To my guest reviewer. I'm very happy that you are excited about this story, however I am not planning on using any FF13 characters. However, some of the concepts you came up with are interesting; maybe you should write a fic of your own using them, but I already have my own plot chosen for this story. Thank you for your support though.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!

My OCs © to me!

Chapter 9

"You found her?" Ansem smiled, leaning forward in his wheelchair.

"Yes."

Lea pumped his fist. "Finally! Where is she?"

"Took off." Sora sighed. "She and some other kids swiped the gummi ship, hence why we needed a pickup."

Isa glanced sideways, eyeing the black-haired man who stood to the side with a pale-haired woman behind him. "Don't tell me you had anything to do with this."

"No," Vanitas huffed, "I'm only here because my daughter is one of the ones who took off with the ship. Actually, I'm certain she was the one behind the plan. And I was the one who called Sora to my world, thank you very much."

Ienzo held up his hands. "Now, now. No need for squabbling. Do we know where they went?"

"Riku was going back to Disney Town to ask Chip and Dale to track the ship. They said they'd share the location with us when they got it. Kairi's on the islands just in case Perdita should show up there."

"Perdita?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean Koharu?"

Sora sighed, sitting down. "That's the name she goes by. She was raised as a servant in Braig's house. They gave her that name."

"A name that means 'lost'." Mused Ienzo. "Does this have anything to do with why she took off instead of coming with you?"

"Braig apparently told her that she was abandoned as a baby. She's probably confused and afraid."

Ansem nodded slowly. "Most likely."

"Not to mention," Isa tapped his chin, "if you think about it, her entire identity, name included, has basically told her that she was alone. This is probably shocking. You showing up and telling her the truth was asking her to reshape her entire identity. Even though her new identity would be better, it is probably a very frightening thing to have to remake ones identity."

That's true…

Poor Perdita.

If only there was something he could do to help her.

"So, are other worlds all alike, or are they different?"

Putting the ship in autopilot, Hideaki turned to face his companions. Or would it be more appropriate to call them kidnappers?

"Each world is unique, and there are some out there, according to my Uncle Mickey, that aren't even fully formed yet(1)."

…

"Perdie, Briana, look up at the sky." Leontes smiled as he sat outside with the two little girls.

Briana laughed. "There are so many stars!"

"They say," the old man's eyes shimmered, "that every star is another world, and that the light of their hearts is what shines down upon us each night."

"Other worlds?"

"Worlds very different from our own."

Perdita reached out a hand to the sky, her heart singing for that to be true. And somewhere inside she felt that it had to be the truth. "Can we go there someday?"

"Maybe one day you can."

…

Perdita leaned closer, curious about these other worlds. After all, if that Sora guy was her father, then she was from another world too. "What is your world like?"

"Well," the boy mused, "it's bright and colorful. It almost never storms, and when it rains or snows the clouds are always white, not dark. And my family are the only humans there."

Wait… what!?

"Wait! Wait! The ONLY humans?"

Hideaki nodded. "And my parents came from another world. The rest of the people there are animals that walk and talk like us." Pulling out his phone, he cycled through some photos. "See. This is me and my friend, Gosalyn Mallard. We play hockey together at school."

Sure enough, the picture showed Hideaki standing with an anthropomorphic goose girl with red hair(2).

"You weren't kidding." Briana muttered. "So… what about Sora's world? What's it like? And the world my father came from?"

"Uncle Sora is from Destiny Islands. It's practically an island paradise. Braig, I think, was from Radiant Garden. It's a beautiful city with gardens everywhere. I've been both places. My dad's from the islands too, and my mom is from Radiant Garden."

An island paradise.

Maybe she could go see it one day. Perdita looked past Hideaki as a world approached. "What about this place?"

"According to my dad, Agrabah is a desert. So, it's hot… really hot."

In her chair, Vanette bounced happily, hugging Akame the Flood to her chest. "Finally, I'm going to see other worlds! I'm so ready!"

"Hold on." Hideaki held up his hands. "What if you run into trouble? There are still Heartless around."

"What are Heartless?"

"Oh my gosh…"

After a lengthy and very confusing explanation of Heartless, as well as the world order, which Vanette still didn't understand but eventually agreed to keep, the boy finally felt ready to land the ship.

"I still don't know how you'd fight off Heartless."

"I'm a mage." Vanette ran a hand along her staff. "Papa made sure I could defend myself. And Akame will back me up, right?" The little blue creature nodded.

Patting her crossbow, Briana smiled. "I should be alright too. As long as I can retrieve my crossbow bolts, I can fight."

"I'll just use my hunting knives I guess." Perdita shrugged. If she could find a better weapon she'd use it.

"Oh boy…" Hideaki looked like he was getting a headache. "Ok, other than Nettie, can you two do magic?"

"I didn't know magic was real before all this."

"Me neither."

This… was going to end badly.

The boy ran a hand along his face. "Alright… I guess I'll have to come with you. I was going to stay on the ship and make you guys some phones, but you guys have no clue what you're doing. I at least know some healing and support magic and might be able to help. But I don't really fight, and I don't like fighting."

Landing the ship near an oasis, Hideaki put it in stealth mode, much easier than trying to get the three girls to stand still long enough for him to beam them down to the world.

Throwing his tool belt and a satchel around his shoulders, the boy sighed. "I guess we should get going."

Perdita pushed the door open, a scorching wind slamming into her face as she did. It felt like bending over a fire!

Light streamed through the door, blinding them for a moment. But when their vision cleared, they saw nothing but sand before them. Golden sand under a blue sky. Sand which acted like a mirror for the sun's light and heat.

As she stepped out, the heat went through her shoes. This would be miserable if they had to walk far in this heat.

"Over there!" Hideaki pulled his goggles over his eyes as he pointed. "I can see the top of the city from here. We're not far. Uncle Sora has friends there."

Answers.

What kind of man was this Sora?

Could he really be her father?

But-

Did she want him to be?

Staring out over the sand, the girl pictured Sora's face in her mind. He seemed and looked so nice. But was it true…

…

"Father," little Briana pulled on her father's coattails to get his attention, "Where are Perdita's mother and father?"

Braig looked down at the two little girls. His eyes hardened on the servant, making Perdita flinch. "Out there somewhere I'm sure. But they don't want her."

"What!?" Perdita's blue eyes flickered with confusion. "Why?"

"Don't know. All I know is that I found you abandoned in a ditch. Whoever your parents are, they don't want you. Honestly, forget about them. You should be grateful that I saved you and brought you here."

Perdita said nothing.

"I SAID you should be grateful!"

"Th-thank you Lord Braig…"

"That's better."

…

Her eyes picked up movement in the distance, a dark shape moved across the desert towards them. As it came closer, they saw a slim figure on the back of a brown stallion. A royal blue cloak billowed behind them, with part of it covering the person's head and face(3).

The horse pulled to a stop beside them. "What are you all doing outside the city? Who are you?"

"We're looking fo-"

"We're exploring!" Vanette cheered.

Thanks Nettie.

The figure laughed. "You too?" Reaching up, the person pulled down the cloak covering their head and face, revealing a girl not much older than Briana. Ringlets of black hair fell around her gentle face. "I'm actually out exploring right now. I'm searching for an ancient city. Want to join me?"

An ancient city?

"Hold on!" A voice called. "You can't just go inviting strangers!"

"I can if I want to. You're not my father."

A red parrot flew over, landing on the horse's head. "No, but I'm responsible for you!"

"Since when?"

The parrot talked…?

The parrot talked!?

The girl looked down at them. "Don't mind him. That's Iago, a friend of my father's and a thorn in my side."

"Hey! I'm the one who found the information on this place!"

"I'm kidding, Iago!" She laughed. "By the way, my name is Amira. What are your names?"

Briana smiled, curtsying. "My name is Briana. This is Perdita, Vanette, and Hideaki."

"And this is Akame!" Vanette held up her Flood, the little creature waving its small feet in response.

"Pleasure to meet you." Amira pulled her cloak up over her head. "Iago, is our other friend still sulking?"

"Yeah. I'll get him." The bird began to fly off but paused, glancing at Perdita before he continue to fly back.

The girl on the horse pulled the cloak over her nose and mouth. "You won't be able to keep up by walking, but Carpet can help you keep up."

"Carpet?"

Iago came flying back with… a..

A flying carpet.

Was this real or a hat-induced fever dream?

Amira raised an eyebrow at the carpet. "Are you done sulking?" The carpet crossed his tassels like arms. "Look. I just like riding my horse. But I've got some more friends who need a ride."

Carpet turned, if turned is the right word. He didn't have a face, but what looked like the front part, turned to them. Jumping into the air, the carpet floated, motioning with a tassel for them to climb on.

No one moved.

"He won't bite." Iago rolled his eyes.

Hideaki was the first one to climb onto the rug. "Come on guys." His gaze told them to just climb on and not question it. Guess this was part of that "world order" thing he drilled into their heads.

They climbed on, the carpet feeling like it would fall out from under them at any second. But it didn't.

Carpet turned his "face" up to look at her, seemingly confused.

"What?"

She felt Iago land on her shoulder. "He's probably thinking the same thing I am. You look like an old friend of ours."

"An old friend?"

"Yeah," the bird squawked, "he had blue eyes and hair kinda like yours."

Vanette leaned over. "Really? What was his name?"

"Sora."

"Sora?" Amira looked down at them. "I've heard Father, Mother, and Genie talk about him before."

The other three kids looked at Perdita who had suddenly become very interested in the pattern on Carpet.

She wasn't going to ask anything?

"So, what was Sora like?" Briana asked in her place.

Iago hopped down to the edge of carpet. "Well, back when I ran with Jafar, he was a pain. He stopped us from taking over Agrabah, but when I switched sides, he was a friend. Not the brightest guy but would do everything to keep his friends safe."

"Sounds like Uncle Sora." Hideaki laughed.

"Uncle Sora?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. Riku is my dad, so Sora's practically my uncle."

"No kidding!?" The bird hopped to the boy's knee. "I met him when he worked for Maleficent, but I heard he turned out pretty well, kinda like me."

Hideaki smiled. "Yeah. He's the best!"

Iago turned to the rest of the group. "Are you related to some of the others who were with Sora?"

"Vanitas is my papa!"

"Vanitas?"

"Former enemy. Her dad is the same." He pointed to Briana, who waved.

"Now don't tell me," Iago hopped on Perdita's shoulder, "Sora's your dad. Probably married that Kairi girl too."

The girl never lifted her eyes from Carpet. "No."

"Really? I was su-"

"Go away." She shooed him off her shoulder, turning away and refusing to speak again, as much as the parrot kept working to get some sort of answer from her.

The stubborn girl refused to so much as even glance in his direction, her gaze now fixed on the horizon.

"Sooo, what lost city are we looking for?"

Amira glanced over, seemingly happy for the topic change to ease the awkwardness. "The lost city of Ubar(4). According to legend, an ancient magic sunk the city beneath the sand. The treasures locked within are said to be guarded by ghouls and a creature called the Qutrub."

"So a lost city filled with monsters, and maybe Heartless too."

"I didn't think about Heartless." Amira mused. "But yeah, there will probably be some of those there too.

Hideaki groaned. "Well, I can't fight… so this will be fun."

"You can't?"

"I mean…" He rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a wrench. "I could hit them with this, but I don't know what it would do. And I know some magic, mostly healing and support magic."

Vanette patted his head. "That works! I know offensive magic only. Together, we can teach these two the ropes!"

"What kind of mage are you again?"

"Blue mage actually."

Briana's head hurt at all this talk of magic. "There are different kinds of mages?"

"Of course." Vanette adjusted her hat. "It's not that we can't do other magic, we just choose to focus on one. Mages that are well rounded are called Red Mages. Those who focus on offensive magic are Black Mages. Those who do healing and support are called White Mages. Blue Mages, like me, focus less on honing typical spells, and use our magic to copy the spells of our opponents. Papa trained me against his Unversed, so I have lots of crazy spells! But I can do the basics too."

Perdita looked down at one of the hunting knives strapped to her leg. She'd probably need magic… Her weapons had little reach.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

After a little while, sitting as close to Vanette as possible to let her massive hat shield them from the blazing sun, Amira pulled her horse to a stop. "I think this is close enough." She pointed to a massive rock that jutted up out of the sand, like a giant finger. "That rock, Al Ula(5), is supposed to be the gateway to Ubar."

Reaching into a pouch, she pulled out two halves of a metal scarab beetle.

"Not that thing again!?" Iago yelled.

"It's not the golden ones." Amira assured. "The golden ones are for the Cave of Wonders. These bronze ones lead to Ubar."

Placing the two together, the metal halves fused, zipping across the desert toward the monolith of rock.

"After it!"

Amira's horse reared up, whinnying as it charged after the scarab. Carpet zipped after, his riders having to grab on in order to not fly off into the sand.

The wind whipping through her hair made Perdita smile.

She felt free.

For the first time in her life, she really felt free.

Free as the wind.

To do what she pleased.

Maybe that was what she should do… wander the rest of her life here, among the worlds, like an autumn leaf cast adrift by blowing winds.

She'd like that.

But the face of Sora pulled at her mind. If he was her father, then she did have a home.

Did she want one?

Next to her, Briana could see the emotions and uncertainty written across her friend's face. The young noble couldn't understand. Perdita's dream of a family was coming true, and all her friend did was fight it. But, for Briana, her own family… could she even trust that anything about her father was real? What about her mother? Did she know? Did… did either of them really care about her?

Briana herself felt confused. Her thoughts clung to her father like the heat clung to the sand. Was her whole life a lie?

And if that was true, what then?

"There!"

Ahead of them, the scarabs flew into a mound of rock, separating as they embedded themselves into it.

The rock rose up, splitting the sand to reveal a doorway and staircase, leading down into the darkness below.

"Ubar."

Perdita's heart pounded as she stared down into the darkness beyond the door. Her feet carried her forward, drawn to the adventure.

"Hang on." Amira laughed as she lit a torch. "Wouldn't want to fall and break your neck. Let me lead. There might be traps, and I know how to deal with such traps.

The girl pulled her cloak down from around her head and stepped into the cave.

The others followed her, spines tingling as ghostly moans echoed off the walls.

Further within, two beady red eyes glittered in the darkness. A snout lifted up, sniffing the air. As it caught the scent of the intruders, sharp teeth spread into a wicked grin.

"Not a sign of her." Braig said as stepped into the inn room, the noise of Traverse Town vanishing as he shut the door. "Looks like the rebels didn't grab her, and I scoured the forest, so I'm not sure where she could be."

Sitting at a table, Holly wrapped her hands around a warm cup of tea. "I hope Briana is alright." Her eyes looked up at him. "Also, I met a boy here. He looked identical to Perdita."

"What!?"

"You said she had a twin. He was here."

We're they searching for her?

"Why was he here?"

Holly sipped her tea. "According to a woman I spoke to, they were here on some sort of quest. Then, they helped stop a monster invasion. He didn't know who I was."

"Interesting." Braig mused.

Maybe that boy had answers. Or, someone else did.

"Are you leaving again?"

"Yes, I'm going to find Briana. If she's with Perdita, I might know how to find her."

Holly folded her hands in her lap. "If you find them, what will you do with Perdita?"

Braig's brow creased as he pulled up the hood of his old black cloak. "I'm not sure yet… it will depend on circumstances."

"May I come with you?"

"Not yet. Let me find them first."

The woman sighed, nodding as he disappeared into a dark corridor. His wife sighed, looking out the window. "Be safe, my dears."

Footnotes:

(1) This is built on the lore from Dark Road about how worlds form.

(2) I'm picturing the new Ducktales Gosalyn.

(3) This cloak would be exactly like Cassim's.

(4) Ubar is a legendary city sometimes known as the "Atlantis of the Sands". In legend, God sunk the city below the sands as a punishment.

(5) Al Ula is a famous landmark in Saudia Arabia.

VAs:

Amira- Nasim Pedrad (Dalia, Aly Nelson, Gigi Caldwell, Agent Alex Foster/Jasmine)