counterattack!”

She then threw her frisbee for real against Roxas’ Shadow, which stood still as it’s original remain still!

Thwack!

And it hit! Roxas’ Shadow now dispersed from Maho’s clever ploy!

“Alright!” Roxas cheered as he braced his stance. “Now it’s my turn!”

He then charged against the remaining Shadow and dispersed it with a mighty horizontal swing!

“HAH!” The blonde-haired kid wiped a sweat from his brow. “And done!”

“Just three more to go!” Maho cheered as she grabbed her frisbee. “Let’s keep this going!”

The Seven Wonders – The Moving Bag

“Hold still!” Roxas shouted as the bag he’s atop of scampered about and around.

“Watch where it’s going, dude!” Maho yelled, seeing them on a collision course with a garbage bin!

“Woah!” He heaved the bag up, causing it to jump over the bin. “How long is this gonna take!?”

“Hopefully anytime soon…” Maho sighed as she kept watch. “What weird stuff is all this, anyway!?”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“And...another anomaly fixed” Anri stated as she continued typing on the computer. “I swear, these bugs are getting weirder by the second...”

“What bugs?” Uni asked.

“Copies of Vivi’s hacked data found in Sector UC-W. A virus that copies your movement via the nearby waterfall” the white-haired girl explained. “Creating a dog within a bag of garbage and a wall spawning numerous rubber balls.”

“Those are...” the black-haired girl mumbled. “Peculiar...”

“Pretty strange, right?” Anri said. “I’m already fixing up one last bug as we speak”

Twilight Town – Sunset Terraces

“Aaaaaannnnnddddd nothing!” the girl complained again. “Nothing interesting here! Balls, noises and shadows don’t really fit that mystery vibe!”

“Not to mention the dog in the sack...” Roxas bemoaned. “Pence, those last wonders...aren’t exactly wonderful...”

“Don’t worry, you two! Say no more!” Pence replied. “This next one will knock you folks off your socks! Wonder Number Six!”

“You mean the Ghost Train one?” Maho asked. “Pretty sure that’s a bogus one, too...”

“Well, we’ll never know ‘till we check it out” Roxas said. “Let’s go see it by the hill!”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“Which one?” Uni asked, looking at the screens of the computer.

Anri then pointed to the screen showing a purple, star-decorated locomotive. “This one. The so-called ‘Ghost Train’”

Twilight Town – Sunset Station

“There it is...” Hayner said as the aforementioned Ghost Train arrived in front of them.

“Yup...” Olette followed.

Pence gulped. “So...who wants to...”

“I’ll go”

However, in the moment that Roxas took his step, Maho grabbed his wrist...

Twilight Town - The Old Mansion – Basement: Computer Room

“But doesn’t that train lead to...?” Uni wondered.

Anri nodded. “And the destination’s not replicated in the simulation. Hence why it’s a Ghost Train. It just leads nowhere”

“Then what’s the point of that being there?” Uni complained.

Anri shrugged, observing Maho as she stopped Roxas from boarding the Ghost Train. “Who knows? Maybe DiZ left it there or it got added when we were performing maintenance yesterday? Either way, I already shot Maho a message to stop him from boarding the train...”

She then pressed a button on the keyboard, and the train vanished in an instant on the screen.

“Just like that?” Uni said, raising an eyebrow.

“Just like that” Anri replied simply as the regular train then arrived onto the station.

The door nearby then opened as Nepgear and Naminé entered the room. “Hey”

“Hey” Uni greeted the timid CPU back. “How are they?”

“Still sound asleep” Nepgear answered.

“The restoration’s almost done” Naminé followed.

“Yup” Anri confirmed, glancing at the screens. “83%”

Uni sighed in relief. “Finally. It’s been forever since those guys were asleep”

Nepgear giggled. “But you don’t really know them, do you?”

Uni shook her head. “Nope. Still, I’d like to give them a piece of my mind for making you wait for them, Nepgear”

The nascent CPU moaned. “You don’t have to do that. Besides, the reason they chose to sleep is because...”

Uni sighed. “Okay, okay. I get it. You and Naminé don’t have to enter another pity episode now. You gotta greet them with a smile, you know?”

Nepgear giggled again. “A smile, huh?”

“Speaking of restoration” Naminé wondered. “How about Maho? How is she faring?”

“So far, so good...” Anri reported as she looked at the screen showing the gang leaving the Central Station. “But, if the restoration’s almost done, we may have to do something about her.”

“Huh?” Uni raised an eyebrow, confused. “But why?”

“You see” Nepgear explained. “If we don’t do something about Maho, either DiZ or the Organization will.”

“I get it” the replica understood. “That’s a good call. I doubt either of them will have the best intentions in mind for her…”

“Hence why we’re planning to meet with them, right?” Naminé asked. “We’ll tell them what they want to know and what awaits them by the next day”

The nascent CPU hummed. “I wonder how they’ll take it…”

“Hopefully well enough…” Anri hoped as she finished typing something on the computer. “Okay. I’ve finished up the safety measures. No more trouble will come for a good few hours”

The girls in the room nodded, all knowing what to do.

“Let’s all meet up here again before the day is over” Nepgear proposed. “Okay?”

Once she heard her friends agreeing to her idea, the four of them exited the room, prepared for whatever lies ahead of them…

Twilight Town – Central Station

“So, the report goes” Hayner started. “The Seven Wonders are bogus. The end”

“We have to at least explain everything that happened.“ Olette scolded.

As the gang continued to walk, Maho noticed that Roxas stopped for a moment.

“Hold on” the blonde-haired kid spoke. “There’s still one more Wonder, right?”

“But, Roxas...”

Hayner’s groan interrupted Pence’s plea. “Forget it. We’ll just come up with something else for the report. Let’s...just go already...”

“But...” Roxas then looked to Pence. “Pence...”

Pence sighed. “It’s in that Haunted Mansion...”

“Right...” He then began his sprint. “You coming, Maho?”

“Uh, actually” Maho stammered. “I got somewhere else to be right now”

“Now?” Roxas wondered.

“Yeah, so uh...good luck mystery busting or whatev’s!”

She then ran to the Underground Concourse, leaving her friends baffled.

“What’s eating her?” Pence wondered.

“Dunno” Olette admitted. “Do you know, Roxas?”

The boy shook his head. “Anyway, I’m going ahead. Take care, alright?”

Hayner scratched his head. “That’s what we should be saying to you, man…”

“Just…” Olette pleaded. “Don’t get lost, alright?”

Roxas nodded as he ran on ahead, determined to get something, anything important today…

Twilight Town – Alleyway

“Okay…” the Landlady said, inspecting her bags. “The kids in the nursery are doing good. The shops are doing alright, and I got all I need for today. Time to head home…”

As she began to head back, the adult woman began to hear something loud, right near the tunnel leading into the Underground Concourse…

“Hm?”

She stopped for a moment, taking a few steps back as the sound she heard began to get louder.

“Who…?”

“Excuse me!”

Sure enough, a girl’s voice sounded past the sealed gate leading into the underground…

“Who is that?” the Landlady asked.

“Um…” the girl spoke nervously. “I…got lost and couldn’t find my way out of this place. Can you…get me out?”

The purple-haired woman looked around, noticing a small black key on the ground.

“Isn’t that…?”

Taking the key, she opened the lock on the gate, allowing her to open the path to the underground.

“Oh, thank you…” the girl thanked, her white uniform and lilac hair sputtered with grime. “I don’t know how much longer I had to stay in there…”

The Landlady sighed. “And you shouldn’t. Young ladies like you should be out there having fun with friends, not getting dirty in sewer slime!”

The girl gulped. “S-Sorry, but this was the shortest path and I didn’t even know what time these paths could be closed, so…”

The Landlady sighed again. “Don’t get nervous now. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I guess I’m..still not in a good mood today…”

“Oh?” the girl wondered. “Why?”

For the third time, the purple-haired woman sighed. “I guess…I’m just worried. The two children I’m watching over have been facing danger after danger, but all I could do was stay back and cheer them on.”

She then looked at her free right hand. “Just when I thought I found the power to help protect them, I began to feel…terrified…afraid of what this power could do to them…”

The Landlady could only give a weak laugh. “What am I doing? Saying all this to you. You look like you need more help right now…”

She then walked ahead, turning her head back to the dirtied girl. “Why don’t you come with me? I may have some spare clothes and a shower for you.”

“Oh, really?” the girl’s eyes lit up at that. “I hate to impose!”

The adult woman laughed. “Don’t be! I love to have guests! Now, come on…”

And so, both the Landlady and the girl went to the apartment for a refresher…

“By the way, what is your name?” the Landlady remembered to ask.

“Oh! My name is Nepgear!” the girl quickly introduced herself. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms Landlady!”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

As I climbed up the hill before me, I began to recall many things here…

The many conversations I had with her…

Not all of them. Some of them occurred in the sewers. Other times, in other places across town, but some of the most important ones occurred right here…on this very spot…

As I began to take a seat to bask in the sunlight, I began to think back again to many of these conversations. Ones held by one who had purpose, but lacked direction, and another who lacked purpose, but had direction…

It’s honestly pretty amazing how much we’re able to learn more about ourselves and each other through these conversations. At first, she didn’t seem to look forward to those. Not because she disliked them, mind you, but mainly that she wasn’t told or ordered to do so. Said that doing anything irrelevant to the task is inefficient…

But over time, she stopped being apathetic to our conversations and began engaging in them more, to the point that sometimes she would pass by here to see if I was here, and we’ve met more times than I could count…

Yes, even the time when she was…

“Made it!”

My thoughts stopped as my attention snapped to the newcomer arriving, her breath exhausted, her body slumped and tired and her magenta hair having spots of dirt on them…

“You okay?” I asked her as I approached the girl, and judging by my nose’s reaction, that was a bad move to make. “Eck. You stink…”

The girl groaned. “You tell me. The tram’s no good, so I had to run back into the sewers to get here, though I could’a sworn I passed by another girl on the way here. Maybe it was my imagination…”

She must’ve been referring to Nepgear. We both agreed to use the Underground Concourse to get to our destinations intact. Thankfully, no Nobodies have been sighted so it was perfectly safe to walk around here today.

Still, kinda funny that she passed by the girl who showed up in our chat logs. Then again, Maho never saw Nepgear face-to-face…nor me, for that matter…

“So…” Maho started, staring into my eyes. “You must be Anri, right?”

I chuckled. “Got it in one. How can you tell?”

“Those”

She then pointed at my…eyes? Face?

“Those bags under your eyes” she clarified. Ah. That makes sense. “I can tell it’s you, Anri, since you tend to not get much sleep…”

I sighed. “Well, you caught me there. Anyway, thanks for coming by today”

Maho laughed. “Hey, no biggie! I’ve always wanted to meet you and Gearsy IRL, you know!”

I chuckled back, fixing my bangs. “Did you now?”

I then guided her to the bench. “Now then, shall we take a seat? I’ve got a lot to talk about…”

Maho whistled. “This afternoon’s gonna be a doozy, huh?”

I laughed at her remark. “Quite a doozy, indeed…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

Meanwhile, Roxas attempted to explore the Seventh Wonder, The Old Mansion that lays past the Woods. According to Pence, the rumors stated that there was a girl living in the second room floor that can be seen from the window.

But as he gazed on the window, he found himself within said room, filled with bright walls, white furniture and several drawings scattered across the room.

As he walked around the room, glancing through the drawings, the blonde-haired kid found he could recognize many of the drawings vividly.

Numerous mountains that lay on a large island...

A large gateway of a peculiar shape, one that leads into a deeper darkness...

A vacant room, where many clandestine conversations were held...

A red-haired girl, holding onto a yellow star-shaped fruit...

“Roxas...”

The boy looked around, recognizing the voice.

“Naminé...”

As he did, his eyes lay upon a peculiar drawing, one showing five figures in black. Three of which looked familiar to him.

“This is...” Roxas started, looking at the figure to the far right. “...me? And Axel and Maho are here too”

“You ARE best friends” Naminé stated.

“Very funny...” the boy snarked. “I can accept Maho, but Axel...well...”

“Don’t you want to know the truth...” Naminé started to ask. “About who you really are?”

“No one knows me better than me” Roxas answered confidently.

The girl giggled. “Of course...”

“But...” Roxas admitted, moving onto the other side of the room. “...I don’t get what’s happening lately. Between those weird white things and those guys trying to kidnap Maho and Ms Landlady, a lot of weird stuff’s been happening...”

Naminé hummed at that.

As Roxas stopped, his sights were set to a particular drawing of six people pasted on the wall.

“You know these six, don’t you?” Naminé asked.

Roxas nodded. “Yeah. Sora, Neptune, Donald, Goofy, Compa and IF. They’re from the dreams”

“About a year ago...” Naminé narrated. “...some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora’s heart. But now...I’m putting them all back exactly the way they were.”

She took a moment to breathe.

“It’s taken a long time, but pretty soon, Sora will be his old self again.”

Roxas hummed. “He must have a lot of people waiting for him, huh?”

“Yes” Naminé agreed. “His heart has touched so many. Even mine, even after all I did to him...”

“What do you mean?”

Twilight Town – Sunset Apartment – Dining Room

“Really?” the Landlady asked with a gasp. “All of that…happened to you?”

The girl, Nepgear, nodded, all freshened up and wearing some spare clothes the purple-haired woman found in the apartment. “Thanks to some bad people, we had to do things against our will, against our own wishes. But thanks to my siblings and their friends, we were able to break free of our cages and gain our freedom”

The adult woman gave a sigh of relief. “I see. That’s good. That means you and your siblings are now free, right?”

Nepgear, however, became sad. “If only if it were that simple…”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

“So, lemme get this straight” Maho said, trying to gather her thoughts. “Naminé has the power to go in and mess with people’s brains, right?”

“Their memories, to be precise” Anri corrected. “But, yes”

“And in order to fix their memories, she had Gearsy’s sister, brother and their pals all go to sleep?”

The white-haired girl nodded. “That’s right. It will make her job easier if they were unconscious, so she had them placed in cryogenic pods so they can sleep soundly while she works to restore their memories”

“Uh…huh” the magenta-haired girl nodded, trying to understand what was told to her. “Y’know, I figured that Naminé chick was kinda weird, considering she made that portal for us yesterday, but I didn’t think she was all kinds of amazing!”

“Amazing is…” Anri surmised. “…one way of putting it…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

“I don’t know why I have this power...” Naminé said, sitting on a chair on the left side of the table. “I just...do. I’m not even sure there’s a right way for me to use it”

Roxas chuckled, having sat on the other chair to the right side. “I can’t help you there”

Naminé returned the sentiment, letting him know that the thought counts.

The boy then looked to the drawing of him with Axel. “It’s funny...Suddenly, I feel like I don’t know myself at all...”

He then faced Naminé. “I guess I would like to know. What do you know about me...that I don’t?”

Naminé gulped. “Well...For starters, you and I are different beings. We are Nobodies”

“Nobodies?”

The girl nodded. “Beings who split off from people who became Heartless. While their hearts are consumed by the darkness, should they have a strong enough will, their bodies will begin to move and act on their own.”

“They act...” Roxas parroted. “...On their own...”

From the depths of his mind, he could recall a faint memory. Large letters appearing in front of him, spinning around until a letter X appeared in front of him...

“These Nobodies have gathered together to form a certain group” Naminé continued. “They called themselves Organization XIII”

“Organization...” Roxas repeated, the term feeling familiar to him. “You think...”

Twilight Town – Sunset Apartment – Dining Room

“Yes” Nepgear answered. “They’re the same Organization who has been pursuing Roxas and Maho. You’d recognize them since some of them wear Black Coats”

“Black Coats…” the Landlady murmured, recalling the woman who took her sweets, the twins who attacked Maho, the girl who stepped in against them, and finally, the blonde woman who lured them away from the tournament. “We’ve encountered people wearing them since the day after the photos were stolen. How many of them are there?”

“U-ummm…” Nepgear stammered. “Some of the hooded figures you saw aren’t working with the Organization?”

“R-Really?” the adult woman gasped in surprise. “Which ones?”

The shy girl nodded nervously. “I can say that the one who took your sweets, along with the ones who took Roxas’ munny and the one who saved you and Maho are not part of the Organization. The rest of them are, though…”

“That’s concerning” the Landlady muttered, recalling the twins that attacked Maho two days ago. “And from what the rest of them are saying, is it true that Roxas and Maho are part of this Organization?”

Nepgear gulped.

Twilight Town – Sunset Hills

“So, this Xomah gal really is part of this weird cult, huh?” Maho said. “And you’re really sure that goober Roxas was part of it?”

“He was” Anri confirmed. “Though apparently, he deserted their ranks a few days ago. That’s how some of our associates were able to capture him…”

“Yeesh!” Maho screamed. “What do you guys need him for, anyway? Can’t you just ask him to come along with you?”

“It’s…not that simple” the white-haired girl responded. “You see, for one thing, our ‘boss’ is quite…how do you put it…’prejudiced’…towards Nobodies”

“Which Roxas is…” the magenta-haired girl recalled. “Right?”

“And Naminé too, yes” Anri replied. “Initially, Nobodies are said to be born without hearts, thus without the ability to feel. However, from what we observed, both Naminé and Roxas have exhibited emotional expression not unlike normal people, so I fail to see the difference between them and us…”

Maho nodded furiously. “As we shouldn’t! I’ve been with the goober for as long as I can remember, and he definitely feels and acts real to me!”

Anri sighed again. “If only our ‘boss’ sees it that way…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

“DiZ?” Roxas asked. “He called you a witch?”

Naminé nodded. “I’ve been called that by others before, and considering the nature of my powers, I can concede to that notion somewhat”

Roxas hummed. “I dunno. Aren’t witches usually…you know, bad?”

The blonde girl giggled. “There are good witches out there. No need to worry on that”

“Huh…” the blonde-haired kid decided to settle on that. “Well, anyway, back to me…Why does Sora need me, exactly?”

“You hold half of what he is” Naminé explained, glancing at a picture of him and Sora together.  “Because of that, the memory restoration has been affecting you as well.”

“You mean...” Roxas realized. “The dreams?”

She nodded again. “In order for Sora to become whole again, he needs the rest of his memories...the ones that lay within you, Roxas”

Roxas gasped again. “But...why? Why me? Because I’m his Nobody?”

“Actually...” Naminé wondered. “I’m not sure why...The restoration shouldn’t have taken as long as it did. One year is too long. It’s as if something or someone in the Organization interfered with the restoration process, but...”

She sighed. “I...cannot recall the reason why...”

Roxas sighed, looking to another drawing on the right wall. This time, it showed Roxas running in a dark alley.

“This Organization XIII...” Roxas wondered. “They’re a bad group, are they?”

“Bad or good? I can’t really say...” Naminé answered. “To put it this way, they’re a group of incomplete people, who wish to be whole. To that end, they’re desperately searching for something.”

“What?”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartment – Dining Room

“Kingdom…” the Landlady started. “Hearts?”

Nepgear nodded. “According to our…previous captors, the Organization plans to create Kingdom Hearts. It is a nexus point where all hearts gather.”

“Where all hearts gather, huh?” the adult woman repeated. “Is this because the Nobodies believe they still have no hearts?”

The girl nodded again. “Right now, many, if not all of them, believe they don’t have hearts, nor will they ever have any. To that end, they wished to become whole again.”

“And this Kingdom Hearts can help them with that?” the Landlady asked, to which Nepgear nodded as a reply.

Twilight Town – Sunset Hills

Maho hummed as she tried to process all the information she got so far.

“What’s up?” Anri asked.

“Call me crazy, but…” the magenta-haired girl started. “Doesn’t this whole thing seem a bit of a stretch to you?”

The white-haired girl raised an eyebrow at that.

“I mean, this Kingdom Hearts thing can make them whole, right?” Maho wondered. “But, how would they know if the heart they got is the right one for them? I mean, aren’t hearts supposed to be unique for each person?”

Anri opened her mouth, but couldn’t find any words…

“Huh…” the white-haired girl managed to say. “When you put it like that, something really doesn’t add up…”

Maho nodded furiously. “Really makes you wonder, huh…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

"Finding their hearts to become whole again...” Roxas mulled over. “Are they really that desperate to become complete?”

Naminé shrugged. “Who knows? What I do know is that they are doing everything within their power to achieve it. Experimentation. Heartless Manipulation. Replica Creation. Share Energy Acquisition. Anything goes for them.”

“Even recruiting a Nobody who can wield a Keyblade, huh?” Roxas mumbled.

“Quite so” the girl answered.

“Then…” Roxas started. “What about Ms Landlady? What’s so special about her? Is she a Nobody, too? Why does she keep having the same dreams I do?”

“Well…” Naminé gulped. “You see, that’s because…”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Dining Room

Nepgear gulped again, feeling nervous.

“What’s wrong?” the Landlady asked. “Is the question too loaded? Or is the answer…”

The girl furiously shook her head. “It’s not that…It’s just…”

“It’s okay” the adult woman reassured. “I can handle it. Besides, I want to make sure I’m on the same page as those two will be.”

The lilac-haired girl cleared her throat. “Okay, then. To sum it up, you are the vessel that was created from Neptune’s Share Energy”

“A…vessel?” the Landlady repeated. “Like a Nobody?”

“No” Nepgear answered nervously. “You see…you are a being made of pure Share Energy. The same Share Energy that resided within my sister, a Console Patron Unit.”

“What are these…” the purple-haired woman asked. “…units?”

“To keep it short” Nepgear answered. “These CPU’s are essentially goddesses created in another world through Share Energy. My sister Neptune is one of them.”

“Okay…” the adult woman understood. “But…how did I come to being, then? Am I a CPU, too?”

“Not…exactly” the lilac-haired girl responded. “A while back, I mentioned that my sister needed to sleep so she can also regain her memories, right? But, while she slept, some of her Share Energy began to…how do you say…leak out of her…”

“Leak…out?”

“We weren’t sure what to make of it at first” the girl clarified. “But once we found out, we decided to store the Share Energy in this world so it can rebuild itself through the people living in here. You see, Share Energy is generated through the faith and prayers of the people around them. When you interact with the people in this town, you gain their Shares, thus recovering more of Neptune’s lost Share Energy”

“I see…” the Landlady understood. “But then…how did Neptune lose her Share Energy in the first place? That shouldn’t happen, right?”

Nepgear shook her head. “It shouldn’t. But later on, we found out that her Share Energy was slowly being absorbed by something else…something the Organization created…”

Her eyes casted down, the bangs of her lilac hair covering them. “Or rather…it was someone they created…”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

“And that someone…” Anri continued. “…was Xomah. The Organization’s Number XV”

“The Gray Goddess…” Maho recalled what Vertx mentioned regarding her. “So, this weird cult ‘made’ her?”

Anri nodded. “Turns out, unlike the rest of the Organization’s members, who are wholly made of Nobodies, Xomah was, in fact, a Replica made for a specific purpose”

“A purpose?” the magenta-haired girl thought for a moment. “Does this have something to do with that Share Energy you’re talking about?”

“That’s right” Anri confirmed. “From what we learned, the Organization has big plans to utilize Share Energy. For what purpose, we do not know”

She then produced something from her pocket…

“What’s that?” Maho asked. “It looks…broken…”

“It’s called the IS Crystal” the white-haired girl answered. “This object is theorized to be able to hold onto a vast amount of Share Energy. Hence, why it’s called the Infinite Share Crystal”

Maho hummed. “Sounds a little too good to be true…”

Anri sighed, looking forlornly at the shattered crystal. “Yup. Too good…so much so that Xomah can’t even handle it…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

“But why would the Organization even need Share Energy?” Roxas wondered. “You said they want hearts, so why seek out Share Energy?”

“This is only a theory we’ve been able to work out” Naminé answered. “But we believe that because Share Energy can affect hearts, the Organization wishes to manipulate that energy in order to acquire hearts for all Nobodies”

“Is that even possible?” the blonde-haired kid asked.

The blonde girl shrugged. “Who knows? This is just one of many of the Organization’s forays into achieving their ultimate goal. Who knows if they’ll continue through with it or not…”

“Let’s hope not…” Roxas mumbled. “Hold on! There’s something else I need to know…”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartment – Dining Room

“What about Maho?” the Landlady dared to ask. “Why do those members of the Organization keep mistaking her for Xomah? Where even is she right now?”

Nepgear gulped again, looking away.

“Is it…” the Landlady tried to ask. “Something serious?”

The girl took a deep breath. “It was. Something happened a few days ago…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – Living Room

Meanwhile, a hooded figure entered the broken living. A broken table say in the middle alongside the broken shelves, leaving only a few intact chairs in the area. A familiar man in red sat on one of these chairs.

“How goes the procedure?” DiZ asked the hooded man.

“Nearly done” his guest answered, taking a seat on the nearby chair. “Last I checked, it was around 89%”

The man in red hummed. “Then Naminé and her cohorts did their job well, despite the…added luggage in our midst”

The hooded man huffed at that remark. No doubt he was referring to Uni, Maho and Anri. “Keep telling yourself that…”

“Regardless, now that Roxas and the vessel are close” DiZ started. “It is time for the heroes of light to awaken once more, for the Organization’s hands lay ever deep into the worlds”

“You know they’ll try one last time to stop us, right?” the hooded man asked.

“That’s what I have you, your companions and that Replica for” the bandaged man reassured. “Once Sora and Neptune have risen from their slumber, the Organization will be forced to make adjustments.”

He then relaxed onto his seat.

“Once those two and their companions have reawakened, dispose of Naminé and the Replicas.”

The hooded man let out a loud but short hum. “What’s the purpose behind that? Won’t just waking Sora and Neptune up halt the Organization’s plans?”

DiZ shook his head at the question. “They have been scheming and making moves long before even that witch Maleficent came into power. I have no doubt that they have more back-up plans in store, ones that will ensure they reach their ultimate goal”

The hooded man let out a loud breath, as the man in red began to raise his voice.

“And the last thing we need is granting them access to more tools at their disposal. Once something has served their purpose, their last destination is the scrap heap!”

“That will be difficult to do…” the hooded man retorted, earning a glare from the bandaged man. “After all, we still have to deal with the Nobodies coming in”

“Then do so once they’ve been repelled” DiZ replied as he stood. “We cannot afford any more delays! One year is already far too long”

The man in red then made his way to the door…

“So you say…” the hooded man started. “But what about the girl?”

…only to stop at the question. He knew who his guest was referring to.

“Hide her somewhere. Tell her not to get involved any further. She has seen too much already. An uninvolved civilian has no right to further tamper with the natural course, brilliant though she may be”

As the bandaged man took his leave, he turned his head to his conspirator. “Be sure to take care of this…Ansem”

Once the man in red left, the hooded man took off his hood and let out a loud sigh, revealing his tanned head, silver hair and amber eyes.

“Easier said than done…DiZ…”

Twilight Town – The Old Mansion – The White Room

“Something wrong?” the girl asked.

“It’s just...” the blonde-haired kid sighed, looking away from a drawing of Neptune and the landlady in the battle-suit she wore from a few days ago. “Maybe I’ve been running away from the questions I really wanna ask...”

“What are they?”

Roxas took a deep breath.

“What’s gonna happen to me now? What about Maho? What about Ms Landlady? With all these dreams, and the Organization looking to capture us, something is clearly up with us and I don’t know what.”

His breath becoming more hitched as he continued.

“How did I even get here? Since when did I became friends with Hayner, Pence, Olette and Maho? What was my life before I even met Ms Landlady? Was I really a member of this Organization? What was my life back then like? Was I close with Axel, Vertx, the twins and even Xomah? And...”

He stopped to take another deep breath, holding his head down with his hands.

“...if I really am Sora’s Nobody, what will happen to me once I meet him? If I have something that belongs to him, how will I give it back to him? All this...just confuses me...”

Roxas then looked up, gazing upon his fellow Nobody.

“Tell me, Naminé. What will happen to me?”

Twilight Town – Sunset Hill

Maho and Anri sat silent on the bench, basking in the light of the setting sun.

“Man…” the magenta-haired girl said, breaking the silence. “You’ve got quite the heavy backstory back there, Anri…”

The white-haired girl chuckled. “Understatement of the century…”

Maho chuckled back.

“Upset?”

She shook her head at the question.

“I thought you’d be”

“Far from it!” Maho reassured. “If anything, I should be thanking you and Gearsy for giving me this life”

She then placed a hand to where her heart is. “Sure, the time we spent together was short, but those short days were filled with such fun, happy times that I would never trade anything I have for them. The bond I share with my friends, both here and out there, are real. Everything we felt within us, the hearts beating within us, they’re all real to us. That’s why I’m not angry or upset. I know Roxas and Ms Landlady likely have a lot to digest…”

The teenage girl then faced her friend. “But that’s why I’m here, isn’t it? To protect them. Support them when they’re down. That, I believe, is the reason why I exist. My purpose for being.”

Anri sat agape as she simply stared at Maho, her eyes widened with awe.

“Uh, Anri?” Maho called out, waving her hand in front of the girl. “Hello? Twilight Town to Anri? Anyone in there!?”

Anri then broke out in laughter.

“Whoa! Hey!” Maho shouted, her eyes widened into white circles. “Why the sudden laughter? Did I say something stupid?”

The white-haired girl slowly calmed down.

“No, no” Anri reassured. “It’s nothing. It’s just…”

She then gave a relieved sigh. “You’re really something special, Maho.”

“O-oh?” the magenta-haired girl stammered, feeling a bit flushed. “Am I now?”

Anri chuckled. “You are. Far more than we ever realized.”

The magenta-haired girl sighed, looking at the sunset. “Still, a Replica, huh? Kinda funny you’d make a copy of a copy, y’know?”

The white-haired girl giggled. “True.”

“Bet you’re pretty disappointed with how I turned out, huh?”

This time, Anri shook her head.

“Oh really? What gives?”

“I know you’re different from her, but…”

She then gazed upon the broken crystal once more.

“Xomah wanted to see what her life would be like, if she wasn’t bound by the Organization and her purpose. What it’s like to be free to choose how her life goes. Next we knew, you came into being as a result of all our hard work…”

The white-haired girl then looked at her companion, her eyes filled with sincerity and a bit of pride.

“…and you know what? I think we were successful in that. Xomah was a member of the Organization through and through. That was her life, and this is yours. You can only be what you defined yourself to be, and you made your choice.”

Maho nodded. “Yup! This is who I am, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

Anri smiled, standing up from the bench. “Thank you for your time, today. I’ve had a good one today!”

Maho grinned. “Don’t mention it! Say, where do you live, anyway?”

Anri raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“’Cuz I’ll take you back home, silly!” the cheerful girl replied. “Duh!”

Anri sighed. “It’s alright. I can find my way home by myself”

But she was stopped by Maho wagging a finger against her. “Nuh-uh! You lemme take you home and that’s that! Got it?”

“You’re…not gonna budge on this, are you?” Anri sighed in defeat. “Alright. You can come, but first, we need to meet up with someone else who lives with me”

Maho snickered, standing up from the bench. “Oh, I already know! Why do you think I stopped you right there?”

For the third time, the white-haired girl sighed. “Why do I even bother? C’mon, let’s go.”

Maho gave a salute as she went after the leaving Anri. “Roger, dodger!”

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartments – Dining Room

“This is…quite a lot to take in…”

“I understand. Still, I feel the need that you and the others need to know what you’re going into. It’s…a rather selfish desire, but…”

“I see. I…just need more time to process everything you just said”

“Okay then. Please hold onto this. You all may need this when the time comes”

My mind began to play back the conservation we had today. And then replayed it…over and over and over again…

Even after how many times I thought back to them, there were still things I couldn’t understand…

Or maybe…

There were some things I couldn’t really accept…

The purpose of this whole world…this…simulation…

The reason why Roxas, Maho, and even I are even here…

The entire origin of my existence…a vessel created from the scattered Share Energy of an asleep CPU…of a goddess…

I clutched my head, trying to make sense of everything I learned…but still…something is causing my heart to ache…

My heart…

Hahahahaha…

Is my heart even real? Does it even exist or beat at all?

“You say I’m not a Nobody, yet I’m just a being made from pure energy. Why is it do I look like I do now? Why can I see, hear, smell, taste and touch like anyone else in here?”

“That’s likely a by-product of our work. When we implanted the Share Energy into this world, it ended taking shape inside of it, forming a humanoid-shaped vessel. That’s how you came to be…”

Of all the things I had to ask…I failed to ask that poor girl this one simple question…

If I am created…forged…what does that make my own heart? Is it fake? Will it never be real?

“I’m back!”

My ears burned as I see that boy enter the room, looking no worse for wear, but no doubt he…

“Hey. Are you ok---”

In a blur, I went from my seat to hold onto the boy in my arms…No, it wasn’t just that…

“Ms. Landlady?”

I just wanted to be able to feel again…to prove that everything I felt…everything I experienced…

That everything I had…was real…

“I’m sorry…” I apologized as I let the boy go. “I…don’t know what came over me…”

“O…kay…”

The boy responded slowly, as if he wanted to say something else, but chose to let it lie for now…

To let my white lie lay…

“Well, since you’re here, why don’t I get us something to eat? I know dinner’s is just about an hour away, but you must be exhausted…”

I began to move to the kitchen in all due haste. I need to do something…anything…just to keep my mind off all that I learned today…

“Um…”

“Just sit down on the table, Roxas. I’ll be right back!”

The Landlady moved to the kitchen with all due haste. Considering what she said before…and the tears she shed back there…

“By the way” I started as I sat down. Thankfully, the kitchen was within hearing distance, so I’m sure Ms.Landlady heard me loud and clear. “I bumped into Maho on the way here”

And by bump, I mean pestering me to take a picture of her and her new friends. Seriously, I thought cameras like that were pretty expensive. How did one of those girls get one?

“You did?” she responded. “Yes, she came here with someone to pick her friend up who passed by here. Did you say hi?”

I nodded with a hum. So, she’s met someone here today. The piece of paper with the yellow drawing on it is evidence enough. “Yeah. We exchanged hellos. They were Nepgear and Anri, right?”

“Yes. Nepgear came by on my way home today, so I offered her some treats before she left with Anri and Maho”

Nepgear…She was that lilac-haired girl in the school uniform, right? From the way she spoke, she seemed pretty nice. Polite and respectful, if a little nervous and anxious.

Still, what could they have discussed that made Ms Landlady this way? Made her look like her world’s about to end…

“Food’s ready!”

Our caretaker burst into the scene, carrying a small plate of sliced fruit. She then set the plate down on the table and sat opposite of me.

“Well, don’t be nervous now. Eat up!” she said as she quickly grabbed a slice and ate it up.

“Okay…”

Nervously, I picked up another slice and slowly chewed upon it, trying to think of another question.

And so, we ate…and ate…and ate…

“Mmmmmmm…this fruit’s so tasty!”

…and ate…until the plate was emptied.

“My, we ate through all that, didn’t we?” she said with embarrassed laughter. “Okay, I’ll get us another one…”

“Wait!”

My shout halted her steps. Our Landlady now stared at me with widened eyes. Eyes that threatened to burst into a waterfall at any moment.

“I can tell you’re hurt. Please, why don’t you sit down and we can talk about it…”

The Landlady gulped, looking at the floor nervously.

I took her hand into mine and looked at her dead in the eye and pleaded…

“Please…”

After a few seconds of silence, she relented, sitting back down and gave out a loud, heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry, Roxas” she apologized. “I just…It’s been a long day…”

“Longer than we thought, huh?” I remarked, sitting down next to her. “I guess you must’ve learned a lot of things today, huh?”

The Landlady gave out a weak chuckle. “And you?”

I nodded. “Just about the same. Remember Naminé?”

“Ah, that blonde girl. She helped us out of a bind yesterday”

That explains how they were able to make it back that day. She must have been able to go around this place the same way the Organization did.

“She told me a bunch of stuff. Answered a lot of the burning questions in my mind…”

“What are they?” she asked and I answered.

As I recounted the conversation we had, my mind began to think back to the end of our conversation…

“Still…how could you say such a thing...even if it were true?”

“I’m sorry, Roxas” Naminé apologized. “Maybe...some things would be better left unsaid...”

“Don’t apologize. It may take some time, but...Maybe I’ll come around that...Maybe…”

“You don’t have to understand everything right away” she insisted. “Still, if you’re set on this, make sure to meet up with Sora. Once you see him for real, everything will just…click. You’ll see”

“Okay, but…how will I know where to go?”

“You will eventually feel a pull...something telling you that you must return to where you’re supposed to be. I’ve felt this same pull a few times before, but recently, it’s been getting stronger...”

“Why’s that?”

Naminé smiled. “Just as you hold half of what Sora is, I hold half of what someone else is. Though she doesn’t realize it due to my...unique circumstances, I’ll eventually have to return to her too. But before that, I have to fulfill my promises to Sora and Neptune, as well as to two of my precious friends. If you decided to go to him, you should try to spend your last days here with your friends. Even I don’t know how long you’ll have until you see them again...”

“I see…” the Landlady finally answered. “That’s…just about everything I was told as well…”

I nodded. “I’m betting Maho was told just about everything as well. I wonder why…”

“If what we learned is accurate…” the Landlady guessed. “it could mean something big is happening soon, and it involves us and the people who are asleep right now”

“Something big, huh…”

As I looked up to the ceiling, I thought back to those…Nobodies who attacked us…to the twins who were looking for me and Xomah…to even Axel and Vertx who tried to take us back…

“Guess it’ll be something dangerous, huh…”

The Landlady hummed. “I had the same thought. If something big is happening, then the Organization won’t stay put. They’ll likely try one last time to capture you and Maho and stop me from meeting with Neptune”

I nodded…but then stopped as I wanted to confirm something.

“You…want to meet Neptune?”

The Landlady nodded. “Like you, I’ve been seeing dreams of her and Sora. I’ve seen her adventures. Witnessed her joy and sorrow. Felt everything she felt as if they were my own emotions as well. That particular truth was…hard to swallow for me…”

“I get you. I mean, I was born from Sora.” I held a hand onto my heart. “I hold what he still needs. The memories in his heart that have yet to return to him. If I’m going to wake him up, I need to go see him and give him back what’s his…”

“Are you sure about this?” the Landlady asked me with worry. “If you go through with this, that means we’ll…”

I gulped. Naminé warned me about this as well…

“If you go through with this, it means you’ll have to say goodbye to them too”

“You mean Ms Landlady and Maho? They can’t come with me?”

Naminé shook her head. “Ms Landlady is the vessel holding onto Neptune’s lost Share Energy. As her body was created through it, the Landlady herself will vanish into her once she returns that Share Energy.”

She then sighed.

“As for Maho, her being’s contained in this world. Without a suitable vessel, no being here large enough can be brought back into reality. Maho’s no exception...”

“Yeah…” I noted bitterly. “We can’t go back. This life we had...We have to say goodbye to it…”

When I look at the Landlady again, she gave out a heavy sigh.

“I get it…” she started. “I really do. Those children have been asleep for too long, and they have no doubt many loved ones they wished to see again, and be seen again in turn…Even so…”

She then buried her face in her hands, her sobs loud enough for me to hear…

“Why? Why must all this have to happen? We were living good lives here! We did nothing wrong to anyone! So, why!?”

Her sobs became louder. Her cries threatened to pierce the sound barrier.

“WHY MUST WE GIVE OURSELVES AWAY LIKE THAT!? DON’T WE DESERVE TO LIVE WITH OUR LOVED ONES AS THEY HAVE!?”

She continued to cry at the hopelessness we were faced with. She was right.

We didn’t do anything wrong here.

We didn’t upset anyone we know, and if we did, we apologized for it.

And now, just because of what we are…of what we’re part of…

Now, we’re forced to go through this!?

“It’s unfair…It’s all just…unfair…”

She’s right…

She’s absolutely right!

“I still remember the times we helped the townsfolk…the smiles I see from the children…the joy everyone felt when they gathered together for festivals…and even the small, simple moments we share together here…”

Why must we go through this!?

Don’t we get a say in all this!?

“All I wanted…All I ever wanted…was to spend more time with you all…even just a little bit…I don’t want everyone to go away!”

As I continued to comfort her in her sobbing fit, I felt another hand over mine, patting the Landlady on the back.

We both looked up, and there was Maho, looking at us with a sweet smile.

“It’ll be alright” Maho told the two. “They won’t go away…”

“But…!”

Maho shushed the grown woman quietly. “I know. This town ain’t real. The people we’ve been talkin’ to are just ones and zeroes made to keep us here and I’m not exactly born years ago, but so what?”

Her tone became louder, each word sparking with confidence.

“All the time we spent here is real. Everything we felt was genuine. Even if our hearts are fake or our existences are just…parts of someone else’s, they can’t take these moments away from us”

She then hugged the Landlady as the grown woman continued to cry.

“Our bonds…our hearts…our experiences and emotions…they’re ours and ours alone. And it will stay that way, no matter what happens”

The Landlady began to weep again. “Mahooooooo…”

She then motioned Roxas to come in on the hug too, which he did as he started to cry too.

“Everything’s going to be okay, guys…” Maho reassured the two. “As long as we’re together, we can overcome anything…”

Once the two had dried their tears, the three proceeded to have dinner. Because it was late, Anri had delivery called in advance for them.

“Wow” the Landlady gaped in awe. “Your new friend must really think of everything, huh?”

Maho snickered. “What can I say? Anri’s one smart gal!”

Roxas huffed. “Sure. I bet she’s the reason you came up with a lot of those ‘smart’ quotes you kept saying, huh?”

“Hey!” the magenta-haired girl complained. “The ones I just said came from me!”

“Sure, they do” the blonde-haired kid snarked, rolling his eyes.

“I’m serious here, dude! That proves I am learning!”

“Uh-huh. If you were, how come you’re still having problems with your math homework?”

“Not as bad as your science report! How much did you have to beg for Pence to help you?”

The Landlady began to laugh as her two charges began to bicker like usual. Seeing this sight pulled a huge weight off of her shoulders.

“Everything we have here is real to us…” she murmured to herself, placing a hand on her hand. “And that…is proof that we exist, right?”

MahoMeansMagic: yahoo~! 😃 how are we all doin today!?

NGears4U: Feeling alright here.

NoApplesPls: Same here. How’s Roxas and the Landlady?

MahoMeansMagic: doin a-ok now! they were in the middle of a breakdown but i calmed them down with my magic powers! 😁

NGears4U: You have magic powers!? 😮

NoApplesPls: No, she doesn’t. Get real here…

MahoMeansMagic: hey! weve had weird squiggly nobodies, shape-shifted key-sword thingies that zoom into our hands and now theres a weird cult running around in black raincoats! wheres the realism in that, anri!? 😤

NoApplesPls: I…concede. No arguments here.

NGears4U: Hehehe! 😄

MahoMeansMagic: ok! now that thats out of the way, ive got something to show yall!

NoApplesPls: Hm?

NGears4U: Maho?

MahoMeansMagic changed the group chat name to BFFS5EVAH

NGears4U: Um, what’s that? 🤔

MahoMeansMagic: it’s our group name now! gotta make sure our BFF-ness is big enough for all the world to see!

NGears4U: Okay, but...has that feature always been there? 🤔

NoApplesPls: The chat program updated yesterday. I guess that adds chat names for groups of people like us. Pretty weird they decided to update this now with that feature since we could change our own names since this app was made...

MahoMeansMagic: i mean, i saw our names there and clicked it on the train ride a while ago. once i saw i could change our group name, i held it off for a bit until you two were online so you could see the change together!

NGears4U: Awww, that’s sweet! 🥰

NoApplesPls: But why ‘five-ever’? Shouldn’t it be ‘four-ever’?

MahoMeansMagic: hey!

MahoMeansMagic: i feel like being fancy with this, so work with me here, kay?

NoApplesPls: Whatever you say… 🙄

MahoMeansMagic: though I do wonder…

NGears4U: What is it?

NoApplesPls: Is this about what happened today? 🤔

MahoMeansMagic: no, its just…

MahoMeansMagic: do you two use phones like mine? 🤔

NoApplesPls: Not me. I do have a portable computer system with me, though.

NGears4U: Ah, yes! Your laptop! 😄

MahoMeansMagic: lap-top?

MahoMeansMagic: what is it? you sit on her lap or something?

NGears4U: N-no. Not like that… 😅

NGears4U: It’s like a computer. But small.

NGears4U: And foldable like a notebook!

MahoMeansMagic: tech like that exists!? 😱 😱 😱

MahoMeansMagic: why cant I have that!? 😔

NoApplesPls: It’s still a work in progress. Not to mention the operating system needs more work.

NoApplesPls: But I know the system like the back of my hand, so I have to update it myself whenever I have time.

MahoMeansMagic: uhhhhhhhhh… 😵 😵 😵

NGears4U: Basically, she still needs to upgrade it before it can match a regular computer.

MahoMeansMagic: yeah! i knew that! hahaha! 😆

NoApplesPls: Sure, you do… 🙄

MahoMeansMagic: ANYWAY! what bout you, gearsy? 😁

NGears4U: Why, yes! I do have one! 😁

NGears4U: I call it the N-Gear!

NGears4U: I modified one of the sample phones we have here and installed a bunch of other stuff in it!

MahoMeansMagic: neat! wat can it do?

NGears4U: Well, it has it’s own camera…

MahoMeansMagic: WAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT??????? 😱 😱 😱 😱

MahoMeansMagic: why didnt you say that earlier!? we definitely couldve taken a pic with that!

NGears4U: For one thing, I left it behind because I was tinkering with it since this morning.

NGears4U: And second, how are we going to take a picture with it? 🤔

NGears4U: Sure, my N-Gear’s a bit bulkier than the average phone, but it’s no specialized camera…

MahoMeansMagic: thats where these long arms come in handy! 🤩

MahoMeansMagic: if all phones ever had cameras, wed take pics of ourselves for days! 🤪

NoApplesPls: Only you would, Maho… 😒

MahoMeansMagic: still, if we had that, then i can post our picture here to celebrate and stuff! 😭

NoApplesPls: C-Can we even post pictures in this program?

NGears4U: I read that the creators behind this are continuing to make more updates on this, but progress stalled for some time.

MahoMeansMagic: how long is some time?

NGears4U: This program started development about a year ago. Last updates occurred around…

NoApplesPls: Three months ago…

MahoMeansMagic: srsly!? 😱

NGears4U: I wonder if it has something to do with…you know…

MahoMeansMagic: that whole memory connection thingy?

NoApplesPls: That’d be my guess. Still, it’s amazing that the creators still managed to update this after so long…

NGears4U: Which means what we’re doing is working…Everyone is starting to remember them again…

MahoMeansMagic: well you shouldnt let up now, gearsy!

NGears4U: Huh?

NoApplesPls: What’s that all about?

MahoMeansMagic: I mean…

MahoMeansMagic: if you think about it…

MahoMeansMagic: the reason why the bad guys are going all in on this whole capture or destroy roxas thing…

MahoMeansMagic: maybe because theyre scared of what this sora guy and neptune gal could do to them, yknow?

NGears4U: That’s…

NGears4U: Huh.

NoApplesPls: Looks like you’ve struck gold again, Maho…

NoApplesPls: Color us surprised.

MahoMeansMagic: eheh! you know me! im magical! 😁

NGears4U: Hehehe! We know! 😄

NoApplesPls: I swear… 😅

MahoMeansMagic: 😋

Overall restoration at 97%

Eventually, the dreams started once more, and the sight that greeted them was...

Nothingness...

The remains of the worlds, signified by the small patches of land that littered across the open space, lay scattered as the party touched down to their final destination.

“Woah...” Neptune gasped in awe. “Dark feels. Empty spaces. The creepy sensation and ominous Latin chanting in the background. Yup, this place definitely screams ‘Final Dungeon’ to me.”

“Gawrsh” Goofy said. “Is that all the worlds left that was taken by the Heartless?”

“There’s barely anything left around here...” Compa noted. “It’s...really sad...”

“No doubt” IF said. “Still, we gotta find our way through here in order to find the Final Door.”

“Those worlds will be restored when we beat Ansem and seal the Final Door, right?” Sora asked.

“You betcha!” Donald answered.

“Then, all the worlds will be restored and disconnected, right?” the boy continued. “Then, what’s gonna happen to this place, and to us?”

“Why does the world want to prove me wrong?” Neptune complained.

As the party floated down, they came face to face with a giant bat-like creature that spawned from a volcano, whose bald head and menacing face defined his sinister presence.

Arfoire chuckled. “So, you fools have decided to restore the worlds to the way they used to, shielded and disconnected. I didn’t take you fools to be so dutiful.”

“Why, if I had my way, I would make sure that the worlds would be better places to live. With my guidance, I can lead the worlds to a brand new age!”

“A ruler like you? Ewwwww” Compa complained. “I’d rather remain a Drifter than be a citizen of your Gamindustri!”

“Besides, who would want a thief and a cheater like you as our ruler?” IF fought back. “You’re no better than Maleficent or Ansem. You’re just full of yourself.”

Arfoire growled at their protests.

“No...It was...supposed...to be...all mine...”

That was the last thing the witch said as she faded away into the darkness, leaving only the party left in the ruined area near the tallest tower.

“All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end” the man began his sermon. “The heart is no different...”

As the figure turned around, he changed from a silver-haired young boy to a tall and tanned silver-haired man wearing a silver coat. It was Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness himself!

“For you see, darkness is the heart’s true essence!”

“That’s just bull-plop!”

Hearing these words of encouragement, Sora gathered his courage and belief and began to fly right up in the air, his Keyblade at the ready!

And right in front of him, is the Seeker of Darkness himself, his larger-than-normal being hooked up to the massive monster-ship alongside the massive-sized Guardian.

"The heart may be weak and sometimes, it may even give in” Sora declared. “But I’ve learned that deep down, there’s a light that never goes out!”

“And if it does, we’ll just share ours with them!” Neptune followed. “Divided we fall, united we stand!”

Seeing that the ship was exploding, the party immediately flew away, leaving the Seeker of Darkness convulsing as he and the ship exploded in a massive sphere of light, leaving no trace of their existence anywhere.

The party turned to where IF is looking, and sure enough...

...Ansem, now back to his regular size, is still alive, albeit out of breath and looking desperate.

He then turned to the massive white door and made his plea.

“Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!”

The door responded as it slowly budged open, bringing out a flood of darkness from within.

“No, we know now...” Sora declared.

“Without a doubt!” Neptune followed.

“KINGDOM HEARTS IS LIGHT!”

As the two shouted it out, the darkness that was once sealed within the massive door was vanquished by a surge of light, engulfing even Ansem as well!

The figure landed on the elevated ground beyond them. He was tiny, with two big round ears and wore only red shorts. His back was turned, but he then summoned a familiar looking weapon...

“Now, Sora, Neptune! Let’s close this door for good!”

The figure, who is King Mickey Mouse himself, produced a Keyblade similar to Sora’s, only it’s blade is colored gold and the guard is colored white. This is the Kingdom Key D, a Keyblade born of the dark realm.

With the King’s encouragement, the party managed to nearly close the door, and just as it was about to be sealed shut...

“Take care of her.”

Sora stopped for a moment, and gave his best friend a nod.

“Neptune”

Neptune stopped and looked to her fellow CPU, her back turned.

“I’ll come back, so be ready for our date by then, got it?”

Hearing this caused Neptune to smile all giddily.

“You got it!”

And with their last words exchanged, the party successfully closed Kingdom Hearts...

Sora and Neptune then summoned their Keyblades, channeling energy onto them...

At the other side of the door, Mickey and Noire did the same with their Keyblades...

And with their powers and efforts combined, they managed to seal away Kingdom Hearts, as the massive white door began to slowly vanish from view...

“Kairi!” Sora ran up to the girl just as the ground she was standing upon began to part.

“Sora!”

However, the distance between them began to grow, their arms just barely reaching each other.

“Kairi, remember what you said before!” the young boy declared. “I’m always with you too! If you can’t make it to me, then I’ll come right back for you! I promise!”

“I know you will!”

The two then separated as the girl began to drift further and further away, their hands desperately reaching each other...

As the group headed off, Neptune stopped for a bit, gazing up to the sky with a smile.

“I hope you and Kairi are happy now, Sora”

“HEY!”

Suddenly, the rest of the party stopped as they heard a familiar voice.

“Wait up! I thought we’re supposed to stick together!”

“No way...” IF gasped.

“But...” Compa muttered.

“Why is he...” Donald started.

“...still here?” Goofy finished.

Neptune dared to turn around, and the sight made her eyes widen and mouth agape.

“Phew...caught up to you...I was afraid you guys would leave me behind...”

Neptune couldn’t believe it, so much so that she began to cry.

“WAAAAAAHHHHHH~” she then cried onto the figure’s chest. “Why did you lead us on like that, Sora!? Why? Why? Why!?”

“Why?” Sora asked, cocking his head. “Because we still got people to look for, and I want to do that with my soul-sister and all my closest friends right here.”

“Oh, Sora...”

Donald couldn’t hold back anymore, and then jumped to both his friends in a hug!

“Woah, Donald!”

Goofy followed suit as well, tackling all four of them to the ground!

“Goofy, too!? Gah! C’mon, I can’t...breathe!”

“That’s what you get for making us worry, buster!” Neptune complained.

After vanquishing Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness and sealing Kingdom Hearts, thus restoring most of the worlds that have been lost to darkness, our heroes, Sora, Neptune, Donald, Goofy, Compa and IF, all resumed their journey in search of their missing friends.

“Well, now what do we do?” Donald asked.

“We gotta find Riku, Noire and King Mickey” Sora answered simply, his hands placed behind his head.

“Easy for you to say, buck-o!” Neptune commented, her hands also placed behind her head. “But we don’t have a lick of a clue as to where they are now...”

“Don’t we have any sort of hints or something?” Compa wondered.

IF hummed. “The king mentioned a door to light. That’s about the only hint I can go on.”

“That’s great, but uh...” Goofy started. “Where do we start lookin’ for that there door to the light?”

The party turned to see what Sora saw.

“Oooooooohhhh~” Neptune cooed. “It’s the good doggy from the start of this story! How’ve you been, boy?”

Sure enough, Pluto, the dog that approached Sora and Neptune when they first arrived in Traverse Town, has now appeared before them...

Neptune, however, was focused on something Pluto had. More specifically, the piece of paper in his mouth.

“Uh, guys” the girl called out to her friends. “Ever notice that piece of paper on his mouth?”

As the party took notice, Goofy’s eyes widened. “Gawrsh, that’s the King’s seal!”

“Hey” Sora asked, kneeling down to the dog. “Have you seen King Mickey?”

Pluto raised his ear and began to run off to the distance ahead.

“Well, there goes our answer” IF stated.

Compa, Donald and Goofy looked at each other with wonder. Finally, a clue!

Neptune snickered. “So, what are we waiting for!?”

“Come on, guys!” Sora beckoned the party. “Let’s go!”

And thus, the party ran after the dog, their minds and hearts filled with wonder and hope as they now had direction on where their search would take them.

“Adventuring with you guys sure is fun!” Neptune said happily.

“Yeah!” Sora replied with gusto. “You said it!”

One night, Sora woke up and walked around the grassy pathway. Wherever Pluto ran off to, they’re still miles away from their destination...

“Can’t sleep?”

The boy turned around to see Neptune, rubbing her eye as she yawned.

“Just woke up myself.” Sora chuckled.

Neptune giggled, but suddenly gasped as she pointed her finger in front of her.

Sora turned around and saw-----

Sora and Neptune arrived to see a -------, one made of -------- looming ov------

Blank...

Hollow...

Empty...

These words defined his existence as far as he can remember...

The first several days of his service in the Organization, all passed by in the blink of an eye...

And yet, words began to fill his thoughts...

“And now, for the icing on the cake...”

“You...eat ice cream after a job? Is that an order?”

“We Nobodies don’t have the hearts to worry, remember?”

“C’mon, I wanna go smack that one! Lemme at ‘em!”

“Thank you so much, Roxas. Today was...fulfilling. *satisfied*”

“So eager and industrious. I wonder what it is that drives you to perform so well...”

The words came by so fast...and so much too...

“Today makes 255...”

“Well, you still kinda act like a zombie...”

“Roxas...have you...ever doubted what we were doing? Have you ever thought of what you want to do?”

“I hardly know who I am! WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH WANTING SOME ANSWERS!?”

“Roxas...please, don’t go...*cries*”

“Y-Y-You're not getting past me! I’m tough, you know!”

“I wonder, who is it I’m speaking to? Perhaps it was just the wind keeping me company.”

“We don’t accept resignations...”

“Mind’s made up?”

“No one would miss me...”

Too many memories assaulted him...all of him and his time with the Organization...

Are these his? Are they coming back to him? Did Naminé try to restore his own memories too? Is that even alright?

Just as he was getting his bearings, one more memory came to his sights, a vivid and recent memory...

??? ????? ???? ????? ??? - ??????’? ?????????

Walking down the lone alley, Roxas kept his march slow and steady. Teardrops rained down from the sky of this darkened part of the city. Puddles of darkness spawned across the area as numerous shadowy figures, Neoshadows, appeared, blanketing the entire city and swarming the surrounded Roxas.

“...”

Undaunted and undeterred, he spawned a Keyblade to his right hand, a dark Keyblade of blackest night with a black crown for a Keychain, and to his left hand, another Keyblade, filled with the brightest light and a handmade charm for a Keychain.

The battle was fierce. Roxas sliced and diced past the Neoshadows, his attacks unwavering despite their immense numbers.

Eventually, the Keyblade wielder was slowly being pushed back to the local skyscraper, the Neoshadows threatening to swarm him with their numerical advantage.

“...!”

However, he then sensed someone. A silver-haired stranger!

Wasting no time, he hopped up to the skyscraper and ran up the side of the building, slicing up any Neoshadow that dared obstruct his path!

Once he was about to reach the skyscraper’s large television screen, Roxas immediately threw his dark Keyblade to the stranger, who leapt down and grabbed the errant weapon.

From his vantage point, he could make out the stranger’s face. Why was he gasping? Was he surprised at what was happening? Did he not expect to provide aid at a time like this?

To be honest, even Roxas himself didn’t know why he did what he did. Maybe something influenced him to do such an act. Maybe it was done on a whim. But regardless, their paths crossed briefly as the boy reached the roof of the skyscraper and the stranger landed back down, swiping away some of the Neoshadows.

Seeing that he cannot finish them alone, Roxas jumped down and aided him, wiping out most of the Neoshadows in due time.

Eventually, the two figures hopped back, facing against each other. The Neoshadows had become docile, strangely enough.

Now that he took a good look at the stranger, he doesn’t seem to be a member of the Organization, despite wearing the Black Coat. Could he be one of the three imposters they have been chasing back then?

“Who are you?” Roxas demanded.

“What does it matter?” the stranger declared. “I’m here for you”

“Why are you trying to stop me?” the boy asked this time.

“Because I want back the rest of Sora’s memories” the stranger answered.

“Sora. Sora! SORA!” Roxas ranted. “Enough about Sora!”

“Do you have some kind of plan?”

“I’m going to free Kingdom Hearts!” Roxas declared. “And everything will go back to when it was. My friends will come back to me, and the ----- of us can have ice cream again...”

“Your friends, huh?” the stranger mumbled. “Either way, I can’t let you go doing anything crazy”

“I’m going to Kingdom Hearts, and I’m going to find Sora” Roxas continued. “Once I do, I’ll get it all back! I want my friends back! I WANT MY LIFE BACK!”

“If you make contact with Kingdom Hearts, the last thing you’ll get is your life back” the stranger warned. “The Organization will destroy you!”

“Enough!”

Angered for the last time, Roxas readied his stance and charged against the stranger in an epic clash...

The stranger was downed on the floor as Roxas stood triumphant...

“Why!?” the stranger demanded. “Why do you have the Keyblade!?”

Roxas glanced at his weapon for a good two seconds, before deciding to finish this once and for all...

“Shut up!”

He slashed, moving in for the kill...

Twilight Town – Sunrise Apartment – Roxas' Room

Roxas woke up, groaning and yawning as he slowly rose up from bed...

“Roxas!” Maho called from the ground floor “Breakfast is here!”

“Come down and eat with us!” the Landlady called as well.

As the boy tried to get up, he felt as if someone else was waking up alongside him...or rather as him...

He felt his chest getting heavier as he tried to stand, his limbs moving like he was controlling a puppet rather than his own body. Even his eyes felt foreign to him, like he was seeing someone else’s view rather than his own...

Could this be the pull Naminé was talking about? Is it already time?

“Hey! What’s the hold-up!?” Maho screamed. “Food’s gonna get cold!”

Wasting no time, Roxas changed his clothes and headed down, as the birds continued to fly around the twilight skies...