Oh my gosh, you guys. The response for the first chapter was amazing. Reading all your reviews made me so happy, and seeing how many people are already following this story is just awesome. Thank you so much to each and every one of you!

Now then, before we get started, fanart! I've got some lovely renders from Kristen Verne that you should check out~ (Psst they're also a great reminder of Aila's current outfit, in case you forgot over the break)

deviantart (dotcom) /kristenkhverne/ art/ WIP-738870417

deviantart (dotcom) /kristenkhverne/ art/ First-Encounters-744024932

deviantart (dotcom) /kristenkhverne/ art/ Missing-You-750254458

As always, please replace (dotcom) with the actual thing and remove the spaces. The last one is especially so beautiful and sad! Thank you again for making these, Kristen!

Again, if you made art that I have not yet shared due to the break between stories, please feel free to send the link to me again and I'll include it in a future update~

I think that's all I had to say up here, so… enjoy!

"And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings."

― Meister Eckhart

Chapter 2: New Game

Sora threw open the door to the Gummi Hangar, squinting a little as sunlight shocked into his ocean blue eyes. He grinned, breathing in the familiar town's crisp air. "Radiant Garden! Finally, we made it!"

He yelped as he was pushed out of the way, catching his balance before he could face plant onto the stone pavement and turning to glare at the one who'd so rudely shoved him. Donald just smirked from the doorway. "Don't block the exit. And the trip from your Islands to this world wasn't that long, don't be so dramatic."

Sora rolled his eyes. "'Don't do this, don't do that.' You're as bossy as ever; it's like we never spent any time apart at all."

"Ahyuck! It does feel like that, don't it?" Goofy laughed, following Donald out of the Gummi Hangar. "I guess it's only been a few weeks since we saw each other, though."

Sora grinned. "Hey, that's a long time to me!"

"Seriously," Riku grumbled, he and the King filing out of the Hangar as well, Mickey shutting the door behind them. "You should have heard Sora whining about how long it was taking for you guys to come back."

Sora rolled his eyes. "I wasn't whining. But I knew Master Yen Sid wanted to see us eventually, and I was getting antsy!"

Mickey chuckled. "Master Yen Sid was gettin' a few things in order, that's all. But now he's ready to see you all."

Sora pumped a fist. "Awesome! Let's go then!"

"We gotta get our last passenger," Donald scolded, brushing past Sora. "Or do you want me to tell Aila you tried to leave her behind?"

Sora made a face. "Are you trying to make every girl we know mad at me?"

Riku chuckled as their group started following Donald into town. "Kairi wasn't mad…"

"Yeah, she was," Sora retorted, frowning. "She just didn't want us to feel bad. But she wanted to come."

"Sorry about that, fellas," Mickey apologized. "You know I would've liked to have her come along, but Master Yen Sid was very specific about who he wanted to see."

"Yeahhh," Sora sighed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He really hated that Kairi was upset – he wanted her to be happy, always. He glanced at Riku. "We really can't leave her behind next time we go anywhere though. We promised we'd stay together, right?"

Riku smiled. "Yeah. Don't worry, we'll all be together again before you know it, okay?" Sora sighed, but nodded all the same. No use dwelling on it now – Riku was right, they'd be home again soon. Riku glanced around the town, looking impressed. "Huh. This place is looking good."

"It sure is!" Goofy agreed, smiling as he glanced around at all the shops. There were many more open than there had been last time they'd visited, with all the buildings looking much more put together. Not only that, but it seemed the town had begun adding some aesthetic touches as well, various fountains either in the process of being built or already up and running throughout the square. People were milling about both inside and outside of the shops, talking and laughing in a much more relaxed manner than they had been during the boys' previous visits. Sora grinned again. The Restoration Committee seemed like it was doing a great job!

"Hiya, Uncle Donald!"

The group turned to see Huey, Dewey, and Louie waving enthusiastically at them from their usual shop.

"Hi there, boys!" Donald greeted back as he and the rest of the group walked up to the shop. "How's business?"

"It's okay," Huey sighed, resting his beak in his palm as he leaned forward over the counter. "People don't need as many potions around here as they used to, though, so we're tryin' to expand our inventory."

"That's great!" Sora said. He caught himself. "Uh, I mean, it's great that people aren't getting hurt as much, not that your business is suffering…"

Dewey smirked. "Ehh, it's fine. Like Uncle Scrooge always says…"

The three brothers chorused together, "A successful business is an ever evolving business!"

Louie hopped clear over the counter and toward the group excitedly, startling them all a little. "BUT if you guys need potions and stuff, you know we've got you covered! You on another adventure or what?"

Goofy chuckled. "Not really. We're just headin' to a meetin'."

Louie deflated a little. "Oh. Boring."

Donald rolled his eyes. "It's nice to not be on the way to a fight sometimes, you know."

"Who're you meeting with?" Huey asked. "Leon?"

Sora shook his head. "No, we're going somewhere else. We're just here to pick up Aila."

The triplets groaned. Dewey crossed his arms with a huff. "You guys have the worst timing! We've got a huge scare planned for her, and now you're taking her away again?"

Riku's lips twitched as he tried to suppress a smile. "Why are you going to scare her…?"

The triplets grinned. "Because it's hilarious!"

Goofy and Sora chuckled while Donald shook his head, mumbling, "I guess some things around here haven't changed at all…"

"She's a lot harder to scare now though," Huey said, his eyes narrowing seriously. "We've had to really up our game. It's annoying." He perked up. "But it can still be done, with enough planning!"

Mickey looked amused. "You boys wouldn't happen to know where she'd be right now, would you?"

The triplets exchanged a look. "Hmm, what time is it?" Dewey asked. "Like noon?"

Louie nodded and then turned back to the group. "She's probably at Merlin's? Unless she's helping Cid. Or training with Yuffie. Or on patrol. Or at home. One of those."

Donald frowned. "So, she could be anywhere."

The triplets exchanged another glance and then grinned, nodding. "Yep!"

Donald sighed. "You're no help."

"If you find her, DON'T tell her about our scare plans!" Huey warned, glaring hard at the group. "We'll just have to do it when she comes back, so don't ruin it!"

"Sure, sure," Sora chuckled. "She's gonna accidentally attack you all one of these days if you're not careful though…"

Huey and Louie laughed, Dewey suddenly looking a little grumpy. "Oh, she already has," Louie said between laughs. "She blasted Dewey into the big new fountain at the town's entrance because she thought he was a Heartless! Ha ha! It was sooo funny!"

Dewey huffed. "It wasn't that funny…"

"Welp, good seein' ya boys! Stay outta trouble!" Goofy said with a smile and a wave.

"We will!" the triplets replied, scurrying back into their shop as the group began to make their way toward the stairs.

Sora chuckled to himself, hands behind his head as he started down the staircase. "Is it bad that I kinda wanna see their scare plan?"

Donald snickered. "We should tell them to just get Aila to Halloween Town, she's extra jumpy there. And I bet Jack would help them."

Sora laughed. "Oh yeah, Jack would be so excited!"

Goofy put a finger to his chin. "Uh, should we really be helpin' 'em scare her?"

Sora waved a hand dismissively. "Aw, it's all in fun."

Riku hummed thoughtfully. "I'm starting to wonder if Aila will actually want to go anywhere with you guys again…"

Sora smirked cheekily. "Oh please, she loves us! After all, who couldn't love these smiling faces?!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all immediately grinned as wide as they could. Riku chuckled.

Donald ran up to Merlin's front door as they approached his house, rapping his knuckles quickly on the door just two times before swinging it open. "Hellooo! Anybody home?" A pleasant aroma of meats and vegetables hit Sora as he crossed the threshold. Ooh, it was lunchtime, wasn't it…?

It turned out that, yes, a lot of people were home. Cid and Leon were the first to turn around, having been discussing something or another at the computer at the far side of the room. "Well, well, well!" Cid said, his chair creaking a little as he leaned back, a grin pulling at his lips as he shifted the toothpick between his teeth from one side of his mouth to the other. "This is a surprise!"

Leon smirked. "Welcome back." He noticed Mickey and dipped is head respectfully. "Your Majesty." Mickey smiled and held up a hand, indicating there was no need to be so formal.

"Is that who I think it is?!" Yuffie called from the other side of one of the bookshelves. The ninja rushed out into the entrance of the house excitedly, a plate of food in one hand. "Hey guys! Good timing! Come on in, grab some food!"

Aerith emerged from behind the bookshelves as well, a plate of food in each of her hands. She smiled and shook her head, slightly exasperated. "Yuffie, you should really ask Merlin before you volunteer to give all his food away…"

"Yes she should!" Merlin replied hotly from the other side of the bookshelves. Sora and his group startled as Merlin suddenly appeared before them, a twinkle in his eye as he gave them a kind wink. "Luckily, when you're a wizard, there's always enough for everyone. Please help yourselves, lads."

"Did you really have to teleport such a short distance, you crazy old man…?" Cid muttered as Aerith made her way over to him and Leon, passing off the plates she held to each of them. They thanked her and she turned back toward Sora's group, smiling and waving a little now that her hands were free.

"Pfft, this lunch is for Restoration Committee Members, and they're Honorary Members!" Yuffie argued, making her way over to a small table on the right side of the room and kicking out a chair to sit in. She cast a secondary look at Riku as she sat, raising an eyebrow. "Well, most of them, anyway."

"Oh, right," Sora said, realizing that Riku maybe didn't know any of these people yet. He grinned and thumbed in his best friend's direction. "This is my friend Riku! Riku, this is the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee."

"Ohh, so this is the famous Riku," Cid said, leaning forward a little as he looked Riku over. "Finally got tracked down by these guys, huh? I feel like all we heard for a year was 'Have you seen my friend Riku?' and 'We almost found Riku but then we didn't!'"

Riku smirked and shrugged a little. "Yeah, in the end I just couldn't shake them."

Donald was looking longingly in the direction the food was presumably in, but seemed to be holding himself back for the moment. Sora couldn't say he blamed him – the food smelled really good. But they should probably figure out where Aila was first. Speaking of which…

"So what brings you boys here today?" Cid asked, taking a bite of what looked like maybe some steak. Leon had made his way over to the table Yuffie was sitting at, taking a seat across from her so he could eat a little more easily.

"There's no trouble, I hope," Aerith said, furrowing her brow ever so slightly in worry.

"Nah, we're just here to get Aila," Sora said with an easy shrug.

Mickey nodded, elaborating. "Master Yen Sid asked to see the five of them."

"Ooh, sounds important," Yuffie mused before sticking her fork in her mouth and sucking on it a little, already done with her lunch. Sora quirked a brow, his lips twitching in slight amusement. Wow, she ate fast.

"Ah, that's right, Aila mentioned that he might want to see you all soon," Merlin mused, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He shot a knowing look at the King. "So, there may be trouble after all…"

Mickey sighed. "Well… we'll have to see what Master Yen Sid has to say." He looked like he knew more than he was letting on, but Sora had learned not to bother asking the King to elaborate on stuff like this. They'd get filled in at Yen Sid's. Sora couldn't really imagine how it could be anything worse than the Organization though, so he wasn't very worried.

"So uh, where is Aila?" Sora asked, taking another look around the room like maybe he'd just missed her. It was kinda weird that the whole Committee was here except for her, wasn't it?

"We gave her the day off," Leon said, tapping his plate idly with his fork.

"So, she's not here," Donald translated, sounding a little disgruntled. "Of course she isn't."

"Hang on, lemme see if she's got her com on," Cid said, wiping a hand on his pants and then pressing a finger to his ear. "Aila, kid, you reading me?" He paused for a second. "If you answer now, I'll give you five million munny!" He paused again, listening. He let his hand fall and shrugged. "Nope."

"I told her to have that on at all times," Yuffie grumbled, kicking her feet up on the table with a very disapproving look on her face.

"Well it wouldn't be much of a day off if she was on call with it on," Aerith pointed out.

Yuffie threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "Well she doesn't keep it on during her days on either!" Merlin smacked her feet off his table, glaring deeply at her. She grinned back sheepishly.

"You're the one who gave her the headphones," Leon replied evenly. "Those are practically glued to her now, and she can't wear the com at the same time."

"Headphones?" Goofy asked, cocking his head.

Cid nodded. "She's been listenin' to a lot of music lately. Spent a week downloadin' every song she could get her hands on! With Tron's help – guess he had a lot stored away in his systems. Now she's got these headphones Yuffie dug up for her on her head practically every second of the day."

Aerith frowned and responded gently, "You know why she's doing that, though."

Aerith's tone was… weirdly sad. Sora exchanged a baffled look with Donald and Goofy. Was listening to music a bad thing?

"Why's that?" Donald asked.

The Restoration Committee members shared a worried look before Leon spoke up. "…She says it makes her mind feel less… 'suffocatingly quiet'. Her words. I assume you all know why."

Sora shot Riku an alarmed look. Riku frowned deeply.

"So," Riku replied. "Celina's still M-I-A."

The Committee members nodded. Sora fought hard not to let the intense worry that was suddenly sitting in the pit of his stomach bleed up onto his face. The final fight that he, Riku, and Aila had had with Xemnas played back in his mind, the memory of Celina taking Aila's unconscious form away feeling extra chilling. Aila had looked so lost when they'd finally found her again deep in the Dark Realm, alone. Celina was still not saying anything? Sora had been so sure that her disappearance had been temporary… He frowned. Aila and Celina had become very close over the last few months of their travels. If Celina was still nowhere to be found, he could imagine that her absence was starting to really burden his friend.

Merlin sighed. "It is troubling, to be sure. When Aila first returned here she attempted to go through as much information in Ansem's office as she could find, but I'm afraid there wasn't a lot…"

"She's been focusing on helping with repairing the town," Aerith continued. "Like the rest of us have been. But she wasn't taking any time to herself, so we kind of… forced her to take some time off today."

"She's trying to stay distracted," Leon mumbled. "She seemed really sure she was going to find answers in Ansem's office, and when she didn't… I think it disheartened her."

Mickey's ears drooped a little, the group exchanging a few more worried looks. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey had told Sora and Riku that Aila had decided to come back to Radiant Garden to help the Committee out with repairs, while Danny and Alex had gone to visit Twilight Town for a while together so Danny could see his friends there. It had sounded like they were all doing okay, but maybe that hadn't been entirely true. Maybe they'd actually just become restless at Disney Castle and had left for other reasons…? Danny was good at hiding how he was feeling, and despite Aila's seeming belief that she wore her heart on her sleeve, she was pretty good at hiding stuff too. Sora bit the inside of his cheek.

"Anyway, I guess we should try and figure out where she is for you all, huh?" Cid said, obviously trying to change the subject. He seemed uncomfortable. Sora got the impression that he didn't like thinking that Aila maybe wasn't entirely happy here.

"I know where she is," Yuffie said, suddenly looking rather mischievous. "She's at the bakery."

Cid made a sound of annoyance. "Oh, here we go again…"

Yuffie grinned. "What?"

"Stop trying to marry her off!"

Yuffie chuckled. "I'm not! She's the one with a crush!"

Sora quirked a brow. Aila had a crush? He, Donald, and Goofy had always kind of suspected she'd had a crush on Demyx, despite her vehement insistence that they hadn't been more than friends, but other than that she hadn't seemed to show any particular interest in anyone, at least while she'd been traveling with them.

Cid stood up from his chair, looking like his head was about to explode. "She's not allowed to date anybody until she's thirty!"

Leon grumbled, not really disagreeing with that statement, but not full on agreeing with it either.

Mickey coughed, clearly trying to hide a chuckle. Sora smirked, making a mental note to scout this bakery guy out, just in case Yuffie was actually onto something. You know, to make sure Aila wasn't slumming it with someone who didn't deserve her time. She had… weird taste in people, sometimes.

"Oh Yuffie, they're just friends," Aerith sighed, smiling as she rolled her eyes. "You've thought she's liked three different guys since she got back here."

Cid glared. "Yeah, and you've been wrong every time! I swear, Aila interacts with anyone and you're sending out wedding invitations! She's only fifteen!"

Yuffie smirked, holding up her hands as she shrugged. "Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em."

"Well you should get your eyes checked!"

Yuffie brushed her bangs out of her face with a cocky air. "Don't worry, I've been teaching her self defense moves to fight off all the guys that will inevitably be making moves on her soon."

Cid looked like he was about to blow a fuse. His face was even turning a little purple. "She won't need self defense moves 'cuz I will personally KILL ANY IDIOT WHO COMES NEAR HER!But it doesn't matter, because she ISN'T DATING ANYONE!"

Sora stifled a laugh, everyone else in the visiting group looking highly amused at this point. Sora had the strangest suspicion that Aila hadn't told these guys about her kiss with Demyx last year. He couldn't possibly imagine why! They seemed totally reasonable and not nosy or about to fly off the handle at the mention of any romantic interests she might have at all!

Yuffie grinned at the fuming Cid, clearly enjoying how riled up he was getting. "C'mon, Cid, she's growing up and is totally a cutie! Sooner or later some lucky guy might sweep her off her feet and…"

"Shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Cid bellowed, throwing his half eaten lunch at Yuffie's head. She deftly dodged, cackling as the plate of food splattered all over the wall.

Merlin was on Cid in an instant, his expression livid. "Do not throw food in other people's houses!"

Cid held up his hands nervously. "Hey, sorry, sorry! She started it!"

"I don't care who started it! I swear, sometimes it's hard to tell who's really the child around here; Aila often has more maturity than the two of you combined!"

Yuffie snickered before returning her attention back to Sora and co. "Anyway, I'd bet munny she's there."

"But in the event that she isn't," Aerith said, one hand on her hip, "it will probably save time if you just wait for her here. She should be stopping by soon, even if she is supposed to be taking the day to herself. In the meantime, please, eat."

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku all looked to King Mickey to try and gauge what he wanted to do. Master Yen Sid had wanted to see them as soon as possible, but having lunch seemed way more appealing than going on a wild goose chase right now. Even if Aila was at the bakery, they could very easily miss her if she left before they got there. Mickey thought for a second, and then nodded. "Okay. We hafta eat anyway, right? If she doesn't come by, we'll go find her after lunch."

Sora pumped a fist. "Yes!"

Donald immediately dashed off toward the food, Sora's most feathery friend looking very greedy as he snatched up a plate and began loading it with anything and everything. Sora followed his lead, internally cheering. Free food was the best perk of traveling, after all. Other than making cool new friends. Scratch that, the best perk was when he could eat awesome free food with new friends! Oh man, his life was fun.

Leon approached the food table as well, apparently getting seconds. "Hopefully Aila doesn't keep you waiting too long…"

"She can take her time, we've got food to eat now," Donald said, loading his already full plate even higher. Mickey shook his head and sighed.

"Well whatever she's doin', I hope she's havin' a nice day off!" Goofy said with a smile.

KHKHKHKH

Aila drummed her fingers impatiently along the wooden table she sat at, intently watching the boy on the other side of the bakery counter. He paused to brush some straw colored hair away from his eyes before returning his attention back to the pan he was working over, the beautiful aroma of the fresh pastries he was making filling the shop. If she could just catch his eye…

"…and then he said, 'Poker? I hardly know her!' Haha! Get it?!"

"Boo."

"I agree with Paine. That was your worst joke yet."

Aila tore her eyes away from the boy to smile at the little pixies atop her table. "I liked it!"

Rikku, the blonde pixie, beamed. "SEE? Aila has good taste in jokes."

Paine rolled her red eyes, running a hand through her short grey hair. "Aila has bad taste in jokes."

Aila pouted. "What do you mean? I find almost everything funny!"

"Exactly."

Yuna, the brunette of the group, leveled Aila with a knowing look. "Do you like the joke because you understand it, or just because it rhymed? It's kind of a dirty joke, you know."

Aila blinked, confused by that. Was the joke not about poker…? "…It is?"

Rikku giggled behind her hand while Paine rolled her eyes and muttered, "See? Her opinion means nothing here."

Yuna chuckled. "At least you're a good audience, Aila."

"Order for Aila!"

Aila bolted to her feet and rushed to the counter, ecstatic that her order was finally done. The blond boy behind the counter chuckled. "Sorry for the wait, the pan wasn't wanting to heat up all the way for some reason…"

"It's okay!" Aila replied, taking the bag he held out to her with barely restrained excitement. She could feel the warmth of the pastries even through the paper.

The boy's amber eyes crinkled with his smile. "I put an extra one in there since it took longer than usual."

Aila's eyes widened and she peered into the bag. Seven instead of six! Oh my gosh, best day ever. "Thanks, Cailan! You're the best!"

Cailan smirked. "Well I'd hate to upset our best customer. Don't think I can't feel you trying to stare a hole into the back of my head whenever I take longer than a minute or two… You know making eye contact with me won't make me go any faster, right?"

Aila chuckled sheepishly. "Well it's worth a shot, right? Hm, I guess I have been coming in a lot, huh…?"

Cailan shrugged. "Hey, no complaints here. It's nice seeing someone closer to my age every day." Cailan was seventeen, just two years older than Aila. When Aila had first arrived on this world six months ago she had been one of the only people below twenty years old within the town, so it was kind of cool to know another teenager in the area now.

Aila closed the bag again. "Tell me about it! But more and more kids are showing up, so that's good."

Cailan smiled. "True! Although I hope you won't start going to some other shop once you have more options of kids to talk to…"

Aila scoffed and held up the pastry bag. "Yeah right. Who else is gonna make me the greatest food in the universe?!"

"Oh, so you only come here for the food, not for my company?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… yes. I mean I guess you're okay too but… food."

They laughed. An older woman working behind the counter handed Cailan a much smaller bag and he called out, "Order for the Gullwings!"

"WAHOO!" Rikku cheered, zooming up to the counter and snatching the tiny bag from him. "Thank you very much, Cailan my man!"

"Welp, I'll see ya next time!" Aila said with a friendly wave.

Cailan returned the gesture. "Probably within twenty-four hours, right? I feel like you can't stay away longer than that."

Aila laughed. "Are you saying I'm addicted?"

"Yep."

"Eh, yeah, you're probably right."

Cailan smirked. "Again, not complaining. You're spending enough munny here that my paycheck might get a bump soon."

Aila grinned. "You're welcome then!"

Cailan laughed. "Bye."

"Bye!"

Aila exited the shop with the Gullwings, the little pixies already bickering about who ordered what as they flitted around near Aila's shoulder. Aila glanced back at the bakery, smiling. This was one of the newest shops to be built in Radiant Garden, with more and more businesses and homes popping up every day. It was so nice to see. But this place in particular had become Aila's favorite, because it was here that she had discovered the thing that had been missing from her life: Taiyaki, fish-shaped buns that could be filled with a variety of delicious things, though Aila's all time favorite filling was sweet red bean paste. She had no idea why they were shaped like fish since they didn't taste like anything even close to fish; they tasted kind of like a waffle but with sweet filling on the inside. The second Aila had tried one she'd sworn off any other snack for the rest of eternity in favor of her new discovery. Why didn't everyone only sell these?! And where had these things been all her life?!

Greedily, she dug into her bag and took out one of the buns. The outside of the pastry crunched when she bit into it, the inside nice and fluffy and warm as her teeth sank further into the treat. She sighed happily.

"You really are addicted to those," Yuna pointed out, smirking as she watched Aila's happy expression. "You know they're not exactly healthy, right? Pretty sure that's mostly sugar."

Aila swallowed her bite and grinned. "So?"

"Spoken like a true teenager," Paine sighed.

"Aw leave her alone," Rikku scoffed. "Seize the day, Aila! Eat that junk food! Eat it all!"

Yuna rolled her eyes, but continued to smile. "Whatever, you're young, and you clearly get enough exercise as a Committee member, so yeah, do what you want. Just eat a vegetable and some protein once in a while. Anyway, we've gotta get going – we're overseeing the aqueduct construction in Zero District this afternoon."

Aila sighed dramatically. "I wish I could help, but I'm being forced to be lazy today."

Rikku put a finger to her chin. "Well now you don't sound like a teenager at all. Most kids would love being told to do nothing all day, right?"

"I think that's generalizing an entire age group," Aila replied before taking another bite of her taiyaki. She smiled again. Ah, it was so good!

"You've got such a good work ethic!" Yuna praised, patting Aila on the shoulder with a tiny hand. "But try to relax today, okay? You can help out again tomorrow!"

Aila sighed. "Fine, fine."

"Okie, well we gotta go. Later, tater!" Rikku called, and then the three Gullwings were gone. Aila took another bite of her taiyaki, trying to focus on how awesome it tasted rather than the fact that she suddenly had no one to talk to. Her heart started to beat a little faster, like it always seemed to lately when she was alone. Finishing off her first pastry, she hurriedly grabbed at the blue headphones around her neck and placed them firmly over her ears. She took the small rectangular device the headphones were attached to out of the pocket of her usual black pants and pressed play, her heart rate evening back down into a calm, steady pace as the happy tune she'd been listening to earlier started to play again. She sighed and resumed walking, taking another bun out of her bag and tearing into it. She really wished she had some kind of work she needed to get done today…

Yuna was only partially right. Aila's work ethic had been crazy good lately, but… it wasn't just because she liked helping out. She did want to help of course, but that wasn't all that was keeping her motivated.

Firstly, she had initially come back to Radiant Garden to make munny. The Restoration Committee had always paid her for the work she did, and she and Danny had come to the conclusion that, since they weren't sure how long it would be before they could get home, they might as well try and get some sort of revenue saved up. They hadn't talked to Alex about any of this – their little sister was convinced that it wouldn't be long until they went back home. But both Aila and Danny had been entertaining the idea that there was a chance that it might take much longer than they'd initially thought. What if Yen Sid couldn't figure out how Ansem had gotten them to The Land of Knowledge in the first place? The Disney Castle residents kept insisting that Aila and her siblings shouldn't worry about things like munny, but having them constantly paying for everything was starting to make Aila feel really guilty. And, if finding a way home took a really long time, what if she and her siblings wanted to, say, go to college? That was expensive, wasn't it? It was best to try and help out if they could, and so, Aila had come back to Radiant Garden.

Danny and Alex had headed to Twilight Town, where Danny had held a few odd jobs in the past that he was sure he'd be able to pick up again with relative ease. Aila had slightly pushed for him to come to Radiant Garden too, but it was clear that he missed his Twilight Town friends, and Aila couldn't deny that being with those friends would probably be good for him. His state of mind had been… a little rocky since they'd defeated Xemnas. Thankfully, whenever he started to seem like he was spiraling into negative thoughts, Alex would use some calming healing magic on his temples, which seemed to help, at least temporarily. Aila suspected maybe it wasn't the magic so much as Alex just being her immeasurably kind self that was really helping him feel a little more hopeful, but either way, her being by his side was good. So, Alex went with Danny to Twilight Town. They'd all regroup every few weeks, they'd said, to check in. Once they started going to school again, they'd figure out where to live all together.

The second reason Aila had been so gung-ho about helping out had been because it was distracting, and she currently needed distracting from a multitude of things. For one, she and Danny had been trying really hard to rebuild the trust they'd lost with one another, but it was slow going, and Aila was left feeling rather upset if she thought about the state of their relationship for too long. On a superficial level, sure, they were doing fine. But the second they started talking about anything deeper, it felt weird and forced and… off. As guilty as the thought made her feel, being away from him because she had something else she needed to be helping with was kind of a relief.

But the biggest thing she needed distracting from was how quiet things seemed now when she was alone.

Because Celina still hadn't resurfaced.

Aila had tried everything she could think of. She'd used the technique Mulan's grandmother had taught her for calling Celina, but nothing had happened. She'd had long, one-sided conversations both aloud and silently with the missing Spirit, hoping that Celina would eventually respond, but she never did. She'd begged, screamed, bribed, but was always met with that same, nearly suffocating silence. Nothing had worked.

Ansem's office held no more information on Celina, and the few files Tron had so far been able to decrypt were underwhelming – just a video of Aila and Danny playing a game of tag and a handful of documents about their health; stable, always stable. No mention of any problems communicating with their respective Spirit partners, nor of their transfer to the Land of Knowledge. Tron had promised to notify her as soon as he decrypted anything that might be useful. But since Aila and the other Committee members had stopped going into the castle a week or so ago (all of them focused more on repairing the town for now), Tron, too, had been quiet.

It was weird. Aila hadn't remembered that Celina had even existed for such a long time, and when the Spirit had first started speaking to her last year, it had felt strange and invasive and really, really annoying. But now, not having anyone respond to her thoughts or feelings felt… empty. Like something very important was missing. She had confided in Donald, Goofy, and Mickey one night about what was going on, and had again confided in the Restoration Committee shortly after she'd returned to this world. She was trying really hard not to keep any more secrets from her friends.

But… she still hadn't told Danny or Alex.

Her relationship with Danny was so rocky right now, and she was worried that Cyrus might take the information badly. Mia, too. Mia seemed reasonable and nice, but… would the other Spirits be angry that Aila had somehow lost their sister? Aila was holding out hope that Celina would resurface before she had to deal with that conversation, but so far… nothing. She would probably need to tell them soon…

Aila finished her second taiyaki and turned a corner into a neighborhood still under construction. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was around, she held out her hand and summoned a few platforms of white Light, placing them like steps up a nearby wall. Quickly, she hopped from one platform to the next, each one beginning to fade as soon as she touched it. She hadn't quite gotten the hang of standing on any of her own Light for extended periods of time, but it was good for a quick boost when she was in need of a shortcut.

Master Yen Sid had told Mickey to tell the siblings to lay low, AKA not to use their powers. Mickey had insisted that he agreed, but wouldn't go into why yet. But using her powers made Aila feel at least somewhat connected to Celina, and so she found that she couldn't really help it. She felt like she needed to use them. In the first few weeks after defeating Xemnas it had felt much harder to summon her Light, but with practice it had gotten easier and easier again. Her skill with Light wasn't quite back to the ease she'd used to have when Celina had been speaking to her, but she was definitely improving. That gave Aila a bit of hope that Celina was resurfacing, which in turn made her want to use her powers even more. Sorry, Yen Sid…

She pulled her blue tank top back down over her stomach after she finished hopping up her makeshift stairs, wondering idly if maybe she was actually growing a little? Maybe she should think about finding a new outfit soon. Continuing through the town now that she had hopped her way up to the upper level, Aila realized that she was headed toward Merlin's place. She almost stopped and turned around, wondering if maybe she should actually stay away from work today like the Committee had insisted she do, but… What else would she do? Everyone she would hang out with was working, and she wasn't supposed to do any work. Something about how the Committee was worried she'd burn herself out or something. Ugh. Whatever. She continued toward Merlin's with sure steps, at least wanting to be near other people, to hear their conversations, to interact with them so she wouldn't have only her own silent mind to bounce things off of. Surely listening to other people do work was okay?

Another upbeat song began to play through her headphones and she focused on its tune, smiling as she let the music wash over her and trying to soak in the happy beat. She took out a third taiyaki as she approached Merlin's door, pausing for just a second to glance between the handle and her full hands. The door seemed slightly ajar, so, with a shrug, she used her shoulder to push it open, preparing to take a bite of her snack as she spun around and continued pushing the door open with her back, entering the house backwards.

She really should have known not to do that by now.

She screamed as Yuffie grabbed her, the ninja clearly babbling a mile a minute about something, but Aila couldn't hear the details over the music in her headphones. Yuffie pulled her into the house so jarringly that Aila nearly dropped both the bag and the lone taiyaki in her other hand, having to scramble to catch them both before they hit the floor. Her headphones were knocked askew, falling to rest around her shoulders as she just barely caught everything again, the song she'd been listening to now quietly flowing into the room.

Aila glared hard at Yuffie. "Yuffie! What the heck! You almost made me drop everything! Don't do that!"

Yuffie was just grinning, looking both triumphant and a little bit mischievous. Aila was immediately on guard. "I knew you were at the bakery, ha!" She turned to the rest of the room. "I told you! Who owes me munny?! I am so intuitive about these things, I told ya she had a crush!"

Aila shook her head incredulously. "What are you…" She blinked, finally taking in the rest of the room. A table that wasn't usually there had been placed (summoned by Merlin, she assumed) in the center of the entry space, and who should be sitting around it? Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Mickey! Aila's eyes lit up as a smile spread across her face. "Oh my gosh! Hi!"

Goofy laughed and Sora raised a hand. "Hiya!"

Aila was about to rush over to them when Yuffie's words struck her as suspicious. She narrowed her eyes at the ninja. "Hang on. Were you gossiping about me?"

Yuffie gave an innocent, "Of course not!" at the same time Sora, Donald, and Riku all chorused, "Yes." Goofy and Mickey just chuckled.

Aila's glare at the ninja increased in intensity. "Stop that! You know I hate that!" Aila looked back to the group around the table and pointed an accusing finger at Yuffie, her taiyaki still in hand. "Whatever she told you is a lie."

Yuffie continued to smirk. "Aw, come on now, don't be shy! It's okay to admit you're in looooove~!"

Aila's eye twitched. Oh, Yuffie was pulling this again, was she? Yuffie had been convinced that Aila had had a crush on one of the young men working on the aqueducts a couple weeks ago, and then on the ramen guy (of all people – he was old enough to be her dad!) after that. At least this guy was closer to her own age, assuming Yuffie was implying Aila had a crush on Cailan, but really?! Aila was about to deny such a ridiculous claim, but then an idea came to her. Maybe she should mess with Yuffie a little first…

Aila held the pastry bag in front of her face and gasped, pretending to be embarrassed. "W-what?! How… how did you know…?!"

Yuffie's grin was immediately replaced with a look of shock. "What?! You admit it?!"

Aila turned away, mostly because she couldn't keep a straight face, and continued in the sweetest voice she could muster, "I thought I had been so careful… But I guess if you've already figured it out, I should tell you… I… have found my true love…"

"WHAT?!" she heard Cid bellow, clearly outraged. She imagined he looked like he was on the verge of a stroke, his opinion about her dating anybody quite the opposite of Yuffie's. Aila had to try really hard not to burst out laughing. Sorry Cid. But this was gonna be too good to pass up. She wished she could see the boys' faces right now too! Oh my gosh, she was getting to prank so many people all at once! Today was great!

Yuffie squealed excitedly. "I knew it I knew it I knew it! That Cailan is a lucky guy!"

"Cailan? Oh, it's not him…"

Yuffie audibly deflated. "Wha? But… wait… then who…? Someone at the bakery, right?"

"We met at the bakery, yes…"

"No one else your age works there," Yuffie mused, probably imagining the shop's owner, a grey-haired woman that was old enough to be Aila's grandmother, and getting thoroughly confused. Aila was finding it so hard not to laugh now.

"Okay, if you really want to know, I'll tell you," Aila said, hoping she sounded as innocent as possible. She could practically feel everyone in the room leaning forward with anticipation behind her. "My one true love… is…"

Aila spun around, holding the taiyaki in her hand high in the air. "TAIYAKI, THE FISH SHAPED BUN!"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy burst out laughing immediately. Riku was smirking. Cid looked like he had been about to have a fit but at the last second took a sharp one-eighty into confusion-ville. Yuffie looked completely blindsided. "Wait, wha?" Yuffie shook off her bewilderment and glared. "You were talking about a stupid pastry?!"

Aila gasped dramatically and pulled her taiyaki close to her heart. "I knew you wouldn't approve of our love."

"Aila, I was being serious!"

"So am I!" Aila held up the taiyaki again. "I love everything about Taiyaki, even when its shape isn't perfect or after it gets cold! In fact, I wasn't going to tell you this, but…" Aila leaned forward and whispered loudly, "We're eloping. Tonight!"

Yuffie stomped a foot. "Cut it out!" Everyone else was laughing now. Even Leon was chuckling. And Riku! Aila felt very triumphant at that.

Aila smiled sympathetically at Yuffie. "I'm sure you had hopes of being my maid of honor, but alas, we're not having a ceremony. No time. We've gotta elope before people try and tear us apart."

"Aila you can't marry a pastry!"

"Oh my gosh, you see?! The attempts to keep us apart have already started! You're so intolerant!"

Yuffie ran a hand down her face. "Ugh, you are so weird." She held out a hand. "Give me one of those."

Aila recoiled, clutching her bag protectively. "No way, these are mine."

"You have a whole bag full!"

"Yeah, a whole bag for me. Taiyaki would never cheat on me!"

Yuffie lunged, grabbing at Aila's arm and trying to get the taiyaki in her hand from her. "Come on, share!"

"No way! Hiss!"

"Did you just say hiss?"

"Hissssss!"

Aila licked the taiyaki from top to bottom and Yuffie pulled back. "Eww did you just lick it!?"

Aila vaulted away from her and clutched the bag protectively again. "I'll lick them all if I have to!"

Cid sauntered up to Aila, still laughing, and ruffled her hair a bit too hard. "Aw kid, stay just like this forever, okay? Don't grow up any more!" Aila ducked away and tried to fix her hair, only to find Cid's finger wagging in her face. "And no dating—"

"Until I'm thirty, I know," Aila recited, rolling her eyes. She beamed and took a bite of her taiyaki. "Mm~! Romance!"

"I still think you like that guy," Yuffie grumbled, glaring at her student.

Aila rolled her eyes. "You guys told me to make friends my age around here and the second I do you're trying to marry us."

"See? That's what I said!" Cid declared, gesturing to Aila like she was his proof of being the only sane person in the room.

"Hmm I dunno, it's suspicious that you went and made friends with a boy so quickly…" Yuffie said, crossing her arms.

Aila scoffed. "I have lots of friends who are boys." She gestured to the table. "Exhibit A." Sora waved at Yuffie. Donald snickered.

Yuffie waved a hand dismissively. "That's different."

"How?"

"It just is."

Aila shook her head, taking another bite of her snack and raising a brow at Yuffie as she swallowed. "You're the weirdo." She skipped over to the table, deciding she was done with this conversation and opting for a better one. "So what's up, guys? Didn't expect to find you here, eating lunch at a wizard's house."

Sora chuckled. "Well, that wasn't the original plan, but you know we can't turn down free food."

"As you shouldn't," Aila said with a nod.

"Aila, why don't you eat some actual food too?" Aerith said, moving as if to go grab Aila a plate from around the corner.

Aila shook her head and held up her bag. "I'm good!"

Aerith put her hands on her hips. "You've been eating those nonstop for weeks now. You're going to get malnourished."

Aila thought about that for a second, and then shrugged. "Meh. I'll take my chances." Aerith didn't look like she approved of that answer. Jeez, the Committee members were so overprotective sometimes.

Mickey chuckled. "Well Aila, it's a good thing you stopped by. We were here lookin' for ya."

Aila cocked her head. "Me?" Her brow furrowed. "Is something going on?"

Mickey hummed thoughtfully before replying with what sounded suspiciously like a rehearsed answer. "We'll have to wait to see what Master Yen Sid has to say."

Aila's eyes widened. "Ohhhh. He wants to see us?"

"Yep."

Aila nodded. "Finally, well then, let's go!"

Donald smirked. "We were waiting for you, slowpoke!"

Aila stuck her tongue out. "I didn't know you were here, did I? Otherwise I would have hurried!"

"We tried to call you on your com…" Leon said pointedly from the smaller table off to the side of the room, raising a brow at Aila as he took a sip of water.

Aila rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Oh… uh, right… where'd I put that again…?"

"You lost another com?!" Yuffie groaned, running a hand down her face.

Aila shook her head hurriedly. "I didn't lose it! It's in my room… somewhere… I think…"

"It should be with you at all times, not in your room!"

Aila huffed and crossed her arms. "It hurts my ear if I leave it in all the time."

Yuffie was in front of Aila a second later, grabbing the headphones around her student's neck and yanking them forward, forcing Aila to stumble forward as well. "Yeah right. It just gets in the way of these."

Aila blew some air sharply in Yuffie's face, making the ninja pull away and release her. "Whatever. I'll keep it nearby from now on, okay?"

Yuffie smirked, seeming like she didn't believe Aila, but wasn't going to argue against her right now. "You better." Yuffie turned her attention to the King. "How long are you guys gonna be taking Aila for?"

"Not sure," Mickey said with a sheepish smile. "Hopefully we won't be away for long."

Yuffie nodded and then pointed at Aila. "Call if you'll be longer than a day."

Aila sighed. "Yes mother."

Yuffie punched Aila hard in the arm. "I'm too young to be your mother! Call me big sister!"

"Ow! I thought you wanted me to call you sensei…"

"Sensei big sis!"

Mickey and co started to stand, Merlin swooping in as they began clearing their plates and magicking the dishes away instead.

Aila turned to Cid. "Oh! Before I go, I should tell you I updated those Gummi blueprints. I think I figured out how to make it work!"

Cid raised a brow. "I thought we told ya not to do any work today…"

Aila chuckled nervously. "Well I technically started last night…"

Cid smirked. "Okay, I'll take a look."

Sora stopped next to Aila and grinned. "Ready?"

Aila nodded and smiled back. "Yep!" She held the pastry bag out to him. "Wanna try one?"

Sora smirked. "Sure. Guess we should see what the fuss is about if you're going around marrying them." He took a taiyaki and broke it into pieces, letting Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Riku all try.

"Hey what the heck!" Yuffie shouted. "Why do they get some but not me?!"

Aila shrugged. "They weren't spreading rumors about me."

"She's got ya there," Cid chuckled. Yuffie huffed.

Sora popped his piece into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "Ooh, that is pretty good… I think I'd still want a ceremony rather than jumping straight to an elopement, though."

"You'd be on board with elopement if these hadn't been cooling for like fifteen minutes – gotta try 'em super fresh next time," Aila argued, standing staunchly in defense of her new favorite food. Sora chuckled.

"I feel like we have something like this on the Islands," Riku said after trying his piece.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right!"

Aila gasped. "Ooh, you guys are so lucky!"

"Be safe, everyone!" Aerith called as they made their way out the door.

"We will!" Donald called back.

Aila waved at the Committee members. "See you guys soon!"

"Sorry to take you away on your day off, Aila," Mickey said as they started the trek back to the Gummi ship.

Aila waved a hand dismissively. "Please, I should be thanking you. It's only noon and I was already dying of boredom." She sighed. "It's one thing to want me to have a day of not working, but everyone I could have hung out with is working today! So what's the point in that? And they wouldn't let me take a Gummi ship by myself to go visit anybody else even though I totally would have been fine."

"Tch, yeah right, that would have been stupid," Donald muttered.

Aila glared. "What, you think I'd crash?"

"I know you'd crash."

"Wow, rude."

Sora leaned toward Aila's headphones that were still hanging around her neck as they walked, furrowing his brow. "What are you listening to…?" Aila noted idly that he had to bend down quite a lot to get his ear close to her shoulder. Had he grown again?! No fair!

Aila realized she hadn't turned off her music and quickly did so, smiling sheepishly. "Whoops, forgot that was still on… I'm going through every song I found on this world. I think I'm on a band called Leeka?"

Sora shrugged. "Never heard of 'em."

Aila grinned. "I think you'd like them, actually! Their songs are really upbeat. Keeps me in a good mood!"

"So you're doin' okay then, Aila?" Mickey asked, his brow furrowing in light concern.

Aila quirked a brow at him. "Did someone say I wasn't?"

"Not exactly," Riku said with a shrug. He glanced Aila's way, his lips pulling into a tight frown. "It was mentioned that Celina isn't back yet, though…"

Aila sighed. "Ah… Well, yeah…" Aila subconsciously grabbed at her headphones with her free hand, squeezing them lightly. She put on her best smile. "But I'm sure she'll come back any day now! So don't worry, I'm fine!"

"Hmm," Donald said, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. No one looked very convinced.

Aila twirled the chord of her headphones around her finger, continuing to smile as reassuringly as she could. "Really, I promise!" She stopped twirling the chord and her fingers tightened around it as she glanced away. "It's just… a little quieter than I'm used to now…" She smiled again at her friends. "But I'm okay. It's really nothing to worry over."

Sora put his hands behind his head, his brow furrowed lightly. "Well, okay…" He smiled at Aila. "If things are too quiet, you can just talk to us! Ooh, wanna hear about how Wakka and Tidus almost died the other day?"

Riku groaned. "Those idiots…"

Aila clutched her bag close, her eyes wide. "Oh no! What happened?!"

Sora chuckled. "Okay, well maybe they didn't almost die but…"

Sora launched into a tale that Aila thought sounded very embellished about Wakka and Tidus going cave exploring off the Islands and supposedly finding what they thought were kelp zombies! But it turned out to just be regular kelp, which was a pretty anticlimactic ending. They did, however, miscalculate what time the tides were going to come back in and almost get stuck overnight in a pitch black cave that was slowly filling with water, which Aila had to admit sounded pretty scary regardless of the lack of zombies. But they managed to swim out, and it sounded like they were fine.

"And now they're both grounded," Sora finished as the Gummi ship took off. This ship was different than the one Aila had traveled in before, with a bigger control room and supposedly less living space, though she hadn't bothered to check on that yet. Aila suspected this ship was more for short trips rather than long journeys.

Donald sighed. "You'd never do something so stupid, right, Sora?"

Sora scoffed. "Of course not! I always prepared when I went cave exploring."

Now it was Riku's turn to scoff. "You mean Kairi and I prepared."

Sora grinned. "Well my preparation was bringing you two along!"

Aila spun her chair around a few times, finishing another taiyaki off as she watched the ship's interior spin by. "Man, you guys did cool things like exploring caves and going on adventures before you even left your world! I never did anything exciting like that… I'm so boring."

"Not pulling dangerous stunts doesn't mean you're boring. Sounds to me like you're just smarter than these guys," Donald said. Sora stuck his tongue out at Donald, but Riku just shrugged in what seemed like slight agreement.

Aila noticed Mickey had set their destination already: Master Yen Sid's Tower. She quirked a brow. "Are we not going to get Danny and Alex?"

Mickey glanced her way. "Master Yen Sid only asked for you."

Aila blinked. Huh? She had assumed that she had been invited to Yen Sid's tower because he had news about when she and her siblings would be able to get home. But if Danny and Alex weren't on the list, then it couldn't be about that. She glanced questioningly at Sora. "Wait… so what exactly are we doing?"

Sora shook his head. "None of us know. He just said to come as soon as we could, apparently."

Aila bit her lip nervously. "…Is everything… maybe not over after all?"

Mickey's expression hardened. "Yes… I'm afraid… there may still be some things left to do…"

Aila's fingers tightened around her nearly empty pastry bag. No way. The Organization was defeated! That meant that Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody had been taken out! So… what could be left? "You mean we might have missed something…?"

Goofy frowned. "Maybe, but uh, I can't think o' nothin' that we coulda missed."

Donald glanced at Aila. "Yeah, and you seemed like you were keeping track of that pretty well, right? You didn't let us skip the Pride Lands or Sephiroth."

Aila nodded. "I mean, I thought I was…?"

"We'll be there soon enough, and Master Yen Sid will fill everyone in," Mickey insisted. He smiled at the group. "Don't worry, fellas. No matter what's goin' on, we'll take care of it together."

Sora nodded. "Yeah!" He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. "And who knows? Maybe it's not about anything like that. Maybe Master Yen Sid wants to give us some kind of award for being so awesome and beating the Organization!"

Donald rolled his eyes. "Yeah right." He thought for a moment. "…That would be nice, though…" Aila noticed Mickey's frown and gleaned that Sora's guess wasn't quite on the mark, but decided not to say anything else on the matter for now. Mickey clearly didn't want to get into whatever was going on until they were with Yen Sid.

They arrived at the Mysterious Tower not long after that, the world still pretty close to Radiant Garden. Mickey explained that the worlds were constantly moving, so many of them might have shifted already since they'd last traversed the stars. Sora grumbled about their map being useless again. Aila was glad that this world, at least, didn't seem to have gone far.

The group filed out of the ship after Mickey parked it, Aila's skin immediately tingling from the massive amount of magic this tiny world possessed. She blinked up at the crooked tower, suddenly feeling a little apprehensive. The last time she'd been here, she had left Alex behind. It wasn't exactly one of her favorite memories, and even though everything had worked out, thinking about it still made her feel anxious and sad. But this time, things were different. Alex was safe in Twilight Town with Danny, and there was no plan to leave anyone behind. For all Aila knew, she and the boys were just here to talk or something. Heck, maybe they were here to have a tea party, who knew?!

They climbed the tower's many stairs, Donald grumbling under his breath about how Master Yen Sid could probably make the climb shorter if he wanted to while Sora and Goofy snickered at his bellyaching.

Aila glanced at Riku. Had he always towered over her so much? He was just getting taller and taller! Ugh, he and Sora were really leaving her in the dust in the height department here. "You cut your hair," Aila mused aloud, only half having meant to voice the observation. Last time Aila had seen the older boy his silver hair had fallen below his shoulders, but now it hardly reached below his ear lobes. It was slightly jarring how different the style was – even in the first game his hair had been longer than this, hadn't it been?

Riku's eyes flickered to meet hers. "Ah, yeah, I did." He grimaced. "I don't like it."

Aila quirked a brow. "Why?"

Riku sighed. "It's shorter than I wanted."

Aila smiled lightly. "It'll grow out. But I don't think it looks bad or anything like this, either." It really didn't, Aila just hadn't ever imagined him with such a short style before. But she got the feeling that Riku could probably pull off any hairstyle – he was just so cool. Aila wondered fleetingly if someone as cool as him would have ever given her the time of day if they'd met under normal circumstances. Probably not. None of the 'cool' kids on her world had ever given her any kind of positive attention. She was most definitely not on the same level. She'd just kind of… tricked all the people here into thinking she was…

Riku smiled back, the expression making his entire face seem soft and kind. "Heh. Thanks." Aila glanced away a little awkwardly, feeling slightly guilty for mentally comparing Riku to the kids she'd used to know back home. He was, somehow, much nicer than they'd been and probably didn't deserve to be lumped into the same group.

"Hey, I cut my hair too," Sora said, glancing over his shoulder and feigning hurt. "How come I don't get any compliments?"

Aila squinted. "Did you actually cut your hair? It looks the same."

Sora scoffed. "I cut it a little! So it stays out of my eyes!"

Aila rolled her eyes. "Well I did that too, that's hardly anything."

"What? No you didn't, your hair looks longer if anything."

"My bangs, I cut my bangs."

"Are you gonna just keep growing the rest of your hair out forever…?"

"Maybe, what's it to you?"

"Nothing, nothing. Seems like a hassle is all."

Aila puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "You're just jealous that my hair lays flat, Spikey Head."

Sora raised a brow, seemingly trying, and failing, to suppress a smile. "That's the dumbest nickname yet, and it has nothing to do with keys!"

Aila crossed her arms and shrugged. "Well there are two other Keybladers here. Key related nicknames would just be confusing right now."

Sora laughed. "I guess that's true. Light bulb." Aila groaned at the bad nickname, and Sora laughed again. "Hey, you started this again!"

Donald sighed loudly. "You two…"

Goofy chuckled. "Ahyuck! It's just like old times, isn't it Donald?"

"I guess…"

Aila raised a hand to the side of her mouth and whispered loudly to Riku, "Donald likes to pretend that he thinks the rest of us are super annoying."

Donald squawked out an indignant laugh. "Pretend?!" Aila, Sora, and Goofy chuckled.

They finally made it to the door at the top of the stairs and everyone's spines straightened in preparation to see the sorcerer on the other side. Mickey opened the door and entered first, everyone filing in behind him in a respectful silence, waiting for the King to announce their arrival.

"Master Yen Sid," Mickey said once everyone was inside. "I've brought everyone you asked for."

Yen Sid, who had been standing opposite the door gazing out of the room's star shaped window, turned to look at the group. "Yes. Thank you all for coming. There is no time to waste." He gestured to the space in front of his desk. "Sora. Riku. If you'd please."

Sora and Riku shared a glance before moving to stand in front of the desk, Aila and the others shuffling around to the desk's other side as Yen Sid took a seat in his high backed chair. Aila quirked a brow, but kept her confusion to herself. What was this all about?

Master Yen Sid steepled his fingers, his expression very serious. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here."

Everyone nodded. Yen Sid paused, seemingly thinking about how to proceed, before finally he just came right out and said it.

"I'm afraid your journey is not over yet."

KHKHKH

Yay! We have OFFICIALLY begun now~ Are you guys excited?! Because I sure am! Woo!

Sorry for the exposition dumps in this chapter, but I wanted to get everything about where everyone currently is, and why, laid out right away, so we can not have to deal with that for a while now. I hope it wasn't boring.

Please leave a review to let me know what you think so far! They really make me so happy and keep me motivated, even if they're only a few words long. It's so great to hear everyone's reactions to what I write~

So far so good on the two-week schedule, let's keep it up! Chapter 3 will be up in two weeks. See you then! Thank you so much for reading!

~Fade