Keep On Whacking: Re: Mix (KH)

[NGSoares]

Both Sora and Neku charged at the Dream Eaters, striking them down with Quick Blitz and magic. Just because these things weren't Heartless or Nobodies didn't mean they would be a cakewalk—if he recalled what Yen Sid said, the Nightmares were their equivalents in the Sleeping Worlds.

And Sora knew all too well about Nightmares.

When he had been stuck in a pod in Twilight Town, it was a Nightmare Dream Eater that kept him from waking. So back at Yen Sid's mention of Nightmares, Sora couldn't help but flinch.

He sliced through the Nightmares without mercy—he'd treat them as well as the Dream Eater from Twilight Town had treated him.

Once the plaza had been cleared up, Sora panted. He saw that Neku still had that brighter-colored Dream Eater, which, now that he recalled it more clearly, Yen Sid called a Spirit. The Spirit seemed to almost be like a partner for Neku.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ok7qtbbcz1g​

"That thing with you's also a Dream Eater, right?" he asked, just for clarification. "A Spirit?"

Neku nodded. "Yeah. If I'm gonna survive the game, I'm gonna need some extra help. Think you could control them?" The feline Dream Eater rubbed against his leg, purring affectionately. "Anyway, you can make Spirits from Dream Pieces, which are dropped by Nightmares." He tossed Sora a recipe. "Humor me."

"Gotcha. I'll try it out." Sora went around the plaza, gathering any Dream Pieces he could find, then read over the recipe before assembling them.

The pieces glowed, and they assembled into a new creature within the light.

Sora curiously tilted his head. "What's this, a dog?" he asked.

Neku shrugged. "Maybe it's more of a cat." He folded his arms, looking it over. The Spirit was a strange, pudgy creature with a horn, one that looked neither like a cat or a dog—instead, it was more something in between.

It rolled over in front of Sora, exposing its belly. Well, only one thing to do now.

"It's nice to meet you." He rubbed the Meow Wow's soft belly, and it let out a happy snorting sound before getting back up and licking Sora's face. "H-hey!" The Meow Wow wagged its tiny tail.

Neku looked away from the scene. "Follow me," he stated matter-of-factly.

"All right," Sora responded, and with his new friend, he followed Neku down a road he knew—towards the Third District.

Where everything had gone off the rails, if Riku's account was right.

They took care of any Nightmares along the way, with Neku being completely silent as he opened the door to the Third District, with its neon lights, red flags, and illuminated fountain of those two dogs. The moment they entered, Neku shouted, "I brought you Sora! We had a bargain!"

"What's the matter, Neku?" wondered Sora.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9PpyZKOtbDg​

Overlooking the plaza was a man with a terrifyingly familiar black cloak—Organization XIII's uniform. "No way!"

The Kingdom Key materialized in Sora's hand almost on instinct.

The man in the cloak leapt into the square, and Neku cried out in a panic, "Hey! That wasn't the deal! You said you wouldn't hurt him!"

"Don't! Neku, they're too dangerous!" shouted Sora—and seconds later, a groggy sensation washed over him. "What? Why am I so… sleepy?"

He collapsed.

———​

Riku awoke to a cyan neon sign with a star motif, an electrical circuit, poles with red flags, and, confirming his suspicion at the sight of those three things, he looked behind himself to see the illuminated dog fountain.

It was a place where everything had changed from that "other timeline" Haru had mentioned all by talking to him.

"I'm in… Traverse Town?" he asked no one in particular.

He looked himself over. "My clothes have changed…" Then he stopped—someone was missing. "Sora! Where are you?!" he called.

Nothing.

"I remember we fell overboard when Ursula attacked…" he recounted, "Then I think we opened a Keyhole. So, this is a Sleeping World." Gazing at his hand, he remembered something else. "My Keyblade… it just popped into my hand when I needed it most."

Was someone… humming?

"Wooooow," came a voice from above. "Where's your Portal?"

​

Riku looked up, and sitting atop the golden frame around the alcove the fountain was in was a boy with dirty blond hair and a gray shirt. He had a casual expression on his face. "It takes something special to jump between grounds without one."

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CFc_kLD5rog​

"Who are you?" Riku demanded.

The boy playfully pushed his hair aside. "My name is Joshua," he introduced.

"What do you mean, 'Portal'?"

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Are we just skipping by the part where you tell me your name?"

"Riku." He already didn't like Joshua—he just seemed like he wasn't taking anything seriously.

The blond softly laughed before leaning back. "Hello there, Riku. Portals are like gateways that link our worlds." He twirled his hair. "Apparently, the world you and I are standing in right now—well, there are two copies of it. It's sort of been split in half. Portals are what let people like us cross between them."

Riku arched an eyebrow. A theory was forming in his head, but he had to make sure. "There can be two of a world?" he asked.

"The world is as many things as people need it to be," explained Joshua. "The concept that we all live in the same world… that's all in our heads. Surely you knew?" A coy smile crossed his face. "I'll tell you what, Riku. I've got a little errand for you."

At that, Riku just let his opinions on Joshua be known. "Sorry, I don't trust you," he responded, then began walking off towards the First District.

"Aw, at least hear me out. I'm looking for a girl called Rhyme. She's the key to the Portal." At that, Riku turned, and Joshua leaned in. "And on the other side, who knows who you'll find? Maybe even Sora."

Riku's blood ran cold at that. "You know Sora?!"

Another teasing laugh. "Now I have your attention." He jumped down to face Riku. "But… unfortunately, I don't know where he is. If he's not in this version of the world, I can only assume he's in the other one. Simple logic."

This was the only real lead he had, so what else could he do? "Okay, you wanna find Rhyme?" he replied. "You got it. Let's go."

​

 

[NGSoares]

As Riku followed Joshua out of the Third District, he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. So much had happened in Traverse Town, that had affected him and so many others he knew.

It was here that he learned… a lot.

Haru's existence as a separate person from Sora.

Not to go overboard with the darkness.

Kairi's heart.

In a way, Riku was back where he began the path he was on now.

But of course, there was the big problem—the Heartless had been replaced by Nightmares.

Riku had no love for Nightmares after what one of them had done to Sora in Twilight Town, so whenever he took one down, it was without a shred of mercy.

And all the while, the Nightmares just ignored Joshua's presence, only focusing on Riku. Throwing open the doors into the Second District, Riku felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him.

He remembered fighting the Heartless in front of the Gizmo Shop, and the giant bird Heartless that Maleficent had used to kidnap Alice.

Where he had to give Alice over to Maleficent when she personally intervened.

"Lost on Memory Lane, are we?" Joshua spoke up, snapping Riku out of his reminiscing. The strange boy laughed. "Not that I blame you, given what this world was before it fell asleep." At Riku's somber expression, he said, "I just know things. Like why the Nightmares ignore me."

"And why's that?" Riku asked, his voice distant.

"Nightmares only attack dreamers." Joshua put his hands in his pockets. "Funny, since I've certainly got lots of dreams. And as long as you're here, you're a dreamer—as is any human."

"I guess that makes sense," said Riku. He was in the realm of sleep, after all—and dreams were part of sleep.

Joshua stopped at the entrance to the plaza. "I once had a friend who said he never dreamed of anything," he told Riku, who was unable to see his face, "but it turned out his dreams were the most powerful of all. You sorta remind me of him." He turned to Riku, a smile on his face as he tossed him a recipe and some Dream Pieces. "Why don't we give your dreams shape? You know about Nightmares, so you probably also know about Spirits."

Riku looked the recipe over. "All right," he said, and the Dream Pieces glowed before they coalesced together into a bright light.

From the light emerged a fluffy yellow bat with pink wings that had stars on it, green ears, and a pink rhomboid nose. It made a chirping noise, then its ears twitched before it screeched.

"I gotcha now, Joshua!" declared a voice.

In front of the hotel doors was a tall boy with blond hair, a black beanie, and a white sleeveless shirt. "Once I take you down, yo, me and Rhyme are goin' back where we belong!" He pumped his fist at the last part.

Joshua casually ran a hand through his hair. "Beat," he chided. "How many times do we have to go over this? You've been tricked by that rogue in the black coat."

Riku paled. "What? Black coat?!" he exclaimed. "But that's…" It sank in in full for him as he put the pieces together.

The Organization was in the realm of sleep.

The Organization was in the realm of sleep.

The Organization was in the realm of sleep.

"I'm telling you that you've made a friend of our enemy," Joshua told Beat.

"Just can it, aight?!" snapped Beat. "Your inverse psychology ain't gonna work this time!" He raised his arm. "Let's go, Dream Eaters!" A Spirit materialized in front of him, this one looking more like a rotund panda.

The panda ran at Riku and his Spirit.

"Man, what?! Not cool!"

Joshua just laughed. "Riku, try linking with your Spirit."

"AND YOU'RE GIVIN' THAT GUY POINTERS?! THE FUCK FOR?!?"

"No need to swear," said Joshua, and Riku looked at the Komory Bat who was his new partner. He tried imagining a thread between the two of them—

The bat was gone, and darkness gathered around Riku's arms and feet. His heartbeat began to speed up, even as shadowy claws emerged, like something out of one's Darkest Fears. "Let's see…" He gulped, then lunged at Beat's Spirit, attacking it with a flurry of swipes and kicks that defeated it without even giving it a chance to fight back.

Beat huffed, folding his arms. "Y'know what? Forget it," he conceded.

"Playing the tough guy 24/7? I'd be tired too," remarked Joshua.

"I just… wanna protect the one person who matters."

Strength, to protect what matters.

That was something Riku had taken to heart.

It was why he chose to keep fighting—to protect those who mattered most to him. And when linking with that Spirit, he had used darkness to protect himself.

A memory crossed his mind.

He had done it before last year, at the Coliseum. Riku used darkness as a weapon against the frigid giant that was the Ice Titan, and he had come out of that with no ill effects.

Then there was the battle in Neverland against the spectral Heartless called Phantom, and of course, fighting Xemnas in Hollow Bastion. Each of those times had him using darkness.

Before he could think of anything more, a jolt of pain shot through his head, and he suddenly felt drowsy. "Why am I… so sleepy?" He could barely keep his eyes open, but failed, falling into a deep slumber, his cheek against the plaza's cold stone.

———​

When he woke up, Sora was lying in the middle of the Third District, right where he had fallen asleep. He rubbed his eyes before getting up, and noticed something—both Neku and the guy in the black cloak were gone.

What did Neku mean by a deal?

Looking around the square, Sora saw no sign of neither Neku or Riku. So for now, he'd try and focus on the former.

He put his Keyblade in the keyhole that served as the lock for the doors back to the First District, then opened them up. Maybe those lights in the part of town that seemed new were where Neku was?

Then he remembered the Meow Wow's presence. It waddled past Sora, heading back towards the café.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" he called after it.

The Meow Wow led him to a pair of double doors that… well, now that Sora thought of it, he'd never really paid much attention to before.

During his first visit to Traverse Town, he had separated from Donald, Goofy, Haru, and the others to try fighting Heartless and get a layout of the place. He had seen these doors there, and because even when he used the Keyblade on it, it was barricaded on the other side.

"Uh… that door," he tried telling the Spirit, but it just pawed the door, then pushed it open.

Sora peeked through it, and to his surprise, the barricade was gone. Through the door he could see an alleyway that looked different from the one behind the Second District's hotel.

He took a deep breath, and entered this new part of Traverse Town.


//I fucking hate the post office
//So I just skipped it

 

[NGSoares]

The winding back streets were packed with Dream Eaters, with them dropping enough Dream Pieces for Sora to eventually create a new Spirit. This new one was purple and covered in spines, complete with a spiked club at the end of its tail. It bounced behind Sora and Meow Wow as they continued onward, through an underground waterway not connected to Leon's training cave, and up into a wide plaza with a fountain bigger than the ones in the Second and Third Districts combined… and for some inexplicable reason, a huge manhole was in the center of the plaza.

Both of the Spirits at Sora's side made various noises of protest as the brunet glanced down into the manhole after dispatching the Nightmares…

Was something breathing down there?

He had the strangest feeling that he was being watched while on the manhole—and his heart nearly skipped a beat when it moved.

"NOPE!" he cried, getting as far away from whatever was down there as possible. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope!"

Sora ran for the next door on the other side of the giant fountain with a four above it, practically throwing it open and bolting through with his Spirits before slamming it shut. His heart hammered against his ribs, and panting against the door, he tried to regain his composure at least a little.

The district, which he assumed by the four above the way in here meant this was the Fourth District, was brightly lit up. So, these were those lights he saw from the First District? As Sora continued downward, he began feeling a bit calmer. That being said, the sewer monster, whatever it was, only really got mad when he stepped on the manhole.

He passed by shops of different kinds, and Sora couldn't help but wonder why this place was barricaded. Was it even here whenever he was in Traverse Town last year, or was this whole part of town all unique to the realm of sleep? Eventually, the lights got brighter, and Sora reached a very… weird area.

At the square at the lowest part of the Fourth District, with a balloon of a Meow Wow above it, there was an enormous building labeled "Colosseum." Several Moogles were around the place.

"I definitely would've noticed this," Sora mused to himself, "so what's it for?" And to further that question, Haru sealed Traverse Town's Keyhole, right? If the Sleeping Worlds were worlds that were destroyed by the Heartless that just weren't awakened, why was Traverse Town here?

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dEmcUdywWx0
Besides the Moogles was a girl with short blonde hair, a beanie, and baggy orange clothes. She looked younger than Sora, and her outfit kind of reminded him of Neku's. Was this the partner he was looking for?

​

"Hey, uh…" he spoke up, getting the girl's attention, "Any chance you're Neku's partner?"

"Um… I'm not really sure. All I know is that my name's Rhyme," said the girl.

"You mean… you've lost your memory?"

"Yep."

"Oh. Sorry…"

Rhyme dismissively waved her arm, flashing him a smile. "Aw, it's no big deal. You know what they always say—'Sometimes memories just need a little help getting out.'"

Who says that? "I… I guess that's true." Sora had felt something happen to him about a week after the Destiny Islands were restored, but did that have anything to do with memories? He returned Rhyme's smile. "If you need help, maybe Neku can do that? C'mon, let's go find him!"

"Right!"

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynk-4E1PFtc​

Given that Sora had checked all over everywhere he'd been so far, the only place left was a door with a five above it. So, he pushed it open and entered what he assumed to be the Fifth District.

It had to be one of the smaller districts, as there was just a bridge over a shallow canal leading to the closed gates of what looked like an arboretum.

On the arboretum's roof was Neku.

"Hey, Neku! It's you!" Sora ran up the stairs at the sides of the building leading to the glass rooftop. He'd been worried where Neku was ever since the guy in the black coat knocked him out, so he sighed in relief that the teen didn't seem hurt.

"Sora…" murmured Neku. Something felt wrong here. "You still trust me?"

"Of course I do!" The bad guy was whoever was in the black coat—not Neku.

"But you know I tricked you, right? The guy in the black coat said he could send me and my partner home—but I had to bring you to him first." He looked down at the canal. "Sorry."

"No big deal," Sora responded. "You still stood up for me. And besides, we're friends, right?"

"Friends…" Neku turned back to him, the right corner of his lips curled into the start of a smile.

"Oh, hey, Neku—this here is Rhyme. Is she your Game partner?" asked the brunet.

"No," Neku answered. "Sorry, I'm teamed up with someone else."

Out of nowhere, there was a series of beeping noises, and Rhyme vanished in a flash of orange light.

"What?! Rhyme!"

On the other side of the roof was the hooded person. Sora summoned his Keyblade, while Neku dashed at him at a high speed… only for him to just wave his hand, which blew Neku aside.

"Neku!" Sora called.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yIhhUXeP9xA​

The mysterious figure raised his arms, and an inky miasma gathered in the air above him. From it came a Nightmare, one that looked like a colorful box with the head, arms, and legs of a prismatic mandrill.

A dark corridor opened up, and the figure walked through it. "Huh?! Hey, wait!" He tried to pursue the figure, but the Hockomonkey crashed down on the roof, blocking Sora's way as the corridor closed. "Outta my way!"

 

[NGSoares]

Sora and his two Spirits ran at Hockomonkey, but it swung its fists almost right away, knocking the wind out of him. Its attacks cornered Sora in one part of the rooftop, but he cast Balloon. Five ethereal balloons appeared around him, acting almost like mines.

Hockomonkey didn't seem to be very smart, either, as its charging sent it right into two of the balloons, which popped. It jumped onto one of the higher parts of the roof, then tried kicking Sora.

Fortunately, he was prepared this time around, barely managing to block the Nightmare's kicks before Dodge Rolling away, where he cast Spark. The crystals scratched against Hockomonkey's boxlike torso, making it jump back onto the main part of the roof, where Sora attacked with Spark Dive.

He cast Balloon again, but this time, all five of the mines exploded around the Nightmare, causing it to howl. With it caught off guard, he cast Cure on himself, and Hockomonkey jumped away for some distance.

The Nightmare quickly went back into its torso, then popped back out before launching itself off the wall, kicking Sora across the roof. It then pounded its chest, howling to assert its dominance.

Its arms extended, and Sora noticed that its hands had changed, with them now looking more like boxing gloves. He could see why, too, as it tried punching him, though he Dodge Rolled out of the way.

He cast Spark right as it jumped away to the part of the arboretum's roof that wasn't made of glass, barely avoiding the light crystals as a result.

It parried Sora's next attack with its gloves, getting back up before leaping to the other non-glass part of the roof.

"C'mon!" Sora shouted when it jumped back to where it just was to avoid a Spark Dive, so instead, he went for casting Balloon where he was now. "Hey! Come and get me!"

Hockomonkey got back into its torso to switch out its boxing gloves for its claws, then lunged at Sora… right into the mines.

A strange orb of light appeared around the Nightmare with a line pointing towards a ring. Sora arched an eyebrow, then saw that the ring moved where he pointed the Keyblade.

As such, he pointed it so the ring was down in the canal, and Hockomonkey was flung away, as though it was fired by a Slingshot.

Sora then dove off the arboretum's roof, going right at Hockomonkey's head for a Spark Dive that hit dead on.

The Nightmare quickly recovered, though, leaping back onto the roof. Portals then started appearing all over the Fifth District's walls, and from them came a barrage of boxing gloves.

He had to get back up there.

Dodging as many fists as he could, he got back on the roof, where Hockomonkey was overlooking the scene. As soon as he did, walls rose up around the glass part of the roof, and the Nightmare pounded its chest before wall jumping off one of the barriers.

"Oh, shi—"

Hockomonkey's fists shattered the glass in an instant, sending it, Sora, and the Spirits plummeting down into the arboretum proper.

As he fell, Hockomonkey landed on the main ramp, and its head and limbs retracted back into its torso. From the box radiated a mist that made Sora feel drowsy.

He yawned, grinding up towards the door on the ramp, avoiding the fists the Nightmare had switched to once it got back in position, then kicked off the walls for a melee attack, which struck true.

In response, Hockomonkey switched back to its claws, then did a handstand kick that knocked Sora into one of the garden's palm trees.

The Nightmare advanced on Sora, picking up a tree to use as a bat, with Sora barely managing to dodge the first swing.

Okay, so he had to avoid the wider parts of the arboretum while Hockomonkey was swinging that around. As such, he went back up the ramp, going against the wall before kicking off it and casting Spark at the ramp's foot.

However, Hockomonkey simply jumped away from the revolving crystals, then tried jousting at him with the trunk. Sora Dodge Rolled out of the way, causing the tree to get lodged in the bottom of the ramp's corner.

He ground up the tree trunk, doing an attack right at Hockomonkey's face and knocking it into some bushes.

The Nightmare got back up, now looking considerably angrier, then pounded its chest before charging at Sora, blinded by rage—and right into Sora's next cast of Balloon, where he followed up by Slingshotting it away.

He then heard a mewling noise from the Meow Wow, who had been helping with the Pricklemane as best as it could. "You want me to what?"

It wagged its tail. "Link with you?" That was a way to put it, tight?

Hockomonkey looked like it would recover any second—so Sora had no choice. He gulped. "All right, let's do this."

He got on the Meow Wow's back, and it inhaled, pulling in the Pricklemane like a vacuum and growing to a giant size on it was done for a Whomperstomp. The giant Meow Wow bounced through the arboretum, shaking the plants as it headed right at Hockomonkey, where Sora braced for impact…

Hockomonkey was promptly squashed flat by the attack.

The Meow Wow deflated, spitting out its fellow Spirit, and Sora leapt off, dealing what he hoped would be the finishing blow.

The Nightmare was engulfed in light, and it ascended upwards, flying out the hole in the arboretum's ceiling.

After a quick Cure, Sora ran out front, where up above, Hockomonkey burst into glowing shards that rained down around him. As they did, two images materialized, one of a girl he didn't recognize, and the other…

"Riku!" he called.

 

[NGSoares]

At the sight of his best friend, Sora ran over to see him, only for a similar sound to the one from when Rhyme disappeared to chime across the Fifth District. "Hold on, Sora," came a new voice.

A weird orb that contained an image of Traverse Town flashed into being, and with it, a teen with wavy, dirty blond hair and a light purple shirt. He had an amused smile on his face.

Wait, if Sora was in Traverse Town, what was that image supposed to represent?

"Joshua," said Neku, approaching the two of them.

"Hello, Neku. How long the days without you have felt," Joshua replied. The orb flashed, and Rhyme manifested in front of it.

"Rhyme! I'm glad you're okay," said Sora.

Rhyme just smiled back at him.

Though how did this Joshua guy know who he was? Sora had never met him before. "Neku, you know this guy?"

"Yeah," he answered, hiding his expression. "Joshua is my… friend."

"Okay…" Sora folded his arms. So Neku trusted Joshua—points in his favor. But something was still fishy. "Are you the one who took Rhyme away? And… why do you know my name?"

Joshua brushed his hair back and smiled. "If you'd like to settle down for a sec, I'll field your questions one at a time. Let's start with Rhyme—her dreams are my Portal," he explained. At Sora's confusion, he clarified, "Let's just say her dreams are gateways between worlds."

What?

"As for your name… you probably know how this world is there for when people have need of shelter, right?"

That Sora did know—whenever the Heartless destroyed a world, the survivors usually ended up in Traverse Town, or, in Mushu and Dumbo's cases, were sealed in Summon Gems. But then again, the Beast and Riku ended up in Hollow Bastion, the former through different means, and Kairi's body—by Riku's account—was found at that clock tower where Neverland's Keyhole was.

"I'll spare you the big details, but right now, it's made of my dreams. So of course I know you—I dreamed you up."

And once again, Joshua had lost him. So all these new parts of Traverse Town weren't originally here when he was there a year ago?

"I know your best friend, Riku, too."

"Really? You know Riku?"

Joshua grinned. "Well, yeah. I'm kinda omniscient."

"Then where is he?" pressed Sora, slowly getting closer to the teen.

"He's right inside this projection, in another imagining of this world," Joshua elaborated, looking at the stairs leading to the arboretum's roof. "In short, another Traverse Town."

"Can I get there with your Portal thing?" Going by that projection, Riku was right here.

"Sad to say, it won't work for you. My 'Portal thing' only opens for one with Rhyme's dreams. In this projection, you're seeing a different chain of events, in another world the Nightmares have trapped." Notably, Riku was slowly backing away from something—or someone—on the stairs. "As for how the world got split in two… I have a feeling that guy has your answers."

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ingHocjTv1s​

The mysterious figure who summoned the Nightmare that Sora had just fought came down the stairs.

"Him again," Sora muttered. Right as he said that, another figure joined the girl who had briefly appeared, who had long pink hair and a hat, along with the new projection, a boy who had a black beanie on.

The latter was yelling something at either Riku or the mysterious figure, who removed his hood to reveal a silver-haired youth.

"Who's… that?" Sora whispered. He honestly kind of resembled Xemnas, but he certainly didn't look like any members of Organization XIII that he had seen. However, he vanished almost right away.

"Beat…" murmured Rhyme as the boy with the beanie disappeared.

When the pink-haired girl followed them, Neku said, "Shiki…"

Riku suddenly turned, and Sora said his name before there was a bright flash of light. When it dimmed, only Joshua remained, and the projection of Riku was right next to Sora.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Leqh0qOeo2Y​

"In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end," Joshua said softly, turning away from them. Did Neku and the others… did they not survive the Heartless? "To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnants of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. It was then this world appeared to answer my call, and Rhyme's dreams allowed us to reach it.

"Here, I thought they might have a chance—that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again." He turned back to Sora and Riku. "Imagine my surprise when I realized dreams take bodily form in this world. It struck me—by linking their dream pieces back together, maybe I could make them exist again. Maybe I could give them another chance."

Riku asked him something, which was unheard by Sora.

On the other hand, Joshua seemed to hear it, as he said, "Well, why can't it? By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone—that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was someone to see them, connect with them. And the two of you were a big part of making it happen."

"Joshua, just… who or what are you?" both Sora and Riku asked in unison. There were so many strange things about Joshua—the Portal, how he knew so much… what was it?

Joshua simply smiled. "Let's just say… a friend." Out of nowhere, a pair of angelic white wings extended from his back, and he ascended into the sky, flying away.

Back on the ground, a Keyhole appeared on the Fifth District's wall. Though Sora couldn't speak to Riku now, he still nodded at his friend.

If Yen Sid was right, once this Keyhole was unlocked, the next of the Sleeping Worlds would be accessible to them. So, Sora summoned his Keyblade, with Riku doing the same, and they pointed them at the Keyhole.

Beams shot out of the Keyblades, and the second Sleeping Keyhole opened wide to them, leaving five to go.

The world was filled with light, and Sora and Riku continued to the next world.

//And with that
//We now return to Roxas and Haru

 

[NGSoares]

Haru yawned, flipping through the Gummiphone. "That was a productive visit," he commented. "Hopefully the next world will be like that."

"Lots of fighting and walking?" Roxas deadpanned.

"Nah, more along the lines of easier." He peeked at the navigational system. "So… where exactly are we heading?"

"Well, when you unlocked Hollow Bastion's Gate, there were two worlds that we could head to," said Donald. "We might as well go to the other one." He blasted an asteroid apart, along with some Heartless ships.

"How close are we anyway?" asked Roxas.

"Uh…"

"World ho!" yelled Goofy.

Everyone looked out to see the approaching world the gummi ship was en route to.

​

"Hey, we get to see Belle and the Beast again," commented Haru, smiling at Roxas. "I know that whole war thing kinda put you off with Mulan's world, but this world might be a bit better for you." He knew that Xaldin or at least some member of the Organization would be around.

But he couldn't spoil this experience for Roxas.

"And?"

"The Beast was a big help back at Hollow Bastion last year," explained the replica. "Trust me on this—this world'll be less hectic."

"…I hope so."

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FPJOxkoVCjE​

They were all beamed down to a wide, starlit courtyard in front of a towering medieval castle. The courtyard itself had a stone center with six gargoyles surrounding it, with four on switches, and between the center and the way leading out to the bridge was a dusty fountain with three tiers. The pavement led to a pair of massive front doors, and Haru looked down.

Bread crumbs?

They didn't lead anywhere, so whoever left them—probably Belle—was probably just feeding birds or something.

He threw open the doors completely, revealing a messy, dark foyer with doors on both sides of the room, torn tapestries, monstrous statues, and a staircase that led up to a large pair of double doors, along with more stairs going towards the left and right. Above the doors was a stained glass window of the castle itself. The place smelled, with the best word Haru could describe it as was musty, and there was distant creaking audible.

"How cheery," said Roxas.

"I'd say spooky is a better word…" added Goofy. "And c-chilly."

Out of nowhere, there was a roar that shook the entire castle, and due to the size of the room, it echoed from wherever the source was.

"W-what was that roaring sound?!" cried Donald.

"It's the Beast!" Haru answered.

"Maybe we should see how he's doin'?" offered Goofy.

"Wak! Look!" Donald was pointing at a Shadow, one that slithered across the floor towards the one room with its door ajar. There was a light coming from in there, and a comforting crackling sound.

"C'mon!" The mage ran after the Shadow, with the others in pursuit.

​

A soothing warmth signaled the presence of a fire, and as Donald opened the door into the parlor, Haru looked in to see a cozy room with a crackling fireplace and a plush rug. There was no sign of the Heartless… but the table next to the fireplace was another story.

Sitting on the table was a crystalline bell jar, and beneath it was a rose with petals as red as blood. It wasn't in water, nor was it dried; the rose just floated there under the glass, which was illuminated by the fire.

Donald stared at the rose, looking entranced. "…what's that?" he asked, only for Haru to grab him. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"That rose is obviously special," said Haru. "If that Heartless is in here, we need to take extra caution in making sure not to touch that thing." He hopefully didn't jinx it and that Shadow was actually part of a Demon Tower—in such a small space, that would suck.

"If it's floating, is it magic?" wondered Roxas. "And why would the Beast just leave it out here?"

"Maybe he put it down while dealing with the Heartless?" suggested Goofy. "There's bound to be some in the castle. We can do some cleanin' duty for him!"

The Shadow that Donald was chasing slithered out from beneath the table. "Found one!" he exclaimed. In addition, more and more Shadows rose out of the floor, until there were about eight in total. Lastly, three Bad Dogs spawned in front of the fireplace.

"Looks like they've come for us!" remarked Haru, summoning Shooting Star, while everyone else got out their weapons.

 

[NGSoares]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssm13OL2uZk​

"Mind if I try the Keychain we got at Mulan's world?" asked Roxas, and Haru tossed him it. When he equipped it, he saw that the guard looked vaguely similar to Mushu's head, while the blade looked like the dragon was breathing fire.

​

"Let's go!" exclaimed Haru.

All of them charged at the Heartless, with Donald starting the attack by casting Thunder, striking down a few of the Shadows. However, when he did, more Shadows replaced the ones he destroyed. Goofy quickly followed the attack up by sliding across the floor on his shield, sweeping through the Heartless.

Roxas, on the other hand, focused on the Bad Dogs with melee attacks, though Haru backed him up as best he could by casting Fire. The Bad Dog who took the brunt of the assault countered by loudly barking four times, each time making a shockwave.

At the hit, Haru winced before Dodge Rolling away and freezing the canine Heartless with Blizzard, before Roxas finished it off with a combo.

The second of the Bad Dogs lunged at Haru, getting a nip in on him, but he managed to dodge the follow-up attack.

Roxas did a Sliding Dash at one of the Shadows, which sank into the floor before he could reach it. The Shadow tried to counter, but Goofy bashed it with his shield to destroy it.

As for the Bad Dog that was attacking Haru, he had blocked its next attack, going for a point-blank Fire as a counterattack that destroyed it.

Donald cast Thunder again, wiping out multiple Shadows and the last of the Bad Dogs, while Roxas once again did a Sliding Dash followed by a combo that took care of the last of the Shadows—which would've been good, had Heartless not be spawning to take the place of any destroyed ones.

"C'mon, really?!" remarked Haru, wiping his brow.

Because of that, the battle felt like it would just keep going and going… until the parlor doors were thrown open, revealing the Beast.

The Beast stormed into the room, and in a flurry of claws and fangs, destroyed the remaining Heartless with ease.

"Uh…" Roxas started, but the Beast just advanced towards the rose, shoving him aside, as well as Donald, Goofy, and Haru.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wPzQd3zUI8w​

Haru came to rest against a bookcase, where he saw the Beast gently picking up the bell jar, the rose somehow floating within the whole time. The Beast held the rose against himself, almost as though he was embracing it, and cupped it close to his chest.

Without a word, he trudged out of the parlor, staring longingly at the rose all the while.

​

"Gee, do ya think he forgot who we were this whole time?" wondered Goofy.

"He's never met me before," Roxas pointed out. "Does that matter?" He folded his arms. "Either way, something feels kinda off here."

"Why'd he have to do that?" grumbled Donald.

"Maybe we can ask Belle what's happenin'!" suggested the captain as they all left the parlor. "After all, we just got here!"

Donald's eyes suddenly widened. "Wak! What was that?!"

"What's what?" responded Haru, rubbing the back of his head.

"I saw someone at the top of those stairs!" He pointed at the staircase that dominated the back portion of the foyer, specifically at the eastern set of stairs. "A lady!"

"Mystery solved! Let's go see her."

On the way over to the stairs, they were stopped by a few Hook Bats, but Donald easily took care of them with Thunder.

"So, any tips for the Heartless that hang out here?" Roxas asked the replica as he watched the hearts float away. "Future vision and all?"

———

Another timeline.

Wispy orbs of shadow with yellow eyes and spikes flew into the castle's gargoyles, turning them alive and shrugging off magic like water off a duck's back.
———​

"The most annoying ones you have to watch out for are the possessed gargoyles. Magic doesn't work on them," explained Haru, pointing at the gargoyle statues in front of each of the foyer's pillars. "If you see any Possessors—they look kinda like those big orb Heartless from Hollow Bastion last year—stop them from getting in the gargoyles."

Climbing the stairs, they destroyed a few more Hook Bats before heading east at the big door.

The hallway they entered from there had gargoyles, but none of them seemed possessed as they passed. At the end of the hall was a large window with a nice sofa beneath it, along with more windows lining the hallway's south side, allowing a nice view of the courtyard where they entered.

The moon shone in through the window, and on the side of the hallway was a door where they heard a woman's voice on the other side. "Oh… what am I going to do?"

Through process of elimination, that was probably Belle, so Haru and the others all got beside the door. "Okay…" said Donald, straightening up and facing the door.

"Wait, Donald!"

He charged the door to Belle's room, only for it to open, revealing a cozy-looking bedroom with a canopied bed and thick velvet curtains that led to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard. It was certainly a lot less gloomier than the foyer or the hallway, that was for sure.

Belle was standing in the doorway.

"Uh… hi, Belle," greeted Haru.

 

[NGSoares]

When Haru had seen the Beast's behavior back in the parlor, his suspicions were starting to get worse. Had Xehanort gotten to Xaldin, even after he knew about Xemnas's lie?

But even more concerning was whether the Norting was willing. If Xaldin was a vessel, things were going bad. Xigbar was already back, so who's to say that Xemnas or Ansem have returned? The thought was concerning, to say the least.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here," said Belle with a smile, snapping Haru out of his worried thoughts. "Donald!" She picked the protesting mage up in a hug, and he flailed to try and break out of it.

For now, assume the worst and find out Xaldin's motives, whatever they were. They can't be just to mess with the Beast now.

"Goofy! Haru!" Belle greeted. "And that's—"

"Roxas," said the Nobody.

"Put me down! Put me down!" cried Donald, and Belle obliged, though he looked dizzy. "S-so… where's the Beast at?"

"Oh, he must be in the West Wing," Belle answered, looking away. "We don't talk like we used to…"

"Did something happen?" Haru asked.

"He's been acting so strange lately," she explained. "The only ones who know have been locked up in the dungeon. I want to help them, but…"

The replica hummed in thought. "Well… have you seen a guy in a black cloak? Like from Hollow Bastion?"

Belle winced at that. "I haven't—the Beast won't let me into the West Wing anymore, and has been a lot more reclusive, except whenever Heartless show up," she told them all. "Why do you ask?"

"Who's to say he's alone in there?" Haru reasoned. "The Organization can use dark corridors to waltz right into the Beast's room." He looked right at Belle. "Tell you what. With so many Heartless in the castle, we'll handle getting everyone locked up in the dungeon out. Then, we'll come back here and put together just what happened."

"That works," said Belle. "You can get to the dungeon via the undercroft, which is through a side door in the west hall."

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Goofy.

"We'll be back before you know it."

"Good luck."

As they left Belle's room, Roxas commented, "I thought I saw her coat hanger saluting at me."

"Oh, that's just the start," said Haru.

Belle's wishes were certainly needed, because a Large Body popped up as soon as the four began their walk back to the foyer. It charged at them, mowing down everyone except Goofy.

Roxas attacked it with Hidden Dragon as soon as he was back on his feet, doing a quick combo, then Dodge Rolling away before it could do its stomping attack.

In a narrower area like the hallway they were in, getting around the Large Body was a lot harder, so Haru went for casting Water on it, though the rug meant the full effect of a slippery surface wasn't possible.

Either way, the Large Body drummed at its belly, getting on its stomach and sliding towards them. It got in a big hit on Goofy, grazed Roxas, and was stopped by Shooting Star.

With that, Haru went for a Kickback, and finally a Full Swing, destroying it.

After Donald cast Cure on him, Haru said, "How about we do Belle a favor and try and clear out some of the Heartless? General courtesy."

"Might as well," Roxas replied with a shrug.

The foyer was simple enough—just Hook Bats and Bad Dogs. Out in the courtyard, there were a few Possessors, but they were intercepted from entering the gargoyles before being destroyed.

However, as they entered the West Hall, one of those invisible barriers popped up, blocking off the area with the suits of armor and the door to the undercroft, which had a wardrobe in front of it.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GJa2NEbRbck​

A huge, brutish Heartless with a wicked-looking axe spawned in front of them, slamming down hard enough to knock the dust into the air.

 

[NGSoares]

The Rock Troll swung its axe, but Roxas dodged at the last second before running around behind it and doing a series of combos with Hidden Dragon.

In response, the Troll drove its axe into the floor before jumping on top of it—though Haru and Donald were casting Fire on it the whole time. The Troll spun its axe like a top before Roxas looked it over.

At such a large size, this Heartless seemed to have easily telegraphed attacks, so as the Rock Troll got down, Roxas did another combo, which made the blade of Hidden Dragon change. It got longer, with the dragon head at the top bending and the guard fusing with the hilt, effectively becoming a Wyrm Scepter.

Pointing the staff at the Rock Troll, the Nobody closed his eyes. A second later, there was a loud cracking noise and a pop, and out of the dragon's head shot a firecracker, slamming right into the Rock Troll's face and exploding.

"Time for some magic!" exclaimed Donald, beckoning Haru over to him while Roxas tried melee attacks, with each of them causing fireworks to explode around him, bombarding the Rock Troll with the attack—and the Troll put its axe over its face like a mask.

The Heartless charged its way forward, knocking aside Roxas and Goofy, only for meteors to rain down on its head courtesy of Donald and Haru.

Roxas got back to his feet immediately, doing more explosive melee attacks with the transformed Keyblade… until the staff changed again, reshaping itself around his hand as an Inferno Gauntlet.

He pointed it at the Rock Troll's mask. Could he punch through it?

Gulping, he lunged at the huge Heartless, and the mouth of the dragon head opened. A surge of heat ran up his arm, and the dragon head let out a stream of flames that was the breaking point for the Troll's mask, leaving it vulnerable to Goofy charging in.

With one mighty shield bash, he knocked the Troll over, destroying it.

As the heart flew away, Haru stared longingly at Roxas's Keyblade before starting, "Can I—"

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFXTEgZHS8​

"No," both Roxas and Donald said in unison.

"You can't have that kind of power," the mage added, shuddering. "Too scary to think about."

"Is this because of Halloween Town?" wondered Goofy.

"Yes!" quacked Donald, jumping up and down. "Him with a Keychain like that is a fire hazard! It's like that cannon Cid has!"

"I'm not a pyromaniac! Fire's just my preferred combat method!"

The three of them—and the suits of armor at the top of the stairs—all stared at him exasperatedly. Haru's eyes darted left and right. "C-can we just find the dungeon?!"

A face suddenly appeared above the wardrobe's door. "Do you mind?!" she snapped groggily. "Some of us are trying to get some sleep around here!"

"The wardrobe just talked! Did anyone else just see that?" cried Donald.

"And I thought Wonderland's doorknob was a heavy sleeper," muttered Haru. He sighed. "Look, we need to get into the dungeon. Can you scootch over a bit? Please?"

The Wardrobe somehow smacked her lips before yawning again. "There's another way to the dungeon… at the top of the stairs. Try from that way until I'm done with my power nap…"

Haru glanced at the two suits of armor. "Uh…" Looking back at the Wardrobe, he saw that she had fallen asleep again. "Great. Guess we have to push."

Taking a deep breath, he got against the Wardrobe, who was muttering something about the opera for some reason. Granted, she was nowhere near as hard to push as the block hiding Olympus Coliseum's Keyhole.

The real problem? The fact that she stirred in her sleep and occasionally woke up.

So Haru had to do short bursts of strength, then backing away whenever the Wardrobe stirred.

Apparently, she was dreaming about a performance of some kind? He didn't know, but eventually, he got her out of the way right as she woke up for good.

"And I was just starting to get comfortable…" muttered the Wardrobe. "Sorry for startling you earlier."

"Guess we better apologize for that racket," replied Haru with a shrug. "We just had to deal with a big Heartless."

"Apology accepted. May I help you?"

"We kinda need to get into the dungeon, but those suits of armor are blocking the way that you recommended," explained the replica.

"Goodness me!" cried the Wardrobe, looking up at them with genuine shock. "I didn't see them! They must've come there during my nap. But regarding the dungeon, did Belle send you? You're here to help my friends?"

"She did," Roxas spoke up. "And yeah, we are."

"Then hurry," she told them. "The dungeon is damp and chilly—certainly no place for a clock."

"A clock?" Goofy repeated.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"All right. Then let's go," said Roxas, taking the lead and pushing the door open.

The castle's undercroft was just as the Wardrobe said, damp and chilly. Old furniture was stacked in the corners, it was lit by candles, and the place smelled like mildew, in addition to the musty smell that permeated a lot of the castle. On the dungeon door was an engravement of two demons, flanked by a pair of gargoyles.

"Be ready," Haru warned them all. "Things could get dicey." Though now that he got a better look, the carving was almost like a pair of statues built into the door.

Donald approached the door, only for Haru to hold him back. "Wak! What's that for?!" he quacked.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QKZ6L-CRkc0​

The eyes on the carving briefly flashed yellow, making them both jump back as it was covered in a dark purple aura. The demons' eyes then stayed yellow, with their bodies turning pitch-black, except for teal collars, yellow patterns on their horns, and red claws. A maw appeared around the door's keyhole.

Both demons put their fists together, bumping them, and the four got ready for battle.

 

[NGSoares]

"Move!" Haru commanded.

The Thresholder's arms extended across the undercroft, and everyone got out of the way as its fists slammed into the floor, shaking the room. It then slapped the floor, and while Haru wasn't so lucky, the others managed to dodge.

"I got it!" quacked Donald, casting Thunder and giving the Thresholder an extra-strong zap.

Roxas followed up by getting up close to the left demon, doing a quick melee combo.

In response, the Thresholder let out a booming roar, one strong enough to create a shockwave that knocked everyone back, some farther than others. Roxas, being the closest to the possessed door, was sent flying across the undercroft and into a pile of old furniture.

Despite all that, Haru was still in a close enough range to cast Blizzard, hitting the Thresholder and leaving a trail of ice across the floor.

Once again, the Heartless pounded the floor, hitting everyone except Haru.

He noticed Roxas getting on top of one of the piles of furniture, where he was healed by Donald, while a dark orb formed in front of the Thresholder. It sent the orb out, but fortunately, everyone managed to avoid the five dark spheres, either by blocking or hiding behind furniture.

Roxas did a Sliding Dash right at the Thresholder, hitting it right as four Hook Bats spawned.

Lightning rained down, courtesy of Donald casting Thunder, destroying three of the bats and inflicting even more damage on the Thresholder.

The last Hook Bat screeched at Haru, but when it did, he responded by grabbing its hook for a Bat Cry, throwing it into the Thresholder.

With the possessed door looking winded, Haru pointed the Keyblade at it, extracting what looked like a larger than normal Possessor.

Roxas focused on the Possessor, and he unleashed a Shotlock on it, fireworks exploding around the wispy Heartless… but unlike what Haru expected, something different happened.

The Possessor split into five new ones, with two flying into the gargoyles flanking the dungeon door, one going back into the door to revive the Thresholder, and the last two flying into the furniture that the party was using as shields against the Thresholder's attacks.

Rising into the air, a large cabinet went flying at Haru, grazing his side, before the Possessor was released upon the cabinet's destruction.

A grandfather clock flew at Goofy, who jumped out of the way right in time.

Both Possessors flew towards old bookcases, but Haru destroyed the first with a Shotlock of his own. The second went back in, and the bookcase started floating.

Goofy went back to focusing on the first of the gargoyles, which was an earthy brown instead of the gray that the rest of them were. He slammed his shield into it, while the possessed bookcase flew towards Roxas.

The Nobody was quick to respond, casting Fire to destroy the bookcase and release the Possessor.

It flew past an aerial attack, only for Donald to destroy it with Blizzard.

Even with all of this, the Thresholder hadn't let up its assault, doing its ground pound and hitting everyone except Haru, who jumped on one of the few remaining larger pieces of furniture.

One of the gargoyles drove its axe into the floor, causing an earth spike to surface beneath Roxas, who barely managed to dodge while Donald healed himself.

Given that the head of Donald's staff was hammer-shaped, he bashed the gargoyle with it, dodging another earth spike.

The other gargoyle seemed to be just as much of a whiffer, as Haru did a Dodge Roll to avoid its attack, then followed with a counterattack in the form of a melee combo. If they were immune to magic, he couldn't use his Keyblade's Formchange, so he stuck with physical attacks, enough to destroy the gargoyle.

As for Goofy, he did a tornado attack to destroy the other one, as well as drawing in the two Possessors and eliminating them.

This time, everyone saw the Thresholder's attacks coming, so they got out of the way of its ground pound before Haru did a melee attack and allowed his Keyblade to become the Double Arrowguns. He opened fire on the Thresholder, as did Goofy by throwing his shield at it.

It looked winded, so Haru released the Possessor with his Keyblade, and this time, it was the same size as any other of its type.

Donald cast Blizzard on it, freezing it solid.

The frozen Possessor unceremoniously fell to the floor, and when the ice vanished, the Pureblood Heartless was destroyed in a puff of black smoke.

The undercroft was a mess, with broken furniture everywhere, both from the Thresholder's attacks and the Possessors. Both of the demons carved into the dungeon door disappeared, and Donald healed everyone up.

"Now, let's get those servants free," said Haru, unlocking the door with his Keyblade.

//Learned Strike Raid.

//Those weird gargoyles are the Earth Gargoyles from Dark Road.