Chapter 11: Real Treasures

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I was so stupid. So naïve. I couldn't see anything, couldn't tell the difference between truth and lies, hadn't been able to since leaving the Land of Departure and maybe even before then—maybe I'd never been able to, maybe I'd always been easily fooled and ignorant—but I can't help but think that maybe if I had been a little less trusting, I could've turned around here. I could've fixed things.

But, of course, it was too late, and I was fooled again.

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The next portal that rose ahead of me was no different than the others, but I turned into it anyway, hoping it would lead me somewhere with clues to Vanitas' location, since I had no leads after Radiant Garden. The portal opened straight into sunshine, but my eyes didn't fully adjust until I'd dismissed my armor.

The coast I stepped into, made of grassy cliffs and jungle trees, looked over a wide blue ocean that stretched across the horizon, waves glittering in the clear sunlight. It was a near-paradise, full of tropical air that hummed with magic and the sound of waves striking the cliffs. The kind of perfect calm that I thought would be Vanitas' prime target.

Until the peace was broken by a man's howl—either anger or fear, I wasn't sure. The sound came from just around the cliff face that rose to my left, and I hurried around the outcropping.

When I'd made it around the rock, I saw a now-predictable sight: Unversed.

Floods stood in a ring around two men—one, short and chubby, with eyeglasses and a striped shirt, the other dressed all in red and lean as a whip. Just behind the taller, black-haired man, a locked chest stood, as though they'd dropped it when confronted with the Unversed, and now wanted to protect the contents.

The shorter man was cowering in fear at the sight of the monsters. "W-what are they, Cap'n?"

The other man held a slim rapier in one hand, and he waved it enthusiastically at the Floods, giving no response to his subordinate. "Back! You'll not get me treasure!"

But his swings had no effect on the Floods, and I rushed forwards, summoning my Keyblade. "Leave them to me," I called, hoping that they'd get out of the way and not try to attack the Unversed.

The captain looked over at me, and only got a quick glimpse of me through his black eyes before one of the Floods stepped forward and swiped experimentally at him. The red-clad man yelled in fear and bolted off, out of the ring of Unversed, evidently too scared of the monsters to do more than glance back for the treasure once he was safe, though he kept his eyes on it, like he was afraid the Unversed would steal it. The portly man followed him without looking back, his glasses crooked on his wide nose.

Two of the Unversed tried to chase them, but I swiped both back, towards the ocean, and easily stabbed through another. After so many times fighting them, Floods were little more than hassles now.

What was a challenge was the Unversed that popped up next: the lightning equivalent of Red Hot Chilis. It would have been too easy if there were only Ice- and Fire-type Unversed, I supposed, or maybe Vanitas just had a wicked sense of humor and wanted to make sure I stayed on my toes.

Either way, the Lightning pots were really annoying.

They were bigger than the Fire- or Ice-versions, and though it might have been a trick of my imagination, their red eyes seemed to gleam more eagerly than the others as five of them appeared to replace the Floods.

I wasted no time analyzing them, and slammed one into the ground before any of the rest of them had made a move. When it didn't disappear, I knocked it back and drew Ice to my blade to destroy it. I summoned more Ice and spun to confront the others, who of course started glowing yellow as electricity began to crackle around them in a halo.

Two flew towards me at once, and I managed to block them both in quick succession, though I felt their magic sizzle against the Ice coating my Keyblade—if the magic hadn't been there, I had a feeling that the lightning would've traveled through Earthshaker and into me, possibly more painful than Experiment 221's attacks had been on the spaceship.

I sliced the two Lightning pots away and preempted another with a jab before it could approach. They were tougher than even Scrappers, and it took two more hard slashes before I could dissipate the ones nearest me. Of course, as I did so, a Bruiser appeared to stand next to the two remaining Lightning pots, and I scowled at them.

I saw, out of the corner of my eye, that the captain was sneaking back towards his chest, gaze fixed on the Unversed, twitchy movements betraying his fear. I turned my attention back to the Bruiser as it leapt towards me, and I heard the man yell in fear and stumble away from the fight.

I stepped out of the way of the shockwave that followed the big Unversed's landing, only to slide back in range and sweep my blade through the Bruiser, knocking it slightly to the side. I raised Earthshaker to attack again, only to have pain burst through my body as something round knocked into my shoulder. I stumbled, and tried to recover quickly, but the electricity had numbed my arm, and still crackled around the armor on my shoulder. The pain throbbed through my neck and down my arm, and it distracted me long enough for the Bruiser to regain its feet and ram into me.

I fell back, pain jolting through me and consuming my body, only managing to keep my grip on Earthshaker because my fist felt frozen around its hilt. I forced my eyes open and jumped to my feet with barely enough time to block another rush from a Lightning pot.

The pain made it hard to think, hard to concentrate, but when the Bruiser jumped for me again, adrenaline helped to clear my thoughts. I managed to strike the big Unversed into nothingness, and turned to the two remaining Lightning pots, trying to regulate my breathing. When they started to spark again and electricity flashed around them, I saw that the captain was making another attempt for the box.

One of the Unversed turned and sped towards him, sending him once again dashing away, and I engaged the other. Thankfully, only two hits were necessary to scatter the Lightning pot, and I managed to run over and pin the other before it attacked the two men. I summoned Ice again to my blade and froze the Unversed solid, then destroyed it with one last hit.

But it had barely disappeared before the captain's voice rang out, strident and gruff. "If I'd desired your assistance, I'd have demanded it." He was walking back towards me, red feathered hat slightly askew, and now that I was closer, I saw that he had no left hand, and in place of the missing limb wore a shiny silver hook. "We had the situation under control." The captain seemed eager to get back to the brown chest behind me, though by his clothes he didn't seem to be in need of money.

"Isn't that right, Smee?" He nudged the portly man with the words.

It sounded like Smee's large red nose was stuffed when he responded, absolute sincerity in his face, "Oh yes, Cap'n! Completely. We woulda cleaved those fiends to the brisket, we would." Smee held up an invisible rapier (though I saw no weapon at all on him), and swiped dramatically through the air. "Why, I'd have given 'em a little of THIS—" a sweeping slash that nearly caused him to overbalance, "—and THIS—" again, he swung his invisible sword through the air.

Still panting from the fight, I opened my mouth to explain that I wasn't trying to impede on them, but the captain spoke over Smee as he continued fighting the air. "And don't think your efforts mean you'll get a share of me treasure. Understand?"

I looked at the locked chest, and leaned out of the way of the captain's accusing finger, wincing internally when pain spiked through me at the movement. "I'm not after your precious box, Captain. I'm looking for a person. A boy, wearing a mask—does that ring any bells with either of you?"

The captain's tone was still antagonistic. "No, not a one." I assumed that Smee concurred with his captain's statement, but he was still busy slashing away at nothing.

"Figures," I said, and sighed to myself. I was tempted to try to find Master Xehanort, see if he had any ideas about where Vanitas might be, since I was having little luck searching alone.

The red-clothed man turned from me, uninterested now that he saw I wasn't trying to take whatever was in the box, and he spat orders at his subordinate in a voice that said he was used to being obeyed.

"Smee! You blithering barnacle! We're off." Smee stopped pretending to swordfight, and fixed his cap. The captain gestured inland, down a rough path away from the cliff's edge. "We have to get the chest to the ship before the light draws 'em back again."

I was jerked out of my thoughts at the words. The light. "Hey, hold on," I stepped closer the captain, my heart lifting somewhat. "What did you just say about the light?"

The captain stiffened, and paused his tirade. He looked over his shoulder at me, quirking one eyebrow as he looked me over in a suspicious glare for a long second, then turned around to face the ocean, and look me in the eye. "Ah, yes, it's heartbreaking really," He gestured to the box, and his tone changed to one of anger and frustration. "This chest, you see, it contains—" He paused for just a second, then continued, "Light, gathered from all around. And I've got an acquaintance—a trouble-making boy—who's sure to try and take it."

A boy who's after the light? If it's not Vanitas, then who? Even if the masked boy wasn't here, if the light was in danger, I had to keep it safe. "…Captain, could I offer my services to help you keep the light safe? Maybe this boy who's bothering you is the one I'm looking for—and if you could tell me more about him, it might help me find him later."

The captain watched me with calculating eyes. He didn't answer, so I pressed,

"What's his name?"

"Peter Pan." The name rang with the Captain's hatred of him. "And he has been a thorn in my side for longer than I care to remember."

"Then let me help you," I said, still unsure if this would help me find Vanitas, but knowing that the light had to be protected anyway, "Once the chest is in a safer place, I'll be on my way. And I don't want any of your… treasure."

Smee looked at his Captain, and muttered, "We did leave most o' the crew on the ship, Cap'n. It'd be nice to have someone else to guard—"

"Idiot!" The Captain cuffed the shorter man over the head, "You can carry that chest all by yourself!" But after a second, turned to face me. "You'll get no reward, and no place on my ship after this."

I shrugged, and nodded.

Then the Captain leered at me, and rubbed a hand across his severe-looking mustache. "The chest must be brought to Skull Rock safely, for my crew to get it onboard the Jolly Roger. Just don't let that Peter Pan anywhere near it!"

"Right," I replied, "I've got you covered there."

He stalked away, heading down the wide path that I saw wound its way into the jungle, and I assumed led to the beach, leaving me and Smee to carry the chest.

Smee went straight to the box, muttering something about not being able to make any detours because the Captain was in a bad mood, and I moved to help him. He let me without a word of thanks, and set the pace down the path.

My arms started to complain as I lifted the surprisingly heavy chest, sparking my wounds to start aching again, but I pushed the feeling down. I wasn't going to let that stop me, though it made me think that I hadn't really had a break since leaving the Land of Departure—since the morning before the Mark of Mastery, truly. My body was tired of constant movement.

But I didn't let myself feel the aches. I couldn't. I wasn't going to stop, not yet. Not until I was strong enough to truly hold back the darkness, which I obviously wasn't yet. I just had to keep going, until I found Vanitas and stopped him. Hopefully, by then, I'd be able to control my own darkness.

The Captain led us down through the overgrown and almost uncomfortably-hot jungle easily, following the dirt path with a purposeful stride and a scowl under his pointed mustache. He barely slowed down when the terrain became rougher and Smee and I started to lag behind him, and declined to so much as acknowledge either of us as we wound our way through the jungle, lugging the chest. His arrogance, which hadn't really been noticeable to me when he'd talked, began to wear on me, enough that after several minutes I was beginning to regret offering to help him.

Smee chattered the whole way, but the Captain—who I learned was commonly referred to as "Hook"—paid his subordinate no mind, even on the several occasions Smee tried to talk to him. Through Smee's babbling one-sided conversation, I learned more about the two men. It appeared that they were pirates, which made sense given their weaponry and clothing, and they'd been at this island for a long time—I couldn't be sure how long, but it seemed like "Neverland" was a near-permanent residence for their crew, though they stayed on their boat, called the Jolly Roger, most of the time. But Smee never stuck on one subject long enough for me to gather any real information, going from Peter Pan's last theft to a shooting star to strange magic and then to the Unversed.

From what the portly man said, the Unversed were a rather new addition to the island. And, thankfully, they didn't seem to be very prevalent. I saw nothing to indicate Unversed presence all the way down the cliffs and through the jungle, even as we got to the clear, blue lagoon full of rocks rising from the calm waves that Smee said was where their boat was docked. Out in the distance, I could see our destination when Smee, through panted breaths, pointed it out. Skull Rock wasn't that far from the land, and I could make out enough detail to see immediately the reason for its name—the strange little island, made of dark gray rock, was unnervingly similar to a skull, with two gaping black eye sockets worn down by years of wind and rain and salt air, and jagged black stones serving as the teeth splashed by harsh waves.

We wound our way down the smooth cliffs in the lagoon until we got to a fair-sized wooden skiff anchored in the shallow water.

Without a word, Hook gestured at the boat, and Smee dropped the box instantly to begin prepping to cast off.

The captain pointed next at me, and I hefted the chest into the boat when Smee showed me a space set aside for it. Hook brushed past me to step into the skiff without a word of thanks, and I had to take a breath to remind myself why I was sticking around the pirates.

I was thankful that there was only one set of oars, as I had no real experience in boats, and Smee took over rowing as Hook steered. We left the land behind, and though I scanned the coast as we drew closer to Skull Rock, I still couldn't see any evidence of Unversed. It made me wonder if Vanitas really was planning to attack the world, if there were so few Unversed around.

Smee docked the boat at the edge of the Rock, and he and I lifted the box onto the weathered stone. He anchored the skiff, and our group followed the stretch of rock into the skull's "mouth". There was a large cave inside, echoey and lighted by the two gaping eyeholes and several cracks across the ceiling. Tide pools around the entrance glowed eerily in the light, strangely green and toxic-looking, full of seawater lapping in from the ocean that crawled up around the stretch of rock that served as the dock and entrance.

"Well done," Hook said, gruff acceptance in his voice, as we set down the chest. "My crew should be coming soon. Your assistance was useful." The growing dislike in my chest let me acknowledge his words with a nod, and I looked away from him to examine the cave, hoping his crew was really going to be there soon, so I could leave them and get back to my job.

Smee finally succeeded in getting Hook's attention as I looked around the rock cave. "Pardon me, Cap'n… but it's about that shooting star I was mentioning to ye—"

"Mister Smee, I ordered you to drop that. I'll not have ya gushing on about some simple shooting star."

"B-b-but Cap'n! Most shooting stars twinkle for a bit, 'n' then they go out. But this one, it kept on sparklin' and shinin' even after i-it crashed down—like none I'd ever seen before. Why… what if it's a really big, enormous, priceless gemstone?"

I had to suppress a snort. Smee really was a little thick, even if he had good intentions. Hook yelled, "Idiot!" It seemed his temper was even less controlled than before.

But to my surprise, Hook truly was flaming, not because of Smee's conjecture. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Then he turned to me with a greedy grin. "Ahem, lad… We've a bit of business to attend to and must, I fear, step away. I trust you can see to things till I return…?"

I shrugged, and nodded. "Sure. If Peter Pan gets here, I'll be waiting."

Hook barely spared me another glance, before he rushed off for the skiff, Smee straggling behind him.

...

Peter crouched on the cleft above Hook and his lackeys, and watched Hook take off at a near-run, too caught up in his greed to look up and see the three figures just yards above his head. Peter ached to go chase after him, but the treasure was in sight, and he couldn't just leave it there.

When Cubby shifted next to him, Peter poked him hard and shushed him. Then he peered back over the ledge to observe the brown-haired youth next to the chest. "That old codfish… looks like he's found himself a new flunky. But that just means that this one doesn't know how we operate."

Slightly and Cubby smiled in anticipation, and Peter felt their excitement add to his own.

"I'll fly down and distract him," He whispered. "Men, you move in and grab the treasure!"

...

I didn't so much hear his entrance as I felt it. Overhead, something zoomed by, trailing a strange, almost flighty magic. When the something turned and sped past again, I looked up and faced the intruder. All I could make out was a flash of green, followed by a scatter of yellow light like fireflies.

"You'd be Peter Pan, then?" Earthshaker came at my call.

"That's me!" The boy's voice wasn't anything like I expected. Youthful, yes, but full of mischief and joy and daring. I could almost think that the voice belonged to Ven, but as agile as Ven was, he couldn't fly. When he slowed, I saw that Peter was a little taller too, with red hair and an impish face. He was clad all in green, with tight-fitting pants and a dagger strapped to his belt.

I tried not to think about the uneasy feeling that was suddenly boiling in my gut. "The light isn't yours to take."

The boy hadn't appeared to have heard me, so I ran forwards, raising Earthshaker to swipe next to Pan, a warning attack to hold him off until I saw what he could do. But Pan had moved out of the way before I'd even gotten there, and he pulled the dagger out to brandish it at me. "En garde!" I heard a laugh in the challenge. He flew at me, and I ducked out of the way.

Pan whistled past my head, his momentum carrying him upright until he swooped back down into another rush. This time, I blocked with my blade, and he ricocheted off me with barely any force behind the hit. I turned to face him, thrown off guard by the fact that he was smiling excitedly, like he was enjoying himself.

I ran forwards, hoping to keep him away from the chest that stood behind me, and slashed at his side. He flipped over my attack and once again flew straight at me, this time crowing a challenge.

Stepping neatly to the side, I summoned a ball of fire to chase him momentarily, and watched his eyes widen in surprise. Pan let the slow-moving fire flicker towards him, then flew in a gentle arc with the magic fire tailing him, tracking the movements of the magic with wide, interested eyes. I couldn't help but be struck with the apparent innocence in his gaze, and the carefree way he swooped around.

When the fire sputtered out, Pan turned to look at me, his eyes eager and playful.

His dagger glinted in the light from the cracks in the rock, but he held it more like a child held a toy than a weapon.

"What do you even want with the light?" I was suddenly very unsure that I wanted to keep fighting. Pan was just playing, and the smiles he'd given had not been of malicious pleasure, but rather a strange happiness, like he appreciated the sport. And his magic—the sparkles that trailed from him when he flew—were not dripping with hidden anger or darkness. If anything, his magic was as pure in intent as the light that I remembered sensing from the Princesses of Heart.

Pan lost his frown of concentration to look confused, distracted. "'Light?' What light?"

Behind me, another young voice, this one lively and slightly squeaky, called out a triumph to the youth in front of me, "Look, Pan! We got the chest!"

I spun around to see two, shorter boys, one wearing what had to be a fox hide as his only clothing, with the fox's snout cut off to leave a hood with long ears, and the other, a bear skin cut in the same style. The two were marching towards the other exit, with Hook's box held between them.

Pan landed, completely turning his eyes off me to slap a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "No, not yet, you blockheads!"

"Hey!" I yelled, ignoring Pan, and ran to stop the kids' exit.

When the boys saw me coming, they yelled in fright and picked up speed. But the increased pace was too much for the lead boy, and he tripped as they were nearing the tide pools at the entrance, losing his grip on the chest, which fell open with the clinking of… gold coins?

I heard Peter glide over to hover next to me, looking in annoyance at his friends, both of whom were extracting themselves off the floor, rubbing bruises. "That hurt," said the one wearing the fox skin.

The other groaned and replied, rubbing his head dolefully, "Ohh… sorry."

I didn't quite understand what I was seeing. "What is that?" All across the rock, glittering coins and treasure were spilled, the lock on the box having broken from the fall.

Peter landed with soft footsteps, and walked over to the shining pile pooled around the overturned chest. "Pirate treasure, o' course. Jewels, doubloons—ya know, the usual stuff." He toed a golden bracelet.

"I've been guarding a pile of loot?"

Peter turned to me with a high laugh, carefree and happy, having forgotten that we were fighting just moments before. "Sounds like you've been tricked."

"I'll say," I looked at the treasure for a moment more, then shook my head and turned to Pan, who had completely let down his guard and sheathed his weapon. Hook had been tricking me the whole time—and it stung, to realize I'd been strung along again, believing a lie. First Hades, then Jumba, now Hook. I should have believed my suspicions when I first saw the Captain. "I should have realized sooner. But I owe you an apology—I picked a fight over nothing."

Peter grinned at me, and crossed his arms over his chest, his green cap carelessly off-center from the flying he'd been doing. "Aw, it was all in good fun. And it's not every day I get to fight such a good swordsman."

I smiled, somewhat mollified, back at him.

"Say, what's your name, anyway?" Pan asked me, as his friends started collecting the jewels back into the chest.

"Terra," I told him, and watched his grin get wider.

"Nice to meet'cha. Now would you mind telling me which way Hook went?"

I gestured to where we'd docked the skiff. "They said something about a shooting star."

"Shooting star?" Peter repeated, and his grin vanished. "Tinker Bell! That's where she was going! She's in danger!" He spun on the spot and addressed his friends solemnly, "Men, guard that treasure with your lives!" In the middle of the sentence he jumped into the air and started to fly off, heading out of one of the holes in the cave ceiling, his words trailing behind him.

"Aye-aye, sir!" The chubby boy called after him, though Peter was gone, and saluted.

"You go an' get 'em, Pan!" The other yelled excitedly.

When they turned back to continue gathering up the treasure, this time with a little more speed, I joined them, dismissing my Keyblade.

The one in the fox skin grinned at me. "I'm Slightly, and this is Cubby."

"I'm Terra," I responded, and grabbed a handful of the heavy gold coins. It stung my pride to realize I'd been duped the whole time by Hook, but I thought that I should try to salvage something of my visit to this world. "Either of you ever seen a boy, wearing a black mask, around here? He's connected to all the monsters that appeared, and I'm trying to find him."

Cubby didn't look up, but he mumbled, "The only boys on the island are part of Pan's crew, and he's not let anyone have anything to do with the monsters."

"Maybe this guy is with Hook!" Slightly said excitedly, and Cubby looked over, face lighting up. "If Pan knew who was makin' the monsters, he'd for sure want to put a stop to it. Another adventure!"

The two grinned excitedly at each other, and though the news that they hadn't seen Vanitas disheartened me, I had to try not to smile myself. Their carefree look on life, while unrealistic, felt like a relief after everything else.

But the moment didn't last, as I knew it wouldn't. Cubby dumped the last handful of coins into the treasure chest, and I looked around the cave one last time. It seemed that Slightly noticed, and he piped up, "Me 'n' Cubby can handle things here," Cubby puffed his chest out in pride, "Pan trusts us, so you don't hafta stay if you want to go look for the masked boy."

They were so… innocent. After all the duplicity and deception that I'd been surrounded with until now, it was good to be reminded that not everyone I met in the worlds was hiding malicious plans. I nodded to the two, and smiled. "Thanks. I should probably get going, since you have the treasure chest so well guarded."

They let me go with enthusiastic waving, and I headed back out to the ocean air. The pirate's skiff was still gone, and there was no sign of Hook's alleged "crew", so I readied to cast a portal and move on—Vanitas wasn't here, that much I was sure of. The island wasn't big enough to be a true hiding place, and if Peter didn't know and neither did Hook, then it seemed that I would have to believe them. Not that trusting Hook had been a good idea in the first place, but I was fairly certain that he'd been telling the truth when he said he didn't recognize my description of Vanitas. I'd just have to find another world to check, and then another, and then another. The thought seemed to settle a weight on my shoulders.

But then I heard two things that tore me from the emotions: Slightly yelling, and the too-familiar sound that signaled the Unversed's arrival. "It's a monster! Get away!"

Then Cubby's deeper voice, "Help!"

I spun around and dashed back into the cave, summoning my Keyblade as I ran. I heard nothing more from the boys, but once I got inside, I saw that the two were busy fleeing, dodging left and right to avoid the same, floating, jellyfish-like Unversed that had attacked me in the Lanes Between.

I ran in and herded the boys behind me. "Stay back." My mind whirled. There was easily as many jellyfish as there had been when I'd first seen them, only this time I had the added trouble of watching out for the two boys behind me, and no Armor on to protect me from their rushes. I would have taken the time to equip it, but before I could fully decide, several of the Unversed had floated over, moving through the air in the same way that a jellyfish would swim in the water.

Slightly let out a shriek, and I had to hurriedly knock the Unversed back to give myself breathing room. There was no time for Armor, and my magic energy wouldn't last long enough to defeat them.

Or would it? My unoccupied hand flew to my pocket and pulled out my Wayfinder before any more jellyfish could get close, and I gripped the charm hard enough that my knuckles turned white and the edges burned against my skin. If I had Aqua's magic behind me, I'd be able to take care of this many opponents, since the jellyfish Unversed weren't very strong and wouldn't hold out for long.

So when the next jellyfish got close, I gritted my teeth and didn't guard as it began to glow and rushed at me.

I felt the magic of the Wayfinder shock through me in response to the pain, and suddenly I was awake. My fingers tingled with the surge of energy and magic and possibilities sprung into my mind. Before I even thought about it, I'd sent off jagged sparks of electricity arcing through the closest Unversed, killing them instantly, and raised Earthshaker to fire off blast after blast of Fire magic, each finding their target with unerring accuracy.

Even in the midst of moving and concentrating on the borrowed magic that felt so familiar and yet totally wrong coming from my Keyblade instead of Aqua's, I couldn't help but wonder at how awake I felt in comparison to just moments before. Had I really been that tired? I hadn't really noticed, but now that I had the Wayfinder's surge of energy, it was like everything had changed. Lifting Earthshaker no longer took effort. Tiredness evaporated from my limbs almost before I could even realize it had been there.

But the group of Unversed wasn't going to be easy to defeat. I continued to cast magic, spell after spell—most of them that I would never have attempted in combat regularly because they were too complex or required too much concentration—until those near me got close enough for me to disperse them with my blade. Cubby and Slightly didn't attempt to move from their position behind me, and I was thankful for that, though it meant that I had to stay next to them in order to keep the Unversed away. Normally that would've bugged me, but there were so many of the jellyfish that I didn't really have to chase them down.

But then I heard a crash to my left, and Slightly yelled out in dismay. When I glanced in that direction, I saw that several of the Unversed had rammed into the treasure chest, spilling it open once again and casting the glittering contents asunder, most of them falling into the nearest tide pool and sinking far out of reach. It seemed that the Unversed were unused to seeing gold, and they crowded around the chest, pushing it even closer to the edge of the pool and scattering more of the treasure inside into the waters.

I gritted my teeth, but didn't dare leave Cubby and Slightly to try and stop the Unversed.

I just kept firing magic, flames and ice and lightning appearing in the horde of monsters one after the other, dispelling more and more with each explosion of magic, freezing and shattering them faster than I could track.

Shortly after the Unversed knocked over the chest, I was able to see gaps in the mass of Unversed, and soon after, individual targets instead of a writhing chaos. It enabled me to step away from the two boys, now that I could keep a better eye on the group of monsters, and slash through Unversed in addition to casting Aqua's magic. They disappeared much more quickly after that, which was good because the energy from the Wayfinder was wearing away, and tiredness returned to my limbs. Earthshaker's weight was noticeable again, and my breathing became labored as I hunted down the jellyfish, having to chase after them as my ease with magic slipped away too.

But then the last Unversed dispersed, and I heard the boys sigh in relief. I kept Earthshaker up though, wanting to be sure that there were no more coming.

"Boy," Slightly said, slightly awestruck, "you sure cut those monsters down to size!"

But I shushed him quickly, because another sound had broken through the lapping of the waves on the rock: footsteps—swift, purposeful.

Then a familiar, smug voice called, "Ahoy! How fares me treasure, lad?"

The boys froze in fear, and Cubby whispered, "Hook!" in surprise.

I shook my head at them, and said, "Go hide." I waited until they had turned and padded around the rock behind me, before dismissing my Keyblade and replying to the Captain, "Fine. All's well."

The treasure chest remained where it had been knocked over when the Unversed swarmed, most of the treasure having fallen into the tide pool near the corner of the cavern. I righted the box, wincing when the remaining gold clinked, just before Hook came back into view.

In his right hand, he held a lit lantern that I remembered seeing in the skiff, though it wasn't dark enough to need the light.

"What's that?" I asked, only to realize as I looked closer that it was no fire that cast the light that filled the lantern. The light was too golden, and it felt like magic. Like Peter's magic, to be precise.

Hook lifted the lantern to eye-level with a grin of triumph. "Tinker Bell. One of Peter Pan's dearest friends."

I froze, careful to keep any emotion off my face. After a second, I could make out what actually was in the lantern: a small, maybe 5-inch tall figure of a girl with semi-transparent wings, wearing a green dress and emitting sparkles like the ones that trailed after Pan when he flew. The pixie glowed as brightly as a star, but her face was twisted in anger.

"…Can I take a look?" I asked, almost holding my breath. I hadn't really realized what I was doing until Hook held the lantern out without qualm, and I exhaled. Tinker Bell shook her fists and pounded on the glass at me and Hook.

The Captain turned around once he'd given the lantern to me, and hollered out the entrance, "Smee! Hurry up, you blathering idiot! We've got to get to the ship, so we can trap him!" Then, smug, he said, "Now that I have his precious pixie, Pan's demise is all but assured."

Hook started to laugh, manically, with a greedy tone that sparked unease in my veins. How had I ever believed he was trustworthy?

Silently, I glanced down at Tinker Bell, and unlatched the lantern door. I pulled it open, and the pixie fluttered out in a rush of sparkles.

Hook's laughter trailed off, and he turned around to look at me, his eyes crinkled in amusement.

But Tinker Bell had risen, until she was just in front of his face, arms crossed.

It took Hook a moment to blink and figure out what he was seeing, but when he did, his eyes widened with utter surprise. Before he had time to do anything but open his mouth to yell, Tinker Bell had zoomed right up to his face and kicked his rather large nose with a strength that surprised me.

Hook stumbled back with a cry, and I heard Cubby and Slightly cheer behind me.

Smee came running into sight as Tinker Bell floated back to hover near my shoulder, small face still pouting, and Hook recovered. But Smee's face was pale with terror, and I could see his mouth opening and closing, like he was trying to get the breath to yell at Hook.

"What is the meaning of this?" The captain spluttered, fixing his hat and trying to retain some dignity.

I shook my head and shrugged, almost smirking. "You know, I didn't give it that much thought. Just doing what my heart tells me."

"That's mutiny!" Hook yelled, like he'd forgotten that he'd told me I'd never be a part of his crew. "And you'll walk the plank for it."

Smee stumbled to a stop next to his captain as Hook went for his rapier. I summoned Earthshaker, but the pirate didn't have time to attack.

A strange sound came to my awareness, like the ticking of a loud clock, and Hook froze as Smee urgently panted out, "C-cap'n—"

The pirate captain didn't give him time to continue. The ticking was growing louder, coming from the direction of the skiff, and every repetition made Hook more and more tense. He spun on the spot, slowly, like he was dreading what he might see when he finished. "Th-that sound…"

He twitched visibly with every tick.

And, swimming into the deceptively deep pools at the entrance, a green, grinning crocodile looked back at Hook. The ticking seemed to be coming from it, and its tail flicked back and forth with every new tock.

Hook got one look at the crocodile before he screamed in terror, dropping his rapier, and fled in an undignified sprint. Smee ran after him as the crocodile drew itself out of the water and, knocking over the treasure chest again with its long tail, gave chase.

It gave no notice to me or Tinker Bell, or to the boys who came racing out of their hiding spot, cheering at the backs of the pirates.

"We sure showed Hook this time!" Slightly yelled, and he and Cubby continued out into the sunlight to watch the retreat of the pirates.

I dismissed my Keyblade and straightened, exhaling a breath. That took care of that problem. I wasn't quite sure what had happened to make that crocodile sound like it'd swallowed a clock, and why Hook was so afraid of it that one look sent him running, but it meant he wouldn't be coming back here for the treasure, and the boys would be able to take the chest for whatever they wanted it for.

Though, I thought, glancing over at the box, almost all of the gold had sunk to the bottom of the tidepool. The little that had remained when Hook returned was now glittering as it fell into the deep pools where the crocodile had entered and knocked over the box when it went after Hook. Hopefully Cubby and Slightly wouldn't be too disappointed.

Tinker Bell had moved slightly away from me to shake her fist at the pirates, but when the little pixie turned around again to face me, I saw her face was almost calm, and she seemed to be glowing softer, with a kinder yellow light than the angry sparks she'd been emitting when she was Hook's captive. When she looked at me, I pointed in the direction that Pan had disappeared in. "Peter went to look for you. I'd assume he'll be back soon."

Tinker Bell smiled slightly at me, and blinked to acknowledge my words. Then her wings carried the green-clad fairy up, over my head, trailing the golden sparkles that I'd come to associate with her magic. For a second, as the small flickers of light drifted downwards against the dark backdrop of the rock, I could imagine that they were shooting stars.

Shooting stars like the ones which had brought me, and Ven and Aqua, out onto the training grounds on that night, before everything had gone wrong. If I didn't listen to Cubby and Slightly chattering, or the sound of the waves, or remember that I stood not on soft grass but on the unforgiving stone of Skull Rock, I could think that I was still there with them. I could think that Ven was still looking at me, confused after I'd explained to him what the legends said about the stars. I could think that Aqua's quiet laughter was still breaking the silence and scattering Ven's furrowed brows. I could think that I was surrounded by cool night air that removed any and all nerves from my body, and the quiet stillness that refreshed me better than any amount of sleep could have. What I wouldn't give to feel relaxed like that again, to have my fears temporarily stripped away by laughter and Ven's antics and Aqua's teasing.

The memory allowed me to release some of the tension that I hadn't realized held me upright. Exhaustion fell across my shoulders. I wanted rest.

Well, I wanted a lot of things. But I couldn't get all of them no matter how hard I tried.

Tinker Bell remained just a second longer, hovering back and forth over my head, showering me with the gentle presence of her magic, and it felt almost as relaxing as sitting under the falling stars had been on that night. A gift, I guessed, for letting her out of Hook's cage. It certainly felt like one, calming and buoyant and encouraging all at once. Then she was gone, straight after Peter. I remained behind, content for the moment to relax and not think about my goal for just a minute, taking deep breaths as I replayed that night over and over in my head. I wanted to go back. I wanted to spend just another minute alone there, with Aqua and Ven, languishing under those shooting stars with nothing but peace and friendship, no foreboding or fear or decisions to be made. Just the three of us, laughing together. I had to get back to that. I had to make everything okay again, so the three of us could again spend time together in the Land of Departure with no threat of Unversed or Vanitas.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Cubby's voice.

"Aw, so much for the pirate treasures…" Apparently the boys had grown bored of watching Hook and Smee, and Cubby had found that the chest was empty of the desired loot. Slightly sighed too, both of their triumph drained from them in a single instant.

I couldn't help but ask, "Did you guys really want the jewels and gold that badly?"

Slightly looked over at me, and dismissively waved a hand. "Nah, we don't care about that stuff…" He trailed off, and Cubby finished for him. "Pan was, uh, countin' on us."

I leaned down closer to them conspiratorially, and watched their eyes grow bigger as I spoke. "I'll tell you what—you don't need that gold to fill the chest. Put the stuff that's really special to you in there. That can be your treasure. And it'll be worth a lot more than doubloons."

Then the boys grinned, and their postures straightened. "You're right!" Slightly nodded fervently, eagerly. "Real swell idea, Terra. Thanks!" He closed the lid with a click, and stood, like he was readying to take off. I stared at the chest as he did so, and my own words echoed in my ears. The stuff that's really special to me. For one second, I was gripped with the thought that I had no idea what I would put in the chest, given the choice.

Before I had the time to think further, a triumphant yell sounded outside, and the two turned. Peter had returned, Tinker Bell just beside him, an exhilarated grin on his face. He flew into the cave and pointed to the two boys. "C'mon, men!" Cubby and Slightly straightened with identical faces of attention. "Time to get that treasure back to Mermaid Lagoon! Hook's been beat!"

The boys cheered again, and together they hefted the chest. They marched out of the cave, Slightly waving a cheery goodbye over his shoulder. They left out into the sunshine, leaving me and Pan and Tinker Bell alone.

Peter landed next to me with barely a sound, and Tinker Bell zoomed down to sit on his shoulder. The boy grinned at her, then at me. "Thanks for watching those two while I was gone!" He either didn't mind that all the gold had been lost, or he hadn't noticed.

I nodded in response, and, before he left, asked, "Just to be sure, you haven't seen a strange boy around here perhaps, one who wears a mask?" Peter shook his head after a second. "What about a man named Master Xehanort?"

Peter smiled at me. "You're the only stranger 'round here, 'cept Slightly and Cubby's new friend."

Since Pan didn't elaborate on whoever was friends with the boys, I didn't press it. "Thanks anyway."

"Wait," Peter said, and I stilled. To my surprise, his smile faded just a little.

"Grown-ups can be real good at telling fibs." Pan said, bluntly, and I started, and stared hard at him. He'd gotten serious, or at least less carefree than I'd seen him. "I'd watch out, if I were you." Then he flashed a grin at me, wide enough that I wasn't quite sure if his next words were joking or not. "You look like an easy guy to trick."

I blinked at him, but before I could try to think up an answer, Peter looked away, and rose into the air. He sped off after Cubby and Slightly, Tinker Bell zooming along beside him, and I heard him yell "Let's get that treasure back to the other Lost Boys!" Then, I heard their voices raised in laughter before the sound of the waves overcame their joy.

I was still unsure if Peter had been serious when he'd said I looked gullible when I opened a portal soon after and sped into the Lanes.

Even as I dodged portals and watched the lights speed by, my mind dwelled on my encounters with Peter and his friends. It was hard to remember sometimes that not everyone I met on my journeys was hiding evil intentions, especially after all of the deceptive people I'd met. But those three had seemed genuinely good, and carefree. Like Ven had been, before all of this had started.

I didn't regret starting this task. Most of the things after that, those I regretted. But taking the chance Master had given me to earn the Mark, and try to restore the imbalance caused by Vanitas? I couldn't have chosen any other path. Even though I knew that accepting the job had been the right thing, part of me wished I'd never had to, if only to spare Ven. I should have been able to guess he'd come after me, when I'd left him there in the Land of Departure before he'd had a chance to explain why he was worried. If he hadn't felt the need to chase after me through all these worlds, would it have been better for him? Would the maturity I'd seen in his eyes when I saw him in Radiant Garden have remained unnecessary?

I didn't think too long on those questions. I knew that there were no answers for me in my mind, only endless what-ifs and wishes. None of those would change anything.

What would change things would be finding Vanitas. I needed to find somewhere he'd target, a place like Radiant Garden, somewhere full of light and innocence and happiness, where he could wreak the most chaos.

A/N: Thank you all for reading! I know this chapter isn't very edited but I wanted to get as much done before my school year starts as possible. The next chapter should be coming your way soon, but no guarantees because my time might be sucked up completely by schoolwork and I may not be able to finish the last pieces for a while.
The end is approaching! If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for following me through this journey, even if you haven't reviewed or favorited, I am so grateful that you took the time to read this. I am very glad you chose to read my story!

Yes, I know it's a little longer than usual, but I really couldn't resist to add the last bit of conversation between Terra and Peter-it's not in any cutscene, but one of the in-game responses, and I loved it so much I had to put it in.

This chapter, is, like usual recently, not edited by anyone other than me. If you see ANY mistakes, please let me know and I will fix it, I'd really appreciate you letting me know! :)

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Thank you, TerraxAqua, you are very kind to have reviewed and read this far!

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God bless, hope you're all having a great time, and for those of you like me who are starting school soon, I hope the beginning of school isn't TOO horrible ;) Have a great day!