Before everyone gets out the torches and pitchforks, there is a reason I'm adding Atlantica, and if you know your Disney songs you can probably guess what it is.

Chapter 34: Atlantica:

Cable Town – Floating Islands

"HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH A COWARD!?" Maleficent roared when Cruella returned from Arendelle empty handed.

"Oh calm down, greenie," Cruella retorted. "It wasn't cowardice, it was pragmatism. The puny little alliance went to great lengths to ensure she was guarded by a Keyblade Wielder at all times. I would have never been able to get close, so I figured "why waste time there if there's no chance at succeeding?"" As the fur-obsessed fashionista explained her reasoning for bailing on the Arendelle mission, the green-skinned fairy finally managed to calm down.

"Very well," she answered before grabbing Cruella's neck. "But next time such complications arise, you will summon backup instead of fleeing back to our new base. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Cruella replied as Maleficent released her death grip on the fashionista's throat. With that, Maleficent stormed out of the room to meet with Diablo, who had returned from scouting Cable Town for a significantly large library that could possibly hide one of the Books of Prophecy. She wasn't angry that they failed to manipulate Queen Elsa into joining their cause. One magical queen was of no great loss. What infuriated her was the ease with which Cruella de Vil abandoned the mission, however pragmatic her reasoning was. She knew the wealthy woman would not betray her new empire, but Maleficent was concerned over her apparent lack of effort. If bailing on assignments became a pattern, this problem would have to be corrected.

Atlantica – Undersea Palace

"This place is amazing," Kairi said as she, Donald, Goofy, and Sora swam through Atlantica. After everything Sora had told her about the place, this world was one she'd wanted to see more than any other. She'd always wanted to experience swimming beneath the waves without fear of drowning or having to come up for air. She marveled at the magic imbued in her clothes that transformed her two human legs into a single fish tail. It took some getting used to, but with some help from Sora (who she thought looked great with his shirt off), she was quickly adapting to moving propelling herself through the water with a tail fin instead of legs. After their initial arrival in Atlantica, Sora led the group towards the palace of King Triton in the hopes of introducing Kairi to some of their friends there. As they swam into the courtyard, they encountered someone they knew, but apparently not someone that they expected to find in Atlantica.

"Demyx!?" To say that Sora was surprised to find out that Organization XIII's number 9 was a merman in his original life would be an understatement.

"It's Myde now," the former Melodios Nocture replied. "And I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for everything I did."

"It's alright," Sora answered before explaining what Xemnas had told him in the Realm of Sleep. Needless to say, Myde too, was furious at being manipulated. Anger at Xemnas aside, the merman was happy to be whole again, and grateful for the chance to make up for the things he did in the organization. The founders may not have been the hugging type, but Myde definitely was. It was several minutes before they were able to part with Myde (although not without Donald and Goofy whispering something in his ear) and get inside the palace to speak with King Triton about the reason they'd come to Atlantica.

"It's good to see you all again," the sea king greeted warmly. "Although I must ask why you're here. I've felt the darkness stirring, and I'm concerned about the threat of another invasion of my kingdom by the Heartless. Have you come to eliminate them?"

"We have, your majesty," Sora answered with an attempted bow. "We've received reports of a giant Heartless hear, and we came to destroy it before it can hurt anyone." The Keyblade Master went on to give the (pretty much standard now) explanation of the conflict with Xehanort and Maleficent, as well as the founding of the Daybreak Coalition. Needless to say, Triton was furious that Xehanort still lived. Apparently the madman was personally responsible for the death of Triton's wife, Queen Athena. Triton gladly threw his kingdom's support into the ring for the Coalition, and recommended that they also talk to Prince Eric on the surface to get support from him as well. Unfortunately, Triton had not heard reports of any giant Heartless lurking in his kingdom. As the group turned and began swimming out of the palace, Goofy quietly snuck back and whispered something in the mer-king's ear, giving the merman an idea.

"Now that you mention it though," Triton added. "Ariel has mentioned in her messages that she's heard rumors from the surface dwellers of a giant monster hiding in a lagoon near Eric's castle. Perhaps this mysterious beast is the Heartless you're looking for." The four off-worlders agreed, and, along with Sebastian and Myde, who accompanied them at Donald and Goofy's insistence, headed up to the surface to see Ariel.

Atlantica – Lagoon

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Sora asked as he rowed the boat through the lagoon. Kairi sat across from him, keeping an eye out for the giant Heartless that was supposed to be lurking nearby. Ariel had suggested that they attack the giant Heartless on two fronts, so Sora and Kairi were rowing a boat into the lagoon to attack the Heartless from above water while Donald and Goofy returned to the water and took on their aquatic forms to strike from below.

"Yep," Myde called back. "This is definitely the place." Sora still didn't understand why they needed him along. He knew the guy would be trusted, but based on Roxas' memories of the guy's Nobody, he just wasn't sure whether Myde would actually be useful in combat. "A little further," the merman continued. "A little more, and…. Perfect!"

"So where's this giant Heartless supposed to show up?" Kairi asked as Sora stopped rowing.

"There is none," Myde answered as he climbed up onto a rock jutting out of the water.

"Well then why drag us all the way up here, then?" Sora shouted frustratedly as the boat floated in the lagoon.

"You'll see," Donald and Goofy replied as they popped their heads above water. With that, Myde pulled out his Sitar, and began to play. Before either Sora or Kairi could ask what was going on, Sebastian emerged from the water and began to sing while assorted animals emerged to provide musical accompaniment to Myde's sitar playing.

"There, you see her

Sitting there across the way.

She don't got a lot to say

But there's something about her.

And you don't know why

But you're dying to try

You wanna kiss the girl."

Sora quickly brought his hands to his face to hide is embarrassment. What've Donald and Goofy gotten me into? He thought to himself nervously as he realized that there was no giant Heartless. I didn't want to tell Kairi like this. Sora wanted to confess his feelings for Kairi on his own terms, but he still understood why Donald and Goofy were doing this. Ever since he'd gotten the Keyblade, his greatest fear was getting killed in battle before he got the chance to tell Kairi how he felt about her. Evidently, Donald and Goofy had decided to help make sure that didn't happen. As they floated in the lagoon, Sebastian continued to sing.

"Yes, you want her.

Look at her, you know you do.

Possible she want you too

There is one way to ask her.

It don't take a word.

Not a single word.

Go on and kiss the girl."

On the other side of the boat, Kairi was just as red in the face as Sora. She couldn't believe that Donald and Goofy had actually set this up, but in hindsight, it didn't really surprise her. Ever since her heart had been separated from her body the first time, her greatest fear was being killed before she got the chance to tell Sora how she felt about him. Clearly, this entire trip to Atlantica had been concocted with the express purpose of making sure that didn't happen. Across from her, she could see Sora was just as nervous as she was.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la

My, oh, my!

Look like the boy too shy.

He ain't gonna kiss the girl."

Sora was torn. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to finally tell Kairi how he really felt about her after uncomfortably avoiding the subject for the past 2 years. On the other, he was afraid of what would happen if she didn't feel the same way about him. Sure, she had drawn the Paopu fruit in the cave after he did, but he'd never been able to work up the courage to ask her whether or not she intended it to mean what he thought it meant. But. Sora thought to himself as their boat continued to slowly circle the lagoon on its own, what have I got to lose? Oblivious to the mental and emotion battles of the boats occupants, the song and dance routine continued unabated.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la.

Ain't that sad?

Ain't it a shame? Too bad.

He gonna – "

Every living thing in the lagoon stopped instantly as Sora leaned over and gave Kairi a long, passionate kiss on the lips. As he pulled back his heart sank at the look of surprise and confusion on her face, both oblivious to the complete silence around them as Donald, Goofy, Sebastian, Myde, and everyone else watched and waited to see what would happen next.

"Sora…" she gasped as she slowly grabbed his hands.

"Kairi," he began after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I love you. I have for years now. I never said anything before because I was afraid of what would happen to our friendship if you didn't feel the same way. I didn't want to risk admitting my feelings and being heartbroken because they weren't mutual. You're my light. You're what keeps me going every single day. When I'm feeling down, just thinking of you is enough to cheer me up. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I..." His lengthy declaration of love was abruptly cut short as Kairi pulled him towards her and kissed him back.

"Don't be sorry, Sora," she replied as they pulled back once more. "I've been just as scared as you have." The two embraced each other as the assembled peanut gallery broke out in cheers.

"Mix it up a bit," Sebastian whispered to the musicians as the crowd began to sing again while the two lovers continued to lock lips, only occasionally coming up for air.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Don't stop now.

You cannot hide it now.

You wanna kiss the guy.

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Float along.

And listen to the song.

Song say kiss the girl.

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Music play.

So what the music say?

You gotta kiss the guy.

Kiss the girl."

As the song ended, Sora and Kairi finally separated. The two of them held hands as they looked at each other wordlessly. Neither of them said anything, because that kiss said everything that needed to be said. As Sora rowed them back to shore, the lovebirds talked excitedly about their relationship going forward and reminisced about all the hints they'd each dropped over the years about their feelings that the other had missed. When they finally got back to shore, Sora got out of the boat first, then pulled Kairi in for a hug after he helped her up onto the dock. The moment was ruined, however, when Donald and Goofy emerged from the water and crowded around, turning a tender embrace between two lovers into a rather awkward group hug.

"So…." Goofy began teasingly. "How'd it go?"

"You guys planned all this from the beginning, didn't you?" Sora jokingly asked, already knowing what the answer was.

"Well obviously," Donald replied with a chuckle as Goofy started going on about how happy he was for the two of them. "It's not like either of you was going to make the first move on your own so we decided we might as well give you two the push you needed to finally get it out. Besides, we know both of you were scared about getting killed in a fight before you got the chance to tell each other how you feel. Goofy and I figured that if you actually sat down and told each other, you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore." They all laughed as they said their goodbyes to Ariel, Sebastian and Myde (and adding Eric's kingdom to the growing alliance of worlds as well), before returning to the Gummi Ship, their business in Atlantica concluded.

And thus, Sora and Kairi are now officially a couple.

The friendship between Goofy and Triton comes from another great KH fic Fathers and Children

Demyx's human self being from Atlantica (and his name) comes from the great fic A Somebody's Fishtale

Xehanort killing Ariel's mom is a reference to the Remember the Tides verse.