Bonded Fate (PG-14 for Language and Violence)

again, awsome chapter ^^ love it!

 

Note: I changed the world around a bit, had to make some kind of events happen.

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Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1
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The Land of Dragons was a world torn apart by war. Still, there were peaceful places around. The small clearing where the boys and I were now was one of those places. As we walked ahead to scout out the area, I could hear Mushu and Mulan's conversation.

"See that Mulan? It's Shan-Yu, leader of the Hun Army! C'mon girl, this is your big chance!"

There was the sound of a fire, and a plume of red smoke was sent off into the sky. Sora yelped, falling over at the sight of it. AS Donald and Goofy helped him up, I kpet listening in on the conversation ahead of us.

"I can see it now: "Fa Mulan whips public enemy number one!" You're gonna be famous! I'm talking A-List girl!"

"Mushu, I'm not sure....I haven't even joined the Army yet. I have to take my father's place to preserve the Fa Family honor. I just hope I don't get discovered." Mushu scoffed.

"You're just scared. Admit it." Mulan smiled sheepishly.

"Aren't you?" There was a light smack, Mushu had facepalmed. We kept walking forward, and Goofy stopped, peaking into the little grove where Mulan and Mushu were. They all saw the giant shadow the little dragon was casting, and loked at one another.

"A Heartless?" Sora nodded.

"Let's get the jump on him!" Sora and Donald ran on ahead into the grove, while Goofy and I tried to stop them. It was useless, and their reckless charge scared Mulan into covering her head with her arms. Mushu jumped onto her head from behind the rock, and Sora skidded to a stop as he caught sight of the little dragon. Goofy and I walked into the grove a little more calmly, and he tilted his head.

"Is that Mushu?" The little dragon stood up straight.

"That's right, I know you've heard of me! I'm little, lethal and legendary! Now y'all scram before I get my dragon dander up!" I snickered as Sora smiled brightly. Dragon Dander?

"Hey Mushu! We've missed you!" The dragon snarled, smoke leaking out of his nose.

"Yeah, well you'd better hope I miss you, or you're....you're....Sora! Christie! Donald! Goofy!" As he hopped off Mulan's head, she looked at him.

"You know them?" Mushu nodded.

"Know them? Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of right spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon! Right?" Mushu leaned against Sora's leg as Mulan looked hesitant. Sora moved his leg, making Mushu fall over.

"Something like that." He looked at Mulan as Mushu shook a tiny fist at him.

"And..you are?"

"I'm Mulan. Um, no, I-I mean..." She cleared her throat, lowering her voice. Mushu popped his head up.

"Ping!" Donald's brow furrowed.

"Mulan Ping?" Mulan shook her head.

"Just...Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou." Sora tilted his head.

"You know Mushu?"

"Mushu's one of my family's Guardians." Goofys hands flew to his mouth.

"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family Gaurdian."

Mushu stood, dusted himself off and climbed up Mulan's leg onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's right! And that put's you four up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here!" Mulan hissed something at Mushu, and the little dragon waved one hand.

"Ah, they don't mind. Ain't that right." Sora and I nodded, smiling.

"Sound's fair to me." Mushu smiled brightly, hopping from one of Mulan's to the shoulder and back again.
"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial Army. We gotta fo find the other recruits over at the training camp." Mulan nodded.

"Would you join us? It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with guys like you." I coughed, she thought I was a....oh man....I shook my head as Sora piped up.

"What do you mean, "fit in"?" Mushu squirmed.

"Well, um, uh, don't, don't worry about that?" I shook my head, looking Mulan in the eye.

"It's becuase you're a girl, right?" As Mulan nodded, Sora and Donald jumped in surprise.

"You're a....girl?" Mulan smiled sheepishly.

"You didn't notice." Sora and Donald shook thier heads, and Mulan smiled to Mushu.

"I think it's working!" Mushu shook his head as Mulan led the way into the encampment.

"I don't know, those two would fall for anything." I laughed at the look on Sora and Donald's faces as I ran off after Mulan.

"Hey!"

"We're right here!" Goofy snickered as we entered the camp, and Sora took the lead. I could hear Mushu whispereing something to Mulan, and I rolled my eyes as "Ping" began to walk awkwardly into camp. Sora entered a line of soldiers that were waiting for lunch, but was pushed out of his spot by a stocky man with a black eye.

'Bout time we got some grub." Sora growled, getting up into Yao's face.

"Hey, no cutting!" Doanld stomped the ground with a foot.

"Get out!" Instead of politely doing that, Yao punched Sora in the face. The boy tumbled to the ground, rolling head over heels for a minute. He stopped rolling when he landed near a tent, laying on his staomch. Shaking my head, I leaned over him, dusting off his jacket as Donald and Yao exchanged blows. Goofy's hands flew to his mouth. Two more people came over, one incredibly skinny and dressed in yellow, the other rotund, tall and dressed in blue armor. Sora shoved his way up off the ground as Yao tossed Donald off his back.

"That does it!"

Sora leapt from the ground, trying to grab Yao as Donald jumped up and down on Ling's back. I put my head in my hands, sensing Mulan fidget behind me. Clenching my fists at my sides, I screamed. Everyone stopped fighting, staring at me like deer caught in the headlights. I glared, tapping one foot on the grass. Yao blinked in shock, staring at me.

"A girl?!"

"Soldiers! What's the meaning of this?"

Everyone in the army, along with Sora, Ping, Donald and Goofy, quickly ducked back into line, and I glared at the man who'd spoken from nearby. Standing at an imposing six foot high, Captain Shang could strike fear into any lesser soldier. But I've seen scarier dogs before, this man couldn't have scared me even if he'd tried. After inspecting the line, he turned to me, blinking in shock as he looked me up and down.

"You're, a woman..." I nodded curtly, not taking my eyes off him. I didn't trust men like him, military brats.
He frowned.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. Women are not permitted in this army." Mulan flinched, before I shook my head.

"I'm not going anywhere. And who said I was a part of your army?"

Shang sputtered, and I smirked. After a moment of his still sputtering like a fish out of water, I whirled on my heel, cutting down a Shadow before it could attack. My boys whirled into action, and the Heartless were gone in minutes. The so called "army" had scattered across the camp back into thier tents, peeking thier heads out as Shang walked over to us, wiping black blood from his blade. I quirked an eyebrow. So, the soldier brat could fight. Wonderful. He stared at us in turn, before turning to face me.

"Girl, what is your name?"

"Christie." Shang nodded.

"Very well. Christie, you and your companions are welcome in my troop, so long as you introduce yourselves.." Sora smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Sora."

"Donald."

"Goofy."

"Very well. You're welcome in my troop. Your battle skills are encouraging, and my troop needs it morale boost." Next to me, Ping fidgeted.

"I am the son of Fa Zhou---" Shang cut her off.

"You should return home." Ping sputtered.

"B-but...that would dishonor my family!" Shang quirked an eyebrow.

"You'd rather dishonor my troops?" Ping flinched, trying to act tough.

"Don't make me...!" Sora shook his head.

"If Ping trains hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time." Shang wasn't convinced, and Sora sighed.

"Just give us an assignment! We'll show you just how well we can work together."

"So...you want to be tested. Our orders are to ambush Shan-Yu's army on thier way here. They'll be coming through the Mountain Pass to the northwest of the Checkpoint." Sora nodded, tapping one foot on the grass as Donald smiled.

"We'll smash them!" Shang shook his head as I glared at the duck.

"I doubt that. You five are the advance party. Scout out the Mountain Pass for my troops." Crossing my arms, I tilted my head.

"So, send the scape goats into the front lines. Wonderful."

I turned on my heel, walking towards the checkpoint gate. The boys and Ping ran after me in a minute, and as we crossed the borders, the "mysterious figure" that Sora had said the Captain had seen appeared. It was a Wizard Heartless, just about 2 feet hight and with clawed hands. It's hat was about to fall off from it's jerky movements, but that would just lull it's opponent into a false sense of security. It was very good at fire type spells, leaving Donald to fire away at it with Blizzard from afar as Sora, Goofy, Ping and I hacked at it in close range. It fell after a few moments, leaving us standing in the ankle deep water. As I began to dispel my daggers, the water shook near my feet. Sora looked down, noting the water's unusual movement before he leapt aside, barely avoiding getting skewered by an Assualt Rider's spear. The creature stood at a good 7 foot hieght, with a humanoid body from the torso up, and a horselike body from the torso down. It's legs were skinny for it's weight, which left it tottering as Goofy knocked one leg out with a well aimed toss of his shield. It charged at the captain of the Knights, and he had to leap aside. Doanld sprung into action from near the gates, firing Thunder and Fire spells at the creature. As I jumped at the creature, slashing it's arms to try and get it to drop the spear, Sora skidded to a stop.

"Water conducts electricity...."

The boy jumped on top of the creature, clinging to it's neck as he tried to cast a Blizzard spell in time with Donalds Fire. It didn't work so well, and Sora tumbled into the water. His enchanted clothes stayed dry, but his hiar and uncovered skin was soaked to the bone. But it gave me an idea. We needed to unbalance this thing, make it fall into the water. As Sora returned to hacking away at the Assualt Rider, I scrambled over to Donald.

"Cast Break!"

The Duck blinked, but then smirked as he caught onto my plan. Sora jumped back as he felt the magic gathering, ad Donalds spell sent the Assualt Rider to the floor with a mighty splash of cold river water, soaking it's black fur through to the skin. Static electricity crackled in the air, and dual Thunder Spells from Sora and I sent the creature back to the Darkness from whence it had come. Sora shook his head, wringing out wet spikes as Ping picked himself up from the ground. He'd been unprepared for Donald's spell, and it showed as he rubbed his bruised back. Goofy came over from where he'd been standing near the gate leading to the Imperial City. We returned to camp just as the sun was setting, and Shang looked us over with eyes showing just a hint of pride.

"You've done a passable job. But stay alert. Rest for now, I'll have more tasks for you in the morning. There are empty tents near the Checkpoint Gate."

Leaving us with those words, he stalked off into his own tent. I'd taken great pleasure during my gaming to blow up that cloth shelter, but I held myself back from casting a Fire spell this time. Donald on the other hand, looked ready to blow up the man himself. Goofy put on hand on his old friends shoulder, and Donald heaved a sigh. They headed off to one of the empty tents, leaving Sora and I to take another. Ping had the last one with Mushu, but he didn't seem to care. Two sleeping mats were shoved into a corner of the tent, and we unrolled them to sleep. Sora winced as he layed on his side, poking his still bruised cheek. He sat up, crossing his legs as I was taking off my shoes.

"Do you think, Ping's gonna make it?"

I nodded, leaning back on my elbows as I filched around in one of my pockets for a clean cloth. Finding one, I cast a low level Blizzard spell into the weave, chilling the cloth. Sora gasped slightly as I pressed it against his cheek, but he nodded his thanks, laying on his uninjured side. We both drifted off to sleep quickly, exhausted from the days events. I don't know how long it had been before we were rudely awoken but an alarm bell, but it was still pitch black outside the tent, so I knew it was late. Sora shot up like a bullet, rocketing out of the tent and almost straight onto a Shadow's claw. I pulled him back in by the hood of his jacket, and he summoned the Keyblade just in time to avoid the strike. I slipped my shoes back on quickly, summoning my daggers as Sora stood. We raced from the tent, and I intercepted a Fire spell from a Wizard as it came our way. Donald, Goofy and Ping were in the fray as well, along with Shang and just about every other soldier here. The Heartless had attacked in the dead of night, and they seemed to know our weakest link. They kept heading for Ping, much to his annoyance. But instead of just standing there, waiting for the attacks, he met them head on to destory the Shadows. One last Wizard plagued us for a good ten minutes before it headed for Shang's tent, and the explosives inside. The Captain tried to head it off, but was thrown aside by it's claws. Goofy threw his shield at the Dark creature, and Donald cast Thunder at the moment the metal disk hit it, increasing the spell's power. It was enough to finish it off, leaving only a hot metal shield behind. Shang stood, adressing his troops.

"Men! We leave at once, it's time we attack."

Every soldier saluted, and raced back to thier tents to pack up anything they'd brought. Sora and I ducked back into our tents to roll up our bed rolls, and were out of our tent just as Chien-Po picked up the last explosive barrel and set it onto a cart. Shang walked over to us, eyes set on the Mountains.

"We need to proceed through the Pass. This most recent attack came from nowhere, we are no longer safe here. I want your group to clear the pass, we will follow with the explosives. Can you do this?"

Sora nodded, handing our bedrolls to the waiting Yao. We led the way through the darkened Checkpoint and into the Pass, Sora stopping as we first encountered the rock wall blocking our passage. Shang came up to us on his horse, and sighed.

"I was afraid of this. The Earthquake from yesterday has blocked our path, we'll need to blast our way through."

He ordered Chien-Po to set a few explosive barrels near the rocks, then called all the soldiers back and tried to light a match. But none caught fire in the wet night air, leaving Shang frustrated and the Darkness creeping up on us. I fidgeted, sensing it coming. Sora looked at me strangely, before he looked skyward with a sick look on his face. He'd smelled it too. Shang returned to the cart to get another box of flint matches, and I took my chance, lighting the fuse with a Fire spell. It blew apart the rocks, and the Heartless waiting on the other side with a massive plume of smoke and light, sending rock shrapnel and Heartless guts flying into the air. Donald squawked, covering his head with his feathery arms as Ping ducked behind the cart. When the smoke cleared, Shang shook off his surprise and continued to lead the way. The explosion had scared off the rest of the Heartless, so we reached the village with no problems. As Chien-Po led the cart into town, Shang rode up to us. He met our eyes in turn, looking at Ping the longest. I think he knew she was a woman all along, but I didn't have proof. Goofy smiled.

"Ping sure did great!" Donald nodded vehemently.

"You bet he did!" Shang smiled slightly, just a hint of a quirk in his lips.

"So I can see. Very well. Ping, you are allowed into my Troop."

Ping smiled brightly, bowing in thanks.

"Thank you Captain!"

Shang nodded, and we entered the abandoned village. I looked over the little town with sadness in my heart. Shan-Yu had forced the people into hiding, and they'd fled to the Imperial City for refuge. Shang sighed as he dismounted his horse.

"Men! We rest here until sunrise. After that, we continue up the Mountain to cut off Shan-Yu's movement. Prepare however you can, we are still in enemy territory."

He led his horse off to the well, leaving us standing in the snow. Soldiers were claiming the empty houses, gently moving the furniture around to make room for one another without disturbing the belonging's of the families that had lived here before. We grabbed our bedrolls from Yao's cart, claiming a small house near the cave outside of town. There was enough room for all of us in one room, so we didn't go any further into the house than we had to. As I layed there, trying to get to sleep, I sighed. War was all around us, even on worlds supposedly untouched by the Heartless. I closed my eyes, rolling onto my side. Whatever would come, I'd handle it in the morning.

Where ever you are, Riku, goodnight. I love you.

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Riku sighed, leaning back against the rock wall of his hastily found shelter. He was in a world where it rained often, sending the people into hiding to avoid getting soaked. After a moment, he leaned his head on his knees. He'd give anything to be fighting alongside Christie and Sora right now, just like he'd done during the first year they'd been away from home. He missed those days, he missed home. Riku shook his head. He couldn't miss home that much. After all, home was just a place to belong. For it to be home, he had to be at her side. He had to be there to catch her when she fell, just like she'd been there for him. After being lost in his thoughts, Riku finally drifted off to the sound of the rain.

Where ever you are Chris, Goodnight. I love you...
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Dawn came to soon for Sora, according to the boy in question. I just laughed, rolling up my Bedroll and heading outside into the snow. Of course, after smelling breakfast on the wind as I opened the door, everyone in our shared room bolted from the house and ran into the foodline. I stood there, clutching the door as I laughed. It was a funny sight, to see two fully grown adults squabbling over who got more rice. I took the offered bowl from the man on kitchen duty, and picked at my food as I watched the soldiers follow orders. Shang was at the head of the operation, and he did his job well. Sora tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned to face the little group that had assembled while I was eating. Ping had his hands on his hips, and was staring down at Mushu.

"Mushu, no. It's to dangerous. We can't take on Shan-Yu on our own, and you know it!" Mushu fidgeted.

"But, but, but, but....." Ping shook his head.

"But then again, we're not alone. After all, Sora, Christie, Donald and Goofy are here too."

We all nodded, and Mushu perked back up as Ping leaned down to be at his level.
"Now, where did you see him?"

"At the cave near the Mountain! He can't have left yet!"
Mushu led the way into the Village Cave. The entrance was lined with explosive carts, but the cave itself was a dead end with a small shrine at the back. Sora shook his head.

"It's a dead end." I frowned, heading into the cave.

"There's nobody here Mushu." The little dragon blinked in shock, hanging onto Ping's shoulder.

"You're crazy. Check again!" We did, checking the cave from top to bottom. There was still no one here, and Donald sighed.

"Oh well...." He left the cave, with Goofy on his heels. Sora began to run after them, but stopped as the
Cave shook beneath our feet. Ping looked up as dust fell around us, and Mushu clung to his hair.

"What? What's going on?"

Sora bolted for the exit, stopping cold as a Barrier shot up to block his passage. The honeycomb patterned light was impossible to step through, although we could hear Donald and Goofy's protests. Summoning my daggers, I stepped further into the cave. Sure enough, the Heartless appeared. A dozen odd Shadows, and two Assualt Rider's. The Shadow's fell easily, but we all got bruised and bloodied by the Riders. When they were gone, the Barrier fell. Sora wiped a little blood off his mouth, hands on his knees.

"Nice fighting Ping! You were amazing." Goofy and Donald came over to us, and Goofy placed a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"You ok, Sora?" The boy nodded, standing up straight.

"Yeah. Thanks to Ping and Christie." Mushu hopped off Ping's shoulder, looking up at us.

"C'mon! Time to report to the Captain!" I shook my head.

"But Shan-Yu wasn't here." Mushu waved a hand.

"Please! That Hun is old news! We're gonna tell the Captain how thousands of Heartless stormed the cave, and Ping took out every one of them!"

I laughed behind my hand, and Sora rolled his eyes. Regardless of Mushu's story, we left the cave, only to come into a gust of smoke filled air. We all coughed until the air cleared, and when it did, we saw that the village had been burned to the ground. All that was left were some still burning piles of blackened wood and ash, standing out against the red snow. Almost a dozen soldiers were laying face down in the snow, as the survivors collected thier comrades body for a burial. Shang leaned against a still standing wall, as his horse nibbled on his singed cape. Ping ran to Shang's side, with us on his heels.

"Captain!" Shang tried to stand, but ended up having to support himself on the wall. Sora leaned over.

"Don't overdo it Captain!"

"It's just a scratch." Just a scratch does not make people collapse, and that's exactly what Shang did. Ping leaned him against the wall, then put his hands on his knees.

"Captain, the enemy! Where did they go?" Shang gestured towards the Mountain.

"They went towards the Summit..." Shang closed his eyes, and only the gentle rise and fall of his chest told us he was still alive. The Medic came over, and with the help of two soldiers, carried the Captain into the Medical tent. Ping looked after them, looking almost disappointed.

"We'll have to stop them before they do this again." Goofy nodded, rubbing the back of his heck.

"It kinda is our fault..." Ping nodded, and Mushu stalked away near his feet.

"You mean MY fault." I shook my head, and Sora and I kneeled over to look Mushu in the eyes.

"Mushu, it's not your fault at all, ok?" Sora nodded.

"Christie's right. Shan-Yu and Heartless did this, not us." We stood, and Sora looked over the Village, before turning to the Mountain."

"Let's go." We ran through the snow, heading through the Ridge and onto the Summit. We arrived with no problems, but once on teh Summit, We had to duck to avoid getting our eyes gouged out by the hawks talons. It flew towards it's master, standing on the very top on the Summit. We all summoned our weapons, and Shan-Yu cleaved his sword through the air.

"Attack!" Ping braced himself for human attackers, but only Rapid Thruster's came over the snow. At least two thousand of them came charging at us, and we began to hack through them. But there were just too many, and we were overwhelmed by the yellow creatures. Stinging with a wound on my hand, I didn't hear Shan-Yu's charge until he let loose a battle cry. More Heartless came after him, and Sora stepped back. Yao, Chien-Po and Ling arrived, carrying the last cannon.

"Stand back!"

"We'll handle this!" Yao set the cannon down onto the snow, and Ping looked from it's aim to the Mountain. Butting Yao away with his shoulder, Ping grabbed the cannon and raced away. He aimed it at a smaller peak loaded with heavy snow. Setting it down into the snow, Ping patted himself down looking for a flint match. When he didn't find one, he looked to Mushu. The red dragon tried to run away before Ping could grab him, but didn't get far enough before Ping snatched him up, stretching him so he breathed fire and lit the fuse. Mushu leapt out of Ping's hold just as the cannon took off, and he screamed.

"You're going the wrong way!"

The cannon hit the smaller peak, sending all the snow on top of it crashing down in an immense avalanche. Ping pumped a fist, and Sora and I turned as footsteps sounded behind us.

"Yes!"

"Captain?" Shang had arrived, and was walking straight into the path of the rushing snow. Ping looked between him and the falling white, and lept to his feet.

"Look out!" The snow continued to race down from the Summit, taking Shan-Yu and the Rapid Thruster's with it as if folded and roiled like a tsunami. Ping took SHang by the hand, pulling him behind a rock away from the falling snow. Not wasting anytime, the boys and I followed after them quickly as the snow raced past us. The snow poured over the edge of the mountain, leaving us to catch our breath from the headlong run. Shang swallowed.

"Thanks, Ping."

"It was nothing."

"I should never have doubted you. From now on, you have my trust." Ping smiled brightly bowing slightly.
"Thank you, Captain!" Mushu popped out the snow, and began to run his mouth.

"First she uses me as a lighter, then she turns me into a cannon ball! The head Ancestor's gonna hear about this! You know, that's it! I give up! I can't take this no more. C'mon Mulan, let's quit this charade and go home."

"Mushu!" Shang looked from Mushu to Mulan.

"Mulan? A woman? It can't be!" Mulan said nothing as we ran over to them, Sora calling out.

"Ping! Captain!" Goofy sighed in relief as I winced. I knew that look. I called out to them.

"Are you two ok?" Shang turned on us, glaring.

"You all knew, didn't you? You all knew that Ping was really a woman in disguise!" We looked at eachother, trying to come up with an explanation. Shang stalked away.

"The punishment for high treason and dishonoring the Army, is death. Get out of my sight...now. You're all dismissed." Sora raised one hand, looking after Shang.

"But, Captain...." Shang shook his head.

"My debt is repaid." He walked away, leaving us standing on the now clean Summit. Mulan sighed, and Mushu hopped up on her shoulder.

"Mulan....I blew it...." Mulan shook her head, handing Mushu over to me as she shrugged out of her armor. She let her hair down, standing in front of us with her eyes determined.

"Thank you everyone. Sorry I got you into trouble." Sora smiled, shaking his head.

"It's no big deal. So Ping, sorry, Mulan, what're you gonna do now?"

"Go back home." Mushu hopped from my arms and back onto Mulan's shoulder.

"You know, your daddy's gonna be steamed as a chicken dumpling." Mulan sighed again, and Sora grabbed Donald and Goofy. I scurried away before they grabbed me into thier group hug, and I stood behind Sora with a smile.

"Relax Mulan. We'll take our share of the blame too." Mulan smiled.

"Thanks. You're all wonderful friends." She led the way off the Summit and back down onto the Ridge. I looked up as Shan-Yu's hawk flew over head, landing on a tree limb near where Shan-Yu burst out of the snow below us." Mulan and Sora leaned on thier hands on knees, looking at the evil man as he climbed down the Mountain.

"Shan-Yu!"

"He's alive?!" I looked to where he was headed, snarling.

"He's heading for the Imperial City! We've got to warn the Captain!" Mulan nodded, and she led the way back to the checkpoint. No Heartless blocked our passage into the City, and Mulan raced ahead to try and catch up to Shang.

"Shang!" He stopped, turning to face Mulan.

"Shan-Yu is alive! He's headed this way!" Shang frowned, looking away.

"And why should I believe you this time?" Sora looked at Shang with disbelief in his eyes, looking to me for help. I stepped forward.

"She telling you the truth! We saw him pop out of the snow and come this way!"

Shang glared, opening his mouth to speak, but Donald's sqauwk made us all look up onto the roof of the Palace. He smirked evilly, and began to jump from one roof to another as he scouted out a way into the Palace. Shang snarled.

"Gaurd the Palace! Do not let the enemy get anywhere near the Emperor!" Yao, Ling and Chien-Po charged the Palace to follow Shang's orders, but the other three soldiers just stood there.

"That's on order!" The soldiers that had remained behind transformed into Heartless, leaving Shang speechless. Sora and I jumped in front of him, weapons in hand. Sora looked over his shoulder at the other man.

"Captain! We'll secure the courtyard, and you can save the Emperor!" Shang stood still, until Donald stomped on his foot.

"That's an order!"

Shang nodded, coming to his senses and running to the main Palace entrance. The Heartless swarmed around us, Shadows, Wizards, and one Light Tower. It looked like a vertical brick with a round head peeking out deom the bottom end. It used that head as a weapon, throwing it around like a ping pong ball. Sora hit the ball back into it's hole with the Keyblade, destroying it. Once the rest of the Heartless were gone, we raced up the stairs to the Palace Gate, where Shan-Yu was holding the Emperor at sword point.

"Now you bow to me!"

As Mulan reached the top of the stairs, Shan-Yu turned to face her. His attention away from the Emperor, Shang jumped into the fray, knocking Shan-Yu away and helping the Emperor back into the Palace. Chien-Po and Ling slammed the gates closed as Shan-Yu stood, racing for the gates. We beat him to it, weapons drawn. Mulan stood determined.

"It ends now!" Sora nodded, and I crossed my daggers.

"Right now!"

The hawk landed on his master's shoulder as he began to glow tih Darkness, laughing evilly. The hawk took off, and as Sora tried to parry Shan-Yu's blows, the hawk kept getting in the way. After ducking another swipe of the creatures talons to my face, I'd had enough. On it's next pass, I leapt on top of it, forcing it to the ground. It struggled beneath me, and I winced as the talons scored down my arms. Mushu noticed my distress, and ran over. He fireballed the chicken, making it lose all it's feathers. He rode it like a Chocobo, and I jumped back into the fray, intercepting a sword blow intended for Sora with my daggers. Shan-Yu jumped away, straight into Sora's blade. He fell over, clutching his side. As he faded away into the Darkness, his sword and hawk remained behind. Mushu, still riding his new mount, pumped one fist in the air.

"Now that's what I call burning some hunny-bun! Aw yeah baby! Mulan's the best, Mulan's the best! No, wait a minute, I'm the best! Mushu's the best, Mushu's the best!"

Sora and I laughed at the tiny dragon's antics, but stopped laughing as the Palace doors came open, letting the Emperor and Shang came out. The Emperor stood, staring down at Mulan sternly.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan." She bowed to the Emperor, closing her eyes.

"You stole your Father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated and Imperial soldier. You decieved your commanding officer, shamed the entire Chinese Army, and dishonered your family name." Sora put his hands on his hips.

"We get the picture..."

"You'e a young woman. And in the end...." Donald looked away, discouraged.

"You have saved us all." The Emperor bowed to Mulan, and as she looked up to take in the situation, the crowd that had gathered in the square cheered, sounding like booming thunder. Sora, Donald, Goofy and I joined into the clapping, making Mulan blush.

"Your Excellency!" The Emperor turned to Shang.

"Captain Li?" Shang nodded, gently handing Shan-Yu's sword over to Mulan, the cloth wrapped blade sitting quietly in her hands.

"Take this, so the world will know what you have done for China." Mulan bowed again, smiling.

"Thank you." SHang took a deep breath.

"Mulan."

"Yes?"

"Sora."

"Sir?"

"Christie."

"Hmm?"

"Donald."

"Wak?"

"Goofy."

"Yes sir?"

"Thank you." Shang bowed to us slightly, and the Emperor frowned.

"'Thank you"? Is that really all you have to say, Captain? If you wish to win the heart of Fa Mulan, you'll have to be a bit more eloquent than that." Both the Emporer and Mulan laughed as Shang opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Sora and I turned to Mulan.

"Can we get your autograph?" Mulan smiled, gently hugging us both.

"Thank you for everything, Sora, Christie." At our feet, Mushu was jumping around happily.

"Now they GOTTA let me go back to bieng a Guardian, they just GOTTA!" Goofy tilted his head
.
"But Mushu, I thought you already WERE a family gaurdian!"

Mushu blanched, backstepping away from us

"What? Oh, no, no, don't even worry about that, that's just real technical. Just for us Gaurdians." Sora's jaw dropped.

"You tricked us!" Both Sora and I ran after the little Dragon, but stopped as Mulan gasped. Shan-Yu's sword was glowing in her hand, floating into the air as Sora raised his Keyblade. A chilled wind blew across the courtyard, and I heard the roar of a mysterious creature and smelled roses.

"Beast's Castle...."

Donald smiled happily, jolting me from my thoughts as Goofy and Sora sighed.

"Guess it's time we get moving." The Emperor crossed his arms.

"You shall be missed." I tilted my head.

"Is it okay, if we come back to visit sometime?" Mulan nodded.

"Of course!" Shang smirked.

"We will look forward to your return."

Sora put his hands on his hips, smiling at Shang and Mulan.

"You two play nice now!" Shang and Mulan blushed, stepping away from one another. Mulan giggled, Mushu jumping onto her shoulder as we headed down the stairs.

"Goodbye, Sora, Christie, Donald, Goofy!"

We waved goodbye over our shoulders, heading back to the Checkpoint for the Transport Beacon. Infinity beamed us back aboard, and I set the data for the next world. Sora leaned back in his chair, smiling as he closed his eyes.

"You know how you said you just knew that Riku was ok, Chris?"

I nodded, pulling Infinity out of China's airspace.

"Well, I think I know what you mean. I can feel him too, I know he's ok." Sora and I smiled, letting Infinity take us to where ever the Keyblade would lead.

It knew best, after all.
-----
A/N: I had a bit of trouble writing Shang's reaction to Christie, but I managed after realizing that he respected good fighters. Since she's been fighting for at least 4 years, she's a good fighter. Anyway, I hope you liked it!

Silver

 

i really liked what you did when Shang saw Christie >.< and i know this might throw the story off a little, but i'm just wondering why after seeing that Ping, or.. Mulan didn't show that she was a girl ><

other then that, AWSOME!!!!!*jumps into the air, holing up two thumbs*

 

"Ping" Didn't show she was also a girl becuase she couldn't fight well. Shang had a grudging respect for Christie becuase she could fight well enough to defend his troops if needed. "Ping" on the other hand, no so much.

 

oh, i see ^^

 

Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1, with one little addition. Dumbledore, and any further Harry Potter characters I may or may not use, belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. Capiche?

---
Beast's Castle, one of my favorite worlds. Even though it had been really dark on my old set, it wasn't so bad here. Infinity transported us down near the front doors, ans with Sora's help, I heaved them open. The hallway inside was dimly lit, making it very dreary
.
"Hey, what is this place?" Donald looked up at cieling, falling over as he couldn't stretch his neck far enough.

"It's huge!" Goofy's grip tightened on his shield.

"And kinda spooky too, don't ya think?" Sora nodded, looking this way and that.

"I wonder who lives here." We all covered our ears as a loud roar rang throughout the hall. Once the ringing in our ears had cleared, I tilted my head.

"Is it just me, or was that really familiar?" Sora nodded as another roar was heard, and he snapped his fingers.

"That's the Beast!"

Donald and Goofy nodded, jumping as Sora pointed to something on the ground. I whirled on my heel, daggers drawn as we ran after the Shadow heading into the Parlor. Donald headed in first, peeking in around the door. We all headed down the few stairs in the room, and Donald headed for the corner, where Beast's Rose rested on a table.

"Where did it go?"

He caught sight of the Rose, and as if in a trance, headed straight for it. The Shadow popped out of the ground, scaring the poor duck out of his wits and snapping him from his trance.

"Found it!"

Another pair of Shadow's popped up behind Sora and I, making us jump and summon our weapons. We were forced onto the carpet in the center of the room as the Shadow's danced around us. But no matter what we did, they just kept coming. My blades and hands were covered in the black blood they left behind, and I could sense Donald's Mana running dry. Goofy and Sora had knocked many a Shadow away from the Mage as he tried to down an Ether, but they were too fast. We backed onto the center of the carpet again, backs against one another. Sora's sides were heaving, and he rubbed his eyes.

"Aw c'mon! Enough already!" Clutching his staff, Donald cried out.

"Somebody help us!"

As if on cue, the Parlor doors slammed against the wall as they were forced open. Scowling fiercely, Beast walked into the room. Hope seemed to flood our little group as the man in front of us cleared the remaining Heartless away, but my heart sunk as I saw the look in his eyes. He wasn't here to bail us out of trouble like he'd done in the Ruins of Hollow Bastion, not this time.

He was here for the Rose, and the Rose alone.

Sora didn't realize this, and stood up straight with a smile on his face.

"Just in time!"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a cry of surprise, as Beast's toss threw him into the wall. Donald and Goofy were thrown to the opposite side of the room, and I was launched near the stairs with a cry. Beast walked over to the Rose, picking it and it's case up gently, like a mother would her child. He turned away from the corner table, stalking out of the room as I picked myself off the ground. Sora, Donald and Goofy joined me in the center of the room once more, and Donald was rubbing a large bruise on the side of his head. Goofy frowned.

"Gee, do ya think he could have forgotten us?"

Sora shrugged, but crossed his arms over his chest.

"With this many Heartless around, something has to be going on. We'd better go check it out."

I nodded, letting Sora lead the way from the room. Donald took up the rear, and I heard him mumble to himself.

"Why'd he have to do that?"

Smothering my giggle behind my hand, I nearly crashed into Sora. The boy was staring at the wide staircase, brow furrowed.

"What's wrong Sora?" He blinked, and tilted his head.

"I just know I saw a lady at the top of the stairs..." We all followed his gaze, and I nodded.

"If Beast is here, there's a good chance that lady was Belle." Sora smiled to me and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Belle must know what's gotten into the Beast, so we should ask her."

He turned to Donald and Goofy, who nodded. As we entered the East Hall, I felt Griever roar out a warning, just in time to pull Sora back from getting his head cleaved off by a statue that had come to life. The boy yelped as I tugged him down, eyes wide as he stood in a hurry, summoning the Keyblade once more. Goofy and Donald charged at the creature, but Donald could do little to injure it. Bieng made of stone, no magic affected the statues, and becuase of that, our mage was forced from combat. The statues in the hall all fell to a mix of Sora's Keyblade, my Daggers and Goofy's shield. Donald pouted as we continued forward with the statues defeated. Approaching Belle's door, Sora and I scooted to one side as Goofy stood on the other. Putting one finger to his lips, Sora gestured to the door. Donald nodded, gearing for a charge to ram the doors down. I heard the lock click open, and Sora reached out to grab the duck as he charged into the opening doors. As he landed on his face, I winced in sympathy. He shook off the rough landing however, and raised his head.


"Hey! Who opened the door?"

He looked up, yelping as Belle drew him into a relieved embrace.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're all here!"

As Donald struggled in Belles arms, she looked over his head to us.

"Donald! Sora! Christie! Goofy!"

The boys and I waved, and I had to clutch at Sora's shoulder to keep my balance as I held in my laughs at the way Donald was struggling.

"Put me down! Put me down!"

Belle blinked, realizing she still held Donald in her arms. Apologizing, she set the dizzy duck down onto the ground, where he sat as we entered the room. After a moment, he recovered enough to stand on wobbly legs.

"Where's the Beast?" Belle looked away, crossing her arms.

"Oh, he must be in the West Wing. We don't talk like we used to anymore." Sora tilted his head.

"Did something happen?" Belle nodded, frowning in confusion.

"Yes. Isn't that why you're all here?" I shrugged as the boys looked to me, and turned to Belle.

"Not really. But since we're here, we can still help." Donald and Goofy nodded, the duck having finally recovered his balance.

"The Beast won't talk to you?" Belle nodded, walking over to he balcony door and throwing it open. The chilled night winds blew her thin curtains around, but I was grateful for the fresh air.

"He's been acting strange lately. The only ones who could know why are locked up the dungeons below. I want to help them, but...." Sora tilted his head, confused.

"Wait a minute. Who locked who up?"

"The Beast locked up his servants." Donald crossed his arms over his torso, tapping one foot.

"But why?"

"That's what I don't know." Sora "hmmed", putting one hand on his chin. He looked up after a minute.

"Where's this dungeon Belle?"

"You should be able to get into the Dungeon from the Undercroft in the West Hall. Just be careful, the Heartless are everywhere now."

Sora nodded, giving her a thumbs up as we left the room, shutting the doors behind us. Despite Belle's warning, no Heartless stopped our passage into the West Hall, and we walked past rows of unmanned armor. Sora looked around the expansive, lit hallway.

"There should be a way into the Undercroft from here, right?"

At Goofy's nod, Sora continued his search by beginning to push a wardrobe from the only doorway that was unblocked. He noticed the doorway a second after I did, and before I could stop him, he whooped in joy.

"Here it is!" He jumped backwards in shock as the Wardrobe came to life.

"Do you MIND?! I was TRYING to sleep!"

We watched in shock and confusion as the wardrobe lifted herself up, walked the short distance back to her original position, and began to fall back asleep. When she started snoring, Sora began to push her again. With a
little help from Donald and Goofy, we finally got her out of the doorway. She came awake once more.

"And I was just starting to get comfortable... May I help you young man?" Sora blinked, then nodded.

"Right. Belle needs us to go into the dungeon, to find the servants." The Wardrobe smiled.

"Goodness! You're here to help my friends? Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"Er...well....you kind of startled us before." The wardrobe smiled in apology.

"I'm sorry about that. You see, I used to be a human until the Enchantress cast her spell. I was turned into this wardobe while the Prince was transformed into a Beast."

Donald and Goofy stepped back in shock, shouting in unison.

"The Prince is the Beast?!"

"The Beast is a Prince?!" Wardrobe nodded, frowning a bit.

"That's right. Although his behavior was far from Princely at the time." I tilted my head.

"What's this about a...spell?" Noding once more, Wardrobe launched into her story.

"Well, it was a cold winter's night, just a few days before Christmas." The boys nodded, wanting her to continue.

"And that's enough for now. You can hear the rest once you've rescued the others. It'll give you something to look forward to." Donald pouted, but Sora smiled. As she moved away from the doorway to let us in, Wardrobe spoke up again.

"You'd best hurry. That dungeon is damp and chilly, certainly no place for a clock!"

Sora quirked a brow.

"A...clock?" Wardrobe nodded, somehow herding us to the doorway.

"You'll find out soon enough dears, now hurry!"

We nodded, and Sora and I pulled open the heavy door. Inside the Undercroft were lots of boxes and tarps. This must have been a storage area, if the Prince hadn't used the dungeon's often. Donald walked over to the dungeon door, not noticing the sentinals coming to life. He placed an ear against it, and the eyes of the otherwise cold statues came to life. Backing away, Donald barely kept his beak attached as the creature's claws slammed into the keyhole.

"Uh-oh...."

He turned and ran, hiding behind Goofy as the Heartless tried to slam a fist down on top of him. I summoned my daggers as they joined thier hands, letting Sora run to attack them. Throughout the fight, Hook Bats kept appearing. Normally, we'd have ignored them and just continued onwards, but in such tight quarters, they were increasingly annoying. After nearly losing his hat to one, Donald whirled around, knocking it from the air with his staff bieng used like a golf club. He continued to keep them off our backs with Magic after that, giving Sora and Goofy a chance to knock the sentinals on the door out. Instead of fading away like most Heartless would have, they continued to stay there. But they lost all thier color as a ball of Dark Energy came floating out of the Keyhole. Sora stared after it for a moment, then charged at it before it was out of range. Goofy and I chased after the ball as it got away from Sora, and it was quickly defeated. With it's life energy spent, it hovered over the room and faded away. The doors behind us unlocked with a loud sound, and Donald turned.

"You think the dungeon's past this door?"

Sora nodded, trying to pull the stone doors open. He grabbed one handle and tried to pull, but he couldn't do it on his own. Goofy and I grabbed the other handle, and we managed to get them open enough to squeak through. Once inside, Sora looked around
.
"There's nobody here." Donald's jaw dropped.

"You mean, there's nobody to rescue?" Sora sighed, nodding. As we turned to leave, a french voice spoke up.

"Did someone say rescue?"

Another voice spoke up, this one with a british accent.

"Shhh! Keep quiet. It might be THEM!"

A third voice, this one motherly and kind, continued.

"Oh, they look like nice folks to me. Why else would they have come down all this way?" Still looking around, Sora called out to the room.

"Belle sent us to find you. If there's anyone in here, can you please come out?" I tapped Sora's shoulder, pointing to the chairs set against the back walls as a winding clock, three pronged candlestick, teapot and teacup hopped off of them and onto the ground. I smiled slightly as we bent down to be at thier levels, letting Sora do the introductions.

"I'm Sora. This is Christie, Donald, and Goofy."

Almost hypnotized by Cogsworth's ticking hands, Donald grabbed the little clock, startling the rest of us. Chip hid behind my hand with his mother close by, as Lumiere crossed his "arms" and heaved a sigh. Cogsworth was trying to get Donald to put him down, to no avail.

"...D-don't touch! I-I am self winding sir!"

Still ignoring the clock's protests, Donald continued to examine the clock's workings. Sora rolled his eyes, turning back to Lumiere as Chip peeked out from my hand.

"I'm glad you're all alright." Lumiere nodded, turning to the boy.

"It is we who are overjoyed to see you!"

Cogsworth giggled as Donald tickled his foot and tugged on his arm. I turned to Lumiere.

"Did the Enchantress cast a spell on all of you too?"

Mrs. Potts nodded, watching Chip hop from my hand to Sora's. The boy gently placed him on the ground, and the little teacup hopped over to his mother.

"Yes. It was a winter's night, very long ago. An old beggar woman came to the castle, and asked for shelter."

Cogsworth began to tell the story, even with Donald still playing around with him.

"But the master of this castle, that is of course, the Prince..."

Donald opened up the pendulum window, playing with the hanging timer. Cogsworth slammed the glass window shut, scaring Donald into putting the clock down onto a box. Dusting himself off, the clock continued the story.

"The master turned her away. All because of her, meager appearence." We all stood, and Goofy shook his head.

"That's awful!"

"Oui. He was a spoiled Prince. So selfish and...how shall I say...cruel." Cogsworth verbally protested the slander of thier master, and Mrs. Pott's continued the story.

"The old woman warned our master not to be decieved by appearences. Still, he would not take her in." Done with chewing out his comrade, Cogsworth picked up the tale.

"Then the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. She turned the Prince into a Beast, a shape she saw fitting for his cold heart. And to further punish him, she turned everyone in this castle, that is, us, into household items." Sora blinked, trying to clear the shock from his brain.

"Wow...that's quite the story." I nodded, turning to the servants.

"Is there anything at all we can do to help?" Doanld smirked.

"Let's get the Enchantress!" Mrs. Pott's shook her head.

"Oh no dears, we already know what must be done. But with the Master out of sorts as of late..." Sora crossed his arms over his chest.

"He sure is acting strange. It's almost like he's, forgotten to trust the people around him..." Sora looked at the ground, and I knew he was thinking about how Riku had acted when we were just a little younger. Cogsworth's question made him look up.

"You don't suppose that he's been, turned into a Heartless, do you?" We shook our heads, and the servants sighed in relief. They hopped down off the boxed, passing through the barely open door with us behind them. No matter what anyone says, these guys are good at getting around over boxes and the like. At the top of the Undercroft stood two suits of armor. They'd blocked our path before, so I'd not given them a second thought. But now that Cogsworth stood before them, they sprang to life.

"Allow our guests to pass!" They stepped aside, letting us through. As the other servants stepped through, Cogsworth turned to Sora and I.

"After you." The next room was another dimly lit hall. I coughed, covering my nose with my arm. This place reeked of Darkness. Lumiere sighed.

"I'm afraid that marching out of here won't be as easy as we expected. You see mon ami, the doors leading to the other side are concealed with a clever sort of contraption." Sora tilted his head.
"What kind of contraption?"

"Observe." We turned to watch Cogsworth. The little clock had hopped onto a crank jutting out from the wall, and was now hanging off it for dear life as a darkly flaming lantern lowered from the ceiling. I coughed again, that was what was making this place reek! Donald sqauwked in surprise.

"The lantern came down!"

"Indeed it did. If we could but light all the lanterns in the passageway, the secret door would open. However, as you can no doubt see, the lanterns are already lit by an enchanted flame. You must put these flames out before I can light the lanterns properly." Sora tilted his head.

"Why don't you just throw water on them." Mrs. Potts shook her head.

"I'm afraid that's not enough dearie. These flames are Darkness. If you use light, they may go out." Sora nodded.

"Let's try the Keyblade." Summoning the weapon, Sora pointed it at the dark lantern. The black flame went out, letting Lumiere light it normally.

"Bravo!"

"Only three lanterns left! If we work together, we can get that door open in no time!" Sora smiled brightly.

"Piece of cake!" Lumiere sighed.

"Again, it is not so simple mon ami. You certainly cannot expect Cogsworth to hang from that handle forever?" Cogsworth sputtered, seething at his candelabra comrade.

"What? Why? Lumiere, you!" Ignoring the fuming clock, Lumiere continued his explaining.

"If he gets tired and falls off, any lanterns that are still enchanted will return to the cieling. Before you can continue to fix these silly little things, you must tend to Cogsworth. Once he recovers his wind, he'll grasp the lever for you again."

As Sora, Lumiere and Mrs. Potts tended to the second lantern, I went on ahead to clear the way of all the crates. Thankfully, the damp flooring made them easy to push away, clearing the path for the ones behind me. As Sora lit the last lantern, Donald and Goofy came up with Cogsworth behind them. Sora turned to Lumiere.

"Are we all set now?"

"Oui. The secret door should open now." I shook my head.

"Then...where is it?" Cogsworth pointed to an odd colored brick sticking out of the wall.

"Just push the brick over there, the one that's sticking out of the wall. It will open the way for you."

Nodding, Sora pushed it back into the wall. The added pressure of the extra brick made gears hidden in the walls turn, opening the secret door behind us and letting light and some warm air in, the light coming from the staircase behind the door. Lumiere and Mrs. Potts headed on towards the stairs.

"Now, we must tend to the castle. We've been gone far to long." They headed off, with Chip at their heels. Cogsworth stayed behind, turning to us.

"The Master's room is at the very end of the West Wing. I shall go on ahead and wait for you." The clock left up the stairs, and we followed. We arrived in Beast's room just as Xaldin was leaving, and Sora waved.

"Hey Prince." Beast whirled around, cape flying out behind him as he roared at us. I stepped back, covering my ears in pain as the roar sent Donald to the ground with his hat over his eyes. Sora and Goofy made vague noises of surprise, and Cogsworth cried out to his master.

"Oh dear! Master!"

Beast slashed at us, making Donald and Sora jump back. He roared once more, and I winced as I had to put my hands back over my ears. Beast launched himself at us, and we leapt aside. His reckless charging sent him headfirst into a wall, and Cogsworth took this chance to ring his alarm bell. It startled us, and Beast to a degree, but didn't snap him out of his rage. If anything, it made him angrier. After one of his claw swipes almost took Sora's head off, I'd had enough. Dispelling my daggers, I jumped onto his back and tugged on Beast's cape to slow him down. The boys stared in shock for a moment, then sprang into action once more. Clobbering Beast over the head with the Keyblade, Sora gave Cogsworth a chance to wake the Beast from his mind. It worked this time, but not before I was thrown off his back. I rolled to a stop near the Rose's pedestal, and Sora raced over to help me up as Beast shook off the last of his anger born stupor. He turned to Cogsworth.

"Cogsworth...what happened?"

"Well, Master...ah, you see, that is...How shall I say...ah, actually...mmm..." Donald scoffed, fed up with playing nice.

"Well, you put everybody down in the dungeons!" Beast blinked in shock.

"I did what?!" Cogsworth backpedalled, trying to calm his master.

"Ah, you did." Beast looked away, not speaking. Sora pulled me from the ground, and turned to Beast.

"Who was that guy you were talking to? The one in black?" Beast looked up, snarling.

"Xaldin! That's his name. He came from the Darkness...He...used my anger to control me. He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain, and turned it all into rage. There was nothing I could do. I could no longer see the truth..." Shaking the last of the cobwebs from my brain, I turned to Beast.

"That explains why you locked everyone into the dungeons. You wanted to be sure they wouldn't get hurt."

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?" I nodded.

"Yeah. We all know you're good inside." Cogsworth took up the mantle of boosting Beast's self esteem here.

"We've all see how kind you can be. After all...Belle can see the goodness in your Heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to..." Beast cut him off, making us jump.

"Belle!" The man sighed, sagging.

"I've mistreated her...I've mistreated her and been so selfish." Sora shook his head.

"She didn't say anything about that."

"She never tell anyone of my cruelty, she's too good." Cogsworth sighed, whispering to Sora.

"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far to harshly." Sora rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?"

"But..."

"No excuses! C'mon, we'll go with you." He was still hesitant, but Beast followed us into the East Wing. Belle wasn't in her room, and only the Wardrobe stood there.

"Master!" Donald smiled smugly.

"Everyone's safe now!" Wardrobe smiled in relief.

"Wonderful! Thank you!"

"Where is Belle?!"

"Why, she left in a hurry. Something about going after this...man in black." Beast roared in surprise.

"WHAT?! Why doesn't she do as she's told?" Wardrobe huffed.

"Temper, temper! Her spirit is what makes her so special!" Beast was already in the hall before we could even get a word in edgewise. We raced after him into the Main Hall, where he stood at the base of the main stairs.

"Belle! Where are you?"

"Beast! Help! I'm in the ballroom!" Beast turned on his heel, racing back up the stairs and through the doors. Belle was running across the floor to the Balcony door as a Darkball in chains was chasing after her.

"Belle!"

"I'm alright!" The Shadow Stalker changed targets, turning to us. After a moment of staring at us, it floated up onto the chandelier. After a few seconds, it dropped down once more, poisoning the the room with Darkness. I summoned my daggers as Donald jumped into Goofy's arms to avoid the tide of Darkness choking the room. Shadow Stalker reappeared in front of us, and Beast leapt at it, claws tearing hunks of it's flesh away. We didn't even get a hit in, the Beast finished off Shadow Stalker in less than a minute. It floated away from the angry Beast, twisting and warping into a creature akin to Dark Ifrit of Spira Fame. The only difference was this creature was dark purple, with throbbing pink fins on it's head and arms. It roared loudly, moving to attack us. Sora didn't give it a chance, and struck forward with his Keyblade. Dark Thorn was unable to dodge this, and stumbled backwards as it clutched its side. It roared again, and vanished from sight. Sora looked wildly around, while Donald and Goofy covered his back. Beast was sniffing the air, while I kept my vision to the cieling. Sure enough, it had claimed the Chandelier as was quickly dropping the warped lighting fixture down to the ground. We all leapt out of the way, Sora beating down upon the Heartless' head when it jumped off the chandelier. It vanished once more, and Sora groaned.

"Where did it go now?!"

Beast looked up, and called to Sora. The boy caught on quickly, and leapt from the ground onto Beast's cupped hands. Beast launched the boy up into the air, where he grabbed ahold of the chandelier. We scattered as Sora's wieght brought the lighting fixture down, catching the Dark Thorn in midleap. Sora spun the chandelier around the room, sending the dark creature into the door way and out into the hall. It roared feebly, then faded away into a puddle of boiling darkness. The ballroom returned to normal, and Sora smiled.

"We did it!"

"So you think." We all whirled back to face the doors, and Beast roared at the sight of Xaldin there. Sora, Beast and I ran to try and engage him in combat, but he faded into a Dark Portal before we got there.

"Farewell." Skidding to a stop, Beast snorted.

"What does he want here?" I dispelled my daggers, looking up at Beast.

"He's with Organization XIII." Sora nodded, and continued with the story.

"Ever hear of the Nobodies? When a strong hearted person is turned into a Heartless, a Nobody's created. See, the Organization has control over all the Nobodies." Goofy nodded, placing his shield back on back as Donald calmed down.

"That's right. And they were gonna make you into a Heartless. That way, they could get that Nobody of yours and have control of it." Sora and I nodded to Goofy, but before we could say anything else, Belle appeared.

"You're alright!" Beast turned, then raced over to Belle as she was coming in from the balcony. He skidded to a stop near her, just as the servants were coming into the ballroom.

"Belle...I-I'm sorry, I....wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you." Belle smiled gently, and hopeful, Beast mirrored that smile. But still, he was angry at himself.

"Forgive me."

"I know you weren't yourself. You don't have to apologize. But I had hoped, that you might have changed a little bit." She wagged a finger in his face, making the man look sheepish. Then Belle crossed her arms.

"I just wish you could start trusting me." I winced, that had to have hurt. Sora shook his head as Lumiere spoke up.

"Oh, I'm afraid time is running short."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the rose in the Master's Room? If the Master can learn to love, and earn love in return before the last petal falls, the spell will break." Sora smiled happily, bouncing on the soles of his feet.

"Really?!" He looked to the not so happy couple standing away from us.

"You think he's gonna make it?" I nodded, and Mrs. Potts echoed my sentiment, as she nuzzled her son.

"We think so dearies. We think so." Goofy nodded.

"Yep, I think you're right about that." Sora smiled hopefully.

"I hope your right." All of a sudden, the balcony doors flew open as the Keyblade appeared in Sora's hands once again. Beast held Belle close to him in case of a threat, but Sora shook his head. With the unlocked keyhole, I could hear cheers of a crowd and smell mold and mildew.

Olympus Coliseum..

Sora locked the keyhole, and the wind died down. The balcony doors shut, and Beast and Belle walked over to us.

"What happened?"

"The gate is open!" Belle frowned.

"Do you have to go?" Sora nodded, letting the Keyblade vanish into thin air.

"You two play fair now, ok?" Beast and Belle looed at eachother, then looked away. I giggled as Lumiere bowed.

"We shall see to it."

"Take care of yourselves dears."

"You're welcome here anytime." Still smiling, Sora turned to Beast.

"If you hear anything about Riku, The King, The Heartless, The Organization, anything at all, let us know."

They all nodded, and we turned to leave the ballroom. The doors closed behind us as we waved goodbye, heading back to Infinity. We were beamed on board, and I yelped as the ship moved without any commands.

"Infinity! What's going on?"

I'm afraid I don't know. We're being summoned to Hollow Bastion by some very powerful Magics. I suggest you hold on!

We did as she asked, and arrived at Hollow Bastion within ten minutes. Infinity beamed us down into the Burrough, where the door to Merlin's place was open. Sora called the Keyblade as several Soldier class Heartless ran out of Merlin's open door, but they vanished before we could engage them. We raced into Merlin's house, where the old wizard was just dusting himself off after a tumble. He looked at us.

"Well now, you all certainly took your sweet time." Sora tilted his head.

"So, you're the one who summoned us back here?" Merlin nodded, righting a chair that had been knocked over.

"Yes, yes, but it seems I used too much power in doing so, and those infernal Heartless...."

"So, what's up?"

"Ah, yes. I was given this in the Zero District by a dear friend of mine.."

He pulled out Pooh's storybook, handing it to Sora. Sora smiled brightly, sighing in happiness as he ran his fingers over the worn cover.

"Pooh's storybook!"

"That's right. Dumbledore said he found it in his world almost a year ago."

I looked up in surprise, but said nothing as Sora clutched the book to his chest in relief. Merlin smiled.

"Well, I know you're a good friend of Winnie the Pooh, Sora. That's why I summoned you all back here. But when I did, the Heartless appeared from the shadows. Of course, I fought back with my own magic, but I feared that book would be damaged, so I...wait a moment. Leon and other's should hear this too. I'll go find them. Be back in a jiffy."

Merlin vanished in a puff of smoke, and Sora set the book down onto the table.

"I wonder how Pooh's been doing lately." Putting a hand on Sora's shoulder, I smiled.

"If you want to go check on him, we can cover for you."

Sora smiled brightly, opening the book to the exact middle page, a map of the Hundred Acre Wood. He waved, then jumped on in. It's magic accepted Sora like an old friend, and I closed the book behind him. Carrying it to the pedestal near Merlin's bed, I set it down gently and settled to wait for Sora's return.

----

Sora gently floated down onto the paper, looking at the old designs. One stod up like a pop-up storybook, and Sora smiled.

"I wonder if Pooh's home now..."

He headed for that page, entering the little clearing that contained the house of his dear friend. Pooh was sitting on a log in front of his empty firepit, and the stuffed bear looked up as Sora entered the clearing with a smile on his face.

"Hey Pooh Bear! How are you doing? Finding enough honey lately?" Pooh nodded.

"Oh yes. In fact, I was about to do my stoutness exercises. Would you like to join me, Sora?" Sora nodded, hands on his knees.

"Sure, I'm game." Smiling at his friend, Pooh hopped off the log.

Only to freeze in midair as the world changed around them. Sora frowned.

"What?" He reached out a hand to try and help Pooh, but was thrown back and out of the book. He cried out in pain as his head impacted with Merlin's floor, looking up as the book closed behind him.

"Sora, get your arse out here right now! We need help!" Shaking cobwebs from his brain, Sora stood up.

"Christie?"

----

Cutting down another Soldier, I jumped backwards to avoid the NeoShadow's claw. Why had these things shown up here?! Sora raced from Merlin's house, Keyblade in hand. Goofy, having just taken another Shadow from the air with his shield, turned to the boy.

"Did ya bring the book Sora?"

Sora turned to go back and get it, but before he could go back inside the house, three Soldier's ran out of the open door, clutching the book in thier claws.

"Hey!"

"Give that back!"

Sora ran after the one Soldier carrying the book, hacking it away from the book. The rest of the Heartless faded away, leaving only the bok behind. As Sora picked it up from the ground, he shook his head at the sight of three slashes on the cover.

"Think it's ok?"

"Gawrsh Sora, you should go back and check on Pooh." I nodded, taking the book from Sora's hands and holding it open. He jumped on in, and Donald frowned.

"What are we gonna tell Merlin." Shaking my head, I gently closed the book. The tears in the cover were repairable with some glue and thread, it would be alright.

"We'll just tell him the truth. He'll understand."

----

Sora ran into the clearing, hoping beyond hope that Pooh was alright. The little bear was sitting on the log in front of his firepit, unharmed.

"Pooh! I'm so glad you're alright."

"And I'm very glad you came to visit. But you see, I was about to begin my stoutness exercises. Perhaps we could visit a bit later...Somebody-I-Don't-Know."

Sora blinked in shock, but nodded as Pooh hopped from the log.

"Oh...sure. How's Piglet these days?" Pooh touched his toes and stretched out his legs.

"I'm don't think I know anyone by that name. Now where was I? Oh, yes. My stoutness exercises."

Sora reached out a hand, then turned around with his shoulders sagging. Shaking his head, Sora left the book to return to Merlin's study, where Christie, Donald and Goofy were having a standoff.

"Couldn't be bothered to wait for an old wizard, no you couldn't!" Sora flinched.

"Sorry about that Merlin." Merlin frowned.

"How are things in there now?" Sora looked away, taking a seat as one of Merlin's enchanted chairs appeared behind him.

"Well, Pooh seems to have forgotten about me, and his other friends too." Merlin sighed, nodding.

"Yes, yes, I was afriad of that." He walked over to the book, gently setting on the table and casting a strange blue spell on it.

"I suspect it has something to do with those pages the Heartless stole. You'll juse have to collect the torn pages and repair the book to set things right in there." He turned to face the warriors.

"Now then, this book is one of the world's most cherished elements. I'd been meaning to tell Leon and Vincent it had been recovered, but I think we should just keep it between us for now."

Donald, Goofy and Christie nodded, and as Merlin turned to Sora to get an answer, they all smiled. The teenage boy had fallen asleep on Merlin's table, visibly exhausted. Merlin sighed, turning to Christie.

"Well, I daresay you'd better stay the night dear. I don't think he's going anywhere now."

Christie nodded, and with a smile, left Merlin's house.

A little break would do them all good.
----
A/N: Yes, Albus Dumbledore found Pooh's storybook. He went to Merlin, and the rest is fini. Kay? Good. See you all next time!

Silver

 

really good chapter ^^

no matter how many times i play the game, i swear i always cry whenever i see that pooh's book got destroyed

 

I do too Jap, I do too.
--
Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1
----

We left Hollow Bastion the next morning, after Sora had gotten some decent sleep and we'd all eaten something better then rehydrated meals from Infinity's supplies. Goodbyes went quickly, and we were off into space once more. The route to the Coliseum was full of ship debris, and it gave Infinity trouble. She was barely holding a steady orbit when she beamed us down, so I'm not surprised that we ended up below ground instead of near the main gates. Sora looked around confused, while Goofy and Donald wandered around.

"Are you sure this is the Coliseum?" I nodded, gesturing towards the stairs.

"We landed a bit off, but we're in the right place at the right time."

Sora turned, tilting his head. He jumped a foot in he air as Meg screamed, running from the door that lead to the Cave of the Dead with Rabid Dogs on her heels. We ran over that way, and the dogs turned tail and ran. Meg picked herself up off the ground, and Sora offered a hand.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." She stood, dusting off her dress as she looked at us suspisciously.

"And you four are supposed to be who?"

"I'm Sora, he's Donald, he's Goofy, and that's Christie. We came to check on Hercules." Meg raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

"You know Wonderboy?" Donald nodded, tapping his chest with a smug look in his eyes.

"Yeah, 'cause we're heroes too! Well, except for Christie..." He backed off a step when I sent a glare his way, but I just shook my head as Meg laughed.

"Look's like we've got a friend in common. Name's Megara, but my friends call me Meg." Sora nodded, then looked towards the stairs.

"So, how's Herc?"

"Wonderboy? Well, he's duking it out at the Coliseum every single day. You know, "A heros work is never done" and all that crap. He's ready to drop and never get up, but he keeps on fighting. Even Wonderboy's got his limits though. These opponents are bad news, deliveries from Hades himself."

I nearly spit out the water I'd been drinking, but swallowed in time for Donald's reaction.

"HADES?!" Meg nodded.

"Right. Lord of the Underworld. I was on my way to see him now. Maybe I can get Hades to give Wonderboy a breather for a week or dozen. If anything happens to him...."

Meg looked at the stairs, something in her eyes. I shook my head.

"It sounds to me like you and Hercules are more than just friends." Meg jumped, blushing crimson red.

"Oh...uh, I mean..." Sora smiled.

"We'll go talk with Hades for you. I'd hate for anything to happen to you on your way to see him." Meg's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she stood rigid in surprise.

"You'd really do that? Well, it does look like you know what you're all getting into. I guess I'll take you up on that offer. But, let's keep this whole chat-with-Hades thing our little secret, ok?" Sora nodded.

"Our lips are sealed!" Meg headed back towards the stairs to return to the upper level, while we headed into the Cave of the Dead. I rubbed my arms, it was cold here. With the curse of the Underworld, I couldn't hear Greiver at all, so if we got into trouble with Cerberus, I wouldn't be able to summon him to help us. I shook the thought from my head as Demyx ran in front of our vision.

"The Organization!" Sora nodded, and we ran after him as the boy led the way through the tunnels. Sora stopped suddenly as a Lancer appeared in front of him, then faded into the ground. He stared at it strangely, Keyblade in hand.

"What the heck was that?" I snapped my fingers.

"Heartless don't like the cold! They can't stand it any better than we can, but they can leave." Sora nodded, and we entered the Inner Chamber. I summoned my daggers as Demyx ran at us, but he didn't attack, just ran for the stairs.

"Run! Run away!" Sora screwed up his face in confusion

"Okay...." Donald sneezed, the cold was getting to him too. As the Duck kept sneezing, we proceeded into the Valley of the Dead. Sneezing fit over, Donald shivered. Goofy stayed close to his friend.

"I'm scared too Donald." Sora glared at the little room at the top of the stairs, walking to the edge of the ledge.

"Hades, come out!" The Lord of the Underworld made no sign than he'd heard us, and Sora growled. He led the way across the bridges, only to fall face first onto the ground as something tripped him up. He sat up, rubbing his ankle. I kneeled down next to him keeping one ear focused below us. There it was! I stabbed one dagger into the soft ground, and there was a screech. A plant Heartless popped out of the ground, looking mighty pissed off. A Fire Spell from Donald finished it off before it could attack, and Sora huffed.

"Great. I get tripped up by a weed. If Riku knew he'd never let me hear the end of it." I giggled, helping my friend up as we continued into Hades chambers. Once there, Sora raced into action, jumping in front of a red lump on the floor. I knew that so called 'lump' was Auron, and Sora called ober his shoulder as he reflected one of Hades' fireballs.

"Get up!" Sora cried out, knocking the fireball back to it's creator. Goofy and I grabbed Auron under his shoulders, pulling him from the ground as Sora and Donald tried to knock Hades away. After a minute, they stepped back, looking very woozy. Sora shook his head, rubbing eyes that were darting in and out of focus. Donald stumbled back, landing on his rear end as he weakly clutched his staff.

"Something's wrong." Hades smirked.

"That's right! See, that's the thing. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes. Comes with the territory." He gathered energy into his hands, and charged at Sora and Donald. All of a sudden, Auron was in front of them, cleaving down with his massive sword to make Hades back off. It worked, and Auron turned to Sora.
"Go now!" Sora shook his head, trying to get my hand off his shoulder as I tried to drag him out of the room.

"But we've got to talk to Hades!" Hades plugged his ears, pretending not to hear Sora.

"What was that?" Sora snarled, charging at Hades before Auron grabbed him on the arm.

"We can't fight him here! We have to go---now!" Auron tried to pull Sora out of the room, but the teen wouldn't budge. Auron snarled, grabbing Sora in a firemans carry and running from the room. Donald and Goofy left the room last, and we raced to shut the door as Auron set Sora down. The huge doors shut with a bang, and we leaned against them as we tried to catch our breath. Donald shook his head.

"Is he gone?"

"Don't count on it." Sora ceased glaring at Auron for a moment, and furrowed his brow.

"What?" The boy and I yelped in tandem as Hades appeared right next to me, and I jumped away.

"Going somewhere?"

We took off down the slope, evading Creeper Plants and Large Bodies. Sora was tripped up a second time by a Creeper Vine, and rolled to a stop without getting up. Auron raced back, picked up the boy in another firemans hold, and we raced for the Inner Chamber. Auron set Sora down against the wall, and the boy groaned as he returned to conciousness. He looked up at Auron.

"You're really good. Are you some kind of hero?" Auron shook his head.

"No. I'm no hero. I'm just an..." Sora tilted his head, confused. Auron smiled slightly, just an upturn of one corner of his mouth.

"Auron." Goofy and Sora shared a look of confusion, and Auron sighed.

"Zicd mega Tidus..." Sora snapped up at the sound of his friends name, only to sway and fall over again. I clicked my tongue, holding up two fingers in front of his face.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Sora blinked, squinting.

"Um...four?" I sighed, and Auron handed me a small vial filled with a clear liquid.

"Eye Drops. Clear his eyes, we have to keep moving. Two in each eye."

He walked off into the Passage of the Dead, leaving us behind. I stared after him a moment, then uncorked the vial. Both Sora and I screwed up our noses at the harsh chemical smell, and Donald and Goofy backed off, hands on their faces. Sora sighed, then tilted his head back. I understood, and followed Auron's instruction of two per eye. Sora winced at the chill of the liquid, and managed to stand without falling over this time. Auron was clearing Heartless from our path when we entered the Passage, and I frowned. He fought with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I knew that wasn't so far off. He cleaved a rogue Shadow into two, then turned to us.

"The way is clear, come."

Sora nodded, and let Auron lead the way into the Chamber of the Dead. We started to run as we got closer to the entrance, but Donald came to a stop as he almost ran headfirst into the massive doors.

"What? It's closed." The boys tried to open it by force, and I stood back. Donald backed away from the door, and pointed up at the Keyhole that was there. Sora nodded, summoning his blade as Auron stood beside him.

"Will that open it?" Sora nodded.

"I think so." We all jumped as Cerberus roared behind us, and Auron grabbed his blade.

"Hurry!"

Sora nodded, raising the Keyblade to unlock the door just as Cerberus arrived in the chamber, drool strings falling from his jaws. The doors unlocked, Donald and Goofy ran through the doors with Cerberus at thier heels. Auron shoved his blade into the middle heads tounge, making it rear back in pain and howl. As Cerberus tried to regain it's mind, Auron shoved us through the doors. Sora and I shared a look, then ran back into the Chamber even as Donald and Goofy cried out to us. We stood close to Auron, weapons drawn as Cerberus roared at us. We leapt aside as the heads snapped at us, and Sora jumped over it's tail and onto Cerberus' back with a yell. Auron stared after him, good eye filled with shock before he shook it off and began to slash at the head on the right. I took the head on the left, slashing at it's visible eye and tounge. Auron and I were forced back as the heads began to snap at us, trying to get to Sora. The almost succeeded, and Sora's Keyblade clattered to the ground as the heads caught him between thier collective jaws. Sora was left pinned between all three heads, until they launched him up into the air. The middle head opened it's jaws to catch the falling boy, and got a mouthful of fireballs for it's trouble. As it shook the burning out of it's tounge, the left and right heads began squabbling over who would eat Sora, and said boy crashed to the ground in a heap. Auron and I were at his side in an instant, pulling the boy from the ground and shoving him to the barrier. Auron drew his blade in front of us, and snarled at Cerberus.

"Come and get some good meat, you damn mutt!"

Sora snapped awake, and I yelped and jumped back as instead of sky blue eyes I'd come to know, there was cold amber in his face. Sora curled into himself, cried out in pain, then disappeared in a flash of black. He raced past Auron, and in less than a moment, Cerberus was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, viens in his neck having been cut to shreds by claws to big to have been Heartless. Sora, or something like him, was standing on the edge of the pool, blood dripping from his claws. Auron drew his sword as I came to stand beside him.

"Is that....Sora?" I shook my head.

"No. That's Anti-Form. Sora's Darkness made real."

As if on cue, Anti turned around and hissed at us, dropping on all fours like a cat. He spat at us, and I summoned my daggers. We stared at eachother for a long moment, before he left the edge of the blood pool and walked closer. In a flash of light, the real Sora was standing there, looking very confused. He blinked, eyes wide and confused at the lack of any roaring. He turned before I could stop him, and his hands flew to his mouth. He backed away from Cerberus, before turning and kneeling over the ground as his lunch made a return appearance. I kneeled beside him, hand on his back as Auron stared at the damage one teenage boy had done to a three headed dog ten times his size. Sora wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, standing on shaky legs. I kept one hand on his back as we left the dying Cerberus in the Chamber behind us. Donald and Goofy stared at Sora for a moment, before Goofy took Sora's arm as the boy fell unconcious. Auron stopped at the gates, nodding up to the stairs.

"Take him to get some rest, you'll speak with Hades later."

I nodded, waving goodbye over my shoulder as we trekked up the stairs. Hercules was just coming out of the Arena proper as we came up the stairs, and he called over his shoulder.

"Phil! Get a bed ready!"

Hooves clopped on stone steps for a moment as the tiny satyr came running to see what his student was yelling about, but jumped a foot in the air and raced back inside. Hercules ran down the stairs and took Sora gently from Goofy and I as Meg came out the door, pressing herself against the wall as Hercules ran inside with Sora. I shook my head as Meg opened his mouth, and she sighed. We entered the lobby, and Phil called us over and into some kind of locker room, where Hercules was setting Sora down onto a bed.
The demi-god turned, hands on his hips as he stared down at me.

"And you must be Christie. Sora's told me an awful lot about you."

I rubbed the back of my neck in embarresment for a moment, before he smiled and extended a hand.
"I'm Hercules. Sora, he said he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." We shook hands, and Herc patted me on the shoulder gently.

"Take care of him."

----

It wasn't until nightfall that Sora woke up, and he sat up on the bed. He stared at the wall across from him for a moment, then jumped as I spoke up from the doorway.

"Feeling better, Sora?" He nodded, and I smiled.

"Good. You had Donald, Goofy and I worried sick." Sora laughed embarrased, and hopped from the bed. He swayed for a moment, then stood up straight.

"Sorry about that. Where are we?" I opened my mouth to answer, but Phil cut me off, hooves clopping on the stone floor.

"You're in the Coliseum kiddo. You passed out in the Underworld and your friends brought you back up here. Although, what the hell you four were doing down there escapes me."

Sora opened his mouth to protest, but his words turned into a massive yawn, making me smother a laugh behind my hand. Phil smirked, turning on his heel.

"Get some sleep champ, we'll talk in the morning. Come on Christie, you're stayin' with Meg." I turned to follow Phil, but stopped as Sora called out.

"Christie, thanks. For everything." I tilted my head in confusion, but nodded
.
"You're welcome. Night"

"Night."

I ran after Phil, said my goodnight's to Meg, and drifted off on a borrowed bed. Next thing I knew, Meg was shaking me awake and dawns first rays were creeping in through an open window.

"Sora's awake, he's in the Arena."

I nodded my thanks, tugging on my shoes as I ran into the courtyard, almost running straight into Sora's back. He laughed as he held me straight, and I smiled my thanks. Sora turned back to Hercules, and continued his explanation of our situation.

"We tried to go teach Hade's a thing or two, but the Underworld drained away all our strength. Don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

Herc titled his head, nodding.

"Well, there is a stone that gaurd against the Underworld's curse. The god's on Mount Olympus use it whenever they have to go down there." Sora bounced on one foot.

"Think we could use it?" Herc nodded, smiling.

"Sure, why not. I'll go get it for you. But still, guys, Hades isn't a pushover, even with the Olympus Stone. And I've got a match for today, so I can't go with you."

Sora and I shared a look, and Sora shook his head.

"That's ok Herc, a friend of ours is down there, he'll help us out." Herc nodded, looking less than convinced, but trusting Sora anyway.

"Alright, just wait here." Herc left the Arena, and Sora sighed. He plunked himself down on the stands, crossing his legs. After a moment, he turned to face Donald, Goofy and I.

"Did...did something happen yesterday? All I remember was going back to fight Cerberus alongside Christie and Auron, then waking up here." I looked at the ground as Donald and Goofy heaved a sigh. They turned to me, gesturing to Sora. I groaned quietly, but nodded. Sora looked at me as I sat beside him.

"Sora, you know how the clothes the Fairie's gave you have powers, right? And you also know that with great power comes with responsibilty, right?" Sora nodded, to both of my questions. I sighed, clutching at my necklace.

"During the fight with Cerberus, you were knocked out. I guess, the Darkness in your Heart took over for a moment, becuase next thing I knew, you were looking a bit like a Heartless and Cerberus was, well, like you saw him." Sora shook his head.

"No, that's not right. It can't be....I turned into a Heartless again?" I shook my head.

"No. You were forced into the transformation. Sora, none of that was your fault, ok? You just can't control it yet." Sora bit his lip and turned away.

"I could have hurt you or Auron." I sighed, and Goofy tilted his head.

"Yeah Sora, ya could have hurt them, but ya didn't. Truth is, no matter how much Dark ya got in your heart, you've got more than enough Light in you to make the Dark stop." We smiled at Sora, and he nodded, wiping his eyes as Herc returned.

"Sorry guys, the Olympus Stone has been stolen." I put my head in my hands as the boys made various sounds of surprise and asked who had done it. Hercules shook his head.

"We don't know who did it yet. All we're sure of is that is was a guy in a black hooded cloak. And he had accomplices, a bunch of creatures in white." Donald and Goofy exchanged a look, nodding to eachother and Sora stomped his foot down. Herc raised a brow.

"Someone you know?" Sora nodded.

"I think so. Hey, if we can get the Olympus Stone back, can we borrow it for a while?" Hercules nodded, biting his lower lip.

"Sure. By the way, have any of you seen Meg around?" We shook our heads, and Herc sighed. We all jumped as Hades' voice rang throughout the courtyard.

"What's wrong your hero-ness? Feeling under the weather?"

Hades appeared behind Hercules, and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. The young man snarled, ducking away from the fiery gods hold.

"You know, I thought staying in shape was part of the hero job description...you know what I'm saying?"

Hades chuckled at his joke, and I nudged Sora in Hades' direction. He nodded, getting up in the god's face.

"Hades, we gotta talk!"

Hades gave Sora a sideways glance, then flicked the boy on the forehead with one finger. Sora yelped as he landed on his back, shaking his head.

"I came to share a bit of mildly intresting news."

Hercules tried sneaking up on Hades from behind, but the god poofed away before the hero could throw the punch.

"Seem's your dear, sweet little Nutmeg has gone and gotten herself lost in the Underworld." Herc snarled.

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Hades smirked coldly.

"Well, maybe....but why get caught up in the details?"

Herc whirled on his heel, whistling into the air. Over the Coliseum walls came Pegasus, bright white pelt shining in the sunlight. He landed next to Herc, bending down slightly to let his companion onto his back. Just as Herc was about to mount up, Hades shook his head.

"Uh-uh-uh, you can't leave now, ok? You've got a very important match today, against, um, the Bloodthirsty Hydra! I mean, if you don't stick around, who knows what kinds of accidents might happen."

Sora huffed, stamping one foot onto the ground as he clenched his fists.

"Yeah, accidents you cause!" Hades smiled, and I stepped back subconsiously in fear. He smiled as badly as Xehanort.

"Like I said: details, who needs 'em?" Herc glared, and Pegasus ruffled his feathers.
"You're just a coward!"

"Aw well, can't all be heroes." Hades vanished in a puff of smoke. Herc crossed his arms, turning to Sora and I.

"Can you four handle this?" We nodded, and Donald puffed up his chest proudly.

"You got it! We're heroes!" Goofy leaned down to Donald's level.

"Junior Heroes, Donald."

Donald glared and Goofy, and Sora chuckled before sobering and turning to Herc.

"You take care of the Hydra. We'll handle the rest." Herc nodded, placing on hand on Sora's shoulder and the other on mine. He looked to the two of us.

"I'm counting on you both." We nodded, and Herc turned to Pegasus. The touched foreheads like old friends, and Herc looked sadly into his companions eyes.

"You've got to find Meg."

Pegasus nodded, taking off into the sky and flying over the walls. Herc sighed, and we left the Arena, running through the steadliy filling Lobby and into the hot courtyard. We passed through the crowds and down into the Underwolrd, where Phil laid on the ground, clutching his head and moaning in pain. Sora called out to the satyr, and we ran over to him. Sora helped him up, before Phil was able to stand on his own.

"What happened?"

"I spotted this strange guy all dressed in black. I chased after him, but he turned on me. Next I know, I'm shaking stars from my eyes."

I tuned out of the boys conversation as Greiver spoke up from the back of my head.

Child, something is wrong. I sense too much blood here, even for a land of death.


I looked up, towards the door where Phil was pointing. Griever roared, then piped down.

"To the Underworld. He's a bad apple though. All I wanted to do was find a backup hero in case Herc needed a break." Sora smirked.

"Heroes, eh? You could've just asked!" Phil jumped up.

"You know someone!?" Sora and Donald grabbed thier weapons, and Phil sagged.

"Oh, good one." The satyr clopped up the stairs, leaving Goofy and I in giggles and Donald and Sora stared after him. They shook off thier confusion, and we headed into the Underworld proper. The next chamber was filled to the brim with fog, and with the fog, came stepping over eachother. After a few near trips, Donald's foot got the better of him. Sora tripped over the webbed foot, and was sent sprawling onto his dominant shoulder. He sat up, rubbing it fiercely. Normally, a bump like this wouldn't even have fazed him, but since we were here, well...

"Man...this Underworld curse is really getting to me." Goofy nodded, and helped me pick our friends from the ground.

"We've got to get that Olympus stone back, and fast!"

Sora nodded, and we took off running to avoid any Heartless on the way. We came to a skidding stope in the Atrium, where Demyx stood with his back to us. I put my arm out to stop the boys charge, and took a few loud steps forward. Demyx whirled on his heel, hood falling off to reveal a dusk blond mohawk and sea blue eyes. I dispelled my daggers, hands palm up.

"Demyx, right?" He nodded, looking apprensive.

"Axel told me a little about you. He said that you weren't the fighting type. Just give us the stone, and we can call it a win in your favor. How does that sound?"

Demyx looked at the ground, before he furrowed into a pocket on the side of his cloak. He handed the stone to me, and I nodded my thanks. He smiled sadly.

"Do you have any idea where Axel and Roxas could be? I...I wanna see them again."

I bit my lip in thought. If they were still at Hollow Bastion....I nodded.

"I don't know if they're still there, but I last saw them at a world called Hollow Bastion." Demyx's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?! You mean, I was there, and they...they...UGH!"

He ran into an open portal, and I shook my head with a smile. Sora stared at the portal strangely until it closed, and I handed the Olympus stone to him. He raised it into the air, and it glowed a warm gold in his hands. I sighed in relief at the warmth it brought by lifting the curse, and Sora smiled for a moment, before we ran off into the Lock Chamber. After a few minutes of the boys running around looking for another exit out of this cave, I dragged Sora to face the stone in the center of the room. He looked from it to me, then finally caught on with a sheepish smile. I rolled my eyes as he did his little unlocking jig, and we jumped down into the Well of Captivity. Inside, Meg was glaring at Hades, arms chained to her sides. As we arrived, Hade's laughed.

"Now, that's what I all call a key! Gee, keybearer, thanks for your help, and have a nice day!"

He poofed away, leaving us in the empty Well. I looked over my shoulder, pulling Donald out of the way of a Hook Bat's charge. Sora whirled around, knocking another one out of the air as Pete laughed.

"What's wrong? Can't fight in the Underworld?" Sora smirked, casting a Thunder spell that left my ears ringing for some strange reason. I shook it off, sticking close to Meg as the boys handled the Heartless. They came running after a Large Body appeared, and Sora freed Meg from her chains.

"We've gotta go!"

Meg shrieked as the Large Body came charging over, and Sora leapt in front of us to try and knock it away. He never had to though, because Hercules suddenly appeared and threw the creature straight into Pete, knocking them both down. He whistled, calling Pegasus down into the Well. The winged horse clocked Pete over the head as he landed close by, and Herc set Meg onto his back. He turned to us.

"Get Meg outta here. I'll meet you back at the Coliseum." Sora grimaced.

"What about you?" Herc smiled.

"I'm gonna show these guys what happens when they mess with a true hero." He patted Pegasus on his flank, and the winged horse took off. We ran out of the cave via a pillar of light, just as Pete tried to follow us. Herc stopped him, giving us time to escape. We clambered out of the Well, while Pegasus landed nearby, Meg still on his back. She turned to Sora.

"Sora, I won't leave him behind."

Sora shook his head, and I placed my hands on my hips with a smirk.

"He'll be okay Meg, we're going back in to help him."

Meg looked at us with surprise in her eyes. But she smiled, nudging Pegasus on and out of the caverns. We nodded to eachother, jumping back into the Well just as Herc knocked Pete away from him. Herc, surprised to see us, didn't notice the Hook Bat coming up behind him until I'd cut it down with a thrown dagger. I summoned it back, and we got to cutting them down. Once all the Hook Bat's were gone, Pete tried to knock us all down and out. He charged at us like a Large Body, knocking Sora and Goofy into the walls, and Donald and I into one another. I helped the Duck up as Hercules knocked the dog man away with a well placed punch. Pete hit the wall, barely managing to pick himself up.

"This place is giving me the creeps! I'll deal with you nitwits later!" Pete ran off, just as the Well began to collapse. Sora and Goofy managed to get up off the ground, and we ran for the exit. The Underworld around us was shaking, almost afraid as we ran back to the Entrance Chamber, where Hades was waiting.

"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite hero washout. You really blew it this time." Sora snarled.

"No one likes a sore loser, Hades." Hades turned on Sora, flames and skin going red. Sora yelped, stepping back.

"Can it, keyboy!" Herc stepped in front of us.

"Then let me." He turned to Hades.

"No one likes a sore loser, Hades." Hades snarled.

"Yeah, yeah, Styx and stones. Hey, maybe you should go check out that Hydra you neglected to finish off. I hear things are really falling apart up there, champ." He vanished again, leaving us staring at the spot the god had once stood as the cieling shook above us. We ran up the stairs, and Herc fell to his knees at the sight of the Hydra destroying everything.

"This can't be..."

Sora jumped back, pulling me with him as a large chunk of what had been the roof nearly took our heads off. Phil, Meg and Pegasus ran to Herc's side, kneeling at his side. Phil sighed in relief, clinging to Herc's arm.
"Champ! You're safe!" Herc ignored him.

"I failed.....I left everyone unprotected..." He slammed the ground with one fist.

"Hades was right. I'm just...a...a washout!" Meg shook her head, placing one hand on Herc's shoulder.

"Wonderboy...." She looked up at the roaring Hydra, glaring at it as Sora and I raced to Herc's side. I shook my hair from my eyes, helping Meg get Herc back on his feet. Sora huffed.

"This is no time to be beating yourself up! We've got to kill that thing before it kills us!" Herc, unable to fight, was heaved over Pegasus and out of the battlezone as Sora summoned the Keyblade once more. The Hydra moved out of the ruined Arena and into the Courtyard, as Donald, Goofy and I called on our weapons. The Duck clutched at his staff, seemingly psyching himself up for this.

"Herc needs help!" Sora nodded, locking his eyes on the Hydra.

"Yeah." Phil suddenly appeared beside us.

"Don't suppose you've got room for one more?" Phil punched and kicked the air, jumping around like a fat ninja. Meg and Pegasus joined in behind us.

"We're in!" A swipe from the Hydra's head sent us scattering across the area, Meg and Phil heading for what was left of the Lobby to stay safe. It was only after they'd vanished into the rubble that I remembered something from my Greek Myth classes back on Earth.

The Hydra's breath and blood were poisonous.

Thankfully, the snake hadn't thought to open it's mouth and breath on us just yet, but I was wary as we tried to whittle away it's defenses. After a few tense moments, it's head fell to the ground, knocked unconsious. Sora smirked, moving in for the killing blow just before the ground began to shake. He stopped in his tracks, looking around before he looked up at the three heads leering down at him.

"Oh...crap." He tried to turn tail and run, but wouldn't be able to get away in time. But before the Hydra could try and eat him, Pegasus swept the boy onto his back and out of danger. Sora clung to the winged horses blue mane, flying around all sixteen heads and hacking at them with the Keyblade. Donald, Goofy and I remained on the ground, throwing spells and weapons at the multi-headed snake. After all but two heads had been cut off and destroyed, Hydra opened it's mouth, breathing out a sickly green smoke. We raced away from the cloud, and I helped Donald up onto the Hydra's back. Sora and Pegasus, still in the air, nearly flew straight through the cloud, but the horse had the sense to pull up just in time, whirling around and back to us.

He let Sora jump from his back, and we waiting untl Hydra had turned back around to face us to make any moves. Phil's cries made Sora run up the Hydra's neck, sending a massive golden pot at the head that was snapping at my friend. But while Sora and Phil were handling that one, the other was trying to make a meal out of us. Donald and Goofy hit the ground, barely ducking the creatures snapping jaws. I on the other hand, was sent flying past two pillars and straight into a third one. I groaned, barely managing to pick myself up from the ground as Hydra's only remaining head turned it's attention to me. I was literally staring death in the teeth when I heard wing beats, and Sora's voice.

"Christie! Grab on!"

I looked up in time to see Sora and Pegasus flying over, and I took Sora's hand. With Pegasus flying us to safety, Sora turned to face the still mad Hydra. He threw the Keyblade at it's neck, severing it at the base of the head. He took on a smug look, then pulled me up onto Pegasus' back as we headed back to what was left of the Lobby. I winced as the landing jarred my bruised back, but hopped off with Sora as Donald and Goofy ran up to us. Phil and Meg had set Hercules down onto the last remaining bench, and it was there he sat, head in his hands.

"I let you all down. I'm just...no use anymore."

Meg shook her head, lifting his chin with her fingers to make him look at her.

"It's not your fault. Hey, even a god would be exhuasted." Sora nodded.

"She's right. Give yourself a chance to rest."

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and I shook my head to ward off his concern. I'd sleep on Infinity later. I was jolted from my thoughts as Goofy spoke.

"There won't be any games for a while, anyway." Meg nodded, looking to us.

"Don't worry about Wonderboy here, I'll look after him. Sora, Christie, Donald, Goofy, I owe you big time." I shook my head with a smile.

"It's no big deal Meg. Just let us know if Hades or the Heartless acting up again. We'll handle it." Donald nodded, smugly hitting himself on the chest.

"Yeah, that's what's heroes are for!" Meg raised a brow.

"When did you four make hero?" Sora laughed, shaking his head.

"Let's save that for another time. We've gotta hit the road now." Meg nodded with a smile.

"Okay. Just don't be strangers." We nodded, and Goofy turned to Herc
.
"I hope ya feel better soon, Hercules."

Herc nodded tiredly, and Donald turned to Phil. The satyr jumped.

"Well, you take care now. Stay a little longer next time, we've got some serious training to catch up on!"

Donald chased after Phil in anger, and Sora rolled his eyes at the Duck's antics. Still, he burrowed one hand into his pocket and fished out the Olympus stone. Hercules stood to take it from Sora, but before he could, it glowed golden. The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hands, and he nodded to himself. The wind I'd come to know as a gate opening blew through us, letting me smell rose bushes and hear the march of a band.

Disney Castle...

Goodbyes finished, we headed back to Infinity via the Transport Beacon at the base of the Underworld Stairs. She seemed a bit ruffleed as we beamed back on board, Holo-Form of a Chocobo warking and running around the cockpit. She screeched to a stop as she caught sight of us, shifting from Chocobo back to Moogle as Sora watched with wide eyes. She gave him a blank look, before turning to me.

Apologies for the rough entry Captain, I'd lost a wingtip in that debris belt.

I shook my head, starting up the main engine cores.

"It's ok. Nothing to be sorry for---" The rest of my sentence was cut off as the radio squawked to life, video feed coming online. Goofy and Donald came into the cockpit as we stared at the static plagued radio, but Goofy jumped a foot in the air at the sight of a person who looked a lot like him.

"This is Disney Castle calling the R.G.S Infinity! If you can hear me, please respond! Repeat, this is Disney Castle calling the R.G.S Infinity! DAD!!"

Goofy looked at me, begging me to take the transmission. But I was three steps ahead, letting the signal through as I had Infinity plot the course.

"This is R.G.S Infinity, what's the problem Disney Castle?" Max sighed in relief for a split second, then clutched at his ears.

"We're under attack by the Heartless, and we can't hold them off for much longer. Her Majesty has been secured in the Library, but the rest of us are trapped in other places. I'm begging you, come and assist us!"

The rest of the transmission was cut off by an explosion, prompting Goofy to call out his sons name.
"Max!" Sora keyed the radio as I turned Infinity around, but got no response.

"I repeat, Disney Castle, please respond! Dammit, no good." Goofy clutched at the back of my chair, and I looked up at him.

"We're headed there now, sit down or fall down."

The gratitude in his eyes was so deep I'd thought I'd drown, and he patted me on the shoulder as we took off towards their homeworld.

I could only hope we'd make it in time.
----
The bit about Hydra's stuff bieng toxic is true, at least, according to myth. (blinks) That's an oxymoron. Anyhow, Max made the call to Infinity, to his Dad, becuase they need help. That, and he's a scared kid calling out to the only Parent's he's got left.

Goofy.

Till next time.

Silver

 

I still ask. Is it a double post if more than a day has passed?

Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1
-----
We arrived at Disney Castle in less than an hour, docking in the Gummi Hangar. Goofy and Donald were the first off the ship, racing up the stairs and out of the Hangar with us on thier heels. For all of Max's panic, there didn't seem to be a single Shadow in the Gardens. Becuase of that, I was uneasy. I stopped short as something metallic clanked under my foot. Bending down to pick it up, my breath hitched in my chest. It was a round blood spattered shield, with the initials "M.G." inscribed just to the right of the crest. This was Max's, I just knew it. The boys turned around, having noticed I wasn't following them, and I bit my lip as I handed the shield to Goofy.

"I think, that this is Max's."

Goofy stared in shock, taking the shield from my hands. After a moment of staring at it, he sighed in relief.

"This isn't Maxie's. He uses another kind of shield."

We all sagged in relief, and jumped at least a foot in the air as a Blizzara spell rang throughout the courtyard just behind us, sending chilled air at our backs.

"There's more where that came from, you Heartless currs!"

Donald's beak dropped to the ground, and he took off running towards the voice. He reached the top of the staircase in record time, and he stood beside another duck, this one female and wearing a purple dress. They cast spells in tandem, quickly wiping out the Heartless as we bolted up the stairs to reach them. A thrown, star shaped shield cut down the last Shadow lingering in the hall, and I could swear Goofy would have fainted from sheer relief as he caught sight of the teenager near the Library doors.

"Everyone! This way!"

We ran after Donald and Daisy, with Max and Sora slamming the doors closed just as Shadows began reappearing the hallway. Goofy whirled on his son the moment we were safe, taking him into his arms.

"I thought....I thought I'd lost you...." Max awkwardly patted his father on the back.

"It's ok Dad, I'm ok." Goofy nodded, letting go as he turned to us.

"Sora, Christie, this is my son, Max." We waved hello, and I turned to Max.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, but what was that explosion? It cut the radio signal to shreds." Daisy blushed, as the duck lady looked up at us.

"That would have been my fault dearie. I'm afraid I don't have very good control over my Fira spells, and it hit a barrel of Gummi fuel. No one was hurt, but like you said, the radio signal was destroyed."

Donald sighed, and we all turned around as a second door opened up behind us, letting Chip and Dale through. Behind them, came Queen Minnie. Her pink dress was soot stained and she looked exhuasted, but every bit as regal as her husband. She took in Donald and Goofy with sheer relief in her eyes, and an enchanted chair quickly came up behind her to keep her from falling.

"You're here!" Donald, Goofy and Max saluted, leaving Sora, Daisy and I the odd ones out. After a moment of them just standing there, Sora spoke up.

"Where's the King? Ow. Donald!" Donald had leapt up, pulling Sora down by his ear.

"Excuse him your Majesty, this is our friend Sora. And she's Christie." Minnie gasped.

"Oh, Sora, Christie! Mickey's told be all about you both in his letters. He said you're both very brave young people." Rubbing his ear, Sora turned to the queen.

"So, do you know where the King is?" Minnie shook her head sadly, and we all sighed. Still, there was another issue at hand. I turned to the Queen.

"Your Highness, what are Heartless doing here, inside the castle? The King always said they'd never manage to get in here." Minnie put one gloved hand to her mouth.

"Oh my...So, those are the Heartless." Sora smiled, saluting.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of them!"

"I know I can count on you, Sora, Christie. No, there's something I'd like you all to come and see. Would you please escort me to the Audience Chamber?" We all saluted her, and she stood from the chair. All of a sudden, she gasped.

"I forgot to warn everyone else in the Castle about the danger! We must be sure they're hidden somewhere safe!" Sora nodded.

"Okay, we'll go tell them!" Minnie smiled in gratitude, but Donald grabbed onto Sora's pant leg before the boy could run off.

"No Sora! You'll just get lost! Let Goofy and I do it." Sora frowned, but nodded.

"Ok, then Christie and I will stay with the Queen." Minnie nodded to us as Donald and Goofy ran off, and she turned towards Max and Daisy.

"Please, both of you wait here. I will return shortly."

Max whipped off a salute as Daisy wrung her hands, and we exited the library. Soon as we'd left the safety of that room, we were jumped by a dozen Shadows. Sora raced forward, leaving me to kick through a Shadow that was jumping towards the Queen. With no time to summon my daggers, I was forced to rely on my firsts and feet to knock them away from Her Majesty. Sora quickly caught on to our distress and ran back to help, barely making it back in time to kill the last Shadow. With that done, Minnie raced to the Audience Chamber door. It was blocked off by a pale pink field of energy, with the Royal Crest set in the middle.

"Just one moment. As soon as the trouble started, I made sure to seal this room away."

She raised one hand, and the barrier broke like glass. The door unlocked with a click, and a smaller door opened up at the bottom, just our size.

"Now then, shall we?"

We entered the large chamber, and I summoned my Daggers as I sensed the Darkness coming. Minnie gasped, stepping back as hordes of Bolt Tower's floated down from the cieling.

"Not here too!"

Sora snarled, batting away a Bolt Tower's head as it got too close. We tried hard, but there were just too many of them coming. I threw my dagger at one, killing it and groaning as three more took it's place. At least Minnie was holding her own, her Holy Spells were knocking any Heartless that got too close to the floor. Sora came up behind me, his back against mine.

"I've got an idea. But I don't know if it'll work..." I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

"At this point Sora, I'm willing to try anything."

He smiled slightly, then curled into himself. I closed my eyes, letting my Daggers fall as I was pulled into Sora. It was almost like a Soul Bond, I could feel his emotions and see through his eyes. His clothes had changed again, and from what I could see, they had changed to a shade of Royal Purple I'd seen nowhere else. He raised one hand, calling back the Keyblade as my Daggers spun around him. When he struck out at the Heartless, they moved with a mind of their own, seeking out and destroying any Heartless that got in the way. We raced for the throne, and Sora whirled on one heel, throwing his hand out to make my Dagger's mimic the gesture. But time wasn't on our side, and the Drive ended just as more Bolt Towers dropped from the cieling. Sora and I were both panting harshly, and I could feel my legs shaking beneath me. Sora frowned, keeping one eye turned to the Heartless as he backed up.

"Come on, give us a break already!"

I could vaguely hear Minnie run to the throne and push a button, and barely managed to cover my eyes with my arms as Light flooded from the Hall of the Cornerstone below us. While it also killed the Bolt Towers, it was also the final straw my body could take. Sora yelped, catching me by my arms as my legs gave out beneath me, and I smiled away his concern.

"I'm fine Sora, go help the Queen." He nodded, but pulled me up all the same. Even after I'd stood on my own, he kept one hand on my arm, just in case.

"The Room below is called the Hall of the Cornerstone. Our castle has always been safe from the worlds that are evil, thanks to the Cornerstone of Light, which is kept down there." Sora tilted his head.
"The Cornerstone...of Light?"

He shook his head, and we raced after the Queen as she headed down into the Hall. I looked around with a heavy heart. All these thorns, this was Maleficent's doing alright." The Cornerstone was set in the very middle of the room, a ball of Pure Light spinning in the center. It hurt to look at for too long, so I turned to examine the thorns.

"This is the castle's cherished Cornerstone. But look. The thorns. They must be the work of someone very evil. I wonder what this could mean..."

All of a sudden, she jumped back as a burst of green flame suddenly manifested itself in front of her, forming a translucent image of Maleficent. Donald and Goofy, having just come down the stairs, cried out.

"Maleficent!" Sora shook his head, stepping back in shock.

"No way...." Maleficent turned, taking us all in.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? If it isn't the wretched Keyblade Bearer, the Koukennin no Ariake, and thier pitiful lackeys!"

Donald seethed at the insults. But weather he was mad at Maleficent for insulting him or insulting Sora, I'd never know.

"What?! No you're gonna deal with me!"

He made to leap at her, but I grabbed him around the middle before he could. I struggled to hold the duck as he twisted and turned in my arms.

"Donald! Calm down! She's not really here!" Donald looked up, then stopped his fussing. I put him down, and glared at Maleficent as she laughed.

"Yes, you always were the smart one Christina. Always keeping Riku in line. Where is he? Don't tell me your young love has perished in battle!"

Both Sora and I glared at her fiercely, my friend summoning the Keyblade as his eyes flashed amber.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you!" Maleficent smirked cruelly.

"All in good time. I promise you'll be able to partake of my vengeance soon enough. But you must be patient." Minnie had enough, and she called out to the evil witch.

"Just what are you doing here, Maleficent!"

"Ah, Minerva darling. Radient as always."

She bowed, and Minnie narrowed her eyes as we looked to her. Minerva? I turned my focus back to Maleficent as she stood up straight once more.

"I'm here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. However, it's a bit too "bright" for what I have in mind. I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of Darkness." She turned, trying to touch the Cornerstone. It however, rejected her hand with a hiss of smoke. Minnie clenched her fists.

"You'd better stop right now if you know what's good for you!" Maleficent cackled.

"Ooh, how threatening. Very well, I'll stop. Just as soon as this castle belongs to me!" She raised her arms, disappearing in another plume of green flames. Sora spat.

"What a hag. When I get my hands on her..." I put my hand on his shoulder, shaking my head as Minnie walked up to the Cornerstone.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before. I looked through all the records in the Library, but could not find a single clue." Goofy snapped his fingers.

"Oh! We should go ask somebody who knows lotsa stuff that isn't in any book!" Donald nodded vehemently.
"Merlin the Wizard!" Minnie sighed in relief.

"Yes, that's perfect! Surely Merlin will know something about this mess. Let's ask his advice. Christina, I'd like you to stay here. We need to speak of something the King told me." I nodded, waving to the boys as they headed onto the Transport Beacon. As soon as they were gone, I settled onto the staircase to listen to the Queen. She sat beside me, placing a hand on my arm.

"Now dear, you must understand. Mickey and I have been over every record of the Four Lights Prophecy we can find, for clues as to what the Koukennin no Ariake is supposed to do. What we found, was not pleasent in the slightest."

I tilted my head.

"I know that the Koukennin no Ariake is supposed to protect the wielder of the Dawn with all they have, but what's unpleasent about that?"

Minnie sighed.

"Dear, the last Koukennin no Ariake, she died to protect the Dawn Wielder. As did every other Koukennin, no matter their charge. It is a seemingly unavoidable fate."

I turned away, letting my breath out shakily. I shook my head.

"If that's true, than I'll face that when the time comes. I..I'm willing to give my own life to protect Riku, if that's the cost." Minnie looked at me sadly.

"Mickey warned me you'd say that. He said you'd do anything to protect Riku, even if it meant losing your own life." She sighed, letting her breath out as she gathered her thoughts.

"Now, I daresay you've a question of your own?" I smiled sheepishly, gesturing to the Cornerstone.
"Maleficent, she called you Minerva. Did you...know eachother?" Minnie nodded, playing with one ruffled skirt.

"Yes. You see Christie, I wasn't born into Royalty like my Husband, I was born and raised on the streets. Molly and I, that was her name, used to be the closest of friends. But after Mickey and I met, she became jealous. There was I, with a one-way ticket off the streets forever. I could finally care for my family the way I'd always wished too. But there she was, bieng left behind on the slums of a World that was far too cruel. I tried to keep in touch with her, after the marriage, but she never answered my letters. I asked her father if she was angry with me, and he told me that she'd left this world a day after the wedding. I didn't see her again until she tried to overthrow Mickey. She almost killed him that day, with Black Magic beyond even her control." Minnie took a deep breath, then continued.

"That day, she told me that she was no longer Molly, but rather, Maleficent. Our happy street days were over, as was our friendship. But still, I saw some of my dear friend in her eyes just now. Perhaps, Molly is still in there." I nodded, lacing my fingers together in my lap.

"I think you're right. When I was working under her for a short while, I sensed something inside her. I don't think that Molly ever changed, I just think that she's been taken over by the Darkness. If that's true, then you might be able to get her back someday." Minnie smiled up at me gratefully, and we both stood as Sora, Donald, Goofy and Merlin appeared in the Room. Donald was still blabbering on, not noticing they'd returned here.

"Perhaps, I'd just better see for myself Donald." Donald fumed as Merlin walked past him to examine the Cornerstone, with Minnie walking up to him.

"What's happening, Merlin?" Merlin narrowed his eyes.

"This is not good. In fact, I'm afraid it's quite serious." He cleared his throat, chanting something before a door appeared behind Sora. The boy yelped, jumping a foot in the air.

"What the!?"

"My boy, that is the gateway to a very special world. Someone in that world is responsible for what's going on in this castle. Of that, I'm certain." Donald and Goofy whopped in delight at the discovery of a way to find the cause of this mess, and Sora placed on hand on the handles to heave open the doors. But Merlin cried out before he could do so.

"Just a moment! The perpetrators must be stopped, of course. But there's something else to do first.

Somewhere in that world, there should be another door that's identical to this one. I believe our enemines are using that door. As long as it remains open, the castle will be in grave danger. Listen carefully Sora. You must find that door. And when you do, lock it tight with your Keyblade." Sora nodded, and was about to heave open the doors again when Merlin raised a hand. Sora sagged, rolling his eyes.

"You're heading into a very special world. While you're there, the nature of that world may tempt you ro do something Dark. You must resist that temptation at all costs!" Sora tilted his head. Now Merlin had his attention.

"What do you mean?" Merlin simply smiled.

"You'll know soon enough. I've faith in you!" Sora quirked a brow, but heaved open the door. We stepped through, and were spit out on the other side. The world we landed in was black and white, almost staticky. Goofy got up first, pointing to something on the hill above us.

"Hey, look! There's the Cornerstone of Light!" Sora walked over to it, then caught sight of himself.

"What's going on? Everythings, black and white!" He shook his head, rubbing his ears. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not just you, everything's echoing." Donald and Goofy cried out as someone walked behind us, and we turned around.

"Hey you! Seen any bad guys around here?" I gaped at the sight of the Old!Pete, but laughed at the look on his face as the boys all pointed at him. He snarled.

"Why I oughta...Bah! I don't have time to deal with you punks! I guess I'll go easy on ya!" He ran off towards the Pier, and Sora screwed up his face.

"Well, at least we found our villain." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"No, I don't think so. That wasn't the Pete that we ran into in the Underworld. Merlin said this was a special world, and I think he's right." The boys watched as I stooped over, picking up a sign that we had tipped over when we arrived.

"Construction site of Disney castle, circa 1920. We're almost 90 years in the past."

Three pairs of eyes widened, and Donald snatched the sign from my hands. He stared at it, before we all jumped as a steamboat whistle rang in the air. Captain Pete ran from the Pier, heading for the Shore. Sora ran after him, despite my protests. Goofy and I shared a look, and we ran after the boy, leaving Donald behind as he stared at the sign. We entered the shore, just in time to see Sora apologising to Pete for the accusation earlier.

"Ok, if we can find your boat, will you forgive us?" Pete crossed his arms, but nodded and extended a hand to Sora.

"You've got yourself a deal Shrimp. Find me my boat, and I'll forget that you ever called me a bad guy."

They shook hands, and Sora ran past us back towards the Cornerstone Hill. Barely having had time to catch up before we'd run into the Peir, Donald and Sora now crashed into one another, tumbling head over heels toward the edge of the river. Unable to stop their forward momentum, both of them tumbled into the shallows before Pete grabbed them out of the water with both hands. They coughed and sputtered as he set the down on the docks, with Goofy and I running over to our friends. Pete waved away any thanks we tried to give him, and walked away. After a few moments, Sora and Donald were able to stand again, and we headed back towards the Cornerstone Hill. Once there, Sora did a double take at the sight of the Past Curtain, just floating there.

"What's this?" We walked over to it, and Sora tilted his head.

"I can't see a thing...Maybe..." He pulled the Drawstring hanging just off to the side, opening the curtain.

----
Four small doors surrounded the Cornerstone, letting the Heartless in as another door bounces behind them. It swings open, spitting out Sora, Christie, Donald and Goofy. Goofy stands first.

"Hey, look! There's the Cornerstone of Light!" Sora walked over to it, then stood ramrod straight in shock.

"Hey, what's going on? Everythings all black and white." He blinked, then rubbed his ears to try and rid himself of the echoes. Christie's hand on his shoulder made him stop.

-----

We had watched the video with wide eyes, and now Sora was still staring at the Past Curtain.

"What...was that?" Goofy tilted his head.

"Heartless goin' out..."

"And us coming in...What does this mean?" Donald shook his head, jumping to pull the drawstring. But the curtain didn't open, and we were left with four more Past Curtains floating above the grass. Sora frowned, and we headed towards the Construction Site curtain. Goofy pulled the string, and we found ourselves on top of the main wooden board. Sora peered over the edge, stepping back as he saw just how high over the edge we were.

"What are they building so high up?"

Goofy turned to the boy to answer his question, then yelped in shock as Hammer Fram began to drop onto Sora from above. But before Sora could either roll away or we could destroy the Heartless, Mickey suddenly came flying in on a rope hung from some scaffolding. He knocked the Heartless away from Sora, then ran off across a few beams. Donald's squawk caught me off gaurd, and I flinched at the feel of a strong spell bieng cast behind me. We all whirled around, just in time to see two Hammer Frames being pulled into a Dark Portal. I blinked in shock, then looked at the boys. They shook thier heads, that hadn't been them...We had no more time to think on the situation, for more Hammer Frames and Bombs began to appear. We leapt into action, and as soon as the last one had been destroyed, we ended up back at the Cornerstone Hill. The Past Curtain we'd just gotten thrown out of was open now, and we stared deep into it.

--

Maleficent was very angry. She whirled on Pete

"You absolute idiot! You've managed to fail at everything! And what's more...you foolishly thought you could take my place while I was away. Well, as of now you're finished. Mark my words, there'll be no place for you when our time comes."

Pete, still in shocked, let his jaw drop.
But-but...but I...."

----
"What the...."

"Someone sure was pissed off." Donald crossed his arms.

"I don't get it." Sora shook his head.

"Let's just clear out all these Heartless first. This place is okay now, but we've got three more places left to check."

The next Past Door let us into Lilliput, a town that was more miniature than most of the worlds we'd been too. Donald's eyes widened in shock.

"What?!" Sora stepped forward, then shook his foot out. He'd stepped in a river.

"Did, the town shrink or something?" Goofy crossed his arms.

"Or do ya think that maybe we got bigger?"

We didn't answer these questions, but instead followed Sora's gaze at the tower in the center of town. He bent at the waist, smiling childishly.

"Hey, look at all these toy cannons!"

He suddenly jumped back at the sight of the King jumping around, trying to catch our attention.

"What's he saying?"

We all yelped, ducking as Aeroplanes flew over our heads. Summoning my daggers, I threw them after the planes, I only hit one, but it was enough. With the loss of it's wing, that plane hit the others in a chain reaction. The resulting explosion sent them all crashing to a heap in the lake, and the King raced to our side. He shook Sora's hand violently, making the boy's body move up and down. But he ran off before we could get a word in edgewise, and we were once again transported to the Cornerstone Hill

---

Pete clutched his head in his hands.

"Aw, for crying out loud. She didn't have to say that. Okay, I mighta messed up every now and then. But I'm a lot more things than useless. Why, when I was startin out....I miss the good old days...what I wouldn't give to go back in time...What I wouldn't give. Huh?"

Pete looked up at the sound of a chime. A door had appeared directly in front of him. He stood, and peeked his head through it.

"Hey..I think that's my old....!"
----

Sora crossed his arms, scowling.

"A door? It did look familiar...." I nodded.

"Yeah. Merlin made that door, it's how we got here." Tilting his head, Sora turned to me.

"Which means it should come straight here, right?"

We nodded to the boy, and he turned to face the two remaining Past Curtains. We started coughing the second we were through this one, the night air was filled with thick smoke. Once we'd stopped coughing, we caught sight of the King running in full panic right in front of the doors to the burning building as fire engines tried to draw water from the river nearby. Sora summoned the Keyblade, throwing it in a Strike Raid to cut down a Heartless that had been aiming for the King. The tiny monarch ran into the nearest fire truck, leaving us to handle the Heartless. Unfortunatly, these weren't easy to handle. Shaped like cars and with a vengeance streak bigger than Cloud's, they were annoying to hit. Couple that with the fact they wouldn't stop going for Sora, and I was getting mighty pissed off. After he'd been tossed to the ground again, I'd had enough. I whirled on the Heartless, left hand palm out.

"You keep away from him!"

I don't know how it happened, but a Dark Portal suddenly opened beneath the Heartless, sending them headlong into the Void. As the firemen began to get the fire under control, I stared at my hand with wide eyes. I'd been trying to summon a Dark Aura blast, but it didn't work as planned. Sora limped over, supported by Goofy's arm. He cleared his throat, catching my attention. As I looked up, he smiled.

"Thanks. I'd be long gone if not for those Portals." It took my brain a moment to connect what he'd said with the feeling of relief, but when it did, we were transported back to the Cornerstone Hill.

----

"Fascinating. This appears to be a Portal to the past!"

"Yeah, it was the strangest thing!"

"Stop gawking! And start thinking about how we can use this to our advantage."

"Okay."

"Now, Pete, I suppose I could give you one more chance to redeem yourself."

"Oh, thank you, thank you! You can count on me! So, um, what do I do?"

"Patience my dear Pete. What have we here? Well, if it isn't the Cornerstone of Light. Now we can take the castle from those fools. But we'll have to proceed with the utmost caution."

----

Donald fumed, stomping the grass beneath his feet flat.

"Maleficent! She must have known all along!"

Goofy, trying to placate his friend, crossed his arms.

"Let's see....If that door's connected to the past..."

Goofy cried out if pain as Donald kicked him in the shin.

"No, no, no! It comes here!" Sora and I stared at the angry Duck.
"Huh?"

"We're in the Past! And if we're in the past....we can change the future!" Donald's face took on a cunning look, as he rubbed his wings together. I shook my head, both hands up.

"Whoa! Hold it Donald! Remember what Merlin said? He's got faith in us, and we have to resist temptation no matter what." Donald pouted.

"Aw, I was only joking Christie." I wasn't convinced, but said nothing else as Sora crossed his arms behind his back.

"Who's wanna change the future anyway? So, now what do we do?" Goofy put his head in his hands.

"Doors, bad guys....gawrsh, my brain hurts!" Donald smiled.

"Well, we know we're on the right track!"

We turned to the last Past Curtain, and were transported into Mickey's living room. The main difference this time? Oh, I'd said the black hole in the center of the room, drawing the furniture into it. The King ran around, trying to hold onto a few things, but was only getting dragged in himself. Sora summoned the Keyblade, running into the fray as Rapid Thruster's began appearing, aiming for the King. We cut them down with little trouble, and I smiled as the King once more shook Sora's hand. Donald and Goofy watched the King run off, before we all jumped as we were transported back to the Cornerstone Hill for the last time.
----

"Listen well. On the other side of this portal, they are about to begin construction on that wretched castle. But until then, thier treasured Cornerstone of Light lies unguarded, with all of it's power still contained!"

"The Cornerstone...or Light?"

"Yes! That cursed sphere is the very thing that prevents us entering the castle."

"Oh."

"You know what must be done?"

"Uh..."

"Go then. Time to prove your worth. And don't dare fail me again!"

"Don't fail her again...let's see....That's it! I just gotta smash that Cornerstone to smithereens! But first...I gotta get my old boat back!"

----
Sora was scowling harshly, teeth bared.

"It was Pete after all!"

"Why, he tricked us!" I shook my head.

"No, I don't think so...something seems off about this whole thing." Sora tilted his head.

"Yeah...The Pete we met here has a bit of an attitude problem, but he's an okay guy. Donald and I do both owe him for pulling us out of the water...."

As if on a cue, Donald pointed to the real Pete as he laughed.

"Now that castle's as good as ours!"

He ran towards the waterway, and Sora snapped his fingers.

"That's the Pete we know!"

Something was off, even as Donald gloated...was it suddenly easier to breath..? Oh no... I whirled on my heel, crying out in unison with Goofy. Sora turned at our cries, and he stepped back in shock.

"The Cornerstone's gone! That means that they'll..!" He took off running, not wanting to finish his sentence. We ran after him, towards the Waterway as Captain Pete was entering the area. He shoved us out of the way.

"Sorry runts, but I finally found the fool who stole my poor boat!"

He ran off into the Waterway, with us firmly on his heels. When we got there, both Pete's were fighting over the Steamboat. Behind the little craft, the Cornerstone was locked up tight. Pete shoved the Captain away from him, mounting the boat.

"Your future's on the line pallie, so shut up and gimme the boat!" Before I could stop him, Donald cried out, catching Pete's attention. He turned, and saluted with a laugh.

"You mugs couldn't follow me if you wanted to! Later losers!"

Sora summoned the Keyblade, hitting back a pot that Pete was throwing at us. It knocked him upside the head, and the boat spun out of control, running aground on the shore nearby. Sora leapt for the crane that held the Cornerstone's cage, slicing at the wooden bars. But before he could finish the job, Pete came too. He caught sight of Sora, and leapt from the boat. He began to shake the crane, and Sora hung on for dear life, lest he fall right onto one of Pete's bombs. We were too busty with the Heartless to notice Sora's distress until right before he'd have fallen, but Captain Pete came to the rescue, tackling his future counterpart away from Sora long enough for him to free the Cornerstone and hop down safely. With his plan thwarted, Pete stomped the ground and ran for the Wharf, knocking Donald and Goofy away as he ran for it.

As they picked themselves up, Sora and I ran after Pete, arriving just in time to see him summoning the Door to make a quick exit. Sora, not willing to let him get away, leapt at the man, getting batted aside as easily as a shadow. Sora crashed into the wall of a nearby building, landing in a moaning, groaning heap. Pete laughed, and made his getaway. By the time Sora was up, the Door was beginning to vanish. Shaking off the cobwebs, Sora quickly sealed the Keyhole. With the wind that came, I smelled alcohol and heard gunshots.

Port Royal....

Captain Pete turned to us.

"Would somebody please tell me what's been going on here? Who was that creep anyway?" Sora scowled, pointing at Captain angrily.

"Hello! That was you from the--!" Goofy covered Sora's mouth, cutting off the boys words.

"Sora, that's a secret!" Pete's ears perked up.

"Secret? What kinda secret? Oh, never mind. Sorry I caused you guys so much trouble." Donald shook his head.

"Yeah, well, just don't make a habit out of it."

Sora and Goofy laughed, before Sora clutched at his head in pain. When he removed his hands, the black gloves had blood splattered on them. Sora, still staring at his gloves, didn't notice as we headed back to the Cornerstone Hill. Donald, trying to lighten the situation, rubbed his wings together.

"As long as we're here...." Goofy and I whirled on the Duck.

"Donald!"

We grabbed him by the wings, and began dragging him through the open door. Sora stumbled along after us, and I caught him by the shoulder as he stumbled through on the other side of the doorway. With all of us back in our own time, the door faded away. I winced as my eyes adjusted to the now bright light of the Hall, I can't stand white rooms anymore.

"Welcome back! Becuase of your bravery, the castle is safe and protected again. Thank you so much for all you've done!"

As Donald and Goofy basked in Minnie's praise, Sora clutched at his head. I put one hand on his back, concerned.

"Sora, you ok?" He shook his head with a wince. All of a sudden, his eyes rolled back up into his head, and he would have fallen to the ground had Merlin not suddenly appeared next to me, helping support Sora's weight. Minnie gasped at the small amount of blood on the floor, and she followed a drop back up to the cut on Sora's forehead. She turned to Chip and Dale.

"Quickly! Prepare a room and summon a Healer! Go!"

They saluted, and ran off up the stairs as Merlin and I laid Sora down. I moved his spikes away from the cut, trying to keep the fear from my heart. Concussions, and other wounds, were bound to happen to us all. War isn't easy. And it doesn't play nice.

----

Sora awoke with a groan, putting one hand on his head. What had happened? Oh, right. He'd literally passed out in Christie's arms after a bonk on the head. What an embarassment he was sometimes. He laid back on the bed he must have been placed on, letting his eyes adjust to the moonlight streaming in through the window. He wondered where Christie was. Was she asleep now? He jolted up as a joyous cry sounded from the gardens, and he stumbled to the open balcony doors. Sora smiled at the sight of Christie running to a cloaked figure. But the figure's hood was down, and he could see silver hair from up on his perch. Sora didn't pride himself on any straight A's, but he knew somethings when they happened. Like now, in the gardens below, Riku was having a very happy reunion with his girlfriend, even if it was only for one night. Sora's face broke with a massive grin as Riku spun her around. Christie laughed, hugging his best friend, no, his brother, around the shoulders tightly. He returned the embrace, and Sora looked to the sky as they kissed searching for the star he knew was Destiny Islands. After a moment of reaching out with his Heart, he found it. It was the closest star, twinkling a pale yellow against the navy sky. Sora smiled sadly.

"Goodnight Kairi. Sleep well, my princess."

Sora turned on his heel, and returned to bed, dreaming of the day the four of them could be together and happy once more. Little did he know, that day wasn't as far off as he thought.
----

A/N: Done. I'd planned the Reunion scene with Christie and Riku so many different ways, that you don't want to know. One idea I had was Sora and Christie sparring in the Gardens, and Riku coming in unexpectedly. Another Idea was Christie stargazing, and Riku sneaking up on her from behind. None of them worked out alright, so I settled for the middle road. Sora watching his friends from the balcony. It worked, I like it, and we're done for now. Hope you liked!

Silver

 

just read the entire story, it took me like an hour. XD
sora seems to fall unconcious alot, ne? i like that =D XD

 

Thalassa_Shells: Yes, Sora does have the tendency to be overly reckless. That means head trauma, which means down he goes~! As much as I like the little runt, he's just too easy to clobber. :rofl:

Well. This wasn't easy. (huffs) Gah. I'll never understand why so many people think that Orlando Bloom (Will Turner/Legolas) is "hot". He's okay looking, but not hot.

----
Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1
----

We left Disney Castle the next morning, once Sora had recovered enough. Goodbyes for Donald and Goofy really tugged at my heart, but I said nothing as we reboarded Infinity and headed off. The flight to Port Royal was a short one, and we were on the Docks in no time. It was almost midnight here, if the clocktower was anything to see. The full moon and streetlamps gave off enough light to see by, and Donald looked around with an awestruck look. As Donald and Goofy peered around, Sora slunk over to me.

"So, enjoy your time in the Gardens last night?" I stiffened, blushing crimson red. He'd seen that?! I shook my head, mentally smacking myself.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sora smiled, patting my shoulder.

"Sure you don't. So, he's ok?" Seeing no point in hiding it any longer, I nodded. Sora sagged in relief, before we all jumped a foot in the air as screams rang throughout the Town. Summoning the Keyblade, Sora raced headlong onto the Ramparts in time to catch sight of Pete and Barbossa, along with Barbossa's pirates.

"Hey!" Pete scowled.

"See there? I knew it! Those are the punks I was tellin' ya about!" Sora snarled.

"Who are you calling punks?! It's Sora, Christie, Donald and Goofy to you! And don't you forget it!"

Barbossa raised a brow.

"That we won't. And we'll engrave it on your tombstones as well, laddie. Of course, the little lass might be spared, if she drops those blades."

I snarled, glaring at him. Barbossa laughed at the look I was giving him, and Pete smirked.

"Whoa! I like your style!" Barbossa half-bowed towards Pete, then spun on his men.

"Men! Half of you stay here and engage these cullies. The rest of you, bring me that Medallion!"

They resounded the command in unison, half the men and Barbossa heading off towards Town. Sora smirked.

"Aw, we only get to stomp on a few of you?"

Barbossa laughed over his shoulder, and we sprung at the Pirates. But becuase they were underneath the cloud cover, they were immune to our attacks. Sora hopped back as one pirate nearly chopped off his head.

"It's no use! We can't beat them!"

The leader of the ones who remained behind smiled cruelly.

"Aye, whaddya be expecting lad?"

I looked up towards the sky as the clouds began to clear, then looked back at our foes as the moonlight transformed them into the cursed forms they were. Not having taken notice of the change, they continued to taunt us.

"You'd best be saying your prayers!" Pete reached out a hand, trying to catch their attention.

"Hey, watch out! They can see ya! Stay away from thier magic!"

We all turned to Donald, and I bowed to the little Wizard. He smiled evily, casting a tremendous Fira spell just as the Pirates turned back to us. The clothing they were wearing caught on fire, and they all leapt into the water. Sora dismissed the Keyblade, and turned to Pete.

"Hey, Pete, thanks for the tip!"

Smacking himself upside the head, Pete ran off. We watched him leave with smiles on our faces, then turned to face one another.

"If Pete's here, there's work to be done." Goofy nodded.

"Yep, and that Pirate captain guy looked pretty mean too."

Sora shuddered, rubbing his arms fiercely.

"Man, I'd hate to see him turn into a Heartless. He's probably a better fighter than Riku was last time." I crossed my arms with a nod.

"Probably is. Knowing Riku, he's gotten a bit rusty lately."

Sora looked at me strangely for a moment, then turned back to Donald as the duck spoke up again.

"Well, we ARE here...." Sora smirked.

"Hey, maybe we can take a pirate ship out for a spin!"

We all stared at him for a moment, and he laughed.

"Just kidding! Although, weren't those guys headed into town?" Goofy nodded.

"Yeah, I think they were looking for treasure."

We all jumped again as another scream rang through the wet night air, and we raced into town just in time to see Elizabeth being carried off by a pirate. She was screaming as she beat his back with her fists, causing an aquaintance to chase after them. He skidded to a stop as Shadows came up from the ground to stop his path. He stepped back, but drew his sword and cut down an attacking Shadow as we ran to his side.

"What are these creatures!"

Donald cast a Gravity spell that left my ears ringing, and he turned to Will.

"It's the Heartless! Watch out!"

Sora cut down another Shadow that would have taken his nose off, and shoved Will on the shoulder.

"Well deal with them, go and take cover!"

Will nodded, running towards the Docks in pursuit of Elizabeth. Before he could get there however, a NeoShadow leapt from the wall, creating a gash on his forehead and knocking him to the ground. Goofy threw his shield at the creature, knocking it away long enough for Sora to finish it off. I batted Will's hand away from his injury, Cure magic dancing at my fingertips. As the wound healed over, he looked at Sora.

"Thank you. My own fencing skills are nothing to be ashamed of, but I've never faced foes like this before."

Sora blushed a tiny bit as we helped Will to his feet.

"You really think we're that good?" Will nodded, then his face became serious.

"Please, I need your help. My friend, she's been kidnapped by pirates. I can reward you if need be..but I beg of you, help me rescue Elizabeth."

Sora and I shared a smile, and nodded to Will. My friend laced his fingers behind his back.

"There's no need for a reward, of course we'll help you. I'm Sora, and these are my friends. Christie, Donald and Goofy." Will, having sagged in relief, stood up straight.

"And I'm William Turner. But please, call me Will."

Sora nodded, and we ran towards the Docks just in time to catch sight of the Black Pearl heading out to sea. Will reached out a hand, then looked away.

"We're too late." At Sora's look of confusion, he continued.

"Those pirates kidnapped Miss Swann, and took her aboard their ship...Now that they've sailed, I'll never be able to find her.."

"Then she's likely gone forever. The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable. Best to find yourself another girl mate."

We turned, and I rolled my eyes as Jack Sparrow came down the Interceptors boarding rail. Will raised a brow.

"You...What are you doing aboard the Interceptor? She's off limit's to civilians." Jack smirked.

"Ah, fortunate that I'm going to commandeer then. She'll make a fine pirate ship." Sora started to bounce around, and I sighed as Jack hit our level.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please." Will, ignoring Jacks request of a title, turned to the pirate.

"Take me with you. Help me hunt down the Black Pearl and save Miss Swann. I broke you out of that jail Sparrow, do this and your debt to me is finished."

Jack contemplated this for a moment, then shook his head.

"You'll have to win the fair lady's heart alone Mate. I see no profit in this for me." I rolled my eyes, turning to Jack.

"I'm no sailor, Captain, but this is a fairly large ship. Are you sure that you can sail her alone?" Jack frowned, rubbing his neck.

"You've a point there Lass. Alright, all aboard." Will headed up first, sidestepping Jack on his way.

"Thanks, Sparrow." Jack put his hands on his hips as he turned to us.

"CAPTAIN Sparrow, got it..." Sora stepped forward, one hand extended as he introduced us.

"I'm Sora, this is Christie. They're Donald and Goofy." Will nodded, leaning against the starboard side of the Interceptor.

"I'm Will Turner." Jack raised a brow.

"That would be short for William, I imagine. No doubt named for your father, eh?" Will nodded, and Jack smirked.

"Well then Mr. Turner. You get us ready to make way. I've some effects left to liberate." Will nodded, and disappeared from view. Jack sighed, and turned to us.

"What do you four make of this Will?" I shook my head, heading up the ramp.

"We just met him ourselves. He's a nice enough guy, don't worry about him."

Jack raised a brow, and headed off into town. Under Will's instruction, we had the Interceptor ready for launch by the time Jack returned, fifteen minutes later. He untied the Interceptors mooring lines and raised the anchor with a little help from Goofy, and we were off. About half an hour out of Port, Jack brought out a compass and stared at it, changing our course accordingly. Will turned to him.

"Why are you so fixated on that compass?"

"It'll be she whom leads us to Isla de Muerta, where Barbossa's headed. Savvy?"

Sora tilted his head.

"How do you know?" Jack closed the compass, placing it in his vest pocket.

"Ah, lad...He and I once had our eyes on a treasure. Aztec gold. 'Twas hidden on the Isla de Muerta, the Island of Death. But he turned traitor and stole me ship."

I let my hair down, leaning against the mast.

"So, he's after the treasure?" Jack shook his head, beaded dreadlocks clinking on eachother.

"No Lass, the treasure's already his. So's the curse upon it, which I've no desire for. But I will have back what's mine. The Black Pearl."

With our course set, Jack retreated to the Captains quarters, leaving Will at the helm. I sighed, leaning against the gaurd rail on the starboard side, wind blowing my hair from my face. I closed my eyes with a smile.

----
Rinoa ran forward to the edge of the balcony, looking out towards the mountains with a bright smile. Squall followed slower, his sleeping four year old sister in his arms. Rinoa turned back to face him, holding her long black hair away from her eyes.

"Squall, do you think we'll be like this forever?" Squall shook his head, adjusting his hold on Christie.

"Not forever. We won't be here forever. But we'll stay as long as possible. As long as I'm still alive, we'll be together."

Rinoa smiled gently, kissing him on the cheek as she stepped away from the railing.

"Thank you, Squall."
----

"Christie, you still awake in there?"

I nodded to Sora, opening my eyes. He was standing next to me, but stepped back as I stood up straight and redid my ponytail.

"You ok?" I nodded again, looking back out to sea.

"Yeah. Just remembering someone who isn't here anymore. She died in the invasion, really tore Nii-san apart."

Sora nodded with a frown, then jumped as Jack slammed the door from the Captain's Quarters as we docked at Isla de Muerta. Lowering the boarding ramp, we all headed aground until Jack whirled on his heel.

"Ah, you lads and lass wait here. Young Turner and I will rescue the lady." Sora pouted.

"Hey! What about us!" Jack smirked, making me roll my eyes.

"Why, you're to gaurd the ship of course. Tis a task given only to the bravest of pirates." Sora frowned as Will and Jack ran off, and I shook my head.

"Well. That was quite the fast talk." Donald nodded, turning on Sora.

"And you fell for it!" Sora huffed, plunking himself down on the boarding ramp. Fifteen minutes later, when Jack and Will still hadn't returned, he stood.

"What's keeping those two?" Goofy frowned.

"They sure are taking thier time..."

I looked towards the cave, lacing my fingers under my chin.

"If Pete's here, then there must be Heartless here too. And Jack and Will aren't used to fighting them, and certainly not used to having them pop outta the ground. We'd better go see whats keeping them."

Sora nodded, and we all ran towards the Cave Mouth in time to see Will and Elizabeth running out from the Powder Store, with Pirates on thier heels. Sora summoned the Keyblade, waving Will and Elizabeth on.

"We'll hold them off! Give us a sign when the ships ready to sail!"

Will nodded, taking Elizabeths hand
.
"Right! We'll light the signal flare!"

They ran off towards the Interceptor, and we turned to face the pirates. Most of them had swords drawn. but one of them had a loaded pistol in hand, and he seemed ready to fire it at a moments notice. I shook my head, knocking one sword wielding pirate over the head with my daggers hilt before sending a Fira spell flying at a pirate determined to chop off Goofy's arm. A loud bang made us all look up to the sky, and Sora smiled at the sight of the signal flare coming off the Interceptor. We turned our backs on the pirates and ran off, before Sora fell to the ground in a heap after an earsplitting crack. He went down clutching at his ankle, and Donald whirled on the pirate, casting a Blizzara spell as Goofy and I grabbed Sora and ran. Donald was quick on our heels, casting an Aeroga spell to get the Interceptor moving away from the Island as Will and Elizabeth hoisted the sails and raised the anchor. We boarded just in time, Goofy and I setting Sora down before turning and cutting a pirates arm as he tried to cling to the ship. Once we had dispatched him, I turned to Sora to see him yanking his shoe off with a wince. The bullet had mostly missed him, it was just a graze. But that graze had really spooked us all up and Sora was panting harshly as I cast Cure on his leg. He looked up to Will.

"Where's Jack?" Will rubbed the back of his neck, frowning.

"Well...you see Sora, I had to knock him unconcious to save Elizabeth. I'd take a guess that the pirates have him now."

I scowled at Will, helping Sora stand as my friend glared at Will. Will bit his lip.

"I had to, Sora. Jack's no fairy-taile pirate. The real ones aren't to be trusted."

Sora huffed, crossing his arms as Will led Elizabeth into the Ship's hold. I stared after them for a moment, eyes narrowing. Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong. Will and Elizabeth returned after a few moments, with Will taking the helm of the ship.

"We must return to the Port while the winds are still in our favor. Sora, Christie, please keep a lookout for any Pirates. We can't have them capturing this ship."

Sora glared, miming Will's speech before I clasped his shoulder.

"Let it go. We'll go back for Jack on Infinity later."

Sora's eyes widened, but he nodded and headed towards the port railing to keep an eye on the sea. We were almost to the Port when Elizabeth cried out.

"Will! Look!"

We raced to what she was pointing at, and I cursed under my breath. It was the Black Pearl, and it was quickly gaining on us. Sora bit his lip.

"I wonder what Jack would do..."

Will looked at the Pearl, then at our measly stock of cannon balls and slim gaurding rails. We stood no chance of outrunning them either, and Will knew that.

"I'm not sure. I suppose, that he'd make a run for it." We all ducked as a cannonball shot over our heads and across the ship. Sora chuckled nervously.

"Sounds good to me!

" But before we could get moving, another cannonball struck the Interceptor. While it didn't damage us much, it rattled the ship enough to tip Will overboard and into the sea. Elizabeth cried out.

"Will!"

Another cannon shot rang out, and I yanked Elizabeth down onto the deck just as it hit the ship once more. Sora picked himself off the ground, grabbing the Medallion from the deck as the Pearl came up alongside us
.
"We're just gonna have to fight!"

I summoned my daggers as several pirates from the Pearl jumped aboard. We raced to knock them off into the water, but too may kept coming. After having far to many close calls with both the Medallion and his neck, Sora screamed. He raced to a loaded cannon and lit the fuse. The resulting explosion not only blew a hole right through the middle of a jumping pirate, but also right through the Pearl's main mast. At the sight of thier ship falling apart, all the remaining pirates raced back to the Pearl. Sora whooped.

"We beat the pirates!"

"Well now laddie, did you really?"

We spun on a dime, stepping back to back as we caught sight of Barbossa holding Elizabeth and Jack hostage.

"Jack!" The captain laughed nervously as Barbossa smirked at us, yellow teeth curved upward.

"Now then, I'll be having that Medallion. Unless it's more important than thier lives?" I snarled at him, but said nothing as I heard the ropes next to Barbossa creak as Will climbed back up.

"Barbossa!" Will, soaking wet, aimed a pistol at Barbossa.

"She goes free!" Barbossa laughed.

"Go ahead and shoot boy, we can't die!" Will smirked.

"You can't. But I can!" Will released the safety latch on his pistol, holding it to his temple. Elizabeth cried out in terror and even Jack seemed scared for his "friend"

"My name is William Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs through my viens!"

Barbossa's eyes widened in surprise, and Will continued. Even as he spoke, he met my eyes for a moment, then nodded slightly. I tilted my head, but said nothing.

"On my world, do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker forever." Barbossa scowled.

"Very well. Name your terms, Mr. Turner." Will frowned. This was too easy. Regardless, he wasn't losing this chance.

"Release Elizabeth and Jack! And Sora, Christie, Donald and Goofy too." Barbossa nodded.

"Will there be anythin' else?" Will nodded.

"Yes. Leave now!" Barbossa nodded and bowed.

"Agreed. Leave we shall, but the Heartless stay!"

Before any of us could react, we heard Pete laugh as he knocked Will out with an oar. Air Pirate Heartless began appearing as Pete ran off with Will under his arm. Before any of us could chase after him, the pirates had grabbed us from behind and tied our hands behind our backs. It took two pirates to cart Sora off as they knocked us into the Brig. Pete laughed.

"Good work Barbossa! Who knew it'd be this easy?" Elizabeth snarled up at Barbossa.

"Barbossa, you coward!" Sora struggled against his bindings, but only succeeding in rubbing his wrists red.

"That's the last time I trust a pirate!"

"Captain! The powder kegs are ready!" Barbossa laughed, then turned back to us.

"Then I bid ye farewell!" Both Barbossa and Pete left our sights, and I heard the Pearl sail away before Donald cried out.

"What are we gonna do?!" Jack sighed, letting his head drop to his chest.

"Why struggle mate? We'd be better off just surrendering anyway." I snarled, summoning one of my daggers and slicing through the ropes holding us together.

"Well, I'm not giving up yet. I've got someone very important to find. Dying now, I'd just let him down."

I heaved Sora to his feet, before sending one of my daggers up onto the deck. It attracted the attention of the Heartless gaurd, and as soon as I'd caught sight of it, it was cast away into the void. Jack hoisted Sora onto his shoulders, and the boy quickly undid the lock holding us in the brig. I grabbed my dagger from the ground, before running to a lit keg of gunpowder and pushing it into the ocean before the fuse hit the powder. The boys handled the rest, and Jack's keg hit the water just in time. The massive explosion showered us all with seawater, and Jack just shook his dreadlocks as he ran up to the helm and set our course for the Isla De Muerta. Sora and I quickly heaved the sails into position as Donald cast a massive Aeroga spell that sped us along at a considerable speed. We docked quickly, and I grabbed Elizabeth by the arm as she tried to run after us, Jack turned, bouncing from one foot to another.

"Christie's right! You'd best stay with the ship, Lass!" Elizabeth wrenched her arm free from my grasp, huffing.

"I'll do no such thing!" I ran past her, shaking my head as she once more tried to follow.

"Then trust me when I say that we'll bring him back alive!" Elizabeth frowned, but nodded after a moment's hesitation.

"Very well. Christie, Sora, Goofy, Donald, bring Will back safely!"

We ran for the caves, dodging Heartless and Pirates along the way to the Treasure Heap. We arrived just in time to catch the pirates cheering, and Sora laughed.

"Treasure, mateys!" Barbossa's eyes widened in surprise, and he stepped back.

"Not possible!" Donald smirked.

"Not probable! We're alive, and we're pirates!" Jack smiled, drawing his sword.

"Captain Jack Sparrow!" Sora summoned the Keyblade.

"Sora!" I summoned my daggers

"Christie!" Donald grabbed his staff.

"Donald Duck!" Goofy grabbed his shield off his back.

"And Goofy too!" Something to note. All the introductions had only taken less then half a minute, and Barbossa was not amused.

"So, you want to play Pirates? Best save the playacting for the nursery. After them!"

At his order, all the pirates in the room raced after us. We split up, knocking them out with magic or clocks over the head as Will stayed close to the chest. When they were all gone, he stood up and walked over to us as Sora insulted the running pirates.

"Thank you, Sora, Christie." Goofy looked around.

"Uh, where's Jack?"

We all jumped as the clang of metal on metal rang out, and we turned to see Jack and Barbossa locked in a sword fight. Before I could stop him, Sora cried out.

"Jack! Get him!" Jack's distraction cost him, and Sora gasped as Barbossa plunged his sword into Jack's chest. The Captain stumbled back into the moonlight, and I sighed in relief as he turned into a skeleton like form. He stared at his right hand for a moment, then at his left. A Medallion was bieng rolled between his knuckles, and Barbossa stepped back in fear.

"Show yourself Pete! The tide has changed!" We jumped again as Pete appeared behind us.

"See? I told ya you'd be needing old Pete!"

He whistled, causing two Illuminator Heartless to come down the walls, beady yellow eyes glaring at us as they hopped to Barbossa's side. Absorbing all the light, they plunged the area into Darkness just as Jack wrenched Barbossa's sword out of his body. I clenched my daggers, closing my eyes.

Remember what Riku taught you. See with your other senses, not with your eyes.

Even as Sora and the other's were stumbling around, trying to find the Illuminators, I knew exactly where one of them was. Before Barbossa could even react accordingly, I'd thrown my dagger, embedding it into the head of one of the Illuminators. Sora stared for a moment, then whirled on his heel to catch Barbossa's sword with the Keyblade.

"Guys! Hurry and find that Heartless!"

We nodded, and I took a deep breath. Throwing my other dagger would be a mistake, so I relied on my Void attack to get rid of the Heartless just as Barbossa freed his sword from Sora's blade lock. Sora fell to the ground, and Barbossa laughed.

"Be meeting your maker tonight boy!"

The captain made to plunge his second blade into my friends body, but the clang of metal on metal suprised us all. Jack had come through, blocking Barbossa from hurting Sora. The look on Jack's face sent shivers up my spine, I'd never seen a glare like that on a human face.

"No one, hurts my crew!" He lunged at Barbossa, forcing him into the back of the cave as Sora picked himself up off the ground. We ignored Pete as he ran off, and Jack kept the glare on his face.

"Care to surrender now Barbossa?" Barbossa flaunted his sword. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Well then, enough of this." He dropped his sword, drawing his pistol from it's holster on his thigh.

"What say you, we call this a draw?" Barbossa smirked.

"Jack, how many times do I have to tell ya---"

Jack tossed the medallion still in his hand to Will, then shot Barbossa with the last of his bullets. Barbossa, not even feeling the tiny metal piece pierce him, laughed. But he stopped laughing when Will cried out.

"Laugh while you can, Barbossa!" We turned to Will, just in time to see him drop two bloodstained
medallions into the chest. We turned back to Barbossa as he clutched at the wound in his stomach.

"I feel...cold."

In a brief moment, it was over. Barbossa fell to the ground, lifeless. Jack shook his head, picking his sword off the ground and sheathing it. He lead us from the cave and back towards the makeshift docks. Will tilted his head.

"What now Jack?" Jack smiled.

"Whatever I want, now that the Pearl is mine again." Will nodded.

"That she is. Thank you, Jack." He extended a hand in friendship, but Jack flinched, placing his hands above his head.

"I didn't want ye hitting me again, mate."

I stepped on Will's toe, putting on an innocent look as he frowned at me. That was more then enough payback for one night. Sora chuckled, then turned to Jack.

"Hey, Jack. Good luck." Donald raised one wing.

"And remember to be good!" Goofy and I shook our head. Not likely. Still, Jack nodded and waved goodbye.

"Well, I'm off." He turned to head back towards the Pearl, then turned around and looked at Elizabeth with longing in his eyes as she tightly embraced Will, sending them both to the ground. Jack sighed, and Sora smiled.

"Good for them." Goofy nodded, then turned to Sora and I.

"Sora, Christie, how come your faces are all red?" I ducked my head, blushing further as Sora tried to deny it. Donald laughed.

"Oh, I know who you two are thinking about!"

Donald and Goofy laughed as I turned to Jack. The Captain was heading back towards the Pearl, compass in hand, when his suddenly started to glow. He cursed in surprise, dropping it as Sora raised the Keyblade. The wind that came smelled of hot desert sands, and felt much the same way.

Agrabah...

We waved goodbye to Will, Elizabeth and Jack before heading back to Infinity. Once on board, Sora crossed his arms and stopped midstep.

"You know...for a minute there, I was afraid we were gonna lose Donald to the curse of the treasure."

I had to laugh at the look on Donald's face as the duck snarled up at Sora and Goofy, the Duck chasing after his old companion as Sora settled into the co-pilots seat next to me. After setting our course for Agrabah, I settled back into my seat to try and sleep a little. After a moment, I drifted off to the sound of Donald and Goofy's laughter.

----
15 year old Squall and 5 year old Christie, standing in the field of flowers as a funeral takes place. The girl clings to her brother's arm, head bowed as the tears run down her cheeks. Why did Headmaster Cid have to die? This wasn't fair. She stayed with Rinoa as her brother said his piece of the memorial, then let Squall carry her home. Dinner was a quiet affair, and Squall looked at his sister with worry in his eyes.

"You all right?" Christie shook her head.

"No. I don't want you to die Nii-san." Leon sighed. He understood now. Still silent, he stood and padded over to his little sister, kneeling down to be level with her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Christie stared at him for a moment, then launched herself at his neck. Squall caught her quickly, burying his face into her hair. They needed time to grieve over the loss of the only man who had cared for them. But they still had eachother.

And for now, that was enough.
----
Done. See you all in Agrabah!

 

true, true...(lolz wassup)
and you dont have to type out my full name, just call me rinn or thalassa or TS lolz

 

you need to slow down on the chapters or im gonna get left behind in the dust like your version of chain of memories >.<

anywho, i just finished reading your version of olympus coliseum, and im working on the other one... two... >.< but the one i just read was great!

 

Can't help it if I write fast Jap, but I'll try to slow down a bit. Here's the new chapter!

Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1
-----
I awoke just as Infinity came into low orbit above Agrabah. Once we'd beamed down, I stretched out a bit. Donald smiled brightly at the sight of the desert city.

"Agrabah! We made it!" Goofy and Sora peered around the back alley we were in, looking this way and that.

"Gawrsh, I wonder how Aladdin and Jasmine are doing." I nodded, tightening the knots in my shoelaces.

"I've been wondering too. And who knows, maybe Riku and the King are with them." Sora nodded, smiling hopefully as we turned to head to the palace. Donald shook his head.

"Keep dreaming you guys." Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on Donald. We all know you were thinking the same thing." Donald huffed, stamping one foot onto the sand.

"No, I wasn't!" I suddenly screeched, making us all jump a foot in the air, including one bright red parrot. Hand over my heart, I glared at the creature.

"Iago!" Sora growled, summoning the Keyblade. Iago back pedalled, trying to keep us from attacking him.

"Wait! You've got me all wrong!" Donald snarled, grabbing his staff.

"You're Iago all right!" Iago shook his head, rather comically trying to stay aloft.

"No! I mean, it's not the old me. I turned over a new feather. I'm legit, no more scams, I promise!" Sora glared.

"Bet that's your new scam."

Iago landed on a piece of rubble, looking rather terrified. I crossed my eyes, contemplating for a moment. As much as the parrot had caused us problems before, he was sincere now. Sora tugged at my arm, trying to drag me from the area. I shook my head, looking to Iago.

"Alright. How did you get out of the lamp? Sora trapped both you and and Jafar inside." Iago winced, landing in my hands.

"I dunno how I escaped, but I did...and then some things happened..."He looked away, and my heart twinged. He was telling the truth alright, somethings had happened. Sora huffed.

"So, free as a bird. Enjoy yourself. Come on Christie, let's go." I stared at Sora for a moment of disbelief. Goofy frowned, looking at Iago.

"Gawrsh Sora, he looks pretty sad..." Iago leapt from my hands to Goofy's, still downcast.

"I wanna apologize to Aladdin and Jasmine. Could you guys....I dunno...put in a good word for me?" Goofy nodded.
"Sure, we can do that, right fellas?" He said the last word with a pointed stare at Donald and Sora, and they frowned. Iago stared at them, and Sora sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck as he kicked the ground. Before he could answer Iago's question however, Iago took to the skies, frightened by the sudden appearence of Luna Bandits behind Goofy and I.

"Watch out!" I whirled around, catching a blade between my own and forcing the Heartless back against the wall. It poofed away in a cloud of black smoke, and we set to cutting down the rest.

At least, we would have. Had they just stopped coming. Sora put his back to mine, sides heaving.

"Where are they all coming from?!" I shook my head, then looked up at the crash of pottery and Heartless. I bit my lip at the sight of a Heartless stumbling around with a vase stuck on it's head, then was unable to hold back the peals of laughter bubbling up as another Heartless was tipping to a crate. Iago landed on my shoulder, winded but looking proud of himself as we ran into the Peddler's shop. Goofy recovered his breath first, and looked to me. I nodded, and he spoke up.

"Aw, we'd've been goners if Iago hadn't helped us. Ain't that right, fellas." Sora scowled, but nodded.

"I guess we do owe you one now.' Iago smiled, beak seemingly cracking with the grin.

"Perfect." But Sora wasn't finished, and he raised one finger.

"But! You'll have to win over Aladdin and Jasmine yourself. So be on your best behavior, got it?" Iago
saluted with one wing, and Sora rolled his eyes before he tilted his head.

'Where IS Aladdin anyway?" Iago leapt from my shoulder into the air.

"I betcha he's at the palace!" Sora nodded, and we headed towards the Palace Gates. No Heartless barred our way, and we stepped through the gates to see Jasmine gently setting some Water Lillies into a pond. Sora called out to her, and she raced over to embrace me. I jolted in surprise, and she pulled back with a smile.

"I never got a chance to thank you for what you and Riku did. Becuase of you, Aladdin is still alive." Sora tilted his head, and Jasmine blushed slightly as she remembered her etiquette

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Donald bowed, Sora, Goofy and I following suit as I felt Iago burrowing into my hoodie. Jasmine giggled.

"I never did get a chance to thank you all for your help last year. You helped Aladdin defeat that awful Jafar and saved Agrabah." Sora poked my arm and I shook him off with a nod to Jasmine. He blinked, then nodded.

"All in a day's work Princess. But, uh, it look's like the Heartless are up to no good again."

Iago peeked above my shoulder and waved to Jasmine. She gasped slightly as she caught sight of the parrot, then extended her hand.

"Iago. Come here please."

Iago gulped, then hopped over my shoulder and into her hands. At least he had the sense to look sheepish. Jasmine stared at him for a few tense moments, then sighed.

"I owe you thanks as well. Even though you were working for Jafar at the time, you helped Christie and Riku keep Aladdin alive. Thank you."

She gently kissed his beak, making him blush as she set him on her shoulder. Sora smiled at the sight, and continued where he'd left off.

"Is there any way we can help you out?" Jasmine shook her head.

"I think we're all right for now." Goofy smiled.

"And ya always got Aladdin." Jasmine looked away, and I sighed.

"Aladdin...he hasn't been himself as of late. I'm not sure why. Usually he's the same cheerful Aladdin, but sometimes...he just seems sad. He leaves the Palace and goes off by himself all the time. I've asked him about it, but he says nothing's wrong. He's gone again today, what if he doesn't come back this time?!"

I snapped my fingers, making her jump. She nodded, regaining her composure and turning to Sora as he spoke up.

"How about we go look for him? We'll ask him what's wrong when we find him, ok?"

Jasmine nodded gratefully, and we headed back into town. I stared in shock as Abu ran past us, Jafar's lamp in hand. Shaking the disbelief from my viens, I ran after him as the Peddler and Aladdin came running close behind.

"Christie! Grab him!" We chased Abu into a dead end allyway, where he clutched at the black lamp in his arms. I kneeled down at his level, and he handed the lamp to me just as Aladdin raced into the alley to catch Abu by his little vest.

"Where'd you stash it this time, Abu?" The monkey shrugged, and I grabbed my munny pouch when the Peddler came running into the Alley, looking very winded. He extended a hand for the lamp, and I shook my head.

"How much do you want for it?" The Peddler glared at me, snatching the lamp from my hands.

"More than what you'd ever be able to pay, street wench."

I raised an eyebrow as Sora stared at him in anger, but Goofy's hand on my freinds shoulder kept him from doing anything stupidly rash. Still, he stuck his tounge out at the Peddler as he stalked back to his shop. Donald made various insulting gestures to the tiny shopkeeper's back, before he stalked over to us as Aladdin was half-heartedly glaring at Abu. The little monkey jumped out of his master's hand and onto Sora's neck, making Aladdin smile.

"Hey guys. Sorry about earlier. I was kinda in a hurry." Sora tilted his head, loosening Abu's hold on his hoodie.

"What happened anyway? Abu's really spooked." Aladdin shrugged, and Abu buried his head into Sora's spikes.

"You know Abu. He just couldn't keep his paws off that silly old lamp. Third time he's tried to steal it this week too."

Abu poked his head up, letting go of Sora and turning back towards the Peddler's shop. I sneezed, that scent was of Darkness. Abu raced to Aladdin, and began tugging on his friend's pant leg. But Aladdin just kneeled down to his level, wagging one finger in the monkey's face.

"No talking your way out of this one." The other's laughed, and Abu huffed. Stifling his chuckles, Sora turned his attention to Aladdin.

"I guess you can't be that down in the dumps, huh?" Aladdin looked at Sora strangely.

"Who said I was?" I rolled my eyes, hands on my hips.

"Jasmine did. She's getting worried about you, becuase you're always in town these days. What's the matter this time?" Aladdin huffed, pouting slightly
.
"Nothing. I'm just getting restless is all." Donald pounced on the young mans heavy silence, grinning.
"Got a new girlfriend?" Aladdin glared.

"No!" Sora and I shook our heads with twin shrugs, and Aladdin blanched.

"Well, I guess there's no fooling Jasmine, is there? You see guys, Genie and Carpet took off to see the world. It's what Genie always wanted, so I wished him the best for the journey...but I..."

Sora nodded, sympathizing with Aladdin. Riku...

"But you miss him, don't you." Aladdin nodded, and we all looked to the milling crowd on the streets, now that the market's had opened up for the day.

"That's why I come here. The action, the people. There's always something going on. I mean, come on! I met you guys here today, right? This place is just full of surprises, if you know where to look."

We nodded, and I looked down at Abu as he began to yank at my shorts leg, pointing at the shaking figure of Iago. Sora looked over at the racket the little monkey was making, and his eyes widened.

"Iago?! Oh, right. He wanted to apologize for all the trouble he cuased, but Jasmine already forgave him. Said something about he helping Riku and Christie save your life?" Iago cradled his head in his wings as Aladdin nodded, leaning down to the parrot's level.

"Yeah, he did. Iago, what's wrong?"

"Th--that lamp!"

"What about it?"

"It was THE lamp!" Aladdin chuckled briefly, shaking his head.

"C'mon, there's gotta be like, a million just like that one."

Iago took off into the air, glaring at Aladdin.

"Hey! I was locked up in that thing for MONTHS! There's no way I'd mistake it now!" Abu clutched at his hat and squawked loudly, making Aladdin frown as he stood up.

"Then we'd better go and talk to the Peddler. Maybe we can work out a deal for the lamp."

We nodded, and headed after Aladdin into the market. Sora looked around the lively town with awe in his eyes for a moment, and soon caught up with me, matching my steps.

"So, what's the story about you and Riku saving Aladdin's life?" I smiled to myself, speeding up to catch sight of the man in question.

"I'm not telling you." Sora pouted, running after me and gently shoving my shoulder. I shook my head, and Sora sighed.

"No fair!" Still, Sora jumped to attention as we entered the Peddler's shop, stepping in front of me as the Peddler looked at me with something I wasn't liking in his eyes.

"Is there anyway we can buy that black lamp from you?"

The Peddler smiled, rubbing his hands together.

"Of course. One way is to afford it in cash...the other way is to have your lady friend and I in bed together."

I stepped back, disgusted. He wasn't asking me to...no, he was asking that alright. Sora glared at the Peddler, having understood the seller's meaning before it had latched into my brain.

"We'll take the first option. How much is it gonna be?" The Peddler frowned, discouraged that he wouldn't be getting to make any children, but perked up.

"A treasure beyond my imagination. Something fit for, say, a Sultan."

Sora nodded curtly, and we left the shop. Once outside, Sora slamed the door shut, glaring at the wooden planks.

"I cannot believe he just asked that! I just...UGH!" Aladdin stared at Sora for a moment, then looked to me for answers.

"What does he want for the lamp?" Sora whirled to face Aladdin before I could even open my mouth.

"He wanted Christie to have sex with him, that's what!" Aladdin looked sick for a moment, before he sighed.

"Yeah, that happens a lot." At Sora's stare of disbelief, Aladdin patted him on the shoulder.

"Sora, this place...it's great and all, but some girls make a living selling thier bodies. The Peddler must have thought that Christie was one of those girls."

I sighed, shaking my head as Sora kicked the wall, then jumped around clutching at his foot as Iago flew over to land on Aladdin's shoulder.

"Ya know, since you guys ain't gonna give Christie up to that stinkin' Peddler, why not go to the Cave of Wonders and grab some treasure from there?" Aladdin snapped his fingers, smiling.

"Great thinking Iago! Lead the way!" Iago nodded, flying off into the Market Place. We followed the Parrot to the Outskirts of the city, and all the way through the desert to the Cave of Wonders. It was a shorter trip than the last time we were here, had the Cave...moved? No, that wasn't possible. I turned to ask Iago if the Cave had changed locations, but he was too busy grinning.

"This is it!"

The mouth of the Tiger was already opened, and we headed inside, weaving through the Valley of Stone into a chamber with waterfalls on both sides, sending cool mist into the air around us. Sora shrugged out of his jacket, throwing it over one arm as he let the spray cool him down. The trek across the desert has worn us all out, and the heat hadn't helped. Abu leapt down from Aladdin's shoulder and began to play in the water for a moment, before catching sight of a jewel floating above the water. Before any of us could stop him, he'd grabbed the jewel out of the air. The removal of the gem made at least a dozen stone gaurdians appear from the walls as the water stopped. Abu looked around in fear as we summoned our weapons in case of any attacks, before we looked up to see ice crystals forming above us. Abu screeched, dodging them as he ran back to us with the jewel in hand. Aladdin scolded him, and we turned back to where the jewel had been floating. There was a altar standing there now, awaiting the return of the jewel. Abu looked back towards it with fear in his eyes, then swallowed and nodded. Sora and I nodded to eachother, covering Abu as we made a run for the pedestal. Sora knocked Ice crystals away from us with the Keyblade as I kept Abu on course for the altar. But the crystals were too fast for Sora as we reached the altar, and he missed one. I grabbed Abu and placed my arms over my head. I expected to feel ice splitting on my head and neck, but instead heard ice breaking on a shield that wasn't metal. I looked up in time to see a honeycombed shield of blueish light just above Abu and I, forming a dome around us. Somehow, I'd managed to make a Dark Shield when I hadn't even been trying. Shoving my shock into the back of my brain for a later time, I pushed Abu to the alter, where he returned the jewel to it's place. Satisfied, the stone guardians returned to thier places behind the waterfall, allowing us passage into the caves.

Aladdin clapped both Sora and I on the shoulders as he, Donald and Goofy headed onward. I shook my head, examining my left palm. The scar had begun to fade over the past year, but the skin itself was still marred. Sora cleared his throat, catching my attention.

"You ok?" I nodded, smiling slightly even though it didn't reach my eyes. Sora took it as answer enough, and we headed off after Aladdin. All there was in the next room, the Chasm of Challengers, was a square ledge above a seemingly bottomless pit. Towards the edge of the ledge was a stone marker, with some ancient text on it. I smiled brightly, dusting it off. This was a text I knew how to read. Aladdin tilted his head, confused.

"You can read this?" I nodded, tracing the script with my fingers.

"Yeah. It says, "Complete your tasks within the time allotted. Fail, and face the consequences." Grim odds."

The rumbling beneath our feet made Donald squawk, then we all screamed as the floor fell out from beneath us. All of a sudden, the ticking of a clock began to ring in my ears, and from the look on Sora's face, I knew he heard it too. We managed to turn around to land on our feet as the ground came up beneath us, and we leapt into action. In the game, the floor had fallen out beneath Sora and his comrades. But here, waves of Heartless just kept coming until a final Fat Bandit arrived. It knocked Donald and Goofy away and into eachother, making Sora and I wince in sympathy at the metal clang of Donald's head and Goofy's shield. That wince cost us valuable time, and I had to grab Sora by the arm and drag him to the floor with me as the Fat Bandit swiped up at us. We were pinned down by the creature's ever approaching swings, and I kept Sora down with one arm around his back as Aladdin came up behind it and lopped it's head off with one blow. The black liquid the Heartless always left behind when they died splattered on the floor nearby, and Sora winced as some of the remains landed on his nose. We stood, heading off the platform and towards the treasure room, stopping as another stone marker appeared in front of us. Iago read this one, landing on it and craning his head to read it upside down.

"Victors of the Trial, you possess great strength! Wow. Nice welcome!"

Aladdin chuckled to himself as Iago flew over to his shoulder again, and we headed into the treasure room. I shielded my eyes with one hand as the firelight reflecting off all the gold and jewels was a sudden change from the darkness of the previous room. We poked around in the room before Aladdin caught sight of a jeweled trophy at the back of the room.

"There, that one should do it." Donald followed Aladdin's gaze, and nodded as greed came in to his eyes.

"Oh boy, it's perfect! That guys gonna like this." Sora and I padded over to the trophy, hefting it up into the air. Sora, unprepared for the weight, let his air out in a whoosh as we picked up the solid gold piece.
"Sure feels valuable alright, it's pretty heavy!" Aladdin came over to Sora's side, taking some of the weight off of my friend.

"Great! Now, let's go give this to the Peddler and get the lamp. If Jafar doesn't stay bottled up, he'll destroy Agrabah!" We looked up at a cry from Donald, and I sighed as I caught sight of Abu and Iago trying to lift a soldi gold statue with a massive ruby. Donald had caught them in the act, but then saw the jewel and stared at it, transfixed. The only one with his hands free, Goofy banged on his shield, snapping Donald from his trance.

"Donald! Snap outta it!"

Donald blinked, shaking his head vigorously to clear it. He ran after us as we left the caverns, taking some kind of Transporter back to the Stone Valley. The trek across the desert was slower this time, with four of us carrying the heavy trophy and Donald running on ahead. By the time we reached the town again, the moon was rising in the sky, and Sora and I were forced to realize that we just weren't cut out for the constant change of climate in this world. Aladdin led us to his old apartment, where we stashed the trophy before we headed for the castle. Jasmine welcome us with open doors and a warm meal, before showing us to two spare rooms and dragging Aladdin off by his ear. Saying goodnight to Donald and Goofy, Sora and I claimed one room. Inside, Sora pestered me for the story that both Jasmine and Aladdin had hinted at all day.

"Come on Chris, what's it gonna take for you to tell me?" I rolled my eyes, folding my jacket and placing it on the ground next to my sneakers.

"It's not my story to tell. If you want answers, ask Jasmine and Aladdin tomorrow." He pouted, yanking off his shoes.

"I'm gonna find out eventually, why don't you just tell me?"

There's really something you all should know about me. When I get tired, I get pissed. And when I get pissed, I'm difficult to out think. I sat up on my borrowed bed, looking Sora in the eyes.

"Alright, you want the story? Fine. Riku and I came here about six months ago. Stuff happened, Aladdin got run through with some kinda blade in his stomach. We managed to heal him, then got rid of the guy who'd tried to kill him. We left after that. Happy now?"

Sora stared at me like a deer caught in the headlights, and I flopped back onto the pillow, turning my back to him. I'd told Sora the basic story, but a lot more had happened then I was willing to say. Like how Riku and I had also almost been killed, and that the man who'd tried to kill Aladdin had been beheaded soon after, on the Sultan's order. I heard Sora fidget on his matress, and I sighed as I rolled over to face him.

"Does "got rid of" mean you...killed him?" I shook my head.

"Niether Riku or I did the deed ourselves, but yes. He's dead."

Sora stared shellshocked for a moment, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed as he processed the information. After a moment, he looked out the window.

"Why didn't you want to tell me?"

I sighed, burying my head in my hands. Why did this have to happen now?

"Becuase, Sora, Riku almost died here. When we went after the guy who'd tried to gut Aladdin, we both almost got gutted ourselves. I got knocked out during the fight, and when I came too, Riku was knocking the guy out and barely staying on his feet from all the blood he'd lost. I didn't want to tell you, becuase I knew you'd be spooked." Sora looked at the ground, then sighed.

"You were right. I probably would have been spooked. But thanks, for telling me."

I nodded, rolling back over to face away from Sora as he finally laid down and went to sleep. It took me a few minutes to finally drift off, and it felt like barely an hour had passed before I was awoken by shouts from below us, in the courtyard. Sora blearily opened his eyes as I clutched at the window sill, and we both jumped at Jasmine's scream of surprise, quickly dressing and running through the halls and out into the courtyard. There, Pete was chasing the Peddler around, with the little man clutching the Lamp to his chest. But Pete was faster, and as Donald and Goofy came up behind us with Aladdin in tow, he grabbed the lamp from the Peddler's hand.

"Thank you!" Put off by Pete's stealing the lamp, the Peddler made a leaping grab at it, taking it from Pete's hand and running away again.

"It's mine!" Pete, having not noticed the lamp was gone until the Peddler had run out the front gates of the Palace, cursed and ran after him.

"Lamp hog!" We stared after them for a minute, before Donald squawked.

"That was Jafar's lamp!" Aladdin smacked himself, running a hand through his hair.

"And there's no one in the Market at this hour to stop them! They don't open until midday!"

Sora groaned, and we ran off after the Peddler and Pete. It was a similar scene here, with Pete chasing after the seller with a lot of success. He grabbed the lamp, holding the Peddler down with one hand as he examined the Lamp. Iago snarled, leaping from Aladdin's shoulder and into the air, flying over and snatching it from Pete's hand. He was already back inside the Palace Courtyard by the time that Pete noticed the Lamp was missing, and both the Peddler and Pete charged headlong into the courtyard, bowling us over. Sora got up first, helping me up and literally dragging me into the Courtyard where Iago was being chased. We arrived just in time to wince as Iago crashed into the wall, dropping the lamp. He tried to get up, but couldn't in time to stop Pete from grabbing the Lamp. Pete laughed.

"Nice try, Bird Brain. Just wait until Jafar's free, he's gonna make one beauty of a Heartless!"

We all yelped as the ground shook, and I looked up at the sky with a warm smile as Genie came flying into view amongst many bells and whistles of his own creation.

"I'm HOME!" He flew past Pete, the elation of returning to Agrabah blinding him from noticing the real Aladdin come up behind us.

"Al! It's been eons!" He flew back around, hugging Pete.

"Al, you princely little muffin you!" Genie teleported into the air, and I had to bite my finger to stop myself from laughing. The look on his face was just hilarious.

"Cosmic travel can get so lonely without a friend." He laced an arm around Pete's shoulder, then teleported and placed his arm on Pete's other shoulder.

"To think I left you forlorn and Genie-less! Oh, the HUMANITY!" Genie shook Pete, then rubbed his eyes. Sora was clutching at his stomach, holding onto my shoulder as he tried to stop from laughing. Genie was a stand-up comic alright, one of the best. Still completly oblivious to our presence and the face that Pete wasn't Aladdin, he didn't hear the real Aladdin call out.

"Genie?" Genie tilted his head for a moment.

"Hey, Al, you've been puttin' on weight?"

Genie grew several feet wider to make his point, then teleported right into Pete's face, startling the disheveled man. Genie shook his head.

"Aw, of course, what am I saying? You're living at the Palace now!" Genie spun around, a second Genie appearing in his arms.

"Aladdin! Jasmine!" The double Genie's hugged and fireworks appeared behind them, one taking the shape of a large red heart. The second Genie disappeared, and the real one clapped Pete on the back. Hard.

"Wait, tell me. Am I bieng a pest, a big blue pest? Aw, who cares! I'm just so glad to see you again!"

Genie poofed away, this time reappearing directly in front of Pete to shake both of the dog-mans hands. Pete lost his balance, and we scattered as the large man fell over, crashing to the ground almost exactly where we'd been standing. Aladdin recovered first, shaking his head.

"Genie!" Genie blinked, looking between the downed Pete and his old friend.

"Oops." Aladdin just smiled, and Genie grabbed him, both friend embracing tightly. But their happy reunion was short-lived, for Pete had recovered from his escapade with Genie and was picking himself off the floor.

"Time for Plan B! I'm finishing you mugs off right now!"

Pete slammed his fist on the ground, making a geyser pop out from the Lily Pond and create the Blizzard Lord. We all yelped as several bushes lit on fire, creating the Volcano Lord Heartless. Both of the massive creatures stood side by side, looking rather menacing. Sora summoned the Keyblade as I called my daggers, and we rushed at the Volcano Lord just as he went for us. Donald and Goofy cried out in surprise as he blew a stream of fire at them, and were forced out of the courtyard as Pete grabbed them and raced out the doors. Aladdin snarled, meeting the Blizzard Lord's staff with his blade as Genie hovered by his side
.
"Genie! Go protect Jasmine!"

Genie nodded, poofing away as Sora and I cast dual Blizzard Spells on the Volcano Lord, making it flinch. All of a sudden, he landed on the ground and seperated into lots of many smaller parts. We were forced back against the walls until Sora managed to destroy one of them, sending the rest scattering across the courtyard and straight into a small Void attack. With that threat disposed of, we turned our attention to the Blizzard Lord. But we were to late, it had already sent Aladdin sprawling and froze his legs to the ground. We tried to catch it's attention by attacking it, but that only served to make it angrier. And making the Lord of Ice angry in never a good idea, as Sora and I found out the hard way as the Heartless froze us to the wall by our wrists. Sora and I both winced, trying to break through the Ice Cuffs but to no avail. Sora bent his legs against the wall and tried to push off, but the cracking sound that resulted wasn't the Ice. Sora bit his lip as he tried not to cry out it pain, but Aladdin's cries had already captured Genie's attention. Now, making a Lord of Ice angry isn't a good idea. But angering a Genie, especially one with a very close friend, is a very bad idea. I swear, even after all this time, I still shudder at the image of all that anger in Genie's eyes. With one snap of his fingers, the Blizzard Lord was gone and Aladdin, Sora and myself were freed from our icy inprisonment. Sora went down clutching his wrist, not even looking up as the double doors leading into the courtyard were slammed open, sending Pete sprawling into our view as he was thrown onto the floor. He snarled, picking himself up.

"You! You've messed with me for the last time!"

He ran out the front doors as I tried to get Sora to let go of his wrist, and Genie gathered Al up in a desperate hug. Sora squeezed his eyes shut as he finally let go of the injured appendage, and he sighed in relief as the Cura spell worked it way into repairing the damaged bone. The healing finished as Carpet flew into sight, with Abu riding him. Iago, having picked up the lamp, flew into the open doors of the Castle as Jasmine greeted Aladdin with a liplocking kiss. Sora and I shared a smile as Iago led us down into the Dungeons, where we placed the lamp into a stone coffin, closing it up for a long time. Aladdin looked back over his shoulder as we headed out into the courtyard, and I shivered. I could swear that I had heard Jafar's laugh, and I knew that Aladdin had heard it too. Still, he smiled as Jasmine looked at him. Genie scowled as he looked to Iago.

"Uh...Princess Jasmine...are you sure you want that pigeon in the coop?" Jasmine nodded.

"Yes. He means well." Genie smiled slightly, but it didn't meet his eyes.

"Aw, sure. You're probably right." Sora smirked, still cradling his injured wrist slightly.

"And how much trouble can just one noisy bird cause?" Genie nodded.

"You've got a point there Kiddo." Jasmine patted Genie on the shoulder, then turned to Sora and I.

"What happens now, Sora? Sora?" Sora shook his head, shrugging in apology for zoning out on us. I looked at him in concern for a moment, then turned to Jasmine.

"Well, it was great to see all of you again, but we need to get moving if we're going to find Riku and the King. I guess...we'll just be moving on now." Sora nodded, and Genie smiled sympatheticlly.

"I hope you find them." I looked away, fingering my necklace as Sora looked up at the sky.

"We do too Genie, we do too." We were snapped from our thoughts as Donald looked around.

"Hey, where'd Aladdin go?" Jasmine pointed towards the gate.

"He ran off toward town to find Abu, but he should have been back by now..." Genie frowned.

"Al can't miss Sora's big farewell party! I'll have him back in a jiffy!"

He poofed away in a tornado of magic, a second too early. Aladdin ran back into the courtyard, on Abu's heels. I facepalmed as the little monkey hid behind on the still standing benches, clutching at a large red jewel. Aladdin bent over, panting to catch his breath as Donald and Goofy grabbed the jewel and Abu. Aladdin swallowed, trying to catch his breath.

"He must've secretly stolen it from the Cave of Wonders!"

Donald raised a finger at Abu, then stared at the jewel as if in a trance. Goofy set Abu on the bench, tilting his head.

"I guess some things are just hard to resist." Donald shook his head violently, and made a fist around the jewel.

"Ah, who needs this!"

He made a big show that he was about to throw it, making the boys and Jasmine look in the direction that they thought the jewel had sailed in, but I tapped him on the shoulder as I held the jewel up. It was pretty, but I'd seen prettier objects before. The others all glowered at Donald, and he stepped back.

"What?" I rolled my eyes, letting the jewel float out of my hand as it glowed. Sora unlocked the gate, letting the wind flow through the courtyard. I shook my head in confusion at the smell of cinnamon, pine trees and paper, and the feel of a brisk wind.

Oh yeah...Christmas Town....

Having caught his breath, Aladdin looked to Sora.

"Sora...what is it?" Sora dismissed the Keyblade as he cradled his wrist.

"I think it's time for us to go now." Jasmine frowned sadly.

"Will you come back someday?" Sora nodded, smiling brightly.

"We will, I promise." Aladdin and Jasmine waved goodbye as we left the Palace ground, heading back towards the alley we'd beamed into. Genie was waiting there for us.

"So, see you guys soon?" Sora and I shared another smile, and we nodded. Genie smiled brightly, grabbing all four of us into a big hug. After a moment, he set us down and waved goodbye.

"See you later guys!" We beamed back onboard Infinity, and I set course for Halloween Town as Sora headed for one of the spare rooms to try and get some sleep. He needed his rest.

----

Kairi stood on the beach of Destiny Islands, the look on her face reminding Riku so much of Christie when he'd left her behind. His shoulder's sagged. Maybe he should have stayed. Still, he kept his focus on Kairi.

"Maybe...waiting isn't good enough anymore."

She certainly looked determined enough...no. He would not subject her to the Darkness like that again. She didn't deserve it. No one did. The sound of her surprised scream made him jump, and he called forth Soul Eater in case the person or thing coming from the Dark Portal turned out to be a threat. He snarled as Saix stepped through. Oh yes, a definite threat. Saix lowered his hood, smiling to try and win Kairi over.

"That's correct, Princess of Heart." Kairi stepped back, instinctually knowing that this man was not to be trusted.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Saix smiled cruelly, and Kairi gasped as she almost backed into a Berseker.

"If you are harmed, Sora will become very angry. That would work wonders to my plans."

Riku started, his plans? Saix wasn't working under Xemnas's order's anymore? Shoving that thought to the back of his mind for another moment, he leapt into action, downing the Beserker and wrapping one arm around Kairi. She gasped, clutching at the arm that kept her safe as she looked up. Given her angle, she could see Riku's face, and she smiled.

"Riku! You made it!"

He nodded, keeping Soul Eater pointed toward Saix as Kairi struggled to keep pace with Riku's larger gait. Saix snarled, taking a few steps forward before portalling out. Riku sighed in relief, letting Kairi go when she stomped on his booted toes. She whirled around to face her friend, hands on her hips.

"You. Are. An. Idiot. Where the heck were you!" Riku looked away, summoning a Dark Portal and gently taking Kairi by the arm.

"Around. Come on, it's not safe here anymore." Kairi took one last look around the Island, then nodded and let Riku lead her into the Portal.

"So, how are Sora and Christie."

Before Riku could answer, Pluto's bark made both Islanders look up. The yellow dog was running over like the Darkness itself was on his tail, a note tucked under his collar. Riku patted the dog on his head, taking the note from his collar as Kairi pet his back.

Riku, take Kairi to Twilight Town. Sora and Christie will be there promptly to pick her up, and I've placed a barrier around the town proper. She'll be safe pal, don't worry about it.

Mickey

Riku rolled his eyes, opening another Portal to the Station. Kairi looked at him, sighing at the look on his face. Still, she stood and whistled for Pluto. Riku's heart lurched, her whistle was almost the exact same as Christie's. He was jolted from his thoughts as Kairi hugged him tight across the middle.

"Please be careful."

He patted her back awkardly, nodding. Gently, she let go and ran for the Portal, not looking back as Pluto ran along side her. It closed behind her, and Riku sighed.

Once again, he was alone.

Maybe it was better this way.
----

The idea of Riku and Christie saving Aladdin from dying was my original plan for Agrabah in KH1, but it didn't work out well and was sent to the "Rejected" folder. It's found a little life here, and I think it's enough.

Silver

 

why didnt anybody except christie ask about soras wrist? it sounded like he was in pain.

 

Thalassa: To be completely honest with you, I was half asleep when I wrote that part, so I'd forgotten to write in the reactions the other's should have had. In my own opinion, I supposed that the other's were just to busy to notice, or to preoccupied. It's a blunder I'm not planning to make again. Sorry if it struck you as odd.

 

that was a very good chapter ^^ i liked your version of agrabah

 

Terrific Updates!

I can't believe how I've been so dumb not to post in this thread when I read new updates. I am truly sorry, Silver.

Anywho, you've done a great job with this. I love it so much!! (Can I be any more of a suck up? Geez) I love your way of writing: You write along the storyline and include the exact lines, but add your own twist. It's inspiring. The whole Riku/Kairi part was great, but I do have a question: Considering Riku is in Xehanort's Heartless form, how could Kairi recognize the boy? Now, on to Sora. The way he keeps getting hurt makes it more interesting and entertaining, which is surprising considering I'm a Sora Fangirl hardcore. I think it just pulls me in more.

Good job, nonetheless. Keep up the great work and keep those updates comin'!

-Kairi

 

Thanks Jap!

It's fine Kairi, no need to apologize.

As for how Kairi recognized Riku, I think it's becuase she's a Princess of Heart. Girls like her can see things that most other's can't, and they can see through the Darkness. Consider Riku's new form a shadow, and Kairi's eyes like flashlights in a way, she looks at him, and breaks through the shadow. Or something like that.

I suppose that why I write Sora getting hurt, becuase it keeps the story intresting. Not that I dislike the boy at all, he's just too easy to clobber over the head (or other limbs and such)

See you all soon, hopefully with a new chapter!

Silver

 

This is a very nice story. It is well written and I think you portray Riku very well. Usually I hate it when people make RIku what he isn't but you do an awesome job. Please continue!!