A/N: 9.10.11: I can't believe I've never mentioned this, but I got the idea to use pixie dust from another author in a different KH fanfic. It's been so long that I no longer have any idea who it was or what the story was.

Old note: Alright, today I have nothing really to say at all besides thank you for your reviews. They make me happy. Also! There's going to be a new character introduced in this chapter with thanks in part to Crescent Moon. In the next fic, I'll be needing lots of new characters, so if you're interested, message me after the first chapter in the next fic.

Disclaimer- Kairi: Lolli still doesn't own me, Sora, Riku, or anyone else from Kingdom Hearts. But thank goodness she let me pull a jailbreak...


Sora, Naminé, and Roxas were just a tad confused when they exited the captain's quarters the following morning. The entire crew was already on the deck, and Jack looked simultaneously happy and upset. "Jack?" yawned Sora as he stretched his arms over his head. Jack faced the trio with a flicker of realization on his face. They were sure that they had imagined the expression, for, in the next minute, Jack grinned.

"Slept well, did you? Good, good." He turned away in a most guilty fashion. Roxas and Sora, of course, did not pick up on this, but Naminé did.

"Captain," she began in a tone slightly louder than her normal, soft one. Jack turned back around to face them once more and nodded to show he was listening. "Where's Will?" At that moment, Roxas and Sora also realized that the blacksmith was missing.

"Will?" repeated Jack with feigned innocence. "Oh, that's a good question, miss. Where did that Mr. Turner get to?"

"Jack, what happened while we were asleep?" asked Sora with a shocking amount of sternness. Jack did not answer immediately, instead playing around with his pistol and gazing around the ship. Jack the monkey jumped in front of him and ran for below deck, and the captain only half-heartedly fired at it.

"Asleep? Last night? Ah, right. William was so kind as to go on the Flying Dutchman to retrieve the key. But in an unfortunate series of events, Davy Jones concluded that he would keep Mr. Turner on his boat."

Sora, Roxas and Naminé's eyes looked like they might pop out of their heads. "What?"

Jack nodded sadly and bowed his head. "Very unfortunate; sad indeed."

"W-we're going to save him, aren't we?" stuttered Naminé.

"Of course we are! But to save him, we must get that chest. And to get the chest, we need a bigger crew." Jack told them this as if it was most obvious, but he was greeted by three blank stares.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Jack, exactly how are you planning to open that chest without a key?"

Jack stared at the boy like he was crazy. "May I see that marvelous little blade of yours once more, Sora?" So surprised was he that Jack called him the right name that he nodded and summoned Oathkeeper. He held it out and Jack eagerly put his hand on the hilt. For a few seconds, Oathkeeper remained in the captain's grip, but it disappeared when Jack began to examine it; Oathkeeper returned to Sora's hand in a flurry of light.

Jack frowned while Sora smiled lightly. "It's not your time yet, Jack."

"Ah." He continued to examine the blade with a somewhat hungry expression. "Nice little design; it's different from last time."

"I equipped it with a keychain my girlfriend gave me a while ago. It's to remind me of our promise."

Jack appeared slightly impressed. "You are a man of your word, Sora." On another note, he continued, "I'm sure that magnificent blade can still open the chest from your hand."

Oathkeeper disappeared in a flurry of light as Sora rubbed the back of his head. "I... guess?"

"Where are we off to now?" asked Roxas. "You said we needed a bigger crew."

"Right," said Jack in a way that suggested he had been awaiting the question. "Tortuga, of course. No better place to look for a crew than there."

XxxxxX

Two men were standing side by side on deck of a medium-sized ship. Both were working on scrubbing the railing, though it didn't seem that they were putting their hearts into the work. There was something odd about the pair, though it was difficult to place. Behind them, two more men were fighting over a dress and the crew was slowly gathering around them. The captain came approached the bickering men and stared at them with exasperation.

With a smirk, he informed them, "If you both fancy the dress, you'll just have to share it." The other crewmen sniggered and laugh at the embarrassment the bickering men should have felt, yet their faces did not flush.

They exchanged a look, their grips tight on the fabric, and one of them shook his head. "It's not like that, sir. This ship is haunted."

Though the captain's amusement was quickly fading, he decided to humor them. "Is it, now? Explain."

"A female presence is among us," informed one of the men with the dress. "We can all feel it."

His friend continued, his face screwed up in concentration. "The ghost of a lady, widowed before her marriage, I figure. She be searching for her husband, who was lost to the sea."

One of the men cleaning the railing snorted, but it was not heard over the captain's irritated response. "Enough! Enough! You're a pair of superstitious fools. It is obvious that the dress means we have a stowaway aboard. Instead of coming up with your stupid stories, why don't you go on and look for 'er?" The two men wiping the railing paused and exchanged a glance. It almost looked like they were worried. "A dress means there's a young lady aboard. Not only that, but it probably means she's naked." The crew paused for a moment, mischievous grins on their pig faces, before setting off to find the owner of the dress.

That is, the entire crew with the exception of the men cleaning. The two finally tore themselves away from their 'work' and stared at each other, concern clear on their faces. They both had braids, but the slightly shorter one had 'his' tucked into a hat. The latter removed the hat to reveal a feminine face with hazel eyes. Keira looked at Elizabeth as she bit down on her lip.

"Don't worry, I think this may work to our advantage," informed Elizabeth in a low voice as the pair of them pretended to search the ship for the nonexistent woman. "Where are your clothes anyway?"

Keira lifted up part of her shirt to expose her black shirt; she had simply pulled baggy men's clothing over her real actual outfit. Elizabeth nodded with approval. "Clever."

XxxxxX

Kairi was not sure how she had done it, but she had somehow found herself at the castle's entrance, though she had not gotten through unscathed. Scratches and cuts decorated her legs and arms from meeting all types of Heartless on the way. Kairi shivered as she stepped into the rain, though she was unsurprised: Roxas said that it rained often in the World That Never Was.

It was odd to know that, for a change, there was no one around who could or would assist her. The previous time, she had at least had Pluto. She wandered down the streets of the dark city, without knowing where she was going, and she only met Heartless until she reached the Skyscraper.

A dark figure was seated on the ledge in front of the skyscraper's entrance. Reluctantly, she closed the distance between them with her keyblade held at the ready. The figure was of a girl around the same age as herself. Kairi assumed the girl was not seated in the rain for pure entertainment. 'She must be working forMaleficent.' How careless of the witch not to have anyone stationed inside to stop Kairi (despite the amount of fighters she had at her disposal), yet have a single teenager outside.

The girl, who did not appear to notice Kairi's presence, brushed a strand of stray brown hair and pulled her pigtails a little tighter. She was clearly cold as well, as she pulled her black jacket tighter over her tank top, though the black and red scarf around her neck should have kept her a little warm. Obviously, the girl did not plan well for the world's weather as she was also wearing a black skirt. At least her boots, reaching her knees, kept her warm. The girl's bangs were thick and ended just above her eyes. Kair's foot moved forward without her consciously telling it to, and, finally, the girl stared at her with deep green eyes from beneath her thick bangs.

Kairi instantly pulled Atlantica's Secret into a battle stance as she awaited the stranger to make a move, though that did not take long. The girl jumped off of the ledge, the chain on her skirt jingling as she moved, and summoned, much to Kairi's surprise, a keyblade. It was made of black metal and depicted a large purple, gold, pink and black dragon; its tail made the teeth of the blade. The girl smiled, though it was not in the least bit sinister. "You thought you could get out of there, huh? Well, they didn't station me out here just to sit in the rain, you know." Despite the statement, her tone suggested that was what she thought.

Kairi frowned. "What happened to the other princesses?"

The other girl shook her head with mild annoyance. "I don't know, I've been out here. You're not very smart, are you?" Kairi glared even more at the girl but said nothing. "They should've known that they couldn't keep the one with a keyblade locked up. Even Zexion told them that."

The girl was a keyblade wielder. Even if Kairi could not get away, she had to satisfy her own curiosity. "How... did you come to work for the Organization?"

"Maleficent promised to restore my world, but I never liked her. Well, alright, that might not be the original reason... I wanted to protect someone. Anyway..." She cast an anxious glance around before coming closer to Kairi. "We don't have time for a Q I've got to get you out." Kairi's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. 'Wh-what?' Before she could ask what was going on, another voice spoke:

"You really can't trust keyblade wielders these days." In the blink of an eye, a boy with silver and black-tipped hair appeared a ways away from them. "Elie, I thought you pledged your loyalty?" His tone suggested disappointment, but it was clearly just a show: he was a Nobody, after all.

"What do you mean by that?" wondered Kairi, though she really just wanted to appear small and unimportant as Zexion faced her.

"That other one, Quince, he's been softening up to the other princess," sighed Zexion, another show of emotions. "As soon as they learn how to control the darkness, they try to help others; it sickens me," he said as a book appeared into his hand.

"My name is Elie." The girl muttered, though Kairi already knew that, as a portal appeared near her hand. "You've been through these before; find some place that's familiar." Without giving the opportunity for Kairi to argue, she pushed the princess through the portal. It closed behind her immediately, and, though her head buzzed with confusion, her feet began to blindly lead the way.

Zexion raised an eyebrow. "You realize that I can just go after her, of course?"

Elie shrugged her shoulders, as if the point was moot. "You should know how I am when I'm doing something I believe in; I think you'll find yourself a little distracted." She charged at him with her keyblade, and Zexion smirked.

"And you should know when you're facing someone out of your league." The book began to flip through its pages on its own.

XxxxxX

The day passed painfully slowly as the Pearl sailed toward Tortuga, leaving Sora, Naminé, and Roxas with little to do. The three were sitting in a corner of the ship to keep out of the way of the crew while Sora took out items from his previous journeys. He found Roxas' munny pouch (which Roxas eagerly took from him), many potions, and a small box.

Sora opened the box, which had once contained summon stones, though all that was left now was golden dust. After making this discovery, he took it upon himself to teach the other two how to fly. Sora sprinkled the fairy dust on the three of them. "Think of a happy thought and you'll fly."

Closing his eyes, Sora thought of his own happy thought: Kairi. Roxas and Naminé watched his body float off of the deck before following his lead. Their bodies instantly joined his.

"Hey, Sora, haven't you ever wanted to..." Roxas trailed off as a knowing look filled the other boy's eyes.

"Have a sword fight on top of the highest mass on a ship like in the movies?" finished Sora as Roxas nodded eagerly and grinned.

Naminé sighed, placing her fingers to her temples. "How old are you two again?" She muttered under her breath in a way that would make Kairi proud. "I guess I'd better referee."

"OI!" exclaimed Jack, breaking away from his chat with Gibbs as he noticed the floating keyblade wielders. "What kind of witch craft are you doing on my ship?"

They simply laughed. "Jack, it's fairy dust; it helps you fly."

This seemed to please the captain greatly. "Is that so? Well, while the three of you are up there, make sure we aren't being followed."

The three exchanged a confused glance. "Followed by... what?" asked Roxas.

Jack waved him off with a hand. "Anything: any ship, any creature," he answered in an offhanded way.

"Yes, sir!" The three of them chorused as Sora and Roxas landed on the mass and summoned their keyblade.

Sora raised an eyebrow at Roxas' duel keyblades. "Rxas, o twin keyblades unless you're going to find a way to get me into a Drive." With much reluctance, Roxas called off Sleeping Lion and kept Fenrir; Sora eyed the blade with great dislike.

'That's fair.' Roxas, who apparently could still hear Sora's thoughts, nodded in agreement. "It is. Just because it's a lot stronger than yours isn't my problem."

Naminé shook her head and rolled her eyes, though she smiled as she raised her arm. "No fighting. Well, you know what I mean. One, two, three, go!" Being who they were, Roxas and Sora started right before Naminé said 'three'. The duel began as the sun set in the distance.

XxxxxX

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, two cross-dressing females stood on the deck of their ship. Elizabeth was holding the controls attached to her 'haunted' wedding dress. Beside her, Keira wondered if the men were even more convinced about the superstition given that they had not, of course, located the owner of the dress. "I'll get the captain's attention if he doesn't see it, you start." Elizabeth agreed and pulled on the controls, causing her dress to fly past the captain's quarters.

Keira promptly ducked out of sight. After a few more minutes, the captain came out of his quarters, accompanied by several crewmen. They watched in horror as the dress stopped flailing around and slowly move toward them.

The captain gulped and whispered, "Wh-what does it mean? What sign does she wish to show us?" The crewmen, clearly low on brain cells, shouted out barbaric, random and, unrealistic answers.

Keira sighed as she joined them, pretending to be panicked when she saw 'Tortuga' written in fire on the deck. "Captain! Look!" She cried in the manliest voice she could manage. He looked to where she was gesturing wildly, gasping with the crewmen at the words.

Horror was clear on their faces. "Set sail for Tortuga!" ordered the captain as he ran below deck to wake the remainder of his crew. Keira rejoined Elizabeth as the dress fell at her feet. Smirking, they helped the others set sail.

XxxxxX

'Darkness. Darkness. Darkness. Jeez, is there no end to this?' Kairi's eyes scanned left and right for a sign of an exit and, finally, she found it, a passage that her heart seemed to like. Though she was unsure of what she would find, she took it and was instantly greeted by fresh air.

The portal melted away as she looked up at the dark, night sky. Her heart clenched at the thought that she had returned to the World that Never Was. Salt and the smell of fish stung her nostrils, and she relaxed. She was standing on the deck of a stagnant ship.

The ship appeared to be stationed on a dock off of a busy island. She glanced around, finding no one, and stepped onto the pier. The sounds of clanging glass, shattering glass, laughs and yells reached her ears from a nearby pub.

XxxxxX

Sora, Naminé, and Roxas were sitting quite close to Jack as they took in the scene of the pub around them. Nearby, Gibbs was taking down names for new crew members on a long list of parchment.

As they watched people running around and dancing, Roxas mumbled, "I wonder if rum is any good?"

"Just because you lost, Roxas..." Naminé began in a giggle while he stared at her hard in the eye.

"That's not it-!" The three of them jumped as a loud bang caused by the overturning of Gibbs' table sounded. For no reason that they could see, more men began to join the wreckage by throwing bottles and pushing one another. It did not take long for all of the men in the room to join in on the brawl.

The four of them, including Jack, looked in the direction of the table to see who had started the chaos. The man responsible wore a smug expression as he stepped into the center of the room. "Come on, then!" He bellowed in a loud and drunken voice. "Who's first? Come at me! I'll take you all down one by one!"

Jack nodded at the teenagers in a sign to leave as he and Gibbs stood and made for the door. When they reached the foot of the stairs, something caught Naminé's eye. She pulled back her wrist as she stopped, causing Roxas, who had been holding her, to follow suit; Sora stopped by default.

"Keira? Elizabeth?" her soft voice attempted to call over the loudness around them. As she spoke, Elizabeth took a rum bottle from the man who had overturned Gibbs' table. Keira tilted back a bottle of her own before she and Elizabeth hit the man. The brawling men stilled and turned to look at the women, who had caused the pompous man to fall onto the floor.

Elizabeth announced, "Just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself!" The men roared their approval and lifted their mugs before several of them picked up the man and carried him up the stairs, past Naminé, Sora, and Roxas. Keira and Elizabeth joined them. Jack and Gibbs were nowhere to be found.

Keira grinned. "We meet again."

"How did the three of you get here?" asked Elizabeth with a smile, clearly pleased at what she had done.

"We could ask you the same thing," pointed out Sora. "And, ow," he added at what the two of them had done to the man.

"That was James Norrington, Sora, Roxas," informed Elizabeth. The name certainly sounded familiar... Sora blinked as realization dawned upon his and Roxas' faces. They were unsure of whether or not Elizabeth had told Keira about Norrington, or if she had simply elected to hit him because it seemed like fun. It would not have surprised them if it was the latter.

Jack reappeared at the top of the staircase. "Oi! We can't wait around for the lot of you forever!" He squinted to see who had joined his charges.

Now understanding how the wielders had arrived at Tortuga, she called, "Where's the man that I love?"

Jack was wearing a blank expression. "Elizabeth...?" He asked in an unsure voice, before continuing more smoothly, "You can wait to hear that, love. Zola,"

"That's Sora!" The five of them corrected.

Jack waved them off. "Yes, yes. There's a beautiful lass up here that's just asked me for you." Sora stared at him with confusion, but, before he could ask, Kairi herself pushed past Jack and raced down the stairs.

Sora met her halfway, throwing his arms around her. "Kairi!"


A/N: I know that I've said Kairi wouldn't be making a return appearance, but this story's already made many changes, so what's one more?