[Back in the Ocean of Stars]

Satsuki and Ragyo were seen still sailing the nigh endless sea with the intent to rally on Sora and Ryuko. Ragyo then asked "So we know full well the reason Ryuko wound up leaving Honno-ji."

"To finally mold out of her shell to the fullest…and, of course, to get in bed with Sora." Satsuki replied, finishing the sentence with an eye roll and giggle.

Ragyo laughed at the last part, knowing full well that it was, for the lack of a cleaner description, the truth. "Sora. Yes. There's one place that might have the answers as to where she might have gone for clues then; assuming if Sora is out working."

"The Destiny Islands. How much longer until then? I remember Sora saying that it was quite the trek."

"If we're to go full throttle now, shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes. By the way, once we get to the world's pre-space, you'll have to go down there alone. Riku and Kairi likely still harbor a lot of bad blood for me, and will no doubt try to shoot me on sight." Ragyo stated, suggesting Satsuki to try and pump Sora's oldest friends for information of his whereabouts. She then sighed "Can't say I really blame them."

"Understood. I'll see if I can throw off their suspicions of how I found their home so easily as well as how I even made the trip." Satsuki commented as she and Ragyo decided to kick in the after burners

[Fifteen Minutes Later]

They found themselves staring a tropical environment from the far reaches. And both Kiryuins were at awe of the sight. "This place looks beautiful even from up here. Why in your messed up mind would you ever want to destroy a place as this?" Satsuki asked, disgusted that her mother would go so low for an old man's dying wish.

Ragyo lightly laughed at the question "All that, Back at Honno-ji? If you've been suspecting of that being a front, then you've assumed correctly. Like I said: I'll explain in more detail when we're with the others." Ragyo answered, wanting to save herself a round of story time. She then moved a little closer to world's atmosphere, dismounted off her Keyblade Glider, reverted it to its normal state, and shot a beam of light that opened a gateway to the world surface "There you are, Satsuki. And remember: if they asked how you got here, lie."

"Alright. Fingers crossed Slade didn't beat us here." Satsuki said as she made her way through the gateway.

[On the World's surface]

The gateway was opened near the dockside and Riku and Kairi so happened to be in the neighborhood, in a manner of speaking. When they both took notice of the gateway, they had to be safe instead of sorry. They summoned their Keyblades fearing that there might be trouble heading their way. Out of it emerged Satsuki Kiryuin instead. Thankfully for her, they are well informed of the Heiress' identity…and her true intentions back in the Life Fiber War. "Ohhh…" Riku started as he sighed, withdrew his Keyblade, and laughed. "It's just you, Lady Satsuki Kiryuin." He bowed after he finished. Kairi did the same.

"Riku and Kairi. Sora's oldest friends. Any accomplice of his benevolence has no duty to bow to the likes of me. So please. Let's put aside the necessities of acknowledging figures of authority." Satsuki replied, requesting that the friends of her comrade not be so uptight in her presence despite her reputation, wealth, and political power of her home world. Besides, she's knows that, outside of the confines of Honno-ji, none of those things hold any ground whatsoever. So why try and force it?

"Say…How did you get here anyway? Sora said that it's a rather long trip via Keyblade Glider and he also told me that those outfits you wear, 'Kamui' was it? They said that they put a severe strain on your body if your wear those in their true state for too long?" Kairi asked as she now began to get speaking

Although Satsuki was cool as a cucumber on the outside right now, she was thinking "Crap, this is bad. Kairi is beginning to suspect I wager. If they find out that I got here via Mother's proxy, they'll not only kick me out. They'll have my head and hers. And even worse, Sora and Ryuko will be all alone to contest with…'Him'!"

"I know you can borrow a Keyblade, but you haven't been bestowed one yourself, haven't you? And I know you don't look the type to be dependent on the Dark Corridors." Riku inquired

"That's because I really DID go the distance with old Junketsu here." Satsuki started, her Kamui's eye widening in response. This got Riku and Kairi to close in on Satsuki chest area as they saw the living uniform move to an extent. The single right eye now batting between the two islanders. He decided to remain quiet as there was a large probability that they can't understand him the way Sora can him and his younger brother "You see, he was afflicted with a tumor that made him into a feral beast that longed for nothing more than to feast and feast and feast without giving an equal amount of power to me in exchange. After me and a few other of my comrades gave him a vivisection, he was cured of what was ailing him and is now tame." Satsuki explained, giving her the honest story of what Junketsu was before now all while keeping her true methods of transportation a secret. Junketsu pitched in by shaking his 'head' up and down which made her breasts do a bit of a dance for about five seconds. She looked down with a sly expression, raised an eyebrow, and whispered "Easy there, buddy."

"Well he certainly does seems… complacent all things considered." Riku said as he did indeed see a hefty amount of joy in his eye.

"The set of orange-ish and red-ish circles. Do those make up his eye?" Kairi asked

"Ah, yes they do and it seems he's taking a liking to you both. I should let you know that he wasn't always, to put it lightly, lacking in depth perception." Satsuki answered to confirm their assumption. She then continued "It was when my wicked mother Ragyo hijacked him off my near dying body and fought Sora with him. The latter wound up having to puncture his left eye. Sadly, the damage turned out to be permanent. It's like he and his brother wound up trading their perception of life to one another."

"This really is a nice place they got here. I'm thinking of placing a few online orders for you when we get the chance. Maybe something a little more…salacious." Junketsu whispered to his wearer, making a suggestion that Satsuki can't help but agree upon

"That really does sound like a good idea. But for now, we're unfortunately on the clock." Satsuki whispered back

"Did you say something? Perhaps to your Kamui? Maybe he talked first." Kairi asked out of curiosity

"And if it did, it's not like we would be able to hear it." Riku added

"So his tone does fall deaf on your ears" Satsuki asked in which they nodded their heads in response

"Sora told us only those whose blood are Life Fiber worthy can hear a Kamui talk. Looks like we're not on the list then." Riku replied

"Now I know that this may seem a little sudden, but I really need your help. I'm looking for-" Satsuki said as she began to ask her question only to be cut off abruptly.

"Let me guess: your sister, Ryuko Kiryuin, right? You more or less just missed her." Kairi quickly retorted

"What!? How long ago?" Satsuki queried as she got up face to face with Kairi with eyes of concern on her

[Earlier at Destiny Islands]

"Ah ha! There it is! Destiny Island! Time to catch up on the time spent form each other." Ryuko said as she was hovering above the islands' pre-space. She then wasted no time in heading to the surface. A gateway opened itself up on the island where the papou fruit grows and from there she saw Riku and Kairi enjoying the company of Lea, Isa, Roxas, Namine, and Xion.

Before long, Riku took notice of the breach and followed its source to which he saw the girl in question with her Kamui reverted back to normal. "Well. We knew it was a matter of time until she made her way here."

"She'll be happy to know that the aftermath was, as Sora put it back then, quick and painless." Kairi pitched in as Ryuko made their way to them

"Well now. Check out the newcomer." Lea announced to his current company

"Hmm…Red streak in jet black colored hair, school uniform shorting a midriff, red glove akin to MMA fighting style, even her tomboyish personality checks out. She's definitely the one Sora made mention of. No mistake." Isa replied

"I'll bet every munny in my pocket's she's out looking for Sora as we speak." Roxas added

"Strange…" Namine said

"What is?" Xion queried

"I sense that there are foreign memories within her mind." The blonde answered

"You mean that they don't belong to her?" Isa hypothesized

"Synthetic perhaps?" As did Lea

"In that order: yes and no. They're real memories. I can tell the difference between real ones and fakes because of all the false memories I placed inside of Sora back during the Castle Oblivion incident." Namine replied

"Oh! So you think we're talking about a proxy here?" Roxas guessed

"That is a very likely scenario." Namine spoke

"Any idea of whose memories they are?" Xion asked

"To be honest…I'm not exactly sure on whose they are myself, and I'm the expert." She finished

"Maybe she, you, and Sora should have a little chat." Lea suggested

"Indeed. A therapy session may help crack the code of whatever is swimming in her head and heart." Isa said agreeing with his old friend

"Well you guys. This has been an arrival in the making now hasn't it?" Ryuko boasted

"We were making plans to pay you guys a visit to be honest. Never thought you would actually save us the trouble, and on Keyblade Glider no less." Riku greeted

"Did he just say 'Keyblade Glider'?" Isa asked

"Yeah… that's no stuff you can pull off as a novice. She must've been practicing with the gift Sora bestowed upon her."

"Either that or it's just innate to her. I mean, it is Sora that gave her the Keyblade after all and she did spent an unprecedented amount of time with him to boot." Roxas interjected

"I'm taking a wild guess that you're here for Sora, correct?" Kairi asked "If that the case, you can find him at Radiant Garden. I heard he was looking for a stray Life Fiber clone there, maybe there's more than one hiding in the worlds."

"What!? I could have sworn we rounded them all up!" Ryuko angrily shouted and rightfully so. Xehanort and Ragyo, both in their own ways, really did put Ryuko through the ringer and all she wanted to do after the mess was spend some quality time with Sora.

"Easy there, Ryuko. I know this is a most unexpected development, but bear with it if you please." Senketsu, her voice of reason, said to her, wanting her to calm down before she decides to synchronize with him soon.

After Senketsu said his peace, she quickly regained her composure and whispered "You're right, Senketsu. At least I'll still be with Sora all the while and who knows? Maybe we can salvage some Life Fibers to get you an upgrade."

"NOW you're talking!" Senketsu applauded

She then turned her attention to Riku and Kairi once again before they decided to start shooting questions her way and make things even weirder than they already were. "Well, looks like I've got quite the journey ahead of me." She then summoned her Keyblade, pointed it into the sky, and projected yet another beam which resulted in the formation of another gateway. She transformed her Keyblade into its Glider Form, mounted it, and made her way to the gateway; all while synchronizing with Senketsu at the absolute last second before anyone even got so much as a glimpse of her. "Next stop: Radiant Garden!" She shouted as she sailed across the Ocean of Stars.

[Present Time]

"So you more or less just missed her really." Riku answered

"Damn! I was hoping that they would be here still. I never thought that Sora would be off on another mission so soon." Satsuki said in a worried tone

"Apparently, he couldn't round up all of the Life Fiber forged Xehanort clones. Yen Sid thinks that there's a possible connection. Say, why do you even need to look for him anyway? You should know quite well that he can more than hold his own." Kairi said, putting her hands to her hips in a spunky fashion.

"I don't know why, but I'm starting to have some serious doubts about that." Satsuki answered in a glum tone

"What makes you so sure that they are in danger?" Riku inquired

Satsuki sighed before replying "Now where do I start…?"

[About five minutes later]

"And that's what happened. I've been looking for my sister ever since. I fear she and Sora may be next to feel his wrath." Satsuki ended as she was done telling her tale of what just transpired on Honno-ji

"Deathstroke, back from the dead, and from the future. Not a promising sentence in the slightest." Riku said, summarizing the crazy day that Satsuki had today

"If he of all people are back, then you were right after all: they are in danger. We have to join you guys." Kairi added

"Ill advised. If he's as mad as you suggest, he won't think twice in endangering others who are very near and dear to his heart as well." Satsuki said, not wanting to throw Sora's friends through the blender "Besides, you both heard me. If you know him based on what Sora has told you guys before today, then you should know he is no longer the same person as before."

"I guess you make a good point. I'll try and phone them real quick." Riku said as he then pulled out his Gummi Phone and tried to get Sora on the horn. He waited for an answered "Anytime, sleepyhead." He grumbled

"Or maybe Ryuko has already caught up with him and they are probably even-" Kairi teased

"Please stop, Kairi!" Riku yelled, cutting Kairi off to which she and Satsuki giggled in response. The connection failed and when Riku looked at his phone, he learned that Sora was getting zero bars where he is at. "What!? How is that possible? Yen Sid said he should be at Radiant Garden." He said baffled at the end results of his attempted contact of his friend.

"Sora was never one to disobey Master Yen Sid and I was just joking about earlier, unless…" Kairi added

"Oh no. you don't think…" Riku answered with a gulp as he looked over to Kairi

"The 'Danger Zone'? The section that Sora had to block off at Radiant Garden?" Kairi said as she looked at him in turn

"Yeah. That's got to be it! Satsuki you need to double time it. There's a good chance that he, and perhaps even your sister Ryuko, might be in some hot water real soon." Riku demanded

"Don't do anything reckless, alright?" Kairi requested

"I'll try, Kairi. I guess I'll be on my way then." Satsuki dismissed herself as she turned her back to them

But before she can get the chance to signal for a gateway to the Ocean, Riku then stopped her dead in her tracks as he said "Can I request one more thing of you myself?"

"Go on." She replied

"Make sure you have her on a tight leash, you hear me?" Asked Riku

"I was the one who gave permission to let Ryuko leave my world. How was I supposed to know that this would all happen?" Satsuki counted, admitting that she didn't know the risk and was hoping to cover for Ragyo.

"I wasn't talking about your sister…" Riku coldly retorted as it seems to be that he has seen through the lies that Satsuki had to put up just to keep her true means of reaching this world a secret.

"He means it." Kairi puffed her cheeks

Riku closed in on Satsuki and gently placed his hand on her left shoulder and quietly said "Your secret is safe with us." Satsuki then left with a wide eyed face as she was completely sawn through.

No longer prioritizing stealth, a gateway opened right in front of her and synchronized with Junketsu prior to heading in, which got quite the reaction from Riku and Kairi. "Th-That's what you have in fight in most of the time!?" Kairi screamed, mortified by what Satsuki Kiryuin usually wears while in battle and dreading the thoughts of ever having to wear one herself.

Eyes damn near bulging out of their sockets, Riku then added "By Eraqus woman! You're even braver than you look."

"I thought you said you saw me wearing this while observing from-"

"Afar is one thing." Kairi shrieked, clearly still in horror

"That up close experience. That's what changes the whole perspective." Riku added his jaw still agape.

"You remind me of Sora when he first fought Ryuko, and then me later on." Satsuki giggled, taking in their reactions with sweet satisfaction. She then continued "Take care you two." And said her farewells before waltzing into the gateway.

Once she came out the other side of the gateway, she was floating toward Ragyo whose Keyblade was now in Glider mode and said "Radiant Garden. Sora is there and in turn that's where we'll find my sister." She mounted the Glider once more and said. "Step on it."

"My pleasure!" Ragyo retorted as the two zoomed through the stars once again.

[Back at Radiant Garden]

Sora was seen strolling around the town square looking for anything out of the ordinary while Donald and Goofy asks the townsfolks if they saw a bald man wearing some funky looking sunglasses. The three then gathered and began an impromptu meeting "I can seem to sense any traces of Life Fibers. Looks like my Life Fiber abilities are still in the green." Sora began

"We asked as many of the townsfolk as we could to see if they saw anyone that matched the description you gave us." Goofy stated

"We came out as empty-handed as you." Donald added

Sora sighed and said "I could have sworn Yen Sid said that the Xehanort clone would be here in this world, and he is never wrong. Guess we'll have to turn this world upside-down and triple our efforts."

"Sounds like you need an extra hand. Don't worry. I'm an expert in my field!" A familiar girl's voice shouted out

"That voice…! I know that ruffian accent anywhere!" Sora said as he look behind him to confirm that his ears are playing tricks on him and to his delight, and to an extend embarrassment, he indeed heard correctly: there stood Ryuko Kiryuin, having scoured a bit of the town before meeting up here with Sora. "Ryuko!" As her name was called out, she wasted no time in running over to Sora, jumping up to him, and wrapping her arms and legs around him. Sora held her in place by the back of her lower waist as she brought their faces nose width apart. Ryuko then began to rub her forehead against Sora's, both giggling and smiling toothily all the while. "When did you start pulling off Mako-esque stunts like that?" Sora joked about Ryuko's friend a bit.

That got Ryuko to laugh a good laugh. "Since you began to brighten up my life. How I have longed for our reunion."

"Yeah. I really did miss you too." Sora said as he blushed a little. Donald and Goofy were seen laughing; this was why he didn't want to bring Ryuko up too much because he knew this would be their reaction.

Ryuko snuck in a little peck on the lips before breaking from the embrace and said "Riku and Kairi told me everything." This got an even louder reaction from the Court Mage and Royal Guard to which Sora took a quick glance at the two. "You're looking for a stray clone right?" Sora shook his head up and down in response "When I first dropped into this world, I immediately took notice of two distinct Life Fiber singles, yours of which was the closet at the time and, naturally, still is."

"Maybe I should have asked for your help a little sooner." Sora groaned a bit as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Even if you did, it's not like Sats would have let me go either way. Said I needed to get a better grip on how to use my new gifts as well as hone them." Ryuko answered

"Then you have a basic understanding of magic now?" Sora asked

"Uhhhhh…..fire's the only one I know I got right the first time…" Ryuko confessed

"You certainly do seem to the kind that would specialize in fire magic. Don't worry. I wasn't perfect the first time either." Sora said, offering his critique and sharing his struggles with magic from back in the day. "Now, you said you picked up two Life Fiber signals?" He resumed

"Yeah. I can show you exactly where the other one is to boot." Ryuko stated

"Seeing as you have more experience with those abilities, I believe you Ryuko, So go ahead and take point." Sora said, giving the limelight to his girlfriend.

"Wha- really? Well alright!" Ryuko said in ecstatic surprise "Now I know the other signal hasn't really moved much so it can't be all that difficult. In fact, it's like it found what it was looking for. This world's heart by chance?" She wondered as she started guiding the group to their eventual destination

"I asked Yen-Sid the same thing." Sora replied in a friendly tone "Said that isn't it or this world would be lost in darkness already."

"Wow. Look at those two just talk it out like we aren't here." Goofy whispered to Donald

"She must be the one that Sora made a girlfriend out of." The Court Mage shot back in a hushed tone. Sora darted his eyes in their direction to check if they are gossiping about him and Ryuko with an annoyed grimace about him. This got them to hush their conversation.

"It should be in this general direction." Ryuko said as she directed the group to where the clone is lurking. "Sora, there's been something eating at the back of my head."

"Shoot." Sora said, letting her dig into his stories

"The Keyblade…it can be passed down to anyone?" Ryuko inquired

"Only if their heart is deemed worthy of it. Remember the verse I said when I passed it on to you?" Sora reminded

"Of course! That's what triggered its summoning in the first place." Ryuko replied as she materializes her Keyblade as this is the first time Sora has seen it "Anyway. Have you tried…passing the Keyblade on to someone prior to me?"

"Right. It was six months before I even broke ground on Honno-ji. Well I suppose there's no harm in telling you seeing as that I picked you." Sora elaborated "There were two more potential candidates. One was confident, stern when it's necessary, can get a bit hot-headed at times, especially when you make mention of a certain someone, but good hearted in the long run and that's what matters. Approximately Riku's build and age by the by. I know you met Riku so I'll let you put the pieces together. He was clearly the leader of a group of five, but he had no outstanding powers to be had like his friends so I decided to… try and level the playing field a bit." Sora educated his girlfriend on some of his post-Xehanort endeavors.

"Did Yen Sid ever know of that one?" Ryuko asked out of curiosity

"I tried to make some of my candidate scouting on the low key so that I don't get yelled at. I wasn't a master at the time." Sora cheekily and quietly addressed as they were nearing the town outskirts.

"And the other candidate before me…?" Ryuko asked

"Same world as the last one… yeah. Enough said." he concluded abruptly; perhaps too so.

"Sora… Is there something you don't want to tell about this other person?" Ryuko prodded "Is it a girl?"

"Well…yes, it is. But that's beside the point." Sora confessed

"Well now you really got my attention. What's wrong with telling me about her now? Just what is she like exactly?" Ryuko asked about the other candidate

"To be perfectly honest with you, I've been trying to answer that same question myself ever since I last visited their world." Sora replied as he placed his hands onto the back of his head while they continued their search

"What is she like anyway? Just as I said: I'm actually quite curious." Ryuko chimed

"She is private, brooding, damn near more machine than one of her comrades is in the emotional field, and her stench…dear Eraqus the stench! Even Xehanort's dark aroma wasn't nowhere near as pungent as hers, perhaps even more so than Ragyo's was." Sora elaborated on this particular person from his time prior to Honno-Ji.

"You mean she's a practitioner of Darkness?" Ryuko asked in surprise that he was friends with this somebody

"Yeah, but I have a feeling that those powers are less acquired and more…innate. Like she was born with darkness in her being; reluctantly so. It's not Life Fibers I can tell you that, but it is something. But despite discovering the fact that I was a Keyblade wielder, she never once tried to take my life, unlike their Terra." Sora answered

"'Thier' Terra?" Ryuko asked out of confusion

"I know of a Keyblade wielder named Terra. Completely different people I assure you." Sora explained "The other Terra, theirs, was capable of manipulating rock and earth based elements. Well anyway, she sold out information on me as well as them to a Madman and Criminal Kingpin named Deathstroke; A.K.A. Slade Wilson. Personal lives, weaknesses, back stories; a lot of things were all leaked because of her. Turns out Slade knew of the Keyblade's existence long before I even entered the picture and originally sought its power for his own but had to acquire it via proxy since he knows how picky a Keyblade can be. Robin, the first candidate I made mention of, was his original target for that goal but everything wound up backfiring on that psycho hard from what Robin told me."

"I'm guessing sometime after the fact, enter you and Terra the Earth Mover." Ryuko guess as they headed towards the castle maintenance section.

"Correct." Sora replied

"I'm also going to go on a limb here and say that her real purpose to Slade was to clean up and start all over." Ryuko guessed once more on the second part of Slade's debacle.

"Spot on. Girl had no idea what she got herself into though. When she sold out to Slade, she effectively became a Heartless that somehow retained her human form a la Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, one of my old enemies. Me and Terra did battle twice; once was to give her a chance to turn around and makes things right."

"The warning shot, yes?" Ryuko hunched as Sora nodded his head in confirmation "Round two was for keeps I'm guessing." Ryuko replied

"Correct again. She had no idea how much we were pulling our punches just to give her the chance to make amends, and I had to. She and another of our number from then had a good thing going to boot, so how could I bring myself up to deny them that slim chance? She finally came around on her own will, but we didn't know it was already too late though. Deathstroke had her like a puppet on strings. The suit she was issued was woven into her very flesh which allowed him to take control of her body and, in turn, her powers…"

"That's just fucked up!" Ryuko yelled in horror of the pre-Honno-ji chronicle Sora embarked on as she was prying the steel panels off of a familiar looking hole in the wall.

The hole leads to the Cavern of Remembrance, a place that was considered too dangerous after a failed raid on a certain hidden section. Sora thought to himself "The Cavern. Really? Well fingers crossed that clone isn't where I think it may be."

"Something you're not telling me, buddy?" Ryuketsu asked in a hushed

"Long story…" Sora whispered

"So. Are you going to continue? You got me quite intrigued so far." Ryuko asked, wanting Sora to proceed with his tales

"Ah yes. Of course. When we discovered what he had done, I had to think of something and fast. Turns out he's not as good at keeping Keyblade wielders out from places where they shouldn't be after all. One twist later was all it took for me to undo the bio-mesh weave that he worked so hard on just for her. And I'll get you one guess on how she thanked him for the training he bestowed upon her."

"A righteous thrashing!" Ryuko guessed

"Bingo! Terra pummeled Deathstroke within, what may be considered, an inch of his life. The battle caused a volcanic reaction as a result, but on the upside, Vanitas and I had the privilege to watch as that psycho plunged into the lava below, the chump." Sora said as he finished his story.

"Damn! Too bad our fight with Ragyo didn't take place in something similar because I doubt even she could survive that." Ryuko responded

"Although Terra's heart has redeemed itself, her body was forced to perish if that world was to survive. The result: what appeared to have been a statue was hollower than Beast Boy's skull."

"I'm guessing two things here. One: he's the one that's having a thing for her. Two: that the whole hollow thing might be quite the understatement." Ryuko giggled at the comparison as she guided the group through the Cavern. Normally they would be some serious Heartless popping out the woodwork by now, but they haven't yet.

"Yeah. With only a flick of a finger did the statue turn into dust. I popped in over to that world every now and then to look for her Nobody. I told them that if we are to recomplete Terra, then her Nobody must be found and terminated. Her heartless already sacrificed herself for their world. Once I find her Nobody, things will be back to the way they were meant to be."

"Well I really do hope you find her Nobody, for Beast Boy's sake." Ryuko said, offering her condolences.

"Yeah, you and me both. I know! Maybe we can go there together so that I can introduce you to them as well as double our search for her Nobody." Sora suggested

"Great idea. I'm quite curious about the lot and place too." Ryuko said as they approached a fenced-off area of the Cavern of Remembrance "Anyway, the clone's Life Fiber signal is through here, so all we have to do is -"

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sora muttered

"What's wrong, Sora? Don't tell me you're afraid of dank dark caves, are you?" Ryuko said as she joked with him.

"Caves aren't the problem. I've been down there once before. This is a hidden section of that cave that I completely overlooked back in the day. Heartless down there are not the kind you want to piss off." Sora said as he recalled his previous misadventure down in the section he only recently discovered

"Oh! oh! Time for another story?" Ryuketsu exclaimed looking and feeling as elated as ever.

"Are those your new clothes that are talking, Sora?" Goofy asked

"It looks excited for something." Donald added

"Yeah it's his clothes. It's called a Kamui and if you ask, I'll say this only once: wearing one is not for the faint of heart. Of THAT much I can definitely vouch for." Ryuko provided the answers to their questions. She then returned her attention to Sora and asked "Haven't the Heartless been creeping out of here?"

"To my surprise, they haven't. But they are no pushovers. Who knows what they might be doing with a fragment of their old management back!"

"All the more reason to go down there and get to the bottom of this." Ryuko said as she walked through the opening to the Danger Zone and looked down to see that the chasm goes down quite a ways "Ha! Literally."

"Yeah, I forgot how deep this chasm is." Sora sighed as his worst case scenario has been realized

"You seem to know a great deal of this place. What's down here anyway?"

"Something bizarre like you would not believe until you've seen it yourself. A huge sanctum of some sorts used for evil worship. Bat-balls crazy stuff you'd only find in the likes of the Book of Prophecies. The thing that stands out however…well I think I'll wait and show for yourself."

"Then I take your first trip down here was rough?" Ryuko said having a hunch

"It was…not very pleasant by any stretch of the imagination…" Sora replied, not wanting to recall his last visitation to these catacombs in the slightest.

"C'mon, Sora. Tell me all the juicy details." Ryuko said

"You sound like they'll be defeated this time around." Sora tossed at her while raising an eyebrow.

"Only because you never had Ryuko back then." Donald interjected.

"Yeah, and the snazzy looking new threads you're wearing." Goofy added as he then recalled how things ended the last time Sora went down here "Still. Even with the three of us, all we were able to do was make a break for the exit." Goofy added

"I'm still shocked that they never gave chase, let alone even tried to terrorize Radiant Garden." Sora answered back as his mind was winding time backwards

[At this very sanctum; approximately nine months ago]

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were seen walking down the same spiraling flight of stairs as they are in present time with, sans Ryuko back then. "How far down do you think this cave go guys?" Goofy asked

"Yeah. We've been walking for at least ten minutes." Donald added, wondering if the staircase will ever end

"Don't worry, guys. Our echoes are getting quieter so we must be getting close to the bottom now. Hang strong everyone." Sora said with encouragement as they continued the downward journey to Eraqus knows where daunting looking statues with lifeless faces staring down at them all the while. Though Sora didn't want to admit it, the statues were starting to grate on even his nerves of steel. And as Sora had told them, the echoing of their footsteps have dwindled and before the others knew it, they were at the bottom of the staircase.

"Ahhh…sweet relief." Donald sighed

"You don't mind if we take five real quick, do you Sora?" Goofy asked

"Good idea. Besides, if this is the only way those Heartless got in, then I dare say we got the only entrance locked down anyway." Sora replied as he decided to join in on the breather. He saw another unoccupied stone bench and laid down flat on it and proceeded to take a few zzz's while Donald and Goofy decided to eat some snacks that they brought for the trip. Suddenly their break was interrupted by a loud thud that shook the area up a bit and they all jumped right back up, including Sora who was just getting comfortable too. "Looks like break time will have to wait guys." He stammered as he and the others then went deeper into the underground library. As they headed deeper they were eventually met with four Neoshadow Heartless in the corridors. These guys had to have meant that they was something important up ahead and it was all the more reason for the trio to fight off these obstacles and press on While one went underground to lie up an ambush, the other three jump and were spinning vertically in the air to prepare their air charge attacks. Donald uses his thunder magic to zap two of the Heartless that haven't charged yet, Goofy blocked the one that did which was intended for the Mage, landing face first into the Knight's trusty shield, while Sora used his water magic to literally flush out the one in the shadows, thwarting the surprise indefinitely. As if that wasn't bad enough, the two that were electrocuted stumbled into each other as they were dazed, resulting in them learning what happens when you mix a balloon with red carpet and multiplying that by 1,000. Donald Duck chuckled at the mess. Goofy bashed the Neoshadow in front of him right into Sora's direction who was running towards him with the other one on his tail Sora finds some space for him to slide under, which resulted in the two Heartless colliding with each other. At a millisecond's notice, he turned the other way and threw his Keyblade at the two Neoshadows in mid slide which sliced them clean in half. With the immediate security dealt with, Sora then said "There's no way that was all. I bet there's more of them deeper inside. Let's clean this place up and secure Radiant Garden once and for all, guys!"

"Yeah!" They both shouted as they followed Sora's charge into the center chamber and when they got there at long last, was a sight that will leave them speechless for a long time. It was a room used for rituals and evil rites. But the most awestrike piece of the room… was a giant stone hand at the center of this place. The fingers were expanded and the palm was facing upward as to reach out for the sweet freedom that the small sluice of light offers.

"In all of our adventures guys… I've never seen anything quite like this. Not even the entire Keyblade Graveyard spoke of THIS many tales." Sora said as he took in the sights of the underground chamber. Without further warning, the cauldrons were lit up and the movements of Heartless can be audible "We've got company…" Sora muttered as he got into a fighting position before readying his weapon. From underneath the subterranean ground raised a horde of Neoshadows that were a shade of red from head to toe, not like the ones that Sora will face off against at Honno-ji in the months to come. He readied his Ultima Weapon from the adventure that led up to Master Xehanort's final defeat. Donald and Goofy followed suit with theirs as well. As a retort, the Neoshadow horde tornados around the trio like a raging storm of heat and hatred and as they spun around, the surrounding floors and walls were set alit with what very much can be defined as literal hellfire. They then swarmed into one singular spot into combine into a mass of darkness, akin to that Demon Tide and Demon Tower but at the same time, NOT alike as when the two aforementioned were only mindless seas of destruction, this one was functioned more like a literal Giant. The massive figure was what you would get out of a typical combiner Cybertronian except sleeker and even more evil looking than some. It was the flock of Neoshadows interlocking with one another in one shape or form; it was even sporting functional fingers, but the feature that stood out just as much was the series of four sinister glows from its head section. Once the mass was complete, it let out a gut-wrenching roar that shook the place up as to cave the place in, complete with a maw glowing red from the inside. On the floor, a series of sigils in the same shape of that as seem in the book Ragyo and Satsuki have obsessed with have also lit up the room in a malicious tint of red. "WH-What the -?" Sora gasped in surprise

"You tread on sacred soil!"

The Heartless was speaking to Sora and was longing for him to pass the message to his friends "What now?" Sora stammered back

"Leave or die!"

"Sora, what's wrong!?" Goofy asked in worried tone

"It's the Heartless. They're conversing with me." Sora answered

"What did they say?" Donald said, so curious of how important it was for the Heartless to relay what they were speaking to Sora about that they didn't bother with the others

"They're warning us to vacate this place. They we've come to disrupt their work down here. Who's to say that they're on the money?" Sora replied to his friends, his voice clearly with hints of zero intentions of leaving. He then turned his attention to the Giant and retorted "We're not going to dust out on a bid, Heartless! Not without a fight!"

"A shame you had to die before our Great Lord can be awoken…"

"'Great Lord'…?" Sora sked the only response he got unfortunately was The Giant Heartless cocking its left fist back and preparing to throw a massive slug into the three faces that stood before it. The trio were quick to dodge out of the way but they forgot how versatile Mass Heartless can be. The rest of the body dissembled itself and the red Neoshadows were now in the air and swarming our heroes. They spun around in the air faster and faster until they were literally on fire and as they were so they dive-bombed Sora and company who were just quick enough to avoid a direct hit and as they might have expected, they phased straight through the floorings of the shrine. They knew what to expect, but what was to be added to the pattern was not what they anticipated. A bright red flash was made visible on the floor just below them. That was the spot of which they would emerge from. Sora and the others dodged out of the way from the initial surfacing, but what happened next was mind boggling as the floor around them in a ten foot radius exploded into flames. Our heroes were lightly singed as a result. "Is everyone okay!?" Sora asked

"I'll manage!" Goofy shot back while Donald gave a thumbs up, only for his nostrils to pick up the scent burning feathers. Upon looking behind him he sees that he got nicked but was quit to jump and land on his rump to extinguish the brief fire was singeing him. They got their bearings back then Sora and Donald tried to quell the behemoth with some ice magic seeing that it's using fire a great deal as well. It manages to get several red-skinned Neoshadows to fall off the massive collective, but alas the ice does not kill its mark nor does it hold its marks down for long as the individual ones too emblazed themselves to break free not even four seconds after getting hit and wasted no time in returning to the Colossus in time to join in the reverse mosh pit.

"Incoming!" Goofy yelled at the others as he took his shield and braced for impact while the others got behind him to take cover from the inevitable pummeling. As forecasted was extremely dark and heavy showers of this new breed of Heartless, but little would the trio know…even the finest of impromptu umbrellas will always give way after too much abuse. The sheer strength and numbers of the onslaught was starting to become unbearable even to the standards of which that these friends are accustomed to as about a third way through, cracks were starting to form on Goofy's Save the King Shield, but the Captain of the Guard didn't waiver and chose to ride the storm out until the bitter end.

From behind the shield, Sora and Donald tried spraying off the rest of their approach with a pair of Waterga spells to chafe their darkened flesh, but the Neoshadows are having none of that as all the Water magic was evaporated before their very eyes. As if that wasn't bad enough, the assault that they unleashed onto Goofy's shield was finally the straw that broke the hard working dog back as with one last Heartless in the group charge, Save the King was broken before their very eyes. All that everyone could do was dodge out of the way to avoid the rest of the attack, but not before several of them went soaring into Goofy's direction who of which carried him to a nearby wall and starting to pound on him as they passed by for about six seconds. Goofy yelled in pain for the duration of the blows and down he went. "GOOFY!" Sora and Donald both yelled in horror as they ran up to him to check on him. As Sora did so, he sighed with relief that the worst hasn't passed. "Out cold, but still alive."

"That's it! I've had it with this freak show!" The Court Mage yelled in frustration that they are getting knocked around like a band of knockoffs as he prepared a certain spell that he was specifically told not to use per the King's orders, but Donald's pride refused to heed the warnings this time.

"I know what you're planning, Donald." Sora said as he caught back up with the Mage "How about a helping hand this time around?" He asked

"Sounds like a good idea. We might be able to get him." The Duck answered back as he raised his Save the Queen scepter as did Sora with his Ultima Weapon as a colonnade of holy runes then made themselves present around the duo. A powerful light was now surrounding them both and with one waves of their weapon they both yelled.

"ZETTAFLARE!"

A massive ray of light was headed straight for the recently reassembled Demon Colossus, but the monster was quick to answer with a pair of unholy rays of energy being emitted from its eyes resulting in a deadlock of light and dark energies lighting up the room. The duo struggles valiantly against the evil aura this Heartless is giving off, but to no avail. The red energy waves begin to creep it way closer to Sora and Donald who knew of the predicament that they were in. The beam of red energy kept getting closer and closer each second. Donald shouted "Sora!" Within the last possible two seconds as he was forced to bump Sora out of the way to save him from getting hit. As he did so, Sora's end of the Zettaflare spell was broken as we was tumbling a bit while Donald braced himself for the worst, but the worst was not what he had expected. From the sheer force of the incoming attack alone, he was sent flying into a nearby wall all while losing his grip on his prized Save the Queen, but the wand itself was at the epicenter. As he came to, he just notice that his wand was gone and then looked at where the blast had landed. Although it was severely charred into a fine crisp, Donald was able to make out the dismantled pieces of his once most powerful mage's staff. Donald Duck too was out of the fight, leaving only Sora now.

Now the only one left, Sora felt that now was the time to go all-out with Ultimate Form "That's it! No more Mister Nice Guardian!" He yelled as he was now warping and striking at whichever parts of the Demon Colossus, from the kneecaps to elbows to even its neck region when the chance showed itself, all of which with a darkened growl in pain which each blow delivered. But this parade has to come to an end at some point as the massive Heartless then seized Sora entirely and with one hefty throw slammed him into the floor. The impact shook him up quite a bit and forced him out of Ultimate Form, but not enough to leave him a broken mess of himself. His persistence was starting to grate on the Colossus' nerves as it was now throwing a massive haymaker. Sora was quick to go on the defensive against this powerful attack, but this was one punch that couldn't be stopped as once the attack hit the weapon, Sora and the most powerful Keyblade in his arsenal was sent flying… into a wall for the former and in pieces for the latter. Sora was now in panic as his best weapon was nowhere near enough to quell this monster's rampage, and he knew that his magic before didn't have much effect and now it's even less so now that he is down his best weapon. All he could do was cast a healing spell to get the others to come to again and shout out "RUN AWAY!" to which the giant red Heartless let out a bellowing chuckle in response. Donald and Goofy got up as quick as they were healed and followed Sora out the chamber as quickly as their legs can allow them.

"Guess there no choice!" Donald yelled in terror

"What if that Heartless follows us?" Goofy asks

"I don't know why, but I get a feeling that won't be the case… and I think that pillar and those markings may be the reason." Sora answered as they were in retreat. Sora got out his Gummi Phone and managed to take a picture of the carvings that were still alit "Got it!" Sora said just before he dodged the overwhelming Demon Colossus who caught up to him and tried to grab him. The trio scrambled up the stairs, crossing their fingers that they were fast enough to outrun their terrifying foe. They were sprinting so hectically for their lives they couldn't afford to look back or else they'll run the risk of losing their balance and being trapped with that giant that had taken them by storm, but the fact that the echoes of their own steps were the only audible sounds at the time certainly was promising as they make their way to the top of the stairwell. Panting for every breath that he can spare, Sora finally decided to look behind him and saw that they weren't tailed. He told the others "We've lost 'em… but it never hurts to be safe… Let's get out of this shrine so we can seal it off. Also, I managed a snapshot of the markings that lit the place up. I'll send it to Ienzo to see what he and Even can make of it."

"Good idea, Sora. Maybe we can trap them instead." Donald agreed, hoping that it'll be enough

"And we always got that picture of the symbol you took before we left. But it still is scary about that Heartless we fought." Goofy added saying the second sentence with the jitters about him.

Sora nodded his head to the both of them as they got out of the entrance and raised his Keyblade in preparation to seal off the shrine. As he tried to do so however, nothing was happening which was a sheer surprise to Sora. "W-What!?"

"C'mon, Sora!" Donald demanded

"Yeah. We can't be sure that those Heartless will stay put forever." Goofy added

"I-I can't. It won't work!" Sora answered in horror "Maybe it's because of the Heartless in there?"

"To think we would get beaten so badly like that." Replied Goofy

"It was almost like we were already in the Dark Realm without even knowing it. They haven't even tried to come out yet…hmm, I wonder." Donald Duck pondered as he grew bigger tail feathers and tried something reckless "Your grandpa was a Bulky Vendor!"

"Such pointless banter!"

The Heartless retorted aloud and echoed for a while for all to hear which made Donald's head ring quite a bit, but the Heartless didn't even bother to take the insult personally like all others would have. After he shook it off, Donald told them "Nope. Doesn't sound like he wants to come out after all."

"Too bad we can't seal the way there, but maybe we can just tape it off to let others know that it's too dangerous." Goofy suggested

"It's better than leaving it unattended I guess." Donald replied, still sore from how things ended this day

Sora was seen thinking everything over after all that has happened despite it have done so quickly. He then mused "That giant clawed hand. I don't what it's for, but it must be important for the Heartless to send in their best to defend it. They didn't even tried to chase us after we broke through the threshold. That means what we just fought…was merely a guard dog. This is perhaps as big as that stone hand; maybe even bigger! And I'll wager Ienzo can get us a lead; he and Even both." Sora then tried to send Iezno the picture but it didn't go through. He looked and then he noticed that he wasn't getting any bars "Oh, that's right. Caves tend to block out cellphone signals. Better wait until we are outside again."

"He's still new with that thing?" Goofy whispered over to Donald, hoping to ease the tension by even the slightest amount to he succeeded when a chuckled escaped the Mage's bill.

"Hey! I heard that, you two!" Sora shouted in annoyance that they're at it with gossiping behind his back again. After the gang gets out of the Cavern and back to the great outdoors, Sora then sent his picture over to Ienzo with a message asking him and Even to look into the symbol's lore. Origins, meanings, even places that may or may not have that same symbol embedded some elsewhere. After twenty seconds, a reply was sent to Sora that read 'A very curious find indeed, Sora. Even and I will get to work on digging up whatever we can about it. Good thing we have not much else to do.'