A/N: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for updating so late! My studies got the better of me this time, especially since it's almost the end of yet another school year and we're getting requirements left and right!

Rest assured, I'll update as soon as I get the chance. Hopefully, that won't be too long. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: Excluding this story and my OC, Nami, I do not own anything related to Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix, one of THE best!


"D-Donald! What's h-happening?"

Sora was holding on to the back of his seat for dear life. Goofy was doing the same, trying not to lose his grip on the armrest of his own. Donald was desperately trying to maintain his control on the ship, with no apparent success. All he could do was to maintain his balance as the Gummi ship sped toward an unknown destination, barrel-rolling every now and then to dodge obstacles in its way.

And yes, they did forget to wear their seatbelts.

"I have no idea! The Gummi Ship just zoomed off course!", the Royal Mage replied.

"Well then, get it back on course! At this rate, we're gonna crash!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

A few moments ago, the expanse of space had been as peaceful as early morning. There were no Heartless to ruin the said peace, so the trio took the chance to talk and get to know each other better.

First off, the Royal Guard of Disney Castle, Goofy. He may be a bit... well, goofy sometimes, but he's as tough as his Shield whenever his friends need him. One can always feel safe as long as Goofy's there to back him up.

The Royal Mage of Disney Castle, Donald Duck, is next on the list. He's the expert when it comes to magic and spells. Although he's quite moody for a duck, he still has a kind heart inside.

Last but not least is the wielder of the mysterious, legendary weapon known as the Keyblade. Sora. Following the destruction of his homeworld, Destiny Islands, Sora had set out on a journey with Donald and Goofy in order to find his two best friends. Riku... and Kairi. The Keyblade Master had met many allies in Traverse Town, including the two who were beside him right now.

"Chip, Dale! Status report!"

The black-nosed one of the two chipmunks came onto the screen, his face expressing worry and bewilderment. He had a right to be. After all, never before had the Gummi Ship disobeyed coordinates just like that! "What's going on?", Donald wailed to him.

"Donald, the radars are sensing a huge amount of Heartless in the direction you're going to! We think the ship's reacting to them!", Chip cried. In the background, Dale was pressing buttons of every kind and size in numerous attempts to regain control of the Gummi ship. From the way the trio was still hanging on to whatever could hold them in place, it was a bit obvious that it wasn't working.

"But if that's true, then why didn't it react to those other worlds before? Those worlds had tons of Heartless! Why here? Why now?", Sora wondered aloud. "Maybe there's somethin' special in that world that's makin' the Heartless so crazy!", Goofy replied.

Before anyone could react to Goofy's statement, the ship screeched to a halt, the force sending the three crashing to the ship's windshield. If not for the fact that it was made of strong fiberglass, they would have landed right into... darkness?

Sora's eyes widened. He heard Donald suck in a breath, and Goofy could only stare in dismay.

The world they were looking at was coiled in numerous tendrils of darkness, which were multiplying with every second. Sora could actually feel the massive waves of Heartless invading every space they could find. The aura of the place was so dark, so heavy that it was enough for cold sweat to break out on his forehead, and he reached up to wipe it away.

In a few minutes, this star would be blinking out.

"Sora!" The alarm in Chip's voice made the boy whirl to face him. "That world's gonna be swallowed by the Heartless in a few minutes..." "And there's still someone there!", Dale finished. This time, the Gummi ship's whole crew whirled to face the chipmunks. "What?", they shouted in unison.

"The Heartless are multiplying so fast that the radars are having a really hard time locating its exact position..."

"But we're sure of it! There's a faint signal coming from the heart of that world!"

The trio didn't need to be told twice. They quickly sat on their seats and strapped on their seatbelts. Donald grabbed the ship's controls and started lowering the ship, now steady and obedient, down onto the nearest landing point they could find.

It was traumatizing enough to watch his island, his home devoured by the darkness before his very eyes. Now, that same darkness was going to swallow someone else's world too? Sora bit his lip, his hands clenching into fists. He knew the pain he felt back then. And he wasn't going to let anyone else experience it.

Never again.

Without warning, the Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand with a flash of light, as if responding to his silent vow. In an involuntary act that surprised even himself, Sora placed his free hand, the hand he wasn't using to grip his weapon, over the area where his heart was. It was obvious that something was very wrong, but somehow, his heart was sensing more. It felt like...

...like someone was trying to connect with him.


"Sora?"

Said brunette looked up, startled. Donald and Goofy were sending worried glances at him. He realized the ship had landed now, camouflaged in a grassy area. He smiled at them, albeit not as wide as usual. "Y-Yeah. I was just... thinking." Donald looked doubtful, but said no more about the topic. Sora stored his weapon with a wave of his hand. "Come on, guys. Let's go." "Right!"

The Gummi ship had landed near a town square. A really deserted town square, at that. Their eyes could see that no one was in the area... but apparently, the Keyblade thought otherwise. Again, it appeared so suddenly in Sora's hand that it was hard for him not to jump. It seemed to be pulling him towards the path in front of them. Rather impatiently too. Goofy saw that it was pointing to a cobblestone road. "Ya know, maybe the Keyblade's tryin' to tell ya somethin'." "That's what I'm thinking too.", Sora agreed. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's follow that key!", Donald said. The three of them set out for what lied ahead... and what would unknowingly change the course of history as every world knew it.

As they walked along the cobblestones, Sora's heartbeat began to quicken. And he had absolutely no idea why. "Darn it, why do I feel so weird?", he screamed in his mind. He had no time to feel weird! Heck, he had no time to be walking down this road either! He had to find Riku and Kairi!

But, despite this urgency, he couldn't deny the possibility of them being here. And, aside from that, he couldn't help but sense that someone important to him was in trouble somewhere. Which was saying something, since almost everyone important him had disappeared in that Heartless invasion on Destiny Islands. His eyes burned with the formation of tears, but he quickly composed himself. No need for Donald and Goofy to see him all mopey. After all, frowning wasn't allowed with them!

At last, the Keyblade's pull on Sora vanished, and he let his arm settle to his side. Goofy noticed that they were still standing somewhere in the middle of the path. On a whim, he traced the cobblestones to their end... which proved to be the turning point of their otherwise fruitless search.

"Sora, look!"

At the end of the path was a large building that practically towered over the whole town. A huge clock adorned its highest tier, and glass windows were on every wall. It looked like a school.

And they had arrived just in time to see a huge swarm of Shadows rush toward the school's front gates... where a young girl stood, frozen with fear.

"We've gotta hurry!", Sora said quickly, his voice tinged with the beginnings of panic. He sprinted to the gates, his companions right behind him. His heart was pounding from exhaustion, alerting some of the Heartless among the swarm and sending them scurrying toward the trio. But a Fire spell from Donald was enough to make them dissipate, leaving hearts to rise up to the sky in their wake. Sora flashed the duck a thumbs up, the latter grinning in response. By the time they had reached the front gates, the girl had already rushed inside the building, the shadows eagerly chasing after her.

Sora passed the gates and burst through the school's double doors... and groaned inwardly. There were so many hallways! "Now what?", he screamed in his mind. A scream the Keyblade seemed to hear. Again, the key's wielder felt his weapon's pull on his arm. It was pointing them to the right direction. Without a word, Donald and Goofy nodded, understanding. Together, they rounded a corner and made their way through the hall.

Sora...?

Said boy's eyes widened, and he skidded to a stop right in front of a metal door. His arm dropped to his side. "Did you guys hear that?", Sora asked the two. Donald looked at him. "Hear what?"

Am I...

Sora stared at the door, his eyes hardening. Goofy tried opening it... and of course, it was locked. "It's coming from in here. Get ready, guys!" Sora lifted his key to the door's small keyhole.

...going to...

With a beam of light and the sound of a lock being undone, Goofy turned the doorknob... and Donald shoved his way into the room, thereby opening the door for them.

Dozens of glowing yellow eyes cast their gazes on them, startled at the new arrivals. But they didn't distract Sora from staring at the unconscious figure lying on the ground in the farthest corner of the room. A figure coiled in tendrils of shadows.

...die?

"No, you're not!"


Thus did the first onslaught of Heartless rampage. "Fire!" Donald let loose consecutive fireballs at the shadows, effectively destroying most of them. Goofy threw his Shield at them like a boomerang, while Sora slashed at the rest with his Keyblade. "Cover me!" The two nodded and continued their attacks. He evaded swipes from the Shadows' claws left and right while he hurried to the girl's side, scrambling to get her to safety as soon as he reached her.

Of course, something had to happen.

The slightest brush of his skin against hers made everything darken before Sora's eyes. He gasped as the ground beneath him disappeared all too suddenly, and he found himself falling headfirst into what seemed to be a tunnel of light. And, at the end of the tunnel, the girl stared right at him with dull crimson eyes.

It took but a moment for him to realize that he was scared. Scared of those eyes that held only despair. Scared of the eyes that held no hope. Against his will, he shouted at her.

"This isn't you, Nami! This isn't the girl I know!"

An unknown force made his arm stretch out to her. Was it the Keyblade? Why did he know the girl's name? What the hell was going on?

Crimson eyes that once held nothing sparked with understanding. The familiar flame of determination sparked within. Crimson locked onto sapphire... inevitably unlocking memories hidden deep in the darkest corners of his mind, ones he never even knew he had.

"If I were to disappear... would you care?"

"Nami, don't let go of my hand! We're gonna fight this together!"

"We'll meet each other again, Sora! It's a promise!"

"Nami, no!"

"Take care of them, Sora..."

Memory after memory played themselves in his mindscape, exclusively for his mind's eye. All of them showed him with this girl. Whether it was just the two of them or with Riku and Kairi, whether it was morning or sunset... it was always about her. He didn't know her! It was impossible for him to know her!

...Was it?

Would you remember her if she wasn't important to you, Keyblade Master?

The mystery voice, the one he had been hearing ever since the dream that started everything at Destiny Islands. It had a point. His mind may not know... but maybe his heart did.

He didn't withdraw his hand even as he called out to her.

"As long as you're here with me..."

She gritted her teeth and fought the shadows that dared to take control of her body, her arm shooting out from their grasp. Sora felt the pressure of a hand grabbing his wrist, and he moved to do the same.

"... I can handle anything that comes my way!"

He tightened his hold and started to pull her up with all the strength he could muster, shutting his eyes to concentrate on the effort. As he did so, the mysterious voice rang in his ears once again.

Hearts connected...destinies intertwined.

With one final pull, the shadows detached themselves from the girl's body... and Sora opened his eyes to find himself back in the real world, against a corner of the dark room they had barged into. Donald and Goofy were looking down on him, their own eyes questioning. He raised an eyebrow before noticing a slight weight on his chest that hadn't been there before. And it was moving. He looked down.

The girl was awake... and she was leaning against his chest.

Normally, he would have bolted up onto his feet, his whole face as red as a tomato with embarrassment. But, for some reason he could not explain, he didn't. He only watched the girl's head tilt upward to meet his gaze, surprise gracing her features upon doing so.

Sora couldn't help but grin. "Yo."

A soft voice whispered his name, one like the chime of small bells being blown by the gentlest breeze.

"Sora...?"

It only seemed to make his smile widen.

"In the flesh."

At that moment, time thawed itself from its icy slumber. Goofy shook his head to clear his thoughts and tapped Donald on the shoulder, motioning to the girl who was barely keeping herself awake on Sora's lap. The duck nodded, reaching down to help him lift her up. Sora got the message instantly, and he moved so that he was on one knee. Gently, his friends placed the snowy-haired girl on his back, her arms around his shoulders. His own arms kept her in place as he slowly stood up from his position.

He took a glance at the nearby window.

Darkness.

There wasn't much time left. They had to get out of here!

Together, the three of them ran out of the room and burst through the school gates a few seconds later. Sora couldn't stop himself from flinching.

The world they were in was but a single piece of land now, left over from the rampage of the Heartless.

The same fate as Destiny Islands.

A barely noticeable movement snapped him out of his reverie, and he tilted his head sideways so he could see his charge. Her eyes were closed now, the exhaustion catching up to her. "Everything's gonna be fine, Nami. I'm here now." He whispered more sweet nothings to her as he dashed to the ship's location, making it just in time for Donald to close its doors.

"Hang on!"

The mage hit the controls and, in no time at all, the Gummi ship was up and running, cruising upwards and away from the darkest doom. Sora didn't need to look back to see the annihilation of the one known as Nami's world. Instead, he chose to crane his head to the side again, checking on the said girl on his back. One of her eyes was cracked open. Although it was slipping shut with every second, he was sure she saw him grin and give her the thumbs up.

Her smile warmed his heart. "I'm glad...", she whispered, before she drifted off to the sweet caresses of unconsciousness.

"We still have a long way to go before we arrive at the next world, Sora. Ya might wanna rest up." The brunette glanced at Goofy, whose voice held nothing but concern for him and Nami. Smiling slightly, he nodded and started heading deeper into the ship, to his room. But, after rounding a corner, he stood against the wall, careful not to aggravate Nami's condition, and listened.

"Do ya think the girl's okay?"

"Who knows? She was lucky we arrived before the darkness could devour her heart!"

"But why do ya think she was the Heartless' target?"

"...I really don't know, Goofy. I really don't know."

He heard Donald flick a switch, and the Auto-Pilot sign on the wall overhead glowed green.

"We should get some rest too. Come on, Goofy."

"You betcha, pal."

Sora knew their conversation was closed for now, and he hurried down the corridor until he reached the door to the guest room. He could feel Nami's breath tickling the back of his neck, deep and even. She was sleeping. He made his way into the room.

He reserved the questions spinning around in his head for when the crimson-eyed girl woke up.

Right now, they both needed their rest.


A/N: Nami's not going to wake up in the real world just yet! Upon opening her eyes, she finds herself standing on a stained glass floor! What's going on now?

Find out in Chapter 3: "Battling My Darkside!"

Stay tuned! :)