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// Nobody: Light of the Past 
// Story: Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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It didn't take them long to step through the portal and appear on the other side, where Sombra found that they were in a world that was black and white, like monochrome, though that even applied to everyone in the group, as she and the others were also the same as this bizarre world. In addition to that she found that Sora's outfit had returned to how he was dressed during their first adventure, sized to fit his current body, while Donald and Goofy had been put into clothes that were likely stuff they had worn before they started to work for their King. Of course that called into question everything that was in the area the door's portal had brought them to, as there was nothing but a clearing and two paths that lead to another portion of the area, meaning this was definitely the past and that this was before the castle had been built. In addition to that she found that Radiant and the other pony girls were also black and white as well, in fact her fox form was the same way, letting them blend in with the people that were part of this world, if they happened upon any during their search.

That was when Sombra was assaulted by a pure surge of light and huffed for a moment as they found that one of their few targets happened to be right in front of them, as the Cornerstone of Light, in all it's glory, was right in front of them and she could practically feel it's devastating power, causing her to fall off Radiant's shoulder and nearly hit the ground, had she not been caught by Fluttershy.

"Are you okay? Should we get you back to the other side of the portal?" Fluttershy asked, because if this was how Sombra was going to react to being near the Cornerstone, essentially trapping her in a state that prevented her from being able to fight their enemies and still be assaulted by her weakness so severely, she really thought that they should take her back through the portal to spare her the pain.

"N... No. I can... handle this." Sombra got out, though she found that she was grateful for having set up the Tenfold Shadow Barrier before she and the others stepped through the portal, because based on her estimates the full power of the object would have sundered her body, so her preparations had definitely saved her life, "At least we know... the Cornerstone is safe and sound."

"Yeah, in a world that's black and white... how strange." Sora said, while at the same time he found that Donald and Goofy just looked at themselves like they were trying to remember when they had looked like this, though before he could even say anything else a guy that looked like Pete ran by, only he was wearing overalls and a captain's hat that looked like it was for a different type of vessel.

"Hey, have you guys seen any bad guys around here?" the figure, Past Pete in Sombra's eyes, inquired, which was definitely something the group wasn't expecting, since they were used to dealing with the Pete from their point in time, causing them to shake their heads in a 'no' fashion, "Well, keep an eye out. Someone's made off with my steamboat!"

As Past Pete walked off towards the pier, however, Sombra suggested that they follow him, because there was a chance that he might be able to point them towards the true villain that was wrecking havoc in the future castle, causing Sora and the rest of the group to follow after the figure as Fluttershy held onto Sombra's small fox form. She insisted on this, especially since she knew they didn't need all five wielders to be fighting at once, so she would make sure she was fine while the rest of the group dealt with their enemies, when they found them, meaning she was fine to just rest and use her power to capture hearts without having to do anything. The moment that the group caught up to Past Pete, and he learned that they wanted to help him out, without telling him that his issue might be connected to why they were here in the first place, he told them that his steamboat had been stolen and that he was sure it was the 'little runt', an employee of his no doubt. While Past Pete focused on areas that he suspected the steamboat would be in, places he was familiar with, the group returned to the hill that the Cornerstone was on and discovered a floating window of sorts that had a cord they could pull, like they were about to watch something happen.

What they discovered was that the scene started in the hill that the Cornerstone was in, where four doors, made in the same style as this viewer, were invaded by new types of Heartless, one being hammers brought to life, another being airplanes that had a pilot, the third had fireballs that just seemed like normal fireballs, and the last had Rapid Thrusters, and once all fours doors were gone their door into this world appeared.

"Oh, I get it now. This is a Past Viewer, allowing us to see important events that happened in the past... and how we have two new types of Heartless: Hammer Frames and Aeroplanes." Sombra remarked, as the group knew that she named all of the types of enemies they encountered, just to keep it all straight in her head since there were so many Heartless in the World, before she and the others turned around, seeing that the four doors had reappeared, "I'm going to guess that this world wants us to track down the Heartless and fix whatever damage they're causing... we might be able to get more Past Viewers and see what caused the thorns in our timeline to appear."

"Okay then, enter the doors, take down the Heartless, learn about the past, and save the future. Got it." Sora said, as that sounded like an easy plan to work with, especially since he was sure that it would allow them to track down the main villain that was bothering this world, causing him to draw his Keyblade as the others readied their own weapons.

With that in mind they went through the first portal, which brought them to what appeared to be a construction site that was under attack by the Hammer Frames, where they found that Past Mickey, who waved at them, swung into one and knocked it away from Sora and the others. Of course Sombra found that they had to fight on the scaffolding that the portal had put them on top of, though such a thing didn't seem to matter to anyone as they lashed out at the Heartless, crushing the group of Hammer Frames before they really had a chance to break anything, all while she captured all of the freed hearts. She also found that Fluttershy didn't actively engage in combat this time around, rather it seemed like she was making sure that her body was fine after being exposed to her only weakness like that, but even the Heartless that came at her were pushed back as she used her skill to make a barrier around her that punished those trying to attack her. There were also some Egg Bombs as part of the assault force, though they didn't do much to the group as they tore through them and Sombra collected all of their hearts as well, eventually ending with them wiping out all of their enemies and prompting Past Mickey to come in to shake Sora's hand before scampering off.

Sure enough there was a Past Viewer that appeared once the Heartless were taken care of, where they found that the new scene was from Pete's point of view, him being chewed out by the revived Maleficent, in fact she seemed to be planning on exiling him once she won against their enemies, which was where the vision cut off.

Following that they returned to the Cornerstone and headed through the next door in the line, bringing them to an area that appeared to be a village or city where they were giants, for some odd reason, with a cannon tower in the center of the area, though it appeared that the Aeroplanes were attacking everything. With the number of people protecting the town it looked like the Heartless didn't stand much of a chance, even though some Hammer Frames joined the fight, though that didn't do anything as they wiped them out and Sombra captured their hearts before finding another Past Viewer appeared after Past Mickey shook Sora's hand. This one revealed Pete complaining about how he was being treated and that he wished that he could go back in time, to when he was just a simple steamboat captain, something that caused his Past Door to materialize in whatever castle he and Maleficent were using. Of course that was where the vision cut off, but it confirmed that the Pete from their point in time was the one messing with this point in history, thus allowing them to return to the hill and head into the third portal to keep up the momentum.

This one brought them to a large building that was on fire, where they were assaulted by Shadows and what appeared to be some sort of vehicle, Hot Rods Sombra guessed, while at the same time Fluttershy used her magic to keep the fireballs from touching the building, thus allowing Past Mickey to work on dousing the flames. The only challenging thing about this one was the fact that the Hot Rods would go berserk and rush around the area that was outside the building, though Sora simply guarded in a way that knocked them backwards, thus allowing them to beat the Heartless as Sombra captured more hearts for the collection. Once the enemies were taken care of, and Past Mickey came out to shake Sora's hand before vanishing like always, allowing them to focus on the Past Viewer that showed up, revealing that Pete showed Maleficent the Past Door and she understood what it was, and when in time it was connected to. Maleficent knew how to use the door and seemed to have planned the disruption of the Cornerstone of Light so they could invade Disney Castle, to take it as their own, which was an interesting thing to hear, since she had been quiet since her resurrection.

The fourth and final portal brought them into a house with a black hole that was sucking in the furniture, where Sombra just secured them to the floor with her magic while the rest of the group dealt with the group of Heartless that were inside the room, though it didn't take them long to eliminate them. This challenge was one of the easiest ones they had faced and they found that it wasn't long before Past Mickey returned to shake Sora's hand, departing as another Past Viewer appeared for them to look at, prompting Donald to activate it so they could see what was going on. It confirmed that Maleficent realized that their Past Door was connected to just before Disney Castle was constructed, leaving the Cornerstone unguarded and vulnerable, where Pete's plan was to capture the sphere and then smash it to pieces. There was a slight change in plans as Pete opened the door and stepped into the past, instead of going for the Cornerstone immediately, like Maleficent wanted, he was going after his old steamboat for some reason, which explained why things hadn't changed so much since his arrival in this world.

With that in mind they returned to the hill and found that the Cornerstone of Light was missing, though Past Pete huffed as he headed towards the pier, mumbling something about how someone that looked like him had beat him up and stole his steamboat, causing everyone to follow after him and found that Pete was in control of the ship, with the Cornerstone in a large iron cage connected to the back of it.

Pete, noticing that they were coming for him, called on the Heartless to stop them as he pushed his past self away, though it hardly mattered to Sora and the others as they tore through every foe that was summoned to deal with them, all while the hearts were captured by Sombra's skill. In addition to that Pete decided to hurl junk at them while he moved the boat down the river, not that such a thing mattered either since most of the group was able to parry all of the items and hurl them back at their foe, stunning him and somehow redirecting the boat back to their side of the river. Such a thing allowed everyone to strike the cage and discover that it was actually thick wood, not metal, before Donald set the cage on fire and burned it until the Cornerstone was freed, allowing Sombra to lift the object with her magic and direct it back to where it was resting not that long ago. As she did that Pete retreated and headed back to an area that seemed to be storage for the various boats of this world, where he found himself backed into a corner as everyone approached him, causing him to remember the beating he had received previously as he called forth his Past Door.

Sora simply stared at Pete as he retreated from this world, causing the others to physically close the door before he used his Keyblade to lock it, causing it to phase and disappear like everything else he had sealed in the past, where they bit Past Pete farewell as they returned to their Past Door, returning to the future without delay and discovered that the thorns were no longer a thing, as the room as well lit once again.

"Welcome back, everyone." Minnie said, where it was clear that she and the others were proud of what the group had done while they were in the past, as Merlin had likely filled her in on what was going on, while at the same time Sombra noticed that a few more people had arrived, as in Aqua, Ventus, and even Riku, meaning Merlin must have noticed something while they were waiting, "Because of your bravery, our castle is safe and protected once more. Thank you all so much for what you have done for us. Sombra, how are you feeling?"

As Sombra opened her mouth to respond, since the others were curious as to why she was a small fox in Fluttershy's arms, a light appeared above her for a moment and she found herself being lifted into the air a little, though instead of being even a little freaked out she found that this reminded her of what happened when she first woke up before being sent to Traverse Town to find Sora.

The World acknowledges your struggle, and grants you a new skill: Greater Light Resistance. a voice said, which Sombra realized was the Speaker for the World, entities she hadn't spoken to since she was dropped off in Traverse Town, though at the same time she found that her body was no longer in pain thanks to the Cornerstone's light as a golden aura enveloped her form, leaving her dumbfounded for a moment.

"I knew you and your pony friends were special... but even then I had no idea the World had spoken to you before." Merlin commented, because now he was really invested in figuring out more about the pony girls that had joined Sora on his first adventure, and were changing things for the better from what he's been told, which was when Sombra undid her magic and returned to the form everyone was used to seeing.

"It has been a while since we've spoken to the Speaker, the World's representative... good to know they're still watching out for us." Sombra replied, which was the truth, because it looked like if they cleared very specific events or obstacles, or did something they deemed impressive, they would be rewarded with a brand new skill, though this made her wonder if there was another reason behind the existence of her new skill, before she focused her mind once more, "We can talk about this later. For now there is one more thing I would like to do before we leave for the next world."

As Sora and the others opened their mouths, however, a portal snapped open nearby that was the lingering magic she had felt before they delved into the past, where she beckoned for her group and Riku's to move into it, only for them to find that it brought them to a wasteland with a flat area, which happened to have a suit of armor kneeling with it's head bowed and it's Keyblade stuck headfirst into the ground.

"No... it can't be... Terra?!" Aqua inquired, because while she knew what had happened to her friend both she and Ventus couldn't help but wonder if some of Sombra's information was wrong, that Terra was in front of them, which was when the pair took a step towards the red and brass colored armor.

"Aqua... Ven... What... is going on?" the armor asked, where it sounded like a young man that was Aqua and Ventus' age was responding, in fact the head seemed to shift and lift itself for a moment, as if whatever portion of Terra that was inside it was resonating with the presence of his friends, before it reacted to someone else as it pulled the Keyblade out of the ground and pointed it at Sombra as it stood up, "Dark being... who are you?"

"Peace, we are not here to fight you... we are here to help you." Sombra replied, where she nodded to Aqua, Ventus, and Riku for a moment, because she had told them about a plan she had come up with after seeing Maleficent's resurrection, a plan that involved all three of them to remember Terra with all their hearts and focus on their memories, while at the same time she withdrew Terra's heart from her collection, "And then, together, we can go after Xehanort."

That seemed to get the armor's attention as it lowered it's arm, as if understanding that while she was dark she didn't agree with Xehanort's plans, in fact she stood against him, thus allowing the trio to form a triangle around it while they focused on their memories of Terra. Such a thing caused three blue transparent pillars to appear in the area, centered on the trio while Sombra weaved her power into the mix, where Sora watched as lightning flashed above their heads despite their being no sign of a storm, since this place was barren and rocky. They watched as a surge of magical energy wrapped around where the armor was standing and it seemed to lift it's head towards the sky, which was when Sombra introduced Terra's heart into the mix and they found that a sphere of light wrapped around her target. The lightning came to a stop as the magic died down, allowing everyone to see that a young man that was taller than Aqua and Ventus, had brown hair that reached the base of his neck, and was dressed in a set of attire that happened to resemble what they had seen on Mulan's world, and as the magic died down the figure stared at himself in shock.

Aqua and Ventus, however, embraced their friend as everyone else stood there, totally dumbfounded, though Sombra was fine with a delayed thanks from Terra, as he deserved some time to relax and come to terms with what had happened to him, and hang out with his friends, even though this made her even more interested in what the future held in store for her and her growing group of friends.





"As you can see, our plans are suffering heavy loses across the board." Xigbar said, as he and the other members of the Organization were sitting at one of the round tables that had been added to the castle after Seras joined them, one that had been utilized frequently by their boss when there were meetings that weren't as important as what they had in the room with all of the chairs, "The army in the Land of Dragons has been annihilated, the curse on Beast has been shattered, the Underdrome remains sealed, and it would seem that whatever happened to Disney Castle has been dealt with."

"Man, Sombra and her friends are working fast... I hate to say it, but I think the other plans are going to get folded as well." Demyx remarked, because while he usually trusted in the Organization's plans, even if he was lazy in completing his tasks, he also knew the danger that their current foe posed to everything they stood for and knew that she would turn the tide in an instant if she was able to.

"Unfortunately, I must agree with Demyx... our plans are going to be dashed in no time." Luxord stated, though he was still surprised by how much the laziest member of their group had grown, meaning his time spent with Seras' group had been for the best, and he also knew that his own interactions with another world were likely going to be stopped as well, based on everything else they were seeing.

"I see." Xemnas said, though he wasn't even surprised by that information, Sombra was undoing their plans and the plans of those that were on the planets her group happened to be visiting, to which he raised his tea cup, which had the type that he and Vexen used to make to calm themselves and others down, but it seemed to do nothing to quell the headache that had been messing with him recently, "Axel, what of your search for our missing friends?"

"Nothing. I've been using everything at my disposal, but I haven't found a trace of them yet... honestly, I think Sombra might have covered their tracks." Axel replied, where he found that it was actually a little too easy for him to trick the rest of the Organization into believing that he still held their best interests at heart, as they really thought he was searching for Roxas and Xion.

In the next moment they all heard the sound of a cup shattering upon hitting the ground and the members turned towards Xemnas, as it looked like he had put a little too much force into returning the vessel to the table, though as he tried to get up, to tell them that all was well, Axel watched as their boss stumbled, like there was something wrong with him, before he collapsed on the ground.

"XEMNAS!" Axel exclaimed, where he rushed over to their boss and knelt by him, though he found that Xemnas' eyes were closed as the rest of the members started to get up, causing him to pull off one of his gloves so he could feel his forehead for a moment, only for him to discover that Xemnas was burning up, "He's got a fever, one that's unlike anything I've seen in the past... let's get him to the medical area."

As Axel carried Xemnas, towards an area that was only used when someone was seriously injured during training, it was far too easy to see that everyone was surprised by this turn of events, even Xigbar, who he knew talked to their boss more often than everyone else, seemed taken aback by this, like he wasn't expecting it to happen in the first place. All Axel could do at the moment was set Xemnas down on one of the beds as the others that knew what to do got to work, while a number of Dusks came out to check on them, each worried about their boss, more than what he had seen in the past. That was the interesting thing about how Seras had changed some of them, as Xemnas was a better leader and most Nobodies seemed to care more for the others than they did before Roxas' group joined them, and what he was seeing right now was that some of the Dusks were worried for Xemnas' health. Axel truly had no idea what could have triggered such a fever, with next to no signs of it beforehand, but all they could do now was hope that their boss was able to recover without any major injuries or side effects, even though he seemed to be sweating as well.

While he took a step back, however, he found Xigbar talking to himself, no doubt trying to figure out how Xemnas could have reached such a position without anyone noticing what was going on, though there was one thing he said that made him take a moment to wonder if he knew more than what everyone thought he did.

"She found him... damn, that makes things even worse for us." Xigbar said, unaware of the fact that Axel was watching all of them and was taking mental notes on what everyone was saying at the moment, though his words were interesting since it confirmed he knew more than the rest of the Organization's members.

Axel had no idea what Xigbar was talking about, other than the fact that he was blaming Sombra for their troubles, a favorite of the Organization's these days, before focusing on helping everyone else tend to Xemnas before he was sent out by Saix later, all while wondering what the next couple of days might have in store for him and the rest of the Organization.