This is it! The first episode of Sword Art Kingdom II: Dimensional Bonds. This is gonna be a new set of adventures, new stories awaiting, and a whole lot of fun. I do hope you enjoy this story, cause it's gonna be crazy for all of us. Read it and enjoy!

(I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Sword Art Online. All I do is form my imagination from both stories, and share it with the world!)

Prologue

In case you don't know the adventure I've been through before, allow me to tell you about it. My name is Kazuto Kirigaya, but most people know me as Kirito in the online world. However, people know me as Kirito also in an alternate dimension. How would people know me there? Because me, along with my girlfriend Asuna and my sister Suguha, are all Keyblade wielders.

This all happened some time ago, almost five months ago. I discovered a quest in Sword Art Online that wasn't created by anyone who owns the game. So Asuna and I, along with our daughter, Yui, went to challenge this quest. Turns out it was a test made by a man named Ansem the Wise, a.k.a DiZ, and we were sent through a digital wormhole, which brought us into reality into another dimension. Not only that, but during that time, Asuna and I were granted to new powers; the ability to wield a powerful weapon called the Keyblade.

From there, we met three people who would soon be our greatest friends on our journey; Donald Duck, Goofy, and Sora, who was a chosen wielder of the Keyblade like us. Since our meeting, we went thought countless adventures together, dealing with tons of enemies called the Heartless, beings born from darkness in people's hearts, and were controlled by a witch named Maleficent and her lackey, Pete. Not only that, but there was a group of creatures called the Nobodies, shells of people who had high wills yet lost their hearts, and they were lead by a group of rather powerful Nobodies called Organization XIII. There main objective was to collect many hearts as possible. To do that, they needed those who could wield the Keyblade to slay the Heartless. I know, kind of a no win scenario on our part.

The adventure did grant us to all kinds of new experiences, however. Such things like new garments, new magic, skills and powerful forms the like we've never dreamed of having, and we got to explore countless worlds filled with all kinds of people and creatures. Some contained weird creatures that either aided us or fought against us, some had battles against powerful enemies, some even transformed our bodies into alternate forms, such as being wildcats or mer-people.

But it wasn't just us that came to this dimension, either. My sister, Suguha, who used her Alfheim Online avatar, Leafa, came here as well, along with her slow-coming boyfriend Recon. They became very helpful in many ways, and their main responsibility was to help save Sora's girlfriend, Kairi. At least, that's how Asuna sees in their relationship. She got help from two mysterious allies; Naminé, a gifted Nobody who seems to have emotions despite the fact that Nobodies have no hearts, and Riku, Sora's childhood friend.

I wish they were the only ones that came for the ride, but there was a good reason why Asuna and I came to this dimension. It was because the Organization brought someone from our dimension to their side; Sugou, a man responsible for so many crimes involving trying to control the minds of people and attempt to forcefully marry Asuna. He became a Nobody, changing his name to Gouxus, the fairy king of thieves. His duty in the Organization the to create the ability to control all the hearts of Kingdom Hearts once it was finally complete. He caused so much trouble during our journey, even going so far as to bring Aincrad, the world of SAO, into Sora's dimension. However, it was grateful that he did this, because we were able to recover the data of all the SAO avatars that have died during the two years trapped in the game, along with Akihiko Kayaba's heart.

The journey was fun, but it was rough, too. We searched for Organization XIII's stronghold, and finally discovered it after a while. Sora, Asuna, Donald, Goofy, Yui and I all took on the Organization together, along with my sister and her friends and comrades, even King Mickey. The battles were fierce, and we did defeat all of the members of Organization XIII, including Gouxus, finally concluding with the leader of the Organization itself, Xemnas. It took several battles against him, but we finished Xemnas once and for all, saved our friends, and returned the worlds to piece once more. Afterwards, my friends and family all returned to our dimension once more, where everyone was waiting for us.

Now you may think that after going through all that, I thought my adventures were over. However, they were far from over. A month later, I received a message from the King himself. It wasn't much, just asking if we would like to come join a celebration at Disney's Castle. It was to commemorate stopping Organization XIII, and for all of us to have a little fun. I know there must be more to this, if not there will be, so with all five of us ready to go, we readied ourselves to return once again to Sora's dimension. I don't know what might be in store, but I just hope that things will run smoothly. So with that, time to plug into the system. 'Link Start!'.

(Cue Opening: 'New World' by Twill)

Chapter 1: A New Darkness Awakens

It was in a dark pathway, nothing but a swirling mist of darkness was billowing around. A man's feet were walking casually through the dark mist, his body shadowed by the blackness. He was walking towards another figure in the mist, one who's body was levitated on his back, apparently unconscious. His face was unseen, but he wore a black and red, organic-looking bodysuit.

The man walked up to the unconscious body and looked down upon it. He looked to the face, then down to his chest. "This boy… He possesses a great amount of power." the man said to himself, "I believe that this might be the source of power I will need. He could be the key to my achievements." He placed a gloved hand onto the chest of the unconscious boy, and pulsed a dark aura into his body. "Rise, my servant." he declared, "Rise, and be at my side. Rise, and we shall conquer all that is light in this world. Come forth, and we shall unlock the shackles that bind my way to the place where hearts and souls unite as one; Kingdom Hearts."

The man continued to pour in the dark energy within the body until the boy's hands started to twitch and, after a few seconds, the boy's eyes opened up, revealing them to be piercing yellow. Everything faded into darkness, but only the boy's reply could be heard from within. "Yes, my new master."

Up in the castle Villain's Vale, Maleficent was pacing around the circular room, Pete standing to one side, looking nervously at Maleficent. She was angry. Why wasn't she? After all, her plans were ruined once again by Sora and his friends, not to mention Organization XIII too. The Organization XIII's stronghold collapsed after the defeat of Xemnas, and the thousands of Heartless fell with it. Maleficent and Pete barely made it out of there themselves. And now, no thanks to the Keyblade wielders, the Heartless have decreased immensely. It was hard finding them now. People's hearts were now filled with light, and their plans have come to a standstill.

"Those imbeciles!" growled Maleficent, "How dare they ruin my plans yet again. They have continuously destroyed everything; my army of Heartless, my succession to a new castle, everything." "Well, uh, it could be worse." Pete said hesitantly, "They could've just come over here an' stomp us out!" "Silence!" Maleficent barked at Pete, making him cower, "I need to figure out a new plan. I need to destroy those wretched Keyblade wielders once and for all." "We've got nothin' to worry about then." Pete told her, "Those other three Keybladers just went up an at 'em. They ain't no longer here in any of these worlds. That just leaves that boat-boy king and the two shrimps to take care of."

"Yes, you are right for once." Maleficent agreed, "Those other three were as troublesome as the ones here. But where have they gone? Where did they go to?" "Well, I can figure somethin' out!" Pete suggested. "You? You couldn't figure out how to tie your shoe-laces, let alone find where they are!" Maleficent retorted, "We must think this out carefully. They're probably somewhere we cannot reach. A place we might be able to bring about more Heartless. But where?"

"They are in their own dimension." said a voice. Maleficent and Pete looked to the open doorway. Their stood a man whose face was shrouded by a dark cloak, wide dark green straps crossing his body, and a hood to match. Leaning on the wall next to him was the same boy that the man rescued, only now his face was masked by a biker-like helmet and black visor.

"And just who might you be?" Maleficent demanded, seeing the stranger at the door. "Merely a soul who intends to bring about the same goal as you." the man replied, walking forward to Maleficent, "The domination over all worlds." Maleficent raised her staff, ready to strike the man before her. "And do you intend to get rid of me in order to complete your goal?" she sneered. "Hardly, I wish for us to join forces." the man answered, "For it is not this dimension's worlds that I attempt to rule over, but my own; the one the other three chosen wielders of the Keyblade reside in."

Maleficent paused for a second, then lowered her staff. "So you come from the same dominion as those other Keyblade wielders?" she questioned him, "But why would you come to me, if not to rule over this dimension? What benefits would I have for joining forces with you?" "A great benefit; the power to rule over all hearts of this dimension." the man replied, walking past her and stepping outside to face the town of Hollow Bastion, "What would you say if I told you I knew how to reach Kingdom Hearts?" "I'd say what kind of trick you had in mind?" Maleficent replied, "Twice, I attempted to reach Kingdom Hearts, and twice the results have ended in failure."

"You tried reaching Kingdom Hearts through the front door, but you never checked to find any side passages into Kingdom Hearts." the man told her. "Heh! You make it sound like there's a back door to the joint!" Pete scoffed. "Exactly." the man replied, surprising Pete, "There is indeed a 'back door' to Kingdom Hearts to which you never noticed. And the location of which is within my dimension." He turned to Maleficent as he continued, "However, I don't have enough power to reach such a place, nor do I even have the actual location. But if we work together…"

"You want us to follow you so we can reach this 'back door'?" Maleficent asked scornfully. "No…at least not you, my dear Maleficent." the man replied, "We shall be equals, fighting alongside each other, destroying anyone who dares impede our path. And think about it; a new dimension means new hearts to turn dark, thus turning them into Heartless. A whole new army just waiting for you." Maleficent thought about all that he said. "And as for the doorway, it is quite simple to find it." the man continued, "All it takes to reveal Kingdom Hearts is to sever the bonds that hearts create, find the seven keys, and gather enough dark energy in order to unlock the doorway."

"Interesting." Maleficent pondered, "But you yet to clarify my previous question: What benefit would I have in joining forces with you?" "I have no interest in this dimension, but you do." the man replied, "And you don't care much for my dimension, but I do. If we unlock Kingdom Hearts, we shall have the power to rule our own dimensions respectively. No one shall defy us! We shall rule over all as king and queen of each dimension!"

A smile crossed Maleficent face. This was the opportunity she was looking for. "That is intriguing." Maleficent stated, "And together, not even those Keyblade wielders and their pitiful lackeys could stop us. We shall become great rulers of each dimension, consuming everything into darkness!" Green flames started to emanate from Maleficent's body. At the same time, swirling dark green energy spiraled around the man's body as well. The two started to chuckle, then their laughs continued to grow simultaneously until they became maniacal.

The masked boy had not moved from the spot since they entered in. Pete walked over to him. "Guess this means we're workin' together now, partner." Pete assumed. The masked boy stood up straight and looked to Pete. "Don't act like we're equals. I'm not your partner." he told him calmly, turning around and walking off, "I only work for the master, and no one else." He disappeared into the hall, leaving Pete standing there, watching him go.

Chapter 2: Reunion in Twilight Town

A month has passed since the comrades that had saved the worlds from Organization XIII's tyranny. Now, things have settled down, and people are able to live their happy lives. In Twilight Town, things were just as peaceful. Sure, there were a few Heartless and Nobodies around, but the numbers were so little, that it didn't mean much. Not only was this home to many of the residents in the past, but some of the SAO players who were killed during those two years. They were revived once again thanks to Sora, Kirito, Asuna and their friends' efforts.

One of these players, Diabel, was waiting outside the train station, waiting for the arrival of a certain trio. He was given the message from Hayner, Pence and Olette, whom he befriended here, to wait for the trio to arrive. Diabel's blue hair was tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing a brown shirt with a Struggle Bat picture on it, a blue jacket, blue jeans, and black shoes. He carried his short sword around his waist as for self-protection.

He was checking his watch when he started to hear a few voices from within the train station. "Hurry up, Donald!" cried Sora's voice. "Wait for me!" Donald squawked. "Gawrsh, this sure is exciting!" chuckled Goofy. The doors to the train station flung open, and out came Sora, tumbling head-first down the stairs and falling to the ground below, with Goofy falling on top of him. Donald stopped himself at the top of the stairs just in time. "Sora, watch where you're going!" Donald taunted.

Sora grimaced as he shrugged Goofy off of him and got to his feet again. He looked around and saw Diabel standing there, amused at the scene before him. "You sure haven't changed." he stated to Sora. "Hey, Diabel. Long time, no see!" Sora greeted him, "How's it going?" "Pretty good, actually." Diabel replied, "I'm starting to settle down in the new life I have here. Though Seifer and his friends keep asking me to join their disciplinary squad. I keep refusing, but he just can't take a hint. " Sora smiled as Goofy got to his feet again and Donald rejoined the group. "So are they here yet?" Sora asked. "Not yet, but Hayner did tell me that his group's at the mansion. They're probably there by now." "Great!" cheered Sora, turning to his two buddies, "Let's go, you guys! We gotta greet them before they get here!" Sora ran on ahead, with Donald and Goofy in tow. Diabel watched them run off down the street. "Those guys don't know how to rest, do they?" he asked himself.

Sora, Donald and Goofy ran through the streets of Twilight Town, rushing towards the mansion while still looking around at the scenery. Sora spent his month getting use to the islands again with his friends Riku and Kairi. He received a letter from King Mickey a little while back containing a deep message and also an invitation to a celebration at Disney Castle, along with Riku and Kairi. Sora was happy to oblige, and when Donald and Goofy picked up the crew in the Gummi ship, Mickey told him over the monitor that he also invited the others to the celebration. By the others, he meant Kirito, Asuna, Yui, Leafa and Recon. It felt like ages since he last saw them, so he was glad to hear they agreed to come over.

Sora rushed his way over to the courtyard of the mansion, where he saw Hayner at the gates. "Hi'ya, Sora." Hayner greeted him as the trio came in close. "Hey, Hayner." Sora replied, "So are they…" "No, they haven't arrived yet." Hayner responded before Sora could finish his question, "Pence said it would take a little while, but they will come." "Aw, man!" Sora moaned, slumping a bit. "Hey, don't worry about it." Hayner assured him, "In fact, why don't we spend this time with a little practice battle together." Hayner whipped out two Struggle bats, and tossed one over to Sora. Sora took it in both hands and Hayner pointed his at Sora. "Let me see if you've gotten soft this past month." he sassed at Sora. Sora was confused at first, then he smirked and got into battle position, his bat at the ready. "I guess I could go for a few rounds with you while we wait." Sora agreed.

The two sides looked at one another for a second, then both of them charged at one another. Sora and Hayner both clashed with one another, but Sora's well obtained skills in combat from the past proved to be too much for Hayner. It only took a minute before Hayner was on his back, his bat rolling away from him. Sora paused for a second, then relaxed and stood up. "Had enough?" Sora asked him. Hayner groaned as he sat up. "Man, I just can't seem to beat you at all." Hayner sighed, then he started to chuckle a bit, "I guess it makes sense that you guys were strong enough to take on those Organization XIII guys without too much trouble." Sora reached down and helped Hayner get to his feet again. "I will get stronger than you someday." Hayner told Sora, "Then, we can have a real fight." "Okay, as long as we don't go too far." Sora replied. The two boys, along with Donald and Goofy all chuckled at this statement.

"Hey, guys!" cried a girl's voice. Everyone turned to see Olette standing at the doorway at the mansion, waving to them. "Hurry up! Pence is starting to bring them over!" she called out to them. Sora, Donald and Goofy all looked to one another, excited. "Let's go!" cheered Sora, and the boys all charged past Olette and into the mansion. They remembered their way through the place, and went down to where the computer room was at, with Hayner and Olette bringing up the rear.

Sora barged into the place, startling Pence and the first two people to arrive; Leafa and Recon. "Sora!" Leafa gasped, "Jeez, you sure make an entrance!" "Hey there, Sora!" greeted Recon, happy to see them again. "Leafa! Recon!" Sora addressed happily, "Boy, am I glad to see you guys!" He, Donald and Goofy all shook hands with the two, glad to be with one another once again. Sora looked around the room. "Where's Kirito, Asuna and Yui?" Sora asked Leafa. "They're not here yet." Leafa answered, "They're still getting prepared to come on over. You will be surprised by them." "What d'ya mean?" Goofy asked her. "You'll soon find out." Leafa answered with a smirk, turning to the machine that contained the digital portal.

There was a pause, then Pence, who was at the computer, proclaimed, "Okay, I got their coordinates. I'm sending here right now!" He pressed a few keys, and the machine started to light up a bit. The data portal grew brighter, then out of it came three figure, or rather two human figures and one pixie. It was none other than Kirito, Asuna and Yui themselves.

Sora was both excited and surprised. While Yui looked the same, Kirito and Asuna had changed a bit. They were still in their same garments they had in this dimension, but their faces had changed. Asuna's hair and eyes were no longer hazel, but now sky blue color, yet her hair stuck the same style. Kirito's eyes were a bit brighter, and his smooth hair became somewhat messier (due to the fact that his hair was spiky before, then he tried smoothing it down to normal at Yui's request), though his hair and eye color stuck the same. Both of them had human ears.

The trio instantly looked around and saw Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Hey there, Sora. It's been a while." Kirito greeted him. "Hi, Sora!" said Asuna happily, raising a hand to wave at him. "Sora!" cried Yui, diving at Sora's face and impacting him so hard that it caused Sora to spin around and fall onto his butt. Kirito and Asuna walked over as Sora attempted to take Yui off of his face so he could breath a bit. "Yui, I can't breath!" Sora's muffled voice cried out. Yui backed off from him and settled into his open hands. "Sorry." Yui apologized, "I didn't mean to cause you discomfort." "It's ok." Sora sighed, smiling at her, "I'm just so glad to see you, too." Yui smiled eagerly.

Just then, two outstretched arms appeared in front of Sora. He looked up to see both Kirito and Asuna with their hand reached out to him. "Looks like you haven't changed a bit." Kirito stated. Sora smirked as Yui flew off of his hand. He reached out and grabbed both hands with each of his, hoisting himself up. "I could say the same for you." Sora replied, "Though you guys do look a bit different. "We decided on changing avatars for this moment." Asuna stated as Yui settled on Sora's shoulder, "So now we are using our ALO avatars like Leafa and Recon." "So we switched our garments over to our ALO avatar, and came along here." Kirito ended, relinquishing her grip. Donald and Goofy rushed up to greet the trio. Asuna bent down to hug Donald while Kirito and Goofy shook hands.

"Glad to see you guys came back." Pence greeted them. Kirito and Asuna looked and noticed Hayner, Pence and Olette in the room. "Oh, it's you guys." Kirito stated. "What? No hello?" Hayner asked in a sarcastic tone, "You sure have a fine way of greeting people." "Sorry." Kirito apologized, "It is nice to see you again." "Likewise." Hayner responded, and the two walked up to each other and shook hands. The crowd had their meet and greet as they started to walk up the stairs to the exterior of the mansion.

"How are things back in your dimension?" Sora asked them. "Kind of the same." Asuna replied, "Except for the fact that we could summon our Keyblades from outside the game. That was surprising." "We begun practicing on our fighting skills." Kirito explained, looking at his hands, "But now that we're back in this dimension again, I can feel all of my old powers returning to me. The magic, skills, everything. It's all coming back to me. I guess it must be because of these clothes. Either that or its' this dimension." Kirito looked to Asuna. "Do you have the same feeling as well?" Asuna nodded. "Everything's coming back to me again." she answered.

They continued on their path outside the mansion and into town, laughing talking about all that they have been through and what they believed they were getting at the celebration. Kirito felt a lot more comfortable talking around Sora, kind of like Asuna or Leafa. It was probably because Sora's demeanor made him more open to people, free of worry. Asuna wasn't so focused on her own pride when she was around either Sora or Kirito, and she could almost see Kirito's character within Sora. She could really act her normal self around him. As for Yui, who was always eager to talk to Sora, she felt like Sora was more of a family member to her than anything else. So while they were walking, Yui stated that Sora could be like her uncle, startling Sora and making the others laugh at his expression.

Sora in return felt a strong connection with the others as well. It's strange, but whenever he spoke to Kirito and Asuna, it almost felt like he was talking to Riku and Kairi. Even stranger was the fact that another part of him, one he had forgotten for quite some time, told him that he was talking to the two like someone else. A couple of people he should know, from way back in his childhood. And that he himself was somebody who knew them, who called them his closest friends.

"Sora?!" Asuna called out, stopping Sora before he rammed into a light post. Sora realized he was daydreaming, and shook his head. "Sorry. Kinda spaced out there." Sora apologized, turning to the team walking with him. "Sora, you space out just as badly as Kirito." Asuna sighed. Kirito rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. They had just reached the sandlot of Twilight Town. "C'mon!" Donald told the crew, walking ahead of the team. "We gotta get movin' if we're able to get to the party." Goofy reminded them. "You're right about that." Leafa replied, walking forward.

Just then, more than half a dozen Shadow Heartless appeared around Donald and Leafa, surprising them. "Heartless?!" Kirito gasped, seeing them. "There aren't as many as there were before, but they are still around." Sora explained, whipping his 'Kingdom Key' Keyblade out. Goofy pulled out his shield in response. In the circle of Heartless, Donald pulled out his wand, readying his magic. "I've been waiting a long time for this…" Leafa stated, 'unsheathing' her Sylphwing Keyblade and holding it in front of her. Kirito and Asuna also produced their Keyblades, Elucidator and Lambent Light, out of a glittering of lights, and got into battle position. With everyone set, they charged ahead.

The battle was short. It was barely a warm-up for the team. The Heartless weren't as strong, and there were only about ten of them. Their combined efforts knocked them all out in about twenty seconds. Once the battle was over, the seven combatants got together again. "Just like old times, huh?" Leafa asked the team. "Nah, the old times were a lot harder." Kirito pointed out. "Yeah, but they were fun, right?" Sora asked while taking his leaning back position. "They sure were." Asuna agreed.

"I wish I was more useful to you guys." Yui sighed, sitting on Kirito's shoulder, "I can only spout out info on the opponents, and that's it. I can't even go into my human form without the summon charm, and mama and papa don't have that anymore." "Nor do we have any of our extra Keyblade keychains." Asuna added. "Same here." Sora followed, raising his Keyblade, "This one's the only one I have. But let's not get down on this. C'mon, we gotta a party to get to!" They continued onward, leaving Hayner, Pence and Olette behind, who decided now was a good time to get to some homework. They said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Sora led the others to the train station, where Diabel was still at. Noticing more familiar faces, he waved at them. "Hey Kirito, Asuna. I see you finally made it." he greeted them. "Hey, Diabel." Kirito responded, walking up to him and shaking hands, "I see you're getting use to a normal life." "As normal as it could get." Diabel corrected him in a joking manner. "You seeing us off?" Asuna asked him. "Yeah." he answered, "Just wanted a chance to say hi before you guys went. I wish I could come, but I have this place to protect, along with all of the residents. Can't do anything for myself here, right?" Kirito couldn't help but be interested in this change of attitude. Back in SAO, Diabel was also a Beta Tester like him, and was the guy who waited for everyone else to take down the first floor boss before attempting to take the final strike bonus for himself. Unfortunately, his selfishness resulted in his death.

"Welp, I better call the Gummi ship." Goofy decided. "Allow me." Yui intruded, "It's been a while since I did that." She concentrated as everyone gathered around her. Diabel waved them off as they gathered. Once they were together, a beam of light shot upon them from above and they were teleported away, going to the Gummi ship. Meanwhile, the masked boy was sitting on top of the clock tower, watching them leave.

Chapter 3: The Celebration Struggle

The team came out of teleportation, arriving inside the Gummi ship. It was just as Kirito and the others remembered. "Welcome back, you guys!" cried a couple of squeaky voices. On the monitor was none other than the chipmunk engineers, Chip and Dale. "Hey, you two!" Yui greeted them, flying up to the monitor, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" "Is the party ready to go?" Donald asked them. "You betcha!" Chip answered. "The nuts and food are ready to go!" Dale followed. "And everyone's waiting for your arrival." Chip added. "So hurry up and get over here!" Dale ended. "You got it." Kirito responded, taking a seat along with everyone else. "Let's go to the party!" Goofy cheered. "Yui, set coordinates for Disney Castle." Sora declared. "Setting coordinates." Yui answered, typing away at the computer, then with one final push of a button, the Gummi ship was on the move.

It took some time to get there, and the team talked to one another while they waited. Kirito and Asuna found out that not only was King Mickey, Queen Minnie and Daisy waiting for them, but also Kairi, Riku, and even Akihiko Kayaba. Kirito hadn't seen him in a while, so he was interested to see how much he had changed. Goofy did recall that from what the King said, Kayaba's attitude was a lot like Ansem the Wise, though a lot younger and a bit more distant. Ansem, who was the man responsible for sending Kirito, Asuna and the others here the first time around, had not been seen since the incident. Kayaba's research told the King that Ansem might not be dead. However, due to the facts that he didn't know the research the heart, Kayaba was uncertain about any other results that might replace that assumption. For once, Kayaba was stumped.

After an hour of flying, the Gummi ship found itself flying towards Disney Castle, home to Donald, Goofy and King Mickey. They flew their way into the interior of the world, making their way to the docking bay of the castle. Finally settling down, the team hopped out of the ship. The interior was like before; gears, pipes and white-gloved hands all around the room. The stone stairs before them led to the garden of the castle.

"Last time we were here, we ended up dealing with a bunch of Heartless and going back in time." Asuna recalled, looking at Sora and Kirito. "Eh?! You went back in time?" Leafa asked in a shocked manner. "Yeah, and the world had no such thing as natural laws." Kirito added, thinking back to Timeless River, "Not to mention our bodies changed quite a bit there. More retro-like and stuff." He tried recalling some of the moments there, but he made a mental block from that place because of all of the illogical things that happened, and it hurt his head just thinking about it.

They proceeded up the stairs out of the hanger, meeting up with Chip and Dale along the way. This was Leafa and Recon's first time meeting them face to face, so they were surprised to see their actual size. They were even more surprised when they arrived outside to see the castle garden and the castle itself. "You'd think after spending time in ALO and other places in this dimension, you'd be use to places like this." Kirito said amusingly. "So where's the party suppose to be?" Sora asked, looking around. "In the throne room." Donald replied. "C'mon. We'll show ya!" Goofy declared, and he and Donald led the team to the throne room. They walked through the halls until they arrived at the humongous double doors. "So…how do we open it?" Recon asked, looking up to the top of the door. "Through here." Kirito responded, remembering how to get in. He pushed on one part of the left door, and a smaller door opened before them, and they went through.

When they entered in, they were immediately greeted by the barking of Pluto, who bounded forward and pushed Kirito to the ground, licking his face. Asuna, Sora and Leafa couldn't help but laughing at Kirito, who sputtered as Pluto kept licking him. "Okay, okay! It's great to see you too!" Kirito gasped, shoving Pluto off of him. Pluto backed off and sat, giving Leafa a chance to itch his ears in greeting. "Looks like you guys made it here all right." said Riku's voice. Everyone looked ahead of them to see King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Daisy, Jiminy Cricket, Kairi and Riku.

"Everyone!" Asuna waved at them. Kirito stood back up with help from Sora and looked at the crowd waiting for them. They all looked just as Kirito remembered. Mickey was in his red and black jacket and pants, along with his yellow shoes. Right next to him was Queen Minnie in her red and pink gown. Daisy was in her own violet ball gown. Jiminy was standing beneath them, in his usual attire. As for Riku and Kairi, they were still in the same garments as before. Behind them was a long table filled with food and party supplies.

Sora led the gang into joining with the others again. Kirito went to greet King Mickey and bow to him. Asuna went to talking to Queen Minnie and Daisy. Yui flew down to greet Jiminy again. Leafa and Kairi hugged one another, grateful to see each other again. Recon went up and shook with Riku, who considered him a close friend. "Gosh, it's great to see all of you again." Mickey stated, looking at the SAO/ALO crew. "I'm just glad we get to see each other like this. You know, without a Heartless or Nobody to impede in our path." Kirito said to everyone, looking around, "But where's Kayaba?" "He said he will be joining us eventually." Riku answered, walking over to him, "He's not really the kind of guy who enjoys these kind of celebrations. But he is interested in seeing you again, Kirito." "I bet he is." Kirito sighed, not sure if it was for a pleasure meaning or business meaning. Asuna with Yui walked over to him and patted his shoulder.

"Hey, check it out!" Sora called out to Kirito, Asuna, Riku and Yui. They turned to see Sora looking at them, only now wearing red glasses with attached oversize nose and mustache, complete with a party hat. Donald and Goofy all laughed at the obnoxious look Sora now had. "Really, Sora?" Kirito said in a bemused tone, giving the same 'I can't believe it' look as Riku. Asuna and Yui were giggling. Hearing those two laugh made Kirito smirk a bit. He even huffed a chuckle at Sora's look. Sora eagerly smiled and laughed, joined in by everyone else who weren't laughing before.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Recon asked, "C'mon, let's get this party started." Everyone gather around the table and sat down in their individual seats. King Mickey sat at one end of the table with Minnie, Daisy, Chip, Dale, Donald and Goofy. Leafa, Asuna, Kairi and Yui sat on the other end of the table, leaving Sora, Riku, Kirito, Recon and Jiminy gathered up in the middle. An extra seat was placed at the other end of the table, which was to be Kayaba's seat. Mickey raised his glass. "This celebration is dedicated to all of my friends that helped stop the darkness not once, but twice." Mickey proclaimed, "I thank you all for what you've done, and hope that we can do it again if the darkness should rise up once more in the future. Here's to all of us." "Cheers!" everyone shouted, raising their glasses.

The party was underway, and everyone was having a great time. Daisy was feeding Donald food. Mickey and Minnie were having a pleasurable chat. Chip and Dale were fighting over the nuts. Goofy, Sora and Jiminy were telling more stories to Kirito about the ordeals they and Donald had been through before they met him and Asuna. Riku was doing his best ignoring the story, since it brought about a lot of bad memories, and tried talking to Recon. The girls were laughing about their boyfriends, telling stories about what foolish things they've done.

"…And after that, Kirito tried biting my fingers as a joke." Leafa was finishing a story, "Naturally, I left a nice handprint on his face afterwards." "That's just like Kirito." Asuna sighed as Kairi laughed, "I am so sorry for all of the trouble he caused." "Hey, it's ok." Leafa replied, "After all, that journey was all to save you, Asuna. Even if he had his idiotic moments, I was glad to go along with him." "He's so like Sora." Kairi compared, "Even when he was trying to save me, he had his goofy moments that were just plain silly." "Those two are more alike than they realize." They looked to Kirito and Sora, who were scarfing down food rapidly, looking up to see the girls staring at them.

Just then, the doors opened, and everyone turned to see none other than Akihiko Kayaba himself entering into the room. Kirito quickly swallowed his food at the sight of him. Kayaba was in his usual attire; a white lab coat, white shirt, black tie and pants. The only difference in his look was the pin on the side of his coat, which had Mickey's emblem and a picture of a bubbling vial in it. This was the symbol of the head of the science department in Disney Castle. "Kayaba!" he said in a calm, "It's been a while." "It's good to see you again, Kirito." Kayaba responded, walking towards the group, then shifting his gaze to Mickey, "My apologies for being so late, Your Majesty. I had just finished examining that journal for you." He held out a small journal, which belonged to Jiminy.

He walked over to Jiminy as Kirito stood up. "Did you find anything about the Datascape inside the journal?" Mickey asked Kayaba. "A lot, actually." he responded, giving the journal to Jiminy, "The Datascape is quite a fascinating place. Filled with an abundance of worlds within these pages. It should prove to be very useful to my research." "What are you researching?" Kirito asked him. "A new world, or rather a set of new worlds." Kayaba explained, "I plan on creating a new game for this dimension and all of its' inhabitants. And I plan on making it so that even your dimension can log into it as well."

"Wait, so you're saying you are gonna create the NerveGear for here, too?" Kirito asked, surprised. "That is what I am planning." Kayaba answered, looking to everyone, "After spending time in this castle and this dimension, I decided on creating something new. A world filled with the excitement and pleasure I had almost forgotten about. When creating 'Sword Art Online', my only reason for creating that world was to see my dreams made into reality and to shove away the laws of the outside world. However, I had caused so much pain in my own selfish act, causing separation among many people. My obsession for my dreams became a nightmare to everyone else. No matter how much happiness I had given to those within the game, and even if the players were revived once again in this dimension, it cannot erase the crimes I had committed."

Everyone watched with intention as Kayaba continued, "That is why I am creating this new game. It is something I hope will atone for my mistakes. It is what a game should be; a place where people could join together, enjoy the fantasy of it all. To step away from reality in only temporary, but the moments you are in virtual reality, where anything could be created, is enticing." Kayaba smiled a bit as he stared at Kirito, Sora and Asuna. "You three have taught me that better than anyone. That is why this game will become my greatest creation, and that it will bring happiness to everyone, as it should." "That sounds like a lot of fun!" Sora said excitedly, "I hope to be the first to get whatever game you're making!" "Just be sure to add the logout button next time." Kirito sassed at Kayaba, but he smiled afterwards. For the first time in Kirito's and Asuna's life, they actually heard Kayaba chuckle in response. This dimension does change people. Asuna wondered, seeing the smile on Kayaba's face.

"So I'm guessing you might need our help." Kirito assumed. "Indeed." Kayaba answered, "I was hoping to see if maybe there was a way to demonstrate your skills in combat here in order to add to my research." "You mean, like we fight against each other?" Kirito asked, "As in some tournament?" Kayaba nodded. "Couldn't you just use the same data as used in Sword Art Online?" Asuna asked, "All the Sword Skills work well." "That's true, and I could replicate the work. But I want to add something else to the game." Kayaba replied, "The powers of the Keyblade, and all the styles of combat in this dimension. Feel free to use any method of combat you want." Sora and Kirito looked to each other, wondering how should they do this.

"Hey, I know!" Leafa raised her hand, "How about a Struggle match?" "Struggle?" Kirito asked, turning to her. "Yeah, that could work!" Recon responded. During the first time in this dimension, Leafa and Recon were introduced to Struggle thanks to Hayner, Pence and Olette. It was a match with Struggle bats, and it involved knocking all of the balls attached to someone and gathering them up within the time limit. The one who has the most balls wins. "That sounds like a great idea!" Mickey replied, "I'm sure we have the equipment in the castle to start one. We can all join in!" "Great!" cheered Leafa, "Can we set up an arena somewhere?" "I will order the brooms to make a stage here." Minnie answered, "It will take a bit of time, so please be patient."

While the stage was being set up, the rest of the crew were introduced, or re-introduced, to the rules of Struggle. Sora, Kirito, Asuna, Riku, Kairi, Leafa, Recon, and Mickey all decided to take part in the game. Kayaba had brought along a portable computer to watch the match and analyze their combat. They drew straws to see who would be fighting against who. The results were this: Sora vs. Recon, Riku vs. Kirito, Asuna vs. Mickey, and Leafa vs. Kairi. Each of them eyed there opponents eagerly, except for Kirito and Riku. They both posed serious expressions, knowing the strength of each of them.

The stage was finished surprisingly fast. It was the same size and shape as the platform at Twilight Town. The team gathered around the stage, ready to go. Each of them had a hundred balls absorbed into their body. Sora and Recon were up first, and Minnie was the judge for the battle. "Make it a clean match, and may the best one win." She said, handing each of them their Struggle bats. Sora and Recon readied themselves on either side of the platform, in ready position. "Ready, everyone?" Minnie asked, "Then let's…" "STRUGGLE!" shouted the crowd, and the bell started the battle.

The first match was pretty straight forward. Recon was no match for Sora's fighting skills. He was easily taken down by him, giving Sora the victory to move on.

Leafa and Kairi were next, and Leafa went easy one Kairi at the start, but eventually overwhelmed her with her kendo skills and claimed the win.

Mickey and Asuna were the next to go up. The crowd was split up at who to cheer for, the people Disney Castle and Riku rooted for Mickey while everyone in SAO rooted for Asuna. Sora, Donald and Goofy were the only ones confused on who to root for. The battle between them was fierce, since both of them were light on their feet. In the end, Asuna won, but by a close margin.

Finally, everyone was waiting for Kirito and Riku's battle, and so were the boys themselves. Their fight was intense, the balls dropping from their bodies and being absorbed into them with every attack they delivered. Riku was having the upper hand at first, but Kirito's quick thinking and reaction skills turned the battle around, giving him the win.

The first round was over, and the semi-finals were up. After a random shuffle, Sora was pitted against Leafa while Asuna and Kirito were about to duke it out. Everyone was interested in those two matches. Kirito and Asuna were usually the ones that fought against each other in the finals of tournaments back in SAO, and they would find themselves at even level of skills. This battle was gonna test them as well.

The first ones up, however, were Sora and Leafa. Once given their bats, Leafa led Sora into bowing to one another, like a kendo match, before beginning the match. Leafa had technique and skill, and Sora had unpredictability. Leafa knew about Struggle battles, and she was the champion back in Twilight Town. Sora was not trained by others like Leafa was, which made him a more difficult person to read. Leafa and Sora were delivering one attack after another, and Sora was having the advantage from this. Sora kept this advantage all the way to the end, and after a hard fight, he got the victory. Leafa was frustrated, but she was a good sport.

Next came up Kirito and Asuna. The Death Beater vs. Lightning Flash, or in ALO, The Berserk Healer. Kirito kept his new nickname since it suited him better than anything else. The battle between the two was fierce. Each of them knew each other's natural skills. Asuna was swift and accurate, while Kirito had strong attacks and reaction. It was unsure which one was gonna win, and everyone was just amazed at how powerful they were going at each other. When the time was up, the results were 101 to 99, Asuna's favor. Kirito was amazed that she managed to pull it off, but he congratulated her at her victory, and wished both her and Sora the best of luck in the finals.

After a quick break, Sora and Asuna were ready for the finals. "Good luck, you two!" Kirito cheered for them. "You can do it, Sora!" Kairi cheered. "Go for it, Asuna!" shouted Leafa. Everyone was picking sides, though hoping for either one of them to win. Minnie walked forward and handed them each their Struggle Bats. "Do your best, each of you." she told them, before walking off the stage. Sora and Asuna looked at one another. "Guess well see who's better at this." Sora stated. "I hope you're ready for this." Asuna taunted. "Bring it on!" Sora replied, and the two backed away from each other before getting into fighting position. Everyone was cheering as the two looked at each other for a second, then they charged.

At this moment, someone in black gloves snapped his fingers, and the threat came.

Chapter 4: Unversed Assault

As the two combatants came in closer, something appeared from in between their path. They stopped out of surprise to see what stopped them. There were two of them, and they looked almost rabbit like. They were humanoid, dark blue, with lightning bolt-shaped ears and glowing red eyes. Their arms and legs ended in points. They were about the size of Shadow Heartless.

"What the…?!" exclaimed Kirito, seeing the creatures. The two creatures turned to Asuna and Sora each, and darted at them. Each of them blocked them and tossed them to the outskirts of the stage. "What are those things?!" Asuna asked, seeing the creatures get to their feet again. "Are they Heartless?!" Sora questioned, seeing a few more pop up around them. "It can't be!" Minnie exclaimed, "The Cornerstone of Light keeps the Heartless away from the castle!"

More of them started appearing around the crowd, surrounding them. Kirito hoisted himself onto the stage with Yui in tow and got to Sora and Asuna's side, who stood in the middle of the stage. They threw their Struggle bats away and summoned their Keyblades. Donald, Goofy and Mickey were protecting Minnie, Daisy and the chipmunks from more of them. Mickey started at these creatures, his Keyblade at hand, then he gasped, "No… It can't be… Their still alive?!" Kayaba darted himself away from more of the strange creatures. He summoned out a longsword that was granted to him thanks to Mickey and Minnie's magic. Kairi, Riku and Leafa all pulled out their Keyblades while Recon pulled out his dagger. Kairi looked at the creatures with uncertainty. "I've seen these things before." she muttered, getting the other three's attention, "That was when…" She stopped her sentence, thinking about back when she was a little girl in Radiant Garden.

The strange creatures started to attack the group. Everyone went to work, knocking them back and taking them down, one after another. For some strange reason, a lot of them seemed to target Asuna for some strange reason. "Why are they attacking mostly me?" Asuna asked, seeing two of them come at her. "Dunno!" Kirito replied, slashing them away, "Maybe they don't like you for a reason?" Sora was just as confused. Why were they attacking Asuna mainly?

After a few minutes, the place was cleared of the strange creatures. "What was that all about?" Donald asked. "Gawrsh, ya think they were Heartless or Nobodies?" Goofy asked. "Neither I'm afraid." Mickey replied as everyone gathered around him, "Those things… those kind of creatures are a lot like the Heartless, created by the negative emotions of one person's heart. One I hoped disappeared a long time ago." "Who was it, and what are these creatures called?" Asuna asked. Mickey looked down a bit, looking worried and frustrated. "The name of the creatures are called the Unversed." he answered, "And the man's name…"

Suddenly, more of the Unversed produced itself in front of the door to the throne room, getting the attention of the team. "There's more?" Sora asked, seeing them. They started darting their way towards the team, but Riku came at them, and unleashed a barrage of dark orbs down upon them. The attack caused a great explosion, making them all disappear. "We don't have time talking right now!" Riku warned them, "We need to make sure the rest of the castle is safe!" "He's right!" Mickey answered, stepping out in front and turning to the crowd, "We need to split up and secure the castle. Donald, Goofy, lead Sora, Kirito and Asuna to the courtyard and deal with any that are there." "Yes, Your Majesty!" Donald and Goofy replied. "The rest of us should go around the castle, taking care of any Unversed." Mickey continued, "That way, we'll know the area is safe. Let's go!"

The team dashed to the door and barged right through it. Jiminy and Yui joined Sora and Kirito's group as they split up. Donald and Goofy led the team down the stairs into the courtyard, where they found a bunch of the same Unversed creatures as before, though a new kind of creature was added to the mix; ones with silver claws, feet instead of points on their legs, and shorter ears. Kirito assumed they must be like the Soldier Heartless. "Let's clear the area!" Sora told the crowd. "Right!" everyone answered, and they dispersed.

They begun going all around the courtyard, clearing the area of all the Unversed in their path. They came at all angles, but they weren't phased by their attack. Yui dove out of Kirito's pocket and shot herself at one of the Unversed. "Yui!" Kirito shouted as she came at it. Yui started spinning around the Unversed creature, causing it to get dizzy, then she darted into the air and rammed headlong into the gut of the creature, causing it to be knocked back and disappear. Yui looked proud of herself for a second, then three more came at her, and she looked frightened. Luckily, Kirito came in just in time to knock back the three and make them disappear. "You shouldn't be so reckless." Kirito warned her. "But I wanted to fight with you!" Yui replied longingly. Kirito picked her up by the scruff of her collar and put her in his pocket. "You can help by staying in there and keeping safe." Kirito told her, "It's too dangerous in your state." Yui crossed her arms, looking frustrated.

Once they cleared the courtyard, the team gathered together again. "You okay?" Sora asked the others. They nodded in response. "I wonder where these things are coming from?" Kirito thought out loud. "Mickey said someone was controlling them." Asuna recalled, "We need to find whoever is controlling them, and stop them." The others nodded in response.

Suddenly, the three Keyblade wielders noticed the air around them start to grow warm. They were surprised, then they concentrated, looking around. Kirito saw a slight flame appear, and he realized something. "Guys, we gotta move away from here!" he exclaimed, and everyone dispersed just in time. A second later, a swirl of flames appeared, making everyone fly away from the spot. The flames disappeared to reveal a new figure. It was large, armored, and locked up. Its' arms were crossed, and red chains surrounded his body. His waist down was nothing than a black armored gibbet, with black diamond-shaped gems and silver highlights. Its' body was mainly black, with blue gauntlets, a helmet that was light grey on one half, and grey on the other half, and black, jagged horns. It had the same menacing red eyes as the rest of the Unversed.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Kirito asked as he and Asuna got to their feet. "Must be another Unversed." Sora answered as he, Donald and Goofy also got to their feet. The Unversed unleashed a ring of flames menacingly at the group surrounding it. "Usually I don't play with fire." Kirito stated amusingly, "But today, I'll make an acception." With this, the team readied their weapons, and charged headlong to the beast.

The Unversed rose into the air and started firing lasers down from the bottom of its' gibbet at them. Everyone did their best to avoid the lasers, but Kirito and Donald both got hit by them, causing each of them to catch fire. The fire died down on them, but it still hurt. Once it stopped firing the lasers, the team came in with series of attacks at the Unversed, striking its' body hard with their attacks. Kirito used Firaga, and the attack stunned the beast, making him realize that fire attacks could affect it in such a way.

It came out of its' stun and started swing its' gibbet at them in a fiery attack. Each of them were at least hit once, since it was able to swing it so rapidly. It then started to spin around in a fiery tornado, moving around the courtyard like a top in an enclosed area. They dodged as much as they could. Asuna put up a Reflega barrier, reflecting the damage back at the Unversed. Once it stopped spinning, it created a fiery circle beneath it, and dove into the ground. The team looked around, wondering where it went. It appeared beneath Sora and Goofy's feet, causing them to fly into the air and crash into the ground.

"This things pretty tough!" Asuna said, seeing it starting to swing at the frantically running Donald. "But fire element attacks seem to stun it." Kirito recalled, "Let's hit it with all the fiery attacks we got." The two darted their way towards the Unversed as Sora and Goofy got to their feet again. They passed Donald and leapt at the large beast. "Firaga!" they shouted in unison, and a swirl of flames came from their bodies, hitting the Unversed. The attack caused an explosion, sending the monster hurdling back into the wall. "Woah!" Sora gasped. "Fire attacks work!" Kirito told the others, "Use all the fire attacks you got onto it. "Right!" Sora replied, racing at it.

The Unversed came to its' senses, and saw the incoming team. It let out a fiery aura, and suddenly, Asuna found herself trapped in a cage. "Asuna!" shouted Kirito and Sora. "Keep moving!" she called out to them, "I'll break myself out of this!" They understood, and charged at the large monster. Sora, Kirito and Donald started unleashing a storm of fire magic at the monster. Goofy went to Asuna's aid to help her break free from the cage. After several strikes, the cage broke, and she came out of it. "Thanks, Goofy." she thanked him, causing him to chuckle. The two joined the group as they continued to attack ferociously at the monster. It made another fiery tornado, causing everyone to double back from it.

Sora, Kirito and Asuna looked to one another, and nodded in agreement as to their next move. "Limit!" they shouted in unison, and their clothes bursted out. They turned into their Limit Drive Forms, and Asuna and Kirito's hair and faces reverted to their SAO look. Kirito's Oblivion Keyblade appeared in his other hand as his secondary Keyblade. They charged at the Unversed, which stopped spinning, and turned to the team charging at them. Asuna was in the lead, so she came in first with a 'Star Splash' Rapier Skill, unleashing the 8-hit combo attack. Sora came in next with his Sonic Blade, piercing right through it several times before backing off. Finally, Kirito came in close, his two blades at hand, and unleashed his 'Starburst Stream' Sword Skill, striking it sixteen times. They joined together as the Unversed started to shake violently, taking too much damage from their attacks. It created a rupture of flames around it, causing it to be enveloped by flames. The flames died down, and it disappeared. They stopped the mysterious Unversed.

Chapter 6: Danger in a Different Dimension

Sora, Kirito, Asuna, Donald and Goofy all got together, sighing relief from the intense fight. Yui popped out of Kirito's pocket, and settled on his shoulder. "That certainly was something." Kirito stated. "But where did it come from?" Donald asked. Everyone shrugged, not sure. Suddenly, they heard footsteps, and they turned to see Mickey, Riku, Kairi, Leafa and Recon join them. "You okay?" Leafa asked them. "Oh sure. Just another day as a Keyblade wielder." Kirito answered sarcastically.

Suddenly, the group could hear someone clapping his hands slowly. They looked around, wondering where it was coming from. Finally, they turned to see someone on top of the central hedge, where the door to the Gummi hanger was at. He looked about the same height as Sora, with a black and red organic body suit and a sort of biker helmet on him with a black visor. He was standing up, applauding them.

"Very good. You seem to be quite the team." the masked boy told Kirito, Asuna and Sora. "You again!" gasped Mickey, "You're still alive?!" "Ah, we meet again, 'Your Majesty'." the masked boy stated sarcastically, "Tell me, how are things? Have you found any traces of those other three Keyblade wielders? Like maybe my good half? Is he sleeping well?" Mickey glared up at the masked boy in anger. "You…you were responsible for hurting my friends almost twelve years ago. What you and Xehanort did back then…" "Xehanort?" Kirito echoed, "Wait, you mean Ansem's assistant?"

The masked boy started to laugh joyfully, disturbing the group beneath him. "So it seems my former master's soul transfer was a success." he assumed, "Taking that one boy's body as his new vessel. He had succeeded." "What?" Sora asked, looking to the others, who shrugged in response. "I was sent on another mission, you know." the masked boy continued, "I was suppose to find another vessel, one that Xehanort was trying to reclaim." He looked down at the crowd, who wasn't noticing that he was looking mostly as Asuna. "But I was unsuccessful. Though I don't need to look anymore. I serve a new master now." "New master?" Mickey asked. "One that is quite fond of you, Kirito." the masked boy explained, making Kirito concerned that he knew his name, "As well as those from your dimension. I bet he's grateful that you are in this dimension and not in yours right now."

The team looked to one another, confused. "What do you mean?" Kirito demanded, "And how do you know my name?" The masked boy chuckled in amusement. "Man, you really are a ditz." he stated, "You don't even realize what is happening right now in your dimension, do you? Of course you wouldn't, otherwise, you wouldn't be having this little celebration." Kirito, Asuna, Leafa and Recon all looked to one another, realizing what he was saying. Something was happening in their dimension.

"You better stay away from our world." Leafa snarled, "If you did something to it…" "Relax, we haven't attacked it…yet." the masked boy answered, "We're saving the best for last, as they say. We'll send some Heartless and Unversed there first, taking the lives of the people there. Then we'll find your bodies and target them as well. Doesn't that sound thoughtful?" "Bastard!" Kirito shouted, leaping at the man before him. He made his mid-air leap at the masked boy, ready to swing his Keyblades, but he was stopped by his weapon, which happened to be… "A Keyblade?!" Kirito gasped through gritted teeth, locking blades with his opponent's Keyblade, Void Gear. After a struggle, the masked boy shoved Kirito back to the ground, where he landed onto his feet. "I'd love to stay and fight, but I really must get going." the masked boy said, turning around and opening a black portal with a rainbowish sheen to it, only to turn his head back to say, "Hope we see each other really soon." And with that, he entered the portal and disappeared.

Kirito looked down, both frustrated and concern. His Oblivion was put away. "Who was that guy, really?" Sora asked, looking to the crowd, "And how come he had a Keyblade?" "That boy's name is Vanitas." Mickey answered, and everyone turned to him, "He was created from the darkness in one of my friends' heart, and he was also a Keyblade wielder." "You mean like how Roxas was a Keyblade wielder too because he was Sora's Nobody?" Kirito recalled. "It's not exactly the same, but it is similar." Mickey replied.

"Who were these friends of yours?" Riku asked. Mickey turned to Sora, Riku and Kairi. "Their names are Ventus, Terra, and Aqua. They were true friends of mine long time ago." "Aqua?" echoed Asuna, "Wait, you mean you know about her?" Mickey turned to Asuna. "Of course, but how do you know about her?" he asked her. "It was back at the world of Organization XIII." she replied, "She came to me in my heart, and we fought. I won, and I only saw her face for a brief moment. She didn't tell me who she was, but somehow, I knew her name." Asuna looked down, a sad expression forming on her face. "It's strange." she said, thinking about it, "Whenever I hear her name, I can't help but feel something painful in my heart. It's like I had this connection with her, but I forgot all about it." Kirito looked to her sympathetically. She had been talking about it once in a while back home.

"Hmm…" said Mickey, rubbing his chin, "I'm not sure what your connection is to Aqua, but I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. Right now, our main concern is with what Vanitas said." "From what he was saying, it seems like our dimension is in danger." Kirito assumed, "We need to head back there right now. Lets go back to Twilight Town and get to our real bodies."

"That's not a good idea." came Kayaba's voice, and everyone turned to see him walk towards the group, "Your real bodies don't have the strength nor abilities as the bodies you have right now. Even if you go back, you won't be able to do much of anything." "And from what Vanitas said, it also sounds like more worlds in our dimension are in danger. But we have no idea how to get to those worlds." "Then what do you think we should do?" Kirito asked scornfully, "Stay here and twiddle our thumbs, waiting for our dimension to end?" Everyone was pondering on what they should do about the situation.

Suddenly, Kirito's Elucidator started to glow on him, followed by Asuna and Sora's Keyblades. Leafa, Mickey and Riku's Keyblades also followed them by glowing as well. The six of them were startled by the sudden glow of their Keyblades. "What's going on?" Leafa asked, raising her Sylphwing. "It seems like our Keyblades are speaking to us." Mickey answered, "They want to help us out."

Kirito lifted his Elucidator to eye level, looking at it for a second. Sora mirrored his movements, looking at his Kingdom Key. They looked to one another, and nodded simultaneously, understanding what the Keyblade was trying to say. They pointed their Keyblades upwards, thrusting them into the air. Asuna saw them, and followed their movements. Leafa, Mickey and Riku all saw what they were doing, and decided to mimic their movements.

The tips of the six Keyblades started to create a ring of light, connecting all of them. The light started to grow brightly within the ring of Keyblades, and without warning, a massive beam of light shot upwards into the sky. The amount of power from the Keyblade caused the six Keyblade wielders to be pressured as they held their Keyblades upwards. "What the hell is this?!" Riku demanded. "I don't know!" Leafa answered, "Your Majesty, do you know?" "No! This sort of power is new to even me!" Mickey answered. Kairi, Kayaba, Recon, Yui, Donald and Goofy were all watching with amazement as they saw the six of them holding their Keyblades aloft, the massive burst of energy surging upwards.

Finally, the burst of energy died down, but not before they all heard something. It was a deep booming sound of a keyhole being unlocked. There was a moments pause as everyone looked to the sky. Suddenly, the sky went dark, then came a shining light that started to grow brighter and brighter, until it was blinding. Everyone shielded their eyes, experiencing more pressure from the light that was swallowing them and the castle. Everyone was grunting and struggling as they were consumed by the light, unable to see what was going to happen to them.

From the spacial view, the world of Disney Castle was suddenly being swallowed up by a white vortex of light. The world rose up into it, and went right through the vortex, being consumed by it until finally, it disappeared. The Disney Castle, town, the world itself, had vanished from Sora's dimension.

Chapter 6: A New Adventure Awaits

Everyone was unconscious on the ground in the courtyard. The first sign of movement came when Sora and Kirito's hands twitched. Sora was the first to open his eyes, followed by Kirito. They were lying on their backs, so while Kirito sat up, Sora rolled over and got to his hands and feet. "What happened?" moaned Kirito, placing a hand to his head and rubbing it. "Don't know." Sora replied, shacking his head to get focus.

Asuna's moans drew their attention, and they saw her, who was face-down on the ground, get to her knees. Kirito noticed that her clothes were back to their normal form, no longer Limit form, but he also noticed her hair was no longer light blue, but her orange color. The same went with her eyes as she started at them. Kirito looked down at his clothes. They were back to his normal look. He touched his hair, noticing that it was still the same messy style as it was before. Sora's clothing was also back to normal.

The rest of the crew was also stirring as they started to get to their feet again. "What was that light?" Kairi asked, looking around. "I'm not to sure." Leafa answered, "But whatever just happened to us was something big. Although…" she looked around, "I really don't see anything different about the place." Kirito and Asuna looked to each other for a second, then Donald and Goofy's cries of amazement drew their attention, along with everyone else. The two were staring at Yui, who was getting to her feet again. However, she was no longer a fairy, but human size again. Though her clothing had changed quite incredibly from her usual white dress.

Yui's attire was composed of a light blue sleeveless shirt with a golden highlight, a white cloth sash that crossed her chest, and a long pink dress that reached beneath her knees, with pictures of her tear form patterned upon it. She still wore detached sleeves like her fairy form on her arms, but now had cloth that draped from each of her sleeves that went from white to pink as it went down, giving a kimono-like look. She still wore a pink collar and blue flower, and she was still bare-footed, though her legs had new hot pink rings around them.

"Yui!" gasped Kirito and Asuna as Yui got to her feet and looked down herself. "Wha…what happened to me?" Yui asked, looking at her new look, and seeing her human size, "What's with these clothes?" Everyone else were showing signs of amazement at her new attire. Kayaba was the first to come to her with his handheld computer at hand. "Let me see…" Kayaba muttered as he scanned Yui's body with the computer, then typed randomly at it.

"Well?" Kirito asked after a while. "Hmm, this is interesting." Kayaba stated, looking at his computer, "I have kept all the information from Ansem's research on the heart, so with that, I believe I could come up with some kind of conclusion. To be precise, Yui, you were the one who brought forth this form." "I did?" Yui asked, looking down herself, "But I don't understand how?" "Maybe it had to do with something with that surge of energy that came from that bright light." Kayaba assumed, "From what I could tell, that light connected with your heart, transforming your body and clothing into what it is now. It has also changed how you are able to fight as well, not of data, but of the same way as the others." "You mean I'm able to fight like them too?" Yui asked frantically. "That's what I believe." Kayaba answered, looking up from his computer, "Try summoning a weapon to your hand." Yui looked at her hands nervously, then looked to everyone. "Go ahead. Try it." Sora told her. Yui nodded, closed her eyes, then held her hand aloft.

She concentrated, and something appeared in a sparkling of lights. It looked like a short black metal stick at first, but Yui flipped it, unveiling it to be a fan with a white, sturdy material with sharp daggers on one side of it pointing outward, and a picture of Yui's Tear on it. Yui looked at her new weapon at hand. "Is that a fan?" Recon asked in a disbelief tone. "It's a tessen." Kirito answered, "It's a kind of war fan that is used for combat."

Yui folded up the tessen, which was known as the 'Tear Fan', and held it firm. She then swished it around, unveiling it and slicing the air with the fan. She handled it pretty well, despite it being her first time with it. "It seems your body is adapted to the style of combat with your fan." Kayaba realized. "Then this means that now I can be of even better use than before!" Yui realized, smiling eagerly as she held her fan, then looked to Sora, Kirito and Asuna, "I can fight now! I can fight along side my family without being summoned." "That's terrific, Yui!" Asuna cheered. "Way to go!" Sora complimented. "Just as long as you're careful, I don't mind you helping us out." Kirito told her. "Thank you, everyone!" Yui said joyfully, putting her tessen away and rushing to her mama and papa to give them a hug.

Kairi and Riku both smiled as they watched the moment, then Riku looked up into the sky. "But what was that light all about?" Riku asked, "What did the Keyblades do just now?" "I think maybe the Keyblades answered our call." Mickey answered, "They heard our plea to go to a different dimension, and they answered by combining their energy and unlocking the gate that separates each dimension." Everyone was shocked. "Are you serious?!" Kirito asked, "You mean that we just crossed dimensions without going through the digital wormhole?!" "And we are still in our avatar forms." Asuna stated, looking down at her body.

"You are correct about what just happened, Your Majesty." Kayaba confirmed, looking at his computer, "It seems the Keyblades had opened a gateway back into my old dimension. It brought this entire world with it. And since your bodies were made into reality from Sora's world…" he was addressing Kirito, Asuna, Yui, Leafa and Recon, "…they stayed the same way as they crossed back here." "Wow, wouldn't it be something if we saw our bodies right now?" Asuna stated, looking at Kirito, "It would literally be an 'out of body' experience." Kirito chuckled at this.

"You guys do realize what this means, right?" Sora asked the two slowly. "That we have a chance to stop Vanitas and his new master from whatever scheme they are trying to pick up?" Kirito guessed. Sora looked up to them with his usual toothy grin. "Well that, and that there are a whole new set of worlds out there that we haven't explored yet. Sounds like a new kind of adventure just waiting for us, huh?" Kirito and Asuna looked dumbfounded at Sora, then sighed in disbelief. "Sora, you know there's trouble happening, and yet you still make it out as an exciting adventure, huh?" Asuna said amusingly. "That's just like you." Kirito sighed, smiling as he looked to Sora, "So why am I not denying the excitement in it?" Everyone else chuckled at this statement.

(Cue Sora's theme song)

Sora looked to everyone. "So should we get going now?" he asked, "I'm eager to see what's out there!" "You got it!" Donald answered, hopping anxiously. "Ah-yuck! This sure sounds like fun!" Goofy chuckled. Kirito, Asuna and Yui all looked to the trio before them. "I guess there's no stopping you guys." Kirito sighed, "Sure, lets do it together!" "I had a feeling something like this would happen." said Asuna, "Still, I'm not complaining as long as our team is together in this." "I'm definitely ready for this adventure!" Yui proclaimed, "I'll do my best!" "I'll have a fresh new journal for this." Jiminy stated, hopping onto the ground.

"We'll come, too." said Leafa as she, Riku and Recon stepped forward. "No." denied Kirito, "You guys better stay here. The seven of us will go out there first. Plus, we can't have Disney Castle unguarded, and who knows what kind of crazy things might happen." "He's got a point." Mickey agreed, "So lets stay here, and leave it to you guys." Queen Minnie, Daisy, Chip and Dale all joined them at this point. "We wish you the best of luck." Minnie told them. "Come back soon, Donald." Daisy told him. "Don't you worry, Daisy!" Donald assured her, thumping his chest, "We'll be back." "We'll get the Gummi ship up and running for you guys." Chip stated. "We'll get to it right away!" Dale followed, and the two raced off to the hangar.

Sora looked to Riku and Kairi. "Riku, I leave everything to you." Sora told him, "Keep Kairi safe for me, okay?" "You got it." Riku replied, "Just don't do anything reckless out there." "Sora." Kairi said, walking up front. She handed Sora her lucky charm, and the two connected hands. "I'll bring this back to you when we're done." Sora told her. "You'd better." Kairi warned him, but she smiled.

Kirito and Asuna looked to Leafa, Recon and Kayaba. "Leafa, Recon, hold down the fort for us." Kirito told them. "I really wish I could've gone with you." Leafa sighed, "But someone's gotta keep the castle safe, so I guess it might as well be me." "I'll protect both Leafa and the castle with my life!" Recon proclaimed, pulling his dagger out and raising it high. Leafa shook her head in disbelief. "I will monitor you guys while you are out there." Kayaba told them, "I want to know about all the other worlds in this dimension. Plus, it would work greatly towards monitoring your combat skills for the game." "I figured it would benefit you." Kirito replied, "I'm not complaining. I hope to see you soon, Kayaba."

Sora, Kirito, Asuna, Donald, Goofy, Yui and Jiminy all got together. "Ready for this, guys?" Sora asked the team. "Remember who you're talking to." Kirito said smugly. Everyone put their hands in the center of their circle, with Jiminy on top. "Let's save the dimension!" Asuna cheered. "Yeah!" the team cheered, lifting their hands into the air as Jiminy jumped off it just in time.

Kirito and Sora led the team to the hanger, through the door, and down to the Gummi ship. They got into the Gummi ship, and everyone came down to watch them go. The team got to their seats, and a new seat was added close to the computer, made specifically for Yui. She sat down into it and typed away at the keyboard. "Everything raring to go!" Yui told the team, "Whenever you're ready?" "Let's go!" Sora cheered. The platform the Gummi ship was on spun around towards the Mickey head-shaped door as it opened. The Gummi ship's engine started up. "Countdown for launch in 3…2…1…blastoff!" Yui cried.

Suddenly, a flashing light appeared in front of them in a shape of an arrow pointing down, and the platform the ship was on split, and they fell down a hole beneath them, the crew screaming as the ship spun upside down. "No one said anything about this exiiiiiiiiit!" Asuna yelled as they fell. It was a long drop, but they came out of the hole out into space. the Gummi ship stopped itself, flipped around to face upwards, and flew off. Once the crew recovered, Kirito declared, "Yui, set coordinates to the nearest world!" "You got it!" Yui cried, punching in the coordinates to the nearest world, and they took off into the unknown, no sure of where this adventure would take them next.

So here we are, the first episode is done. Yui's new look is posted on my Deviant Arts page. Hope you like the start of this new story. It's only gonna get better as the story goes on.

Next episode

Kirito: Crap, the engine blew!

Asuna: We need to land fast!

Sora: The new world is over there! Let's land there!

Yui: The propulsion system is not responding. We're going to crash!

Everyone: WAAAAAH!

Author: On the next Sword Art Kingdom II: Dimensional Bonds: Crash-land in Yusnaan! The New Power: Soul Drive!

Sora, Kirito & Asuna: Let's unlock the path to our bonded hearts!