Hello everyone! I apologize for any delay, but here is the last half of chapter 5. Just cuz it took so long, I added something special at the end. Though, I admit the special scene was kinda a last minute addition. But, all in all, the choice for this addition will REALLY add a huge twist in future chapters.

Disclaimer: Dude, if I owned KH, I’d do very odd things. O.o

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Sora was rather puzzled at Donald and Goofy’s strange behavior. For whatever reason, they didn’t look very pleased. A river of sweat coursed down their faces, and their bodies were shaky. Fear was plainly present in their very beings. Curious, the Keybearer said, “Guys, what’s up? You look kinda… shaky.”

Instantly, the poultry mage latched onto Sora’s arm and pulled him REAL close to his face. A solemn look glistened in his eyes, and a frown formed on his beak. One could easily tell that the duck knew something about this place that Sora did not. “Sora,” he whispered, “We need to get out of here. FAST.” When Sora simply tilted his head in confusion, Donald shook him vigorously. “Follow me… you too, Goofy. We need to talk in private.”

With that, the duck stomped back towards the gate. Temper shone through every ounce of his existence, from his feathers to his webbed feet. Whatever he wanted to tell Sora, it sure was enough to ruffle his feathers. There weren’t any other choices but to follow Donald, really. The duck obviously knew something important, so Sora decided to simply slink behind. Goofy was also following his pal’s tracks, as he too awaited this important conversation.

Soon the trio reached a strange glowing orb. Oddly enough, there was nobody else around. Signs depicting information about a Castle construction were the only peculiar items around the glowing object; spare a single card of some kind floating in front of this sphere. Donald, still somewhat annoyed, strutted towards the odd globe and prepared to make an announcement. First, though, he motioned Goofy and Sora to sit down. Once they were seated, he exclaimed, “Sora, Goofy… we are… STUCK IN THE PAST!”

Sora’s eyes suddenly widened as realization hit. Now it made sense why he was in his old clothes, which, actually fit! Plus, the castle hadn’t even been built yet, giving more proof to Donald’s statement. But, if they were stuck in the past, how come the heartless were flooding in? “Wait,” Sora interrupted, “you’re saying that the Gummi explosion flung us back in time?”

“YES,” squawked the duck, stamping his foot angrily. “And that’s not the worst part. Believe me, Sora, if the heartless are here, they could ruin everything and alter time. We gotta seal this place’s keyhole, just like on the last adventure, to protect everyone!” Donald was right, again. If the course of time was altered, and the castle never built, everything could take a horrible turn. Just thought made the duck’s blood boil.

“So, where do ya think we’ll find that Keyhole, Donald?” pondered Goofy, scratching the top of his head. “I don’t think the King or Queen ever showed it to us.”

“Well, uh…” pondered the talking piece of poultry, “I guess we could just look, or… we could ask around.” Having to make such a rough decision surely ruffled Donald’s feathers. Being the impatient fellow that he was, all this ruckus sure didn’t help either. First there was the Gummi explosion, then being stuck in the past, but now it seemed like finding the world’s keyhole would be another blasted burden added to the list of junk happening today.

During all this confusion, Sora’s mind lingered elsewhere. For, you see, while the fowl tempered mage and Goofy had been conversing, the spiky haired Keybearer had noticed an unusual object floating in front of the cornerstone. It had an odd crown shape and an unusual image of some kind of castle on the front. For whatever, the little piece of cardboard compelled him, and so, he reached out a hand and picked up the card. As soon as the rectangular slip sat in the middle of his palm, it began to emit a powerful glow. A strange sensation began to fill Sora’s mind, as images began to flash through his mind.

Flashback

Sora stood in the middle of a grassy clearing. The cold wind blew across his flesh, sending a breezy hand across his face and through his spiky locks. Snoring was the only sound that could be heard during this quiet evening. As far as light went, there was but the moon and the stars above. All at once, his quiet sleep was disturbed by a mysterious voice.

“Ahead lies something you need --- But to claim it, you must lose something dear.” Instantly, Sora sprung to his feet. An eerie presence greeted him, and this time, it was not the wind. Curiosity seemed to take the best of the Keybearer, as he found himself facing the other direction only to see a man dressed completely in black clothing. Because of a hood covering his face, it was impossible to identify this individual. Quickly, Sora tried to follow this mysterious man, but, he vanished almost instantly, leaving Sora on his own. End Flashback

“And so,” explained Pete, “I think I might just be able to take ya to that Keyhole thing. But, you gotta PROMISE that it’ll keep those ‘heartless’ away from my steamboat”

Sora blinked a few times. What had just happened? One moment he was holding a card, and then, he suddenly saw himself in some vision that he didn’t even remember. Was there some kind of hidden meaning in all this? And, how come it had ended so abruptly? Either way, he was back in Timeless River, surrounded by Donald, Goofy, and now, even Pete was here. Well, whatever had happened didn’t matter now. Instead, being in the now was of more importance, and with Pete mentioning a Keyhole, things might actually be brightening up.

“Oh, Sora!” exclaimed Goofy with a grin. “What happened to ya? You were just kinda standing there all dazed. A-hyuck!” Sora gave a sigh and turned away from the cornerstone. Honestly, he didn’t even know what had happened to himself. Apparently, his friends had indeed tried to get his attention, though. “Sorry about that,” mumbled the Keybearer in response.” He gave yet another sigh before slowly ambling near his pals… and Pete. One thing was certain just from glancing at the group, and that was the fact that some sort of negotiations were being made. And, for that matter, they HAD to be good ones, since Donald now wore a pleased smirk. “So, what’s up?” he asked his feathered friend.

“Well,” snickered Donald smugly, “Pete says that he knows where to find the Keyhole. He just wants us to promise that by sealing it, the heartless won’t be able to get in. Bad business or something… I dunno.” This news was somewhat refreshing to Sora. Finally, after a butt load of confusion, some good news was beginning to show its face. Now it was all a matter of following Pete to the location of the Keyhole. Obviously, the answer to Pete’s question was simple. By sealing the keyhole, the heart of the world would be perfectly protected from heartless attacks, and thus, time would not be altered in any manor.

“Pete,” exclaimed Sora eagerly, “if you take us to the Keyhole, you won’t have to worry about any heartless at all. The world will be protected and sealed tight.” A slight smirk spread across the captain’s face at this news. Clearly, Pete was obsessive over his steamboat, and maybe it was because of business.

“Alright then,” snickered Pete, rubbing his hands together eagerly. “Lemmie take you down to that Keyhole.” With that, the strange steamboat captain started trotting down past the Keyhole. Quickly, Sora and his pals rushed behind, since there was no way they’d miss something as important as protecting the past. Now, unlike the previous path, this one was not blocked by a gate of any kind. Rather, it just continued to curve in and out for a while.

As opposed to Donald, Pete went at a more leisurely pace, which was PERFECTLY fine with Sora and Goofy. On the way down the path, a few bystanders passed puzzled glances, but for the most part, said confusion was ignored. Right now, the Keyhole was top priority, and there was no time for meager chit chat. Moving on, the foursome passed a few hills and some simple houses, but, again these weren’t any of the group’s business. All Sora, Donald, and Goofy wanted right now was to seal the Keyhole and return to the present to continue their quest. Soon they reached a seemingly empty area. Sure, there were a few rocks and some grass, but this part of Timeless River was incredibly desolate. All in all, the place was rather calm.

Upon reaching the riverside, Pete came to a halt. He surveyed the area before taking a seat on the cool green grass. Curiously, Sora decided to ask about the sudden stop. “Um, Pete,” he said, “aren’t we going to find that Keyhole?”

“Ya see that rock over there?” Pete replied, pointing to a large rock jutting out of the ground. Without questioning the captain, Sora, and his two allies faced the direction of the queer stone. From the distance, it was impossible to notice, but there was actually an embedded shape similar to that of… a keyhole! “There’s your keyhole,” continued the captain, relaxing contently. “Now, go on and seal it, so those darn heartless will stop messin’ with my business!”

Not even bothering to argue, the Keybearer and his partners began to trudge near the jutting rock on the horizon. Finding the Keyhole had actually been very easy thanks to Pete. But, at the same time, that was a problem. Though the trio didn’t really consider any problems, there was definitely a catch. With each advancing step, the ground was slowly but surely beginning to shake. At first, it was so faint that not even the easily shaken Donald noticed. However, the closer they got to the stone, the more vigor the shaking gained. “GAH!” Donald shrieked, bouncing up and down with each tremor. Being relatively small in side compared to Goofy and Sora, he was chucked up and down. Feathers were sent flying, and the ground begin to quake more and more. “What’s the big idea!” continued the ranting fowl. Of course, his question would be answered soon enough, as the crevices in the ground began to increase in size, and an unusual beast emerged.

The first part of this oversized heartless to come into view was its face, which wore a contorted grin accompanied by the typical yellow eyes and heartless insignia. At the same time, there was something strange about this beast. The head itself looked like something from the front of a train, and, as it lifted up the rest of its being, even more of this steam engine-like structure became apparent. Soon the heartless was fully on the ground, towering at around twenty feet in height. Its wheels were lined with spikes, and its jaws continuously gnashed open and closed. From the looks of things, this chu-chu had been lying in wait, and now it was ready to strike. Weapons were drawn instantly at the sight of this monstrosity. It would require a group effort to take down this outsized heartless.

Already, the cretin was charging forward, its jaws gnashing at an insanely rapid speed. Sora was the first to make a move, running right up to the heartless in order to make a steady blow on its mug. With sheer determination, he swung his keyblade at full force, but, sadly, this maneuver was not one of success. The strange train had instantly shut its jaw around Sora’s blade and was now circling around as if it were to throw him. Seeing this, Donald prepared to use his magic to save the day. With a wave of his staff, the fowl began to use his atop spell, but he was, unfortunately, interrupted when the locomotive blasted strange burning stones in his direction. It was only pure luck that he was able to dodge each piece while continuing his spell on the train.

While Donald was using magic, Goofy was taking a more defensive tactic by blocking each little flame stone the thing shot. Just as the train prepared to release his grip on Sora, it found itself frozen in place, unable to move an inch. Thanks to this form of paralysis, the Keybearer was free to continue fighting. Apparently, attacking the face was not an intelligent decision; so instead, he decided to circle around the locomotive while it was still stuck. Each of the sides seemed to be coated in dense armor, so that was no good. The face was a weak spot, but with those jaws, attacking there was pure insanity. Each segment of the creature, there were three of them, was joined together by a metal hinge, and in the two ‘body’ segments were loads of stones, each at a blazing temperature.

As Sora continued to look for a weak spot, the spell slowly began to wear off. Gears again started pumping, and the jaws started to gnash. In a few moments, Sora would have to make his decision, or he could very well end up in the beast’s clutches again. Donald was trying to distract the heartless by shooting fire and blizzard spells at its mug, but for whatever reason, they didn’t prove effective. If Goofy tried to launch his shield at the fiend, it would probably end up either crushed or sent flying back in his direction, so that was no good either.

“Well, what do we have here?” pondered an all too familiar voice.

“Pete!” gawked Donald and Goofy in bafflement.

Pete scratched his chin, eyeing the now unfrozen locomotive. His brow was firm, and there was an odd glint in his eyes. “Looks like you three are havin’ a heap o’ trouble with that steam engine,” he muttered. “No, fire and ice won’t work too well on a machine. I may be a steam boat captain, but I know just as well how trains work.” As fast as he could, Pete made his way towards the train, which was currently whirling around in an attempt to maul Sora all while shooting its little flame stones.

“Oh, Pete!” Sora exclaimed, all while trying to make as many blows on one of the hinges as he could. Already the back hinge had been dented in a few places, but the caboose remained fully intact. Pete carefully examined the hinge, all while tumbling around to avoid getting his butt barbequed. Suddenly, the steam engine rocketed forward, charging at full force towards Donald and Goofy. In an instant, the two quit dawdling and did the only smart thing; they ran right towards their pursuer. Just as they were about to clash, the fowl and his canine compadre bounded into the air, landing right on the train’s back. Now all they had to do was figure out the next move.

“Hey, you two!” Pete shouted from below. “Now’s your chance to whack that thing in the face. We’ll handle the carts. And, might I recommend some electricity?” With that, the two began their onslaught. Goofy was in charge of hammering the beast to the best extent with his shield, while Donald started to use his thunder magic. From the looks of things, this tactic was actually working, as the locomotive became irate.

Back on the ground, Pete and Sora began hammering at the hinges. Being the slower of the two, Pete handled the back end, while Sora took the front. Keyblade smashed against metal, while brute strength tore the second hinge apart. One could really sympathize for the train at that moment, since it had to endure all of this pain. CHING! The back hinge was loosened enough to release the caboose, sending said cart smashing into the Keyhole. Now all Sora had to do was to relieve the heartless of its mid section. Back on top, Donald and Goofy were doing a splendid job on causing heartless torture.

Already its face was dented in many places, and the vigor in its attempts to fling them off had begun to whittle away. At this rate, it would only be mere moments before the metallic menace was history. WHAM! Goofy’s shield once again made a bang in-between the heartless’ eyes. BUZZAP! Lighting struck the cretin’s visage. Agony was easily seen at this rate. With one final blow, the mid cart was unhinged, and, like the caboose, it jolted back and became toast, via Keyhole. Now that the task was complete, Sora and Pete headed in direction of the front cart. Oddly enough, it had stopped moving, though an expression of agony was plain to see.

This was the perfect chance to finish the thing off. WHOOM! One final blow from the Keyblade was all it took to relieve the heartless of its pain and suffering. When said blow was made, the locomotive instantly vanished, leaving behind an oversized heart. After a hard struggle, the heartless vehicle was no more. Sora heaved a deep sigh and turned his attention to the Keyhole. Thanks to that stupid train, precious time had been lost, and who knows what the organization could have been planning in his absence? Both Donald and Goofy were clearly exhausted from the assault they had delivered on the locomotive’s face. Heavy beads of sweat trickled down their visages, and they continuously panted. Between the four of them, the only one who wasn’t exhausted was Pete.

“Well,” sighed the steamboat captain. “There’s your Keyhole. Now, if you excuse me, I have a steamboat to attend to.” With that, Pete bounded off in the opposite direction whistling a happy tune. Even though he would betray the king in the future, he actually had proved quite useful during this train endeavor. After seeing him fight along side them, Donald and Goofy almost regretted his betrayal. But, time had to make its own course, and changing the past could lead to consequence, so the two decided to shrug off any ideas of persuading Pete to avoid the darkness. Instead, they decided to attend to the current matter: the Keyhole.

Now that the heartless was out of the way, Sora knew that sealing the Keyhole was the top priority. Already the heartless could have caused a mass amount of damage, and by neglecting to seal this thing, consequence was sure to follow. Both his pals encouraged the Keybearer to perform this task as quick as possible. Their faces showed expressions of impatience. So, knowing what had to be done, Sora lifted up his Keyblade and prepared to finish the job. A great beam of light shone from his weapon, making contact with the jutting stone. The aura began to flash several colors, while the shape of the stone began to shift. Where the keyhole shape was, rock was starting to fill in. A transformation from Keyhole to simple rock was occurring thanks to the power of the Keyblade. In only matter of seconds, the job was complete. Now nobody would even be able to tell that this boulder had once been connected to the heart of the world.

“Now what do we do?” moaned Donald, sounding quite worried. “The Keyhole is sealed, but how do we get out?” He and Sora shared puzzled glances at this notion. True, the world was now safe from the clutches of the heartless, but Donald did bring up a good point. Leaving would be a real issue, especially without any crazy gadgets like a time machine.

While the two continued to ponder, Goofy had his sights set on something completely different. His gaze was locked onto an object in the distance, and a peculiar one at that. For, you see, what had caught the canine’s attention was a large white door. Just moments ago, it was nowhere in sight, which meant that something strange had occurred under their noses. “Uh, guys…” he exclaimed, still mystified. “Ya might wanna check this out…”

Quietly, Sora and Donald faced Goofy’s direction, only to be filled with utter surprise at the site of the gateway of sorta. But, who could blame them? After all, it wasn’t every day that doors just suddenly popped up out of the ground. No, there had to be something more important involving the door.

Sheer curiosity drove the Keybearer and the poultry mage to investigate this scene. The door itself was only a few yards away, so reaching it was no problem. “So, what do ya think it is?” questioned Goofy, who was just now facing the door.

“I don’t know,” replied Sora. “But, maybe it’ll get us out of here.” Slowly, he reached for the handle of the door, not even thinking about any possible danger that could ensue. Of course, Donald and Goofy didn’t mind, since they too were desperate to get back to the present. All in all, the trio just wanted to return to their mission before Organization XIII or the heartless could do any damage. As the door creaked open, a nearly blinding light illuminated the area. Strange sounds could be heard from the other side, and there was just something compelling about this gateway’s nature. Though weary, Sora continued to come closer and closer to this mysterious door. Soon, he was completely enveloped from the inner aura. Without any other options, his two allies followed, and the door slammed shut.

The World that Never Was

Sitting comfortably at a small white table were two members of Organization XIII. One of them had short blonde hair across the top of his head, and a goatee. His eyes were solemn, but at the same time, calm and collected. In his hand, he clutched a cup of tea, fresh and steaming like a geyser. Sitting across from him was a man with dark colored hair that was moderately short, spare a long ponytail at the back of his head. Over one of his eyes was a patch, and a deep scar reached across his face. “So,” said the man with the scar and patch, Xigbar, “the kid ended up in the past and recovered an important memory, eh?” He appeared rather laid back, and simply wore a mellow smirk For whatever reasons, Xigbar showed a great interest in the Keybearer.

The man at the other end of the table, Luxord, took a quick sip of his tea before responding to his fellow nobody. “Yes,” Luxord mused, taking yet another sip of his tea. “It’s quite interesting, really. I just wonder if the boy will be driven to insanity when the memories of Oblivion have been rechained.” Both of the nobodies instantly broke out in maniacal laughter at that notion. Just the mere thought of Sora losing his mind was a notion that Organization XIII might cherish.
“Anyway,” added the gambler, “What on earth is Saix up to as of late? From what Xaldin said, he’s planning on somehow regaining our ranks…”

“You’ve got that right, Lux,” Xigbar snickered. “Xemnas sent him to the Underworld to strike a deal with Hades. Apparently he wants to bring back some ‘old friends’.”

“You mean Marluxia and the others?” Luxord pondered, quite surprised. “As lovely as it sounds, do you think it’s wise of him to be confronting someone as powerful as the lord of the dead?” Xigbar simply shrugged and took a sip of tea as well. He didn’t really know what to say when it came to Saix. After all, number seven in the Organization was always puzzling in his actions. But, one could argue that it was Xemnas being awkward, since he was the one who sent Saix on the mission in the first place.

“Anyway,” explained the free shooter with much enthusiasm, “I guess it’ll be nice to have at least MOST of the Organization together again. Maybe then the brat with Keyblade won’t be so tough.” With that, the two simply went about sipping tea and playing a game of black jack. They only failed to realize that they were being watched by another being in the same type of black cloaks as themselves.

“It seems that number seven is playing a fool’s game,” hissed the mysterious ‘man’. Instantly, Luxord and Xigbar about faced, passing strange glares at this intruder. Judging by his appearance, he wasn’t very old at all. In fact, his height seemed to be more fitting for someone quite young. This ‘stranger’ simply stood, observing the two Organization members with much interest.

Luxord narrowed his eyes at the one who had intruded on his and Xigbar’s conversation and said, “Now, who might you be?”

“You really don’t know?” gasped the ‘stranger’ in mock surprise. His voice was shrill and cold, and judging by his tone, the young man wasn’t easily pleased. Something about him was eerily familiar to the two nobodies, who pondered on his identity. “Saix is quite the fool,” continued the man. “He knows not the trouble that could ensue if numbers eleven and twelve were to return.”

Each time he spoke, this young man seemed more and more recognizable two both Xigbar AND Luxord. There was just something about him that rang a bell in the bowels of their minds. It was almost like seeing a ghost, so to speak. Whoever he was, though, he seemed to know a lot about Organization XIII. In fact, it was almost if he was just another member, but that couldn’t be right. The only remaining members, spare the traitors Axel and Roxas, were Xemnas, Luxord, Xigbar, Saix, Demyx, and Xaldin. Neither of them were that short or even that young, not even Demyx. From the way he spoke, this cloaked stranger couldn’t be Roxas either, despite him being almost the same height. All in all, something was suspicious about him.

“What is it you want with Organization XIII, kid?” Xigbar demanded, somewhat concerned about the sudden appearance of this man.

“Kid!” snarled the still unknown being in the cloak. “Let me tell you that I shall not be addressed in that manor. As for what I want,” he quietly turned away for a moment, “It’s really quite simple. I have come to assist you, Braig.”

Xigbar’s eyes suddenly widened. Realization his him smack dab in the face. This young man, or, ‘kid’, as he had been called, somehow knew Xiggy’s true name. But, the only way that could be possible is if he had known him before he became a nobody. And, judging by his apparent age, there was only one being possible to be the true identity of this stranger.

“No way...” staggered the free shooter. “It can’t be…” Slowly this young man reached for the hood on his cloak. He pulled it away while snickering to himself. What was revealed beneath the hood was something of pure shock. To both Xigbar AND Luxord, it was like seeing something from a graveyard. Yes, the being that stood before them was quite a surprise. Xigbar’s eyes were filled with disbelief, as were Luxord’s.

“But… you’re…”

End of Chapter

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AN: As you see, there are some strange things in this chapter, like the Chain of Memories reference. More on that will be explained later on. And, if you can’t guess who the stranger in the cloak is, I almost pity you. XD More shall be explained on this matter over the next few chapters among other things. Anywho, next chapter we have some loverly Roxas in the Underworld action, and a sneak peak on Saix and Hades. There will also be a cameo appearance of a certain FF7 character. So, look forward to an update soon! And, don’t forget to leave a review.