The next morning Nelare had me start off with another five hundred, and once that was done, upped it to one thousand, with multiple targets I had to hit all around me. Needless to say, it took a bit, but I finished. “You’re progressing faster than I expected.” Nelare said, giving me an approved nod. “Take a break, I gotta head back into town to get more targets.” She said, walking off as I sat on a log.

Girls all went back to the castle to bring breakfast stuff to cook out here. All in all...it was peaceful.

“Mind explaining what the hell is up with my Assistant?” Joy asks me.

Until it wasn't. “How are you doing Joy?” I ask him simply. “It's been a while since I last heard you. Been busy?”

“Pretty much.” Joy nodded. “So, the hell happened while I was gone?”

“Cript put us in...a sort of Script as it were. No idea what that fully entails but we have time…” I explain, looking down bitterly as Joy saw what was now capable of freely roaming in our home.

“Oh no…” Joy mutters worriedly.

“Yeah…” I sigh out. “Hopefully this will give us enough time to do...whatever.” I shrug.

“Yeah…” Joy trails off, not sure where to start here.

“Mind telling me what you were doing for so long?” I ask my little brother.

“Well...God...passed.” Joy tells me bitterly, summoning a Keyblade with all the continents of earth and its sun and moon as part of it’s design. “He gave me this before he died… said it can find others from earth…”

I took a deep breath. “Well...that sucks.” I mutter. “But...anything else?”

“...I know where Zeke’s Nobody is...generally...but someone…stopped me from seeing him.” The pup said.

“I'd love to guess...but I'm not sure who it might be.” I say simply, wondering who could beat Joy so easily.

“...Core…” Joy said, his voice a mix of fear and venom.

“I thought the fucker was nothing but a heart?” I ask, completely confused here.

“I don’t know. I asked and Core’s heart is still at Daybreak, but this… He wasn’t a Nobody pumped with darkness like the one we know. This Core was a person, I could tell that much. How though… I don’t know.”

“Well shit.” I sigh out. “What the fuck is Zeke doing?” I mutter worriedly. “Anything else? Like how that Absent Silhouette fight went?” I ask, having remembered that before he got cut off.

“Check this.” Joy said, summoning a Keyblade that…was rather cool. “It’s called Hearts Guardian. It’s one of the prizes I got for beating that SOB...Was not fun…” Joy said, giving a heavy sigh. “Bright side, it’s stupidly strong.”

“It better be if it was a pain in the ass.” I say simply. “I have a feeling you got some other stuff.”

“Attack is twelve, and a ten to magic. Plus, according to the Assistant, all the past X-blade wielders special powers, with this, I can learn to use. I also got Valor form, Keyblade armor, a fuck ton of money, some shotlocks, and I can summon Stitch… Speaking of… where is…” Joy and I looked to our side, seeing the small blue alien walking passed up, shushing us as he then ran off.

“Hey! Get back here!” We saw Luxu run passed, his cloak spray painted green and orange. “You’re gonna pay for this!” Luxu declared as he chased after the blue alien.

“Ri~ght...” I frown. “But...I feel like you got a book of...an old friend.” I say.

“I did get a spell book...and...this.” Joy said, handing me a Winnie the Pooh book. “Not sure if it’s magic or not, best check that later. I also got, this.” Joy said, pulling out a Keyblade armor sleeve. “Among other miscellaneous things.”

I took the book and smiled gently. “Glad to have this book.” I nodded...before sensing something off about Joy. “You feel...different somehow.” I point out. “Did you get something else besides all these items and abilities?” I ask.

Joy looked a bit remorse, tapping his Keyblade on the ground...like he was contemplating telling me. “...I learned...about Eve’s past. From the very beginning.” Joy said, beginning to explain the story that was Eve’s life he witnessed through her eyes, save for some parts. When he got towards the end, my jaw dropped. “So yeah… Eve was God, Core, and Hollow’s mother, and Zeke is related to not just Core, but Yen Sid and Eve, as well as Unum, the original, not his wife.”

“That cheeky fuck.” I mutter. “Sheesh...no wonder why he's super special. That's a...lot to take in. So all that happened…ah damn Eve isn't gonna be happy…”

“Also...Yen Sid is OLD.” Joy threw in. “I mean, he’s old, yeah, but...damn… That’s like, immortal old. Also...Zeke couldn’t use magic without Discord as his Keyblade...but...he’s a descendant of Yen Sid, the, apparent, first mage… that seems a tad odd.”

“Yes, yes it does.” I nod. “But who knows what reason made him unable to use magic. But I think we got side tracked about other stuff when I asked why your aura seemed...different.” I say, still curious about that.

“Oh, that...yeah… Yen Sid told me that, only the true Heir of Nothing can wield all the weapons…but, each can be wielded by his fated staff, or something like that. I got Lindworm.” Joy said, summoning the spears, and wow...they looked...cool. “I’m your Bodyguard. That’s the role of the wielder of the spears. Each weapon has a role, and a fated wielder, and he asked me to find them, before you take the crown.”

“And I have a feeling most of them are gonna be my masters right?” I ask curiously.

“I don’t think so.” Joy said with a head shake. “I got the spears, but you haven’t even mastered them though. I have a feeling...it might be people close to you, in some way or form. Makes sense right? A kings family serves him, whether they be the queens or kids.”

“I mean...that's true.” I say, wondering how that whole thing is gonna work. “Can you sense those worthy? Or is it just gonna be a ‘I choose you and hope for the best’ kind of thing?”

“I dunno. Yen Sid trusted me with this...cause I guess my link to you means I can tell? I guess it’s something I’ll have to feel.”

“Yeah true.” I say, before looking up at the calm blue skies. “You know...we never had the time to just...reminisce about all the crap we've done.” I chuckle.

“We’ve come a long way.” Joy said, looking up at the sky too. “How long has it been?”

“More than half a year the last time I checked.” I say simply. “It’s funny how we got here considering where we both started at ya know?” I ask Joy simply.

“Yeah. With all that’s gone on...it’s nice to just look at the sky.”

“How we thought it was impossible that all this existed...only to be brought out and see that everything is so much bigger.” I say, seeing stray clouds gently drift by. “How someone like me could be here, with everything I have...seems even crazier than experiencing the multiverse itself.”

“Yeah. When you see everything is now so big… makes you really see how everyone is just so small.”

“True.” I shrug. “But even people so small can cause very big things to happen.” I say simply.

“I guess. I keep thinking about what Core told me. That Zeke’s Nobody was… Well, he called him Kexez, that he’s ‘setting things right’. Whatever that means.”

“That could mean a lot of things…” I sigh out. “Who knows what's going on in that guys head. Especially now considering he's a Nobody, but we both know he's still the same ol’ Zeke...hopefully.” I say nervously.

“He’s missing his heart. Who knows what he’s thinking, or capable of now.”

“He better not be doing something stupid.” I frown. “He may not have his heart but he still has his memories and morals. Those things don't change I know it.” I say simply. “And if he's doing something stupid we’ll just give him a good smack and get him back on track.”

“If we can touch him. This Core didn’t seem as strong as the one we know, but he still beat me pretty good, and who knows who else Zeke might have…’recruited’.” Joy says with a sigh. “I just wanna know...how?”

“Mind being a bit specific there?” I ask curiously. “Cause there's a lot of how's everyone wants to know.” I shrug. “Or do you want to know how Zeke even came back?”

“I mean Core, how is he back, didn’t Huxley end him permanently?”

“Fuck if I know.” I shrug. “Clone? Magic? Purgatory? Until Zeke gets off his ass and actually shows himself to his friends with a sign of peace we’ll either have to wait, or get stronger than his guards.” I say simply.

“Who knows how many he has… So, when you gonna take on that Absent Silhouette? Trust me, it’s a pain in the ass, especially at the end.”

“How many forms does the thing have?” I ask curiously, knowing a fight like that must be a bitch with forms or phases.

“Too many.” Joy states with a frown.

“Right then.” I nod. “But I'll probably do it after I'm done training with Foudre. Gonna need to get stronger before fighting him, and I don't have my Assistant for emergency items anymore...actually we do have a Moogle merchant in our home now so I could buy everything off of him.”

“Cool.” Joy said, chuckling. “Remember when you, back then we I guess, first saw Kingdom Hearts? The games I mean.”

“Oh god that seems like forever ago.” I chuckle. “But yeah, I remember. Why you ask? Met it or something?”

“Yeah. But that’s besides the point. Remember, you were like, seven, Mom and Dad brought you with them into a pawn shop, they got you that used PS2 and told you to pick out some games. All they had were those crappy sports games, but you snuck into the backroom and found it in a pile of yet to be placed items.”

“Yeah I did. Who knew a pawn shop had shitty security at the time.” I chuckle.

“I remember when you first heard the theme song play, you felt so… happy, the visuals it had were good too. You spent half the day just playing and fighting the others on Destiny Island. THEN you went on to day two.” Joy laughed.

“Yeah I remember.” I nod, sitting down on the soft grass knowing this is gonna be a long conversation. “Was a tad upset that I couldn't fight Riku again and only had a race, but the three on one fight made up for it.”

“I think you were almost level ten when you finally got to Traverse Town. You spent a lot of time in the Pooh story book in game as much as you did the movies and actual books in real life. You really loved those mini games, the music of the area.” Joy said, smiling. Then...I saw a tear trick down. “I remember the exact day...I became Rejection…” Joy said sadly.

“That day…” I look down sadly. “It was the day everything went downhill…”

“When dad died...that’s when it started. Then, after mom...that’s when it took me, the darkness in your heart. So much...pain, anger, sadness, grief…when I fought you, during your Mark of Mastery...I fought you...so you’d kill me.” Joy admitted, my eyes widening at that.
“But...but why?” I ask in shock, not believing Joy...my little brother would do something like that.

“Part of it...because I was tired. Tired of being in Darkness for so long...the other. To save you. In that fight, I had in me, that...thought… you know the one.” Joy said, making his fingers into a handgun and pointing it at his head. “I knew, if you killed me, while I had those thoughts trapped within me, they’d die too. At least...no matter how bad things got...you’d never consider it, with them gone.”

I put a hand on top of Joy’s head gently. “I maybe an Insanity...but there's no way I would kill you. My Joy, my little brother.” I say gently. “I promised remember? Even if I didn't remember clearly...I promised to save you.”

“Hm. I remember.” Joy said with a nod. “Promise.” He said, taking out a Wayfinder and holding it up. “At some point, we got to learn to use these things, cause what Zeke’s Absent Silhouette did with his was… Wow…”

I pulled out my own silver Wayfinder. “I never fully understood what these things were for besides ‘friends forever’ metaphors…” I say honestly. “But hey...if it helps keep me connected to my friends and family…” I say while putting my Wayfinder to my chest, right above my heart. “It's the perfect thing for me.” I smile.

Joy smiled, doing the same. “Yeah. As long as we remember, and care for them, these things have meaning.”

It was then, both our Assistants flashed.

D-Link Drive Active.
Formed D-link with:
Joy
Celestia
Luna
Jenny Ventral
Dan Foreteller
Lan Foreteller
Kira Foreteller
Alex Foreteller
Jenny Foreteller
Huxley
Eclipse
#($*# (Error)

Mine said.

D-Link Drive Active.
Formed D-link With:
Ben
Dinky Hooves
Jenny Ventral
Dan Foreteller
Lan Foreteller
Kira Foreteller
Alex Foreteller
Jenny Foreteller
Huxley
Eclipse
#($*# (Error)

Joy’s said.

“Well…that's a thing.” I say honestly.

“Wonder what Error is?” Joy asked, shrugging.

“Maybe Zeke? I mean he is a Nobody and lost his heart...maybe it's someone we don't know about that will be important later somehow.” I shrug. “Who knows…”

“Heh. Maybe...you know, we never actually had a spar… Wanna try out our new D-Link abilities?” Joy asked.

“Sure.” I nodded while standing up and stretching a bit. “Well...actually how does D-Links work in real life?” I ask with a frown.

“Uh…” Joy thought, standing up and looking at his Wayfinder, placing it over his heart as he thought about one of the people he seemed to have a link with. Then, a white light flashed under him as white magic lines traveled around him.

D-Link with Jenny Ventral

“Wow…” Joy said, feeling… odd by the look of him. “I...I know all her moves I don’t… Cool. Just hold it over your heart and think of a friend, or loved one.” Joy said.

I took a deep breath and put the Wayfinder over my heart, my mind wandering and thinking about everyone that I've grown to call friends, everyone that I see as family, and everyone that I loved dearly, losing track that I had to pick only one.

D-Link with Luna

”Figures, the first one.” I thought, all of Luna’s unique moves flowing into my mind.

“Hey, you ready?” Joy asked, Keyblade ready.

“Yeah.” I nod, summoning Reunion and readying myself. “I'm ready.”

“Strike Raid!” Joy started off with, throwing his Keyblade at me in a Strike Raid.

“Lunar Shield!” I shout, moving my Keyblade up as what looked like a full moon appeared in front of me and blocked the attacked. “Starfall!” I countered as a giant ball of energy flew down from the sky towards Joy.

“Ricochet!” Joy said, blocking as it hit him, the move bouncing the attack towards me.

“Gravity.” I say while a black sphere appeared where the ball of energy was and it hit the ground. “Good good.” I nod. “Lunar Slash!” I shout, slashing my Keyblade and a wave of moonlight shot towards Joy.

Joy dodged, his body glowed as his Keyblade gained an ethereal outline...like a sniper rifle. He jumped back, looking down the scope and fired four shots, each one hitting me. When it faded, Joy looked at his Keyblade. “That...was cool! That must have been her first special finisher.”

“Ow.” I mutter, seeing that I could use Luna’s special finisher. “Well...Sleep Well.” I say, pointing Reunion forward as four portals opened and bloody hell I didn't expect Dream Eaters to just suddenly stampede towards Joy, ramming into him, and attacking him.

When it ended Joy haphazardly got back on two feet. “Anyone get the number of that Meow Wow that hit me?” He asked, falling over.

I saw cartoonish stars circling above Joy’s head. “You okay there bro?” I chuckle.

“Guh. That...sucked.” Joy said as he shook his head, coming back to his senses as he stood up properly. “That was cool.”

Our Assistants flashed.

D-link Gauge Drained.

With that, there was another flash, and the abilities we just used were...gone… I forgot how I used them, and from how Joy looked, it was the same for him. “We forgot our abilities...oh well.” I shrug. “So what do you think about D-links?”

“I think you should have used them more when you played the games.” Joy said with a chuckle. “I’m gonna go find that moogle, see what he has to upgrade or refill our D-link Gauges.”

“Yeah, we should also stock up on potions and ethers, gonna need them given we can't just buy them from our assistants anymore for the time being.” I say while heading home. “Today has been a day huh?”

“Been fun. Come on, I think if you’re late your teacher might make you do some harder work.” Joy says, running towards home, myself not far behind.

It wasn’t hard to find the moogle, he set up shop in the front yard… Is that a save point? “Hi.” The moogle said as we approached. “Ready to buy some goods?”

“Hold on a moment.” I say while walking over and checking the glowing spot next to the Moogle, gently standing on the thing. And indeed it was a save point. “Huh...it is a save point.” I say, quickly saving my progress before stepping off and Joy doing the same quickly. “But yes my good friend, what are ya selling?”

“In stok, here.” He said, a hologram like menu appearing in front of him.

Buy
Sell
Synthesize
Exit.

Were my options. I clicked on buy just to see his stock.

Potion……………………….100
Hi-Potion…………………….250
Either………………………...150

I check to see how much money I had in any sense of the word.

999,999,999,999- Dollars
999,999,999,999- Equestrian Platinum Bits
999,999,999,999- Equestrian Gold Bits
999,999,999,999- Equestrian Silver Bits
999,999,999,999- Equestrian Bronze Bits
999,999,999,999- Equestrian Copper Bits
999,999,999,999- Munny

The list went on, and I got the idea. I’m beyond Loaded…”How many am I allowed to buy at a time?” I ask the Moogle curiously.

“The maximum is ninety nine at a time sir.” The moogle tells me. “If you’d like, you can pay for them all and I can give you the ninety nine hi-potions and others now, and the rest will be sent by mail. Should take about two days to arrive.”

“We’ll both take a thousand hi-potions and ethers please.” I motion to myself and Joy, handing the moogle all the munny that was needed for the purchase.

“Thank you sir, and here you go.” Our assistants flashed, informing us that out items were deposited in. “Oh, and we give this to all out customers that spend over fifty thousand munny in one go.” He said, two tickets appearing, floating in front of us.

We grabbed them, reading what they said. “Full Access Inventory Buyers Pass for Moogle H.Q.?” Joy questioned.

“If gives you a one time full access to ALL our stock, at our H.Q. Next ticket you’ll have to spend a hundred thousand munny.” The moogle explained.

“Sweet.” I nod while closing out of the buy menu and Joy clicked on the Synthesis tab.

“Do I need to give you all of my synthesis items?” Joy asks, knowing that's how it works in the game but not sure in real life.

“Yes, each customer has an account upon first purchase with us, it’s also where we store Synthesis materials for you.” The moogle said as he took all of what Joy handed him. “Thank you. Would you like to see what you are able at craft at the time?”

“Yes please.” Joy nods, excited to see all the stuff he could probably make.

Another Holographic menu appeared.

Drive Recovery
Hi-Drive Recovery
Either
Mega Potion
Mega Either
Megalixir
????

“Do you know what these materials are?” Joy asks while pointing to all the materials he has no idea about.

“Yes, and I can tell you, you can craft them each, but not all of them.”

“So you know what all the materials I have no idea about are?” He asks.

“Yup.”

“Thank you...so what are they?” He asks nervously, knowing all the materials from the games but not all the new ones.

“Blaze Shard x10, Blaze Stone x10, Blaze Gem x10, Frost Gem x10, Thunder Shard x10-”

“I think I get the idea…” Joy said, not wanting to stand there and listen to the list go on for a long time.

“Okay, would you like to craft anything?” The moogle asked.

“How many megalixir’s can I make?” Joy asks curiously, knowing those will be really helpful.

“Ten.” The moogle says simply.

“Let's make four.” Joy says with a nod.

After a short bit, four Megalixers appeared before Joy. “Will that be all?” The moogle asked.

“How do you make Keyblades?” I ask. “I've heard of Moogle’s exceptional synthesis skills but don't you need a keyblade forge to make Keyblades?”

“That is a trade secret sir, all I can tell you about that is that Moogles do not require a Keyblade forge to Synthesize Keyblade Keychains.”

“Do you know where I can find Chocobo’s?” I ask, my inner child getting out accidentally given I've always wanted to ride one.

“I know a farm where you can find them. Fifty munny.”

I pay the Moogle. “Here's you go.” I smile.

“Here.” The moogle said, handing me a star map with coordinates. “Just type that into your Gummi Ship console and you’ll find your way there easy.”

“Always used doors to light for travel...would be fun to pilot a Gummi Ship for once.” I shrug, taking the star map and putting it in my inventory. “Thank you.” I nod while closing out of the Synthesis menu. “But how have you been doing?” I ask the Moogle curiously, wondering how it's days been.

“Slow. I am setting up some other holo shops in town. Holo gems should be here within the week. Ah, and when you’re ready to cash in on those tickets, just say the word.”

“Thank you.” I nod. “Oh, do you have any items that increase or recover d-link and shotlock gauges?” I ask curiously.

“Yes, for D-links, Balloon Letters restore a D-link, and any variation of the either items restore Shotlocks as it also restores mana, Shotlocks running off of the mana within, unless you have a specific energy fueling your Shotlocks, in which case there is a variation of the eithers I sell that restores that.”

“The shop didn't say you were selling Balloon Letters though…” I point out. “Not in stock or just only started off with bare essentials?”

“Typically we don’t show all out inventory until a customer has returned and opened their account on another world or such a few times before showing them, but we can make acceptions every now and then. Balloon Letters are 25 munny each.”

“A thousand Balloon Letters each please.” I say while paying the Moogle again. “Look at all the money you just got in less than ten minutes.” I chuckle.

“This is only puts me in the seven hundredth place of most money earned within a day.” The moogle says, giving Joy and I ninety nine balloon letters each before placing an order for a delivery to our house. “The rest should arrive at the same time as the Hi-Potions and Ethers.”

“Seven hundredth? Sheesh I wonder what first place got in a day.” I say in surprise.

“They’re still buying. Not sure who they are. Or even how they got that much munny. They are also synthesising like crazy. There’s already over a hundred moogles stations there to meet demand.”

“Where is this happening?” Joy asks, a tad worried someone of I'll intent is using the Moogle’s to fund them of all the shit they need.

“That is private information… I can give a name though. One million munny.”

“A million for a name?!” Joy yelled.

“I’m breaking the main rule of moogle shop keeping. I need a fair compensation.”

“Ah. Okay, sorry for asking.” I say nervously. “Just...there are some bad people out there that could be keeping up that spot and...kind of worries us is all.” I explain nervously. “But your on neutral grounds for all so...oh well.”

“Finally, someone gets it. People think we only sell to one side. Then rage at us when the learn we supply the other side. Ha. So, pay up or no?”

“Nah, don't want to get you fired after all.” I say, wanting to be considerate to the Moogle.

“Nah. I won’t get fired, just a demerit. Moogles are neutral as well as...not very good at punishments. It’s a thousand demerits to get fired and the most any of us ever got was three.”

“Moogles are...very forgiving.” I frown. “Wonder what would happen if Tonberry’s were in your place…” I wonder.

“Can we not talk about them? They are a pain in the ass to fight, I don't want to know what would happen if they are our primary shopkeepers.” Joy frowns.

“Either way.” I shrug. “So…” I mutter, deciding if we should just buy the info.

“You buying the info or not?” The moogle asked impatiently.

“Sure.” I say, handing over the money. “Sorry, just deciding on it. So, where be the place?” I ask curiously, hoping to find where the sudden surge of shopping and synthesizing is taking place.

“Great. Number one’s name is Drezke.” The moogle said simply, jumping off his stand and a holo closed sign appeared. “On lunch. Be back in an hour.” He said, vanishing in a small flash of light.

“I asked the place...not the person but that still works.” I say worriedly. “The fuck is he doing?” I mutter, scared on what Drezke could be doing with all the Moogles.

“Well we can send a Nobody out to find him.” Joy brings up.

“You know…” I start. “I should really be doing a lot of stuff I think of but never put into practice.” I sigh out, snapping my fingers and three large white wolf Nobody’s appeared. “I want you three to search for a being known as Drezke. And when you do tell me.” I order the three, seeing them bow to me like I'm royalty or something before vanishing to god knows where. “Right, that'll take a while for that to get going.” I sigh out. “First Zeke comes back as a Nobody and doing something, now Drezke is doing something special…” I rub my temple. “Lets hope they find him soon.”

“Just relax.” Joy says, seeing me in my bored and slightly aggravated state. “Can't have something like this happen too quickly, we need to be cautious.”

“I know that but normally things are just thrown at us way to fast and that brings us something to do.” I frown.

“Hey, that’s life.” Joy said. “Lets you finish up those kunai’s then you can deal with the Absent Silhouette of Zeke, then we can see what Drezke is up to.”

I nod. “Yeah that's life…” I say while looking up at the sky again. “The Life of a Nobody…” I mutter, smiling as that felt...right to say about my life even with everything that's happened in this nobody’s life.