"Huh," Jake mused, not entirely sure he understood - and somewhat concerned Reno had multiple personalities. He turned to look at the others.

"Seriously, though, what happened to the others? Looks like they got banged up pretty badly. Shouldn't we get them to a doctor? Or at least find someplace to rest? I doubt some Cure spells alone are going to cut it.

Belle looked up when the new person who entered the area started to talk to Reno. There was another girl, with black hair, shortly followed by a similar looking male version of her, and then.... it was Thomas! Belle nodded to Joshua. "Well, that's all I wanted to know." she stood up and ran towards Thomas and hugged him, but quickly broke up the hug. "I'm glad that you are okay. Did you manage to defeat The Horned King? As you see I have Reno here with me." and she pointed to Reno(?). "Although I've spend most of my time with his other half, Oner. Yeah it seems like this kid has a split personality, but I think you like Oner more than Reno." she said with a chuckle.

"What was that dark energy here?" Eximna asked to everyone. She saw Satoko and Rika standing among the others too, something she already had confirmed herself, because few others would pick a fight in this town. She walked up to them. "And what do you two have to do with this?" she asked with her bossy voice.

Exomin on the other hand went to Amelia, where the warrior of light also was. He rubbed the back of his head, as he arrived at the two while the boy was singing a children's song to her. "Uhm excuse me." he said. "I want to talk to Amelia." he said with a shaking voice, not that he was scared or something, but more uncomfortable. Unlike his sister he was kinda clumsy, and less good at remaining order, probably because he was a troublemaker himself sometimes. "Amelia, I see you are alright? What were you doing here all alone.... before these people arrived here?" he asked, assuming that the strangers must have bumped into her.

A split personality? Is that how some thought of this? Well that wasn't surprising when Oner thought about it cause in truth it came so natural to him and Reno that he never really truly thought about what the others may think. Even the man who insisted that they were two souls in the same body wasn't correct. Oner shook his head after Belle had said this, taking a moment to get his hair out of his eyes, his hair also being longer than Reno's was as now it went down to his shoulders. "That is where you are wrong Belle. This is neither split personalities nor, as that man from before put it, two souls in one body".

And now that Oner thought about it, he truthfully didn't know how to put it so that the others could understand, but he knew that he had to try. He couldn't just not tell them the truth and let them all make their own assumptions forever. "When we are finally able to relax from our dealings here and have more time, perhaps then I can fully explain as it may take a bit, but for now...lets just say that Reno and I are an existence that isn't human. After all, I am pretty sure humans don't have ears like these, if this helps to prove my point". Oner pointed to his ears, which indeed didn't look like a human's as they were pretty much elfin in appearance due to being long and pointy. Last time anyone saw Reno they would know that his ears definitely did not look like that, they looked like the ears of a human.

"And if that doesn't well...lets just say that this isn't a tattoo". Oner pointed now to the white circle on the center of his forehead. A multitude of neat, white lines went down both sides of his face and neck from the circle and the lines probably went down the rest of his body as well since these lines also were on the backs and palms of his hands, his arms being obscured by the sleeves of his clothing, and thus were most likely connected to the circle on his forehead.

It wasn't that long of a walk, though he had to move at a jog to keep up with everyone else, since they were running, in a fairly obvious hurry to get to the source of that explosion and see what caused it. The pain in his arm faded down to a dull throb as time passed, and soon they emerged into a wider space, a flat area in the middle for apparent use in sports or gatherings. His face lit up as he recognized the people gathered there, though they seemed busy with their own things, such as the aftermath of that explosion. And there were even more new people, a bunch of Nobodies, and some others, as well as a strange guy who had a passing resemblance to Reno. Maybe he was related or something?

The rest of them were there though, and none looked too worse for wear, though amaya and ascot seemed to be having issues right now. His attention was drawn to Belle as she ran towards him and hugged him, though that didn't last very long as it was, leaving him a tad flustered. "Man, if I get that enthusiastic a welcome after being gone for a couple hours, i should do it more often," he commented jokingly as she stepped back. He nodded in response to her question. "Yeah. Jake there did most of the work though, not that it was very difficult in any case," he replied, pointing to Jake as he mentioned him.

He had to do a double take in any case as she revealed that that was in fact Reno. Or Oner. Or something. The changed warrior chiming in didn't help much, and he had to take his mind off that lest he make his headache worse. "I see. Well, next time tell me before you go running off to a random world, so I don't have to rely on blind luck to find you again." he spoke seriously, but didn't let it last long. "Still, I'm glad you're okay from whatever the Horned King did."

It was as if speaking of it jogged his memory, and he paused as he scramble for his bag, flipping through before pulling out the Sign and showing it off. "Oh yeah, I got this. It was inside a pig, of all things. She's fine, by the way." It was better than nothing after all, since Reno had characteristically rescued himself, and brought belle along to boot. Which was a bit annoying, but he could accept it.

"Back off Eximna. We had nothing to do with that. It was come Nobody we've never seen before." Rika said as she turned to her friend and began treating her wounds with magic of all things. The spell wasn't Cure since the healing wasn't instantanious but it was definately healing Satoko's wounds." The only thing Satoko is guilty of is starting a fight. And don't blame Xahsouj either. He only controls shadows, not Darkness."

" Don't worry Rika, if she wants to say something about me she can say it to my face face" Xahsouj said as he arrived on the scene" By the way I think we can expect Xamaya here shortly. I have no doubt she's curious too."

Amelia meanwhile gave Ascot back the glass of milk he had given her earlier, though it was empty now. When he offered her apple slices she took one and nibbled on it before eating it and taking the rest. She seemed rather relaxed until Exomin came over. At that point she looked nervous and actually turned to run away only to be stopped when several shadows moved and blocked her path, which only resulted in her looking even more frightened. Her creeper friends let out several angry hisses as they tensed up, ready to attack.

The boy wasn't blind or deaf; while he played with Amelia, he was able to register snatches of sight, which told him that Thomas was back, with another person named Jake, and snatches of hearing, which were enough for him to get what Reno/Oner meant to say; that he was one person with two aspects. Oh, and that the group had a new Sign of Zodiac. Nevertheless, he didn't cease his music until Amelia gave him back the glass he had filled with milk earlier.

Of course, Exomin had to come and ruin the moment, coming over to ask Amelia some questions, but accidentally scaring her and making her run away, only to be blocked by Xahsouj's small-s shadows, scaring her all the more. Of course, Ascot was not going to take this lying down, wounded or not. However, he had to reassure Amelia first, and to do that, he came before her again, blocking her sight from the shadows.

"It's okay, Amelia," spoke the boy. "Ascot Carver - Mom, can I keep my last name?" he said to Rose, "Ascot Carver is here to protect you; don't worry, nothing will happen to you without it happening to me first." Then, he faced Exomin and Xahsouj, competely without fear even though the latter outmatched him.

"What are you guys doing? You're scaring her," he said with a bit of fearless indignation. Then, he turned to answer Exomin alone.

"Xahsouj told us that she was staying here, alone in this lot, and that we should get her out of here and give her a home."

Jake was going to say that Thomas was underestimating himself, but now he was more than a bit worried regarding Oner... Reno... whatever.

"Wait, if it's not split personalities, and it's not two souls in one body... and you're saying 'Reno' is asleep..."

Jake pressed his free hand against his forehead.

"This is just giving me a headache. If you say 'Reno' is asleep, then you're not Reno, so how is it not two guys in the same mind, or body, or whatever?! What the hell's going on anyways?! And what's with that fancy getup? The 'not a tattoo' and the ears and so on. Okay, maybe not the ears; Peter's supposed to be a human adopted by fairies, and he's got pointed ears.

"Let me guess; it's like being a werewolf, right?"

Jake was clearly no scholar, and all this guesswork served more to annoy him than anything. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I give up. Thomas, are these guys your friends? They look like they need to get to a hospital or a bed."

He walked up to the nearest adult in the group (Rose).

"Ma'am, you need any help taking some of these kids somewhere safe? I volunteer... if you trust me."

Once he got Rose's approval, he walked over to Ascot, picking up the small boy with as though he were a soft, fluffy pillow. However, he took care to make sure he didn't jostle him too much.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" Jake inquired. "You look like you took quite the beating there. What happened, you picked a fight with a dragon?"

((Collab Post between Letter Bee and Shadowsaint007))

"Ah!" shouted the boy as he was unceremoniously taken away from Amelia and cradled in Jake's arms. "Can you let me go?" he implored, "you're scaring Amelia more." He then sighed, deciding that it was no harm to answer Jake's questions; he seemed like a friendly guy, and he did care, so, he decided to just relax in the larger man's arms; it was rare that he got cradled, and answer his question.

"Well, you see, I, Joshua, and Amaya came here so that Joshua can gain control of his inner darkness. However -"

Jake cuts the boy off.

"Whoa, there, champ, you lost me there," Jake chuckled apologetically. "I only know Thomas here and... Reno? Oner? Onerreno? Renoner?

"My point is, I'm a newcomer to this mess, and I owe Reno and Thomas. So how about we get you and the others home, then you can explain everything to your heart's content?"

Ascot nodded, and spoke:

"Thanks, Jake," he said, smiling through his burns. "Yeah, take me away."

Jake nods, and turns to face Rose.

"Where to? You know a nearby hospital or medical center we could use, or is your house nearby?"

He turned to look at the other wounded child, a girl. He gave Ascot a piggyback ride.

"She okay? If you want, I still have room to help."

"Amaya's recovering, but Joshua's taking care of her, and wouldn't appreciate just anyone taking her away. As for Mom - she adopted me earlier today, she lives...elsewhere; she's just visiting here for the shops." Ascot then looked at Satoko one more time, and, smiling serenely, said:

"Sorry for, well, everything. And, you know what, you're right; I'm nothing without my friends. But when said friends include Amelia, I don't mind; after all, even Sora was nothing without the connections he made."

Timeskip to the Local Hospital

"So, as I was saying, we chose to stay and go to Twilight Town to shop, and see to the welfare of the local Nobodies - they regrow their hearts over time, as you know, but start out without one. Anyway, one of them, Joshua's Nobody, sent us off after a little girl, asking us to give her a home." Ascot was now continuing his explanation to Jake, now that the boy had been admitted to the hospital and was being treated.

"But, when we went there, this duo," he gestured at Satoko and Rika, "came over to accost and interrogate us about Amelia - the name of the little girl. And, well, I offered them a chance to better their situation, but apparently," he glared at Satoko, "charity is seen as an insult by one of them, and so I got challenged into a duel." And then Ascot gave a blow-by-blow account of the fight between them, culminating in his manifesting an Avatar of Light.

Jake sighed.

"Look, kid, some people, you can't force 'em to take charity. Like my old man used to say, you can take a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. If Satoko didn't want your help, you can't change her mind."

He then narrated the mysterious person's coming, and the ending of the duel. Then, the boy continued:

"Already apologized to Satoko; although I think she'll still rage at me. Also, I think that Reno and Oner are less two souls, less split personalities, and more different ways of expressing the same person. But, you probably don't want any more philosophizing from me." He then took a gulp of some nearby orange juice.

Jake mused a bit about that.

"Wait... it's like the whole 'Yin and Yang' deal, right? Multiple sides to the same concept, or person, or whatever..."

"Yeah, it works like that," Ascot said. "So, can you tell me more about yourself?"

"Hm," Jake began, rubbing his stubble. "Well, the name's John Grendell, but my friends call me Jake. Mispelled my name once - wasn't exactly too literate when I first became a Keyblade user - and it stuck, but I kind of like 'Jake' anyways. Used to be part of the Wild Boys... anybody heard of them? Anybody?"

((The Wild Boys were a party of six keyblade users, lead by one Gabriel Ors.))

He shrugged. "Aaanyways, about a dozen years back, we split up. The others settled down, but I couldn't bring myself to live a quiet life yet. So I stayed a wandering adventurer, travelling wherever the fates take me, right until I ended up in Prydain. After busting up a bunch of the Horned King's troops, I went to celebrate at a bar, and then got captured when I was really, really drunk.

"Yeah, not my finest moment, admittedly. My friends had always said I was a go-getter, and that I needed to be more careful.

"Anyways, spent a week or two in the Horned King's jail, right until Onereno here busted me out. Then he disappeared, and I ran into Thomas, followed him here, and here I am."

"I see," spoke Ascot, "I love a cool story. Anyway, well, guess I'll have to bring you up to speed, then. You know of the increasing attacks of Heartless all over the Worlds? Some of them have been consumed, others under siege? Well, we've discovered the cause; a new group, called the Six Senses, are trying to create a new world, an artificial world with a sinister purpose."

"This world is protected by an impenetrable barrier, which can only be dispelled by twelve artifacts sent forth from it: the Signs of Zodiac. The Signs' existence was a necessity for the protection spell to work in the first place, so the villains scattered them all over the Multiverse, and, we, in turn, were sent forth to find them, and bring them together for the siege of their new world."

"Huh... so that's why you were collecting them to begin with," Jake nodded, smile widening as he saw another adventure. Then the smile faded as he thought of Ascot's description of the shady man in the alley. "Though how does 'Mr. Spooky' fit into the whole mess? He said he wasn't part of the Six Senses?"

Jake tried to remember anything about the foes he faced before, if anyone fit the description. He shook his head; nothing came up.

"He isn't, and he has implied that he's part of a group that opposes them. I think...I think that after the Six Senses and their new world are defeated, that we're going to face another threat, stronger this time."

"Figures," Jake huffed. "Dang new-fangled bad guys, is there some sort of law everything they do has to be overly convoluted and planned? Then again, if they just wanted to sit back and enjoy life, they wouldn't be bad guys, would they?"

"So how many Signs did you guys collect so far?"

"Seven Signs already, counting the Sign we got from Amaya. So, that makes us halfway to our quest, I think." Ascot smiled a bit, and said: "You came at the right time."

"Yeah, things usually tend to get messier halfway through, don't they?" Jake mused. He twirled his Keyaxe for show. "Still, if you'd accept a veteran meathead like me in your group, I'd be glad to help. So whaddya say, guys? Mind if I tag along?"

"Well, I definitely won't mind," spoke the boy.

END

"its Xayama you moron, how is it you can never get my name right?"asked a annoyed voice as a female about amaya's height walked towards him as her sandy blonde hair reached barely to the ground. she has a rebellious attitude and look to her but there were some similarities. Xayama moved over to Joshua examining him "you and the other hot head look alike...why is she here?"asked Xayama wanting an explaination for why amaya was there to begin with as she stood up looking towards the others before seeing the two common enforces that were here to mostly watch all the nobodies "great the duo is here to ruin any possible fun"she commented before moving over to Amelia "don't be scared...your creeper friends will keep you safe"she added before looking at rika and sakoto "you two always cause trouble everywhere you go"she added not liking anyone there to begin with.

"you can I don't mind I go by vanisis not griffborne"said rose before looking at Jake "lets see, elyse stays with me, you can tend to ascot my adopted son if you want. Joshua will be taking care of my other daughter amaya like he has for so long now."she said to Jake picking elyse up

Exomin was disappointed when Amelia ran away from him again. She always had done that for some reason, he didn't know good himself either. "Amelia, you know me right?" he asked. But then got addressed by Ascot about him and Xahsouj scaring her. "I just wanted to check one her, it's this weirdo that scares her makes her afraid." he said with an irritated look on his face. He turned around and went to his sister who was having a discussion with the other Nobodies.

"I am not blaming Xahsouj of this. I am well informed about his powers, abilities... and his personality." she said looking the person himself. She turned her head back to the girls. "Don't try to shove this off to another person. I want to hear this story from you two first. I will consider questioning the others later, if I suspect that you are lying." she said.

"Come on sis. Thing ha--" Exomin was interrupted by his sister. "Only this darkness was serious. However it is needed that the people responsible for this fight are to come pay a visit to the mayor's office. Like you know the mayor doesn't like big crowds in his office, so I will only need a small group to represent both sides of the story. I hope this informed you enough. Exomin tell this to the adult here." she ordered her brother. Exomin slowly walked towards Rose to tell her what the mayor wanted. "It doesn't have to be you, seeing you might have better plans... but just someone. Pfff sis gets so worked up about things." he said and turned around. "Let's go sis." Exomin said and took his leave, followed by his sister after she got a reply from the girls or not.

"Yeah, I will tell you next time when I get surprised and be taken to another world by a member of the Six Senses." she said with a playful smile. "But great to hear that we got another sign and that everyone is okay. I know you would make it out alive, you're a strong mage after all." she said and looked over her shoulder to Rose, Elyse and Amaya. "I think I'll go to the girls again. I'm really glad we're all together again." she said before turning around.

She went to Rose and tapped her one the shoulder. "Hello I'm Belle, nice to meet you. I think I haven't got the pleasure to introduce myself properly to you." after Rose had replied she could ask the thing she wanted to ask. "I know this may come sudden, but do you like to go shopping in town with me, Amaya, and your other daughter? Elyse was it?" she asked. "After Amaya feels fit to do so that is."

(Renose/Flamelord Collab, Part 1)

Oner was about to answer Jake's question, telling the veteran Keyblader that he was way off the mark. Unfortunately he seemed to get a headache from trying to come up with a logical answer and gave up, proceeding to talk to Thomas before going over to Rose, carrying Ascot off soon after that. From there yet another Nobody showed up. Oner looked at Xayama and Xahsouj as they both spoke, the elfin eared warrior wondering if these two were connected to Joshua and Amaya. Were they their Nobodies? They certainly did appear to look pretty similar, but Oner couldn't be certain. Still though, despite their rude tone they didn't appear to be hostile, which meant that there would be no fighting for now.

Oner gave a sigh of relief as he walked over to a bench and sat down upon it, letting out a small exhale as he soon closed his eyes, appearing to 'rest' for a better term. Despite the fact that his eyes were clearly closed though he still looked to be quite aware of what was going on, but still appeared to be resting as well, as if he was in some kind of trance. Perhaps this was connected to what Oner said about him and Reno being an existence that isn't human. After just a couple of minutes of this as the others had their conversations, Oner opened his eyes and let out a small exhale before standing up and heading off in the direction that Jake and Ascot went.

"Good. Thank you," Thomas replied with a grin of his own to Belle. It was good that at least someone minded, though he could hardly blame the rest for being distracted after that explosion that had brought him here in the first place. As she went off to go talk to Amaya's mother, he pocketed the Sign once again, patting the pouch before looking around, noticing that Jake had left with Ascot for the hospital, and most everyone was engaged in some activity or other, leaving him the lone man out. He considered the possibility of taking a detour to go practice and buff up his magical abilities, which would certainly be worth while since they had the time.

It was in that musing that his eyes alighted on the changed Reno (Or Oner,or whatever he was supposed to call the apparently dual being standing over there), and he frowned as a twinge of consternation shot through him. He'd said he wasn't exactly human, and from appearance that was all too obvious. It did explain some things that had been previously bothering him, but it also raised more questions in turn. And there was only one person he could get answers from. Bolstered by Belle's statement that he may be able to stand holding a conversation with Oner more than he would have with Reno, Thomas moved after him, falling into step with the Mage, something worth noting even if it was for the simple reason of conservation of Mana for when he might actually need it.

Thomas glanced over at Oner before speaking. "So, you're not human then. I don't suppose you're an elf or something like that," he asked, a reference to the pointy ears and what appeared to be body tattoos, something he'd read about during his tutelage. He didn't want to leap to the conclusion that he was a Heartless or something, and if he had been then he would have been getting something from his dark wound, so he was willing to play the game and actually listen. and it didn't hurt that his other self was intrigued and supportive of this as well.

"First I am a werewolf, now I am an elf? You and Jake sure have some interesting assumptions". Oner gave a small chuckle, simply shaking his head. "While thine assumption isn't bad Thomas, I must inform thee that you are also incorrect". The first thing Thomas would probably notice was that Oner actually used people's real names, and not nick names. While the old fashioned speech was probably a bit strange, it wasn't too out of the ordinary compared to how Reno acted. "I do owe everyone an explanation though, after all with the blackouts and mine running off to a different world put everyone through alot of unnecessary trouble and worry".

Before he began though Oner brought something else up. "Before I do though, I must ask that you forgive Reno for always calling you Tomato. He does not mean any form of disrespect to you, or anyone else he calls by a different name. It is simply the way he is. He actually thinks very highly of you and thinks you are an excellent mage, and quite frankly, so do I". Oner's voice was calm, quite, and mature for a boy his age. Of course his voice still carried that same boyish quality, but was filled with much more wisdom and maturity than Reno's more happy go, child-like way of speaking. His words were also sincere, no sign of any form of lie or sugarcoating in his words.
"I do hope that you can forgive him and that he hasn't offended you".

Thomas shrugged when Oner shot down his guess, though he cocked an eyebrow at the...interesting speech patterns involved. It would take some getting used to, but he supposed he could get used to it with a bit of time. For now though, it was just strange. "Well, it was just a guess, based off what I know of them. Pointed ears, natutrally adept at magic, that sort of thing. It's more likely than werewolves are." He chuckled a bit before continuing. "As for running off, I wasn't too worried. I was fairly certain you could handle any trouble that did show up."

He was taken somewhat aback by the apology he received, a bit of insight into the other personality presented to him, and it made sense, though how much it actually changed was still left to be determined. Being offended was a different matter, but he decided to return this conversation to the original subject, and not have it shift to more uncomfortable areas. "It's fine," he replied dismissively, a wave of his hand to punctuate the point. "I'm just glad I'm the patient type most of the time."

He thought for a second. "Actually, that's another question I was going to ask. So your appearance will change back when Reno is in control again, right? I'm just wondering since it might be a tad difficult to know who's around otherwise, though there will be the obvious signs and such to help in that regard."

Oner gave a small sigh of relief as Thomas accepted the apology, the changed magus glad that the older wizard wasn't offended. "I am glad to hear it, as I would have hated for him to have been unknowingly offending you". Then, soon enough, Thomas shifted their conversation back to the original point, asking about Oner's interesting appearance and whether or not it would change back when Reno returned to being in control. "That is a good question, and you are right to assume so. Although you are a bit off about the whole control aspect. I suppose the only way to truly give this confusing situation some clarity, is to explain what we really are. I hope you are up for a rather..." Oner scratched his head for a moment, "long winded explanation..."

Thomas kept up a decent pace as they moved, and he nodded. "Go ahead."

(Renose/Flamelord Collab, Part 2)

"Well, to start things off, Reno and I aren't exactly from here. We hail from a different realm known as the Realm of Mirrors, or the Mirror Realm. It is not simply a world one travels to, as it cannot be traveled to by niether Gummi Ship, Glider, or even Corridor of Darkness. No, it is a different realm that exists in a different place, with no knowledge of it that I know of even being present in these different worlds". Oner gave Thomas a moment, a small look up at him before he continued his explanation. After all, it was going to get a little...complicated.

"The beings of this realm rarely ever address themselves as what they are like Humans often do so, but when they do they call themselves the Denizens of the Mirror. The younger ones are called Mirror Children until they reach adulthood. We are niether beings with split personalities or two souls, it is much different then that. Me and Reno art two wholes that are also two halves of a single existence, essentially two existences that make up a single one. A more accurate explanation would be that I am a reflection of Reno and Reno is a reflection of me, as even though we are the same person, we are also different people in our own right. Two people that share a single existence. Dost thou have any questions so far?"

Thomas's brow furrowed as he took in the explanation. Alright, so he was from some alternate realm that existed alongside this one yet pretty much separate, that one could only reach with the consent and assistance of the people there. That made sense. And explained how he was so good at magic, if their development was different. He gave Oner a nod of understanding, then let him go on. So the tricky bit. He and reno were apparently two existences combined into one, with one generally manifesting at a time. And they had different personalities. He could work this out.

"Okay. So, it's like sending a beam of light through a prism, and how it branches out into a bunch of separate colors. You two are separate, yet make up the same unified whole. And you are also mirror opposites of each other. Guess it helps where you came from ,since I'm not sure us regular humans are cut out for two different people inhabiting one persons body, even if they would be linked as intricately as you two are." His lips pursed as he thought, then his eyes lit up with a question. "Alright then, so I take it that Serin isn't your actual father then? And why did it take so long for you to show up, and only in brief flashes in the beginning?"

Oner gave a nod, a small smile appearing on his face. "Yes, that is quite a pleasent and accurate explanation. But to answer your first question about appearance our body does not simply change appearance. We each have a different body that is also a single body. In a sense, we have two bodies that are one, these bodies looking almost exactly alike, yet being different in key areas. My hair is black while Reno's is pale white, the colors of our eyes is swapped, and the Spirit Veins" he gestured to the circle on his forehead and the lines going down from the circle, "are white on me and pure black on Reno. My body is also a bit physically stronger than Reno's and not as frail while Reno possesses more magical strength than I do".

Then Oner proceeded to answer Thomas' other questions now. "No, he is not. Serin told Reno this around the time Reno first began practicing magic. Our father found us in an alleyway with only a letter and the stone holding Bahamhut clutched in our grasp. And as for why it took me a long time to show up...well, that is quite a long story actually, one that begins with our very birth". Oner stopped for a moment, noticing a shop selling sea salt ice cream nearby. "How about we grab a quick bite, and while we enjoy our food I can share with you this story?"

That was some interesting information indeed, that Thomas stored away in the back of his mind. It was something to consider if this dual people in one body thing was one of the reasons why Reno had seemed so strong, because he had the mana to draw on from two people. though he was probably missing something in that thought process, so he just wouldn't bring it up. The body situation was interesting in turn though, and the best he got to understanding was that he transformed when shifting, since something like having the unused body in a pocket realm or something when it wasn't being used sounded dumb.

He looked over at the shop, drawn by Oner's gaze, and contemplated the qestion before nodding, though he wasn't overly hungry at the moment. "Sure." Walking over, he decided not to go with ice cream, but instead got himself a soft pretzel and sat down to eat it, savoring the salt with the bread and cinnamon butter flavoring layered on. He absentmindedly ate while listening to Oner continue his story.

Oner chose a slushie, sitting down on the bench next to Thomas as he took a sip of the beverage before continuing his story. "Well, Mirror Children are born, and conceived, in the same way that humans are. They are a bit different when born though. They are not able to control which self is present at the current time due to their existence still being fragile and undeveloped, so often they will change every so often. Once they reach about our age, give or take a few years, this is no longer a problem and they are able to switch freely as they please. This is what normal Mirror Children go through".

Oner paused to take a sip of the frozen beverage, letting out a small exhale as he did quite enjoy the slushies that Reno made, so he was quite fond of these frozen beverages. "There are some though whose existences that are either a bit too balanced or unbalanced. And without a balance of chaos and balance, there is no harmony. In a sense, the child's selves have less indviduality and are not complete halves of one another. The selves often switch back and forth many times a day and may experience onsets of Oblivion at times as well due to this slightly unharmonious existence. With love and support though this problem is usually overcome".

Oner sighed a little, scratching the back of his head as he lowered it a little. "Reno and I...were incredibly different from the norm". His voice sounded a bit somber there, the Mirror Child pausing to take another sip of his drink from its straw before going on. "You see, when Reno and I were born you could say there was no Reno. There was no me either. Our existence was so balanced, so still, and so blank that we had no individual self. We were two selves that were just copies of one another. Not reflections, not two halves. We were essentially just one large half and, for a more proper term, a hollow, empty existence. One that would not last long, an existence that would probably experience Oblivion within the day it had been born..."

Oner stopped there, giving Thomas another moment to see if the older mage had any questions.

(Renose/Flamelord Collab, Part 3)

Thomas listened carefully once again, attention divided between the story and the pretzel, which was filling now that he thought about it. He hadn't eaten at all in the trip through the Horned King's world, whatever it was called. He just hadn't noticed because of how busy he was. He wasn't too surprised that the two had been born special compared to their average counterparts, though the condition itself was strange, there not being a real counterpart in the regular realm ofr fairly evident reasons. "Okay, so Oblivion. Does that mean you two would have just, ceased to exist or something?" Now he could finally see some of the stuff that the other mage had had to go through, though he didn't know it at the time, and it made him feel slightly better with his own problems, if it was unable to resolve them in their majority.

Oner gave a nod to Thomas' question. "It is more than ceasing to exist. You may have noticed it when you were with Reno, but were there times when he went completely emotionless? When Oblivion begins to onset, the personalities are the first to go. They act emotionless, only acting on the results of actions and ignoring all consequences and feelings brought by said actions. If we are able to pull ourselves back, we have no memories of the incident. If we are not able to pull ourselves back though... our entire existence shatters, like a broken mirror. We cease to be, but it is not just us that ceases to be".

Oner paused and for the first time there was a bit of fear in his voice, a bit of dread, but he took a sip of the beverage to calm himself down. "All memories of us also cease to be...meaning that anyone who ever knew us... all of the memories they had of us would simply cease to exist. Sure things we physically have left behind stay, but the memories... they all vanish. Oblivion for us means that we truly cease existing everywhere, even in people's minds..."

Thomas frowned, humming as he considered that. It was definitely bigger than he had thought. "Wow. I could see why that would be an issue. though I'd have to question whether that would actually affect, say, the group, since we aren't from the Mirror realm, and the fundamental differences between the two may result in a preservation of the memories of you. Or something. I don't know, and it's not something we'd want to attempt to put to the test." He took another bite from his pretzel, then nodded to Oner, for him to go on with his tale.

"Aside from our existences, some basic appearance differentiations, and the fact that we live for around 1000 years, give or take, we aren't that much different than humans. And yes, while you may be right... I still do not wish to test it out nonetheless, as testing it out would mean that Reno and I would have to cease existing". Oner then saw the nod and continued on with his story. "Our parents did not want our existence to shatter before it even began, so they placed a powerful spell upon us. It would begin slowly evening out our existence, allowing it to seperate and turn the single half into two, but that wouldn't be good enough."

"So our parents decided to send us to this realm to have us live among humans, beings with an individual self. They decided that if we lived as a human then we could experience ultimate individuality. The spell they placed on us would make only one self present while the other one remained in a deep sleep trance and give us a more human form. After that, they sent us to the human realm where we ended up in Radiant Garden and were found by our father, the only thing they had given us being a letter written in our realm's tongue and the stone that holds within it Bahamhut".

"For a while, eight years to be precise, Reno managed to grow up as a human child would. I slept, able to experience the world in my dreams, but not aware of where I was or even what I was as I was truly asleep. Until Reno learned magic that is. Him learning magic when he was eight must have done something to the spell, because the moment Reno obtained this power, I also obtained power as well, and was suddenly awakened somewhat. I still wasn't fully aware of what was going on, but I had a general idea. From then on, during the nights, I would come forth, still looking the same as Reno, but being myself".

"It didn't take father too long to find out that I was someone different and I told him what I knew, which wasn't much at the time, but I knew a couple things about what we are and where we are from. You see, along with the spell our parents implanted within us memories of our home that would come to us when the spell was broken, but with it weakening or changing a few of them returned to me. For the next three years I would come out at night while Reno slept and father would teach me white magic and swordsmanship while teaching and being with Reno during the day". Oner then paused there, drinking more of his drink before it melted too much and to also take time to answer any questions Thomas may have had.

More and more information about Reno, and this was still intriguing information as it was. He had to wonder if the denizens of the Mirror Realm just had a greater affinity for magic, or if it was something else, but he didn't expect Oner to know that much, since he had spent most of his life in this realm as it was. It might have been in that letter, but he felt he would be more able to glean the answer from listening, rather than directly asking. "I'm impressed Serin wasn't run ragged training the two of you day and night," he said, amused respect in his tone. He finished off his pretzel ,brushing his hands, before leaning back some and letting Oner go on.

"Well we didn't train all of the time. I mostly read books at night, magic books, sword technique books, history books. Certain days father would train the both of us, and other days we relaxed and enjoyed growing up and childhood, even if my childhood was mostly reading books and playing the occasional video game that Reno played that would pique my interest. Everything was nice, until three years after that". Oner took one more moment to finish the last of the beverage, making the now empty cup float in his hand before pointing to the trash can with his finger, the cup flying into the can with that single point.

"When Reno first obtained his Keyblade I obtained mine at the same time. After that, the spell was affected once again, but not for better. No. This time I lost my ability to surface during the nights and I gained a bit more knowledge from the spell, but not pleasent knowledge. It was more knowledge about what we were, but mostly about our existence. Oblivion and everything else, but most importantly... it was about how our people sleep. You see, Denizens of the Mirror sleep differently than humans and we do not need to do so every day. You see, when we sleep we enter a Trance, and usually identify our sleep method as Trancing".

"During this we dream, we rest, and sleep as humans would. Only difference is, we also keep our existence in harmony with trancing and we are semi-aware of our surroundings when in a trance. Not only that, but one self is capable of trancing while the other goes out and about, so technically we never need to truly sit down and sleep. Reno was not able to truly sleep as a Mirror Child should. He was able to sleep like a human, keeping his body and mind refreshed, but never able to keep our existence in harmony with his sleep, which he was also unconscious during like all humans are. Luckily we lived peaceful lives, so if we could have just continued until the spell broke on its own, we would have eventually awoken normally and we would be as we are today".

Oner paused for a short moment to once again allow Thomas to ask any questions.

Thomas shrugged, no questions present. Trancing wasn't too strange, if one accepted the rest of the facts that had been previously given. And it wasn't like it was totally different from normal sleep, so he didn't feel the need to kick up a fuss about it. There was a slight twinge for the individual childhood he recieved, but he let that pass as well, not in the mood to dwell in his own past. He wasn't the one explaining things after all, so back to the story here it would be.

"Well, when Reno got summoned by King Mickey he was eager to answer, and went on that journey with you and the others. We both experienced trials and tribulations that we had never experienced before. While normally this would be a good thing, for our existence it wasn't. All it would take is one push to make Oblivion begin to onset for Reno. This happened when he failed to save Scroop. Even if the man was a horrible villain, Reno wanted to save him and teach the errors of his ways, but he was unable to. That... was the one push Reno needed to shatter our precariously balanced existence and begin the onset of Oblivion".

"Luckily... Reno is strong and so am I. I was able to help him regain his strength and go on, helping him keep things together. Reno is not invincible though... even if his magic is great. Reno, just like myself, dislikes fighting. With all of the fighting that was going on it was only making things worse as our existence was still slowly crumbling, more onsets of oblivion appearing with me and him barely able to pull ourselves together. Eventually in Narnia I had managed to save up just enough strength to temporarily break the boundaries of the spell, with which I was going to take Reno to a different world were we could be alone... I was planning on then focusing all of my efforts on trying to get Reno to hear me through the spell so we could break it with our combined strengths and be whole again... but that wasn't the case. I overestimated my remaining strength and was forced to return...which is how Reno ended up in Prydain".

"Eventually Reno met Jake after letting the skeletons of the Horned King take him to prison, which Reno let them do since he wanted to see what a prison was like. After escaping easily with Jake and the other natives of that world he eventually met up with Belle by himself. The two of them went to fight the Horned King and save Hen Wen, but Mika of the Six Senses was there. He kidnapped Belle and Reno went after him. The two of them fought, Mika being quite tough, about as strong as Reno even. During that battle my voice finally managed to reach Reno, me and Reno combined powers to transform into our more powerful form to not only take on Mika, but also break our spell, and Mika fled after seeing that. The rest is history..."

Oner gave a heavy sigh after the story was finished, chuckling a small bit as he realized how long that story was. "Well, I hope that story wasn't too long for thee. Dost thou have any more questions about anything I have said?"

The blanks were filled in ow, and now at least Thomas knew the relative story about what had happened while he and Belle were separated on Prydain, though he nearly facepalmed upon learning that Reno had voluntarily gone to prison to see what it was like. The knowledge that they had a combined form that was even more powerful was somewhat daunting in terms of his goal of proving equal in his own mind, but he would figure out some way to do it. He most certainly knew more than before, and even his oher self was silent as it digested this information, for what intent he didn't know. and this in mind he supposed he could at least try and stand Reno longer, however successful that would be.

He sighed, stretching, before he responded. "Eh, I've seen nobles before, so it's not too bad. And I can't think of anything at the moment. If I do, I'll ask." He rose from his seat and looked at Oner. "Guess we should be back on our way then."

"Nobles?" Oner seemed a bit curious about this, but decided it could wait. "Actually I was thinking we go visit Ascot in the hospital, as that was my original intention. After all, he was hurt pretty badly by his new power, so I thought it'd be nice to see what he was up to. Hopefully Reno will have recovered by then, if not then I am sure he and Ascot can talk tomorrow. After all, Reno does need to catch up on some proper sleep since technically he hasn't slept in five years, so right now he is in a very deep trance, not even aware of what is going on right now".

Well then, apparently Ascot had gotten another ability as well. Good for him. Though Thomas couldn't help but wonder if the dark explosion was related. Not that that made much sense in any case, but he hadn't been there so he couldn't judge on the matter. "sounds good," he agreed, and moved off with Oner towards the hospital in question. Oe at least the one he had hopefully gone to. Otherwise there would be a lot of walking in the near future. Eventually though they did find the hospital, and were directed to the room ascot had been lodged in for the duration of his stay, arriving to find Jake still there and ascot resting in bed, though the younger warrior appeared to be awake now.

Stepping in, Thomas moved to near Ascot's bedside. "Well then. good to see you're looking better," he said casually, noting that he didn't look too bad, all things considered. "Let this be a lesson, that standing next to dark explosions is a bad thing."

"So how are you doing Ascot?" Oner stepped in as well, giving a small smile to the warrior of light in his bed. "Are you feeling any better? We did manage to heal you alot with those usages of Curaja, but even that level of healing magic can't restore everything".

"So... who planns on going to see the mayor?" Xahsouj asked the other nobodies in the Sandlot as the law-enforcers left.

"Lord knows I'm not." Satoko said as Rika shok her head.

"Then we're in agree ment that everyone can fuck off? Perfect. And it seems several already have. Even better." Xahsouj said as a Corridor of Darkness opened behind him" Stay if you want Xayama. The rest of us are going home."

With that he, Satoko, and Rika left. Joshua sighed and shook his head, seeing alot of his old self in his Nobody. He then turned to Xayama and motioned her to sit beside him
"You're definately her Nobody. Alot ruder but at least you're your own person." he said after geting her responce. He was still focused one Amaya and watching her condition. If things took a turn for the worse he might have to take her to the hospital just as Jake had done to Ascot.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, a small figure entered Ascots room. Amelia had followed him and Jake from the Sandlot by the looks of things. She moved into the room and near Ascot, making sure he was between her and Jake. She cupped her hands and held them out, her expression partly curious, partly begging. It would appear that the young Nobody wanted more goodies. Still she had went to say a word or make a sound at all for that matter. If she had managed to get into Ascot's room without anyone noticing she must've been good at sneaking around, which was probably helped by the quietness.

"Hello, Thomas, hello, Oner," spoke the boy. "Glad to see that you guys came to visit me." And, well, glad to see that you guys are friends with each other. From what Ascot had observed, Oner was less eccentric than Reno, and thus less grating on Thomas' nerves. That was a good thing.

When Amelia went inside the room, Ascot knew what to do; he got out an orange, peeled it, and gave a piece to the little girl.

"Try it," he spoke, "it tastes good. Anyway, Amelia, do you know how to speak?"

There was one more arrival in Twilight Town. At the station, in a flash of blue light, appeared the Red Wizard, Serin. Foster Father to Reno and apprentice to Merlin. In his right hand he held a blue crystal and in his left what appeared to be a letter of sorts, the envelope having been opened before very carefully, but resealed with tape. Serin took a moment to look at the blue crystal before taking a look around. "Reno's Return Crystal told me he was in this world. It also shows that Reno's presence has changed... does this mean that he has finally..." Serin paused that thought and began to walk away from the train station, hoping to find someone that had seen Reno or perhaps something that can show him where he had gone.

After a bit of walking Serin came upon the Sandlot, where he saw Joshua, Amaya, Rose, Elyse, and some blue haired girl he didn't recognize. He also saw another girl who looked strangely like Amaya, or so it appeared anyway. It was a bit hard to tell. Still, he decided to walk over to Rose and the others, the Red Wizard hoping to inquire about Reno's whereabouts. "Good day Rose". He gave the other mage a friendly wave as he walked over before he looked at Amaya with concern. It appeared from her wounds and the fact that there was some apparent destruction here with there being several benches that appeared to have been ripped off the ground and tossed around that some form of battle happened here.

"Is Amaya alright? What happened here?" He then looked at the crystal in his hand before looking back up at the others. "Also... have any of you seen Reno? Or perhaps a boy named Oner who looks exactly like him?"

Thomas shrugged, his feelings satisfied that Ascot was okay from whatever had happened, and glancing over as the girl from before showed up as well. He didn't have much to talk about at the moment, and he really wanted to spend the opportunity to train some, so he straightened up with a sigh. "Well, just wanted to make sure you're okay. I should get going. Stuff to do people to see and all that. If you don't get out by then, I'll check in later." He waved goodbye, and exited the room, leaving the hospital to go work on what he had wanted to do before getting pleasantly side tracked.

It was something of a walk, but he happened to remember some things of this place from maps he had looked at before, and he headed to a place where he could practice his magic, a back alley filled with scrap metal that would make excellent targets. Once there, he got to work, focusing on casting speed, as well as the power he could throw into the spell. Somehow Reno had figured out a way to combo cast, as well as use all three versions of a spell at the same time, and though he couldn't do that last part, he might still be able to figure out how to cast two spells as one. Metal shattered under the barrage as he got to work.

"that I am I am just more outgoing and more of a fighter"she said "I don't need protection ans I love fighting."she commented sitting down

amaya stirs some curling up against Joshua still out clould

"where do I start serin ...yes right.now.it seems Oner is in control he went with.ascot I think"she said "ascot for in a fight a rival of the past came ypand took the radiant gardens sign out of amaya's cheast so he has left and amaya has been out cold. ascot is in the hospital.and we just met many of the nobodies of this world. the girl over there is Mays nobody "said rose adjusting elyse

"I can tell." Joshua said to Xayama before cradling Amaya a bit more." But tell me a bit more about yourself. Where to you live and how do youget by for instance?"

"Hi Sewin" Elyse said before looking at Belle curiously. She then turned to her mother" Mommy who dat?"

Amelia took the orange and began eating as she listened to Ascot's question. She slowly nodded her head but still gave no verbal reply

"Hello Elyse, how are you doing on this fine day?" He gave the young girl a small wave and a smile, responding to her greeting.

Serin, after both listening to Rose's about the many different events that occurred before the Red Wizard's rival and responding to Elyse's greeting, gave her a nod as he adjusted the brim of his hat. It sounded as if some serious things had occurred here, but Serin was glad that everything seemed resolved for now, except for Amaya's condition of course. "Hmm... sounds serious. Perhaps we should get her to a hospital. After all, laying out here while unconscious can't be good for one's health". He also thought on Oner being in control, which also meant what Serin believed when he saw Reno's presence change with the Return Crystal he carried.

"Also, judging what you said about Oner being in control, it sounds like the two of them have finally awoken to the true form of their existence. Judging from what little Oner could tell me about it several years back, the two of them hail from a different realm. A place called the Mirror Realm, with the two of them not being humans at all. Instead they are..." he paused for a moment, scratching his head as he tried to remember what Oner had called it. "Ah yes, I remember now. They are called Denizens of the Mirror. Other than that though, that is all I know about it. Hopefully though Oner and Reno have more access to those memories that were locked away before and can shed more light on just what a Denizen of the Mirror is..."