Kingdom Hearts: A New World, A New Way

by gfr091702

City

Chapter 8: City

After the Moebius attack from their Daring Do adventure the other day, Sora felt like it was more important than ever to head towards the City, as everyone made their way towards Los Pegasus to get a boat. Apparently, the City was located on an island in the middle of the ocean, where a giant sword pierced the world. Their path started to open up, as Sora was now alarmed by what he saw to take any notice. "Smoke?"

"Maybe someone's got a fire going!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "Hope they're cooking up something good!"

"It's hardly a good spot for a barbecue." Belle said.

"The smoke seems too dense, as well." Gene added.

"Come on, let's take a look." Sora said. They quickly ran to the source of the smoke, careful to avoid the native creatures. As the boys approached the column of smoke, they began to make out a large, dark shape at its base. They paused beside it.

"Someone's left a buggy out here." Lucario said.

"That's strange." Juniper said. "Who would just abandon a buggy in this place? And it's pretty new."

"Is it brand new?" Rarity asked.

"Not brand new." Juniper said. "But it's in very good condition. You wouldn't just abandon it. So what did happen to the driver?"

"It does seem strange." Twilight said.

Gene summoned his weapon and held it tightly. "Guys! Over there!"

At a nearby Oasis, two Large Bodies towered over a Chespin as he screamed for help. Chespin was a bipedal, mammalian Pokémon. He was primarily light brown with darker arms and three triangular markings around his face. He had oval, brown eyes; a triangular, red nose; and rodent-like incisors. His arms had three fingers, while his feet had two long claws. Covering his back was a tough, green shell, which extended from his head to halfway down his tail. The tip of his tapered tail was orange. There was a small, off-center hole in the shell on the back of Chespin's head and, around the face, the shell had four leaf-like spikes. On the back of his head was another spike split into three parts. Sora, Twilight, and Gene immediately placed themselves between the Chespin and the creatures, due to them being the only ones that can destroy the Heartless. "You all right, kid?" Gene asked.

The Chespin looked up, startled. "Who are you?"

"That can wait!" said Sora sharply. "Go! Get outta here! Leave these guys to us."

"O- OK!" The boy quickly got to his feet and fled.

"Let's do this!" Sora exclaimed.

"Ready when you are," grinned Gene. The creatures growled and tried to follow the boy, but Gene smashed it in the face with his sword. It recoiled and narrowed its eyes; a sore had opened up where Gene had struck it. "You'll have to go through us if you want the kid!" The Large Bodie tried to punch Gene, but he jumped back and hit it in the head once more; it took a couple of steps backwards, growling.

The other Large Bodie charged at Gene; he leapt out of the way and slashed at it with the end of his sword, leaving a long, deep cut in its side. While the beast rounded on Gene; Sora dashed in and swiped its other side. It tried to turn to Sora, but Twilight ran in and slammed it on the side of its head with her Keyblade. Sora slashed it again; after a few more rounds of this, it collapsed as it vanished and released the heart trapped inside it.

The two quickly disposed of the other Large Bodie in a similar fashion. The Chespin they were helping was nowhere in sight.

"Well, now that that's over…" Gene looked over at Belle. "Did you see where that kid went?"

"I think he ran off towards the buggy… I'm not sure though."

Sora nodded. "That'd make sense. Let's go back there."

Sure enough, they found the Chespin back at the buggy. Juniper went over to the machine and bent down to examine it properly. Thankfully she brought some tools in case of situations like this, so she had just the right things to fix the buggy. "All right. It should work now." Juniper said.

The Chespin looked relieved. "Great. You saved my skin! My buggy short-circuited, and then there were those monsters, and… Well, thanks!"

Juniper nodded. "I fixed the circuit, but it's out of ether. Change the cylinder and it'll be good as new."

"Where are you guys heading? If you've got time, you should come back to our camp!"

"Your camp?" Sora repeated.

"Yeah," said Chespin. "It's not far."

"What do you think?" Gene asked Sora.

"Let's take him up on the offer," Sora suggested. "I'm surprised there's a camp here, but they might have some information."

"I suppose," Belle agreed.

Sora turned back to Chespin. "Chespin, can you tell us how to get there?"

"Sure!" said Chespin eagerly. "If you go back to the oasis, you should see a tall stone post. Head there first."

"Then what?" prompted Gene.

"There's a small path in the woods, next to the stone post. Just follow it down to our camp."

"Got it!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Now, let's make a move." The buggy was still able to move on its own, albeit very slowly. Chespin jumped into the driver's seat and drove it steadily forward. Everyone started to head north-east, back towards the oasis where they had met.

Korrina took a deep breath. "Man, is it always this sunny here?"

"Not always… But it is a lot of the time." Chespin smiled

Korrina nodded, seemingly satisfied. They made their way through the trees towards a narrow opening in the cliff face; Juju nodded to a man standing guard as they passed him.

The path sloped downwards at a slight angle. The cliff face on their left opened up into a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing lay a pool of water with what looked like some kind of giant engine sitting in it.

A Shiny Gardevoir approached the party as they made their way into the refugee camp. "Chespin". She sighed. "Where have you been?" The woman was scowling as she glared down at the buggy. "Don't tell me you were…" When Chespin just stared at his feet, she continued. "I've told you a thousand times. We're not ready to leave the camp yet."

"But I thought…" Chespin slowly raised his gaze.

"Chespin!" she exclaimed angrily.

Chespin looked back to the ground. "Sorry, Mrs. Philips." He said, making Gene gasp quietly.

The Shiny Gardevoir smiled softly and bent down to touch her forehead to Chespin’s. Then she stood and turned her eyes to the group. "You must be survivors from the attack!" She ran over to Gene, looking desperate. "Is Los Pegasus Okay? Did everyone else make it?!"

"Hold on," said Sora. "What are you talking about?"

"We've… we've come from Ponyville," said Gene slowly.

Mrs. Philips looked surprised. "Ponyville?"

Juju spoke up. "They saved me from some monsters. You should have seen them, especially Gene!"

"Gene?" The Shiny Gardevoir said in surprise, before looking at the Gallade in front of her, "Your name is Gene?"

"Y-yeah… it is." Gene replied. His mind was spinning now. Something had clicked in his mind, and that was causing him to lose focus as realization began to dawn on him, as he saw a peculiar silver pendant around her neck. Something that belonged to someone close to him. "N-no… no way…!" Gene said dumbstruck. All of the pieces fell into place as he and the Gardevoir looked at one another in shock. “Mom?”

“MOM?!” Everyone exclaimed in unison.

That word snapped her out of her funk, as she looked at Gene with wide eyes. The elephant in the room had been addressed, and now Gene waited anxiously for any sign of reaction or realization.

Suddenly, they were at eye level, as the Gardevoir examined Gene’s face. Gene felt like her eyes were staring right into his soul, and that unnerved him even more. Despite that, Gene stares back at her, trying his very best not to break under pressure. After several seconds of staring each other down, the Shiny Gardevoir’s eyes soften, upon seeing the blue Ouroboros Ring in his right eye.

(Play Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix Friends in my Heart)

"It's really you…" she said breathlessly, "You're really here…" before she enveloped him in a warm hug. "Gene my dear child… you're here." she said, her face filled with tears, "I thought I'd never see you again…"

"M-Mom… I…" Gene said, still in disbelief. Could it really be her? His mind was screaming its denial, but Gene knew, deep in his heart, that this woman was without a doubt, his mother. He hugged her back, tears of his own threatening to spill. "I can't believe this… I didn't think I… I thought you were…!" Gene stammered, before shakily letting out a deep breath, "Forget it… I'm just so glad to see you again…"

"Me too, Gene… me too…" his mother hugged him tighter, and Gene let her. Mother and son had reunited, after a year apart. Sora simply smiled softly at the two, while Rarity was blowing her nose with tissue paper while Applejack gave her a reassuring pat. Rainbow herself was wiping away a tear, and everyone else couldn't help but smile at the reunion.

It took a while, but Gene and his mother broke apart, looking at one another again.

"Goodness, look at you." his mother finally said as she examined Gene, "What have you even been doing after all this time, Gene?"

"A... A lot of things," He sighed as his mother took his hands, shaking her head the entire time.

"You're so stubborn, you know that? I swear, you get that from your father."

"...Sorry?" Gene asked awkwardly.

"It's not your fault, Gene. I'm just relieved that you're really here, alive and well. I've been so worried ever since...." She trailed off, as they both started thinking of the last time they spoke to each other.

The two embraced once again, with more feeling than last time.

"I missed you so much, Gene." Gene’s mother whispered. Gene smiled as he rested his chin on her shoulder, letting a stray tear fall.

"I missed you, too, Mom."

(End Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix Friends in my Heart)

"Excuse me, Mrs. Philips?" Twilight asked.

“Please, call me Diana.”

"Diana, I hate to interrupt your family reunion, but you seemed very worried about Los Pegasus. Did something happen?"

Diana averted her gaze. "Los Pegasus has been…" She couldn't bring herself to say it; Chespin looked away. "Our new home! Now it's been taken over by some giant violet monster."

“No…” Sora said in disbelief, as everyone immediately knew what she was talking about.

Moebius.

"I'll tell you about it inside," said Diana grimly. "Follow me." She turned and began to lead the group into a cave set into the cliff. Everyone looked at each other before following her into the cave.

Inside were a number of women, children and elderly people, belonging to both Ponies and Pokemon alike. The children stared as they walked through. The entire area was open; there was no privacy to be had here. The stone corridor was short, and looped back in on itself; there was barely enough room for the few dozen refugees currently calling it home.

Diana led the group to what was presumably hers and Chespins area. A couple of mats lay on the ground for them to sleep on, and boxes full of supplies were stacked in a corner.

She turned to face the strangers from the strangers (well, most of them at least) from Ponyville. "They came out of nowhere, a swarm of black creatures were everywhere. They killed people and burned our buildings. They were led by a giant creature I had never seen before" She repressed a shudder. "Me and Chespin dedicated ourselves to evacuating the children and elderly." Diana shrugged. "I don't know what happened next."

"It sounds a lot like what happened at Canterlot," Sora muttered.

"They attacked Canterlot as well?!" Diana exclaimed in shock.

Gene nodded. "Yes. We were able to neutralize the threat, though.” He said, before turning to Korrina, who seemed upset, “At a cost.”

“It's good that you managed to evacuate so many." Belle said.

"Yeah…" Diana sighed.

"Erm..." Chespin sounded nervous.

Sora turned to him. "Hmm?"

"You're on your way to this City, right?" Chespin asked.

"You bet! We're heading there to get some answers," Rainbow Dash proclaimed "I bet we can even get some help to get your home back."

"There you go, showing off again..." Twilight sighed.

"If anyone can do it, it's you guys," said Chespin eagerly. "Could... um..." he steeled himself, "Could you take me with you to the City?!"

"Chespin!" said Diana sharply. "The people here need us! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"But you heard!" Chespin said angrily. "Those things attacked Canterlot! That means a load of those monsters must have left Los Pegasus already! It has to!"

Diana’s anger died; she hadn't considered that. "Even if that's true... No, especially if that's true! We cannot expose the camp to any more danger."

"So..." Chespin couldn't believe what he was hearing from his friend, "you don't care what happened to the people in Los Pegasus?!" He raised his voice. "How can you be so heartless? Are you that scared of those Monsters?!"

“Chespin, stop!” Sora said.

“But Sora-”

“No, seriously, stop!” Sora exclaimed, “Do you hear that?”

Everyone stood in silence, as they began to hear a strange engine noise. Worried, they left the cave and went to the entrance of the camp. From there, they saw large green ships appearing out of thin air, with their mechanical legs reaching towards the ground.

When they landed, numerous masked-humans emerged from the ships, as they surrounded the group. “What the-” Twilight exclaimed in shock, as she, Sora and Gene summoned their weapons, while everyone else got ready to defend themselves.

Unknown to them, two more people walked out of one of the strange ships, as they both stared at the group. (I will put in a Monica Description once I find one good enough.)

The person next to her was a young girl who was rather short despite being of adult age. She had fair skin, green eyes (with an eyepatch also with a strange symbol on her right eye) and light brown hair, worn in near shoulder-length twintails with her front bangs pinned back and held together with a hair clip. Her clothing consisted of a cropped open vest, mini skirt and forearm guards that had a green military camouflage pattern and red strokes. Underneath, the girl had a skintight black, sleeveless, midthigh one-piece suit that also had matching red lines. In addition, she wore black, long sleeve fingerless arm gloves with red accents and dark colored combat boots with a rectangular metal piece on the toe tip.

One of the masked men stared at Diana and the two Ralts, before Gene and Belle stepped in front of them, with Gene’s sword pointing at them. The woman glared a little, before she started to walk towards them.

“Sheathe your weapons. We’re not looking for a fight.” One of the soldiers said.

“What the-” Spike said.

“We are the Lost Numbers.” Another soldier said, “Sworn enemies of Moebius.”

“What?!” Korrina said as the group gasped in shock.

“There are others standing against Moebius?!” Rarity asked, as the woman was now in front of the group, which gained their attention.

“The name’s Monica. Monica Vandham.” The woman introduced. “The woman who entrusted The Sword of the End to you…I’m her daughter.

“Wait, you mean Impa?” Sora asked for clarity.

Monica nodded. “You’re headed for the City, ain’t ya?”

“How do you-” Belle asked, but was interrupted.

“That’s our base of operations. Come on.”

“Wha…?!” Diana said, not understanding what was happening.

Monica turned to the girl next to her. “Shania. Escort everyone here to the ships.”

“Yeah, all right.” She said, before she and a few soldiers went into the camp to get everyone.

“You two,” Monica said, pointing to Gene and Belle. “Before we take you to the City, you and your kids have to wear these.”

Some of the soldiers went up to the family, as they pulled out four black eyepatches.

“Eyepatches?” Gene asked in confusion.

“They’re the same as the ones we wear. Put them over the eye where your Ouroboros Ring is. Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you.”

“And why do we need to wear these?” Gene asked, not understanding, as Shania and the soldiers came back, leading the refugees.

“These…will put a spanner in Moebius’s recon.” Monica replied.

“Moebius’s?!” Gene exclaimed, as Monica nodded.

“When you become Ouroboros, your Irises change,” She explained, “And they start emitting a weak radio signal. And so, we’re blocking that signal.”

“With these things?” Belle asked, staring at one of the eye patches, before turning to Monica. “Wait, what about yours? Are you Ouroboros too?”

“Eh, we’ll go with that.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rainbow Dash leered.

“You see,” Monica said as she lifted her eyepatch for a few seconds, revealing a yellow Ouroboros Ring, “We’re bound by Ouroboros blood.” Shania and some of the other soldiers did the same, before putting their eyepatches back on.

Gene hesitated for a second, before he looked at his family and nodded, as he, Belle, Rose and Robby took an eyepatch and put them on, with Gene and Rose’s on their right eye and Belle and Robby’s on their left.

“Thanks for the cooperation. We appreciate this.” Monica said.

“Yeah, well don’t bash us about it or anything. We still don’t fully trust you.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“If I wanted to, then your attitude would have you a thrashing already.” Monica said, making Rainbow Dash shut her mouth while everyone else started to laugh. “Right. Let’s get going then.”

Everyone then started to board one of the ships, as it began to take off.

—-------------

Meanwhile, Kairi was sitting on a bed and talking to Ansem the Wise, Ienzo and Even.

"Here is what we are going to do Kairi," the former started. "We are going to put you into a deep sleep so we can study your heart and see if it contains any clues to Sora's whereabouts."

"Okay." She said.

"There's something you should know about Kairi." Ienzo revealed. "We do not know how long it will actually take us to find something. That means that you can be asleep for some time."

"I don't care!" Kairi revealed. "I'll do whatever I can to find Sora!"

A silence broke into the room, waiting for anyone to reply to her statement.

"Very well," Even said. "This is your choice."

After Even said this… Kairi's friends walked into the room.

"Are you going to put her to sleep now?" Xion asked.

"Yes," Ansem the Wise replied. "So say your goodbyes."

"She isn't going to be asleep for a year, is she?" Axel asked.

"It depends on how long it takes to find any clues on Sora's whereabouts", Ansem the Wise revealed.

"Are you sure about this Kairi?" Riku asked.

"I'm sure." Kairi replied.

"Guess this is goodbye then." Axel said as Naminé walked up to her.

"Th...thank you for keeping me safe within your heart", she said.

"You're welcome", Kairi said. "Naminé, can I ask you to do a favor for me?"

"A favor?" Naminé asked in confusion.

"Look after Riku for me." She asked.

Naminé looked at me in shock, but then...she nodded.

"I'll be fine", Riku stated, as walked up to her and gave her a hug. "Sleep tight", he said. "I hope you have good dreams."

—-------------

(Play Xenoblade Chronicles 3 City Theme)

The group finally saw the giant sword in the middle of the ocean, before they went through a hidden entrance at the sword’s hilt, “This was inside the Great Sword the whole time?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I suggest you save your surprise for later.” Monica stated, as an advanced settlement came into view.

“This is the…City?” Sora asked.

“While I am relieved that we are here, we shouldn’t relax just yet.” Lucario stated.

“Why not?” Sora said.

“We don’t even know if the people here are really are allies yet.” Lucario said. “We can’t get complacent.”

“They said they opposed Moebius, didn’t they?” Belle asked. “So it should be okay to trust them, right?”

“‘The enemy of our enemy is our friend.’ Gotcha.” Gene quoted.

“Why do I even try?” Lucario sighed to himself, as the ships landed on a platform.

“You can take the eyepatches off now.” Monica spoke up, gaining their attention as she took off her’s. “Won’t need them past this point.”

“Are you sure about that?” Belle asked.

“The City’s got some signal-jamming tech that functions just like the eyepatches, blocking detection by Moebius. We’re safe here. You have my word.”

“I suppose that must be the reason why they haven’t been able to discover the City location yet.” Twilight realized.

“You got that right. This place, and the Sealed Temple, is our last redoubt, and our sole haven in this world. But as soon as we step outside, Moebius are all over us, like a bad wool sweater.” Monica said. “So don’t forget your eyepatches whenever you leave.”

“We hear you, loud and clear. We’ll remember.” Belle said, as she, Rose and Robbie took theirs off, while Gene for some reason kept his on.

“You’re keeping yours on?” Monica asked in confusion.

“To be honest, I’ve been wearing an eyepatch for a very large portion of my life.” Gene shrugged. “It feels natural to me.”

“If that’s what you choose.” Monica said, as everyone then followed her, while hearing the people talking about them.

“Ouroboros?”

“Ouroboros, yeah.”

“So ‘they’re’ Ouroboros.”

“And they’re Pokemon…?”

“But they’re not from our world!”

“Watch yourself! They could be secret spies for Arceus!”

“It’s over…This place will be a warzone.”

“They’re all whispering about us.” Belle stated uncomfortably, as she held Rose in her hands, while Gene held Robby.

“I feel…we’re not exactly welcome here.” Diana said.

“‘Uninvited guests’, one might say.” Rarity stated.

“They’re the ones who brought us here.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I still don’t get it.” Twilight spoke up. “There was no history known in Equus about this place, nor about human beings.”

“Yeah,” Korrina nodded, looking at some of the kids playing tag. “Arceus said when he was looking for a new world to send the Pokemon to, this one had no humans. How did he not find this place?”

“My guess is the same reason why Moebius can’t,” Juniper theorized, thinking it was the only logical explanation.

“So you’re Ouroboros, huh?”

“Huh?” Gene said, as everyone turned to see a group of five people walk towards them, looking very upset.

“You learned of Moebius about like what? A week ago? Some hope you are.” One of them said.

“What’s your problem?!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Mind your manners!” Rarity added.

“Lemme introduce ya.” Monica said, walking over to the group of five. “These were our Ouroboros candidates. They trained relentlessly to fight against Moebius…Each and everyone one of them. That includes Shania there.”

“Candidates?” Gene asked, as he turned to Shania, who looked away from him.

“You happy? That you stole Ouroboros from us?” The leader of the group asked angrily, making everyone confused to what he meant.

“All right, that’s enough!” Monica said, before a fight could begin to form. “Whatever the reason, they were chosen. To be fair, they have gone against quite a few Moebius and Heartless already. They’re the real thing all right. You heard Shania’s reports.”

“Reports? What reports?” Applejack asked.

“I had her monitor your actions with extreme scrutiny. All the way from Canterlot.”

“Since way back then…?” Fluttershy said in shock at Shania, who again, turned away.

“Together, we are united in our cause.” Monica stated.

“Ms. Vandham…” The leader said, before sighing in defeat. “Alright then.” The group of five then walked away, leaving the heroes to themselves.

“Nice to meet you…?” Sora awkwardly said.

“Well, that was awkward.” Belle said.

“Please, it’s not their fault. They’re not a bad lot, really."

“That’s easy for you to say.” Korrina said, as they continued to their destination.

“You said that you were monitoring us earlier. Is that why you came to the refugee camp?” Gene asked.

“After you two first interlinked, Shania relayed the info straight back to us.” Monica said. “So, I’d been looking for a chance to contact you. When you got the Sword of the End, we reckoned that you would just head straight here.”

“Most of us didn’t have any fighting experience.” Twilight said, “We didn’t know if we would get ambushed by Heartless on the way here.”

“I don’t blame you.” Monica chuckled.

(End Xenoblade Chronicles 3 City Theme)

“Wait.” Sora said, as everyone stopped and turned to him. “I think it’s best if you have this.” He walked over to Monica and pulled out the silver bracelet he picked up at the Sealed Temple, and gave it to her.

“Thank you. I mean it.” She replied, as she looked at the Bracelet in sadness, before she put it away. “This way.” She said, leading everyone to a room with a strange stone in the center, and six statues circling the wall.

“Who are these guys?” Diana asked, looking at the statues.

“The first Ouroboros.” Monica replied. “The Founders, we call them.”

“Can you tell us about them?” Gene asked.

“Long, long ago, they gained the power of Ouroboros. It let them match Moebius blow-for-blow.” Monica began to explain. “The City folk you see here? We’re all descended from them.”

“Really?” Sora asked in amazement.

“The Ancient Keyblade Masters, the Foretellers, their powers united created Ouroboros. Keyblade Wielders and Ouroboros are the only ones that can take down Moebius.” Monica said, before looking at the strange looking stone. “Although, there can only be six Ouroboros alive at one time. By activating the Ouroboros Stone’s cage here, those with aptitude can become Ouroboros.”

“Only six?” Korrina asked. “Why so few of them…?”

“I get it. That’s why they got…so upset.” Belle sadly realized, thinking of the group that was angry at them earlier.

“You happy? That you stole Ouroboros from us?”

“Finally clicked? There’s only so many seats and Stones.” Monica said. “The one you see here, it took our ancestors forever to find. And yet…” She paused, as she turned to Gene and Belle, smiling at them. "You proved that there can be another way."

"Huh?"

“You see, you two are the first one’s in history to become Ouroboros without the use of a Stone.”

“The first?!” Gene asked in shock. “But how?!”

“You know what, I don’t know.” Monica replied. “But if anyone knows, it's the Foretellers. We are currently searching for them as we speak.”

“Wait,” Sora interrupted, “The Ancient Keyblade Masters died during the Keyblade War, which was at least a few centuries ago. How can they still be alive?”

“It’s gonna take more than a war to keep the Foretellers down.” Monica smirked. “Our ancestors believed that they are somewhere in this world, sleeping.”

“What for?” Twilight asked.

“Why else? To protect our world from Moebius.” Monica said seriously.

Silence filled the room for a moment, before Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Man, I think I need some time to process all of this.”

“Yeah.” Korrina nodded. “Quite a weight to carry, absorbing all this in one go.”

Monica nodded as started to walk out of the room, “Come. I will show you where you will be staying while you are here.”

The others nodded, as they followed Monica.

—-------------

(Play Kingdom Hearts A Villain of a Sorts)

In the Moebius's Base, the stuttering screen replayed the actions of the heroes lifes. Witnessing the various events being shown, the audience could only feel sorry for them.

"Such a shame," A golden figure spat, staring at the screen in disbelief. "If they only knew what awaits them in the future."

"Aww, it's only fun if they find out for themselves! Don't just try to rush them, y'know." X slumped in her seat, becoming annoyed with the golden figure seated in the front row. "Honestly, we should just get a move on already. There's too many incompetent people here, including some of the newer members."

"The time will come when he calls for it." Y replied, not being bothered by X's numerous complaints. Amidst the Moebius sat their master, who continued to watch the screen in silence. He didn't bother to turn when his name was called, but simply listened in place.

"What will you do now?" The golden figure asked, staring at the screen. "Will it begin soon enough?"

"We'll begin to break them little by little. Such is what you'd call the passage of fate in this world."

Continuing to sit in silence, another Moebius suddenly appeared between the rows of the seats. With the press of a button, the Moebius’s helmet was removed. Noticing their presence, the golden Consul quickly took notice of them.

"Ah, you're here. I see that you're getting accustomed to this already." He spoke, making eye contact with them. "Aren't you happy you've chosen the correct path, instead of accumulating false hope?"

"I'm enlightened, to be quite honest with you. As for them, they'll only continue to go through the endless cycle once more." Moving their head towards the Moebius, their eye lightened with a crimson infinity symbol. As the golden figure glanced back, the symbol appeared within his same eye.

(End Kingdom Hearts A Villain of a Sorts)

—-------------

By the time it was night, everyone was getting ready for bed, while night time patrols started doing their routines. Diana came out of the building that she and the others were staying in, looking at the City.

“Hey.”

She gasped, as she turned to see Gene walk up next to her. “Is there a problem?”

“No. Just thinking.” Diana sighed.

“I just wanted to let you know that we’re not sleeping in tomorrow, our training starts early. They said that it isn’t like what we’re used to, so I suggest you get some sleep while you can.”

“Oh. Okay.” Diana said, before looking at Gene’s hand, seeing his wedding ring, and sighing in defeat. “I’m sorry”

“Huh?” Gene asked, turning to her.

“The last time we spoke to each other, I was furious at you, about your relationship with Belle. After I called the cops on you, I immediately regretted it. I wished that I could just turn back time and undo that moment.” Diana said, her tears starting to form in her eyes. “I’m sorry, for everything.”

Gene didn’t know what to say. How does this balance out? Which weighs more—love or betrayal? Which carries more pain? He swallows. “I just… You always told me to follow my heart; and it led me to Belle. The moment you called the police on me, it hurt. I felt betrayed. I wanted you out of my life for good. I can never forgive you for that. But…” he said, with stems of tears coming out of his eyes, “I would like to try.”

Diana breathes out, loud. “I’d like that,” she said.

“Okay,” Gene said, uncertainly. “Good night.”

“Yeah, night.” Diana replied, as Gene left and went into the building, trying to comprehend what happened.

—-------------

"Mommy, we can’t sleep. Will you sing us a lullaby?" Rose asked politely, as Belle was putting her and her twin brother to bed.

"Of course, sweetie." She said, "But you have to promise to go to sleep afterwards, okay?" Belle asked, which made the twins nod.

(Play Kingdom Hearts Simple and Clean)

(Belle)

When you walk away

You don't hear me say,

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go

You're giving me too many things

Lately, you're all I need.

You smiled at me and said,

"Don't get me wrong, I love you,

But does that mean I have to meet your father?"

When we are older you'll understand

What I meant when I said,

"No, I don't think life is quite that simple."

When you walk away

You don't hear me say,

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go

So simple and clean

The daily things

(like this and that and what is what)

That keep us all busy are confusing me

That's when you came to me and said,

"Wish I could prove I love you,

But does that mean I have to walk on water?"

When we are older you'll understand

It's enough when I say so

And maybe some things are that simple

When you walk away

You don't hear me say,

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning

Is a little later on

Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

When you walk away

You don't hear me say,

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning

Is a little later on

Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning

Is a little later on

Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

(End Kingdom Hearts Simple and Clean)

When she finished, the Gardevoir saw both Ralts fast asleep. With that, she quietly exited the room, making her way into her own.

—-------------

The next morning, everyone was now in a massive circular area about the size of a couple of miles in length across, with the surface made of glass. Beneath the glass was a cylindrical machine with two large metal orbs. Meanwhile, Rose, Robby, Diana, Chespin, Juniper and a few others were in the stands to watch. “This place is ginormous!” Pinkie Pie yelled.

“Well I don’t blame you for thinking so.” Monica's voice said, as she was at the intercom. “This is one of our training areas, provided with the ARC.”

“The ARC?” Sora asked in confusion.

“The Augmented Reality Combat System, or ARC for short, generates a fully interactive environment, used for numerous combat scenarios.” Monica explained, “The Heartless that come from the system will be nothing but interactive holograms.” She then pressed a few keys as her monitor showed a picture of a city that looked like San Fransokyo. “For this session, I will activate the field, ‘Quadratum’.”

A whirring noise sounded underneath, making everyone look down to see the cylindrical machine with the two large metal orbs as one of the ends tilted up towards the glass ceiling below. “Augment Reality Combat system online.” A computer voice said, as magenta beams shone through the orbs and onto the glass, covering it in light. “Generating Battlefield.” Once the light faded, concrete roads appeared from where everyone stood. The light began to spread to the walls and ceiling, changing them into a night sky. Buildings and cars begin to emerge from the ground, as the field finished forming.

As everyone looked at their new surroundings, Belle went over, and touched one of the cars that the ARC system generated. "It feels like an actual car," she said in amazement.

“Get ready. I’m about to generate some enemies.” Monica said, as everyone nodded and separated, to cover more ground. A few moments later, Monica pushed a button, as a swarm of Heartless materialized from the ARC system.

(Play Kingdom Hearts Sora’s Theme)

Rainbow Dash dove into a Shadow at high speeds, the impact dissipating it into mist. "Not today, you heart stealing freaks!" she proclaimed with a smirk, uppercutting another Shadow into the air. She then grabbed hold of the monster's leg and slammed it back into the ground. The creature dissolved on impact.

Gene jumped in the air and brought his sword down on a Shadow, destroying it in an instant. They continued with their battle, but more Shadow's kept emerging from the ground.

"Hold on, y'all!" Applejack yelled, tossing a lasso and ensnaring three Shadows with it. She tugged on her rope to yank the monsters closer to her, delivering a powerful buck that sent them flying across the street. Two of them dissipated while the survivor rolled on its back in a dizzy trance. It didn't have time to recurerate as Gene slashed downwards on it.

When Sora spotted some Heartless on one the roofs of the buildings, he picked up his speed before lunging forward as he latches the tip of his Keyblade onto a nearby streetlight. Working with his already immense momentum, he uses his weapon to swing around the post, launching himself upward toward the adjacent towering building. Monica looked at him, admittedly impressed and perhaps even a bit dumbfounded as she watches Sora freerun up the side of that building, deftly knocking aside any Heartless that happen to show up in the process.

"Interesting…" she noted. "Gravity, not binding…"

At the same time, Sora continues steadily making his way up the building, though all the while, a persistent pack of Heartless continues pursuing him. For a moment, he ignores them, largely for the sake of making it to the top of the building, where Twilight stands by, attacking the Heartless swarming. She took a high leap, shooting off several successive fire spells at the winged Heartless bombarding her. The magic hits its marks squarely, defeating them and allowing both of them to move on.

Korrina and Lucario recuperated from a Soldier's attack, rubbing their heads for support. Another Soldier appeared in front of the duo as they were recuperating. It would have spun itself at the two Pokemon, had a blueberry pie not impacted on its face. The dazed creature of darkness shook the tin off to see Pinkie Pie with a comically large wooden hammer, which was bashed on the Soldier's head. The Heartless now had its head caved inside its torso, losing all sense of direction as it stumbled in place. A well aimed fire spell from Sora put an end to its comedy routine.

Fluttershy stood as far away from the battle as possible, laying down and covering her head for support. ‘She needs to believe in herself, otherwise she won’t last a minute in a real battle.’ Monica thought.

Rarity galloped to the cowering pegasi and held her up straight.

"Fluttershy! Pull yourself together!" Rarity said, as Large Bodies began to form. Fluttershy shrieked in fear as the large heartless lethargically raised a fist with the intent to strike the two ponies. Rarity managed to push herself and Fluttershy away from the gigantic fist as it swung at nothing.

Rarity gritted her teeth and charged towards the massive heartless. She leaped into the air and performed an impressive spin kick—only for her to bounce off the Heartless' stomach. The fashion pony fell on the floor in a heap just as the Heartless was preparing another strike. Rarity felt her heart miss a beat as the monster began lowering its hand, but Sora came in and slashed it across its back, sending it tumbling away.

Sora wasn't done with it yet. He pointed his keyblade at the Heartless, "Freeze!" An ice crystal blasted from the Keyblade, creating a rail of ice that led to the monster. The crystal impacted Heartless, freezing it in place. He jumped on top of the rail of ice, glowing in a blue aura as he slid towards his enemy. Sora jumped up and slashed the heartless with three rapid forwards slashes, destroying it.

"Alright, that should be enough for now," Monica interjects. “Get to the ground, I’m shutting it down.” She said, as she began to turn off the machine.

(End Kingdom Hearts Sora’s Theme)

Author's Note:

This chapter was kind of all over the place, but that was because I had a bit of Writers Block for a while. Will update it if needed.

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Comments

[SentinalEmpire]

It is nice to see Gene’s mom! Also I like how he doesn’t go straight to hating her!

[nightshroud96]

If I may ask, why didn't Spike get to use the training simulator too?

[SentinalEmpire]

11483125
Really? What part exactly?

[Starlight Glimmer1]

11484759
A good portion of the chapter.