This is my new story. It's not deeply rooted with romance but this is entirely different from the previous three I've authored.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH I or II. All characters belong to their respective owners.

The New Job

Sora crouched down and rested his hand on the railing of the catwalk. Hidden up above by the darkness, he pulled out his binoculars and stared down at the two figures down below him. "Just as I thought" Sora mouthed. He kept his eyes glued through the binoculars, not once letting his sight leave his targets. One of the men dominated the other. He was certainly larger and his red and blue suit weren't the best colors for a nighttime burglary. His mouth was always open to say something and over time, Sora learned just how annoying he truly was. Sora blinked and turned the binoculars to the partner. He was a bumbling idiot dressed as a pirate. His grey hair and bifocals proved he was well past his prime. 'I think Maleficent is running out of personnel' Sora laughed in his head.

"Snee, get that box over there and haul it into the back!" Pete commanded.

His voice boomed loudly in the room and Snee hastily obeyed. However, his small frame and old age made the task impossible and he couldn't muster the strength to lift the crate. Sora laughed a bit, amused by the futile attempt to move the box and at Pete's apparent ignorance. Pete slapped his forehead, muttering curses, and pushed Snee out of the way. Being larger than Snee was the only thing that benefited him. His towering height and oversized belly kept Snee under his thumb. He pushed the box to the back of the room and slapped the debris off his hands.

"That's how you do it," Pete said in between breaths. He pounded his chest in pride. "And that's why they call me the Mighty Pete."

"Yes sir," Snee agreed. "You are the Mighty Pete!"

Sora turned around and looked out of the window. It was raining outside and the moon was nowhere to be seen. The stars were also absent, probably hidden behind the rain clouds that also couldn't be seen in the night sky. Sora reached into his pocket and felt the radio communicator rub between his fingers. It was too early to call for help. Plus, if he busted them now, he'd lose the only form of entertainment and comedy he'd grown used to over the past weeks. Spying on Pete and Snee was like babysitting a couple of infants. Their irresponsible and lackadaisical behaviors made Sora's job a delight. Unlike previous missions, Sora was normally faced against the most sinister villains- Jafar, Oogie Boogie, Ursula. He enjoyed the challenges they brought and the thrill of the hunt. However, the danger that Pete and Snee could come up with was true danger, a danger to everyone and everything. Villains weren't safe from their clumsiness that put the success of every crime in jeopardy and everyone else feared the bad luck that followed them around like shadows.

"Fear," Sora muttered. "Yeah, right. The day I fear these two is the day that Riku finally admits he has grey hair, not silver."

Pete and Snee continued moving the boxes, stopping only to brush aside the sweat that dripped from their foreheads. Snee wiped his glasses once the job was done and collapsed on his butt. He was clearly exhausted and his medical plan didn't cover injury from work, especially those who were over 65 years old. Working for Maleficent didn't offer many benefits but at least it did cover your funeral costs, courtesy of Hades.

Sora frowned, his fingers still twiddling the radio communicator. Should he bust them now? He didn't know but either way, he couldn't keep watching them. Sora rubbed the nape of his neck and decided to hold off for a little longer. He had to see what they were transporting. From the look of things, the boxes were extremely heavy. What was in those things Sora wondered. Rocks? Bricks? It wouldn't have surprised him. Maleficent was hardheaded after all and her goons were rockheads. He rolled his eyes and continued to look through the binoculars. It would have been a lot better if he had x-ray vision. Infrared, 20/20, and microscopic vision were awesome but x-ray vision was great. He'd know the contents of the boxes right away and this case would have been sealed.

Pete stood up and walked towards the door. Sora jerked his head up and furrowed his eyebrows. This was new. Pete peeked out the door and just as quickly, closed it.

"Snee. What time is it?"

Snee dug in his pockets pulling out his pocket watch and told him it was near ten o'clock. Pete twiddled his fingers and thumped his foot. Whatever was going on made Pete uncomfortable, Sora noticed, and he decided to take a look for himself. He quietly and quickly jumped from the catwalk to the window ledge and pressed his face against the cold, transparent glass. Pete was waiting for something and Sora thought it was best not to find out what. He pressed the red button on the radio communicator.

'Let's see who gets here first' Sora thought.

After a few minutes a giant truck pulled up and stopped at the door. A few people made their way out of it, nosily. They uncovered the large titanium crate that dragged behind the vehicle and lowered down the ramp. Pete and Snee quickly jumped up and went outside. Sora dropped from the ledge onto the floor and he took cover behind the forklifts and machinery. Sora laughed. Forklifts. He shook his head and smiled. He was going to miss those two. Sora crouched down lower as he heard the door open. Snee and Pete walked in followed by Clayton. His double barrel rifle was slung over his shoulder and his sword was buckled at his side.

"Good work boys," Clayton acknowledged. He rubbed a hand on one of the boxes and smiled. "Maleficent will be greatly pleased."

At that instance a loud siren could be heard and Snee and Pete buckled in terror. Clayton was unfazed and he cocked his gun ready for a fight. Sora drew his weapon, a giant key that had always served him well. A loud voice boomed from a loudspeaker and Sora noticed the voice to be Riku. 'Great timing' Sora thought.

"This is the Destiny Island Squad Force. We have the place surrounded. Come out with your hands up!"

"What do we do?" Snee asked. He looked at Pete who was frozen in fright. Snee backed up slowly and made a run for the backdoor. Sora dashed in front of him and tripped him with his key.

"Key-bearer! I had a feeling you were here," Clayton said. "I missed you."

Sora finished tying up Snee and turned his attention to rifle firing adventure man. "It's good to see you too."

Clayton burst forward, his gun firing rounds as fast as lightning. Sora jumped and dove out of the way. Clayton continued shooting and Sora had no choice but to duck and take cover. Sora grimaced. He wasn't hurt but with Clayton here, things were going to get a bit sloppy. He rolled out of the way as Clayton brought down his sword, easily cutting through the box as if it were butter. Sora leaped forward and struck down Clayton's sword. Clayton threw an elbow that hit Sora square in the chest and he staggered back. Clayton didn't let up and he charged forward, his weapon cocked back for a deathly thrust. Sora limboed under the blade and slid between Clayton's legs. A hard slash brought the rifle-firing hunter to his knees. Sora connected with a quick jab hitting the back of Clayton's head with the hilt of his key knocking him out.

Outside, Riku heard the clash of metal and ordered his men inside. They busted through the door and Riku knocked Pete down with a shot at the ankles. Riku flipped on the lights and found Sora tying up Clayton. Snee was tied up as well and his men already began the task of escorting the three villains outside.

"You know, I was wondering when you'd get here," Sora said as he brushed the dirt from his outfit.

Riku looked straight ahead. His arms were crossed in business-like fashion. His face was stoic and unreadable. This was the Riku Sora had always known. He had flashes of excitement but he was normally calm and reserved. He was always in thought and Sora wondered if his friend ever took a break to smell the roses. On second thought, Riku didn't like flowers. He was probably allergic to them or something.

"Let's get out of here," Riku said as he surveyed the damage. He turned and walked out the building, Sora slowly following behind.

-KH-

"Riku. Your nine o'clock is here," a voice over the intercom said. Riku leaned back in his chair as Sora walked through the door.

"Sora, it's good to see you didn't sleep in this time," Riku joked. Sora rolled his eyes at the weak attempt of humor. He was still a bit tired and was in no mood for jokes.

"Well, you may be wondering why I called you in," Riku continued. Sora nodded his head and took a seat on one the chairs.

"You have a new mission."

Sora's eyes widened in disbelief. He had just gotten back from a two week operation that ended near midnight last night. He was hoping Riku would give him leave for a vacation, not another job. Sora sighed and rubbed his chin. 'What was it this time' he wondered.

Riku slid a manila colored envelop at Sora. Sora raised an eyebrow and lazily opened the package. Inside were a couple of pictures. Sora took them out and noticed he was looking at a girl with red hair. He had to admit, she was really attractive.

"This is your next assignment," Riku informed him. "You will be watching Kairi over the next few weeks. One of our sources indicates that a new band of vigilantes called Organization XIII is after her."

Sora thumbed through the pictures. He noticed that the girl was around his age. Her red hair made her easy to spot and he wondered what Organization XIII wanted with her. Riku tossed Sora a new envelope and inside were pictures of hooded figures dressed in all black. Their faces were covered.

"This is Organization XIII and we have confirmed that they work on their own," Riku said. "They are armed and dangerous. Exercise extreme caution when dealing with them. Also, keep out of sight from Kairi. The less she knows, the better."

Sora nodded and placed the pictures back in the envelopes. He tucked them in his pocket and stood up. "Where can I find her?"

"Her apartment is on Rose Street. Floor 3. Suite number 7."

Riku pressed a button on his intercom. "Selphie, you can bring him in now."

The door opened and a man dressed in a blue robe and blue pointed hat stepped in. A long white, snowy beard covered his face and a pair of glasses sat on his nose.

"Sora, this is Merlin. He's our equipment manager and one of the wisest people you'll ever come across."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Merlin greeted as he extended his hand. "Come now, my boy. We have lots to do."

He ushered Sora out of the room but was stopped when Riku called after them. "Before you go, take this." He tossed Sora a communicator. "You probably won't need this but good luck."

Sora nodded and he turned to follow Merlin out. Merlin led him into the adjacent building. It was a lot different from the main building and he noticed that people wearing white lab coats were running around, clipboards and pencils in their hands. Merlin led him to across the room to the elevator. It took them down and they were met by security. They were patted down before they could continue. Sora followed Merlin through several security doors and into another room. The room was bare and blue tiles, that matched Merlin's outfit, decorated the floor. The walls were off-white colored, and fluorescent bulbs provided lighting. There were no windows but only a small vent where air from the outside could flow through.

"Make your self at home," he told Sora.

Merlin strolled over the large aluminum vault that was located on the far side of the room and with a quick show of hand the door clicked open and he stepped inside. Sora made his way over to one of the tables and pulled out a seat.

"Charged with a new task, Riku asked me to prepare some items you may need for your upcoming mission."

He placed binoculars on the table and Sora noticed that they looked exactly like his normal binoculars.

"You maybe thinking these are the standard, normal binoculars you regularly use but these are entirely different. These are waterproof and come with new features. You have your usual infrared vision, night vision, and underwater vision. Also, there's x-ray vision and the binoculars fold into the shape of a cube for easy storage. This button here enables a zoom up to 300 feet."

Sora smiled. X-ray vision would have come in handy last night but better late than never, he guessed. Merlin tossed the item aside and took out the next gizmo.

"Next is a grappling hook gun. You'll be doing a lot of moving on this mission, so getting around is vital. The hook and line is completely made out of fine titanium, refined for flexibility and low weight. It shoots out to over 100 feet."

Merlin showed Sora the next item which were ear plugs. "This enables you to hear things up to 50 feet away. They also serve as normal ear plugs which reduce noise and keeps water out of your ears. Volume control is here and you'll still be able to tap phone lines."

Sora laughed. He had to admit that these gadgets were pretty awesome. During missions, Sora normally used "outdated equipment" as Riku would label them. Binoculars, phone tapping bugs, and a highly attractive magnet comprised the core of these "outdated items."

"Being a teen and all, I thought this camera would come in handy." Merlin slid the device to Sora who looked at it with some interest. "Five times digital zoom, capability to store 1000 shots, entirely waterproof, resistant to stains…just don't get too trigger happy. You take these little micro cameras, attach them to something, press this little button, and you have yourself a little surveillance monitor right on the camera screen. Nifty, isn't it?"

The spiky haired brunette grinned. He made a mental note to have all his gadgets come directly from Merlin now on. No more thrift stores or garage sales.

"Did Riku give you a communicator?"

Sora nodded and showed it to him. Merlin opened it and worked his fingers along the wires. He inserted a chip and handed it back to Sora. "I'm on channel two if you every have gadget problems or if you need someone to talk to."

Lastly, he handed Sora a bag. Sora peeked in as Merlin kept on talking.

"All your usual trinkets are there. Smoke balls, metal tools, first aid stuff, etc. Try not to destroy the gadgets, Sora. They take an awfully long time to make."

Sora playfully saluted and headed out of the building.

This message will now self-destruct in 20 seconds, long enough for you to leave a review.

Rock out, party hard, live hardcore