//------------------------------//
// Flames of Fury and Forgiveness 
// Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria 
// by Codex92 
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The Young Six stood at a distance from some targets, their Keyblades drawn and aimed at said targets. They each launched Fire spells as Aqua decided to teach the rest of her pupils their first offensive magic spell. Gallus got a bit too cocky after learning it much earlier than his friends due to him being unable to cast Cure, but his attitude quickly dropped when Silverstream and Ocellus fired off more spells than he did, and with good accuracy.

"Whoo hoo! Perfect bullseyes!" Silverstream cheered. "Ocellus and I earned fifty more points!"

The hippogriff gave the changeling a high five, Ocellus almost missing it after silently pondering if they were earning points in their training session. "Hmph. Beginner's luck," Gallus grumbled.

Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood on the sidelines, watching the Young Six practice their offensive magic training. Aqua observed each of her apprentices' skills to gauge their magic potential with much more detail. Silverstream and Ocellus excelled as magic casters after counting how many spells they were able to cast, along with their perfect accuracy. She would definitely bump them up to learning advanced magic spells once they were ready. Gallus's Fire spells were a little off on the targets, but they at least they made contact. He was clearly best suited for close range physical combat as a griffon. Sandbar was pretty average, launching more Fire spells than Gallus but less than Ocellus and Silverstream, and with decent accuracy. Smolder, however, had so much power into her Fire spellcasting that her targets blew to pieces on impact.

"Of course Smolder's Fire spells would be this strong with her being a dragon," Aqua noted. "We're going to need to control that power of hers, especially around her allies."

"And see if she can be versatile with other spells besides Fire," Terra added.

While everyone watched Smolder's targets burning to ashes and the dragoness nonchalantly shrugging off her Fire magic's power, Ventus grimaced when he watched Yona "fire" her spell next. "Well, at least she's better at aiming than Yona."

Everyone looked up to where Ventus was pointing. They gasped as they saw Yona's Fire spell was launched straight up in the air, then came falling back down. The Young Six scattered as the magic fireball came down where they formerly stood, then blew up in a small explosion once it hit the ground. The apprentices looked at the yak, who stared back at her friends before grinning sheepishly.

"Uhh, Yona sorry," Yona apologized. "Yona forgot it's not aiming up for Fire spell."

"For the third time!?" Gallus squawked. "We're lucky your spells are going off like sparklers! You need to AIM at the TARGETs, not heal them with burning flames!"

"Hey, take it easy on Yona, Gallus," Sandbar said, stepping in front of the griffon to come to the yak's rescue. "Out of all of us, yaks don't really have as much magic as we do. It's still pretty new to her. Plus, she's a bit more muscle than magic."

"Because of the smashing thing yaks like to do, right?" Smolder asked. "I prefer bashing some heads in with my Keyblade, but this Fire spell is pretty awesome."

"But there are going to be Heartless we might not even hit with any physical attacks," Ocellus chimed in. "Some of them even have weaknesses to certain elements. So, learning the spells properly would help us."

"I wonder what our next spell will be!" Silverstream said excitedly. "I want to try Blizzard next! Ooh, maybe even Water!"

The expert wielders watched the Young Six as they worked together, helping Yona despite the unfortunate mishap with her confusing how to unleash her spells. Aqua was glad to see them helping each other. They would learn much better and perfect their training along with their teamwork as a large group. Gallus might have been annoyed after the third accidental friendly fire, but he instructed Yona that their offensive spells were to be aimed at and spells like Cure would be cast by pointing to the sky. And it was a little funny as everyone had a laugh when Yona "thanked" Gallus for his advise with a yak-style, bone-crushing hug that nearly broke the griffon's back. Aqua found their interactions a bit similar to how she and Terra first trained together, although Terra didn't approve of her at first until she whooped him several times in their first "sparring" match.

"Yo, guys!" The more experienced wielders turned to see Lea walk toward them from the portal to Equestria. "Thought I might find you all here."

Aqua grumbled as she leered at Lea. "And just where were you, Mister Guidance Counselor?"

"Took a little snooze in my office," he answered with a nonchalant shrug, much to Aqua's chagrin. "Lost track of the time. How are the rookies' doing?"

"Of course you'd be taking a nap," Aqua muttered to herself.

Lea caught a hint of what the Keyblade Master said, giving her a small grunt and an irritated frown. "Uhh, the Young Six are practicing some magic spells," Ventus chimed in with a nervous chuckle. "How's Xion faring in Ponyville?"

"Oh, as well as we could expect," Lea said. "We ran into the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they were surprised to see her in the flesh. They kinda took her off my hands, but she said she didn't mind since she missed them. Definitely Sora talking more than her." He flashed Sora a cheeky grin, making the wielder roll his eyes as he crossed his arms. "But she's fitting in with the friendliest town in this world. When we bumped into Rarity before those three girls found us, she wanted to make some clothes for her to get her out of that black coat. And I take great offense to that when I'm also wearing the exact same coat."

"Maybe you do need a wardrobe change," Sora suggested. "You were a Nobody for how long before being back to your old self?"

"Yeah, yeah. And last I heard, you were asleep for a whole year in a completely different outfit, and you grew out of them," Lea retorted back.

Sora chuckled with a grin, recalling how embarrassing it was when he finally realized his old clothes from his first journey as a Keyblade wielder didn't fit him properly anymore. "It's good to hear Xion's fitting in," Kairi said. "She still seems a bit reserved, but I can tell she wants to make some new memories."

"Yeah," Lea agreed. He rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought. "So...is it ok for Xion to...leave Equestria? In the body she's in?"

"You mean if Xion can exist outside of Equestria since her body was created by magic from this world?" Terra reiterated.

"Right," Lea said with a nod. "I mean, I'm just worried that she might, you know, disappear. And if Sora isn't near, she might not come back again."

The group looked at each other, feeling uncertain about Xion's predicament. There's no telling what the spell Chrysalis used could do if it was created from Equestrian magic, and if the magic that created Xion's body would immediately disappear if she left the world. They would need to conduct more research and discover just what spell this was so they don't lose her again.

"We'll make sure to look into it," Aqua promised. "Until then, if Xion would volunteer for us, she will have to train our pupils in Equestria to avoid any issues her body may experience. At least until Ienzo can create a new vessel for her."

Lea breathed a sigh of relief, hoping Ienzo will visit soon and get to work on making Xion's new body. When he looked up, he glanced curiously at a bright light like a shooting star falling down toward them. The others looked to see what Lea was staring at as the shooting star fell closer, followed by a blinding flash of light once it reached the ground. The light faded and revealed the surprise guest, which happened to be none other than the elder wizard, Yen Sid.

"Greetings, everyone," Yen Sid said.

"Master Yen Sid!?" Caught off guard by their unexpected visitor, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Sora, Riku, and Kairi quickly stood at attention for the superior master.

"Oh, great. The old coot's dropping by today," Lea muttered with a sigh.

Aqua turned to glare at Lea for his disrespect. Even Yen Sid was unamused by the red-haired man's lack of respect, barely phased by it after training him for the last few years. Aqua cleared her throat at Lea, making him roll his eyes, stand in line with the others, but just casually stood with his arms crossed, further offending their superior's presence.

"Nice to see you as well, Lea. For better or worse," Yen Sid said.

"Master Yen Sid, what brings you here?" Sora asked.

"I thought I'd drop by to see this world again after some time," the wizard said. "And I am curious about your new students you've all been training and their progress."

"A surprise inspection?" Aqua asked, suddenly feeling nervous to hear Yen Sid's evaluation of their teaching methods.

"I didn't know masters checked in on their student's students," Kairi said.

"Technically, we sort of are," Riku said. "Aqua, Terra, and Ven made us apprentices in different ways, and Master Yen Sid did retrain us to be proper wielders. It would make sense for an elder to see the next generation's future Keyblade Masters."

"Indeed," Yen Sid agreed with a small nod. He looked out at the vast mountain range of the world, nostalgia filling the old wizard from his youth as an apprentice with Eraqus and Xehanort. He then turned to the Young Six after reminiscing, neither of the six teenagers noticing him as they were too busy talking, discussing what their next lessons will be, and laughing and joking with each other. "I can definitely feel the potential they all have to become the next generation of masters in the years to come." Yen Sid faced Aqua after lingering on Gallus for a little while longer. "I've also looked into what you explained about one of them and the mysterious change from their Cure spell."

"Yes. Gallus's healing bellflowers were gold instead of white," Aqua said. "Is this a rare change, or does Gallus have healing abilities that can do much more?"

"It is unheard of, but I'd like to see for myself if there's any other subtle differences," Yen Sid said.

Aqua nodded to her master, then looked out to her pupils. She let out a whistle to get their attentions, and with a silent command, the group of young wielders rushed over to their master and stood at attention for her. They finally noticed the old wizard, neither of them knowing who he was or why he was here.

"Everyone, we have a special guest here today to oversee some of your training for the day," Aqua announced. She then addressed Yen Sid, who gave the group a curt nod in silent greeting. "This is Master Yen Sid. He's a former Keyblade Master, but he still taught Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Lea, and his knowledge over magic is far more superior than even my own."

"Oh, so he's a wizard!" Silverstream guessed.

"What was your first clue, Silver?" Smolder questioned, pointing a finger to the old wizard's attire to state the obvious. "The robe? The pointed hat?"

"Nah, it was the long beard," the hippogriff stated. "You know, like that unicorn wizard, Starry Swirlbeard?"

"Umm, I think his name is actually Star Swirl the Bearded," Ocellus corrected.

"Right! Beardy Starswirl!" Silverstream said, cheerfully and confidently.

As hilarious as Silverstream was being by mispronouncing Star Swirl's name, Aqua glanced back at Yen Sid nervously, afraid the hippogriff's ditsy responses were a bit too silly. Instead, she watched Yen Sid stroking his beard with a curious look, almost like he was pondering if it really was his long gray beard the expressed his title as a magic wizard than the obvious robe and hat he wears.

"...Ok," Aqua muttered before clearing her throat and continued. "As I was saying, he is your superior as much as ours. You may be lucky to learn some magic spells from him, but his knows some very advanced spells, so only a couple of you might have that luxury from your magic training." She approached Ocellus and Silverstream first as the two stood beside each other. "Silverstream, Ocellus, you two show a lot of progress from your magical capabilities already. Your Fire spells are well controlled with very precise aim, and your mana pool is more like a lake before you drain every ounce of it."

"Yay! We're future wizards!" Silverstream cheered, picking up a startled Ocellus as the hippogriff spun them around in glee.

Aqua was sweating bullets, wanting to make a really good first impression as an actual Keyblade Master to her apprentices, but worried it would be ruined by one of them getting too excited or acted out when they got irate or upset. Another glance back to Yen Sid, but the wizard was grinning in amusement at Silverstream's bubbly personality. He could tell along with Aqua that Silverstream and Ocellus would best be considered as mage wielders with their magic potential. Silverstream eventually let go of Ocellus, beaming wide while the changeling's eyes spun, struggling to keep her balance and wobbled while trying to stand back at attention.

"T-That would be...a great honor," Ocellus stammered.

Aqua moved on to Smolder, who seemed eager to hear her Fire spell evaluation. "Smolder, your Fire spells are...quite powerful," Aqua commented. Smolder puffed out her chest, but that pride dwindled when Aqua pointed to her targets, which were nothing but ash lost in the wind. "Though that might be one spell as the other elements are still up for your strengths with them, that can be pretty dangerous if the impact is that wide. You could end up accidentally hurting any allies you fight with if you can't control that power."

"Oh," Smolder mumbled. "That's...actually important, I guess. But I'm a dragon. I shouldn't hold back on any other creature. Especially Heartless."

"That's true, but just be aware of your surroundings when you use magic," Aqua advised. She looked at Yona, who timidly shuffled in place and looked down when she saw she was next. "Speaking of. Yona, I think we all can see magic's a little hard for you."

"Because Yona almost hurt friends with Fire magic?" Yona asked nervously.

"Uhh...Well, no one got hurt," Aqua assured the yak. "And...your magic isn't all that strong." Yona frowned and lowered her head in shame. It was clear to Yona that her magical strength wasn't as impressive as the others. She winced when she felt Aqua pat her head, forcing her to look up at her master. "But I think your true strength comes from your physical prowess. Don't feel too disappointed if your magic isn't as strong as the rest of us."

"But...what if Yona can't use other magic?" Yona asked. "Yona want to know other magic spells, too."

"You might actually excel at a certain elemental magic spell that requires your physical strength." Yona tilted her head, not understanding Aqua. She tilted her head back toward Terra. "Terra's more of a musclehead, but he knows some tough earth magic spells none of us can do well. Yaks have a knack for smashing things, and the good news is that earth magic can be active with a bit of stomping around."

Yona's jaw hung open in awe. She looked at Terra, already impressed that she's seen the man had as much strength as a male yak, maybe even more. Her muzzle quickly turned into an excited grin at the idea of using magic with just the strength of her powerful hooves.

"Can Yona learn new magic with hooves!?" Yona asked.

"Not just yet. Cure is a very simple type of earth magic, but more advanced earth magic spells causing quakes or manipulating rocks or boulders will take some basic knowledge of the other elements," Aqua said. It wasn't a no, so Yona took that in stride and happily rammed into Aqua, bowling the woman over in surprise while the yak laughed and hugged her tightly. Aqua gasped as her breath was squeezed out of her from the yak hug, ignoring her friends' laughing, especially Lea's snickering, giving Yona a quick pat on the shoulder. "And...some physical control, too. Gotta...hold back on the hugs."

Yona finally released Aqua and got back in her spot, her short tail wagging excitedly for her future training with earth magic. Aqua stood back up, feeling her back crack slightly, then proceeded to the last two apprentices once her spine was put back in place.

"You good, Master Aqua?" Sandbar asked.

"The cricks in my back are gone, at least," Aqua joked. "I wonder if Bulk Biceps would have a run for his bits if Yona took his job as a masseuse."

"She nearly broke my back earlier," Gallus grumbled, still feeling sore from the hug Yona gave him for his helpful advice.

"Then get used to it if strong hugs are a yak thing," Sandbar warned Gallus with a small nudge. "But how did we do with our first offensive magic spell, master?"

"I think you're getting the hang of using magic like a unicorn, Sandbar," Aqua praised. "Pretty soon, you might sprout wings and turn into an alicorn if you can jump toward the clouds." Sandbar grinned at the compliment while Gallus snorted in amusement. "But Gallus, your overconfidence learning Fire first is giving you an ego boost. Take your own advice and aim at your targets, not anything else."

The griffon grimaced and lowered his head. "Y-Yes, ma'am," he humbly said.

"And as a bonus, Gallus, you're going to demonstrate your magical capabilities for Master Yen Sid." Gallus quickly glanced up, shocked and suddenly feeling anxious. Aqua gave him a gently nudge forward, making him stumble slightly and approach the other wielders and the wizard. Each step was shaky as Gallus seemed to be put on the spot, being asked first to perform magic for his master's master before he stopped a few yards away from Yen Sid. "I've told everyone about your unique Cure spell, and Master Yen Sid wants to see it personally."

"...Uhhh...O-Ok, then." Gallus swallowed the lump in his throat, held out his claw, then summoned his Keyblade, all the while trying not to lose his nerves and embarrass himself.

"Before you show us," Yen Sid interjected, startling the young griffon. "Gallus, was it?" Yen Sid asked.

"Y-Yes, sir?" Gallus responded.

"I have a theory about your Cure spell that I'm curious to know is true from what Aqua had reported to me involving your first adventure in another world." Holding out his hand, Yen Sid opened his palm, and without uttering a word, he created a small flame hovering several inches over his hand. Taking a deep breath, the wizard clenched that flame with his opened palm, grimacing from the burning pain as everyone heard his skin sizzle. The Young Six were confused by what he did, as were the other wielders, but Aqua had also pondered if Gallus's healing spell can do more than just recover fatigue and certain physical wounds. Yen Sid opened his hand, the flame gone and revealing the burned skin around his palm and fingers. "Alright. You may proceed, Gallus."

Gallus blinked a few times before he finally came back to his senses, remembering what he was supposed to do. Yen Sid watched Gallus as he held his Keyblade in both claws. He wondered why the griffon was focusing on the spell so intensely as he held his Keyblade against his forehead. After a few seconds, Gallus thrust his Keyblade above him and performed his Cure spell. Just as Aqua mentioned, the bellflowers petals were a golden hue as they sprinkled healing powder around Gallus. Yen Sid stepped closer and held his burnt hand out to the green healing energy. The burning pain faded away, but he kept his eyes on his burns he inflicted on himself. The red and badly damaged skin began to regenerate and heal the skin cells that would have been forever lost from a painful burn like this, not even leaving behind a scar.

Yen Sid flexed his fingers, feeling no significant damage as he smirked. "Well, it seemed my hypothesis was correct," he said. The wizard held his hand out, showing everyone his fully healed hand. They all gasped in awe, even Gallus was startled to see that his Cure spell managed to heal something as severe as a burn. "Cure is only meant to rejuvenate and heal minor wounds. But this variation is much more than a cosmetic change; Gallus's cure also has some properties of Esuna imbued within its healing power."

"...Uhh, gesundheit?" Gallus awkwardly said, unsure of what the word Yen Sid used meant.

"The hay is 'Es-oona'?" Smolder asked with a shrug.

"It's pronounced 'Esuna', and that's a magic spell that can cure ailments, like burns, poison, even paralysis!" Ocellus exclaimed in shock. "That's another advanced spell we're not ready for!"

"Wow, Gallus, you know THREE spells!" Silverstream cheered.

The other wielders were in awe at the griffon's prowess. "Incredible," Aqua uttered. "A healing spell that can heal injuries and status inflicted in battle."

"Heh. Guess Gallus can be our backseat medic when we take on the new Organization," Lea said, snapping Aqua out of her daze as she turned to glare at him.

"Are you crazy!?" she yelled at the startled red-head. "None of them are going to be involved in our fight against Xehanort! I don't care if they improve faster than I anticipated, we are not letting this younger generation of Keyblade wielders risk their lives in this war!"

"Geeze, chill out, Ice Queen! I was just joking!" Lea exclaimed, making Aqua growl at the nickname he gave her. "I'm not that stupid to send kids to a battle this important."

"Maybe next time, you THINK before you mouth off like a smart aleck," Aqua warned. "We don't need you encouraging them to go off and be some sort of hero when they still need more training. And even then, if we all fail, then they'll have to take over in our stead! This is much more responsibility than they can handle already with training and friendship school." She turned away from Lea with a huff and crossed her arms. "Besides, you wouldn't know the first thing about responsibility if you actually showed up, and on time, for any meetings or training."

"Excuse me? Me? Being irresponsible?" Lea questioned. "Maybe if you gave me some one-on-six time, I could teach them how to do some REAL Fire magic. I can HELP teach besides be a boring guidance counselor and have nothing to do, and they'd be ready someday!" Aqua ignored Lea, frustrating the man. "Maybe you didn't get Gallus's adventure in that Corona Kingdom world memorized enough. Marluxia didn't try to take the kid or Sora while they were there, and Gallus held his own pretty well for a newbie."

"And you didn't 'memorize' Marluxia was more focused on Rapunzel as one of the new seven Princesses of Heart. That's why Gallus wasn't taken away from us, even now when the Organization knows that there are five more wielders they can set their sights on," Aqua retorted. She turned her head, leering bitterly at Lea. "Then again, you know how Organization XIII works." She turned around to face Lea while Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, and Ventus slowly backed away from the two bickering wielders, sensing a lot of tension between them and rising substantially. "You can't trust them enough to keep your back turned on them."

Lea's eyes widened before narrowing into a suspicious, furious glare as he stepped closer toward Aqua. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean," Aqua answered vaguely.

The two stared each other down, almost like they were about to get a bit more physical with the sudden confrontation. Yen Sid had gotten frustrated with Lea's aloof nature and seen him get under Aqua's skin with his random flirting before, but there was something odd about what she seemed to be blaming him for this time. One look at the Young Six, and he could tell all six different species of apprentices looked at Aqua nervously, as if expecting her to blow up when she gets upset. Thankfully, Terra stepped in, gently tugging Aqua away from Lea.

"Ok, I think we're going to end the magic training a bit early today," he said to the Young Six while keeping a firm, but easy grip on his lover's arm. "Get some practice in and we'll see if we can work on the next spell or combat training."

The Young Six mumbled in response, but obeyed their other master's instructions. They eyed Aqua warily, who was still angry, but not too much to turn into what Lea entitled her as "Ice Queen". Before Gallus joined his friends, he gave Yen Sid a small bow, surprising the wizard, no doubt accepting his praise for showing and learning a unique variation of the Cure spell. After the Young Six left, Yen Sid glanced back at Aqua and Lea, humming curiously about what the two bickered about since he last saw them.





Twilight walked through the halls of her castle after another successful day of teaching the magic of friendship at her school. She was giddy, free from scheduling anything else for her classes and ready to do some teaching with the Keyblade and the assortment of magic spells.

“This is so exciting. I get to share lessons on magic spells with the others, and explain how each spell can be utilized as offensive AND defensive magic! I love teaching everything!” She rounded the hall to her library with a skip in her step. As she entered the massive room filled with walls and shelves of books, she looked at the portal leading to The Land of Departure, then curiously, to the mirror portal that connected to the alternate Equestria where her CHS friends lived. That portal was still running as she looked up at the journal that was used to keep both worlds connected. “I wonder how Sunset and the other girls are doing. Haven’t talked to them after the whole time travel thing with Starlight...And awkwardly meeting my other self from that world. Hopefully the other me is ok.”

As Twilight was about to check the journal and write a message to Sunset, the portal to the Land of Departure shimmered and warped. She turned to the portal, surprised to see the Young Six walk out. She was disappointed that she missed the training, but while pondering how early it was for them to end their training for the day, they looked really worried.

“Oh. Hello, Headmare Twilight,” Sandbar greeted.

“She’s not at the school, so should we call her Princess Twilight, or Master Twilight?” Silverstream asked.

Twilight chuckled nervously at the last title. “Uhh, I’m nowhere close to being a Keyblade Master,” she admitted. “But what’s going on? Are the magic lessons already over for today?”

“Well, Yona almost blew us up with Fire magic three times,” Smolder said, pointing a thumb to the sheepish yak. “Other than that, we did pretty well.”

“Then we got a visit from an older human named Yen Sid, Master Aqua’s master,” Sandbar added.

“Oh. I didn’t think Master Yen Sid would pay a visit,” Twilight said. “Hopefully you’re behaving with him, because when it comes to magic and Keyblade training, he’s dead serious about it.”

“Was he? I couldn’t tell with those weird beady eyes of his,” Smolder muttered, earning a small nudge from Sandbar to not make fun of their eldest master.

“Master Aqua also wanted to show him my Cure spell,” Gallus said. “The gold flowers I make aren’t just different in appearance. He burned his own hand with his own Fire magic, and my healing spell fixed his hand good as new. I think he called this effect…’Esuna’?”

“Really!?” Twilight exclaimed in shock. “Your Cure spell also works as an Esuna!?” This news made Twilight squeal with glee, startling the Young Six as their headmare and fellow Keyblade wielder began prancing around in excitement. “This is incredible! You have a unique Keyblade magic spell that’s never been recorded! And it’s a complete regenerative spell while healing dangerous ailments!”

“Is it really all that great?” Gallus questioned quizzically. “I heal injuries and illnesses, or something with this spell?”

“Better than great!” Twilight cheered, snatching the griffon and grasped his shoulders tightly in her hooves. “I have got to see if that spell can do more than Esuna if it’s that special for myself!”

“Uhh, well, Master Terra told us that our training was done early today,” Ocellus said.

Twilight let go of Gallus, who slinked back to his friends while the alicorn glanced at the changeling. “Why? Was it because of Yona?”

“N-Not exactly,” Ocellus mumbled.

“Master Aqua and Mr. Lea were arguing,” Yona said. “Yona not know why. Yona think Mr. Lea is funny.”

Twilight stared blankly at the Young Six, letting out an annoyed sigh. “What did he do this time?”

“No idea,” Gallus said with a shrug. “All he did was call me a ‘backseat medic’ when you all fight Xehanort and the Organization as a joke, but Master Aqua took it a bit too seriously and called him irresponsible.”

“She even said he knew how the Organization worked before,” Silverstream added. “What does that mean?”

Twilight winced slightly, but seeing how the Young Six needed to be informed of certain details about the other wielders, especially Lea. “It’s because Lea used to be one of the original members of the old Organization XIII,” the alicorn answered.

The Young Six balked and stared at the alicorn in disbelief. “What!? Mr. Lea was one of them!?” SIlverstream squawked.

“How!?” Smolder exclaimed. “Mr. Lea’s really cool! Why would he have worked for those jerks!?”

“Umm...his coat does look like that stallion who found us back at the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Ocellus pointed out. “It...kinda makes a little sense.”

The others pondered over Lea’s coat after a while, feeling silly for not noticing it sooner. “Technically, it was Lea’s Nobody, Axel, who was in the old Organization,” Twilight explained. “Axel had changed his ways when he befriended Xion and Roxas, and he eventually defected from them to help Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter the Organization’s former fortress. He was restored to his normal self with some of the other members when they were ‘killed’, and he even rescued Sora when he got captured by the new Organization in the past. Then he got himself a Keyblade, began training, and he’s here to stay.”

“Whoa. That makes him a pretty cool hero,” Sandbar said in awe, his other friends nodding in agreement with him. “But why does Master Aqua have it out for him?”

“Well, he did try to flirt with her several times before we found Terra, but I don’t think he’s done that in a while,” Twilight pondered. “She would have gotten over that. But why is she still bitter toward him? He has a similar laid-back, smart alecky personality like Rainbow Dash, maybe a little worse, but she was able to tolerate him before.” Twilight didn’t like Lea at first as well, but he can pull his weight whenever it’s necessary, and he’s done some good for everyone, both as his Nobody and himself. She wondered why Aqua would bring up his former Nobody’s work in the old Organization XIII when it suddenly hit her. “Oh no. Aqua’s not going to do this again, is she?”

“Do what?” Gallus asked.

Before Twilight answered the Young Six’s collective questions to Aqua “doing something again”, the master in question walked out with an irritated expression on her face. “Hello, Twilight,” she greeted as she passed her pupils and the Princess of Friendship at a brisk trot.

A moment later, the rest of the wielders came through, including Master Yen Sid. Lea ignored everyone as he marched off toward the throne room after Aqua with a frustrated frown. Twilight looked to the experienced wielders sans the elder unicorn wizard to tell her what happened, though they were just as confused and anxious as the Young Six were. There was already so much tension between Aqua and Lea, and it was going to come to a breaking point soon.

The Young Six headed out of the castle to get some more studying done, though they were reluctant to find out what’s causing this rift between their master and one of their guidance counselors. The rest of the group made their way to the throne room, where Starlight, Spike, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were already there waiting for them. The ones who were waiting for the rest of their friends were a bit concerned once Aqua entered the room with a deadpanned, annoyed expression, followed by a grumpy Lea while the two stared daggers at one another. After everyone who had their assigned thrones found their seats while the others stood near the Cutie Map, there were two members of the group currently missing.

“Are Rarity and Xion still at the boutique?” Sora asked.

“Ah saw Xion with mah sister and her friends last time Ah checked,” Applejack said. “Ah wouldn’t doubt Rarity would want to get Xion’s measurements for a future dress for her to wear.”

The doors to the throne room opened slightly as the fashionista trotted in with a proud stride. “Did somepony call my name?” Rarity asked with a small titter. “Sorry I’m late. Got a little bit sidetracked.”

A trio of giggles rang out as the CMC walked in as well. “Yup. Definitely got sidetracked,” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Where’s Xion?” Lea asked, suddenly worried that Rarity and the CMC left the Nobody all alone.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo giggled some more as they stepped away from the door. “Mares and gentlecolts, may I introduce you to the new Xion!” Rarity announced, her magic opening the doors to reveal the mare behind them like a curtain to a stage.

Xion nervously walked inside, but she was no longer wearing the black coat the Organization wore as their signature uniform. Everyone stared in awe at the outfit that Rarity had clearly made for her. Xion wore a black sleeveless, double-buttoned, collared shirt with black frills on the sleeves, a black belt, and a short white pleated skirt that went down to her flanks. The mares expressed their awe at Rarity’s design for Xion fitting her perfectly, the praise making the Nobody blush sheepishly as she had never worn anything else besides that old coat.

Lea let out a whistle, astonished with Xion’s new outfit. “Wow, Xion. Lookin’ good,” he complimented, making the mare blush harder.

“T-Thanks,” she mumbled, timidly brushing a hoof over her mane as she looked away.

“Good is an understatement!” Kairi said. She leapt down from her seat and approached Xion, taking her hooves in her own. “You look amazing!” Xion felt much more bashful from all the comments everyone gave her. She looked at Sora to see his reaction to her new clothes, who was blushing while staring silently at her. Kairi noticed the stunned expression on Xion’s heavily flushed cheeks, glancing back at Sora to see his face just as beat red. She huffed playfully and looked annoyed at him. “Sora, you’re ogling at another girl in your fiancèe’s presence. That’s pretty rude of you, mister.”

“H-Huh?” Sora finally noticed the heat coming from his red cheeks, confused at first before he chuckled sheepishly. “Uhh, it’s not me. I think Roxas really likes Xion’s new look. And I mean he REALLY likes it.”

Though no one else could tell, Sora heard Roxas stammering as his face looked so red it could explode from his Nobody’s response. Xion felt even more embarrassed when Sora’s bright red face came from Roxas, hiding her face in her hooves. While everyone had a bit of a laugh at Roxas, Xion looked up to see Yen Sid eyeing her curiously.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” the wizard said.

“Oh, right. You’ve never met her before,” Kairi said. “This is Xion. She’s one of Lea’s friends.”

“So, this is the ‘puppet’ the former Organization had created.” Xion flinched, shocked to know that Master Yen Sid knew about her. She lowered her head, hoping she wouldn’t shun her. “Not much of a Nobody if she can truly express emotions like a person can.” Surprised, Xion glanced up to see a smile on the old unicorn’s face. “Aqua relayed what the others know about you and your past. I am surprised that you exist in a new body with a spell from this world, and that you were part of Sora like Roxas.” He then lowered his head in a slight bow. “It is an honor to meet another skilled Keyblade wielder, and one as selfless as you.”

“...T-Thank you, Master Yen Sid,” Xion said as she bowed back in return, slightly relieved at the positive praise.

“Has anyone figured out what this spell was?” Yen Sid asked. “Out of all the magic that’s in Equestria, there’s always something that misses my eye anytime I visit.”

“Looks like you don’t have as much knowledge with magic as you claim, old timer,” Lea teased. While Yen Sid ignored the comment, Aqua glowered at the red unicorn for the disrespectful remark. “Maybe we should ask Glimmers over here if she might know what that spell is.”

“Why is that?” Starlight questioned skeptically while leering at Lea’s nickname for her.

“Well, you’re clearly the expert on using crazy, evil magic to try to conquer the wo-OOOOORLD!!!!!” Lea was suddenly flung up into the air by a turquoise aura that surrounded him for a brief second.

He crashed into the ceiling with a painful crack, making most of the group wince from the impact. “Gawrsh, that’s gotta hurt,” Goofy uttered. Lea began to fall and landed on the floor with a thud. “That’s gotta really hurt.”

“...It...does,” Lea groaned.

Starlight had a satisfied smirk on her face, which Aqua mimicked after watching the unicorn shut Lea up. “Thank you, Starlight. You saved me the trouble of doing that myself.”

“Well, considering I’m the only guidance counselor who takes their job seriously, it falls on me to keep that lazy bum’s mouth shut,” Starlight said.

The two unicorns chuckled, but the others didn’t think that was funny. Ventus hovered down from his throne, using Cure to heal the injured stallion. Lea sat up, grumbling bitterly, but before he could give them a piece of his mind, Yen Sid cleared his throat loudly, garnering everyone’s attention.

“The creature who performed this spell, Chrysalis, seems to possess a very powerful spell that can create what appears to be temporary vessels,” he said. “If all one needs is an image of the person and a piece of them, then she might try this again. Or, at worse, the Organization may discover it and plan to use this spell to raise a much bigger army if they lose this upcoming war.”

“Good luck trying to find her,” Rainbow scoffed. “She was REALLY close to us, under a disguise, and none of us knew until Xion told us what happened to her.”

“She can trick any of us, and we’d be none the wiser,” Riku said. He rubbed his head with a scowl, feeling humiliated to be tricked twice by that insect of a witch. “I can still taste that disgusting goop from those cocoons she put me in. The first time, she impersonated Cadence and knocked me unconscious, and the second, I thought I was following Twilight, but it was one of the drones or something, and I was blasted by a magic spell that knocked me out.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind us about that filthy slime,” Rarity gagged. “I don’t know if I washed the smell out of my mane after that horrendous capture.

“It’s a good thing Thorax, Ven, and I managed to sneak in and rescue you guys,” Starlight said.

“And you almost got blasted to death by Vanitas,” Ven reminded the unicorn, who blanched, then giggled nervously before sinking down behind the map a little.

“Anyways, back on topic,” Terra interjected. “Because of this spell being fueled by the spell itself, we don’t know what will happen to Xion if she leaves this world. The Tree of Harmony drained the doppelgangers’ mana dry until they were nothing but normal logs. Whether Xion’s body is temporary or permanent, we have no idea if her heart will fly back to Sora and Roxas if the magic runs out, or if she basically dies if her body begins to wither away.”

“And we don’t want that!” Pinkie cut in, zipping over to Xion and startling her with a bone-crushing hug. “Xion doesn’t deserve to disappear after we got her back this early! And if she can’t leave, then that means she won’t be picked as one of the Organization baddies like in the third game!”

Everyone stared at Pinkie, slightly puzzled by her last statement, but ignored her once she let go of Xion and hopped back to her throne. “Uhh, what did she mean by ‘third game’?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah don’t know if she’s serious or just spoutin’ a whole bunch of hooey anymore,” Apple Bloom muttered.

“She was very specific, though,” Sweetie Belle hummed in thought.

“Until then, Xion is going to stay in Equestria until we get more details on Chrysalis’s spell, or until Ienzo creates a new body for Xion,” Aqua said. “In our absence, she can watch the map for any Heartless activity and help train the Young Six within Equestria.”

Jiminy hopped onto the table from Goofy’s hat, passing over the hologram images of the different cities and towns with his new journal held in his hands. “We’ll definitely need someone with eyes on all the worlds. We’ll need everyone out there as much as possible at this moment.” Opening his journal, he flipped through the pages to the entries around the Kingdom of Corona. “During our recent ventures through the Kingdom of Corona, Marluxia had mentioned that the girl we were helping, Rapunzel, had a heart of pure light. She could be a new Princess of Heart, which the Organization called these new princesses as the ‘New Seven Hearts’.”

“New Seven Hearts?” Fluttershy repeated curiously. “You mean there’s more pure hearts out there?”

“Not exactly,” Terra said. “After Sora stopped Maleficent’s plan to collect the original seven princesses, I think their light was passed on to newer princesses with pure hearts like theirs.”

“But I still have my powers, so I must be one of the New Seven Hearts,” Kairi said as she placed a hoof over her heart.

“And seeing Flurry Heart’s magic held that similar pure light the Princesses of Heart had, she could be one of the New Seven as well,” Riku added.

“And Rapunzel makes three,” Yen Sid concluded with a hoof against his chin in deep thought. “It’s just as I feared. Xehanort has really planned everything he could in advance to make his goals come to fruition. Even if we refused to reenact the Keyblade War, he would still have his seven pure lights against his thirteen darknesses to forge the X-blade.”

“And he must also know that we will simply not allow those poor princesses to be taken by those brutes!” Rarity exclaimed.

“And they know we’re close to one of those new princesses,” Twilight mumbled. She glanced at Riku, who glared intensely with gritted teeth at the table. Neither of them could imagine what Xehanort would do to Flurry Heart if they had her in their clutches. She looked up at her chandelier and saw memories of Flurry Heart in the enchanted ornaments, giving a determined frown and clutched the armrests of her throne. “They’re not taking Flurry Heart away from us again.”

“You gotta give it to that old coot,” Lea said. “He’s definitely got a brain bigger than that bald head of his. Got those backup plans memorized to the nth degree.”

Ignoring Lea and his catchphrase with his head-tapping gesture, Aqua controlled the Galactic Map and rolled through the different worlds beyond the cosmos. “Our only hope of beating him is by beating him at his own game,” Aqua declared. She finally stopped at a world Sora hadn’t been to in a long while: Agrabah. “And our first step is to check on the original Seven Hearts and see if they still have any of their powers.”

“Man. Agrabah,” Sora uttered with a grin. “Wonder how Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie are doing.”

“Hopefully Iago’s been behaving himself,” Donald said, recalling how the former evil parrot caused them a bit of grief on their first adventure.

“Alright, time to finally do some exploring,” Lea said as he began to stretch his limbs. “I’ll make sure Sora doesn’t get himself kidnapped agai-”

“Riku, you and Ven will go with Sora to Agrabah,” Aqua interrupted, making Lea balk as he was stretching out his back.

“H-Hey, send me somewhere!” Lea whined. “Come on, I haven’t done anything since the school opened! I’ve got no appointments and I’m free!”

“Then you can just sit back and continue your nap while the other more responsible wielders check on the princesses,” Aqua snidely said, then hopped out of her throne and landed in front of the disgruntled stallion. “And NOT flirt with them. Got it memorized?”

Aqua mocked Lea’s catchphrase, even mimicking him by tapping her hoof to the side of her head to insult him. Lea finally had enough being mistreated today, letting out a snort as Aqua turned away from him to return to her throne.

“Ok, that is it!” Lea exclaimed, stomping ahead of Aqua and barring her path, getting right up in her face. “What is your deal!? I’m starting to get sick of this high and mighty attitude of yours and being treated like dirt! I’ve tried time and time again to prove to you I’m a true Keyblade wielder, but you’ve given me nothing but grief since we first met! What do you want from me to prove that to you!?”

Everyone leaned back, startled by Lea’s outburst, Xion especially as she’s never seen him get this mad before. Aqua, however, barely flinched, giving the huffing stallion a blank stare. Xion was afraid the two were going to fight each other in front of everybody.

“W-Wait, Axel, calm down,” Xion tried to say, but her voice went unheard as Aqua gave Lea a harsh shove back against his chest, nearly knocking him over.

“Maybe if you showed a bit more maturity and showed a LOT more respect toward me and Master Yen Sid, your SUPERIORS, I might be willing to be much nicer to you. But I highly doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Aqua retorted.

Lea recovered, but grew more frustrated. “Hey, I might not show a lot of respect like the rest of you, but I’ll have you know I can be serious where it counts!” he argued. “I helped Sora find a way to The World That Never Was, saved him from Xehanort’s clutches in the dream realm, fought off Nobodies that attacked a train of helpless passengers, helped you guys deal with the Pony of Shadows, and I even tried to fend off that attack from the Storm King with Tempest and Xigbar! You got all those accomplishments of mine memorized!?”

Aqua growled at his catchphrase and the annoying gesture he made. “There you go again with that!” she exclaimed. “Do you not hear yourself when you say and do that!? You’re acting like a child! And I hate to burst your bubble, but not everyone you meet is going to remember who you are! Why bother saying that stupid catchphrase you’re trying to cash in to be placed in a hall of infamy!?”

Everyone gasped in shock. Aqua may have gone off on Lea whenever he pushed her buttons, but she was verbally assaulting him and who he is as a person. Lea’s jaw hung open at the insult, quickly closing his mouth shut into a snarl as his glare intensified. Starlight didn’t approve of his jokes or remarks, but Aqua was taking this way too far, almost giving her flashbacks of Celestia and Luna bickering with each other to repeat history a thousand years ago.

Ven quickly got between the two unicorns to diffuse the situation. “Hey, come on, Aqua! It’s just what Lea likes to-!”

Ven yelped as a fiery red aura flung the young pegasus aside. Lea’s horn glowed that very same aura, now seething with rage and stomped right back up to Aqua.

“EXCUSE ME!?” he shouted in the mare’s face, making her flinch and turn her head with a sideways glare. “Where do you get off telling me what I can or can’t say!?”

Scowling, Aqua used her magic to push Lea away from her, dragging her hoof across her face to wipe off any of his saliva he spewed directly in her face. “Well, I am a Keyblade Master for a reason. I worked my ass off to get to where I am now, and I’m also trying to prevent yours from getting kicked around and taken by a Heartless!” she yelled back. “If you don’t like being yelled at and being told what you’re SUPPOSED to do as a proper wielder, then go crawl back to the Organization! I’m sure Xehanort can find a decent replacement for Sora, and you’d be better off as his final seed of darkness than Sora anyway!”

The room fell in stunned silence as Aqua’s voice echoed in the wide open space. Everyone stared, mouths agape in shock, even Lea. Twilight feared exactly why Aqua despised Lea this much; Aqua had never trusted him just like she didn’t trust Starlight when she saw the error of her ways. Out of everyone, the ones who were much closer to Lea, Sora, Ventus, and especially Xion, all glared at Aqua for the insult.

Lea’s shock slowly turned into a frown. His glare hardened, he let out a growl, and grit his teeth, wounded and incredibly furious at the very harsh comment Aqua made to him. He didn’t notice, but his horn began flickering and sparking, and the air around him seemed to get hotter and hotter. The others noticed, but not Aqua as she continued glaring back at the former Organization XIII member. They all knew what happened to Aqua when she had a magic surge, but with the temperature in the room rising to sweltering heats, the only angry unicorn in the room was Lea, and with his affinity to fire, it was obvious what his surge would do if he passed that tipping point.

Yen Sid was astonished just like the rest, his horn lighting up with his gray aura in preparation to protect everyone from what would result in a literal explosion of unrestrained magic. With there being three foals in the room, he didn’t want them to get caught in the fiery blast of Lea’s growing rage.

“WHAT THE HELL’S YOUR PROBLEM!?” Lea shouted, small sparks and flames beginning to emit around him. “You really think I’d go back to them after what they did to me and my friends!? Well, ‘Queeny’, I have news for you!” Thrusting his hoof out to the side, Lea summoned his Keyblade, then pointed the fiery blade at Aqua, who remained perfectly still and didn’t flinch as the curled end was aimed at her face. “I’m a Keyblade wielder now! And I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect my friends!”

Aqua scoffed, lifting a hoof and veered Lea’s Keyblade away from her. “Protect them? Like how you’ve repeatedly captured Xion and brought her back to the Organization when she ran away? Even after you knew exactly what they were doing to her!?” Lea balked as his eyes widened in realization. He remembered how torn he was when he had gotten close to Xion, and the numerous times she’s run away while learning what she really was to the Organization. And his, Xion’s, and Roxas’s friendships were constantly pulled around with the drama they went through, especially when he hid the truth about his orders to kill Xion, straining all of their relationships to the point where he wasn’t trusted by Roxas anymore. The flames and the heat around him immediately died down, relieving everyone else from the dispelled magical surge. “If you really wanted to protect them, you should have just run away with Roxas and Xion and hide somewhere the Organization couldn’t find you! You were smart enough to see the Organization was horrible, just like Kaito, but you were too much of a coward to disobey and defect like he did! You could have prevented both of their fates if you care about them so much!”

Lea’s anger was already long gone and his heart was filled with guilt. He knew Kaito found the Organization’s ways a bit too suspicious and he was smart enough to break away from the group of eight back then. Lea knew it as well, but his Nobody had a reason for staying, even before he met Roxas and Xion. He could have run away with them, but he couldn’t, and he didn’t know why he stayed after being forced to kill one of his two closest friends in the Organization.

Speechless, he looked at Xion, the words they shared during their last meeting back then weighing heavily on him. She had the same guilty look that he had. Because she tried to figure out who she was, she left Axel and Roxas, only getting them in more trouble for questioning who she was as a person, not a Nobody. It didn’t help her that she learned she was a part of Sora, and was a puppet designed to take Roxas’s place if he ever defected like she had, which left Axel conflicted with two sides: the group who held him on a leash, or the duo who he truly cared about. Sadly, the former seemed to have won out with no choice of his own to make, resulting in her and Roxas fighting each other to see which of them was Sora’s true other self.

Lea stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, but in his mumbling, his Keyblade was taken from his hoof in a blue aura and held between him and Aqua. “I don’t know how you out of all people got a Keyblade. Is this REALLY supposed to be a Keyblade, or is this some kind of joke?” she questioned. “Master Yen Sid told me how yours just appeared out of nowhere after he allowed you to train to be one, but he never gave you the Inheritance Ceremony, nor did Mickey. Ven, Terra, and I were trained to wield one, and we each gave Sora, Riku, and Kairi the power to wield one as well. Roxas and Xion were born from Sora’s heart, which already gave them that power upon their ‘births’. Tell me how you got yours, Lea. Please, enlighten us.”

“...I...I don’t…” Lea mumbled, unable to find an excuse, even if he believed that it could have been due to his connection with Roxas and Xion as Axel.

“You want to know what I think?” Aqua asked. “It was luck. You were LUCKY to have this thing.” In a flash of light, Lea watched in shock as Aqua dismissed his own Keyblade in front of him. He glanced at his hoof and tried to summon it back, but it didn’t return. Aqua took away his Keyblade, much to everyone else’s surprise. “Until I decide if you’re truly worthy of being a wielder, I’m keeping your pitiful excuse of a Keyblade. Though I highly doubt that’ll ever happen. The way you act and behave, you would never be a true Keyblade Master.”

That struck a very low blow for Lea. He grit his teeth, growling slightly, but he wasn’t going to resort to stooping down to Aqua’s level.

“...Fine. If that’s how you feel about me, that I’m a joke and a disgrace to your standards as a wielder, then I’ll gladly leave,” Lea mumbled. He turned and began to walk away, not looking back at the pleased look on Aqua’s face as she watched him go. “Don’t count on me to save any of your sorry tails again anymore!”

Xion tried to reach a hoof out to Lea as he passed her, but he kept stomping off past her, slammed the doors open with his magic, then slammed them back closed. “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Aqua said loudly to herself. As she turned to face everyone, her smug grin immediately faltered when everyone glared at her, still stunned by what she just did to Lea. When she glanced at Yen Sid, his stone-cold, disappointed leer made her wilt, reminding her of Eraqus’s stare when she or Terra did something wrong. “...W-What?”

Yen Sid let out a sigh and shook his head. “I knew you developed a bad habit turning your emotions against others, Aqua,” he said. “But this...That was unwarranted and uncalled for. I have no words for what we all just saw.”

“Well, I do!” Rainbow exclaimed as she shot out of her throne and closed the distance between her and Aqua. “What the hay is your problem!?”

“MY problem!?” Aqua exclaimed back at Rainbow. “I’m trying to make sure our mission isn’t compromised by some lazy, smart mouth, sorry excuse of a Keyblade wielder that I’ve ever seen!”

“Aqua! We know Lea’s a bit hard to deal with, but you went too far with him!” Ventus argued.

“How could you just bluntly say that Lea should still be part of the Organization!?” Twilight questioned, standing up from her throne and slammed her hooves onto the crystal map. “Lea is nothing like those horrible people!”

The others all voiced their agreements with the lavender alicorn. “But he still wears their coat!” Aqua tried to argue.

Applejack facehooved in disbelief. “Really!? You’re gonna blame him because of what he’s wearin’!?”

“I admit those coats are rather tacky, but even I know not to base judgement on somepony by the clothing on their backs!” Rarity added.

Xion marched up to Aqua, feeling the angriest out of everyone toward her for what she said and did to her best friend. “How dare you treat him like that!? Axel is my best friend, and if you think I’m going to stand around and let you bully him like that, you’ve got another thing coming!” she shouted, pointing a hoof roughly against the blue unicorn’s chest. “If you want to take your frustrations out on someone, do it in a fight, and not treat him like a punching bag!”

Xion glanced at Starlight after emphasizing her last statement, making the mare sink lower beneath the crystal table in shame. Aqua stammered, pushing Xion’s hoof away from her.

“Me!? Bully him!?” she exclaimed. “When we first met, he tried to hit on me! And he has shown zero respect toward me, Starlight, and Master Yen Sid! Even when the school first opened, all he does is sleep whenever he’s in his office!”

“For a school of friendship, maybe we shouldn’t really expect that many problems among the students when they’re learning about friendship,” Riku reminded the mare.

“W-Well, what about Castle Oblivion!?” Aqua asked everyone, missing the gleam that came from Sora’s eyes as he gripped his armrests tightly with a snarl. “The Organization took over that place, and they weren’t affected by its power to repel intruders! Ven’s body was still resting there during that time! What do you think would happen if he or whoever else was there with him found Ven!?”

“Aqua, Lea and Ven were friends back then,” Terra reminded Aqua. “Axel would have probably had some memory of him that came to his mind. He wouldn’t bring harm to him just like he would have to Roxas and Xion. Yet you’re putting the blame on him for Xehanort’s schemes? Did you learn nothing with M and the princesses, or even with Starlight when she was willing to repent for her actions?”

“How do we know what he’s doing is just an act!?” Aqua argued. “What would have happened if they DID find Ven!? Axel would have turned his back on Ven just like he did to Roxas and Xion!” As she turned away from Terra, she didn’t see Sora’s eyes furrow and his wings flare out as he stood up from his throne. “I don’t care what you or anyone else says. I’ve been around Lea long enough to know exactly who he is: a big-mouthed, lazy, irresponsible, inconsiderate, selfish-!”

Out of nowhere, a tan blur flew down and rammed into Aqua. Aqua grunted as she was slammed to the ground, immediately pinned down by Sora, to her confusion.

“Take it back,” Sora growled.

“S-Sora!? What are you-!?” Two bright flashes appeared in the pegasus’s hooves, one light and one dark as two familiar Keyblades appeared and were held against Aqua’s neck: Oblivion and Oathkeeper.

“SHUT UP! And it’s not Sora!” Confused, Aqua stared at the stallion on top of her.

The light reflecting off the ornaments on the chandelier brightened the room slightly. Through the light, Sora’s body temporarily changed for a few seconds, making everyone stare in awe as he was replaced by his Nobody, Roxas. It was stunning seeing Sora wielding both of Roxas’s signature Keyblades without shifting into a Drive Form, but it made sense with Roxas taking temporary control of Sora after Kairi, Spike, Starlight, and the Mane Six heard Roxas respond with Sora’s voice to Ansem and Xemnas back in Twilight Town.

“Roxas?” Aqua uttered before the light faded and Sora’s body returned, but Roxas was still in control.

“You don’t know anything about Axel!” “Roxas” said. “In the old Organization, he stood by my side, taught me what I was supposed to do, and even helped me out of a few jams in our missions! But he treated me and Xion like real people, not tools like the others did! He’s my best friend! OUR best friend!”

“B-But...but he-” Aqua stammered, but Roxas continued to speak his mind.

“I know he lied to me,” he continued. “It hurt when I found out the truth, but he did what he had to do to keep me and Xion safe! The two of us were important to the Organization for their cause, but we were important to Axel because he really does care despite us Nobodies having no heart to care.” Slowly, “Roxas” moved his Keyblades away from Aqua’s neck and stood up, staring down at the mare with a distant look. “He wanted us to stay together. We promised each other that neither of us would ever be alone, but because I acted so selfish when I learned the truth, I broke that promise.”

“Roxas” lifted his head and looked at Xion, who was grateful to have him step in to finally shut down Aqua’s accusations. He gave Xion a small smile, then closed his eyes as Oblivion and Oathkeeper disappeared in a flash of their respective lights, giving control back to Sora. Sora shifted slightly as he regained control, opened his eyes, and looked down at Aqua, who was still stunned getting a firm scolding from his Nobody.

“Ven was still in my heart all that time as well,” Sora added with a disappointed gaze. “If Axel didn’t help us find a way to the old Organization’s lair, and if Lea didn’t save me during mine and Riku’s Mark of Mastery exam, then Ven, Roxas, and Xion wouldn’t come back.”

Aqua uttered a startled gasp. She didn’t even think about that. Just like before with Starlight and Celestia and Luna, she was cherry picking the worst from Lea and forgot about the other factors about him, especially when he assisted Sora a few times. Like Ventus’s heart being inside Sora ever since he was a child. If Sora lost his heart, again, or turned into one of Xehanort’s seeds of darkness, she would have lost Ventus forever.

She hesitated a glance at Ven, only to watch him join Sora and Xion as they walked past her, Xion stopping, barely looking the unicorn in the eye. “Axel promised us that he would always be there to bring us back home,” Xion said. “I’m going to do the same for him, too. Right now.”

Sora nodded, joining Xion as they exited the throne room. The Crusaders followed the duo to help find Lea, but Ventus hung back, unable to bear looking at Aqua for her heartless insults to a friend of his.

“Lea could be a great Keyblade Master if you really gave him a chance,” Ventus said, the tone in his voice unnerving Aqua. “...I just hope he doesn’t turn out like you.”

His words were like an icy arrow piercing through her heart. Ventus didn’t even look back at her or the dejected expression on her face. He ran off to catch up to Sora, Xion, and the Crusaders to find his friend. Aqua passed a glance to the others, only to see their judgemental leers and their silence. She let her deep-seated fears that troubled her before come back, creating more issues between her allies and who she thought were still enemies without holding any rationality and giving the “guilty party” a chance.

“Come on, guys. Let’s go find Lea,” Riku suggested.

With silent nods, the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, Donald, Goofy, and the rest of the wielders sans Yen Sid began to file out of the throne room. Twilight glanced back at Aqua, feeling a sense of deja vu as she was in a similar position a couple years ago. But unlike last time where she suspected Chrysalis disguised as Cadence back during the preparations for hers and Shining Armor’s wedding, Twilight was actually right about her assumptions while everyone else was fooled. Aqua had her own intuitions clouded by her time in the Realm of Darkness, that sense of distrust toward someone who was formerly on the wrong side outweighing their will to change or what kind of person or creature they really were that she was too blind to see. Twilight shook her head and followed everyone, leaving Aqua alone with Yen Sid.

Aqua slowly looked at Yen Sid, her ears drooping at the deadpanned look of disappointment. “I suggest you return to your quarters and reflect on the cruelty of your words, Master Aqua,” he said. Aqua just lowered her head, filled with shame and regret. Yen Sid left her to her thoughts and walked out to join in the search for Lea. As he walked, he pulled out a Gummiphone, using his magic to contact a former student of his. After a few seconds, Mickey appeared on the screen, surprising the king with his master’s sudden call. “Mickey, I have a small task for you.”





Lea grumpily slumped through Ponyville to clear his head, and get far away from Aqua and her selfish misjudgement. He ignored some of the ponies who greeted them, few of them who went to the School of Friendship and saw him around his office. It was bad enough he had his issues trying to get Isa back from Xehanort’s control, but now Aqua took away his Keyblade just because she couldn’t trust him because of his Nobody and the mistakes he made with Roxas and Xion. He made his way to the outskirts of town near the park, too lost in thought to pay attention to where he was walking as long as it didn’t involve Aqua.

“She doesn’t know me,” he mumbled to himself. “She doesn’t know Xion or Roxas. Why I stayed with the Organization when I could have left all that time. She doesn’t even know who she is if she thinks she can let this power as a master get to her head.” He let out a frustrated sigh, coming to a halt as he ran a hoof against his face. “She wouldn’t even recognize herself in a mirror if it smacked her in the face.” Out of nowhere, something wound up knocking into the side of his head while he wasn’t paying attention. Letting out a startled yelp, he grumbled and rubbed his head, then looked down at what assaulted him. Next to him was a frisbee, unaware of the black edge and the fiery monster design as he picked it up. “Alright, karma, you ungrateful goddess, you wanna put more salt in the wounds!?

“Are you going to have some child assault me with a-” As Lea looked down at the frisbee, he finally noticed the familiar design of it. “-...frisbee?” He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but this was his old frisbee, and he gave this to a young mute colt he rescued a while back. Looking in the direction where he got clonked by his old “weapon”, Lea spotted a familiar pale red colt up on the slight curve of a hill, and he seemed to be looking around for something. When the colt glanced in his direction, he did a double take, then smiled wide as he recognized his hero. “Axle Beam?”

The colt ran up to Lea excitedly, greeting the stunned unicorn stallion with a full body hug against one of his forelegs. Axle looked up at Lea, overly joyous seeing his idol if the big grin, wide sparkling eyes, and excitedly wagging tail didn’t give it away to the stallion. Forgetting about earlier at the castle, Lea let out a small laugh and ruffled Axle Beam’s mane.

“Axle! Honey, I told you not to run too far ahead of me!” Arriving over the hill was the colt’s mother, Sweet Delight. The pink mare panted slightly, carrying a picnic basket on her back with a quilt folded underneath it. She was going to chide the colt, but she was surprised to see Lea with her son. “Mr. Lea! Hello, there!” she greeted as she trotted up to him.

“Hey,” Lea greeted back, awkwardly raising the foreleg the colt was firmly gripped on to give Sweet Delight a wave. When the mare giggled at her son, Lea realized the extra weight that was clinging onto him, but Axle Beam didn’t mind and was in awe of his hero’s strength. “Oh. Oops. Forgot about the pony leech hugging me.”

Lea lowered his foreleg back down, letting the colt safely down, and Axle hopped around cheerfully, expressing his excitement seeing him again in this way since he couldn’t do so vocally. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Sweet Delight asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Lea said. “Didn’t think you’d remember me, Ms. Delight.”

“Oh, please. How can I forget the stallion who saved me and my son from all those monsters?” Sweet Delight asked. Lea chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. He was lucky his fur was red, otherwise Sweet Delight and Axle would have seen the blush on his cheeks. “By the way, you can just call me Sweet, Mr. Lea.”

“Alright, as long as you call me Lea,” Lea said. He lifted a hoof and was about to recite his catchphrase, but Aqua’s words earlier about his childish remarks rang in his ears. Slowly, he lowered his hoof with a small grunt, but thankfully, neither Sweet Delight or Axle Beam noticed his despondent gaze. He shook his head, then noticed the basket balanced on the mare’s back. “So, uhh, you two going out for a picnic?”

“We are. The weather’s perfect for a picnic, and I thought Axle and I would enjoy the day,” Sweet said. “If you’re not too busy, would you care to join us?”

“Really?” Lea asked, a little shocked to be asked that by someone who barely met him. “But...we’ve only known each other for not even a day.”

“I know, but it’s the least I could do for saving us on the train with your master,” she said. “Besides, Axle’s been dying to see you again, and he wants to hang out with his hero.”

The colt nodded, rubbing his forelegs shyly as he looked up at Lea. His eyes begged him to say yes and play with him. Lea couldn’t say no to that face, sometimes swearing the young creatures of this world were warriors themselves if they can make a man like him feel powerless to those big eyes.

“Eh, why not? I’ve got nothing better to do today. And I am a bit hungry.” Lea’s answer made Axle jump with joy, hopping around his idol and his mother, which made the mare laugh at his glee. Lea followed Sweet Delight as she picked a good spot for their picnic while he gave Axle his frisbee back. Sweet set the picnic while her son and Lea passed the frisbee around, the stallion being careful not to throw it too far for the colt so he can stay within his mother’s sight. She called the two over to eat, where a small plate of sandwiches, a mixed fruit salad, and some perfectly cut carrot and celery sticks with a small bowl of ranch to dip them in. Lea helped himself with the small spread while Sweet set up a plate for Axle. “Mmm. Wow, these are incredible. Axle’s lucky to have your home cooking.”

“Oh, please,” Sweet giggled, blushing slightly at the compliment as she sheepishly tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I packed up some simple food. MY mother makes the best home-cooked meals. I prefer baking myself.”

She pointed to her flank to show Lea her cutie mark. Lea glanced down awkwardly, but he saw the plate of puff pastries resting on Sweet Delight’s flank. It was odd how he never even noticed her cutie mark since meeting her on the train when they first met. His eyes quickly shifted back up to Sweet’s face, lingering his gaze long enough on her rump while a blush crept up on his red-furred cheeks.

“Err, well...did you bring some other snacks in that picnic basket I could try to really compliment your baking?” Lea asked.

“Not today, but I promise I’ll make something for you, hot and fresh out of the oven, too,” Sweet promised with a titter. The trio continued eating their lunch until there was nothing but crumbs on their plates. Axle scooched closer to his mother, getting her attention and gave her a begging look. Sweet rolled her eyes with a small laugh, knowing exactly what her son wanted. “Yes, Axle, we can have dessert now.”

Axle clapped his hooves cheerfully, watching his mother dig into the picnic basket and pull out some familiar light cyan-colored ice cream bars. “Sea-salt ice cream?” Lea asked curiously.

“Mhmm. Axle was immediately hooked on these when we moved here a while ago,” Sweet said. She gave Axle one of the two bars of ice cream she pulled out, the colt immediately took it and chomped a bit of it with a look of delight on his face. Lea smirked as he watched the colt enjoying his frozen treat, only for his view to be obscured by another stick of sea-salt ice cream held out to him. “Good thing I brought extras just in case.”

“Thanks.” Lea took the offered treat in his magic aura, taking a small bite out of it. The three of them eating ice cream brought back fond memories Lea kept with Axel, Xion, and Roxas relaxing on the clocktower eating the very same ice cream. The smile he wore was slowly turning into a frown as what happened earlier in the castle crept back on him. Quickly shaking his head, he distracted himself by learning a bit more about Axle Beam. “So, Axle, you’re definitely enjoying my old frisbee. You pass it around with all your friends?” Axle froze as he was about to take another bite, his gleeful smile gone and replaced with a frown as he looked down sadly. Noticing the dejected look on his face, Sweet gently pulled her son closer to her in a comforting hug. “Uhh...Did I say something wrong?”

“Oh, no, it’s not you, Lea,” Sweet assured. “Axle doesn’t actually have any friends his age.”

“Huh!? No friends!?” Lea exclaimed. He couldn’t believe a kid like Axle wouldn’t have any friends with a cool frisbee, but the colt solemnly nodded his head. “That makes no sense. How can he not have any friends?” It was then that Lea just remembered something important about Axle that made him different from so many other people or creatures he’s ever met. “...Oh. He...can’t talk.”

Sweet Delight nodded, giving her son a comforting back rub while he continued nibbling on his ice cream. “Since Axle was born mute, it’s been hard for him to make his own friends. Some of them even bullied him for it.” Lea was taken aback by that. He questioned how some kids could make fun of others for not being able to talk when they would mostly go out of their way to make fun of those who look different. Sweet Delight sighed and looked out to the town of Ponyville. “I hoped us moving here would be a fresh start for Axle, but I think he’s too scared to make any new friends to avoid being bullied more.”

Lea felt sorry for the colt. He seemed so energetic around him, though that was because Axle immediately took a liking to him, and he was saved by him on the train, so it made sense for the colt to practically idolize him as a hero. His ears perked up as he got an idea, wanting to show how much more of a hero he can be to this colt without his life put in danger, and maybe prove how good of a guidance counselor Aqua or Starlight claimed he couldn’t be.

“Well, I think I can help fix that problem,” Lea said with a grin, rubbing Axle’s head to get the colt’s attention. “I happen to know three fillies in this town who love helping others and making some new friends along the way, no matter if they’re red, green, purple, with one or two horns, or wear a boring black coat all day like me. They’re called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they have their own clubhouse and a summer camp where they help other colts and fillies.”

“‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders’?” Sweet asked curiously.

“Yup. And if you didn’t notice since you moved here, there’s also the School of Friendship, a place where everyone can be friends with anyone and learn all about friendship from the best of the best teachers: The Elements of Harmony,” Lea continued. He could already see the look of awe on Axle’s face. He decided to add in the special benefit of going to this school for the colt. “Plus, I don’t mean to brag, but I actually work there as well.”

The colt’s jaw dropped in shock, even Sweet Delight was surprised to know the stallion’s occupation. “You’re a teacher?” she asked. “I thought you were a...well, a warrior or something.”

“The school’s a side gig, but I can guarantee he’ll be making lots of friends in a week or two, tops,” Lea promised with a wide grin.

Axle beamed at the idea of going to a school and meeting new ponies who wouldn’t judge him for his lack of speech. He looked up at his mother, his eyes asking and begging her to let him go to this school and hoping she would say yes.

Sweet Delight smiled, not even needing any convincing to such a brilliant idea. “I’ll see if I can get him registered at the school once we get back to the house.” Axle let out an excited gasp and began jumping around the picnic area joyfully. The happiness the colt expressed made Lea and Sweet Delight laugh. Lea was glad to help make his day, but it seemed like it didn’t do much to distract his own misery. Sweet noticed the somber look on the stallion’s face, growing concerned for him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Lea tried to put on a reassuring smile, but his lips weren’t in it to curl a bit, letting out a small sigh. “I’ve...had a bit of a bad day myself,” he admitted. “Just happened not even an hour ago.”

Sweet shuffled closer to Lea, making him flinch slightly when he felt her side brush against his. “You wanna talk about it?” she asked.

Lea looked at Sweet, who gave him a calm, comforting smile. It was hard to not talk to any woman who’s had some experience being a good mother, and one who’s good enough to understand her mute son without needing words to know what’s troubling him.

“...Where do I even begin?” Lea then told everything that happened to him back at the castle.

He left out the existence of other worlds, the Organization, anything that wouldn’t break the world order for Sweet Delight and Axle Beam to avoid getting into more trouble with Aqua. He twisted his story around to make it sound like he was in a bad crowd and made some bad choices, but soon met Sora and his friends and became a Keyblade wielder like them. He even mentioned Roxas and Xion as members of that horrible group, and how they both regretted their poor decisions in life and his mistakes from his past continue to haunt him, which led to Aqua reprimanding him and insult him for his past before he stormed away and bumped into Sweet and Axle.

Sweet Delight never imagined someone like Lea to ever be with the wrong crowd after witnessing his heroics. She could see the regret in his eyes, feeling like he didn’t matter despite what he’s tried to do to feel like part of the better group of heroes he was with. Gently, she took his hoof in hers, causing his head to lift up from his depressed slump and look at her.

“I can see there’s a lot of things you wanted to fix and make up for the life you used to live, but you don’t need to tackle all of them in one day,” Sweet Delight said. “Just take it one step at a time. Every good deed you did after leaving that group shows you how much of a different pony you’ve become.” She blushed and looked away slightly, glancing back at him while still keeping that warm smile. “After how brave you were fighting those monsters and saving us and the ponies on the train, that’s enough proof for me to know you’re not that stallion you were back then.”

Lea stared at Sweet Delight, stunned by her wise words. His blush also returned and his heart raced in his chest, his hoof still held comfortingly in Sweet’s while she looked back at him coyly. He suddenly felt a small weight on his other side, looking down to see Axle hugging him with a smile on his face, silently telling him he thought he was a good guy as well.

Lea’s mind wandered back to Xion and Roxas, how they ran off to find the part of them they were missing in their short lives, but they still risked their lives to discover what it was. And though he felt the same way, he kept bringing his friends back to the Organization and continued following orders, despite all his protests. They weren’t the selfish ones back then; he was. He might not be able to change the past, but he was going to try to and move forward.

He finally managed to smile and let out a little chuckle, patting Axle Beam’s back, then looked back at Sweet. “Thanks, Sweet,” he said. “You know, if you applied to work at the School of Friendship, you could be the lunch lady and make pastries for everyone and a third guidance counselor.” His joke got a laugh out of Sweet Delight and Axle Beam, brightening the stallion’s mood along with the motivational words from the mare. After the mother and son settled down, Lea stood up and looked toward Ponyville. “I think I need to start making up for myself first. The problem I’m having is which step I should take first?”

“Just keep running away from your problems. That’s how you solve everything nowadays,” a mysterious voice rang out around the three ponies.

Lea grunted, recognizing that icy, near lifeless voice around them. Axle quickly dove toward his mother and trembled in fear while Sweet Delight held him tightly, looking just as scared as her son. “Not now,” Lea growled. He summoned his chakrams in a swirl of flames, looking around the park for the owner of the voice. “Where are you!? Show yourself, Isa!”

A portal of darkness suddenly appeared behind Sweet Delight and Axle Beam a few yards away. The mare let out a startled scream and clutched her baby tightly when she heard it appear, Lea quickly jumping in front of them to keep them safe. Stepping out of the portal was somepony who wore the same coat Lea wore, but his hood concealed his face.

“I thought you would have known I don’t go by that name anymore, Axel.” Raising his hooves, the stallion lowered his hood to reveal his face. When Lea, Sweet Delight, and even Axle Beam saw what he looked like, Lea stared quizzically at his friend’s Equestrian face. His fur was a pale, icy blue, but with what looked like a very dark blue shade of scales from the top of his snout and leading up between his eyes and the familiar X shaped scar on his face and past his horn. The horn was unlike a unicorn’s; it was longer and curled back like a deer’s antler, and much thicker with a dark crimson color with two triangular marks in a slightly brighter hue wrapped around the base. And though his blue mane was still long and reached down his back, some of it looked fluffed and rounded the back of his neck and trailed down to his upper chest similar to a male lion’s mane. “It’s Saïx. Got it memorized?”

Saïx raised a hoof and pointed it to his head, mimicking his former friend’s catchphrase and gesture with a mocking smirk. Confused, Sweet thought she heard this mysterious unicorn called Lea by her own son’s name, but he was looking at the stallion, not the scared colt in her hooves. She noticed the similar clothes Saïx wore compared to Lea’s, figuring this was someone he knew quite well from his past.

“Lea, do you know him?” Sweet asked.

“Unfortunately,” Lea said. “Used to be my best friend when we were younger. Way before we both joined the ‘bad crowd’.”

“Best friend?” Saïx scoffed at the notion. “I doubt you ever considered me a friend, Axel.”

“That’s not my name; it’s Lea, my REAL name,” Lea growled as he raised his chakrams up. “Why are you here, Isa?”

“If you must know, I was unfortunate to be tasked with doing reconnaissance in the world,” Saïx said, slowly circling around the trio while Lea kept himself between his former friend and the helpless mother and son. “As much as I detest doing lowly work fit for someone like Demyx, it became a necessary sacrifice to test the limits of my power in this world. I caught a small sample of it after finding that lowlife of a musician, but I grew curious, as I do not appear to be any normal unicorn, much like your form.” Saïx suddenly stopped, his eyes glancing out to Ponyville, then back to Lea with a small smirk. “I thought my search would be fruitless until I saw some of the equines of this world accompanying someone at an odd building with a carousel for a roof. Or rather, someTHING.”

Lea felt the blood drain from his face, knowing exactly who Saïx was talking about. “...No.”

“I’m surprised, by some miracle, you managed to pull that puppet back into existence,” the stallion said. “I wonder how long it’ll take before it breaks again.”

Lea snarled as his magic flared up, igniting his chakrams with flames and had them spinning in his magic aura. “You call Xion an ‘it’ one more time, Isa, I swear, I’m going to shove that claymore of yours straight up your-!”

“Ah, ah, ah, mind your words, Axel,” Saïx interjected, then pointed to the colt in Sweet Delight’s hooves. “There is a child present. Although, even if he does hear it, it’s not like he’ll be able to say anything.”

Axle Beam trembled as his mother held him tightly, glaring angrily at Saïx while keeping her son out of his sight despite how nervous she was. “You keep my baby out of this, you...you...whatever you are!”

Lea protectively stood in front of Sweet, keeping Saïx’s focus on him. “Leave them alone. This is between you and me, Isa!”

“Then if you value their safety, you will tell me how that thing returned from its doomed fate,” Saïx demanded.

“Her name is Xion!” Lea corrected. “And she didn’t die for good; she came from Sora, and her body came from some mystery spell made by a bug queen named Chrysalis.”

Saïx raised a brow curiously. “A magic spell in this world created a vessel for that puppet?” he uttered. He even recognized the name from Vanitas’s excursion with the equine-insect hybrids called changelings. He grinned, getting all the information he needed. “I see. Vexen will definitely enjoy this news. And we have a candidate for our thirteenth vessel.”

“You lay a single hair on her head, I’ll make sure you don’t come back again!” Lea shouted angrily as the flames around his chakrams intensified. “I’m not letting anyone else take her away again! I’ll protect her with my life!”

Saïx let out a dark chuckle, unsettling Sweet Delight and Axle Beam. “Protect it, you say?” he asked. “Please, Axel. Since when have you ever had what it takes to protect that puppet? Or even Roxas?” Lea let out a strangled grunt, glancing back at Sweet and Axle as he tried to come up with a response, but the words died in his throat. Saïx’s horn began glowing in a dark blue aura as he called forth his signature weapon in a flash of pale light. Holding a long and heavy claymore, he held the flat end before Lea, Sweet Delight, and Axle Beam, then twisted it to reveal its design. Resembling much like the Nobody sigil, the long, heavy blade was colored in blues, yellows, and grays, with the end of the blade surrounded by a blue ring with seven spikes set around the edge, the topmost spike split in half between the cross-like tip on the actual blade. He twirled it around in his aura, wielding it backhanded like he would as a human. “You’ll fail, just like you will protect these two!”

Lea gasped, quickly turning to face him, but Saïx teleported past him, getting between him and the defenseless family of two cowering before him. “NO!”

Lea flung his chakrams behind him, using his magic to fly in and block Saïx’s first swing at them. The massive blade smacked the two flaming discs aside, and as he prepared for a follow up swing, Lea jumped in front of Sweet and Axle. With his back turned to Saïx, Lea took the full brunt of the powerful strike as he shielded the two underneath him, sending all three of them flying across the grass and tumbling to a stop. Lea groaned, feeling a burning pain in his back, and it definitely didn’t come from his own fire.

As he stood up, Sweet Delight and Axle Beam shook off the brisk flight, but the mother gasped in horror when she saw smoke coming from Lea’s back. “Oh sweet Celestia! Are you ok!?”

“Ugh. I’ve been hit with worse,” Lea grunted, ignoring the pain as he called back his chakrams. “Get yourself and Axle out of here and to the castle. Tell them what’s going on.”

“But what about you? There’s no way you can fight him alone,” Sweet worriedly said, looking behind Lea to see Saïx slowly approaching, carelessly sweeping their picnic aside with his deadly claymore. “We all need to get away from him. He won’t follow us with your friends nearby, right?”

“Tsk. I can handle him,” Lea assured the mare. “You’re not as durable as me, so getting help’s the best thing you can do for me.” Sweet Delight didn’t want to see Lea get hurt, but she knew he was right. This stallion was nothing like the Nobodies on the train. She let out a hesitant nod, but still couldn’t help but fear for his safety. He nodded back, then looked at the terrified colt in his mother’s hooves. He gently took Axle from his mother, placing him on her back and gave him a reassuring grin. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll be fine. You just look out for your mom, just like back on the train. Got it memorized?”

Lea gave Axle his signature phrase and gesture to the colt to ease his fears. The colt nodded, tapping the side of his head, repeating the gesture as his way of saying yes and keeping his idol’s promise. Sweet backed away, silently praying this wouldn’t be the last time she met Lea again, even as he continued giving her his confident, reassuring grin.

“...Be careful, Lea,” she said before turning toward Ponyville and sprinting off to find help, her son holding onto her neck tightly as he glanced back at his hero, who was ready to save the day again.

As soon as they were out of sight, Lea’s smile dropped to a frown, his brows furrowed as he turned his head to face his former best friend. Saïx held his claymore behind him in an eerily calm demeanor, but Lea knew how tough he was when he got serious.

“Attacking a helpless mother and her child, Isa?” Lea questioned. He fully faced Saïx, holding his chakrams in his natural fighting style with his aura as he glared at the creature the stallion turned into. “I see you’re taking the low road, just like the rest of your new buddies in the Organization, huh!?”

“Whether they were innocent or guilty, it doesn’t matter,” Saïx said coldly. “All I care about is making you suffer for your treachery.”

“Good luck trying!” Lea spun his chakrams, igniting them with fire as he lowered his stance. “I’ve gotten used to fighting in this body, and I’ll make sure you memorize how much stronger I’ve become since last time!”

Saïx’s eyes narrowed as the spikes on his claymore extended, hovering the blade in front of him as he lowered his stance, too. “Different form, same fate!”

Both stallions shot forward and charged at each other with a battle cry, swinging their respective weapons as they clashed, unleashing a flurry of fiery red and blue sparks.





Aqua sat on her’s and Terra’s bed in their room, forced to be confined in here like she was a child being grounded. She had summoned Lea’s Flame Liberator and sat it against the wall, staring at it while her thoughts raced from all the horrible things she spewed from her mouth. She had been so adamant on believing Lea would eventually betray them after learning about his double-crossing misdeeds in the old Organization, but she only focused on who he had worked for and what he did back then compared to what he had done after to make up for those crimes. She went back to her old, cruel, emotional self, just like with Starlight and the Royal Sisters, and she promised herself she wouldn’t go back to being that person again. She even knew Lea was going into a magic surge after riling him up, and WANTED him to blow up on her and prove a point.

Growling in frustration at herself, she flopped onto the bed, holding her head in her hooves. “What is wrong with me!?” she questioned herself. “You did it again! Ugh, why is this such a difficult habit to break out of?”

“That’s something we all ask ourselves from time to time, huh?” Aqua’s ears twitched, sitting up to see who owned that familiar voice. Standing in her bedroom doorway was none other than King Mickey, surprising her with his presence. “Hiya, Aqua. Nice to see you again.”

“Mickey?” she uttered. She wondered why he was here, but she had a hunch as her ears drooped sadly. “...Master Yen Sid told you.”

“Yeah. He gave me the rundown of what happened,” Mickey said as he approached Aqua. “Figured out of all of us, you’d be willing to listen more to him, Terra, Ven, or myself.” Aqua lowered her head, avoiding the disappointed gaze in the mouse’s eyes as he crossed his arms and shook his head. “I know you changed a lot in the Realm of Darkness, but I didn’t think you’d be this cruel with words alone. You were much better than that, Aqua.”

“I know,” Aqua mumbled.

“I get that you dislike Xehanort with a burning passion. All of us do,” Mickey said. “He and the Organization have done a lot of terrible things. Even though Lea, or his Nobody Axel, were involved, but you have to believe us when we say he’s-”

“I know he’s a different person!” Aqua shouted, startling the mouse king as she shot up from her seat. “I realize that now! I don’t need to be told off by everyone when Sora, Roxas, Xion, and even Ven chewed me out!” Aqua began pacing in front of her bed, belting out her guilt weighing down her already broken heart. “I used to be so much nicer, but because I can’t get over what I’ve been through, I can’t get away from the heartless witch I turned into! I can’t trust anyone who did horrible things, major or minor, blamed them for only what they did, and was blind by my own anger and fear to see the good they did that could have made things worse if they didn’t do them!

“Now everyone hates me because I made an irrational decision when all I wanted was to protect the ones I care about and not lose them again!” Aqua finally stopped pacing, tears streaming down her face as she sat on her haunches and buried her face in her hooves. She sobbed, her heart torn between her fears of losing everything she cherished again and her sense of judgement forever tarnished by what Xehanort had done to her, Terra, and Ventus in the past. “...I can’t control myself anymore...There’s so many things I regret, so many things in my life I want to change...I hate this part of me I became…”

Mickey felt sorry for Aqua. He walked up to her, giving the sobbing mare a gentle rub on the back to console her.

“I wish I could have done more,” Mickey said. “After losing track of you, Terra, and Ven, I searched every world I could for you for ten years. I finally did, back in the Realm of Darkness.” Aqua sniffled and gave a small nod. How could she ever forget wandering around a deadly realm where there was no respite from the Heartless, going through broken and winding roads of locations from the different worlds that were swallowed by the darkness, and slowly going mad struggling to survive as find a way to escape without a sense of time to tell her when it was day or night, or even how many days or weeks she had spent? But through her despair, Mickey did find her, kept going through the Realm of Darkness to find the golden Keyblade Mickey used for a while, and help her find a way out of there. Sadly, her hope of escaping with the king was dashed when a much more dreadful tidal wave of Shadow Heartless attacked out of nowhere, splitting them up, and Aqua sacrificing her freedom once again to keep it from escaping and attacking Riku as he and Sora tried to close the Door to Darkness. “I should have gone back to try to find you again, but Xehanort continued to plot, scheme, and attack without any warning.

“I regret being unable to rescue you a few years ago, and trying to go back to save you again. If there’s anyone else you should blame for being trapped in the Realm of Darkness, it should be me, too.” Aqua lowered her hooves and looked down at Mickey. He gave her a small, apologetic smile. “I really am glad you’re still alive after all that time. We all are. We can all see it’s going to take much more time for you to be your real self again, but you also need to trust us with who we know, and are just as trustworthy as the rest of us.”

Aqua wiped her face with the back of her sleeve, grateful for the understanding and immediately forgiving Mickey, but she still can’t forgive herself for putting Lea down and taking away his Keyblade. “I just keep messing things up,” she uttered. “Ever since I passed my Mark of Mastery exam, I have tried to help and do the right thing, but everything goes horribly wrong.”

“Well, not everyone can be a perfect, experienced master,” Mickey said. “When I was Master Yen Sid’s apprentice, I messed around with things I shouldn’t have and got myself into some deep trouble. You did not want to know what I did when I wore his hat and fooled around with some magic spells.” He chuckled as he recalled the mess he got himself in, which seemed much more tame than his misadventures as a Keyblade apprentice. “After I married Minnie and became a king, I became a lot more mature than I had during my training, and even more so years later.

“So if I can change, then so can you. And certain others who can change for the better.” Mickey walked over to Lea’s Keyblade leaning against the wall, picked it up, then walked back over to Aqua, holding it out to her. “I think giving this back to its true wielder would be a good start.”

Aqua stared at Flame Liberator for a moment. She knew Mickey was right, as well as the others. Lea was annoying, but he really didn’t do anything wrong as himself or Axel. Without him, things would have turned out so differently, and Xehanort would have succeeded with his plans much sooner. Aqua gave Mickey a small nod, reaching a hoof out to take Lea’s Keyblade.

“You’re right,” she said. “I have to start giving others a second chance if I’m ever going to be the real me again.” She stood up, using her magic to grip Lea’s Keyblade, then walked out of her room with Mickey following beside her. “I just hope everyone will still forgive me. I need to make things right.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have a great group of friends if they never do,” Mickey said.

“Right.” Aqua nodded with a small smile. The two walked through the halls and entered the throne room. “If everyone’s split up looking for Lea, maybe we can find him on the map.” Aqua expanded the map of Ponyville, seeing several different lights that came from the other wielders spread out in town, and the Young Six’s at the school, which would make it hard to tell who was who if Lea was still anywhere in the area. “I need to make it up to him...He is important to this group, no matter what I said.”

Suddenly, Aqua and Mickey heard the front doors of the castle slam open. “Help! Somepony help us!” Looking through the still opened throne room doors, the two masters saw a pink earth pony mare with a tied back mane of red, orange, and yellow streaks running down the hall toward them. She had a young colt on her back with pale red fur and a messy yellow mane, clinging his forelegs around her neck tightly. Spotting Aqua and Mickey, ignoring the fact that there was a big mouse on two legs and wearing clothing next to the unicorn, she panted as she came to a stop before the surprised duo. “We need help! Lea’s in trouble!”

“Lea!?” Aqua and Mickey exclaimed simultaneously.

“What’s going on!?” Aqua asked.

“We were attacked by...I-I don’t know what he is, but he’s a different kind of unicorn, and Lea’s fighting him right now!” Sweet Delight said. “He used to be a friend of Lea’s. He said his name was Saïx?”

Mickey and Aqua gasped, looked at each other, then back to the mother. “Where are they now!?” Mickey asked.

“At the park, not too far from town!” Sweet said.

“We’re on it,” Aqua said. “Stay here until we get back!”

Aqua and Mickey summoned their Keyblades, surprising the mare and her son, but as the wielders ran past them, they noticed Lea’s Keyblade floating in the unicorn mare’s aura as well as her own. “Wait, why did she have Lea’s sword?”





The park was filled with sparks of blue and red flames as Lea and Saïx traded blows. Lea rushed in with his chakrams spinning with fire, having an advantage attacking from a distance and maneuvering his weapons with his magic. Saïx, however, had a much bigger means of defense, blocking the flaming discs with the ease of his own magic. Even if Lea got closer, Saïx was still able to keep him at bay with the length of his claymore. Without his Keyblade, Lea couldn’t use any of his other spells, but he hoped his higher speed would be enough to wear out his former friend.

As Lea decided to sprint around Saïx while taking pot shots with his chakrams from a fair distance, Saïx waited patiently, blocking his flaming discs and sidestepping the ones coming back while being controlled by the unicorn stallion’s aura. Seeing what he was trying to do, Saïx thrust his blade into the ground, releasing a shockwave and a ring of blue flames around him just as Lea tried to attack him from the rear. Lea grunted as he was knocked back, growling slightly as he flipped back onto his hooves with his weapons hovering beside him.

“Hit and run tactics, Axel?” Saïx taunted. “I didn’t think you’d resort to cowardly tactics like Roxas and the puppet used.”

“You wanna see cowardly!? I’ll show you cowardly!” Igniting his chakrams, he let out a yell as they spun in front of his hooves. Saïx quickly brought his claymore to block what he expected was a fireball, only to see a wall of flames surround him and the floor beneath him turn into magma. He winced at the sudden heat he was standing in, quickly looking back up when he heard part of the fire wall in front of him shift. “BURN, BABY!”

Launching himself through the fire, Lea left a trail of flames in his wake as he slammed into the surprised stallion. Lea phased through the fire, then reappeared in another direction to ram into Saïx again, running his spinning chakrams into him to add more fuel to the burning fire draining his endurance. Saïx tried to retaliate, expecting Lea to jump out from another direction, only to defy his expectations as the unicorn bounced off the firewall and lunged for him. Grunting in pain, Saïx swatted Lea away with his claymore after getting slashed by the sharp points on the flaming chakrams.

Lea thought he had Saïx on the ropes, but as he dove in for another flaming tackle, Saïx leapt to the side, and with a spin and a grunt, he flung his claymore at Lea. The spinning blade struck Lea, smacking him into the wall while the impact unleashed a shockwave that sent him flying into the air. Saïx warped above Lea, then slammed him back down to the magma floor with a downward swing with the flat side of his blade, sending the stallion crashing to the ground. The flames and magma floor disappeared in a flash of light, turning the section of grass back to normal while Lea groaned in agony.

Saïx landed softly a fair distance away from Lea, scoffing in disappointment as he brushed some ashes off the shoulder of his coat. “Mere child’s play. If you really want to beat me, why not use your Keyblade?”

Lea struggled to get up, but managed to get back on his hooves despite the pain wracking his body. He didn’t want to admit to Saïx that it was taken away from him, and it wouldn’t be as believable if he said he left it back at home since they can just come back to their owners at will.

“...Don’t need it...to kick your ass,” Lea grumbled.

Saïx could tell the stallion was lying and holding back for a reason, smirking in amusement at his ploy to play off using his new weapon. “You don’t need it? Or did you lose your possession of it?” Lea didn’t offer a response, but the grimace on his face gave Saïx his answer. “How disappointing. You clearly belong with those two worthless Nobodies.”

Grabbing his chakrams, Lea growled and glared at Saïx with fury. “Shut up! You’re the one who’s a disappointment, Isa!”

Lea yelled and charged Saïx again. Saïx moved his claymore behind him, leaned away from Lea’s wide swing from both his chakrams, and with a backhooved swing, smacked Lea hard in the face and sent him crashing to the ground. Both his chakrams scattered across the ground after losing his grip on them.

“If you know what’s good for you, Axel, just stay down,” Saïx said. As Lea tried to get back up again, Saïx looked out to the peaceful town of Ponyville. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to search for that puppet and bring it back, even if I have to tear through this village piece by piece to find it.”

Lea gasped, crawling around to Saïx and held his hoof out. “No, Isa! Her body’s made from the magic of this world! We don’t know if it’ll still hold if she leaves!” he tried to warn, but his friend didn’t let it deter him.

“Then if it gets destroyed, so be it,” Saïx said coldly. Lea snarled, his body refusing to obey him as he tried to stand back up. “We still have Sora as a backup.” Saïx turned his head to glance at Lea, giving him a cruel grin. “Of course, if neither of them are able to comply, there is still one more connected with that boy.”

Lea’s pupils shrank, feeling his mind snap as he glared intensely at the stallion. “NO! Not Roxas! NONE OF THEM!” he barked, slamming his hooves hard into the ground as his aura surrounded his horn, flickering and sparking again as the area around him began to burn up. Saïx just scoffed and continued walking, angering the unicorn stallion more. “Get back here! I’m not letting you take any one of them ever again from me! DO YOU HEAR ME!?”

“Just wake up and face the truth of reality, Axel,” Saïx said, unaware of the flames slowly rising and appearing around Lea’s body. “You cannot protect them, no less yourself. You’re all doomed to-” He paused, suddenly noticing the temperature increasing at an intense rate as he felt sweat bead and roll down his body from the heat. It wasn’t that warm out, but it felt like he was standing in a boiler as the temperature rose to what felt like the hundreds. Confused as he sensed a growing surge of magic behind him, he looked back at Lea, his eyes opening wider in shock at the sight before him. “What the…?”

Lea slowly began to rise to his hooves, his body surrounded by swirling flames. His horn flickered wildly, sparking madly and catching some of the blades of grass on fire, only for the flames to be swallowed up by the growing vortex of flames around the stallion. Saïx could see heavy puffs of steam coming from Lea’s nostrils as he snorted heavily.

“I...said…” Lea’s chakrams flew back to him in his magic aura, which added more fire to the reignited weapons as they began to spin rapidly at a phenomenal pace. He quickly shot his head up, startling Saïx as Lea’s eyes changed from green to a fiery orange color, and they stared at him with unbridled rage. “YOU’RE NOT TAKING THEEEEEEEEM!!!!!!!”

Lea roared as the flames erupted into a massive pillar beneath him, his anger literally explosive. Saïx grunted as he was knocked back by the explosive shockwave. Slamming his claymore into the ground, he gripped it tightly in one hoof while the other shielded his face from the sweltering heat literally blowing at him like a burning galewind. Once the pillar of fire settled down, Saïx chanced a glance to see what happened to the stallion. Lea definitely survived the explosion, but he looked a whole lot different once he was visible through the flames.

The magic-surged stallion was hovering off the ground with orange and red flames surrounding his body. His fur turned from red to pale bone white while his mane literally caught on fire, flicking wildly while still retaining a bit of spikiness from his manestyle. And surrounding him were not two, but four flaming chakrams, burning with the same intense fire as his aura and hair. His eyes had changed again, this time glowing red with bright red flames flowing from the sides.

Rather than being intimidated by this explosive form, Saïx smirked, pulling his sword out from the ground. “So, emotions really do have an effect on this world’s magic,” he uttered to himself. He prepared himself, taking in a deep breath, remaining calm until the time was right. “About time you stop holding back on me.”





Sora, Ventus, Xion, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders searched all over Ponyville for any sign of Lea. They asked around if anypony saw him, but got no leads as Xion began to get frustrated.

“Where is he!?” Xion exclaimed. “How can anyone not notice someone who stands out as much as Sora!?”

“Ponyville ain’t that big,” Apple Bloom said. “He couldn’t have gone too far.”

“But we asked just about everypony in Ponyville, and nopony hasn’t seen him anywhere,” Scootaloo said.

“Then we better hurry and find him before his anger finally pops and he burns down half the town!” Ventus said urgently.

Sora finished contacting the others to see how they were faring, which didn’t go well with the frown on his face. “No sign of him from the others yet,” he said. “The Gummi ships are still here, and Lea didn’t use a portal of darkness to run away after he stormed out. I doubt he could use them again after training as a Keyblade wielder for this long.”

“I can’t believe Aqua would really be so mean,” Sweetie Belle mumbled, her ears drooping sadly.

Xion scoffed bitterly. “I don’t care what she went through! She had no right to yell at Axel like that!”

The two pegasi and three fillies were a bit startled seeing Xion get so worked up. She always seemed so shy and reserved, but when her closest friends are in trouble, she can get really forward and aggressive to defend them. Sora gently placed a hoof on the Nobody’s shoulder.

“Relax, Xion. I’m sure Aqua’s had enough time to cool down and she’ll apologize to Lea,” Sora said to reassure Xion. “They probably needed some time away from each other, and they’ll both be friends.”

As much as Xion wanted to be upset with Aqua, she didn’t want the group to be pulled apart over past mistakes. Everyone’s had them, even Aqua, and she’s tried to fix them her way, but it wasn’t the right way to go about it. Just as she was about to continue her search, they heard a sudden explosion in the distance, which startled everyone in the town close enough to hear and feel it. Everyone looked toward where it came from, seeing a huge pillar of flames shooting out several hundred yards away from the town perimeter before it died down.

“W-What was that!?” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“I think we found Lea,” Ventus said.

“Guys, did you all see that!?” Startled, Sora and Ventus reached a hoof to their communicators. 

“Aqua?” Sora asked.

“Head to the park now! Lea’s fighting Saïx, and judging from that explosive pillar, his anger finally blew up into a magic surge!” Sora and Ventus both glanced at each other in shock.

“Saïx!?” Ventus exclaimed, making Xion gasp at the name.

“Oh no!” Xion sprinted off in the direction of the fire pillar, shocking the two other wielders.

“Xion, wait!” Sora called out. He quickly looked back at the Crusaders while Ventus ran on ahead. “You three stay right here!”

“Yup! No problem!” Apple Bloom said with a nervous giggle.

“Definitely not tagging along to get caught in the crossfire!” Sweetie Belle added.

“But I wanna see the-” Scootaloo’s whining was interrupted with a grunt as both her friends nudged her side hard. “Uhh, right! Staying put! No getting into trouble! Got it, Sora!”

He eyed Scootaloo skeptically, but he could trust Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to keep her from doing something crazy. Sora flew off to join the others, leaving the Crusaders behind with Apple Bloom knocking Scootaloo upside the head.

“Are ya crazy!? Ya wanna get us in more trouble than back at the Friendship Festival!?” Apple Bloom questioned.

“Not my fault I wanna see Sora kick some more bad guy butt!” Scootaloo argued.

“And distract him if we get in the way, which can get him captured and taken away from us?” Sweetie Belle questioned, letting it sink in for the pegasus filly.

“...Oh. Right. That’s kinda important,” Scootaloo mumbled sheepishly. “Still would be cool to at least watch the battle from a distance?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sighed and shook their heads at Scootaloo’s unfortunate taste for adventure and excitement of THAT kind of extreme.





Lea lost all sense of reason in his blind fury. He relentlessly charged at Saïx, leaving behind a trail of flames in his wake, turning the nice, grassy field into a scorched battlefield. He kept Saïx on the defensive, launching his four flaming chakrams rapidly at him, his flames expanding farther than before and getting a few good hits on his former friend. Saïx tried to smack the chakrams aside with his claymore, only to get singed by the overwhelming heat of the flames expanding from the discs with each block. He was left with no choice but to dodge and avoid Lea, even as he basically flew at him like an angry hornet.

Saïx leapt back to get some distance from Lea, but the enraged stallion wasn’t going to let up. Lea charged again, sending his chakrams into a spiraling orbit around him. They spun faster and faster, turning the unicorn into a massive fireball as he screamed and flew straight for Saïx. Grunting in shock, Saïx held his claymore up for some semblance of shielding himself, but Lea suddenly shot up in the air, floating above the stunned Nobody as he looked up.

“What is he-?” Just as Saïx uttered a few words, a massive wall of flames shot up around him, the space much more confined than Lea’s signature trap.

Unable to escape, he heard Lea let out a roar, launching dozens of chakram-sized fireballs raining down upon him. Saïx had no room to avoid the deadly firestorm if he tried, and he wasn’t going to risk getting third degree burns by attempting to run through the firewall with how scorching the flames were. With no choice, he tried to fling his claymore and call it back to him to blow the magical chakrams up midair, but there were too many for him to take out. A few of them hit him directly or blew up near him within the trapped perimeter. Unable to take care of each fireball, Saïx called his sword back to him and tried in vain to shield himself from the exploding fireballs.

After minutes of endless fire raining from the sky, Saïx thought it was over. Before he had a chance to look up, four flaming chakrams flung themselves into the firewall, launching him up in the air, then rapidly spun and swatted him, cutting and burning him and his coat. Above him, Lea dove down like a meteor, his two real chakrams held in each hoof. With a yell, he flung both his chakrams down onto Saïx, causing them to explode with fire on impact and slam the stallion down to the ground, and he followed up by dive bombing Saïx further into the ground as the fire around him flared in another massive pillar, further burning the Nobody’s fur and skin.

The dust and fire slowly settled around them. Saïx was pinned down by Lea, who was still literally burning mad, panting heavily as his body trembled from the surge of emotional magical energy flowing through him. Growling, dissatisfied, Lea grabbed Saïx’s by the collar of his coat with his hooves, pulling the dazed stallion out of the small indent in the earth.

“I’m not letting you take them away from me, Isa,” he growled. “And I’m done taking all this crap; from you AND Aqua! I told you I don’t need my Keyblade to kick your ass, but I’ll make sure to kill you if you so much as harm Xion or Roxas ever again!”

“So, instead of ending me now, you’d rather do it later?” Saïx asked with a smirk.

“Don’t tempt me,” Lea warned.

Saïx chuckled, confusing the flaming stallion. “Empty threats,” he said. “You’re trying to save me from Xehanort. I know you won’t kill me. But you seemed to have forgotten why we both joined the Organization after all these years.” Lea flinched in response, his anger fading away from the mention of the reason why he and Saïx were in the Organization in the first place. He did remember; the two of them snuck into the castle back in Radiant Garden and found a girl in one of the many cells hidden deep within, and he swore to her they would get her out of there. His magic surge dispelled and his body returned to normal, adding another item to his guilty conscience. He had no idea if she was still alive after all these years, but part of him believed she must still be waiting for them. “Or maybe you have, but you just don’t care about her anymore. All you care about are a couple of vessels.”

“And you say I can’t keep my mouth shut,” Lea grumbled. He suddenly felt fatigued, dropping Saïx and causing the two to fall on their haunches. “Aww, man. Whatever happened to me, I feel so drained. Let’s just...call it a draw.”

“Oh, this battle is far from done,” Saïx said. He stood up, despite his injuries from Lea’s magic surge. Lea looked up at him as he started to laugh. “I discovered something interesting when you unleashed all your anger.”

“Oh yeah? What would that be?” Lea asked, panting slightly as he summoned his chakrams.

“Magic can be fueled by emotion,” the stallion stated. “Your rage increases your magical output tremendously, but lose that anger, and you’re winded.” Saïx chuckled, though with a much darker tone, making Lea suddenly feel nervous. “You know I gain more strength when in my Berserk state. And being in this world, all of us have had some additional abilities granted to us while transformed into these magical equines.”

Lea didn’t like where his friend was going with his explanation. “...Oh no…”

“But I don’t appear to be a unicorn like you, Axel,” Saïx stated. He grabbed his claymore and took a deep breath. “If you thought you were powerful in your anger-fueled rage-” Saïx closed his eyes, lowering his head, and to Lea’s fear, he saw the stallion’s long mane begin to float and the air begin to heat up around them again, but it didn’t come from him this time. When Saïx lifted his head again, he opened his eyes, a burning blue flame appearing above his eyes, and they had no pupils or irises as they glowed yellow. “-you haven’t seen me angry yet!”

Saïx let out a yell, his voice suddenly changing into a gutteral demon roar. He then shot his head up and roared, unleashing a powerful shockwave that sent Lea flying, along with a pillar of blue flames that pierced the sky much farther than Lea’s had. The red stallion yelped as he tumbled back several yards, slowing down enough to land on his stomach and slid across the ground. When Lea looked up, his jaw dropped at the blue flames surrounding Saïx, scorching more of the earth and threatening to burn the entire land. The blue pillar of fire died down, but not enough as the Nobody was surrounded in a massive aura of blue fire.

Through the flames, Lea could see Saïx’s eyes glowing ominously, along with his face and the X-marked scar, which grew as he shifted into his Berserk state. He looked like a demon that came straight from the bowels of hell crossbred with a Heartless. Saïx’s fur was now completely black, his horn changed color, starting black at the base while brightening to a burning hot white going up, and his lion-like mane was gone as all his hair wavered wildly in blue flames. He even had fangs growing out from his teeth, and his hooves were coated in the same blue fire his erupted rage came from. And his claymore, Lunatic, hovered behind him while shrouded in those very same flames. What was worse was that he managed to enter this form in the middle of the day, when his Berserk state is fueled by moonlight, and by unleashing his anger.

“W-What kind of unicorn is he?” Lea uttered in horror. He shakily got back on his hooves, wishing he stayed mad just a tiny bit longer if Saïx was holding back on him on purpose. “Uhh, ok, can we call a tie now?”

Saïx didn’t answer. He quickly crouched down, and with a feral roar, he sprinted toward Lea, leaving behind a trail of blue flames behind him. Lea grasped his chakrams and threw them to divert the enraged Nobody’s path, but Saïx’s claymore, in his magical grip, swatted both chakrams out of the way, then wound up for a swing. Lea jumped away, avoiding a heavy slam that created a fiery shockwave where he stood. He wasn’t able to avoid Saïx himself when he dashed straight toward him, forgoing his weapon and slamming him into the ground with his burning hooves.

Lea winced from the fire digging into his torso as it also burned through his coat. Despite his tolerance against Fire and Fire magic, Saïx’s blue flames burned even hotter. He tried to punch and kick the demonic stallion off of him, but Saïx didn’t even flinch. He reared back, and with a roar, slammed his hooves down on Lea, unleashing a flaming shockwave that knocked the wind out of the defenseless stallion. Saïx leapt back, his claymore returning to him as he slammed it down at Lea’s hooves, creating another shockwave that flung Lea up into the air, then knocked further up with an upward swing from the massive, spiked sword. Before Lea could hit the ground, Saïx began to spin around, his blade joining in as each rotation pulsed flaming shockwaves as he dashed toward the falling stallion.

Before Lea knew it, it was caught in a brutal assault from Saïx’s wild slashing frenzy. He was smacked around by the claymore and burned heavily with every pass juggling him in the air. On occasion, Saïx would fling his sword at Lea, knocking him away to continue being smacked back, or he would lunge up and slam his blade down on the stallion, leaving him in the dead center of the blue flames appearing around the impacted slam. Disoriented and wracked with pain from all over, Lea wasn’t able to escape his former friend’s maddened frenzy. Each slash, each slam, each shockwave was filled with excruciating pain, his coat being torn and burned up in the insane onslaught while Saïx’s rotating dashes across the ground lessened and his flinging and slamming appeared more and more.

Just as he thought it was over, Lea yelled out in pain when Saïx launched him back up in the air with an upward swing, then leapt up after him. With another aggressive roar, Saïx passed Lea, then flipped around and slammed his claymore down into the stallion’s chest. Lea gasped, slammed back down to the earth hard, and with another yell from Saïx, he dove down, swinging his claymore back down on top of Lea again, followed by an explosive wave of fire that washed over the area around the two. After the flames dispersed, Saïx slowly removed his blade, leaving Lea in a broken, badly injured state, barely conscious and struggling to breath as he felt his ribs were possibly broken. His coat was badly tattered, revealing some of his fur underneath, some of it burnt with remnants of blue embers slowly eating away at the material.

Taking a deep breath, Saïx was covered in a blue flash of fire, reverting back to normal in his calm state, but unlike Lea, he wasn’t as exhausted after changing. “This form of mine is not that bad. I don’t need the moon of this world to be in my Berserk state when I can let my anger do the job.” He looked down at his broken, former friend, picking up his claymore and held it over the stallion. Lea grunted, struggling to lift his hoof as his eyes begged for mercy. “You interfered far too many times already. This time, I’ll make sure to snuff out the real traitor that had been among our ranks: you.”

As he lifted his blade, poised to thrust it down and through Lea’s heart, Saïx let out a yell as he was knocked back by a Blizzaga spell striking his side. He turned to whoever attacked him after landing back on his hooves, his eyes widening as his assailant was none other than Xion. He smirked as the puppet came right for him, however, it didn’t last long when he saw Ventus and Sora approaching in the distance, along with the other wielders, Donald, and Goofy following after them.

“Get away from him,” Xion warned, crouching low with her Kingdom Keyblade held firmly in her muzzle, her style matching Sora’s perfectly.

“X...Xion...D-Don’t…” Lea tried to turn his head and warn Xion not to fight Saïx, but he barely had any energy left in him to move, let alone remain conscious.

Saïx let out a grunt, summoning a portal of darkness behind him. “Consider yourself lucky, Axel.” He began to walk backwards into the portal, glancing at Xion briefly before looking back at Lea. “Don’t protect anyone if you can’t keep your promises.”

Xion watched Saïx flee through the portal. The others made it just in time to watch the stallion leave, though they didn’t get a good look at his form in this world as he disappeared in the darkness and the portal disappeared. With Saïx gone, Xion dismissed her Keyblade and ran up to Lea worriedly.

“Oh my gosh. Axel, are you ok!?” she asked.

“...Could be...better,” Lea uttered before he passed out.

Xion was afraid Lea was dying, but his shallow breaths were enough to convince her he just passed out. Aqua stepped forward, wanting desperately to apologize to Lea and Xion for earlier, but she knew they had to get Lea back to the castle. Lifting the unconscious unicorn stallion carefully, he placed Lea on Terra’s back, keeping him stable as they all cautiously made their way back into town. She glanced at Xion, who kept her eyes on Lea as tears threatened to flow down her cheeks.

“Xion,” Aqua mumbled. “I...I’m-”

“Save it,” Xion interrupted, barely making any eye contact with the blue unicorn mare. “Whatever you want to say, tell us when Lea’s awake.”

Aqua closed her mouth, hanging her head in guilt. She looked at Lea’s Keyblade, wishing she didn’t act so harshly with him earlier to prevent the beating he took.





Inside the Organization’s new base, Saïx limped out through the portal, wincing slightly after suffering from some of the injuries Lea inflicted on him. “Damn you, Lea,” he grumbled. “I underestimated his power from that influx of magical energy. At least I gave him a taste of his own medicine.”

“Aww, are you all tuckered out from playing with your bestie?” Saïx froze, letting out an annoyed huff from the only female voice he loathed in the Organization. Leaning against the wall further down the hall, waiting for him, was Larxene, giving him an impish grin that was far from genuine as if she was waiting for him to return. “Want me to kiss your boo-boos and make it better?”

He didn’t have any time dealing with Larxene’s taunting. “What do you want, Larxene?” he questioned, wanting to get whatever she wanted from him out of the way.

“Come on, Saïx, you and I barely talk with each other,” Larxene said with a sickly sweet tone. “Is it wrong to get to know my associates a bit personally?” Saïx just gave the woman a deadly glare, warning her to keep her mouth shut before she suffered any consequences. “Whatever. Your loss. I swear, some of you need to lighten up sometimes.”

“How about, instead, you focus on the Organization’s goals and not make jokes like Demyx?” Saïx suggested. Larxene scoffed as he compared her to Demyx, satisfying him as she got a rise out of her. He stood a bit taller, ignoring his body’s protests as he looked at Larxene. “In any case, our suspicions were correct. The puppet has been restored and has joined the guardians of light.”

“Wait, the number XIV girl!?” Larxene exclaimed. “She’s still around? I thought you guys said that thing no longer existed.”

“Through some means in that world of talking horses, I learned there was some kind of magic involved that was able to create a vessel for it,” he explained. “If we discovered what this spell is, we could make even more replicas than Vexen’s slower, experimental ones that managed to bring us back. If Axel didn’t interfere, I would have learned more. The only lead he gave me was that the spell was cast by the changeling queen Vanitas worked with a while back.”

“Right. I heard he’s still sore about that loss,” Larxene giggled cruelly. “But it’s good to hear that jerk got his ass whooped. Honestly, it would have been much more satisfying if I got that payback with my own hands.” As glad as she would have been to get back at Lea for stabbing her and Marluxia’s group in the back in Castle Oblivion, she gave Saïx a suspicious glare. “It is funny, though. Xemnas told me it was YOU who ordered Axel to muck up our plans with Sora and Naminé.”

“I was merely rounding up the ones who would get in the way of my own goals.” Saïx leered at Larxene, who gave him the same leer right back.

The two glared at each other for a moment before they heard amused laughter above them. “Hey, lovebirds, you wanna save it for the bedroom!?” The two looked up, finding Xigbar standing on the ceiling of the hall with a sly smirk on his face. He warped away, reappearing in front of them on the ground, both Larxene and Saïx glaring at him now for the awkward remark. “I know there’s a lot of tension between the two of you, but share it in the privacy of your bedroom.”

“How long were you standing up there?” Larxene questioned with a huff.

“Long enough to hear your little spat,” Xigbar said. “Good thing I also heard a part of Saïx’s recon as well. The little puppet’s all back and functioning again, eh?”

“Unfortunately,” Saïx said.

“And there’s a magic spell that gave her a new body. Definitely something interesting,” Xigbar chuckled. “You’re a natural with reconnaissance, Saïx. And you say it’s not your style.” Saïx said nothing as he glowered at the sniper. “But, you know, the whole point of recon is to not get into a fight. You look like you picked a fight with a furnace and lost.”

Grumbling to himself, Saïx winced as he trudged past Xigbar. “I’ll give my report in writing, then I’m going to retire for the evening.”

“Ok! I’ll be picking it up in a bit!” Xigbar called out. As soon as Saïx rounded the corner, Xigbar turned to look at Larxene. “You know, that smart mouth and inflated ego of yours is gonna get you killed like last time.”

Larxene growled, then turned away with a scoff. “I don’t need to be reminded of my defeat with that brat again,” she said. “He was lucky I wasn’t at my best.”

“Twice,” Xigbar reminded the speedy lightning assassin. She flinched in annoyance, but remained silent to avoid another remark. “Speaking of reports, how’s your search going?”

“I’m working on it,” Larxene said. “Do you know how many worlds there are and how many girls exist in each one? It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“Then keep on digging through that stack. There’s still a few more ‘needles’ left to prick yourself on.” Larxene ignored the metaphor Xigbar gave her, walking away from the one-eyed sniper with a lackadaisical wave. He turned and began to wander around the halls, pondering the interesting news that came up from Saïx’s recon. “This is quite a surprise. Xemnas is gonna have a field day when he learns the other Keyblade brat is alive and well.”





Lea let out a weak groan, his body feeling incredibly heavy and sore. Squinting his eyes open, he found himself back in his bedroom in the Castle of Friendship. As he blinked the sleep from his eyes, he immediately recalled why his body felt like it got steamrolled. It didn’t help that his conversation with Saïx still rang in his ears, especially the last words he spoke before he fled back to the Organization’s lair.

Though Lea grimaced at the harsh words said to him, his former best friend was actually right: all the promises he made were nothing but false words. The girl he and Isa had promised to rescue was left waiting, even as they were turned into Nobodies to find a way for her to be freed from the experiments she was put through. He then befriended Roxas and Xion some time after, but protecting them from the truth of their existence as beings and for the former Organization pushed them to find that truth, getting them in more trouble and causing both of their destruction against each other. And even now with Xion back in his life, he couldn’t beat his best friend to protect her as he laid in bed with a broken, beaten body. He failed: he failed Isa and the mystery girl, he failed Xion and Roxas, but he also failed as a Guardian of Light after the beating he took.

“Damn it,” Lea uttered to himself, feeling tears well in his eyes. “Maybe...Aqua was right after all. I probably...didn’t have what it takes to wield a Keyblade after all.” Sighing, and with a grimace through the soreness in his body, Lea lifted one of his forelegs and wiped away the incoming tears. He was confused when he felt the tears on his fur and not the sleeve of his coat. Removing his leg, he saw bandages wrapped around his limb, noticing some burn marks beneath some of the wrappings, where the burns were most likely the worst. He then noticed a weight laying on his chest, looking down and finding Xion resting her head on his chest, sound asleep. “...Xion?”

Her ears twitched as she heard her name, causing her to stir awake. Xion squinted her eyes open and lifted her head off of Lea’s chest. Once she was fully awake, her eyes widened with a gasp as she saw Lea was conscious.

“Axel!” Elated and relieved, she dove into Lea and hugged the stallion tightly, causing immense pain from the tight embrace Xion held him in. “You’re awake! I thought we lost you!”

“Agh! You’re gonna if you squeeze me that hard!” he exclaimed, writhing in pain.

Xion let go of Lea with a startled gasp, watching him wince and grit his teeth. “S-Sorry,” she apologized.

After the pain began to dull down to a sore stiffness, Lea slowly sat himself up against the headboard. With his covers shifted, he looked down at himself to see what the damage was. His coat was stripped off of him, and much like his foreleg, other parts of his body were dressed in bandages, burnt patches of fur, and even a few nasty bruises. Since he arrived in Equestria, no one had known what Lea’s cutie mark was until they had to remove his coat. His cutie mark was much different compared to the other wielders’: it was the same bomb-like fire creature that was on his old frisbees when he was younger.

“How long was I out for?” he asked.

“A couple days,” Xion said. Lea sighed, thinking he would have been out cold for a bit longer than that. When he glanced around his room, on the small bedside table, he was surprised to see three different seashells sitting there. Xion noticed him staring at the shells, picking one of them up curiously in his magic aura. “I borrowed Sora’s Gummi ship and went to the beach near Mt. Aris to pick those up. I left one by your bed each day.”

Lea remembered how Xion and Roxas did this for each other when they both respectively fell into a coma, finding a seashell after they finished their mission for the day and placing them on their beds until they woke up. He never believed the strange rumor about seashells as a kid, where you can hear the ocean if he puts one up to his ear. But, feeling curious, he held the shell up to his ear. He didn’t know if his mind was playing tricks on him from the beating he took and being asleep for only three days, it did sound like the ocean waves lapping at the shore, though a bit muffled. He let out a small laugh in amusement before laying the shell back down.

“Too bad my collection’s not as big as yours or Roxas’s,” he said. “I feel a bit jealous.”

“It’s not funny,” Xion said. “You were badly hurt and burned, even though Fire is more your element. Roxas and I fell unconscious from Sora’s memories flooding our minds.”

“...Sorry,” Lea mumbled. “I’ll stop with the jokes.”

Even though Xion was a bit upset at how Lea made a joke about his lack of seashells like she and Roxas had when they were out of commission, she was confused when he said he was going to stop joking around. The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, then heard some voices coming from the hall.

“Mr. Lea’s room...Ah! I think this is it!” They heard Cozy Glow outside the door, followed by a jiggling of the door handle before it opened, revealing the pegasus filly hovering inside. “Oh! He’s awake, too!”

Wondering what the pegasus filly was doing, she quickly looked down as small, hasty hooves ran inside. Lea didn’t see who it was until they began to climb up onto the bed, and he was surprised to see Axle Beam. As the mute colt struggled to get up, he was also shocked to see Sweet Delight walk inside, worried about her son’s swift entrance, but was soon relieved to see the unicorn stallion awake.

“Sweet? Axle?” Lea uttered. Axle Beam finally pulled himself up on the bed, then jumped on Lea’s chest and hugged him tightly. He grimaced again, startled to know that a tiny colt’s grip to his injured body gave him just as much pain as Xion’s did. “Ow! Ok, I know I worried you, buddy, but every part of me hurts!”

“And we have every right to be.” Sweet approached the bed, and much to Lea’s protests, she hugged the poor stallion as well, though much more gently than the colt, who was trembling as his tears smeared into the stallion’s chest. Lea beared with it for the time being until Sweet Delight let go, then gently pulled her son away from him to let him exhale sharply in relief. “We saw your friends carry you off, and they told us your old friend nearly beat you to death before they came to your rescue.”

“Yeah...That’s Saïx for ya,” Lea said. “Turns into a monster when he gets angry. I really thought I could handle him...but I underestimated him. And what he could do as...that…”

He looked at Xion, who didn’t seem all that confused about Axle Beam’s name or found it awkward to call Lea by his former Nobody name and get the colt’s attention instead. She seemed worried about something else as she glanced at Sweet Delight, then back to him. He was going to ask what was with the awkward silence until Xion finally spoke up.

“Uhh...Axel,” she said. Axle Beam looked up, thinking the Nobody was talking to him, which was exactly what Lea expected as he snorted a little in amusement. “There’s...a few things that happened while you were unconscious.”

Lea didn’t like the way Xion said that. “...Like...what?”

Xion bit her lower lip, shifting her eyes to Sweet Delight and Axle Beam every other second, like she was afraid to tell Lea. Sweet noticed the hesitation coming from the mare, and with a breath, she decided to speak for her.

“I know who you really are,” she said. Lea was in shock, eyes wide and gulping nervously, but he had no idea what Sweet meant as well. “Not just you, but your other friends with those Key-blade things.”

Lea, confused, blinked stupidly, glancing at Xion, then back to Sweet Delight and Axle Beam. “...Uhh...Y-You do?” he asked. The mare nodded, but instead of angry, she was still relatively calm, but looked a bit overwhelmed. “...How?”

Sweet giggled sheepishly in response. “Well...I demanded to know what happened to you and why your friend had your sword,” she said. “I was frantic and I thought you actually died for a moment. I thanked you for saving us, and doing it again a few days ago, and I thought you were a goner after you fought your friend. It would have felt like it was my fault we coincidentally met and our lives were put in danger from bumping into you.” Axle quickly shook his head and hugged his mother’s neck, refuting all the blame that she placed on herself when both attacks had come out of nowhere. “Oh, I know, sweetie, but I worry about you constantly. I can’t help worrying a lot about our hero as much as I worry about you.”

One of Lea’s ears drooped, baffled by the fact that Sweet Delight was that seriously worried about him, but she and her son were taking the truth about their identities this well. “...So...who broke the ‘world order’ rule? Did Sora do it?”

“...It was...Aqua,” Xion said.

Lea couldn’t believe his ears, but his shocked, gaping muzzle quickly closed into an annoyed scowl. “Oh. Good. She yells at me for being a joke and not taking my jobs seriously, but she tells someone about us and breaks the world order, and yet no one else seems to bat an eye and let that important rule we’re supposed to uphold go,” he complained.

“No, everypony was definitely surprised,” Sweet said, her son nodding in agreement. “It was more my fault when I kept persisting, and Miss Aqua already looked like she’d been through enough trouble that day.” She placed Axle back down, setting him at the foot of Lea’s bed. The colt knew his idol was still in a lot of pain, so he waited patiently while he looked at him, looking even more enamored by him with what else he and his mother learned of him and his friends outside Equestria. “In all honesty, I was upset with her when she explained why she had your sword. And I gave her my two bits for the actual argument you two had and taking it away from you.

“As much as she deserved a verbal beatdown like you had, your other friends gave her enough grief. I don’t know what got up her plot, but that look in her eyes told me there was something...much worse she’s been through. I won’t pry any further than that for her sake at the very least.” Sweet rubbed her head with a sigh, shifting some of her mane back behind her ear. “It’s all so much to take in, but with what I’ve read in the news about you guys saving the day, it’s actually really interesting.”

“So...You and Axle aren’t...disturbed by the fact I’m not really a pony?” Lea asked curiously.
“Well, it is bizarre, but something about you told me you were far from being a normal stallion,” Sweet admitted with a giggle. “The way you sat on the train, Axle’s been trying to copy you at home.” To prove her mother’s point, Axle sat down by the edge of the bed, and with a little bit of effort, he mimicked the exact same sitting position as Lea. He was impressed, even Xion as the colt didn’t show any discomfort while he looked at the stallion with a grin. “You really left such a positive impression on him. I don’t think it matters who or what you are if Axle looks up to you that much.”

Lea smiled a little, slightly relieved. “Well, at least you two didn’t freak out.”

“And they all promised us to keep everything about you all a secret,” Sweet Delight added. “I certainly will.”

Axle nodded in response, then copied Lea’s “memorized” gesture. Lea and Sweet laughed, knowing full well the colt was definitely able to keep that secret since he can’t talk. Cozy Glow flew into the room, carrying a medical bag with her and setting it on the bed next to Lea. He almost forgot about the youngest Keyblade wielder’s presence for a moment as she pulled out some ointment and fresh bandages.

“I’m gonna change up your bandages and get some more burn ointment on you,” she said to the stallion. “After that, I’ll tell everyone the good news.”

“Good news. That’s a laugh,” Lea muttered.

He wondered why Cozy Glow was volunteering to redress his wounds, but the filly seemed to know what she was doing, despite being so young. Sweet Delight winced as she saw all the discarded bandages revealing his wounds and burn marks. She thought that one blow he took for her and Axle seemed painful, but what Saïx did to him was so much worse than she thought. After Cozy carefully reapplied Lea’s bandages, she dumped the used ones in a little baggie she had in the medical bag, then flew off with her supplies to inform everyone about Lea’s status.

Figuring he’d better get a headstart, Lea grunted as he shifted toward the edge of the bed. “Axel, you need to rest,” Xion chided.

“I need to stretch my legs,” Lea said. “I’ve slept long enough.”

He winced with each movement of his protesting muscles, lowering himself carefully to the floor while propping himself up against the mattress. “You really should lay back down,” Sweet Delight said. Lea shook his head, but his legs began to buckle as soon as he moved slightly away from his bed. Sweet quickly got to his side to help prop him up just as his body was about to give out. “I didn’t take you for the stubborn type.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m stubborn in my own way,” Lea said, laughing a bit, only to grunt as a wave of pain hit his side.

Sweet rolled her eyes, but continued helping him to the door. Xion raised a brow at the pair’s weirdly flirty behavior, almost like they had been dating in secret for months, but Sweet Delight admitted only running into Lea twice in the last few months. She looked at Axle Beam, understanding how clueless he was to his mother’s interactions with Lea, but he seemed to be looking at Lea’s cutie mark. He hopped down and followed them with a big grin on his face with Xion taking the rear, the colt getting his mother’s attention and excitedly pointing to his flank, then mimed throwing something before pointing back to his flank again.

“His cutie mark?” she guessed, getting a nod from the colt.

“Hey, eyes forward or up here, Miss Delight,” Lea cheekily warned, making the mare snort in amusement.

“I think Axle’s trying to say your cutie mark looks like the frisbee you gave him,” Sweet explained.

“Oh. Yeah, it does. Oddly enough,” Lea said. “At least it’s not a Keyblade like everyone else’s. Guess it makes me a little bit unique compared to the others.”

“I’m curious. What is that creature supposed to be?” Sweet asked. “A fireball demon?”

“I think it’s called a Bomb,” Lea said.

“‘Bomb’?” she repeated, blowing a raspberry at the name for such a fantasy creature. “Fire demon sounds much better.”

“I didn’t come up with the name,” Lea argued with a smirk. “What should I call your cutie mark? Pastries on a plate?”

Xion watched Lea and Sweet Delight sharing some playful banter while Axle Beam trotted or hopped beside the two of them as they walked through the halls. It was weird how these two sounded like they were flirting with each other, but in a weird way, she thought they could make a great couple, assuming Lea would want to be in a relationship anytime soon. It was slow going, but they eventually reached the throne room Lea guided Sweet to take them to. As he opened the doors, they saw Aqua sitting in front of the map, observing one of the worlds. She looked up, locking eyes with Lea, who lost all his joy talking with Sweet Delight as he frowned at her. She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, but was saved from his disappointed leer by a pink pony dropping in from above the doorway.

“Lea’s awake!” Pinkie cheered. She startled Sweet Delight and Axle Beam. “Hi, Xion! Hi, Sweet Delight! Hi, little Axel Beam!” Pinkie hopped around greeting the four ponies, then stopped between Lea and Sweet, shifting her eyes between the two, then grew an impish grin as her eyes narrowed. “Hello, future shipping couple.”

Pinkie rubbed her hooves together mischiefly, baffling Lea and Sweet Delight as a light blush appeared on both their faces. “...W-What did she say?” Sweet asked.

“Ugh. Ignore Pinkie Pie,” Lea said. “Trust me. Don’t think too hard about her.”

“Everypony will be here in a hot second, so pop a squat anywhere near the map!” Pinkie said before turning and hopping off to her throne while humming a random tune.

Sweet helped Lea over to the table and set him down in one of the thrones. Even though they belonged to one of the Elements of Harmony, they wouldn’t mind if they let the injured stallion rest. Axle Beam looked at the table as he approached it, hopping up and down to see the enchanted map before being helped up by Xion, letting him walk on top of it. As they waited for the rest of their friends, Lea looked over at Aqua again, who was unable to avoid his gaze this time.

“...How are you feeling?” Aqua asked.

“Sore. Burnt. Dejected. Humiliated,” Lea listed, only making the blue unicorn lower her head in guilt once more. Lea dropped his deadpan stare, feeling exhausted both physically and emotionally. He bowed his head, ignoring the pain. “But I deserve all this.”

Aqua shot her head back up, startling her, Xion, Sweet Delight, Axle, and Pinkie, whose jaw literally dropped to the floor at his claim. “...Y-You...do?” Aqua asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Lea said. Sweet Delight wanted to protest, insisting that it wasn’t his fault he got his tail whooped, but he patted her shoulder. She looked at him, reassuring her that it was fine. The mare closed her mouth, but still didn’t believe he was the one truly at fault for what happened the other day. “I didn’t take my role as a warrior of light as seriously as the rest of you. I crack jokes and do nothing, even though I don’t feel like I’m given any opportunity to prove my worth as a wielder like you guys. And I showed a huge lack of respect by addressing you or Master Yen Sid with crude names that were completely unprofessional and demeaning.” Aqua’s jaw hung open in shock, astonished to finally hear him calling Yen Sid as a master. “I apologize for my behavior. I have every right to lose my Keyblade...I just hope you can forgive me for my outburst, and not being up to your expectations, Master Aqua.”

Aqua’s jaw hung as low as it could after being addressed as LEA’S master. She half expected Lea to yell at her about her accusations and how his injuries from Saïx were all her fault for taking away his Keyblade. He kept his head low, waiting for her response to his apology to her and Yen Sid. Xion, Sweet Delight, and Pinkie stood in shocked silence, anxiously waiting for Aqua to say something as well.

“...I...accept your apology,” she finally said after the pregnant pause. “...But...I’m the one who should be apologizing. You didn’t deserve any of this.”

Lea tilted his head up, having expected Aqua to shut down his apology. They waited a bit before everyone could finally arrive, including Yen Sid and Mickey. The others were glad to see Lea was awake, even though they wanted him to stay in bed and rest, much like Xion and Sweet Delight had. Aqua was in a bit of disbelief with how he was going to be this stubborn to avoid getting any rest, but she or the others didn’t have to force him unless he wasn’t strong enough to at least stand up.

Rarity had arrived late, much like last time, but the Crusaders didn’t appear, since they were busy helping some other foals with their cutie mark problems. She had a little package on her back, keeping it concealed behind her throne out of Lea’s sight.

“Sorry I’m late again,” she said. “Got a little bit busy, but finished my latest work in time.”

Aqua sighed, seeing everyone was all here now. All eyes were on her, knowing she needed to resolve her resentment against Lea.

“For a long while, Lea, I didn’t trust you,” Aqua began. “I didn’t bother to learn everything about you and focused just on who you used to be; what you were a part of. I know I have a lot of issues, and that shouldn’t excuse me from misjudging you too soon just by your type of behavior. If there’s anyone who should be apologizing, it’s me…” Holding out her hoof, Aqua summoned Flame Liberator. She began walking around the table, approaching Lea as she continued her apologetic speech. “This habit I’ve had since my solitude in the Realm of Darkness would lead me to mistakes like this, something I swore I would never do again. I can’t always trust my judgement, and I need everyone to tell me what I’ve said and done was actually wrong.

“What I did to you was definitely wrong. And, if you are willing, I’d like for us to make up and start over.” She stopped in front of Lea, who seemed perplexed by the heartfelt apology. Aqua held his Keyblade in both her hooves, then held it out to the stallion. “I’d like to start by giving you back what rightfully belongs to you.” Lea stared at his Keyblade, then back to Aqua. He lifted a hoof, hesitating at first, but he slowly reached out and grabbed onto the hilt. “I’m sorry, Lea: for taking your Keyblade away unfairly, for insulting your credibility as a wielder and a person, and for being a horrible friend.” Aqua bowed her head, closing her eyes while he continued to stare at her from his seat. “Please forgive me.”

She lifted her head back up, waiting for Lea to accept her apology. He offered no response, silently leering at her. After a moment, Lea lifted one of his hooves and held it out to her, giving her a small smile. Taking the hint, Aqua smiled back and moved her own hoof, meeting Lea’s as the two bitter allies shook hooves, reconciling their differences.

“Since we’re doing some apologies, I want to say sorry as well,” Starlight voiced out as she approached Lea. “I kinda treated you poorly as well. In fact, I was pretty jealous when you actually had more visits as a guidance counselor than me, and I had to study friendship from Twilight the hard way before I graduated.”

“Hey, my lessons are NOT that complicated!” Twilight exclaimed, getting a laugh from most of the group who knew her and her study habits and lessons.

“And as co-counselors, we should have tried to see if we can split helping the few students who do come to us for help,” Starlight suggested. “How’s that sound?”

Lea hummed as he rubbed his chin in thought. He looked at Sweet Delight and Axle Beam, remembering the promise he made for the colt.

“Hey, Sweet, did you get the chance to enroll Axle into Twilight’s school yet?” he asked.

Sweet shook her head. “We were too worried about you to even think about that. Why?”

“Well, then, if we can enroll Axle Beam into the School of Friendship for next semester, and you share a mug of your ‘comfort’ cocoa for me and him every once in a while, I’ll agree with these terms as co-counselors.” Axle Beam’s jaw dropped as he looked at Lea, who gave him a confident wink.

“Well, Twilight’s the one who’s in charge of enrolling new students, but I supposed I can spare one mug for the two of you every month,” Starlight said.

“Make it a week,” Lea bartered.

“Two weeks, and not a day less,” Starlight countered.

Lea frowned, observing Starlight as he thought over her counter deal. “...Alright,” he said. Starlight held her hoof out to settle the deal, and he did the same, but a bit slowly. “And we’d like a dozen marshmallows in that cocoa as well,” Lea quickly said, then shot his hoof forward to the confused mare before giving it a quick shake and pulling away. “There! Done deal!”

“H-Hey, you can’t do that!” Starlight exclaimed.

“Too late! Deal’s sealed! No takesies-backsies!” That got a bit of a laugh out of the group for the childish retort.

Starlight furrowed her brow at the stallion, but she sighed and let it go. “As irritating as that was, I guess a counselor with your sense of humor might help relax troubled students,” she said. “You want a dozen marshmallows in your cup, you’ll get them.”

“And for the next semester, I’ll gladly enroll your son at my school, Ms. Delight,” Twilight said. “I’ll get the paperwork ready for you to sign him in. This would also be a great opportunity to teach others to be friends with a student who has a disability.”

“That’d be wonderful, Princess Twilight,” Sweet said. She saw Axle look at Lea, the princess, and his mother, struck with disbelief. She laughed at her son’s bewilderment and gave him a little head rub to snap him out of his daze. “You hear that, sweetie? You’re going to make some new friends.”

The colt was overjoyed, hopping off the table and bounced around everyone to express his excitement. Everyone watched Axle Beam in amusement as he made a lap around the table, stopping in front of Lea before he thanked the stallion by hugging one of his hind legs. He chuckled and patted the colt’s head, but even though he was glad to help Axle in more ways than one, there had to be something going on with Aqua and Starlight apologizing, and giving back his Keyblade after not taking everything seriously.

Even though it was supposed to be a more uplifting day for Lea, Aqua noticed the frown on his muzzle. “Lea, what’s wrong?” she asked.

The others noticed his forlorn expression, concerned with what was upsetting Lea after he was practically welcomed back into the group after a serious apology from Aqua. “...I feel like I shouldn’t deserve this at all,” he said.

“Why not, Lea?” Ventus asked.

“...Well, how I act around all of you, for one,” he said. “I'm in my late twenties, and yet I’m much more immature than a well-behaved kid. My terms of endearment to some of you are inappropriate nicknames, and none of you like them, whether you voice your complaints or not. And, to top it all off, I’m a guy who fails to keep his promises to anyone he meets, resulting in someone being disappointed in me, someone getting injured, or me, or getting those I care about killed.

“I really am nothing but a joke.” He grit his teeth, getting misty-eyed, trying his hardest not to break down in front of everyone. “Isa doesn’t trust me anymore. I let Roxas and Xion down after I swore to them I wouldn’t let anything tear us apart. And I can barely protect myself after I get a beatdown. I underestimated Isa, even when I just...burst with all this anger from being kicked out and what he was going to do to Xion! I couldn’t stop him no matter how hard I tried!” Axle jumped away from Lea in surprise when he began yelling at himself. Everyone else was just as shocked as he berated himself for what Aqua and Saïx had said to him. “How can I be one of you when I constantly break all my promises and get beaten to the point where I’m wrapped up like a mummy!? I’m no Guardian of Light...I’m not even a Nobody...I’m just a failure…”

Lea hunched over and buried face in his hooves. Aqua wilted, feeling at fault for making him feel like he didn’t belong with the insults she spewed at him. Xion was immediately at his side and hugged the stallion.

“Axel, that’s not true,” she said. “Don’t think that about yourself.”

Sweet Delight joined Xion and hugged his other side with Axle Beam going back to hug his idol again. “How can you be a failure when you saved us again and held your friend off to keep us and the whole town safe?” Sweet asked. “You’re our hero. You’re Axle’s hero.”

“They’re right, Lea,” Aqua said. “You have a place here as a bearer of the Keyblade, and as a Guardian of Light.” Lea looked up at Aqua, sniffing slightly while rubbing his face to avoid showing any tears. He wished he still had those triangular tear marks under his eyes like his Nobody. “We all relied on Sora the most to change the game, but, where the rest of us have played a part in many ways, good or bad...I believe none of us would be sitting here, right now, if you never befriended Ven, Roxas and Xion, and come to Sora’s rescue.” Lea stared at her in astonishment. Aqua lowered her head, bringing a hoof over her heart. “When I wanted to search for Ven’s heart, I didn’t have the chance when I was trapped in the Realm of Darkness. I never realized where it was until I felt his light reach out to me from within Sora when I was in a poor state of mind, turning into Torrent and almost lost my own light in my despair.

“If you didn’t save Sora from Xehanort’s clutches in the dream realm, I would have lost any chance of bringing back Ven from his heartless coma. Without your help, I would have permanently stayed as Torrent, or continued being the horrible person I was to you that day.” Her horn lit up as she lifted her head. With a smile on her face, her magic pulled out a pair of objects from her pocket. She held them out to Lea, surprising him when everyone saw her levitating a pair of new Wayfinders in her blue aura, one colored purple while the other was a fiery red-orange. “I was working on some new Wayfinders to give to my pupils for their hard work, and I had some extra materials to make a few more.”

“Two?” Lea uttered.

“Yup. One’s for you. The other’s for Xion.” Xion let out a small gasp in surprise. Aqua gave her and Lea their new Wayfinders, red-orange for Lea and purple for Xion. “You two are, and always will be, part of this group; this huge family. If my apology wasn’t enough, I was going to give these as an olive branch.”

Xion let go of Lea and reached out to grab hers while Lea took his with his own aura, staring at the symbolic star-shaped trinket as a peace offering. “Hey, don’t we get one!?” Donald complained. “We’ve been friends for a long while!”

Aqua laughed, pulling out a few more Wayfinders: One was a deep blue, another was green, and the last was a brighter red with a familiar mouse head symbol in the center. She handed each of them to Donald, Goofy and even Mickey, to the mouse king’s surprise.

“I did say I made a few extra ones,” Aqua repeated.

Donald chuckled in delight, making Goofy roll his eyes, seeing that bit of greedy intention still apparent in the griffon mage’s eyes. “Gawrsh, these are neat, Aqua. Thanks,” Goofy said.

“Thank you, Aqua,” Mickey said to Aqua.

Goofy nudged Donald, making him squawk before all eyes fell on the greedy duck-billed griffon. “Uhh, yeah. Thanks, Aqua,” he said.

“And there’s one more gift to give to Lea,” Rarity chimed in. She pulled out the box she brought in and hid. “I made you a new set of clothes to help you really fit in with everypony.”

“Huh? What about my coat?” Lea asked.

The fashionista scoffed, waving her hoof in disgust. “You really wanted to wear that again? Darling, it was so badly burnt and torn apart, there’s no chance of repairing something so...plain. You needed a new pair of clothes, just like Xion.” She levitated the box and set it in Lea’s lap, Sweet and Axle giving the stallion some room as they grew curious to what his new outfit would look like. “I think it’ll suit you perfectly, but to add a bit more protection, Master Yen Sid helped add in a few enchantments.”

Shocked, Lea glanced at the old wizard, who only nodded to the red unicorn stallion to confirm what Rarity had said. He was curious to see what the mare made for him if it was better than his old Organization coat. Opening the box, he moved the lining around the clothes to keep them safe, then pulled out his new outfit for everyone to see. The first was a black undershirt, a sleeveless jacket with a hood and an expertly sewn in design of the Bomb monster matching his cutie mark hovered over a sea of flames that were cut off with a tattered sort of style like it had burned some of the jacket, a pair of armbands with a flame motif on each one, and a pair of reddish-brown pants with a flame-trail riding up the outer sides of the pant legs. It was all still black at least, but the fiery design and the explosive monster looked absolutely perfect and just as Rarity believed he would react.

“Wow. Much better than that stuffy coat,” Lea said in awe. He wanted to try it on, but his body’s protests would probably make it hard just to put on the undershirt, let alone the pants that would be more difficult to pull up while he was a pony. “I’ll have to wait until my body recovers to wear it. Don’t wanna stain it with any ointment oozing from my bandages.”

“Fair enough,” Rarity said. “If your injuries didn’t kill you, I would if you got it filthy within mere minutes of putting on my hard work.”

“I’d take a beating from a fashion designer more than a spiked claymore,” Lea said with a small laugh. He folded his new clothes back up, feeling accepted and appreciated by his new friends. Even as he still thought he caused a lot of problems, he really did help everyone when it really did matter, and Aqua, who hated his guts for no reason, was actually grateful for him to be around. “Almost feels like my birthday today. I don’t think anything else can make my day better.”

Suddenly, without any warning, the Cutie Map began to glow a bright light. The pulsing light caught everyone’s attention. Just as someone was about to ask what was happening, the Keyblade wielders’ thrones began to glow as well, then suddenly disappeared under the seated wielders’ behinds. Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Ven yelped as they quickly flapped their wings while Terra quickly landed safely on his hooves.

“W-What is going on!?” Twilight asked.

“Where’d our thrones go!?” Kairi exclaimed.

They soon got their answer when their thrones reappeared, however, they were now placed around the edge of the throne room, which seemed to have also grown in size by a few yards in radius. Then, out of the blue, Lea and Xion’s Keyblades appeared in their hooves. Confused how they didn’t summon their weapons, they looked to see two more thrones appear among the other taller thrones magically moved around. On the backs of the thrones, everyone stared in awe as they saw Lea’s Keyblade marked on one, and the other for Xion were two blades in the shape of Nobody sigils, the same swords used in her armored transformation.

“More thrones?” Aqua uttered.

“Are...Are those...our thrones?” Xion asked.

“That’s awesome!” Ventus laughed. “You guys get to sit among us!”

“And with the amount of room that was added, that means more wielders might have their own thrones when they walk in,” Terra guessed. “I think the Tree of Harmony’s gifted magic could have given us enough warning before it did that.”

“So, would that mean the Young Six would have their own thrones if they entered the throne room as well?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“If that’s the case, we’ll bring them in to see if that’s a possibility,” Twilight said.

“I still don’t get how they get taller thrones and we get the small ones,” Rainbow complained with her hooves crossed over her chest.

Lea stared at his throne. The Tree of Harmony had recognized not just Xion, but him as well as one of the many protectors of this world. It showed him that he really was recognized as a part of the group. And if Xion was given a throne, it would be a matter of time when Roxas joins them in the real world with his own body, and he might get his own throne to join the others. The best part was that his and Xion’s thrones were right next to each other, at equal height among the other wielders’ thrones. No difference in height to show off their numbers, marked with their Keyblades, and looking over the map and the Mane Six’s thrones as a symbol that they were the protectors of not just Equestria, but every world throughout the galaxy.

He was too lost in awe at this chance to be a much better person to be remembered, he didn’t notice the tears that welled up and began to trickle down his cheeks. “Lea, are you crying?”

His ears twitched as he heard Sweet talking to him. Confused, he brought a hoof to his cheek, feeling his damp fur and a stray tear roll onto his hoof. He rubbed his eyes, but his tears of joy didn’t go unnoticed by everyone else.

“...I-I guess I...couldn’t hold them back,” he said with a chuckle. Lea was a bit embarrassed for crying in front of everyone, but no one judged him if he was a bit emotional after expressing how he felt about himself and given a lot more appreciation and gifts he felt he didn’t deserve. He looked down at Axle, who smiled and looked happy for him. “I’m good now.”

“Hey! You guys all know what this fantastic news calls for!?” Pinkie asked.

“A party?” everyone except for Yen Sid, Mickey, and Sweet Delight answered all at once.

“Huh? How’d you guys know?” Pinkie questioned, perplexed despite being known for throwing random parties for anything big or small. “Eh. Oh well.” She shrugged, then pulled out her party cannon hidden behind her throne. Aiming the cannon, she pushed the button, releasing an explosion of confetti, scattering the colorful paper pieces all over everyone in the throne room. “Let’s party!”

Pinkie turned into a blur as she zipped around, placing premade cupcakes, punch, and other assorted snacks on the crystal table, decorated the rest of the room with streamers and balloons, and even placed a little party hat on the startled and confused Axle Beam. She came to a stop at her throne with a radio, pressing play and livening the room with some party music. Sweet Delight and Axle Beam were stunned silent as the group all began celebrating the impromptu party.

“...What...is happening?” Sweet asked with a confused laugh while Axle touched the party hat that was swiftly put on his head without feeling it. “Is this a normal thing that happens?”

“Yeah, oddly enough,” Lea said. “Like I said about Pinkie, don’t ask, and enjoy the party.”

Axle didn’t need to be told twice as he licked his lips, eyeing all the sweets on the crystal table. Sweet shrugged and took Lea’s advice, helping herself and Axle with some of the sweet treats Pinkie had prepped for her random parties.





After the party died down, it was beginning to get late. Most of the group were partied out as they headed back to their homes/rooms to rest up for tomorrow. Axle Beam was all tuckered out, sleeping on Sweet Delight’s back while the mare helped Lea from the throne room back to his room, being careful not to wake the colt with her movements and her conversation with the stallion.

“How do you guys find your way around this castle?” Sweet asked. “I got lost the moment I entered the front door.”

“You get used to finding your way around after a while,” Lea said. He had his new clothes safely in the gifted box on his back with his Wayfinder resting on top of the box. “Be thankful it’s not like a place called Castle Oblivion. Everything in there was all the same, no matter what floor you were on.”

“Goodness gracious,” the mare uttered with a shake of her head. They reached the hallway to Lea’s room, to Sweet’s confusion, but he stopped her at his bedroom door. “Ok. Home sweet home. Now it’s time for me to head home to put Axle into bed.”

“He’s definitely partied out,” Lea chuckled as he glanced at the sleeping colt. “He’d better get used to that if Pinkie’s lurking around.”

“I think Ponyville was a good choice to move to after all,” Sweet said, though how she phrased it confused Lea.

“Was your last place really that bad?” he asked. “And...not to be rude, but...where’s Mr. Delight throughout all this?”

Sweet Delight grimaced at the last question, her ears drooping as she glanced away from Lea. “...Uhh...He’s…” Lea thought he must have pried a bit too much, slowly getting a few ideas as to where Axle Beam’s father might be. “...Well, let’s just say I made a poor decision with the ‘right’ stallion a few years ago. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Oh...Sorry to hear that,” Lea mumbled.

“It’s fine. I’d rather have raised Axle by myself than with that…” Sweet grumbled to herself, but she shook her head before she said something nasty. “But that’s in the past. I’m focusing on raising Axle as a single mom, but I can tell that Axle wishes he had a father around.”

Lea felt sorry for the colt. He couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to grow up with only one parent. And whatever Axle’s real dad had done to Sweet Delight, he hoped he wasn’t the worst kind of deadbeat dad.

“Have you ever thought about going back into the dating scene and maybe finding a good father figure for him?” Lea asked the mare.

“Sometimes, but when you’re raising a colt who was born without any way to cry for attention, I don’t have the time to engage in any romance,” Sweet said. “Besides, what stallion would want to court a boring pastry chef like me?”

“Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t like you?” Lea questioned, making the mare tilt her head in confusion. “I know I’ve only known you for barely a week, but you’re really brave, you’re a great listener, and you’re so devoted to protecting your son, even in the face of danger.” Sweet Delight blushed as her lips curled into a bashful grin. “You’re stronger than you think. Some day, you’re gonna find a guy who’ll fall head over heels for you.” Lea gave Sweet a wide grin with his eyes shut as he leaned closer, tapping his hoof to his head. “Got it memorized, Sweety?”

It took Lea a second to realize what he just said, his eyes popping open in shock. He quickly moved his gestured hoof to his mouth, Sweet’s blush glowing brighter as she seemed just as surprised. “S-Sweety?” she stammered.

“U-Uhh, wait, I didn’t mean ‘sweetie’ like a girlfriend!” Lea quickly backpedaled, his cheeks burning underneath his red fur. “I-It was supposed to be more of a nickname, you know? B-But if you don’t like it, I can give you another one that won’t sound as-!”

Sweet Delight planted her lips on Lea’s rambling muzzle, startling the stallion with a muffled grunt. Too stunned to react, Lea’s heart raced as Sweet actually kissed him out of the blue. It only lasted for a few seconds before the mare slowly pulled away, parting their lips with a light smack. The stallion blinked, his brain melting as it processed the feel of her lips against his, staring at the blushing earth pony mare giving him a half-lidded, loving gaze. He wasn’t sure why she did that, but his blush finally became apparent through his red fur, finding Sweet Delight more beautiful than he thought.

“I like it,” Sweet Delight said. “You’re quite the gentlecolt, Lea.” Dumbfounded, Lea could only stare at Sweet, unable to come up with a witty retort. She giggled at his stupor before turning back down the hall, brushing her tail against Lea’s muzzle with a slow, teasing flick as she walked away. “I hope Axle and I see you around town sometime. Our door’s always open for you.” She stopped, turning her head to face him, then tapped her hoof against her head, copying the stallion’s signature gesture with a coy smile. “Got it memorized?”

Lea’s tongue suddenly felt dry, gulping down a nervous lump that grew before his brain finally got through to the rest of his body. “Y-Yeah...Got it,” he said with a small, awkward, nervous laugh. “Uhh, see ya around...Sweety.”

Sweet Delight giggled, giving him a wink, then continued down the hall. Once she and her sleeping son were out of sight, Lea brought a hoof to his lips, which still tingled pleasantly from that surprise kiss. Just like the mare, Lea didn’t have any time to seek romance when he’d been relentlessly trying to save his friends, or forced to do whatever he was ordered to do in the Organization. He never once thought of ever finding a girlfriend, much less a mare who was also a single mom, but his muzzle curled into a grin at the idea of being in a relationship with someone like Sweet Delight.

“Well, that was a ‘sweet’ moment.” Lea flinched, his ears twitching as he heard Xion’s voice right beside him.

He grumbled, his blush still apparent on his face as he turned to give the Nobody a deadpan stare, ignoring the cheeky grin on her muzzle. “One: very terrible pun,” he grumbled, which made Xion giggle. “And two: not a word to anyone.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Xion said, reciting the Pinkie Promise with all the motions to seal the deal.

As relieved as he was for his friend to keep his new feelings for Sweet Delight a secret, he didn’t know how much of their interaction she witnessed. “Were you hiding down the hall?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she said. “You two would make an adorable couple.”

“W-We’ll see,” Lea mumbled bashfully. Once Lea finally stilled his beating heart from Sweet’s sneaky kiss, he glanced at Xion. There was still so much on his chest he needed to say, especially to Xion. “Xion...I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Xion asked, her ears drooping when she saw the sad look on Lea’s face.

“...I knew who you were. Back in the old Organization,” he admitted. “I even knew what you needed, but I kept bringing you back to them instead of protecting you. I really should have taken you and Roxas somewhere far away from there and hid from them...I’m so sor-”

Xion quickly hugged Lea, surprising him with a pained grunt, but feeling how tightly she was hugging him, he managed to ignore his body’s protests. “I’ve already forgiven you, Axel,” she said. “I know you wanted to keep us safe. I’m just sorry we didn’t think about how you felt when Roxas and I ran and gave our lives away.” She nuzzled Lea’s chest, feeling tears well in her eyes. “Even in Sora’s heart, the moments Roxas and I had sitting at our usual spot, watching a fake sunset and eating ice cream, it wasn’t the same without you. I really, really missed you.”

Lea looked down at Xion, his mouth hung open in shock from her forgiving him and her own apology to him. His muzzle scrunched up as fresh tears began to well in his own eyes, but instead of wiping them or sucking them up, he hugged Xion tightly and let them flow.

“I missed you too, Xion,” he uttered, letting out a sob as he held his friend tighter. “I’m so, so sorry…”

The two held each other for a while longer before they separated, Lea finally all cried out after today. They both wiped their tears with a relieved, content grin on their faces.

“We’ll get them back,” Xion promised. “Not just Roxas, but your other friend and Saï - I mean, Isa.”

Lea nodded, fully trusting Xion’s words. “Yeah. Thanks, Xion,” he said. He soon let out a yawn, feeling as drained as he felt when he woke up today. “I think I’m gonna turn in. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Xion nodded, giving Lea a small wave before leaving to her bedroom. Lea walked in his room, wincing at his sore muscles as he headed straight for bed. He used his magic to safely place his new gifts on his dresser, then climbed into bed with a relieved groan. Glancing to his side table, he looked at the seashells Xion left for him when he was unconscious. Sighing, he got himself comfortable as he stared at the ceiling, wondering what Isa was doing and hoping he gets strong enough to knock some sense back into his friend. They still needed to save their other friend, if she still remembered them.