> Heart of a Nobody
>  by OuijaSilverstar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 01-Escape from a Castle that Never Was
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

e(Luxerk's POV)    

Empty. Non-existant. Destined to return to darkness. A former shell of oneself. Nobodies; beings without hearts, according to my old master, Xemnas. For a year, I served as a second Number XIII to assist the other members in their duties. In other words; I was their wildcard. Although it is true that we don't have hearts, but that does not exclude us from being emotionless murderers. The reason why I was different and appeared I had human-like emotion was that I mostly hung around members Axel and Roxas. After witnessing the deaths of few of my friends that were in the ranks of the Nobody army, I began to rebel against Xemnas and the rest of the surviving organization members. However, I did not get very far; Xemnas struck me down in the first thirty seconds. I couldn't remember what happened next, but all I heard Xemnas say before he knocked me out was, "I'm beginning to regret that decision of making you our backup option. Needless to say, but if you do that again, you will be eliminated along with Namine and the princesses."

That last sentence gave me chills as I began to stir and wake from unconsciousness. I see bars in front of me and on the far corner of where I woke up from was a girl in a pink mini-dress leaning her back against the purple wall. Next to her was a yellow dog with big eyes. I lifted my hood up far enough for me to get a good glimpse at her. Her dress is made up of three zippers, two of which looks like they're decorations, much like the silver decor on my organization jacket. Her hair is a beautiful dark shade of red and blue eyes looking like freshly cut sapphires. That's when I remembered her from somewhere before; she is one of the seven princesses of light. My eyes grew wider, why would they need her? It must have something to do with the keyblade, but I do not sense other princesses in the castle. Maybe the organization got to her first since she probably was the easiest target. 

I stood up and began to walk over her, she saw me and began to back away. The dog stood in front of her, growling. "You are not here to kill me, right?" she asked. I shook my head and began to speak, "I'm an ex-Organization member. If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it already."

"I guess you tried to fight back?"

"I only lasted half a minute; If it weren't for me being their wild card, I would've been turned into a Dusk already."

"I see."

"My name is Luxerk, by the way."

"Kairi. Do you have a way to get us out of here?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that Xemnas revoked my ability to travel in corridors of darkness after I lashed out at him."

"I have no idea why they're holding us, but I'm sure it's not a good reason either."

"Maybe we'll just ask Xemnas' toadie, Xigbar." I noticed the long-haired man with an eye patch over his right eye, approach us from outside the cell. He has a large, jagged scar that extends from the bottom of his left cheek and stops at just under his left eye. I decided to make a snarky comment, "Who do we have here? It's not every day we see Xiggy not riding on Xemnas' coattails." He let out a quick chuckle. 

"You're lucky that Xemnas still wants you alive. We got intruders so, you got two options: a, you cooperate by helping us put the final touches on Kingdom Hearts and dispose of those pests." Xigbar then summoned his Arrowgun in his left hand, pointing the tip at me, "Option B," he continued "You die right here and I'll take care of it myself. Your choice." 

I smiled underneath my hood, "What about the Third Option?" I asked sarcastically in a condescending tone, summoning an exact copy of Xigbar's Arrowgun in my right hand, except it was grey scale. I pointed at Kairi who is now starting to sweat in fear. The dog, now barking arched his back, hair standing on end, showing his teeth. I ignored the angry dog and continued, "I forever ruin the organization's chance at completing Kingdom Hearts and none of us get our hearts back."

Xigbar laughed out loud. His Arrow Gun dissipated, shaking his head. "You got guts; I'll take care of the problem and before I go, I'm giving this to you," he smiled, tossing a white star-shaped crystal into my hands. "Arrivederci,  Elemental Mime." Xigbar slowly walked into a corridor of darkness, laughing. "Why would he give me this?" I said to myself under my breath. When the black haze dissipated, another appeared behind me and a blond girl in a white dress and blue sandals, waving her hand. "This way!" she whispered. "Who-?" I interrupted Kairi by unconsciously solving her confusion by saying the girl's name, "Namine, great timing," I smiled under my hood.

"You're in here too? That doesn't matter; quick, hurry!"

Kairi walked over to the Nobody witch and grabbed her hand. A bright light shined from the hands and they both disappeared. The shadowy doorway was still open, so I took the opportunity to pass through, the dog following me as well. The other side of the portal led to an open staircase with a great view of the world I used to call home and the heart-shaped moon that is the incomplete Kingdom Hearts. I'm supposed to be sixteen years old, but all I could remember was the past year. I don't remember who I was, what I did, where I came from or even my real name. All I had until now was my name, my journal and my place in the organization as the wild card. That's how my nickname in the group: "The Elemental Mime" came to be, although it fully explained why I was able to create organization weapon imitations. I decided I had enough of the view and continued down the staircases, the fake arrow guns materializing in my hands.

When I caught up with the girls, I stopped in my tracks. What stood in front of them is Organization Number VII, The Luna Diviner: Saix. Behind him on both sides are Berserker Nobodies. He noticed my presence and gave me a death stare. "I see you got out too, traitor" he spoke in his usual monotone voice. "Kairi, Luxerk, I'm afraid leaving is not an option." I aimed my arrow guns at the blue-haired Nobody who raised his hand out to the girl in pink. "I'll take you to see Sora" he beckoned. She backed away a few inches and his hand lowered. "Oh, you don't want that?" he asked. She sighed, I'm sure that this "Sora" person is very special to her and she would do anything to see him again, but I don't think she would think of being escorted by the same man who tried to kill me on multiple occasions. "I do, more than anything. But not with you around" she growled. 

Saix barely blinked at her sudden defiance. "If I had a heart, this would be the part where I would die of laughter" he said. I saw both of the berserkers behind him collapse and disappeared after hearing a ching sound from both of them. What stood behind them was a person sporting the organization uniform. I took a closer look at his weapon; it's a keyblade? Saix turned around "You..." he growled "Didn't Roxas already take care of you?" The hooded figure didn't speak. Namine knew who that keyblade wielder is by the posture and battle stance. "You can take it from here, Riku" she said.

"Not a chance" I declined raising the arrow guns up to fire at the Nobody. The keyblade faded from the figure's hand and threw a blue fireball at Saix, striking at his chest. The figure then pinned him against the wall with both of his arms. I fired off a few shots but by the time the projectiles struck the wall Saix was pinned to, he slipped into his own corridor of darkness. The arrow guns disappeared and I slammed my fist into the wall, making a dent "Damn it!" I yelled in frustration. Kairi walked over to her tall savior. The yellow dog ran right past me and towards the figure, barking happily. Kairi pulled back the figure's hood "Riku...you're finally here" she smiled. I twitched at his face under the hood. I shook my head "No, this doesn't make sense; that is Ansem: Seeker of Darkness."

"He does have the form of Ansem, but the real Seeker of Darkness was eliminated, thanks to the light that the actual Kingdom Hearts gave off" Namine explained. I put two and two together by saying, "So Sora was the man behind this?" All three nodded along with the dog barking. "I'm taking a different route so don't worry; I can survive the fall" I said, climbing on top of the safety rail. "Tell Sora that he's getting more than he's bargained for. My colleagues are choir boys compared to our leader; be extremely careful around Xemnas and kick his ass for me."

I leaped off the side of the castle, both of my arms out in different directions. I steered myself to the edge of the wall so I can slow my descent. It's not everyday I have to run down the side of a castle wall, but I won't take my chances with the elevator; it must be teeming with Nobodies by now if this Sora person is here in this castle. Down below, I see a group of Nobody Dusks attacking a downed man in red. In an instant, the arrow guns materialized in my hands and unleashed a flurry of arrows at the Dusks, each one being pierced multiple times before disappearing. I landed safely on the walkway next to the man, who is now stumbling to his feet. He took off the red-bandage-style mask, revealing a pale face, medium slicked back, blond hair, amber orange eyes and a goatee. "It's been too long, my grandson" he said. 

"Who are you?"

"I almost forgot; you were turned into a Nobody, so you have my deepest sympathies."

"That still doesn't explain who you are or how you could see my face through this hood."

"I am Ansem the Wise, the sage-king of our home, Radiant Garden."

"Why are you here? This place has become a war zone."

"Xemnas, the organization's superior and your boss, is the Nobody of Xehanort, my first apprentice. This burden is mine to bear."

"I know that's not the whole of it; tell me the real reason why you're here."

"The shadows of revenge clouded my judgment. All of my apprentices except you stole everything that I valued. My research of the human heart and my pride."

"I can't help you satisfy your revenge; I can't even fulfill mine."

"I know; I was reminded that many of times by Riku. He was a great help to me; revenge won't absolve my dread of what I caused."

"Who is this Riku and did you cause the heartless to be?"

"I found him wandering in the realm of darkness. I soon figured out that Xehanort's Heartless was inside him. It greatly troubled him and yes; my research led to the creation of both the heartless and the seeker of darkness."

"So why does Riku look like the Seeker of Darkness?"

"That would be my fault. The first time I met him, he looked much younger than he used to, maybe his heart was stronger than I expected. I asked him to find someone within the Organization. Roxas; I'm sure you met him."

"I helped him take down extremely powerful Heartless in the past; he disappeared almost twenty days ago."

"I asked Riku to bring Roxas to me; he would help Sora wake up, he left without a word."

"So those two are that close?"

"With friends, any emptiness you might feel will fill in. You will be able to overcome any hardship when you have someone to back you up and the strength that radiates from the connections you bond within hearts."

"I'm leaving this world, forever. I want to start a new life. I want to know what it feels like to have real friends."

"The time has come. I must make amends to those I wronged. Here; you'll need this if you want to travel to this world that's been unknown to even I. Instead of going to Twilight Town, instead, go East and never change direction. That world is untouched by both the Nobodies and the Heartless and outside of their reach. Good luck."

I set my left foot on the railing and I sensed Ansem looking at me. I turned to look at him. "What is it?" I asked. He tossed to me a black stone with a star-shaped gap in it. "You will need it on the road ahead, farewell Luxerk" he picked up a strange device and walked into the corridor, disappearing from my sight. I leaped off the ledge and began to glide through the air. I circled the castle once to get one last view before I descended to the city below. As I was falling into the streets a bright blue laser is being shot out to the heart-shaped moon. It must be from that machine Ansem was lugging with him. What was he using it for? It didn't matter to me as I may be the last Nobody alive once the castle goes along with Xemnas and escaping the city is my number one priority. My feet finally touched down on the pavement and I took one last look at what I used to call home and continued walking away into the darkness of the city. Lucky for me, all of the Nobodies and Heartless are focusing more on the castle. 

The roads became more twists and turns as I continued on my path. Eventually, I made it to the alley and I got a strange feeling. I turned around to look at the castle again, but this time, where the beam was coming from, an explosion of light shot up into the sky, creating a vortex. Pink particles are all that fell. I looked at my open hand, seeing the particles land on it. I took out both the white star and the black mold. The star fit perfectly and the pink particles sealed them both into place and disappeared completely. The pink particles were really hearts and as soon as they touched the ground, they transformed into Heartless and the "Sacred Moon" is nothing more than a heart-shaped black hole. Now would be a good time to run. Without giving myself a second thought, I began right down the alleyway and sure enough to Ansem's directions, a big, shadow-like cloudy orb floating by the corner. As the darkness consumed my body, leaving me with a strange feeling coursing through my body. I left the world that never was and another step to whatever is in store for me.

The shadowy portal remained behind me but looking ahead on where I am right right now doesn't make any sense. It feels like I'm walking on air. I looked around, the walls and floor is made of swirling colors, they fade to dark blue from the portal behind me and orange to twilight town. The Nobody symbols flowed across the floor and walls like gears in a machine. I made it over to the Twilight Town portal, wondering if I got my ability to create corridors of darkness back from that stone. I lifted up both of my arms at the portal and a shadow-like aura shot out of my palms. The color of the portal now is white and surrounded by a flurry of colors that resemble the rainbow. "This must be the unexplored world that Ansem mentioned" I said to myself. I felt a chill run down my spine. I turned around and see a rare horror: a Twilight Thorn.

(Boss 1-Twilight Thorn)

The Giant Nobody looked like it wore a bodysuit, due to the zipper in the middle of its body. It had no face except the symbol of our kind. Its shoulders look like diamond-shaped spikes and very long arms that could stretch to impossible lengths with four tentacles looking like a sentient scarf wrapped around its neck.

Xemnas' Ethereal Blades extended out from my palms as I charged towards the giant Nobody. It shot out shadow-like thorns at me. I kept reversing my jumps and dodged every one, striking the Twilight Thorn in different areas. It didn't flinch as it swung its left arm at me, sending me flying across the ethereal battlefield. I caught myself by swinging the blades onto the ground, breaking my fall. I somersaulted into the air and glided towards the Thorn. Out of their own corridors of darkness, Creepers and Dusks appeared out to kill me. More thorns shot out of its tentacles and I kept reversing around the thorns and the Dusks, striking down the nearest enemy. When I got near the monster, its arms stretched out at me, looking like rubber. I spun like a torpedo around its arms and struck its head, making it stumble over. Right near the portal, I ran for it and jumped towards it. I spun around and got out the arrow guns, shooting rapidly at the giant Nobody. It charged up a big exploding orb of darkness and threw it at me. In a panic, I leaned back in the air and fell through the portal. Sadly, I was too late as the ball struck my chest as I was halfway through the portal, the propelling force of the explosion threw me through the portal and a last ditch effort, I threw an ethereal keyblade at the portal to prevent the Nobody from pursuing me. 




(Third Person POV)

On the other side of the portal, a hooded figure fell from a sky, slamming onto the ground in front of a high school campus right next to a horse statue. The impact created a loud boom, sending dust and dirt everywhere. The impact didn't seem to kill him, but it did hurt him real bad. "OH MY STARS! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" a loud female voice shouted from across the front yard of the school. It seemed that the person witnessed the entire event unfolding. The figure in black used the base of the statue to prop himself up to his feet. He weakly looked around for the source of the voice and found a woman, much older than the figure him. He assumed it must be the principal, but why would she still be here at night? Her skin is a pale blue with darker blue hair with streaks as pale as her skin. She wears a purple top with a white collar embroided with a crescent moon. and dark blue slacks. The figure backed away, still off-balance from being attacked by a monstrous creature on the other side of the closed portal. He collapsed onto his knees, holding his right side in pain. "Oh my; you're hurt!" she jumped "Come with me; you'll get medical help." The figure nodded and was held up by wrapping his arm around her shoulder and limped along with her to the school.

"What is your name, young one?" she asked the figure. "Luxerk" he responded weakly, trying to stay awake. "A strange name, but I'm going to call the nurse" she said "Don't worry; you'll be in safe hands."

"Thank you."

She got out her cellphone and typed in on the keypad the nurses number. "Hello? Yes, it's Luna. I found a kid seriously injured on the school grounds...Okay, I need you in the gymnasium with your stretcher ASAP...alright, thank you, bye."




Inside the High School's gymnasium, a group of female students were sitting on bleachers or on the floor in sleeping bags, talking, laughing, and some were playing a card game. On a separate set of bleachers sat six colorful girls. A rainbow-haired girl had a "why am I here?" face and turned to speak to her friend who looks like a polar opposite of her. "Why AM I here anyways?" she asked the curly purple-haired girl next to her. Her question was answered in a flash when a high-strung pink poofy haired girl appeared in front of the rainbow girl and smiled "Because you have nothing else better to do?"

"Touche."

"At least we're doing something together, Rainbow Dash" the purple haired girl spoke. The pink poofy-haired girl butted in again "Besides, it was my idea to set up the Canterlot Slumber Party."

"I'm surprised that Principal Celestia approved it so quickly" Rainbow added in astonishment. "Although, she could've choose a better location; the gym seems a little...unnecessary" the purple-haired girl known as Rarity evaluated all of the full open areas of the school. Their good time was interrupted when they saw the school nurse, Redheart, ran across the gym to the door with a stretcher. "Oh my, what happened?" the pink wavy haired girl asked. The six girls, along with the other female students that were in the gym, stared at the nurse who was waiting by the door. Some whispers between the students were heard.

"Hey, why is the nurse carrying that stretcher for?"

"Did someone get hurt?"

"Something does not seem right about this."

"Did it have to do with the loud boom outside?"

The double doors opened and Luxerk fell to his knees, on the verge of passing out. The room fell silent and filled with shock at the injured Nobody. The nurse laid out the stretcher on the floor and rolled an unconscious Luxerk on the stretcher. 

"Sister!" a voice called out from the other side of the gym "I heard Redheart's report after you called her. What's going on and who's this?" her voice was on the verge of panicking. Her skin had a light tint of pink. Her eyes are purple, similar to Luxerk's. Her hair had an ethreal presence to it. Blue, pink and green are the colors that made up her hair in a rainbow styled manor. Her white and purple shirt was worn under a golden yellow jacket with a sun-shaped pin attached to the collar along with purple pants. Luna and Redheart picked up the stretcher with the Nobody on and the Principal pulled back his hood to get a glimpse of his face. Luxerk has an orange tint to his skin with long white hair and purple eyes. "He's still alive" Redheart dissuaded both Luna and Celesta's fear "He's got burns all over his body, but he'll make it."




When Luxerk awoke, he got that same walking on air feeling. It was pitch black when he tried to look in all directions. Only a faint illumination glowed above him. A voice echoed from the shadows that are similar to his own.

"Luxerk, do you know where you are?"

"Who said that?"

"Me."

"Who are you?"

"You are not you, and I am not I; you are me, and I am you."

"No shit."

"This is where our heart is supposed to be, but alas, we are Nobodies; our hearts are missing."

"So how did I get here?"

"We suffered severe damage to our body with that fight with the Twilight Thorn. We need to take it easy over the next few weeks until we recover from our injuries. Until then, it's best if we don't push ourselves."

"Yeah, I, a Nobody pushes his power too much, it can destroy my body like......Axel."

"It's best if we learn from his mistake."

"What will happen to us now?"

"We need to lay low for now. If the Nobodies or the Heartless come back and invade this world, we will need to be ready. In the meantime, I will see you again soon."

Luxerk's vision became cloudy, and everything faded to black. 
> Chapter 02-A Nobody Among Humans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Third Person POV)    

The Nobody woke up from the strange dream that seemed real to him. He looked around to get his bearings and found that he was in an infirmary. His coat was off and hanging on the chair next to the bed he slept on. His chest, arms and legs were covered in bandages. He sat up and took the coat off of the chair and put it on. The door opened and the nurse from last night came in. "Oh, you're already up and about?" she asked "Can you walk on your own Mr-?"

"Luxerk" he answered, not looking at the nurse.

"Strange name."

"I could say the same for Redheart."

"It's Nurse Redheart."

"Apologies."

"Oh, no; it's okay. You had nasty burns all over your body, may I ask what happened?"

The Nobody stood there, tensing up. 'She might freak out if I tell her the truth; better make something up' he thought. "I was testing out a device I made, and it malfunctioned" he lied.

"Oh. May I ask what you were testing?"

"I was testing out a miniature medical robot on a different power source; safe to say that I will be sticking to gasoline."

Before she could ask him what kind of fuel he was using, the door opened again and both the Principal and Vice Principal came in with worried looks on their faces. "Thank goodness you're okay; you passed out just as you entered the Gymnasium" the Principal informed him about last night. 

"You gave everyone a big scare" the Vice Principal added, "Judging by your name and that intimidating coat, it seems you're not from around here?"

"What gave it away?"

"How are you feeling, young Luxerk?"

"I'm still a little sore, but not as bad as I was last night."

The nurse handed him two small blue pills, "Swallow these; they'll snuff your pain." The Nobody put both of them in his mouth, took them and cringed. "They don't really taste good" he commented on the taste of the painkillers.

"That's medicine for you. It may not be the best tasting, but they are the most important in helping the human body recover much faster than on its own."

‘Human. Right.’

"Am I in the same building or am I in a hospital?" the Nobody asked the three adults. “You’re in Canterlot High. My name is Celestia, and this is my sister Luna and the school nurse, Redheart" she pointed to the two women next to her "Nurse Redheart, can you excuse us for a moment? We need to discuss some things with him in private."

"Sure; still need to finish filling out extra paperwork from the blood drive" the nurse walked out of the room and closed the door. Luxerk still sitting on the bed, Luna and Celestia sitting on chairs on each side.

"Luxerk, I want you to explain what happened last night. I was outside stargazing and I saw a strange rift up in the sky. I saw you falling from it and throwing some kind of key at it."

'Uhoh' he thought, sighing 'Time to tell them the truth.'

"To tell you the truth, I'm not from this world."

"So, you're an alien?"

"Yep."

"Are you Human?"

"Nope."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm a Nobody."

"Young Luxerk, what is a Nobody?"

"When a human loses their heart, the body that's left behind turns into a whole new life form."

"What about the heart? What happens to the heart?" Celestia asked.

"The darkness engulfs the heart and turns it into a feral creature called a heartless."

Both Celestia and Luna looked at him with both concern and fear.

"W-what about you? A Nobody?" Celestia looked at the human-like Nobody.

"Mostly, Nobodies are deformed monsters capable of basic human speech, but those with a strong will are able to keep a human appearance that reflects who they were as humans, but with some altercations like hair or skin color. I'm one of those Nobodies."

"That explains why you didn't have a pulse, but could breathe just fine" Luna concluded.

"Yep; I'm a real freak of nature" he joked.

"So are there other humans in worlds out there where you came from?" Celestia asked the white-haired Nobody.

"Definitely."

He was not going to explain to the both of them about Organization XIII, not yet anyways. Celestia got up from the chair and put her hand on his shoulder "Don't worry; your secret is safe with us" she reassured the Nobody's privacy.

"We'll worry about this whole issue later. We might as well get some breakfast since it's morning" Luna changed the subject "Luxerk, do you want any?"

Since Luxerk was a Nobody, he didn't need food to survive, but he wouldn't turn down an invitation out of kindness. He nodded, and the three walked out of the nurse's office.

(Stop Music)

All three were silent while walking down the hallway until he decided to break the ice halfway down. 

"So where exactly am I?" he asked the two colorful women. "You're in Canterlot" Celestia answered, "More specifically, Canterlot High School."

"Where do you live?" Luna asked the young Nobody. He went silent for a few moments and answered with reluctance "I currently have no place to stay, and I'm planning on leaving after breakfast."

"Where did you live beforehand?" Luna asked again. He hesitated and only stated, "A different world that's far far away; I don't want to talk about it."

"It's okay; I know it can be a rough life for some, but it's best not to let the past get to you; just move forward and learn."

‘Easy for you to say; you didn't work for a homicidal cult that wanted to build the moon out of hearts.’

"I should. Thank you again for helping me."

"Anytime."

"Where is the cafeteria?"

"Around this corner and through a pair of double doors."

"Seems simple enough."

They made it to the doors of the cafeteria and he stopped in his tracks before Celestia placed her hand on the push lever. "Is there anything the matter?" she asked the pondering Nobody. He snapped out of his daze and responded to her "Y-yes, let's continue."

(Stop Music)

As soon as the doors opened the noise that covered the cafeteria slowly died out and all of the attention of the female students were planted on him, looking at him like he committed murder. A single bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face and he froze in place. Celestia saw this and thought it was time to intervene. "Girls" she announced "There is no need to be alarmed; this is someone just passing through Canterlot and got hurt while he was on school grounds. Just don't be hostile towards him. Yes I know he may look creepy, but he's just as skeptical about us as we are of him, so let's just make him feel like he's part of the Wondercolts." 


‘That makes me feel MUCH better.’

With that, most of them took their focus off of Luxerk and started conversations about him. At a table on the far side of the cafeteria the five colorful girls from last night were enjoying their breakfasts except for the one with the rainbow colored hair, staring him down. "What' the matter Dashie? Got cold eggs?" the hyper girl asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head "No; there's just something about him that creeps me out."

"Well yeah, he's a stranger, and we don't know nuttin about him except that he got hurt last night" the girl known as Applejack added to her suspicion.

"S-sure he may look a little scary, but we know nothing about him" the timid girl with pink wavy hair noted, "Maybe we should get to know him better."

"What!? Hell no!" Rainbow growled "See the creepy black hooded coat? The otherworldly hair and eyes? Last two times we tried to be helpful to the people who walked through those double doors wearing black, they always ended up being evil. Look at Sunset Shimmer before she reformed and the Dazzlings whom we sent them running with their scaly tails between their legs."

"Those are outrageous assumptions, but it's true. Call me crazy, but maybe he's different from the rest; he could be a very charming guy if we look past his intimidating stature" the purple-haired girl known as Rarity tried to dissuade the group's fear.

"Rarity's right" Applejack concluded, "We should take it with a grain of salt and try to get to know him better, regardless if the Principals trust him or not."

"Alright, but I'll be keeping my distance until then" Rainbow concluded.

"Then it's settled. HEY PRINCIPAL CELESTIA!!!" the hyper girl known as Pinkie Pie shouted across the room to get Celestia's attention, but got the rest of the cafeteria's as well. Luna, Celestia and Luxerk went through the line and got their trays filled with food. When they heard Pinkie shout, it almost made the Nobody drop his tray. The three walked over to the table, Celestia giving Pinkie an angry scowl. "Pinkemena" she calmly scolded the hyper girl in her usual motherly tone "Please use your inside voice." Pinkie sank a bit in her chair "Sorry." 

"Hey, girls, you wouldn't mind if he would sit here, would you?" Celestia requested. "Not at all" Applejack smiled "The more, the merrier."

"Thank you" Celestia smiled. "You let me know if you need anything" she spoke to him. 

"I will, and thank you for breakfast."

"You're welcome."

He sat down at the table across the five skeptic girls who were eyeballing him. "So, what's yer name, partner?" Applejack asked him.

"My name's Luxerk."

"Strange name" Rainbow commented.

"Well, I AM foreign."

"Excuse me darling, but what country are you from?" Rarity asked.

He thought about it for a moment and made up an answer. "Japan, " he said, "So what are all of you fine ladies' names?"

The country girl went first "Ah'm Applejack."

"Rainbow Dash, the greatest soccer player in all of Canterlot high!" the strong-looking girl bragged.

The hyper pink-haired girl zipped out in front of him, taking in a deep breath "HimynameisPinkiePieandIthinkyournameisuniqeandIamtheonewhoarangesallofthepartiesandweshouldtotalythrowoneforyouand-"

Luxerk placed a finger over her lips while the other clenching the side of his head "Pinkie, please, one word at a time?" he requested

"Okay, we" she zipped back to where she was sitting.

"Is she always this hyper?" he asked the group.

"You have NO idea; we just roll with it" Dash explained.

"My name is Rarity, and I do have to say, I like your eyes and hair, but your clothing seems a little...intimidating and depressing."

"Well, it’s just part of my culture; I just go with it as I please."

"Aren't you hot in that outfit, though?" Rarity asked.

The confused Nobody shook his head, "No, why do you ask?"

It seemed that he met all of them except the shy one. She was avoiding eye contact but looked at him when he wasn't looking at her. 

"Hey" he tried to get her attention, and all he got out of her was an eep. "What's your name?"

"M-m-my name's..." her face became flushed with red, looking away from him of fear.

"It's okay; try to relax and calmly say your name."

"F-f-flutershy."

'Wow. She must be fragile, kind of like that one person I can't remember. What was her name?' he thought about it and smiled at the blushing girl. "It's a beautiful name" he commented. This caused her to blush even harder.

"So let me say your names over again" he recapped while pointing to each of the girls at the table "Applejack...Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Yeah, I got it memorized."

'Oh Axel, even in death you continue to rub off on others.'

"There is also Sunset Shimmer, but she was home sick yesterday" Applejack added, "After breakfast, we could go visit her."

"Sounds like a good plan" he agreed. Rainbow arched an eyebrow at him "How would we know how to trust you?" He pulled back his coat sleeve to show his bandaged arm. The girls winced at the faint shade of red in the bandages "If there are those in this town who would help an outsider like me, I trust them; can't blame you for not trusting me. I wouldn't believe me either if I saw someone like me for the first time. If I wanted to cause trouble, I would've done it already."

The girls were taken back by his honest explanation. He took his steak egg and cheese sandwich from his tray and took a bite out of it. His eyes grew wide and he scarfed down the rest shortly after. He got weird looks from the remainder of the group. "How long did you go without food?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "A few days, give or take" he said through a full mouth. "Poor boy, you must've been starving" Rarity frowned "Your manners could use some work, though." Rainbow Dash got skeptical again "So Luxerk? Where do you live?"

"I don't have a home." 

Surprised at his answer, the group now needed to know more, "Do you have any family? If you don't mind answering." Fluttershy asked the melancholic Nobody before sinking back into her chair immediately after asking. "No; I only had a couple friends, but...they died recently" he looked down at his tray. He heard a collective quiet gasp come from the group. "What happened?" Rarity asked, putting her hand on his. "There was an accident" he deadpanned "They saved my live, but at the same time, they were killed by a failed science experiment. We were trying to make a teleportation device and there was a mechanical failure and I was the guinea pig. Both of them pushed me out of the way and they were caught in the explosion." his voice started to crack and  tears formed in his eyes "I couldn't stand sticking around my own home, I left and never went back." All of them had a sad look on their faces and feelings of  regret formed of their skepticism towards him. Rainbow tried to hold back tears "I'm sorry; we didn't know you went through so much."

"It's okay. I'm going to need a place to stay to recover from my injuries and I'm willing to help out in any way I can; I want to repay this town for saving my life, but what to do first?"

"Hey! Maybe you can hang out at my place" Pinkie requested "I can even throw you a slumber party!"

Rainbow groaned "Again?"

He blinked "What's a slumber party?" he wondered.

"A slumber party is where a group of friends spends the night at a house of the friends' choice" Rarity explained, "Although it is exclusively for girls, I think you would make an exception."

He thought about it, but he knew that Pinkie would be the only one to house him for the time being "Sure; I'm game."

"That's lovely! We should go over to Pinkie's house."

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow "Didn't we just have a sleepover last night?"

Pinkie bounced over to her Rainbow-haired friend "Yeah, but Luxy here didn't."

"But he's a guy."

"Didn't Rarity say that he's the only exception?"

"Yes."

"And he needs a place to rest for tonight?"

"Yes."

"So...let's show him a good time! Sunny should be getting better now, so we should invite her as well."

The entire group including the Nobody threw away their garbage and proceeded to exit the school. On the way, they went past both Celestia and Luna. The Principal stopped him for a second. "Hey, Luxerk?" she called out to him. He stopped and turned around to look at her "What is it?" he asked

"Just stick with those girls for the time being; I don't know if there are anyone else who will be friendly towards you, so be careful."

"I will." He caught up with the group and opened the front door to the town.


Canterlot


The Nobody stood there at the top of the steps along with the girls, taking the atmosphere in. The wind was blowing slightly and the morning sun warmed against his face. He looked out to where he was found last night at the horse statue at the center of the three walkways out to the street and sidewalks. It was peaceful and Ansem was right about this world being untouched. The revelation brought a warm smile to his face. 

"I'm heading to the Carousel Boutique for what I need for the night and I'll meet with you all at Pinkie's house" Rarity explained, walking away from the group. 

"Okay, just don't take too long," Applejack said.

"Hey, Luxy?" Pinkie prodded the Nobody's shoulder. "What is it?" he asked, focusing his glance onto the bright colored party girl. "How long are you planning to stay here in Canterlot?" she asked. He looked away, scratching the bottom of his chin "I'm not too sure, I'm still thinking about it" he said. "Hey, Luxerk? How old are ya?" Applejack asked, readjusting her hat. "Sixteen" he stated. Applejack got wide-eyed "Wow, sixteen?" she gasped "I expected ya to be sumthing like twenty."

"I get that a lot."

They were walking down the road towards Sugar Cube Corner, each of the girls exchanging conversation about music, cars, sports and some points that Rarity might try to style Luxerk's hair when he's asleep. Applejack moved next to Luxerk and placed her hand on his shoulder; he slightly shifted his head to look at her. "You've been quiet for some time. There's sumthing bothering you" she noticed "You can talk to any of us about what’s bothering ya: it can help heal any mental scars." He nodded "I'll talk about it some other time" he deadpanned "Hopefully this get-together will contribute to cheer me up."

A few minutes passed of them just walking down the sidewalk, he looked at the buildings they passed by, slightly disappointed at the architecture and color. Back in Twilight Town, the buildings were more colorful, and everything was built on the side of a mountain which made the whole town look like a never ending sundown, hence its name.

They arrived at the corner cafe called Sugar Cube Corner, and the Nobody let out a small chuckle. The roof resembled of what he would see inside a chocolate cake. The building is colored white with a pink striped in two different shades. Pinkie zipped in front of him, his sightseeing only her. "So Luxy, what do you think of it?" she chirped. He looked at the decorations and turned back to the hyper girl.

"You think it's edible?" he asked she burst out in laughter "No, silly!" she snorted "It just looks like that."

"You don't get out much, do you?" Rainbow asked.

"What makes you say that?"

"Um...never mind."

He ignored the thought as he followed the girls through the double doors. He saw various tables with seats surrounding them. He looked at a counter with a display case stuffed with cake, cookies, brownies, and other sweets that made his mouth water. "Hey Luxy?" Pinkie asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He shook his head and looked at her "So this is your shop?" he asked. 

"Nope," she said frankly "I work/live here; the Cakes run Sugarcube Corner."

"The Cakes?"

"Carrot Cake and his wife, Cup Cake. HEY! MR. CAKE!!!" her shouting caused everyone in the cafe stare at them with annoyed looks. Sounds of plates breaking could be heard in the kitchen. A middle aged man stumbled out of the kitchen, scowling at Pinkie. He has light orange hair, green eyes and amber colored skin. He wore a white collared shirt with a red bowtie, white apron and grey slacks.

"What the heck Pinkie!?" he yelled. He stopped, exhaled and spoke to her in a calmer tone "You know we talked about this; use your inside voice."

"Sorry."

He noticed the Nobody clad in a black overcoat and jumped in place. "AHH!" he yelped "It's another Dazzling!" He hid behind the display counter, the Nobody scratching his head in confusion. "Dazzling?" he repeated the name Carrot Cake used to label him. "Those three were a terrible bunch" Applejack explained "They used their singing voices to mind control people and feed off of negativity." 'They sound like the Unversed' the Nobody thought to himself.

"Yeah, but we beat them in the battle of the bands and they ran away with their tails between their legs" Rainbow explained, cracking her knuckles "Who knows where they are now?"

"Well,well,well? What do we have here?" a voice called out from the doorway. A trio of teens walked through the double doors, armed with Struggle Bats. They were slightly overweight and their hairstyles covered parts of their eyes. Each of them wore brown boots with blue worn jeans along with white t-shirts and leather vests. "It's Canterlot's next pile of human trash," the center teen snarked. "Yeah, we don't take kindly to your kind here" the blue colored teen added "How about you go back to where you came from, or are we going to make you?" 

Luxerk barely batted an eye at the "threat." He stretched out his arms, yawning. "Oh, I'm sorry; for a second there, I thought you three were actually serious" he quipped. The center thug pointed his bat at the white-haired Nobody "Score, teach this drag queen a lesson on manners" he spat. 

"HEY! HOOPS!" Rainbow screamed, moving towards the bully, but being stopped by Luxerk's arm "If you even touch him, I'll-"

"Not now, Rainbow Crash" he interrupted her, “You’re next after this faggot. GET HIM!"

The blue thug dashed toward the Nobody, preparing to swing. A smile formed on the side of Luxerk's face. The bat swung towards him, missing its desired target. He wrapped his arm up the thug's and quickly jerked it upwards, hearing a cracking sound. Score yelped in pain as he lost grip on his bat. Luxerk too the opportunity to catch the bat with his left hand and slamming the base of the bat into Score's stomach. His expression turned to shock as the Nobody used the heel of his foot to slam down on his ankle, making him lose his balance. Using the thug's weight against him, he uses his right arm to slam him onto the ground, the shock knocking him out. He switched his footing and now wielded the bat with his right hand, spinning it around. Dumb-Bell ran towards the armed teen clad in black, swinging at him, missing every time. Luxerk was smirking the whole time, on the verge of laughing. He ducked, leaned from side to side, and parried the swings with quick jabs to the angry teen's shoulders. The Nobody swung at the thug's hand, knocking the bat into the air. He dropped down low and spun his leg around, tripping Dumb-Bell. He caught the confused thug by wrapping his arms around his waist and throwing him over his head onto an empty table, smashing it into pieces. 


Recieved: Struggle Bat

Basic replacement weapon. Completely useless against Nobodies and Heartless.


Everyone stood there, shocked at the Nobody's brutality. All were dumbfounded except for Rainbow Dash who was beaming with excitement. "Now how about we take this outside?" he suggested to the furious Hoops "I don't want to cause anymore property damage."

Hoops didn't say anything, he just quietly walked out of the cafe, not breaking eye contact towards him. Luxerk soon followed where the people gathered at the windows, watching the fight unfold. The two stood on opposite sides, staring each other down.

(Boss 2-Hoops)

"Kneel! And if you beg hard enough, maybe you'll walk away with a couple scars" Hoops shouted at the Nobody, who just raised his Struggle Bat without saying anything; only a sly smirk across his face.

"What's so funny!?" 

"You have NO idea who you're dealing with."

"I'm going to smack that smile off your stupid face!"

The thug charged towards him swinging the bat at him. Luxerk leaped up, his right foot kicking off Hoop's left shoulder, giving the Nobody clearance to air over him. While in the air, Luxerk swung his bat backwards to stun Hoops and spinning around to face his back, striking it with his body's momentum. The attack made Hoops lose balance, only to have him immediately recover and retaliate. Hoops spun his bat in an arc, striking the Nobody in the side. The impact knocked him into a parking meter, bending it and sending coins flying everywhere. He leaped back to his feet, ignoring the pain. He dashed toward Hoops and reversed around him, striking his body in a combo of strikes. The impact kocked him from the Nobody, a pained scowl on his face. 

"Enough with this!" he growled, pulling out a switchblade "I'll just lie to the cops that you tried to kill me! After all; a good fag-lover is a dead one!"

The thug sprinted towards the Nobody, who didn't even move. Luxerk grabbed the thug's arm and used his momentum to swing him over his shoulder into a full garbage can.

(Fight Over)

Inside the cafe, the onlookers were both amazed and terrified at how the teen took out three of his peer who was much larger than him. "What just happened!?" Applejack gasped. "That was BADASS!" Rainbow yelled in excitement "The way he just kicked their asses like that! They SO got what was coming to them!"

"H-he's scary" Fluttershy hid under a booth table "How can someone enjoy that kind of violence?"

"Do it again; I wasn't looking!" Pinkie grinned with joy.

"That's just wrong! Them Hoops boys stooped to a new low" AJ scowled with disappointment "I know everyone's on edge since the Fall Formal and the Dazzlings wreaking havoc in Canterlot High, but for them to attempt to kill an outsider to paint them as a scapegoat is just inhuman."

"Yeah, but did you see how he moved so quickly despite being hurt?" Rainbow pointed out the Nobody's past injury "Could you imagine how fast he would've made short work of them if he didn't have those burns?"

"We should be cautious of him for now, even though he drove them away" AJ pointed out "We need to know what he's really hiding." 'Movement like that just don't seem human' AJ thought to herself.

All four girls nodded in unicen. Outside the cafe, Luxerk stuffed his temporary weapon into his coat, slightly chuckling at the sight of Hoops' legs flailing on the outside of the trashcan, until the can tipped over and dumped him out. He stood back up to his feet, now with the two other thugs helping him up. "Let's go let's go" Score pushed Hoops as they ran away from the teen in black. Luxerk walked back into the cafe, only to be greeted with applause and whistles. We made his way over the broken table and sat on a bar stool near a happy Carrot Cake.

"Everywhere I go, I end up fighting jackasses, like them,” he complained, resting his arms on the table.

"Hey, Luxerk, was it?" Carrot Cake asked him.

"It's my name, got it memorized?"

"I'll forgive you for the broken table just this once.  How about some cake and soda on the house?"

"Sure, I'll still pay you for the damages, though."

"No, consider it my thanks for taking care of those punks."


Received Soda
Sweet-tasting carbonated soft drink. Riddled with caffeine to energize the body.
Restores 20 MP 


While taking a bite of the cake slice, a question popped into his head that he said out loud "So, did you have previous trouble with those clowns?"

"Oh, they were always threatening to burn the place down and they vandalized some of the objects outside for the past few months."

"But why would they do that?"

"It's because Pinkie is friends with Rainbow Dash."

"Is that the only reason?"

"No, they are part of a religious nut group and they're hostile towards Rainbow Dash because of her sexuality."

"Sexuality?"

"It's who and what gender you're attracted to. Geez kid, were you living under a rock?"

"No; I just didn't pay attention to the outside world as much. Besides, what's so wrong according to her 'Sexuality?'"

"According to their 'Holy Book' it calls for the condemnation of those who are LGBT. Rainbow is bisexual."

"So what if she likes both genders? What right do they have to criminalize her for it?"

"I don't know; their church is on the other side of town. It's the Westmanero Lunist Church."

"Sounds catchy."

"They picket funerals of soldiers who died in war, those who were bi and homosexual and whoever was associated with said type of person."

"Sounds like a cult if you ask me."

"They're classified as a hate group. I don't know what goes on behind those ivory doors, but I know it's nothing good."

"And judging by three of their loyal dogs, it seems like they're all not mentally well."

"I'm just surprised that some nutjob hasn't gone in and maimed them."

"Charming world, this is."

"It's nice to meet you, Luxerk."

"Likewise."

The colorful girls walked over to the bar and sat on the stools next to him, Rainbow being the closest. "Now THAT was cool what you did to Hoops and his droogs" she chimed, her arm on his shoulder "Where did you learn those sweet moves?"

"I learned them from a close friend a while ago."

"Was he sum kind of soldier?" AJ asked.

"Yeah; he was."

"So what fighting style was that?" Rainbow asked the semi-acrobatic Nobody "It sure isn't Karate."

"Me and each of my friends developed a special fighting style and each of us put our own spin on it. My fighting style is nothing special, but I do tend to mimic the moves of the people I fight for some reason."

"How were you able to throw those guys over your shoulder; they were like, twice your size! That's all I want to know."

"I can use their weight and momentum against them. That's why I was able to effortlessly beat the tar out of them."

Rarity came in through the front door with a few suitcases, surveying the damaged table "Oh, my stars!" she gasped "What happened in here?"

"Hoops and his gay-bashing droogies came in to harass me" Rainbow explained "Luxerk intervened before I could go after one of them and he just went to town on them; just beat the crap out of them, showing no mercy like it was no one's business."

The posh girl scoffed "Such violence is barbaric and I never like anyone who thrives in it, but I think it can be justified if you're defending yourself." Rarity thought about Rainbow's explanation for a moment and stars formed in her eyes "Luxerk, you went out of your way to protect a 'lady' even though you were risking yourself?" she asked, gleaming with admiration. 

"Yeah" Luxerk nodded "If you girls are taking me in, it's the least I can do to return the favor."

"I admire that, darling" Rarity said, focusing on his face "You must be quite the gentleman."

"Now that everyone is here" Pinkie changed the subject "We can all come up to my room and have a party for Luxy, here and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa" Rarity rushed to the party girl "What about Sunset? She didn't have a slumber party."

"Oh yeah!" Pinkie happily face-palmed and took out her cellphone to dial Sunset Shimmer. "Hi, Sunny!" she began on her phone "You won't believe what kind of day and a half we had...yeah...there's this guy who got hurt last night and we showed him around town and he protected Dashie from those crazy thugs...yeah; he really kicked them in the patootie real hard, sorry you couldn't come to the school slumber party...you don't have to worry, though; we're having a slumber party for you and the new guy since he never had one and wants to experience one with us...yeah; he's our age...I know slumber parties are just for girls, but he's a real cutie according to Rarity...so, are you coming over? GREAT! We'll see you then...bye Sunny!" she flipped her phone closed and stuffed it back into her hair, which made Luxerk raise an eyebrow. He opened his mouth and raised a finger, but before he could ask "Why?" he was interrupted by Rainbow Dash "It's Pinkie Pie; don't question it" she reassured him.

"Guess there's some mysteries that will just remain that...mysteries" he said to himself, shrugging the moment off.




About half an hour went by. Luxerk was sipping on his last of his free twelve-pack of soda, listening to their stories when they were younger and how Sunset used to be the baddest bully around, until a mysterious girl from another dimension turned her good. 'So there was another undiscovered world, besides this one' he thought to himself 'Better to be discovered by a Nobody than to be destroyed by a Heartless.' The girls finished with their stories and all focused on him "So, Luxy" Pinkie shifted in her seat "Are you going to tell us about your life story?" His mood plummeted into a series of painful memories, flooding back into him. "I don't remember much about my childhood, I suffered a nasty head injury a year ago and everything after that I remember. Nothing really happened much, except for that experiment I mentioned before."

"Not even when you were a little kid?" AJ asked. He shook his head.

"You didn't even seem phased when we talked about the whole magic part and Twilight being from another world" Rainbow looked at him suspiciously "You have crazy moves and your intimidating black coat turns heads around here. Were you part of some kind of cult?"

This point surprised him, but he didn't show emotion towards the athlete. "In a sense, I was" he answered nonchalantly "But that's all behind me now."

He heard doors creak open "Hey guys-whoa" the female's voice chirped then cut down the moment she saw what was left of the brawl "What happened here?" 

"New guy here kicked the stooge trio's asses back to their church" Rainbow happily explained, pointing to the Nobody who downed the last of his soda.

"Hey Sunny!" Pinkie waved her hand sparaticly at the flame-haired teen. Luxerk turned around to get a good look at who Sunset Shimmer really is. 

Her cyan eyes matched the sky of the world. Her skin is a fair amber color. She wore a purple top with an orange-stripped leather jacket and an orange skirt with heeled boots of the same color. She had a bag draped over her shoulder that had a symbol that matched what was on her shirt; a two-toned sun with colors that matched her hair.

Her eyes met his and stared at one another. She walks over to the bar and sits down next to the Nobody, staring at his coat.

"So you're the guy who drove off those nut jobs?" She asked.

"The same," he replied with as a matter of fact tone, "Didn't think humans like them would be worse than Nobodies."

"Less than Nobody," Rainbow butted in, "Pure mucus in the common cold."

"You remind me of when I first came to this town," Sunset leaned in closer to him, but kept a friendly distance.

"You beat the snot outta lobotomized morons picking on a girl as well?" He joked, garnering a few laughs from the girls.

"No; nothing like that," her smile turned to a frown, "I know what it's like; being new, being avoided when you try to make nice after showing your dark side. I know how it feels."

'Live a year of my existence and your opinion will change quick,' he thought to himself.

"Okay," Pinkie said over the conversation at the bar, "Since everyone is here, how about we all go upstairs to my room?"

Everyone nodded, including Luxerk. They followed Pinkie into a hallway behind the kitchen to a staircase. He had a feeling of uneasiness, similar to what one of his fellow organization members, Axel had during missions. Something was about to go down, which made his muscles tense up and twitch in pain.

"Hey, Luxy!" Pinkie called out to the Nobody, breaking his thought, "Are ya joining us?"

He heasitantly nodded and strides up the stairs, skipping a few in between.
>  Chapter 03 - "Truth or dare?"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Third Person POV)

As Luxerk made his way into Pinkie Pie's room, the bathroom door closed shut, and Pinkie was in her pajamas. She wore a pink shirt with a small insignia in the top center. It was a blue balloon in between two yellow.

About five minutes have passed, and the other girls walked out of the bathroom, dressed in their PJs. Rarity was dressed in short white shorts, and a white shirt with the lower half cut off, showing her navel.

"You like it, darling?" She provocatively asked him. He just sat there in the beanbag chair, unfazed.

'He must be a colt cuddler if he didn't bat an eye, or he doesn't get out much,' she thought. 

'She doesn't know me; I don't know her. Wonder why she's flirting with me. Reminds me of Larxene,' he thought.

When Luxerk was in Organization XIII, there was The Savage Nymph, Number XII: Larxene. In between missions, she would read a book and occasionally glance over at him and giggle. While on missions if paired together, she would drop subtle hints on "dominating" him.

Just thinking about it made him uncomfortable since he didn't have emotions developed in love. He mostly didn't comprehend love; being a Nobody and technically not Human.

Applejack wore short blue jean shorts and a white tank top. He could obviously see through the top and her nipples. This also caught the attention of Rarity.

"Applejack!" She exclaimed, "There's a boy here; wear a bra!"

"Those things make me itch like crazy. Besides, I noticed the way you held your skirt down and the blush on your face when you came into the cafe; You went commando and waited for the opportunity to "flirt" with Lux."

"Ha! I'd never expose my goodies like that."

"You would if you knew him longer."

Pinkie pushed both of them away from each other.

"Girls, please!" She pleaded, "Think of Luxy!"

Both held their heads low in embarrassment, "Sorry," they both said. Luxerk held up his hands in front of him, slightly sweating.

"It's okay; I'm used to this kind of thing."

"I don't think I want to know," Sunset joked, walking out of the bathroom with Fluttershy. Sunset wore an orange long sleeved shirt with a yellow and red sun with sweatpants of the same color. Fluttershy dressed the same except her symbol was butterflies and green PJs.

"Now that everyone is set let's play Truth Or Dare!" Pinkie announced.

"Oh, so we're changing it up a bit!" Rainbow gleamed. She wore her soccer uniform with her name on the back along with the number 13.

"Yeah; don't we save this for last?" Rarity agrees. Pinkie leans into Rarity.

"Just follow along; need to see what's behind that coat," she whispered.

"Oh, Pinkie, you naughty girl."

The girls sat in a circle formation, leaving a spot open for the skeptical Nobody, who stood there confused.

"What's 'Truth or Dare?" He asks Pinkie.

"It's simple!" She giggled, "When it's your turn, you choose Truth or Dare. If you choose Truth, you have to answer a statement or question about you truthfully, if Applejack thinks you're lying, you lose."

"What if I pick Dare?"

"You have to do what someone says, or you lose."

He nodded and sat, legs crossed with the rest of the girls.

"Okay, let's start with Luxy!" Pinkie points to him, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Is white your natural hair color?"

"Yes."

"AJ?"

She nodded in agreement, "He's tellin' the truth, sugar cube."

"Okay! Sunny"

"Yes?"

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." 

"Do you think Luxy's cute?"

Her face went flush red, "Y-yes; I'm surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend yet."

"Rarity. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth, darling."

"Did you go commando to flash Luxy purposefully?"

"I…I…I DID NOT!" She yelled, her face turning bright red.

"She lied," Applejack muttered.

"Sorry, Rar. Dashie, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!"

"I dare you to recite Hamlet's To Be or Not to Be scene while hanging upside down!"

"You're on!" 

Rainbow was picked up by Applejack and held by her ankles.

"To be or not to be…that…is…the…ques…tion…," Dash slurred before briefly passing out and waking up.

"Wha, what happened?" She asked, confused.

"You got the most famous line down, and I'll pass you for that. Fluttershy?"

She immediately eeped and leaped out of the circle.

"AJ, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"If you were into girls, who would you date?"

"Well, ahm athletic, so I'll date Dash if I were into girls."

Rainbow wiggled her eyebrows and winks at AJ.

"If you were, you would be walking funny for weeks."

"OKAY! Moving on. Next round, Luxy, Truth or Dare?"

He let out a devilish grin, "Dare," he whispered.

"I dare you to take off your coat!"

Everyone in the room blushed a dark shade of red. He stood up and looked around the room. He shrugged and threw off his jacket, exposing his bare, well-toned chest. His upper chest was wrapped in a bandage as well as his left bicep and right forearm. This left the girls in the room to stare at him, blushing intensely. He sat down on the chair and unwrapped his bandages, leaving behind black charred scabs.

Rainbow both blushed and nodded at his scarring flesh, "Nice scars, bro," she complimented, "After that heals, you'll look like a real badass."

"Thanks, at least the bleeding and pain stopped a while ago."

Rarity is mesmerized by his chest, "You should be shirtless more often," she cooed.

Rainbow wraps her arm around his shoulder, "You know, with a look like that, you will get a lot of chicks."

Over the next two hours, they played the game until Pinkie won, then they moved onto styling each other. Rarity was moving towards Luxerk while he's moving backward.

"Let me style your hair," she pleaded, "You have a white canvas on your head!"

"No no no!" He protested, "No one touches the do!"

"Just one style? Please?"

He frustratingly sighed, "Fine."

She pulls the Nobody into the bathroom to style his hair. About half an hour of different styles, they finally emerged from the bathroom. All of the girls’ eyes grew wide with his new style. The hair in the back of his head was collected and woven into a French braid and tied at the tip. The front of his face was left alone.

“Well, what do you girls think?” She asks the dumbfounded group.

“Hey!” Pinkie said, “He looks like an albino version of this one anime character I forget the name of.”

“It’s getting late, we all need to get to bed,” Sunset looked at the alarm clock: 23:55.

“Oh, yeah! We got practice tomorrow,” Rainbow remembered.

“Good night, everybody!” Pinkie exclaimed before dropping on her bed and instantly fell asleep. Everyone else said their goodnights as well before crashing all around Pinkie’s bed in their sleeping bags, leaving him awake in Pinkie’s gaming chair. Few thoughts flew through his head, many positive.

‘They've accepted me so quickly despite looking like past guests that ended up causing havoc. I trust them, that’s for sure. Sticking up for Rainbow and agreeing to go to Pinkie’s slumber party; that’s trust enough, but I don't think they will believe me if I tell them the whole truth and slightly lying about it. Only the Principals know of this, and I will have to inform these girls soon. Might as well wait for dawn by what humans call, “Sleeping."’

With that in mind, the weary Nobody decided to sleep off the rest of his injuries, unaware of the forthcoming dangerous events about to unfold. That is until that same voice calls out to him once again...
> Chapter 04 - Dive Into the Heart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Luxerk POV)

A continuous tingling sensation through my body made me drift awake, only to see that I’m not in Pinkie’s room. The same tingling sensation was a feeling of falling, but it was too dark to see anything; only myself.

I eventually touched down on the bottom or wherever this place is. This is a very bizarre dream, but I feel as if it could get only more ludicrous.

“Hello again, Luxerk,” A familiar voice shot through the dark, “If you are wondering why you’re here and will like an explanation, step forward.” 

Adhering to his advice, I did so, but as I laid down my boot, a bright light shot up from the floor. Shares of darkness flew up and turned into birds, flying off into the abyss. With the light settling, my way was now visible and across the way was a figure in brown robes.

“Welcome to the Station of Awakening,” he announced, moving his arm to show me where I am.

“Who ARE you!?” I demanded, “Not one of the Organization, I hope.”

“No; I am a part of a much older group.”

“Which is?”

“Let me tell you a story first,” he said, turning around to face the empty sky, “I was here many years ago, although this floor was different. Five Unions competed with one another to gather light or Lux as they called it. Those were Foretellers; Keyblade masters in their right. The Unions were: Ursus, Anguis, Unicornis, Vulpes and Leopardus; I belonged to Unicornis. However, this was a facade for something much darker.”

“What was it?”

“The Keyblade War.”

What caused all of that madness?”

“It started with a prediction of future events by a tome known as the Book of Prophecies. It foretold many of outcomes, but the Foretellers were motivated by only one: ‘The war in that place will lead to the destruction of the Light. The World will be in Eternal Darkness.’ The Unions were formed, and a hunt for the light was born from this prophecy alone, but as it predicted, the fear and anger in weilders’ hearts turned into darkness as it took control and the conflict began.”

“What are you getting at? What does this have to do with us?”

“They know of this world, Luxerk; they will be coming for you.”

“I haven’t even recovered yet!”

“There is a way to speed this up, but…”

“But what?”

He turned back to face me, “When your ability reawakens, you have but five minutes to drive them back into the portal you came out of. When that time is up, the massive strain on your body will cause you to undergo a week-long coma.”

I immediately backed away from the cloaked man, “No. Screw...that.” I protested. He waved his hand at me, and a sword appeared in my right hand.

“We don’t have a choice; they will be here in Canterlot soon. Meet me on the fourth platform, good luck.”


Acquired Dream Sword

A weapon manifested from strength in the Station of Awakening. Effective only on Nobodies and Heartless in the Station of Awakening.
(+1 Strength)



Luxerk’s Stats

Lv. 1

HP: 20
MP: 10
STR: 5 (+1)
MAG: 5
DEF: 5
Crit. %: 3
Crit. Bonus: 3

WEAPON: Dream Sword STR+1


I took a closer look at the floor of this place. What it appeared to be was a large round pane of stained glass of a cartoon pony.



My realization was interrupted by Dusks surrounding me at the center. Spinning my sword around into my battle stance, I backflipped from the group to ready myself for the onslaught. I reversed around each of them, striking blindly at different parts of their bodies. Each one of them faded into darkness when they suffered fatal blows at the tip of my blade.

With the last one gone, a colorful staircase appeared at the edge of the platform that led to another large round platform. Remembering what that man said about meeting him at the fourth platform, I made my way up the steps to the next platform to fight the next wave. Instead of this winged unicorn being purple, it was white and mostly resembled Principal Celestia.



I have done the same tactic to dispatch my kin, but one snuck up on me and kicked me square in the back. The pain jolted through my body, knocking me away from it and shifting my focus toward said foe. It stretched and contorted towards me in a very inhuman cartwheeling motion. I shifted around it and only had to swipe sideways to dispatch it. As seen from the last platform, another staircase appeared at the edge. Not wasting any time, I dashed up the stairs to the next platform. This next pony looks eerily similar to Vice Principal Luna, but in pony form.



More Dusks appeared before me, including some new ones to boot. Creepers. These long-armed weaklings make it a cakewalk when I so choose to swing them around by their arms. Using them as weapons are just as effective as using any of the Organization’s weapons. Remembering that fact I grabbed one and swung it at the Dusks until my Creeper Club disappeared. I grabbed another Creeper and noticed a Dusk trying to run. I spun the Creeper around my head like a lasso, judging the distance. I let go of the Creeper and watched it fly into the cowardly Dusk, making both of them disappear.

“I say that’s a ringer,” I joked to myself.


!!!
LEVEL UP

Lv. 1 » 2

HP: 20 » 26
MP: 10 » 16
STR: 5 » 7 (+1)
MAG: 5 » 6
DEF: 5 » 9
Crit. %: 3 » 4
Crit. Bonus: 3 » 5


The last set of stairs was available for me to traverse. I looked down to see what pony was this time, but it was Sunset instead. What the hell is going on here!?



“Ah, Luxerk!” the robed man called out to me, “You didn’t die; good, we have a crisis on our hands.”

“How bad is it?”

“Xemnas knows you’re here and he’s sending Nobodies to bring you back to the World that Never Was.”

“Damn. Wait; if he opens the portal this time, won’t Heartless pour out into the world as well?”

“I’m afraid so. Luxerk, a storm is approaching, be vigilant.”

“Yes.”

“Good luck and it’s time to wake up.”

“Wait, what was the point of bringing me up here in the first place?”

“I’m doing everything I can to speed up your recovery; the more strength you gain, the more abilities you gain in a shorter time.”

“I sense danger from outside this realm, we best hurry.”

“Luxerk, be careful and good luck.”

“Right.”

I heard Sunset’s voice echoing in the distance, “Lux! Get up! You have to see this!”

I felt a sudden jolt through my body, that motion alone caused everything and myself to snap awake into consciousness. 


Luxerk’s Current Stats

Lv. 2

HP: 26
MP: 16
STR: 7
MAG: 6
DEF: 9
Crit. %: 4
Crit. Bonus: 5

> Chapter 05 - "They found me."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Third Person POV)

“Lux!” Sunset yelled, shaking the weary Nobody awake. His sudden waking made him leap out from the chair and at the other side of the room where the other girls are staring through the window outside.

“Luxy, come quickly!” Pinkie waved her hand over to him. He nodded and kneeled in between Rainbow and Applejack.

“These strange creatures is walkin about up down this street,” Applejack explained, shedding light on his curiosity.

“What creatures?”

“You just missed it!” Rainbow exclaimed, “These things look like aliens from all those Sci-fi movies Pinkie has.”

“Or from one of my Manga books,” Fluttershy added.

“It looked like they were all wearing white body suits with hoods,” Rarity shuddered.

“They must be part of that Asylum they call a church,” Rainbow speculated. Hearing all of these descriptions made an uncertain click in Luxerk’s head.

“Wait, were they moving like they were made of rubber?” He asked, trying to hide the fearful tone in his voice. Sunset nodded.

“Did their sides light up and flicker like LED lights?” He asked again and was met with another collective nod. The color faded in his face, cowering to the corner furthest away from the window, garnering the girls’ attention.

“Luxy, are you okay?” Pinkie asked.

“They’ve found me,” He quietly said.

“What did ya say, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked calmly, “Do you know anything about those things?”

“They found me,” he shook.

“Well, what did you do to piss them off?” Rainbow asks. Luxerk made random words, mostly cryptic to the girls.

“Organization. Nobodies. Hearts. Death. Rift. Heartless. Ground Zero-”

“LUX! SNAP OUT OF IT!” Rainbow yelled, grabbing him by his shoulders and slapping sense into him. He shook off the pain and regained his composure.

“I have no time to explain, but do as I say, okay?” He requests.

“Really? And how exactly can we trust you with these gymnastic monsters?” Rainbow asked skeptically.

“You know the horse statue at the school? Well a rift has opened up about a hundred feet above it, and those things are pouring out, and I have the only key to stop it, so to speak.” His explanation left the whole group speechless and looked towards Applejack to see if that answer is truthful. She sighed.

“What he’s saying is true, Y'all,” she deadpanned, “Lux, what are ya plannin to do?” He quickly zipped up his coat and moved towards the opening of the window.

“I need to close that rift before more...darker beings come through to this world,” he explained before leaping from the windowsill. As soon as he landed onto the sidewalk, He turned to look at them, but also garnering the attention of the Dusks.

“If you six are willing to follow me, keep at a safe distance!” He commanded, “They’re after me and won’t focus on you guys.” With that said, he took off, ignoring the cries of protest from the group. Rainbow tried to follow but was yanked back in by Applejack.

“What are you doing AJ!? I want to help!” Dash yelled.

“Nhuh; it’s too cold for us to be in our PJs. Everyone, change clothes quickly; we need to catch up to Lux as soon as possible.”

(Luxerk POV)

They’ve found me. Great. I must’ve made a magical trail when that Twilight Thorn struck me with its magic through the rift. My only best bet is to hightail it to ground zero. If only I still had my SuperGlide ability, I would be there in half the time.

The longer I travel down this street, more Dusks are to be seen, same with them and now they’re chasing me. Fortunately, I was slightly faster than them, if I were sprinting in a straight line, thankfully I am. To elude them and throw most of them off track, I changed direction into an alleyway in between two tall buildings. There while I was moving, I jumped up and kicked off the walls in a pattern. Funny, I never recall any of the Organization Freerun to traverse tight areas with ease, but they traveled in corridors of darkness, so they didn't need to.

I felt the presence of the rift, and it’s growing in size to move something...divine through. I was close and need to hurry; I only got a small window of time after I prematurely reawaken one of my abilities before I have to sleep to get it back. I worry more about the girls, but it seems like that the Dusks were completely ignoring any Human they may come across. What ever happened to “Keeping our presence and identity a secret?”

I made it to the school, but as soon as I looked upward, I felt like I gained 50 pounds. As told by the man in brown robes, the rift was growing larger by the moment, but I was unable to summon my Keyblade. Something landed behind me, shaking the whole ground from the impact. I spun around to see that same Twilight Thorn from the other night.

“NOW, LUXERK!” The man’s voice ringed through my head. I lifted up my hand up in the air and felt that familiar warmth; light magic. The light irradiated from my hand, consuming my body until an object appeared and only the light was on the object. When the light died down, I realized what it was: the Keyblade.



Strange, though; it didn’t look like Roxas’s Keyblade, but this wasn't greyscaled like a usual imitation I can make. I felt the light pulsate through the weapon itself, but that never explains why a Nobody like me can wield one. I looked at the face of my enemy and pointed the Keyblade at him, ready to strike.


Ability XIII Obtained

This ability allows you to use the Keyblade and able to defeat Heartless and Nobodies all the while using the Element of Light.

Gained the power of Light

Learned SPARK

Spark summons two crystals of light that spin around to do Light Elemental damage. MP cost - 12


(Boss 3 - Twilight Thorn ~ Second Encounter)

Knowing from my past mistake, I can’t turn my back and run; next time might end up killing me. The giant Nobody stretched its body out to completely block my escape and summoned creepers to soften me up. Oh, how I do enjoy dispatching weak little Nobodies. Not only are the easiest to dispatch, but they can be used as weapons. 

Since Nobodies like the Twilight Thorn have one track minds, I could easily use that to my advantage. Grabbing two Creepers and throwing one at one of the legs of the Thorn, it lifted its head up, focusing on getting its leg back into place. In that window of time, I swung the Creeper at the Thorn’s head to stun it.

It contorted back into its original size but kept eerily still. I knew it was a chance to nail on its head with my Keyblade. I swung as hard as I could, dealing direct hit after direct hit. Out of nowhere, the Thorn’s arm stuck me in the stomach, throwing me across the terrace. It shot out its thorns towards me. Knowing that I now have the Keyblade, dodging these thorns are now a lot easier. I was defying the gravity of this world by maneuvering around and past the thorns. 

As I got closer to the Thorn, it pulled off its limit attack. My hands and feet were restrained by energy balls that sent me mid air. It got close and wound its arm back to punch me out of my boots. Using the light of the Keyblade, my right hand broke free and struck the Thorn’s head, sending it spinning backward. It stopped itself and stretched its arms out to grab me. Once I was in its clutches, it threw me up into the air. I knew for a fact that it will try to blast me out of the sky with its magic. I got myself to stop spinning and saw the massive energy ball in its hands. This time, it was large enough to kill me.

I threw the Keyblade at it without a second thought, causing it to explode right on top of its head. I fell to the ground right next to the Keyblade, the impact knocking the wind out of my lungs. I propped myself to my feet using the Keyblade that was sticking out of the ground. Seeing the Twilight Thorn laying there, unconscious, I decided to finish the job. With a blank expression on my face, I thrust the Keyblade straight into its skull. 

(Fight Over)

The whole Nobody faded away along with the rift now shrinking down to size until it disappeared completely. I saw the girls from across the walkway with mixed feelings. Mostly fear and confusion were what I sensed. My vision got blurry and what I saw appeared to be 12 of them. Reminds me of the Organization. I chuckled weakly, completely ignoring my name being called out repeatedly before I collapsed over, vision going black.


!!!
LEVEL UP

Lv. 2 > 3

HP: 26 > 30
MP: 16 > 17
STR: 7 > 9
MAG: 6 > 9
DEF: 9 > 12
Crit. %: 4 > 6
Crit. Bonus: 5 > 7



(Third Person POV)

What the girls had witnessed was a dangerous event that unfolded, but Luxerk seemed to stop the whole invasion by himself.

“LUXERK!” The girls called out to the unconscious Nobody.

“Call the paramedics!” Sunset ordered the group.

“Yeah, and how are we going to explain what happened here!?” Rainbow Dash protested, “A teenager fought off a giant monster with a giant key? They’ll think we’re on shrooms!”

“We can’t just leave ‘em here like this,” Applejack reasoned, “Let’s take ‘em to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna’s house; they’ll know what’s goin on.”

“You know,” Pinkie pointed out, “I have a hunch that they already know.”

(Luxerk POV)

Inside my mind once again, I’m greeted by the man in brown robes.

“Good work, Luxerk,” he commented.

“Thanks. Now begins my week-long wait.”

“Don’t worry; it’ll be over before you know it.” 

“I hope…”

“Worried about those girls?”

“Yes.”

“Do not worry; you’re in good hands for the time being.”

“Thank you; knowing that eases my mind a little.”

“Don’t let your guard down yet; this has only just begun. Even though Sora and Riku defeated Xemnas, he is still alive and is well aware of our presence in this world. Do not think for a second that you are strong enough to take him on; wait until you have reawakened all of your abilities, then when you can face your true self and win, you’re ready.”

“All in a matter of time? Alright, this big wait will have an ever bigger payoff. What do you mean by ‘my true self?’”

“You will know in a matter of time, Luxerk. Until then, sleep well.”

“Joy.”



Luxerk’s Current Stats
Lv. 3

HP: 30
MP: 17
STR: 9
MAG: 9
DEF: 12
Crit. %: 6
Crit. Bonus: 7

WEAPON: XIII - Starlight Keyblade

MAGIC: Spark

> Chapter 06 - Truth and Intentions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Flashback]

(Third Person POV)

DAY 24 - Twilight Town

Luxerk sat at the edge of the clock tower, watching the sunset and waiting for a fellow member of the Organization. Many thoughts have started to surge now he’s fully adapted to the lifestyle of the Organization XIII. Even though he can copy the weapons of his allies, he’s only used as a wild card acting as backup. This never bothered him much as that meant less to do, but responsible to go to Number IV for routine checkups to make sure his ten-year sleep didn’t cause any prolonged side effects.

“Hello, Luxerk,” a male voice greeted him from the other side of the tower. He had blond spiky hair, blue eyes and was carrying two sea salt ice creams.

“Afternoon, Roxas was it?”

“Yeah, got it memorized?” he joked, sitting down next to him. Roxas was Number XIII: The Key of Destiny. He was the only one who could gather the hearts for the Organization’s ultimate goal: complete Kingdom Hearts. He was asleep the entire time since Luxerk joined the Organization as a Number XIII replacement, since he could replicate the keyblade. Now that Roxas was awake since the start of the day, his mission was now tied with Roxas. After the mission, he told Luxerk to wait at the top of the clock tower.

“What is that?” The confused Nobody asked.

“It’s a little ‘Icing on the Cake’,” he explained, “It’s sea salt icecream for a small job well done.” He passed the other ice cream over to the skeptical Nobody. He slowly took a little bite, eyes closed before opening them after the first taste.

“It”s salty, but sweet,” he commented.

“That’s what I said when I first tried it,” he lightly chuckled, “Number VIII, Axel and I, after every mission, we sat here and ate ice cream together. He’s a good friend.”

“What does ‘friend’ mean?” Luxerk asked, taking another bite of his ice cream.

“A friend is someone you have ice cream with,” he explained, life slowly dripped from his words, “I worry about Axel, though.”

“Why’s that?”

“A few weeks ago, half of the members of the Organization, including Axel, got sent to Castle Oblivion; I fear the worst.”

“You shouldn’t worry; from what I hear about him from you, he seems like a kind of Nobody that could weasel his way out of the worst of things.”

“You’re probably right.”

[Flashback Over]

(Luxerk POV)

Present Day

Memories. There’s not much I remember from my time in the Organization but there's some fond ones. There were only three Nobodies I trusted: Axel, Roxas and Number IX: Demyx. In the end, though, they disappeared; a final nail in the coffin to rejecting my place and attacking Xemnas. Arrogance was my downfall and now I am left with my memories like broken glass and too weak to use my copied abilities. So much for being called: The Elemental Mime. A week has passed; time to wake my lazy ass up.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to see that the ceiling was different from the school infirmary and Pinkie’s room. I sat up, noticing movement next to me. I quickly shifted my head to the side and saw Celestia seated in an office chair.

“Luxerk!” She gasped, “I need to call the girls immediately!” She ran out of the room, probably to use a telephone. I looked over on the other side of me to see Luna in a similar chair, but without wheels on the legs.

“This is a relief,” she sighed, “We didn’t know how long you would be out.”

“What time is it?” I asked, rubbing the sore part of my head I landed on from 50 feet up.

“It’s about 21:45; you’ve been asleep for a week.”

“All I ever do is sleep around here,” I sarcastically joked.

“We saw strange creatures moving towards the school when we saw an explosion and a giant white creature with tentacles,” she explained, “You had an unusual weapon in your hand and fought it and-”

“Yes; It was too flashy, but I couldn’t help it.”

“The girls found you unconscious and explained what they saw and heard what you said about the Nobodies. Speaking of which, were those the Nobodies you were talking about?”

“You catch on quick.”

“What can we do if those monsters are on the loose!? No offense.”

“They won’t attack anyone in this world; they’re just after me.”

“What about those other creatures, the Heartless?”

“As I said, they’re feral beasts with only one desire: steal hearts and turn them into other Heartless.”

“We might have another catastrophe on our hands.”

“Not unless I have this,” I said, summoning the Keyblade.

“It’s that same key in the girls’ stories,” She pointed out, wide-eyed.

“This is the Keyblade,” I explained, “More precisely, one of my 13 abilities.”

“You can summon more weapons?”

“It’ll take time before I can muster up the strength to summon and use my other weapons. I can’t take another unnecessary risk like last week; it will kill me if I strain myself like that again.”

“Luxerk, what is going on here?” She asked, moving closer to him, “I feel like you are leaving out important details.”

“All in due time,” I bluntly said, dispelling my Keyblade, “When Sunset and the others get here, I’m going to tell you all the full truth and what I’m up against; where I REALLY stand in all of this.”

About a few minutes later, they both heard the door open and close along with numerous voices coming from Celestia and the girls. Applejack was the first to enter the room and I noticed an angry look on her face and...oh shit. She leaped onto the bed, pinning my limbs down with her own.

“You, Luxerk,” She furrowed, “You have sum ‘splainin to do.”

“Release me, and I’ll tell y’all the truth,” I bargained.

“Alright,” she agreed, getting off of me and moving back to the group, “Don’t think about runnin neither; I’ll hogtie ya and drag yer sorry butt back into this room.”

“Why didn’t you tell us the full truth at the start?” Sunset asked, “We know there’s another world out there and we can pony up when we play music. No pun intended.”

“Yeah, but these skeletons in the closet are much more sinister than a raging She-Demon or a trio of mind-manipulating Sirens.”

“Tell us, Luxy,” Pinkie drilled me, “What is it that you’re so afraid of about telling us the truth?”

“Alright, you all seen the face of the many of my enemies. I am from another world.”

“You’re telling me that there are other worlds out there besides Equestria?” Rainbow asked, skeptical of my truth.

“Yes, and there’s something else you need to know, about those creatures.”

“How CAN you relate to those ICKY creatures!?” Rarity convulsed.

“Those things are Nobodies.”

“That’s hardly anybody; they wreaked havoc on the town!” Rainbow protested.

“That’s Nobody with a capital ‘N.' Nobodies are what’s left over after when a human loses their heart; we technically aren’t supposed to exist.”

“Wait, are you one of those scary things?” Fluttershy eeped, hiding behind Rainbow.

“Yes and no. I am a Nobody, but not one of those deformed monsters known as Dusks.”

“I think yer spoutin a bunch a hooey!” Applejack growled.

“Don’t believe me? Put your hand on my chest, and you’ll feel the truth or lack thereof.”

Applejack slowly placed her hand on my chest before her hand recoiled back, the color drained from her face.

“AHHH!” She screamed, “H-h-how can ya even function!?”

“As I said; I’m not human. I was once human, but now you see this freak of nature before you.

“That coat. Yer a Nobody and you mentioned you were part of sum cult. That means, there’s more of yer type!?”

I slowly nodded, “Some Nobodies with a strong will are able to keep a resemblance of when they once were human, but at the cost of hair and skin color change. I am no longer a part of that cult and now I plan to eliminate the rest of them after what they did to my best friends.”

“What are you talking about, darling?”

“The Organization XIII.” Shortly after mentioning the name of my former unit, everyone in the room, including myself shuddered.

“What did this ‘Organization XIII’ do, exactly?” Sunset asked.

“We Nobodies, along with the Keyblade destroy the Heartless and collect their hearts.”

“What are Heartless?” Rarity asked, “They sound more barbaric than those Nobodies, no offense.”

“A Heartless is a feral creature that takes their victim's hearts. The heart gets engulfed in darkness and becomes a Heartless.”

“This sounds like the next few months could get a little hairy,” Rainbow frowned.

“What about that scary Nobody that you destroyed?” Fluttershy asked meekly, still hiding behind Rainbow.

“That was a Twilight Thorn, one of the most dominant types of Nobodies, but The Organization still outclasses them by the ability to keep their former human form.”

“Can you tell us more about the Organization?” Luna requested.

“Alright, but I warn you all; after I inform you all of them, they will try to eliminate you all for learning of their identities.” I sensed everyone shuddered at my warning.

“You already told us this much,” Celestia concluded, “Might as well inform us about them.”

“Alright. The Organization XIII is made up of 13 members, not including myself. Each of us had a name, number, and title, some were able to  garner control over a type of lesser Nobodies. We each wielded a weapon that houses a particular attribute of Magic.”

“Can you get to the members, themselves?” Rainbow whined.

“Rainbow, let Luxerk talk!” Applejack slapped Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Number I: The Superior of the In-Between, Xemnas; my former Master and current leader of the Organization XIII and is the wielder of the Ethereal Blades over the attribute of Nothingness. He controls Sorcerer Nobodies.”

“Xemnas, just saying the name gives ya the goosies,” Pinkie added.

“Number II: The Freeshooter, Xigbar, Xemnas’s biggest bootlicker. He is the wielder of the Arrowguns and can manipulate gravity, hence his title. Also, he has control over Sniper Nobodies.”

“Huh, and here I thought I was the only person to defy gravity,” Pinkie mentioned surprised.

“Number III: The Whirlwind Lancer, Xaldin He wields a variety of lances, six at a time that’s manipulated by the power of Wind magic and can control Dragoon Nobodies.”

“Sounds like he could rival you, Dashie,” Pinkie teased her, nudging her arm.

“Whatever; I could still whoop that clown in a game of soccer.”

“Number IV: The Chilly Academic, Vexen. He wields a magical shield and can control Ice. He was the one who found me and brought me to the Organization in the first place. He was one of the 6 to go to another world shortly after I joined.”

“Vexen? Sounds a lot like Hexen,” Pinkie commented.

“Number V: The Silent Hero, Lexaeus. He wields the axe-sword over the power of Earth magic. He too was one of the 6 to go to that other world.”

“Axe-sword? That sounds like a cool weapon,” Rainbow commented.

“Number VI: The Cloaked Schemer, Zexion. He uses a Lexicon to control Illusions, or so I’m told.”

“You don’t know anything much about him, do you?” Rainbow speculated.

“It was a couple of days after I first joined the organization that I was told that he was one of 6 members that were sent to another world; only one came back alive.”

“Who was the only survivor?” Luna asked.

“I’ll get to him after this next one. Number VII: The Luna Diviner, Siax. He Controls the Berserker Nobodies, along with wielding a Lunar Claymore.”

“Normally, I would be happy someone shares my vision of loving the moon, but he seems to give an off-putting feeling by the tone of you talking about him,” Luna speculated.

“Number VIII: The Flurry of Dancing Flames, Axel. He was one of my three closest friends. He wielded flaming chakrams and controlled Assassin Nobodies. He was the only survivor from that team of 6 sent to that other world.”

“What was that other world?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“It was called Castle Oblivion. Never was there, to be honest. Axel died shortly before I turned against the Organization.”

“I can’t imagine what it would feel like, losing a close friend,” Sunset deadpanned, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know how to feel or even cope with it; I don’t have the heart to understand it, but all I feel could be the pain.”

“We’re sorry, about your losses,” Fluttershy sniffled.

“The next member is Number IX: The Melodious Nocturne, Demyx. He uses his Sitar to control Water and Dancer Nobodies. He disappeared a while back; have absolutely no clue where he is, now. I think he finally turned tail and ran like I did.”

“Hope he's alright,” Applejack wandered, “Hope that organization hasn't gotten to him yet.”

“Number X: The Gambler of Fate, Luxord. He uses cards with the magic of time in his odds of winning. He controls Gambler Nobodies.”

“He uses playing cards as weapons?” Rainbow asked, “Pfft, lame.”

“I know, right? Number XI: The Graceful Assassin, Marluxia. He wielded a scythe over the power of flowers. After Axel had returned, he told me that he conspired against the Organization and that he was eliminated as a result.”

“Why would you support sumone who was conspiring against the Organization be eliminated?” Applejack asked, arms crossed.

“Because I didn’t know the truth at the time. Number XII: The Savage Nymph, Larxene. She used electric knives and was the last of the six sent over to Castle Oblivion.”

“Guess you weren't the only one with a coup in mind,” Rainbow slightly chuckled.

“My closest friend, Number XIII: The Key of Destiny, Roxas. He controlled the magic of light and Samurai Nobodies. He wielded the only weapon that can destroy Heartless, the Keyblade.”

“What’s the Keyblade?” Sunset asked.

“This,” I only said, summoning the Keyblade in my hand.

“WOAH!” Everyone exclaimed at the sight of the weapon.

“So THAT’S what was sticking out of the ground,” Rainbow concluded.

“Yes; this is the actual weapon that can free the hearts from the Heartless. This is a blade that can be made of pure light or darkness. Those who are chosen by the Keyblade or passed down by a wielder with a pure heart can one wield such a weapon.”

“But you don’t have a heart,” Applejack pointed out, “How are you able to wield one in the first place?”

“I think I might have Roxas to thank for that. If he ever comes to this world and finds me, I’ll treat him to some ice cream.”

“Why ice cream?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“What I learned from both Axel and Roxas is that friends are someone who you have ice cream with and laugh about trivial things. Axel’s gone, and Roxas is missing; I have no one now, except for a few things.”

“What are they?” Celestia asked.

“I have my diary,” I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a blank black book.

“Aren’t you a little too old to have one?” Rainbow bluntly asked.

“It might not seem to have much value to you, but to me, compared to Axel and Roxas, it’s treasured greatly.” I noticed Luna not focused on me but pondering on something.

“Vice Principal Luna,” I called to her attention, “You seem awfully quiet, what’s giving you trouble?”

“I noticed in all of the names you gave us, including yours has an ‘X’ somewhere in your names, why’s that?”

“When each of us entered into the Organization, we are given a new name based on our original Human names. The letters in our original names are placed in a different order and an X in inserted. That’s our Nobody name.”

“Strange,” Luna commented.

“What’s even stranger is that most of them remember who their original name was; I can’t. Which was probably why I accepted my new name without reluctance.”

“Also everyone in that group had a title, do you have one?”

“Yes. Mine was The Elemental Mime.”

“That title seems a little weird, but sounds a bit cool,” Rainbow commented.

“I was given the weapons of the members that died in Castle Oblivion, along with their abilities to go along with that. Soon I developed a new gift: I unconsciously mimic the moves, weapons, personalities and mannerisms of those I come into physical contact.”

“That explained why you were smiling while piledriving Hoops and his gang,” Rainbow realized.

“He what?” Celestia asked, looking at me angrily.

“HoopsandhisbuddiescameintosugarcubecafewantedtobeatRainbowupbutLuxycameinandbeatthemintoabruisedmess,” Pinkie explained in less than five seconds, “That’s the short version, by the way.” Sunset sat down next to me, her hand still on my shoulder.

“Luxerk, what you said about friendship,” She began, “You got it almost entirely correct. It’s true that friends are someone you have ice cream with, but friends are people you are close to, people you look out for and Vice Versa. Friends are those you can talk to when you have a bad day or want to share what’s on your mind. There are times you form a musical group with your friends like us.”

“Guess friendship is the real magic in all of this.”

“Now that we know everything, what are you planning to do now?” Luna asked curiously.

“After those rifts, Heartless might start rolling in. I’m staying and figure out how Xemnas found me, but knowing that, it could lead to me or others potential sitting ducks if I leave this world after messing with a rift.”

“With that said, we’re enrolling you in Canterlot High School to keep this a secret and further your mission in eradicating these creatures.”

“What if the students see me fighting the Heartless with the Keyblade?”

“With Sunset, the rainbow magic and the battle of the bands, the students won’t be as moved as you think they would be.”

“Then that makes my situation much easier.”

“It’s getting late,” Celestia pointed to the clock next to the bed: 22:30, “You six can go home for the time being.” They complied and left, each saying goodnight to me.

“I take it I’m crashing here for the night?”

“Precisely,” Luna nodded, “After tomorrow, we will figure out where in which house you will be residing in.”

“Sounds like a plan, goodnight and thank you for letting me sleep here.”

“Think of it as a token of appreciation for helping Canterlot out with that problem. Good night.” Both have left the now dark room all to my lonesome. Laying back down into the soft, comfy mattress that was slightly sunk from my week-long imprint, I looked up at the ceiling, my hands on the back of my head. After meeting this ‘Riku’ and ‘Kairi’ (Not to mention hearing the heroic exploits of Sora,) I wonder if they managed to kill Xemnas. If that’s really true, then the Nobodies are left without a leader. That, mixed with potential Heartless invasions, equal complete distilled chaos. As long as it stays in the World that Never Was, but I hardly doubt that would happen as I was convinced a week ago.

There’s no stressing about it now; tomorrow is my first formal day of living here. I got up from bed and sat at the desk in the room, the small lamp lighting up my diary. I opened the thick book and flipped through many of my entries of my time in the Organization. 375 Days. It felt like an eternity, but I found a blank section and flipped a page over to start a new entry.

Ex-Organization Section
Entry 1 - Day 7

It seems that no matter how far I travel away from the Organization, they always find me. A week prior, I fought a Twilight Thorn. I destroyed it, but the magical strain on my body summoning the keyblade caused me to sleep for a week to recover. I met the Principal, Vice Principal and six colorful girls of a local high school. I am being enrolled tomorrow to keep my mission a secret: drive the Heartless away from this world. figure out the meaning to my existence and possibly obtain a heart of my own. If Xemnas managed to survive, then I will have to reawaken my abilities to get my revenge. Until then, I am at time’s mercy.


After writing my entry, I closed the book and went back to bed, hoping that I could have a peace-filled day for once.


Luxerk’s Current Stats
Lv. 3

HP: 30
MP: 17
STR: 9
MAG: 9
DEF: 12
Crit. %: 6
Crit. Bonus: 7

WEAPON: XIII - Starlight Keyblade

MAGIC: Spark

ITEMS: Diary
Mysterious Seashell
Popsicle Stick (WINNER)

> Chapter 07 - Ponying Up and a Guitar Lesson
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Luxerk POV)

No flashback this time; strange. I slowly rose from the imprint in the bed and got to my feet. I yawned loudly, sulking out of the bedroom into the rest of the house. I could hear distant voices in the house, assuming those belong to Celestia and Luna.

I quietly made my way into the dining room where the two colorful principals were nursing their breakfast.

“Oh, Luxerk,” Luna exclaimed, “I would’ve made breakfast for you if you were awake; sorry about that.”

“It’s alright,” I reassured, “Do you know where I could find the girls? I didn’t have the chance to thank them for watching over me while I was asleep.”

“On Sundays, there are student clubs that meet at the school,” Celestia explained, “If you’re going there, let us take you to the school so we can enroll you.”

“Aren’t you at least going to have some cereal or something?” Luna asked.

“It’s alright, but thank you for the offering.”

“You must be starving from that coma.”

“Nobodies don’t seek nourishment from human food.”

“Then what do you find to keep you alive?”

(I could tell her about the green orbs that pop out of Heartless and lesser Nobodies, but I think that would be a ridiculous reason.)

“We just simply exist, but eating that food does have some kind of a healing aspect. For example, can you hand me some bacon?” Luna handed me about three strips of bacon. I pulled back my coat sleeve to show the skin of my arm. I took the knife from the table and slashed it, making the two women cringe. I ate the bacon and the wound closed like I never slashed myself.

“If only humans had that same ability to your kind,” Luna said, enviously.

“I’m done, are you sister?” Celestia asked.

“Yes. Let’s go.” I followed them both outside into the crisp Autumn morning towards the school.




In Celestia’s office, I sat from across her desk while she was processing my forms with a device they called a ‘fax machine.’

“Considering that you’re from another world,” Celestia began, “We’ll have to create a facade for you.”

“Can’t we just keep up with the old facade that I appear to be from another country?”

“That works too.”

“Hey, Principal Celestia; is it possible for me to explore the school while this paperwork is being processed?”

“Before you do so, have this map of the school,” she said, handing me a folded pamphlet.


Obtained Map

Shows the area of Canterlot High School.


I retraced my steps back to the main entrance to retake in my surroundings. 



The main hall was surrounded by 4 flights of stairs, each led to other hallways that held classrooms of certain subjects. From what I saw on the map, two of those flights connect to the other two. The building had 4 wings. North Wing held the Gym, Cafeteria, Shop classes and the music classroom. The Central wing is where the Administration office is. West Wing holds math and variations of science. East Wing holds, Language, Social Studies, Philosophy etc.

From what I heard from Celestia, is that Sundays are club days for various students in and around out the school. I decided to visit the girls since I have nothing better to do and Luna mentioned that Sunset had a band. I can only assume that they’re in the music room. I jogged down the hallway towards the music room, my footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

As I got to the door, I could hear a conversation.

“You, know, that’s one thing we never even dive into,” Rainbow brought up, “That is how the hell we are able to ‘Pony Up’ when we play music.”

“I could run a few tests and prove a few hypotheses,” Sunset mentioned.

“Yeah, but you remember what happened last time we hooked gadgets to ourselves while we played?” Applejack reminded the group, causing Sunset to sigh in disappointment.

“It caused a massive explosion where we got covered in rainbow goop,” she deadpanned.

“I agree with Sun,” Dash went over to Applejack, “I’m not in the mood for another ‘Rainbow Bukakke.’”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded Dash for her dirty joke.

“Sounds like you got some weird science,” I added, walking through the open door. Everyone immediately turned and greeted me.

“I’m relieved to see you walking,” Sunset beamed, “We were just reminiscing on my past failure.”

“From the way I heard it, that experiment didn’t seem like a failure; you just managed to create a magical smoothie.”

Pinkie giggled and snorted at my attempt at a joke.

“Eh; joke could use some more work,” Rainbow critiqued, “You should take lessons from me!” Rarity scoffed at Dash’s offer.

“I don’t think you should learn lewd humor,” Rarity mentioned, “It doesn’t sit well with most people.”

“Yeah, but it’s hilarious to see some people’s reaction when I throw in a poorly-timed joke like there’s this one where it involves a priest and a-”

“OKAY! Let’s move to a different topic before Dash here, goes and scars poor Lux,” Applejack suggested.

“I’d like to know more about this band,” I requested.

“We are the Rainbooms!” Rainbow announced enthusiastically, “We won the battle of the bands a month ago and all we do now is just brush up on our skills.”

“I see,” was all I managed to say until I looked at Sunset’s guitar.

“Do you girls have a spare that I can try?”

“Sure,” Sunset said, handing me one. I held the fretboard with my left hand and cradled the rest with my right. Something felt off. It probably is an entirely different instrument altogether. I strummed it with a regular chord and I hit a sour note, causing all of the girls to cringe.

“Sorry,” I sheepishly apologized, “I’m used to playing Sitar.”

“I’m guessing this Demyx guy was the one who taught you,” Sunset rhetorically stated. I nodded.

“Usually, when we got back from a mission, we’d sit on one of the couches and do a jam session.”

“Here, let me show you how to play Guitar,” Sunset said, going behind me and moving my fingers to different positions, “There, now strum.” Using the pick that was in between the strings, I played a much clearer chord.

“Sounds a lot more energetic than a Sitar,” I commented. 

“Now, instead of a basic strum, let me demonstrate you how to play properly,” Dash requested, cracking her knuckles before starting to play.

She began by strumming a chord.

“You got your G chord, here,” she sang in the same pitch as the note, “It’s like Pinkie’s house, this is where we start.” She strummed up a higher pitch.

“Then we poke our head out with a C chord, everything is looking okay so far, maybe we go for a walk to the D chord, picking up the pace to go visit a friend’s house, then we go to an A Minor, your phone’s ringing, that friend might be sick and you can’t visit for chance of getting sick yourself, then we go to E Minor, she is definitely sick and it cancels your fun day, then we go back to Pinkie’s house.”

“You sound like an unbelieveable jackass,” Applejack scowled.

“And AJ comes in and we change up the tempo, telling me that my lessons make me a jackass, AJ, why are you bringing me down, girl? DON’T BRING ME DOWN!” I just sat there, tilting my head in confusion by the random hostility between the two.

“Music and Lyrics by Rainbow Dash.”

“I-it’s okay, Dash,” I said, putting the guitar back on the stand, “I’ll pick it up on my own.”

“Eh; suit yourself.”

“So, can you demonstrate to me this Pony Up magic?”

“Sure; just pop a squat on the sofa, there and we’ll show you the magics!”

“I’m sitting too,” Sunset said, plopping on the sofa next to me as well as Fluttershy. 

“You ready Lux? ‘Cause this will blow you out of your seat.” Rainbow passed a music sheet to the others, which made Applejack raise an eyebrow.

“You want us to play a song from a viddia game?” she asked, skeptical.

“It’s from Pinkie’s collection of RPGs; it’s something different for a change.”

“Whatever.” Pinkie clicked her drumsticks together four times before they began to play.

As Rainbow started a heavy riff on her guitar, goosebumps covered my entire body. After a couple of beats, Pinkie’s drums and Rarity’s keytar followed suit with Applejack being the last from hesitating. For some reason, I really liked this piece of music; it really made me want to headbang, but for the sake of looking like a dork, I refrained from doing so.

As they were playing the piece of music, their hair grew longer, they sprouted ears and tails. Dash grew wings and Rarity had a horn grow out of her head. Their hair and clothes got combined with a mixture of rainbow colors, I could feel the intensity of the magic burning my retinas.

After repeating the melody twice, they stopped playing and shortly changed back to normal, coloring me impressed.

“What do you think?” Rainbow asked, “You don’t like it, do you?”

“Don’t like it? As if! That’s pretty kickass magic.”

“Your magic is pretty impressive, too,” Rainbow complimented.

“That was only one ability,” I reminded her of my fight with that giant Nobody, “I have 12 others that need to reawaken over time.”

“I can’t wait to see you at your fullest, then.” A random series of beeping interrupted the mood, causing Dash to immediately glance at her watch and leap off the crate she was standing on.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m late for practice!” Applejack noticed Dash’s guitar was laying on the floor and growled.

“She fergot to put her instrument away again,” she grimaced.

“Dash plays soccer,” Sunset informed me.

“What’s soccer?”

“Soccer is a game where two teams try to kick a ball into another team’s goal.”

“Oh, so it’s like Blitzball?”

“What’s Blitzball?”

“It’s much like what you said about soccer, but it’s played underwater,”

“That’s crazy! Do you wear scuba gear?”

“The Humans do, at least. Few don't need it, but that takes years of practice.”

“I wonder if we could go to other worlds,” Rarity fantasized, “Just think the variety of fashions.”

“The different foods,” Applejack chimed in.

“Also the animals,” Fluttershy added.

“Will you be able to take all of us to other worlds when we go on winter vacation?” Sunset asked, inching closer to me. I shook my head in regret.

“I don’t have a gummi ship nor am I able to create corridors of darkness at will. If Xemnas hadn’t revoked my ability to create said path, we would be on a first class trip to Traverse Town.”

“What about the rift above the statue in front of the school?”

“Too dangerous. Besides; that leads to my world of origin.”

“The Organization.”

“During my escape, I ran into a couple of friendly humans who told me that a keyblade wielder by the name of Sora had the power to stop Xemnas. If he succeeded, then there isn’t any Nobodies for the time being. Was there any during my slumber?”

“No; not since you closed that portal,” Applejack reminded me. I sighed in relief and slumped deeper into the sofa.

“Then Xemnas won’t be able to hunt me down, then. If that’s the case, then all of the other Organization members are dead except for Demyx and Roxas. I hope they’re okay.” Sunset then gently pulled me into a hug, feeling an intense warmth in my chest.

“It’s okay, Lux,” she reassured me, “There might be a chance they could turn up here; just don’t give up, all right?”

“Yes, thanks.” She broke the hug and looked into my eyes.

“I have a feeling that things in this world are about to get more interesting,” she said.

“What makes you say that?” I rhetorically asked.

“Just...it was feeling inside; that’s all.” A knock on the room’s door broke the moment of silence as Celestia and Luna walked into the room.

“Okay, we finished the paperwork and rather quickly too,” Celestia announced.

“But, sister, where will Luxerk be staying for now on?”

“He could stay with me!” Sunset quickly suggested, springing up from the couch.

“O-okay,” Celestia said, taken back, “We hope to see you at school tomorrow at 7:30 A.M., goodbye.” They both left the room and I looked back at a blushing Sunset.

“Well well well,” Rarity cooed, “Someone likes Luxerk.”

“N-no!” she protested, “I didn’t want to sit through an hour deciding where he’s staying; that’s all, I volunteer as tribute.”

“That’s all? Or is there something more?”

“Land sakes, Rar! Stop teasin poor Sun. If she and Lux want to stay friends, let ‘em,” Applejack bluntly said.

“Oh alright, sorry Lux and Sun.”

“You ready to go, Lux?” Sunset asked me, guitar case hoisted around her shoulder. I nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

(Stop Music)




I followed Sun through the town, passing a few shops along the way. We stayed quiet until I broke the silence.

“So, what was that back there?” I asked. She blushed.

“I didn’t want to sit through the whole ‘Who gets to say with whom’ debate,” she brutally explained, “Besides, we’re from different worlds, we be like two peas in a pod.”

“What about that Twilight girl?”

“She’s a princess from her world; the same I’ve been from.”

“Yeah; I heard the story. Don’t feel discouraged; take it from a guy like me who spent most of his life with a bunch of misfits obsessed with everything heart-shaped.” She chuckled lightly at my joke, slightly relieved that she’s not the only one with baggage. Something out of the corner of my eye broke my concentration; something’s up.

To my convenience, I noticed a trio of slightly heavyset guys dressed in all black with hoods over their heads from further down from where we are. Two were looking out for cops and the other had his foot on an end of a crowbar, trying to pry an ATM machine open. Their voices sound eerily familiar to the three nutcases I floored the other day. Wait a minute! 

I got up close to them, they were all focused on prying the damn thing open. I internally facepalmed at their apparent obliviousness.

“How are we going to crack this?” one said, anxiously.

“I think I can hear sirens.”

“Will both of you just shut up!? If you can’t pry it, I can just bash it open, like that.”

“You can’t just use brute force; you need to screw the sides off and then you can pry the front open,” I quietly said. My words made all of them jump away from the ATM, causing the crowbar to crunch onto the cement.

“Oh, shit! It’s that monster! Run!” the middle one yelled. They sprinted through a dark alley and disappeared from my sight, leaving a confused Sunset, who was about 500 feet away from me, creeping closer.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Hoops and his troops, failing at being moops,” I joked.

“C’mon, Seinfeld,” she laughed, “It’s time you see your new home, for the time being.”


The walk went on for about 10 more minutes until we found an entrance to a cornerstone club. My eyes grew wide at the sight.

“Woah, Woah, Woah,” I said, backing away slowly, “You LIVE in a nightclub!?”

“Sort of; it’s owned by Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody. The apartment is above the club,” she pointed at the sign.

“The Zodiac?”

“Yeah, it’s a weird name for a weekend nightclub, but it’s the only one in the local area. They’re usually here instead of at the school.”

“They sound like a couple of cool cats.”

“Vinyl is very laid-back; she’ll be okay with you staying with us, but Octavia...let’s hope she’s in a forthcoming mood.”




We went through the side door and up an enclosed flight of stairs to a door labeled “666.” Sunset rang the doorbell before hearing an English-accented girl speak from the other side.

“Door’s open,” she said before Sunset opened the door. The apartment was similar to Pinkie’s place, but each part of the living room was divided into 4 different sections that matched each of the person’s taste of music in the house. All except 1, which was blank and colorless. Oddly specific until the two girls first see my face.

“So you’re Lux, right? Nice to meetcha,” the girl with messy blue hair shook my hand, “That was something badass.”

“What was?”

“You last week, genius. You beat the piss out of hoops and his gang while in gauze and you cracked the skulls of those weird white rubber clowns and something about a giant key.” Her accurate description of the events that unfolded last week took me back a few feet.

“Wait, how do you know this?”

“Sun told me.” I furrowed my brow at the embarrassed human beside me.

“Sorry, Lux,” she gingerly apologized, “But it wasn’t just me and the girls that saw those Dusks.”  I noticed one girl out of the corner of my eye, tuning her Cello. I walked over and bowed. She noticed and bowed back quickly.

“My name’s Octavia,” she said.

“Yeah, but you can call her Tavi,” Vinyl interrupted. Ignoring her rude friend, she continued.

“Yes; we saw those, Dusks, as you call them, they were looking for someone, it seemed.”

“You’re looking at him,” I quietly said. She looked at me, confused.

“Why would they look for someone like you?” she asked.

“Let’s just say that I was apart of a cult, I left and they went looking for me.”

“What kind of cult WERE you in? Those things didn’t even seem human.”

“Not a good one, I’ll tell you that much. Let’s talk about something else; this topic is just putting me in a bad mood.”

“Okay. What kind of music do you like?”

“The only music I listened to so far was Sunset’s band performing; that’s it.”

“I can play some classical music on my cello if you like.”

“How about some energetic music, like my wubs?” Vinyl offered.

“I’ll listen later; I need to go on a walk, clear my mind and all that.

“Alright, but don’t get back too late,” Sunset requested, “You start school tomorrow.”

“I know, see ya later.” As I left, I was met with goodbyes from the three girls. Now that I was by myself once more, I could have some time to think and possibly vanquish a few stray Heartless. 


Luxerk's Current Stats

Lv. 3

HP: 30
MP: 17
STR: 9
MAG: 9
DEF: 12
Crit. %: 6
Crit. Bonus: 7

WEAPON: Starlight Keyblade 

ARMOR: N/A

ITEM: Diary
"Winner" Popsicle Stick
Seashell

> Chapter 08 - Swatting a Few Flies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Luxerk POV)


As I exited the building and down the illuminated path of the sidewalk, I sensed a presence behind me Instantly, I summoned my Keyblade and spun around to face a...man in an organization coat? Was he Riku? Was he one of the remnants of Xehanort?


“Who are you!?” I demanded.


“Surely you remember, Luxerk?”


“My other self. How are you able to be outside of my dream?”


“Because you now possess one of your abilities, I can manifest in this realm. Although you are not strong enough, I can still be here as a wraith; only you can see, hear and talk to me.”


“Yeah, that completely makes sense, as if!”


“Do not underestimate the potential of your powers, Luxerk; holding yourself back can only weaken yourself against the Heartless and Nobodies. Until we meet again, here; this is for you.” He raised his arm, and a map of the town materialized in my hands.



Obtained Canterlot Map



I looked over the map, briefly before looking back up to him, only to see that he’s gone.


‘That power, do you feel it?’ His voice echoed in my head. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the energies I felt all around me. Then I felt it, only faintly, but didn’t fall in with the patterns with the rest of the town.


“I sense it as well.”


‘It’s the Heartless, some airborne, some massive. There’s one in the marketplace, a Zip Slasher. Surely you remember why it’s called that.’


“Great; one of those annoying knight-like bastards again. At least it isn’t one of those armored roly-poly pudgy fuck variants.”


‘You’re quite foul-mouthed for someone so young.’


“I blame picking up on Axel and Xigbar’s mannerisms.”


‘Elemental Mime at his finest.’


“Should’ve stayed inside,” I whined to myself.


Accordingto the map, the marketplace is near the town square, near Sugarcube corner. To the northwest is the school about ten blocks away. Seemed a much longer distance when I was running from the Dusks. The Zodiac is about nine blocks Southwest from my destination.


With that knowledge in mind, I set out for the Zip Slash Heartless. Keeping my face hidden in my hood, I ignored the weird looks I received from the Humans I ran past. I grabbed hold of a street light and swung myself around to the next sidewalk, getting even more weird looks.


I noticed an enclosed walkway that arches above the train tracks. As I got to the middle of the sidewalk, I saw that local teenage thugs blocked my path. These weren’t Hoops and his droogs, but they wore leather jackets and had their hair slicked back. Considering I had enough room to maneuver around them, I jumped and ran to the chain link fence, going up and around the group of teens.


“Woah!”


“What the-?”


“That cat has some moves.”


Now off of the archway, I continued my trek to the marketplace. Inching closer, I sensed Heartless popping up around me. Arming myself with the Keyblade, I leaped into battle. The little red cone-shaped Heartless, known as Red Nocturne, proved to be little challenge for me as I cut them down before they could use their fire magic.


More Red Nocturnes appeared before me, as well as Soldiers. After deflecting their kicks, I jumped and kicked off of one of the shoulders of a Soldier, cutting down the Red Nocturnes. With the soldiers surrounding me, I concentrated on the natural light the Keyblade gave off.


“LIGHT!” I shouted, thrusting my Keyblade up into the air. Two white crystals spun around my body, completely disintegrating their shadowy bodies until their hearts remained, which floated up into the sky, towards Kingdom Hearts. 


All that remained was the Zip Slasher. Those familiar yellow beady eyes. Its arms were made of a blade and the Heartless symbol on the pauldron of its armor. The weakest of the Dual Blades, but incredibly dangerous. If I were more skilled in my magic, I could easily slay this thing, but I used up nearly all of my energy into Spark. I have to do this the old fashioned way. We both stopped and stared at the rising moon. I felt captivated, moved by it. All thoughts just vanished, and I reached out to the moon, only to have a tingling sensation in my hand.


Out of thin air, Siax’s claymore appeared in my hand. 2 down, 11 to go.




Ability VII Obtained


Lunatic Claymore


This will allow you to resist Moon-based magic while equipped. It will be much harder for you to be silenced and allows you to Stun and Silence others.


Gained the power of the Moon
Learned BIND


Bind unleashes a yellow shockwave that will keep your enemies in one place for a short time.
MP cost - 16




(Boss 4 - Dual Blade ~ Zip Slasher)


It just stood there, leaving me room to attack it. As I tried to hit it with my claymore, it quickly blocked my attack with its hands in an “X” formation. He spun around with its blades, knocking me back from the impact. It charged toward me with a double stabbing attack to which I blocked, hitting it open for a combo. I jumped up and spun around, cracking the helmet with the tip of my claymore, sending it through a fruit stand.


It jumped up to its feet and started to flee from the fight. I held my claymore the same way Siax held his and chased after it.


“HEY! Get back here, you son of a bitch!” I yelled at it. I jumped over and slid under any objects that blocked my pursuit. Dozens of Humans noticed me and my weapon as well as the heartless I was chasing. Fortunately, I still had my hood up. Surprisingly, this thing was as fast as the Deserters. I had to flank it. Thinking I was still chasing it, I changed course onto an alleyway. I kicked off the walls over a low-hanging fence to keep my speed. I kept kicking upwards until I made it to the rooftop where I stopped to take a breather.


“Time Out,” I wheezed. When I caught my breath, I looked over the edge to see my prey still running. It appeared to now move in different directions, alerting its kin. Other Dual Blades appeared out of the Ether and scattered. With both the panic of the Heartless and the Humans alike, I jumped over to another building and waited for my target to run by.


Before he ran across me, I leaped off the building, aiming straight for its head. It noticed me and side flipped out of the way. I landed with a solid crunch of the street splitting from my claymore. I felt a sharp thump in the back which sent me spinning in the air to the other side of the road into a phone booth.


Blood trickled down the one side of my face which prevented me from opening my left eye. I focused on the Zip Slasher with my other eye and quickly slid out of harm’s way. Its charge attack missed me by mere inches and stuck its arms in the wall. With Keyblade in hand, I chucked it up through the back of its head, slaying it on the spot. I leaned on the wall as I saw its heart float up into the sky, out of the reach of other Heartless. The Munny orbs it left behind, gravitated towards me and filled up my wallet. The only thing worth the effort at the moment.


(Fight Over)



!!!
Level Up


Lv. 3 》4

HP: 30 》40
MP: 17 》23
STR: 9 》13
MAG: 9 》12
DEF: 12 》13
Crit. %: 6 》7
Crit. Bonus: 7 》9







“That was cool,” I heard a voice behind me. I jumped around, pointing the claymore at the owner of the voice’s face. His hair is a spiky blue with eyes of the same color. He wore black and white sneakers along with blue, rolled-up jeans with a t-shirt that had a blue shield with a lightning bolt through it in the center of the shirt. His jacket consisted of only two stripes, red and white. He held his hands up, away from the tip of my blade.


“Woah, Woah; chill out,” he pleaded, “I’m just impressed by that is all.”


“Alright,” I said, dematerializing my weapon. I turned around and started walking the other way.


“Who and where did you come from?” he asked, walking beside me.


“My name and where I came from is none of your concern.”


“C’mon, you can’t just walk into Canterlot and not expect anyone to get curious about you?”


“I can think of a few ways.”


“Well, whatever that thing you killed was attacking people, so I followed it, and then I see you are jumping from an apartment roof and you’re completely fine, not to mention getting your back sliced. I’m thankful you took care of it.”


“You’re welcome.”


We both stopped at a vending machine and looked at the drink logo on the front.


“Let me buy you a drink,” he said putting a few coins into a small slot and pressing a couple of buttons. A few bottles clinked and clanked their way to an opening where he gave me one.


“Thanks,” I said. I saw him slam the edge of the cap on the side of the machine where it popped off. I repeated what I saw to a strong degree. His eyes lit up when I pulled back my hood to enjoy my drink.


“Geez, he laid out few lucky ones on ya,” he said, cringing at the open part of my face. I took a sip of my drink, the cold, bubbly liquid trickled down my throat with a feeling of refreshment. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a handkerchief where I wiped the blood off my face.


“I never caught your name,” I brought up.


“Oh! Sorry; the name’s Flash Sentry,” he said, shaking my hand.


“Luxerk.”


“Strange, but interesting name.”


“I get that a lot.”


“How long are you staying here in Canterlot?”


“Long enough until ‘They’ are eliminated.”


“Who’s ‘They’?”


I looked around to see people staring at me with the “Stink Eye” as Pinkie referred it as. I lightly pushed him on his shoulder.


“How about you walk with me; I’m attracting too much attention.”


“Okay; so what are those things that you are destroying?”


“Be sure to keep my mission a secret, do I make myself clear?”


“Crystal.”


“Okay. Those things are called, Heartless. They take the hearts of their victims and turn them into their kind.”


He shuddered at my explanation. He didn’t notice that our little walk led him into a secluded alleyway. 


“Well, I’m sure you can handle it, considering that little skirmish doesn't even phase you.”


“Not very. Oh, before I go to where I’m staying tonight, I have one request.”


“What is it?”


“Best if, you forget about this little conversation,” I coldly said, striking him at the base of his neck, instantly knocking him out. I caught him as he was falling and set him down with his back pressed against the wall. I flipped up my hood and set out for the Zodiac Apartment.





When I entered through the door, I pulled my hood down, waving at Sunset sitting in her chair, reading a Chemistry book. She noticed me and greeted my presence.


“Hi, Lux,” she warmly greeted, “How was the walk?”


“Was worth the extra exercise,” I just stated. 


“The principal messaged me; she said to meet her in her office for further detail first thing tomorrow morning.”


“Okay; will do. Good night.”


“Good night.”





Inside of my empty room, I set my bottle cap at the corner of a desk near a lamp where I set my Diary down and started writing today’s events down after switching said light on.


Ex-Organization Section
Entry 2 - Day 8


So far, so good. I eliminated a Zip Slasher while obtaining another weapon. This time, it’s Siax’s claymore. Tomorrow is my first day at “School,” and I will have to keep a low profile...at least until Heartless come knocking. If I hold it at this rate, I will be at enough power to take on Heartless like Dustfliers.


I closed the book, switched off the lamp, placed my coat on my chair and went to bed.






Luxerk’s Current Stats


Lv. 4

HP: 40
MP: 23
STR: 13
MAG: 12
DEF: 13
Crit. %: 7
Crit. Bonus: 9

WEAPONS
VII - Lunar Claymore
XIII - Starlight Keyblade 

FORMS
N/A

ITEM
Diary
"Winner" Popsicle Stick
Seashell
Bottlecap

MAPS
Canterlot High
Canterlot Town



> Chapter 09 - A Usual First Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Luxerk POV)

Sound asleep; I heard voices echoing in my head.

“What do you suppose he is?” A weak voice guessed.

“He looks familiar, that’s for sure,” A tomboyish voice roughly mentioned.

“Whatever it means, HE is returning,” A feminine voice cooed.

“No!”

“Impossible!”

“Let’s watch him for a while. Number V, you know what to do.”

My slumber was cut off by heavy wrapping on my bedroom door.

“Lux, are you up, yet?” Sunset called through the door.

“Yeah; I am.”

“Don’t be snoozing off, now; it’s the first day of ‘school’ for you.”

“Yeah; ‘school.'”

I got out of bed, stuffed my diary into my coat pocket and zipping up. I groggily sauntered into the living room, cracking the kinks out of my neck. Sunset cringed at the sound and the fact that my coat is the only thing I have for clothes.

“We should get you some clothes after school,” she suggested.

“Agreed. Where’s Tavi and Vinyl?”

“They already left, we need to hurry to the school if we don’t want to be late.”

I nodded in agreement. We immediately left the apartment and saw a bus drive away.

“Dammit!” Sunset smacked a road sign in anger. An idea popped into my head, but I have a sinking feeling that it will backfire on her. Knowing that this moment may call for it, I proposed the idea to her anyways.

“Climb onto my back; I can run fast enough to get us to school on time.”

“Really?”

“I can summon the Keyblade, anything is possible.”

"Good point; let's go."

She wrapped her legs around my back and held onto my shoulders like the saddle of a horse.



Ability Obtained

Haste

This ability will allow you to run at twice your normal speed. However, this effect will dwindle with less HP you currently have.



I kicked off the sidewalk onto the street, closely tailing the distant bus. 

“What time is it?” I asked, curious of how much time we have left.

“We got about 5 minutes! I completely lost track of time!”

“Alright; I know a shortcut. Hold on.”

I continued down the street, following the same path I took when I was chased by Dusks last week. I still kept my distance from the bus, for fear of attracting attention. Something I think Sunset doesn’t want to have. Coming from the same opening to the same alleyway, I held onto her with one hand and grabbed the pole with the other. I kept my momentum and half-spun into the alleyway.

“Uh, Lux; it’s a dead end. We got to turn back.”

Ignoring her, I jumped up and kicked off the wall, bounding from side to side until I was high enough to clear the wall. I landed onto the ground, crouching and sliding from the impact. I immediately recovered and continued on my familiar route. I sensed the stunned look on her face as I felt her grip tighter than ever.

A couple of minutes went by, and we eventually made it to the entrance of the school where a line of busses already stopped to let the other people off. At the statue was the gang hanging out, possibly waiting for us. Sunset climbed off my back and ran towards the group.

“Hey, slow-pokies!” Pinkie greeted us in her usual happy-go-lucky tone, “What happened? Slept late?”

Sunset embarrassedly nodded.

“Lux is surprisingly robust and quick on his feet,” Sunset complimented my acrobatic movements, “He jumped from wall to wall over in an alleyway; it was soo cool!”

Overhearing the conversation, Rainbow grew curious about my potential.

“So, you’re into Parkour?” she asked me.

“Bless you,” I joked, “But in all seriousness, what’s Parkour?”

“It’s also called free running and-”

“Ohhhh! I get you now; I just never heard someone call it that before.”

“Where did you learn it?”

Since they vaguely know about my past, I should as well tell them about the world I once lived in.

“I learned it back on my homeworld. On my off time, I ran around town, thinking of ways to maneuver around anything and everything that was nailed to the ground.”

“How good would you say you would be at it?”

“Pretty adept, but not a master of it. I met a guy in Traverse Town that was way better at it than I was. What was his name again? I think it was Neku if I’m not mistaken.”

The sound of a bell rang throughout the school, catching the attention to every student that was socializing. 

“Well Y'all, as much as I Love to know more about the places, Lux been to, but we gotta get to First Period,” Applejack reminded us. 

“Good idea,” Sunset complemented, “Lux, follow me.”

I nodded and followed the rest of the group into the school. So begins my first day here at Canterlot High.





The hallways were packed with many teens moving in all directions to get to their classes on time. Sunset grabbed onto my arm and pulled me into Celestia’s office. There, she was doing something I would expect from an official running an institution. She took notice and greeted both me and Sunset.

“Oh, Luxerk! Good morning,” she beamed, “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah…” I hesitantly said, “...strange though; I didn’t have a dream this time.”

“We can’t remember most of our dreams, sadly.”

“Anyways, what was the reason for my summoning here?”

“Well, we wanted you here to pick up your schedule for your time here. Do your best at both your mission and keeping up your facade.”


Obtained Class Schedule
A helpful list on where you will go next on certain times.
Note: Only is used during school days.


“As I’ve said before, I can’t guarantee keeping my true intentions under wraps if Heartless invade the school and the students come to me asking questions.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

The school bell rang once more, breaking our conversation.

“That was the second bell,” Celestia explained, “You two better get to class.”

“Come on,” Sunset tugged at my shoulder, “I’ll escort you to class.”





“Here we are,” Sunset exclaimed, “First Period; Chemistry with Mr. Magnet.”

I took a look at the room number: 135. The door had a long metal handle with a small rectangular window. I quickly peeked through to see that the teacher noticed us and only gave us a quick glance of acknowledgment before looking back to the class.

It didn’t matter how quietly we entered the classroom; everyone stopped talking and stared at me. It felt a bit off-putting, but I think that all stems from their paranoia of past events.

“Okay, quiet down class,” the teacher spoke up, “Before we begin, I’d like to announce a new student with us today!”

Dammit! I was hoping he wasn’t going to say that. Oh well, might as well get it over with. I stood up from the desk and raised my head up high for all to see.

“Hello everyone, my name is Luxerk; I’m a transfer student from Mareway. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”

“Ah, how is your home country?”

“It’s okay, I guess. Plenty of places to ski, though.”

“Oh, so you enjoy skiing? That explains the heavy jacket?”

“Definitely.”

“Okay, it’s a pleasure to have you with us today, and with that out of the way, it’s time to go over the Cage effect. So all would take their seats, and we will turn to page 294 of our textbooks.”

I sat back down and sank into it when I found no such book. That was when Sunset quietly moved her desk right next to mine and opened it up in the middle of the two.

“Here,” she whispered, “We can share mine until you get your own.”

It was then out of the corners of my eyes; I noticed other students whispering to one another.

“I never heard of Mareway selling coats like that.”

“Didn't he appear during that explosion?”

“Those strange guys with the white coats were also roaming the streets that very night.”

“He must be plotting something.”

“He’s another demon.”

“Hey,” Sunset said, breaking my concentration on the others, “Don’t let those people bother you; they don’t know.”

“Yeah, but it’s the more radical ones I need to look out for.”





The first period flew by; my focus was more on keeping my guard up from any heartless that might invade the school, but so far nothing. The second period was Agriculture with Applejack. She taught me the basics of apple farming from tilling to planting and harvesting. Surprisingly, it was easy; all I needed to do was kick the trunk of the tree, and the apples will fall right into the buckets. She even gave me a couple as a gift. One of which I ate and tossed the core into a trash can from across the room. 

The Third Period was with Fluttershy in Ecology. She has an adamant interest in animals. A foreign concept to me since I had no interest in living things that couldn’t defend themselves. I also learned that she frequently volunteers at the animal shelter and scarcely smuggles one into school in her backpack. The one she had with her was a rabbit named Angel. I felt...relaxed being around both Sunset and Fluttershy for some reason; I just can’t put my finger on it.

I skipped going to the cafeteria and wanted to explore the school a bit more. To which I found some students’ eyes glued to me. It’s like I was in a bizarro version of Twilight Town. That made me curious, though. What kind of magic dwelled here? I heard of the stories the girls told me, but I feel like that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What is this town hiding? I should ask Celestia and Luna about this, but they might think I’m nutty cuckoo. 

The Fourth Period was with Rarity in Home Ec; I discovered it’s just to know how to at the core of it, eating the right foods, maintain your spending habits and fixing clothing, which I found to be the most helpful detail of all. Rarity ran a business in the shopping district of Canterlot called Carousel Boutique. She’s a seamstress that can make and fix various outfits. I should make a mental note to visit her shop after school.

The fifth Period was Strength Training with Rainbow Dash. As I was heading over to the Gymnasium was when something flew around the corner of my eye spotting a black splotch zipping across the open hallway. I dashed toward the source to look where it went, only to see nothing. I scratched my head in confusion. Was it that they were waiting to catch me off guard or am I just paranoid? Either way, I need to hurry to class.





I arrived at the gym’s weight room with the class and its teacher, Spitfire. The other students already occupy most of the machines, so I’ll have to try my luck at the weights. I noticed Rainbow Dash at the treadmill, and she waved at me. She got off and jogged over to me.

“Yo, Lux. You got class with me?”

“Yeah, but what to use?”

“Try the bench.”

“The what?”

“You see that bench over there? The bar suspended above it with two heavy as hell weights on each side?”

“Oh, so that’s what it’s called.”

“Try it.”

I nodded and walked over to the bench. I took off my jacket, exposing my upper half. I sensed a few people staring at me, making me slightly blush. I have no clue why I feel embarrassed as I seen a few female students blush as well.

“Wow,” Rainbow commented, “You kept yourself in shape. Now, I wonder if you can lift it.”

“Well, here goes nothing.”

I cracked my knuckles before grabbing onto the bar and sliding off its lock. It slammed down hard onto my chest, knocking the wind out of me. I took a few deep breaths to get my bearings and slowly pushed it upward. Up and down and so forth. 

“Uh, Lux?”

“What?”

“That’s 200 pounds! How are you moving that effortlessly!?”

I moved my eyes at Rainbow, referencing being a Nobody. She nodded, remembering my secret.

“You need to be fit if you want to live where I lived; hostile wildlife and extreme sports are the norms up there.”

“Yeah; that must’ve been awesome times for you!”

“Yep,” I agreed, hesitantly, “Awesome.”

The rest of the period went along smoothly, but with a lack of communication with me and Rainbow Dash. I used other machines due to rotation periods where I tested my leg muscles, cardio, and my stamina on the bike, all with exceptional and predictable results. I thought to myself on the matter: maybe being my usual non-Human self could raise some unwanted praise and attention by the other students. The last thing I need is to be praised like a muscular Gary-Stu-Pretty-Boy like Hercules or every male main character of every Anime.

I started to emulate the few signs of fatigue I noticed from watching the other students work out. I tiredly plopped down onto the yoga mat, panting like a dog.

“Wow,” Rainbow commented, “Even the extreme ski dude has his limits.”

“Well, if I got any bigger, my muscles would look like balloons about to pop.”

She laughed at my failed attempt at a joke. She knows my lack of human humor but supports me anyway. The bell rang once more, and we were off to our next class. My next class was known as “Culinary Arts.” The name mystified me as I didn’t know what that stood for, I guess I’ll just have to figure that out when I get there.





As I arrived at the door of the class, the door slammed open, the students running out of the room with a cloud of smoke following suit. Curious, I ran into the room to find the source of the fire, only to see Pinkie Pie in an apron, wearing great goggles,  dousing the flames with a large red container spitting out the powder. When the dust settled, she took off the goggles looking around the room.

“What!? Is it because I used too much flambé?” she rhetorically asked the empty room. The teacher walked in and looked around the room, scratching her head.

“Pinkie?” she asked, “Where’s the rest of the class?”

“Sorry, Mrs. Cake; I maybe went overboard on the Flambé part of my cake.”

“I know this might not be my place in the conversation,” I brought up, “But Pinkie, when you make this ‘Flambé,’ make sure to NOT freak out everybody by adding a whole bottle of flame stuff; I think that’s the only extra mile you can’t go.”

“Really? I thought that was with only doing stunts from Jackass.”

What? What the hell did she just say? I can’t...I can’t even...what...screw it; Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie, regardless if she makes sense or not.

“Well, I will have to report this little incident and cancel class for today,” Mrs. Cake deadpanned, “Sorry for your first impressions of this class, Luxerk.”

“It’s okay; I don’t think I was ready to cook today, anyways.”

She had a quick laugh before leaving the room for the office, having Pinkie and me the only two in the room.

“So, is Culinary Arts just a fancy word for cooking class?”

“Correct! I work in a bakery for Mrs. Cake and her husband, but I may have just got into more trouble than I bargained for.”

“Well, you can tell Celestia that it was a simple mistake and you now know not to cook a Flambé that way again.”

“Okay, thanks for the help, Luxy.”

“Heh, it’s nothing.”

“You know I saw a splotch of black out of the corner of my eye; I'm not sure if it’s one of those heartless thingies or a dazzling looking for revenge.”

“You know where it went?”

“It was before I got to class was when it looked like it was watching me, then it bolted off like me on a bunch of tasty treats.”

I scratched my chin, thinking about my next move. It was when the idea occurred to me.

“Pinkie, since we have a half hour of free time, why don’t we go looking for that figure?”

“Yeah! But I need to talk to Principal Celestia first.”

“It’s alright; you talk to her first, and when we meet up in the lobby, I can update you on it.”

“Okie Dokie Loki!”

She dashed out of a room like a lit Heartless. I walked out of the room, cracking my knuckles. I knew someone’s here, but it isn’t a frequent presence a heartless gives off. It’s a life force that is much stronger than any I have sensed so far. I sense of dread made my skin crawl; strange because for once in my existence I felt sick. Maybe I am becoming more Human like the ones I’ve been around for the past week. I need to curb that warm thought for now; this school, hell, this world is potentially in danger of being consumed by Xemnas’s legacy.





I wandered throughout the school, looking for the entity. I sensed its strong presence, but it seems that it managed to hide from me. I occasionally caught glimpses of it, so I had no need to worry about losing my trail on it. In spots of afternoon light shining through the window, parts of the figure lit up, revealing a black cloak. I didn’t spot any silver on the cloak, so the possibility of it being a surviving member of the Organization is thrown out of the window, so to speak.

I managed to corner it to an unmarked door. I followed inside to an old closet, about the size of a classroom. The force of the figure was gone. How did it just vanish when I just cornered it? There must be a portal somewhere; it just can’t pull a portal out of its ass. Only the organization can conjure paths of darkness in between worlds. Could it be…?

“Roxas?” I quivered out loud. Is he still alive? He was the only one out of the organization that I felt a life force from. Ironically, he was the most human out of the group. The void where my heart should be, ached a bit. If it is him, then after all this time and he doesn’t have the courage to face me again? He might have a reason to his absence. He better stay away from the key bearers of light, then. They may be hunting for the last of us. Good thing I chose a mostly secluded world, but they might come for me as well.

“Roxas…” I said out loud, “Wherever you are, I hope you’re in a safe place.”

(Stop Music)

My body tensed up, and I spun around, slicing a Heartless Soldier in half with the claymore. I playfully scoffed.

“Close, but no sucker punch.”

More Heartless appeared in the room. Mostly Red Nocturnes and Large Bodies on each corner of the room. One large body tried to charge towards me. I leaped to the side, and it slammed into one of its buddies. I jumped up and kicked off the wall to a red nocturne, catching two in a combo and quickly dispatching them with a finishing horizontal slash. I fell onto another red nocturne and hold onto it. It bounced off the walls, shaking me around.

“Whoo, ya! I got 7 seconds! 7 Seconds!”

I pulled onto its head as hard as I could, causing it to shoot fire at the large bodies, destroying one of them. I cast Bind, and the surviving Heartless were bound in a pinch. All except for one large body which missed me by inches and killing the last two in a single swipe. As it charged toward me again, I put away my weapon and focused on its arm. I sidestepped and put all my strength into its arm, throwing it over my shoulder next to the door where it slammed open and vanquished it. Through the opening, a barrel of a cannon pointed into the room and...wait, WHAT!?

I dove to the side of the room as it's loud boom deafened the room and vanquishing the rest of the Heartless with, confetti? I looked at the top of the cannon to see Pinkie’s head pop up over the top.

“Hey, Luxy! The Heartless are here!”

“Yeah; I took notice.”

(Fight Over)


!!!
LEVEL UP
Lv. 4 < 5

HP: 40 < 50
MP: 23 < 30
STR: 13 < 15
MAG: 12 < 15
DEF: 13 < 15
Crit. %: 7 < 8
Crit. Bonus: 9 < 10



“Hey Luxy, did you hear that catchy little tune?”

I gave her a confused look.

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Oh, well; you’ll find out anyways.”

“ALRIGHTY THEN...you said there’s another Heartless in the school?”

“Yeah, but all of the doors in the school are locked!”

“Okay, let’s go and find the others; stay behind me, got it?”

“Okie dokie loki.”

We left the room, sprinting down the hall back into the fray.

Luxerk's Current Stats

Lv. 5

HP: 50
MP: 30
STR: 15
MAG: 15
DEF: 15
Crit. %: 8
Crit. Bonus: 10

> Chapter 10 - Heartless School
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Third Person POV)

Both the Nobody and the party girl left the now wrecked closet back into the central section of the school. Much to their shock, the school was partially destroyed. Scratch marks covered most of the walls and the trophy window was smashed. A few students were unconscious from a few recent Heartless attacks. Luxerk carefully observed the victims and spotted multiple bruises cuts and wounds.

“Looks like their hearts were taken,” he grimly concluded, garnering a gasp from Pinkie.

“We HAVE to find the girls; it would make this day MUCH worse to find them like this!”

“Then we better buckle down and find the person responsible for this mess.”

They first decided to head to the Administration office to see if the Heartless got to Celestia and Luna. Much to their fortune, the entrance appears to be untouched. As soon as Pinkie opened the door to the office, a group of Heartless appeared behind them. Only Shadows and Soldiers this time.

Readying his Keyblade, Luxerk jumps into the group, sweeping any of them he could into the air for a quick combo. He slain three shadows in one finishing slash and knocked two other soldiers to the sides of the lobby. He held out the Keyblade to reflect the oncoming attacks by the other two soldiers only to be hit in the back by one of the injured soldiers. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance and casted Spark. The crystals of light caused the other shadows and two of the soldiers to combust from their ultimate weakness.

He slid under one of the soldiers flying kicks and grappled the top of the other’s head. He spun around, flinging the monster into the other, bursting both of their hearts from their bodies.

Reinforcements showed up. This time it was Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies with an Armored Knight  in the middle. He felt his body drained from the spell he casted and decided to use brute force and infighting trickery. He dashed around the group, dodging fireballs and ice spikes alike. He switched to his claymore to catch the Knight’s blade and push the creature off of him. One of the Nocturnes got slain by getting in the way of an ice spike. This sign shown that the Nocturnes and Rhapsodies were going to fight each other and leave both the Nobody and the Armored Knight to their own little duel.

Blow by blow, they parried each others attacks, throwing themselves off balance each time. He got launched by the Knight’s thrust attack and slammed into the wall, leaving an indent. He got back up, spat a blot of blood out and slashed at the Knight some more. Both landed lucky hits on one another until the Knight tried to corner the Nobody. He turned around and ran up the wall, back flipping over the confused Heartless. He landed on it and stuck the tip of his Keyblade into the back of its head, ending its rampage.

He turned to see one Rhapsody left, only to be crushed by a lamp that fell from the ceiling. Luxerk despelled his Keyblade and brushed himself off from the battle. He chuckled to himself, breathing heavily.

“Like a glove,” he said to himself.

(Fight Over)





!!!
LEVEL UP
Lv. 5 < 6

HP: 50 < 57
MP: 30 < 34
STR: 15 < 16
MAG: 15 < 17
DEF: 15
Crit. %: 8 < 9
Crit. Bonus: 10





He entered the office to see both Celestia and Luna in once piece along with Sunset and Pinkie Pie. Sunset viewed Luxerk and ran over to him, giving him a bone-crushing hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” she exclaimed ecstatically.

“Likewise.”

“Who brought the Heartless to the school!?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Now, can you tell me what happened?”

“Well, I was walking to class when I saw those Armored guys you were fighting, they started attacking students left and right. Some were getting electrocuted, burned and frozen while some were getting slashed and beaten senseless. The worst part is that someone sealed off the exits! What are we going to do!?”

“Sunset, calm down; I’m here now. What we need to do now is find the others and find whoever summoned the Heartless here.”

“Yeah; your plan seems solid,” she commented, wiping her tears away.

“We tried to contact the local authorities,” Celestia added, “But this aggressor has cut the phone lines as well.”

“Also, we can’t get any reception on our cell phones, and we can’t figure out why,” Luna grimaced, “We are indeed trapped.”

“Then it’s all down to me, then,” he slightly chuckled, “I have such rotten luck, sometimes.”

“Good luck, Luxerk,” Celestia said.

“Stay vigilant; they can appear from the blink of an eye,” Luna warned.

“I know; this ain’t my first rodeo.”

They left the office and stopped in the middle of the lobby. They looked around for a bit, thinking of where to go next.

“Let’s try the Language arts hall first!” Sunset pointed out, “Rarity must be in the Sociology Classroom.”

“Alright, let’s go.”





It took them about ten minutes of maneuvering downed lockers, rubble and a couple stray heartless to reach the classroom. When they entered, they saw a soldier harassing Rarity.

“AH!” she screamed, “Get back; I’m NOT that kind of girl!”

Luxerk threw his Keyblade at the soldier, instantly slaying it. The blade stuck out from the wall then rematerialized in his hand. Rarity saw her savior and ran up to him for a hug.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” she cried, “I have no idea where these barbarians came from! They just came out of nowhere and...and…”

“It’s alright; I’m here, now.”

“There’s more of them!” she yelped.

He let go of Rarity and spun around to face his foes. A large group of soldiers danced around the messy classroom, ready to attack the Nobody. He thought about his next move for a few seconds, then decided to throw his keyblade at the side of the group. It tore through as he’d expect it, but it reflected off the side of the wall and spun back to his hand, tearing through the other Heartless in the process.



Learned Physical Ability!
Learned Strike Raid

This allows you to throw your Keyblade like a boomerang that hits through multiple foes. Very devastating when you have high enough strength.

MP Cost - 10



They left what was left of the Sociology classroom and headed out to their next target.

“So where are we heading next?” Luxerk asked the group.

“Applejack and Rainbow Dash can defend themselves against the Heartless,” Sunset briefly explained, “But Fluttershy, not so much.”

“Doesn’t she take Geometry at this time?” Rarity foggily asked.

“Yeah; she does! We gotta hoof it to the math hallway!”

(Five random encounters later…)

They eventually made it to the math hallway where the door is surprisingly unlocked. Luxerk kicked the door off its hinges to reveal Fluttershy...petting a Rabid Dog Heartless?

“What in the no-name?” he said in shock, “I don’t believe this.”

“Isn’t he the cutest?” she playfully asked, “You’re a good boy! You're a good boy! Oh yes, you’re a good boy!”

She frantically rubbed the dog’s belly, making it kick repeatedly.

“So, she tamed a wild beast,” Sunset pointed out, “That just happened.” 

“At least Shy’s okay,” Pinkie mentioned, “Now let’s get to Dashie and AJ; I don’t think they can hold out any longer.”

“Good point; let’s move.”

Fluttershy hesitated a moment before standing up and joining the rest of the group.

“Pinkie, know any shortcuts to the Gym?”

“Oh, boy! Do I!?...Do I?” she thought to herself. He gently massaged his temple with his hand before turning to speak with Pinkie again.

“Please, Pinkie. You either do, or you don’t.”

“Uh, duh! Follow me!”





They safely arrived at the Gymnasium without delay, only to see both Rainbow Dash and Applejack losing their fight against the Heartless. Luxerk dove into the middle of the brawl with the two and casted Spark. The radiant light disintegrated the shadowy bodies of their enemies and left them without any less injury. The reunited group shared their hugs and got the duo to their legs.




!!!
LEVEL UP
Lv. 6 < 7

HP: 57 < 64
MP: 34 < 37
STR: 16 < 17
MAG: 17
DEF: 15 < 17
Crit. %: 9
Crit. Bonus: 10 < 11





“Thank the maker you came in time, Lux,” Applejack thanked, “We were on about our last legs; they kept commin and…”

“We thought we could pull off what you did,” Rainbow added, “But it seemed we were in WAY over our heads; I have no clue how you can manage this on a daily basis.”

“I’m sure you can think why.”

It was then that the same presence struck him like a dagger to the chest. He spun around to see the cloaked figure standing on the tip of the basketball hoop. His sudden movement caught the attention of the group.

“Hey!” Rainbow realized, “It’s that jackass who’s spawning all these Heartless!”

“Alright,” Luxerk growled, aiming his Keyblade at the cloaked figure, “Who the hell are you and why are you attacking innocent people!?”

“...the...Keyblade…” the figure spoke. It was a she with a very tomboyish voice, similar to Rainbow Dash’s, but not as raspy.

“What about it? Are you after the Keyblade!?”

The figure lightly chuckled.

“It’s been decades since I’ve last seen a Keyblade...wait a minute...your Keyblade...it...looks just like...no; it can’t be…”

“Start making sense, dammit! And show me what you look like instead of hiding your face like a coward!”

“Hmph,” she scoffed, “Very well; I’m sure this will jog your memory…”




Luxerk’s Current Stats

Lv. 7

HP: 64
MP: 37
STR: 17
MAG: 17
DEF: 17
Crit. %: 9
Crit. Bonus: 11




> Chapter 11 - Amanda of the 30 Keyblade Ronin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Luxerk's POV)

The cloaked figure stood there, removing the cloak. It revealed a boyish face with golden brown eyes and short messy red hair. Why are the ones obsessed with fire sporting red hair? She threw off the rest of the cloak to reveal a set of armor. It looked like no other set but similar to what the soldiers wore in the Land of the Dragons. However, instead of metal, it looked like it was made out of an entirely different material. The armor itself was a dark copper color with a silver number “V” welded onto the pauldrons of the armor. 

“My name is Amanda,” the figure spoke, bowing, “Of the 30 Keyblade Ronin.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Really? How about THIS!?”

She leaped from the hoop, slamming down onto the floor about twenty feet in front of us, creating a fiery shockwave that I blocked by spinning my Keyblade. She held out her arms on opposite sides, walls of fire shooting out of her palms. It was a few moments until the fire died down and her weapons spun into existence. It was then I realized that those weapons are chakrams, the same type that Axel used when he was...alive. However; these were different.

“How the hell do you have those!?”

“I was merely given them as a reward for waiting patiently for all these years, and here you are; alive and kicking.”

“Why are you here then? Why are you taking innocent Human hearts?”

“Don’t you get it!? Kingdom Hearts! That’s why. My master would love to see you; how about you come quietly and I’ll let your “friends” live.”

“No! I ain’t falling for that again!”

“Very well; it will be more fun killing you and your friends, anyways.”

“Lux! Let us help you!” Rainbow pleaded.

“NO! You can all stay back! This one appears to be very adept in fire-based magic; I don’t want you guys to get burnt to a crisp.”

“Like you’re any better! It looks like that coat will light on fire if you so much as touch a candle!”

“I’m a lot more resilient to magic than you think I am. Get out of here...NOW!”

I summoned my Claymore in my left hand which caused a strange feeling inside me. I felt...nothing but...rage...and the deep desire to...to kill. I dispelled my Keyblade and held the Claymore with both hands, concentrating fully on channeling my anger to the blade. I felt a burning sensation in my eyes and what felt like a fire in my chest. It was then when the top of the blade transformed. It felt like I started to lose control of my body like my other self was in control. Darkness seeped out of my body and going straight into the blade, keeping its current form.





Obtained Dark Form

Your constant exposure to darkness has allowed your body to adapt and absorb some energy from your fallen Heartless Enemies. When you have enough darkness stored up, you can release it in the form of a forbidden technique for each of your weapons.








Learned Berserk

Transforms your mind, body, and weapon into a volatile being. Your strength, defense, and speed are all drastically improved temporarily. The drawback that it has is it will be nearly impossible to control yourself while in this state until you revert or use up all of your stored darkness.





“I think it’s time I take those back, then,” I growled with both my voice and the voice of my other self in unison. It weirded me out just then, but the feeling of rage drowned everything else out. I had no other thought, but to cut my enemy to rivets. 

“Aww, wittle Nobody can’t contwol himsewf? Come here! I can make it all better!”

(Boss 5 - 30 Ronin ~ Amanda)

She let loose a gout of fire that expanded upwards and closed around us, leaving the girls outside the dome of fire. I started losing control of both my muscle movements and my vision. Everything got cloudy before shaking the blur away. I shook with anticipation and with much bloodlust. All was on my mind was to erase my foe from existence.

“I will give you one last chance, Nobody!” she growled, “Come with us or this school will be wiped off the map!”

“FUCK YOU! I WILL FLOSS MY TEETH WITH YOUR SCALP!”

“Oh, did I make it angry? This will be fun! Come, Nobody; put on a good show!”

She threw her chakrams at me in blinding speed. To my luck, I reflected one and slid around the other wailing on the Ronin. Her armor cracked and chunked until she sent her knee straight into my stomach, sending me straight up into the air. On instinct, I recovered and aimed to bring down the claymore onto her head. She leaped out of the way, and the claymore went straight into solid concrete, cracking the floor in a large radius. The impact shook the room and flickered the flames before they went back to a solid state.

With a flick of the wrist, the claymore tore from the ground, sending dust, rubble, and chunks of rock all over the area. I made a beeline straight towards the Ronin, blindly slashing at her. She ended up being much more dexterous than I thought, dodging every one of my regular attacks. 

“Come on! My dead grandma can land more hits than you!”

“BIND!”

A yellow shockwave shot out from all around me, grounding the Ronin in an instant. She yelped from the impact, struggling to move.

“AH! What did you do!?”

Without speaking I leaped at her, striking every part of her armor with well-placed hits, creating small sonic booms. I finished off the combo with an upwards strike, causing her to slam off the top of the dome and back onto the ground with a bounce. She pushed herself back to her feet, wiping the blood away from her mouth.

“You seem to have some skill, but your power is but a flick when compared to our Master,” she boasted, coughing up some blood, “Do you believe that you can go against the Ronin?”

“I may not know who you are, but the desire to destroy my enemies is fuel enough to light the fire that burns my determination to prevail, and you are just another etch on my list!”

“Determined,” she mocked me, “Non-human you are, but I admire your confidence; it is adamant, indeed. I may have underestimated you, after all.”

Her response is rather strange, coming from an armored psycho going around taking Humans’ hearts.

“But if that’s the case,” she continued, “then I will have to give it my all!”

She jumped up high into the air, mounting the chakrams to her back, spinning in the air while shooting multiple balls of fire straight towards me. I tried to my best ability to maneuver around the volley, only to be hit by a few unlucky shots.

“Can’t freeze my muscles if I’m not on the ground!” she taunted, “Hold still and let me Barbeque your ass on a silver platter!”

She then started throwing the chakrams at me, barely grazing me by centimeters. I stayed on the defensive while she kept throwing harder and faster. I spun, flipped and rolled away from the oncoming death circles to which she grew less accurate to her growing ire. She screamed in frustration and hovered back to the ground where she started slashing at me some more.

Every opening she left, I quickly struck, throwing her off balance. She held up her weapons to block, but my downwards chop smashed through her defense and came down straight onto her head with a hollow pop. She stumbled away from me, appearing to look like she was drunk. I used this opportunity to strike her right in the stomach with the base of the claymore, sending her flying back into the barrier where she sat there, unresponsive for a few moments until she staggered back to her feet, clenching her gut in pain.

“H-have I met my match?” she stammered, “Did the Organization have no limits? Or was their wild card their trump card?”

“Maybe so, but they were already vanquished by the power of the Keyblade, I am the only survivor, ergo I am superior to them, I have yet to meet my limits.”

“Heh heh heh,” she laughed before puking up blood, “So long as you’re alive, the Organization’s influence continues to steer the worlds to ruin. A tiny glimmer of their memory can resurrect them, or is it that their hearts and bodies reunited in Kingdom Hearts, reviving them to bring more ruin? You have no idea what sleeps inside you, do ya?”

“What are you getting at?”

“You claim to have another self, don’t ya? I can hear it with your unison voice. For the day to arrive once more, you will feel the agony of defeat, unlikely as it may seem to you.”

“As long as I have the Keyblade, I am safe; you, on the other hand, will fall by the edge of my blade like the coward you are.”

“You even talk like him...look like him...I can’t remember...can you be…can he...?”

Her eyes shot wide at her realization, growing disturbed.

“Master! He may be…”

She shot back up to her feet, lighting various areas of the arena on fire. I maneuvered around, gaining ground on her before she blasted me with a faceful of fire. I caught myself with my Claymore, coughing out soot and ash. I recovered and frantically looked around the area for her, that is when one of her chakrams struck my back, knocking me to my knees. Through the smoke, I threw the Claymore up in the air, and to my surprise, the blade was hit by both chakrams.

I leaped through the smoke, connecting with her face with my fist, knocking her straight back on her back. She flipped back to her feet and started throwing punches at me. Each of us left our guard down and got hit from one another. Both our bodies began to feel stiff, pain drenching our bodies with blood clouding or vision.

We kept at it until we broke away from our hand-to-hand and rearmed ourselves. We both panted in exhaustion and held our weapons improperly. We both held up our guard, limping around in circles.

“I...did not think...you could be...so adept...at this…” she complimented, “No wonder...why Xemnas took you...under his wing.”

“Before I was enlightened, I thought his mission was to recover our hearts, I then realized the hearts we collected were victims of Humans by the claws of the Heartless who was created by his Heartless. He was no better than any other monster I faced. I will strike you and all others who share his similar twisted ideals.”

“Not...today,” she growled, dispelling the entire dome of fire, “I may have failed to bring you in, but know this; as long as you are alive, you risk the death of many worlds for the will of the Ronin is to sacrifice the few to preserve the many.”

(Fight Over)

She spun around and began retreating. My rage subsided, and I’m left to my normal senses. As my head cleared, I noticed her running and started the chase. She threw one at me, slicing the side of my face.

“AHH! YOU BITCH!” I screamed in pain.

She threw the second, but this time, I caught it with my left hand. I felt the fire siphoning into the palm of my hand, feeling as if the magic rejuvenated my energy. The chakram disappeared, and then both were summoned in a fiery blaze. Axel’s chakrams are now mine to use. Time for a barbecue!





!!! LEVEL UP !!!

Lv. 7 < 10
HP: 64 < 86
MP: 37 < 48
STR: 17 < 20
MAG: 17 < 21
DEF: 17 < 21
Crit. %: 9 < 10
Crit. Bonus: 11 < 13








Ability VIII Obtained

Eternal Flame Chakrams

With this, you are now more resilient to Fire and have boosted Fire magic, but you are much weaker to Ice and Water magic while these weapons are equipped.

Gained the power of Flames
Learned FIRE

Fire shoots out a gout of flames that can damage an enemy with minor burns but will ignite them if they are weak against the element with afterburn damage for three seconds.
MP cost - 4MP





I lit up my chakrams and threw them both at the Ronin, to which she dove through the door with both of them crashing through the sides of the door jam. I caught them both and proceeded with my hunt. I ignored the pain of fatigue weighing down my body. Not even the sting of the minor laceration across my cheek take my mind of the Ronin.

“Lux! Wait!” I heard Sunset call out for me, but I ignored her plea.

“Lux! You are in no condition to chase her! Stop immediately!” Applejack scolded at me, trying to catch up to me.

“Please, darling!” Rarity begged, “You are pushing yourself too hard! You’ll hurt yourself even more!”

I ran faster, gaining ground on my adversary. What did she mean by my other self? How did she know about my other self? What was the meaning behind her look of horror at me?

I knew if I stopped to tend to my wounds now, I would lose my target and unable to nip this Ronin problem in the bud. I had to ignore any sense of hesitation, even if it meant forcing me into another week-long coma; I need information of this Ronin, and I intend to do so with extreme force.





Luxerk’s Current Stats

Lv. 10
HP: 86
MP: 48
STR: 20
MAG: 21
DEF: 21
Crit. %: 10
Crit. Bonus: 13