Ehehehehe... I haven't updated my other story in half a year... I feel terrible...

But I get more things done if I work on the things I have the most motivation for, so I decided to work on this. I guess I should work on the other story, too, though. :/ Anyway, here are the 'Nort Reports and such that are involved in this chapter:

"[There] were no walls of light enclosing each smaller world the way they do today. Nothing prevented one from physically interfering with the next." -Xehanort Report III

"Keyblades: A key-shaped weapon forged by man during the age of fairy tales. Any other origins have yet to be revealed." –Glossary: Keyblades (Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance)

"[While the χ-blade] resembles a normal Keyblade, it is something altogether different.

Keyblades are said to be man-made counterparts to Kingdom Hearts. The χ-blade, however, coexists with Kingdom Hearts.

It is only forged when two hearts of equal power intersect—one heart of pure darkness, one heart of pure light." –Xehanort's Report VII

Yes, I will repeat the reports I mention. There aren't that many, anyway. XD

Strays

When Haroun had tried researching the exact location of the goblins' den, it proved insufficient every single time. He didn't use conventional methods of research, though, and the methods he did use weren't nearly as effective as those conventional methods, but they were the only ones he had. There were no libraries, map shops, or monster guides anywhere in Agrabah that day, so his options were limited to: ask, listen, rinse and repeat. There were times he considered leaving that particular treasure hunting spot for another day, but there were no backup options on hand, either.

The vanity of his efforts grinded at his patience, so he took some time off and decided to just take a seat in a relatively quiet, shady place, away from the heat of the sun and the noise of the crowd. Haroun leaned back on a thick, wooden tent post at the border of the small community, and took his hood off.

It was when he adjusted his limbs to a more comfortable position that he felt his left elbow nudge something that didn't feel like wood or pottery. Haroun turned his head to the side to see what his elbow had hit, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You again?!" he exclaimed at the redheaded girl next to him. It was the same oddly-dressed one that had spoken to him only hours ago that day, asking for directions or something else that Haroun didn't bother to keep in mind.

She was smiling at him, though also in a state of shock, as her eyes were as wide as the saucers being sold three tents away. "Huh?"

"You're the girl that I talked to earlier!" Haroun said. "The one that asked me for… something…" He took a moment to try and recall what it was she had asked from him, but soon shook his head vigorously and continued. "That's not important. Do you remember me?"

The girl was still staring at him, and though her eyes had decreased in wideness, her surprised grin hadn't. "I... I don't know," she said, moving to scratch her head with a single finger. "You could've been anyone. Sorry." Her apology had been redundant, as everything about her demeanor as she responded was apologetic already. With newfound composure, she spoke again. "I've been asking everyone a bunch of things lately, so I've seen a lot of faces. I don't think I'd be able to pick yours out of my memory from all those people I asked."

Haroun nodded. Her reasoning was sound, and he agreed that he didn't stand out in the crowd. "It's fine." He returned to leaning on the wooden post, allowing his eyes to droop shut.

"My name is Talyinsa," the girl said. Haroun opened and eye to look at her. She watched him expectantly, likely for an introduction in return.

Hesitantly, he gave his name. "Haroun," he said.

"It's nice to meet – well, run into you again, Haroun." She punctuated the sentence with a warm laugh and extended her hand.

Haroun took it. "Likewise." When he let go, a question surfaced in his mind, which he allowed himself to ask. "Why the introductions, though? I doubt we'll be together very long."

"We saw each other twice today, right?" Talyinsa said. "I've been travelling around for a while, but that's never happened to me before, so I consider it a special occasion." She turned to look over the corner of the neighboring tent. "Besides, we can still be friends for that short time we are together."

Haroun was slightly taken aback by how sincere she was. Honest kindness seemed like such an alien thing to him after working by himself for so long. "R-Right…" While Talyinsa continued to intently watch whatever it was behind the tent, Haroun resumed resting his eyes. As having his eyes shut allowed him to think, he suggested to himself that he should try talking to Talyinsa, to return how friendly she was. "…So how are you looking for your friend?"

"Asking people, of course," she answered.

"Asking people? That doesn't seem like the best way to go about it, does it?" He mentally noted his hypocrisy.

"Well, yes, but the only other method I can think of would be to use Light Realm technology, and that will have to be a last resort at best."

His eyes were still shut, but one of Haroun's eyebrows was arched at the use of the words 'Light Realm technology.' While he was curious, he didn't feel it was the right moment to ask about Talyinsa's phrasing, or anything regarding the Light Realm's distinction from the Dark Realm. After all, it didn't take a genius to have a plausible guess as to why she had to be so specific about the Light Realm. Some old memories were dug up in all his thought, and Talyinsa's name suddenly seemed vaguely familiar.

Not one skilled at recollection, Haroun decided to do something more productive and talk a bit more with Talyinsa. "So if you're just going around and asking people, why are you here, and not in the crowd? There's no one to ask between a few tents."

Talyinsa laughed lightly, agreeing. "Yes, but, though it may be rude, I heard someone say Cynaris' name around here. I'm listening in to find this person."

"That seems… highly unlikely, but okay. I guess you want some silence for a while?"

"Well, not that it wasn't a pleasure talking with you, nor is it difficult for me to hear everyone, but yes, silence would make things easier."

Haroun nodded lazily. "Alright, I'll just be quiet, then." He opened his eyes and looked at Talyinsa. Her eyes seemed to be trained on a black-haired girl with a ponytail. The girl seemed to be speaking to someone, but there was no one in front of her or beside her that appeared to be paying attention, and she wasn't actively trying to gain their responsiveness, either. From where he was sitting, Haroun could only see the left side of her body, but he was close enough to pick out the words she spoke. He leaned over, putting his weight on his hand.

"Yes," the girl continued, "that's me. It's nice to meet you after… Well, I can't say I've been hearing about you for a long time, can I?" She paused. Was she talking to herself? Practicing for some kind of act? It seemed like it. "Oh? Where from? …If I were you, something like that would bother me the whole day." She paused, and then chuckled. "Heh, sorry. Even if it's not entirely my fault." At the next pause, Haroun checked to see if Talyinsa was still watching the same person he was. Though he wasn't quite sure of how accurate he was, he traced Talyinsa's stare to the girl with the ponytail. Now slightly more sure of himself, he resumed listening to the girl. "Likewise... Well, if you intend to keep it, I won't stop you."

The girl didn't seem to be finished with her 'talk,' but the air beside Haroun suddenly shifted. When he looked to the side, Talyinsa seemed to have vanished. He stood up and did a quick scan of the area around him to try and find her. In the process, he caught the ponytailed girl rush past him, and acting on a whim, he followed her.

It took all of Haroun's focus not to lose the girl in the crowd's motion, and an extra ounce of effort not to fall behind. She was so swift and agile as she moved that no one seemed to notice her as she dashed by, whereas Haroun must've bumped a dozen peoples' shoulders in the hurry he was in. The chase was so rushed that it must've not even been a minute when he was led to the edge of the community. During the fraction of a second Haroun used to glance at his surroundings to find something of a reason she ran there, the girl herself disappeared without a trace, and Haroun was left with no one to follow.

His initial reaction to losing his 'guide' was to narrow his eyes in irritation at himself, but he recalled a strange shape that he had seen when he glanced away. At a distance to his right, a small wooden structure that Haroun decided could be called a shack sat behind an assortment of differently-colored tents, making it seem like it was part of the merchant's gathering area. Though the shack had towered in comparison to the small tents neighboring it, it appeared more like an abandoned house that served as a landmark. If not for the girl seeming to lead him to it, Haroun would've ignored it, which was what he concluded others in the area would've done as well if they had taken a second glance at it.

With a flippant shrug at his worries and suspicions, Haroun trudged toward the small shack, calling Horizon Pursuit, his Keyblade, to his right hand. It was a Keyblade that he considered bland aside from the ornately designed teeth and hand guard, and it was lighter than most due to the thin and featureless blade. The lightness of the weapon was what Haroun considered its best trait, as it allowed him to wield it effortlessly, and he relied more on his swiftness of foot and thought rather than strength in battle.

With the same amount of effort Haroun would've used to close a book, he pushed the door open, and while he was suspecting the ease of breaching what he thought was a crook's hideout, he soon understood why the wooden door needed no reinforcement.

On the floor was a square hatch made of a dark-colored metal, with a steel handle that was built into the surface, and strange locks on side across each other, with a mechanism that Haroun wasn't familiar with. The locks were designed like fragments of a frame that prevented the hatch from opening by holding it in place, and it was supposed to be deactivated using some sort of sliding peg on a slot, which could be moved like a bead on an abacus. Haroun was only mildly interested in how it worked, as locks were trivial matters to him.

He pointed his Keyblade at the center of the hatch, and after a small, familiar light show, the hatch was unlocked. Haroun proceeded to pull it open and crouch to peer down at it. The floor below him was made of a type of stone the same color as the desert sand, and only an eight-foot drop away, while from down there, a trail of metal bars swerved as a ladder. He jumped down and landed most silently onto the floor as the mechanical hatch slowly shut itself, locking with a series of resounding mechanical noises. Haroun swallowed in worry that the sound was a giveaway for his presence, but he went forward, confident that he could thwart any efforts a group of petty kidnappers would take to stop him.

The hallway was narrow, dimly lit and so quiet that Haroun could hear his own footsteps echo off the stone walls. Eventually the hallway he went down came to a right turn, and he heard a new set of footstep echoes mixing with his. His tightened the grip on his Keyblade and stopped right before the turn, breathing deeply as he listened to the footsteps approach.

Once he judged that the footsteps' creator had come dangerously close, he jumped out with savage intent, only for his attack to be thwarted by a clumsy and reflexive swing of another Keyblade. It wouldn't have been so easy to fend off his attack if he didn't decide to pull back at the last instant.

Their third meeting of the day was no less surprising to him than their second. "Talyinsa?!"

She was beaming with delight. "Haroun! Why are you here?"

"You went missing," he answered. "Did you come here?"

"No." Talyinsa looked like she wanted to explain more, but she frantically looked over her shoulder, and then gripped Haroun's wrist. "And neither of us should be here anymore. I'm still being chased, and the spell I used to slow them down has probably worn off already. I won't be able to use it again soon enough if they catch me here."

Haroun looked over Talyinsa's shoulder as well. The hallway would've been identical to the one he had just gone through if it weren't for the series of doors on the inner wall. "Who's 'they'?" he wondered aloud.

"It's complicated," Talyinsa said, despite Haroun not requesting an answer. "You could say they're enemies. Now let's go!" At the end of her sentence, she made a break for the exit, dragging Haroun with a firm grip on his wrist.

"Wait!" Haroun said as he adjusted to her pace. "How many of them are there?"

"Too many for me to have counted," Talyinsa said. "The spell I used had a wide radius of effect, but it wasn't able to capture all of them."

"What spell did you use?"

"Just a simple Zero Gravity spell."

Talyinsa's answer made a spark in Haroun's mind, and his pace became automatic as he began to think. Zero Gravity is a spell from the dark capital, and she said earlier that using Light Realm technology to look for her friend had to be a last resort. She has a Keyblade, too… Haroun examined the weapon in Talyinsa's left hand. The blade was wide and made of a black metal, and the hand guard reminded him of the blades on an axe. The teeth of the Keyblade took of the form of two outward spiked at the edge of a sudden curve on the blade, and the hilt had two protrusions on either side. Its name, 'Highworld Flight', referred to the world wherein it was a symbol of great dark power. She's a Keyblade wielder from the Dark Realm, but she isn't part of their war force, Alliance Corvus… Is she like me?

"There!" Haroun was shocked out of his thoughts. They were quickly approaching the hatch that he had come through, but something about the air suddenly felt off.

Just as they were about to reach the hatch, a line of white fire suddenly appeared in front of them – the marker of an otherwise invisible wall. They skidded to a halt, and Talyinsa let go of Haroun's wrist. She stepped back and looked at the fire as if it were some sort of life-threatening abomination.

"Wh-What is that?" she asked with a trembling voice. Her fear was plain to see, and to Haroun, also odd.

"It's a force field made of light," Haroun said. "Since it doesn't have a lock, Keyblade wielders can't go through it, and it's pretty much unbreakable."

"Then we're trapped?"

As if solely to worsen their situation, a mob of men armed with appeared down the hall. Haroun suppressed a sigh. "Guess so."

"How do we remove it?"

"Ah, that's where the problem is." Haroun scratched the back of his neck. "This is the first time I've encountered one. I'm not sure how to get rid of them."

Yet another echo of footsteps resounded through the hallway. Haroun turned and braced himself for an enemy, but Talyinsa found it strange that there was only one person.

Soon enough, a figure came into sight, revealing itself to be a familiar person as it came closer. Haroun and Talyinsa both recognized it as the black-haired girl they saw when they were near the tents.

"Don't say anything," Haroun said to Talyinsa. "She doesn't know we know who she is."

"O-Okay."

"D-Don't attack me!" the girl said as she ran. "I'm not an enemy!" Shortly, she reached Haroun and Talyinsa, and proceeded to support herself on her knees while catching her breath.

Haroun's voice became cold and suspicious. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Huh?" The girl raised her head at Haroun, and took a final, deep breath before answering. "I'm not an enemy, if that's what you're concerned about. In fact, I think I just made an enemy of them while I was here." She looked at Talyinsa. "So, I take it you were being chased, too, am I right?"

"Yes, I was," Talyinsa said. "But why are you –"

"Aha!"

A low, guttural voice intercepted the trio's conversation, and they simultaneously jerked their heads in its direction. There was a man wielding a curved broadsword, wearing a grin that meant different things to different parties. For his allies, it meant that their targets were cornered exactly where they had predicted. For Haroun's group, it meant they had been mostly caught.

"Oh, sorry," the girl said as the man began yelling something onto the other hallway. "Did I stall you two?"

"No," Talyinsa said. "Rather, something else did."

"That force field." The girl said it as if she had only seen it for the first time. From her expression, it was likely so. She took quick steps toward it to rest her hand on the invisible surface. "We can't break it, and there's no way to get over it." Behind the girl, a mob appeared and steadily advanced in Talyinsa's direction, their speed as a whole only hampered by the narrowness of the hallway. Despite them, the girl continued with an even voice. "But if we find the source of energy and cut the power, it'll go down in a snap."

Haroun, eyeing the mob while listening to their oddly knowledgeable companion, prepared for a fight. I don't think it'd be easy to fight in such a cramped space. Our best option is to escape. "Where's the energy source, then?"

The girl turned around and looked at the mob with an analytical eye. Haroun flicked his gaze towards her for a second, and he could see her changing the focus of her stare several times in an instant. After a blink, she pulled her right hand back, and threw a disk-like object that moved so quickly that it was a dark gray blur to Haroun. "This one," she said. With unnaturally appropriate timing, a lightning struck someone in the middle of the group, creating a bit of commotion between them.

"That must've knocked him out, but does that mean…" To confirm his thoughts, Haroun turned around. The girl was already at the top rung of the ladder, trying to push the hatch open.

"Won't budge!" she said.

Not wasting another second, Haroun unlocked the hatch the same way he did to enter, and the girl pushed it open, climbing out hastily. Haroun was about to allow Talyinsa to go first when she said, "Go ahead, Haroun!" He didn't find enough time to argue, and jumped out not a second later. The girl was there to hold the hatch open, and Talyinsa joined her shortly after he did. The three of them left the hatch to shut itself while they made their swift runaway.

Once in the gathering of tents, they hid themselves between empty spaces, covered by cloth and the still-thick crowd. By then, the sky was beginning to redden, but Haroun didn't notice in all the commotion his mind had been. Haroun wiped some sweat off his brow with his sleeve. The excitement from earlier had only begun dissipating seconds ago, and his mind began to clear enough for his accumulated questions to be laid out and dealt with.

Why was there an underground structure in a desert area? Who was the girl that helped him and Talyinsa escape? How did she come to know what she knew? Why kidnap Talyinsa, who seemed to be a lone traveler? And who was she to have a Keyblade and know spells from the dark realm, yet not be in their war forces?

"That was quite the experience, wasn't it?"

Talyinsa had once again pulled Haroun out of thinking. She was sitting next to him, and didn't appear at all tired by the events that had just transpired.

"It was." Haroun had to agree. Never in his life had he been underground outside natural landforms, or had he attempted to save someone from kidnappers. It occurred to him that he didn't do anything useful there. Talyinsa would've been fine even if he hadn't been present, since that girl had been the one to break the force field, and Talyinsa could've opened that hatch with her own Keyblade.

"Hey," Talyinsa said. She appeared to be searching for something. "Where is she?"

"Huh?" Haroun knew she referred to their mysterious helper. She seemed to have disappeared or chosen a different place to hide. For some reason or another, Haroun wasn't surprised. "Guess she went ahead."

"Oh, that's too bad," Talyinsa said. "We haven't properly thanked her."

Haroun nodded in agreement. "We never learned her name, either. But I don't think we should go looking for her just to thank her. She might already be too far for us to catch up with."

"I suppose." Talyinsa was only slightly depressed, and quickly smiled at Haroun for reasons the receiver of the smile did not understand at first glance.

"What?"

"I'll thank you instead," Talyinsa said. "Thank you for trying to save me, Haroun."

She was aware that Haroun's presence wasn't quite necessary, if her use of the word 'trying' gave anything away. It saved him the trouble of refusing her thanks for that reason, anyway. "You're welcome, I guess."

"But if you don't mind me asking, why did you save me? I'm probably little more than a stranger to you," Talyinsa said.

Haroun crossed his arms and looked to the side. "That's a good question." After a pause and a bit of thought, he was able to find his answer. "Well, it just seemed like I had to. I mean, if someone you were talking with was suddenly snatched from under your nose while your back was turned, then wouldn't you feel obligated to help them?"

Talyinsa's smile grew, and she looked to the ground in a sentimental manner. "Yes, that does make sense…"

Satisfied with her reaction, Haroun breathed a sigh of relaxation. "Good to hear…" His mind began to become silent, as he decided all of his questions could be answered some other day.

"Haroun."

He opened an eye and tipped his head at an angle to look at Talyinsa. "Yeah?"

"I think I should repay you for helping me," Talyinsa said.

"Nah, it's fine," Haroun said. "I didn't really help much, anyway."

"No, I mean, um…" She paused and clasped her hands together in a way that made it appear she was struggling to find words. "I-It's the thought that counts, right? Even just a little favor?"

"Alright, alright." Haroun searched his mind for something that Talyinsa might help him with. He snapped his fingers decisively when he found something. "Do you happen to know where I can find goblins?"

"Yes!" Her reply was so full of energy that Haroun thought she was about to jump, but she cleared her throat, collecting herself. "Goblins are found in grasslands to the north, on the border of the Gaian Empire. But if you're looking for where they live, they all seem to stay in a cave that's hidden in a forest to the world's east."

Haroun stared at Talyinsa in disbelief for a few seconds, and Talyinsa nodded back at him fervently, to assure him that everything she said was true.

He shrugged. "Well, okay, if you're so sure." Standing up and stretching, he began to search for the best way out of the world he was currently in, peering between tents and people. "I'm heading there as soon as I can." He extended a hand toward Talyinsa. "It was nice meeting you."

To his surprise, she didn't take his hand. "You're going there alone?"

"Yes, I am," Haroun said.

"You shouldn't." Talyinsa stood and dusted herself off as she continued. "Goblins are weak enemies alone, but they are also one of the most intelligent monsters in the World and are aware of their weakness, so they know to fight in groups. Since you're going into an area that's highly populated by goblins, you can be sure that they will use their numbers to their advantage."

"So you think I'm not good enough to beat them?" Haroun's voice had an edge of pride, which Talyinsa detected.

"I don't mean to offend, but yes," she said. "I wouldn't be able to do so, either, but I'm considering travelling with you to help. This will be for my own benefit."

Haroun made a thoughtful grumbling sound. "Sorry, but I'm not good working with others."

"Neither am I," Talyinsa said. "But we don't have to cooperate. We can mostly stay out of each other's way."

She was reasonable, but Haroun was still reluctant about having her – a stranger, like she said – join him. And he couldn't see anything he could gain from having here as an ally, because he was sure that goblins were about a difficult to defeat as mice as long as he had his Keyblade. The Keyblade… He was reminded of Talyinsa's Keyblade, and her magic. He then thought that, perhaps, by travelling with Talyinsa, he would learn more about her and where she came from.

There was at least one thing to be gained and nothing to be lost when it came to her company, so Haroun accepted it. And once again, Talyinsa's reaction was so energetic that he thought she would jump.

"Why are you so happy about that?" he asked.

"Maybe we can become friends this way!" she answered, no less ecstatic.

That's why? Haroun waved off his befuddlement and began to walk. "C'mon, then. I'm pretty sure the Gaian Empire's a pretty good distance away from here. We should get going."

"Let me handle getting to the forest," Talyinsa said, running up to Haroun's side. "We'll take an airship. That way we won't have to tire ourselves getting there, and we'll arrive sooner."

"If you say so." It was strange how Talyinsa was the more excited of the two despite not targeting the treasure in the cave. Then again, Haroun was never the one for emotions. Talyinsa, however, seemed to have twice as much cheer as the average human being. For a moment, he wondered if that cheer would ever bother him.

"Oh." Talyinsa appeared to have recalled something, from the way her eyes were slightly widened. "I haven't quite introduced myself, have I?"

"What are you talking about?" Haroun asked. "You already introduced yourself. Your name is Talyinsa."

"My entire identity," she said. "My name is the only thing I ever told you, right?"

Haroun's response was a silent nod, urging Talyinsa to continue. He was, after all, curious about her. He didn't know how she could introduce herself beyond a name, though, since Haroun was always only 'Haroun.'

As Talyinsa gave Haroun her 'entire identity,' Haroun pulled all the questions he had about her back from his mind, hoping they would be answered. What he didn't expect was for the simple reintroduction to answer all of them. His guess about her being in the same situation as him was shot down, but the disheartening that came from his error was outweighed by the surprise from truth that corrected it.

While Haroun was a rogue soldier of the Light Realm's war force, Alliance Columba, Talyinsa was the travelling princess of Ethereal Fortress, the city of darkness.

The boy's eyes were slow to open, and the light of the room felt focused on him, making his awakening difficult. When his eyes finally adjusted, he tried to orient himself. He was lying on a featureless bed, in an unfamiliar room. There was a screen in the side of the room, displaying a variety of statistics that he didn't know the meaning of, and there was also some equally strange equipment placed in what he thought was a strategic manner. His limbs were restrained onto the bed by something resembling leather, so he couldn't rise and investigate. Yet with all the unfamiliarity, he felt strangely comfortable where he was. He didn't dwell on the reason for his comfort.

"You're awake."

He was slightly startled by the voice that came from his left. A brown haired girl with a pair of odd-looking goggles atop her head sat in a blue swivel chair, with a book on her lap. She was halfway through it if the hand that rested between visible pages was any indication, but at the time, she seemed to have taken more of an interest in the boy than what she as reading.

He realized he must've been staring when the girl spoke again. "How do you feel?"

He swallowed, and answered in a quiet voice. "Just fine, strangely." The girl nodded slowly. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Land of Departure's castle," she answered. "My name is Delesc of the Vanguard. You appeared here on a rampage of a sort, emanating an abnormally high amount of darkness. It was a challenge to calm you down."

The boy's gaze lowered, as his head could not. "I see…" The situation that Delesc had just described wasn't completely unfamiliar to him. Thinking about such events always left him with a heavy feeling in his chest, so he introduced himself instead. "I'm Seren. I'm guessing my rampage is why I'm tied up?"

"Yes. We couldn't have you do it again. The people who helped calm you are still recovering from the fight. Luckily, one of them knows Cure, so it's not too bad a situation."

"I understand," Seren said, "and I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Delesc said. "At the very least, I'm here to help you, though I'm fairly certain that at least one of the others wants to help, too." She shut her book with a definitive snap.

"Oh." Seren couldn't help but feel that he didn't entirely deserve so much hospitality. Nonetheless, he was grateful. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, but don't think it's solely for your benefit." Seren looked at her. "I gain something from this, too," she said. "Do you know why you were on a rampage in the first place?"

Seren didn't want to be honest with her, but her air was more professional than friendly, and she asked questions like a doctor who needed answers to know what the problem was. "I… I was angry."

Delesc hummed, as if she was expecting him to say that. "Most people wouldn't suddenly go on such a destructive, blind rampage just because they're angry," she said. Seren remained silent as Delesc stood from her chair and moved to release his limbs from their restraints. "But that doesn't mean you're the only one who does that. I've heard of similar cases, where someone would become so enraged that they really do cause that much destruction without even consciously knowing it."

Seren's left arm was free, and he moved it around as a sort of test. "What does that mean?"

"It's almost like a medical condition, but at the same time, not," Delesc said, moving to the restraint on his left leg. "It's not an official name, but this condition is most commonly known as 'Pharmakon.' It's a word from the language of Olympus that means 'poison.'"

"So, am I poisoned or something?"

"Not quite." She finished undoing the restraint, and moved on to the next one. "Let me explain how it works. A person creates their dominant force from strong emotion, or by exercising the use of the force in things like magic. Negative emotions, however, create an unstable variation of that energy, which is normally insignificant, and can be converted into regular energy over time or with practice. You have roughly the same amount of light and darkness in your heart right now. Regardless of what energy their heart naturally creates and uses, a person infected with Pharmakon will create more unstable darkness than usual when they feel 'negative' emotions, like sadness, anger, or fear. The Pharmakon in a person's heart will sort of 'eat' these emotions and create dark energy with them." She began working on the final restraint.

"I guess that means all that darkness came from my own negative emotions, then," Seren said in comprehension.

"Yes, but it also caused you to feel much more anger by amplifying those emotions, so that it would have more to feed on." Delesc finished the final restraint. "So when you get angry, the Pharmakon creates unstable darkness, and then makes you even angrier. I suppose your level of anger escalated to such a height that your heart, which, at the time, was made of darkness, possessed you. Luckily, though you spent up a lot of the darkness, so the energy levels should be back to normal." At the end of Delesc's explanation, Seren caught her mulling over whether it made sense or not, with her hand on her chin and a string of inaudible words coming from her mouth.

He decided to assure her of her explanation's sensibility. "I see," he said, confirming that he had understood at least the bare minimum of what he needed to. "This Pharmakon thing made me angrier than I already was, so it made me create all that darkness…" As he sat up, a question entered his mind. "Delesc."

"Hm?"

"When a person has a lot of darkness in their heart, the heart takes over, right?" Seren thought it put a cruel spin to the saying 'follow your heart.'

"Yes, and that's what happened to you."

"What about light? It's not fair for the people in the Dark Realm to be the only ones in danger of that."

Delesc smiled. "I'm glad you thought of that, and even more so if you happened to be from the Light Realm. Not many people give consideration to those from the Realm opposing theirs." Seren took Delesc's statement as a compliment, and smiled softly. "Like I said, there are two subtypes of energy: regular, and unstable. The heart creates the unstable type of its dominant energy when a person experiences negative emotions, so when a light-dominant person feels those negative emotions they will create unstable light. Normal darkness and light wouldn't make a person go crazy, but unstable energy created by these emotions cause those blindness problems."

"Blindness problems?" Seren face contorted in confusion. "I never said anything about blindness problems."

"Oh, right." Delesc shook her head at herself. "Do you know how you can't see when a room is too dark, or when you wince because a light is too bright?"

"Yeah," Seren said. "Is that what you mean? Blindness is a metaphor of a sort?"

"Not quite. The eyes and the heart are actually connected that way. See, I'm a Keycrafter, and when I create Keyblades, I have to make these circles with these glyphs on them. Those circles are not only pathways for light and dark energies to pass from my heart to their target, but they're also my eyes."

As Delesc had been explaining, Seren recalled when he had his Keyblade created, recalling the various things she described as they appeared in his memories. He remembered the circles, but he could not imagine how drawings that floated in midair could possibly be a person's eyes. "What do you mean, they're your eyes?"

"Your iris is a circle, isn't it? And if you looked at an iris closely, there are these little lines, right? That's what the circles are – my irises. Energy passes through the center of the circle, like how your pupil is what allows you to see. Am I making sense?"

Seren's armed were crossed, his gaze, though thoughtful, was directed at a wooden table leg, and his head was tipped to the side. "Sort of…"

"Well, point is, those circles are my eyes, and by giving them that form, they allow me to release large amounts of light and dark energy. Usually, a Keycrafter has to use one eye for darkness and another for light, since it's easier to let them out that way. As a matter of personal preference, I like to use my right eye for darkness and my left for light, but I can easily swap them, and it wouldn't make any difference for me either – Agh, I'm sorry." Delesc's head dropped, and he held her face in a manner that betrayed shame.

"Why? I don't mind your explanation."

"Oh?" Her head rose quickly, and her eyes were slightly wider. "Um, thank you. Not most people tolerate my, uh, 'lectures' very well. It just, this is a topic that interests me quite a bit."

"I can tell," Seren said. "You began to talk a little faster when the subject came up."

"So you noticed… and you'll allow me to continue?" Seren put on a warm smile and nodded. "Thanks. I'm almost finished, anyway, and I'll try to cut to the chase. Yes, putting your irises in the form of a runic circle allows more energy to be taken from the heart and focused on a particular area. But in my case, I often exert so much energy using these circles that I temporarily lose my vision."

"Wait, so the eyes are gateways to the energy from a person's heart?"

Delesc hummed in thought and scratched her temple with a finger. "That's one way to put it. They're more commonly called windows."

"I see."

Anything Seren would've said afterwards had to wait, because the sound of knuckles rapping against the thick wooden door had cut him off.

"You can come in," Delesc said.

The door opened, and from behind it, a brown-haired boy stepped in, and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "I have some explaining to do."

"Seren," Delesc said, "this is Sceore, a friend of mine who lives here. Sceore, that's Seren. He –"

"Is that the crazy guy we took down yesterday?" Sceore said.

Delesc's eyelids lowered at the interruption. "Yes, but you can be sure that he won't –"

"This guy's not gonna be at it again in a few minutes, is he?"

"Sceore, I was getting to that." Delesc had the expression of a person dealing with a curious toddler. Sceore didn't appear to notice, but his expression lowered in energy. "I was able to balance his light and darkness levels, so he won't start destroying any more of the castle without effort. But let's put that aside for now. What's this about explaining?"

"Oh, right." Sceore cleared his throat. "A little earlier, Lupus visited Morlock on the lower lands to check out the airship, and Zenton went there with him because, well, he's Zenton, and this is an airship we're dealing with. When they got there, they found – get this – a bat-eared fox, in the ship's food stock, stealing a snack."

"A stowaway fox?" Delesc said. "What could a fox be doing in a moogle airship?"

"I know, right? It's weird. But it gets even weirder." At that point, Sceore began to gesture. "This fox? It can talk. And everyone freaked out except for Lupus and Jalsca. The fox can be pretty snide, too."

"You must be calling me to have a look at this fox, then," Delesc said.

"That's right. We put it in the second floor hall, so it can't get out if it escapes its cage."

Sceore waited for Delesc's response, while her eyes switched between him and Seren in consideration. She clicked her tongue. "I'll be there in a few minutes. There are a few things here that I have to take care of before I go."

"Alright, then I'll just tell them to wait," Sceore said. "See ya." He left the room, the door automatically clicking closed behind him.

"What are you going to do?" Seren asked as Delesc picked up a small notebook and flipped to a certain page.

"I have to make sure that what happened yesterday doesn't happen again. Of course it's not entirely my responsibility. I'm only doing this because I have a feeling I'll be blamed if events repeat." She appeared to skim through a few notes, turning pages forward and back until stopping at some point. "Here we go. Since negative emotions are what causes the effects of Pharmakon to begin with, you have to try to keep your emotions in check. Don't think about anything negatively unless it's important."

Seren took a moment to commit everything to memory, and then nodded resolutely. "Got it. Seems easy enough."

"Good. Now, I've been giving this some thought, and I think it's best if you stick around with us."

"Huh?" In unease, he looked to the side and tucked his hand in his pockets. "Why?"

"Why not?" Delesc asked. "Making friends is a good way to brighten up, and you should probably start here. Unless you have someplace you'd feel more comfortable in."

"Well, I used to be part of Alliance Corvus, but since I caused some trouble there, I don't think they'd want me back…"

"Let's not talk about it, then."

"What?" Seren looked at Delesc with an expression of confusion.

"I don't really have to remind you." She waved her notebook up as a silent explanation, and Seren nodded, understanding. "So, then, you're staying with us for now." She approached the door and put her hand on the handle. "So let's start as soon as possible. We'll go meet the others while we see the fox."

"I'm not seeing it." Jalsca crossed her arms. "Sorry, but talking animals just aren't the strangest things in the world for me."

Before her, Ardent, Cynaris, Lupus and Zenton was a caged, brown-furred fox with disproportionately large black ears. Despite its sudden imprisonment, it didn't appear uneasy around humans, and the way its tail swept the cage floor implied that it was even comfortable. Lupus crouched in front of it.

"You guys have never seen a talking animal before?" he asked.

"Nope," Ardent said.

"Of course not," Cynaris said. "So why can this?"

"Well, I know that there are worlds were nonhumans can talk," Lupus said. "So, where are you from?"

The fox's ears perked up at being spoken to. "Huh?" In the fox's eyes, the humans were very busy talking amongst themselves, save for one that sat in a chair a short distance away.

"I wanna know what world you're from, to be able to speak," Lupus said.

"Oh, alright," the fox said. "I'm from the Pride Lands. You've probably never heard of it, since humans have been prohibited from entering there for a while."

"Actually, I have heard of it," Lupus said. "From a friend. He's not from there, but he's visited."

"Okay," the fox said with a lack of interest. "You probably want to know my name."

"That'd be nice," Lupus said.

"Akili," the fox said. "Female bat-eared fox. Just so you know."

"It's nice to meet you, Akili," Lupus said. "But why are you so far from home? The Pride Lands are almost across the World."

Just as Akili was about to answer, the large set of double doors at the back of the room groaned open, and Sceore entered, dusting his hands off each other as if he had completed a physically-taxing chore.

"I just finished telling Delesc about our new vulpine friend here," he said as he approached the group, "and she said she'd be joining us in a bit."

For the first time since the fox was brought into the hall, Zenton spoke. "What about the guy who attacked us?" he asked. "They were in the same place."

"Oh, yeah, he's up," Sceore answered. "Delesc even introduced me to him. He's called 'Seren,' and he won't be attacking us in a while. Or at least, that's what she told me." He shrugged, and crouched next to Lupus to get a better look at the fox. "So, is this fox a friend or a foe?"

"Friend, so far," Lupus said. "She hasn't shown any signs of being a foe."

"A vixen, huh?" Sceore lowered his head to look at Akili, who growled at him. "She has a name, then?"

"Yeah," Lupus said. "She said her name is Akili."

"Akili," Sceore said, directly to the fox, "how'd you learn to talk?"

"I dunno, how did you?" she said, earning a faux offended look from Sceore. Akili looked over him, at the people who were still standing. "I heard that another one of you is alright with talking nonhumans. Could you please explain it to this guy again?"

All eyes turned to Jalsca. She sighed. "Okay. Sceore, just earlier, Lupus told us that there are worlds where nonhumans can speak just as well as humans. Akili is from one of those worlds, which is why she can speak."

"That so?" Sceore said. "What world, then?"

"The Pride Lands, as was said only a few minutes ago," Jalsca said. She swiftly jerked her head in Lupus direction. "That's it, right? I've explained everything, right?"

"That's pretty much it," Lupus said. "Sceore got here when I asked why Akili was so far from home. So… Akili?"

"Wait a second, let me think." Akili stared at the cage floor for several seconds before nodding. "I guess I could tell you. I'm doing some research on you humans for a friend of mine."

"You're researching us?" Cynaris said in slight shock.

"Sorta. Just observing, really." Akili began to scratch the back of her ear with one of her hind feet. "It's not like I'd hurt you. It's not like I can, either."

"But why?" Ardent asked. "We were kept out of your world for a long time. Why the sudden interest?"

"That's why," Akili said. "You were supposed to stay out, but just a few years ago, some people from the war turned our world into a battlefield. Of course there was some collateral damage." She paused. "Okay, a lot of it."

"Is this for some kind of revenge?" Ardent asked.

"No, not at all. The Pride Lands wouldn't stand a chance against all you human Keyblade wielders and your fancy magic." She yawned. "I just have to know what your situation is." She made a lazy growling sound while she stared at the cage walls. "Hey, gray-haired human."

Lupus blinked. "Um, my name is Lupus."

"Lupus, then. I don't suppose you and the girl with the black hair are okay with visiting the Pride Lands, are you?"

"Oh, I've been there plenty of times before," Jalsca said with an ounce of pride. "My Master takes me to a lot of places for his job. No problem."

"I can, too," Lupus said. "But I want to get my Keyblade first."

"Oh, well, hm…" Akili lowered one ear. "How long does that take?"

Lupus scratched his head and looked to the ceiling. "I'm not sure… Maybe a day?"

"I guess I can live that long," Akili said. After another yawn, she looked around the hall. "You got any grub fit for a fox?"

Lupus raised an eyebrow. "Grub?"

"Yes. Lizards, insects, stuff like that."

"Um, no…"

"Well, then, could you let me out so I can find some?" Akili began to paw at the cage. "I have no idea what world this is, so I can't just run off."

"So you're staying."

"That's right. Is there a problem?"

Zenton stood up, earning the attention of everyone in the room, as he had been mostly silent since finding Akili. "Yes, there is."

Akili turned her head to see Zenton. "What is it?"

"It's not quite a problem from your presence here, but what you do once you leave," Zenton said. "Lupus and Jalsca are only two people. When they get to the Pride Lands, there's a possibility that everyone there could turn on them. You might just be leading them to a trap."

"Geez, Zenton," Cynaris said, frowning. "You don't have to be so suspicious."

"It's still a possibility. This is a fox, after all." He glared at Akili. "Who knows what it could be thinking?"

"If you're so suspicious," Akili said, "then why don't you tag along? Just don't cause any trouble during the visit."

Zenton held his glare while contemplating Akili's suggestion. "…Fine. If something happens, I'd be able to take them back here."

"I can get here by myself, actually," Jalsca said.

"Doesn't matter," Akili said. "It's a deal, then?"

Zenton nodded silently, and then held his hand up towards the cage. Akili winced at the cage was enveloped in white light, and as the light faded, she fell an inch down, onto what she thought was the real floor. When she looked at Zenton, he was holding his Keyblade, which had shards of fading light trailing from the blade. Without another word, Zenton walked out of the hall.

Remember that naming rule I mentioned in this section of the last chapter? Yeah, that applies to Akili, too. Just thought I'd mention. :3

By the way, Ruby Girl Red, if you're there, I wanna say that your name is reminiscent of a certain High Caliber Sniper Scythe wielder. Just sayin'. It's actually pretty funny how I had no idea about the series the character was from until sometime between after I read your name and now. I'm like, "Oh, 'Ruby Girl Red' sounds like..." It's like a rewatch bonus in real life. XD

Since this thing isn't all that popular and it's only got a few reviews, I won't do another one of those review reply thingies for this one. I just answer questions that can be answered. :/ I will, however, extend some extra thanks to Cori Shadowfang for giving this a shot in her community. (As well as mentioning the typos in her review. I think I fixed them. I think.)

If there are any MiSH readers who are checking this out, I'm sorry I couldn't update that first. I'm trying to make MiSH a high-quality-ish (since I gradually improve, quality may not be consistent) fic, and I can't do that if I force myself to type something out.

And if there are any kind souls who can help make some cover art for this, the world (me especially) would be thankful, because a cat face (or whatever my current profile picture is at the time of reading) doesn't make good cover art for a story like this. I can't draw. :I

By the way, I'd also like to mention that I only made Talyinsa left-handed because then it'd look cooler once [SPOILER]. She was going to be right-handed until a few days ago. :3

Note: Horizon Pursuit and Highworld Flight are ninth and tenth from the left in the picture of the ten Graveyard Keyblades.