Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, but what can I say? College can be a pain...lol. Anyways, finishing up one world and moving on to the next. Which one could it be...?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Kingdom Hearts characters or games. I also don't own Stitch or Pikachu. They belong to their respective owners. Matt is my OC.

In a far off place, Xavier reappeared in his Organization's lair. He immediately bowed down in front of the one standing before him…his leader.

"Well…?" the leader asked coldly. "Was the mission a success?"

"A partial one my lord," Xavier replied. "I managed to collect several hearts from the world…but I was unable to acquire the heart of Hercules."

"Explain…"

"Well…it was all going to plan…until that fool Kratos decided to stray off the path and fight another."

"The Keyblade bearer?"

"Yes. Somehow…that kid…is getting stronger…much stronger."

"It's true…he's managed to defeat two of our own and several other of our 'associates'. Fear not though, Xavier, things are going as planned."

"No disrespect Master…but wouldn't it be wiser to eliminate him and his friends now before they become too much of a nuisance?"

"Like I said…not to worry…"

It didn't take long before Hercules rejoined Matt and the rest of the group back up in the Coliseum. Meg of course rushed into his arms again before Matt asked what happened.

"Well…as it turns out…," Hercules said. "Hades was bluffing about Meg's contract. It's been out of his hands for some time now."

"What?" Phil asked. "So you guys just went down into the Underdome and risked your lives for nothing?"

"No, Phil. We had to go down there or a lot more people could have gotten hurt today. Still…"

"Hey," Meg said while putting a hand to his face. "There was nothing else you could have done. You know that right?"

"Yeah…but it still doesn't help the feeling in my gut. I'm just glad that you're alright, Meg." He then turned to the trio. "Matt…Stitch…Pikachu…I can't thank you guys enough for all you've done. Without your help, I would've lost to Kratos for sure and then this world would be left unprotected."

Matt nodded. "Our pleasure." Stitch and Pikachu added a nod as well.

Meg and Herc then turned their eyes towards Phil. "So…?" Meg asked. "Are you going to say it or what?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Phil replied while crossing his arms.

"Phil…," Hercules said. "Come on…"

"Don't push me, kid."

"Huh?" Stitch asked. Matt couldn't help but grin, but he kept his mouth shut for a moment.

Pikachu's ears perked up. "Oh…I get it. We're officially heroes now!"

"Yay!" Stitch added while jumping now.

Phil groaned. "Look…after what I saw down there…I'll admit you three got a lot of potential. Maybe just for the heck of it we'll just deem you junior heroes for now."

Stitch and Pikachu fell down on their backs in anguish, causing everyone else to admit a laugh. Matt quickly leaned down and consoled his two friends. "Don't worry guys…you both are heroes in my book."

"Likewise," Hercules said with a thumbs up. "I'd hate to be the one to have to face you three in battle. I know you're gonna be great…just like I know you're going to find Sora."

"That's right," Meg added. "You've made believers out of us…well…at least most of us."

Phil pouted before Pikachu gave him a short of electricity from his tail. "Hey! Watch it small fry! You want to do a few more laps?"

"Nah!" Pikachu waved it off.

Suddenly, the Olympus Stone in Hercules's pocket glowed and revealed itself. They all took the hint as Matt's Keyblade appeared in a flash of light. The stone then revealed the world's keyhole in the sky before Matt sealed it for good.

"There," Matt said. "That ought to do the trick." He then thought of something important. "Wait a minute! I forgot about Kratos!"

"I wouldn't worry about him," Hercules said. "No one has seen him since you fought."

"Hmm…," Matt replied. "You know…he's not all bad. I hope…I hope the next time I see him it will be under better terms."

Hercules nodded in agreement. "I agree…somewhere in there…there's a decent person. Hopefully he'll find his way."

Matt and his friends then bid Hercules and the others goodbye before they headed back up into the Gummi Ship and cruised off to their next destination…which was a lot closer than they thought it would be.

Meanwhile, in another world, a woman was laying over her work deep in an underwater cave. She turned around when she senesed a familiar presence in her midsts.

"Well, well…I was wondering when you would return here," she spoke with an old tone.

The person she was referring to appeared in a flurry of black fire. It was none other than the evil witch herself.

"It has been some time…Morgana," Maleficent said. "I see you're still trying to follow in your sister's path."

Morgana, who remained in the shadows, shook off the comment. "That old fool…I say good riddance. Anyways, what do you want Maleficent? Why have you come?"

"I have come to offer you a deal…one that may benefit both of us."

"What could possibly have to offer? Word on the high seas is that you and an 'Organization' are stirring up trouble."

"Perhaps we are...and that is why I'm here. There is a very special heart here I need to collect, and I need your help in order to get it."

"Hmm…" Out of the shadows came an ugly looking woman with the lower half of an octopus. "Is this heart…who I think it is?" Maleficent nodded. "I'm interested. What's in this for me?"

"In exchange for your cooperation, my Heartless will assist you in your quest. I would also be willing to help you claim that which you seek most…which would be the legendary trident I presume?"

Morgana's lips curled into an evil grin. "I suppose we could work something out. In fact, your help may be just what I need to complete the plan I've been working on for years…"

Matt, Stitch, and Pikachu quickly recovered from their battles in Olympus and were currently aiming towards a new world. According to their sensors, it too had Heartless activity emitting from it.

Matt took a deep breath as he and Stitch piloted the ship into the view of the world. At first look, Stitch and Pikachu's eyes widened.

"What the…?" Pikachu asked. "Is this a joke?"

"Nope," Matt replied. "If I'm right, then this is Atlantica…the ocean world."

"W…w…water…," Stitch shuddered.

"Uh, Matt," Pikachu said. "How exactly are we going to go down there? Won't we…well…drown?"

"Unfortunately…yes." To the group's dismay, none of them knew how to change their forms to accommodate this world.

"Then what are we going to do? We can't just leave if there's Heartless there right. What if someone needs our help?"

"My thoughts, exactly," Matt said as he took the controls. "Let me take a look around here." Though he wasn't going to land it, the ship still got a little more closer to the world itself…too close for someone else's discomfort.

"Naga! Naga!" Stitch cried as he leapt on top of Matt's head, covering the teen's eyes.

"Argh! Stitch! What are you doing? I…can't see!"

"Naga water!" Stitch continued, his head shaking back and forth over and over. His little body also shook with fear.

"Guys!" Pikachu said. "Stop it before we crash…whoa!" The ship was going all over the place at this point, with no way point in site. The electric type kept his eyes on the screen while Matt continued to try and shake Stitch (which wasn't very successful).

Suddenly, Pikachu was able to see a form of land coming up in the distance in the middle of the vast ocean. "Hey, there's a place we can go! Look!"

Matt managed to get Stitch out of the way enough to see it as well. "Alright! Good eye, Pikachu! You see, Stitch, we may not even have to set foot in that ocean." The little alien remained very quiet. "C'mon pal, we can't do this without you."

"Yeah, Stitch," Pikachu added. "We'll make sure you stay nice and dry! I promise!"

"Me too," Matt added.

Though he was silent for a few moments, Stitch then gave his friends a weak nod. "Ok…Stitch go with Matt and Pikachu."

"That's the spirit," Matt said while patting Stitch on the head. "Now here we go!"

Within minutes, the trio parked the ship over the patch of land and beamed down onto it. When they arrived, they found themselves standing on a moonlit beach while looking at a castle along the shore…at least what of the castle they could see. In it's way was a giant stone wall that seemed to surround it on all sides.

"Wonder what that's there for?" Pikachu asked. "Keeping people out?"

"I don't know," Matt replied. "But we'd better go check it out anyway just to be safe."

The trio moved onwards (with Stitch jumping on Matt's head to avoid the water) before making their way to the front. Unfortunately, there didn't seem like a way to get inside as every entrance was locked.

"Great…now what?" Pikachu asked.

"Hahaha!" Stitch laughed as he jumped off Matt's head and climbed up onto the wall and latched on.

"Hey, that's right," Matt realized. "Try and find a way for us to get in, Stitch!"

"Eh!" The little alien climbed all the way up the wall until he went over and landed back on his feet. When he did, he noticed that there weren't any guards around at all and that all the attention was on the castle. Stitch could hear music coming from within.

"Oh…party…," he said before looking around and finding a small entrance near the base of the wall. Before he could open it though, Stitch quickly whirled around when he heard screaming coming from the castle now. That could only mean one thing. "Uh oh…Heartless!" The blue alien quickly ripped open the entrance near the bottom and beckoned his friends forward.

"What's up?" Pikachu asked.

"Castle…danger!" Stitch replied.

Matt nodded. "Right, let's get going!" He and Pikachu managed to squeeze their way inside before they sprinted as fast as they could towards the castle in the middle.

By the time the trio arrived, they found getting in fairly simple. Several people who were dressed formally raced out while screaming in terror.

Without further ado, they made it inside a large ballroom. The only people remaining were three people. One was a man with black hair while the two others were what looked like a mother and daughter, with red and black hair respectively. Unfortunately, the family was surrounded by several Heartless who seemed to take on the forms of shells.

The man quickly noticed Matt and the others. "Quick, get out of here! It's not safe."

"Don't worry," Matt replied, summoning his Keyblade. "Take your family and hide. We'll handle this!"

"Right!" Stitch and Pikachu followed suit and summoned their weapons. The man in his formal outfit nodded and hurried his wife and daughter off to safety while the trio fought off the Heartless.

Matt slashed away at one, having a little bit of slight difficulty. "Geez…these shells are tough." Still, Matt's attacks proved effective enough to the point where they vanished soon enough.

Pikachu seemed to have the easiest time of them all, with his electric attacks proving highly effective. "Just like battling water-types back home," he said to himself.

Within minutes, the Heartless had all been defeated, allowing the trio to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is everyone alright?" Matt asked, turning to the family.

"Yes," the man replied. "We are all safe and sound thanks to you three."

"What happened here?"

"We were in the middle of having a royal ball, but all of a sudden these creatures appeared…and ruined it."

"No…," the woman replied. "Not the Heartless again. They're just awful."

"You've seen them before?" Matt asked.

"Yes, but not for some time," she replied. "Not since well…" She and her husband's eyes widened. "Sora…"

"You…are you the same kind of warriors?" the man asked. "The ones who fight these things?"

"Guilty as charged," Pikachu replied.

"Oh, then that means you must know Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" she replied.

"In a way…," Matt replied.

"Well any friends of Sora are friends of mine," she said. "I'm Princess Ariel."

"And I'm Prince Eric," the man replied. "Thank you so much for your help. You arrived just in the nick of time."

"Glad to do it," Matt exclaimed. He and his friends then introduced themselves to the royal court.

"Well, this is sure a surprise," Ariel replied. She beckoned over the girl, who nervously approached. "This is our daughter, Melody. Say hello dear."

The black haired girl put up a hand and waved weakly. "Hello…"

Stitch and Pikachu walked up and offered their hands. "It's ok…we won't bite," Pikachu said. "It's nice to meet you, Melody. I'm Pikachu."

"Hiee…my name is Stitch."

Melody giggled. "You're both cute…" She then took their hands and shook them eagerly. The three quickly became more friendly within seconds.

Matt smiled and turned back to the adults. "Speaking of Sora, you wouldn't happen to have seen him at all have you?"

Ariel shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Is there something wrong?" Matt nodded. "Oh my…"

"Perhaps we can talk more over a meal," Eric spoke up. "It's getting late and we need to get our daughter to bed soon."

"Melody," Ariel said. "Why don't you take Stitch and Pikachu to your room? I'll be there to tuck you in soon."

"Ok," Melody replied.

"Is that cool guys?" Matt asked. They both nodded and followed the little girl down the hallways towards her room. Meanwhile, Eric and Ariel lead the teen into the kitchen where they all sat down at one of the tables. There, he quickly explained about their mission to find Sora and about the Organization. He also mentioned about Donald and Goofy being alright, but not about them losing their memories.

"Oh no," Ariel said. "Poor Sora. I wish there was something we could do to help him, but like I said we haven't seen any of them at all for some time."

Matt sighed. "That's too bad."

"Tell me, Matt," Eric added. "Are the Heartless gone for good…or are there more?"

"I hate to say it…but I'm willing to bet that this attack tonight was just the beginning."

"Oh no," Ariel gasped. "Eric, we have to warn my father right away! Atlantica may be in danger." She then gasped again. "Oops…"

Matt raised a hand and nodded. "It's alright. I know that you were once a mermaid. I…uh…read about it from Sora's writings."

Ariel replied. "Oh…well that's a relief." She and Eric exchanged a glance before nodding. "Matt…we have a favor to ask. While you're here, please don't tell Melody about my heritage or about anything for that matter."

Matt raised a brow. "Why not?"

"It's a long story," Eric replied. "But it may explain those Heartless being here."

"As a matter of fact," Ariel said while looking around the room. "You can come out now, Sebastian."

"Huh?" Matt asked before he saw a small, red crab jump onto the table in front of them. "Whoa!"

"Ariel! What's goin on here?" Sebastian bellowed. "Have we got Heartless trouble again, and why are you telling this stranger about everything? You want your father to get angry?"

"It's alright, Sebastian," Ariel replied. "Matt has a Keyblade like Sora, and he's just as nice as him. Besides, I think he can help us."

Matt chuckled nervously. "Hi…"

"Well…alright," Sebastian replied.

"So…," Matt then said. "What's going on…?"

Meanwhile, Stitch and Pikachu were having a blast playing with all the toys that Melody kept in her room. It was definitely a break from having to fight all those Heartless. However, the little girl didn't seem to have the same idea. She instead just sat on her bed and pouted.

"Hey, Melody," Pikachu said. "Are you OK? You don't seem too happy."

"Eh," Stitch added as the two jumped on the bed. "Melody no like us?"

"Oh no," Melody said. "It's not you guys. I just have a lot on my mind…that's all."

"Wesa help?" Stitch asked.

"Yeah, is there anything we can do?" Pikachu asked.

"I don't know," Melody replied. She then sat up. "Well…the thing is…I think my mother is keeping something from me."

"Huh?" Stitch asked.

"You mean Ariel?" Pikachu asked. "She seems like a nice person. Why would she do that?"

"I think I have the answer right here," Melody replied. She quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden shell-shaped locket with her name inscribed on it. "I found this while I was out swimming in the ocean the other day. Can you guys keep a secret?"

Stitch and Pikachu motioned their fingers and pretended to 'zip their lips.'

"Ok…," Melody said. "Now check this out." She then slowly pulled the shell apart, allowing a sea of light to emerge. To their surprise, what looked like a hologram popped up…but it emerged as what looked like an underwater city with a castle and several merpeople.

"Whoa…," Pikachu gasped with wide eyes. This must be the real Atlantica that Matt had told him about.

Stitch gasped. "Ah…water!" The little alien jumped up and latched himself up onto the wall before climbing up onto the roof.

"Is he alright?" Melody asked.

"Well…," Pikachu replied. "Let's just say that Stitch doesn't really like the water that much."

"That's too bad…I love the water. But just look at this…what could this really mean? Is there really some city under the sea?"

"Uh…," Pikachu replied.

"If there is, I want to see it."

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Ariel stepped back inside. "Sorry about that, dear. I think it's about time we all get some rest." She motioned Stitch and Pikachu past her and out the door before going over towards Melody.

"Mom…," Melody said. "What were those bad things…the ones that tried to hurt us?"

Ariel sighed. "It's nothing to worry about, dear."

"Mom…," Melody said more eagerly. "Please tell me…"

"I'm sorry, Melody. This is something you're too young to understand."

Melody pouted. "Oh really?" She then reached towards the locket and shoved it in her mother's face. "Then maybe you can explain this to me instead…"

Ariel gasped and stared. Oh no…it can't be…

When Stitch and Pikachu reunited with Matt, he quickly explained the story that Ariel had told them.

Some time ago, an old sea witch named Morgana (the sister of Ursula) had tried to come after Melody as a child. Were it not for King Triton, she would have succeeded. However, since that day the castle had been barricaded so to that Morgana couldn't find them. Also, Ariel and her father agreed that their legacy be kept secret as well.

"She behind Heartless?" Stitch asked.

"It makes sense," Matt replied. "If she's anything like that Ursula, than she's also the most likely one who's controlling the Heartless here."

"Ok," Pikachu replied with a nod. "So what do we do now?"

"I'm not sure," Matt exclaimed.

Suddenly, the trio heard the sounds of sobbing. To their surprise, Ariel strode towards them with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Stitch asked.

"Oh…," Ariel sobbed. "It's Melody. She found the locket my daddy gave to her as an infant, and now she wants to know everything. Oh, what am I going to do?"

Matt was about to answer back when Eric quickly sprinted up to them. "More…Heartless…"

"Where?" Matt asked with his Keyblade drawn.

"Down near the main gate. Quick, we must hurry. Ariel, stay here and keep Melody safe." The red haired women nodded while the trio hurried behind Eric towards the Heartless attack. They were nothing special to them, with many of them being weaker versions. When all the Heartless were defeated, Matt and his friends gladly volunteered to guard the castle in case of more attacks.

Little did they all know, that same little girl had somehow managed to sneak out her window and make it down to one of the boats. With all the commotion, she easily managed to sneak past the guards and row herself out towards the open sea. The same golden locket was now around her neck.

"It's time for me to get some answers," Melody said with determination. "I have to know the truth."

Uh oh! Looks like trouble is brewing up on the surface! Though you probably guessed it, i am going to follow the events of TLM 2...but as you know i like to add little twists and/or special appearances. Will there be one here? Find out soon!

Peace out,

Biz