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// Interlude: New Information 
// Story: Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Sombra stared at the image that was in front of him, observing his form as he thought about a few things, such as the fact that he was definitely alive now, his body was made out of flesh and blood, instead of magic and smoke or even the bits of his soul that he had been lasted into after his defeat. The problem with his body, however, was that it was the wrong body, and not because of the bipedal form he had been given, rather it was due to the fact that he happened to be the opposite gender of what he had been born with, which confused him as he stared at his brand new reflection. There was no reason for whatever had given him this body to give him something that wasn't his, though it did make him wonder for a moment if he had been merged with the mare he had possessed, since he didn't see her anywhere, before wondering if he had merged with Radiant, since she had been there as well. After thinking about that Sombra quickly determined that this wasn't due to him being joined with either mare, otherwise he would have felt either of them inside his new form or heard either of them inside his head, which told him that Fluttershy and Radiant were elsewhere and that their paths were likely to cross again at some point.

After looking at himself some more Sombra turned away from the mirror, as it was odd looking at the wrong body he had been given, and focused on the space that was around him as he focused his attention on the now silent figure that was watching him in the void he was standing in.

"Mysterious entity, or whoever I'm talking to, you would have had my thanks for the body, but... well, you actually gave me the wrong body." Sombra stated, though as he said that he discovered that his voice was more feminine than what he was expecting, plus he was definitely younger than his old form, even though it was hard to gauge just how young he was right now, since he had no experience with this type of body.

The World is confused, as it assumed that you would be happy with your new body, the Entity replied, because that was the temporary name that Sombra was giving whatever was talking to him right now, as he was unable to pinpoint the direction that it was coming from, though he wasn't too surprised that 'The World' was surprised by his remark, and it is curious as to why you would say it gave you the 'wrong body'. The World says that when it discovered you, after appearing out of thin air with two other hearts, your heart was possessing another's form... it made the assumption that you, too, were female and created your new body based on that assumption.

"I can see that." Sombra said, to which he raised a hand towards his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, because this wasn't what he was expecting when he decided to use the portal to travel to a place to gain the power to conquer the rest of Equestria, not to mention all of Equus, before he thought of something that might improve his situation as he lowered his hand, "Since the World gave me this form, wrong as it is, it can restore me to my original gender right?"

...Yes... the World says that it can fix this mistake, but, since it doesn't have any material of a male from your race, it will take some time before it can do anything. the Entity answered, which didn't fill Sombra with confidence, as it made him question the power of the being that was currently watching over him, especially since it seemed like the World like how he looked like now and didn't want to undo what it had done, despite his personal feelings on the matter, For the moment the World is suggesting that you think of yourself as female and address yourself as such, as it is sure that it will save you from having to answer some awkward questions when you speak with other individuals.

"Really?" Sombra remarked, as he couldn't believe what he was hearing, that the force that gave him his incorrect body was essentially telling him that he should suck it up and just get used to being female, though it could be him overthinking what was going on right now, causing him to sigh as he resigned himself to his fate, as he was sure that using feminine terms was going to drive 'her' insane at some point, all while she lowered her voice so only she could hear herself, "This is starting to feel more like a punishment with every passing moment."

However, do not despair, as the World is going to grant you the knowledge on how to move your new body, so you can walk as the humans do. the Entity continued, which was either due to the World telling it that there was more it was giving Sombra, or it had heard her personal remark and wanted to correct part of what was going on right now, and this time she really had no idea which option was correct.

Sombra raised an eyebrow as she heard that, because everything the Entity said just made her that much more confused and interested in where the portal had brought her, before she paused as she felt a surge of information filter into her head, basic knowledge on how to move around. She stood still for a few seconds, going over the new knowledge that had been given to her, before she found something interesting, some of the movements were more oriented towards combat, as if the World was expecting her to head out on some sort of quest. In the following moment she decided to follow what her brand new memories were telling her, where Sombra raised her left leg for a moment and took a step, then a second and a third, before breaking out into a jog and then a run around the area to get used to her new body. The way she was able to move at the moment made it look like she had been born in this form and that she hadn't been gained it from another power, which she found to be a good thing in the long run, since it meant no one would stop her and ask questions.

Even with that newfound knowledge in her mind Sombra found that there were still some kinks to be worked out, because she was used to having a male body to run around and fight in, despite the fact that most of the time she used her magic to deal with her foes or those who displeased her. There were a few instances where she actually had to fight in melee combat, and she had trained herself to do so to the best of her ability, though there was a difference between being able to move in armor, with a powerful frame, to moving with her new body. She was certain that the mounds on her chest weren't very helpful and might get in the way of combat, if she was lucky to see any after suffering under the World's changes, but she decided to keep her mouth shut on the matter, least she annoy the World. Such a thing made her go over the new memories she had been given, to see if there was something she might have missed that would get rid of some of her annoyance with this situation, as it almost felt like this might be a punishment for her lust for power.

Such a thing caused her to stop for a time as she considered the pieces of information she had gleamed from just the new memories she had been given, as it really seemed like there was a grand plan in mind and that her arrival, not to mention the arrival of Fluttershy and Radiant, might have changed the World's grand plans.

"Let me guess: there's a price for this body and the memories?" Sombra inquired, which made sense to her, because she had gained something in this exchange and the World had gained nothing, save for attitude from her since this was the wrong body, meaning there was more that the Speaker, as that was what she had decided to call the entity, needed to tell her and she wanted to know what the pair would ask of her.

The World says that there is no price for your gifts... especially in the face of it's error... rather, it would ask you for a favor: to find the Kingdom Key's chosen wielder. the Speaker replied, which was interesting to Sombra, as the silent observer had revealed what she had been expecting, that it wanted her to do something for it, while also finding that it did make sure she knew that it had acknowledged that it made an error with her body, However, if you agree to this favor, you will need power to defend yourself and information about the foes you will no doubt encounter on the way.

Sombra raised a hand to her chin for a moment as she considered the information, as her main interest was the power that might be offered to her, especially since it had caused her to possess Fluttershy and pass through the portal, even though that plan had sort of failed given the fact that Radiant had knocked herself into the possessed mare and brought all three of them to this place, causing her to grin for a few seconds.

"Very well then, I'll play ball. What is this power you speak of? What enemies will I face?" Sombra asked, which might be seen as a bad thing to some, her asking questions in a rapid manner while focusing purely on the power she might gain, but right now this seemed less like a punishment, like she assumed a few moments ago, and more like a pause in her life, before she thought about a few other things that needed to be asked before she left this place, "And what's this about the 'Kingdom Key' and it's 'Chosen One'? Also, where's the pony I took control of and the one who came with us?"

For a moment nothing happened, like the Speaker was conversing with the World, before she felt a surge of energy that was in the area he was in and found that two orbs had appeared near her, one possessing a golden color with a simple looking crown icon on it, while the other was a deep red, almost crimson or blood red, though as she raised a hand towards the first one it shocked her before disappearing, giving her nothing.

The World has studied your heart and has offered you a unique power. the Speaker stated, where Sombra studied it for a time and found that it didn't react like the golden orb, the crimson one just floated there, as if waiting for her to absorb it into her being, though by 'heart' Sombra guessed that the World and the Speaker meant her actual soul, but decided not to bother asking more questions, The World calls this power 'Boundless Necromancy', the ability to capture the hearts of your enemies and absorb them, adding their power to your own.

Sombra paused as she heard that, as it was basically a cheat power, something that would eventually give the user a bunch of ridiculous powers, especially since some people might have skills that this one could copy and give to him, causing a grin to appear on her face as he touched the crimson orb and let the power surge into her body.

The enemies you will face are known as the 'Heartless', physical manifestations of the darkness in one's heart who have no emotions and seek to swallow the planets of the World in darkness. the Speaker continued, where Sombra found that a few shadowy specs appeared near her position, transforming into small humanoid creatures that had rounded heads and a pair of antennae on their heads, though their bodies seemed to be made out of pure darkness or shadows, Only one type of weapon can permanently defeat the Heartless and free their captive hearts, special weapons called the 'Keyblades', while all other types merely displace the hearts until they reform into their Heartless forms... but...

"I cannot wield a Keyblade, right?" Sombra remarked, as it made sense when she thought about the other sphere that had been presented to her, as it seemed like the World had intended to give her the means to protect herself and also give her the power to grow to face the greater Heartless that no doubt existed in another part of the universe, even though it had to be disappointed in her not gaining a Keyblade, where she held a hand out and the darkness vibrated for a moment, "Let's correct that, shall we?"

Back when she was the ruler of the Crystal Empire, and even before that, she had utilized several weapons to help her with her conquest and Sombra knew she had the perfect one for the job, where a lone pole, as tall as she was, rushed out of the vast darkness before coming to a stop in her hand. It wasn't a staff or even a lance, as there was a crescent bladed head resting at the top, a dark silver colored blade that had instilled fear into those who saw it in the past, save for Celestia and Luna, and once it was in her hand she spun it and shifted her stance. She found that a few new memories quickly joined the ones she had been given a few moments ago, as in the World had realized what weapon she had picked and wanted to make sure she knew how to use it while in this form, something she wasn't about to argue with since it was clear to her that the World wanted her to succeed. Once she had a greater understanding of how to move with the weapon in this body, all so she didn't hurt himself while she was lashing out at his foes, she looked at the Heartless that were in front of her and found that they had been watching her the entire time, mostly waiting until the World and the Speaker were done giving Sombra the keys to her success.

Sombra found that the little Heartless only scurried around the ground and jumped at her when she was a certain distance away from them, though as her scythe sliced through one of her foes she found that it was cut in half, reduced to a puff of smoke as nothing emerged from it. As Sombra thought about that she turned on the other three shadows and let her scythe cut through all of them, leaving nothing but puffs of smoke, something that caused the Speaker to speak up as she wondered what was going on right now, since the Heartless weren't releasing hearts. What she discovered was that her current foes had been of the pureblood type, as in they were just beings of darkness who didn't have hearts, meaning the ones she wanted to target were the 'emblem' type, which had an interesting chained heart icon on them. The World then summoned a few of those foes for her to fight, cracked egg looking foes that seemed passive, but she realized that it was a measure to lure their foes into a false sense of security so they could claim the hearts of their targets, and all four of them had the emblem on their bodies.

This time around when she slashed through the first foe, splitting the Heartless in half, Sombra found that a pink orb was released from her defeated foe, which had to be a heart she realized, before finding that the others were coming at her and she attacked them without delay. Such a thing allowed her to free three more hearts, where they floated in the air for a time as Sombra made sure that the area was clear, just to confirm that her training was over, as she had confirmed that she could fight well with her new body. After that she paused for a couple of seconds as she stared at the strange orbs, which she guessed were about the size of her head, before tapping into the power she had been given as an eerie dark mist surrounded the orbs and quickly devoured all four of them without missing a beat. The coloration of the mist was familiar to her, because it was the same color as the darkness that seeped out of her eyes when she used her dark magic, something she would have to test to see if she could still use her old powers, before discovering that her new skill had given her an internal storage area of sorts for her to store all of the captured hearts in.

In that moment she focused her mind on what she wanted to do as she absorbed the four hearts, where she felt a surge of power a few seconds later, a rush that died down rather quickly, only to find a blue transparent window appeared in front of her, something that had a lot of words on it that interested her greatly as she carefully studied it.

"Let's see, I have strength, stamina, magical power... I'm guessing that means intelligence... agility, natural defenses... feels like a game." Sombra commented, because during her time in Ponyville she had passed by several stores and one of them had what it called a 'board game' inside it, something about a campaign against monsters and other evils, where she quickly recalled seeing something like this on the box before she resumed her journey to the odd crystal castle.

Based on what she could tell each heart she absorbed, or soul to be more exact, gave her a boost in power by adding what seemed to be points to each of her 'stats', meaning that each foe likely had a particular attribute they would boost if she captured and absorbed their soul. The little egg Heartless, for example, seemed to lean more towards the luck stat, as it had a plus with the number four next to it, something that caused her to close the odd window and open it again, all to find that the addition was gone, meaning it would only show up when she was absorbing new souls, a temporary sign of sorts she guessed. With the number of stats she could add power to Sombra assumed that there were a significant amount of Heartless scattered around the universe, no doubt in different forms and shapes to justify what she was seeing right now, meaning it would take some time for her to boost some of the more specific stats. She was slightly annoyed of the fact that the pureblood Heartless didn't have hearts for her to take, as it was power that couldn't be added to her own, but decided that the emblems would be more than sufficient for her needs.

While she had been expecting this to be easy, as in she would come in with her own powers and decimate everything in her path to get the power she had been after, Sombra was now understanding that this wouldn't be as easy as she had originally assumed, something that caused her to smile, as a challenge was far better than going after really easy prey, causing her to think about the other topics they had to discuss.

"Okay, so I've proven that my weapon can liberate the hearts from the Heartless, that my new power can capture those newly freed hearts, and that I can absorb them." Sombra stated, speaking into the darkness once more, as she assumed the Speaker was silently watching as she familiarized herself with the skills that would allow her to survive her encounters with the Heartless, though she did dismiss her scythe, which she could summon whenever she wanted, since there were no foes around her right now, "So tell me: what's this about the 'Kingdom Key' and it's 'Chosen Wielder'?"

The Kingdom Key is an important weapon of the Realm of Light, the physical plane of the World, and it has chosen a very special individual to wield it. the Speaker replied, where Sombra found that the air in front of her shifted for a moment before discovering an image long weapon that looked like a key that had been turned into a blade, with a protective area of sorts that rested around the handle, no doubt to make sure the user's hands were safe, I know this weapon doesn't look like much, but it is incredibly special and the Heartless will do everything in their power to take down the one chosen to wield it.

"I think I see where this is going: this favor involves me tracking down the wielder and ensuring that they survive whatever journey they embark on... right?" Sombra inquired, though she did note that the Speaker wasn't giving her a lot to work with, as while she was being given great information she was also being left in the dark about certain things, meaning either the World had no idea how to give her what she wanted or she was meant to figure everything else out on her own.

The World wishes for you to find the Kingdom Key's wielder, that is true, but you are free to do whatever you want after you accomplish your goal. the Speaker answered, which was an interesting thing for Sombra to hear, since she had been of the opinion that the World would have preferred that she ensure the wielder completed whatever quest or journey that they would be embarking on in the near future, The World does not wish to dictate how you live your life: if you wish to join the wielder on their quest, you can do so... if you want to leave them to pursue your own goals, that is fine... if you wish to be lazy, and have a slow life, that is acceptable as well. The World does say that they hope you'll join the wielder on their quest, as you would be facing countless Heartless until they reached their final goal, but the choice is up to you.

Sombra had to resist the urge to chuckle, as the World made it seem like they didn't care what she picked, but in reality the mysterious figure wanted her to join the unknown wielder on their journey and even made sure that she knew about all of the Heartless she would face, as if hoping that her lust for power would entice her to go with the wielder.

"And what about Fluttershy? She passed through the portal with me, so shouldn't she be here?" Sombra inquired, not that she cared what happened to the mare all that much, she was just curious as to why the shy pony had been missing during the various short training sessions she had been given since gaining her new body, and thinking of her caused her to think about Radiant as well, "Also, where is Radiant Hope?"

The World decided that it would be best to have you three train in separate areas, before sending all of you to the place that all wayward travelers end up in. the Speaker replied, causing Sombra to raise an eyebrow in interest, because if the World had given her this broken power, and was almost encouraging her to go out and use it, it only made her all the more interested in what sort of skills Fluttershy and Radiant might have been given, As it stands the ones called 'Fluttershy' and 'Radiant Hope' have already finished their training and have been sent ahead of you... you are free to find them, if that is what you wish.

Sombra thought that was odd, as she had assumed that the World would want her to find the other hearts that had come from her world, like a punishment for bringing them here in the first place, but decided that it might be best to not speak on the matter, since she might run into either of them later on, since it seemed like they were going to be dropped off in the same location.

"Very well. Send me to the place that wayward travelers end up in and I'll see what I can do." Sombra stated, because she already knew what she was going to do, she was going to find this wielder and use them to gain unlimited power, because a Keyblade meant more chances to free the hearts from the grasp of the Heartless and more chances for her to capture all the more power for herself.

Sombra heard nothing else from the Speaker as a surge of energy wrapped around her and suddenly a large black circle just opened below her hooves, where she fell into what appeared to be a dark passage, though she could only grin as she wondered what might be on the other side and what sort of powers she would gain in the near future.