Danari hopped out of the dinghy and onto the rickety dock. She held out a hand for Selphie to hold on to, but she scanned the sandy expanse for the swirling light. Selphie and Danari sailed to the side of the island in order to avoid attracting the attention of whoever was in the other boat. Selphie thought they were being irrational, and it was probably just Tidus with the same idea as them, but Danari still felt uneasy about it.

"I think we have to go to the other side," Selphie said as she tied the boat to the pier. "We're gonna be seen anyway, so I don't see the point-"

"Do you want to disappear, too?" Danari said, and she ran over to the wooden door that separates the front half of the island from the back. She considered using the tall wooden platforms to see over the foliage that separates it, but she knew that was a little too unrealistic.

"I just don't see how a shiny light is going to make us disappear."

"Whatever, just be quiet," Danari said, and she slowly pushed the door just hard enough to squeeze through the opening.

On the way over, Selphie noticed the light looked a little higher than ground level. In order to see it better, Danari thought it would be best to sneak onto the raised land and climb up the paopu tree. She siddled to the left and snuck into the shack where Tidus had found their old, toy swords. Selphie snuck in after her, and Danari motioned for her to follow up the steps and onto the bridge.

"Don't you think we'll be a bit obvious standing here?" Selphie said, hanging back by one of the palm trees.

"Their boat is already docked," Danari said, pointing at the rickety pier. "And I don't see who it is anywhere."

"Oh, then what about that boat?" Selphie gazed back toward the ocean, where another silhouetted figure was rowing into the island.

"Crap!" Danari said, and she leapt behind the other twin palm tree by the bridge. "We've got to find it before it gets here."

Danari crawled over to the shack roof, and jumped off the ledge, checking behind her momentarily to make sure Selphie was following her. She crept along the edge of the spring, and then over the massive tree roots of the giant tree that grows in the middle of the island.

"Ow! Dang it, Danari, this is ridiculous!" Selphie hissed. Danari looked back and saw that Selphie holding on to her knee, which was covered in patchy red spots. "We aren't playing ninjas, or spies. Come on." She limped away from the tree, and marched up to the little wooden ladder that lead to the spiral walkway around the tree.

"Do you think this is some kind of game?" Danari said, jogging to catch up.

"Oh, put a sock in it. We'll be fine."

Selphie took the lead, and bounded up the ladder and around the planks. Wincing every time the wood creaked, Danari followed her and hopped over all the weak spots. Her nerves were starting to nag at her chest, and she had the worst feeling she was about to see something she shouldn't. Still, she felt compelled to keep going, like a moth floating into a streetlamp.

When Danari looked up from her feet, she saw the light. It was slightly larger than a human, and it would have been blinding if it weren't for the swirling, deep purple glow in the center. She felt mesmerized, and a feeling of desperation formed in the pit of her stomach. She had to get closer. She took a few steps past Selphie, who also had a somewhat dazed look on her face, but never took her eyes off the illumination.

"I told you we had nothing to worry about," Selphie said in almost a whisper.

Sora was sitting on the railing, near where he and Tidus used to practice sword fighting when they were younger. He was swinging his legs, and looked mildly irritated at the other boat sailing into the island. Danari expected to feel relief that these mysterious figures weren't kidnappers, but her chest still constricted her lungs.

"I still don't think we should be here," she said, her throat catching her words.

"You're right, let's go," Selphie responded, and put a hand on Danari's shoulder. "I'm starting to get freaked out."

Danari took two steps backwards, then stopped. It was like her shoes were glued to the wooden planks beneath her feet. They were going to leave again, she knew it. Riku and Sora were going to abandon their friends and family, and poor Mrs. Elly would relapse into her distress and keep hiding behind her cheerless smile. But there was something else too. As hurt as Danari was that they forgot about her, Sora and Riku were her buddies.

Protect your friends.

The thought blitzed through her mind, and just like last time, it didn't seem to be her own. It was in her head again, whatever it was, and fear spread out from her heart and reached into the tips of her fingers and toes. She tried to run, but she only fell to her knees, still unable to move her feet. Selphie, who had made it halfway down the ladder, looked up when she heard Danari's knees crack on the wood.

"Hurry up, Danari, before something bad happens," Selphie said, just loud enough for Danari to hear. She always looked so naive to Danari, like she always expected the best to come out of any bad situation, but she looked afraid on that ladder. Her eyebrows were pulled together, and left a tiny wrinkle just above their tips. She was so mild mannered, she belonged on Destiny Islands. Danari would have to leave her behind one day or another.

"I had this dream," Danari said slowly. "I… can't really explain, but I think I need to help Sora and Riku."

"What? Are you insane?"

"They're going somewhere again, and I can't stay here anymore." Danari started to feel her legs tremble, so she stood up to regain control.

"But-"

"So, you head back. I can't… I'm sorry," she said, trying to maintain control of her voice. "You're my best friend. Remember that just in case, okay?"

"Danari, no-!"

Danari turned on her feet and sprinted down the rest of the walkway, then threw herself onto a plank over the opening in a wall, which was only being held up by a branch the size of a walking stick. A crackling sounded from beneath her, so she scrambled to her toes and leapt for the next walkway just as the branch gave way and the board fell to the ground. Because the board was unstable, Danari didn't get the push she needed, and she didn't make the jump. She stretched out her arms, and her left fingertips managed to grip onto the edge of the wood. Her right hand barely grazed the ledge, so she carefully swung herself side to side. Her left arm was shaking, and she felt her fingertips slipping, but she managed to get a firm grip with her right hand and pull herself onto the platform before she fell. She looked over the ledge, and it wasn't that far of a fall, but that didn't help ease her heavy breathing.

"Who's there?" Sora's voice carried around the corner. "Riku?"

Danari bit her lip and looked for a place to hide, because she heard Sora's footsteps coming toward her. There were a couple low hanging tree branches above her, but she wouldn't be able to pull herself up in time, not to mention the loud rustling the leaves would make. This walkway was also wrapped around a large tree, so she backed around the trunk slowly, careful to watch for creaky boards. The hollow footsteps sounded like they left the wooden platform, and Danari felt the walkway jiggle with Sora's weight.

"Sora," an orotund voice called from the opposite side of the island. Danari recognized it as Riku's. He must've had the same idea about sailing to the opposite side of the island. He waited a moment, then ran back to the railing. Danari let out a sigh, then edged closer to listen in.

"I thought be coming from that way, I heard a noise," Sora said.

"Probably just Selphie. I saw her leaving when I got here. She looked upset, but she said she'd been alone."

Danari's chest hurt for Selphie, but she must have understood or she would have ratted her out. What would Selphie tell Tidus? What would she tell her parents? She touched the pin on her shoulder, and wished she'd had more time to say a proper goodbye.