Chapter 23: The Key to Converging Paths

My mind was still reeling from the revelation of Melissa’s past; a failed suicide is definitly an intense way to be Displaced, though I still have to wonder why she said we had a link. A mystery to solve later, as the elevator arrived at our destination, prompting Luna to dart out towards the kitchen.

“Well, I think we need to get back to training,” I sighed, turning to Mina. “So, I take it you got that light spell working?”

“Bits and pieces… haven’t had a chance to practice yet.” Mina admitted.

I nodded. “Fair enough. You’ll get a chance to practice as soon as we start up Tartarus again.”

As we got to the Simulator door, we turned to the sound of running coming from behind us, finding Luna running up with a thermos of some kind.

“Kairi! I found this in the kitchen!” she yelled as she ran up.

“I’m not surprised,” I chuckled. “You typically find thermoses in the kitchen.”

“But it’s not a thermos,” the blue filly explained as she held it up. “Plus it has the Fairy Tail emblem on it!”

I raised an eyebrow as I took the object from her and examined it.

“Well? What’s in it?” Mina questioned with curiosity.

It was a cylinder object with blue sides, with one side a lighter shade of blue and had a black outline of the fairy tail emblem and a grey center. As I held it, I knew immediately that it was another Displaced’s token, as the message played in my head.

“Ok now for the message, uh…Wendy, you start. Alright, we are Wendy and Zoey. If you want to summon us and you’re not a prick, turn both sides in opposite directions. It doesn’t matter what direction they go as long as it’s opposite. But we can leave whenever we want, and the token will vanish if we want it to.” Two people speak in tandem. If I had to guess, it was probably a Wendy, and maybe a Juvia Displaced, based on the voices.

“It’s another token, Mina,” I explained. “Nice find Luna!”

Mina ruffled Luna’s hair. “Good work, Luna! So, about the token… are we heading to Fairy Tail?” She asked.

I chuckled at the eager expression on her face. “Not exactly. This was created by two Displaced, like us. They were probably transformed into Wendy and Juvia, based on the voices, but we won’t know for sure until they get here.”

I grasped the canister in both hands, and twisted both sides in opposite directions.

The two sides pop away from each other as a white ball floats out. It flies a little distance away before water and wind flow out in a contained vortex. Eventually it condenses and forms two girls who have surprised expressions before they fall to the ground.

I blinked, then chuckled at their surprised faces. “Now that brings back memories.”

One of them looked at me in mild annoyance, muttering, “Glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Just remembering when that happened to me,” I explained, a soft smile on my face. “It takes a bit before you get used to summoning enough that you don’t fall in a heap.”

The other one spoke up, “Speaking of which, mind getting off me?”

The first one looked down at the other, who was facing the ground. The first one immediately got off and the second groaned as she sat up.

She just says, “Thanks.”

I nodded. “Right then, I do believe introductions are in order. I’m Kairi,” I said, before gesturing to Luna. “And this is my little sister, Luna.”

“Hi!” the filly waved with a grin.

“And I’m Mina. The girl with the huge memory issues.”

“And last but not least, is me,” a voice called from behind the two newcomers. The two jumped, revealing the blonde, bespectacled techie we left upstairs. “Melissa.”

The first one spoke up, “Zoey.”

The second one gets up and says with a small smile, “I’m Wendy, nice to meet you all.”

Zoey looks around, before noticing the token in my hand. She says, “Huh…not gonna lie, I didn’t think it’d actually work.”

“Welcome to the magical world of Displacement,” I replied with a smirk. “The hours are crap and the pay is non-existent, but we get cool powers.”

Wendy muttered with a sigh, “Yeah, but you have to actually practice them. And some of it is painful.”

I winced at that. “Sounds about right. There’s another Displaced here, she ended up as Mirajane by the way, who had a similar problem. I think we can help you out with that if you like.”

She smiled and asked, “I’d like that, though how much do you know about my type of magic?”

I smirked at the sky dragon slayer, allowing some shadows to appear around me. “I know quite a bit, considering I’m a Shadow Dragon Slayer.”

Zoey looks interested while Wendy nods. Wendy says, “Didn’t think I’d meet another Dragonslayer so soon, though I’m more surprised it’s a shadow based one.”

It was then that Mina groaned. “Ugh, don’t remind me… My lookalike beat me in battle and kicked my ass.”

“What? You mean like this?” I grinned, sinking into my shadow, and using a shadow to smack her butt.

Mina blushed in embarrassment. “Wha- H-hey, no slapping my ass!”

I manifested my Pride form, sharp teeth grinning at the group. “You really shouldn’t have tempted me then.”

Mina muttered something under her breath with a grumble.

Zoey decided to be blunt and ask, “So what’s up? According to wolf boy, Displaced tend to summon others because of something.”

I quickly dispersed my shadows, returning me to my original state, before replying. “Actually, I haven’t summoned anyone for an emergency before. Usually, I tend to find a token, then summon the Displaced its attached to, just to make friends and allies for the future.” I shrugged. “Mina, Haley and I were actually about to go start some training, if you wanted to join us.”

Zoey simply says, “Sure.”

Wendy nods before asking, “What kind of training?”

“A climb through Tartarus, AKA, The Tower of Demise from Persona 3,” I replied with a grin. “With a twist, of course.”

Zoey said casually, “Ominous.” Before asking, “What’s the twist?”

“Instead of the Shadows that the Persona franchise is known for,” Melissa explained. “The halls of Tartarus are filled with Heartless.”

“And there are certain obstacles that restrict access along the way,” I finished.

Wendy looks interested, while Zoey asks, “Alright, so where’s this Tartarus thing anyway?”

Wendy suddenly raised a brow and muttered to herself, “Obstacles?”

I grinned. “Follow us.” I turned, opening the doors to the Simulator control room. “Haley, are the Element Bearers out of the Type-0 simulation yet?”

The Mirajane Displaced glanced up from a console. “Yep, they left a while ago. They looked a bit green, not to mention depressed.”

I nodded. “Not surprised, the ending for Type-0 is particularly tragic. Anyway, that’s Zoey and Wendy behind us. Zoey, Wendy, this is Haley.”

“Hello,” Haley responds with a smile, then frowns. “Why are there two of you?”

“Cause we’re the only competent ones?”

I gave Mina a flat look, before turning back to Haley. “Ignore her, that’s Mina. She was Displaced as a younger Kairi.”

Haley nodded. “Ahh, that makes sense. Anyway, you guys want to go into Tartarus right?”

I nodded. “Right. Computer, activate Tartarus simulation from the entrance hall.”

“Acknowledged. Do you want to continue where you left off?” the computer replied.

“No, start from the beginning.”

“Acknowledged. Simulation ready.”

I nodded. “OK, if you’re ready, go ahead and step through that door at the end of the room.”

They looked at each other, before walking through the door. They found themselves in a large round room with a blue and white checkerboard floor, and a large staircase leading to what looked like a large portal shaped like a clock.

Melissa, Mina and I stepped in behind them, before I spoke up. “Welcome to Tartarus, a tower with 264 floors packed with Heartless and divided into 6 “blocks”. There will periodically be boss Heartless on specific floors, and if Mina did her homework from the last time she was here, we’ll be able to go to two different blocks today.”

“Umm… might have been busy and forgotten. Sorry…” She smiled sheepishly.

“Don’t worry, you’re gonna be working on it as we go up,” I sighed. “Just remember, you need to create an orb of light to get past that barrier.” I then turned to Wendy and Zoey. “Do either of you have any questions before we get started?”

Wendy spoke up, “This is apparently a simulation, when is it registered that we lost? When we’re too beat up, unconscious, what?”

I nodded. “Each of us are given a “health” pool. Enemy attacks will take a certain amount of you HP, just like in a video game. With the safeties on, which they are, you can’t feel pain, hence, your health gauge. When it’s emptied, the simulator will place a wall around you, stopping you from interacting with anything until someone uses a revive. Make sense?”

She muttered, “So like a video game in the most literal sense.” She nods, satisfied. Zoey just gives a thumbs up.

I nodded. “Alright Mina, you take point, and lead us to where you finished last time. Remember, the Guard Armor, Trickmaster, and Stealth Sneak are on floors 5, 10, and 14 respectively.”

She nodded and began the long trek forward…

5th floor

We made it to the first boss floor, Zoey looked like she was having fun while Wendy seemed to be handling herself well enough.

“OK, first boss floor, guys.” I grinned. “So, Mina, what do you remember about this boss?”

“Attack the hands, legs and torso, right?”

“Right,” I nodded. “Zoey, you’re gonna go after the left foot, and Wendy, you’ll go after the right. They move independently of the body, but they’re still part of the same Heartless. Do you need some pointers for your magic, Wendy?”

Wendy asks, “Got any tips for magic output control?”

I nodded. “I’ve got a couple. First, how do you picture your magic in your mind? How do you reach for it?”

Wendy explained, “Well my body apparently already knows how to use it, and I first triggered it by searching for my core. That’s what I gathered it was anyway. I felt it stir and 'stretch' like someone who had been asleep for a while. My 'faucet' began to open, that’s what I saw in the book I got.”

I crossed my arms. “So, you’re picturing your magic as a tap that needs to be opened to use your magic?”

Wendy says, “Well I don’t remember ever picturing it closing, it sorta just…stops when I don’t wanna use it anymore and starts when I do.”

I sighed. “Alright, at least it’s better then how Izuku imagines using One For All in My Hero Academia.” I shook my head. “Anyway, you need to be able to have some form of visualization for your magic. For me, I picture a lake, fed by a large river. The lake is my magic pool, and the river is the magic being replenished. When I use a spell, I imagine myself filling a bucket with exactly the amount of magic I want to use. Say I wanted to use a basic Fire spell. I imagine myself filling a water glass. For Fira, I imagine a bucket, and for Firaga, I imagine a 10 gallon drum. Does that make sense?”

Wendy thinks for a moment, then says, “Yeah…though I have no idea how I’m gonna fix it. I’ve been trying to learn spells the original Wendy doesn’t know, and it’s so much harder than her normal spells.” She then says, “It’s a completely different experience not relying on my body’s know-how.”

“That’s why I want you to have a good visualization,” I explained. “For you, I’d imagine a large river. Go ahead and close your eyes, and visualize it. Can you see it?”

Wendy closes her eyes, and tries visualizing it. She seemed to flinch for a moment, but relaxed. After a few moments, she says, “I think so.”

“Good, now imagine that river being diverted into a little pond, then flowing back out into the main river. Make sure you hold your hands in front of you,” I continued with a nod.

Wendy does so, a look of concentration on her face. Eventually she brings her hands up, holding them in front of her, with a slight glow coming from them.

“Good, now slowly expand that pond, making it bigger,” I smiled with a nod.

She furrows her brow as she tries. The glow slowly grew, before an orb formed between her hands.

“Go ahead and open your eyes,” I grinned. She does, and looks at the orb in both surprise and confusion.

She says, “I don’t remember a spell like this.”

“That’s because I just taught you how to create an orb of raw magic,” I explained. “Due to your magical alignment, it manifested as an orb of light. Sky Dragon Slayer Magic is most closely related to healing magic, as is light magic, therefore, you have an orb of light.” I turned to Mina. “I hope you’re paying attention, ‘cause that’s the only hint you’re getting, Mina.”

“Um… maybe?”

I nodded in response. “OK then, everyone ready?” I’m met with a round of nods. “Alright, let’s get to work!”

10th floor

There was a lot of panting on the floor of the next boss fight.

“Why the heck didn’t you say that you programmed the Reaper into the simulation?!?” I just about screamed at Melissa.

“To make it as accurate to the games as possible, duh,” the techie rolled her eyes.

Long story short, the Reaper, an ultra-powerful, guardian-esque monster usually patrols Tartarus in the original Persona 3 game. What Melissa didn’t tell me, was that she added it to the pool of enemies that could appear. As a result, we ended up being chased all the way through the 9th floor, with the Reaper cutting us off every other turn around a corner.

“And you couldn’t have said something about it being here?” I growled out.

“You didn’t ask, so I thought you knew it was there,” Melissa shot back.

Zoey mutters, “If that ain’t the most BS thing…”

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty,” Haley’s voice comes over the PA. “Can you get on with it?”

“Melissa?” Mina spoke.

The techie turned to Mina. “What?”

Mina grabbed her hands. “Please stop arguing… for my sake.”

Melissa’s face softened as I sighed. “Fine. We’ll discuss it later. NOW! Back on track. Mina, what Heartless boss is on this floor, and what is the best way to deal with it?”

Mina paused for a moment as she looked at me for ideas.

I sighed. “The only hint you’re getting is that it’s tall.”

Small silence… and then. “Oh, right! We’re facing off against the Trickmaster!”

“Good,” I nodded with a smile. “And what’s the best way to approach it?”

“Attack the torso and avoid the batons.”

“Good, though you forgot about avoiding the legs,” I nodded in satisfaction before turning to Zoey and Wendy. “Do either of you have any questions?”

Zoey asks, “Is it weak to anything in particular?”

I shrugged. “Not really, but whatever you do DO NOT use fire spells! It tends to absorb those spells, despite it seemingly being made of paper.”

Wendy nods, “Good to know I guess.”

“True enough,” I sighed before turning back to Wendy. “OK, I’m gonna give you a rather special magic that I invented called Music Magic. It’s a support-type magic, so it’ll sync with your Sky Dragon Slayer magic very well.” I explained while condensing the knowledge of my original magic into a small yellow orb emblazoned with a musical note, before offering it to her. “If you ever played some of the earlier Final Fantasy titles before you were Displaced, it acts a little like the Dancer job, or if you’ve played Final Fantasy X-2, it's like the Songstress Dressphere. Essentially, you can sing any song you like, channel magic through it, and grant buffs to your allies, and debuffs to your enemies.”

Wendy takes the orb with a smile, before asking, “Does humming count? I don’t really remember many words to songs I’ve listened to.”

I grinned. “That’s actually one of the secrets to the magic. As long as you know the tune, the magic will both provide the back up music, as well as the lyrics in your mind.”

Wendy nods, muttering to herself, “I wonder if I could mix it with the song magic I got from Link.”

“I’d hold off on testing that theory until you’re in a place where you can keep collateral damage to a minimum,” Melissa spoke up. “I can tell you from numerous volatile experiments that it’s best to keep bystanders out of the mix.”

I shuddered. “Agreed, but we’ll save that for later, on to the boss...!”

14th Floor

“OK, why did I forget about the Bouncy Wild on those past few floors?” I groaned, rubbing my sore butt where the rocks from the aforementioned Heartless’s slingshots hit me.

“Beats me,” Melissa smirked at my discomfort. “But knowing Haley, she’s probably laughing her ass off right about now.”

“You assume correctly!” Haley chirped over the PA.

“Friggin’ sassy friends, I oughta throw you into the Vault of Glass for that,” I grumbled under my breath before turning back to Mina. “OK then, this was the last boss you fought last time. What do you remember?”

Mina paused for a moment to think… and then gasped. “The Stealth Sneak - invisible boss.”

“Excellent, and what do we need to look out for?” I questioned, a grin on my face.

“Moves to watch out for are its eye beams, and wind attacks, both of which should be very easy to spot.”

“Excellent! Any questions before we head in?” I asked everyone.

Wendy asks, “Wind attacks?”

“Yep,” I nodded. “The Stealth Sneak rears up on its hind legs, charges green energy in its claws, and sends blades of wind at us. REALLY nasty if you get caught in it, though I don’t think you’ll have any problems, Wendy.”

Wendy nods, saying, “Wonder how it tastes.”

I grimaced. “Knowing how the pureblood Heartless taste, I’d guess pretty nasty.”

She frowns but nods, saying, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

With a nod, we turn and walk further into the room to face the boss…

16th Floor

“Well done everyone, we made it to the first barrier,” I congratulated my latest group of victims. “Mina, you’re up. Time for you to try out that light orb spell!”

Mina nodded and prepared to try out the orb spell that was taught to her a while back. Unfortunately, she hadn’t succeeded in casting it perfectly. It made her sigh in annoyance.

I sighed. “Well, I did see a start to the orb. It was a good first attempt.”

“For now… I’ll still need to practice.” Mina said.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get it eventually,” Haley’s voice spoke up again. “It took a while for me to figure out my magic, but once I did, I nailed the transformation spell!”

“Bad example there, considering how airheaded she can be,” Melissa nodded, grinning at Haley’s yelp of indignation. “But ultimately, she’s right.”

Wendy spoke up, “If it makes you feel better, I’m still struggling with flying despite having Dash as a teacher.”

“Right,” I nodded with a smile. “But, for now, I think a little test is in order. Computer, load simulation, code named: Rivers In The Dessert.”

“Acknowledged. Simulation ready. Standby while simulation begins.”

Tartarus melted away, with Melissa slipping out before it was replaced by a large, circular room with jail cells lining it, and blue. Lots of blue.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” I smirked. “This is a room between dream and reality, mind and matter. Or, at least, that’s what it’s supposed to be. Instead, this is where we’re gonna have a little test.” I summoned my Way to Dawn Keyblade. “Come at me with all you’ve got! Hold nothing back!”

Mina looked at her companions as they gave a shrug. Zoey summoned Water-Make Swords, then rushed towards me. Wendy decided to run around me instead.

I smirked as I parried Zoey’s strikes, keeping an eye on Wendy. “What are you waiting for Mina?”

Mina nodded and summoned Destiny’s Embrace before pointing at me. “Alright, other me! Prepare to suffer defeat!”

My grin grew as distorted guitars started playing, my Music Magic kicking in. “That’s more like it!”

I heard Wendy muttering, making out the word, “Vernier.”

She then dashed towards me fast with condensed wind around her fists. Mina also charged forward and let out a battle roar.

I backflipped away, throwing some fireballs at them. I’ll admit it, I had originally planned to just toy with them, but I think it's safe to say that the fact they’re willing to come at me with lethal intent says they’re taking this seriously. It's only fair that I respond in kind. Luckily, my song choice only buffed my attack speed, so I can still see just how far they’ve come without overwhelming them.

It's now or it's never, and I've got to
Make my decision
This time it could be my moment
Is this a mirage or a chance to fulfill my mission?

Hurricane-like wind wrapped around Wendy, acting like armor for the fireballs. Zoey turned herself into water, and flew towards me while doing her best to dodge them.

A river in a dry land
The last ace in a lost hand
A heartbeat for a tin man
Oasis in a singed land

Next was Mina who fired a couple of spells at me, those being Fire and Blizzard. Then she charged forward and didn’t stop.

I'm keeping the balance, but I'm standing
On razor's edge now
Move quick or my life is over
One strike, just a feint, then ...
I'm outa his field of vision

Surprisingly enough, what I’m singing is exactly what I’m doing. I quickly dodged out of the way of Mina’s spells, while keeping my balance trying to dodge Zoey. I quickly merged with my shadow, striking towards them in a feint, before popping back out just outside their field of vision.

Don't ask why I'm ready but I'm ready to
Strike him down now
A chance at a new start
There's no time for indecision

Wendy smells the air before turning to me, launching blades of wind at me. Zoey sees where she’s firing and fires a beam of water at me.

A river in a dry land
The last ace in a lost hand
When the hope of new beginnings burned our feet
Now we need it:

Mina then cast Blizzard at the water which turned it into ice much to my surprise. Was she going to use a projectile!?

A heartbeat for a tin man
An oasis in a singed land
Remind us what we're here for:
Creating new life
Creating rivers in the desert

With wide eyes I quickly leapt into the air, up and over the improvised cannon ball, which exploded into a crystalline mist.

“I’ve gotta say, your teamwork is very surprising, considering I challenged you out of left field,” I chuckled. “I can’t wait to see what you do next!”

I quickly charged forward, activating Angel of Black and White for an added boost of speed before attacking each of the girls with a Keyblade strike, charged with fire along the blade.

My heart is a furnace,
Hot as hell in my world of conflict
One goal is what keeps me going
Take back what I lost to ...
The bosses of greed and fear, yeah

The strike on Wendy hit her wind armor, reducing the overall damage. Zoey hissed at the fire, but it otherwise went right through her.

Wendy chanted, “Physical ability rise!”

Then attacked with her armored fists, Zoey decided to fly back and fire Water-Make Arrows.

Don't ask why I'm ready but I'm ready to take
Them down now
The time for a new start
Is constantly drawing nearer

Mina looked at Zoey who gave her okay and cast Blizzard on the Water-Make arrows to turn them into ice. They flew straight at me.

A river in a dry land
The last ace in a lost hand
When the hope of new beginnings burned our feet
Now we need it:

With the added maneuverability of Angel of Black and White, I was able to easily dodge the ice bolts, which embedded into the ground beside me. I will admit though, that I got a little cocky, since two of the arrows actually found their mark, due to a combination of showboating on my part, dodging the arrows, and avoiding getting my skull caved in by Wendy. One arrow pierced my right shoulder, while the other pierced my left thigh, just barely missing my knee. If it had hit my knee, I could just hear the Skyrim jokes…

A heartbeat for a tin man
An oasis in a singed land
Remind us what we're here for:
Creating new life
Creating rivers in the desert

I quickly jumped back into the air, hovering with my wings, before throwing orbs of light and shadow at my opponents. Zoey fired some Water-Arrows at some of the orbs before flying away without waiting for them to hit their marks, most likely to see what would happen from a distance. Wendy used Vernier again, clearly not even wanting to test the orbs.

When a cool drop of water's all I need
Gotta clear my head of anger and greed
A place to refresh heart and mind,
Can I find
Some time in

Mina used the Fire spell at me which had managed to hit me and disconnected my concentration. My wings were shattered as I got flattened onto the ground and let out a groan.

Rivers in a dry land
The last ace in a lost hand
When the hope of new beginnings burned our feet
Now we need it:

With a manic grin, I got back up. ‘Playtime’s over!’ I thought as I began charging light and shadow into a small murky orb.

A heartbeat for a tin man
An oasis in a singed land
Remind us what we're here for:
Creating new life
Creating rivers in the desert

“MEGIDO!” I yelled, throwing the small orb as the song ended. I purposefully threw the spell to a large open area evenly between my three opponents, so that the enormous explosion didn’t seriously injure them, though the shockwave still managed to throw them a few feet from where they originally were.

“Not bad,” I grinned at them. “Not bad at all.”

Mina groaned from the ground and sent me a small glare. “You could have warned us!!!”

Wendy groaned before sucking in a large amount of air, before sitting up and looking at me in bewilderment. Zoey reformed, looking at where the orb landed.

“I could have warned you, yes,” I nodded. “But then you wouldn’t have learned a very important lesson, especially you Mina; enemies can come from ANYWHERE. People you trust can turn out to be enemies, or friends could be possessed by an enemy. It's happened far too many times in the Kingdom Hearts series, and a handful of times in Fairy Tail.”

“I see… so, say that Twilight ends up being distrustful of me…” Mina commented.

Wendy pipes up, asking while taking out a flute, “Well since you’re saying that, does that mean we’re done?”

I nodded. “Yep. Computer, end program.”

“Acknowledged.”

The Velvet Room faded into a featureless grey room, revealing the door, which opened back into the control room. Wendy proceeded to play a tune on the flute, and a wave of healing magic envelopes everyone.

She says, “Really wish my Sky Dragon Slayer magic didn’t only return stamina.”

I nodded as I felt my own stamina be restored, along with the spots I got by arrows. Not gonna lie, the Megido spell line I had created really takes it out of me, though I’ll never admit that to anyone. “Well then, what did you notice about yourselves from that fight, besides the obvious?”

Wendy simply says, “Nothing that me and Zoey didn’t already know to be honest, too little options for spells. Though it was less exhausting for me, now that I have better control over how much magic I use.”

Zoey says, “Pretty much what Wendy said, though it was a bit weird fighting with two people on my side. It’s usually either alone or with Wendy.”

I nodded. “That’s pretty accurate, though I will say that Zoey seemed a bit more adaptable and flexible. Your team work was very impressive and will serve you very well in the future. How about you Mina?”

“I learnt a lot as well. Think I’m almost ready to fight the Vanitas wannabe… but I still need more practice. I do need some answers though from you, Kairi.”

“OK,” I nodded. “What seems to be the problem?”

“About my previous question - say, if Twilight does something stupid…”

“As long as it isn’t out of character for her, it shouldn’t be a problem,” I shrugged. “You can usually tell something is wrong by her voice being distorted, or her eyes are yellow.”

Mina gave a nod and then had another question. “What about her mentor then…?”

“That’s a bit more difficult,” I sighed. “Considering how little interaction Twilight and, by extension, you and her friends have with Celestia, its nearly impossible to tell. The most I can suggest is to try sneaking into Canterlot to check.”

“Right… actually, that’s rather funny.” Mina said in a serious tone.

“How so?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Luna mentioned something about Celestia.”

My other eyebrow went up to join its twin. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

“Because it’s really weird - Luna brought the issue involving the Heartless and the Vanitas wannabe… however, Luna told me that Celestia acted calm throughout the whole thing and told us that there was nothing to worry about… all calmly.”

“Yeah, that’s a red flag,” I nodded. “I’d investigate it quietly, and I do mean quietly. You need to be as covert and stealthy as possible. If Celestia is being possessed or is evil, you don’t want to show your hand too soon, or you’ll end up being hunted by every pony from Canterlot to the Badlands.”

“Badlands?”

“Check a map,” I replied. “It should be a large desert to the east of Equestria.”

Mina nodded. “I’ll see about it with Twilight once we learn more about the Vanitas wannabe.”

I nodded again. “Alrighty, today was pretty eventful. I do believe I need to send you home, its just about midnight here. Oh how the time flies.”

“Sounds like a plan. Can I give Melissa a hug before I leave though?”

“You realize I’m right behind you, right?” the techie said right in her ear.

“Eep!” Mina yelped and jumped a bit.

Melissa giggled as she wrapped the girl in a hug. “Gotcha.”

“Again… Eep!” Mina squealed.

With a laugh, Melissa set her down, and looked over to me. “Thanks for distracting her long enough for me to do that.”

“My pleasure,” I replied with a grin.

Mina looked at Melissa in disbelief. “No fair!”

“All’s fair in love and war, sweetie,” the techie grinned.

Mina pouted and then smirked. “Is that so?”

“How about I leave you two alone while I send off our other two guests?” I rolled my eyes at the two.

Mina grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

I shook my head with a groan. “Right, Zoey, Wendy, follow me.”

I quickly led the two into the Gate Room. “This is called a Stargate. It allows travel between worlds, much like a popular series back home. Normally, I’d offer to place a Gate on your world, but I think I’ll wait for now. WAY too late at night right now.”

Zoey nods before asking, “Hey before we go, can you tell me what the deal is with those weird swords you two used?”

I nodded, summoning my original Keyblade, Destiny’s Embrace. “This is called a Keyblade. It’s a weapon feared by the forces of Darkness, and can unlock any lock. It’s appearance can also change depending on the keychain that is attached to the handle.”

Zoey nods, saying, “Sounds super useful, and the name definitely fits.” She then asks, “How’d you get yours anyway?”

“From the Merchant, right before he Displaced me,” I shrugged, dismissing the Keyblade, and pulling two phones from my pocket. “Before you go, I want to give you two these Gummi Phones. They can make calls across dimensions, so we can keep in touch, plus, you can use them to access your original world’s internet. Maybe keep in contact with friends and family you left behind.”

Wendy nods with a smile, taking one of them. Zoey also takes one, but seems to have a weird look on her face.

Wendy says, “Thanks! Really hope I can learn more about Fairy Tail with this, the anime.” She then asks while taking out a familiar charm, “I’ve got to ask though, is this your token? Or am I getting the wrong Displace?”

I smiled, “Nope, that one’s mine. If you ever end up with a Keyblade of your own, try attaching it to the handle.” I then turned back to the console that housed the DHD for the Gate. “Now, to get you two home.”

I placed their token on the scanner tray, initiating the dialing sequence for them. It was only a few seconds later when a blue, watery portal whooshed into existence. “And there we go, that portal will take you home.”

Zoey asked, “Uh…where exactly will it drop us off at…and will it be on the ground?”

“It should drop you right where you were when you left,” I explained. “And yes, it’ll be on the ground. There are safety functions programmed in.”

Zoey nods as Wendy says, “Thanks for the magic tips!”

I smiled, “No problem Wendy. Have fun with the Music Magic I gave you, and here’s a little something else about it. It can be used outside of combat as well.”

Wendy grins while Zoey raises a brow. They leave through the Gate, but not before saying, “Feel free to call us if you need us!”

I waved with a smile as they disappeared through the Gate, which powered down behind them.

And we’re back again! Thanks Vortex, Ocelot, for joining in on the chaos!

It was fun writing this! Though it’s been awhile since I’ve updated the story Wendy and Zoey come from, it was nice returning to them after a while being focused on other things. Looking forward to doing this again in the future!

I know the feeling, since this fic had a near full year of hiatus. In any case, is there anything else either of you want to say? Ocelot, you’re being surprisingly quiet over there.

Wah? Sorry about that… was busy with something else. But yes, I had a fun time writing this! I do hope I haven’t been a bother, Soul.

You most certainly haven’t been a bother, I approached you, remember? In any case, we hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to updates (possibly) to all of our fics! And remember to go check out Raging Winds and Rising Tides by Vortex123, as well as Embrace Your Destiny by Ocelot the Devil

See you next chapter!

Song used in this chapter: Rivers in the Desert by Shoji Meguro