-

The Next Day
The Isolla Strip

-

"So this is The Isolla Strip?"

"Sure is. I think it's a very neat place, despite it being so dry"

"So it's like a desert?"

"That's exactly right. I can show you around the place while we look for our new teammates if you want Jeongho"

"That's sounds great dad~"

Jeongho was very excited to spend time with him father in a new world.

-

AOMG Towers

-

"Well, It's definitely dry and sandy here. But it's still very cool from what you've shown me dad"

Jeongho sighed, admired his surroundings.

"I'll say. It's been a while since we've been here, right Jaemin?"

"Yeah. It's been almost a decade at least. I'm glad to see that this place is holding up"

Jaemin smiled, walking alongside Jeno and Jeongho.

They continued to talk together, until they suddenly noticed two types of mysterious looking creatures walking around, tons of them.

"Hey Nana. Should we engage?"

Jeno asked, ready to summon a weapon at any moment.

"No, don't engage. The white creatures are called Nobodies, and the black ones are called Heartless. These specific ones are called Dusks and Shadows, and they're the weakest types"

"Are they just simply patrolling the town?"

Jeongho questioned, remembering hearing about the Heartless from Key before.

"That's right. The two heroes that we've come here to meet are the masters of these creatures. They can summon and control any type of Heartless and Nobody. They usually let the weakest ones patrol the city, some as bystanders, some as watchful eyes"

"You sure know a lot about these creatures hyung"

"That's because there's something special about these creatures. They both fear anyone who wields a Keyblade, as well as companions of Keyblade wielders. By now, they've already figured out that I'm a Keyblade wielder, but instead of attacking, they only seem to be keeping an eye on me"

"They're reporting back to the higher ups and making sure we're not a threat"

Jeno concluded.

"Exactly. So, just stay as neutral as possible, and they won't engage"

The closer they got to the towers, the more they began to notice two more types of Heartless and Nobodies.

"These are called Gamblers and Soldiers. They're both higher ranked in power than the Dusks and Shadows. It seems the closer we get to their leaders, the more we're going to see Heartless and Nobodies of higher power"

Jaemin analyzed.

"Luckily for us, they're not engaging either"

Jeongho sighed, trying his best to keep his cool.

Jeno rested his hand on his shoulder, instantly making him feel more comfortable and at ease.

Finally, they reached the entrances of the towers, finding two more types of Heartless and Nobodies.

"These are called Samurai and Neoshadows. They're more higher ranked than the Gamblers and Soldiers. These two must be specifically used as guard dogs"

"But there's two of each guarding one of each entrance. Which one to we go for first?"

Jeno inquired.

"How about this. Dad can go with one of the Heartless, and Uncle Jaemin can go with one of the Nobodies. I'll stay here and guard the entrance with the other two"

Jeongho volunteered.

"That sounds good. See you when we get back kiddo"

Jeno smiled, trusting his son with the task.

Jeno and Jaemin split up and each followed the respective creature through one of the entrances.

-

I silently followed the Samurai Nobody into the second tower, and up the many stairs.

It doesn't seem too suspecting of me, despite me being a Keyblade wielder. It could be that it already knows me from a long time ago and is familiar with my presence. I think I remember seeing a Samurai on Ethora a long time ago with its leader.

We soon made it to the top of the tower, met with a Reaper Nobody that was guarding a door.

The two Nobodies seemed to be communicating with each other for a few seconds, and the Reaper stepped aside after opening the door.

"So it is you~. Welcome Jaemin~"

Immediately after the door opened, I was met with the leader of the Nobodies.

His name is Kwon Hyukwoo, but he goes by his hero name, Loco.

"It's nice to see you too Loco-hyung~"

"That Samurai was very happy to see you~. I know it's basically impossible for other people to tell, but my Nobodies often express their feelings, especially to me. It's the same Nobody that I came to Ethora with years ago~"

"Oh~. So you are the same one~. It's nice to see you again~"

The Samurai only responded by wriggling a bit before returning to the door.

"Aww, it's a bit shy now~. But what's going on Jaemin?? Eric-hyung and I heard the news about what happened on Ethora"

"Oh, right. We came to pick you guys up. Renjun-hyung is gathering an army to help us save our world"

"Say no more. I'm in. I'm sure that my Nobodies and I will be a big help"

"Great~. Jeno-hyung went to get Eric-hyung. Should we head over to his side of the tower, or head outside to wait for them?"

"I think going outside would be best. It doesn't take long for Eric-hyung to get moving, so we should hurry. Let's go~"

Loco led the way, with me and his Samurai following behind him.

-

I silently followed the Neoshadow Heartless into the first tower, and up the many stairs.

Despite it being a Heartless, it still looks really cool. If it's one of the higher ranked Heartless, then it must be either very rare or very powerful, or possibly both.

We soon made it to the top of the tower, met with a different kind of Heartless guarding a door, that kind of resembled a knight.

The two Heartless seemed to be communicating with each other for a few seconds, and the knight stepped aside after opening the door.

"Well well well. If it isn't Lee Jeno"

Immediately after the door opened, I was met with the leader of the Heartless.

His name is Nam Yoondo, but he goes by his hero name, Eric Nam.

"Ah. Long time no see Eric-hyung"

"I'm grateful that none of you hurt my friends. They really mean a lot to me you know"

The Neoshadow suddenly scurried over to him, and he gently pet it.

"You should thank Jaemin for that. He was the one who told us not to engage"

"Even still, I'm very thankful. But anyway, I take it that you need my power right?"

"That's right. With Ethora in danger, Renjun-hyung assigned us to gather an army to help us save it"

"And we're happy to help. You guys are our friends after all. We can't just leave you hanging"

"Thank you hyung. I'm pretty sure that Jaemin and Loco-hyung have already made it outside. We should head out too"

"Right. Follow me"

Eric led the way, with me and his Neoshadow following behind him.

-

Back Outisde

-

"So it's you"

Jeno spoke.

The five of them were met with Jeno's double standing not too far from them.

"He says his name is Jonah Lyee, and his code name is Dark Knight. He's here to fight us dad"

Jeongho informed Jeno.

"Jaemin, take our hyungs back to the ship. We'll meet you there after we're done"

"Right. Good luck hyung"

Jaemin followed Jeno's order, and led Eric and Loco back to the safety of the ship, their Heartless and Nobody following closely behind them.

Jeno immediately summoned his Buster Sword, wrapped in bandages that he recently added to it. Jeongho followed suit and summoned his Piercer Spear.

"Why do you always choose to fight with that sword? Why not use anything else?"

Jonah questioned Jeno, summoning his own Remorse Sword, dark energy radiating off of it.

"That's simple. This sword means a lot to me"

"And why is that?"

"Renjun-hyung helped me make it many years ago. He means a lot to me, and so does this sword. That's why I use it more than any other weapon that I can make or summon. This sword is a symbol of our brotherly bond, and how much we care for each other"

Jeongho came to admire his father more after his explanation.

He could use any weapon imaginable, but he chooses to use just one, because of how much it means to him. 

"...You have a heart of gold Jeno. I'll let you in on a little secret. Robin-hyung made this sword for me, and it radiates my own dark energy. This...is the only sword I've ever used since he gave it to me years ago"

Jonah explained, and Jeno smiled.

"If that's the case, then we'll be sure not to destroy it. Right Jeongho?"

"Right. It means a lot to you. There's no way we can destroy something that precious to you"

"...Thank you. I really appreciate"

-

2 Hours Later

-

The three shinobi fought for hours, and in all that time, Jeno and Jeongho made sure not to destroy Jonah's sword.

Jonah used another one of his powers once most of the Heartless and Nobodies started to get involved. He used his power of Malevolence to take control of the ones that attacked him and they switched their target, a "J" appearing on their foreheads.

Jeno instructed Jeongho not to destroy them but to only weaken them. Eventually, the two weakened every last one of them, depleting the amount of pawns that Jonah could use.

Eventually, Jeno and Jeongho formulated a plan together and put it into action. Jeongho used his Air Cannon power to blow Jonah away a bit, and charged at him with Star Platinum.

Before it could punch him, Jonah used changed his Stand, High Priestess, into a shield made of the surrounding stone in the area. He blocked the barrage of punches with the shield, keeping his sword behind him to protect it.

However, while he was focusing on Jeongho, he completely forgot about Jeno. Because of this, Jeno appeared behind him and used his Compress power to shrink down Jonah's sword, encasing it in a small marble.

And because Jonah was now defenseless, Jeno was able to initiate his finishing move, Omnislash, on Jonah.

Once it was activated, he launched Jonah higher into the air with his Buster Sword, then proceeded to slash him numerous times. To finish the move, Jeno performed an overhead strike that brought both him and Jonah back down to the ground, and launched Jonah away into the side of a nearby building.

Jeongho rejoined Jeno on the ground, and they both made their way over to Jonah to help him.

"I thought...you said that you wouldn't destroy my sword..."

Jonah looked very heartbroken once they recovered him from the building.

Jeno simply placed the marble in his hand and released his power, returning the sword back to its normal size.

"And we didn't. I purposely compressed it to keep it safe. I knew that if I used my Omnislash on you while it was still present, that I would definitely end up destroying it. So I took extra precautions"

Jeno explained, smiling at him.

"...You really are amazing, both you and young Jeongho. Thank you so much..."

He handed Jeno a piece of paper that only had one word written on it: "To".

"Consider this a thank you gift..."

Jonah held his head down, worrying Jeno with his sudden timidity.

"Hey Jonah. Keep your head up. The confidence suits you better"

Jeno gently raised his head up by his chin, making him look him in the eyes once more.

Jonah suddenly felt as if he grew a soft spot for Jeno when he looked into his eyes. He began to feel bad about being on the opposing side.

"We'll come after you and the others, no matter what"

Jeongho smiled, resting his hand on his shoulder.

Jonah finally smiled, and gently removed his hand.

"I'm looking forward to it"

He then opened a portal for him to leave through, but looked as if he still had something on his mind.

"You know, I kept one power under wraps during our fight. I just didn't feel comfortable using it"

"Huh? Why's that?"

Jeno asked.

"The same reason you didn't use your Love Magic. I have the same ability, but mine is Lust Magic"

"Thank you so much for not using that power!"

"Please never use it on us, ever!"

Jeno and Jeongho exclaimed with relief, making Jonah laugh.

"So long as you don't use your Love Magic on me Jeno~"

He lightly punched Jeno's shoulder and ruffled Jeongho's hair, in a friendly manner.

Jeno only playfully punched him back before lightly pushing him towards the portal, a big smile plastered on his face.

"Wouldn't dream of it~"