Disclaimer: "Kingdom Hearts" and related characters are owned by Disney and Square Enix. Characters and situations used in this chapter are created by Glen A. Larson and Joss Whedon.

Galactica

Out in the darkness, the black as commonly referred to, comes a vessel. Not particularly big, barely even able to stay in one piece, yet it is a place that the people inside love and call home. Little did they know, however, that they were about to bump in on something as large as the vessel they saw that day. Or night, it was never easy to say, as the captain of the little vessel would put it.

"A mite big ship, even for Alliance." that captain, referred to as Mal, said.

"I ain't never seen any Alliance-ships that looked like that." one of his deck-hands, Jayne, remarked.

"It can't be Alliance." the second in command, Zoe stated, "This ain't their one of their usual routes. Plus they would have hailed us the moment they see us."

"It's weird..." the little girl riding shotgun (though doing more piloting than the captain claims to be doing), River, whispered, "The sensors sense no life inside, but... all I see is... darkness..."

Mal sighed: "You don't my asking what that means?"

"Nothin'!" Jayne answered before River could say anything, "That girl spouting nonsense as usual."

"But she's right, there ain't nobody alive inside." Mal added, "Although it seems to have breathable atmo."

"Think it's worth checkin' out, Capt'n?" Zoe asked her superior.

"Dunno." Mal appeared more undecided than usual, which means a lot, "It don't look like anything the Alliance would toss aside like this, or anythin' the Independents would make."

"Because it's not with either." a voice coming from the entrance to the cockpit spoke.

Everyone turned to look at who spoke. It was the one person who was newly hired on this ship. Someone quite young, second youngest to River, whom although annoying to everyone aboard, appeared to be of some use to everyone.

"Well then, Reese!" Mal sounded sarcastic, "What do you think it is? Alien?"

The young man, Reese, stepped closer. After examining the ship for a few seconds longer, he decided to speak: "If you define 'alien' as in non-humans from other worlds, I don't think so. But..."

"What else could I mean?" Mal interrupted.

Jayne, who wasn't always the smartest aboard, did wonder: "Are you sure?"

Reese looked at something on the ship. It had it's name written on it, with such big letters one could see it from ten miles away. It read 'Galactica', in a known alphabet, which ruled out that possibility.

"Yep. I'm pretty sure it is." Reese replied.

"And if I mean 'alien' by... by what?" Mal was still confused.

"By humans from other worlds?" Reese completed for him, "I think so."

"Alrighty..." Jayne was about to get tensed up, "How in (mumbled Chinese) is that possible?"

Reese sighed, but spoke eitherway: "Our history states we came from a different world and colonized these hundreds of worlds."

"If I want a history lesson I'd ask a historian!" Mal interrupted.

Reese grinned, but didn't stop his explanation: "Given the dangers of the universe, known and unknown, not all of the ships that were send reached this system. Some got destroyed, others got lost. Those others may have settled down on some planets of their own. I think this ship may have belonged to those. Historians would kill just to get their hands on something like this."

"But that's just an sumption." Zoe wondered.

"If you mean..."

"We know what she means, Reese!" Mal interrupted him.

Reese got spooked, but stayed calm: "Yes, it's just an assumption. Still... a ship this big, it must be carrying a lot of people, either to live their, or to work there. In either case, it had to feed a lot of people."

"You think there may be food in there?" Jayne asked.

"And what if people fled the ship because there was no food?" Zoe was still skeptical.

"It'd be suicide if they did." Mal answered, "But you're right, Reese. There may be some things we can use there."

"I sure am glad that we ain't risking no more to run into Reavers." Jayne remarked.

"We still can't be too careful." Mal reminded him, "River. Land us on top of this ship! Zoe, Jayne. Get the suits ready."

Mal walked towards the intercom and spoke to it: "Kaylee?"

All he recieved for a reply was some heavy breathing, but he didn't give up: "Kaylee?!"

After a few more, though lessening breaths, the girl he wanted to reach replied: "Yes Capt'n?"

"Get ready! Got you and the doc a job to do." Mal said.

The doctor, who was with Kaylee at the time, spoke too: "... Me?"

"I need you to stay away from my mechanic as long as we're on the job!" Mal ordered him, after which he made to leave the cockpit, as did Jayne and Zoe.

Reese stayed behind, having kept his eyes off the Galactica the whole time. River noticed this, so she asked: "Something wrong?"

Reese did not say anything, though River could hear him think: "It's called Galactica, but right now I feel Mary Celeste would suit it better."

"Who's Mary Celeste?" River asked him.

Reese turned to look at her, having nearly forgotten she can hear people's thoughts. Once he remembered, he said out loud: "A ghost ship."

Their ship, called Serenity, landed on top of the Galactica. Kaylee had opened a hatch, which was in the cargo-bay's floor, which also lead them outside the ship, and used all the equipment she knew to bore a hole through the Galactica, so they could enter. It took them a while, long enough to get everybody aboard to this very spot, but they managed to get through anyway.

"Whatever it is that got everyone, our scanners ain't picking it up in the air." Zoe said.

"So it's not in the air." Mal sounded relieved.

"It's not the air we should worry about." River whispered.

"Then what?" Mal asked her.

River didn't say anything, but looked at Reese instead, which got Mal to look at him too. Reese had a questionable look on his face, but after looking at River, he realized what it was that went through the captain's mind, before he even asked it out loud.

"You know something we don't?"

Reese sighed, but spoke eitherway: "Long ago, at the ancient seas, there was another ship. One just like this one, where the captain, his wife and kids, his crew... all vanished without a trace.On top of that, that ship made it to shore, without any crew controlling it. Some say it was controlled by ghosts."

Mal chuckled: "Well, need I remind you, that we ain't..."

"If this ship is what I think it is..." Reese interrupted, "... I must say it sure came a long way to make it here, all by itself."

This did startle Mal for a second, but he shrugged it off: "Even the Reavers weren't just people who stared out into the black for too long. I'm pretty sure there's a logical explanation for this."

"I hope so." Reese sighed.

Mal, however, turned to the doctor, Simon: "There is a logical explanation, right?"

"You're asking me?" Simon asked.

"Mal!" the best-dressed lady aboard, Inara, sounded worried, "I'm not sure how much truth there is to what he said, but..."

"I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about." Mal assured her.

Once they got inside the Galactica, they walked through the corridor they had ended up, until they got somewhere, where the corridor started to split up.

Mal did all the talking again: "Okay! Let's spread out, so we can cover more grounds! If..."

"Er... Malcolm?" Reese started.

Mal was getting tired of hearing Reese's voice, especially since he's the only one who calls him by his proper first name: "What?!"

"This is quite a huge ship. Too easy for us to get lost in." he said.

"I can't help but agree with him." Zoe said, "It would take us too long if we need to find each other again."

"Fine then, we stick together." Mal decided, "Nobody just walks astray, or even..."

"MAAAAALLLL!!!!" Jayne shouted.

Mal turned to look at Jayne: "No need to shout. I'm right next to y..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw what it was that scared Jayne. He wasn't sure of what he saw though. At first it appeared to be a shadow, which moved without anyone or anything casting it down. Suddenly, it emerged from the floor, to become a bug-like creature, with tingling antenna's, which was likely even what caused the weird sound they all kept hearing. Mal's, as well as everyone else's, first reaction was to mumble something in Chinese.

"Darkness." River whispered, "That's all they are. Darkness."

Mal hesitated no longer. He raised his gun to this little creature and fired a shot. At first it seemed to split up and splatter all around, but then the splatters disappeared, and something shiny and shaped like a heart left it, only to vanish as well.

"It won't see anything but darkness now." Mal laughed.

"Captain!" Zoe called, as on the other end of their line a few more appeared.

Mal was about ready to go mad: "Oh... it's never easy, is it!"

One way or another, the whole crew managed to get themselves back to their own ship. And though they got inside, the little dark creatures were still after them.

"Everyone, stay here and keep them off my ship! Kaylee! I need you with the engine!" Mal commanded, "Everyone else! Close the hatch as soon as I give the order!"

Mal ran to the cockpit as fast as he could. The moment he arrived, he pressed all the right buttons, as he got the engine running.

"Is she ready?!" Mal asked Kaylee over the intercom.

"She's all yours, Capt'n!" she replied.

Then referring to the others, Mal ordered through the intercom: "Close the hatch now!"

A few seconds later, Zoe said: "Hatch is closed!"

Serenity flew off the ship, leaving the hole in the Galactica, which was covered at first, open. This caused some kind of vacuum that sucked all the air inside the ship to leave, taking all the little black creatures to go with it. Along with that, the ship had lost all grip, and got pulled by the gravity of the nearest planet.

One of the creatures somehow still managed to get inside Serenity, but it only took the strength of River's foot to make this one disappear. As soon as she did that, Mal entered the cargo-bay, along with Kaylee.

"Now... can somebody (mumbles Chinese) tell me what these gorram things were?"

"Looked a lot like space bugs to me." Jayne replied.

"Now I know what you meant by telling me 'don't let the space bugs bite'." Simon told Kaylee.

"Well, whatever those things were..." Reese started, "... hopefully that vacuum you caused was enough to take them out."

"Hope?" Mal sounded furious, "You better hope that I won't have to kill you next time YOU see something interesting!"

He turned away angrily. Though Reese seemed a lot calmer than he was supposed to, after being threatened by the captain.

"Don't worry." Simon assured Reese, "Once you get used to it, it won't seem half as bad."

"Joke's on him anyway." Reese replied, "He didn't particularly get scared from my ghost story, or Inara's warnings."

"Yeah." Inara agreed, "He can be a stubborn (mumbles Chinese)."

Whatever it was that Inara said in Chinese, it appeared to be a shocking choice of words, given Reese's look on his face.

"I'll never get used to you people." he sighed.

THE END

Disclaimer: the character "Reese" is mine.