//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: A Heart Eclipsed 
// by Show Stopper 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 10



3rd Pony POV


"Prince of Love? Really?"

"Oh, give it a rest, Sora!"

"Sorry. Sorry. It's just... prince of love? I mean, you couldn't pay me to have that title!"

Sora and Luna sat on the train, heading south to Appleoosa. After finishing up a few things in Ponyville (and staying just long enough to stave off a Twilight freak-out), they had hopped on the train and resumed their journey. Conversation had been limited to a single topic since then.

"Let me guess," said Luna, not even bothering to look up from her novel. "More human sexism regarding how males aren't allowed to be soft, weak, or emotional?"

"...well when you put it like that." Sora sighed and leaned back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling. "I guess I'm not as used to it as I thought. More than a millennium of learning a new way, and a couple of encounters with humans - well, one human and a humanoid eldritch abomination - and I'm already back to that way of thinking." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Twelve hundred years trapped in stone certainly didn't help. Plenty of time to fall back into bad mental habits. Let's hope I don't meet any strong feminist displaced before I switch my mindset back, or I'm going to seriously tick someone off."

"About that," said Luna, looking up. "Have you received any more tokens?"

Sora nodded. "A few. Turned them into keychains before we got on the train. Haven't gotten the chance to try any of them out yet, though. And I don't think I'll be using them to summon anyone any time soon." He shuddered. "Those keyblades didn't feel right. Almost as bad as the Key to People's Hearts. The call-signs weren't too comforting, either."

"Probably for the best," said Luna, returning to her reading. "You humans are rather unpredictable creatures. I'd rather have just one of them around for the most part. Don't get me wrong, Alex was a stout ally and this Jeremy sounds friendly, if a little disconcerting, but I don't think I'd trust them with the safety of Equestria just yet."

"Agreed," said Sora. "They both seem really young. I'm willing to bet that they were just displaced recently. Wonder if anyone else got the bad luck to be stuck as a statue? Anyway, I think they need a bit more experience under their belts before I call on them again."

Luna nodded and silence filled the train once again.

"But yes, I agree that a Princess of Love would have made more sense."

"I know, right?!"


__________


The train station in Appleoosa was far more busy than usual, crowded with ponies who impatiently tapped their hooves and checked the nearby clock-tower. An air of impatience, fear and suspicion hung over the crowd, with only one pony not seeming to be affected. Chief Silverstar waited patiently for the train to arrive, ready to recieve the most distinguished guests that Appleoosa had ever hosted. He just wished that it had been under better circumstances.

The train was soon spotted on the horizon and quickly pulled into the station. Before the doors could open, however, the conductor stepped out and blew his whistle, demanding the attention of everypony on the platform. "Sorry for the delay, folks, but I'm afraid that we encountered a slight pest problem on the way down. Should be cleared out before too long, but I'm going to have to ask all of you to wait a few minutes."

Grumbles and groans filled the platform and a single voice was heard to cry out, "Oh, come on! What the hay sort o' pests could've got on board on the way?"

The conductor's response was cut off as a shadow was sent flying out one of the windows. The heartless landed on the platform, hissing back at the train before being blasted to nothing by a beam of silvery light. The conductor sighed, covering his eyes with his hoof. "That sort of pest."

There were no further complaints.

Five minutes later, Sora opened one of the doors, stretching his arms above his head as he stepped out. "Ah, good workout. The train's all yours, conductor. Sorry about the window. And the seats. And the dining car."

"Rest assured," said Luna, stepping out behind him, "the crown will pay to reimburse all damages."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered the conductor, waving them off. He took a deap breath before putting on a winning smile and calling out. "NEXT STOP, DODGE JUNCTION! TICKETS OUT, AND PREPARE TO BOARD!"

While most of the ponies picked up their baggage and started for the train doors, Sheriff Silverstar made his way over to the duo who had exited the train. "Princess Luna. Mister Sora." He sank into a bow. "I'm sheriff Silverstar. I'd like to welcome y'all here on behalf o' all of Appleoosa. I hope the trip was..." he looked up at the train, noting the smashed window and the torn up seats that could be seen through it. "Er, well I guess it weren't peaceful."

"Peaceful is boring," said Sora, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "And just Sora is fine. Calling me 'Mister' makes me feel my age."

Silverstar blinked in confusion before grinning widely and grasping Sora's hand in both of his hooves. "Well, nice to meet you, Sora. Got to say, I sure am glad you ain't like one of them stuffy Canterlot types that need everythin' just so. Was afraid I'd have to speak all careful and proper the whole time."

Sora laughed, massaging his now sore hand once Silverstar released it. "No worries there. I'm just about as casual as they come, and Luna's never been one for excessive formality, either." He looked around, noticing everypony shooting him suspicious glares as they hurriedly boarded the train. "Can't say much for your tourists, though. Can't see a single smile apart from yours."

Said smile faded as Silverstar released a sigh. "Oh, I wish those were just tourists. Nah, them's the sensible folk of Appleoosa who decided to get goin' while the gettin' was good."

Lunas eyes narrowed in concern. "Problems in Appleoosa?"

"You could say that." Silverstar turned and nodded for Sora and Luna to follow. He led them away from the train station and through the town, Sora and Luna feeling distrustful stares everywhere they went. "Used to be a nice little settlement here. Real friendly-like. Even made nice with the local buffalo tribe 'bout a year back."

"I remember that event," said Luna, thinking back. "I believe Twilight and her friends were involved in finding a solution to your disagreements about the land."

Silverstar snorted. "Yeah, 'involved'. I guess you could put it that way." He shook his head. "Anyway, everythin' was goin' just swell. Everypony and -buffalo got along just fine. Better than fine. Why, this here was the most friendly town you could ever hope to see!" He sighed. "Till now, that is. "Bout a week ago, things started changin'. Ponies started gettin' snippy with each other. Started gettin' especially snippy with the buffalo. Seems like the entire town's gone and dug up every gripe they've ever had against each other, and there's a lot of gripes to be had between ponies and buffalo. Almost everyone's been hit by it."

"Almost everyone?" asked Sora.

"Eeyup. Reckon there's only four of us here that ain't been brought down by this, and I think you can guess what those four've got in common."

Sora nodded. "Keyblades, right?"

Silverstar stopped and held out his hoof, a kingdom key appearing in his grasp. "Eeyup. Me and the buffalo chief got these, while another pony and buffalo got special ones. We've been hearin' about these keyblades and the heartless and all that for the past few days. Never expected any of it to make it out here." He sighed, dismissing his keyblade as he continued walking. "Thing is, that thing y'all threw out of the train's the first heartless we've ever seen."

"How can that be?" asked Luna. "The heartless spread quickly and without discrimination. I'd have thought that there would be heartless in every town, city and settlement."

Sora's eyes narrowed. "Just because you don't see a heartless doesn't mean it isn't there. Stealth Sneaks, Silent Sneaks and some others can turn invisible, and there are others who can affect ponies just by being nearby in the shadows. I'm guessing it's the second one?"

Silverstar nodded. "As far as we can figure. I've talked with a few ponies around town," he scowled and spit to the side, "the few who would talk at all civil-like, that is. All they could tell me was that they've been havin' a lot of dreams about the tiff with the buffalo last year, and those dreams don't go quite the way I remember it. I don't recall the buffalo sneakin' into town in the middle of the night to poison our water."

Luna scowled. "So, a somniomancer. There aren't very many of those, but none of them are easy to handle."

"Somethin' powerful?" asked Silverstar nervously.

Sora shook his head. "Probably not. Most of them are push-overs once you find them. Only one of them would even be able to give us a fight, and I haven't seen one in centuries, even before my imprisonment. Which means we just need to find the slippery little yay and put it down. Shouldn't be too hard with six of us on the job."

"Speaking of which," added Luna, "we should probably meet with these other keybladers. Would you be able to gather them together?"

Silverstar winced. "Probably not, Princess. Like I said, two of them are buffalo, one of them bein' their chief. He ain't exactly welcome in Appleoosa no more, and I ain't welcome at their camp, neither. Heck, Strongheart can barely walk through town without gettin' bothered by the townsfolk. I reckon she'd stay out altogether if it weren't for Jazz."

"The other keyblader?"

Silverstar chuckled. "Yeah, that too." Seeing the confusion on Sora and Luna's faces, he rolled his eyes. "Those two have been all but glued together since they met last year. I'm surprised they ain't got hitched yet."

Sora and Luna shared a look, both thinking the same thing. Two keyblade masters in love? Determined to protect each other and wielding both love and light? Yeah, that's make a good addition to the team. "Well then," Sora said, clapping his hands together, "let's go and meet these two lovebirds."


__________


*CRACK*

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

"Nice one, Strongheart! Got four apples that time."

The young buffalo cow wiped the sweat from her forehead before turning to glare at the mare beside her. "How is that something to cheer about? You can get twice that many with a one-legged kick."

The yellow mare by her side chuckled, adjusting the stetson that sat on her two-toned golden mane. "Well, that's because I've been apple buckin' my whole life. Trust me, y'all're doin' much better than I did my first day."

Strongheart shot a level glare at the mare. "Jazz, your first day of apple bucking was when you were a calf half my height."

Jazz Apple shrugged, casually bucking a tree and relieving it of its entire load. "Which just goes to show you how long I've been doin' this for. Trust me, you'll be emptyin' trees in no time!"

Strongheart held her glare for a minute more before it broke into a small smile. She shook her head, chuckling a bit. "Why is it that I can never stay upset around you?"

Jazz blushed a bit, looking away and rubbing the back of her neck. "Aw shucks, don't say it like that. I just like seein' you smile, that's all." She pulled her stetson down, covering her eyes. "You're beautiful when you smile."

It was Strongheart's turn to blush as she looked down and scuffed the ground with her forehoof. "Y- you really think so?"

Strongheart felt a hoof under her chin, which pulled her up until she was staring into Jazz's emerald eyes. "I really do."

They stood there for a while, lost in each others' eyes, neither of them willing or wanting to break the connection. Standing there, sharing this moment with the one they loved, they wished that the moment would never end.

"Oh would you just kiss already?"

Jazz and Strongheart both jumped and turned to where the voice had come from, just in time to see the Princess of the Night buck a strangely shaped diamond dog into a tree. A torrent of apples cascaded down, several of them landing on the creature's head. "Okay," he said, voice sounding shaky and week. "I deserved that."

"Yay right, you did," Princess Luna muttered, turning away from the creature and bowing slightly to the pair. "I apologize for Sora's behavior. He never learned tact as a child, and three thousand years has done nothing to improve him. You two must be Jazz Apple and Little Strongheart."

Jazz jumped as she realized that one of Equestria's princesses was addressing her and she sank into a deep bow, Strongheart following her lead. "Y-yes, Princess. That's us. I mean, we are! I mean, um, that is-"

"It is an honor," interrupted Strongheart, saving Jazz from further fumbling, "to meet the Moon-Bearer and Dream-Keeper. Many a time have I found comfort in my tribe's stories of your gentleness and watchful eye. I am indeed the one known as Little Strongheart, and this is Jazz Apple."

Luna's eyes widened, misting over a bit as she thought back to times long past. "Moon-Bearer and Dream-Keeper," she whispered. She looked down at Strongheart, smiling softly. "It has been many moons since I last heard those names. Rise, Daughter of the Prairie. It is I who am honored to be so remembered." Strongheart rose from her bow, Jazz hesitantly following soon afterwards. 

"And I thought I gave her a fancy greetin'," muttered Silverstar.

"Oh! Sheriff!" exclaimed Jazz, happy to see the familiar face. "You and the princess wanted to see us for somethin'?"

"All three of us did, actually." Jazz and Strongheart looked over to see the diamond dog-like creature walking over, rubbing his head and wincing. "Yeah, that's going to hurt in the morning. Sora, Warrior of Light. Nice to meet you."

Strongheart's jaw dropped and she stepped back slightly. "Th-the Light-Bearer! I- I thought you were supposed to be a minotaur!"

Luna snorted into her hoof, trying to hold in a laugh as Sora glared at her. "Wait, so you got remembered as a grand hero and protector, and I became a muscle-head?"

"Do not blame me that oral tradition favors the familiar," said Luna between giggles. Calming herself after a moment, Luna nodded to Strongheart and Jazz. "And yes, we came to see the two of you. The sheriff tells us that you both posses keyblades?"

"Oh! Ah, yes Princess," said Jazz. "Would you like to see them?"

Luna nodded. "If that would not be too much trouble."

"It is no trouble at all, honored Moon-Bearer," replied Strongheart. She and Jazz held out their right hooves, two keyblades appearing in twin flashes of light. Jazz's keyblade had a guard shaped like an apple, colored like red leather. The shaft was a darker brown leather with a tiny stetson on the tip. The teeth were formed by a bronze-gold spur that jut out from the side near the tip. Strongheart's blade also had an apple-shaped guard, this time of deep, hardwood red. The relatively short shaft was a slightly lighter brown than her body, with three painted feathers sticking out near the tip to form the teeth and a single feather at the end of the keychain in lieu of a cutie mark.

"Very nice," said Sora. "I assume they have names?"

Jazz nodded. "Mine's Rodeo. Strongheart's is Pact. We got 'em a few days ago when the mists started appearin'."

"The mists?"

Jazz nodded, scowling deeper into the orchard. "Yeah. That's what we've been callin' it, anyway. See, I was out here with Strongheart a few nights ago, showing her how we buck apples. We stayed out later than we meant to, and we didn't notice until the sun went down. We started makin' our way out when..." She shuddered, looking away.

"We sensed that something was wrong," continued Strongheart, "but we foolishly decided to stay and investigate. Mist began rising around us as we wandered, and we began to see dark shadows moving through the trees. We were just about to turn back when... something leapt out at us. It was a patch of shadow given form, tall and thin and with sharp claws. We tried to run, but more of them appeared. We were surrounded. They leapt at us from all sides and..." She exchanged a nervous glance with Jazz. "Well, next thing we knew, the sun was rising and we were waking up where we'd been attacked."

Sora nodded, deciding not to bring up the vision that they had surely had. "And then you had these keyblades?" he asked. "May I see them?" Jazz and Strongheart handed them over, and Sora took a few swings with them. Hm. Rodeo's a more sturdy than he looks, and Pact a lot lighter. Don't feel a lot of magic from either of them, though it feels like Rodeo might be able to work wind a bit better than usual. Pact seems to go for speed over power, and a lot of speed at that. "Let me guess," he said, coming to a stop and looking back at the two. "Jazz chose the way of the guardian, Strongheart chose the way of the warrior, and you both gave up the way of the mystic, right?"

Strongheart and Jazz sighed in relief. "Whew. We were worried we'd gone a bit crazy when we seen that vision." Jazz nodded. "Yeah, y'all've got us pegged. Strongheart's never been one to sit on the sidelines when there's somethin' to be done, and I don't much fancy others gettin' hurt because I couldn't protect 'em."

Sora nodded, dismissing both keyblades. "Well then," he said, crossing his arms, "I've got an offer to make you. What do you know of the Keyblader's Army?"

Jazz and Strongheart looked at each other, eyebrows raised in confusion, before Strongheart's eyes widened in recognition. "The Light Bringers?" she asked, turning back to Sora.

Sora nodded. "That was another name for us, yes. Didn't think it would have survived until now, though."

"It is not a well known tale, even amongst the tribes," said Strongheart. "However, there are a few stories of a group of warriors who traveled with the Light Bearer to combat the darkness that filled the land in those days. Is that what you are referring to?"

"Sort of," said Sora. "The Equestrian Keyblader's Army was an organization that fought the heartless all across Equestria. It organized the keybladers in each town and settlement to be able to fight off heartless when they popped up. What you're talking about would be my personal team of Keyblade Masters. We traveled around from town to town, fighting off larger threats and seeking out powerful heartless to put down before they could gather larger numbers to themselves. Jazz, Strongheart, I would like to ask you both to join this team."

"Now wait just a doggone minute!" All eyes turned to Silverstar as he glared at Sora. "Y'all can't just be takin' two of our only fighters from us! How're we supposed to fight off heartless without 'em?"

"It should not be a problem," said Luna. "Large and dangerous heartless are no doubt coming out of the shadows all across Equestria now that they sense the return of the Warrior of Light, but that is one of the goals of our tour: to find these threats and destroy them, sending a message to the heartless that he has returned with full power." She shrugged. "Once those threats are dealt with, their numbers should rapidly decrease. Heartless attacks will be fewer and further between, especially in more rural areas such as this. You and Chief Thunderhooves should be able to handle the day-to-day heartless just fine."

"She's right," said Sora. "Heartless are drawn to the darkness in ponies' hearts, and their numbers tend to increase with the population. There are some cities that will require a large keyblade presence, but for small settlements like this they'll be more like pests than anything else. As long as someone in town has a keyblade, you should be fine."

"So, Appleoosa will be alright?" asked Jazz. "Y'all're sure?"

Silverstar's eyebrows shot up, his ears straightening as his stetson gave a little jump. "Now hold on! You can't seriously be thinkin' about this. Strongheart! Talk some sense into her!"

"Hm." Strongheart was rubbing her chin nervously, seemingly deep in thought. "No, you're right, Sheriff." Silverstar breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a gasp as Strongheart continued. "We need some time to tell everyone. Settle our affairs here. Pack for the journey."

"Y-you can't be serious! Just like that? Y'all're goin' to leave Appleoosa, leave you families behind, just like that?"

But his words fell on deaf ears as Jazz and Strongheart began to discuss the details of their arrangement with Sora. Luna stepped over and laid a reassuring hoof on Silverstar's shoulder. "Worry not. This is how it always is. Keyblade Masters are naturally filled with a sense of wanderlust. It is unclear whether the keyblade gives them this desire or if it simply chooses those who desire to wander and brings those desires to the surface."

"I'd place my money on the former," Silverstar muttered. "Ain't never heard nothin' from Jazz about leavin' Appleoosa. She loves it here." He sighed before giving her and Strongheart a wistful smile. "Still, if it's what they want, who am I to stand in their way. Appleoosa'll be a much less lively place without 'em, though."

"True, but their travels shall make Equestria shine all the brighter."

"Maybe so, Princess. Maybe so."


________


"This is the place?"

Jazz nodded. "Yeah, this is where we were the first time." They stood in the orchards, about half a mile in. Jazz and Strongheart looked around nervously as the sun began to set, remembering the heartless that had attacked. Sora and Luna stood more easily, the former switching between a few different keyblades while Luna prepared to lower the moon.

"Are you sure we should be here?" asked Strongheart. "The mists arose very quickly last time. Those creatures will be upon us mere moments after the sun has set."

"Exactly," said Sora confidently. "And as soon as we see which direction they're coming from, we'll take them out and get going. The heartless that attacked you were Neoshadows, and there's only a couple of heartless that create smoke, work with Neos, and mess with dreams. If we charge for where the smoke is the thickest, we'll find the little bugger and thrash him like a bully gunning for a poor nerd's lunch money." Three sets of eyes stared at him and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Um, drew that analogy from my own past. I wasn't always a fighter."

"The Light Bearer was once a bullied nerd?" Strongheart whispered. "No-one in my tribe will believe this."

"You'd best prepare yourselves," said Luna, lighting her horn as she looked to the East. "The moon shall claim the sky in five minutes, and the battle begins soon afterwards."

Jazz and Strongheart nodded, summoning Rodeo and Pact. Sora finally settled on Superior of the In-Between, muttering about a trial run. They watched as the sun set and the moon rose, the sky and the orchards slowly darkening. All that was left was to wait for the mists.

They didn't have to wait long. Just as Strongheart and Jazz had described, a feeling of unease, of wrongness fell over them. Jazz and Strongheart shuddered, but Sora and Luna merely shrugged it off, long familiar with the feel of darkness. Dark mists of smoke began to rise around them, Luna summoning her twin blades of moonlight to keep the darkness somewhat at bay.

"Sh-shouldn't be too long now," whispered Jazz. "They attacked just a bit after the mist came in. I reckon-"

Jazz's reckonings were cut off by an ear-piercing screech. A neoshadow leapt from the trees, latching onto Luna's back and rearing up to strike.

Luna calmly ducked, swinging her blades over her body and decapitating the heartless. "Really," she said as it dissipated, "it's sad how predictable they can be."

"The part where it leapt onto your back, or the part where it attacked immediately before any of the others could get here?" asked Sora.

"Can I not be saddened by both?" Luna turned and began walking further into the orchard, the rest of them following suit. "So, any further clue as to which heartless we are facing?"

Sora nodded, his face now set and serious. "Got it narrowed down to two," he said. "One of them's a pushover like I described, but one of them... no." He shook his head. "It's just been Neoshadows so far. As long as Neoshadows and Shadows are all that we find, it can't be that. Besides, why would one of them even be here?"

"O-one of what?" asked Jazz nervously.

"It doesn't matter," said Sora, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself. "It's not that. There's no way one of them would pop up out here in the middle of nowhere. It's got to be the little guy. Otherwise we'd be seeing..."

Sora and Luna stopped dead in their tracks, Strongheart and Jazz almost stumbling into them. "What? What is it?" Strongheart, frustrated at Sora's lack of an answer, leaned over to look around him.

A figure hovered in the darkness, tall and thin and holding something that looked like a sword. Giant orbs of darker smoke hovered around it, slowly approaching.

"Sora..." said Luna nervously. "Are those-"

"Get back to Appleoosa."

Luna flinched and immediately spread her wings. That tone of voice had not been heard in Equestria in over a thousand years. "What do you need me to do?" she asked crouching down.

"Patrol their dreams," said Sora, summoning Oblivion in his other hand as he continued to stare down the figures through the mists before them. "This is the big one, and if we can't stop it from attacking their dreams, they're going to wake up and start killing each other."

Strongheart and Jazz paled as Luna nodded and leapt into the sky, turning quickly and flying back to Appleoosa, horn glowing all the while.

"Strongheart. Jazz." The two jumped to attention as Sora addressed them. "Are we surrounded?"

Strongheart looked around, seeing flashes of dark figures moving through the trees around them, but only a few signs of movement directly behind. "Not quite. But they will cut off our retreat fairly soon."

Sora nodded. "Both of you, get going. I'll deal with these guys and draw their attention. Only a few of the little guys should get to you. I'll catch up soon."

Strongheart and Jazz nodded, both too scared to argue with Sora. They turned and galloped off, the dark figures and Sora slowly fading from sight.

A few minutes in, a screech was heard from the right. Strongheart turned her head and her eyes widened as she saw a Neoshadow charging on a course to intercept her. Before she could bring Pact to bear, however, she felt something fly over her back and saw it strike the heartless in the chest.

"Yee-haw! Take that you varmint!" Strongheart looked over to see Jazz smiling proudly, Rodeo appearing in her tail a moment later. "Keep runnin', Strongheart. We'll get out of this yet!"

Strongheart nodded, but her eyes widened again as she saw three more Neoshadows charging from Jazz's other side. Not one to be outdone, she leapt over Jazz's back, landing hooves first one one of the Neoshadows before leaping up and catching the other two in a cross-swing. She landed on the ground, smoothly bringing Pact sweeping down to slice the grounded Neoshadow in two.

Jazz gave an appreciative whistle. "Thanks for the save, pardner. Guess there's a reason you picked warrior."

Strongheart smiled. "Well, you weren't so bad yourself, throwing your keyblade to protect me. My little guardian."

"Aw, shucks," muttered Jazz, rubbing the back of her neck. "'Tweren't nothin'. Just saw him comin' and thought I'd lend a hoof."

Strongheart giggled. "It was sweet." She looked Jazz in the eyes, slowly leaning in closer.

*SCREECH*

Jazz and Strongheart flinched, running once again for the edge of the orchard. "Right. Less talking. More running and fighting."

Jazz grinned. "I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you!"

Strongheart blushed, barely even noticing as she sliced through a few shadows while she ran. "I, um, I love you too."

Jazz blushed as well, realizing what she'd just said out loud even as she drove Rodeo through a Neoshadow's chest. "Oh! Um, well, yeah."

"Okay, this is just getting painful." Both girls turned in shock to see Sora flying towards them, clothed all in blue. "I mean seriously? Flirting in the middle of a battlefield? Is that what you two are going to become known for?"

"We weren't flirting!" Strongheart shouted, her entire face going red.

"U-huh. Sure you weren't. DUCK!" Strongheart and Jazz hit the ground as Sora leapt over them, pointing Superior of the In-Between at a group of shadows in front of them and firing bolts of blue magic at them, blasting them into wisps of smoke. "Yay it all. Looks like this one's a lot more powerful than I though, to gather this many heartless around. How far are we from the edge?"

Jazz got up and looked around, quickly reorienting herself. "Not far. Shouldn't even be half a minute before we're out of here. What were those things that stopped us?"

"An Invisible," replied Sora as they began running - or in his case, gliding - again. "One of the strongest common heartless out there. Bunch of Darkballs, too. With those guys around, there's only one thing that could be causing all of this."

"I'm guessin' it's that thing you were mutterin' about before?" asked Jazz as the mists began to thin around them.

"Yeah," said Sora, glancing behind them as they cleared the edge of the orchard and continued on towards town. "And we're going to need some help to take it down."