Unaware of Riku and Mickey's presence, Add had no idea that Mickey aimed to knock him out before any real damage could be done. However, before the keyblade would strike him at the back of the neck... some invisible force deflected the weapon away and moments afterwards, a purple flash came from it. Soon following that, five other purple flashes of light came from different locations in the area, different from the distortions of time occurring around them...



"Something else doesn't want us to stop the distortion that's happening here... We need to take them out if we're going to get close to Add!"

Noticing another purple flash closing in on him, Riku summoned his keyblade and swung at where he saw that flash come from, slamming that invisible force to the ground. Being revealed upon being "disabled," the invisible forces with these flashes would be seen as some sort of mechanical weapon...



With one down, there was five to go...

As Riku managed to take down another one of those invisible weapons after Mickey did the same, the purple flashes of the rest were simply... gone. The time distortion came to a sudden halt, and silence came from Add. Possibly wearing himself out from the abrupt traumatic episode, the young boy caused himself to faint on the spot, mumbling quietly to himself before he lost complete consciousness,"Mom... Dad... you have to be... alive... please..."

"It doesn't matter if we get stuck into another mess, but I'm not leaving Add alone here. Not when we have particular Witches here that might get the idea of using him... whether or not they were the ones that gave him those powers..."

If Add was here in the first place, Riku didn't want to think on how the Witches would use him... especially Bernkastel, the one that brought Sora to this place and started this entire mess... Having his keyblade disappear, Riku carefully picked up Add and carried the boy in his arms. For some reason, Add felt a bit... heavier than he expected, but that was the least of his worries right now.

Down the hallway, they would see a particular black cat watching them, not long before it would retreat from their sight by making a left into another hallway.

Without much to say as Mickey gave chase after the cat, Riku followed, keeping an eye out for anything that may jump out at them. The cat, on the other hand, didn't seem to stop or falter with it's movements, possibly knowing it was being followed. Showing little to no care to that fact, the cat would scurry into one of the rooms in the Metaworld, and it was actually one of the rooms that they were in not too long ago. However, what they found wasn't exactly... pleasant.

The dead bodies of Kaika and Sota were found here, each of them had a single strange mechanical device lodged into their heads... and that device was no doubt the same type of device seen during the moments that Add was having a traumatic episode.

Riku wasn't sure on what to say, taking a moment to look over Add... Something wasn't right about this. There was no way that Add had purposefully did this, it was clear that his powers were somehow unstable with his emotions... there wasn't a way that he could...

"... Whoever did this, they truly have no heart..."

Clearly someone had it out for them, having left the very weapons that ended the lives of Kaika and Sota still present for whoever wandered into this room. But who that person was happened to be unclear? Both Riku and Mickey were unaware of any individuals that had personal grudges or vandettas against them... but maybe this might connect to Bernkastel. The Witch of Miracles was the reason why both Sora and Kaika were dragged here in the first place, causing this mess. However, they weren't exactly alone in this room that was now a crime scene within this Metaworld.

"Isn't that right?"

A sudden voice that would catch them offguard, a girl with empty purple eyes sat over at a chair that was furthest away from the door. A sinister air came about from her... she wasn't just an ordinary Witch...



"It's astonishing to see that two individuals such as these happen to fall on their end short against... these contraptions. Interesting that they originate from that boy you have there..."

Almost like a teasing gesture, the girl seemed to have interests towards Add, saying that he was the source of the machine-like weapons killing Kaika and Sota.

"... All of that power in a boy like him, he's bound to go about and accidentally kill those that didn't need to die. So... I suggest that you leave him in my care..."

Riku didn't respond to the girl's demands, whoever she was... but he had a gut feeling that she wasn't being as genuine as she was putting herself to be.

"If that's what you want to know, I'll share a little information that you're asking from me. Yes, I'm Bernkastel, the Witch of Miracles. As for... Sora, he's quite busy... I should say."

Her emotionless face showing the true disregard she had when it came to uncovering what was going on with Sora, Bernkastel would let a single Kakera reveal what had happened to Sora... showing that he had sacrificed himself to keep a similar timeline to this Metaworld from being taken down from some "time-eating" presence.



"... you had something to do with this. There wouldn't be any other situation that would force Sora to resort with that."



"I had nothing that related to that scenario other than bringing him to the Metaworld. Another Witch had brought him to that other timeline. That was not my doing."

As Bernkastel spoke, it seemed like Add was starting to wake up, and at that same moment, that whirring noise as if machines were starting up once more came about...

A subtle laugh came from Bernkastel, as if she knew what were to happen next. Getting up from her seat within this room, an unsettling smile appeared on her face.



"In that case, go and see for yourself if that is the cause of the distortion of time. It is not my doing, after all."

Without much warning, she disappeared in a cluster of blue butterflies, right at the moment that the whirring noises that would come from the area nearest to Add would intensify.

"Right. Just like old times..."

Keeping one arm to securely carry Add with, Riku summoned his keyblade with the full intention of defending against the mysterious machines that followed Add around. Some sort of cursed power that the young traumatized boy was stuck with... While Bernkastel claimed to have no direct involvement with this matter whatsoever, that didn't deter Riku's thinking that she had influenced this to occur... a delicate and elaborate plan by the Witch of Miracles. However, what Riku wasn't ready for was the sudden electrocuting feeling coming from where he didn't expect the most: from the boy Add himself...

Being let go from Riku's grasp, Add got himself back onto his feet, his traumatized and anxious exterior replaced with a sneering gaze. With a tilt of his head, the young boy happened to willingly command three of the strange machine-like weapons to surround the downed Riku, who was still stunned by the sudden electrocution, and soon enough, he would be encased in a plasma-like force field.

"... that was unbelievably easy."

Add mumbled as he held what seemed to be a purple crystal attached to a necklace string. How come the boy happened to be acting like this all of a sudden? Was this some sort of mind control? Or... or was this more of his own doing?

"Say... it wouldn't be a problem if I went and saw what a heart looked like. Riku does seem like a good place to start off with..."

The boy almost smirked as he had another one of his machines hover over the unconscious Riku, the machine turning into a drill-like form. Clearly Add, or whoever might be controlling him if that were the case, had overheard the various sayings that Riku and Mickey had been sharing this entire time. Letting his own words sink in, Add held one hand to cover his right eye, closing his left eye... before reopening it. This wasn't the same Add that they both met not too long ago.



"Now how about you? What can I do with you? Hm?"

As Add spoke, his body seemed to having a statical effect, as if something was completely off with this...

"... hm... is that it? You know, Mickey... nothing proved to solve my problems anyways..."

More of that static appeared around the young boy, further distorting Add's appearance. More and more of this occurred, and it soon enough, the static stopped... along with Add appearing rather differently than before.



"Besides... I won't have to worry too much anymore once there's no time anymore!"

Add had gone with a completely different type of behavior, supposedly that his child-like appearance as all a facade... Looking over at Mickey, he had three of his machines floated in front of him.



"Loook... your time's all up now! Kekekekekek!"

Laughing crazily, Add swung his arm down, signaling his machines to let loose an electrical shockwave to come Mickey's way.

Due to the fact that Riku was indeed hit hard by electricity that came from Add's weapons, it didn't seem like an easy recover by the looks of it. Majority of this didn't seem to tie in together well. What was Bernkastel's plan with all of this? With how Sora was seemingly gone, with how there was a possibly insane time traveler and manipulator on the loose, it was like everything was becoming more and more harsh on what they were to prepare for next.

"... e-excuse me for the abrupt entry here."

As if she had been here for awhile, a certain Witch that Sora had encountered before his sacrifice had been done in some other timeline, Crona, happened to appear in the real world with Mickey and Riku. Knowing that her actions had only made things easier for Bernkastel, Crona felt a tinge of guilt, but with that, she felt the need to somehow fix this mess... just somehow.



"May I share... some words with you? I never had the chance to until now... not without the constant watch of the Witch Bernkastel over me..."

"... I'm the current Witch of Time, Crona... and I had Sora go and resolve a timeline for me, as it wasn't... having a normal course. As if someone had tampered with it... little did I know that Bernkastel took advantage of this, sending another time manipulator into the equation, and putting my progress into a regression... All that I know that this time manipulator happened to disguise himself as his past self... this manipulator being named Add... correct?"

Crona tried to bring together all that she knew of the situation that she could pass on to Mickey, supposing that she had some info regarding Add at this rate.