Chapter Nine:

King Mickey told me that wielding the keyblade was my destiny, and it was a huge responsibility. This made me a little nervous because I was now officially on my own. I mean, Chip and Dale can't help me; all they can do is cheer me on from the sidelines.

As I slashed the keyblade in the garden, I felt myself become stronger and more experienced. It was as if the keyblade was a part of me. There was something connecting us to become one whole being. Everything disappeared around me, leaving only the keyblade and me alone. I heard it calling to me...telling me that I was strong and I could do anything.

"Misuki, come here for a minute! We have something for you!" Chip's voice brought me back to reality. I let the keyblade vanish from my hand, and then walked over to him.

"What is it, Chip?" I said, gasping from my hours and hours of training.

"Me and Dale have a surprise for you in your room. Follow me!" He rushed back into the house, where I followed close behind. I was anxious to see this surprise he mentioned. I really love surprises, so I was excited to see what it was. We finally stopped in front of my bedroom door. "Stay right here. I need to make sure it's ready. No peeking, promise?"

"I promise not to peek, Chip." I giggled.

"Okay then, be right back." He slipped under the door, leaving me alone in the hall. I put my ear to the door to try and hear what was going on, but it was hard. They were chipmunks, so they were good at whispering to where no one else could hear them.

After three minutes of anticipation, I finally heard Chip yell, "Okay, Misuki! Everything's ready, so come in!" With that, I slowly opened the door and saw balloons all around my room, and a little birthday cake with white and purple frosting, along with thirteen birthday candles lighting up the whole room.

"Happy Birthday, Misuki!" Chip and Dale exclaimed, jumping ecstatically on the bed right by the cake.

I was so excited that I didn't know what to say.

"You didn't think we forgot did you?" Dale said running from the bed onto my shoulder.

"We've been planning it for weeks!" Chip said. "It was hard to get everything we needed. But luckily King Mickey was able to help us out. He sent the cake and the balloons. But Dale and I did the decorations all by ourselves!"

"I really don't know what to say! You guys are the best!" I took both of them and hugged them as tight as I could. They didn't mind that I was choking them. All they did was laugh.

"Hurry up and blow out your candles, before they burn out!" Dale said.

"And don't forget to make a big wish!" Chip said.

I sat on my bed and set the cake in my lap. What was I going to wish for? There were so many things I wanted, but I couldn't make up my mind. Then it came to me. I closed my eyes and thought about Ansem the Wise. I whispered my wish. "I wish Ansem to be safe wherever he is. And that he comes back real soon." I inhaled a deep breath and blew out my candles. As I did, Chip and Dale let out a big "HOORAY!" and began to sample a little of the cake. I took a small piece and ate it. It was the best cake I've ever had!

"This cake is delicious! You guys said the King sent this?" I asked.

"Yep, it was from when you went to train far away for a while. We asked the King if he could send a special cake from the castle and bring it here." Dale explained.

"Also, he wanted us to wish you a happy birthday from him, and he said he'll see you real soon."

King Mickey really was a nice person. Sometimes he reminds me of Ansem, and how he was kind to me when he first saw me. It felt like my island; everyone cared for me and did everything to make me happy. I was never alone then, and I'm definitely not alone now.

After we celebrated my birthday, I decided to take a break from training and just take a walk through the town. I never really got a chance to explore this place because I was afraid. But now I wanted to get to know all the people living here. Everyone was so busy, but they still looked happy. There were children always running around and playing with each other and just having a good time. Even though I've traveled the town with Ansem in the past, I never really got to take in the atmosphere.

"Wow, the people here seem to have a lot of energy."

"It looks like it. Not even the castle where the King lives is this busy." Chip agreed.

"You mean you guys have never explored this town either?" I was a little shocked because I thought they came here all the time.

"Nope. We've never been away or outside the castle before. Our first time was when the King brought us to meet you. We usually stay in the castle and keep it running at full capacity making sure everything is in perfect condition."

This came as a total surprise to me. "I guess this means we're all learning something new. This is awesome!" As I talked with Chip and Dale, I began feeling a strange sensation that ran through all parts of my body. I looked around to find something out of the ordinary, but everything looked normal. Then what was this feeling?

"Misuki, are you alright?" Chip asked me.

At that point, the sensation was gone. "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about me. Come on, let's keep going." I ignored the sensation and just kept going. We stopped at a food court to get a bite to eat. We sat down by a beautiful fountain in the center of the park and ate our food. As I ate, I sort of spaced out and let everything vanish around me. I wasn't really thinking about anything. I was just letting myself get lost in my own world.

I finally snapped out of it, when I heard a little girl scream. I jumped up and ran to where she was. I didn't even hear Chip and Dale yell for me to slow down. I found the little girl backed up in a corner of an alleyway by Heartless. 'This is just like a dream I had when I was younger.' I thought to myself. I ignored my strange case of déjà vu and went to help the girl. "Hey, shadow freaks!" The Heartless quickly turned their attention to me. "You guys are seriously getting on my last nerves. When you get your butts whooped several hundred times, you're supposed to surrender and plead for mercy. But if not, then more fun for me!" With my keyblade, I slashed the Heartless in no time at all. After they were all gone, I went to help the little girl. "Are you okay?" I held my hand out to her, but she was still scared. "It's alright, I won't hurt you. The shadow creatures are all gone." I got down to her level and got rid of the keyblade so she'd feel safe. She glanced at me for a while, and then ran into my arms crying.

"I want my mommy! Mommy!" she cried.

"Okay, I'll help you find your mother." I stood her up on her feet and held her hand. As we walked out of the alleyway and back into the central part of town, I took her to every shop to see if anyone knew the girl's mother. No one seemed to know except the woman who worked at the jewelry store.

"Excuse me, could you help me find this girl's mother? I found her wandering alone."

The woman adjusted her glasses, and took a good long look at the little girl. "Oh yes, I know you. You're little Annabel."

Annabel shyly nodded her head.

"Your name is Annabel?" I asked her. She nodded again.

"Yes, her mother is a regular customer of mine. She comes all the time to buy necklaces. She was actually here not too long ago."

"Where did she go?" I asked her.

The woman had to think for a minute. "I believe she said she was going to the train station to look for Annabel. She should still be there."

"Thank you so much. Come on Annabel. We have to catch your mother before we miss her." I held Annabel's hand as tight as I could and rushed to the station. I was envious of Annabel a little because she still had a mother. It made me think of what my mother was like. I wish I got to know her. I bet she was a kind person, who always thought of others.

"We're at the station." I said. "Look out for your mother. She should be around here somewhere." We went into the train station, when we heard a woman yell Annabel's name.

We turned around to see a woman in a bright yellow summer dress holding her arms out. "Mommy!" Annabel released my hand and ran into her mother's arms, where she began crying.

"My little Annabel, where have you been? I was so worried."

"I found her all by herself and helped her to look for you. My name is Misuki." I introduced myself to her.

"You may call me Crystal. Thank you so much for looking after my little girl."

"It was nothing, ma'am. Good-bye Annabel." I waved to her.

"Bye bye, Misuki. Thank you for taking care of me!" Her cute smile almost brought me to tears. I watched them as they left.

"I'm glad that girl found her mother." Chip said, jumping onto my shoulders.

"Me too. I think I might cry." Dale snorted his nose and was balling harder than anyone I've ever seen.

"Come on you guys. We better get home." As I walked home, memories began flashing in my mind about my father and Diana, the elder of my village. She thought of me as her daughter, which reminded me how I was declared the princess of my village. It wasn't until the last minute that I realized we were already home and I was tucked into bed. My dream was all about my real mother. It was just me and her. She was holding me in her arms, singing a soft lullaby. It sounded familiar. It was the same one my father sang to me. How could I forget something as important as that?