"Lea's been gone for far too long," Kairi quietly observed, making her way out of the café after leaving some munny for their bill. Donald's eyes grew sinister as he scooped a few munny out of the tip they left the waitress for himself. The wizard chuckled to himself, pocketing the change and proudly patting himself on the back. Goofy shook his head and left a 5 piece in its place, his lanky form following his friends with a big, dumb smile.

The three companions searched for Lea, but could find nothing. They pulled a townsperson to the side asking for Lea's description, but he shook his head saying he saw no such person. After several hours they started to feel the sleepiness of their long day getting to them.

"Maybe we should go back to the hotel," Donald proposed, "Lea might have returned there while we were looking for him."

Kairi looked around worriedly, "But with Axel around who knows what could have happened out here."

Goofy patted Kairi on the back, "Don't worry, Lea's a pretty strong fella. He'll take care of himself." Kairi seemed to take little comfort in the reassurance, but acquiesced to join them in returning to their room. As they approached their lodging, Goofy noticed something on a lamppost, calling his friends over to it.

"Hey, guys, take a look at this," he pointed with one of his long fingers. As they gathered around he read the poster aloud, "'Looking for a young girl, with a red dress. Also has silver hair, and followed by the new creatures.' Gawrsh, you don't think that's the girl from Radiant Garden, do ya?" his big eyes looked worriedly from one companion to the next.

Donald folded his arms, tapping his foot, "It does seem like a pretty big coincidence."

Kairi scanned the flyer a bit more, "The date is yesterday's. This is recent," she blinked, "suppose we'll find Riku and Ven here, too?"

"I suppose it's a possibility," Donald said, stretching his arms out in a yawn, "but we won't find out tonight, that's for sure."

"Yeah," Kairi reluctantly agreed, "Let's just get some sleep."

Ven and Riku found themselves in a nightscape as well. As they took in the small room they found themselves, Ven heard the creaking and looked out the window, "Oh, hey we're on a ship!"

Riku nodded, "Yeah," he seemed to be a bit anxious. He remembered the last time he was on a ship, and it wasn't too pleasant an experience.

Ven seemed to detect it himself, "Something wrong?"

Riku summoned Road to Dawn, but held a hand up to keep Ven at ease, "I just hope this isn't Hook's ship. Seems different, but I won't be satisfied until I'm sure."

"Seems kinda quiet," Ven observed. Their small room didn't have much in it. It mostly seemed to be a storeroom. The blonde key-bearer stepped over to one of the barrels and opened it up, leaning down to sniff the liquid within, and made a face, "Ew."

Riku walked over, running a finger along the surface, "Grog. This is definitely a pirate ship," he wiped his wet finger off on his pants.

"Why is it so dark?" Ven wondered, peeking out the windows.

"Not sure," Riku said, moving towards the door, "but we had better find out where we are." The pair made their way out the door, which led them to below decks. Heading up the stairs, they were both grabbed by an older gentleman, going bald, with some mighty sideburns.

"Cap'n! Looks like we got us some stowaways," he sounded quite pleased with himself, even a little mad with power.

A figure in a red bandanna spun around, spyglass in hand, with a braided beard and black tattoos around his eyes, "Mr. Gibbs if you would be so kind as to keep your mangy gob shut, this is a delicate operation."

"Aye Cap'n-…er, mhm," the man identified as Gibbs nodded, trying to stay quiet, his powerful hands still gripping the two boys by the collars.

The apparent captain of the vessel looked like he was about to turn, when he seemed to eye Riku's Keyblade. He came forward from the rails, and tapped the weapon with his boot, "Oy, where did you get that, mate?" he addressed Riku quite rudely. Then, as an aside, "And blimey why are you wearing that God-awful thing?" he pointed to Riku's blindfold, "hardly light out, unless you think it makes you look cool?"

Riku ignored the second question, lifting his blade a bit, "The Keyblade you mean?"

The captain snapped his fingers, grinning like a clown, "Keyblade! That's it mate, I've come across one of them before! But a different fellow, bit of a chipper sort. Might have even been a eunuch, you know?" he made little scissoring motions with his fingers.

Riku smiled disbelieving, "You're talking about Sora?"

"Sora! Aye, that's the one!" folding his spyglass under his arm he reached it forward to shake Riku's hand, "Captain Jack Sparrow, welcome to the Black Pearl."

Riku took it in good faith, "I'm Riku, this is Ven," he jerked his head over to his companion.

"Much obliged," Jack waved to Ven, nodding to Gibbs to release the pair. "I wish I had known the pair of you were coming. I would have avoided this nasty business across the way there."

"Oh would you now?" a strange voice said. Turning, they all saw a large gangled creature, with a lobster's claw for a hand, a large hat and a face of tentacles. He had a menacing appearance, but his stance and manner was almost charming. In tandem, a myriad of half men, half sea creatures emerged from the shadows of the Pearl. They all put their weapons to dangerous, threatening positions against various members of the crew, making sure no one tried anything funny. Riku and Ven found themselves on the business end of a spear belonging to a hammerhead shark. "You have a debt to pay," the squid-man said, "You have been captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years. That was the agreement."

Jack held his hands up helplessly, all smiles around the demonic looking figure, "Technically I was only captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon."

"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless," came the response. Then, he started strutting about the deck, "or have you not been introducing yourself all these years as 'Captain Jack Sparrow'? Ha-ha!" the monstrosity's own crew started laughing loudly at this.

Waiting for the amusement to die down, Jack rubbed his hands together, "You've already got my payment, one soul to serve aboard your ship, he's already there!"

The other shook his head, "One soul is not equal to another." Riku eyed Jack down, He tried to put someone else in his place?

Jack seemed pleased with the response, "Ah, so we've established my proposal is sound in principle, now we're just haggling over price," he gave a broad, toothy grin.

His adversary quipped, "Price?"

Jack slinked closer, voice quiet, "Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"

Riku pushed forward, eyes indignant, "You can't trade people like that!" before the hammerhead man grabbed him and held him back. Jack cringed visibly, wringing his hands and looking like he'd just been smacked.

The monster captain seemed to be completely oblivious to Riku's presence until now, but now that his attention was drawn, he seemed to take stock of he and his blonde companion, "You're even worse than the whelp, not even seafaring men!"

Ven tried to look tough and bluff his way out of it, "Oh yeah? Well, how would you know?"

The squid captain chuckled, pulling out a long pipe and lighting it with one of his face tentacles, "I have been Lord of the Seas for over 200 years. I know a sailor when I see one, and you two are definitely land-lubbers, ha!" He spun back on Jack, who greeted him with a polite smile, "100 souls…3 days."

Jack seemed thrilled about this, "You're a diamond, mate. Shall we seal it in blood…er, ink?"

The squid man wrapped a deformed, tentacle like hand around Jack's, wiping away a dark spot in the center of his palm, pulling the pirate captain close to his face, almost hissing with intensity, "Three days," he cryptically reminded him, before he and his crew abandoned the Pearl.

Gibbs stepped forward, "Now, how do you expect us to harvest these 100 souls, cap'n?"

Jack wiped off the gooey residue from the squid's hand on Gibb's coat, "I have no intention to harvest anything for the likes of Davy Jones," he turned to the two key-bearers, "not as long as I have you lads to help us!"

Riku gave Jack a cautious stare, "Why would we need to help you? Moreover, why would we want to?"

Jack seemed to take stock of the boys rather quick, "Because not only will you save those 100 lives, if you help us thwart Jones, but you will also be saving the life of one William Turner, press ganged into service aboard Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman."

Ven seemed to accept this explanation, but Riku was still hesitant. Mostly due to the many people he had manipulated into doing terrible things before his time as a key-bearer, "And what do you want us to do to help you?"

Jack animatedly pointed at their waists, "I just need those keys," he said, supposedly indicating where a normal scabbard would be.

Ven summoned Oathkeeper, Riku raising Road to Dawn curiously. Ven looked at Jack puzzled, "What would you need us for?"

Jack's fingers drummed together in a steeple, "There is a chest…of unknown size and quality. In that chest, beats the heart of Davy Jones. Anyone who wields the chest, wields the power to force Jones to do whatever is demanded of him, savvy?"

Riku finished his thought, "So you need us to open the chest?"

Jack snapped his fingers, "Got it in one! Yes, I wager if I had a fancy Keyblade, I could do it on my own, but as I understand, Sora mentioned there being something about being chosen."

"Keyblades do what they will," Riku shrugged, "their will is a strange thing."

Jack pulled out a small compass, eyeing it intently even as he barked orders, "Mr. Gibbs! Weigh anchor! And prepare to alter course!" As his first mate livened the crew into following the orders, Jack took Ven and Riku aside, "Now, gentlemen, do you happen to know the legend of Davy Jones?"

Aqua found herself in a desolate, sandy pathway, "Ansem!" she shrieked stumbling forward, her arm flailing, but it was far too late to make a difference. She looked around, finding herself at the borders of the Realm of Darkness. A single, twisting, snake like path marked the only visible surface before her, the rest a bottomless void. Her arm was still extended, trying to grasp a friend who wasn't there, "No…" she whispered, hanging her head, her outstretched hand falling to her side in defeat. She clenched the star shard and wayfinder in her fist, "Ansem," she choked out. The pain of being separated from Ven and Terra had been almost unbearable. She wasn't entirely sure this was worse. She now had half of Terra, but the price had been her newest friend. She summoned Master Keeper, the grey blade in her hands, lifting it over her head in frustration, as if to toss it into the void. But she gritted her teeth, the moment of uncontrollable anger passed, and instead drowned her mind in sorrow. She heard a clanking behind her, footsteps, and turned to see the Lingering Will, followed by Zexion, coming behind her. Behind them rose the fortress she herself had created: Castle Oblivion.

Zexion noted her odd behavior, "Master Aqua?" he looked from side to side, coming to a stop mere paces from her. His eyes said that he already knew, but a quiet, contemplative voice persisted, "Master Ansem…?" Aqua only shook her head, throwing herself against Zexion, who awkwardly tried to embrace her. Her gem blue eyes watered, though she managed not to weep. But neither did she want to leave the comfort of another human being right now. Zexion wasn't used to such a role, but he tried his best, squeezing her occasionally and patting her back.

After she felt she had regained her composure, Aqua pulled back a bit. She looked into Zexion's eyes, and understood that he was probably hurting far more than she. A twinge of guilt flooded her body. She had known Ansem for such a short time, though beyond the past two weeks since their return to the Realm of Light she couldn't say exactly how long that had been. But Zexion had known him since he was a child, as a second father even, if he had never gone as far as to admit it. Aqua suddenly felt guilty for forcing him to be the one to comfort her. It should have been the other way around. She opened her mouth to speak, but found that she didn't know what to say. Her mouth mimed words, but the only thing Zexion understood was when she started shaking her head again, at a loss. Ansem's apprentice simply nodded, understanding perfectly.

Riku and Ven were looking out over the waves. Neither of them was used to sailing, and the vast, open sea reminded them both of the Destiny Islands. For Riku, the memories were nostalgic, amiable. He thought of his time as a child, of his friends, of Treah, and his parents. But Ven remembered it vaguely as the place he had spent a prisoner. Xehanort had brought him there to die the first time, but he had survived. And though he had no truly conscious memory of the Islands during his time in Sora, he ached at the years lost to his regeneration.

More present were the memories as the entity called Roxas. Of those, Ven's recollection was somewhat stronger. He talked out of the corner of his mouth, "Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?"

Ven paused, not wanting to sound like an idiot, but his mind had started without him, so he followed up, "Do you think all the oceans are the same?" Riku only gave him a confused look, "I mean, all the worlds that are separate, do you think their oceans are the same? Are there pathways out here to reach other worlds? Like, a giant intersection somewhere in the sea?"

Riku chuckled, "I used to think so. But these days I'm not so sure." The Keyblade Master took a firm grip of the rigging, stretching his body against the wind and spray of the sea, "when we built the raft, it was mostly out of desperation. I doubt that little thing could have carried us all the way to a new world."

"But you did get off the islands?"

Riku winced, "I did, yeah. But I abandoned my friends when I did. That's the most important part. I couldn't just enjoy my time with my friends, like I'd always imagined."

Ven nodded, the profundity going right over his head, "I wanted to see other worlds too. But Master Eraqus was so stubborn to keep me at the Land of Departure. All I wanted was to protect my friends, to be with them. I saw so many places," he shook his head in disbelief, looking straight down into the clear waters, "and I still am. But now Master Eraqus is gone. And no matter how many worlds I travel? I guess the place I want most is…"

"Home," Riku quietly finished his thought. The two boys looked to each other, giving the other a gentle smile. "I miss mine, too."

"Yeah," Ven said, looking out to the sea again, "only my home's gone. I can never return," he said stoically.

Riku eyed the blonde key-bearer from behind his blindfold, "You know it's been a long time since someone out-angsted me," he smiled, trying to lighten Ven's mood.

Ven looked down again, "I just miss them all so much," he said, voice starting to crack a bit as he tried to excuse his behavior. Then, in a classic-Sora-180, looked to his companion smiling, "Good thing I'm making so many new ones in the meantime."

Riku looked flushed, quickly setting his eyes on the horizon, fumbling for words. Nothing was more uncomfortable than a guy-moment, "Heh…yeah, nothing ever gets you down does it, Sora?" he spilled out. Then his eyes widened as his face truly got red, and he started stammering to Ven, "Oh, gosh, sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Ven smiled and waved a hand dismissively, "It's alright. I understand. Besides," he said playfully, finger to his chin, "it kinda feels good when you think I'm your best friend." He tried to make a sneaky face at Riku, but failed to keep it straight before he burst out laughing. Riku couldn't help but join the infectious laughter.

The pair were cut off when a call came from the crow's nest from, well, Riku hadn't caught his name, but Jack referred to him as "the belligerent homunculus", "Land, ho!" The deck became full of excitement and eager activity. The island was the hiding place for the Heart of Davy Jones. Jack was apparently trying to talk his way out of a contract of some kind. Riku had his own plans. If Jones was truly master of the sea here, then he more than anyone would know if there truly were corridors to use between worlds. It would be one way to make the search for Sora easier.

But it seemed that both their plans were flights of fancy, as a massive ship just emerged from the sea, cutting off the Pearl from the mainland. The water cascaded down its planks, pieces of timber tearing from the frame. The bow was in the shape of a monster's jowls, and the sails looked tattered, and made of weeds on top of it.

"It's the Flying Dutchman!" Gibbs shouted. A full broadside from the phantom ship ripped through the decks of the Pearl. The crew ran to their battle stations, but with the Dutchman getting the drop on them, most of the sailors didn't have fanciful notions about their chances.

"Ah, Riku!" Ven pointed frantically to the bow of the Dutchman. Riku looked to see Davy Jones, his apparent first mate, and a cloaked man standing next to them with a large blue sitar.

"Organization XIII!" Riku shouted to no one in particular.

Jack overheard him, though, "What? That bloody Organization? Thought we saw the last of them with Barbossa!"

Riku didn't wait for orders, summoning his Keyblade and hopping up on the rail, vaulting over to the Dutchman. Jones watched the lad bearing the key sail over to his ship, engaging in battle with his assortment of half-human crew. The key-bearer blasted a shellfish crewman in the face with a Dark Firaga, sliding along the deck and engaging in swordfights with everyone who took a swing at him. His sudden assault seemed to spook the Organization member, who threw his hands up and dashed to the far side of the Dutchman, leaping off and landing on the water, riding it in a small wave towards the shore. Riku looked back to the Pearl, "Ven! Get to the chest with Jack!"

"You heard him, mate," Jack grabbed Ven by the shoulder, looping a rope around the far mast of the Dutchman. Attaching it to a cannon, the pair were fired into the air via the rope, Ven letting out a cry of surprise. They landed quite safely on the mizzen-mast yard, struggling for balance, but managing to keep their footing. Jones seemed to dissolve into his ship, emerging on the main mast yard, looking down on the two interlopers. Jack fired his pistol, drawing a scimitar, "Alright lad, you'll need to follow that cloaked dungbie and get the chest!" he bent over. Ven nodded, vaulting over the pirate captain while he kept Davy Jones busy.

Ven dived into the water, swimming towards the nearby beach. The Nobody was already over there, looking around anxiously for some sign post or another. Riku was busy firing dark orbs and other magic attacks around the Dutchman. Several of the phantom ship's crew had made their way to the Pearl, trying to board it in kind. Above it all were Sparrow and Jones, dueling almost perfectly, but Jack found himself being pushed back along the yard, quickly running out of space.

"Riku!" Jack called down, leaping from the yard arm and meeting Riku halfway, the key-bearer catching the captain and easing his drop, Jack rolling onto the deck as the pair fought back to back. Jones melded into the mizzen-mast, as before, and emerged from the wall of his captain's quarters, wading through his men to reach the pair of boarders. Jack turned his head towards the Pearl, "Gibbs! The dirt! Fire the dirt!"

Riku raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, but didn't exactly have the time to be questioning Jack. His confusion was settled as a jar exploded on the main mast, cascading a fine sand all around the deck of the Dutchman. Jones stopped his advance, grimacing as he looked down to the clean spot of sandy powder that covered a good swath of his deck. He scowled at Riku and Jack, circling them at the edges of the dirt barrier, eyeing them like a lion behind the bars of a cage. Whatever the magic behind that act, however, did little to ease Riku as the captain's aversion to their position didn't seem to affect his crew.

On shore, Ven pursued the lanky Organization member. He had seemed to find what he needed, and was using a column of water like a drill to bore into the heavy sand. Ven twirled Oathkeeper behind him as he came in speaking distance, "Hold it right there!"

The hooded figure jumped in surprise, looking at Ven as the twisting cone of water fell into the sand. Then, he seemed to stare at Ven for a minute, before pulling his hood back over his head, revealing a pompadour hairdo, "Roxas?" His eyes darted to the Oathkeeper, and his face lit up, "Roxas! It really is you! Oh man, am I glad to see you."

Ven raised an eyebrow, "I'm not Roxas, my name is Ventus."

The Nobody craned his neck, like he was trying to look at the boy from another angle, "You're really not a Nobody then?"

Ven shook his head, "No, I have a Heart."

The Nobody gave him a pained expression, before his body surrendered with a sigh, looking at the ground for comfort, "Too good to be true, huh? I should have figured."

Ven let down his guard a bit, "Why were you hoping to see Roxas, Demyx?" His hand came to his mouth, blinking in concern. He didn't know where the name had come from, he just knew who this person was.

"We were hoping you might have the key to escaping," Demyx answered without batting an eye. His tone had become much more serious, "there are only two of us left, Roxas. Maybe three, but," he shrugged helplessly, "no one's heard from Axel in some time."

Ven completely dropped his guard at the name, "Wait, Axel's in trouble?"

Demyx cast the boy a desperate look, "We're all in trouble, Roxas. It's just Zexion and me left. And do you know how unpleasant that guy is?"

Ven shrugged, "I dunno he always seemed nice to me. Quiet, but nice."

Demyx peered closer at Ven, "You said you weren't Roxas…"

Ven shook his head, a hand to his forehead, "I'm not! But, I kind of am I guess. I…I remember things. Feelings, like, when you said Axel. I felt a lot of anger, and at the same time, happiness."

Demyx stepped closer, dismissing his sitar and examining Ven. He may have been a goof, but he was still a member of the Organization, "You certainly seem to be Roxas. Too similar, really. It's like," he left the thought unfinished, looking to the Dutchman and the careening Dark energy around it. Snorting, Demyx shook his head, sounding amused, "it's like how Riku and Xemnas felt the same."

Ven looked up to him hopefully, "Do you know what's wrong with me? Why I feel like myself, and Roxas, and Sora at the same time?"

Demyx seemed to seriously consider it for a moment, "I can't say for certain, but I'd guess it's because Hearts leave strong imprints on those they reside in. Perhaps it works in reverse, as well." Then, a strike of enlightenment on his face, "that would explain Sora."

Ven's eyes narrowed, drawing Oathkeeper again and taking a few steps away from Demyx, "Sora? Did you take Sora?"

Demyx didn't seem worried, but a grin of sheer delight spread across his lips, "You don't know." Ven narrowed his gaze even more harshly. Demyx waved his hands, trying to diffuse his temper, "Hey, hey, hey! I'm telling you the truth when I say we didn't kidnap Sora." Ven's expression didn't change, and Demyx rubbed the back of his head wearily. His voice lost its innocent charm, "Might be more of Roxas in you than you realize," he said, summoning his sitar. A summoned circle of water encased the enemies like a cage, swirling around them like a vortex. Ven rushed the Nobody, and it was clear his combat skills were somewhat lacking. Of course, he might have been served to use a more practical weapon. But his strategy became obvious to Ven as he leapt backwards through his wet prison, several Dancer Nobodies emerging and using their unpredictable movements to keep Ven off balance. Several water bubbles shot out at Roxas, doing stinging damage across his body in addition to soaking him. Ven got more serious, taking the threat of the Nobody seriously and running loops around his water prison. Some of the Nobodies even got hit by friendly fire as he dodged the spherical projectiles perfectly. Demyx ticked, upset that he was being outsmarted in such a manner.

Changing tactics, he drew all the water from his mini arena and used it to send a wall of water at Ven. Unfortunately Demyx wasn't the perfect mage, and he lacked the power to maintain water walls at such a massive scale. The best he could do was force it straight up in a slicing motion, and using its momentum on the descent to shoot it up an increment closer, like a sprinkler with the speed of the shots. The effect was almost similar, but the slight difference was enough for his magic to handle it. But Ven saw through the technique immediately, timing a tumble to roll right over the walls between shots, and charged right at the Nobody. Demyx cursed himself, the Dancers were too far out to help him. He tried to stop his attack and draw the water in as a protective shield. Tendrils of the sea itself streamed right for him, but Ven was simply faster. He delivered three precise strikes as he dashed through Demyx, causing the latter to drop his sitar. Damn, he thought, not like this. Not again.

Demyx held a hand to his side, trying to stop the ripples of Darkness that billowed out of him, the damage almost insurmountable to his body. His opposite arm waved open a gateway behind him, looking to Ven as the blonde haired kid turned, "Well, guess I'll see you," he inhaled deeply, panting desperately, but his voice turned up, laced with genuine affection at the word, "Traitor." And he vanished into the space between worlds.

Ven ran right to the hole Demyx had been boring into the ground. He seemed to have arrived just in time, finding a chest hiding in mere inches of sand. Bailing it out, he lifted the chest, tucking it under an arm. He ran towards the sea, but was greeted with several of Jones' crewmen. Gunshots and the clattering of sabres still rang out from the ships circling each other, trying to out wrestle the opposing vessel.

Ven saw a rowboat launching from the far side of the Pearl, coming around towards the island. It was being piloted by the one Jack had called a homunculus and his friend with a wooden eye. They were rowing for all their might, and Ven danced around the phantom crew, clashing weapons with them and avoiding their swings, sometimes using the chest itself as a shield, which seemed to spook the monstrosities some. If it really did possess the Heart of their captain, Ven figured he understood why. As soon as the rowboat was in the shallows, Ven leapt into the sea, wading out and vaulting into the small craft, "Row!" he shouted, and balanced himself at the bow of the boat as the pair of pirates reversed course, sword fighting with the Dutchman's crew that pursued them through the waves.

Riku and Jack were making a steady retreat, kicking dirt towards the side of the Dutchman nearest the Pearl. Though they were outfighting the monstrosities, the fact they were all immortal phantoms was making the fighting that much harder. Grunting, Riku used his Dark aura to push several spectral pirates away, as he and Jack leapt back to the Pearl, aiding their comrades who were engaged with boarders.

As Ven climbed up to the deck of the Pearl, he held up the chest, "Jack!" and tossed it to the pirate captain. Jack nimbly caught it, holding it up and waving it for the Dutchman's crew to see.

Jones seemed furious, his lips pursing and trembling in rage as he roared, "Cease boarding!" His crew looked unsure, but they were accustomed to obeying the tyrant's orders, and eased up, standing still and moving to the edges of the Pearl's deck.

Jack looked quite pleased with himself, "Right, now! Let's parley!" he practically danced around his deck, "I propose that we end this silly contract, and you leave the Pearl be."

Jones smiled smugly, "You may have a leg to stand on, Sparrow, but ye'll not be making such harsh demands without the key to the chest."

Jack grinned at Jones, his gap toothed smile taunting the phantom, "Under normal circumstances you would be correct, but it so happens I have two keys on my person." Jones' eyes narrowed at the two cabin boys on the Pearl, both wielding weapons resembling keys. Demyx had warned him about this, and all on the simple description of the long-haired boy's weapon. If Sparrow felt himself in such a strong position to open the chest, certainly Demyx had been right about their power. Jack continued to gloat, "So, I suggest you put your rudder to us, and we'll never cross paths again." Then, as an afterthought, he pointed out emphatically, "And I would appreciate you returning my ship's soprano to me."

Jones glowered at the mortal captain, but waved his hand, summoning for Will Turner. His crew dragged the lad before him, and Jones extended his arm to the Pearl, "Mr. Turner, it seems your service is at an end."

As Will returned to the Pearl, Jack drummed his fingers along the chest, looking like a cat with a bird, "Well I think this concludes our negotiation, don't you?"

"Wait!" Ven called out, looking to Jack. The pirate captain was wide eyed, trying to mime him to shut up and not push their luck, but Ven pressed on, "Davy Jones! I want to ask you something. About your Heart."

The phantom captain tilted his head, and took a step forward. As his foot hit the deck, he simply appeared on the Pearl's deck. His expression seemed to show some distaste at Ven, but he did seem to be enjoying the courage he put on display. His head rolled with his slow, methodical speech, "Proceed."

Ven swallowed hard, trying to hold his own against the captain, "When you removed your heart…did you lose a piece of yourself? Like, did it carry the good parts away?"

Jones' expression grew visibly softer, his eyes darting towards the chest in Jack's hands. Both ships had gone silent, the only sounds were the gulls circling overhead. The tentacles along his face seemed to slacken in sorrow, the captain lost deep in thought. He looked to Ven finally, "It removed the weakness in me," he said quietly, in a completely unconvincing tone.

Jack, for the first time Riku had noted, looked guilty, looking down to the chest in his hands. But just as quickly as the mask on Davy Jones, he was back to his cocky, self-sure persona as he stepped forward, getting between Ven and Jones, "Well, gentlemen, if we're done here?"

"We're done," Jones mumbled.

As he turned to walk away, Ven stepped forward, "I hope you get it back one day!" he said, a bit hesitantly. Riku smiled, feeling immensely proud to be Ven's traveling companion.

Jones only paused, half turning, but not looking directly at Ven. It seemed like he would say something, but merely faded back to his ship, which veered away from the Pearl, heading into the open ocean and sinking beneath the waves.

"I hope you don't give him any ideas, mate," Jack said only when the Flying Dutchman was safely submerged.

"Everyone should have a Heart," Ven said confidently. "One day he'll be ready for it again."

Riku stepped forward, "I guess we should be leaving, then?"

Ven tilted his head, "Wasn't there something you wanted to ask Davy?"

Riku looked at where the Dutchman had submerged. He had wanted to, but he didn't feel right adding weight to Jones' burden, not in the light of Ventus' magnanimous wishes, "Nah, he probably doesn't know anything we don't already know."

"You know mates," Jack said, rattling the chest, "this seems to be a little big for just a Heart. What do you lads say we open it?"

Riku aimed Road to Dawn at the chest, "guess we can't leave you defenseless after we leave, huh?" A small ray of light entered the keyhole, opening it up. There were a multitude of letters, and as the crew huddled around they saw the heart of Davy Jones inside. Riku spotted something, reaching in and pulling out a letter unlike the others. He unfolded it, examining it, "Eraqus' Report 1…"

Ven snatched the letter from Riku, "Master Eraqus?" He and Riku studied the text, reading it in full.

"Though I am the Master of my order now, I can't help but feel a pain of guilt. My oldest friend and rival, Xehanort, left the dojo to found his own order. I cannot blame our master…Xehanort has always had an unhealthy obsession with utilizing the powers of Darkness. I can't say I share his opinion that Darkness is a useful tool.

I hope that Xehanort comes to his senses. But my responsibility here ties me to the Land of Departure. If I was but a year younger, I would have chased after him, to ensure his safety. I hope that my dear friend is not getting in over his head in the swath of worlds."

Riku and Ven looked at each other, the latter looking slightly somber. Ven looked at the page again, his voice quiet in awe, "You think there's more of these?"

Riku shrugged, "Not sure. But we'll find them if we have to."

Ven's eyes lit up, "Oh! I forgot!" he looked to Riku sheepishly, "The Nobody, Demyx, he mentioned something about Sora."

Riku became a little more aggressive than he intended grabbing Ven's shoulder, "Sora? What did he say?"

Ven took it in stride, but fumbled to remember exactly, "Well, I'm not entirely sure. He only said…my memories of Roxas 'explained Sora', whatever that means."

Riku put a hand to his chin, thinking, "I'm not sure I like the implication of that."

"Me neither, but he seemed to wave off that they had him prisoner."

Riku snorted, "Hmph, I wouldn't trust that for a minute."

Ven furrowed his brow, "I dunno," he said hesitantly, "something tells me he was telling the truth."

"What makes you say that?"

Ven shrugged helplessly, "I don't know. I think maybe the bit of Roxas inside me, just knows that Demyx wasn't lying. Like I knew him well enough to guess."

"Sounds very voodoo," Jack said, closing the chest and stepping back, "I'll leave you mates to it, then."

Riku and Ventus bid their goodbyes to Jack, after extracting a promise to keep an eye out for Sora for them. Then, entering the Dark Corridors, they left for the next world in search of friend, and foe.

((Author's Note: Transition to ACT III is wrapping up, I guess the start is the loss of Ansem and baptism of Larxene? I'll admit my pacing is rather nondescript. I also freely admit to being bad with Disney worlds. Sora's symbolic murder of Yen Sid should prove how much I like the plots on Disney worlds xD However, with POTC in KH2, the plot to Dead Man's Chest practically SCREAMS a Kingdom Hearts plot deviation (I mean, half the movie is looking for a key!), and I'd yell at myself for at least not nodding to it.

But there's a very special world I want to announce. Tease, really. But I'll say this: I'm actually excited to write for it, and I am following the logical train as the KH games regress from animated masterpiece films, to live action in KH2, to direct-to-video in 3D...well, I'm just going to break the TV barrier. A pretty damn big hint. Things will be relatively fluffy for a few chapters, there's been so much bleakness it's almost starting to make ME feel bad xD))